Digital Commons Network^™

Multi-Player Computer Gaming: 'Better Than Playing (Pc Games) With Yourself', Melanie Swalwell

Reconstruction: Studies in Contemporary Culture

[First paragraph]

In the August 2002 issue of Business 2.0, Geoff Keighley sketches the profits that companies such as Sony, Disney, Microsoft and others hope to make, as they enter into, or expand their existing, online multiplayer gaming ventures. With Everquest attracting some 150,000 players within six months of launching, each of whom was prepared to pay $10 a month to participate in online multiplay, it is easy to see why those in the industry are excited at having discovered such an apparently reliable revenue stream, with Keighley citing Sony Pictures Digital Entertainment President, Yair Landau's claim that This is …

Trends. Psychology Of The Alienated And Political Violence, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This Trends article discusses alienation and the psychology of the alienated in literature (Camus and Dostoevsky) and society.

Social Learning Of Prey Location In Hatchery-Reared Atlantic Salmon, C. Brown, A. Markula, K. Laland

Aquaculture Collection

Naïve, hatchery-reared Atlantic salmon Salmo salar parr were paired with demonstrators that had been pre-trained to accept live prey from the surface or from the benthos. After 6 days of observing demonstrators through a clear perspex partition the naïve fish’s benthic foraging skills were tested. The results revealed that hatchery-reared Atlantic salmon can be taught to target benthic prey items by observation alone and social learning protocols can be utilized to dramatically increase benthic foraging success. The results are discussed with reference to refining hatchery-rearing practices with a view to improving the post-release survival of hatchery fishes. The role of …

Enhanced Retention In The Passive-Avoidance Task By 5-Ht1a Receptor Blockade Is Not Associated With Increased Activity Of The Central Nucleus Of The Amygdala, Allen M. Schneider, Emily Wilkins , '01, Aaron Alexander Firestone , '01, E. Carr Everbach, J. C. Naylor, Peter E. Simson , '78

Psychology Faculty Works

The effect of blockade of S-HT1A receptors was investigated on (1) retention in a mildly aversive passive-avoidance task, and (2) spontaneous single-unit activity of central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA) neurons, a brain site implicated in modulation of retention. Systemic administration of the selective S-HT1A antagonist NAN-190 immediately after training markedly-and dose-dependently-facilitated retention in the passive-avoidance task; enhanced retention was time-dependent and was not attributable to variations in wattages of shock received by animals. Systemic administration of NAN-190 had mixed effects on spontaneous single-unit activity of CeA neurons recorded extracellularly in vivo; microiontophoretic application of S-HT, in contrast, consistently and …

A Longitudinal Examination Of Flow As A Predictor Of Recreational Exercise, Brian Michael Chichester

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Flow state is a valued psychological state of enjoyment and well-being. It is characterized by feelings of intrinsic self-reward and marked by nine dimensions theorized to contribute to flow state. Flow has been studied mostly in elite athletes, whom report highly lucid flow experiences; to a much lesser extent it has been studied in recreational exercisers. Most prior research methodologies involve experience sampling or qualitative techniques, such as interviewing. Only one demonstrably valid and reliable flow instrument is widely available for efficient, quantitative measure of flow experiences. This study measures flow longitudinally in a recreational exercising population by comparing a …

Validation Of A Serotonin Checklist In A Parkinson’S Disease Population, Kelly Diane Darby-Holder

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Although the distinctive pathological marker of Parkinson’s Disease is the progressive death of neurons that produce dopamine, there are also alterations in the production of quantities of other neurotransmitters, such as norepinephrine and serotonin that contribute to the disease. Parkinson’s Disease (PD) can be divided into two distinct classes based on the manifestation of motor symptoms, Type A and Type B Parkinson’s Disease. Type B PD patients often manifest symptoms in which serotonin deficiency plays an important role, which often includes a history of depression. Within the brain and spinal cord serotonin has wide spread projections, acting as an important …

Radiation Effects On Dopamine-Mediated Prepulse Inhibition In The C57bl/6 Mouse, Cara Nicole Zuccarelli Miller

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

This study examined the effects of proton and gamma radiation on a dopamine-dependent sensory gating mechanism: prepulse inhibition of the startle reflex. The purpose of this research was to describe potential hazards of proton radiation to the central nervous system in long-term space fight and for proton therapy patients. Results from previous research indicate that startle behavior is modified by proton and iron radiation. Forty-eight 10-½ week old, male C57BL/6 mice were used to characterize the optimal parameters for the model (prepulse duration, probe duration, and stimulus-onset-asynchrony). Three hundred and fifty two mice were used to characterize the time course …

Overcoming Political Strife: A Case Study Based On Training Jewish And Arab Educational Counselors, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

About the author. This article was submitted by Dr. Daniela Kramer, counseling psychologist and a senior lecturer at the Oranim School of Education of the Kibbutz Movement in Israel. Dr. Kramer heads the masters’ program in educational counseling as well as the clinical section of the animal-aided therapy program. She is also an experienced family therapist and group facilitator.

The author discusses the 'us' vs. 'them' phenomena, and the training of the Jewish and Arab educational counselors

Gender, Spatial Learning Trials, And Object Recall., Tifani R. Hite

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Previous researchers have reported women doing better than men in object recall. The current study tested for gender differences in object recall over three memorization trials using gender neutral stimuli. Fifty men and 53 women viewed pictures of 60 objects (15 in each of four quadrants) for one minute, and then had three minutes to recall as many objects and locations as they could. This procedure was followed over three trials. Women performed better than men, and the difference increased across trials. Training was successful as participants recalled significantly more objects and locations on trial 3 than on trial 1. …

Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor And Maternal Behavior : Neuronal Alterations In The Medial Preoptic Area And Suppression Of Pup Attacks, Lillian Flores Stevens

Master's Theses

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), by virtue of its relationship to various neurotransmitter systems, hormones, and to estrogen in particular, may play a role in maternal behavior. To explore this possible role, female virgin Sprague Dawley rats received continuous intracerebroventricular infusions ofBDNF sense oligonucleotide and were exposed to pups for maternal behavior testing. Behaviorally, BDNF sense had no effect on maternal behavior but did significantly suppress pup attacks during the first 24 hours of exposure. BDNF had a significant effect on neuronal morphology in the medial preoptic area (mPOA) as well, such that neurons in this region exposed to BDNF had …

Emotion Representation And Perception Across Cultures, Jeanette Altarriba, Dana M. Basnight, Tina M. Canary

Online Readings in Psychology and Culture

Are emotion words or emotion categories universal, or are particular emotions and emotion categories specific to certain cultures? The current review explores the answer to this question by summarizing the limited number of studies that have addressed this issue. The representation of emotion is discussed with regards to verbal and nonverbal (facial) processing, in turn. The evidence indicates that the answer is often conflicting and that issues such as methodological, linguistic, social and cultural variance have contributed to the often contradictory findings.

Training Of Observers In Risk Rituals Of The Manasa Sect Of Hinduism And Serpent Handling Sects Of Appalachia, Christopher Silver

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

This study proposes to examine observer attitudes. Any ritual action that has the potential for injury or death, will be coined a religious risk ritual (RR). Observers will examine examples of video from the Manasa Hindu tradition in India and the Pentecostal and Holiness Serpent Handling traditions (SHS) of the southern Appalachian Mountain region of the United States. While training had no overall effect, study participants perceived the Manasa religious ritual as being more legitimate than the SHS religious ritual. Participants accepted of existence of a religious risk ritual cross-culturally but were biased against it in the southeastern United States.

Family: Variations And Changes Across Cultures, James Georgas

Online Readings in Psychology and Culture

In order to study psychological phenomena cross-culturally, it is necessary to understand the different types of family in cultures throughout the world and also how family types are related to cultural features of societies. This article discusses: The definitions and the structure and functions of family; the different family types and relationships with kin; the ecocultural determinants of variations of family types, e.g, ecological features, means of subsistence, political and legal system, education and religion; changes in family in different cultures; the influence of modernization and globalization on family change throughout the world.

Sensations From Initial Exposure To Nicotine Predicting Adolescent Smoking In China: A Potential Measure Of Vulnerability To Nicotine, Xinguang Chen, Alan W. Stacy, Hong Zheng, Jianguo Shan, Donna Spruijt-Metz, Jennifer B. Unger, Jie Gong, Peggy Gallaher, Chunhong Liu, Stanley Azen, Sohaila Shakib, C. Anderson Johnson

CGU Faculty Publications and Research

Sensations derived from initial exposure to nicotine are a potential indicator of an individual's vulnerability to nicotine. This study assessed whether sensations experienced during the first lifetime exposure to nicotine could predict current and established cigarette smoking. Data from 210 respondents who reported having ever tried cigarette smoking in Wuhan, China, were obtained for this study from 610 students in 10th grade at two schools. Subjects were participants in a multipurpose pilot survey for an adolescent smoking prevention trial. The survey was administered in a classroom setting using a paper-and-pencil questionnaire. Sensations reported were cigarette smell (59.2%), coughing (54.1%), dizziness …

Trying To Fix The Development In Evolutionary Developmental Psychology, David S. Moore

Pitzer Faculty Publications and Research

If we agree for a moment that there is such a thing as human nature, we immediately encounter an extraordinarily thorny question: Where does our nature come from? This question drives David Bjorklund and Anthony Pellegrini’s new book The Origins of Human Nature: Evolutionary Developmental Psychology. The question is so challenging, in part, because human nature reflects at least two conceptually distinct processes: evolution and development. The former, which operates across generations, allows the continued existence of characteristics that permitted survival and reproduction in our ancestors; the latter, which operates during a person’s lifetime, contributes to the appearance of …

Identifying The Dimensions Of Integrity: A Confirmatory And Discriminant Validity Analysis, Arlene Pace Green

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

While Integrity tests have demonstrated significant predictive and concurrent validity, the meaning and structure of integrity test scores are not well understood. The purpose of the present investigation was to empirically verify the results of a previous study that used an inductive method to define integrity and identify its constituent dimensions (Green, 1999). Specifically, the present investigation used item analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, discriminant validity analysis, and an analysis of social desirability to test the validity of the five integrity dimensions identified by Green (1999): Concern for Others, Conscientiousness, Emotional Control, Fairness, and Honesty. Results confirmed that Integrity acts as …

Not Thinking Like A Nonlawyer: Implications Of "Recogonization" For Legal Education, Robert J. Morris

Journal of Legal Education

No abstract provided.

Habitat-Predator Association And Avoidance In Rainbowfish (Melanotaenia Spp.), Culum Brown

Sentience Collection

The ability to recall the location of a predator and later avoid it was tested in nine populations of rainbowfish (Melanotaenia spp.), representing three species from a variety of environments. Following the introduction of a model predator into a particular microhabitat, the model was removed, the arena rotated and the distribution of the fish recorded again. In this manner it could be determined what cues the fish relied on in order to recall the previous location of the predator model. Fish from all populations but one (Dirran Creek) were capable of avoiding the predator by remembering either the location and/or …

Considering Animals—Not “Higher” Primates, Marc Bekoff

Sentience Collection

In this essay I argue that many nonhuman animal beings are conscious and have some sense of self. Rather than ask whether they are conscious, I adopt an evolutionary perspective and ask why consciousness and a sense of self evolved—what are they good for? Comparative studies of animal cognition, ethological investigations that explore what it is like to be a certain animal, are useful for answering this question. Charles Darwin argued that the differences in cognitive abilities and emotions among animals are differences in degree rather than differences in kind, and his view cautions against the unyielding claim that humans, …

Effects Of Writing Therapy Across Ptsd And Chronic Stress, Jennifer E. Lewis

Dissertations

Research supports the effectiveness of writing therapy in reducing physical health problems and increasing positive feelings (Pennebaker & Beall, 1986). More recently, research indicates that writing about traumatic experiences is as effective as EMDR in reducing symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (Largo-Marsh & Spates, 1997). The current study assessed the treatment efficacy of writing therapy for individuals with varying degrees of stress related symptoms. Specifically, this study examined writing treatment for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and work-related chronic stress or "burnout."

The study utilized a pretest-posttest comparison group design. Repeated measurements !)n primary dependent variables were collected at pretest through …

Treatment Of Specific Animal Phobias And The Relationship Of An Opiate Antagonist To Outcome, Andrea T. Kozak

Dissertations

Previous research with non-humans, and humans to a lesser degree, suggest the endogenous opiate system is at work to assist an organism in times of pain or stress. One-session exposure treatment is an effective treatment for specific animal phobia and entails modest degrees of stress during implementation. At the present time, the mechanisms at work that facilitate the success of this intervention have been incompletely investigated. The focus of the present study was to determine whether the endogenous opiate system is activated during the treatment of persons with specific animal phobias. In a double-blind investigation, 15 individuals with specific animal …

Using Behavioral Systems Analysis To Improve The Placement Service Of The Association For Behavior Analysis, Lori H. Miller

Dissertations

This dissertation demonstrated the use of behavioral systems analysis tools in the development of a useful service in a non-profit association. The purpose of this study was threefold: (1) to design a placement system that would add value to the field of behavior analysis by placing behavior analysts in appropriate jobs, internships, and graduate programs; (2) to develop a data collection infrastructure that would assist the Association for Behavior Analysis (ABA) in the assessment of the trends related to the human resources of the field; and (3) to advance the knowledge and methodology of behavioral systems analysis.

Six objectives were …

A Behavior Systems Analysis Approach To Designing A Hlgh-Impact Knowledge Management System, Jacalyn S. Smeltzer

Dissertations

Behavior systems analysis is an approach to designing and managing systems that incorporates the human-performance-technology model of systems analysis and considers the basic principles of behavior when analyzing causes of performance deficiencies and in selecting interventions to address those deficiencies. Behavior systems analysis focuses on three major conditions that influence behavior: (1) the motivation of the individual, (2) the immediate environmental cues, and (3) the consequences of behavior (Malott & Garcia, 1987; Suarez, 2001). The present study used behavior systems analysis to design a knowledge management system (independent variable) for a small business, a consulting firm in the employer-provided training …

Factors Predicting Disrupted Versus Continuous Memory For Child Sexual Abuse, Tami Lorraine Young

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Information regarding the nature of disrupted memory for childhood sexual abuse (CSA) is limited. To increase understanding, repressive coping, dissociative tendencies, and characteristics of CSA were measured via survey in college students to determine if they predicted disrupted memory for CSA. Dissociative tendencies, but not repressive coping, predicted disrupted memory. Furthermore, repressive coping and dissociative tendencies were negatively correlated in those with disrupted memory for CSA. Characteristics of CSA loaded onto four factors: less physically intrusive CSA, significantly intrusive CSA, pornographic exploitative CSA and psychological impact of CSA. The psychological impact of CSA factor, greater number of years abused, and …

Effects Of Moral Sensitivity And Moral Climate On Moral Reasoning, Marita Louise Mahoney

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

As healthcare professionals, psychology students and psychologists are expected to behave ethically and morally. It is assumed that moral and ethical reasoning in psychology students develops through exposure to ethical dilemmas within ethics classes and during clinical training experiences. Rest's Four Component Model of Moral Behavior, a neo-Kohlbergian approach to understanding moral development, posits an interaction of Moral Sensitivity, Moral Motivation, Moral Reasoning and Moral Character. Moral sensitivity, or awareness of a moral dilemma, is posited to cue the moral reasoning process, though little is known about how the training environment can facilitate or hamper such developments. Fifty".'two psychology-graduate students …

A Research Agenda For Political Personality And Leadership Studies: An Evolutionary Proposal, Aubrey Immelman, Theodore Millon

Psychology Faculty Publications

Despite major neuroscientific advances in the past two decades and parallel conceptual refinement in evolutionary theory, personality-in-politics inquiry remains adrift, divorced from these broader spheres of scientific knowledge. This paper reviews the neurobiological substrates of three major domains of evolutionary biology and behavioral ecology relevant to political personality assessment and the psychological examination of political leaders; furnishes a context and set of guiding ideas to revitalize the study of the person as biopsychosocial entity in politics; advances a generative theory of personality and political leadership performance; and proposes an agenda for advancing personality-in-politics and leadership inquiry, informed by insights derived …

Gender Differences Concerning Thoughts On Love Attitudes And Romance, Sarah E. Brady

Undergraduate Psychology Research Methods Journal

In the present study, the question of which gender has more romantic views on love was investigated. Thirty participants were given a 30-question survey regarding their thoughts on love. Using a coded rating system, certain responses were considered to be more romantic and other responses were categorizes as less romantic and more idealistic. Results of this study showed that males, more often than females, supplied the romantic response to the survey questions. These findings might imply that males are the more romantic gender.

Research Proposal: Gender Differences Concerning Thoughts On Love Attitudes And Romance, Sarah E. Brady

Undergraduate Psychology Research Methods Journal

Which gender has more romantic views on love? Oftentimes, women think of their sex as the more romantic gender and complain that their partners are not romantic enough. Yet, is this truly the case?

Spring 2003, Full Issue

Undergraduate Psychology Research Methods Journal

No abstract provided.

Research Proposal: Dogs As Reducers Of Anxiety In Social Situations, Jennifer L. Sytsma

Undergraduate Psychology Research Methods Journal

For many years animals have played a large part in the average family unit. Animals become more than just pets and begin to be considered a family member or a best friend. With such close relationships developing between owner and pet it would not be far fetched to say that animals could act as a social mediator for those who suffer from chronic anxiety in social situations.

I believe that pets can greatly reduce stress and anxiety during social interactions with those who suffer from social anxiety. Since dogs are the most commonly seen pets in an outside setting most …