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Integrating Higher Order Fear-Based Psychopathology And Rdoc’S Acute Threat Subconstruct, Travis Cole

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Fear-based psychopathology consistently pushes the categorical boundaries established by current diagnostic systems such as the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition text revision. While classified by their differing phenotypic symptoms, physiological processes such as fear potentiated startle (FPS) and fear load are common, well-established underlying mechanisms of fear-based psychopathology and represent a prominent target for intervention. The shared mechanisms and symptom overlap among fear-based disorders lend evidence to the examination of symptoms based on a dimensional classification system. One such system, the Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology (HiTOP) is a quantitative, bottom-up approach to mental illness classification that …

Boiling Behind Bars: Exploring The Hidden Toll Of Extreme Heat On Mental Health In Texas Prisons, Sandra K. Miller

Social Work Theses - Archive

The State of Texas supports the largest prison system in the US and held 132,859 people in 100 units scattered across the state as of December 2023. Approximately 70% of Texas prison beds are not air conditioned, despite the state’s reputation for dangerously hot, humid summers. The State has officially recorded temperatures inside Texas prison facilities as high as 120 degrees with heat index values of over 150. Although there is a growing body of research on the negative physiological and psychological consequences of extreme heat among the general public, little is known about the physical and emotional toll of …

Sympathetic-Cardiovascular Stress Reactivity In Adults With Major Depressive Disorder, Ashley Darling

Kinesiology Dissertations - Archive

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a mood disorder characterized by persistently depressed mood and/or anhedonia that causes significant functional impairment in daily life. MDD affects nearly 15% of adults in their lifetime, and since 2019, prevalence estimates have increased up to ~30% in young adults (18-25 years old). In addition to its debilitating effects on daily functioning, epidemiological studies link MDD to ~3 times greater risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), followed by accelerated CVD progression and mortality. Although the mechanisms contributing to MDD-CVD comorbidity are unclear, there is evidence of stress system dysfunction in adults with MDD.

Accordingly, the aim …

Prolonged Grief: The Predictive Value Of Cognitive Distortions, Depression, And Anxiety, Michael Kastelnik

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Bereavement, the emotional pain of losing a loved one, may lead to significant distress and functional impairment, which can negatively impact the relationships, work, and health of those who grieve. The present study aimed to examine the relationship between cognitive distortions and prolonged grief, depression, and anxiety. It was hypothesized that there would be a significant and positive relationship between prolonged grief, depression, anxiety, and cognitive distortions, as measured by the Prolonged Grief Scale-Revised (PG-13-R), the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7), and the Inventory of Cognitive Distortions (ICD), respectively (Hypothesis 1). It was also …

The Impact Of Human Attachment To A Pet Bird On Psychological Well-Being, Kathryn Marie Trautmann

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Few studies have addressed human attachment to a pet bird and psychological well-being, and the research that has been conducted is largely anecdotal and anthropomorphic perspectives on human relationships with birds. In this quantitative study, the relationships between humans and their birds were explored using Bowlby's attachment theory and Fredrickson and Losada's broaden and build theory. The study consisted of a randomized experiment, in which individuals were randomly assigned to either an attachment (n = 81) or detachment (n = 88) group. The security priming manipulation was used to prime the groups. The attachment group was asked to list things …

Aromatherapies And Stress: An Examination Of Saliva Sclarea In Acute Stress Conditions, Emily J. Van Gundy

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

The use of essential oils as an alternative medicine in the United States is becoming increasingly popular as more accreditation is given to its therapeutic values. With this increase in use, we must continue to examine the uses of essential oils, including associated risks. One unavoidable aspect of life is stress, both acute and chronic. This study aims to better our understanding of the stress-reducing properties of the essential oil clary sage (salvia sclarea) after an experimentally induced acute stress experience. The Trier Social Stress Test was used to elicit an acute stress response. Participants were given the scent of …

Impulsive Behavior In The Context Of A Substance Use Treatment Seeking Sample: A Conditional Process Analysis Of Childhood Maltreatment, Experiential Avoidance, And Cognitive Fusion, Emily Kalantar

Dissertations and Theses

Substance misuse is associated with high impulsive behavior and may represent one behavioral manifestation of impulsive behavior. One predictor of substance misuse is childhood maltreatment, which is, in turn, associated with difficulty regulating unwanted emotion. Accordingly, impulsive behavior is high among individuals exposed to maltreatment and likely functions as one behavioral strategy for coping with unwanted internal experiences. Consequently, identification of behavioral processes that may account for the childhood maltreatment and impulsive behavior relation in substance misusers appears warranted. One process-based behavioral model that may be useful in this endeavor is psychological flexibility, which includes the inflexible processes of experiential …

The Effects Of Early Developmental Co-Exposure To Alcohol And Nicotine Via E-Cigarettes On Anxiety- And Motor-Related Behaviors In Mice, Carley Cirafesi

West Chester University Master’s Theses

Thirty percent of people who report consumption of alcohol while pregnant simultaneously report consuming nicotine. Prenatal co-exposure to alcohol and nicotine has increased with the popularity of electronic cigarettes due to their presumed safety, yet e-cigarette use may have a greater impact on fetal development than traditional cigarettes. Prenatal exposure to alcohol or nicotine is associated with increased anxiety-related behaviors and impaired motor coordination later in life, yet it is unknown whether prenatal co-exposure to alcohol and nicotine exacerbates these effects, particularly via e-cigarettes. This project examined the effects of co-exposure to alcohol and nicotine via e-cigarettes during early development …

Assessing College Students' Knowledge Of Applied Behavior Analysis And Evaluating The Effects Of A Fact Sheet To Address Misconceptions, Hannah Goike

Senior Honors Theses and Projects

Previous research has indicated that college students consistently endorse misconceptions about behavior analysis (e.g., use of physical punishment, Applied Behavior Analysis [ABA] is only intended for people with autism). This study aims to assess college students’ knowledge of behavior analysis and identify the extent to which participants are likely to endorse common misconceptions. This study replicated Artzen et al. (2010) and extended it by adding questions related to the recent trends and reported misunderstandings in the field of ABA that stem from public misconceptions. The current study also evaluated the effects of a brief intervention for improving participant knowledge of …

Non-Technical Skills Proficiency In Aviation Pilots: A Systematic Review, Seda Ceken

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

This systematic review aims to examine the role of non-technical competencies in pilot selection and flight operations, and explore the methods used for their assessment. It has been discerned that relying solely on technical flying skills is insufficient for a pilot; there is a growing understanding that a pilot candidate must possess and adeptly employ non-technical skills, commonly referred to as Crew Resource Management (CRM) skills. This systematic review was designed according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. For this review, a systematic search was conducted across seven databases. Seventeen publications were included in …

Cognitive Functioning In Well-Controlled Asthma, Erin Walsh

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

Asthma is a common lung disease that impacts lung functioning through inflammatory based mechanisms. Past research suggests that decreased blood oxygenation due to asthma attacks may impair cognitive capabilities (Irani et al., 2017). Moreover, the observed differences in cognition between those with and without asthma may be associated with disease severity or asthma control respectively in asthma populations. The current study explored differences in cognitive functioning between college students with and without self-reported asthma. Sociodemographic data, self-reported asthma severity, and measures of asthma control were collected. The current study did not find significant differences in measures of cognitive efficiency between …

Cortisol And Executive Functioning For Young Children Attending Head Start Preschool, Zachary Weaver

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

Poverty circumstances impact the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal or HPA axis. Early childhood dysfunction in the HPA axis, marked by irregularities in cortisol, poses risk for the development of key executive functioning (EF) abilities. No studies have investigated the relation between cortisol and performance-based measures of EF in settings such as Head Start preschool that aim to promote positive outcomes for children facing economic hardship. This pilot study examined EF and cortisol for 50 children ages 3 to 5 years, who attended a Head Start preschool. This study was disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to a sample size less than half …

Exploring Perceptions Of Self-Compassion In Individuals With Complex Trauma Symptomology: A Qualitative Approach, Brooke Roseman

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

The aim of the present study sought to explore the perceptions of self-compassion through the perspectives of individuals who experience complex trauma symptomology and low rates of self-compassion to inform and enhance trauma treatment. Despite a growing accumulation of studies implicating self-compassion as an integral construct for alleviating symptoms associated with complex trauma, most research designs were quantitative and did not investigate the internal processes occurring within the individual. Based on this gap, the current study expanded the scope of the current literature to include a qualitative thematic analytic approach to better understand the nuances of how this population relates …

Functional Explanations Link Gender Essentialism And Normativity, Emily Foster-Hanson, T. Lombrozo

Psychology Faculty Works

Why do beliefs that gender differences are innate (i.e., gender essentialism) sometimes lead to normative judgments about how individual people ought to be? In the current study, we propose that a missing premise linking gender essentialism and normativity rests on the common folk-biological assumption that biological features serve a biological function. When participants (N = 289) learned that a novel feature of the gender category "mothers" was common and innate, they overwhelmingly assumed that it must have served some function across human history. When they learned that it served a historical function, they assumed that it must still be beneficial …

The Influence Of Cultural Background Information On Emotional Body Language Recognition, Erjia Xu, Ping Hu

Papers from the International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychology Conferences

Culture shapes how people express and feel emotions in specific situations and certain aspects of emotions vary across cultures. Body expressions are as powerful as facial expressions in conveying emotions, with North Americans tending to exhibit more exaggerated emotional body language (EBL) than East Asians (Scherer et al., 2018). Our study used two experiments to explore whether individuals' emotion recognition of EBL was affected by cultural background information. Experiment 1 recruited fifty Chinese participants to explored whether individual recognition of emotions was affected by the cultural background of the expresser. We found that participants were more likely to perceive the …

Identifying Youth Appeals In Alcohol Alternative Social Media Content Through Framing, Melina Oneal

West Chester University Master’s Theses

Proposed regulations for alcohol advertising prevent beverage companies from targeting people under the legal drinking age. However, similar regulations for alcohol alternative beverages are less explored, which could allow alcohol alternative products to create awareness for alcoholic beverages among youth. Alcohol alternatives beverages, including no-alcohol and low-alcohol products, are increasing in popularity and can function as compliments to alcoholic products to decrease the total alcohol volume consumed or as substitutes for alcoholic products. Framing theory can be operationalized through the Content Appealing to Youth Index, an index of content elements found in research literature to be appealing to youth, to …

Screentime At Bedtime Relates To Lower Performance On Self-Regulatory Tasks For Young Children Facing Economic Hardship, Krista Donahue

West Chester University Master’s Theses

Given the prevalence of screentime, its impact on child development has become a question of key concern for researchers, practitioners, and policymakers, as well as parents. Recent attention has focused specifically on the potential negative effects of screentime on young children’s development of self-regulatory capacities. These negative effects of screentime could be particularly detrimental for children in poverty, who face stressors and forms of environmental adversity that can compromise self-regulatory development. The present study examines the relationship between screentime at bedtime and the inhibitory control aspect of young children’s self-regulation. Participants included 144 children ages of 3-5 years old who …

Awakening To The Politics Of Consumption: A Qualitative Study Of Politicized Consumerism As Social Identity, Julia Belmiro

West Chester University Master’s Theses

This qualitative study examines the influence of politicized consumerism on individual social identity through a social psychological perspective. Drawing from Tajfel and Turner’s Social Identity Model (1979) and Cross’s model of Black Identity (1991), we explored politicized consumption as a form of identity through the voices of consumers. Using thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006), we analyzed thirty-seven survey respondents’ descriptions of their types of politicized consumption choices, factors contributing to their “awakening” to consumer politicization, the integration of these choices into their identity, and whether they viewed politicized consumption as a mechanism for social change. Participants in our sample …

The Behavioral Origins Of Phylogenic Responses And Ontogenic Habits, W. David Stahlman, Kenneth J. Leising

Psychological Science Articles

An examination of innate behavior and its possible origins suggests parallels with the formation of habitual behavior. Inflexible but adaptive responses-innate reflexive behavior, Pavlovian conditioned responses, and operant habits-may have evolved from variable behavior in phylogeny and ontogeny. This form of "plasticity-first" scientific narrative was unpopular post-Darwin but has recently gained credibility in evolutionary biology. The present article seeks to identify originating events and contingencies contributing to such inflexible but adaptive behavior at both phylogenic and ontogenic levels of selection. In ontogeny, the development of inflexible performance (i.e., habit) from variable operant behavior is reminiscent of the genetic accommodation of …

Madly In Love: A Meditation On The Capacity Of Love And Madness, Sarah Jane

CGU Theses & Dissertations

"Madly in Love" contends that madness is not merely a condition to be pathologized buta 'supernatural' universal energy that transcends realms, moving through and around all bodies and leaving profound bio-physiological imprints. This dissertation introduces the concept of neo- madness, which recognizes the intricate interplay between this ethereal energy and the corporeal, reshaping our understanding of mental health. This work calls for a radical reimagining of how we witness, honor, and engage with madness by adopting a neo-mad love discourse, methodology, and pedagogy. It centers critical love, a blend of empathy, compassion, and active critical engagement, as essential to creating …

Analysis Of Research On The Effects Of Auditory Stimulation On Anxiety And Stress In Clinical And General Populations, Rebecca Lee

CMC Senior Theses

The use of auditory stimulation may be a useful method in treating clinical anxiety disorders, as well as aiding in coping with daily stress among general populations. The understanding of how certain forms of auditory stimulation can increase anxiety and stress is also critical so clinicians and the general population can approach decreasing anxiety and stress in the most effective way possible. The following paper will provide a literature review on studies published after the year 2000, analyzing the various impacts of different types of auditory stimulation, including impacts of music-therapy, music and noise at different frequencies, binaural beat stimulation, …

The Standing Of Anger: Insights From The Debate(S) On Constructed Emotion, Andrew Holzer

CMC Senior Theses

In her book, Anger and Forgiveness: Resentment, Generosity, Justice, Martha Nussbaum argues that anger is inherently flawed because it fundamentally contains the desire for payback. To support her argument, she posits specific metaphysical claims about the nature of emotions like anger. This thesis is an extended critique of her metaphysical foundation from the perspective of empirical research in the neuroscience of emotion. The first reason to dispute this picture is descriptive; this view of anger is based on an outdated version of cognitive appraisal theory, which sees emotions as triggered directly by static moments of cognitive appraisal. The second …

Human Performance In Context: Exploring The Effect Of Social Support On Vigilance, Allison E. Garibaldi

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

Over many decades, vigilance research has consistently found that performance on vigilance tasks decline over time (i.e., the vigilance decrement; Davies & Parasuraman, 1982), and that performing a vigilance task is both mentally demanding and stressful (Warm et al., 2008). Researchers have subsequently implemented a wide range of interventions to both understand and attempt to attenuate the vigilance decrement and its associated affective effects. Among these efforts, little attention has been devoted to understanding the effects of the social environment on vigilance. Nonetheless, a handful of studies have indeed suggested that the presence of others can affect performance, workload, and …

Age-Related Longitudinal Changes In Gray Matter Microstructure, Jessica Hayes

Wayne State University Theses

Measures of the brain’s microstructure may be more sensitive markers of aging than macrostructural measures. However, it remains unclear exactly how gray matter microstructure changes during aging and how this relates to changes in macrostructure. The present study evaluated how neurite density, orientation dispersion, and gray matter volume changed over a three-year period in a sample of healthy older adults. The role of age in modifying structural change within the hippocampus, precuneus, and rostral anterior cingulate cortex was also considered. Repeated measures general linear models additionally evaluated whether degree of change in microstructure between the first two measurement occasions modified …

Can The Data Output Of Cyberrat Pass A “Turing Test”?, Danielle M. Seljeskog

Schultz-Werth Award Papers

There are benefits from laboratory experiences, like increased student engagement (Ra’anon, 2005) and preparation for graduate school (McDonough, n.d.). Specifically, there are benefits from working in a live animal laboratory using operant chambers. It is not feasible for many universities to have live animal laboratories due to factors such as cost of animal care, maintenance, and ethical concerns, so many students have no laboratory experience. The current study sought to evaluate the CyberRat (Ray, 2019) software as an alternative to live rat laboratories. The variability of CyberRat was assessed via a Turing test, thus determining how realistic CyberRat is. To …

Is Precrastination Related To Updating And Inhibition Aspects Of Executive Function?, Sanaii N. Masih, Ryan Jun Seong Liew, Dawn Mcbride

Faculty Publications – Psychology

Precrastination is the act of completing a task as soon as possible even at the expense of extra effort. Past research has suggested that individuals precrastinate due to a desire to reduce their cognitive load, also known as the cognitive load-reduction (CLEAR) hypothesis [VonderHaar, R. L., McBride, D. M., & Rosenbaum, D. A. (2019). Task order choices in cognitive and perceptual-motor tasks: The cognitive-load-reduction (CLEAR) hypothesis. Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics, 81(7), 2517–2525. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13414-019-01754-z]. This idea stems from the notion that it is taxing to hold intentions in working memory and completing a task as soon as possible releases …

Examining The Relation Between Anthropomorphism And Theory Of Mind, Noah Paulson

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

Two ways people think about the mental state of others is through anthropomorphism and theory of mind. Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human-like capacities to non-human entities, such as ascribing mental and internal states (Waytz et al., 2013). Theory of mind is the ability to infer and understand other people’s mental states, such as beliefs, desires, intentions, and knowledge (Doherty, 2011). We predicted these two concepts are associated, and this prediction was assessed through the research outlined here. The current study examined potential associations between children’s (N=82; 5-8 years old) anthropomorphism, parent-reported theory of mind, and parent-reported social …

Ability To Reduce Gram Scams Through Educational Intervention, Ellis Garel

Scripps Senior Theses

Objective: This study aims to understand why people fall for scams and seeks to explore what interventions for scam prevention are the most effective in older adults. Participants: Approximately 686 participants aged 65 and above will be randomly assigned to view one of four intervention types: celebrity endorsement PSA, community-based PSA, personal advice from a family member, or the control group. Method: A path analysis will be conducted to examine how the type of intervention, gender of the participant, and history of financial fraud, mediated through concerns and susceptibility to scams, impact the propensity to fall for a hypothetical scam …

Autism Clinicians' Bias In Detecting Female-Typical Rrbi In Young Children, Megan Young

Scripps Senior Theses

With four times as many boys than girls diagnosed with autism, psychologists must investigate whether this is due to an intrinsic difference or gender bias. This proposed study aims to evaluate autism clinicians’ bias in detecting restrictive and repetitive behaviors and interests (RRBI) in young children by presenting autism specialists with a vignette depicting one of four children, depicting either the male or female autism phenotype, and a masculine or feminine name. Gender of child and phenotypic presentation is expected to have a significant effect on detection and identification such that feminine names presenting with the Female Autism Phenotype (FAP) …

Effects And Mechanisms Of Smartphone-Based Mindfulness Training On Emotional Experience, Polina Beloborodova

Theses and Dissertations

Emotional well-being is an important component of mental and physical health that includes both positive emotions and an absence of emotional symptoms (e.g., depressive- and anxiety-related). In this study, we examine psychological mechanisms that help to explain the effects of an digital mindfulness-based intervention (MBI) on emotional states. We conducted a randomized controlled trial wherein undergraduate student participants vulnerable to decreased positive and increased negative affect received a 2-week smartphone-based MBI or a structurally equivalent coping control intervention. Emotional experience, including depressive feelings, anxiety, and happiness, as well as subjective social well-being, including loneliness and felt connection to others, was …