Digital Commons Network^™

An Evaluation Of Process- And Performer-Based Improvement To Increase Online Giving In Churches, Lauren Elizabeth Rivera

Theses and Dissertations

The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the adoption of electronic transactions for many churches. Churches which were more inclined to establish online giving platforms weathered the disruption of the pandemic more successfully. Electronic transactions proved to be an efficacious modality for churches to maximize tithing and offering. Behavioral Systems Analysis (BSA) is an evidence-based framework which can inform decision-making, starting with macro-level assessments of the effects of external variables on adaptive systems and systematically funneling down to focus on processes and individuals. This study examined the effects of a process and performer-based intervention, through automation, to increase the percentage of online giving …

Through The Lens Of A Naturalist: How Learning About Nature Promotes Nature Connectedness Via Awe, Shu Tian Ng, Angela K. Y. Leung, Sarah Hian May Chan

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Environmental educators stress the importance of engaging with the wonders of the Earth in promoting nature connectedness. However, it remains unclear if learning about nature has an incremental effect beyond mere exposure to nature and what psychological mechanism can explain such a learning effect if it exists. To fill this gap, we propose a mediation model in which learning about nature promotes a sense of awe—a self-transcendent emotion associated with the recognition of vastness in nature. A sense of awe, in turn, promotes nature connectedness. Study 1 employed a cross-sectional survey and offered preliminary support for the proposed model, with …

Examining Factors Among People With Opioid Use Disorder And Comorbid Mental Health Disorders, Tori Denae Livingston

Theses and Dissertations

Opioid use disorder (OUD) affects over two million Americans, and over 42,000 Americans perished of opioid overdoses in 2016 (Volkow et al., 2019). During the initial years of the opioid crisis, overdose deaths were primarily attributed to prescription analgesics, heroin, and synthetic opioids. However, it was illicit prescription opioid painkiller use that ranked highest in terms of fatalities (Volkow et al., 2019). The increasing prevalence of opioid use among individuals with mental health disorders is in stark contrast to the ongoing opioid crisis (Prince, 2019). Additionally, there is evidence that individuals undergoing substance use treatment and concurrently suffering from a …

Using Pavlovian Sign-Tracking To Increase Self-Control In Rats, Saba Mahmoudi

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Impulsivity is correlated with various maladaptive behaviors (e.g., gambling and substance-used disorders), therefore many studies have been designed to find methods to reduce impulsive choice. Although these procedures (e.g., delay fading and delay-exposure training) are effective, they involve extended training durations. One method that has not yet been explored in promoting self-control is Pavlovian conditioning. During Pavlovian conditioning, a localized conditioned stimulus (CS) that signals an imminent food delivery can (a) evoke sign-tracking behavior (i.e., attraction to, and physically interacting with the CS) and (b) function as a conditioned reinforcer (i.e., the subject will work to access the CS). This …

Instrumentality: How We Develop Relationships With Objects And People, Nathaniel Bee

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

There are many different types of relationships a person will have throughout their life, each being given varying levels of authenticity, weight, and care. One’s attention is primarily placed upon the meaningful relationships in one’s life, but often deeper consideration of one’s “lesser” relationships is neglected. Networking and professional relationships are often impersonal. Family members will often lie to each other in favor of avoiding conflict. The emotional labor of service workers often goes underappreciated and undercompensated. Careers in the political sphere revolve heavily around maintaining a positive public image, and there are well-observed disparities between politicians’ stated values and …

Exploring Aging Using The Selection, Optimization, And Compensation (Soc) Framework In Conjunction With Kinematic Gait And Verbal Fluency Task Analysis In Healthy Adults, Emily Ann Chavez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This multi-study dissertation examined dual-task performance in young and middle-aged adults using verbal fluency tasks (VFT) during different walking scenarios (baseline, performing a VFT, walking narrowly, and performing a VFT while walking narrowly) as well as the Selection, Optimization, and Compensation (SOC) model. Thirty adults (15 young adults (YA; 19-44 years) and 15 middle-aged adults (MA; 45-65 years) participated in this study. Overall, there were no significant differences between groups when data was examined in short (means of means approach) and long-form (incorporating all data), when analyzing clustering and switching strategies, gait speed variability, or dual-task costs. Overall, these three …

Serum Biomarkers Of Nociceptive And Neuropathic Pain In Chronic Pancreatitis, Jami L Saloman, Yan Li, Kimberly Stello, Wenhao Li, Shuang Li, Anna Evans Phillips, Kristen Hall, Evan L Fogel, Santhi Swaroop Vege, Liang Li, Dana K Andersen, William E Fisher, Christopher E Forsmark, Phil A Hart, Stephen J Pandol, Walter G Park, Mark D Topazian, Stephen K Van Den Eeden, Jose Serrano, Darwin L Conwell, Dhiraj Yadav, Consortium For The Study Of Chronic Pancreatitis, Diabetes, And Pancreatic Cancer (Cpdpc)

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Debilitating abdominal pain is a common symptom affecting most patients with chronic pancreatitis (CP). There are multiple underlying mechanisms that contribute to CP-related pain, which makes successful treatment difficult. The identification of biomarkers for subtypes of pain could provide viable targets for nonopioid interventions and the development of mechanistic approaches to pain management in CP. Nineteen inflammation- and nociception-associated proteins were measured in serum collected from 358 subjects with definite CP enrolled in PROspective Evaluation of Chronic Pancreatitis for EpidEmiologic and Translational StuDies, a prospective observational study of pancreatitis in US adult subjects. First, serum levels of putative biomarkers were …

Assessment Of Ethanol And Nicotine Interactions Using A Reinforcer Demand Modeling With Grouped And Individual Levels Of Analyses In A Long-Access Self-Administration Model Using Male Rats, Christopher L. Robison, Nicole Cova, Victoria Madore, Tyler Allen, Scott T. Barrett, Sergios Charntikov

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Previous reports have indicated the reciprocal effects of nicotine and ethanol on their rewarding and reinforcing properties, but studies using methodological approaches resembling substance use in vulnerable populations are lacking. In our study, rats first self-administered ethanol, and their sensitivity to ethanol’s reinforcing effects was assessed using a reinforcer demand modeling approach. Subsequently, rats were equipped with intravenous catheters to self-administer nicotine, and their sensitivity to nicotine’s reinforcing effects was evaluated using the same approach. In the final phase, rats were allowed to self-administer ethanol and nicotine concurrently, investigating the influence of one substance on the rate of responding for …

Video Games For The Win: Examining The Net Positive Impact On Emotional, Cognitive, And Social Aspects Of Mental Health In Today’S Youth, James Sanford

Student Works

Video games are becoming an integral part of society, as more than 90% of adolescents play them often, and the industry is growing in revenue every year (Granic et al., 2014). However, many mainstream media outlets portray video games as detrimental to mental health and damaging to cognitive abilities, with initial research into video games initially corroborating such claims and finding correlations to violent behavior (Ferguson, 2020). These early research methods could have been more robust; moreover, focusing on only the negative aspects of gaming research significantly reduced their ability to properly understand gaming’s full impact. Video games typically encourage …

Relationship Between Animal-Assisted Therapy And Hopelessness In Adolescents, Nicole Denzler

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

No abstract provided.

The Role Of Parenting In Developmental Trajectories Of Risk For Adolescent Substance Use: A Bioecological Systems Cascade Model, Kristine Marceau

Purdue University Libraries Open Access Publishing Fund

Parenting is a key influence and prevention target for adolescent substance use, and changes dramatically in form and function during adolescence. This theoretical synthesis reviews evidence of associations of substance use-specific parenting behaviors, dimensions, and styles with adolescent substance use, and integrates key developmental and family theories (e.g., bioecological, dynamical systems, family systems, developmental cascades) and methodological-conceptual advances to illustrate the complex role that parenting plays for the development of adolescent substance use in combination with child and contextual influences. The resulting bioecological systems cascade model centers the dynamic co-development of parenting and child influences in developmental cascades that lead …

Lived Experiences Of Counselors: Navigating The Changing Role Using Emotional Intelligence, Marissa Joelle Stelzer

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe the lived experiences of counselors during the transition from traditional face-to-face counseling to a teletherapy format during the COVID-19 pandemic and how counselors were able to utilize emotional intelligence skills/abilities during this time. The theories that guided this study were the ability model of emotional intelligence and social constructivism. The following questions guided this study: How did counselors experience their changing role from primarily face-to-face counseling to teletherapy during the COVID-19 pandemic? How did counselors experience emotional intelligence during the transition from traditional face-to-face counseling to teletherapy during the COVID-19 pandemic? …

Pharmacotherapies Targeting Gaba-Glutamate Neurotransmission For Treatment-Resistant Depression, Courtney M Vecera, Alan C Courtes, Gregory Jones, Jair C Soares, Rodrigo Machado-Vieira

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Treatment-resistant depression (TRD) is a term used to describe a particular type of major depressive disorder (MDD). There is no consensus about what defines TRD, with various studies describing between 1 and 4 failures of antidepressant therapies, with or without electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). That is why TRD is such a growing concern among clinicians and researchers, and it explains the necessity for investigating novel therapeutic targets beyond conventional monoamine pathways. An imbalance between two primary central nervous system (CNS) neurotransmitters, L-glutamate and γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), has emerged as having a key role in the pathophysiology of TRD. In this …

Relation Between Fine And Gross Motor Skills And Observation Of Sociocultural Factors Across The First Year Of Infancy, Erika Garcia Mora

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The development of independent arms-free sitting, which frees an infant’s arms to explore objects in their environment (Soska & Adolph, 2014) is observed to propagate an increase in the frequency of manual and manipulatory actions (Marcinowski, et al., 2019; Mlincek, et. al., 2022). Active object exploration provides the infant with more sensory information of the fundamental characteristics of objects in their environment. Thus, this dissertation examined the quality and quantity of object exploration across seated postures.

Additionally, the literature claiming that infants raised in low-income households having fewer resources for effective development is being countered by considering a more holistic …

The Human Affectome, Daniela Schiller, Alessandra N.C. Yu, Nelly Alia-Klein, Susanne Becker, Howard C. Cromwell, Florin Dolcos, Paul J. Eslinger, Lauren A. J. Kirby, 166 Additional Co-Authors

Psychology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Over the last decades, theoretical perspectives in the interdisciplinary field of the affective sciences have proliferated rather than converged due to differing assumptions about what human affective phenomena are and how they work. These metaphysical and mechanistic assumptions, shaped by academic context and values, have dictated affective constructs and operationalizations. However, an assumption about the purpose of affective phenomena can guide us to a common set of metaphysical and mechanistic assumptions. In this capstone paper, we home in on a nested teleological principle for human affective phenomena in order to synthesize metaphysical and mechanistic assumptions. Under this framework, human affective …

Benefits Of The Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (Eras) Pathway With Quadratus Lumborum Blocks For Minimally Invasive Gynecologic Surgery Patients: A Retrospective Cohort Study, Paul S Lee, Laurie L Brunette, Intira Sriprasert, Mohamed Eloustaz, Rasika Deshpande, Crystal Adams, Laila Muderspach, Lynda Roman, Shane Dickerson, Michael P Kim

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

STUDY OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to determine the effect of the implementation of the Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) protocol among patients receiving minimally invasive gynecologic surgery.

DESIGN AND SETTING: This retrospective cohort study was performed in a tertiary care hospital.

PATIENTS: A total of 328 females who underwent minimally invasive gynecologic surgeries requiring at least one overnight stay at Keck Hospital of University of Southern California (USC), California, USA, from 2016 to 2020 were included in this study.

INTERVENTIONS: The institutional ERAS protocol was implemented in late 2018. A total of 186 patients from 2016 to 2018 prior to …

Effects Of Framing, Nomenclature, And Aversion To Tampering With Nature On Consumer Acceptance Of Cultivated Meat In Singapore, Mark Chong, Angela K. Y. Leung, Tricia M. Fernandez, Shu Tian Ng

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

This paper comprises a qualitative (Study 1) and a quantitative phase (Study 2). Study 1 aimed to find out what frames and nomenclature would appeal most to meat eaters – including consumers who have eaten cultivated chicken – in Singapore. It also aimed to discover whether perceptions of cultivated meat's naturalness varied across different age groups. Study 2 assessed which message frame and nomenclature were most effective in fostering consumer acceptance of cultivated meat. In addition, it investigated if age was related to the perception of cultivated meat's naturalness and acceptance, and whether aversion to tampering with nature was negatively …

Moderate-To-Vigorous Intensity Cycling Exercise Immediately After Visual Learning Enhances Delayed Recognition Memory Performance, Andrew C. Venezia, Lauren R. Weiss, Kristy A. Nielson, J. Carson Smith

Psychology Faculty Research and Publications

A single bout of acute aerobic exercise has been shown to improve long-term memory, though it is unclear if exercise before learning or after learning is optimal for memory enhancement. Although some research has demonstrated that exercise before learning is ideal, investigations have consistently shown that acute arousal post-learning is a powerful memory enhancer. Therefore, the purpose of this investigation was to compare the effects of self-perceived hard cycling before or after learning on recognition memory for emotional and neutral images, and examine the relationship between central noradrenergic activity and memory performance. Seventy-two males and females (18–35 years of age) …

Diet And The Role It Plays In Cognition, Ryan S. Lavrisa

Honors College Theses

The Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations have calculated the effects of animal agriculture and factory farming to be responsible for generating 14.5-16.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions as well as using 70% of all agricultural land to sustain itself. Plant-based diets such as veganism and vegetarianism have been on the rise as many seek to find diets that mitigate the animal suffering and environmental impact for which animal agriculture is responsible. With the rise of these diets, it is important to understand the cognitive effects adhering to such diets can have on the body and mind, as …

An Investigation Of Black And White College Students’ Knowledge About The Long-Term Effects Of Aces, Nathalie Goubet, Janique Walker, Pamela Moye, Tyler Keohan, Kasey Higgins

Psychology Faculty Publications

In the past twenty years, multiple studies have shown the relationship between childhood adversity and later negative health consequences. Yet the extent to which the public is aware of this relationship is unclear. We surveyed Black and White college students about their knowledge of the long-term effects of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). Students read vignettes comparing children exposed and unexposed to ACEs, and predicted their mental, physical, and social health as adults. Participants were aware of the effect of ACEs on later mental and social health, but not as aware of the risks on physical health. Black and White students …

Documenting Working Experiences Of Agricultural Workers In California, Alvaro Medel-Herrero, Natalia Deeb-Sossa, Monica Torreiro-Casal, Martha Shumway, Joseph D. Hovey, Rosemary Sokas

Psychological Science Faculty Publications

Over 800,000 Latina/o agricultural workers are employed in California every year, of whom approximately 400,000 are estimated to be undocumented immigrants. We convened 19 focus groups (FG) between July 2019 and January 2020 in various regions of California to gather information from Latina/o agricultural workers on social stressors. The participants’ narratives focused extensively on working conditions. This paper analyses these narratives and examines working and living conditions, as well as the combined effect of profound deprivations within most significant social domains. Agricultural workers in California characterise their working conditions as little better than slave labour. Systematic abusive practices and exploitation, …

Colorism Among Black Youth In The United States: An Examination Of Impacts On Education, Jasmine Major, Teneeshia R. Johnson, Antoinette Wilson, Stacie Defreitas

Psychology from the Margins

Black students with darker complexions experience a disproportionate application of exclusionary practices within educational settings (Crutchfield et al., 2022). This review seeks to highlight colorism’s impact on the Black community in the education system through examining the historical context of colorism, the connection between colorism and racism, and how colorism is manifested and perpetuated in contemporary society in the United States. “Antiblackness” is an enduring trait of the United States that has rooted and fixed itself to its school structures (Coles & Powell, 2019). Schools are inherently political in that they adhere to and perpetuate the dominant ideologies of society …

History Untold: A Historical Review Of Psychological Harm Of Racialized Minorities, Coralann M. Garcia, Kyana D. Hamilton

Psychology from the Margins

The legacy of social sciences is riddled with examples of harm toward racial minorities. Since its inception, the field of psychology has enforced power imbalances between researchers and research participants (APA, 2021a). Due to this imbalance, there have been violations of human dignity by psychological researchers from disciplines including social, clinical, cognitive, and counseling psychology (Winston, 2020). As the field of psychology continues to expand, it is necessary to redress the harmful legacies of psychological practices hindering help-seeking behaviors for many minoritized groups. As future practitioners and researchers, we recognize the instrumental role of past and current psychologists in shaping …

A Psychometric Analysis Of Natural Language Inference Using Transformer Language Models, Antonio Laverghetta Jr.

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Large language models (LLMs) are poised to transform both academia and industry. But the excitement around these generative AIs has also been met with concern for the true extent of their capabilities. This dissertation helps to address these questions by examining the capabilities of LLMs using the tools of psychometrics. We focus on analyzing the capabilities of LLMs on the task of natural language inference (NLI), a foundational benchmark often used to evaluate new models. We demonstrate that LLMs can reliably predict the psychometric properties of NLI items were those items administered to humans. Through a series of experiments, we …

Early Resveratrol Treatment Mitigates Joint Degeneration And Dampens Pain In A Mouse Model Of Pseudoachondroplasia (Psach), Jacqueline T Hecht, Alka C Veerisetty, Debabrata Patra, Mohammad G Hossain, Frankie Chiu, Claire Mobed, Francis H Gannon, Karen L Posey

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Pseudoachondroplasia (PSACH), a severe dwarfing condition associated with early-onset joint degeneration and lifelong joint pain, is caused by mutations in cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP). The mechanisms underlying the mutant-COMP pathology have been defined using the MT-COMP mouse model of PSACH that has the common D469del mutation. Mutant-COMP protein does not fold properly, and it is retained in the rough endoplasmic reticulum (rER) of chondrocytes rather than being exported to the extracellular matrix (ECM), driving ER stress that stimulates oxidative stress and inflammation, driving a self-perpetuating cycle. CHOP (ER stress signaling protein) and TNFα inflammation drive high levels of mTORC1 …

Early Resveratrol Treatment Mitigates Joint Degeneration And Dampens Pain In A Mouse Model Of Pseudoachondroplasia (Psach), Jacqueline T Hecht, Alka C Veerisetty, Debabrata Patra, Mohammad G Hossain, Frankie Chiu, Claire Mobed, Francis H Gannon, Karen L Posey

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Pseudoachondroplasia (PSACH), a severe dwarfing condition associated with early-onset joint degeneration and lifelong joint pain, is caused by mutations in cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP). The mechanisms underlying the mutant-COMP pathology have been defined using the MT-COMP mouse model of PSACH that has the common D469del mutation. Mutant-COMP protein does not fold properly, and it is retained in the rough endoplasmic reticulum (rER) of chondrocytes rather than being exported to the extracellular matrix (ECM), driving ER stress that stimulates oxidative stress and inflammation, driving a self-perpetuating cycle. CHOP (ER stress signaling protein) and TNFα inflammation drive high levels of mTORC1 …

Guilty As Charged: The Role Of Judge Instructions On Metaphor Produced Biases In Jury Decision Making, Gina N. Rita

Master's Theses

In this study, we hope to determine if the placement of judge instructions mitigates our previous study’s effect of metaphors on memory and verdict decisions. Our previous study showed in the metaphor condition, participants were more likely to vote guilty and remember more metaphor-related evidence compared to those in the control group. In addition to replicating the previous study’s results, we hypothesize judge instructions stated at the beginning of the trial will have little influence on the metaphor effects, and judge instructions at the end of the trial will weaken these effects. Participants will be randomly assigned to one of …

A Preliminary Timeline Of The Midbrain Development In The Monodelphis Domestica Animal Model, Ismael Perez, John L. Vandeberg, Mario Gil

Research Colloquium

Introduction: The Brazilian short-tailed opossum (Monodelphis Domestica) is an understudied animal model compared to the Mus musculus that has been identified as a perfect candidate to study neurodevelopment (Baggott, L. & Moore, H., 1990). What makes the Monodelphis Domestica a perfect specimen for neurodevelopment is that the embryo develops outside the pouch of the mother providing easy noninvasive access to track changes across different developmental stages (Mate et al., 1994).

Objective: The objective of the study is to compare the area and volume in the development of the Monodelphis’s midbrain across three different developmental stages. Our research is beneficial because …

Sex Differences In Stress Reactivity And Responses To Novelty In The Gray Short-Tailed Opossum (Monodelphis Domestica), Esperanza I. Alaniz, Nicole Altamirano, Joseph Rafac, Katelynn Renteria, John L. Vandeberg, Mario Gil

Research Colloquium

Introduction: Investigating how exposures to stress and novel environments influence behavior is important for translational research that aims to improve mental health. Previous studies have focused on reactions to novelty and revealed changes in defense reactions and exploratory behavior. (Pisula et al., 2012).

Objective: The focus of the present study is to investigate sex differences in behavioral responses to novel environments and restraint stress in the gray short-tailed opossums (Monodelphis domestica). Using the Monodelphis is innovative because it is a non-traditional animal model that is ideal for developmental research.

Methods: Using AnyMaze video tracking software, animals’ behaviors (6 males, 6 …

Assembly Of An Inexpensive Rat Jugular Catheter Button Based On A Split-Septum Needleless Intravenous System, Mauricio Suarez, Elizabeth J. Cantrell, Ken T. Wakabayashi, Caroline E. Bass

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Rat intravenous self-administration is a widely-used animal model in the study of substance use disorders. Rats are tethered to a drug delivery system usually through a port or button that inter- faces the drug delivery system with a chronic indwelling jugular vein catheter. These buttons can be purchased commercially but are costly, presenting a significant economic barrier for many researchers. Many researchers manufacture buttons in-house from a combination of individual custom made and commercially available components, resulting in large variation in terms of how the animals are handled and the longevity of catheter patency. We have developed a jugular catheter …