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Children As Mischievous Spirits: Legitimizing Child Cruelty And Filicide In Contemporary Africa, Chima Agazue

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

The belief that certain humans are spiritual entities and the belief that some people are spiritually possessed can be found across histories and cultures. While these individuals are not always viewed in the negative or treated inhumanely, cases abound whereby degrading and inhumane treatments are meted out to some of them. In the African continent, certain groups of people, particularly children are linked to certain mischievous spirits due to their unusual appearance, aberrant behavior, disability, chronic illness, psychopathology or exceptional ability. Some are also suspected and consequently mistreated due to events surrounding their birth. Such children are known by different …

Prenatal Polysubstance Exposure (Ppe) And Adhd: Comparison Of Behavior Profiles In Children And Adolescents, Rana Tanios

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Previous research reveals pervasive polysubstance use during pregnancy, with widespread neurological, cognitive, and behavioral deficits that have lasting implications for both adults and children with prenatal polysubstance exposure (PPE; Behnke et al., 2013; Forray, 2016). Early PPE identification leads to improved long-term outcomes. However, identifying PPE is difficult due to underreported use, absent dysmorphic features, and behaviorally similar profiles to other psychiatric conditions, with ADHD identified as the most common referral and most prevalent diagnosis assigned for children with PPE (Chasnoff et al., 2010). Despite similar behavioral symptoms, emerging data reveal a specific neurological profile for PPE distinct from ADHD, …

Social Production Of Intellectual Disability And The Mechanics Of Moral Exclusion: Past, Present, And Future, Emese Ilyes

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The institutionalized dehumanization in the United States continues to allow for people who are categorized as intellectually disabled to be legally warehoused and paid as little as pennies per hour to complete rote, repetitive work within segregated environments. An entire court case was conducted about whether a man labeled as intellectually disabled was able to engage in a consensual relationship or whether he was the victim of sexual assault without ever allowing him to express his desires and lived experiences. This project is an attempt to explore a theoretical, historical explanation for how humanity is denied in some bodies, how …

Vulnerability: Sensation And Subjectivity In The Late Victorian Novel, Michael Shelichach

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

“Vulnerability: Sensation and Subjectivity in the Late Victorian Novel” explores how developments in the science of psychology in the second half of the nineteenth century destabilized the genre of literary realism in Britain. Prominent mid-Victorian psychologists theorized a subject with a highly impressionable brain and nervous system. This new understanding of the mind’s potential vulnerability to external influence impelled contemporary novelists to contemplate the extent to which subjective interiority could be altered by the environment. Through close readings of canonical realist novels like Charles Dickens’s Great Expectations, George Eliot’s The Mill on the Floss and Wilkie Collins’s The Moonstone …

The Effect Of Anticipatory Anxiety On Fear Extinction Learning, Daniela C. Echeverria

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Adaptive regulation of fear is dependent on successful fear extinction learning; therefore, investigating factors that both enhance and diminish fear extinction learning is a critical line of research. In the present study, we induce mild anticipatory anxiety during fear extinction learning in an attempt to modulate how participants extinguish fear memory. In the experiment, we apply a classic three-day fear learning protocol to both control participants (N = 20) and an experimental group (N = 20) with fear acquisition, fear extinction, and fear recovery phases; each phase is separated by a period of 24 hours and we use a skin …

Anticipatory Fear And Psychopathic Traits In Adolescents, Catherine Chan

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Psychopathy is characterized by impulsive antisocial behavior, interpersonal and affective deficits such as lack of guilt, empathy, and remorse. An affective deficit observed in individuals with psychopathic traits is the lack of anticipatory fear. In a fearful situation, individuals generally develop fear and associate it with the situation, so they know to avoid it in the future. The ability to anticipate fear prevents individuals from committing wrongdoings due to the negative consequences that arise from it. However, individuals with psychopathic traits have been found to show reduced anticipatory fear, which in turn may contribute to more antisocial behavior. To date, …

Characterizing The Brain Dynamics And Eye Movement Behavior Of Memory-Guided Saccades: A Preliminary Investigation Of Distractor Influence On Memory-Guided Saccades, Angelo V. Colmenero

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Research has helped to shed light on the functional organization and neural mechanisms of distractors on memory-guided saccades. In our current study we have utilized eye tracking and EEG technology to simultaneously record the changes in saccadic eye movement (SEM) behavior and event-related potentials (ERPs) associated with performance on a memory-guided saccade task with distractor conditions. Thirteen healthy control participants (n = 13; 6 female) were tasked to complete 864 memory-guided saccade trials with both visible (white) and invisible (black) distractors presented on a black background before saccade initiation. Compared with the control (black) distractor condition, distractor presentation produced a …

Learning To Feel Safe: A Translational Study Of The Influence Of Safety Learning On Anxiety-Related Overgeneralized Fear, Hyein Cho

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Anxiety disorders are among the most common mental health diagnoses, affecting about a third of the population in their lifetime. However, approximately a third of individuals with anxiety do not respond to current treatment approaches, highlighting the need to identify additional potential therapeutic mechanisms. Safety learning is one such mechanism, but methodological challenges and a dearth of research have prevented the field from advancing the understanding of the role of safety learning in the etiology and remediation of anxiety disorders. Animal research, using single-cued safety learning paradigms, has yielded promising early findings, demonstrating that safety learning directly reduces anxiety-related behaviors …

Designing A Replication Study In Kinesiology: Lessons From The Field, Ruben A. Montoya Vega, Regina F. Hockert, Emma L. Cutner, Jafra D. Thomas

Kinesiology and Public Health

The submitted presentation material summarizes a project presented at the 2021 Cal Poly Virtual BEACoN Symposium. The title of the project which the presentation is based is, “Towards Equitable Communication: Explorations to Guide Knowledge Translation in Kinesiology.” The uploaded file document presents the presentation abstract, student testimony, as well as suggested citations for individual aspects of the presentation material. Please follow the social media profiles of the faculty mentor to the project, Dr. Thomas, for timely project updates. You may find related work from this lab group published to Cal Poly Digital Commons under the Kinesiology and Public Health section …

Early Emotion Regulation In The Children Of Superstorm Sandy, Jessica L. Buthmann

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Rising prevalence of childhood psychopathology mandate investigation into the antecedents of symptom onset. Growing evidence shows prenatal maternal stress experienced in utero is a strong contributor to offspring neurodevelopmental deficits, including emotion dysregulation, a core feature of many types of psychopathology. This dissertation summarizes a body of work studying children prenatally exposed to maternal stress related to a natural disaster, Superstorm Sandy (i.e., storm stress). This work includes six experiments conducted in the framework of the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD) hypothesis. The DOHaD hypothesis posits that developmental disruptions, like storm stress exposure, during a critical period of …

Social Psychology Of Climate Change In The Asian Context: Introduction To Special Issue, Kim-Pong Tam, Angela K. Y. Leung, Susan Clayton

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Climate change is one of the biggest challenges facing many countries in the Asia Pacific. Asia as a whole is a primary contributor to carbon emissions. According to the BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2020, the Asia Pacific region alone accounts for more than half of the world’s total greenhouse gas emissions. This represents an increase in consumption of oil, gas, and coal in Asia Pacific from 44.5% in 2009 to 50.5% in 2019. According to the review, compared to the rest of the world, Asia Pacific had the highest growth rate (2.7%) of carbon emissions between 2008 and …

Moral Psychology And Politics: Evolved Moral Intuitions And Their Links To Contemporary Political Issues, Greta Raser

Student Research

This literature review thesis explores the evolutionary based theory of moral psychology called the Moral Foundations Theory and its innate processes that serve as factors in moral judgments regarding contemporary political issues. This thesis describes the theoretical foundations underlying the Moral Foundations approach, and then proceeds to review empirical sources on its general applicability. It then examines how the approach may be applied to political ideology, as well as the connection to the emotion of disgust. Next, the review continues to explore relations between pathogen and sexual disgust sensitivity and politics. The final section of the thesis body takes a …

Spiritual Well-Being - A Proactive Resilience Component: Exploring Its Relationship With Practices, Themes, And Other Psychological Well-Being Factors During The Covid-19 Pandemic In Cism-Trained First Responders, Justine Jaeger, Harvey J. Burnett Jr., Kristen R. Witzel

Faculty Publications

Research suggests spiritual resilience may ameliorate the negative effects of exposure to traumatic events among disaster mental health first responders. Our study examined the relationship between spiritual wellness and associated resilience factors among four groups of first responders (law enforcement, fire services, emergency medical services and 911 dispatchers) trained in Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) during a global pandemic. Utilizing a mixed methods-survey with transcendental phenomenological design, data was collected from 107 participants with membership in the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation (ICISF) or the Michigan Crisis Response Association (MCRA). Participants completed the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, Spiritual Well-Being Scale-Shortened Version, …

Empathy And Fairness In Nonhuman Primates: Evolutionary Bases Of Human Morality, Colt Halter

Intuition: The BYU Undergraduate Journal of Psychology

Darwin offered an evolutionary perspective on the origins of human morality, suggesting that humans share a biological foundation with nonhuman primates. This paper reviews the current literature on moral and prosocial behaviors of nonhuman primates, specifically examining whether nonhuman primates exhibit behaviors that are typical of empathy and fairness. The literature documents that nonhuman primates exhibit empathetic behaviors regarding emotional contagion and sympathetic concern. There is also evidence that nonhuman primates have a sense of fairness, seen in their reciprocal behaviors and aversion to inequity. Taken together, this suggests that there are evolutionary roots of morality, lending empirical support to …

Self-Control And Impulsivity In Nonhuman Animals: A Literature Review, Avalon Amya, Julia Flores, Isabel Jackson, Emily Northey, Emme Tucker

School of Psychology, Family, and Community Research Conference

In various disciplines (e.g., Psychology, Philosophy, Theology), self-control has been considered a uniquely human trait or even a virtue. However, self-controlled responding has been observed in experiments with nonhuman animals. For example, self-controlled responding has been studied in dogs and more recently, fish. Here we define self-controlled behavior as the choice for a larger reward that is delayed versus a smaller reward that is available sooner (i.e., impulsivity). Despite recent self-control studies in animals, no comprehensive review of this literature has been conducted. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to provide a review of recent self-control experiments in animals.

Posttraumatic Cognitions As A Pathway From Resilience To Sleep In First Responders, Emily Peterman Cabano

Clinical Psychology Dissertations

Abstract

First responders experience repeated trauma exposure within a unique environment that subjects them to multiple personal and professional stressors, discourages vulnerability, and disrupts sleep (Chamberlin & Green, 2010; Vargas de Barros et al., 2013). First responders have been shown to have higher rates of posttraumatic stress disorder, as well as more frequent negative effects of their symptoms including adverse effects on their personal and professional functioning (Cheng et al., 2018; Gayton & Lovell, 2012). While first responders face significant risks to their mental health in the line of duty, there is insufficient population-specific research focused on these unique risks, …

Influencing Motivation For Alcohol Through Social Bonding, Bryan Benitez

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Human survival depends upon the ability to cooperate by forming affiliative social bonds. Social bonding should therefore be a powerful motivating force in practically all human decision making. Past research demonstrates that social bonding and motivation for alcohol consumption share similar psychological and neurobiological pathways. In this study, we attempted to reduce alcohol motivation by enhancing perceptions of social bonding prior to and during the hours and days when alcohol consumption was most likely. In a predominantly female college student sample, we found mixed support for our hypotheses that a novel social bonding manipulation delivered through mobile technology would satiate …

Reflections From The In-Between: Visualizing The Mental Thresholds Of Dissociation, Katherine Virag

Theses - ALL

I am fascinated by the state of being in-between; by the mental spaces that are somehow neither here nor there, but also somehow both here and there. At a young age, I began to experience depersonalization and derealization, and this dissociated state left me feeling trapped somewhere on the threshold of reality and non-reality. My artistic practice is concerned with the psychological antitheses of dissociation – comfort vs discomfort, safety vs danger, and reality vs non-reality, and the continuum of space between these polarities. Often through large-scale installations, I create a physical space for the viewer to enter. These spaces, …

Family History Of Alcohol Use Disorder As A Predictor Of Endogenous Pain Modulatory Function, Kyle Mackenzie White

Theses - ALL

Family history of alcohol use disorder (AUD) is frequently endorsed by chronic pain patients. Although individuals with a family history of AUD have demonstrated enhanced sensitivity to painful stimulation, we are not aware of any previous research that has examined clinically-relevant endogenous pain modulation (i.e., capacity to inhibit or facilitate pain) in this population. The goal of this study was to test family history of AUD as a predictor of conditioned pain modulation, offset analgesia, and temporal summation among a sample of moderate-to-heavy drinkers. Participants (N = 235; 58.3% male; Mage = 34.3, SD = 12.3) were evaluated for family …

Using Paper Theatres As An Expressive Arts Therapy Method: Activating Imaginal Worlds In Community Arts Practice, Silvina S. Ibanez

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Paper theatres are an artistic form that became widely popular in 19th century Europe. Also known as toy theatre and model theatre, a paper theatre has a small build-your-own proscenium and pre-cut paper characters that can be manipulated. Different styles of paper theatre can be found in several cultures.

In contemporary art, the use of paper theatres in several modalities led to an exploration of whether such theatres also could be used as an art therapy method. Research was conducted into expressive art therapy principles, Jungian perspectives, and recent studies in neurosciences. The studies included in the literature review confirmed …

Making Room: Addressing The Counter-Therapeutic Nature Of Psychiatric Hospitalization Through Containment- Based Group Expressive Therapy, Max Sandor Copans

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

The process of hospitalization and the environment of a typical psychiatric hospital is often counter-therapeutic. To challenge this problem, clinicians may introduce the concept of psychological containment. To elaborate, being hospitalized anywhere can be disorienting, frightening and even traumatic. This problem is only further exacerbated in psychiatric hospitals where patients may be disorganized, manic, or struggling with psychosis. Furthermore, psychological containment is essentially the ability for psychiatric patients to prevent their intense emotions from effecting others negatively, and to act with resiliency when other patients are unable to contain their own disruptive behaviors. This paper utilizes both an initial literature …

Language As The Medium: A Literature Review. Harnessing The Prolific Power Of Dramatic Language As A Therapeutic Tool In Drama Therapy, Edward Freeman

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Language in and of the theatre, with its palate of variegated writing styles and playwrights from throughout time, has the potential to be harnessed, focused, and systematized for use as a therapeutic tool within drama therapy – the field’s artistic medium. Drama therapy could benefit from having a specific medium germane to its artform which has the potential to provide practitioners with a common resource and means of communication, assessment, diagnosis, and treatment planning, as well as align the field with other creative arts therapies. Language encompasses all forms of human communication – speaking, writing, signing, gesturing, expressing facially – …

Dmt And Dissociation: Opening The Window Of Tolerance To Embodiment; Development Of A Method, Erin Wilmanns

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Dissociative symptoms show in many different types of diagnoses, and dance/movement therapists have the skill set to introduce embodiment as a distress tolerance and regulatory skill. The current literature regarding effective dance/movement therapy as a tool for working with dissociative symptoms does not include the intersection of those that hold a queer identity. Inclusion of dissociative symptoms with trans* (any person who is not cisgender) identity allows for empowerment of recovery. The discussed development of a method is designed to contribute to the strengths and limitations dance/movement therapy holds in relation to dissociative symptoms, specifically working within the window of …

Bringing The Body Into Art Therapy: The Use Of Touch And Body Awareness In Creative Healing, Janna Corsetti

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

The focus on the use of healing touch and body awareness in art therapy is critically lacking. Despite the research supporting the use of body-oriented techniques in clinical therapy, there is little research related to this use specifically in art therapy. Research reveals that healing touch and body awareness can be instrumental in healing trauma, if done with the proper training and boundaries in place. The first form of attachment and comfort for children is that of touch. Therefore, it is imperative to acknowledge the power of touch and body awareness when healing from traumatic experiences. The purpose of this …

Studio Expressive Arts Therapy: Towards A Classroom Method That Incorporates Art And Music, Michael Greenberg

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This thesis explored the ways in which expressive arts therapy (ExAT) could be incorporated into a small therapeutic high school’s visual arts program. Through the development and implementation of a method, intermodal exchange between visual art and music was integrated into both the school’s art program and its group counseling offerings. Informed by a literature review of studio art therapy (SAT) as related to ExAT, three different interventions were used to fit within the frameworks of the high school’s offerings. The first intervention focused on making music with a few students within art classes while the rest of the class …

Self-Compassion Integrated Art Therapy For Mothers During A Pandemic, Shannon Dover

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This thesis reviews literature related to parental mental health and the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). COVID-19 is a collective trauma in which individuals experience the trauma differently depending on race, gender, and class. Women’s experience of living during COVID-19 related to changes in the workplace, caretaking, and more. The pandemic influenced parents and notably mothers with increased stress, depression, grief, and anxiety. The practice of self-compassion reduces shame and self-criticism which are common experiences during parenting and trauma. Self-compassion and art therapy can aid in resiliency and make living during COVID-19 more comfortable. With a literature review, results yield the following …

How The Expressive Therapies Continuum Informs Intermodal Transfers, Erin M.L. Little

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Expressive arts therapy (ExAT) is a therapeutic approach that incorporates visual art, music, drama, and dance/movement into the counseling environment. An essential element in ExAT practice is the intermodal transfer, an intentional shift between arts modalities to enhance clients’ understanding and realization. Currently, no theoretical guidelines for intermodal transfers exist in the field of ExAT. In search of a theoretical structure, the author of this Capstone Thesis proposed that the Expressive Therapies Continuum (ETC) informed intermodal transfers. Predominantly presented as an art therapy approach, the ETC originally intended to include all expressive therapies. Yet, there is minimal recent literature that …

Dopamine Neurons That Cotransmit Glutamate, From Synapses To Circuits To Behavior, Daniel Eskenazi, Lauren Malave, Susana Mingote, Leora Yetnikoff, Samira Ztaou, Vlad Velicu, Stephen Rayport, Nao Chuhma

Advanced Science Research Center

Discovered just over 20 years ago, dopamine neurons have the ability to cotransmit both dopamine and glutamate. Yet, the functional roles of dopamine neuron glutamate cotransmission and their implications for therapeutic use are just emerging. This review article encompasses the current body of evidence investigating the functions of dopamine neurons of the ventral midbrain that cotransmit glutamate. Since its discovery in dopamine neuron cultures, further work in vivo confirmed dopamine neuron glutamate cotransmission across species. From there, growing interest has led to research related to neural functioning including roles in synaptic signaling, development, and behavior. Functional connectome mapping reveals robust …

Exploring Sensory Based Art Therapy With Preschool Students, Development Of A Method, Elizabeth Ferrara

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This thesis explores the use of sensory-based art therapy interventions with preschoolers with self-regulation difficulties. The mental health intern (MHI) at a preschool program conducted multisensory art therapy interventions with 11 students over eight weeks. Students participated in either social skills small groups or individual therapeutic sessions with the MHI. Students were referred for services due to social, emotional, behavioral, and developmental concerns, specifically how those issues manifested in difficulties with self-regulation. These students exhibited unexpected and persistent periods of dysregulation as evidenced by disruptive and unsafe behaviors in the classroom including aggression towards peers. Students participated in different sensory-art …

Liar, Liar, Pants On Fire: How Verbal Deception Cues Signal Deceptive Versus Honest Impression Management And Influence Interview Ratings, Lenke Roth, Ute-Christine Klehe, Gloria Willhardt

Personnel Assessment and Decisions

Impression management (IM), especially deceptive IM (faking), is a cause for concern in selection interviews. The current study combines findings on lie detection with signaling theory to address how candidates’ deceptive versus honest IM shows in verbal deception cues, which then relate to interview ratings of candidates’ interview performance. After completing a structured interview rated by two trained interviewers, 182 candidates reported their deceptive and honest IM. Verbal deception cues (plausibility, verbal uncertainty) were coded from video recordings. Results supported the hypotheses: Deceptive IM directly raised interviewer ratings (intended positive signal) but lowered the responses’ plausibility and enhanced verbal uncertainties …