Digital Commons Network^™

Longitudinal Prediction Of Delinquent Behavior In Early Adolescence, Kathleen Watson Macdonell

Theses and Dissertations

Childhood behavioral problems have consistently been reported as an antecedent for later problem behavior, including delinquency in adolescence and into adulthood. Parenting behaviors are an important influence on the potentially negative behavioral trajectory from childhood behavior problems to delinquency in early adolescence. The current study sought to provide further understanding of the relationship between teacher-reported third grade childhood behavior problems and two outcomes: ninth grade teacher-reported and ninth grade self-reported delinquency. Additionally, the moderating impact of parental monitoring and parental school involvement, assessed in fifth grade, was explored. Using a longitudinal sample of 556 participants, hypotheses were assessed separately for …

The Survey Of Attitudes Toward Homeless People: The Validation Of A New Instrument Assessing Negative Attitudes Toward Homeless People, Nyssa L. Snow-Hill

Theses and Dissertations

Homeless individuals are often the targets of negative stereotypes and significant stigmatization, which can contribute to restrictive and punitive approaches to ending homelessness. Many researchers and policymakers have sought to understand and change attitudes toward the homeless to allow for consideration of a broader range of responses to addressing homelessness. Despite attention paid to understanding attitudes, a lack of reliable and valid measurement creates methodological barriers to assessing people’s attitudes and comparing those attitudes across studies and populations.

Attitudes toward homeless persons have been demonstrated to be quite complex, which has likely impeded the development of valid and reliable measurement …

Bilingualism Narrows Socioeconomic Disparities In Executive Functions And Self-Regulatory Behaviors During Early Childhood: Evidence From The Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Andree Hartanto, Wei Xing Toh, Hwajin Yang

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Socioeconomic status (SES) and bilingualism have been shown to influence executive functioning during early childhood. Less is known, however, about how the two factors interact within an individual. By analyzing a nationally representative sample of approximately 18,200 children who were tracked from ages 5 to 7 across four waves, both higher SES and bilingualism were found to account for greater performance on the inhibition and shifting aspects of executive functions (EF) and self‐regulatory behaviors in classroom. However, only SES reliably predicted verbal working memory. Furthermore, bilingualism moderated the effects of SES by ameliorating the detrimental consequences of low‐SES on EF …

Teacher And Child Interaction: The Effects Of Familial Distress, Child Behavior, And Teacher Perceptions, Jessekah R. Ennis

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

There has been a significant amount of research that has studied the ecological conditions that create behavioral problems for children from families that are female headed, in poverty, and live in areas where there is violent crime. There has also been evidence that revealed statistically significant associations between the way teachers perceive students from low socioeconomic backgrounds and their beliefs of the capacity of the children to learn. Studies have also examined how teachers interact with children that are exhibiting behavioral problems that are from low socio-economic status. However, to date there has been no study that has combined these …

The Impact Of Framing On Acceptance Of Cultured Meat, Christopher Bryant, Courtney Dillard

University Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

Cultured meat can be produced from growing animal cells in-vitro rather than as part of a living animal. This technology has the potential to address several of the major ethical, environmental, and public health concerns associated with conventional meat production. However, research has highlighted some consumer uncertainty regarding the concept. Although several studies have examined the media coverage of this new food technology, research linking different frames to differences in consumer attitudes is lacking. In an experimental study, we expose U.S. adults (n = 480) to one of three different frames on cultured meat: “societal benefits,” “high tech,” and “same …

Using An Elicited Orienting Response And Respondent Conditioning To Increase Eye Contact In Response To A Name Call In Children With Autism, Nicole Adriaenssens

Theses and Dissertations

One of the earliest and most noticeable characteristics of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is impaired eye contact. Difficulty with making eye contact presents concerns for children regarding academic, social, and safety skills—for instance, failing to respond to a teacher calling a child’s name to give instructions, looking at a peer during play, or orienting toward an adult speaker warning the child of a risky situation. Currently published research on increasing responding to name with eye contact has primarily involved separate and combined procedures such as physical prompting, visual prompting, differential reinforcement, and overcorrection. The current study evaluated the …

Training Technicians To Conduct Trial-Based Functional Analyses Via Telehealth, Kacie Mcgarry

Theses and Dissertations

Previous studies have supported the use of trial-based functional analysis performed by teachers in classroom settings. The purpose of this study was to determine the efficacy of training technicians to conduct trial-based functional analyses via telehealth. Telehealth-based training was effective for producing high-integrity implementation by technicians and that using Trial-Based Functional Analyses in classrooms resulted in an efficient means of conducting functional analysis in areas with limited resources.

Effects Of Progressive Ratio Schedules On Responding Following Exposure To Varying Economies, Laura Perry Senn

Theses and Dissertations

In the field of behavior analysis, access to reinforcement is generally referred to as being either an open or a closed economy. However, little research exists on the varying degrees of reinforcer exposure that may occur between the parameters of “open” and “closed.” The current study compares varying degrees of economies utilizing closed, 33% open, 66% open, and open economy conditions with three participants diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. Prior to analysis, all participants completed an evaluation to determine whether their preferences remained stable over multiple sessions and whether they were sensitive to a satiation operation. Results are evaluated in …

An Evaluation Of Behavior Analytic Jargon On Parents Of Children With Autism, Ruth Beatrice Whipple

Theses and Dissertations

Research suggests that profession specific jargon can be perceived negatively by individuals outside of that profession perhaps due to a lack of understanding. Much of the current research has focused on the social validity of utilizing technical terminology with laypersons and has shown that overall there is a preference for nontechnical terminology according to public opinion. Yet, little research has been done in the area of parent training to assess the effects of jargon on more direct measures of performance such as a parent’s accuracy with implementing a treatment procedure. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to evaluate …

A Qualitative Analysis Of Problematic And Non-Problematic Alcohol Use After Bariatric Surgery, Danielle L. Reaves, Joanne M. Dickson, Jason C. G. Halford, Paul Christiansen, Charlotte A. Hardman

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

OBJECTIVES: Bariatric surgery is an effective weight loss tool, but an under-communicated side effect may include the increased risk for alcohol problems. Few studies have examined contributors towards alcohol problems following surgery using a qualitative approach. Therefore, the current study aimed to generate insight informed by participants with problematic alcohol use following bariatric surgery, in comparison with participants without.

METHODS: Participants (14; females, n = 9; males, n = 5) completed semi-structured interviews using questions relating to alcohol use, relationship to food, support and surgical experiences. Thematic analysis was conducted to provide insight into the factors which influenced drinking behaviours …

The Neurocognitive Process Of Digital Radicalization: A Theoretical Model And Analytical Framework, Tiffiany Howard, Brach Poston, Stephen D. Benning

Political Science Faculty Research

Recent studies suggest that empathy induced by narrative messages can effectively facilitate persuasion and reduce psychological reactance. Although limited, emerging research on the etiology of radical political behavior has begun to explore the role of narratives in shaping an individual’s beliefs, attitudes, and intentions that culminate in radicalization. The existing studies focus exclusively on the influence of narrative persuasion on an individual, but they overlook the necessity of empathy and that in the absence of empathy, persuasion is not salient. We argue that terrorist organizations are strategic in cultivating empathetic-persuasive messages using audiovisual materials, and disseminating their message within the …

Blood, Meth, And Tears: The Super Soldiers Of World War Ii, Nicholas Racine

MAD-RUSH Undergraduate Research Conference

Day and night, soldiers in World War II were physically and mentally strained by fatigue and psychiatric distress. Consequently, many soldiers were left exhausted and demoralized. War efforts hinged on soldiers succeeding in missions, thus a fast-acting solution was needed. Development of the psychostimulant drugs Benzedrine and Pervitin in the 1920s and 30s spurred enthusiasm among scientists, the media, the public, and various governments. Potent and powerful, these drugs exert effects that promote wakefulness, elevated mood, and improved field performance. Governments quickly began researching use of stimulants to improve their war efforts. By the early 40s, both drugs had millions …

Role Of Electrical Synapses In Dopamine Transmission In The Brain, Josh Nelson, Seth Stapley, Scott Steffensen

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Drug addiction has long been a major detriment to society. Its pervasive effects can tear apart the lives of addicted individuals. Many of these individuals go without seeking professional help. In 2015, 22.7 million Americans (8.6 percent) needed treatment for a problem related to drugs or alcohol, but only about 2.5 million people (0.9 percent) received treatment at a specialty facility. This may be due to inadequate treatment methods and therapies in use by professionals. The goal of this project is to better understand the mechanism of dopamine (DA) transmission in the brain in order to develop more effective treatment …

An Examination Of The Effects Of Post-Identification Feedback On Jurors, Daniella Cash

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Post-identification feedback (PIF) occurs when witnesses are given feedback following their identification choices. This feedback has been shown to alter witnesses’ retrospective judgments regarding their witnessing experience (e.g., they are more confident that they made a correct identification). PIF effects are robust; they impact witnesses’ memory of their experience, and also appear to act as confirmation to jurors who are asked to assess witness reliability. A current recommendation for eyewitness procedures is that identifications should be recorded and shown to jurors at trial, but this might be harmful if jurors are also negatively impacted by this suggestive feedback. The goal …

“A” For Effort: Rewarding Effortful Retrieval Attempts Improves Learning From General Knowledge Errors In Women, Damon Abraham, Kateri Mcrae, Jennifer A. Mangels

Publications and Research

Previous research has shown that the prospect of attaining a reward can promote task engagement, up-regulate attention toward reward-relevant information, and facilitate enhanced encoding of new information into declarative memory. However, past research on reward-based enhancement of declarative memory has focused primarily on paradigms in which rewards are contingent upon accurate responses. Yet, findings from test-enhanced learning show that making errors can also be useful for learning if those errors represent effortful retrieval attempts and are followed by corrective feedback. Here, we used a challenging general knowledge task to examine the effects of explicitly rewarding retrieval effort, defined as a …

Acute Ethanol Decreases Infiltration Of Macrophages Across The Blood-Brain Barrier, James Brundage, Jake Lattin, Dr. Scott Steffensen

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Alcohol addiction affects the lives of millions of people worldwide. In the US alone, an estimated 28 million are currently undergoing treatment to recover from the effects of alcohol abuse at the cost of over 249 billion dollars. The disease has dire consequences for those affected, as well as their families and communities. Despite this, the mechanism of alcohol addiction formation remains a question. One prominent theory relies on the mesolimbic circuitry of the brain, commonly referred to as the reward circuit. This region is made up of two key brain regions, the Nucleus Accumbens (NAc) and the Ventral Tegmental …

“A” For Effort: Rewarding Effortful Retrieval Attempts Improves Learning From General Knowledge Errors In Women, Damon Abraham, Kateri Mcrae, Jennifer A. Mangels

Psychology: Faculty Scholarship

Previous research has shown that the prospect of attaining a reward can promote task-engagement, up-regulate attention toward reward-relevant information, and facilitate enhanced encoding of new information into declarative memory. However, past research on reward-based enhancement of declarative memory has focused primarily on paradigms in which rewards are contingent upon accurate responses. Yet, findings from test-enhanced learning show that making errors can also be useful for learning if those errors represent effortful retrieval attempts and are followed by corrective feedback. Here, we used a challenging general knowledge task to examine the effects of explicitly rewarding retrieval effort, defined as a semantically …

Is There Synergy Between Song Learning And Vocal Stimuli Discrimination Training?, Kenta Watanabe

Theses and Dissertations

Does auditory discrimination ability predict greater accuracy in imitating song? We investigated this question in zebra finch males by testing if the accuracy of vocal imitation of song syllables relates to auditory discrimination performance. The majority of birds improved on imitating their discriminated syllable pairs over non-discriminated syllable sets.

Stereotype Threat And Stem Self-Perceptions Of Saudi College Women, Ali Hadi Omair

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Research shows that women’s educational progress in scientific (STEM) fields is limited by negative stereotypes about their abilities in such fields. These negative stereotypes may be internalized by women and adversely affect their academic self-concept and progress in STEM fields. In the case of women in higher education who study in STEM fields, their knowledge that they are stereotyped as having less ability than men in those fields may result in a stereotype threat that reduces their performance in cognitive tests and reduces their academic self-perception in regard to STEM domains.

Most research on the negative female stereotype and stereotype …

A Meta-Analysis Of Procedures To Change Implicit Measures, Patrick S. Forscher, Calvin K. Lai, Jordan R. Ast, Charles R. Ebersole, Michelle Herman, Patricia G. Devine, Brian A. Nosek

Psychological Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Using a novel technique known as network meta-analysis, we synthesized evidence from 492 studies (87,418 participants) to investigate the effectiveness of procedures in changing implicit measures, which we define as response biases on implicit tasks. We also evaluated these procedures’ effects on explicit and behavioral measures. We found that implicit measures can be changed, but effects are often relatively weak (|ds| < .30). Most studies focused on producing short-term changes with brief, single-session manipulations. Procedures that associate sets of concepts, invoke goals or motivations, or tax mental resources changed implicit measures the most, whereas procedures that induced threat, affirmation, or specific moods/emotions changed implicit measures the least. Bias tests suggested that implicit effects could be inflated relative to their true population values. Procedures changed explicit measures less consistently and to a smaller degree than implicit measures and generally produced trivial changes in behavior. Finally, changes in implicit measures did not mediate changes in explicit measures or behavior. Our findings suggest that changes in implicit measures are possible, but those changes do not necessarily translate into changes in explicit measures or behavior.

Becoming The Good Shepherds, Eze Paez

Animal Sentience

It is very important that we clarify what we owe to nonhuman animals. To that end, we need a better understanding of animal cognition and emotion. Marino & Merskin’s target article is a welcome contribution to this project. Sheep, like most other animals, are sentient beings with interests of their own. It is wrong to discriminate against them based on species-membership or cognitive sophistication. We are morally required not to harm them, and to help them have the best possible lives, just as we would be in the case of human beings with similar interests. We must become the good …

Serotonin And Motherhood: From Molecules To Mood, Jodi L. Pawluski, Ming Li, Joseph S. Lonstein

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Emerging research points to a valuable role of the monoamine neurotransmitter, serotonin, in the display of maternal behaviors and reproduction-associated plasticity in the maternal brain. Serotonin is also implicated in the pathophysiology of numerous affective disorders and likely plays an important role in the pathophysiology of maternal mental illness. Therefore, the main goals of this review are to detail: 1) how the serotonin system of the female brain changes across pregnancy and postpartum; 2) the role of the central serotonergic system in maternal caregiving and maternal aggression; and 3) how the serotonin system and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor medications (SSRIs) …

How Music Therapy Effects The Traumatized Brain: Neurorehabilitation For Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Through Music Therapy, Jordan Winter Payne

Honors Projects

This review discusses the neurological components of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and how both structures and processes in the brain are altered in individuals with the disorder, specifically the neural network that includes the prefrontal cortex, the hippocampus, and the amygdala. This impacts awareness and responsiveness to stimuli. After examining these aspects, invasive and non-invasive treatment approaches are examined, with a specific emphasis on the treatment approach of music therapy. Musical stimuli are processed in many areas of the brain, so it has therapeutic potential for modulating neurological changes. Music therapy applies music clinically to address a variety of goals …

Basal Ganglia Involvement In The Playfulness Of Juvenile Rats, Stephen M. Siviy

Psychology Faculty Publications

Play is an important part of normal childhood development and can be readily studied in the laboratory rat in the form of rough‐and‐tumble play. Given the robust nature of rough‐and‐tumble play, it has often been assumed that the basal ganglia would have a prominent role in modulating this behavior. Recent work using c‐fos expression as a metabolic marker for neural activity combined with temporary inactivation of relevant corticostriatal regions and pharmacological manipulations of opioid, cannabinoid, and dopamine systems has led to a better understanding of how basal ganglia circuitry may be involved in modulating social play in the juvenile rat. …

Neuro-Correlates Of Word Processing Among Four-And-Five-Year-Old Children From Homes Varying In Socio-Economic Status, Wendy Olsen

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A large body of research relates families’ socioeconomic status (SES) to child language development (Hoff & Tian, 2005). Results from these studies indicate preschoolers from low SES backgrounds may have underdeveloped linguistic foundations required for future academic success (Sirin, 2005; Lacouri & Tissington, 2011). These differences have been said to create a 30 million word-gap between the language experiences of low and middle to high SES children by the age of 3 years. Thus, children who come from lower SES backgrounds often lack the vocabulary knowledge used in school and in textbooks (Hart & Risley, 1995). One index of SES …

Cognitive Control And Context Maintenance In Individuals With Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (Ocd), Lindsay Morgan Fruehauf

Theses and Dissertations

Context maintenance, an aspect of cognitive control, is the internal representation and utilization of task-relevant information that helps achieve task goals. Alterations in context maintenance may be responsible for the cognitive difficulties seen in people with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). We used two tasks designed to measure context maintenance: a) the cued-Stroop, a single-trial version of Golden’s Stroop test that varies the cue for each trial (color-naming or word-reading), and b) the AX-CPT task, a continuous performance task that has participants respond to an “A” only when followed by an “X,” with all other non-target trials labeled as AY, BX, and …

Skinning The Cat: How Mandatory Psychiatric Evaluations For Animal Cruelty Offenders Can Prevent Future Violence, Ashley Kunz

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

In 2017, the Texas legislature amended Texas Penal Code § 42.092, which governs acts of cruelty against non-livestock animals. The statute in its current form makes torturing, killing, or seriously injuring a non-livestock animal a third degree felony, while less serious offenses carry either a state jail felony or a Class A misdemeanor charge.

While a step in the right direction, Texas law is not comprehensive in that it fails to address a significant aspect of animal cruelty offenses: mental illness. For over fifteen years, Texas Family Code § 54.0407 has required psychiatric counseling for juveniles convicted of cruelty to …

Exploring Genetic Biomarkers In A Sample Of Depressed Patients In The Uae, Nailah Mahmood

Psychology Theses

This study focuses on exploring the expression of genes associated with depressive and anxiety disorders (AD) among depressed individuals. Anxiety and depression are well known to co-occur with each other. Growing research in the field of genetics has indicated moderate familial aggregation for these disorders. The aim of this study is to analyze gene expression among a depressed population residing in the UAE. The genes were chosen to be studied (PPARGC1A, CAMKMT, HSD11B1, SLC6A4, and MAOA) have previously been linked to depression and anxiety in other populations. The study employed a case-control design, where gene …

Cognitive Functioning, Depression, And Strengths As Predictors Of Quality Of Life In Multiple Sclerosis, Tara Annthea Crouch

Clinical Psychology Dissertations

Patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) are at significant risk for decreased quality of life, partly due to associated cognitive impairment (Højsgaard Chow et al., 2018). A discrepancy often exists between objective and perceived measures of cognitive impairment (Middleton et al., 2006); the paths through which they predict quality of life for MS patients remain unclear (Baumstarck-Barrau, et al., 2011). Objective cognitive functioning as well as one’s perceptions of it may differentially impact quality of life, and therefore may or may not act through the same mechanisms to impact quality of life. Depression is one possible mediator known to impact quality …

Behavioral And Neural Correlates Of Misses During Cued Recall, Lindsey Sirianni

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Recognition memory is thought to rely upon both recollection and familiarity. When people recall an episode from the past it is generally considered to reflect the memory process of recollection. Therefore, if people can successfully recall an item, they should be able to recognize it. However, in cued recall paradigms of memory research, participants sometimes correctly recall a studied target word in the presence of a strong semantic cue but then fail to recognize that word as actually having been studied. This paradox and underlying cognitive processes have been minimally studied by scientists, leaving this phenomenon poorly understood. Extant research …