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Am Happy Scale: Reliability And Validity Of A Single-Item Measure Of Happiness, Christina P. Moldovan

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Research on happiness has been abundant over the last few decades and findings have repeatedly shown that people who are happier have better life outcomes in terms of health and in nearly all other aspects of functioning. Thus, it is crucial to continue studying the construct using valid and reliable measurements. Single-item rating scales have been shown to be psychometrically sound and more convenient in comparison to multiple-item measures designed to measure certain constructs. The aim of the present study was to test the reliability and convergent and divergent validity of a single-item happiness scale, the Aréchiga-Moldovan Happy Scale (AM …

Book Review: Prostitution Narratives: Stories Of Survival In The Sex Trade, Edited By Caroline Norma And Melinda Tankard Reist, Abigail Bray

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

No abstract provided.

Interaction Of The Phencyclidine Model Of Schizophrenia And Nicotine On Total And Categorized Ultrasonic Vocalizations In Rats, Natashia Swalve, Michele M Mulholland, Tiffany D. Schulz, Ming Li

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Patients with schizophrenia smoke cigarettes at a higher rate than the general population. We hypothesized that a factor in this comorbidity is sensitivity to the reinforcing and reinforcement- enhancement effects of nicotine.

Phencyclidine (PCP) was used to model behavioral changes resembling negative symptoms of schizophrenia in rats. USVs in rats have been used to measure emotional states, with 50 kHz USVs indicating positive states and 22 kHz indicating negative. Total and categorized numbers of 22 and 50 kHz ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) and USVs during a visual stimulus (e.g. a potential measure of reinforcement-enhancement) were examined in rats following .injection ofh …

Pride And Prejudice: The Effects Of The Proud To Be Public Service Announcement On Attitudes Toward The Redskins Logo, Nina Danielle Acosta

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The United States has a long-standing history of appropriating Indigenous representations for the use of mascots in athletics. Despite protest by Indigenous groups against this practice, professional athletics teams continue to appropriate Indigenous representations as mascots. The National Congress of American Indians produced a public service announcement (PSA), Proud to Be (PTB), to elicit support from the general public for changing the name/mascot Redskins. The purpose of the proposed research is to experimentally examine the effects that PTB has on support among Non-Indigenous participants, as function of political alignment. We considered two competing outcomes: The Counterproductive Hypothesis predicts …

Does Lyrical Music Affect Cognitive Performance?, Andrew Stone

Undergraduate Psychology Research Methods Journal

Many students listen to music while studying or doing homework, and many are looking for ways to maximize this time. Students at Lindenwood University in St. Charles, MO were asked to take two different basic math tests. One was taken with normal, lyrical songs playing in the background. The other was taken with the instrumental versions of these same songs playing in the background. I hypothesized that students would take longer to complete the test with the lyrical music in the background than with the instrumental music playing. The results showed no significant difference in the completion times between those …

The Influence Of Color On Mood, Mariah Palmer

Undergraduate Psychology Research Methods Journal

Sensory stimuli, including color, may play a role in corresponding mood (Wells, 1910). Kaya and Epps (2004) showed participants attribute and associate colors with positive and negative emotions. Compared to previous research, in the present study, participants’ moods were measured while they were exposed to a color. The primary focus of the current research was to see if a color stimulus would influence mood. Secondarily, I also studied mood change among two groups: right-hemispheric and left-hemispheric dominant participants. I wanted to find out whether right-brained participants would experience more change in their mood than the left-brained participants. According to Matikas, …

Psychopathy, Empathic Concern, And Emotional-Sentence Processing: An N400 Erp Study, Farren Larson

Student Theses

Using an undergraduate sample, the present study examined how psychopathic traits (assessed by the Psychopathic Personality Inventory-Revised) and empathic concern (assessed by the Interpersonal Reactivity Index) affect emotional-information processing using event-related potentials (ERPs) and a sentential priming paradigm. Participants had their electroencephalogram (EEG) recorded while they silently read sentences with three types of endings: congruent, incongruent, and emotionally negative. We hypothesized that participants with high levels of psychopathic traits and participants with low levels of empathic concern would find the emotionally negative sentence endings less unexpected and disturbing (yielding a smaller N400), compared to participants with low levels of psychopathic …

Behaviorally-Induced Structural Remodeling Of The Hippocampus, Michael Finlay

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

NASA is planning to send a manned spacecraft to Mars by 2030. Interplanetary space travel puts astronauts at a high risk for exposure to several types of radiation exposure. This exposure has the potential to disrupt neurogenesis in the hippocampus, which has long been associated with learning and memory. This research proposes to study the effect of γ radiation on mossy fiber growth in the CA3 region of the hippocampus. Research has demonstrated that rats exhibit mossy fiber growth from the stratum lucidum to the stratum oriens of the hippocampus after completion of spatial learning. Water maze training is a …

Effects Of Low Dose Mixtures Of 3,4-Methylenedioxypyrovalerone And Cocaine On Locomotor Activity And Brain Monoamine Content In Sprague-Dawley Rats, Robert J. Kohler

Masters Theses

Synthetic cathinones, known as “bath salts” on the illicit drug market, pose a significant and growing public health concern. 3,4-Methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV), one of several popular constituents of the illicit bath salts, produces similar pharmacological actions to cocaine, albeit with greater potency. The present study sought to characterize behavioral and neurochemical effects of repeated exposure to MDPV alone and in combination with cocaine. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned to one of four treatments: 1 mg/kg MDPV, 5 mg/kg cocaine, 1 mg/kg MDPV + 5 mg/kg cocaine, or saline. Locomotor activity was assessed for one hour immediately before and one hour …

A Comparison Of Simultaneous And Delayed Conditioning Of Visual Stimuli In Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Stephanie Wathen

Theses and Dissertations

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder and related disabilities often do not respond to social reinforcers, such as praise, in a manner that is consistent with typically developing peers. Conditioning procedures are commonly used to establish new reinforcers with this population; however, there are few published studies examining conditioning procedures with this population. This study compared the effectiveness of simultaneous and delayed conditioning to establish conditioned reinforcers in three children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. The conditioning procedures involved pairing a neutral stimulus (a picture card) with an unconditioned reinforcer using a response-stimulus conditioning procedure. Conditioning trials occurred following simple responses, such …

Sorting Out Sexism: Evaluating The Differing Content And Implications Of Gender Stereotypes, Juliana Earvolino, Rebecca Schachtman

Lawrence University Honors Projects

We examine, in three studies, the content and implications of sexist comments directed toward men and women. While past research has often overlooked sexism directed toward men because of its lower frequency and perceived consequences, due to the complementary nature of gender stereotypes it is important to examine sexism in all its guises. Our first two studies are descriptive, gathering comments from male and female participants about “what men/women are like” and their differing reactions to such comments. Study 1 found that comments about men fall into five distinct categories: sex-driven, child-like, “macho,” morally flawed, and dehumanizing. Study 2 examines …

Community Living Integration Club For Women In Recovery From Sex Trafficking, Toni Thompson

Occupational Therapy Program Student Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Sex trafficking is one form of human trafficking, a heinous human rights violation that transcends international borders. People who have been trafficked often present with complex neurobehavioral, psychological, emotional, physiological, sensory, and developmental difficulties. The United Nations developed the international 3 p protocol to guide governmental agencies, non-governmental groups, and individuals in developing programs and legal actions of trafficking prevention, protection, and prosecution. Protection encompasses the recovery of trafficking survivors and community integration has been identified as an essential foundation for successful recovery. Measurable components of community integration include safe housing, stable employment, and vocation-focused education. This Capstone describes the …

Naidoo Explores The Psychology Of Leaders And Their Followers., Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

“I started out being very interested from a very young age in biology. I loved animals, birds and wildlife, and spent much of my time running around the woods in Canada identifying different species and such,” says Loren Naidoo. Yet this native of Montreal decided to make a career in psychology.

“In high school I had a close friend who was somebody everyone liked and looked up to and wanted as a friend. At a certain point, he attempted suicide and that really floored me and really made me wonder how is it that this person that everyone really looks …

Parsing The Influences Of Nicotine And Expectancies On The Acute Effects Of E-Cigarettes: A Balanced-Placebo Experiment, Amanda M. Palmer

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

E-cigarette use has been increasing in recent years, and its ultimate public health impact is still unknown. In order to assess the addictive liability of these products, research is needed to investigate the roles of nicotine and other factors on psychological and physical effects of “vaping.” The goal of the current study was to investigate the role of expectancies, nicotine delivery, and their interactions on the effects of e-cigarette use via a balanced-placebo experiment. In this design, drug dosage (contains nicotine or not) was crossed with instructions (told nicotine or non-nicotine) during ad-lib e-cigarette use sessions by 128 current e-cigarette …

The Power Of Prayer, Victoria Dawn Thompson

Capstone Collection

If words are arbitrary, how does prayer have power?” is the question of inquiry in this paper. An unobtrusive Content Analysis inquiry methodology was used to answer this question. The answer lies in the finding that words and thoughts are not the same thing, and our thoughts expand beyond the audible and visible. The implication for professional practice these findings present is that a deeper awareness of “Self” is needed to understand people’s miraculous way of resolving conflict via prayer.

Fast Food, Slow Brain: The Effect Of Diet On Brain Volume, Kayla Alder, Dr. Brock Kirwan

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The hippocampus is a brain structure in the medial temporal lobe that mediates the encoding of sensory information into long-term memory (Squire, Clark, & Stark, 2004). Studies have found a relationship between the volume of the hippocampus and behavioral memory tests; that is, the smaller the volume of the hippocampus, the less accurate the performance on memory tests (Rajah, Kromas, Han, & Jens, 2010). Previous research also demonstrates that a high fat and sugar (HFS) diet impairs the hippocampus and affects memory (Francis & Stevenson, 2011).

Black, Woman And Alive: Black Women’S Practices Of Nontraditional Healing And Freedom, Hythia Phifer

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This thesis explores the implications of nontraditional healing methods on Black women’s psychological and holistic health. It includes a critical literature review of existing research by Black Feminist theorists and other Black women scholars on Black women who use nontraditional healing methods, particularly to overcome the violent and pervasive experience of gendered racism and misogynoir. A brief autoethnographic analysis of my own art-based practice is included, with ties to the effectiveness of Literature and Poetry as a nontraditional healing method used by Black women. This thesis is my attempt to create space for myself in academia, in social science, in …

Flesh And Blood, Clayton Petras

Graduate School of Art Theses

In my work, I look for ways to visualize and document the degenerative mental disease of Parkinson’s and transform it into portrayals of the disease itself, its effects, and those it afflicts. Being a physical breakdown of the body, both popular culture and my own corporal understanding influence my interpretation and representation. This document outlines those influences and their buildup towards a shared understanding of the interests behind the work, as well as implies what the work does through these contexts.

How do we give identity to a disease that is difficult to diagnose or view on medical technology, currently …

Increasing Access To Aba Intervention For Children With Developmental Disabilities In Taiwan, Noel Hsu

Master's Projects and Capstones

Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) uses a behavioral approach to help clients and their behavioral challenges. This treatment has been proven to be a highly effective intervention for children with developmental disabilities, such as autism spectrum disorders. It is widely practiced in the United States and many other developed countries; however, this intervention is not widely available in Taiwan. This phenomenon requires our investigation because it raises questions about the available supports and interventions for children with special needs in Taiwan. This project is to explore factors that influence the development of ABA intervention in Taiwan. The goal of this project …

Heuristics From Statistics—Modeling The Behavior And Perception Of Non-Rigid Materials, Vivian C. Paulun, Roland W. Fleming

MODVIS Workshop

No abstract provided.

Down Syndrome, The Image Of God, And Personhood, Paris Webb

Dialogue & Nexus

People with Down syndrome help Christians understand what being made in the image of God truly means. After describing Down syndrome, we will examine the different views of the image of God and how these relate to people with Down syndrome. Another approach will be to define personhood in light of God’s image and relate it to Down syndrome. We will use the principles held by the L’Arche community as an exemplar in this discussion to demonstrate that those with Down syndrome encourage us to expand our understanding of the image of God. Consequently, Down’s persons allow us to apply …

Easi-Crispr: A Robust Method For One-Step Generation Of Mice Carrying Conditional And Insertion Alleles Using Long Ssdna Donors And Crispr Ribonucleoproteins., Rolen M Quadros, Hiromi Miura, Donald W Harms, Hisako Akatsuka, Takehito Sato, Tomomi Aida, Ronald Redder, Guy P Richardson, Yutaka Inagaki, Daisuke Sakai, Shannon M Buckley, Parthasarathy Seshacharyulu, Surinder K Batra, Mark A Behlke, Sarah A Zeiner, Ashley M Jacobi, Yayoi Izu, Wallace B Thoreson, Lisa D Urness, Suzanne L Mansour, Masato Ohtsuka, Channabasavaiah B Gurumurthy

Journal Articles: Munroe-Meyer Institute

BACKGROUND: Conditional knockout mice and transgenic mice expressing recombinases, reporters, and inducible transcriptional activators are key for many genetic studies and comprise over 90% of mouse models created. Conditional knockout mice are generated using labor-intensive methods of homologous recombination in embryonic stem cells and are available for only ~25% of all mouse genes. Transgenic mice generated by random genomic insertion approaches pose problems of unreliable expression, and thus there is a need for targeted-insertion models. Although CRISPR-based strategies were reported to create conditional and targeted-insertion alleles via one-step delivery of targeting components directly to zygotes, these strategies are quite inefficient. …

The Effects Of Nicotine In The Neonatal Quinpirole Rodent Model Of Psychosis: Neural Plasticity Mechanisms And Nicotinic Receptor Changes, Daniel J. Peterson, W. Drew Gill, John M. Dose, Donald B. Hoover, James R. Pauly, Elizabeth D. Cummins, Katherine C. Burgess, Russell W. Brown

Pharmaceutical Sciences Faculty Publications

Neonatal quinpirole (NQ) treatment to rats increases dopamine D2 receptor sensitivity persistent throughout the animal’s lifetime. In Experiment 1, we analyzed the role of α7 and α4β2 nicotinic receptors (nAChRs) in nicotine behavioral sensitization and on the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) response to nicotine in NQ- and neonatally saline (NS)-treated rats. In Experiment 2, we analyzed changes in α7 and α4β2 nAChR density in the nucleus accumbens (NAcc) and dorsal striatum in NQ and NS animals sensitized to nicotine. Male and female Sprague-Dawley rats were neonatally treated with quinpirole (1 mg/kg) or saline from postnatal days (P)1–21. Animals were given …

Using Conditioned Place Preference To Investigate Changes In The Rewarding Effects Of Running And Eating Following Activity-Based Anorexia, Daniella Plaksiy

Theses and Dissertations

We used conditioned place preference to investigate whether activity-based anorexia would enhance the rewarding effects of running, causing running to be more rewarding than eating. We found that food restricted mice showed a clear preference for the food-associated chamber, and a subset of activity-based anorexia mice preferred the wheel-associated chamber.

Multilingualism And Ego Depletion In Interference Task Performance – Are Multilingual Brains More Intelligent Than Monolingual Brains?, Dorota B. Botwina

Theses and Dissertations

Research linking multilingualism with better executive control has produced inconsistent findings. Since definitive empirical evidence is not available, this study seeks to explore whether these advantages really exist. The Flanker Task followed an ego depletion task that was introduced to participants who were monolingual, bilingual and trilingual.

Reward Preferences In Domestic Horses (Equus Caballus), Elizabeth E. Jaeger

Theses and Dissertations

The present study examined stress response in domestic horses (Equus caballus) to determine if horses show preference for either traditional or natural horsemanship training methods to test the hypothesis that natural horsemanship would induce less stress. Our results show that natural horsemanship rewards elicited lower stress response in horses.

Adult Human Perception Of Distress In The Cries Of Bonobo, Chimpanzee And Human Infants, Taylor Kelly

Theses and Dissertations

Adult human listeners rated their perceived distress based on the recorded vocalizations of bonobo, chimpanzee and human infants. Results found that bonobos were rated highest, chimpanzee and human infants in the high arousal context were rated as lower distress, and human babies in low arousal rated lowest.

The Association Of Feline Behavior To Acoustical Features Of Kitten Directed Speech, Daniela Acevedo

Theses and Dissertations

This study observed responses of cats to kitten and adult human directed speech. Human vocalization analysis showed significant variation in harmonicity for kitten directed speech. Playback experiments analyzing feline responses to owners and strangers using kitten and human directed speech showed higher attentiveness to a stranger’s kitten directed speech.

The Effect Of Dog Interaction Through Therapy Trained Animals Or Harrisonburg-Rockingham Spca Volunteering On High Achieving First Year College Student Adjustment Period, Kamille L. Aiello

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Transitioning to college is a big change. A change that can be life altering for some students, especially when they realize that transitioning to college also means leaving their beloved companion at home. This research study proposes an Animal Assisted Activity intervention for high achieving first year college students through the Honors College as a way to lower their anxiety and increase their happiness as they adjust to their new environment. The research compared an intervention using therapy dogs from the university counseling center to an intervention using SPCA dogs and a control group to see where the largest difference …

Be Careful What You Say: The Relationship Between Prosecutorial Language In Closing Statements And Sentencing Outcomes In Real Capital Cases, Megan J. Parker

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Moral disengagement refers to how individuals rationalize the decisions they make, especially if they may be immoral or difficult. Individuals can be primed to engage in moral disengagement through the use of specific language. The current study analyzed language strategies used in closing statements of real capital murder cases to investigate which are correlated with a death penalty sentence. Because jurors are responsible for sentencing another individual to death, they may have some difficulty making such a decision. The current study found that future dangerousness and empathetic language were significantly correlated to jurors sentencing the death to the death penalty. …