Digital Commons Network^™

Behavioral Impulsivity In Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Amitai Abramovitch, Dean Mckay

Psychology Faculty Publications

Background: Grassi et al. (2015) collected data to examine impulsivity in individuals with obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) compared to nonpsychiatric controls. Their aim was to examine whether OCD may be fully captured by the behavioral addiction model, using the prototypical mechanism underlying drug addiction as their framework. Based on their findings, Grassi et al. concluded that OCD shares behavioral components with addictions, particularly behavioral impulsivity and risky decision making. Furthermore, the authors suggested that this model may be superior to the prevailing psychological model of OCD. Findings: We argue that based on the nature of their data as well as the …

Identifying Spiritual Themes In Narratives Of Young Adults Who Have Aged Out Of Foster Care: A Qualitative Study, Kerri Jane Tokarski

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Each year up to thirty thousand young adults age out of foster care in the United States. Historically research has focused on more tangible issues for this population (e.g., employment, education, etc.). Recent research addresses more intangible issues (e.g., quality of their relationships, resilience, etc.). This study reviews and then furthers such research by doing qualitative research to conduct nine loosely structured interviews with young adults who aged out of foster care to (1) discern if and how they made meaning of their experiences and (2) identify if there are spiritual themes within those narratives. This project used a qualitative …

Narratives Of Biculturalism: Arab-American Identity Negotiation Post-9/11, Janan Shouhayib

Psychology Honors Papers

The process of identity negotiation for bicultural individuals is ongoing and psychologically challenging. Arab-Americans in particular must deal with this process in a contentious environment where the Arab World is demonized and “Othered,” especially after 9/11. This project was an exploration of the identity development of Arab-American youth in a post-9/11 context. Background research for this study included a review of identity theory from Erik Erikson to postmodern thinkers, as well as the immigration patterns and historical-political context of Arab-Americans. Participants included 14 Arab-Americans from seven Arabic-speaking countries, five of whom were men and nine of whom were women, from …

Evolution Of Neuroimaging Technology In The Modern Era, Robert H. Paul

Psychology Faculty Works

Clinical applications in brain science have progressed at a glacial pace when compared to other medical disciplines. Treatments for most neurodegenerative brain diseases are limited, and cure strategies remain underdeveloped. Pressure to improve clinical outcomes in the neurological sciences is exacerbated by an aging population at risk for degenerative brain diseases. Fortunately, technical advances in the field of neuroimaging offer new promise, with enhanced characterization of microstructural anatomy, network connectivity, and functional biomarkers of health and disease. Articles highlighted in this issue describe cutting-edge applications targeting these outcomes using diffusion tensor imaging, diffusion-based tractography, and positron emission tomography. Finally, the …

Alzheimer's- The Cholinergic Hypothesis And Gene- Targeting Stem Cell Treatment, Richa Gautam, Emma Nichols

Modern Psychological Studies

As the mean age of the world population rises and people's life expectancies increase, the prevalence of Alzheimer's disease will increase and will pose a threat to society in terms of the people affected and the money used. Current therapies are not adequate in that they are unable to extend life beyond a few months. This review will both overview the predominant hypotheses about how to approach the treatment of Alzheimer's as well as discuss some of the treatments available and those in preclinical phases. Finally, we will discuss the ideas and recent research behind gene therapy and stem cell …

Psychological Pathology And Aging In Cervantes’S Don Quixote De La Mancha, Ida Sudol

Hispanic Studies Honors Papers

Miguel de Cervantes wrote his most famous work, Don Quixote de La Mancha, in a prison cell after a life of great misfortune. The work he created, however, changed his fate, and to this day lives on as one of the most-read pieces of all time. Unique to Cervantes’s literary creation is the applicability of its themes across history. Though the setting is 16th-Century Spain, the topics of the work include aspects of psychopathology, personality, and aging. This synthesis of psychology, philosophy, and human character outlines concepts that would benefit clinicians in their understanding of geriatric patients, which is among …

School Level Predictors Of Bullying Among High School Students, M. Alison Boswell

Theses and Dissertations--Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology

Bullying is a universal problem affecting the emotional, social, and physical wellbeing of school-age children worldwide. Individual level correlates of bullying have been well-documented; however, there is limited research identifying variables at the school level which contribute to bullying involvement, especially among high school students. In this dissertation, school characteristics associated with bullying were investigated using an ecological systems framework.

In the first paper, a comprehensive review of the bullying literature was conducted. Research in the following areas were summarized: definitions of bullying, measures of bullying, individual correlates, influences of cognitive development and social context across age groups, contextual variables …

Individual Personality Differences In Goats Predict Their Performance In Visual Learning And Non-Associative Cognitive Tasks, Christian Nawroth, Pamela M. Prentice, Alan G. Mcelligott

Learning Ability Collection

Variation in common personality traits, such as boldness or exploration, is often associated with risk–reward trade–offs and behavioural flexibility. To date, only a few studies have examined the effects of consistent behavioural traits on both learning and cognition. We investigated whether certain personality traits (‘exploration’ and ‘sociability’) of individuals were related to cognitive performance, learning flexibility and learning style in a social ungulate species, the goat (Capra hircus). We also investigated whether a preference for feature cues rather than impaired learning abilities can explain performance variation in a visual discrimination task. We found that personality scores were consistent …

Use Of Qualitative Behaviour Assessment As An Indicator Of Welfare In Donkeys, Michela Minero, Emanuela Dalla Costa, Francesca Dai, Leigh Anne Margaret Murray, Elisabetta Canali, Françoise Wemelsfelder

Animal Welfare Collection

One of the objectives of the Animal Welfare Indicators project was to develop animal-based indicators to assess donkey welfare, including their emotional state. This study aimed to develop a fixed rating scale of Qualitative Behaviour Assessment (QBA) for donkeys, to evaluate the inter-observer reliability when applied on-farm, and to assess whether the QBA outcomes correlate to other welfare measures.

A fixed list of 16 descriptors was designed on the basis of a consultation in a focus group. The fixed list was then used by four trained observers to score nine 2 min videos of groups of donkeys owned by six …

Mating Games Squid Play: Reproductive Behaviour And Sexual Skin Displays In Caribbean Reef Squid Sepioteuthis Sepioidea, Jennifer Mather

Reproductive Behavior Collection

Observation of the sexual interactions of Sepioteuthis sepioidea squid during the short reproductive stage of their lives showed a scramble competition system, with both male and female polygyny. Mature females were faithful to a specific location in the daytime, whereas males moved from group to group and formed short-term consortships with females. Males defended females from other males, particularly with an agonistic Zebra display. Male–female pairs exchanged Saddle-Stripe displays, after which males might display an on–off Flicker. There was considerable female choice. Only if a female responded to this display with a parallel Rocking action would she pair and would …

Hpi Reactivity Does Not Reflect Changes In Personality Among Trout Introduced To Bold Or Shy Social Groups, Jack S. Thomson, Phillip C. Watts, Tom G. Pottinger, Lynne U. Sneddon

Social Behavior Collection

Physiological stress responses often correlate with personalities (e.g., boldness). However, this relationship can become decoupled, although the mechanisms underlying changes in this relationship are poorly understood. Here we quantify (1) how an individual’s boldness (response to novel objects) in rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss, changes in response to interactions with a population of either bold or shy conspecifics and we (2) measured associated post-stress cortisol levels. Initially-bold trout became shyer regardless of group composition, whereas shy trout remained shy demonstrating that bold individuals are more plastic. Stress-induced plasma cortisol reflected the original personality of fish but not the personality induced …

The Value Of Pets To Public And Private Health And Well-Being, Leslie Irvine, Laurent Cilia

Human-Companion Animal Relationships Collection

This analysis reviews empirical studies of the health benefits of pet ownership published between 1980 and 2016 and collected in the database of the Human-Animal Bond Research Initiative, or HABRI. The analysis began with 373 titles and eventually encompassed a dataset of 151 full-text documents. Along with analysis of substantive content, each study received a score for methodological rigor. The number of studies has steadily increased, particularly since 2000, and methodological rigor has improved. The literature encompasses four topics, including cardiovascular, general, and psychosocial health, and physical activity. Overall, the research finds that pets benefit human health, although the available …

Fractionating Choice: A Study On Reward Discrimination, Preference, And Relative Valuation In The Rat (Rattus Norvegicus), Joshua M. Ricker, Justin D. Hatch, Daniel D. Powers, Howard C. Cromwell

Psychology Faculty Publications

Choice behavior combines discrimination between distinctive outcomes, preference for specific outcomes and relative valuation of comparable outcomes. Previous work has focused on 1 component (i.e., preference) disregarding other influential processes that might provide a more complete understanding. Animal models of choice have been explored primarily utilizing extensive training, limited freedom for multiple decisions and sparse behavioral measures constrained to a single phase of motivated action. The present study used a paradigm that combines different elements of previous methods with the goal to distinguish among components of choice and explore how well components match predictions based on risk-sensitive foraging strategies. In …

The Developmental Systems Approach And The Analysis Of Behavior, David S. Moore

Pitzer Faculty Publications and Research

The developmental systems approach is a perspective that has been adopted by increasing numbers of developmental scientists since it emerged in the twentieth century. The overview presented in this paper makes clear that proponents of this approach and proponents of modern behavior analysis should be natural allies. Despite some distinctions between the two schools of thought, the essential ideas associated with each are compatible with the other; in particular, scientists in both camps work to analyze the provenance of behavior and recognize the central role that contextual factors play in behavioral expression.

Political Conservatism Predicts Asymmetries In Emotional Scene Memory, Mark S. Mills, Frank J. Gonzalez, Karl Giuseffi, Benjamin Sievert, Kevin B. Smith, John R. Hibbing, Michael D. Dodd

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Variation in political ideology has been linked to differences in attention to and processing of emotional stimuli, with stronger responses to negative versus positive stimuli (negativity bias) the more politically conservative one is. As memory is enhanced by attention, such findings predict that memory for negative versus positive stimuli should similarly be enhanced the more conservative one is. The present study tests this prediction by having participants study 120 positive, negative, and neutral scenes in preparation for a subsequent memory test. On the memory test, the same 120 scenes were presented along with 120 new scenes and participants were to …

Pathways From Childhood Abuse To Positive Adapation: The Moderating Roles Of Social Support And Coping Style, Sarah Elizabeth Cleary

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Studies show that up to 50% of children worldwide are affected by physical, emotional, sexual abuse and/or neglect. While these traumatic events can have profound consequences on development across the lifespan, it is important to note that approximately 20-30% of childhood abuse survivors do not report negative impacts. One explanation for this difference in outcomes is the concept of resilience, defined as successful adaptation in spite of the experience of high-risk trauma. Many studies have been conducted to delineate factors fostering resilience. Some researchers argue that individuals' ability to achieve resilience is a direct result of the environment, while others …

The Relationship Between Circadian Dysfunction And Cognitive Impairment In Individuals With Parkinson's Disease, Andrew Leonard

Undergraduate Review

Parkinson’s Disease (PD) is a brain disorder associated with a variety of motor (e.g., rigidity, tremor) and nonmotor (e.g., cognitive impairment, sleep dysfunction) symptoms. Recent evidence suggests that PD patients may also have dysfunctional circadian rhythms: oscillators responsible for many behavioral and physiological functions (e.g., sleep-wake cycle, cognitive performance). No study to date has measured both circadian rhythms and cognitive functioning in the same group of PD patients. This was the aim of the current project. The archival data set included 34 PD patients and 12 normal control participants (NC) matched by age and education. Cognition was measured through a …

Playing With Knives: The Socialization Of Self-Initiated Learners, David F. Lancy

Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology Faculty Publications

Since Margaret Mead’s field studies in the South Pacific a century ago, there has been the tacit understanding that as culture varies, so too must the socialization of children to become competent culture users and bearers. More recently, the work of anthropologists has been mined to find broader patterns that may be common to childhood across a range of societies. One improbable commonality has been the tolerance, even encouragement, of toddler behavior that is patently risky, such as playing with or attempting to use a sharp-edged tool. This laissez faire approach to socialization follows from a reliance on children as …

Microglia And Neurons In The Hippocampus Of Migratory Sandpipers., C G Diniz, N G M Magalhães, A A Sousa, C Santos Filho, D G Diniz, C M Lima, M A Oliveira, D C Paulo, P D C Pereira, D F Sherry, C W Picanço-Diniz

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

The semipalmated sandpiper Calidris pusilla and the spotted sandpiper Actitis macularia are long- and short-distance migrants, respectively. C. pusilla breeds in the sub-arctic and mid-arctic tundra of Canada and Alaska and winters on the north and east coasts of South America. A. macularia breeds in a broad distribution across most of North America from the treeline to the southern United States. It winters in the southern United States, and Central and South America. The autumn migration route of C. pusilla includes a non-stop flight over the Atlantic Ocean, whereas autumn route of A. macularia is largely over land. Because of …

Context-Dependent Egr1 Expression In The Avian Hippocampus., Stephanie L Grella, Mélanie F Guigueno, David J White, David F Sherry, Diano F Marrone

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

In mammals, episodic memory and spatial cognition involve context-specific recruitment of unique ensembles in the hippocampal formation (HF). Despite their capacity for sophisticated spatial (e.g., for migration) and episodic-like (e.g., for food-caching) memory, the mechanisms underlying contextual representation in birds is not well understood. Here we demonstrate environment-specific Egr1 expression as male brown-headed cowbirds (Molothrus ater) navigate environments for food reward, showing that the avian HF, like its mammalian counterpart, recruits distinct neuronal ensembles to represent different contexts.

The Semantic Memory Imaging In Late Life Pilot Study, Michael Adam Sugarman

Wayne State University Dissertations

Introduction: Several functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies have analyzed the famous name discrimination task (FNDT), an uncontrolled semantic memory probe requiring discrimination between famous and unfamiliar individuals. Completion of this simple task recruits a semantic memory network that has shown utility in determining risk for Alzheimer's disease (AD). Specific semantic memory probes using biographical information associated with famous individuals may build on previous findings and yield superior information regarding risk for AD.

Method: Sixteen cognitively intact elders completed the FNDT and two novel tasks during fMRI: Categories (matching famous individuals to occupational categories) and Attributes (matching famous individuals to …

The Interactive Effects Of Biofeedback-Assisted Stress Management And Training Acquisition In Predicting Health Outcomes, Cary M. Sears

ETD Archive

Thirty-seven chronic disease patients were randomized to either a biofeedback-assisted stress management (BFSM) experimental group or a usual care (UC) control condition. It was hypothesized that participants enrolled in the BFSM treatment group would demonstrate lower levels of norepinephrine and depression than those in the UC control condition. It was further hypothesized that training acquisition would modify the main effect of group assignment on depression and norepinephrine. The BFSM group demonstrated significantly lower levels of norepinephrine than the UC group. There were no main effects of BFSM on depression. The training acquisition X group assignment interaction was not significant. Results …

An Experimental Test Of Whether Mortality Salience Can Motivate Open-Mindedness Among Individuals With Intrinsic Goal Orientations, Mark Blades

ETD Archive

Terror management theory posits that when people are primed with thoughts of death, they will seek to abide by their cultural worldview beliefs. For example, mortality reminders motivate those with an extrinsic goal orientation to strive to accomplish culturally valued goals (e.g., wealth) and defend familiar cultural worldviews. But, as of yet, no research has investigated the possibility that MS might motivate those with an intrinsic goal orientation to strive instead to explore culturally, socially, or intellectually novel experiences and information. The present research hypothesized that MS would lead individuals with stronger extrinsic goal orientations to defensively prefer their familiar …

An Analysis Of Virtual Place Learning/Navigation In Children And Young Adults Prenatally Exposed To Alcohol, Neil Christopher Dodge

Wayne State University Dissertations

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder refers to the spectrum of disorders resulting from prenatal alcohol exposure and is the leading cause of preventable mental retardation. Rodent studies have found that prenatal alcohol exposure impairs performance on the Morris water maze. This task requires the rodent to use distal room cues to locate a hidden platform in a pool of opaque water. Successful performance on this task is dependent upon hippocampal function. Rodents prenatally exposed to alcohol are impaired on the Morris water maze and show damage to hippocampal neurons. A human analogue of the Morris water maze, the virtual water maze …

Forgiveness, Health, And Psychological Adjustment In Older Adults, Emily Elizabeth Standish

Wayne State University Dissertations

The overarching goal of this dissertation was to examine the relationships between forgiveness and physical and emotional outcomes in older adults. Data for the analyses was from the Religion, Aging, and Health Survey, a nation wide probability survey of older adults. Data were collected at two time points separated by three years, wave 1(W1) in 2001 and wave 2 (W2) in 2003. The main outcome measures used in the analyses included four forgiveness scales (conditional forgiveness, unforgiveness, conditional forgiveness by God, and unforgiveness by self/others), five mental health measures (self-esteem, life-satisfaction, optimism, depression, feelings of control, rumination), a self-rated physical …

Emotion Perception Correlates In Moderate And Severe Traumatic Brain Injury, Rachel Keelan

Wayne State University Dissertations

Introduction: Studies have demonstrated that individuals with TBI experience impairments in emotion perception accuracy in facial and auditory modalities but does not yet understand patterns of emotion perception and their relation to neurocognitive performance. The current study assessed why emotion perception deficits occur via psychological and cognitive relationships as well as patterns of emotion misattributions.

Methods: 50 adults with a bona-fide moderate or severe traumatic brain injury and 39 healthy comparison adults were included in the study. Eligible participants completed a battery of paper-and-pencil and computerized neuropsychological measures, including three tasks of emotion perception, and psychological questionnaires.

Results: The TBI …

Cognitive Style, Laterality, And Executive Functioning, Leia Cherie Vos

Wayne State University Dissertations

Researchers have long linked creativity to psychopathology. In particular, everyday creativity is positively associated with schizotypy, a personality style with a possible relationship with schizophrenia that is associated with cognitive dysfunction. Genetic, biological, cognitive, and behavioral studies show connections between schizotypy and creativity, but the strength and mechanisms of these connections remain inconsistent or unclear. The purpose of this dissertation is to examine the relationship between these constructs from a neuropsychological perspective. In part one, a large non-clinical sample completed several questionnaires to consider the relationship between the constructs and related aspects of personality. A small indirect relationship was found …

A Mouse Model Of Toluene Abstinence-Induced Pathology, Sean Callan

Wayne State University Dissertations

The intentional misuse of volatile solvents is a persistent public health concern. Limited self-report data suggests that chronic inhalant abusers experience withdrawal symptoms including anxiety and seizure symptoms. However, these symptoms have never been explored in a preclinical model and are not considered part of the DSM-V criteria for an Inhalant Use Disorder. For this experiment, 76 young adult male Swiss Webster mice were exposed to either 5,000 ppm toluene vapor or air (0 ppm) for 24 consecutive hours beginning on postnatal day (PND) 30. Following the 24 hour exposure, mice were allowed to recover for 3 hours before behavioral …

The Interplay Between Traditional And Modern Values And Interpersonal Variables In Mental Disorders And Mental Health, Andreas Maercker

Papers from the International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychology Conferences

Our research focuses on values and mental health, and possible mediating factors. Based on two value-related theories – Schwartz’s and Inglehart’s - we suggest a complex prediction model: It hypothesises that social support mediates the relationship between traditional values and mental health, whereas the relationship between modern values and mental health is mediated by resilience. We tested our model with three large student samples from China, Russia, and Germany. By and large, our hypotheses were confirmed: Particularly traditional values were relevant for mental health by predicting social support and thence mental health. With regard to modern values, the value of …

Voluntary Food Sharing In Pinyon Jays: The Role Of Reciprocity And Dominance, Juan F. Duque, Jeffrey R. Stevens

Jeffrey Stevens Publications

Food sharing offers a clear example of prosocial behavior, in which one individual’s actions benefit another. Researchers have proposed a range of hypotheses that explain why food sharing may occur among unrelated individuals. Two such hypotheses, reciprocity and dominance, have been tested in many species, including fish, corvids, rats, bats, and primates, showing that (1) recipients sometimes reciprocate sharing back to previous donors and (2) dominant individuals share more than subordinates. Although primates dominate the study of prosocial behavior, active donation of food is actually quite rare in primates. In contrast, several corvid species spontaneously share food much more frequently. …