Digital Commons Network^™

Evolutionary Responses To Invasion: Cane Toad Sympatric Fish Show Enhanced Avoidance Learning, Georgina Caller, Culum Brown

Aquaculture Collection

The introduced cane toad (Bufo marinus) poses a major threat to biodiversity due to its lifelong toxicity. Several terrestrial native Australian vertebrates are adapting to the cane toad’s presence and lab trials have demonstrated that repeated exposure to B. marinus can result in learnt avoidance behaviour. Here we investigated whether aversion learning is occurring in aquatic ecosystems by comparing cane toad naı¨ve and sympatric populations of crimson spotted rainbow fish (Melanotaenia duboulayi). The first experiment indicated that fish from the sympatric population had pre-existing aversion to attacking cane toad tadpoles but also showed reduced attacks on native tadpoles. The second …

Stress And Social Relationships: The Role Of Corticosterone In The Formation And Maintenance Of Pair Bonds In The Monogamous Zebra Finch (Taeniopygia Guttata), Kimberly Anne Laplante

Wayne State University Dissertations

Stress and affiliative social relationships are bi-directionally related. It is well understood that social relationships can buffer the physiological response to a stressor. Conversely, there is some evidence to suggest that stress can affect the propensity to form a pair bond. Data from humans and prairie voles, monogamous rodents, suggest that activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA) in males increases attraction for females. Across species, females are understudied, but evidence from the prairie vole suggests HPA activation impairs formation of partner preference, the first step in establishing a pair bond. Across taxa there is evidence that formation and maintenance of …

Assessment Of The Semantic Knowledge Network In Older Adults With Familial History Of Alzheimer's Disease, Erin Marie Holcomb

Wayne State University Dissertations

Current techniques for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease rely on early implementation, which necessitates the need for accurate and early identification of individuals most at risk for future cognitive decline. Research has demonstrated the usefulness of examining the temporal gradient for long-term semantic knowledge in identification of such individuals. The assessment of the temporal gradient within varying levels of knowledge specificity, however, has received considerably less attention. In this study, we aimed to contrast accuracy and reaction times for semantic memory tasks tapping multiple dimensions of semantic specificity from multiple time epochs in adult children with and without a parental …

Music And Movement Share A Dynamic Structure That Supports Universal Expressions Of Emotion, Beau Sievers, Larry Polansky, Michael Casey, Thalia Wheatley

Dartmouth Scholarship

Music moves us. Its kinetic power is the foundation of human behaviors as diverse as dance, romance, lullabies, and the military march. Despite its significance, the music-movement relationship is poorly understood. We present an empirical method for testing whether music and movement share a common structure that affords equivalent and universal emotional expressions. Our method uses a computer program that can generate matching examples of music and movement from a single set of features: rate, jitter (regularity of rate), direction, step size, and dissonance/visual spikiness. We applied our method in two experiments, one in the United States and another in …

Microstructural Abnormalities In Striatial And Medial-Temporal Tracts In Children With A History Of Early Severe Deprivation: A Diffusion Tensor Imaging Study, Amy Veenstra

Wayne State University Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if early social deprivation led to different patterns of frontal and/or medial-temporal cortical connectivity in internationally adopted children and if these patterns of cortical connectivity were related to specific white matter tract or behavioral differences. Based on theories of brain development, it was expected that environmental factors would impact children's tract based differences and behavioral differences. A sample of 30 internationally adopted children and 12 comparison children participated in functional and structural imaging and a neuropsychological evaluation. For internationally adopted children frontal-cortical connectivity showed patterns of diffuse and low connectivity, whereas medial-temporal …

College Students' Alcohol Consumption Habits, Perceptions, Readiness To Change And Exposure To A Brief Information Based Intervention, Matthew Boudreau

Psychology Honors Papers

The current study sought to compare the effectiveness of two brief information based interventions. The first exposed to participants information regarding accurate social norms college student alcohol consumption and a second which focused on information regarding the effects of alcohol on the brain and body. The effectiveness of the interventions was investigated by comparing initial scores on the Readiness to Change scale (RTC; Rollnick et al. 1992) to scores on the same scale after a two week follow up. It was hypothesized that the groups who received the intervention would both show significant increases in scores on the contemplative and …

Student Residence Hall Rooms: Sense Of Control, Sense Of Community, Student Relationships, And Academic Achievement, Boris Jeremic

Psychology Honors Papers

The present study investigated the effects of room amenities and rules addressing the physical space of the room on sense of control, sense of community, student relationships, and academic achievement. Participants in this study were 118 Connecticut College students (25 men, 92 women, and 1 not specified). The study indicates that different room amenities and rules may influence student residents’ sense of control, sense of community, and student relationships. In addition, these may have an indirect effect on academic achievement, as academic achievement is found to be positively associated with sense of control, sense of community, and student relationships. Recommendations …

Effects Of Amphetamine On Radial Arm Maze Performance In The Shr Model Of Adhd Versus Age/Strain Matched Controls, Kristin Lampley

Psychology Honors Papers

Stimulants have been shown to have a variety of effects on different measures of learning and memory. In general low doses of stimulants like nicotine and caffeine enhance memory acquisition and recall, while high doses can significantly impair performance. Amphetamine, in the form of Adderall, is widely prescribed to improve attention and reduce hyperactivity, which promotes learning in children diagnosed with attention deficit disorder (ADHD). The radial arm maze (RAM) is a test of spatial learning that allows for the tracking of short and long-term memory errors. In the current study, we employed the RAM to examine the effects of …

The Beast Had To Marry Balinda: Using Story Examples To Explore Socializing Concepts In Ugandan Caregivers’ Oral Stories, Valeda Dent, Geoff Goodman

Brooklyn Library Faculty Publications

Within the context of storytelling as oral tradition, this paper uses a grounded theory approach to explore a single research question about the socializing concepts found in examples of stories told to young children by their mothers and grandmothers in a rural Ugandan village. These story examples were gathered during the implementation of a socio-educational intervention project. The aims of this paper are to provide a descriptive analysis of the emergent themes and constructs in these story examples against the backdrop of a relevant theoretical framework and life in this rural Ugandan village.

An Examination Of Disgust, Its Measures, And Gender Differences In The Experience Of Disgust Sensitivity, Diane M. Kedzierski

Theses and Dissertations

The emotion of disgust is understudied. It has been implicated in various forms of psychopathology, but its overall influence remains unclear. New and improved methods and constructs are required if we are to better understand the relationship of disgust in attitude formation and psychological functioning. This study was an investigation of a measure referred to herein as the Disgust Propensity and Sensitivity Evolutionary Scale (DPSES). A total of 655 participants were recruited from a private university in the southeastern United States to complete a pencil -and-paper version of the measure in exchange for course credit. Exploratory factor analysis revealed an …

Cardiovascular Fitness Associated With Cognitive Performance In Heart Failure Patients Enrolled In Cardiac Rehabilitation, Sarah Garcia, Michael L. Alosco, Mary Beth Spitznagel, Ronald Cohen, Naftali Raz, Lawrence Sweet, Richard Josephson, Joel Hughes, Jim Rosneck, Morgan L. Oberle, John Gunstad

Wayne State University Associated BioMed Central Scholarship

Abstract

Background

Reduced cognitive function is common in persons with heart failure (HF). Cardiovascular fitness is a known contributor to cognitive function in many patient populations, but has only been linked to cognition based on estimates of fitness in HF. The current study examined the relationship between fitness as measured by metabolic equivalents (METs) from a standardized stress test and cognition in persons with HF, as well as the validity of office-based predictors of fitness in this population.

Methods

Forty-one HF patients enrolled in cardiac rehabilitation completed a standardized exercise stress test protocol, a brief neuropsychological battery, the 2-minute step …

Alcoholics In Recovery: Factors Informing The Decision To Self-Disclose Alcoholism In The Workplace, Teresa Coyne Andreani

ETD Archive

While the impact of employee substance abuse on the workplace is well documented, research studies concerning the experience of recovered alcoholics in the workplace are scarce. Recovered alcoholics who must negotiate a sober identity in the workplace where alcohol may be part of the social culture may feel disconnected from coworkers or may experience anxiety trying to conceal their alcoholism. A survey of recovered alcoholic men and women was used to investigate whether or not recovered alcoholics disclose their alcoholism in the workplace, to whom the information is disclosed, the impact of making such a disclosure, and the factors that …

Two Fields Are Better Than One: Developmental And Comparative Perspectives On Understanding Spatial Reorientation, Alexandra D. Twyman, Daniele Nardi, Nora S. Newcombe

Faculty Research and Creative Activity

Occasionally, we lose track of our position in the world, and must re-establish where we are located in order to function. This process has been termed the ability to reorient and was first studied by Ken Cheng in 1986. Reorientation research has revealed some powerful cross-species commonalities. It has also engaged the question of human uniqueness because it has been claimed that human adults reorient differently from other species, or from young human children, in a fashion grounded in the distinctive combinatorial power of human language. In this chapter, we consider the phenomenon of reorientation in comparative perspective, both to …

The Importance Of Female Choice: Evolutionary Perspectives On Constraints, Expressions, And Variations, David Frederick, Tania A. Reynolds, Maryanne L. Fisher

Psychology Faculty Books and Book Chapters

This chapter introduces the reader to some of the influential perspectives on female mate choice in human evolutionary biology, including parental investment theory. We then present two key theories in evolutionary psychology that have been applied to understand variations in women’s mating preferences and choices: sexual strategies theory and strategic pluralism theory. Although the importance of female choice has gained widespread acceptance in the biological sciences, the influence that female choice has on mating systems can be limited by many factors, such as control over mating decisions by parents and men’s control over women’s sexuality. Despite these constraints on female …

Parental Behavior Control As A Moderator Between Close Friend Support And Conduct Problems, Gabriel C. Watson, Sarah K. Sifers, Daniel Houlihan

Psychology Department Publications

Objective: Potential moderating effects between parental control and close friend support on youth conduct problems have not been investigated. Goals of this study were to investigate for a possible curvilinear relationship between parental behavioral control and child conduct issues, as well as the potential that parental control will moderate the relationship between friend support and those behaviors.

Design: Surveyed 101 youth and their parents in a small Midwestern United States metropolitan area.

Results: Through hierarchical regression, the current study shows a curvilinear main effect for parent control on conduct problems. Additionally, close friend support is a protective agent only for …

Introduction To Data Science, Jeffrey M. Stanton

School of Information Studies - Faculty Scholarship

In this Introduction to Data Science eBook, a series of data problems of increasing complexity is used to illustrate the skills and capabilities needed by data scientists. The open source data analysis program known as "R" and its graphical user interface companion "R-Studio" are used to work with real data examples to illustrate both the challenges of data science and some of the techniques used to address those challenges. To the greatest extent possible, real datasets reflecting important contemporary issues are used as the basis of the discussions.

Self-Reflection As Scholarly Praxis: Researcher Identity In Disability Studies--Guest Editors' Introduction, Joan Ostrove, Jennifer Rinaldi

Faculty Publications

The guest editors of this special issue on researcher identity offer reflections and an overview of the issue.

Reorienting With Terrain Slope And Landmarks, Daniele Nardi, Nora S. Newcombe, Thomas F. Shipley

Faculty Research and Creative Activity

Orientation (or reorientation) is the first step in navigation, because establishing a spatial frame of reference is essential for a sense of location and heading direction. Recent research on nonhuman animals has revealed that the vertical component of an environment provides an important source of spatial information, in both terrestrial and aquatic settings. Nonetheless, humans show large individual and sex differences in the ability to use terrain slope for reorientation. To understand why some participants—mainly women—exhibit a difficulty with slope, we tested reorientation in a richer environment than had been used previously, including both a tilted floor and a set …

Wisdom From A Lost Friend To A New Friend, Veronica Murphy

Common Reading Essay Contest Winners

Third Place

Monoamine Modulation Of Separation-Induced Ultrasonic Vocalizations In Preweanling F344 And Sd Rats, Cynthia Elizabeth Britt

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this study was to determine if Fischer 344 (F344) rats, a strain which naturally shows deficits in social communication during adolescence, could be used as a model of the social communication deficits observed in autism. Thus, the goal was to determine if F344 rats would also show fewer emissions of isolated-induced ultrasonic vocalizations (an early onset form of social interaction) as compared to SD rats. Subjects consisted of 142 F344 rat pups (67 male and 75 female). Subjects were treated according to the "Guide for the Care and Use of Mammals in Neuroscience and Behavioral Research" under …

Effects Of Computarized [Sic] Cognitive Training On Working Memory In A School Setting, Tessy Tatiana Pumaccahua

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this study is to explore the effectiveness of computerized cognitive training to increase the cognitive ability children with learning disabilities in a school setting over a period of 10 weeks.

Development Of Theory Of Mind In English-Speaking Chinese Singaporean Preschoolers, Li Qu, Pinxiu Shen, Fan Qianqian

Papers from the International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychology Conferences

The current study examines Theory of Mind (ToM) development in English-speaking ethnically Chinese 3- to 6-year-old children raised in Singapore, a country influenced by both eastern and western cultures. All tasks were administered in English. Study 1 investigated the vertical development of ToM in 3- to 6-year-olds (N = 65) with five tasks, including diverse desires, diverse beliefs, knowledge access, content false-belief, and explicit false-belief tasks. Results revealed that like English-speaking preschoolers growing up in the West, English-speaking Chinese Singaporean preschoolers develop the understanding of diverse desires and diverse beliefs earlier than the understanding of knowledge access and false beliefs; …

Adolescent And Adult Nicotine Exposure On The Acquisition Of Methamphetamine Self-Administration And The Reinstatement Of Extinguished Methamphetamine-Seeking In Male Rats, Joseph Allan Pipkin

Theses Digitization Project

This study sought to determine the individual and combined contribution of adolescent and adult nicotine exposure on METH self-administration and METH-seeking behavior in male rats. Nicotine is a commonly abused substance among adolescents and is believed to be a "gateway" to other drugs of abuse. In support of the gateway hypothesis, cigarette smoking during adolescence is related to increased methamphetamine (METH) use in adulthood.

Preweanling Exposure To Selective Catecholamine Transporter Inhibitors Differentially Effects Morphine-Induced Antinociception In Adulthood, Joseph Marco Valentine

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this project is to determine how early methylphenidate exposure alters opioid receptor functioning in adulthood. To this end, we will administer selective monoamine transporter inhibitors for dopamine and norepinephrine (GBR-12904 and atomoxetine) during preweanling period and assess opioid function in adult rats by testing morphine-induced antinociception using the hot-plate and tail-flick tasks. In order to assess the effects of methylphenidate use on brain functions during development, investigations have been conducted in rats using ages roughly analogous to early and late childhood.

The Impact Of Social Context On Preschoolers’ Flexibility, Li Qu, Lin Shuhui Audrey, Low Pei Jun, Ng Hui Qun

Papers from the International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychology Conferences

The current study investigates whether social interaction without communication between partners may influence preschoolers’ flexibility. Fifty-three 5 year old Singaporean children were randomly assigned to three conditions of a block sorting task (Fawcett & Garton, 2005): playing individually, cooperating with another player, and competing against another player. To control for individual differences, before the block sorting task children were given four cognitive tasks testing vocabulary, short-term memory, and executive function, as well as two affective scales on mood and motivation. Separate one-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) showed that although they performed the same on the cognitive tasks and the affective …

An Application Of The Theory Of Multiple Intelligence To Improve Academic Performance And Achievement Goals In The Early School Years, Marilyn Victoria Garcia-Mata

Theses Digitization Project

The present research project applied Howard Gardner's MI theory to the social studies curriculum of a third grade classroom. This intervention seeks to increase student's academic grade scores and learning goal orientation in the social studies chapter of Old and New Communities. The participants for this research project were third grade students enrolled at Assumption Catholic School in Los Angeles, California. The sample consisted of 11 third grade children.

Nicotine Enhances Operant Responding For Qualitatively Distinct Reinforcers Under Maintenance And Extinction Conditions, Scott T. Barrett, Rick A. Bevins

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

RATIONALE—Nicotine enhancement of reward has been implicated as an important contributor to tobacco addiction. Despite the attention that reward enhancement has received, the behavioral mechanisms whereby nicotine enhances operant responding remain largely unknown. The present study sought to extend previous work by evaluating the effects of nicotine on responding for two qualitatively different rewards (visual stimulation (VS) and 4% sucrose solution) under fixed-ratio (FR) maintenance and extinction conditions.

METHOD—Sprague-Dawley rats were trained to press an active lever for VS (Experiment 1) or 4% sucrose solution (Experiment 2) and evaluated over 15 sessions on a FR5 schedule of reinforcement. Nicotine (0.4 …

Environmental And Behavioral Controls Of The Expression Of Clozapine Tolerance: Evidence From A Novel Across-Model Transfer Paradigm, Min Feng, Nan Sui, Ming Li

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Repeated administration of antipsychotic drugs induces a sensitization-like or tolerance-like effect in many behavioral tasks, including the conditioned avoidance response (CAR) and the phencyclidine (PCP)-induced hyperlocomotion, two rodent models with high predictive validity for antipsychotic activity. This study investigated the impacts of contextual and behavioral variables on the expression of clozapine tolerance using a recently validated across-model transfer paradigm (Zhang and Li, 2012). Male Sprague-Dawley rats were first repeatedly treated with clozapine (2.5–10.0 mg/kg, sc) in the CAR model or PCP (1.6 mg/kg, sc)-induced hyperlocomotion model for five consecutive days. They were then tested for the expression of clozapine tolerance …

Afraid To Help: Social Anxiety Partially Mediates The Association Between 5-Httlpr Triallelic Genotype And Prosocial Behavior, Scott F. Stoltenberg, Christa C. Christ, Gustavo Carlo

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

There is growing evidence that the serotonin system influences prosocial behavior. We examined whether anxiety mediated the association between variation in the serotonin transporter gene regulatory region (5-HTTLPR) and prosocial behavior. We collected self-reported tendencies to avoid certain situations and history of helping others using standard instruments and buccal cells for standard 5-HTTLPR genotyping from 398 undergraduate students. Triallelic 5-HTTLPR genotype was significantly associated with prosocial behavior and the effect was partially mediated by social anxiety, such that those carrying the S′ allele reported higher levels of social avoidance and lower rates of helping others. These results are consistent with …

The Extent To Which The Bystander Effect, Peer Influence, And Moral Identity Influence The Expression Of Pro-Social Behavior, Noelle Mathew

Psychology | Senior Theses

The present research hypothesized that the expression of Examining contributing factors for pro-social behavior, it was hypothesized that this characteristic would be inhibited by the presence of a bystander, would not be effected by peer influence, and would occur for subjects with a stronger moral identity. The helping behaviors of 42 participants after a confederate spilled a box of packing peanuts while the participants were filling out the provided questionnaires measuring moral identity were observed and recorded. The findings of this study suggest that peer influence does indeed have a significant effect on the expression of pro-social (helping) behavior, while …