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Defining Semantic Space And Degree Of Association Using Brainwaves: An Erp Investigation Of Alcohol Expectancies, Ty Brumback

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The current study investigated the cognitive organization of alcohol expectancies using event-related potentials (ERPs). Building on previous behavioral and ERP paradigms, the goal of the current study was to quantify the relationship among alcohol expectancies using ERP indices of salience, congruence, and cognitive distance. The ERP components being evaluated fit perfectly into the alcohol expectancy theory and research; however, implementing specific paradigms to reliably measure individual differences in alcohol expectancies using ERPs has proven to be more elusive than originally thought. This study utilized established cognitive modeling techniques coupled with ERP responses to linguistic stimuli. In essence, this study provides …

Strengths And Limitations Of Qualitative Approaches To Research In Occupational Health Psychology, Irvin Sam Schonfeld, Joseph J. Mazzola

Publications and Research

Like all research methods, qualitative methods have strengths and limitations. This chapter describes seven strengths and five limitations. With an understanding of their strengths and limitations and how to minimize and/or balance them, occupational health psychology (OHP) researchers can benefit from qualitative methods. It is important to understand that qualitative findings do not establish generalizable cause-effect relations. However, qualitative methods can help an OHP researcher develop a theory of causality and derive hypotheses related to the theory and, thus, motivate quantitatively organized research designed to test the hypotheses. The challenge for the OHP researcher is to be mindful of what …

The Effects Of Emotional Arousal On Item And Associative Memory, Leslie Ann Butler

LSU Master's Theses

Although the conclusions of research examining the impact of emotional arousal on associative memory are mixed (e.g., Mather & Nesmith, 2008; Zimmerman & Kelley, 2010), it has recently been suggested that associative memory should be enhanced by arousal when encoding is intentional rather than incidental (Mather & Sutherland, 2011). Research has also suggested that arousing items are more subject to interference effects in memory than non-arousing items. These predictions were explored across two experiments. In both experiments, participants intentionally encoded a series of picture pairs that consisted of two neutral pictures, two negatively arousing pictures, or one neutral picture and …

Pharmacological Versus Social Alcohol Expectancies: Making An Important Distinction Between The Anticipated Rewarding Effects Of Alcohol, Megan Victoria Mcmurray

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Despite over 30 years of research investigating alcohol expectancies, they have never been examined in terms of the anticipated pharmacological versus social rewards resulting from alcohol consumption, and both appear to play a central role in drinking motivation and behavior. The purpose of this study was to develop a two-dimensional instrument designed to assess both the pharmacological alcohol expectancies of pleasurable, internal states that result from alcohol consumption, as well as the social expectancies that drinking alcohol will result in higher social status and increased effectiveness in social situations. This measure, called the Pharmacological and Social Alcohol Expectancy Scale (PSAES), …

Language As A Social Reality: The Effects Of The Infantilization Of Women, Chelsae R. Huot

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The current study examined how people’s perceptions can be affected by various terms used to describe women. Participants from a Midwestern university read a script describing 26-year-old Erin either as a “woman,” a “girl,” or “person.” Participants then rated Erin on eighteen different traits (e.g., mature, forceful). They also completed an ambivalent sexism scale and answered three questions about their use and interpretations of the terms “girl” and “woman.” It was predicted that the participants in the “woman” condition would rate Erin as more mature, responsible, warm, understanding, and successful than the participants in the “girl” condition. Also, it was …

Peer Influences On Adolescent Risk Behavior, Dustin Albert, Jason Chein, Laurence Steinberg

Psychology Faculty Research and Scholarship

Research efforts to account for elevated risk behavior among adolescents have arrived at an exciting new stage. Moving beyond laboratory studies of age differences in risk perception and reasoning, new approaches have shifted their focus to the influence of social and emotional factors on adolescent decision making. We review recent research suggesting that adolescent risk-taking propensity derives in part from a maturational gap between early adolescent remodeling of the brain’s socioemotional reward system and a gradual, prolonged strengthening of the cognitive-control system. Research has suggested that in adolescence, a time when individuals spend an increasing amount of time with their …

Script Fading For Children With Autism: Generalization Of Social Initiation Skills From School To Home, Alison Marie Wichnick

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

A critical component of teaching social skills to people with autism is the generalization of behavior change across a variety of untrained situations during which social skills are appropriate. The script-fading procedure is an effective technology for teaching social skills to people with autism, but few researchers have established cues in the natural environment as the discriminative stimuli for social initiations. The purpose of this study was to use a script-fading procedure to teach young children with autism to initiate to one another across various activities in the school setting, and to program for generalization across untrained stimuli in the …

Chronic Stress Elevates Telomerase Activity In Rats, Annaliese K. Beery, Jue Lin, Joshua S. Biddle, Darlene D. Francis, Elizabeth H. Blackburn, Elissa S. Epel

Neuroscience: Faculty Publications

The enzyme telomerase lengthens telomeres—protective structures containing repetitive DNA sequences at chromosome ends. Telomere shortening is associated with diseases of ageing in mammals. Chronic stress has been related to shorter immune-cell telomeres, but telomerase activity under stress may be low, permitting telomere loss, or high, partially attenuating it. We developed an experimental model to examine the impacts of extended unpredictable stress on telomerase activity in male rats. Telomerase activity was 54 per cent higher in stressed rats than in controls, and associated with stress-related physiological and behavioural outcomes. This significant increase suggests a potential mechanism for resilience to stress-related replicative …

Meg Coherence Imaging In Dyslexia: Activation Of Working Memory Pathways, Alfred Mansour

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The aims of this dissertation are to 1) review the genetic, neurodevelopmental, structural, and functional brain imaging studies that are the foundations of our understanding of dyslexia and 2) investigate the pattern of activation and functional connectivity of neuronal networks critical in working memory in dyslexics by means of magnetoenchephalographic (MEG) coherence imaging. Dyslexics showed an early onset of activation in the precentral gyrus and the superior frontal gyrus, which differed from controls where activation was initiated in posterior cortical regions (supramarginal gyrus and superior temporal gyrus). Further, dyslexics showed lower normalized amplitudes of activation in the right superior temporal …

Effects Of Neonatal Hypoxic Ischemic Brain Injury On Spatial Working Memory, Amanda L. Smith

Master's Theses

Children born prematurely or at very low birth weight (VLBW) have an increased risk for hypoxic ischemic brain injury (HI). HI refers to a lack of adequate blood and oxygen flow in the brain. HI can also occur in the term infant due to birth complications such as prolonged labor, placental dysfunction, or cord prolapse. In both populations (though exact patterns of neuropathology vary) brain damage is likely to occur in the form of decreased hippocampal and cortical volume, and enlargement of the ventricles (Kesler et al., 2004, Nagy et al., 2009). Resulting neuropathology can in turn lead to cognitive …

Autonomic And Behavioral Reactivity To An Acute Laboratory Stressor, Jeremy C. Peres

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Stress has been widely shown to directly influence people’s emotional and behavioral processing as well as their underlying biological systems. This project examined physiological and behavioral responses as indicators of stress and coping in the context of a psychosocial stressor in a controlled laboratory setting. We examined the association between indicators of behavioral coping and underlying physiological reactivity within participants while experiencing stress. Participants included 68 emerging adults. Physiological measures include autonomic biomarkers (e.g., heart-rate, skin conductance) at rest and during the stressor while behavioral indicators that were coded include acute verbal and non-verbal actions exhibited by participants during the …

The Enduring Impact Of One-Session Exposure Treatment On Selective Processing Bias And Explicit Memory Avoidance In Snake- And Spider-Fearful Participants, Karen Stanley-Kime

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The prevalence of anxiety disorders in the general population makes clarification of variables that contribute to the onset or maintenance of these disorders essential. Two such contributory variables are anxiety-induced selective processing bias and theorized subsequent explicit memory avoidance. The purpose of the present study was to examine the impact of one-session in vivo exposure treatment on selective processing bias and explicit memory avoidance immediately following successful treatment of stimulus-specific anxiety as well as at one-week and one-month follow-up. Participants (N = 60) were assigned to one of three groups: (1) the treatment group, composed of individuals who were fearful …

Biological Motion And Gender Recognition: Visual Fixation On The Inversion Effect, Andrey P. Borisyuk, Rachel J. Garland, Alysse M. Feldman, Abigail R. Marchese

Science University Research Symposium (SURS)

Gender recognition of point-light animations replicated an inversion effect. Participants identified the gender of thirty-two (half upright and half inverted, half male and half female) moving point-light human figures. Male figures were more accurately recognized in upright animations whereas female figures were more accurately recognized in inverted animations. Eye gaze of both genders was identical in both the upright animations (predominantly waist and shoulders) and inverted animations (predominantly waist but more distributed across body parts).

Neuroanatomical Substrates Of The Disruptive Effect Of Olanzapine On Rat Maternal Behavior As Revealed By C-Fos Immunoreactivity, Changjiu Zhao, Ming Li

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Olanzapine is one of the most widely prescribed atypical antipsychotic drugs in the treatment of schizophrenia. Besides its well-known side effect on weight gain, it may also impair human parental behavior. In this study, we took a preclinical approach to examine the behavioral effects of olanzapine on rat maternal behavior and investigated the associated neural basis using the c-Fos immunohistochemistry. On postpartum Days 6–8, Sprague-Dawley mother rats were given a single injection of sterile water or olanzapine (1.0, 3.0 or 5.0 mg/kg, sc). Maternal behavior was tested 2 h later, after which rats were sacrificed and brain tissues were collected. …

Age Differences In Reward Anticipation And Memory, Kristen L. Cushman

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Aging research on item- and associative-recognition memory has demonstrated that older adults are deficient in forming associations between two unrelated stimuli. Although older adult performance on tests of item-recognition is similar to younger adult performance, older adults perform worse than younger adults on tests of associative memory (Naveh-Benjamin, Hussain, Guez, & Bar-On, 2003). In addition to the idea that younger adult performance on associative-recognition tests is superior to that of older adults, research has shown that reward cues can enhance motivated learning and item memory performance of younger adults. In an fMRI study that examined the influence of reward anticipation …

Avataraudiometer: An Online Simulation Platform For Pure-Tone Audiometry, Daniel Weidman, Lauren Calandruccio

Intersections Fall 2020

Simulation education for medical and health professional training bridges classroom learning and training in a clinical environment. Its use has been increasing over the past two decades. Guidance to avoid in-person contact due to SARS-CoV-2 has further increased demand. Pure-tone audiometry is part of an audiometric test battery used to evaluate the auditory system. At Case Western Reserve University, students typically learn to conduct audiometry in COSI 370: Introduction to Audiology. Under current pandemic circumstances, students are unable to gain in-person experience using standard hardware (an audiometer and calibrated headphones). AvatarAudiometer solves this problem via an interactive online tool that …

Obesity Indices And Cognitive Function In Veterans, Kristin Macgregor

Psychology - Dissertations

Obesity is linked to many chronic health conditions and middle-aged obesity is associated with later-life dementia. Obesity rates in veterans are higher than in the civilian population. Research examining body mass index (BMI) and cognitive function has demonstrated that young to middle-aged obese adults consistently demonstrate deficits in memory and executive function. Waist circumference (WC) is another measure of obesity that has been investigated as it relates to cognitive function; however, a clear pattern of deficit has not yet emerged. This study's purpose was to investigate the relationship among BMI, WC, and cognitive function in male veterans aged 18-55. One …

Which Study Method Works Best? A Comparison Of Soar And Sq3r For Text Learning, Sarah C. Kasson

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

One hundred thirty-eight college students participated in a study comparing the SOAR (Select, Organize, Association, Regulate) and SQ3R (Survey, Question, Read, Recite, Review) study systems to each other and to students’ preferred study methods. Though both systems have been researched independently, just one other study has compared these study systems to each other. College students were assigned randomly to one cell of a 2x2 factorial design (method: SOAR or SQ3R; material: supplement or no supplement) or to a preferred-study-method control group. Groups were trained in their respective system (SOAR, SQ3R, or control) and then given materials about educational measurement to …

Influencing Opinions About Bats The Impact Of Levels Of Interaction During Educational Presentations, Samantha Hynes

HIM 1990-2015

This experiment was run to see whether the educational presentations done at zoos and other educational facilities are effectively changing patrons' negative misconceptions about the animals they were seeing. Participants were invited to attend one of three educational presentations, where they were exposed to either a low, intermediate or high level of interaction involving a bat. I hypothesized that regardless of the level of interaction, participants would learn the information, but that a higher level of interaction would cause the biggest perceptual change in terms of how participants felt about the bat and the highest degree of learning. Across the …

Equine-Assisted Psychotherapy As An Effective Therapy In Comparison To Or In Conjunction With Traditional Therapies, Kristen Wilson

HIM 1990-2015

Mental disorders are a prevalent health issue that has an extensive amount of variability in the quantity of disorders, affected populations, and treatment. There are a multitude of approaches or therapeutic methods used by the mental health community. Although each therapy is valuable in unique ways, each therapy may not be suitable to treat every disorder or client. Traditional approaches, such as talk therapy, are effective for certain individuals, whereas some clients may not respond well to any of the traditional talk therapies. When traditional therapies are not working, a referral can be made for a therapy that might suit …

Exploring Reasons Why Men And Women Refrain From Sex Despite Desire, Alessandra Lanti

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Sexual behavior has been found to be an unreliable referent for sexual desire. Numerous studies have found that sexual activity is motivated by a range of non-desire related factors, from the promotion of intimacy to the seeking of new experiences. Sexual desire may also be an unreliable predictor of sexual activity. There is a dearth of research, however, on the reasons why individuals choose not to have sex despite the presence of desire for a willing partner. The main aim of this study is to qualitatively investigate the reasons why people refrain from sex when they feel desire for a …

Effects Of D-Galactose Treatment And Moderate Exercise On Spatial Memory In Rats, Amanda R. Austin

Dissertations

Cognitive decline is a process frequently associated with aging. Physical exercise appears to counteract cognitive decline, specifically spatial abilities, and decreases the effects of reactive oxygen species (ROS) associated with aging. In addition, brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and glial derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) are well recognized as chemical mediators of the neurophysiological benefits of exercise.

In order to study the impact of exercise on spatial memory and neurotrophic factors, this study utilized an animal model of accelerated aging involving chronic d-galactose administration. Specifically, previous research indicates daily injections of d-galactose for 6-10 weeks may increase ROS in mice and …

Equine-Assisted Psychotherapy: A Descriptive Study, Erica Jex Gergely

Dissertations

The current study seeks to examine the program operations and treatment practices of individuals and organizations providing equine-assisted therapy services nationwide. Currently, there are several hundred programs across the United States that utilize equine-assisted therapy to treat common mental health problems in children, adolescents, and adults. Not all equine therapy programs function under the same theoretical model and therefore do not deliver treatment services using equivalent principles or techniques. In addition, program policies, procedures, and ethical guidelines of each provider vary. To date, there exists a paucity of research regarding equine-assisted therapy including both qualitative and quantitative data.

The present …

Performance On A Data Entry Task When Participants Receive Three Different Types Of Graphic Feedback, Sarah E. Vanstelle

Dissertations

This purpose of the present study was to compare the effects of three types of graphic feedback on worker performance and satisfaction. The first type displayed individual performance (IF), the second displayed individual performance and average group performance (SCF-GA), and the third displayed individual performance for each individual in the group (SCF-IP). Participants were 54 undergraduate students who were randomly assigned to one of the three groups. They performed a computerized data entry task that simulated the job of a medical data entry clerk. The primary dependent variable was the number of correctly completed patient records. Secondary dependent variables included: …

Cross-Cultural Cannibalism Throughout Human History, Melissa Cochran

Social Sciences

No abstract provided.

Spectrum Of Acute Clinical Characteristics Of Diagnosed Concussions In College Athletes Wearing Instrumented Helmets, Ann-Christine Duhaime,, Jonathan G. Beckwith, Arthur C. Maerlender, Thomas W. Mcallister, Joseph J. Crisco, Stefan M. Duma, P. Gunnar Brolinson, Steven Rowson, Laura A. Flashman, Jeffrey J. Chu, Richard M. Greenwald

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Object. Concussive head injuries have received much attention in the medical and public arenas, as concerns have been raised about the potential shortand long-term consequences of injuries sustained in sports and other activities. While many student athletes have required evaluation after concussion, the exact definition of concussion has varied among disciplines and over time. The authors used data gathered as part of a multiinstitutional longitudinal study of the biomechanics of head impacts in helmeted collegiate athletes to characterize what signs, symptoms, and clinical histories were used to designate players as having sustained concussions.

Methods. Players on 3 college …

Assessment Of The Discriminative Stimulus Effects And Time Courses Of Salvinorin A And Two Synthetic Salvinorin B Derivatives, Methoxylmethyl (Mom) And Ethoxymethyl (Eom), Ethers In Rats Trained To Discriminate U69,593, Lisa M. Bell

Masters Theses

Research regarding the psychopharmacology of salvinorin A, the main psychoactive ingredient in the hallucinogenic plant Salvia divinorum, has been motivated largely by a recent increase in its recreational use and widespread media attention focused on this plant and its extracts. In addition, there is considerable evidence that drugs acting on kappa opioid receptors (KOR) may have therapeutic potential in the treatment of some neuropsychiatric conditions, including drug dependence and mood disorders. Although the neuropharmacological actions of salvinorin A are well established, only a few studies have explored the behavioral effects of this substance in comparison to the KOR agonist, …

Laboratory Measures Of Aggression In Methadone Patients, Catherine M. Gayman

Masters Theses

Research suggests that current heroin users and individuals with a prior history of heroin dependence tend to be more aggressive than nonusers. No study has yet investigated whether opioid withdrawal affects aggressive responses on a laboratory task. The present study investigates whether mild opioid withdrawal affects aggression in six males and six females (N=12) undergoing methadone maintenance therapy. Aggressive behavior is measured using the Point Subtraction Aggression Paradigm (Cherek, 1981) computer task. Participants press buttons to earn money towards gift certificates. Money subtractions occur periodically and these are attributed to the behavior of a partner who is actually fictitious. Participants …

The Effects Of 0.2 Hz Varying Latency With 20-100 Ms Varying Amplitude On Simulator Sickness In A Helmet Mounted Display, Matthew St. Pierre

All Dissertations

The relationship between the occurrence of simulator sickness (SS) and the several characteristics of latency (i.e., added latency, amplitude of latency, and frequency of latency) in a helmet-mounted display (HMD) were explored in this study. The experience of SS while using an HMD has often been attributed to system latency. These findings are typical in research where HMDs with head trackers are used. The current study explored the effects of 200 ms added constant latency, latency varying at 0.2 Hz with a constant 100 ms amplitude, and latency varying at 0.2 Hz with a 20-100 ms varying amplitude on the …

Evidence Of Olfactory And Visual Learning In The Asian Citrus Psyllid, Diaphorina Citri Kuwayama (Hemiptera: Psyllidae), Dara G. Stockton

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Investigation of the mechanisms underlying learning and memory can be achieved through research on neurobiologically simplified invertebrate species. As such, insects have been used for decades as ideal models of olfactory learning. The current study aimed to investigate the mechanisms of chemosensory attraction in an invasive insect, Diaphorina citri, the Asian citrus psyllid (ACP), through manipulation of olfactory stimuli. After classical conditioning to a non-innate cue (vanilla extract), psyllids displayed enhanced feeding behavior. There was, however, an inverse relationship between olfactory “noise” and feeding behavior. Preliminary data suggests ACP may also be visual learners, as evidenced by trials attempting to …