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Targeting The Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex With Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation To Improve Depression And Anxiety In Parkinson's Disease, Brock Renicks May 2026

Targeting The Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex With Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation To Improve Depression And Anxiety In Parkinson's Disease, Brock Renicks

Honors Theses

The aim of this study is to observe the outcomes of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) as a treatment for Parkinson’s Disease (PD). This study will primarily look at changes in depression and anxiety, as these symptoms are often comorbid with Parkinson’s Disease. Transcranial direct current stimulation is a non-invasive, very low-intensity form of electrical stimulation of the brain. It is being increasingly used as a form of treatment for Parkinson’s Disease and depression and anxiety, however the literature is ambiguous, showing mixed results throughout various studies, with no standardization of tDCS administration. To determine the effect of tDCS on …

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Examining The Differences Between The Experience Of Audiobooks Vs. Reading, Mia K. Floriani May 2026

Examining The Differences Between The Experience Of Audiobooks Vs. Reading, Mia K. Floriani

Psychological Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

There are a variety of opinions regarding whether listening to audiobooks counts as real reading, but very limited research examining the topic in depth. The current study investigates the differences between audiobooks and reading, specifically examining how the two modes of story experiences effect mind-wandering, enjoyment, absorption, and comprehension. We predicted that listening to the story would lead to increased mind-wandering and decreased comprehension and raised the research question of how the modes would affect enjoyment and transportation. Undergraduate students (n = 76) were divided into a reading or a listening condition, where they experienced a short story. During …

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Social Isolation Predicts Altered Reward Circuit Connectivity And Future Behaviors In Adolescents, Mason Lucas, Josiah Leong May 2026

Social Isolation Predicts Altered Reward Circuit Connectivity And Future Behaviors In Adolescents, Mason Lucas, Josiah Leong

Psychological Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

Adolescence is a period of transition from childhood to adulthood when people explore risky behaviors, and stressors during adolescence can change structural brain connectivity. Previous research has found weaker structural connectivity between reward circuits and future cognitive impairments among children raised in orphanages. Comparative research in mice suggests that social isolation after bullying can damage these connections and induce alcohol seeking. We tested whether social isolation was related to lower connectivity of targeted structural connections and anxious behaviors in adolescent humans. We analyzed data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development study and found 522 subjects had experienced extreme social isolation. …

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Social Media Usage And Motives In Socially Anxious Individuals, Emma Eddy May 2026

Social Media Usage And Motives In Socially Anxious Individuals, Emma Eddy

Psychological Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

Social media use (SMU) has grown rapidly in recent years, alongside the rate of social anxiety. Plenty of research has been previously conducted exploring the relationship between SMU and social anxiety, as well as potential motivations for using social media which may explain the recent incline in usage. However, this study combines the two relationships together to test the association between social anxiety and problematic SMU as well as to investigate motives of SMU as potential mediators of problematic SMU. Problematic social media usage, social anxiety, passive vs active SMU, and four different motives of SMU were all looked at. …

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Fear Of Crime, Intolerance Of Uncertainty, And Trait Worry: A Mediation Model Of Perceived Risk And Victimization Concerns, Nicholai N. Chasseau May 2026

Fear Of Crime, Intolerance Of Uncertainty, And Trait Worry: A Mediation Model Of Perceived Risk And Victimization Concerns, Nicholai N. Chasseau

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined psychological vulnerability and fear of crime in 538 adults from Trinidad and Tobago. Perceived risk was the strongest predictor of fear, while prospective intolerance of uncertainty predicted fear directly. Mediation was supported among Afro-Trinidadians but not Indo-Trinidadians, suggesting sociocultural differences in cognitive pathways linking vulnerability to fear.

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When A Friend Dies Young: Experiences Of Young People After The Traumatic/Sudden Death Of A Friend/Peer, Summer Langva May 2026

When A Friend Dies Young: Experiences Of Young People After The Traumatic/Sudden Death Of A Friend/Peer, Summer Langva

Celebrating Scholarship and Creativity Day (2018-)

The sudden or traumatic death of a peer during adolescence or young adulthood is a common yet understudied form of bereavement despite the developmental importance of peer relationships during this life stage. The present study examined the long-term psychological impact of peer loss by investigating prolonged grief symptoms, perceived social support, coping strategies, and posttraumatic growth among adults who experienced the sudden or traumatic death of a peer between the ages of 12 and 25. Participants (N = 31) completed an anonymous online survey consisting of standardized measures of prolonged grief, perceived social support, coping strategies, and posttraumatic growth, along …

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Emotional Working Memory Across The Visualization Spectrum, Jae Fast May 2026

Emotional Working Memory Across The Visualization Spectrum, Jae Fast

Undergraduate Honors Theses

In 2015, the term “aphantasia” was coined to describe a small group of individuals who lack the ability to voluntarily produce visual mental imagery. This caused a rising interest in aphantasia and its associated neural, behavioral, cognitive, and emotional features. Understanding the role of visual mental imagery in both emotional and cognitive processes, it is reasonable to question whether aphantasia may result in importantly unique experiences that may require improved therapeutic practices to account for these differences. Previous studies have found that aphantasics experience reduced emotional responses to recalled emotional events, reduced affective processing, poor autobiographical memory, and other cognitive …

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Expressive Suppression Within Male Blue-Collar Coloradans, Kelsi C. Smits May 2026

Expressive Suppression Within Male Blue-Collar Coloradans, Kelsi C. Smits

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Blue-collar workers are a population that impacts nearly everyone who interacts with modern infrastructure.  Although they are crucial to modern life they are a population that is not widely researched or understood. This study aims to gain a more robust understanding of blue-collar workers by investigating male blue-collar workers in Colorado. This study will investigate how male blue-collar workers regulate their emotions. Emotional regulation will be measured using the Emotional Regulation Questionnaire. It is hypothesized that male blue-collar workers within Colorado will show that emotional suppression is a used emotional regulation tactic. It is essential to understand this because emotional …

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Relationships Between Therapists And Diverse Children's Populations And Their Effects, Brenda Sanchez Vega May 2026

Relationships Between Therapists And Diverse Children's Populations And Their Effects, Brenda Sanchez Vega

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Roughly around 13.8% of children and adolescents in the United States receive some sort of counseling or therapy; the main focus of the research is on racial/ethnic minoritized children. Because APA’s ethical codes don’t address all possible situations, positive client-therapist relationships are bound to develop, including dyads or dual relationships, improving treatment progress. With the United States continuing to grow in diversity, there’s still a big gap in the literature surrounding minority children in therapy. Speculating if therapy approaches are used effectively for all children, including minoritized children. Based on past research already conducted, developing a positive client-therapist dual relationship …

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Interview Format And Job Pursuit Intention, Pallavi Nimbappa Honkanadavar May 2026

Interview Format And Job Pursuit Intention, Pallavi Nimbappa Honkanadavar

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

This study examined how interview format influences job pursuit intentions (JPI) in the context of increasing use of artificial intelligence (AI) in hiring. Specifically, it compared human-led, AI-led, and AI-assisted scenario interview formats, and tested whether perceived procedural fairness and anticipated interview success mediated these relationships, as well as whether AI familiarity moderated the effects. Preliminary results from a sample of 72 participants indicated that, although the overall effect of interview format on JPI was not statistically significant, the pattern of means suggested highest JPI in human-led interview formats, followed by AI-assisted interviews, and finally completely AI-led interviews. Mediation analyses …

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Impostor Thoughts At Work: Examining The Relationship Between Impostor Thoughts, Employee Well-Being, And Coworker Support, Nikitha Sara Mohan May 2026

Impostor Thoughts At Work: Examining The Relationship Between Impostor Thoughts, Employee Well-Being, And Coworker Support, Nikitha Sara Mohan

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Most individuals experience impostor thoughts; however, limited construct clarity has hindered efforts to effectively examine their relationship with employee outcomes (Gullifor et al., 2021). To address this limitation, the present study adopts a sociocognitive perspective, conceptualizing impostor thoughts as beliefs that others overestimate one’s competence at work (Clance & Imes, 1978; Tewfik, 2022). Specifically, this research investigates workplace impostor thoughts and their associations with indicators of employee well-being, including job-related negative affect, burnout, physical symptoms, and perceived self-competence. Additionally, the study examines coworker support as a potential moderating factor in these relationships. A mixed-methods approach was employed. Quantitative data were …

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From Learners To Leaders: Informal Learning And Leadership Emergence In The Workplace, Ami Rupesh Shah May 2026

From Learners To Leaders: Informal Learning And Leadership Emergence In The Workplace, Ami Rupesh Shah

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

This study explored the relationship between informal learning behaviors and leadership emergence in workplace settings while also looking at the moderating roles of occupational self-efficacy and learning climate. Using a correlational, cross-sectional design, data was collected from 361 working professionals through an online survey with 341 being the final sample size. Participants completed validated self-report measures assessing informal learning behaviors, occupational self-efficacy, learning climate, and leadership emergence. Correlational and moderation analyses were performed to test the study hypotheses. Results showed that informal learning behaviors was positively and significantly related to leadership emergence. Moreover, occupational self-efficacy and learning climate both were …

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Constant Connectivity To Work, Health Behaviors, Physical Symptoms: Exploring Boundary Management Practices That Can Help, Christina Christodoulou May 2026

Constant Connectivity To Work, Health Behaviors, Physical Symptoms: Exploring Boundary Management Practices That Can Help, Christina Christodoulou

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

The workday inevitably exposes employees to numerous demands that induce stress reactions. Without sufficient recovery (i.e. returning stress reactions to baseline), individuals risk experiencing chronic psychological, behavioral or physical strains. With the rise of constant connectivity to work, recovery is becoming more of a challenge. However, research on the recovery-related consequences of constant connectivity, particularly its impact on health behaviors and physical health outcomes, remains scarce. To fill this gap in the literature, this research explored the relationship between constant connectivity, boundary management practices, health behaviors, and physical symptoms using a mixed-methods, multi-study design. A mixed methods pilot study (N …

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Performative Racial Allyship And Ally Ambivalence: A Qualitative Study, Peter D. Goldie May 2026

Performative Racial Allyship And Ally Ambivalence: A Qualitative Study, Peter D. Goldie

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Racism is rampant in and outside of higher education institutions (HEIs). Preliminary research has found that white allyship--or white people's efforts to dismantle racism by partnering with People of Color--can be beneficial to Black communities when done authentically and in ways that center Black voices, perspectives, and liberatory goals. However, a growing body of scholarship has found that white people seldom show up as allies in meaningful ways. Instead, they frequently resort to performative racial allyship (PRA), or behaviors that are meant to signal solidarity with a marginalized racial group yet are superficial and self-serving. To support effective antiracism efforts, …

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Theory Of Mind And Emotion Recognition In Down Syndrome: A Comparative Developmental Trajectory Approach, Stephanie L. Grinshpun May 2026

Theory Of Mind And Emotion Recognition In Down Syndrome: A Comparative Developmental Trajectory Approach, Stephanie L. Grinshpun

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Delays and impairments in social functioning are common in Down syndrome (DS), creating significant challenges for these individuals as they navigate social environments and relationships. Two fundamental components of social cognition and functioning are Theory of Mind (ToM), comprised of cognitive and affective ToM, and emotion recognition. While previous research has documented broad deficits within ToM and emotion recognition in DS, the current body of work does not provide a comprehensive account of how these two abilities develop, interrelate, or influence social functioning in this population. The current study investigated ToM and emotion recognition in a sample of 24 participants …

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Engaging College Students With Eating Disorder Symptoms In Digital Mental Health Interventions, Emily Judd May 2026

Engaging College Students With Eating Disorder Symptoms In Digital Mental Health Interventions, Emily Judd

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Background: Most college students with elevated eating disorder (ED) symptoms do not receive mental health treatment. These students commonly report preference for self-management and lack of perceived need for therapy as barriers to seeking help and engaging with mental health services. Screening surveys and digital mental health interventions (DMHIs) may help address these perceived barriers to treatment. Evidence suggests that DMHIs can be effective at reducing ED symptoms. However, student engagement (e.g., uptake and adherence) with DMHIs is low, which significantly limits their effectiveness. Objective: We adapted an engagement strategy for DMHIs, known as the Supporting Technology Engagement for Prevention …

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Sex Differences In How Celebrity Crushes Bolster Self-Perceived Mate Value, Madyson M. King May 2026

Sex Differences In How Celebrity Crushes Bolster Self-Perceived Mate Value, Madyson M. King

Psychological Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

Previous research indicates that parasocial relationships provide surrogate connections for individuals to where they offer various psychological benefits. Some benefits include self-esteem and improved body image, which may be connected by such relationships facilitating attainment of one's ideal self. Given this benefit of social surrogacy, it could be possible that a vicarious romantic connection with a parasocial figure may similarly bolster one's mate value if that relationship were to move an individual closer to a personal ideal. We predicted that engagement with a celebrity crush would be associated with a heightened mate value. A community sample of men and women …

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Negation And The Backfire Effect, Caden Fowler May 2026

Negation And The Backfire Effect, Caden Fowler

Psychological Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

Quick! Do not think of a polar bear. Did you think of a white bear? As Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky wrote in his 1863 essay “Winter Notes on Summer Impressions,” “[when tasked to not think of a polar bear] you will see that the cursed thing will come to mind every minute.” The consequence of negation without context (i.e., unlicensed negation; Levine & Hagaman, 2008) is what has come to be referred to as the “backfire effect,” a phenomenon where correcting misinformation strengthens belief in that information rather diminishing it (Ecker, et al., 2020). Fake news and misinformation in …

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The Effects Of Cannabidiol (Cbd) On The Social, Cognitive, And Physical Facets Of Anxiety Sensitivity, Ezri Rathbun May 2026

The Effects Of Cannabidiol (Cbd) On The Social, Cognitive, And Physical Facets Of Anxiety Sensitivity, Ezri Rathbun

Psychological Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

The current study investigated how repeated administration of 300mg of cannabidiol (CBD), when compared to a placebo, affects the social, cognitive, and physical facets of anxiety sensitivity (AS), a characteristic that reflects fear of the consequences of anxious arousal. Prior work suggests CBD may have anxiolytic effects that may be specific to the social aspects of anxiety. Thus, it was hypothesized that, that, relative to placebo, CBD would reduce self-reported AS-social concerns, but not AS-cognitive or AS-physical concerns, compared to baseline. Participants (N= 79; 52 women; Mage = 22.06) with elevated perceived stress were randomly assigned to 14 …

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What Are The Roles Of Vocabulary And Working Memory In Metaphor Comprehension?, Claire Simpson May 2026

What Are The Roles Of Vocabulary And Working Memory In Metaphor Comprehension?, Claire Simpson

Psychological Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

One of the most notable factors that influence sentence comprehension is the presence of metaphors (e.g., Inhoff, Lima, & Carroll, 1984). The metaphor interference effect (MIE) is a very interesting result of metaphor comprehension. It is a well-known linguistic effect (e.g., Al- Azary et al., 2021; Glucksberg et al, 1982) that can result in participants taking longer to determine that a metaphoric statement is false compared to other non-metaphoric literally false statements. The present study investigated the impact that vocabulary knowledge, working memory capacity, and memory load have on the metaphor interference effect. We predicted that each of these characteristics …

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The Effect Of Self-Disclosure To Dogs On Stress, Coping, And Emotional Well-Being, Lilian Crawford May 2026

The Effect Of Self-Disclosure To Dogs On Stress, Coping, And Emotional Well-Being, Lilian Crawford

Psychological Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

Self-disclosure has been defined as the voluntary sharing of personal thoughts and experiences with another individual, and in recent years, it has been associated with improvements in psychological and physiological well-being. Recent research into animal-assisted therapy has also demonstrated the emotional benefits of interacting with dogs. However, the current research has not yet explored how the specific act of self-disclosure to dogs affects emotional well-being. The present study explored the effects of self-disclosure to dogs on stress, ability to cope, and emotional well-being. Participants (N = 113) included dog owners who were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: self-disclosure …

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The Relationship Between Media Use, Identity, And Attitudes Towards Women, Kelly A. Summers May 2026

The Relationship Between Media Use, Identity, And Attitudes Towards Women, Kelly A. Summers

Psychological Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

Pornography’s popularity among college men is widespread, with degrading content being common in top-selling pornography (Bridges et al., 2010; Foubert et al., 2011). Research has shown higher consumption of degrading pornography is associated with more negative attitudes towards women, greater acceptance of rape culture, more sexist beliefs, and greater likelihood of engaging in aggressive and dominant behavior during physical intimacy (Bridges et al., 2023). “Incels” (a term meaning involuntarily celibate) are individuals who have not yet had a sexual debut despite an interest. Relatively little research exists on this population, but the little that has been conducted suggests incels have …

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Raising Regulated Moms: Reducing Reactive Parenting Responses, Victoria J. Perez May 2026

Raising Regulated Moms: Reducing Reactive Parenting Responses, Victoria J. Perez

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Many parents and caregivers lack access to information and support that accurately relates effective parenting styles, without this knowledge caregivers and parents may unintentionally rely on reactive responses that end up escalating conflict with their child rather than resolving it. When parents respond to their child's big emotions without effective tools to first regulate themselves, they risk contributing to higher stress levels, emotional withdrawal, and behavioral dysregulation in their children. Research consistently demonstrates that when parents are given the tools to successfully incorporate self-regulation skills and evidence-based approaches to guide children through difficult emotions, both the child and the parent …

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Unveiling Embodied White Supremacy: Therapists’ Experiences And Its Imprint On Therapeutic Relationships In Dance/Movement Therapy, Melody E. Gamba May 2026

Unveiling Embodied White Supremacy: Therapists’ Experiences And Its Imprint On Therapeutic Relationships In Dance/Movement Therapy, Melody E. Gamba

Counseling and Psychology Dissertations

This qualitative, arts-informed research study explored how White-identifying dance/movement therapists experience and articulate their awareness of embodied White supremacy within therapeutic relationships. Grounded in critical race theory, relational-cultural theory, and embodied critical transformation theory, the study addressed a gap in dance/movement therapy literature concerning how White supremacy is not only cognitively understood, but also somatically felt, relationally enacted, and professionally navigated. The purpose of the study was to understand how White-identifying dance/movement therapists perceive, kinesthetically experience, and make meaning of embodied White supremacy in therapeutic practice, and to explore how these embodied experiences influence therapeutic presence, attunement, and the potential …

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Coloniality Disrupted: Critical Knowledge Interventions Shift Decolonial Attitudes Among White Americans Via Collective Responsibility & Moral Outrage, Mejdy Jabr May 2026

Coloniality Disrupted: Critical Knowledge Interventions Shift Decolonial Attitudes Among White Americans Via Collective Responsibility & Moral Outrage, Mejdy Jabr

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Epistemologies of ignorance and critical knowledge dialectically shape how individuals psychologically and politically orient themselves within oppressive social systems. Across three studies, I investigated the psychological mechanisms through which critical-historical knowledge about Indigenous peoples relates to and causally shifts support for (or opposition to) decolonization among America’s foremost settler population, White Americans. Study 1 utilized an Indigenous history test to assess the relationship between critical knowledge and support for decolonization (i.e., decolonial policies and practices; DCPPs), finding that critical-historical knowledge is positively associated with DCPP support and that this relationship is mediated by collective responsibility. Studies 2 and 3 built …

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Understanding The Effects Of Adventure Therapy On Inner City Youths' Sense Of Relatedness, Nicolas Bellegarde May 2026

Understanding The Effects Of Adventure Therapy On Inner City Youths' Sense Of Relatedness, Nicolas Bellegarde

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Adventure therapy is a creative, transtheoretical group-based model of counseling that utilizes kinesthetic activities coupled with metaphors and processing modalities, alongside experiences outdoors, to facilitate insight and motivate healthy communication between group members. Through intentional sequencing and guidance of activities, facilitators aim to improve participants' communication skills, group engagement, and ability to tolerate discomfort and risk while strategically solving problems. In addition, the integration of nature and the outdoors has been demonstrated to improve mental health and well-being, generating a sense of connectedness to the environment and to the group. Adolescence is a time of rapid developmental change characterized by …

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Effects Of Social Sport Settings And Belonging On Female Athlete Mental Health Stress, Abby Caudill May 2026

Effects Of Social Sport Settings And Belonging On Female Athlete Mental Health Stress, Abby Caudill

Undergraduate Theses

Mental health concerns among collegiate athletes have become an increasingly important issue, particularly for female athletes who face unique social and performance-related pressures. Understanding the factors that contribute to or protect against mental health stress is critical for improving athlete well-being. The purpose of this study was to examine whether sport type, team belonging, self-stigma, and athletic identity were associated with mental health stress among female collegiate athletes. Participants included 57 undergraduate female athletes from a small private university who completed self-report survey measuring team belonging, self-stigma, athletic identity, and mental health stress. Bivariate correlation results indicated that higher self-stigma …

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Believe It Or Not: An Examination Of The Nature And Implications Of Evidence-Resistant Beliefs, Jack Geruc May 2026

Believe It Or Not: An Examination Of The Nature And Implications Of Evidence-Resistant Beliefs, Jack Geruc

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Theses

The aim of this thesis is to contribute to a growing body of academic research regarding the nature and origin of evidence-resistant belief systems and examine the influence that they have upon our lives. This examination of the origin of these beliefs draws on two intellectual disciplines: psychology and epistemology. A psychological approach examines the cognitive mechanisms that allow for the formation and persistence of these beliefs. The psychological approach focuses on the biological drives of belief formation and resilience. Furthermore, an examination of the psychology of identity shows an entanglement of one’s identity with belief systems that allows for …

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The Role Of Executive Functions In Creativity, Gavin R. Kyer May 2026

The Role Of Executive Functions In Creativity, Gavin R. Kyer

Biological Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

The present study investigates the relationship between executive functions and creativity, measured through divergent thinking. Literature review determines that there should be a positive correlation between executive functioning and creative idea generation, however, findings are mixed. This study tested the level of correlation/predictability between executive functions, specifically, updating, shifting, and inhibition, and creativity. Participants (N=112) completed tasks assessing updating (letter memory), shifting (number letter) and inhibition (Stroop). They also completed the Alternative Uses Task (AUT) that measures divergent thinking. Pearson’s correlations and multiple regression analyses were conducted to examine any individual or combined relationship between executive functions and creativity. Results …

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Beyond Challenging Up: How Organizational Climate Shapes Externally-Oriented Courage In The Workplace, Morgan Chandler May 2026

Beyond Challenging Up: How Organizational Climate Shapes Externally-Oriented Courage In The Workplace, Morgan Chandler

All Dissertations

Employees often face situations that confront them with the decision to do the right thing at work despite risk, which requires courage. This dissertation introduces a new form of workplace courage: challenging-around, which, in the context of the present study, involves pushing back against external stakeholders to uphold issues like ethical standards, organizational integrity, or professional judgement. Guided by Worthwhile Risk Theory, the study examined how organizational climate and moral courage influence this behavior. Results show that supportive, goal-promoting climates increase challenging-around, while moral courage independently predicts challenging-around. Additionally, the study validates a researcher-developed measure of challenging-around. Overall, findings suggest …

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