Digital Commons Network^™

Musical Motivation: Investigating Musical Contingent Self-Worth And Its Interactions With Music Training And Perceived Musical Ability, Douglas Allan Kowalewski

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

This program of research centers on a novel measure of how much value one places on having and displaying their musical ability – musical contingent self-worth – and how that construct interacts with existing measures of music training and perceived musical ability to predict performance on both musical and general cognitive tasks. Two studies (Experiments 1 and 2) provide evidence for the validity and reliability of an MCSW scale and additionally show that it uniquely predicts both reactions to, and performance on, a musical skills task (Experiment 1). These initial studies also show that MCSW interacts with music training to …

Investigating A Brief Mindfulness Curriculum On On-Task Behavior: A Single Case Study Of The Learning To Breathe Program, Emily E. Satin

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

Current research has uncovered that mindfulness engagement improves students’ emotional regulation, attention skills, and academic engagement (Bertin, 2014; Khoury, et al., 2013; Remmers, et al., 2016; Quach et al, 2016; Sanaei, et al., 2014). Broderick’s (2013) Learning to BREATHE (L2B) curriculum is a mindfulness-based program designed for adolescents and has been shown to improve attention skills through self-report data (Eva & Thayer, 2017; Rosenman et al., 2011). Meanwhile, behaviorally based interventions such as Check-in/Check-out (CI/CO) have been shown to improve student attention via direct observation. The current study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of L2B as a standalone intervention as …

A Strength-Based Approach To Understanding The Impact Of Experiences Of Discrimination Related To Identity-Based Stressors On Disordered Eating Among A Sample Of Sexual And Gender Diverse Individuals, Susana Cruz Garcia

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

Empirical research investigating eating disorder (ED) behaviors among sexual and gender minorities has grown substantially in recent decades, though notable gaps call for further work to clarify mixed findings regarding the experiences of this heterogeneous population. This study sought to add to our understanding of disordered eating behaviors in LGBTQIA+ participants, with a specific focus on differences between lesbian and gay (LG) versus bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual, and other identities (BTQIA+), with the latter group remaining especially underrepresented in the literature. Study aims were firstly, to quantify ED incidence and the frequency of experiences of identity-based discrimination in sexual …

Talking About Relational Youth Work: Why Language Matters, Trudi Cooper, Tim Corney, Hilary Tierney, Jamie Gorman, John Sutcliffe

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

The literature on youth work emphasises the importance of ‘relationship’ to good practice, moreover, the characteristics of the youth-work relationship have been posited as a defining feature of youth work in the British-influenced tradition. Despite this, little attention is paid to the choice of language used to describe how professional youth workers relate to young people, or how language choices reflect political framing of youth work and of power relationships within their practice. Language choice has implications for how youth workers perceive their professional identity, for how accountability is construed, and for inter-professional working. In this article we undertake a …

A Change In Climate: Inclusion And Menopause Experience At Work, Janie D. Stuart

Industrial-Organizational Psychology Dissertations

Inclusion within workplace environments is increasingly important as workforce diversity continues to expand. Despite anti-discrimination laws, women and other underrepresented groups often face exclusion in the workplace, which negatively affects their professional growth, health, and well-being. This research focused on how menopause, a natural biological transition, compounds workplace exclusion for women. Specifically, the study investigated the relationship between Menopause Experience and two workplace outcomes, Organizational Commitment and Turnover Intention, and assessed the moderating effects of Inclusion in organizations, teams, and non-gendered workplace cultures. There were strong positive relationships between all three dimensions of Inclusion with both Organizational Commitment and Turnover …

From Street Codes To School Codes: Transformative Educational Intervention For Gang Affiliated Student. An Active Research Study, Alexandra Saldivar

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Gang-affiliated youth face significant challenges in educational and community settings, often resulting in lower graduation rates, limited career opportunities, and an increased risk for behavioral problems. While gang activity on school campuses has increased in recent years, there is limited research and little effort specifically tailored to meet the needs of this vulnerable population. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of the WhyTry intervention, a resilience-focused program designed for at-risk populations, modified with additional counseling and a gang-intervention emphasis to address the unique challenges gang-affiliated students face. The study explores whether the modified WhyTry program can improve academic performance, …

Students’ Perceptions Of Self And Peers Predict Self-Reports Of Cheating, Amber M. Henslee, Luke Settles, Sara E. Johnson, Gayla R. Olbricht

Psychological Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

Academic dishonesty and how to address it are common concerns across higher education disciplines, but engineering students admit to higher rates of academic dishonesty than other students. However, first-year students may be particularly receptive to prevention efforts. Considering self-perception, social norming, and behavioral choice theories, we hypothesized that 1.) Students who perceived themself as ethical and more knowledgeable of the consequences for misconduct would be less likely to self-report cheating and 2.) Students who perceived cheating and plagiarism to be common would be more likely to self-report cheating. For this study, freshmen engineering students (N=703) reported their self-perception, perception of …

Balance Assistance Without Mechanical Support Using A Virtual Cane With Haptic Feedback, Sindhu Reddy Alluri, Sambad Regmi, Fazlur Rashid, Devin Michael Burns, Yun Seong Song

Psychological Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

Light Touch (LT) has been known to improve standing balance without mechanical support by providing sensory information about the movement of the body. Inspired by this, this work developed a Virtual Cane (VC) which gives no physical support but provides other sensory information that a physical cane would. The VC is developed with a distance sensor and vibration actuators to provide cane tip-to-ground distance information to the user. The extent to which this haptic feedback improves standing balance was assessed in a human experiment. 10 healthy young participants underwent a standing balance experiment with tandem stance and eyes closed, using …

How Do Human And Ai Gender Bias Interact In Hiring Decisions?, Eyuel Getahun, Daniel Burton Shank, Casey I. Canfield, Jessica L. Cundiff, Jenny L. Davis, Celia Freed

Psychological Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

The hiring process is crucial for organizational success but has long been troubled by human biases. Many organizations now include AI in their hiring protocols to mitigate these biases and increase efficiency. However, AI itself can have biases baked-in. Human biases and AI biases are distinct but related; here, we examine how human and AI biases interact to affect hiring outcomes. Through an online experiment, we examine this question in the context of gendered hiring for a male-dominated leadership position in electrical engineering. The study tests how elevated and depressed AI recommendations for male and female job candidates affect participant …

Exploring The Placebo Effect On The Cortisol Stress Response, Povheng Yam

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

The placebo effect is well-studied on pain perception and is often observed to have a pain-reducing effect in patients. A few studies suggest that the placebo effect can influence physiological changes in people. To date, not many studies have examined the placebo effect on stress; thus, the current study explored the placebo effect on participants’ cortisol stress response and self-reported stress while undergoing a modified acute stress task, the Sing-a-Song Stress Test (SSST). The current study includes 44 participants (22 in the control group and 22 in the treatment group). A deceptive stress-reducing tincture (filled with water) was used as …

Human Perception Of Ai Capabilities At Classifying Perturbed Roadway Signs, Katherine R. Garcia, Jing Chen, Yanru Xiao, Scott Mishler, Cong Wang, Bin Hu

Computer Science Faculty Publications

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is crucial to numerous functions required for driving automation systems, including the computer vision techniques used to detect the roadway environment and make real-time decisions. However, the images used as inputs to the AI system may be maliciously perturbed, or manipulated, causing the AI system to make an incorrect classification. In this study, we examined humans’ perception of the AI’s computer vision capability of classifying various road sign images, including the original images, images with two different types of malicious attacks, and images that are scrambled randomly at the pixel level. Our results showed that participants rated …

A Real-Time Approach To Capture Ambient And Focal Attention In Visual Search, Gavindya Jayawardena, Yasith Jayawardana, Yasasi Abeysinghe, Bhanuka Mahanama, Sampath Jayarathna, Jacek Gwizdka

Computer Science Faculty Publications

During visual search, individuals’ attention shifts between ambient and focal states in response to task demands and stimuli. The ambient/focal coefficient K is a statistically validated measure of these states, computed offline from fixation duration and saccade amplitude data. While current methods compute K offline, real-time computation could enable applications such as monitoring user attention, creating attention-adaptive user interfaces, and optimizing graphics rendering. However, real-time computation of K requires stable estimates for the parameters of fixation duration and saccade amplitude distributions. Since these distributions are heavy-tailed, the real-time estimates exhibit high variance and slow convergence. To overcome this, we propose …

Factor Analysis Of Neuropsychological Attention Measures With Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Patients, Elizabeth Mateer

Clinical Psychology Dissertations

This study explored the factor structure of commonly used neuropsychological tests to assess attention in individuals with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). The study aimed to clarify the relationships among tests traditionally used to assess different components of attention, including the NAB Numbers & Letters Test, Paced Auditory Serial Addition Task (PASAT), Trail Making Test A & B, Digit Span, Arithmetic, and Coding. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) with an oblimin rotation procedure was used to identify the factor structure. The EFA suggested that a four-factor solution was optimal. These factors were identified as: (1) visual attention and psychomotor speed, (2) …

Perceived Credibility Of Allegations Of Sexual Assault Across Victim Race And Mental Health History, Liyah C. Morgan

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Previous research examined the effect of victim gender and rape myth acceptance (RMA) on perceptions of victim credibility; however, little attention has been given to the impact of victim race and mental health history, and even fewer studies have explored the intersection of these two identities. The primary purpose of the current study was to identify factors affecting understanding of perceived credibility of victims of sexual assault, specifically in terms of victim race and mental health history. The study also examined the role of RMA on perceptions of credibility and explored participant attitudes related to color-blind racial attitudes and mental …

Correlates Of Body Image And Physical Self-Concept, Rashuna Middleton

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

The growing overlap between social media and celebrity culture has played a significant role in shaping individuals' perceptions of body image and self-worth. This study explored the relationship between celebrity worship, problematic social media use, narcissism, physical self-concept, and body image among undergraduate psychology students. This study utilized the Celebrity Attitude Scale (CAS), the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI), the Maladaptive Covert Narcissism Scale (MCNS), the Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale (BSMAS), the Body Influence Assessment Inventory (BIAI), the Self-Objectification Questionnaire (SOQ), and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSE). Findings indicated that vulnerable narcissism positively correlated with body image, whereas grandiose narcissism …

Effects Of Perinatal Exposure To Lipopolysaccharide And Acetaminophen On Learning In Adult Long-Evans Rats, Lucy A. Sivils

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

The present study investigated the individual and combined effects of elevated perinatal inflammation, oxidative stress caused by acetaminophen (APAP) exposure, or elevated inflammation and oxidative stress on adult learning behaviors in Long-Evans rats. While prior studies have examined these factors independently, the combined effects of inflammation and oxidative stress via APAP exposure during early development on learning-related behaviors remain unexplored. The present research aimed to address this gap by the analysis of potential long-term neurodevelopmental consequences of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inflammation and APAP-induced oxidative stress. LPS, APAP, or LPS + APAP was administered during the perinatal period: postnatal days (PD) 9, …

What Is Reasonable? Effects Of Different Jury Instructions In A Fatal Police Use Of Force Case, Katherine M. Kaylor

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Since the Supreme Court case Graham v. Connor, police officers charged with misusing force on duty are judged against a hypothetical reasonable officer. Graham focuses on split-second decisions police officers must make and states police should not be judged with the benefit of hindsight. California goes beyond the subjective language of Graham and instructs jurors to look at the totality of circumstances, meaning they must consider all events and actions of an officer and citizen when assessing cases. The current study investigated whether type of instruction (Graham vs. California) affected mock jurors’ verdicts. Participants in the California condition …

Performance Is In The Eye Of The Beholder: Exploring The Moderating Role Of Psychological Perspective Distancing Within Thought Self-Leadership In An Organizational Context, Christopher Bryton Neck

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Self-leadership, or the process through which individuals perform various cognitive and behavioral strategies to attain the self-direction and self-motivation necessary to perform in desired ways, has consistently been evidenced to enhance individuals’ performance through promoting a variety of positive individual cognitions, such as self-efficacy, positive affect, and engagement and through diminishing key threatening mental states such as stress, negative affect, and dysfunctional thinking (Harari et al., 2021; Knotts et al., 2022). The cognitive component of self-leadership, thought self-leadership (TSL) has been found to be particularly impactful, aiding the individual to modify and adapt their dysfunctional thinking to be more constructive …

Civic Participation And Meaning In Life: Similarities And Differences Across Diverse Youth, Yue Ni, G. John Geldhof, Richard A. Settersten, Shauna L. Tominey

Psychology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Civic engagement is an important component of youth thriving, but prior research—focused primarily on political engagement—has found a “civic engagement gap” between youth with marginalized identities and those with privileged social identities. Research is needed to understand youth involvement in other civic activities, patterns of disparities, and any implications of these differences for youth well-being. In this study, we examined differences in community service activities, political activities, and expressive activities and their relationships with meaning in life 2 years later across 11 groups of 1,088 adolescents defined by intersections of race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and nativity. Findings reveal great diversity in …

The Perceptions Of Training And Development And Emotional Intelligence Among Virtual Leaders In Public And Private Institutions Of Higher Education, Ryan J. Trautweiler

Theses and Dissertations

This applied qualitative dissertation explored virtual leadership in higher education, examining virtual leaders' perceptions of training and development and emotional intelligence. Using an inductive research approach, data were collected through semistructured interviews and a questionnaire distributed via Google Forms to eight virtual leaders from public and private higher education institutions. Data were analyzed using interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA) and thematic analysis to identify key patterns and themes. Findings revealed distinctions between public and private institutions. In public institutions, training and development focused on faculty preparedness, resourcefulness in overcoming limitations, and its impact on student engagement. In private institutions, training was …

Parent Social Validity Ratings Of Receiving Functional Communication Training, Shani Davies

Theses and Dissertations

This applied dissertation was designed to provide greater insight on parent and caregiver views and perceptions on participating in functional communication training. While extensive research exists regarding the effectiveness of functional communication training and parent training in general for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder, evidence on the social validity with respect to caregivers is lacking.

The researcher utilized evidenced-based social validity scales to explore parent/caregiver perceptions of receiving caregiver functional communication training, their perceived effectiveness of the treatment modality, and overall acceptance of the approach.

An analysis of the data revealed that parents’ overall perception was neutral regarding general views …

Too Much Information: The Role Everyday Information Plays In The Understanding Of Mental Health, Jeremy M. Morgan

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

Information overload has become increasingly problematic within the world of mental health, as people are able to go online and access overwhelming amounts of mental health-related information within seconds. The aim of the current study was to examine the interaction between excess mental health information and individuals’ understanding of mental health, specifically Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), as well as self-diagnosis. Data from 128 participants was examined. The data collected related to participants’ online search and use patterns of ASD information, their understanding of ASD symptoms, as well as their experiences with those symptoms. Results indicated a significant positive correlation between …

An In-Depth Review Of Euthanasia-Related Practices, Arguments For/Against Them, And Proposed Solutions For Their Most Glaring Legal/Ethical Problems, Macon Plecha

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This paper’s goal is to cover the topic of euthanasia-related practices at great length. Terminology, history, and current programs around the world are discussed first, with the last point covering a wide geographical range: Colombia, Japan, Israel, and Africa, to name a few outside of the Western world standard. Arguments for and against euthanasia-related practices are explored. Within these arguments, several pressing legal and ethical issues arise, and the most severe of these are expanded on through the offering of potential solutions: how to handle stand-alone psychiatric cases, how to improve advanced directives and poor reporting rates, and how to …

Investigating The Role Of Motivation In Open-Label Placebo Responses, Joshua Worthington

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Placebo effects occur when an individual receives an inactive treatment that should be unable to provide therapeutic benefits but still demonstrates meaningful improvements in health. Open-label placebos extend this phenomenon by providing full disclosure to individuals that they are receiving a placebo, as opposed to traditional placebo treatments that utilize deception. The role of expectancy as a mechanism of change in placebo has received some mixed results in open-label placebo studies. To the author’s knowledge, motivation for change has not been examined in open-label placebo. The current study examined the role of motivation as a mechanism of placebo responses. To …

Can Dyslexia Diagnosis Induce A Stereotype Threat Effect? A Literature Review And Research Proposal, David H. Harris

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Dyslexia is a recognized psychiatric diagnosis in the DSM-5, categorized as a specific language disorder. Dyslexia is a hidden disability that affects how individuals process auditory and visual information. Many people have heard of dyslexia but it is largely misunderstood, even by educational professionals, and its general association with learning disability can be the basis for negative stereotyping and discrimination of people with dyslexia. The ‘Stereotype threat effect’ is a term from social psychology research referring to situations where one’s performance on a task is influenced by their identification with a social group that has a well-known stereotype about their …

Goal Setting In Sleep And Nutrition To Improve Perceived Performance In Active College Students, Cameron F. Timmons

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

This study looked at goal setting in sleep and nutrition on healthy active college students aimed to improve their perceived performance, resting metabolic rate, body composition, and overall well-being. The six-week-long intervention had two groups: a control (n=5) and intervention group (n=6). Both groups received an initial coaching session and guidance for self-motivated online goal setting, completed weekly check-ins asking about their sleep and nutrition quality and quantity, and perceived performance, then they would set small goals aimed at improving their sleep and nutrition. The control group set their own goals every week with their online weekly check-ins, and the …

Impacts Of Autistic Traits On Student Evaluations Of Professors, Matias Solorzano

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Instructor evaluations are critical to the tenure process in academia, but are biased against autistic individuals in academic settings. This study addresses how instructor evaluations are impacted by the gender of the professor, whether the instructor discloses their autism identity, and the gender of the student evaluator in a 2 Professor Gender (Male or Female) x 2 Autism Identity (Disclosed v. Not Disclosed) x 2 Student Gender (Male or Female) between-subjects design. It was hypothesized that male professors will be rated higher than female professors, that disclosing one’s autism identity leads to higher evaluations than non disclosure, and that female …

The Role Of Reason In Religion, Moses Morgan

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

In this work, I will argue that there is a proper place for reason within religion. I am primarily arguing against the claim that religions are sets of beliefs without reason, citing various thinkers who have made this claim. I will explicate and critique various conceptions of religion pulled from Muslim philosophers al-Farabi and Averroes and Catholic philosopher and theologian St. Thomas Aquinas. I will then provide an alternative position, synthesizing elements of each view, stating that religion is the primary way everyone interacts with reality in each moment. After establishing this concept, I will then argue for the extent …

Examining The Effects Of A Teaching Theory Of Mind Curriculum For Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Kayla Marie Hart

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Theory of Mind (ToM) is the ability to attribute mental states – thoughts, beliefs, and emotions – to oneself and others, and is critical for social understanding and interaction. Research has demonstrated that ToM development is linked to social competence, peer relationships, and emotional development in children, with notable differences observed between children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and neurotypical peers. This study aims to examine the effectiveness of the Teaching Theory of Mind Curriculum (Ordetx, 2012) curriculum in improving ToM capabilities and social functioning in children with ASD and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Participants, aged 7-17, underwent a 6-12 week …

Tap, Swipe, And Connect: Exploring Perceptions Of Inclusivity Through Smartphone Design And Accessibility, Carmen Van Ommen

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

There has been an increasing importance placed on customization of products and desire for the product to allow the consumer to express themselves or fit into desired social groups with their product choices. Designing products to be inclusive can encompass these desires, as well as ensure that a wide range of user groups can use the products well. In general, there is little research in the field of perceptions of inclusivity with consumer technology products. Previous research has validated a scale to measure Perceptions of Technology Product Inclusivity (PTPI) with different user groups and technology product groups, however no research …