Digital Commons Network^™

Advancing Equitable Faculty Evaluations: Refining Behavior-Based Rubrics For Systemic Change, Celia Freed

Miners Solving for Tomorrow Research Conference

Bias in faculty evaluations continues to influence decisions about promotion, tenure, and resource allocation, disproportionately affecting women and underrepresented faculty. To address these inequities, this study develops and implements behavior- and-outcome based evaluation rubrics designed to improve fairness, clarity, and consistency. Using a case study approach, calibration data, participant feedback, and refinement are used to guide rubric development and standardization. Over one academic year, this project progressed through data analysis, rubric revision, faculty feedback, and pilot implementation, followed by evaluation of its effectiveness. The study advances research on structured evaluation systems and examines how behavior-based criteria can potentially enhance inclusivity …

The Influence Of Mentoring On Educational Attitudes, Beliefs, And Behaviors (Eabbs): A Scoping Review, Amanda L. Davis, Jennifer Koide, Savannah B. Simpson, Samuel Mcquillin, Michael D. Lyons

Faculty Publications

Youth mentoring is a popular means for preventing negative psychosocial outcomes (e.g., high-risk behaviors, school dropout) and promoting positive ones (e.g., matriculation, goal setting). Mentors matched with youth through formal programs, such as Big Brothers Big Sisters, are uniquely positioned to promote the development of the mentee’s positive educational attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors (EABBs; e.g., academic engagement, grit, growth mindset). While school staff, such as school psychologists, are often unable to directly serve all students in need of support due to lack of time or large caseloads, youth mentoring may be a means to target EABB development. However, a critical …

A Mixed Methods Moderation Analysis Of Historical Trauma, Enculturation, And Drinking Among Southwest Indigenous Young Adults, Antonia M. Young

Psychology ETDs

Multicultural efforts to understand how enculturation could reduce alcohol-related harms among American Indian and Alaska Native and Mexican American young adults in the Southwest United States have been lacking. The present mixed methods study tested the cross-cultural applicability of Walters et al.’s (2002) Indigenist Stress-Coping Model, which suggests enculturation moderates the relationship between historical trauma and drinking, between these groups using moderated linear regression. Participants (N=120) completed an online survey with items from the Historical and Intergenerational Trauma Transmission Questionnaire (HITT-Q), the Vancouver Index of Acculturation (VIA) heritage subscale (i.e., enculturation), NIAAA’s 30-day drinking consumption questionnaire, and one …

Extending The Fuzzy-Trace Theory Informed Model Of Guilty Plea Decision Making: Accounting For Factual Guilt And Innocence, Rebecca K. Helm, Tina M. Zottoli

Department of Psychology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Objective: Understanding how sentence differentials influence plea decision making is vital to identifying when plea offers might lead to convictions that conflict with normative goals (e.g., avoiding wrongful conviction). We clarify previous findings by introducing and testing predictions of a Fuzzy-Trace Theory informed model relating plea discount to plea acceptance in mock guilty defendants and extend the work to mock innocent defendants.

Hypotheses: We expected plea rates in guilty defendants to increase with increases in plea discount but to change more steeply when a change in plea discount created a categorically distinct change in sentence (vs. a less meaningful reduction). …

Navigating End-Of-Life Decisions: Cultural Considerations For Latine Patients, Michelle Carbajal Hernandez

Honors Capstones

Healthcare professionals face many challenges when communicating terminal illness prognoses for individuals. This responsibility to address a terminal prognosis is further complicated when communicating with Latine patients who may face multiple barriers within the healthcare system and whose cultural preferences influence end-of-life care planning (Carrion, 2010). For example, Latines are less likely to enroll in end-of-life (EOL) care services (e.g., hospice) (Barragan-Carrillo et al., 2022). As well as engage in end-of-life care planning than White Non-Latines (Shen et al., 2016). To understand this hesitancy towards EOL care options, this literature review aims to explore how terminally ill Latine and …

Examining The Well-Being And Ill-Being Correlates Of Prioritizing Positivity And Investigating Ses As A Moderator, Lahnna I. Catalino, William Tov, Madeline Q. Hoorn

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Prioritizing positivity is the tendency to use positive emotions as a key criterion to structure daily life. Research shows that prioritizing positivity is associated with better psychological health. However, none of this research was preregistered and prioritizing positivity’s links with ill-being remain understudied. In five preregistered studies (Sample A: n = 388, Sample B: n = 214, Sample C: n = 301, Sample D: n = 290, Sample E: n = 453), we found that prioritizing positivity was associated with more well-being (positive emotions, satisfaction, meaning), less ill-being (negative emotions, depressive symptoms, anxiety), and more hypomania, a mixed construct. We …

Colonial Ambivalence And The Self: The Psychological Legacy Of Colonization, Nazia Khan

Theses and Dissertations from DePaul University

Colonization may disrupt a person’s sense of self by introducing conflicting identities, where one part of identity is tied to colonization while the other attempts to decolonize (David & Okazaki, 2006). This identity conflict may lead to psychological distress because these identities are often in opposition to one another. Although colonized individuals may have been forced to adopt the colonizer’s social norms, people may also incorporate colonization-influenced practices into their self and cultural identity with and without recognizing their colonial roots. Colonial ambivalence is introduced as the simultaneous holding of positive and negative feelings regarding one’s colonized background. Individuals from …

Life Experiences To Lyrics: What Mental Health Looks Like In Music, Ashley Salinas, Ashley De La Fuente

Posters - 2026

● Music conveys human emotion and mental states, often reflecting societal struggles such as depression and anxiety. Lyrics often shape how listeners experience these emotions, influencing mood, identity formation, and emotional processing in young adults (Gustavson, 2021; Chen, 2023). ● Depression, characterized by persistent sadness, loss of interest, and withdrawal is frequently expressed in music through explicit descriptions or metaphorical language (Shriram, 2015). Whereas, anxiety involves excessive worry, restlessness, and hypervigilance, is less studied yet similarly present in music (Kim, 2023). ● Previous studies have highlighted that pop lyrics often emphasize relational uncertainty, country songs depict fear of loss, and …

Problematic Social Media Use’S Association With Social Anxiety And Neural Responsiveness To Reward From Social Media Feedback, Kaylee Mercer

All NMU Master's Theses

Social media has become increasingly relevant, especially among young adults. Those with social anxiety are more at risk for problematic social media use. Social media increases activity in the brain's reward centers. A common measure of the neural correlates of reward is the event-related potential, reward positivity (RewP) in EEG. Heightened RewP is associated with greater social anxiety. Problematic social media use is also associated with greater social anxiety. The neural correlates of reward elicited from social media use have yet to be adequately explored. The current research used continuous high-density electroencephalography to measure reward sensitivity when viewing positive or …

Technostress, Worker Wellbeing, And Ethics: An Integrative Review, Mackenzie Moreno

Theses and Dissertations from DePaul University

Rapid advances in workplace technologies have led to increasing concerns about technostress and its implications for worker health and wellbeing. While the technostress literature has at times addressed psychological and physiological wellbeing outcomes, these outcomes have not been examined consistently, and explicit integration of ethics is largely absent. This integrative review addresses these gaps by synthesizing empirical findings on how technostress impacts worker health and wellbeing, and by examining the extent to which ethical considerations are integrated into the extant literature. Drawing on these findings, the review proposes a theoretical model of technostress mechanisms. Finally, it summarizes organizational recommendations for …

Silent Or Silenced? A Systematic Review Of Deaf And Hoh Workers In Io Psychology Research, Lora Bishop

Theses and Dissertations from DePaul University

Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing (DHH) workers report routinely missing workplace information that hearing colleagues receive through informal and ambient channels, as well as constrained participation in environments where communication norms treat hearing as the default. Despite over a century of research, this literature remains largely outside flagship industrial-organizational (IO) psychology journals. This dissertation conducts an integrative systematic review of 48 empirical studies published between 1919 and 2025, examining workplace outcomes and methodological patterns, the theoretical frameworks deployed, sampling and reporting practices, and the framing and identity-language conventions through which the literature engages DHH workers. The review appears predominantly in WORK and …

Enhancing Undergraduate Learning In Physics: The Effects Of Ai-Assisted And Ai-Guided Instruction On Knowledge, Self-Efficacy, And Satisfaction, Stephen Woods

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools such as large language models are increasingly used for self-directed learning, yet there is limited experimental evidence on whether they improve learning outcomes and whether theory-informed guidance adds value beyond AI use alone. Prior literature suggests that effective learning depends not only on access to information, but also on how instruction supports attention, working memory, long-term memory, and cognitive load, while also fostering motivational processes such as self-efficacy. Individual differences such as Need for Cognition may also shape how learners engage with cognitively demanding instructional tools such as AI.

The present study examined how different …

What We Hear Shapes What We Fear: Public Discourse As A Determinant Of Health, Amanda L. Almond

Open Educational Resources

This resource presents a structured assignment designed for undergraduate health psychology and interdisciplinary courses. Students systematically collect and analyze public discourse as a determinant of health using a shared dataset, followed by instructor-led synthesis and application of scientific reasoning.

The assignment emphasizes mechanism-based explanation, including how communication environments shape stress, perception, and health behavior. A second phase explicitly integrates the scientific method, guiding students to evaluate claims, distinguish correlation from causation, and consider what evidence would be required to test observed patterns.

This assignment was developed and implemented in a Hispanic-Serving Institution during Spring 2026, in response to real-time conditions …

Ai Models As Cultural Beings: Investigating Ai Cultural Biases And The Impact Of Cultural Alignment On Human-Ai Creative Collaboration, Choon Ngee Tan, Meng Han, Roy Y. J. Chua, Chi-Ying Cheng

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Existing research on AI cultural biases predominantly focuses on Western models, overlooking critical gaps in non-Western models. We conduct a comparative analysis of AI models – ChatGPT (U.S. developed) and ErnieBot (China developed) – from different cultures to investigate how corresponding cultural biases manifest in their outputs. Additionally, we examine how cultural alignment between human users and AI models impacts their collaborative creative performance and the underlying psychological mechanisms. In Study 1, multi-choice prompt with zero-shot technique was used to evaluate cultural biases in four widely used AI models – ChatGPT-3.5/4, ErnieBot-3.5/4 – comparing their responses to established cultural psychometric …

Think First, Chatgpt Later: Guiding Human-Ai Collaboration For Learning Gains In Independent Human Creativity, Sarah Shi Hui Wong, Sophia Xuefei Qiu

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools such as ChatGPT can boost creative performance, but do these boosts translate into learning gains? This study examined whether the benefits of ChatGPT for creativity persist even when its assistance is removed, and how people can effectively use ChatGPT to enhance their learning and independent creativity. University students (N = 196) solved a creative product improvement task either independently (human-only group) or using ChatGPT freely (general-AI group) or using ChatGPT in a guided way (regulated-AI group). Specifically, the regulated-AI group used a novel “think first, ChatGPT later” approach—they first generated their own ideas, then collaborated …

Does One Size Fit All? A Lifespan Perspective On The Relationship Between Work Design And Mental Health, Christina Ju

Theses and Dissertations from DePaul University

As the global workforce ages, traditional work design models that assume job resources are universally beneficial require re-evaluation. Drawing upon lifespan development and socioemotional selectivity theory, this longitudinal study examined how chronological age moderates the effects of skill discretion and coworker support on job-related mental health over a 20-year period. Data from three waves of the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) survey (N = 3,890) were analyzed using linear mixed models to separate within-person changes from between-person differences. Results indicated that skill discretion and coworker support were positively associated with job-related mental health overall. The hypothesis that the benefits …

The Impact Of Social Support On Somatic Health Symptoms In Emerging Adults: Examining The Role Of Cortisol And Cytokines, Autumn Sharon Rajcevich Schwer

Theses and Dissertations from DePaul University

There is a wealth of previous research demonstrating that increased levels of social support are associated with mental health benefits, with several potential pathways supported, including social support leading to increased emotional comfort and resilience (Mohan et al., 2024). However, research also demonstrates that increased social support is associated with numerous physical health benefits as well, including lowered risk of chronic disease development and longer lifespans (Hale et al., 2005). But there seems to be a gap in research regarding how social support creates this positive physiological effect. The present study aimed to address this gap and investigate the potential …

Hemispheric Processing Of Conspiracy Theories: The Role Of Inference Constraint And Individual Differences, Abigail Van Nuland

Theses and Dissertations from DePaul University

This study explored how textual constraint and individual differences influence the hemispheric processing of inferences as individuals read about conspiracy theories. In Study 1, participants judged the likelihood of a conspiracy after reading either a clear cause (i.e., strongly constrained text), a vague cause (i.e., weakly constrained text), or neutral text about a historical event. In addition, several individual difference measures were administered to participants. It was found that participants were more likely to report that official explanations were not accurate (i.e., indicating a possible conspiracy) after reading a vague text compared to a clear text. However, participants who scored …

Mapping The Landscape Of Occupational Health Psychology Research On Immigrant Workers: A Systematic Review, Himali Bhandari

Theses and Dissertations from DePaul University

Research on immigrant populations covers a wide range of topics including immigrationpatterns, demographics, working conditions, and occupational health. Nevertheless, studies specifically on immigrant workers within occupational health psychology (OHP) are scattered. To address this inconsistency, this systematic review analyzed OHP research focusing on immigrant workers, highlighting key immigrant characteristics and the psychological theories and frameworks used to explain why and how immigrant workers face high occupational health and safety risks. Peer-reviewed empirical articles were retrieved from APA PsycINFO, APA PsycArticles, and Academic Search Complete using a predefined set of search terms. Qualitative analysis of the included studies (N = 44), …

Youth Perspectives On A Community Program For Children With Special Healthcare Needs: A Qualitative Study Assessing Program Acceptability, Brittany Ricart

Theses and Dissertations from DePaul University

Objective. A significant number of families have youth with special healthcare needs (CYSHCN). CYSHCN experience dysfunction across multiple life domains, however CYSHCN have also demonstrated significant resilience. Protective factors include social support which can be strengthened through mentoring-based interventions. Team IMPACT is a non-profit organization that matches CYSHCN with college sports teams and includes crucial components, such as social support and mentorship, in a team-sport and community setting. The current study aimed to better understand the acceptability and influence of the Team IMPACT program on youth participants and their health-related behaviors. Methods. Twenty-five participants (mean age = 11.32) completed virtual …

Factors Associated With Objective Neuropsychological Performance In Individuals With Mild Traumatic Brain Injury: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis, Kailyn Marie Bare

Theses and Dissertations from DePaul University

Adults are expected to recover from cognitive symptoms following mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) within three months; however, a subset report persistent symptoms. Previous meta-analyses have found that these symptoms are due to factors aside from the mTBI itself, and additional research is needed to determine what factors may contribute to objective cognitive functioning in the chronic stage of mTBI. This review examined biopsychosocial and injury-related correlates of objective cognitive functioning in adults with a history of mTBI. A systematic search was conducted in APA PsycINFO, CINAHL, PubMed, SCOPUS, MEDLINE, and SPORTDiscus to identify studies published since 2015 examining associations …

Mentoring Relationship Quality: An Evaluation Of Environmental Risk And Protective Factor Predictors For Urban Black Youth, Brittanie Nicole Gage

Theses and Dissertations from DePaul University

Mentoring programs are an important intervention promoting positive developmental outcomes among youth exposed to chronic environmental stressors, particularly Black youth living in underinvested communities. Research has demonstrated moderate positive effects of mentoring on youth outcomes however, less is known about factors influencing mentoring effectiveness. Mentoring relationship quality (MRQ) has emerged as a key component of mentoring effectiveness, suggesting that perceived closeness and support within the relationship can enhance youth outcomes. Less is known regarding the environmental risks and protective factors shaping youths’ ability to engage meaningfully in mentoring relationships. Parent–child relationship quality, exposure to violent stressors, and adaptive and maladaptive …

Personality Predictors Of Cybersecurity Vulnerability: Insights From Self-Reports And Stimulated Threat Scenarios, Saroja Roy Grandhi

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

In this cyber dependent and enabled era, understanding the role of human factors in digital security is essential. This study investigates the relationship between Big-Five personality traits and cybersecurity behaviors by examining both self-reported and stimulated behaviors in security threat scenarios. Participants completed validated questionnaires to report their personality traits, cybersecurity practices and engage in task-based stimulations to capture behaviors such as phishing detection, password creation, and response to security alerts. The study tested whether higher conscientiousness, openness, and agreeableness would be associated with stronger cybersecurity practices and smaller discrepancies between self-reported and observed behaviors. And, whether greater extraversion and …

Early Parenting Stress And Later Abuse Risk: Dyadic Mediation By Maternal And Paternal Negative Attributions, Jewelian N. Fairchild

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Parenting stress and negative parental attributions are key contributors to child abuse risk. Early parenting stress may increase a parent’s risk of negatively appraising their child’s behaviors, which, in turn, may influence their likelihood of harsh or abusive parenting. Grounded in Social Information Processing (SIP) Theory, the present study explored how these processes evolve over time and differ between mothers and fathers. Specifically, this study investigated whether parental negative attributions mediated the relationship between early parenting stress and later abuse risk. A sample of 203 first-time mothers and 151 of their male partners were recruited prenatally as part of a …

Effects Of Cross-Language Instructional Design On Foreign Language Learners' Cognitive Load: Approaching The Redundancy Principle Of Multimedia Learning, Leonor Mendiola Adams

STEMPS Theses & Dissertations

Because conceptualizations of cognitive resources play a critical role in determining the effectiveness of instructional design (Greeno, 2011; Greeno et al., 1996; Mayer, 2011, 2019), this study explores the effects of cross-language instructional design on learners’ perceived intrinsic, extraneous, and germane cognitive load content corresponding to content complexity, instructional presentation demands, and depth of understanding and schema construction, respectively.

Grounded in the redundancy principle of the Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning, this research further investigates whether the principle operates differently when learners’ native language is strategically incorporated into foreign language learning contexts. According to the cognitive theory of multimedia learning, …

Client And Self-Advocacy In Coordinated Entry: A Qualitative Case Study Of King County, Washington’S Coordinated Entry For All, Ugochinyere Onyeukwu

Theses and Dissertations from DePaul University

Despite policy attempts to address homelessness, it remains a societal concern. One such policy effort was the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s mandated implementation of Coordinated Entry (CE) systems, a streamlined, equitable approach to match individuals to the appropriate housing intervention based on need and housing vulnerability. However, research indicates that CE may not produce the desired outcomes. There is limited research identifying factors that may interfere with effective need-based housing allocation. Thus, this qualitative study aimed to gain insight into advocacy in CE as a potential factor influencing implementation. This study used Qualitative Content Analysis to explore …

A Programmatic Evaluation Of Interdisciplinary Collaboration At A Center-Based Organization, Lindsay Mccary, Kim Garvey Hoehe

Faculty Publications

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a multifaceted neurodevelopmental condition that affects an estimated 1 in 31 children in the United States. ASD frequently co-occurs with a wide range of developmental, emotional, sensory, and medical conditions necessitating a multifaceted and coordinated approach to care. In this paper, we describe the programmatic evaluation of a transformation of an applied behavior analysis (ABA) focused multidisciplinary therapy clinic into an interdisciplinary ASD therapy center. Using a quality improvement Plan-Do-Study-Act framework, we outline our process for building integrated teams, cultivating interdisciplinary collaboration, and enhancing respect among disciplines. Results indicated improved respect and collaboration among disciplines …

Family-Level Mediators In The Intergenerational Transmission Of Maternal Childhood Trauma: Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis Of Pooled Effect Measures, Emma J. Mew, Rhayna Poulin, Veronika Shabanova, Hannah Gorman, Marie-Claire Meadows, Jessica L. Bonumwezi, Victoria Chung, Rachel Hennein, Audrey Y. Huang, Kevin Quach, Vanessa Blas, Ashlin Ondrusek, Karly Sara Weinreb, Kate Nyhan, Si’Itia Soliai-Lemusu, Jueta Mccutchan-Tofaeono, Nicola L. Hawley, Sarah R. Lowe

Department of Psychology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Children of mothers with childhood trauma are at an increased risk for mental health problems, yet the most influential family-related mediators of this intergenerational transmission remain unclear. This systematic review and meta-analysis synthesized effect sizes from 29 studies (n = 352,279 dyads) examining psychosocial family-level mediators between maternal childhood trauma and child mental health. We identified 380 simple and 40 serial mediation paths across four domains: child characteristics, maternal characteristics, parent–child relationship factors, and household characteristics. Maternal characteristics showed the largest pooled effects (proportion median [PM]: 31.2%; ratio median [RM]: 0.21), particularly maternal mental health (PM: 36.0%), maternal attachment style …

Coping Strategies, Barriers, And Supports Of Female Nurses And Veterans With A Work-Related Traumatic Exacerbation Of An Existing Respiratory Disorder, Joanna Lynn Phillips

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The United States Department of Defense and Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated that female veterans and nurses experience work-related trauma at rates of 51% or higher. While many studies have examined their mental health outcomes, posttraumatic worsening of physical health has been less studied in this population. This generic qualitative inquiry was conducted to gain a deeper understanding of the subjective lived experiences of female nurses and veterans' work-related traumatic exacerbation of an existing respiratory disorder. The coping strategies developed, the potential barriers they overcame, and the support systems used were examined. The theoretical framework that grounded this study was …

Exercise Effects On Decreased Levels Of Depression In Female Breast Cancer Patients, Dorothy Y. Spencer

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Breast cancer patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) are at a high risk of experiencing pain and fatigue, anxiety and substance use, poor quality of life, marital spouses with elevated depression, impaired sexual functioning, sleep disorders, poor immune system functioning, rapid progression of cancer, and higher mortality rates. Grounded in Fritz Heider’s attribution theory, the purpose of this quantitative quasi-experimental study was to examine the relationship between physical exercise and a decrease in MDD. The participants comprised of 15 female breast cancer patients, 18 years of age and older, who may have experienced depression. The participants completed the Beck Depression …