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Existential Anxiety And Religious Commitment, Daniel J. Pelak

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between Paul Tillich's theory of existential anxiety and religious commitment. The study attempted to determine if there was type of existential anxiety that religion might perpetuate or alleviate. Two hundred and twenty-nine individuals who endorsed a Christian or Catholic belief system completed a series of surveys on an internet website; participants were recruited through various Christian message boards or a standardized email that was sent to various church leaders; the measures of the assessment were Tillich's theory of existential anxiety, death anxiety, moral anxiety, meaninglessness anxiety, religious commitment, and personality …

An Examination Of The Relationship Between Prayer And Subjective Well-Being, Brandon L. Whittington

Masters Theses

The present study examined the relationship between types of prayer (adoration, confession, thanksgiving, supplication, reception, and obligation) and self-esteem, life satisfaction, and life meaning, while testing optimism, belief in prayer, and spiritual support as mediators. Linear regression analyses were conducted to examine relationships. Optimism was confirmed as a mediator between adoration and life satisfaction, thanksgiving and life satisfaction, and thanksgiving and self-esteem. Spiritual support was confirmed as a mediator between reception and life meaning. As hypothesized, optimism played a large role in predicting well-being, especially in adoration and thanksgiving, prayer focused on positive themes. Overall, prayer was shown to predict …

Factors Influencing Early Literacy Skill Acquisition Among At-Risk Kindergarten Children, Jill E. Feller

Masters Theses

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 placed federal mandates on education in which all children will be expected to read grade-level text by the 3rd grade in the academic year of 2013-2014. Risk factors that can be linked to interventions in order to reach the goals of NCLB were investigated. In this study, the risk factors of parental involvement (Reading Minute Index), parental literacy interaction style (Home Questionnaire), and Overactive and Underactive problem behaviors (ASCA composite scores) were analyzed in relation to the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills kindergarten spring benchmarks.

This study was conducted in …

Instead Of Erklären And Verstehen: William James On Human Understanding, David E. Leary

Psychology Faculty Publications

Perhaps more than any other American psychologist and philosopher, William James (1842-1910) was intimately familiar with contemporary European thought and debate, including the discussion of Erklären and Verstehen advanced by Wilhelm Dilthey (1833-1911) and others around the turn of the twentieth century. Even before this discussion was initiated, James had been dealing with related issues, pondering alternative solutions, and formulating his own original views on human understanding. These views coalesced in a distinctive approach to cognition. Fundamental to this approach was a belief in possibility and probability as innate features of the physical as well as mental manifestations of the …

Resiliency Factors: Predictors Of Quality Of Life In Family Caregivers Of Patients With Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, Beatrice Hamblin Chakraborty

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive, neurodegenerative disease resulting from generalized degeneration of motor cells in the brain and spinal cord (The Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Association [ALSA], 2004). Also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, ALS has no conclusive etiology, no known cure, and death generally occurs within three to five years following the diagnosis (Rabkin, Wagner, & Del Bene, 2000). Given the devastating and predictable course of ALS, it is understandable that this disease can have a profound, adverse impact on the quality of life (QOL) of the patient and the caregiver. However, not all caregivers, particularly spouses who …

Factor Structure And Clinical Implications Of Child Behavior Checklist/1.5-5 Ratings In A Sample Of Girls Adopted From China, Tony Xing Tan, Robert F. Dedrick, Kofi Marfo

Institute for Human Development, East Africa

Objective: This study assessed psychometric properties of the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL/1.5-5) and explored clinical insights from its use in a sample of adopted Chinese girls.

Methods: Parental ratings were obtained on 707 adopted Chinese girls, ages 1.50-5.92 years (M = 3.24, SD = 1.26). Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), employing robust weighted least squares estimation, was used to evaluate the instrument's seven-factor correlated structure. Profiles of scores were analyzed descriptively for clinical insights.

Results: The CFAs indicated that the fit of Achenbach and Rescorla's (2000 Manual for the ASEBA preschool forms & profiles. Burlington, VT: University of Vermont, Research Centre …

Factors Influencing Mid Career Redirection Decisions In Professionals, Mark J. Halliday

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship of factors affecting a professional’s decision to change the direction of their career in during mid career and develop a comprehensive model incorporating each of these factors. There are four hypotheses in this study: la) higher scores in the personality attributes of openness to experience and extraversión will be correlated with a larger change in career redirection than those professionals with lower scores; lb) a higher score in the career attitude of risk-taking style and a lower score in the career attitude of career worries will be correlated with a …

Does Increasing Biology Teacher Knowledge Of Evolution And The Nature Of Science Lead To Greater Advocacy For The Teaching Of Evolution In Schools?, Ross Nehm, Irvin Sam Schonfeld

Publications and Research

This study investigated whether or not an increase in secondary science teacher knowledge about evolution and the nature of science gained from completing a graduate-level evolution course was associated with greater preference for the teaching of evolution in schools. Forty-four precertified secondary biology teachers participated in a 14-week intervention designed to address documented misconceptions identified by a precourse instrument. The course produced statistically significant gains in teacher knowledge of evolution and the nature of science and a significant decrease in misconceptions about evolution and natural selection. Nevertheless, teachers' postcourse preference positions remained unchanged; the majority of science teachers still preferred …

Bullying, Depression, And Suicidality In Adolescents, Anat Brunstein-Klomek, Frank Marrocco, Marjorie Kleinman, Irvin Sam Schonfeld, Madelyn S. Gould

Publications and Research

Objective: To assess the association between bullying behavior and depression, suicidal ideation, and suicide attempts among adolescents. Method: A self-report survey was completed by 9th- through 12th-grade students (n = 2342) in six New York State high schools from 2002 through 2004. Regression analyses were conducted to examine the association between being victimized and bullying others with depression, ideation, and attempts. Results: Approximately 9% of the sample reported being victimized frequently, and 13% reported bullying others frequently. Frequent exposure to victimization or bullying others was related to high risks of depression, ideation, and suicide attempts compared with adolescents not involved …

Does Increasing Biology Teacher Knowledge Of Evolution And The Nature Of Science Lead To Greater Advocacy For The Teaching Of Evolution In Schools?, Ross Nehm, Irvin Sam Schonfeld

Publications and Research

This study investigated whether or not an increase in secondary science teacher knowledge about evolution and the nature of science gained from completing a graduate-level evolution course was associated with greater preference for the teaching of evolution in schools. Forty-four precertified secondary biology teachers participated in a 14-week intervention designed to address documented misconceptions identified by a precourse instrument. The course produced statistically significant gains in teacher knowledge of evolution and the nature of science and a significant decrease in misconceptions about evolution and natural selection. Nevertheless, teachers' postcourse preference positions remained unchanged; the majority of science teachers still preferred …

Role Of The Medial Septal Area In Regulating Prefrontal Theta Rhythm In Rats, Leo Kelly '07

Honors Projects

Theta rhythms are electroencephalogram (EEG) waveforms between 4-12 Hz and are correlated with arousal, orientation, exploration, attention, learning and memory, motivational drives and emotions and movements. The last sixty years have been witness to a greatly increasing understanding of the underlying anatomical pathways and mechanisms necessary for theta rhythms. Today, it is well established that cells of the medial septal area (MSA) fire in a rhythmic bursting pattern to pace the theta rhythm in the hippocampus (HPC) and that lesioning the MSA abolishes theta rhythm in the HPC. However, comparatively little is known about the anatomy driving the theta rhythm …

Influence Of Contrast Effects On Attractiveness Of Individual Faces And Facial Prototypes, Kelly Irvin '07

Honors Projects

This study investigated the influence of attractiveness contrast effects on individual and prototypical faces. In two experimental conditions, males (N= 38, M age = 19.21 years) and females (N= 78, M age = 19.13 years) were adapted to high or low attractive opposite-sex faces. Following adaptation, participants responded to a mate selection questionnaire and rated individual faces on attractiveness. Participants also rated prototypes on attractiveness and familiarity, either during the same session (males and females) or after a 1 week delay (females). Results indicated a weak contrast effect for male participants' attractiveness ratings for individual faces but not for prototypes. …

Physical Activity And Physical Activity Adherence In The Elderly Based On Smoking Status., Theodore Cooper, M. Resor, C. Stoever, P. Dubbert

Departmental Papers (Psych)

No abstract provided.

“Nicotine Deprivation Effect” In Rats With Intermittent 23-Hour Access To Intravenous Nicotine Self-Administration, Laura O'Dell

Departmental Papers (Psych)

No abstract provided.

Cocaine During Adolescence Enhances Dopamine In Response To A Natural Reinforcer, Briony J. Catlow, Cheryl L. Kirstein

Psychology Faculty Publications

The use of cocaine during adolescent development could alter the normal growth of brain regions affected by cocaine, specifically the reward system, and impact the adult mesolimbic system. However, there is scant literature aimed at determining whether animals are more vulnerable to the adverse effects of drugs during adolescence. The present study investigated whether cocaine pretreatment in either adolescence or adulthood altered the dopaminergic response to a naturally reinforcing substance in adulthood. To evaluate the responsivity of the mesolimbic system after repeated cocaine, sucrose was offered during the dialysis procedure and dialysates were collected. Regardless of age all saline pretreated …

Child Sexual Abuse, David J. Hansen, Kathryn R. Wilson

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Although definitions can vary across legal, clinical, and research contexts, sexual abuse is commonly defined as sexual acts between a youth and an older person (e.g., by 5 years or more) in which the dominance of the older person is used to exploit or coerce the youth. Behaviors may include noncontact (e.g., exposure) and contact (e.g., intercourse) offenses.

Gender And Other Social Effects In People’S Perceptions Of Domesticated Animals, Clayton Wagner Bell, A. Hayden Brown

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

It is no secret that people possess radically differing opinions and philosophical beliefs regarding domesticated animals. These contradictory perceptions are especially evident when examining people’s thoughts regarding the mental capabilities of animals and issues related to animal welfare. To determine whether or not gender and social environments play a role in these various perceptions, a survey was formulated and randomly distributed to 1000 undergraduate students across the University of Arkansas campus. Upon examination of the survey results, some very intriguing correlations became apparent. Of particular interest were the differences between the perceptions of males and females regarding domesticated animals. Women …

Interviewing Suspected Victims Of Child Maltreatment, Bette L. Bottoms, A R. Perona, E Sorenson, Cynthia J. Najdowski

Psychology Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Sex Differences In The Onset Of Seasonal Reproductive Quiescence In Hamsters, Annaliese K. Beery, Justin J. Trumbull, Jyeming M. Tsao, Ruth M. Costantini, Irving Zucker

Neuroscience: Faculty Publications

Day length is the primary cue used by many mammals to restrict reproduction to favourable spring and summer months, but it is unknown for any mammal whether the seasonal loss of fertility begins at the same time and occurs at the same rate in females and males; nor it established whether the termination of mating behaviour in males and females coincides with the loss of fertility. We speculated that females, owing to their greater energetic investment in reproduction, are the limiting sex in terminating offspring production in short days (SDs). Oestrous cycles and production of young were monitored in Syrian …

Working Alliance For Clients With Social Anxiety Disorder: Relationship With Session Helpfulness And Within-Session Habituation, Sarah A. Hayes, Debra A. Hope, Melanie M. Vandyke, Richard G. Heimberg

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

It has been suggested that a strong working alliance encourages clients to take risks during therapy (Raue, Castonguay, & Goldfried, 1993). This encouragement may be important for clients who fear negative evaluations as they engage in risk-taking elements of therapy. This study examined the relationship between working alliance, session helpfulness, and measures of emotional processing in 18 clients undergoing cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) for social anxiety disorder. Results indicate a positive correlation between client-rated, but not observer-rated, working alliance and session helpfulness. Moderate levels of working alliance were associated with higher initial anxiety and deeper within-session habituation. Overall, a strong …

Organizational Orientations Of K-12 School Leaders In The Columbia Union Conference Of Seventh-Day Adventists, Rose Tooley Gamblin

Dissertations

Purpose of the study

The purpose of this study was to examine the organizational orientations--structure ,human resource, political, and symbolic --of the K-12 school leaders in the Columbia Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, and the relationship, if any, to their personal variables of age, gender, experience, and their professional variables of grade levels served, educational attainment, enrollment, support, feelings of success, and job satisfaction.

Method

A self-administered Organizational Orientations survey instrument, based on the multiple orientation framework of Bolman and Deal, was used to gather information about the school leaders. The population surveyed provided 56 usable responses, which were analyzed …

The Impact Of Violence Exposure On Sexually Abusive Behavior In Types Of Adolescent Sex Offenders, Emily Sarah Edlynn

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Recruiting New Members, Irvin Sam Schonfeld

Publications and Research

The Annual Convention of the Association for Psychological Science took place in New York City from May 25 to May 28, 2006. We attended the convention and had a number of goals that we wanted to accomplish: assume a position on the graduate student board, present at a poster session, attend various conference events, and recruit conferees for the Society for Occupational Health Psychology. It is the last goal about which we are writing. We hope that this article will help our SOHP colleagues recruit, at some future time, new members for our organization.

Brief Note From The Editor, Irvin Sam Schonfeld

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

The Politics Of Teen Women’S Sexuality: Public Policy And The Adolescent Female Body, Michelle Fine, Sara I. Mcclelland

Publications and Research

Teen women's sexual and reproductive lives are shaped by laws and public policies that expand or constrict their educational and health supports. Most adolescents depend substantially on the public sector to help support their healthy sexual development and to protect them from sexual violence, disease, and pregnancy. Thus, it is critical to examine the ways in which public policies concerning young women's sexualities have been forged within religious and "moralizing" discourses. The explicit pairing of law and religious ideology has transformed the role of law and public policy in young women's lives from a supportive function to one that censures …

Editors’ Introduction, Harris Friedman, Glenn Hartelius

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

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The Challenges, Prospects, And Promise Of Transpersonal Psychology, Paul F. Cunningham

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

Several substantial critiques remain a source of fractionalizing debate within transpersonal

psychology, including the weakness of its definition, whether it is redundant with Wilber’s

integral psychology, whether it is a scientific field, whether it is too metaphysical, whether it

neglects the problem of evil, and what contribution can it make to mainstream psychology.

This article explicates these and related areas of critique and provides a response that identifies

the essential challenges and future prospects of transpersonal psychology. The article also

emphasizes the field’s unique role as a potential bridge connecting psychological science with

the transpersonal psyche in a way that …

Ketamine-Enhanced Psychotherapy: Preliminary Clinical Observations On Its Effects In Treating Death Anxiety, Eli Kolp, Scott M. Young, Harris Freidman, Evgeny Krupirsky, Karl Jansen, Laurie-Ann O’Connor

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

Ketamine, a dissociative anesthetic commonly used by US physicians, has recently been

shown to be a powerful anti-depressant and is also capable of eliciting transpersonal experiences

that can be transformative. Although currently approved in the US only for use as an

anesthetic, physicians there can legally prescribe it off-label to treat various psychological/

psychiatric problems and it has been used for these non-anesthetic purposes in Argentina,

Iran, Mexico, Russia, and the UK, as well as in the US. The literature on using ketamine

psychotherapeutically is reviewed and two case studies using ketamine-enhanced psychotherapy

(KEP) for treating death anxiety in terminally-ill …

Mindfulness In Measurement: Reconsidering The Measurable In Mindfulness Practice, Sharon G. Solloway, William P. Fisher Jr.

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

Can an organic partnership of qualitative and quantitative data confirm the value of mindfulness practice as an assignment in undergraduate education? Working from qualitative evidence suggesting the existence of potentially measurable mindfulness effects expressed in ruler measures, a previous study calibrated a mathematically invariant scale of mindfulness practice effects with substantively and statistically significant differences in the measures before and after the assignment. Current efforts replicated these results. The quantitative model is described in measurement terms defined at an introductory level. Detailed figures and appendices are provided, and a program of future research is proposed.

Book Review: The Untethered Soul: The Journey Beyond Yourself, By Michael A. Singer, Gene Thursby

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

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