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The Effects Of Hallucination Simulations On Neurocognition: An Investigation Of Auditory Hallucinations Using The Irrelevant Speech Paradigm, Suzanne Adele Horsager

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Research has made it clear that severe psychiatric disorders, such as schizophrenia, are often associated with deficits in neurocognition. Unfortunately, because of the complicated makeup of most psychiatric disorders, it is challenging to distinguish the nature of the neurocognitive deficits. Recent research has begun to look more specifically at the symptoms of these disorders ( e.g., auditory hallucinations) to examine the specific effects the symptoms have on patients. This research has suggested a link between auditory hallucinations and deficits in attentional inhibition as well as working memory abilities. However, current research has not considered whether the impairments associated with these …

Being Muslim In 21st Century America: Does Living In America Create An Identity Crisis For The Generation X Muslim Woman?, Laila Uddin

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Over the years, I've observed South Asian females and males alike struggling to fulfill religious and cultural obligations to their family while fitting in with the norms of society. I also learned of the term "ABCD" which stands for American Born Confused Desi. This refers to people of Desi or South Asian origin living in the United States. "Confused" refers to their confusion regarding their identity from either being born in America or living here since an early age and having been exposed to American culture more than their ancestral culture. That is when I realized that I was not …

Ethnic Identity During Adolescence And Adulthood: A Review ; The Impact Of Becoming A Parent On Ethnic Identity: Adult Migrant Mothers' Experiences, Abby Taylor

Theses : Honours

Developing a positive ethnic identity has often been linked to the psychological well-being of immigrants living in culturally diverse societies. Ethnic identity development theories have primarily concentrated on identity development during adolescence. As a result there are significant gaps in the literature and little is known about ethnic identity during adulthood. However, significant life transitions during adulthood, such as becoming a parent, may be influential in the development of ethnic identity. Intergenerational conflict and an increased desire to be ethnically oriented may relate to the experience of becoming a parent and influence ethnic identity. A means to achieving generativity has …

Examination Of Different Levels Of Restorative Behaviour Utilising The Affect, Affirmation And Action Model, Jessica Sumner

Theses : Honours

The present paper reviews the relevant literature to determine whether there is support for the Affirmation, Affect and Action Model of Apology and True Sorriness (AAA model) that was developed by Slocum, Allan and Allan (2006). The chronological review of the literature examines how the constructs of apology and true sorriness evolved. Initially, apologetic types were perceived on a continuum, however, with time researchers' acknowledged different components of apologetic behaviour. These components were later named affirmation, affect and actions in the development of Slocum's et al. AAA model. In further research, such components were quantified for manipulation in experimental research …

The Psychological Implications Of Breast Cancer: A Review Of The Literature ; Shattered Motherhood: Young Mothers Living With Breast Cancer, Kelly Gibson

Theses : Honours

The purpose of this paper is to provide a critical review regarding the psychological implications of breast cancer, with a particular focus on younger women. In general due to their life stage, it appears that younger women have more problems with psychological adjustment to breast cancer compared to their older counterparts. Specifically, younger women appear to be more psychologically vulnerable to greater disruption to their daily lives due to the untimely nature of a breast cancer diagnosis, and have greater unmet practical needs, such as childcare. Limitations of the research literature are explored with specific attention to sample characteristics. Suggestions …

Anglo-Australians' Attitudes Towards Multiculturalism And Beliefs About Ethnic Groups, Tina Charles

Theses : Honours

Australia's policy of multiculturalism was adopted in 1978. However, recent events in Australia have suggested some public dissent concerning multiculturalism, particularly among members of the dominant Anglo-Australian culture. Previous research in the Netherlands has found that essentialist beliefs about ethnic minority groups are related to negative attitudes towards multiculturalism within the dominant culture. This study was designed to qualitatively explore Anglo-Australians' attitudes towards multiculturalism and their beliefs about ethnic minority groups. A total of 11 participants were interviewed. Results showed that the participants expressed both positive and negative attitudes towards multiculturalism, and essentialist and non-essentialist beliefs about ethnic groups. The …

The Relationship Between Body Image And Self-Esteem In Older Adulthood, Lucie Guegan

Theses : Honours

Purpose: Given the global trend of population ageing and the fact that Australia will experience a significant increase in the proportion of older adults, research into ageing issues has become a National priority. Whilst body image and self-esteem have been empirically linked, the relationship among older adults has been neglected. The present study investigated several body image variables and their relationship to self-esteem in a sample of older adults. Design and Methods: Questionnaires consisting of the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and the Multidimensional Body-Self Relations Questionnaire were administered to 148 adults aged between 65 and 85 years, living independently in the …

The Role Of Implicit Memory In Visual Word Recognition: Principles And Processes Of Long- And Short-Term Repetition Priming, Matthew Robert Merema

Theses : Honours

This review examines the role of long- and short-term repetition priming research in the theoretical debate between episodic and abstractionist accounts of implicit memory. The empirical research and theoretical accounts of priming reviewed indicate that neither episodic or abstractionist theories alone can successfully account for the processes of long- and short-term repetition priming. The major variations between studies in experimental methods used to measure repetition priming are also examined, providing a possible explanation for contrasting results obtained within repetition priming research and a reason for why the episodic versus abstractionist debate persists. Finally, research examining the underlying mechanisms responsible for …

Evaluating The Impact Of Peer Review And Participation Awareness In An Online Collaborative Document Authoring Environment, Greg Baatard

Theses : Honours

Online Learning Environments (OLEs) have been widely adopted by higher education facilities, offering distance education with the potential to support the social and collaborative aspects deemed crucial to modern constructivist pedagogy. Groupware, a form of software which aims to facilitate group work, has been the subject of much research, from both educational and enterprise perspectives. This research introduced Reportal, an online groupware system designed to facilitate the collaborative authoring of a document. Reportal's peer review and participation awareness features were the focus of this research, and their impact was measured against the elements of online collaboration, a typology established by …

The Influence Of Genetics And The Environment On Human Personalities, Relationships And Experiences, Patrice Smith

Theses : Honours

It's no mystery that our genetic make-up plays an integral part in the outcome of our lives, but to what extent exactly are our personalities, relationships and experiences pre-determined by this genetic code? There are two forces that contribute to the outcome of these aspects of our lives. Genetics and Environment. The significance of the environment, i.e., our upbringing, lifestyle and the world around us is often emphasized by psychologists as the more dominant force, however our genes are just as, if not more, influential on our lives. My choreographic process is directly in relation to the group of artists …

Coping Processes Of Couples Experiencing Infertility, Brennan Peterson, Christopher R. Newton, Karen H. Rosen, Robert S. Shulman

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

This study explored the coping processes of couples experiencing infertility. Participants included 420 couples referred for advanced reproductive treatments. Couples were divided into groups based on the frequency of their use of eight coping strategies. Findings suggest that coping processes, which are beneficial to individuals, may be problematic for one's partner. Couples where men used high amounts of distancing, while their partner used low amounts of distancing, reported higher levels of distress when compared to couples in the other groups. Conversely, couples with women who used high amounts of self-controlling coping, when paired with men who used low amounts of …

The Intersection Of Race, Gender, And Class In Social Transitions: Caribbean Immigrant Women Negotiating United States Higher Education, Tracy A. Mcfarlane

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The experiences of immigrant women of color within US higher education provide a unique opportunity to understand the complex influences of intersecting identities within changing social contexts. This study was designed to determine how the social categories of gender, class, race, and nationality operate in Caribbean immigrant women's experience of being college students. Focus groups and life story interviews were conducted with 27 English-speaking Caribbean-born women attending CUNY undergraduate colleges. The data yielded four main findings: First, Caribbean gender roles and traditions are not homogenous; hence, there is variation in the ways in which these affect women's experiences in the …

Ethical Issues In Conducting Forensic Evaluations, Karen C. Kalmbach, Phillip M. Lyons

Psychology Faculty Publications (Archived)

The role of the forensic mental health professional (MHP) often differs substantially from that of the typical clinician. These differences bear directly on the ethical delivery of services.

Mapping The Road From Childhood Trauma To Adult Somatization: The Role Of Attachment, Robert J. Waldinger, Marc S. Schulz, Arthur J. Barsky, David K. Ahern

Psychology Faculty Research and Scholarship

Objective: This study tested whether insecure attachment mediates the link between childhood trauma and adult somatization. Methods: A community sample of 101 couples completed self-report measures including the Relationship Scales Questionnaire, the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, the Somatic Symptom Inventory, the Beck Depression Inventory, and the Conflict Tactics Scale. Results: Childhood trauma was associated with higher levels of somatization and insecure attachment. Insecure attachment style was also associated with higher levels of somatization. Controlling for age, income, and recent intimate partner violence, analyses showed that fearful attachment fully mediated the link between childhood trauma and somatization for women. …

Linking Hearts And Minds In Couple Interactions: Intentions, Attributions And Overriding Sentiments, Robert J. Waldinger, Marc S. Schulz

Psychology Faculty Research and Scholarship

This study examined the role of emotion and relationship satisfaction in shaping attributions about a partner’s intentions in couple interactions. Using video recall, participants (n=156 couples) reported on their own and their partners’ intentions and emotions during affective moments of a discussion about an upsetting event. Links were found between relationship satisfaction and factor-analytically derived intention and attribution scales. Attributions about a partner’s intentions were weakly to moderately correlated with the partner’s self-reported intentions. Relationship satisfaction accounted for part of the discrepancy between self-reported intentions and partner attributions. Emotions mediated the links between relationship satisfaction and attributions, suggesting …

Social Capital, Health And Mental Health In African American Women, Cheryl Lynn Bennett

Theses and Dissertations

Cultural and social influences on mental and physical health are increasingly recognized by social science researchers. Researchers have found that specific, Afrocultural factors are related to the functioning of African Americans. The current research considered whether interdependence is especially salient for African American women since women and African Americans tend to define themselves within the context of social relationships. The study outlines processes affecting the mental and physical health of African American women including communalism, collective efficacy, and social capital. The also study examined the relationship between socioeconomic status and both mental and physical health among African American women in …

The Technical Fix Or The Systemic Solution For Urban Water Quality? A Case Study Of Grassroots Activism On Behalf Of New York City's Drinking Water, Mirele B. Goldsmith

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This case study examines the activities of the Croton Watershed Clean Water Coalition from 1996 until 2004. The Coalition opposed construction of a filtration plant for the Croton water supply. The study traces the Coalition’s campaign against filtration, which took place in the context of the widely heralded New York City Watershed Memorandum of Agreement (1997). Although the Agreement permitted New York City to avoid filtration for its Catskill and Delaware water supplies, plans were laid for filtration of the Croton supply.

My study is informed by political ecology which provides a framework for understanding politics, practices and contradictions involved …

Second Step: A Violence Prevention Curriculum, Pam Dell Fitzgerald, Leihua Van Schoiack Edstrom

Faculty Publications - Doctor of Psychology (PsyD) Program

Second Step: A Violence Prevention Curriculum is a school-based program developed to reduce and prevent aggressive behavior. Three separate age-appropriate curricula are available for preschool through middle school classrooms (preschool/kindergarten level, elementary level, and middle school/junior high level). The curricula are designed to be teacher-friendly and convenient for classroom use. Their primary purpose is to decrease children's aggressive behaviors by helping children develop habits of prosocial behavior and thought. The curricula employ evidence-based strategies that are built on a broad and solid foundation of research. Each of the three curricula have been evaluated and found to reduce aggression and increase …

The Relationship Between Mania And Feeding/Mealtime Behavior Problems Among Persons With Intellectual Disability, Rinita Laud

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This study represents the first to assess whether a relationship between mania and feeding/mealtime behavior problems exists in individuals with ID. Participants were compared across three groups (manic, non-manic psychiatrically impaired, and controls) on subscales and items of the Screening Tool for fEeding Problems (STEP). An attempt was made to assess for differences in problematic feeding behavior. Individuals in the manic group exhibited clinically significant symptoms of mania (n = 18), those in the non-manic psychiatrically impaired group exhibited symptoms of psychopathology other than mania (n = 18), and those in the control group did not exhibit symptoms of mania …

Do Overweight Inactive Parents Raise Overweight Inactive Children? Examination Of The Influence Of The Home Environment On Weight Status Of Children Over Time, Emily York-Crowe

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The primary aim of this study was to test whether body mass index (BMI), psychosocial, and behavioral parental variables were associated with similar variables in children at baseline, and whether these variables also served as significant predictors of overweight status in children after two years. While there have been several cross-sectional studies examining the impact of parental behaviors and characteristics on similar variables in children, and several longitudinal studies predicting weight status, BMI percentile, and risk factors of disease in children over time, there is a paucity of research that has identified (cross-sectionally) and then tested (longitudinally) significant parental variables …

Impact Of A Stage-Matched Weight Loss Intervention On Stage Of Change Progression In Predominantly African-American Female Primary Care Patients, Jamie Sue Bodenlos

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Obesity is associated with several chronic medical conditions. Certain individuals are at higher risk for obesity including low-income African American females. Despite the many benefits to weight loss, many individuals do not seek treatment. Individuals are likely to attend primary care appointments where obesity can be targeted. Although stage matched interventions based on the Transtheoretical Model (TM) have been used successfully to aid in health behavior change, few studies have examined the use of stage matched weight loss interventions in African American females. There is also a paucity of research examining the effects of stage matched weight loss interventions on …

Multicultural Education In The Mental Health Professions: A Meta-Analytic Review, Timothy B. Smith, Madonna G. Constantine, Todd W. Dunn, Jared M. Dinehart, Jared A. Montoya

Faculty Publications

The American Psychological Association and many other professional mental health organizations require graduate programs to provide education in multicultural issues. However, the effectiveness of multicultural education has been debated in the literature over the past several years. The overall purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of multicultural education using meta-analytic methodologies. Findings revealed that multicultural education interventions were typically associated with positive outcomes across a wide variety of participant and study characteristics. Multicultural education interventions that were explicitly based on theory and research yielded outcomes nearly twice as beneficial as those that were not. Priorities for future …

Posttraumatic Growth And Ptsd Symptomatology Among Colorectal Cancer Survivors: The Impact Of Emotional Expression And Cognitive Processing, John M. Salsman

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

There are substantial data exploring the link between religiosity and health, yet there is no consensus regarding the appropriate measurement tool for assessing religiosity in health psychology settings. The purpose of this study was to identify a set of items that could serve as a reliable and valid proxy measure of religiosity. Participants included 251 (M=19.02; range = 17-25) young adults who completed self-report measures of religiosity (Intrinsic-Extrinsic/Revised, Quest Scale, Faith Maturity Scale), psychological distress (SCL-90-R), and personality (NEOPI-R). Individual item pools for religiosity were developed by identifying significant correlations between each of the religiosity measures and the SCL-90-R items. …

Gender Differences In How Men And Women Referred With In Vitro Fertilization (Ivf) Cope With Infertility Stress, Brennan Peterson, C. R. Newton, K. H. Rosen, G. E. Skaggs

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Men and women use a variety of coping strategies to manage stress associated with infertility. While previous research has helped us understand these coping processes, questions remain about gender differences in coping and the nature of the relationship between coping and specific types of infertility stress. Methods: This study examined the coping behaviors of 1,026 (520 women, 506 men) consecutively referred patients at a Universityaffiliated teaching hospital. Participants completed the Ways of Coping Questionnaire, Fertility Problem Inventory, and the Dyadic Adjustment Scale. Results: Women used proportionately greater amounts of confrontive coping, accepting responsibility, seeking social support, and escape/avoidance when compared …

Silenced Voices: Experiences Of Grief Following Road Traffic Crashes In Western Australia, Lauren Breen

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Despite the introduction of road safety measures and media campaigns, crashes are a leading cause of death in Western Australia. While economic costs of crashes are relatively easy to determine, their psychosocial burden remains appreciably under-studied, as are the social, cultural, historical, temporal, and political contexts within which grief experiences are housed. As such, I explored the experience of grief resulting from losing a loved one in a crash in Western Australia and described the influence of contextual factors on those grief experiences.

Front Matter

Modern Psychological Studies

No abstract provided.

Effects Of Transcendental Medication On Blood Pressure, Joanna C. Bovee

Modern Psychological Studies

Many prevention and treatments methods exist for hypertension, but not all are effective or easy to incorporate into one's life. Stress-reduction methods, including Transcendental Meditation (TM), has been suggested as such a method, but have received inconsistent reviews about its effect on blood pressure. This literature review of twelve clinical studies concludes patients who practice TM can significantly reduce blood pressure. The technique was found to be effective for groups at high risk for hypertension, such as African-Americans, as well as low-risk groups. TM also appears to be more effective than progressive muscle relaxation, another popular stress-management technique. TM should …

Journal Use By Graduate Students As Indicated By Masters’ Theses Bibliographies At An Urban Commuter College, 1991-2004., Ellen A. Sexton

Publications and Research

Citation analyses were carried out on master’s thesis in three disciplines, forensic psychology, forensic science and criminal justice, completed and deposited in John Jay library from 1991 to 2004. The aim was to determine the effect of availability of electronic journals on students’ choice of references. The number of journal citations and the ratio of journal articles to all citations was assessed. Criminal justice theses listed more citations that either science of psychology theses, but relatively fewer journal articles. An increase over time was seen in the number of journal articles cited and in the ratio of journal articles to …

The Relationship Between Self-Efficacy And Health Promoting Behaviors, Illness Severity, Mental Health, And Perceived Quality Of Life In Multiple Sclerosis Patients, Anna Finn

Modern Psychological Studies

Multiple sclerosis is an incurable, debilitating, nervous system disease, which causes are largely unknown, and which affects hundreds of thousands of people across the United States. Early research suggests the impact that psychological factors can have on a patient's physical and mental health status. Self-efficacy, the belief in one's ability to cope with a situation, has been found to offer beneficial and protective effects in patients suffering from conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, sickle cell disease, and fibromylagia. This comprehensive literature review sought to look at psychological research that has considered the relationship between self-efficacy and health promoting behaviors, symptom …

An Investigation Into The Effects Of Social Network Strength And Stress Level On Cardiovascular Responses In Colleges Students, Amy R. Levitt

Modern Psychological Studies

The present study investigated the effects of strength of social network on physiological stress during a cognitive task. Participants were randomly assigned to a timed or untimed word search task. The dependent variables were heart rate and participants' perceptions of the difficulty of their word search task. Participants in the high stress condition reported performing significantly worse on the word search task than those in the low stress condition. Participants perceived the task to be less difficult when in the high social network group as compared to the low social network group. While there were no significant findings for the …