Digital Commons Network^™

The Effectiveness Of A Caregiver Delivered Phonics Intervention For At-Risk Students, Iwalani Dela Paz-Miller

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Reading skills are important for students' academic success. Phonics specifically is a foundational skill which is necessary for reading fluency and overall reading proficiency. Additional support outside of the classroom can be beneficial for those struggling and at-risk. There are various strategies and interventions that can help students' gain important academic skills. In addition to various reading skills and interventions, parents and caregivers can help implement interventions within the home setting to support students in their academic growth. Overall, the research has documented the effectiveness of reading intervention delivered by parents and caregivers, but there is little research on caregiver …

The Psychological Roots Of William James's Thought, David E. Leary

Psychology Faculty Publications

"... [H]ow exactly did James’s personal characteristics, experiences, and concerns impact upon his philosophy? To answer that question we will need to look further back, well before he started publishing the works for which he is best known within philosophy: before, that is, Prag-matism (1907), A Pluralistic Universe (1909), The Meaning of Truth (1909), and the posthumously collected Essays in Radical Empiricism (1912). Before and behind these works was the work that Santayana (among many others) called James’s greatest achievement (Santayana 1920/2009: 585); namely, his monumental Principles of Psychology (1890).2 So the questions we need to ask are: (1) What …

The Contributions Of Immediate Retrieval And Spaced Retrieval To Word Learning In Preschoolers With Developmental Language Disorder, Laurence B. Leonard, Justin B. Kueser, Patricia Deevy, Eileen Haebig, Jeffrey D. Karpicke, Christine Weber

Faculty Publications

Background and Aims: Children with developmental language disorder (DLD) benefit from word learning procedures that include a mix of immediate retrieval and spaced retrieval trials. In this study, we examine the relative contribution of these two types of retrieval.

Methods: We examine data from Haebig et al. (2019) in their study that compared an immediate retrieval condition and a condition of spaced retrieval that also included immediate retrieval trials. Participants were 4- and 5-year old children with DLD and same-age peers with typical language development. Each child learned novel (made-up) words referring to unusual plants and animals in both conditions. …

Literacy And Covid-19 : Elementary Students' Reading Performance Through A Global Pandemic, Emmett Mcgregor Schweiger

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The critical area of literacy instruction has long relied on the use of measurement tools and the resulting data to identify at-risk readers and deliver needed supports. When the COVID-19 pandemic caused disruption to education, measurement practices were altered and there was limited existing research available to predict the potential impact of the pandemic on literacy development. The primary purpose of this study was to examine the reading performance of students in a Southern Tier New York elementary school before and during the pandemic, utilizing existing data from fall 2019 to spring 2021. Additionally, this study sought to evaluate the …

Effects Of Early Bilingualism On Theory Of Mind Development Among Children In Economic Adversity, Rong Huang

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The present study investigated the associations between bilingualism and Theory of Mind (ToM) development among children from low-income backgrounds. ToM is the capacities of understanding others’ mental states, such as beliefs, knowledge, or emotions, which develops rapidly during early childhood. Previous studies showed that bilingual experience may be associated with an enhanced ToM, while it is less known whether the similar effect can be generalized to the low-income populations. In addition, it remained unclear what role of Executive Function (EF) plays in the relationship between bilingualism and Theory of Mind in economically disadvantaged environments. The current study aims to address …

The Theory Of Mind Hypothesis Of Autism, Kendall Smith

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Present theory of mind research suggests that autistic individuals demonstrate deficits in theory of mind capabilities. A literature review was conducted to investigate the claim made by the theory of mind hypothesis of autism that theory of mind deficits are responsible for the social deficits present in autistic individuals. It was concluded that this hypothesis was prematurely accepted as an explanatory model for autism when it is better described as a symptom of autism. Alternative explanations for autistic social deficits such as executive function deficits and the theory of weak central coherence were analyzed. Implications and suggestions for future research …

Compassion, Discrimination, And Prosocial Behaviors: Young Diasporic Chinese During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Youli Chen, Zicong Wang, Qi Zhang, Weizhen Dong, Jia Huei, Chen Xu, Sizhe Ji Wu, Xiangyang Zhang, Chun Chen

Community & Environmental Health Faculty Publications

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has fueled anti-Asian, especially anti-Chinese sentiments worldwide, which may negatively impact diasporic Chinese youths' adjustment and prosocial development. This study examined the association between compassion, discrimination and prosocial behaviors in diasporic Chinese youths during the COVID-19 pandemic. 360 participants participated and completed the multi-country, cross-sectional, web-based survey between April 22 and May 9, 2020, the escalating stage of the pandemic. This study found compassion as prosocial behaviors' proximal predictor, while discrimination independently predicted participation in volunteering, and could potentially enhance the association between compassion and charitable giving. These findings suggest that prosociality among young …

Profiles And Correlates Of Language And Social Communication Differences Among Young Autistic Children, Rachel Reetzke, Vini Singh, Ji Su Hong, Calliope B. Holingue, Luther G. Kalb, Natasha N. Ludwig, Deepa Menon, Danika L. Pfeiffer, Rebecca J. Landa

Communication Disorders & Special Education Faculty Publications

Delays in early language development are characteristic of young autistic children, and one of the most recognizable first concerns that motivate parents to seek a diagnostic evaluation for their child. Although early language abilities are one of the strongest predictors of long-term outcomes, there is still much to be understood about the role of language impairment in the heterogeneous phenotypic presentation of autism. Using a personcentered, Latent Profile Analysis, we first aimed to identify distinct patterns of language and social communication ability in a clinic-based sample of 498 autistic children, ranging in age from 18 to 60 months (M = …

Elaboration, Resolution, And Coping In The Covid-19 Narratives Of College Students: Relations To Identity Development, Maha Y. Halabi

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Previous research has shown that talking about highly significant experiences in more elaborative ways and with greater meaning-making is related to better identity development in emerging adults (McLean & Pratt, 2006). Expressing personally significant experiences through narratives allows individuals to construct coherent autobiographical stories about the self, connecting their past, present, and future selves into a coherent whole, which ultimately contributes to healthy identity development (Pennebaker & Seagal, 1999). In this research, we examined the Covid-19 narratives of college students in relation to identity development. Data was collected from 218 emerging adult college students, ages 18 and above, both males …

Internal State Language And Coping In Narratives Of Covid-19: Relation To Psychological Well-Being, Divya Pradipkumar Patel

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The Covid-19 pandemic had global consequences for billions of individuals, including high rates of mortality and morbidity, lost income, and prolonged social isolation. In the short and long term, this crisis will have an impact on people's lives and mental health. The current correlational study looks at how internal state language, stress, and coping are used in college students' narratives concerning the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown experiences in relation to psychological well-being. A sample of 216 undergraduate students completed surveys that recorded their narrative experiences of COVID-19, psychological well-being, depression severity, and measure of how stressful occurrences in one’s life …

Reading Comprehension Constrains Word Reading: A Tongue Twister Study By Moderating Attentional Control, Xueying Wang

Theses and Dissertations--Linguistics

Numerous research studies show word reading performance influences reading comprehension. Few studies investigate how reading comprehension influences word reading. The current study explores whether alleviating the attention required for reading comprehension correlates with a better word reading performance. Three types of tongue twister reading tasks that involve recall (RR), semantic priming (PP), and instructional focus on the phonological information (PF) all have a high demand for attention on word reading. Differently, the attention demanded by PP tasks on reading comprehension is smaller than RR and RF tasks. Numbers of speech errors are used to manifest the variability of these three …

Conceptualizations Of A Flea Market Space, Tyler D. Curran

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

The ubiquitous presence of flea markets is emblematic of midwestern life. They illustrate common consumption practices and distinct modes of entertainment. This study investigates how vendors within a large, midwestern flea market conceptualize and utilize the space. Additionally, this study reveals the relationship between variant conceptualizations of the market and the merchandise sold by individual vendors. Existing research identifies a tension between social and economic dimensions within flea markets. This study extends prior research by examining the specific social fulfillments vendors garner and identifying other non-economic rationalizations for participation within the market. The results are derived from ethnographic observations and …

Bipolar Screening Among Spanish-Speaking Us Residents Using The Mood Disorder Questionnaire, Emanuel T. Recinos

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

The Mood Disorder Questionnaire (MDQ) is a self-report screening instrument used to detect Bipolar Disorder (BD). Psychometric properties of Spanish translations of the MDQ are from communities where both language and cultural differences are present. A Spanish version of the MDQ not been validated among United States individuals who identify Spanish as their preferred language of communication.

Objective

We propose that the validation of a Castilian Spanish version of the MDQ is needed for cross-cultural adaptation, determining optimal cut-off scores, and as an aid to the literature on BD prevalence, specifically BD among Spanish speakers of the United States.

Methods …

An Investigation Of The Perception Of Elderspeak Among Community Dwelling Older Adults, Abby L. Teply

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This study aimed to expand the literature on the perception of elderspeak among community dwelling older adults with secondary purposes concerning how these perceptions vary across gender and region. Participants (n = 110) were presented a written vignette that depicted a nursing assistant in an assisted living facility waking a tenant from a nap and assisting the tenant to the bathroom before lunch. The nursing assistant uses elderspeak throughout the vignette. Following the vignette, participants’ reactions to the use of elderspeak and perceptions of the nursing assistant in the vignette were assessed using a series of open-ended questions, the Positive …

Analyzing Behavioral Adaptation To Covid-19 And Return To Pre-Pandemic Baselines In A Cohort Of College Seniors, Vlado Vojdanovski

Computer Science Senior Theses

As the critical phase of the COVID-19 pandemic seems to be winding down, it is important to analyze the adjustment to COVID-19 and return to normalcy of various populations. In this study we focus on the behavioral adjustments exhibited by a cohort of N=114 college seniors. To infer COVID-19 adjustment we compare the 2021 year (second year of COVID-19) to the 2020 year (first year of COVID-19) and 2019 (prepandemic baseline year). We begin with a broad analysis between the second and first covid year, finding that the second year of COVID-19 shows significant returns to pre-pandemic baselines on multiple …

Pitch Perfect: Impression Formation And Impression Management In Women's Pitch Modulation, Grace A. Corrigan

Scripps Senior Theses

How does the pitch of a woman’s voice impact how she is perceived, and how might women change the pitch of their voices to fit the situation at hand? Study 1 examined whether pitch plays a role in impression formation. Participants listened to two women’s voices at three pitch levels (raised, unchanged, lowered) and rated the speakers’ personality traits. Ratings of speaker competence, confidence, and intelligence were significantly lower for the pitch-raised voices than for the unchanged or pitch-lowered voices. Additionally, ratings of speaker persuasiveness and attractiveness were significantly lower for the pitch-raised voices than for the unchanged voices. No …

The Role Of Word Knowledge In Error Detection: A Challenge To The Broken-Error-Monitor Account Of Dyslexia, Lindsay N. Harris, Benjamin Creed, Charles A. Perfetti, Benjamin Rickles

Faculty Articles, Papers, and Other Scholarship

Dyslexic children often fail to correct errors while reading aloud, and dyslexic adolescents and adults exhibit lower amplitudes of the error-related negativity (ERN)—the neural response to errors—than typical readers during silent reading. Past researchers therefore suggested that dyslexia may arise from a faulty error-detection mechanism that interferes with orthographic learning and text comprehension. An alternative possibility is that comprehension difficulty in dyslexics is primarily a downstream effect of low-quality lexical representations—that is, poor word knowledge. On this view the attenuated ERN in dyslexics is a byproduct, rather than a source, of underdeveloped orthographic knowledge. Because the second view implies a …

Health Disparities And Psychosocial And Behavioral Interventions For Type 2 Diabetes Within Latinx Communities: A Systematic Review, Elisa Hernandez-Guerrero Smith

Theses and Dissertations

As Hispanic adults are 70% more likely than non-Hispanic White adults to be diagnosed with diabetes (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2022), there is an urgent need to provide culturally appropriate care to the people with diabetes of Latinx heritage. The purpose of this systematic review is to better understand the availability and effectiveness of psychosocial and behavioral interventions for T2DM within the Latinx population. Additional focus was given to the impact of health disparities and complexities within the Latinx population that have been diagnosed with, or are at risk of, T2DM. With a greater understanding of health disparities …

Systematic Review Regarding The Use Of Mindfulness-Based Mobile Applications To Reduce Psychological Symptoms And Enhance Well-Being Among General And Clinical Population Adults: Benefits, Limitations And Future Directions, Brian Clawson

Theses and Dissertations

Mindfulness is now utilized throughout Western Society and is part of the growing behavioral health, self-help, and wellness movements. Mobile applications have become increasingly popular for a wide variety of uses related to physical health, mental health, and self-improvement. Therefore, mindfulness-based mobile applications have promise both as stand-alone tools for end-users seeking self-help resources and as clinician-recommended adjunctive tools to enhance the process and outcomes of professional therapy. This systematic review identified, reviewed, and synthesized the findings from studies (n = 29) concerning the impact of mindfulness-based mobile applications on specific aspects of psychological functioning in both the general population …

The Development Of Social Competence In Children With Disabilities, Soo-Young Hong, Elizabeth A. Steed, Lori E. Meyer, İbrahim H. Acar

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

Children with disabilities experience unique challenges in developing social skills critical to achieve their social goals. Although there are individual differences, children with delays and disabilities may struggle to communicate with others, understand gestures, and take other people’s viewpoints. These differences may prevent children with disabilities from initiating and sustaining social interactions and, in turn, from developing high levels of social competence (Hebbeler & Spiker, 2016).

To support social development of children with disabilities, it is important to promote positive relationships within the family system as well as the teaching of social skills in inclusive early learning environments (Mahoney et …

The Psychology Of Hate: Moral Concerns Differentiate Hate From Dislike, Clara Pretus, Jennifer L. Ray, Yael Granot, William A. Cunningham, Jay J. Van Bavel

Psychology: Faculty Publications

We investigated whether any differences in the psychological conceptualization of hate and dislike were simply a matter of degree of negativity (i.e., hate falls on the end of the continuum of dislike) or also morality (i.e., hate is imbued with distinct moral components that distinguish it from dislike). In three lab studies in Canada and the United States, participants reported disliked and hated attitude objects and rated each on dimensions including valence, attitude strength, morality, and emotional content. Quantitative and qualitative measures revealed that hated attitude objects were more negative than disliked attitude objects and associated with moral beliefs and …

Fostering Cognitive Presence In Online Courses: A Systematic Review (2008-2020), Robert L. Moore, Courtney N. Miller

STEMPS Faculty Publications

Within the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework, cognitive presence has been central to success in higher education settings. This systematic review examined 24 articles published between 2008-2020 that empirically analyzed cognitive presence in online courses. We share the patterns that emerged regarding the interplay between teaching and cognitive presence and social and cognitive presence. We also explore how the four phases of cognitive presence—triggering event, exploration, integration, and resolution—were evident within specific instructional activities. We conclude with implications for practice that will be helpful for course instructors and designers seeking to foster greater cognitive presence within their online courses.

Exploring Intersectional Factors Associated With Mental Health Service Utilization In A Sample Of Lgbt2q+ Canadians, Samson Tse

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The present thesis explores LGBT2Q+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (trans), Two-Spirit, queer/questioning, plus) and racialized mental health service utilization within Canada using intersectionality-informed quantitative methodology, separated into additive and multiplicative stages. Data from the 2020 LGBT2Q+ Health Survey (N = 1542) were analyzed using modified Poisson regression. Additive analyses explored mental healthcare utilization as framed by the Andersen Behavioural Model of Healthcare Utilization categories: predisposing, enabling, and need. Results show that predisposing and need factors are more statistically associated with mental healthcare utilization, and that there are distinct intracategorical (within-group) differences in subgroups, particularly between racialized and Indigenous respondents. …

“What If This Happiness Doesn’T Last Forever?”: Stressors Faced By Racialized Sogie Refugees, Moni Sadri-Gerrior

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Racialized refugees with diverse SOGIE (Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, and Expression) experience the unique intersection of racism, homo- and/or transphobia, and anti-refugee sentiments. As a result, this group (herein: racialized SOGIE refugees) often face poor mental health and well-being. The purpose of this study is to identify stressors faced by racialized SOGIE refugees in Ontario through the lens of Meyer’s Minority Stress Theory and Crenshaw’s intersectionality theory. The interviews from ten racialized SOGIE refugees and two service providers living in Ontario were taken from a larger study looking at the life trajectories of SOGIE refugees. Participants identified both explicit and …

First Language Loss And Maintenance In Adolescents And Young Adults From Immigrant Backgrounds, Wanxin Li

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Abstract

Language attrition is a documented phenomenon that occurs when individuals progressively lose their first language (Schmid et al., 2007). This is particularly common among individuals who relocate to a country that speaks a foreign language that differs from their first language, as the societal language eventually becomes their dominant language. Deterioration and loss of the first language (L1) may result in consequences such as loss of ethnic and cultural identity, leading to the loss of a link to one’s country of origin (Cho & Krashen, 1998). Thus, the present study examined factors that may contribute to L1 attrition. The …

Community Stress And Resilience During Covid-19: Assessing The Emotional Profile Of The City Of Hamilton Using A Social Media Analysis, Senyo Agbeyaka

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This study investigated stress and resilience at the neighbourhood level in Hamilton Ontario in pre- and peri-pandemic conditions using a social media analysis. Sentiment analysis of geo-located Twitter posts produced within Hamilton census tract boundaries was conducted using Stresscapes and EMOTIVE, validated software that extract and code emotional information from human language expressions about stress and hope (a proxy for stress), respectively. Baseline levels of both emotions were measured using aggregate scores at the census tract level in Hamilton from tweets produced during two pre-pandemic periods (March 2019 to July 2019; and August 2019 to February 2020), with a replication …

African American English As A Predictor Of Ethnic And Ethnolinguistic Identity In Adolescence, Giahna L. Glasco

Dissertations and Theses

This study’s purposes were to provide support for the Social identity theory of African American English (Vietze & Glasco, 2022) and the meanings African American English (AAE) speakers assign to their dialect. The study was primarily based on Tajfel’s (1979) social identity theory that proposes individuals derive a sense of self from group membership. The qualitative analyses examined ethnic and language group memberships. Ethnic identity development (Phinney, 1992), and ethnolinguistic identity theories (Giles and Johnson, 1987) guided narrative and content analyses of Kiese Laymon’s memoir, Heavy: An American Memoir (Laymon, 2018). The sample included 21 African American English conversations …

Therapeutic Considerations For The Polycule: A Qualitative Exploration Of Consensual Non-Monogamy In Couples Treatment, Tema Watstein

Dissertations and Theses

Despite the growing visibility of consensual non-monogamy culturally and in the academic domain, treatment of CNM relationships has been understudied from the clinical perspective. This study utilized a sample of 11 clinicians, who discussed their experiences of treating non-monogamous couples through a semi-structured interview. Qualitative thematic analysis led to the emergence of robust themes, which were synthesized into three broader categories: 1. Therapeutic Process, 2. Issues in Treatment, and 3. The Meaning of Non-Monogamy. Therapists discussed their own clinical processes, with emphasis on countertransference, frame, self-disclosure, and considerations for training. Themes also emerged surrounding common issues in treatment, ranging from …

Joint Laughter Between Patient And Therapist: Exploring The Function Of These Moments And Their Relationship To The Working Alliance In Short-Term Psychotherapy, Molly Rappaport

Dissertations and Theses

Laughter emerges in infancy and reflects mutually aroused and regulated positive affect within the caregiver-infant relationship and repeated cycles of shared, co-regulated positive arousal have been shown to play a critical role in fueling secure attachment bond formation and laying the groundwork for the infant’s capacity for affect regulation (Schore, 2003). Throughout life, laughter continues to function as an attachment behavior with the possibility of promoting interpersonal closeness or creating distance. Attitudes toward the role of laughter in psychotherapy vary among psychodynamically-oriented clinicians and research has mostly focused on the kinds of humor and interventions that provoke laughter rather than …

Holistic Treatment: A Qualitative Study Of The Integration Of Chinese Medicine With Psychoanalysis In China, I. Wang

Dissertations and Theses

With its fundamental principle of body-mind unity, Chinese medicine has long been regarded as one of the most influential bedrocks of holistic treatment. Given its prevalence in China, Chinese medicine (CM) is a culturally appropriate way for therapists in China to integrate with psychoanalysis. This qualitative study investigates how Chinese psychotherapists in China with Western psychanalytic backgrounds synthesize the principles and methods of CM into their practice. Further, the barriers and facilitators to the integration are also examined. With a sample of twelve Chinese psychotherapists in China primarily trained at The China American Psychoanalytic Alliance, through semi-structured interviews, therapists' integration …