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Qualitative Psychology And The New Pluralism, Kenneth J. Gergen

Psychology Faculty Works

The burgeoning of the qualitative movement—both in psychology and the social sciences more generally—represents a major transformation in the landscape of inquiry. Reflection on this movement, both its potentials and its problems, is essential. In the present offering, I focus on a particularly significant characteristic of the qualitative movement thus far, its profound pluralism. At the outset, it is important to recognize the dependency of this movement on the deterioration of logical empiricism in social science research, and the absence of any foundational replacement. Thus, qualitative researchers have been liberated not only to employ research practices from multiple traditions, but …

The Social Construction Of Reality: Traces And Transformation, Kenneth J. Gergen

Psychology Faculty Works

Gergen provides a reflection on the intellectual context in which The Social Construction of Reality emerged and the subsequent transformation taking place in assumptions and practices. As he proposes, while the Berger and Luckmann thesis provided a major catalyst to the emerging dialogues, subsequent developments in critical theory, literary and rhetorical theory and the history of science added vital dimensions to understanding. The earlier emphasis on social phenomenology was largely eclipsed by a concern with the linguistic construction of reality; discussions of social structure and individual experience were largely replaced by a focus on the social or dialogic construction of …

Sign Modulation By Chimpanzees To Produce Interrogatives, Kailie Dombrausky

All Master's Theses

Native signers of American Sign Language produce interrogatives by holding signs for an extended duration while employing the questioning look. The questioning look is defined as raised eyebrows, a tilted head, and direct eye contact maintained for the duration of the utterance. Chimpanzees who communicate using signs have demonstrated modulation of signs including held sign, raised brow, and eye gaze. The present study used archived video data to compare the duration of signs when the chimpanzees did or did not employ the questioning look. In both single and multi-sign utterances, the chimpanzees held their signs for a mean of 0.6 …

Growth Mindset And Persistence In Children's Creative Performance, Tiffany Gerlinger

Honors Theses

Motivation literature regarding children's academic achievement is quite extensive and can typically be separated into two mindsets: growth mindset and fixed mindset, which vary on their level of persistence (i.e., effort toward a task, Dweck, 2006). Individuals with a growth mindset find persistence is useful because they believe their abilities can change through hard work. Individuals with a fixed mindset find persistence is not useful because they believe their abilities cannot change with hard work. In the domain of creative achievement there is a lack of research on mindset and persistence during creative performance. Research shows that adults underestimate the …

Examining Procedural Fidelity In School-Based Problem-Solving Teams Within Elementary Schools, Catalina Ottinger-Ovens

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

The current study examined the procedural fidelity within problem solving teams in three elementary schools, utilizing a 19-item modified checklist (Burns et al., 2008) completed by team members and a trained observer concurrently at eight meetings at each of the schools. The purpose of the study was to determine if there was a relationship between the team members’ ratings and the observer’s ratings, and also to determine the level of procedural fidelity across the three schools. The items on the checklist were divided into three subscales for analysis, based on the problem solving model: problem identification, problem analysis, and problem …

Psychosocial Impacts On Young Adult Haitian Immigrant Students In The United States, Lucien Eugene Pierre, Ph. D.

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Abstract

Many young adult Haitian immigrant students (YAHIS) move to the United States

hoping to achieve better lives. This growing population faces many challenges when

acculturating to a new country and educational system. Some obstacles include

inadequate family and social support, language barriers, limited education, distinct

cultural values, a lack of academic materials, a shortage of Haitian teachers, and

inadequate educational programs. These psychosocial factors often prevent Haitian

immigrants from succeeding in U.S. schools. This study explored YAHIS' experiences of

acculturation and education as they relate to these psychosocial factors. Qualitative

phenomenological techniques, guided by Adlerian theory, revealed the assumptions, …

The Heterogeneity Of Victim Impact Statements: A Content Analysis Of Capital Trial Sentencing Penalty Phase Transcripts, Bryan Myers, Narina Nuñez, Benjamin Wilkowski, Andre Kehn, Katheirne Dunn

Psychology Faculty Publications

Victim impact statements (VISs) are controversial in capital sentencing proceedings largely due to their questionable relevance to sentencing, the concern that characterizations of the victim may lead to arbitrary sentencing judgments, and the belief that the emotional nature of this evidence may be inflammatory. A sample of 192 capital trial VIS transcripts was analyzed for content as well as a linguistic analysis of emotionality. The findings reveal that these statements are highly varied, including their format, length, and relation between the witness and the victim. Despite a legislative mandate that they address the emotional, financial, and physical suffering experienced by …

Assessing The Implicitness Of Visual Statistical Learning At The Individual Level, Derek Mcclellan

Online Theses and Dissertations

Previous research has examined visual-statistical learning at the individual level but have used measurements which are not sensitive enough to detect differences at the individual level. This study investigates temporal visual-statistical learning but uses a recently modified task designed to be more sensitive to individual performance. This study also incorporated an indirect measure of learning in the form of a rapid serial visual presentation paradigm (RSVP), a cover task, and binary confidence judgments, to assess how aware participants were of the statistical structure. Although there was strong evidence of participants learning the statistical structure at the group level, there was …

Wordnet-Feelings: A Linguistic Categorisation Of Human Feelings, Advaith Siddharthan, Nicolas Cherbuin, Paul J. Eslinger, Kasia Kozlowska, Nora Murphy, Leroy Lowe

Psychological Science Faculty Works

In this article, we present the first in depth linguistic study of human feelings. While there has been substantial research on incorporating some affective categories into linguistic analysis (e.g. sentiment, and to a lesser extent, emotion), the more diverse category of human feelings has thus far not been investigated. We surveyed the extensive interdisciplinary literature around feelings to construct a working definition of what constitutes a feeling and propose 9 broad categories of feeling. We identified potential feeling words based on their pointwise mutual information with morphological variants of the word `feel' in the Google n-gram corpus, and present a …

Within- And Between-Person And Group Variance In Behavior And Beliefs In Cross-Cultural Longitudinal Data, Kirby Deater-Deckard, Jennifer Godwin, Jennifer E. Lansford, Dario Bacchini, Anna Silvia Bombi, Marc H. Bornstein, Lei Chang, Laura Di Giunta, Kenneth A. Dodge, Patrick S. Malone, Paul Oburu, Concetta Pastorelli, Ann T. Skinner, Emma Sorbring, Laurence Steinberg, Sombat Tapanya, Liane Peña Alampay, Liliana Maria Uribe Tirado, Arnaldo Zelli, Suha M. Al-Hassan

Psychology Department Faculty Publications

This study grapples with what it means to be part of a cultural group, from a statistical modeling perspective. The method we present compares within- and between-cultural group variability, in behaviors in families. We demonstrate the method using a cross-cultural study of adolescent development and parenting, involving three biennial waves of longitudinal data from 1296 eight-year-olds and their parents (multiple cultures in nine countries). Family members completed surveys about parental negativity and positivity, child academic and social-emotional adjustment, and attitudes about parenting and adolescent behavior. Variance estimates were computed at the cultural group, person, and within-person level using multilevel models. …

Examining Two Structural Equation Models To Determine The Effect Of Parental Practices And Familial Cultural Values On Mexican Adolescents’ Sexual Health, Efren A. Velazquez

Theses and Dissertations

Sexual behavior is a normative part of adolescence and it is important to understand how familial factors influence Latina/o adolescents’ sexual health. The current study examined two structural equation models (SEM) and the associations between familial cultural values (i.e., familismo and filial piety), maternal and paternal monitoring (i.e., disclosure and solicitation) and Latina/o adolescent’s sexual behavior (i.e., intentions to have sex, sexual behavior, sexual responsibility). A hypothesized SEM examined whether paternal/maternal monitoring mediated the relation between familial cultural values and adolescents’ sexual health, while an alternative SEM examined whether familial cultural values mediated the association between paternal/maternal monitoring and adolescents’ …

Too Long And Too Boring: The Effects Of Survey Length And Interest On Careless Responding, Cheyna Katherine Brower

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Careless responding (CR), also called insufficient effort responding (IER), occurs when survey participants respond to items without regard to item content. The presence of careless responding threatens the validity of inferences made from self-report data (Huang et al., 2012; Huang et al., 2015). This study examines the effects of two proposed causes of careless responding (Mead & Craig, 2012): questionnaire length and participant disinterest. Specifically, I hypothesized that (a) questionnaire length is positively related to careless responding, (b) participant interest is negatively related to careless responding, and (c) questionnaire length has a weaker relationship with careless responding among participants who …

Symbol Grounding In Social Media Communications, Andrew J. Hampton

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Social media data promise to inform the disaster response community, but effective mining remains elusive. To assist in the analysis of community reports on disaster from social media, I draw on an integrated model of psycholinguistic theory to investigate the patterns by which language use changes as a function of environmental influence. Using social media corpora from several disasters and non-disasters, I examine variations in patterns of lexical choice between domain independent paired antonyms with respect to an Internet-specific base rate to determine generic sentinels of breach of canonicity. I examine social media content with respect to disaster proximity and …

Semantic And Structural Influences On Spatial Knowledge Acquisition, Robert B. May

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Spatial memory for the layout of large-scale environments, configural spatial memory, has typically been construed as being very structured, using something like a metric coordinate system and using environmental objects to define that coordinate system. Inside of buildings, rectangular rooms have walls at right angles that have been considered to fulfill this role. However, the influence of non-spatial factors and considerations of relatively unstructured environments have not received much attention. Semantic organization was found to improve configural spatial memory for landmark objects in rooms with walls and it was independent of the structural relations among landmark objects (Colle & Reid, …

A Therapeutic Storybook For Adjustment And Acculturation In Middle Eastern Refugee Children, Christina E. Zawalski

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

The current global sociopolitical climate has resulted in the influx of refugees to the United States from all over the world. Those coming from the Middle East represent a large portion of refugees in the U.S., and children within this group make up a large percentage. The refugee process is characterized by stressful experiences in the premigration, migration, and resettlement stages. These experiences put refugee children at risk for distress and other mental health difficulties. Refugees must learn how to adjust and acculturate once in the host country, which can be a difficult task. Teachers are in a unique position …

Examining The Interacting Effects Of Marital Role Salience And Satisfaction On Mental Health Trajectories Of Female Expatriates, Kaitlin M. Patton

Clinical Psychology Dissertations

Expatriate populations encounter significant change throughout their expatriation experience, yet little is known about the individual expatriate’s mental health changes throughout the first year of this process. Even less explored is the impact that marital satisfaction and marital role salience have on the mental health trajectories of this population. Using hierarchical linear modeling, this study examined the mental health trajectories of a cohort of females (N = 32; age M = 38.63, SD = 2.65) moving with their spouses to Turkey. Further, the moderating effects of marital satisfaction (KMSS; Schumm, Milliken, Poresky, Bollman, & Jurich, 1983) and marital role …

Reasoning, Logic, And Development: Essay Review Of The Enigma Of Reason By Hugo Mercier And Dan Sperber, David Moshman

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

In 2011, Hugo Mercier and Dan Sperber published an influential article [Mer­cier & Sperber, 2011] arguing that human reasoning evolved for the purpose of argu­mentation and serves that purpose well. Additional publications followed and now, in The Enigma of Reason, Mercier and Sperber [2017] flesh out their theory. Indi­vidual reasoning is often fallacious, in their view, because it applies reasoning beyond the scope of its evolutionary purpose. Logic, rather than a basis for reasoning, is a formalized system developed by logicians that has little connection to actual human reasoning.

This is a rich and readable book that presents many intriguing …

Questioning The Modality Of The Occipital Lobe, William J. Brixius

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation explores the occipital lobe’s response to non-visual inputs, and whether this responsivity partitions into separate localization and identification pathways as seen with visual inputs. We hypothesized that occipital areas may merely prefer visual inputs, while maintaining similar task-based sensory recruitment in response to other senses. Our secondary hypothesis was that the robust occipital activation seen in late-blind participants stems at least initially from standard connections present even in the typically sighted, and that these standard connections are functionally utilized by the typically sighted in spatially relevant non-visual analyses. Our initial literature review supported our hypotheses that the occipital …

Normative Data For Four Neuropsychological Tests In A Sample Of Adults Who Are Illiterate And From Latin America, Alejandra Morlett Paredes

Theses and Dissertations

Neuropsychological tests are standardized tasks used to measure psychological functioning that is associated with a particular brain structure. These tests often are used in diagnosing a cognitive deficiency resulting from brain injuries. Currently, there are a limited number of studies that have focused on standardization of neuropsychological tests in Latin America. Therefore, the vast majority of cognitive tests used in the evaluation of patients with brain damage have no normative parameters adjusted to the cultural characteristics of Latinos and Latinas. As a result, neuropsychological diagnoses among this population may be inadequate, and evaluation of rehabilitation program effectiveness limited. The importance …

Development And Assessment Of The Korean Author Recognition Test, Hyosun Lee, Eunjin Seong, Wonil Choi, Matthew W. Lowder

Psychology Faculty Publications

This research reports the development and evaluation of a Korean Author Recognition Test (KART), designed as a measure of print exposure among young adults. Based on the original, English-language version of the Author Recognition Test (ART), the KART demonstrates significant relationships with offline measures of language ability, as well as online measures of word recognition. In particular, KART scores were related to participants' responses on the Comparative Reading Habits (CRH) checklist, suggesting that KART is a valid measure of print exposure. In addition, KART scores showed reliable correlations with offline measures of vocabulary knowledge and language comprehension. Finally, results from …

Well-Being And Academic Performance In Immigrant Students: The Role Of Inequality Of Country Of Origin And Resilience, Yumiko Yamaguchi

Dissertations and Theses

Abstract

Research on the psychology of immigrants has primarily focused on their socioeconomic status, but has not factored in macroeconomic indicators. These provide a deeper understanding of the stressors experienced by immigrants through the lens of cultural gaps between home and host countries. This study examined predictors of psychological well-being (PWB) and academic performance among 376 immigrant college students by employing Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological model of development (1994) consisting of four levels of environmental factors: Macrosystem, exosystem, mesosystem and microsystem. The results revealed that higher PWB was predicted by mesosystem variables (lower perceived stress, lower acculturative stress) and microsystem variables (higher …

The Behavioral And Electrophysiological Effects Of Discrimination And Inhibition Training On Visual Selective Attention: An Erp And Time-Frequency Analysis, Arooj Abid

Dissertations and Theses

Enhancement of task relevant information and the suppression of task irrelevant information are the two co-occurring mechanisms of selective attention. Studies have shown that ERP components (specifically N2, P3, and RP) and the alpha band (8-14 Hz) rhythm correspond to neural mechanisms and processes of visual selective attention, especially conflict resolution. Tested by a modified version of the visual flanker task, a conflict task employing inhibitory control, two groups of healthy adults were exposed to three weeks of cognitive training; either discrimination training (trained to discriminate target orientation) or inhibition training (trained to ignore interfering distractors) to investigate whether training …

Bilingualism Positively Predicts Mathematical Competence: Evidence From Two Large-Scale Studies, Andree Hartanto, Hwajin Yang, Sujin Yang

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Although little is known about the link between bilingualism and mathematical achievement in children, the established link between executive functions (EFs) and mathematical achievement suggests that bilingualism—which has been shown to affect EFs—may positively predict math skills. Drawing on two large-scale datasets collected in the US—the Multi-State Study of Pre-Kindergarten and the State-Wide Early Education Programs (Study 1) and the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (Study 2)—we examined the relation between bilingualism and mathematical achievement among preschoolers, kindergarteners, and first-grade students (ages 4–7), while controlling for key covariates of (a) demographic variables, such as age, gender, race/ethnicity, and socioeconomic status; and …

Structured Poetic Expressions For Emerging Adults Experiencing Bereavement, Kelcie D. Willis

Theses and Dissertations

Previous research has produced heterogeneous findings regarding the effectiveness of expressive writing in reducing grief symptomatology among the bereaved (e.g., Collison, 2016; Lichtenthal & Cruess, 2010; Stroebe et al., 2006). The purpose of this study was to address these mixed results by exploring the effects and linguistic characteristics of a novel writing task (i.e., the acrostic poem) among bereaved undergraduates, using an innovative data analysis technique (i.e., Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count). The current study recruited 68 undergraduates who had lost a loved one. Participants were randomly assigned to write over multiple days using the acrostic poem, emotional disclosure prompt, …

The Role Of Culture In Creative Cognition, Angela K. Y. Leung, Brandon Koh

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

In this chapter, we propose the complementary model of culture and creativity (CMCC) to account for three pairs of contrasting forces that characterize the manners in which individuals manage their cultural experiences and that produce impacts on creative pursuits. We theorize three bidimensional psychological processes that explain the effects of culture on creativity: (a) stereotyping versus destabilizing cultural norms, (b) fixating on one cultural mindset versus alternating between cultural frames, and (c) distancing from versus integrating cultures. We contend that a broader and diversifying cultural experience offers an impetus to break down cultural confines, to oscillate between a variety of …

Ethnic Identity Development Of 1.5 Generation Filipino American Immigrants: A Qualitative Study, Catherine Welsh

Masters Theses

This qualitative study examines ethnic identity development of 1.5 generation Filipino American immigrants in U.S. The survey methods used in the study were a demographic questionnaire, and semi-structured interview. Two Filipino students, one from the Southwest and the other from the Midwest regions of the U.S. participated in the study. Two research questions guided this study; what factors influence the ethnic identity development of the 1.5 generation Filipino American immigrants, and what strategies educators can use to facilitate 1.5 generation Filipino American immigrant student success. The results of the study revealed six themes. Three themes emerged from research question one …

Linguistic Correlates Of The Quiet Ego In Narratives About The Self, Katherine Maurer

Masters Theses

Increasingly, research has shown that the drive to elevate the self and the excessive pursuit of self-esteem have negative effects on well-being and mental health. In addition, many of the defensive and aggressive tendencies seen in psychological research can be seen as efforts to defend and elevate the self. In contrast to these tendencies, the quiet ego construct describes a state of ego balance characterized by an inclusive sense of identity, perspective-taking, detached awareness (mindfulness), and growth orientation. The quiet ego and related qualities have been associated with many positive outcomes. A body of research using the Linguistic Inquiry and …

Analyzing The Use Of Expressive Writing Among College Students, Grace Ann Wilbanks

Honors Theses

This is among the first studies to investigate the naturalistic use of expressive writing in college students. To do so, 255 undergraduate students from the University of Mississippi anonymously completed an online survey. Participants first answered basic demographic questions followed by questions assessing their sadness or depression, happiness, and overall adjustment in college. Next, participants responded to questions concerning expressive writing and ways in which they handled demands of college. Finally, respondents then completed a well-researched, standardized measure of depression, anxiety, and stress. Independent-samples t tests revealed that students who engaged in expressive writing demonstrated lower mean levels of sadness …

The Impact Of Animacy And Positioning On The Production Of Second Language Referring Expressions, Adonis De Carvalho Borges

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Researches have investigated how referring expressions are produced based upon second language acquisition and psycholinguistics theories. A study of monolingual English speakers demonstrated that referent's salience and discourse factors might impact referring expression choice between noun phrases and pronouns. Participants demonstrated a higher production of pronouns when the referent expression was animate rather than inanimate and a preference for noun phrases when the referent was the second noun phrase of the referent's context sentence (Fukumura & Van Gompel, 2011). In addition, an investigation with Hispanic bilinguals, whose L2 is English, demonstrated, in general, a greater preference for pronouns rather than …

Development And Testing Of A Culturally Tailored Intervention To Promote Hpv Vaccination Intentions In Latina Young Adults, Erica Landrau

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the United States and a known risk factor for cervical cancer. Several HPV vaccines have been approved as a primary prevention option. Vaccine administration is recommended for individuals between the ages of 9 and 26. Despite recommendations to vaccinate and a disproportionately high rate of cervical cancer among Latinas, rates of vaccination remain low among this population. The HPV vaccine consists of three doses applied six months apart. Vaccination initiation and completion rates are particular low among Latina young adults (18-26 years of age) and adolescents (13-17 years …