Digital Commons Network^™

Stop Making Sense: Exploring Basic Properties And Clinical Applications Of Coherence, Michael James Bordieri

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study explored the ways in which people make sense of ambiguous tasks and the degree to which people prefer contexts where coherent responding is possible. Relational frame theory contains a foundational assumption that coherence (i.e., making sense) is reinforcing for verbally competent humans. That is, it is assumed that humans relate ambiguous stimuli in ways that go together because they have an extensive learning history where others have given praise, positive attention, and other reinforcement for this behavior. This study was designed to empirically investigate this core assumption of relational frame theory by analyzing response patterns to ambiguous stimuli …

Project Shine: A Family-Based Intervention For Improving Physical Activity, Sedentary Behavior, And Diet In African American Adolescents, Sara M. St. George

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the effects of a family-based intervention for improving moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), sedentary behavior (SB), and fruit and vegetable (F&V) intake in African American adolescents. The intervention (Project SHINE: Supporting Health Interactively through Nutrition and Exercise) integrated Social Cognitive (SCT), Self Determination (SDT), and Family Systems Theories (FST) to improve healthy physical activity and dietary behaviors. Behavioral strategies from SCT (i.e., self-monitoring, goal-setting, self-regulatory skill-building), elements involved in facilitating intrinsic motivation for health behavior change from SDT (i.e., autonomy, competence, belongingness), and positive parenting practices from FST for integrating parent and peer systems (e.g., parental monitoring, parent-adolescent …

A Look Into The Latino Experience: The Process Of Identity Formation For Latinos In The United States, Angelica M. Ferreira

CMC Senior Theses

This paper examines the educational acculturation experience of Latinos in the United States (U.S.) and the processes of identity formation. Through the historical Latino experience in the early 20th century, we can see the remaining influences of historical inequality (e.g. exploitation of labor, de jure segregation) through negative perceptions of Latinos. Negative stereotypes and incorrect assumptions presented in society (e.g. media, educational system, and justice system) perpetuate inferiority in comparison to White Americans. In the context of a school environment, Latino children begin to realize they are different. When non-native English speakers enter the classroom, immediate differences in language, cultural …

Examining The Intersection Of The Cognitive Advantages And Disadvantages Of The Bilingual Brain, Irina Rabkina

Scripps Senior Theses

Two conflicting findings characterize cognitive processing accompanying bilingualism. The “bilingual advantage” refers to improved cognitive performance for bilingual compared to monolingual participants. Most bilingual advantages fall under the umbrella of cognitive control mechanisms, most frequently demonstrated using the Stroop task and the Simon task (e.g., Bialystok, 2008; Coderre, Van Heuven, & Conklin, 2013). The “bilingual disadvantage,” on the other hand, refers to bilinguals’ diminished performance on tasks that require word retrieval or switching between languages. This study examined the intersection of the bilingual advantage and the bilingual disadvantage to investigate whether they stem from a single cognitive control process. The …

Effects Of Narrative Writing And Post-Writing Processing Instructions On Ptsd, Laura Mcintire

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Impacts Of Complexity And Timing Of Communication Interruptions On Visual Detection Tasks, Sally Stader

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Auditory preemption theory suggests two competing assumptions for the attention-capturing and performance-altering properties of auditory tasks. In onset preemption, attention is immediately diverted to the auditory channel. Strategic preemption involves a decision process in which the operator maintains focus on more complex auditory messages. The limitation in this process is that the human auditory, or echoic, memory store has a limit of 2 to 5 seconds, after which the message must be processed or it decays. In contrast, multiple resource theory suggests that visual and auditory tasks may be efficiently time-shared because two different pools of cognitive resources are used. …

Obtaining Genuine Family Involvement: Unpacking The System Of Care Values And Principles, Deborah A. Cohen

Theses and Dissertations--Social Work

Despite the federal government’s $1.5 billion investment between 1993 and 2010 to fund 164 separate community-based systems of care, there has been an extremely limited attempt to measure the impact of system of care. The impetus for this research is the struggle for how the value based concept of system of care is communicated within a community. While child mental health services researchers have published a number of randomized control trials to explore individual level supports for youth served in a system of care community, researchers have struggled to devise a way to measure system of care philosophy diffusion.

While …

The Moderating Effect Of Gender On The Relationship Between Socialization And Internalizing Problems In Early Childhood, Hilary Lynn Adams

LSU Master's Theses

Researchers in the field of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) have confirmed that comorbidities are a common problem among diagnosed individuals. Current estimates suggest that more than two thirds meet criteria for an additional diagnosis of psychopathology. In particular, rates of several internalizing problems (i.e., anxiety, depression) appear to be greater for individuals with ASD than their typically developing counterparts. However, little research has been conducted examining factors apart from autism symptomatology that could influence this prevalence difference. Additionally, it is well established that anxiety and depression are more common in females than males in the general population. However, few studies …

The Influence Of Possible Selves On Global Citizenship Identification, Marion E. Blake, Stephen Reysen

Faculty Publications

We examined the influence of a ‘possible self’ activity on antecedents, identification, and outcomes of global citizenship. Participants wrote about either hoped-for selves as active global citizens, feared selves as inactive global citizens, or a typical day (control) and then answered questions to gauge their global citizen identification. Results show that the saliency of a feared self as an inactive global citizen led to greater identification with the global citizen identity. A structural equation model shows that feared self (vs hoped-for self) predicted greater global citizenship identification, through the perception of one’s normative environment as prescribing a global citizen identity …

(2014) Dialogic Schooling, David K. Kennedy

Collected Papers of David Kennedy

This paper offers a genealogy of dialogic education, tracing its origins in Romantic epistemology and corresponding philosophy of childhood, and identifying it as a counterpoint to the purposes and assumptions of universal, compulsory, state-imposed and regulated schooling. Dialogic education has historically worked against the grain of standardized mass education, not only in its view of the nature, capacities and potentialities of children (and therefore of adults as well), but in its economic, political and social views, for which childhood is understood as a promissory condition. Dialogic education is oriented to what Dewey called “a future new society of changed purposes …

Songs You Know By Heart: Alcohol, Promiscuous Sex, Drugs, And Escape In Jimmy Buffett’S Music, Eve M. Brank, Kathleen A. Fox, Victoria Kaspar

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Some researchers argue singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett’s lyrics focus on alcohol, promiscuous sex, and drugs, while others say Buffett’s music has changed since he sold out to corporate sponsorship. Results from a systematic coding of all 386 of his songs released since 1969 indicate Buffett’s music is more about escape and irony than deviant behaviors. Furthermore, lyric themes remain largely unaltered even through an increase in his popularity and corporate sponsorship.

Change In Developmental Quotient In Toddlers Assessed For Autism Spectrum Disorder, Lindsey Willis Williams

LSU Master's Theses

ASD is marked by significant delays in social and language development, while development in other areas, such as cognitive functioning, can be highly variable from person to person. Though preschool-aged children with ASD often exhibit a profile of developmental delays similar to children with other developmental disorders at a discrete moment in time, few studies have investigated possible differences in rate of skill acquisition in developmental domains in children with different disorders. Sensitive periods of development are marked by less stability in performance of developmental skills. Results of prior studies suggest that if appropriate early interventions are applied during sensitive …

The Effects Of Acknowledging Cultural Differences On Therapeutic Alliance In Cross-Cultural Therapy, Jean-Pierre Assouad

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Therapeutic alliance has been documented to have a significant impact on therapy. This study examined the impact that acknowledging visible cultural differences in the first session of treatment has on therapeutic alliance, perceived clinician cross-cultural competency, and potential attrition. A vignette study design was utilized with 26 subjects who were patients at the PCOM Center for Brief Therapy. The patients were randomly assigned one of four vignettes that consisted of a cross-cultural therapy situation, in which visible cultural differences were either addressed or not by a clinician. Following the reading of the vignette, the subjects were asked to complete the …

Personality Trait Theory And Multitasking Performance: Implications For Ergonomic Design, Andrea D. Guastello, Stephen J. Guastello, Denise D. Guastello

Psychology Faculty Research and Publications

Although system designers usually minimise the role of individual differences in operation, personality variables could explain differences in multitasking performance. A concomitant theoretical issue is whether primary or surface personality traits do a better job of predicting performance than the Five-Factor Model (FFM) or global traits. A sample of 174 undergraduates completed the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire (16PF), which was followed by a performance task. A computer-based task that measured simultaneous performance on an arithmetic task and a mental rotation task was used to measure multitasking performance; scores measured the percent accuracy. Primary traits for low emotional sensitivity and high …

Polysemy In Design Review Conversations, Georgi V. Georgiev, Toshiharu Taura

Design Thinking Research Symposium

This paper examines the role of polysemy, defined as the quality of having multiple meanings, in design review conversations. It examines the polysemy, particularly of nouns, involved in a dataset of design review conversations with reference to design ideas. The purpose is to determine whether polysemy is related to successful development of design ideas and more creative design outcomes. The results show that the polysemy of nouns involved in the conversations of the finally developed, successful, design ideas exceeds in the most cases the average polysemy involved in the conversations pertaining to the unsuccessful design ideas. Furthermore, the polysemy of …

A Pilot Study To Determine The Value Of Bilingual Counseling In A High School Where The Student Population Is Predominately Spanish/English Bilingual, Terrence Michael Mccabe

Wayne State University Dissertations

The present study examined bilingual counseling in a localized setting: a high school in southwest Detroit. The study assessed the ways in which bilingual counseling increases effective communication among bilingual students, school personnel, and students' parents/guardians. Participants included a cross-section of educators and support staff who work at a high school in southwest Detroit where the student population is predominately Spanish/English bilingual. Questionnaires were distributed to 81 participants; 59 completed questionnaires were returned. The instrument that was used to collect data was a questionnaire, which consisted of 19 questions. The questions reflected the participants' attitudes with respect to the research …

The Effect Of Appalachian Regional Dialect On Performance Appraisal And Leadership Perceptions, Amie Sparks Ball

Online Theses and Dissertations

Speakers of Appalachian English face unique difficulties in the workplace. Long-held stereotypes of Appalachian English speakers can lead to unfair presumptions about a person's competence and professionalism. Previous research has shown stereotyping on the basis of non-standard dialect can affect recruitment and hiring decisions made by employers. The present study addresses the possibility that these biases extend beyond the hiring process by investigating the impact of Appalachian regional dialect on performance appraisal, perceptions of leadership potential, promotion potential, status perceptions, and solidarity perceptions.

Asymmetrical Interference Effects Between Two-Dimensional Geometric Shapes And Their Corresponding Shape Words, Bradley R. Sturz, Joshua E. Edwards, Ty W. Boyer

Psychology: Faculty Publications

Nativists have postulated fundamental geometric knowledge that predates linguistic and symbolic thought. Central to these claims is the proposal for an isolated cognitive system dedicated to processing geometric information. Testing such hypotheses presents challenges due to difficulties in eliminating the combination of geometric and non-geometric information through language. We present evidence using a modified matching interference paradigm that an incongruent shape word interferes with identifying a two-dimensional geometric shape, but an incongruent two-dimensional geometric shape does not interfere with identifying a shape word. This asymmetry in interference effects between two-dimensional geometric shapes and their corresponding shape words suggests that shape …

Vocabulary And Reading Comprehension Intervention: A Focus On Students In The Late Elementary Grades, Melissa L. Dol

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Literacy skills are key to success in school, career, and everyday life. Despite school curricula being strongly focused on literacy development (Ministry of Education, 2006), many children continue to fall behind the expected literacy skill levels for their grade (Education Quality and Accountability Office, 2012a, 2012b; National Center for Education Statistics, 2011). The present study evaluated a literacy intervention, Better Reading for School Success (BRSS), accompanied by a parent/guardian literacy workshop and weekly tips regarding how parents and/or guardians can promote literacy skill development at home. The BRSS was also evaluated as a subsection of family literacy afterschool programs, ‘Get …

Improving Preschoolers' Mathematical Performance: The Nature Of Spatial Input By Early Childhood Educators, Joanna Zambrzycka

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Early spatial abilities are related to a number of positive academic outcomes such as success in geometry and chemistry domains in later adulthood (Delgado & Prieto, 2004; Stieff, 2007). Further, more advanced spatial abilities in early adolescence predicts engagement and success in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) occupations in later adulthood (Shea, Lubinski, & Benbow, 2001). There is a wealth of research that links spatial abilities to overall mathematics achievement in both adults (e.g., Casey, Nuttall, Pezaris, & Benbow, 1995) and children (e.g., Holmes, Adams, & Hamilton, 2008).

Adult input positively impacts children’s subsequent spatial and mathematical development. Parental …

The Role Of Features And Context In Recognition Of Novel Melodies, Daniel Mullensiefen, Andrea R. Halpern

Faculty Journal Articles

WE INVESTIGATED HOW WELL STRUCTURAL FEATURES such as note density or the relative number of changes in the melodic contour could predict success in implicit and explicit memory for unfamiliar melodies. We also analyzed which features are more likely to elicit increasingly confident judgments of "old" in a recognition memory task. An automated analysis program computed structural aspects of melodies, both independent of any context, and also with reference to the other melodies in the testset and the parent corpus of pop music. A few features predicted success in both memory tasks, which points to a shared memory component. However, …

Quality Of Life In Emerging Adults With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Staci Carr

Theses and Dissertations

This study is focused on exploring quality of life in young adults in the autism spectrum and the factors that contribute to their own perception of satisfaction with their lives. Autism Spectrum Disorder is a neurodevelopmental disability that is associated with deficits in social interaction and communication and with restricted and repetitive behaviors (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). There has been a documented increase in the diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), making it to be one of the fastest growing diagnosed disabilities in children (Hartley-McAndrew, 2014). In the United States, the prevalence of ASD is approximately 1 in 68 children, …

Understanding Workplace Meetings: A Qualitative Taxonomy Of Meeting Purposes, Joseph A. Allen, Tammy Beck, Cliff Scott, Steven G. Rogelberg

Psychology Faculty Publications

Purpose - Meetings are a workplace activity that deserves increased attention from researchers and practitioners. Previous researchers attempted to develop typologies of meeting purpose with limited success. Through a comparison of classification methodologies, we consider a taxonomy as the appropriate classification scheme for meeting purpose. The goal of our study is to propose a taxonomy of meeting purpose. We then utilize the developed taxonomy to investigate the frequency with which a representative sample of working adults engaged in meetings of these varying purposes. Our proposed taxonomy provides relevant classifications for future research on meetings and serves as a useful tool …

Component Numeracy Skills And Decision Making, Saima Ghazal

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

Numeracy—i.e., one’s practical understanding of mathematics in context—is one of the strongest predictors of people’s general decision making skill, independent of other cognitive abilities (e.g., intelligence, working memory, attentional control). Despite notable scientific progress on the nature of numeracy and decision making, the cognitive and decision sciences have yet to investigate individual differences in numeracy components (e.g., algebra versus probability). In this dissertation, I report on my efforts to develop new measurement technology and quantitative models of cognitive and decision skills. Analyses include the first known investigations of the relations between the major adult component numeracy skills and general decision …

(De)Psychologizing Shangri-La: Recognizing And Reconsidering C.G. Jung's Role In The Construction Of Tibetan Buddhism In The Western Imagination, Alec M. Terrana

Pomona Senior Theses

Popular literature on Tibetan Buddhism often overemphasizes the psychological dimension of the religion's beliefs and practices. This misrepresentative portrayal is largely traceable to the writings of the psychoanalyst C.G. Jung. By employing distinctly psychological terminology and interpretive strategies in his analyses of the Tibetan Book of the Dead and mandala symbolism, Jung helped to establish precedents that were adopted in subsequent analyses of the religion. Imposing a psychological lens on Tibetan Buddhism obscures other essential elements of the tradition, such as cosmology, physiology, and ritualism, thereby silencing the voices of Tibetans in analyses of their own practices. Jung's imposition of …

Mental Models For The Negation Of Conjunctions And Disjunctions, Guillermo Macbeth, Eugenia Razumiejczyk, María C. Crivello, Claudia Bolzán, Carolina I. Pereyra Girardi, Guillermo Campitelli

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

This study investigates why reasoning that involves negation is extremely difficult. We presented participants with reasoning problems containing sentences with negation of conjunctions and disjunctions in order to test predictions derived from the Mental Models Theory of human thought. According to this theory, reasoning consists of representing and comparing possibilities. Different sentential forms would require different cognitive demands. In particular, responses to a sentential negation task would be modulated by working memory load. This prediction would hold for correct responses but also for the general pattern of responses that includes incorrect responses when the task offers different response options. A …

Therapists’ And Interpreters’ Perceptions Of The Relationships When Working With Refugee Clients, Janet Ann Robertson

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This dissertation consists of two articles focusing on foreign language interpreters in mental health. The first article is a literature review examining the existing research on mental health professionals working with foreign language interpreters while conducting therapy with refugee clients. After excluding articles that were not research studies and those that focused on physicians rather than therapists, 19 articles fit the search criteria. The majority of the articles that did not fall into the research category focused on recommendations and protocols for treatment. Those that did fit within the criteria were categorized into 5 main themes. Those themes were: effectiveness …

Developing And Testing An Implicit Measure Of Moral Foundation Accessibility, Scott D. Frankowski

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Moral Foundations Theory provides a framework for understanding moral judgments and behavior. With the present research, I developed a word fragment task as an implicit measure of moral foundation accessibility. In an experiment, I used this measure as a predictor of moral attitudes and behaviors toward two moral violations. Responses on this implicit measure predicted moral attitudes; however, the priming conditions did not affect responses. The failure of the primes are discussed, as well as future directions.

A Cognitive-Developmental Approach To Emotion Processing In Children, Denise Davidson, Sandra Beatriz Vanegas, Elizabeth Ann Hilvert

Psychology: Faculty Publications and Other Works

Although cogmttve development and emotional development are often viewed as separate components in the development of the child, the two are intricately related to each other. The purpose of this chapter is to review and examine how cognitive development is related to emotional development, and how traditional and current theories of cognitive development provide us with a framework for understanding the development of emotion processing in children. Topics explored in this chapter include the role of executive functioning, language development and cognitive concepts of self on the development of emotional competence. Moreover, three theories of cognitive development: Theory of Mind, …

Displaced African Female Survivors Of Conflict-Related Sexual Violence: Challenges For Mental Health Providers, Adeyinka M. Akinsulure-Smith

Publications and Research

Conflict throughout Africa has created havoc for many. This overwhelming chaos has led to the disintegration of social order and generated widespread gender-based violence. As a result, African women have become casualties, experienced brutal acts of sexual violence, and been forced into exile. Drawing on the tribulations of displaced African female survivors of conflict-related sexual violence, this article discusses these women’s experiences and highlights the barriers and struggles encountered while seeking refuge. The article concludes by exploring the challenges of providing culturally informed, strength-focused mental health services to these women as they rebuild their lives in a new sociocultural context.