Digital Commons Network^™

Racial/Ethnic Matching Of Clients And Therapists In Mental Health Services: A Meta-Analytic Review Of Preferences, Perceptions, And Outcomes, Timothy B. Smith, Raquel R. Cabral

Faculty Publications

The effects of matching clients with therapists of the same race/ethnicity have been explored using a variety of approaches across several decades. We conducted a meta-analysis of three variables frequently used in research on racial/ethnic matching: Clients' preferences for a therapist of their own race/ethnicity, clients' perceptions of therapists, and therapeutic outcomes. Across 52 studies of preferences, the average effect size was d = .63, indicating a moderately strong preference for a therapist of one's own race/ethnicity. Across 81 studies of individuals' perceptions of therapists, the average effect size was d = .32, indicating a tendency to perceive therapists of …

Psychosocial Problems Of Refugees: Understanding And Addressing Needs, Catherine Doren

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Because all refugees have, by definition, left their country due to a “well-founded fear of persecution due to race, political opinion, ethnic origin, religion, or belonging to a particular social group,” it must be assumed that they have experienced trauma, making psychosocial problems ubiquitous among refugees (Bulbul, 2011; M. Carballo, personal communication, 29 September 2011). Research has shown that refugees often experience a range of psychosocial problems, yet research about the potential avenues for ameliorating these problems and their consequences is lacking and must be increased. Through a combination of interviews and a review of the field’s existing literature, it …

Healing Images: A Historical Outline Of Their Use In Western Medical And Psychotherapeutic Traditions, Anees A. Sheikh

Psychology Faculty Research and Publications

The ancient literature of numerous cultures abounds with accounts of spectacular cures resulting from the imaging process. These accounts are now being corroborated by a growing body of clinical and experimental evidence. The effectiveness of mental imagery in the treatment of a wide variety of problems has been convincingly documented (Sheikh, 1983). This paper outlines the use of imagery in Western medical as well as psychotherapeutic traditions. It concludes with a discussion of the reasons that make imagery an excellent healing agent.

Vocabulary Development In Greek Children: A Cross-Linguistic Comparison Using The Language Development Survey, Christina F. Papaeliou, Leslie Rescorla

Psychology Faculty Research and Scholarship

This study investigated vocabulary size and vocabulary composition in Greek children aged 1; 6 to 2; 11 using a Greek adaptation of Rescorla's Language Development Survey (LDS; Rescorla, 1989). Participants were 273 toddlers coming from monolingual Greek-speaking families. Greek LDS data were compared with US LDS data obtained from the instrument's normative sample (Achenbach & Rescorla, 2000). Vocabulary size increased markedly with age, but Greek toddlers appeared to get off to a slower start in early word learning than US children. The correlation between percentage word use scores in Greek and US samples was moderate in size, indicating considerable overlap …

Embodied Cultural Cognition: Situating The Study Of Embodied Cognition In Socio-Cultural Contexts, Angela K. Y. Leung, Lin Qiu, Lay See Ong, Kim-Pong Tam

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Embodiment research has demonstrated that cognition is grounded in bodily interactions with the environment and that abstract concepts are tied to the body’s sensory and motor systems. Building upon this embodiment perspective and advancing our understanding, we discuss the extension of embodied cultural cognition. We propose that some associations between bodily experiences and abstract concepts are not randomly formed; rather, the development of such associations is situated in a socio-cultural context, informed by cultural imperatives, values, and habits. We draw evidence supporting this view of embodied cultural cognition in body–mind linkages manifested in construal of emotions, time perception, person perception, …

Expanded Behavioral Model For Online Support Services, Laura Boxley

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

The rapid expansion of online technologies and health resources has created opportunities to develop broadly available interventions to address the needs of the modern patient. This study proposes a theoretical structure based on Andersen's Individual Determinants of Health Service Utilization Model to describe who is using online support and how it is being used. Also unique to this analysis was the use of objective behavioral data to describe and predict website utilization, and linguistic analysis to evaluate the content of what is shared in online groups. Eighty-four men and women completed baseline evaluations and were randomized into either online support …

Exploring Gender Differences In Online Cancer Support Groups, Natalie Christine Kaiser

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Gender differences in depression and other psychiatric conditions have been widely

documented in the general population (Nolen‐Hoeksema, 2006). Therefore, several studies have

analyzed the differential gender‐based adaptation of a cancer diagnosis. However, there seem to be contradictory results. While some studies have found there to be no gender differences in terms of cancer‐related distress (Beresford et al., 2006; Deimling et al., 2006; Zabora et al., 2001; & Carlson et al., 2004; Matthews, 2003), other studies have found that females tend to display more anxiety and depressive symptoms (Mystakidou et al., 2005; Deimling et al., 2006). Interestingly, limited studies have reported …

Myelomeningocele And The Neuropsychological Functioning Of Bilingual Children, Claudia Resendiz

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Myelomeningocele is the most common and most severe form of spina bifida, affecting the brain and spinal cord of millions of children. Children of Hispanic background have the highest prevalence rate of this condition. Despite this fact, research that examines the cognitive profiles of Hispanic children with myelomeningocele is limited. A review on bilingualism and neurocognitive performance suggests that a cognitive advantage is present among those who are able to learn and utilize two languages. Although some have investigated the neuropsychological performance of children with myelomeningocele, research has yet to examine whether a bilingual cognitive advantage is present among bilingual …

Guidelines For Culturally Informed Interventions: Culture, Attributions And Continuity Of Care, Chung Mu Seo

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Although early detection can improve survival of breast and cervical cancer, U.S. Latinas are more likely to be diagnosed at later stages of cancer and have poorer survival rates compared to Anglo women. Poorer continuity of care and adherence to recommended screening are seen as contributing factors to this disparity. Existing interventions have tried to reduce human, system, and culture barriers. However, they lacked a systemic guidance in the process of identifying cultural factors and the pathways in which they affect the specific behavior of interest through psychological processes in a minority population. Guided by Betancourt’s integrative model of culture, …

Intact Statistical Word Learning In Autism Spectrum Disorders, Jessica Mayo

Master's Theses

Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) have impairments in language acquisition, but the underlying mechanism of these deficits is poorly understood. Implicit learning appears potentially relevant to language development, particularly in speech segmentation, which relies on sensitivity to the transitional probabilities between speech sounds. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between implicit learning and current language abilities in school-aged children with autism (n = 17) and typical development (n = 24) using a well-studied artificial language learning task. Results suggest that the ASD and TD groups were equally able to implicitly learn transitional probabilities from a lengthy …

Language Typology And Sentence Frame Effects On Motion Verb Interpretation In Grade Schoolers, Emma C. Kelty

Master's Theses

Most English descriptions of motion events express manner in the main verb and path in a prepositional phrase, as in “She skips out of the house”. However, the same event can be described differently if a different syntactic frame is used: “She exits the house”. While young children have been found to interpret novel motion verbs according to the syntactic frame information, adults have been found to rely somewhat more on the overall language pattern, or typology (Hohenstein et al., 2004; Naigles & Terrazas, 1998). Grade schoolers have not been examined in this paradigm, and their linguistic abilities suggest that …

Academic Abilities In Children And Adolescents With A History Of Autism Spectrum Disorders Who Have Achieved Optimal Outcomes, Eva Troyb

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Remembering You: Effects Of Gender Identity And Narrative Recall Mode On Autobiographical Narratives, Annette C. Resenhoeft

Theses

No abstract provided.

Imagery And Contamination Aversion, Thomas Grover Adams

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Contamination-based obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is the most common form of OCD. Recent research indicates that the emotion of disgust may play a primary role in the etiology and maintenance in contamination-based OCD (CB-OCD). However, little is known about the effects of disgust on compulsive behaviors related to CB-OCD (e.g.,, hand-washing). The present study utilized an imagery-priming paradigm to test the effects of experienced disgust on compulsive hand-washing. Seventy-eight participants were selected for high or low symptoms of CB-OCD. Following response training, participants were submitted to a disgust or neutral imagery task. Following the imagery task, participants rated their subjective fear …

The Importance Of Cultural Competence When Evaluating Bilingual Students, Maria-Ines Castro

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of language and culture on Hispanic student test taking performance. Specifically, the researcher hypothesized that Hispanic students' test taking performance would be impacted by the language used on the assessment given, and the test administrator's awareness, knowledge, and skills related to cultural competence. Twelve bilingual-Hispanic students from Rowan University-Camden completed a Nelson-Denny Reading Test for the purpose of this research project. The same test was presented to all students in an English version and a Spanish version. A Mixed Design with repeated measures indicated that there was no significant difference …

Stereoscopic Vision's Impact On Spatial Ability Testing, George Takahashi

Purdue Polytechnic Masters Theses

A look into spatial ability testing tools and the variations that past researchers made to focus on key factors that affect test scores, will demonstrate the need for tuning traditional testing methods to accommodate a wider demographic and provide more accurate results. Due to technological limitations of the time, a large variety of past spatial tests were developed by hand-drawings. Within this research, the addition of stereoscopic vision is analyzed to determine the value of said changes on human perception of spatial entities.

The Dilemma Of Mixed Methods, Bradford J. Wiggins

Theses and Dissertations

The past three decades have seen a proliferation of research methods, both quantitative and qualitative, available to psychologists. Whereas some scholars have claimed that qualitative and quantitative methods are inherently opposed, recently many more researchers have argued in favor of "mixed methods" approaches. In this dissertation I begin with a review of the mixed methods literature regarding how to integrate qualitative and quantitative methodologies. Based on this review, I argue that current mixed methods approaches have fallen short of their goal of integrating qualitative and quantitative methodologies and I argue that this problem may be due to a problematic ontology. …

The Effects Of Age, Information, And Personal Contact On Attitudes Toward Individuals With Cleft Lip And Palate, Adam Thomas Blancher

Doctoral Dissertations

The aim of the current study was to examine the effects of information and brief personal contact with individuals with a cleft lip and/or palate (CLP). One hundred and eighty-nine children (n = 78) and young adults (n = 111) participated in the study. A modified version of the Multidimensional Attitudes Scale Toward Persons with Disabilities (MAS) was used to measure the participants attitudes toward individuals with CLP. Using mixed multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA), it was found that children's attitudes were significantly improved by information and contact with individuals with CLP, and these findings supported previous research. …

Compassionate Reappraisal And Emotion Suppression As Alternatives To Offense-Focused Rumination: Implications For Forgiveness And Psychophysiological Well-Being, Charlotte Vanoyen-Witvliet, Nathaniel J. Deyoung, Alicia J. Hofelich, Paul Deyoung

Faculty Publications

This within subjects experiment (28 females, 26 males) examined three responses to a past interpersonal offender. We contrasted offense-focused rumination with two subsequent, counterbalanced coping strategies: compassionate reappraisal and emotion suppression. Compassionate reappraisal emphasized the offender's human qualities and need for positive change. Emotion suppression inhibited the experience and expression of negative offense-related emotions. Offense rumination was associated with negative emotion, faster heartbeats (i.e., shortened electrocardiogram R-R intervals), and lower heart rate variability (HRV; i.e., the high-frequency component of the R-R power spectrum). By contrast, both compassionate reappraisal and emotion suppression decreased negative emotion in ratings and linguistic analyses, calmed …

Theoretical And Empirical Guidance For A Chunk Valuation Mechanism In Act-R, Ion Juvina, Alessandro Oltamari, Christian Lebiere

Psychology Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Effect Of Improvisations And Observations On Standardized Patient Encounters, Subjective Workload And Stress, Elizabeth T. Newlin-Canzone

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Standardized patients (SPs) are people trained to present a medical case for teaching and assessing medical students and they simultaneously perform several demanding tasks including portraying the patient, assessing the learner, and providing feedback. This study investigated the effect of improvisations and multiple task performance on the ability to observe another's nonverbal (NV) behaviors and rate their communication skills. Subjective reports of mental workload and stress were also obtained. The first study involved undergraduates interviewing for a job. Type of interview (rote and improvisational) and type of observation (passive and active) were manipulated within groups. Based on theories of attention …

Early Childhood Bilingualism Leads To Advances In Executive Attention: Dissociating Culture And Language, Sujin Yang, Hwajin Yang, Barbara Lust

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

This study investigated whether early especially efficient utilization of executive functioning in young bilinguals would transcend potential cultural benefits. To dissociate potential cultural effects from bilingualism, four-year-old U.S. Korean-English bilingual children were compared to three monolingual groups – English and Korean monolinguals in the U.S.A. and another Korean monolingual group, in Korea. Overall, bilinguals were most accurate and fastest among all groups. The bilingual advantage was stronger than that of culture in the speed of attention processing, inverse processing efficiency independent of possible speed-accuracy trade-offs, and the network of executive control for conflict resolution. A culture advantage favoring Korean monolinguals …

Indigenous Women College Students' Perspectives On College, Work, And Family, Jennie L. Bingham

Theses and Dissertations

Native American and First Nations (hereafter referred to as indigenous) women college students are faced with a challenge to balance both their culture and the demands of the dominant Western culture in family, school, and work/employment roles. The presence of indigenous women in higher education and in the work force has increased since World War II. While there is an abundance of literature on work-family balance and work-family conflict, with some focus on the perspectives and expectations of college-aged students, there is a dearth in both of these areas with regards to indigenous populations. In order to begin to …

Metaphor Aptness And Conventionality: A Processing Fluency Account, Paul Henry Thibodeau , '06, Frank H. Durgin

Psychology Faculty Works

Conventionality and aptness are two dimensions of metaphorical sentences thought to play an important role in determining how quick and easy it is to process a metaphor. Conventionality reflects the familiarity of a metaphor whereas aptness reflects the degree to which a metaphor vehicle captures important features of a metaphor topic. In recent years it has become clear that operationalizing these two constructs is not as simple as asking naïve raters for subjective judgments. It has been found that ratings of aptness and conventionality are highly correlated, which has led some researchers to pursue alternative methods for measuring the constructs. …

Children's Day At The Plaza 2011 Booth Coordinator, Claribel Marquez

Psychology and Child Development

This project outlines the organizational process of Children's Day at the Plaza, as well as a literature review about linguistic diversity at the elementary school level. Imersion, dual immersion, and other bilingual programs are among the linguistic programs discussed in the review.

Creativity In The Brazilian Culture, Denise S. Fleith

Online Readings in Psychology and Culture

Research has pointed out creativity as a sociocultural and contextually embedded phenomenon. As a consequence, the effect of cultural factors on the manifestation of creativity has been discussed worldwide. The purpose of this chapter is, therefore, to analyze the development of creativity in the Brazilian culture. A brief description of the Brazilian culture is provided. Models of creativity developed by Brazilian researchers, as well as a review of creativity studies conducted in the educational environment, are presented. Guidelines for future cross-cultural studies on creativity are also suggested.

Auditory-Phonetic Projection And Lexical Structure In The Recognition Of Sine-Wave Words, Robert E. Remez, Kathryn R. Dubowski, Robin S. Broder, Morgana L. Davids, Yael S. Grossman, Marina Moskalenko, Jennifer Pardo, Sara Maria Hasbun

Department of Psychology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Speech remains intelligible despite the elimination of canonical acoustic correlates of phonemes from the spectrum. A portion of this perceptual flexibility can be attributed to modulation sensitivity in the auditory-to-phonetic projection, although signal-independent properties of lexical neighborhoods also affect intelligibility in utterances composed of words. Three tests were conducted to estimate the effects of exposure to natural and sine-wave samples of speech in this kind of perceptual versatility. First, sine-wave versions of the easy and hard word sets were created, modeled on the speech samples of a single talker. The performance difference in recognition of easy and hard words was …

The Intention-To-Cause Bias: Evidence From Children's Causal Language, Paul Muentener, Laura Lakusta

Department of Psychology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

The current study explored causal language in 3.5- to 4-year-old children by manipulating the type of agent (human acting intentionally or unintentionally, or inanimate object) and the type of effect (motion or state change) in causal events. Experiment 1 found that the type of agent, but not the type of effect, influenced children's production of causal language. Children produced more causal language for intentionally caused events than for either unintentionally- or object-caused events, independent of the type of effect. Experiment 2, which tested children's judgments of descriptions for the events, found a similar pattern. Children preferred causal descriptions more for …

Keys To Unlocking Creative Potential: The Expressive Path To Personal Growth, Marta D. Ockuly

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

An experiential journey into personal growth and creative expression is, by nature, transformational.  Undertaken in a public platform using social media (Twitter and blogging) it reveals powerful potential as a teaching and mentoring tool for inspiring creative action around the world.  This project was designed to blend my joys and passions for tweeting positive inspiration and encouragement, sharing my readings and research related to creativity, exploring expressive art, activating creative potential with joy, collecting and sharing quotes, coaching positive change and creative action, and raising awareness of everyday creativity into a learning pathway which could be accessed by anyone using …

Temperament-Language Relationships During The First Formal Year Of School., Natasha Benfield Gouge

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the current study was to investigate temperament-language relationships among school-age children and across a wider variety of SES. Head Start, Pre-K, and Kindergarten classes of 10 elementary schools located in rural Appalachia were sent information about the study and 35 children were consented to participate. Parents completed a short demographic survey and the Child Behavior Questionnaire Very Short Form (CBQ-VSF). Children were administered the Preschool Language Scale-4 (PLS-4). Participants were split into low and high SES groups so associations between the CBQ and PLS-4 scores could be compared at each SES strata. Both reactivity and self-regulation were …