Digital Commons Network^™

Life Event Perception: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach To The Antecedents Of The Life Stress Response, Christopher Aaron Myers

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

It has been often argued that life events have an impact on our physical and psychological well-being. In general, research supports this connection between life events and general health, though some argue that simply experiencing life events has a measurable and predictable impact our health, while others contend that this effect is mediated by the appraisal process. Further, research has identified a number of different factors (hypothetically stratified into pre-existing beliefs, external resources and demands, and behavioral activation and coping strategies) that may influence appraisal and general health. The current study attempts to integrate these findings by testing structural models …

Assessment And Prediction Of Self-Reported Hiv-Risk Behaviors By Women In Substance Abuse Treatment, Radhika Sehgal

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

This study compared information obtained from self-administered questionnaires (SAQ) and faceto- face interview (FTFI) versions of the HIV Risk-taking Behavior Scale. This study also compared women intravenous drug users (IVDU’s) and non-IVDU’s on rates of HIV risk behaviors and the extent to which unstable housing, unemployment, single parenthood, barriers to accessing health care, and number of years of drug abuse predicted HIV risk. There were no differences in rates of risk behavior reported between SAQ and FTFI formats. IVDU’s had higher sexual risk behaviors than non-IVDU’s. Unstable housing significantly predicted risk behavior. Relative to those with more education, those with …

The Effects Of Childhood Obesity On Self-Esteem, Heather L. Paxton

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Obesity is a growing health problem affecting children in the United States. The prevalence of obesity has increased dramatically over the past 10 years across virtually all populations and age groups. Recent data suggest that 15 percent of U.S. children are severely overweight or obese (National Center for Health Statistics, 2002) . Obese children are at risk for significant health problems, but also face many psychological and social consequences, including low self-esteem. Children who are obese face an increased risk of emotional problems lasting well into adulthood. Factors such as peer rejection, weight-related teasing, and internalized social standards play a …

The Segregated Distribution Of Middle Class African American Households In The Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area, Jay L. Newberry

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

This research analyzes the residential distribution of middle-class African American households in the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Area to determine if the "middle class" status affords them greater integration with the dominant white group. Using 1990 and 2000 census income data for white and black households in the Pittsburgh MSA, lower, middle, and upper class categories were created in both groups for comparison against the black middle class category via five segregation indices. This research found that, although the African American households experience varying degrees of segregation by class, all are highly segregated from the white group with middle class African American …

Extent Of Exposure To Environmental Tobacco Smoke (Ets) And Its Dose-Response Relation To Respiratory Health Among Adults, Wasim Maziak, Kenneth D. Ward, Samer Rastam, Fawaz Mzayek, Thomas Eissenberg

Psychology Publications

Background

There is a dearth of standardized studies examining exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) and its relationship to respiratory health among adults in developing countries.

Methods

In 2004, the Syrian Center for Tobacco Studies (SCTS) conducted a population-based survey using stratified cluster sampling to look at issues related to environmental health of adults aged 18–65 years in Aleppo (2,500,000 inhabitants). Exposure to ETS was assessed from multiple self-reported indices combined into a composite score (maximum 22), while outcomes included both self-report (symptoms/diagnosis of asthma, bronchitis, and hay fever), and objective indices (spirometric assessment of FEV₁ and FVC). Logistic …

Psychosocial Treatment Of Children In Foster Care: A Review, Robert Racusin, Arthur C. Maerlender, Anjana Sengupta, Peter K. Isquith, Martha B. Straus

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

A substantial number of children in foster care exhibit psychiatric difficulties. Recent epidemiologi-cal and historical trends in foster care, clinical findings about the adjustment of children in foster care, and adult outcomes are reviewed, followed by a description of current approaches to treatment and extant empirical support. Available interventions for these children can be categorized as either symptom-focused or systemic, with empirical support for specific methods ranging from scant to substantial. Even with treatment, behavioral and emotional problems often persist into adulthood, resulting in poor functional outcomes. We suggest that self-regulation may be an important mediat-ing factor in the appearance …

The Universality Of The Conceptual Understanding Of Leadership, Lisa P. Gaynier

ETD Archive

No abstract provided.

The Effects Of Ppa And Nicotine Gum On Cessation Rates And Post Cessation Weight Gain In Women., Theodore Cooper, R. Klesges, M. Debon, S. Zbikowski, K. Johnson, L. Clemens

Departmental Papers (Psych)

No abstract provided.

Implementing Lexical And Creative Intentionality In Synthetic Personality, Erik Vick

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Creating engaging, interactive, and immersive synthetic characters is a difficult task and evaluating the success of a synthetic character is often even more difficult. The later problem is solved by extending Turing's Imitation Game thusly: computational construct should be evaluated based on the criteria of how well the character can mimic a human. In order to accomplish a successful evaluation of the proposed metric, synthetic characters must be consistently believable and capable of role-appropriate emotional expression. The author believes traditional synthetic characters must be improved to meet this goal. For a synthetic character to be believable, human users must be …

Assessing Male Body Image: Development And Validation Of The Appearance Inventory For Men (Aim), Daniel Agliata

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Despite evidence suggesting that appearance dissatisfaction among men is on the rise, a void in appropriate forms of body image assessment for males remains. The current study reviews the literature on male body image, identifying the shortcomings and limitations of prior research, and introduces a psychometrically sound, male-specific body image assessment. An initial item-generation study was used to poll 253 males to inquire about their concerns, emotions, behaviors, and related body image topics to be sorted and synthesized into items for scale inclusion. The newly developed Appearance Inventory for Men (AIM) was then administered to 330 males and submitted to …

The Sources Of Higher States Of Consciousness, Steve Taylor

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

In this paper, it is argued that “higher states of consciousness”–or mystical experiences–have two

main sources: they can be caused by a disruption of the normal homeostasis of the human organism

and also by an intensification of the “consciousness-energy” that constitutes our being.

(These are termed HD and ICE states). The author investigates examples of both types of experience,

and compares and contrasts them. It is concluded that the second type of experience is

the only one which is truly positive and which can become a fully integrated and permanent

higher state of consciousness.

Burnout And Job Dissatisfaction Among Practicing Illinois School Psychologists: A 1994 To 2004 Comparison, Nikolaus J. Hoffman

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to identify the primary variables associated with burnout among practicing Illinois school psychologists. More specifically, the purpose was to determine if the same variables that correlated highly with Illinois school psychologists burnout levels in a 1994 study by Niebrugge have held constant over the last decade. Survey materials used in the 1994 study, including the Maslach Burnout Inventory, a School Psychologists Stress Inventory, and a specially designed job satisfaction questionnaire were completed by a random sample of members of the Illinois School Psychologists Association (N = 52). As in the 1994 study, results suggested …

The Effects Of Perceived Authority On Suggestibility In Interrogation-Like Situations: A Pilot Study, Renae Kotas, Derek Dehne

The Journal of Undergraduate Research

The effect of perceived authority on suggestibility was assessed. Two groups of participants were used, one receiving perceived authority and one receiving none. A military student dressed in fatigues administered the procedure to the first group and a civilian student in street clothes administered to the second. The Gudjonsson Suggestibility Scale was used to assess the suggestibility of each group. No significant difference between the groups was found.

Capitalizing On Stereotypes, Christine Hass

Senior Honors Theses and Projects

While walking through the isle of never ending glossy magazine covers, one can easily notice the differences between men's and women's magazines. It is not something that people notice right away, but it is something worth looking at. Obviously, the magazine industry creates the covers of its magazines, as well as the articles, to attract people to buy its magazines.

Through flashy covers and screaming tag lines men and women alike are overwhelmed with pressure to buy various magazines. Magazines almost stare at you from the stands at supermarket check out aisles. Words such as make-up, sex, beer, diet, and …

Sequential Super-Stereotypy Of An Instinctive Fixed Action Pattern In Hyper-Dopaminergic Mutant Mice: A Model Of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder And Tourette's, Kent C. Berridge, J Wayne Aldridge, Kimberly R. Houchard, Xiaoxi Zhuang

Wayne State University Associated BioMed Central Scholarship

Abstract

Background

Excessive sequential stereotypy of behavioral patterns (sequential super-stereotypy) in Tourette's syndrome and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is thought to involve dysfunction in nigrostriatal dopamine systems. In sequential super-stereotypy, patients become trapped in overly rigid sequential patterns of action, language, or thought. Some instinctive behavioral patterns of animals, such as the syntactic grooming chain pattern of rodents, have sufficiently complex and stereotyped serial structure to detect potential production of overly-rigid sequential patterns. A syntactic grooming chain is a fixed action pattern that serially links up to 25 grooming movements into 4 predictable phases that follow 1 syntactic rule. New …

Munchausen Syndrome By Proxy : Gender, Sexism, And Just World Beliefs As Predictors Of Juror Decisions, Dawn R. Hurst

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Mock jurors (N = 200) read descriptions of a mock civil case involving an adult survivor of Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy who is suing his/her abuser for monetary/psychological damages. Jurors individually decided perceived percent of responsibility of defendant, award to plaintiff pre- and post-group deliberations, and as a mock jury, in groups of 5 to 10. Jurors and juries assigned greater percent of culpability to female defendants than male defendants. Individual jurors awarded more n1oney to plaintiffs abused by female defendants than male defendants. Low Modem Sexism Scale (MSS) scorers attributed greater percentage of responsibility to defendants and awarded plaintiff …

Testing An Intervention To Address The Sociocultural Influence Of Mass Media On Body Image: Can We Reverse The Curse?, Janet Derosier Murray

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The adverse effects of exposure to unrealistic ideals in the media are well documented, however, this is the first study to explore the possibility that women may experience improvement in body image and affect via social comparison to women with realistic, non-ideal body shape and size. Using material from The Century Project©, the impact of exposure to nude, non-pornographic photographs of women of varied shape, size, age, and physical condition, and the photographed women's personal commentaries about how they successfully cope with body image concerns was tested using an experimental design. It was hypothesized that exposure to the photographs and …

The Effects Of Exposure To Feminist Ideology On Women's Body Image, Rachel Diane Peterson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Body image disturbance has become an increasing problem among women (Cash & Henry, 1995). Thus researchers have begun to focus on methods of prevention and intervention. Programs utilizing psychoeducation and Festinger's cognitive dissonance theory, for example, have been found to reduce body image dissatisfaction and related symptomatology. The information provided and potential impact are limited, however, because the interventions do not offer women an adaptive method of interpreting the many appearance-related messages they experience. This study sought to determine if exposure to feminist theory of body image may act as a buffer – a filter through which cultural messages about …

Acculturation, Social Acceptance, And Adjustment Of Early Adolescents, Jenny Klein

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A majority of research regarding disruptive behavior disorders in youth has focused primarily upon Caucasian children and adolescents. As a result, more investigation of the unique characteristics of youth from ethnically diverse backgrounds, particularly those from Hispanic American and African American backgrounds, is needed (Balls Organista, Organista, & Kurasaki, 2003). This study investigated the relationships between several characteristics (e.g., ethnic identity, socioeconomic status, social acceptance, and emotional and behavioral symptoms) of early adolescents belonging to diverse ethnic groups. Results suggested that socioeconomic status and degree of early adolescents' social acceptance were important factors in predicting the development of internalizing and …

Patient Perceptions Of Receiving Bad News : Individual Coping Styles And Receiving The Diagnosis Of Cancer , Kyle B. Holsinger

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States (CDC, 2005). Physicians who disclose the cancer diagnosis to patients are faced with limited professional training and few consensus clinical guidelines for communicating this diagnosis to their patients (Buckman, 1992; Girgis, Sanson-Fisher, & Schofield, 1999). Use of guidelines for delivering bad news and tailoring the bad news message to individual patients is recommended, but it is unclear if this is followed in the medical community (Baile, Lenzi, Parker, Buckman, & Cohen, 2002). The current study was conducted through a mail-in survey, of 186 surveys delivered, 111 were returned, …

Human Mental Models Of Humanoid Robots, Sau-Lai Lee, Ivy Yee-Man Lau, Sara Kiesler, Chi-Yue Chiu

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Effective communication between a person and a robot may depend on whether there exists a common ground of understanding between the two. In two experiments modelled after human-human studies we examined how people form a mental model of a robot's factual knowledge. Participants estimated the robot's knowledge by extrapolating from their own knowledge and from information about the robot's origin and language. These results suggest that designers of humanoid robots must attend not only to the social cues that robots emit but also to the information people use to create mental models of a robot.

The Positive Perspective On Youth Development, M. E. P. Seligman, M. W. Berkowitz, R. F. Catalano, W. Damon, J. S. Eccles, Jane Gillham, K. A. Moore, H. J. Nicholson, N. Park, D. L. Penn, C. Peterson, M. Shih, T. A. Steen, R. J. Sternberg, J. P. Tierney, R. P. Weissberg, J. F. Zaff

Psychology Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

An Observational Study Of Bail Decision-Making, Alfred Allan, Maria Allan, Margaret Giles, Deirdre Drake, Irene Froyland

Research outputs pre 2011

Pre-trial detention of defendants has important legal, human rights and practical implications for defendants, their families, and society and therefore the area justifies research scrutiny. However, there is a dearth of empirical studies of bail decision-making and most of them have been retrospective studies. Prior studies have nevertheless identified a number of purported shortcomings in bail legislation and decision-making. The rarely used observational methodology employed in this study provided data that are not normally available from official records. The first appearances of 648 defendants were observed in the lower courts in metropolitan Perth (Western Australia) to identify factors that play …

Job Satisfaction, Burnout, And Perceived Effectiveness Among Building-Based And District-Based School Psychologists, Dawn Marie Farnsworth

All Master's Theses

ABSTRACT JOB SATISFACTION, BURNOUT, AND PERCEIVED EFFECTIVENESS AMONG BUILDING-BASED AND DISTRICT-BASED SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGISTS by Dawn Marie Farnsworth November 2005 In the present study, the relationship between the number of school buildings that a school psychologist works in and the resulting levels of job satisfaction, burnout, and perceived effectiveness was studied. A questionnaire was mailed to 252 school psychologists that contained 28 items on a Likert scale related to the areas of job satisfaction, burnout and perceived effectiveness. Sixty-one of the returned questionnaires were classified as building based and 82 of the questionnaires were classified as district based. The results showed …

(2005) Talking Globally, David K. Kennedy

Collected Papers of David Kennedy

Talking Globally is an annotated transcript of a discussion conducted by myself in a fifth grade classroom in a public school in an affluent suburban town in the northeast U.S. The stimulus for the discussion was a brief text, taken from Kofi Anan’s We The Peoples: The Role of the United Nations in the 21st Century, which offers a brief, vivid statistical picture of the planetary distribution of resources. In response, the students generated 14 questions, which ranged across a broad variety of topics, including the national debt, US weapons development and production, the war in Iraq, and the …

The Effect Of Emotion On Witness Suggestibility, Cristine Carmen Roussel

LSU Master's Theses

When witnesses are exposed to highly stressful and emotional events, the result is often increased arousal and a change in the pattern of attention. Both of these factors are likely to impact witnesses’ memory for the event. In addition, witnesses are often exposed to post-event information from a variety of sources (e.g., investigators, other witnesses, media reports). The goal of the present study was to explore, in the context of the eyewitness suggestibility paradigm, the impact of emotional arousal and attentional focus on event memory and the incidence of eyewitness suggestibility. A secondary goal of this study was to explore …

Cognitive Adaptation's Implication On Diabetic Adherence, Martin Ancona

LSU Master's Theses

Diabetes, affecting more than 18 million people in the United States, is an epidemic problem. The illness is usually progressive, leading to neuropathy, blindness, and limb amputation. The most common type of the illness, Type 2 diabetes, is usually controllable through a strict combination of diet, exercise, and medication. However, non-compliance, rather than compliance, to prescribed diabetes regimens is the norm. Although past research has uncovered many of the reason that diabetics may fail to adhere to their regimen, the whole puzzle has not yet been solved. This study looked at the Cognitive Adaptation Theory in relation to diabetic adherence. …

Validating The Impact Of Event Scale With Adolescents : A Look At The September 11, 2001, Terrorist Attacks, Claudia Lingertat

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

The current study examined the psychometric properties of the Impact of Event Scale (IES; Horowitz, Wilner, & Alvarez, 1979), a self-report measure of current subjective distress. Twenty-four adolescents from an urban high school were surveyed regarding their experiences from the events of September 11, 2001. The IES showed a moderate correlation with the My Worst Experience Scale (MWES; Hyman, Snook, Berna, & Kohr, 1997). Findings indicate the IES may be effective as a quick screening tool for the intrusive and avoidant symptoms of posttraumatic stress in adolescents pending further research with a larger sample.

"Second-Class Families": Media Portrayal Of Adoption In America, Jennifer Ellen Struve

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Despite legal recognition of adoption as a legitimate family form, research suggests that adoptive families face a special set of circumstances revolving around the societal stigma involved with adoption. Additionally, adoptees admit to experiencing legal, social, and institutional discrimination because of their adoptive status. Although there have been many celebrations of adoption (such as Dave Thomas), there are cultural norms regarding the family that discipline us to see adoption negatively. Researchers acknowledge that the language surrounding adoption is negative, but do not pursue what that language is or where it appears. Thus, the purpose ofmy study was to determine how …

Factors Affecting Judicial Decision Making, Brooke Marie Hansen

Honors Program Theses

The U.S. court system relies on the discretion of judges for most sentencing decisions. Even when there are sentencing guidelines, the judicial decision making process requires judges to use their discretion to determine the actual sentence. Personality characteristics play a role in juror decision making, as shown by studies of the effect of authoritarianism on verdicts (Narby, Culter, & Moran, 1993). Little research has focused on the personality characteristics of judges and what role they play in sentencing decisions. Judicial decision making is a debated topic as demonstrated by the fact that the Supreme Court heard the case Blakely v. …