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Paradise Lost And Character Motivation: Sinful Behavior Or Inferiority Complex?, Esperanza Barrios

Honors Theses

Sin is a concept that is always viewed through a religious perspective. But, through Paradise Lost, John Milton was able to bring further understanding towards human nature and one’s own sense of committing what’s perceived as sinful behavior without the veil of religion glazing over academics' understanding. In religious terms, sinful behavior is the idea of defying God’s commandments, but for this research, sinful behavior may be described as abnormal behavior that damages our best interests and relationships, usually for selfish gains. Each of Milton’s main characters, Satan, Adam, and Eve, fell from grace because all three damaged their relationship …

Development And Validation Of The Liebelt Attitudes, Knowledge, And Engagement Scale (Lakes) Among Rural Adults, Anna Morrison

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Adults living in rural regions experience mental illness at rates comparable to those in urban areas yet utilize mental health services significantly less. Underutilization of psychotherapy in rural populations has been attributed to structural barriers (e.g., geographic inaccessibility, limited provider availability, reduced anonymity) and sociocultural factors such as stigma. However, rural adults may remain reluctant to initiate treatment due to attitudes toward psychotherapy, limited help-seeking engagement, or inaccurate knowledge about psychotherapy. The present study developed and examined the psychometric properties of the Liebelt Attitudes, Knowledge, and Engagement Scale (LAKES), a self-report measure designed to assess psychotherapy-related attitudes, knowledge, and engagement …

Expert Validation Of A Professional Development Model For K–2 Emotional Regulation, Mark Simpson

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Emotional regulation (ER) is foundational to student learning, behavior, and long-term educational success and well-being; however, many elementary educators report limited formal preparation in explicitly teaching ER skills. The purpose of this study was to design a professional development (PD) program for K–2 teachers focused on ER and to evaluate its content validity through expert review. The framework was grounded in Gross’s process model of ER, Desimone’s core features of effective PD, and Sims’s dynamic IMTP framework. A researcher-developed rubric was used to evaluate alignment, clarity, theoretical grounding, and feasibility. Five experts in various roles within the field of education …

Applied Psychophysiology: Evaluating The Feasibility Of A Digital Breathing Tool, Jessica Pavelka

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Mental health in the United States is a growing public health concern, with one in five adults living with a diagnosed mental health disorder. The prevalence of mental health concerns among adults in the U.S. has not changed significantly from 2021 to 2024 (Reinert et al., 2025). This study examined how mental health providers can leverage technology to support symptom reduction for their patients during and beyond treatment. Biofeedback has demonstrated lasting health benefits, is cost-effective, and holds promise for novel interventions for conditions such as generalized anxiety disorder and panic disorder. This pilot study evaluated the feasibility, usability, engagement, …

Music To Move You: Comparing Effects Of Music Genre On Subjective Performance Of Football Players In A Practice Setting, Devin Deturk

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Optimizing athletic performance has increasingly extended beyond conditioning to include psychological, health-related, and environmental interventions aimed at enhancing peak mental and physical fitness. However, advanced training mechanisms targeting these factors may not be readily available to all programs, necessitating cost-effective, accessible, and ethically sound adjuncts. Thus, music emerges as a potential solution that remains underutilized in applied sport settings but may be leveraged to address pervasive challenges such as fear of failure, burnout, and over-professionalization. The present dissertation investigated the effects of music in a practice setting, with particular emphasis on its capacity to enhance subjective performance, motivation, and positive …

Camouflaging And Autism: An Examination Of Camouflaging’S Potential Association With The Clinical Assessment Of Autism And Subject Demographic Characteristics, James George Modico

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by social communication deficits and restrictive/repetitive behavior (American Psychiatric Association, 2022). The clinical assessment of ASD requires behavioral observation of the participant. Within the context of ASD, camouflaging refers to cognitive and behavioral strategies that a person with ASD can utilize to adapt to a non-autistic world (Cook et al., 2021). Camouflaging may influence an autistic person’s behavioral presentation to a more “neurotypical” state. Behaving in a less atypical manner may contribute to not being referred for testing, having a clinician assign lower ratings on diagnostic measures, and preventing issuance of …

Women’S Marital Surname Change: Adjustment & The Novel Concept Of Name Decision Match, Sarah E. Fox

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Marriage is a significant, complex life event that most international and U.S. adults experience. Marriage offers numerous opportunities for decision-making, including the marital surname change choice. A woman may choose to adopt her husband’s surname (i.e., Changers), keep her birth surname (i.e., Keepers), or an alternative (i.e., Creatives). Enduring societal norms and traditions are reflected in most women who are Changers. Conversations surrounding marital surname change choice may offer insight into the couple’s agreement on the ultimate decision, referred to in this study as name decision match (NDM), a novel concept. The purpose of the study was to analyze women’s …

Body Dissatisfaction Among Sexual Minority Men: Examining Associations With Health Behaviors, Gay Identity Centrality, Physical Appearance Comparison, And Conformity To Masculinity Norms, Ithan Sokol

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Introduction: Body image disturbance (BID), or poor body image encompasses dissatisfaction with one’s physical appearance, and is linked closely with disordered eating, depression, low self-esteem, and a compromised health-related quality of life. Although most research on BID has focused on women, this study examined its impact on men, specifically sexual minority men (SMM; cisgender men who identify as non-heterosexual). This subgroup notably exhibits heightened rates of BID compared to heterosexual men, shaped by sociocultural pressures and internalized appearance ideals.

Objectives: This study intends to examine potential determinants of BID in SMM as well as build upon existing insights that connect …

Navigating Motherhood: A Qualitative Study Of The Experiences And Challenges Of Non-Birthing Mothers In Queer Cisgender-Relationships, Anna Caravaggio

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

The present study explored the psychological experiences of non-birthing mothers in queer cisgender female relationships, a population that remains underrepresented in the parenting literature. Existing research has focused primarily on birthing mothers or same-sex couples as a unit, leaving the unique perspectives of non-birthing mothers insufficiently examined. Using a qualitative phenomenological design, eight non-birthing mothers participated in semi-structured interviews examining their transition to parenthood, maternal identity development, and experiences within relational, social, and systemic contexts. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis, resulting in five primary themes: pathways to parenthood and conception decision making; constructing maternal identity; bonding and attachment processes; …

The Covid-19 Pandemic: Predictors Of Inpatient Admission For People With Severe Mental Illnesses, Ashley Killoren

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to identify differences in patterns of demographic and psychiatric symptoms among individuals with severe mental illnesses admitted to an inpatient psychiatric hospital 1 year before the quarantine shelter-in-place restriction order issued by a governor in the Northeastern United States, during the restriction order, and 1 year starting when all COVID-19 restrictions were lifted. A second goal of the study was to determine whether psychiatric admission rates changed by comparing admission rates before and during the quarantine order, and 1 year after all COVID-19 restrictions were lifted. This quantitative, retrospective, observational study was achieved by …

The Hidden Cost: Vicarious Trauma And Burnout In Professional Sex Offender Treatment Providers, Diazia Hughes

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Professionals who provide treatment to individuals who have commuted sexual offenses are routine exposed to traumatic material, placing them at increased risk for both vicarious trauma (VT) and burnout. Despite growing recognition of these occupational hazards, limited research has examined the relationship between VT and burnout within this specialized population. The present study investigated the association between VT and the three dimensions of burnout (i.e. Emotional Exhaustion (EE), Depersonalization (DP), and personal Accomplishment (PA)) among licensed treatment providers working directly with individuals who have commuted sexual offenses. A cross-sectional correlational design was employed with a sample of 107 licensed providers …

Predicting Burnout Among Graduate Healthcare Students In Clinical Placements, Meghan E. Visek

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Healthcare systems increasingly recognized provider burnout as an essential target for improving population health. Burnout, characterized by emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and diminished personal accomplishment, has been linked to impaired clinical practice and poorer patient outcomes. Although burnout among healthcare professionals is well-studied, far less attention has been given to understand how burnout develops earlier in training among graduate healthcare students in clinical placements. Research has identified year of graduate study, self-care practice, social problem-solving ability, team resilience, and attitudes toward interprofessional collaborative practice as potential burnout predictors. This study examined these factors among graduate healthcare students in clinical placements. Findings …

Understanding Depression And Adl Decline In Dementia: The Impact Of Subtype And Social Frailty, Melanie C. Ventura

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

The interplay of depression and dementia alters the ability to complete activities of daily living (ADLs). When depression occurs concurrently with or because of dementia, it has a more significant link to disability than the impairment of depression or dementia. This occurrence often increases older adults’ risks and a faster progression of the disease. Patients with different types of dementia have varying experiences in the interplay among dementia, depression, and ADL impairment. Moreover, the dementia type can cause variations in awareness and symptoms, influencing different levels of ADL impairment, relative preservation of awareness, and depression levels.

The present study examined …

Neuropsychological Prediction Of Alzheimer’S Disease And Functional Abilities Using Brief Screeners, Ashley Bennett

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease that is primarily characterized by memory impairment and decline in function. Patients often undergo lengthy neuropsychological evaluations that create testing fatigue and, ultimately, affect their validity. There are brief assessment options to assess probable AD that are not commonly explored in research and clinical settings. This study investigated the predictive ability of the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) with the addition of a semantic fluency measure compared to the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) and the Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Scale-13-Item Cognitive Subscale (ADAS-Cog-13) in diagnosing AD. Additionally, this study examined the potential use of the …

Behavioral Adaptation To Systematically Changing Local Conditions Of Reinforcement, Kento Yasukawa

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Adaptation is the continual process of behavioral change in response to changes in environmental contingencies. One example of adaptation is to track the temporal distribution of reinforcers. The present dissertation investigated how responding tracked cyclically changing reinforcement schedules (i.e., cyclic interval [CI]) and how such tracking was influenced by concurrently available alternative reinforcement schedules. Across two experiments, four pigeons responded under a CI 60-s schedule in which the interreinforcer intervals (IRIs) changed systematically according to a sinusoidal function. The primary dependent variable was postreinforcement pauses (PRPs), with local response rates (response rates per IRI) examined as a secondary measure of …

Influences Of Response Rate And Distribution On Accuracy Estimates: The Value Of Replications Based On Analytic Approach, Olivia Brianne Harvey

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Accurate observational data are essential for drawing correct conclusions about behavioral phenomena and ensuring the replicability of research findings. Accuracy is the extent to which an observer’s recorded responses correspond with true values (i.e., the actual occurrence of behavioral events). Correspondence is quantified using one of several percentage-based algorithms. However, these accuracy estimates may be influenced by characteristics of the data, such as response rate and response distribution, as well as the algorithm used to calculate them. The purpose of this dissertation was to evaluate how response rate, response distribution, and the algorithm used to evaluate accuracy influences estimates. Across …

Personal Narratives Of Young Adults With Epilepsy: Exploring The Transition To Adulthood Amidst Stigma And Disclosure Fears, Kirby-Estar Gilene Laguerre

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Navigating the transition to adulthood presents unique challenges for young adults with epilepsy, particularly concerning stigma and the fear of disease disclosure. While significant social difficulties, such as increased unemployment rates and decreased relationship satisfaction, are prevalent among individuals with epilepsy, current transition programs often fail to address these psychological and social aspects that are vital for an independent adult life. Instead, the majority of the attention for young adults transitioning into adulthood is focused on the shift to adult-oriented healthcare systems. Consequently, there is a critical need for research that goes beyond a healthcare focus and explores the social …

I Think, Therefore I Can: Self-Efficacy, Self-Regulation, And Sense Of Belonging In Introductory Physics, Danielle Christine Maldonado

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Cognitive and affective beliefs in physics classrooms are important indicators of student success beyond traditional measurements of academic performance. This body of work explores major beliefs and processes, including self-efficacy, self-regulation, and sense of belonging, as they relate to academic achievement among introductory undergraduate physics students. First, this dissertation explores the development of physics self-efficacy and physics sense of belonging, two highly correlated variables. This work identifies unique sources of physics self-efficacy and sense of belonging development from current and prior academic experiences, personality factors, and demographic variables. Then, relationships between early- semester self-efficacy and sense of belonging, mid-semester …

Social Media Appearance Pressures And Body Dissatisfaction In Collegiate Athletes: Model Refinement, Group Differences, And Exploratory Insights, Hannah Hunter Miller

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

In considering athletes’ body image, it is necessary to examine the psychosocial factors, and related psychological processes, that influence it. The body-related pressures athletes experience while navigating social media represent a relatively new and increasingly influential factor that warrants further investigation. The purpose of this study was threefold: (1) to replicate and refine Miller and colleagues’ (in press) model; (2) to examine differences in model variables and relationships across demographic and contextual groups; and (3) to explore aspects of social media perceived as contributing to appearance pressures, as well as strategies athletes may use to mitigate these pressures and their …

Feasibility Of Parent-Child Interaction Therapy-Toddler In Community Clinics In The United States And Japan, Sharon T. Phillips

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The toddler age (12-36 months) is characterized by a toddler’s increasing desire for autonomy, which can result in caregiver-child conflict and toddler externalizing problems (Kohlhoff & Morgan, 2014). Clinical levels of disruptive behavior in toddlerhood can be predictive of a host of negative outcomes, including problems with academic achievement and delinquency (Copeland et al., 2007; Milledge et al., 2019). High levels of toddler behavior problems also are associated with poor caregiver-child relationships and poor toddler emotion regulation skills (Beijers et al., 2013; Umemura et al., 2022). Thus, interventions targeting toddler behavior problems need to focus on strengthening the caregiver-child relationship …

Embodiment Among Collegiate Women Athletes: The Perceived Impact On Sport Performance, Commitment, And Enjoyment, Hannah Lynne Silva-Breen

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Collegiate women athletes report high rates of body dissatisfaction and wanting more support for improving their body image within their athletic departments. Guided by the Developmental Theory of Embodiment (DTE; Piran, 2017), the purpose of this study was to examine collegiate women athletes’ perceptions of the relationship between their embodiment and aspects of their sport experience. Participants were 311 women currently competing in 24 different sports within NCAA and NAIA athletics. Participants completed the Experience of Embodiment Scale, Subjective Performance Questionnaire, Sport Commitment Questionnaire-2, and open-ended response questions about the perceived relationship between these variables. A convergent parallel mixed methods …

"It's Dangerous To Go Alone": Examining Npcs As Influential Social Agents In An Original Single-Player Rpg, Chloe Bella Whitfield

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

Parasocial Interactions (PSI) and Parasocial Relationships (PSR) may have the capacity to act as an extension of and supplement for healthy social interaction (Elvery, 2021). In some instances, PSI and PSR may even be used as a means to improve unfulfilled social needs and decrease feelings of loneliness (Jarzyna, 2021). It has been noted that digital media such as video games may produce parasocial encounters that are particularly unique, as they often simulate realistic, back-and-forth social interactions between users and a virtual agent (Elvery, 2022; Hartmann, 2008). The present study observed PSR formation between players and a non-player character (NPC) …

Attention Or Affect? Evaluating The Discriminant Validity Of Cpt-3 Performance, Gavin F. Price

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

The Conner Continuous Performance Test Third Edition (CPT-3) is a behavior-based measure of attention-related problems commonly used to assess Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Research into the discriminant validity of the CPT-3 remains limited, particularly regarding the influence of internalizing symptoms such as anxiety and depression on performance. The current study examined whether CPT-3 performance was more strongly associated with cognitive indicators of inattention or internalizing symptoms, such as depressive or anxious symptoms. Archival data from 105 adult clients at Murray State University Psychological Center was analyzed. Cognitive inattention was measured using Verbal Comprehension Index (VCI) – Working Memory Index (WMI) discrepancy …

Cross-Cue Reactivity Of Nicotine And Cannabis Vaping Products, Madeline Smith

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

SIGNIFICANCE. The rewarding properties of nicotine increase when administration is paired with external stimuli, or “cues”, including those related to vaping products. Given the visual similarity between nicotine vaping products (NVPs) and THC vaping products (TVPs), exposure to one product may elicit reactivity (e.g., craving, urge to use) to the other. The present study aimed to develop a set of cues capable of differentiating NVPs from TVPs to inform investigations of cross-cue reactivity. METHODS. Images (n=61 NVPs; n=64 TVPs; 7=unspecified) were obtained via an online search using both generic (“vape”, “vape pen”) and product-specific (e.g., “nicotine vape”, “dab pen”) keywords …

Intersectionality In Discrimination, Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms, And Suicide Ideation: Black Americans In Appalachian Contexts, Jailyn May Wilson

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Racial discrimination is recognized as a race-based traumatic stressor that has been associated with posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) and suicide ideation (SI). However, there remains a paucity of research investigating the impact of racial and other forms of discrimination on understudied populations, including Black Americans residing in Appalachian regions. The current study used an online self-report survey to examine PTSS as a mediator in the association between perceived discrimination and SI and to examine the moderating effect of the number of identity factors with which one experienced discrimination (i.e., race, gender, region) on the relationship between perceived discrimination and PTSS. …

Dispositional Mindfulness And Autonomic Reactivity, Thomas Dylan Boyer

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

To explain how different facets of mindfulness were associated with task performance in distinctive ways, Lindsay and Creswell (2017) proposed the Monitor and Acceptance Theory (MAT). According to this model, the mindfulness facet of monitoring present state awareness was thought to influence task performance differently than the nonjudgmental acceptance facet of mindfulness, but no studies to date have examined this model with respect to an individual's physiological response to stressful tasks. Because dispositional mindfulness has been associated with both increased and decreased physiological and affective reactions to stress in previous studies, the present study tested whether the Monitoring facet of …

Do The Adaptogenic Mushrooms, Cordyceps Militaris And Hericium Erinaceus, Produce Caffeine-Like Discriminative-Stimulus Effects?, Stephen James Cullinan

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Caffeine is one of the most widely consumed drugs in the United States, but its excessive consumption increases the risk of heart disease, sleep problems, and anxiety. In response to these issues, there has been a rise in efforts to find safer alternatives to caffeine while maintaining similar subjective effects. The adaptogenic mushrooms, cordyceps and lion’s mane, are claimed to have similar energy- and mood-enhancing effects as caffeine; however, there is limited research directly comparing their effects to caffeine. A drug-discrimination paradigm, in which rats were trained to discriminate between caffeine and saline, was used to compare the discriminative-stimulus effects …

Effect Of Delay On Reinforcer Preference And Efficacy, Ciara Jasmine Rodriguez

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Behavior intervention plans are used to increase desired behavior and decrease problem behavior, and these plans require the use of effective reinforcers. High-quality reinforcers that are delivered immediately tend to be the most effective, but optimal reinforcement parameters are not always feasible or appropriate in applied settings. Some reinforcers may be disruptive, teachers’ competing responsibilities may introduce delays to reinforcer delivery, and reinforcers may not be immediately accessible. Stimuli may lose their reinforcing value with delay to their receipt, and this is referred to as delay discounting. Thus, there is likely a point where a less preferred but immediately delivered …

Psychometric Assessment Of The Ambivalent Ageism Scale: Investigating Measurement Invariance And Stability Across Groups And Time, Carly Pullen

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The goal of the current study was to examine the psychometric properties of the Ambivalent Ageism Scale (Cary et al., 2017) and to provide an understanding of how ageist attitudes might change or remain the same in response to a cultural and societal event. Measurement invariance is the assessment of the psychometric equivalence of a construct (e.g., ageism) across groups or waves of measurement (Putnick & Bornstein, 2016). The first step in measurement invariance analyses is configural measurement invariance, which is the evaluation of the factor structure, with the goal of producing the same number of factors and the same …

The Bleeding Edge Of Misogyny: How Gender-Based Harassment And Infrastructural Neglect Shape Menstrual Distress, Mackenzie J. Miller

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Despite growing attention to menstrual health, organizational research has largely overlooked how workplace conditions shape menstrual experiences. Dominant perspectives frame menstruation as an individual issue that negatively affects work, neglecting how features of the work environment – such as gender-based harassment and access to menstrual-related infrastructure – contribute to menstrual distress. Addressing this gap, this dissertation adopts a bidirectional perspective, examining how social and material workplace conditions shape menstrual distress, defined as the extent to which menstrual symptoms interfere with daily functioning. Drawing on the transactional model of stress and objectification theory, I hypothesized that gender-based harassment would predict menstrual …