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Medical Interns', Residents' And Attending Physicians' Attitudes Towards Integrative Medicine And Recommended Treatments For Patients With Psoriasis, Jennifer L. Pacyon

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Background: Psoriasis is a multifactorial disease that effect approximately 7.5 million Americans. There are a variety of traditional treatments for psoriasis (e.g. topical medications, biologics) that for many, are effective in combating the disease. However, traditional treatments often have aversive side effects and may not be appropriate for every patient (e.g. pregnant women). Additionally, the efficacy of these medications are variable leaving some looking for adjunctive treatment options. There is increasing evidence to support the use of adjunctive treatments for psoriatic patients (e.g. psychotherapy, mindfulness). However, research is variable in regards to medical professionals’ attitudes towards integrative medicine (IM) as …

Does Skin Color, Facial Shape, And Facial Width To Height Ratio (Fwhr) Play A Role In Black Male Facial Evaluation, T. Joel Wade

Faculty Journal Articles

The present research sought to determine how skin color, facial shape, and facial width to height ratio (fWHR) affect ratings of 10 Black male facial shapes. Based on evolutionary theory and prior research, the rectangular, quadratic, inverted trapezium, and pentagonal faces were hypothesized to receive the highest attractiveness, dominance, maturity, masculinity, strength, and social competence ratings. Additionally, faces with higher fWHRs were expected to receive higher dominance, strength, and masculinity ratings. Smaller, round or oval faces were hypothesized to receive highest warmth ratings. The results were partially consistent with these hypotheses. The examination of the effect of skin color was …

Sex And The Perceived Effectiveness Of Flirtation Techniques, T. Joel Wade, Andrea Feldman

Faculty Journal Articles

Three studies were implemented in order to ascertain how men and women flirt with potential partners, and whether or not there are sex differences in which flirtatious actions are considered most effective. Study 1 (n = 40) and Study 2 (n = 60) sought to discover the actions that men and women, respectively, engage in to indicate romantic interest to a partner. Study 3 (n = 126) sought to determine which flirtatious acts from women and men are perceived as most effective. Men were expected to rate women’s flirtations that suggest sexual access as most effective and women were expected …

The Impact Of Writing Intensive Courses On Writing Apprehension And Academic Motivation, Jacqueline Suzanne Byrket

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Current research in writing apprehension lacks evaluation of psychology course effectiveness in reducing this trepidation. The present study focused on three psychology courses and utilized Self-Determination Theory (SDT; Deci & Ryan, 1985, 2002) and student instructor rapport to assess changes in writing apprehension. Participants (N = 78) from three upperclass level courses completed the Basic Psychological Needs Scale (BPNS), Academic Motivation Scale (AMS), Daly-Miller Writing Apprehension Test-Revised (WAT-R), and Student Instructor Rapport Scale (SIRS-9) at the beginning and end of the semester. Even though pre-/post-test differences were non-significant for all three courses, the Experimental Psychology class exhibited the greatest decrease …

The Study Of The Adverse Effects Of Childhood Maltreatment, Katie A. Kennie

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This study explores the link between the presence of childhood trauma and adult criminal behavior. In this study, four distinct categories of childhood trauma (physical abuse, sexual abuse, psychological abuse, and neglect) were examined. In addition, this study conducts a comparative analysis of the United States crime rate with that of Switzerland and Japan. This study examines and compares the policies utilized in ensuring the protection of child welfare. The ultimate goal is to provide research which may build a foundation that will assist in creating and improving policies which will ensure a child's psychological health.

Identity Development, Social Support, And Motherhood, Dayanara Rosado

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Adolescent pregnancy creates challenges for this minority population in balancing their motherhood identity with continuing to develop their identity at the adolescent stage, which presents a social problem today. The intent of this thesis is to explore the relationship between identity, adjustment, and social support among college students who were adolescent mothers. The following surveys: Personal Network Matrix (PNM), The Identity Distress Scale (IDS), and The Dimension of Identity Development Scale (DIDS), were administered through the UCF SONA system. Participants were divided into three groups: mothers who had their first child as a teenager (teen mothers; n = 6), mothers …

The Effect Of Social Media On Sexual Cognitions And Behaviors, Joshua Duarte

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Pop culture and social media have become a prime source of entertainment and communication. The current study focuses on the potential effects of consuming this form of media and how it affects our sexual cognitions and behaviors. A sample of nine hundred and two university students were given self-reporting questionnaires concerning demographics, sexual cognitions, and exposure to sexual content in music. An analysis of music artist’s posts on social media was also performed. It was hypothesized that artists who have sexual content published in their work will also have the same amount of sexual content on social media. However, there …

Organized Activity Involvement Among Urban Youth: Understanding Predictors And Mechanisms, Nicole Arola Anderson

Dissertations

Organized activities (OA) are a major context of adolescent development which are linked with positive development outcomes, yet the research is limited in understanding predictors of involvement and mechanisms that explain its effect. Using longitudinal data from a subsample of youth enrolled in the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (N = 1,043), this study examined relations between neighborhood characteristics (i.e., perceived neighborhood safety and neighborhood collective efficacy) and parent characteristics (i.e., parental supervision and parental warmth) and participation in organized activities (OA) at multiple points in adolescence, and whether these relations varied by age and sex. This study …

The Relationships Between Parenting Factors And Parental Sensitivity To The Child's Depression, Sara Thompson

Senior Honors Theses and Projects

Parenting, and its effects on a child, has been an area of interest in psychology for many years. By studying parental attachment, parenting confidence, and other parenting aspects, we get a better understanding of how the parent-child relationship functions. This study will utilize children's self reports of their depression and the parents' reports of their child's depression, to examine parental attachment and parenting confidence and how those two factors relate to the parent's sensitivity to their child's depression. The results from this study have possible implications for how to better structure the child's home environment, how to help the child …

A Concurrent And Longitudinal Examination Of A Bio-Neuropsychosocial Model For Predicting Medical Adherence And Responsibility In Youth With Spina Bifida, Alexandra Psihogios

Dissertations

Objective: The purpose of this multi-source, multi-method study was to examine biological, neuropsychological, and social (i.e., family dynamics and social adjustment) predictors of medical adherence and responsibility in a pediatric spina bifida (SB) sample.

Methods: One hundred forty youth with SB (53.6% female; M age = 11.40 at Time 1) and their caregivers participated in two study time points (Time 2 occurred two years after Time 1). Youth and their caregivers completed several questionnaires regarding medical self-management, family functioning, child social adjustment, and child executive functioning. Teachers completed a parallel measure of child executive functioning. Children completed a brief battery …

The Psychological Impact Of Smartphones: The Effect Of Access To One's Smartphone On Psychological Power, Risk Taking, Cheating, And Moral Orientation., Amanda Christine Egan

Dissertations

Egan and Larson (2015) found that access to one’s smartphone resulted in an increase in one’s sense of psychological power. Psychological power is associated with a variety of behavioral outcomes, many of them moral in nature (Keltner, Gruenfeld, & Anderson, 2003). This dissertation attempted to conceptually replicate the findings obtained by Egan and Larson (2015) and to extend them by testing whether smartphone-induced power had moral implications. Specifically, Study 1 tested whether access to one’s smartphone increased psychological power, and in turn promoted risk taking and a shift in moral orientation. Study 2 tested whether access to one’s smartphone increased …

Cross Generational Immigrant Attitudes Toward Mental Health Services, Liudmila Shapoval, Elizabeth L. Jeglic

Modern Psychological Studies

Depression is a major mental health problem both in the United States and globally, and thus, increasing research has focused on how to treat it. The major treatments include medication and psychotherapy; however, it appears that most depressed individuals are selecting pharmacological treatment as opposed to psychological treatment despite treatments similar outcomes. This is in contract to survey data which suggests that individuals overall prefer psychological types of treatment (Givens et al., 2007; Olfson & Marcus, 2009). As the population of the United States increases to become more ethnically and cultural diverse, little is known about how racial and cultural …

The Relationship Between Rumination, Gender, Age, And Posttraumatic Stress, Amber M. Markham, Susan E. Mason

Modern Psychological Studies

The purpose of the present study was to assess the relationship between rumination and posttraumatic stress, and to determine the effects of gender and age on that relationship. Responses on brooding and reflective subscales of a rumination measure were compared across adult age groups, and evaluated in relationship to an individual's gender and emotional response to trauma. Women demonstrated higher levels of rumination than men, and younger adults demonstrated higher levels of rumination than older adults. In a college sample, total rumination score was a positive indicator of whether an individual was emotionally bothered by a traumatic experience. In a …

The Impact Of Ethnicity And Social Class On The Practice Of Corporal Punishment, Jana Weiss

MA Community Psychology Theses

The purpose of this research is to explore disciplinary practices employed by families from different socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds. In history, corporal punishment, (CP; also known as flagellation) was a practice widely used in religious settings during the eighth century. The social norm was to whip for punishment but also for pleasure. For some, CP is one way of disciplining children in home and in school settings. There are signs that are present in determining whether a parent may practice CP in the home that include certain parenting behaviors, socioeconomic status (SES), parent mood, and discipline responses. It has been …

Individual Variations In Nucleus Accumbens Responses Associated With Major Depressive Disorder Symptoms, Masaya Misaki, Hideo Suzuki, Jonathan Savitz, Wayne C. Drevets, Jerzy Bodurka

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

Abnormal reward-related responses in the nucleus accumbens (NAcc) have been reported for major depressive disorder (MDD) patients. However, variability exists in the reported results, which could be due to heterogeneity in neuropathology of depression. To parse the heterogeneity of MDD we investigated variation of NAcc responses to gain and loss anticipations using fMRI. We found NAcc responses to monetary gain and loss were significantly variable across subjects in both MDD and healthy control (HC) groups. The variations were seen as a hyperactive response subtype that showed elevated activation to the anticipation of both gain and loss, an intermediate response with …

Understanding Mental Toughness And Stress: The Role Of Cortisol, Alexis K. Satterwhite Ms.

Honors Program Theses

Mental toughness research aims to understand how two people of the same skill level, experience, and background react to pressure and stress, with one succumbing to the pressure while another succeeds (Clough & Strycharczyk, 2012). This study used Clough, Earle, and Sewell’s (2002) four C’s of mental toughness (commitment, challenge, control, and confidence) as a theoretical framework. The current study aims to explore physiological aspects of mental toughness through cortisol, a stress hormone that is released as an internal reaction to some type of threat occurring externally to the body (Kottler & Chen, 2011). The relationships between mental toughness and …

Assessing Risk And Resilience Factors For Early Childhood Development, Danielle Rioux

Honors Program Theses

Adequate early child developmental screenings are often not available in many child care centers despite considerable research that points toward the importance and necessity of such screenings in assuring quality educational and social outcomes for children. A wealth of influences can affect how a child develops, with both negative risk and positive resilience factors playing a key role in determining outcomes. The present study was conducted through chart review of 55 children attending Winter Park Day Nursery (WPDN). We explored the relationships between risk factors, resilience, and outcomes by using measures currently collected by the center, and combining them in …

Relative Preservation Of Emotion Recognition Abilities In Women Compared To Men With Parkinson's Disease, Colleen Frank

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

Successful emotion recognition is necessary for healthy relationships. Parkinson’s disease (PD) can be associated with deficits in emotion recognition through both auditory and visual modalities. Because past research has also documented that gender plays a role in emotion recognition, PD could differentially affect men and women. This study examined the abilities of men and women with PD to recognize specific emotions through emotional facial expressions and emotional prosody compared to healthy controls. This study included 28 PD patients (14 men, 14 women) and 40 (20 men, 20 women) age-matched healthy control participants. The PD group displayed deficits on both the …

Cross–Cultural Generalizability Of The Alternative Five–Factor Model Using The Zuckerman–Kuhlman–Aluja Personality Questionnaire, Jérôme Rossier, Anton Aluja, Angel Blanch, Barry Oumar, Adam W. Stivers

Psychology Faculty Scholarship

Several personality models are known for being replicable across cultures, such as the Five–Factor Model (FFM) or Eysenck's Psychoticism–Extraversion–Neuroticism (PEN) model, and are for this reason considered universal. The aim of the current study was to evaluate the cross–cultural replicability of the recently revised Alternative FFM (AFFM). A total of 15 048 participants from 23 cultures completed the Zuckerman–Kuhlman–Aluja Personality Questionnaire (ZKA–PQ) aimed at assessing personality according to this revised AFFM. Internal consistencies, gender differences and correlations with age were similar across cultures for all five factors and facet scales. The AFFM structure was very similar across samples and can …

Developing Leadership As Dialogic Practice, Kenneth J. Gergen, L. Hersted

Psychology Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

Psyc 287: Psychology Of Personality—A Peer Review Of Teaching Project Benchmark Portfolio, Maital Neta

UNL Faculty Course Portfolios

In this portfolio, I am assessing student learning in a mid-level Psychology course, Psyc 287: Psychology of Personality. The course introduces students to the major theories of personality, and covers a wide array of topics intended to provide a broad overview of issues in the field. The course attracts a somewhat representative sample of UNL students, including non-majors, and therefore most are from Nebraska. The course is not a prerequisite to any other courses, but it could be a useful foundation course for students pursuing a career in psychology research, and it could also help people to consider issues related …

Reciprocal Relations Between Traumatic Stress And Physical Aggression During Middle School, Erin L. Thompson

Theses and Dissertations

There is convincing evidence that demonstrates traumatic stress and aggressive behavior are highly related among adolescents. The evidence is less clear regarding the direction of this relation. The purpose of this study was to examine the reciprocal longitudinal relations between physical aggression and traumatic stress among a predominantly African American sample of middle school students. Support was found for traumatic stress predicting increased levels of physical aggression across the winter to the spring of the sixth grade for boys and across all waves from the fall of the seventh grade to the fall of the eighth grade for both boys …

Pathways Linking Sleep Timing To Obesity In Midlife Women, Dana R. Schreiber

Theses and Dissertations

Midlife women are vulnerable to developing obesity. Both sleep timing and negative emotion are risk factors, yet limited research has explored their role on weight outcomes in this population. The current investigation explored the association of sleep timing (i.e., mean sleep time, sleep time variability) and obesity (i.e., BMI, waist circumference) in midlife women, considering emotional pathways (i.e., depressive symptoms, anger) that might mediate this association. PROCESS parallel mediation models assessed direct and indirect pathways. In follow-up analyses, sleep duration was explored as an indirect pathway linking sleep timing to obesity. Results demonstrated that sleep timing does not directly predict …

The Effects Of Mortality Salience And Team Identification On Sports Fans' Willingness To Consider Anonymous Acts Of Aggression, Sagan L. Ladd

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

The current study sought to understand if mortality salience and identification with the University of Kentucky men’s varsity basketball team (UK) would interact in such a way as to influence participants’ willingness to engage in anonymous acts of aggression toward fans, coaches and players of rival sport teams. A research question was also evaluated which asked if mortality salience might be a potential mediator between participants’ identification and their likelihood to engage in anonymous acts of aggression. Results indicated that mortality salience was not a significant predictor and there was no significant interaction between identification and mortality salience. As a …

Influencers And Barriers To Consumption Of Healthful Diets In Rural Youth In Context Of The Bioecological Model, Megan Bren

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to determine influencers and barriers to healthful dietary intake in rural youth in context of the bioecological model. Four focus groups as part of Ignite, a tri-state, five-year, community based partipatory research (CBPR) intervention were conducted with 6th to 8th grade adolescents from an economically disadvantaged community of rural South Dakota. Results were categorized into the context of the bioecological model. Within the model, the process, person, context and time (PPCT) design with the three types of personal characteristics were used to describe the framework in which the systems are embedded. Focus group content …

Improving Mental Health Care For Transgender Consumers: Providers’ Attitudes, Knowledge, And Resources, Hillary Gleason

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Transgender individuals may present for treatment with a variety of mental health needs, both related and peripheral to their gender identity and expression. Compounding stigma and other life stressors elevate mental health risks in transgender communities, and the barriers to mental health services are manifold. As such, the current research study was designed to determine the competency of mental health care providers to address the unique needs of transgender consumers. Online surveys gauged mental health providers’ knowledge of transgender issues, implicit and explicit transphobic attitudes, as well as treatment decisions with transgender and cisgender consumers; moreover, workplace resources and infrastructure …

Use Of Video Games In Patients' Self-Management Of Pain: A Feasibility Study, Janet Donnelly Phd(C), Rn-Bc, Acns-Bc, Pccn

Dissertations

Background: Pain affects more than 75 million Americans and is the primary reason people seek medical attention. Pain is a common cause of disability and diminished quality of life. While anecdotal evidence exists regarding nurses’ use of distraction therapy activities in pain management, little empirical research data is available.

Purpose: To examine the effects of video game use (VGU) on pain perception, pain interference perception and perceived self-efficacy in pain management in adult inpatients.

Conceptual Model: The conceptual model is based on Self-efficacy Theory (Bandura, 1995). The antecedents of the concept of distraction therapy with use of VGs in patients’ …

Health Care Agency: Statewide Awareness Of Patient-Centered Care In Maine’S Mental Health Care Facilities, Holly Hogan A

Honors Theses

This research project focuses on patient-centered care (PCC) in the context of inpatient acute psychiatric units. Hospitals have been claiming their renewed outlooks on health-care via PCC. It has become an increasingly popular term to use on hospital websites and in presidential statements. The technologies and practices surrounding psychiatric care have evolved in such a way that patients are more welcomed to have an input in their care. This project discusses the discourse around PCC at Mental Health Care Facilities in Maine. There is no consensus on the definition; the meanings ascribed to it are derived from the individual institutions. …

Are The Brain And The Mind One? Neuromarketing And How Consumers Make Decisions, Emily Glaenzer

Honors Theses

Neuromarketing utilizes brain-imaging technology, such as electroencephalography (EEG) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) machines, to understand consumers’ neurological responses to marketing stimuli. In this paper, I demonstrate how neuromarketing connects to the history of subliminal messaging and our current neuro-obsessed culture (neuroculture). These factors affect how critics view neuromarketing and the implications involved for the future of this study. I hypothesize that, when used correctly, neuromarketing can initiate a new section of the marketing world that will serve as a useful component to more traditional marketing practices. By taking away social bias and inaccurate answers present in market research, …

The Effects Of High Intensity Interval Training On Body-Esteem Among College-Aged Women, Chelsea K. Duncan

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of high intensity interval training (HIIT) on body-esteem among college-aged females. The study had four participants complete a pre-intervention questionnaire, which included BMI information and the Body-Esteem Scale (BES: Franzoi & Shields, 1984). The participants then completed 12 sessions of HIIT, three sessions each week for four weeks. After completing the HIIT protocol, participants filled out a post-intervention questionnaire, including BMI and the BES. The post-intervention questionnaires were then compared to the participants' pre-intervention questionnaires using a paired-samples t test with SPSS software. Small changes in BES scores occurred, however …