Digital Commons Network^™

Museum Spaces As Psychological Affordances: Representations Of Immigration History And National Identity, Sahana Mukherjee, Phia S. Salter, Ludwin E. Molina

Psychology Faculty Publications

The present research draws upon a cultural psychological perspective to consider how psychological phenomena are grounded in socio-cultural contexts. Specifically, we examine the association between representations of history at Ellis Island Immigration Museum and identity-relevant concerns. Pilot study participants (N = 13) took a total of 114 photographs of exhibits that they considered as most important in the museum. Results indicate that a majority of the photographs reflected neutral themes (n = 81), followed by nation-glorifying images (n = 24), and then critical themes that highlight injustices and barriers faced by immigrants (n = 9). Study 1 examines whether there …

Childhood Maltreatment Predictors Of Trait Impulsivity, Tiffany D. Russell, Amy Veith, Alan R. King

Psychology Faculty Publications

This chapter provides a summary of empirical evidence linking childhood maltreatment and trait impulsivity. While biological contributors to impulsivity may be substantial, this review speculates that childhood and adolescent contributors may potentially alter the developmental trajectory of this personality trait in important ways. An analysis of original data (N = 401) regarding child maltreatment associations (childhood sexual abuse, physical abuse, sibling abuse, peer bullying, corporal punishment, and exposure to domestic violence) with trait impulsivity as measured by the Personality Inventory for the DSM-5 was also conducted. Adult respondents were assigned to extreme child abuse categories based on their retrospective self-reports. …

Music, Emotion Regulation, & Distress Tolerance: Investigating How Music May Influence Distress Tolerance In College Students, Marie Jaedee Wood

Psychological Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

Although music has been studied in the context of emotion regulation, there has been little or no research between the relationship between music and distress tolerance. In this study, participants were brought into the lab to fill out surveys, listen to positive, negative, or neutral music, and complete an emotional distress tolerance task while music was still playing. Positive and negative affect was evaluated throughout the study. Positive Affect was not directly influenced by music but was decreased during the distress tolerance task. The neutral and positive music both lowered negative affect while the distress tolerance task significant increased positive …

Drosophila Tone Preference During Oviposition, Alexa Christine Decker

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Evidence shows that Drosophila melongaster take into account the environmental factors such as substance, temperature, texture, and direct threats in order to provide protection for their offspring; young drosophila utilize experienced drosophila's olfactory cues for informed site selection. Their site selection is indicative of what drosophila view as beneficial. Since they have near-field hearing, drosophila may integrate sound into their deciding factors. If drosophila utilize sound as a deciding factor then a tone within their hearing range and similar to the tone their wings produce during flight such as a 250 Hz tone could have positive or negative associations. In …

Cooperation Of Authority, Nathan Kemper

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

What is the place of authority and what effects does it have on the behavior of individuals? This has historically been a question addressed in social psychology literature (see Milgram, 1963; Zimbardo, 1974; 2007). Traditionally researchers in this paradigm focus on the situational effects of assigned authority on underling positions in asymmetric power structure settings (e.g. the “teacher” and “learner” in Milgram, 1963). The current study sought to place focus on the individual in the authority role while engaged in a cooperative pay-off game. Thirty-eight students (N = 38) were recruited to participate in two trials of the Prisoner’s Dilemma …

A Biometric Analysis Of Mate Choice Copying In People, Jonathan Lenhardt

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Mate choice copying is the notion that a person or animal, after observing another choosing a romantic or sexual partner, will perceive that partner as more attractive and possibly attempt to acquire that same partner for themselves. Using measurement of pupil size in response to the presentation of pictures of men and women both alone and with a neutral or admiring partner, it was hypothesized that such a biometric measure could substantiate previous research that has supported the evidence of mate choice copying in people. This study's methodology complements that of previous studies utilizing questionnaires to measure the attractiveness of …

The Impact Of Childhood Trauma As Moderated By Ptsd, Relationship With Caregiver, And Rumination, Aislyn M. Allen

USC Aiken Psychology Theses

The current study explored the relationship between childhood trauma and deliberate rumination, as well as PTSD symptomology, psychological and physiological functioning. Participants consisted of 55 undergraduate students, ages 18-23; who completed measures about a specific traumatic event, psychological functioning, parental attachment, PTSD symptoms, deliberate rumination, childhood maltreatment, and a demographics questionnaire. Reported childhood trauma was a specifically identified traumatic life event, child maltreatment, or having a parent with a substance abuse or mental disorder. Following completion of measures, participants were asked to answer questions while heart rate, heart rate variability, and electrodermal activity were monitored. Results indicated there was relation …

Examining The Effects Of Robot-Enacted Guilt Appeals In A Human-Robot Negotiation, Brett Stoll

Masters Theses

Social robotics is a quickly evolving and expanding field in which significant contributions may be made by the communication discipline. Prior research has demonstrated the successful employment of robots throughout varying contexts such as work team decision-making, education, and healthcare. The purpose of this study is to expand upon existing research and generate an understanding of how robots may be used in competitive communication environments. The study highlights face negotiation theory (FNT) and the computers are social actors (CASA) paradigm to frame predictions and understanding of how humans interact with robots in a negotiation context. The researcher uses a 2 …

The Effects Of Perceived Enjoyable Activities On Cognition In Late-Life., Hannah D. Gardner

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Theses

Previous research suggests that more involvement in various activities can help delay cognitive decline in older adults. Few studies have examined both the impact of frequency and perceived enjoyment of different types of activities on cognition. This study analyzed the relationship between frequency and pleasure of activities and cognition by running correlations using the five different subscales of the California Older Person’s Pleasant Events Schedule (COPPES) and a battery of cognitive tests (Block Design, Animal Naming, Boston Naming Test, Trails A, Trails B, CVLT-LDFR, & Digit Span). It was hypothesized that higher frequency as well as higher level of enjoyment …

Effects Of Intergroup Anxiety, And Outgroup Tolerance And Trust On Intergroup Contact Quality Among Emerging Adults And Adults In Bosnia And Herzegovina., Carli J. Mosby

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Theses

Intergroup contact theory (Allport, 1954) holds that positive effects can occur when two or more groups come into contact with one another under specific circumstances. The quality of the contact has been shown to be a better predictor than contact quantity in producing positive results (Schwartz and Simmons, 2001; Viki, Culmer, Eller, & Abrams, 2006). The current study attempted to determine whether Allport's intergroup contact theory could be applied to intergroup anxiety, outgroup tolerance, and outgroup trust; more specifically, whether these three variables would have an effect on intergroup contact quality among the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina and whether …

Rescuing The Missing: A Study Of Prospective Person Memory On Missing Persons, Brandon Spillar

Psychological Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

An average of 1,700 missing persons cases are filed everyday in the United States (Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2013). With such a large number of people placed in potential danger, their security is the utmost concern to families, communities, and consequently our society (Spilman, 2006). In response to people going missing, police departments often use news teams and photos to exhort the public to be on the lookout for these missing persons (Tarling & Burrows, 2004). As a result, people practice what is called Prospective Person Memory. Prospective person memory is a cognitive process involving people correctly identifying a face …

Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops Truncatus) Behaviors In The Presence Of Active And Non-Active Shrimp Trawlers In The Mississippi Sound, Crysta M. Lorenz

Honors Theses

Bottlenose dolphins, Tursiops truncatus, are reported to have close associations with shrimp trawlers worldwide. The goal of this study was to assess differences in the behavior for bottlenose dolphins between activity states of shrimp trawlers in the Mississippi Sound. During active trawling, nets are actively gathering the catch closely behind the trawler, which provide feeding opportunities for bottlenose dolphins. Non-active groups are not able to take advantage of feeding prospects and display fewer feeding behaviors and maintain a farther distance than active trawler groups. Video of trawlers were collected from the Mississippi Wild Dolphin Project and analyzed for feeding …

Understanding Adolescent Posttraumatic Stress: The Roles Of Biological Sex And Anxiety Sensitivity, Sophia K. Pawlewicz

Psychological Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

Over 60% of adolescents are exposed to a traumatic event, and a significant minority goes on to develop posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It is important to understand factors that contribute to the development and maintenance of this debilitating condition. Anxiety sensitivity (AS), defined as the fear of the consequences of anxiety, correlates positively with increased posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS). Research also suggests that females are more likely to develop PTSS. There are a number of limitations of this literature, however, including a lack of laboratory-based assessment of the relation between AS and biological sex on PTSS among adolescents. The current …

Failure To Launch? Understanding Variations In Emerging Adult Flight Patterns, Christina Ashley Williams

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

What does the transition to adulthood look like for emerging adults? This study proposes that popular cultural ideas like "failure to launch" imply an oversimplified dichotomy that does not account for the multiple "flight patterns" into adulthood. Focusing on the narratives of six interview cases selected from the larger sample of interviewees from Wave 4 of the National Study of Youth and Religion and drawing on the quantitative data from the broader survey sample, this mixed-methods approach examines in-depth, narrative experiences and the ways structural barriers vary between upper-middle, lower-middle, and working class emerging adults. We find that emerging adulthood …

A Descriptive Study Of The Use Of Neurofeedback In Counseling, Khwlah Jamil Al-Ansari

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study examines neuro-counseling in the mental health field and the concept of neurofeedback training (NFB) as an intervention in the counseling profession. Numbers of studies have indicated that NFB may be effective in the field of counseling. The purpose of this survey study is to explore the use of neurofeedback in the field of counseling.

Additionally, the study used a quantitative descriptive survey research method and descriptive statistics. The survey was sent to members of the American Counseling Association (ACA), and 93 professionals participated. The majority of the sample was licensed professional counselors, professionals with a degree in counseling, …

The Role Of Stress: Low Birth Weight And Preterm Birth For African American Women, Tionna Latrice Jenkins

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This population-based study evaluates the impact that psychoSocial stress has on adverse birth outcomes of low birth weight (LBW) and pre-term birth (PTB) among African American mothers in Arkansas. The relationship between adverse birth outcomes in African American women and stress in comparison to non-Hispanic Caucasian women data was evaluated from the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) quantitative survey. Data from 2005 through 2010 was reviewed to show the impact that psychoSocial stress has on adverse birth outcomes. The study sample was comprised of 14,196 participants.

Ethnic group status is the key maternal-level independent variable in this study. Of …

A Comparison Of Infant And Toddler Reactions To Strangers Who Have Similar Attributes To An Established Attachment Figure Vs. Strangers Who Have Different Attributes, Jessica Hamilton

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A child's early attachment experiences can have a lasting impact on later development. Early attachment relationships often result in greater Social and cognitive skills, as well as better school performance (Peisner et al., 1999). For these reasons, it is important to address those components that may contribute to secure attachments with care givers in the child care setting. The current study looked at the reactions of infants and toddlers when presented with two previously unknown individuals: one who physically resembled an established caregiver with whom they had already established attachment and one who looked different from this caregiver. The study …

Endocrine And Psychophysiological Correlates Of Jealousy And Social Anxiety In Healthy Adults: Elevated Responses To Inter-Male Competition, Bethany H. Mccurdy

Senior Honors Theses

Male mammals compete for reproductive access to females. Gaining and maintaining this access can be stressful and anxiety-provoking. In humans, anxiety and associated protective behaviors can manifest as jealousy. Physiological stress is likely to increase in relation to jealousy as it does with anxiety. Hypothetically, higher levels of anxiety and cortisol may indicate, and may even promote, strong territorial or jealous behavior. Chronically elevated cortisol has been shown to be deleterious to prefrontal and hippocampal neurons and result in emotional and stress-response dysregulation. In very anxious and jealous individuals, chronic stress activation could further promote these tendencies via emotional disinhibition. …

Conjoint Behavioral Consultation Via Distance Delivery (Cbc-D): An Evaluation Of Efficacy And Acceptability, Michael J. Coutts

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Despite greater prevalence rates of child mental health and behavior problems, rural areas are often overlooked by researchers in favor of urban areas that provide larger, more diverse samples. However, rural children’s problems manifest differently across home and school than what is seen in urban and suburban contexts. Conjoint behavioral consultation (CBC; Sheridan & Kratochwill, 2008) is an evidence-based family-school partnership intervention wherein families and schools collaborate with a consultant to address child concerns. In its traditional format, the time specialized nature of delivering CBC and time and travel commitments needed by participants limits the feasibility of CBC as an …

The Impact Of Treatment Exposure, Trauma, And Caregiver Involvement In Therapy On Children's Response To Behavioral Treatment, Mindy R. Chadwell

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Early childhood represents a time period during of rapid growth and development including physical development, language and communication, autonomy, and a wide variety of self-regulation skills (Campbell, 2006; Egger & Angold, 2006). Children vary in the rates at which they achieve these skills and they may challenge their parents through behaviors such as noncompliance and temper tantrums (Butler & Eyberg, 2006). Failure for children to adequately develop these basic skills can contribute to the development of behavior problems that lead to persistent problems throughout life (Whittaker et al., 2011). This study examined three factors that influence young children’s response to …

Trajectories Of Anxious Withdrawal In Early Childhood, Irina N. Kalutskaya

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The purpose of this study was to examine the developmental trajectory of anxious withdrawal in a group of 3-year old children in transition to kindergarten. This study also examined the role of high quality classroom environments for children, and the role of multiple risk factors for parents on development of children’s anxious withdrawal. The current sample consisted of 1,938 3-year old children (49% female) followed across four time points (Fall 2009, Spring 2010, Spring 2011, and Spring 2012) as a part of the Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES 2009), 20% of the children were White, non-Hispanic, 35% …

Effect Of The Physical Environment On Teacher Satisfaction With Indoor Environmental Quality In Early Learning Schools, Stuart Shell

Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

While the quantity and quality of teacher-child interactions plays a key role in emotional and cognitive development for children, there is scant evidence regarding the contribution of physical environment to child outcomes. This study seeks to understand better the relative importance of variables within the physical environment for occupants. The research design targets teachers’ satisfaction with the physical environment as the outcome variable, based on the assumption that teachers who are more satisfied with their classroom provide higher-quality interactions with children. Teachers from two early learning schools with a total of 31 classrooms completed a written survey that asked about …

The Effect Of Misogynistic Humor On The Perception Of Women, Natasha Vashist

HIM 1990-2015

Humor is often a controversial genre of entertainment. It is not critically examined due to its intentionally offensive nature. This study examines the impact of sexist humor on the perception of women. Students (n = 1,096) from a 4 year university were divided into two groups and both participated in a questionnaire examining attitudes toward women and media viewing habits. One group was exposed to clips of sexist humor from television shows and the other was not. A series of analyses of variance (ANOVA) conducted on the two groups did not find significant differences between those who had viewed sexist …

Usability Of Various Input Devices On A Steering Task, Ian Fund

HIM 1990-2015

In this study we examined the differences of performance of various input devices on a steering task. Two paths were created, one easy and one hard, with the harder path having more turning points to navigate with one of three different input devices: mouse and keyboard, Xbox 360 controller, and a joystick. Participants were also exposed to low or high stress conditions. High stress was caused by playing loud short bursts of music over headphones worn by participants during testing. Results indicated the mouse and keyboard performed better in all cases. There was no significant difference between the Xbox controller …

Psychological Symptom Patterns In Night Shift Workers, Justin Kowalski

HIM 1990-2015

The negative physical effects of night shift work are well understood. Research into psychological problems associated with night shift work, however, is sparse. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the difference in psychological symptom patterns between day and night shift workers. Data were obtained on 121 undergraduate volunteers. The sample consisted of 39 male and 82 female volunteers between the ages of 18 and 58 years. All participants were organized into two shift types: Day and Night. Day (n = 65) was classified as working hours primarily in the daytime (7 AM – 5PM). Night (n = 56) …

What Is Implicit About Implicit Category Learning?, Matthew Murray

HIM 1990-2015

The conscious or unconscious acquirement of knowledge in implicit category learning was examined in accordance with predictions made by the COVIS theory of categorization (Ashby & Maddox, 2011). COVIS assumes separate category learning systems. The explicit system relies on easily verbalized rules while the implicit system requires integration of more than one stimulus dimension. Participants in this experiment categorized lines varying in length and orientation as belonging to one of two categories; in the rule-based (RB) condition only length was relevant, while participants in the information integration (II) condition needed to integrate both dimensions. Corrective feedback was provided during training. …

Exploring Resilience And Individual Differences, Robin Thorne

HIM 1990-2015

Few studies have investigated the relationships among resilience, optimism, and personality traits with U.S. college students; although some work has been done with Chinese university students. The current study explores the relationship between resilience, optimism and the Big Five personality traits. A sample of 251 undergraduate students completed the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC), the 9-item version of the Personal Optimism & Self-Efficacy Optimism Scale (POSE-E), and the NEO- Five Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI). Results indicate a significant positive relationship between resilience and optimism. The results also indicate positive significant relationships between resilience and extraversion, as well as resilience and conscientiousness. A …

Effects Of An Electronically Guided Prayer Intervention, Brian Lee Goetsch

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Abstract Hope has been identified as an important factor in a variety of positive outcomes in psychotherapy, medicine, academic success, and for general levels of functioning. However, until now most studies on hope have been correlational in nature, and researchers have rarely sought to understand how hope can be facilitated. The present study considered the effect of prayer on experiences of hope in a national sample of Christian college students. An intervention group completed a guided prayer exercise once a day for 2 weeks. Pre and post-test levels of hope were assessed and compared to a control group, and a …

Stressors And Resources Of Oregon Psychologists: How Are Helpers Being Helped?, Nathan William Engle

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Professional psychology requires the navigation of a complex set of skills including clinical work, research, and consultation while also demanding a level of personal investment, which can tax the psychologists’ emotional and physical resources. Bearse, McMinn, Seegobin, & Free (2013) highlighted the deleterious impact of these stressors. The American Psychological Association (APA) has shown an awareness of impactful professional stress and responded by encouraging state psychological associations to create a Colleague Assistance Program (APA, 2006). Although the research and professional guild agree on the existence of professional stress, there is little research regarding the effectiveness of strategies and resources used …

Posttraumatic Stress And Emotion Recognition, Rachel Woody

Psychological Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

People with PTSD have problems with interpersonal relationships, but the maintaining mechanisms are not well studied. One potential mechanism relating PTSD and interpersonal difficulties is an inability for people with PTSD to recognize another’s emotion, preventing them from taking their perspective or reacting empathetically. This study aimed to experimentally test the effects of trauma cue exposure on participants with subthreshold PTSD’s accuracy in identifying emotions depicted by peoples’ eyes. Participants were randomly assigned to either the control (i.e., neutral script) or experimental condition (i.e., traumatic event script) prior to completing the “Reading the Mind in the Eyes” task to measure …