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Ua66 Ogden College Of Science & Engineering Newsletter, Cheryl Stevens, Dean

Ogden College of Science & Engineering Publications

No abstract provided.

Physical Ability Testing: A Review Of Court Cases 1992-2014, Joseph Westlin

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Selecting employees for hire and promotion is one of the most essential functions of an organization. Many companies that have positions which contain a physical component rely on physical ability testing as part of their selection procedure. The establishment of both the Civil Rights Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) had a profound impact on the manner in which selection testing may legally be conducted (Gutman, Koppes, & Vodanovich, 2011). The current study sought to analyze court cases involving physical ability testing. Results revealed that pure ability tests did not significantly differ from work sample tests with regard …

Juvenile Domestic Pigs (Sus Scrofa Domestica) Use Human-Given Cues In An Object Choice Task, Christian Nawroth, Mirjam Ebersbach, Eberhard Von Borell

Social Cognition Collection

Research on the comprehension of human-given cues by domesticated as well as non-domesticated species has received considerable attention over the last decade. While several species seem to be capable of utilizing these cues, former work with domestic pigs (Sus scrofa domestica) has shown inconclusive results. In this study, we investigated the use of human-given cues in an object choice task by young domestic pigs (N = 17; seven weeks of age) who had very limited human contact prior to the experiments. Subjects had to choose between two bowls of which only one was baited with a reward. Over the course …

Biology, Culture, And The Origins Of Pet-Keeping, Harold Herzog

Human-Companion Animal Relationships Collection

Attachments between non-human animals of different species are surprisingly common in situations involving human agency (e.g., homes, zoos, and wildlife parks). However, cross-species animal friendships analogous to pet-keeping by humans are at least rare and possibly non-existent in nature. Why has pet-keeping evolved only in Homo sapiens? I review theories that explain pet-keeping either as an adaptation or an evolutionary by-product. I suggest that these explanations cannot account for the wide variation in the distribution and forms of pet-keeping across human societies and over historical time. Using fluctuations in the popularity of dog breeds in the United States, I show …

Skill, Trust, And Deployment: Who’S Your Buddy?, Julianne Sutton

Undergraduate Psychology Research Methods Journal

Whether or not the gender of a potential buddy in hypothetical military scenarios influenced the participant’s decision was assessed. The 25 participants were divided in three groups: one control group, and two experimental groups. The participants were given a role-playing packet with eight scenarios. After each scenario, the participant was asked to choose an option for a buddy to accompany the participant. Four buddy options were given, each ranging in degrees of Relevant Skill or Knowledge, Relevant Experience, and Attitude towards Task. The experimental groups were also given a fourth variable of Gender Identity; where female participants had transgender or …

The Perceived Relevance Of Training In Industrial/Organizational Psychology At The Terminal Master's Level, Seth A. Kline

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The purpose of this study was to replicate and expand upon the survey research by Erffmeyer and Mendel (1990) on the perceived relevance of graduate training in industrial-organizational (I-O) psychology at the terminal master’s level. A review of the literature discussed core competencies, as well as the advantages of internship experiences and thesis requirements. Results indicated that graduates view their training as well targeted towards knowledge and skills they regard as useful at their internship, first job, and current position. Results also indicated that graduates viewed their internship experiences as highly beneficial and worthwhile experiences, regardless of their supervisor. Results …

The Impact Of Childhood Experiences On Intrapersonal And Interpersonal Functioning: Does The Past Dictate The Future?, Anna W. Vandevender

USC Aiken Psychology Theses

Childhood experiences of maltreatment are related to interpersonal difficulties in childhood (Pettit, Dodge, & Brown, 1988) and adulthood (Messman-Moore & Coates, 2007; Varia & Abidin, 1999; Busby, Walker, & Holman, 2011). However, most studies have examined the effects of maltreatment on interpersonal functioning (Messman-Moore & Coates, 2007; Busby, Walker, & Holman, 2011) within the context of romantic relationships (Hazan & Shaver, 1987; Feeney & Noller, 1990). Thus, the present study examined the impact childhood maltreatment and neglect has on later intrapersonal functioning and interpersonal interactions and whether gender differences emerge therein. Results indicated maltreated individuals initiate relationships less often and …

An Examination Of Electrodermal Activity During Tic Suppression In Adults, Bryan Brandt

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Although tic disorders are diagnosed as neurological disorders, neurobehavioral models suggest that tics are controlled by premonitory urges that may be conditioned to become aversive through childhood, and that tics are exhibited to alleviate such phenomena. However, only indirect measures have been used to assess the presence of the premonitory urge. This study utilized self-report and GSR measurements to examine whether a punishing contingency conditioned stimuli to be aversive during conditions of tic suppression and whether punishing contingencies exacerbate aversive private phenomena in two adults. Results indicated that conditions of response cost (RC) and differential reinforcement (DRO) were effective at …

The Effect Of Parent-Child Interaction Therapy On Caregiver Rigidity, Job Satisfaction And Childhood Misbehavior, Victoria Tackett Riley

USC Aiken Psychology Theses

This research studied the effects of Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) training in a residential care facility for children with histories of maltreatment. Initially, five direct care staff were trained to provide an adapted version of PCIT to a randomly assigned child in the facility. The goal was to improve staff’s interactions with the children in their care and increase job satisfaction while decreasing the instances of misbehavior among those children. Data was recorded four times (pre, during, and post intervention) to assess the efficacy of the intervention and included completion of the Eyberg Child Behavior Inventory (ECBI), the Rigidity scale …

The Effects Of Mindfulness And Distress Disclosure On Emotional Expression, Kelsey E. Eitel

USC Aiken Psychology Theses

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of a mindfulness exercise on participants’ distress disclosure (as measured by the Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count). I employed a trauma written disclosure paradigm as an analogue to a therapy session in regard to disclosure. It was predicted that participants who were asked to engage in a 15-minute mindfulness exercise prior to writing about a personally traumatic event would use more emotion and cognitive processing words in their writing samples (i.e., increased distress disclosure), as compared to the participants who simply listened to a neutrally valenced audio clip. Participants were …

Emotion Focused Therapy For Couples In Addiction Treatment: The Relationship Between Quality Of Recovery, Attachment Style, And Relational Satisfaction, Bonnie Bassett

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This study investigates the efficacy of Emotion Focused Therapy (EFT) for couples in an addiction recovery program. The literature review revealed that individuals with a secure attachment style experience increased relational satisfaction and report better ability to manage life's challenges as compared with individuals with an insecure attachment style. A pretest-posttest design was used to investigate the effect of EFT on quality of recovery from addiction. The primary measure's percentile rank scores were comparatively analyzed. A single case multiple baseline design was implemented to draw inferences based on examining the participants' assessment scores across baseline and intervention phases. The purpose …

The Best Intentions : Does Positive Parental Religious Coping Moderate The Relationship Between Parental Perceived Control And Child Anxiety In African American Family Dyads?, James V. Simms

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Theses

No abstract provided.

Nightmares, Anxiety, And Kindergarten-Aged Children, Megan A. Dandurand

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The current study investigated the relationship between nightmares and anxiety traits in young children. Nightmare experience was measured through parent and child reports of nightmare occurrence, frequency, and distress. A sample of 37 parent-child pairs completed a demographic questionnaire, parent and child reported nightmare questionnaire, and a parent-reported anxiety scale. Results indicated that children reported significantly more nightmares than their parents, however there was no difference between parent versus child reported nightmare distress . Results indicated that parents who rated their children to have higher anxiety also reported their children to have more frequent nightmares. A similar trend, that was …

Attenuating The Attentional Blink And Its Consequences: Support For The Wyble-Bowman-Nieuwenstien Model, Samantha Riane Debes

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

When participants are asked to detect two targets (T1 and T2) in a stream of rapidly presented visual stimuli, T2 accuracy decreases when it follows T1 by 200 ms to 500 ms, a phenomenon known as the attentional blink (AB). Researchers have been attempting to attenuate the AB through experimental manipulations in order to understand temporal processing in the visual domain. Studies that have successfully attenuated the blink have often (but not always) done so using a concurrent task. One current model of visual temporal attention, the Wyble-Bowman-Nieuwenstien model (2009) suggests that a byproduct of the attenuation of the attentional …

The Reversal Effects Of Curcumin, An Herbal Remedy, On The Impairments Induced By Vmat-2 Inhibitor Tetrabenazine, Emily Qian, Samantha E. Yohn

Honors Scholar Theses

Substantial evidence has shown that dopamine (DA), particularly in the nucleus accumbens (NAc), is involved in behavioral activation and effort-related processes, such as overcoming work related response costs. Interference with accumbens DA transmission through administration of the vesicular monoamine transportor-2 (VMAT-2) inhibitor tetrabenazine (TBZ) produces an alteration of response allocation in the concurrent FR5/chow choice procedure, biasing animals toward the lower effort alternative. It has been suggested that these drug-induced shifts in effort-related choice behavior seen in rodents are analogous to symptoms such as psychomotor retardation, anergia, and fatigue, which can be observed in people with depression and other related …

Evolutionary Pressures On Primate Intertemporal Choice, Jeffrey R. Stevens

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

From finding food to choosing mates, animals must make intertemporal choices that involve fitness benefits available at different times. Species vary dramatically in their willingness to wait for delayed rewards. Why does this variation across species exist? An adaptive approach to intertemporal choice suggests that time preferences should reflect the temporal problems faced in a species' environment. Here, I use phylogenetic regression to test whether allometric factors (relating to body size), relative brain size, and social group size predict how long 13 primate species will wait in laboratory intertemporal choice tasks. Controlling for phylogeny, a composite allometric factor that includes …

Antioxidant Gene Therapy Against Neuronal Cell Death, Juliana Navarro-Yepes, Laura Zavala-Flores, Anandhan Annadurai, Fang Wang, Maciej Skotak, Namas Chandra, Ming Li, Aglaia Pappa, Daniel Martinez-Fong, Luz Maria Del Razo, Betzabet Quintanilla-Vega, Rodrigo Franco

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Oxidative stress is a common hallmark of neuronal cell death associated with neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, as well as brain stroke/ischemia and traumatic brain injury. Increased accumulation of reactive species of both oxygen (ROS) and nitrogen (RNS) has been implicated inmitochondrial dysfunction, energy impairment, alterations in metal homeostasis and accumulation of aggregated proteins observed in neurodegenerative disorders, which lead to the activation/modulation of cell death mechanisms that include apoptotic, necrotic and autophagic pathways. Thus, the design of novel antioxidant strategies to selectively target oxidative stress and redox imbalance might represent important therapeutic approaches against neurological disorders. …

Examining The Relationship Between Parental Overprotection, Use Of Assistive Technology, And Independence With Routines Among Children With Physical Disabilities, Kelsey I. Shinnick

Honors Theses

The primary purpose of the present study was to investigate the relationships between parental overprotection/overindulgence, assistive technology utilization, and independence with routines among children with physical disabilities. Participants included 26 primary caregivers of children with physical disabilities age 6 to 12 (M = 8.65, SD = 2.00). Data regarding demographic information, parenting practices, the child’s gross motor functioning, assistive technology (AT) use, independence with routines, and frequency of routines were obtained from the primary caregiver via an online survey. While no significant relationships between the variables of interest were observed after controlling for the child’s age, gross motor functioning, and …

Choice And Control Of Enrichment For A Rescued And Rehabilitated Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops Trunactus), Hannah Bahe

Honors Theses

Animals living under human care experience stress related to a lack of control over t environment. One way to remedy this is through the use of cognitive enrichment, su choice and control of enrichment. This type of enrichment has been shown to have benefits for animals under human care including increased activity and social interactions. To determine if choice and control was more beneficial than enrichmen alone, a three year old male Atlantic bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) was ex to novel enrichment items in two experimental conditions. For the first condition, th animal was given a novel object. During the …

Negative Experiences In Physical Education Class And Avoidance Of Exercise, Daphne Brown

Master's Theses or Doctor of Nursing Practice

One of our nation’s growing concerns is obesity and the effect it has on one’s health and overall quality of life. Determining the underlying causes for an individual’s avoidance of exercise is crucial in battling the obesity crisis. The impact negative feelings involving Physical Education classes taken in adolescence may have on one’s current exercise routines and barriers to current participation in exercise were examined in the current study. Measures of barriers to exercise, self-esteem, current exercise routines and negative experiences involving Physical Education classes were examined. A total of 101 participants completed the measures of barriers to exercise, self-esteem, …

Construct Validity Of The Hare Psychopathy Checklist Revised (Pcl-R) For The Purposes Of Predicting Recidivism In Sex Offenders, Courtney Mccue

Master's Theses or Doctor of Nursing Practice

To be eligible for civil commitment under the Kansas Sexually Violent Predator Act (K.S.A 59-29a02,1994), three criteria must be satisfied; being the person must have past sex offenses, a mental abnormality, and be likely to sexually recidivate within the community. The Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) (Hare, 2003) is a tool often used by clinicians completing sexual predator evaluations as a means to assess for psychopathy, a mental disorder capable of satisfying criteria two. However, due to the amount of literature linking psychopathy to recidivism, the PCL-R has been presented and/or interpreted to also satisfy criteria three within the law, likely …

Reciprocal Relation Between Psychophysiological Patterns Of Stress Responsivity And Sleep, Miguel A. Velasquez

Senior Honors Theses

Contemporary understanding of the brain indicates that a reciprocal relationship exists between mind and body. Biological functioning adjusts to the consequences of our behavior and our behavior is influenced by our biology. This is the case with the stress responsivity system. The stress hormone cortisol follows a biologically-predetermined daily cycle of secretion (controlled by circadian rhythm) that correlates with expected activity throughout the day, however this cycle can accommodate to different environmental changes that can occur. It has been noticed that individuals who report stress problems also report sleep problems. I hypothesized that sleep quality can predict maladjustments in cortisol’s …

Supporting Positive Parent-Toddler Relationships And Reducing Toddler Tantrums: Evaluation Of Pcat-E, Tara M. Sjuts

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

At the most fundamental level, a positive parent-child relationship is the foundation of child success. However, the toddler period may present difficulties for the parent-child relationship. As toddlers explore their autonomy, they challenge parents with noncompliance and temper tantrums, which may be difficult for the parent-child relationship. This study examined the impact of an extension of Parent-Child Attunement Therapy (Parent Child Attunement Therapy – Enhanced; PCAT-E) on parenting behaviors, toddler tantrum behaviors, and the parent-toddler relationship. This extension featured eight individual didactic and coaching sessions with parent-child dyads focused on teaching positive parenting skills, effective commands, and emotion language modeling. …

Event-Related Potential Correlates Of Social And Nonsocial Cognitive Processes Related To Schizotypy, Charles A. Davidson

Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Social cognitive, neurocognitive, and social functioning research in serious mental illness (SMI) have recently proliferated. Their synergy requires translational bridges to applied research. This project aims to develop a measurement protocol capable of measuring independent components of social cognitive and neurocognitive brain functioning. These brain processes should each vary systematically with schizotypal traits whose extremes represent core elements of psychotic disorders. The measurement technology must be affordable, efficient, and acceptable for use in clinical settings.

An ERP protocol was developed that incorporates an array of candidate measures. The stimuli consist of emotional (angry and happy), neutral, and scrambled (non-face comparison) …

Exploring The Correlation Between Theory Of Mind And Drive For Thinness, Sarah Hudak

HIM 1990-2015

Research suggests that, similar to individuals with an Autism Spectrum Disorder, people with Anorexia Nervosa demonstrate an inability to utilize Theory of Mind concepts. Theory of Mind allows healthy control populations to attribute mental states to others by accurately predicting and understanding the behavior of others. This study's intent was to further explore the relationship between eating disorders and Theory of Mind. Using an online survey management system (Qualtrics), 210 female students from a large metropolitan southeastern university completed the Drive for Thinness subscale of the Eating Disorder Inventory and the Reading the Mind in the Eyes task. It was …

Toward A Model Of Team Decision Making Under Stress, Alyssa Marshall

HIM 1990-2015

Today's organizations are increasingly relying on teams, rather than individuals, to complete tasks in the workplace. For some teams, these tasks require them to make high stakes decisions under stressful conditions. In military, medical, and emergency response fields, for example, workers are regularly asked to make decisions under high time pressure, uncertainty, and risk. The purpose of this study is to summarize previous team decision-making perspectives and create a model for team decision-making under stress. A literature review was conducted to examine the current state of team decision-making research. Several existing models of the team decision-making process were identified, representing …

A Mindfulness-Based Intervention To Reduce Stress In Undergraduates., Dirk Anthony Dorsel

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Theses

This study piloted a mindfulness-based intervention to reduce stress in university undergraduates, and explore effects on psychological and biological indicators of stress. Mindfulness is “the awareness that emerges through paying attention on purpose, in the present moment and non-judgmentally to the unfolding of experience moment-by-moment” (Kabat-Zinn, 1994). The one week mindfulness intervention used audiobased mindfulness tracks recorded by Clinical Psychologist Paul Salmon. These tracks taught the basics of mindfulness. Participants were asked to listen to the tracks for 30 minutes a day for five days of the intervention. Perceived stress, self-reported anxiety, self-reported depression, heart rate and skin conductance were …

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder In Maltreated Multiracial Youth, Harpreet Kaur

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Lemos-Miller and Kearney (2006) first identified depression as a meditator of (1) dissociation and posttraumatic cognitions and (2) PTSD in maltreated children. In addition, they found that African American status weakened the mediating relationship, whereas multiracial status strengthened the mediating relationship. Multiracial youth in Lemos-Miller and Kearney's study experienced a stronger relationship between depression and PTSD than other ethnic groups.

The present study evaluated the Lemos-Miller and Kearney (2006) model of PTSD among a larger sample of multiracial youth. The present study sought to identify whether the Lemos-Miller and Kearney (2006) finding regarding multiracial youth could be replicated. The presented …

Cognitive Differences Between High And Low Responders Of A Tier Ii Reading Intervention, Jillian Cohen

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study evaluated a population of young students with potential reading disabilities who participated in a large western school district's Reading Skills Development project from October 2012 to May 2013. The following questions were addressed: Are there cognitive differences between students who respond well to an intense Tier II reading intervention and those who make little progress? If so, which cognitive skills best discriminate between high and low responders? De-identified data was collected from 171 struggling readers in 1st through 3rd grade who participated in the Reading Skills project. After controlling for English proficiency level, high and low responders were …

The Effect Of Early Life Stress On Methamphetamine Damage In The Striatum, Emily Hensleigh

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Methamphetamine (METH) abuse impacts the global economy through costs associated with drug enforcement, emergency room visits, and treatment. Hyperthermia is a leading cause of METH induced emergency room visits and may lead to neural damage. Previous research has demonstrated early life stress, such as childhood abuse, increases the likelihood of developing a substance abuse disorder. However, the effects of early life stress on neuronal damage induced by chronic METH administration are unknown. We aimed to elucidate the effects of early life stress on METH induced dopamine damage in the striatum. Animals were separated three hours per day during the first …