Digital Commons Network^™

Using Praise To Increase Visual Attending In An Asynchronous Online Learning Environment: An Eye Tracking Study, Andrew J. Rozsa Iii

Master's Theses

With the emergence of online courses in the mid-1990s, the number of students enrolled in online courses has been growing at an exponential rate (Schwirzke, Vashaw, & Watson, 2018). This trend brings with it new problems, such as familiarity with evidence-supported behavioral techniques that will maintain student engagement and improve likelihood of academic success in online learning environments. The purpose of the present study was to examine how the use of praise may affect visual engagement with video lectures with the assistance of commercially available eye tracking technology. A secondary objective of the study was to identify how praise affects …

Genetic Analysis Of Endometriosis And Depression Identifies Shared Loci And Implicates Causal Links With Gastric Mucosa Abnormality, Emmanuel Adewuyi, Divya Mehta, Yadav Sapkota, Asa Auta, Kosuke Yoshihara, Mette Nyegaard, Lyn R. Griffiths, Grant W. Montgomery, Daniel I. Chasman, Dale R. Nyholt

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Evidence from observational studies indicates that endometriosis and depression often co-occur. However, conflicting evidence exists, and the etiology as well as biological mechanisms underlying their comorbidity remain unknown. Utilizing genome-wide association study (GWAS) data, we comprehensively assessed the relationship between endometriosis and depression. Single nucleotide polymorphism effect concordance analysis (SECA) found a significant genetic overlap between endometriosis and depression (PFsig-permuted = 9.99 × 10−4). Linkage disequilibrium score regression (LDSC) analysis estimated a positive and highly significant genetic correlation between the two traits (rG = 0.27, P = 8.85 × 10−27). A meta-analysis of endometriosis and depression GWAS (sample size = …

Crowd Salience Heightens Tolerance To Healthy Facial Features, Mitch Brown, Ryan E. Tracy, Steven G. Young, Donald F. Sacco

Publications and Research

Objective: Recent findings suggest crowd salience heightens pathogen-avoidant motives, serving to reduce individuals’ infection risk through interpersonal contact. Such experiences may similarly facilitate the identification, and avoidance, of diseased conspecifics. The current experiment sought to replicate and extend previous crowding research.

Methods: In this experiment, we primed participants at two universities with either a crowding or control experience before having them evaluate faces manipulated to appear healthy or diseased by indicating the degree to which they would want to interact with them.

Results: Crowding-primed participants reported a more heightened preferences for healthy faces than control-primed participants. Additionally, crowd salience reduced …

The Motion Aftereffect: Mechanisms And Variants, Erica E. Hassoun

The Cardinal Edge

The motion aftereffect causes a visual stimulus to undergo apparent motion. An adapting stimulus, which moves in a specific direction, adapts motion-responsive neurons in the middle temporal area (V5) to that direction of motion. Viewing a second stimulus, a test stimulus, produces apparent motion in the direction opposite that of the initial stimulus. Neural networks involved in attention and working memory are also implicated in the motion aftereffect. There is still little known regarding the mechanisms of the motion aftereffect, despite extensive documentation in the literature. This review discusses established knowledge of the motion aftereffect, focusing primarily on the middle …

Sexual Health Misinformation And Potential Interventions Among Youth On Social Media, Jahnavi Sunkara

The Cardinal Edge

With the rise of the internet and social media, many adolescents and young adults have turned to the internet and social media for sexual health information. However, this can be problematic because sexual health misinformation on social media utilizes a variety of techniques to quickly disseminate and retain that misinformation in users. Historically, the spread of sexual health misinformation has specifically negatively impacted adolescents and young adults regarding two sexual health topics: contraceptives and HPV vaccination. Current evidence demonstrates that a combination of corrections and inoculation would be effective against general health misinformation. However, there is a lack of research …

Heat Exposure Effect On Ghanaian Mining Workers: A Mediated-Moderation Approach, Victor Fannam Nunfam, Ebenezer Afrifa-Yamoah

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

The lack of empirical evidence on the effect of heat exposure on the health and safety, productivity, psychological behaviour and social well-being outcomes of small- and large-scale mining workers in Africa has derailed concrete policy directions and interventions. An explanatory cross-sectional survey involving 320 small- and large-scale mining workers was used to assess this research gap. A path analysis was used to model health and safety, productivity, psychological behaviour and social well-being as a function of heat exposure, mediated and moderated by adaptation strategies and barriers, while controlling for age, gender, level of education, years of working experience and workplace …

Burstiness And Stochasticity In The Malleability Of Physical Activity, Vincent Berardi, David Pincus, Evan Walker, Marc A. Adams

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

This study examined whether patterns of self-organization in physical activity (PA) predicted long-term success in a yearlong PA intervention. Increased moderate to vigorous PA (MVPA) was targeted in insufficiently active adults (N = 512) via goal setting and financial reinforcement. The degree to which inverse power law distributions, which are reflective of self-organization, summarized (a) daily MVPA and (b) time elapsed between meeting daily goals (goal attainment interresponse times) was calculated. Goal attainment interresponse times were also used to calculate burstiness, the degree to which meeting daily goals clustered in time. Inverse power laws accurately summarized interresponse times, but …

Changing The Face Of Stem: Review Of Literature On The Role Of Mentors In The Success Of Undergraduate Black Women In Stem Education, Danielle D. Dickens, Valeisha Ellis, Naomi M. Hall

Journal of Research Initiatives

The lack of ethnic and gender diversity in STEM undergraduate programs may lead to diversity and equity issues in STEM careers. However, some research suggests that mentoring influences the career trajectory of Black undergraduate women students in STEM. The investigation into these phenomena highlights suggestions for future research on mentoring Black undergraduate women in STEM. More recently, empirical research on mentoring among Black women have gained some momentum. Furthermore, with the increasing diversity and inclusivity demands from #ShutdownSTEM, in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, there is a focus on correcting barriers to access in STEM. Therefore, this conceptual …

During Natural Viewing, Neural Processing Of Visual Targets Continues Throughout Saccades, Atanas D. Stankov, Jonathan Touryan, Stephen Gordon, Anthony J. Ries, Jason Ki, Lucas C. Parra

Publications and Research

Relatively little is known about visual processing during free-viewing visual search in realistic dynamic environments. Free-viewing is characterized by frequent saccades. During saccades, visual processing is thought to be suppressed, yet we know that the presaccadic visual content can modulate postsaccadic processing. To better understand these processes in a realistic setting, we study here saccades and neural responses elicited by the appearance of visual targets in a realistic virtual environment. While subjects were being driven through a 3D virtual town, they were asked to discriminate between targets that appear on the road. Using a system identification approach, we separated overlapping …

The Interaction And Progression Of Adolescent Substance Use And Co-Occurring Mental Health Problems And Social Support: A Latent Growth Modeling Approach, Jeremiah D. Simmons

Psychology ETDs

Background: Few studies have examined a reciprocal parallel process longitudinal trajectory of adolescent substance use and mental health problems simultaneously, and none have described this parallel process for adolescents receiving outpatient substance use treatment. No studies have examined how social support may account for deviations outside the overall trajectories for substance use or mental health problems. Method: Secondary data analysis examined a longitudinal parallel process latent growth model between mental health and substance use problems among adolescents who received outpatient substance use treatment. Results: Findings suggest that mental health and substance use problems are associated both initially and longitudinally, and …

The Relationship Between Infant-Family Routines, Number Of Caregivers And Infant Basal Cortisol, Vanessa Newell, Hannah B. White

Undergraduate Research Symposium

Background: Family routines have been found to be related to child adjustment, marital satisfaction, and parenting competence (Fiese, 2002). Persistent stress, and the resulting frequent activation of the body’s stress responses, can result in excessive wear-and-tear on the body and brain known as allostatic load (McEwen, 2000). In infants, basal cortisol levels act as an instrument to measure allostatic load (White, 2020). To our knowledge, no existing work on the impact of routines on infant development has examined the role of family structure. In traditional and minority cultures it is common for caregiving responsibilities to be divided among multiple individuals. …

Positive Psychological Transformation: A Mixed Methods Investigation Into Catalysts And Processes Of Meaningful Change, Nick Fortino, Paul Dommert Jr., Nadia Santiago, Jen Smith

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

This mixed methods study investigated the experience of positive psychological transformation, including its catalysts, dynamics, supportive factors, and outcomes. The first phase of the study was a 13-item survey (N=130) that revealed trends and associations in participants’ experiences of transformation. The most significant correlation was between “expressing myself” and change stabilization (p < .01). Forty-four percent of participants reported trauma or emotional distress as the main catalyst of their transformation. Each of the other three main catalysts (dissonance, adaptation, and inspiration) drew approximately 18% of responses. Connecting with nature (71%), introspection (65%), solitude (63%) and empathy (61%) were commonly reported supportive factors. Common changes related to participants’ way of interacting with others (77%), perception (75%), and emotional patterns (70%). The process of transformation differed substantially depending on multiple factors including the catalyst and demographic categories. Additionally, the survey revealed a trend of moving away from organized religion toward a sense of being spiritual but not religious. The second phase of the study consisted of interviews with a portion of the participants who reported trauma as the main catalyst of their transformation (n = 26) and was focused on the experience of posttraumatic growth. Thematic analysis revealed that transformation is typically initiated by a series of traumatic events and that the process of transformation can involve impaired well-being/functioning before elevated well-being/functioning. The results of thematic analysis were consistent with existing data on posttraumatic growth.

Meditation-Induced After Death Communication: A Contemporary Modality For Grief Therapy, Neda Wassie

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

Meditation-induced after death communication (MI-ADC) was introduced as a potential modality for grief therapy. Traditional and contemporary approaches were compared in order to evaluate effective paradigms and theories of bereavement. The Continuing Bonds theory of attachment emerged as an adaptive framework for grief therapy, especially with attention to meaning-making and the strength of continued bonds. Considerations were implemented from research in psychomanteum, mediumship, and induced after death communication. Specifically, visual stimuli and timing of after death communications were emphasized. The discussion was encouraging for the conceptualization of MI-ADC as an effective construct and as an inquiry for empirical research.

Locating The Embodied Sense Of Self And Examining Its Relationship With Psychological Well-Being, Adam Wesley Hanley, Natalie Lecy, Robert Hanley

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

Westerners tend to localize their sense of self in the head, and, to a lesser degree, in the chest. However, single-point, localization studies of the self omit direct exploration of the size and shape of the embodied self. This study explored a) beliefs about the location and spatial distribution of the embodied sense of self, and b) whether individual differences in how the embodied self was represented were associated with psychological and subjective well-being. Results from a sample of 206 American adults confirm extant reports, indicating that the embodied sense of self is most often located in the head and …

Harris Friedman: Pioneer Of Transpersonal Psychology As A Science, Harris L. Friedman, Glenn Hartelius

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

N/A

Brain Activity During Paired And Individual Mindfulness Meditation: A Controlled Eeg Study, Hessel Engelbregt, Hugo F. Alderse Bass, Sietske De Grauw, Jan Berend Deijen

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

Objective: In this study, we evaluated brain electroencephalographic (EEG) activity in healthy participants during the performance of paired and individual mindfulness meditation (MM). We hypothesized that EEG activity is differentially affected by meditation in pairs compared to individual meditation. Methods: A total of 20 healthy female university students (mean age 19.54 years, SD =1.53) with no prior experience in MM participated in this study. All participants had to perform a 5-minute MM task together and individually while the other participant was in rest or performing a concentration task (control condition). To exclude social interaction as main factor, participants were separated …

Dimension- And Context-Specific Expression Of Preschoolers’ Disruptive Behaviors Associated With Prenatal Tobacco Exposure, Suena H. Massey, Caron A.C. Clark, Michael Y. Sun, James L. Burns, Daniel K. Mroczek, Kimberly A. Espy, Lauren S. Wakschlag

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Objective—Precise phenotypic characterization of prenatal tobacco exposure (PTE) −related disruptive behavior (DB) that integrates nuanced measures of both exposures and outcomes is optimal for elucidating underlying mechanisms. Using this approach, our goals were to identify dimensions of DB most sensitive to PTE prior to school entry and assess contextual variation in these dimensions.

Methods—A community obstetric sample of N=369 women (79.2% lifetime smokers; 70.2% pregnancy smokers) from two Midwestern cities were assessed for PTE using cotinine-calibrated interview-based reports at 16, 28, and 40 weeks of gestation. A subset of n=244 who completed observational assessments with their …

Mothers' Perceptions Of Ability In Children With Intellectual Disability And Mother-Child Connectedness, Nikhita Moolayil

Dissertations

The mother-child relationship is important in the development of children, especially for children with intellectual disabilities who may have specific needs. Understanding the nuances, such as the closeness of the mother-child relationship for children with intellectual disabilities, is often overlooked even though more than 3 million children under 18 were reported to have an intellectual disability in 2019. Still, very few studies have focused on the relationship between mothers with children with an intellectual disability. With the rise in services provided due to developmental disabilities in children, there was a need to examine mothers’ perceptions of the ability level in …

Generations Of Pain: A Transgenerational Examination Of Trauma, Parenting Styles, And Attachment Of Black Women, Latoya Hampton

Dissertations

Historically, Black women have experienced horrendous acts of violence throughout the centuries and generations. The transmission of transgenerational trauma has impacted this community’s mental health, physical well-being, educational performance, and interpersonal interactions. Prior research has focused on general trauma and its effect on Black women; however, this review sought to explore transgenerational trauma and the implications of attachment and parenting styles of Black women. Previous studies have examined the majority population’s attachment, trauma, and parenting styles consecutively, though not simultaneously. With limitations found in the research of diverse populations, it is imperative that clinicians are culturally competent to implement effective …

Advanced Psychopathology, Comfort Asanbe

Open Educational Resources

This syllabus is designed for a graduate course in the study of abnormal psychology, also known in some institutions as Psychopathology. The course is required for new students who are starting their program in clinical mental health counseling (CMHC). The syllabus provides information on required resources for optimal performance in the class. These resources include; electronic DSM-5 book through the CSI library e-resources, digital interactive learning resource (MindTap), instructional movies through Wikipedia, and links to relevant mental health organizations. The resources are mostly open education resources (OER), with a few that are not free (MindTap).

A Randomized Controlled Trial Of Psychological Outcomes Of Mobile Guided Resonant Frequency Breathing In Young Adults With Elevated Stress During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Al Amira Safa Shehab

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Deep breathing practices have shown promise in reducing stress, anxiety, and depression in different populations, including young adults. Specifically, resonant frequency breathing can exert an impact on stress response systems through the vagus nerve and the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. This may induce reductions in stress and improvement in emotion regulation. Young adults, including college students, tend to be at a higher risk for psychological distress, as they face several psychosocial challenges. The COVID-19 pandemic has imposed new and unique stressors that resulted in higher levels of stress and emotional symptoms and it has been shown that this may have placed …

Contributions Of Reward Identity And Time Prediction Errors To Pavlovian Learning, Daniel B. Siegel

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Some models of associative learning attempt to explain effects such as blocking and unblocking as reflecting a prediction error (PE): Associative strength, and thereby learning, are said to be greater when the unconditioned stimulus (US) received following a cue deviates from one’s expectations. Some models of PE-motivated behavior and PE-relevant brain activity represent the US as a single quantitative variable for outcome value, and that learning therefore only occurs when outcome value differs from expectations. There is growing evidence to suggest that changes in other dimensions of reward, such as identity and timing, also contribute to learning. In Experiment 1, …

Connect Or Protect: The Impact Of Ghosting On Potential Partner Perception And Pursuit, Maureen Coyle

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

As an increasing number of individuals seek meaningful connections in online dating, it is important to understand how online dating users’ perceptions and behaviors vary because of contact being terminated with them without warning (i.e., being ghosted) and their regulatory focus. Research on how being ghosted affects users’ expectations and pursuit of potential partners is limited, despite ghosting being a pervasive online dating experience. Also, the role of users’ motivational systems of goal pursuit, namely regulatory focus (promotion focus: motive to affiliate/connect with others, prevention focus: motive to avoid rejection/protect the self), on users’ expectations and pursuit of potential partners …

Pilot Study Of The Effects Of Mobile Based Resonant Frequency Breathing On Cognitive Performance In Healthy Young Adults With Elevated Stress, Daniel Saldana

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Objective: Prior research has shown a bidirectional relationship between breathing, emotions, behavior, and cognitive functions thought to be mediated by the autonomic nervous system (ANS). Studies have shown that deep or diaphragmatic breathing interventions are associated with improved affect and decreased stress levels, but little attention has been paid to the effects of breathing training on cognition. The few studies that have looked at this have shown improved attention, memory, and executive functioning as a result of breathing interventions. While suggestive of positive benefits, these studies used control groups that are either inactive or inappropriate for determining their respective mechanisms …

The Effect Of Psilocybin On Personality, Ravital Labua

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

As classic psychedelics are increasingly legalized and reintroduced into the psychotherapeutic frame, a deeper understanding of their effect on personality and overall wellbeing - as well as their clinical contraindications and potential pitfalls - will prove essential. As a result, this study represents a preliminary investigation into the effect of psilocybin exposure on a range of personality constructs.

Methods: Data was collected through a collaboration with The Psychedelic Society, an organization that legally administers psilocybin truffles in the Netherlands to self-selecting retreat attendees who have been screened for mental health disorders in accordance with Johnson et al.’s (2008) widely accepted …

How Frustration Impacts The Relationship Between Potential For Child Physical Abuse Perpetration And Emotion Processing, Amanda L. Zwilling

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Research conducted over the past 20 years has substantiated the serious, long-lasting impacts of child physical abuse (CPA) has on individuals, families, and society. Research has also suggested several appreciable risk factors for perpetration of CPA. Intergenerational transmission of abuse, described as the personal experience of abuse or neglect during childhood, is prominent in the literature as a predictor of subsequent perpetration of CPA. However, the majority of individuals who experience abuse in childhood do not subsequently engage in perpetration of child abuse as adults. As such, the literature has sought to investigate risk factors that mediate the relationship between …

The Federalist Papers' Account Of Human Nature, Jeffrey P. Smith

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This paper is an analysis of the account of human nature found in The Federalist Papers. This interpretation assumes The Federalist is a work of political rhetoric and advocacy, but also one of genuine significance as political science and philosophy. As a book, The Federalist is a coherent whole, which offers a coherent account of human nature, despite the collective nature of its authorship, the time pressures of its publication, and the piecemeal nature of its workmanship. This understanding of human nature is the thread which runs through all its analysis and numbers. Its arguments asserting the inadequacies of …

“My Daughter Was Sacrificed By My Mother”: Women’S Involvement In Ritually Motivated Violence And Murder In Contemporary Africa, Chima Agazue

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

Ritually motivated crimes are grave crimes that continue to plague contemporary Africa. Occasionally, victims abducted for ritual purposes are discovered and set free. Fresh or decomposing bodies are spotted somewhere, often with missing parts taken by the ritual killers who killed the victims. Some missing persons in the continent are presumed to have been abducted or killed by ritually motivated criminals. Although ritually motivated crimes take different forms, most of them involve brutal acts of violence and murder. The barbaric manner in which these criminals attack or slaughter their victims creates fear and panic. Traditionally, men commit serious crimes involving …

Multilevel Modeling Of Interval-Contingent Data In Neuropsychology Research Using The Imertest Package In R, Richard S. Pond Jr., Matison W. Mccool, Brian A. Bulla

Faculty Publications

Intensive longitudinal research designs are becoming more common in the field of neuropsychology. They are a powerful approach to studying development and change in naturally occurring phenomena. However, to fully capitalize on the wealth of data yielded by these designs, researchers have to understand the nature of multilevel data structures. The purpose of the present article is to describe some of the basic concepts and techniques involved in modeling multilevel data structures. In addition, this article serves as a step-by-step tutorial to demonstrate how neuropsychologists can implement basic multilevel modeling techniques with real data and the R package, lmerTest. R …

The Effects And Mechanisms Of Phytochemicals On Alzheimer’S Disease Neuropathology, David Ross

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Alzheimer’s disease effects millions of people, yet pharmacological treatments are limited. In the absence of effective treatments, identifying factors that can decrease the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease is of significant interest. A growing body of epidemiological and experimental evidence suggests that dietary fruits and vegetables can have neuroprotective effects against the harmful effects of oxidative stress, neuroinflammation, and aging. These effects are mediated by various phytochemicals, which are compounds found in plants that can possess antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and other beneficial properties. This review addresses epidemiological and experimental evidence for the effects and potential mechanisms of several commonly consumed phytochemicals …