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Automobiles, Individualism-Collectivism, And Psychic Systems: An Essay On The Functional Perspective In Cross-Cultural Psychology, Stefan Strohschneider

Online Readings in Psychology and Culture

This chapter identifies the mainstream approach in (cross-cultural) psychology as "variables psychology" and contrasts it with two versions of functionalist thinking. Functionalist approaches are concerned with the purpose of cultural differences and with the psychological mechanisms that produce them. Whereas questions of purpose are frequently debated in cross-cultural psychology, the problem of the basic psychological mechanisms is not. This reading demonstrates how this problem might be tackled by explaining empirical differences between individualists and collectivists through the concepts and mechanisms of a general model of action regulation. The consequences of this approach for the development of cross-cultural psychology are briefly …

Adolescent Drinking And Driving: A Descriptive And Intervention Study, Emalee M. Fields

Masters Theses

Given the high rates of alcohol use and abuse among adolescents in our society, it is not surprising that drinking and driving is also relatively common. This paper starts with a summary of national statistics, which is followed by a critical review of previous interventions. The purpose of this project was to attempt to find an effective drinking and driving intervention for high school students which was relatively inexpensive, less time intensive than past interventions and required little or no training for the facilitator to present. Two related intervention conditions (a video only intervention and a slightly more extensive package …

Review Of The Butcher's Tale: Murder And Anti-Semitism In A German Town, Michael F. Russo

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Parents' Homophobia And Childrearing Gender Role Beliefs: Correlates In A Local Populations, Angela Ackerman Brogle

Honors Capstones

Capstone submitted as a graduation requirement for the BSU Honors Program.

Harmful To Whom? Panelists Consider The Conservative Backlash Against Judith Levine's New Book, Patrick Mccreery

Center for LGBTQ Studies (CLAGS)

Judith Levine jokingly says that at least she's in good company: Margaret Sanger, Alfred Kinsey, and Jocelyn Elders all were vilified for allegedly promoting sex between adults and children (though of course none of them did any such thing). Levine, a journalist and founder of the National Writers Union, has been vilified and worse because of her new book, Harmful to Minors: The Perils of Protecting Children from Sex (University of Minnesota Press). In it, she argues that sex is not inherently harmful to teenagers, but can be healthy and empowering. Furthermore, she claims that society's responses to fears of …

The Role Of Situational And Dispositional Factors On Sub-Optimal Performance, Shannon Walker

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Pressure is known to decrease performance for well-practiced tasks. Research has found that pressure decreases performance for those with high self-consciousness when distracted, but the effects of pressure and distraction are not known for those with low self-consciousness. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to assess whether a distraction would improve the performance of those with low self-consciousness. A 2 (self-consciousness) x 2 (distraction) analysis of covariance (covariates emotional control, performance distance) factorial design was used to assess putting performance for 125 undergraduate participants. Results revealed that distraction negatively affected performance for both self-consciousness groups, but results indicated that …

The Effectiveness Of Listening Previewing On Oral Reading Performance, Latisha Smith

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

To successfully function in today's society, a skill that is arguably necessary is that of reading. Educators are constantly in search of effective reading interventions to use with students. This study examined the effects of listening previewing on the oral reading fluency of third grade students from regular education classrooms. Twelve participants were assigned to one of two groups: Experimental Group or Control Group. Results indicated that the listening previewing procedure was superior to reading practice only when the progress monitoring data was collected on previewed probes. The findings imply that improvements in oral reading fluency due to the listening …

Effects Of Restricted Spectral Rearing On The Development Of Zebrafish Retinal Physiology, Lee Dixon

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Research has shown that rearing in abnormal lighting environments affects both visual behavior and retinal physiology in zebrafish larvae. These studies, however, used only darkness and constant white light as the experimental rearing conditions. The purpose of the present study was to assess the effects on the development of zebrafish retinal physiology of rearing larvae in restricted spectral lighting environments. Larvae were reared in one of seven different lighting environments: cyclic white light (the control group), constant blue light, constant green light, constant orange light, cyclic blue light, cyclic green light, and cyclic orange light. Assessment of retinal physiology was …

Social Learning Of A Novel Avoidance Task In The Guppy: Conformity And Social Release, Culum Brown, Kevin N. Laland

Sentience Collection

Studies of social learning suggest that many animals are disproportionately likely to adopt the behavior of the majority, and that this conformist transmission hinders the spread of novel behavioural variants. However, novel learned behaviour patterns regularly diffuse through animal populations. We propose a hypothesis, termed the ‘social release hypothesis’, that resolves these apparently conflicting findings by suggesting that animals are released from conforming to traditional behaviour in the absence of demonstrators. We investigated the role of pretrained, female demonstrator guppies, Poecilia reticulata, in influencing the escape response of untrained females to an artificial predator. Naïve ‘observer’ guppies were given the …

Vigilance And Predation Risk In Gunnison’S Prairie Dogs (Cynomys Gunnisoni), J. L. Verdolin, C. N. Slobodchikoff

Sentience Collection

Group living in animals is believed to confer advantages related to a decrease in predation risk and an energetic trade-off between vigilance and foraging efficiency. Eight Gunnison’s prairie dog, Cynomys gunnisoni, colonies in Flagstaff, Arizona (elevation 2300 m), were studied from April to August 2000 to examine the adaptive significance of colonial living in the context of predation risk and antipredator behavioral strategies. Each colony was sampled once every 10 days for a period of 3 h. Upright and quadrepedal vigilance was recorded using scan samples. All predation events were recorded. Results suggest that vigilant behavior in Gunnison’s prairie dogs …

Physiology And Behavior Of Dogs During Air Transport, Renée Bergeron, Shannon L. Scott, Jean-Pierre Émond, Florent Mercier, Nigel J. Cook, Al L. Schaefer

Stress Collection

Twenty-four beagles were used to measure physiological and behavioral reactions to air transport. Each of 3 groups of 4 sedated (with 0.5 mg/kg body weight of acepromazine maleate) and 4 non-sedated (control) dogs was flown on a separate flight between Montreal, Quebec, and Toronto, Ontario, after being transported by road from Quebec City to Montreal. Saliva and blood samples were taken before ground and air transport and after air transport. The heart rate was monitored during the whole experiment except during ground transport, and behavior was monitored by video during air transport. Sedation did not affect any of the variables …

Perceptions Of Fairness Of Discipline Events In The Work Place, Debra Phillips

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Employees are concerned with the fairness of organizational outcomes they receive and the fairness of the decision-making processes used to determine how these outcomes are allocated in accordance with organizational policies. The present study focused on the distributive justice and procedural justice outcomes of disciplinary actions in work place settings. This study assessed the effects of three levels of the severity of rule violation, severity of punishment, and decision-making processes utilized. The results indicated that conditions allowing participation in the decision-making process resulted in perceptions of greater procedural fairness to employees, but did not influence perceptions of distributive fairness. The …

Update - July 2002, Loma Linda University Center For Christian Bioethics

Update

In this issue:

-- Having Enough Faith Not To Be Healed
-- Theological Warrants for Palliative Care
-- Congratulations (master program graduates)

The Personality Profile Of Al-Qaida Leader Osama Bin Laden, Aubrey Immelman

Psychology Faculty Publications

This paper presents the results of an indirect assessment of the personality of Osama bin Laden, founder and leader of the al-Qaida terrorist network responsible for the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack on the United States.

Bin Laden’s primary personality patterns were found to be Ambitious/exploitative and Dauntless/dissenting, with a secondary Distrusting/suspicious orientation, and subsidiary Dominant/controlling and Conscientious/dutiful features.

Ambitious individuals are bold, competitive, and self-assured; they easily assume leadership roles, expect others to recognize their special qualities, and often act as though entitled. Dauntless individuals are bold, courageous, and tough; minimally constrained by the norms of society; routinely engage …

The Personality Profile Of September 11 Hijack Ringleader Mohamed Atta, Aubrey Immelman

Psychology Faculty Publications

This paper presents the results of a posthumous, indirect assessment of the personality of Mohamed Atta, apparent ringleader in the September 11, 2001 terror attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, from the conceptual perspective of Theodore Millon.

Information concerning Mohamed Atta was collected from media reports in the one-month period following the attack and synthesized into a personality profile using the second edition of the Millon Inventory of Diagnostic Criteria (MIDC), which yields 34 normal and maladaptive personality classifications congruent with Axis II of DSM-IV.

The personality profile yielded by the MIDC was analyzed on the …

Anxiolytic Effect Of Melatonin In Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder, Jonathan Bruce Santo, S. Lo, P. L'Esperance, D. B. Boivin

Psychology Faculty Publications

Increases in anxiety levels during the late-luteal phase of the menstrual cycle form important diagnostic criteria of premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) (1). Evidence exists to support the hypothesis that tolerance to endogenous levels of melatonin might occur during the luteal phase in PMDD (2, 3). It was hypothesized that slow release (SR) melatonin administration during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle of participants with PMDD could significantly lower anxiety levels measured by self-report.

Judging By Heuristic: Cognitive Illusions In Judicial Decision Making, Chris Guthrie, Jeffrey J. Rachlinski, Andrew J. Wistrich

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

The institutional legitmacy of the judiciary depends on the quality of the judgments that judges make. Even the most talented and dedicated judges surely make occasional mistakes, but the public expects judges to avoid making systematic errors that favor particular parties or writing opinions that embed these mistakes into the substantive law. Psychological research on human judgment, however, suggests that this expectation might be unrealistic.

Perceived Paternal Style And Its Relationship To The Child's Explanatory Style And Depression, Janice E. Halecki

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Seligman' (1974) theory of learned helplessness and the reformulated hopelessness depression model (Abramson, Metalsky, & Alloy, 1989) suggest that a learned sense of lack of control can lead to a pessimistic explanatory style and subsequently depression. The current study used a retrospective cross-sectional design to investigate whether issues of parental control and affection in the early family environment are associated with the individual's explanatory style and history of depression in adulthood.

The participants,158 undergraduate students, completed self-report measures to assess their level of depressive symptoms, perception of their parents' behavior, and negative stressful events.

Perception of a high level of …

Breastfeeding And The Supportive Workplace: Integration Of Women's Productive And Reproductive Lives, Rebekah A. Cardenas

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Although authorities advocate breastfeeding for at least six months as the ideal form of infant nutrition, employed mothers may experience barriers to breastfeeding. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, this study examined the relationship between maternal employment, workplace support, and breastfeeding duration. In general, it was predicted that paid employment following childbirth would have a negative impact on breastfeeding duration. In addition, existence of workplace support such as flexibility, childcare, and/or healthcare benefits was predicted to positively impact breastfeeding durations as well as job satisfaction upon returning to work. Hierarchical linear regression analysis offered support for some …

Relationship Between Behavioral Measures In A Driving Simulator And Eeg Activity On Day-Shift And Night-Shift Workers, Jennifer L. Freeman

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Driver fatigue is a concern that demands a closer investigation into ways of detection and populations at risk. This study examined the relationship between EEG activity and several driving behaviors, as well as differences between day-shift and nightshift workers. Twenty adults, five males and ten females between the ages of 18 and 45, participated in this experiment. Participants included 10 day-shift and 10 night-shift workers. Participants were wired for EEG recording and asked to drive in a 1-hour highway-driving scenario in a driving simulator. Relative powers of alpha, theta and beta were recorded and an EEG index of alertness was …

Stress-Counter Response Training: Flight Simulation Ans Biofeedback, Debra K. Stewart

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Many attempts to reduce Human Error (HE) in aviation have been applied in the past. However, HE remains the largest reported cause of accidents and incidents in aviation. The present study was designed to implement a novel training method to produce voluntary control over the autonomic nervous system (ANS). Twenty-one participants flew a PC based F-16 flight simulator. There were three conditions: 1. Stress-Counter Response training (SCR), 2, traditional biofeedback training, and 3. A control. It was hypothesized that the SCR training group would show improved physiological control, better flight performance, and lower subjective workload ratings compared to the other …

Time-Based Work-Family Conflict: Myth Or Reality?, Karyn H. Bernas

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The present study examined a time-based model of work-family conflict for a sample of 176 working women with childcare responsibilities. Building on the work of Edwards and Rothbard (2000) and role theory, a model was proposed to test the specific variables that define time-based work-family conflict. Hierarchical regression analyses were used to test the proposed hypotheses. Contrary to assumptions about time-based conflict, the results suggest that role time has a very limited impact on work-family conflict. Variables that were related to role performance and satisfaction included traditional gender role expectations, family involvement, family instrumental support, leader-member exchange, role overload, and …

Creating Inclusive Organizations: Its Meaning And Measurement, Bryan Christopher Hayes

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

There is growing interest in the concept of inclusion by both scientists and practitioners. The goal of the current study was to bring empirical support to the organizational inclusion literature. Inclusion was defined as a psychosocial need and a model was developed specifying its relationship to antecedent and consequence variables. The measurement model was explored with a sample of responses from 418 undergraduate students (Study 1). The measurement model was confirmed and the structural model was assessed with a sample of responses from 609 employees of a medical center (Study 2). Results of structural equation modeling provided limited support for …

Effects Of Sleep Duration, Sleep Quality, And Time Of Day On Executive Function Performance In Children, Judy T. Klaus

Undergraduate Theses and Senior Projects

Executive functions are the cognitive abilities that include self-regulation, inhibition of responding, planning, and mental flexibility. Previous studies on executive functions I I have focused on people with ADHD and other impairments. Studies on sleep and cognitive function abilities have focused on the effects of lack of sleep and the ability to perform executive function tasks. This study examined the cognitive abilities of children with no impairment in relationship to Time of Day, Sleep Duration and Sleep Quality.

Thirty children ranging from age 7 to age 12 were recruited from the area. A self-report questionnaire on typical Sleep Duration and …

Memory Functioning In Children Exposed To Domestic Violence Trauma, Deanna Cosgrove

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis describes the memory functioning in children exposed to domestic violence trauma. Research findings suggest that adult participants with a clinical diagnosis of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) as defined by the Diagnostic Statistical Manual-IV (American Psychiatric Association, 1994) suffer from impairments in memory associated with reductions in hippocampal volume. However, a question arises as to whether children who have been exposed to domestic violence trauma will differ from controls in their memory functioning. A question also arises as to the relationship between the children's parent-reported behaviors and their memory functioning. The Children's Memory Scale (CMS) (Cohen, 1997) was administered …

The Violent Streak In Humans, N Balasubramanian

IIMB Management Review

No abstract provided.

Psychological Aspects Of Ventilator Dependent Children, Tanya Renee Burley

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Rapid advances in medicine and technology have meant more medically invasive procedures as well as the survival of more individuals who are more immanently faced with death. Ventilator-dependent children (due to sleep apnea, neuromuscular disease, and acute physical injury) make up one such group of individuals. The current study assessed a group of home-based, ventilator-dependent children for symptoms of depression and posttraumatic stress. It was found that there was a negative correlation between the child's level of depression and the amount of time per day that the child was on the ventilator. There was also a negative correlation with the …

Organizational Stress : A Review And Critique Of Theory, Research And Applications By Cary L Cooper, Philip J Dewe And Michael P O’Driscoll, Sage Publications, 2001., Puneet Arora

IIMB Management Review

No abstract provided.

Factors Predicting Distress At Marital Therapy Onset, Joseph J.H. Horak

Dissertations

Higher levels of distress at marital therapy onset predict poorer treatment outcomes in several studies. This study selected nine variables to determine their ability to predict distress at marital therapy onset. The first two predictor variables, shame (measured by the Internalized Shame Scale; Cook, 2000) and expressive atmosphere in the family of origin (measured by the Family of Origin Expressive Atmosphere Scale; Yelsma, Hovestadt, Anderson, & Nilsson, 2000), were chosen from the literature and studies that considered these variables to be related to marital distress. The remaining seven sociodemographic predictor variables—(1) parental divorce as a child, (2) pregnancy before marriage, …

Assessment Of The Discriminative Stimulus Effects Of (±)-3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (Mdma, "Ecstasy") And (+Lysergic Add Diethylamide (Lsd) In A Three-Lever Drug Discrimination Procedure, Amy K. Goodwin

Dissertations

(±)3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) is a common drug of abuse known as "ecstasy." Currently, MDMA is classified into the traditional drug classes as both a "stimulant" and a "hallucinogen" because it is reported to share both subjective and physiological properties of both classes. MDMA is thought to produce its psychoactive effects by acting as both a serotonin and a dopamine agonist. However, the relative importance of the serotonin and dopamine neurotransmitter systems in mediating the stimulus properties of MDMA remains unclear.

The drug discrimination assay is used to classify drugs as "similar" or "dissimilar," as well as to examine underlying neurochemical changes …