Behavior and Behavior Mechanisms Commons^™

Parenting Stress And Child Disruptive Behaviors: The Mediating Role Of Parental Negative Talk, David Roehm

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

High parental stress and child disruptive behaviors tend to coexist. Furthermore, parental negative talk towards children cam impair child functioning later in life. In the present study, we sought to determine whether parental negative talk was a mediating variable between parenting stress and child disruptive behaviors. Fifty-two parent-child dyads from Eastern Kentucky participated in an analog Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) behavioral observation and parents were given self-report measures for parenting stress and child disruptive behaviors.

Bivariate and multiple regression analyses were used to predict variance in child disruptive behaviors based on parenting stress with parental negative talk as a mediating …

Muscle Dysmorphia And Athletic Identity, Taylor Mcgohan

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Society is creating a stronger importance for men to have muscular physiques. Therefore, increasing the dissatisfaction men have with their bodies and perceptions of body image. The current study assesses the possible relationship between muscle dysmorphia and athletic identity. As well as a relationship between lifting time and athletic identity. Participants for the current study took three different self-reported surveys to measure demographics, exercise history, level of athletic identity, and possible symptoms of muscle dysmorphia. It was hypothesized that those with strong athletic identities also have a stronger desire to gain muscle mass, increasing likelihood of displaying muscle dysmorphia symptoms. …

How Best To Study For A Test: A Comparison Of Practice Retrieval And Self-Explanation, Casey Fortney

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Students often struggle to prepare for their exams, perhaps as a result of using an unhelpful study method. This study compared the effects of using three study methods: rereading, practice retrieval, and self-explanation. 79 college students studied a short science text passage and were tested with both verbatim and inference questions one week later. Students who reread the information did not perform differently from those who practiced retrieving or self-explained the information. Students who self-explained the information performed better on verbatim test questions than those who practiced retrieving the information. Possible explanations for these findings and implications are discussed.

Parental Sensitivity Predicted By Parent Personality And Infant Temperament, Lauren Bailes

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

The determinants of parenting model (Belsky, 1984) suggests that there are intrinsic and extrinsic factors that contribute to parenting. Previous research has suggested that aspects of parent personality, such as neuroticism and extraversion, were predictive of parenting, but this research has provided conflicting results on the effect personality has on parenting. Furthermore, infant temperament has also found to be influential on parenting, but has also generated mixed results concerning how negative reactivity influences parenting. In regard to both variables, research on fathers is severely lacking. This study examined the direct effects of parent personality on parenting through the BIS/BAS model. …

Is Younger Really Better? Age Differences In Emotion Perception, Kaitlyn Snyder

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Previous research suggests that younger adults outperform older adults on emotion-matching tasks because emotion recognition ability declines with age. These studies involved tasks in which participants identified a target emotion by selecting from multiple verbal labels. The use of multiple verbal labels placed great cognitive demand on participants, influencing the results that were found in such studies. In the present study, a computer emotion-matching task was used to determine differences between younger and older adults when presented with a target stimulus expressing one of five emotions (anger, fear, disgust, happiness, and sadness) and asked to match the target emotion to …

A Critical Evaluation Of Selective Attention Measures, Hannah K. Wilson

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Selective attention is comprised of two simultaneous processes—the inhibition of distractors and the focus of attention on target stimuli; yet, many existing selective attention measures only measure one aspect of selective attention. This leads to a high possibility of Type I errors as high interference control or high working memory capacity may be mistaken for high selective attention. This paper proposes several criteria for high construct validity and external validity in selective attention measures.

Concerning construct validity, the test must allow participants to exercise selective attention, adequately measure the level of attention to the distractor stimuli, and adequately measure level …

The Role Of Religion In The Psychology Of Coping With Lifestyle Changes And Traumatic Life Events, Tricia C. Drury

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

This paper presents a survey of research on the role of religion in the psychology of coping with lifestyle changes and traumatic life events. Specifically, it offers a comprehensive literature review concerning individual differences in religious coping, styles of religious coping, the use of religious coping strategies by older adults, the role of religion in coping with illness, and the role of religion in coping with death. Published literature suggests that religious coping strategies are used frequently and by all types of people in dealing with problems. Suggestions for future research and a personal statement concerning religious coping are also …