Psychological Phenomena and Processes Commons^™

Forgiveness Of Self And Others: A Group Approach To The Treatment Of Ptsd And Other Trauma Related Experiences, Jarrod A. Mask

Psychology Doctoral Specialization Projects

Forgiveness is often misinterpreted as the act of forgetting what happened or offering one’s offender the ability to redeem themselves for their wrongdoings. This is simply not the case. Rather, forgiveness is the process of the individual making the unprovoked choice to release their resentment in their own voyage towards living a free and happy life without being imprisoned from the emotions un-forgiveness produces. Forgiveness, as it may be a necessary process for the individual is to attain a sense of peaceful acceptance and liberation from their pain, is not an easy process. Providing a peer-based support system in the …

Reducing Stress Related To Injection Therapy: A Zen Bundle Approach, Valoree Bowen

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Scholarly Projects - Archive

Background: Needle fear and stress are common barriers preventing adults from seeking necessary medical treatments, including intramuscular (IM) injection therapy. Research highlights the need for evidence-based interventions to mitigate this fear and improve patient experience.

Objective: This evidence-based pilot project included a Zen Bundle—an intervention incorporating shared decision-making, aromatherapy, and distraction—to evaluate the impact on stress reduction and patient satisfaction in a retail vitamin shop in North Texas.

Methods: The project utilized a pre-and post-intervention design over eight weeks. Participants completed pre-surveys assessing stress levels using a Visual Analog Scale before choosing an intervention (aromatherapy, distraction, or both) during IM …

Psychological Impacts In Exercise Riders And Professional Jockeys Following Injury, Kelley M. Renner

Theses and Dissertations--Kinesiology and Health Promotion

One of the most well-known equestrian sports, horse racing, is not only a cornerstone of Kentucky’s economy, but also a vital part of its culture, with professional jockeys playing an essential role in the local communities and traditions that define the state. Despite its popularity and financial impact, mental health challenges within the sport have continually been shrouded in silence and ignored in research (Ball et al., 2007). Equally concerning is the high injury prevalence, and psychological impact of these injuries (e.g., psychological distress, depression, anxiety, loss of identity, and self-esteem (King et al., 2022; Losty et al., 2019; McConn-Palfreyman …

An Investigation Of The Physiological And Behavioral Correlates Of Mental Imagery, Matthew Daniel Carroll

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Many conventional theories hold mental imagery to be fundamental to self-regulation. Recently, a current of research into mental imagery has developed, with the terms anaurelia and aphantasia being coined for the inability to experience, respectively, auditory and visual thought content, yet little is known about the impact that such individual differences have on persons’ lives. The present experiment was performed in order to test the hypotheses that self-regulation and mental imagery positively correlate and that mental imagery mediates the correlation of resting heart-rate variability and self-regulation. Self-regulation was measured via a self-report questionnaire (the Short Self-Regulation Questionnaire), as was mental …

Weighted Family History Density Of Substance Use: Influence On Participant Substance Use Onset, Escalation, And Duration, Carleigh A. Litteral

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

Substance use disorders impose a staggering toll on the United States (U.S.), straining healthcare systems, destabilizing communities, and profoundly impacting both individuals and families. Approximately one in six Americans aged 12 and older had a past-year substance use disorder in 2022 (Key Substance Use, 2022), and nearly one-third of adults experience a substance use disorder in their lifetime (Wu, 2010), contributing to an economic burden exceeding $400 billion annually (National Drug Threat Assessment, 2011). Family history of substance use disorders is a key predictor of vulnerability, with individuals who have affected relatives being 2–8 times more …

Organization And Activation Of Caffeine Expectancies, Catherine S. Forsyth

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Caffeine is the most consumed and widely used psychoactive substance in the world. Whether someone uses caffeine or not, expectations about use can be influential to some degree. Expectancies exist everywhere and are extremely influential in all aspects of life. Regarding drug use, expectancies can affect behavior, outcomes, and one’s experience with the drug. Caffeine is no exception, caffeine expectancies have been seen to play a role in several actions such as the development, maintenance, and reinforcement of caffeine use. This study examined latent use profiles of caffeine and relationships between the profiles and the activation of caffeine expectancies. Multidimensional …

Assessing The Relationship Between Perceived Psychological And Physical Pain In Adults With Orthopedic Pain, Daniel C. Karimi Dehkordi

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Suicide remains a public health concern in the U.S., particularly among individuals experiencing chronic pain and psychological distress. This cross-sectional study investigated the relationship between perceived physical and psychological pain in 41 adults with chronic orthopedic conditions. The relationship between other risk and protective factors and perceived levels of pain distress was also examined. Results showed a significant positive correlation between psychological distress and physical pain (r(39) = 0.388, p < .05) and psychological distress and depressive/anxiety symptoms (r (39) = 0.477, p < .01). Psychological distress was moderately associated with feelings of hopelessness (r (39) = 0.403, p < .01), however, the relationship between physical pain and hopelessness was weak and nonsignificant (r (39) = -0.06, p = .71). Contrary to expectations, emotional support did not buffer the effects of psychological distress (r (39) = 0.07, p = 0.66). Mediational analysis confirmed that emotional support did not influence the relationship between physical pain and psychological distress (Beta (β) = -0.969, p = 0.572; Sobel Z = 0.5598, p = 0.575). Age was not correlated with psychological distress (r (39) = -0.24, p = 0.13) or mental health symptoms (r (39) = -0.05, p = .77). While there was no significant difference across sex, males reported higher mental health symptomatology and psychological distress scores than female counterparts. These findings underscore the direct impact of physical pain on psychological distress and challenge assumptions about the protective role of social support. The study highlights the need for integrated, multidisciplinary interventions targeting both physical and psychological pain to mitigate suicide risk among individuals with chronic orthopedic conditions. Future research should iii explore alternative support mechanisms and resilience-building strategies to address the complex interplay of pain, distress, and suicidality.

The Emotional Landscape Of Aviation Pilots: Analysis Of Online Professional Forums Using Natural Language Processing, Adrienne S. Renwick, Leo Gonzalez, Charles L. Silber, Alyson Mullen, Cass Dykeman, Adam Stewart, Jennifer C. Ross, James Geisler

Journal of Aviation/Aerospace Education & Research

This study investigated burnout related to emotions in three categories of pilots: commercial passenger, commercial cargo, and military. While pilot burnout has been previously studied, challenges in self-reporting limit understanding. This study extends previous research by analyzing pilots' anonymous online forum posts to gain insight into burnout-related emotions. Natural Language Processing was conducted with the RoBERTa-base-go_emotions model, which analyzed 1,130,530 online forum posts from commercial passengers, commercial cargo, and military pilots for 27 emotion categories and one absence of emotion category (i.e., neutral). An exploratory composite score reflecting burnout-related emotional expression omnibus burnout score was calculated using seven burnout-related emotions …

Leadership In Behavioral Health, Rebecca Mccoy

School of Business Student Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

Leadership in healthcare is difficult when dealing with human contact in its most raw and vulnerable way. Leadership in behavioral health is just as challenging as direct practice practitioners tend to be the ones who move up into these roles. This study will exam “Identifying factors that promote successful leadership and challenges that cause barriers to having successful leadership in behavioral health.” This includes soft and hard skill knowledge, growth opportunities and the strengths and struggles in moving into leadership roles in this industry.

The study is based on phenomenological research to gain an understanding of the individual experience …

Effects Of High-Frequency Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation On Impulse Control Disorders In Patients With Parkinson’S Disease On Dopamine Replacement Therapy, Katherine Muksuris

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Parkinson’s Disease (PD) is a debilitating neurodegenerative disorder that causes motor deficits, cognitive impairment, and depression. The mainstay treatment for motor symptoms is dopamine replacement therapy (DRT). DRT takes the form of levodopa or dopamine receptor agonists (DAs) and can be associated with impulse control disorders (ICDs). Currently, the approach to mitigating these side effects is to decrease or stop DRT, which may cause motor symptoms to return, making the management of the disorder more difficult. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is a noninvasive neuromodulation treatment for multiple disorders, including its approved use for smoking cessation. It has also shown …

Emotional Balance, Health, And Resilience At The Start Of Covid-19 Pandemic, David Pincus, Bernard P. Ricca, Brooke Jenkins, Julia K. Boehm, Vincent Berardi, Amy C. Moors, David A. Frederick

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Self-organizing systems can shift between stability and flexibility in response to perturbation, a potential adaptive mechanism for understanding biopsychosocial resilience. Inverse Power-Law (IPL) structure, a frequency distribution that describes fractal patterns commonly produced by self-organization, produce measurements of stability and flexibility. This study applies these measures to emotional resilience at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. Ratings of frequency over the past week (1-5 Likert scale) across 12 emotions (six positive and six negative) gathered in mid-April 2020 as part of a survey of adults’ (N = 4,094) pandemic experiences and health in the USA. The distributions of everyone’s emotion …

The Effect Of Need For Cognition & Need For Affect On Human Reliance And Artificial Intelligence Interactions, Aliyah Mcgowan

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Abstract

With the increased use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) automations in fields like medical diagnoses and mental health queries, there are concerns regarding an individual’s trust and reliance on the technology. Reliance on AI output may lead an individual to accept inaccurate or incorrect information without further analysis. Trust may influence reliance and trust formation may be a product of affective processing. This study investigated the relationship between Need for Affect (NFA), Need for Cognition (NFC), and trust and reliance on AI interactions. Participants were assessed on the NFA scale for willingness to approach or avoid emotional stimuli, the NFC …

The Influence Of Emotions And Limited Working Memory On Gambling, Haley Crouch

The Journal of Purdue Undergraduate Research

No abstract provided.

Prevalence Of Autism Spectrum Characteristics In Students Taking Undergraduate Computing Courses, Rachel Michaela Mettenbrink

School of Computing: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The incidence rate of autism spectrum condition (ASC) has increased significantly in recent decades, as awareness of the condition and its impacts increases amongst clinicians, parents, and the general population. Medical literature has proposed that there may be a relationship between ASC and participation in the computing field. This study tests for the prevalence of autism spectrum condition traits measured by delivering the Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ) to a population of undergraduate computer science students. We examine the relationships between AQ scores and students taking undergraduate computer science classes, sex, socioeconomic status, and parents in the computing industry. Additionally, we …

Moving From Traits To The Dynamic Process: The Next Steps In Research On Human Resilience, Yannick Hill, Michael L. Dolezal, Patric C. Nordbeck, Ruud J. R. Den Hartigh, David Pincus, Adam W. Kiefer, Bernard P. Ricca

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

The current literature on resilience shows a trend toward a dynamic process conceptualization, moving away from the previous trait-approach. However, the term “dynamic” is increasingly treated as a buzzword and is thereby oversimplified in the literature. The aim of this article is to develop a unified language pertaining to resilience as a dynamic process, so as to ensure progress in this field. First, we briefly introduce the traditional trait approach alongside the implicit assumption on which it is built. Next, we contrast this approach by discussing what dynamics entail and how this approach differs from mainstream psychological approaches. Specifically, dynamics …

‘Foundations Of The Mind, Brain, And Behavioral Relationships’: A Combined Faculty And Student’S Perspective Of A New Textbook On Clinical Neuroscience, Richard J. Addante, Jahdiel Perez Caban, Sarah E. Smith

Psychology Faculty Publications

The textbook, ‘Foundations of the Mind, Brain, and Behavioral Relationships’ (Moini et al., Citation2023), is one of the newest textbooks in neuroscience to arrive. The market for textbooks in the field of neuroscience is competitive among several excellent comparators, but critical market gaps still remain to be filled, notably the area of clinical neuroscience that is both advanced in content but accessible to students. One of the reasons that this gap has existed in the field is precisely because it can be a very difficult a mark to hit: how does one present neurobiological content that is …

Readability Metrics In Patient Education: Where Do We Innovate?, Som Singh, Aleena Jamal, Fawad Qureshi

SKMC Student Presentations and Publications

The increasing use of digital applications in healthcare has led to a greater need for patient education materials. These materials, often in the form of pamphlets, booklets, and handouts, are designed to supplement physician-patient communication and aim to improve patient outcomes. However, the effectiveness of these materials can be hindered by variations in patient health literacy. Readability, a measure of text comprehension, is a key factor influencing how well patients understand these educational materials. While there has been growing interest in readability assessment in medicine, many studies have demonstrated that digital texts do not frequently meet the recommended sixth-to-eighth grade …

Mental Fatigue And Self-Care In Informal Oncology Caregivers: A Descriptive Mixed Methods Study, Megan Wayne

MUSC Theses and Dissertations

Purpose:

This dissertation study aimed to enhance understanding of informal caregiver wellbeing by exploring the presence of mental fatigue, the relationships among mental fatigue, self-care, and informal oncology caregiver quality of life (QOL), and determining whether differences exist in self-care engagement and QOL between caregivers who report high and low levels mental fatigue.

Problem:

Healthcare is becoming increasingly reliant on informal caregivers for the management and care of individuals with serious illnesses such as cancer. Previous research has shown that informal caregivers routinely experience many negative effects as a result of providing care including decreased mental health and …

The Association Of Migration-Related Stress With Poor Mental Health Among Recently Resettled Afghan Refugees, Munjireen Sifat, Sarah Kenney, Venera Bekteshi, Shawn Chiang, Motolani Ogunsanya, Laili Boozary, Adam Alexander, Darla Kendzor

Department of Medical Oncology Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: The resettlement of Afghan refugees in Oklahoma City, OK, provides a critical context for examining the mental health challenges faced by this population due to post-migration stressors.

METHODS: This study utilized online surveys to recently resettled Afghan refugees in Oklahoma City, with support provided by bilingual research assistants to accommodate low literacy rates. Surveys, initially in English, were professionally translated into Dari and Pashto and validated through back-translation.

RESULTS: Participants (N = 348) were majority of Pashtun ethnicity. High rates of mental health issues were evident, with 62.1 % of participants screening positive for depression and 20.1 % …

Neural Correlates Of Socially Rewarding Memories In Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Kyle P. Blidy

MUSC Theses and Dissertations

Significance. Memory disturbances for emotional content are central to PTSD, yet most research focuses on trauma memories. Recent evidence suggests that enhancing access to positive memories could improve mood, affect regulation, self-esteem, and integration of trauma memories. However, the neurocognitive mechanisms underlying positive memory encoding in PTSD are poorly understood. No study has examined memory for positive social items in PTSD, which is important because PTSD entails social withdrawal and reduced accessibility to positive memory. Additionally, positive memories embedded in a social context have enhanced subjective value and strengthening their accessibility may confer greater benefits to wellbeing compared to non-social …

Maternal Cortisol Concentration Is Associated With Reduced Brain Activation To Infant Cry And More Intrusive Parenting Behavior, Andrew Erhart, Sarah Enos Watamura, Aviva K. Olsavsky, Alexander J. Dufford, Rebekah C. Tribble, Tom Yeh, Pilyoung Kim

Psychology: Faculty Scholarship

Previous research indicates that maternal cortisol function and maternal brain response to infant are each in turn related to variations in parenting behavior. However, little is known about how maternal cortisol and maternal brain function are associated, thus studying these two mechanisms together may improve our understanding of how maternal cortisol assessed during interactions with own infant is associated with brain response to infant cry. First-time mothers (N = 59) of infants aged 3-4 months old were recruited to participate. Mothers' cortisol concentration was measured during a naturalistic interaction with their infant and their behavior was coded for two parenting …

Emotional Display Rules Of Deaf Culture, Nicholas M. Gala, Lawrence Pick

JADARA

Emotional display rules refer to the expression of culturally prescribed and socially acceptable emotions across different people and situations (Wu & Schulz, 2020). The display rules among hearing adults across several cultures are well defined and depend on the type of emotion, the individuals involved in the exchange, and the situation. Regarding Deaf culture in the United States, this minoritized group may follow unique display rules (Hosie et al., 2000), but there has been almost no research conducted with this population and the existing studies have focused on youth. The present study explores perceived emotional expressions among a sample of …

Emotional Overeating And Eating Motives During Covid-19 In Polish Women: Intergroup Comparison Among Participants In Various Body Mass Index Categories, Adriana Modrzejewska, Justyna Modrzejewska, Kamila Czepczor-Bernat, Julia Wyszomirska

Baltic Journal of Health and Physical Activity

Introduction: Taking into account the situation of the COVID-19 pandemic and the ac-companying lockdown resulting in increased negative emotions, it is interesting to learn about eating motives and behaviors and check their intensity. The aim of this study was to investigate the differences between Polish women in various body mass index categories in terms of eating motives and emotional overeating during the COVID-19 pandemic. Material and methods: This study sample comprised 1,447 women (M_age = 31.34 ± 11.05; M_BMI = 23.79 ± 4.59). The research used the following tools: the Eating Motivation Survey, the Emotional Overeating Questionnaire, and …

Interoception In Pregnancy: Implications For Peripartum Depression, Paul W. Savoca, Laura M. Glynn, Molly M. Fox, Misty C. Richards, Bridget L. Callaghan

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

"In this perspective piece, we propose a novel mechanistic framework for peripartum depression in which improved interoceptive functioning in pregnancy and postpartum typically protects against depressive symptoms, but when there is a failure to improve interoception, the result is an inability to maintain metabolic efficiency, which ultimately poses risk for depression. First, we will review an emerging theory that links the modeling and predictive regulation of metabolic resources as central to the expression of many depressive symptoms. Then, focusing on the period of pregnancy to articulate the framework, we will discuss the physiological changes induced by pregnancy that place an …

Reclaiming Healing Spaces: A Phenomenological Study On The Transformative Power Of Outdoor Therapy From The Lived Experiences Of Black Clinicians Working With Black Clients, Lynn Murphy

Dissertations

This phenomenological study involved assessing the experiences of Black therapists who engaged Black clients in outdoor therapeutic contexts. The study was founded on the existing literature that shows the quality of the therapeutic relationship is pivotal for client retention and the Western standards that have historically favored treatment within indoor environments. To contextualize this research, a comprehensive literature review was commenced, covering topics such as the decolonization of therapy, the historical and present-day relationship between Blacks and the outdoors in the United States, sedentary lifestyles, the psychological benefits of time spent in nature, various types of outdoor therapy, and the …

Affect Regulation And Allostatic Load Over Time, Amanda E. Ng, Tara Gruenewald, Robert-Paul Juster, Claudia Trudel-Fitzgerald

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Objective

Emerging work suggests that affect regulation strategies (e.g., active coping, anger expression) predict disease and mortality risk, with sometimes divergent estimates by sex or education levels. However, few studies have examined potential underlying biological mechanisms. This study assessed the longitudinal association of affect regulation with future allostatic load.

Method

In 2004–2006, 574 participants from the Midlife in the United States study completed validated scales assessing use of nine general and emotion-specific regulatory strategies (e.g., denial, anger expression). As a proxy for how flexibly participants regulate their affect, variability in the use of regulatory strategies was operationalized using a standard …

The Role Of Positive Affect In Asthma Control And Symptom Severity In Adolescents, Brooke N. Jenkins, Logan T. Martin, Jill S. Halterman, Judith T. Moskowitz, Laura M. Glynn, Pornchai Tirakitsoontorn, Sunil Kamath, Zeev N. Kain

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Introduction

We test the effects of positive affect and its arousal subscale components of calm, wellbeing, and vigor on asthma control and symptom severity in adolescents with moderate to severe asthma. Additionally, we test whether positive affect (and its arousal components) moderate how stress impacts asthma control and symptom severity.

Methods

Adolescents with asthma (N = 66, ages 12–17) completed brief surveys 4 times a day for 7 days reporting on their positive affect, stress, and asthma symptom severity and conducted a morning peak expiratory flow assessment each day. Asthma control and psychological asthma triggers were assessed at the …

A Confirmatory Factor Analysis Of The Psi-4-Sf In Parents Of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Paige Weir

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The factor structure of the Parenting Stress Index - Short Form (PSI-4-SF) was evaluated among parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Two hypotheses were tested: (1) the original PSI-4-SF model would yield an unsatisfactory fit, and (2) a three-factor alternative model would improve fit compared to the original and other models. A sample of 205 parent-child dyads was analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) with the lavaan package in R Studio. Preliminary analyses included descriptive statistics, normality checks, and assessments of skewness and kurtosis. Results supported the first hypothesis, showing poor fit indices for the original PSI-4-SF model. …

The Impact Of A 4-Domain Wellness-Initiative Curriculum On Internal Medicine Resident Physicians, Esha Vallabhaneni, Luigi Cubeddu, Ryan Petit, Fernando Poli, Premal Patel, Cynthia Rivera

HCA Healthcare Journal of Medicine

Background

There is a trend toward fostering well-being, or the state of being happy and healthy, within the medical community. Historically, resident physicians have faced high rates of distress during training. A structured well-being curriculum in residency programs may shift residents' mindsets from survival and resilience to one centered on purpose, engagement, and joy.

Methods

An original well-being curriculum was administered to residents in person at a single institution every 5 weeks for approximately 10 well-being workshops, totaling around 20 hours of curriculum exposure during every academic year. The well-being curriculum was divided into 4 domains: cognitive distortions and problematic …

Predictive Processing And Chronic Pain, Lydia Hurst

Scholarly Horizons: University of Minnesota, Morris Undergraduate Journal

Chronic pain is a common condition in which sufferers experience pain for over 3 months. The causes of chronic pain are often difficult to discern, as many cases are not associated with physical damage. A predictive processing (PP) perspective proposes that chronic pain results from the brain’s erroneous predictions derived from strong emotional and/or fearful reactions to pain. Individuals with anxiety disorders are more likely to react with fear to general stimuli, and therefore may be more likely to develop chronic pain under this model. The current healthcare model for this condition, which focuses on treating symptoms with pain-killers, displays …