Psychological Phenomena and Processes Commons^™

Using Weekly Guided Meditation To Develop Community, Connection And Improved Overall Experience And Wellbeing At Work, Mary Patterson Friedmeyer

InnovateHER Meeting 2026

The majority (99%) of respondents rated the Weekly Guided Meditation (via zoom) as being both impactful and valuable in their lives. The majority (82%) of respondents reported finding more balance in the workday and improvement in overall well-being. The majority (63%) of respondents were neutral on building community, with just over one third (36%) of respondents responding positively to community building.

The Impact Of Stress On Dream Content, Tessa Duncan, Mason Trevino

Posters - 2026

• This research investigated how daily stress levels influence the intensity of dreams. The study aimed to clarify the relationship between stress and dream intensity, enhancing understanding of stress’s broader effects on mental health. • Building on Rush’s concept of a “goldilocks zone” in the stress scale, where moderate stress benefits well-being while too little or too much stress can cause harm (2024). The current study used the hallucination model of dreaming from Gillespie and Trakas (2024), which views dreams as vivid, perception-like experiences that can amplify emotions. Drawing on Gessert’s methods for measuring stress and nightmare frequency, stress is …

The Effects Of Sour & Spicy Food On Visual & Auditory Reflexes, Aditi Kumar, Alondra-Sophia Martinez, Magdalena E. Saad, Emma J. Welsch

Posters - 2026

• The reflex reaction time measures how quickly the nervous system can respond to a stimulus. • In the experiment, both visual and auditory reflexes were measured to evaluate differences in reaction time after the consumption of sour and spicy foods. • Spices and herbs produce different signals that interact with the nervous system. (McMullen 2024) • Comparing the response times from before and after consumption, this experiment allowed us to determine if different tastes affect reflex reaction times.

Investigation Of Differences Between Perception Of Cell Phone Usage And Actual Cell Phone Usage Among Adolescents In Senior And Freshman Grade Levels, Benjamin Bouffard

Undergraduate Research Posters

This study investigates the difference between the perception of cell phone usage and actual cell phone usage among teenagers in the ninth and twelfth grade levels. Existing literature focuses largely on the effect of screen usage on different aspects of health, including mental health and developmental changes in children. However, the relationship between the perception of screen time and actual screen time use has not been extensively studied. In this study, 111 freshmen and seniors at the Woodbridge Academy Magnet School in Woodbridge, New Jersey completed two online surveys. The first asked for their estimation of daily screen time over …

Maltreatment And Resilience: Examining The Unique Roles Of Threat And Deprivation, Priscilla Herrera

Undergraduate Research Symposium Posters

Background and objectives: This study aimed to investigate the involvement that maltreatment type, specifically threat and deprivation, play in a child’s life. We examine how threat uniquely contributes to resilience and how deprivation impacts resilience. Literature has highlighted differences in the effects of deprivation and threat in recent research that shows the impact on various neurological systems.

Methods and approach: Participants included youth aged 11-17 years in the Department of Family Services (DFS) custody following removal from their home after substantiated child maltreatment and were assessed. 90 of the youth in the sample reported that they have experienced threat-based maltreatment, …

The Scientific Study Of Positive Psychology, Religion/Spirituality, And Physical Health, Kevin S. Masters, Julia K. Boehm, Jennifer M. Boylan, Kaitlyn M. Vagnini, Christina L. Rush

Psychology Faculty Books and Book Chapters

Humans have long been interested in relations among religion/spirituality (R/S), positive psychological constructs, and physical health. Furthermore, many religions attempt to influence behavior through health-related prescriptions about food choices, sexual activity, substance use, and resting. Similarly, positive psychological constructs have been discussed in light of their presumed benefits on both mental and physical health (Ryff & Singer, 1998). However, R/S and positive psychological constructs have only recently become objects of scientific investigation of their associations with physical health.

The Role Of The Nlrp3 Inflammasome In Alzheimer's Disease, Ethan S. Terman

Undergraduate Research Posters

This study examines the consequences of Alzheimer’s in rat and mice test subjects. The goal is to identify the effects of certain NLRP3 inhibiting drugs and to see if there are any noticeable effects in regards to impeding the pathological development of Alzheimer’s disease. The results are visualized by implementing the immunohistochemical process to identify neurodegeneration in the brain and to assess the expression levels of amyloid beta as an indicator of Alzheimer’s pathology. Other tests are also conducted on these transgenic mice to gauge cognitive functioning levels during the onset of their disease, those being behavior tests, but not …

Testing Wickelgren's Model Of Interference And Decay, Gabriel Hull, Isabella Lacy

Undergraduate Research Symposium Posters

Two explanations have been proposed to explain forgetting: decay (forgetting occurs as a function of time) and interference (the mental activity can impinge on the consolidation of a recently acquired memory). Wickelgren (1974) proposed a model of forgetting which suggests that forgetting is a function of both decay and interference, best expressed as a power-exponential function. The present research will be the first to directly examine whether Wickelgren’s model accurately predicts the observed effects of these two components on forgetting. This research will further the study of human memory by improving current models, and helping to resolve the debate surrounding …

Case Study: Effects Of Psychosocial Factors On A Geriatric Patient With Guillain Barré Syndrome, Keane Evangelista, Mary Pent Hunter, Jessica Phung, Aum Tejani, Lee Anne H. Robotta

San Marcos, Summer 2019

The purpose of this case report is to determine how a change in intrinsic motivation and environmental factors help physical and functional improvements in a 77-year-old male patient with Guillain Barré Syndrome (GBS) in the geriatric population. Interventions to promote this change included patient education about lifestyle choices along with endurance and balance exercises.

Patient psychological state, community access, and general education about interventions/dosing had an effect on the patient's participation in his prescribed HEP. His comorbidities hindered his overall progress over the course of his treatment and should be addressed to improve patient outcomes. Activities that were more salient …

Burnout And Resilience Among Pediatric Residents In Stockholm, Sweden: Findings From A Mixed-Methods Study, Lauren Poull, Sanaz Skyttner-Rahmani, Andrea P. Anderson, Weston T. Powell, Jiaqi Yin, Carolyn C. Foster, Maneesh Batra

Posters

Objective

 To measure the prevalence of burnout among pediatric residents at Karolinska University Hospital (KUH).
 To describe the local drivers of burnout and the protective factors that lead to resilience and workplace engagement.

Conclusions

 Prevalence of burnout among Swedish pediatric residents in this study was 39%, which is lower than reported in the US (50-60%).
 Drivers of burnout were identified across all four domains. They included local features of the learning environment, and many are modifiable.
 Protective factors include perceived control over scheduling, better mental and physical health, lower perceived stress, and being a parent. …

Evaluation Of A New Trauma-Related Drinking To Cope Measure: Latent Structure And Heritability, Sage E. Hawn, Steven H. Aggen, Danielle Dick, Ananda B. Amstadter Phd

Graduate Research Posters

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and alcohol use disorder (AUD) commonly co-occur, share latent genetic risk, and are associated with many negative public health outcomes. Via a self-medication framework, trauma-related drinking to cope (TRD), an unexplored phenotype to date, may help explain why these two disorders co-occur, thus serving as an essential target for treatment and prevention efforts. This study sought to create a novel measure of TRD and to investigate its indirect influences on the association between PTSD and AUD, as well as its potential shared molecular genetic risk with PTSD in a genetically-informative study of college students. A sample …

The Musicality Of The Water Lilies/La Musicalité Des Nymphéas (Library Resources), Holy Cross Libraries

Library Resources for Campus Events

A bibliography of resources available through the Holy Cross Libraries which provide additional information related to the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Art Gallery exhibition “Gabrielle Thierry: The Musicality of the Water Lilies/La Musicalité des Nymphéas” from Aug. 30 through Oct. 7.

Thierry’s series of eight large-scale paintings were inspired by her rediscovery of the “Water Lilies” landscapes by Claude Monet on view at the the Musée de l’Orangerie in Paris. With special permission from the museum, Thierry painted in front of Monet’s originals over a period of 18 months from 2010 to 2012, where she explored the inner musical …

On Reporting The Onset Of The Intention To Move, Uri Maoz, Liad Mudrik, Ram Rivlin, Ian Ross, Adam Mamelak, Gideon Yaffe

Psychology Faculty Books and Book Chapters

"In 1965, Hans Kornhuber and Luder Deecke made a discovery that greatly influenced the study of voluntary action. Using electroencephalography (EEG), they showed that when aligning some tens of trials to movement onset and averaging, a slowly decreasing electrical potential emerges over central regions of the brain. It starts 1 second ( s) or so before the onset of the voluntary action1 and continues until shortly after the action begins. They termed this the Bereitschaftspotential, or readiness potential (RP; Kornhuber & Deecke, 1965).2 This became the first well-established neural marker of voluntary action. In that, the RP allowed for more …

Anxiety And The Imposter Phenomenon Among Graduate Students In Online Versus Traditional Programs, Christy B. Fraenza

2010-2016 Archived Posters

This study compared online and traditional students on measures of imposter phenomenon (IP), anxiety, and perfectionism. Traditional students had significantly higher IP scores. Perfectionism was the strongest predictor of IP scores. Because the scale for perfectionism explored socially prescribed perfectionism, it seems to suggest an underlying social component to IP.

Compassion Fatigue In The Animal-Care Community, Charles R. Figley, Robert G. Roop

eBooks

Compassion fatigue---the exhaustion caused by the demands of being empathic and helpful to those who are suffering---is found at every level among the underserved, underappreciated, and uncomplaining caregivers in animal-related fields. In this ground-breaking book, two prominent leaders in the field examination the causes of compassion fatigue and offer help to those who suffer from it.

Compassion Fatigue in the Animal-Care Community is a must-read for animal shelter employees, volunteers, and board members veterinarians, and veterinary practice and veterinary hospital staffs wildlife rehabilitators breed-rescue or equine-rescue volunteers.