Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Regulation Of Self-Love, Kruti Surti

Dissertations

While the concept of self-love is well-known in today’s society, it remains unknown how self-love can be increased. Increasing self-love may help individuals decrease stress and promote well-being. The current study tested how self-love and pleasantness can be increased and whether anxiety levels and personality traits such as neuroticism and conscientiousness are associated with self-love increase. In this study, participants (N = 108; 86 women, 20 men, 1 gender queer, 1 other (not specified)) completed questionnaires related to self-compassion, self-efficacy, anxiety, and personality. Then, participants completed an online self-love regulation task in which they read prompts that encouraged them …

Effects Of Human-Animal Interactions On Affect And Cognition, Elise L. Thayer, Jeffrey R. Stevens

Jeffrey Stevens Publications

Human-animal interaction has clear positive effects on people’s affect and stress. But less is known about how animal interactions influence cognition. We draw parallels between animal interactions and exposure to natural environments, a research area that shows clear improvements in cognitive performance. The aim of this study is to investigate whether interacting with animals similarly enhances cognitive performance, specifically executive functioning. To test this, we conducted two experiments in which we had participants self-report their affect and complete a series of cognitive tasks (long-term memory, attentional control, and working memory) before and after either a brief interaction with a dog …

Estradiol And Daily Affective Experiences In Trauma-Exposed Women, Jenna Rieder

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

People who experience trauma can develop enduring trauma-related symptoms. In daily life, post-trauma symptoms (e.g., elevated physiological arousal) can be triggered by affectively salient cues in the environment, especially by cues that act as trauma reminders. Trauma exposure is associated with enduring changes in two biological stress systems: the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. In women, activity in both systems is additionally modulated by fluctuations in levels of sex hormones (e.g., estradiol), which could influence physiological responses to trauma reminders. Additionally, previous work has linked the sex hormone estradiol with affect, suggesting that menstrual cycle might …

The Effects Of Oral Contraceptives On Mood And Affect: A Meta-Analysis, Erica M. Motter

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Combined oral contraceptive (COC) pills are widely used by women of reproductive age, but there is still little conclusive evidence that exists about the mood-related side effects associated with their use. This meta-analysis examined the relationship between oral contraceptive use and mood effects such as depression and anxiety to determine what role, if any, that COCs may have in the worsening or improvement of women’s mood when taking them. Effect sizes compared the differences in women’s mood scores before taking COCs and after one or more cycles of use. Seventeen studies made up of 25 individual samples contributed 71 effect …

Cumulative Trauma, Emotion Reactivity And Salivary Cytokine Response Following Acute Stress Among Healthy Women., Yvette Z. Szabo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study furthers understanding of how trauma exposure may be connected to the development and maintenance of poor health by focusing on cytokines, tightly regulated proteins of the immune system. Cytokine responses to acute stress have been associated with the onset of poorer mental health in physically healthy women. The present study examined how two factors recently associated with cytokine reactivity –cumulative trauma and emotion reactivity– are associated with salivary cytokine reactivity among healthy women. Seventy-one women, screened to be physically and mentally healthy, completed a laboratory acute stress paradigm and self-report measures of state emotion and trauma exposure. Participants …

Effects Of Self-Affirmation On Emotion And Cardiovascular Responses, Wei-Ju Chen

Theses and Dissertations

Self-affirmation is the act of focusing on important aspects of the self, such as personal values and characteristic. Benefits of self-affirmation have been documented in past research. However, the immediate impacts of self-affirmation on cardiovascular responses have not been fully explored. Therefore, the present study examined such effects both during and consequent to the practice of self-affirmation. One hundred and twenty-five participants completed the study. A within-subject design was used, in which each participant went through both the control and self-affirmation conditions (the order of presentation was counterbalanced). In the self-affirmation condition, participants were asked to write about their top-ranked …

The Impact Of Continuous And Discontinuous Cycle Exercise On Affect: An Examination Of The Dual-Mode Model, Sam Greeley

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Low-volume, high-intensity interval training has been garnering attention in the exercise physiology literature recently due to its proposed time-efficiency. Also, recent work comparing continuous exercise to high-intensity interval training demonstrated superior ratings of perceived enjoyment following interval training. However, the dual-mode model suggests that exercise above ventilatory threshold (VT) done continuously will result in an almost homogenous decline in affect, which may reduce adherence.

Numerous studies confirm the dual-mode model's prediction of reduced affect when exercising above VT, but no research to date has applied the model's predictions to interval training. The purpose of this study was to examine the …

In Search Of The Neurobiological Substrates For Social Playfulness In Mammalian Brains, Stephen M. Siviy, Jaak Panksepp

Psychology Faculty Publications

Play behavior is a fundamental and intrinsic neurobehavioral process in the mammalian brain. Using rough-and-tumble play in the juvenile rat as a model system to study mammalian playfulness, some of the relevant neurobiological substrates for this behavior have been identified, and in this review this progress. A primary-process executive circuit for play in the rat that includes thalamic intralaminar nuclei, frontal cortex and striatum can be gleaned from these data. Other neural areas that may interact with this putative circuit include amygdala, ventral hypothalamus, periaqueductal gray (PAG), and deep tectum, as well as ascending dopamine systems which participate in all …

The Differential Effects Of Genetic And Dietary Alterations In Folate Status On Prefrontal Cortical Functions, Jessica Amanda Ash

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Folate status plays an essential role in embryogenesis and brain development; however, its importance in supporting cognitive functioning throughout adulthood is less clear. The present study was interested in examining the effects of genetic and dietary alterations in folate status on prefrontal cortical functions in mice, modeling a common polymorphism in the MTHFD1 gene in folate metabolism. A factorial design was used crossing two genotypes (mice with a gene trap insertion in the Mthfd1 gene exhibiting 50% decreased Mthfd1 expression: Mthfd1gt/+ mice or wildtype mice) with two levels of dietary folate (folate sufficient or folate deficient). The mice were tested …