Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Using Spoken Narratives To Measure Listening Engagement In Children, Sarah Bobbitt

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Despite the rising popularity of audiobooks and podcasts, research on children listening to spoken stories remains in its infancy. In addition, the use of spoken stories could significantly improve studies of listening engagement in children. Thus, the present study sought to 1) explore how children aged 8-13 years engage with these novel media and 2) determine which stories might be most engaging to children in this age group. Fifty-two parents of children aged 8-13 years completed an online survey which asked about their children’s listening habits. Results of the survey then informed the development of four engaging stories (and two …

Individual Differences In Executive Functioning And Psycho-Emotional Well-Being And The Impact Of Acute Exercise On Children And Youth With Adhd, Madeline Crichton

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Short bouts of exercise can improve inhibitory control in children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). However, individual differences among children with ADHD may impact the effectiveness of exercise interventions. We investigated how individual differences in inhibitory control, mood, and self-efficacy impact the efficacy of acute exercise among children with ADHD. Sixteen participants (ages 10-14) completed two interventions: 10 minutes of exercise and 10 minutes of silent reading (control). Inhibitory control was assessed prior to the intervention, immediately after the intervention, and after a 10-minute delay. Results suggested that participants with lower initial inhibitory control benefited more from exercise than …

Why Do You Wear A Mask? Children’S Conceptualizations Of Covid-19 And Contagion Avoidance Behaviors, Emily Hillman

Scripps Senior Theses

With the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, a need has emerged for psychological research on children’s understanding of infectious disease transmission. However, little existing research examines the link between children’s cognitive reasoning about illness and their subsequent behaviors regarding its transmissibility. This study will examine children’s conceptualizations of contagious illnesses such as COVID-19 and their subsequent contagion avoidance. A mixed methods approach will be used to establish the content of children’s conceptualizations of contagion and level of causal reasoning related to illness transmission. Dyads will be constructed comprising 4-12-year-old children and their parents. It is expected that parental contagion avoidance …

We All Feel Feelings, Ben Ohene

Theses and Dissertations

Consisting of three illustrated books, We All Feel Feelings is designed as a vehicle for the discussion of emotional and mental health with young boys. These books will help foster a mindset of openness and acceptance through different methods of displaying and understanding emotions.

Testing Reliability Of Biophilic Design Matrix Within Urban Residential Playrooms, Ellen Marte

Theses and Dissertations

Biophilic interior design in urban playrooms has been greatly understudied. We measured inter-rater reliability of the Biophilic Interior Design Matrix (BID-M) and matrix items by quantitatively coding images of 45 New York City residential playrooms. Findings suggest that the BID-M needs to be modified to better assess urban playrooms.

Bilingual Children's L1 And L2 Word Frequency Effects: The Role Of Individual Differences, Astrid Michelle Portillo

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Bilingualism continues to grow among the world's population. Nevertheless, most research studies on language processing have focused on monolingual individuals, leaving questions about how language processing unfolds in bilingual individuals. Here, we investigated how individual differences in bilingual experience, indexed by current L2 exposure, impact eye movement measures of reading fluency, indexed by word frequency effects, in an understudied population: bilingual children. Prior eye movement research involving bilingual younger adults (aged 18 to 30) has reported a trade-off in L1 and L2 word frequency effects with greater levels of current L2 exposure (Whitford & Titone, 2012, 2017). We wanted to …

The Effect Of Retrieval Practice On Vocabulary Learning For Children Who Are Deaf Or Hard Of Hearing, Casey Krauss Reimer

Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The goal of the current study was to determine if students who are deaf or hard of hearing (d/hh) would learn more new vocabulary words through the use of retrieval practice than repeated exposure (repeated study). No studies to date have used this cognitive strategy—retrieval practice—with children who are d/hh. Previous studies have shown that children with hearing loss struggle with learning vocabulary words. This deficit can negatively affect language development, reading outcomes, and overall academic success. Few studies have investigated specific interventions to address the poor vocabulary development for children with hearing loss. The current study investigated retrieval practice …

Differentiating Cognitive Deficits Between Adhd And In Utero Polysubstance Exposure, Dylan J. Seitz

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

ADHD is the most prevalent psychiatric disorder in children, affecting their executive and overall well-being as a result (Barkley, 2014; Shaw, Gogtay, & Rapoport, 2010). A rampant increase in new diagnoses of ADHD suggests the potential for misdiagnosis. Stimulants are the first line of treatment and associated with a number of deleterious long-term consequences for those misdiagnosed (Urban & Gao, 2014a). This is of particular concern for children prenatally exposed to substances as in utero use acts on similar neural mechanisms impacted by ADHD – leaving the children vulnerable to misdiagnosis and contraindicated intervention (Derauf, Kekatpure, Neyzi, Lester, & Kosofsky, …

An Exploration Of The Experience Of Adults With Learning Disabilities Through Art, Adi Greenboim-Zimchoni

Expressive Therapies Dissertations

This study employed arts-based research with phenomenological, qualitative inquiry to understand and explore the perspectives of adults with learning disabilities and their sense of self and support in inclusive and special education classrooms in Israel during their school years. In this study, the researcher attempted to take Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory (1979) one step further by examining the participants’ feelings and relationships with the people in their daily lives during childhood. The researcher met with 12 participants ages 18-31 diagnosed with learning disabilities between third and eleventh grade. Participants created drawings illustrating how they felt about teachers, parents, friends and …

Psychological Consequences Of The Boko Haram Insurgency For Nigerian Children, Paul Adebayo Adepelumi

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Studies have examined the causes and impacts of terrorism in Nigeria; however, no known research has documented the psychological impacts of witnessing ongoing Boko Haram terrorist violence based on the lived experiences of Nigerian children. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to examine the psychological consequences of the Boko Haram insurgency based on the lived experience of Nigerian children exposed to terrorism in Nigeria. The study's theoretical framework combined Piaget's theory of cognitive development and punctuated equilibrium theory. The central research question examined the adverse psychological effects of the Boko Haram insurgency for Nigerian children residing in Nigeria. …

The Effects Of Meditation On Brain Organization And The Implications For Treating Adhd, Talia Gibson

Honors Projects

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has recently become increasingly diagnosed for children and adolescents. As of now, the most common treatment method is medication, with the purpose of changing brain organization. Recently, however, there has been increasing interest in the use of mindfulness meditation to treat the symptoms associated with ADHD. In this paper, eleven different studies, which have introduced mindfulness meditation as a treatment method for ADHD, are analyzed. The studies measure the degree to which mindfulness meditation improves common symptoms associated with ADHD. These symptoms include attentional problems, reduced mindful awareness, externalizing and internalizing problems, reduced self-control, impaired social behavior, …

Correlation Between Automatic Processing Of Symbolic And Non-Symbolic Magnitudes In Children, Jake M B Kaufman

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Does the automatic activation of number influence children’s decision-making on physical size judgments? Previous work dealing with how children process symbolic and non-symbolic numbers typically involves making direct judgments about numerical values. In this study, instead of asking for judgments about numerical magnitude, we assessed the automatic activation of number by asking children to make physical size judgments. This will allow us to further learn how children use their understanding of numbers to help them make decisions that do not directly involve numbers. In addition to this, by looking at how the processing of symbolic and non-symbolic numbers relate, we …

Investigating The Effects Of Mindfulness On Children’S Executive Function, Emotional Regulation, Stress, And Academic Performance Compared To A Control Condition, Lerna Hanceroglu

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Mindfulness is a growing field in the study of psychological well-being, with reports of individuals experiencing increases in resilience and reduced stress. The current research on mindfulness lacks information on a comprehensive analysis on the relationship between mindfulness and executive function, emotional regulation, stress, and subsequent academic performance for children. Additionally, studies contain methodological issues, such as the absence of active control groups. Hence, the current study assessed the effects of mindfulness training on children’s executive function, emotional regulation, stress, and academic outcomes compared to an active control group. There were 51 younger children from grades 2 to 4 (Mean …

Observational Assessment Of Empathy In Parent-Child Verbal Exchanges And Their Influence On Child Behavior, Patty Carambot

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Empathy, the ability to both experientially share in and understand others’ thoughts, behaviors, and feelings, is vital for human adaptation. Deficits in empathy development have implications across the lifespan for the development of prosocial behavior, social functioning, mental health disorders, and risk for antisocial behavior (e.g., Guajardo, Snyder, & Petersen, 2009; Moreno, Klute & Robinson, 2008). In light of these societal and individual burdens, it is imperative to foster and strengthen the development of this ability early in life to prevent or ameliorate such negative outcomes. This type of prevention can take a variety of forms, but parent and child …

Working Memory, Emotion Regulation, And Effortful Control Levels In Children With Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder., James Rush

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Executive Function Profiles In Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury, Erik Nelson Ringdahl

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Traumatic brain injury is a common cause of disability and death among children in the United States. Insult to the frontal and temporal lobes are frequent in closed head brain injury. Cognitive deficits in a variety of domains are common sequelae of brain trauma. In many cases, trauma to the frontal and temporal lobe regions engender prominent deficits in higher-order cognitive processing, memory, and attention.

Higher-order cognitive processing, or Executive Functions are the grouping of cognitive processes necessary for organization of thoughts and activities, attending to the activities, prioritizing tasks, managing time efficiently, and making decisions (Alvarez & Emory, 2006; …

The Influence Of Music On The Development Of Children, Theresa Riforgiate, Christopher Chau

Psychology and Child Development

Listening to classical music, like Mozart, is wonderful way to expand one's musical taste. Contrary to popular beliefs, however, this passive engagement with music does not make your child smarter. However, research demonstrates that active participation in music and music instruction help develop memory, perception, language, vocabulary, spoken skills, and reading skills. In order to disseminate these findings, we compiled a list of different opportunities around San Luis Obispo for children's active participation in music. Our goal is to provide parents with a resource to help them facilitate their children's involvement in music.