Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

What’S In A Word? A Study Of Emotional Valence, Trisha Patel, Cameron Smith, Olivia Williams, Raul Rodriguez-Calva

Science University Research Symposium (SURS)

Cognitive stress affects humans mentally and physically, and specifically may impact emotional recognition. Previous studies have focused on the perceived emotional valence of nouns vs. adjectives and the emotional recognition of photographs. While this has led to the creation of an emotional valence database, there has yet to be a study to explore how stress can change perceived emotional valence. Using data from the Affective Norms for English Words (ANEW), the Portland Arithmetic Stress Test (PAST), and the Montreal Imaging Stress Task (MIST), a study was created to explore how participants emotional valence of words would change after being placed …

Psychology: Religious Conflicts Amongst A Christian Campus, Cole Peterson, Alyssa Shearing, Sydney Willis, Melody Alvarez

Science University Research Symposium (SURS)

The current study seeks to develop and validate a quantitative measure of religion on a Christian campus. As the influence of religion in multiple aspects of the world continues to evolve, it becomes increasingly important to gain an understanding of the experiences of college students within a Christian campus. It has been found that “exposure to new ideas that college provides were thought to lead students to question and ultimately abandon their traditional religious beliefs” (Maryl & Oeur, 2009). More research regarding the effect of religion specifically on a Christian campus is needed; therefore, a reliable and valid psychometric scale …

Psychology: A Newly Developed Scale On Introversion, Emily Cloud, Niya Mckinley, Jenna Jemtrud, Mackenzie Cosgriff

Science University Research Symposium (SURS)

Introversion, the “preoccupation with inner ideas and emotions” (Henjum, 1982, pp. 39-40), is underrepresented in research. It has been considered in research and media to be a less desirable trait and failed achievement of extraversion (Noya & Vernon, 2019). Additionally, many measures fail to accurately present introversion as its own construct, but rather as merely a lack of extraversion. The current study aimed to develop and validate a measure on introversion in relation to extraversion, social involvement, social anxiety, and academic achievement. Belmont University Introductory Psychology students were asked to complete questionnaires on Qualtrics that measured demographics, introversion, extraversion, social …

Taking Songs To Heart: An Investigation Into Musical Appreciation, Anna Kate Lockhart, Eric A. Febles, Valeria Draine, Kaitlin Pendasulo

Science University Research Symposium (SURS)

Abstract

Music cross-culturally occupies a central part of day-to-day living (Trehub et al., 2015). Research has demonstrated music’s consistent ability to modulate emotional states, through the investigation of properties like tempo and key (Res, 2011; Bella, 2001; Jongwan,, 2018; Schellenberg, 2010). Heartbeat is a steady rhythm that each human alive and well experiences daily, and heart rate, specifically the resting heart rate, has been suggested to set a baseline rhythm that may influence perception of musical valence (Koelsch & Jancke, 2015). The current study aims to investigate this hypothesis by establishing a resting heart rate level and modulating the speed …

The Effects Of Priming On Moral Judgement, Lilly E. Rogers, Anna Lee, Chris Toepher, Zali White

Science University Research Symposium (SURS)

Forming judgments and making decisions based on those judgments is an important and inescapable part of life. Moral decision-making often affects oneself and the people surrounding them. Previous literature has suggested that the act of making moral and ethical decisions can be separated and explained using various theoretical perspectives, two of the most prominent being utilitarianism and absolute deontology (Scott, 2012). Applying and categorizing decision-making into either of these categories has been shown and suggested to largely depend on the priming of a decision, with positive priming leading to more utilitarian decision-making (Broeders et al. 2011). It has further been …

Impact Of Media Consumption On Automatic Associations, Davis Eddleman, Taylor Allen, Wesley Gerndt, Amilya Bryant, Ninivet Ossa

Science University Research Symposium (SURS)

The concept of studying media’s effects on implicit and explicit bias has been studied many times in the field of psychology. Previous research has shown exposure to media coverage containing stereotypes of minorities increased implicit bias (Arendt & Northup, 2015; Dixon & Maddox, 2005; Arendt et al., 2015) and explicit bias (Arendt et al., 2015). This pool of research has previously focused on crime stories and right-wing political advertisements that contain stereotypical tropes of out-group minorities. In these studies, generally, there has been an effect such that priming stereotypes surrounding dark-skinned individuals, may activate automatic associative stereotypes, such as the …

The Effect Of Eye Contact On Auditory Recall, Sara Grace Lill, Isha Kapoor, Oluwatoni Akanda, Khanh Nguyen

Science University Research Symposium (SURS)

Memory is at the basis of perception and provides functionality to our daily lives. Auditory stimulation has been shown to bias eye movement and improve memory (Liping, et. al, 2021), but the mechanisms behind the guidance of eye movements remain unclear (Higgins, et. al, 2014). This study investigates the correlation between eye contact and memory, focusing on recall, and exploring eye contact’s potential to enhance recall during both immediate and delayed assessments (Craft 21 Recall). Thirty undergraduate students from Belmont University, completed the Craft 21 Recall assessment after watching a video featuring a virtual speaker reading a short story. The …

Anticipation, Autonomic Regulation, And Aces, Sadie K. Schiermeyer, Ella Bursky, Timothy Oakley, Emily Pyle

Science University Research Symposium (SURS)

Stress and anticipation are some of the most commonly talked about topics in the current age of self-help and wellness. Anticipatory stress has been found to aid in autonomic regulation and stress relief (Nasso et al., 2018). What’s more, adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have been previously associated with a blunted response to stress, but the mechanisms have not been investigated. The primary aim of this study was to identify if the anticipation of a stressor significantly influenced an individual’s autonomic response. Additionally, it sought to identify any correlation between childhood trauma and individuals’ stress response. Participants were comprised of undergraduate …

Does Birth Order Have An Effect On An Individual’S Conscientiousness?, Micah D. Wilson, Ashely Richmond, Emma Sells, Scovs Major, Waldron Collins

Science University Research Symposium (SURS)

Looking at familial relationships, specifically between sibling dynamics, has been focused on in many different angles in the field of psychology. Psychologists seek to understand the relationships between siblings, and how the relationships affect their bond, personality, and social life. Past studies have shown that siblings do tend to bounce off of each other, such as older sibling control having more of an effect in conflicts rather than in intimacy (Tucker & Updegraff). We hypothesized that the oldest siblings would clean up after themselves or not make a mess, middle children would clean up after themselves, the youngest would make …

The Influence Of Parental Behavior On Emerging Adult Egocentrism, Lilly E. Rogers, Nicole Buttrey, Monica Bennett, Olivia Harris

Science University Research Symposium (SURS)

Existing research indicates that adolescent egocentrism, people of adolescent age being overly interested in oneself, is influenced by numerous factors, including identity development and parental behavior (Scarfo, 1993). Though it has been shown that this link between perceived parental behavior and adolescent egocentrism exists (Adams & Jones, 1982), research has not yet examined this relationship in emerging adults. Thus, the purpose of the current study was to explore the relationship between parental behavior/support and egocentrism in emerging adults, while controlling for personality. Emerging adult college students (N = 46), completed a Qualtrics survey that measured imaginary audience (a component of …