Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Personality And Mood For Non-Player Characters: A Method For Behavior Simulation In A Maze Environment, Noah L. Paige

Master's Theses

When it comes to video games, immersion is key. All types of games aim to keep the player immersed in some form or another. A common aspect of the immersive world in most role-playing games -- but not exclusive to the genre -- is the non-playable character (NPC). At their best, NPCs play an integral role to the sense of immersion the player feels by behaving in a way that feels believable and fits within the world of the game. However, due to lack of innovation in this area of video games, at their worst NPCs can jar the player …

Predicting Personality Type From Writing Style, Tanay Gottigundala

Master's Theses

The study of personality types gained traction in the early 20th century, when Carl Jung's theory of psychological types attempted to categorize individual differences into the first modern personality typology. Iterating on Jung's theories, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) tried to categorize each individual into one of sixteen types, with the theory that an individual's personality type manifests in virtually all aspects of their life. This study explores the relationship between an individual's MBTI type and various aspects of their writing style. Using a MBTI-labeled dataset of user posts on a personality forum, three ensemble classifiers were created to predict …

Disparity And Applicant Faking Behaviors: How Comparison With The Ideal Applicant Affects Faking?, Yadi Yang

Theses and Dissertations

Applicant faking behavior (AFB) on personality measures remains a major concern in selection context. This study introduces a new construct of “disparity” which captures the difference between individuals’ self-evaluation personality score and the perceived ideal applicants’ personality score. Based on the Perceptual Control Theory (PTC), applicant will generate intention to fake in order to close the perceptional gap between an ideal applicant and themselves to increase their chances of getting hired. The study distinguishes intention to fake and actual faking behaviors as two separate constructs. Specifically, the study empirically examined the effect of disparity on applicant faking behaviors through intention …

Mathematics That Clarify Slope & Scale, Help Set Standards, And Improve Interrater Agreement On Time-Series Graphs, Chad Erick Liming Kinney

Theses and Dissertations

This paper introduces new mathematic equations that clarify slope and scale and help overcome difficulties with visually interpreting slopes (or trends)--a significant culprit of poor interrater agreement (IRA) of graphed data. Three experiments tested applications of the equations and demonstrated the following results: (a) Graphic Variability Quotient (GVQ) manipulation strongly predicts viewer ratings (and accuracy) of behavior change, β = .895, R2 = .801, (b) mathematical standards that control the inherent variability in non-standard graphs can be empirically based (to facilitate reliable visual comparison), and (c) visual aids posted on graphs, such as angles of inclination and a simple slope …

Nursing Students’ Knowledge And Attitudes About Pain Management And Opioids, Hedieh Hatami Sirjani

Health Services Research Dissertations

Statement of the problem: healthcare professionals’ knowledge of using opioids for pain management safely is critical in preventing opioid abuse and overdose. Undergraduate curricula of health professional schools, including undergraduate nursing programs, need to improve and adopt a comprehensive education regarding this issue.

Method: the first project was a systematic analysis of the literature regarding the educational interventions’ impact on healthcare professional knowledge and practice behavior regarding prescription opioids. The second project was a qualitative study of nursing students to explore their experience, self-efficacy, and knowledge of prescription opioid use for pain management and whether they feel the need for …

Organizational Stressors As Predictors Of Burnout, Kristen Albritton

Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to determine if organizational stress, measured by role conflict and role ambiguity, predicts burnout among employees. A review of the related literature identified variables that demonstrate a relationship with burnout, supported by the Maslach (1998) theory of burnout and Katz and Kahn’s (1966) organizational role theory. The researcher also examined whether organizational level and demographic variables (gender, education level, and job tenure) moderate the relationships between role conflict, role ambiguity, and burnout.

The study follows a non-experimental, cross-sectional design using data collected from a survey. Results of linear regression analyses reveal role conflict and …

A Systematic Quantitative Review Of Effective Implementation Of Self-Monitoring (1983-2020), Mary Louise Lewis

Theses and Dissertations

A systematic quantitative review was conducted to analyze articles using self-monitoring in the Journal of Organizational Behavior Management (JOBM) from 1983 to present. Specifically, the diversity of characteristics used when implementing a self-monitoring procedure were examined along with the effects produced in order to determine the most effective components of a self-monitoring intervention. Results indicate a combination of other interventions are used substantially more compared to self-monitoring as a sole intervention. Moreover, results from this particular sample of studies demonstrated that a combination of variables led to more consistent effects than when self-monitoring was applied as a sole intervention. However, …

Where Is My Mind? The Who, What, And Where Of Mind Wandering At Work, Anthony Belluccia

Theses and Dissertations

Mind wandering is a phenomenon often tackled by cognitive psychologists and overlooked by organizational psychologists, despite numbers suggesting that disengaged employees cost organizations $550 billion a year. Mind wandering is a demonstrated disruptor to cognitive processes like reading and working memory capacity that impair performance but may also be helpful for creative problem solving and autobiographical planning. Despite this, extant research has yet to develop a framework for the antecedents of mind wandering, there are still gaps in our understanding of workplace implications of mind wandering, and it is typically treated as a monolithic construct, ignoring dimensionality. The current research …

Stress, Burnout, And Experiential Avoidance In Clinical Psychology Doctoral Students, Katie Marie Connor

Theses and Dissertations

Research has shown that clinical psychology doctoral students experience stress and burnout, with attempts to moderate their experience utilizing various coping skills. The current study aimed to expand the literature on stress and burnout in clinical psychology doctoral students and the impact of experiential avoidance as a coping style. The current study surveyed clinical psychology doctoral students on their integration of experiential avoidance, as well as various coping styles, to mitigate stress and burnout. COVID-19 data and descriptive statistics were gathered as well. A correlational analysis and dependent sample t-test were conducted to understand the relationships between variables. The results …

The Negative Effects Of Interruptions On Job Performance And Affective Well-Being, Christopher James Juszczyk

Theses and Dissertations

Workplace interruptions are an increasingly prominent and potentially consequential issue. Most studies have found that interruptions can have serious negative consequences for both job performance and affective well-being. However, very little research has examined the specific effects of internal and external interruptions. In addition, there has been limited research on factors that may mitigate the effects of interruptions. This study examined these issues, focusing on (a) the effects of internal and external interruptions on both job performance and affective well-being as well as (b) polychronicity, contingent planning, and task-switching ability as moderators of these relationships. The study involved two major …

1, 2, Or 3 In A Hat? How A Human-Agent Team’S Composition Affects Trust And Cooperation, Dan Manh Nguyen

Theses and Dissertations

Modern advances in technology have enabled a collaborative relationship between man and machine. Many industries have adopted these human-agent teams, yet human perceptions about technology may prevent them from adopting a teammate mentality when interacting with agents. Although many studies have researched the issue, few have studied how the human to agent ratio within a team influences how the person intends to interact with their agent team members. Grounded in the theory of planned behavior (Azjen, 1985), this study elucidates how a team’s composition affects the trust of human team members in human-agent teams and their subsequent intentions to work …

Communion, Agency, And Authenticity: How Gendered Expectations Influence Trust In Leaders, Allyson Day Pagan

Theses and Dissertations

While there are a great many benefits to increasing female numbers in leadership positions, organizations still struggle to find a place for women leaders. More research is required to examine leader skills and mechanisms through which they operate in order to facilitate women’s empowerment. The purpose of the current study was to examine leadership skills (political skill), behaviors (impression management and emotion management) and their outcomes (authentic leadership and trust in leader) in the context of gender. This study examined interpersonal emotion management as an increasingly important construct for leadership and social influence, incorporating it as an outcome of political …

Biracial And Bicultural Identity Formation: Lessons Garnered From Sense Of Belonging And Code-Switching In Fostering Optimal Psychological Wellbeing And Mental Health, Kimberly Foley

Theses and Dissertations

In an era of systemized racial discrimination, the U.S.A. is in search of resolution to ameliorate the chronic racial divide, which has led to the declaration of racism being a public physical and mental health issue. The national epidemic of racism has given way to cultural health disparities for People of Color (POCs) that require our urgent attention as a nation, which are attributed to racial trauma that compromises POCs physical and psychological wellbeing. The belief that the answer to resolve the racial health crisis and racial divide may lie in the achievement of a healthy and developed biracial/bicultural identity. …

Redefining Creativity To Advance Our Understanding Of Behavior Change And Agency, Philip F. Brunner

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

Change is hard, and shifting one’s behavior, even with the support of a counselor, can be challenging. While it has not been common for the field of counseling and therapeutic behavior change to draw on it, creativity studies have much to offer counselors and practitioners as well as individuals who just want to realize change in their lives. The potential contributions of creativity studies to lasting and meaningful behavior change are enhanced especially if we take up a definition of creativity that draws on traditional definitions and theories but that also integrates insights from fields like neuroscience and complex dynamical …

Emotion Regulation And N2 Amplitude During A Go/Nogo Task: An Erp Study, Emily Tolar

Psychological Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

Emotion regulation is how people respond to and manage their reactions to life experiences, including resolving conflict between variable responses. Past research has associated the N2, an event-related potential associated with resolving response conflict, with both emotion regulation and negative emotion. However, to the best of our knowledge, no one has assessed if different emotion-regulation strategies are differentially associated with N2 activation. To assess this question, we conducted an EEG study with 147 participants. Participants completed the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ) and then played the go/no-go game as their EEG data was collected. The relationship between N2 amplitude and …

Language Ability And Concurrent Predictors Of Pragmatic Communication In Children With Williams Syndrome Or 7q11.23 Duplication Syndrome., Amanda G. Harmon

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The present project examined the language abilities of children with two reciprocal neurogenetic disorders: Williams syndrome (WS), which is caused by a hemideletion of 26 - 28 genes on chromosome 7q11.23, and 7q11.23 duplication syndrome (Dup7), which results from an extra copy of the same 26 - 28 genes. Appraising the language of children with WS and Dup7 helps in understanding the communication difficulties they encounter. There were three research goals. The first was to determine the overall level of language and communication ability as measured by the Children’s Communication Checklist-2 (CCC-2; Bishop, 2006) for each syndrome, relative to chronological …

Cyber Intimate Partner Victimization And Its Association With Depression And Alcohol Use Among Hispanic Emerging Adults: Identifying Protective Factors, Jorge I. Cantu

Theses and Dissertations

The advent of modern technology has inadvertently created newer avenues for intimate partner victimization (IPV) to transpire. This study investigated whether among Hispanic emerging adults psychological, sexual, and stalking intimate partner cybervictimization (cyber IPV) types were uniquely associated with depression and alcohol use; whether there were additive effects of cyber IPV types on depression and alcohol use; and to test whether cognitive reappraisal, self-compassion, and flourishing served as protective factors by moderating the unique effect of each cyber IPV type and the effect of cyber IPV multi-victimization on depression and alcohol use.

Participants were 1,129 Hispanic emerging adults in the …

The Mediating Role Of Emotion Dysregulation In The Association Between Intimate Partner Victimization Types And Symptoms Of Depression In Young Hispanic Women, Maria Gabriela Copeiro De Lestarpe

Theses and Dissertations

Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) is defined as the abuse or aggression that occurs in a close relationship. Statistics show that the most prevalent types of IPV are psychological, physical, and sexual. In the U.S. 1 in 4 women (24.4%, or 29.2 million) are victims of IPV before the age of 25. Minorities and socioeconomically disadvantaged women are most likely to experience it. Depression, among others, is one of the harmful consequences resulting from IPV victimization. The present study focuses on the role of emotion dysregulation in the association between IPV and depression. It was hypothesized that emotion dysregulation mediates the …

Family Communication Patterns During Recovery Maintenance: Relapse Prevention For Alcoholics & Addicts, Adam Pyecha

Communication & Theatre Arts Theses

The following thesis is research into the Family Communication Patterns (FCP) (McLeod & Chaffee, 1972) of “alcoholics and drug addicts” (ADA) with long-term recovery stages III and IV. Improving relapse rates of ADA in early recovery stage I and stage II may require knowledge about the family communication environment and family type of those ADA with extended recovery time. This is an exploratory descriptive of FCP and family typology of 81 ADA identifying as Twelve-step fellowship (TSF) members recovering from the disease of addiction (Jellinek, 1947; 1960). Data was collected via online questionnaire with adapted scales; AWARE 3.0 relapse awareness …

A Signal Detection Framework For Evaluating The Effects Of Feedback On Stroke Recognition, Jordan D. Bailey

Dissertations

The impact of stroke on the lives of individuals and the healthcare system is considerable. Damage from stroke can be reduced if the treatment is administered at the appropriate time so early recognition is essential. One problem is that strokes present in a variety of ways that sometimes do not fit into the Facial drooping, Arm weakness, Speech difficulties and Time (FAST; American Heart Association, 2019) acronym. Signal detection is one way to measure decision making under conditions of uncertainty (e.g., discriminating stroke symptoms and risk factors from other symptoms, and non-risk factors). The methodology also allows us to consider …

Data-Driven Approach To Dynamic Resting State Functional Connectivity In Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Carissa Weis

Theses and Dissertations

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a heterogenous psychological disorder that may result from exposure to a traumatic event. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), symptoms of PTSD have been associated with aberrations in brain networks that emerge in the absence of a given cognitive demand or task, called resting state networks. Most previous research in resting state networks and PTSD has focused on aberrations in the static functional connectivity among specific regions of interest (ROI) in the brain and within canonical networks constrained by a priori hypotheses. However, dynamic fMRI, an approach that examines changes in brain network characteristics over …

Toward A Valid And Reliable Measure Of Play: The Dimensions Of Play Framework, Aubrey Henriksen

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

While it is established that play is important for development, researchers do not have a measure that examines both play type and complexity. Existing measures are limited to examining play type without complexity, complexity of a specific play type, or ethnographic measures. Based on a combination of scales in the literature, I developed the Dimensions of Play Framework as a tool for observational quantitative measurement of play in children's museums. The purpose of this initial study was to investigate interrater reliability using a time-sampling method. Video tapes of 140 children interacting with either a simple or elaborate version of a …

Benevolence Toward Men And Political Conservatism Among Married And Never-Married Women, Tara Goering

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

Research indicates that sexism allows women to justify men’s privileged status; indeed, sexism has predicted women’s conservative vote choice (Cassese & Barnes, 2018). Benevolent attitudes toward men (BM) are based in beliefs about women and men’s interdependence (Glick & Fiske, 1999). Married women may experience greater interdependence and may desire to preserve beneficial structural power systems. The present research examined the relationship of BM to political conservatism among married and never-married women. Married and never-married women recruited from Prolific Academic completed a measure of political conservatism and the 10-item BM scale (Glick & Fiske, 1999). The results indicated that, as …

Acculturation, Psychological Well-Being And Substance Use Behaviors In Asian Indian Americans, Sonia Y. Amin

Dissertations

The American population is becoming more diversified with increases in the number of immigrants and refugees entering the country. These new Americans bring distinct cultural values, traditions, and worldviews. With this diversity, an important need has arisen to better understand the interplay of culture, physical, and mental health concerns that affect specific racial and ethnic populations. This increase in knowledge and awareness will aid in the development and provision of culturally-sensitive mental health services. The stress of immigration and the multifaceted sociocultural and psychological adaptations involved in adjusting to living in a new country with a Eurocentric dominant culture can …

Concept Maps As Sites Of Rhetorical Invention: Teaching The Creative Act Of Synthesis As A Cognitive Process, Amy Lee Marie Locklear

English Theses & Dissertations

Synthesis is one of the most cognitively demanding practices novice writers must undertake, and research demonstrates that first-year students’ synthesis writing practices result in more knowledge telling rather than knowledge creation and transforming. Pedagogies used to teach synthesis often focus on developing text-building strategies but lack explicit instruction on the more cognitively demanding conceptualizing behavior. To explore alternative pedagogies and heuristics, this study looks beyond composition scholarship to incorporate studies in neuroeducation and rhetoric to define synthesis as an ongoing, generative act of cognitive invention, effectively shifting pedagogical focus from text-centered product to student-centered cognitive processes that inform development of …

An Examination Of The Relationship Among Social Services Support, Race, Ethnicity And Recidivism In Justice Involved Mothers, Ne’Shaun Janay Borden

Counseling & Human Services Theses & Dissertations

Historically, women have been ignored and minimized in criminology research and theory, leading to gaps in the literature on justice involved women. In recent years, there has been more focus on women as their rates of involvement in the justice system have increased. Previous studies have found that pathways to justice involvement are different for women and men, with women experiencing higher rates of victimization, sexual abuse and mental health concerns. Further, justice involved women are unique in that over 80% are mothers or primary caregivers for minors. General Strain Theory is used to assert that receiving support should reduce …

A Model Of Individual, Relationship, And Societal Factors And Mental Health And Well-Being In Partnered Sexual Minority Women: The Central Role Of Relationship Satisfaction, Charlotte A. Dawson

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Sexual minority women (SMW) are at increased risk for mental health disorders, substance abuse, and physical health problems compared to heterosexual women. For heterosexual individuals, romantic relationships have been found to be protective against a variety of health issues. Less research, however, has focused on the association between romantic relationships and health in same-sex couples. The purpose of this study was to examine the potential protective nature of being in a relationship for SMW and to test a model investigating the central role of relationship satisfaction in the association between individual, relationship, and societal factors and mental health and well-being …

Attentional Control In Young Drivers: Does Training Help Or Hinder Bottom-Up Processing In A Dynamic Driving Environment?, Sarah Elizabeth Yahoodik

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Anticipating hidden hazards on the road is a critical skill for safe driving, one that many young and novice drivers lack. Training programs are shown to improve hazard anticipation performance in young drivers, but whether these training effects persist in the presence of salient and potentially distracting stimuli remains relatively less explored. In this study, we examined whether the effectiveness of an existing driving training program, Risk Awareness Perception Training (RAPT), on increasing latent hazard anticipation on the road persisted with extraneous bottom-up stimuli in the road environment. Forty-one young drivers, aged 18-21, completed a series of driving scenarios with …

A Meta-Analysis Of Group Treatment Outcomes For Veterans With Substance Use Disorders, Robert “Tony” Dice

Counseling & Human Services Theses & Dissertations

Group therapy is commonly used in the treatment of substance use disorders (SUD). Many studies exist related to the efficacy of group interventions for veterans with SUDs. A meta-analysis and systematic review of the literature addressing the use of group therapy, specifically psychoeducational groups, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) groups and support groups, in the treatment of SUDs with veterans was conducted. The following questions guided the research: What are viable treatment outcomes for psychoeducational, CBT, and support groups of veterans with SUDs? and What are the measures that capture outcomes related to psychoeducational, CBT, and support groups of veterans with …

A Systemic Review And Meta-Analysis Of Psychoeducational Groups For The Treatment Of Psychopathology Resulting From Child Sexual Abuse, Alexis Lynnette Wilkerson

Counseling & Human Services Theses & Dissertations

It is estimated that 16% of men and 26% of women have experienced child sexual abuse (CSA), and studies have shown a strong association with long-term psychosocial consequences. The use of psychoeducational groups with survivors of CSA has been found to produce favorable outcomes; however, no meta-analyses have been conducted on studies assessing the use of psychoeducational groups to treat victims of CSA. The purpose of this systematic review and random-effect meta-analysis was to examine the efficacy of psychoeducational groups for the treatment of psychopathology subsequent to child sexual abuse (CSA) by addressing the following research questions (1) Are psychoeducational …