Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Building Blocks Of Language: Speech Perception In Infants (Eimas Et Al., 1971), Sanjula Mahathantila, Jonathan B. Santo

Essays in Developmental Psychology

Language is a very important component of what makes humans, humans.  Without language, we would not be able to communicate thoughts, feelings, or ideas.  Learning a native language starts at infancy and continues well into our adult lives.  However, the beginning of learning a language at infancy might not be as simple as it seems.  In adulthood, when hearing a foreign language it might be hard to figure out where one word stops and where another begins.  Infants are doing the same thing, except on a much different scale.

Michael Rutter, Benjamin Lowry, Lisa K. Lashley, Charles J. Golden

Essays in Developmental Psychology

Michael Rutter was born August 15th, 1933 to Winifred and Llewellyn Rutter in Lebanon, where his father was working as a doctor. He returned with his parents to England when he was 3-years-old. In 1940, at the age of 6-years-old, Rutter and his younger sister were evacuated to North America due to fear of German invasion of the British Isles. He and his sister were taken in by different families in the United States and only living together a few months near the end of their four year stay abroad. Rutter denied feeling separated from his parents during his stay …

Battered Woman Syndrome, Emma Lathan, Jennifer Langhinrichsen-Rohling

Essays in Developmental Psychology

Battered Woman Syndrome (BWS) is a psychological and sociological construct defined as a set of symptoms that develop as coping skills and/or survival mechanisms for repeated physical, sexual, and/or psychological abuse by an intimate partner (Walker, 2017). Symptom criteria include post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) indicators of fear, hypervigilance, avoidance, and intrusive memories of abuse, in addition to disrupted interpersonal relationships, body image distortion and/or physical health complaints, and sexual dysfunction. Although historically BWS was considered a female syndrome, it is now known that both men and women can experience severe victimization by intimate partner violence (IPV; i.e., contact sexual violence, …

Bowlby, John, Corey Lieneman, Morgan Simpson, Cheryl B. Mcneil

Essays in Developmental Psychology

Edward John Mostyn Bowlby (February 27, 1907, London, England – September 2, 1990, Isle of Skye, Scotland) was a child psychologist, psychoanalyst, and psychiatrist renowned for his attachment theory. Bowlby was interested in how the caregiver-child bond impacted the child’s personality and emotional bonds formed later in life.

Kieran Egan, Benjamin Lowry, Lisa K. Lashley, Charles J. Golden

Essays in Developmental Psychology

Kieran Egan was born in 1942 in Clomel, Ireland. He obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1966 from the University of London. After graduating he was employed at the Institute for Comparative Studies in Kingston upon Thames as a research fellow. Egan then began a Ph.D. program in philosophy of education from Stanford Graduate School of Education, but after two years he transferred to Cornell University and completed his degree in 1972.  He then worked at Simon Frasier University as a professor of education.

Adolescent Social Development, Randall E. Osborne

Essays in Developmental Psychology

Views about the manner and nature of human development have changed across time (Psyking.net 2016). Some of these views have been religious (e.g., creationism) and some of these views have been more biological (e.g., preformationism).  Regardless of the focus of the view, how we believe human beings develop has a profound effect on our expectations for those beings.  One early view of human development from a biological perspective was Preformationism.  This is explained as, “A notion that was widespread among pioneer biologists in the 18th century was that the fetus, and hence the adult organism that develops from it, is …

The Concrete Operational Period Of Development, Rebecca Olson, Kelsey Eackles, Cassandra Kepple, Cheryl B. Mcneil

Essays in Developmental Psychology

Jean Piaget was one of the first psychologists to systematically investigate the cognitive development of children. He believed that intelligence develops as a result of both biological and environmental reactions rather than being an unchangeable, inherited trait. He believed cognition develops in distinct stages from infancy to adulthood, which became the basis of Piaget’s Cognitive-Developmental Theory.

Sibling Relationships In Old Age, Ronald Okolichany, Lisa K. Lashley, Charles J. Golden

Essays in Developmental Psychology

The relationship between siblings is unique among family relationships in that sibling relationships have a dimension of equality. In other words, they do not necessarily share the same obligations toward each other as a married partners or parents and child may, especially in Western cultures. Durkheim (1933) described sibling relationships as a “mechanical” bond rather than an “organic” bond, which would better characterize a complimentary relationship, such as that between married partners or a parent and child. This mechanical bond results in ambivalence and rivalry towards one another during childhood and early adulthood, as siblings are often forced to compete …

Speech (Building Blocks), Ronald Okolichany, Lisa K. Lashley, Charles J. Golden

Essays in Developmental Psychology

Nova Southeastern University The building blocks of language begin with the smallest distinguishable unit, the phoneme, and grow in complexity to convey meaning within a specific social context. The study of meaning is known as semantics. According to Kellogg (2003), the goal of semantic theories is to explain how individuals form mental representations of words and thus derive meaning from them. The smallest distinguishable unit of speech is the phoneme. A phoneme is essentially a unique speech sound, or phonological segment, that can alter the meaning of a word. For instance, if you examine the words “pat” and “cat” you …

Sensorimotor Period, Maria Munoz, Heidi Kloos

Essays in Developmental Psychology

The developing mind does not merely follow a linear trajectory—say from knowing little to knowing more. Instead, the mind appears to actively organize information into coherent structures. According to Jean Piaget, these mental organizations – referred to as schemas – go through qualitatively distinct stages, the first of which is the sensorimotor period. Cognition at this stage is characterized by a reliance on reflexes and primary sense, rather than on symbolic or abstract thought. The argument is that children younger than 2 years base their cognition on immediate actions-perception loops, making distinctive mistakes when the task requires an ability to …

Cognitive Dissonance, Afton Nelson, Eric A. Goedereis

Essays in Developmental Psychology

Leon Festinger proposed the theory of cognitive dissonance in 1957, in which he extensively outlined the major derivations of dissonance, consonance, and justification (Festinger & Carlsmith, 1959). In short, cognitive dissonance occurs when one’s actions are inconsistent with previous beliefs about one’s self. The inconsistency in these beliefs creates conflict within the self. For example, an individual may think of herself as a good person, yet she breaks a law. In this example, there is inconsistency between one’s current action and prior beliefs about the self.

Memory Strategies, Tina M. Miyake, Erika K. Fulton

Essays in Developmental Psychology

If questioned, we can all probably describe a strategy we employed to try to remember relevant information (e.g., I rehearsed the definitions, I generated examples of the definitions) for some future event (e.g., a test). Essentially, memory strategies help manage encoding and retrieval demands given a particular memory task. In the example of a test, we must figure out how to remember all the material covered on the test. This task requires that our studying allow us to discriminate the information at test. Famous psychologist, Endel Tulving, demonstrated the Encoding Specificity Principle that posits that the more similar the retrieval …

John B. Watson, Afton Nelson, Amanda Kracen

Essays in Developmental Psychology

John B. Watson (1878 – 1958) was an influential American psychologist credited with advancing behaviorism, a psychological approach that considers all behavior to be a result of interactions with the external environment. Watson was born in South Carolina on January 9, 1878, where he lived throughout his childhood. Despite his rebellious adolescent years and poor academic performance, he graduated with a master’s degree from Furman University in South Carolina at the age of 21. He earned a Ph.D. in psychology in 1903 from the University of Chicago, where he studied animal behaviors for his doctoral dissertation. In 1908, Watson accepted …

Ethical Research, Stephanie Nguyen, Aya Shigeto

Essays in Developmental Psychology

In the early history of empirical research, the ethical code of conduct was only loosely followed and not well regulated. Now, following a proper code of ethics is expected in research with committees from the institutional to the international level strictly regulating and holding researchers accountable for their work. Research ethics address questions, such as whether a study will produce the greatest good; who is intended to benefit from a study at the expense of others; and how research participants, especially those from vulnerable populations (e.g., pregnant women; minors; people in impoverished circumstances, with disabilities, or from minority groups), should …

Psychological Development During Childhood, Meg Milligan, Kanessa Miller Doss, Sherrionda H. Crawford

Essays in Developmental Psychology

Childhood is a time of tremendous psychological development. Our personalities, cognitive capabilities, and emotions expand and transform us from infants to adolescents. In some ways we exhibit continuous development, while others are more accurately described as stages. The following pages present some of these significant changes that occur during early and middle childhood.

Grandparenthood, Ronald Okolichany, Lisa K. Lashley, Charles J. Golden

Essays in Developmental Psychology

The transition from parenthood into grandparenthood is a normative experience for a majority of individuals and typically occurs in middle age. However, this transition is not uncommon for individuals over 65 or under 55. An individual’s first experience with grandparenthood generally occurs in childhood, when they interact with their grandparents as grandchildren. Initially, the bond between grandparents and grandchildren is mediated by the parents. However, over time the relationship between the two becomes more direct.

Ipar Internship, Steven R. Goodnow

Research & Creative Achievement Day

One focus of this poster presentation will be focused on how I used Power BI to visualize institutional data from here at WSU. Another focus point will be how we used data of other institutions from IPEDS to find similar schools to WSU. This internship is a part of my 120 credits toward graduating.

The Role Of Self-As-Doer Identity In The Relationship Between Intentions And Healthy Eating, Hannah G. Casselman, Esther A. Gauerke, Madeline R. Bersch, Ava N. Krolnik, Megan L. Ekern

Research & Creative Achievement Day

Introduction: Proper nutrition is critical for a healthy lifestyle. Inadequate nutrition and sedentary lifestyles contribute to high obesity and health concerns, including cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, cancer, and osteoporosis. Two-thirds of U.S. adults and one-third of children are overweight or obese. Reducing disease rates and improving health can be achieved through a nutritious diet, including consuming more fruits and vegetables. The theory of planned behavior (TPB) suggests that individuals are more likely to engage in behaviors, like healthy eating, when they have strong intentions, positive attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control. Research suggests perceived behavioral control and …

The Power Of Authority: Can White Individuals Detect Racial Microaggressions From High Authority Figures?, Vivian Cavallin

Research & Creative Achievement Day

A microaggression is a subtle, brief remark that communicates a hostile or derogatory impression towards a specific group, often associated with race. Microaggressions are often overlooked by those who do not experience their effects firsthand, which may lead to desensitization to racism. However, some external aspects may cause microaggressions to be noticed more or less by White individuals, such as the authority level of the person saying the microaggression. Because individuals often feel prone to obeying authority, the power or status that an authority figure holds may cause an individual to ignore or disregard racial microaggressions said by authority figures. …

Internship With The Winona School District And Project Compass And What I Have Taken From It, Jasmine L. Odegard

Research & Creative Achievement Day

There are two parts to my current internship; I work with the enrichment events coordinator at the Winona School District, and I also help with project compass events. Both are very fulfilling in different ways. With the school district side of my internship I am constantly working with children or planning events for the children, and project compass works directly with adults that have various disabilities. The bulk of my internship is with the school district, and particularly the elementary school, so we will start from there. As I stated above, I am interning for the school district and for …

Sign Tracking Behavior In Long Evans And Sprague-Dawley Rats, Ryan J. Sleypen, Liam K. Kubitschek

Research & Creative Achievement Day

The purpose of the study was to evaluate differences in sign tracking behavior between Sprague Dawley and Long Evans lab rats. Sign tracking ultimately reflects the degree of impulsivity often modeled in addiction related research. Data collection for sign tracking included three types of data, total number of signtracking behaviors observed, latency scores for sign tracking behaviors, and sign tracking probability scores. Sign tracking latency times and probability scores displayed statistically significant results when comparing the two strains. However, the data regarding the total number of sign tracking interactions with the conditioned stimulus did not come back as statistically significant. …

Perceptions Of Psychological Distress By Target Gender And Disorder Type: Preliminary Findings, Alanna Hartman, Amelie H. Pflamminger, Isabelle A. Anderson, Molly Marston, Gabriella Becker

Research & Creative Achievement Day

Previous studies demonstrate that mental health issues are often under-recognized in males, and there are barriers to seeking help that may prevent men from getting necessary mental health treatment. Therefore, this study aims to examine how people perceive psychological distress in those with different genders and mental health disorders. Our sample consisted of around 250 participants who are attending Winona State University at the undergraduate level. In our survey, participants were presented with multiple vignettes of individuals showing symptoms of different mental health disorders, e.g. substance use disorder or social anxiety, for which the character gender was randomized. Following this, …

The Impact Of Physical Activity On Mental Health Disorders In Children, Brianna E. Ryan

Research & Creative Achievement Day

Purpose - The purpose of this project is to highlight the effects physical activity has on children's mental health and to provide evidence-based insights on ways physical activity can and should be incorporated into the developmental stages of children's lives. Ultimately, the goal being to promote healthier and improved mental health statuses for the younger populations.

Introduction - The mental health crises among children are on the rise as more children each year are diagnosed with mental health conditions. It has been found that around 20% of children ages five through seventeen regularly experience symptoms of mental health disorders and …

Romance Scam Victimization: A Survey-Based Examination Of Financial, Psychological, And Reporting Factors, Ld Herrera

Research & Publications

Romance scams are a growing type of cybercrime in which perpetrators develop and exploit fraudulent romantic relationships with victims to obtain financial resources. These schemes cause substantial economic and psychological damage, yet they are significantly underreported. Official 2022 reports indicate only \$1.3 billion lost to romance scams in the US, but the true financial toll is likely much higher.

Using survey data from 366 victims, this study examines the financial and psychological toll of romance scams, reporting patterns, obstacles to seeking help, and victims' perceptions of received help. Most of the victims (60.9\%) did not seek help from any source, …

Paper Or Digital? Comparing Vocabulary Learning From Internet Search To A Physical Dictionary, Olivia L. Hamilton

Honors Theses

There is an increasing presence of technology found in the educational environment. With that there are many questions about the effectiveness of learning when information can be re-accessed with the click of a mouse. Information is more accessible than ever online but expecting to be able to rely on the internet may make learning less effective than other learning methods, such as paper. Continuing research has shown deficits, which could imply a digital presence is harming the learning environment. 125 students completed this study which compared differences between paper versus online learning platforms. The study tested peoples word translation accuracy …

Work-Life Balance Conflicts Parents Of Early Adolescents Faced During Covid-19 Lockdowns, Rodney Smith

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Measures such as social distancing and lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic meant parents balanced their roles as educators, tech support, and employees in shared home offices. This qualitative phenomenological study was to investigate the work-life balance conflicts parents of early adolescents faced during the COVID-19 lockdowns, focusing on how parents managed the challenges of pandemic restrictions and their strategies for coping with cognitive, emotional, and physical fatigue for themselves and their families. This study was guided by the transactional theory of stress and coping. Twelve female parents were virtually interviewed, selected based on their having early adolescent children at home, …

Imagining Differences: An Exploration Of The Visual Imagery Spectrum, Kay Dekock

2025 Student Academic Showcase

Mental imagery, or more specifically, visual imagery, plays a significant role in human life. For this reason, this paper aims to examine the many aspects of visual imagery with a special focus on inherent differences between individuals. This paper explores the idea of what visual imagery is and how it is represented, from the in-between of the spectrum of visual imagery, to the extreme ends, where lies the conditions of aphantasia and hyperphantasia. This paper covers the core cognitive processes involved in visual imagery and the parts of the brain responsible for them. The idea of measurement and assessment is …

Stuffed Animals And Adults, Anna R. Reed

2025 Student Academic Showcase

Recently, stuffed animals have resurged in interest among children and adults. For example, in 2023, Squishmallows won Plush Toy of the Year at the annual Toy Association Awards. We surveyed 184 adult participants (18 or older) to identify who owns stuffed animals. We were interested in whether certain personality variables predict who has these toys and why adults retain interest in these toys. Among our participants, 71.7% owned stuffed animals. We hypothesized that adults with higher stress/anxiety would report increased likelihood of owning stuffed animals. This hypothesis was supported. An independent samples t-test showed that participants with stuffed animals reported …

Why People Play Foddian/Rage Games, David Kruse

2025 Student Academic Showcase

Many different video game genres capture and engage consumers by offering fun and engaging experiences. The fairly new genre of Foddian or rage games that are designed to make the player angry with clunky controls or unfair challenges. This genre has found a large audience despite seemingly subverting the usual game experience. This study will examine why Foddian players actively seek out experiences that are designed to be clunky and aggravating. This study would be to understand what needs Foddian games fulfill as outlined in the uses in gratification theory such as gaining knowledge, social interaction, or stress release. This …

Early Birds Or Night Owls: Who Is Getting The Best Sleep?, Josie Davis

2025 Student Academic Showcase

Chronotyping is categorizing individuals based on their sleep schedules. The two chronotypes are morning-types (M-type) and eveningtypes (E-types; Montralu et al., 2021). Heinrich et al. (2021) found that M-type individuals experienced better sleep quality than E-type individuals. Approximately 200 full time working individuals aged 20+ will be surveyed on their chronotype, sleep quality, and preferred exercise time. We hypothesize that M-type individuals will report better sleep quality than E-type individuals and will use an independent samples t-test to assess this. Additionally, we will categorize participants on matching or non-matching of chronotype and preferred exercise timing. The expectation is that the …