Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Impact Of Perceived Self-Connection On Possession-Based Placebo Analgesia : An Investigation Using Implicit And Explicit Measures, Sze Ki Ng

Lingnan Theses (MPhil & PhD)

Previous study found merely possessing a placebo analgesic cream (without using) has similar pain outcomes when it is compared with using a placebo analgesic cream, but the underlying mechanism is unclear (Yeung et al., 2019). Yeung et al. (2020) proposed that an object-to-self expectancy can be a possible mechanism underlying a possession-based placebo effect, which means people believe that the owned object will benefit them. The present study aimed to examine this hypothetical mechanism and investigate how forming a cognitive connection between the analgesic cream and the self affects the possession-based placebo effect. We demonstrated the effect existed and observed …

Skill Bias Perceptions Of Unskilled Workers' Self-Perception And Self-Efficacy, Cheryl M. Jackson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A common phenomenon witnessed in the United States health care industry is a division between skilled and unskilled workforces. The division results from skill bias perceptions that strip the appreciation and value of certain job titles and responsibilities. The purpose of this quantitative nonexperimental study focused on the human capability approach theory was to ascertain the differences in perception between the two types of workers and whether skill bias perceptions predict self-perception and self-efficacy. The goal was to recognize and support the innate human capabilities of unskilled workers as valuable human capital resources. From stratified sampling, 172 skilled and unskilled …

Temporal Order Memory In Naturalistic Events Is Influenced By Semantic Knowledge And Hierarchical Event Structure, Yining Ding

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

As people go through everyday life, they segment their continuous sensory experience into distinct events, and the event structure being perceived during encoding has important implication on how event dynamics is later reconstructed from long-term memory. Previous studies using discrete pictorial stimuli showed that people are sometimes better at remembering the temporal order of items occurring within the same perceptual context than items spanning across a perceptual boundary, but that the opposite can also occur if contextual cues are available during retrieval. However, given that these paradigms only tested the episodic memory of arbitrary temporal associations, it is unclear if …

Female Medical Students’ Lived Experiences Of Financial Stress And Coping, Untara Shaikh, Dr. Kimberlee Bonura

Georgia Public Health Association Annual Meeting & Conference

Financial stress is a pervasive concern among medical students, with documented associations with adverse physical health, psychological morbidity, and ineffective coping. This study focuses on understanding the financial stressors female medical students face and the coping strategies they employ. While financial stress and coping mechanisms have been explored in the literature, a notable gap exists in understanding these dynamics among female students.

The study employed a phenomenological research approach to obtain data from the respondents, where data collection involved face-to-face semi-structured interviews. The Adaptation Model of Nursing, complemented by Lazarus and Folkman's Coping Theory, was a comprehensive framework for analyzing …

Feeling A Little Uneasy: A Comparative Discourse Analysis Of White And Bipoc College Students’ Reflective Writing About Systemic Racism, Brett Russell Coleman, Caitlyn Yantis

Center for Urban Research and Learning: Publications and Other Works

This critical discourse analysis compares the ways in which White and BIPOC college students discuss their experiences of an educational intervention meant to promote better understanding of systemic racism. We analyzed reflective writing produced by 11 White psychology students from a private liberal arts college in the eastern United States and 17 BIPOC students from a Human Services program at a public university in the western United States. White students engaged in whiteness discourse that distanced themselves from the realities of systemic racism and/or relieved the cognitive dissonance associated with the self- and group-image threat related to learning about systemic …

Brains Over Bronze, Natalia L. Williams

Whittier Scholars Program

While we as a society have made great strides in rewarding and praising athletes for the shows of great physical display, there is a lack of support or awareness of the mental health aspects of competition, especially at the college and professional level. This project illuminates the dire need for mental health resources and training. Athletes undergo a number of pressures and challenges in their work life as well as their personal development. Through literature review, this symposium aims to offer insight on the experiences of college and professional athletes, then providing mental health and psychological skills training resources that …

Philanthropy In The Helping Profession: An Overview And Introductory Workshop Intended To Support Counselors And Counselors In Training, Matthew Higgins

Educational Specialist, 2020-current

Many new counseling professionals enter the field with a deep understanding of the therapeutic relationship but lack knowledge of the financial realities that sustain counseling services. Traditional training prioritizes building rapport with clients, leaving a gap in understanding the business side of the helping profession. As the demand for therapy increases, particularly in the United States, it's crucial for counselors to explore innovative solutions to sustain the field in the long term. Integrating education on philanthropic support into counselor training offers a creative approach that would fall in line with the ACA Code of Ethics. While more research needs to …

An Exploration Of The Potential Impacts Of Philosophical Idealism On Psychotherapeutic Practice, Ian Richard

Educational Specialist, 2020-current

This study presents a review of the modern ontologies available regarding the nature of the universe and identifies Bernardo Kastrup’s formulation of idealism as a leading model. Idealism theorizes that consciousness is the basis of reality, as opposed to physical objects. The implications of Kastrup’s idealism on psychotherapeutic practice are considered, including conflicts with the medical model, synergies with the contextual model, and suggestions for approaches that align with the findings of idealism.

The Effects Of Acute Exercise On Retrieval-Induced Forgetting, Anna Katherine Pitts

Honors Theses

This research investigates the relationship between acute exercise on retrieval-induced forgetting. Retrieval-induced forgetting (RIF) is a type of active forgetting that occurs when recalling an item from memory leads to the concurrent forgetting of related items connected to the same memory. Inhibition has been theorized as a potential mechanism behind RIF. Additionally, previous studies have shown that acute exercise can contribute to and enhance cognitive inhibitory processes. Therefore, an exercise-RIF relationship is plausible because the mechanisms that influence RIF, inhibition, are also influenced by exercise. Due to this understanding, the present thesis aims to investigate that when acute vigorous-intensity exercise …

Educator Sexual Misconduct: Prevalence And Characteristics In Disciplinary Actions, Yan Shan Yu

Student Theses

In recent years, there has been an increase in the number of reports of educator sexual misconduct (ESM), but the extent of the problem is relatively unknown. A lot of what is known is based on media reports and self-report surveys. There have been few empirical studies examining the scope of this problem based on official reports. Thus, this descriptive study aimed to examine ESM through official reports regarding educator disciplinary actions obtained from the Department of Education website of eight U.S. states. To identify the prevalence and characteristics of ESM across states, information was gathered and coded for a …

Investigating The Direction Of Item Parameter Bias In The Presence Of Rapid Guessing, Sarah Alahmadi

Dissertations, 2020-current

Inadequate examinee test-taking effort is especially concerning when the results of low-stakes tests are used to inform high-stakes policy or psychometric decisions. Although abundant is the literature on the negative impact of low test-taking effort (e.g., Wise & DeMars, 2005) and ways to address it (e.g., Alahmadi & DeMars, 2024; Lau et al., 2009), integrating it into assessment practices has long been in a rudimentary stage. The findings presented in this dissertation serve as a clarion call for testing professionals to reinforce efforts that bridge research and practice. The current study investigated how rapid guessing (RG)—a form of non-effortful test-taking …

Exploring The Intersection Of Mental Health, Self-Advocacy, And Sense Of Belonging Among Rural, First-Generation College Students, Sarah Johnson

Dissertations, 2020-current

This dissertation delves into the intersections of social and cultural capital, self-advocacy, sense of belonging, and the experiences of mental health help-seeking among rural, first-generation college students. Rural, first-generation college students face unique challenges throughout their academic journey, this dissertation aims to contribute to the literature by examining the experiences and support mechanisms that are crucial for this population to be successful in higher education. This dissertation follows a triple-manuscript style, including a conceptual manuscript, quantitative manuscript, and a qualitative manuscript. The conceptual manuscript examined how college counselors can build contextual social and cultural capital among rural, first-generation college students …

An Exploration Of The Value In Integrating Pre-Treatment Assessments Of Caregiver-Child Dyad Functioning, Emery Q. Brautigan

Dissertations, 2020-current

Parent child interactions constitute a wide variety of behaviors that have been linked to a variety of childhood outcomes. A variety of caregiver-child dyadic treatment modalities have arisen, such as Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) and Theraplay, that aim to improve the quality of parent child interaction. These modalities utilize pre-treatment semi-structured observational assessments to establish the current functioning of the caregiver-child dyad and inform treatment goals. PCIT utilizes the Dyadic Parent-Child Interaction Coding System, Fourth Edition (DPICS-IV) and Theraplay utilizes the Marschak Interaction Method (MIM). Given the similar interests of these assessments in assessing the quality of parent-child interaction, a …

Cultivating Emotional Competencies In Therapists-In-Training, Tara Rajagopal

Dissertations, 2020-current

Emotions are central to the process of therapy. This is why it is important for therapists to possess emotional skills to work with their own and clients’ emotions to promote change. While therapeutic competencies have been well-researched, the emotional competencies of student therapists have received limited research attention. The present research aims to understand students’ beliefs regarding emotions in therapy and test strategies to train aspiring therapists’ emotional competencies. Students in a clinical and school psychology doctoral program participated in focus groups to explore their beliefs about emotions in therapy and their needs for emotional training. They also engaged in …

The Relationship Among Oral Contraceptive Use, Sleep, And Sexual Behavior, Sureyya Sanchez

Masters Theses, 2020-current

The purpose of this study was to discover if individuals taking oral contraceptives differed on measures of sleep and sexual behavior compared to those who are taking no form of birth control. Participants wore motion loggers every night for two-weeks, tracking their sleep, and filled out a questionnaire every morning inquiring about their sleep, sexual feelings, sexual behaviors, and affect from the day before. Research in this area of study is very sparse and results are conflicting, therefore I aimed to obtain comprehensive information to derive a basic understanding on if sexual behavior variables and sleep variables are in fact …

Measuring Alumni Career Outcomes: A Validity Study, Mason Jones

Masters Theses, 2020-current

Higher education experiences routine scrutiny as the cost continues to rise and evidence of a return on investment is variable. Higher education institutions would benefit from measuring post-graduate outcomes to better articulate their impact. The current study examines the factor structure and measurement invariance of the National Alumni Career Mobility (NACM) a 25-item survey, that is widely used to assess alumni career outcomes. Prior psychometric reports for the NACM purported two different factor structures: a five-factor and bifactor model. National reports disaggregated the data by demographic variables, including first-generation status. Disaggregation by first-generation status is problematic given the lack of …

Relations Between Parent Reports Of Effortful Control And Behavioral Measures Of Executive Function In Toddlers, Racheal Embry

Honors Theses

Recent proposals have identified many commonalities in conceptualizations of effortful control and executive function (EF, e.g., Zhou, Chen, & Main, 2012). However, the overlap of effortful control and EF during periods of emerging regulation in toddlerhood has not been thoroughly investigated. In the present study, I examined the relationship between effortful control and EF in 14, 18, and 24 month old toddlers by a combination of in-lab tasks and parent report measures. Results revealed few relations between effortful control and EF during this time. The lack of overlap between effortful control and EF may be explained by a number of …

Guardian's Goals And Gains: The Relationship Between Need Satisfaction And Parenting Goals In Parents Of Toddlers, Kallen E. Mitchell

Honors Theses

Self Determination Theory (SDT) theorizes that when three core psychological needs are met (i.e., competence, relatedness, and autonomy) then humans reach their highest level of optimization (Deci & Ryan, 2000). One common way people tend to satisfy these needs is through social relationships, typically ones where their efforts can be reciprocated; however, not all relationships are reciprocal. This study looks at the psychological needs within an asymmetrical relationship between a parent and their toddler aged child. Given an already established relationship (Smith et al. 2023) between need satisfaction and the types of goals parents have for their college aged kids …

The Effects Of Vigorous-Intensity Acute Exercise On Hippocampal- And Prefrontal Cortex-Dependent Memory, Lauren Hord

Honors Theses

Acute exercise has been shown to differentially impact memory, dependent on whether the task is considered prefrontal cortex- or hippocampal-dependent. More specifically, acute exercise has been shown to impair PFC-dependent memory while enhancing hippocampal-dependent memory. No study has compared whether exercise differentially impacts separate types of cognition, so this experiment was designed to determine the relationship between high-intensity acute exercise and both prefrontal cortex-dependent and hippocampal-dependent memory. This study consisted of five total visits for 55 participants. In the first visit, participants engaged in a maximal exercise test, where their heart rate reserve was obtained. In visits 2-5, participants engaged …

Assessing Cannabidiol As A Novel Therapeutic For Depression Among College Students, Noah Gustin

Masters Theses, 2020-current

The purpose of the current study was to assess the utility of cannabidiol (CBD) as a novel therapeutic for college students with mild-to-moderate depression. Participants completed a fourteen-week protocol: a four-week baseline, a four-week consumption phase, a two-week washout phase, and a second four-week consumption phase. Participants were randomly assigned to a CBD condition (150mg or 300mg). Study phases were counterbalanced such that if CBD was consumed in the first consumption phase, placebo was consumed in the second consumption phase, and vice versa. Participants completed weekly and monthly surveys used to assess depressive symptoms and secondary health-related measures. While graphical …

The Effects Of Various Array Sizes On The Skill Acquisition Of Auditory-Visual Conditional Discriminations, Ashlee Parks

Masters Theses, 2020-current

Common skills frequently taught to young learners in early childhood often include simple and conditional discriminations of stimuli. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of different array sizes presented to a learner when teaching auditory-visual conditional discriminations. An alternating treatments design was used to determine which array size led to the quickest and longest maintained skill acquisition. The researcher tested one participant’s ability to identify a shape from arrays of four, six, and nine. During baseline, the researcher observed low levels of responding in each array indicating this was not a skill the learner had in …

Examining The Psychometric Properties Of Issaq-Ss Subscales And Testing Measurement Invariance Across First-Generation Status, Riley Herr

Masters Theses, 2020-current

The ISSAQ-SS is a new scale developed for the purpose of measuring students on twelve noncognitive skills, all of which are theoretically predictive of academic success in higher education. Each of the twelve noncognitive skills measured via the ISSAQ-SS are represented by distinct subscales which contain five to nine items. Students respond to each item using a 4-point Likert scale. Given that the ISSAQ-SS is still new, further validity evidence is needed to support the use of this scale. For example, prior to comparing ISSAQ-SS subscale scores across groups of interest, it is necessary to establish that the subscales exhibit …

Fading Reinforcement Within High-Probability Request Sequences, Morgan Mabery

Masters Theses, 2020-current

Following Mace at al.’s (1988) seminal article, which first established the efficacy of the high-probability request sequence, further research on the high-p sequence has examined the factors which impact the effectiveness of the sequence. Wilder et al.’s (2015) research supports that the use of programmed reinforcement within high-p sequences is critically important for the procedure’s effectiveness. Some research has supported the efficacy of fading the number of high-p requests presented while maintaining responding, yet no research thus far has examined the use of fading reinforcement and its effects on maintenance of responding. The present study aimed to replicate the findings …

The Reciprocal Relationship Between Ego-Resiliency And Attachment Quality: The Mediating Role Of Coping, Christopher Johnson

Masters Theses, 2020-current

Ego-resiliency is a multifaceted personality trait that is heavily associated with social competence and plays a key role in an individual’s ability to cope with stress and adapt to novel situations. Broadly speaking, ego-resiliency refers to an individual’s ability to modify one’s level of impulse inhibition in accordance with environmental demands. Three key antecedents of ego-resiliency have been identified: active engagement with the world, having a repertoire of problem-solving strategies, and the ability to quickly recover after experiencing stressful or unforeseen events. Attachment theory suggests that high-quality adolescent attachment relationships provide individuals with a “secure base” from which to explore …

Exploring The Link Between Self-Distancing And “Stress Is Enhancing” Mindsets, Kyle Green

Masters Theses, 2020-current

While stress is generally framed as debilitating, past research has shown that adopting a mindset that focuses on the positive aspects of stress, referred to as a “stress is enhancing” mindset, can improve the ways in which one engages in stressful experiences. Researchers in this area have called for further investigation of the ways in which “stress is enhancing” mindsets are adopted. This study sought to explore the practice of self-distancing as a potential mechanism. It was hypothesized that participants who were instructed to write about a personally relevant future stressor from a distanced, third-person perspective would have more positive …

Varied Versus Non-Varied Behavior-Specific Praise On Student On-Task Behavior, Courtney West

Masters Theses, 2020-current

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of praise variety on student behavior, by assessing how varied and non-varied behavior-specific praise statements affect student on-task behavior. An alternating treatments design was used to compare the two praise conditions. During baseline, participants were not provided with any feedback on their interactions with students. Following baseline, instructions were given to teachers on the two skills (varied and non-varied BSP) and the experimental phase began. In the experimental phase, participants alternated between a condition providing varied BSP to students and a condition providing non-varied BSP to students. The results of …

A Component Analysis Of Behavioral Skills Training In Teaching And Maintaining Social Skills In An Adolescent With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Hannah Lockwood

Masters Theses, 2020-current

Modern social skills literature show the use of behavioral skills training (BST) and role-play in social skills instruction in small-group and school-based settings, although there is limited research measuring the effects of components of the BST package in maintaining social behaviors. The purpose of the present study, in response to the work of Kornacki et al. (2013), was to measure the effectiveness of the role-play and feedback components of BST in maintaining social skills. A multiple-baseline design across behaviors was used to measure social skills acquisition across different behavior domains for an adolescent participant with autism spectrum disorder. The participant …

The Impacts Of Teacher's Pride Skill Acquisition On Student Challenging Behavior, Haley Gardner

Masters Theses, 2020-current

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of teacher’s PRIDE (praise, reflection, imitation, description, and enjoyment) skill acquisition on student challenging behavior using direct measurement. PRIDE skills are positive attention skills that have demonstrated success in improving teacher-student rapport as well as reducing student maladaptive behavior within the classroom setting. A multiple baseline across behaviors design was used to assess the impacts of P + R and I + D pairings on the dependent variable, student behavior. Behavioral skills training (BST) and feedback was used to teach and maintain PRIDE skill acquisition in the intervention phases. Due …

Beyond The Task: Developing A Tool To Measure Workplace Characteristics That Affect Cognitive Load And Learning, Sarah Blissett, Sebastian Rodriguez, Atif Qasim, Patricia O'Sullivan

Department of Medicine Faculty Papers

PURPOSE: Educators lack tools to measure the workplace characteristics that learners perceive to affect learning. Without a tool that encompasses the social, organizational, and physical components of workplace learning environments (WLEs), it is challenging to identify and improve problematic workplace characteristics. Using echocardiography WLE, this study developed a tool to measure workplace characteristics that cardiology fellows perceive to affect learning.

METHOD: The Workplace-Cognitive Load Tool (W-CLT) was developed, which encompasses 17 items to measure workplace characteristics that could affect perceived cognitive load and learning. Exploratory factor analysis was used to identify the most parsimonious structure. A total of 646 cardiology …

The Experiences Of Post Secondary School Completion Of Academically Talented African American Teenaged Parents, Adrienne Denise Butler

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Teen pregnancy and parenting are cited as the reasons 1 in 3 teens drop out of high school. For African American teenagers, the drop-out rate is slightly higher, with 38% of teen parents leaving high school without a diploma. Living in impoverished communities with substandard educational facilities and opportunities, academically talented African American teen mothers must make choices about education and parenting. Pregnant teens must consider their future and decide whether to keep their baby, to complete high school or dropout, and if to attend a postsecondary institute. The problem is the low college attendance and graduation rate for parenting …