Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Impact Of Play-Based Learning On Early Childhood Development, Aubry Mauro

Master's Theses

This action research project emphasizes the recognized influence of play on children’s social, emotional, and cognitive growth. The researcher explored how play-based learning strategies contribute to students’ development, drawing insights from existing literature. The research used mixed methods to analyze the impact of play-based learning on social, emotional, and cognitive development in a sixth-grade classroom. The researcher collected data over six weeks. Initial findings showed the effect of play-based learning on students' development. The baseline data in this action research project showed that this group of students enjoys playing inside, outside, independently, or in a group. The researcher found that …

Chat Is This Real? Perceived Authenticity Of #Naturecore Via Tiktok Comments, Anna Madison

Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to understand how people perceive the authenticity of nature-based TikTok content by analyzing the comments left on videos that featured the hashtag #naturecore. Comments posted on relevant videos were observed using qualitative content analysis to evaluate how people use comments to express perceptions of authenticity. Prior literature on the perceived authenticity of mass-oriented computer mediated communication was used to inform decisions made during data analysis. Of the 138,389 comments collected as data, 1,031 were identified as relevant for this scope of this study. The final sample was analyzed using constant comparison to establish codes …

The Effects Of Student Choice On Motivation And Writing Skills, Laura Annunziata

Master's Theses

This mixed methods action research study investigates the potential effects of student choice on motivation and academic performance in writing-based assignments in a fourth-grade classroom. Baseline data was collected prior to implementation of student choice writing activities and then used to compare writing samples collected post intervention. The baseline data suggests that students’ attitudes towards autonomy are positive. Having choices was important to them and helped them learn better. However, data also indicates that while students were motivated to write using choice, many of the reading and writing competency scores dropped during journal entry writing samples. Data shows that while …

Classroom Technology Policies, Technology Usage, And Mind-Wandering, Halley Stecht

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Technology usage has been rapidly increasing in college classrooms since 2019. This has shown to be a challenge for educators in higher education due to the increase in off-task usage. Many educators try to combat technology usage in their classrooms through technology policies in their syllabus, in hopes of reducing off-task behaviors such as mind-wandering. The purpose of this study was twofold: first we determined whether classroom technology policies impacted students’ technology usage. Then, we investigated whether access to technology in the classroom was associated with more mind-wandering during class. Two hundred sixty-eight college students completed an online survey that …

Implementing Music To Increase Elementary Student Focus, Kathryn Garceau

Master's Theses

This action research project used a mixed methods design to address the effect of different types of music on student focus while performing an independent task. Despite its success with memorization, does music work equally as well on student focus? Data was collected over a period of three weeks for 30 minutes each morning for 5 days each week. The music played while students completed the task changed each week. This included lyrical songs during week one, classical music during week two, and instrumental versions of songs students knew the lyrics to during week three. Four behavior markers were observed …

Effectiveness Of A Peer-Supported Digital Brief Intervention: Reducing Alcohol Use & Related Harms In Young Adults With Histories Of Interpersonal Trauma, Caitlin Mcgettrick

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Alcohol is the most frequently used substance in the United States, and young adults ages 18-25 have the highest rates of heavy alcohol use. Heavy and persistent alcohol use is associated with a host of negative outcomes in young adults, including poor mental health, lower life satisfaction, cognitive impairments, poor academic performance, increased risk for motor vehicle accidents, and substance use disorders. Brief interventions (BI) are low-resource, short-term interventions designed to reduce problematic substance use and mitigate the substantial harms posed by heavy and persistent use of substances such as alcohol. BIs have limited effectiveness in trauma survivors despite trauma …

A Process Model Of Workplace Cyber Incivility Spillover, Cora Hurt

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Cyber incivility is a pervasive problem, affecting individuals not only while at work but also at home. It has been found to spillover to the home domain in the form of aggression and withdrawal, affecting the target and their partner, but the mechanism behind this association has not been examined. This study examines work-related affective rumination as a spillover mechanism between experienced cyber incivility and aggressive and withdrawn behaviors at home. I hypothesized that daily experienced cyber incivility will be positively associated with both aggressive behavior and withdrawn behavior at home, and work-related affective rumination will mediate this relationship. Using …

Bidirectional Relationships Between Use Of Popular Social Media Platforms And Anxiety, Depression, And Social Support, Olivia Dick

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The relationship between social media use and mental health outcomes among young populations has been a cause for increasing concern in research. However, the directionality of these relationships remains ambiguous due to existing literature being largely cross-sectional and having limited focus on individual platforms. This study aimed to explore the bidirectional relationship between social media use across prominent platforms and various mental healthrelated outcomes among young adults. A sample of 203 young adults, ages 18-29, completed baseline and 6-month follow-up assessments measuring social media use across Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat, as well as measures of depression, anxiety, and perceived friend …

Meaning In Life And Metacognition: Application Of The Self-Validation Hypothesis, Liam Hill

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Meaning in Life is a robust predictor of various positive outcomes, and provides a buffer against a host of negative outcomes. Due to this fact, it becomes important to examine all the facets of a meaningful life. One consistent predictor of Meaning in Life (MIL) in the literature is one’s sense of positive affect. I tested the idea that it is possible to doubt (or have confidence in) one’s affect, such that under conditions of doubt, positive affect is less strongly related to MIL. It may be the case that positive affect predicts MIL because of what we think of …

Impact Of Framing Depression On Illness Perceptions And Coping Strategies, Abby Mcginnis

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The current study aimed to adopt an experimental design used by Schroder et al. (2023) to investigate how framing of depression (as a disease vs a functional signal) impacts illness perceptions and coping strategies. Participants were given the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-42) to assess depression severity and prime participants for the framing condition. Each condition had five videos describing depression and the corresponding frameworks. Perceived control, timeline, and causes of depression were measured using the Illness Perception Questionnaire (IPQ-R). Participants were given the brief-COPE questionnaire to measure coping strategies, such as avoidant and problem-focused. There were no differences …

An Investigation Of The Effectiveness Of Student’S T-Test Under Heterogeneity Of Variance, Hayden Nelson

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Within the field of psychology, few tests have been as thoroughly investigated as Student’s t-test. One area of criticism is the use of the test when the assumption for heterogeneity of variance between two samples is violated, such as when sample sizes and observed sample variances are unequal. The current study proposes a Monte Carlo analysis to observe a broad range of conditions in efforts to identify the resulting fluctuations in the proportion obtained significant results for two conditions: no mean difference (𝜇􀬵 = 𝜇􀬶) compared to the set level of alpha, and small-to-moderate mean differences (𝜇􀬵 ≠ 𝜇􀬶) compared …

The Effect Of Mindfulness Training On Muscular Endurance Exercise Performance, Mindfulness, And Mental Toughness, Donte Mcgee

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

INTRODUCTION: Mindfulness training is a method of mental training becoming increasingly popular and has been positively associated with mental toughness, which may be valuable in highly fatiguing and stressful activities, like endurance exercise. Mindfulness training has resulted in increased endurance performance, but limited literature exists on a similar modality, muscular endurance exercise. The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of an acute bout of mindfulness meditation on muscular endurance performance, mindfulness, and mental toughness. METHODS: Participants (n=24) completed two sessions, a week apart, of three planks until fatigue, with one-minute rest intervals. Immediately following each plank, RPE …

Investigating The Association Between Incivility Variability And Burnout At Work, Tamia Eugene

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Incivility is a prevalent workplace stressor for many employees in the workplace. Over time, exposure to stressors may lead to increased burnout, which can be costly for organizations. However, variability in uncivil experiences may be more detrimental to employees than chronic exposure to incivility due to the uncertainty associated with it. Using previously collected data from a larger grant, I examined the direct effect of incivility variability on burnout. Specifically, I hypothesized that employees who experienced incivility frequently but sporadically will report more burnout. Furthermore, I hypothesized that a perceived organizational climate that supports civility will moderate the direct effect …

Building Bridges: An Improvement Science Approach To Fostering Cross-Group Connections And Friendships Among Elementary School Students, Cody Russelburg

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The persistent issue of limited cross-group connections and friendships among diverse elementary school students is addressed, specifically in a district with five elementary schools that converge into a single middle and high school. The tendency for students to maintain selfsegregated social circles from their zoned elementary schools into middle and high school highlights the need for an intervention designed to foster cross-group connections. Utilizing the Improvement Science framework, this research incorporates two intervention cycles to refine and enhance outcomes related to cross-group connections. Fifth-grade students from two distinct elementary schools had intentional and direct intergroup contact utilizing an adapted version …

Social Media Reliance And College Students' Tendency To Conform To Online Behaviors And Trends, Emily Grucello

Honors Theses

The importance of social media is undeniable among college students who frequently turn to online platforms as a form of recreation. While researchers have analyzed the influence of social media on emotional factors, fewer researchers have investigated if reliance on social media has an impact on public behavior and conformity habits. Therefore, the current study assesses if user reliance on two common platforms, TikTok and Instagram, are associated with conformity levels. Data collection came from a sample of 124 college-aged participants. Results found a significant correlation between conformity and Instagram reliance (r = .31, p < .001), as well as conformity and TikTok reliance (r = .32, p < .001), such that higher levels of conformity was associated with higher reliance on Instagram and TikTok. These findings highlight the importance of understanding how consumption of social media has the potential to alter the decisions and behaviors of young adults.

Impostor Phenomenon, Perfectionism, Psychological Distress, And Burnout In Pre-Health Undergraduate Students, Victoria Lee

Poster Presentations

Careers in the healthcare field are demanding, and each stage closer to attaining the career aspirations is filled with increasing amount of stress. Previous research highlighted impostor phenomenon, perfectionism, psychological distress, and burnout in graduate students; however, this study‘s primary focus was to investigate the relationships between these constructs in an undergraduate pre-health population. This study aimed to find whether or not impostor phenomenon, perfectionism, and psychological distress could be considered predictors of burnout and whether or not pre-health students differed from non-pre-health students in their levels of these constructs.

Intergroup Contact, Beliefs About Gender, And Trans Prejudice, Samantha Oyler

Poster Presentations

Gordon Allport first proposed the Intergroup Contact Theory in 1954. According to his theory, contact between ingroup and outgroup members, under certain conditions, would lead to positive effects, specifically the reduction of prejudice. Since then, this theory has been expanded to include members of other majority/minority groups. Research suggests intergroup contact has positive effects for reduction of anti-trans prejudice. To date, the focus has largely been on the mechanisms driving changes in attitudes and intentions towards trans individuals through intergroup contact interventions. It is unclear whether this intervention might also promote the acquisition of more nuanced sociocultural understanding about gender, …

A Little Loud And A Little Alone: A Phenomenology Of Leadership Identity Construction Among Women In Higher Education Technology, Amy Barry

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Theses and Other Student Research

This qualitative study is an exploration of how women in higher education information technology (IT) positions navigate constructing their leadership identities. This includes the messy, personal, internal identity work that occurs prior to claiming their leadership identities on the public stage, followed by an examination of what the experience of attempting to claim and negotiate a leadership identity is like in the social context of their organizations. This educational and sociological study employs an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis approach with a series of three interviews per participant that allowed the researcher to deeply explore the personal identity experiences of participants. Findings …

Social Context During Moral Decision-Making Impacts Males More Than Females, June J. Pilcher, Phillip D. Smith

Publications

Moral judgments are often viewed as the outcome of affective and deliberative processes that could be impacted by social factors and individual characteristics. The purpose of this study was to examine the interaction between gender and social context on moral judgment. Participants included 315 undergraduate students (67.3% female). The participants completed the Moral Decision-Making Task while seated at row tables facing the front of the room or round tables facing other participants. The results indicated that males responded in a more utilitarian manner (harm one to save five) than females for moral impersonal (MI) and moral personal (MP) dilemmas regardless …

Motivational Interviewing For Problem And Pathological Gambling: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis, David Forman

Psychology ETDs

As legalized gambling becomes more accessible and the prevalence of gambling problems are expected to rise, there is growing interest in effective psychological interventions that reduce gambling problems. A previous meta-analysis (Yakovenko, 2015) concluded that Motivational Interviewing (MI) was associated with significant reductions in gambling frequency and intensity. Yet, that analysis only included five studies and had methodological limitations. Notably, the majority of studies included in the meta-analysis combined MI with another intervention, blurring the effect of MI’s specific contributions on outcomes. To improve upon this work, the current study performed an updated systematic review and random-effects meta-analysis that 1) …

A Woman Unfolding: A Journey Of Motherhood And Creativity How Inviting Play And Honoring Our Thinking Preference Strengthens Well-Being, Laine M. Walnicki

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

Seeking to provide a nuanced understanding of how the facets of motherhood, creativity, and wellbeing intersect and influence each other, this investigation and subsequent analysis answers the questions, "How does motherhood affect creativity?" and "How does creativity affect motherhood?" as well as their impact on creative outlook and wellbeing. Drawing on insights from the science of creativity, self-actualization, flow, and play, an understanding is curated as to how humans develop creative capacity, utilize it to foster well-being, and develop their potential for growth and evolution. The significance of play in the context of motherhood is also explored along with its …

California School Psychologists’ Assessment Practices With Cld Students: A Phenomenological Study, Hector Manuel Teran Jr.

Dissertations

School psychologists are tasked with assessing students to qualify them for special education, typically using standardized tests. Standardized testing, like IQ testing, routinely used in the psycho-educational process, serves to justify prejudices, as they often mark people of color as intellectually inferior to White people. A closer look at school psychologists’ assessment practices with culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students is necessary, as these students have historically been placed in special education at a higher percentage, likely due to misperceptions related to their race, ethnicity, or linguistic background. While IQ tests are regarded as tools that identify the needs of …

Urban Harmony: Exploring The Interplay Of New Urbanism Qualities On Economic Prosperity And Psychological Wellbeing In Contemporary Cities, Crew T. Borgeson

2024 Spring Honors Capstone Projects - Archive

Now that most people live in urban places, answering which urbanism best provides citizen well-being becomes increasingly important. After nearly a century of suburban development, the significant drawbacks of urban sprawl are widely documented, namely the unsustainability and social impacts they incur. Many American cities, however, continue to chiefly expand in this way. What if cities were to make decisions not based on the status quo of today’s building codes but instead drew inspiration from great historical cities, applying their lessons to the unique challenges of the 21st century?

The New Urbanism movement aims to identify and incorporate the elements …

Establishing Employee Sense Of Belonging In A Busy Work Environment, Zoe A. Rodriguez

2024 Spring Honors Capstone Projects - Archive

This honors thesis capstone project explores the concept of an employee’s sense of belonging within a busy work environment. A department within ABC Company faces operational challenges regarding their daily tasks. The Honors contribution addresses the comparison between the busy work environment at ABC Company and existing literature to provide scholarly-supported recommendations and mitigation strategies for ABC Company. Existing literature underscores the importance of understanding contributing influences on an employee’s sense of belonging within the workplace. The honors contribution adds value by closing the information gap within companies that operate under a busy work environment and strategies of how to …

Ratings Creep: The Increase In Offensive Content In Movies Over Time, Alexandria N. Tatum

2024 Spring Honors Capstone Projects - Archive

Aggression, influenced by a range of factors including media exposure, remains a significant societal concern. Drawing from Bandura's social cognitive theory, it is important to examine violence in media because its exposure can have a long-term effect on the viewers. Furthermore, studies suggest a correlation between media exposure and aggressive behavior, emphasizing the need for comprehensive analysis of content portrayal. To regulate exposure to offensive content, movies are usually ranked using the MPAA’s rating system. Yet, there has been an observed ratings creep in this system (i.e., the progressive escalation of offensive content in films). The current study hypothesizes that …

Children's Beliefs About Search Engines., Lauren N. Girouard-Hallam

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Children rely on information from other sources to think and learn about the world around them. As the world around them digitizes, their options for where to seek new information have expanded to include technological sources like Google Search. This dissertation examines what factors impact children’s trust in search engines, particularly Google. In the first set of studies, 4- to 8-year old children were asked whether technological informants and a teacher could answer stable and changing questions, and which informant would have the better answer. With age, children endorsed the Google search engine at higher rates and the teacher at …

Applying Exploratory Learning Methods To Sociopolitical Beliefs And Cognition., Sarah French

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Americans are polarized along party lines across a variety of sociopolitical issues, including climate change and sustainability issues. Sociopolitical messaging often triggers biased processing that results in defensive rejection or biased elaboration (i.e., counterarguing) of belief-incongruent information. The current research examined whether exploratory learning activities, primarily applied in STEM-education research, can foster belief updating about polarized sustainability issues. Exploratory learning encourages people to engage with learning materials and arrive at their own conclusions before receiving direct instruction/messaging. In two experiments, participants reported their beliefs about carbon taxes and electric vehicle incentives (among other issues) before and after receiving counter-attitudinal persuasive …

Trajectories Of Depression Severity In The First Semester Of College, Nicole A. Kelso

Theses and Dissertations

Depression is a major public health concern among students in higher education. Prior work suggests that depressive symptoms increase during the transition to college. Transfer students face unique challenges during the transition to a new academic institution that may make them particularly vulnerable. There is a critical need to expand prevention efforts. Research that improves identification of students at greatest risk for developing impairing depressive symptoms, and etiological processes contributing to depressive symptoms could aid in the provision of limited prevention resources. Furthermore, longitudinal research tracking symptom trajectories during the transition to college could help inform the timing of preventive …

Understanding Road Users’ Use And Misuse Of Fluorescent And Retroreflective Materials At Night, Savana King

All Dissertations

Nighttime pedestrian fatality rates in the U.S. continue to rise. Nighttime visibility aids – including retroreflective garments – can enhance the conspicuity of pedestrians to drivers at night. Yet, pedestrians rarely take advantage of retroreflectivity and instead often wear fluorescent garments that are not useful at night. This research explored whether road users’ misunderstandings of two critical principles – retroreflectivity and fluorescence – support the misuse of visibility-enhancing garments. This project also explored whether materials that combine retroreflectivity and fluorescence (“combined-performance materials”) circumvent road users’ misconceptions. Two experiments quantified observers’ expectations for how bright fluorescent, retroreflective, or fluorescent-retroreflective materials will …

Differences In Risk And Protective Factors For Suicide In Latinx And White Lgb Adults, Maria Hernandez

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Suicide in Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual (LGB) adults is on the rise, as well as those that identify as Latinx LGB. To identify those at risk and prevent future suicide, researchers rely heavily on risk and protective factors to determine those individuals that may be more susceptible to suicide. However, the existing research on these factors is very limited and has been hyper focused on internalizing factors that contribute to suicide risk. Additionally, research in LGB and Latinx populations is limited because researchers have focused mostly on White and heterosexual populations. This study identifies one risk and one protective factor …