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Articles 3601 - 3630 of 8231

Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

How Much Do Skills Developed Before School Matter? An Intra-Generational, Non-Linear Approach To Understanding Extreme Achievement, Ian Peacock, Dr. Benjamin Gibbs Feb 2016

How Much Do Skills Developed Before School Matter? An Intra-Generational, Non-Linear Approach To Understanding Extreme Achievement, Ian Peacock, Dr. Benjamin Gibbs

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The hierarchical ranking of children in schools based on cognitive skills has important implications for understanding processes of social stratification. Scholars have noted that differences in cognitive skills in the school context can reach well beyond school, influencing later occupational and economic outcomes (Kerckhoff, Haney, and Glennie 2001). Despite a large scholarship investigating cognitive skills and their link to subsequent outcomes, there is little consensus as to what extent skills developed before school entry influence future achievement and outcomes. Some scholars argue that differences at school entry are magnified over time and that advantages of children who enter school with …

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Flexible Censored Interval Regression With Experimental Applications, Daniel Walton, James Mcdonald Feb 2016

Flexible Censored Interval Regression With Experimental Applications, Daniel Walton, James Mcdonald

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Interval censored data, or grouped data, appears in well-established measurement techniques employed in many economic situations, including experimental economics. Estimation of parameters of models using these data de- pends critically on the model specification and method of estimation. Some methods can yield inconsistent and biased estimators when the distributional assumption of the model is misspecified. Our approach using partially adaptive estimation methods with flexible probability distributions mitigates such issues, including in the presence of heteroskedasticity (nonconstant variance in the explanatory variables) and skewness. In addition, we show that partially adaptive estimation applied in such settings increase the accuracy of estimates …

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A Macroeconomic Model For Dynamic Tax Scoring Analyzing Income Tax Cuts, Evan Magnusson, Richard Evans Feb 2016

A Macroeconomic Model For Dynamic Tax Scoring Analyzing Income Tax Cuts, Evan Magnusson, Richard Evans

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The goal of this project was to analyze the consequences of income tax cuts on government revenues. We did so using a large overlapping generations (OLG) model. This model was calibrated to closely match the distribution of labor, income, and wealth in the U.S. economy across both heterogeneous age and ability groups. By using a dynamic model, we were able to take into account the macroeconomic feedback effects that are absent from some analyses of tax proposals. We found that while our income tax cut was not completely self-financing, about forty three percent of a ten percent decrease in the …

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Marital Satisfaction, Error-Observation, And The Brain: Harmful Or Beneficial Effects Of Spouse Observation?, Chelsea Romney, Michael Larson Feb 2016

Marital Satisfaction, Error-Observation, And The Brain: Harmful Or Beneficial Effects Of Spouse Observation?, Chelsea Romney, Michael Larson

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Romney, Chelsea Marital Satisfaction, Error-observation, and the Brain: Harmful or Beneficial Effects of Spouse Observation? Faculty Mentor: Larson, Michael, Department of Psychology and Neuroscience Introduction Rewarding marital relationships are associated with many positive outcomes in one’s physical and mental health (Robles, & Kiecolt-Glaser, 2003). These benefits include improved cardiovascular functioning (Kiecolt-Glaser, & Newton, 2001), decreased depression risk (Robins & Reiger, 1991), higher self-reported levels of happiness (Proulx & Snyder-Rivas, 2013), and overall lower rates of mortality (Manzoli, Villari, Pirone & Boccia, 2007). Furthermore, positive health outcomes are not only due to marital status, but also to the quality of one’s …

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Receiving Reward’S Effect On Ego-Depletion, Travis Johnson, Michael J. Larson, Phd Feb 2016

Receiving Reward’S Effect On Ego-Depletion, Travis Johnson, Michael J. Larson, Phd

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Recent research suggests that willpower–the capacity to exert self-control–is a limited resource that is depleted after exertion (Job, Dweck & Walton, 2010). We aimed to explore the influence of ego-depletion on how we process rewards and punishment. Ego depletion specifically refers to the idea that self-control or willpower draws upon a limited pool of mental resources that can be used up (i.e., depleted) after cognitive exertion. For example, an experiment performed by Kathleen Vohs and Todd Heatherton (2000) demonstrated how ego depletion was relevant in how it affected chronic dieters compared to non-dieters. Their results showed that dieters, in responding …

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Somos Machistas: Paraguayan Perceptions On Machismo, Rachel Schwartz, Greg Thompson Feb 2016

Somos Machistas: Paraguayan Perceptions On Machismo, Rachel Schwartz, Greg Thompson

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Throughout this paper I will argue that the actual real lives and behaviors of Paraguayan men are in contradiction to the discourse of Paraguayans about Paraguayan men. Paraguayans, through their discourse of machismo, have created an ideal type of machismo with carefully constructed categories which defines and describes men’s perceived behaviors. However, throughout the course of my study I found that there was not one Paraguayan man in Asunción who fully inhabited the categories of the ideal machista in Paraguayan society. This paper describes what machismo is in actual Paraguayan society and what the current perceptions of machismo are.

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Quantile Treatment Effects With Endogeneity: A Monte Carlo Comparison Of 3 Quantile Iv Estimators, Alexander Poulsen, Brigham Frandsen Feb 2016

Quantile Treatment Effects With Endogeneity: A Monte Carlo Comparison Of 3 Quantile Iv Estimators, Alexander Poulsen, Brigham Frandsen

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Quantile instrumental variables estimators are a relatively new development in the econometric literature. Modern quantile regression was introduced in Koenker and Basset (1978), and has been used in many important applications in which researchers are interested in learning about the effects of variables on the distribution of an outcome variable, rather than just mean effects. Examples of these applications include changes in U.S. wage structure (Buchinsky 1994), the effect of school quality on student performance (Eide and Showalter 1998), and the relationship between innovation and firm growth (Coad and Rao 2008).

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The Distributional Effects Of Redistributional Tax Policy: A Dynamic Tax Scoring Model, Isaac Swift, Kerk Phillips Feb 2016

The Distributional Effects Of Redistributional Tax Policy: A Dynamic Tax Scoring Model, Isaac Swift, Kerk Phillips

Journal of Undergraduate Research

In 2013 French economist Thomas Piketty, one of the leading experts on inequality, published a book titled Capital in the Twenty-First Century. This book quickly became a bestseller and received worldwide attention. In his book Piketty described data that he had carefully collected on income and wealth inequality over a few hundred years. From the data he noted that inequality has been on the rise in the U.S. for the last forty years, and he predicted it would continue to rise. He gave several policy proposals to combat this inequality. Among these proposals was a progressive wealth tax. My …

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Electrophysiological Testing Of Iterhemispheric Transfer In Individuals With Mild Traumatic Brain Injury, Nathan Alder, Michael J. Larson, Phd Feb 2016

Electrophysiological Testing Of Iterhemispheric Transfer In Individuals With Mild Traumatic Brain Injury, Nathan Alder, Michael J. Larson, Phd

Journal of Undergraduate Research

A key issue in mild traumatic brain injury (TBI; also known as concussion) research is the identification and validation of a cost-effective, physiological measure that accurately identifies individuals who have experienced a mild TBI, is robust against motivation difficulties, and aids in the prediction of which individuals will experience persisting cognitive or emotional side effects. Nearly two million cases of TBI occur each year (Langlois, Rutland-Brown, & Thomas, 2004). Mild TBI is considered a major health concern (Ragnarsson, 2002) and can be associated with some long-term functional deficits including memory decline and decreased job satisfaction (Carroll et al., 2004; Iverson, …

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Pregnancy, Media, And Body Image, Madison Memmott, Sarah Coyne Feb 2016

Pregnancy, Media, And Body Image, Madison Memmott, Sarah Coyne

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Research shows that exposure to certain portrayals of women in media can influence women’s body image (Grabe, et al., 2008), self-esteem (Groesz, et al., 2002), eating behaviors and beliefs, as well as the tendency to have an eating disorder (Holmstrom, 2004). Accordingly, research shows that the effects of body disturbances are particularly salient in regards to women who have been exposed to various portrayals of celebrities (Krisjanous, et al., 2014; Hopper & Aubrey, 2013; Sumner, et al., 1993); this link is consistent across culture (Chae, 2014). Though these studies exist, almost no research focuses on media’s effects on the pregnant …

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Cognitive Control And Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Katherine Slinn, Michael Larson Feb 2016

Cognitive Control And Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Katherine Slinn, Michael Larson

Journal of Undergraduate Research

This project was an in-depth statistical analysis of previously collected data in order to explore the hypothesis that obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is associated with a decrease in the ability to regulate behavior and to apply top-down cognitive control. OCD has been diagnosed in approximately 2.2 million Americans, typically appearing in early adulthood. Approximately half of these cases show severe functional impairment (Kessler, Chiu, Demler, & Walters, 2005). Obsessions are defined as unwanted and recurrent thoughts or impulses, and compulsions are repetitive behaviors that are driven by these obsessions, such as ordering or counting (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). 20% to 30% …

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Electrophysiological Testing Of Iterhemispheric Transfer In Individuals With Mild Traumatic Brain Injury, Nathan Alder, Michael J. Larson Feb 2016

Electrophysiological Testing Of Iterhemispheric Transfer In Individuals With Mild Traumatic Brain Injury, Nathan Alder, Michael J. Larson

Journal of Undergraduate Research

A key issue in mild traumatic brain injury (TBI; also known as concussion) research is the identification and validation of a cost-effective, physiological measure that accurately identifies individuals who have experienced a mild TBI, is robust against motivation difficulties, and aids in the prediction of which individuals will experience persisting cognitive or emotional side effects. Nearly two million cases of TBI occur each year (Langlois, Rutland-Brown, & Thomas, 2004). Mild TBI is considered a major health concern (Ragnarsson, 2002) and can be associated with some long-term functional deficits including memory decline and decreased job satisfaction (Carroll et al., 2004; Iverson, …

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Political Messaging On Social Media: Facebook Campaigning And Political Silos, Morgan Williams, Jeremy C. Pope Feb 2016

Political Messaging On Social Media: Facebook Campaigning And Political Silos, Morgan Williams, Jeremy C. Pope

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The make-up of political campaigns has transformed with the creation of the internet. What used to be a world of door to door canvassing and mass produced mailers sent to party members is now a world of entertaining YouTube videos and Facebook likes. It is no longer easy to gather and track the political advertisements that people are exposed to, because they come from so many different sources. It used to be that if you were a Republican, it would be likely you would only be exposed to Republican messaging with the same pattern reflected in the Democratic Party. This …

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Cognitive Control And Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Katherine Slinn, Michael Larson Feb 2016

Cognitive Control And Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Katherine Slinn, Michael Larson

Journal of Undergraduate Research

This project was an in-depth statistical analysis of previously collected data in order to explore the hypothesis that obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is associated with a decrease in the ability to regulate behavior and to apply top-down cognitive control. OCD has been diagnosed in approximately 2.2 million Americans, typically appearing in early adulthood. Approximately half of these cases show severe functional impairment (Kessler, Chiu, Demler, & Walters, 2005). Obsessions are defined as unwanted and recurrent thoughts or impulses, and compulsions are repetitive behaviors that are driven by these obsessions, such as ordering or counting (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). 20% to 30% …

Go to article

Marital Satisfaction, Error-Observation, And The Brain: Harmful Or Beneficial Effects Of Spouse Observation?, Chelsea Romney, Michael Larson Feb 2016

Marital Satisfaction, Error-Observation, And The Brain: Harmful Or Beneficial Effects Of Spouse Observation?, Chelsea Romney, Michael Larson

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Romney, Chelsea Marital Satisfaction, Error-observation, and the Brain: Harmful or Beneficial Effects of Spouse Observation? Faculty Mentor: Larson, Michael, Department of Psychology and Neuroscience Introduction Rewarding marital relationships are associated with many positive outcomes in one’s physical and mental health (Robles, & Kiecolt-Glaser, 2003). These benefits include improved cardiovascular functioning (Kiecolt-Glaser, & Newton, 2001), decreased depression risk (Robins & Reiger, 1991), higher self-reported levels of happiness (Proulx & Snyder-Rivas, 2013), and overall lower rates of mortality (Manzoli, Villari, Pirone & Boccia, 2007). Furthermore, positive health outcomes are not only due to marital status, but also to the quality of one’s …

Go to article

Receiving Reward’S Effect On Ego-Depletion, Travis Johnson, Michael J. Larson, Phd Feb 2016

Receiving Reward’S Effect On Ego-Depletion, Travis Johnson, Michael J. Larson, Phd

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Recent research suggests that willpower–the capacity to exert self-control–is a limited resource that is depleted after exertion (Job, Dweck & Walton, 2010). We aimed to explore the influence of ego-depletion on how we process rewards and punishment. Ego depletion specifically refers to the idea that self-control or willpower draws upon a limited pool of mental resources that can be used up (i.e., depleted) after cognitive exertion. For example, an experiment performed by Kathleen Vohs and Todd Heatherton (2000) demonstrated how ego depletion was relevant in how it affected chronic dieters compared to non-dieters. Their results showed that dieters, in responding …

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Impact Of Major Depressive Disorder On Memory Specificity And Resting-State Fmri, Kayla Alder, Dr. Brock Kirwan Feb 2016

Impact Of Major Depressive Disorder On Memory Specificity And Resting-State Fmri, Kayla Alder, Dr. Brock Kirwan

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Previous research suggests that those with depression have altered brain structures compared to control participants. For example, depressed individuals have smaller hippocampal volumes than those not diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) (Brown, Rush & McEwen, 1999). The hippocampus plays a major role in memory, especially by storing different stimuli as separate and distinct memories in the brain (Yassa & Stark, 2011). This process of storing the stimuli separately correctly is known as pattern separation (PS). Depressed individuals also have reduced neurogenesis (the birth and growth of new neurons in adulthood) in the hippocampus compared to controls. Those diagnosed with …

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Disparities In Mortgage Lending And Foreclosure Among Latinos: Investigating The Effects Of Loan Officer Ethnicity In Orlando, Florida, Conrad Ashby, Jacob S. Rugh Feb 2016

Disparities In Mortgage Lending And Foreclosure Among Latinos: Investigating The Effects Of Loan Officer Ethnicity In Orlando, Florida, Conrad Ashby, Jacob S. Rugh

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Disparities in mortgage lending have become a hot topic for debate in this century. Research has shown that among native-born households, non-white households are more likely than white households to experience foreclosure for both home purchase and refinance loans (Allen, 2011). Questions of how much the government should intervene in the housing-finance arena lead the debate, and it has been claimed that many problems may be solved through housing-finance intervention, such as 1) wealth inequality and poverty, 2) informational externalities, 3) banker and loan officer bigotry, and 4) racial discrimination (Calomiris, Kahn, Longhofer, 1994). The latter issue is an especially …

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Assimilation Vs. Multiculturalism: An Analysis Of French Attitudes Towards Immigration, Caleb Porter, Renata Forste Feb 2016

Assimilation Vs. Multiculturalism: An Analysis Of French Attitudes Towards Immigration, Caleb Porter, Renata Forste

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Through the use of the 2008 European Values study Dr. Forste and I initially examined factors associated with France’s nationalistic and assimilative tendencies by modeling how religiosity, education levels, and socioeconomic status predict French attitudes towards immigration. Our results showed that religiosity and spirituality played a dynamic and intriguing role in immigration attitudes. As a result of these findings I first attended and presented a poster at the Mary Lou Fulton conference here at Brigham Young. Our research in France has lead to an expansion of our initial findings and we have since gone on to further examine the effects …

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Word Borrowing In Riograndenser Hunsrückisch, Trenton Hyer, Dirk Elzinga Feb 2016

Word Borrowing In Riograndenser Hunsrückisch, Trenton Hyer, Dirk Elzinga

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The objective of this project is to document word borrowing in Riograndenser Hunsrückisch, an understudied variety of German spoken in southern Brazil. UNESCO’s The Red Book of Endangered Languages listed Riograndenser Hunsrückisch as an endangered language in 1992, but linguists have written very little about it since.

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Mormon Insights, Shane Peterson, Marvin Gardner Feb 2016

Mormon Insights, Shane Peterson, Marvin Gardner

Journal of Undergraduate Research

No abstract provided.

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Analysis Of The Salary Gap In The Library Workforce, Sean Miner, Quinn Galbraith Feb 2016

Analysis Of The Salary Gap In The Library Workforce, Sean Miner, Quinn Galbraith

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Since 1980, the Associate of Research Libraries (ARL) has annually published a comprehensive salary survey that provides useful information on librarian salaries, separating them by institution, personal characteristics, and other factors. At the beginning of each of the surveys, ARL has documented many trends occurring in the United States and Canadian research libraries. Concerning the trend of the gender salary gap, ARL mentions the following:

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Jd, Businessman, Doctor? The Influence Of Educational And Occupational Backgrounds On Legislative Effectiveness, Michael Sean Covey, Michael Barber Feb 2016

Jd, Businessman, Doctor? The Influence Of Educational And Occupational Backgrounds On Legislative Effectiveness, Michael Sean Covey, Michael Barber

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Every two years, voters across the country send dozens of newly elected U.S. representatives to Congress, and these freshmen come from all educational backgrounds and professions. There are MBAs, JDs, and PhDs, as well as former doctors, entrepreneurs, professors, attorneys, military leaders, state legislators and corporate executives. And during campaign season, it is common for congressional candidates to tout their pre-political backgrounds as evidence that they will be successful in Congress (see Figure 1). Candidate Stephen Tryon, for example, ran against incumbent Jason Chaffetz in Utah’s third congressional district in 2014 and advertised that he was a “proven soldier and …

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Normative Perceptions Of Aggression Among Ukrainian, Turkish, And Taiwanese Adolescents, Audrey Schoenfeld, David Nelson Feb 2016

Normative Perceptions Of Aggression Among Ukrainian, Turkish, And Taiwanese Adolescents, Audrey Schoenfeld, David Nelson

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The purpose of this project was to code data collected from survey’s given to adolescents in three different countries. The purpose of the survey was to investigate the current adolescent perceptions of aggression in Turkey, Taiwan, and Ukraine. We also coded data collected from the United States to use as a comparative sample. The method of coding was the Nelson et al. (2008) coding categories with slight variations instituted by Dr. David Nelson. The start of statistical analysis from the coding of the data has begun and is ongoing. The purpose of the statistical analysis is to look into the …

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Effects Of Exercise On Food-Related Cognition, Tyshae Davis, Michael J. Larson Feb 2016

Effects Of Exercise On Food-Related Cognition, Tyshae Davis, Michael J. Larson

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Since the Yerkes-Dodson theory was initially put forward (as early as 1906), multiple theorists have suggested an inverted-U relationship between physiological arousal and cognitive performance. Literature on this topic, however, is mixed, with some studies showing evidence supporting the inverted-U relationship and others showing a more linear relationship. Exercise and food-related cognition is one area where the inverted-U hypothesis could be applied. Some studies have shown that high-intensity exercise induces an acute, but temporary suppression to hunger and energy intake compared to low-intensity exercise (King, Tremblay, & Blundell, 1997) and that high-intensity exercise favors negative energy balance to a greater …

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Polymorphisms Of The Glucocorticoid Receptor Gene And The Association With Stress, Randall Beck, Michael J. Larson Feb 2016

Polymorphisms Of The Glucocorticoid Receptor Gene And The Association With Stress, Randall Beck, Michael J. Larson

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Polymorphisms in the GR gene are an interesting and important area of research as these polymorphisms may be associated with an attenuated ability to cope with stress. This project bridged an unexplored gap between cellular and environmental stress and the expression of the GR gene—specifically the Bcl1 polymorphism of the GR gene. Cellular stress is any damage caused to the cell that alters its ability to function properly (Milisav, 2011). The Bcl1 polymorphism has what are known as C and G alleles that are genotyped as either homozygous GG, homozygous CC, or heterozygous CG (Srivastava et al., 2011). The homozygous …

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Legislating Women: The Relationship Between Women In Parliament And Trafficking Of Women, Caroline Black, Donna Lee Bowen Feb 2016

Legislating Women: The Relationship Between Women In Parliament And Trafficking Of Women, Caroline Black, Donna Lee Bowen

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Pervasive, complex, and often little-­‐understood, trafficking of women is a worldwide epidemic. Although many acknowledge the problem that trafficking of women, hereafter known simply as trafficking, is, the large dark numbers associated with it make trafficking hard to fully track. Many studies have previously focused on trafficking victims and their experiences with the intent of understanding what demographic factors influence the likelihood of someone becoming a trafficking victim. However, there is little to no research on the macro causes of trafficking. This paper will focus on those macro causes, which are the percentage of women in parliament and women’s political …

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Market Implications Of Hidden Orders In The Nasdaq Order Book, Robert Buss, Dr. Scott Condie Feb 2016

Market Implications Of Hidden Orders In The Nasdaq Order Book, Robert Buss, Dr. Scott Condie

Journal of Undergraduate Research

In recent years, high frequency trading has increased trade volume significantly. High frequency traders employ various algorithms in order to maximize their individual profit. Supporters of high frequency trading claim that high frequency traders provide the market with more liquidity, while opponents assert that such trading strategies make the market more unstable. Because high frequency trading is a relatively new phenomenon, academic research has not yet thoroughly investigated and modeled how markets currently behave. Additional research will allow policy makers to better understand what types of behavior are occurring in the markets and asses what effects they have in order …

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Perceptions Of Aggression In Turkish Adolescents, Stacy Victoria Call, David Nelson Feb 2016

Perceptions Of Aggression In Turkish Adolescents, Stacy Victoria Call, David Nelson

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The adolescent years have been described as a “unique developmental period wherein relationships become increasingly important and intimate.”1 This being said, many relationships can become tainted or ruined when injured with aggression. Studies have shown that many adolescents are involved in physical and/or relational aggression.2 One study by Crick and Grotpeter found that children that are aggressive are at risk for serious adjustment difficulties, including being significantly more rejected, higher levels of loneliness, depression, and isolation.3 This study was performed to evaluate what different methods of aggression were more common in Turkish 7th graders.

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Analysis Of The Salary Gap In The Library Workforce, Sean Miner, Quinn Galbraith Feb 2016

Analysis Of The Salary Gap In The Library Workforce, Sean Miner, Quinn Galbraith

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Since 1980, the Associate of Research Libraries (ARL) has annually published a comprehensive salary survey that provides useful information on librarian salaries, separating them by institution, personal characteristics, and other factors. At the beginning of each of the surveys, ARL has documented many trends occurring in the United States and Canadian research libraries. Concerning the trend of the gender salary gap, ARL mentions the following:

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