Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Cortisol Profiles As Bio-Markers Of Extreme Temperaments, Claudia Rasmuseen, Dr. James Dee Higley

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Temperament is defined as a variation between individuals’ affective-motivational reactivity and self-regulation (Rothbart & Bates, 1998; Rothbart & Derryberry, 1981; Rettew &McKee, 2005). Temperament can be measured as early as birth and has been found to remain relatively stable across the lifespan (Goldsmith, 1987; Lansade, Bouissou & Erhard, 2008;Chronis-Tuscano, et.al, 2009). Although most temperaments used to be grouped into reactivity and self-regulation, new temperament taxonomies have been found to belong to two higher order dimensions: degree of sensitivity to signals of punishment and a propensity to experience negative emotions (Rettew & McKee, 2005). The variety in taxonomies extends to non-human …

The Effects Of Sleep-Dependent Memory Consolidation On The Discriminability And Generalizability Of Learning, Bengt Grua, Dr. C Brock Kirwan

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The goal of this study was to determine how sleep affects memory recall in an academic setting with relation to memory discrimination and memory generalization. Memory generalization depends on the computational process of pattern completion, which is the brain’s ability to retrieve a memory representation based on a partial or modified stimulus (such as viewing a false statement as true if it has many true elements embedded in it). Memory discrimination depends on the computational process of pattern separation, which is the brain’s ability to store a memory as distinct and separate from other, similar memories. Current models of sleep …

Change Over Time Of White Matter Hyperintensities And Cognitive Scores In The Cache County Memory And Aging Study, Zachary Mcdonnell, Dr. Erin Bigler

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The Cache County Study on Memory in Aging (CCMA) includes a sample of over 400 individuals with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) (Bigler et al., 2000). Studies have shown that White Matter Hyperintensities (WMH) on MRIs are associated with not only cognitive decline, but degenerative disorders like Alzheimer’s disease (Philip Scheltens et al., 1998). A common and widely used clinical rating method for identifying WMH is the Scheltens Rating Scale (PH Scheltens et al., 1993). This scale rates WMH, Grey Matter Hyperintensities (GMH), Periventricular White Matter Hyperintensities (PWM), and Infratentorial Signal Hyperintensites (IFH) in a semi-quantitative scale that can be easily …

Authority Control For Digital Collections, Jeremy Myntti, Anna Neatrour, Nate Cothran

Faculty Publications

Summary

• Metadata inconsistency
• Overview of authority control process
• Results and problems encountered
• Further work with Open Refine

Liquidity, Market Depth, And Informed Trading, Roy Roth, Dr. Scott Condie

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Hidden limit orders have been increasingly important in asset markets over the past several years. These orders are hidden in the sense that they are not displayed or announced in any way until another order is sent to the market that trades with the hidden order. Traditionally, the two major order types in asset markets are market orders and limit orders. A market order contains instructions to buy or sell a given number of shares of a specific asset immediately at the best possible price, while a limit order signals a trader’s willingness to buy (sell) a certain number of …

The Byu Ad‐Deir Monument And Plateau Project, Josie Newbold, Dr. Cynthia Finlayson

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Petra, Jordan is famous for being the city carved out of red sandstone cliffs. The builders of Petra were the Nabataeans, a people believed to be nomadic at one point in time, who settled in a desert and created a vast empire. They were renowned for their canals and water control systems. However, this city fell into ruins and was abandoned sometime after in earthquake in 749 AD. As part of the project that I am working on, I travelled to Petra, Jordan along with a team of archaeologists and several geology professors in order to study a seep of …

Developing Utah Juniper Into A Useful Species For Dendrochronology, Calli Nielsen, Dr. Matthew F. Bekker

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Utah juniper is rarely used by dendrochronologists in tree-ring applications. In the global species database, Utah juniper has a score of 1, which means that it typically only crossdates within its own site, and is therefore not useful in tree-ring research. This mentored research project was conducted to demonstrate that it is a potentially very valuable species. Our preliminary research showed a very high correlation among other juniper sites in Utah, making us confident that if we moved forward, our further results would prove the usefulness of this species. In northern Utah, traditionally used species aren’t available because we are …

Opportunism In Ugandan Ngos: A Randomized Field Experiment, Eric Reuben Smith

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Corruption undermines the effectiveness of international development. The financial integrity of non-governmental organizations (NGO) can be improved by donor-to-organization contact, but foreign donors rarely travel to countries such as Uganda. This project involved a randomized design to compare the size of project bids by NGO management when approached by potential donors (foreigners) or donor representatives (Ugandan citizens). Local donor representatives were more likely to be denied information during an in-person visit than the foreigners visiting NGOs. Otherwise, foreign potential donors were provided with information that was the same as local representatives, except in 6 instances in which bids were substantially …

Effects Of Chronic Ethanol On Gaba(A) Receptors In The Vta, Ashley Nelson, Dr. Scot Steffensen

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention attributes approximately 80,000 deaths annually to excessive alcohol use (CDC), and alcohol consumption is the third leading cause of preventable deaths in the United States (Mokdad et al., 2004). These statistics do not even describe the detrimental effects alcohol addiction has on personal lives and families. The accepted model for addiction in the brain is a change in the normal regulation of the neurotransmitter dopamine (DA) in the mesolimbic pathway. Studying this pathway is important in developing treatments for addiction, which has implications to improve the lives of many suffering people. The primary …

Predictive Factors Of Gender, Attitudes Towards Sec, And Relationships On Signs Of Dating Violence In Japan, Joshua Murphy, Niwako Yamawaki

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Domestic violence is on the rise and poses serious societal and health concerns. Studies have shown that between 21% and 34% of all women in the United States will be physically assaulted by an intimate partner (Browne, 1993). Shockingly, 1 of every 5 female high school students have reported physical and/or sexual assault by her date (Silverman, Raj, Mucci, & Hathaway, 2001). Furthermore, in Japan a study done by Nakata (2007) found that 30% of female high school participants reported they had experienced unwanted sexual activity. It is important that this study occurs given the lack of investigation in adolescents’ …

The Effect Of Exercise On Inhibitory Control To Images Of High And Low Calorie Food, Cory Pettit, Michael J. Larson, Phd

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of exercise on the neural correlates of response inhibition to high and low calorie foods. Specifically, we aimed to explore whether engaging in forty-five minutes of moderate intensity exercise affects brain activity that denotes inhibitory control while a person withholds practiced responses to pictures of high or low calorie food. We quantified inhibitory control by measuring the amplitude of the N2 event related potential (ERP; described below) using electroencephalogram (EEG) technology.

The Effects Of Trilostane And Dheas On Dopamine Release In The Nucleus Accumbens, Tyler Okelberry, Dr. Scott Steffensen

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Alcohol dependency is a serious, widespread problem in the United States. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration reported that “In 2009, the number of persons aged 12 or older needing treatment for an alcohol use problem was 19.3 million (7.7 percent of the population aged 12 or older).” ¹ The following study contributed to a growing body of research about alcohol addiction and the brain. The study focused on a part of the brain called the nucleus accumbens. The release of the neurotransmitter dopamine in the nucleus accumbens has been implicated in the mental processes of reward and …

The Efficacy Of Neurofeedback In Improving Physical Balance, Christopher Schow, Dr. Scott C. Steffensen

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Biofeedback is a process by which a person may learn to control physiological functions of their body they would otherwise not be aware of e.g. heart rate. This is accomplished by relaying real-time information back to the user. The user then changes their physiological activity in order to achieve set goals. Neurofeedback is one form of biofeedback that utilizes EEG to collect a person’s electrical brainwave activity and displays it to them, usually in the form of a video game.

The Effect Of Second Language Reading On Eye Movement On Second Language Learners, Kyle Nelson, Dr. Steven Luke

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Due to the difficulty of finding valid and reliable testing material for our subjects to read, this current study has been significantly delayed. Finding reading passages that can be rated for difficulty for a non native speaker to read has been difficult and only in recent weeks have we found, through the generous help researchers in the linguistics department at BYU, materials that we finally feel can be used in such a study as the one we have proposed to carry out. Finally having reading passages that have been previously rated and used in research provides reliable passages with which …

Fear Of Negative Evaluation In Autism Spectrum Disorders, Catie Nielson, Mikle South

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are characterized by social communication deficits and restricted repetitive behaviors. Studies have found co­‐morbidity of ASD and social anxiety disorder (SAD), but it is unclear how the anxiety experienced in ASD is socially mediated (White, Oswald, Ollendick and Scahill; 2009). In this study, we measured psychophysiological reactivity during socially stressful (performance­‐evaluated) trials compared to unevaluated trials. We aimed to understand how anxiety in people with ASD is mediated by fear of negative social evaluation, a key factor in SAD. We hypothesized that the ASD group would show elevated stress during evaluation, whether the task was hard …

Assessing Gender Differences In Cognitive Processes Using Event Related Potentials, Jack Silcox, Dr. Bruce Brown

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Many have recognized the importance of identifying biomarkers for cognitive disorders (Casey, Craddock, Cuthbert, Hyman, Lee and Ressler, 2013). This is due to the amount of subjectivity that exists in current diagnostic methods. A patient with a mental disorder has to rely upon a psychiatrist’s experience and limited understanding of the patient’s mental state for a diagnosis, with the hopes of receiving the most effective treatment. Finding biomarkers to help supplement a psychiatrist’s subjective diagnosis would allow a patient to receive the appropriate treatment at the appropriate time. Current brain imaging technology has the potential for identifying biomarkers for mental …

Conservation Of Metallic Beads, Heather White, Dr. Paul Stavast

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Brigham Young University’s Museum of Peoples and Cultures has an extensive and varying collection of anthropological, ethnographic, and archaeological artifacts. Within these artifacts are leather items with metallic beading. These beads have been actively deteriorating, damaging themselves, the leather, the strings that keeps them sewn, and other items attached to the leather. The damage to such items is detrimental to the Museum, the collections and history of Brigham Young University, future researchers, and the Native American peoples whom these objects represent. The purpose of this project was to stop the above from happening by conserving the metallic beaded items created …

Missing Teeth: The Economic Impact Of Holes In The Urban Fabric, Andrew Van Leuven, Dr. Ryan Jensen

Journal of Undergraduate Research

One of the more widespread issues facing twenty-first century planners and policymakers is that of urban decline, especially in the midwest and northeastern United States.

Reducing The Gender Gap Through Religious Socialization, Kalifa Smith, Dr. Jessica Preece

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Women are greatly underrepresented in politics. Researchers have studied many potential explanations for this such as the competitive nature of politics, gender role socialization, institutional structures, etc. Yet there is little research on the role of religious socialization on women’s political ambition. In this study I hypothesize that religious leaders are powerful socializers and can increase their church members’ level of political efficacy, thus leading to increased political participation. Through an experimental survey, I examine whether the topics that the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS/Mormon) chooses to focus on affect their church members’ …

Religion’S Role In Parent To Child Political Socialization, Madison Dayton Daines, Quin Monson

Journal of Undergraduate Research

I believe that the religion a person was socialized in has lingering affects on his or her political values. Parents play the most prominent role in the political direction of their children both early in life and up through young adulthood (Niemi and Jennings 1991). This is because parents transmit political values to their children through socialization, the everyday conversations and interactions about the political world as well as broader norms and values that occur within the family, thus influencing their political attitudes and behavior. Religious ties also greatly contribute to individuals’ political attitudes and behaviors (Wald and Calhoun-Brown 2010). …

Neural Mechanisms: Nicotine And Alcohol Co-Dependence, Jordan Spencer, Dr. Scott Steffensen

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Alcohol abuse is prevalent in today’s society, causing an economic burden to the US of several hundred billions of dollars annually in direct costs alone. Several reports have estimated that 80% of those with a dependence on alcohol are also smokers. While smoking rates in the general population have decreased in recent decades, the use of NIC has remained high (approximately 70-75%) in individuals who regularly use alcohol. Often taken in concert, the use of tobacco and alcohol are leading causes of preventable death in the United States. In addition, there is strong evidence of co-dependence – individuals who smoke …

Gains And Losses, Cassie Widdison, Dr. Christopher Kirwan

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Regions of the brain, such as the medial temporal lobe (MTL), including the hippocampus and the adjacent MTL cortex, facilitate recognition memory performance (Squire, Stark, & Clark, 2004). The hippocampus is known for its ability to encode and retrieve memories through two processes called pattern separation and pattern completion (Mcclelland, Mcnaughton, & Oreilly, 1995). Pattern separation is a computational process in which the memory representations of similar stimuli are made as dissimilar as possible. This allows one to recall differences between old stimuli and similar, but novel stimuli. Pattern completion is a computational process where a memory representation is retrieved …

The Impact Of Exercise On Memory: A Neurological Investigation Of The Recommendations Made By The American Heart Association, Seth Spencer, Dr. C Brock Kirwan

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Many studies have shown a correlation between physical exercise and healthy cognitive processing. It has been shown extensively that regular exercise has a positive impact on brain health. One example is a study that linked increased exercise with greater performance on as shown via a Stroop Color-Word test [1]. Similarly, regular exercise has been shown to be related to improved memory and object recognition [2]. Another study has shown that even a single session of exercise can alter functional connectivity in the brain as measured by the resting-state fMRI [3]. The problem with this literature is an utter lack of …

Development Of A Self-Determination Theory Measure Of Adolescent’S Motivations To Abstain From Sex And Alcohol, Jacob Curtis, Sam Hardy

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Adolescent sex and alcohol use are issues today in America. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2012), about a third of high school students report having had sex in the previous three months, and 79% of twelfth graders have drunk alcohol at least once in their lifetime. There has been a cost for society. Teen childbearing cost U.S. taxpayers $10.9 billion in 2008 (The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, 2011), and underage drinking cost Americans over $62 billion in 2010 (Underage Drinking Enforcement Training Center, 2011).

Health Insurance Market Inefficiencies For The Children Of Teen Mothers, Joshua Witter, Joseph Price

Journal of Undergraduate Research

I was awarded an ORCA grant to research the unique health insurance market that the children of teen mothers face. I became concerned that these children may not have equal access to private insurance coverage and as a result were at risk of being uninsured or over-enrolling in public insurance programs such as Medicaid. The majority of these children are living in three-generation households where their grandparents are the primary financial provider for the household members. In many instances, but not all, insurance companies will not permit dependent grandchildren to be added to the grandparent’s health insurance plan, especially if …

Role Of Ros (Reactive Oxygen Species) On Cocaine-Induced Da Release In The Nac, Jacqueline Solomon, Dr. Scott Steffensen

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Cocaine as a stimulant drug causes Dopamine (DA), a neurotransmitter, to be released in the Accumbens Nucleus (NAc). It accomplishes this by its well-known actions on the DA transporter (DAT). When the DAT is blocked, more DA stays in the synaptic cleft, leading to rewarding and pleasurable sensations. While in the synaptic cleft, DA undergoes excessive oxidation, giving rise to oxidative stress (OS) which causes neural damage. The OS has been shown in damaging the pleasure pathway and makes it so that addictive pathways are formed. In this research study we saw that Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) Scavengers can eliminate …

The Role Of Α6 Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors On Dopamine Release, Michaela Squire, Dr. Scott Steffensen

Journal of Undergraduate Research

With today’s society’s alcohol abuse, there has been a large economic burden of several hundred billion dollars annually. In addition, 80% of those who are dependent on alcohol are also smokers, and the use of nicotine has remained relatively high in those who use alcohol, displaying the co-dependence of nicotine and alcohol. Due to the high percentage of apparent co-dependence of nicotine and ethanol (EtOH), it has been theorized that the addictive nature of these drugs may act through similar mechanisms, specifically through nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) on presynaptic gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) neurons. The purpose of this project was to …

Assessing The Impact Of Spiritual And Relational Teaching On Student Learning, Jillian Ferrell, Jeffrey Reber

Journal of Undergraduate Research

According to the mission and aims of Brigham Young University, one of the outcomes of a BYU experience should be that it is spiritually strengthening. BYU is not alone in desiring this kind of experience. A faculty and student survey collected by UCLA’s Higher Education Research Institute (HERI) (Lindholm, Szelényi, Hurtado, & Korn, 2005) found that perhaps up to 80 percent of students nationwide have an interest in spirituality and almost half say that it is “essential” that colleges encourage the personal expression of spirituality. Unfortunately, only 30 percent of faculty nationwide agree that colleges should be concerned with facilitating …

Psychological Predictors Of Injury In Marathon Runners, Dallin Christensen, Ben Ogles

Journal of Undergraduate Research

While training for and participation in marathons provides substantial health benefits, there is also a high incidence of musculoskeletal injury in marathon runners. Previous research has identified correlation between various cognitive running strategies and running related injury. In particular, association, which is exemplified when runners focus on and maintain awareness of their body and physical factors crucial to performance, has been shown to predict injury (Masters and Ogles). Dissociation is employed when a runner diverts attention away from their body and physical feedback to anything external to themselves. While dissociation was originally hypothesized to increase injury risk, previous research suggests …

Early Documentation Of The Orang Seletar And Sugut Sungai Languages, Kevin Blissett, Dr. Dirk Elzinga

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The Orang Seletar and Sugut Sungai languages are endangered languages indigenous to Malaysia. With every generation there are fewer speakers of the language, and, perhaps more worryingly, the language is less frequently taught to children. It is increasingly urgent for linguists to document the languages before they vanish completely. The purpose of this project was to begin that documentation effort by translating a list of common vocabulary, known as the Swadesh list, into each of these two languages.