Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Age-Related Differences In Food-Specific Inhibitory Control: Electrophysiological And Behavioral Evidence In Healthy Aging, Whitney D. Allen

Theses and Dissertations

The number of older adults is estimated to double from 52 million to 95 million by 2060. Approximately 80-85% of older adults are diagnosed with a chronic health condition. Many of these chronic health conditions are influenced by diet and exercise, suggesting improved diet and eating behaviors could improve health-related outcomes. One factor that might improve dietary habits in older adults is food-related inhibitory control. We tested whether food-related inhibitory control, using behavioral (response time, error rate) and scalp-recorded event-related potential (ERP; N2 and P3 components) measures of food-related inhibitory control differed between younger and older adults over age 55. …

Investigating The Function Of Play Bows In African Wild Dogs (Lycaon Pictus), Michael Spiotta

Theses and Dissertations

Play bows are a recognizable communicative signal observed in many carnivores, most notably, members of the genus Canis. Various hypotheses have been set forth to describe the function of play bows within canid social play behavior. To date, evidence suggests that wolves (Canis lupus), domestic dogs (Canis familiaris), and dingoes (Canis lupus dingo) use this signal as a means to both initiate, as well as, resume play. These studies have not previously been replicated in members of the family Canidae who fall outside of the genus Canis. In this study, I analyzed …

Parenthood Orientation Among Young Women: Is It Associated With Pregnancy Intention And Unprotected Intercourse?, Nakeisha Blades

Theses and Dissertations

This study explored relationships between parenthood orientation, pregnancy intention, and unprotected intercourse. Nulligravid, sexually active women aged 18-29 (N = 252) were surveyed on these topics in May 2019. There were significant differences in parenthood orientation by past and current pregnancy intention. Higher scores on parenthood orientation were associated with increased odds of past unprotected intercourse and expecting future unprotected intercourse. Only education and contraceptive self-efficacy retained significance in adjusted models. Study results are consistent with prior work on parenthood orientation and pregnancy intention and point to other factors as stronger correlates of contraceptive use.

Non-Verbal Pride Expressions As A Predictor Of Lgbtq Health, Craig Gilbert

Theses and Dissertations

Pride is a self-conscious, positive emotion that has been assessed in a wide range of populations and with a variety of pre-validated measures. Research has shown that the presence of pride can function as a potential resilience factor against minority based stress and has been linked to increased emotional well being, life satisfaction, and self-esteem. However, a majority of this research relies upon self-report questionnaires as opposed to observational data. To evaluate the predictive power of non-verbal pride behaviors, a group of LGBTQ+ individuals (n=125) were asked during a recorded interview to describe an experience where they felt prideful about …

How Brazilians Used Media To Cope With The Issues Brought By The Covid-19 Pandemic, Vivian De Melo Campos

Theses and Dissertations

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the world faced lockdown and quarantine restrictions that encouraged or forced people to stay home. Along with the rest of the world, Brazil faced many difficulties during this period and it became one of the countries that lost more lives due to the Coronavirus infection worldwide. This study focuses on showing how people in Brazil coped with the challenges brought by the pandemic. It also focuses on showing if and how participants used media as a coping mechanism. The research was done through qualitative methods with semi-structured interviews with 25 adults who were living in …

Communities Of Water: An Examination Of Cooperation And Conflict In Water Management Practices In The Central Peruvian Andes, Sylvie D. Littledale

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores two examples of water management in the highland Peruvian villages, San Pedro de Llancha and San Antonio de Chinchina. One example is of cooperation and union between the two communities. The other is of conflict between the same two villages just 40 years prior. I examine ethnographic and ethnohistorical data from both the collaborative period and the conflictive period of these two communities’ relations over water. The data suggest that, while the outcomes of these two periods were drastically different, the processes through which these communities came into relation with one another were quite similar. Their communal …

Outdoor Air Pollution And Psychological Well-Being: A Meta-Analysis, Jeremy Stanley Bekker

Theses and Dissertations

Human life takes place as part of a global ecosystem, meaning that human mental health is at least partially tied to the health of the planet. Health experts who seek to promote psychological well-being should consider how changes to the broad ecological system may impact their efforts. Given the potential impact of the environment on human well-being, we conducted a meta-analysis to assess the impact of air pollution on subjective well-being. The goal of this project was to outline the current state of the research on these constructs and provide a clear framework for what research is still needed. Nonsignificant …

Psychometric Properties Of The Survey On Flourishing (Surf) In A Nationally Representative Adolescent Sample, Gus C. Salazar

Theses and Dissertations

Background: Adolescent subjective well-being is a topic that has gained significant focus over recent years. This focus is reflected in the formation of measurement tools and interventions used to better understand and improve adolescent mental health. While these are important steps, there still exist problems related to adolescent subjective well-being measurement. Notably, current measurement tools are limited in their content, applicability to various populations, and in their accessibility. Aims: The purpose of this paper is to examine the psychometric properties of the Survey on Flourishing (SURF) when used with a nationally representative adolescent sample. The SURF aims to address some …

Orienting Pacha: Value As Action In The Late Horizon Xauxa-Pachacamac Axis, Ridge C. Anderson

Theses and Dissertations

The Andean Late Horizon (ca. AD 1438–1532) was a period of exceptionally rapid and far-reaching cultural change. Over this short span of only a few generations, the Inka ethnic group established an empire that was greater in size than any other pre-colonial American polity. The Inka accomplished their expansion without the use of certain institutions (i.e., a standing army, formal writing system, monetary system, or price-setting markets) that the received anthropological wisdom has long held as being necessary preconditions to imperial expansion. Standard explanations of Late Horizon culture change tend to overemphasize the roles of environmental constraints, social evolution, and …

Parental Incarceration As A Predictor Of Legal Cynicism, Mackenzie Joy Heim

Theses and Dissertations

Researchers have established that legal cynicism is linked to violence, deviant behavior, and crime. In response to the potentially dangerous implications of a legally cynical society, research in recent years has attempted to identify experiences and conditions that play a role in the development of legal attitudes. Given that youths' familial and social conditions appear to be influential predictors, this study tests the relationship between parental incarceration and legal cynicism. Data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study were used for this analysis. Results from three OLS regression models indicate that parental incarceration is not a significant predictor of …

Witches, Victims, And Villains: #Metoo And The Political Polarization Of Sexual Violence, Hannah Shoaf

Theses and Dissertations

The MeToo movement, which sought to combat sexual violence, evolved into a partisan problem, where support for or against the movement fell across party lines. This polarization negatively impacted the progress of the MeToo movement, fitting the larger pattern of increasing polarization in the United States. My thesis seeks to understand the politicized nature of sexual violence and to explore what language and themes are drawn on to politicize conversations around sexual violence by using the MeToo movement as a case study. My thesis found that the political polarization of sexual violence increased during the MeToo movement (and especially during …

Older Adults Home-Based Care In Cairo: Asset Mapping Towards Community Development, Yomna El-Taweel

Theses and Dissertations

The health and economic consequences of the rapid growth of the older adults’ population above 60 have led to new and more flexible forms of care, including home-based care. In Cairo, Egypt, there seems to be a high demand and preference for home-based care services over other care services like nursing homes. From a policy makers’ perspective, older adults’ needs are sometimes approached in a deficit-oriented way. This might contribute to the disempowerment of older adults and make them feel like people with needs that can only be met by external support. This mixed-method study aimed to contribute to the …

The Reciprocal Relationship Between Group Therapeutic Relationships And Group Member Symptom Improvement: An Archival Analysis, Aileen Marie Rands

Theses and Dissertations

Researchers and clinicians have long recognized that therapeutic relationships play a fundamental role in client symptom change during treatment. At the same time, it has been proposed that improvement in client symptoms is associated with improvement in therapeutic relationships. To date, very few studies have investigated this reciprocal relationship; even fewer have examined group therapeutic relationship factors. The present study is an archival analysis on Group Questionnaire (GQ) (i.e., positive bond, positive work, and negative relationship) and Outcome Questionnaire (OQ-45) data that aims to analyze the reciprocal relationship between group therapeutic relationships and client symptom change. More specifically, this study …

Returning Thanks To God And Others: The Relational, Prosocial, And Emotional Consequences Of Transcendent Indebtedness, Jenae Marie Nelson

Theses and Dissertations

Gratitude and indebtedness facilitate cooperative relationships and altruism. Although most of the world endorses some belief in God, gratitude and indebtedness to God have not received adequate empirical attention. The "Gratitude to God" research initiative was created to address this gap, of which the current project is an appendage. This project encapsulates a multiphase research proposal, including three parts; a pilot study and two experimental studies. The purpose of the pilot study (N = 475) was to create and test experimental manipulations for the two experimental studies. Experiment 1 (N = 659; highly religious emerging adult sample) was a 3x2 …

Critical Incidents In Sustaining A Behavior Management Level System With Special Education Students In A Self-Contained School, Stephanie Johnson

Theses and Dissertations

Level systems provide systematic support for teachers and students who need additional behavior support. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the perspectives of faculty members from a self-contained school, for special education students with severe behavior needs, which has sustained the use of a school-wide, behavior management level system for nearly 30 years. A total of 11 faculty members were interviewed using the critical incident technique, a qualitative methodology used as an exploratory tool in early stages of research. Interviews detailed the observable behaviors and specific events, critical incidents, that helped or hindered the sustainability of their school's …

The Relationship Between Traumatic Brain Injury And Disruptions In Heart Rate Variability And Heart Rate Variability Biofeedback: A Systematic Review, Leah D. Talbert

Theses and Dissertations

Background: Traumatic brain injury is a significant public health problem. Heart rate variability is a potential modality to measure physiological dysfunction following traumatic brain injury to assist in determining recovery time and the relationship between traumatic brain injury severity and recovery. To date, a summary of the evidence across injury severities and the possible role of heart rate variability biofeedback in traumatic brain injury treatment is lacking but needed to determine potential clinical utility. Participants and Methods: We followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Systematic literature searches on CINAHL, Embase, PsycINFO, SPORTDiscus, and MEDLINE …

Physical Aspects Of Sexuality, Attachment, And Sexual Satisfaction, Chelsea Zollinger Allen

Theses and Dissertations

Healthy sexuality includes relational, emotional, and physical elements (Busby et al., 2021). However, there are gaps in what is known about the physical aspects of sexual relationships. Genital acceptance and physical sexual knowledge are two areas of physical relationships that may have an effect on the satisfaction of sexual relationships. Attachment, namely levels of anxious and avoidant attachment, is another factor that has been related to sexual relationships (Allsop et al., 2021; Bennett et al., 2019; Busby et al., 2020). Results from a dyadic sample of 515 couples who had been in a relationship for at least two years were …

Psychological Distress Of Spousal Caregivers Of Older Adults: The Moderating Role Of Marital Quality, Avalon White

Theses and Dissertations

Caregiving, specifically caregiver burden, is commonly related to decreased psychological well-being. Conversely, marital quality is positively related to psychological well-being, though existing literature presents mixed findings as to whether or not a gender difference exists in this relationship. The current study examined the relationship between objective and subjective spousal caregiver burden and psychological distress with marital quality as a moderator. Gender differences in this relationship were also explored. 1,066 spousal caregivers from the National Study of Caregiving (NSOC) were used to estimate cross-sectional moderation models and plot significant interactions in Mplus. Results indicated a significant positive relationship between subjective caregiver …

The Effect Of Emotional Intensity, Arousal, And Valence On Online Video Ad Sharing, Chang Won Choi

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines the effect of emotional factors, such as pleasure, arousal, and intensity, on online video ad sharing. Previous studies found that the emotions evoked by online video ads could influence consumers’ ad sharing intentions. However, it remains uncertain which emotional factors trigger ad sharing behavior. Some researchers argue that positive or high-arousal emotions (e.g., excitement) exert greater influence on ad sharing than negative or low-arousal emotions (e.g., sadness). However, these studies do not explain why video ads that evoke low-arousal or unpleasant emotions are also widely shared on social media. Based on the theory of social sharing of …

African Seminole Settlement Ecologies Of Early Nineteenth Century Florida, Jordan E. Davis

Theses and Dissertations

For over three centuries prior to the outbreak of the Second Seminole War [1835-1842], peoples of African and Native American descent independently and collectively formed multiple communities throughout what is now Florida. During the early 1990s, several ancestral African Seminole (otherwise known as “Black Seminole”) settlements were identified across Central Peninsular Florida, many of which were founded by self-emancipated Africans commonly referred to as maroons. Previous archaeological research at the African Seminole settlement of Pilaklikaha, or Abraham’s Old Town, has greatly stimulated both scholarly and public interest in tracing the historical trajectories of individual African-Native American communities while remaining attentive …

Using Item-Response Analysis To Evaluate The Task-Demands Of A Pictural-Response Based Test Of Word Reading, Michael Eason

Theses and Dissertations

While some children’s reading difficulties are a consequence of socio-economic factors and inadequate instruction, other children have extreme difficulties learning to read despite having adequate educational opportunity and adequate levels of intelligence. These children are classified under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) as having a learning disability specific to reading (SLD-R). The identification of children with SLD-R is costly on time, personnel, and other school resources, and due to an insufficient number of resources generally available to schools, the methods implemented for identifying children are alarmingly inconsistent. The aim of the current study is to investigate the task …

Associations Between Child Characteristics And Maternal Mental Health In Families Of Children With Autism, Fragile X Syndrome, And Autism Associated With Fragile X Syndrome, Tiffany Nicole Worley

Theses and Dissertations

The present study examined the association between various child characteristics and maternal mental health concerns in three high-risk groups of mothers ± those of children with non-syndromic autism spectrum disorder (NSASD), mothers of children with fragile X syndrome (FXS), and mothers of children with fragile X syndrome and autism (FXS+ASD). Research has shown that mothers of children with NSASD and FXS are thought to share a degree of genetic vulnerability to mental health concerns it is key to examine the various other factors that may contribute to difficulties within the family system and maternal stress, depression, and anxiety.

Participants for …

Gatekeeping Blackness: Roles, Relationships, And Pressures Of Black Television Journalists At A Time Of Racial Reckoning, Denetra Walker

Theses and Dissertations

Building on Du Bois’ (1903) concept of double-consciousness, Critical Race Theory, and communications theories including Gatekeeping, this dissertation aims to provide understanding of the experiences of Black broadcast journalists at a racially contentious time in American history. In 2020-2021, following the deaths of Black Americans at the hands of police and subsequent Black Lives Matter protests, and during a global pandemic, a “racial reckoning” ensued throughout the nation. The reckoning, which continued through the writing of this dissertation, was a salient issue for news media. Through my positionality as a Black female forever journalist, I interviewed 29 Black journalists who …

"You Will Be Evaluated According To The Following": Language, Race, And International Students At A U.S. Predominantly White Institution, Anusha Anand

Theses and Dissertations

As sociolinguists have long noted, racial hierarchies in the United States have been maintained through a hegemonic standard language ideology that assumes white middle-class ways of speaking as “standard” and the linguistic marginalization of non-whites ways of speaking as “nonstandard” (Bonfiglio 2010). This phenomenon is well-documented in studies on the perceptions of racialized international TAs (ITAs), which show that the racializing ideologies about ITAs’ language held by predominantly white, Western undergraduates impact their perception of ITAs’ comprehensibility and teaching ability (Staples, Kang, & Wittner 2014). Other studies on international students have shown that the discrimination that they face is driven …

Testing Models Of Context-Dependent Outcome Encoding In Reinforcement Learning, William M. Hayes Iv

Theses and Dissertations

Previous studies of reinforcement learning (RL) have established that choice outcomes are encoded in a context-dependent fashion. Several computational models have been proposed to explain context-dependent encoding, including reference point centering and range adaptation models. The former assumes that outcomes are centered around a running estimate of the average reward in each choice context, while the latter assumes that outcomes are compared to the minimum reward and then scaled by an estimate of the range of outcomes in each choice context. However, there are other computational mechanisms that can explain context dependence in RL. In the present study, a frequency …

Effectiveness Of An Ecowellness Intervention For College Aged Individuals With A Developmental Disability, Olivia Jean Lewis

Theses and Dissertations

Nature has the ability to heal many psychological wounds from anxiety and depression, stress, post traumatic stress disorder, and behavioral concerns. As a result, clinicians are recognizing the power of nature as a tool in the healing process. The purpose of this dissertation, which consists of one completed systematic review and a multiple probe single case study is to (a) provide background information on the current literature regarding nature, (b) create a manualized EcoWellness treatment intervention, and (c) test the effectiveness of the treatment intervention in order to provide practicing counselors with a potential new intervention to increase psychological wellbeing …

Investigating The Role Of Stressful Life Events And Emotion Regulation As Potential Antecedents Of Gratitude In Early Adolescents, Olivia Schmitke

Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACTThe construct of gratitude has gained interest over the last decade along with the rise of positive psychology. Gratitude’s significant relations with psychological and psychosocial factors have been shown in prior research, although support for such relations in children and adolescents exists, to date the literature is more robust around adults. Additionally, presumed antecedents of individual differences in gratitude have been acknowledged. The present study included a sample of 1872 middle school students and aimed to build on previous work to explore the influence of emotion regulation (i.e., cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression) in the development of gratitude among youth …

Impact Of Number Of Alternatives And Spatial Arrangement On Decoy Effects, Jacob M. Stanley

Theses and Dissertations

The way in which people make decisions is largely guided by the context of the choice set. Choice sets that contain decoy alternatives can result in context effects that violate rational principles of decision making. Most studies on contextual choice manipulate preference among two alternatives in the context of a decoy using three option choice sets. However, many real-world decisions are made among choice sets with many more than three alternatives, such as in online shopping. We tested for attraction and compromise decoy effects in choice sets with varying numbers of alternatives by using a within-subjects preferential grocery shopping task. …

Urban Forest Dynamics: Untangling Ecosystem Patterns At Harbison State Forest, Derek Matchette

Theses and Dissertations

As expansion continues to push the wildland-urban interface farther into the suburbs and the landscape which surrounds cities, it will become more important to understand the factors that influence species composition in remaining green spaces. Harbison State Forest, an ~890-hectare urban forest provides a convenient setting to analyze species composition patterns within a multipurpose urban green space.

The factors that can create these patterns include environmental (topography, soil nutrient content, light, temperature, and precipitation), naturally occurring disturbances that alter these factors (e.g., fire, windthrow), and anthropogenic disturbances such as logging and prescribed burning.

I measured basal area by species on …

The Relation Between Adhd Symptoms And Alcohol And Marijuana Use Outcomes Among College Students: The Mediating Role Of Experiential Avoidance, William Joshua Bradley

Theses and Dissertations

Individuals with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are at significantly greater risk for alcohol and marijuana misuse and abuse compared to their peers. College students with ADHD may be particularly vulnerable to problematic alcohol and marijuana use, given the widespread use and abuse of these substances by college students generally and liability associated with ADHD specifically. Experiential avoidance, or avoidance of unwanted thoughts, feelings, and other internal experiences, is positively associated with ADHD symptoms and substance use problems. However, it is unclear what role experiential avoidance plays in the relation between ADHD and alcohol and marijuana use. This study examined whether experiential …