Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Yoga And Mindfulness In The Inclusion Classroom, Maria Petruzzelli

Theses and Dissertations

This paper explores the effectiveness of implementing mindfulness and yoga techniques in two sections of fourth grade inclusion language arts classes. More specifically, this paper examines the effectiveness of yoga and mindfulness techniques on the frequency of off-task behaviors and academic achievement. It was hypothesized that off-task behaviors would occur less frequently and that academic performance in writing would improve after a yoga and mindfulness intervention was implemented.

Using a pre-post no-control design, thirty-six students, eighteen per class, from a public elementary school in Southern New Jersey participated in this investigation. Baseline and post implementation data were collected using On-Demand …

Evaluating A Chinese Adult Attachment Questionnaire Using A Taiwanese Sample, Hsin-Yao Chiu

Theses and Dissertations

Researchers have taken the adult attachment instruments established in the western countries into other cultural settings. Taiwan is one of the many countries to which cross-cultural adult attachment research has been extended to, and where translated attachment survey instruments were applied. The problem with these translated measurements in Taiwan, however, is that the commonly-used instruments were not peer-reviewed, and often no reliability tests were even done, and the cultural appropriateness of these translated measurements was not evaluated. The usage and results of these instruments may therefore be questionable. The purpose of this current study is to present a Mandarin Chinese …

Mirror, Mirror On The Wall: An Experimental Study Examining The Relationship Between Music Lyrics And Body Satisfaction In Emerging Adult Women, Emilie Jill Davis

Theses and Dissertations

Over the past decade, there has been an increase in academic research on media and its influences on body satisfaction. To date, the majority of body image literature focuses on low body satisfaction. While low body satisfaction leads to negative outcomes, high body satisfaction leads to a host of positive outcomes. Further, in a non-academic domain, it would seem that even some media icons are starting to take part in the effort to try to promote positive appearance messages. Singers like Christina Aguilera, Colbie Caillat, and Alessia Cara have begun writing songs like Beautiful, Try, and Scars To …

Investigating The Relationships Of Attitude Clarity And Correctness With Political Identification Strength And Evaluations Of An Ideological Group, Gustavo Martinez

Theses and Dissertations

The present study examines two underlying attitude certainty dimensions in the context of political groups: attitude clarity and attitude correctness. Attitude clarity is the subjective sense that one knows what one’s attitude is, and attitude correctness is the subjective sense that one’s attitude is correct or valid. Based on predictions derived from social identity theory and attitude attribution research, it is expected that attitude clarity and attitude correctness will have diverging effects with political groups. First, it is expected that attitude clarity will better predict political identification than attitude correctness due to stronger ties to the self-concept. Secondly, it is …

Social Reactions To Sexual Assault Survivors Presenting With Ptsd: The Impact Of Survivor Gender And Psychotherapy Treatment-Seeking Status, Shannon Marie Sommer

Theses and Dissertations

The present study examined public perceptions of and willingness to provide social support to survivors of sexual assault presenting with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) based on the survivor’s gender (male vs. female), psychotherapy treatment-seeking status (no treatment vs. dropped out after four sessions vs. still in treatment), and participant gender (male vs. female). Participants (n = 178) read one of six vignettes based on a 2 (gender of survivor of sexual assault: male vs. female) X 3 (treatment-seeking status: no treatment vs. dropped out of treatment after four sessions vs. still in treatment) factorial design describing the life circumstances and …

The Lived Experiences Of Counseling Graduate Students And The Impact Of Their Studies In Their Marital Satisfaction, Vania S. Palacios

Theses and Dissertations

Due to high levels of stress that students find throughout graduate programs, professional and personal lives are at times not prioritized. The heuristic study focused on analyzing common themes among counseling graduate students at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, the coping mechanisms students have used to improve their marital/relational satisfaction, and common stressors in their marriage as a reflection of the counseling graduate program. The researcher provided a personal narrative for the study and analyzed transcriptions of the interviews of four counseling graduate students at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.

Tools For Assessing Relatedness In Understudied Language Varieties: A Survey Of Mixtec Varieties In Western Oaxaca, Mexico, Erin Padgett

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis presents findings of research conducted on the relatedness of seven Mixtec varieties spoken in indigenous language communities in western Oaxaca, Mexico. Mixtec varieties vary widely from one community to the next, and it is necessary to determine the relatedness of Mixtec varieties in order to best serve the language development needs of communities. Understanding the relatedness of these varieties is also an important step in measuring their intelligibility.

I used three research tools to gather data: a General Wordlist, a Tone Wordlist, and a Sociolinguistic Questionnaire. I present five analyses: percentage of phonologically similar forms, displaying phonological correspondences …

When To Wed? A Closer Examination Of The Association Between Age Of Marriage And Marital Quality, Kaylee Shron Corbridge

Theses and Dissertations

With the rising age of marriage and previous research failing to address a more detailed look at more descriptive measures of satisfaction, the current study examined the association between age of first marriage and marital stability, satisfaction, sexual satisfaction and frequency, effective communication, conflict, and problem areas. Results from a sample of 470 participants who completed the RELATE Questionnaire indicated that across the board, those who married from ages 20-24 had better marital outcomes than those who delayed marriage until their thirties and beyond. These results fit a possible theory of explanation that when it comes to age of marriage, …

Bonds Beyond Time: Are There Differences In Well-Being, Autonomy, And Bond Between Visually Impaired Individuals With Guide Dogs Versus Pet Dogs?, Nicole Yarmolkevich

Theses and Dissertations

Well-being is a broad umbrella term that encompasses an individual’s appraisal of situations and events and their satisfaction with life (Diener, 1994). Research has shown that having a severe disability can negatively impact a person’s sense of well-being. Specifically, research has shown that individuals with visual impairments have a lower well-being because they feel like they are not as independent, they have many obstacles in their way, and they feel as if they are a bother to everyone around them (Lopez-Gusticia & Cordoba, 2008). To combat these obstacles, people with visual impairments opt to get a guide dog to help …

Success Of Secondary Special Education Students Outside Of Classroom In Integrated Occupational Learning Environments, Erik Yost

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to highlight the benefits of vocational work outside of the classroom for special education students, primarily those who are in enrolled in secondary school. It also questions how effective a vocational setting is compared to a traditional classroom setting for special education students nearing the end of their initial educational track. It was hypothesized that special education students, primarily enrolled in secondary or high school, benefit from a learning environment outside of a normalized classroom setting due to the first-hand experience gained in a real-world setting is more conducive to long-term success after completing …

Bidirectional Relations Between Prosocial Behavior And Self-Regulation Across Adolescence, Madison Kate Memmott

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to take a multidimensional perspective to prosocial behavior and self-regulation by analyzing longitudinal, bidirectional relations between prosocial behavior toward strangers, friends, and family members and behavioral, cognitive, and emotional dimensions of self-regulation across adolescence. Participants included reports from 500 adolescents (age Time 1 = 12, Time 2 = 14, Time 3 = 16, Time 4 = 18; 52% female, 77% European American) taking part in the Flourishing Families Project. Nine cross-lagged panel models were conducted analyzing longitudinal associations between each target of prosocial behavior and each dimension of self-regulation. Results revealed that in early …

“Konferenca E Rambujesë – Rrjedha Dhe Pasqyrimi Në Media”, Alba Merovci

Theses and Dissertations

Në Konferencën e Ambasadorëve në Londër të vitit 1912-1913, u vendosën kufijtë e shteteve të Ballkanit. Kosova padrejtësisht u nda nga kufijtë administrativë të Shqipërisë së sotme. Kjo, përveç të tjerash, ndodhi sepse delegacionet shqiptare që morën pjesë në këtë konferencë, që ishin të shumta, nuk kishin qëndrime të harmonizuara. Diversiteti dhe konfliktet midis tyre arritën deri në shkallën e mosdurimit të njëri-tjetrit dhe të moskomunikimit. Kjo ndikoi mjaft që përkrahja e brishtë amerikano/austro-hungareze të mos jetësohet.

Kosova dhe populli i saj, pas kësaj konference, pothuaj një shekull jetuan dhe përjetuan sfida të mëdha. Megjithatë, kontributi i rilindësve tanë bëri …

The Impact Of Changing Toefl Cut-Scores On University Admissions, Laura Michelle Decker

Theses and Dissertations

As the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) is often used as a determiner for university admissions, this study observes the effect on the international student population at a large private university through the examination of the international student admissions data including TOEFL and first-year GPA from 2005-2015. With the anonymous data of 9,837 students, researchers analyzed the result of a cut-score change at the university. Results indicated that the number of international students decreased at the university. As expected, the TOEFL data revealed a normal distribution for the overall (combined) score and subsection scores, while the GPA …

Differences In German Youth Gender Ideologies: The Relationship Between Family Structure And Doing Gender, Alyssa Jane Alexander

Theses and Dissertations

Gender ideologies, which are constantly changing, are important for many outcomes in life, but the majority of gender ideology research focuses mainly on adults. Past research studying adult gender ideologies finds that adults' current relationship status affects their ideologies. For instance, divorced adults hold egalitarian ideologies more than stable married adults do (Davis, Greenstein and Marks 2007). Researchers attribute this finding to the types of gender behaviors adults perform with their partner or alone. What about youth? Understanding how these ideologies develop earlier in life is important, yet research rarely focuses on youth gender ideologies or their development. My research …

Co-Localization Patterns Of Aquaporin-4 With Amyloid Beta And Cd68 In Alzheimer's Disease And Cerebrovascular Disease, Anthony Bryan Crum

Theses and Dissertations

Aquaporin-4 (AQP4) is a key component in maintaining proper glymphatic flow. In recent years, the glymphatic system has been discovered and approached as a major factor in amyloid plaque clearance in Alzheimer's disease. This study examines the depolarization of AQP4 from the astrocytic endfeet and subsequent co-localization with amyloid plaques in the hippocampus and subiculum. Results show a significant pattern of co-localization in advanced Alzheimer's disease, as well as increases in AQP4 in cerebrovascular disease. This pattern shows AQP4 should be approached as a promising therapeutic area in future research.

Utah Teachers' Perceptions Of Student Social Skills And Behaviors: A Developmental Perspective, Karrah Beth Sampson

Theses and Dissertations

Students' appropriate social skills and behaviors are essential for classroom success at any level but are of special importance at an elementary school level when the foundations of these skill sets are developing (Lane, Givner, & Pierson, 2004). An initial study investigated which social skills Utah elementary school teachers identified as being most important, and which behaviors are most problematic during the elementary school years. Elementary school teachers (Kindergarten through sixth grade) were randomly selected from Utah's school districts. In total, 295 of 1,144 teachers (26% return rate) participated (Weed, 2015). As a follow-up, this current study utilized data from …

Does Marijuana Decriminalization Make The Roads More Dangerous?, Daehyeon Kim

Theses and Dissertations

As the movement to decriminalize marijuana has gained more support throughout the United States, as of early 2017, 21 states have decriminalized the possession of a small amount of marijuana for personal recreational use, and more states are expected to decriminalize marijuana (GOVERNING 2017). Despite this strong move toward decriminalizing marijuana, however, the consequences of implementing such a policy are still very much unknown. One of the concerns regarding this movement to decriminalize marijuana is its potential impact on road safety (Schrader 2015; Roberts 2017; Halsey 2015). Although there are a few studies that have examined the association between marijuana …

Stress And Psychotherapy Outcome: Implementation Of A Heart Rate Variability Biofeedback Intervention To Improve Psychotherapy Outcome, Louise Fidalgo Wheeler

Theses and Dissertations

Research has shown that psychotherapy patients experience increased physiological responsivity to stress which might negatively impact their experience in psychotherapy and their overall progress and outcome. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of a heart rate variability biofeedback intervention on the physiological stress responsiveness and the psychotherapy outcomes of participants in psychotherapy. Forty college students attending psychotherapy at their university counseling center were divided into an experimental group and a control group. The experimental group participated in a 6-week biofeedback intervention and we assessed their physiological stress reactivity before and after implementation of the intervention, …

Correlates Of Risky Sexual Behavior In The People's Republic Of China, Kersti A. Spjut

Theses and Dissertations

Risky sexual behaviors, or behaviors with the risk of an adverse health outcome, are on the rise. Rates of Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) are also on the rise. Research suggests that several variables are closely related to human sexual behavior, namely sexual attitudes, sexual knowledge, and gender. Individuals with more permissive sexual attitudes tend to engage in riskier sexual behaviors. Studies examining the relationship between sexual knowledge and risky sexual behavior show both positive and negative associations. Although risky behaviors can occur between partners of any gender, the present study focuses on heterosexual relationships.The present study uses data from a …

Comparing The Awl And Avl In Textbooks From An Intensive English Program, Michelle Morgan Hernandez

Theses and Dissertations

Academic vocabulary is an important determiner of academic success for both native and non-native speakers of English (Corson, 1997; Gardner, 2013; Hsueh-chao & Nation, 2000). In an attempt to address this need, Coxhead (2000) developed the Academic Word List (AWL)—a list of words common across a range of academic disciplines; however, Gardner & Davies (2014) identified potential limitations in the AWL and have more recently produced their own list of core academic vocabulary—the Academic Vocabulary List (AVL). This study compares the occurrences of the AWL and AVL word families in an intensive English program (IEP) corpus of 50 texts to …

Early Trauma Exposure And Marijuana Use As Well As Dependence From Adolescence To Emerging Adulthood, Ian Andru Marsee

Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the impact of two types of trauma exposure, mistreatment by an adult as a child and exposure to stressful life events as an adolescent, and their impact on marijuana use as an adolescent and emerging adult and marijuana dependence as an adult. This study also investigates the mediating role of depressive symptoms on the relationship between trauma exposure and marijuana use and dependence. The AddHealth dataset, a nationally representative and longitudinal dataset, was used to assess these relationships. Results show that both types of trauma predict marijuana use and dependence. Results also show that there are indirect …

Examining The Effect Of Friends' Drug Treatment On One's Drug Use: Investigating Positive Peer Influence In The National Longitudinal Study Of Adolescent To Adult Health, Dallin C. Everett

Theses and Dissertations

Peer influence is a well-studied and established phenomenon in the social sciences with much research focusing on peers influencing one another in negative ways. However, peers have also been shown to provide a positive influence. Research on substance treatment programs indicates that one's social network can influence one to enter treatment as well as help maintain abstinence following the completion of the program. However, little is known about the influence that peer's drug treatment can have on the substance levels of an individual. I use the peer nomination data and Waves 1 and 2 of the National Longitudinal Study of …

The Effects Of Various Instruction Ratios During The Use Of The High Probability Instructional Sequence To Increase Compliance, Hallie Ertel

Theses and Dissertations

Noncompliance is a common behavior problem exhibited by individuals who are typically developing as well as individuals with intellectual disabilities. The high probability sequence, an antecedent intervention, has proven to be effective to increase compliance to instructional demands. The high probability sequence involves presenting instructions with which an individual is likely to comply (highp), followed by an instruction with which the individual is not likely to comply (low-p). Typically, three high-p instructions are presented before presenting the low-p instruction. The current study compared different ratios of high-p to low-p instructions (1:1, 3:1, and 5:1) to determine if there is a …

Assessing The Combined Effects Of Resurgence And Renewal, Madeleine Keevy

Theses and Dissertations

Resurgence and renewal are laboratory models of treatment relapse revealing the effects of treatment integrity errors and context change on problem behavior eliminated through treatment with differential reinforcement of alternative behavior (DRA). This study used translational methods to assess the effects of context change after DRA (renewal) with and without extinction in the form of treatment integrity errors (resurgence) on relapse in children with autism. In Phase 1 and in Context A, we trained an arbitrary target response. In Phase 2 and in Context B, we extinguished the target response and reinforced an alternative response. Phase 3 tested for relapse …

Using Discrimination Training To Establish Conditioned Reinforcers: A Replication And Test Of Maintenance, Chelsea Iris Moore

Theses and Dissertations

A stimulus becomes a conditioned reinforcer when it acquires reinforcing properties by virtue of being paired with a primary reinforcer. Researchers have evaluated different methods to condition reinforcers for children diagnosed with autism because this population often does not respond to social reinforcers in the way their typically developing peers do. One method of establishing a conditioned reinforcer is the conditioned reinforcement of a discriminative stimulus (SD) procedure. The discrimination training procedure involves a neutral stimulus being established as an SD by reinforcing a specific response in its presence. Then, the established SD is tested as a conditioned reinforcer by …

The Effect Of Safety Coaching On The Accuracy Of Safety Observations And Feedback, Nicholas Matey

Theses and Dissertations

Behavior-based safety (BBS) is an effective approach to decreasing workplace incidents and injuries. BBS typically consists of a peer observation and data collection process, and a feedback process. Accurate observations are required to provide accurate feedback, and accurate feedback is essential for acquisition and performance improvement. This study alternated observation only and required feedback phases during peer observations to examine whether requiring observers to provide immediate feedback following an observation affects the accuracy of the observation itself. Four participants were included in the study and the conditions were evaluated using a counterbalanced ABAB design. Results suggested that requiring observers to …

Effects Of Rich And Lean Treatment Contexts On Renewal, Sandhya Rajagopal

Theses and Dissertations

Relapse of problem behavior following behavioral intervention can occur for many reasons, including a change in setting after treatment. Reappearance of a previously extinguished behavior due to a context change is termed renewal. Laboratory models have demonstrated renewal by training a target behavior in one stimulus context, extinguishing the behavior in another context, and testing for relapse in the training context, where the behavior remains in extinction. Basic-research studies of relapse have also shown that conditions of the treatment environment, such as reinforcement schedules, can affect the amount of relapse observed. Assuming that quality of the treatment context could have …

Corporate Social Responsibility Motivations: How Audiences Respond To A Company’S Motivations Post-Crisis, Sara Torabi

Theses and Dissertations

With the rise of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) practices, researchers have identified various motivations behind CSR initiatives. These motivations can assist researchers in understanding company behaviors and reputations. This study will compare Maignan and Ralston’s (2002) CSR motivations in an attempt to better identify how these motivations effect (1) customer loyalty, (2) brand reputation, and (3) crisis communication responses. This paper will use Nike Inc.’s 1990 crisis as a case study.

Emotional Labor In A Computer-Mediated Environment, Christa P. Bupp

Theses and Dissertations

As more organizations enter into a global economy, the use of computer-mediated communication (CMC) becomes a necessary component for survival. However, the effects of CMC on employees and customers is still not well understood. Although research on work-related emotions has been flourishing in the last several years (Brief & Weiss, 2002), there have been relatively few studies done on emotions in a computer-mediated environment and even less done on emotional labor in a computer-mediated environment. The purpose of the present research is to examine emotional regulation strategies in a computer-mediated environment. Affective events theory (AET) is utilized as an overarching …

Emotional Display Rule Conflict In Student Affairs And Services Administrators, Tessly Ann Dieguez

Theses and Dissertations

This study examines a proposed model in which display rule conflict occurs when employees’ personal emotional display rule goals or values (operationalized as student customer orientation and individual-level power distance) are inconsistent with the emotional display rule goals of their department or culture (operationalized as department-level student customer orientation and country-level power distance, respectively). No significant effects of the interaction between personal and department-level student customer orientation or personal and department-level power distance on display rule commitment were found. Results did show that display rule conflict has a negative effect on display rule commitment. Further, display rule conflict predicted emotional …