Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Impact Of Acute Stress, Sex, And Childhood Maltreatment On Fear Learning And Fear Generalization In A Fear-Potentiated Startle Paradigm, Kayla M. Boaz, Chloe N. Cordes, Cassidy L. Pfister, Taylor D. Niese, Sydney L. Parker, Kristen E. Long, Mercedes L. Stanek, Boyd R. Rorabaugh, Seth D. Norrholm, Phillip R. Zoladz

ONU Student Research Colloquium

Many researchers approach the etiology of trauma-, stressor-, and anxiety-related mental disorders from the perspective of classical conditioning processes gone awry. According to this view, abnormal associative relationships between conditioned and unconditioned stimuli may underlie pathological anxiety and result in unusually intense fear memories or fear memories that cannot be properly extinguished. Recent work has expanded on this view by showing that many psychological disorders involving pathological anxiety are associated with an exaggerated form of stimulus generalization, leading individuals with such disorders to respond with fear and anxiety to a variety of contexts and cues that should not be threatening. …

Low-Dose Psilocybin Enhances Novel Object Recognition But Not Inhibitory Avoidance In Adult Rats, Claire E. Miller, Colin R. Del Valle, Margaret M. Naylor, Heather R. Sparkman, Connor M. Cruea, Rachel E. Rice, Brooke E. Bramlage, Lillianna P. Puppel, Madison L. Brown, Aleece K. Al-Olimat, Elizabeth S. Dietz, Phillip R. Zoladz

ONU Student Research Colloquium

Given the recently renewed interest in using psychedelics to aid in the treatment of psychological disorders, we aimed to examine the impact of psilocybin, a 5-HT_2A agonist, on learning and memory in rodents. Previous work has demonstrated that psilocybin and other 5-HT_2A agonists can enhance fear conditioning, fear extinction, and novel object recognition (NOR). Thus, we predicted that low doses of psilocybin would enhance inhibitory avoidance (IA) and NOR memory. In the first experiment, adult male and female Sprague-Dawley rats underwent step-through IA training (involving 0.45, 0.65, or 1 mA scrambled footshock) and were injected intraperitoneally (i.p.) with …

The Modern Relationship Between Music And Political Preferences, Teresa Martin

Student Symposium

Music and politics have been interconnected for centuries, and it is difficult to explain a political event without mentioning the contemporary music creation and vice versa; examples include anti-war music during the Korean and Vietnam Wars, a shift to country music with patriotic undertones after 9/11, and so on. Preliminary research suggests that there could be a connection between political ideologies and liking genres of music, but it is relatively outdated (Fox and Williams 1974). There is research surrounding how political polarization contributes to opposing attitudes and preferences (Sears and Valentino 1997, Prinz 2021), and how music has different origins …

The First-Generation Student Experience; Why Building Solidarity Is Vital, Amarilys Torres-Nunez

Student Symposium

First-generation college students (i.e students whose parents or guardians do not have a 4-year college degree) face a unique set of challenges. Psychological, academic, financial, and social barriers all pose a threat to a first-gen student's success. Despite this, first-gen students possess unique strengths and resiliency that if recognized, can function as assets. This presentation highlights and addresses these elements while focusing on my experiences as the First-Generation Program Coordinator at OWU. The position creates, promotes, and evaluates first-gen programming. It serves as a student representative on the First-Gen Advisory Board, a group of faculty, staff, and students that strives …

The Impact Of The Convention On The Elimination Of Discrimination Against Women On Ecuador's Domestic Policy, Brittani Stiltner

Student Symposium

In 1979, Ecuador became one of the first Latin American countries to ratify the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). In this paper, I use Ecuador as a case study for analyzing the effectiveness of international human rights treaties on the countries that ratify them, looking specifically into the impact the CEDAW had on Ecuador’s domestic policies and action it has taken to expand women’s rights since 1979. I begin by giving a historical basis for the culture and political organization of the country due to colonization. I then articulate Ecuador as a leader …

The Impact Of Religiosity On Political Participation Among Seventh-Day Adventist College Students, Naomi Daniels

Campus Research Day

The purpose of my study is to understand the impact of religiosity on political participation among college students at Southern Adventist University.

Open Data Indicates That Collegedale Could Be A Bluezone, Tristan Deschamps, Alva Johnson

Campus Research Day

A blue zone is an indicator of exceptional health in a community. Adventists have a blue zone community in Loma Linda, but there has been little research into other Adventist populated areas that could be blue zones. Therefore, our goal is to show that open data suggests that a blue zone may exist near Southern Adventist University, specifically in Collegedale. This data has been gathered from different federal sources, including, the CDC, the US Census Bureau, the Tennessee Department of Health, official state records, and federal documents that are available to the public.

The Relationship Between Test-Anxiety, Test Performance, Metacognitive Beliefs And Self-Esteem In College Students, Amie Shelley

Campus Research Day

Test anxiety and low self-esteem could affect the validity of certain academic examinations especially if it limits students from performing successfully. There is a need to ensure that students, whose future is often tied to academic success, are adequately educated and assisted in understanding the many layers of internal and external influence that can be in effect. This research will be based on the following question: How are metacognitive beliefs and self-esteem related to test anxiety and academic performance? Essentially, the research is focused on better understanding the tenuous relationship observed from previous research between test-anxiety and academic performance by …

Evaluating College Students’ Health Literacy And Its Effects On Their Perceptions Of Information Concerning Mask-Wearing In The Covid-19 Pandemic, Hannah Ketchum

Scholar Week 2016 - present

BACKGROUND: Mask-wearing was a controversial and polarizing phenomenon during the COVID-19 pandemic. Beliefs concerning mask-wearing differed, depending on sources of information concerning the pandemic, levels of health literacy, political leaning, demographics, or other factors. This project attempted to connect college students’ level of health literacy to their understanding of and adherence to mask-wearing in the COVID-19 pandemic. There is a gap in research connecting health literacy to understanding information concerning pandemics, and an even bigger lack of studies conducted that relate college students’ health literacy to their perception of illnesses or pandemics. It is important to understand the impact of …

Can Feminism And Christianity Coexist According To 40 Christian Women?, Riley George

Liberty University Research Week

Graduate

Applied

Student Expectations Of Grace And Compassion From Faculty Based On Their Enneagram, Kate Clinton Ndikumagenge

Liberty University Research Week

Graduate

Three Minute Thesis

The Globalization Of Mexican Cartels: How Mexico And The U . S. Governments Have Fallen Two Steps Behind, Mackenzie Casey

Liberty University Research Week

Undergraduate

Textual or Investigative

Cognitive Dissonance Theory: Cassian Andor's Conflicted Personal Self In Rogue One: Star Wars Story, Jennifer Berkebile

Liberty University Research Week

Undergraduate

Textual or Investigative

The Netflix Effect, Caleb Barnes

Liberty University Research Week

Undergraduate

Textual or Investigative

Out Of Pocket Pay At Northwestern College, Josiah Bonestroo, Fan Fei, Jennifer Schon

Celebration of Research

In this research project, we observe several factors that affect how much families pay out of pocket for their students to attend Northwestern College. In addition, we compare this to the amount of institutional aid students expect to receive upon enrollment. We run multiple regression models to see if a student’s first semester major affects how much money they are paying out of pocket, or if this is affected by a type of scholarship they receive. These scholarships include athletic scholarships, music scholarships, theater scholarships, and the Pell Grant. We show that the only grouping of majors to pay a …

Cross-Modal Integration: Visuomotor Activity, Auditory Recall, And Its Implications For Art Therapy, Amelia Holt

Celebration of Research

A study was conducted to examine the integration of visuomotor and auditory input in the context of creating art. An experiment was performed in which an experimental group colored coloring sheets and a control group closed their eyes all while listening to three segments of podcasts. A week later, participants were asked to recall the podcasts, during which the experimental group had their coloring sheets. It was hypothesized that the participants who created art while listening to the podcasts and had their art as a visual cue during podcast recall would score higher in recall than those who did not …

Do You Think This Is About You? Moral Disengagement, Self-Awareness, And Emotional Intelligence In Narcissism, Shaylee Yates, Laird Edman

Celebration of Research

This study investigates the relationship between moral disengagement, self-awareness, and emotional intelligence in narcissism. A total of 111 participants, ranging in age from 18-23 (45 men, 66 women) completed a 20-minute team-building activity to test levels of narcissism, followed by a series of self-reported measures. Eight hypotheses were tested, all of which surrounded the relationships between the previously listed variables. All participants completed the Grandiose Narcissism Scale (GNS), Hypersensitivity Narcissism Scale (HSNS), Situational Self-Awareness Scale, Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire—Short Form (TEIQue-SF), Moral Disengagement Measure, and Short Dark Triad (SD3). Results were mixed, with some hypotheses supported, some not, and some …

The Effect Of Adversity In Childhood And Religious Orientation On Sleep Health In College Students, Maggie Kensak

Celebration of Research

Insufficient sleep has been shown to lead to emotional, psychological, and physical issues. In addition, factors such as adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and religious orientation may impact sleep. However, little research has been conducted in this area concerning the college population. The present study seeks to understand the effect ACEs and religious orientation have on sleep health in college students. Students from a small, faith-based liberal arts college in the Midwest (22 = men, 56 = women, 1= unidentified) were asked to complete a survey measuring these variables. It was hypothesized that ACEs would negatively impact sleep health scores in …

College Athletes And Mental Health: How Gender, Year, Sleep, Injury, And Social Support Affect Anxiety, Madison Jones

Celebration of Research

This study aimed to identify the effects of gender, year, sleep, injury, and social support on anxiety in college athletes. Participants were college athletes at a small, private Christian college in a midwestern community. It was hypothesized that female college athletes would experience greater levels of anxiety than male college athletes, and that upperclassmen college athletes would experience greater levels of anxiety than underclassmen college athletes. It was also predicted that the more sleep an athlete gets, the lower levels of anxiety they will experience. The final two hypotheses stated that athletes who experience injury and/or worry about the effects …

Faith Constructs: How Imagining God Effects Religiosity, Jadyn Williams

Celebration of Research

The current study aimed to identify the relationship between absorption and religiosity. Participants were 72 undergraduate students (females = 49, males = 23). It was predicted that absorption scores would be positively correlated with religiosity scores. It was also predicted that women would have higher religiosity scores than men, and upperclassmen would have higher religiosity scores than underclassmen. Pearson’s r correlations revealed no significant relationship between absorption and religiosity. An Independent samples t-test revealed there were no significant difference between women’s and men’s religiosity scores. A one-way ANOVA revealed no significant difference between religiosity scores for upperclassmen and underclassmen. Results …

The Fatalism Of The American Dream: Housing Discrimination, Schools, And The Church, Emma Geary

Celebration of Research

Housing discrimination in Kansas City has led to perpetual low socioeconomic status in the Black community, lower ACT scores, and segregation in churches. The socioeconomic and religious divide between Black and White communities in Kansas City can be traced back to housing discrimination. Actions and prejudices of the white church continually pushed this divide, and they held Black communities to the standard of the American Dream which was never attainable to the Black community in the first place. The association of the American Dream with Christianity in white evangelical churches pushed away the Black community.

The Effects Of Birth Order On Reading Comprehension, Allison Haverdink

Celebration of Research

Reading comprehension is important in everyday life. Being able to read and interpret what is being read is vital to living a competent life. Learning if any external factors may affect one’s reading comprehension is important. The purpose of this study was to consider the relationship of birth order with reading comprehension scores. A sample of 121 (78 women, 42 men, and 1 unidentified) participants answered a demographics questionnaire regarding their birth order and then completed a reading comprehension test. No statistically significant differences were found in reading comprehension scores related to birth order. However, the women who completed the …

Soul: The Power Of Giving Back, Thomas Anderson, Sarah Hummel

Celebration of Research

The idea for Soul started really small with connecting two businesses in Orange City, The Genesis House and the Hair Clinic. We came up with the idea to support The Genesis House by providing them with free hair cuts for a certain amount of time. The owner told us that she had been looking for something to do to give back to the community, but she was not sure what it could be. We realized that there are plenty of local businesses in Orange City, Alton, and Sioux Center that want to give back to their communities too, yet they …

Christian College Students And Purity Culture: Acceptance And Lived Experience, Jessica Nibbelink

Celebration of Research

Purity culture is a movement predominantly seen in the evangelical branch of Christianity that focuses on the purity status of young, unmarried women (Latour, 2020). This purity is maintained through sexual abstinence before heterosexual, monogamous, married relationships. The harmful nature of purity culture has been uncovered in recent years through extended research on the topic. This has brought the question of how prominent this idea of purity culture is. This study aims to investigate how women on a Christian campus view and contribute to purity culture.

Rape myth acceptance is also a large feature in purity culture (Barnett, Sligar, & …

God And Devil Terms: Adolf Hitler's Rhetorical Impact Upon The Shifting Mindset Of The German People, Jennifer Berkebile

Liberty University Research Week

Undergraduate

Textual or Investigative

Patterns Of Domestic Violence And Abuse Within Intimate Relationships, Ryeana Klopfenstein

Liberty University Research Week

Undergraduate

Textual or Investigative

Cross-Cultural Travel: A Study Of How International Travel At A Young Age Impacts Communication Skills As An Adult, Allison Clark

Liberty University Research Week

Graduate

Applied

Hexaco Personality Predictors Of Self, Victim, And Divine Forgiveness Among Christian College Students, Abbigail Leland, Aurora Keefe, Hannah Vollmer, Kristina Geisler, Stephen Macpherson

Liberty University Research Week

Undergraduate

Applied

Examining The Difference In Engagement Between Men’S And Women’S Instagram Accounts Of The Same Sport, Austin Farr, Glauber Bernardes Oliveira

Liberty University Research Week

Graduate

Applied

Green Spaces And Potential Impacts On Mental Health: A Pilot Study Regarding College Students Ability To Cope With Stress And Anxiety, Emily Lagerquist, Michala Geraty, Faith Bullis, Erin Chocklett

Liberty University Research Week

Graduate

Applied