Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Investigating Spinal Cord Injury At Different Locations On The Spinal Cord Using Diffusion Tensor Imaging, Haley Nauman

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

The current study is derived from a larger study by Yao et al. (2019) that attempts to understand if Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) is a good diagnostic tool for distinguishing spinal cord injured (SCI) participants from healthy controls from a structural perspective. Additionally, the study aims to determine whether the DTI parameters and the clinical functional scores of the Spinal Cord Independence Measure (SCIM) improve over time for SCI when rehabilitation is implemented. The current study has the same aims but takes Yao’s work further by dividing cervical SCI participants based on the exact location of injury (i.e., upper and …

The Effects Of Traumatic Brain Injury On Empathy And Quality Of Life, Nicholas James Pek

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Physical, emotional, cognitive, and social problems can all result from a traumatic brain injury. The focus of this present research was to investigate individuals with moderate-to-severe TBI who lack empathy and how that lack in empathy might impact their quality-of-life. Individuals with moderate-to-severe TBI between ages 18 and 65 (N=39) completed questionnaires including the Quality of Life after Brain Injury (QOLIBRI) and Empathy Quotient (EQ) as part of a larger study. A correlational analysis was completed between the total scores on the EQ and total scores on the QOLIBRI before splitting the participants into groups. A relationship between total scores …

Barriers To Treatment For Socially Anxious Black American Students In Urban Public Schools, Grace Martin

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Social anxiety is frequent and debilitating for Black adolescents with associated impairment (La Greca & Stone, 1993; Stein & Kean, 2000; Van Ameringen et al., 2003). Despite its prevalence and severity, Black adolescents are less likely to seek mental health treatment due to systemic and social barriers such as accessibility and social stigma (Bains, 2014; Lindsey et al., 2006; Lindsey et al., 2013). Barriers to seeking treatment, particularly for socially anxious Black adolescents, are mostly absent in the literature and thus require investigation. To understand culturally specific factors related to social anxiety symptoms as well as to investigate perceived barriers …

The Role Of Attentional Control And Social Influence In Risky Decision Making, Samantha Salernitano

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

People often are required to make decisions in a collaborative environment, including decisions that deal with risky or uncertain outcomes. The present thesis investigated the role of both social influence and individual cognitive factors (attentional control) in risky decision making. Two measures of attentional control (a Stroop task and a Go/No-go task) were completed by participants. Risky choice was then measured through a hypothetical monetary gambling task where participants made choices between a smaller-guaranteed reward or a larger-risky reward. Three blocks of the risky-choice task were completed. Participants in the individual condition completed all three blocks of trials individually. For …

How Race And Gender Moderate The Effect Of Facial Trait Inferences On Leadership Perception, Calista Wong

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Research on first impressions suggests that facial trait inferences guide judgments in many domains, including perceptions of leadership ability. This study explored the extent to which race and gender moderate such inferences on the perception of leadership. A total of 179 participants rated facial stimuli on one of three traits: leadership ability, dominance, and warmth It was hypothesized that perceived warmth would benefit Black male targets more than White and Asian male targets, and perceived dominance would benefit male White and Asian male targets more than Black male targets. No strong hypotheses were specified for female targets, as research on …

The Language Of Mechanical Support In Children: Is It ‘Sticking’, ‘Hanging’, Or Simply ‘On’?, Julia Marie Hauss

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Research has found that children begin to differentiate in the terms they use to encode support. In English, BE on, the Basic Locative Construction (Levinson & Wilkins, 2006; “put on” in dynamic events) tends to encode support-from-below (e.g., cup on table), whereas lexical support verbs (e.g., hang, stick, tape, glue, etc.) tend to encode mechanical support. We see this differentiation in semantic space by six years of age (Johannes et al., 2016). Although this differentiation occurs, we can still use BE on to encode all types of support, just as we can use a variety of lexical verbs (e.g., the …

The Effects Of Ketamine On Performance In The Progressive Ratio Task And Nucleus Accumbens 5-Ht1b Receptor Expression In Wistar-Kyoto Rats, Andriy Fomin

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

In the present study, we integrated the recent findings about rapid antidepressant action of ketamine and possible involvement of the serotonergic system, and 5-HT_1B receptor in particular, in the pharmacodynamics of this drug. We modeled anhedonia, a prominent symptom of depression, using the progressive ratio test in Wistar Kyoto rats. This strain of rat is reportedly an endogenously stress-reactive organism that displays an anhedonia-like endophenotype. We hypothesized that Wistar-Kyoto rats’ performance would be impaired, compared to Wistar-Han controls, on this reward- and motivation- related task and that the treatment with 1o mg/kg ketamine 24 hours prior to testing will …

Exoskeleton Gait Training To Improve Walking Adaptability In Persons With Multiple Sclerosis, Alfonse Gaite

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

There have been numerous research studies investigating the feasibility and effectiveness of exoskeleton-assisted gait training as a treatment for lower extremity motor rehabilitation in persons with multiple sclerosis (MS). However, while most of the research on exoskeleton- assisted gait training investigate its impact on general gait and balance during ambulation, investigating the effectiveness of exoskeleton gait training in improving walking adaptability remains underexplored. The present study aims to investigate the effectiveness of exoskeleton- assisted gait training compared to traditional gait training on improving walking adaptability in persons with MS. The study is a secondary analysis using data from a Kessler …

From Judgment To Action : Moral Cognition And The Tenuous Link To Moral Courage, Nathan Kemper

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Though specifics differ across cultures and even across individuals, research has shown surprising consensus as to what constitutes immoral behavior across societies (e.g., murder, theft). Even though much research has broadened our understanding of moral cognition, comparatively few studies have investigated moral action. There are real-world examples of people trying to intervene against immoral behavior, a behavior known as moral courage. This dissertation, comprised of a total of six studies across three manuscripts, seeks to add to the corpus of moral psychology by bridging the gap in knowledge regarding how connected moral cognition and action are. In the two studies …

Age-Of-Acquisition (Aoa) Impacts Spelling Error Detection : Evidence From An Online Proofreading Task, Madison Laks

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

During reading, words are processed faster if they are rated as being acquired early in life compared to later in life (i.e., age of acquisition effects; AoA). Given that the task demands for proofreading differ from reading, we investigated if AoA effects extend to an online proofreading task. Specifically, early- and late-acquired target words were embedded in sentence frames after being matched for a variety of potentially confounding variables, including word frequency, length, imageability, OLD-20, and familiarity (using the stimulus set from Juhasz & Sheridan, 2020). The participants rapidly proofread these sentences for spelling errors, and our results showed that …

An Ex-Post Theory Of Change Assessment Of Foster Care Alumni Support Services Within A Higher Education System, Leandra A. Harris

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Foster Care Alumni (FCAs), or individuals who left the foster care system either by aging out, adoption, or returning to their family of origin, typically make up a small, fragmented portion of the student body at higher education institutions. This group is increasingly referred to as Foster Scholars on higher education campuses. FCAs tend to have unique and significant challenges like lack of support, need for mental and emotional health services, financial needs beyond tuition and campus fees, and the need for enhanced academic support. This dissertation provides an understanding of FCAs and their academic, emotional, and social needs. It …

Civil War Journalism: Two Rough Drafts Of One History, Brianna Collora

History Honors Program

This paper addresses journalism in the Civil War by analyzing both Northern and Southern reporting. The severity of censorship changed throughout the duration of the war, with it less harsh in the Union by the end. Southern officials did not censor as much, both because their resources were scarcer, and their officials were more opposed to the use of censorship. While past historians have argued that the decrease in Northern censorship is because the Union began to have the upper hand in the war, I argue that the decrease in Union censorship was not only because the Union was now …

Death And Dynasties: Using Family Communication Patterns Theory To Understand Individual Feelings Regarding The End Of Life, Erica Danielle Cecilia Strand

Communication

This research investigated how Family Communication Patterns Theory, one of the leading theories in the study of family communication, relates to parent-child communication regarding religion and outlook on the end of life. Using pairs of parent-child participants this research sought to connect the family type and style in which one was raised, with their likelihood to remain in the religion they were raised with, as well as their acceptance or fear regarding the end of life. This research seeks to close the gap between parenting styles/family dynamics and adult feelings, thoughts, and beliefs regarding religion and death. This research was …

Intergenerationality : The Making And Consequences Of Parental Intervention In Children’S Marriage In China, Shichao Du

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The mosaic family theory posits that Chinese families are a combination of the tradition of parental control and the neoliberal rhetoric of individualism. This theory is also used to explain the low speed of marriage modernization in China. However, how to empirically examine this “mosaic” is ambiguous. This dissertation research uses parental intervention in children’s marriage as a case of “mosaic” to unravel how the intergenerational axis and the conjugal axis interact in mate selection. Employing the mixed-method approach, this dissertation research finds three levels of intergenerationality involved in the making and consequences of parental intervention in children’s marriage in …

Public Opinion On Compensating Different Types Of Wrongful Convictions, Sishi Wu

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

People who are wrongfully convicted are a unique vulnerable group. However, not all exonerees get compensated for their time in prison. This research explores public opinion on compensating wrongful convictions from erroneously rejected affirmative defenses and from false guilty pleas. Using a randomized survey experiment of 1,000 US adults, this research found that (1) most respondents supported wrongful conviction compensation, regardless of wrongful conviction types and plea status. (2) Wrongful conviction types matter. People supported compensating exonerees in the self-defense case as much as in the wrong person case. The amount of compensation people gave in the mistaken self-defense case …

Pilot Study: The Effect Of Individual Versus Group Animal-Assisted Therapy On Undergraduate Student Anxiety, Jessica Hanson, Hannah Tucker

The Eleanor Mann School of Nursing Undergraduate Honors Theses

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship of Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAT) on undergraduate student test anxiety; comparing an individual AAT session to a group AAT session. AAT may be a solution for decreasing anxiety for undergraduate students. The study adds empirical knowledge to the field of AAT and student anxiety coping methods. The study question was: What is the effect of one-on-one and group Animal-Assisted Therapy sessions on undergraduate student anxiety?

Methods: This study used a convenience sample randomly assigned to either a group of 3 to 5 students (n=9) or an individual AAT session (n=10) …

Toolkit: Healing Our Protectors: Building Resilience Among Tribal Law Enforcement Officers Through Cultural Interventions, Lavonne Fox, Leo Sr. Belgarde, Thomasine Heitkamp, Shawnda Schroeder

Indigenous Health Faculty Publications

Introduction: The U.S. and Native Americans have a government-to-government relationship. The result of 375 treaties, established laws and instituted policies promote Tribal sovereignty and are intended to support the general wellbeing Indigenous persons and protect their lands and resources. The Tribal sovereignty includes law enforcement. This resource is intended to provide a broad understanding of the challenges both Tribal and Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) law enforcement officers face; many struggle dealing with the traumatic events they have experienced. We acknowledge that there is a scarcity of current information related to Tribal and BIA police officers’ mental health. This document …

Petro Pasts And Solar Futures: An Exploration Of Critical, Creative, And Activist Solarpunk Discourse, Emma Gilliam '23

Honor Scholar Theses

While some scholars in the subject of environmentalism may be familiar with the genre of petrofiction, the emerging genre of solarpunk is much less well-known by both academics and average readers alike. It occupies many of the same spaces as petrofiction, as a genre that grapples with modern society’s relationship to energy sources of oil and renewables. However, solarpunk differs from petrofiction in the fact that it goes beyond just a literary genre, reaching out into the worlds of art and activism simultaneously. Not only is the term ‘solarpunk’ used to refer to works of art and literature, but it …

An Examination Of Parental Transmission On Young Voters’ Political Party Affiliation, Parenting Style Mediations, Kelly J. Truax '23

Honor Scholar Theses

This paper examines the relationship of parental transmission and young voter’s political affiliation by examining parental and offsprings’ political affiliations within the United States. Correlations between both maternal and paternal political affiliations with offspring political affiliations were significant. Paternal types of authoritative and permissive parenting acted as mediators of parental transmission. Examining literature from psychological, political science, historical, and sociological tests, the thesis explores how young voters’ develop their political affiliations. Suggestions from the text emphasize the importance of examining voters’ identities, historical events, and the priorities of the generation to understand young voters’ political behavior.

Resilience In Girlhood: An Analysis Of The Social Determinants Of Anxiety Disorders For Adolescent Girls, Maggie Sullivan '23

Honor Scholar Theses

Anxiety disorders affect twice as many women as men and often begin in adolescence or young adulthood, which is a unique period of accelerated development and identity formation. Evidence points to social determinants of health (SDH) such as adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), socioeconomic status (SES), education, social media, and resilience that lead to this discrepancy. Girlhood is a distinct adolescence because girls face the effects of more ACEs, self-objectification, internalization of academic stress, and predisposition to low SES. This thesis summarizes research on the social determinants of anxiety for adolescent girls, utilizing a socio-ecological model and feminist research methods to …

Power, Pleasure, And Privilege: Defining Depauw’S Hookup Culture And Its Mental Health Implications, Reanna Stiehler '23

Honor Scholar Theses

Hookup culture is not primarily about sex, pleasure, connection, or freedom. Hookup culture is about power—how power is used, distributed, and desired. Previous work in hookup culture discusses a discourse of desire; however, the root and nature of this desire are unclear. I posit that hookup culture, as it currently exists, is strongly related to rape culture. In this thesis, I will explicate my anecdotal, qualitative, and quantitative evidence supporting this hypothesis.

The Bard’S Precursors To Psychology: Exposing Dark Sides Of Human Nature, Rebecca Parsons '23

Honor Scholar Theses

No abstract provided.

The Process And Me: Creating A Film About Archaeology, Jack Woods '23

Honor Scholar Theses

The film I created is entitled “The Bomb: The 2022 Trasimeno Regional Archaeological Project.” It documents the research methods used to ethically excavate an archaeological site and presents Professor Rebecca Schindler and Pedar Foss’s research from Castiglione del Lago, Italy. The stakes of the project are as follows: I wanted to create an entertaining documentary about the process of ethically excavating an archaeological dig site through the 2022 Trasimeno Regional Archaeology Project (TRAP) in Castiglione del Lago, Italy. This thesis contains three parts: Analysis of Archaeology in the Media, where I analyze two TV shows about archaeology as the main …

The Intermountain West Lgbtq+ Oral History Project: The Folklorization Of Queer Theory, John Priegnitz

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Following the passing of a friend who witnessed firsthand the transformation of Salt Lake City’s Queer community from the 1950s to 2020, I created the Intermountain West LGBTQ+ Oral History Project to document the queer experience within the Intermountain West. Since beginning the project in 2020, I have documented several diverse stories that intersect class, race, sexuality, gender, faith, and politics. By documenting the queer experience, a marginalized community will have their voices heard and preserved for the enlightenment of future generations. This presentation provides an overview of my project and its preliminary findings.

Investigating The Viability Of Virtual Job Interview Training Through Pre-Ets, Elyse Hayes

Honors Theses

This study used a between-subjects repeated measures design to determine the efficacy of virtual reality job interview training (VR-JIT) as an instrument for providing workplace readiness training under pre-ETS when compared to current real-world methods. Of the total participants (N=19), 57.89% were male and 42.11% were female, and autism (36.84%) and cognitive impairment (47.37%) were the most frequently reported diagnoses. The results of a paired samples T-test were non-significant with t (8) = 0.13, p = 0.9029 with the use of mock interviews and t (9) = 0.68, p = .5156 with the use of virtual reality. The results of …

A Pattern-Centered Analysis Of Adolescents' Concerns And Hopes About Future Crises: Differences In Ways Of Coping And Personal Adjustment, Melanie J. Zimmer-Gembeck, Katheryn L. Modecki, Ellen Skinner, Lara J. Farrell, Tanya Hawes

Psychology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Introduction

Many adolescents are concerned about global and future crises, such as the health of the planet or terrorism/safety. Yet, adolescents can also express hope about the future. Thus, asking adolescents about their concern and hope could yield subgroups with different ways of coping and personal adjustment.

Method

Australian adolescents (N = 863; age 10-16) completed surveys to report their concern (worry and anger) and hope about the planet, safety, jobs, income, housing, and technology, as well as their active and avoidant coping, depression, and life satisfaction.

Results

Four distinct subgroups were identified using cluster analysis: Hopeful (low on concern …

Effectiveness Of Worksite Wellness Programs Based On Physical Activity To Improve Workers’ Health And Productivity: A Systematic Review, Maria Marin‑Farrona, Bradley Wipfli, Saurabh S. Thosar, Enrique Colino, Jorge Garcia‑Unanu, Multiple Additional Authors

Psychology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Background

Although the scientific literature has previously described the impact of worksite programs based on physical activity (WPPAs) on employees’ productivity and health in different contexts, the effect of these programs has not been analyzed based on the characteristics or modalities of physical activity (PA) performed (e.g., aerobic exercise, strength training, flexibility). In addition, studies on WPPAs usually report health and productivity outcomes separately, not integrated into a single study. Knowing the health and economic-related impacts of a WPPAs could provide useful information for stakeholders and policy development.

Objective

The purpose of this review was as follows: (1) to analyze …

Micro-Targeting Consumers To Reduce Consumptive Externalities, Tamara L. Sheldon, J. R. Deshazo, Bronwyn Lewis Friscia

Faculty Publications

When correcting for consumption externalities policymakers may employ economic incentives, a uniform moral suasion intervention, or various micro-targeted moral suasion interventions. To assess the relative effectiveness of these policy interventions, we randomly assign consumers to different moral suasion treatments designed to increase their willingness to pay for energy efficient light bulbs. Both economic incentives and single moral suasion interventions have similar modest effects on household willingness to pay for this durable good. However, we find that optimally targeting moral suasion messages increases consumers' choice of the most efficient light bulbs even more than large subsidies.

Paying For What Kind Of Performance? Performance Pay, Multitasking, And Sorting In Mission-Oriented Jobs, Daniel B. Jones, Mirco Tonin, Michael Vlassopoulos, K. Pun Winichakul

Economics: Faculty Publications

How does pay-for-performance (P4P) impact productivity and the composition of workers in mission-oriented jobs when output has multiple dimensions? This is a central issue in the public sector, particularly in areas such as education and healthcare. We conduct an experiment, manipulating compensation and mission, to answer these questions. We find that P4P has significantly smaller positive effects on productivity on the incentivized (quantity) dimension in the mission-oriented setting relative to the non-mission-oriented setting. On the other hand, P4P generates no loss in performance on the non-incentivized (quality) dimension of effort in the mission-oriented setting, whereas it does so in the …

Assessing Verbal Memory Task Performance And Intractable Epilepsy: The Associations Among Hippocampal Volume Ratio, Seizure Demographic Factors And Memory Indices, Alexis Gabrielle Burks

Psychology ETDs

Epilepsy affects 3.4 million people in the United States and may affect their memory performance. This study investigated the relationships between memory performance, hippocampal volume ratio, and demographic factors in adults with intractable epilepsy in standardized memory tasks and an experimental memory task designed to be repeated daily. Participants underwent electrode implantation surgery and completed comprehensive neuropsychological assessments prior to surgery including an experimental memory task during their stay in the hospital. Correlation, ANOVA, and regression analyses were completed. The standardized memory tasks and the experimental memory task were significantly correlated. Hippocampal volume ratio was not significantly correlated to memory …