Psychology Commons^™

Volume 03, Cheryl Peck, Charles Hoever, Longwood Theater Department, Brittany Anderson, J. Ervin Sheldon, Richard Hayden, Yuri Calustro, Candice Fleming, Rebecca Franklin, Ashley Yocum, Danielle M. Jagoda, Cristina M. Valdivieso, Jameka Jones, Amy Ellis, Ashley Maser, Erikk Shupp, Jamie Yurasits, Joshua Davis, Alexander Leonhart, Kenny Wolfe, Sally Meadows, J. Haley, Amy Jackson, Morgan Howard, Adrienne Heinbaugh, Melissa Dorton, Ciarra Stalker

Incite: The Journal of Undergraduate Scholarship

Introduction from Dean Dr. Charles Ross

Little Shop of Horrors by Longwood Theater Department

Who Has the Hottest Hotsauce in Farmville: A Quantitative Comparison of Sauces from Local Restaurants by Cheryl Peck and Charles Hoever

Precipitation Effects on the Growth of White Oaks and Virginia Pines on the Mt. Vernon Plantation by Brittany Anderson

Design and Synthesis of Novel Ion Binding Molecules for Self-Assembly and Sensing Applications by J. Ervin Sheldon

A Statistical Analysis of Algorithms for Playing SameGame by Richard Hayden

Intersecting Cylinders at Arbitrary Angles by Yuri Calustro

Putting a Foot in the Revolving Door: Strategies for Reducing …

Parent Involvement And Views Of School Success: The Role Of Parents’ Latino And White American Cultural Orientations, Carey S. Ryan, Juan F. Casas, Lisa Kelly-Vance, Bridget O. Ryalls, Collette Nero

Psychology Faculty Publications

We examined ethnicity and cultural orientation as predictors of parents' views of and involvement in children's education, using data gathered from the Latino (n = 74) and non-Latino (17 White and 13 ethnic minority) parents of children in an elementary school's dual-language program. Parents completed a questionnaire that assessed Latino and White American cultural orientations, importance of children's academic and social success, and self- and significant other involvement in children's education. Results indicated that Latino (and other ethnic minority) parents valued academic and social success equally and more strongly than did Whites and that Whites valued social success more …

Implicit Affect And Alcohol Outcome Expectancies, John M. Ray

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Expectancy theory provides a useful framework within which to examine the link between cognitive representations of anticipated alcohol related outcomes and affective processes that ought to shape behavior at the level of implicit, or automatic, processing. The role of affect in alcohol expectancies is an important one as it reflects the approach-avoid contingency associated with reward learning presumed to underlie addictive processes. This study examined the relationship between affect and expectancy operation by using suboptimally presented alcohol related cues to prime affectively congruent evaluations of otherwise unrelated targets. Hypotheses predicted that drinkers who reported higher positive and arousing expectancies for …

Why Terrorism? Whose Terror?, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

The author considers terrorism as a competitor for the legally constituted authority and power of governments.

The Logical Structure Of Dreams And Their Relation To Reality, Jeremy Barris

Humanities Faculty Research

The contradictions and non sequiturs often found in dreams (or, equivalently, dream-narratives) are not in fact logical errors, but express and work with a type of logic that characterizes the deepest dimensions of our waking reality. These are the dimensions in which we deal with ourselves as a whole, our lives as a whole, or with the sense of reality as a whole. We do so, for example, in situations of deep personal transformation, or of recognition of deep difference of outlook. The paper argues that the logic of these situations is validly one of contradiction and non sequitur, that …

40th Annual Wku Student Research Conference, Student Research Council, Western Kentucky University

Student Research Conference Select Presentations

No abstract provided.

Priming Expectancies: Effects On Neurophysiological Indices Of Expectancy Violations And Drinking Behavior, Tyler Brumback

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Investigations of the anticipated effects of alcohol indicate that cognitive frameworks are highly correlated with drinking and other variables associated with alcohol use, explaining up to 50% of the variance in drinking outcomes (Goldman, Darkes, & Del Boca, 1999; Goldman, 2002; Goldman et al., 2006; Goldman, Reich, & Darkes, 2006). Furthermore, alcohol expectancies appear to mediate the relationship between a variety of risk factors, such as sensation seeking, and alcohol outcomes (Darkes, Greenbaum, & Goldman, 2004). The current study examined the relationship of these cognitive networks with a physiological index of expectancy violation

Participants were presented with statements reflecting a …

On Forgiveness And Healing: Narrative Therapy And The Gospel Story, Lois E. Malcolm, Janet L. Ramsey

Faculty Publications

Psychologists and theologians often talk past each other, particularly when discussing forgiveness. Comparing narrative therapy and the gospel story provides a way to engage the conversation meaningfully, both realities providing ways to transform human lives

Christian Cooperation And Ministry Effectiveness: Insights And Applications From Empirical Research In Group Processes, David R. Dunaetz

CGU Faculty Publications and Research

“Co-operation and the Promotion of Unity” was one the major themes addressed at Edinburgh 1910. The goal was increased cooperation among Christian organizations that would lead to greater ministry effectiveness. Five group processes are presented in light of empirical studies demonstrating their ability to increase group performance: 1) Trust (reciprocal beliefs that the one party will promote the well being of another; 2) Constructive conflict (objective consideration and evaluation of various ways of accomplishing a common goal); 3) Decision commitment (beliefs held by all parties concerning the importance of following through on group decisions); 4) Accountability (the expectation that a …

Constructing A Neuroscientific Pastoral Theology Of Fear And Hope, Jason C. Whitehead

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Contemporary therapeutic circles utilize the concept of anxiety to describe a variety of disorders. Emotional reductionism is a detriment to the therapeutic community and the persons seeking its help. This dissertation proposes that attention to the emotion of fear clarifies our categorization of particular disorders and challenges emotional reductionism. I propose that the emotion of fear, through its theological relationship to hope, is useful in therapeutic practice for persons who experience trauma and PTSD.

I explore the differences between fear and anxiety by deconstructing anxiety. Through this process, I develop four categories which help the emotion of fear stand independent …

Koans And Levels Of Consciousness, John Rowan

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

This is a theoretical paper devoted to an examination of the phenomenon of the Zen

koan. First, the existing understanding of the koan will be outlined from a number of

sources. This will be followed by an examination of what the koan would look like from

a structural point of view. Ken Wilber’s outlook will then be used to look at the koan in a

fresh way so that one might see it as a kind of test of the level of consciousness exhibited

by each solution. The latter is related to recent thinking on models in general.

Long Distance Managerial Intervention In Overseas Conflicts: Helping Missionaries Reframe Conflict Along Multiple Dimensions, David R. Dunaetz

CGU Faculty Publications and Research

Effective ways of conflict management must be found for missionaries when no trusted mediator in the region is available. Home office management or leaders in other regions can intervene through context rich media, such as the telephone and video conferencing, to provide help. Intervention through context poor media, such as email, is much less likely to succeed. Effective managerial intervention involving interaction with each party can lead to reframing the conflict into an opportunity to cooperate and find mutually beneficial solutions. The manager can present information, ask questions, and help the parties see that resolution is possible by addressing key …

An Investigation Of The Relationships Among Self-Construal, Emotional Intelligence, And Well-Being, Constance A. Mara, Teresa L. Decicco, Mirella L. Stroink

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

This study aims to further investigate the convergent validity of the recently-proposed

metapersonal model and measure of self-construal, and to emphasize the discriminant

validity of the metapersonal self-construal as a distinct construct, capturing a unique aspect

of self-construal separate from either interdependent or independent aspects. The study

looked at two questions: (1) Does the metapersonal self-construal predict higher emotional

intelligence? (2) Do those who have higher metapersonal self-construal scores also report

greater well-being? A group of 212 undergraduate students was assessed using a self-construal

scale that includes the new measure of metapersonal self-construal, along with scales

measuring emotional intelligence and …

Relational Spirituality And Developmental Spirituality: Introduction To Special Topic Section, Glenn Hartelius, Maureen Harrahy

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

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Relational Spirituality, Part 1 Paradise Unbound: Cosmic Hybridity And Spiritual Narcissism In The “One Truth” Of New Age Transpersonalism, Gregg Lahood

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

Cosmological hybridization, a process in which spiritual paradises are bound together, is

highly active in American religious culture. Beginning with an early Christianized version of

the Buddha, this religious Creolization gathered speed after WWII and peaked during the

Vietnam War, leading to a complex spiritual revolution in which transcendence became an

all important orientation. This revolution set the scene for the emergence of a non-relational

transpersonal psychology in which Americanized nondualism gained ascendency. It is argued

here that popular New Age transpersonalism traps the spirit, breeding a self-serving, Selfas-

everything form of spiritual narcissism. Given that some are calling the …

Transpersonal And Other Models Of Spiritual Development, Harris Friedman, Stanley Krippner, Linda Riebel, Chad Johnson

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

This chapter focuses on exploring various models of spiritual development. It first addresses

philosophical dilemmas underpinning the concept of spiritual development by questioning

whether these can be addressed without metaphysical assumptions embedded in religious

worldviews and thus understood in any consensual way across different historical and

cultural contexts. Traditional models of spiritual development are then reviewed, drawing

from indigenous, Eastern, and Western cultures. Integrative-philosophical and scientific

models, including those from the psychology of religion, transpersonal psychology, and

neurobiology, are then presented. The chapter concludes by noting the complexities involved

in understanding spiritual development accompanied by suggestions on future directions

for …

The Self And The Great Chain Of Being: Interview With Robert Bolton, Samuel B. Sotillos

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

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The Gift Of Life: Death As Teacher In The Aghori Sect, Rochelle Suri, Daniel B. Pitchford

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

This article utilizes the example of the Aghori, with their radical and unique perspective on death,

as a challenge to the Western world to live an authentic, present life by maintaining awareness of

mortality. Specifically, three main themes are explored: first, a theoretical engagement of the concept

of death based on the (Western) philosophy of existentialism, second, a review of the historical

origins and philosophy of the Aghori sect, and third, a depiction of the Aghoris as a living example

of vigorously accepting death as an inevitability of life. On this basis a brief comparison of Western

and Eastern attitudes …

The Grofs’ Model Of Spiritual Emergency In Retrospect: Has It Stood The Test Of Time?, Darlene B. Viggiano, Stanley Krippner

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

The purpose of this essay is to review the Grofs’ model of spiritual emergencies. The authors

ask: Has the model been useful for identifying and treating psycho-spiritual distress? Should

it be amended? Spiritual emergency can be defined as a crisis involving religious, transpersonal,

and/or spiritual issues that provides opportunities for growth. Spiritual emergence, meanwhile,

lends itself to gentler transformation. The research methods include an archival literature

review triangulated with an authoritative interview. The findings are that the Grofs’ model

of spiritual emergencies was ahead of its time and that the medical establishment needs to

catch up. Adaptations and revisions that …

Relational Spirituality, Part 2 The Belief In Others As A Hindrance To Enlightenment: Narcissism And The Denigration Of Relationship Within Transpersonal Psychology And The New Age, Gregg Lahood

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

The aim of this paper is to tease out from the New Age religion and religious transpersonal psychology a more relational spirituality. Humanistic and transpersonal psychologies were important forces in the emergence of the social phenomenon of the New Age. New Age transpersonalism leans toward a restrictive non-relational spirituality because of its historical affirmation of individualism and transcendence. Relational spirituality, which is central to the emerging participatory paradigm, swims against strong and popular currents in New Age transpersonal thinking which tend to see spirituality as an individual, personal, inner pursuit, often into Eastern/Oriental nondualism. Whatever the merits of impersonal Advaita …

Jacob Wrestles The Angel: A Study In Psychoanalytic Midrash, Michael Abramsky

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

This essay is a study in psychoanalytic Midrash: a literary and psychological meditation on the

Biblical story of Jacob. The Hebrew verbal root from which the term Midrash derives means to

investigate or explore. It is a genre of Biblical scholarship used to interpret the Bible in symbolic

and inspirational terms. This essay examines Jacob as he moves from a character dominated by

self-defeating neurosis through his transformation into a spiritual being and exemplar of principled

leadership. Insights from Freudian and Jungian psychologies, mythology, and literary traditions are

used to describe and explain Jacob’s character metamorphosis.

Editors’ Introduction, Glenn Hartelius

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

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Gifted Voices: A Study Of High School Students' Proficiency In Persuasive Writing And Their Perceptions Of Personal Agency, Susan Carol Anderson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Development of the talents and abilities of gifted children is not ordinarily provided by regular public school programs. Their need for accelerated, complex, and challenging curriculum and processes is often overlooked by educators focused on helping underperforming students to reach grade-level standards. Gifted high school students who are proficient in persuasive writing are able to clearly state a claim, support that claim with evidence and backing, recognize and rebut counterclaims, and draw a conclusion leading to action. If gifted students are proficient at writing persuasively, perhaps they are also able to advocate for learning experiences that are challenging, complex, and …

Good Teams, Bad Teams: Under What Conditions Do Missionary Teams Function Effectively?, David R. Dunaetz

Selected Faculty Publications

Missionary teams are popular, but not always effective. Five conditions contributing to healthy team functioning are examined in light of empirical evidence: trust, task conflict, commitment to decisions, accountability, and group goals.

Organizational Justice: Perceptions Of Being Fairly Treated, David R. Dunaetz

Selected Faculty Publications

When members of mission organizations perceive injustice within their organization, they work less effectively and attrition is more likely. This paper examines various types of organizational justice (distributive, procedural, interpersonal, and informational) which need to be monitored and maximized to help mission organizations accomplish their goals.

Intraracial, Intergenerational Conflict And The Victimization Of African American Adults By African American Youth, Katherine E. James

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Black on Black victimization amongst inner-city African American youth is a well-documented phenomenon. Less understood are the shared lived experiences of inner-city, middle-aged African Americans who have been victims of crimes perpetrated by African American youth. The purpose of this study was to understand the lived, shared experience of this population. Social ecological theory, psychological sense of community, and crisis theory served as the theoretical frameworks for the study. A qualitative method of phenomenological inquiry was used to gain insight into the meaning ascribed to the victimization experiences, as well as the resulting thoughts, beliefs, attitudes, and life-impacting implications. In-person, …

Attitudes Of Southern Baptist Pastors Toward Professional Counseling, Stanley Paul Vespie

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

While clergy are at the forefront of providing mental health counseling services, many lack confidence in their ability to provide adequate care for those suffering mental health issues and many, across denominations, question the validity and reliability of mental health counseling and are reluctant to make referrals to professional counselors. There remains a gap in the current research literature regarding the views of Southern Baptist pastors. Using conflict theory as the framework for this study, the purpose of this exploratory quantitative study was to determine how 225 Southern Baptist pastors' conservative views, church size, and educational level (the independent variables) …

The Effects Of Gestalt And Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy Group Interventions On The Assertiveness And Self-Esteem Of Women With Physical Disabilities Facing Abuse, Cilene Susan Adam Rita

Wayne State University Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the differential effects of Gestalt and Cognitive-Behavioral group therapy interventions on assertiveness and self-esteem among women with physical disabilities facing abuse. The eleven women, who met the study criteria, were randomly assigned to one of two experimental conditions, Gestalt Therapy (GT) and Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) group interventions. The Demographic Questionnaire (Adam Rita, 2009) documented personal characteristics of the participants. The criterion instruments were: a) RAS (Rathus, 1973), and b) CFSEI-2 (Form AD, Battle, 1992) measuring assertiveness and self-esteem respectively and were administered pre-and-post treatment. The research was conducted over a period of …

Priming God-Related Concepts Increases Anxiety And Task Persistence, Tina M. Toburen, Brian P. Meier

Psychology Faculty Publications

Research on the relationship between religiosity and anxiety has been mixed, with some studies revealing a positive relation and other studies revealing a negative relation. The current research used an experimental design, perhaps for the first time, to examine anxiety and task persistence during a stressful situation. Christians and Atheists/Agnostics/Others were primed with God-related or neutral (non-God related) concepts before completing an unsolvable anagram task described as a measure of verbal intelligence. The results revealed that the God-related primes increased both task persistence and anxiousness, which suggests that experimentally induced God-related thoughts caused participants to persist longer on a stressful …

Para-Romantic Love And Para-Friendships: Development And Assessment Of A Multiple-Parasocial Relationships Scale, Riva Tukachinsky

Communication Faculty Articles and Research

Parasocial-relationships (PSR) are viewers' imaginary relationships with media personae. Despite the growing body of research on PSR, the field is still lacking a clear conceptualization and precise measure of this phenomenon. The present study suggests a novel theorization of PSR as para-friendship and para-love. Study 1 demonstrates construct validity of a new Multiple-PSR scale using the logic of a multi-trait multi-method approach. Study 2 replicates the factorial solution using confirmatory factor analysis. Finally, Study 3 provides evidence for the criterion validity of the scales. Together, these findings suggest that PSR encompass several types of relationships that might mediate different media …