Psychology Commons^™

Effects Of Expert Testimony And Interrogation Tactics On Perceptions Of Confessions, Morgan Moffa, Judith Platania

Arts & Sciences Faculty Publications

Evidence obtained through the process of interrogation is frequently undermined by what can be perceived as overzealous interrogation tactics. Although the majority of psychologically oriented tactics are legally permissible, they nonetheless contribute to innocent suspects confessing to crimes they did not commit. The present study examined the effect of expert testimony and interrogation tactics on perceptions of a confession. 182 undergraduates read a transcript of a homicide trial that varied based on interrogation tactic: implicit threat of punishment (maximization) or leniency (minimization) and expert witness testimony (presence or absence of expert testimony). Analysis indicated that the type of interrogation tactic …

Individual Differences And The Impact Of Forward And Backward Causal Relations On The Online Processing Of Narratives, Stephen W. Briner, Christopher A. Kurby, Danielle S. Mcnamara

Psychology Faculty Publications

This paper investigated the impact of causality on reading time by examining the contributions of forward antecedent and backward consequence connections. Undergraduate students read four narrative texts, sentence by sentence. Reading times for each sentence were regressed onto the number of antecedents connecting forward to a sentence and backward to prior sentences. Overall, forward antecedents and backward consequences explained unique variance in reading times, with increases in antecedents and consequences predicting decreases in reading time. However, causal consequences did not contribute unique variance to participants with higher literature knowledge. Further, the presence of forward antecedents significantly attenuated reading time differences …

Memory And Hypnotism In Wagner's Musical Discourse, Jonathan C. Gentry

Dissertations and Theses

A rich relationship unites the composer Richard Wagner (1813-1883) and the history of psychology, especially if one considers his attempt to make music speak with the clarity of verbal language. Wagner's musical discourse participated in the development of psychology in the nineteenth century in three distinct areas. First, Wagner shared in the non-reductive materialist discourse on mind that characterized many of the thinkers who made psychology into an autonomous intellectual pursuit. Second, Wagner's theories and theatrical productions directly influenced two important psychologists - Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) and Christian von Ehrenfels (1859-1932). Finally, the experiences of music achieved by Wagner at …

The Effects Of Existential Attribution And Religiousness/Spirituality On Well-Being In Hiv Patients, Amy N. Huggins-Rieke

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

HIV is a serious illness that has received considerable attention in research literature addressing the implications of religiousness/spirituality on coping with this illness. Past research indicates that an individual's level of guilt over having contracted HIV is associated with feelings of stigmatization and suffering, which can influence his 111 or her wellbeing in coping with the illness. The current study seeks to investigate the relationship between feelings of responsibility for illness (attributions) and engagement with religiousness/spiritual meaning as a coping resource. It is hypothesized that the use of existential attribution will moderate the relationship between an individual's religiousness/spirituality and his …

Towards A Bibliography Of Critical Whiteness Studies, Tim Engles

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

As the title implies, this book offers a multi-disciplinary overview of the explosion of work in scholarly critical whiteness studies. The contributing bibliographers acknowledge that this work follows and builds upon a great deal of whiteness critique previously provided by African American writers, and by those writing from other racialized positions. Each section provides a solid introduction to key concepts and practices regarding whiteness in a particular field, including: philosophy, history, literature, cinema, the visual arts, psychology, education, media studies, qualitative inquiry, personal narratives, and international and comparative approaches.

Psychological Implications Of The Doctrine Of Christian Perfection With Special Reference To John Wesley's View, Irv Brendlinger, Eric E. Mueller

Faculty Publications - George Fox School of Theology

The doctrine of Christian Perfection is viewed by some as a wonderful and liberating doctrine, but by others it is seen as producing false expectations and guilt. John Wesley, the first major theologian to develop a theology of Christian Perfection, encountered misunderstandings and problems with this doctrine. He wrote and preached to correct the misunderstandings. Unfortunately, misunderstandings persist and sometimes have psychological effects on individuals. This article explores common understandings, beliefs, and experiences regarding Christian Perfection among evangelical Christians from the holiness tradition. The material was gathered by means of interviews that were recorded. The interviews were then studied by …

Key Leadership Roles In The 9/11 Terrorist Attack, Aubrey Immelman

Psychology Faculty Publications

Personality assessment of three al-Qaida leaders in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack on the United States – Osama bin Laden, Ayman al-Zawahiri, and Mohamed Atta – provides evidence for a rudimentary model of the leadership roles required for a global-reach terrorist operation: (1) a narcissistic, charismatic leader devoid of core values beyond personal self-interest, adept at exploiting others in pursuit of his grandiose ambitions (e.g., bin Laden); (2) a strategic-thinking “true believer” without constraints of conscience regarding the level of violence he is willing to employ in his single-minded pursuit of mission (e.g., al-Zawahiri); and (3) unobtrusive, disciplined operatives …

A Qualitative Examination Of The Psychosocial Adjustment Of Khmer Refugees In Three Massachusetts Communities, Leakhena Nou

Institute for Asian American Studies Publications

This paper uses a sociological stress process model to explore the Khmer adult refugees’ experience in Massachusetts. The analysis is based on the responses of three focus groups in the Khmer communities of Lowell, Lynn, and Revere, Massachusetts. The focus groups provided an in-depth understanding of sources of stress, stress mediators, and psychosocial adjustment/adaptational patterns for Khmer refugees who had experienced the Cambodian genocide. Symptoms and reactions associated with underlying causes of mental health problems had culturally specific relevance to physical illness and mental health.

Language Acquisition And Cognitive Development, Veronica Regueiro

Whittier Scholars Program

Language is one of the attributes which set human beings apart from all other creatures. Although it can be argued that some animals , such as apes, exhibit a kind of language, the “language” used by animals and the thought of animals stem from different roots and also develop along different lines. The way animals think is in no way related to their language. Animal language functions apart from animal intellect. His project focuses on the relationship between language acquisition and cognitive development. It analyzes and cohesively explains the research done in the field, and any progress made in determining …

Explorations Of Self: A Philosophical Inquiry, Meredith Rathbun

Senior Honors Projects

Asking “Who am I?” seems to be something that everybody ponders. This concept of “I”—what is it? We all have an individual and unique “I”—something that has been with each of us since birth, something that has changed and grown, but also stayed the same in many ways. My question “What is The Self?” is imperative. What is it that experiences life, if not The Self? When a 99-year-old man watches his last sunset, reflecting on his life, what inside of him is doing that reflecting? As you read my ideas on this page, what inside of you is processing …

The Healing Potential Of Art: A Psychobiographical Study Of Three Artists, Amy Reahard

EVMS School of Health Professions Theses & Dissertations

The statement that art in itself is healing may not always be true as demonstrated by the destructive, often short lives of many artists. This may appear to contradict the fundamental belief, held by many art therapists, that art is healing. Studying the fields of creativity and art history could help understand this apparent contradiction.

One way to combine the studies of creativity, the healing power of art, and art history is through the practice of psychobiography. The psychobiographer who studies the life of a prominent artist combines various psychological approaches with the literary records, art history, and visual evidence …

Breaking Down The Wall: An Examination Of Mental Health Service Utilization In African American And Caucasian Parents, Idia O. Binitie

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated the influence of parents' gender, race, and psychopathology on barriers and attitudes to mental health utilization for themselves and for their children. It was hypothesized that mothers and Caucasian¹ parents would have more positive attitudes and would perceive fewer barriers to mental health services than fathers and African American² parents. A total of 194 African American and Caucasian parents were recruited from the community to participate in this study. Parents completed measures on barriers and attitudes toward treatment for themselves and their children, utilization of mental health services for themselves and their children, and their own current …

2nd Annual Undergraduate Research Conference Abstract Book, University Of Missouri--Rolla

Undergraduate Research Conference at Missouri S&T

No abstract provided.

Contemporary Art In Samoa: The Role Of Personal Expression, Christina Cioffari

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Contemporary art is a means of creating and recreating the self, a means of self reflection and defining ones identity. Conceptual art that expresses personal ideas and emotions plays a small role in the arts of Samoa, however it does exist in the minds and galleries of a few individuals. The intention of this study is to examine the role that personal expression plays in Samoan society and the artwork created here. The attitudes and approaches to contemporary art was explored, in addition to the underlying causes of those perceptions.

The foundation of this paper evolved out of statements from …

Historical Perspectives On Attitudes Concerning Death And Dying, David San Filippo Ph.D.

Faculty Publications

Beliefs and practices concerning death have changed throughout human history. In pre-modern times, death at a young age was common due to living conditions and medical practices. As medical science has advanced and helped humans live longer, attitudes and responses to death also have changed. In modern Western societies, death is often ignored or feared. Changes in lifestyles and improved medical science have depersonalized death and made it an encroachment on life instead of part of life. This has left many people ill equipped to deal with death when it touches their lives.

Perspectives On The Fears Of Death & Dying, David San Filippo Ph.D.

Faculty Publications

This E-Book will examine some perspectives on fear, the fears of death, and constructs used to overcome or deal with the fears of death. By examining the literature on fear in general, a framework can be developed to understand how individuals become fearful. In the section, “Fears of Death,” what people fear about death and why they fear it will be discussed.

Angels As Spiritual Guides, David San Filippo Ph.D.

Faculty Publications

The existence of angels has been discussed for centuries in legendary, philosophical, and religious writings. Many people have reported encounters with angels at different times in their life. Near-death research has recorded angelic encounters, during near-death experiences, by describing encounters with beings of light or angelic forms recognizable to the experiencer. This essay will discuss some legendary, theological, and philosophical beliefs that support the belief in the reality of angels as messengers, guides, and guardians to human beings and their function as spiritual guides during near-death experiences.

An Exploratory Investigation Into The Association Of Neuroticization, Cognitive Style, And Spirituality To Reported Altered States Of Consciousness In Women Experiencing Childbirth, Nikolai Gruzdev, Dimitri Spivak

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

This study examined the relation of altered states of consciousness to neuroticization, spiritual experience,

and divergent thinking in a sample of women (N= 102) at late pregnancy and post-delivery. The results

suggest that stress associated with imminent childbirth is linked to higher levels of ASCs and that neuroticization

and spirituality seem to be implicated in the induction of ASCs.

Transpersonal Education: Problems, Prospects And Challenges, Paul F. Cunningham

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

Despite its substantial scientific, academic, and professional achievements, transpersonal psychology has

not been fully incorporated within traditional undergraduate psychology curricula. One reason is conventional

psychology’s prejudiced perception of humanity’s spiritual nature. Other reasons lie within the field

of transpersonal psychology itself, including the lack of agreed-upon general curricular models, absence of

normative educational (student) outcomes, unstructured courses with restricted content coverage, and conceptual

and methodological disagreements among experts. One of the most pressing challenges facing contemporary

transpersonal education is the publication of an authoritative, standard textbook that would

effectively introduce undergraduate students to transpersonal psychology and facilitate the progress of …

Syncretism In Transpersonal Studies: Introduction To This Issue’S Special Topics Section, Harris L. Friedman, Douglas A. Macdonald

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

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Cosmic Patriotism And Spiritual Internationalism: Addams’S Newer Ideals Of Peace, Marilyn Fischer

Philosophy Faculty Publications

In Newer Ideals of Peace (1907), Addams notes the coming of a “beneficent and progressive patriotism,” a “newer patriotism” that may grow large enough “to soak up the notion of nationalism.” She charts rising cooperation and fellowship within cosmopolitan cities and across national boundaries. Not knowing what to call this phenomenon, Addams writes, “We are driven to the rather absurd phrase of “cosmic patriotism.”

What is she talking about? The first several times I read Newer Ideals, a question tugged in the back of my head: what is this book about? I had too much respect for Addams as a …

The Sexual Sinthome, Geneviève Morel, Roland K. Végső

Department of English: Faculty Publications

Psychoanalysis possesses the means to think the difference of the sexes without relying on the phallus. Lacanian theory of the sinthome offers an alternative by articulating a new quadruplicity (R, S, I, and the sinthome), which allows us to think the relation between the sexes and the generations without necessarily referring to the Name-of-the-Father or the phallus as absolute norms. Thanks to this theory, we can avoid the moral and political prejudices that accompany the grand questions of society posed to us at the dawn of the 21st century: the treatment of “mental health,” the legislation of marriage, filiation, and …

Statement Of Transition - Editor's Introduction, Douglas A. Macdonald, Harris Friedman

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

NA

Phenomenological Analysis Of Experimentally Induced Visual Mental Imagery Associated With Shamanic Journeying To The Lower World, Adam J. Rock

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

This study explored ostensibly shamanic journeying imagery by (a) assessing visual images across induction

techniques (i.e., sonic driving, Ganzfeld, relaxation, and sitting with eyes open); (b) determining combination(

s) of induction technique and instructions most associated with religious imagery; and (c) investigating

the origins of visual imagery. Six participants were randomly assigned to factorial combinations of

a 3 x 4 mixed design (levels of instruction x levels of induction) and were administered the Modified Affect

Bridge to explore the origins of mental imagery reported during the experimental conditions.

Phenomenological analysis yielded comprehensive constituent themes. Harner’s (1990) shamanic journeying,

coupled with …

Beyond Mind Ii: Further Steps To A Metatranspersonal Philosophy And Psychology, Elías Capriles

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

Some of Wilber’s “holoarchies” are gradations of being, which he views as truth itself; however, being is

delusion, and its gradations are gradations of delusion. Wilber’s supposedly universal ontogenetic

holoarchy contradicts all Buddhist Paths, whereas his view of phylogeny contradicts Buddhist Tantra and

Dzogchen, which claim delusion/being increase throughout the aeon to finally achieve reductio ad absurdum .

Wilber presents spiritual healing as ascent; Grof and Washburn represent it as descent—yet they are

all equally off the mark. Phenomenologically speaking, the Dzogchen Path is “descending,” but not in

Washburn’s or Grof ’s sense—and “transpersonal” is not a synonym of “sanity.” …

Children's Moral Reasoning Regarding Physical And Relational Aggression, Diann Murray-Close, Nickix R. Crick, Kathleen M. Galotti

Cognitive Science Faculty Work

Elementary school children’s moral reasoning concerning physical and relational aggression was explored. Fourth and fifth graders rated physical aggression as more wrong and harmful than relational aggression but tended to adopt a moral orientation about both forms of aggression. Gender differences in moral judgments of aggression were observed, with girls rating physical and relational aggression as more wrong and relational aggression as more harmful than boys. In addition, girls were more likely to adopt a moral orientation when judging physical and relational aggression and girls more often judged relational aggression than physical aggression from the moral domain. Finally, moral reasoning …

Richard Wallaschek's Nineteenth-Century Contributions To The Psychology Of Music, Amy B. Graziano, Julene K. Johnson

Music Faculty Articles and Research

RICHARD WALLASCHEK (1860-1917) is most widely known for his contributions to comparative musicology; however, he also made significant contributions to the field of music psychology. From 1890 to 1895, Wallaschek pursued interdisciplinary studies at the British Museum in London. During this time Wallaschek proposed theories about the perception and production of music. According to Wallaschek, the perception of music occurs through two types of mental representation: Tonvorstellung (tone representation), which referred to the perception of individual musical elements, and Musikvorstellung (music representation), which referred to the perception of the higher-order structure of music. Wallaschek emphasized Gestalt-like concepts in his discussion …

Gebser's Integral Consciousness And Living In The Real World: Facilitating Its Emergence Using A Course In Miracles, Cornelius J. Holland, Douglas A. Macdonald

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

This paper discusses certain parallels between the work of Jean Gebser, the European philosopher and student of consciousness, and A Course in Miracles (ACIM), a contemporary spiritual system. More specifically, it 1) establishes parallels between Gebser’s conception of the ego, especially its basis in anger, and the ego according to ACIM, and 2) shows how a forgiveness exercise may lead to a time-free present, called in ACIM, “The Holy Instant.”

Manifest, Hidden, And Divine: Introduction To Sefirot Aikido, Jack Susman

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

The potential for forging a valuable relationship between two transpersonal systems, Aikido, a Japanese martial art and spiritual tradition, and Kabbalah, a Jewish spiritual tradition, is explored. Aikido is not simply a martial art, rather it is also a way to achieve a sense of the spiritual. However, especially for Westerners, many of its spiritual tenets are elusive, based on abstruse Japanese cultural roots, whereas Kabbalah, as a spiritual tradition more fully explicated for Western audiences, can provide an accessible framework for grasping some of Aikido’s deeper meanings. A blend of these traditions, called Sefirot Aikido, uses Kabbalah to understand, …

The Psychological Assessment Of Applicants For Priesthood And Religious Life, Thomas G. Plante

Psychology

The recent clergy sexual abuse scandals in the Roman Catholic Church have focused a great deal of attention on how we evaluate applicants to the priesthood and religious life. The crisis has underscored the critical need to ensure that men who have a sexual predilection towards children be barred from entering religious life and priesthood. Additionally, men who have other significant psychiatric conditions that put them at risk of harming children or others have no place as Church leaders or clergy in positions where they have access to and power over vulnerable others.