Psychology Commons^™

Changing Museum Visitors’ Conceptions Of Evolution, Amy N. Spiegel, E Margaret Evans, Brandy Frazier, Ashley Hazel, Medha Tare, Wendy Gram, Judy Diamond

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

We examined whether a single visit to an evolution exhibition contributed to conceptual change in adult (n030), youth, and child (n034) museum visitors’ reasoning about evolution. The exhibition included seven current research projects in evolutionary science, each focused on a different organism. To frame this study, we integrated a developmental model of visitors’ understanding of evolution, which incorporates visitors’ intuitive beliefs, with a model of free-choice learning that includes personal, sociocultural, and contextual variables. Using pre- and postmeasures, we assessed how visitors’ causal explanations about biological change, drawn from three reasoning patterns (evolutionary, intuitive, and creationist), were modified as a …

Getting Ready: Results Of A Randomized Trial Of A Relationship-Focused Intervention On The Parent– Infant Relationship In Rural Early Head Start, Lisa Knoche, Susan M. Sheridan, Brandy L. Clark, Carolyn P. Edwards, Christine A. Marvin, Keely D. Cline, Keely Cline, Kevin A. Kupzyk

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of a relational intervention (the Getting Ready intervention) on parenting behaviors supporting the parent–infant relationship for families enrolled in Early Head Start home-based programming. Two-hundred thirty-four parents and their children participated in the randomized study, with 42% of parents reporting education of less than a high-school diploma. Brief, semistructured parent–child interaction tasks were videotaped every 4 months over a16-month intervention period. Observational codes of parent–infant relationship behaviors included quality of three parental behaviors: warmth and sensitivity, support for learning, and encouragement of autonomy; two appropriateness indicators: support for learning and …

Attitudes Toward Suicide In Peers Affected By A Point Cluster Of Suicides As Adolescents, Caroline Abbott

Psychology Honors Papers

This thesis aimed to study how exposure to peer suicide may relate to current adjustment and attitudes towards suicide. Eight-five young adult graduates of the same public high school in the northeast who were exposed to multiple peer suicides as adolescents filled out an Attitudes Towards Suicide Scale, Scale of Perceived Social Support, reported their level of agreement with Thomas Joiner’s suicide myths, and completed the Texas Revised Inventories of Grief for each peer lost to suicide. Grief was relatively low in this sample, but related to number of peers lost to suicide and closeness to those peers. Exposure to …

Predictors Of Bullying In An Adolescent School Sample, Schell Hufstetler

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Author's abstract: Bullying is a pervasive problem in our society. Contributing to this problem is the fact that bullying is not well understood. This makes it difficult to design successful interventions. The current study aims to create a complete picture of bullying in order to increase understanding of this behavior. For this study, 59 adolescents completed a survey packet including measures of bullying behaviors and other variables expected to relate to bullying. The results revealed that bullying is a problem for both genders. Multivariate analyses revealed males to be more directly and indirectly aggressive, but there were no significant gender …

Trauma Severity And Defensive Emotion-Regulation Reactions As Predictors Of Forgetting Childhood Trauma, Bette L. Bottoms, Cynthia J. Najdowski, Michelle A. Epstein, Matthew J. Badanek

Psychology Faculty Scholarship

Using a retrospective survey, we studied a sample of 1679 college women to determine whether reports of prior forgetting of sexual abuse, physical abuse, and other traumas could be explained by trauma severity and individual differences in the use of defensive emotion-regulation reactions (i.e., repressive coping, dissociation, and fantasy proneness). Among victims of physical abuse (but not sexual abuse or other types of trauma), those who experienced severe abuse and used defensive reactions were sometimes more likely to report temporary forgetting of abuse, but other times less likely to report forgetting. We also found unanticipated main effects of trauma severity …

Understanding The Thoughts And Attitudes Related To Participation In Youth Sports, Jeanine A. Johnson

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

The present study was designed to examine the thinking and attitudes that may be associated with elementary and middle school students participating in youth sports. Girls benefit physically, socially, and educationally from ongoing participation in sports. However, compared to boys, girls tend to start later, quit sooner, and participate less often in sports, despite the numerous advantages that athletics provides. The external barriers that contribute to girls’ decreased involvement in sports as they increase in age and grade are well researched. However, there is a lack of information about the possible cognitive variables related to a girls’ decision to play …

Delinquents After Exile: A Review Of Aftercare Programs, Jeremy Olson, Daniel R. Lee

Contemporary Issues in Juvenile Justice

No abstract provided.

A Punishment-Free, Toilet-Training Protocol For Children With Developmental Disabilities, Chelsea Lynn Pearsall

All Master's Theses

The present investigation adapted a behaviorally-based toilet-training protocol for use with two male children with developmental disabilities. Positive practice and verbal reprimands were eliminated, and reinforcement, scheduled sits, and a urine alarm were utilized. Data were collected on the number of intoilet urinations, urinary accidents, and self-initiations. Results show that both participants exhibited significant improvement in their toileting skills and met the final success criteria rapidly. These results were maintained through follow-up. Implications for the elimination of punishment procedures in future toilet training protocols are discussed.

The Relationship Between Parental Stress, Cognitive Distortions, And Child Psychopathology, Daniel Kennedy

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

While there are a number of factors that may contribute to maladaptive parenting behaviors, parental stress has consistently been related to the increased risk of child maltreatment and, ultimately, the development of childhood. The question then is what drives parental stress and what are those key factors? Based on previous research, there are multiple parental, child, and environmental factors that lead to parental stress, but there is not a clear understanding of what initially drives parental stress. Based on cognitive behavioral models of stress and Abidin’s theory of parental stress, it is theorized that parental cognitions play an important role …

40 Developmental Assets: A Research Analysis: Healthy Youth Committee & Fairmont's Youth Surveys, Tiffany Gullord

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This writer teamed together with the Healthy Youth Committee of Fairmont, Minnesota. The Healthy Youth Committee is a committee comprised of about 15 various community professionals who want to make a positive change for the youth of Fairmont. The committee includes court administrations staff, police chief, probation officers, teachers, non-profit employees, and social worker. The Healthy Youth Committee requested the Search Institute to complete the 40 Developmental Assets survey Profiles of Student Life: Attitudes and Behaviors with the youth in Fairmont, in 1997, 2002, and 2011. 40 Developmental Assets is a research-based framework that identifies basic building blocks of human …

Reducing Overweight And Obesity Among Elementary Students In Wuhan, China, Ling Qian, Ian Newman, Duane F. Shell, Cheng Maojin Cheng

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

Obesity and overweight among children in China is a growing concern. The curriculum and organization of Chinese schools focuses on academic achievement leaving little time for other programs. This pilot program illustrated that it is possible to involve schools and parents in a program to reduce obesity and overweight. Teachers, school staff, parents and elementary students were involved in an all-school educational initiative based on WHO’s Health Promoting School Model. The program was evaluated with a mixed modal ANOVA using a 3-level within subjects repeated factor (baseline, 1st follow-up, 2nd follow-up) and a 2-level between subjects factor (gender: boys and …

Teaching Perfectionism Through Cartoons Compared To Bibliotherapy For Primary Grade Students, Miranda L. Zousel

Graduate Research Papers

Many students, especially high achievers, develop perfectionist tendencies during early childhood. It is important to teach students early to manage their perfectionism to avoid many negative consequences of neurotic perfectionism such as depression, anxiety, eating disorders, procrastination , or underachievement, and to avoid entrenchment of behaviors. Traditionally, bibliotherapy and role-play have been used to help students recognize perfectionistic traits and learn strategies for ameliorating negative effects. But cartoon analysis is another potentially useful approach.

This pretest-posttest control group - experimental group design study of first, second and third graders (n = 46) compared concept acquisition and enjoyment of learning about …

Is Methylphenidate Transdermal System (Daytrana®) Safe And Effective For Managing Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Symptoms In Children?, Pamela Cassidy

PCOM Physician Assistant Studies Student Scholarship

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this selective EBM review is to determine whether or not methylphenidate transdermal system (Daytrana®) is safe and effective for managing attention deficit hyperactivity disorder symptoms in children.

STUDY DESIGN: A review of three English language studies published from 2006-2010. Includes two randomized, double-blind, controlled trials and one randomized, controlled crossover study.

DATA SOURCES: Randomized, placebo-controlled studies evaluating the effectiveness and safety of methylphenidate transdermal system (MTS) for managing attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms in children were located using the PubMed, CINAHL, and Cochrane Library databases.

OUTCOMES MEASURED: The primary measures of effectiveness used were the …

Parental Efficacy, Experience Of Stressful Life Events, And Child Externalizing Behavior As Predictors Of Filipino Mothers' And Fathers' Parental Hostility And Aggression., Aileen S. Garcia, Liane Peña Alampay

Psychology Department Faculty Publications

This study assessed relations of parental efficacy, experience of stressful life events, and child externalizing behavior to Filipino mothers and fathers’ parental hostility and aggression. Orally-administered surveys were conducted with 117 mothers and 98 fathers for the first year of data collection, and again a year later with 107 mothers and 83 fathers. Path analyses showed that mothers’ report of child externalizing behavior predicted subsequent parental hostility and aggression. For fathers, child externalizing behavior and experience of stressful life events predicted parental hostility and aggression. Additionally, fathers’ parental efficacy was found to moderate the relationship between experience of stressful life …

Bilingualism And Social Cognitive Development: The Effect Of Dual-Language Acquisition On Nonverbal Communication, Melanie Elizabeth Ordinario Weil

Senior Independent Study Theses

No abstract provided.

Self-Efficacy, Intrinsic Motivation, And Academic Outcomes Among Latino Middle School Students Participating In An After-School Program, Kate Niehaus, Kathleen Moritz Rudasill, Jill L. Adelson

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

This longitudinal study examined how academic self-efficacy, intrinsic motivation, and participation in an after-school program contributed to the academic achievement of Latino middle school students over the course of one school year. Participants were 47 Latino students in sixth through eighth grades who attended two public middle schools in which an after-school program was held that was specifically for Latino students. Results from ordinary least squares regression revealed that intrinsic motivation was positively associated with students GPAs, self-efficacy was a positive predictor of students’ school attendance and standardized math achievement scores, and attendance at the after-school program also contributed positively …

Neonatal White Matter Abnormalities An Important Predictor Of Neurocognitive Outcome For Very Preterm Children, Lianne J. Woodward, Caron A. C. Clark, Samudragupta Bora, Terrie E. Inder

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

Background: Cerebral white matter abnormalities on term MRI are a strong predictor of motor disability in children born very preterm. However, their contribution to cognitive impairment is less certain. Objective: Examine relationships between the presence and severity of cerebral white matter abnormalities on neonatal MRI and a range of neurocognitive outcomes assessed at ages 4 and 6 years. Design/Methods: The study sample consisted of a regionally representative cohort of 104 very preterm (≤32 weeks gestation) infants born from 1998–2000 and a comparison group of 107 full-term infants. At term equivalent, all preterm infants underwent a structural MRI scan that was …

Book Review: The Morality Of Social Identity, David Moshman

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

Morality tells us how to treat each other. Social identity connects us to each other. But all is not well. Social identity connects us to a group and thus to its members. Morality requires justice for everyone, regardless of group. Thus considerations of morality and social identity often pull in different directions (Appiah, 2005; Moshman, 2007; Sen, 2006).

Two excellent and complementary new books, Children and Social Exclusion and Narrative and the Politics of Identity, address the developmental roots and implications of these issues. The first reviews and integrates multiple programs of research on children’s developing judgments about dilemmas …

Evidence-Based Behavior Interventions For Children With Adhd: A Systematic Review, Jennifer Kimpton

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

To systematically review empirically supported behavior interventions currently being used to manage and reduce symptoms of ADHD in children.

Inference Generation And Story Comprehension Among Children With Adhd, Jessica S. Kosloski

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

Academic difficulties are well-documented among children with ADHD. Exploring these difficulties through story comprehension research has revealed deficits among children with ADHD in making causal connections between events, and using causal structure and thematic importance when recalling stories. Important to theories of story comprehension and implied in these deficits is the ability to make inferences. Often, characters’ goals are implicit and explanations of events must be inferred. The purpose of the present study was to compare the ability of 7- to 11-year-old children with ADHD and their comparison peers to make inferences during story comprehension. Children watched two televised stories, …

Infants’ Perception Of Emotion From Dynamic Body Movements, Nicole R. Zieber

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

In humans, the capacity to extract meaning from another person’s behavior is fundamental to social competency. Adults recognize emotions conveyed by body movements with comparable accuracy to when they are portrayed in facial expressions. While infancy research has examined the development of facial and vocal emotion processing extensively, no prior study has explored infants’ perception of emotion from body movements. The current studies examined the development of emotion processing from body gestures. In Experiment 1, I asked whether 6.5-month-olds infants would prefer to view emotional versus neutral body movements. The results indicate that infants prefer to view a happy versus …

Impulsivity Traits And The Longitudinal Prediction Of Addictive Behaviors During The Transition From Elementary To Middle School, Leila Guller

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

The aim of this study was to test for prospective relationships between personality factors measured in elementary school and drinking, smoking, and binge eating during the first year of middle school. Data were collected among adolescents drawn from 23 elementary schools and 15 middles schools in central Kentucky. In a two-wave study, 1,906 children completed questionnaire measures in the spring of 5^th grade and the spring of 6^th grade. After controlling for sex, pubertal status, and prior engagement in addictive behaviors, it was found that urgency at wave 1 predicted drinking, smoking, and binge eating at wave 2, …

Systematic Evaluation Of Variables That Contribute To Noncompliance: A Replication And Extension, Paige M. Mckerchar, Layla Abby

Research, Publications & Creative Work

The effects of time-out and escape extinction were examined with 2 preschoolers after we identified variables that may have resulted in noncompliance. Results of a functional analysis showed that noncompliance was highest in the escape condition for both participants. During the treatment evaluation, escape extinction resulted in greater reductions in noncompliance relative to time-out.

How We Seem "To Be": English- And Spanish-Speaking Children's Susceptibility To The Fundamental Attribution Error And Actor-Observer Bias, Mary E. Dixon

Senior Independent Study Theses

No abstract provided.

Lifting The Domestic Cloak Of Silence: Resilient Australian Women's Reflected Memories Of Their Childhood Experiences Of Witnessing Domestic Violence, Kristy O'Brien, Lynne Cohen, Julie Ann Pooley, Myra Taylor

Research outputs 2012

Recognition is growing that childhood witnessing of domestic violence is tantamount to child abuse due to the damage the experience may have on the witnessing child’s long-term emotional and social wellbeing. This paper helps to lift the cloak of silence that surrounds the child witnessing phenomenon by presenting the recollected adult memories of six female former child witnesses. Utilizing a mixed case-study and consensual qualitative research design, the study’s findings reveal that the potential threat to a child witness’s immediate and long-term wellbeing can be mediated through the progressive development of a range of adaptive coping strategies. Of these, the …

The Development Of An Interdisciplinary Research Agenda At Ngala: An Innovative Case Study, E Bennett, Y Hauck, S Bindahneem, Vicki Banham, M Owens, L E Priddis, G Wells, W Sinclair, L Shields

Research outputs 2012

Background Ngala is an early parenting, not-for-profit organisation in Western Australia (WA). Research academics from three universities in Perth had been involved in separate research activities over recent years at Ngala. During 2007, a strategic decision was made to forge formal links and articulate an interdisciplinary research framework to promote a research culture amongst Ngala practitioners. Aim To describe an organisational case study of the development of an interdisciplinary research agenda within Ngala. Methods Collaborative methods were used. An action learning project was undertaken over a two-year period with the involvement of researchers, managers and practitioners across the five disciplines …

Evaluation Of The Dampier Peninsula Indigenous Parenting Support Program: Progress Report 1, Andrew Guilfoyle

Research outputs 2012

This is the first progress report of the local evaluation of the Dampier Peninsula Indigenous Parent Support Program (IPS). The evaluative report extends the Participatory Action Research (PAR) based evaluation plan (Guilfoyle, Baker, & Bray, 2011). It includes a theoretical discussion on resilience building, community development, and the role of parenting support for early child development, through links to literature and direct evidence captured through community based observations, notes, and recorded interviews with IPS workers, community members, and key stakeholders on the communities and in Broome, and case studies. The evaluation assessed IPS activities in light of its policy framework …

Bullying And The Transition From Primary To Secondary School, Leanne J. Lester

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Peer relationships within the school environment are one of the most important determinants of social and mental wellbeing for adolescents and as such, schools have become increasingly aware of the prevalence, seriousness and negative impacts of bullying behaviour. The transition from primary to secondary school provides both challenges and opportunities as many adolescents undergo transition while experiencing environmental, physiological, cognitive and social changes as part of the adolescent development process. This is also a period during a student’s school life when their risk of being bullied is higher than at other times.

The aim of this study was to use …

Examining Associations Between Classroom Environment And Processes And Early Mathematics Performance From Pre-Kindergarten To Kindergarten., Victoria J. Molfese, Todd Brown, Jill L. Adelson, Jennifer Beswick, Jill Jacobi-Vessels, Lana Thomas, Melissa Ferguson, Brittany Culver

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

One benefit of the No Child Left Behind legislation (2001) has been the increasing attention on the importance of the skills learned in the pre-kindergarten period for later academic achievement. There is a growing awareness that mathematics skills in kindergarten and beyond are influenced by the formal and informal mathematics skills acquired in the pre-kindergarten classroom. In recent years, a body of research has emerged pointing to the contributions to children’s learning from pre-kindergarten program quality as indexed by structure and process elements in the classroom. Results from this study point to three major findings. First, the growth of mathematics …

A Preliminary Evaluation Of The Parent Resilience Program: A Program For The Parents Of Shy And Anxious Preschool-Aged Children, Jillian Leigh Brock

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a new anxiety prevention program, the Parent Resilience Program. The program is a cognitive-behavioral based prevention program designed to reduce the risk of anxiety in young children, specifically by reducing parent stress and teaching coping skills. The sample consisted of the parents and/or caregivers of 12 preschool-aged children. Parents attended eight weekly sessions of a psychologist-led intervention. Significant reductions were observed related to the impact of shyness on the child’s quality of life as well as parental anxiety and stress, both of which are risk factors for developing an …