Psychology Commons^™

Response To Intervention In Early Childhood Education, Kendyl Young Hinson

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The purpose of this study was to review literature on Response to Intervention (RTI) at the early childhood level. RTI has become increasingly prevalent within K-12 settings. Less research exists for the expansion within early childhood settings. A systematic review of literature was conducted and all available literature on RTI in early childhood education since 2004 was identified and reviewed. Articles were sorted into three broad categories for review: (a) combined, (b) academics, and (c) social emotional behaviors. The review indicated the different behaviors recommended to be examined within the early childhood setting, types of assessment methods used, and interventions …

Teacher Perceptions Of Grade Retention: An Update, Jillian Brianne Kintner

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The purpose of the current project was to replicate a previous study examining the beliefs and knowledge of grade retention (i.e., Witmer et al., 2004) and evaluate any changes in the past 17 years. Nineteen teachers completed all sections of the Teacher Retention Beliefs Knowledge Questionnaire (TRBKQ; Witmer et al., 2004). Support for the use of retention as an effective intervention was demonstrated. Influential factors differed by level of importance depending on the grade level the participant taught. Statistically significant correlations were also found between the practice of retention and propositional and practical knowledge before and during/after the Covid-19 pandemic. …

Emotional Support Animals For College Students: Do The Benefits Outweigh The Costs?, Sidney Street

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Projects

Mental health problems have been drastically increasing in recent years among college students. Alongside the rising prevalence of psychological distress, universities have also experienced an increase in requests to have Emotional Support Animals (ESAs) live on campus. To date however, data are scarce on students’ experiences living with and around ESAs. The present study aims to investigate attitudes and perceptions about ESAs, in both owners of ESAs as well as students who do not own an ESA but have interacted with one. Specifically, owners were interviewed to find whether the perceived benefits of owning an ESA outweigh the associated costs …

Environmental Psychology: Open Syllabus, Valkiria Duran-Narucki

Open Educational Resources

This is a syllabus designed to work as a "frame" that you can use and populate together with students. The goal is to provide a perspective from environmental psychology.

2nd Place Contest Entry: Loneliness As A Predictor Of Physical And Mental Health Problems In University Students, Jolie Binstock

Kevin and Tam Ross Undergraduate Research Prize

This is Jolie Binstock's submission for the 2021 Kevin and Tam Ross Undergraduate Research Prize, which won first place. It contains her essay on using library resources, a three-page sample of her research project on the association between loneliness and mental and physical health in university students, and her works cited list.

Jolie is a sophomore at Chapman University, majoring in Health Science. Her faculty mentor is Dr. Julia Boehm.

Meditation And Cognitive Function Research Study, Darrin Landry

OTS Master's Level Projects & Papers

Although research has shown that long-term guided meditation and mindfulness practices improve attention, memory, and processing speed, the research on the effects of short-term self-guided meditation on improving cognitive processing and memory is limited. This study examined whether a brief self-guided meditation practice improved cognitive processing speed and memory capacity. The participants engaged in a five-day program which consisted of taking an online mental speed test and memory recall test, then meditated for 15 minutes a day, for five days. After completing the five-day meditation program, the participants took the two cognitive processing tests again. The results on the test …

Examining The Efficacy Of An Intervention Package Delivered Via An Online Learning Tool To Improve Prerequisite Algebra Skill Fluency, Nicole Bricko

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This dissertation study investigated the efficacy of a multi-component intervention package delivered via an online learning tool on math fluency for prerequisite algebra skills for three 6^th-grade students. Students were referred by their math teacher due to concerns with academic performance. Target skills were individualized for each student based on screening assessments and measured continuously during both baseline and intervention. The multiple-probe across skills design demonstrated that students increased their math fluency on prerequisite skills. A staggered pattern of increases across skills for two participants indicated experimental control was achieved and student’s performance improved. The Quizlet^® intervention …

Parent-Child Relationships And Student Outcomes In Children: A Comparison Before And During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Angela Kladias

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Projects

The current study investigated the connection between parent-child relationships, academic achievement, and child attitudes in school-aged children both before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, I examined relationships among parent- and child-perceived emotional closeness, attitudes toward school, and child achievement in elementary and middle school aged children. The current study examined associations between parent-child relationship factors and academic student outcomes, comparing these associations both before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Differences in student outcomes were examined based off of COVID-19 circumstances as well as what level of emotional closeness and interaction the parents and child have. Attitudes and achievement of …

A Case Study On The Application And Implementation Of Positive Behavioral Interventions And Supports For Students With Emotional Disabilities In Alternative Education, Kira Candelieri Marcari

Counseling & Human Services Theses & Dissertations

Alternative educational settings are serving students with emotional disabilities (ED) at an increasing rate; however, there a paucity of research examining the effectiveness of these programs. A review of the existing literature targeting students with problematic behaviors, supports the use of a positive, preventative, proactive, and systematic approaches such as the three-tiered, Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support (PBIS) framework. Although findings suggest that the PBIS framework is associated with favorable outcomes for students with ED in both traditional and nontraditional settings, few studies have explicitly examined whether PBIS can be effectively modified to fit the needs of students with ED …

Burnout, Self-Efficacy, And Coping Strategies Among College Faculty, Jordan M. Ball

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Due to the changing college environment, university faculty are faced with a serious burden to support their university. University faculty are expected to satisfy numerous job demands, and these demands in turn lead to burnout, a chronic response to job stressors. Burnout is an essential component of occupational research as it relates to other negative outcomes, such as turnover and decreased performance. Because of this, it behooves both faculty and universities to employ methods that decrease burnout. Research concerning other populations indicates that certain personal resources can decrease burnout. Therefore, the current study seeks to determine if coping strategies and …

A Survey Of Registered Behavior Technicians: Initial And Ongoing Training And Support, Gabriela Mcwhorter Zapatero

Communication Disorders & Special Education Theses & Dissertations

Children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) benefit from early intervention, specifically applied behavior analysis (ABA). ABA is often implemented by paraprofessionals who are known as registered behavior technicians (RBTs). For many years, educators have known the value of corrective feedback in relation to skill acquisition. In this case, emphasis was placed on the proclivities of the staff in regard to feedback. This mixed methodology study examined the various strategies currently utilized to instruct RBTs, as well as their preferences for initial and continued training. Results indicated the majority of RBTs who responded to the online survey were being trained …

Barriers To Post-Secondary Success, Douglas Swanson, Najeana Henderson, Maritza Sloan

Dissertations

This study reviews factors that prior studies have identified or failed to consider as barriers to post-secondary success. The three main areas include academic success for Latinx students after high school, organizational systems and their impact on African-American students’ postsecondary readiness, and what workers think of their high school education with regards to career preparedness.

Five factors are identified as major barriers for Latinx students to continue in a higher education system. A survey of former students from Saint Louis, Missouri, and Dallas, Texas, metroplex area identified 56 Latinx students that participated in an initial survey. This led to a …

The Effects Of Feedback And Input On Job Satisfaction And Motivation, Daphne Slusher

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Projects

In this study, I examine the effects of feedback and input on job satisfaction and motivation in a simulated online task. 106 Participants completed a puzzle in groups of 2-4 with feedback (positive/negative/none) and goal-setting (present/absent) manipulated. I predicted positive feedback would produce higher scores for satisfaction, and motivation, and lower scores for perceived workload. Similarly, I predicted that goal-setting would produce higher scores on selected scales for satisfaction, motivation, and perceived workload. These predictions were partially correct with positive feedback producing significantly higher satisfaction than negative feedback, a similar but non-significant trend for motivation, and significantly lower perceived workload …

A Curiosity About Links Between Adventure Playgrounds, Loose Parts, Playwork Approach, A State Of "Flow" And Children’S Wellbeing, Angus Ian Gorrie

International Journal of Playwork Practice

Over the past century there has been a documented rise in childhood anxiety and depression (Gray, 2011; Twenge, 2001). This increase largely correlates to the significant decrease in the amount of time children have to play freely (Gray, 2013). The suggested reason for this is a decrease in free time and play creating a strong external locus of control, the result of which has been shown to cause increases in childhood anxiety and depression (April, Dharani, & Peter, 2012; Gray, 2013). This paper records a practitioner’s musings on the links between aspects of playwork practice and children’s wellbeing. It considers …

Getting Active During Covid-19: Incorporating Experiential Learning In Online Instruction, John Siegel

Georgia International Conference on Information Literacy

Like other academic libraries, librarians at a regional comprehensive university had to switch from in-person to online synchronous information literacy sessions due to COVID-19. The Coordinator of Information Literacy has served as psychology librarian for over two years and worked with faculty to incorporate library instruction in all sections of the required research methods and senior seminar courses. Active learning was a central component of these in-person sessions, which included database searching and an exercise for students to understand the difference between primary/empirical and secondary/review literature. He quickly discovered that the small group activities did not readily lend themselves to …

Mystical Experience And The Evolution Of Consciousness: A Twenty-First Century Gnosis, Gary Lachman

Journal of Conscious Evolution

This article addresses three ideas: mystical experience, the evolution of consciousness, and gnosis. There are different interpretations of these ideas, so I begin by saying how I intend to understand them. Mystical experience I see as a wider, broader, deeper perception of things and their relations than our usual limited view allows. It provides an ‘unitive’ and ‘participatory’ form of consciousness, in which the usual ‘subject/object’ divide has dissolved. The evolution of consciousness is the notion that our present consciousness is not consciousness per se, but has been arrived at over time. This suggests that there have been other forms …

Lawrence Leshan’S Clairvoyant Reality As William James’ Revelation Of Veridical Reality, Jonathan Bricklin

Journal of Conscious Evolution

The “Clairvoyant Reality” of pioneering psychologist Lawrence LeShan and medium Eileen Garrett, reprinted here in honor of LeShan’s recent passing at age 100, may well be the understanding of “veridical reality” that James proclaimed would not be found “in this generation or the next”.

The Journey Back To Wholeness That Already Is, Jenna Dishy Wes

Journal of Conscious Evolution

If we are born into this world with in an already heightened state of consciousness, at what point in human development do we begin to disconnect? Is the human experience innately traumatic? Through the exploration of Piaget’s stages of development, and in coherence with the concept of transgenerational trauma, I explore moments and modes of intervention, with the intention of building on what is already whole instead of waiting until it is broken. Rather than spending another generation spending our lives trying to heal, reaching for enlightenment and soul connection, what if our end point was actually our beginning one?

Decomorose: The Somatic Flowering Of The Living Quality, Shaun J. Martin

Journal of Conscious Evolution

This essay is an exploration of the human maturation process from a transpersonal point of view. The main premise of the essay is the notion that our maturation on the level of consciousness (the living quality) is not synonymous with our bodily maturation or the ongoing construction of our social personality (the identity project). It suggests that transpersonality is a fundamental component in human development, but has been overlooked and left out in most areas of modern culture. The recent rise of mental illnesses and the overall frustration or discontent within our society is a direct result of infrastructures that …

A Qualitative Study Examining Home As Faculty Workplace During Covid-19 Self-Isolation, Lee Stadtlander, Amy Sickel

Higher Learning Research Communications

Objectives: Using the lens of the virtual workplace model, the current basic qualitative study examined how COVID-19 self-isolation affected both online and land-based faculty (working online as an emergency due to COVID-19) workspaces and work processes.

Method: A total of 20 online and six land-based faculty completed e-mail interviews both one month and 3 months post self-isolation.

Results: Online faculty were more satisfied with their home workplace, but both groups felt more negative about their online work, as they felt a loss of freedom and independence due to the isolation.

Conclusions: Findings indicated that both land-based and online faculty showed …

Information Search And Political Ideology: Examining How An Individual’S Political Ideology Relates To The Category And Depth Of The Political Information They Pursue, Megan Elbel

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

The expansion of news media in television and online allows the public to tailor their consumption of political news to their specific interests. Understanding how the public engages in political information search with respect to their political identities can provide insight into the type and amount of information an individual pursues before making a political decision. The present study examines how people of various political ideologies gather information related to political issues. Participants completed surveys gauging their attitudes toward a number of political policy issues following a task in which they were allowed to select political issue topics and control …

Narrative Experiences Of Fathers Of Children With Down Syndrome, Corey Rose

Educational Studies Dissertations

This dissertation explores the narrative experiences of fathers raising children born with Down syndrome. The study joins a recent stratum of research on parents of children with Down syndrome which is grounded in critical disability theory, adheres to a social model of disabilities, and adopts narrative methodology, but which thus far has not investigated fathers’ experiences. 22 fathers, recruited by means of snowball sampling, participated in a two-question, semi-structured interview with a follow-up conversation. Findings from question one indicated that, in the initial moment of diagnosis, fathers experienced adverse encounters with medical personnel, intense negative emotions about the diagnosis, distressing …

Ethical And Equitable Psychological Assessment Of Black Youth In Chicago Public Schools: A Coaching Model For Cps School Psychologists, Haley Biddanda

School of Education Capstone Projects

This capstone seeks to examine multiple factors that affect Black youth in Chicago Public Schools (CPS) during the psychological evaluation process, and subsequently develops a coaching model for CPS school psychologists to provide more ethical and equitable psychological evaluations for Black youth. An analysis of the system of CPS finds that Black students are more likely to receive special education services and be placed within restrictive settings in special education than their white peers. Despite this, CPS school psychologists receive no training specific to evaluating or working with Black youth. A review of the literature reveals that there are multiple …

Leadership Crisis Communication During The Pandemic Of 2020, Daryl Watkins, Steven Walker

Publications

COVID-19 provided a unique opportunity to examine leadership communication strategies during an extended crisis. The authors used political discourse analysis to review the crisis communication of President Donald Trump and seven U.S. governors using the U.S. Center for Disease Control crisis communication framework. The findings demonstrated that U.S. governors typically used effective communication strategies during their press briefings. President Trump often did not use effective crisis communication. The governors’ crisis communication styles were consistent with the CDC’s guidelines. The governors’ communication styles demonstrate that they are “in the arena,” while President Trump has attempted to remove himself from the arena.

Pornography: Social, Emotional And Mental Implications Among Adolescents, William Kelly Canady

National Youth Advocacy & Resilience Conference

This presentation will explain the historical development of pornography. It will highlight four segments: 1- Porn’s impact on brain development of reward pathways, ultimately increasing the appetite for more porn. 2- Porn can be a false substitute for real intimacy, resulting in decreased sexual satisfaction with a real person and increased verbal and physical aggression. 3- Porn promotes sex trafficking, promotes multiple sex partners and reduced STD prevention. 4- A review of interventions available to assist clients in navigating a lifestyle away from pornography.

Can You Dig It? Excavating Sel Through The Arts, Gina H. Moore

National Youth Advocacy & Resilience Conference

Join us to uncover the power of the arts as tools for tweens and teens to excavate their social-emotional skills. Be prepared to interact and connect in this hands-on session where you’ll experience creative activities designed to build a sense of community in groups discovering new skills together. You’ll leave with your own unique artwork and written instructions to facilitate the activities in your programs.

The Influence Of Childhood Socioeconomic Status And Community Type On Visuospatial Attention Scores In Young Adulthood, Sophia C. Menting

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between various childhood experiences and young adult visuospatial attention scores. In particular, this study investigated factors such as where participants grew up (rural or urban community), childhood socio- economic status (SES) and how these factors relate to cognitive control, i.e., control of attention and impulsivity, in young adulthood. The sample consisted of 84 college students. There was no direct relationship between SES and visuospatial attention; however, there was a significant interaction with type of community such that young adults raised in low-SES families in rural communities had lower scores than …

Unpacking Professional Shame: Patterns Of White Male Engineering Students Living In And Out Of Threats To Their Identities, James L. Huff Ph.D., Benjamin Okai, Kanembe Shanachilubwa, Nicola W. Sochacka, Joachim Walther

Faculty Research and Publications

Background

Although prior research has provided robust descriptions of engineering students' identity development, a gap in the literature exists related to students' emotional experiences of shame, which undergird the socially constructed expectations of their professional formation.

Purpose

We examined the lived experiences of professional shame among White male engineering students in the United States. We conceptualize professional shame to be a painful emotional state that occurs when one perceives they have failed to meet socially constructed expectations or standards that are relevant to their identity in a professional domain.

Method

We conducted unstructured interviews with nine White male engineering students …

“Don’T Confuse Patriotism With Nationalism”: A Literature Review And An Analysis Of Two Domains Of Post-Wwii Nationalism In Germany, Ashton E. Krueger

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

This thesis includes a literature review that is an examination of nationalism and patriotism as psychological constructs as well as an analysis of two post-World War II domains of nationalism in Germany. In the psychological literature, there is a very important distinction to be made between the concepts of nationalism and patriotism. As nationalism and patriotism remain relevant areas of study by scholars due to more global citizens than ever before, it is vital to understand the distinction between the two. The goal of the literature review is to demonstrate how nationalism and patriotism differ substantially, how patriotism also takes …

Navigating The Murky Middle: Understanding How Career Aspirations And Experiences Influence The Career Progression Of Women Identifying, Student Affairs, Middle Managers, Lindsey Gilmore

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Capstones

Even though women have made tremendous strides in many facets of education, ascending the administrative and leadership ranks within universities at a proportionate ratio to the number of women who peak as middle managers is not one of them. In the past 40 years, the number of women serving as presidents of universities across the nation has increased less than 10% from 21.1% in 1975 to 30.1% in 2016 (ACE, 2018). If a woman does find herself serving at the helm of an institution, it is more than likely at a “private, liberal arts schools rather than at doctoral granting, …