Psychology Commons^™

Many Hands Make Light Work: Crowdsourced Ratings Of Medical Student Osce Performance, Mark Grichanik

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Clinical skills are often measured using objective structured clinical examinations (OSCEs) in healthcare professions education programs. As with assessment centers, it is challenging to provide learners with effective feedback due to burdensome human capital demands. The aim of this dissertation was to evaluate the viability of using a crowdsourced system to gather OSCE ratings and feedback. Aggregating evaluations of student performance from a crowd of patient proxies has the potential to mitigate biases associated with single-rater evaluations, allow the patient a voice as the consumer of physician behavior, improve reliability, reduce costs, improve feedback latency, and help learners develop a …

Eco-Anxiety At University: Student Experiences And Academic Perspectives On Cultivating Healthy Emotional Responses To The Climate Crisis, Anna Kelly

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This research looks at the overall question of how planetary health impacts mental health and psychological welling. The central focus is eco-anxiety—mental distress caused by climate change and environmental degradation—and how it manifests in university students. In order to gather data for this research I collected 114 student survey responses, interviewed seven young adults (ages 20-25), and interviewed seven experts in the fields of psychology and environmental studies.

They survey results show high levels of general stress and anxiety, high levels of stress and anxiety related to climate change and the state of the world, and a very high level …

A Review Of Lead Pd Writing In The Content Areas: Measures Of Teacher Self-Efficacy And Student Performance, Andrea Paige Greene

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Data from recent college and career readiness measures indicate an alarming number of students are beginning college courses unequipped with the necessary writing skills to meet the demands of these courses. This, in addition to the Common Core State Standards, leave many teachers feeling underprepared to effectively teach writing. The current study sought to evaluate the effectiveness of LEAD PD: Writing in the Content Areas, a writing professional development initiative for teachers grounded in the writing standards and best practices of writing instruction. In partnership with a university of higher education, teachers from a local middle school were trained to …

Using An Inclusive Restricted Interest Group To Improve Social Skill Accuracy In Children With An Autism Spectrum Disorder, Hillary Y. Jenkins

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

There are a number of evidenced-based practices which aim to improve the social skills of children with high functioning autism (HFA). An emerging field of study is to develop social skills interventions that incorporate restricted and repetitive interests to increase social skills. Their results are promising and suggest improved social skills in students with HFA. The current study has aimed to incorporate a common interest among elementary age children with HFA in social skill instruction within a structured setting. A multiple baseline across behaviors single subject design was used to collect data on the accuracy with which two young males …

The Influence Of Culture On The Use Of Healthcare Services By Refugees In Southcentral Kentucky: A Mixed Study, Chika N. Ejike

Dissertations

The world as a global village has become a ubiquitous trope in the popular discourse, and Bowling Green, Kentucky, with its substantial immigrant population, may be considered an exemplar of this idealized community. It has become an ideal location for research regarding the challenges faced by immigrants. Due to the diverse cultural identities of the refugee/immigrant population, it is particularly well suited for studies into complex culturally dependent healthcare utilization patterns.

The central research question for the study was as follows: What are the healthcare-seeking behavioral patterns (as influenced by culture) among refugees at their nearest healthcare facilities? This mixed …

The Goal-Driven, Resilient, And Influential Teens Program In Kentucky High Schools: The Impact On Social And Emotional Learning And Influencing Factors, Brant Von Goble

Dissertations

In order to assess the effects of the Goal-driven, Resilient, and Influential Teens (GRIT) program on social and emotional learning and academic performance in high schools throughout Kentucky, data from several sources were compiled and analyzed. These sources included results from the Student Engagement and Performance (STEP) survey, an instrument developed by the Rock Solid Evaluation Team at Western Kentucky University and administered yearly to high school students and teachers, and school-level academic and socioeconomic data from the Kentucky Department of Education. Additional data on fidelity of GRIT program implementation were obtained from FranklinCovey, the GRIT program’s developer and publisher. …

Colors In The World Of Healing", Jordan Mcroberts

Student Research Conference Select Presentations

Color has many places in the world. The human body and mind react to color in a way that is hard to explain. It is sometimes so subtle we may not even notice it. In this physician office’s design, color is picked out and placed to promote health and wellness. The research 69 conducted shows that color alters mood and promotes health in the human body. The colors selected are blue, green, and white. The calming color, blue, is believed to reduce migraines, nervousness, and high blood pressure. Earthy greens are believed to be stress reducing and have a positive …

Using Professional Development To Build Pre-Service Teachers' Self-Efficacy For Helping Students With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder To Learn, Natalie J. West

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The current study determined if a professional development on PTSD would improve pre-service teachers’ self-efficacy for helping students with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to learn. Participants consisted of 59 college students from one large, comprehensive, Mid-Southern university who were enrolled in an education program and an educational psychology course. Using a quasi-experimental method, participants either received the PTSD professional development (treatment) or regular instruction (control group). All participants completed a measure of demographics, a pre-test measure of selfefficacy for helping students with PTSD to learn, which was further dissected into four constructs (i.e., self-efficacy for identifying students with PTSD, adapting …

Noncontingent Reinforcement And Decreasing Problem Behaviors With Students With Special Needs And Its Effect On Teacher Behavior, Leah D. Pritchett

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

A pilot study of noncontingent reinforcement (NCR) was conducted using NCR statements to (a) decrease target behaviors, (b) increase unprompted praise statements from the teacher and decrease reprimands, and (c) increase proximity to the participants by the teacher implementing NCR. Data were collected using a single-subject research design on two participants and one teacher. The target behaviors were physical and verbal aggression and inappropriate gestures. Teacher behaviors targeted with this study were praise statements, reprimands, and proximity to students. The participants included were one 16-year-old student with an emotional behavior disability, one 18-year-old student identified with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) …

The Effects Of Parenting Relationships And Sports, John Carder Dallas

Student Research Conference Select Presentations

Youth sport participation in our society is on the rise, with 90% of children taking part in some form of organized sport between the ages of 5 and 17. With more children becoming more active in sporting activities, the role of par ents can impact parent/child communication and mold the character of the child. Parents with p ositive involvement in their child’s activities emphasized skills such as hard work and team building rather than winning or losing. The way involved parents communicated with children also impacted the motivation a child had for participating in a sport. Children receiving positive messages …

Gender Socialization In Chinese Schools: Teachers, Children And Gender Roles, Connor Swan

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

As the first major social environment most children will encounter outside the family, school plays a pivotal role in the socialization of gender roles for young children. The aim of this research is to examine how young children learn and practice gender roles in Chinese school environments. In what ways do teachers and adults communicate messages about gender to children, and how do children receive and internalize these messages? What do teachers consciously intend to teach children about gender, and what do they unconsciously teach through their actions? Over the course of one month, I attended classes and observed teacher-student …

Effect Of Student Classroom Cell Phone Usage On Teachers, Daniel Pulliam

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The increase in student cell phone use in classrooms has led to a decrease in academic performance and satisfaction with instruction (Dietz & Henrich, 2014). Currently, it is unknown as to whether student classroom cell phone usage has any effect on the teacher. The purpose of this study was to determine student and teacher opinions of classroom cell phone usage and perceived distraction. Surveys were conducted with a sample of college students (N = 163) and college faculty (N = 289), from a university in the Southeastern region of the United States. Data indicate there are differing opinions on classroom …

Using Explicit Social Skills Instruction Combined With A Restricted Interest Group To Increase The Frequency Of Social Skills In Students With Autism, Krista Shea Cummings

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The literature suggests that adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are characterized by restricted interests and deficits in social skills (White, Keonig, & Scahill, 2007). Due to the deficits associated with ASD, adolescents with ASD do not typically engage in social interactions at a rate similar to their same age typicallydeveloping peers (Wagner, Cadwallader, Garza, & Cameto, 2004). This study assessed whether explicit social skills instruction in a restricted interest group in an afterschool club setting increased the frequency of specific social skills in two students identified with ASD. A multiple baseline experimental design was implemented across behaviors. During baseline …

The Effects Of Provided Powerpoint Presentations On Student Perceptions Of Personal Responsbility, Sarah Elizabeth Mannon Cravero

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Psychologists have examined the effects of numerous variables on classroom performance, but little research exists to demonstrate how specific teaching techniques, specifically the provision of printed presentation notes (such as presentation slides), affects student perception of responsibility. This study sought to discover the impact that providing presentation slides for use during lecture would have on students’ performance, as well as their perceptions of personal responsibility. In order to determine the effects of provided presentation notes on performance and perceived responsibility, this study examined the self-efficacy and locus of control of students assigned to either take their own notes or to …

Ignatian Pedagogy Certificate Final Project Assisnment, Loretta Stalans

Ignatian Pedagogy Educational Resources

No abstract provided.

Family Influence On Chinese International Students’ Sense Of Coherence, Yiwen Zhang

Undergraduate Research Symposium 2017

As the number of Chinese international students rapidly increases in U.S. colleges, it becomes important to understand the factors that contribute to their mental health, especially during their first semester of adjustment to the new culture. This study tested the hypothesis that: family condition predicts Chinese International Students’ Sense of Coherence (SOC), the overall capacity of handling tension derived from life stressors, with adaptation performance works as a mediation during their first semester. Data collection sessions were conducted for a collage-based cohort of 43 freshman Chinese international students at the beginning and at the end of their first semester. Participants …

Twenty Reasons To Publish In Dignity, Donna M. Hughes

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

No abstract provided.

Inferential Style, School Teachers, And Depressive Symptoms In College Students., Caroline M. Pittard, Patrick Pössel, Timothy Lau

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

Depressive symptoms affect around half of students at some point during college. According to the hopelessness theory of depression, making negative inferences about stressful events is a vulnerability for developing depression. Negative and socio-emotional teaching behavior can be stressors that are associated with depression in school students. First-time college freshmen completed the Cognitive Style Questionnaire (CSQ), Teaching Behavior Questionnaire (TBQ), and Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). While completing the TBQ, participants reported on a teacher from prior education to college. Multiple regression analysis found significant effects of the independent variables (four teaching behavior types, inferential style, and interactions …

Using Student Voice To Respond To Middle School Bullying: A Student Leadership Approach, David L. Shriberg, Keeshawna Brooks, Kisha Jenkins, Jennifer Immen, Caroline Sutter, Karen Cronin

Education: School of Education Faculty Publications and Other Works

Bullying prevention and intervention are ongoing challenges for all educators, school psychologists included. A lack of research exists regarding the potential role of middle school students as direct actors in bullying prevention and intervention. This article describes a novel student leadership group for seventh graders in which the primary leadership task was the creation of bullying prevention ideas for their school. The details of this group are described, as are the results of postgroup student interviews. Results indicate that the students found the group to be valuable. However, the broader collaborative effort between educators at this school and the university …

Cross-Racial Trust Factors: Exploring The Experiences Of Blacks Who Have Had White Mentors In The Counseling Profession, Eric Montrece Brown

Counseling & Human Services Theses & Dissertations

The primary researcher conducted a phenomenological study on cross-racial trust factors between Black doctoral students (n = 10) and their White mentors within the counseling profession. Three participants identified having a White professor as a mentor; two participants identified having White supervisors as mentors; five of the participants reported having both faculty members and supervisors as White mentors. Through semi-structured interviews, the primary researcher sought to ascertain what factors engendered cross-racial trust between Black doctoral students and White mentors within the counseling profession. The research team identified four superordinate themes related to cross-racial trust: contributors to trust, reasons for mistrust, …

An Exploratory Factor Analysis Examining Experiences And Perceptions Of Campus Safety For International Students, Sonia H. Ramrakhiani

Counseling & Human Services Theses & Dissertations

Although international students make up a significant percentage of the college population and contribute to higher education institutions in multiple ways, a lack of attention is paid to their safety needs. This dissertation examined the experiences and perceptions of campus safety among international college/university students in the United States. The researcher sampled participants from different institutions around the country, who self-identified as international students. A researcher-developed 53-item Likert scale questionnaire, International Students’ Safety Questionnaire (ISSQ), was administered to the sample. Findings from the exploratory factor analysis (EFA) provided evidence for the four-factor solution for the 26-item ISSQ accounting for 48.65% …

Syntactic Adaptation To Relative Clause Sentence Processing: Contributions Of Experience And Memory, Elias Blinkoff , '17

Senior Theses, Projects, and Awards

One of the most robust findings in psycho linguistics is that object-extracted relative clauses (ORCs) are more difficult to process than subject-extracted relative clauses (SRCs) (Traxler, Morris, & Seely, 2002; King & Just, 1991; Ford, 1983). However, the reasons for this are still controversial. One view attributes this difficulty to experience: ORCs are harder to process because they are more rarely encountered than SRCs (Wells, Christiansen, Race, Acheson, & MacDonald, 2008; Gennari & MacDonald, 2008; MacDonald & Christiansen, 2002). Another view is that the word order of ORCs places a larger burden on working memory than SRCs (Miller & Chomsky, …

Evaluation Of The Impact Of Social Work Services In Rural School Districts, Breanna Heinrich

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Students in rural communities are often subject to unique barriers and challenges that impact their holistic emotional, cognitive, physical, and social success in school. Because these factors have a strong impact on school attendance, behavior, and overall success, educators have begun to implement social work programs within both rural and urban school districts across the nation. While existing research affirms the effectiveness of school social work, very little research has been conducted to determine the effect in rural school districts. This paper evaluates the impact of a newly developed social work pilot program in two West Texas school districts implemented …

Preference Organization, Danielle M. Pillet-Shore

Communication

Conversation analytic research on “preference organization” investigates recorded episodes of naturally occurring social interaction to elucidate how people systematically design their actions to either support or undermine social solidarity. This line of work examines public forms of conduct that are highly generalized and institutionalized, not the private desires, subjective feelings or psychological preferences of individuals. This article provides a detailed and accessible overview of classic and contemporary conversation analytic findings about preference, which collectively demonstrate that human interaction is organized to favor actions that promote social affiliation (through face-preservation) at the expense of conflict (resulting from face-threat). While other overviews …

47th Annual Wku Student Research Conference, Student Research Council,

Student Research Conference Select Presentations

See document below for project abstracts

Cultural Diversity In Student Ministry Leadership, Steven Zhou

Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium

In an attempt to contribute to how ministries and Christian academia is addressing issues of diversity, I am conducting a study to analyze correlations between ethnicity and styles/values of leadership. The goal is to uncover whether or not a particular ethnicity generally prefers one style of leadership over another. Past research on the subject has already seen that, in the business world, certain practices work better than others. For example, those from an Asian culture are more likely to prefer formality and authority as opposed to the collaborative and relationship-oriented style of leadership found in America. I will contribute to …

Locus Of Control, Parents Involvement And College Disability Accommodations, Olivia Sara Aquino

Theses and Dissertations

An increasing number of students with learning disabilities are enrolled in college and seek support services under ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act). According to U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics (2015), Digest of Education Statistics, 2013 (2015-011), approximately 11% of students report having a disability. However, although more students attending post-secondary education are receiving accommodations and supports, the retention of these students remains a central concern. A student's ability to self-advocate seems to be one key to academic success. Self-determination and self-efficacy factors are frequently cited as essential to successful transition to college. The current study explored …

Seclusion And Restraint Policy And Practice: Are Students Safe In School?, Laura L. Strunk, Daniel Houlihan

Social Work Department Publications

The purpose of this study was to examine the significance of the policy and practice of seclusion and restraint interventions used and implemented in the public school system in the United States. Current research casts doubt on policy appropriateness; however, these interventions continue to be used in school settings across the United States. A descriptive, cross-sectional research design was used to implement via electronic survey. The survey was developed and randomly sent to school administrators and other support staff, teachers, and paraprofessionals currently employed in school districts across the United States. Data collected in this study supports the need to …

Perceived Stress, Self-Compassion, And Emotional Variance In Parents Of Children With Communication Disorders: A Family Approach To Service Delivery In Speech-Language Pathology, Olivia Marie Arnos

Theses and Dissertations

The amount of children born with developmental disorders in the United States is on the rise, increasing from 12.8% in 1998 to 15.04% in 2008 (Huang, Chang, Chi & Lai, 2013). Children with developmental disabilities often have chronic conditions that require additional support across their lifetime, ranging in deficits of attention, physical abilities, visual impairments, hearing impairments, learning disabilities, and communication disorders. Research has shown as dependency of a child on caretakers increases, there is an increase in parental stress and a decrease in perceived well-being. Hall and Graff (2011) found parents of children with developmental disorders are less likely …

Impact Of Kinesthetic Learning On Student Knowledge Retention And Attitudes Toward Mathematics, Alyssa Lustgarten

Honors Projects

This research study examines the impact of kinesthetic learning on student knowledge retention and attitudes toward mathematics. Specifically, this study focuses on teaching mathematics to secondary students through dance. Quantitative data was collected and analyzed regarding student mathematics knowledge retention and student attitudes towards mathematics. Although student mathematics knowledge retention increased for both the control and treatment groups, student attitudes toward mathematics decreased after the intervention for the treatment group.