Psychology Commons^™

Living Your Best Life: The Mindful Pursuit Of Student-Athlete Thriving, Andrew Augustus

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Thriving, or the concurrent experience of healthy well-being and high-level performance, may serve as a valuable construct when studying the optimal student-athlete experience and mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) have been shown to positively impact well-being and performance. The purpose of the present study began to examine the impact of an MBI for improving student-athlete experiences of thriving via a quasi-experimental longitudinal design. NCAA Division II student-athletes (n = 55) from three sports were randomly assigned to either a control or a 7-session MBI. While comprehensive measures of thriving did not yield significant change for those in the MBI relative to …

Cue Reactivity In Electronic Cigarette Users With Sign-Tracking Or Goal-Tracking Behaviors, Polina Krom

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Polina Krom

Cue reactivity is an important predictor of addiction course and relapse. However, cue reactivity is only observed after an addiction develops. As such, it is unclear to what degree cue reactivity represents a state stemming from the addiction process versus a trait-like propensity towards developing cue-reward associations. Work in animal models has pointed to important individual differences in trait-like inclination to attribute incentive salience to reward-predictive cues that is associated with addiction-relevant behavioral and neurobiological features. These individual differences manifest as sign-tracking (ST) and goal-tracking (GT) behaviors during Pavlovian conditioning. Little research has attempted to translate ST and …

Cue Reactivity In Non-Smoking Electronic Cigarette Users, Ashley E. Douglas

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Electronic cigarettes (ECIGs) are among the most popular nicotine products in the United States, particularly among youth and young adults. Many individuals who use ECIGs report an interest in quitting or unsuccessful quit attempts. In addition to nicotine dependence, one factor that may contribute to continued ECIG use is an individual’s response to ECIG-related environmental stimuli, or cues. Existing research demonstrates that exposure to ECIG cues increases craving for ECIGs among cigarette smokers, including those without previous ECIG experience. The purpose of this study was to examine effects of ECIG cue exposure in experienced ECIG users with minimal smoking history, …

Can White Nationalist Rhetoric Increase Prejudice Toward Mexican Immigrants?, Nathan Lewey

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The Western populism wave of ethno-nationalism (i.e., exclusionary resistance to egalitarianism: exclusionist belief in the superiority of ingroup goals over superordinate goals that are inclusive of all cultures) may increase prejudice toward minorities (Schmuck & Matthes, 2017). Integrated threat theory (ITT; Stephan & Stephan, 1996) states that prejudiced attitudes are mediated by four types of threat, which are affected by quantity and quality of intergroup contact (Stephan et al., 2000). These threats include realistic threat (e.g., fear of losing one’s job to an immigrant), symbolic threat (e.g., fear of losing one’s societal values/norms to a foreign culture), intergroup anxiety, and …

Water Stories: An Exploration Of Human-Water Connectedness In Ontario And The Implications For Water Sustainability, Tracey Ehl

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Abstract

Water is the great connector. Water connects people, health, wellness, culture, spirituality, nature, and the economy. Clean, safe water (potable water) and sanitation were recognized over a decade ago by the United Nations General Assembly (UN) as a basic human right, and more recently the UN has also identified water sustainability and management as one of 17 sustainable development goals for all people in all countries. Water is inextricably connected to humans. Yet, in Ontario, Canada, a place with access to some of the largest freshwater reserves in the world, robust regulatory frameworks, involvement, some investment by all levels …

Global Engineering Ethics: What? Why? How? And When?, Rockwell F. Clancy Iii, Qin Zhu

Journal of International Engineering Education

Even though engineering programs, accreditation bodies, and multinational corporations have become increasingly interested in introducing global dimensions into professional engineering practice, little work in the existing literature provides an overview of questions fundamental to global engineering ethics, such as what global engineering ethics is, why it should be taught, how it should be taught, and when it should be introduced. This paper describes the what, why, how, and when of global engineering ethics – a form adopted from a 1996 article by Charles Harris, Michael Davis, Michael Pritchard, and Michael Rabins, which has influenced the development of engineering ethics for …

Evaluating Growth Rates Of The Eastern Oyster (Crassostrea Virginica) And Water Quality For Oyster Restoration Sites At City Island, Bronx, Ny, Cody L. Jernigan

Theses and Dissertations

Oyster growth and water quality were monitored at four sites at City Island, Bronx, NY, to determine suitability for oyster reef restoration. Significant growth occurred at two sites and water quality was not indicated as a contributing factor. Oyster growth at all sites indicate appropriate conditions for oyster reef restoration.

A Lifetime Of Heroin Addiction: Jose Hernandez's Story, Pumla Kalipa

Capstones

Jose Hernandez is a 55 year old Hispanic man who has been battling with heroin and other illicit-drug abuse for over 30 years. In this story we spend time with him to understand what his daily struggles are and how he uses heroin to cope with certain life stressors. This mini-documentary and short story is also meant to inform the public about substance abuse and how to get help if needed. https://pumlakalipa01.exposure.co/a-lifetime-of-heroin-addiction?source=share-pumlakalipa01

Testing Competing Theories To Develop A Linguistic Assessment On Online Extremist Content, Matthew Dean

Theses and Dissertations

The development of threat assessment protocols has largely neglected a theoretical
foundation, leading to a multitude of protocols with little shared in the way of scientific
foundation. The focus of this study is to test components of two theories – Sternberg’s (2018) FLOTSAM Model and Maynard and Benesch’s (2016) Integrated Model of Dangerous Speech (IMDS) – as potential criteria to use in assessing the seriousness of online threats. This study utilized a dataset of 500 open-source online communications linked to the extremist QAnon movement. An EFA was used to pull an empirical model from the data. Three CFA and SEM …

A Meta-Analysis Of Antecedent Exercise On Children’S Classroom Behaviors, Chelsea Johnson

Master's Theses

The purpose of the current study was to systematically review the literature investigating the effects of antecedent aerobic exercise on students with emotional and behavioral disorders. Eighteen studies met inclusion criteria, which included single case design studies and group studies, participant age, and an exercise intervention. Tau U was used as the procedure to calculate an effect size for A-B contrasts for single case design studies and effect size ranged from small to moderate for multiple variables such as disruptive behavior and academically engaged behavior. Hedges g was used to calculate an omnibus effect size for all single case design …

Practice Habits Among Collegiate Music Majors: Relationships With Everyday Self-Regulatory Behaviors, Lydia Stricker

Honors Projects

This study examined self-regulatory behaviors among collegiate musicians. In the fall of 2022, a total of 73 participants from a large midwestern university responded to an online questionnaire soliciting information regarding self-regulatory behaviors both in and outside of the classroom. Items were adapted from the Carey, Neal and Collins Short Self-Regulation Questionnaire (2004). Findings support previous research suggesting a strong, positive relationship between everyday self-regulatory behaviors and those demonstrated in the practice room. Implications include a discussion on the possibility of transferring self-regulation strategies from one domain to the other.

The Creation Of The Global Scales For Early Development (Gsed) For Children Aged 0–3 Years: Combining Subject Matter Expert Judgements With Big Data, Gareth Mccray, Dana Mccoy, Patricia Kariger, Magdalena Janus, Maureen M. Black, Susan M. Chang, Fahmida Tofail, Iris Eekhout, Marcus Waldman, Stef Van Buuren, Rasheda Khanam, Sunil Sazawal, Ambreen Nizar, Yvonne Schönbeck, Arsène Zongo, Alexandra Brentani, Yunting Zhang, Tarun Dua, Vanessa Cavallera, Abbie Raikes, Ann M. Weber, Kieran Bromley, Abdullah Baqui, Arunangshu Dutta, Imran Nisar, Symone B. Detmar, Romuald Anago, Pacifico Mercadante, Fan Jiang, Raghbir Kaur, Katelyn Hepworth, Marta Rubio-Codina, Samuel N. Kembou, Salahuddin Ahmed, Gill A. Lancaster, Melissa Gladstone

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

Introduction With the ratification of the Sustainable Development Goals, there is an increased emphasis on early childhood development (ECD) and well-being. The WHO led Global Scales for Early Development (GSED) project aims to provide population and programmatic level measures of ECD for 0–3 years that are valid, reliable and have psychometrically stable performance across geographical, cultural and language contexts. This paper reports on the creation of two measures: (1) the GSED Short Form (GSED-SF)— a caregiver reported measure for population-evaluation— self-administered with no training required and (2) the GSED Long Form (GSED-LF)— a directly administered/observed measure for programmatic evaluation—administered by …

Predictive Utility Of The El Paso Pretrial Risk Assessment Instrument - Revised (Eppra-R), Chelsea Sierra Queen

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Pretrial risk assessments are used to divert defendants from pretrial detention by estimating risk of pretrial specific outcomes (i.e., failure to appear, rearrest). Ongoing validation of this tool is recommended to assess accuracy and ensure that there is no bias against specific subgroups (e.g., gender, race/ethnicity, or age) of defendants. The present study evaluates the utility of a locally developed instrument in El Paso County - a predominantly Latinx county. Area Under the Curve (AUC) Receiving Operator Condition (ROC) analyses indicate statistically â??fairâ?? predictive utility for the tool. Binary logistic regression models suggest no evidence of bias. This study will …

Assessing Treatment Access, Medication Use, Caregiver Strain And Emergency Service Use In Families Of Youth With Autism, Emmaline Thorpe

Psychological Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

Background: Families with autistic youth utilize emergency services (e.g., police, emergency department) at greater rates than neurotypical peers. While research has recently explored this phenomenon, unknowns remain in how pharmaceutical, therapeutic, family (e.g., caregiver strain), and child factors (concurrent challenging behaviors) may influence the likelihood of this population resorting to emergency care. Method: The current study recruited caregivers (N = 55) of youth with autism and co-occurring challenging behaviors (ages 2 – 22) to complete an online survey regarding their use of emergency services, child medication and therapy, and caregiver strain. Caregivers were compensated for their time. Results: Outcomes revealed …

The Cultic Lifecycle: A Thematic Analysis Of Fulfillment And Fear In Cult Membership, Shaelen Grant

Student Theses

Prior research on susceptibility to cult recruitment has focused predominately on psychopathological risk factors, such as a prior personality disorder diagnosis and psychiatric and addictive disorders (Feldman & Johnson, 1995; Rousselet et al., 2017). While such studies contribute valuable information, they also inadvertently pathologize cult members. Furthermore, this focus has led to the overlooking of a more crucial question: what basic human desires does cult membership fulfill that cult leaders and recruiters exploit, to recruit and keep members in cults? To address this dearth, research team members interviewed 52 former cult members (N=52) from a variety of groups (e.g., Christian-based, …

Self Stigma Of Seeking Psychological Help As A Predictor Of College Students' Alcohol Use And Consequences During Covid-19, Aitiana Ivonne Sanchez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

COVID-19 has caused continuous depression, anxiety, and stress, in addition to the already increased symptoms of mental illness typically seen among college students. While diagnosed mental illness is common among college aged individuals, college students frequently experience undiagnosed symptoms of mental illness as well. Additionally, college students typically do not disclose any information regarding experiencing symptoms of mental illness and thus do not receive proper treatment for these undiagnosed disorders. There are numerous reasons students choose not to disclose having a mental illness; however, stigma surrounding mental illness and seeking psychological help stands as the most prominent reason. Untreated mental …

The Impact Workplace Microaggressions Have On Those Who Identify As Lesbian, Gay And Bisexual., Andres Medina

Dissertations

Progress has occurred in recent years for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender equal rights. However, there are still areas where discrimination is evident such as the workplace. Some lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender employees may not share their identity at work due to discrimination concerns. Such forms of discrimination may be passive acts such as microaggressions. These microaggressions can make work-life stressful; furthermore, the stress experienced at work may impact other areas such as home life. This study explored two areas. The first area investigated was whether identity disclosure at work affected workplace microaggressions. The sample size was 88 working adults who …

Thematic Consistency Between Criminal History And Crime Scene Behaviors: Comparing Sexual Homicide Offenders With And Without Criminal Histories Of Sexual Offenses, Shannon E. Ettinger

Student Theses

Offender profiling research suggests that offenders may display behavioral consistency, meaning they may behave in some consistent manner between their crime scene actions and other aspects of their lives. Through behavioral themes, researchers can identify consistency in groups of individual behaviors that are thematically similar. Previous literature successfully applied the Expressive/Instrumental themes to homicide crime scene behaviors and criminal history. The current study aims to apply the Expressive/Instrumental thematic approach to analyzing the relationship between sexual homicide offender’s criminal history and their crime scene behaviors. The present study focuses on the distinction between sexual homicide offenders with a history of …

The Intersection Of Religion And Mental Health Help-Seeking: Themes Within Youth Experiencing Early Psychosis, Breanna Nichols

Student Theses

Little research has examined the intersection of religion and mental health among predominantly conservative communities – where religion tends to weigh heavily. It is known from the literature that religion and spirituality play a role in influencing treatment pathways and views towards mental health. The primary aim of the present study was to explore via secondary thematic analysis, the intersection of religion and mental health within a conservative Midwestern community of youth who are receiving treatment for early psychosis, with a secondary look at family dynamics. Seven participant transcripts were analyzed from the Narrative Enhancement and Cognitive Therapy-Young Adult (NECT-YA) …

Food Waste, Preference, And Cost: Perceived Barriers And Self-Reported Food Service Best Practices In Family Child Care Homes, Divya Patel, Daisy Butzer, Bethany D. Williams, Dipti Dev, Diane Horm, Denise Finneran, Bryce Lowery, Janis E. Campbell, Susan B. Sisson

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

Background: Family Child Care Homes (FCCHs) are a setting where providers care for children at their own residence. FCCHs face unique challenges, and children may not always receive optimal nutrition and have higher risk of obesity compared to other programs. The objective of this study was to determine differences in food service best practices scores between FCCHs who did/did not perceive barriers to serving healthy meals. Methods: FCCHs (n = 167) self-reported demographics and perceived barriers to serving healthy foods. Nutrition and Physical Activity Self-Assessment for Child Care was used to assess food served with 1 (indicating poor practice) …

K-5 Elementary Alternative Program: A Case Study, William E. Scheuer Iv

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this case study was to examine how the K-5 elementary alternative program All Students Can Thrive (ASCT) used student-centered learning practices to influence the whole child. There is a lack of research on K-5 elementary alternative programs, such as ASCT, and specifically those that integrate student-centered learning practices to influence the whole child. Literature does not contain universally accepted interventions that are effective in the elementary alternative setting to help students return to the mainstream classroom setting better prepared to display appropriate behaviors when a student is removed from a mainstream classroom setting due to disruptive behaviors. …

Policing For Peace: Training For A 21st Century Police Force, Kate M. Den Houter, Margaret E. Brooks

Personnel Assessment and Decisions

We review the present state of research on police training in the United States, highlighting gaps in the literature, and limitations of trainings in use by local policing agencies. We focus on training content relevant to the volatile situations that are at the center of controversy, we evaluate content areas that focus on successfully navigating real-time, unpredictable, and potentially dangerous interactions, and discuss training needs in these areas. We suggest that one common response to the issue of bias—implicit bias training—lacks evidence of efficacy. Accordingly, we recommend alternative training content to address bias and discrimination. Finally, we call attention to …

What Can Go Wrong When Everything Is Right? Using Organizational Justice To Understand Police Misconduct And Improve Personnel Systems, Antoine D. Busby, Meghan A. Thornton-Lugo, Laura Parker, Nicole Strah

Personnel Assessment and Decisions

Despite decades of attention paid to police reform, cases of office misconduct still continue to plague policing organizations. Assuming that organizations may still experience such officer malfeasance even when attempting to pursue best practices, we aim to explore how things can go wrong when everything else seems right. Specifically, we rely on trickle-down models of organizational justice, group engagement, and social identity to articulate how otherwise desirable organizational outcomes may produce detrimental outgroup biases. Based on our theoretical premise, we articulate specific changes that may be made to personnel systems that can avoid such officer misconduct in policing contexts.

Electing Law Enforcement Leadership: Examining The Effects Of Politics And Job-Related Qualifications On Personnel Assessment And Decisions For Sheriff, Kareem Panton, Kevin P. Nolan, Jess Rigos

Personnel Assessment and Decisions

Calls for police reform have become frequent in the United States. Efforts to enact meaningful organizational change will require support from senior law enforcement leadership. Personnel selection for several of these positions (e.g., Sheriff) occurs via local election. Little is known, however, about the factors that influence voters’ assessment of candidates for these positions and the extent to which decision-making for personnel selection via election is influenced by the same beliefs (e.g., person-job and person-organization fit) as more traditional approaches to hiring. This study explores the extent to which voters’ perceptions of two candidates for the position of Sheriff are …

Enhancing The Representation Of Women: How Gender Diversity Signals And Acknowledgement Affect Attraction To Men-Dominated Professions, Thomas P. Depatie, Anmol Sachdeva, Comila Shahani-Denning, Rebecca Grossman, Kevin P. Nolan

Personnel Assessment and Decisions

While organizations around the world recognize the importance of gender diversity and inclusion, many struggle to reach gender parity (Sneader & Yee, 2020). Particularly, women account for less than 15% of all sworn police officers (Donohue Jr, 2020). Considering signaling theory and novel research in organizational impression management, we examined the utility of various recruitment messaging techniques for attracting women job seekers to professions dominated by men, at both a consulting firm and law enforcement agency. Women evaluating consulting firm materials perceived greater behavioral integrity and were subsequently more attracted to the organization if recruitment messages included both high gender …

Exploring The Feasibility Of Assessing Cultural Competence In Police Officers, Sydney L. Reichin, Alexander T. Jackson, Mark C. Frame, Michael Hein

Personnel Assessment and Decisions

Pathology, personality, and integrity-related construct assessments have been widely used in the selection of police officers. However, the incidence of police brutality and misconduct is still concerning. The present study explored the feasibility of the assessment of cultural competence in police officers. We explored the extent to which the change to the agency’s first ever Black CEO would affect cultural competence of the officers as well as incidence of misconduct. Results showed that scores on a cultural competence factor of an in-basket simulation used for promotional assessments at a state highway patrol agency were not predictive of either supervisor-rated performance …

Introduction To The Special Issue On Policing: Examining The Role Of Testing And Assessment, Dennis Doverspike, Alexandra Petruzzelli, Marc Cubrich

Personnel Assessment and Decisions

Prepared in response to the weight and seriousness of social concerns with regard to the state and future of policing, this special issue was developed in order to feature research that examined a wide range of personnel and assessment decisions relating to policing. The focus was broad in scope, welcoming conceptual/theoretical papers, quantitative or qualitative reviews, empirical papers, and think pieces. To address the questions and areas identified in the initial call for papers, six articles are presented covering the themes of individual differences in personnel selection group composition and macro-level influences on policing, and practical recommendations and the future …

Female Adolescent Athletes’ Experiences Of Body Dissatisfaction Across Individual And Team Sports, Alicia Deogracias-Schleich, Lindsey C. Blom, Kayla E. Myers, Stefania Aegisdottir Ph.D., Ashley Coker-Cranney, Allison Blake, J.C. Ausmus, Miata Walker

Journal of Athlete Development and Experience

There is an abundance of research explaining the physical and psychological benefits of sport and exercise. Some research suggests sport and exercise may act as a protective factor against body dissatisfaction for adolescent females (Fernández-Bustos et al., 2019; Soulliard et al. 2019). However, it is unclear if adolescent females’ experiences in specific sport settings contribute to perceptions about their bodies. Therefore, this study investigated body perception and its sociocultural influences in adolescent females in team sports versus adolescent females in individual sports. Three focus groups of team sport athletes and two focus groups of individual sport athletes, ages 14-16 years, …

Introducing Interdisciplinary Curricula Into Conservation Biology: Exploring Changes In Students’ Perceived Proenvironmental Attitudes And Behaviors, Jasmine Janes, Lindsay J. Mccunn

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

Today, conserving the natural environment is paramount. Educators have been striving to develop pedagogical approaches that facilitate greater engagement in conservation behaviors. However, many of these reforms have been targeted at an institutional level, without necessarily testing whether changes in proenvironmental perceptions, attitudes, or behaviors occur for students. This step seems important when developing conservation biology courses that provide well-rounded education that may better prepare students for future challenges in biodiverse conservation contexts. Our objective was to assess the proenvironmental attitudes and conservation values of undergraduate students enrolled in an undergraduate conservation biology course before and after instruction to determine …

Approaches Mainline Protestant Pastors Use To Work With Lgb People And Their Families: Implications For Family Therapists, Christi R. Mcgeorge, Katelyn O. Coburn

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

When a loved one comes out as lesbian, gay, or bisexual (LGB), families often seek the assistance of a trusted professional. For many families that involves seeking the consultation of a religious leader. This queer theory informed qualitative study sought to explore how Christian pastors work with LGB individuals and their families. Additionally, this study explored how pastors’ approaches to working with LGB individuals and their families varied based on the degree to which families were accepting or rejecting of their LGB family members. Twenty-one mainline Protestant Christian pastors were interviewed. Thematic analysis identified three themes and a number of …