Psychology Commons^™

Characteristics Related To Parent-Child Literacy And Numeracy Practices In Preschool, Amy R. Napoli, Irem Korucu, Joyce Lin, Sara A. Schmitt, David J. Purpura

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

Despite evidence suggesting that home literacy and numeracy environments are related to children’s school readiness skills, little research has examined the child and family characteristics that relate to the home literacy and numeracy environments within the same sample. These factors are important to investigate in order to determine what may foster or prevent parent-child engagement. The primary purpose of this study was to examine the shared and unique parent-reported child and parent variables that are related to the frequency of parent-child literacy and numeracy practices. The 199 preschoolers included in the study ranged in age from 3.00 to 5.17° years …

How Multidimensional Is Emotional Intelligence? Bifactor Modeling Of Global And Broad Emotional Abilities Of The Geneva Emotional Competence Test, Daniel Simonet, Katherine E. Miller, Kevin Askew, Kenneth Sumner, Marcello Mortillaro, Katja Schlegel

Department of Psychology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Drawing upon multidimensional theories of intelligence, the current paper evaluates if the Geneva Emotional Competence Test (GECo) fits within a higher-order intelligence space and if emotional intelligence (EI) branches predict distinct criteria related to adjustment and motivation. Using a combination of classical and S-1 bifactor models, we find that (a) a first-order oblique and bifactor model provide excellent and comparably fitting representation of an EI structure with self-regulatory skills operating independent of general ability, (b) residualized EI abilities uniquely predict criteria over general cognitive ability as referenced by fluid intelligence, and (c) emotion recognition and regulation incrementally predict grade point …

Super Placebos: A Feasibility Study Combining Contextual Factors To Promote Placebo Effects, Jay A. Olson, Michael Lifshitz, Amir Raz, Samuel P. L. Veissière

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Background: Ample evidence demonstrates that placebo effects are modulated by contextual factors. Few interventions, however, attempt to combine a broad range of these factors. Here, we explore the therapeutic power of placebos by leveraging factors including social proof, positive suggestion, and social learning. This study aimed to test the feasibility of an elaborate “super placebo” intervention to reduce symptoms of various disorders in a pediatric population.

Methods: In a single-arm qualitative study, participants entered an inactive MRI scanner which they were told could help their brain heal itself through the power of suggestion. The sample included 11 children (6–13 years …

Mini-Review On Capacity-Building For Data-Driven Early Childhood Systems: The Consortium For Pre-Primary Data And Measurement In Sub-Saharan Africa, Abbie Raikes, Rebecca Sayre, Dawn Davis

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

Low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) are increasing investments in early childhood development programs, including early childhood education. As programs reach scale, there is increasing demand for evidence on impacts of investments. Little work to date has examined capacity required to effectively use data at scale in LMIC, including opportunities and barriers to integrating data into ongoing program implementation and tracking child development and quality of services at scale. Below, we outline the rationale and approach of the Consortium for Pre-primary Data and Measurement in Sub-Saharan Africa, focused on building capacity for data-driven decision-making in early childhood systems. Themes from the …

An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis Of Token Resistance To Sex Amongst Nigerian Undergraduates, Alex Terver Igundunasse Dr, Nathan Odiase Mr

The Qualitative Report

It is apparent that existing social conventions unofficially mandates women to refuse sexual advances even when there may be the intention to engage. The adherence to this social script is what is referred to as token resistance or scripted refusal. Some studies have explored the subject of token resistance from a number of perspectives that attempt to identify the underlying reasons why women engaging in token resistance. However, there is very little research on this subject from the Nigerian perspective. This this study sought to explore token resistance further in order to understand the cultural cogency or peculiarity of the …

Aberrant Maturation Of The Uncinate Fasciculus Follows Exposure To Unpredictable Patterns Of Maternal Signals, Steven J. Granger, Laura M. Glynn, Curt A. Sandman, Steven L. Small, Andre Obenaus, David B. Keator, Tallie Z. Baram, Hal S. Stern, Michael A. Yassa, Elyssia Poggi Davis

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Across species, unpredictable patterns of maternal behavior are emerging as novel predictors of aberrant cognitive and emotional outcomes later in life. In animal models, exposure to unpredictable patterns of maternal behavior alters brain circuit maturation and cognitive and emotional outcomes. However, whether exposure to such signals in humans alters the development of brain pathways is unknown. In mother–child dyads, we tested the hypothesis that exposure to more unpredictable maternal signals in infancy is associated with aberrant maturation of corticolimbic pathways. We focused on the uncinate fasciculus, the primary fiber bundle connecting the amygdala to the orbitofrontal cortex and a key …

Child Life Specialists’ Evaluation Of Hospital Playroom Design: A Mixed Method Inquiry, Nanci Weinberger, Allison Butler, Beth Mcgee, Phyllis A. Schumacher, Ryan Linn Brown

Applied Psychology Department Faculty Journal Articles

This study uses the expertise of child life specialists to identify which elements support child life goals for hospitalized children. This study can be used to inform those interested in the optimal design of hospital playrooms. Ninety child life specialists were surveyed using a photograph methodology showing five actual child life playrooms from different hospitals. The participants were asked the following: rate each playroom on 14 dimensions; describe what was liked best about each playroom; and finally, rank order the playrooms based on their ability to support child life goals. Findings show that child life specialists were able to detect …

Best Practices For Preschool Music Education: Supporting Music‑Making Throughout The Day, Jentry Stoneman Barrett, Rachel E. Schachter, Danni Gilbert, Mathew Fuerst

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

Active engagement in music has numerous academic and social benefits for young children and music-making is included in many early childhood standards and preschool curricula. The purpose of this article is to provide quality resources for classroom teachers to use in providing music-making activities for young children, ages 3–5. Although teachers may use music in their classrooms, we provide resources and suggestions for more intentional and extended integration of music-making. Specifically, we identify best practices for preschool music education based on key standards and research as well as with common music pedagogies. We then turn to concrete examples of how …

Reliability Analysis Of The Basc-3 Srp With American Indian/Alaska Native Adolescents, Nathan Higa

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

With a vastly growing diverse population, the current focus on diversity-informed assessment has led to research on whether established instruments are reliable to utilize with specific populations. The American Indian/Alaska Native population (AI/AN) is often a group that is underrepresented in various assessments. The BASC-3 is an important assessment in psychoeducational evaluations thus, the goal of the study is to determine whether the BASC-3 is a culturally reliable assessment to use with AI/AN in educational setting.

Utilizing the computer program Cocron we compared Cronbach alpha levels across three groups (Native Americans, White, manualized clinical sample) and conducted t-test to compare …

Adhd Performance On Nonverbal Measures Of Set Shifting And Working Memory, S. Hans Stoltzfus

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

The relationship between language and cognition is an area of inquiry among many psychologists (Pellicano, 2010; Russel, 1996). The connection between thoughts, verbal language, and nonverbal communication turned researchers towards the relationship between language and executive functioning. Executive functioning (EF) is described as tasks involving working memory, inhibition, and set shifting (Miyake and Friedman (2012)). Despite studies demonstrating the correlation between language deficits and lower executive functioning there is not consensus on the directionality of the relationship (Kuhn, et al 2014; Boting et al., 2017). Data from the Leiter International Performance Scale, Third Edition (Leiter-3) (Roid, et al., 2013) were …

The Different Components Of Active Shooter Incidents: Examining The Co-Occurrence Of Offender And Incident Characteristics, Jeffery R. Osborne

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The present dissertation examined 198 United States single-offender active shooter incidents and thematically differentiated cases based on 1) offender backgrounds, 2) precipitating stressors, 3) offender routine activity, 4) crime scene location, and 5) incident characteristics. Doing so contributed to the increasing number of studies that have stressed the importance of creating empirically-based models to better understand active shooter incidents and the offenders who are responsible. To structure this investigation into active shooter incidents, concepts within Environmental Criminology and Crime Analysis were paired with analytical methodologies seen in Offender Profiling and Investigative Psychology research.

The findings illustrated that offenders could be …

School Recess And Changes To Children's Play Opportunities In New York City, Keyonna Hayes

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The policy, No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001 in US public schools was designed to improve how children learn and test in schools, but it has resulted in the decline or removal of recess from most schools. This thesis examines two important issues. The first issue is to assess the play opportunities that public elementary schools offer to children, in terms of both the time available for recess and the quality of the spaces and resources for play during recess. The second issue is to learn, alongside the question of the quality of school recess, how parents’ work …

You′Re Brave, I′Ll Be Your Friend: Children's Evaluations Of Peers With Cancer, Jane Gradwohl Nash, Nanci Weinberger

Applied Psychology Department Faculty Journal Articles

The focus of this study was to explore children's evaluations of healthy peers and peers with cancer. A racially and ethnically diverse group of fourth‐ and fifth‐grade children (n = 109) viewed a story about a child engaged in a physically challenging rock climbing tower activity at camp. The way the child (healthy or with cancer) ascended and descended the climbing tower (independently or with assistance) was manipulated. Assessment from the participants included their evaluations of the climber (regarding peer acceptance and trait favorability) and their knowledge of cancer. Also, participants’ own behavioral difficulties were assessed by their parents. …

The Greta Thunberg Effect: Familiarity With Greta Thunberg Predicts Intentions To Engage In Climate Activism In The United States, Anandita Sabherwal, Matthew T. Ballew, Sander Van Der Linden, Abel Gustafson, Matthew H. Goldberg, Edward W. Maibach, John E. Kotcher, Janet K. Swim, Seth A. Rosenthal, Anthony Leiserowitz

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Despite Greta Thunberg's popularity, research has yet to investigate her impact on the public's willingness to take collective action on climate change. Using cross‐sectional data from a nationally representative survey of U.S. adults (N = 1,303), we investigate the “Greta Thunberg Effect,” or whether exposure to Greta Thunberg predicts collective efficacy and intentions to engage in collective action. We find that those who are more familiar with Greta Thunberg have higher intentions of taking collective actions to reduce global warming and that stronger collective efficacy beliefs mediate this relationship. This association between familiarity with Greta Thunberg, collective efficacy …

Parental Buffering In The Context Of Poverty: Positive Parenting Behaviors Differentiate Young Children's Stress Reactivity Profiles, Samantha M. Brown, Lisa J. Schlueter, Eliana Hurwich-Reiss, Julia Dmitrieva, Elly Miles, Sarah Enos Watamura

Psychology: Faculty Scholarship

Experiencing poverty increases vulnerability for dysregulated hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis functioning and compromises long-term health. Positive parenting buffers children from HPA axis reactivity, yet this has primarily been documented among families not experiencing poverty. We tested the theorized power of positive parenting in 124 parent–child dyads recruited from Early Head Start (Mage = 25.21 months) by examining child cortisol trajectories using five samples collected across a standardized stress paradigm. Piecewise latent growth models revealed that positive parenting buffered children's stress responses when controlling for time of day, last stress task completed, and demographics. Positive parenting also interacted with income such that …

A Predictable Home Environment May Protect Child Mental Health During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Laura M. Glynn, Elyssia Poggi Davis, Joan L. Luby, Tallie Z. Baram, Curt A. Sandman

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Objective

Information about the adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on adolescent and adult mental health is growing, yet the impacts on preschool children are only emerging. Importantly, environmental factors that augment or protect from the multidimensional and stressful influences of the pandemic on emotional development of young children are poorly understood.

Methods

Depressive symptoms in 169 preschool children (mean age 4.1 years) were assessed with the Preschool Feelings Checklist during a state-wide stay-at-home order in Southern California. Mothers (46% Latinx) also reported on externalizing behaviors with the Strengths & Difficulties Questionnaire. To assess the role of environmental factors in …

Pay Your Debts: Moral Dilemmas Of International Debt, Alessandro Del Ponte, Peter Descioli

Political Science Faculty Articles and Research

Should a government repay its international debts even if this imposes severe hardships on its citizens? Drawing on moral psychology, we investigate when people think a government is morally obligated to pay its debts. Participants read about a government that has to decide whether to default on its debt payments or cut vital programs. Across conditions, we varied the number of jobs at stake and whether a full or partial default is required to save them. Overall, most participants judged that a government should pay its debt even when the damage to the debtor is greater than the benefit to …

Distracted Pedestrians: Looking Left?, Emma Hood, Bryan E. Porter

Psychology: Interdisciplinary Research in Behavioral Sciences of Transportation Issues

Distracted pedestrians, those talking or texting on phones as examples, are potentially at risk when crossing urban intersections. They may lack traffic awareness of risk as distracted drivers often do. The transportation field has limited data on distracted pedestrians. This study aimed to contribute to the literature by observing pedestrian behaviors at four urban-area, downtown crosswalks over five weeks in June-July 2021. Overall, 2,055 pedestrians were observed, with 25.4% being distracted. Common distractions were texting, talking on a cell phone, and using headphones. Chi-square analyses found that while distraction did not predict looking left, one behavior that keeps them out …

Specialists In Name Or Practice? The Inclusion Of Transgender And Gender Diverse Identities In Online Materials Of Gender Specialists, Natalie Holt, Robyn E. King, Richard Mocarski, Nathan Woodruff, Debra A. Hope

Trans Collaborations Academic Papers

Recommendations for health care providers working with transgender and gender diverse (TGD) individuals emphasize affirming clients’ identities, such as using correct pronouns and name, however it is unknown how often gender specialists adhere to such recommendations. Websites and intake forms of gender specialists were coded for use of affirming language, asking for pronouns and chosen name, and mention of TGD specialties and resources. Most websites identified the provider’s specialty to work with TGD individuals, though much fewer provided additional resources concerning TGD issues and only half of intake forms included affirming language. Given previous research that has demonstrated providers working …

Psychometric Evaluation Of The Transgender Congruence Scale, T. Zachary Huit, Allura L. Ralston, J, Kyle Haws, Natalie Holt, Debra A. Hope, Jae Puckett, Richard Mocarski, Nathan Woodruff

Trans Collaborations Academic Papers

Introduction Despite increased attention to transgender and gender diverse (TGD) issues in psychological literature during the past decade, gaps remain for psychometric validation of TGD-specific measures. Kozee et al. (Psychology of Women Quarterly 36(2):179–196, 2012) addressed such gaps by creating the Transgender Congruence Scale (TCS), measuring gender acceptance and feelings of gender congruence between internal and external attributes across a broad range of gender identities. The current study extended Kozee and colleagues’ work by further examining the psychometric properties of the TCS.

Methods Between October and November of 2017, 210 transmasculine, transfeminine, and gender diverse adults between ages 19 …

An Analysis Of The Connection Between Insecure Attachment Style And Bodily Disposal Methods In Serial Homicide Offenders, Emmaleigh Welka

Regis University Student Publications (comprehensive collection)

The purpose of this research was to connect behaviors based on John Bowlby’s Attachment Theory to bodily disposal methods utilized by serial homicide offenders. In this thesis, insecure attachment styles were the primary focus due to their translation into criminal behavior. The attachment styles analyzed within this study were anxious-preoccupied, dismissive-avoidant, and fearful-avoidant. The bodily disposal methods that were analyzed were set forth by the National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crimes and are the primary disposal methods utilized by serial homicide offenders. The disposal methods analyzed were transport/concealment, transport/dumping, no-transport/concealment, and no-transport/as is. The approach utilized for this …

The Use Of Family Engagement Principles By Childcare Providers From Various Childcare Settings: A Qualitative Study, John P. Rech, Kailey Snyder, Maggie Rasmussen, Dipti Dev, Danae Dinkel

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

Family engagement in childcare is important to ensure the optimal growth, development, and safety of children. Previous research has explored family engagement practices, but limited research is available on the application of theory to explain the uptake of family engagement principles. The purpose of this study was to explore the use and perceptions of the National Association of the Education for Young Children’s six principles of effective family engagement among childcare providers from various childcare settings following the Innovation-Decision Process of the Diffusion of Innovation Theory. A semi-structured interview with a card-sorting task was used to explore providers’ knowledge, adoption, …

The Role Of Dehumanization In The Nazi Era In Activating The Death Drive Resulting In Genocide, Stewart Gabel

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Dehumanization can be defined in part as a process by which a powerful individual or group (the victimizers) actively denies or withdraws a second individual’s or group’s (the victim’s) sense of human worth or personal value. Dehumanization is an especially virulent form of denigration of the Other and is known to have harmful psychological consequences on victims.

The thesis of this dissertation is: Dehumanization, applied in an increasingly severe manner to demean, subjugate and control Jews in Nazi dominated territories during the Nazi era (1933-1945), activated a “death instinct/drive” (Freud 1920; 1923/1960; 1930) that was used to resolve an extreme …

Anger Bias In The Evaluation Of Crowds, Diana Mihalache

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Although people are good at classifying emotions, they also make mistakes. These errors tend to be negatively biased and potentially serve a protective function. Research on biases in emotion perception has largely focused on perception of individual faces and little is known about biases in evaluations of crowds. In the first investigation, I conducted six experiments, evaluating anger bias—a tendency to judge facial expressions as angry—in the context of single faces and emotionally homogenous crowds. I found that observers were biased to classify faces as angry, especially when evaluating crowds. This amplified bias emerged in the context of perceptual uncertainty …

“But I’M Not Racist”: How Implicit Racial Bias, Feedback And Racial Affective States Impact Clinical Judgment In Mental Health Treatment, Dhriti Tiwari

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Implicit bias has gathered research interest in healthcare, yet remains less directly examined in the mental health field (Merino et al., 2018). Mental health providers can continue to be influenced by implicit bias despite higher ratings of cultural competence (Boysen, 2010). The purpose of this study was to supplement the limited research examining the impact of implicit bias on the clinical judgment process. The study aimed to examine whether: 1) implicit race bias scores were related to diagnostic impressions, 2) feedback about implicit bias was related to diagnostic impressions, and 3) racial affect mediated the relationship between receiving feedback and …

Child Abuse And Revictimization: Improving Models Of Revictimization Risk, Julie M. Olomi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Child abuse (CA) puts women at risk for later victimization by a different perpetrator, referred to as revictimization (RV); however, how this risk is conveyed is not well understood. CA is associated with a diverse set of negative sequelae (e.g., posttraumatic symptomology, emotion regulation difficulties), many of which could plausibly affect risk for RV. To date, most empirical studies of RV have mainly compared groups of women with and without abuse and RV histories using variablecentered approaches. This approach has led to a focus on differences between abused and non-abused women on a few CA-related variables tested at a time. …

Mechanisms Of Sensory Adaptation In The Primate Visual System, Boris Isaac Peñaloza Rojas

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Under ecological conditions, the luminance impinging on the retina varies within a dynamic range of 220 dB. Stimulus contrast can also vary drastically within a scene, and eye movements leave little time for sampling luminance. In addition, the amount of information reaching our visual system far exceeds the brain’s information processing capacity. Given the limited dynamic range of its neurons and its limited capacity in processing visual information in real-time, the brain deploys both structural and functional solutions that work in tandem to adapt to the surroundings. In this work, employing visual psychophysics and computational neuroscience, we study the mechanisms …

Testing A Sociocultural Model Of Body Image In Women Athletes With Disabilities, Brooke R. Lamphere

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Evidence suggests that athletes and people with disabilities (PWD) experience multiple body images that change relative to their social context (e.g., Petrie & Greenleaf, 2012). The powerful influence of social factors on body image and disordered eating in women athletes is well-documented (e.g., Schaefer, et al., 2015; Fitzsimmons-Craft et al., 2014), as is the centrality of the body in the lived experience of athletes and PWD (Behel & Rybarczyk, 2012; Galli et al., 2016); yet, limited research has explored the effects of social factors on body image in athletes with disabilities (i.e., AWD; e.g., Galli et al., 2016; Sousa et …

The Relationship Between The Supervisory Alliance And Novice Supervisees’ Risk-Taking Behavior, Aleis Pugia

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Supervisee risk-taking is the process by which supervisees take the new skills and interventions they learn in supervision and implement them in therapy with clients. Risk-taking overlaps with many of the skills supervision is intended to develop: clinical decision-making, supervisee self-efficacy, supervisee skill development, and clinical reflection (Bambling & King, 2014; Ellis et al., 2014; Rousmaniere et al., 2016; Wilson et al., 2016). Risk-taking has not been examined before the in the supervision literature, however, it is an important process to understand as it represents a process bridging supervision and clinical practice. The current study was an exploratory study intended …

Parenting Stress And Child Disruptive Behaviors: The Mediating Role Of Parental Negative Talk, David Roehm

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

High parental stress and child disruptive behaviors tend to coexist. Furthermore, parental negative talk towards children cam impair child functioning later in life. In the present study, we sought to determine whether parental negative talk was a mediating variable between parenting stress and child disruptive behaviors. Fifty-two parent-child dyads from Eastern Kentucky participated in an analog Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) behavioral observation and parents were given self-report measures for parenting stress and child disruptive behaviors.

Bivariate and multiple regression analyses were used to predict variance in child disruptive behaviors based on parenting stress with parental negative talk as a mediating …