Psychology Commons^™

Acute Ethanol Decreases Infiltration Of Macrophages Across The Blood-Brain Barrier, James Brundage, Jake Lattin, Dr. Scott Steffensen

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Alcohol addiction affects the lives of millions of people worldwide. In the US alone, an estimated 28 million are currently undergoing treatment to recover from the effects of alcohol abuse at the cost of over 249 billion dollars. The disease has dire consequences for those affected, as well as their families and communities. Despite this, the mechanism of alcohol addiction formation remains a question. One prominent theory relies on the mesolimbic circuitry of the brain, commonly referred to as the reward circuit. This region is made up of two key brain regions, the Nucleus Accumbens (NAc) and the Ventral Tegmental …

Sex Differences In Ethanol Modulation Of Dopamine Release In The Mesolimbic Reward System, Mandy Parsons, Justin Bowman, Scott Steffensen

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Alcohol abuse disorder is a ubiquitous problem affecting 15.1 million people in the United States, almost 10 million men and more than 15 million women (SAMHSA, 2015). The prevailing view of addiction, including alcohol addiction, is that an increase of the neurotransmitter dopamine in the nucleus accumbens within the brain has powerful rewarding effects. The purpose of this project was to evaluate the effects of alcohol on dopamine release in female rats during the three phases of the estrus cycle in order to determine if alcohol is more rewarding at different points in the female hormone cycle.

The Effects Of Helicobacter Pylori On Cognition: A Report, Kenric Gordon, Thomas Petersen, Dawson Hedges

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Last year we applied for an ORCA grant for our study of the effects of Helicobacter Pylori on Cognition. Helicobacter Pylori is a bacterium that causes ulcers in the stomach. It has also been implied to cause decreased cognitive functioning. (Berrett, Erickson, Brown, Hedges, 2016) Due to this, it is necessary to discover how Helicobacter Pylori effects cognition and how we can tell through EEG whether someone has Helicobacter Pylori.

Testing The Psychometric Properties Of Positive Psychology Measures, Olivia Hansen, Jared Warren

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Positive psychology is the rigorous and empirical study of well-being, human strengths, and human flourishing, and the experiences, traits, and institutions that lead to those aims. It began as a rigorous subdomain of psychology in the late 1990’s. Up until this point, the field of psychology had focused largely on pathology and on the weaknesses of the psyche, and positive psychology has shifted to emphasize that psychology has much more it can offer if it looks past just the very worst of human experiences. Positive psychology is rapidly expanding and gaining popularity, and a huge volume of research is being …

Psychosocial Empowerment Group Creation And Implementation Among Malawi Women, Libby Evans, Benjamin Ogles

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Research has shown that most women in Malawi will experience some form of trauma or adversity in their lifetime, and that such adversity can increase rates of mental illness and instability by as much as 15-20% (Saxena, 2017). Simple psychosocial groups and trainings have been shown to increase psychological resilience and prevent and/or heal mental instability. The term psychological resilience is defined as the way a person adapts well in the face of hard times, adversity, trauma, tragedy, or stress. Resilience can be taught through a few simple skills. The goal of this project was to get a better understanding …

A Comparison Of Gender Ratio, Military Culture, And Organizational Climate As Determinants Of The Sexual Harassment Of Women And Of Men In Eight Government Organizations, Alex Calder, Bruce Brown, Robert Ridge

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The United States government spends millions of dollars each year in relation to incidences of sexual harassment. Far more important, however, is the psychological toll on individuals who experiences sexual harassment. Organizations function most effectively when people of all levels of the organization feel physically and emotionally safe. Unfortunately, sexual harassment occurs more frequently in the military as compared to other government agencies. Previous research has left clues about why this may be. Some have suggested that the military necessarily breeds an aggressive culture, which in turn could lead to more aggressive misdeeds. Elsewhere, researchers have demonstrated that organizational climate …

Destined To Dominate? Exploring The Link Between Prenatal Androgens And Dominance Rank In Rhesus Monkeys, Alexander Baxter, Dr. J. Dee Higley

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Prenatally, androgens are responsible for masculinizing the developing male fetus. Prenatal androgen exposure (PAE) also shapes male brain functioning and organization, and is the main underlying influence underlying sexually dimorphism, to a certain extent even in adulthood. Through its effect on the brain, PAE can influence personality and behavior, likely contributing to gross sex differences in these traits, as well as within-sex variation (see Manning, 2011). One of the most commonly used biomarkers used to study PAE is the second-to-fourth-finger length ratio (2D:4D ratio). In humans, males tend to have a longer ring finger and shorter pointer finger (i.e., a …

University And College Counseling Centers: Collegiate Athletes Shifting Changes In Mental Health Risk, Lilly Bautista, Rachelle Clayson, Jared Klundt, Davey Erekson

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Within the college population, student athletes are often considered a unique population for mental health concerns. There are more student athletes than ever before, with over 460,000 students participating in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA, 2016). Student athletes have access to more resources than the typical student, but the amount of utilization and extent of these resources can vary greatly. Specifically, the utilization of university and college counseling centers.

Seeing The World Through Humility-Tinted Glasses: Exploring Social Cognitive Explanations For Outcomes Of Humility, Chayce Baldwin, Dr. Robert Ridge

Journal of Undergraduate Research

In recent years, psychological research on humility has burgeoned, highlighting the influence of humility in prominent aspects of life such as well-being (Toussaint & Webb, 2017), interpersonal relationships, and prosocial behaviors (Hilbig, Zettler, & Heydasch, 2012), as well as self-control (De Vries et al., 2013). Particularly, studies have connected humility to traits and behaviors such as agreeableness and conscientiousness (Lee & Ashton, 2004), cooperation (Hilbig et al., 2012), and helpfulness (Exline & Hill, 2012), painting a picture of humility as predominantly prosocial and characterized by low self-focus. Indeed, many researchers highlight low self-focus as a defining attribute of humility, with …

Cardiovascular Factors Moderate The Association Of Infection Burden With Cognitive Function In Young To Middle-Aged U.S. Adults, Bruce L. Brown, Shawn D. Gale, Lance D. Erickson, Dawson W. Hedges, Andrew N. Berrett, Evan L. Thacker

Faculty Publications

Background: Infectious diseases might affect cognitive aging and dementia risk, possibly via neuroinflammation. Similarly, risk factors for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases are associated with cognitive function and dementia. We hypothesized that cardiovascular risk factors moderate the association of exposure to infectious diseases with cognitive function.

Methods: We studied 5662 participants aged 20 to 59 years from the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1988–1994) in the United States. We used linear regression to investigate whether the Framingham general cardiovascular risk index moderated the association of infection burden based on exposure to eight different infectious diseases with cognitive functioning as …

The Impact Of Sleep Restriction On Food-Related Inhibitory Control And Food Reward In Adolescents: Physical Activity And Weight Status As Potential Moderators, Kara Mcrae Duraccio

Theses and Dissertations

The present study aimed to evaluate associations between sleep duration and food-related inhibitory control and food reward in adolescents aged 12-18. Potential moderating effects of physical activity and weight status on the association between sleep, inhibitory control, and food reward were also examined. To evaluate these associations, the study employed a two-phase crossover design in which participants spent either 5 hours per night (restricted sleep) or 9 hours per night (habitual sleep) in bed for 5 nights. Participants completed a food-related inhibitory control task and a questionnaire assessing for food reward on the 6th day of each study phase. Repeated …

Deterioration In Individual Psychotherapy: The Effectiveness Of The Clinical Support Tools, Melissa Mallory White

Theses and Dissertations

Researchers have found evidence that when clinicians use an evidence-based feedback system that uses Clinical Support Tools (CST) for not-on-track clients, deterioration rates fall and success rates improve (Shimokawa et al., 2010). Despite multiple studies finding evidence in support of using the CST, there has been a discrepancy between effect sizes (i.e., d = 0.5; Simon et al., 2012). As such, further replicate of these past studies is needed to discover if small effect sizes still persist and if so, what possible variables may contribute to inconsistent findings. For the current study, it was predicted that the use of the …

Cognitive Control And Context Maintenance In Individuals With Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (Ocd), Lindsay Morgan Fruehauf

Theses and Dissertations

Context maintenance, an aspect of cognitive control, is the internal representation and utilization of task-relevant information that helps achieve task goals. Alterations in context maintenance may be responsible for the cognitive difficulties seen in people with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). We used two tasks designed to measure context maintenance: a) the cued-Stroop, a single-trial version of Golden’s Stroop test that varies the cue for each trial (color-naming or word-reading), and b) the AX-CPT task, a continuous performance task that has participants respond to an “A” only when followed by an “X,” with all other non-target trials labeled as AY, BX, and …

Cross-Group Relationship Satisfaction: A Meta-Analysis, Elena Kelsey Henderson

Theses and Dissertations

Cross-group relationships are defined by romantic relationships involving two individuals from distinct racial or ethnic groups. For this paper, the terms “interethnic” and “interracial” are used as specifiers for the umbrella terms, “intergroup” and “cross-group.” Studies examining whether cross-group romantic relationships are more or less satisfying than intergroup romantic relationships have yielded discrepant findings. Through a systematic review and meta-analysis of 27 studies, we found that there are no significant difference between cross-group and intergroup relationship satisfaction (aggregate d = .024, 95% CI [-0.076; 0.123]). Tests of moderation found that the amount of Asian participants included in individual studies on …

Cultivating The Skill Of Savoring: An Internet-Delivered Intervention To Promote Well-Being, So Yeon Park

Theses and Dissertations

The skill of savoring is one practice from the positive psychology literature that appears to facilitate well-being and happiness (e.g., Cazanescu, Tecuta, Candea, & Szentagotal-Tartar, 2018). Given such findings and the emerging evidence in favor of delivering positive psychology interventions via the Internet (Layous, Nelson, & Lyubomirsky, 2013), the potential feasibility of providing researched-based savoring instruction using self-directed online resources warrants empirical examination. This pilot study examined the feasibility of a self-directed online module of instruction and exercises intended to aid in cultivating individuals’ savoring abilities. The two primary aims of the present study were: 1) to examine the feasibility …

What Is The Relationship Between Religiosity, Self-Perceived Problematic Pornography Use, And Depression Over Time?, Meghan Elizabeth Maddock

Theses and Dissertations

Previous studies suggest that religious individuals are more likely than non-religious individuals to perceive their pornography use as problematic. For our six-month longitudinal study, we recruited a sample of adults from Turkprime.com. We hypothesized that more religious individuals who use pornography at baseline would report higher self-perceived problematic pornography use at three months, which would be associated with higher depression at six months. We constructed and validated our own measure of self-perceived problematic pornography use, which included two factors: excessive pornography use and compulsive pornography use. We ran two separate structural equation models, one with excessive use at three months …

Successful Weight Loss Initiation And Maintenance Among Adolescents With Overweight And Obesity: Does Age Matter?, Diana Rancourt, Chad D. Jensen, Kara Mcrae Duraccio, E. Whitney Evans, Rena R. Wing, Elissa Jelalian

Faculty Publications

Background—Treatments for adolescents with overweight/obesity demonstrate mixed success, which may be due to a lack of consideration for developmental changes during this period. Potential developmental differences in weight loss motivations, weight maintenance behaviors, and the role of parents in these efforts were examined in a sample of successful adolescent weight losers.

Methods—Participants enrolled in the Adolescent Weight Control Registry (n = 49) self-reported demographic information and weight history, reasons for weight loss and weight control, weight loss approach and weight maintenance strategies, and perceived parental involvement with weight loss. Associations between age at weight loss initiation and the aforementioned factors …

Y-Bocs Factor Structure Analysis And Calculation Of Measurement And Structural Invariance Between Genders, Sean B. Vanhille

Theses and Dissertations

The Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) is considered the “gold standard” for measuring symptoms for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) due to the high reliability and validity of the measure. Originally, the Y-BOCS was divided into Obsessive and Compulsive factors; however, literature on the factor structure of the Y-BOCS is inconsistent. Models range from one global factor to different interpretations of bi-factor models to three-factor models. Inconsistencies between models may be attributed to sampling error, including participants with subclinical OCD in some samples, and measurement error. In addition, many researchers treat the Y-BOCS measurement as an interval or ratio scale when it likely …

Difference Of Opinion: Spousal Influence On Cancer Risk-Reducing Behavior, Wendy C. Birmingham, Maija Reblin, Wendy Kohlmann, Tyler Graff

Faculty Publications

Marriage is consistently associated with better health outcomes. Spouses' attempts to influence partners' lifestyle and general health behaviors may contribute to this effect, although partners may not be aware of this influence. Spousal worry of a cancer diagnosis for an at-risk partner may factor into attempts to influence. An examination of spousal worry and influence on lifestyle choices, general health behaviors, and cancer screening adherence for partners at higher risk of colorectal cancer may shed light on spousal influence and partners' perceptions of influence. Methods: A mixed-method design assessed cancer worry and spousal influence for risk-reducing behavior in first-degree relatives …

Book Review: Option B: Facing Adversity, Building Resilience, And Finding Joy, Ammon Kou

Marriott Student Review

No abstract provided.

Book Review: Seeds Of Greatness By Denis Waitley, Jennifer Maynard

Marriott Student Review

Book review of Seeds of Greatness by Denis Waitley, personal anecdotes and summaries of research on the secrets to success in life and in the business world.

The Art Of Learning, Richard Rolapp

Marriott Student Review

No abstract provided.

Seeing The World Through Humility-Tinted Lenses: Exploring Social Cognitive Explanations For Outcomes Of Humility, Chayce Baldwin

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Past research on humility has focused largely on describing the what of humility, but has made little headway in terms of explaining the why of humility. In describing humility, psychological research has accrued evidence suggesting that humble people are more prosocial and characterized by low self-focus. One group of researchers has even described humility as the core value that “binds society together” (Worthington et al., 2017, p. 3). Understanding why humble people act differently may help provide insight into the essence of humility and what factors can help solve important social issues and, indeed, “bind society together”. One reason why …

Impact Of Acute Sleep Restriction On Cerebral Glucose Metabolism During Recovery Non-Rapid Eye Movement Sleep Among Individuals With Primary Insomnia And Good Sleeper Controls, Daniel Kay, Helmet T. Karim, Brant P. Hasle, Jeffrey A. James, Anne Germain, Martica H. Hall, Peter L. Franzen, Julie C. Price, Eric A. Nofzinger, Daniel J. Buysse

Faculty Publications

Background: Restricting time in bed improves insomnia symptoms, but the neural mechanisms for this effect are unknown. Total and partial acute sleep restriction may be useful paradigms for elucidating these effects. We examined the impact of acute sleep restriction on cerebral glucose metabolism during non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep in individuals with primary insomnia (PI; n=17) and good sleep (GS; n=19).

Methods: Participants underwent [18F]fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDGPET) scans during baseline and recovery NREM sleep following one night of partial or total sleep restriction. We compared group differences (PI vs. GS) in baseline-recovery changes, as well as main effects …

Supportive Hand-Holding Attenuates Pupillary Responses To Stress In Adult Couples, Wendy C. Birmingham, Tyler C. Graff, Steven G. Luke

Faculty Publications

Background

Social relationships, particularly marriage, have been shown to ameliorate the potentially pathogenic impact of stressful events but prior research has been mostly aimed at downstream effects, with less research on real-time reactivity. Pupillometry is an innovative procedure that allows us to see the effects of acute stress in real time. The muscles that control pupil size are linked to the autonomic nervous system, so that when stressed, the pupils dilate; this occurs within 200ms. This quick response allows us to see the immediate effects of acute stress on the autonomic nervous system (ANS), and the real-time effects of social …

Humanizing The Intensive Care Unit, Michael E. Wilson, Sarah Beesley, Amanda Grow, Eileen Rubin, Ramona O. Hopkins, Negin Hajizadeh, Samuel M. Brown

Faculty Publications

In the midst of trying to correct organ failures, clinicians may neglect to carefully consider what the patient is experiencing: to be on the brink of death, be unable to speak, be stripped naked, have strangers enter the room and simultaneously do things to their bodies without explanation, have tubes inserted into multiple orifices, have their arms restrained, hear a cacophony of disorienting bedside alarms whose meaning lies beyond them, and to be poked, and prodded—all while family is torn away. Compounding these facts, patients often have no memory or understanding of how they ended up in this horrifying situation. …

How Radical Are The Implications Of Properzi’S Christ-Centered Perspective On Emotion For Psychology And Psychotherapy?, Jeffrey S. Reber

Issues in Religion and Psychotherapy

Properzi offers a perspective on emotion that is radically different from traditional secular theories of emotion and the psychotherapy approaches associated with those theories, but perhaps his Christ- centered perspective is even more radical than he perceives it. If it is strongly theistic and strongly relational, as it appears to be, then its implications would significantly alter the psychology of emotion and psychotherapy. These implications need to be explicated so it is clear what a Christ-centered per- spective on emotion would mean to the discipline. I have fleshed out three radical implications regarding scope, relational ontology, and mastery discourse to …

A Brief Response To “Between Identity And Truth”, Terryl Givens

Issues in Religion and Psychotherapy

No abstract provided.

The Empathetic Leader, Sarah Romney

Marriott Student Review

Research shows that “empathy” is an important quality in a leader and improves one’s ability to resolve group needs, obtain followers, perform prosocial behaviors, and get positive results. However, many business students do not recognize the value of empathy. Business schools can help improve this by teaching the importance of empathy and giving students the opportunity to develop it.

Longitudinal Effects Of Maternal Love Withdrawal And Guilt Induction On Chinese American Preschoolers’ Bullying Aggressive Behavior, Jing Yu, Charissa S.L. Cheah, Craig H. Hart, Chongming Yang, Joseph A. Olsen

Faculty Publications

Bullying has been understudied among preschool children, especially those from Chinese American families. Previous research has also neglected the dimensional effects of psychological control on child bullying development. This study examined two psychological control dimensions, love withdrawal and guilt induction, and their effects on children’s bullying aggressive behavior using a longitudinal design. Participants were first generation Chinese American mothers (N = 133;mean age [Mage] = 37.82) and their preschool children (Mage = 4.48). Chinese immigrant mothers reported their psychologically controlling parenting and teachers rated children’s bullying aggressive behaviors in the school setting. Confirmatory factor analyses were conducted to establish the …