Psychology Commons^™

Section Abstracts: Psychology

Virginia Journal of Science

Abstracts of the Psychology Section for the 88th Annual meeting of the Virginia Academy of Science, May 20-21, 2010, James Madison University, Harrisonburg Virginia.

Trust Judgments And The Hindsight Bias Effect, Martin Daniel Smith-Rodden

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

A decision to trust or not to trust can be examined within a broader category of cognition research concerning decisions under uncertainty. The purpose of this research was to investigate trust decisions through the lens of the hindsight bias effect. The hindsight bias effect (sometimes known as the "I knew it all along" effect) is a consequence that often follows judgments under uncertainty. Two experiments examined participants' evaluations of trust outcomes to determine if and how judgments of trust might be susceptible to hindsight biases. Experiment 1 exposed participants to vignettes depicting a third-party trust transaction between friends, with outcomes …

Understanding The Relationship Between Peer Mentoring And Undergraduate Capitalization, Jonathan M. Holland

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Research has demonstrated the importance of various forms of mentoring across multiple contexts. However, the topic of informal peer mentors has not been sufficiently explored. This study investigated the role of peer mentors in encouraging participation in voluntary development activities (i.e., capitalization). An online survey was completed by 288 undergraduate students. As hypothesized, mentoring was positively related to high levels of participation in capitalization activities and intentions to mentor in the future, and capitalization participation was positively related to higher levels of student satisfaction, continuance commitment, and career involvement. Contrary to expectations, capitalization participation was not significantly related to affective …

The Relationship Between Leader Behaviors And Subordinate Performance: Examining The Moderating Influence Of Leader-Member Exchange, Kurt L. Oborn

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Subordinates interpret and react to the behaviors of their leaders. Based on a theory of organizational trust, it was argued that greater trust between subordinate and leader is required to respond appropriately to relations-oriented behaviors than task-oriented behaviors due to a higher level of personal risk to the subordinate. As a consequence of responding appropriately to relations-oriented behaviors, a subordinate immediately becomes identified with or connected to a leader. Such identification requires the specific LMX currency of professional respect be present in order for an adequate amount of trust to be developed. In contrast, task-oriented behaviors ally the subordinate with …

Urban School Counselors' Perceptions Of Low-Income Families, Rebekah F. Cole

Counseling & Human Services Theses & Dissertations

There is a paucity of research on the topic of professional school counselors and their perceptions of families. The purpose of this phenomenological, qualitative study was to examine how urban professional school counselors perceive low-income families in their schools. To accomplish this investigation, ten school counselors in two urban school districts were interviewed twice and were then sent an email with follow-up questions. The data was analyzed for themes and patterns, which were subjected to verification procedures. Three categories emerged from the data: urban school counselors' perceptions of the low-income families in their schools, effects of school counselors' perceptions on …

Group Ii Metabolic Glutamate Receptors In The Basal Amygdala Regulate Sleep And Fear-Induced Alterations In Sleep, Enheng Dong

Theses and Dissertations in Biomedical Sciences

Glutamate is a major excitatory neurotransmitter in the brain and it has been recognized as playing an essential role in activating and maintaining arousal. Group II metabotropic glutamate (mGlu II) receptors are expressed in the amygdala, a brain structure important in the regulation of stress and anxiety as well as in the regulation of sleep and arousal. Our lab has found that the central nucleus of the amygdala (CNA) is involved in the emotional modulation of sleep. The basal amygdala (BA), which has direct connections with the CNA, is involved in conditioned fear and fear extinction. However, the potential role …

An Experimental Analysis Of Couple Aggression Using A Response Choice Paradigm, Claudia R. Viggiano

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Research suggests that a majority of the violence reported by couples involves mutual, low-level acts of aggression; however, there is a dearth of research examining this "common couple violence" using a true experimental paradigm. The current study was designed to more closely approximate a naturalistic situation involving common couple violence by allowing participants to choose whether to retaliate in the face of provocation by their partner. Couples were randomly assigned to four conditions representing different patterns of provocation. Based on the assigned condition, participants received varying amounts of bad tasting juice allegedly poured for them by their partners across 5 …

Effectiveness Of The Combat Operational Stress Control Training Program: Expectations Of The U.S. Marine Corps, Marek M. Sipko

STEMPS Theses & Dissertations

This study evaluated the effectiveness of the U.S. Marine Corps combat operational stress preventive training program to determine whether the program meets the training effectiveness criteria of the Marine Corps. This evaluation entailed both qualitative and quantitative inquiries to answer the subject matter research questions.

The participants consisted of active duty and reserve Marines on active duty. For the purposes of the quantitative analysis, the researcher obtained a random sample of 480 Marines. Additionally, the researcher obtained a purposefully stratified qualitative sample of 12 active duty Marines consisting of four junior non-commissioned Marines, four staff non-commissioned officers, and four commissioned …

The Effectiveness Of Counselors As Care Managers In Improving Self-Management And Medical Outcomes In Persons With Poorly Controlled Diabetes, Ularisi Rebecca Green

Counseling & Human Services Theses & Dissertations

This study investigated whether providing counselors as care managers to individuals who were having difficulty managing their Type II diabetes improved their self-management, health, and functioning. Counselors used the Motivational Interviewing Model and met weekly over a six month period with patients who had Type II diabetes who had been identified as not functioning well in managing their disease. The success of the intervention was determined by a number of measures including physical symptoms of patients; patients' perceptions of the care they received; and patients' self-efficacy in managing their diabetes. The results of this study suggested that providing counselors as …

Untangling Fear Of Crime: A Multi-Theoretical Approach To Examining The Causes Of Crime-Specific Fear, Mariel Alper

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

Fear of crime has been a major research topic over the past several decades. However, multiple explanations have been proposed and no clear theoretical model exists. Building on existing research, this study attempts to build a crime type-specific theoretical model of fear. In particular, the predictive power of three theoretical models is explored. This study addresses several methodological shortcomings by measuring offense type-specific, emotionally-based fear of violent and property crime. The results suggest that the predictors of each type of fear vary, and some theoretical models are a better explanation of one type of fear than the other. Overall, the …

Weight Stigma Consciousness And The Effects On Attitudes And Behaviors: The Stigma Of Obesity In America, Eric J. Clayton

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The present study examines participants of all weight statuses and their levels of weight stigma consciousness, self consciousness, depression, anxiety, stress, relationship satisfaction, and weight-based rejection sensitivity. The 263 participants (I 93 females and 70 males) had their physical and perceived weight statuses measured and the relationships with these variables with scores on the remaining variables were examined. Individuals with higher weight statuses are significantly more weight stigma conscious and more rejection sensitive in terms of weight. Also, higher levels of weight stigma consciousness were significantly related to higher levels of depression, anxiety, and stress, and lower levels of relationship …

Hierarchical Linear Modeling Of Drinking To Cope With Anxiety Among College Students, Bradley Wetzell, Matthew R. Pearson, James Henson

OUR Journal: ODU Undergraduate Research Journal

Previous research has assumed that drinking motives (reasons for drinking) remain fairly stable over time (traits). The current study examines how drinking motives of college students may vary over time (states). Weekly measures were completed by 125 undergraduates at Old Dominion University, which examined how average levels of anxiety interacted with anxiety coping motives to influence drinking. Using Hierarchical Linear Modeling, it was found that anxiety coping motives were less predictive for participants with elevated average anxiety levels, as opposed to participants with normal to low anxiety levels. Implications and possible explanations are discussed.

Research Mentor: Dr. James Henson, Department …

Experiencing Emotional Abuse During Childhood And Witnessing Interparental Verbal Aggression As Related To Emotional Aggression In Undergraduate Dating Relationships, Robert J. Milletich, Michelle Kelley

OUR Journal: ODU Undergraduate Research Journal

The present study examined whether witnessing interparental verbal aggression and/or experiencing emotional abuse during childhood were associated with emotional abuse in current or recent dating relationships in college students (M = 19.51 years; SD = 2.02). Participants (N = 715) completed the Conflicts Tactics 2-CA Scale (Straus & Donnelly, 2001), the Exposure to Abusive and Supportive Environments Parenting Inventory (Nicholas & Bieber, 1997), and the Emotional Abuse Scale (Murphy & Hoover, 1999). Results showed that witnessing interparental verbal aggression predicted males‟ self-use of Restrictive Engulfment and their partners‟ use of Restrictive Engulfment. For females, witnessing interparental verbal aggression predicted self-use …

American And Chinese Personality Traits And Task Load In Simulated Flight Crews: Individual And Team Level Effects, Matthew Edward Loesch

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Understanding the impact of pilot interpersonal dynamics may be crucial for flight team success as well as the prevention of air crash disasters. Achieving optimum performance from flight teams requires limiting unnecessary pilot task load. This study examined American and Chinese simulated flight crews. Factors believed to affect cockpit interpersonal dynamics and subsequent crew task loads were pilot personality and nationality. Pilot personality, team personality elevation, team personality variability, and team nationality were analyzed for their potential impact on task load perceptions. Twenty-four American, 23 Chinese, and 23 mixed nationality two person teams were created and used for comparisons. Increasing …

The Effective Use Of Confrontation In Family Therapy: A Process Study, Timothy Michael Digiacomo

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Although contemporary practitioners have rejected the confrontational style and perceived aggressiveness of earlier family therapists in favor of a more "collaborative" stance, confrontation, as a technique, is still widely used in almost all forms of psychotherapy, including family therapy. The present process study explored what makes confrontation more or less effective in motivating clients to recognize and reevaluate counterproductive ways of interacting. Using videotaped family therapy sessions, confrontation clarity, emotional reactivity, and the use of suggestion were examined in relation to client levels of acceptance of confrontation immediately following the confrontation, as well as in relation to overall …

The Applicability Of The Megargee Classification System For The Mmpi-A, Joel Andrew Dillon

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Megargee (1977) originally developed a classification system for MMPI profiles for male offenders, and eventually expanded this system to also accommodate the MMPI profiles of female offenders (Megargee, 1992). Recently Megargee expanded and modified this system for use with the MMPI-2 (Megargee, Carbonell, Bohn, and Sliger, 2001). The purpose of the current study was to examine the utility of Megargee's systems as applied to adolescents in correctional facilities based on MMPI-A results. The Megargee classification criteria were modified for the purposes of this study, generally based on quite limited modifications to accommodate the lower profile ratings typically found for adolescents …

Psychometric Properties Of The Mmpi-A Harris-Lingoes And Si Subscales In A Forensic Sample, Ashley K. Winkleman

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of the current study was to examine the internal and external psychometric properties of the Harris-Lingoes subscales. This was accomplished by use of both self-report and caregiver-rated external criterion measures. The present study employed an archival data set consisting of 760 adolescents (470 boys and 290 girls) who completed the MMPI-A at an outpatient adolescent treatment facility as part of a court-ordered psychological evaluation. Overall, a number of subscales demonstrated good internal consistency reliability (e.g., D4 and Hy3) whereas other subscales (e.g., Pd2) demonstrated unacceptable internal consistency reliability for both genders. Correlations with external self-report scores and caregiver …

Inpatient Group Psychotherapy: Predicting Attendance And Participation, Sharon E. Silverberg

Counseling & Human Services Theses & Dissertations

Inpatient group psychotherapy is one of the primary talk therapy interventions offered to patients necessitating acute psychiatric treatment. Research indicates that patients who attend and participate in group psychotherapy sessions while admitted to psychiatric hospitals have a lower rate of recidivism and are more successful in the community utilizing lower levels of psychiatric care. Unfortunately, not all patients attend group psychotherapy while admitted to a psychiatric facility and therefore do not benefit, possibly contributing to non-compliance with community-based treatment and readmissions to inpatient psychiatric institutions for stabilization and safety. This lack of participation in group psychotherapy deprives the patient the …

Predicting Speeding In Young Adults: Expanding The Focus Of Problem-Behavior Theory, Jenny E. Dozier

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Drivers under the age of 25 die in more crashes that involve speeding than any other age group. Research in this area has recognized the influence of numerous factors affecting young driver behavior. Problem-Behavior Theory has been successful in accounting for numerous health compromising behaviors, including drinking and driving. The theory suggests that adolescent and young adult problem behaviors are interrelated and associated with other problem behaviors. This theory focuses on systems of psychosocial influence: the Personality system, the Perceived Environment system, and the Behavior system. These systems and other factors affecting young adults' health compromising behaviors, such as social …

Coping With Work-Life Conflict: Antecedents To Seeking Policy-Based And Individually Negotiated Accommodations, Heather M. Lauzun

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Research concerning coping with work-life conflict has been limited (Eby et al., 2005). This thesis suggests that employees can cope by seeking a work-life accommodation. Contextual and individual antecedents of seeking policy-based and individually negotiated accommodations are explored. Hypothetical accommodations and actual accommodations sought were assessed as outcomes. A sample of 148 working adults from a variety of organizations was surveyed online. As hypothesized, for the hypothetical outcome, family supportive organizational perceptions, family supportive supervisor perceptions, and human capital significantly predicted seeking individually negotiated accommodations. Furthermore, as hypothesized, both family supportive organizational perceptions and family supportive supervisor perceptions had significantly …

A Behavioral Observation Study Of Turkish Drivers’ And Children's Safety Belt Use, Bryan E. Porter, Timo Lajunen, Türker Özkan, Kelli England Will

Psychology Faculty Publications

Researchers focused on child restraint use in vehicles travelling along Turkish roadways. Field observations occurred at 1.5 - 2 hour intervals during daylight hours between 1130 and 1930 in January 2009. Overall, 1,423 vehicles with children 8 years old and younger were observed completely. Drivers’ belt use was 52.1%. Children's use rate (over all age categories and restraint systems) was even lower at 29.4%. Unfortunately, 29.4% of these vehicles also had a child riding on another occupant's lap. The findings supported researchers’ concerns that children are at risk for traffic crash injuries and fatalities in Turkey, and that occupant protection …

An Examination Of The Association Of Selected Toxic Metals With Total And Central Obesity Indices: Nhanes 99-02, Miguel A. Padilla, Mai Elobeid, Douglas M. Ruden, David B. Allison

Psychology Faculty Publications

It is conceivable that toxic metals contribute to obesity by influencing various aspects of metabolism, such as by substituting for essential micronutrients and vital metals, or by inducing oxidative stress. Deficiency of the essential metal zinc decreases adiposity in humans and rodent models, whereas deficiencies of chromium, copper, iron, and magnesium increases adiposity. This study utilized the NHANES 99-02 data to explore the association between waist circumference and body mass index with the body burdens of selected toxic metals (barium, cadmium, cobalt, cesium, molybdenum, lead, antimony, thallium, and tungsten). Some of the associations were significant direct relationships (barium and thallium), …

Endocrine Disruptors And Obesity: An Examination Of Selected Persistent Organic Pollutants In The Nhanes 1999-2002 Data, Mai A. Elobeid, Miguel A. Padilla, David W. Brock, Douglas M. Ruden, David B. Allison

Psychology Faculty Publications

Recent evidence suggests that endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) may cause perturbations in endogenous hormonal regulation that predispose to weight gain. Using data from NHANES (1999-2002), we investigated the association between body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC) and selected persistent organic pollutants (POPs) via multiple linear regressions. Consistent interaction was found between gender, ln oxychlordane and ln p,p' DDT. Also, we found an association between WC and ln oxychlordane and ln hpcdd in subjects with detectable levels of POPs, whereas an association between WC and ln p,p' DDT was observed in all subjects. Furthermore, ln Ocdd showed an increase with …

Comparative Validity Of Mmpi-A Scales Scores In African American And Caucasian Male Juvenile Delinquents, Stacy Natasha Wilson

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

This study examined comparative validity of the MMPI-A scale scores of African American and Caucasian male juvenile delinquents utilizing a step down hierarchical regression procedure proposed by Laughtenschlager & Mendoza (1986). The MMPI-A (Butcher et al., 1992) was administered to 281 African American and Caucasian juvenile delinquents while their caretakers filled out the CBCL (Achenbach, 1991; Achenbach & Rescorla, 2001) and DBRS (Barkley & Murphy, 1998), which were used as extra-test measures. Significant overall prediction bias was detected in 15 out of 56 regressions. Statistically significant prediction bias was found for a subset of criterion variables for Clinical Scales 2, …

The Influence Of Rape Empathy And Demographic Variables On Counselor Rape Myth Acceptance, Julia M. Forman

Counseling & Human Services Theses & Dissertations

In 2007, 248,300 individuals were raped (National Crime Victimization Survey [NCVS], 2007). It is likely that counseling professionals will provide services to rape survivors, and they should be aware of their biases towards survivors so that they can provide the most competent care possible. Some biases and attitudes may stem from the acceptance of rape myths. Rape myth acceptance (RMA) can lead to blaming the survivor for an attack (Campbell & Raja, 1999) and other consequences, including the exacerbation of psychological and physical symptoms (Campbell, Ahrens, Sefl, Wasco, & Barnes, 2001). Furthermore, a lack of rape empathy may inflict injury …

The Association Between Parental Perceptions Of Children's Residential Mental Health Treatment And The Parent-Child Relationship, Susanne Elizabeth Preston

Counseling & Human Services Theses & Dissertations

Residential mental health treatment for children as an intervention for children is increasing, potentially affecting the relationship within families. The purpose of this study was to examine the parental perspectives of the associations between the parent-child relationship and children's residential mental health treatment. This study explored parental perspectives of specific aspects of the parent-child relationship: parental support, satisfaction with parenting, parental involvement, communication, and limit setting-and the association between these aspects and the child's residential mental health treatment. Paired samples t-tests were conducted; resulting in statistically significant changes on all scales measured, with varying effect sizes. Results indicated parents …

Implicit And Explicit Alcohol Expectancies Drinking Motives Alcohol Use And Alcohol Problems: A Comprehensive Evaluation Of College Student Drinking, Matthew R. Pearson

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The present study examined the relationships among implicit alcohol expectancies (automatic, nonconscious expected effects of alcohol), explicit alcohol expectancies ( deliberate, conscious expected effects of alcohol), drinking motives (self-reported reasons for drinking), alcohol use, and alcohol-related problems among college students (n=2 l l ). As predicted, explicit alcohol expectancies were mediated by drinking motives. Implicit alcohol expectancies (as measured by Single-Target Implicit Association Tests) were expected to have direct effects on alcoho I use, but the data did not support these predictions. Unexpectedly, implicit sociability expectancies significantly predicted alcohol problems even when controlling for alcohol use. Replicating previous research, alcohol …

A New Look At Training Motivation: A Meta-Analytic Investigation Of Differential And Incremental Validity, Kristina N. Bauer

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The extant training and educational research has not been consistent in the way motivation is measured in the context of training. Prior research has examined different types of motivation (i.e., intrinsic motivation, motivation to leam, motivation to transfer, expectancy motivation, and task value) and different timings of measurement (i.e., pretraining, during, and post-training). Accordingly, the present meta-analysis sought to elucidate the relationships between training motivation and training outcomes via three contributions: (I) examining differential relationships with four training outcomes; (2) assessing incremental validity over and above each other to the prediction of these training outcomes; and (3) investigating whether the …

Investigating Delay In Health Related Decision Making Versus Non-Health Decision Making, Ann Lassiter Edwards

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Health and non-health decision domains were examined to explore the differences in decision domain and delay preferences. Using an existing cognitive theory of delay (Bastardi & Shafir, 1998; Tykocinski & Ruffle, 2003), type of scenario (health vs. nonhealth) was manipulated within subjects with participants receiving three scenarios of each type. Certainty (certain vs. uncertain) and delay choice condition (no delay, delay, one-week delay) were manipulated between subjects. This resulted in a 2 (health) X 2 (certainty) X 3 (delay choice) split-plot factorial design. The dependent measure was the proportion of action responses (deciding to change status quo) across the three …

Individuals And Contex00tual Factors: An Interactionist Approach To Understanding Self-Development, Gregory Paul Letller

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

While the extant research has identified several individual and contextual factors influential on an employee's quantity of self-development participation, no prior research has examined potential multiplicative effects among these factors. The current study investigated person-situation interactions among five individual factors ( e.g., self-efficacy for self-development, learning goal orientation, and openness to experience) and the contextual factors of organizational and supervisor support ( combined to reflect overall work support). This study also sought to investigate the influence of proactive personality on self-development participation, a promising individual difference that has received little attention in the self-development literature. Using data collected from 136 …