Psychology Commons^™

Exploring The Complexities Of Learning Motivation In Pre-Service Teacher Education Students: A Grounded Theory Approach, Kristin K. Grosskopf

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This qualitative, grounded-theory study investigated learning motivation differences among three achievement groupings of undergraduate students enrolled in the College of Education and Human Sciences at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Nine students participated in in-depth interviews that explored their reasons for pursuing their degree, their learning experiences in a university setting, their perceptions about meaningful learning experiences, and the nature of factors that both enhance and challenge their learning motivation. Participant responses conveyed strategies and conditions that were coded and analyzed, and a theoretical model was developed describing causal conditions that underlie students’ motivation to learn, phenomena that arose from those …

Neuropsychological Effects Of The Traumatic Stress Response In Sexually Abused Adolescents Throughout Treatment, Kathryn R. Wilson

Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Child maltreatment is a pervasive problem in our society that has long-term detrimental consequences to the development of the affected child such as future brain growth and functioning. The alteration of the biochemical stress response system in the brain that changes an individual’s ability to respond efficiently and efficaciously to future stressors is conceptualized as the traumatic stress response. The purpose of this research was to explore the effects of the traumatic stress response on sexually abused adolescents’ through a two-tiered study of neuropsychological functioning throughout treatment. It was determined that there are measurable differences in neuropsychological processing in sexually …

A Comparison Of Two Theoretical Models Of Procedural Justice In The Context Of Child Protection Proceedings, Twila Wingrove

Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

In this study, the researcher tested two theoretical models of justice in the context of child protection proceedings. Participants read a case file describing a hypothetical child neglect case. The file included the court petition, the caseworker’s court report, a summary of the protective custody hearing, and the judge’s final order. Within the case file, the researcher manipulated four variables: procedural treatment, interpersonal treatment, severity of child neglect, and assigned role (judge or parent). Results of confirmatory factor analyses suggested that a four-factor model of justice judgments best fit the data. Consistent with the organizational justice approach (Colquitt, 2001) the …

Juveniles’ Knowledge Of The Court Process: Results From Instruction From An Electronic Source, Christine Driver, Eve M. Brank

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Our study first determined what juveniles know about the juvenile court process. Second, it evaluated a DVD designed to be a systematic and simple way to improve this knowledge. A pre- and post-test design was used with two pilot samples and two samples from the population of interest. A sample from a juvenile detention center (n = 118) was the focus of this study. Initial knowledge of the court process was quite low for the detention sample (pretest M = 64.0%, SD = 14.2%). All samples experienced a significant improvement of knowledge after watching the DVD. Youth in the …

Factors Influencing Choices For Colorectal Cancer Screening Among Previously Unscreened African And Caucasian Americans: Findings From A Triangulation Mixed Methods Investigation, Mack T. Ruffin Iv, John W. Creswell, Masahito Jimbo, Michael D. Fetters

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

We investigated factors that influence choice of colorectal cancer (CRC) screening test and assessed the most- and leastpreferred options among fecal occult blood testing (FOBT), flexible sigmoidoscopy, colonoscopy, and double contrast barium enema among adults with varied race, gender, and geographic region demographics. Mixed methods data collection consisted of 10 focus group interviews and a survey of the 93 focus group participants. Participants were ≥50 years of age and reported not having been screened for colorectal cancer in the last ten years. Analyses examined differences by race, gender, and geographic location. Participants had modest knowledge about CRC and there were …

Cue-Evoked Positive Affect, Depression Vulnerability And Smoking Years, Dennis E. Mcchargue, Neal Doran

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Objectives—To evaluate whether cue-evoked affective response would moderate the relationship between depression-proneness and smoking years.

Methods—Depression-proneness profiles were derived using clinician diagnosed personal and family histories of major depression, recurrent depression, trait-anhedonia, and ruminative coping styles (n=70). Affective distress was produced by idiographic, guided negative mood imageries in the presence of an in vivo cigarette exposure.

Results—Contrary to expectations, results showed that individuals less vulnerable to depression reported longer smoking histories. Stress-induced decreases in positive affect bolstered the association between depression vulnerability and smoking years.

Conclusion—Depression-proneness assumptions are challenged and implications to affective influences on smoking behavior are discussed.

Pavlovian Drug Discrimination With Bupropion As A Feature Positive Occasion Setter: Substitution By Methamphetamine And Nicotine, But Not Cocaine, Jamie L. Wilkinson, Chia Li, Rick A. Bevins

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Bupropion can serve as a discriminative stimulus (S^D) in an operant drug discrimination task, and a variety of stimulants substitute for the bupropion S^D. There are no reports, however, of bupropion functioning as a Pavlovian occasion setter (i.e., feature positive modulator). The present experiment seeks to fill this gap in the literature by training bupropion in rats as a feature positive modulator that disambiguates when a light will be paired with sucrose. Specifically, on bupropion (10 mg/kg IP) sessions, offset of 15-sec cue lights were followed by brief delivery of liquid sucrose; saline sessions were similar …

Mecamylamine, Dihydro-Β-Erythroidine, And Dextromethorphan Block Conditioned Responding Evoked By The Conditional Stimulus Effects Of Nicotine, Amanda M. Struthers, Jamie L. Wilkinson, Linda P. Dwoskin, Peter A. Crooks, Rick A. Bevins

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Current smokers express the desire to quit. However, the majority find it difficult to remain abstinent. As such, research efforts continually seek to develop more effective treatment. One such area of research involves the interoceptive stimulus effects of nicotine as either a discriminative stimulus in an operant drug discrimination task, or more recently as a conditional stimulus (CS) in a discriminated goal-tracking task. The present work investigated the potential role nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in the CS effects of nicotine (0.4 mg/kg) using antagonists with differential selectivity for β2*, α7*, α6β2*, and α3β4* receptors. Methyllycaconitine (MLA) had no effect on nicotine-evoked …

The Effect Of Online Chapter Quizzes On Exam Performance In An Undergraduate Social Psychology Course, Bethany C. Johnson, Marc T. Kiviniemi

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Assigned textbook readings are a common requirement in undergraduate courses, but students often do not complete reading assignments or do not do so until immediately before an exam. This may have detrimental effects on learning and course performance. Regularly scheduled quizzes on reading material may increase completion of reading assignments and therefore course performance. This study examined the effectiveness of compulsory, mastery-based, weekly reading quizzes as a means of improving exam and course performance. Completion of reading quizzes was related to both better exam and course performance. The discussion includes recommendations for the use of quizzes in undergraduate courses.

Intervention Implementation Integrity Within Conjoint Behavioral Consultation: Strategies For Working With Families, Michelle S. Swanger-Gagne, Andrew Garbacz, Susan M. Sheridan

Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families, and Schools: Faculty Publications

Mental health services in school systems can take many forms. Behavioral consultation is one efficacious and commonly used form of indirect service delivery. Indirect service delivery models are unique in that an intermediate person, the consultee, provides treatment directly to a client. The effectiveness of the intervention depends in large part on the degree to which the consultee implements the intervention as designed. Families of children at-risk for school failure may experience challenges implementing an intervention developed through a consultation model. Some researchers have noted that the implementation of treatment plans is influenced by “events in the real world” including …

Altering The Motivational Function Of Nicotine Through Conditioning Processes, Rick A. Bevins

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

The collection of chapters in this 55th Nebraska Symposium on Motivation Volume clearly highlights that effective strategies for reducing compulsive tobacco use will require a multifaceted approach in which genetic, neurobiological, individual, and cultural factors are considered. It is difficult, if not impossible, to predict where the next important breakthrough will come from (Bevins & Bardo, 2004; Dethier, 1966; Laidler, 1998). Accordingly, further research that extends and challenges current theory and practice at each of these levels of analysis is needed. The continuing focus of our research program, and the topic of the present chapter, is on the role of …

Acute Tryptophan Depletion And Sweet Food Consumption By Overweight Adults, Sherry L. Pagoto, Bonnie Spring, Dennis E. Mcchargue, Brian Hitsman, Malaina Smith, Bradley Appelhans, Donald Hedeker

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Serotonergic involvement has been implicated in preferential consumption of treat foods. We tested the effect of acute tryptophan depletion (ATD) on food consumption by overweight and lean adults with and without a history of recurrent major depressive disorder (MDD). ATD and taste-matched placebo challenges were administered double-blind in counter-balanced order. Participants were classified as lean (n = 36) or overweight (n=19) on the basis of body mass index (BMI). Total calorie, carbohydrate, protein, and sweet food consumption were assessed via a test meal 8-hours following ATD. Four food items of comparable palatability were offered as a part of the test: …

The Relevance Of The International Classification Of Functioning, Disability And Health (Icf) To Mental Disorders And Their Treatment, Geoffrey M. Reed, William D. Spaulding, Lynn F. Bufka

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

This article examines the potential usefulness of the ICF in the treatment of mental disorders.We suggest that there is a poor fit between the nature of mental disorders and the dominant model of health care based on the treatment of acute medical illness. An overemphasis on diagnosis has contributed to a bias toward pharmacotherapy and underuse of psychological treatments for people with mental disorders. Mental disorders are more accurately conceptualized as chronic conditions, in which the person’s pattern of functioning rather than diagnosis is most important in determining what services are needed. This is particularly the case for people with …

Nicotine-Evoked Conditioned Responding Is Dependent On Concentration Of Sucrose Unconditioned Stimulus, Jennifer E. Murray, Rachel D. Penrod, Rick A. Bevins

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Previous studies have shown that the interoceptive nicotine conditional stimulus (CS) functions similarly to exteroceptive CSs such as lights or environments. For instance, the appetitive conditioned response (CR) evoked when nicotine is repeatedly paired with sucrose presentations (the unconditioned stimulus; US) is sensitive to changes in training dose (CS salience) and the contiguity between the CS effects and sucrose. The current study was conducted to extend this research by examining the possible role of US intensity in CR acquisition and maintenance. Rats were trained using one of four sucrose concentrations: 0, 4, 16, or 32% (w/v). On nicotine sessions (0.4 …

You Can Take It With You? Student Library Employees, Eportfolios, And “Edentity” Construction, Gabriella Reznowski, Brian Mcmanus

E-JASL: Electronic Journal of Academic and Special Librarianship (1999-2009, Volumes 1-10)

Abstract

ePortfolios have become an important tool for assessing and tracking employee development. In 2008, the Washington State University Libraries became involved in the institution’s ePortfolio initiative. Library supervisors hoped that as a dynamic online tool, the ePortfolio concept would provide an effective method for assessing the library’s body of student employees. Collaborating with the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTLT), the Center for Advising & Career Development (CACD), and Student Computing Services (SCS), the WSU Libraries explored the possibility of using ePortfolios to drive employee assessment. The Access Services unit, with the assistance of the Library Instruction, Library Systems, …

Integrating Developmental And Free-Choice Learning Frameworks To Investigate Conceptual Change In Visitor Understanding, E Margaret Evans, Amy Spiegel, Wendy Gram, Judy Diamond

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

Complex ideas like evolution—which run counter to common, but mistaken, intuitive knowledge like the 9-year-old’s quoted above—are challenging, both for exhibit developers and for the evaluation and research teams who assess the impact of exhibitions. It is always difficult to document measurable changes in deep conceptual understanding following a single visit to an exhibition (Allen, 2008, p. 58); Is this even possible with complex topics, such as evolution? In this article, we summarize a series of studies that may offer some help to exhibit developers and evaluators, as well as others who design and assess informal learning experiences. The studies …

An Exploratory Evaluation Of Conjoint Behavioral Consultation To Promote Collaboration Among Family, School, And Pediatric Systems: A Role For Pediatric School Psychologists, Susan M. Sheridan Dr., Emily D. Warnes, Kathryn E. Woods, Carrie A. Blevins, Katie L. Magee, Cynthia Ellis

Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families, and Schools: Faculty Publications

Pediatric school psychology is a relatively new subspecialty in the field; however, few specific, prescribed roles have been articulated, and fewer have yielded preliminary efficacy data. In this exploratory study, the acceptability and potential efficacy of conjoint behavioral consultation (CBC) as a model for linking families, schools, and pediatric settings to address concerns for children with medical issues were evaluated. Twenty-nine children, their parents, teachers, and consultants were involved in conjoint consultation, a model of cross-system collaboration to address shared concerns of medically referred children. In this structured indirect service delivery model, parents, teachers, and school psychology pediatric consultants worked …

Exploring Mothers’ And Fathers’ Relationships With Sons Versus Daughters: Links To Adolescent Adjustment In Mexican Immigrant Families, Kimberly A. Updegraff, Melissa Y. Delgado, Lorey A. Wheeler

Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families, and Schools: Faculty Publications

Drawing on ecological and gender socialization perspectives, this study examined mothers’ and fathers’ relationships with young adolescents, exploring differences between mothers and fathers, for sons versus daughters, and as a function of parents’ division of paid labor. Mexican immigrant families (N = 162) participated in home interviews and seven nightly phone calls. Findings revealed that mothers reported higher levels of acceptance toward adolescents and greater knowledge of adolescents’ daily activities than did fathers, and mothers spent more time with daughters than with sons. Linkages between parent-adolescent relationship qualities and youth adjustment were moderated by adolescent gender and parents’ division …

Meeting John Glover, Kenneth A. Kiewra

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Procedural Justice In Resolving Family Disputes: Implications For Childhood Bullying, Michael R. Brubacher, Mark R. Fondacaro, Eve M. Brank, Veda E. Brown, Scott A. Miller

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

High levels of family conflict and poor family conflict resolution strategies are often associated with externalizing behaviors in children, including the behavior of bullying. Through family interactions, parents have the opportunity to convey a variety of messages to the child. Some of these messages are sent through the child’s appraisal of procedural justice, which refers to the judgments of fairness directed at the process by which a conflict is resolved. The current study investigated the relationship between appraisals of procedural justice in family conflict resolution and bullying among middle-school students. A sample of 1,910 sixth through eighth graders completed a …

Agreement Answer Scale Design For Multilingual Surveys: Effects Of Translation-Related Changes In Verbal Labels On Response Styles And Response Distributions, Ana Villar

Survey Research and Methodology Program: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Answer scales in survey instruments are widely used, but little is known about how to choose verbal descriptors as labels. In multilingual research, this matter is further complicated because answer scales must be appropriate for all languages and function comparatively. Comparing source questionnaires to translations of multinational projects (e.g., the World Values Survey, the European Social Survey), it was observed that certain verbal features differed across languages, countries, and modules. This dissertation empirically investigates the effect of such changes on response distributions. The verbal feature examined is the presence or absence of an intensity modifier in the second and fourth …

Nonlinear Dynamics Of Infant Sitting Postural Control, Joan E. Deffeyes

Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Sitting is one of the first developmental milestones that an infant achieves. Thus measurements of sitting posture present an opportunity to assess sensorimotor development at a young age, in order to identify infants who might benefit from therapeutic intervention, and to monitor the efficacy of the intervention. Sitting postural sway data was collected using a force plate from infants with typical development, and from infants with delayed development, where the delay in development was due to cerebral palsy in most of the infants in the study. The center of pressure time series from the infant sitting was subjected to a …

Relation Of Caregiver Alcohol Use To Unintentional Childhood Injury, Amy Damashek, Natalie A. Williams, Kenneth Sher, Lizette Petterson

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

Objective The present study used a case-crossover design to investigate the association of caregiver alcohol consumption and supervision to children's injury occurrence and severity.

Method A community sample of 170 mothers of toddlers was interviewed biweekly about their children's daily injuries for a period of 6 months.

Results Proximal caregiver-reported alcohol use predicted higher likelihood of injury occurrence and higher injury severity, whereas caregiver-reported supervision predicted lower likelihood of injury occurrence and lower injury severity.

Conclusion Even at low levels, proximal caregiver alcohol use may contribute to higher risk for childhood injuries and more severe injuries. The combined effect of …

Factors Influencing Familial Decision-Making Regarding Human Papillomavirus Vaccination, Heather L. Gamble, James L. Klosky, Gilbert R. Parra, Mary E. Randolph

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

Objective The purpose of this review is to summarize the research regarding Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination uptake among families with adolescent/preadolescent daughters.

Methods Literature searches (utilizing PubMed and PsychInfo databases) were conducted and research examining psychological and environmental factors which relate to HPV vaccine uptake and intentions was reviewed.

Results Factors such as physician recommendations, perceptions of the beliefs of peers and significant others, history of childhood immunizations, and communication with adolescents regarding sexual topics appear to influence HPV vaccination outcomes.

Conclusions Although primary prevention of cervical and other cancers is available for preadolescent and adolescent girls, rates of HPV …

The Relationship Among Social Phobia, Objective And Perceived Physiological Reactivity, And Anxiety Sensitivity In An Adolescent Population, Emily R. Anderson, Debra A. Hope

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Physiological theories may be important in the development and maintenance of social phobia in youth. A limited literature base indicates that youth with social phobia experience increases in objective physiological arousal during social-evaluative situations and are more aware of such increases compared to nonanxious youth. Recent research suggests that youth with social phobia also evidence heightened levels of anxiety sensitivity, which may lead to interpretation of physiological arousal as dangerous or distressing, and, as a result, in avoidance of situations which produce increased physiological arousal. The purpose of the current study was to examine interaction among objective physiological arousal, perceived …

Emotional Reactivity Across Individuals With Varying Trauma And Substance Dependence Histories, Alicia K. Klanecky, Dennis E. Mcchargue

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Background—Research has reported a high rate of substance dependence in traumatized individuals who do not develop PTSD (TWP). While past studies have failed to consistently demonstrate that TWP individuals experience PTSD symptoms, findings have indicated that TWP and a history of substance dependence aside from nicotine dependence (SDH) are linked to affect disruption.

Aims—The present study explored positive and negative affective mechanisms across four groups with varying SDH and TWP including TWP + SDH, TWP only, SDH only, or no history. Researchers hypothesized that adults (n = 78) would be more emotionally reactive to an experimentally-induced negative mood compared to …

Tests Of The Dynamic Field Theory And The Spatial Precision Hypothesis: Capturing A Qualitative Developmental Transition In Spatial Working Memory, Anne R. Schutte, John P. Spencer

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

This study tested a dynamic field theory (DFT) of spatial working memory and an associated spatial precision hypothesis (SPH). Between three and six years of age there is a qualitative shift in how children use reference axes to remember locations: 3-year-olds’ spatial recall responses are biased toward reference axes after short memory delays, whereas 6-year-olds’ responses are biased away from reference axes. According to the DFT and the SPH, quantitative improvements over development in the precision of excitatory and inhibitory working memory processes lead to this qualitative shift. Simulations of the DFT in Experiment 1 predict that improvements in precision …

Attention Shaping: A Reward-Based Learning Method To Enhance Skills Training Outcomes In Schizophrenia, Steven . M. Silverstein, William D. Spaulding, Anthony A. Menditto, Adam Savitz, Robert P. Liberman, Sarah Berten, Hannah Starobin

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Disturbances in sustained attention commonly interfere with the ability of persons with schizophrenia to benefit from evidence-based psychosocial treatments. Cognitive remediation interventions have thus far demonstrated minimal effects on attention, as have medications. There is thus a gap between the existence of effective psychosocial treatments and patients’ ability to effectively engage in and benefit from them. We report on the results of a multisite study of attention shaping (AS), a behavioral intervention for improving attentiveness and learning of social skills among highly distractible schizophrenia patients. Patients with chronic schizophrenia who were refractory to skills training were assigned to receive either …

Forced Abstinence Model Of Relapse To Study Pharmacological Treatments Of Substance Use Disorder, Carmela M. Reichel, Rick A. Bevins

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Understanding and preventing relapse to drug use is one of the most difficult challenges faced by clinicians and practitioners in the struggle to help people remain abstinent. In this paper, we review basic preclinical research on forced abstinence periods that identify the neural substrates involved and neural adaptations that occur after a drug-free period. Our attention focuses on forced abstinence after self-administration because of its promise for translational research in the development of candidate medications to reduce relapse. This model requires subjects (often rats) to initially acquire drug self-administration. However, rather than extinguishing behavior with daily drug-free sessions as in …

Neuropharmacology Of The Interoceptive Stimulus Properties Of Nicotine, Thomas E. Wooters, Rick A. Bevins, Michael T. Bardo

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Preclinical drug discrimination techniques play a significant role in advancing our knowledge of the receptor mechanisms underlying the interoceptive effects of nicotine. Early reports confirmed that nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) are critical for transduction of the nicotine cue. In recent years, advances in molecular biology and the discovery of novel ligands with greater selectively for specific nAChR subtypes have furthered our understanding of these mechanisms. There is now evidence regarding the specific nAChR subtypes involved in nicotine discrimination; in addition, there is also evidence suggesting that other systems (i.e., adenosine, cannabinoid, dopamine, glutamate and serotonin) may play a modulatory role. …