Psychology Commons^™

Social Interaction, Social Cognition, And Personality In Gartersnakes And Ball Pythons, Morgan Skinner

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Snakes are often considered non-social animals. However, this is mostly an untested assumption and the limited research that has been done has shown that snakes interact socially when given the opportunity. Here, the complexity of snake social interactions was explored through a social cognition and personality lens. Group and individual behavioural assays were used to explore flexibility and consistency in social interactions. The results provide evidence that elucidate the function, development, and evolution of these behaviours in snakes. In the first experimental chapter, chapter 2, social network analysis was used to provide a detailed description of aggregation behaviour in 4 …

Freedom Of Emotional Expression: Exploring The Effects Of Emotional Expression Restriction On Marginalized Identities, Erik Caceros

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Across two studies we examined the relation between emotional expression restriction – perceiving that others restrict one’s freedom to determine how they express their authentic emotions– on people’s emotion regulation strategies and their well-being. In cross-sectional Study 1 (N = 438), people of colour felt significantly greater collective and personal emotional expression restriction relative to White people suggesting that feelings of emotional expression restriction are more prevalent among members of marginalized versus dominant groups. However, among both groups, perceiving collective emotional expression restriction was significantly associated with greater feelings of personal emotional restriction, which in turn, was related to the …

Meta-Understanding: Implications For Psychological Well-Being In Diverse Communities, Ting Hsueh

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Feeling personally understood during day-to-day interactions is a rewarding experience for people and has been linked to greater psychological well-being. But are interpersonal situations the only contexts in which people desire to feel understood by others? We theorize that since individuals tie themselves to their social groups, individuals will also experience greater psychological well-being when they feel that other people in the world around them understand core elements of their group identity, what we call meta-understanding. We also examined whether meta-understanding is perceived to a different extent for members of dominant and marginalized groups in society. In Study 1 ( …

Parental Evaluations And Choice Of Math Apps For Their Young Children: Exploring The Impact Of Individual Differences, Nicola Urquhart

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Well-designed math apps can have positive effects on young children’s math abilities (Bang et al., 2023; Griffith et al., 2019; Outhwaite et al., 2023), but research indicates that many commercially available math apps are not well designed (Dubé et al., 2019; Meyer et al., 2021). Studies also find that parents struggle to identify relevant features from app store descriptions (Montazami et al., 2022; Pearson et al., 2023). The purpose of the present research was to investigate how parents evaluate the apps themselves, and to test whether individual differences can affect parental app evaluations and decisions. In two parts of Study …

Exploring The Impacts Of Urban Mixed Nation Gathering Places On Urban Indigenous Peoples’ Wellbeing, Jazlyn O'Bonsawin

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This thesis investigates the impact of urban Indigenous mixed nation gathering places on the wellbeing of urban Indigenous individuals. This was done through qualitative conversational interviews with seven urban Indigenous community members; four of the participants were from the Laurier Indigenous Student Center while the remaining three participants were from Crow Shield Lodge. This study addressed how these spaces affect wellbeing, the specific mechanisms that impact wellbeing, and how individuals navigate setting with diverse nations and teachings. Four key themes were identified: Colonialism/Colonial Impacts, Identity, Community, and Health and Wellbeing. Findings reveal that these gathering places are highly important to …

Equitable Approaches To Evaluation, Marritt Kirst, Ciann Wilson, Sharmalene Mendis-Millard

Centre for Community Research Learning and Action

No abstract provided.

Still, We Thrive: Understanding How Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, And Other Men Who Have Sex With Men (Gbtmsm) Experience Structural Barriers & Facilitators To Wellness, Lucas Gergyek

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Historically and concurrently, structural violence has been a significant force influencing the sexual health and broader health of gay, bisexual, transgender and other men who have sex with men (GBTMSM). Yet to date, the majority of projects exploring the health inequities facing GBTMSM have focused on intrapsychic and behavioural factors as most related to poor health outcomes. As well, these studies are sometimes deficits focused, and fail to evaluate how GBTMSM continue to thrive, and maintain positive health. As a result, the ways in which systems and policies underlie and perpetuate health inequities facing GBTMSM have been somewhat obscured. Connectedly, …

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

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Abstract

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

The Long-Term Effects Of Cannabis On Attention To Motion, Rachel Mccaig

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The purpose of the following study was to investigate the long-term effects of cannabis use on attention to motion.

Methods: Cannabis users, who varied in age of onset of use, were compared to control participants after abstaining from cannabis for at least 24 hours. One-hundred and ninety-seven participants engaged in a cognitive assessment followed by a motion discrimination task and an attention to motion task. The assessment consisted of a series of standard tasks that measured a range of cognitive processes such as attention, memory, and executive functioning. The motion discrimination task assessed the participants’ abilities in discriminating between various …

I Am Queer And Asian: The Crossroad Of Race And Lgbtqia+ Identity Among Queer Asian Canadian Youth And The Impacts Of The Covid-19 Pandemic, Kenny Chee

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

LGBTQIA+ Asian youth face unique challenges due to their intersecting identities. Utilizing Asian Critical Race Theory and the Integration Model of Stress and Trauma in LGBTQIA+ Asians, LGBTQIA+ Asian youth are likely to experience detrimental mental health outcomes due to the stigmatization within their Asian culture and racial discrimination from the LGBTQIA+ communities. Moreover, the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated existing challenges because of the closure of community spaces and increased hate crimes against Asians. Nonetheless, research on the intersectional experiences of LGBTQIA+ Asians in Canada, especially in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic is sparse. Thus, to address this gap, I …

Transformations Towards Just Urban Sustainabilities: A Community Psychology Approach To Analyzing And Fostering Urban Changes, Bianca C. Dreyer

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Cities are uniquely positioned to drive social change towards more just and sustainable futures. However, while discourses of ‘transformations towards sustainability’ have gained prominence, their focus on integrating equity and justice and tackling the root causes of current unsustainabilities is lacking. This document outlines a research endeavor aimed at analyzing and fostering urban sustainable transformations from a community psychology perspective. This research is based on the assertion that without radical change based in equity and justice considerations, transformative efforts fail. First, a theory of just urban sustainable transformations (JUST) is suggested that draws on urban transformations and just sustainabilities scholarship. …

Psychological Readiness In Injured Student-Athletes When Returning To Sport, Samantha J. Burelle

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The physical component of recovery is pertinent to success in sport performance, yet there has been an increase in awareness of psychological symptoms and psychological distress experienced by injured athletes. Thus, the psychological aspect of injuries and return to sport (RTS) process cannot be ignored. Psychological readiness (PR) is described by Podlog et al. (2015), Donald (2019), and Podlog et al. (2022) as a dynamic psychological process including factors of realistic expectation, confidence, motivation, and focus. PR addresses the psychological component necessary for a successful RTS. Measurement tools have been developed to assess PR, yet not all factors of PR …

Vapourized Cannabis Extract Administration Impairs Memory And Alters Neural Activity In Laboratory Rats, Megan Chladny

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Although people have smoked cannabis for millennia, administration of cannabis by heating the dried plant material or distilled extracts to a temperature just below the combustion point (i.e., vapourization or "vaping") has rapidly increased over the past few years (Javadi-Payder, Cole, and Taffe, 2018; Manwell, Charchoglyan, Brewer, Matthews, Heipel, and Mallet, 2014). Conversely, most of the cannabinoid research using rodent models has used parenteral routes of administration to examine the effects of purified cannabis extracts such as ∆⁹-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), making it difficult to directly compare laboratory research to human drug use. Building on previous studies showing that THC …

Inspirational Bullshit: The Good, The Bad, And The Vacuous, Esther Abel

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

There are myriad methods offered in the “self-help industry” and on social media promising to improve happiness. Some messages are evidence-based, often drawn from positive psychology research, and suggest actions requiring time and effort, while other messages may offer feel-good platitudes that are devoid of meaningful guidance; we label this latter type of content “inspirational bullshit.” Across two manuscripts, we investigate the predictors of liking different kinds of positive self-help content, from meaningless randomly-generated phrases to vacuous positivity to evidence-based advice. In the first manuscript, across three studies, bullshit receptivity (a tendency to judge pseudo-profound statements as profound) and people’s …

Empathy In Police Officers Undergoing De-Escalation Simulation Training: A Comparison Between Virtual Reality And Live Action Modalities, Jacqueline Kohl

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This study compared empathy among police officers undergoing mental health crisis de-escalation training in virtual reality and live action training modalities. The study included police officers across different police services in Ontario (N=63) and evaluated the efficacy of the Mental Health Crisis Response Training (MHCRT, Lavoie et al., 2020) program delivered across virtual reality and live action modalities against a control group that did not receive the training program. After collection of participants’ demographics, empathy scores, and de-escalation competency scores, a series of correlations, ANOVAs and ANCOVAs were conducted. Results showed that participants receiving MHCRT virtual reality and …

Distinctiveness And Similarity: How The Sub-Trait Facets Of The Big Five Self-Organize To Create Personality Types, Jonathan Thiessen

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The belief that people can be placed within a personality typology has persisted for millennia. At least as far back as Hippocrates (ca. 460 BCE–370 BCE) people were believed to be of a kind based on the four humors—blood, yellow bile, black bile, and phlegm. Since then, there have been many conceptions of personality typologies. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and the Enneagram of Personality are likely the most well-known personality typologies among the general public. Despite their wide public usage, neither typology boasts strong empirical support. However, psychology continues to investigate personality for evidence of a typology of personality. In …

The Power Of Dissent: Mitigating False Polarization And Cross-Party Dislike In Online Interactions, Victoria Parker

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

While actual polarization is on the rise in the United States, perceived polarization (i.e., false polarization) is growing at an even faster rate, contributing to increased cross-party hostility. A meaningful amount of out-party dislike may be produced by partisans’ dramatic overestimates of the prevalence of extreme, undesirable views among political opponents. In the current research, we examine whether exposing people to out-party dissenters who challenge their copartisans’ extreme views might help reduce people’s misperceptions of their opponents’ extreme views, and possibly mitigate animosity. Across five studies (N = 3789), we explore how seeing public ingroup dissent (in the form of …

The Contribution Of Phonological Overlap To The Cognate Effect: An Event-Related Potential Study Of Persian-English Bilinguals, Zahra Fotovatnia

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The purpose of this dissertation was to examine the contribution of phonological overlap to visual word recognition. More specifically, this study aimed at testing the phonological account of the cognate effect (i.e., faster and more accurate mental processing of cognates than noncognates) in visual word recognition in Persian and English, which are languages with different scripts. The phonological account attributes the cognate effect to the phonological similarity of cognates (form and semantically related words) in addition to the conceptual similarity that cognates and noncognates (semantically related words) have and to the degree of phonological similarity between cognates in two languages. …

Examining The Effects Of Noise And Task Dependent Performance In Prosody Perception In Autistic Individuals, Zehranur Sasal

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

ABSTRACT

Objective: It is known that autistic individuals have enhanced abilities in pitch discrimination and tend to excel in low-level tasks requiring lower cognitive processing. On the other hand, noise is a distracting factor in many areas of life, including prosody perception. The studies presented in this thesis aimed to understand prosody perception through different levels of cognitive tasks and under the influence of speech background noise.

Methods: In total, 256 non-autistic and 39 high-functioning autistic adults participated in these studies. In the first study, participants were asked to listen to brief utterances conveying one of six universally accepted emotions …

Intermittent Sucrose Access: Sweetness Versus Calories, Jarret Folmer, Rudy Eikelboom

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Nondeprived rats receiving every 3^rd day access (E3DA) to 4% sucrose solution consume more sucrose on access days compared to rats with everyday access (EDA). Rats receiving EDA or E3DA to 16% sucrose do not consume different amounts, but if placed on every 2^nd day access (E2DA) to 4% sucrose E3DA-group rats consume more than EDA rats (Eikelboom, Hewitt, & Adams, 2022). E3DA affects rats’ value of sucrose but effects appear hidden with high sucrose concentrations. Valyear and Eikelboom (2021) suggested that calorie ceilings limit E3DA-induced consumption with high sucrose, but this ceiling could also be caused by …

Is Task Conflict Truly Good For Everyone? Examining The Interaction Between Task Conflict And Gender On Individual Outcomes, Samantha Hancock

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This dissertation examines perceptions of task conflict instigators. Task conflict is a core process that teams need to engage in to solve complex problems, however we know little about how the individual who instigates the task conflict is perceived, and what effects these perceptions have on important workplace outcomes like co-worker interaction intentions, promotion potential, and leadership potential. I propose that women who instigate task conflict may be perceived differently on the two fundamental dimensions of person perception: agency and communion. These perceptions, in turn, go on to influence important workplace outcomes that could provide additional insight into why there …

Investigating The Role Of Implicit Theories Of Relationships On The Interpretation Of Investments In Relationship Decision-Making, Sarah Wall

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

A person’s prior investment in their romantic relationship is a strong predictor of whether they remain committed to that relationship (e.g., Le et al., 2010; Rusbult, 1980a; 1983), and this pattern is often seen outside of interpersonal contexts as well (e.g., Arkes & Blumer, 1985; Olivola, 2018; Thaler, 1980). However, little research has considered the extent to which commitment-relevant decisions might be affected in a top-down way by people’s implicit theories of relationships (ITRs; Knee, 1998). I theorized that lay theories about how relationships work may affect the extent that people consider past investments when making decisions about continuing with …

Experiences Of Quality Of Life Among Youth Experiencing Homelessness, Mental Health Problems, And Addictions, Wilsy Choudhary

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Youth experiencing homelessness are often at a higher risk for developing concurrent mental health and addiction disorders. Existing interventions such as Housing First for Youth (H4FY) aim to provide youth experiencing homelessness with immediate access to safe, affordable housing as well as social inclusion and wellness supports. Furthermore, mental health interventions in the form of an integrated mental health and addictions (IMHA) service model have also been proposed to address the access barriers in place for youth experiencing homelessness, such as arbitrary exclusion criteria for substance use, long waiting periods and to further help them navigate the existing complex mental …

How Narcissism Relates To Perceived Conflict And Cooperation In Social Situations, Sydney Sharp

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The underlying antagonistic traits shared by both vulnerable and grandiose narcissism suggests that narcissistic individuals in general are more likely to view interdependent social situations as having a higher degree of conflict, and may also cause them to cooperate less. My thesis examines how manipulating expectations of one’s partner’s cooperation in a Prisoner’s Dilemma (Studies 1 & 2), and within an objectively low-conflict academic setting (Study 3) can provide a better understanding of the role of narcissism in perceptions of conflict and cooperation. Results from Studies 1 and 2 shows that on their own, both grandiose narcissism and antagonism were …

A Close Look At The Connections Between Mental-State Talk, Theory Of Mind, And Source Monitoring During Parent-Child Reminiscing Of Emotional Events, Mallory Earnshaw

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Autobiographical memories play a critical role in shaping personal identity, regulating emotions, and guiding future behaviour. Reminiscing about these memories can be particularly beneficial for coping with negative experiences. This study investigated the connections between mental-state talk, theory of mind, and source monitoring in parent-child reminiscing, and how it can be influenced by remembering enjoyable versus frustrating events. This study involved children ages 3-8 (N = 50) and consisted of two sessions. In the first session, the child reminisced with their parent about an enjoyable and frustrating event and completed two source-monitoring tasks. In the second session, the child …

Ethical Dilemmas And Moral Distress In Companion Animal Veterinary Medicine: Mental Health Implications, Bronwyn Dickson

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Mental health concerns are a significant problem in the veterinary community, and studies suggest that veterinarians working in Western countries are at higher risk of suicide compared to the general population and other healthcare professionals (Bartram et al., 2009; Bartram & Baldwin, 2010; Platt et al., 2012). Additionally, veterinary medicine is an occupation inundated with complex ethical and moral dilemmas. However, current studies are limited in their ability to contextualize the risk and contributing factors fully; therefore, they offer limited insight into effective preventative and support strategies. Using Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), eight companion animal veterinarians were interviewed about their …

“I Wonder If Being Broke Is Worth It For School”: An Investigation Of The Relationship Between Anxiety, Well-Being, And Coping Strategies Among Undergraduate Students During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Rebekah Woodburn

Bridges: An Undergraduate Journal of Contemporary Connections

This study investigated the relationship between stressors, coping strategies, and well-being among undergraduate students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Undergraduate students were asked to complete a series of measures designed to assess their general health levels, financial anxiety, subjective well-being, and resilience. In addition, they were asked open-ended retrospective questions regarding the coping strategies they had used over the course of the school year and the perceived effectiveness of these strategies. It was hypothesized that stress would be prevalent among many undergraduate students who face moderate to high anxiety levels. They would use inadequate coping strategies to improve their emotional well-being. …

Improving Adult Sex Offender Rehabilitation With Strength-Based Approaches, Jennifer Kirshenbaum

Bridges: An Undergraduate Journal of Contemporary Connections

New approaches in any field require analysis. In forensic psychology, strength-based approaches are a relatively new approach used with a variety of offenders, but most especially with adult sex offenders. The goal of this literature review is to understand, through the unification of many research papers, how and why strength-based approaches provide more efficient programs and reduced recidivism for this population. While including a statistical background of adult sex offenders in Canada and a history of all the models discussed, the central tenet of this paper is that despite considerable academic debate, RNR and CBT models work well, but they …

The Electrophysiological Correlates Of Text Integration And Direct Vs. Indirect Articles: A Centralized And Lateralized Examination, Deanna C. Hall

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

As we read, we develop mental models of the discourse content called situation models. Situation models are integral to how we keep track of information, and to do so in an ongoing event incoming information needs to be integrated into the model or discarded. The type of information being presented, and its relation to prior data, impacts how that new information is processed. The current research examined discourse passages containing concepts that were either previously mentioned (match), mentioned with a general term (general category), unmentioned in lieu of another concept (mismatch), or completely unmentioned previously (indeterminate), and examined how these …

The Hidden Side Of Work-Family Boundary Management: Uncovering The Role Of Cognitive Boundary Work And Boundary Context, Victoria Daniel

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Work-family life is becoming increasingly complex for the modern-day working parent, making boundaries that define the physical, temporal, and psychological aspects of work and family domains evermore important in how people choose to structure and manage the interface. However, the literature on boundary management has predominantly studied the enactment of certain boundaries and treated these boundary constructs as stable (e.g., general preferences and tendencies to behaviourally integrate or segment work and family). This research has also largely been conducted in contexts where the environment naturally created a way to organize the interface without the employees having to do as much …