Psychology Commons^™

The Influence Of Childhood Experiential History On Elon Musk’S Personality, Amelia Brower, Aubrey Immelman

Psychology Faculty Publications

This paper presents the results of a developmental causal analysis of the adult personality of innovative entrepreneur and business leader Elon Musk, from the conceptual perspective of personologist Theodore Millon.

Psychodiagnostically relevant data relating to Musk’s personality were collected from biographical sources and media reports and synthesized into a personality profile using the Millon Inventory of Diagnostic Criteria (MIDC), which yields 34 normal and maladaptive personality classifications congruent with DSM-III-R, DSM-IV, and DSM-5-TR.

The findings of the personality assessment were previously reported in a separate paper. Musk’s primary personality patterns were found to be Ambitious/self-serving and Dominant/controlling, …

The Influence Of Childhood Experiential History On U.S. Vice President Jd Vance’S Personality, Amelia Brower, Aubrey Immelman

Psychology Faculty Publications

This paper presents the results of a developmental causal analysis of the adult personality of U.S. vice president JD Vance, from the conceptual perspective of personologist Theodore Millon.

Psychodiagnostically relevant data relating to Vance’s personality were collected from biographical sources and media reports and synthesized into a personality profile using the Millon Inventory of Diagnostic Criteria (MIDC), which yields 34 normal and maladaptive personality classifications congruent with DSM-III-R, DSM-IV, and DSM-5-TR.

The findings of the personality assessment were previously reported in a separate paper. Vance’s primary personality patterns were found to be Dominant/controlling and Ambitious/confident, supplemented by …

Modern Psychology And The Religious Experience: Faith Or Just Institutionalization?, Darin Challacombe

Psychology Faculty Publications

A literature review of Paloutzian’s (1996) “Religious Experience” chapter in Invitation to the Psychology of Religion is presented by outlining and critiquing works cited. Specifically, the combination of three distinct theories (e.g., schemas, attribution, and attachment) is presented and evaluated. Using these three theories, empirical research that has been done in this field can be explained. However, the main component of these theories has to be present: faith. Faith needs to be seen as being the opposite of institutionalization; rather, events that are religious must have faith and cannot be completely explained by institutionalization concepts of groupthink and manipulation. Further, …

The Personality Profile Of Innovator, Entrepreneur, And Business Leader Elon Musk, Amelia Brower, Aubrey Immelman

Psychology Faculty Publications

This paper presents the results of an indirect personality assessment of entrepreneur and business leader Elon Musk, from the conceptual perspective of personologist Theodore Millon.

Psychodiagnostically relevant data relating to Musk were collected from biographical sources and media reports and synthesized into a personality profile using the Millon Inventory of Diagnostic Criteria (MIDC), which yields 34 normal and maladaptive personality classifications congruent with DSM-III-R, DSM-IV, and DSM-5-TR.

The personality profile yielded by the MIDC was analyzed in accordance with interpretive guidelines provided in the MIDC and Millon Index of Personality Styles (MIPS) manuals. Musk’s primary personality patterns …

A Leadership Trait Analysis Of U.S. Vice President Jd Vance, Aubrey Immelman, Sophie J. Heck

Psychology Faculty Publications

This paper presents the results of an indirect leadership trait analysis of U.S. vice president JD Vance, conducted for the purpose of anticipating Vance’s likely leadership style in a high-level executive role in politics, from the conceptual perspective of Margaret Hermann’s leadership trait analysis (LTA) model, employing an empirically based “psychodiagnostic meta-analytic” methodology.

Psychodiagnostically relevant data relating to Vance were collected from biographical sources and media reports and synthesized into a personality profile using the Hermann Leadership Trait Inventory (HLTI) — constructed expressly for the present study — which taps seven leadership trait dimensions: belief in one’s ability to control …

Mind Over Distance: The Food Proximity Effect On Candy Taking In A Field Setting And Moderation By Trait Mindfulness In A Hypothetical Setting, Brian P. Meier, Adam Fetterman

Psychology Faculty Publications

The food proximity effect reveals that people are more likely to take and/or consume food when it is physically close versus distant. The effect is explained in terms of mindless eating or eating/taking food for non-hunger reasons. Yet, little work has examined the effect in experimental field settings or in relation to moderating variables. In two studies (N = 533), the authors examined candy proximity and candy taking in a field setting (Study 1) and in an online hypothetical setting (Study 2) in which trait mindfulness was examined. Study 1 was conducted in a building hallway in which passersby …

Efficacy Of A Cognitive-Behavioral Group Intervention For Adhd In Collegestudents Via Telehealth, Will H. Canu, Kate Flory, Maggie W. Johnson, Laura E. Knouse, Kenneth Mcclure, Emily Miller, Emily A. Bodalski, Abby De Arellano

Psychology Faculty Publications

Objective: college students with ADHD often experience academic and life challenges related to executive functioning (EF). telehealth interventions are generally beneficial for emerging adults, but this claim needs to be tested for ADHD. We examined a telehealth adaptation of a cognitive-behavioral intervention for college students with aDhD that focuses on organizational, time management, and planning (OTMP) skills. Participants: students at three universities (n = 106; 72.6% female; M age =22.21; 86.7% White; 91.5% Not Hispanic or Latina/e/o) presented for ADHD treatment. Method: six group sessions and three individual sessions were delivered via video conferencing software. Results: Pre-post differences in self-report …

Neutrophil Responses Are Substantially Prolonged And Robust Following Early Postnatal Chorda Tympani Or Lingual Nerve Transection, Jacquelyn M. Omelian, Andrew J. Riquier, Suzanne I. Sollars

Psychology Faculty Publications

While the mature gustatory and trigeminal systems are capable of regeneration following surgical nerve transection, transections occurring early in life result in permanent effects on innervated tissues. Converging evidence suggests that facilitators of the innate immune response, such as neutrophils, may contribute to these developmental differences in injury recovery. In the current study, Sprague-Dawley rats underwent transection of the trigeminal lingual nerve (LX) or gustatory chorda tympani nerve (CTX) at either 10, 25, or 65 days of age. Tongues were extracted 12, 24, or 48 h post-surgery, and MPO+ leukocyte (neutrophil) densities in the taste buds and surrounding muscle and …

The Heavy Crown, Shared Throne: How Coleadership Tempers Ego And Sustains Leader Well-Being, Sam T. Hunter, Ares Boira-Lopez, Alexis D'Amato

Psychology Faculty Publications

Mitchell and colleagues (Reference Mitchell, Haslam, Burke and Steffense2026) provide a well-reasoned, sound, and thought-provoking case for why HR practices can promote or discourage narcissistic tendencies in leaders. Acknowledging their contribution, we offer two points of pushback and one point of extension based on those areas of pushback. The first point of pushback is that counter to the authors, we contend that hypercompetitive selection methods that seek to identify the best leadership candidate, although not ideal, are necessary. Do such processes (e.g., head hunting, in-depth assessment centers) admittedly have the potential to inflate individual egos and promote narcissistic …

A Narrative Review Of Stigma And Masking In Adhd: Insights From English-Language Research And The Japanese Cultural Context, Chiharu Maeda, Laura E. Knouse, Konoka Takeda, Chisato Masudomi, Eriko Takahashi, Taisuke Katsuragawa, Hiroaki Kumano

Psychology Faculty Publications

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a prevalent neurodevelopmental condition associated with impairments across educational, occupational, and social domains. Individuals with ADHD are often exposed to misunderstanding and negative evaluation, which can contribute to stigma and psychological distress. Recently, “masking”—efforts to conceal or compensate for ADHD-related characteristics to meet social expectations—has been discussed as a potential behavioral response to stigma, yet empirical research on this phenomenon remains limited. This narrative review synthesizes English-language research on public stigma and self-stigma related to ADHD and examines how stigma may be associated with masking behaviors in ADHD, drawing on conceptual insights from the literature on …

Retrieval Interference In The Processing Of Relative Clauses: Evidence From The Visual-World Paradigm, Matthew W. Lowder, Gwynna Ryan

Psychology Faculty Publications

Although object-extracted relative clauses (ORCs) are more difficult to process than subject-extracted relative clauses (SRCs), there is still substantial disagreement regarding the cognitive mechanisms underlying these effects. The current visual-world eyetracking experiment took a novel approach to this problem by examining whether ORC-SRC differences would emerge at the matrix verb during the processing of spoken sentences containing these structures. Fixation patterns at the onset of the matrix verb revealed a tendency for participants to fixate the picture representing the subject of the sentence in both ORCs and SRCs. Crucially, participants considered the picture corresponding to a competing noun more while …

The Naturalness Bias, Brian P. Meier, Amanda Dillard, Courtney Lappas

Psychology Faculty Publications

Research shows that people have a natural-is-better belief whereby things described as “natural” are perceived as better than artificial, synthetic, or human-made items. For example, people report they would prefer a host of items when they are described as natural versus synthetic including drugs, vaccines, food, cigarettes, human talent, and lighting. Some people report preferring a natural item like a drug even when it is objectively less safe or effective than a synthetic counterpart. This naturalness bias is may become more widespread given the political climate in the U.S. and elsewhere in 2025 and beyond. However, there are many instances …

Face2cam: A User-To-Webcam Distance Estimation Image Dataset, Yixuan Zhai, Arryn Robbins

Psychology Faculty Publications

Estimating the distance between a user and their device’s camera is important for tasks such as gaze-aware interaction, adaptive interface scaling, and accessibility tools. Specialized depth sensors are effective but rarely available in everyday computing devices; by contrast, webcams are ubiquitous yet lack native distance information. To advance accessible distance-aware computing, we present Face2Cam, an openly available dataset of webcam images annotated with user-to-camera distances. Thirty-six adults were photographed under controlled variation of head orientation, gaze direction, and illumination, yielding 3,240 labeled images spanning distances from 30–80 cm. As a baseline, we trained a convolutional neural network as a lightweight …

Continuous Improvement In Action: Kaizen-Inspired Onboarding For Healthcare Employees, Darin Challacombe, Amanda Wilkinson, Cori Gaeger

Psychology Faculty Publications

Kaizen is a Japanese word which translates to change or improvement, and it is the cornerstone of several process improvement systems. In the learning and development (L&D) space, we are always seeking ways to improve and become more efficient and effective. This case study updates a previous one from two years ago. Through the kaizen of our onboarding and training program, we have seen an increase in employee longevity after completing our five-day new hire onboarding program. This improved program integrated a flipped classroom design and inclusion of multiple learning management system (LMS)-based courses, among other changes. We also gave …

Fluency And Elaboration In Dolphin Object Play: Evidence For Creativity In Behavioral Exchanges?, Abigail H. Adams, Manon Themelin, Heather Manitzas Hill, Deirdre Yeater, Rachel Walker, Amy C. Hirons, Kathleen M. Dudzinski

Psychology Faculty Publications

Innovative behaviors in non-human animals have been proposed as indicators of flexible thinking. Although dolphins have demonstrated creativity under stimulus control, these paradigms relied on human-directed tasks and may have overlooked spontaneous expression. This study evaluated whether object play, an unprompted behavior, could serve as a proxy for dolphin creativity by examining object play in bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in managed care and wild Atlantic spotted dolphins (Stenella frontalis). Video data were coded for object play events and analyzed for fluency (behavioral diversity and frequency) and elaboration (sequential organization), with consideration of object type and social context. In managed care, …

Startle Habituation And Vagally Mediated Heart Rate Variability Influence The Use Of Emotion Regulation Strategies, Xiao Yang, Fang Fang, Angela Ximena Babb

Psychology Faculty Publications

Emotion regulation refers to the processes through which people modulate their emotional experiences and expressions, and difficulties in these processes underpin many forms of psychopathology. According to the process model, emotion regulation encompasses five classes of strategies, commonly grouped into antecedent-focused strategies (e.g., cognitive reappraisal) and response-focused strategies (e.g., expressive suppression). These strategies involve both explicit and implicit processes, which can be objectively assessed using physiological indices. The present study examined the effects of startle habituation and vagally mediated heart rate variability (vmHRV) on the use of cognitive appraisal and suppression. Forty-nine college-aged participants were recruited, and their resting heart …

Gaze Transition Entropy And Automation Trust In Multitasking Workspace, Yusuke Yamani, Austin Jackson, Tetsuya Sato, Feyishola Ashimi, Michael S. Politowicz, Eric T. Chancey, Makoto Itoh

Psychology Faculty Publications

Safe flight operation requires visual scanning across multiple displays in a cockpit, which collectively represent the state of the aircraft and supporting automation. Trust is a crucial factor that drives human-automation interaction, and recent work has suggested a relationship between an operator's visual attention and automation trust. One index that captures predictability of eye movements between different areas of interest is gaze transition entropy. The current work reanalyzed data from Sato et al., which examined eye movement patterns and trust in automation associated with the system monitoring task of the Multi-Attribute Task Battery. Results showed credible positive correlations between the …

I Can't Stop: The Effects Of Psychological Climate For Overwork On Recovery Experiences, Jeffrey Drake Terry, Konstantin P. Cigularov

Psychology Faculty Publications

Recovery experiences are important for many health and well-being outcomes. One potential threat to an individual's recovery experiences in the workplace is psychological climate for overwork. The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship between psychological climate for overwork and recovery experiences. Using a multi-wave research design (N = 202), we found that psychological climate for overwork had direct effects on psychological detachment and indirect effects on psychological detachment and relaxation through cognitive workaholism and work-recovery guilt. These results suggest that psychological climate for overwork may contribute to an individual's experience of cognitive workaholism and work-recovery guilt, …

From Molecules To Minds: Integrative Multi-Omics In Psychiatry, Hossein Abbasi, Sage E. Hawn, Arash Javanbakht, Soraya Seedat, Kyle Bourassa, Sinead M. Sinnott, Antonia V. Seligowski, Sian Hemmings, Nathan A. Kimbrel, Alicia K. Smith, Leslie Brick, Divya Mehta

Psychology Faculty Publications

Psychiatric disorders are biologically complex conditions arising from interactions across genomic, epigenomic, transcriptomic, proteomic, metabolomic, and metagenomic layers. Single-omics approaches rarely capture more than a fraction of the variance in complex conditions, underscoring the importance of integrative multi-omics frameworks. This mini-review summarizes key methodologies and their application in psychiatric research, with a focus on systems-level integration of genomic risk scores, transcriptomic networks, and neuroimaging data to advance biological understanding of disorders such as depression, schizophrenia, and Alzheimer’s disease. We also outline the infrastructural requirements for effective multi-omics research, including standardized biobanking, Laboratory Information Management Systems, adherence to FAIR data principles, …

Reward Deficits In Co-Occurring Social Anxiety And Depression: The Roles Of Anhedonia, Boredom, Loneliness, And Covid-19 Social Restriction, Nathan M. Hager, Alicia L. Milam, Hannah C. Hamrick, Benjamin Swanson, Matt R. Judah

Psychology Faculty Publications

Prior research points toward reward deficits as crucial to the link between social anxiety disorder and major depressive disorder. However, studies have not explored specific types of reward deficits or how social-environmental factors may impact them. The current study examined whether the indirect effects of three reward deficits (anhedonia, boredom, and loneliness) accounted for the connection between social anxiety and depression. Questionnaires were collected in a sample of college students (N = 523) during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, allowing examination of environmental stressors (i.e., remote learning and current friend network size) on reward deficits. Indirect effect models …

Best Practices For Using Biological Data In Psychological Research, Sage E. Hawn, Sinead M. Sinnott, Alicia K. Smith, Kyle Bourassa, Leslie Brick, Sian Hemmings, Soraya Seedat, Arash Javanbakht, Lauren Smith, Antonia V. Seligowski, Nathan A. Kimbrel, Divya Mehta, Hossein Abbasi, Erika Wolf

Psychology Faculty Publications

Advances in statistical techniques for analyzing biological data have driven the need for larger sample sizes, which are ultimately made possible through team science efforts. Findings from these efforts have led to a significant shift in approaches to biological data collection over the past decade, from traditional approaches relying on single measures or assays collected by individual investigators in small lab-based studies to high-dimensional methodologies embedded within large cohorts or multi-site studies. These recent large scale consortium efforts necessitate careful consideration across the full data pipeline, from pre-data generation and sample collection to processing and statistical analysis, while addressing challenges …

A Real-Time Examination And Comparison Of Differentiation Among Suicidal Thinking And Affect Items In An Adolescent Sample, Elizabeth A. Edershile, Kinjal K. Patel, Annabelle M. Mournet, Richard T. Liu, Catherine R. Glenn, Evan M. Kleiman

Psychology Faculty Publications

Suicide risk assessments require individuals to differentiate among types of suicidal thoughts (e.g., passive vs. active); yet most research relies on aggregate metrics that obscure this differentiation. Indeed, more severe forms of suicidal thinking are thought to involve the simultaneous experience of multiple forms of thoughts at high intensities. The present study draws on concepts from the affect differentiation literature to (a) examine different ways to operationalize differentiation in suicidal thinking and (b) compare differentiation in suicidal thinking with differentiation in affect. Adolescents (N = 200) recently hospitalized for suicidal thoughts and behaviors completed a 28-day ecological momentary assessment …

The Receipt Of Psychological Services And Acceptability Of Local Follow- Up Care For Childhood Cancer Survivors: Are There Rural Vs. Urban Differences?, Tyrone F. Borders, Abigayle Feather, Jerod L. Stapleton, John A. D’Orazio, Eric B. Durbin

Psychology Faculty Publications

Purpose This study examined rural and urban parents’ reports of their children’s receipt of general follow-up care and psychological services, ratings of the acceptability of common sources of follow-up care, and ratings of local/nearby follow-up care access and effectiveness.

Methods A cross-sectional, quantitative survey was conducted among 238 (139 urban, 46 rural adjacent, and 53 rural non-adjacent) parents of childhood cancer survivors (ages 2–17 and at least 2 years since cancer diagnosis) recruited through the Kentucky Cancer Registry. Bivariate analyses and multivariable logistic regressions adjusting for predisposing, enabling, and need factors tested for differences across residence in urban counties, rural …

Maternal Child Maltreatment And Intimate Partner Violence: Effects On Perceptions Of Infant Temperment And The Mediating Role Of Emotion Regulation And Responsiveness, Jewelian N. Fairchild, G. Anne Bogat, Amy K. Nuttall, Alytia A. Levendosky, Joseph S. Lonstein, Maria Muzik

Psychology Faculty Publications

Purpose

Maternal adverse experiences, such as maltreatment in childhood and later intimate partner violence (IPV) during pregnancy, can disrupt the mother-child relationship and influence maternal perceptions of infant temperament. The present study explored how these adversities influence mothers’ views of their infants’ temperaments and examined the role of maternal emotion regulation and responsiveness to their infants as mediators of these relationships.

Methods

Using data from a longitudinal study of highly stressed, vulnerable women, 355 mothers retrospectively reported on their own childhood maltreatment, as well as their experiences of IPV and emotion regulation during pregnancy. Maternal responsiveness was coded using mother-infant …

Advancing Models Of Ptsd-Aud Comorbidity: Protocol For A Multimethod Framework Using Genetics And Ecological Momentary Assessment, Elizabeth A. Stinson, Samhita Lellapalli, Sage E. Hawn, Natalie Merrill, Lance M. Rappaport, Christina M. Sheerin, Vasiliki Michopoulos, Silviu-Alin Bacanu, Roseann E. Peterson, Abigail Powers, Ananda B. Amstadter

Psychology Faculty Publications

Background: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and alcohol use disorder (AUD), which are moderately heritable, frequently co-occur and contribute to significant public health burdens, particularly among economically disadvantaged urban communities. There are noted sex differences in PTSD and AUD outcomes, with evidence suggesting women have heightened susceptibility to stress-related alcohol use. Preliminary PTSD-AUD ecological momentary assessment (EMA) findings support bidirectional associations across clinical outcomes. However, no studies to date have used PTSD-AUD comorbidity models as organizing frameworks to examine the temporal ordering and stability of within-person symptom dynamics underlying the maintenance or exacerbation of PTSD and AUD symptoms, including bidirectional and …

Establishing Hierarchical Classification Responding: Directly Trained And Emergent Responses, George H. Noell, Kristin A. Gansle, Hannah M. Sliman, Danielle M. De Lucia

Psychology Faculty Publications

Hierarchical classification responding (HCR) describes a collection of responses that require discrimination of logical relationships between stimuli based on their position in a categorical hierarchy. This study established HCR for a new hierarchy in young children through discrete trial instruction. Participants selected pictures corresponding to different hierarchical levels of categorization. We tested for the emergence of naming that matched the level of hierarchy presented, transformation of function, and class inclusion responding for the trained and novel stimuli. Correct responding to the target hierarchy was established and resulted in the emergence of class naming and transformation of function without direct instruction. …

Parental Psychological Distress And Perceived Child Externalizing Behaviors: Examining Mediators And Bidirectional Effects, Abigail J. Anderson, Christina M. Rodriguez, James M. Henson

Psychology Faculty Publications

Parental psychological distress is a commonly examined risk factor for the emergence of child problem behaviors, but the factors that contribute to that relationship—such as limited parental resources like greater social support and coping skills—have not been adequately explored, particularly with attention to potential bidirectional relations that incorporate child evocative effects. The current longitudinal study examined maternal and paternal psychological distress in relation to perceived child externalizing behaviors, considering parental resources as mediators within a bidirectional model. The sample included a racially and socioeconomically diverse group of 201 primiparous mothers and 151 fathers. Mothers and fathers reported their current psychological …

Rude Awakening: An Examination Of The Incivility-Sleep Relationship Via Affect, Mallory A. Mccord, Gargi Sawhney, Nastassia M. Savage, Kristen M. Fisher

Psychology Faculty Publications

Despite the prevalence of incivility at work and the essential nature of sleep, study of this relationship is comparatively sparse in the organizational sciences literature. Further, although impaired sleep could logically impact how one interprets subsequent interpersonal interactions at work, the dominant approach is to study sleep as an outcome of perceived incivility. Therefore, we drew upon affective events theory, the affect-as-information hypothesis, and sleep physiology to argue that state affect, both positive and negative, can explain the relationship between perceived incivility and sleep quality in either direction. The hypotheses were tested using a between-subjects design with one-month time lags …

Examining The Factor Structure And Subgroup Invariance Of The Deliberate Denial Of Disordered Eating Behaviors Scale, Lindsay Howard, Sage Hawn, Kayla D. Pitchford, Riley Mcgrath, Aubri Farniok, Arturo Sesma, Kristin E. Heron

Psychology Faculty Publications

The denial, concealment, or omission of disordered eating behaviors has received limited attention in the eating disorder literature, partly due to the lack of reliable and valid measures. This study re-examined the factor structure of the Denial of Disordered Eating Behaviors Scale (DDEBS-12) and tested measurement invariance across gender identity, racial identity, and levels of disordered eating in a non-clinical undergraduate sample (N = 3285). Confirmatory factor analyses did not support the original unidimensional structure. Instead, a seven-item model assessing denial of dietary restriction demonstrated the best fit and was renamed the DDEBS-restriction. The revised scale showed good internal consistency …

Increasing Honest Statements In Young Children Through Presentation Of Social Contingencies And Emotionally Evocative Stimuli, George Noell, Kristin Gansle, Ella Wheelbarger, Hannah Sliman, Danielle De Lucia

Psychology Faculty Publications

Honesty is fundamental to interpersonal relationships and civil society. Although immediate contingencies often favor lying, many individuals respond honestly even when lying would be more efficient for contacting reinforcement. Across two experiments, we evaluated strategies for increasing honest responding by young children through exposure to social contingencies and emotionally evocative stimuli when material contingencies continued to reinforce lying. The stimuli were pictures of faces of children displaying happiness and sadness. The first experiment found that presession pairing of happy faces with honesty and sad faces with lying did not affect behavior; however, pairings combining verbal rule statements and faces contingent …