Psychology Commons^™

A Lesson From Political Psychology: When Vip Treatment Is A Prescription For Disaster, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article describes some paradoxical consequences of high-level, direct involvement of a political leader in crises and disasters.

Assessment Of Religious Motivation And Its Effects On Health Related Behaviors, John Austin Davis

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

The belief that one’s religious behavior can influence health, either by formal offerings to religious shamans or the uttering of a prayer to an unseen deity, likely predates recorded history and finds its most basic beliefs expressed in Exodus 15:26, “I will put none of the diseases upon you which I put upon the Egyptians; for I am the Lord, your healer.” Findings and observations published in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s that some of the membership among the more conservative denominations with strict proscriptions regarding health behavior experience lower rates of cancer and heart disease supported this belief, …

The Impact Of Sexism On Older Women's Mental And Physical Health, Kelli Lynn Mcswan

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Research has demonstrated that discrimination accounts for a statistically significant portion of the variance in women’s reported physical and mental symptoms above and beyond that accounted for by generic stressors. Furthermore, the literature suggests that discrimination in the elderly has lead to inadequate medical care as well as psychological and physical problems. Relatively little is known, however, about the degree to which older women perceive or experience sexism. This study investigated whether or not elderly women experience sexism and the impact it may have on their mental and physical health.

The Cardiac Correlates Of Attention In The Denervated Heart: A Study Of Infant Heart Transplant Recipients, Stephanie Dianne Griffone

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

The cardiac correlate of attention is a deceleration in heart rate, controlled by the parasympathetic division of the autonomic nervous system. This has been extensively studied in infants; the findings indicate that this deceleration is affected by a number of factors, several mediated by the vagus nerve. However, the effects of denervation on this response are not known. Studies with adult heart transplant recipients have shown attenuated acceleration in response to stressful mental tasks. This study investigated the cardiac response to attention in infants who had received a heart transplant, using a habituation paradigm. The hypothesis that they would show …

Attentional Processing In Parkinson's Disease: Hyperkinetic And Akinetic Type, Christine Diane Kraus

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Parkinson's disease (P.D.) has long been thought of as a single disorder. Recent research involving neurochemistry, neurophysiology, and detailed analysis of symptoms, have created a basis for questioning the concept that P.D. is a singular disorder. Literature suggests there may be two primary subtypes (with the possibility of others). The two probable subtypes are hyperkinetic, in which tremor is the predominate symptom and akinetic, in which, gait freezing and postural instability predominate.

In both of these pathological manifestations, several investigators have noted cognitive deficits including attention. The differences in symptomotology and neuropathology attributed to these probable subtypes suggest that there …

Age Differences In Personal Risk Perceptions: A Note On An Exploratory Descriptive Study, Juanita V. Field, George E. Schreer

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)

The authors test for differences in risk perceptions among different age groups.

Dynamical Balance In The Indonesian Seas Circulation, William H. Burnett, Vladimir M. Kamenkovich, David A. Jaffe, Arnold L. Gordon, George L. Mellor

Faculty Publications

A high resolution, four-open port, non-linear, barotropic ocean model (2D POM) is used to analyze the Indonesian Seas circulation. Both local and overall momentum balances are studied. It is shown that geostrophy holds over most of the area and that the Pacific-Indian Ocean pressure difference is essentially balanced by the resultant of pressure forces acting on the bottom.

A Balanced Nitrogen Budget Of The Surface Layer Of The Southern Ross Sea, Antarctica, Walker O. Smith Jr., Vernon L. Asper

Faculty Publications

To understand marine biogeochemical cycles, it is critical to quantitatively balance organic matter transformations within the euphotic zone. Such an assessment for nitrogen is difficult because of lateral advection, uncertainties in individual measurements, the complexity of elemental transformations (including nitrification and denitrification), and the difficulty of collecting data on appropriate space and time scales. Two cruises were conducted to the southern Ross Sea, Antarctica, to understand the time-varying fluxes of nitrogen into its various pools. From these data a balanced inventory was constructed. Nitrate removal in the upper 200 m was balanced by particulate and dissolved organic nitrogen production, ammonification, …

Portrait Of George W. Bush As A “Late Bloomer”, Aubrey Immelman

Psychology Faculty Publications

This essay documents some of the enduring personal characteristics that provide an empirical basis for assessing George W. Bush’s outgoing, adventurous personality pattern.

The Character Of Hillary Clinton, Aubrey Immelman

Psychology Faculty Publications

This essay documents some of the enduring personal characteristics that provide an empirical basis for assessing Hillary Rodham Clinton’s dominant, ambitious personality pattern from a psychobiographical, psychohistorical perspective.

Trends. Psychologies Of Immigration: The Illegal Immigration Reform And Immigrant Responsibility, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article discusses illegal immigration and immigration reform, as well as the psychological reasoning behind the laws.

Trends. Truth And Narrative: The Case Of Ballistic Missile Defense, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article discusses the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, and the politics and the narrative politicians tell themselves for pragmatic purposes.

Causality Analysis Of Decision Entrapment, Chia-Wu Lin, Bor-Shiuan Cheng, Ming-Hong Tsai

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

"Decision entrapment" refers to the phenomenon that decision-makers commit to the negative or failure choices, and tend to throw more resources in some projects that seem to fail certainly. We try to combine two contradictory viewpoints, self-justification vs. information-processing perspectives, to clarify the causality of decision entrapment through experimental approach. Staw suggests that the emotional “self-justification" is the major mechanism of decision entrapment. Adopting the information-processing perspective, Kahneman & Tversky propose that “certainty effect" bring about perception distortion, which is the main cause of entrapment behavior. We used computer programs to simulate a decision-making scenario, and manipulated “personal responsibility" and …

An Analysis Of Academic Reputation As Perceived By Consumers Of Higher Education, Michael J. Conard, Maureen A. Conard

Psychology Faculty Publications

A college's academic reputation (AR) plays a significant role in positioning the institution. Survey responses of college-bound high school seniors suggest that a majority of respondents view successful postgraduate careers as very important to the perception of AR and very likely to be attributed to a college with very good AR. A principle components factor analysis revealed three factors that describe the perception of AR (i.e., Academic Concerns, Campus Ethos, Practical Value). In a similar analysis three factors were found likely to be associated with very good AR (i.e., Curricular Concerns, Exclusivity, Career Preparation).

Human Error And Accident Causation Theories, Frameworks And Analytical Techniques: An Annotated Bibliography, Douglas A. Wiegmann, Aaron M. Rich, Scott A. Shappell

Publications

Over the last several decades, humans have played a progressively more important causal role in aviation accidents as aircraft have become more [complex]. Consequently, a growing number of aviation organizations are tasking their safety personnel with developing safety programs to address the highly complex and often nebulous issue of human error. However, there is generally no “off-the-shelf” or standard approach for addressing human error in aviation. Indeed, recent years have seen a proliferation of human error frameworks and accident investigation schemes to the point where there now appears to be as many human error models as there are people interested …

The Darwin Is In The Details, Douglas T. Kenrick, Norman P. Li

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Comments on the article by A. H. Eagly and W. Wood which examined the origins of sex differences in human behavior. Eagly and Wood argued that social structural theory can explain the origin of psychological sex differences. The present authors suggest that evolutionary models of sex differences are based on a much broader foundation that Eagly and Wood imply. They note that Eagly and Wood misconstrued previous age preference findings as supporting the "common knowledge" that men prefer younger women. Eagly and Wood also showed that as societies approach gender equality in resource access, some sex differences in mate preferences …

Trends. Why The United States Still Hasn't Shaken Its Vietnam Syndrome: The Case Of Iraq, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article discusses the the lingering presence of the Vietnam Syndrome - the idea that military successes seem to have little impact on the hearts and minds of large segments of a given country's population - in the United States' Operation DESERT STORM in Iraq.

Trends. Politics And Psychology: The Effect Of Political Transition On Russian Families, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article examines the work of Dr. Alexander Shapiro of Moscow, the Russian Federation, and a paper he presented at the 108th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association in Washington, DC. The paper discussed the effects of political transition on Russian family life.

The Psychology Of Ethics And Morality: Implications For Personnel Security And Counterintelligence, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article describes various psychological research approaches that might help manage ethical and moral vulnerabilities related to intentional security violations in political organizations.

Ibpp Research Associates: Mexico, Salvador Plascencia

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article is an interview conducted by IBPP Research Associate, Mr. Gil Grein, with Salvador Plascencia, an executive assistant/buyer living in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. The interview covers conditions in Tijuana as well as opinions about the Vicente Fox administration.

The Psychology Of Espionage: Contemporary Commentary, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article provides commentary on some of the common personnel security and counterintelligence criteria employed to minimize espionage within a political organization. The article takes as a point of departure "Security and Motivational Factors in Espionage" by Mr. Terry Thompson in the July 2000 The Intelligencer.

Trends. The Psychology Of Human Lie Detectors: Research At The 2000 American Psychological Association Annual Convention, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article discusses theories pertaining to the psychology of human lie detectors as presented by James Forrest and Robert Feldman (both of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst) at the 2000 American Psychological Association (APA) Annual Convention.

Trends. Homosexual Politics And Security: The American Psychological Association (Apa) Brief Of Amicus Curiae No. 99-699, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article discusses the American Psychological Association's (APA's) brief of amicus curiae, which the APA submitted in order to provide a context for the Supreme Court of the United States to review the policy of the Boy Scouts of America and Monmouth Council, Boy Scouts of America, which involved the Boy Scouts, homosexuality, and claims about discrimination against homosexuals.

Security Policy And The Word: Applications From Research On Social Judgment And Decision Making, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article describes the basic findings of and some phenomenological concerns with social judgment and decision-making research applied to developing support for security policies.

A Place For Ahistoricism In The Mideast, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article advocates for an ahistoricism in conflict resolution between Israel and the Palestinian National Authority (PNA).

Perspectives On Psychobiography With Reference To John Keane's "Vaclav Havel: A Political Tragedy In Six Acts", Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article describes some salient features of psychobiography and relates them to a recently released biography of Vaclav Havel.

A Survey Of Minority Students Who Use Retention Program Services At A Predominantly White Institution, Jamalya Luney

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This researcher seeks to examine the characteristics of those minority students, at a Predominantly White Institution (PWI), who frequently use retention program services versus those who do not frequently use retention program services. Frequent use of retention program was considered to be every other week or more. Infrequent user of retention program was considered once a month or less often. Data analysis revealed many similarities between the groups relating to grade point average (GPA), marital status, and housing status. Despite the similarities between the groups, there were some differences, although not significant. The mean age of the frequent users was …

Improving Oral Reading Performance: A Comparison Of The Effectiveness Of Two Reading Interventions, Allison Morris

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Reading can be considered as the most fundamental skill learned in a person's life. It lays the foundation for later success in academics, vocational pursuits, and life. Because of reading's importance in everyday life, the search for effective reading interventions for those experiencing reading difficulties is continual. A single-subjects design was used to examine the overall effect of two reading interventions, listening previewing and folding-in, on oral reading performance. Nine regular education third-grade students served as subjects in the present study. Results indicated that neither the listening previewing procedure nor the folding-in technique were particularly successful at improving oral reading …

The Effects Of Corporate Culture On The Value Of Performance Appaisals, Connie Pearson

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This research project attempts to provide information that will determine the effects of corporate culture on the value of performance appraisals in an organization. To provide analysis for this theory, the researcher utilized information found in prior written literature that examined results of performance appraisals and conducted interviews in various manufacturing organizations on results not yet published. In particular, the researcher examined the development and practice of performance appraisals at Logan Aluminum Inc. and used this team management greenfield site as a basis for looking at results from other organizations. Results of the study found strong evidence to support the …

The Perception Of Ordinal Depth Relationship From Static And Deforming Boundary Contours, Shane Raines

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Previous investigations of the perception of 3-D shape from deforming boundary contours have focused on judgments of global shape (Cortese & Anderson, 1991), judgments of rigid vs. nonrigid motion (Norman & Todd, 1994), and object recognition (Norman, Dawson, & Raines, 2000). Raines and Norman (1999) provided the first study demonstrating that deforming boundary contours could support the accurate perception of local 3-D surface structure. The present set of experiments extend the Raines and Norman study by further investigating whether the distance from the boundary contour or the amount of overall boundary deformation affect the human ability to make local judgments …