Psychology Commons^™

Motivated Prediction Of Future Feelings: The Effects Of Mood And Mood Focus On Affective Forecasts, Vassili Spyropoulos

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

People often predict they will experience more positive or more negative emotional reactions to upcoming pleasant and unpleasant events respectively, than they actually do. Although researchers have identified several cognitive processes underlying this bias in affective forecasting, the present research examined the role of motivational factors. We proposed that people sometimes generate relatively positive affective forecasts to fixture positive events (or less negative affective forecasts to future negative events) as a mood regulation strategy. That is, they may attempt to cope with threatening negative feelings by anticipating pleasant emotions in the future. More specific hypotheses were derived from recent research …

'It's Not What We Do But How We Do It': Process Evaluation Of A National Youth Engagement Conference, Lisa D. Loiselle

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Anecdotal evidence suggests that conference such as Creating Change 2001, an annual youth conference sponsored by the Students Commission, are successful in engaging youth; however, until the Creating Change 2011 Kemptville conference on-site process evaluation, neither the program process nor its outcomes had ever been formally evaluated. This process evaluation was designed to examine the particular aspects of the conference that made it successful with the assumption that despite the changing topics of the annual event, there are critical processes of engaging youth, which are consistent throughout the conferences each year. It is these processes, and not the specific topics …

The State Of Our Union: Appraisals Of Romantic Relationships, Stephen Allan Michael Gallant

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

How do romantic partners determine if they are happy in their current relationship? What standards do they use when appraising their romantic relationship? The present thesis examines people’s preferences among various comparison standards (social comparisons, temporal past comparisons, temporal future comparisons and previous relationship comparisons) for relationship appraisal, the direction in which people prefer to make various relationship comparisons and the reported and actual impact of these comparison standards on relationship appraisals. The present research also examines the hypothesis that certain relationship beliefs and characteristics (controllability and satisfaction) affect how one interprets these comparison standards. In study 1, 140 undergraduate …

Effect Of Conditioned Taste Avoidance Learning On Elevated Plus Maze Performance As A Measure Of Potentiated Fear, Shadna Rama

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The terms conditioned taste aversion and conditioned taste avoidance are often used interchangeably in the literature; however considerable evidence indicates that they may represent independent processes. Recent studies have demonstrated that conditioned taste aversion is mediated by conditioned sickness; however the mechanism(s) responsible for the establishment and expression of conditioned taste avoidance remains unknown. An early theory suggests that a taste that has been previously paired with a drug produces avoidance of that taste because it elicits some novel change in physiological state which signals danger to the rat. The emotional state produced may be one of conditioned fear. The …

French And English Word Reading And Word Decoding Performance In Bilingual Children: How Are Phonological Processing Skills Related?, Catherine Adèle Lafrance

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The French (L1) and English (L2) reading development of bilingual children in French schools was examined using measures of oral language proficiency, letter-name and letter-sound knowledge, phonological processing (phonological awareness, naming speed and working memory), and word decoding over an eight month period. At Time 1 (Senior Kindergarten), a series of multiple regressions indicated that, when controlling for oral language proficiency, letter name knowledge and non-verbal reasoning, L1 phonological awareness was the only consistent and unique predictor of French and English word reading and word decoding performance. At Time 2 (Grade 1), French and English phonological awareness were consistent and …

Visualizing The Future: Can 'She' Predict Project Completion More Accurately Than 'I' Can?, Jenny Deslauriers

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Although people often make overly optimistic predictions of when their own projects will be completed, neutral observers tend to be more realistic. Study 1 examined whether people would make more accurate predictions for their own projects by adopting the visual perspective of an observer. Participants identified a personal project that they hoped to complete in the next two weeks, and predicted when it would be finished. To vary visual perspective, participants were instructed either to visualize the project through their own eyes as if it was actually occurring (first person perspective), to picture themselves and their surroundings as an observer …

Wheel Running As A Function Of Varying Effort Requirements In Rats, Doreen B. Weise

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

These experiments explore a wheel running work-response function with the goal of paralleling the drug magnitude-response (dose-response) function, as a way of measuring the value of running for rats. Friction levels were manipulated by varying the amount of weight applied to running wheels. Experiment 1 examined how male running patterns changed in response to weights applied on alternate days and calculated the work-response scores for each weight. Experiment 2 explored how male running changed when weights were applied for only a portion of the night, on an alternate night schedule. Experiments 3 and 4 replicated the procedures used in Experiments …

Body Image, Eating Disturbance And Estrogen Levels Across The Menstrual Cycle, Mei-Chuan Wang

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The principal interest of the current study was to examine estrogen levels across the menstrual cycle related to body image and eating disturbance. Participants were undergraduate female students at a medium size Midwestern university. There were two phases of this study-a between-subjects aspect (N = 119) followed by a within-subjects aspect (N = 41 ). Multivariate analyses of covariance (MANCO VA) were used to analyze the first phase data. Results showed that when eating disorders were viewed as a whole. eating patterns were stable across the menstrual cycle; but if looked at separately. symptoms of anorexia were worse when estrogen …

Datos Epidemiológicos Del Trastorno Por Déficit De Atención Con Hiperactividad En Una Muestra De Niños Marabinos [Epidemiological Data About Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder In A Sample Of Marabino Children], Cecilia Montiel-Nava, Joaquín A. Peña, Isabel Montiel-Barbero

Psychological Science Faculty Publications

Aims: This study reports the findings of a research project aimed at determining the rate of prevalence of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in school aged children.

Patients and methods: Different behavioural and cognitive measures were administered to a sample of children between 3 and 13 years of age obtained by means of a multistage sampling procedure that was stratified by socioeconomic and educational level. The sample was made up of 394 children; 33.25% (n = 131) were females and the remaining 66.75% (n = 263) males. The mean age of the sample was 7.64 years old (SD: 2.33). The …

The Meaning Of Engagement: An Exploration Of Generativity In The Domain Of Politics, Sean Curtis Cameron

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Survey research has raised concerns over recent declines in political participation (Putnam, 2000). However, there has yet to be much research examining reasons for this from a narrative, life history perspective. In the current study, we examined intensive interviews of 94 midlife adults from the MacArthur Foundation Study on Successful Midlife Development, for levels of generative concern using the Loyola Generativity Scale, as well as political behaviours, values and beliefs using measures developed by the authors. This exploratory analysis focused on the accounts that men and women gave of political involvement, as well as predictors of these patterns. Generativity was …

Bridging The Gap Between Ethnically/Culturally Diverse 'Others': A Contribution To The Understanding Of How Women Work Together, Kristi D. Kemp

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

In this thesis, I explore the ways in which ethnically and culturally diverse women work together to rbedige their differences. Using a critical, feminist, reflexive and post-colonialist approach, I conducted eight in-person, semi-structured interviews with women who were staff and board members, volunteers, or participants in programmes offered by an organization serving immigrant women. Wommen were asked to name their cultural or ethnic identities, to share their views on multiculturalism, tolerance, and the “welcoming” of newcomers to Canada, the uniting and divisive issues they faced in their work, as well as appropriate roles for Canadian-born and immigrant women in the …

From The Individual To Individualism: A Critique Of The Helping Professions, Timothy B. Smith, Matthew R. Draper

Faculty Publications

Individualistic values characterize contemporary society and many popular approaches to mental health treatment. This paper critiques the individualistic values embedded in the helping professions that implicitly contradict the teachings ofJesus Christ, the surest foundation for mental health interventions. Members of AMCAP are encouraged to search out and replace problematic values that contradict gospel teachings which have been integrated into contemporary mental health practice.

Recent Jewish Immigrants' Communication In Postville, Iowa: A Case Study, Anna I. Levina

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

For this paper the author researched Iowa's immigration history and modern day Postville, a small town that represents a tossed salad of cultural, religious, and linguistic diversities. The author analyzed the current effect of immigration as well as the process of integration and assimilation into the small town through the eyes of its immigrants. The major emphasis is placed on Postville located in northeast Iowa. For 150 years Postville was an all-white, all-Christian farming community of 1,000 souls, most of European ancestry. Today the population of Postville has doubled and of the 2,000 people who reside in Postville almost one …

Epilepsia Mioclónica Juvenil: Estudio De 13 Pacientes Venezolanos [Juvenile Myoclonic Epilepsy: Study On 13 Venezuelan Patients], Joaquín A. Peña, Cecilia Montiel-Nava, Sandra González-Ferrer, Jessica Freda, Enoe Medrano

Psychological Science Faculty Publications

La epilepsia mioclónica juvenil (EMJ) es un síndrome hereditario no progresivo caracterizado por convulsiones con sacudidas mioclónicas bilaterales, únicas o repetitivas, de predominio en brazos. Objetivo: Analizar las características clínicas y electroencefalográficas en pacientes con diagnóstico de EMJ. Metodología: Se revisaron las historias clínicas de 13 pacientes evaluados en el Hospital Clínico de Maracaibo entre 1990 y 1999 quienes reunieron los criterios diagnósticos de EMJ. Analizamos los siguientes parámetros clínicos y electroencefalográficos: sexo, antecedentes personales y familiares, edad de comienzo, semiología, distribución, duración y frecuencia de las crisis, examen neurológico, tiempo de seguimiento y evolución. Resultados: Nueve pacientes eran varones …

The Effects Of Gender, Gender-Role, And Type Of Relationship On Self-Reported Intimacy, Keith Karl Buhr

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Gender issues in the understanding and experience of intimacy have been in debate for the last 30 years. The gender and gender-role of the participant, the type of relationship studied, and the way in which intimacy has been defined have affected the conclusions drawn about gender differences in the understanding and expression of intimacy. The purpose of this study was to examine how these factors influenced perceptions of the amount and expression of self-reported intimacy in relationships. College students (N = 164) at a Midwestern university completed questionnaire packets including measures of self-disclosure and social intimacy for credit in their …

Selected Influences On The Smoking Behavior Among Female And Male College Students Of The University Of Northern Iowa, Evelyn Adom-Boateng

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The purpose of this study primarily, was to investigate and identify the influence of the four focus areas (media, family, peer, and psychological coping technique) on the smoking behavior among female and male college students of the University of Northern Iowa. A description of differences in the influences of the focus areas on the smoking behavior on gender was included in the study. A non-random (convenient) sample of 100 students was drawn from the various Departments and Schools from five colleges in the University (57% males and 43% females).

The Sample responded to a 44-item self-report (survey) questionnaire. Overall means …

Culture From Chaos: The Formation Of Social Norms From The Dynamic Self-Organization Of Individuals' Attitudes And Behavior, Jerry G. Cullum

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Top-down models of culture provide a useful although limited understanding of cultural content, formation, and change. Previous theorizing using bottom-up models help to explain why cultures exist and explain some of their content. Dynamic social impact theory (DSIT; Latane, 1996) expands on previous bottom-up models by proposing a concise mechanism for cultural content transmission and the dynamic outcome of this process. Furthermore, the catastrophe theory of attitudes (Latane & Nowak, 1994) suggests that the level of involvement of an issue will modify attitude change and therefore modify DSIT's predictions. The present study expanded on previous research to offer a more …