Psychology Commons^™

Perceived Stress, Coping, And Adequacy Of Social Support: Implications For Subjective Well-Being In College Students, Kia Asberg

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Stress is a widespread concept commonly associated with psychological and medical problems that may impair an individual's functioning and incur costs on society. Alarming rates of depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, and other stress-related problems have been found among college students. This study (N = 241)argues that reducing emotional and financial stress-related costs may be possible through increasing public and professional awareness of moderating variables, such as social support and coping resources. Results indicated that stress, inadequate social support, and escape-avoidance coping were related to higher levels of depression and lower life satisfaction in both males and females. Social support functioned …

Resource Allocation Using Touch And Audition, David Mortimer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

When people multi-task with inputs that demand attention, processing, andencoding, sensory interference is possible at almost any level. Multiple Resource Theory (MRT) suggests that such interference may be avoided by drawing from separate pools of resources available when using different sensory channels, memory processes, and even different response modes. Thus, there should be advantages in dividing tasks among different sensory channels to tap independent pools of attentional resources. For example, people are better with two tasks using the eye and ear, than when using two auditory or two visual inputs. The majority of the research on MRT involves visual to …

Vibrotactile Guidance Cues For Target Identification, Joshua Downs

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation was to establish how vibrotactile guidance cues can be used to improve marksmanship. This work originated in an effort to provide covert communication, navigation, and weapon aiming cues for infantrymen. It is predominantly an application-driven investigation rather than driven a priori by specific theoretical predictions from models of human performance. Three experiments are presented. Experiment 1 established the affect on initial response to vibrotactile guidance cues of tactor placements on the palmer versus dorsal surface of the hand, and targets appearing left versus right of center. Results suggest that tactile cues provided on the left …

Childhood Predictive And Protective Factors Of Adult Substance Abuse, Melissa A. Grossman

Masters Theses

Psychological abuse in childhood is believed to have an affect on psychological wellbeing in adulthood, specifically in the area of substance abuse. Following the lead of studies in psychological abuse, substance abuse and protective factors, the present study examined the relationship between childhood psychological abuse and adult substance use, along with the role of protective factors in that relationship. Participants, consisting of college undergraduates, completed a series of measures of family cohesion, bonding, substance use, and psychological maltreatment. Although results did not show a relationship between childhood psychological abuse and adult substance abuse, family cohesion was shown to be related …

The Tootling Intervention: Verbal Vs. Private Reports Of Prosocial Behavior, Jessica Torbeck

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of the tooling intervention, developed by Skinner, Skinner, and Cashwell (1998), through the use of verbal versus private reports of peers' prosocial behavior. Previous tootling studies have focused on private reports of prosocial behavior, but verbal reports of prosocial behaviors utilizing the tootling intervention have not been investigated. Two classrooms of 3rd grade students were taught to tootle by either verbally reporting or by privately writing down observed prosocial behaviors of their peers. Both classrooms were reinforced for reaching a desired number of tootles. The results of the current study …

Agreement Among School Psychologists On Behavioral Function Using Antecedent-Behavior-Consequence Logs As A Functional Behavior Assessment Method, Beth Bourque

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to a) determine if school psychologist hypotheses of behavioral function would be consistent with direct behavioral observation data collected via computer program, b) determine if school psychologists agreed with the teacher's hypotheses on behavioral function, and c) determine if school psychologists agreed with each other on behavioral function based on information from the A-B-C logs. Minimal agreement was found between the computer-based hypotheses and the school psychologist's hypotheses, and between the school psychologists and the teacher hypotheses. Agreement on behavioral function was found in two of the cases among school psychologists.

Community Mental Health Care In The U.S.: The Impact Of Deinstitutionalization And Assertive Community Treatment, Mariana A. De Oliveira

Masters Theses

The current review was designed to provide a better understanding of the present situation of mental health care in the U.S. Therefore, a review of the history of deinstitutionalization of the mentally ill in the U.S. and an exploration of the role of a prominent current model in mental health care, Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) were undertaken. Deinstitutionalization changed the paradigm of mental health care in the country. This process underwent different stages from religious based care, to large stated hospitals and to community care, where it stands now. Research articles on ACT in urban and in rural areas were …

Political Psychology And Personality, Aubrey Immelman

Psychology Faculty Publications

Following a brief overview of historical approaches to personality-in-politics inquiry, this book chapter reviews the current state of the field – specifically, psychodynamic approaches, trait/motivational perspectives, and cognitive models – and argues that Theodore Millon’s personological model offers an integrative framework for assessing personality in politics and building a conceptual bridge between personality patterns and political leadership styles.

Millon’s model accounts for structural and functional personality attributes at the behavioral, phenomenological, intrapsychic, and biophysical levels of analysis and provides a theoretically coherent framework for studying personality in politics consonant with established principles in the adjacent sciences and integrative with respect …

Relative Efficacy Of School-Home Notes And Teacher Feedback In Minority Elementary Students With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Andrea Nichole Jurbergs

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

School-home notes have proven to be an effective and acceptable method for improving children’s classroom behavior. School-home notes require teachers to rate students on any number of target behaviors and parents to provide consequences based on the evaluation. School-home notes recently have been shown to increase attention in low income children with ADHD. Although successful at decreasing off-task behavior in the classroom, treatment integrity (parent providing earned consequences at home) is not always maintained at acceptable levels. The goal of the current research was to dismantle the proven school-home note to identify the efficacy of the teacher feedback component alone. …

Development And Validation Of Child Routines Questionnaire: Preschool, Molly Murphy Wittig

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Experts emphasize routines as a paramount practice in successful child rearing (Fiese, 2002). Only recently, however, has empirical evidence begun to corroborate this theory. While many researchers and clinicians have documented the use of daily child routines in their parenting packages and treatment studies, none has measured the effects of child routines directly. The emergence of The Child Routines Questionnaire offered ample evidence of the importance of child routines in school-age children. Significant findings link a lack of routines to child behavior problems, poor parenting practices, and parental psychopathology (Sytsma et al., 2001; Sytsma-Jordan, Kelley, & Henderson, 2002; Jordan, 2003). …

The Psychosocial Vulnerability Model Of Hostility As A Predictor Of Coronary Heart Disease, Karen Grothe

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Coronary heart disease (CHD) is the number one killer for both men and women in the United States today. African Americans are particularly at risk, due to higher prevalence rates and mortality related to CHD (American Heart Association, 2003). Less than half of the new cases of CHD can be predicted with known risk factors (tobacco use, obesity, hypertension), which suggests the possible influence of personality or additional behavioral factors. Hostility is a psychological variable that has been consistently related to health outcomes, particularly to CHD. While the exact mechanism linking hostility to health is currently unknown, a psychosocial vulnerability …

Men, Muscles, And Body Image: Comparisons Of Competitive Bodybuilders, Weight Trainers, And Athletically Active Controls, T. C. Pickett, R. J. Lewis, T. F. Cash, H. G. Pope

Psychology Faculty Publications

Objectives: To investigate body image and psychosocial adjustment among competitive bodybuilders, non-competitive weight trainers, and athletically active men.

Methods: Participants were 40 men in each of the three groups who were assessed on body composition and multiple facets of body image evaluation, investment and anxiety, eating attitudes, and social self esteem.

Results: Relative to the other two groups, competitive bodybuilders had greater body mass due to fat-free body mass. Although groups did not differ in their situational body image discomfort, competitive bodybuilders and weight trainers had a more positive global appearance evaluation and were more psychologically invested in their physical …

Dissociable Aspects Of Mental Workload: Examinations Of The P300 Erp Component And Performance Assessments, Carryl L. Baldwin, Joseph T. Coyne

Psychology Faculty Publications

Advanced technologies have enabled the choice of either visual or auditory formats for avionics and surface transportation displays. Methods of assessing the mental workload imposed by displays of different formats are critical to their successful implementation. Towards this end a series of investigations were conducted with the following aims: 1) developing analogous auditory and visual versions of a secondary task that could be used to compare display modalities; and 2) to compare the sensitivity of neurophysiological, behavioral and subjective indices of workload. Experiments 1 and 2 confirmed that analogous auditory and visual secondary oddball discrimination tasks were of equivalent difficulty …

The Influence Of Sociocultural Factors On Body Image: Searching For Constructs, Thomas F. Cash

Psychology Faculty Publications

Body image is a multidimensional construct that has received increasing scientific study over the past few decades. Considerable research has examined the determinants of body image development and functioning and their implications for other aspects of psychosocial wellbeing, especially eating pathology among girls and young women. Cafri, Yamamiya, Brannick, and Thompson (this issue) reported the results of a meta-analysis of how selected, self-reported sociocultural influence variables correlate with the basic dimension of body image evaluation. Their work raises and reinforces important questions about the definition and measurement of sociocultural influence constructs.

Reducing Eating Disorder Risk Factors In Sorority Members: A Randomized Trial, Carolyn Becker, Lisa M. Smith, Anna C. Ciao

Psychology Faculty Research

Although sororities are often perceived as contributing to eating disordered behavior, limited research has investigated eating disorders in sorority members. The purpose of this study was to investigate the utility of a highly interactive cognitive dissonance prevention program in reducing empirically supported risk factors in sorority members. Members (N=149) were randomized to the highly interactive intervention, a more passive intervention, or wait-list. Results indicated that both interventions reduced dietary restraint, body dissatisfaction, and eating disorder pathology. Only the highly interactive group reduced thin-ideal internalization as compared to waitlist. Exploratory analyses also indicated that interventions were beneficial to both …

A Critical Exploration Of The School Context For Young Adolescents Completing Primary Education, Sasha Stumpers, Lauren Breen, Julie Ann Pooley, Lynne Cohen, Lisbeth Pike

Research outputs pre 2011

Many schools have adopted relational approaches to attend to the social context in which learning transpires. More recently however, such approaches and their supporters have been criticized for not examining the school context in its entirety and the student experience within this context. The current research sought to critically explore young adolescents' experiences within the context of their school. Fifteen year seven students in an Australian primary school were interviewed about their experiences of their school context. The data were analysed using a thematic analysis and a question-ordered matrix was constructed to aid the detection of themes and sub-themes from …

Can Sense Of Community Inform Social Capital?, Julie Ann Pooley, Lynne Cohen, Lisbeth Pike

Research outputs pre 2011

This paper examines the theoretical linkage between social capital and sense of community through research studies within four contextual areas. Social capital (SC) can be conceptualized as all the interactions between individuals in a community, and has been examined in various groups and communities. Sense of community (SoC) is a psychological construct that we argue is a correlate of social capital. Sense of community reflects the feelings of attachment and belonging that an individual has towards a community. Through qualitative and quantitative research carried out across the lifespan in four communities in Western Australia (i.e., Perth community, adolescent Jewish community, …

An Observational Study Of Bail Decision-Making, Alfred Allan, Maria Allan, Margaret Giles, Deirdre Drake, Irene Froyland

Research outputs pre 2011

Pre-trial detention of defendants has important legal, human rights and practical implications for defendants, their families, and society and therefore the area justifies research scrutiny. However, there is a dearth of empirical studies of bail decision-making and most of them have been retrospective studies. Prior studies have nevertheless identified a number of purported shortcomings in bail legislation and decision-making. The rarely used observational methodology employed in this study provided data that are not normally available from official records. The first appearances of 648 defendants were observed in the lower courts in metropolitan Perth (Western Australia) to identify factors that play …

Keeping Friendships Alive: Self-Monitoring And Maintenance Strategies, Nadia Nicol Flanigan

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The relationship between self-monitoring and use of maintenance strategies in friendships was examined. It was hypothesized that low self-monitors would engage in more idealization, report higher degrees of closeness, and report higher degrees of platonic love in their relationships with their best friends than would high self-monitors. Participants (81 females, 61 males) completed Snyder and Gangestad's (1986) revised Self- Monitoring Scale; Edmond's (1967) Marital Conventionalization Scale; Hendrick's (1988) Relationship Assessment Scale; the Diversity and Strength scales of Berscheid, Snyder, & Omoto's (1989) Relationship Closeness Inventory; Aron, Aron, and Allen's (1998) Desirability, Probability, Desirability of the State, and Intensity Scales; and …

Some Effects Of Self-Monitoring, Perceived Norms, And Sex-Role Stereotypes On Romantic Betrayals, Alissa Anne Garth

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

It was hypothesized that high self-monitors (compared to low self-monitors) would report more betrayals of their romantic partners. Perceptions of others' betrayals should follow sex-role stereotypes (i.e., males are more likely to betray than females). Sex-role stereotyping might be attenuated when counter-stereotypical norms are made salient. One-hundred seventy five undergraduates completed the Interpersonal Behavior Survey (Roscoe et aI., 1988) and the Self-Monitoring Scale (Snyder & Gangestad, 1986). Before doing so, participants read one of two instructional sets: females are more likely than males to betray their romantic partners; people in general are likely to betray their romantic partners. Participants responded …

Munchausen Syndrome By Proxy : Gender, Sexism, And Just World Beliefs As Predictors Of Juror Decisions, Dawn R. Hurst

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Mock jurors (N = 200) read descriptions of a mock civil case involving an adult survivor of Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy who is suing his/her abuser for monetary/psychological damages. Jurors individually decided perceived percent of responsibility of defendant, award to plaintiff pre- and post-group deliberations, and as a mock jury, in groups of 5 to 10. Jurors and juries assigned greater percent of culpability to female defendants than male defendants. Individual jurors awarded more n1oney to plaintiffs abused by female defendants than male defendants. Low Modem Sexism Scale (MSS) scorers attributed greater percentage of responsibility to defendants and awarded plaintiff …

Applying The Information-Motivation-Behavioral Skills Model Of Hiv- Risk To Youth In Psychiatric Care, Geri R. Donenberg, Rebecca Moss Schwartz, Erin Emerson, Helen W. Wilson, Fred B. Bryant, Gloria Coleman

Psychology: Faculty Publications and Other Works

This study examined the utility of cognitive and behavioral constructs (AIDS in-formation, motivation, and behavioral skills) in explaining sexual risk taking among 172 12–20–year-old ethnically diverse urban youths in outpatient psy-chiatric care. Structural equation modeling revealed only moderate support for the model, explaining low to moderate levels of variance in global sexual risk taking. The amount of explained variance improved when age was included as a predictor in the model. Findings shed light on the contribution of AIDS informa-tion, motivation, and behavioral skills to risky sexual behavior among teens re-ceiving outpatient psychiatric care. Results suggest that cognitive and behavioral factors …

Behavioral And Psychological Symptoms Of Dementia: The Effects Of Physical Activity At Adult Day Service Centers, Erin L. Woodhead, S. H. Zarit, E. R. Braungart, M. J. Rovine, E. E. Femia

Faculty Publications

Adult day services (ADS) are an increasingly popular option for caregivers of people with dementia, but there is little research on the effects of activities on the behavior and mood of the client. This study examines participation by 94 individuals in different types of adult day-care activities and their association with changes in behavior and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) for the client during a three-month span. Three domains of BPSD were examined: restless behaviors, mood behaviors, and positive behaviors. Using growth curve modeling, results show that the restless and mood behavior domains, on average, were stable over three months, …

"Second-Class Families": Media Portrayal Of Adoption In America, Jennifer Ellen Struve

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Despite legal recognition of adoption as a legitimate family form, research suggests that adoptive families face a special set of circumstances revolving around the societal stigma involved with adoption. Additionally, adoptees admit to experiencing legal, social, and institutional discrimination because of their adoptive status. Although there have been many celebrations of adoption (such as Dave Thomas), there are cultural norms regarding the family that discipline us to see adoption negatively. Researchers acknowledge that the language surrounding adoption is negative, but do not pursue what that language is or where it appears. Thus, the purpose ofmy study was to determine how …

The Impact Of Events In The Immediate Aftermath Of Suicide On Family Members' Bereavement Experiences, Kelly J. Botha

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Suicide remains a leading cause of death in Australia. Consequently, a considerable proportion of the population is, or will be, bereaved due to suicide. These individuals are referred to as survivors of suicide. Literature suggests bereavement is a significant risk factor for adverse health outcomes. The question of whether or not bereavement after suicide, as opposed to other modes of death, renders individuals more susceptible to enduring and complicated grief reactions remains unclear. Numerous key variables have been found to influence the nature, intensity and duration of the grief process. Variables that are likely to be associated with poor bereavement …

An Exploratory Cross-Cultural Investigation Of The Organisational Strategies Employed To Prevent And Ameliorate Workplace Bullying In University Settings, Dragana Krestelica

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Workplaces abound in conflict. Individuals within organisations are therefore vulnerable to a wide range of intimidating interactional tactics. These tactics can have an extremely negative impact upon individual workers and upon subsequent organisational performance. Consequentially, the diverse forms of organisational social harassment, and specifically bullying, place a large financial burden upon both organisations and nations. Therefore, the identification of strategies used to prevent and ameliorate workplace bullying and an examination that highlights their comparative success or failure is of great importance for all employers, employees and government. This study focuses upon those strategies used to prevent and ameliorate such workplace …

Clima Familiar En El Trastorno Por Déficit De Atención-Hiperactividad [Family Environment In Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder], Cecilia Montiel-Nava, Isabel Montiel-Barbero, Joaquín A. Peña

Psychological Science Faculty Publications

The effect of family environment on the development of Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is not known. We sought to characterize families with children with ADHD in order to better understand the contributions of family environment to the development of ADHD. We collected demographic data, parents’ and teachers’ rating scales, intellectual quotient, and the family environment scale (FES) for 53 children (aged 4-13), 29 with ADHD diagnosis and 24 controls. Statistical analysis indicated a family environment profile within the average range for both samples. There were significant differences between ADHD and controls for the measures of cohesion, intellectual activity orientation, and …

Emotional Intelligence As A Protective Factor For Risk Behavior In Adolescence, Nicole Renee Skaar

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Emotional intelligence is a concept developed by Salovey and Mayer in 1990. Since the first published work on emotional intelligence, others have modified the original idea by adding personality-like traits to the model of emotional intelligence. Consequently, there is a split in the conceptualization of emotional intelligence and the measurement of emotional intelligence; ability model assessment and mixed or trait model self-report assessment. The ability model of emotional intelligence has stood up to tests of discriminant validity over personality traits, unlike the mixed model of emotional intelligence. It is also distinguishable from cognitive intelligence, yet correlates moderately and therefore is …

The Implications Of Anger And School Violence, Ronda Hilbert

Graduate Research Papers

A series of highly publicized school shootings in the Untied States generated the misperception of an epidemic of school violence. Fears of school violence stimulated an ill-advised expansion of zero tolerance school discipline policies and the widespread distribution of profiles or warning signs of potentially dangerous students for use by school administrators. This paper presents that little is known about student threats of violence, although students in special education tend to commit disciplinary violations at a higher rate than regular education students according to some studies. Threats of violence pose a dilemma for educators, who must balance federal requirements, the …

Relation Of Healthcare Provider-Patient Interpersonal Impacts And Health Related Control Appraisals To Patients' Satisfaction And Compliance With Treatment, Thomas A. Campbell

Theses and Dissertations

The current study examined healthcare provider-patient interpersonal impacts and health related control appraisals to patients' satisfaction and compliance with treatment recommendations. Secondary outcomes such as patient satisfaction are becoming increasingly important, and compliance with treatment can have direct effects on primary outcomes. Eighty-one patients at a large, urban university student health center participated in the current study. Participants completed participatory style and interpersonal impact measures both before and after the visit with their provider, and completed satisfaction questionnaires immediately following the visit, and at the two-week follow-up along with a measure assessing compliance with treatment recommendations. Providers also completed interpersonal …