Psychology Commons^™

Massachusetts Youth Screening Instrument Long-Term Outcomes And Scale Stability, Elise Christina Simonds Bisbee

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The Massachusetts Youth Screening Instrument-2 (MAYSI-2; Grisso & Barnum, 2006) was developed in 1998 to offer an efficient measure for identifying adolescents within the juvenile justice system in need of further psychiatric evaluation, treatment, or specialized care. Since the instrument's publication, several studies have evaluated the psychometric properties and clinical utility of the MAYSI-2. The current study adds to the literature examining the reliability and validity of this measure. Specifically, the current study sought to evaluate the long-term characteristics and predictive utility of the MAYSI-2 scale scores. This study utilized a sample of 8,929 boys (n = 6.780) and …

Relationships Between Black Female College Students' Relationships With Their Fathers And Adult Romantic Attachment, Nicole A. Dock

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The current study examined the relationships between the quality and quantity of time that young Black female college students spent with their fathers during high school as related to romantic attachment and fear of intimacy. Although researchers have investigated the impact that early attachment bonds to mothers have for later psychosocial development, much less research has examined how attachment to fathers may be associated with psychosocial adjustment in young adulthood. In particular, there is a lack of information on how relationships to one's father or father figure may be associated with adjustment in young women from culturally diverse populations.

To …

A Comparison Of Traditional And Nontraditional Students Attending Historically Black Or Predominantly White Institutions, Courtney H. Podesta

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Previous studies have demonstrated that there are benefits for some African American students in attending an Historically Black College or University (HBCU) over a Predominantly White Institution (PWI); however, studies have not considered how results might be impacted by student status, traditional vs. nontraditional, or the degree to which a student is considered to be nontraditional (minimally, moderately, or highly nontraditional). The current study addressed this gap in research by examining differences between the HBCU and PWI environments for 336 African American traditional and nontraditional students for the following variables: social support, academic self-concept, self-esteem, self-efficacy, role strain, ethnic identity, …

Relationship Predictors Of Unwanted Pursuit, Farrahdya Tassy

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The present study investigated relationship variables related to unwanted pursuit post dissolution of a romantic relationship. Online surveys were administered to 277 undergraduate and graduate students from a large southeastern university. Participants completed questionnaires that assessed levels of idealization, satisfaction, perceptions of alternatives to the relationship, investment size, commitment, and unwanted pursuit. These variables are often essential in romantic involvements, and contribute greatly to the continuation of a relationship. Additional measures of attachment, self-esteem, neuroticism, and jealousy were included to control for their potential effect on pursuit. The sample consisted of individuals who engaged in the pursuit of a former …

A Test Of Direct And Partially Mediated Relationships Between Leader Member Exchange, Job Embeddedness, Turnover Intentions, And Job Search Behaviors In A Southern Police Department, Mark D. Bowman

School of Public Service Theses & Dissertations

Job embeddedness has been found to predict turnover intentions, job search behaviors and turnover, and job embeddedness researchers assert, but have not tested, that job embeddedness is a mediator of other organizationally significant factors relative to organizational outcomes. A relationship not previously explored is the role of a supervisor in job embeddedness, which was operationalized in this study as leader-member exchange. A single panel survey was conducted in a police department in the southern United States with 276 current members holding the rank of police officer. Usable surveys were completed by 128 of those police officers, which is a response …

The Cognitive And Behavioral Effects Of Acute Ethanol Exposure And Acute Ethanol Withdrawal, Natasha Laverne Golden

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Although ethanol, in the form of alcoholic beverages, is one of the most widely used and abused drugs, little research has focused on cognitive and behavioral impairments relating to acute ethanol withdrawal. The primary purpose of the current study was to determine the effects of acute ethanol withdrawal on cognition and behavior using the radial arm maze (RAM) and the elevated plus maze (EPM). The secondary purpose of the study was to explore the immediate effects of acute ethanol exposure using a repeated acquisition version of the RAM. Sixteen male, Long-Evans rats were used for the study. For acute ethanol …

Effects Of An Educational And Support Program For Family And Friends Of A Substance Abuser, Amanda Jeffrey Platter

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Many family members are adversely affected by their loved ones drinking or drug problem. The aim of the present study was to explore changes in coping and enabling behaviors among family members who attended a community educational and psychosocial group for friends and family of a substance abuser, and to examine the concerns of these family members.

Participants were 32 family members (i.e., parents, spouses/romantic partners, and siblings) who attended one of four consecutive Family and Friend (FF) programs between fall and spring of 2008. Participants completed the Behavioral Enabling Scale (Rotunda & Doman, 2001) and Brief COPE Inventory (Carver, …

Test Anxiety And Other Factors As Predictors Of Outcome For An Undergraduate University's Examination Of Writing Competency, Carrie D. Smith

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Testing in American schools has increased dramatically in recent years (Cizek & Burg, 2006), increasing the need for research in test anxiety (TA). Writing apprehension, a subcategory of TA, may be of particular concern among students at all levels of education given the recent addition of writing assessments on the SAT and GRE tests.

Very few recent studies have examined demographic correlates of TA and the demographics of students in higher education have been changing for some time. These changes include an increase in all categories of nontraditional students. Nontraditional students, by definition, face a particular set of challenges in …

How Does One Become Spiritual? The Spiritual Modeling Inventory Of Life Environments (Smile), Doug Oman, Carl E. Thoresen, Crystal L. Park, Philip R. Shaver, Ralph W. Hood, Thomas G. Plante

Psychology

We report psychometric properties, correlates and underlying theory of the Spiritual Modeling Index of Life Environments (SMILE), a measure of perceptions of spiritual models, defined as everyday and prominent people who have functioned for respondents as exemplars of spiritual qualities, such as compassion, self-control, or faith. Demographic, spiritual, and personality correlates were examined in an ethnically diverse sample of college students from California, Connecticut, and Tennessee (N=1010). A summary measure of model influence was constructed from perceived models within family, school, religious organization, and among prominent individuals from both tradition and media. The SMILE, based on concepts from Bandura's (1986) …

Teaching Ecological And Feminist Economics In The Principles Course, Julie A. Nelson, Neva Goodwin

Economics Faculty Publication Series

It can be difficult to incorporate ecological and feminist concerns into introductory courses, when one is also obliged to teach neoclassical analysis. In this essay we briefly describe how one might extend existing “multi-paradigmatic” approaches to feminist and ecological concerns, and then present an new alternative approach that may be more suitable for some students. This “broader questions and bigger toolbox” approach can be applied in both microeconomics and macroeconomics introductory classrooms.

Developmental Emergence Of Power-Law Wake Behavior Depends Upon The Functional Integrity Of The Locus Coeruleus, Andrew J. Gall, Badal Joshi, Janet Best, Virginia R. Florang, Jonathan A. Doorn, Mark S. Blumberg

Faculty Publications

STUDY OBJECTIVES:

Daily amounts of sleep and wakefulness are accumulated in discrete bouts that exhibit distinct statistical properties. In adult mammals, sleep bout durations follow an exponential distribution whereas wake bout durations follow a power-law distribution. In infant Norway rats, however, wake bouts initially follow an exponential distribution and only transition to a power-law distribution beginning around postnatal day 15 (P15). Here we test the hypothesis that the locus coeruleus (LC), one of several wake-active nuclei in the brainstem, contributes to this developmental transition.

DESIGN:

At P7, rats were injected subcutaneously with saline or DSP-4, a neurotoxin that targets noradrenergic …

Section Abstracts: Psychology

Virginia Journal of Science

Abstracts of the Psychology Section for the 87th Annual Meeting of the Virginia Academy of Science, May 27-29, 2009, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond Virginia.

The Influence Of The Family Context And Intervention Implementation Integrity On Child Behavior During Conjoint Behavioral Consultation, Michelle Swanger-Gagne

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The purpose of the study was to determine the role of family context variables (i.e., parenting stress and positive parenting practices) as possible moderators and mediators of the relationship between conjoint behavioral consultation (CBC) and change in child problem behavior in the home setting. Another aim of the study was to evaluate the mediator roles of two dimensions of intervention implementation integrity (i.e., adherence to interventions and full engagement in the plan implementation phase) on parenting stress and change in child problem behavior for families involved in CBC. Participants were 203 parents, 81 teachers (81 classrooms), and 203 children who …

Exploring The Complexities Of Learning Motivation In Pre-Service Teacher Education Students: A Grounded Theory Approach, Kristin K. Grosskopf

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This qualitative, grounded-theory study investigated learning motivation differences among three achievement groupings of undergraduate students enrolled in the College of Education and Human Sciences at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Nine students participated in in-depth interviews that explored their reasons for pursuing their degree, their learning experiences in a university setting, their perceptions about meaningful learning experiences, and the nature of factors that both enhance and challenge their learning motivation. Participant responses conveyed strategies and conditions that were coded and analyzed, and a theoretical model was developed describing causal conditions that underlie students’ motivation to learn, phenomena that arose from those …

Neuropsychological Effects Of The Traumatic Stress Response In Sexually Abused Adolescents Throughout Treatment, Kathryn R. Wilson

Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Child maltreatment is a pervasive problem in our society that has long-term detrimental consequences to the development of the affected child such as future brain growth and functioning. The alteration of the biochemical stress response system in the brain that changes an individual’s ability to respond efficiently and efficaciously to future stressors is conceptualized as the traumatic stress response. The purpose of this research was to explore the effects of the traumatic stress response on sexually abused adolescents’ through a two-tiered study of neuropsychological functioning throughout treatment. It was determined that there are measurable differences in neuropsychological processing in sexually …

A Comparison Of Two Theoretical Models Of Procedural Justice In The Context Of Child Protection Proceedings, Twila Wingrove

Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

In this study, the researcher tested two theoretical models of justice in the context of child protection proceedings. Participants read a case file describing a hypothetical child neglect case. The file included the court petition, the caseworker’s court report, a summary of the protective custody hearing, and the judge’s final order. Within the case file, the researcher manipulated four variables: procedural treatment, interpersonal treatment, severity of child neglect, and assigned role (judge or parent). Results of confirmatory factor analyses suggested that a four-factor model of justice judgments best fit the data. Consistent with the organizational justice approach (Colquitt, 2001) the …

Development And Validation Of The Cultural Competence Of Program Evaluators (Ccpe) Scale, Krystall Dunaway

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

As part of its Guiding Principles for Evaluators, the American Evaluation Association (AEA) requires that evaluators develop cultural competencies, yet no measure of cultural competence currently exists in the field. Using items from cultural competence measures used in fields such as counseling and nursing, in conjunction with the creation of qualitative questions, the researcher developed the Cultural Competence of Program Evaluators (CCPE) scale. The main goal of this study was to validate the CCPE, and a subsidiary goal was to assess differences in level of cultural competence among program evaluators based on various demographic variables such as minority status, age, …

The Effects Of Automation Expertise, System Confidence, And Image Quality On Trust, Compliance, And Performance, Randall D. Spain

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

This study examined the effects of automation expertise, system confidence, and image quality on automation trust, compliance, and detection performance. One hundred and fifteen participants completed a simulated military target detection task while receiving advice from an imperfect diagnostic aid that varied in expertise (expert vs. novice) and confidence (75% vs. 50% vs. 25% vs. no aid). The task required participants to detect covert enemy targets in simulated synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images. Participants reported whether a target was present or absent, their decision-confidence, and their trust in the diagnostic system's advice. Results indicated that system confidence and automation expertise …

Developing A Philosophical Profile Of The Individual For Complex Problem-Solving Through Agent-Based Modeling, Ipek Bozkurt

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Research that focuses on the emotional, mental, behavioral and cognitive capabilities of individuals has been abundant within disciplines such as psychology, sociology, and anthropology, among others. The main argument made in this dissertation, however, is that a different perspective is necessary in order to gain insight about individuals when facing the complex problems that are presented within engineering and management disciplines. This is done by developing the Philosophical Profile of the Individual (PPI) that uses epistemology, ontology and teleology as underlying dimensions of philosophical predispositions. The epistemology dimension considers whether an individual is an Empiricist or a Rationalist, the ontology …

Preventing Risky Drinking In First-Year College Women: Further Validation Of A Female-Specific Motivational-Enhancement Group Intervention, Joseph W. Labrie, Karen K. Huchting, Andrew Lac, Summer Tawalbeh, Alysha D. Thompson, Mary E. Larimer

Heads Up!

Objective:

Female college students have increased their alcohol consumption rates. The current study sought to replicate the effectiveness of a female-specific motivational-enhancement group intervention and extended previous work by adding a 6-month follow-up. The intervention included several motivational-enhancement components delivered in a group setting and included a group discussion of female-specific reasons for drinking.

Method:

Participants were 285 first-year college women. Data collection consisted of an online pre-intervention questionnaire, 10 weeks of online follow-up assessment, and a 6-month online follow-up. Using a randomized design, participants chose a group session, blind to treatment status. Held during the first weeks of the …

Juveniles’ Knowledge Of The Court Process: Results From Instruction From An Electronic Source, Christine Driver, Eve M. Brank

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Our study first determined what juveniles know about the juvenile court process. Second, it evaluated a DVD designed to be a systematic and simple way to improve this knowledge. A pre- and post-test design was used with two pilot samples and two samples from the population of interest. A sample from a juvenile detention center (n = 118) was the focus of this study. Initial knowledge of the court process was quite low for the detention sample (pretest M = 64.0%, SD = 14.2%). All samples experienced a significant improvement of knowledge after watching the DVD. Youth in the …

Biological Correlates Of Same Sex Erotic Fantasy And Date Of Birth: An Empirical Study Of 2d:4d Ratios, Rachel Lloyd

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

Based on extensive psychological and embryological research, neurohormonal theory proposes that males and females develop in sexually dimorphic patterns, in large part, because of differential androgen exposure during prenatal development (Kimmel & Weiner, 1995). Likewise, the theory suggests that variations in sexual orientation are also related to differential androgen exposure in prenatal life (Robinson & Manning, 2000). This study examined the ratio of the length of the second finger (2'1 digit) relative to the fourth finger (4th digit), also referred to as 2D:4D, and its relationship to same-sex erotic fantasy. These ratios are sexually dimorphic and are a presumed correlate …

Euthanasia-Related Strain And Coping Strategies In Animal Shelter Employees, Benjamin E. Baran, Joseph A. Allen, Steven G. Rogelberg, Christiane Spitzmüller, Natalie A. Digiacomo, Jennifer B. Webb, Nathan T. Carter, Olga L. Clark, Lisa A. Teeter, Alan G. Walker

Psychology Faculty Publications

Objective—To identify and evaluate coping strategies advocated by experienced animal shelter workers who directly engaged in euthanizing animals.

Design—Cross-sectional study.

Sample Population—Animal shelters across the United States in which euthanasia was conducted (5 to 100 employees/shelter).

Procedures—With the assistance of experts associated with the Humane Society of the United States, the authors identified 88 animal shelters throughout the United States in which animal euthanasia was actively conducted and for which contact information regarding the shelter director was available. Staff at 62 animal shelters agreed to participate in the survey. Survey packets were mailed to the 62 …

An Evolutionary Perspective On Humor: Sexual Selection Or Interest Indication?, Norman P. Li, Vladas Griskevicius, Kristina M. Durante, Peter K. Jonason, Derek J. Pasisz, Katherine Aumer

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Are people who are funny more attractive? Or does being attractive lead people to be seen as funnier? The answer may depend on the underlying evolutionary function of humor. While humor has been proposed to signal “good genes”, the authors propose that humor also functions to indicate interest in social relationships—in initiating new relationships and in monitoring existing ones. Consistent with this interest indicator model, across three studies both sexes were more likely to initiate humor and to respond more positively and consider the other person to be funny when initially attracted to that person. The findings support that humor …

Occurrence Of Rumination: Effects Of Feedback Valence, Self-Disclosure, And Social Anxiety, Chun Han Chen

Student Work

Rumination, defined as repetitive and automatic thought reviewing of negative experiences, was the major object to explore. The research contemplated the mechanism facilitating the occurrence of ruminative thoughts. The hypothesis was that negative emotion from depreciated performance as well as the task requiring self-disclosure might instigate the intense discomfort within which rumination might occur. The researcher examined the potential interaction effect of Performance Feedback x Self-disclosure on rumination. In addition, stable individual characteristics of social anxiety might affect rumination. The statistical analysis explored the predictive effect of social anxiety on rumination. When the situation required one to disclose the self …

Development And Piloting Of The Identification Of Harassers And Victims Of Cyber Harassment Questionnaire, Ashley Nicole Doane

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

This present study developed and tested the Identification of Harassers and Victims of Cyber Harassment Questionnaire (IHVCHQ). To generate questions for the IHVCHQ, prior to the present study, the author reviewed the empirical literature and conducted face-to-face interviews with 43 victims of Internet harassment. From this effort, an 88-item (44 cyber harassment items, 44 cyber victimization items) questionnaire was developed. The pilot survey was reviewed by a subject matter expert, a questionnaire development expert, faculty members, and graduate students.

The present study involved administration of the survey to 538 students at a large university to establish the factor structure and …

Influences Aided And Unaided Visual Search Performance: Effects Of Secondary Task Modality, Secondary Task Processing Code, And Personal Preferences, Rachel R. Phillips

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The present study examined the impact of secondary task modality and secondary task processing code on aided and unaided performance for a simulated luggage screening task. The interaction between secondary task modality and processing code with automation was examined. Finally, the interaction between processing preferences (as measured by learning styles) and outcome measures was assessed. One hundred sixtyone undergraduate students from Old-Dominion University performed a simulated luggage screening task over the course of two days. Half of the participants (n = 81) had the assistance of an automated aid called DETECTOR, and half did not. Participants also performed one of …

Enhanced Post-Learning Memory Consolidation Is Influenced By Arousal Predisposition And Emotion Regulation But Not By Stimulus Valence Or Arousal, Kristy A. Nielson, William Lorber

Psychology Faculty Research and Publications

Emotionally arousing stimuli are more memorable than neutral ones and arousal induced after learning enhances later retrieval. However, there is as yet little study of how stimulus qualities might interact with induced arousal and how individual differences might influence the modulation of memory. Thus, the present study examined the effect of arousal induced after learning on memory for words that varied in both arousal and valence quality, as well as the influence of three individual differences factors that are known to influence arousal response: emotional suppression, emotional reappraisal, and arousal predisposition. Seventy-six adults (57 female) viewed and rated 60 words …

Predictors Of Help-Seeking In Returning Operation Enduring Freedom (Oef) And Operation Iraqi Freedom (Oif) Veterans, Carole Porcari

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Despite a significant number of Afghanistan and Iraqi veterans who reported symptoms of PTSD, depression, anxiety, and substance abuse, the majority of these veterans did not seek help for these problems. Past research has shown several variables that may contribute to an individual seeking help for a mental health problem including demographic variables, nature and severity of the mental health problem, and psychological variables. All Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) veterans and service members that registered with the Ann Arbor VA Healthcare System between 2001 and 2007 were contacted by mail and asked to participate in …

Treatment Of Monozygotic Twins With Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Using Cognitive Therapy And Exposure With Ritual Prevention, Michael P. Twohig, Maureen L. Whittal, Katherine A. Peterson

Psychology Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Assessment and treatment of cohabiting monozygotic (MZ) twins with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is a possible challenge for clinical psychologists. AIMS: This study aims to present a detailed history of two sets of cohabiting MZ twins with OCD, and describe the adaption of cognitive behavior therapy in their treatments. METHOD: Two sets of cohabiting MZ twins completed a structured intake and the Yale Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale as well as measures of depression, anxiety, a measure of obsessive beliefs, and thought action fusion. One set received cognitive behavior therapy and exposure with ritual prevention (ERP) simultaneously and the other …