Psychology Commons^™

The Role Of Gender Identity On The Effects Of Stereotype Threat: An Examination Of Girls’ Math Performance In A Single-Sex Classroom, Erin E. Twamley

Psychology Honors Projects

Despite all of the advancements women have made in the field of mathematics, the negative stereotype regarding women’s mathematical competence persists. Stereotype threat research demonstrates that the negative stereotype contributes to significant gender differences in attitudes, academic achievement, and educational and career attainment in math. The current longitudinal study focused on stereotype threat as an explanation for how a negative gender stereotype influences the mathematical performance of middle school girls in math in a single-sex setting. In particular, the study examines how the girls’ gender identification moderates the effects of stereotype threat. The results of the study indicate that stereotype …

Animal Pleasure And Its Moral Significance, Jonathan Balcombe

Sentience Collection

This paper presents arguments for, and evidence in support of, the important role of pleasure in animals’ lives, and outlines its considerable significance to humankind’s relationship to other animals. In the realms of animal sentience, almost all scholarly discussion revolves around its negative aspects: pain, stress, distress, and suffering. By contrast, the positive aspects of sentience – rewards and pleasures – have been rarely broached by scientists. Yet, evolutionary principles predict that animals, like humans, are motivated to seek rewards, and not merely to avoid pain and suffering. Natural selection favours behaviours that enhance survival and procreation. In the conscious, …

Animal Behaviour, Animal Welfare And The Scientific Study Of Affect, David Fraser

Emotion Collection

Many questions about animal welfare involve the affective states of animals (pain, fear, distress) and people look to science to clarify these issues as a basis for practices, policies and standards. However, the science of the mid twentieth century tended to be silent on matters of animal affect for both philosophical and methodological reasons. Philosophically, under the influence of Positivism many scientists considered that the affective states of animals fall outside the scope of science. Certain methodological features of the research also favoured explanations that did not involve affect. The features included the tendency to rely on abstract, quantitative measures …

The Power Of The Beat Impacting Human Emotion, Kelsey Anderson, Mandy Dion

Undergraduate Psychology Research Methods Journal

The main objective of this study was to examine the effects that music would have on emotions when a song has lyrics and when it does not. It was hypothesized that if a song is played without lyrics then it will invoke a different emotion than if the exact same song with lyrics were played. There were a total of 70 participants who were recruited from the Human Subject Pool. After retrieving the data and observing the results, there was a correlation between emotions and songs played with lyrics and there was a different correlation of emotions with the songs …

Gender Differences In Exclusive Romantic Relationships, Maria Diaz, Sarah Ward

Undergraduate Psychology Research Methods Journal

There is previous research indicating that men and women worry while involved in an exclusive relationship. In the study conducted, we were interested in finding whether there are differences in the issues men and women worry about while involved in an exclusive romantic relationship. We recruited 60 participants, or 30 heterosexual couples. Participants were asked to complete a short survey rating 15 issues on a 5-point Likert scale focusing on how much they worry about different issues. Our findings indicate that there are no significant differences in what issues men and women worry about. However, there was a significant difference …

How Do You Compare? The Correlations Of Social Desirability And Self-Esteem As Well As Social Desirability And Self-Consciousness, Kristy Johnson, Kristy Myers

Undergraduate Psychology Research Methods Journal

In the present study, 81 participants were asked to self-report their levels of self-esteem and self-consciousness using Rosenberg’s Self-Esteem Scale and Fenigstein’s Self-Consciousness Scale, respectively, as well as report their current semester GPA in order to study the correlations between these variables and the variable of GPA inflation. There was no significance found for the correlations between the level of GPA inflation and experimental condition, between GPA inflation and self-esteem, or between GPA inflation and self-consciousness for the 35 participants with obtainable GPA’s. However, the present researchers did find significance in the correlation between inflated GPA and self-consciousness for the …

Time: Friend Or Foe?, Greg Townsend

Undergraduate Psychology Research Methods Journal

The present research was conducted in order to determine whether timing a test (such as on the ACT) causes a decrease in accuracy compared to the same test given without any time limit. Participants were given two equivalent tests (Test A & Test B), one timed and the other not timed, in the four ways: 1) test A first with test B timed, 2) test A first with test A timed, 3) test B first with test A timed, and 4) test B first with test B timed. The time allowed for the timed test was eight minutes and fifteen …

Mental Imagery And Basketball: A Comparison Of Cognitive-Specific And Flow Imagery, Evan Welo

Psychology Honors Projects

Flow is a psychological state that is associated with optimal performance. Sports such as basketball are conducive to an individual experiencing flow because they have rules that structure and focus attention. Past research indicates that sports related mental imagery practice improves athletic performance; however few studies to date have systematically included the characteristics of flow in their sports mental imagery interventions. The present study compared the efficacy of a ―flow‖ and a standard basketball mental imagery intervention at improving performance on a basketball-shooting task. No significant differences were found between groups, but both reported increases in flow experiences.

Effects Of Social Support On The Social Self-Concepts Of Gifted Adolescents, Caroline S. Cochran

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The current study investigates the relationship between social support and the social self-concepts of gifted adolescents. Participants include 245 gifted students who had completed the fifth through the tenth grade during the previous academic year. Social self-concept was measured using the Self-Description Questionnaire II (Marsh, 1990). Social support was measured using the Child and Adolescent Social Support Scale (Malecki & Demaray, 2002). Results indicate multiple relationships between perceived social support and social self-concept, as well as a significant gender difference for the frequency of close friend social support. No gender differences were found for the parent, teacher, classmate, or school …

Intercollegiate Athlete Perceptions Of Justice In Team Disciplinary Decisions, Brandon Richard Severs

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Perceptions of justice involving disciplinary decisions for a star player in an intercollegiate team sport setting were investigated. Male and female intercollegiate athletes (N = 142) at a midsized southeastern university responded to one of sixteen scenarios and reported perceptions of fairness for the punished athlete and teammates, perceptions of procedural fairness for the punished athlete and teammates, and whether the punishment was likely to deter future misconduct by the punished athlete and teammates. The results indicated that athletes perceived consistently applied punishment as more fair to all team members than they did conditional punishment; consistently applied punishment was perceived …

Peer Perceptions Of Self-Injurious Behavior, Fantom Shakeria Smith

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Students of a south central university provide data for this study investigating knowledge of self-injury (SI), experiences with those who self-injure, and perceptions of SI. This study proposes that college peers of those who self-injure have higher levels of SI knowledge than professionals who work with individuals who self-injure. In addition, the study proposes that individuals who have experience with others who self-injure have higher levels of SI knowledge than individuals who do not have experience with others who self-injure. An additional purpose of this study is to explore information regarding experiences people have with others who self-injure and their …

Ethics-A Bridge For Communities And Scientists: A Curriculum For Community Outreach And Education, Ann Freeman Cook, Helena Hoas

Psychology Faculty Publications

The Ethics - A Bridge for Communities and Scientists (E-ABCs) project was conducted in the community of Libby, Montana where it examined the ethical, legal, and social implications of asbestos contamination. The project was designed to explore how an awareness of ethics can support and enrich community dialogue and inform decision-making.

During the six year funding cycle for this project, a number of efforts were undertaken in order to provide resources for Libby residents who have diverse and changing needs and interests. The lessons learned from these efforts are reflected throughout the website and are summarized in the manual entitled, …

Spiritual Struggles And Self-Discrepancy, Robert Carlisle

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Spiritual Struggles occur when a person's spirituality has been threatened and must be modified or changed. Researchers explain that there are three types of struggles - divine, interpersonal and intrapersonal. In this study it was proposed that religious discrepancies could lead to spiritual struggles. There are two major types of discrepancies: actual/ideal and actual/ought. Actual/ideal discrepancies exist when there is a difference between what people think they ideally should be like and what they are actually. An actual/ought discrepancy is a difference between what people think they ought to be and what they actually are. It was proposed that religious …

Phobophobia: Fear, Fear Of Fear, And The Climber Mind, Fred B. Bryant, Kristin Bjornsen

Psychology: Faculty Publications and Other Works

No abstract provided.

Cultural Differences As A Moderator Of Perceptions Of Injustice And Workplace Deviance, Amber Schroeder

All Theses

Previous research has suggested that organizational justice perceptions are negatively related to workplace deviance, but the impact of individual cultural orientations has rarely been considered. Thus, the current paper examined individualism and collectivism as moderators of the justice-deviance relationship. Results suggested that injustice was more likely to lead to deviant workplace behavior in individuals high on individualism or low on collectivism than in individuals on the opposite ends of these spectrums. Practical implications and study limitations are discussed.

Changing Conceptions And Uses Of Computer Technologies In The Everyday Literacy Practices Of Sixth And Seventh Graders, Jane M. Agee, Jeanette Altarriba

Psychology Faculty Scholarship

This study focused on 189 sixth and seventh graders in two large suburban schools and their use of computer technologies as part of their everyday literacy practices. We were especially interested in the students' conceptions of computer technologies and how computer use varied across grade and reading levels. The study included a survey completed by all 189 students that provided an overview of students' uses of computer technologies and other literacy practices. Interviews with 24 students provided more detailed information on how sixth- and seventh-grade students at different reading levels used and conceptualized computer technologies in and out of school. …

Exploring Web 2.0 Technologies To Internationalize The Teaching Of Psychology, Richard Velayo

Cornerstone 3 Reports : Interdisciplinary Informatics

This project aims to explore effective ways in which instructors in psychology through the use of Web 2.0 technologies in teaching help with this “internationalization” initiative. Though the focus of this pilot project is the psychology curriculum, an investigation of the ways in which Internet-based technologies are used to internationalize curriculum in other disciplines will also be explored.

The Effects Of Accountability On Leniency Reduction In Self Ratings, Brettney Smith

All Theses

The purpose of the present study was to assess the effects of accountability on leniency reduction in self-ratings. It was hypothesized that participants in both the upward and illegitimate accountability condition would have lower levels of leniency in their self-ratings than participants in the no accountability condition. Accountability was operationalized as participants being told that they would have to justify their self-ratings of driving performance to either a professor who specializes in driving research (upward accountability) or to an education graduate student who maintains the driving simulator (illegitimate accountability) via an audiotape. The results showed that accountability had a significant …

A Longitudinal Study Of Lmx And Stress: Is The In-Group Burning Out?, Brett Bloemer

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

Personality And Leader Emergence In Groups, Rhett M. Smith

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Trait-based approaches to leadership have been around for a long time. Starting out as one of the original theories of leadership, research in the area of trait- based perspectives began to slow and give way to other, different domains of predicting leadership in the 1950s. Only recently has there been a revived interest in the trait approaches to leadership. Building on this resurgence, the present study examined the relationship between leader emergence and the Five Factor Model of personality (Extraversion, Agreeableness, Openness to Experience, Neuroticism, and Conscientiousness).

The Effects Of Foster Care Residence And Age Of Child On Credibility Of Child Sexual Abuse Allegations, Patricia D. Hartman

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Research demonstrates that children who have been sexually abused are at increased risk for further abuse. Children placed into foster care are also at heightened risk for abuse in their foster homes. While much research has been conducted concerning the credibility of children’s sexual abuse allegations, none has examined the believability of allegations of abuse within the foster care system. In the present study, 223 undergraduate psychology students were randomly assigned to read one of six scenarios. Each scenario described a girl (age 6, 11, or 15 years of age) who either resided with her mother and stepfather or foster …

An Investigation Of Sexual Narcissism As A Predictor Of Sexual Assault, Rachel Johnson

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

While narcissism has been linked to aggression, studies directly examining the relationship of narcissism with sexual aggression have yielded inconsistent results. This is likely due to the global measures of narcissism used. These measures are not sensitive to whether the components of narcissism are activated in sexual versus non-sexual domains. This study examined sexual narcissism as a predictor of rape myth acceptance, which has been consistently related to sexual aggression. In addition, the researcher attempted to show that sexual narcissism is a unique predictor of sexual aggression. This was done in three phases. Phase 1 demonstrated that sexual narcissism is …

A Synthesis Of Empirically Supported Classwide Interventions: Matching Interventions To Common Functions Of Classroom Behavior Problems, Bethanie Monsen-Ford

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

The most common forms of intervention for behavioral concerns of students in the school setting are schoolwide positive behavior support (PBS) systems and individualized interventions based upon functional behavior assessment (FBA). Research has shown positive outcomes for both schoolwide PBS systems and individual interventions utilizing FBA. However, less research has been done with classwide behavior interventions. A review of the literature was conducted to indentify classwide behavior interventions conducted in a regular education classroom with primarily regular education students. Studies identified to meet inclusion criteria were assessed to determine the possible function or combination of functions served. Twenty-one studies were …

Drinking Motives And Self-Other Differences Of College Norms Of Alcohol-Related Consequences And Protective Behavioral Strategies, Kristyn Lao

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

Heavy alcohol use and related consequences among college students have prompted an increase in research on determinants of excessive drinking, including perceived drinking norms. A distinction can be made between descriptive norms (what others do) and injunctive norms (what others approve of). Research reveals consistent self-other differences (SOD) for both descriptive and injunctive norms (Borsari & Carey, 2003), such that students tend to endorse more conservative behaviors and attitudes for themselves than they ascribe to their peers. The purpose of this study is to extend understanding of injunctive norms by evaluating SOD on (a) global comfort with drinking of students …

Creativity And Domain Specificity: The Effect Of Task Type On Multiple Indexes Of Creative Problem-Solving, Roni Reiter-Palmon, Marcy Young Illies, Toleo, Infousa, Oriental Trading Co.

Psychology Faculty Publications

The study addresses the issue of domain specificity within creativity by understanding the characteristics of creative tasks and how participants react to the task. One hundred and eighty seven participants were given one of three realistic everyday problems to solve. The problems differed in terms of complexity, involvement, and problem-based efficacy. Problem solutions were evaluated on several measures of creativity. Results indicate that creativity was influenced by the type of problem solved and the measure of creativity used to evaluate the solution. Further, these results were obtained after controlling for the effect of ability. Results imply that not all real-world …

Implications For Sin And Psychology: An Investigative Study Of The Sin Awareness Scale, Keith A. Louwerse

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Though scientific psychology once attempted to distance itself from religious constructs, times have changed. It now seems clear that the clinical practice of psychology involves metaphysics as well as science (O'donohue, 1989, Jones, 1994). Recent research also shows significant relationships between religion, spirituality and health (Hill and Pargament, 2003, Richards and Bergin, 2005). Yet the body of psycho logy and scholarship largely overlooks the study of sin. As a result, there is a shocking absence of measurement tools for research on perceptions of sin. What are the psychological implications of a Christian view of sin? Before studying the religious notion …

Test Anxiety, Depression, And Irrational Beliefs In College Students, Grace Boyers

Departmental Honors & Graduate Capstone Projects

This study examined the relationship between test anxiety, depression, and four of Ellis's (1963) irrational beliefs (demand for approval, anxious overconcern, helplessness, and frustration reactivity). Participants completed questionnaires examining test anxiety, depressive symptoms, and irrational beliefs. It was expected that the first three beliefs would be predictive of students' test anxiety scores. Students with high test anxiety and high depressive symptoms were also expected to score high on frustration reactivity, in contrast to low scores found among high test-anxious, low-depressive students. Demand for approval and anxious overconcern were found to be significant predictors of level of test anxiety. However, no …

International Work Demands And Employee Well Being And Performance, Hailey Herleman

All Dissertations

Today's global workplace is growing in size and scope, creating a demand to integrate strategies and research in the field of international management (Bjorkman & Stahl, 2006). In the present study I argue for a more comprehensive understanding of the demands that employees face when engaged in international work responsibilities along with an analysis of the relationships between international work demands and important outcomes. The current project includes both a qualitative and quantitative study utilizing separate samples. The qualitative study identifies positive and negative aspects of international work demands for employees. In addition, the qualitative study investigates sources of support …

Pediatric Feeding Problems Related To Tactile Defensiveness: A Case Study, Lauren Maguire

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this exploratory, single-subject design study was to introduce to a child with a severe feeding disorder and tactile sensitivity different activities related to food in an attempt to increase the child's acceptance of new foods. After a baseline assessment, the child and his parents participated in a 12-week intervention that included at least one new tactile activity and a selection of new foods the parents identified that they wanted their child to eat. In the process of conducting this study, an underlying medical problem was identified; therefore, halfway through the study, the child began to take medication …

Impact Of Student Achievement Through The Use Of The Six Traits Of Writing Model, Michael G. Nygaard

Theses and Dissertations

This study had two purposes; the first was to study 12 English teachers' scoring of 30 randomly selected student writing samples gathered in the years of 2005, 2006, and 2007 in the Fargo Public School District. The 12 teachers were separated into three groups. Group A (four teachers) served as the control group, as they have been trained and currently score student writing samples. Group B (four teachers) were teachers who have been trained in the use of the Six Traits of Writing Model, but have not scored student writing samples. Group C (four teachers) were teachers who have neither …