Psychology Commons^™

Gathering Behavioral Samples Through A Computerized And Standardized Assessment Center Exercise Yes, It Is Possible, Filip Lievens, Etienne Van Keer, Ellen Volckaert

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Although computerization and standardization might make assessment center (AC) exercises easier to administer and score, drawbacks are that most of such exercises have a static and multiple-choice format. This study reports on the development and initial validation of a computerized and standardized AC exercise that simulates key managerial tasks. This AC exercise capitalizes not only on the benefits of computerization and standardization (efficiency and cost savings) but at the same time aims to avoid their usual drawbacks (lower response fidelity and interactivity). The composite exercise score was significantly related to several criteria of interest and had incremental validity beyond cognitive …

Lack Of Consensus Among Competency Ratings Of The Same Occupation: Noise Or Substance?, Filip Lievens, Juan I. Sanchez, Dave Bartram, Anna Brown

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Although rating differences among incumbents of the same occupation have traditionally been viewed as error variance in the work analysis domain, such differences might often capture substantive discrepancies in how incumbents approach their work. This study draws from job crafting, creativity, and role theories to uncover situational factors (i.e., occupational activities, context, and complexity) related to differences among competency ratings of the same occupation. The sample consisted of 192 incumbents from 64 occupations. Results showed that 25% of the variance associated with differences in competency ratings of the same occupation was related to the complexity, the context, and primarily the …

Neuropsychological Performance In Cannabis Users And Non-Users Following Motivation Manipulation, Michelle Stiles

Psychology

Background: Previous research has yielded conflicting results regarding the long term consequences of cannabis use on cognitive functioning. Although in the cannabis literature, there is a commonly held belief associated with cannabis use called, “amotivational syndrome” the authors were unable to find any studies of neuropsychological performance that attempted to manipulate motivation. Methods: Fifty-five undergraduates (34 cannabis users and 21 non-users) participated in an extensive neuropsychological battery. The experimenter read a statement at the beginning of the battery designed to induce motivation. Group differences on test performance were calculated with a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) for tests that did …

Detecting Malingering In Compensated Low Back Pain Patients: An Analog Study, Jennifer R. Grewe

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Given the prevalence and cost of low back pain, particularly among workers' compensation patients, it is advantageous to understand how various psychological constructs may be related to prolonged disability and failure to return to work. Malingering is a psychological construct that is clearly relevant for worker compensation populations and is a construct that is well suited for experimental control within an analog study. Malingering is the intentional exaggeration of physical or psychological symptoms that are motivated by external incentives such as time away from work. The ability to detect malingering in such a population with psychological assessments is unclear. An …

Finding, Nurturing, And Instilling Hope In Family Therapy, Joseph Daniel Tschudy

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The development of a personal theory of therapy and change is an integral part of the training and educational philosophies of the Marriage and Family Therapy Program at Utah State University. This personal theory attempts to identify and explain each student's beliefs regarding the specific mechanisms by which change occurs, thus providing a therapeutic backbone from which one may integrate various interventions, ideas, concepts, and approaches to therapy. As one engages in the process of integration, it becomes critical for students to evaluate their performances. A thorough self-evaluation that includes the utilization of scientific methods leads to the development of …

Examination Of The Relationship Between Perfectionism And Religiosity As Mediated By Psychological Inflexibility, Jesse M. Crosby

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The relationship between perfectionism and religiosity is clarified when the adaptive and maladaptive dimensions of both constructs are compared. Literature in both areas implicates the idea of a rigid and inflexible personality style as a possible mediator in the relationship. This investigation examined the relationship of perfectionism and religiosity, using adaptive and maladaptive dimensions, as mediated by psychological inflexibility.

Measures of perfectionism, religiosity, and psychological inflexibility were given to 376 undergraduate college students in an anonymous online survey. Adaptive perfectionism was found to be significantly correlated with adaptive religiosity. Maladaptive perfectionism was found to be significantly correlated with maladaptive religiosity. …

Students' Perceptions Of Coercion In Research, Azure L. Midzinski

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to examine how students perceive the most common methods of recruitment for research participation, and whether these recruitment strategies are perceived by the participants to be coercive. Ethical research guidelines prohibit the use of coercion in recruiting participants. Previous studies in this area have either focused on the perceptions of the researchers, or have approached the concept of coercion in a limited way. This study treated coercion as a multidimensional construct and examined student perceptions. Additionally, participant responses indicated which recruitment practices resulted in a decision to participate in the research. Findings indicate that …

Common Characteristics Of Young People Who Text: The Connection To Autonomy, Identity And Self-Esteem, Elizabeth M. Davis

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study examined the relationship between adolescents' use of texting and their level of identity development, cognitive autonomy, and self-esteem. One hundred and nineteen Utah State University students participated in this study by filling out a questionnaire that included a section designed specifically to learn the texting habits of the participants, and also included sections derived from previously existing measures on identity, autonomy, and self-esteem.

The results show statistical significance of age and texting. Participants who were 23 years+ sent significantly less than those participants who were 19-22 years. Areas of gender, identity, and self-esteem were also analyzed. Implications of …

Examination Of Behavioral Momentum With Staff As Contextual Variables In Applied Settings With Children With Autism, Mark P. Groskreutz

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Behavioral momentum theory proposes that the persistence of behavior when exposed to disruptors provides an appropriate measure of the strength of behavior. Basic research has consistently demonstrated that behaviors that occurred in a context with higher overall rates of reinforcement (rich contexts) were more persistent than other behaviors that have occurred in a context with relatively lower rates of reinforcement (lean contexts). More surprisingly, behavioral momentum theory goes on to assert that this greater persistence in richer contexts is found even when rate of responding is lower in the rich context, and when the greater richness is due to noncontingent …

Parenting Practices And Child Mental Health Among Spanish Speaking Latino Families: Examining The Role Of Parental Cultural Values, Melissa Renee Donovick

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to evaluate observed parenting practices among first-generation Spanish-speaking Latinos living in Utah. Participants included 50 families with a child between the ages of 4 and 9. Parents and their child engaged in a behavioral observational task that was coded for parenting dimensions and styles to determine if they predict child outcomes among Latino families. Parents completed the Child Behavior Checklist to assess for behavioral problems. Observations were coded using the Parenting Scale, developed specifically for this study. In general, parents received high ratings on warmth and demandingness, and lower ratings on autonomy granting. Parenting …

Implementing An Asca-Informed School Counselor Supervision Model: A Qualitative Field-Based Study, Janet M. Glaes

Dissertations

The American School Counseling Association's (ASCA) National Model has been recognized in the field of professional school counseling as an effective framework for the training and supervision of school counselor interns. Despite this recommendation, school counselor supervision models which incorporate the ASCA model have until recently been rare and are still in the early stages of development. This qualitative study describes the supervision experiences of six pairs of school counselor supervisors and their interns (at the elementary, middle, and high school levels) as they employed an ASCA-based school counselor specific supervision model in their internship practices. The supervision model utilized …

Trial And Error, Delayed Prompting, And Reinforcement Of Prompted Responses In Teaching Receptive Identification Of Pictures, Kristen Lynn Gaisford

Dissertations

Three strategies to train receptive identification of pictures were compared: (a) trial and error, (b) delayed finger-point prompt followed by a reinforcer, and (c) delayed finger-point prompt followed by the spoken word, "good". These three strategies were compared using a multi-element design, assessing the performance of four children, ranging from two to four years of age, selected from a classroom that provides services to children with Early Childhood Developmental Delays (ECDD). Two children mastered the receptive identification of pictures at the same rate regardless of the strategy. For the remaining two participants, the rate of mastery was the same for …

Assessing Michigan School Counselors' Preparedness To Meet The Needs Of Attractional/Sexual Minority Students, J. Frederick Bland

Dissertations

This study assessed the attitudes, skills, knowledge, graduate counseling training, and willingness to engage in professional development of Michigan school counselors regarding issues and concerns of students who identify as lesbian, gay, biattractional, transgender, and students who are questioning their attractional orientation (LGBTQ).

A total of 120 Michigan school counselors completed useable surveys either online or a paper-and-pencil version at a Michigan school counseling conference. Descriptive statistics were calculated for the demographic variables age, gender, ethnicity, attractional/sexual orientation, and professional characteristics such as years of school counseling experience, school level, and school location (urban, suburban, rural). One-way ANOVAs were used …

The Abortion Attitudes Of Counselor, Social Worker, And Nursing Trainees, Mary J. Ball

Dissertations

This study examined the similarities and dissimilarities in abortion attitudes among counselors (CTs, n = 51), social workers (SWTs, n = 42), and nurses in training (NTs, n = 78), based on profession, age, race, gender, and religion. Data were analyzed using analysis of variance and standard multiple regression. It was predicted that profession, religion, age, gender, and race would predict the abortion attitudes of CTs, SWTs, and NTs in training. It was also predicted that the attitudes of CTs and SWTs would be most similar, and that both of these groups would hold more positive abortion attitudes than NTs. …

Experimental Analysis Of Gambling Using A Concurrent-Schedules Procedure, Andrew Ellis Brandt

Dissertations

Gambling has been experimentally investigated using various types of gambling simulations designed to mimic the contingencies found in real-world games of chance. Findings from past risky choice research suggest that certain procedures used in existing gambling simulations may systematically increase levels of gambling. Two of these characteristics, the use of a participant stake and the type of options available during gambling, were tested in four experiments in which participants had the opportunity to gamble using tokens exchangeable for entries into a $50 lottery. Experiments 1 and 2 tested persistence on a gamble option when either a single-option or a concurrent …

Second Language Inner Voice And Identity, Brandon Kenji Shigematsu

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study investigates the phenomena of second language (L2, hereafter) inner voice for three Japanese-American English bilinguals who had long-term exposure to the L2 in naturalistic contexts, that is, by living and/or working or studying in the U.S. American English learners of L2 Japanese were included in the study as well, although only one of them had naturalistic exposure, the other having traveled to Japan in addition to being married to a Japanese national. Data for the study reveals how and when L2 inner voice is utilized, how it appears to develop, how it leads to shifts in identity toward …

A Longitudinal Study Of Neurocognitive Deficits And Functional Outcome In Bipolar Disorder, Brian D. Leany

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Bipolar disorder is an affective disorder that, in addition to being characterized by depressive and expansive mood symptoms, often presents with neuropsychological deficits. Bipolar disorder not only impairs an individual’s cognitive abilities, but these cognitive impairments may also impact day-to-day activities causing functional impairment. In other psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, it has been shown that the neuropsychological deficits are predictive of poor, long term treatment outcome and functioning. However, while bipolar disorder affects nearly 1 - 2% of the U.S. population (Keck, McElroy, & Arnold, 2001), little is known about the extent that neurocognitive deficits may play in the …

The Boys' Club: An Exploration Into The Social World Of A Las Vegas Casino Sports Book, Frederick W. Krauss

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This ethnography of the La Mesa Casino Sports Book explores the characteristics that frame the social world its regular patrons create. Specifically, I explain the characteristics of La Mesa’s sports bettors, the types of people who bet on sports, the mechanisms used to sustain participation in the scene, and how the sports bettors view themselves, their social world, and those outside of it. I argue that regular sports book patrons do not use the environment simply for sports betting. Rather, their complex interactional dynamics create a robust social world they come back to again and again to create a meaningful …

Cluster Analysis Of The Tomal Standardization Sample, Nicholas Shizuo Thaler

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Children experience natural cognitive changes as they grow older, with more rapid memory development when they are younger. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the expected normal variation in youth using the Test of Memory and Learning (TOMAL; Reynolds & Bigler, 1994). The TOMAL is a broad-band verbal and nonverbal memory battery that has been standardized on youth aged 5-19, providing a good source of information on memory development in healthy children. Cluster analysis analyzed 1121 children selected from the TOMAL standardization sample and identified homogeneous profile subtypes of memory and learning. In addition, three age ranges …

Relative Deprivation, Relative Gratification, Status, And Health, Samuel A. Holland

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The role of perceived inequity in health was assessed and compared to other social constructs predicted to be relevant in the relationship between inequity and health. Four studies were conducted that demonstrated that a social comparison-based measure of relative deprivation (RD) and relative gratification (RG) can predict health and continues to do so even after accounting for perceived stress, personal income, perceived control, and social participation. A measure of RD/RG was developed that was based on prominent social comparisons and objects of comparison. This measure was reliable and predictive of health in two samplings of different populations. Comparisons of the …

Principal Stress: Working In Conflicting Paradigms From Newtonian To New Science, Shelley Kresyman

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Shortages of qualified principal candidates and retention of motivated principals, combined with the evidence that the principal is a vital part of effective school improvement, has ominous implications for the future quality of education. A body of research exists describing school administrators' stress over the last 25 years; yet, limited research reflects the impact the changing role of the principal in the accountability era of No Child Left Behind has had on principal stress and the possible connections to the shifting paradigms in organizational leadership.

If principals perceive themselves to be overstressed and unprepared to meet the current expectations and …

Experienced Clinician’S Understanding And Approach To Treatment With Male Survivors Of Child Sexual Abuse, Blendine Perreire Hawkins

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The number of males abused sexually as children are significant and while the awareness of the needs of this population has increased, the process in treatment has not been sufficiently examined. The purpose of this study was to explore experienced clinicians' approach and understanding within treatment with adult male survivors of child sexual abuse. A qualitative research design was utilized, using purposeful expert sampling procedures. In this study, data was collected from phone interviews with five participants who were identified as highly experienced clinicians in the area of male survivors of child sexual abuse treatment. Using qualitative methods within phenomenological …

Narrative Comprehension For Functional Survival Spatial Relations, Paul James Schroeder Iii

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Spatial situation models are mental representations of the relationship between characters and objects in the narrative environment. Functional spatial relationships describe an interaction (or potential interaction) between characters and objects in the narrative environment. Although functional relations tend to produce stronger representations as compared with nonfunctional ones (Radvansky & Copeland, 2000), recent data also suggest that specification of causal information, specifically, survival-based scenarios in which characters are described as in immediate danger, may contribute to the construction and maintenance of spatial situation models (Jahn, 2004). For the current study, this idea was tested by comparing reading times and comprehension for …

African American And Caucasian Males' Evaluation Of Racialized Female Facial Averages, Rhea M. Watson

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The answer to what makes a face attractive has been debated for generations and studied in different disciplines. The current study investigated African American and Caucasian males' evaluation (attraction) to racialized female faces. Faces varied from 100% African American to 100% Caucasian (and included variations that were 25% of either group, or 50% of both groups). Twenty African American and 30 Caucasian men each viewed ten faces, and evaluated them in terms of their appearance and the likelihood that the men would interact with (befriend, date, or marry) the person pictured. Findings revealed that African American men found the 100% …

Enhanced Food Marketing To Children On The Internet: A Content Analysis, Sarah A. Ochsner

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

In light of the continuing epidemic of childhood obesity, aggressive food marketing strategies have come under increased scrutiny as a possible contributing factor. It has been acknowledged in numerous studies, that poor nutrient quality of food and beverages dominate children's programming. The growth in child-specific media envoys has further increased favorable opportunities to market food and beverages to children, notably less regulated and parentally unsupervised. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 65% of children aged 6-11 have home access to the Internet; and today, the majority of food manufacturers operate websites appealing to children. The Institute of Medicine issued a …

Collaborative Inhibition: A Counterintuitive Phenomenon, Lauren Michelle Mcclure

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

Recollection is frequently social; people tend to remember with others and when they do, their joint recollection is enhanced (Meudell, Hitch & Kirby, 1992). While one intuitively thinks that collaboration would enhance memory, Weldon, et al. (1997) argued that recalling with others impairs retrieval of "unique items." This collaborative inhibition (CI), occurs when pairs of subjects recall fewer correct "unique" items than others recall in isolation. This is a common result in many studies and has been attributed to both social and cognitive causes. This study examined whether or not collaborative inhibition would disappear if the total possible number of …

Does Religiosity Enhance Ability To Self-Regulate?, Kaylyn Lee Watterson

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

Although previous research has found positive associations between self-regulation and religiosity, very few studies investigating the relationship exist. This study was an attempt to find experimental evidence supporting the prediction that high levels of religiosity enhance ability to self-regulate. Seventy-nine students at Butler University, 15 males and 64 females, were randomly assigned to a depleted or full self-regulatory resources group. Participants in the depleted resources group squeezed a handgrip for as long as possible before working on a difficult task that required self-control. Participants in the full resources group proceeded directly to the self-control task.

What Makes A Meaningful Universe?, Todd Duncan, James Butler

Systems Science Friday Noon Seminar Series

A common line of thinking says that although we feel subjectively that our thoughts and actions matter in some way, this perception is an illusion. According to this view, an honest look around at the universe shatters this myth and reveals that our lives are ultimately meaningless. If we are to be hard-nosed realists, limiting ourselves to scientific, evidence-based reasoning, then we must accept that human existence is an inconsequential accident of no ultimate significance in the grand scheme of things. Is this attitude really justified by the evidence? We'll explore this question by taking a step back and asking …

The Neural Systems Of Working Memory: The Sternberg Working Memory Task In A Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury Sample, Jon Leroy Pertab

Theses and Dissertations

Working memory tasks are associated with the activation of widely distributed neural networks. The Sternberg working memory task has been used to explore the neural correlates associated with changes in memory load and the resolution of interference. Preliminary research suggests that the integrity of the anterior cingulate is correlated with resolving load adjustments but not in resolving interference demands; the opposite pattern of associations have been observed with the right middle frontal gyrus.Participants in the present study were 28 children who had sustained moderate to severe traumatic brain injuries (TBI) and 28 children who had sustained orthopedic injuries (OI). Participants …

Memories For Sexual Encounters: Sexual Attitudes, Personality, Gender, And Evidence For Personal Flashbulb Effects, Nicholas Ryan Comotto

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

Recollections of first and most recent sex experiences were examined as personal flashbulb memories (FBM) using "open" narrative and probed recall estimates over the course of two studies. Furthermore, dimensions of gender, personality, and sexual attitudes were analyzed for their effects on sexual memory. Although both experiences were rated as equally arousing, the first sexual experience occurred with a longer delay to test and was talked about more than three times as much as the most recent experience. However, memories for most recent sexual experiences were rated as more vivid in study II. Yet, first sexual memories contained more narrative …