Psychology Commons^™

Economic Outlook 2010: Innovation, Connie I. Reimers-Hild

Kimmel Education and Research Center: Presentations and White Papers

This article discusses the importance of innovation to individuals and the overall economy.

Domain Is A Moving Target For Relational Learning, Jeffrey S. Katz, Bradley R. Sturz, Anthony A. Wright

Psychology: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Effects Of Consumer Animosity, Consumer Ethnocentrism And Patriotism On The U.S. Made Products : A Study Of Muslim Consumers In Malaysia., Khairul Anuar Mohammad Shah

Student Works (2010-2019)

The primary objective of this study is to examine the negative attitudes of Malaysian Muslim consumers towards US made products. The conceptual model for this study was adapted from the model developed by Klein, Ettenson and Morris (1998). In their model, two sources of negative attitudes towards foreign made products were included, i.e., consumer animosity and consumer ethnocentrism. However, this study integrated another source of negative attitude, i.e., patriotism. The framework of this study suggests that consumer animosity, consumer ethnocentrism and patriotism will negatively influence the judgment of US made products and, subsequently, their purchase willingness and purchase action. Also, …

Automatic Thoughts And Cognitive Restructuring In Cognitive Behavioral Group Therapy For Social Anxiety Disorder, Debra A. Hope, James A. Burns, Sarah A. Hayes, James D. Herbert, Michelle D. Warner

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

The goal in (Heimberg, R. G. [1991]. A manual for conducting Cognitive Behavior Group Therapy for social phobia (2nd ed.), unpublished manuscript) cognitive behavioral group therapy (CBGT) for social anxiety disorder (social phobia) is to challenge irrational automatic thoughts and create exposures to provide disconfirming evidence for these irrational thoughts as well as habituation to fearful stimuli. Yet little is known about the types of thoughts reported by socially anxious individuals in therapy or which thoughts therapists select for cognitive restructuring in CBGT sessions. The present study analyzed the semantic content of automatic thoughts reported in CBGT and found that …

Head Start: It Works For Indiana Children And Families!, Jennifer Dobbs-Oates, James Elicker, Volker Thomas

Center for Families Publications

This technical report summarizes new and existing data to address the question, “Does Head Start work for Indiana children, families, and communities?” Data sources consulted in this study include the state Head Start Program Information Report, local Indiana Head Start and Early Head Start Programs, existing national studies of Head Start and Early Head Start, and local and national data available on children’s development in early care and education programs for low-income families. This report concludes that Indiana’s Early Head Start and Head Start programs are indeed providing substantial benefits to children, families, and communities. The report summarizes the outcomes …

Disparity Between The Perceived Alcohol-Related Attitudes Of Parents And Peers Increases Alcohol Risk In College Students, Jessica Cail, Joseph W. Labrie

Heads Up!

Although peer norms have been found to be a particularly strong correlate of alcohol consumption by college students, research suggests that parents also have a significant impact on the behaviors of their children, even after their child has departed for college. The current study investigated the effect of disparity between the perceived approval of alcohol (injunctive norms) of parents and closest friends on college student drinking and consequences, and explored gender differences in this effect. It found that injunctive disparity was significantly correlated with individual drinking and related consequences over and above the strongest known predictor variables of gender, same-sex …

Lgb-Affirmative Cognitive Behavioral Treatment For Social Anxiety: A Case Study Applying Evidence-Based Practice Principles, Kate Walsh, Debra A. Hope

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Guided by the American Psychological Association’s principles of evidence-based practice, this article reviews a single-case treatment outcome study whereby a client characteristic, sexual identity, was integrated into the assessment and treatment of social anxiety symptoms. The case involved a young adult European-American male who presented to a training clinic with a primary diagnosis of social anxiety disorder as well as secondary symptoms of excessive worry and concerns of sexual identity confusion. Recent evidence suggests that gay men report more symptoms of social anxiety when compared to heterosexual men, and those who make more efforts to conceal their sexual identity experience …

Evolution Of The Cerebellar Cortex: The Selective Expansion Of Prefrontal-Projecting Cerebellar Lobules, J. H. Balsters, E. Cussans, J. Diedrichsen, Kimberley A. Phillips, T. M. Preuss, J. K. Rilling, N. Ramnani

Psychology Faculty Research

It has been suggested that interconnected brain areas evolve in tandem because evolutionary pressures act on complete functional systems rather than on individual brain areas. The cerebellar cortex has reciprocal connections with both the prefrontal cortex and motor cortex, forming independent loops with each. Specifically, in capuchin monkeys cerebellar cortical lobules Crus I and Crus II connect with prefrontal cortex, whereas the primary motor cortex connects with cerebellar lobules V, VI, VIIb, and VIIIa. Comparisons of extant primate species suggest that the prefrontal cortex has expanded more than cortical motor areas in human evolution. Given the enlargement of the prefrontal …

Complainant Behavioral Tone, Ambivalent Sexism, And Perceptions Of Sexual Harassment, Richard L. Wiener, Roni Reiter-Palmon, Ryan J. Winter, Erin Richter, Amy Humke, Evelyn Maeder

Psychology Faculty Publications

Previous research has examined the impact of the law on decisions made about social sexual interactions in the workplace in the context of a variety of individual difference variables including gender of the observer and sexist attitudes, as well as situational factors including legal standard and prior exposure to aggressive and submissive complainants. The current study continued this line of inquiry by testing whether hostile or benevolent sexist attitudes behaved differently under manipulated exposure to aggressive and submissive complainants. Full-time workers watched 1 videotape in which aggressive, submissive, or neutral (i.e., businesslike) women complained that male coworkers sexually harassed them; …

Conscientiousness And Forgivingness: A Meta-Analysis, Daniel Balliet

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Research examining the relationship between the Big Five traits and forgivingness has focused primarily on the traits agreeableness and neuroticism. To date, there are mixed findings on the relationship between conscientiousness and forgivingness. This paper presents research and theory that predicts a positive relationship between conscientiousness and forgivingness, and in order to examine this hypothesis, conducts a quantitative review of 15 studies (n = 2285) reporting this relationship. This analysis results in a small positive effect size (r = .17). Implications and directions for future research are discussed.

Sour Grapes While You're Down And Out: Self-Serving Bias And Applicant Attributions For Test Performance, Kyle Garret Mack

Dissertations and Theses

Recent research has shown that outcome favorability (Ryan & Ployhart, 2000) and perceived performance (Chan, Schmitt, Jennings, Clause, & Delbridge, 1998a) are key determinates of justice judgments, suggesting that self-serving bias is a critical mechanism in the formation of applicant reactions. However, organizational justice theory continues to be the dominant paradigm for understanding applicant reactions. Chan and Schmitt (2004) have suggested a far ranging agenda for research into reactions, which includes considering reactions in a longitudinal framework and considering the natural effect of time on reactions. The current study incorporates these theoretical approaches and addresses these gaps in the research …

Effects Of Chlordiazepoxide On Predator Odor-Induced Reductions Of Playfulness In Juvenile Rats, Stephen M. Siviy, Courtney L. Steets, Lauren M. Debrouse

Psychology Faculty Publications

The extent to which a non-sedative dose of chlordiazepoxide (CDP) is able to modify the behavioral responses toward a predator odor was assessed in juvenile rats. Play behavior was suppressed and defensive behaviors were enhanced in the presence of a collar previously worn by a cat, when tested 24 hours later in the same context as that where the exposure occurred, and when tested in a context different than that in which the exposure occurred for up to 3 hours after exposure. CDP had no effect on the ability of cat odor to suppress play when rats were tested in …

Hope And Worry Among Mothers Of Children With An Autism Spectrum Disorder Or Down Syndrome, Paula Ogston

Theses and Dissertations

The present study used quantitative and qualitative methodology to examine mothers’ hope and worry. Participants were recruited via autism and Down syndrome organizations. Two hundred fifty-nine mothers of children with autism spectrum disorders (n = 199) and Down syndrome (n = 60) responded to the online questionnaire. Most mothers were white (n = 230); eighty-seven percent were married and their average age was 39.06 years. Findings support previous research suggesting that hope is a protective factor against psychological distress: mothers with higher hope reported lower dispositional worry. Mothers were asked to describe what they worried about when they woke up …

Child Development And Childcare In Japan, Tokie Anme, Uma Segal

Social Work Faculty Works

With increasing numbers of women joining the workforce, there is a need for quality childcare. This project, conducted in Japan and using a large number of participants, sought to standardize an evaluation scale to measure the development of children. The development of children under six years of age (N = 22,819) who are enrolled in childcare programs was evaluated by childcare professionals. Percentiles were calculated (10th, 50th, and 90th percentile points) for each item (total 192) of six developmental subscales (gross motor, fine motor, social competence, communication, vocabulary, and intelligence development). The results supported the validity of this scale in …

Two Field Studies Examining The Association Between Positive Psychological Capital And Employee Performance, James B. Avey, James L. Nimnicht, Nancy Graber Pigeon

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of Business

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between psychological capital (comprised of hope, optimism, efficacy and resilience) and employee performance through multiple studies and methods of data.

Design/methodology/approach – The study included two samples in a large financial firm headquartered in Melbourne, Australia. The employees' level of psychological capital were measured with the psychological capital questionnaire. Via regression, this was related to individual level financial performance data from the firm and manager rated performance.

Findings – As hypothesized, psychological capital was found to be related to employees' level of financial performance, referrals within the firm …

Emotion Knowledge And Language Skills: Contributions To Social, Behavioral And Academic Outcomes In Kindergarteners, Sarah Hornback

Psychology Honors Papers

This study examined emotion knowledge and language skills in kindergarteners, and how these skills jointly affect children’s overall social, behavioral and academic functioning. Participants included 60 kindergarteners from a language and literacy-enhanced early childhood school, who were individually interviewed using the Kusche Affective Interview-Revised. Additionally, all participants’ expressive and receptive language skills were tested using the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT) and the Expressive One-Word Vocabulary Test (EVT). Participants’ language and emotion knowledge scores were then compared to social, behavioral and academic performance as noted in the school’s teacher-rated report card. Preliminary analyses indicated positive correlations between language skills and …

Effects Of Cb2 Receptor Activation On Variable Chronic Mild Stress (Cms) Induced Depression And Hippocampal Dependant Spatial Learning, Eli Shobin

Psychology Honors Papers

Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) accounts for approximately 10% of all diagnosed chronic illness in the United States. The most common treatments for MDD is serotonergic manipulation via pharmacological treatments such as monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAO-I) or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI). However, not only have these treatments proven to be ineffective for a portion of the population, but they also fail to treat some of the physiological damages that occur in the hippocampus during MDD due to over-activation of inflammatory cells known as microglia. Activation of the CB2 receptor in the hippocampus has been shown to inhibit microglial cells and …

Application And Assessment Of Interpersonal Forgiveness, Anthony Holter, Chad Magnuson, Robert Enright

Faculty Publications and Presentations

Moral issues within psychology have been an object of study since the 1890s (see, for example, Hall, 1891). The majority of studies in the 20th century have centered on themes of justice, not mercy (see, for example, Killen & Smetana, 2006). In the 1980s, almost a century after the emergence of moral psychology, the construct of forgiveness began to emerge as a possible area of basic and applied research within psychology. From its humble beginnings, the psychology of forgiveness has now begun to emerge as a field worthy of researchers’ time. For example, in 1985 a perusal of the American …

The Communication Patterns Questionnaire-Short Form: A Review And Assessment, Ted G. Futris, Kelly Campbell, Robert B. Nielsen, Stephanie R. Burwell

Psychology Faculty Publications

The Communication Patterns Questionnaire-Short Form (CPQ-SF) is an 11-item self-assessment of spouses’ perceptions of marital interactions. A cited reference review of the CPQ-SF literature revealed no formal assessment of its psychometric properties and that researchers are imprecise in their use, reporting, and referencing of the assessment. Toward improving the use of the CPQ-SF in research and practice, the factor structure and psychometric properties of this scale were examined with data collected from a diverse sample of married individuals. Three latent constructs were identified: criticize/defend, discuss/avoid, and positive interaction patterns. Support for the original two-factor structure, demand/withdrawal and positive interaction, was …

Can An L2 Speaker's Patterns Of Thinking For Speaking Change?, Gale Stam

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

On Forgiveness And Healing: Narrative Therapy And The Gospel Story, Lois E. Malcolm, Janet L. Ramsey

Faculty Publications

Psychologists and theologians often talk past each other, particularly when discussing forgiveness. Comparing narrative therapy and the gospel story provides a way to engage the conversation meaningfully, both realities providing ways to transform human lives

Editorial For The Special Issue On Cyberbullying, Elizabeth Englander

MARC Publications

No abstract provided.

Cyberbullying Victimization And Behaviors Among Girls: Applying Research Findings In The Field, Patricia A. Snell, Elizabeth Englander

MARC Publications

Abstract: Problem statement: Prior research on cyberbullying has been conducted; however specific research on gender differences has yet to be examined. The current study focuses on gender trends, specifically females, in cyberbullying victimization and behaviors. Approach: A survey was given to undergraduate students at Bridgewater State College in an effort to see what gender trends exist in cyberbullying behaviors. A pilot program focused on girls and cyberbullying is also examined in this article. Results: Preliminary results from both the survey and the pilot study have shown gender differences in regards to cyberbullying victimization and behaviors. Results suggest that females are …

On The Front Lines: Educating Teachers About Bullying And Prevention Methods, Aviva Twersky Glasner

MARC Publications

Problem statement: Bullying is a serious problem in American schools and is characterized by aggressive behavior distinguished by unequal power and the intention to cause physical, social, or emotional harm to others Bullying is evolving from the classic image of a big schoolyard bully picking on smaller kids to a more technologically, sophisticated model of kids using cyber technology to electronically tease, bully and harass their peers with texting, voicemails, emails and posts on public websites, like Facebook, that are popular with young students. While parents are and should be encouraged and trained to recognize understand the insidious nature of …

Girls And Cyberbullying, Elizabeth Englander, P. Snell

MARC Publications

No abstract provided.

An Art Intervention For Foster Youth: One Year Outcomes, Jerylyn Andrews, Vanessa Tearnan, June Madsen Clausen, Foster Care Research Group

Psychology

No abstract provided.

Components Of Effective Long-Term Mental Health Treatment For Foster Youth, Lauren A. Wadsworth, June Madsen Clausen, Foster Care Research Group

Psychology

No abstract provided.

Psychotherapy For Foster Children: Results At Midpoint Of Long-Term Treatment, Rosana M. Aguilar, June Madsen Clausen, Foster Care Research Group

Psychology

No abstract provided.

Neural Activity In The Hippocampus And Perirhinal Cortex During Encoding Is Associated With The Durability Of Episodic Memory, V. A. Carr, Indre Viskontas, S. A. Engel, B. J. Knowlton

Psychology

Studies examining medial temporal lobe (MTL) involvement in memory formation typically assess memory performance after a single, short delay. Thus, the relationship between MTL encoding activity and memory durability over time remains poorly characterized. To explore this relationship, we scanned participants using high-resolution functional imaging of the MTL as they encoded object pairs; using the remember/know paradigm, we then assessed memory performance for studied items both 10 min and 1 week later. Encoding trials were classified as either subsequently recollected across both delays, transiently recollected (i.e., recollected at 10 min but not after 1 week), consistently familiar, or consistently forgotten. …

Practice Makes Perfect: Improving Learning Of At-Risk Students, Patrick D.K. Watson, Sarah Grison, Steven G. Luke, Aya Shigeto

Psychology Faculty

29 graduate TAs and 1 faculty member teach 2700 Introductory Psychology students annually. This year we developed an assessment program to improve student learning and graduate teaching training (Shigeto et al., 2010). We studied the value of pedagogical tools developed for students in the Educational Opportunities Program (EOP). EOP selects students based on demographics and academic vulnerabilities for a special intro psych section. This section has an extra day per week for content presentation and additional student development support. These interventions have been demonstrated to enhance learning in minority students (Treisman, 1992).