Psychology Commons^™

Resilience: The Role Of Optimism, Perceived Parental Autonomy Support And Perceived Social Support, Michelle Dawson

Theses : Honours

Resilience is an individual’s ability to positively adapt when challenging, adverse or stressful circumstances arise. Transitions are a change from what is familiar to what is unfamiliar and undergoing transitions may provide challenges that may cause anxiety and stress. Three mechanisms suggested to be beneficial in coping with transitions as well as developing and maintaining and potentially predicting resilience are optimism, perceived parental autonomy support (PAS) and perceived social support (PSS). This review will begin by providing definitions of resilience, risk and protective factors, buffering effects, a brief historical overview of the development of resilience research with mention of the …

All Roads Lead To Common Factors Rather Than Turning Points In Couple And Family Therapy, Cathryn J. Cassisi

Theses : Honours

It has been stated that there is a requirement in the field of couple and family therapy for research aimed at informing process (Pinsof & Wynne, 2000). Qualitative methods have been suggested as a means of closing this gap through obtaining information regarding the subjective experience of those participating in therapy (American Psychological Association, 2006). Through the use of qualitative, face-to-face interviewing, this study explored the therapeutic experience from the perspective of one experienced Family therapist and five of his clients. This study partially replicated research conducted by Wark (1994) and extended it to overcome methodological limitations. It examined the …

The Relationship Between Discrimination, Acculturation, And General Psychological Functioning In International Students, Michael J. Hirschel

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

International students come from all over the world to study in the United States. Cultural differences they experience can make the transition difficult, resulting in acculturative stress. Encountering discrimination is, unfortunately, a comconcern for international students which may compound acculturative stress. The aim of the current study was to better understand discrimination felt by international students, and how it is related to pre-contact factors, acculturation factors, and adjustment factors. A more thorough understanding of this important, but often overlooked, aspect of acculturation could lead to future interventions designed to improve international student experiences while abroad. Pre-contact factors such as place …

Anxiety And Visual Discriminations In Undergraduates, Katherine Bowers

The Journal of Undergraduate Research

Mathematics tests were used to create anxiety in undergraduates. Heart rates were recorded as a measure of anxiety. Following each mathematics test, participants completed a different visual discrimination tasks, Stroop Colored Word Tests, Where’s Waldo Puzzles, and IQ Matching Tests. Reaction times and accuracy were measured for each task. The hypothesis was that those with more difficult mathematics tests would have longer reaction times and be less accurate. The results of the study suggest that mathematics anxiety did not have a significant effect on reaction times for any task, and was only significant for the accuracy of the IQ matching …

Deception Detection Accuracy Using Verbal Or Nonverbal Cues, Caroline Hicks, Nicole Ulvestad

The Journal of Undergraduate Research

In this 2 (cue type) x 2 (statement type) two-way within-subject ANOVA design study, investigators look at the differences in average accuracy in determining whether a statement is a truth or a lie. Participants, college students, and professors from South Dakota State University, were assessed in their ability to detect deception. The participants had to determine whether a statement was a truth or a lie based on the actor’s verbal or nonverbal cues, each presented independently. The results suggest no significant effect of cue type (verbal or nonverbal) or statement type (truthful or deceitful) with participants’ accuracy being no better …

Impact Of Exercise Partner Attractiveness On Mood, Enjoyment, And Exertion, Thomas G. Plante, Sarah Gregg, Jaclyn Rubbo, Thomas Favero, Ashley Morisako, Jessica Cuadra

Psychology

Social comparison theory was used to examine if males exercising with a female research confederate posing as either attractive or unattractive would alter their exercise mood, exertion, and enjoyment. A total of 101 college students (51 males and 51 females) were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: biking alone, biking with an attractive female confederate, or biking with the same female confederate appearing unattractive. All participants were instructed to complete 20 minutes of exercise at 60%-70% of their maximum target heart rate. Standard exercise mood measures (e.g., Activation-Deactivation Adjective Check List) were administered immediately prior to and immediately following …

Teacher Expectations Of Children With Mental Illness In The Schools, Jamie Lee Satterly Roig

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Within an experimental vignette design, 224 certified teachers participated in this online study by completing a researcher created rating scale that assessed expectations for a child described in a randomly assigned vignette; a child without mental illness, a child identified with an emotional behavioral disorder, and a child identified as returning from acute psychiatric care. Results from the current study revealed reliable scales; learning, cooperation, self-control, and teacher self-efficacy. Findings indicated teachers reported significantly different expectations for children identified with mental illness in comparison to typical children in the areas of self-control and cooperation; specifically, teachers reported lower expectations for …

A Functional Analysis Of Elderspeak Use By Certified Nursing Assistants In Caregiving Situations, Nathaniel Joseph Lombardi

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The purpose of the current study was to assess the function of Elderspeak (i.e., a patronizing style of speech used with older adults) use by Certified Nursing Assistants (CNA's) in caregiving situations, with the intention of identifying factors or variables related to its use. This was done using a questionnaire intended to ascertain CNA's general evaluations of the likelihood and appropriateness of Elderspeak use in a variety of different contexts. The questionnaire included a total of 36 items that identified positive and negative factors pertaining to residents and caregivers. Consistent with existing models and previous research, it was hypothesized that …

Comparison Of A Ranking And Rating Format Of The 5plus5: A Personality Measure, Kristy Lynn Jungemann

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The 5Plus5 is a multidimensional ranking personality measure consisting of 10 dimensions. The dimensions are similar to the Big Five personality constructs. In two studies, a version of the 5plus5 that uses an item-ranking format and a version of the 5Plus5 that uses an item-rating format were contrasted. In the first study, 213 college students completed the 5Plus5, and the IPIP Big-Five Factor Markers Survey. One group of the participants (n = 116) completed the ranking version of the 5Plus5, and the other group (n = 97) completed the rating version of the 5Plus5. Study One revealed that the rating …

Cultural Intelligence And Collective Efficacy In Virtual Team Effectiveness, Pei See Ng

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This study explores the relationships between cultural intelligence, collective efficacy, and virtual team effectiveness. Data was collected from 110 students at a mid-western university. Participants were randomly selected to be in the same- or diverse-cultural dyad teams, and they are asked to work on a personnel selection task through a computer-mediated communication tool. It was hypothesized that cultural intelligence and collective efficacy would be positively correlated with virtual team performance and satisfaction. Another hypothesis was that collective efficacy would mediate the relationship between cultural intelligence and diverse virtual team performance and satisfaction. It was also hypothesized that the same results …

Development Of An Assessment Center As A Selection Method For I/O Graduate Applicants, Ting Tseng

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

For over 70 years, assessment centers have contributed to employee selection, training, and development in organizations (Spychalski, Quinoies, Gaugler, & Pohley, 1997; Stephanie Haaland, 2002; Wendel & Joekel, 1991). However, they have not regularly been used for selection of students to an educational program. Given that assessment centers are effective at improving staffing in business settings, it can be speculated that they could also be effective in educational settings. The purpose of this research is to examine the feasibility of developing a selection-based assessment center for applicants to a graduate program in industrial-organizational psychology.

Hiking, Haiku, Or Happy Hour After Hours: The Effects Of Need Satisfaction And Proactive Personality On The Recovery-Strain Relationship, Paige Woodruff

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The primary purpose of the current study was to improve understanding of the process of recovery from work stress by examining need satisfaction as a mediator of the recovery experience-strain relationship and by examining proactive personality as a moderator of the recovery experience-strain relationship. Study findings provided support for the mediating role of need satisfaction and the moderating role of proactive personality; however, these relationships appeared to depend on the type of recovery experience. Mediation analysis of survey data from a sample of professionals (N=123) revealed that the need for competence and need for autonomy fully mediated the mastery-strain relationship …

Contextual Influences On Peer Acceptance And The Social Behavior Of Individuals With Intellectual Disabilities, Caroline Brooke Green

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Much attention has been paid to the social behavior of individuals with Intellectual Disability (IDs) due in part to its relevance to quality of life. Deficiencies in social skills are comamong persons with IDs and may include problem behaviors such as withdrawal, aggression, and difficulty communicating with others and social skills training programs have been developed to improve social functioning. However, these programs have generally assumed that the social behavior of persons with IDs should be the same as that of individuals without IDs, yet, relatively little is known about the nature of the relationships among individuals with IDs and …

Are Gender Differences In Empathy Due To Differences In Emotional Reactivity?, Linda Rueckert, Brandon Branch, Tiffany Doan

Psychology & Gerontology Faculty Publications

The purpose of this study was to determine whether gender differences in empathy reflect differences in self-rated emotion, and whether they are influenced by the nature of the target of the empathy (friend or enemy). 24 men and 36 women were asked to rate how much happiness, sadness, and anger they would feel if each of ten scenarios happened to themselves, and how they would feel if it happened to a friend or enemy. Overall, women rated themselves as feeling more happiness and sadness than men, whether the event happened to themselves, or to a friend or enemy. This suggests …

The Effect Of An Educational Intervention On The Level Of Codependency Among Graduate Counseling Students, Dianna Lynn Belyea

Wayne State University Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the level of codependency and emotional intelligence before and after participating in an educational intervention for codependency at a workshop on substance abuse. The setting for the study was a substance abuse workshop that was an elective for graduate students who were enrolled in counseling programs at a large urban university. A total of 23 individuals volunteered to participate in the study. The levels of emotional intelligence were investigated to determine if the characteristics sometimes associated with codependency could be better explained by emotional intelligence (EI). The participants completed three surveys, The …

Responding To Our Own Transgressions: An Experimental Writing Study Of Repentance, Offense Rumination, Self-Justification, And Distraction, Charlotte Vanoyen-Witvliet, Nova G. Hinman, Julie J. Exline, Timothy Brandt

Faculty Publications

This between-subjects experiment focused on offender responses to their past interpersonal transgressions in self-identified Christian undergraduates (55 M, 85 F). Participants completed pre-post measures for one of four randomly assigned 20-minute writing conditions: repentance (i.e., writing about constructive sorrow, apology, restitution, behavior change), offense rumination (i.e., negative wallowing), self-justification (i.e., externalizing blame, minimizing costs), or distraction (i.e., daily details). Offense rumination and repentance writing included the most cost-oriented language; rumination had the most negative emotion language. Mixed within (pre vs. post) X between group ANOVA interactions yielded theoretically meaningful results. Repentance reduced self-condemnation and regret while increasing conciliatory motivations toward …

Adolescent Adjustment In Affluent Communities: The Role Of Goal Orientation And Motivational Climate, Lea Ventura Travers

Master's Theses

The goal of the present study was to evaluate potential sources of affluent adolescents' adjustment problems (i.e., depressive symptoms, anxiety, substance use, and life satisfaction). Specifically, two mediational models were proposed to evaluate how (1) parental 'goal orientation' and (2) adolescents' perceptions of 'motivational climate' in school lead to adolescent `goal orientation' and subsequent adjustment among adolescents from affluent communities. Participants were recruited from 10th grades at three schools (suburbs of Chicago, New York, Boston) located in communities where the median annual income is at least $100,000 and at least 30% of parents had a graduate degree. Participants and their …

Exploring The Mortality Salience Paradox: The Effects Of High-Risk Employment On Interpersonal Decision Making, Bella Etingen

Master's Theses

Past research concerning Terror Management Theory (TMT) has displayed self-esteem bolstering and cultural worldview validation to be the foundation of subconscious defense mechanisms against mortality salience (Solomon, Greenberg, & Pyszczynski, 1991). Recent studies have also identified intimacy and romantic commitment as form of such defense (Florian, Mikulincer & Hirschberger, 2002). The present study examines the effects of existential terror on people's intimacy-related milestone time frames, as well as the distinction between naturally occurring mortality salience (in a sample of soldiers) and the more standard form of laboratory induced mortality salience. It was hypothesized

that employees of high-risk fields will have …

Can Better Mother-Daughter Relations Reduce The Chance Of A Suicide Attempt Among Latinas?, Luis H. Zayas, Carolina Hausmann-Stabile, Jill Kuhlberg

Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research Faculty Research and Scholarship

National surveys and other research on adolescent Latinas show that adolescent females have higher rates of suicidal ideation, planning, and attempts than other ethnic and racial minority youth. Internalizing behaviors and family conflicts are commonly associated with suicidality in research on adolescents. In the case of Latinas, we explore the connection between adolescent Hispanic cultural involvement, mother-adolescent mutuality, internalizing behaviors, and suicidality. This paper presents data from a study of 232 Latinas, some with a recent history of suicide attempts (). The results show that higher adolescent Hispanic cultural involvement was associated with greater mother-daughter mutuality and thus led to …

Obtaining Speech Assets For Judgement Analysis On Low-Pass Filtered Emotional Speech, John Snel, Charlie Cullen

Conference papers

Investigating the emotional content in speech from acoustic characteristics requires separating the semantic con- tent from the acoustic channel. For natural emotional speech, a widely used method to separate the two channels is the use of cue masking. Our objective is to investigate the use of cue masking in non-acted emotional speech by analyzing the extent to which filtering impacts the perception of emotional content of the modified speech material. However, obtaining a corpus of emotional speech can be quite difficult whereby verifying the emotional content is an issue thoroughly discussed. Currently, speech research is showing a tendency toward constructing …

The Dynamics Of Visual Artistic Expression In Africa And The Diaspora, Kelissa Mcdonald

Whittier Scholars Program

Popular electronic mediums such as movies, television and the internet commonly connote diseased and disaster ridden images of Africa. These images have far reaching implications when individuals of African descent perpetually internalize them. This includes identity crisis, disassociation from roots, embarrassment and lack of self worth, self-hate and skin bleaching. A College Survey conducted by a Stanford University Communications student on The Image of Africa Among College Aged Youth” delineates that the predominant image of Africa in the media reinforces negative associations and stereotypes of Africa and African peoples. The study makes reference to approximately 500 college-aged youth of African …

Evaluation Of School Social Workers' Time Spent In Direct And Indirect Practices, Kris Brummund

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The purpose of this study was to explore District 77 school social workers’ time distribution of direct and indirect services. Time spent in these services for school social workers is not well researched or documented.

Awareness Of Deficits And On-Road Driving Performance Among Persons With Acquired Brain Injury, Julie Ann Griffen

Wayne State University Dissertations

This study examined the relationship of neuropsychological and on-road driving evaluations among adults with acquired brain injury (ABI), and the extent to which that relationship is moderated by awareness of deficit. Awareness of deficit may partly explain mixed findings regarding the relationship between cognitive function and driving outcomes, inasmuch as persons aware of their deficits attempt to compensate for them accordingly, thereby minimizing deficit-related risk.

Sixty-two pairs of adults with ABI and significant-other informants recruited from a driving evaluation center and 40 healthy controls participated. Adults with ABI and controls completed neuropsychological and on-road evaluations.

Awareness of deficit was directly …

Culturally And Linguistically Diverse Carers' Perceptions Of The Cultural Appropriateness Of Carer Support Services: An Exploratory Study, Andrea Creado

Theses : Honours

Research on service utilisation by primary family carers has highlighted that carers from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds face specific barriers in accessing services, such as lack of culturally appropriate services, communication issues, prejudice, feelings of failure and misunderstanding of mental illness. However, little is known about how to best overcome these factors from the carers' perspective. The aim of this study was to investigate the perceptions CALD carers had of the cultural appropriateness of carers' support services available in Perth. Ten primary family carers from CALD backgrounds participated in a semi-structured interview to explore their perceptions of existing …

Are Politics Good For Your Health? Adolescents’ Political Ideology And Health Seeking Behavior, George Olekson Jr.

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Political ideology is now considered a factor that can influence one’s self-rated health status. However, to date, no studies have assessed the relationship between differences in political beliefs and a person’s health behaviors with respect to prevention of acquiring influenza. In the present study, college undergraduates were surveyed to determine how their political ideology, political associations, perception of influenza as assessed by the Health Belief Model (HBM) - here meaning perceived severity, perceived susceptibility, perceived benefits of and perceived barriers to treatment, and self rated health status (measured by the Short-Form 36 Health Survey) would influence their likelihood of taking …

Psychosocial Aspects Of Physical Activity And Fitness In Special-Population, Minority Middle School Children, Jeffrey J. Martin, Nate Mccaughtry, Anne S. Murphy, Sara Flory, Kimberlydawn Wisdom

Kinesiology, Health and Sport Studies

Special-population research predicting physical activity (PA) and fitness with minority middle school children from at-risk environments is rare. Hence, the purpose of our investigation was to evaluate the ability of important social cognitive and environment-based measures to predict PA and fitness with children with developmental delay, cognitive, and emotional impairments. Children (N = 89, ages 11-15) completed questionnaires assessing social cognitive and environment-based constructs, self report PA, and completed fitness testing. Correlational results supported some hypotheses. The descriptive and correlational results also indicated commonalities with similar research on non special-population minority middle school children from at-risk environments.

Using Contextual Cues To Influence The Role Of Priming In The Transformation Of Stimulus Functions: A Relational Frame Theory Investigation In Implicit Social Stereotyping., Jacob Daar

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This basic study was designed to explore the conceptualization of prejudice as a form of contextually controlled, derived, and arbitrarily applicable relational responding. Basic studies utilizing RFT methodologies have yielded examples of how stimulus functions of one set of stimuli, such as a stereotyped group, can transform the functions of another stimulus, such as an individual. Priming procedures, as contextual cues, have been used to affect prejudicial responding. Stimuli participating in relational frames have been shown to be sensitive to such priming procedures; however, the role of context in the priming of derived relational responses has not yet been established. …

General Strain Theory And Juvenile Delinquency: A Cross-Cultural Study, Wen-Hsu Lin

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

General strain theory (GST) (Agnew, 1992, 2001, 2006a) is an established criminological theory. Although the theory has been examined by many and enjoys empirical support, some limitations of previous studies need to be addressed. First, previous studies have not incorporated all major types of strain in their models; hence, the effects of these strains on delinquency are unclear. Second, many previous studies did not include negative emotions and even negative emotions other than anger. Finally, and the most serious limitation, many previous studies rely heavily on samples from Western countries, mostly the U.S.; thus, possible cultural influences are ignored. Although …

Motivations For Involvement : An Empirical Test Of Parents Of Students With Disabilities, Callen Emily Fishman

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Parents of students in special education have greater barriers to parent involvement than parents of students in general education. Little is known, however, about the factors that facilitate or impede involvement practices for this group. This study investigated the extent to which the motivational factors from Hoover-Dempsey and Sandler's (2005) Model of Parent Involvement (i.e., Parent Role Activity Beliefs, Parent Efficacy, General School Invitations, Specific Teacher Invitation, Specific Child Invitations, Perceived Knowledge and Skills, and Perceived Time and Energy) predicted the Home-Based, School-Based, and Special Education Involvement of 177 parents of students in special education. Family structure, race/ethnicity, family socioeconomic …

Examination Of The Interaction Of Drinking Motives And Personality On Alcohol Use And Alcohol-Related Problems Among College Students, Jessica Lynn Martin

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Approximately 55% of U.S. college students report binge drinking at least once in the previous two weeks (Core Institute, 2006). Students who engage in binge drinking are more likely to experience academic, social and legal problems as a result of their drinking (e.g., Wechsler et al., 2002). It is important for researchers to investigate factors associated with alcohol use and related problems so that prevention and intervention efforts can be targeted toward those students most at-risk for heavy consumption and alcohol-related problems.