Psychology Commons^™

Aging And Weight-Ratio Estimation, Jessica Marie Holmin

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Many researchers have explored the way younger people perceive weight ratios using a variety of methodologies; however, very few researchers have used a more direct ratio estimation procedure, in which participants estimate an actual ratio between two or more weights. Of the few researchers who have used a direct method, the participants who were recruited were invariably younger adults. To date, there has been no research performed to examine how older adults perceive weight-ratios, using direct estimation or any other technique. Past research has provided evidence that older adults have more difficulty than younger adults in perceiving small differences in …

Organizational Citizenship Behavior- Individual Or Organizational Citizenship Behavior- Organization: Does The Underlying Motive Matter?, Sarah J. Newland

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB) is considered behavior that benefits others, but is not a part of the employee’s job description. Research has indicated that OCB can be divided into two categories, behavior that is directed towards other individuals (OCBI) and behavior that is directed towards the organization (OCBO). Research has also suggested that there are three different motives behind OCB, impression management, prosocial values, and organizational concern. This study examines the relationship between the motives and the type of OCB that is performed. The results failed to indicate that motives matter in determining which type of OCB is performed. Additionally, …

The Relationship Between Essentialism, Religious Beliefs, And Views Of Change, Keshia Porter

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

In this study, the relationship between essentialism, religious beliefs, and views of change was investigated. Participants were given surveys containing three sets of items and a demographic questionnaire. Item sets included the Intrinsic/Extrinsic-Revised Scale of Religiosity, the Essentialist Belief Scales, and the Change Vignettes. Results indicated those with gradualist religious views were not more likely to endorse essentialist views when compared to those with conversionist views. Those who essentialized at high levels were not less likely to endorse the possibility of change in comparison to those who essentialized at lower levels. Participants with high levels of extrinsic religiosity were not …

An Engineering Psychology Based Analysis Of Ladder Setup Procedures, Alan Campbell

All Theses

ABSTRACT
Accidents involving portable ladders are a common cause of serious occupational and non-occupational injuries throughout the industrialized world. Many of these injuries could be prevented with proper education, training and usage of portable ladders. This research focused on the human factors and engineering aspects of portable extension ladder usage. Results and analysis revealed evidence of unsafe acts that could lead to catastrophic ladder slide-out accidents in real-life situations. Six ladder setup methods were evaluated based on placement angles: the Basic, 75 Degree, Stand-Reach, L Sticker, 4:1, and Level methods. The level method produced the most accurate results with the …

Personality Assessment In African Elephants (Loxodonta Africana), Kristina Marie Horback

Dissertations

The following study assessed personality in twelve African elephants using both observational behavior coding and standardized trait rating methods, thus demonstrating consistent individual differences across time and contexts. During the summer of 2010 and 2011, over 640 hours of behavioral data were collected onsite at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park in Escondido, CA. Four coding-based personality traits were determined after analysis: PLAYFUL, CURIOUS, TOLERANT, and, AGGRESSIVE. This data was then compared to survey ratings completed by the animal keeper staff during both summers. Four rating-based personality traits resulted from this analysis: PLAYFUL, CURIOUS, TIMID, and, AGGRESSIVE. All eight composite …

The Million-Click Thinking Tip, Sarah B. Thurber

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

“The Million-click Thinking Tip” is a social media project. Its ultimate goal is to share tools, tips and insights from the field of creativity with people around the world. Its more immediate goals were to provide a framework for author and speaker Sarah Thurber to learn about public speaking, social media dynamics and message penetration. The five two-minute videos resulting from the project are posted on Youtube.com. They garnered hundreds of hits in their initial weeks online and continue to reach new audiences through Youtube.com, Facebook.com, LinkedIn.com and Twitter.com. The tips created in this project will serve as a prototype …

Evolving Science In Adolescence, Kenneth Dodge, Dustin Albert

Psychology Faculty Research and Scholarship

Ellis et al. (2012) bring an evolutionary perspective to bear on adolescent risky behavioral development, clinical practice, and public policy. The authors offer important insights that (a) some risky behaviors may be adaptive for the individual and the species by being hard-wired due to fitness benefits and (b) interventions might be more successful if they move with, rather than against, the natural tendencies of an adolescent. Ellis and colleagues criticize the field of developmental psychopathology, but we see the 2 fields as complementary. Their position would be enhanced by integrating it with contemporary perspectives on dynamic cascades through which normative …

Faculty Perceptions Of Campus Diversity, Meghan K. Purdy

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The primary purpose of this study was to assess faculty perceptions of campus diversity at Western Kentucky University. A Diversity Survey was developed and administered to faculty at Western Kentucky University. Responses from the 378 fulltime faculty members who completed the survey were used in this study. Composites including campus diversity climate, satisfaction with diversity effects, race, gender, and religion were formed from the survey items for use in the analyses. Results indicated that minority and women faculty perceive campus diversity less favorably than do majority and men faculty.

Designing An "Information-Experience" Using Creativity Science Theory And Tools, Stephanie Belhomme

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

An “information-experience” encapsulated by a technological/digital audio-visual tool presents data and potentially meaningful information to prompt actionable knowledge concerning: “unspoken creative process elements;” their profound impacts on both how well our “physiology of creativity” functions; but also on how well foundational creative thinking and behavioral prerequisites (energy, motivation, imagination, and ownership) are leveraged.

The product: 1) introduces the user to one component of the CPS (Creative Problem Solving) Facilitation Process - Exploring the Challenge; 2) features a content specific component which prompts exploration of the many correlations between societal, organizational / community, human physiological / behavioral data, and the direct …

Altered States Of Consciousness & The Creative Individual: Breaking The Affective Thinking Skills Paradigm, Dana M. Calanan

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

This project focuses on the affective side of creative thinking and creating a bridge to the cognitive side. It presents the personal transformation of the author using non-drug induced altered states of consciousness. The finished project includes the beginnings of a holistic creative problem solving model and a workshop which will assist those wishing to become more creatively productive or are looking for a way to creatively self-heal.

Keywords: Creative healing, shamanism, psychedelia, holistic creativity, creative problem solving, Thinking Skills Model, altered states of consciousness, affective thinking skills.

Avatar Training - A Humanistic And Creativity Driven Approach, Nicole M.T. Charest

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

Avatar Training

A Humanistic and Creativity Driven Approach

This project is about the development of a program prototype for a humanistic and creativity driven approach to avatar training to be delivered in Second Life™ (SL). Specifically, the program aims at developing the skills necessary to make a presentation in, and to safely explore, SL. It was proposed to create a unique learning framework that takes into account the targeted clientele, adult professionals with no or limited experience with SL, the sensibilities of 3D immersive social virtual environment, the avatar training needs, and the possibility to weave in creativity skills practice. …

Applying Visual Attention Theory To Transportation Safety Research And Design: Evaluation Of Alternative Automobile Rear Lighting Systems, Scott Mcintyre

All Dissertations

This experiment applies methodologies and theories of visual search and attention to the subject of conspicuity in automobile rear lighting. Based on these theories, this experiment has four goals. First, it is proposed that current research methods used to investigate rear lighting are inadequate and a proposed methodology based on the visual search paradigm is introduced. Second, demonstrate that current rear lighting on automobiles does not effectively meet the stated purpose of regulators. Third, propose a more effective system for increasing the conspicuity of brake lamps. A fourth goal is to validate and extend previous simulator research on this same …

The Moderating Role Of Equity Sensitivity On The Optimism And Stress Relationship, James William Dalluge

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Research supports optimism as a predictor of how well individuals are able to cope with stress (Chang, Rand, & Strunk, 2007; Riolli & Savicki, 2003). Additionally perceived inequity is considered as a stressor (Taris, Peeters, Le Blanc, Scheurs, & Schaufeli, 2001) and the extent to which individuals perceive inequity is determined by equity sensitivity (Miles, Hatfield, Huseman, 1989). The present research proposes a new framework in which the relationship between optimism and feelings of inequity is moderated by equity sensitivity. The final part of the framework analyzes perceived inequity’s relationship to perceived stress. The results indicated that optimism’s relationship was …

Expatriate Success: Cultural Intelligence And Personality As Predictors For Cross-Cultural Adjustment, Elizabeth Hallaine Evans

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Businesses are more marketable if they have a global presence. However, with global expansion comes a need to communicate with organizations having diverse cultural backgrounds. This causes issues when selecting expatriates for the job. Expatriates possessing particular characteristics may adjust better than others. Research supports both cultural intelligence (CQ) and personality as valid predictors of cross-cultural adjustment, but do those higher in CQ adapt better than those with culturally compatible personality factors? I hypothesized that cultural intelligence (CQ) accounts for more incremental validity of crosscultural adjustment than personality alone. The sample of approximately 111 foreign expatriates working in various countries …

Work Value As A Moderator Of The Value Congruence-Employee Attitude Relationship, Rachael Johnson-Murray

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Researchers have identified the extent to which an individual values work as a potentially key component in the relationship between on-the-job experiences and employee attitudes. In a replication and extension of Amos and Weathington (2008), this study examined the moderating effects of work value on the relationship between employee-organization value congruence and attitudinal outcomes (i.e., satisfaction, commitment, and turnover intent). It was hypothesized that value congruence would positively correlate to affective and cognitive job satisfaction, organizational satisfaction, and organizational commitment, yet negatively correlate to employee turnover intent. It was also hypothesized that these relationships would be moderated by the employee’s …

The Role Of Ethics In Employee Behavior, Jacqueline Karen Kott

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Past research has related the perceived ethical norms of the work environment to certain employee behaviors. The present study focuses on two general types of employee behaviors: organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) and counterproductive work behavior (CWB). It was hypothesized that ethical relativism moderates these two relationships. Self-report data was collected among 108 employees of a southeastern manufacturing company through a series of surveys. Correlational and moderated regression analyses were used to test the hypotheses. Results did not support that ethical norms affect employee behavior. Future research directions and implications for organizational settings are addressed.

A Multimodal Approach For The Assessment Of Alexithymia: An Evaluation Of Physiological, Behavioral, And Self-Reported Reactivity To A Traumatic Event-Relevant Video, Sarah Jo Bujarski

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Evidence suggests alexithymia is often relatively elevated among people suffering from posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS). Despite a growing body of research supporting this relation between alexithymia and PTSS, it is unclear whether alexithymia is a unique predictor of emotional reactivity relative to posttraumatic stress symptoms. Furthermore, existing literature is largely limited to retrospective, self-reported symptoms. Therefore, the current study employed a multimodal assessment strategy for measuring emotional reactivity in the context of posttraumatic stress. More specifically, self-report, behavioral, and physiological measures were used to measure emotional responding to a traumatic event-related stimulus among motor vehicle accident victims. It was hypothesized …

Generativity In Young Adults: Comparing And Explaining The Impact Of Mentoring, Lindsay J. Hastings

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The purpose of this embedded explanatory sequential mixed methods study was to examine the impact of mentoring relationships on generativity in college students. Generativity refers to concern for establishing and guiding the next generation The first, quantitative phase compared generatvity levels among general college students, college student leaders who do not mentor, and college student leaders who mentor through a program called Nebraska Human Resources Institute (NHRI) at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln. Data were collected via surveys (N = 273) using the Loyola Generativity Scale (LGS), the Generativity Behavior Checklist (GBC), and the Personal Strivings measure. A multivariate …

The “Green Eating” Project: A Pilot Intervention To Promote Sustainable And Healthy Eating In College Students, Kelleigh E. Eastman

Senior Honors Projects

The “Green Eating” Project: A Pilot Intervention to Promote Sustainable and Healthy Eating in College Students

Kelleigh Eastman

Sponsor: Geoffrey Greene, Nutrition and Dietetics

A topic of interest that is growing in the general population is the idea of being sustainable, or “green”, and there is a rising awareness in sustainable practices involving food and the environment. Some of the “green” eating behaviors identified through my research included eating a plant-based (i.e. vegetarian or semi-vegetarian) diet, eating locally grown foods, eating organically grown foods, and eating foods that are labeled fair-trade. Frequently, these “green” eating behaviors are healthful eating behaviors …

Parents' Beliefs About Emotion And Children's Subsequent Coping Strategies As Influences On Children's Level Of Peer Victimization, Lauren Rosso

Psychological Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

The current study examined the relation between parents' emotion socialization beliefs and the strategies children use to cope with peer victimization. It was hypothesized that parents' beliefs about emotions would predict how their children cope with instances of school bullying. Children's coping strategies, in turn, were expected to predict their actual level of peer victimization. Children's level of peer victimization was measured via reports from children, peers, and teachers.

Sociopolitical Control In Urban Kenya: The Sociopolitical Control Scale In Nairobi, Mombasa, And Kisumu, Tasha A. Russman

Scripps Senior Theses

There is popular belief among Kenyans that their government inappropriately distributes resources unequally between different regions in Kenya. A modified version of Zimmerman and Zahniser's (1991) Sociopolitical Control Scale (SPCS) tested for differences in perceived sociopolitical control (SPC) between residents of Kenya's three biggest cities, Nairobi (n = 49), Mombasa (n = 50), and Kisumu (n = 51). Hypotheses were based on expected levels of leadership competence (LC) and policy control (PC), two sub-scales that combine to create SPC. Contrary to the hypothesis, results indicated no significant differences in levels of SPC among the cities. Results could …

Characterizing Trauma In A Community Sample : How Trauma Symptoms Are Related To Problem Behaviors, Shaquanna A. Brown

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Exposure to trauma can lead to an array of maladaptive behaviors and an extensive range of physical, emotional, and psychological difficulties. In fact, researchers have linked trauma to the development of debilitating symptoms such as anxiety (Suliman et ah, 2009), psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia (Read, van Os, Morrison, & Ross, 2005) and risky behaviors such as substance abuse (Danielson et ah, 2009). Unfortunately, studies examining the consequences of trauma often do so using clinical samples, limiting the generalizability of those results. Thus, the current study sought to characterize trauma in a community sample. Data analyzed for the present study …

The Relationship Between Yoga And Stress, Ashley Alayne Corallo

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Research has shown that too much stress can be harmful to your health (Sinha, 2007). Stress can contribute to depression, weaken the immune system, increase the risk of heart attack and stroke, and also speed up the process of aging (Aldwin, 2007). Aside from improving one’s flexibility and endurance, there is evidence that regular yoga practice (i.e., an hour session, at least twice a week) can decrease one’s risk of such health-related problems by lowering stress (Smith, Hancock, Blake-Mortimer & Eckert, 2006).

The aim of the present study was to further investigate the relationship between yoga and stress. We compared …

An Asymmetry Between Goal And Source In Infants’ Representations Of Motion Events, Stephanie Difabrizio

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

In this paper, the asymmetry between source and goal was explored in the context of motion events involving inanimate figures (e.g. balloon, tissue). Past research with infants has indicated a preference for goal paths in animate events, such as a duck walking into a box, over source paths, such as a duck walking out of a box (Lakusta, et ah, 2007). The difference between a goal bias for animate and inanimate events has not been thoroughly researched in infants (e.g., a balloon, rather than a duck, moving out of a box). In order to explore this, the current study measures …

Ethics And Downsizing : A Policy-Capturing Approach, Diana Evans

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Downsizing has become a prominent part of the business landscape and is reshaping the way people work and deal with their organizations. The present study investigated how the context and process behind a downsizing decision can influence people’s perceptions of the organization. Using a policy capturing methodology, subjects read 67 scenarios about downsizing organizations and were asked to rate the fairness of the organization and indicate if an ethical violation had occurred. The cues manipulated included the size of the organization, whether the company is currently losing money, whether the company tried other options before considering downsizing, whether the layoffs …

Preference Magnitude Affected By Context, Range, And Categorization, Matthew Forsythe

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Previous studies have shown that when subjects view hedonically positive stimuli followed by stimuli of lesser hedonic value their preference for the stimuli of lesser hedonic value decreases. This is hedonic condensation. In addition, its opposite, an increase in preference judgment, occurs when subjects view a less hedonically positive stimuli followed by hedonically positive stimuli. Experiment 1 showed that condensation and its opposite, an increase in preference judgments, were produced using unattractive and moderately attractive faces. Experiment 2 showed that when instructed to view the stimuli as coming from two different groups the participants rating the attractive faces did not …

Self-Enhancement Bias : A Literature Review, Kelly Anne Jordan

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

When partaking in self-evaluation, individuals tend to engage self-enhancement, rating themselves higher than would be objectively called for. This work reviews the relevant literature on what self-enhancement bias is and when we engage in it. Further, it explores the controversies over the universality of self-enhancement with some contending that East Asians do not engage in self-enhancement and others proclaiming it to be a universal trait. Lastly, the adaptiveness both socially and psychologically of selfenhancement is examined.

Cross-Modal Enhancement Of Sound Detection In Noise, Jack Latona

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

The ventriloquist effect refers to the well-documented mislocalization of auditory targets that occurs when a spatially incongruent visual cue is simultaneously presented, generally towards the location of the visual cue. Spatial release from masking refers to the improvement in auditory detection that occurs when an auditory target is moved away from a noise source. The purpose of the present thesis was to induce cross-modal spatial release from masking using a ventriloquized visual cue. Two experiments were conducted to determine whether this visually induced mislocalization can cause spatial release from masking and enhance target detection. In the first experiment, spatial release …

Learning Patterns Relationship To Leadership Development, Brett Vincent Morgan

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Although college faculty and administrators provide many types of leadership development opportunities for college students, there has been little research connecting leadership development in college with adult learning theory. This mixed method descriptive study examines the impact of learning patterns based on information processing preferences on the leadership development “events” experienced by college student leaders. 44 Junior and Senior college student leaders were administered the Learning Connections Inventory (Johnston, 1994) to identify their learning patterns. In addition, the students participated in an interview to assess key events they felt crucial to their leadership development. It was predicted that particular learning …

What Is The Optimal Subsidy For Exercise? Informing Health Insurance Companies' Fitness Reimbursement Programs, Molly E. Frean

Economics Honors Projects

Health care costs account for 17% of US GDP and many programs and policies seek to reduce these costs. This paper focuses on exercise as preventive care due to its immense physiological benefits. I model the profit-maximizing choice of health insurance companies to subsidize exercise and the utility-maximizing choice of individuals to engage in exercise using a traditional principal-agent framework. I then use principles from behavioral economics and psychology to critique these models and provide further insight into understanding our underconsumption of such preventive services. I end with an evaluation of current programs and suggestions for improvement using empirical findings.