Psychology Commons^™

Racism And Anxiety In A Black American Sample: The Role Of Mediators And A Brief Mindfulness Manipulation, Jessica Rose Graham

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

It is important to determine factors that may exacerbate the negative effects of experiences of racism on anxiety, as well as factors that might buffer racism's negative impact on anxiety in Black American samples. To examine these factors, we conducted two related studies. In study 1, 119 Black American individuals completed the Schedule of Racist Events, the five factor mindfulness questionnaire, the anxiety control questionnaire (assessing perceptions of control), the self-hatred subscale of the cross racial identity scale, and the depression anxiety and stress Scale. As hypothesized, frequency of racist experiences over the past week was significantly positively associated with …

The Effects Of Nesting Environment On Neonatal Hypoxic-Ischemic Injury, Laura Grace Rollins

Graduate Masters Theses

Term neonates with hypoxic-ischemic (HI) injury are at risk for devastating neurological sequelae. The objective of this study is to determine if altering the early environment for maternal care-taking impacts the immediate and long-term sequelae of HI offspring. The Rice-Vannucci model was used to induce HI in postnatal day (PND) 7 Long-Evans pups. Litters were assigned to a closed nest (CN) or normal standard housing (SH) condition. Neurobehavioral development, cognitive ability, and stress response were assessed to establish any benefits of the CN condition. Finally, postmortem brain tissue was analyzed for morphometric markers of injury.

Maternal Self-Efficacy And Perceived Stigma Among Mothers Of Children With Asd, Adhd, And Typically Developing Children, Sara D. Rosenblum-Fishman

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Maternal self-efficacy (a mother's beliefs about her parenting competence) is an important area of mothers' wellbeing and overall family functioning. This study examined environmental factors that are related maternal self-efficacy among mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD group), mothers of children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD group), and mothers of typically developing children (Typical group). Environmental factors included (a) messages of criticism or blame about one's parenting competence (parenting-related perceived stigma), (b) child problem behaviors, (c) maternal stress, and (d) social support. One hundred eighty mothers of school-age children living in the United States completed the measures on-line. Results …

Beyond Perceptual Expertise: Revisiting The Neural Substrates Of Expert Object Recognition, Assaf Harel, Dwight J. Kravitz, Chris I. Baker

Psychology Faculty Publications

Real-world expertise provides a valuable opportunity to understand how experience shapes human behavior and neural function. In the visual domain, the study of expert object recognition, such as in car enthusiasts or bird watchers, has produced a large, growing, and often-controversial literature. Here, we synthesize this literature, focusing primarily on results from functional brain imaging, and propose an interactive framework that incorporates the impact of high-level factors, such as attention and conceptual knowledge, in supporting expertise. This framework contrasts with the perceptual view of object expertise that has concentrated largely on stimulus-driven processing in visual cortex. One prominent version of …

Reid On Olfaction And Secondary Qualities, Jake Quilty-Dunn

Publications and Research

Thomas Reid is one of the primary early expositors of the “dual-component” theory of perception, according to which conscious perception constitutively involves a non-intentional sensation accompanied by a noninferential perceptual belief. In this paper, I will explore Reid's account of olfactory perception, and of odor as a secondary quality. Reid is often taken to endorse a broadly Lockean picture of secondary qualities, according to which they are simply dispositions to cause sensations. This picture creates problems, however, for Reid's account of how we perceive secondary qualities, including odors. Given Reid's insistence that we come to be aware of odors only …

Private Flashbulb Memories: The Case Of Coming Out Memories, Gabrielle Weber

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

Participants (N = 83) from Butler University and communities in Indianapolis, IN answered a three part questionnaire regarding their experience revealing their homosexual identity to their parents that included: a narrative, a set of probe questions, and a short demographic section. The narrative and probed recall data were scored in a similar fashion to flashbulb memory narratives with canonical features. The memory of revealing homosexuality to parents displayed flashbulb-like qualities. We found that those most confident in their probed recall answers were those with moderate arousal and few recounts. Also, those reporting moderate affect and fewer recounts had better memory …

Do Organizational Culture And Climate Matter For Successful Client Outcomes?, David A. Patterson Silver Wolf (Adelv Unegv Waya) Phd, Catherine N. Dulmus Phd, Eugene Maguin Phd, Maria Cristalli

Brown School Faculty Publications

Objectives: The existing literature on the impact of workplace conditions on client care suggests that good cultures and climates provide the best outcomes for clients. The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between organizational culture and climate and the proportion of children and youth successfully discharged from a large organization in New York State. Method: Thirty-three child and youth programs with existing culture and climate data evaluated outcome information from 1,336 clients exiting its services. Results: Programs reported as having bad culture and climate yielded superior client outcomes, measured as discharge to a lower level of …

Effects Of A Cross-Age Peer Tutoring Program On Reading Performance Of Hispanic Title I Second And Third Grade Students, Ana Isabel Rodriguez

Theses and Dissertations

Hispanic students are falling behind their peers in reading fluency and are struggling to close the gap. This study examined the reading fluency influence on 73 Hispanic second and third grade students while receiving reading fluency support from middle school Hispanic tutors. These students were compared to Hispanic second and third grade students not receiving tutoring reading support. All students were assessed before the tutors gave reading support, mid-year and after the reading support finished using a school district fluency measurement. Findings found that students made rapid growth in reading fluency from the beginning of the tutoring support to mid-year. …

The Association Between Hostile Attribution Bias, Social Intelligence, And Relational Aggression In Detained Boys, Gregory M. Fassnacht

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Research on factors that contribute to the forms and functions of aggression (reactive, proactive, relational, and overt) is important for informing intervention efforts with aggressive youth. Previous research shows that aggressive youth often have cognitive and social deficits associated with their aggressive behavior. For example, aggressive youth may exhibit deficits in social variables such as social intelligence (i.e., the understanding of behaviors of people and ability to predict outcomes of situations). Hypothetically, this lack of social intelligence may be related to how youth interpret social situations, and could conceivably lead to hostile attributional bias, or the tendency to interpret ambiguous …

Anxiety Sensitivity And Its Association With Parenting Behaviors, Rebecca Graham

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

The aim of this study was to examine the association between parent and child anxiety sensitivity in the context of parenting behaviors, specifically by testing parenting behaviors as moderators or mediators of the association between parent and child anxiety sensitivity. Past research implies that parent anxiety sensitivity may be more related to child anxiety sensitivity (moderation) in girls and in the context of certain parenting. Alternatively, parenting behaviors may better account for the association (mediate) between parent and child anxiety sensitivity. To test the hypotheses 191 families (n = 255 youth aged 6-17 and their parents) completed measures of …

Assessing Risk In Adolescent Offenders: A Comparison Of Risk Profiles Versus Summed Risk Factors, Katherine A. Gottlieb

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Research supports interventions for high-risk juvenile offenders to reduce recidivism. Methods for assessing delinquent risk vary, however. Aggregate risk scores (i.e. number of risk factors) and specific risk profiles (i.e. types of risk factors) are both empirically supported techniques. This study compared aggregate scores versus profiles for predicting measures of criminal severity among detained adolescents (n=292). Twenty-four risk factors from the Structured Assessment of Violence Risk in Youth (SAVRY) were summed to calculate aggregate scores. Using latent class analysis (LCA), profiles were identified based on scores from the following theoretically important SAVRY risk factors: Risk Taking/Impulsivity, Anger Management …

Big Five Personality Traits, Pathological Personality Traits, And Psychological Dysregulation: Predicting Aggression And Antisocial Behaviors In Detained Adolescents, Katherine S. L. Lau

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This study tested the utility of three different models of personality, namely the social and personality model, the pathological personality traits model, and the psychological dysregulation model, in predicting overt aggression, relational aggression, and delinquency in a sample of detained boys (ages 12 to 18; M age = 15.31; SD = 1.16). Results indicated that the three personality approaches demonstrated different unique associations with aggression and delinquency. The psychological dysregulation approach, composed of behavioral dysregulation, emotional dysregulation, and cognitive dysregulation, emerged as the overall best predictor of overt aggression, relational aggression, and delinquency. After controlling for the Big Five personality …

Hostile Attributional Bias In Aggression And Anxiety: The Role Of Perceived Provocateur Motivation, Melissa M. Kunimatsu

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Although internalizing and externalizing problems are often considered in isolation from one another, the frequently co-occur in individuals leading to unique behavior profiles. The current study examined the associations between the forms, functions, and subtypes of aggression, anxiety, hostile attributional bias (HAB), and perceived (proactive or reactive) provocateur motivation in a sample of youth (mean age = 13.84 years, 51% male, 37.5% Caucasian). Results indicated that only reactive relational aggression significantly predicted anxiety, while relational and reactive aggression did not. HAB was not significantly associated with either anxiety or any type of aggression. Perceived proactive provocateur motivation was significantly associated …

The Effects Of Chronic Simvastatin Treatment On The Expression Of Behavioral Symptoms In A Transgenic Mouse Model Of Huntington’S Disease, Ashley Whitmarsh

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Huntington’s disease (HD) is a heritable, neurodegenerative disorder characterized by motor, cognitive, and psychiatric disturbances. An unstable CAG expansion within the gene normally encoding for the Huntingtin protein is responsible. The expanded mutant form of Huntingtin and the putative protein co-factor Rhes interact and cause cell death within the striatum. We hypothesized chronic treatment with simvastatin, a cholesterol lowering drug, would disrupt the biosynthetical pathway which gives both Rhes and its target cells binding sites and render Rhes inactive. Healthy and HD mice were treated with simvastatin or a vehicle. Animals’ motor behavior was assessed with three separate tests over …

The Interaction Of Post-Partum Depression And Maternal Knowledge Of Infant Development On Change In Sensitive And Responsive Parenting During Early Infancy, Julie Weiss

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Sensitive and responsive parenting during early infancy is highly understudied, particularly in families with a low socioeconomic status. Longitudinal data from 41 mothers and their 4 to 16 week old infants found that accurate maternal knowledge of infant development positively affected parenting contemporaneously and over time while depression did not affect parenting in this sample. Implications for intervention and research are discussed.

Philosophy And Counseling: A Case Study, Matthew Wegmann

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Philosophical tenets have been at the heart of the counseling process since its inception. This study explores the factors present within a graduate-level counseling class that directly teaches these philosophical foundations through an exploration of dialectics and its impact on the medium of conversation. Interviews were conducted with both the professor that created the class as well as its current instructor along with focus groups of both current program students and program alumni. The fundamental aim was to understand the processes at work within the class and their influence on its students. The results suggest that by bringing the students …

Hurricane-Exposed Youth And Psychological Distress: An Examination Of The Role Of Social Support, Donice M. Banks

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Hurricane exposure places youth at risk for psychological distress such as symptoms of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), anxiety, and depression, while social support may contribute to resilience following disasters. This study examined associations among family and peer social support, level of hurricane exposure, and psychological distress using both a large single-time assessment sample (N = 1098) and a longitudinal sample followed over a six-month period (n = 192). Higher levels of hurricane exposure were related to lower levels of social support from family and peers as well as to higher levels of psychological distress. Higher levels of family …

A Multi-Gene By Environment Perspective Of Adhd Symptomatology In Young Children, Amber L. Allison

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a heritable disorder, which has detrimental effects on childhood development and is associated with maladaptive functioning in adulthood. Despite this, we are far from an understanding of the etiology and possible trajectories of ADHD, possibly due to investigations focusing on the contribution of single genes. In fact, single genes are likely not influential enough to alter behavior, but the additive effect of many genes may predispose an individual toward certain behaviors. Further, environmental input can activate or suppress genetic expression, thereby leading to vast individual differences in both normative behavior and psychopathological illness, including …

Coupling Of The Hpa And Hpg Axes, Andrew Dismukes

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

The Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) and –Gonadal (HPG) axes have been considered mutually inhibitory; however, emerging evidence supports the proposition that this might not necessarily be the case. This idea is termed “coupling,” in which the HPA-HPG axis are mutually activated or deactivated. Coupling is examined across three data sets with different time-courses of stress exposure, and results demonstrate HPA-HPG co-activation occurs. Furthermore, stress exposure influences this relationship. The discussion shows how it is physiologically possible to have positive coupling or co-activation between these axes according to complex regulatory feedback systems and overlapping neural structures. Findings are interpreted developmentally, because adolescence may …

Bullying Prevention In Schoolwide Positive Behavior Supports: A Review Of The Literature, Allen Garcia, Regina M. Oliver

The Nebraska Educator: A Student-Led Journal

The literature has suggested that problem behavior in the schools is an ongoing problem (Sugai et. al., 2000). This is a major concern for schools that want to provide a safe learning environment that promotes positive behaviors and academic learning. Such problem requires a systematic response, thus, School-Wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (SWPBIS) was created to target and prevent problem behaviors. Another form of problem behaviors in schools is bullying, and within the framework of SW-PBIS, there is limited research on targeting bullying. The current review examines and evaluates current research of SW-PBIS, and it’s application to bullying. Searches …

Brief Monocular Deprivation As An Assay Of Short-Term Visual Sensory Plasticity In Schizophrenia - "The Binocular Effect", John J. Foxe, Sheralyn Yeap, Victoria M. Leavitt

Publications and Research

Background: Visual sensory processing deficits are consistently observed in schizophrenia, with clear amplitude reduction of the visual evoked potential (VEP) during the initial 50-150 of processing. Similar deficits are seen in unaffected first-degree relatives and drug-naïve first-episode patients, pointing to these deficits as potential endophenotypic markers. Schizophrenia is also associated with deficits in neural plasticity, implicating dysfunction of both glutamatergic and GABAergic systems. Here, we sought to understand the intersection of these two domains, asking whether short-term plasticity during early visual processing is specifically affected in schizophrenia.

Methods: Brief periods of monocular deprivation (MD) induce relatively rapid changes …

Tattoo Stigma And Job Discrimination, Phil Drazewski

Theses and Dissertations

Recent research (Madera & Hebl, 2011) has found that visible stigmas can lead to discrimination against stigmatized individuals in the form of lower job applicant ratings. Tattooed individuals may be one group that faces such discrimination. People with tattoos are perceived less positively than non-tattooed people (Martin & Dula, 2010; Resenhoeft, Villa, & Wiseman, 2008), which may be the result of a tattoo stigma. Pryor & Reeder (2011) suggested that one hallmark of stigmas is that they evoke implicit negative attitudes. In a pilot study, participants implicitly and explicitly evaluated tattooed and non-tattooed individuals, and a tattoo stigma was supported. …

Diffusion Tensor Imaging In Hiv And Hepatitis C Coinfection, Jodi Michelle Heaps

Dissertations

Previous studies have demonstrated that infection with both human immune deficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis C (HCV) is associated with impaired cognitive function. It is unclear whether co-infection is associated with neuroimaging markers of brain dysfunction. The purpose of the present study was to compare HIV+ individuals, HIV/HCV+ individuals, and seronegative controls using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to assess the microstructural integrity of white matter tissue. Methods: Twenty-five HIV+ patients, 25 HIV/HCV+ patients, and 25 seronegative controls matched for age were included in the study. All participants completed an MRI session, neuropsychological testing, and an evaluation of clinical variables including …

An Intervention To Increase Ioa And Objectivity In Supervisors At Woodsedge Learning Center, Karli Silverman

Honors Theses

The purpose of my research was to increase interobserver agreement (IOA) and objectivity in supervisors at WoodsEdge Learning Center. We questioned whether or not designing and implementing a new grading sheet would lead to this outcome. Our methodology consisted of internet research regarding interventions to increase these measurements, followed by task analyses of the behaviors that should occur when tutors provided discrete trial training (DTT), surveys regarding the quality of feedback received at WoodsEdge, visits to various early intervention centers, and ended with the creation and multiple revisions of a new grading sheet. My involvement with this intervention ended before …

Approche Des Représentations D’Avenirs Des Lycéens Handicapés Visuels Comparées À Celles Des Lycéens Valides Du Burkina Faso, Issa Abdou Moumoula

Comparative and International Education / Éducation Comparée et Internationale

Alors que de nombreux travaux portent sur les représentations d’avenir des adolescents, peu d’études rendent compte de l’impact du handicap dans l’élaboration de ces représentations. Nous proposons à travers la conduite d’entretiens individuels semi directifs avec 26 lycéens dont 13 en situation d’handicap visuel, de réaliser un travail exploratoire sur ce thème en vue de faire des propositions en termes de dispositifs d’accompagnement de ces jeunes dans le domaine du conseil en orientation au Burkina Faso. A l’issue de l’analyse de nos données, nous observons que les discours des jeunes adolescents handicapés visuels sont similaires à ceux des élèves valides. …

Motivation And The Sat: What Factors Help Determine College Success Past Standardized Testing, Alexandra Vartanian

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects motivation plays in determining the success of a student in post secondary education. The relationship between high school GPA (HSGPA), SAT Scores, college GPA (CGPA), and motivation factors were examined. Motivation was measured on the Motivational Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ) developed by Paul Pintrich and Elizabeth de Groot. Ninety-two participants responded to the survey. Results corroborated findings from previous research. SAT scores correlate with CGPA; relationships were also observed across several other factors, including HSGPA and CGPA, SAT and Motivation, and HSGPA and SAT scores.

Factors Influencing Youth Self-Perceptions Of Overweight And Obesity, Caitlin Helen Sommers

Dissertations and Theses

This study sought to examine whether participation in physical activity affects the ability to correctly classify body size, based on body mass index classifications. Secondarily, this study determined whether adolescents who incorrectly classified their body size overestimated or underestimated their size. Self-report data from the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were analyzed. Logistic regression was performed to examine relationships between self-perception of body size and physical activity, television viewing time, computer/video game use, physical education class time, and extracurricular sports activities. Significance was set to p<0.05. Physical activity was the only statistically significant independent variable (p=0.058, OR = 1.060). Although physical activity was shown to be statistically significant, it did not appear to meaningfully increase the ability of youth to correctly classify body size. Secondary analysis showed that adolescents who incorrectly classified their body size were more likely to underestimate their body size. Females more frequently underestimated their body size (females=673; males=384).

Comparison Of Psychogenic Movement Disorder Patients With Non-Epileptic Seizures And Other Hyperkinetic Motor Manifestations: An Integrated Model Of Psychosocial And Neuropsychological Functioning, Bonnie Michelle Scott

Psychology and Counseling Theses

Psychogenic movement disorders (PMDs) represent a complex and severe form of psychopathology, which even after a century of research remains poorly understood. As previous investigations have neglected to differentiate symptom phenotypes and have approached assessment from the perspective of cognitive dysfunction apparent in PMD patient's neurological counterparts, the current study aimed to examine the neurocognitive performance and psychological profiles of PMD patients with hyperkinetic motor manifestations guided by a theoretical lens of frontal lobe pathology and informed by previous neuroimaging studies with this patient population. Subsequent to diagnostic confirmation of their condition by means of video-electroencephalographic monitoring or adherence to …

“Cause That’S The Only Skills In School You Need” A Qualitative Analysis Of Revenge Goals In Poor Urban Youth, Lena Janina Jäggi

Theses and Dissertations

Ample research shows that revenge goals are correlated with maladjustment and retaliation is an important factor driving youth violence. Still, in environments with limited institutionalized interventions revenge might be an indispensable tool to maintain social equilibrium. This qualitative secondary analysis of 50 (30 Boys) revenge scenarios from a larger longitudinal study (N=358 dyads of youth/maternal caregiver) expands existing one-dimensional knowledge of revenge from closed-answer vignettes to the rich real world experience of 10-16 year old youth from an urban community sample. Key findings showed significant qualitative differences in both cognition and emotions of revenge scenarios. Ten distinct patterns emerged and …

The Effects Of Professional Development On High School Teachers' Implementation Of The Problem-Solving Process, Brandon Y. Jackson

Theses and Dissertations

The majority of schools use punitive and reactive strategies to deal with maladaptive behaviors. This descriptive study was a replication of Wilmott (2012) and occurred in a multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS) high school. Professional development was provided to 22 teachers from a high school located in the western United States. This included 61% males and 39% females. Measures included the frequency of praise notes and ODRs, the quality of praise notes based on a praise note rubric, and a social validity questionnaire. The ODR and praise note frequencies were compared using the Spearman correlational coefficient that resulted in a …