Psychology Commons^™

Exploring Wellbeing In Older Male Farmers In Western Australia, Jessica L. Mckee

Theses : Honours

In the context of an ageing population it has become increasingly important to identify the determinants of wellbeing in older adulthood. A review of the literature relevant to wellbeing and strengths relevant to older male farmers in Australia was conducted. This body of knowledge was identified to be sparse. Existing literature on farming primarily had a deficits focus, and only a small number of qualitative studies were specific to older male farmers. Four broad, overlapping areas representing the meaning of wellbeing were identified as potentially important: farming work; connectedness; the land; health and wellbeing. The inter-connected nature of farming life …

Associative Stigma Among Families Of Alcohol And Other Drug Users, Olivia Marshall

Theses : Honours

Stigma is the devaluation of groups and individuals because of traits or behaviours that deviate from social norms. Drug use is a highly stigmatised behaviour, as it is mainly viewed as a controllable behaviour or character weakness. Stigma may occur by association and this is known as courtesy or associative stigma. A comprehensive review investigated associative stigma among families of psychoactive substance users. Searches of psychological databases located articles pertaining to associative stigma among families. Articles located indicated that associative stigma occurs toward families in other populations, such as those living with mental illness and HIV. A lack of research …

Fathers At Birth : Women's Experiences Of Their Partner's Presence During Childbirth, Sarah Dlugosz

Theses : Honours

Childbirth is an ordeal of nature. It is an experience that elicits a range of emotions for the labouring woman; recognition of which has highlighted women’s needs for psychological support during the birth process. Research has shown that a mother’s perception of a positive birth is influenced by how supported she feels throughout her experience. In Australia it is common practice for the labouring woman’s partner to be her main support person; however research into women’s experiences of this phenomenon is scarce. This research aimed to explore the lived experiences of women in this context, asking the question “what meaning …

Distinct Effects Of Enriched Environment On Dopamine Clearance In Nucleus Accumbens Shell And Core Following Systemic Nicotine Administration, Jun Zhu, Michael T. Bardo, Linda P. Dwoskin

Psychology Faculty Publications

Environmental enrichment during development may reduce drug abuse liability by modulating dopamine transporter (DAT) function. Nucleus accumbens (NAc) shell and core respond differentially to regulate the rewarding properties and locomotor stimulant effects of psychostimulants. The current study evaluated dopamine (DA) clearance (CL_DA) in the NAc shell and core using in vivo voltammetry in rats raised in an enriched condition (EC) or an impoverished condition (IC) and determined the effect of nicotine (0.4 mg/kg) on CL_DA. Baseline CL_DA in NAc shell and core was not different between EC and IC rats. In the saline control group, …

Furious Activity Vs. Understanding: How Much Expertise Is Needed To Evaluate Creative Work?, Learning Research Institute, John Baer, David H. Cropley, Roni Reiter-Palmon

Psychology Faculty Publications

What is the role of expertise in evaluating creative products? Novices and experts do not assess creativity similarly, indicating domain-specific knowledge’s role in judging creativity. We describe two studies that examined how quasi-experts (people who have more experience in a domain than novices but also lack recognized standing as experts) compared to novices and experts in rating creative work. In Study One, we compared different types of quasi-experts with novices and experts in rating short stories. In Study Two, we compared experts, quasi-experts, and novices in evaluating an engineering product (a mousetrap design). Quasi-experts (regardless of type) seemed to be …

Reanalysis Of Genetic Data And Rethinking Dopamine's Relationship With Creativity, Michelle Murphy, Mark A. Runco, Selcuk Acar, Roni Reiter-Palmon

Psychology Faculty Publications

Several genetic analyses of creativity have recently been reported. A key finding is that dopamine might be related to ideational fluency (Runco, Noble, Reiter-Palmon, Acar, Ritchie, & Yurkovich, 2011) or even to creativity per se (Reuter, Roth, Holve, & Hennig, 2006). Previous analyses have ignored an important part of genetic theory, however, namely the likelihood of polygenetic contributions. Many human characteristics are polygenetic.

Incorporating I-O Into An Introductory Psychology Course: A New Set Of Custom Modules By The Education And Training Committee, Joseph A. Allen

Psychology Faculty Publications

One concern that SIOP members often express at conferences and other gatherings of I-O psychologists is the general lack of visibility of I-O among the majority of the undergraduate students in psychology. Although interest in I-O psychology has grown among students, very few introductory psychology textbooks cover the topic. In an effort to address this concern, Mikki Hebl, the former Education and Training Committee Chair, invited a subcommittee composed of committee members and others who have expertise in undergraduate education to develop “shovel-ready” modules that introduce I-O topics to an introductory psychology audience. Those responsible for preparing the modules include …

Conditioned Place Preference And Aversion For Music In A Virtual Reality Environment, Mikaël Molet, Gauthier Billiet, Michael T. Bardo

Psychology Faculty Publications

The use of a virtual reality environment (VRE) enables behavioral scientists to create different spatial contexts in which human participants behave freely, while still confined to the laboratory. In this article, VRE was used to study conditioned place preference (CPP) and aversion (CPA). In Experiment 1, half of the participants were asked to visit a house for 2 min with consonant music and then they were asked to visit an alternate house with static noise for 2 min, whereas the remaining participants did the visits in reverse order. In Experiment 2, we used the same design as Experiment 1, except …

The Effects Of Ketamine On Cognitive Bias In A Stress Vulnerable Chick Strain, Kristen Anne Hymel

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Cognitive bias is a phenomenon that presents in individuals suffering from anxiety and depression where anxious individuals tend to adopt a more pessimistic interpretation of ambiguous aversive stimuli and depressed individuals tend to adopt both a more pessimistic interpretation of ambiguous aversive stimuli as well as a less optimistic interpretation of ambiguous appetitive stimuli. Such biases have been pharmacologically reversed using anxiolytics and antidepressants. The chick anxiety-depression model has observed more pessimistic-like and less optimistic-like behavior in approach/avoidant runway performance to ambiguous aversive and ambiguous appetitive stimuli, respectively. Further, both types of cognitive biases have been reversed in a White …

Evaluating Preference-Seeking And Aversive Qualities Of Salvia Divinorumand Mitragyna Speciosa, Melissa Jane Loria

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Use of botanicals for self-diagnosed conditions or recreational purposes is increasing. Many readily available botanicals are under-researched and little is known about potential liabilities. This study sought to utilize Conditioned Place Preference (CPP) to quantify rewarding or aversive properties of botanicals and their constituents in rats. This paradigm is based on the notion that animals prefer distinct environments previously paired with rewarding drugs. Our approach to broadly characterize a botanical and its many constituents entails dose response functions of a plant extract, its fractions, and its primary constituent. As a proof of concept, we chose two popular botanicals, one expected …

Collaborative Memory For Serial Order, Elizabeth Lauren Foreman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Although the encoding, storage, and retrieval of information between groups has been examined in both recall and recognition memory; surprisingly, there is no existing data regarding collaborative memory outcomes using a reconstruction task. In an attempt to fill this gap in the literature, participants assigned to one of four retrieval conditions were asked to study the order of unrelated word-lists in preparation for a memory test. Some reconstructed the lists by alternating turns with their group members (turn-taking). Others were forced to reconstruct the lists from the first item-position to the last item-position in addition to taking turns with group …

Youth Treatment Adherence At A Rural Community Mental-Health Clinic, Asma S. Ali

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

This study examined the relationships between youth and adult psychopathology, and sociodemographic factors and treatment adherence for youth attending outpatient treatment at a rural community mental-health clinic. “Adherence” was defined as attending more than five sessions, while “non-adherence” was defined as attending fewer than or equal to five sessions. Results revealed no significant differences between youth adhering or not adhering to treatment depending on the relation of caregiver to youth or the mode of transportation taken to the clinic. Furthermore, caregiver and youth psychopathology and caregiver’s estimated travel time to the clinic did not predict treatment adherence. Incidentally, examination of …

Cognitive And Academic Profiles Of Gifted And Talented Students, Debora Buzinkai

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Global scores such as the FSIQ have been routinely utilized in decision making for special education eligibility. Over time, the use of the FSIQ in making important educational decisions has been replaced by a subtest analysis approach, because the FSIQ was not able to differentiate individual gifted traits, which led to heterogeneity in the gifted and talented population. In the ipsative approach, emphasis is placed on the interpretation of student performance at the subtest level rather than at the level of the global score, the latter of which can obfuscate important individual characteristics. In this sample of data drawn from …

Examining Levels Of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms And Treatment Attendance Amongst Children Living In Different Caregiver Settings, Danika S. Perry

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

This study examined symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and treatment attendance rates amongst a sample of children and adolescents who engaged in treatment for PTSD. The purpose was to determine if there was a difference in the level of PTSD symptoms or the number of sessions attended between those children living in foster care and those living with their primary non-foster caregiver(s). In addition, the treatment attendance rates of foster care children were examined to determine if there was a relationship between the level of the PTSD symptoms and the child’s treatment attendance rates. Results revealed that there was …

Predicting Initial Mental Health/Substance Abuse Treatment Attendance In Hiv/Aids Patients: An Exploration Of Risk Factors, Rachel D. Amodio

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

This study attempted to predict mental health/substance abuse treatment initial appointment attendance, utilizing specific social, provider, institutional, medical, and psychological risk factors through the use of a logistic regression model. The initial frequency analysis revealed that only 155 individuals were ever scheduled to attend an appointment of the original data set (N=298). The majority of individuals could not be scheduled due to unavailability, disinterest, latency and other reasons. A new data set was created from individuals who were scheduled and variables were collapsed across categories to include: length of wait time to appointment, CD4 count, prescribed medications, reason for referral, …

Cognitive Distortions As A Mediator Between Early Maladaptive Schema And Hopelessness, Keith Milligan

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

The purpose of the current study was to examine cognitive distortions as a mediator between maladaptive schema and hopelessness. With hopelessness and suicidal behavior so strongly correlated, an examination of hopelessness is critical. It was expected that this study would shed light on the role of distorted thinking as it relates to beliefs shaped from early maladaptive experiences and hopelessness. First, distorted thinking was not found to partially mediate the relationship between early maladaptive schema and hopelessness. This was likely a consequence of multicollinearity due to the use of a very proximal mediator. Second, a linear combination of the cognitive …

A Single Case Study Of Cognitive Remediation Therapy With An Adolescent With Disordered Eating, Carol Lynn Galiano

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Picky eating is currently not included in the diagnostic classification system DSM-IV TR as a distinct category of eating disorders in childhood. It can reach clinical significance requiring intervention when it results in chronic nutritional inadequacies and/or harmful impact on social development or family functioning. Studies have shown that patients with eating disorders have difficulties with executive functioning. These findings have been used to develop an intervention based on cognitive remediation therapy (CRT) which targets thinking skills and their role in the development and maintenance of an eating disorder. To further investigate, this study assessed the efficacy of an 8-week, …

Associations Between Different Parenting Styles And Child Behavior, Jason C. Hunt

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a chronic, behavioral control disorder, which is most frequently diagnosed in children. ADHD is traditionally conceptualized as a neurological disorder; however, there are important environmental factors that affect symptom presentation. Parental involvement is a critical factor in virtually every form of treatment for ADHD, yet the specific parenting styles employed by parents of children with ADHD has received little attention. This study sought to address this issue through identifying associations between parenting styles, ADHD symptoms, and homework problems. Participants were recruited from a community sample, using a snowball sampling method. Participants were required to complete three …

The Relation Between Self-Compassion, Body Image, And Mood: How Do Women Internalize Weight-Related Feedback?, Nicole Helverson

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Objective: Body dissatisfaction has been identified as a risk factor for depression and eating pathology, whereas, self-compassion has been associated with higher quality of life. This study sought to examine the relationship between negative body image and self-compassion as risk or protective factors for weight and body composition related feedback mood changes.

Method: This deception study used a true-experimental, pre- and post-test design in a sample of 117 female graduate and medical students and college staff, aged 18 to 45 years; women diagnosed with eating disorders were excluded. After completing baseline questionnaires (including mood, body image, and self-compassion), …

Individual Characteristics, Protective Factors And Processes Significant In Helping Low-Income African American Students Achieve Academic Success And Projected Upward Mobility, Barbara Still

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Research and other studies have documented the educational plight and academic difficulties of many poor, urban African American students. A number of studies have explored and identified many reasons for the low level of academic success among these students. Nonetheless, some poor, urban African American students have completed high school and college; and they have successfully transitioned to higher socioeconomic groups. The purpose of this study was to identify individual characteristics, protective factors and school processes that are significant in helping current urban, poor African American students to achieve high levels of academic success and to begin movement towards eventual …

An Examination Of Speech Characteristics Under Conditions Of Affective Reactivity And Variable Cognitive Load As Distinguishing Feigned And Genuine Schizophrenia, Gina M. Najolia

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Proper assessment of schizophrenia is complicated by the need for clinicians to be cognizant of the possibility of malingering, i.e., the intentional production of false or grossly exaggerated symptoms, motivated by external incentives. Current standardized schizophrenia malingering detection methods rely on endorsement of improbable or exaggerated, mainly positive, symptoms. However, these detection methods may be vulnerable to successful manipulation by sophisticated malingerers, particularly if coached regarding response style assessment strategies. This paper explored the utility of supplemental variables to examine in schizophrenia malingering detection by using a simulation study design to compare schizophrenia patients, a community participant sample instructed to …

Creating An Sli Performance Profile With Load, Christy Marie Seidel

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this body of work was to gain a clearer understanding of the potential cognitive factors that may contribute to Specific Language Impairment (SLI). This study attempted to simulate a performance profile of SLI in typically developing children within a grammaticality judgment task, featuring structures historically difficult (third person singular –S and auxiliary BE) and easy (plural –S and progressive –ING) for individuals with SLI. Cognitive load was manipulated through the length of the sentences to be judged, and individual differences in phonological short term memory (PSTM) and working memory were measured (WM). For a successful simulation to …

Socially Oriented Negative Self-Referent Cognition : The Development And Validation Of A Measure, Brittany Moree Rudy

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Social phobia, a debilitating disorder among children and adolescents, is thought to be made up of cognitive, behavioral, and physiological components. However, in children, the cognitive component of this disorder has been largely neglected by researchers. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to create and validate a new instrument, the "Socially Oriented Negative Anxious Statement (SONAS) scale,” that assesses socially oriented negative self-referent cognition in a younger population. Measurement validation procedures including, reliability, validity, and factor analysis, were utilized to examine the proposed questionnaire. Results indicated that the SONAS scale demonstrated good psychometric properties, including a sound two-factor structure …

Academic Self-Monitoring In College Students With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Mindy C. Scheithauer

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Self-monitoring is an intervention that can result in behavior change by having individuals observe and record their own behavior. Self-monitoring has received empirical support in changing Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) related behaviors in children, but there is scarce research regarding self-monitoring with adults with ADHD. The current study implemented a self-monitoring intervention aimed at improving academic behavior and medication adherence in college students with ADHD. The self-monitoring intervention included study skills training, goal-setting, identification of individualized self-monitoring behavior, and follow-up meetings to discuss progress. The participants were asked to monitor their behavior on a daily basis using an electronic system. Compared …

Returning The Self To Professional Psychology, Scott Alan Markham

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The following theoretical dissertation used an object relational approach to consider integrating the self and professional psychology training. Professional psychology training once valued the emerging and diverse experiences of the trainee's self. However, the recent shift to competency based education models in professional psychology has emphasized self-competency rather than the processes that foster the integration of trainees' emerging identities. This paper argued that the competency-based education models based on positivistic science frameworks limited further dialogues of self-discovery, the processes of on-going self-reflection, and meaning making processes of self. The purpose of this dissertation was to continue the dialogue of self …

Letter Of Purpose Of The Feminist Evolutionary Psychology Society, T. Joel Wade

Faculty Journal Articles

It has been almost five years since the formation of the Feminist Evolutionary Psychology Society (FEPS), which was created with the hopes of drawing attention to issues that influence women’s role in evolution. In those years, FEPS has changed into a more structured society with clear aims. In this letter, we review the rationale for creating FEPS, as well as how we structured FEPS to be an effective organization. The majority of the letter pertains to four distinct goals of FEPS that we will continue to address in the future. These goals are to investigate the active role of women …

The Interface Between Morphology And Action Planning: A Comparison Of Two Species Of New World Monkeys, Stacey L. Zander, Dan J. Weiss, Peter G. Judge

Faculty Journal Articles

Recent research with several species of nonhuman primates suggests sophisticated motor-planning abilities observed in human adults may be ubiquitous among primates. However, there is considerable variability in the extent to which these abilities are expressed across primate species. In the present experiment, we explore whether the variability in the expression of anticipatory motor-planning abilities may be attributed to cognitive differences (such as tool use abilities) or whether they may be due to the consequences of morphological differences (such as being able to deploy a precision grasp). We compared two species of New World monkeys that differ in their tool use …

Friendship As A Relationship Infiltration Tactic During Human Mate Poaching., Justin Mogilski, T. Joel Wade

Faculty Journal Articles

Previous research has characterized human mate poaching as a prevalent alternative mating strategy that entails risks and costs typically not present during general romantic courtship and attraction. This study is the first to experimentally investigate friendship between a poacher and his/her target as a risk mitigation tactic. Participants (N = 382) read a vignette that differed by whether the poacher was male/female and whether the poacher and poached were friends/acquaintances. Participants assessed the likelihood of the poacher being successful and incurring costs. They also rated the poacher and poached on several personality and mate characteristics. Results revealed that friendship increased …

The Big-5 And The Perceived Effectiveness Of Love Acts, T. Joel Wade, Jamie Vanartsdalen

Faculty Journal Articles

The present research was implemented in order to determine whether or not the Big-5 personality dimensions relate to the perceived effectiveness of love acts discovered in prior research. An internet based questionnaire was utilized and college undergraduates and as well as non-college students were included in the sample. The Big-5 dimensions of Agreeableness, Openness to Experience, and Emotional Stability were expected to be related to the perceived effectiveness of the Love acts. Additionally, men and women were expected to rate Love acts signaling commitment and exclusivity as most effective. The results obtained were consistent with the hypotheses and are discussed …

Auditory Imagery And The Poor-Pitch Singer, Peter Q. Pfordresher, Andrea R. Halpern

Faculty Journal Articles

The vocal imitation of pitch by singing requires one to plan laryngeal movements on the basis of anticipated target pitch events. This process may rely on auditory imagery, which has been shown to activate motor planning areas. As such, we hypothesized that poor-pitch singing, although not typically associated with deficient pitch perception, may be associated with deficient auditory imagery. Participants vocally imitated simple pitch sequences by singing, discriminated pitch pairs on the basis of pitch height, and completed an auditory imagery self-report questionnaire (the Bucknell Auditory Imagery Scale). The percentage of trials participants sung in tune correlated significantly with self-reports …