Psychology Commons^™

The Effect Of Emotional Intelligence And Task Type On Malevolent Creativity, Daniel J. Harris, Roni Reiter-Palmon, James C. Kaufman

Psychology Faculty Publications

Malevolent creativity (MC), or intending to inflict harm in original ways, is an aspect of creativity that has received little empirical attention. It reasons that generating malevolently creative products in response to a problem is dependent upon individual differences and environmental factors, especially with regard to the social and emotional content of a particular problem. A personality variable strongly associated with how individuals acknowledge and respond to such social and emotional content is emotional intelligence (EI). Individuals with higher EI often solve problems in cooperative, beneficial, and positive ways, which seems contrary to solving a problem with MC. In addition …

Observing Culture: Differences In U.S.-American And German Team Meeting Behaviors, Nale Lehmann-Willenbrock, Joseph A. Allen, Annika L. Meinecke

Psychology Faculty Publications

Although previous research has theorized about team interaction differences between the German and U.S. cultures, actual behavioral observations of such differences are sparse. This study explores team meetings as a context for examining intercultural differences. We analyzed a total of 5,188 meeting behaviors in German and U.S. student teams. All teams discussed the same task to consensus. Results from behavioral process analyses showed that German teams focused significantly more on problem analysis, whereas U.S. teams focused more on solution production. Moreover, U.S. teams showed significantly more positive socioemotional meeting behavior than German teams. Finally, German teams showed significantly more counteractive …

I Get By With A Little Help From My Friends: The Buffering Effects Of Unit-Level Moderators On The Combat Exposure-Mental Health Relationship, Anna Mcfadden

All Theses

Combat exposure has been linked to various negative outcomes, both physical (e.g., severed limbs, decreased health behaviors, mild traumatic brain injury) and mental (e.g., posttraumatic stress disorder [PTSD], depression, anxiety, substance abuse). Additionally, the military is limited in the ways in which it can protect service members from experiencing negative outcomes of war. The present study examined how the unit-level variables of perceived organizational support, job self-efficacy, and unit morale moderate the relationship between combat exposure and (a) depression and (b) anxiety within the framework of the Soldier Adaptation Model. Soldiers who had previously deployed to Iraq for 15 months …

A Psychology Of Choice Of Laws, Gary Low

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

There is certainly a lot of choice going around in the market for contract law. This is a good thing, since choice is key to self-determination and may help improve our laws. Yet there may be such a thing as choice overload, and the introduction of the Common European Sales law is a timely reminder to consider its effect for the market for contract law. This article does just that. It explains what choice overload is, why it comes about, and what can be done to ameliorate its effects. The conclusion is that CESL will not cause choice overload but …

Opening The Creative Mind Of High Need For Cognitive Closure Individuals Through Activation Of Uncreative Ideas, Lay See Ong, Angela K. Y. Leung

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Drawing on the integrative system theory of creativity combining the person, process, and press perspectives, this research offers the first evidence of how high-need-for-cognitive-closure (NFC) individuals’ creative mind can be opened up, by making them become more cognizant of uncreative ideas as consensually invalid solutions to creative problems. A validation study was conducted to first establish the utility of a newly developed chocolate design task. In the second study, half of the participants were made aware of conventional chocolate designs by drawing these designs before generating a revolutionized design of chocolate; the other half did not have to draw out …

Meta-Knowledge Of Culture Promotes Cultural Competence, Angela K.-Y. Leung, Sau-Lai Lee, Chi-Yue Chiu

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

A behavioral signature of cross-cultural competence is discriminative use of culturally appropriate behavioral strategies in different cultural contexts. Given the central role communication plays in cross-cultural adjustment and adaptation, the present investigation examines how meta-knowledge of culture—defined as knowledge of what members of a certain culture know—affects culturally competent cross-cultural communication. We reported two studies that examined display of discriminative, culturally sensitive use of cross-cultural communication strategies by bicultural Hong Kong Chinese (Study 1), Chinese students in the United States and European Americans (Study 2). Results showed that individuals formulating a communicative message for a member of a certain culture …

Pursuing The Good Life, Kevin Corcoran

University Faculty Publications and Creative Works

Christopher Peterson's Pursuing the Good Life: 100 Reflections on Positive Psychology

The Impact Of Anti-Byod Policies On Generation Z Hospitality Employee's Engagement, Danny Crinson

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

As an industry hospitality typically reacts to problems rather than tackling them proactively. One of the greatest problems currently faced by the industry is the low engagement rates across employees. These low levels have been linked to many issues including low morale, productivity and high turnover rates. One way to try to remedy this issue before it worsens would be to look at future hospitality employees and try to understand what will engage them. Doing so will allow human resource leaders to make changes to any polices which currently do not synchronize with these engaging factors. With research suggesting that …

Exploring The Relationships Between Rap And Hip-Hop Music Use And Objectified Body Consciousness, Body Dissatisfaction, And Gender Norms In Female Juvenile Delinquents, Nina Simone Brathwaite

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Various forms of portable media (e.g., television, movies, magazines, internet, music) are increasingly accessible to and used by the average adolescent in the U.S. (American Psychological Association [APA], 2007; Ward, 2003). Two of the most popular genres of adolescent entertainment, rap and hip-hop music are frequently criticized for their use of misogynistic images and lyrics that objectify women and glorify sex, drug use, and violence (Bretthauer, Zimmerman & Banning, 2006; Conrad, Dixon & Zhang, 2010; Ward, 2003). Although understudied, one could argue that increased accessibility to and use of such media that fosters sexually-explicit and -objectifying messages common in Western …

The Role Of Body Surveillance, Body Shame, And Body Self-Consciousness During Sexual Activities In Women's Sexual Experience, Kimberly Claudat

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Objectification theory is a social constructivist framework that aims to explain how sociocultural and intrapersonal variables impact women's mental health. To date, however, few studies have used an objectification framework to examine the relationship between body image and sexual functioning in ethnically diverse samples of women. Consequently, the present study used the tenets of objectification theory to examine body image and sexuality in women. Specifically, this study investigated the relationships between body surveillance, body shame, body self-consciousness during sexual activities, and sexual satisfaction in American female college students. Participants completed self-report measures of demographic information, body shame, body surveillance, body …

The Impact Of Sexual Arousal On The Category Specificity Of Women's Visual Attention To Erotic Stimuli, Sarah Jones

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Research has shown that women have a much less category-specific pattern of visual attention to erotic stimuli than do men. That is, when simultaneously presented with male and female erotic stimuli, heterosexual women attend much more evenly to both male and female erotic stimuli than do heterosexual men, who attend almost exclusively to female stimuli. The present study investigated one proposed explanation for women's more diffuse visual attention patterns - that erotic female images have arousal value for heterosexual women. To test this hypothesis, heterosexual women were presented with either a 12-minute neutral, non-arousing video (n = 19) or a …

Examining The Inner Experience Of Three Individuals With Major Depressive Disorder And Three Individuals With Bipolar Disorder, Janell Marie Mihelic

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The diagnostic criteria for major depressive disorder (MDD) and bipolar disorder (BD) provide a description of expected experiences of individuals diagnosed with those disorders (e.g., sadness, expansive mood, difficulty concentrating). However, much remains unknown about the inner experience of individuals with these disorders which may prove crucial in understanding and treating these disorders. The present study examined the inner experience of three individuals with MDD and three individuals with BD using the Descriptive Experience Sampling (DES) method (Hurlburt 1990, 1993, 2011). Results were not suggestive of any clear, consistent patterns of inner experience either within the MDD or BD groups …

Examining The Inner Experience Of Left-Handers Using Descriptive Experience Sampling, Aadee Mizrachi

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Research suggests there are anatomical asymmetries of the human brain associated with right-hand or left-hand preference. In addition, left-handedness has been related to a wide range of psychological and physical problems. Despite these relationships, little is known about the inner experience of left-handers.

The present study, a replication of Mizrachi (2010) using a larger sample, used Descriptive Experience Sampling (DES) with three objectives: 1) examine the inner experience of left-handers; 2) compare the results of the present study to the results of Mizrachi (2010); and 3) compare the inner experience of left-handers to that of the general population as reported …

Using A Mobile Device To Deliver Visual Schedules To Young Children With Autism, Leslie Nelson

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) frequently display an inability to self-regulate (use materials appropriately and refrain from self-stimulatory behavior) and self-monitor (complete each step in a task before continuing to the next step) their behavior and therefore experience a great deal of failure within their respective school and home environments and frequently end up receiving instruction in restrictive, self-contained classrooms. Visual schedules have been used to help students with ASD self-regulate their behaviors in academic and community settings (NPDC, 2010; NSR, 2009). The purpose of this study was to determine whether high-tech visual schedules increase the self-regulation and …

Exploring Heterosexist Bias And Oppressive Bullying In Anti-Bullying Prevention Programs, Shayna Yamashiro

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Children in the K-12 school environment who identify in the sexually underrepresented groups experience the effects of heterosexism, which is a manifestation of oppressive bullying. This work explores and analyzes the results of Anti-Bullying Prevention Pilot Program (ABPPP) which is a large-scale three-year evaluation. This study analyzed qualitative data (structured interviews) by utilizing a Consensual Qualitative Research (CQR) and Mixed Methods approach to find the emergent theme of heterosexism. Grounded Theory was then used to code that information. This work found thick descriptions which illustrated the presence of heterosexist bias in the qualitative data. Thus, this writer proposes a model …

Risk Assessment In Corrections: An Analysis Of Variables Related To Suicide Attempts And Self-Mutilation, Melissa Ann Fine

Theses and Dissertations

Suicide and self-mutilation risk assessment is a complicated process, especially within a correctional setting. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, over 50% of incarcerated individuals have a mental health illness, further reinforcing the need for concise, evidence-based risk assessment practices. The Virginia Department of Corrections collected data on suicide attempts, completed suicides, and incidents of self-injurious behavior for 17 months with a measure created to assess risk factor found in the community. Results indicated that numerous factors were related to suicide attempts, however only having made prior suicide attempts, the presence of a major depression diagnosis, and placement in …

Characteristics Of 4-H Participants And Their Psychosocial Development, Lauralee Lyons

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Volunteerism is an important component in the 4-H program. It was initially used as a method to help agents reach the many youth interested in participating in 4-H. Community service has since become a required component for every club project. Research shows that volunteering can impact youth in many different ways. Other research shows that 4-H youth are more likely to contribute or do some type of community service.

The present study uses the Modified Extended Version of the Object Measure of Ego Identity Status (EOMEIS), the Cognitive Autonomy and Self-Evaluation (CASE) inventory, and an instrument specifically designed to study …

Longitudinal Progression Of Frontal And Temporal Lobe Changes In Schizophrenia, Derin J. Cobia, Matthew J. Smith, Lei Wang, John G. Csernansky

Faculty Publications

Cortical abnormalities are considered a neurobiological characteristic of schizophrenia. However, the pattern of such deficits as they progress over the illness remains poorly understood. The goal of this project was to assess the progression of cortical thinning in frontal and temporal cortical regions in schizophrenia, and determine whether relationships exist between them and neuropsychological and clinical symptom profiles. As part of a larger longitudinal 2-year followup study, schizophrenia (n=20) and healthy participants (n=20) group-matched for age, gender, and recent-alcohol use, were selected. Using MRI, estimates of gray matter thickness were derived from primary anatomical gyri of the frontal and temporal …

The Combined Effects Of Self-Referent Information Processing And Ruminative Responses On Adolescent Depression., Stephanie Winkeljohn Black, Patrick Pössel

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

Adolescents who develop depression have worse interpersonal and affective experiences and are more likely to develop substance problems and/or suicidal ideation compared to adolescents who do not develop depression. This study examined the combined effects of negative self-referent information processing and rumination (i.e., brooding and reflection) on adolescent depressive symptoms. It was hypothesized that the interaction of negative self-referent information processing and brooding would significantly predict depressive symptoms, while the interaction of negative self-referent information processing and reflection would not predict depressive symptoms. Adolescents (n = 92; 13–15 years; 34.7 % female) participated in a 6-month longitudinal study. Self-report instruments …

Hiv Dna Reservoir Increases Risk For Cognitive Disorders In Cart-Naïve Patients, Robert Paul, Victor Valcour, Jintanat Ananworanich, Melissa Agsalda, Napapon Sailasuta, Thep Chalermchai, Alexandra Schuetz, Cecilia Shikuma, Chin-Yuan Liang, Supunee Jirajariyavej, Pasiri Sithinamsuwan, Somporn Tipsuk, David Clifford, James Fletcher, Mary Marovich, Bonnie Slike, Victor Degruttola, Bruce Shiramizu

Psychology Faculty Works

Objectives: Cognitive impairment remains frequent in HIV, despite combination antiretroviral therapy (cART). Leading theories implicate peripheral monocyte HIV DNA reservoirs as a mechanism for spread of the virus to the brain. These reservoirs remain present despite cART. The objective of this study was to determine if the level of HIV DNA in CD14+ enriched monocytes predicted cognitive impairment and brain injury.Methods: We enrolled 61 cART-naı¨ve HIV-infected Thais in a prospective study and measured HIV DNA in CD14+ enriched monocyte samples in a blinded fashion. We determined HAND diagnoses by consensus panel and all participants underwent magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) to …

Complex Trauma In Children And Adolescents, Rachel Ann Wamser

Dissertations

Complex trauma events, or chronic interpersonal traumas that begin early in life, are thought to result in profound disruptions, well beyond the symptoms of PTSD. Complex trauma events may be especially toxic for children and adolescents, whose regulatory systems are more vulnerable. This study provides empirical support for the previously unexamined hypothesis that complex trauma events result in broad systemic difficulties, not simply higher levels of PTSD symptoms. This study also offers evidence for a dimensional conceptualization of traumatic events, with acute noninterpersonal trauma residing on one end of the spectrum and complex trauma on the other. 346 treatment-seeking children …

The Relation Between Patterns Of Beliefs About Fighting And Social Information-Processing: Differences In Cognitions, Goals, And The Response-Decision Process In Adolescents, Denicia Titchner

Theses and Dissertations

Beliefs about aggression play a key role in how youth interpret and respond to social situations and are related to aggressive behavior. Adolescents may report beliefs supporting aggression and engage in aggression due to reinforcement within their environment, rather than due to maladaptive social information-processing (SIP) biases. The purpose of this study was to examine adolescents’ patterns of beliefs about aggression and how these patterns relate to SIP. This study used latent class analysis (LCA), the Articulated Thoughts in Simulated Situations paradigm, and a Problem Solving Interview to examine differences in SIP between adolescents with varying patterns of beliefs about …

Sexual Victimization History And Visual Attentional Bias For Emotional Pictures In College Women, Renu A. Thomas

Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Various traumatic experiences and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are associated with biased attention toward trauma-related information. However, few studies have exclusively investigated such biases in sexual victimization survivors or identified factors that influence this relationship between sexual victimization and biased attention. Using eyetracking methodology, the current study attempts to delineate attentional patterns in sexually victimized and non-victimized undergraduate women, using viewing of different emotional picture pairs. This study also aims to assess the impact of PTSD symptomatology on the relationship between sexual victimization and greater attentional bias. Finally, the study explores changes in attention toward trauma-related stimuli among survivors by …

Perceived Dangerousness Of The Job And Well-Being Among Correctional Officers: The Role Of Perceived Stress And Family Supportive Supervisor Behaviors (Fssb), David Duane Meier

Dissertations and Theses

Occupational stress has become a world-wide epidemic exacting severe tolls on both businesses and employees alike. Of all the workplace stressors, the perceived dangerousness of one's job is ever present within the occupation of corrections. The current study examined the mediating process of perceived stress on the relationship between perceived dangerousness of the job and the negative employee well-being outcomes of work-family conflict and symptoms of psychological distress, as well as the moderating effects of family supportive supervisor behaviors on this process. As part of a larger study, survey data were collected from 1,370 state correctional officers. It was hypothesized …

The Relationships Among Recruiter Characteristics And Pre-And Post-Hire Recruitment Outcomes, Jacob Scott Fischer

Dissertations

Previous research on recruiter characteristics has generally focused on recruitment outcomes related to generating applicants and maintaining their interest. The current study expanded previous research by examining recruitment outcomes at pre- and post-hire stages of the recruitment process. These outcomes included time to fill position, job offer acceptance rate, job fit, job satisfaction, and retention. Findings indicate that recruiter conscientiousness compared to extraversion is most consistently associated with pre-hire outcomes such as time to fill position and accepting hiring recommendations. Conscientiousness was also related to note-taking in the interview. Recruiter informativeness and personableness were associated with hiring managers' and new …

Development And Validation Of A Measure Of Perceived Life Significance, Rachel Hibberd

Dissertations

Theoretical and empirical approaches to the study of meaning in bereavement suggest a distinction between meaning as sense-making, or the integration of the loss into a coherent and positive set of beliefs about world and self, and meaning as life significance, or the perception that some aspect of one's life experience “matters” in the wake of loss. Although several authors have pointed to the importance of life significance in grief recovery, currently no psychometrically valid measure exists. The present study examined the reliability and validity of a new measure: the Perceived Life Significance Scale (PLSS). The PLSS total score, as …

Physiological And Psychological Measurement Of Sleep Disturbance In Female Trauma Survivors With Ptsd And Major Depression, Kimberly Borkowski Werner

Dissertations

Sleep disturbance is often reported after a traumatic event and is included in the American Psychiatric Association Diagnostic and Statistical Manual criteria for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Subjective reports from trauma survivors have consistently indicated difficulties in sleep onset, sleep maintenance, overall quality and quantity of sleep. However, objective physiological research has yielded inconsistent findings in PTSD-related sleep impairment. Studies investigating subjective and objective assessments concordantly support a theory of sleep state misperception – subjective over-estimation of sleep disturbance – in PTSD. The majority of these previous investigations have been limited to male, veteran cohorts and have not accounted for …

Relating Children In Foster Care To School Bullying, Regina Lyons

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to research the correlation, if any, that children in foster care have with bullying. The researcher gathered descriptive information by attending foster parent support group meetings in New Jersey. Resource parents reported on behalf of the foster child in their care at that time. Participants were asked to report information within the current school year. Data showed that children in foster care were involved in bullying primarily in the school setting. Implication for and the importance of further research within this field were discussed.

Validation Of The Adapted Cogstate Brief Battery In Hematopoietic Cell Transplant Patients, Bethany Gourley

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

A small literature has documented cognitive deficits in adult hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT) survivors across the transplant trajectory, primarily occurring in memory, executive function, attention, and processing speed. Although HCT-associated cognitive decline occurring within one year of transplantation is well documented, only two studies have longitudinally investigated cognitive function in HCT survivors beyond one year. Furthermore, studies demonstrating neuropsychological decline have made use of numerous measures and varying impairment criteria, making the compilation of findings across studies challenging. Another difficulty with the current literature base is the use of traditional neuropsychological tests that are susceptible to practice effects and thus …

Natural Area Stewardship Volunteers: Motivations, Attitudes, Behaviors, Corinne Handelman

Dissertations and Theses

To better understand the value of those who engage in environmental stewardship of natural areas, we studied volunteer steward's motivation to participate, their sustainable behaviors and attitudes toward stewardship-related constructs. Specifically, we designed and conducted a survey of volunteers who work as stewards in urban natural areas in Portland, Oregon. We hypothesize that as volunteer frequency increases: participants will be more motivated to participate for environmental reasons, volunteers will be more likely to feel a strong connection to the stewardship site, participants will be more likely to engage in public pro-environmental behaviors, and their level of environmental literacy will increase. …