Psychology Commons^™

Conditional Discriminative Functions Of Meaningful Stimuli And Enhanced Equivalence Class Formation, Roxana I. Nedelcu

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Two experiments explored how the formation of two 3-node, 5- member equivalence classes by college students was influenced by the prior acquisition of conditional discriminative functions by one of the abstract stimuli, designated as C, in the class. In Experiment 1, participants in the GR-0, GR-1, and GR-5 groups attempted to form classes after mastering 0, 1 or 5 conditional relations between C and abstract stimuli that were not included in the to-be-formed classes. Participants in the GR-many group attempted to form classes that contained four abstract stimuli and one meaningful, familiar picture that served as the C stimulus. In …

On The Role Of Neuronal Oscillations In Auditory Cortical Processing, Monica Noelle O'Connell

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Although it has been over 100 years since William James stated that "everyone knows what attention is", its underlying neural mechanisms are still being debated today. The goal of this research was to describe the physiological mechanisms of auditory attention using direct electrophysiological recordings in macaque primary auditory cortex (A1). A major focus of my research was on the role ongoing neuronal oscillations play in attentional modulation of auditory responses in A1.

For all studies, laminar profiles of synaptic activity, (indexed by current source density analysis) and concomitant firing patterns in local neurons (multiunit activity) were acquired simultaneously via linear …

Changing Attention To Emotion: A Biobehavioral Study Of Attention Bias Modification Using Event-Related Potentials, Laura O'Toole

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Anxiety is characterized by an attentional bias toward threat; that is, anxious individuals will preferentially attend to threatening versus non-threatening information. Recent research has demonstrated that reducing this bias, through attention bias modification (ABMT), leads to reductions in anxious symptoms and stress reactivity. Although these effects are promising for the development of an alternative intervention for anxiety, little is known about the attentional processes underlying ABMT effects. The present research used event-related potentials (ERPs) to investigate the neurocognitive attentional processes altered by ABMT over the course of three studies. In Study 1, non-anxious participants were trained towards and away from …

Development Of A Model Of Participation Of Community-Based, Discretionary Activities By People Who Use Wheelchairs, Anita Perr

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This cross-sectional research analyzed an existing data set of 302 wheelchair users to identify the psychosocial predictors of participation in community-based, discretionary activities. Two defining elements of participation were studied: the extent of participation and satisfaction with participation. Descriptive analyses of the participants' demographic information and portions of four assessments were completed first. Regression analyses were then used to systematically eliminate potential covariates until the significant psychosocial covariates of the extent of and satisfaction with participation were identified. Perceived control over one's life and perceived reintegration to social function were found to predict the extent of participation. Perceived control also …

Women's Experiences Of Privacy, Publicness And Place In Mediated Space, Nelida Quintero

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This mixed-method study explored the experiences and understandings of the notions of privacy, publicness and place in mediated space among women who use the internet daily. Mediated space is experienced at the intersection of mass media, including the internet, and the physical environment. In this two-phased study, fourteen women were interviewed and sixty-one completed an online survey. Participants were asked about the physical places they preferred and the activities they undertook, whether for paid work, domestic work or entertainment, such as sending e-mails and gathering information, posting or reading posts on social network sites, shopping, banking, web browsing, watching TV …

Neurophysiological Bases Of Frequency Discrimination In Children With Auditory Processing Disorder Or Specific Language Impairment, Christine Rota-Donahue

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The purpose of this study was to determine if 10-12 year old children with Auditory Processing Disorder (APD) or Specific Language Impairment (SLI) could discriminate three different frequency changes behaviorally and electrophysiologically. Behavioral frequency discrimination and event-related potentials were examined using a 1000Hz pure tone base frequency. Typically developing children and children with APD or SLI differed in in their detection of frequency changes: behavioral results were below chance level and the MMN amplitude was smaller in the impaired population. Slight differences between children with APD and children with SLI were also found that might shed light on the controversy …

Choosing A Physician Depends On How You Want To Feel: The Role Of Ideal Affect In Health-Related Decision Making, Tamara Sims, Jeanne L. Tsai, Birgit Koopmann-Holm, Ewart A.C. Thomas, Mary K. Goldstein

Psychology

When given a choice, how do people decide which physician to select? Although significant research has demonstrated that how people actually feel (their “actual affect”) influences their health care preferences, how people ideally want to feel (their “ideal affect”) may play an even greater role. Specifically, we predicted that people trust physicians whose affective characteristics match their ideal affect, which leads people to prefer those physicians more. Consistent with this prediction, the more participants wanted to feel high arousal positive states on average ([ideal HAP]; e.g., excited), the more likely they were to select a HAP-focused physician. Similarly, the more …

Change In Coping And Defense Mechanisms Across Adulthood: Longitudinal Findings In A European-American Sample, Manfred Diehl, Helena Chui, Elizabeth L. Hay, Mark A. Lumley, Daniel Grühn, Gisela Labouvie-Vief

Psychology Faculty Research Publications

This study examined longitudinal changes in coping and defense mechanisms in an age- and gender- stratified sample of 392 European-American adults. Nonlinear age-related changes were found for the coping mechanisms of sublimation and suppression and the defense mechanisms of intellectualization, doubt, displacement, and regression. The change trajectories for sublimation and suppression showed that their use increased from adolescence to late middle age and early old age, and remained mostly stable into late old age. The change trajectory for intellectualization showed that the use of this defense mechanism increased from adolescence to middle age, remained stable until late midlife, and started …

Pipeline Revision: A Call To Change, Roni Reiter-Palmon, Pablo P. L. Tinio

Psychology Faculty Publications

Comments on the original article by Matthew Makel (see record 2014-06823-002) which raises an important concern regarding selfcorrection in science. While the notion that science should be self-correcting, and is failing, is not new, recent events in both social and biological sciences have led to a renewed call to develop approaches that would allow for self-correction ( Economist, 2013). Makel addresses a number of issues that hinder self-correction through replications and suggests a number of solutions. In this commentary, we as the editors of Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts (PACA), would like to offer our perspective. …

Spiritual/Religious Issues In Therapy At A Community Mental Health Clinic, Courtney Elizabeth Mcconnell

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Abstract The purpose of this dissertation is to explore the growing area of spirituality and religion in counseling. The American public values religion; and the American Psychological Association (APA) acknowledges religion/spirituality as a vital area of diversity. With APA calling for specialized training in religious diversity, it is important to consider what religious/spiritual issues arise in a community counseling setting. This study was designed to determine whether clients or therapists raise religious issues, and whether clients who self-identify as religiously affiliated spend more time discussing religious/spiritual topics in session. In addition, researchers hoped to learn about what religious content was …

Interest Level Improves Learning But Does Not Moderate The Effects Of Interruptions: An Experiment Using Simultaneous Multitasking, Maureen A. Conard, Robert F. Marsh

Psychology Faculty Publications

It has become common practice for people to multitask with electronic devices in everyday situations. We examined the effects of interrupting participants with instant messages while they watched a video presentation in a situation that resembled commonplace events such as a business meeting, a training presentation, or a classroom lecture. We compared them to participants who were not interrupted. We also investigated how interest in the topics presented affected learning. Results showed that interruptions reduced learning, by a small but statistically significant margin, which is consistent with the findings of similar studies. Importantly, interest level was as strong a predictor …

Coaching: What Business And Social Researchers Need To Know About It, Raymond L. Forbes

All Faculty and Staff Scholarship

This paper explores the historical and current world of organizational coaching. Coaching is offered as a means of assistance to aid organizational leaders in effectively responding to the stressful external and internal demands associated with their positions or ones to which they aspire. Coaching is also discussed as a vehicle for improving individual and team performance as well as for actualizing a leader’s inherent potential. This work draws heavily upon current literature and practice in both the leadership and coaching fields. It also provides a review of relevant theory, contrasts the roles of leader and manager, defines executive coaching, and …

Does Integrated Behavioral Health Care Reduce Mental Health Disparities For Latinos? Initial Findings, Ana J. Bridges, Arthur R. Andrews Iii, Bianca T. Villalobos, Freddie A. Pastrana, Timothy A. Cavell, Debbie Gomez

Psychological Science Faculty Publications

Integrated behavioral health care (IBHC) is a model of mental health care service delivery that seeks to reduce stigma and service utilization barriers by embedding mental health professionals into the primary care team. This study explored whether IBHC service referrals, utilization, and outcomes were comparable for Latinos and non-Latino White primary care patients. Data for the current study were collected from 793 consecutive patients (63.8% Latino; M age = 29.02 years [SD = 17.96]; 35.1% under 18 years; 65.3% women; 54.3% uninsured) seen for behavioral health services in 2 primary care clinics during a 10.5 month period. The most common …

A Cross-Lagged Panel Model Examining Protective Behavioral Strategies: Are Types Of Strategies Differentially Related To Alcohol Use And Consequences?, Lucy E. Napper, Shannon R. Kenney, Andrew Lac, Leslie J. Lewis, Joseph W. Labrie

Heads Up!

Protective behavioral strategies (PBS) are skills that can be used to reduce the of risk alcohol-related negative consequences. Studies have shown that, in general, PBS are related to less alcohol consumption and fewer negative consequences; however, other studies have suggested that not all types of PBS (e.g., stopping/limiting drinking [SLD], manner of drinking [MOD] and serious harm reduction [SHR]) are equally effective at reducing alcohol risk. In addition, few studies have explored the longitudinal relationships among PBS, alcohol use and consequences. Using a sample of heavy drinking college students (N = 338), the current study examined PBS use, alcohol consumption …

The Effect Of Malintent On Visual Attention, David Brian Wallace

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Malintent is a relatively unexplored phenomenon, despite the practical and theoretical interest in its detection. The four studies presented here, informed by the Guilty Knowledge Test and Guided Search model of visual attention, illustrate how eye tracking can (and cannot) be utilized to detect malicious intent. Malintent, induced in two different mock crime paradigms (murder; theft), boosted the frequency and duration of fixations that fell upon objects relevant to their task. The size of the malintent effect ranged from moderate (fixation duration) to large (fixation frequency). The increased visual attention given to task-relevant objects was not unique to malintent; benign …

Exploring The Role Of Perceived Religiosity On Daily Life, Coping, And Parenting For Jewish Parents Of Children With Autism, Frances Rebecca Victory

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This two-part study (a) explores the multi-dimensional aspects of religious and psychosocial experience of Jewish mothers and fathers with and without a child with autism; and (b) uses a multi-method design to examine the influence of perceived religious beliefs, ritual practices, and community context on daily life, parenting, and coping processes for these parents. The first study included 20 fathers and 34 mothers of typically developing children. Participants were affiliated with Reform, Conservative, and Modern Orthodox Judaism. They completed three online q-sorts and five open-ended questions. The three q-sorts focused on the perceptions of religious beliefs, ritual practices, and community …

Adolescents' And Young Adults' Moral Thinking In Typical Everyday-Life Moral Dilemmas, Yoko Takagi

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This research examined adolescents' and young adults' practical moral judgments, specifically their unique moral thinking in two interpersonal moral dilemmas. The basic philosophical frameworks (deontological and consequentialist principles) were employed as tools for psychological analysis. In Study 1, 42 preliminary groups of adolescents and young adults (14-16 years and 18-21 years) provided moral dilemmas that they had experienced during a past year. Among 42 dilemmas, two dilemmas (the homework and the video dilemmas), including different types of conflicting moral issues, were selected as materials for Study 2. In Study 2, 234 participants (76 aged 14-16, 90 aged 18-19, and 68 …

Affective Language And Attitudes Toward Public Policy, Rachel A. Wolitzky

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation project focused on affective and unconscious processes involved in the evaluation of public policy. It follows recent scholarship in political psychology showing how the response to political messages depends greatly on what values and emotions are evoked. Of particular focus has been the notable discrepancy between the conscious way people construe their political judgments and the unconscious operations that more truly account for their views and actions. Motivated by a neuroscientific and psychoanalytic model of the mind and brain that recognizes both the pre-eminence of unconscious (implicit) processing and the primacy of affect in mind (brain) activity, this …

Acts Of Belonging: Perceptions Of Citizenship Among Queer Turkish Women In Germany, Ilgin Yorukoglu

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This thesis examines how people who have multiple identifications develop a sense of belonging. It focuses on those with politicized, romanticized, and stigmatized identifications which are assumed to be in conflict with one another. My particular case is that of "queer" women of Turkish descent in Germany with Berlin as my main study site.

These people embody what is considered to be an oxymoron: being queer yet also Turkish, being a lesbian yet having a Muslim background, being of immigrant origin yet also German. In short, they are between all worlds and thus, seemingly, do not belong anywhere. Their ambiguous …

Voir Dire Efficacy In Highly Publicized Criminal Cases, David Zimmerman

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Whether judges and attorneys are able to detect bias among potential jurors (venirepersons) is a pivotal concern in highly publicized cases in which most of the jury pool has been exposed to pretrial publicity (PTP). The current dissertation research addressed 1) whether attorneys and judges can accurately gauge differences in PTP exposure/bias among potential jurors, 2) how potential jurors' (venirepersons) motivations to serve or not serve on a jury affect attorneys' and judges' abilities to detect bias, and 3) whether withholding instructions on the importance of juror impartiality in favor of urging honesty can reduce venirepersons' abilities to tailor voir …

Physiological Correlates Of Emotion Regulation In Depersonalization Disorder, Kai-Mosadi Monde

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Depersonalization disorder (DPD), is an often debilitating DSM V psychiatric disorder characterized by feelings of detachment from the self or others as well as emotional blunting or numbness. Subjective and physiological evidence of decreased emotional arousal may suggest impaired emotion regulation abilities. Deficits in emotional processing of DPD may be the result of dysregulated cortisol and oxytocin levels, however oxytocin levels have never been assessed in DPD. In this series of studies, we aimed to investigate the physiological correlates of emotion regulation in depersonalization disorder. In experiment 1, DPD patients and a normal control group subjectively enhanced and suppressed emotion …

Effects Of 5-Hydroxytryptamine 2c Receptor Agonist Mk212 And 2a Receptor Antagonist Mdl100907 On Maternal Behavior In Postpartum Female Rats, Weihai Chen, Qi Zhang, Wenxin Su, Yu Yang, Jing Qiao, Nan Sui, Ming Li

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Maternal behavior in rats is a highly motivated and well-organized social behavior. Given the known roles of serotonin (5-HT) in emotion, motivation, social behavior, and major depression – and its known interaction with dopamine – it is likely that serotonin also plays a crucial role in this behavior. So far, there are surprisingly few studies focusing on 5-HT in maternal behavior, except for maternal aggression. In the present study,we examined the effects of 5-HT_2C receptor agonism and 5-HT_2A receptor antagonism on maternal behavior in postpartum female rats.We hypothesized that activation of 5-HT_2C receptors and blockade of 5-HT …

Quantitative Genetics Of Response To Novelty And Other Stimuli By Infant Rhesus Macaques (Macaca Mulatta) Across Three Behavioral Assessments, G. L. Fawcett, A. M. Dettmer, D. Kay, M. Raveendran, James Dee Higley, N. D. Ryan, J. L. Cameron, J. Rogers

Faculty Publications

Primate behavior is influenced by both heritable factors and environmental experience during development. Previous studies of rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) examined the effects of genetic variation on expressed behavior and related neurobiological traits (heritability and/or genetic association) using a variety of study designs. Most of these prior studies examined genetic effects on the behavior of adults or adolescent rhesus macaques, not in young macaques early in development. To assess environmental and additive genetic variation in behavioral reactivity and response to novelty among infants, we investigated a range of behavioral traits in a large number (N = 428) of pedigreed infants …

Conformist Opinion Shift As An Accommodation-Motivated Cognitive Experience In Strong And Weak Situations, Angela K. Y. Leung, Evelyn Wing-Mun Au, Chi-Yue Chiu

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

The authors introduce accommodation motivation as an individual difference construct that predicts personal preference to display conformist opinion shift, or the tendency to align opinion of the self with that of the group. The authors hypothesize that the relationship between accommodation motivation and conformist opinion shift will be stronger when the situational press for conformity is weak. Having clarified the conceptual meaning of accommodation motivation, the authors present evidence from two experiments that accommodation-motivated individuals readily display conformist opinion shift in anticipation of discussing with disagreeing others when conformity demand is weak (vs. strong). The second experiment offers initial support …

Direct Control Of Visual Perception With Phase-Specific Modulation Of Posterior Parietal Cortex, Andrew Jaegle, Tony Ro

Publications and Research

We examined the causal relationship between the phase of alpha oscillations (9–12 Hz) and conscious visual perception using rhythmic TMS (rTMS) while simultaneously recording EEG activity. rTMS of posterior parietal cortex at an alpha frequency (10 Hz), but not occipital or sham rTMS, both entrained the phase of subsequent alpha oscillatory activity and produced a phase-dependent change on subsequent visual perception, with lower discrimination accuracy for targets presented at one phase of the alpha oscillatory waveform than for targets presented at the opposite phase. By extrinsically manipulating the phase of alpha before stimulus presentation, we provide direct evidence that the …

The Neurodevelopment Of Basic Sensory Processing And Integration In Autism Spectrum Disorder, Alice Brown Brandwein

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This thesis presents three studies that together explore the neurophysiological basis for the sensory processing and integration abnormalities that have been observed in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) since the disorder was first described over half a century ago. In designing these studies we seek to fill a hole that currently exists in the research community‟s knowledge of the neurodevelopment of basic multisensory integration -- both in children with autism and as well as in those with typical development. The first study applied event related potentials (ERPs) and behavioral measures of multisensory integration to a large group of healthy participants ranging …

Emotional Expression And Perception In Three Ethnic Groups: Is There An In-Group Advantage?, Ella Björt Teague

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The extent to which emotional recognition is universal or culturally determined has far-ranging implications for the success of cross-cultural communication. Although strong evidence supporting the universality of emotion recognition across differing cultures has accumulated, there is also mounting support for an in-group advantage (Elfenbein & Ambady, 2002a), defined as the ease by which individuals recognize emotions displayed by members of their in-group group compared to out-group members. Due to mixed results from studies focusing on ethnic groups residing within the same country, the current study investigated the in-group advantage among Black American (BAm), Chinese American (CAm), and White American (WAm) …

Personality And Group Performance: The Importance Of Personality Composition And Work Tasks, Amit Kramer, Devasheesh P. Bhave, Tiffany D. Johnson

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

We examine whether group members’ Big Five personality composition (variability, minimum, and maximum) affects the group’s performance. We employed an experimental design where participants were paid based on their performance in two different group-based experimental tasks: an additive task (where group performance is based on the sum of efforts of all group members) and a conjunctive task (where group performance is based on the performance of the weakest group member). Results indicate that variability in extraversion is positively related to group performance on the additive task but not on the conjunctive task. Conversely, neuroticism maximum score is negatively related to …

Using Otoacoustic Emissions To Evaluate Efferent Auditory Function In Humans, Simon Henin

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The auditory system continually adapts to changes in the acoustic environment over short periods of time. This fine-tuning of its dynamics is mediated in part by the medial olivocochlear (MOC) bundle, a neural feedback loop which aids in the regulation of cochlear micro-mechanics. The ability to measure the response of the MOC system in humans may provide significant insight into unique cochlear functions, such as its sharp frequency selectivity and wide dynamic range. In humans the efferent system can be investigated non-invasively using otoacoustic emissions (OAEs). However, how OAEs can best be used to evaluate efferent function, the pitfalls associated …

The Meaning, Experience, And Value Of 'Common Space' For Women And Children In Urban Poor Settlements In India, Anupama Reddy Nallari

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Housing and basic services in urban poor settlements have been the focus of bi-lateral agencies, national governments as well as NGOs and CBOs. However, little attention has been paid to understanding the value of "common spaces" in these settlements, or in the planning and design of "common spaces" in upgraded or redeveloped settlements. Common spaces include communal areas like childcare and play facilities, religious and cultural establishments, shops, physical infrastructure like roads and sanitation, and informal spaces like courtyards, steps, lanes, and corridors where women perform daily chores and interact and children play. This dissertation focuses on understanding the significance …