Psychology Commons^™

An Exploration Of The Experience Of In-Home Counseling Services, Greg Czyszczon

Dissertations, 2014-2019

This qualitative study explores the lived experience of in-home counseling services by using a phenomenological method. In-home counseling services are used in situations where families experience extreme emotional distress, in part owing to the problematic behavior of a child. A semi-structured interview was used to elicit parents’ experience of in-home services in a geographical area that included a large portion of Virginia. The study found that the whole of parents’ experience of in-home services was dynamically influenced by constituent parts including the parent’s experience of the child, their experience of parenting, their experience of systems of care, and their experience …

Weighing In: Therapeutic Benefits Of Online Communities For Individuals With Eating Disorders, Cheri L. Greenfield

Educational Specialist, 2009-2019

The treatment of eating disorders involves a complex approach. In recent years, a number of websites have developed in an attempt to meet the needs of individuals struggling with this set of disorders. Some of these websites are nationally recognized organizations dedicated to improve treatment and provide educational resources, while other websites have been authored by individuals with eating disorders in an attempt to create a safe community of support. This project explores various components found in online communities, examines characteristics of eating disorders, and evaluates the worth of such resources, even when in perceived contrast with traditional treatment. Rather …

Some Observations On Scientific Epistemology With Applications To Conflict Resolution And Constructive Controversy, Judith Puncochar, Don Faust

Other Presentations

An overview, by Judy and Don (published in 2013 in the BULLETIN OF SYMBOLIC LOGIC):

Explorationism is a perspective wherein all of our knowledge is (so far) less than certain, and naturally would come equipped with a base logic entailing machinery for representing and processing evidential knowledge. One such base logic is Evidence Logic, which strives to deal with the phenomenon of the gradational presence of both confirmatory and refutatory evidence. From this perspective, we will address questions surrounding sociological problem areas that we see as deeply infused with substantial epistemological factors. By defining a framework as any theory, …

An Evaluation Of Mental Health And Methadone: Anxiety, Depression, And Drug Use, Gursimran Khahera

Master's Projects and Capstones

As a part of the Masters of Science in Behavioral Health field placement, an evaluation was conducted of the integrated treatment plan in mental health and substance abuse at Bay Area Addiction Research and Treatment (BAART) programs. The goal of the BAART programs are to provide comprehensive mental health and substance abuse outpatient recovery services, as well as on-site primary health care services for substance users, mainly opioid use. There is a link between increased substance abuse and increased rates of depression and anxiety. These disorders use the same neuro chemical pathway and are highly codependent upon one another. Because …

Autism Project: Case Study Evaluating Behavioral Interventions For The Self-Injurious Behavior Of Biting, Brittani Rohrig

Honors Theses

Self-injurious (SIB) behavior is a common problem among the autism population, and often those who engage in SIB have done so since a very early age. There was a nine-year-old boy named Jack who was diagnosed with ASD and engaged in the self-injurious behavior of biting his hand. A functional analysis was conducted and it was found that the behavior was multiply controlled across three main conditions: alone/play, demand, and attention. The goal of this case study was to review previous interventions that did not eliminate the target behavior, analyze and revise the current protocols in place, and eliminate the …

Developmental And Cultural Perspectives On Children’S Postoperative Pain Management At Home, Brooke N. Jenkins, Michelle A. Fortier

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Outpatient surgery is extremely common in children, and approximately 4 million children experience significant pain after surgery in the USA each year. Management of children's postoperative pain in the home setting is suboptimal and is impacted by characteristics of children and parents, as well as the larger family and cultural context. In particular, developmental status of the child, parental beliefs regarding pain expression and analgesic use in children, cultural values and language barriers can affect management of children's postoperative pain. Targeting the myriad barriers to children's pain management by capitalizing upon the use of tailored interventions may help bridge the …

Awake, Online And Sleep-Deprived – The Rise Of The Teenage 'Vamper', Elizabeth Englander

Psychology Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

A Preliminary Study Of Distracted Driving, Sarina Karwande, Ashley Nieto, Lauren Rhodes

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) report distracted driving is a “problem on the rise” with increasing numbers injuries and deaths each year. More than 9 people are killed each day while more than 1,153 people are injured in crashes involving a distracted driver. Specifically, the number one killer of adolescents (ages 15-24) is automobile related deaths due to distracted driving. One of the most dangerous forms of distracted driving is texting while driving because it combines all three types of distraction: visual, manual, and cognitive. Texting and driving is a growing public safety hazard as seen through media and …

Connect Us One And All, Jasmin Tahmaseb-Mcconatha

Psychology Faculty Publications

There are also still millions of Americans who are offline. Households without connections are likely to be more disadvantaged with regard to health care, employment opportunities, educational opportunities, and even entertainment.The "digital divide" is alive and well and still results in marginalization.

Narrative Life Review And Poetry-Writing With Older Adults, Cherita M. Black

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

This thesis explores narrative life review and poetry writing with older individuals, as an alternative to support their successful aging. Four females, ages 66-93, participated in a two-part project. Phase I included: (a) completing a narrative life review, and (b) developing original poetry with the researcher. Phase II included: (a) poetry reflection and (b) completing an open-ended evaluation. Phase 1 results demonstrated four successful narrative life reviews, which composed the poetry-writing sessions. Phase II demonstrated that three out of four participants reported no significant positive influences in the evaluation. Implications suggest social well-being replicated study can possibly assess social well-being …

Motivated To Adapt: Applying Goal-Setting Theory, Primed Subconscious Goal, And Implementation Intention, Graham Benjamin Wohler

Dissertations

This study investigated the effects that several motivational interventions have on transition and reacquisition adaptability. Goal-setting, whether assigned or self-set, had no effect on either form of adaptability; however, the two goal-setting conditions differed from each other once goal commitment was taken into consideration. High commitment was negatively associated to transition adaptability for assigned goals, but positively related for self-set goals; this trend was marginally significant in reacquisition adaptability as well. Primed subconscious goals were found to have no effect on either form of adaptability. An implementation intention was found to negatively relate to transition adaptability and to have no …

Stress, Burnout And Resilience Of Teachers Of Students With Emotional Behavioural Challenges, Lai Kuen Brenda Lo

Practical Social and Industrial Research Symposium

No abstract provided.

Hemispheric Bases For Emotion And Memory, Tad T. Brunyé, Sarah R. Cavanagh, Ruth E. Propper

Department of Psychology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

The goal of this Research Topic was to bring together diverse scientific perspectives on lateralized brain mechanisms underlying emotion, motivation, and memory. The Topic resulted in eight articles, three of which report original research and five of which review and synthesize past research with the aim of developing new hypotheses and theory. A range of international experts with diverse backgrounds, theoretical perspectives, and experimental methods contributed to the Topic. Contributions strongly reflect this diversity, ranging from examining pupil dilation in response to viewing Rembrandt portraits to understanding how caffeine supplementation influences levels of spatial processing. In all cases, the authors …

Psychotic Diagnosis And Artist Pathology: Schizophrenic Art’S Influence On The Identification Of The Disorder, Danielle Watson

Honors Projects

The use of artwork created by schizophrenic individuals is unique in its contextual elements, including bizarre imagery, strong border lines, and desexualized features. The uniqueness of schizophrenic art lends itself to the possibility of being identified as such, therefore, opening the possibility for it to be used as a diagnostic tool in the clinical setting. Presently, schizophrenic art is used in art therapy, but is not widely employed in diagnostic practices. The current study aimed to test the possible identification of schizophrenic art in contrast to normal art and no art. Three questionnaires were created and randomly distributed to participants. …

A Quantitative Analysis Of The Value-Enhancing Effects Of Nicotine, Bupropion, And Varenicline In Male And Female Rats, Scott Barrett

Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Smoking and tobacco dependence are serious health concerns in the United States and globally. Reward via the pharmacological effects of nicotine are believed to be the principal motivating factor that drive tobacco dependence. Research reveals differences in sensitivity between males and females to the motivational effects of nicotine in tobacco use. Enhancement of reinforcement value of non-nicotine rewards contributes to overall nicotine reward. Similar value-enhancing effects have been observed by the two most commonly prescribed smoking cessation aids, bupropion and varenicline. The present dissertation investigated the value-enhancing effects of nicotine, bupropion and varenicline in both male and female rats using …

Facilitating Of Emotions In Sales Interactions May Hinder Performance, Selma Kadić -Maglajlić, Adriana Espinosa

Publications and Research

This article analyzes the relationship between facilitating of emotions, a branch of emotional intelligence, and salesperson performance. We employ an ability-based measure of facilitating of emotions on a sample of salespeople from Croatia (N = 245), and use structural equation modelling to test a linear versus non-linear relationship. We find that facilitating of emotions and salesperson performance share a relation that is modeled by a downward turning parabola. These findings contradict a linear relationship assumed in the conventional literature, and suggest that too little or too much facilitating of emotions may be detrimental to salesperson performance. These results provide new …

Los Efectos De La Violencia Familiar Y Las Percepciones De Las Mujeres Afectadas: Un Estudio De Las Mujeres Victimas De La Violencia Familiar A Ahmauta / The Effects Of Family Violence And Perceptions Of Women Affected :A Study Of Women Victims Of Domestic Violence To Ahmauta, Catherine Oidtman

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Violence against women is a social problem that demands much attention from society because it is a human rights issue and is damaging to the mental health status of women. The purpose of this investigation is to use an ethnographic approach to analyze the perceptions of women who have suffered from domestic violence to determine how perceptions of domestic violence impact subsequent mental health outcomes. Women (n=6) were recruited from the NGO Amhauta, an educational program that advocates for the rights of women and children in San Jerónimo, a district of Cusco, Peru. This analysis uses an ethnographic approach to …

Assessing Generic And Program-Specific Dose-Response Relations Between Engagement In Contemplative Practices And Reductions In Teachers' Occupational Stress And Burnout, Jessica Leigh Harrison

Dissertations and Theses

Teaching is a stressful, uncertain, and emotionally laden profession (Chaplain, 2008; Farber, 1999; Johnson et al., 2005). One approach to reduce psychological distress and improve well-being in teachers is through the use of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) programs. While MBSR programs have been shown in several studies to be effective with regard to improving well-being in teachers, little research has been done to date examining the relationship between program dose and outcomes. This study examines the relationship between both generic and program-specific dose and outcomes of stress and burnout. Results showed some evidence that generic yoga frequency is related to …

The Generational Divide: Generational Differences In Psychological Capital, Heather Staples

Theses & Dissertations

Human resource development has customarily focused on social and human capital; however, an innovative new theory within positive organizational behavior focuses on psychological resources. The purpose of this research was to examine the differences across generations on dimensions of psychological resources using the core construct psychological capital. Using a quantitative survey research approach, this study focused on the differences among the three largest generations in the current workforce: Baby Boomers, Generation X, and Generation Y. The independent variable, generations, was defined through a self-identified connection with age and significant events. The dependent variable, psychological capital (PsyCap), was defined as a …

Perceived Depth In Non-Transitive Stereo Displays, Bart Farell, Cherlyn J. Ng

Biomedical and Chemical Engineering - All Scholarship

The separation between the eyes shapes the distribution of binocular disparities and gives a special role to horizontal disparities. However, for one-dimensional stimuli, disparity direction, like motion direction, is linked to stimulus orientation. This makes the perceived depth of one-dimensional stimuli orientation dependent and generally non-veridical. It also allows perceived depth to violate transitivity. Three stimuli, A, B, and C, can be arranged such that A > B (stimulus A is seen as farther than stimulus B when they are presented together) and B > C, yet A ≤ C. This study examines how the visual system handles the depth of A, …

A Systematic Review Of Effective Youth Prevention Education: Implications For Internet Safety Education., Lisa M. Jones, Kimberly J. Mitchell, Wendy A. Walsh

Crimes Against Children Research Center

ABSTRACT: Over the past two decades, a wide array of internet safety education materials and programs have developed to increase positive youth behavior and safety online. Although it is a new area of prevention, programs should incorporate practices that prior prevention evaluation studies tell us work best. To inform internet safety education, 31 youth prevention education meta-analyses across a wide range of youth prevention (substance abuse, risky sex behavior, delinquency, etc.) were coded to identify prevention program characteristics shown by research to be most effective. The review identified that active, skill-based lessons, focused on research based causal and risk factors, …

A Content Analysis Of Youth Internet Safety Programs: Are Effective Prevention Strategies Being Used?, Lisa M. Jones, Kimberly J. Mitchell, Wendy A. Walsh

Crimes Against Children Research Center

ABSTRACT: Almost half of youth in the U.S. report receiving internet safety education (ISE) in their schools. Unfortunately, we know little about what educational messages make a difference in problems such as cyberbullying, sexting, or online predators. To consider directions for improving effectiveness, a content analysis was conducted on materials from four ISE programs. Results indicate that ISE programs are mostly not incorporating proven educational strategies. Common ISE messages have proliferated without a clear rationale for why they would be effective. It is recommended that program developers and other stakeholders reconsider ISE messages, improve educational strategies, and participate in evaluation. …

Sleep Competing Activities And Sleep Problems In Minority College Students, Timothy Billings, Linda Berg-Cross

Department of Psychology Faculty Publications

This study addressed health disparities in sleep duration, sleep quality, and daytime sleepiness among African-American college students. To investigate evening behaviors promoting insufficient and inadequate sleep, we assessed electronic (e.g., computer and music) and nonelectronic (e.g., socializing) sleep competing activities (SCA). Students (N = 154) were recruited from a Historically Black College (HBCU). The results showed more dysfunction than has previously been reported in college populations, with HBCU students reporting very short sleep durations, high levels of daytime sleepiness, and poor sleep quality. These students engaged in many activities during the evening, and these activities predicted unhealthy sleep. Whereas electronic …

Attraction Process Among Identified Sport Fans, Ciara Yvonne Cyr

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Since automatic attention is given to beauty, and appearance is the first thing noticed upon meeting a person, one would assume attractiveness is the more important selection factor for a relationship partner. Theories such as the matching hypothesis and mortality salience dispute this idea. The matching hypothesis proposes selection occurs between individuals similar in attractiveness, not necessarily selecting the most attractive individual available. Mortality salience suggests attractiveness is used in selecting a partner for short-term relationships, but discounts physical attractiveness for long-term relationships. This theory proposes an ideal partner for a long-term relationship is selected based on similarity of beliefs. …

Finding Babies In Many Baths (Review Of Evolution: The History Of An Idea, Third Edition. By Peter Bowler), Steven Scher

Faculty Research and Creative Activity

No abstract provided.

Angiogenic, Neurotrophic, And Inflammatory System Snps Moderate The Association Between Birth Weight And Adhd Symptom Severity, Taylor F. Smith, Arthur D. Anastopoulos, Melanie E. Garrett, Alejandro Arias-Vasquez, Barbara Franke, Robert D. Oades, Edmund Sonuga-Barke, Philip Asherson, Michael Gill, Jan K. Buitelaar, Joseph A. Sergeant, Scott H. Kollins, Stephen V. Faraone, Allison Ashley-Koch, Image Consortium

Psychology and Child Development

Low birth weight is associated with increased risk for Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD); however, the etiological underpinnings of this relationship remain unclear. This study investigated if genetic variants in angiogenic, dopaminergic, neurotrophic, kynurenine, and cytokine-related biological pathways moderate the relationship between birth weight and ADHD symptom severity. A total of 398 youth from two multi-site, family-based studies of ADHD were included in the analysis. The sample consisted of 360 ADHD probands, 21 affected siblings, and 17 unaffected siblings. A set of 164 SNPs from 31 candidate genes, representing five biological pathways, were included in our analyses. Birth weight and gestational age …

The Effect Of Functional Fixation In Problem Solving Among Preschool, Second Grade, And Ninth Grade Children, Michael Kenneth Nehring

Dissertations

Functional fixedness is a cognitive function whereby an individual becomes fixated on a given function of an object, which prevents the individual from using the object in an alternative fashion to solve a problem (Duncker, 1935/1945). The current study analyzed the effect of functional fixedness on 36 children from three different age groups, preschool, second grade, and ninth grade. The children were presented with a problem solving activity based on a problem used by German and Defeyter (2000), in which they concluded that young children are immune to the effects of functional fixedness. Research conducted by Chrysikou (2006) indicated using …

The Effect Of Stress And Perceived Social Support On Job Satisfaction: A Comparison Between U.S Born And Foreign-Born Faculty, Lisa Owen

Dissertations

Research indicates that academic work-stress is a significant and growing problem for faculty members. General work-stress studies suggest that social support may buffer the negative impact of stress on faculty job satisfaction. To date, little research has been conducted in this area. Even fewer studies have examined the potential differences between U.S.-born and foreign-born faculty members regarding these variables. This quantitative, non-experimental multivariate study utilized a survey to assess academic stressors, perceived departmental social support, and job satisfaction at a large U.S. university. The surveyed institution consisted of 807 full-time faculty members. The three-week survey yielded a response rate of …

Filipino Mothers’ Self-Efficacy In Managing Anger And In Parenting, And Parental Rejection As Predictors Of Child Delinquency, Mary Angeline A. Daganzo, Liane Peña Alampay, Jennifer E. Lansford

Psychology Department Faculty Publications

The authors tested a model in which Filipino mothers’ self-efficacy in managing anger/irritation influenced child delinquency via two parenting variables: parental self-efficacy and parental rejection. Structured interviews were conducted with 99 mothers twice with an interval of one year with efficacy beliefs and rejection measured in the first year and child delinquency data collected in the following year. Path analyses showed that self-efficacy in managing anger/irritation negatively predicted child delinquency indirectly through the sequential mediation of parental selfefficacy and parental rejection. Results provided further evidence for the importance of efficacy beliefs, particularly self-efficacy in managing anger/irritation and parental self-efficacy, in …

The Association Of Attachment Style And Perceptions Of Caregiver Experience, Kandace Luther

HIM 1990-2015

This research examines caregiver experiences as they relate to attachment style. The overarching hypothesis is that perceptions of the caregiver role differ depending on the degree of avoidance and anxiousness in the caregiver's attachment style. Caregiver response was measured in the areas of filial obligation, work reduction, perceived control, caregiver burden, depressive symptomatology, and preparedness for caregiving. The final sample consisted of 150 caregivers who identified as the primary caregiver for a parent over the age of 65. This sample was recruited using Mechanical Turk, an online survey distribution tool. The survey was created online with Qualtrics software. Data were …