Psychology Commons^™

The Effects Of Repetitive Thought And Construal Level On Alcohol Consumption, Andrew Mark Kiselica

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Repetitive thought, or the recurrent, often cyclical, focus on self-relevant concerns and experiences, is one liability that may be common across internalizing (INT) and externalizing (EXT) disorders. One particular area of interest for examining repetitive thought as a transdiagnostic process is in relation to alcohol use because alcohol abuse and dependence are the most common, and possibly most costly, EXT disorders. This study experimentally induced abstract repetitive thought, concrete repetitive thought, or distraction to test if repetitive thought and construal level have an effect on drinking behavior. It was hypothesized that individuals in both repetitive thought conditions would drink more …

Thinking And Feeling: The Influence Of Positive Emotion On Human Cognition, Mark S. Barajas

The Hilltop Review

The interaction of thinking and feeling has remained an enduring question of psychology and philosophy. After centuries of philosophical debate, only recently have psychologists, aided by technological advances, conducted rigorous research on the relationship between affect and cognition. This paper integrates contemporary approaches from cognitive psychology and neuropsychology to understand the influence of positive affect on cognition. The broaden-and–build theory (Fredrickson, 2001) suggests that positive emotion enhances human cognitive flexibility, expands one’s repertoire of thoughts, and facilitates development of cognitive resources. The dopaminergic theory of positive affect (Ashby, Isen, & Turkin, 1999) presents dopamine as an important mediator of the …

Developmental Perspectives On Motivational Resilience: Predictors Of Eighth-Grade At-Risk Students' Academic Engagement And Achievement, Heather Anne Brule

Dissertations and Theses

This study uses the concept of stage-environment fit (Eccles et al., 1993) in conjunction with self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 1985) to guide an investigation of at-risk eighth graders' motivational and academic resilience. A developmentally-calibrated method was used to divide students into motivational and academic resilience groups based on their resilient, average, or stress-affected levels of academic engagement and GPA. Data from 167 eighth graders and 155 sixth graders were used to examine the extent to which students' ratings of autonomy, teacher support, peer support, and engagement in garden-based education were related to resilience group membership, and whether these four …

Attentional Filtering Of Visual Information By Neuronal Ensembles In The Primate Lateral Prefrontal Cortex., Sébastien Tremblay, Florian Pieper, Adam Sachs, Julio Martinez-Trujillo

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

The activity of neurons in the primate lateral prefrontal cortex (LPFC) is strongly modulated by visual attention. Such a modulation has mostly been documented by averaging the activity of independently recorded neurons over repeated experimental trials. However, in realistic settings, ensembles of simultaneously active LPFC neurons must generate attentional signals on a single-trial basis, despite the individual and correlated variability of neuronal responses. Whether, under these circumstances, the LPFC can reliably generate attentional signals is unclear. Here, we show that the simultaneous activity of neuronal ensembles in the primate LPFC can be reliably decoded to predict the allocation of attention …

International Students As ‘Ideal Immigrants’ In Canada: A Disconnect Between Policy Makers’ Assumptions And The Lived Experiences Of International Students, Colin Scott, Saba Safdar, Roopa Desai Trilokekar, Amira El Masri

Comparative and International Education / Éducation Comparée et Internationale

Recent policy changes in Canada highlight the strategic role International Students (IS) in the country’s economic development and future prosperity. With the release of Canada’s first international education strategy, the federal government has intimately tied international education to the domestic economy by attracting and retaining skilled workers to prepare Canada for the global market place. IS are particularly desirable candidates for permanent residency because their Canadian credentials, proficiency in at least one official language, and their relevant Canadian work experience is assumed to allow them to integrate more easily into the labour force upon graduation. Through 11 focus groups with …

Risk Perception In Aviation Students: Weather Matters, Ric Ferraro Phd, Darci Vandyke, Mary Zander, Krista Anderson, Bethany Kuehlen

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

Sixty-three aviation major students and 71 non-aviation major students participated in an experiment concerning aviation experience and risk perception (Risk Perception Scale, RPS; Hunter, 2002). Non-aviation students rated three of the RPS risk scenarios (P2Fly, P2Life, P2 Base) as having higher perceived risk than aviation students with the exception of the weather risk scenarios (P2WX). Aviation students perceived the P2WX scenarios to be significantly more risky. These results have implications for how future pilots perceive risk.

A Moral Developmental Perspective On Children's Eyewitness Identification: Does Intent Matter?, Toni Spring, Herbert D. Saltzstein, Bianca Vidal

Publications and Research

Plain English Abstract These studies are based on the assumption that when adults, adolescents or children identify someone as the "guilty" one, i.e., the person who committed the act, they are not only making an identification based on memory and thinking, but also a moral decision. This is because, by the act of identifying or not identifying someone, the eyewitness runs the risk of either convicting an innocent person , i.e., making false positive error or letting a guilty person go free, i.e., a false negative error. Our interest is less in the overall accuracy of their identifications and more …

Damage To The Default Mode Network Disrupts Autobiographical Memory Retrieval, Carissa Philippi, Daniel Tranel, Melissa Duff, David Rudrauf

Psychology Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

Randomized Controlled Expressive Writing Pilot In Individuals With Parkinson’S Disease And Their Caregivers, Therese Verkerke Cash, Sarah K. Lageman

Psychology Publications

Background

Individuals with Parkinson’s disease (PD) and their caregivers are at risk for emotional distress and hypercortisolism. Expressive writing is an effective complementary intervention to ameliorate the psychological and physiological effects of chronic illness. This pilot study aimed to evaluate feasibility and preliminary effectiveness of an expressive writing intervention for individuals with PD and their caregivers.

Methods

Individuals with PD (N = 27) and their caregivers (N = 14) were randomly assigned to expressive (N = 15 patients, eight caregivers) or neutral (N = 12 patients, six caregivers) writing conditions. Cortisol awakening response (CAR), non-motor functioning, …

Predictors Of Academic Success In Web-Based Courses: Age, Gpa, And Instruction Mode, Elizabeth J. Vella, Elizabeth F. Turesky, Jenni Hebert

Psychology Data

Purpose: Determine whether students enrolled in blended courses achieve higher grades relative to those enrolled in completely online courses. Methods: Mixed models regression evaluated predictors of grade across 2,174 students enrolled in web-based courses at the University of Southern Maine. Results: A significant main effect indicated higher grades amid students enrolled in blended relative to completely online courses. An interaction between GPA and instruction mode revealed students with average GPA or at 1 SD below the mean to earn higher grades in blended courses relative to those offered strictly online. Another interaction between age and instruction mode …

Shoes, Sabrina Morelli

Common Reading Essay Contest Winners

First Place

Essay Prompt: In Justice, Sandel discusses a number of contemporary political issues (e.g. price gouging during the 2004 Hurricane, the 2008-9 financial meltdown, the volunteer army, pregnancy surrogates, executive pay, slavery reparations, immigration, and gay marriage). Take a position on one of the issues discussed in the book and make the best case that you can for why this position is the most just. You may include evidence from the book, your prior studies, your own experience, and/or outside research. (Outside research is not required.)

What Develops In Moral Identities? A Critical Review, Tobias Krettenauer, Steven Hertz

Psychology Faculty Publications

According to the standard model of moral identity development, moral identities emerge during adolescence and early adulthood. Contrary to this assumption, however, moral identity research has consistently failed to demonstrate any age-related change in this developmental period. The present paper discusses implications of this non-finding. It is argued that researchers need to broaden the scope of inquiry and include developmental aspects of the moral identity construct that have been neglected in the past. Three areas are identified where moral identity development likely occurs in adolescence and beyond: (1) context-dependent differentiation and integration of the self-importance of moral values, (2) growth …

Capturing The "We-Ness" Of Happy Couples Through Narrative Analysis, Sara Gildersleeve

Psychology Honors Papers

“We-ness” refers to a couple’s mutual investment in their relationship and in each other, involving reciprocity and prioritization of the relationship. The goal of this study was to examine We-ness through relationship narratives called “We-Stories” constructed by couples, and to develop a coding system to identify the core thematic elements that make up these narratives. Couples who self-identified as “happy” (N = 53) generated We-Stories and completed measures of relationship satisfaction and mutuality. These stories were then coded using the We-Stories coding manual developed by the researcher in conjunction with their supervising professor. Findings indicated that security, an element …

Examining Eating Disorder Narratives Through The Context Of Nonsuicidal Self-Injury: A Qualitative And Correlational Internet-Based Approach, Rachel Grasfield

Psychology Honors Papers

The following paper is a qualitative and correlational study of narratives written by individuals with some current or past experience of an eating disorder. These narratives, which were retrieved from online communities of “eating disorder confession” sites, were collected and coded for the presence of emotions and motives of self-harm. 250 narratives were coded from two websites, used in the study for their keyword relevance. The aim of the project was threefold: the first aim was an attempt to encapsulate the eating disorder experience from the perspective of those currently suffering or in recovery from an eating disorder. This goal …

Love In The Time Of Graduation: Exploring The Identity Development Of College Seniors In Romantic Relationships, Noam Waksman

Psychology Honors Papers

This project was a qualitative exploration into the lives of college seniors currently in romantic relationships. Participants included 11 committed, heterosexual couples (22 participants in total) from schools in the Northeast. In each couple, at least one member was a senior in college at the time of participation. Participants were interviewed separately and asked a protocol of questions regarding their relationships and post-graduate plans. No initial hypotheses were established. Instead, the interviews were transcribed and emergent themes and patterns were identified through a grounded analysis of the interviews. Ultimately, a conceptualization emerged from the previously identified patterns and themes, and …

Friendship Chemistry: An Examination Of Underlying Factors, Kelly Campbell, Nicole Holderness, Matt Riggs

Psychology Faculty Publications

Interpersonal chemistry refers to a connection between two individuals that exists upon first meeting. The goal of the current study is to identify beliefs about the underlying components of friendship chemistry. Individuals respond to an online Friendship Chemistry Questionnaire containing items that are derived from interdependence theory and the friendship formation literature. Participants are randomly divided into two subsamples. A principal axis factor analysis with promax rotation is performed on subsample 1 (n = 688) and produces 5 factors: Reciprocal candor, mutual interest, personableness, similarity, and physical attraction. A confirmatory factor analysis is conducted using subsample 2 (n = 715) …

Do You Pursue Your Heart Or Your Art?: Creativity, Personality, And Love, Kelly Campbell, James Kaufman

Psychology Faculty Publications

We examined the associations between love, personality, and creativity for people in relationships of varying durations. Participants (N =1,529) from regions across the U.S. completed an online survey. Consistent with prior work, we found that relationship length was negatively associated with passion, positively associated with commitment, and did not exhibit a significant association with intimacy. For personality, agreeableness was positively associated with passion, intimacy, and commitment, and conscientiousness was positively associated with intimacy and commitment. Additionally, openness was significantly associated with passion and intimacy for men, and emotional stability was significantly associated with intimacy for women. Of note, artistic creative …

Civility And Academic Freedom After Salaita, David Moshman, Frank Edler

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

The 2014 unhiring of Professor Steven Salaita by the University of Illinois raises at least three distinct issues: (1) the right of faculty to speak out in public on matters of public concern; (2) the academic freedom of academic departments to make academic decisions; and (3) the role of civility in education. After differentiating the third issue from the first two, we extend the discussion to other recent cases involving civility in education. The cases range from overt coercion to implicit threats and subtle pressures. We explain that uncivil speech is generally protected by the First Amendment but that this …

Treating Men’S Orgasmic Difficulties., Zoe Peterson, David Rowland, Stewart Cooper

Psychology Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Use Of Sandplay Therapy In Urban Elementary Schools As A Crisis Response To The World Trade Center Attacks, Christine J. Yeh, Sara M. Aslan, Violeta E. Mendoza, Mio Tsukamoto

School of Education Faculty Research

We evaluated the use of sandplay therapy with a sample of 32 elementary school students, who were evacuated from school during the World Trade Center Attacks of September 11, 2001. We collected qualitative and quantitative data on each of the students who participated in sandplay therapy. Qualitative data included detailed case notes and photos from each sandplay session with the students. Quantitative data included academic and school-based pre and post-test data. Results reveal student improvements in test scores, counselor and teacher ratings, attendance, behavioral referrals suspensions, and counseling status. Finally, we offer recommendations for the use of sandplay therapy as …

Temporal Structure Of Human Gaze Dynamics Is Invariant During Free Viewing, C. A. Marlow, Indre Viskontas, A. Matlin, C. Boydston, A. Boxer, R. P. Taylor

Psychology

We investigate the dynamic structure of human gaze and present an experimental study of the frequency components of the change in gaze position over time during free viewing of computer-generated fractal images. We show that changes in gaze position are scale-invariant in time with statistical properties that are characteristic of a random walk process. We quantify and track changes in the temporal structure using a well-defined scaling parameter called the Hurst exponent, H. We find H is robust regardless of the spatial complexity generated by the fractal images. In addition, we find the Hurst exponent is invariant across all …

Doma's Demise: A Victory For Non-Heterosexual Binational Families, Daniela Domínguez

Psychology

An unprecedented number of American citizens faced the challenge o f being in a nonheterosexual binational relationship when the Defense o f Marriage Act (DOMA) was the law of the land. Although immigration laws are based on the principle o f family unification, under previous federal law lesbian, gay and bisexual Americans were not able to sponsor their samesex foreign national partners for residency in the United States. Consequently, an estimated 36,000 couples faced the threat of family separation because Am erica’s immigration policies narrowed the definition of “family” to exclude same-sex couples and their children. Despite the fact that …

Evidence-Based Teaching And Learning: Putting The Results Of Psychological Research To Work In Our Classrooms, Sarah Grison

Psychology Faculty

If our pedagogical solutions are based on research they will have a high impact on student learning! Using evidence-based teaching methods will help student read and comprehend text, engage students in the classroom and with course materials, and improve student performance on tests. Methods addressed include assigning reading activities, repeated testing, and student response systems.

Effects Of Foster Care Placements On The Mental Health Of Abused Children In Florida, Sarah M. Nelson

Theses and Dissertations

INTRODUCTION: As evidenced in the literature, when maltreated children are admitted into state care, they are frequently not afforded sufficient mental health treatment. Concomitantly, foster parents are often not given proper training in providing complex care for these children. As such, the current study aimed to examine the role that foster care has in the development of psychopathology in maltreated children and their caregivers. METHODS: Participants included 234 maltreated youths (ages 7 to 17) presenting for treatment at a community mental health center specializing in childhood trauma. Children and adolescents currently residing in foster care as well as in their …

Applying Attachment Theory And The Wounded Healer Hypothesis To Clinical Psychology And Mental Health Counseling Graduate Students, Alison Levine

Theses and Dissertations

The personal characteristics of the therapist are strongly associated with therapeutic alliance and treatment outcome. Since treatment techniques are often shown to be equally effective, differential outcomes may be attributed to the therapist's early experiences and personality features. The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of childhood relational trauma in predicting specific components of mentalizing skills (i.e., affect consciousness, psychological mindedness, mindfulness, cognitive empathy and theory of mind) among therapists. Participants were 121 clinical psychology doctoral and master's in mental health counseling students (20 males, 101 females) aged 22 to 53 years old (M = 27.26, SD …

Cardiovascular Reactivity In Posttraumatic Stress Disorder And Depression, Lydia R. Malcolm

Theses and Dissertations

Exaggerated cardiovascular reactivity (CVR) to stress has been implicated in the increased risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) in individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), yet mixed results have been reported. The CVR research may have been confounded by underrepresentation of women, few studies using sophisticated cardiovascular measurement, and a lack of analyses of PTSD symptom clusters. The purpose of the present study was to examine if young civilian women (M ± SD = 29.89±7.33) with PTSD (n=17) demonstrate greater CVR than women with depression (n=12) or no mental illness controls (n=18), and to explore the relationships between CVR and PTSD …

Factors Predicting Return To Play In Sports-Related Concussion: An Empirical Evaluation, Douglas R. Polster

Theses and Dissertations

Sports-related concussion and its subsequent management have become a top priority within the sports medicine research spectrum. In order to properly understand the complex nature of concussion management, multiple aspects of the injury were explored including the psychobiological nature of the injury, risk for further injury, diagnostic concerns, and return to play decision making. While much research has been dedicated to these areas, one in particular, return to play, is the focus of this current research study. To date, there has not been a method for accurately predicting return to play time after an athlete has sustained sports-related concussion. In …

Examing Positive Psychological Constructs In The Context Of 12-Step Recovery, Danielle Bietra

Theses and Dissertations

Twelve step organizations such as Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous are free, community-based fellowships. Such organizations are the most widely sought recovery management options, surpassing professional treatment. The emerging evidence base suggests that involvement in such organizations is associated with positive substance-related outcomes (e.g., abstinence). Relatively speaking, however, far less is known about whether or not involvement is associated with other meaningful psychosocial constructs. The current study examined gratitude, meaning in life, life satisfaction, personal growth, and various other recovery and psychosocial constructs in a sample of self-identified NA members (N = 128) from 26 U.S. states, ranging in age …

Exploring The Item Difficulty And Other Psychometric Properties Of The Core Perceptual, Verbal, And Working Memory Subtests Of The Wais-Iv Using Item Response Theory, Sara Ann Schleicher-Dilks

Theses and Dissertations

The ceiling and basal rules of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale – Fourth Edition (WAIS-IV; Wechsler, 2008) only function as intended if subtest items proceed in order of difficulty. While many aspects of the WAIS-IV have been researched, there is no literature about subtest item difficulty and precise item difficulty values are not available. The WAIS-IV was developed within the framework of Classical Test Theory (CTT) and item difficulty was most often determined using p-values. One limitation of this method is that item difficulty values are sample dependent. Both standard error of measurement, an important indicator of reliability, and p-values …

Factor Structure Of Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms Among Torture Survivors, Ginger V. Armas

Theses and Dissertations

The central aim of the current study is to examine structural models of posttraumatic stress symptoms, as measured by the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire-Revised (HTQ-R; Mollica et al., 1992; Mollica, McDonald, Massagli, & Silove, 2004). Participants were international torture survivors who sought psychological treatment from a torture rehabilitation center in the United States. It was hypothesized that the factor structure of posttraumatic stress reactions among this heterogeneous sample of torture survivors would be consistent with the aroused intrusion model (Rasmussen, Smith, & Keller, 2007) rather than the dysphoria model (Simms, Watson, & Doebbelling, 2002). In order to evaluate model superiority, confirmatory …