Psychology Commons^™

Staff Knowledge And Attitudes Toward Recovery Principles Among Mental Health Professionals Who Work With Adult Psychiatric Inpatients, Hussain Alhashem

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Recovery from serious mental illness (SMI) promotes a lifestyle that enables individuals to overcome obstacles related to mental illness and to become hopeful, responsible, and empowered to contribute to society (Anthony, 1993; Jacobson & Greenley, 2001). This study addressed the mental health worker’s knowledge and attitudes toward recovery principles, utilizing an online survey method to examine the relationship between staff knowledge of and attitudes toward recovery principles among mental health professionals who work in inpatient psychiatric settings that serve adult patients. Participants in this study included staff members at inpatient psychiatric hospital facilities in the United States. Results from this …

Media Detectives: Bridging The Relationship Among Empathy, Laugh Tracks, And Gender In Childhood, Sruti Kanthan, James A. Graham, Lynne Azarchi

Journal of Media Literacy Education

Empathy in college-age students is decreasing at unprecedented rates. Understanding empathy in children can act as primary prevention in tackling the problem. This study considers laugh tracks’ capacity to bias reality, foster empathy, and investigate differences across time and gender in 181 fifth grade students. The results from this quasi-experimental study suggests that students’ perceptions of the relationship between empathy and canned laughter changed significantly from pretest to posttest survey questions. Statistically significant differences were present for gender, as well. Theoretical and practical implications of using laugh tracks to increase empathy in middle and late childhood are discussed.

Experiences Of Trust In Longer-Lasting Formal Youth Mentoring Relationships, Michelle Levine

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this longitudinal qualitative study was to investigate youth experiences of trust and mentor experiences supporting youth trust in longer-term formal youth mentoring relationships. Trust was defined as youth relying on and confiding in their mentors based on experiences of mentor reliability, honesty, and emotional sensitivity and protection from emotional harm. Thematic analysis was conducted on interview data from a longitudinal dataset, involving analysis of narratives from interviews (n=147) with youth, mentors, and parents for mentoring matches that lasted at least two years. Overall, participants in this study identified multiple ways trust was experienced by youth and supported …

Executive Functioning And Lateralized Semantic Priming In Older Adults, Emily J. Helder, Virginia Zuverza-Chavarria, Douglas Whitman

University Faculty Publications and Creative Works

Normal aging is associated with a number of cognitive deficits, including changes in executive functioning. Research suggests that hemispheric asymmetry during certain tasks becomes less pronounced in the elderly, reflected in greater bilateral patterns of cortical activation among older adults. Forty-two younger adults and thirty-five older adults were administered a battery of neuropsychological tests sensitive to frontal functioning. In addition, they completed a lexical decision task to assess lateralized implicit priming at two stimulus onset asynchronies (50 and 750 ms). Results of accuracy and reaction time data support Cabeza’s model of reduced asymmetry in older adults completing a semantic priming …

Pain Acceptance Potentially Mediates The Relationship Between Pain Catastrophizing And Post-Surgery Outcomes Among Compensated Lumbar Fusion Patients, Cassie Dance, M. Scott Deberard, Jessica Gundy Cuneo

Psychology Student Research

Purpose: Chronic low back pain is highly prevalent and often treatment recalcitrant condition, particularly among workers’ compensation patients. There is a need to identify psychological factors that may predispose such patients to pain chronicity. The primary aim of this study was to examine whether pain acceptance potentially mediated the relationship between pain catastrophizing and post-surgical outcomes in a sample of compensated lumbar fusion patients.
Patients and methods: Patients insured with the Workers Compensation Fund of Utah and who were at least 2 years post-lumbar fusion surgery completed an outcome survey. These data were obtained from a prior retrospective-cohort study that …

An Investigation Of Factors That Influence Acceptability Of Parent Training, Trisha M. Chase, Gretchen Gimpel Peacock

Psychology Student Research

Parent training is an effective intervention for parents of children with a variety of childhood disorders, including conduct problems, and parents often view behavioral parent training as acceptable. Explanations and rationales for parent training are commonly provided at the beginning of treatment. The purpose of this study was to determine whether changing the description of a behavioral parenting intervention influenced parents’ acceptability ratings and whether mothers and fathers differed in their ratings. There were 78 participants (39 mother-father dyads) in this study. Participants viewed one of two descriptions of parent training that focused on either addressing deficits in parenting skills …

More Than Four Walls: The Psychology Of Home

DePaul Magazine

Joe Ferrari, professor of psychology and Vincent de Paul professor in DePaul's College of Science and Health, discusses his research to understand what "home" means to people, a nebulous, but important feeling we have. The psychology of home is an important new area study because of the millions of baby boomers heading into retirement in the United States who may be headed for life in nursing facilities and the 59.5 million displaced persons worldwide who will need assistance dealing with disruption and feelings of loss.

Reef Society And The Tyranny Of Data, Robert Wintner

Animal Sentience

Modern science now approaches divergent processes in many areas, including health assessments of marine eco-systems and social aspects of marine species. Scientific data have long enjoyed a reputation for objectivity but incidents of science-for-hire, data spinning/skewing and political jading are more frequent than ever. In the field of reef creature sensitivity, technical treatises can “logically” explain away what a person of average education can clearly observe on any given reef. Western medicine discounted anecdotal evidence of any cure outside the 4% margin of error until those cures demanded attention and in some cases application. Modern science must now enter an …

Still Wondering How Flesh Can Feel, Gwen J. Broude

Animal Sentience

Reber believes he has simplified Chalmers’s “hard problem” of consciousness by arguing that subjectivity is an inherent feature of biological forms. His argument rests on the related notions of continuity of mind and gradual accretion of capacities across evolutionary time. These notions need to be defended, not just asserted. Because Reber minimizes the differences in mental faculties among species across evolutionary time, it becomes easier to assert, and perhaps believe, that sentience is already present in early biological forms. The more explicit we are about the differences among these mental faculties and the differences across species, the less persuasive is …

School Refusal Assessment Scale-Revised: Factorial Invariance And Latent Means Differences Across Gender And Age In Spanish Children, Carolina Gonzálvez, Candido J. Inglés, Christopher A. Kearney, Maria Vicent, Ricardo Sanmartín, Jose M. García-Fernández

Psychology Faculty Research

The aim of this study was to analyze the factorial invariance and latent means differences of the Spanish version of the School Refusal Assessment Scale-Revised for Children (SRAS-R-C) in a sample of 1,078 students (50.8% boys) aged 8-11 years (M = 9.63, SD = 1.12). The results revealed that the proposed model in this study, with a structure of 18 items divided into four factors (Negative Affective, Social Aversion and/or Evaluation, To Pursue Attention and Tangible Reinforcements), was the best-fit model with a tetra-factorial structure, remaining invariant across gender and age. Analysis of latent means differences indicated that boys and …

Severing Ties: A Lacanian Reading Of Motherhood In Joyce Carol Oates’S Short Stories "The Children" And "Feral", Uroš Tomić

Bearing Witness: Joyce Carol Oates Studies

This paper approaches two of Joyce Carol Oates’s short stories (“The Children” and “Feral”) from a Lacanian perspective on the tripartite structure of personality in an attempt to analyze questions of motherhood and the parent-child separation process. Although published 35 years apart both stories deal with mothers who have trouble containing their maternal attitude and children who become elusive entities for their parents. Utilizing as well the concept of what Oates has termed “realistic allegory” in the analysis of characters situated within highly specific settings and circumstances, the paper aims to shed light on Oates’s vision of the workings of …

The Relationship Between Conceptions Of Free Will And Meaning In Life, Sofia Softas-Nall

Ursidae: The Undergraduate Research Journal at the University of Northern Colorado

Current research asks the question: 'How do our conceptions of free will influence our sense of meaning in life?' (Caruso, 2014; Pereboom, 2014). Many philosophers and psychologists fear that if people cease to believe in free will they will be subject to feelings of meaninglessness (May, 1953; Strawson, 1962). Others argue that people without a belief in free will would not lack one's sense of meaning in life (Caruso, 2014). I aim to investigate this debate empirically and I hypothesize that people with stronger conceptions of free will report higher levels of meaning in life. In order to examine this …

Optimism As A Mediating Factor In The Relationship Between Anxiety And News Media Exposure In College Students, Danielle Hoyt

Honors Projects in Applied Psychology

Recently, media research has focused on young people to determine what effect violent media images may have on aggressive behavior, but little research has investigated the kind of psychological distress similar images may cause. What emotional impact does increased exposure to negative and even violent news coverage have on young adults? In this study, the relationship between such news media and anxiety levels is examined, as well as the possible mediating role that an optimistic life orientation may play in that relationship. It is hypothesized that the degree to which these individuals follow news media will positively correlate with their …

Predictors Of Substance Use, Relationship Arrangements And Intimacy Expectancies Among Gay Couples And Associations To Erikson Intimacy Development, Jonathan Lopez Matos

Theses and Dissertations

This study explored relationship arrangements, intimacy expectancies of substance use and the potential role of Eriksonian intimacy development on drug use among gay and bisexual men. Data were collected from 339 partnered gay/bisexual men across the United States. Measures addressed arrangement type, intimacy expectancies, Eriksonian intimacy and drug use.

Rationality, Parapsychology, And Artificial Intelligence In Military And Intelligence Research By The United States Government In The Cold War, Guy M. Lomeo

Theses and Dissertations

A study analyzing the roles of rationality, parapsychology, and artificial intelligence in military and intelligence research by the United States Government in the Cold War. An examination of the methodology behind the decisions to pursue research in two fields that were initially considered irrational.

Process Dissociation Analyses Of Memory Changes In Healthy Aging, Preclinical, And Very Mild Alzheimer Disease: Evidence For Isolated Recollection Deficits, Peter R. Millar

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Recollection and familiarity are independent processes that contribute to memory performance. Recollection is dependent on attentional control, which breaks down in early-stage Alzheimer disease (AD), whereas familiarity is independent of attention. The present study examines the sensitivity of recollection estimates based on Jacoby’s (1991) process dissociation procedure to AD-related biomarkers in a large sample of well-characterized cognitively normal older adults (N = 519) and the extent to which recollection discriminates these individuals from individuals with very mild symptomatic AD (N = 64). Participants studied word pairs, e.g., “knee bone,” then completed a primed, explicit, cued fragment-completion memory task, e.g., “knee …

Does Use Of Neutralization Techniques Predict Delinquency And Substance Use Outcomes?, Erin C. Siebert

Clinical Psychology Dissertations

This study was part of a larger research intervention that uses motivational interviewing (MI) as part of an in-school substance abuse intervention in local high schools in the greater Seattle area. Our aim was to test hypothesized relationships between marijuana use, other delinquent behavior, and neutralization techniques used by participants and determine their impact on the effectiveness of an MI-based intervention. Hypotheses were that neutralization technique use would decrease the effectiveness of an MI intervention due to the conflicting cognitive processes of justification and developing discrepancy. Of the 84 participants that completed Intake assessments, 60% were male and identified as …

Historical Trauma And Refugee Reception: Armenians And Syrian-Armenian Co-Ethnics, Nicole M. Campos

Master's Theses

This thesis considers the ways in which Armenian history has influenced integration of Syrian-Armenian refugees into Armenia due to the ongoing Syrian War. Ethnic Armenian outlooks were analyzed relative to the influx of Syrian refugees, particularly co-ethnic Syrian-Armenians. Field work in Armenia found a sustained cultural impression of Armenians’ Soviet membership and genocide. Findings suggest that recognizing the importance of history as it may or may not affect migration reception policies and attitudes is important to developing sustainable resettlement environments, at least until repatriation or third-country resettlement becomes an option to migrants. Ultimately, this thesis argues that more attention must …

Alcohol Use And Strenuous Physical Activity In College Students: A Longitudinal Test Of 2 Explanatory Models Of Health Behavior, Heather A. Davis, Elizabeth N. Riley, Gregory T. Smith, Richard S. Milich, Jessica L. Burris

Psychology Faculty Publications

Objective: To help clarify the effect of gender on the bidirectional relationship between alcohol use and strenuous physical activity in college students. Participants: Five hundred twenty-four (52% female) college students recruited in August 2008 and 2009 and followed up in April 2009 and April 2011, respectively. Methods: Participants reported their alcohol use and strenuous physical activity on 2 occasions (baseline and follow-up) spaced approximately 1 or 2 years apart. Results: For females, alcohol use quantity at baseline was associated with increased strenuous physical activity at 1- and 2-year follow-ups, and alcohol use frequency at baseline was …

Using Brain Stimulation To Enhance Working Memory: A Charged Topic, Michael Christopher Stefan Trumbo

Psychology ETDs

Although working memory (WM) training programs consistently result in improvement on the trained task, benefit is typically short-lived and extends only to tasks very similar to the trained task. Pairing repeated performance of a WM task with brain stimulation may encourage plasticity in brain networks involved in WM task performance, thereby improving the training benefit. In the current study, transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) was paired with performance of a WM task. In Experiment 1, participants performed a spatial location-monitoring n-back during stimulation, while Experiment 2 used a verbal identity-monitoring n-back. In each experiment, participants received either active (2.0 mA) …

Tobacco Use, Cessation, And Locus Of Control Among College Students, Bernard Ambe

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to (a) determine the locus of control among American college students (b) determine if tobacco use or cessation correlate with any demographic variables to better understand the efficacy of tobacco interventions and help design an intervention most effective in the prominent LOC of college students.

The Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) was modified for the purposes of this study and used to determine demographic factors and tobacco usage status. The modified GATS survey also included the LOC questionnaire which yielded the data. Seventy-four responses were recorded. The mean locus of control scores were …

Life Coaching -- Rising In Popularity Should It Be Regulated? A Look Into The Life And Work Of Emerging Life Coaching Star Gina Devee, Victoria R. Edwards

Capstones

The lifestyle and business coaching field is an international industry that grosses more than $2 billion, but it has no outside regulation. Some critics worry that without regulation harm can be brought to clients, but others say regulation would bring too much restriction into this growing industry.

The Romantic Relationships Of Young Adults With Elevated Callous-Unemotional Traits, Farrah N. Golmaryami

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Callous-unemotional (CU) traits, an affective component of psychopathy, are associated with problematic outcomes in social relationships in adolescents. However, their association with problematic romantic relationships in young adults has not been the focus of research. In a community sample of 216 college students (167 females) between the ages of 18 to 50, the current study examined the association between CU traits and several important romantic relationship outcomes. Results indicated that CU traits showed positive associations with dominance and partner’s perceived submissiveness, but negative associations with relationship satisfaction, even after controlling for impulsivity and antisocial behavior. On the other hand, antisocial …

Impact Of Positive Parenting Behaviors And Children’S Self-Control On Levels Of Externalizing Behavior Problems During Early Childhood, Virginia I. Hatch

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated the impact of parenting and children’s self-control on children’s externalizing behavior problems among 167 predominantly African-American mothers and their 2-year-old children. Two hypotheses were considered based on two distinct theoretical origins of self-control. First, consistent with a behavioral perspective, exposure to positive parenting was hypothesized to indirectly affect externalizing behaviors through children’s self-control; that is, children’s self-control was expected to mediate the association between positive parenting and externalizing behaviors. Second, consistent with a temperamental perspective, self-control was expected to moderate the impact of positive parenting on levels of children’s externalizing behaviors such that only children with a …

If It Feels Good, View It: Selective Exposure And Desensitization Moderate The Association Between Video Gameplay And Pleasure-Oriented Aggression, Mejdy M. Jabr

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

A number of studies have indicated that violent video gameplay is associated with higher levels of aggression, and desensitization to violent content contributes to this association. Utilizing a rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) task, the current study used event-related potentials (ERPs) to investigate selective attention (N1 activation), cognitive control (N2 activation), and desensitization (P3 activation) as neurocognitive mechanisms potentially underlying the association between gameplay and subtypes of aggression. Results showed video game players and non-players differed significantly in brain activation when engaged with violent imagery. N1 and P3 amplitude moderated the association between gameplay and pleasure-oriented aggression. Follow-up analyses further …

Why Are Some Parents More Positive Than Others?: Clarifying Mechanisms Associated With Positive Parenting, Laura Lafleur

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the current study was to replicate and extend existing research considering how positive parenting and family conflict impact positive parenting in future generations. Specifically, romantic conflict occurring in the family of procreation was expected to mediate the link between positive parenting in family of origin, and later parenting in family of procreation. This is one of the first studies to include both observational and direct forms of parenting. Data from the Family Transitions Project (FTP) was used in the current study. A series of structural equation models were used to test each hypothesis. Results indicated that learning …

Examination Of The Successful Psychopathy Conceptualization In Youth With Callous-Unemotional Traits, Tina D. Wall Myers

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Although research has demonstrated that some adults with psychopathic traits show better executive functioning and higher intelligence that make them “successful”, there has been very minimal research testing whether similar distinctions can be made in samples of youth with elevated CU traits. Utilizing a sample of 1216 male adolescent first-time offenders, the current study examined whether executive functioning, intelligence and/or impulse control would moderate the relationship between CU traits and antisocial outcomes. The current study also examined whether CU traits were more strongly associated with a number of positive adjustment indicators at higher levels of the moderators. Results did not …

Parenting Style And Adolescent Gender As Moderators Of The Association Between Parental Restrictions And Adolescents' Risky Driving, Megan M. Zeringue

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of teenage deaths in the United States, highlighting the need for ways to reduce teenage driver crash rates. Adolescents (n = 176, M age = 16.4 years, 53% female) and their parents (n = 204, 71% mothers) self-reported on parenting style, driving restrictions, and risky driving. Results showed that more parental restrictions were associated with less adolescent risky driving. Three-way interactions were found such that more restrictions were associated with less concurrent risky driving in boys only under conditions of high parental warmth, structure, or autonomy support. Parenting style generally did …

Facilitating The Emergence Of Convergent Intraverbals In Children With Autism, Andresa Desouza

Theses & Dissertations

With intraverbal relations, one speaker’s verbal behavior controls another speaker’s verbal behavior. Convergent intraverbals represent a specific type of intraverbal in which multiple components of one speaker’s verbal behavior control a specific verbal response from another speaker (e.g., Speaker 1: what wooly, horned animal lives in the high country? Speaker 2: a mountain goat). Learning intraverbal relations under the control of multiple variables is critical to language, social, and academic development. Sundberg and Sundberg (2011) identified prerequisites that may engender the emergence of novel, convergent intraverbals. We used a multiple-probe design with both nonconcurrent (across participants) and concurrent (across sets …

Primer On Perspectives And Practices Of Trauma, Trevor P. Haase

Educational Specialist, 2009-2019

A large majority of the general population has endured at least one traumatic event in their lifetime and many will seek counseling services to process and resolve the impact from the traumatic experience. Counselors and mental health providers will likely encounter trauma survivors in a high frequency in the majority of therapeutic settings. Practicum and internship level counselors are often not prepared for navigating the complexities that arise working with trauma survivors. This paper outlines the various perspectives and practices of the works of Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, Narrative Therapy, and Trauma Focused-Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. These orientations were designed …