Psychology Commons^™

Instilling Hope: Showing Individuals With New Disabilities Between The Ages Of 18 And 24 That Suicide Is Not The Answer, Christine Ann Whiting

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation is to explore what can be done to mitigate the onset of a disability for young adults aged 18-24 in order to prevent suicidal thoughts or actions. Research suggests that many factors play into suicidal ideation for this young population, including lost hope, lack of coping mechanisms, lack of financial security and bullying. The goal of this research is to determine what rehabilitation professionals can do differently that will hopefully eradicate suicide for this group.

Developmental Traits And Patterns Emerging From Dependent Nurturing Individuals In Narcissistic Relationship, Gregory D. Roberts

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The concept of personality theories and personality disorders has developed in modern times from deep roots in philosophy and psychodynamic theory. This theory orientation has evolved to diagnostic and treatment application. Much of the literature has focused on personality disorders as independent and singular constructs. Phenomenological discussions and deeper understandings of dysfunctional relationships between the two specific disorders of dependent personality and narcissistic personality are lacking. Significant longsuffering, abusive, and pathological behaviors at times are observed among dependent personality types in bad relationships. The objective of this study was to gather data from a sample of dependent types to discover …

Proactive Coping Style And Employee Well-Being: Workplace Stressors And Recovery Experiences As Mediators, Erica Christine Keeton

Theses and Dissertations

The stressor-strain relationship has been a popular focal topic in organizational research. Workplace stressors have been found to relate to decreased well-being, job satisfaction, organizational commitment, job performance and organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs), as well as increased counterproductive work behaviors and safety issues. This study investigated the relationships of proactive coping style with employee health, job satisfaction, organizational commitment, OCBs, and social support, as well as the mediating effects of workplace stressors and recovery experiences. Results indicated that the proactive coping style directly related to health, job satisfaction, organizational commitment, OCBs, social support and recovery experiences. Workplace stressors did not …

Assessing Clinical Significance Of The Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment And Cognitive Testing Battery When Comparing Adjusted And Unadjusted Rci Methods For Different Ranges Of Baseline Scores, Ashley N. Figaro

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The growing concern revolving around the dangers of sports-related concussions have led to the most recent implementation of neurocognitive (NC) test batteries as a means to objectively determine the presence of a cognitive defect. Whereas any other sports-related injury can be diagnosed with tools such as an x-ray or MRI, a concussion represents a metabolic disturbance that cannot be identified by these diagnostic tools. Many neurocognitive test batteries employ statistical techniques to derive cut off scores in order to represent significant or insignificant changes as compared to individual baseline scores, or pre-established normative values. If an individuals’ post-injury score exceeds …

Concurrent Mental Health And Sport Performance Enhancement In An Athlete Initiating Behavioral Intervention With No Assessed Pathology: A Case Examination Supporting Optimization, Yulia Gavrilova

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Collegiate athletes are often exposed to unique environmental stressors that may negatively impact the way they think, behave, and feel in athletic, academic, and social domains, potentially compromising their performance and mental health when cognitive and behavioral skills are relatively underdeveloped. Behavioral interventions have been shown to enhance cognitive and behavioral skills in persons with assessed mental health deficits in the general population. However, little is known about the relative effects of psychologically-based programs in persons who do not evidence pathology. Along these lines, The Optimum Performance Program in Sports (TOPPS), based on Family Behavior Therapy, was recently developed with …

Inner Experience And Self-Ratings Of Inner Speaking, Jason Michael Kelsey

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Questionnaires are often used as measures of inner experience. This study questions the adequacy of such measures, using inner speech as an example. We compared two questionnaire measures of inner speaking to each other and to inner experience as apprehended by Descriptive Experience Sampling (DES, a naturalistic, high fidelity method of exploring inner experience). Undergraduate volunteers (N = 260) took two questionnaires designed to measure inner speaking: the Self-Talk Scale (STS) and the Nevada Inner Experience Questionnaire (NIEQ). A subset of these (N = 16) participated in DES to investigate their inner speaking with fidelity. Scores on the NIEQ and …

The Effect Of Weight On The Perceptions Of And Attitudes Toward Individuals With Anorexia Nervosa, Allison E. White

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A large body of research has shown that stigmatizing attitudes toward individuals with mental illness are widespread and prevalent. Fewer studies have focused on stigma toward eating disorders, in general, and even less have focused on the stigma of anorexia nervosa (AN), specifically. Preliminary research indicates that AN may be both stigmatizing and admired, but the factors contributing to the perception of AN has not been adequately studied. To date, researchers have yet to examine the role of body size in the perception of and attitudes toward individuals with AN. By showing participants one of three female figures varying only …

Educational Experiences And Goals Of Homeless Youth And Barriers To Reaching These Goals, Rachel Peterson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The cost of homelessness is high, not only in terms of the array of traumatic experiences of those who are homeless, but in monetary terms for society as a whole. It costs between $20,000 and $40,000 annually for one homeless individual to cycle through public service systems such as emergency rooms, jail, mental health care facilities, and shelters. This annual cost can add up quickly with long periods of homelessness. For half of homeless youth (age 14-24), homelessness will not end during adolescence. Lack of steady employment is one of the largest barriers for youth experiencing homelessness to become permanently …

A Vision-Based Bee Counting Algorithm For Electronic Monitoring Of Langsthroth Beehives, Sai Kiran Reka

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Forager traffic is the number of bees entering or exiting the bee hive over a given period of time. To estimate forager traffic, beekeepers typically take a stopwatch and count the number of bees manually over a set period of time. Forager traffic is an important health indicator of the hive. Sudden changes in forager traffic levels show that there may be an anomaly inside the hive or in the environment. There have been several attempts to automate the estimation of forager traffic in Langsthroth hives with custombuilt hardware devices. In this thesis, we argue that bee counting can be …

The Impact Of Social Comparisons On Stereotype Threat For Black College Students Attending Predominantly White Colleges And Universities, Odessia Knowles

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Despite increasing college enrollment rates for Black individuals, college completion rates remain dismal, thus the achievement gap between Black and White students remains in effect. One reason which may contribute to low completion rates for Black college students is stereotype threat. Stereotype threat is when an individual is at risk of confirming a negative stereotype about their group membership. For Blacks attending college, the threat would be related to academic underachievement. However, the impact of stereotype threat is highly individualized and an individual’s Black racial identity may impact stereotype threat for certain individuals.

Social comparison theory suggests that to gain …

Socialization Of Respeto In Immigrant Mexican Families, Marsha Tafoya

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Respeto is a cultural value considered to be essential in Latina/o families. Latina/o parents endorse respeto as being an important to teaching to their children. Mental health professionals argue that it is important to understand cultural values in delivering appropriate and relevant services to ethnic and culturally diverse clients. Some experts argue that such focus on cultural context also improves the effectiveness of interventions. The current study examined the cultural value of respeto in immigrant Mexican parents with a child between 4 and 9 years of age. Two scales were developed to examine the behavioral displays of respeto in boys …

Effects Of Acceptance And Commitment Therapy On Impulsive Decision Making, Kate L. Morrison

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

For some people, decision making is more often influenced by immediate gratification, rather than what is best for them in the long term. This study intended to change how those people made decisions, in order to help them live meaningful lives. This was done through eight sessions of a treatment called Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT; in comparison to no treatment). Forty adults were randomly assigned to either treatment or a no treatment control. The treatment did not change the way people responded on the decision making measures, although the treatment reduced problematic behaviors and obstacles to living a meaningful …

The Effects Of Familism And Sibling Relationships On Mexican-Origin Adolescents' Intentions For Alcohol, Tobacco, And Other Drug Use, Molly Mechammil

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The aim of this study was to investigate whether and how sibling relationships and family values intersect to influence Mexican origin youth’s intentions to use substances. Previous research with European-American families has indicated that the nature and quality of sibling relationships in particular plays a large role in whether or not youth will engage in substance use behaviors. In addition, high levels of family and cultural values have also been found to be strong protective factors for substance use in Latino youth. A better understanding of the relation between family values and sibling relationship processes is important in order to …

Utilizing Act Daily As A Self-Guided Mobile App Intervention For Depression And Anxiety In A College Counseling Center, Jack A. Haeger

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

College counseling centers (CCCs) have experienced funding and staffing setbacks in recent years, resulting in higher caseloads, counselor burnout, and bloated waitlists. Mobile Health (mHealth) interventions may offer a cost-effective and innovative solution. The authors developed ACT Daily, a prototype mHealth app based in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). This study examined the feasibility and possible efficacy of ACT Daily as a brief intervention for individuals placed on CCC waitlists.

A sample of 11 depressed/anxious clients waitlisted at a local CCC enrolled in the study, which followed a pre-post, open trial design. Participants received a brief online training that covered …

An Investigation Of Clinically Significant Change Among Child And Adolescent Clients Of A Graduate-Level Training Clinic, Kerry K. Prout

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The study examined parent-reported child and adolescent outcomes for youth being seen for psychotherapy services on a measure of symptoms of distress (Youth-Outcome Questionnaire 2.01). All clients were seen for psychotherapy services by graduate-level student therapists who were currently in training at a psychology training clinic. Parents of clients completed a questionnaire to assess symptoms of distress at each psychotherapy visit and the study sought to define the trajectory of change that clients experience throughout treatment. Specifically, the study aimed to determine to what degree change in outcomes was statistically significant and meaningful for clients and on average, how many …

Problem Analysis In Community Violence Assessments: Reavealing Early Childhood Trauma As A Driver Of Youth And Gang Violence, Laurie Ross Phd, Samantha Arsenault, Sergeant Miguel Lopez

Mosakowski Institute for Public Enterprise

Problem analysis conducted by a university-based research partner can provide communities with data-driven options to address the local drivers of serious youth and gang violence. Situated in Worcester, Massachusetts, this article describes how after early childhood trauma was identified as a potential driver of adolescent and young adult violence, problem analysis using local data confirmed that being the victim or witness of a traumatic incident before the age of 12 was significantly correlated with involvement in violence in adolescence or young adulthood. While there is a robust literature on the relationship between early childhood trauma and later delinquency, local decision-makers …

The Effects Of Gender And Self Construal On Perception Of Racism, Lauren S. Schapiro, Anne M. Schoenfeld, William C. Thomas

Celebration

When looking into the idea of if one's gender and their self-construal has an effect on how they perceive racism, we hypothesize that women will take a more interdependent self-construal and men will take a more independent self-construal. Based on how they identify, we believe that those in the interdependent condition will perceive more racism and those in the independent condition will perceive less racism.

The Peacock Effect: The Influence Of The Opposite Sex On Aggressive Behavior, Kira J. Mason

Celebration

Most widely-accepted models for aggression do not explicitly address an important variable that roots in evolutionary psychology: the presence of a potential mate. The current research investigates whether the presence of an attractive or unattractive member of the opposite sex influences hypothetical aggression. Participants (N = 1035) imagined themselves in front of an attractive or non-attractive member of the opposite sex (accompanied by pictures of corresponding attractiveness levels), and indicate their aggressive intentions after a provocation, or not. Results from the 2(sex) x 2(attractiveness) ANOVA showed that males viewing an image of an attractive female aggressed more when provoked than …

The Effect Of Historical Narratives And Flag Type, Maher A.R. Bigley, Alexandra E. Casella, Marike S. Sevigny-Morrissey, Amy E. Violante

Celebration

This research will examine the effect of mainstream or marginalized historical narratives and the Confederate or American flag on temporal distancing, patriotism, perception of injustice, and assimilationist national identity. We expect that participants exposed to marginalized narratives will indicate higher perceived distance, especially when exposed to the Confederate flag. We expect that participants exposed to mainstream narratives will be highest on blind patriotism, especially when exposed to the American flag. We expect that participants in the American flag marginalized narrative condition would perceive the most racism and would reject more assimilationist conceptions of national identity. For the dependent measures of …

Unmasking Penn Face: Measuring The Phenomenon And Its Relationship To Other Personality Constructs, Meagan A. Lupolt

Celebration

This study aimed to develop a valid and reliable scale to measure the phenomenon known in the media as “Penn Face”. The scale was simultaneously administered with established measures to gauge its association with personality constructs that were expected to be associated with it (or not). Given that this phenomenon has yet to be empirically investigated, research for scale development relied heavily on the media, internet blogs, and individual student accounts. The finalized measure elicited promising reliability and was correlated with a number of expected personality traits, especially: anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation and perfectionism. Our findings suggest that Penn Face …

Religiosity And Prayer In Relation To Health And Life Satisfaction In Older Adults, Victoria L. Beach

All College Thesis Program, 2016-2019

The United States is facing a rapidly growing elderly population. The population aged 65 and older was estimated to be 43.1 million in 2012 and this is projected to increase to 83.7 million by 2050.

This research sought to understand the older adult experience through the relationship between religiosity, prayer, health, and life satisfaction in adults aged 65-84. In this cross-sectional design, 222 older adults were surveyed using convenience sampling.

The results showed a positive relationship between intrinsic religiosity and life satisfaction, as well as a positive relationship between prayer experience and health.

These results could have implications for clinical …

Challenges In Mathematical Cognition: A Collaboratively-Derived Research Agenda, Lara Alcock, Daniel Ansari, Sophie Batchelor, Marie-Josee Bisson, Bert De Smedt, Camilla Gilmore, Silke M. Gobel, Minna Hannula-Sormunen, Jeremy Hodgen, Matthew Inglis, Ian Jones, Michele Mazzocco, Nicole Mcneil, Michael Schneider, Victoria Simms, Keith Weber

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

This paper reports on a collaborative exercise designed to generate a coherent agenda for research on mathematical cognition. Following an established method, the exercise brought together 16 mathematical cognition researchers from across the fields of mathematics education, psychology and neuroscience. These participants engaged in a process in which they generated an initial list of research questions with the potential to significantly advance understanding of mathematical cognition, winnowed this list to a smaller set of priority questions, and refined the eventual questions to meet criteria related to clarity, specificity and practicability. The resulting list comprises 26 questions divided into six broad …

The Relationship Of Empathy And Impulsivity To The Dark Tetrad Of Personality, Ashlee Justice

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Though relationships between empathy, impulsivity, and personality traits making up the Dark Tetrad of personality have been studied individually, the relationship of empathy and impulsivity to the Dark Tetrad of personality simultaneously has not been studied. The current study examined the relationship of both empathy and impulsivity to the Dark Tetrad simultaneously, and assessed specific combinations of traits, empathy, and impulsivity. Participants from a private university completed online surveys. Correlations and predictions of variables were examined. Individuals who rated high on Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and sadism had significantly lower scores on empathy subscales, and individuals rating high on these as well …

Intensive Sound Production Treatment For Apraxia Of Speech: An Analysis Of Error Consistency, Victoria M. Abolafia

Honors Scholar Theses

In the past, clinicians have diagnosed acquired apraxia of speech based upon the presentation of an inconsistent error pattern. However, recent research studies have begun to suggest quite the contrary, pointing towards a consistent pattern of errors in the speech of those with apraxia. The present study utilized an intensive Sound Production Treatment (SPT) for a 51-year-old male with severe acquired apraxia of speech and moderate-severe aphasia. Treatment was administered over a period of five days per week, three hours a day, for two consecutive weeks. During this treatment, probes were gathered daily to evaluate the efficacy of the intensive …

Are Forgiving People Less Likely To Experience Cognitive Dissonance?, Jordan A. Barthel

All College Thesis Program, 2016-2019

People differ in the degree to which they are able and willing to forgive themselves after they have committed a transgression against another person (Thompson et al., 2005). The purpose of the current study was to see if individuals with lower levels of dispositional forgiveness would experience more attitude change toward a boring task than those who have higher levels of dispositional forgiveness, as a result of cognitive dissonance being induced. Participants completed a boring task that involved moving beads back and forth on an abacus, and then were either asked or told to mislead the next participant by telling …

Psychometric Properties Of The Santa Clara Brief Compassion Scale, Thomas G. Plante, Jesus Mejia

Psychology

The Santa Clara Brief Compassion Scale (SCBCS) is a five-item scale intended to operationalize and measure compassion. Santa Clara University has been administering the SCBCS, along with other demographic questions, to all new entering as well as exiting graduating students for the past decade. Previous research has utilized compassion scores and demographic data collected from these surveys in both between and within-subject designs to examine compassion among these undergraduate students. The purpose of the current study was to examine the reliability and validity of the SCBCS through various psychometric tests utilizing 6,763 responses that have been collected in recent years. …

Musings On Inspiration: Inducing Inspiration And Increasing Donations To Charity, Rebekah Selbrede

Departmental Honors & Graduate Capstone Projects

This study examined different methods for inducing inspiration, sex differences in inspiration induction, and whether inducing inspiration would increase donations to charity. We found that men and women responded differently to various methods of inducing inspiration. Women were most inspired by the video and reflection groups, while men's inspiration did not differ by induction method. For women, but not men, inspiration mediated the relationship between induction method and amount of donation pledged indicating that their willingness to donate to charity increased as they felt more inspired. Despite differences in inspiration, men and women did not differ in amount donated, which …

The Role Of Emotional Distress In Predicting Opiate Analgesic Medication Use In Chronic Pain Patients, Amy E. Kupper

Clinical Psychology Dissertations

Chronic pain is a common, costly, and debilitating problem. The biopsychosocial model purports that biological, psychological, and social factors are involved in the experience of chronic pain. Multidisciplinary pain management programs adhere to the biopsychosocial model and successfully treat and manage chronic pain. Depression, anxiety, and opiate analgesic medication misuse and abuse are significant problems faced by many individuals with chronic pain, however these relationships are not well understood. This study examined a sample of 248 chronic pain patients who completed a multidisciplinary pain management program. Two hypotheses were tested. First, it was hypothesized that the relationships amongst change in …

Burned Out: The Relationship Between Coaching Style And Burnout In Elite Athletes, Ethan S. Bledsoe

Sport Management Undergraduate

Sport specialization and sampling are two ways youth athletes can play sports. Athletes playing in college, at the Division III level, sample sports throughout their childhood instead of specializing in one sport. There is not a lot of specific research done for each Division in the NCAA. This study is a cross-sectional survey of students and athletes at SJFC, which is a small Division III school in Western New York. Using surveys, data was found that supports the research question that Division III athletes and students sampled sports throughout their childhoods rather than specializing. This question can help parents determine …

Relational-Interdependence And Life Transitions In College: Study Abroad, First-Year, And International Students, Shelby R. Weisen

All College Thesis Program, 2016-2019

The current study examined the sojourner adjustment of U.S. college students studying abroad, international college students studying in the States, and first-year students adjusting to life in the first semester of their undergraduate careers. An online survey was distributed to 412 college students; it included the Sojourner Adjustment Measure (SAM), the Lifelong Learning Scale (WielkLLS), the Relational-Interdependent Self-Construal Scale (RISC), the Brief HEXACO Inventory of Personality, and the Social Media Use Integration Scale (SMUIS). The purpose of the study was to explore the relationships among major emerging adulthood transitions and various measures of adjustment to college. Results suggest that students …