Psychology Commons^™

Spotting A Criminal: Examining Perceived Racial Typicality In Violent And Nonviolent Crimes, Krystia Grembocki

Undergraduate Psychology Research Methods Journal

As humans, we rely on our eyes to help us understand the world around us. While this seems like the ultimate asset, it is also detrimental because our eyes are often deceiving. Specifically, when we use visual information to draw conclusions about other people, our perceptions are shaped by what we see, and sometimes such information is misleading and inaccurate. The present study's purpose is to identify how visual information (i.e. race) influences our judgement of criminals who have committed violent and non-violent felony crimes. Participants were shown lineups containing headshots of four male criminals, which varied in race (i.e. …

A Time For Creativity: How Future-Oriented Schemas Facilitate Creativity, Brandon Yuan Rui Koh

Dissertations and Theses Collection

According to the creative cognition approach, the infrequent generation of truly creative ideas could be due to the pervasive reliance on schemas during creative ideation. People tasked to generate creative ideas tend to anchor on accessible schemas, thus many of these ideas predictably conform to pre-existing exemplars or concepts. It is reasonable to argue that suppressing the reliance on conventional schemas coupled with activating unconventional schemas could broaden the sources of inspiration and facilitate creativity. Grounded in social schema research, I hypothesize that people tend to project high societal change in the future, and that future construal will activate these …

The Differential Identity Activation & Integration Mechanism (Diaim): A Model Linking Female Businesspersons’ Identity Integration And Identity Activation To Negotiation, Yi Wen Tan

Dissertations and Theses Collection

Women play an important role in business management (female businesspersons) but yet they face constraints in the workplace, such as in negotiations. As female businesspersons seem to be facing seemingly conflicting gender and business identities, the level of the integration between these identities, as captured by the construct gender-professional identity integration (G-PII), can be a critical factor that influences female businesspersons in negotiations. It is expected that the level of G-PII influences female businesspersons’ negotiation behaviors when their different identities (i.e., female identity, business identity or dual identities) are activated. Hence, a DIAIM model that depicts how female businesspersons with …

Social And Religious Factors On Subjective Well-Being, Eric J. Uhl

Undergraduate Psychology Research Methods Journal

Religion as it pertains to subjective well-being is a topic of debate as religion operationalized can undertake many forms. However, research has shown that religion is a form of social interaction and an inclusionary social institution. It is also noted in previous subjective well-being research that social support has a positive correlation with the condition of subjects. Thus, the facet of religion that could be the best measure in regard to subjective well-being is social support provided by religious institutions. In the interest of finding a better measure for religion, the use of a comprehensive survey asked respondents to report …

How Social Media Is Perceived To Affect Romantic Relationship Satisfaction, Hannah S. Shockley

Undergraduate Psychology Research Methods Journal

This research discusses the perceived effects of social media on relationship satisfaction. It was hypothesized that social media is perceived to affect romantic relationships in a negative way, especially in the form of jealousy and mistrust, with increased usage. Past research about monitoring romantic partners on social media, the fear of missing out in relation of social media, social media addiction, and mental and psychological effects of social media were explored in relation to the research being presented. Participants took an online survey through Qualtrics which resulted in statistically significant data that partially supported the hypothesis. The perceived effects of …

Mental Health And College Students, Katie Olson

Undergraduate Psychology Research Methods Journal

The present study aims to explore the mental health of college students regarding anxiety, stress, and depression. Pursuing higher education can be difficult and can have a negative impact on your mental health if there is a lack of social support from school, friends, and family. The hypotheses stated that there would be a relationship between the number of hours worked and the symptoms of anxiety, stress, and depression. Another hypothesis stated that there would be a significant positive relationship between the method of payment for school and anxiety, stress, and depression. The present study used a demographic survey and …

Video Responsiveness: Reactive In Motor Function, G. Adam Martz

Undergraduate Psychology Research Methods Journal

This is a research proposal for a study on the empathetic imitation of models on television. Imitation as an extension of social conformity and learning through mimicry is one of the deepest assumptions of modern social-psychological theory. There has been much evidence in recent years to support that mirror neurons, the biological factor that allows human and ape brains neurologically interpret and incorporate the actions of others, are situational in what actions they empathetically attempt to encode (Hodges, 2014; Subiaul, 2016). Previously, empathetic imitation was thought to occur only through interactions but in recent years several studies have established that …

Perceptions Of Coaches And Athletes On Motivation Methods, Tereza Melicharkova

Undergraduate Psychology Research Methods Journal

The purpose of this study is to compare the coaches’ and athletes’ perception on motivational techniques. The interest of this study was to see if the coaches’ perception on the motivational techniques match with the perceptions of the athletes. Therefore, I used two different surveys; one for coaches and one for athletes. These surveys were really similar to each other. However, they differ in one section where coaches were asked to answer questions about motivational techniques that they apply to their athletes. Whereas the athletes were asked to give their personal opinion on the coaches’ motivational techniques. My hypothesis was …

The Connection Among Color, Lighting, And Anxiety, Mariah Palmer

Undergraduate Psychology Research Methods Journal

Color is a sensory stimuli that is encountered on a daily basis. There is a great deal of differing information pertaining to color research. Some of this research deals with color associations (Boyatzis & Varghese, 1994; Kaya & Epps, 2014). Other research studies the influence of color on emotional states or physiology (Jacobs & Suess, 1975; Kuller, Mikellides, & Janssens, 2008). Much of the prior research has concentrated on two primary colors; red and blue. The current study will look at the ways in which specific lighting conditions influence mood states, more specifically, anxiety levels. This research will have a …

Correlational Study Between Conservatism And Altruism, Aleksander Mansdoerfer

Undergraduate Psychology Research Methods Journal

This study was designed and executed with the intention to discover if there was a relationship between the amount of altruistic acts they have performed, and the attitudes towards political topics. Participants were registered voter’s in the United States and were not asked any demographic questions. This study purely focused on the responses to an Altruism Personality Assessment and a Political Attitudes Questionnaire. This study concluded with the discovery of no correlation between the amount of Altruistic acts they have performed in their life and their political opinions. It was discovered this study used an Altruism Assessment Scale that incorrectly …

A Modern Analysis Of The Frequency Of Baumrind’S Parenting Style, Aimee Saffo, Jaidenlynn Rogers

Undergraduate Psychology Research Methods Journal

This research project explored Baumrind’s parenting styles - authoritarian, authoritative, permissive, and neglectful - within our sample population. The primary investigators used a survey method to collect data and determine the frequency of each parenting style by scoring the participant's answers about perceived emotional warmth and control in childhood. The results were compared to the perceived age, gender, and socioeconomic status of the participant's primary caregiver as well as to the participant's age and gender to determine if there is a significant relationship. This study can help to understand what factors affect parenting styles used within society.

Correlation Of Myers-Briggs Personality Traits Inventory And Moral Decision Making, Kamden Havens

Undergraduate Psychology Research Methods Journal

Myers-Briggs personality trait inventory was examined against modified moral scenarios by philosopher, Victor Grassian. The research conducted was a non-directional correlational study between personality types, extroversion/introversion, observation/intuition, thinking/feeling, judging/prospecting and the five moral scenarios presented. There was no significant correlation between any of the personality traits and any of moral scenarios.

Has Engagement Had Its Day – What’S Next And Does It Matter?, John P. Meyer

Psychology Publications

No abstract provided.

Past Racial Discrimination Exacerbates The Effects Of Racial Exclusion On Negative Affect, Perceived Control, And Alcohol-Risk Cognitions Among Black Young Adults, Michelle L. Stock, Laurel M. Peterson, Brianne K. Molloy, Sharon F. Lambert

Psychology Faculty Research and Scholarship

Racial discrimination is associated with alcohol use and risky sex cognitions and behaviors, which are risk factors for negative health outcomes, including human immunodeficiency virus infection. The current study investigated the causal impact of racial discrimination on alcohol and sexual-risk cognitions while exploring potential mediators that might help explain this relation: negative affect, perceived control, and meaningful existence. We also examined if past discrimination impacts the strength of (moderates) these effects. Participants were 287 Black/African American young adults aged 18–25. They were randomly assigned to be excluded or included by White peers via the game Cyberball. Racial exclusion (vs. inclusion) …

A Survey Of Addictive Software Design, Chauncey J. Neyman

Computer Science and Software Engineering

The average smartphone owner checks their phone more than 150 times per day. As of 2015, 62% of smartphone users had used their phone to look up information about a health condition, while 57% had used their phone to do online banking. Mobile platforms have become the dominant medium of human-computer interaction. So how have these devices established themselves as our go to connection to the Internet? The answer lies in addictive design. Software designers have become well versed in creating software that captivates us at a primal level. In this article, we survey addictive software design strategies, their bases …

Trauma-Informed School Programming: Applications For Mental Health Professionals And Educator Partnerships, Brenda Morton, Anna A. Berardi Phd.

Faculty Publications - College of Education

An alarming number of children experience significant trauma or chronic stress throughout childhood, manifesting in cognitive, social, physical, and emotional impairment. These challenges are expressed in the P-12 academic setting through difficulties with behavioral and emotional self-regulation, academic functioning, and physical ailments and illness. Advances in trauma-informed care, as applied to the school environment, have inspired new hope for educators who observe first-hand the learning challenges facing traumatized children. This article defines the nature of the problem along with a guiding framework to assist educators and mental health professionals in transforming to a trauma-informed school culture.

Initial Evidence For The Reliability And Validity Of The Sexual Experiences Survey-Short Form Perpetration (Ses-Sfp) In College Men, Raeann E. Anderson, Shawn P. Cahill, Douglas L. Delahanty

Psychology Faculty Publications

This study provides psychometric data on the Sexual Experiences Survey—Short Form Perpetration (SES-SFP), a revision of one of the most widely used measures of sexual perpetration, in a sample of college men. Participants (n = 402) completed a web survey containing the study measures; a subset of 66 participants completed the SES-SFP again 2 weeks later. Our results provide initial evidence of internal consistency and convergent evidence of validity for the SES-SFP in college men but question the measure’s test-retest reliability. The severity of tactics used to coerce sexually aggressive behaviors was more strongly associated with rape empathy than …

Book Review: Prostitution Narratives: Stories Of Survival In The Sex Trade, Edited By Caroline Norma And Melinda Tankard Reist, Abigail Bray

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

No abstract provided.

The Role Of Specificity And Apologies In Excuse Messages Following Train Delay, Emiel Cracco, Nicolas Dirix, Christopher P. Reinders Folmer

Journal of Public Transportation

An important issue in public transport is punctuality. Because delays are often caused by external factors, an efficient way to mitigate passengers’ negative reactions is to point out these factors in an excuse. The current study investigated whether excuses following train delay can be optimized by making minor changes to their content. Specifically, we compared the effectiveness of specific and non-specific excuses. Furthermore, we investigated whether adding different types of an apology influenced the effectiveness of the excuse. The results indicated that specific excuses resulted in more forgiveness and a reduced intention to avoid public transport in the future. Further …

The Undergraduate In The “New Urban University”: Recognizing The Role Of Agency And Its Correlates In The Student’S Academic Life Story, Karen Galea

Dissertations

According to the U.S. Department of Education (2016), only 36% of first time college students enrolled at broad-access institutions graduate within six years, compared to 60% at all universities. The vital role of academic agency is universally accepted; however, debate remains over a shared definition. The purpose of this study is to determine which combination of non-academic attributes generate, grow, and support academic agency for undergraduate students at a broad-access, minority-serving “New Urban University.” Three questions are examined:

1. Which attributes define academic agency, and how do they relate to conceptually similar variables?
2. Assuming academic agency exists along a continuum over …

Stimulus-Selectivity Of Drug Purchase Tasks: A Preliminary Study Evaluating Alcohol And Cigarette Demand, Justin Charles Strickland, William W. Stoops

Psychology Faculty Publications

The use of drug purchase tasks to measure drug demand in human behavioral pharmacology and addiction research has proliferated in recent years. Few studies have systematically evaluated the stimulus selectivity of drug purchase tasks to demonstrate that demand metrics are specific to valuation of or demand for the commodity under study. Stimulus selectivity is broadly defined for this purpose as a condition under which a specific stimulus input or target (e.g., alcohol, cigarettes) is the primary determinant of behavior (e.g., demand). The overall goal of the present study was to evaluate the stimulus selectivity of drug purchase tasks. Participants were …

The Effects Of Religiosity On Parent-Adolescent Communication About Sex And Sexuality : A Multiple Regression, Marlon C. Robinson

Dissertations

Most studies on parental religiosity have focused on specific adolescent sexual behaviors (i.e. sexual initiation), family cohesion, greater supervision, and higher moral expectation while parent-adolescent communication about sexual matters remains understudied. The purpose of this study was to examine the relative influence of parent variables such as relation, education level, communication style (degree of openness, extent of problems), and religiosity (public, private) on sex communication and the age at which parents began conversations about sexual matters. A sample of 170 parents and caregivers from the Continental United States who had at least one adolescent 13-18 years old completed questions on …

An Item-Response Theory Approach To Safety Climate Measurement: The Liberty Mutual Safety Climate Short Scales, Yueng-Hsiang Huanga, Jin Lee, Zhuo Chen, Mackenna Laine Perry, Janelle H. Chung, Mo Wang

Psychology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Zohar and Luria’s (2005) safety climate (SC) scale, measuring organization- and group- level SC each with 16 items, is widely used in research and practice. To improve the utility of the SC scale, we shortened the original full-length SC scales. Item response theory (IRT) analysis was conducted using a sample of 29,179 frontline workers from various industries. Based on graded response models, we shortened the original scales in two ways: (1) selecting items with above-average discriminating ability (i.e. offering more than 6.25% of the original total scale information), resulting in 8-item organization-level and 11-item group-level SC scales; and (2) selecting …

Effects Of Low Dose Mixtures Of 3,4-Methylenedioxypyrovalerone And Cocaine On Locomotor Activity And Brain Monoamine Content In Sprague-Dawley Rats, Robert J. Kohler

Masters Theses

Synthetic cathinones, known as “bath salts” on the illicit drug market, pose a significant and growing public health concern. 3,4-Methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV), one of several popular constituents of the illicit bath salts, produces similar pharmacological actions to cocaine, albeit with greater potency. The present study sought to characterize behavioral and neurochemical effects of repeated exposure to MDPV alone and in combination with cocaine. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned to one of four treatments: 1 mg/kg MDPV, 5 mg/kg cocaine, 1 mg/kg MDPV + 5 mg/kg cocaine, or saline. Locomotor activity was assessed for one hour immediately before and one hour …

Intimate Partner Violence, Perception Of Safety, And Faith Among Female College Students Attending Faith-Based Institutions, Liliya Anatolyevna Rudneva

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Many women experience intimate partner violence (IPV), and research shows this violence significantly impacts their mental health, physical health, and substance abuse. The experience of IPV may also impact other areas of life. This study aims to explore the relationship between the experiences of IPV, perception of safety, and perception of faith, among female college students attending Christian universities. Archival data from the National College Health Assessment (NCHA) was used to explore this relationship among female students who experienced physical, sexual, or psychological IPV in the past twelve months. Results indicate students who experienced IPV endorsed lower perceptions of safety …

From The Top-Down: Transformational Leadership Considerations For Health Care Organizations, Ericka Sanner-Stiehr, Clair Reynolds Kueny

Psychological Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

Nurse leaders can positively influence critical issues in healthcare by engaging in transformational leadership (TL) practices. High in humility, extraversion, self-efficacy, and emotional intelligence, transformational leaders focus on followers as individuals and inspire high goal attainment. Organizations can increase TL behaviors through top-down training strategies. This paper evaluates salient TL characteristics and considerations for organizations wishing to create positive organization-wide change.

Treatment, Supervision, And Recidivism Of Individuals Convicted Of A Sex Offense In The United States: A Pilot Study, Gabriele F. Trupp

Student Theses

Although, previous research has shown that treatment programs for individuals convicted of a sex offense have the potential to lower sexual recidivism rates (Hanson & Bussiere, 1998; Hanson et al., 2002; Losel & Schmucker, 2005), there is some pause as to the methodological strength of these studies (Furby, Weinrott, & Blackshaw, 1989; Rice & Harris, 2003). Additionally, the literature is mixed regarding which elements of supervision for individuals convicted of a sex offense contribute to lower sexual recidivism (Aos, Miller, & Drake, 2006; Aytes, Olsen, Zakrajsek, Murry, & Ireson, 2001; Buttars, Huss, & Brack, 2016; McGrath, Cumming, Hoke, & Bonn-Miller, …

Relationship Between Socioeconomic Status And High School Dropout Retention Plans, Nicholas Sciancalepore

Theses and Dissertations

Different areas in the United States have varying levels of economic hardships. The United States Department of Education states that 4.7% of ninth graders in low socioeconomic areas drop out of school. This means that they may not receive an education strong enough to get a job that can sustain them. We aimed to find out which schools have lower dropout rates as compared to the average we can focus on what these schools are doing correctly as compared to ones where the dropout rate is higher. This study looks at data compiled from 57 schools that teach at least …

Prevalence Of Substance Use In High School Students From The United States, Kelsey E. Damato

Theses and Dissertations

Substance use and abuse have become a rising epidemic all around the United States. Using the data of the 2013 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), this study examined the prevalence of substance use in high school students in the United States. This study hoped to find answers to three questions: 1) Are there gender differences in substance use among high school students in the United States? 2) Are there grade level differences in the substance use? And 3) Are there race differences in substance use? Data for the study included responses from 13,583 students on the 2013 YRBS that were …

Does Lyrical Music Affect Cognitive Performance?, Andrew Stone

Undergraduate Psychology Research Methods Journal

Many students listen to music while studying or doing homework, and many are looking for ways to maximize this time. Students at Lindenwood University in St. Charles, MO were asked to take two different basic math tests. One was taken with normal, lyrical songs playing in the background. The other was taken with the instrumental versions of these same songs playing in the background. I hypothesized that students would take longer to complete the test with the lyrical music in the background than with the instrumental music playing. The results showed no significant difference in the completion times between those …