Psychology Commons^™

Within-Session Progressive Gestural-Prompt Delay To Teach Receptive Identification, Breanne Stiemsma

Honors Theses

Receptive identification skills are important for any child to learn. Without these skills, various aspects of development can become impaired. There are many ways to teach receptive identification. This project pulled ideas from previous studies on within-session progressive gestural-prompt delays as well as the different methods of teaching receptive identification skills, simple-conditional method and the condition-only method. The student was not acquiring receptive identification skills with the traditional methods used in the classroom. Within-session progressive gestural-prompt delay was used in this project to teach receptive identification of objects. An AB single-subject design was used in this project. The student responded …

Explicit Programming For Icon Rings: Visual-Based Discrimination, Samantha Borowski

Honors Theses

Instructional icons are helpful as basic direction following is the basis for complex skills needed later in life. These instructions should have a good training so that children can get the basic skills and can move on to the complex skills. The goal of the project was to increase the correct responses to instructional icons. Visuals are a good tool for learning because it attaches a picture with the event that is happening or will happen. Children with autism sometimes struggle when they are introduced to a new environment so having a system in place to help make instruction following …

Using Video Modeling To Teach Functional Direction Following, Breanna Burns

Honors Theses

Many children with developmental disabilities have a hard time learning skills, such as following directions, in a small group setting. Video modeling has been shown as an effective way to teach certain skills to children with autism and other developmental disabilities (Nikopoulos & Keenan, 2004; Wu, Cannella-malone, Wheaton et al, 2016). Little research has been done on using video modeling to teach functional directions. Generalizing direction following skills to appropriate contexts is important for children to be successful in the many environments they encounter in a typical school setting. The purpose of this project was to teach functional direction following …

Increasing Vocalization And Echoic Stimulus Control, Logan Wurster

Honors Theses

Deficits in verbal behavior can be harmful to children’s growth and development of other crucial skills and can also increase problem behavior (Eldevik, Eikeseth, Jahr, & Smith, 2006; Charman, Magiati, & Howlin, 2007; Cividini-Motta, 2014). Results from previous research show that vocal imitation training, stimulus-stimulus pairing, rapid motor imitation, and mand-model approaches have been successful in teaching echoic behavior. However, there is little evidence to show that these methods are successful for children who are making little to no verbal responses. (Carroll & Klatts, 2008; Bennett & Yoon, 2000; Greer & Ross, 2003; & Hawkins & Schuster, 2007). The purpose …

Teaching Two Children Diagnosed With Autism To Tolerate Physical Contact, Kelsey Webster

Honors Theses

It was hypothesized that the fading in of a prompt hierarchy coinciding with the delivery of tangibles, edibles, and attention or praise reinforcers would decrease problem behavior and noncompliance in two male children with autism who displayed problem behavior and resistance while being physically prompted. A single-subject research design was used to present the prompt hierarchy across various conditions in a school setting. Both participants initially engaged in problem behavior on 100% of the trials but quickly reduced in intensity of problem behaviors by the end of the intervention. There is no current research conducted on how to decrease problem …

Teaching Imitation To Children With Autism Using Most-To-Least Prompt Fading In Front Of A Mirror, Giulia Avelar

Honors Theses

Children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder have difficulty acquiring imitative skills, which may serve as an important factor in developing social skills and language (Miller et al., 2015; Ledford & Wolery, 2010; Young et al., 1994). Research has shown that most-to-least prompting is most effective for children who do not learn quickly (Libby et al., 2008). The goal of this study was to discover whether the presence of a mirror affected the rate of acquisition of imitative behaviors compared to a no-mirror condition, using most-to-least within-session prompt fading. This study used a multiple baseline design across sets of behaviors. Sets …

Toilet-Training A Child With Autism In A School Setting, Kristianna Ferrier

Honors Theses

Children with autism and developmental disabilities typically take longer to learn skills. Specific training that requires more repetition to obtain mastery should be used to teach specific tasks (MacDuff, Kratz, & McClannahan, 2001). Toilet training is no exception and must be directly taught to children with Autism. Toilet training is a fundamental skill for independent living and greatly reduces the work load of care givers (Chung, 2007). The child in this study was chosen based on a toilet training readiness checklist. The present study is a combination of the scheduled sitting protocol by Azrin and Foxx (1971) with the omission …

Increasing Shared Attention In Children With Developmental Delays, Shelby Esman

Honors Theses

Joint attention behaviors may be essential to the development of language and social interaction skills (Whalen and Schreibman, 2003). Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often lack these behaviors which may explain the difficulty many of them have communicating appropriately with others (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Previous research has shown that prompting procedures and social reinforcement have been successful in teaching children with ASD to shift their eye gaze between an adult and the object of interest when prompted to do so (Taylor and Hoch, 2008). This present study set out to create and test a procedure designed to teach …

Repeat After Me: Dance Program Evaluation For The Friendship Circle, Michelle Sire

Honors Projects

Approximately 1 in 6 children in the United States are diagnosed with one or more developmental disabilities or delays (Boyle et al., 2011). Although the number of therapeutic approaches for children with developmental disabilities has increased, no single treatment or combination of treatments is effective in relieving symptoms for all individuals (Scharoun, Reinders, Bryden & Fletcher, 2014). Therefore, there is a need to continue to explore alternative therapeutic methods. Research over the past twenty years has found dance/movement therapy (DMT) to be an effective form of treatment for children with special needs, specifically in terms of functioning and well-being. However, …

The Effect Of Routine Adult Phq-2 Depression Screen And Scheduled Follow-Up Protocol In The Primary Care Setting, Alex F. Bikowski

Evidence-Based Practice Project Reports

Healthy People has projected depression to be the primary cause of disability by 2020; therefore routine depression screening has been prioritized as a national healthcare initiative. The purpose of this Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) project is to demonstrate that routine implementation of the 2-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-2) depression screener, along with a scheduled follow-up protocol for adults in the primary care setting, can improve current mental health practices regarding the identification of depression by clinicians. The evidence supports use of the PHQ-2 for routine adult depression screening, as long as a scheduled follow-up protocol is available for positive screens. This …

The Friend Zone: An In/Inite Place Where Nothing Good Happens: A Comprehensive Study Of Friend Zoning Across Varying Genders And Sexual Orientations, Lillian Harrington, Allison Butler, Mariel Boyle, Taylor Goodman, Shai Katz, Morgan Cinnamo, Ann M. Merriwether, Sean Massey

Research Days Posters 2016-2019

"“Friend zone” is a popular culture term used to describe a friendship where one member in a friend dyad desires a romantic or sexual relationship and the other member does not. Sexual Script Theory (Simon & Gagnon, 2003) and Sexual Strategies Theory (Buss & Schmidt, 1993) suggest that individuals will typically view the friend zone as a Qield dominated by female-to-male interactions, given sexual scripts on women as gatekeepers and men as being more active in initiating relationships. It may be expected then that men and women and individuals who are not exclusively heterosexual may then follow different scripts for …

Standardized Effect Sizes For Moderated Conditional Fixed Effects With Continuous Moderator Variables, Todd Bodner

Psychology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Wilkinson and Task Force on Statistical Inference (1999) recommended that researchers include information on the practical magnitude of effects (e.g., using standardized effect sizes) to distinguish between the statistical and practical significance of research results. To date, however, researchers have not widely incorporated this recommendation into the interpretation and communication of the conditional effects and differences in conditional effects underlying statistical interactions involving a continuous moderator variable where at least one of the involved variables has an arbitrary metric. This article presents a descriptive approach to investigate two-way statistical interactions involving continuous moderator variables where the conditional effects underlying these …

Culture Of Gentleness: A Behavioral Approach, Stevie Parcell

Honors Theses

The purpose of this paper is to explain the fundamentals of an ideological framework for caregivers providing services to people with disabilities called a Culture of Gentleness. The material is traditionally taught within the two-day Working with People training, and the efforts to spread this theory is headed by the Center for Positive Living Supports located in Clinton Township, Michigan. The material is then analyzed through a behavior analytic perspective. Each segment of the initial training will be discussed through both a Culture of Gentleness and behavioral perspective, rooted in Applied Behavior Analysis. Although established in the practice of Positive …

The Lives And Lessons Of Nova Scotian Nonagerians And Centenarians, Susie Shepardson, Ayaka Hasegawa, Chris Cushman, Maryann Adesoba

SSIR Presentations 2017

Capstone presentation for the University of Richmond SSIR (Sophomore Scholars in Residence) Program.

The Lives And Lessons Of Richmond Nonagerians And Centenarians, Jieyi Ding, Grace Holzer, Caitlin Livesey, Haley Neuenfeldt

SSIR Presentations 2017

Capstone presentation for the University of Richmond SSIR (Sophomore Scholars in Residence) Program.

What’S The Secret To Longevity?, Hannah Wolfe, Chris Selwood, Sara Cloonan

SSIR Presentations 2017

Capstone presentation for the University of Richmond SSIR (Sophomore Scholars in Residence) Program.

The Effectiveness Of Music Therapy To Reduce Agitation Among Persons With Alzheimer’S Disease, Caroline Mazon

Honors Theses

According to the Alzheimer’s Association (2016), Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is diagnosed every 66 seconds resulting in this disease being the 6^th leading cause of death in the United States. Among other signs and symptoms, agitation is one of the most challenging symptoms that patients and caregivers must try to control using nonpharmacological therapies or prescribed pharmacological treatments. Among many professions, music therapy has been used to specifically lower the levels of agitation in AD patients. Live music, “sing a long’s”, using instruments, and listening to a song of the patients’ choice have all been shown to reduce agitation behaviors …

Teaching A Scanning Response To A Child With Autism, Katherine Burnham

Honors Theses

Children with autism have been known to exhibit abnormal scanning responses, or lack them entirely, as shown by the results of various studies (Sasson et al., 2008; Landry & Bryson, 2004). Studies have indicated that scanning may be a behavioral cusp and the lack of a normal scanning response in children with autism may be inhibiting the acquisition of many other subsequent skills (Bosch & Fuqua, 2001). By implementing an intervention to teach the scanning response, it was hypothesized that our participants would develop the prerequisite scanning skill, and therefore performance on a matching-to-sample procedure would improve. Through a basic …

The Phenomenon Of Teacher Burnout: Mitigating Its Influence On New Teachers, Kaila Sanford

Scholarly and Creative Works Conference (2015 - 2021)

Burnout is a psychological condition with physical, emotional, and mental dimensions. Burnout often includes feelings of exhaustion, long-term fatigue, negative self-concept, despair or hopelessness, frustration, and a lack of productivity at work.

Teacher burnout is a well-known and researched field. It has been documented in the literature that teachers experience high levels of stress and emotional exhaustion, which leads to high levels of burnout and professional attrition. This study examined the incidence of burnout in new elementary school teachers and makes recommendations for changes to organizational structure that may reduce professional burnout.

For the purpose of this study five new …

Lacuna: Transcendence Of The Human Body Through The Space Between, Anica Bottom

Scholarly and Creative Works Conference (2015 - 2021)

Examination of humans as dancers interaction with our surrounding environment. Performance and experimental movement improvisation clips shown.

Are There Too Many Fish In The Sea?, Monica Fink

Scholarly and Creative Works Conference (2015 - 2021)

Poster presentation in Psychology.

The Effects Of Gender, Age, And Duration On Motivations To Exercise, Kimberly Murrietta

Scholarly and Creative Works Conference (2015 - 2021)

There are a variety of factors that motivate people to engage in physical exercise. The Self-Determination Theory identifies and categorizes the main reasons that people usually give when asked to explain why they exercise (Markland et al., 2014). Some of these factors are experienced as autonomous, meaning that people are independently driven to exercise. Other factors are controlled forms of motivation, causing people to exercise with the means of attaining some sort of outcome other than internal satisfaction. In order to measure and compare the extent to which individuals are motivated to exercise, this study required participants to fill out …

Is It Cheating?: Examining Parenting Styles And Attitudes Towards Infidelity, Ica Cabral

Scholarly and Creative Works Conference (2015 - 2021)

As one enters adolescence and emerging adulthood, the attitudes and identity formed by our earliest relationships come to the forefront. During this developmental stage, the attitudes and beliefs that we have internalized based on the relationships we observed in our early life may contribute to the health of a relationship. Successful maintenance of a monogamous relationship may be impacted by the behaviors and attitudes we have internalized from our earliest relationships.

Attitudes toward infidelity may be one such inheritance from our caregivers. Past studies suggest that attitudes toward infidelity are linked to both intentions to cheat, and cheating behaviors (Jackman, …

Examining The Relationship Between Hawaiian Cultural Practices And Moral Development, Christina Rezentes

Scholarly and Creative Works Conference (2015 - 2021)

Both cultural engagement and moral development are essential elements of human development. Moral development plays a key role in human development because it is how a person learns the rules within a community, starting with self and family, and then extending to a larger society. Our exposure to morality begins with our interactions with our family and culture of origin. Cultural engagement, for the purposes of this study, I have defined as “active participation in the cultural practices of, identification with, and loyalty to, the indigenous society of one’s birth or adopted homeland.” Cultural engagement has been found to be …

The Influence Of Advertising On College Students' Alcohol Consumption, Kathryn Wisniewski

Scholarly and Creative Works Conference (2015 - 2021)

No abstract provided.

Trauma, Resilience, And Alcohol Use Among College Students, Katherine Elizabeth Davis

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

Sex Differences In Mood Effects On Stigma In Mental Illness, Chelsea Campbell, Kristpher Nichols

Undergraduate Research Conference

This research confirmed that the arousal levels of the stimuli led to an effect on participants’ stigma scores. Future research should aim to sample a more demographically diverse population from multiple locations or institutions. Future research may also benefit by examining how religious affiliation and experience with mental illness affects stigma scores.

Cosmetic Beauty: The Intrinsic And Extrinsic Motivators, Laura Kathleen Morrow

Siegel Institute Ethics Research Scholars

I used a mixed-methods research study for this experiment. I wanted to see if women perceived makeup as a type of value system that reflects on their self-confidence. Previous research has had mixed results and I wanted to do a study with a bigger sample size. I used both qualitative and quantitative methods for data collection. I used a closed-ended survey that asked twenty-three questions and used two personality scales at the end of the survey. In addition, I interviewed radio talk-show host Davi Crimmins from The Bert Show. I asked her seven open-ended questions about her personal experience of …

The Impact Of A Mentoring Program On Adolescent Girls’ Self-Esteem, Natalie C. Flanders

Georgia College Student Research Events

Adolescents in the modern world often find themselves facing pressures and influences from family, friends and society. Influences such as advertisement and media are readily available through social media and internet. Girls are especially vulnerable to the pressure in maintaining an ideal body image due to stereotypical female images being portrait as beautiful and attractive. It often results in girl’s preoccupation with beauty and peers’ perceptions, along with other risky behaviors (Galeotti, 2015). Past research found support through a mentoring relationship can have profound impacts on adolescents social-emotional, cognitive, and identity development (Schwartz, Lowe, & Rhodes, 2012). Youth mentoring is …

The Flaws Of Deterrence Theory, Hunter Oneal Cooley

Georgia College Student Research Events

In my paper, I discuss the means of the deterrence theory, and argue against its original intent and how in my views it is a failed and flawed theory. I discuss the notion of inherent “evil” in people, and how that the deterrence theory cannot simply go against and correct something that I argue is inherent in humans. I discuss the inherent trait to commit crime, or simply the evil nature that can lead to crime that I think is inherent in people. I give reasons for the failure and the flaws of the theory, I use one prime example …