Psychology Commons^™

Social Neuroscience, Catherine Norris

Psychology Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

Attitude Importance And Attitude-Relevant Knowledge: Motivator And Enabler, P. S. Visser, J. A. Krosnick, Catherine Norris

Psychology Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

A Retrospective Illustrative Case Study On The Barriers Facing First Generation College Students And How A Targeted Program Ameliorates These Barriers, Samuel Kosydar

International Journal of Undergraduate Community Engagement

First generation college students face a particularly unique set of challenges navigating the college pathway to success. Financial concerns aside, lack of awareness of campus resources and stigmatization that can also be dependent upon race and gender may impede academic performance and impose additional stressors. In a retrospective illustrative case study, barriers facing first generation college students are examined from the vantage point of a community based first generation college scholarship program designed to recruit and retain these students at a private university. Observational and census data are used as analysis. While many such barriers are ameliorated at least in …

Ptsd, Alcohol Dependence, And Conduct Problems: Distinct Pathways Via Lability And Disinhibition, Jeffrey S. Simons, Raluca M. Simons, Carol O'Brien, Scott F. Stoltenberg, Jessica A. Keith, Jaime A. Hudson

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

This study tested the role of affect lability and disinhibition in mediating associations between PTSD symptoms and two forms of alcohol-related problems, dependence syndrome symptoms (e.g., impaired control over consumption) and conduct problems (e.g., assault, risk behaviors). Genotype at the serotonin transporter linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR) was hypothesized to moderate associations between traumatic stress and PTSD symptoms. In addition, the study tested whether childhood traumatic stress moderated associations between combat trauma and PTSD symptoms. Participants were 270 OIF/OEF/OND veterans. The hypothesized model was largely supported. Participants with the low expression alleles of 5-HTTLPR (S or L_G) exhibited stronger …

Impact Of Child Sexual Abuse On Non-Abused Siblings: A Review With Implications For Research And Practice, Alayna Schreier, Jessica K. Pogue, David J. Hansen

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Research has widely supported the numerous negative outcomes for victims of child sexual abuse (CSA), but little attention has been paid to the experiences of non-abused, non-offending siblings following the victim's disclosure. This review presents evidence indicating that this overlooked sibling population merits both clinical and research attention. Siblings may experience significant emotional and behavioral responses to the victim's disclosure due to changes within the family system. A sibling's internalizing and externalizing behaviors can increase family distress post-abuse, while a supportive sibling can contribute to the victim's recovery. The current state of clinical services for siblings is described. Services including …

Evaluation Of Visual-Evoked Cerebral Metabolic Rate Of Oxygen As A Diagnostic Marker In Multiple Sclerosis, Nicholas A. Hubbard, Yoel Sanchez Araujo, Camila Caballero, Minhui Ouyang, Monroe P. Turner, Lyndahl Himes, Shawheen Faghihahmadabadi, Binu P. Thomas, John Hart Jr., Hao Huang, Darin T. Okuda, Bart Rypma

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

A multiple sclerosis (MS) diagnosis often relies upon clinical presentation and qualitative analysis of standard, magnetic resonance brain images. However, the accuracy of MS diagnoses can be improved by utilizing advanced brain imaging methods.We assessed the accuracy of a new neuroimaging marker, visual-evoked cerebral metabolic rate of oxygen (veCMRO2), in classifying MS patients and closely age- and sex-matched healthy control (HC) participants. MS patients and HCs underwent calibrated functional magnetic resonance imaging (cfMRI) during a visual stimulation task, diffusion tensor imaging, T1- and T2-weighted imaging, neuropsychological testing, and completed self-report questionnaires. Using resampling techniques to avoid bias and increase the …

Ethical Issues And Attitudes Towards Euthanasia, Christa A. Mastro, Susan E. Mason

Modern Psychological Studies

Case studies describing end-of-life scenarios were used to assess college students’ attitudes toward euthanasia. Students used a five-point rating scale to judge if a case was ethical. Major field of study and religious conviction did not prove to be significant factors. The age of the person described in a scenario did influence ethics ratings, but not in the hypothesized direction. Euthanasia was judged to be more ethical in situations involving younger adults than in situations involving older adults.

The Third Tier In Treatment: Attending To The Growing Connection Between Gut Health And Emotional Well-Being, Joseph Verdino

Publications and Research

The microbial environment of the human gut has powerful influence on immunity, metabolism, and obesity. There is now emerging evidence that the microbiome of our gastrointestinal system may also be a key factor impacting our emotional and behavioral health. The purpose of this article is to elucidate how this emerging area of science can further educate and encourage mental health professionals to explore an additional means to treatment. Since much of this research is found in the biological and neuroscientific literature, it can be quite cumbersome for clinicians to digest and apply, who would critically benefit from a concise discussion …

Comparing Sexual Cognition And Risk By Gender, Jacquelynne Dauk

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The ways in which sexuality is perceived among members of society has substantial effects in regards to overall health and well-being. The current study investigates not only the nature of sexual cognition but also the differences in cognition in regards to participant genders. More specifically, this study seeks to investigate the differences in sexual attitudes and thoughts among different genders that may lead to different forms of sexual risk. In order to identify these differences, societal influences such as social roles, parenting styles, and sexual education are all examined in regards to gender. Factors such as age and demographics were …

A Survey Of Rewards For Teens: Extension, Replication, And 25-Year Follow-Up, Hunter King

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Changes in our immediate environment--as well as our virtual--have great potential to decrease the reinforcing effects of stimuli once identified as potent and reliable in past generations. Extant reinforcement surveys and item preferences assessments alike have shown to be a reliable mode of ascertaining potent reinforcers for various populations; however, many are outdated and may comprise of items or rewards that contemporary populations may not value. Considering the substantial environmental changes that have occurred over recent decades, in tandem with the availability of outdated reward surveys, efforts should be directed towards obtaining empirical evidence demonstrating that contemporary adolescents hold different …

Individual Differences As Predictors Of Success For Learning Community Students, Nicole Haffield

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Learning communities have been receiving attention by the higher education community in recent years (Cross, 1998; Smith, 2001; Stassen 2003). The attention around learning communities seems to largely be centered around their apparent wide-ranging benefits for student outcomes, including improved student retention, achievement and engagement. This research focuses on which types of students may be most successful in learning community programs in a college setting. Specifically, we wanted to understand if and how the Hogan Personality Inventory, and other motivational factors predict learning community student outcomes such as GPA, retention, and program engagement. None of the original hypotheses were supported. …

The Effect Of Clinician Competence And Religiosity On The Trainee Clinician’S Ability To Identify Problematic Sexual Behavior, Cody Butcher

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Models in psychology do not consider the concept of sex addiction the same way as other substance or behavior addictions. For example, sex addiction, which is not a DSM-5 disorder, is often assigned as a label to clients based off of high frequency of sexual behavior. Despite sex addiction not being a diagnosable disorder, sex addiction therapists are conducting treatment with people who identify as sex addicts. Due to this lack of a definition, previous research has found that clinicians may identify sex addiction in clients based on their own preconceived worldviews of what types of sexual behaviors or frequencies …

Evaluating A Measure Of Student Effectiveness In An Undergraduate Psychology Program, Colin Omori

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This study evaluates the utility of a measure of student knowledge in various areas of psychology. The 40-item measure is a revision of a pilot test from last year, and was distributed to 90 undergraduate psychology students at a Midwestern university. The average score on the assessment was 19.87 (SD = 6.20), or 49.68%. Future directions for the assessment include validation by professors, leading to the revision and removal of items. An additional suggestion is increased enforcement in regard to student participation: The study's 90-student sample was obtained after omitting 173 students who did not finish the exam, did not …

The Role Of Accounts And Apologies In Mitigating Blame Toward Human And Machine Agents, Kimberly Stowers

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Would you trust a machine to make life-or-death decisions about your health and safety? Machines today are capable of achieving much more than they could 30 years ago—and the same will be said for machines that exist 30 years from now. The rise of intelligence in machines has resulted in humans entrusting them with ever-increasing responsibility. With this has arisen the question of whether machines should be given equal responsibility to humans—or if humans will ever perceive machines as being accountable for such responsibility. For example, if an intelligent machine accidentally harms a person, should it be blamed for its …

Finding Signatures Of Linguistic Reasoning, Jill De Villiers

Philosophy: Faculty Publications

Hinzen lays out the platform of un-Cartesian linguistics, and the ramifications threaten widespread beliefs about the relations between language and thought. The theoretical story is compelling but my commentary will address my con- cerns as a laborer in research.

What Do Parks Got To Do With It?: An Ethnographic Analysis On If Urban Parks Foster Human Connection, And If So, How?, Noelle Celeste Leczel

Whittier Scholars Program

Through multiple courses in ethnography, built environments, urbanism, and social structures, with the addition of various internships revolving around local government and nature- like public spaces, I have brought myself to research urban parks and if these green spaces truly do foster human interaction. My research has encompassed thorough research, participatory observation, interviews, and personal funding to acquire the information needed to complete this ethnographic study. The research I used most heavily were multiple scholarly articles that were urban park specific, such as a research studies revolving around multiple ethnic groups and how they use the space, how dogs being …

Cognitive And Emotional Processes Involved In The Experience Of Objects As Holy Or Transcendent, Lotte J. Pummerer

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

In recent years, attitudes about religion/spirituality have become more pluralistic (Pew Research Center, 2015a). At the same time, the number of individuals who identify themselves as nonreligious, atheist or agnostic are growing (Pew Research Center, 2015b), yet we are lacking words and research to describe their attributions of transcendence in language not bound to religious concepts. This study aims at examining both concepts – holiness and transcendence – in their similarities and differences through assessing cognitive and emotional processes involved in experiences of objects.

The study consisted of two parts with a total of 206 Christian and 52 nonreligious/atheistic/agnostic participants. …

The Influence Of Coach Leadership Behavior And Authenticity On Burnout Among Collegiate Athletes, William Ryan

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if coach authenticity and leadership behavior can influence burnout in collegiate athletes. By using congruency rooted in the multi-dimensional model of leadership and the leadership scale for sport, a mediating variable of authenticity, and a criterion variable of burnout, it was hypothesized that coach authenticity and congruence in the coach-athlete dyad, will influence rates of burnout evidenced by their ability to account for a significant proportion of the variance associated with burnout. The data analysis used in this study was a meditational analysis, which examined how coach-authenticity and congruency predict athlete burnout.

Examining Anxiety Schemas Through The Context Of A Stress-Intrapersonal Model, Kayla M. Leleux-Labarge

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Explicating vulnerability factors to anxiety difficulties is important as the National Comorbidity Study (NCS) lists anxiety as the most common and costly class of mental health disorders in the United States. Maladaptive schemas, as theorized by Young (1990), perpetuate anxiety pathology by hindering the individual’s ability to alter behaviors, thoughts, emotions, and overall approach to adverse events. Previous research indicates that intrapersonal resources can stymie the development of psychopathological features, even in the context of adverse life events (Floyd, Seltzer, Greenberg, & Song, 2013). The main purpose of the current study was to explore the relationship among adverse life events …

Connecting Emotions To Behavioral Outcomes, Whitney L. Spears

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

The field of positive psychology has emerged within the last decade and focuses on investigating happiness and what constitutes a satisfying life (Seligman, 2011; Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000). One of the main purposes of positive psychology is to identify resources that can be used to promote psychologically beneficial outcomes (Fredrickson, 2001). Two positive psychological outcomes that can build resources to overcome negative circumstances and lead to a fulfilling life are resilience and well-being. A theory proposed by Fredrickson (1998) that offers a process by which individuals can enhance well-being and resilience is the broaden-and-build theory. Through this theory, it is …

The Effect Of Loving-Kindness Meditation On Physiological And Psychological Reactions To Violent Stimuli, Joseph A. Garcia

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

In the past, meditation research has focused primarily on mindfulness meditation, but little research has examined Loving-Kindness Meditation (LKM). LKM may be an important addition to treatment or preventative programs for people at risk of exposure to violence or aggression in their lives or work. The current research aims to add to the currently growing body of literature concerning LKM and compassion based meditation practices. The researchers sought to determine if a 12-week course in LKM would have any effect on galvanic skin response (GSR) and heart rate in beats per minute (BPM) during the presentation of a video containing …

Exploring Job Satisfaction And Preceptorship Capacity Among Applied Epidemiologists, Jessica C. Arrazola

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Job satisfaction is important to consider when developing strategies for recruitment and retention. The Public Health Workforce Interests and Needs Survey (PH WINS) conducted in 2014 was the first nationally representative assessment of the state public health workforce. Prior to this assessment, the job satisfaction of state agency public health workers and preceptor capacity had not been measured. This study fills the current research gaps by studying the job satisfaction among the applied epidemiology workforce, identifying factors influencing job satisfaction, and the describing the preceptorship capacity among epidemiologists. This research is based on the 2014 PH WINS data. The analysis …

Dual Task Testing Of The Adaptive Combination View In Spatial Reorientation, Donald G. Sullens

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

If an organism is trained to approach a location within an enclosure the organism will approach the correct location and it’s geometrically identical location within the environment upon removal of any features. This phenomenon has been turned spatial reorientation, and further studies on how, and to what, organisms reorient have conducted in the last several decades. In the reorientation literature, two theories have surfaced to fill the void left by the rejection of the initial reorientation theory, the Geometric Module theory. I attempt look to discern if the synonym judgement dual task will hinder reorientation in a similar or different …

Focused Attention Vs. Open Monitoring: An Event-Related Potential Study Of Emotion Regulation By Two Distinct Forms Of Mindfulness Meditation, Tarah L. Raldiris

Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated the effects of two novel forms of 8-week mindfulness meditation training, focused attention (FA) and open monitoring (OM), relative to an established training, mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT), on early emotional reactivity to negative emotional images as assessed by electroencephalography (EEG). Data on the late-positive potential (LPP) were analyzed to address whether the three mindfulness interventions attenuated the LPP from pre- to post-intervention, and if significant differences existed between groups in LPP at post-intervention. Rather than an attenuation, results indicated an average increase in LPP amplitude from pre- to post-intervention. No significant differences were found in the LPP …

Effects Of Cumulative Risk On Asthma Outcomes In Urban Children And Adolescents, Samantha A. Miadich

Theses and Dissertations

Pediatric asthma disproportionately affects racial/ethnic minority children and children living in low-income, urban areas. Many families living in low-income, urban areas experience a number of stressors that can place children/adolescents at risk for worse asthma outcomes. This study examined the impact of a cumulative risk model of stressors (e.g., ED visits, quick-relief medication use, lung function, asthma control, QOL) in urban children (7-12 years) with persistent asthma. This study further aimed to examine both the original cumulative risk model and an adolescent-specific cumulative risk model as predictors of asthma outcomes in a sample of 60 adolescents (13-17 years). Asthma-related caregiver …

Longitudinal Bidirectional Relations Between Subtypes Of Anxiety And Callous-Unemotional Traits In Early- To Mid-Adolescence, Stephanie A. Hitti

Theses and Dissertations

Callous-Unemotional (CU) traits are characterized by limited empathy, lack of guilt or remorse, and callous use of others. They are a risk factor for adult psychopathy, especially when comorbid with conduct problems. Thus, efforts to identify risk factors and consequences of CU traits have been prominent. One construct that may act as both a risk factor for and consequence of CU traits among youth is anxiety. While the most consistent finding is in this literature is a negative relation between CU traits and anxiety, findings have been mixed. The present study examined bidirectional relations between three subtypes of anxiety (i.e. …

The Influence Of Family Composition On Adolescent Problem Behavior: The Moderating Roles Of Gender And Adult Support, Jasmine Coleman

Theses and Dissertations

There is convincing support for the link between family composition and adolescents’ problem behaviors. What is less clear is the extent to which these relations exist for African-American adolescents. Previous studies have demonstrated that this relation varies by gender. However, there is limited evidence to suggest the potential moderating influence of adult support. The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of family composition on adolescents’ physical aggression, delinquency, and substance use. The study comes from secondary analyses of a larger study that evaluated the effectiveness of a violence prevention program. The current study included 1,116 African-American middle …

Integrating Genetics And Neuroimaging To Study Subtypes Of Binge Drinkers, Megan E. Cooke

Theses and Dissertations

Risky alcohol use is a major health concern among college students, with 40.1% reporting binge drinking (5 or more drinks in one occasion) and 14.4% reporting heavy drinking (binge drinking on 5 or more occasions) in the past month. Risky alcohol use is thought to be the result of a complex interplay between genes, biological processes, and other phenotypic characteristics. Understanding this complex relationship is further complicated by known phenotypic heterogeneity in the development of alcohol use. Developmental studies have suggested two pathways to risky alcohol use, characterized by externalizing and internalizing characteristics, respectively. However, the underlying biological processes that …

Examining Preference Of Home-Based Telemental Health Among Rural Veterans, Paige Dixon

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Rural veterans face significant disparities to health care that have resulted in lower physical and mental health related quality of life when compared to their urban counterparts (Weeks et al., 2006). Such disparities are further complicated by the six-fold increase in prevalence of mental health diagnoses among Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom veterans (Seal et al., 2009). These rising rates are particularly relevant to rural veterans as they represent 41% of the overall Veteran Health Administration enrollees, but only 19% of the general population (U.S., Department of Veterans Affairs, 2012; U.S. Census Bureau, 2014). Rural veterans face three …

The Effect Of Social Influence On Perception Of Tornado Warnings, Jason A. Parker

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Tornado activity annually results in many deaths throughout the U.S. As a result, the emergency alert system (including tornado warnings) has made considerable advancements throughout the past few decades. However, continued improvements could be made to warning content that aid to facilitate adaptive decision-making by increasing individuals’ motivation to respond. One method that could increase adaptive responses to warnings is by including the modality of descriptive social information within the warning. Research suggests that normative social influence acts as a powerful motivator for individuals to conform toward the witnessed or perceived behaviors of others. The current study examined the impact …