Psychology Commons^™

Athlete Alcohol Use And Alcohol-Related Consequences: The Role Of Drinking Motives, Michelle Pitts

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Intercollegiate athlete alcohol use, particularly in softball athletes, is higher compared to nonathletes and they experience greater alcohol-related consequences. Motivation to drink alcohol is a strong predictor of alcohol use and alcohol-related problems in college students, including collegiate athletes. Drinking motives are reasons why people consume alcohol, including reasons that are specific to the context of athletics. Two dimensions underlie drinking motives: positively or negatively reinforcing motives and internal or external motives (Cox & Klinger, 1988). In this study the influence of sport-related and general drinking motives on alcohol use and negative alcohol-related consequences was examined in 721 collegiate softball …

Association Between Psychosocial Risk Factors And Quality Of Work Life In Air Traffic Controllers At An Ecuador Airport, Luis E. Sarabia-López, Cecilia Colunga-Rodríguez, Alfonso Mercado, Manuel Pando-Moreno, María De Lourdes Preciado-Serrano, José Luis Calderón-Mafud, Guido Germán Albán Pérez, Marco Marcelo León-Navarrete, Dorila Victoria Sarabia-Cruz

Psychological Science Faculty Publications

The aim of this research was to determine the association between psychosocial factors and Quality of Work Life (QWL) in air traffic controllers at an Ecuador airport. A transversal study was developed. The sample included 47 air traffic controllers of one airport in Quito, Ecuador. The participants answered an adapted version of the surveys “Factores Psicosociales en el Trabajo” (Psychosocial factors at work) and the “Calidad de vida en el trabajo” (Quality of work life) CVT-GOHISALO. The data analysis included descriptive statistics, Z scores and, association tests with chi-square and Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient. The mean age was 40 years …

During The Wait: A Phenomenological Study On Denied Social Security Dissability Applicants Awaiting Appeal, Stefanie A. Ford

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the present study is to investigate the essence of the experience of individuals who were denied Social Security Disability benefits and who sought the appeals process. In the first round, five semi-structured face-to-face interviews allow the participants to share their thoughts, feelings, and actions taken and, if any, what life changes occurred during the appeals process. Data analysis using phenomenological methods create textural-structural descriptions from which, in a second interview, applicants choose to confirm, edit, or add to their analyzed interviews. The findings present as seven major themes that describes the phenomenon. They are: (a) procedural unfairness …

An Experimental Comparison Of Two Machine Learning Approaches For Emotion Classification, Wangchuchu Zhao, Keng Siau

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Correctly identifying an emotion has always been challenging for humans, not to mention machines! In this research, we use machine learning to classify human emotion. Emotional differences between genders are well documented in fields like psychology. We hypothesize that genders will impact the accuracy of classifying emotion with machine learning. Two different machine learning approaches were tested in an experimental study. In one approach, emotions from both genders were used to train the machine. In another approach, the genders were separated and two separate machines were used to learn the emotions of the two genders. Our preliminary results show that …

From Efficacy To Effectiveness To Broad Implementation: Evolution Of The Body Project, Carolyn Becker, Eric Stice

Psychology Faculty Research

Objective: At the turn of the millennium, eating disorders (EDs) prevention was largely nonexistent. No program had reduced future onset of EDs in even a single trial, and most had not reduced ED symptoms. Sixteen years later, the ED prevention field has translated basic risk factor research into interventions, with demonstrated efficacy and effectiveness in reducing ED risk factors and symptoms, as well as future ED onset in some trials. This article reviews the aforementioned progress focusing on a model intervention (i.e., the Body Project [BP]).

Method: The article is a qualitative review of the existing BP literature.

Results: Although …

Developmental Trajectories Of Executive And Verbal Processes In Children With Phenylketonuria, Zoe Hawks

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Phenylketonuria (PKU) is a recessive disorder characterized by disruption in the metabolism of the amino acid phenylalanine. Using a verbal fluency task, previous studies demonstrated that word production is reduced in individuals with PKU relative to controls. Beyond word production, verbal fluency output can be scored for clustering and switching, which enable characterization of verbal and executive processes, respectively. The present study is the first to evaluate clustering and switching in PKU within a longitudinal design, thereby elucidating the developmental time course of core cognitive processes. To this end, semantic (animals, food/drink) and phonemic (S words, F words) fluency data …

Examination Of The Effects Of Computer Assisted Mindfulness Strategies With Adolescents In An Alternative High School Setting, Justin A. Moore

Dissertations

Based on growing evidence that suggests mindfulness practices may improve psychological functioning, recent decades have seen a surge in mindfulness interventions and the use of technology as a means for teaching them. The primary purpose of this study was to examine the effects of four weeks of (twice weekly) training sessions using two computer-based strategies for teaching mindfulness-related skills to adolescents. The strategies included Breath Counting Training (BCT; Levinson et al., 2014) and Self-Compassion Training (SCT; Weng et al., 2013; Alberston, Neff, and Dill-Shackleford, 2014). Twenty adolescents (M age = 17.30; 40% male, 55% female, 5% gender neutral; 60% …

Social Cognition In Children With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Elyse Parke

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder, which impacts behavioral outcomes, including social functioning. Children with ADHD demonstrate impairment across a number of social domains, including aggressive behavior, poor social skills, and higher rates of Oppositional Defiant Disorder compared to typically developing peers. However, the underlying neurocognitive underpinnings of these poor social outcomes are unclear. Furthermore, little is known regarding the impact of ADHD symptomatology on aspects of social cognition. Inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity may differentially impact components of social cognition. Determining whether performance on social cognition tasks is predictive of social skills and problem behaviors is also an area …

An Evaluation Of The Effects Of The Coach-Athlete Relationship On Athlete Mental Health, Corey Rae Phillips

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

There is a demand to target the mental health needs of collegiate athletes, who are

considered to be at-risk for physiological injuries, psychological disturbances, and

academic problems. Due to the dynamic nature of the coach-athlete relationship,

assessing the impact coaches have on athletes’ psychological wellbeing is imperative to

shift the way mental health is addressed within this population. The current study aims to

address the relationship between perceived problems in the coach-athlete relationship and

mental health of college students who participate in organized sport. I hypothesize that

problems in the relationship have serious implications for athletes and mental health

providers …

Can Questionnaires Capture Inner Experience? A Validation Study Of The Nevada Inner Experience Questionnaire, Stefanie Alison Moynihan

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Self-report questionnaires that explore human experience sometimes produce substantially discrepant results from careful sampling-based methods such as Descriptive Experience Sampling (DES). One explanation is that questionnaires may not be inquiring about the same phenomena that sampling discovers. To investigate this, we conducted two studies. Study 1 (N =260) created the Nevada Inner Experience Questionnaire (NIEQ), designed to measure the frequency of the same five phenomena of inner experience that DES frequently finds (the “5FP”: inner speaking, inner seeing, unsymbolized thinking, feeling and sensory awareness). Study 1 explored the construct validity of the NIEQ, finding it to be reliable and psychometrically …

Value Co-Creation Propositions: A Self-Determination Theory Of Customer Acceptance, Trust And Wellbeing, Lenna V. Shulga

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

With the emergence of shared business models, hospitality and tourism consumers are faced with the decision to accept value propositions from various service providers, including traditional, collaborative and shared. Grounded in service-dominant logic, theory of acceptance, theory of value, self-determination theory and generational theory, this dissertation examines why consumers accept value propositions from service providers and what drives customers to collaborate with front-line employees. The research uses three studies that utilized a destination resort context with a mixed factorial equal cells experimental design. Study 1 utilized a 3 (generations) x 3 (business models) x 4 (value propositions) factorial between-within subjects …

Defining Problematic School Absenteeism Using Nonparametric Modeling, Kyleigh Kay Skedgell

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Contemporary classification models of school absenteeism often employ a multitier approach for organizing assessment and treatment strategies. Researchers have yet to agree, however, on how to objectively define problematic school absenteeism and identify demarcation points for each tier. The present study aimed to inform a multitier approach by determining the most relevant risk factors for problematic school absenteeism. The most useful targets of assessment for problematic school absenteeism are also addressed. The present study examined problematic school absenteeism defined at three distinct cutoffs: 1%, 10%, and 15% of full school days missed. The present study evaluated interactions among several youth- …

Investigation Of A Mindfulness-Based Intervention With Survivors Of Interpersonal Violence, Laura Elise Stayton

Dissertations

Interpersonal violence is a widespread problem that includes intimate partner violence, sexual violence, and stalking. The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control in 2010 reported that approximately 1 in 5 women and 1 in 59 men have suffered sexual assault in their lifetime (Breiding et al., 2014). In addition, 1 in 4 women and 1 in 7 men have been a victim of physical violence perpetrated by an intimate partner (Breiding et al., 2014). A number of potential negative consequences of interpersonal violence exposure include the development of posttraumatic stress disorder, substance …

Implementing The Primary Care Behavioral Health Model In A Pediatric Setting: Description, Satisfaction, And Potential Economic Outcomes, Rachel A. Petts

Dissertations

There is growing support for the value of integrating behavioral health consultants (BHCs) into primary care medical offices to address mental and behavioral health concerns; however, the actual practice of BHCs in pediatrics and associated patient and provider experience is largely unknown. Descriptive data from patient contacts with three BHCs in a large pediatric primary care practice examined the nature of, and patient and provider satisfaction with, the integrated behavioral health services provided. Over the course of 6 months of data collection, 109 patient contacts were recorded. The mean age of the patients served was 9.51 (SD = 4.38, …

Effects Of Early Adolescent Exposure To D-Amphetamine In A Rodent Model Of Nicotine Reward, Eric Louis Harvey

Dissertations

Previous studies with rodents have found that adolescent exposure to psychoactive drugs can alter neurophysiology and produce behavioral effects that persist into adulthood. While several studies have examined the effects of adolescent exposure to nicotine on the subsequent rewarding value of various drugs of abuse in adulthood, to date, no known studies have examined the converse of this relationship. d-Amphetamine (i.e., dextroamphetamine, ProCentra®) is a potent psychostimulant that is commonly used in the treatment of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in adolescents. The present study assessed the effects of adolescent exposure to d-amphetamine on the rewarding value of nicotine in …

Sex Differences In Serotonergic And Dopaminergic Mediation Of Lsd Discrimination In Rats, Keli A. Herr

Dissertations

After decades of opposition, a resurgence of interest in the psychotherapeutic potential of LSD is gaining acceptance in the medical community. Future acceptance of LSD as a psychotherapeutic adjuvant may be predicated on knowledge about its neural mechanisms of action. Preclinical drug discrimination assay offers an invaluable model to determine the neural mechanisms underlying LSD’s interoceptive stimulus effects. Unfortunately, current preclinical literature on LSD discrimination is based on results obtained exclusively in male subjects. The present study represents the first known preclinical assessment of possible sex differences in the discriminative stimulus effects of LSD.

Adult female (n=8) and male (n=8) …

Same-Sex Focus In The Visual Attention Of Heterosexual Women: An Investigation Of Potential Explanations, Sarah C. Jones

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

When simultaneously presented with male and female erotic visual stimuli, heterosexual women have a significantly less category-specific pattern of visual attention, wherein they spend much more time viewing same sex stimuli than do men. Heterosexual men, on the other hand, have a much more category-specific pattern of visual attention, allocating nearly all of their visual attention to the female stimuli. The present study investigated several proposed explanations for women’s more diffuse visual attention patterns: that heterosexual women may find some arousal value in viewing erotic female images given their greater sexual fluidity/erotic plasticity in comparison to men, that women may …

Development And Psychometric Evaluation Of The Unfinished Business In Bereavement Scale, Kara Klingspon

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Bereavement is one of life's greatest challenges, but most grievers recover within approximately six months after the loss. Prolonged Grief Disorder or Complicated Grief describes the 10-20% who continue to struggle with chronic and severe symptoms such as yearning and/or longing for the deceased. Those with prolonged grief are at elevated risk for a number of detrimental physical and mental health outcomes. Unfinished business, which refers to a subjective perception that something was left undone, unsaid, or unresolved with the deceased, is one marker indicating greater risk for such symptomology. Although a common target for intervention, no empirically validated tool …

How To Enhance Interdisciplinary Competence—Interdisciplinary Problem-Based Learning Versus Interdisciplinary Project-Based Learning, Mirjam Brassler, Jan Dettmers

Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-Based Learning

Interdisciplinary competence is important in academia for both employability and sustainable development. However, to date, there are no specific interdisciplinary education models and, naturally, no empirical studies to assess them. Since problem-based learning (PBL) and project-based learning (PjBL) are learning approaches that emphasize students’ collaboration, both pedagogies seem suitable to enhance students’ interdisciplinary competence. Based on the principle of constructive alignment and four instructional principles on interdisciplinary learning, this paper proposes that students profit more from interdisciplinary PBL (iPBL) than interdisciplinary PjBL (iPjBL). A pre-post study was conducted with a sample of 95 students participating in iPBL and 183 students …

Design And Evaluation Of A Problem-Based Learning Environment For Teacher Training, Laura Hemker, Claudia Prescher, Susanne Narciss

Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-Based Learning

Problem-based learning can have a great impact on the acquisition of practical knowledge, which is a central learning aim in the field of teacher education. Therefore, we implemented a problem-based learning approach in four seminars on educational assessment. In this paper, we outline our didactic design and discuss the results of the first evaluations, which explored acceptance of the approach, learning results, and expected applicability of the acquired knowledge.

The results show benefits of the problem-based learning approach, but also room for improvement. Specifically, the use of problems from multiple contexts (theoretical foundations and direct practical application) and the flexible …

Cognitive Demand And The Outcome Density Effect, Ciara Louise Willett

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Judgments regarding the strength of a cause to produce an outcome do not always follow predictions of normative causal reasoning models (Kao & Wasserman, 1993). In the case of the outcome density effect, individuals’ ratings of the strength of a putative cause tend to be greater when the number of observed outcomes is high than when it is low (e.g. Jenkins & Ward, 1965). In the current experiment, I investigated the outcome density effect as a possible heuristic. Participants made causal judgments based on information about the prevalence of headaches in a sample of individuals who did or did not …

Seeking An Operational Definition Of Dieting: A Daily Diary Study, Elizabeth Anne Mclaughlin

Psychology ETDs

Dieting is commonly considered a weight loss technique, but research consistently shows that it does not result in weight loss. Thirty to fifty percent of women report that they are dieting at any given time, typically by responding to a single “yes/no” item asking whether they are dieting. To explain why dieting may not result in weight loss, a detailed picture was needed as to people’s behavior when they report that they are dieting, including weight loss strategies and dietary intake. Other constructs previously studied as similar to dieting were “watching what I eat” and “eating healthy.” More information was …

Reflections On Teaching Qualitative Methods Using Team-Based Learning: An Exemplification By Photovoice, Nadia Rania, Laura Migliorini, Stefania Rebora

The Qualitative Report

This research article as a part of larger study intends to explore the role of teaching qualitative methods is not easy and often represents a great challenge. In this work, we describe our experience of teaching a qualitative methods course for undergraduate psychology students. In this course, we used a Team-Based Learning (TBL) approach in which we had students cluster into small groups to enhance their education by having them become more active in their learning. To teach qualitative methods, we used TBL and in this paper, we present the exemplification of this method by choosing Photovoice. The Team-Based methods …

Providers Perspectives On Self-Regulation Impact Their Use Of Responsive Feeding Practices In Child Care, Dipti A. Dev, Katherine E. Speirs, Natalie A. Williams, Samantha Ramsay, Brent A. Mcbride, Holly Hatton-Bowers

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

Supporting children's self-regulation in eating through caregivers' practice of responsive feeding is paramount to obesity prevention, and while much attention has been given to supporting children's selfregulation in eating through parents' responsive feeding practices in the home setting, little attention has been given to this issue in childcare settings. This qualitative study examines childcare providers' perspectives on using responsive feeding practices with young children (2–5 years). Individual semistructured interviews were conducted with providers until saturation was reached. Data was analyzed using thematic analysis. The final sample included 18 providers who were employed full-time in Head Start or state-licensed center-based childcare …

Marking Stress Explicitly In Written English Fosters Rhythm In The Reader’S Inner Voice, Jennifer Gross, Bo Winegard, Andrea Plotkowski

Open Access Publishing Support Funded Articles

Spoken English has a stress-alternating rhythm that is not marked in its orthography. In two experiments, the authors evaluated whether stylistic alterations to print that marked stress pulses fostered the rendering of rhythm (experiment 1) and stress (experiment 2) during silent reading. In experiment 1, silent readers rated the helpfulness of the stylistic alterations appearing in the last line of poems. In experiment 2, silent readers rated the helpfulness of the stylistic alterations appearing in heteronyms embedded in prose. As predicted by linguistic theories, when the stylistic alterations mapped onto the rhythmic pulses of the poems, and the lexically stressed …

Dress And Sex: A Review Of Empirical Research Involving Human Participants And Published In Refereed Journals, Sharron J. Lennon, Alyssa Dana Adomaitis, Jayoung Koo, Kim K. P. Johnson

Publications and Research

Our research purpose was to assess research addressing relationships between dress and sex. Our review was focused on a 25 years span (i.e., 1990–2015) and on empirical research utilizing human participants published in refereed journals. Three main areas of research emerged: (1) dress used as cue to sexual information, (2) dress and sexual violence, and (3) dress, sex, and objectification. Our analyses revealed parents do invest their young children with sex-typed dress however sometimes children demand to wear such dress. Some women intentionally use dress to communicate sexual information but inferences about women who wear sexy dress can be misinterpreted …

Cahost: An Excel Workbook For Facilitating The Johnson-Neyman Technique For Two-Way Interactions In Multiple Regression, Stephen W. Carden, Nicholas S. Holtzman, Michael J. Strube

Psychology: Faculty Publications

When using multiple regression, researchers frequently wish to explore how the relationship between two variables is moderated by another variable; this is termed an interaction. Historically, two approaches have been used to probe interactions: the pick-a-point approach and the Johnson-Neyman (JN) technique. The pick-a-point approach has limitations that can be avoided using the JN technique. Currently, the software available for implementing the JN technique and creating corresponding figures lacks several desirable features–most notably, ease of use and figure quality. To fill this gap in the literature, we offer a free Microsoft Excel 2013 workbook, CAHOST (a concatenation of the first …

What You Know Makes A Difference: Physical Activity Maintenance And Adherence Of Collegiate Students, Vista Beasley, Brooke Thompson, Patrick R. Young, Itay Basevitch

Journal of Counseling and Psychology

For decades, exercise psychology researchers dismissed health/exercise knowledge as a determinant of physical activity (PA). We sought to overturn this misconception, showing that psychological theory may serve as a basis for informing physical education curriculum. Based on social cognitive and self-determined motivation theories, we examined health/exercise knowledge as a determinant of collegiate students’ PA maintenance (i.e., ≥ 6 months of regular PA involvement); adherence to United States Department of Health and Human Services (USDHHS) 2008 PA guidelines; and PA types (i.e., aerobic, weight training). Collegiate students (n = 231) provided data via online survey. ANOVA analyses revealed that knowledge …

Vasopressin And Oxytocin Reduce Food Sharing Behavior In Male, But Not Female Marmosets In Family Groups, Jack H. Taylor, Allison A. Intorre, Jeffrey A. French

Psychology Faculty Publications

Oxytocin (OT) is critical for lactation and maternal care, but OT and the related nonapeptide vasopressin are important for caregiving behaviors in fathers and alloparents as well. This experiment tested the effects of vasopressin and OT on food sharing in marmoset families. We treated caregivers (parents, siblings) with intranasal vasopressin, OT, or saline, and then paired them with the youngest marmoset in the family. Caregivers were given preferred food, and then observed for food sharing and aggressive behavior with young marmosets. OT reduced food sharing from male alloparents to youngest siblings, and fathers that received vasopressin refused to share food …

Gambling-Like Behavior In Pigeons: 'Jackpot' Signals Promote Maladaptive Risky Choice, Aaron P. Smith, Joshua S. Beckmann, Thomas R. Zentall

Psychology Faculty Publications

Individuals often face choices that have uncertain outcomes and have important consequences. As a model of this environment, laboratory experiments often offer a choice between an uncertain, large reward that varies in its probability of delivery against a certain but smaller reward as a measure of an individual’s risk aversion. An important factor generally lacking from these procedures are gambling related cues that may moderate risk preferences. The present experiment offered pigeons choices between unreliable and certain rewards but, for the Signaled group on winning choices, presented a ‘jackpot’ signal prior to reward delivery. The Unsignaled group received an ambiguous …