Psychology Commons^™

The Self-Reference Effect, Emotion, And Self-Esteem, Analise Mcgreal

The Pegasus Review: UCF Undergraduate Research Journal

This study examines the effect of emotionally-charged stimuli on surprise recall rates of self-referentially processed words. In a between-subjects experimental design, 101 undergraduate students from the University of Central Florida (UCF) were randomly assigned to one of three groups (positive words, negative words, or neutral words) and presented with a list of seven adjectives describing appearance (e.g. cute, appalling, tall); experimental procedures were carried out through the UCF Qualtrics online survey design platform. After self-referential processing, a significant difference between all three groups was demonstrated by completion of a one-way ANOVA, with recall rates decreasing from the neutral, to the …

The Effect Of Misogynistic Humor On Millenials' Perception Of Women, Natasha Vashist

The Pegasus Review: UCF Undergraduate Research Journal

Humor is often a controversial genre of entertainment. It is not critically examined due to its intentionally offensive nature. This study examines the impact of sexist humor on millenials' perception of women. Students (n = 1,096) from a four-year university were divided into two groups and both participated in a survey examining attitudes toward women and media-viewing habits. One group was exposed to clips of sexist humor from television shows and the other was not. A series of analyses of variance (ANOVA) conducted on the two groups did not find significant differences between those who had viewed sexist clips and …

Parentification In Deployed And Non-Deployed Military Families: A Preliminary Assessment, Taylor Truhan

The Pegasus Review: UCF Undergraduate Research Journal

The purpose of this study is to investigate the differences in parentification in military families with a deployed parent and without a deployed parent. Parentification has been defined as a parent-child relationship in which the child is given roles and responsibilities that are inappropriate for the child's developmental level. Previous research has highlighted increased rates of parentification in situations involving parental absence or unavailability, such as divorce, parental illness, parental alcoholism, and domestic violence. This construct was assessed using the Parentification Questionnaire – Youth, a 20 item self-report survey for children and adolescents. Participants consisted of 22 children, ages 7-17, …

The Role Of Parenting And Attachment In Identity Style Development, Kaylin Ratner

The Pegasus Review: UCF Undergraduate Research Journal

The present study set investigates the role of the parent-child relationship in identity formation using a sample of 264 students collected from two high schools in the central Florida area. Maternal responsiveness fosters both the informational and normative identity style, as well as positive attachment. Such results suggest that a warm and loving maternal figure allows children to feel safe in their environment, which encourages exploration. Furthermore, positive attachment was found to significantly predict a normative identity style. Despite both responsiveness and attachment independently predicting a normative identity style, issues were raised in regards to multicollinearity of the variables utilized …

Exploring Cognitive Dissonance Between College Students' Religious And Spiritual Beliefs And Their Higher Education, Shawn Gaulden

The Pegasus Review: UCF Undergraduate Research Journal

With perceptions of conflict between religion and science often appearing in popular discussions and academic writings, cognitive dissonance may result if college students find their epistemological beliefs challenged during their undergraduate education. The purpose of this study is to explore whether students experience cognitive dissonance between their religious and spiritual identity and their college education and experiences, as well as whether certain factors in college life lead to cognitive dissonance. College students (N = 272) from the Central Florida area were surveyed with measures exploring the dimensions of college life that affect the likelihood of students experiencing tension between their …

Associations Between Positive Health Behaviors And Psychological Distress, Marlaine Monroig

The Pegasus Review: UCF Undergraduate Research Journal

Research examining the relationship between psychological distress and health behaviors is limited, as most such studies examine specific types of psychological distress and specific types of health behaviors. To address this limitation, the current study assessed a broad range of health behaviors (Health Behavior Checklist) and psychological symptoms (Brief Symptom Inventory) in 762 undergraduate students. Results revealed that the total BSI score showed statistically significant negative correlations with the HBC total score and three of the four HBC subscales (Wellness-Maintenance, Substance Risk, Traffic Risk ). Thus, participants reporting more overall psychological distress engaged in fewer positive health behaviors across all …

How Perceptual And Cognitive Factors Are Involved In A Car Accident: A Case Study, Vanessa Dominguez, Marc Gentzler

The Pegasus Review: UCF Undergraduate Research Journal

Several factors are considered in car accident analysis. Human factors research has shown that different perceptual and cognitive factors influence driving performance, leading to improvements in vehicle and road design. This case study provides a deeper understanding of the potential influence of major perceptual and cognitive variables on driving performance in general, including (a) driver expectancy effects, (b) glare, (c) general visibility such as lighting, (d) driver's dark adaptation, (e) road illusions, and (f) driver perception-reaction time. This analysis describes in detail how these certain perceptual and cognitive factors may have been involved in a particular car accident. Future research …

Asperger's Disorder And Social Phobia: A Comparison Of Social Functioning, Nomara Santos

The Pegasus Review: UCF Undergraduate Research Journal

Asperger's Disorder (AD) is a pervasive developmental disorder in which individuals show impairment in social skills by engaging in eccentric behavior, which leads to social isolation and rejection. Social Phobia (SP) is a disorder in which individuals report excessive anxiety while in social situations, resulting in significant distress and avoidance of social situations. A diagnosis of either AD or SP in childhood bears a significant impact on academic, social, and emotional development. As a result, a child can find it difficult to establish friendships, resulting in feelings of loneliness. Although studies have addressed the issue of loneliness in children with …

Self-Silencing In Response To Sexist Behavior: Exploring Women's Willingness To Confront Sexism, Marie Sabbagh, Tess Hare, Erika Wheelhouse, Holly Mcfarland

The Pegasus Review: UCF Undergraduate Research Journal

Past studies on confronting sexism suggest that sexism is not an innocuous annoyance but a serious issue with negative psychological impact. To the best of our knowledge, no research has yet utilized a high-impact design to explore how to encourage women to confront sexist behavior. The present study was designed to explore women's willingness to confront sexist comments and whether it is possible to increase the level of confrontation by modeling confronting behavior. Twenty-nine female psychology students were randomly assigned to one of two experimental conditions, one in which confronting behavior was modeled, and one in which it was not. …

Empathy Institutionalized: Sociocultural Dialogue As A Strategic Peacebuilding Initiative, Emily Owens

Bridge/Work

A common adage used in psychological exploration tells us that “If you want to know the end, look at the beginning.” While typically employed to emphasize the importance of upbringing and environment on personal outcomes, this phrase can be equally applicable in examining the ways in which society has developed over time to produce our polarized sociopolitical culture of today. This work explores from an integrative psychosocial perspective the potential that exists in working to define a new “end” by shaping a new “beginning,” through going directly to the institutions that comprise our own beginnings— schools. Through a combined research …

“I Want Her To Make Correct Decisions On Her Own:” Former Soviet Union Mothers’ Beliefs About Autonomy Development, Masha Komolva, Jane Y. Lipnitsky

Publications and Research

This qualitative study examined Former Soviet Union (FSU) mothers’ explicit and implicit attitudes and parenting practices around adolescents’ autonomy development. Interviews were conducted with 10 mothers who had immigrated from the FSU to the US between 10 and 25 years ago, and who had daughters between the ages of 13 and 17 years. Mothers predominantly defined autonomy in terms of adolescents’ ability to carry out instrumental tasks, make correct decisions, and financially provide for themselves, but rarely mentioned psychological or emotional independence. Mothers reflected on the various aspects of autonomy emphasized in their country of origin and America, and balancing …

Vocal Expression In Schizophrenia: Examining The Role Of Vocal Accommodation In Clinical Ratings Of Speech, Thanh P. Le

LSU Master's Theses

Diminished vocal expressivity, defined in terms of a diminution in speech production and intonation/emphasis, is a chronic symptom in schizophrenia. On interview-based measures of vocal deficits, clinicians typically rate patients with schizophrenia 4 to 6 SDs below their non-patient peers. However, recent studies utilizing objective computerized measures have failed to observe vocal expressivity deficits that approach this level. It may be that vocal deficits can only be understood within the boundaries of dyadic exchanges during interview-based assessments. Vocal accommodation, or the degree to which vocal characteristics (i.e., mean F0) between interlocutors synchronize over time, has been linked to enhanced social …

The Psychology Of Marathon Television Viewing: Antecedents And Viewer Involvement, Riva Tukachinsky, Keren Eyal

Communication Faculty Articles and Research

This study focuses on the expanding trend of marathon (“binge”) television viewing. It examines the personality antecedents of such media consumption (attachment style, depression, and self-regulation deficiency) as well as the psychological experiences of marathon viewers relative to the narrative (transportation, enjoyment) and its characters (parasocial relationship, identification). In a two-study design, theoretical models of media use and involvement, on one hand, and models of media addiction, on the other hand, are applied to predict the extent of marathon viewing and to compare it with “traditional” viewing. Results advance understanding of enjoyment and involvement theory and support cognitive theories of …

The Empathy Mitigation: Empathy And Its Impact On Pain Perception And Altruistic Motivation, Amanda Daly

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Empathy and its impact on pain perception has been studied narrowly with the focus being on participants receiving empathy during a pain procedure. This study reversed the focus and ran a standard cold pressor test (CPT) in the context of an empathy frame structured to elicit an empathic response for others from participants. It was hypothesized that the group receiving the empathic frame would have longer CPT times due to alterations in pain perception from empathy activation and these subjects’ self-reported state-trait empathy level would positively correlate with the increased times. 85 subjects participated with a control group of 43 …

Early Procedural Pain Is Associated With Regionally-Specific Alterations In Thalamic Development In Preterm Neonates., Emma G Duerden, Ruth E Grunau, Ting Guo, Justin Foong, Alexander Pearson, Stephanie Au-Young, Raphael Lavoie, M Mallar Chakravarty, Vann Chau, Anne Synnes, Steven P Miller

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

Very preterm human neonates are exposed to numerous invasive procedures as part of life-saving care. Evidence suggests that repetitive neonatal procedural pain precedes long-term alterations in brain development. However, to date the link between pain and brain development has limited temporal and anatomic specificity. We hypothesized that early exposure to painful stimuli during a period of rapid brain development, before pain modulatory systems reach maturity, will predict pronounced changes in thalamic development, and thereby cognitive and motor function. In a prospective cohort study, 155 very preterm neonates (82 males, 73 females) born 24-32 weeks' gestation underwent two MRIs at median …

Physiological And Cognitive Factors Related To Human Performance During The Grand Canyon Rim-To-Rim Hike, Kristin Divis, Clifford Anderson-Bergman, Robert Abbott, Victoria Newton, Glory Emmanuel-Aviña

Journal of Human Performance in Extreme Environments

Exposure to extreme environments is both mentally and physically taxing, leading to suboptimal performance and even life-threatening emergencies. Physiological and cognitive monitoring could provide the earliest indicator of performance decline and inform appropriate therapeutic intervention, yet little research has explored the relationship between these markers in strenuous settings. The Rim-to-Rim Wearables at the Canyon for Health (R2RWATCH) study is a research project at Sandia National Laboratories funded by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency to identify which physiological and cognitive phenomena collected by non-invasive wearable devices are the most related to performance in extreme environments. In a pilot study, data were …

Employing A User-Centered Design Process For Cybersecurity Awareness In The Power Grid, Jean C. Scholtz, Lyndsey Franklin, Aditya Ashok, Katya Leblanc, Christopher Bonebrake, Eric Andersen, Michael Cassiadoro

Journal of Human Performance in Extreme Environments

In this paper, we discuss the process we are using in the design and implementation of a tool to improve the situation awareness of cyberattacks in the power grid. We provide details of the steps we have taken to date and describe the steps that still need to be accomplished. The focus of this work is to provide situation awareness of the power grid to staff from different, non-overlapping roles in an electrical transmission organization in order to facilitate an understanding of a possible occurrence of a cyberattack. Our approach follows a user-centered design process and includes determining the types …

Helicobacter Pylori Moderates The Association Between 5-Mthf Concentration And Cognitive Function In Older Adults, Bruce L. Brown, Andrew N. Berrett, Shawn D. Gale, Lance D. Erickson, Dawson W. Hedges

Faculty Publications

Objective: To explore potential interactions between folate-cycle factors and Helicobacter pylori seropositivity in the prediction of cognitive function. Methods We used data obtained from the 1999–2000 continuous National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey produced by the United States’ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Using Ordinary Least Squares regression, we tested for associations between multiple folate-cycle factors, Helicobacter pylori seropositivity, and cognitive function assessed by the digit symbol coding subtest of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-III. We then tested for interactions between each of the folate-cycle factors and Helicobacter pylori in the prediction of cognitive function.

Results: Although Helicobacter pylori …

Asexual People’S Experience With Microaggressions, Tamara Deutsch

Student Theses

Asexuality as a non-heterosexual identity is a target of microaggressions similar to those experienced by other non-heterosexual identities. In this study asexual participants reported experiencing invalidation, sexual normativity/romantic normativity, pathologization, ignorance, general LGBTQIAP+ prejudice, dehumanization, rejection, disappointment, infantilization, tokenization, sexual threats/pressure, and sexual assault/corrective rape. These microaggressions came from various sources; family, partners/potential partners, friends/acquaintances, medical professionals, media, school systems, other LGBTQIAP+ people, and religious institutions. These led to emotional, cognitive, and behavioral reactions. Participants also reported negative mental health outcomes they linked to these microaggressions.

Analysis Of Endocrine Response To Perceived Difference In Cross-Cultural Interactions, Carole Woolford-Hunt, Marlene Murray, Tevni Grajales Guerra, Kristina Beenken-Johnson

Faculty Publications

We live in a world where awareness of ethnic and cultural diversity is an ever increasing reality. Business and education turn to the social sciences to inform them about how to manage and optimize cross-cultural interactions. Although much research has been done on the impact of cross-cultural interactions on a wide range of variables, one less researched area is the endocrine response to cross-cultural interactions. In this study we set out to investigate the endocrine response to cross cultural interactions and the impact of these interactions on perceived differences. To do so we measured the pre and post levels of …

Equine Assisted Psychotherapy: A Transformational Path To Emotional Wellness For U.S. Military Veterans, Cathy Powalski

Dissertations

Purpose. The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore and describe the impact of Equine Assisted Psychotherapy (EAP) on the reintegration of wounded veterans into civilian life as perceived by wounded U.S. military veterans participating in EAP.

Methodology. A qualitative multiple case study methodology was appropriate for this research due to its focus on analyzing a single entity (EAP) possessing unique characteristics within a system bound by participants (wounded U.S. military veterans as defined by this study), time (2015-2017), and/or place (California or Virginia) through events.

Findings. The 13 U.S. military veterans who participated in this study …

Facilitating Creativity In Interdisciplinary Design Teams Using Cognitive Processes: A Review, Roni Reiter-Palmon, Salvatore Leone

Psychology Faculty Publications

Interdisciplinary, or cross-functional, teams have become quite common for engineering and design. Many of today’s scientific breakthroughs occur in interdisciplinary teams, as the increasingly complex problems facing society often cannot be addressed by single disciplines alone. However, fostering creative and productive collaboration in interdisciplinary teams is no easy challenge. First, leading creative teamwork is difficult by itself. Second, many of the factors that impede teams and teamwork in general are exacerbated in interdisciplinary teams as a result of differences between team members. In this paper, we will review the team creativity psychology and management literature, and discuss how cognitive processes …

Patient Perspectives On Adherence To The New Hepatitis C Antiviral Medications: ‘A New Lease On Life’, Nicole M. Giordano, Anthony J. Brinn, Guadalupe Garcia-Tsao, Steve Martino

The Qualitative Report

This study explored patients’ perspectives about taking the new direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) for the treatment of Hepatitis C (i.e., sofosbuvir, simeprevir, ledipasvir/sofosbuvir, ombitasvir/paritraprevir/ritonavir and dasabuvir) to identify facilitators of medication adherence. The project was conducted using semi-structured interviews with 12 Veterans who successfully completed a treatment course on the new DAAs. The Veterans were recruited using purposive sampling. The data collected from the semi-structured interviews was analyzed using an adapted open coding method outlined by Auerbach and Silverstein (2003), with identification of relevant text sub-grouped into repeating ideas, and then creation of overarching themes and constructs. Results obtained provide insight …

Teaching Children With Asd Intraverbal Responses About The Past, Jeanne Gonzalez

Thesis Projects

Research has demonstrated that responding to questions regarding past events is a developmental milestone typically reached by age three or four. Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) might struggle with this skill in comparison to their neurotypical peers. This study describes a methodology for teaching subjects with ASD intraverbal responses about past events by systematically increasing delays between the presentation of target stimuli and the delivery of a question about the target stimuli. Probes of the terminal delay were conducted after each successive increase in delay. Results showed both subjects successfully responded to questions after a 30-min delay following some …

Emotion Regulation And Positive Affect In The Context Of Salivary Alpha-Amylase Response To Pain In Children With Cancer, Brooke N. Jenkins, Douglas A. Granger, Ryan J. Roemer, Ariana Martinez, Tara K. Torres, Michelle A. Fortier

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Background

Children with cancer routinely undergo painful medical procedures invoking strong physiological stress responses. Resilience to this pain may be conferred through resources such as emotion regulation strategies and positive affect.

Procedure

This study measured dispositional positive affect in children with cancer (N = 73) and randomly assigned participants to one of three emotion regulation strategy conditions (distraction, reappraisal, or reassurance). Children applied their assigned strategy during an experimental pain procedure (the cold pressor task [CPT]) and provided saliva samples before, immediately after, and 15 min after the CPT. Saliva samples were later assayed for salivary alpha amylase (sAA)—a surrogate …

High Points, Low Points, Turning Points: Life Stories Of Cambodian American Youth, Allyssa Mccabe, Khanh Dinh

Journal of Southeast Asian American Education and Advancement

Qualitative methods such as McAdam's Life Story Interview offer a rich means of exploring how culture affects an individual's development. Such a method has seldom been used with Asian Americans. In the present study, 20 Cambodian American teenagers aged 15-18 (half female, half male) narrated the high, low, and turning points of their lives. Those narratives were transcribed and coded with respect to the predominant emotional valence and context of those key events. Half of high point narratives were painful events that the narrator had recast in a positive light, a hallmark of resilience and of a tendency to redeem …

There Are Young Adults At Your Church - Now What?, Pivot Nw Research

Blog

No abstract provided.

Øystein (Sten) Labianca, Oystein Labianca

Spring 2018

"I am sure that many of you have seen information this academic year that refers to the 50th-anniversary celebrations for an archaeological dig site in Jordan. Or maybe it has just passed you by. Actually, it is a big deal. Over the Christmas break I had the opportunity to talk to one of the individuals who has been involved in this site since its early days. But the interview was about more than the dig in Jordan—it was about one of our faculty who has spent the vast majority of his career at Andrews University and, through that career, has …

The Rewarding Nature Of Provocation-Focused Rumination In Women With Borderline Personality Disorder: A Preliminary Fmri Investigation, Jessica R. Peters, David S. Chester, Erin C. Walsh, C. Nathan Dewall, Ruth A. Baer

Psychology Faculty Publications

Background: Understanding why individuals with borderline personality disorder (BPD) ruminate on prior provocations, despite its negative outcomes, is crucial to improving interventions. Provocation-focused rumination may be rewarding in the short term by amplifying anger and producing feelings of justification, validation, and increased energy, while reducing self-directed negative affect. If provocation-focused rumination is utilized regularly as a rewarding emotion regulation strategy, it could result in increased activation in reward-related neural regions. The present pilot study examined neural correlates of provocation-focused rumination, relative to other forms of thought, in BPD.

Method: Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was utilized to examine this theory …

Gratitude Predicts Hope And Happiness: A Two-Study Assessment Of Traits And States, Charlotte Vanoyen-Witvliet, Fallon J. Richie, Lindsey M. Root Luna, Daryl R. Van Tongeren

Faculty Publications

Gratitude is the appreciation of a gift received; happiness is the enjoyment of a present good; and hope is the desire for a valued future. Two studies investigated gratitude as a predictor of hope and happiness. In Study 1, hierarchical regressions (N = 181) revealed that trait gratitude exceeded other constructs (forgivingness, patience, self-control) in predicting trait hope and happiness. In Study 2, we experimentally tested the impact of a gratitude-related writing intervention on state hope and happiness. Participants (N = 153) first wrote about a current, meaningful, hoped-for outcome and completed state hope and happiness measures. Participants …