Psychology Commons^™

Male Marmosets Display Increased Sociosexual Behavior Toward Their Mate After Separation, Mariah Wulf

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

The quality of bonds between mates is variable and can be operationally defined using affiliative measures (e.g., sexual solicitations, amount of time spent near another individual). The development of an attachment between mates is regulated by biological and neurobiological factors. Specifically, the neuropeptide oxytocin (OT) is associated with increases in social bonding and positive social interactions. We investigated how chronic treatment with OT, an OT antagonist (OTA), or a control during the initial 3 weeks of pairing in marmoset monkeys altered patterns of social interactions. We assessed how marmosets behaved in a testing paradigm in which they could see, but …

Examination Of Differential Validity Of Mmpi-2-Rf Scores By Gender And Ethnicity In Predicting Future Suicidal And Violent Behaviors In A Forensic Sample, Anthony M. Tarescavage, David M. Glassmire, Danielle Burchett, Martin Sellbom

2019 Faculty Bibliography

Given the diversity of individuals who undergo psychological assessment, examining whether cultural bias exists in psychological assessment instruments (i.e., differential validity) is crucial. This issue occurs when a measure systematically over- or underpredicts a criterion across demographic groups or is associated with the criterion unequally across the groups. We tested the differential validity of a widely used psychological test, the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)-2-Restructured Form (MMPI-2-RF), as a function of gender (male, female) and ethnicity (Caucasian, African American, and Hispanic/Latino American) in large samples of forensic psychiatric inpatients. Regression models were estimated in a multigroup framework. The analyses yielded …

Examining Item Content Validity Using Property Fitting Analysis Via Multidimensional Scaling, Cody Ding, Cody Ding

Education Sciences and Professional Programs Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

Cognition And The Brain Of Brood Parasitic Cowbirds., David F Sherry, Mélanie F Guigueno

Psychology Publications

Cowbirds are brood parasites. Females lay their eggs in the nests of other species, which then incubate the cowbird eggs and raise the young cowbirds. Finding and returning to heterospecific nests presents cowbirds with several cognitive challenges. In some species, such as brown-headed cowbirds (Molothrus ater), females but not males search for and remember the locations of potential host nests. We describe recent research on sex differences in cognition and the hippocampus associated with this sex difference in search for host nests. Female brown-headed cowbirds perform better than males on some, but not all, tests of spatial memory and females …

The Material-Weight Illusion Disappears Or Inverts In Objects Made Of Two Materials, Vivian C. Paulun, Gavin Buckingham, Melvyn A. Goodale, Roland W. Fleming

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

© the American Physiological Society. The material-weight illusion disappears or inverts in objects made of two materials. J Neurophysiol 121: 996 –1010, 2019. First published January 23, 2019; doi:10.1152/jn.00199.2018.—The material-weight illusion (MWI) occurs when an object that looks heavy (e.g., stone) and one that looks light (e.g., Styrofoam) have the same mass. When such stimuli are lifted, the heavier-looking object feels lighter than the lighter-looking object, presumably because well-learned priors about the density of different materials are violated. We examined whether a similar illusion occurs when a certain weight distribution is expected (such as the metal end of a hammer …

The Gradient Of The Reinforcement Landscape Influences Sensorimotor Learning, Joshua G.A. Cashaback, Christopher K. Lao, Dimitrios J. Palidis, Susan K. Coltman, Heather R. Mcgregor, Paul L. Gribble

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

© 2019 Cashaback et al. Consideration of previous successes and failures is essential to mastering a motor skill. Much of what we know about how humans and animals learn from such reinforcement feedback comes from experiments that involve sampling from a small number of discrete actions. Yet, it is less understood how we learn through reinforcement feedback when sampling from a continuous set of possible actions. Navigating a continuous set of possible actions likely requires using gradient information to maximize success. Here we addressed how humans adapt the aim of their hand when experiencing reinforcement feedback that was associated with …

Military Deployment In A Family: Children’S Literature As A Basis For Counseling Support, Aimee Tubbs, Ellie L. Young, Melissa A. Heath, Tina M. Taylor

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

The authors summarize 30 children’s books that tell stories of a family member’s military deployment in order to identify books that could be used in bibliotherapy for children impacted by deployment. In this sample of books, the main characters are most commonly portrayed as feeling sad about a family member’s deployment. The most prevalent coping strategies are finding ways to stay connected to the deployed person and talking with an adult. An unexpected finding was a coping strategy of expressing pride in the family member’s military service.

Longitudinal Health Outcomes And Treatment Utilization Among Emerging, Early-Mid, And Older Rural Adults Using Stimulants, Erin L. Woodhead, Brenda Booth, Christine Timko, Amanda Tjemsland, Xiaotong Han, Michael Cucciare

Faculty Publications

There is limited knowledge about age-related differences in health outcomes and treatment utilization among rural stimulant users. The current study examined physical health, mental health, and treatment utilization (hospital, mental health, and substance use care) among 710 stimulant users living in rural areas of the United States. Generalized estimating equations (GEE) were used to examine associations between age and physical health, mental health, and treatment utilization over a 3-year period. Analyses controlled for participants’ gender, race, and education. To capture age-related differences, participants were grouped into emerging adults (18–25 years old, n = 223), early-mid adults (26–44 years old; n …

Is One Secure Attachment Enough? Infant Cortisol Reactivity And The Security Of Infant-Mother And Infant-Father Attachments At The End Of The First Year, Patty X. Kuo, Ekjyot K. Saini, Elizabeth Tengelitsch, Brenda L. Volling

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

Attachment security is theorized to shape stress reactivity, but extant work has failed to find consistent links between attachment security to mothers and infant cortisol reactivity. We examined family configurations of infant-mother and infant-father attachment security in relation to infant cortisol reactivity. One-year old infants (N = 180) participated in the Strange Situation with mothers and fathers in two counterbalanced lab visits, one month apart (12 and 13 months). Infants with secure attachments only to their fathers and not their mothers had higher cortisol levels than infants with a secure attachment to mother and also exhibited a blunted cortisol response …

Employable Skills Seminar For Undergraduate Psychology Majors And Minors: Data Visualization In Tableau For The Public Good, Reed M. Mueller, Heidi Lee

CUP Faculty Research

Six undergraduate psychology students in a pilot, one credit, online seminar developed technical, inquiry, and data visualization skills. Students used Tableau, a popular business intelligence platform, and learned to locate, clean, aggregate, and visualize secondary data. A final project required the publication of visualizations for the public good.

Why Being Bored Might Not Be A Bad Thing After All, Guihyun Park, Beng-Chong Lim, Hui Si Oh

Student Publications

Boredom is likely one of the most prevalent, yet least understood, emotions. It is easy to find examples of how boredom can engender other negative emotional states that often lead to somewhat negative—albeit unintended—outcomes (e.g., risky or delinquent behaviors). But does boredom invariably lead to negative consequences? Could being bored also have less obvious effects, such as increased creativity? We explore the consequences of being bored using three experimental studies that manipulate boredom and identify the benefits for creativity of being bored. In Study 1, we found that boredom helped boost individual productivity on an idea-generation task. In Study 2, …

How Children Talk About Events: Implications For Eliciting And Analyzing Eyewitness Reports, Sonja P. Brubacher, Carole Peterson, David La Rooy, Jason Dickinson, Debra Ann Poole

Department of Psychology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Legal and social service professionals often question whether various features of young witnesses’ responses during interviews are characteristic of children's event reports or whether these features are concerning findings that reflect degraded memory, outside influence, or other phenomena. To assist helping professionals and researchers who collect data through interviews, we aggregated findings from child eyewitness studies and revisited transcript sets to construct fifteen principles that capture how children talk about events. These principles address children's earliest event narratives, how children report information as interviews unfold and typical features of their narratives, threats to the accuracy of answers, the influence of …

Creating An Active Culture Of Gratitude In Your Home, Judith Fisher

Lake Union Herald

No abstract provided.

Childhood Maltreatment And Adult Dispositional Mindfulness, Alan R. King, Amanda J. Auen, Tiffany D. Russell

Psychology Faculty Publications

Dispositional mindfulness has been conceptualized as both a trait and skill set for managing life stress. Levels of dispositional mindfulness appear to provide a meaningful barometer of emotional well-being and behavioral functioning. This chapter reviews selected literature regarding the potential effects of early life experience on the development of this important trait and coping skill. Empirical data regarding the developmental sources of this important psychological attribute has been surprisingly limited. Some prior research has implicated childhood maltreatment as disruptive to the development of this important coping skill. The present study examined the potential impact of six different forms of childhood …

Process Evaluation Of A Mobile Weight Loss Intervention For Truck Drivers, Bradley Wipfli, Ginger Hanson, Kent Anger, Diane L. Elliot, Todd E. Bodner, Victor Stevens, Ryan Olson

Psychology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Background: In a cluster-randomized trial, the Safety and Health Involvement For Truck drivers intervention produced statistically significant and medically meaningful weight loss at 6 months (3.31 kg between-group difference). The current manuscript evaluates the relative impact of intervention components on study outcomes among participants in the intervention condition who reported for a post intervention health assessment (n ¼ 134) to encourage the adoption of effective tactics and inform future replications, tailoring, and enhancements.

Methods: The Safety and Health Involvement For Truck drivers intervention was implemented in a Web based computer and smartphone-accessible format and included a group weight loss competition …

Morning Reattachment To Work And Work Engagement During The Day: A Look At Day-Level Mediators, Sabine Sonnentag, Kathrin Eck, Charlotte Fritz, Jana Kühnel

Psychology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Reattachment to work (i.e., rebuilding a mental connection to work) before actually starting work is important for work engagement during the day. Building on motivated action theory, this study examines anticipated task focus, positive affect, and job resources (job control and social support) as mediators that translate reattachment in the morning into work engagement during the day. We collected daily-survey data from 151 employees (total of 620 days) and analyzed these data with a multilevel path model. We found that day-level reattachment to work in the morning predicted anticipated task focus, positive affect, social support, and job control through goal …

Dynamic Prediction Of Survival Data Using Single Or Multiple Longitudinal Markers, Xuehan Ren

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Recurrent events and time-to-event data occur frequently in longitudinal studies. In large clinical trials with survival endpoints, researchers collect a multitude of longitudinal markers. There is a growing need to utilize these rich longitudinal information to build prediction models and assess their prognostic performance. In this dissertation research, I propose a novel approach of integrating longitudinal markers in modeling the recurrent event or terminal event data, and conduct dynamic prediction of event risks. Under joint a model framework, I jointly model a longitudinal outcome and a recurrent event process with the two process correlated via shared latent function. The probability …

Motivations For Pursuing A Career In Law Enforcement: An Analysis Of A Local Law Enforcement Agency, Mark W. Thomas

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Current law enforcement agencies are facing increasing pressure to hire more female and minority applicants. In addition to this, many agencies may be struggling to hire sufficient numbers of qualified candidates in general. This has created a need for understanding the individual factors that may motivate specific types of individuals towards a career in law enforcement. The current study assesses these motivations in a sample of currently employed law enforcement officers, current students enrolled in criminal justice programs, and undergraduate students unaffiliated with a law enforcement career. These motivations are then examined by demographic categories to explore the correlation between …

Examining Adaptive Structures Of Military Families In Relation To Deployment, Gabriel Reed

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Military families experience stressors unique to their occupation which strongly influence family structure. Deployment is one of the most impactful and unique experiences that a majority of current military families have experienced as it influences familial stability and structures. Previous research has found that when compared to civilian American families, military families tend to identify as more rigid than flexible while still maintaining good familial satisfaction reports. By examining the correlation between various family structure domains of military families (cohesion, flexibility, rigidity, deployment history, and familial satisfaction) mental health workers may better assist these families in establishing strategies to endure …

Metacognitive Changes In Individuals With Severe Mental Illness In Response To Psychoanalytic Therapy, David Neal

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Objectives. Metacognitive deficits are thought to be closely related to functional impairment in a variety of mental health disorders. Understanding metacognitive differences between groups may provide insight into etiology and treatment of mental illness. This study sought to investigate group differences in metacognition and metacognitive changes over time in response to long-term psychodynamic psychotherapy amidst a population with severe mental illness diagnoses, specifically borderline personality disorder (BPD), narcissistic personality disorder (NPD), and schizoid personality disorder (SPD).

Methods. Twenty-eight participants meeting inclusion criteria were selected from amongst participants in the Austen Riggs Center’s (ARC) 11-year Follow-Along Study (FAS). For each participant, …

The Relationship Between Self-Compassion, Religion, Gender, And Objectified Body Consciousness In Christian Nazarene Women, Arielle R. A. Marston

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Body shame and objectification of the female body are well known contributing factors in physical and mental health issues including high stress, eating disorder symptomatology, depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem. Religion plays a role in body shame and female objectification through both scripture and theological writings although this relationship remains inconclusive. Self-Compassion has been found to be a mitigating factor with regard to body shame in college and caregiver contexts. The Church of the Nazarene promotes itself as supporting female leadership and roles within the church. Since religion and gender roles seem to play a role in body shame and …

Tattooed Psychologists: A Discussion Of Meaning, Professionalism, And Self-Disclosure, Elizabeth M. Hoose

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Tattooing has been a form of self-expression and cultural participation for thousands of years. In the past in the United States, those who got tattooed were often viewed as fringe populations. Now, however, tattoos have entered mainstream society. Most current research shows that tattoos are tied to significant personal and cultural meanings for tattooed individuals. Given this and the growing number of people who choose to get permanent ink, the continued exploration of this topic can be useful for clinical psychologists in understanding clients and emerging themes of identity in our society. Perhaps of equal importance, is the unexplored topic …

Growth Motivation And Well-Being In The U.S., Japan, Guatemala, And India, Jack J. Bauer, Sun W. Park, Hiroko Kamide, Nicholas Pesola, Shanmukh V. Kamble, Laura E. Graham, Joseph Debrosse, Mahadevi S. Waddar

Psychology Faculty Publications

The present study examined how the Growth Motivation Index (GMI; J. J. Bauer et al., 2015) related to well-being and identity exploration in samples from the U.S., Japan, Guatemala, and India. The GMI has two facets. GMI-reflective measures the motive to cultivate critical self-reflection and intellectual development, whereas GMI-experiential measures the motive to cultivate personally meaningful activities and relationships. We expected and found that, when comparing the two GMI facets simultaneously, GMI-reflective predicted well-being in countries ranked as having collectivist but not individualist cultures, whereas GMI-experiential predicted well-being in countries ranked as having individualist but not collectivist cultures. GMI-reflective predicted …

Adult Attachment And Testosterone Reactivity: Fathers' Avoidance Predicts Changes In Testosterone During The Strange Situation Procedure, Robin S. Edelstein, Kristi Chin, Ekjyot K. Saini, Patty X. Kuo, Oliver C. Schultheiss, Brenda L. Volling

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

We assessed parents' testosterone reactivity to the Strange Situation Procedure (SSP), a moderately stressful parent-infant interaction task that pulls for parental nurturance and caregiving behavior. Parents (146 mothers, 154 fathers) interacted with their 1-year-old infants, and saliva samples were obtained pre- and post-task to assess changes in testosterone. We examined whether testosterone reactivity differed between mothers and fathers, the extent to which parents' characteristic approaches to closeness (i.e., adult attachment orientation) contributed to testosterone changes, and whether any influences of adult attachment orientation were independent of more general personality characteristics (i.e., the Big Five personality dimensions). Results revealed that mothers …

Cancer, Sexual Quality Of Life, And The Dyad: A Qualitative Study, Gabriela E. Gutierrez

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

As the rate of survivorship continues to increase within oncological care (White, 2007), more attention is being focused on the quality of life and long-term outcomes of cancer survivors (American Cancer Society, 2014). Sexual quality of life (SQOL), which includes both sex and intimacy, have been identified as primary sources of stress among patients and their partners across cancer types (Manne & Badr, 2008; 2010; Manne, Badr, & Kashy, 2012); however, reproductively related cancers, such as breast and gynecologic cancers have especially posed unique challenges to both patients and their partners (Jonsdottir, et al., 2016). It is widely known that …

An Evaluation Of Police Interviewing Methods: A Psychological Perspective, Cassandra Neal

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

This paper discusses false confessions and memory’s fallibility and how they can decrease the reliability of an investigative interview. In an effort to remedy this issue, the three most popular interview techniques utilized by police officers during an investigation were examined to decipher which one elicits the most reliable testimony. In order to determine which of the three methods out of the Reid Technique, Cognitive Interview, and PEACE Method is the most reliable, literature on the different techniques was examined to see which method resulted in the most accurate information, free from false statements. As a result of this evaluation, …

"The Tyrant Father": Leslie Stephen And Masculine Influences On Virginia Woolf And Her Novel, To The Lighthouse, Anya Graubard

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

This paper examines the volatile yet nurturing relationship between Virginia Woolf and her father, Leslie Stephen. It specifically considers the effects of three male “tyrants” in Woolf’s childhood, including not only her father but also her two half-brothers, who abused her sexually. Analysis of the dynamics of these relationships provides insight into Woolf’s lifelong battle with mental illness and helps us to understand the complicated relationships she had as an adult with men and women.

In her letters, diaries, and memoir essays, Woolf reveals how she drew from her own experiences of childhood to write her most famous novel, To …

The Differential Impact Of Interactions Outside The Organization On Employee Well-Being, Devasheesh P. Bhave, Freyr Halldórsson, Eugene Kim, Alexandru M. Lefter

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

We examine two different perspectives of interactions outside the organization: the relational work design perspective and the emotional labour perspective. The relational work design perspective suggests that interactions outside the organization have favourable outcomes for employees, whereas the emotional labour perspective suggests that such interactions have adverse outcomes for employees. Our goal is to reconcile findings from these two research streams. In Study 1, using data from employees working in diverse occupations, we find that interactions outside the organization have a positive indirect effect on employee well‐being via task significance, and a negative indirect effect on employee well‐being via surface …

Patterns Of Childhood Maltreatment And Intimate Partner Violence, Emotion Dysregulation, And Mental Health Symptoms Among Lesbian, Gay, And Bisexual Emerging Adults: A Three-Step Latent Class Approach, Ruby Charak, Lillianne Villarreal, Rachel M. Schmitz, Michiyo Hirai, Julian D. Ford

Psychological Science Faculty Publications

Background: Childhood abuse and neglect (CAN) and intimate partner violence victimization (IPV) is prevalent among lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals (LGB). Identification of distinct patterns of childhood and adult victimization, including technology-mediated and face-to-face IPV, and their cumulative relations to mental/behavioral health challenges, among LGB people is needed to facilitate identification of at-risk individuals.

Objective: Using latent class analysis, we first sought to identify patterns of lifetime interpersonal victimization, primarily five types of CAN and IPV in LGB emerging adults. Second, we examined if LGB-status and race/ethnicity predicted classmembership; third, we assessed differences between the latent classes on emotion dysregulation, …

Feeling Green: The Benefits Of Green Space On Urbanites' Mental Health, Kathryn A. Hoagland

Liberal Arts and Engineering Studies

This investigation intends to determine the best methods for incorporating public green space into dense urban areas, for the betterment of residents' mental health. Data from studies showing differences in the prevalence of anxiety and depression in urban and rural areas are discussed alongside data from studies looking at the effect that certain types of green space might have on mental health. While there is no exact consensus on the extent to which nature has positive effects on mental health there is enough of a correlation to argue for the implementation of public green spaces in urban design, in order …