Psychology Commons^™

Campus Sexual Assault, Kevin M. Swartout, William F. Flack Jr.

Faculty Contributions to Books

No abstract provided.

Orexin Signaling During Social Defeat Stress Influences Subsequent Social Interaction Behaviour And Recognition Memory, Darrell Eacret, Laura A. Grafe, Anthony L. Gotter, John J. Renger, Christopher J. Winrow, Seema Bhatnagar

Psychology Faculty Research and Scholarship

Orexins are neuropeptides synthesized in the lateral hypothalamus that influence arousal, feeding, reward pathways, and the response to stress. However, the role of orexins in repeated stress is not fully characterized. Here, we examined how orexins and their receptors contribute to the coping response during repeated social defeat and subsequent anxiety-like and memory-related behaviors. Specifically, we used Designer Receptors Exclusively Activated by Designer Drugs (DREADDs) to stimulate orexins prior to each of five consecutive days of social defeat stress in adult male rats. Additionally, we determined the role of the orexin 2 receptor in these behaviors by using a selective …

The Diagnosis Of Asymptomatic Disease Is Associated With Fewer Healthy Days: A Cross Sectional Analysis From The National Health And Nutrition Examination Survey, Janel Hanmer, Lan Yu, Jie Li, Dio Kavalieratos, Laurel M. Peterson, Rachel Hess

Psychology Faculty Research and Scholarship

Objective

To examine the effect of the diagnosis of asymptomatic disease on health‐related quality of life (HRQoL).

Design

Secondary analysis of a national data set.

Method

We analysed adult participants in the 2011–2012 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) of the civilian non‐institutionalized US general population. Across three asymptomatic diseases (glucose intolerance, hyperlipidaemia, and hypertension), we examined four groups (without disease; with disease but no diagnosis; with disease and diagnosis but no treatment; and with disease, diagnosis, and treatment). For each asymptomatic disease, we examined group differences in self‐rated health (ordinal logistic regression) and Healthy Days outcomes (number of …

Developmental Trends In Sleep During Adolescents' Transition To Young Adulthood, Heejung Park

Psychology Faculty Research and Scholarship

Objective: Poor sleep poses negative health consequences for youth, yet few longitudinal actigraphy studies have examined basic developmental trends in sleep across adolescents’ transition to young adulthood. In this longitudinal actigraphy study, stability of individual differences and trajectories of sleep during and after high school were examined. The degree to which sleep trajectories differed by college attendance status was also studied.

Methods: A total of 343 youth with Asian, Latino, and European American backgrounds completed eight days of wrist actigraphy at two-year intervals in Wave 1(n= 295, M_age= 16.39), Wave 2 (n= …

Resting State Coupling Between The Amygdala And Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex Is Related To Household Income In Childhood And Indexes Future Psychological Vulnerability To Stress, Jamie L. Hanson, Dustin Albert, Ann T. Skinner, Shutian H. Shen, Kenneth A. Dodge, Jennifer E. Lansford

Psychology Faculty Research and Scholarship

While child poverty is a significant risk factor for poor mental health, the developmental pathways involved with these associations are poorly understood. To advance knowledge about these important linkages, the present study examined the developmental sequelae of childhood exposure to poverty in a multiyear longitudinal study. Here, we focused on exposure to poverty, neurobiological circuitry connected to emotion dysregulation, later exposure to stressful life events, and symptoms of psychopathology. We grounded our work in a biopsychosocial perspective, with a specific interest in “stress sensitization” and emotion dysregulation. Motivated by past work, we first tested whether exposure to poverty was related …

Sex- And Stress-Dependent Effects On Dendritic Morphology And Spine Densities In Putative Orexin Neurons, Laura A. Grafe, Eric Geng, Brian Corbett, Kimberly Urban, Seema Bhatnagar

Psychology Faculty Research and Scholarship

We recently found that non-stressed female rats have higher basal prepro-orexin expression and activation of orexinergic neurons compared to non-stressed males, which lead to impaired habituation to repeated restraint stress at the behavioral, neural, and endocrine level. Here, we extended our study of sex differences in the orexin system by examining spine densities and dendritic morphology in putative orexin neurons in adult male and female rats that were exposed to 5 consecutive days of 30-min restraint. Analysis of spine distribution and density indicated that putative orexinergic neurons in control non-stressed females had significantly more dendritic spines than those in control …

Passive Coping Strategies During Repeated Social Defeat Are Associated With Long-Lasting Changes In Sleep In Rats, Laura A. Grafe, Lauren O’Mara, Anna Branch, Jane Dobkin, Sandra Luz, Abigail Vigderman, Aakash Shingala, Leszek Kubin, Richard Ross, Seema Bhatnagar

Psychology Faculty Research and Scholarship

Exposure to severe stress has immediate and prolonged neuropsychiatric consequences and increases the risk of developing Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Importantly, PTSD develops in only a subset of individuals after exposure to a traumatic event, with the understanding of this selective vulnerability being very limited. Individuals who go on to develop PTSD after a traumatic experience typically demonstrate sleep disturbances including persistent insomnia and recurrent trauma-related nightmares. We previously established a repeated social defeat paradigm in which rats segregate into either passively or actively coping subpopulations, and we found that this distinction correlates with measures of vulnerability or resilience to …

Decision Making, Julia Nolte, David M. N. Garavito, Valerie F. Reyna

Chapters in Books

Choice is ubiquitous, from small decisions such as whether to bring an umbrella to life-changing choices such as whether to get married. Making good decisions is a lifelong challenge. Psychologists have long been fascinated by the mechanisms that underlie human decision making. Why do different people make different decisions when offered the same choices? What are common decision making errors? Which choice option is the “best” and why? These questions are addressed in this chapter.

We first outline models and theories of decision making, defining key concepts and terms. We then describe the psychological processes of decision makers and how …

The Effects Of Ambient Benevolent Sexism And Its Implications In The Workplace, Amanda E. Mosier

Masters Theses

"The purpose of this study was to examine women's reactions to witnessing benevolent sexism (i.e., ambient benevolent sexism). Female participants (n = 59) witnessed another woman being treated with hostile sexism (HS), benevolent sexism (BS), or no sexism and their reactions were examined in respect to a) working memory capacity, b) task-specific self-efficacy, c) mental intrusions of incompetence, and d) negative affect. The study also examined how participants' personal endorsement of BS impacted the relationship between sexism condition and the outcome variables. Results indicate that there were no direct effects of sexism condition on the outcome variables, though there was …

The Eyes Never Lie: Detecting Simulated Traumatic Brain Injury With Eye-Tracking, Robert John Kanser

Wayne State University Dissertations

Performance validity test (PVT) inaccuracies can be explained by both test and extra-test (e.g., research design components) factors. Eye-tracking is a promising technology to enhance assessment of performance validity. Prior research has established that ocular behaviors are reliable biomarkers of (un)conscious cognitive processes. Experimental research on deception has shown that ocular behaviors reliably distinguish feigned concealment of information from honest responding. The primary objective of this study was to examine the incremental utility of incorporating eye-tracking into a clinical PVT to distinguish adults with verified TBI from adults coached to feign cognitive impairment. A secondary objective was to determine the …

Reflecting On The Context Of A Teaching Philosophy, Judith Platania

Arts & Sciences Faculty Publications

Teaching experience is only valuable when we reflect on our practices as professors. This reflection should expand our realization of the challenges we face in the classroom.As faculty, we have an obligation to our students and to ourselves to participate in continued assessment of our teaching philosophy.Not only is it important to do so from a pedagogical perspective, it reminds us of our responsibility to inform our students through evidence-based practices and the science of our respective disciplines.

Trends In American Newspaper Coverage Of Autism, Allison Miller

Master of Arts in Communication

The public's understanding of disabilities is cultivated via several media resources, including news media. Disability scholars often cite negative representations of disabilities in mass media, yet analyses of newspaper journalists' coverage of autism remain scarce. The present study explores the frames, stereotypes, stigmatizing cues, and individuals cited in news coverage of autism through a content analysis of The New York Times and USA Today coverage of autism from 2013-2016. The findings revealed that episodic frames are consistently utilized to discuss autism. References to abnormal social tendencies and coupling autism with adverse circumstances were the most common stereotypes in newspaper coverage. …

Using Behavioral Skills Training To Teach Children With Autism To Seek Help From Law Enforcement Officers When Lost, Greta Kos

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are at an elevated risk of becoming lost in situations due to running away or wandering behaviors. When children with ASD become lost it may be difficult for them to effectively and efficiently seek help from community helpers in a safe manner due to communication deficits and poor social skills. This study aims to teach children with ASD how to identify when they are lost and how to seek help from police officers in the community by vocalizing the problem and using a communication card. Generalization probes were conducted with three children diagnosed with …

Development And Validation Of The Japanese Version Of The Savoring Beliefs Inventory (Sbi-J)., Atsushi Kawakubo, Fred B. Bryant, Erika Miyakawa, Takashi Oguchi

Psychology: Faculty Publications and Other Works

Savoring is defined as people’s capacity to attend to positive experiences and to regulate positive feelings in response to positive events. The purpose of this study was to develop a Japanese adaptation of the Savoring Beliefs Inventory (SBI-J). The SBI is a self-report measure designed to assess individuals’ beliefs about their ability to savor positive experience within three temporal orientations involving future-focused anticipation of upcoming positive events, present-focused savoring of ongoing positive moments, and past-focused reminiscence about positive memories. After back-translating the SBI, we used an Internet survey to administer the instrument, along with a set of validational criterion measures, …

Assessing Facilitator Adherence For The Delivery Of Cognitive Training Programs To Older Adults, Lydia Fry

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The majority of psychological research has focused on outcomes of intervention, while there has been relatively little focus on measuring adherence to treatment protocol and how competently interventions are delivered. Issues of adherence and competence apply not only to psychotherapy research, but also in the field of cognitive training. The New England Cognitive Center (NECC) has disseminated manualized cognitive training programs for older adults who may be experiencing varying levels of cognitive decline. The purpose of the current study was to develop measures of adherence and competence for the Active Mind cognitive training program created by the NECC as well …

The Path Of A Stressed Temporary Worker To Cwb, Jamie Striler

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Temporary workers may experience unique and oftentimes stressful work situations that can precipitate negative outcomes for these workers, their coworkers, and their organizations. The current study considered broader implications of the various work experiences among temporary workers by testing the relationships of workplace stressors to temporary workers' behaviors. The workplace stressors examined were chosen based on their salience to temporary workers as shown throughout the current temporary worker literature, and included economic stressors, interpersonal mistreatment, and organizational constraints. It was hypothesized that these stressors would predict temporary workers' behaviors via emotional exhaustion and moral disengagement pathways, predicting the performance of …

Arab American Women's Health Study: Correlational And Experimental Examination Of A Sexual Health Interview, Hannah Holmes

Wayne State University Dissertations

Arab Americans are a diverse group of Americans of Arab heritage or identity. Given the underrepresentation of Arab Americans in research and a taboo surrounding sexuality in Arab culture, it is not surprising that Arab American sexual health is understudied, even though sexuality is an important aspect of health. Arab American women face the challenging task of negotiating both their heritage and American culture, which may have implications for sexual health due to the two cultures’ disparate views on sexuality. Given the conflict and taboo likely to surround the topic of sexuality among Arab American women, confidential discussion of these …

An Analysis And Critique Of Mental Health Treatment In American State Prisons And Proposal For Improved Care, Shelby Hayne

Scripps Senior Theses

Mental health treatment in state prisons is revealed to be highly variable, under-funded, and systematically inadequate. Existing literature exposes this injustice but fails to provide a comprehensive proposal for reform. This paper attempts to fill that gap, outlining a cost-effective, evidence-based treatment proposal, directly addressing the deficits in care revealed through analysis of our current system. In addition, this paper provides historical overviews of the prison system and mental health treatment, utilizing theoretical perspectives to contextualize this proposal in the present state of affairs. Lastly, the evidence is provided to emphasize the potential economic and social benefits of improving mental …

A Behavioral Confirmation And Reduction Of The Natural Versus Synthetic Drug Bias, Brian P. Meier, Amanda J. Dillard, Eric S. Osorio, Courtney M. Lappas

Psychology Faculty Publications

Research reveals a biased preference for natural versus synthetic drugs; however, this research is based upon self-report and has not examined ways to reduce the bias. We examined these issues in five studies involving 1,125 participants. In a Pilot Study (N = 110), participants rated the term natural to be more positive than the term synthetic, which reveals a default natural-is-better belief. In Studies 1 (N = 109) and 2 (N = 100), after a supposed personality study, participants were offered a thank you “gift” of a natural or synthetic pain reliever. Approximately 86% (Study 1) and 93% (Study 2) …

Sexual Mutilation Of Muslim Girls, Today In The United States, Robert Brannon

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

No abstract provided.

Training Culturally Competent Practitioners: Student Reflections On The Process, Shuntay Z. Tarver, Melvin Herring

Counseling & Human Services Faculty Publications

A major aspect of cultural competence is developing critical self-reflection skills. Critical self-reflection is a culturally competent practice that positions practitioners with the ability to recognize and respond to the influence of power, privilege, and oppression within client interactions. Contributing to the existing literature on cultural competence, this article posits that teaching critical self-reflection is an essential aspect of training culturally competent practitioners. To investigate this connection, researchers qualitatively examined the retrospective accounts of 15 human services students who critically reflected on an assignment: exploring how they were personally impacted by issues of power, privilege, and oppression. Findings unveiled students’ …

Orthorexia Nervosa Among College Students: Associations With Restrictive Eating, Excessive Exercise, And Psychological Distress, Alyssa Lawson

Senior Honors Theses and Projects

Orthorexia Nervosa (ON) is defined as a "fixation" or an unhealthy obsession with eating healthy food (Bratman, 2000). ON is not considered an official eating disorder in the DSM-5; however, ON consists of an intense diet regimen (Mcinerney-Ernst, 2011). Individuals who suffer from ON have found to be considerably invested in the foods they consume and how meals are prepared. ON can be a cause for a concern because some individuals would rather starve than eat foods which they consider to be "impure" (Donini, Marsili, Graziani, Imbriale, & Cannella, 2004). Individuals with ON have been found to be more interested …

Association Between Adverse Childhood Experiences, Socioeconomic Status, Access To Care And Depression In Adults, Sierra Powdhar

Senior Honors Theses and Projects

In the United States, estimates suggest that 45% of adults endorse having experienced at least one of the ten items of the Adverse Childhood Experiences Questionnaire (Sacks, 2018). Having adverse experiences in childhood is strongly related to the development of a wide range of health problems later in life, including depression (SAMHA, 2018; CDC, 2016). However, it is not fully understood what accounts for this association. One factor that may account for the relationship between ACEs and depression could be lower socioeconomic status (SES). Specifically, I am proposing an explanatory model built upon the following linkages that are supported in …

Facebook And Emotion Regulation, Jennifer Dement

Senior Honors Theses and Projects

Social Media Use (SMU) is a relatively new phenomenon, but one which has rapidly become ubiquitous in common culture, globally. Many users report benefit and some research supports assertions that there are benefits to be gleaned from healthy SMU. However, there are a great deal of studies exploring risks and negative consequences for some users. More specifically, there is a growing body of research considering whether SMU is an addictive behavior that may function to regulate emotion. Emotion Regulation (ER) has not been studied in any depth in relation to SMU, but has been studied in relation to established addictions. …

Aviation Weather Products In General Aviation: Interpretability And Usability Research Trends, Jacqueline Mcsorley, Jayde King, Beth Blickensderfer

General Aviation Weather Display Interpretation

As a result of advances in weather forecasting and technology, today’s General Aviation (GA) pilots have access to a wealth of aviation weather information. During pre-flight planning, GA pilots may access weather radar images, satellite pictures, winds, and forecast maps. During flight, pilots can access in-cockpit weather displays, as well as, handheld portable weather devices. Despite the increasing advancement and accessibility of weather displays, there is limited research addressing the interpretability of both in-cockpit and preflight weather displays. This is particularly concerning considering that preflight planning and poor product interpretability have been cited as possible contributing factors for GA weather …

Usability Analysis Of Convective Sigmets, Jackie Mcsorley, Beth Blickensderfer

General Aviation Weather Display Interpretation

• Introduction
• Methods
• Results

○ Interface Analysis: System Usability Scale

○ Workload Analysis: NASA-TLX

• Discussion
• Current Investigations

Preflight Weather Worksheet, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

Weather Training Modules

Preflight Weather Worksheet

• Big Picture
• Hazards
• Visibility

Volition And The Readiness Potential, Paul David Sanford

Online Theses and Dissertations

In the “Libet study” the onset of movement-related brain activity preceded the reported time of the conscious intention to move, suggesting that non-conscious brain processes predetermine voluntary movements (Libet, Gleason, Wright, & Pearl, 1983). While the study’s basic results have been replicated, its validity and assumptions have been questioned. Dominik et al. (2017) provided evidence against the study’s assumption that movement and intention to move are distinct events. In this study, in which researchers did not train participants to distinguish between movement and intention, reports for intention and movement were identical. This differed from the Libet study, in which intention …

A Qualitative Investigation Of Clinical Mental Health Counseling Interns’ Experiential Reflections On The Popular Film, Moonlight: An Intersectional Activity In Multicultural Counselor Education, Joshua Elliott

Online Theses and Dissertations

Counselor educators and supervisors have the incumbent responsibility to ensure that CITs are sufficiently prepared to engage in counseling work with clientele from diverse backgrounds. Extant literature has demonstrated the use of film to teach CITs about racism and antiracism, promote exploration and awareness of racial attitudes, and examine the interactions of culturally diverse individuals. Films have also been utilized to assist CITs with acquiring knowledge about certain categorical cultural and social populations. Despite the recognition of popular film as a beneficial media to facilitate cultural learning in counselor education, there exists a gap in the literature regarding the experiences …

Impact Of The Big 5 And Sensation Seeking Personality Traits On Everyday Deception, Bailey Mcguffin

Online Theses and Dissertations

Everyday Deception is an important aspect of life, yet a dearth of research has examined the influence of the Big 5 personality traits and Sensation Seeking tendencies on an individual’s likelihood to engage in Everyday Deception. While previous research has investigated the relationships between the Big 5 and deception as well as Sensation Seeking and deception, no prior research has looked at the combined effects of these personality traits. The purpose of this study is to clarify and extend prior research examining personality factors that index the nature and extent of Everyday Deception. It was hypothesized that 1) Sensation Seeking …