Psychology Commons^™

Nurse-Led Positive Psychology Intervention Is Feasible In Patients With Heart Failure, Erin Taylor

DNP Projects

Introduction:  Prevalence of heart failure (HF) in the US is projected to rise 46% by 2030, resulting in more than 8 million people with HF.  Negative psychologic states including depression and pessimism (negative future expectations) have been linked with poor cardiovascular outcomes, including HF.  Despite the fact that optimism (positive future expectations) and other positive affective states have been associated with superior outcomes, there has been little focus on interventions designed to increase positive psychological states in patients with HF.

Objective: To test the acceptability and feasibility of a nurse-led positive psychology intervention, Best Possible Self (BPS).

Methods: A convenience …

Screen Time And The Effects On Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Cassandra Starks

DNP Projects

PURPOSE: The purpose of this project is to determine if an educational intervention with families decreased overall screen time use in school-aged children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

METHODS: This study was a single group pre-test, post-test interventional study design. The sample population consisted of the parents/guardians of 30 school-aged children diagnosed with ADHD (5-12 years) recruited from the University of Kentucky Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics Clinic between November 2019 and February 2020. Parents completed a survey about their child’s daily screen time exposure (tablets/cell phones, laptops/computers, video games, and television) and were educated how screen time can exacerbate ADHD symptoms, …

Burnout And Self-Stigma Of Seeking Psychological Help In Military Healthcare Providers, Odelia N. Mcfadden

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Military healthcare providers (HCPs) are tasked with maintaining the military’s mission readiness while balancing the roles of being providers and military members themselves. As such, military HCPs serve in various settings, including hospitals, clinics, ships, and austere environments. Military HCPs may experience a host of occupational stressors, such as long deployments, being in the line of fire, seeing dead or injured comrades, responding to mass casualty events, having excessive caseloads, and working prolonged hours. These factors make military HCPs susceptible to burnout. Unfortunately, stigma of seeking psychological help is prevalent in the military and may deter individuals from seeking the …

Stress, Cognitive Distortions, Engagement In Self-Care, And Burnout In Psychology Graduate Students, Lauren Matturro

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Psychology graduate students are tasked with finding a balance between academic responsibilities, clinical training, home life, time constraints, and financial concerns. These competing demands lead to stress, which is well documented in medical students with similar workloads, but understudied in psychology graduate students. Previous studies indicate that perceived stress can be linked to prevalence of an individual’s cognitive distortions. Additionally, stress within the human service fields often leads to burnout. Self-care is widely recognized as a preventative effort against developing burnout. However, as students have limited time, they may find engaging in self-care activities to be difficult. The purpose of …

Mobilizing Heads And Hearts For Wildlife Conservation, Valérie A. M. Schoof, Simon L'Allier

Animal Sentience

Highlighting the shared evolutionary relationships between humans and animals — and recognizing that all species, including humans, are unique in their own way — may facilitate caring for and conserving animals by tapping into a human emotion: empathy.

Numeracy And Social Justice: A Wide, Deep, And Longstanding Intersection, Kira Hamman, Victor Piercey, Samuel L. Tunstall

Numeracy

We discuss the connection between the numeracy and social justice movements both in historical context and in its modern incarnation. The intersection between numeracy and social justice encompasses a wide variety of disciplines and quantitative topics, but within that variety there are important commonalities. We examine the importance of sound quantitative measures for understanding social issues and the necessity of interdisciplinary collaboration in this work. Particular reference is made to the papers in the first part of the Numeracy special collection on social justice, which appear in this issue.

Image-Based Sexual Abuse: A Qualitative Exploration Of The Lived Experience And Perceived Consequences For Women, Brienna L. Webb

Theses : Honours

Being a highly convoluted and contemporaneous issue, defining and conceptualising image based sexual abuse has proved difficult for scholars. Although research on image-based sexual abuse is limited, previous inquiries have identified serious consequences and accumulative harms for affected individuals. I aimed to explore the lived experience and consequences of image-based sexual abuse as identified by women, in an attempt to taper the research dearth on this phenomenon. An in-depth qualitative phenomenological exploration of seven women’s experiences of image-based sexual abuse saw five overarching themes emerge from participants’ discourse. The themes comprised mental health impacts; perceptions of self; loss of control; …

ปัจจัยที่จําแนกระหว่างผู้ทํางานอาสาสมัครกับผู้ไม่ทํางานอาสาสมัครในกลุ่มนิสิตนักศึกษาเขตกรุงเทพมหานครและปริมณฑล, ดวงธรรม โชคชุลีกร

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

การวิจัยครั้งนี้มีวัตถุประสงค์เพื่อศึกษาปัจจัยที่จําแนกระหว่างผู้ทํางานอาสาสมัครกับผู้ไม่ทํางานอาสาสมัครในกลุ่มนิสิตนักศึกษาเขตกรุงเทพมหานครและปริมณฑล กลุ่มตัวอย่างในการวิจัยครั้งนี้เป็นนิสิตนักศึกษาทุกระดับชั้นที่มีอายุระหว่าง 19-30 ปี (M = 22.13 ปี, SD = 3.37) จำแนกตามการทำกิจกรรมอาสาสมัครออกเป็น 2 กลุ่ม ได้แก่ ผู้ทำกิจกรรมอาสาสมัครในช่วง 6 เดือนที่ผ่านมา 142 คน และผู้ไม่ทำกิจกรรมอาสาสมัครในช่วง 6 เดือนที่ผ่านมา 120 คน ตัวแปรที่ศึกษาในการวิจัยประกอบด้วย การมีจุดมุ่งหมายในชีวิต ความเชื่อมั่นในศาสนา การจัดการความรู้สึกด้านลบ การสร้างคุณค่าให้กับสังคม การพัฒนาตนเองด้านการทำงาน การพัฒนาตนเองด้านการเรียนรู้และเข้าใจ การเห็นคุณค่าในตนเอง การพัฒนาตนเองด้านความสัมพันธ์ในสังคม และการมีต้นแบบจากพ่อ แม่ หรือเพื่อน ตัวแปรตามคือการเป็นอาสาสมัคร เครื่องมือที่ใช้ในการวิจัย คือแบบสอบถามข้อมูลทั่วไป แบบสอบถามความเชื่อมั่นในศาสนา แบบสอบถามการมีต้นแบบจากพ่อ แม่ หรือเพื่อนเป็นอาสาสมัคร แบบวัดแรงจูงใจในการทำกิจกรรมอาสาสมัคร และแบบวัดการมีจุดมุ่งหมายในชีวิต ใช้การวิเคราะห์ข้อมูลด้วยวิธีถดถอยโลจิสติก ผลการวิจัยสามารถอธิบายความแปรปรวนของการเป็นอาสาสมัครได้ร้อยละ 17.8 โดยมีปัจจัยที่สามารถจำแนกการเป็นอาสาสมัครได้อย่างมีนัยสำคัญทางสถิติ (p< .05) 3 ประการได้แก่ ความเชื่อมั่นในศาสนา การมีต้นแบบจากพ่อ แม่ หรือเพื่อน และการมีจุดมุ่งหมายในชีวิต ทั้งนี้สมการถดถอยโลจิสติกสามารถทำนายการเป็นอาสาสมัครได้ร้อยละ 65.6

The Mediation Of Athlete Satisfaction On The Relationship Of Role Dimensions And Team Commitment, Alesondra Colbert

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

In the industrial and organizational domain, an individual’s commitment to an organization can be influenced by the perceived satisfaction with their work experience (Meyer & Allen, 1991; Porter et al., 1974). Moreover, previous research has demonstrated role components, specifically role stressors (i.e., role ambiguity, role conflict, role overload) as antecedents of commitment (Mathieu & Zajac, 1990; Meyer et al., 2002; Mowday et al., 1982).Correspondingly, it has been demonstrated that role components may impact an individual’s satisfaction. Specifically, role ambiguity and role satisfaction have been exhibited to be significant correlates of athlete satisfaction (Eys et al., 2003; Jones, 2006). Although these …

The Effects Of Ses Stereotypes On Hurricane Decision Making, Alexandria D. Booth

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Despite the severe and often costly consequences associated with severe weather instances, there is a continuing problem with noncompliance to weather warnings. This issue is pervasive, and research has shown a number of factors that are related to weather response (Joslyn & LeClerc, 2013). Further, individuals of a low socioeconomic status (SES) are often disproportionately impacted by severe weather instances, such as hurricanes (Elliot & Pais, 2006). Past research has shown that individuals of a low education level do not understand some aspects (e.g., numerical uncertainty) of a weather warning, suggesting that weather warnings may not be accessible for all …

An Examination Of The Effects Of Guided Imagery Theme On Stress And Mood Following An Ego-Depletion Task, Thomas H. Hutchison

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

People experience stress on a daily basis. If not properly managed, stress can lead to disturbances in cognitive functioning, mood-related problems, obesity, and heart disease. Guided imagery has been shown to be an effective technique to help people recover from stress. The literature on guided imagery, however, does not take the theme of the guided imagery script into account. Additionally, there are gaps in the research regarding any interaction between rurality and mood, stress, and guided imagery. A repeated measures MANOVA was conducted to test the main aim of this study; that is, to determine if theme of guided imagery …

Does Emotion-Regulation Moderate Ostracism And Risk-Taking?, Serena K. Murphy Ms.

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Ostracism, feeling excluded or ignored, has been associated with increased risk-taking behavior on a number of self-report and lab-based measures (Buelow & Wirth, 2017; Duclos, Wan, & Jiang, 2012; Falk et al., 2014; Svetieva et al. 2016). Anger mediates the relationship between ostracism and risk-taking (Svetieva et al., 2016), and it is possible that emotion-regulation strategies to reduce anger may minimize this relationship. However, research has yet to test if emotion-regulation strategies can reduce affective responses following ostracism. The purpose of the current study is to examine the effects of ostracism via Cyberball and emotion-regulation strategies on risk-taking behavior using …

Does Enhancing Mind Perception Affect Conspiracy Belief?, Jorge R. Noguera - Sepulveda

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

This study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of a novel mind perception manipulation. Mind perception is currently theorized to be an essential aspect of a number of human social psychological processes. Thus, a successful manipulation would allow for the causal study of those processes. This manipulation was created in an attempt to explore the downstream impact of mind perception on the endorsement of conspiracy theories. Conspiracy theories are steadily becoming more and more prominent in social discourse. Endorsement of conspiracy theories are beginning to show real world ramifications such as a danger to human health (e.g., in the anti-vaccination …

The Impact Of Language Complexity In Weather Warnings: Does It Matter?, Ryan E. Arflin

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

This study examines how jargon and language complexity impact perceptions of tornado warnings. Protection motivation theory (PMT) asserts that as the readability and use of jargon in a warning and call to action increases, an individual’s ability to estimate threat and respond accordingly decreases. However, research had not examined how the use of complex language in a meteorological setting impact coping factors (self-efficacy, response efficacy, and response cost) and threat factors (vulnerability, fear, and severity). This study tested whether jargon in weather warnings and increased language complexity in calls to action affected PMT variables. Eighty-one participants viewed tornado warnings and …

Burnout: Moving Beyond The Status Quo, Renzo Bianchi, Irvin Sam Schonfeld, Éric Laurent

Publications and Research

Burnout has been defined as a job-induced syndrome combining emotional exhaustion, depersonalization/cynicism, and a sense of reduced personal accomplishment. In this article, we expand on past analyses of burnout by reviewing key, yet overlooked, problems affecting the construct. We concomitantly examine the implications of these problems for the overall validity of burnout research. Our work shows that burnout research is undermined by 4 main problems. First, what constitutes a case of burnout is unclear. Second, the basic conceptualization and operationalization of burnout are ill aligned. Third, burnout is unlikely to be the specifically job-induced syndrome it has been posited to …

Detention As Deterrence, Emily Ryo

Faculty Scholarship

Does immigration detention deter unauthorized migration? This is a pressing question with critical policy implications given that the U.S. government has detained tens of thousands of migrants in reliance on this deterrence rationale. Briefly described, the federal government has argued that “one particular individual may be civilly detained for the sake of sending a message” to others “who may be considering immigration. In recent times, the potential migrants to whom the federal government has sought to send such a message are, by and large, from Mexico and Central America. Emerging empirical research, however, provides little to no evidence that detention …

Effects Of Political Ingroup/Outgroup Rejection On Behavior And Physiology, Hannah Rose Lentfer

Honors Program Theses

Previous research shows that both exclusion and intergroup threat can increase prejudice and biological markers such as cortisol. Exclusion from an outgroup should increase prejudice and cortisol more than similar interactions in an ingroup since it incorporates both exclusion and intergroup threat. Change in cortisol and prejudice was examined in fifty participants who were excluded by either a politically-based ingroup or outgroup. Two t-tests were conducted to examine the change in a) cortisol and b) prejudice as a function of experimental ingroup/outgroup conditions. Additional analyses were also conducted to further explore cortisol changes and similarity. Cortisol increased more in participants …

The Relation Between Disordered Eating, Stress, And Anxiety In First-Year College Women, Jenna K. Anderson

Honors Program Theses

Eating disorders are serious mental illnesses which can impact any individual. Although they can negatively affect anyone, they disproportionately affect young women. The same is true for individuals with disordered eating. Disordered eating is more common than clinical eating disorders. The term disordered eating refers to subclinical eating disturbances. Past research has demonstrated a relation between disordered eating, stress, and anxiety. The current study expands upon this by examining these variables in first-year college-enrolled women. Participants were n=99 first-year college women who filled out the DASS-21, the EDE-Q, and a demographics questionnaire. Based on previous results, it was hypothesized that …

The Impact Of Chronic Poverty On Children's Behavioral Health And Learning Outcomes, Anna Catherine Rasmussen

Honors Program Theses

Chronic poverty is an unfortunate reality many children face every day. The current literature review evaluated the impact poverty has on children’s behavioral health and learning outcomes. Research consistently shows that children living in poverty experience higher rates of conduct problems, such as Conduct Disorder (CD), as well as increased learning problems, such as Specific Learning Disorders (SLD) and diminished academic success. There are several theories for this relation, encompassing both environmental and biological influences, which are reviewed herein. The overall conclusion is that living in poverty negatively impacts children’s behavioral and learning outcomes.

Teaching The Leisure Skill Of Photography To Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Alicia Tsai

CMC Senior Theses

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often do not use their leisure time appropriately. Previous studies have shown that children with ASD tend to engage in inappropriate actions and maladaptive behaviors (such as engaging in stereotypy and tantrums) that decrease their quality of life. Establishing age-appropriate leisure skills is important for these children as these skills have been recognized as fulfilling habilitative needs, and can increase the quality of life and social acceptance and decrease the amount of stress for these individuals. The present study used a multiple baseline across-participants design to investigate whether children with ASD can learn and …

Leadership, Empowerment, And Motivation: An Analysis Of Modern Management, Patrick J. Myers

CMC Senior Theses

The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of management in organizations and, specifically, look at the overlap between management and leadership with a particular focus on empowerment. With considerations of previous literature, current examples, and a case study interview, this literature seeks to solidify the importance of leadership by managers in the workplace. Furthermore, it seeks to highlight the role of empowerment, presented by the leader and experienced by followers, in creating a thriving workplace built on culture and trust. Lastly, the literature aims to better understand the motivations of the modern employee to provide potential areas …

Dynamic Motivation To Lead: Construct Validity Of Motivation To Lead, Leya Aronoff

CMC Senior Theses

Although motivation to lead (MTL) was characterized as stable, recent research suggested otherwise. This study explored the malleability of MTL and its predictors. Individuals with high affective-identity MTL are motivated to lead because they enjoy leading. Individuals with high social normative MTL are motivated by an obligation to lead. Individuals with high noncalculative MTL are drawn to leadership because they avoid weighing the costs and benefits of leading. Applicants to a California college were sent a questionnaire on MTL and leadership self-efficacy (LSE) (Time 1 assessment, N = 2704). Four years later (Time 2), participants who responded at Time 1 …

Identity Invalidation Among Multiracial Individuals: Do The Identities Of The Source And Target Of Invalidation Matter?, Lauren Calogero

CMC Senior Theses

Previous research has indicated that racial identity invalidation has negative effects on multiracial individuals. Using a 2x2 mixed factorial design, this study investigates the effects of who does the invalidating (between subjects: Ingroup A vs. Unspecified Outgroup) and which of a multiracial individual’s strongest two racial identities is being invalidated (within subjects: Racial Identity A vs. Racial Identity B). Participants were 65 multiracial individuals recruited via social media to complete an online Qualtrics survey. Participants’ levels of psychological distress and identification with their strongest racial group were measured after they read each of two racial identity invalidation scenarios. We found …

Impact Of Music On Categorical Facial Perceptions, Andrew Segre

CMC Senior Theses

This paper explores the effect music has on inducing an emotion that impacts a person’s perception of facial expressions through two experiments. Previous research suggests that music has a significant impact on a person’s mood and a vast amount of research has been conducted analyzing facial perception. Extending previous literature, this study will investigate how the impact music has on a person’s mood can affect the way a person perceives the facial expression of another. Experiment 1 uses the anchor effect to highlight the ability music has to anchor a person’s mood powerfully enough to influence that person’s perception of …

Considering Parental Alienation When Assessing Best Interest Of The Child, Juno Adler

CMC Senior Theses

As the divorce rate in the United States remains steady at 50%, the last few decades have shown an increase in child custody disputes. Within these litigations, interparental conflict can reach high levels and incite behaviors that wreak havoc on the children who are caught in the middle. When considering custody arrangements, judges and other evaluators use the Best Interest of the Child Standard (BICS), a jurisdictionally-specific framework that examines several factors that contribute to a child’s health and well-being. Parents who allow their resentments to get the better of them sometimes engage in behavior that encourages their child to …

Consonant And Dissonant Music Chords Improve Visual Attention Capture, Graham Spurrier

CMC Senior Theses

Recent research has suggested that music may enhance or reduce cognitive interference, depending on whether it is tonally consonant or dissonant. Tonal consonance is often described as being pleasant and agreeable, while tonal dissonance is often described as being unpleasant and harsh. However, the exact cognitive mechanisms underlying these effects remain unclear. We hypothesize that tonal dissonance may increase cognitive interference through its effects on attentional cueing. We predict that (a) consonant musical chords are attentionally demanding, but (b) dissonant musical chords are more attentionally demanding than consonant musical chords. Using a Posner cueing task, a standard measure of attention …

Finding Balance Between The Needs For Conformity And Individuality: An Exploration Of Identity, C.C. Schwab

CMC Senior Theses

Just as society has changed a lot within the past 100 years, the concept of identity has also evolved significantly. A big factor in the evolution of identity has been the realization that social and group phenomena influence all conceptualizations of identity. In this review, I explore identity through the lens of Optimal Distinctiveness theory (ODT), which proposes that humans have two opposing social motives (distinctiveness and inclusiveness) that position them amidst an internal battle over identity.

I start by defining identity and the self, including the distinction between the two. Next, I explore identity formation and different types of …

Competition Between Veridical And Perceived Location For Visuomotor Control, Fatemeh Alhabib

Dissertations and Theses

An influential proposal holds that our visual systems use different information for perception and action. Though numerous studies utilized visual illusions, in which veridical and perceptual properties of objects differ, the evidence was inconclusive and no consensus was reached. In response priming, some evidence suggests that only physical attributes of the prime stimuli control motor responses. Across two experiments, we examined the contributions of physical and consciously perceived location to response priming, using a well-known flash-lag illusion, in which a briefly flashed disk and the moving bars appearing at the same location are perceived as displaced. In all experiments, participants …

Exploring Obesity, Adhd Severity, And Disordered Eating Behavior Among College Students, Carolina Rozario

Dissertations and Theses

Obesity is a global epidemic because of the potential health risks. There is evidence that many obese individuals manifest persistent ADHD symptoms, and that both disorders increase risk for binge eating. Nevertheless, how obesity and ADHD may increase risk for binge eating work is unclear. Neuropsychological deficits are common to all disorders and may help to explain the relations observed. The aim of this study was to explore whether neuropsychological dysfunction, especially inhibitory control weaknesses, moderate the association between greater BMI and more severe ADHD and disordered eating behaviors. Thirty-nine undergraduate college students (27 females; Mean age = 20.77, SD …

Where There's A Will, There's A Way: Implementing Motivational Strategies To Combat Decision Fatigue, David Huang

CMC Senior Theses

Recent research suggests we have a limited supply of willpower, termed the “ego”, which becomes depleted by undergoing cognitively demanding tasks. Any acts of volition, including decision-making, self-control, and taking responsibility, reduce this supply of “ego” (Baumeister, 1998), which impedes our ability to further perform these tasks. Decision fatigue, a specific form of ego depletion, is prevalent everywhere from judicial court cases (Danzinger, Levav, & Avnaim-Pesso, 2010) to our daily lives. There is now significant mainstream media exposure and literature on decision fatigue and the activities to which it applies. However, it remains contested how to best handle its negative …