Psychology Commons^™

Weight Loss And Self-Monitoring Among Young Men In A Technology-Driven Weight Loss Intervention, Jean M. Reading, Jessica G. Larose

Graduate Research Posters

Background

Young men with obesity have double the mortality risk compared to young men with a healthy weight, but are notoriously challenging to recruit for behavioral weight loss (BWL) programs. Emerging evidence suggests that young men might prefer self-guided or low touch interventions, but limited data are available as to their effectiveness. To inform future efforts, we conducted a secondary analysis of young men’s performance in a technology-driven BWL trial developed specifically for young adults. Objectives were to: 1) examine young men’s enrollment rates; and 2) compare young men and women’s weight loss outcomes and self-regulation behaviors.

Methods

Data were …

Child Psychological Maltreatment, Alison Boughn

Dissertations and Theses

Child psychological maltreatment (PM) is challenging to define and difficult for a child to articulate. This study introduces the development and initial implementation of the Psychological Maltreatment Inventory (PMI) with child participants. The PMI consists of 16 items validated by subject matter experts. The pilot study sample (N = 21) and large sample (N = 166) consisted of child participants currently involved in open child maltreatment cases at a Child Advocacy Center (CAC) in the Midwest. Quantitative research was used to explore the descriptive characteristics of the PMI to participant demographic information and correlational design to explore the relationship between …

A Comparison Of Older Adult Suicide And Adolescent Suicide Through Film Representations, Catherine Longmore-Micham

Honors Projects

Approximately, 47,173 people in the United States died by suicide in 2017, making it the 10th leading cause of death. Although middle-aged adults have the highest rate of suicide, 20.2 per 100,000, older adults (i.e., individuals 60 years and older) closely follow with a rate of 20.1. Adolescent age groups have much lower rates for suicide: a rate of 14.46 per 100,100 in 2017 (American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, 2017). The risk factors that affect adolescents and older adults are similar in some ways, but they differ in one major aspect: impulsivity. The issues that can be said to ‘cause’ …

Association Among Dispositional Mindfulness, Attention Control, And Academic Achievement In Children, Dan V. Strissel

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Mindfulness is everywhere. Smartphone applications, self-help books, manualized interventions, and non-profit organizations are but some of the avenues used to illuminate the singular power mindfulness can bestow. Curiously, some of the leading mindfulness researchers, despite their shared agreement of the conferrable benefits once practiced and applied, have professed fundamental disagreements about the nature and development of mindfulness, its measurability as a scientific construct, and whether it can ever be properly dissociated from Buddhist conceptualizations for use in secular contexts. In the case of mindfulness in children, for whom classroom-based manualized interventions have been produced, even less is known than is …

Examining The Relationship Between Self-Compassion And Emotion Regulation Strategies Using Ambulatory Assessment Methods, Lindsay Mae Miller

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Self-compassion focuses on how individuals treat themselves during periods of suffering. Overall, self-compassion is positively associated with adaptive mental health outcomes and negatively associated with psychopathology. One potential mechanism by which self-compassion may influence other constructs is emotion regulation. Unfortunately, most research about emotion regulation is conducted using retrospective reporting, meaning that the data are subject to memory biases. Ambulatory assessment methods allow for more frequent sampling, thus decreasing the reliance on recall. Using this methodology, the present study examined how differences in self-compassion were related to emotion regulation in daily life. Contrary to predictions, few ambulatory measures (depression, anxiety, …

Behavioral Interference Of Memory Reconsolidation As A Treatment For Post-Traumatic Stress Symptoms, Benjamin Darnell

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is best conceptualized as a failure of the stress response to naturally resolve following trauma exposure (e.g., Orcutt, Bonanno, Hannan, & Miron, 2014). Current treatments are effective for some, but not all who suffer from PTSD (e.g., Bradley, Greene, Russ, Dutra, & Westen, 2005; Lee et al., 2016), and relapse is common (Ursano et al., 2004; Davidson et al., 2001). Considering that PTSD is a memory-based disorder, a treatment that could augment trauma memories has the potential to address the limitations of current interventions. Research on memory suggests that, if a memory is retrieved under the …

The Effects Of Pre-Existing Beliefs About Alcohol Consumption On Predicting Victim Blame In Incapacitated And Drug Facilitated Rape, Robyn Alyssa Ellis

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Alcohol-involved sexual assault is more common on college and appears to garner more negative social reactions, such as victim blaming than forcible assault. There are two specified types of alcohol-involved sexual assaults identified in the literature: drug and alcohol facilitated rape (DAFR) and incapacitated rape (IR). Factors such as rape myths, rape scripts and alcohol expectancies also have been implicated in victim blaming. This study sought to test Abbey’s model of alcohol’s role in sexual assault in predicting victim blame by a third-party observer and examine differences in victim blame between IR and DAFR. Participants included 227 undergraduates at a …

Understanding The Relationship Between Perfectionism And Health: Mediational Effects Drug Use, Sarah Nelsen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Past research has provided evidence on the consequences of perfectionism. One particular consequence of perfectionism is that of general health. Research has suggested that perfectionism type influences general mental health. Using the 3-cluster perspective of perfectionism by Slaney, Rice, Mobley, Trippi, & Ashby (2001), the current work investigates the mediating effects of drug use on the relationship between perfectionism clusters and general mental health, in the context of Conservation of Resources Theory (COR; Hobfoll, 1989). Adaptive perfectionists had higher general mental health compared to non-perfectionists and maladaptive perfectionists. However, the three clusters of perfectionism did not differ in drug use …

The Economic And Psychological Determinants Of Sleep Among Adults In The United States, Caroline Jackson

Honors College Theses

No abstract provided.

How Childhood Traumatic Experiences Shape Elements Of Adult Personality And Mental Health, Ashley Aiosa

Honors College Theses

Mental illness can guide the path an adult chooses to take in their life. This paper will explore that having adverse childhood experiences can heighten the risk of PTSD and suicide risk in adulthood. Adults can develop disorders, and personality changes, because of events that happened in their childhood. The current research compiled examines “How Childhood Traumatic Experiences Shape Elements of Adult Personality and Mental Health”. This statement raises many important ideas, as there is a stigma that surrounds mental illness. Due to these stigmas, many people who suffer from mental illness are neglected or refuse to seek help. This …

A Sense Of Being: The Art Of A Changing Human Experience, Wing Yung Ng

Honors College Theses

No abstract provided.

Student Success: Lessons From The Center For Student Enterprise, Harshini Rajkumar

Honors College Theses

Student success is critically important to students, universities, and society. Measuring outcomes of programs is essential in determining what works and what doesn’t. Programs that improve outcomes should be analyzed and adopted by educational institutions at large. Research suggests that business schools prioritize case analysis over practical application leading to ‘low-integrative thinking’ (McCord and Michaelsen, 2015), a lack of practical knowledge, and effective communication. Experiential learning opportunities have been shown to overcome these challenges faced by business school students as it engages students intellectually and emotionally. Furthermore, experiential learning opportunities develop students holistically and effectively, preparing them for the competitive …

An Experimental Test Examining Preferable Romantic Characteristics As Displayed Through Social Media, Marcus A. Joyner

Honors College Theses

No abstract provided.

Predictors Of Adolescents’ Interest In Stem Majors And Careers, Ei Myint

Calvert Undergraduate Research Awards

Advanced Research Winner 2019:

The United States currently faces a shortage of qualified workers in fields related to science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). The first critical step in preventing the labor shortage in STEM is understanding the factors that guide adolescents toward STEM pursuits. Drawing on Eccles’ expectancy-value theory (EVT), the current study aims to identify factors that are relevant to adolescents’ interest in STEM majors and careers. Data were collected from 629 adolescents (M_age = 16.09). Participants attended a high school in northern California and predominantly identified as Asian American (82% of the sample). Preliminary analyses …

Volume 11, Jacob Carney, Ryan White, Joseph Hyman, Jenny Raven, Megan Garrett, Ibrahim Kante, Summer Meinhard, Lauren Johnson, William "Editha" Dean Howells, Laura Gottschalk, Christopher Siefke, Pink Powell, Natasha Woodmancy, Katharine Colley, Abbey Mays, Charlotte Potts

Incite: The Journal of Undergraduate Scholarship

Table of Contents:

Introduction, Dr. Roger A. Byrne, Dean

From the Editor, Dr. Larissa "Kat" Tracy

From the Designers, Rachel English, Rachel Hanson

Synthesis of 3,5-substituted Parabens and their Antimicrobial Properties, Jacob Coarney, Ryan White

Chernobyl: Putting "Perestroika" and "Glasnot" to the Test, Joseph Hyman

Art by Jenny Raven

Watering Down Accessibility: The Issue with Public Access to Alaska's Federal Waterways, Meagan Garrett

Why Has the Democratic Republic of the Congo outsourced its Responsibility to Educate its Citizens? Ibrahim Kante

Art by Summer Meinhard

A Computational Study of Single Molecule Diodes, Lauren Johnson

Satire of …

Differences In Sexual Delay Discounting Among In-Treatment Adults With Opioid Use Disorder, Jonathan J.K. Stoltman

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Previous research has found impulsive decision-making to be a core component of addiction (Moody, Franck, Hatz, & Bickel, 2016). One way to measure impulsive choice is through the use of a delay discounting task. The delay discounting task provides a way to measure choice of immediate, smaller rewards compared to delayed, larger rewards (Odum, 2011b). An emerging area of research in addiction science is the intersection of addiction and sexual health. Previous sexual delay discounting research has focused on whether attractiveness or STD risk can shift the likelihood of waiting until a condom was available (Johnson & Bruner, 2012). This …

Efficacy Of Cognitive Training Intervention With A Coaching Component On Attention And Response Control In Emerging Adults, Thomas Craig Foster Jr

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Cognitive training, a nonpharmacological intervention for attention and learning-related difficulties, is a promising treatment option for emerging adults. The aim of this study was to explore the efficacy of a cognitive training program with a coaching component on measures of attention and response control in university students. Between 2014 and 2017, 39 students with reported attention concerns engaged in a cognitive training program over ten weeks (20 sessions) at a university counseling center. Differences in participants’ attention and response control as measured by the IVA-2 Continuous Performance Test (CPT) were evaluated before and after the intervention. Demographic data, including clinician …

Untangling The Reciprocal Relation Of The Behavioral And Physiological Immune Systems, Baris Sevi

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

In the past decade, there has been an exponential increase in the study of the Behavioral Immune System (BIS), a suite of psychological processes that serves an infectious disease avoidance function. The BIS is proposed to be inherently intertwined with the physiological immune system. However, very few studies have actually demonstrated this fundamental, theoretical assumption. The purpose of this thesis was to test the possible relation between the physiological and behavioral immune systems in two studies. In Study 1 (N = 388), the relation between implied activation of the physiological immune system and BIS sensitivity was examined. Participants who reported …

Eyewitness Memory Recall In Adolescents With Callous-Unemotional Traits, Benjamin Dylan Thomas

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Individuals with high levels of psychopathic traits have been portrayed as having higher intelligence and better memory (Cleckley, 2015). In terms of developmental pathways for psychopathy, the strongest predictor of children and adolescents developing psychopathic traits in adulthood is high levels of callous-unemotional (CU) traits in childhood (Burke et al, 2007; Frick, 2009). Research has been mixed with regard to links between CU or psychopathic traits and memory performance in children and adults, with some studies finding that individuals with high levels of these traits demonstrated poorer memory performance (Bauer & Hesselbrock, 2001; Dolan & Fullam, 2005). This study examined …

Evaluating The Use Of Lottery-Based Contingency Management To Increase Physical Activity In Adults, Jennifer M. Owsiany

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

It is widely known that physically inactive adults are at a greater risk for developing noncommunicable diseases (e.g., cancer, stroke, coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes) and premature death compared to their physically active peers. Consequently, physical inactivity is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Thus, it is important to develop effective ways to increase and maintain physical activity. In the current study, we randomly assigned adults between the ages of 18 and 64 years old to one of three groups (i.e., contingency management, participation-based incentive, and self-monitoring). Participants wore Fitbit Alta HR fitness tracking devices, which provided …

Short-Term Abstinence Effects In Experienced Electronic Cigarette Users, Nicholas J. Felicione

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Nicotine/tobacco dependence is a problem that negatively affects health at an individual and population level. Nicotine/tobacco dependence may be best assessed by measuring withdrawal symptoms of a nicotine/tobacco user who abstains from use. Withdrawal symptoms experienced by cigarette smokers are well characterized, including deficits in attention and memory, as well as self-reported cravings, urges, and other symptoms. While withdrawal in cigarette smokers has been studied extensively, little is known about dependence and withdrawal associated with newer products, such as electronic cigarettes (ECIGs). ECIGs can deliver nicotine comparably to tobacco cigarettes, indicating that they may have the potential to cause dependence. …

Navigating The Closet: A Mixed Methods Approach To Assessing The Impact Of Concealment On Psychological Outcomes For Sexual And Gender Minorities, James Michael M. Brennan

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Background: Sexual and gender minority (SGM) individuals suffer at disproportionate rates of depression, anxiety, and substance use, among other mental and physical health outcomes, compared to heterosexual individuals. Concealment of non-heterosexual sexual identity and/or non-cisgender gender identity may be a key contributor to these disparities. Many SGM individuals engage in concealment as a means to avoid victimization, or because of negative perceptions of their own identity. Concealment as a construct has been conceptualized as comprising cognitive, affective, and behavioral components, each of which individually has been demonstrated to have negative health impacts. Additionally, concealment occurs over time between the intrapersonal …

Variations In Individualistic And Collectivistic Cultural Orientation And The Protective Factors That Contribute To Resilience: Comparisons From Jamaica, Rwanda, And The United States, Stacey Nicely

Dissertations

Problem

Despite the advancement in resilience research, and although mental health professionals are encouraged to become culturally competent, it is still unclear how I/C cultural orientation influence various protective factors that contribute to resilience. Individualists emphasize independence and autonomy while collectivists emphasize interdependence and in-group consensus (Hofstede, 1991; Markus & Kitayama, 1991). Therefore, it is expected that the protective factors that promote resilience will also operate differently for individualists as compared to collectivists (Triandis, 1995). Yet, mental health practitioners have very little information available to them to guide their intervention efforts with individualists and collectivists. When practitioners work with individuals …

The Influence Of Pornography Consumption, Religiosity, And Family Sexual Communication On Emerging Adults' Engagement In Hookup Culture In The United States, Angie Powels Horner

Dissertations

Purpose

The primary purpose of the current research was to understand the influence of considerable social-cultural factors, including pornography consumption, religiosity, and family sexual communication, on the sexual values and behaviors of the emerging adult population. Particularly, how pornography consumption, religiosity, and family sexual communication influence emerging adult engagement in hookup culture was examined.

Method

Participants completed several surveys, which measured participants’ pornography consumption, personal religiosity, family sexual communication, and engagement in hookup culture. A path analysis model was used to analyze the relationship between the proposed variables.

Results

The path analysis model indicated that the initial model was a …

The Effects Of Retrieval Strategy On A Collaborative Reconstruction Task, Amanda M. Bullock

Honors Theses

The purpose of the present experiment was to explore the effects of using various retrieval strategies on a collaborative reconstruction task. More specifically, we sought to determine the extent to which the Retrieval Strategy Disruption Hypothesis (RSD) could explain the effects of collaborative inhibition on such tasks. Collaborative inhibition is observed when collaborative group performance is lower than the pooled performance of an identical number of individuals working alone (nominal groups). The RSD hypothesis suggests that one group member’s output disrupts another group member’s idiosyncratic retrieval strategy leading to poorer performance relative to individuals working alone. In the present study, …

Active Shooters On Campus: University Of Mississippi Employees’ Perceptions And Preparedness, Calli Faye Holland

Honors Theses

The objective of this study was to examine university employees’ perceptions, knowledge, and preparedness of active shooter situations on campus, and how gender influences these factors. This study collected data from a broader survey of faculty and staff that examined crime on a college campus, perceptions about crime on campus, and knowledge about crime on campus. This research also serves as a companion piece to the research conducted by Mulvey (2018), where similar research questions were posed to a large sample of undergraduate students. As in Mulvey’s study, it was hypothesized that participants would report generally low levels of confidence …

Nothing Monstrous Existed Here: Uncanny Nature In The Southern Reach Trilogy, Morgan Mundy

Honors Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to explore the relationships between humans and their environments in Jeff VanderMeer’s The Southern Reach series. VanderMeer, throughout the trilogy, uses the horror aesthetics of the New Weird genre to break down the barriers between human and nonhuman, natural and unnatural. By showing the characters as more aware of their status as human and the agency of the natural world around them as a result of the novels’ plot, The Southern Reach forces characters and readers alike to confront a world in which becoming something more than human might be possible and even necessary …

Examination Of Communication And Social Media Usage Among Socially Anxious Individuals, Greyson K. Young

Honors Theses

Social anxiety disorder (SAD) affects between 6.8% and 12.1% of the U.S. population. At the core of SAD is the fear of social situations, and in particular, the fear of others’ positive (FPE) and negative (FNE) evaluation. Studies have found that social media and online/indirect communication are commonly used to minimize the experience of stress, anxiety, evaluation, and rejection commonly associated with face-to-face interactions. As such, the aims of the current study were 1) to characterize communication and social media use among socially anxious college students, and 2) to examine associations between social media use and FNE and FPE. The …

Feedback-Related Neuronal Processing During Motor Learning, Rosemary Marguerite Marquez

Honors Theses

Motor learning has been widely examined using electroencephalography (EEG) to record event related potentials (ERP). ERPs occur in response to given stimuli and represent underlying neural processes that are either modifying or being modified by motor learning. This study seeks to examine how movement feedback changes neural activity (i.e. ERPs) in the motor cortex, and more specifically, if feedback-related neuronal activity is modified by motor learning and visual feedback. A novel visuomotor rotation task was employed in which participants adapted their movement to a 30- degree counter-clockwise rotation. Feedback was given through the presence or absence of the trajectory line …

More Than Altruism: An Examination Of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'S Involvement In The Chicago Campaign And Protest Of The Vietnam War, Stephanie Poiroux

Honors Theses

This mix-method study examines whether Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s writing reflects altruism. Utilizing content analysis, I examined 60 of King’s sermons, speeches, letters, newspaper statements, and telegrams about the Chicago Campaign and the Vietnam War over two separate two-year periods starting from January 1, 1965 to December 31, 1967. King’s documents were scored based on the Altruistic Personality Scale for Leaders and Protest, which was created based on the characteristics of both passive and active bystanders derived from studies written by scholars of psychology. After analyzing the range, complexity, and density of King’s altruism, this study shows that all …