Psychology Commons^™

Relation Of Conscientiousness, Hostility, And Negative Affect To Blood Pressure Measured In An Unrestriced And In A Restriced Condition: Supplemental Analyses Of Data Generated From Hypertension Optimal Treatment (Hot Study)., Samantha Vazquez

Theses and Dissertations

he relationship between personality and blood pressure (BP) was examined under two conditions. Six hundred and sixty-six participants were selected from the original HOT study data set and asked to complete the Big Five Inventory, Cook Medley Hostility Scale, and the Positive and Negative Affect Scale. The two conditions were enrollment blood pressure, when the treatment of BP was unrestricted and qualifying blood pressure, when treatment of BP was restricted. Results revealed that conscientiousness had a strong relation to blood pressure in both conditions but had a stronger relation to blood pressure in the unrestricted condition. Hostility and negative affect …

Leveraging The Power Of Mutual Aid, Coalitions, Leadership, And Advocacy During Covid-19, Daniela Domínguez, Dellanira García, David A. Martínez, Belinda Hernandez-Arriaga

Psychology

The COVID-19 pandemic has shed light on the norms, patterns, and power structures in the United States that privilege certain groups of people over others. This manuscript describes COVID-19 as an unprecedented catalyst for social transformation that underscores the need for multi-level and cross-sectoral solutions to address systemic changes to improve health equity for all. The authors propose that the American Psychological Association and its membership can initiate systemic change, in part, by: (a) supporting mutual aid organizations that prioritize the needs of vulnerable communities; (b) leveraging the efforts and strides APA psychologists have already made within the association, in …

Career Barriers And Coping Efficacy With International Students In Counseling Psychology Programs, Daniela Domínguez, Hsiu-Lan Cheng, Lisa De La Rue

Psychology

This study uses Lent, Brown, and Hackett’s (1994) Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) as a framework for understanding the career barriers and coping efficacy experienced by master’s counseling psychology international students. Grounded in SCCT, we described coping efficacy as international students’ perceived capability to navigate career barriers. Using Braun and Clarke’s thematic analysis (2006), we explored the career barriers and coping efficacy of 12 master’s counseling psychology international students. The first focus area, “international journey with multiple barriers,” includes five themes: interpersonal stress; language barriers; financial pressures; advising concerns; and visa and immigration-related stress. The second focus area, “agents of …

Cognitive Performance In A Retired Nfl Population: Does Position Played And Racial Identity Impact Cognition?, Kimberly Chantelle Diah

Theses and Dissertations

Cognitive functioning is integral to everyday life as it involves mental processes crucial to everyday survival. Over the last decade, there has been increasing focus and controversy surrounding concussions sustained by players in popular contact sports. This attention has sparked national debates that continue to polarize both the sports and scientific communities on the long-standing neuroanatomical, cognitive, and psychiatric challenges that many retired NFL players experience later in life (Alosco et al., 2017; Hart et al., 2013). While studies have been conducted on the predictors of long-term neuropsychiatric and psychosocial outcomes following a traumatic brain injury, there are few studies …

Psychometric Analyses Of A Comprehensive Neuropsychological Battery For Retired Nfl Players, Kimberly Ethridge Fitzgibbon

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined psychometric properties of the NFL Concussion Battery used to examine neuropsychological functioning in retired NFL players who were part of the NFL’s concussion settlement. This battery assesses multiple areas of cognitive functioning; executive functioning, language, processing speed, attention and memory. The study included 117 participants who were male with at least 16 years of education. The sample was 75.9% African-American and average age was 47. All participants completed the entire battery and passed the majority of effort measures. Those that did not pass the majority of effort measures or complete the entire battery were excluded.

T-test analyses …

Psychometric Evaluation Of The Eyberg Child Behavior Inventory In An Ethnically Diverse Sample, Elizabeth Machado

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation was designed to confirm the factor structure and to assess the psychometric functioning of the Eyberg Child Behavior Inventory (ECBI) in an ethnically diverse clinical sample using Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and Rasch modeling. The sample included 221 children and adolescents (72% male and 28% female) whose mothers completed the ECBI. Related to ethnicity, 43.4% of the sample was Hispanic American (HA), 41.2% was European American (EA), 12.2% was African American, and 3.2% identified as “other.”

Dimensionality of the ECBI was explored using CFAs and by evaluating model fit criteria. An Andrich Rating Scale Model was employed to …

Understanding The Distinctive Presentations Of Therapist Countertransference With Cluster B Personality Disorders, Sara Ashley Florence

Theses and Dissertations

Countertransference is one of several therapist variables that have been demonstrated to impact the quality of the therapeutic alliance. CT that is understood and managed by the therapist has the potential to serve as a tool in better understanding the patient, which puts the therapist in a better position to intervene therapeutically. CT that are emotionally charged can be more difficult to manage, and CT reactions tend to be especially emotionally intense when working with patients with Cluster B personality disorders (PDs). A better understanding of specific CT reactions to each Cluster B PD might aid in diagnosis and treatment …

The Effects Of Sleep Restriction On Biological, Psychological, And Neurocognitive Measures Of Health, Margaret S. Lorenzetti

Theses and Dissertations

Chronic sleep restriction impacts a significant proportion of the population, even though health is optimized following a minimum of seven hours of sleep. A preponderance of the literature examining the effects of sleep loss focuses on males and total sleep deprivation. Sleep restriction paradigms provide more ecological validity, as they are more consistent with sleep loss characterized in epidemiological studies. Moreover, enhancing the understanding of sleep loss among women, who are generally the gender most likely to encounter negative health as a result of poor sleep quality, is crucial. Thus, this investigation aimed to examine sleep restriction amongst a female …

Toward A Biopsychosocial Model Of Obesiy: Can Psychological Well-Being Be The Bridge To Integration?, Alexia Holovatyk

Theses and Dissertations

The complications associated with obesity are some of the most pressing health concerns facing the United States. At present, cardiovascular disease, stroke, and certain types of cancer are some of the leading causes of death, and researchers have cited obesity as one related factor (NIH, 2000). The topic of obesity has typically been approached through two seemingly contradictory lenses: The biomedical model that views obesity as a disease risk factor (e.g. Huxley, Mendis, Zheleznyakov, Reddy, & Chan, 2010) and the psychosocial model that considers the stigma associated with obesity to be more harmful than weight itself (e.g., Hatzenbuehler, Keyes, & …

A Novel Cognitive Stress Test For The Detection Of Early Alzheimer’S Disease In African Americans, Kimberly Capp

Theses and Dissertations

The U.S. population is currently undergoing a major demographic transition, with increasing racial and ethnic diversity of the older adult population. As the growing population of older adults advances in age, memory complaints are projected to increase in prevalence particularly among African Americans and present a challenge to clinicians who must differentiate between normal aging and progressive neurocognitive conditions (Celsis, 2000; Sherwin, 2000). As targeted therapeutic interventions and emerging therapies for AD are much more likely to be effective in the earlier stages of the disease (Loewenstein, Curiel, Duara & Buschke, 2017), early assessment and detection of AD, especially in …

Breaking Away: The Role Of Homeostatic Drive In Perpetuating Depression, Jonathan Tory Toole

Theses and Dissertations

The brain can be considered a complicated system of feedback mechanisms that maintain physiological homeostasis. Through psychological activity, neurochemicals act as homeostatic regulators. This study proposes that these components are part of a regulatory system that is capable of supporting multiple homeostatic regimes that, in turn, give rise to self-sustaining psychological behaviors. This project hypothesizes that such alternate regulatory programs may play a role in perpetuating psychological dysfunction. Interactions within and between components of the neurotransmitter network are represented as a set of discrete logic circuits. Neurotransmitter levels are linked to psychological constructs such as depression based on current literature. …

Exploration Of The Wechsler Memory Scale Fourth Edition (Wms-Iv) Designs Content And Spatial Memory Scales, Maya Pinjala

Theses and Dissertations

The Designs subtest was newly added as a measure of visual memory to the Wechsler Memory Scale, 4th edition (WMS-IV). This study examined this measure in a mixed clinical sample (n = 158). Specifically, the aim of the study was to evaluate the publishers’ claims that the Designs test assesses both visual content (“what”) and spatial (“where”) memory, as these functions are processed within distinct neurological systems. To date, no studies have specifically examined the individual Content and Spatial scores in relation to other neuropsychological variables. The purpose of this study was to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the …

Head-Impact-Related Outcomes By Position In Retired Nfl Football Players, Maria Cecilia Boix Braga

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined how repeated head-impact-related traumatic brain injury experienced by retired NFL players impacts their neuropsychological functioning, as well as whether player position was a significant factor in the impairment experienced. Participants (N=142) were selected from an archival database gathered through the NFL Concussion Settlement belonging to the Neuropsychology Assessment Center of Nova Southeastern University.

One-Sample T-Tests indicated that the combined sample and the Skilled players group demonstrated significant differences in all neuropsychological measures, while the Linemen and Skilled Linemen evidenced impairment in most areas except in visual-spatial and non-timed language measures. Two-way ANOVAs indicated player position and ethnicity …

Latinx First-Generation Students’ Academic Experience: The Role Of Institutional Supports During A Pandemic, Lizeth Banuelos

2020 McNair Scholar Collection

The Latinx population has now become the largest minority group in the United States (Martínez & Rhodes, 2020). However, Latinx first-generations students still fall behind non-Latinx students in educational achievement. This study seeks to examine the Latinx first-generation academic experience amidst a pandemic, with an emphasis on looking at their perceived stress related to academics, their academic self-efficacy, and their knowledge/feelings toward the institutional supports. The roles of institutional and familial supports are examined as well as the factors contributing to the educational achievement gap including language, cultural barriers, socioeconomic status, lack of funding, lack of diverse faculty, lack of …

Perceptions And Understanding Of Research Situations As A Function Of Consent Form Characteristics And Experimenter Instructions, Jeremy D. Heider, Jessica L. Hartnett, Emmanuel J. Perez, John E. Edlund

Faculty Publications

Two studies examined how research methodology affected participant behaviors. Study 1 tested (a) consent form perspective (1st, 2nd, or 3rd person) and (b) information on participants’ right to sue upon perceptions of coercion, ability to recall consent information, and performance on experimental tasks. Unexpectedly, participants who received instructions without the right to sue information had significantly better recall of their research rights. Study 2 manipulated (a) consent form complexity (presence or absence of jargon) and (b) the detail of verbal instructions (simple, elaborate); participants who received a consent form with simpler language spent more time on a difficult task, and …

Hurry Up And Decide: Empirical Tests Of The Choice Overload Effect Using Cognitive Process Models, Ryan Jessup, Levi E. Ritchie, John Homer

Psychology

The choice overload effect emerged as a rebuttal to the notion that having more options from which to choose is always preferable. Jessup, Veinott, Todd, and Busemeyer (2009) used a modified version of decision field theory, a cognitive process model of choice, to generate multiple mechanisms based on psychological principles for the choice overload effect as it pertains to choice probability. Here we experimentally tested 2 of these mechanisms—time out and preference change—in a virtual hiring task to see whether participants hired more applicants when choosing from small relative to large sets of applicants. We further wanted to observe how …

Three Useful Things To Know About Human Motivation, Singapore Management University

Perspectives@SMU

Unseen commitments as well as material incentives drive our decisions and play an influential role in human motivation

Health Conditions, Access To Care, Mental Health, And Wellness Behaviors In Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, And Transgender Adults, Richard S. Henry, Paul B. Perrin, Ashlee Sawyer, Mickeal Pugh Jr.

Psychology Publications

This study examined relationships among wellness behaviors, physical health conditions, mental health, health insurance, and access to care among a sample of 317 lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) adults. Participants completed a web-administered survey from May 2013 to April 2014. Of the sample, 41.6% of the participants reported having one or more health conditions. Most participants (92.1%) reported access to a health care facility and current health insurance coverage (84.9%), though 24.9% of those with health insurance reported being incapable of paying the copayments. Physical health conditions, age, and self-esteem explained 24% of the variance in engagement in wellness …

Acculturation, Religious Fatalism, & Psychological Healthcare Utilization Among Latinxs, Camila Tirado, Isis Garcia-Rodriguez, Oswaldo Moreno

Psychology Publications

As Latinxs acculturate to the U.S. (i.e., changes and transfer of customs from the host culture1 ), they may have more positive attitudes towards psychological healthcare utilization .2 Religious fatalism, the belief that an individual’s health is predetermined by a higher power, has also been shown to be associated with healthcare utilization, such that individuals who endorse higher religious fatalism have more negative attitudes and less health care utilization.3 Thus, acculturations’ association on healthcare utilization may be heavily influenced through religious fatalism; however, little is known about Latinxs specifically. Using a community sample of 102 (63 females and 39 males, …

Victim Silencing, Sexual Violence Culture, Social Healing: Inherited Collective Trauma Of World War Ii South Korean Military “Comfort Women”, Mijin Cho

VCU Phi Kappa Phi Award Winners

The unresolved reconciliation process for WWII South Korean military “comfort women” presents a case of nationally inherited collective trauma, in which South Koreans far removed in time and space from the historical tragedy feel its implications and obligations for reparations and social healing. In examining the South Korean comfort women redress movement and systemic concealment of WWII military sexual slavery, this study investigates a pattern of victim silencing, characterized by institutional patriarchy and ineffective government involvement, from 1945 to 2019. Following the South Korean government’s formal rejection of the 2015 agreement with Japan regarding a final and irreversible conclusion to …

Perceived Need For Care And The Treatment Gap In Military Populations, Leela R. Farina

Psychology Department Dissertations

Veterans face many mental health challenges after deployment, including serious mental illness and problematic alcohol use (Hoge et al., 2014). Research shows that there is a discrepancy between the number of personnel with a probable need for treatment and the number seeking and receiving treatment (Hoge et al., 2004). While many impediments to care have been researched (e.g., Britt et al., 2008; Graziano & Elbogen, 2017; Kim et al., 2011; Olmsted et al., 2011; Pietrzak et al., 2009; Wright et al., 2009), perceived need for treatment is an important issue that warrants further empirical exploration. Military personnel may be particularly …

Derived Relational Responding, Transformation Of Psychological Stimulus Functions, And Avoidance In Mothers Of Clinically Referred Children For Anxiety And Related Disorders, Carlos Enrique Rivera Villegas

Psychology Department Dissertations

Accommodation is a parenting behavior that is highly prevalent, has a strong association with child anxiety, and that persists despite its deleterious effects (e.g., Benito et al., 2015; Lebowitz et al., 2013; Thompson-Hollands, Kerns, Pincus, & Comer, 2014). While little is known about the psychological processes that motivate parents to engage in accommodating behaviors, conceptual models suggest that parental behavior may be influenced by avoidance of parental distress and cognitions around child anxiety (e.g., Feinberg, Kerns, Pincus, & Comer, 2018; Jones, Lebowitz, Marin, & Stark, 2015). However, most of the research in this domain is correlational, precluding knowledge regarding the …

Authentic Perspectives On Autistic Resilience: Implications For Schools And Society, Andrew Nelson

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

This study explored resilience factors as identified by autistic adults with authentic lived experience. Historically, Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) has been diagnosed using deficit models and criteria designed by outsiders with little input from the autism community. While risk of adversity is often high for those with ASD, scant research exists looking at the strengths, adaptive skills, and environmental factors contributing to the resilience of people with ASD. Autistic adults were interviewed (N = 10) to assess which internal and external risks and protections participants deemed important to their resilience. Responses were coded, analyzed, and compared to existing resilience data …

Slasher Films And Self-Harm: A Relationship Of Self-Hatred And Trauma, Stevie Lee Steers

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

This paper’s purpose is to look at slasher films and the potential relationship of trauma and self-hatred that these films hold to adolescents aged 14-20 who commit self-harm. The type of self-harm examined in this paper is cutting and the films that will be studied will have to be from 1979 to 1989, which is the “golden age” for slasher films. The films that will be studied are The Nightmare on Elm Street series, Hellraiser series, and Friday the 13th series. This paper will be using multiple literary lenses to discuss how slasher films convey trauma and self-hatred and how …

School Administrator Perceptions And Actions Toward Reducing Mental Health Factors To Learning, Andrew Charles Teti

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Approximately one in five children have a mental health need that impacts their academic functioning (World Health Organization, 2004). This study investigated what actions school administrators who oversee kindergarten through eighth grade, and how their perceptions of mental health have impacted those decisions. Both a survey and an interview were conducted with current school administrators in three counties in Western Pennsylvania. Findings suggested that administrators take mental health factors to learning very seriously and place a significant amount of pressure on themselves to address this barrier. Additionally, school administrators utilize a team approach to focus on mental health in the …

Teaching Korean Cultural Constructs To American Students: Examples From A South Korea Study Abroad Course, Paul Youngbin Kim

SPU Works

The blend of traditional and contemporary culture in South Korea offers study abroad students a valuable setting to learn about psychological constructs. Despite South Korea’s potential as a study abroad destination, the body of literature on teaching psychology abroad in the country remains undeveloped. An immersion experience can be a valuable way to teach study abroad students about culture-specific constructs. The present article highlights how I attempted to teach three culture-specific constructs (han, jeong, and chemyon) during a short-term, intensive study abroad experience in South Korea, utilizing various excursions and activities. Examples of learning activities discussed in this article are …

The Mere Presence Of A Cell Phone May Be Distracting, Samantha Sanchez

2020 Symposium Posters

Research demonstrates that the frequent usage of cellphones is disruptive and leads to reduced efficiency while multitasking and also suggested that the sheer existence of a mobile phone might be as equally disruptive and have adverse social contact implications. Previous research (Thornton, Faires, Robbins, and Rollins 2014, Exp 2) reported that students in a classroom setting performed poorer on a series of cognitive tasks when their cell phones were on their desk than when they were not. This study’s hypothesis: In this direct replication study, it was predicted that students whose cell phones were on their desk would perform poorer …

Gender Differences In Confidence In Jury Decision Making, Rachel Silverthorn

2020 Symposium Posters

Men tend to be more overconfident than women in settings typically perceived as masculine (Lichtenstein et al, 1982; as cited in Baldiga, 2014). Women are also more likely to defer to men in mixed-sex group situations than men are to women (Hopcroft, 2009) Deference is correlated with women having lower self-esteem and lower confidence than men, both beginning to show around puberty. In same sex situations, deference is related to social ranking and physical features, but in mixed-sex situations it tends to be sex-based. Propp (1995) found that in mixed-sex groups men tend to verbally contribute more than women, whereas …

Personality Factors That Influence Truthfulness And Deception, Khrista E. Neville, Jonathan S. Gore, Adam Lawson

Kentucky Journal of Undergraduate Scholarship

Identifying personality traits that coincide with everyday deception is crucial to understanding how individual differences relate to antisocial tendencies. The current study tested the hypothesis that sensation seeking and psychopathy can predict everyday deception. Seventy-nine undergraduate students participated in an online study to assess these personality traits. A linear regression analysis found disinhibition psychopathy to be a strong predictor of everyday deception, with impulsive sensation seeking as the only other significant predictor.

Connection Between Tutoring Format Type And Reading Scores Of Elementary Aged Children, Emma T. Moates, Theresa M. Nowak, Jonathan S. Gore

Kentucky Journal of Undergraduate Scholarship

Extant research shows that response to intervention (RTI) individual and small group interventions increase children’s reading skills; however, little information is available that investigates whether the type of intervention format makes a difference in learning to read. The Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten class (ECLS-K) database was used to identify third-grade children who received individual, small group, or combined individual and small group tutoring, to increase their reading skills. The current study compared reading scores associated with each intervention type to determine which reading intervention format was most beneficial. The results from this study showed that children receiving small group …