Psychology Commons^™

The Physical And Mental Toll Of The Recent Asian American Hate Crimes, Zachary M. Schwedes

English Department: Research for Change - Wicked Problems in Our World

The United States has multiple wicked problems now, the tense political atmosphere, COVID-19, but the wicked problem that has only just been getting major media attention are the hate crimes that the Asian American community is facing. These hate crimes have been happening since March of 2020. Luckily, these hate crimes have been getting attention from Asian American actors like Olivia Munn and Daniel Dae Kim as well as the most recent deadly attack in Atlantic City. Hate crimes against the Asian American community has seen a 150% increase in large cities like New York City and Los Angeles. There …

Challenging The Empirical Utility Of The Color-Blind Racial Attitudes Scale: Revisiting Factor Structure Across Race/Ethnicity And Gender Through Measurement Invariance, Alexandra Hernandez-Vallant

Psychology ETDs

The Color-Blind Racial Attitudes Scale (CoBRAS) is the most commonly used scale to measure domains of color-blind racial ideology (CBRI). CBRI broadly refers to the denial of racism on individual and societal levels. The factor structure of CoBRAS has yet to be rigorously tested to confirm the replicability of the factor structure and demonstrate measurement invariance across multiple groups. This study examined the factor structure, internal consistency reliability, and measurement invariance of the CoBRAS across race/ethnicity and gender in 911 diverse college students. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and measurement invariance of the CoBRAS were tested across race/ethnicity (Black, Latinx, and …

Regulation Of Self-Love, Kruti Surti

Dissertations

While the concept of self-love is well-known in today’s society, it remains unknown how self-love can be increased. Increasing self-love may help individuals decrease stress and promote well-being. The current study tested how self-love and pleasantness can be increased and whether anxiety levels and personality traits such as neuroticism and conscientiousness are associated with self-love increase. In this study, participants (N = 108; 86 women, 20 men, 1 gender queer, 1 other (not specified)) completed questionnaires related to self-compassion, self-efficacy, anxiety, and personality. Then, participants completed an online self-love regulation task in which they read prompts that encouraged them …

Exercise Training-Related Changes In Cortical Gray Matter Diffusivity And Cognitive Function In Mild Cognitive Impairment And Healthy Older Adults, Daniel D. Callow, Junyeon Won, Gabriel S. Pena, Leslie S. Jordan, Naomi A. Arnold-Nedimala, Yash Kommula, Kristy A. Nielson, J. Carson Smith

Psychology Faculty Research and Publications

Individuals with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) are at an elevated risk of dementia and exhibit deficits in cognition and cortical gray matter (GM) volume, thickness, and microstructure. Meanwhile, exercise training appears to preserve brain function and macrostructure may help delay or prevent the onset of dementia in individuals with MCI. Yet, our understanding of the neurophysiological effects of exercise training in individuals with MCI remains limited. Recent work suggests that the measures of gray matter microstructure using diffusion imaging may be sensitive to early cognitive and neurophysiological changes in the aging brain. Therefore, this study is aimed to determine the …

Assessing Learning Community Practices To Implement Student Retention And Belongingness, Ruben Manuel Lopez, Eunice Z. Gomez

Research Days

In a brief review of seven literature articles, our research poster aims to present ways learning communities could improve belongingness and student retention. Our poster will include a review of the literature of the research conducted amongst undergraduate learning communities.

The Impact Of Covid-19 On The Black Lives Matter Movement, Anna Marston, Eileen Scheir, Shawna Pilout

Arts & Sciences Student Symposium

When people have more free time, activism and engagement in social justice activities often increase. We studied whether this political theory is true in the midst of the #BlackLivesMatter Movement, while many Americans have increased levels of free time during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. We surveyed 203 participants between the ages of 18 and 71 to analyze the extent to which free time impacted engagement in the contemporary Black Lives Matter movement for racial justice. In this survey, we controlled for the variables of self-efficacy and personal impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic by including measures for these constructs to the …

Pedagogical Agents, Megan Paul

Umbrella Summaries

What are pedagogical agents?

Pedagogical agents are “lifelike characters presented on a computer screen that guide users through multimedia learning environments” (Clarebout & Heidig, 2012, p. 2568). Pedagogical agents can vary in multiple ways. The following characteristics have been most studied: appearance (two-dimensional [2D] vs. three-dimensional [3D]), eye gaze, facial expression, gesturing, motion, and gender. The simplest pedagogical agent would be a static, 2D image with just text, and a complex agent would be a dynamic, 3D person or character that talks, gestures, and has eye movements and facial expressions.

Why are pedagogical agents valuable?

Pedagogical agents are valuable because …

Borderline Personality Disorder: Interventions For Adolescents And Caregivers, Addison Odum

Evidence-Based Social Work Practice Guide Series

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) encompasses a wide range of symptoms characterized by emotional dysregulation, including challenging interpersonal relationships, impulsivity, disturbances in cognition and identity, and is often accompanied by intentional self-injury and suicidal behaviors. In this guide, emphasis is placed on three aspects of intervention: (1) clinical interventions for adolescents who meet the criteria for BPD; (2) interventions clinicians can teach to parents/caretakers so they can better work with their child’s diagnosis; and (3) due to the negative impact this can have on adolescents, clinical interventions for parents/caregivers diagnosed with or exhibiting common symptoms of BPD is also provided.

Telepsychiatry Adoption Across Hospitals In The United States: A Cross-Sectional Study, Zhong Li, Sayward Harrison, Xiaoming Li, Peiyin Hung

Faculty Publications

Background: Access to psychiatric care is critical for patients discharged from hospital psychiatric units to ensure continuity of care. When face-to-face follow-up is unavailable or undesirable, telepsychiatry becomes a promising alternative. This study aimed to investigate hospital- and county-level characteristics associated with telepsychiatry adoption. Methods: Cross-sectional national data of 3475 acute care hospitals were derived from the 2017 American Hospital Association Annual Survey. Generalized linear regression models were used to identify characteristics associated with telepsychiatry adoption. Results: About one-sixth (548 [15.8%]) of hospitals reported having telepsychiatry with a wide variation across states. Rural noncore hospitals were less likely to adopt …

Effects Of Humanization And Party Identification On Political Attitudes Towards The Major U.S. Political Parties, Sawyer Johns, Xylie Miller, Sadana Mukundan

Showcase of Osprey Advancements in Research and Scholarship (SOARS)

Political Polarization has been increasing in the US since the 2000s. Voters support positively perceived political parties and see other parties as outgroups. This might result in dehumanization of the political parties they perceive as “other”. We examined whether party affiliation and party dehumanization influences participants’ willingness to talk to and support Democrat and Republican parties in the U.S. Participants (N= 312) indicated their party affiliation and rated their willingness and hesitancy to talk to and support the Democratic and Republican parties. Furthermore, we assessed how these feelings changed when someone viewed a party as less or more evolved by …

Thriving During Covid-19: Predictors Of Psychological Well-Being And Ways Of Coping, Lauren Boyd, C. Dominik Guess, Teresa Tuason

Showcase of Osprey Advancements in Research and Scholarship (SOARS)

COVID-19 has led to global dramatic shifts in daily life. Following the biopsychosocial model of health, the goal of the current study was to predict people’s psychological well-being (PWB) during the initial lockdown phase of the pandemic and to investigate which coping strategies were most common among people with low and high PWB. Participants were 938 volunteers in the United States who responded to an online survey during pre-peak of the lockdown in April 2020. The main findings were that all three groups of variables—biological, psychological, and socio-economic—significantly contributed to PWB, explaining 53% variance. Social loneliness and sense of agency …

Intersectional Invisibility Hypothesis And Reverse Correlation, John Francis Sperry Iv

Showcase of Osprey Advancements in Research and Scholarship (SOARS)

Honorable Mention Winner

Consistent with the intersectional invisibility hypothesis that predicts members of multiple subordinate groups are metaphorically ‘invisible’ (Purdie-Vaughns & Eibach, 2008), only stereotyping of Black men is related to prejudice against Black people (Phills et al., 2017). However, previous research consisted of listing tasks and other introspective questionnaires that do not visualize people’s biases of different social groups. Internal mental representations visualize biases in social perception (Brinkman et al., 2017), as past research with ingroups and outgroups has shown (Dotsch et al., 2008). The current study investigates whether internal mental representations of Black people are more similar to …

The Relevance Of Ethnic Identity Among Asian American Populations To Support For The Black Lives Matter Movement, Jenna Navaratnam

Undergraduate Distinction Papers

This study examined the association between ethnic identity and support for the Black Lives Matter Movement among Asian Americans. A total of 112 Asian American participants completed measures of ethnic identity, political ideology, and support for the Black Lives Matter Movement. Statistical analyses showed moderate levels of ethnic identity among the Asian American populations sampled. Also, participants’ level of ethnic identity was not significantly related to support for the Black Lives Matter Movement. Still, results of this exploratory investigation magnified the complex role immigration history and experience, region of the country resided in, and acculturation strategies may collectively play in …

Last Straw: The Effect Of Guilt On Pro-Environmental Behavior, M. Ryan Nugent, Heather Barnes Truelove

Showcase of Osprey Advancements in Research and Scholarship (SOARS)

Honorable Mention Winner

Although many environmental campaigns have pushed to eliminate plastic straws from daily consumption, concerns have surfaced that an increase in the simple behavior of refusing plastic straws will generate less action toward more effective pro-environmental behaviors (PEBs). This study implemented a guilt manipulation to urge participants to reduce their straw use and tested spillover effects to various household and travel PEBs. 234 Mturk participants (34% women) indicated their current PEBs at Time 1 and were randomly assigned to the guilt condition or a control condition. One week later (Time 2), participants completed a survey of the same …

Gender Differences In Pro-Environmental Behavior Intentions, Katherine Pride, Sarah Cline, Cassandra Branham, Lauren Toledo, Heather B. Truelove

Showcase of Osprey Advancements in Research and Scholarship (SOARS)

Previous research has found gender differences in pro-environmental behavior (PEB) performance. Women typically score higher on environmental concern and show stronger inclination to engage in private or domestic PEBs (Tindall et al., 2003) and Allen et al. (2015) found that women are more likely to engage in efficiency upgrade PEBs. However, men show higher prevalence towards performing public PEB (Hunter et al., 2004). The present study recruited 313 Mturk participants. They were randomly assigned to one of six different norm levels. After exposure to a norm level, the experimental groups were provided the opportunity to perform the PEB. Participants then …

Opposite-Sex Friendship Initiation: Some Dispositional Differences In Self-Monitoring, Abigail Masterson

Showcase of Osprey Advancements in Research and Scholarship (SOARS)

Project of Merit Winner

Compared to low self-monitors, high self-monitors have an unrestricted orientation to sexual liaisons and view friendships as activity-based (see Fuglestad & Snyder, 2010, for a literature review). These two tendencies suggest high self-monitors are more likely than low self-monitors to initiate opposite sex friendships for sexual purposes. To evaluate this prediction, 133 male and 135 female heterosexuals completed the 25 item Self-Monitoring Scale (Snyder, 1974) and the Reasons for Friendship Initiation Scale (Bleske-Rechek & Buss, 2001). Using participants’ self-monitoring and sex as predictors in multiple regression analyses, high self-monitors more often than low self-monitors cited the …

Different Assessments Of Reactions To Child Sexual Abuse, Dawson Jubin, Louanne Hawkins, Mary Geary

Showcase of Osprey Advancements in Research and Scholarship (SOARS)

The minimization effect occurs when reactions to child sexual abuse are the least negative for adult females and male victims (Cromer & Goldsmith, 2010; Denov, 2003). This effect may be a function of sex stereotypes about men (mean) and women (nurturant) as well as boys (sexually adventurous) and girls (vulnerable) (Leone et al. 2018). We systematically assessed the roles of stereotypes in the minimization effect using multiple measures: self-reported (attitudes) and salivary cortisol (psychophysiological stress). The former is subject to socially describe responding whereas the latter is not. Participants provided an initial saliva sample and were randomly assigned to read …

Psychological Well-Being & Covid-19 In First Year College Students, Hollie Minichiello, Madisen Reasonover

Showcase of Osprey Advancements in Research and Scholarship (SOARS)

Psychological well-being and COVID-19 in first-year college students. Hollie Minichiello, Madisen Reasonover, Paul Fuglestad, Ph.D., Zhiping Yu Ph.D. ABSTRACT: The current study investigated how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the well-being of first-semester undergraduate students. Psychological well-being, sleep quality, physical activity, and eating disturbances were compared between two different freshman cohorts: fall of 2019 and fall of 2020. A total of 96 freshman students 18 years and older from a southeastern university completed a set of questionnaires related to health and well-being, including the variables mentioned above (2019 cohort n = 32, 2020 cohort n = 64). Analysis of between-cohort …

Effect Of Imagined Support On Perceptions Of Stress, Emma Thompson, Jordan Zaenglein, Kalie Leon, Madelyn Shaw, Maddox Fillmer, Breana Bryant, Paul Fuglestad

Showcase of Osprey Advancements in Research and Scholarship (SOARS)

Social support is known to help buffer the effects of stress (Uchino et al., 1996). However, in many situations social support is unavailable, and imagining social support may help to reduce the impact of stress. Although imagined physical touch has been shown to be an effective stress buffer, little research has compared it to other types of imagined support (Feldman et al., 2010). Additionally, women tend to seek emotional support, whereas men tend to seek tangible support, but it is unknown if imagining those types of support will reduce stress (Reevy & Maslach, 2001). To gain greater insight into these …

Stem Inqueery: How Communion And Femininity Affects Lgbtq Individuals’ Belonging In Stem That Affects Their Motivation To Pursue Stem, Jasmine Elise Graham, Elizabeth R. Brown

Showcase of Osprey Advancements in Research and Scholarship (SOARS)

Despite the growth in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields in the United States, only 60% of STEM majors complete their degrees. Although STEM is stereotyped as a cis (same gender as birth), straight male, agentic (self-focused), and not communal (other-oriented) field, the inclusion of communion in STEM boosts STEM motivation. Since LGBTQ students highly value communion and LGB(T)Q students are less likely than non-LGB(T)Q students to stay in STEM, we explored whether LGBTQ individuals’ desire for communal opportunities or feminine gender expression shapes their belonging or expectations for success in STEM which in turn affects their (future) motivation …

Diversity In Higher Education Administration: The Need For Student Perspectives, Drew Albritton, Aaron Leedy

Showcase of Osprey Advancements in Research and Scholarship (SOARS)

Honorable Mention Winner

Diversity within higher education benefits students and institutions alike, creating a more relatable experience for students as well as a more beneficial work environment for faculty. While university student bodies are slowly beginning to represent the diversity in the communities which they serve, university faculty and staff have yet to catch up. This is especially the case with the administration at an institution’s highest levels. Eighty-three percent of college and university presidents are white (American Council on Education, 2017), and seventy-seven percent are male (Tarbutton, 2019). With an administration misaligned with its student body, students are at …

Forensically Relevant False Memories In The Drm Paradigm, Allison Gendreau, Yammil Ruiz Garcia, Michael Toglia, Nichole Juszczak, Donald Lawler

Showcase of Osprey Advancements in Research and Scholarship (SOARS)

Forensic interviews and eyewitness testimony clearly rely on memory. Because in 85% of criminal prosecutions there is no medical nor trace evidence, the burden is on what witnesses report hearing/seeing; thus memory is the evidence! However, cognitive frailties, including forgetting and retrieval failures, combined with misinformation threaten the accuracy and credibility of witnesses’ recollections. Overall, these factors foment illusory memories with serious consequences when forensic events are at issue. This observation tracks with false memory findings in a simple laboratory task, the Deese-Roediger-McDermott (DRM) Paradigm. Herein participants study word lists each containing thematically-related items converging upon a critical, non-presented, word. …

Obesity And Self-Esteem In African American Youth, Carly Wagner, Abhilasha Kumar, Dawn Witherspoon

Showcase of Osprey Advancements in Research and Scholarship (SOARS)

Honorable Mention Winner

African Americans (AA) have the highest rates of obesity among all other ethnic groups (CDC, 2020). Male and female AA’s are disproportionately impacted by obesity and have an increased risk for health disparities (Abraham et al., 2013). Obesity is characterized as a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or greater (Chooi et al., 2019). Self-esteem (SE) is an individual’s subjective evaluation of the self (Abdel-Khalek, 2016). Obese youth have lower levels of SE than youth at a healthy weight (Gow et al., 2020). The association between low SE and high BMI is more pronounced in AA females …

Are The Perpetrators Of Aggression Also Its Victims?, Katelyne Griffin, Deshawna Bryant, Dawn Witherspoon

Showcase of Osprey Advancements in Research and Scholarship (SOARS)

Project of Merit Winner

In lower income areas it has been found that there is a relationship between the annual household income and types of anxiety found in adolescence. This relationship is theorized in part to exist because of the stressors the adolescents are exposed to in lower income neighborhoods i.e. trauma such as violent crimes (Vine et al., 2013). As a result of traumatic experiences from school violence children may become aggressive or exhibit bully behaviors (Blaustein & Kinniburgh, 2010). It is theorized that people who have been traumatized themselves may become aggressors or perpetuators of others’ trauma possibly …

Positive Psychological Well‐Being And Cardiovascular Disease: Exploring Mechanistic And Developmental Pathways, Julia K. Boehm

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Empirical research regarding the health benefits of positive psychological well‐being (e.g., positive emotions, life satisfaction, purpose in life, and optimism) has flourished in recent years, particularly with regard to cardiovascular disease. This paper reviews the state of evidence for well‐being's association with cardiovascular disease in both healthy individuals and those diagnosed with a disease. Prospective studies consistently indicate well‐being reduces cardiovascular events in healthy and, to a lesser extent, patient populations. Potential pathways that link well‐being with cardiovascular disease are discussed (including health behaviors, physiological processes, and stress buffering), although the existing evidence is mostly cross‐sectional which limits conclusions about …

Followers Of The Façade; The Rising Addiction Of Social Media, Kona Momoh

Quest

Social Media and Social Physiological Effects

Research in progress for COMM 1307: Introduction to Mass Communication

Faculty Mentor: Jenny Warren

The following paper was composed by a student in an Introduction to Mass Communication course at Collin College in response to an assignment that asked students to objectively analyze scholarly research regarding the effects of mass media. Initially, students were instructed to review scholarly research relating to mass media and its possible effects. Then, after gaining new insight and knowledge, students wrote a draft of their paper and had it peer-reviewed by another student. Using this analysis, students wrote follow-up …

Effective Mindfulness Practices For Reducing Veteran Teacher Perceived Stress, Michael Brouillette

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this mixed methods study was to measure and describe the extent to which mindfulness practices impact veteran teacher perceived stress. In addition, it was the purpose of the study to capture the most effective mindfulness practices of veteran teachers to reduce veteran teacher perceived stress.

Methodology: This study used a mixed methods study research methodology. Data were collected from 15 teachers in the form of answers to the Perceived Stress Scale and interviews to collect their lived experiences. Responses from veteran teachers who have used mindfulness for at least 1 year were analyzed with the objective …

Blood Phenylalanine Trajectory And Executive Function Outcomes In Individuals With Phenylketonuria, Clarissa Tardiff

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Phenylketonuria (PKU) is an autosomal recessive disorder characterized by mutations in phenylalanine hydroxylase genes. As a result, phenylalanine (Phe) metabolism is disrupted, and this amino acid accumulates in blood and tissue (Pietz, 1998; Scriver et al., 2000). Although the most severe symptoms of PKU may be avoided by early detection and treatment, many individuals with early-treated PKU still experience difficulties in executive function, attention, and processing speed (Antenor-Dorsey et al., 2013; Araujo et al., 2013; Christ et al., 2020; Hawks, Strube, Johnson, Grange, & White, 2018; Hood, Grange, Christ, Steiner, & White, 2014; Janos et al., 2012; White et al., …

Relationship Between Psychological Stress And Houseplants, Alexandria Davidoff

Honors Scholars Collaborative Projects

The purpose of this literature review is to provide an in-depth review of the existing data on the impact of indoor plants on well-being, and in particular stress, defined as being both psychological and physiological, in individuals. Specifically, this paper seeks to provide a thorough summary of the empirical studies that have explored this relationship between stress and indoor plants in various settings and with differing populations.

Bullying Victimization And Friendship As Influences On Sleep Difficulty Among Brazilian Adolescents, Thiago Henrique Roza, Vitor Atsushi Nozaki Yano, Sarah Aline Roza, Jonathan Santo, Josafa M. Da Cunha

Psychology Faculty Publications

Bullying victimization is associated with poor health-related outcomes, including sleeping problems. The present study aimed to investigate the impact of bullying victimization on sleep difficulty, and the moderating effect of the number of close friends on this association, also exploring differences across genders. The study was based on a nationally-representative survey on adolescent health conducted in Brazilian schools, involving a total of 109,104 participants, enrolled at the 9th year in 2012. The measures used in the analysis included socio-demographic characteristics, bullying victimization, sleep difficulty, and number of close friends. In the multilevel models, reporting more peer victimization was associated with …