Psychology Commons^™

Towards A Psychological Science Of Abolition Democracy: Insights For Improving Theory And Research On Race And Public Safety, Cynthia J. Najdowski, Phillip Atiba Goff

Psychology Faculty Scholarship

We call for psychologists to expand their thinking on fair and just public safety by engaging with the “Abolition Democracy” framework that Du Bois (1935) articulated as the need to dissolve slavery while simultaneously taking affirmative steps to rid its toxic consequences from the body politic. Because the legacies of slavery continue to produce disparities in public safety in the U.S, both harming Black people and the institutions that could keep them safe, psychologists must take seriously questions of history and structure in addition to immediate situations. In the present article, we consider the state of knowledge regarding psychological processes …

The Impacts Of Learning 2 Breathe On Rumination, Adessa Flack

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

The present study examined the impact of Learning2Breathe (L2B), a mindfulness-based stress reduction program developed for use with adolescents on rumination. The program was applied to rumination in college-age men and women. Our experiment utilized a quasi-experimental design. The sample consisted of 50 undergraduate students that were placed in either the experimental or control group. Data was collected pretest and posttest through a variety of measures including the Rumination Reflection Questionnaire (RRQ) which consisted of a rumination and reflection subscale, and the Mindfulness Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS). A two-way mixed ANOVA design was used to analyze data. There was no …

Predictors Of Future Gendered Play Practices, Caroline Guzi

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

Gendered play is defined as the socialization of children to expectations of culturally determined gender roles via the mechanism of play. This study tested hypothesized links between undergraduate students’ childhood experiences and current beliefs to determine predictors of their future plans for gendered play as parents. Results indicated that men and women recall experiences of gendered play during their childhoods, consistent with past research. Most men and women did not plan to engage in gendered play with their own children in the future. Past play with toys stereotyped for girls was the strongest predictor of women’s plans for gendered play …

Can It Heal And Hurt?: Survivors Of Sexual Assault Share The Benefits And Challenges Of Sexual Assault Support Group Participation, Brittni Gettys

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

Research exploring the relationships among trauma survivors is largely non-existent. This study aimed to explore the effects of relationships among individuals with a shared experience of sexual trauma within the group therapeutic context of sexual assault support groups. This study sought to examine the potential buffering and supportive effects of social support between sexual assault survivors, while also exploring the potential negative effects of shared trauma that may occur from the potentially triggering nature of seeking support from other sexual assault survivors. These complex dynamics were explored through examining the relationships and experiences of sexual assault survivors who have attended …

Coping Matters: An Examination Of Coping Among Black Americans During Covid-19, Caitlin M. Mercier, Dena M. Abbott, Michael S. Ternes

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

Using a critical race theory framework and a convergent mixed-method design, this study examined the relationship between coping with stress and psychological distress among Black U.S. Americans (N = 155) during the COVID-19 pandemic in the context of race-based stressors (e.g., anti-Black racism). Path analysis revealed mixed support for hypotheses; avoidant coping was positively related to all measured facets of psychological distress, whereas socially supported coping was associated with none. Self-sufficient coping was negatively associated with only depressive symptoms. Qualitative analysis revealed four salient themes: (a) Race and the COVID-19 Pandemic, (b) Complex Pandemic Related Changes to Life, (c) …

Covid-19 And Its Impact On Perceptions Of Healthcare And Health-Related Behaviors, Quinn Higgins

Senior Honors Theses and Projects

The purpose of this project was to discover how certain psychological, structural, and demographic variables have contributed to people’s attitudes and perceptions regarding the COVID-19 pandemic and how it has impacted people’s everyday lives. The goal of this research was to understand how these variables, as well as individual’s knowledge of the current pandemic, their access to resources, and how they perceive and adhere to suggested safety behaviors can help us to discover why certain populations are significantly affected by COVID- 19. In particular, this research focused on how participants’ perceptions of healthcare and the support that they receive from …

The Role Of Caregiver-Reported Emerging Social Attention In Predicting Duration Of Orienting And Social Communication, Casey E. Swick

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Early identification of atypical development could lead to opportunities for earlier intervention, ultimately improving developmental outcomes. Early signs of atypical attention, social attention, and social communication development emerge in infancy, yet age at diagnosis of neurodevelopmental difficulties does not typically occur until well after the first year of life. In order to achieve this goal of early identification, sensitive and accessible tools are needed to identify infants at risk for atypical development. This study examined whether caregivers could report on emerging social attention behaviors in the first days to weeks of life with a novel, experimental scale (PediaTrac SSIP). This …

Informal And Formal Mentoring Of Sexual And Gender Minority Youth: A Systematic Review, Katie Edwards, Jillian R. Scheer, Victoria Mauer

Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families, and Schools: Faculty Publications

Research demonstrates that mentoring relationships can promote positive outcomes for youth across numerous domains, a topic of importance to school social workers. Whereas most mentoring research to date has been conducted with heterosexual cisgender youth, there is a growing body of literature that examines mentoring experiences among sexual and gender minority youth (SGMY). The purpose of this article is to conduct a systematic literature review of informal and formal mentoring experiences among SGMY. Results from twelve studies that met inclusion criteria suggested that (1) the majority of SGMY report having a mentor/role model; (2) demographics are generally unrelated to having …

Examining The Effects Of Instagram On Body Image And Eating Disorders Among Adolescent Girls, Ellie Cuoco

Education Theses

Throughout the past decade, as social media begins to grow in popularity, individuals' mental health is being sacrificed. Therefore, providing others with the knowledge of the effects will tend to decrease these numbers. The purpose of this paper is to delve into the link between Instagram and body image and eating disorders in young adolescents. Women are more likely to suffer body dissatisfaction and develop an eating disorder when encountering Instagram body ideals. Implementing lesson plans, including parents, and engaging school personnel is an excellent way to start the conversation and address adolescent body dissatisfaction to counter the known negative …

Visionary Art As Evolving Consciousness, Azul Delgrasso

Journal of Conscious Evolution

Visionary art is art that is not confined by form, it argues that the artist who creates spiritual art allows the spirit to guide them, rather than relying on traditional form or technique. This can result in art that is incredibly unique and expressive, as it comes from a place of pure creativity and intuition. It also examines the visionary art of Alex Grey whose works offer a gateway into a different state of consciousness, where the viewer can access new insights and perspectives. In in a world that is becoming increasingly disconnected from the creative body, visionary art can …

Indicators Of Deception: Science Or Non-Science, Kristina Vasquez

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Deception detection is used by many law enforcement professionals who work in interviews and interrogations. The ability to detect deception or having knowledge on the signs of deception is very important in not only law enforcement, but in other careers and everyday life. The question remains: is deception detection a science or not a science? There are three areas where someone can learn how to detect deception and those are verbal communication, non-verbal communication, and paralanguage. The use of verbal communication looks at what the person is saying with their words. The use of non-verbal communication looks at what someone …

Revealing Underlying Factors Of Absenteeism: A Machine Learning Approach, Francis Bowen, Carolyn Gentle-Genitty, Jane Siegler, Marlin Jackson

Founder’s College - Scholarship and Professional Work

Introduction: The basis of support is understanding. In machine learning, understanding happens through assimilated knowledge and is centered on six pillars: big data, data volume, value, variety, velocity, and veracity. This study analyzes school attendance problems (SAP), which encompasses its legal statutes, school codes, students’ attendance behaviors, and interventions in a school environment. The support pillars include attention to the physical classroom, school climate, and personal underlying factors impeding engagement, from which socio-emotional factors are often the primary drivers.

Methods: This study asked the following research question: What can we learn about specific underlying factors of absenteeism using machine learning …

Life Before Birth: A Thematic Analysis Of Memories Of Coming Into Life Part 1: Recollections Of Another Realm, Jenny Wade

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

Autobiographic memories prior to birth remain controversial in psychology because such memories are traditionally believed to begin much later when some sense of self is formed. Prenatal sentience, including fetal learning, occurs in species from arthropods to humans, and evidence for autobiographic memories from pre- and neo-natal humans has typically come from clinical case histories of altered-state regression techniques eliciting records from adults or clinical case histories of children in normal states. This thematic analysis examined 68 “earliest memory” narratives submitted to an independent website to explore the question: what do people who claim to remember how they came into …

Using Metaperceptions To Evaluate Conscientiousness And Predict Gpa, Montana R. Woolley

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Personality measures have been used for decades to predict many important workplace outcomes, however, the literature reveals weak predictive validities (Barrick et al., 2001; Morgeson et al., 2007). This study investigates metaperceptions, or an individual’s belief about how others perceive them (Laing et al., 1966), to determine if they are a more effective predictor of behavioral outcomes than the typical self-report measures used today. Metaperceptions capture a different perspective than classic self-reports and other-reports, and therefore may measure a different source of construct relevant variance. Using a student sample (N = 181), we tested three main hypotheses: (1) combining self-ratings, …

College Students' Engagement And Academic Outcomes In Online Learning During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Thuy Vy Tran, Olivia Aspiras

Modern Psychological Studies

This study examined the relationship among motivation, engagement, and academic outcomes in online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants were 41 students enrolled in at least two online classes. They completed a survey measuring motivation, engagement, and academic performance in their online courses. It was hypothesized that greater motivation and engagement would predict greater academic outcomes, and that engagement mediates the relationship between motivation and academic outcomes. Regression analyses showed that both motivation and engagement significantly predicted academic outcomes. Engagement was not a significant mediator between motivation and academic outcomes; rather, mediation analyses found that motivation mediated the relationship between …

The Relationship Between Adolescent Risk-Taking Behavior And Guilt Versus Shame Proneness, Ashley Kernan, Jeremiah Sullins

Modern Psychological Studies

This study examined the correlation between adolescent risk-taking behaviors and guilt versus shame proneness. The participants were given an adolescent risk-taking questionnaire that focused on negative high and low risk-taking behaviors and the TOSCA-3 questionnaire. The adolescent risk-taking questionnaire focused on the participants past behaviors from the ages of 13-18. The TOSCA-3 was used to determine if a participant was guilt-prone or shame-prone. The data collected from both instruments were analyzed for whether adolescent risk-taking behaviors were correlated with guilt proneness or shame proneness. The results of the Pearson r correlations indicated a significant negative correlation between adolescent risk-taking, shame …

Pagan Poets, A Dream, And The Beautiful Young, Michael Hass

Education Faculty Articles and Research

Three poems that were published in volume 64, issue 3-4, "Psyche Speaks", of the peer-reviewed journal Psychological Perspectives.

Attachment, Identity Processing Style, And Emotion Regulation Among Emerging Adults, Kaitlyn M. Daleandro

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This study explores the relationships among parent, peer, and romantic attachment, identity processing style, and emotion regulation. Previous studies have revealed potential associations among each of the aforementioned factors (e.g., between identity and attachment as well as between attachment and emotion regulation), but this is the first study to examine the three factors together, putting emphasis on romantic attachment. It was predicted that attachment will vary depending on the interaction between identity processing style and emotion regulation. College students (N= 390) in psychology courses participated in an anonymous online survey for course credit. Parent attachment was significantly predicted …

Terror Management Theory During Covid-19: Individual Differences In Death Anxiety Defenses, Nicole L. Harkrider

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The present study seeks to determine the relationship between Terror Management Theory (TMT) and various measures of existential anxiety, future consciousness, and future-oriented thinking. By using TMT as a theoretical construct, a scale was devised to measure participants’ protective behaviors relating to the COVID-19 pandemic. Three other scales were utilized, including Lalot’s Future Consciousness Scale (FCS), Strathman’s Consideration of Future Consequences Scale (CFCS), and Weems’ Existential Anxiety Questionnaire (EAQ). The scales were combined into one composite survey along with demographic questions. 315 participants were then administered the collection of scales via an only survey platform. Results indicated strong significant correlations …

Relationship Between Video Games And Recovery From Work: A Comparison Of Different Genres And Leisure Activities, Jessica A. Gass

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Work stress can have a negative impact for both individuals and organizations, warranting research on how to recover from it. This research analyzes how the relationship between video games and work recovery differs depending on the genre of the video game played. In addition, these relationships are compared against the relationships between the recovery experiences and other leisure activities. Participants were asked to provide information on how often they play video games and engage in other leisure activities. In addition, two different measures of the four components of work recovery (psychological detachment from work, relaxation, mastery experiences, and control) were …

Assessing The Appropriateness Of The Cultural Formulation Interview In Conceptualizing Reverse Culture Shock, Katja Nielsen

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Utilizing the Cultural Formulation Interview (CFI) to identify social and cultural variables predicting the cross-cultural experience of reverse culture shock, this study aims at clarifying the process of re-acculturation of international students in the United States by comparing quantitative and qualitative measures. Thirty-two participants completed demographics and questionnaires and 18 decided to further partake in the CFI. Results from the Reentry Shock Scale as well as the CFI indicate that a majority of individuals experience problems and distress associated with returning home, yet to varying degrees and intensity. Through assessment of each participant’s experience with reverse culture shock, twelve out …

Examining Jealousy In Mixed-Orientation Relationships: An Experimental Vignette Study, Madison Marie Glende

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Experiences of romantic jealousy, measured by ratings of emotional and sexual jealousy, in same-orientation and mixed-orientation hypothetical relationships were examined among 83 heterosexual cisgender women, 18 years of age or older, who are students at Minnesota State University, Mankato. Surveys were distributed through SONA systems and were available to students enrolled in at least one psychology course at the time of participation. Participants were randomly assigned to one of four possible vignettes, of which followed a 2 (partner’s sexual orientation) x 2 (gender of partner’s friend) factorial design, and were instructed to read and imagine themselves in the presented hypothetical …

Investigating Anxiety-Like Behavior As A Non-Motor Side Effect Of Deep Brain Stimulation Of The Subthalamic Nucleus In A Parkinsonian Rat Model, Carter Mulder

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is estimated to impact nearly 10 million people globally and is estimated to increase in the future. PD is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that worsens through continuous cell death of dopaminergic neurons. This cell death can create motor symptoms such as bradykinesia, tremor, and muscular rigidity. Subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation, STN DBS, is a surgical intervention which places stimulating electrodes in the STN greatly improving motor symptoms. However, STN DBS has been reported to possibly influence non-motor symptoms such as anxiety both acutely and long-term, which decreases the quality of life for those with PD. We …

Perfectionism And Academic Burnout In Honors, High-Achieving Non-Honors, And Typical Undergraduate Students, Hannah Belle Faiman

Dissertations and Theses

Perfectionism and academic burnout are two multidimensional constructs that have been found to be associated with factors such as academic achievement and personal well-being, and several researchers have posited that these constructs may be more prevalent in particular student populations, such as high-achieving students. There is little research, however, that distinguishes between unique groups of high-achieving college students. To address this gap and further explore group differences in factors affecting student success in higher education, the Almost Perfect Scale – Revised (APS-R) and the student version of the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory (OLBI-S) were used to measure perfectionism and academic burnout …

Childhood Interpersonal Trauma And Disordered Eating; The Mediating Role Of Social Information Processing Deficits, Deviated Pubertal Timing, And Emotion, Cazzie Es Steinzor

Dissertations and Theses

Childhood maltreatment has been identified as a risk factor for psychopathology, including disordered eating. The current study tested a transdiagnostic theoretical model, posited by McLaughlin and colleagues (2020), that integrates difficulties with emotions, perceived deviation in pubertal timing, and social information processing deficits to explain the relationship between childhood maltreatment exposure and the development of a range of psychopathology. Specifically, the current study incorporated the aforementioned mechanisms to explain the relationship of child maltreatment with disordered eating. While research supports associations between the aforementioned variables, it is unclear if these three mechanisms better explain the relationship between exposure to childhood …

Coping Self-Efficacy As A Moderator In The Relationship Between Trauma And Disordered Eating, Bethany Owens Raymond

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Disordered eating behaviors are associated with a myriad of detrimental health and mental health consequences (Ackard et al., 2003; Bryla, 2003; Karkkainen et al., 2018; Quick & Byrd-Bredbenner, 2013). Previous research identifies trauma as a risk factor for disordered eating behaviors and eating disorders (Brewerton, 2007). For instance, individuals with eating disorders are more likely to report trauma than individuals with no such history (Lejonclou et al., 2014). However, because not all individuals with a history of trauma exhibit disordered eating, it is important to identify what factors might moderate this relationship. The current study aims to investigate coping-self efficacy …

Impostorism On Campus: The Effects Of Stereotype Threat On State Inauthenticity And State Anxiety In Two Samples Of African American College Women, Gabrielle Y. Johnson

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Despite the growing education levels of Black women, negative stereotypes of Black women persist and undermine the confidence of African American/Black college women in the classroom. Experimental evidence supports that stereotype threat, the fear of confirming a negative stereotype about one’s group when being evaluated by others, undermines the performance of high achieving Black students (Steele & Aronson, 1995). Research has found the impostor phenomenon to be experienced as thoughts of inauthenticity, in conjunction with fear of failure and being exposed as a fraud (Ibrahim et al., 2020). Therefore, being continuously exposed to situations that create feelings of state inauthenticity, …

The Role Of Motivation In Community Partner Perceptions Of Service-Learning, Jayda P. Felder

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

The current study sought to determine how community partners’ varying motivations for participating in collegiate service-learning programs relates to their perceptions of service-learning. Prior research has demonstrated a plethora of positive outcomes for students who partake in courses with service-learning requirements, but research investigating the outcomes for the organizations that host these students is less common, and research investigating the link between their motives and perceptions is nonexistent. Based on this gap in the literature, the quantitative, evidence-based Perceptions of Service-Learning Scale was developed for the current study to assess how community partners perceive their experiences with service-learning across four …

Does Insufficient Effort Responding Account For The Relationship Between Psychopathy And Social Desirability?, Logan F. Folger

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

This research investigated the relationship between self-report psychopathy and social desirability and whether insufficient effort responding may impact this relationship. It was hypothesized that insufficient effort responding is biasing the relationship. Therefore, the significant negative relationship between psychopathy and social desirability may approach zero after isolating insufficient effort responding data. Two studies were conducted to aid this investigation. The first study utilized the Monte Carlo method to simulate this relationship. The simulation had 1,000 trials using 1,000 participants with proportions of valid respondents ranging from 0.0 to 1.0 with increments of 0.1. The results showed that insufficient effort responding may …

Sexual Victimization And Disordered Eating Among Sorority And Fraternity Members, Jennifer L. Mcginness

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

A clear relationship exists between a history of sexual victimization and disordered eating behaviors characteristic of anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge-eating disorder. Additionally, college students and more specifically, members of Greek organizations are at an increased risk of experiencing sexual victimization and developing disordered eating behaviors. However, there is a lack of research on the effect of Greek membership on the development of different types of disordered eating behaviors following sexual assault. Additionally, research has neglected to address novel disordered eating patterns, such as those characteristic of orthorexia nervosa, and the presence of these patterns following sexual assault. To …