Psychology Commons^™

Perceived Tempo Is Influenced By Embodied Dance Speed And Latin Dance Expertise, Ryan K. Perez, Carolina A. Herrera, Melanie Garcia [email protected], Miguel A. Castaño, Jared W. Leslie

Undergraduate Research Symposium Posters

Tempo is the speed of a piece of music and is measured in beats per minute (BPM). Tempo perception is subjective and may be influenced by the listener’s musical culture. Even for the same tempo, some dances are faster than others depending on the dance and culture. In the present study, we ask whether the speed of dance movements for a given song influences subjective perception of that song’s tempo among listeners with and without prior experience dancing to Latin music.

Can Reconsolidation Account For The Misinformation Effect?, Olesya T. Frolova, Gabriel E. Hull

Undergraduate Research Symposium Posters

A successful replication of Rindal & Zaragoza (2016) would indicate that reconsolidation cannot account for the misinformation effect. Current preliminary data supports the results found by the original study, suggesting that an alternative theory must be explored to explain the misinformation effect. For example, it is possible that the original memory is not altered by the misinformation but competes with the original memory leading to temporary inaccessibility at test. Results from this study could influence law enforcement interview techniques to avoid false testimonies. One limitation of the study is that performance on the test was potentially too good; this will …

The Time Window Of Reconsolidation: A Replication, Mateo Marquez, Jessica Nguyen

Undergraduate Research Symposium Posters

Reconsolidation is the process whereby activating a consolidated memory can bring it into a labile state where it can be strengthened, weakened, or updated. Hupbach et al., (2007) showed that memory updating is only found when the reconsolidation process has time to complete. This finding has been argued to be due to other memory processes (Sederberg et al., 2011). Before testing alternative explanations, the result needs to be replicated by an independent lab.

Taking The Social Out Of Social Media: Social Media Induced Loneliness As A Mechanism For Elevated Depression During The Pandemic, Samara Rosen

Honors Theses

During the COVID-19 pandemic health protocols limited in-person interactions, interrupting the undergraduate experience and prompting students to find virtual ways to connect with their peers. A key goal of this study was to assess whether college students’ social media use was a viable replacement for in-person interactions during the pandemic, reducing risk for psychological difficulties that ordinarily accompany social isolation. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate loneliness as a potential mediator underlying the longitudinal relationship between social media use and depression. Self-report data were collected in November 2020 (T1), February 2021 (T2), and May 2021 (T3). The …

Youths’ Sense Of Mastery Scores In Correlation To Ptsd Criterion D Scores & Total Ptsd-Ri Scores, Katherine Conklin, Amanda Mraz

Undergraduate Research Symposium Posters

Childhood resilience levels impact the severity of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Resiliency is defined as a personal characteristic fostering effective coping, adaptive functional abilities, and motivation.

Sensitivity To Musical Groove Is Predicted By Sensitivity To Musical Chills, But Not General Musicality, Nicole Datastanyan, Kaela Omengan, Isabella Aceituno [email protected], Solena Mednicoff, Sivan Barashy

Undergraduate Research Symposium Posters

Previous research suggests that individual differences in musicality may predict groove sensitivity. Groovy music is highly stimulating music that makes listeners want to move while eliciting feelings of pleasure and arousal. Musicality refers to listeners’ affinity to music including musical talent, sophistication, and expertise. Frisson (musical chills) is an intense emotional response to music characterized by goosebumps or a tingling sensation.

Perceiving The Poster: How Suspicion Of Motives May Impact Perceptions Of Potential Allies Engaging In Online Activism, Kathrina Z. Durante

Honors Theses

Social media posts signaling support for various social and racial justice movements have emerged as an important aspect of social media use. However, little research has investigated how these posts and the social media users behind them are perceived by members of disadvantaged groups﹘those the messages are presumably intended to “help.” Though the post’s content and poster’s identity are likely important, the primary aim of this study is to investigate an individual difference variable in the perceiver, specifically disadvantaged group members’ Suspicion of Motives Index (SOMI) scores, which measure a general tendency to perceive White individuals’ attempts at non-prejudice to …

Food Related Intrusive Thoughts: A Pilot Study, Hoor Ul Ain

Honors Theses

Food related intrusive thoughts (FRITs), a type of intrusive thoughts, might be associated with greater frequency of food intake, greater anxiety and distress, and negative affect in general. However, little is known about the experience of FRITs in the moment. I hypothesized that (1) momentary food related intrusive thoughts or FRITs would be positively related to momentary negative affect and (2) that time since eating will moderate this relationship such that people with more time since eating will show a stronger positive relationship between FRITs and negative affect. These relationships were not found to be significant; however, there was a …

Do Traits Of Autism Spectrum Disorder In The Typically Developing Population Relate To Early Face Processing As Measured By The N170 And N250 Neural Signals?, Anna Murdock

Honors Theses

This exploratory study used electrophysiology to examine whether traits associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in the typically developing population are related to early face processing. Previous literature has found mixed results about whether event-related potential (ERP) components appear differently in people with ASD, but two components that might be related to the observed deficit in face processing are the N170 component, which reflects the structural encoding of faces, and the N250 component, which reflects the individuation of faces. The present study analyzed data collected as part of the PURSUE EEG database. As part of the database, participants completed the …

Why Diversity Is Not Enough: Perceptions Of University Diversity, Equity, And Inclusion Initiatives Predict Institutional Belonging, Mckennah Lauber

Honors Theses

Belonging, including feelings of being valued in a larger institutional space, is important to student overall well-being. For students of color attending Primarily White Institutions (PWIs) (and other historically marginalized group members), institutional belonging maybe partially dependent on how they perceive diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. This study aims to assess individual differences in how DEI initiatives are experienced by students at PWIs in order to better understand how experiences of DEI initiatives on campuses may differentially impact students of color compared to White students. Belonging for students of color was found to be contingent on their perceptions of …

The Effects Of Positive Anticipation On Optimistic Cognitive Bias And Emotional Resilience In Rats, Megan Hooper

Honors Theses

The anticipation of positive events and optimism have been shown to improve health and emotional states in rats and humans. The current study is interested in the impact of positive anticipation on optimistic cognitive bias and emotional resilience, as well as neural markers of resilience. Male (n = 12) and female (n = 12) rats were assigned to either unpredictable positive expectancy response (UPER) training or the control (CON) group (n = 6 per group). Optimism was assessed using an ambiguous cue test (ACT) in which the rats were trained to associate a specific visual pattern with a high-value (Froot …

Maladaptive Social Cognitions And Peer Victimization In Elementary-Aged Students, Katelyn Szarko

Honors Theses

Among elementary-aged students, peer victimization is common and is associated with psychological maladjustment and poor academic achievement. Students with maladaptive social cognitions, like low social competence and low perceived control, are more likely to be victimized, but having a supportive teacher and/or a positive classroom climate might help to mitigate this association. This study aimed to answer the question of whether teacher support and classroom climate protect against peer victimization for students with maladaptive social cognitions. It was hypothesized that teacher support and classroom climate will separately moderate the link between social competence/perceived control and subsequent peer victimization such that …

Breaking Into Bon Air Juvenile Correctional Center: A Lesson In (Non) Quantitative Research, Mackenzie Seward

Honors Theses

Gaps in the literature on juvenile justice and mental health within a juvenile correctional center prompted a study that focused on self-esteem, emotions, and empathy in residents living in a juvenile correctional center related to their participation in a storytelling course. First-year students from a local university visited the correctional center as part of a community-based learning component. They met with residents to swap stories about their lives. Several limitations and obstacles complicated the data collection process, forcing the researchers to pivot their study from quantitative analyses to qualitative observations. The experience of conducting a study within a juvenile correctional …

The Effect Of Sleep And Emotion On Pattern Separation, Sarah Al-Shimary, Alanna Osmanski

Undergraduate Research Symposium Posters

The relationship between sleep and memory has been a topic of interest in psychology for decades. Prior research demonstrates that the sleep state is an optimal time for memory consolidation to occur, most commonly through a model known as active systems consolidation. A widely accepted view of emotion is that sleep preferentially consolidations emotional over neutral material. Recent meta-analyses of sleep, emotion, and memory have suggested that this effect may not be as robust as we once thought. A new way to investigate the relationship between sleep and memory consolidation of emotional stimuli is with a pattern separation task known …

Examining Differences In Ptsd Symptomatology Among Youth Who Have Experienced Sexual And Psychological Maltreatment Using Nonparametric Analyses, Emma Domschot, Vanni Jefferson V. Arcaina

Undergraduate Research Symposium Posters

Child sexual abuse, even when accounting for co-occuring risk factors, may be predictive of worse clinical outcomes when comparing to other types of trauma (Kisiel et al., 2014). However, contrasting research suggests that psychological maltreatment may independently contribute to a negative risk of clinical outcomes comparable to child sexual abuse (Hodgon et al., 2014). Other studies suggest that complex trauma, in terms of experiencing prolonged and several traumas over a period of time, may often lead to an increased risk of post-traumatic stress disorder (John et al., 2019). The current study aimed to examine differences in PTSD symptomatology among youth …

Does Children’S Openness To Experience And Musicality Influence Perception Of Major And Minor Musical Modes?, Bryanna Grijalva, Natalya Sayegh, Carlos Tamayo, Ryan K. Perez, Sivan Barashy, Solena Mednicoff

Undergraduate Research Symposium Posters

Previous studies have found a relationship between openness to experience, musical training, and auditory abilities in adults. Openness to experience: one of the major personality traits that encapsulates how open-minded, creative, insightful, and imaginative a person can be. Tonality: the orientation of melodies and harmonies toward a referential pitch class. Musicality: one’s enthusiasm for music and desire to make music.

Sexual Abuse And Interpersonal Difficulties In Youth, Priscilla Herrera, Kinsey Ellis

Undergraduate Research Symposium Posters

Researchers have found childhood sexual abuse victimization to be associated with impairments in trust, social comfort, and quality of interpersonal relationships1,2,3. Research which investigates the unique relationship between sexual abuse and interpersonal difficulties among youth with a history of child maltreatment is limited. The present study aimed to investigate interpersonal functioning differences in maltreated youth who have and have not experienced sexual abuse.

Sense Of Relatedness From Racial Groups Within Maltreated Youth, Jessica Castillo, Jaelin Isquith

Undergraduate Research Symposium Posters

Sense of relatedness is a crucial factor in the development of meaningful interpersonal relationships (Datu, 2017). Interpersonal relationships have demonstrated a significant impact on how individuals cope with their environment (Yulina et al., 2021). Youth in low socioeconomic environments are at higher risk of being exposed to unstable relationships which further increases this vulnerable population to learning ineffective interpersonal skills throughout their lifespan (Colman & Wisdom, 2004). Youth from marginalized groups have higher risk at experiencing negative life experiences, for example economic inequalities, heightened distress, systemic oppression, and economic inequalities (Hatch & Dohrenwend, 2007). Previous research has suggested African-American individuals …

Emotional Reactivity Predicts Dissociation In Maltreated Youth, Jaelin Isquith, Kinsey Ellis

Undergraduate Research Symposium Posters

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5-TR) defines dissociation as “disruption in the usually integrated functions of consciousness, memory, identity or perception of the environment”11. Dissociation most commonly occurs after a traumatic experience and can take many forms; Subtypes include dissociative amnesia, absorption and imaginative involvement, passive influence, and depersonalization and derealization. Dissociation has been linked to several negative outcomes such as increased risk for development of personality disorders, suicidal ideation, and self-harm2,3. Risk factors for dissociation have been understudied in child and adolescent populations. One factor that has been found to be related to severity of dissociative …

Investigating The Impact Of Dividing Attention On Auditory And Visual Object Memory, Sharica Lee, Julius Hernandez, Ryan Tyler Sablan

Undergraduate Research Symposium Posters

Recently, we found that dividing attention reduced recollection and familiarity for visual objects, but a different pattern emerged for auditory object memory: auditory object recollection was not affected by dividing attention. This could be attributable to differing levels of baseline performance with visual memory far exceeding auditory memory. Thus, we attempted to equate baseline performance in both modalities in order to adequately investigate the previous findings.

Understanding The Relationship Between Climate Change Anxiety, Hope, And Action: A Moderation Analysis, Jin Qian, Daniela Alvarez, Ishrat Zaman [email protected], Yuhan Bi

Undergraduate Research Symposium Posters

Climate change affects all species on Earth, and immediate action is required to mitigate these negative effects. Purpose of this study: to explore whether climate change anxiety moderates the relationship between hope and action.

General Chemistry Students’ Perceptions Of Remote/Online V. In-Person Education During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Sabeeka Raza, Abigale Ly

Undergraduate Research Symposium Posters

As a result of the sudden nationwide lockdowns that occurred in March of 2020, many universities rapidly shifted to remote instruction. This complete and rapid transformation of the education system is one that is historically unparalleled. Professors and instructors were forced to adapt their lessons and exams to an online format within a matter of weeks (Rupnow et al., 2020). Students were forced to adjust to a remote learning environment, which was accompanied by the challenges of adopting new learning strategies in an environment isolated from peers and professors (Simon et al., 2020). While many classes have now shifted back …

Personal Actions: The Correlation Between Water And Energy Conservation, Jaedyn N. Billerbeck, Joshua Galloway, Yele Wagoner, Betty Castenada, Kimberly A. Barchard

Psychology Faculty Presentations

Water and energy conservation are growing concerns around the world.

Energy conservation policies create both energy and water savings (Gu et al., 2016). Conversely, water conservation impacts energy usage (Sokolow et al., 2016). Heating water in the home accounts for 20% of the home’s energy use (Chini et al., 2016).

Our study examines the relationship between water conservation and energy conservation.

Plant Sentience: The Burden Of Proof, Jon Mallatt, David G. Robinson, Michael R. Blatt, Andreas Draguhn, Lincoln Taiz

Animal Sentience

Segundo-Ortin & Calvo’s (2023) target article takes a less speculative and more evidence-based approach to plant sentience than did previous works promoting that idea. However, it retains many of the idea’s longstanding difficulties such as starting from a false dichotomy (plants must be either hardwired or sentient), not accepting the full burden of proof for an extraordinary claim, confusingly redefining accepted cognitive terms, implying cell consciousness, not adopting the most parsimonious explanations for plant behaviors, and downplaying all the counterevidence. We advise rectifying these problems before plant sentience can become a full-fledged scientific domain.

Patient Experiences Through Head And Neck Cancer: Information Delivery Combatting Psychological Distress, Eleah Stringer Msc., Julian J. Lum Phd., Jonathan Livergant Dr., Andre Kushniruk Phd.

Patient Experience Journal

As part of a larger study investigating the utility of electronic decision support tools for patients with head and neck cancer (HNC), this article describes the patient experience of receiving cancer treatment in British Columbia, Canada. It aims to give voice to the patient experience and recommend a model of psychological adjustment for clinicians and clinical service management to consider to refine patient centric care pathways for HNC. Based in phenomenology, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 survivors of HNC, audio-video recorded, and thematically analyzed. Three themes were identified: (1) patients have high, though varying information needs; (2) an emotional …

The Project That Claire, Uh I Mean The Student Completed: Relative Clauses And Repair Disfluencies, Claire O’Shaughnessy

Honors Theses

Several areas of psycholinguistics focus on the role of memory in language processing. Two of these areas are repair disfluencies and complex syntactic structures; however, these two topics have traditionally been investigated completely separately from one another. The current experiment combines these two topics by presenting listeners with spoken sentences containing subject-extracted relative clauses (SRCs) and object-extracted relative clauses (ORCs) in which the semantic similarity between the critical noun phrases (NPs) was manipulated. In addition, the sentences could be spoken fluently, or there could be a repair disfluency in which the reparandum contained information that would be potentially helpful in …

Examining College Students’ Knowledge And Beliefs About Self-Care Through The Lens Of The Covid-19 Pandemic, Riley Engle

Celebrating Scholarship and Creativity Day (2018-)

No abstract provided.

Justifying Antipathy?: Examining Racialized Perceptions Of Incarceration And Support For Mental Healthcare In Prisons, Jared Brassil

Honors Theses

The current U.S. criminal justice system has a disproportionate number of people suffering from mental illness. Additionally, many of these prisons not only lack the ability to properly treat these individuals, but in some cases may even worsen the problem. Public support, and importantly whom the public thinks the prototypical prisoner is, is important to know when advocating for reform. This research aims to investigate whether or not racialized perceptions of the U.S. criminal justice system impact support for mental healthcare reform in prisons. Given the exploratory nature of this work, potentially relevant individual difference variables are also investigated. An …

The Relationship Between Workplace Diversity Climate, Turnover Intention, And Thriving In College Counseling Centers, Jahmai Bastian, Josie Braun, Cate Duffey, Majel Baker

Celebrating Scholarship and Creativity Day (2018-)

College and university counseling centers need a more diversified staff to provide services that accommodate the needs of the increasingly racially and ethnically diverse student body (Kitzrow 2023). This study hypothesized that 1) positive workplace diversity-climate is negatively correlated with turnover intention, 2) workplace diversity-climate is positively correlated with thriving at work, and 3) thriving at work is negatively correlated with turnover intention. An online survey was sent out to a sample of counseling staff (e.g., psychologists, therapists) working at college counseling centers across the U.S. and Canada (N = 488). Participants completed modified versions of the Thriving at Work …

Mental Health And Academic Experiences Among U.S. College Students During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Michael E. Roberts, Jillian Meyer '23, Elizabeth A. Bell

Psychology and Neuroscience Faculty Publications

When the COVID-19 pandemic began, U.S. college students reported increased anxiety and depression. This study examines mental health among U.S college students during the subsequent 2020–2021 academic year by surveying students at the end of the fall 2020 and the spring 2021 semesters. Our data provide cross-sectional snapshots and longitudinal changes. Both surveys included the PSS, GAD-7, PHQ-8, questions about students’ academic experiences and sense of belonging in online, in-person, and hybrid classes, and additional questions regarding behaviors, living circumstances, and demographics. The spring 2021 study included a larger, stratified sample of eight demographic groups, and we added scales to …