Psychology Commons^™

Virtual Reality Influence On Moral Reasoning Through Compassion, Dennis W. Dunivan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study investigates quantifiable links between virtual reality, moral reasoning, and compassion, contributing to the development of improved pedagogy for moral leadership development through experiential learning. It is the first empirical study to determine how specific virtual reality experiences potentially influence moral reasoning as measured by the DIT-2 (Rest et al., 1999), as well as the possible mediation effects of compassion on this relationship as measured by the Compassion Scale (Pommier et al., 2019). Although pedagogical implications are discussed, including the integration of virtual reality experiences into curriculum, the boundaries of this study are controlled to measure the direct influence …

Let It Go: Cognitive Strategy Use Selectively Changes Temporal Context Effects In Risky Monetary Decision-Making, Hayley R. Brooks

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Some of the most influential modern theories of risky monetary decision-making assume that choices result from stable, trait-like preferences, invariant to contextual influences such as recent events. Recent research has challenged this assumption, demonstrating that decisions under risk, even when values and their probabilities are explicit and known, are contextually sensitive, affected by recent events on multiple timescales, including immediate (previous monetary outcomes), neighborhood (recently encountered values), and global (cumulative earnings relative to dynamic expectations) events. Such temporal context-dependencies are perplexing, because relying on recent events at any timescale is inconsistent with the assumed goal of risky monetary decision-making: to …

The Relationship Between Childhood Maltreatment And A Woman’S Desire To Have Children, Tayah Simpson

Psychology | Senior Theses

This study evaluated the relationship between childhood maltreatment and feelings about parenting among adult females. It was hypothesized that women with a history of maltreatment during their developmental years would have less desire to have children than females of similar age who were not maltreated. The Childhood Maltreatment History and Desire to Have Children Questionnaires were completed by 51 females aged 20 years and older. Results indicated a statistically significant lower desire to parent among females with histories of Low and Severe childhood maltreatment than for females without such history. Further comparisons revealed the same pattern of findings when women …

“They'll Take A Gun To Me Before I Get That Shot”:Rationalization, Emotions, And Misinformation In Covid-19 Vaccine Hesitancy, Michaela George, Benjamin Rosenberg, Savannah N. Dale, Lauren H. Kirkland, Patti L. Culross, Rong Chen

Psychology | Faculty Scholarship

Vaccine hesitancy—the reluctance, delay, or refusal tovaccinate regardless of availability—is not a new concept inpsychology, medicine, or public health. However, given theemotions surrounding the COVID-19 vaccine, hesitancy hasproven difficult to overcome. To date, the bulk of availabledata on vaccine hesitancy are quantitative, leaving room forexploratory investigations into the reasons adults remainunvaccinated. This qualitative study assessed the moti-vations, beliefs, and perceptions of individuals who havedecided to remain unvaccinated against COVID-19. We hadone exploratory research question: What social psychological justifications emerge from vaccine hesitant people'sexplanations of their decisions to remain unvaccinated?To assess this question, we conducted 18 interviews withunvaccinated adults throughout 2021–2022. …

Artificial Intelligence & Creativity: A Manifesto For Collaboration, Florent Vinchon, Todd Lubart, Sabrina Bartolotta, Valentin Gironnay, Marion Botella, Samira Bourgeois-Bougrine, Jean-Marie Burkhardt, Nathalie Bonnardel, Giovanni Emanuele Corazza, Vlad Glăveanu, Michael Hanchett Hanson, Zorana Ivcevic, Maciej Karwowski, James C. Kaufman, Takeshi Okada, Roni Reiter-Palmon, Andrea Gaggioli

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

With the advent of artificial intelligence (AI), the field of creativity faces new opportunities and challenges. This manifesto explores several scenarios of human–machine collaboration on creative tasks and proposes “fundamental laws of generative AI” to reinforce the responsible and ethical use of AI in the creativity field. Four scenarios are proposed and discussed: “Co-Cre-AI-tion,” “Organic,” “Plagiarism 3.0,” and “Shut down,” each illustrating different possible futures based on the collaboration between humans and machines. In addition, we have incorporated an AI-generated manifesto that also highlights important themes, ranging from accessibility and ethics to cultural sensitivity. The fundamental laws proposed aim to …

Internal Family Systems (Ifs) Therapy: Non-Pathologizing Healing For Inner Peace, Sylvia Hill

Issues in Religion and Psychotherapy

Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy is a new approach to healing of the wounds and burdens caused by trauma, neglect and other relational injuries. The history of the development of IFS is outlined. The basic assumptions of IFS are shared. The roles parts take on in response to trauma are explained. The process of working with parts to bring about healing are described. Research on IFS is listed followed by a brief discussion of how IFS can fit within a Christian framework. Two case studies are provided to illustrate IFS being used in conjunction with Christian beliefs.

Research Methods, Erica Weisgram Ph.D.

Sample module-themed coursework with Sesame Street examples

This module will explore the role of psychological research in the development of Sesame Street. Specifically, this module will look at the history of research in the development of the series, the process that is used in the development of the season, the formative research that is conducted, and the summative research that is conducted. Case studies of research conducted on the impact of Sesame Street on children’s development.

Increasing Mental Health Treatment-Seeking In Emerging Adult College-Student Survivors Of Sexual Assault: A Randomized Controlled Trial Of An Online Intervention, Jessica Huntt

Theses and Dissertations

The prevalence of sexual violence, particularly in emerging adult women, is alarming (Sinozich & Langton, 2014; Smith et al., 2017), and rates of treatment seeking are low (e.g., Smith et al., 2010). Engagement strategies and motivational interviewing have garnered support in mitigating barriers to mental health treatment-seeking (e.g., Lerch et al., 2017). However, young college women often do not seek treatment for symptoms following sexual violence due to additional barriers such as shame and institutional betrayal (Holland, 2019; Logan et al, 2005). Lack of treatment can lead to long-term detriments (e.g., Halpern et al., 2018) and there is little research …

Good, Bad, Or Not-Even-Wrong Science And Mathematics In Transpersonal Psychology: Comment On Rock Et Al.'S "Is Biological Death Final?", Harris L. Friedman

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

Rock et al. (this issue) used a Drake-like equation to provide an estimate of the mathematical likelihood of survival of consciousness after death based on combining a number of probability guestimates. Although it is refreshing to see a mathematical paper within transpersonal psychology, as this subdiscipline of psychology suffers from a shortage of quantitative research, it is uncertain whether this contribution is good, bad, or not-even-wrong science. The original Drake equation, and its derivative Drake-like equation spinoffs, have been criticized for combining numbers that produce results that lack meaning and thereby perhaps can be seen as using pseudomathematics. This concern …

Investigating The Multi-Faceted Nature Of Cyberloafing Based On Job Features, Alexandria Bohn

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

After COVID-19, organizations have had to shift the nature of the workplace leading to increased access to personal devices and internet with remote and hybrid work environments. Over the past several years, technological advancements have allowed for employees to partake in cyberloafing behaviors. Cyberloafing is a tool in which an employee uses the internet for personal reasons during the workday. There has been a divide in the literature regarding the auspicious versus detrimental effects of cyberloafing on employee outcomes. Primarily, researchers have focused on the harm of cyberloafing, the money it costs organizations, and proper ways to reduce this employee …

A Brief Mindfulness Intervention And Its Effect On Stress Response And Recovery: Rumination As A Moderator., Kacie Peters

Lewis Honors College Thesis Collection

It is inevitable that every human will encounter many stressors in their life, so research on this topic is generalizable to many and carries a heavy weight. While facing one small stressor may not be enough to have a significant impact, it is the degree of the stressors and the response to them that can dictate whether or not it leads to serious consequences (WHO). Stress can be characterized as a stressor or combined stressors that lead to physical, emotional, and mental strain (WHO). It is important that we know the ways in which to best recover from stress, otherwise …

Development And Validation Of An Arabic Language Eye-Tracking Paradigm For The Early Screening And Diagnosis Of Autism Spectrum Disorders In Qatar, Fouad A. Al-Shaban, Iman Ghazal, I. Richard Thompson, Eric W. Klingemier, Mohammed Aldosari, Hawraa Al-Shammari, Fatema Al-Faraj, Saba El-Hag, Mohamed Tolefat, Mogahed Ali, Bisher Nasir, Thomas Frazier

2023 Faculty Bibliography

Abnormal eye gaze is a hallmark characteristic of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The primary aim of the present research was to develop an Arabic version of an objective measure of ASD, the “autism index” (AI), based on eye gaze track- ing to social and nonsocial stimuli validated initially in the United States. The ini- tial phase of this study included the translation of English language eye-tracking stimuli into stimuli appropriate for an Arabic-speaking culture. During the second phase, we tested it on a total of 144 children with ASD, and 96 controls. The AI had excellent internal consistency and test–retest …

When Do Therapist Characteristics Matter Or Do They?, Han Lim Kim

Theses and Dissertations

This research aims to establish that considerable differences exist between therapists on how much their clients improve in treatment and understand the factors that contribute to such variability. Therapists’ sex, personality, and similarity of their personality with their clients’ personality were examined as moderators of change in treatment outcome. Findings must be interpreted with caution due to limitations of the dataset which make therapists effects hard to separate from client effects. There is variation around the amount of change therapists produce in their clients; however, this variation is much smaller compared to the variance among clients. Female therapists consistently had …

The Role Of Child Maltreatment On Personality From Adolescence To Young Adulthood, Morgan T. Cohen

Theses and Dissertations

Historically, a defining feature of personality characteristics has been their stability and consistency across time. However, research over the past decade has established patterns of personality change across the lifespan, with the most mean-level trait change occurring between 20 to 40 years old (Roberts & Mroczek, 2009), making young adulthood a fruitful developmental period to study personality change. There are several factors that can influence personality trait change and some literature has suggested that major life events such as childhood adversity can impact the stability and change of personality traits across time. The present study uses two waves of data …

When Crying Turns To Hitting: Examining Maternal Responses To Negative Affect, Brooke Edelman

Theses and Dissertations

Most children exhibit some form of physical aggression in the first years of life, and physical aggression is particularly common in toddlerhood (Hay, 2005; Lorber et al., 2017; Lorber et al., 2019; Nærde et al., 2014; Tremblay & Nagin, 2005). Further, aggression is conceptualized as a byproduct of frustration and related negative affect (Berkowitz, 1989), and early physical aggression is empirically linked to anger (Lorber et al., 2015). The current study is part of a body of research examining early aggression and will explore the mechanisms by which children’s negative affect escalates to aggression in a brief conflict episode. Given …

The Impact Of Sexual Health Intervention On Girls’ Sexual Health Outcomes, Adejoke Ayoola, Madelyn Helmus, Esther Idowu, Ruth Prince- Richard

Summer Research

Adolescents are engaging in unhealthy sexual behaviors that contribute to adverse sexual health outcomes among their age group. Young people aged 15 to 24 make up 50% of Sexually Transmitted Infections diagnoses (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2022; CDC, 2023). Also, despite declining teen birth rates (Elflein, 2023), the United States has one of the highest teen birth rates among other developed countries (United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, 2022). Fortunately, there are studies that show the efficacy of sexual interventions in improving contraception use & intentions and reproductive health knowledge (Tebb et al., …

Religious Memorable Messages About Adoption: Perspectives Of Adult Adoptees, Chloe Vallance, Ana Li Warners, Dr. Emily Helder

Summer Research

• Messages sent and received between two people can be heavily influential on a person’s life.
• Memorable messages are long-lasting “sticky” messages, which influence the receiver’s behavior and identity development (Cooke-Jackson & Rubinsky, 2022).
• Adopted children may experience messaging surrounding their adoption (Thomas & Scharp, 2020).
• Religious motivations to adopt and religious meaning-making can influence the messages that adoptive parents communicate to their adoptive children (Firmin et al., 2017a; Firmin et al., 2017b).

Use Of The Program For The Education And Enrichment Of Relational Skills (Peers) Among Adolescent Adoptees: A Follow-Up Study, Ana Li Warners, Chloe Vallance, Emily Helder

Summer Research

• Adoption research shows that adoption has long- lasting psychosocial implications (Jordan & Dempsey, 2013).
• Accumulating research reinforces the association between adoptees and long-term social challenges; research on social interventions for adoptees is scarce (Jordan & Dempsey, 2013).
• PEERS is a 16-week, group psychosocial curriculum initially intended to improve social skills of adolescents with autism-spectrum disorder (Laugeson et al. 2012).
• The original study sought to use PEERS intervention to improve social skills & peer relationships among adolescent adoptees (Helder et al., 2023)

Dyadic Analysis Of Positive And Negative Social Support Behaviors And Psychological Outcomes In Romantic Couples, Lucas H. Parnell

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The current study examined the effect of social support behaviors on psychological adjustment in couples. Couples (N = 123) completed surveys assessing depressive and anxiety symptoms. Observational support interactions were conducted to measure partners’ positive and negative affective support behaviors. Structural equation modeling and actor-partner interdependence models (APIM) were used to estimate effects. Results highlight the unfavorable effects of negative social support behaviors on one’s own depression symptoms. Additionally, men’s, but not women’s, negative support behaviors were found to be associated with elevated partner depression symptoms. No significant predictors were found in models predicting anxiety. The combination of partners’ …

The Reality Of Bipolar Disorder: A Dance Film To Bring Awareness To The Misconceptions Of Mental Health, Julia Woolums

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

For my project, I researched bipolar disorder to create a dance film highlighting the associated symptoms and emotions of hypomanic and depressive episodes. The purpose of this research is to bring awareness to and educate on the reality of these mental health symptoms to reduce mental health stereotypes and stigma. I researched academic texts and peer-reviewed articles about bipolar disorder written from the perspective of those diagnosed with it and used the symptom criteria in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders to compose, choreograph, film, and edit my dance film. The completed film showcases what daily life could …

Predictors And Mediators Of Eating Disorder Pathology In Individuals With Eating Disorders, Alexandra Allam

Theses and Dissertations

Over the past decade there has been accumulating evidence that attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and eating disorders frequently co-occur, but little is known about the possible mechanisms that might account for their co-occurrence. Likewise, relatively little research has examined the ways such comorbidities impact the maintenance of or recovery from eating disorder (ED) symptoms after treatment. In this cross-sectional study, we recruited 95 adult participants who had received an ED diagnosis and 24-hour treatment for an ED in the past 10 years, and obtained measures of ADHD symptoms and ED symptoms to explore their association and possible mediators thereof. In particular, …

The Autism Symptom Dimensions Questionnaire: Development And Psychometric Evaluation Of A New, Open-Source Measure Of Autism Symptomatology, Thomas Frazier, Anastasia Dimitropoulos, Leonard Abbeduto, Melissa Armstrong-Brine, Shanna Kralovic, Andy Shih, Antonio Y. Hardan, Eric A. Youngstrom, Mirko Uljarević

2023 Faculty Bibliography

Aim: To describe the development and initial psychometric evaluation of a new, freely available measure, the Autism Symptom Dimensions Questionnaire (ASDQ).

Method: After development and revision of an initial 33-item version, informants completed a revised 39-item version of the ASDQ on 1467 children and adolescents (aged 2-17 years), including 104 with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

Results: The initial 33-item version of the ASDQ had good reliability and construct validity. However, only four specific symptom factors were identified, potentially due to an insufficient number of items. Factor analyses of the expanded instrument identified a general ASD factor and nine specific symptom …

Profiles Of Circumscribed Interests In Autistic Youth, Emily Spackman, Luke D. Smillie, Thomas Frazier, Antonio Y. Hardan, Gail A. Alvarez, Andrew Whitehouse, Mirko Uljarević

2023 Faculty Bibliography

Circumscribed interests (CI) encompass a range of different interests and related behaviors that can be characterized by either a high intensity but otherwise usual topic [referred to as restricted interests (RI)] or by a focus on topics that are not salient outside of autism [referred to as unusual interests (UI)]. Previous research has suggested that there is pronounced variability across individuals in terms of the endorsement of different interests, however, this variability has not been quantified using formal subtyping approaches. Therefore, using Latent Profile Analysis in a sample of 1,892 autistic youth (Mage = 10.82, SDage = 4.14; 420 females), …

Development Of Webcam-Collected And Artificial- Intelligence-Derived Social And Cognitive Performance Measures For Neurodevelopmental Genetic Syndromes, Thomas Frazier, Robyn M. Busch, Patricia Klaas, Katherine Lachlan, Shafali Jeste, Alexander Kolevzon, Eva Loth, Jacqueline Harris, Leslie Speer, Tom Pepper, Kristin Anthony, J Michael Graglia, Christal G. Delagrammatikas, Sandra Bedrosian-Sermone, Constance Smith-Hicks, Katie Huba, Robert Longyear, Leeann Green-Snyder, Frederick Shic, Mustafa Sahin, Charis Eng, Antonio Y. Hardan, Mirko Uljarevic

2023 Faculty Bibliography

This study focused on the development and initial psychometric evaluation of a set of online, webcam-collected, and artificial intelligence-derived patient performance measures for neurodevelopmental genetic syndromes (NDGS). Initial testing and qualitative input was used to develop four stimulus paradigms capturing social and cognitive processes, including social attention, receptive vocabulary, processing speed, and single-word reading. The paradigms were administered to a sample of 375 participants, including 163 with NDGS, 56 with idiopathic neurodevelopmental disability (NDD), and 156 neurotypical controls. Twelve measures were created from the four stimulus paradigms. Valid completion rates varied from 87 to 100% across measures, with lower but …

Arriving At The Empirically Based Conceptualization Of Restricted And Repetitive Behaviors: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analytic Examination Of Factor Analyses, Mirko Uljarevi ́C, Emily K. Spackman, Andrew J.O. Whitehouse, Thomas Frazier, Wesley Billingham, Patrick Condron, Antonio Hardan, Susan R. Leekham

2023 Faculty Bibliography

An empirically based understanding of the factor structure of the restricted and repetitive behaviors (RRB) domain is a prerequisite for interpreting studies attempting to understand the correlates and mechanisms un- derpinning RRB and for measurement development. Therefore, this study aimed to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of RRB factor analytic studies. Sets of meta-analyses were performed to examine (a) the factor structure of individual RRB instruments, (b) associations between RRB subdomains across instruments, and (c) the association between RRB factors and other variables. Searches for peer-reviewed articles evaluating the factor structure of the RRB domain were performed in PsycINFO …

Development Of Informant-Report Neurobehavioral Survey Scales For Pten Hamartoma Tumor Syndrome And Related Neurodevelopmental Genetic Syndromes, Thomas Frazier, Robyn M. Busch, Patricia Klaas, Katherine Lachlan, Shafali Jeste, Alexander Kolevzon, Eva Loth, Jacqueline Harris, Leslie Speer, Tom Pepper, Kristin Anthony, J Michael Graglia, Christal Delagrammatikas, Sandra Bedrosian-Sermone, Jenine Beekhuyzen, Constance Smith-Hicks, Mustafa Sahin, Charis Eng, Antonia Y. Hardan, Mirko Uljarevic

2023 Faculty Bibliography

There are few well-validated measures that are appropriate for assessing the full range of neurobehavioral presentations in PTEN hamartoma tumor syndrome (PHTS) and other neurodevelopmental genetic syndromes (NDGS). As potential therapeutics are developed, having reliable, valid, free, and easily accessible measures to track a range of neurobehavioral domains will be crucial for future clinical trials. This study focused on the development and initial psychometric evaluation of a set of freely available informant-report survey scales for PHTS-the Neurobehavioral Evaluation Tool (NET). Concept elicitation, quantitative ratings, and cognitive interviewing processes were conducted with stakeholders and clinician-scientist experts, used to identify the most …

Face Coverings Differentially Alter Valence Judgments Of Emotional Expressions, Nicholas R. Harp, Andrew T. Langbehn, Jeff T. Larsen, Paula M. Niedenthal, Maital Neta

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Face masks that prevent disease transmission obscure facial expressions, impairing nonverbal communication. We assessed the impact of lower (masks) and upper (sunglasses) face coverings on emotional valence judgments of clearly valenced (fearful, happy) and ambiguously valenced (surprised) expressions, the latter of which have both positive and negative meanings. Masks, but not sunglasses, impaired judgments of clearly valenced expressions compared to faces without coverings. Drift diffusion models revealed that lower, but not upper, face coverings slowed evidence accumulation and affected differences in non-judgment processes (i.e., stimulus encoding, response execution time) for all expressions. Our results confirm mask-interference effects in nonverbal communication. …

Dead Reckoning: A Multiteam System Approach To Commentaries On The Drake-S Equation For Survival, James Houran, Adam J. Rock, Brian Laythe, Patrizio E. Tressoldi

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

We used a multiteam system approach (MTS) to map the critical and constructive feedback from four invited Commentaries on Rock et al.’s (2023) probabilistic analysis of purported evidence for postmortem survival. The goal was to mine actionable insights to guide future research with the potential for important learnings or breakthroughs about the nature or limits of human consciousness and their relation to transpersonal psychology. The commentators’ input identified only a few measurable variables or empirical tactics that conceivably challenge or refine our latest Drake-S Equation for survival. However, a review of these suggestions using logical and statistical criteria revealed that …

Concern, Conflict, And Chaos: Nebraska Educator Experiences During The Pandemic, Amanda Witte, Amanda Prokasky, Courtney Boise, Renata T.M. Gomes, Gwen Nugent, Susan Sheridan

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

During the spring of 2020, Nebraska’s 983 public schools sat vacant, and Nebraska’s 329,290 Pre-Kindergarten to Grade 12 students were learning in environments other than school. Educators were expected to pivot quickly from traditional classroom instruction to remote experiences. Understanding the effects of the pandemic on educators is necessary to effectively meet their needs and the needs of students. The purpose of this study was to identify and describe the experiences of Nebraska’s urban and rural PreK–Grade 12 educators during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. In surveys collected in July 2020, participants (i.e., superintendents, principals, and teachers) completed …

College Students’ Perceptions Of Alcohol’S Role In Disclosures Of Sexual Assault And Intimate Partner Violence, Emily A. Waterman, Lindsey M. Rodriguez, Sarah E. Ullman, Emily R. Dworkin, Katie Edwards

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

Objective: Much is known about how alcohol increases the risk of sexual assault or intimate partner violence victimization during college. This research qualitatively explores perceptions about how alcohol influences disclosures about these events to informal supports.

Participants: Participants included college students who received a disclosure wherein they or the survivor were drinking during the disclosure (n = 81).

Methods: Responses were coded with regard to who was drinking and whether the effect of drinking during the disclosure was perceived as positive, negative, mixed, or neutral/none.

Results: Participants perceived alcohol to have both positive (e.g., increasing the likelihood of discussing …