Psychology Commons^™

Harlem's Superhero: Social Interaction, Heterogeneity Of Thought, And The Superhero Mission In Marvel's Luke Cage, Justin Martin

Psychology Faculty Scholarship

The essay extends previous Luke Cage scholarship by analyzing him through a discipline rarely utilized in superhero scholarship: developmental psychology. Using the Luke Cage television series, the author centers Luke Cage's relationship to Harlem. In doing so, the author explores how the relationship can elucidate both the conceptual foundations of morally-relevant decision-making and the ways these concepts may be applied in varied and complex social interactions -- features of social life relevant to everyday persons as well as superheroes working within a fictionalized neighborhood.

Process Depletion In Emotion Regulation, Christian Capistrano Boeckner

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The ability to regulate emotions via reappraisal is considered an important skill that is associated with greater well-being. However, the effectiveness of emotion regulation is impacted by individual differences, and its adaptiveness may vary depending on context. For example individuals from vulnerable populations such as children and mothers in the context of poverty often demonstrate less optimal reappraisal, that is in turn associated with maladaptive behaviors. Given its consequence on mental health, it is critical to understand mechanisms that influence reappraisal to maximize its adaptive consequences. The current study explored conditions that could either facilitate or impair reappraisal success. We …

Cultural Values And Maintaining The Status Quo, Andrew Clapper, Adam Smiley, Michael Oliver

Science University Research Symposium (SURS)

Research on status quo bias suggests that all else equal, people prefer to maintain the current state of the world rather than making changes (Samuelson & Zeckhauser, 1988). Relatedly, people tend to value objects more when they possess them than when they do not, in what is known as the “endowment effect” (Kahneman et al., 1991; Morewedge et al., 2015). However, little attention has been paid to reaction times in making decisions in the presence of a status quo or a possessed object. Our study examines the individual differences which affect reaction times in selecting between status quo and novel …

The Effect Of Eye Contact On Auditory Recall, Sara Grace Lill, Isha Kapoor, Oluwatoni Akanda, Khanh Nguyen

Science University Research Symposium (SURS)

Memory is at the basis of perception and provides functionality to our daily lives. Auditory stimulation has been shown to bias eye movement and improve memory (Liping, et. al, 2021), but the mechanisms behind the guidance of eye movements remain unclear (Higgins, et. al, 2014). This study investigates the correlation between eye contact and memory, focusing on recall, and exploring eye contact’s potential to enhance recall during both immediate and delayed assessments (Craft 21 Recall). Thirty undergraduate students from Belmont University, completed the Craft 21 Recall assessment after watching a video featuring a virtual speaker reading a short story. The …

Does Birth Order Have An Effect On An Individual’S Conscientiousness?, Micah D. Wilson, Ashely Richmond, Emma Sells, Scovs Major, Waldron Collins

Science University Research Symposium (SURS)

Looking at familial relationships, specifically between sibling dynamics, has been focused on in many different angles in the field of psychology. Psychologists seek to understand the relationships between siblings, and how the relationships affect their bond, personality, and social life. Past studies have shown that siblings do tend to bounce off of each other, such as older sibling control having more of an effect in conflicts rather than in intimacy (Tucker & Updegraff). We hypothesized that the oldest siblings would clean up after themselves or not make a mess, middle children would clean up after themselves, the youngest would make …

The Influence Of Parental Behavior On Emerging Adult Egocentrism, Lilly E. Rogers, Nicole Buttrey, Monica Bennett, Olivia Harris

Science University Research Symposium (SURS)

Existing research indicates that adolescent egocentrism, people of adolescent age being overly interested in oneself, is influenced by numerous factors, including identity development and parental behavior (Scarfo, 1993). Though it has been shown that this link between perceived parental behavior and adolescent egocentrism exists (Adams & Jones, 1982), research has not yet examined this relationship in emerging adults. Thus, the purpose of the current study was to explore the relationship between parental behavior/support and egocentrism in emerging adults, while controlling for personality. Emerging adult college students (N = 46), completed a Qualtrics survey that measured imaginary audience (a component of …

The Efficacy Of Limbic System Retraining And Neuroplasticity In The Management Of Chronic Pain And Disease: A Systematic Review, Julia Carr

Theses and Graduate Projects

Background: Chronic pain and disease are prevalent, affecting 51.6 million people in 2023. Therefore, due to the high complexity of chronic disease, many providers try different interventions to alleviate pain and improve their patient's quality of life. The limbic system is a critical component of the brain involved in pain perception and emotional regulation. With an overactive limbic system, the perception of pain is enhanced and continues to cause discomfort for the patient. By retraining the limbic system to alter the fight or flight response, a significant reduction in pain can be achieved, which results in better emotion regulation. The …

The Effectiveness Of Laser Acupuncture In Pain Management: A Systematic Review, June Park

Theses and Graduate Projects

Background: Pain is a common symptom across many medical conditions that patients experience. Pain management is complex and may need a combination of several management techniques. Laser acupuncture(LA) has been previously used as an adjunct to conventional pain treatments.

Objective: This systematic review aims to evaluate the effectiveness of laser acupuncture in various fields of medical situations such as chronic pain, low back pain, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, postoperative pain and dental procedures.

Methods: A computer based literature search of databases through GoogleScholar and PubMed was used to identify randomized controlled trials(RCTs) published after 2018 that studied the effect of LA in …

The Influence Of Motivation On Men’S Perceptions Of Peer Social Norms And Sexual Aggression Behavior In An Experimental Proxy, Mollie Colleen Mcdaniel

Wayne State University Dissertations

Social Norms Theory (SNT) proposes that many individuals engage in problematic behaviors because they want to be accepted by their peers and incorrectly believe that most of their peers engage in those behaviors. SNT has frequently been used to explain men’s sexual aggression perpetration; however, the findings are mixed. I proposed that social norms influence the likelihood of sexual aggression only when individuals are motivated to be positively evaluated by others. Two studies utilize the sexual imposition paradigm, a “victim present” experimental proxy for sexual aggression in which men were given the opportunity to send sexually explicit material to a …

Researching Medical Treatment Assessments From United States Military Veterans Diagnosed With Substance Use Disorder, And Determining Interest In The Matrix Model Of Treatment For Potential Application In Their Treatment Programs, Christopher R. Strunk

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this research study is to learn the beliefs and thoughts on the current state of medical treatment provided to United States (US) military Veterans diagnosed with substance use disorder (SUD), and gauge Veterans’ levels of interest and support in the potential application of the Matrix Model of Treatment (MMT) in their healthcare programs. This proposal focused on verifying the Veterans’ interest in the MMT model since the US Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) does not currently implement this full-spectrum, 16-week treatment system. It is believed interest will be strong enough to merit supporting its consideration with approving …

Integrated Stem Learning Activity: Effect On Student Engagement And Learning, Leslie Deitrich Sauder

Dissertations and Theses

Student engagement in math and science courses decreases starting in middle school and continues throughout high school (Museus et al., 2011). This lack of engagement results in students taking only the required math and science coursework and not advanced coursework that would help prepare them for future careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields. Integrated STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) learning activities may be used to promote student engagement and learning. This experimental design study was conducted with students in grades 3-5 in one rural mid-sized school district in the upper mid-west. Student engagement was analyzed using a …

Attachment Network Structures And Adult Mental Health, Junnan Tian

Dissertations and Theses

Close relationships are essential to the mental health and adaptation of adults. The study of close relationships and mental health has concentrated on dyadic interactions in different types of relationships, such as parents, best friends, and romantic partners. Much less attention has focused on how a network of close relationships informs mental health. This study concentrated on a network of five close relationships in relation to adult mental health outcomes. Four network metrics, which are composition (who), strength (number of attachment figures), morphology (hierarchical or nonhierarchical), and physical proximity were examined as predictors of adult mental health outcomes (i.e., depression, …

Anxious Attachment Style And Its Link To Anxiety In Young Adults, Dua Ahmed

Selected Full-Text Master Theses 2021-

Numerous studies have shown that attachment styles develop from primary caregivers and influence our self esteem and ability to trust and maintain healthy relationships. Correlations with different attachment styles and negative outcomes, such as anxiety have been made. This study investigated the relationship between Anxious attachment style and Anxiety in 37 college students 18-30 at an undergraduate college in New York. The Collins Adult Attachment Scale Attachment was used to assess attachment styles and the Hamilton Anxiety Scale for anxiety. In this study, anxious attachment style positively correlated with Anxiety. A secondary finding revealed that religious affiliation negatively correlated with …

Binge Drinking And Non-Consensual Drug Intoxication, Jake Blendermann

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Sexual violence towards women on a college campus have remained an issue the past few decades, with about one out of every four female students becoming a victim of it (Rosoff, 2018). Coupled with high rates of binge-drinking on college campuses (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2021), it can be argued that now, more than ever, that attention needs to be drawn to how females can try to be aware of strategies to help combat such predators. Previous research also shows a link between functionally inhibiting drugs referred to as "roofies" that can be slipped into the drink …

Attention Contagion In Online Courses: Examining Student Attention During Recorded Lectures, Makenna Connolly

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Recorded lectures have become increasingly common and are now widespread in online courses. Given this rapid rise, it is important to investigate how students interact with this multimedia and best practices for lecturers in using this technology. One area of investigation is how students interact with the recordings of previously live-streamed lectures with visible students. Attention contagion is one such interaction, and previous research has shown that attention and inattention can spread in in-person and live-streamed lectures. The present study builds off the existing limited literature to examine whether attention contagion can occur across time through asynchronous, recorded lectures. One …

It's Not The Same As It Was: Analysis Of Modern Coping In The Age Of Virtual Media, Elizabeth M. Gajdzisz

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Among young adults, stress triggers social media use, especially as a coping strategy during the COVID-19 pandemic (Wolfers & Utz, 2022). Similarly, video games offer a way for players to engage in escapism to cope with stressors (Prinsen & Schofield, 2021). Increased use of virtual media continues despite social distancing orders being largely lifted; while the risks and potential negative impact of social media on mental health remain uncertain (Orben & Przybylski, 2019). The current study examined the use of virtual media and virtual gaming as coping mechanisms among traditional-age undergraduate students. Undergraduate participants (N=310) attending a large metropolitan university …

Through A Cultural Lens: The Association Between Parentification And Identity Development In Relation To Ethnicity, Jasmine A. Garcia

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Expectations of children to perform parenting tasks above their development level, a phenomenon known as parentification, is said to be destructive in western literature. However, in other cultures, children taking on some parenting duties may not be considered a detriment but rather an attribute of filial responsibility. The current study examined the relationships between identity distress and parentification as it differs by culture. A comparison of parentification by ethnicity revealed that individuals who did not classify as an ethnic minority experienced significant levels of identity distress compared to ethnic minority individuals regarding parentification. This variation may be attributed to elements …

Detection Of Familiar Versus Unfamiliar Auditory Stimuli, Nupur S. Kumar

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This thesis explored auditory thresholds relating to the cocktail party effect and ringtones. The cocktail party effect describes when meaningful stimuli are able to be detected at lower thresholds when compared to other stimuli. Speech has always been considered special in its perception, especially with its connection to the cocktail party effect; however, other auditory stimuli may also be significant. Previous literature has examined how the motor system may be involved in speech perception and the qualities of speech that make its perception unique. At the same time, other research has examined how other auditory stimuli may also require special …

The Effects Of Past Betrayals On Trust Behavior, Trenton D. Lam

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Experiencing interpersonal betrayals or trust violations can often create negative consequences for victims when creating new relationships. Past studies have found that trauma from previous betrayals can impair trust and thereby trust behavior for victims in the future. However, little research has been done to empirically characterize this connection and existing studies have provided conflicting results. The goal of this study was to explore the relationship between past trust violations, measured through the Brief Betrayal Trauma Survey (BBTS), and present self-reported trust and trust behavior. Differences in trust behavior between those with or without a history of betrayals was measured …

The Effects Of Virtual Reality-Based Mindfulness Meditation On Cognition, Rafael Leite

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Due to relatively recent strides made in the field of virtual reality, the technology's potential use in a clinical setting has been the focus of a growing body of research. Multiple studies focus on benefits of its combination with meditation interventions; however, few explore its impact following a short-term period of utilizing both. This investigation aims to explore that gap in the literature by determining whether an improvement on mindfulness and working memory test scores would be seen following a single session of virtual reality meditation. That was done by randomly assigning participants to one of two conditions. One group …

Characteristics Of Anxiety In Autistic Adults, Melissa Lewis

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Modern Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) research has shifted in focus from explaining a debilitating childhood illness to helping individuals of all ages, cultures, and intelligence navigate their social problems. Understanding of the adult perspective has also grown massively since the autism diagnosis changed in the Diagnostic Statistical Manual, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) in 2013 and has brought into question how the neurodevelopmental disorder affects the individual. Anxiety symptoms in ASD, like the existence of camouflaging, have proven unique only to ASD, and recent findings suggests that the cause of anxiety in autistic individuals may be due to fundamental differences in communication …

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder And Identity: The Role Of Ego-Dystonicity, Andrea B. Mullin

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) has been linked to a dysmorphic construction of self that is closely tied to mental illness (Bhar & Kyrios, 2007). Although associations have been found, no study has determined the impact of OCD on one's self-perception, to better understand how to resolve patients' dysmorphic construction and fear of oneself. College students (N = 410; M = 20.60, SD = 4.27) completed an anonymous online survey for course credit. The survey consisted of a demographic questionnaire, the Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory-Revised (Foa et al., 2002), theEgo-Dystonicity Questionnaire (Purdon et al., 2007), and the Self-concept Identity Measure (Kaufman et …

Learning Disabilities And The Impact Of Accommodation Programs In Post-Secondary Education, Jacqueline Persaud

Honors Undergraduate Theses

As enrollment rates for students with learning disabilities steadily increase, post-secondary institutions must become more inclusive. Current literature reveals a gap in studies between post-secondary education and student views on access programs. Our endeavor focused on this community. The survey was distributed using SONA and by the Student Accessibility Services Office via Qualtrics. Our study looked at 312 participants, aged from 18 - over 30 years old and who varied in sex. More satisfaction with accommodations equated to more academic competence towards goals. However, the results showed less satisfaction with personal lives and self-acceptance. This is possibly due to participants …

The Role Of Mental Health Evaluations In The Prevention And Intervention Of School Shootings, Livine Saint-Louis

Honors Undergraduate Theses

In 2022, there were forty-two mass school shootings, a record that surpassed the previous years. As of April 2023, there have already been fourteen school shootings that have resulted in injury or death. Each year, the frequency of mass school shootings and the number of victims continue to rise. Regarding the shooters' characteristics, some have reported a history of mental illness, instability within the home, poor academic performance, and more. In the United States (U.S.), one out of five children and adolescents are diagnosed with mental health disorders (Brookman, 2017). This study will examine four significant perpetrators that committed mass …

The Effects Of Psychiatric And Physical Cannabis Use Motivational Categories On The Development Of Cannabis Use Disorder, Kassidy B. Jacques

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The legalization of cannabis is increasing across the United States, for both recreational and medical use. This has resulted in a change in public opinion regarding the risks of cannabis use. This is particularly true for the current generation of older adults, which experiences a greater prevalence of cannabis use than previous members of this cohort. Due to decreased perception of risk and medical or emotional issues associated with old age, older adults increasingly use cannabis to cope with their psychiatric and medical symptoms. Current studies provide evidence of an association between using cannabis for medical symptoms and the development …

Sexual Violence, Identity Centrality, And Mental Health Among Racial And Sexual Minoritized Individuals: An Application Of Cultural Betrayal Trauma Theory, Brettland D. Coolidge

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Sexual violence (SV) is a pressing concern in the United States. SV (i.e., unwanted sexual contact, coercion, and wanted or unwanted penetration of another). Individuals with minoritized sexual, racial/ethnic, and gender identities experience worse psychosocial outcomes than their majority counterparts. People with multiple marginalized identities have been shown to experience traumatic events at greater rates and with significantly different outcomes compared to those with one minoritized identity. Cultural betrayal trauma theory proposes that these differences in mental health outcomes may be explained in part by a shared cultural identity between a SV perpetrator and victim, which is posited to exacerbate …

Associations Between Perfectionism, Self-Discrepancy, And Loss Of Control Eating, Dalaia Hernandez

Honors Undergraduate Theses

OBJECTIVE: Research has shown a clear relationship between perfectionism and other pathology including eating disorders, typically restrictive and purging disorders such as Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa. However, the relationship between perfectionism and loss of control eating disorder had not been explored. Similarly, we suspect there to be a relationship between perfectionism and self-discrepancy, and that shame might be a mediating variable in the relationship between these constructs and loss of control eating. This study investigated the relationship between these three variables to better understand how shame mediates or moderates the relationship between perfectionism, self-discrepancy, and loss of control eating. …

Do Caffeine And Alcohol Use Predict Depressive Symptoms Among College Students, Yvette Asare, Arlenis Santana Phd, Shaiyano Hicks, Chelsea D. Williams Phd

IRBEH/Spit for Science Publications and Presentations

No abstract provided.

How Do Physical Activity And Personality Traits Affect Depressive Symptoms Among Young Adults Over Time?, Shaiyino Endia Hicks, Arlenis Santana Phd, Mehak Ahmed, Chelsea D. Williams Phd

IRBEH/Spit for Science Publications and Presentations

No abstract provided.

Ncha Data On Vcu Students Who Identify As Multiracial, Rachel Marcus, Trisha Saunders Edd, Mia Liadis Phd

IRBEH/Spit for Science Publications and Presentations

No abstract provided.