Psychology Commons^™

Chipping The Blue Wall: The Effect Of Dogs On Police Officer Receptivity To An Employee Assistance Program, Kenneth M. Quick

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

There is substantial evidence that demonstrates the negative impact of stress on police officer mental health is increasing due in large part to perceived societal shifts in support for the police and trends in criminal justice reform efforts. While employee assistance programs (EAP) are the dominant mechanism for police agencies to address officer mental health, officers are reluctant to use them due to a combination of mental health stigma and organizational distrust. This dissertation studied police officer perceptions of an employee assistance program (EAP) and the effect of exposure to professionally trained dogs during an outreach session on indicators of …

Religious Communication In Interfaith Romantic Relationships: Positive Approaches To Improve Relationship Outcomes, Jaclyn K. Doherty

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

As interfaith romantic relationships become more common, it is important to understand how couples can effectively navigate their religious differences and promote positive relationship outcomes. A critical strategy to this end is communication, yet the existing literature provides limited evidence to understand how the content of religious conversations affects couples’ outcomes. This dissertation explores communication about religion in interfaith relationships and positive relational approaches to religion that may increase relationship quality.

First, I conducted a mixed methods pilot study, finding that interviewees in interfaith couples promoted relationship quality, in part, by addressing their religious differences and recognizing their religious similarities. …

Me And Mathematics: “Doing What You’Re Talking About”: In Dialogue With My Family, Eden Morris

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This paper is a philosophically oriented accompaniment to my audio project (accessible through the following link: https://cuny.manifoldapp.org/projects/me-and-mathematics). Working together, the paper and audio collages form a call to action and a resource. My primary finding is the importance of doing what you’re talking about or exploring and implementing your ideas experientially. Doing what you’re talking about is important for effective teaching/learning and feeling in line with oneself. This working concept came to my attention during my research conversation with my oldest living relative, and then, again, with my youngest (non-baby) relative. This doing what you’re talking about is a way …

Cross-Linguistic Differences In Neural Encoding And Processing Of Stop Consonants: The Impact Of Language Experience On Attention Allocation, Aline Dos Santos Oliveira

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This study aims to examine the intricate relationship between language experience and the neural processing of stop consonant speech sounds. Previous research has shown minimal differences in amplitudes and latencies of cortical Auditory Evoked Potentials (AEPs) to speech sounds across listeners from various language backgrounds. It is only towards the later latencies (around the P2 peak at 200 ms), that there have been suggestions of cross-linguistic differences. In addition, a recent study, observed an AEP difference between monolinguals and bilinguals when processing speech, specifically an "Nd effect”. The Nd effect, which is an increased negativity of the AEP is proposed …

Pre-Stimulus Anticipation And Unconscious Fear Learning Disparities In Individuals With Varying Levels Of Anxiety, Anastasiya Rumyantseva Kharlamova

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The current study employed a Pavlovian conditioning paradigm to investigate the influence of pre-stimulus unconscious threat anticipation on subsequent fear responses in associative learning. Additionally, we explored the differences in pre-stimulus anticipation among individuals with varying levels of anxiety. Electrodermal response (EDA) was chosen as a primary measure due to its robustness in fear conditioning paradigms. Moreover, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) was utilized to assess anxiety levels in participants. Twenty-seven subjects were recruited to determine if pre-stimulus skin conductance responses (SCR) would exhibit stimulus-specific patterns influenced by implicit cues (L-shaped configurations) that indicated an upcoming face or a house …

Investigating The Effects Of Inclusive Environments On The Mental Health Of Queer Individuals : A Study With The Rose City Rollers, Ashton Lee

Anthós

Purpose: Portland, OR, is home to the world’s largest roller derby organization, the Rose City Rollers (RCR). Having the spotlight held upon the community, the organization takes immense pride in communicating its ongoing embrace of its queer and uniquely diverse players. With historical and present prejudice against the LGBT+ community, derby stands as a haven for players looking for a place that will embrace each player's identity. The purpose of the study is to see how RCR’s openly queer settings specifically impact the well-being of its queer members.

Methods: November 2023, I conducted three interviews and a research group using …

Unpacking The Behavioral, Cognitive, Sleep, And Stress Associations With Smartphone Checking, Yi Jing Chua

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

The widespread use of smartphones for various daily activities has led many users to habitually check their devices. Smartphone checking may be negatively associated with daily behavioural, health, affective, and cognitive outcomes when it interrupts individuals during their work, health, and well-being-enhancing pursuits. Yet, research on smartphone checking suffers from various research gaps, including the use of cross-sectional design which hinder interpretation of the direction of relationship between smartphone checking and daily outcomes, the presence of individual difference confounds, and relying on subjective smartphone checking measures that are susceptible to recall biases. To address these gaps, the study investigated the …

Drug Use And Harm Reduction: Community Readiness As Pathway To Well-Being And Reintegration, Lauretta Ekanem Omale

Dissertations

Drug abuse negatively impacts the life and well-being of those who use drugs; this harm often extends to their loved ones, communities, and society. One presumptive set of psychological explanations for drug abuse is an addictive personality, a psychological susceptibility resulting from challenging family relationships, inadequate reinforcement, the absence of healthy role models, conflicting parental expectations, and a lack of love and respect. Harm reduction is a public health approach that focuses on minimizing the harmful effects of drugs and reducing judgment. It aims to meet people where they are in life and provide judgment-free, empathetic, supportive, and needed medical …

Effects Of A Cb1 Receptor Antagonist On Anxiety In Adult Rats Exposed To Thc During Development, Jennifer Aguilera-Fonseca, Karla Colley, Atoria Hamm, Eddie Galarza, Joe Morse, Rachel Ntor, Destiny Pichardo, Vincent P. Markowski

McNair Scholars Program

No abstract provided.

The Curse Of Perfectionism, Joel Small Dds, Mba, Pcc, Fdic

Metro Denver Dental Society Articulator Magazine

This article explores the psychological impact of perfectionism among healthcare professionals, drawing parallels with the experiences of professional athletes. It advocates for embracing a growth mindset over striving for unattainable perfection, emphasizing continual self-improvement and the dangers of setting unrealistic standards in demanding fields like dentistry.

Dietary Probiotic Supplement Attenuates Methamphetamine-Induced Conditioned Place Preference In Female Sprague-Dawley Rats, Kristen Powell

Masters Theses

Substance use disorders (SUD) represent a global public health crisis with limited effective treatment options. Recent findings implicate the gut microbiome and gut/brain axis in the pathophysiology of SUDs. Several preclinical studies have established that psychostimulants alter gut microbiome composition, but no published studies have assessed behavioral effects of dietary probiotic supplements on drug-induced behavioral changes. This study utilized rodent conditioned place preference (CPP) as a behavioral index of conditioned drug reward to determine if a dietary probiotic supplement alters the behavioral effects of (+)-methamphetamine (METH). Fifty-four adult female Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned to receive either a standard rodent …

Human-Animal Interaction And Human Prosociality: A Meta-Analytic Review Of Experimental And Correlational Studies, Nicole Ruiying Chen, Nadyanna M. Majeed, Gloria J. Lai, Paye Shin Koh, Manmeet Kaur, K. T. A Sandeeshwara Kasturiratna, Zhi Yan Alycia Ho, Jose C. Yong, Andree Hartanto

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Pet ownership and interactions with animals confer various physiological and psychological benefits to humans. Although interactions with animals are commonplace, there is no consensus in the literature on the actual impact of animal exposure on prosociality. Hence, this meta-analysis investigated 20 eligible studies (n = 4,116, k = 48) and provided an extensive examination into the different potential moderators of the relationship between human–animal interaction (HAI) and prosociality, such as the distinction between empathy and prosocial behavior, HAI characteristics, and sample characteristics. Overall, a small positive effect size was found (d = 0.22), suggesting that human exposure to animals is …

Subjective Socioeconomic Status Moderates How Resting Heart Rate Variability Predicts Pain Response, Jacinth Jia Xin Tan, Chin Hong Tan, Michael W. Kraus

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Higher resting heart rate variability (HRV)—an index of more flexible response to environmental stressors, including noxious stimuli—has been linked to reduced perception of experimentally induced pain. However, as stress responses are adapted to one’s chronic environments, we propose that chronic exposure to threats captured by one’s subjective socioeconomic status (SSS) may shape different adaptations that produce distinct pain responses linked to higher resting HRV. Specifically, lower SSS individuals with more threat exposures may prioritize threat detection by upregulating sensitivity to stressors, such as acute pain. Therefore, higher HRV would predict greater perceived acute pain among lower SSS individuals. In contrast, …

A Dual-Angle Exploration Towards Understanding Lapses In Covid-19 Social Responsibility, Sean T. H. Lee, Jerome J. X. Mah, Angela K. Y. Leung

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Breaking infection chains requires not just behaviours that allow individuals to stay healthy and uninfected (i.e. health protective behaviours) but also for those who are possibly infected to protect others from their harboured infection risk (i.e. socially responsible behaviours). However, socially responsible behaviours entail costs without clear, immediate benefits to the individual, such that public health-risking lapses occur from time to time. In this important yet understudied area, the current exploratory study sought to identify possible psychological factors that may affect people's likelihood of engaging in socially responsible behaviours. Assuming that self-perceived infection should provide an impetus to engage in …

Memory And Experiential Lab, Yufan Xu

Masters Theses

In the tapestry of our lives, there exist moments and places that we can never revisit, scenes etched into our memories that fade with the passage of time. These experiences and memories are treasures, provide us with an anchor to our past. Unfortunately, many of these moments are like fireflies in the night, here one moment and gone the next. Yet, they remain invaluable, forever etched in our hearts and minds. I wonder if it is possible to trigger cherished past experiences and memories in our daily lives, allowing individuals to re-experience similar moments, thereby nourishing the spiritual world. Therefore, …

Boring But Demanding: Using Secondary Tasks To Counter The Driver Vigilance Decrement For Partially Automated Driving, Scott Mishler, Jing Chen

Psychology Faculty Publications

Objective

We investigated secondary–task–based countermeasures to the vigilance decrement during a simulated partially automated driving (PAD) task, with the goal of understanding the underlying mechanism of the vigilance decrement and maintaining driver vigilance in PAD.

Background

Partial driving automation requires a human driver to monitor the roadway, but humans are notoriously bad at monitoring tasks over long periods of time, demonstrating the vigilance decrement in such tasks. The overload explanations of the vigilance decrement predict the decrement to be worse with added secondary tasks due to increased task demands and depleted attentional resources, whereas the underload explanations predict the vigilance …

The Cultural Complexity Of Immigrants And The Implications For Personality Assessment: Exploring The Role Of Frame Switching, Patrick Jay Lee

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

A significant body of personality research has focused on cross-national comparison, but less attention has been devoted to within-country subcultural complexity – especially with regards to the growing population of bicultural immigrants who subscribe to multiple cultural-value systems. Bicultural individuals have been found to view situations under distinct frames of reference corresponding to their heritage and host cultures, and their attitudes and behavior can vary depending on which frame is activated at a given moment. This dissertation investigates whether such frame switching effects can be caused by elements within a formal personality assessment setting, and in turn affect bicultural respondents’ …

Dyadic Yoga For Head And Neck Cancer Patients Undergoing Chemoradiation And Their Family Caregivers, Kathrin Milbury, David I Rosenthal, Yisheng Li, An Thuy Ngo-Huang, Smitha Mallaiah, Sania Yousuf, Clifton D Fuller, Carol Lewis, Eduardo Bruera, Lorenzo Cohen

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Objectives: Concurrent chemoradiation to treat head and neck cancer (HNC) may result in debilitating toxicities. Targeted exercise such as yoga therapy may buffer against treatment-related sequelae; thus, this pilot RCT examined the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of a yoga intervention. Because family caregivers report low caregiving efficacy and elevated levels of distress, we included them in this trial as active study participants.

Methods: HNC patients and their caregivers were randomized to a 15-session dyadic yoga program or a waitlist control (WLC) group. Prior to randomization, patients completed standard symptom (MDASI-HN) and patients and caregivers completed quality of life (SF-36) assessments. …

On-Site Sensory Experience Boosts Acceptance Of Cultivated Chicken, Mark Chong, Angela K. Y. Leung, Tricia Marjorie Fernandez

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

This study set out to assess if presenting cultivated chicken in the context of a familiar meal, in a familiar dining setting, would motivate repeat consumption and recommendation. A survey of 107 diners was conducted at Huber's Butchery and Bistro in Singapore – the world's first butchery to serve cultivated meat – from April to June 2023. The findings showed that eating cultivated chicken significantly boosted post-consumption acceptance levels. In addition, cultivated chicken's tastiness may be a more important factor than its integration into a familiar meal or dish in fostering repeat consumption. Implications for the cultivated meat industry, limitations, …

A Thesis, Or Digressions On Sculptural Practice: In Which, Concepts & Influences Thereof Are Explained, Set Forth, Catalogued, Or Divulged By Way Of Commentaries To A Poem, First Conceived By The Artist, Fed Through Chatg.P.T., And Re-Edited By The Artist, To Which Are Added, Annotated References, Impressions And Ruminations Thereof, Also Including Private Thoughts & Personal Accounts Of The Artist, Jaimie An

Masters Theses

This thesis is an exercise in, perhaps a futile, attempt to trace just some of the ideas, stories, and musings I might meander through in my process. It’s not quite a map, nor is it a neat catalogue; it is a haphazard collection of tickets and receipts from a travel abroad, carelessly tossed in a carry-on, only to be stashed upon returning home. These ideas are derived from much greater thinkers and authors than myself; I am a mere collector or a translator, if that, and not a very good one, for much is lost. I do not claim comprehensive …

Winter Solstice, Jingwen Cao

Masters Theses

For a long time, I have been thinking about what contemporary photography is, what its position is, and what the relationship is between artists and audiences. At the same time, I was developing my concepts and photographic directions and trying to make my work and my perspective on photography relevant. Winter Solstice includes a series of essays that locate my thinking and my work. Its title references the longest night of the year.

The position of photography has changed significantly over the past few decades. The way people read photos is also changing. Perhaps because of reverence for art and …

Corner Revolution: Beyond “Skynet”, Brightening Grey Space And Building Security, Caimin Shen

Masters Theses

The existence of surveillance areas restricts many bad behaviors, but why do we still feel vague anxiety and uneasiness when walking through street corners and promenades in a city protected by a network of cameras? As China has implemented grid management of cities through the establishment of the “Skynet”—— a system that uses facial recognition and surveillance cameras to strengthen public safety, the crime rate has dropped significantly. But public safety doesn’t just mean fewer criminal activities. Reducing people’s perceived insecurity and anxiety has become a new challenge in China today. “Corner Revolution” explores the transformative power of architectural design …

Stand By, I'M Getting Ready., Mina Kim

Masters Theses

This thesis introduces a tangible user experience featuring wearable and portable items designed to allow anonymity while fostering social interaction. Covering one layer on one’s eyes and allowing for gradual removal, these items humorously transcend social norms, functioning as conduits for expressing inner emotions through an external action of signaling.

Inspired by the absence of physical-world boundaries akin to digital ‘Do Not Disturb’ modes, the research delves into crafting user experiences that safeguard personal boundaries in face-to-face interactions. It targets the apprehension felt in unfamiliar group settings and the impact of external stimuli on personal comfort. The research endeavors to …

Playing With Weplay!: Adapting A Caregiver-Child Group For Caregivers Of Young Children With Early Signs Of Autism Spectrum Disorder, Louisa A. Cahn-Gambino

Graduate School of Professional Psychology: Doctoral Papers and Masters Projects

WePlay! Denver, a collaboration between the University of Denver’s Graduate School of Professional Psychology and the Children’s Museum of Denver, Marsico Campus, began providing caregiver-infant playgroups to the community in 2019. WePlay! and Nosotros Jugamos, the English and Spanish-speaking groups, teach caregivers with young children about play-based exploration, provide psychoeducation, and offer resources. Qualitative data from WePlay! Denver’s initial groups and input from the WePlay! Denver team emphasized interest in expanding WePlay! to include families with children of varying developmental stages and who have specific developmental needs and considerations (Gross et al., 2021), such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD). ASD …

I See You! Play: A Therapeutic Playgroup For Caregivers And Their Intensive Care Group Infants, Mariana Cerqueira Aokalani

Graduate School of Professional Psychology: Doctoral Papers and Masters Projects

This paper articulates a new therapeutic playgroup for caregivers of Intensive Care Unit (ICU) infants, named I See You! Play. This intervention is an adaptation of WePlay! (Gross et al., 2021), a cooperative learning and therapeutic playgroup for caregivers and their children from 6 to 36 months old. Dr, Tracy Vozar developed this program inspired by Saleem Penny’s program with the same name in Chicago. Parents of ICU infants face several challenges that can affect their experience of parenthood, their parenting skills, caregivers' sensitivity, their mental health, and their relationship with their premature infant. This in turn affects infant’s attachment …

Relationship Between Heart Rate Variability And Differential Patterns Of Cortisol Response To Acute Stressors In Mid-Life Adults: A Data-Driven Investigation, Meghan M. Bennett, Carissa W. Tomas, Jacklynn M. Fitzgerald

Psychology Faculty Research and Publications

Cortisol and heart rate variability (HRV) are well‐established biomarkers of the human stress response system. While a relationship between cortisol and HRV is assumed, few studies have found evidence of their correlation within single study designs. One complication for isolating such a relationship may lie in individual variability in the cortisol response to stress such that atypical cortisol responding (i.e., elevated or blunted) occurs. To‐date, studies on the cortisol response have employed traditional mean‐difference‐based approaches to examine average magnitude change in cortisol over time. Alternatively, data‐driven trajectory modelling, such as latent growth mixture modelling, may be advantageous for quantifying cortisol …

Brief Treatment For Ptsd: Promoting Trauma Recovery With A Five-Session Cognitive Processing Therapy Protocol, Sanela Kalakovic

Dissertations

Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) is a first-line treatment for trauma. CPT is traditionally administered over 12 sessions. This open clinical trial examined the feasibility and efficacy of a 5-session CPT protocol. The abbreviated protocol moves more quickly to the proposed therapeutic mechanism of action, cognitive restructuring, to alter unhelpful traumarelated thoughts and beliefs. The goal is to maintain efficacy while making therapy more efficient and thereby reducing barriers to trauma treatment. Using a repeated measures open clinical trial design (with embedded multiple baselines), 67 adults (M age = 43 years, 90% female, 79% White) with clinically significant post-traumatic stress disorder …

A Brief Self-Compassion Intervention For Survivors Of Sexual Trauma With Psychological Distress, Natalie Marie Hogue

Dissertations

Individuals who have experienced sexual trauma are at an increased risk of psychological disorders and psychological distress (Dworkin, 2020; Dworkin et al., 2017; Dworkin & Schumacher, 2018). Sexual trauma has one of the highest conditional risks for the development of posttraumatic stress disorder (Domino et al., 2020; Perrin et al., 2014). Experiential avoidance, shame, and posttraumatic cognitions are associated with psychological distress after experiencing sexual trauma (Bhuptani et al., 2019; Domino et al., 2020; Foa et al., 1999; Merwin et al., 2009). Established research suggests that self-compassion-based therapies can be effective in reducing psychological distress and treating a wide range …

Modeling Blue Mondays: A Preclinical Evaluation Of 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine Binge Dosing On Responding Maintained By A Progressive Ratio Schedule Of Food Reinforcement In Male Sprague-Dawley Rats, Candace Brenda Johnson

Dissertations

3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) has been abused recreationally in the rave scene for decades. As pharmacotherapy research has progressed to develop alternative medications to treat trauma-related psychiatric symptoms, MDMA has become a prime candidate for medication-assisted psychotherapy in the treatment of PTSD and will soon be FDA approved for medicinal use. Despite convincing evidence for favorable clinical outcomes, this substance has been known to contribute to acute depressive states following excessive use. The sharp decrease in mood and cognitive impairment following MDMA use is colloquially termed Blue Mondays. Measuring lack of motivation or more broadly anhedonia through withdrawal of acute and chronic …

Long Covid Patients: A Phenomenology Study Exploring Mental Health And Psychosocial Adaptation To Disability, Tonia Joy Lans

Dissertations

In the United States, approximately 1 in 13 long COVID patients experience adverse complications two to three years post-recovery (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2022), including physical, psychological, and cognitive impairment, issues with daily functioning, and difficulties returning to work (del Rio et al., 2020; Greenhalgh et al., 2020; Ladds et al., 2020; Logue et al., 2021). Moreover, collective research has indicated the debilitating complications of long COVID often result in impaired mental health, chronic illness, and disability. While significant research efforts have started to accumulate data to understand and treat the physical and neuro-logical manifestations of this chronic …