Psychology Commons^™

The Effects Of Social Media On Mental Health And Well-Being, Connor Printz

CMC Senior Theses

This paper seeks to examine the positive and negative effects of social media on the well-being and mental health of people. The emergence of social media platforms has transformed the landscape of human interaction and communication, revolutionizing the way individuals connect, share information, and engage with the world around them. With the rapidly increasing popularity of platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, YouTube, Twitch, and more, people now have unprecedented access to virtual networks, enabling instantaneous communication and global connectivity. While social media and these apps have without a doubt brought about numerous benefits, including enhanced social connectedness, access …

The Fast-Food Industry's Mental, Emotional, And Physical Adverse Health Effects On Latine Workers, Ricardo Aguilar

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis investigates the adverse health effects experienced by Latine frontline workers in the fast-food industry, a sector where these workers are disproportionately affected by both physical and psychological challenges. The research was driven by the urgent need to address the health disparities that result from employment in environments characterized by high stress, negative customer interactions, and demanding physical activities. Utilizing a mixed-methods approach that includes historical analysis and quantitative assessment of workplace conditions, this study focuses on the common physical injuries such as repetitive motion disorders, and psychological stresses leading to conditions like depression. The results indicate a high …

Analyzing The Mental Health Realities Among Daca Recipients Within The Mexican Community, Oscar Javier Gonzalez

CMC Senior Theses

Immigration to the United States, particularly from Mexico, has resulted in a significant population of undocumented individuals residing in the nation. Among them are those who arrived in the U.S. as children, with some eligible for protection under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, offering temporary relief from deportation and government benefits. This thesis analyzes the historical context of immigration and the DACA program, focusing on the often-overlooked experiences and mental health realities encountered by Mexican DACA recipients. These experiences encompass the pursuit of the American Dream, deportation fears, family separation, challenges in accessing government services, navigating the …

Designing A Personalization Intervention To Reduce Churn In Exercise Mobile Apps: A Research Proposal, Chris Li

CMC Senior Theses

Sports and fitness mHealth app development has rapidly increased since the COVID-19 pandemic due to changes in living situations that increased the demand for exercising remotely. App developers struggle to understand the various strategies in reducing the amount of users that churn as time progresses. This research proposal will primarily focus on the effect that personalization has on churn, seeing the increased development of mobile health apps, strong desire for curated experiences, and the recent relevance of AI. To fully understand the relationship between personalization and churn, moderator effects of perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, and user engagement will …

Your Anonymous Words Matter: The Harms Of Internet Anonymity And Its Inhibiting Effects On Producing Knowledge, Sena Selby

CMC Senior Theses

In this paper, I will argue against Karen Frost-Arnold’s claim that internet anonymity has more epistemic benefit than epistemic harm for online communities. I will first outline her arguments that anonymity poses epistemic benefits for speakers of marginalized communities, who often rely on anonymity to share their experience and testimony without fear of repercussions, such as testimonial injustice, backlash, and even physical harm. I will then consider objections to Frost-Arnold’s account made by others, including the idea that anonymous testimony is not reliable. I will show how this objection alone is insufficient against Frost-Arnold’s claim. Then, I will offer my …

Understanding Empathy: Exploring Power Relations, Group Dynamics, And Counter-Dominance In Shaping Outgroup Attitudes, Rachel Leonardi, Shana Levin

CMC Senior Theses

This article is a literature review of how the context of group dynamics, power relations, and counter-dominance change our understanding of empathy towards outgroups. A large focus of current psychological research around empathy aims to better understand empathy in improving intergroup relations. However, many of the current studies measure the perspectives of the majority (high-power) groups, while failing to take into account the differences in the perspectives of the minority (low-power) groups, for whom empathy does not predict positive intergroup attitudes. In order to look at the importance of group dynamics and power relations in understanding empathy, I analyze different …

Towards Algorithmic Justice: Human Centered Approaches To Artificial Intelligence Design To Support Fairness And Mitigate Bias In The Financial Services Sector, Jihyun Kim

CMC Senior Theses

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has positively transformed the Financial services sector but also introduced AI biases against protected groups, amplifying existing prejudices against marginalized communities. The financial decisions made by biased algorithms could cause life-changing ramifications in applications such as lending and credit scoring. Human Centered AI (HCAI) is an emerging concept where AI systems seek to augment, not replace human abilities while preserving human control to ensure transparency, equity and privacy. The evolving field of HCAI shares a common ground with and can be enhanced by the Human Centered Design principles in that they both put humans, the user, at …

Let Your Head Hang Down: A Narrative Examination Of Cultic & Conspiratorial Romance, Kyle Macy

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

A response to recent cultural trends of radicalization, extremism, and violence in American society, this dissertation, a novel rendered in ephemeral fragments of oral histories, interrogates the romanticist postures that compel a community of musical artists, the so-called “Folk Revival Revival,” toward infamy and tragedy. Where more traditional sociological approaches to cultic formations stress the importance of centralized charismatic authority, and more traditional psychological approaches rely upon a conspiratorial Cold War ethos of cognitive bias and coercive control (i.e. “brainwashing”), this project meets such assumptions with incredulity, asserting instead that cultic and conspiratorial entrancement awakens first from within, and may …

Understanding Teacher Behavior And Its Influence On Student On-Task Behavior, Jennifer Birchler

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

Student behavior in the classroom is a significant predictor of student outcomes and teacher satisfaction. But, teachers report classroom management to be challenging. Finding simple, cost-effective methods of improving student behavior in the classroom can vastly improve long-term success for students. This study seeks to better understand how class size relates to teacher praise and movement, and how these teacher behaviors relate to student on-task behavior. Previous research suggests on-task behavior improves with more teacher praise and movement in the classroom. The current study used data collected using the Bx Management Tool as part of the Osage County Fall 2019 …

Testing An Integrated Dual Diathesis-Threat Model Of Authoritarianism, Brendan Gallagher

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

The Dual Diathesis-Threat Model of Authoritarianism proposes parallel motivational pathways by which similar personality features could predispose liberals and conservatives to different forms of authoritarianism. Specifically, the model posits that cognitive rigidity serves as a shared dispositional ‘diathesis’ of right- and left-wing authoritarianism ‘activated’ by distinct threats. For cognitively rigid conservatives, threats of change (i.e., threats to cohesion/conventions, cultural shifts) were expected to enhance the embrace of RWA; while for cognitively rigid liberals, threats to change (i.e., oppression, inequities, barriers to social progress) were predicted to promote LWA. Two studies examined this premise. In Study One, American citizens (N …

The Transdiagnostic Role And Measurement Of Cognitive Inflexibility Across Understudied Eating Disorder Groups: A Multi-Method Investigation, Mckenzie Miller

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

Cognitive inflexibility is an established transdiagnostic executive function deficit that maintains a wide array of psychiatric conditions. Eating disorders (ED) are serious, life-threatening conditions that remain underdiagnosed and understudied across diverse demographic groups. There is growing evidence for a role of cognitive inflexibility in driving hallmark ED symptoms, particularly in anorexia nervosa. Treatments targeting cognitive inflexibility may improve the currently poor outcomes of these conditions. To date, the role of cognitive inflexibility remains to be examined across demographically and diagnostically diverse ED groups. The first two studies presented here examine associations between cognitive inflexibility and symptom presentation in two relatively …

Understanding How Laypeople Perceive Sexual Harassment Claims From "Non-Typical" Claimants, Jennifer Mezzapelle

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

Over the past four decades, scholars have generated a wealth of knowledge on the topic of sexual harassment. However, in much of this research, findings may have resulted from participants assuming that the target in question was a “typical” sexual harassment victim (i.e., a White, straight, cisgender woman who is traditionally feminine and conventionally attractive; Kaiser et al., 2022). As a result, the generalizability of this research is inherently limited, as it may not accurately reflect how sexual harassment is perceived when it is aimed at a person who does not possess the attributes typically associated with sexual harassment targets. …

Development And Initial Validation Of The Supervisor Responsiveness Scale, Ramon Garcia

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

Theoretically, responsiveness to the emergent needs of supervisees and clients is the primary means by which clinical supervisors help trainees become effective psychotherapists (Friedlander, 2012). To advance understanding and research on this aspect of supervision, the Supervisory Responsiveness Scale (SRS) was developed and assessed psychometrically.

First, 35 items reflecting trainees’ perceptions of their supervisor’s responsiveness, as defined by Friedlander (2012), were developed and rated for clarity, face and content validity by a panel of 12 experienced supervisors. After the item pool was refined based on these ratings, 216 supervisees representing all training levels rated each item on a 1 ( …

School-Based Grief Interventions For Childhood Bereavement: A Systematic Review, Louise M. Olson

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

Childhood bereavement is a critical national issue in the United States. Children and adolescents who experience the death of a significant person, such as a parent or sibling, are predisposed to a variety of negative risk factors and long-term implications across several domains, including academic and social-emotional functioning. Schools are in the unique position to offer free, accessible mental health services to grieving students. As such, it is vital that school mental health professionals have access to information about evidence- and school-based grief interventions. The current study is a systematic review of school-based grief interventions for students who have experienced …

Compassion Cartography: Mapping The Psychological Landscape Of Altruistic Equity And Effectiveness, Kyle Fiore Law

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

Psychologists and philosophers have often championed deliberative reasoning over empathy as a better approach to overcoming parochial biases and guiding altruistic equity and effectiveness. Advocates of the effective altruism (EA) philosophy even advise philanthropists to downregulate empathic responses to maximize the impact of their donations. However, recent research reveals that extraordinary altruists (XAs), such as those who donate organs to strangers, are driven primarily by empathy. This dissertation explores whether empathy necessarily impedes altruistic equity (impartial regard for others’ welfare) and effectiveness (prioritizing impact), revealing a more nuanced reality that challenges this perspective. Across two phases of research involving three …

"Not Trans Enough": A Qualitative Inquiry Of Non-Binary Individuals' Experiences Of Transphobia Within The Lgbtq+ Community, Alyssa Lombardi

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

Transphobia has been well-documented to have detrimental impacts on the lives of transgender individuals. However, research typically has not focused on the experience of non-binary individuals, and particularly even less so on their experiences of within-group discrimination. This study used Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis to understand both the experience and expression of transphobia toward non-binary people from within the LGBTQ+ community. Twelve interviews were conducted with six non-binary individuals ranging in age from 23 to 33. Each interview was analyzed and coded, resulting in four superordinate themes: The Experience of Enbyphobia, The Impact of Enbyphobia, The Expression of Enbyphobia, and The …

The Role Of Familial Support And Gender In Asian American Students’ Stem Career Development: A Test Of Social Cognitive Career Theory, Xiao Ting Wang

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

This study, based on Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT; Lent et al., 1994, 2000), investigated the role of familial support in the STEM career development of Asian American college students. Participants included 446 first-year undergraduate students who identified as Asian or Asian American and had not declared an academic major. Due to multicollinearity, four initial familial support variables—instrumental assistance, career-related modeling, verbal encouragement, and emotional support—were regrouped into two: performance motivation (instrumental assistance and verbal encouragement) and career mentoring (career-related modeling and emotional support). Structural equation modeling showed acceptable fit for a modified model, and the results partially supported the …

The Exceptionalist-Normalist Continuum: Contents, Correlates, And Consequences Of Beliefs About The Psychological (A)Typicality Of Perpetrators Of Mass Atrocities, Dylan Campbell

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

A consensus view within the literature on perpetrator behavior in mass atrocities holds that perpetrators tend to be psychologically typical rather than atypical and thus, that even “ordinary” people are capable of extreme acts of violence against civilians when the right combination of social-psychological forces is at work. Whereas much prior research speaks in some way to this claim’s validity, no prior study of which I am aware has directly investigated laypeople’s beliefs regarding the truth of this proposition. Here, I report findings from four preregistered studies (total N = 1,256) investigating the contents, correlates, and consequences of lay theories …

Body Image Development And Eating Disorder Risk In Young Children: What Do Parents Want To Know?, Anna Atchison

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

Background: Body image concerns and other risk factors for disordered eating can emerge in early childhood, but no interventions specifically target these early risk factors to mitigate future eating disorder risk. This study sought to quantify parents' knowledge of factors influencing eating disorder risk in young children, their concerns about their children’s eating behaviors, and perceived need and preferences for a parent education intervention addressing these topics. Methods: Parents (52 mothers, 55 fathers) of children aged 2-6 completed measures of parental eating disorder symptoms and internalized weight bias and child eating behaviors. Open-ended questions explored parents’ concerns about their children’s …

Outcome-Based Patient-Therapist Matching Implementation: A Study Of Clinician Beliefs And Attitudes, Ashleigh Smith

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

Background. Implementation science aims to identify methods that support the adoption of evidence-based practices (EBPs), including measurement-based care (MBC) and MBC-informed patient-therapist matching. Examining clinician attitudes can elucidate potential barriers to implementing EBPs, and attitudinal differences may exist across groups of therapists. In the context of a patient-therapist matching implementation project, this multi-method study investigated the relationship between clinician characteristics, attitudes toward EBPs/MBC, and implementation climate. Method. A sample of N = 72 therapists completed measures of demographic and clinical characteristics, attitudes toward EBPs, perceptions of implementation climate, and attitudes toward monitoring and feedback. A subset of N …

Re-Globalizing Yorkville: The Languages On Shop Signs In A Non-Migrant Neighborhood, Lisabeth G. Dashman

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

The term “linguistic landscape” is used to describe the usage and placement of language in public places of a specific geographic area, such as on buildings, street names, pedestrian notices, vehicular warnings, and advertising billboards. Studies of a space’s linguistic landscape typically involve an accounting and analysis of the visible signs and/or the presentation of bystanders’ or researchers’ thoughts and observations. This study instead probes the intentions of the sign creators: the owners of the façade sign and the business it advertises. The façade sign, often called the shop sign, is frequently the first image for a business that a …

Validation Of The Intolerance Of Uncertainty Scale-12 In A Sample Of Pregnant People, Kayla Costello

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

Background: Intolerance of uncertainty (IU) has been proposed as a transdiagnostic mechanism driving anxiety, depression, and eating disorder symptoms. Pregnancy is a time of significant uncertainty, yet few studies have examined the measurement of IU and its impacts on pregnant people. The current study aimed to examine the psychometric performance of two versions of the Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale (IUS-27 and IUS-12) and its associations with psychopathologies common in pregnancy.

Methods: This study is a secondary analysis of participants (n = 254) recruited for a larger study of a single-session intervention targeting disordered eating in pregnancy. We examined fit …

Mentalized Affectivity And Its Role In Acculturative Adjustment And Well-Being, Bassem Barada

Dissertations and Theses

Immigration is a phenomenon that occurs on a global scale and continues to grow in prevalence to our present day. Therefore, acculturation remains an essential area of interest for the mental health field. Specifically, assessment of identification with either one’s ethnic culture or the dominant culture remains a robust way to capture acculturative adjustment (Chance, 2015). More recently, emotion regulation has emerged as an important construct in understanding wellbeing. Mentalized affectivity (MA) is an insight-based regulatory process that highlights the importance of understanding current emotional distress in the context of one’s past history (Jurist, 2005). The three dimensions of emotion …

How Individuals’ Opinions Influence Society’S Resistance To Epidemics: An Agent-Based Model Approach, Geonsik Yu, Michael J. Garee, Mario Ventresca, Yuehwern Yih

Faculty Publications

Background: Protecting public health from infectious diseases often relies on the cooperation of citizens, especially when self-care interventions are the only viable tools for disease mitigation. Accordingly, social aspects related to public opinion have been studied in the context of the recent COVID-19 pandemic. However, a comprehensive understanding of the effects of opinion-related factors on disease spread still requires further exploration. Methods: We propose an agent-based simulation framework incorporating opinion dynamics within an epidemic model based on the assumption that mass media channels play a leading role in opinion dynamics. The model simulates how opinions about preventive interventions change over …

Divorce As A Growth Process: Marital Separation And Separation-Individuation In Adulthood, Anna Egleson

Dissertations and Theses

Research has focused on the negative effects that divorce has on divorcees, on children of divorced parents, and on society. Research has also shown however that many individuals who go through a divorce emerge happier, more content and satisfied with their choice, even though the process was a painful one. Despite this evidence, there is a gap in the research looking at positive, and growth-related experiences of those who have recently gone through a divorce. Theoretical arguments and clinical observations provide a foundation to support the idea that there is a relationship between separation-individuation in adulthood and the internal shifts …

Ethnic-Racial Socialization Experiences Of Mexican American Youth, Katherine J. Bingham, Elizabeth A. Cutrer-Párraga, Timothy B. Smith

Faculty Publications

Research has shown that ethnic–racial socialization (ERS) predicts education and mental health outcomes for adolescents. However, limited research has evaluated the ERS experiences of Latinx students. The current study examined ERS experiences of Mexican American youth in four focus group interviews that were transcribed and analyzed at both the individual and group level using interpretive phenomenological analysis. Main themes included feeling like an outsider, navigating discrimination, encountering social/emotional difficulties, and achieving a positive identity. Each theme contained two to three subcategories that provide further insight into the Mexican Americans' ERS experiences. Participants reported within-group discrimination, motivation to disprove stereotypes, and …

Association Of Circulating Ketone Bodies With Cognitive Performance And Dementia In The Multi-Ethnic Study Of Atherosclerosis (Mesa), Parag Anilkumar Chevli, Christopher L Schaich, Alexis C Wood, Luqman A Tk, Anurag Mehta, Vardhmaan Jain, Margery Connelly, Suzanne Craft, Elad Shemesh, José A Luchsinger, Kathleen M Hayden, Bonnie Colleen Sachs, Timothy M Hughes, Michael D Shapiro

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Introduction

Growing interest centers on the association between circulating ketone bodies (KB) and cognitive function, notably in aging and neurodegenerative diseases.

Methods

Associations of plasma KB with incident dementia and cognitive performances were examined among Multi‐Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) participants. KB were measured using plasma samples collected following an overnight fasting at Exam 1 (2000–02) and detailed cognitive testing at Exam 5 (2010–2012, N = 4392), Exam 6 (2016–2018, N = 1838), and in MESA‐MIND (2019–2021, N = 2060).

Results

Over 16.7 years, a doubling of total KB was associated with a greater risk of incident dementia (hazard ratio …

An Uncanny Perspective: Sculptures By Martin Puryear, Jake B. Demartini

Dissertations and Theses

An Uncanny Perspective: Sculptures by Martin Puryear will demonstrate how Puryear (b.1941) both aesthetically and conceptually evokes narratives found in Sigmund Freud’s (1856-1939) theories of the uncanny, specifically signifiers of darkness, unfamiliarity and secrecy. This employment of the uncanny in sculpture aids Puryear’s ability to address a range of aesthetics and provides a striking lens through which he addresses the collective history of violence and servitude within the African American experience. In applying Freud’s theories to several works by Puryear, this thesis will reveal how elements of the uncanny activate a questioning of narratives around terror and fear. Using methods …

Therapist Engagement With Patient Nonverbal Behavior: Exploring These Interactions As A Mechanism Of Change In Virtual And In-Person Short-Term Psychotherapy, Elliana Sheriwn

Dissertations and Theses

The individual (intrapsychic) and dyadic (interpersonal) implications of nonverbal behavior have kindled interest among psychologists for decades. Many researchers and clinicians have studied nonverbal communication in the context of attachment and moment-to-moment interactions between parent and infant (Stern, 1977; Beebe et al., 2000). Theorists have also explored nonverbal behavior in the clinical setting as a dynamic relational dimension co-created by patient and therapist (Freedman and Lavendar, 1995). Although the extant literature highlights how nonverbal communication can inform psychotherapy outcome (e.g., by fostering empathy and building rapport), the topic of therapist engagement with patient nonverbal behavior—specifically, how these interactions serve as …