Psychology Commons^™

The Lived Experiences Of Developing A Strong Black Woman Schema For Resilient Black Women With Adverse Childhood Experiences, Lindsey Erin Dickson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) encompass a spectrum of adversities that can impact mental and physical health in adulthood, particularly in Black women. Although there was a substantial body of research on the consequences of ACEs and the coping strategies employed by Black women, there remained a gap in understanding the nuanced experiences of those who develop a Strong Black Woman (SBW) schema. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of developing an SBW schema among resilient Black women who had faced ACEs. The research was grounded in resilience theory and SBW schema and provided …

The Holodomor: Death By Hunger, Marco Spann

Undergraduate Research Symposium

The Holodomor was a man-made famine used by Stalin’s regime against the nation of Ukraine. This deliberate famine was both politically and ethnically motivated for the purpose of progressing the Communist Revolution. Stalin believed there was a growing issue of separatism in Ukraine which threatened the unity of the Soviet Union. Stalin’s regime used collectivization, a system of violent seizure of land, people, and resources, to boost industrialization within the Soviet Union as well as to terrorize Ukrainians into submission. The Soviet Union enacted strict censorship of the Holodomor, setting back conversations on it by decades. The attack on the …

Exposure And Connectedness To Natural Environments: An Examination Of The Measurement Invariance Of The Nature Exposure Scale (Nes) And Connectedness To Nature Scale (Cns) Across 65 Nations, 40 Languages, Gender Identities, And Age Groups, Viren Swami, Mathew P. White, Martin Voracek, Ulrich S. Tran, Toivo Aavik, Hamed Abdollahpour Ranjbar, Sulaiman Olanrewaju Adebayo, Reza Afhami, Oli Ahmed, David A. Frederick

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Detachment from nature is contributing to the environmental crisis and reversing this trend requires detailed monitoring and targeted interventions to reconnect people to nature. Most tools measuring nature exposure and attachment were developed in high-income countries and little is known about their robustness across national and linguistic groups. Therefore, we used data from the Body Image in Nature Survey to assess measurement invariance of the Nature Exposure Scale (NES) and the Connectedness to Nature Scale (CNS) across 65 nations, 40 languages, gender identities, and age groups (N = 56,968). While multi-group confirmatory factor analysis (MG-CFA) of the NES supported …

Psychophysical And Pharmacological Models Of Visual Hallucination, Nathan H. Heller

Dartmouth College Ph.D Dissertations

Visual hallucinations are visual experiences that are spontaneously generated by the brain, in the absence of appropriate external stimuli. Understanding the neural processes that give rise to these experiences is a complex challenge that spans the domains of psychology, neuroscience, and clinical practice. Model hallucinations can serve as a valuable tool in this context. They allow researchers to study hallucinatory experiences under controlled conditions, thus providing insights into their behavioral and neural underpinnings, which can facilitate the development of effective treatments. By creating models that emulate different aspects of hallucinatory experience, whether through pharmacological means, sensory manipulation, or cognitive tasks, …

A Laboratory Evaluation Of The Effects Of Empathy Training On Racial Bias, Victoria D. Suarez, Adel C. Najdowski, Angela Persicke, Jonathan Tarbox

Psychology Division Scholarship

The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the efects of behavioral procedures, including relational training and multiple exemplar training on empathic responding of individuals who display racial bias. In particular, this study used a multielement design with fve adult participants to evaluate whether the presentation of relational frames of coordination and distinction between the participants’ values and the values of a person belonging to a group for which a bias existed altered empathic responses toward people belonging to such groups. The results showed empathic responding was higher when relational frames of coordination were presented and lower when relational …

Behind The Curtain: Recommendations For Neurodiversity Research, Andree Koehler

The Qualitative Report

Researchers have explored neurodiversity in terms of gender, gender identity and expression, masking, and more, yet the focus is often on neurodiversity as synonymous with autism. There remains a challenge to expand the body of neurodiversity research that is broader than autism. In my article, neurodiversity will be discussed as an element of the broad human condition, rather than a singular state or condition of impairment isolated to a portion of the population to delineate the paradigm based on neurological variations from medical and social models. This paper was designed to offer a “how to” for conducting research into neurodiversity …

Perceived Naturalness Biases Objective Behavior In Both Trivial And Meaningful Contexts, Brian P. Meier, Eric Noreen, Michael Fellman, Courtney Lappas, Li-Jun Ji

Psychology Faculty Publications

Research shows that perceived naturalness can bias beliefs about the positivity of items such as food, human talent, and vaccines. Yet, this research focuses on self-reports, which leaves open the implications it has for behavior. In four studies (N = 492), this research team tested if perceived naturalness impacts trivial and meaningful behaviors. Participants were asked to consume a purported natural/synthetic performance drink (Study 1), test a purported natural/synthetic drug that would be injected (Study 2), eat chocolate containing a purported natural/synthetic cocoa described as causing stomach discomfort (Study 3), or choose a sticker purportedly made with natural/synthetic ink …

Why The Elderly Are Targeted For Financial Cybercrimes: A Case Of South Africa, Tanweer Hamdulay, Chimwemwe Queen Mtegha, Wallace Chigona, Zwelithini Mabhena

African Conference on Information Systems and Technology

Financial cybercrime is growing in South Africa. The elderly population are a particularly vulnerable demographic to financial cybercrime. This research explores the factors contributing to financial cybercrime vulnerabilities among elderly citizens in disadvantaged communities in South Africa. A theoretical model based on Routine Activity Theory (RAT) was constructed. Findings from in-depth interviews show that cybercriminals take advantage of the elderly’s technology inexperience, using clever social engineering tactics and deceit to access personal and financial information. The study establishes a direct connection between low technology literacy and increased exposure to financial cybercrimes in South Africa, showing a dependence on younger family …

Predictors Of Statewide Specific Learning Disability Identification Across United States Educational Settings, Elizabeth Fox

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The relationships between response to intervention (RTI) data, cognitive ability, academic achievement, identification methods, and specific learning disability (SLD) identification have been studied extensively in recent years; however, an empirically supported method of identifying a learning disability has yet to be agreed upon. Without a better understanding of the multifaceted relationship between the set of predictors and SLD identification, the challenges of identifying children with SLD may continue. The purpose of this quantitative cross-sectional study was to examine the influence of state identified tiered support system, RTI approach, academic achievement, free/reduced lunch status, and SLD identification method on the incidence …

The Bonding Experiences Of Mothers Of Children With Sensory Processing Disorder, Natalie Marie Maddison

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Maternal bonding is known to involve tactile and proximal components that support the bonding process. In addition, mothers report that feelings of maternal competence and role identity develop by being able to predict and meet their child’s needs. However, research in this area does not consider how sensory processing disorder (SPD) in children affects maternal bonding experiences. This research aimed to address a gap in the literature about mothers’ experiences bonding with a child with SPD, including the impact of SPD on a mother’s felt experience. Mercer’s maternal role attainment was used as the theoretical framework for exploring this topic. …

Counseling In Virtual Spaces And Into The Metaverse: A Framework For Reflection, Conversation, And Future Scholarship, Staci Hayes, Yahyahan Aras, Kathy Caputo, James Hoag, Lindsay Ibos, Sania Khan, Kelly Smith

Journal of Technology in Counselor Education and Supervision

Given the success of Virtual Reality (VR) in the gaming community and strides in mental health, both VR and the Metaverse provide limitless opportunities and possibilities in the field of counseling. This article aims to provide important definitions, an overview of the use of VR in clinical counseling, clinical supervision, counselor education and its potential emergence into the Metaverse. Implications are presented in hopes of prompting conversation on how we may accept technological and cultural shifts and remain true to our counseling roots. Specifically, how to maximize the potential benefits with counseling specific rationale and address the limitations and potential …

Trump, Twitter, And Truth Judgments: The Effects Of “Disputed” Tags And Political Knowledge On The Judged Truthfulness Of Election Misinformation, J. C. Blanchar, Catherine Norris

Psychology Faculty Works

Misinformation has sown distrust in the legitimacy of American elections. Nowhere has this been more concerning than in the 2020 U.S. presidential election wherein Donald Trump falsely declared that it was stolen through fraud. Although social media platforms attempted to dispute Trump’s false claims by attaching soft moderation tags to his posts, little is known about the effectiveness of this strategy. We experimentally tested the use of “disputed” tags on Trump’s Twitter posts as a means of curbing election misinformation. Trump voters with high political knowledge judged election misinformation as more truthful when Trump’s claims included Twitter’s disputed tags compared …

An Integral Approach To Philosophy Of Nature, Carol Richardson

Journal of Conscious Evolution

Abstract

Quantum physicists and quantum biologists enjoy a mathematically-inspired romance with the wonders of nature at the quantum level. Recognizing the romance of mathematics and the quantum-to-cosmic level relational energetics of Nature can lead to a more integral, romantic, and even embodied phenomenology of the intelligence inherent within Nature’s relational and embodied energies. Approaching this quantum nature of Nature from the more romantic, wholistic views of the right hemisphere of the brain, rather than from the fragmenting views of the left hemisphere of the brain, one can begin to discover the self-organizing abilities of the energies of Nature at all …

Individuals With Multiple Tattoos Exhibit Major Depressive Disorder, Dr. Tracy Alan Daniels

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a global health concern and is the second global leading cause of mental illness that produces disability and disease. Individuals with multiple tattoos who exhibit MDD have not been adequately studied. Individuals with multiple tattoos who exhibit MDD may struggle because of psychosocial associations of the diagnosis. Seven women and three men, ages 18 to 65, participated in this qualitative, phenomenological study. Data obtained from the semistructured; audio-recorded confidential video call interviews were analyzed with Moustakas’ bracketing method. Bracketing as a phenomenological method was instrumental in searching for associations in meanings and understandings with individuals. …

Does Walking Help Creativity? How Isolating Motor Functions To Rhythmic And Obstructed Ambulation Affects Divergent Thinking., Charles Bartholomae

Student Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the influence of walking on creativity, specifically how motor activities like rhythmic and obstructed ambulation impact divergent thinking. Previous research suggests walking enhances creativity, but these findings may be confounded by uncontrolled movements of the head, eyes, and arms. Our controlled treadmill experiment, distinguishing between stationary, unobstructed, and obstructed walking, aimed to isolate walking's effects. Results indicated no significant differences in creativity scores across conditions, challenging the hypothesis that complex ambulation directly enhances divergent thinking. This suggests that the cognitive benefits of walking may not stem from the act itself but potentially from associated broader motor activities. …

Integrating Doctrine & Diversity Speaker Series: Breaking Bias: A Conversation With Attorney Anu Gupta 9-10-2024, Roger Williams University School Of Law

School of Law Conferences, Lectures & Events

No abstract provided.

Ethical Dilemmas In Applied Behavior Analysis: Navigating The Information Landscape With Artificial Intelligence, Anna Young

AI Assignment Library

Students will review and analyze a complex ethical scenario and apply 1. a decision making framework that they learned about in the course to propose solutions to the ethical dilemma and 2. a decision making framework generated by AI to do the same. They will then compare and contrast the framework they learned about in the course to the AI- generated framework.

Exploring Generative Ai As A "Study Buddy" For Research Methods In Psychology, Heather Terrell

AI Assignment Library

This assignment asks students to engage with generative-AI as a potential study tool and to explore how prompt modification may impact the output generated. It also asks students to compare material generated to other previously vetted material (in this case, book chapters).

Neighborhood Disadvantage, Parenting, And Dna Methylation During Childhood, Malcolm Barker-Kamps

All ETDs from UAB

Being raised in a disadvantaged neighborhood increases the risk of adult obesity, chronic inflammation, and epigenetic aging even when adjusting for family socioeconomic status (SES). Because little is understood regarding the timing of these outcomes through development and possible moderating effects of the family environment, this project investigated the relationship between neighborhood disadvantage and DNA methylation in children and whether this association varies across child age, parenting behaviors, or neighborhood cohesion. The study included 112 parents (Mage=27.5; SD=1.06) and 160 children, ages 0-14 (Mage =3.89, SD=3.29; 54% female; 90% African American; 10% White), from the Birmingham Youth Violence Study. Neighborhood …

Leveraging Ai To Develop And Refine Research Topics In The Counseling Field, Emily A. Brinck

AI Assignment Library

The purpose of this assignment is to utilize AI tools to develop and refine a research topic within the counseling field. By engaging with AI, students will enhance their ability to identify emerging trends, analyze existing literature, and generate innovative research questions. This assignment aims to empower students with the skills needed to integrate AI into their research process, ultimately leading to more informed and impactful studies in counseling.

Peer Group Influence On The Antecedents Of Academic Coping Over The First Year Of Middle School, Daniel Lee Grimes

Dissertations and Theses

The motivational model of academic coping provides a framework for investigating the motivational antecedents and social contextual influences on ways of coping with academic adversity during the transition to middle school. Two studies were conducted to investigate the roles of three motivational antecedent variables of academic coping: perceived control, autonomous motivation, and catastrophizing. Study 1 investigated relationships between the motivational variables and academic coping across the first year of middle school. Study 2 investigated peer group influences on the motivational variables and on academic coping. Data from an entire cohort of 366 sixth students in the only middle school in …

The Effects Of Intraindividual Factors On Distracted Car Following Behavior In Newly Licensed Teen Drivers, Gabriela Marie Sherrod

All ETDs from UAB

Rear-ending a stopped lead vehicle is the most common motor vehicle crash (MVC) scenario among all drivers. However, novice teen drivers experience a higher rate of rear-end MVCs relative to experienced adults. Given that MVC risk among novice teen drivers is at its highest during the first three months of licensure, it is especially relevant to better understand car following behaviors of novice teen drivers during this critical developmental window, as well as factors that may affect a teen’s attentional capabilities. The present study examined how recently-licensed teens negotiated a simulated car following task with and without cellular phone distractions. …

Experiences Of Discrimination And Stress In People With And Without Hiv: Associations With Experimental Pain Sensitivity And Substance Use, Joanna Hobson

All ETDs from UAB

People living with HIV (PLWH) are at an increased risk for experiencing not only discrimination, but the adverse health outcomes that are related to discrimination. Specifically, studies have identified direct relationships between HIV, discrimination and substance use, pain, poor sleep (e.g. insomnia symptoms) and depression. Thus, this study aimed to elucidate the relationships between discrimination, stress, experimental pain sensitivity, mood and substance abuse. We used various questionnaires to measure mood and health behavior. Lastly, participants underwent a series of pain experiments to measure group differences in experimental pain sensitivity. We found group differences in cortisol levels (p = .031) and …

Measuring Resilience In Black Families, Destiny Shanell Kelly

All ETDs from UAB

Black families play a unique role in navigating risk and adversity, operating as a source of various protective factors to combat challenges faced. Given the historical and current role that racism plays in the everyday lives of Black individuals, culturally specific protective mechanisms have manifested as a defense for these encounters. Many of these protective factors are instilled at the family level, helping all family members maintain healthy functioning or be resilient, such as social support, ethnic-racial socialization, and racial identity. However, current measures of family resilience do not incorporate these culturally relevant protective mechanisms into the measures, preventing Black …

Sleep And Stigma: Novel Factors In The Relationship Between Weight Status And Cognitive Function?, Lindsay M. Stager

All ETDs from UAB

U.S. obesity rates are rising. Impaired cognitive function (CF) negatively correlates with obesity and may impact food consumption. However, the mechanisms of action demand assessment. This study aimed to identify adiposity-based differences in adolescent CF and food consumption and determine the roles of sleep and stigma within these relationships. Adolescents completed questionnaires including the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function and Brief Version of the Stigmatizing Situations Inventory assessing weight stigma. Actigraphy and food diaries assessed typical sleep duration and food consumption. Participants then completed two sleep conditions in a randomized order: adequate (AS; >8 hours asleep) and restricted (RS; <5 hours asleep) sleep. Each condition was preceded by a 2-night washout period (9 hours in bed per night) and followed by a morning lab visit involving a cognitive battery and self-serve breakfast. Adolescents with healthy weight (HW) demonstrated greater performance-based episodic memory compared to adolescents with overweight/obesity (OWOB), but self-reported poorer inhibition, self-monitoring, and planning/organizing. Findings were similar in models using total body fat percent (TBF%) as a predictor, and stigma did not mediate these relationships. Adiposity did not relate to typical self-reported food consumption. RS predicted poorer performance-based global cognition, fluid cognition, and cognitive flexibility for adolescents with OWOB and improved cognitive flexibility among adolescents with HW. Adolescents with OWOB also had poorer attention compared to adolescents with HW following RS, while there were no group differences following AS. Findings were similar in models using TBF% as a predictor. However, adolescents with TBF% elevated above 42, also had poorer processing speed following RS, and the relationship between sleep and attention did not vary based on TBF%. RS also predicted decreased consumption of total calories, calories from processed foods, and fat for both BMI groups. This study increases understanding of the relationships among weight, CF, and food consumption, and the roles of sleep and stigma within these relationships. Adolescents with OWOB were more vulnerable to the negative cognitive effects of RS and RS predicted decreased consumption of calories and fat. Promotion of improved sleep hygiene and duration may be critical for the cognitive health of adolescents with OWOB.

Pubertal Timing In Relation To Epigenetic Aging And Mortality Risk In Young Adulthood, Marlon Goering

All ETDs from UAB

Early pubertal timing is associated with adverse health outcomes in adulthood, which may be mediated by DNA methylation-based epigenetic changes associated with accelerated aging and mortality risk. However, only few studies examined links between pubertal timing and epigenetic aging and these focused mainly on females, relied on retrospective reports of single pubertal events, and did not examine protective factors and underlying mechanisms. Thus, this dissertation examined two distinct dimensions of pubertal timing (i.e., phenotypical pubertal timing relative to age and self-perceived pubertal timing relative to peers) in relation to subsequent epigenetic aging and mortality risk in adulthood together with sex …

Everyday Functioning In Middle Aged And Older Adults With Hiv: Factors That Influence Everyday Functioning And Awareness Of Functioning, Alexandra Elaine Jacob

All ETDs from UAB

With combination antiretroviral therapy (cART), the population of older people living with HIV (PLWH) is growing. There is a need to better understand everyday functioning, including instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs), to improve real-world outcomes for this clinical population. This dissertation attempts to (1) characterize factors related to self-report and performance of IADLs in PLWH, (2) examine correlates of self-awareness for functional abilities, and (3) apply a theoretical model to examine complex relationships between factors that impact self-awareness for functional abilities. Participants in these retrospective analyses included 260 PLWH who completed a comprehensive neurobehavioral evaluation including neuropsychological tests, measures …

The Effects Of The Home Food Environment On Habits Towards Foods, Demetria R. Pizano

All ETDs from UAB

Habits are the learned and reinforced behavioral patterns that predict an individual's tendencies to engage in an action in their environment (Gardner, de Bruijn & Lally, 2011). Behaviors consistently triggered by an environmental context, such as a home, allow the formation of habitual responses towards health practices such as food consumption (van't Riet et al., 2011). The home food environment (HFE), the availability and access to healthy foods, influences an individual's food selection and consumption behaviors that ultimately shape their eating habits (Nilsen, Roback, Brostrom, & Ellstrom, 2012). Similarly, an individual's executive function (EF), which represents their cognitive ability to …

Designing Organizational Systems To Support Achievement Of Performance Goals In Student Mental Health, Maritza Prieto Rodriguez

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Delivering first-rate services that addresses the needs of high school students is crucial to the structural sustainability for a counseling department within a high school setting. A well-planned improvement of the structural profile of a counseling department which supports students seeking mental health assistance will become an important part in capacity building. The focus of this study was to recognize the necessity for creating a specific and successful plan that will support both counselors and students within a high school counseling center. The Baldrige Excellence Framework was used to direct this case study of a behavioral health organization in the …

The Relationship Of Sleep Disturbance And Disease-Related Factors On Neural And Neurocognitive Function In Youth Living With Sickle Cell Disease, Tiffany Devaughn Tucker

All ETDs from UAB

Youth living with sickle cell disease (SCD) often face neurocognitive challenges, regardless of accompanying neurological issues. SCD involves red blood cell deformation, leading to complications including chronic anemia, vaso-occlusion, and acute crises such as pain and overt stroke. While screening and intervention advancements have improved survival, enhancing functional capacity and quality of life (QoL) remains a targeted area of intervention. Disease-related factors, sleep disturbances, and social determinants significantly impact neurocognitive health in youth living with SCD. Deficits across all cognitive domains, including attention, working memory, and executive function (EF), are common, affecting academic achievement and QoL. Brain-related issues, such as …