Psychology Commons^™

Impulsivity And Investment Risks: A Behavioral-Economic Analysis Of Magnitude Effects In Decision-Making, Samuel C. Latty

Psychology

Human decision making involves weighing probabilistic outcomes and uncertainty alongside the magnitude of potential gains and losses. Delay discounting refers to a perceived decline in the present value of a reward as the delay to acquisition increases. Impulsivity can be reflected by an individual's preference for smaller, immediate reward compared to larger, delayed reward. Experimental manipulation of tasks such as the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) have been introduced to evaluate individual sensitivity to risk in monetary decision-making scenarios. In the current study, we compared two versions of the IGT, one with original magnitudes and one with high magnitudes. We proposed …

Proficiency And Positivity: Investigating Learner Affect Toward L2 Instructional Methods, Learner Goals, And L2 Success, Natalie Spiva

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Second language (L2) learning outcomes vary widely due to factors both internal and external to the learner, including learning and usage contexts and learner goals and motivations. Learners may feel more proficient in and positive towards an L2 if they have intrinsic motivation and positive experience with the L2. Many students in the United States are first exposed to an L2 later in life as an academic requirement, which often impedes L2 learning success and can limit the learner’s relationship with the L2 and related cultures. Because of the highly interconnected global society, investigating the experiences of today’s language learners …

The Effects Of The Replication Crisis Instruction On Skepticism, Ericka Hoppes

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Over the past decade, there has been growing concern regarding the Replication Crisis in psychology. The crisis has called into question the credibility of psychological research by highlighting the field’s difficulty in reproducing findings (Open Science Collaboration, 2015), as well as the prevalence of questionable research practices amongst psychologists (e.g., p-hacking, falsifying data, incomplete reporting of measures, etc.). Given that the crisis presents psychological research through a critical lens, learning about the aspects of the crisis can be a useful pedagogical tool for helping students develop a healthy sense of skepticism regarding scientific studies. The present study investigated how teaching …

Racial Preference As A Moderator In The Match-Alliance Relationship: A Mixed-Methods Study Of Indian Immigrants, Sarika Agarwal M.S.

Selected Full Text Dissertations, 2011-

Patient preferences are defined as a patient’s desire for specific behaviors or attributes of the therapist or therapy (Arnkoff et al., 2002). Psychotherapy patients may hold a preference for a same-race therapist due to their perception that the therapist is similar to themselves, which may positively affect the therapeutic alliance (Cabral & Smith, 2011). However, since previous research has found mixed results on the positive effects of racial matching in psychotherapy (Cheng et al., 2023), another possible angle to examine the effects of racial matching on the therapeutic alliance is by taking patient preference into account. While data is limited …

The Birth Experience During The First Wave Of Covid-19 Lockdown In New York Hospitals: A Qualitative Study, Emily Morse Small M.S.

Selected Full Text Dissertations, 2011-

In 2020, alongside the onset of the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic, 209,338 births occurred in New York State (Osterman et al., 2022). While much of the public adjusted to working or learning in a virtual world, many hospitals in New York remained open to treat those in need of care. Women nearing the end of their pregnancy, many of whom felt that they had no other choice, found themselves headed to the hospital—to the labor and delivery unit. Many studies completed outside of the United States on the birth experience during the pandemic found an increase in the likelihood of negative …

Examining Antecedents Of Diversity Initiative Fatigue: A Moderatedmediation Model, Anne Simpson

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This thesis investigates the relationships between bias awareness, motivation to respond without prejudice, racialized attitudes, and diversity initiative fatigue (DIF) among employees within an academic setting, specifically focusing on faculty and staff at Western Kentucky University. Data were collected through a survey-based approach to measure these constructs and assess their relationships. This study hypothesized that bias awareness negatively correlates with DIF and motivation to respond without prejudice mediating this relationship. Furthermore, the research examines how racialized attitudes moderate the relationship between bias awareness and motivation to respond without prejudice. By examining these relationships using a moderated mediation model, the study …

Examining The Impact Of A Mobile-Delivered Brief Intervention On Substance Coping Motives Among A Sample Of Interpersonal Trauma Survivors With Heavy Alcohol Use, Lily Milam

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Brief interventions (BIs) aim to reduce risky alcohol use but show limited effectiveness for interpersonal trauma (IPT) survivors, who may use alcohol to cope with trauma-related issues. BIs typically do not target coping-related motivations or include effective emotion regulation strategies, which may improve outcomes for at-risk groups like IPT survivors. Additionally, digital interventions often struggle with low engagement. This study examined a trauma-informed and peer-supported BI to reduce coping-related drinking motives in heavy drinking young adults and assess its effectiveness compared to a standard BI and assessment only condition. Participants (N=133, 79.2% Female, 91.2% White, M age=19.77) with a lifetime …

Personality And How It Relates To Coping Flexibility, Rebecca Kearns

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Stressful events, negative emotions, and negative events are all a normal part of life. How we react and cope with these events can reduce the damage stress can have on our mental health and well-being. There are many ways to cope with situations, but not all are considered to be beneficial. The ability to alternate between different coping strategies within a given situation is called coping flexibility. Having high coping flexibility is considered to be healthy and adaptive, but not everyone possesses the ability to flexibly cope with situations. Personality may explain individual differences among coping flexibility. The big five …

Expanding On The Relationship Between Incivility And Resource Depletion: Examining Race And Personal Tolerance For Mistreatment As Moderators, Aishwarya Kurmar

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Workplace incivility is ubiquitous, regularly impacting working adults. Through the framework of Conservation of Resources (COR) theory, I examined the relationship between workplace incivility and resource depletion using daily diary methodology. Workplace incivility negatively impacts employee outcomes at the organizational and individual level. As such, it was hypothesized that workplace incivility would have a positive correlation with increased resource depletion, measured as psychological fatigue. Under selective incivility theory, disenfranchised groups face increased instances of incivility. Following this theory, non-whites were hypothesized to experience a greater association between workplace incivility and resource depletion. Additionally, an individual’s personal tolerance of mistreatment for …

Social Comparison And Pressure: Examining The Roles Of Sex And Rank, Ashley East

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Faculty in academia face intense competition and growing expectations, often shaped by perceptions of others’ performance. During the COVID-19 pandemic, these dynamics were magnified, making social comparison a critical factor in understanding academic workplace pressures. The purpose of this study is to examine the changing work pressures and social comparison tendencies among academics during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is hypothesized that social comparison tendencies will be positively related to time pressure (H1a) and telepressure (H1b), with moderation by sex (H2a and H2b) and organizational rank (H3a and H3b). Using a panel survey of 197 tenure-track and tenured faculty members in …

Parental Stress, Child Negative Affect, And A Mediating Relationship With Negative Talk, Olivia Goodman

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This study aimed to establish if a relationship existed between parenting stress and their child’s depression, anxiety and somatization, referred to as negative affect. Alongside establishing this relationship, this study investigated if parent negative talk, as seen in Parent-Child Interactive Therapy (PCIT) sessions, affected that relationship. It was hypothesized that parenting stress would negatively impact their children’s negative affect, and that parenting stress would lead to increased negative talk towards their children, in turn negatively impacting their children’s negative affect. A total of 47 families from archival PCIT video sessions created the data set. Results found that there was no …

College Students’ Beliefs: Association Between Skin Color And Acceptance, Christopher James Thompson

Theses and Dissertations

The Multiracial population represents the fastest-growing demographic group in the United States and is expected to more than double by 2060 (Vespa et al., 2018). Despite this rapid increase in the Multiracial population, there is a dearth of research regarding racial identity development, anxiety, and depression on this group. Social inclusion has been recognized as a fundamental human need, and Multiracial individuals may be more likely to be accepted into a majority group if their appearance is racially ambiguous. The current study builds on previous knowledge by utilizing a novel measure developed to examine the beliefs held by Monoracial and …

"Dental Health For Mental Wealth": A Comprehensive Analysis Of The Underexplored Impact Of Oral Health And Behaviors On Neurobiology And Psychological Well-Being, Brooke C. Beck

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

This thesis explores the link between oral health and psychological state, specifically, the effect of oral health on psychological state and how appropriate oral health impacts this relationship. A review of the literature was conducted and studies interpreted within the scope of oral health’s impact on psychological health and detailing some of the pathways proposed for such a link. The literature search was limited to the English language from well-known databases mainly from 2015 to 2025. A few outliers are present to include foundational information.

The effects of oral disease and oral self-care behaviors were dissected through a biochemical perspective, …

Show And Tell… Ing What?: Correlation And Moderation Analyses Of Public Displays Of Affection And Romantic Relationship Satisfaction, Communication, And Adult Attachment Styles, Samantha Brooks M.S.

Selected Full Text Dissertations, 2011-

Public Displays of Affection (PDA) amongst romantic couples are clearly shown in everyday life, though paradoxically, they are largely unexplored and therefore poorly understood. Not only is it unknown how PDA relates to other well-studied components of romantic relationships, but it is also unclear who engages in PDA. The present study investigated the relationship between public displays of affection and previously examined, fundamental components of romantic relationships including relationship satisfaction and attachment and communication styles. It then investigated the moderating effects of relationship satisfaction on respective communication and attachment styles and PDA. Sample size was 105 participants (N= 105). Students …

Good Trips, Bad Trips: Attachment, Connectedness, And Mental Health In Psychedelic Experiences, Sean Michael Nickley

Selected Full-Text Dissertations 2020-

Research into psychedelic-assisted psychotherapies and the overall psychedelic experience is in a period of acceleration, with hopes from multiple disciplines that such research might uncover novel and effective treatments for myriad psychological disorders. Much research to date has examined the neurobiological underpinnings of psychedelic states. The current study, existing as part of a larger trend examining the phenomenological and psychological mechanisms of psychedelic experience, sought to examine the ways in which attachment dynamics influenced the type of psychedelic experience—mystical versus challenging—and the subsequent effects on social connectedness and psychiatric symptoms. Prior research had suggested that individuals with more anxious attachment …

The Underlying Significance Of The Newfoundland Fishing Rights In The 1783 Treaty Of Paris, Marvin L. Simner

Psychology Publications

No abstract provided.

Family Secrets: A Qualitative Analysis Of The Self After Dna Revelation, Joanna Rybnick M.S.

Selected Full Text Dissertations, 2011-

How much do we know about our families? There is limited research on the influx of family secrets revealed through genetic ancestry (genealogical/DNA) testing, a method utilized to learn about genealogy and family history that has become increasingly popular (Jorde & Bamshad, 2020). The present study stems from available research and archival stories and allows for a deeper understanding of how family secrets may present themselves in therapy. Previous research has focused on the content of secrets, categorizing themes within secrets, and the various functions of secret-keeping within family dynamics (Vangelisti, Caughlin, & Timmerman, 2001; Vangelisti & Caughlin, 1997). Additionally, …

The Interplay Between Friendship Quality And Emotion Regulation In The Prediction Of Weight-Related Concerns Among Adolescent Girls, Vasavi Ganesan Shanthi

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Adolescent girls are especially vulnerable to weight-related concerns such as body dissatisfaction, disordered eating, and body surveillance. These issues are often linked to difficulties in emotion regulation (ER) and the quality of friendships. This study explored how ER and friendship quality, both independently and interactively, predict these weight-related issues. A sample of 106 girls aged 11–21 completed questionnaires on ER, friendship quality, body dissatisfaction, objectified body consciousness, and disordered eating behaviors. Results from hierarchical regression analyses showed that greater ER difficulties were significantly associated with increased body dissatisfaction, emotional eating, and restrained eating. Additionally, negative friendship quality predicted emotional eating. …

Recorded Keynotes, Iaccp

Papers from the International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychology Conferences

No abstract provided.

Foreword, Ayu Okvitawanli, Wolfgang Friedlmeier, Rachana Bhangaokar

Papers from the International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychology Conferences

No abstract provided.

The Psychometric Properties Of A Spanish Version Of The Attitudes And Beliefs Scale-2 Short Form In A Mexican Sample, Verónica Compeán

Theses and Dissertations

The Attitudes and Beliefs Scale 2-Short Form (ABS2-SF) is one of the most widely used measures of irrational and rational beliefs central to Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT). While evidence supports its reliability and validity in English-speaking populations, little is known about its applicability across cultural and linguistic groups. This study investigated the psychometric properties and cultural validity of the Spanish version of the ABS2-SF in a Mexican sample (n = 579) collected from undergraduate students in Tampico, Mexico, and compared them with English-speaking American non-clinical samples (n = 1,167). Using a bifactor multi-group confirmatory factor analysis (MG-CFA), I examined …

Ripples Of Support: A Mixed Methods Study Of Bystander Behavior In The Context Of Sexual Assault Among College Students, Miranda Levy

Theses and Dissertations

Emerging adulthood represents a period of elevated risk for sexual assault (SA), particularly among college students. Students are not only potential victims or perpetrators but also bystanders—individuals who may witness or become aware of risky or harmful situations and must decide whether and how to respond. Understanding what influences students’ decisions to intervene as bystanders in SA contexts is critical to improving peer responses and fostering safer campus environments. This study used a concurrent mixed methods design to examine how college students’ knowledge of campus SA policies, personal history of victimization, prior experiences receiving help, and SA disclosure reactions relate …

Sustained Effects Of Neurofeedback On Children & Adolescents With Adhd: A Meta-Analysis, Dannielle A. Stephen

Theses and Dissertations

Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common neurodevelopmental disorder diagnosed in the United States, with the most common form of treatment being psychostimulant medication. In the recent years there has been a growing concern among parents about starting their children on medication from a young age, prompting researchers to look at alternative methods. This will me a meta-analytic review of neurofeedback treatments to see if they are a feasible method in improving core behavioral symptoms and executive functions. All articles included in the review contained follow-up periods of 6 months or greater. There was a total of 468 participants across …

Latent Transition Analysis Of Prosocial Behavior And Physical Aggression In Toddlerhood, Annette Schieffelin

Theses and Dissertations

The current study is the first to apply Latent Transition Analysis (LTA) to examine short-term stability and change in toddlers’ physical aggression and prosocial behavior, using a person-centered, longitudinal approach to capture behavioral heterogeneity and stability during a critical developmental period. Mothers of 333 toddlers (18 or 24 months at Time 1; 21 or 27 months at Time 2) completed reports of provoked and unprovoked aggression, prosocial behaviors (helping, sharing, comforting), temperament, and parenting practices. Four profiles emerged consistently across time: High Aggression / Low Prosocial, Low Aggression / Average Prosocial, Low Aggression / High Prosocial, and Average Aggression / …

Severity Profiles Of Preschool-Aged Children And Their Associations With Maternal Help-Seeking: A Latent Profile Analysis, Samuel T. Jackson

Theses and Dissertations

Parents of preschoolers are more likely to seek treatment for childhood depression compared to anxiety and behavioral disorders. Atypicality and stability have been implicated in relation to help-seeking, but it is not known how they differ between disorders and whether such differences impact help-seeking. The current study grouped mothers based on their atypicality and stability appraisals across disorders; tested for differences in appraisals between disorders; and then tested for differences in help-seeking based on group membership. Participants were 272 adult mothers of preschool-aged children. Mothers read a series of vignettes describing preschool-aged children with depression, anxiety, and ADHD, and then …

How Therapists’ Perceptions Impact Disseminating And Implementing Trauma-Focused Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, Maddi R. Gervasio

Theses and Dissertations

In the United States, 60% of youth experience a traumatic event before the age of 18 (Lawrence-Sidebottom et al., 2024) and childhood trauma is associated with a range of psychopathology. Although evidence-based therapies like Trauma-Focused Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT; Cohen et al., 2017) are available, only 14-22% of traumatized youth receive trauma-specific practices during treatment (Borntrager et al., 2013). Barriers to disseminating and implementing TF-CBT and similar interventions exist at the micro (e.g., therapist and client) and macro (e.g., systemic) levels (e.g., Gervasio & Herren, 2020). Emerging research focused on training in trauma therapists found that therapists’ negative perceptions about the …

Evaluating Task Demands And Task Characteristics Analysis Among School Psychologists, Alessandra Miceli

Theses and Dissertations

Cognitive ability assessments are central to psychoeducational evaluations, informing decisions regarding interventions and supports for students. While cognitive assessment theories have historically emphasized quantitative data in score interpretation, they have increasingly reflected the need to consider qualitative information, a longstanding tenet of neuropsychological assessment. Frameworks such as the Integrated School Neuropsychology/Cattell-Horn-Carroll (SNP/CHC) Model and the Cognitive Hypothesis Testing (CHT) Model emphasize the importance of analyzing subtest task demands and task characteristics to explain unexpected score discrepancies. Despite these recommendations, little is known about school psychologists’ familiarity with these analyses and their use in the interpretation of test performance. This study …

Associations Between Psychoeducation And Measures Of Treatment Engagement In Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Shari Lieblich

Theses and Dissertations

Despite the efficacy of TF-CBT, its effectiveness is compromised by high premature dropout or attrition rates. Psychoeducation, the first component of TF-CBT, provides both a rationale for engagement in treatment and normalizes symptoms to instill hope in youth and their caregivers. This component has been minimally examined as a predictor of later-phase symptom outcomes, mostly in adult trauma treatments, with mixed results. The goal of the current study is examine the influence of psychoeducation on participation-related variables in TF-CBT. Results indicate a positive association between the percentage of sessions of with psychoeducation and attrition and negative association with percentage session …

The Relationship Between Psychotherapist Self-Disclosure And Occupational And Emotional Variables, Kay Nikiforova

Theses and Dissertations

The effect of therapist self-disclosure practices on patients and the therapeutic relationship has long been debated. The historical trend of viewpoint toward self-disclosure began from predicting a negative, therapy-interfering stance to a growing openness towards the consideration that therapists sharing about themselves in session can have a positive effect on the patient. Evidence exists for both potential patient benefit and harm from therapists engaging in self-disclosure. Still, there is an increasing body of evidence that demonstrates that therapist self-disclosure benefits the therapeutic process, increases patient disclosure, and provides a more positive view of the therapeutic relationship. However, at present, there …

A Cross Attention Approach To Diagnostic Explainability Using Clinical Practice Guidelines For Depression, Sumit Dalal, Deepa Tilwani, Manas Gaur, Sarika Jain, Valerie L. Shalin, Amit P. Sheth

Psychology Faculty Publications

The lack of explainability in using relevant clinical knowledge hinders the adoption of artificial intelligence-powered analysis of unstructured clinical dialogue. A wealth of relevant, untapped Mental Health (MH) data is available in online communities, providing the opportunity to address the explainability problem with substantial potential impact as a screening tool for both online and offline applications. Inspired by how clinicians rely on their expertise when interacting with patients, we leverage relevant clinical knowledge to classify and explain depression-related data, reducing manual review time and engendering trust. We developed a method to enhance attention in contemporary transformer models and generate explanations …