Psychology Commons^™

Comparison Of The Use Of Gendered Language In Discourse On Christian Theology And Psychology, Chloe Ackerman

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

The English language has historically reflected the sexist principles of Western culture. Common examples include the use of sexist pronouns and nouns such as policeman, businessman, or servicemen to represent men and women. Research in the last 50 years revealed the detrimental effects of sexist language, and the English language was accordingly altered. However, sexist language is still used colloquially and in settings such as Christian theology. This study explored differences in the use of gender language between the discourse on Christian theology and psychology, and tested a method of promoting inclusive gender language in Christian discourse. One hundred thirty-nine …

Consumer Evaluation: Describing Construal-Level Theory And A Role Of Emotion On Human’S Thinking Processing Style, Junga Lee

Master's Theses

Based on emotion and construal level theory, this study examined the influence of emotion on consumer decision-making. Participants were induced into happy or sad moods by describing a past happy or sad life event. Then they were asked to read one of two smartphone advertisements. One advertisement emphasized only central features of smartphone, and the other one emphasized only secondary features. The dependent variables were participants’ attitudes toward the advertisements, purchase intention of the smartphone in the advertisement, and willingness to pay for the smartphone. Based on the connection between emotion and construal level, I predicted that due to their …

Using Structural Equation Modeling To Understand The Role Of The Family In Pediatric Asthma Contexts, Nour Al Ghriwati

Theses and Dissertations

Family factors have long been associated with the psychosocial adjustment of children with chronic illnesses, such as asthma (Minuchin, 1975; Rapee, 1997). Research indicates that negative family factors may also contribute to child disease severity, via bio-behavioral mechanisms of effect (Wood et al., 2006); however, these pathways have yet to be examined with a comprehensive focus on more positive family factors. This study sought to examine whether factors such as family cohesion, problem solving abilities, and communication influence asthma symptom severity in children via their effects on child depression and anxiety symptoms. Using structural equation modeling, we identified significant indirect …

Curiosity And Compassion: Curiosity And Attachment Security's Relationship With Empathic Responding To Hardship, Athena H. Cairo

Theses and Dissertations

Compassion requires both attention and motivation to engage with another person’s experience. Two studies examined whether curiosity—the interest and motivation to explore new or complex information—promotes empathic concern and suppresses personal distress. These studies also examined whether attachment insecurity moderates curiosity’s effect on empathy. Study 1 identified correlations among curiosity, attachment security, empathic concern, and personal distress traits. In Study 2, participants were primed with high or low curiosity before watching a video of a peer experiencing hardship, then reported state curiosity, empathic concern, personal distress, and prosocial motivation. Trait and state curiosity predicted greater empathic concern and prosocial motivation. …

The Requirement To Be Fit And Proper: What Does It Mean To Australian Psychologists?, Francesca A. Bell

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The phrase fit and proper is used in the Health Practitioners Regulation National Law Act (Qld), 2009, which came into effect nationally in 2010 and governs psychologists. As with previous legislation that used the phrase, the legislator does not define fit and proper, leaving it up to each profession to determine its exact meaning and inform the courts accordingly. A review of the literature established that to date no Australian psychologist has attempted to define the construct. This means that Australian lawyers do not get any guidance from psychologists regarding how they should interpret the phrase fit and proper in …

“Are The Girls Out To Bingo? And Is “Frenchie” Gettin Tipsy? On A Sudbury Saturday Night”: Gambling Among Older Francophones In North-Eastern Ontario, Éric R. Thériault

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Since its legalization, gambling has become a popular form of entertainment in Canada (e.g., Tepperman & Wanner, 2012). Despite this increase in popularity, little research has been done examining gambling among older adults, and even in this area of research there is a lack of attention to minority groups (e.g., Ariyabuddhiphongs, 2012; Munro, Cox-Bishop, McVey, & Munro., 2003). Tirachaimongkol and colleagues (2010) proposed a theoretical pathways model to help explain problem gambling risk in older adults. This model includes three “clusters” of risk factors, including individual vulnerability factors, social and environmental factors, and behavioural regulation factors. The second cluster is …

Physician Role In Enhancing Patient Communication, Tamanna Sahni

Undergraduate Research Posters

Communication in the in-patient environment is crucial, and the relationship between a patient and physician enhances patient health and wellness. Patients should feel confident with their abilities to feel comfortable conversing with physicians, which would thus treat symptoms more effectively. This communication has decreased over time, hence patients are often are unable to obtain medical information from their healthcare providers. What is the relationship between psychological factors, such as self-esteem, and quality of patient-physician communication? And can physicians ensure increased patient comfort in the medical environment?

Various factors can affect the patients’ comfort with their physicians, and when addressed, these …

Post Traumatic Stress And Externalizing Behaviors In At Risk Urban Adolescents: A Prospective Study, Angela Chung, Lauren Guerra, Jerry L. Mize Ii, Lena Jaggi, Wendy Kliewer

Undergraduate Research Posters

Adolescents in in urban areas are at a higher risk for experiencing direct victimization as well as witnessing violence directed towards others, which increases the amount of post-traumatic stress (PTS) they face (Joseph, S., Mynard, H., & Mayall, M. 2000). Experiencing Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) has been associated with a number of negative externalizing behaviors, such as increased delinquency, drug use and aggressive behavior in adolescents (Dierkhising, C. B., Ko, S. J., Woods-Jaeger, B., Briggs, E. C., Lee, R., & Pynoos, R. S. 2013). This association is especially relevant, as adolescence is a stage where youth are beginning to …

Differentiating Sleep Problems Most Related To Depression And Anxiety In College Students, Emily C. Rowland, Lizna Khimani, Tess Drazdowski, Wendy Kliewer

Undergraduate Research Posters

Sleep problems, anxiety and depression are common amongst college students. Researchers examined the specific sleep problems correlated with anxiety and depression. These sleep problems included sleep duration, sleep disturbances, sleep latency, daytime dysfunction, habitual sleep efficiency, overall sleep quality, and use of sleep medication. Researchers predicted that daytime dysfunction was the most important sleep problem related to greater anxiety symptoms, followed by overall quality of sleep, and sleep duration. Meanwhile, it was also predicted that daytime dysfunction would be the most important sleep problem and sleep latency the second most important sleep problem related to greater depressive symptoms. The study …

Effect Of Maternal Sensitivity On Language Acquisition Of Multiples, Madhuri Prayaga

Undergraduate Research Posters

The purpose of this study was to examine language acquisition and development in multiple birth children compared to singleton children in order to examine how decreased maternal sensitivity amongst mothers of multiple compared to mothers of singletons affects language acquisition skills in children.. The first phase of research for this study started with research on maternal sensitivity, specifically differing levels of it amongst mothers of different types of children, either by singletons of multiples, and potential causes for these differing levels of maternal sensitivity. The second phase focused on language skills of multiple and singletons at a young age and …

Asthma-Related Anxiety And Quick-Relief Medication Use In Urban Children With Asthma, Sarah E. Astrab, Robin Everhart

Undergraduate Research Posters

Among children, asthma is the most common chronic illness. Although not curable, asthma is manageable with the use of both daily controller medication and quick relief or rescue medication. Anxiety has been found to increase asthma symptoms in children. Caregivers who are anxious about their child’s asthma symptoms may perceive their child’s asthma as more severe or doubt their ability to manage their child’s asthma, which can result in the misuse of asthma medication. This study focused on the association between asthma-related anxiety and the use of quick-relief asthma medications in a low-income, urban sample in Richmond, Virginia. Child participants …

Heterosexism Faced By Adolescents In The Rural United States: A Case For Implementing Student-Made Lgbt Programs, Beau W. Coggsdale

Undergraduate Research Posters

GSAs, Gay-Straight Alliances, influence the heterosexist environment within a school system, especially rural schools. The data was collected from various journals documenting suicide rates and levels of self-esteem in rural environments. A lot of the data was collected was cross-referenced because of the lack of research into LGBT youth in rural environments. Much of the research that was conducted was focused on ameliorating internalized homophobia of urban LGBT youth instead of rural LGBT youth, so research into LGBT urban youth was applied to those in a rural environment. Heterosexism exists in school systems because of the lack of support for …

Can You Please Put Your Phone Away? Examining How The Fomo Phenomenon And Mobile Phone Addiction Affect Human Relationships, Laila A. Chaudhry

Undergraduate Research Posters

This study attempts to identify how attachment to social media as well as attachment to other forms of communication technology can lead to addiction to mobile devices and affect non-virtual interpersonal communication. I examined the phenomenon known as the fear of missing out, or FOMO, which can be defined as apprehension that others might be having rewarding experiences from which one is absent. Experiencing FOMO can lead to overuse of and even addiction to social media, another category I examined, because addicted individuals want to stay more up-to-date with social networks and social media is the most efficient way to …

The Transition To Parenthood: The Role Of Humility, Gratitude And Forgiveness, Charlene M. Gaw, Elisabeth Alison, Azza Hussein

Undergraduate Research Posters

The transition to parenthood, while an exciting time to celebrate the life of their child, causes parents to face new challenges such as physical exhaustion (Petch & Halford, 2008), role overload (Perry-Jenkins, Goldberg, Pierce, & Sayer, 2007), and less time for themselves and their partners (Feeney, Hohaus, Noller, & Alexander, 2001). Today in the United States, 85% of women and 76% of men will have parented a child by the time they are forty (Roy, Schumm, & Britt, 2014), making this an important developmental transition to examine. Humility has been found to have numerous social benefits, among them the initiation …

Assessment And Treatment Of Elopement In Young Children With Autism, Ivette Andrade

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Elopement, leaving a caregivers side without permission or supervision, is a behavior that is more prevalent among children with autism as compared to their typically developing peers. With potentially fatal consequences (e.g., drowning, being run over, abducted), it is reported to cause high levels of stress for caregivers. In the present study, we evaluate the assessment and treatment of elopement using a multicomponent treatment package to address the multiple functions of elopement. The treatment consisted of an antecedent treatment procedure, blocking and differential reinforcement of other behaviors with extinction (DRO w/ EXT). An ABAB reversal design was utilized to assess …

Capacity-Related Driver Behavior On Modern Roundabouts Built On High-Speed Roads, Shaikh Ahmad

Open Access Theses

The objective of this thesis was to investigate the factors that affect capacity-related driver behavior on modern roundabouts built on high-speed roads. The capacity of roundabouts is strongly affected by the behavior of drivers as represented by critical headway (critical gap) and follow-up headway (follow-up time). The effects of heavy vehicles (single-unit truck, bus, and semi-trailer) and area type (rural or urban) on roundabout capacity were investigated by comparing the critical headways for roundabouts located on high-speed and low-speed roads. The effects of nighttime conditions (in the presence of street lighting) were also considered. Data were collected using the Purdue …

Optimization Of Switch Virtual Keyboard By Using Computational Modelling, Xiao Zhang

Open Access Theses

In this thesis, I first reviewed some keyboard technologies used by people with motor difficulties, and described design elements that influence efficiency. I cast the design of a switch keyboard as an optimization problem, and arrangement of keys on such a keyboard as a Mixed Integer Programming problem. One significant variable in the MIP problem, the error rate, is related to several other variables. I treated modeling of the error rate as a parameter estimation problem, and used a data mining method. I designed HCI experiments to gather data for parameter estimation, using Bayesian logistic regression model. The empirical data …

Customer Envy At Service Encounters, Gerardo Anaya

Open Access Theses

Envy has been regarded as a complex emotion which can produce both positive and negative outcomes for consumers. This study explored the subjective experience of customer envy at service encounters in order to better understand how customers respond to unflattering comparisons with an envied customer. A questionnaire was designed to measure the cognitive appraisals, emotional responses, and consequences of customer envy. Study participants were also asked to share their envy incidents in the survey. A sample of 300 participants was collected and used for analysis. The findings illustrate that distinctively different patterns of cognitive appraisals such as preferential treatment, are …

The Impact Of An Omega-3 Enriched Diet On Hyperactivity And Biochemistry In An Animal Model For Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Nadine M. Hammoud

Open Access Theses

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is the most diagnosed behavioral disorder in children. It affects around 5% of children worldwide and 11% of children in the United States, with rates increasing. Pharmaceutical treatments, such as amphetamines and methylphenidates, are not effective for everyone and are known to have unwanted side effects. While the etiology of the disorder is not yet fully understood, there are clear genetic and environmental components. Nutritional insufficiencies have recently become a popular environmental risk factor under investigation. Essential fatty acids (EFA), omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) in particular, are needed for proper brain development and function. Our lab …

Postural Sway In Infants At Low And High Risk For Autism Spectrum Disorder, Rachel C. Harris

Open Access Theses

ABSTRACT Harris, Rachel C. M. S., Purdue University, December 2014. Postural Control in Infants at Low and High Risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder. Major Professor: Laura J. Claxton. Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder more commonly known for deficits in social and communication skills. More recently, aspects of motor development have been shown to be delayed in children with ASD, including deficits in their postural control abilities. Children with ASD have difficulty integrating information from their sensory systems to help control their balance. Infants at risk for ASD and infants who are later diagnosed with ASD have delays …

Influence Of Seductive Details, Belief-Congruence, And Repeated Testing On Memory For Controversial Information, Daniel Adam Nuccio

Theses and Dissertations

People often encounter conflicting information on a wide array of topics. How they evaluate this information in relation to their current beliefs, and the effects of other influences, such as the weight given to superficial aspects of the information (e.g. pictures, anecdotes, or jargon that are at most minimally related to an author's argument), has been of interest to researchers for many years. One component of their processing

and evaluation of this information is their memory for the information. This study set out to examine the following questions: (1) Is belief-congruent in

formation remembered better or worse than belief incongruent …

Front Matter

Modern Psychological Studies

No abstract provided.

Physiological Arousal Response To Differing Musical Genres, Ericka Kelley, Gabrielle Andrick, Fayelin Benzenbower, Marlene Devia

Modern Psychological Studies

Music is a complex medium that has social, psychological, and physiological implications. Music elicits early emotional responses (arousal) in the sympathetic nervous system, that later become consciously recognized emotions. We investigated how music genre effects physiological arousal by measuring participant skin conductance level (SCL). Physiological responses of 19 participants (3 male, mean age 23 years) were recorded by way of the iWorx 214 Psychophysiology Teaching Kit. The stimuli were four different genres of music: classical, Dubstep, Celtic, and big band (swing). Stimuli were presented to participants in one of four counterbalanced blocks. Participants' highest SCL matched their reported genre preference …

Recovery Is Developmental: An Exploration Of Eriksonian Psychosocial Theory Adapted To Eating Disorder Recovery, Ashley Fee

Modern Psychological Studies

This qualitative study investigated women's experiences of recovery from an eating disorder using an adaptation of Erikson's stage theory of recovery from mental illness. Five female participants, ages 20-40 years old and who identified as having an eating disorder and going through some form of treatment, were interviewed regarding their development, experience, and recovery from an eating disorder after completing the EAT-26 survey. Participants' responses were analyzed using open, axial, and selective coding. Three influences within the recovery process emerged through the analysis: personal (self), transitional, and interpersonal (social). The analysis suggests that an adaptation of Erikson 's developmental theory …

Bullying: Bullies, Victims, And Witnesses, Loyd White, Frank Hammonds, Karena T. Valkyrie

Modern Psychological Studies

This study examines bullying by focusing on bullies, victims, and witnesses. In an effort to examine long-term correlates of bullying, we asked university students about their experiences with bullying in middle school. We administered a 65 question survey to 191 college students from several university campuses. The survey was made up of the Handling Bullying Questionnaire (Bauman, Rigby & Hoppa, 2008), the Bullying Prevalence Questionnaire (Rigby & Slee, 2003), the Revised Pro-Victim Scale (Rigby, 1997), and 13 researcher created questions which dealt with the participants' experiences with bullying. We hypothesized that rates of bullying would be high and that the …

Shared Neural Circuits: The Connection Between Social And Physical Pain, Laura A. Andrews, Theresa E. Didonato

Modern Psychological Studies

Interpersonal rejection, exclusion, and loss are known to produce painful feelings (Eisenberger, Lieberman, & Williams, 2003), but little is know about the neural network underlying this type of pain. Recent evidence suggests this social pain may have important neural connections with physical pain (Eisenberger et al., 2003). The current literature review explores the connection between social pain and physical pain in neural activity, individual differences (e.g., pain sensitivity), situation appraisal, social support, and pain reducers (e.g., acetaminophen). The review examines the overlapping pain system as an evolutionary adaptation necessary for survival (MacDonald & Leary, 2005). Authentic experiences of social rejection …

The Measurement Of Attitudes Toward Abortion, Michael G. Taylor, George I. Whitehead

Modern Psychological Studies

Attitudes towards abortion have been a focal point within politics and religion for many years. Many methods have been created to test these attitudes. For example, Hess and Rueb created a 13-item scale and demonstrated its validity. However, this scale has several potential shortcomings. The developers did not report the reliability of the scale and its factor structure. Further, this scale includes a neutral point and legal language. One of the purposes of the present study was to develop a 12-item scale to address these issues. The present study compares and contrasts these two scales. Psychology student's participated in this …

Terror Management Theory: A Theoretical Perspective On Orgination, Maintenance, And Research, Robert B. Arrowood, J. Brian Pope

Modern Psychological Studies

Research suggests that humans engage in several worldview defense mechanisms to shield against the terror associated with an awareness of mortality (Greenberg, Pyszczynski, & Solomon, 1986). To mitigate anxiety, people strongly adhere to their cultural worldviews that allow them to boost their self-esteem. This self-esteem fosters a sense of immortality because the world is considered a 'just" place that will not harm someone that is living in adherence to cultural guidelines (Rosenblatt, Greenberg, Solomon, Pyszczynski, & Lyon, 1989). This paper provides a theoretical background for Terror Management Theory including its philosophical origination, the primary tenets of the theory, and the …

Female Mating Adaptations: Salient Features And The Influence Of Fertility Status, Katherine Melton

Modern Psychological Studies

Modern human beings share the adaptive mating strategies of their ancestral predecessors, even though the adaptive environment is a relic of the past. Due to the large parental investment mammalian females must contribute in order to reproduce, women face unique challenges in their quest for reproductive fitness. This review endeavors to address behavioral, strategic, and perceptual shifts in female mating adaptations within the context of the menstrual cycle in order to yield a greater understanding of modern women and the evolutionary basis for behavior.

Pupil Dilation Dynamics Track Attention To High-Level Information, Olivia E. Kang, Katherine E. Huffer, Thalia P. Wheatley

Dartmouth Scholarship

It has long been thought that the eyes index the inner workings of the mind. Consistent with this intuition, empirical research has demonstrated that pupils dilate as a consequence of attentional effort. Recently, Smallwood et al. (2011) demonstrated that pupil dilations not only provide an index of overall attentional effort, but are time-locked to stimulus changes during attention (but not during mind-wandering). This finding suggests that pupil dilations afford a dynamic readout of conscious information processing. However, because stimulus onsets in their study involved shifts in luminance as well as information, they could not determine whether this coupling of stimulus …