Psychology Commons^™

Colorism, Colonial Mentality, And Dating And Relationships For Filipino American Women, Gabrielle A. Abrazaldo

Senior Theses

As a consequence of a long colonial history under Spain and then the United States that lasted over 300 years, Filipinos have internalized a sense of cultural and ethnic inferiority known as ‘colonial mentality.’ When it comes to Filipino women, who have historically entered into romantic or sexual relationships with their colonizers, in which they were often mistreated, degraded, and discriminated against, colonial mentality continues to have an impact on their dating behaviors, attitudes, and experiences. This paper reviews a variety of literature, drawing particularly on qualitative sources such as personal narratives and interviews, to build case studies that effectively …

Cognitive Dissonance: Analysis Of The Theory, Marcus Crespo

Themis: Research Journal of Justice Studies and Forensic Science

Cognitive dissonance arises as a person experiences discomfort when their belief does not align with their behavior. Cognitive dissonance can be divided into three categories: irrelevance, dissonance, and consonance; it also can viewed in terms of what it is and what effects it produces for an individual. Studies have shown the struggles and inconsistencies that arise when people experience conflict between who they want to be and who they actually are. This paper examines cognitive dissonance at length and assesses the current theoretical models that exist to describe cognitive dissonance.

Protocol For The Promoting Resilience In Stress Management (Prism) Intervention: A Multi-Site Randomized Controlled Trial For Adolescents And Young Adults With Advanced Cancer, Alison O’Daffer, Liam Comiskey, Samantha R. Scott, Chuan Zhou, Miranda C. Bradford, Joyce P. Yi-Frazier, Abby R. Rosenberg

Psychology: Faculty Scholarship

Background

Adolescents and young adults (AYAs) with cancer are at high risk of poor psychosocial outcomes, and evidence-based interventions designed to meet their psychosocial and communication needs are lacking. The main objective of this project is to test the efficacy of a new adaptation of the Promoting Resilience in Stress Management intervention for AYAs with Advanced Cancer (PRISM-AC).

Methods/design

The PRISM-AC trial is a 2-arm, parallel, non-blinded, multisite, randomized controlled trial. 144 participants with advanced cancer will be enrolled and randomized to either usual, non-directive, supportive care without PRISM-AC (“control” arm) or with PRISM-AC (“experimental” arm). PRISM is a manualized, …

Playful Learning: The Disposition Of Architecture As Pedagogy, Alyssa Franklin

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

Education is a vital foundation of a society. The standard of today’s school environment is built upon the pedigree of the factory schools from the nineteenth century. However, elementary age children require a flexible, engaging, and creative learning environment that the standard school environment does not provide. Learning is a dynamic and innovative action. Architecture should mirror the learning that it supports through providing spaces that allow for flexibility, engagement, accessibility, and attraction. Children are transformed by the spaces they are in, spaces that will leave lasting impacts on the cognitive development of the children, spaces that can be playful …

Juror's Perceptions Of Evidence-Based Suspicion, Nicholas Welter

Student Theses

Eyewitness misidentification is a leading cause of wrongful conviction. Although the prior probability of guilt (i.e., pre-identification evidence strength) is the most important factor for predicting a defendant’s actual guilt status and the accuracy of any subsequent eyewitness identification, no study has examined whether it affects juror decisions. This oversight is problematic because when officers place suspects in lineups when there is little evidence connecting them to the crime, it falls on jurors to examine the probative value of identification evidence. Participants (N = 357) watched a mock trial depicting an armed robbery that varied pre-identification evidence (strong vs. …

Transcendence: Exploring The Connections Between Transgender/Gender Non-Conforming Identities And Experiences Of Nature Through Art, Mc Jackson

Undergraduate Theses

“Transcendence: Exploring the connections between transgender/gender non-conforming identities and experiences of nature through art” is the written portion of a creative thesis revolving around an immersive art installation and short film. Transcendence, the installation, was created to promote connection by exploring the overlap between transgender and gender non-conforming (GNC) experiences and experiences of nature. Part of this installation is a short film of interviews conducted with transgender and GNC individuals about nature, their gender experiences, and the transcendent nature of the two. The written thesis analyzes existing literature on nature as a restorative, therapeutic, spiritual setting, offers insight into …

Agreement Of Psychiatric Diagnoses Within And Between Groups Of Mental Health Clinicians From Different Disciplines, Wade Mcguire

Dissertations

The development of therapy as a treatment option for mental health problems has led to the creation of different disciplines. Each discipline has developed its own conceptualization of classification and treatment of mental health problems. These conceptualizations have led to different areas of focus for each of the disciplines, specifically counseling, psychology, and social work. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether these areas of focus influence how each discipline diagnoses. For this study, data was collected by having clinicians provide diagnoses for three fictitious clients. The vignettes for the clients were taken from a psychopathology textbook to …

Barriers To Treatment For Socially Anxious Black American Students In Urban Public Schools, Grace Martin

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Social anxiety is frequent and debilitating for Black adolescents with associated impairment (La Greca & Stone, 1993; Stein & Kean, 2000; Van Ameringen et al., 2003). Despite its prevalence and severity, Black adolescents are less likely to seek mental health treatment due to systemic and social barriers such as accessibility and social stigma (Bains, 2014; Lindsey et al., 2006; Lindsey et al., 2013). Barriers to seeking treatment, particularly for socially anxious Black adolescents, are mostly absent in the literature and thus require investigation. To understand culturally specific factors related to social anxiety symptoms as well as to investigate perceived barriers …

Sleep Quality In Undergraduate Students: Examining The Role Of Class Rank And Related Individual Differences, Lauren Yocum, Lauren Yocum

Honors College Theses

College students are likely to experience stress due to increased responsibilities, more demanding coursework, and maintaining a balance between academics and social life. Indeed, college students are at risk for experiencing clinically-significant depressive and anxiety symptoms, as well as sleep disturbances, likely as a result of these challenges. Although the relationship between these affective variables and college stressors are well-documented, less attention has been given to the factors that may help promote better sleep, with the majority of research documenting the intrinsic bidirectional nature of mood and sleep (e.g., lack of sleep leads to worse mood which further exacerbates sleep …

The Downfall Of Daniel Fitzpatrick: A Creative Short Story, Renee Horsley

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

Daniel grew up with humble beginnings in Starlight, Nebraska. His loving parents provided him and his four other siblings with as much as they could. Victoria grew up wealthy in a small town in Georgia but by fifth grade, Victoria would move to Starlight due to her father’s business proposition. Soon Daniel and Victoria’s worlds collided setting the way for the most epic and yet tragic love story to ever hit Starlight Nebraska. A creative short story that intertwines the disciplines of criminal justice, intergroup dialogue, psychology, and the law.

The Sexual Objectification Experiences Of Non-Binary People, Lee R. Pradell

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Transgender people are a historically marginalized and disenfranchised group, leading to discriminatory interpersonal treatment such as sexual objectification experiences (SOEs), a type of objectification. Women look at themselves the way men look at them, reducing themselves to objects for someone else’s viewing. This flattening of oneself to value your bodily presentation over functioning increases dissociative states and promotes disordered eating behaviors. Non-binary people experience additive stressors within objectification experiences as people with less social power than cisgender women. This thesis is composed of three separate studies aimed at understanding the SOEs of non-binary people.

The first of three studies recruited …

Negotiating Acculturation: A Qualitative Study Of Muslim American Women, Noor N. Tahirkheli

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

The estimated population of Muslims in the United States ranges from 3 to 7 million (Bukhari, 2003; Pew Research Center, 2017; Strumm, 2003), with an estimated 69-75% of Muslim Americans being 1st or 2nd generation immigrants (defined as those born abroad and those with immigrant parents, respectively), hailing from over 80 countries (Bukhari, 2003; Pew Research Center, 2017). Thus, most Muslims are navigating the complex processes of acculturation, which is the adaptation of behavioral, cognitive, and affective aspects of one’s cultural functioning, which result from consistent contact with different cultural contexts and groups (Driscoll & Wierzbicki, 2012). Research has noted …

Perceiving The Poster: How Suspicion Of Motives May Impact Perceptions Of Potential Allies Engaging In Online Activism, Kathrina Z. Durante

Honors Theses

Social media posts signaling support for various social and racial justice movements have emerged as an important aspect of social media use. However, little research has investigated how these posts and the social media users behind them are perceived by members of disadvantaged groups﹘those the messages are presumably intended to “help.” Though the post’s content and poster’s identity are likely important, the primary aim of this study is to investigate an individual difference variable in the perceiver, specifically disadvantaged group members’ Suspicion of Motives Index (SOMI) scores, which measure a general tendency to perceive White individuals’ attempts at non-prejudice to …

The Effects Of Positive Anticipation On Optimistic Cognitive Bias And Emotional Resilience In Rats, Megan Hooper

Honors Theses

The anticipation of positive events and optimism have been shown to improve health and emotional states in rats and humans. The current study is interested in the impact of positive anticipation on optimistic cognitive bias and emotional resilience, as well as neural markers of resilience. Male (n = 12) and female (n = 12) rats were assigned to either unpredictable positive expectancy response (UPER) training or the control (CON) group (n = 6 per group). Optimism was assessed using an ambiguous cue test (ACT) in which the rats were trained to associate a specific visual pattern with a high-value (Froot …

The Influence Of Motivation To Control Prejudice On Facial Processing Flexibility In Individuals Who Identify As Biracial, Chloë Steckart

Honors Theses

Facial processing is one of the most important and immediate aspects of cognition (Jaeger, 2019; Kovács, 2020). Race is an extremely salient facial processing cue that has immediate and long-term impacts on how we interact with others (Oosterhof & Todorov, 2008; Senholzi & Ito, 2013; Blascovich et al., 2017; Kawakami et al., 2022). Race is a powerful in-group in American contexts, and race cues in facial processing play a part in determining in- and out-group members (Tropp & Wright, 2001; Castano et al., 2002).

We investigated how race impacts the facial processing of individuals who identify as Biracial and whether, …

The Impacts Of Exercising With External Versus Internal Motives On College Students' Mental Health, Jillian Ulicki

Honors Projects in Applied Psychology

This study sets out to determine the impacts of exercising with different motives, specifically external appearance versus internal health, on college students' mental health. The study will also analyze the mental health effects of following fitness-related influencers and content on social media on college-aged students, in addition to the differences in mental health among male and female students in relation to exercise motivators and social media consumption. A survey will be utilized to collect data from undergraduate college-aged students. The goal of this study is to better understand whether certain motives for exercising are healthier for college students' mental health …

Assessing The Dynamic Amongst Self-Compassion, Connection To Nature, And Well-Being, Yueyi Fan

Honors Theses

In 2015, the United Nations deemed promoting individual well-being of paramount importance, along with seventeen other sustainable development goals (to be achieved by 2030). Unfortunately, overall mental health has taken sharp declines with the unprecedented onset of the COVID-19 pandemic (OECD, 2021). According to a report from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the prevalence of anxiety and depression has increased globally; it has doubled or more than doubled as compared to previous years (OECD, 2021). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reported increasing levels of adverse mental health conditions, substance use, and suicidal …

Dance And The Self: An Analysis On The Psychological Impacts Of Dance, Morgan Etzinger

Honors Projects

Professional dancers spend numerous hours immersed into dance culture every single day, learning new technique, practicing choreography, and exercising to stay fit. This study explores how dance affects the self-confidence and self-esteem of dance students. Utilizing surveys, the self-confidence and self-esteem of dance students at BGSU is compared to non-performing arts students. The study of psychology allows for proper analysis on the differences between the two groups, why a difference might occur, and how self-confidence and self-esteem is affected. After gathering data on emotions, perfectionism, comparison, group versus individual performances, personal thoughts, and body image, it was found that dancers …

Did You Get My Text? How Text Emojis Impact Perceptions Of Appropriateness, Likeability, Social Dominance, And Creepiness, Sydney Booth, Emma Bourget, Gabbi Fultz, Gabriel Glidden, Tom Gingras, Abby Hanson, Shaylynn Koban, Tati Scott

Research Learning Experiences (RLEs)

Does the presence/absence of certain emojis impact perceptions of the sender? How do gendered combinations of sender/recipient impact perceptions of the appropriateness of emoji use?

Six text message exchanges were composed by the lab members: a text message of a burgeoning relationship and text messages between two friends, roommates, or romantic partners. In a between-subjects design text messages were presented to one group with emojis present, and the other with different emojis or no emojis at all. The gender of the dyad (male/male, female/female, male/female) was also randomized in order to examine effects of gender on perceptions of emoji use.

Therapy Approaches Provided To Traumatized Refugee Children, Esther Ekeh

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The study examined various trauma treatments provided to traumatized refugee children and evaluated their effectiveness. Interviews were conducted with five mental health professionals, comprising two males and three females. The professionals included a psychologist at Caritas, a coordinator at Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS), a manager of an international non-governmental organization (NGO), a clinical psychologist at the Happiness Again Project, and a psychologist at an NGO. All interviews were conducted in person. Thematic analysis was employed to analyze the interview data. The findings revealed that play therapy and group therapy emerged as the most effective trauma treatments for traumatized refugee …

An Exploration Of The Social And Economic Factors That Influence The Mental Health Of Lgbtq College Students, Alexandria Mh Fossum

Senior Theses

LGBTQ individuals face a much higher prevalence of psychiatric disorders and mental health issues than their heterosexual, cisgender counterparts. The added academic pressures of college introduce a unique set of challenges that LGBTQ students face. This thesis includes a review of academic literature and data examining the intersections between social isolation, institutional discrimination, and financial insecurity and the effects they have on the mental health outcomes of LGBTQ college students. The paper is accompanied by a documentary consisting of a set of interviews of LGBTQ college students, giving a more personal insight into the multitude of factors that affect their …

Toxic Positivity And Perceptions Of Mental Health, Madeline E. Feltner

Senior Theses

My thesis concerns how toxic positivity, especially the type we commonly see on social media, can affect perceptions and stigma around mental health issues on college campuses. Toxic positivity is the belief that a person should always maintain a positive mindset, no matter what situation they are in, and invalidates negative emotions. Previous research shows that toxic positivity can have a negative effect on mental health, but in this thesis, I study how toxic positivity affects perceptions about others with mental health issues, willingness to interact with those with mental health issues, and self-perception. It is important to research this …

The Impact Of Digital And Traditional Coloring On Death Anxiety In Older Adults, Heejoo Roh, Elizabeth Krumrei-Mancuso, Cindy Miller-Perrin

Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium

The purpose of this study was to examine if coloring mandalas digitally or traditionally has a different impact in reducing death anxiety among older adults. Using random assignment, we compared digital (n = 22) and traditional (n = 26) coloring to a non-art distraction activity (completing a word puzzle; n = 21) for levels of death anxiety following a death anxiety induction. We hypothesized that both digital and traditional coloring conditions would result in lower levels of death anxiety compared to the non-art activity, but that traditional coloring would result in the lowest levels of death anxiety. In addition, we …

What Is Well-Being?, William Tov, Smu Office Of Research

Research@SMU Infographics

Well-being refers to all the ways one can evaluate and experience life positively. SMU Associate Professor of Psychology William Tov and his collaborators identified eight key findings about well-being and reviewed the evidence from research in psychology and a variety of other disciplines.

The Impact Of Sexual Violence On Women's Dating Lives: Understanding Enjoyment Of Sexualization Among Sexual Violence Survivors, Jaela Hardin

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

This project seeks to understand the relationship between women’s former experiences of sexual violence and their present relationship with sex. Specifically, this study seeks to identify whether women with a history of sexual violence victimization now experience enjoyment of sexualization by others – most often men - in their daily life, as well as whether these same women also engage in self-objectification. Data from a community sample of single women aged 21-30 was collected online to record women’s responses on a variety of measures related to their sex and dating life. This project also explores whether women’s responses regarding enjoyment …

We The People. Who? The Face Of Future American Politics Is Shaped By Perceived Foreignness Of Candidates Of Color, Patrizia Chirco, Tonya M. Buchanan

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of the Sciences

Pursuing a more equitable political representation of a country's demographics is essential both as a matter of principle and pragmatism (i.e., realpolitik). As such, the goal of the present study was to replicate and expand on research on the impact of voter race/ethnicity and ideology on voting behaviors and interpersonal judgments of political candidates of color from different racial and ethnic groups. After participants (N = 282) saw the same political candidate of color (randomly assigned to identify as Mexican American vs. African American), we assessed interpersonal judgments and behaviors (e.g., expertise, voting intentions), perceived Americanness, and memory for skin …

Denver Pain Authenticity Stimulus Set (D-Pass), E. Paige Lloyd, Kevin M. Summers, Christopher A. Gunderson, Rachael E. Weesner, Leanne Ten Brinke, Kurt Hugenberg, Allen R. Mcconnell

Denver Pain Authenticity Stimulus Set

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Inner Work Community: Shadow Work As Spiritual Formation, Michael Simmons

Doctor of Leadership

The NPO statement surrounding this doctoral project is that A theological, practical, and community-centered framework for shadow work is disconnected from Christian spiritual formation. This doctoral project is the culmination of a three-fold process: discovering the need for shadow work in the context of spiritual formation, designing multi-faceted virtually-based opportunities to address this need among individuals and groups, and delivering those opportunities via online courses, one-on-one shadow work, and digital content such as essays, articles, and podcasts. My vocational context is my unofficial organization, and MVP, Inner Work Community, which provides these opportunities. Inner Work Community is extended through partnerships …

Gender And Deception: Moral Perceptions And Legal Responses, Gregory Klass, Tess Wilkinson-Ryan

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Decades of social science research has shown that the identity of the parties in a legal action can affect case outcomes. Parties’ race, gender, class, and age all affect decisions of prosecutors, judges, juries, and other actors in a criminal prosecution or civil litigation. Less studied has been how identity might affect other forms of legal regulation. This Essay begins to explore perceptions of deceptive behavior—i.e., how wrongful it is, and the extent to which it should be regulated or punished—and the relationship of those perceptions to the gender of the actors. We hypothesize that ordinary people tend to perceive …

The Case Of The Disappearing Owner: Do Dogs Show Behavioral Evidence Of Violation Of Expectation?, Rita Kanagat

Theses and Dissertations

The What the Fluff challenge became a series of viral YouTube videos that started in 2018. In the videos, a person stood behind a blanket in a doorway in front of their dog and lifted and lowered the blanket revealing and obscuring themselves, and finally disappearing with a final blanket drop. The dogs’ reactions were varied but were suggestive of a violation of expectation response. We conducted a community science study that employed methodologies consistent with the What the Fluff Challenge paradigm that were conducted in the owners’ homes with their dogs. Each owner was required to run a control …