Psychology Commons^™

Observing The Transformation Of Sketches When Rendered In Different Scenarios, Cade Fallaw

Senior Theses

The purpose of the project was to see how a single image of my house transformed when I drew multiple iterations of it under different conditions. Each condition was applied to the artist (me); either by limiting my physical state or by creating a specific mental frame that I drew from. This project consists of 31 sketches of my house: 24 of them were drawn with applied conditions and 7 were drawn from memory. As expected, the greatest differences between the drawings occurred when a greater constraint was placed on the artist, such as when I drew using three different …

The Psychology Of Dance Medicine: Self-Perception Of Dancers, Karina Desai

Senior Theses

Derived from sports medicine, dance medicine is a subcategory that focuses on the health and well-being of dancers on a scientific and medical level. Dancers are considered “elite” athletes and artists, which requires this specific niche of medicine to study the injuries and other health-related issues that develop as a result of dancers’ unique movement. Studies show that in addition to physical injuries, dancers are also susceptible to mental health issues. There are many factors of the dance environment, such as the instructor, peers, and mirrors, that alter the self-perception of dancers. Due to dancers being required to train in …

Effect Of Mood On Humor, Virginia Randall

Senior Honors Theses

Humor is a social tool that has been documented for hundreds of years with a plethora of studies being produced to attempt to piece together a comprehensive definition of the concept. Among these studies, there have been several analyses regarding the psychological, cognitive, psychobiological, and neural effects of humor, and how they are outwardly manifested. Additionally, several social contexts have been considered. In analyses of humor, several theories have been produced, many based off of figurehead concepts within the field of psychology.

Primary interest of this research study was in whether these studies and theories can support whether there is …

Toxic Masculinity: An Exploration Of Traditional Masculine Norms In Relation To Mental Health Outcomes And Help-Seeking Behaviors In College-Aged Males, Benjamin Harris

Senior Theses

This study examines the relationships between traits of toxic masculinity, mental health outcomes, and help-seeking behaviors in college-aged males. To perform this analysis, a thorough literature review was conducted, and survey data was collected and analyzed to draw conclusions and implications for future research

Putting The Self In Self-Correction: Findings From The Loss-Of-Confidence Project, Julia M. Rohrer, Warren Tierney, Eric L. Uhlmann, Lisa M. Debruine, Tom Heyman, Benedict Jones, Stefan C Schmukle, Raphael Silberzahn, Rebecca M. Willén, Rickard Carlsson, Richard E. Lucas, Julia Strand, Simine Vazire, Jessica K. Witt, Thomas R. Zentall, Christopher F. Chabris, Tal Yarkoni

Psychology Faculty Publications

Science is often perceived to be a self-correcting enterprise. In principle, the assessment of scientific claims is supposed to proceed in a cumulative fashion, with the reigning theories of the day progressively approximating truth more accurately over time. In practice, however, cumulative self-correction tends to proceed less efficiently than one might naively suppose. Far from evaluating new evidence dispassionately and infallibly, individual scientists often cling stubbornly to prior findings. Here we explore the dynamics of scientific self-correction at an individual rather than collective level. In 13 written statements, researchers from diverse branches of psychology share why and how they have …

“Don’T Confuse Patriotism With Nationalism”: A Literature Review And An Analysis Of Two Domains Of Post-Wwii Nationalism In Germany, Ashton E. Krueger

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

This thesis includes a literature review that is an examination of nationalism and patriotism as psychological constructs as well as an analysis of two post-World War II domains of nationalism in Germany. In the psychological literature, there is a very important distinction to be made between the concepts of nationalism and patriotism. As nationalism and patriotism remain relevant areas of study by scholars due to more global citizens than ever before, it is vital to understand the distinction between the two. The goal of the literature review is to demonstrate how nationalism and patriotism differ substantially, how patriotism also takes …

Ease Of Figure Reversal And Creativity, Blessing Arthur

2021 Honors Council of the Illinois Region

In Honors Psychology, I studied Figure reversals and perception. This concept intrigued me and was the reason I decided to do a research project on our ability to reverse figures based on our creativity. A study was conducted to determine the relationship between self-reported and measured creativity in the ease of figure reversal. Divergent thinking involves the thought process of generating creative ideas by exploring many possible solutions. J.P. Guilford proposed that creativity could be studied objectively and attempted to prove this through the Guilford’s Alternative Uses Task. The Alternative Uses Task involves asking a question that requires the individual …

Child Life Specialists’ Evaluation Of Hospital Playroom Design: A Mixed Method Inquiry, Nanci Weinberger, Allison Butler, Beth Mcgee, Phyllis A. Schumacher, Ryan Linn Brown

Applied Psychology Department Faculty Journal Articles

This study uses the expertise of child life specialists to identify which elements support child life goals for hospitalized children. This study can be used to inform those interested in the optimal design of hospital playrooms. Ninety child life specialists were surveyed using a photograph methodology showing five actual child life playrooms from different hospitals. The participants were asked the following: rate each playroom on 14 dimensions; describe what was liked best about each playroom; and finally, rank order the playrooms based on their ability to support child life goals. Findings show that child life specialists were able to detect …

Variable- And Person-Centered Approaches To Affect-Biased Attention In Infancy Reveal Unique Relations With Infant Negative Affect And Maternal Anxiety, Alicia Vallorani, Xiaoxue Fu, Santiago Morales, Vanessa Lobue, Kristin A. Buss, Koraly Perez-Edgar

Faculty Publications

Affect-biased attention is an automatic process that prioritizes emotionally or motivationally salient stimuli. Several models of affect-biased attention and its development suggest that it comprises an individual's ability to both engage with and disengage from emotional stimuli. Researchers typically rely on singular tasks to measure affect-biased attention, which may lead to inconsistent results across studies. Here we examined affect-biased attention across three tasks in a unique sample of 193 infants, using both variable-centered (factor analysis; FA) and person-centered (latent profile analysis; LPA) approaches. Using exploratory FA, we found evidence for two factors of affect-biased attention: an Engagement factor and a …

Bibliometric Assessment Of Extrinsic Motivation Research Trends Of The Last Six Decades, Sumra Haleem Shaikh, Shabir Hussain Khahro, Tauha Hussain Ali, Haseeb Haleem Shaikh

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Two forms of motivating hypotheses have been posited by psychologists. Motivation is broken into two forms by dualistic theories: inherent and extrinsic. The attainment of an instrumental purpose relates to Extrinsic Motivation. It has been observed that Extrinsic motivation has been a topic of research interest of the researchers due to the significance of the term. Therefore, this paper evaluates the research output on extrinsic motivation since 1960 in different fields using the Scopus database. The data were collected from the Scopus database and were analyzed using Microsoft Excel to analyze the research trends on extrinsic motivation. It is concluded …

Review Of Innumeracy In The Wild: Misunderstanding And Misusing Numbers By Ellen Peters, Gizem Karaali

Numeracy

Ellen Peters’s new book Innumeracy in the Wild: Misunderstanding and Misusing Numbers (Oxford University Press, 2020) is a whirlwind tour of psychological research on numeracy and its interactions with decision-making. The book is packed full of convincing arguments about the impact of numeracy and innumeracy on people's decisions and life outcomes, piles of supporting evidence and relevant references, and detailed expositions of multitudes of research results. Thus, it can serve the motivated reader well as a comprehensive literature review of psychologically oriented research on numeracy and decision-making.

Parental Buffering In The Context Of Poverty: Positive Parenting Behaviors Differentiate Young Children's Stress Reactivity Profiles, Samantha M. Brown, Lisa J. Schlueter, Eliana Hurwich-Reiss, Julia Dmitrieva, Elly Miles, Sarah Enos Watamura

Psychology: Faculty Scholarship

Experiencing poverty increases vulnerability for dysregulated hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis functioning and compromises long-term health. Positive parenting buffers children from HPA axis reactivity, yet this has primarily been documented among families not experiencing poverty. We tested the theorized power of positive parenting in 124 parent–child dyads recruited from Early Head Start (Mage = 25.21 months) by examining child cortisol trajectories using five samples collected across a standardized stress paradigm. Piecewise latent growth models revealed that positive parenting buffered children's stress responses when controlling for time of day, last stress task completed, and demographics. Positive parenting also interacted with income such that …

Hiv-Related Stigma: A Negative & Intersecting Life Experience, Taylor Beckwith

Modern Psychological Studies

In 2016, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) affected over 1.1 million people in the United States. Antiretroviral therapy (ART) medications have allowed HIV-positive individuals to live longer lives, but this has meant greater exposure to HIV-related stigma. This literature review examines how HIV exists as a chronic disease and how HIV-related stigma contributes to a negative life experience. The concept of intersectionality is used to analyze the overlapping identities of (a) gay, bisexual men, (b) women, (c) and youth and adolescents. Even though individuals may be managing their diagnosis, added stress, stigma, and maladaptive coping mechanisms can lead to negative health …

Precursors And Outcomes: A Look At Mental Health In Relation To Homelessness, Mercedes Pinillo

Modern Psychological Studies

The homeless epidemic has reached new heights with over half a million individuals reporting experiencing homelessness in the past year alone. Mental health problems such as bipolar/mood disorders, schizophrenia, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have been found as predictors of homelessness. Mental health problems such as fear, anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideations have been identified as outcomes of experiencing homelessness. Treatment options follow either the housing-first or treatment-first model. Housing-first treatments yield better and longer-lasting results of housing stability and improved mental health than treatment-first services. A lack of proper funding and mental health problems were found to be barriers …

Adaptive Decision-Making As A Mediator Between Self-Complexity And Stress, Jeremy L. Foust, Stephanie B. Richman

Modern Psychological Studies

Abstract Empirical studies have indicated a relationship between self-complexity and stress, such that greater self-complexity is associated with reduced stress. In addition, previous research has suggested that greater self-complexity allows for more advantageous decisions. Finally, previous studies have demonstrated a bidirectional relationship between adaptive decision-making and stress, such that increased stress is associated with a decreased ability to make adaptive decisions, which, in turn, increases future stress. However, no research to date has examined the mechanism behind these relationships. We hypothesized that greater self-complexity would lead to less stress and this relationship would be mediated by increased adaptive decision-making. Fifty-six …

Relationship Of Child Sexual Abuse Survivor Self-Perception Of Consent To Current Functioning, Nathan R. Daly

Theses and Dissertations

In 1998 Rind, Tromovitch and Bauserman conducted a meta-analysis using a college sample which challenged the prevailing belief that childhood sexual abuse (CSA) has inherent deleterious effects. Resultantly, the authors proposed alternative terminology (e.g., child-adult sex), without adequate investigation into what distinguishes child-adult sex from CSA. In response, the current study investigated the relationship between CSA, consent and adult functioning in a college sample. The sample consisted of 297 undergraduate college students, ranging in age from 18 to 63-years-old. Data was collected at a mid-sized university in the southeastern United States. The measures utilized in the study include the Symptom …

Understanding And Improving Coordination Efficiency In The Minimum Effort Game: Counterfactual- And Behavioral-Based Nudging And Cognitive Modeling, Alexander R. Hough

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Individuals often need to coordinate with others to pursue and achieve goals. However, individuals often fail to coordinate on any choice or on efficient (i.e., higher reward) choices. Researchers addressing coordination failure often used invasive methods ranging in complexity and generalizability with minimal success. There are also no clear measures for coordination behaviors. Here, I used a more parsimonious and generalizable method: Using counterfactuals (i.e., hypothetical outcomes had they or other players chosen differently) to nudge (i.e., indirectly guide and allow for free choice) individuals towards choosing options that are more likely to result in efficient coordination. I simulated a …

Ecological Interface Design For Flexible Manufacturing Systems: An Empirical Assessment Of Direct Perception And Direct Manipulation In The Interface, Dylan G. Cravens

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Four interfaces were developed to factorially apply two principles of ecological interface design (EID; direct perception and direct manipulation) to a flexible manufacturing system (FMS). The theoretical foundation and concepts employed during their development, with findings related to more significant issues regarding interface design for complex socio-technical systems, are discussed. Key aspects of cognitive systems engineering (CSE) and EID are also discussed. An FMS synthetic task environment was developed, and an experiment was conducted to evaluate real-time decision support during supervisory operations. Participants used all four interfaces to supervise and maintain daily part production at systematically varied levels of difficulty …

Anger Bias In The Evaluation Of Crowds, Diana Mihalache

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Although people are good at classifying emotions, they also make mistakes. These errors tend to be negatively biased and potentially serve a protective function. Research on biases in emotion perception has largely focused on perception of individual faces and little is known about biases in evaluations of crowds. In the first investigation, I conducted six experiments, evaluating anger bias—a tendency to judge facial expressions as angry—in the context of single faces and emotionally homogenous crowds. I found that observers were biased to classify faces as angry, especially when evaluating crowds. This amplified bias emerged in the context of perceptual uncertainty …

Parental Self-Efficacy, Parenting Stress, And Mental Health Among Latina Mothers Of Young Children, Thania Galvan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Parenthood can increase the risk for mental health concerns, especially for Latina mothers. Poor maternal mental health can result in significant negative maternal and child outcomes, particularly if a mother’s mental health needs go unmet. In an attempt to better understand the factors that impact Latina mother’s mental health, this study explored the relations among parental self-efficacy, parenting stress, and mental health. It also explored mother’s self-reported resource availability and sociocultural factors as potential modifiable points of interventions in these relations.

Methods: The study was conducted using data from 132 Latina mothers that participated in a larger project examining stress …

Maternal Hpa Axis Function During Parenting Is Associated With Reduced Brain Activation To Infant Cry And More Intrusive Parenting Behavior, Andrew Erhart

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Previous research indicated that maternal cortisol function and maternal brain response to infant stimuli are separately related to differences in parenting behavior. Evidence from animal models have demonstrated that chronically high cortisol concentration alters brain structure and function, suggesting that studying these two mechanisms together may further improve understanding of parental behavior in human mothers. First time mothers of infants aged 1-7 months old (M age = 3 months) were recruited to participate. Mother’s cortisol concentration was measured during a naturalistic interaction with their infant and their behavior was coded for maternal sensitivity and nonintrusiveness. In a separate session using …

Child Abuse And Revictimization: Improving Models Of Revictimization Risk, Julie M. Olomi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Child abuse (CA) puts women at risk for later victimization by a different perpetrator, referred to as revictimization (RV); however, how this risk is conveyed is not well understood. CA is associated with a diverse set of negative sequelae (e.g., posttraumatic symptomology, emotion regulation difficulties), many of which could plausibly affect risk for RV. To date, most empirical studies of RV have mainly compared groups of women with and without abuse and RV histories using variablecentered approaches. This approach has led to a focus on differences between abused and non-abused women on a few CA-related variables tested at a time. …

Preconception Stress, Affect-Biased Attention, And Negative Affectivity: Assessing Pathways And Early Markers Of Psychopathological Risk In Infancy And Childhood, Danielle A. Swales

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The developmental origins of mental health likely begin early in life and perhaps even prior to conception. Research is needed to elucidate pathways of risk and resilience in the development of psychopathology. The goal of the current dissertation was to explore how both preconception and postnatal experiences influence negative affectivity, a robust and transdiagnostic risk factor for later psychiatric symptoms. The present dissertation accomplished this goal by completing two independent studies, each of which are presented in the format of standalone journal articles. Study one focused on evaluating how preconception experiences, specifically maternal symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), impact …

Database Of Picture-Based Cognitive Reappraisal Experiments: Analyses Of Trial-Level Factors, Damon Abraham

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Cognitive reappraisal is widely recognized as an effective emotion regulation strategy for managing negative emotions. In laboratory research, reappraisal has been shown to attenuate self-reported negative affect as well as physiological and neurological markers of emotion and arousal. In these experiments, emotionally evocative images are frequently used to induce negative affect in participants. Depending on the trial condition, participants are instructed to either look and react naturally or to change their experience using reappraisal. Data are typically aggregated within trial condition, and the average difference in reported negative affect between conditions serves as the behavioral measure of reappraisal success. While …

Investigating The Relationship Between Ethics Program Components, Individual Attributes, And Perceptions Of Ethical Climate, Aaron Buchanan

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Though research has identified common outcomes of ethical work climates, less is known regarding its antecedents. Situational components such as ethics programs and individual, moral-related variables such as moral identity and moral attentiveness may influence the way employees perceive the ethical climate of their organization. I conducted t-tests and calculated bivariate correlations to determine if there were significant relationships between ethics program components, individual moral-related variables and ethical climate dimensions. My results (N = 422 recruited from Mechanical Turk) revealed that ethics program components and individual, moral-related variables are significantly related to multiple dimensions of ethical climate. Most significant relationships …

The Psychological And Technological Intersectionality In Game Design And Development, Nicholas Saladino

Undergraduate Honors College Theses 2016-

Over the past number of decades, video games and game design have been evolving and pushing technology forward. This is quite obvious when comparing the original Pong (1972) to God of War (2018). Pong is a simple recreation of table tennis, on the other hand, God of War is a large-scale action-adventure game with highly realistic graphics. What brings these two games together is that they are both meant for a player to enjoy. At the time of each game’s creation, the developers were utilizing the available technology to its fullest. While technology has been advancing, the psychology and philosophy …

Testing The Impact Of Intrinsic Motivation On Employee Engagement And Exploring Age And Tenure As Moderators

The Graduate Review

No abstract provided.

School Psychology Shortages In West Virginia, Elizabeth Anne Sutfin

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The United States continues to experience a shortage of school psychologists nationwide which has been found to impact both students and school psychologists in negative ways. There is a broad scope of practice that school psychologists are competently able to provide but are physically unable to deliver because of their need to focus on required assessments and testing. Overwhelming workloads can create stress and lead to burnout. However, little research has been done to understand the shortage of school psychologists in the country, including the state of West Virginia. To better understand West Virginia’s shortage problem, this researcher conducted a …

Psychology Of Adolescence, Brent Maximin

Open Educational Resources

No abstract provided.

Diagnosis Disclosure: The Impact Of Gender And Stigma, Sarah E. Gerrish

Modern Psychological Studies

Existing literature has indicated that there may be a relationship between diagnosis disclosure and gender as it has been asserted that men and women perceive the diagnosis of a mental health disorder differently. Specifically, men report higher levels of perceived stigma when considering a mental health diagnosis and women report a higher likelihood of disclosing a mental health diagnosis to others. The purpose of this current study was to investigate how individuals perceive an illness diagnosis disclosure via an online survey as it was hypothesized that men would be less likely than women to disclose any illness and that all …