Psychology Commons^™

Music Perception And Speech Perception Have Different Sensitivities To Acoustic Variability, Kate Criner, Anya Shorey, Christian Stilp

The Cardinal Edge

Word recognition is faster and/or more accurate when listening to a single talker than to multiple talkers in random orders. Subsequent research revealed that perception is challenged more by different-sounding talkers (in terms of voice pitch) than similar-sounding talkers. This experiment tested the extension of these findings to musical instrument perception. Listeners completed six blocks: three blocks of word recognition (by one talker, four similar-sounding talkers [similar voice pitch], four different-sounding talkers [varying voice pitch]) and three blocks of pitch labeling (by one instrument, four similar-sounding musical instruments [wind instruments with similar attacks and spectra], four different-sounding musical instruments [differing …

The Psychological Effects Of Discriminations In Sexual And Gender Minority Individuals: A Qualitative Analysis, Kameryn S. Freeman, Konrad Bresin, Julia Nicholas

The Cardinal Edge

Sexual and gender minority (SGM) individuals experience minority stressors (e.g., rejection, discrimination, and victimization) that may negatively impact their mental health. This study used a mixed-methods approach to identify common themes across minority stress experiences and explore whether reflecting on these themes elicits changes in effect.

N = 25 undergraduate students with an SGM identity completed the study for course credit. Participants wrote about an instance of SGM discrimination that they experienced, witnessed, or heard about. Participants self-reported their positive and negative effects before and after writing. Participants’ stories were analyzed qualitatively to identify common themes. Correlations were calculated between …

The Impact Of Telepractice On Voice Production In Normal Hearing Children, Rachael Walsh, Yesenia Rodriguez Cruz, Maria Kondaurova

The Cardinal Edge

Telepractice is a growing service model that delivers aural rehabilitation services to deaf and hard of hearing children at a distance via telecommunications technology. Research suggests that when there is a physical barrier in communication there is an increase in vocal effort in children with and without hearing loss. The aim of the current study is to examine the effect of telepractice on voice production in normal-hearing (NH) children to enhance intervention effectiveness. Ten normal-hearing children (mean age = 10.4 years, age range 8-12 years) came to participate in four sessions, 2 in-person and 2 tele, order counterbalanced. Each session …

Cultural And Personal Inheritance: Generational Trauma In Madeline Miller's Circe, Emily Stucky

The Cardinal Edge

Madeline Miller’s Circe, Miller considers varying perspectives on a well-known character—one who has been vilified as a monster, recast as a feminist icon, and rewritten into a variety of spaces in between. As part of this continuous narrative, Miller draws on the inherently hybrid space of Circe’s character to construct her as a product of her multi-faceted lineage. A character with so many identities makes for a complicated subject, but Miller utilizes this plurality to her advantage, deliberately casting Circe as a product of multiple backgrounds—occupying both the space of oppressor and oppressed—to both compound her status as a …

Objective Bat Phenomenology, Thomas Nagel

Animal Sentience

Our discussions prompted Donald Griffin to campaign for the recognition of animal consciousness as a subject for scientific investigation. Ristau shows how much has since been discovered about the experiences of bats and other creatures, by Griffin and others, in spite of the limits to full knowledge imposed by our biological differences. But Ristau seriously misrepresents me as holding that we can know nothing about what it is like to be a bat, whereas these results are precisely of the kind I envisioned in proposing an “objective phenomenology.”

Navigating Crisis: The Intersection Of Politics, Culture, And Suicide In South Korea And Japan, Natasha A. Burke

Honors College Theses

Suicide is an important global issue, and there need to be measures put in place to help prevent such a problem. Existing literature finds that culture and politics do significantly impact suicide rates. I assess how the perceptions of suicide differ from culture to culture and how culture plays a role in the rates of suicide and reasons for it. I also examine at how socioeconomic status, unemployment, and economics affect people as well. In this study, I research how politics and culture affect suicide rates in Asia, specifically how politics and culture influence suicide rates in South Korea and …

Volunteer Perceptions Of Commitment In A Humanitarian Organization Involved With Nigerian Community Development Projects, Olaitan Ojuroye

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Research has shown that output from volunteers is unpredictable and uncontrollable, rendering strategic planning futile for organizations. This study explored adult volunteers' lived experiences regarding their perceptions of commitment to a humanitarian organization involved with Nigerian community development projects. Identifying why volunteers adopted attitudes was essential to support the organization's development and promote the community's development by helping practitioners better understand the volunteers and deploy them more appropriately. The framework that grounded this study included psychological contract theory, organizational commitment, and social undermining. This interpretative phenomenological analysis study involved a purposeful sample of 10 adult volunteers who participated in semistructured …

Perceptions Of Effectiveness Of Eye Movement Desensitized And Reprocessing For Those Diagnosed With Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Megan C. Stefanelli

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) is a short-term psychotherapy approach first introduced in 1987 by Francine Shapiro. Currently, EMDR is only a first-line treatment to relieve symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, this treatment modality could be expanded to generalized anxiety disorder if additional research was available. Further, research has demonstrated the effectiveness of EMDR from a quantitative perspective; however, there has been scarce research supporting the use of EMDR as a first-line treatment approach from a qualitative perspective. This hermeneutic qualitative study aimed to explore the psychological and physiological effects of EMDR on the brain from a …

Exploring Mental Health Providers' Willingness To Integrate Digital Applications For Gen-Z Students, Chanlinee Karawek

Undergraduate Research Symposium Lightning Talks

Mental health services have expanded significantly throughout recent years, alongside the virtualization of said services since the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, digital mental health applications (DMHAs) are now widely available. Generation-Z college students are a demographic that both grew up with this technology and is associated with a high risk of mental illness development during their time in higher education. Integration of familiar technology and necessary mental health services could potentially help address their unique psychological needs. This study explores mental healthcare providers’ perspectives on incorporating DMHAs into their therapy services to Gen-Z college students. An anonymous survey was …

Climate Change And Its Effects On Maternal Mental Health, Sara Cordero

Undergraduate Research Symposium Lightning Talks

Climate change refers to long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns primarily caused by human activities, which have facilitated more climate crises, such as floods, wildfires, hurricanes, etc. They tend to have the greatest effect on vulnerable populations, such as women and children. This study is aimed to view how climate change-related environmental stressors impact the mental health and well-being of mothers. A scoping literature review approach was used by analyzing scientific databases (i.e. APA-Psycinfo, Scopus, PRIMO) to find peer-reviewed papers that studied the effects of extreme weather events and climate change on maternal mental health. Results suggest that hurricanes, …

The Utilization Of String Pulling To Determine Female Rats' Dual Cognitive Motor Task Performance Following Space Flight Stressor Exposure, Doc-Haden Rodgers, Nicole M. Atttallah, Teresa L. Garcia, Nuhamine A. Moges, N. A. Moges, K. D. Omengan, J. F. Cortez, K. S. Dhede, A. A. Blackwell

Undergraduate Research Symposium Posters

During deep space exploration, astronauts depend on mission-essential performance in Dual Cognitive Motor Tasks (DCMT), such as receiving information from ground control to assemble and configure wires during a spacewalk. DCMT relies upon processing cognitive and motor information simultaneously. Previous research on rodent models has shown various impairments in cognition and motor function in separate tasks after exposure to deep space radiation and sleep fragmentation (SF). However, an assessment of DCMT performance in rodents has not been established. Rats and humans use similar hand-over-hand movements to pull a string, and task demands may be varied to assess cognition and motor …

The Characterization Of Cooperative String-Pullung Behavior In Rats After Exposure To Space Flight Stressors, Teresa L. Garcia, Nuhamine A. Moges, Sierra Ordonez, Nicole M. Attallah, D. H. Rodgers, A. Adhikari, K. D. Omengan, D. Lloyd, S. L. Gleed, A. A. Blackwell

Undergraduate Research Symposium Posters

Astronauts work cooperatively to complete tasks on missions through deep space where they will experience stressors, including radiation and sleep fragmentation, that may impair performance. Animals work together to achieve a common goal during cooperative tasks using string-pulling behaviors. While string-pulling behavior has revealed deficits in rat sensorimotor function after exposure to space flight stressors, it has yet to be determined if rats will engage in cooperative string-pulling or if these stressors will influence cooperation. Thus, to explore how space flight stressors impact cooperative behavior, female Wistar rats were exposed to either sham (n = 8) or 10 centi-grays of …

Latina Maternal Anxiety And Early Child Development: A Scoping Review, Micaela Gigena

Undergraduate Research Symposium Posters

Latina mothers' mental health struggles, particularly anxiety, can significantly impact their children's development. In Latino culture, stigma and shame surrounding mental health discussions often prevent individuals from seeking help, which can exacerbate effects. This scoping review aims to examine currently available research on the impact of maternal anxiety on early child development in Latina populations across North America, South America, and the Caribbean. A literature search was performed to find relevant peer-reviewed and grey literature through five electronic databases. Out of 469 results, 33 relevant studies were identified for full-text screening. Data will be extracted to explore the association between …

The Role Of Uncertainty In Illness: Insights Into Psychological Adjustment In Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, Theresa A. Skojec

MUSC Theses and Dissertations

There are currently few studies that directly explore the relationship between uncertainty in illness and psychological adjustment to Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE), highlighting a critical gap in understanding how patients cope with and adjust to the emotional and mental challenges posed by this chronic condition. This dissertation comprises three manuscripts focused on filling this knowledge gap. The first is an integrative review guided by Mishel’s Uncertainty in Illness Theory, which examines how uncertainty affects patients' psychological and emotional well-being during illness and explores strategies to manage or reduce this uncertainty. The integrative review included 27 publications that examined uncertainty in …

Teachers’ Perceptions Of Job Stress And Its Meaning On Intent To Remain At A Title I School, Salmata Saaka-Lyons

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The shortage of teachers in Title I schools undermines educational equity and quality in underserved communities, necessitating concerted efforts from educators, policymakers, and local communities. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of Title I teachers regarding job stress and its meaning on their decisions to remain in the profession and within Title I environments. Grounded in Lazarus and Folkman’s transactional theory of stress and coping and Bakker and Demerouti’s job demands-resources model, the study explored how perceived job stress shapes teachers’ commitment to their roles. An interpretative phenomenological analysis was employed to analyze …

Experience Of Stress And Coping Among Male Police Officers In Trinidad And Tobago, Coryse Penco

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Police officers in Trinidad and Tobago face highly stressful environments due to increasing violent crimes and threats to their lives. Organizational stress contributes to emotional exhaustion, highlighting the need for research on stress and coping among these officers. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore job-related stressors and coping strategies that male police officers in Trinidad and Tobago use to deal with their everyday job demands. Han Selye’s theory of stress and Lazarus’ transactional model of stress and coping were used as theoretical frameworks for this study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 male police officers from …

Initiation Of Hearing Aids Use And Incident Dementia Among Mid-To-Late Life Adults: The Health And Retirement Study 2010-2018, Jingkai Wei, Kun Li, Youngran Kim, Rahul Ghosal, Donglan Zhang, Anwar T Merchant, Casey Crump

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Hearing aids may reduce the risk of dementia among individuals with hearing loss. However, no evidence is available from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on the effectiveness of hearing aids use in reducing incident dementia. Using target trial emulation, we leveraged an existing longitudinal cohort study to estimate the association between hearing aids initiation and risk of dementia.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: The Health and Retirement Study was used to emulate target trials among non-institutionalized participants aged ≥50 years with self-reported hearing loss, without dementia at baseline, and without use of hearing aids in the previous 2 years. …

The Ongoing Manipulation Game Of The Culinary World, Evelyn Graham

Undergraduate Scholarly Works

Consumers are rarely aware of how much work actually goes into the enjoyment of their food. It is common knowledge that restaurant owners put a lot of work into their art, we can see this in the food they put forth, but so much is missed behind the scenes in the manipulation of the consumers' senses. Flavor perception is often confused for the simplicity of taste, however, I argue flavor perception is a complex construct of multisensory interactions, intentionally placed to influence consumers' purchasing behaviors. The combination of sights, scents, textures, sounds, and tastes work together to create the brain's …

Motivational Dysregulation With Melanocortin 4 Receptor Haploinsufficiency, Alex M. Steiner, Robert F. Roscoe, Rosemarie M. Booze, Charles F. Mactutus

Faculty Publications

Obesity, by any standard, is a global health crisis. Both genetic and dietary contributions to the development and maintenance of obesity were integral factors of our experimental design. As mutations of the melanocortin 4 receptors (MC4R) are the leading monogenetic cause of obesity, MC4R haploinsufficient rats were fed a range of dietary fat (0–12 %) in a longitudinal design. Physiological and motivational assessments were performed using a locomotor task, a 5-choice sucrose preference task, an operant task with fixed and progressive ratios, as well as a distraction operant task. Dendritic spine morphology of medium spiny neurons (MSNs) of the nucleus …

Moving From Traits To The Dynamic Process: The Next Steps In Research On Human Resilience, Yannick Hill, Michael L. Dolezal, Patric C. Nordbeck, Ruud J. R. Den Hartigh, David Pincus, Adam W. Kiefer, Bernard P. Ricca

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

The current literature on resilience shows a trend toward a dynamic process conceptualization, moving away from the previous trait-approach. However, the term “dynamic” is increasingly treated as a buzzword and is thereby oversimplified in the literature. The aim of this article is to develop a unified language pertaining to resilience as a dynamic process, so as to ensure progress in this field. First, we briefly introduce the traditional trait approach alongside the implicit assumption on which it is built. Next, we contrast this approach by discussing what dynamics entail and how this approach differs from mainstream psychological approaches. Specifically, dynamics …

The Ensemble Code As A Constructed Working Memory, Jacob Zepp

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation formalizes and refines a new theory of ensemble coding: the Non-Selective Transfer Model. Within this theory, ensemble codes and subsequent summary judgments are the result of representations constructed over a subset of information that is encoded into working memory. The work begins with a brief review of current ideas present within the ensemble coding literature, followed by a set of formalized descriptions of ensemble coding theories that have been proposed. A discussion of relevant theories present in the working memory literature is also provided to motivate the structure of the subsequent model. The Non-Selective Transfer Model 2 is …

An Exploratory Study On The Impact Of Vicarious Trauma On Physician’S Psychological Flexibility, Distress Tolerance, Perceived Social Support, And Self-Care, Ramya Kantharaj

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

There have been increased rates of depression, suicide, and burnout over the last several years among medical physicians. In fact, in most healthcare systems, physicians report greater incidences of depression and anxiety compared to the broader population, as well as compared to others within the medical field (Gerada, 2018). Their rigorous work style and various risk factors predispose this population to worse mental health outcomes. Additionally, societal stigmas may cause many physicians to avoid mental health treatments (Mehta & Edwards, 2018). Ultimately, poor mental health outcomes can impact physicians' clinical work with patients. On the other hand, when physicians can …

The Role Of Neighborhood Unemployment On Oxford House Sustainability, Alexa Nieder

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Recovery homes are important in the continuum of care for individuals with substance use disorders. Oxford Houses facilitate recovery processes, foster community, and reduce relapse rates by providing supportive housing to individuals seeking recovery. Research suggests that financial limitations act as a barrier to the maintenance or sustainability of evidence-based interventions. Therefore, neighborhood unemployment may negatively impact the longevity of recovery homes. House size could have an influence on this relationship. This research relied on census data from the 2020 American Community Survey to examine unemployment at the neighborhood level using zip codes inhabiting Oxford Houses. Results reveal that percent …

A Systematic Exploration Of Theoretical, Conceptual, And Methodological Alignment Of Social Network Analysis In Organizational Behavior, Morgan Gleason Miller

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

This systematic review examines how Social Network Analysis (SNA) is used in the study of Organizational Behavior (OB). Industrial-Organizational Psychology Literature suggests SNA tends to be applied using either a structural or relational approach (Erikson, 2013). Some researchers claim that this methodology is applied inconsistently due to the intermingling of two distinct underlying frameworks and the exclusion of individual differences and interpersonal factors limits the relevance of SNA (Erikson, 2013; Kilduff & Lee, 2020). Results indicate the structural perspective is slightly dominant across the use of SNA, but the use of both frameworks is increasing. Directionally, study methods aligned with …

Clutter And Control: A Regional Analysis Of The Effect Of Decluttering, Zachary Henry Ellis

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

The Covid pandemic impacted the whole nation, with 72% of Americans reported disruption in their everyday lives, and 45% of Americans reported negative health impacts in response to the pandemic (Kirzinger et al. 2020). However, there are some populations of citizens that are more vulnerable to the negative mental health effects of the pandemic (Czeisler et al. 2020). Fear and psychological reactance, triggered when individuals feel their freedoms are threatened, surged during the pandemic (Taylor and Asmundson, 2021; Wortman & Brehm, 1975). Yet, little research explores how decluttering projects affect this behavior.

The current study explored the impact of successful …

Pro-Environmental Organizational Climates: Implications For Employees, Organizations, And The Environment, Nicholas Carruth

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Psychological research on climate change often focuses on driving adaptive individual behaviors in nonspecific contexts. Focusing on contexts where group-level behavior emerges (e.g., workplaces) is likely to yield insights that affect more significant numbers of people, in turn, having a greater impact on the natural environment. This study, therefore, explored the implications of a new operationalization of pro-environmental work climate, Organizational Climate for Environmental Action (OCEA). Participants (N = 393) responded to an online survey. Pro-environmental climate was positively associated with employee pro-environmental behaviors at work and organizational commitment over and above several work characteristics. Pro-environmental climate also fully …

The Mediating Effect Of Recognizing Racism And Biases Within The Workplace: Cross-Race Friendships And Allyship Behaviors, Amber Kaiser

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

In this study, engagement in allyship behaviors were tested in a sample of part- and full-time workers that worked either in a fully in-person or hybrid work environment. Participants (N = 271) responded to an online survey. Drawing on friendship and intergroup contact theories, the effect of cross-race friendships on allyship behaviors was tested. Recognition of racism and biases was proposed as the distinct candidate mediator in this relationship. All constructs consisted of individual measures, each tested through a series of linear regressions and multiple mediation models. Specifically, cross-race friendships included close cross-race friendship and cross-race friendship behaviors; recognition …

Initial Reactions: Rethinking The Efficacy Of Current Contractual Practies For Consumer Protection, Sarah E. Wellard

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

To protect consumers from unfair contracts, legislatures have implemented measures requiring consumers to signal specific agreement to crucial clauses. One such common practice is requiring consumers to initial specific provisions within contracts. This dissertation investigates the efficacy of initialing and other secondary tasks in promoting consumer understanding and memory of contractual information. Through a series of three experimental studies, participants engaged in tasks involving initialing, semantic processing, or irrelevant letter-classification tasks while processing contract information. Contrary to predictions, the findings failed to show that initialing or other secondary tasks significantly improved consumer’s reported memory or understanding of contract terms, compared …

Fgf21 Acts In The Brain To Drive Macronutrient-Specific Changes In Behavioral Motivation And Brain Reward Signaling, Md Shahjalal H. Khan, Sora Q. Kim, Robert C. Ross, Florina Corpodean, Redin A. Spann, Diana A. Albarado, Sun O. Fernandez-Kim, Blaise Clarke, Hans Rudolf Berthoud, Heike Münzberg, David H. Mcdougal, Yanlin He, Sangho Yu, Vance L. Albaugh, Paul L. Soto, Christopher D. Morrison

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

Objective: Dietary protein restriction induces adaptive changes in food preference, increasing protein consumption over carbohydrates or fat. We investigated whether motivation and reward signaling underpin these preferences. Methods and Results: In an operant task, protein-restricted male mice responded more for liquid protein rewards, but not carbohydrate, fat, or sweet rewards compared to non-restricted mice. When the number of responses required to access protein reward varied, protein-restricted mice exhibited higher operant responses at moderate to high response requirements. The protein restriction-induced increase in operant responding for protein was absent in Fgf21-KO mice and mice with neuron-specific deletion of the FGF21 co-receptor …

Childless Mothers: Lived Experiences Of Black Mothers Who Lost An Only Child, Arielle Jordan

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This qualitative study, grounded in hermeneutic phenomenology, explores the experiences of Black mothers who have lost their only child, addressing a topic often overlooked in counseling training programs. Many counselor educators and supervisors are unprepared to train counselors on how best to support these mothers through their unique grief journeys. This study outcomes fill that gap by providing a deeper understanding of their experiences, intending to shape better counseling practices. The central question guiding this research is: What are the lived experiences of Black mothers who have survived the loss of their only child? To answer this, in-depth interviews were …