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Articles 1 - 30 of 42
Full-Text Articles in Biological Psychology
Investigating The Relationship Between Noun Classes And Plant Folk Taxonomy In Chasu Language Of Kilimanjaro Region In Tanzania, Peter Rabson Mziray
Investigating The Relationship Between Noun Classes And Plant Folk Taxonomy In Chasu Language Of Kilimanjaro Region In Tanzania, Peter Rabson Mziray
Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences
The current study investigates the relationship between noun classes and plant folk taxonomy in Chasu (G 22). The study focuses on two objectives: the first objective is to describe the plant folk taxonomy in Chasu and the second objective is to determine the relationship between noun classes and plant folk taxonomy in Chasu. Data were collected from rural villages in Same and Mwanga districts by using free listing, field interviews (jungle-walk-and-identify), and written texts containing Chasu plant names. The findings reveal that Chasu folk taxonomy reflects different ethnobotanical categories; including a unique beginner which is mmea/mimea ‘plant(s)’, and three life …
Hormonal Modulation Of Sexual Approach And Avoidance Among Women With A History Of Sexual Trauma, Anneliis Susan Sartin-Tarm
Hormonal Modulation Of Sexual Approach And Avoidance Among Women With A History Of Sexual Trauma, Anneliis Susan Sartin-Tarm
Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–
A history of sexual trauma places women at a high risk for sexual dysfunction and other health sequelae, yet the influence of ovarian hormones in this population is poorly understood. This dissertation tested the theory that the effects of ovarian hormones are mediated by cognitive approach-avoidance systems to shape sexual well-being, and that this process is moderated by sexual trauma history. This was investigated across three studies examining the menstrual cycle, hormonal contraceptive use, and menopause. Across each chapter, I present complementary evidence demonstrating that hormones interact with the interpretation of ambiguous internal and external cues with respect to sexual …
From Theory To Practice: A True-Crime Podcast, Lauren V. Peckham
From Theory To Practice: A True-Crime Podcast, Lauren V. Peckham
Senior Honors Projects
The Criminal Element is an innovative, victim-centered podcast that bridges the gap between criminological theory and real-world criminal cases. The podcast is designed as an educational resource for undergraduate Criminology and Criminal Justice students, alongside general audience members interested in learning more about criminological theory. Through the lens of true crime, this podcast is an engaging exploration of foundational and advanced theories while avoiding sensationalism and exploitation, a prevalent problem among true crime media. Each episode connects criminological theoretical concepts – such as strain, social learning, and social disorganization – to contemporary and historical cases, providing listeners with accessible and …
What Is It Like To Be A Diplomat? Reflections On Donald Griffin And Emotion, Oliver H. Turnbull
What Is It Like To Be A Diplomat? Reflections On Donald Griffin And Emotion, Oliver H. Turnbull
Animal Sentience
This commentary addresses three aspects of Donald Griffin’s work: (1) his thoughts beyond cognition, on emotion; (2) his views on the earliest origins of mind, including primitive forms of consciousness; and (3) his diplomatic use of memorable phrases to facilitate change.
The Blessed Assembly: Irreplaceable Physical Co-Presence In Worship And Healthy Hybridity Reimagined After The Pandemic In The Digital Age, Yvette, Ying Wai Lau
The Blessed Assembly: Irreplaceable Physical Co-Presence In Worship And Healthy Hybridity Reimagined After The Pandemic In The Digital Age, Yvette, Ying Wai Lau
Doctor of Pastoral Music Projects and Theses
Because of the unprecedented and unexpected force of the pandemic since 2020, most churches around the world have experienced some online worship during the lockdown of their cities or the mandated closure of the church buildings. For many people, online worship seems to be an equivalent, if not better, alternative for gathering together—a physical co-presence in worship—even after the pandemic has ended. As necessary and vital as online worship experiences have been for Christians during the pandemic, the witness of the church from Pentecost throughout Christian history indicates that gathered worship in physical spaces is irreplaceable for faith formation and …
The Power Of Polish: Exploring The Impact Of Nail Adornments On Perceptions Of Attraction, Sara Demichele
The Power Of Polish: Exploring The Impact Of Nail Adornments On Perceptions Of Attraction, Sara Demichele
Honors Theses
Understanding the significance of nail adornments in shaping perceptions of attractiveness and mate value provides insights into human behavior and preferences. In the current investigation, participants rated human nail length and color on physical attractiveness and partner desirability measures. Results revealed significant effects of nail length and color across different demographic groups. Medium-length nails consistently received higher ratings for physical attractiveness, cuteness, and partner desirability compared to short and long nails. White-colored nails were generally rated most attractive, while blue and black nails received the lowest ratings. Additionally, participants reported a moderate association between having manicured nails and feelings of …
Book Review: Kings, Conquerors, Psychopaths: From Alexander To Hitler To The Corporation, Tim Bakken
Book Review: Kings, Conquerors, Psychopaths: From Alexander To Hitler To The Corporation, Tim Bakken
Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal
The book Kings, Conquerors, Psychopaths is a survey of a vast amount of human wrongdoing. It lays bare the motivations of aggressors who wish to subjugate nations or groups of people and corporate executives and government bureaucrats who make discretionary decisions that harm people. Along with cataloging mass killings by despots and soldiers, the book includes stories about Ponzi-schemers and the deaths of automobile drivers and passengers who were killed by vehicle defects known to the manufacturer. The book posits that “[p]owerful, elite forces are trying to force us backward toward a non-democratic state, one where power, wealth, and prerogative …
A Theoretical Basis For Understanding And Researching The Relationship Between Music, Stress, And Biofeedback, Frederick Wang
A Theoretical Basis For Understanding And Researching The Relationship Between Music, Stress, And Biofeedback, Frederick Wang
Antioch University Dissertations & Theses
Music’s ability to influence emotional states and physical arousal has become an increasingly popular area of study. The wealth of literature around music and stress suggests a significant amount of interest in leveraging music to manage stress. However, as attention increases, the robustness of research becomes an increasing concern. This study investigates the current literature and proposes recommendations for the future studying of the psychological and physiological impacts of music as it relates to stress reduction. Existing literature was reviewed with a focus on the operationalization of key concepts of music and stress. The analysis showed considerable discrepancies in research …
Between Choice And Compulsion: An Examination And Critique Of The Evolution Of 'Original Sin', Matthew James Wynn
Between Choice And Compulsion: An Examination And Critique Of The Evolution Of 'Original Sin', Matthew James Wynn
Graduate Theses/Dissertations
“Why are we the way that we are?” is one of the hardest questions to answer because it requires grasping the origin of human beings. This has left philosophers and theologians in century-long debates on forming a “cosmogony of ontology” (i.e., how the origin of the universe informs the human condition). The concept, “original sin” was developed by a North African theologian named Augustine (354 – 430 CE). Augustine’s reading of Genesis 3, and inaccurate translation of Romans 5:12, taught that a person is born morally culpable for a fault antecedent to their existence. This way of thinking about the …
Event-Related Potentials Of Individuals With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Performing The Attention Network Task, P. Dennis Rodriguez, Justin E. Stauffacher
Event-Related Potentials Of Individuals With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Performing The Attention Network Task, P. Dennis Rodriguez, Justin E. Stauffacher
Midwest Social Sciences Journal
The current study sought to investigate the neural basis of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) by examining the performance of individuals with ADHD on the Attentional Networks Test (ANT) by Fan, McCandliss, Sommer, Raz, and Posner (2002), while recording electroencephalography (EEG) utilizing event-related potentials (ERP) methodology. Fifty-seven university students were divided into three groups: control, ADHD-inattentive subtype (ADHD-IA), and ADHD-combined/hyperactive impulsive subtype (ADHD-C/HI). The average peak amplitudes of the P300 waveform for each group were compared and analyzed for performance on each attention network measured by the ANT: the alerting network, the orienting network, and the executive control network. The average P3 …
Does Chronic Risperidone Administration Affect Food Reinforcement In Adulthood In Mice?, Francis Torres, Paul Soto
Does Chronic Risperidone Administration Affect Food Reinforcement In Adulthood In Mice?, Francis Torres, Paul Soto
LSU Master's Theses
Second-generation antipsychotics (SGAs) increase weight gain and food consumption in humans and non-human animals. It has been speculated that SGAs increase the reinforcing effects of food, which increases food consumption and drives weight gain. The current study evaluated the effects of risperidone on sucrose reinforcement in male and female C57BL/6J mice using economic demand assessments. Demand for sucrose was measured by varying the fixed ratio (FR) value required to produce sucrose delivery across experimental sessions using five FR values: 1, 5, 15, 30, and 45. The effects of acute risperidone administration on demand for sucrose were first assessed by orally …
Sentience In Decapods: Difficulties To Surmount, Michael L. Woodruff
Sentience In Decapods: Difficulties To Surmount, Michael L. Woodruff
Animal Sentience
In the target article Crump et al. present 8 criteria to assess whether decapods experience pain. Four of these -- sensory integration, motivational trade-offs, flexible self-protection, and associative learning -- could be used to assess sentience in general. In this commentary I discuss difficulties with using these criteria to provide evidence of sentience in decapods, particularly if this evidence is to change public opinion and policies. These difficulties are lack of evidence, the potential to eventually explain the neurobiological basis of the behaviors chosen as criteria, thereby eliminating any explanatory work for sentience, and the reluctance to bring animals that …
Is Pristine Inner Experience Linked To Biology? An Examination Of Experience Across The Menstrual Cycle Among Women With Premenstrual Distress, Alek E. Krumm
UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones
The link between mind and biology is intuitively known: We notice changes in our mood and behavior when hungry, in pain, or under the influence of substances. Yet, the specifics of this link—for example, how changes in biology affect directly apprehended conscious experience— are not well known. The present study was an exploratory attempt toward filling that gap by using a state-of-the-art, beeper-driven method for exploring directly apprehended conscious experience (Descriptive Experience Sampling; DES) across one of the most predictable and wellknown biological cycles: menstruation. We screened approximately 300 college women to identify those who reported clinically significant symptoms of …
Empathy And Fairness In Nonhuman Primates: Evolutionary Bases Of Human Morality, Colt Halter
Empathy And Fairness In Nonhuman Primates: Evolutionary Bases Of Human Morality, Colt Halter
Intuition: The BYU Undergraduate Journal of Psychology
Darwin offered an evolutionary perspective on the origins of human morality, suggesting that humans share a biological foundation with nonhuman primates. This paper reviews the current literature on moral and prosocial behaviors of nonhuman primates, specifically examining whether nonhuman primates exhibit behaviors that are typical of empathy and fairness. The literature documents that nonhuman primates exhibit empathetic behaviors regarding emotional contagion and sympathetic concern. There is also evidence that nonhuman primates have a sense of fairness, seen in their reciprocal behaviors and aversion to inequity. Taken together, this suggests that there are evolutionary roots of morality, lending empirical support to …
Exploring Tactile Art-Making With Deafblind Students And Their Families: An Opportunity For Creative Play, Alice Rodgers
Exploring Tactile Art-Making With Deafblind Students And Their Families: An Opportunity For Creative Play, Alice Rodgers
Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses
The impact of a deafblind diagnosis on an individual’s mental health and the well-being of the family involved can be profound. However, current research and available literature for the mental health treatment and therapy practices of deafblind persons and their families is limited (Kyzar et al., 2016; “WFDB Global Report 2018,” n.d.). This thesis used the Leeds Family Psychology and Therapy Service principles (Leeds FPTS) and the Expressive Therapies Continuum with established deafblind teaching strategies to facilitate an original arts-based community project entitled: “Things We Like.” This project provided an opportunity for deafblind students (ages three to 22) and their …
Covid-19, Evolution, Brains And Psychology, Frederick Toates
Covid-19, Evolution, Brains And Psychology, Frederick Toates
Animal Sentience
Attention needs to be directed to the processes that control behavior in humans and the adaptive problems that they solved in our early evolutionary environment. The evolutionary mismatch between the current environment and the human brain can yield important insights into the problems that beset us in the context of environmental degradation and nonhuman animal welfare.
Mechanisms Of Value-Biased Prioritization In Fast Sensorimotor Decision Making, Kivilcim Afacan-Seref
Mechanisms Of Value-Biased Prioritization In Fast Sensorimotor Decision Making, Kivilcim Afacan-Seref
Dissertations and Theses
In dynamic environments, split-second sensorimotor decisions must be prioritized according to potential payoffs to maximize overall rewards. The impact of relative value on deliberative perceptual judgments has been examined extensively, but relatively little is known about value-biasing mechanisms in the common situation where physical evidence is strong but the time to act is severely limited. This research examines the behavioral and electrophysiological indices of how value biases split-second perceptual decisions and the possible mechanisms underlying the process. In prominent decision models, a noisy but statistically stationary representation of sensory evidence is integrated over time to an action-triggering bound, and value-biases …
Blood, Meth, And Tears: The Super Soldiers Of World War Ii, Nicholas Racine
Blood, Meth, And Tears: The Super Soldiers Of World War Ii, Nicholas Racine
MAD-RUSH Undergraduate Research Conference
Day and night, soldiers in World War II were physically and mentally strained by fatigue and psychiatric distress. Consequently, many soldiers were left exhausted and demoralized. War efforts hinged on soldiers succeeding in missions, thus a fast-acting solution was needed. Development of the psychostimulant drugs Benzedrine and Pervitin in the 1920s and 30s spurred enthusiasm among scientists, the media, the public, and various governments. Potent and powerful, these drugs exert effects that promote wakefulness, elevated mood, and improved field performance. Governments quickly began researching use of stimulants to improve their war efforts. By the early 40s, both drugs had millions …
“Flowing Along The Wall”: Anarcha-Feminist Bioethics And Resistance In Octavia E. Butler’S Dawn 2019., Theresa Mendez
“Flowing Along The Wall”: Anarcha-Feminist Bioethics And Resistance In Octavia E. Butler’S Dawn 2019., Theresa Mendez
Master's Theses
Science fiction (sf) texts conversant with the temporal play between past, present, and future push readers to imagine the extremes of human and environmental existence, interaction, and potential. Simultaneously, despite the sf genre’s tendency to traffic in extremes, these texts provoke readers to consider the ways in which these imagined worlds are grounded in history as well as in the contemporary social moment. As Donna Haraway has argued, “the boundary between science fiction and social reality is an optical illusion” (306). This illusory boundary must continue to be traversed in order to consider how sf literatures, particularly those which imagine …
Our Brains Make Us Out To Be Unique In Ways We Are Not, Matthew J. Criscione, Julian Paul Keenan
Our Brains Make Us Out To Be Unique In Ways We Are Not, Matthew J. Criscione, Julian Paul Keenan
Animal Sentience
Humans have long viewed themselves in a favorable light. This bias is consistent with a general pattern of self-enhancement. Neural systems in the medial prefrontal cortex underlie this way of thinking, which, even when false, may be beneficial for survival. It is hence not surprising that we often disregard contrary evidence in believing ourselves superior.
Sentience Is The Foundation Of Animal Rights, Michael L. Woodruff
Sentience Is The Foundation Of Animal Rights, Michael L. Woodruff
Animal Sentience
Chapman & Huffman argue that the cognitive differences between humans and nonhuman animals do not make humans superior to animals. I suggest that humans have domain-general cognitive abilities that make them superior in causing uniquely complex changes in the world not caused by any other species. The ability to conceive of and articulate a claim of rights is an example. However, possession of superior cognitive ability does not entitle humans to superior moral status. It is sentience, not cognitive complexity, that is the basis for the assignment of rights and the protections under the law that accompany them.
Yardwork: A Biography Of An Urban Place By Daniel Coleman, Vivian M. Hansen
Yardwork: A Biography Of An Urban Place By Daniel Coleman, Vivian M. Hansen
The Goose
Review of Daniel Coleman's Yardwork: A Biography of an Urban Place.
Findings Of An Effect Of Gender, But Not Handedness, On Self-Reported Motion Sickness Propensity, Ruth E. Propper, Frederick Bonato, Leanna Ward, Kenneth Sumner
Findings Of An Effect Of Gender, But Not Handedness, On Self-Reported Motion Sickness Propensity, Ruth E. Propper, Frederick Bonato, Leanna Ward, Kenneth Sumner
Department of Psychology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works
Discrepant input from vestibular and visual systems may be involved in motion sickness; individual differences in the organization of these systems may, therefore, give rise to individual differences in propensity to motion sickness. Non-right-handedness has been associated with altered cortical lateralization of vestibular function, such that non-right-handedness is associated with left hemisphere, and right-handedness with right hemisphere, lateralized, vestibular system. Interestingly, magnocellular visual processing, responsible for motion detection and ostensibly involved in motion sickness, has been shown to be decreased in non-right-handers. It is not known if the anomalous organization of the vestibular or magnocellular systems in non-right-handers might alter …
Chickens Play To The Crowd, Cinzia Chiandetti
Chickens Play To The Crowd, Cinzia Chiandetti
Animal Sentience
The time was ripe for Marino’s review of chickens’ cognitive capacities. The research community, apart from expressing gratitude for Marino’s work, should now use it to increase public awareness of chickens’ abilities. People’s views on many animals are ill-informed. Scientists need to communicate and engage with the public about the relevance and societal implications of their findings.
Do Different Music Genres Differentially Affect Autonomic Activity? How Music And Sound Affect Autonomic Activity Aroused By Visual Stimuli, Andrew Manson
Online Theses and Dissertations
The primary researcher sought to determine whether different genres of music would differentially influence measures of autonomic nervous system activity (heart rate, galvanic skin response) while viewing visual stimuli in a sample of college students. All participants listened to the same songs and music genres and viewed the same International Affective Picture System (IAPS) images. Autonomic nervous system activity was recorded by attaching electrodes to participants' non-dominant hand and torso. Music order presentation and picture order presentation were randomly determined by E-Prime. Heart rate and skin conductance responses were both significant, with melodic metal music inducing greater intensity of responses …
Sentience In Fishes: More On The Evidence, Michael L. Woodruff
Sentience In Fishes: More On The Evidence, Michael L. Woodruff
Animal Sentience
In my target article, I argued that the brains of ray-finned fishes of the teleost subclass (Actinopterygii) are sufficiently complex to support sentience — that these fishes have subjective awareness of interoceptive and exteroceptive sense experience. Extending previous theories centered on the tectum, I focused on the organization of the fish pallium. In this Response to the commentaries, I clarify that I do not propose that the fish pallium is, or must be, homologous to the mammalian neocortex to play a role in sentience. Some form of a functionalist approach to explaining the neural basis of sentience across taxa is …
Why Do We Care?: A Natural History Of Noddings’ Ethical Theory, Walter Jason Niedermeyer
Why Do We Care?: A Natural History Of Noddings’ Ethical Theory, Walter Jason Niedermeyer
Between the Species
Noddings’ theory of caring, which is nearing its 35th anniversary, has failed to garner the attention of the more classical theories of ethics. This slight may be due to its relative youth, or the historical support for other constructs, but if examined through the lens of evolutionary biology, the validity of Noddings might be tested. Using recent discoveries from the emerging fields of cognitive ethology and neuroscience, I have evaluated whether there exists evolutionary underpinnings for her theory. My analysis makes it apparent that the empathy and altruism required for the practice of caring are as much a product …
A New Taxonomy Of Altruism In Terms Of Prosocial Behaviors, Kristin Kaiser
A New Taxonomy Of Altruism In Terms Of Prosocial Behaviors, Kristin Kaiser
Dialogue & Nexus
The definition of altruism has been studied, explained, and even confused by many scholars in various fields. The term itself has been inappropriately used to describe prosocial behaviors that do not fall within the definition of altruism. An evaluation of Grant Ramsey’s taxonomy of altruism, which includes biological altruism, psychological altruism, and helping altruism, proves that it is not adequate in categorizing organism’s behaviors. A new taxonomy, with the branches of kin selection, reciprocity, and aesthetic altruism, is presented and explained to clarify the definition of altruism and alleviate confusion about how to describe prosocial behaviors. Both naming systems are …
Alleged Insanity: Frank Johnson Sr., Racial Injustice, And The Failure Of The Mental Health Care System In South Carolina, Jonathon P. Johnson
Alleged Insanity: Frank Johnson Sr., Racial Injustice, And The Failure Of The Mental Health Care System In South Carolina, Jonathon P. Johnson
Senior Theses
This thesis is about Frank Johnson Sr. and the circumstances that led to his downfall as a farmer and father of six, to his tragic death in the isolation of a racially segregated mental institution 18 miles away from his home. Using his life and incarceration at the South Carolina State Park mental health facility, I argue that racial injustice contributed to his tragic death and the woefully inadequate treatment thousands of African Americans in South Carolina received during Jim Crow. Additionally, I argue that the tragic circumstances around my great grandfather’s institutionalization and death were part of an enduring …
Perseverance: Psychospiritual And Genetic Perspectives, Tony N. Jelsma, Arielle Johnston, Bruce Vermeer
Perseverance: Psychospiritual And Genetic Perspectives, Tony N. Jelsma, Arielle Johnston, Bruce Vermeer
Faculty Work Comprehensive List
Perseverance constitutes a quality that motivates humankind to press onward usually in the face of significant adversity and resistance. Perseverance is also important in the Christian life. The apostle Paul, using athletic training metaphors, frequently urges his readers to persevere in the faith, even describing his own life as a fight and a race (2 Tim.4:7). Yet, certain groups of people seem to possess a greater measure of perseverance than others have. We are therefore led to ask, “Can our ability to persevere be, in God’s providence, at least partly genetically influenced?”