Cognitive Psychology Commons^™

Exploring The Effect Of Service Dogs On Ptsd Symptoms In Veterans, Lauren Floore-Guetschow

Theses and Dissertations

Utilizing psychiatric service dogs for PTSD is a relatively new area of research and treatment option for veterans. This qualitative research study aims to look at the effects of the use of psychiatric service dogs on veterans with PTSD for veterans who have or were previously receiving traditional mental health treatment. The researcher was looking to see: how does day-to-day life look for these veterans, have they noticed a change in PTSD symptoms, what are their views on mental health treatment, and how do they view being in public? 7 veterans, from a variety of conflicts and branches were interviewed …

Gender Role Conflict, Emotion Regulation, And Ptsd Symptom Severity In Acutely Injured Trauma Survivors, Katelyn Elaine Heyrman

Theses and Dissertations

Within the acutely injured population, men are at an increased risk for trauma exposure and hospitalization. Previous literature has suggested that emotional dysregulation and masculine gender roles are associated with psychological distress and maintenance of PTSD symptoms. Despite these findings, researchers have focused their attention on masculine gender roles within the Veteran and college populations. The current study aimed to assess the Gender Role Conflict within the acutely injured population and determine if emotion regulation strategy moderated the relationship between masculine gender roles and PTSD symptom severity. Participants consisted of 90 traumatically injured, cisgender males (Mage= 44.88 years; 60% White) …

Measuring Outcome Expectations In Academic Persistence, Michael Kozlowski

Theses and Dissertations

Academic persistence, or a student’s decision to leave an institution of higher education, has remained an inveterate puzzle to researchers, theoreticians, institutions, and counselors. Despite a large body of theoretical and empirical literature, the rate at which students leave institutions of higher education has remained stable over the past 50 years. The discipline of counseling psychology has a long tradition of investigating academic persistence from a psychological perspective. Earlier investigations in counseling psychology focused on identifying psychopathological traits, cognitive abilities, and contextual factors associated with a student’s decision to leave. These investigations were met with a sociological reaction that has …

Shaped By The Environment: The Influence Of Childhood Trauma Exposure, Individual Socioeconomic Position, And Neighborhood Disadvantage On Brain Morphology, Elisabeth Kathleen Webb

Theses and Dissertations

The relationship between an individual’s socioeconomic position (SEP) and their overall physical and mental health has been well demonstrated. Far less is known about how area-level factors, such as neighborhood disadvantage, “get under the skin”. Previous research indicates lower SEP and childhood trauma negatively effects brain structure and function. The hippocampus, amygdala, and ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) are particularly vulnerable to adversity. The current study investigated how individual SEP, childhood trauma, and neighborhood disadvantage impact these structures. Two-hundred and fifteen individuals were recruited from an Emergency Department in southeastern Wisconsin. Two-weeks post-traumatic injury, participants completed a structural magnetic resonance imaging …

From Playing To Directing: A Qualitative Inquiry Into The Athlete To Coach Transition, Jamie M. Zalasin

Theses and Dissertations

The following dissertation explored six (n = 6), current, professional baseball coaches' experience with transitioning from playing to coaching. Some experiences associated with athletic transitions based on the literature include missing sport or competition, body changes, social status changes, and vocational concerns (Wylleman & Reints, 2010; Park & Lavallee, 2015). Additionally, the salience of one's athletic identity can create difficulties such as identity loss, emotional distress, and grief (Lally, 2007; Fortunato & Marchant, 1998; Grove, Lavalle, & Gordon, 1997). Within vocational concerns, there can be uncertainty about the next career's link to sports. For many professional athletes, their age of …

Attention Capture By Episodic Long-Term Memories: Evidence From Eye Movement Data, Allison Eleanor Nickel

Theses and Dissertations

Successfully navigating the world on a moment-to-moment basis requires the interaction of multiple cognitive processes. Therefore, studies that examine when and how these fundamental processes interact can provide important insights into how we behave. Many studies indicate that long-term memory can facilitate search for a target object (e.g., contextual cueing), however, the ways in which long-term memory might capture attention and disrupt goal-directed behavior have not been well studied. In five experiments, questions about whether encoded objects might capture attention, even when they are task-irrelevant, were addressed. Each experiment began with an encoding phase, where participants were instructed to commit …

How Adult Christians Incorporate Their Faith With The Psychology Of Forgiveness: A Qualitative Methods Study, Sonia Marta Pinero Lucci

Theses and Dissertations

This study examines Christian adult’s perceptions, practices of, and tendencies towards the phenomenon of forgiveness. Research in the field up to this date is valuable in understanding forgiveness theory, efficacy of forgiveness models, as well as the impact of religion and spirituality on forgiveness. However, research has progressed to reduce forgiveness, as well as religion and spirituality to its parts, thus research has moved away from the complete, whole concepts of forgiveness and faith. Lately, research has attempted to fill this gap by understanding how people of faith forgive, though faith groups likely perceive and practice forgiveness differently. Therefore, the …

Flexibility Of A Conditioned Response: Exploring The Limits Of Attentional Capture By Fear, Greta Nicole Minor

Theses and Dissertations

Recent work from the attention capture literature suggests that attention may be captured by stimuli with learned aversive value, even when these fear conditioned stimuli (CS) are task-irrelevant and not physically salient. Moreover, relatively little work in the human fear conditioning literature has investigated whether conditioned fear responses can flexibly transfer to a neutral associate of a CS. We examined, for the first time, whether fear-conditioned capture effects were able to transfer to the associate of a CS. Twenty-seven participants encoded novel scene-object pairs. Following encoding, scenes were presented alone during a conditioning phase. Scenes co-terminated with shock 100% (CS100), …

Investigation Of The Relationship Between Mindfulness And Empathy In Pre-Nursing Students Exposed To A Four-Week Mindfulness Training, Debra L. Klich

Theses and Dissertations

Objective: To investigate the effects of a four-week mindfulness program on levels of mindfulness, empathy, and anxiety in a group of pre-nursing students.

Methods: This study utilized a multiple-baseline across subjects design. Results from nine study participants were examined.

Results: Data demonstrates that a detectable decrease in anxiety levels can result from participation in self-directed mindfulness program as short as four weeks. Results regarding mindfulness and empathy levels were less conclusive. A specific relationship between empathy and mindfulness cannot be determined from this study.

Conclusions: Because previous studies have demonstrated a persistence of skills, practice, and benefits acquired through mindfulness …

Cholesterol: A Possible Mediator Of Apoe Risk For Alzheimer's Disease, Michelle Marie Dunk

Theses and Dissertations

Despite the well-established link between the ε4 allele of the apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene and AD, the underlying mechanisms that mediate the risk of developing AD remain elusive. Literature on the role of APOE in cholesterol metabolism suggests that blood cholesterol may be a key factor in the development of AD pathology. Current study aims to investigate whether total cholesterol differs by APOE status and whether this relationship is predictive of AD diagnosis and its biomarkers. Baseline total cholesterol, APOE status, AD diagnosis, global cognitive function, brain Aβ, plasma Aβ40 and Aβ42, and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) Aβ, tau, and phosphorylated …

Reexamining Object-Based Visual Attention: Understanding The Nature Of Direction-Dependent Attention Shifts, Adam Joseph Barnas

Theses and Dissertations

Attentional selection is a process by which relevant sensory stimuli are afforded enhanced priority for processing over and above irrelevant sensory stimuli. Object-based attention is a form of selection that leads to preferential processing of visual information contained in/on an attended object versus an unattended object. Observers typically exhibit enhanced performance to a target at an invalidly cued same object location compared to a different-object location, which results in a same object advantage as measured by the response time (RT) difference between these two target locations. A growing body of research has shown that object-based effects are small, inconsistent, and …

Evaluation Of Cognitive Control Using Non-Gaussian Reaction Time Distributions In Fractionated Executive Function Tasks, Dmitriy Kazakov

Theses and Dissertations

The present study seeks to further investigate and refine the three-factor model of executive function (EF; Inhibition, Shifting, and Monitoring/Updating) known as the unity/diversity framework (Miyake et al., 2000). Past work in this area utilized “power” tasks that prioritize accuracy and difficulty, but real-world problem-solving incentivizes quick and efficient solutions. Ten computerized reaction time (RT) tasks: four elementary cognitive tasks (ECTs; Jensen, 1987; Santos, 2016) with progressively increasing task demands and six EF tasks. The ratio scale of RT necessitated the use of non-Gaussian statistics to better describe distribution shape, while diffusion modeling (DM; Ratcliff, 1978) was used to interpret …

When Children Hurt You: Examining The Experiences Of Clinicians Who Work With Aggressive Young Children, Melisa Madsen

Theses and Dissertations

This grounded theory qualitative research study examined the experiences of mental health staff who work with aggressive young children under the age of 9. Through the use of semi-structured interviews, participants were asked about individual and organizational aspects that affect the care they provide to young children and their decision to stay with the organization. 14 mental health professionals from five different intensive outpatient programs for youth with behavioral concerns were interviewed. Data were analyzed using Strauss and Corbin’s (1998) three-step data analysis process of open coding, axial coding, and selective coding. In answer to the question “What experiences do …

Intersecting Realities: A Qualitative Study Exploring The Experiences Of Stress And Coping Among Transgender Latinx Immigrants, Silvia P. Salas

Theses and Dissertations

Research on Trans immigrant communities of Latinx descent is underdeveloped, with even less emphasis on how this community experiences and copes with the stressors associated with their membership in multiple oppressed social groups (e.g., ethnicity, gender identity, and immigration status). Nativism, ethnocentrism, and cissexism all impact Trans Latinx immigrants, heightening their risk of being targets of community violence, hate crimes, and discrimination associated with their ethnicity, gender identity, and immigration status. These stressors and violence may be experienced by this community from within and outside their respective communities (e.g., Trans Community, Latinx Community, and Broader U.S. Community). The few available …

Cannabis-Using Youth Demonstrated Blunted Rostral Anterior Cingulate Cortex Activation, But Normal Functional Connectivity, During An Emotional Go/No-Go Task, Kristin Elizabeth Maple

Theses and Dissertations

Cannabis use has been associated with deficits in self-regulation, including inhibitory control. Cannabis users have previously exhibited both structural and functional deficits in the rostral anterior cingulate cortex (rACC), a region involved in self-regulation of emotional response and inhibitory control. The present study aimed to examine whether abstinent cannabis users demonstrated abnormal functional activation and connectivity of the bilateral rACC during an emotional inhibitory processing task, and whether gender moderated these relationships. The study also aimed to examine whether bilateral rACC activation and connectivity in cannabis users was related to perceived stress. It was hypothesized that cannabis users would exhibit …

White Matter Integrity In Individuals At-Risk For Ptsd Development: A Longitudinal Investigation, Carissa Weis

Theses and Dissertations

Trauma exposure is prevalent and while most are resilient, some go on to develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)—an anxiety-related disorder that results from traumatic experience. The brain changes that result from traumatic experience and PTSD are not well understood. Further, little is known about what distinguishes those who are resilient after trauma from those at risk for developing PTSD. Previous work indicates white matter integrity may be a useful biomarker in predicting PTSD and researchers have found changes in the integrity of three white matter tracts—the cingulum bundle, corpus callosum (CC), and uncinate fasciculus (UF)—in the aftermath of trauma. However, …

White Matter Integrity In Individuals At-Risk For Ptsd Development: A Longitudinal Investigation, Carissa Weis

Theses and Dissertations

Trauma exposure is prevalent and while most are resilient, some go on to develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)—an anxiety-related disorder that results from traumatic experience. The brain changes that result from traumatic experience and PTSD are not well understood. Further, little is known about what distinguishes those who are resilient after trauma from those at risk for developing PTSD. Previous work indicates white matter integrity may be a useful biomarker in predicting PTSD and researchers have found changes in the integrity of three white matter tracts—the cingulum bundle, corpus callosum (CC), and uncinate fasciculus (UF)—in the aftermath of trauma. However, …

Qualitative Exploration Of Factors Impacting Adjustment In Women Survivors Of Military Sexual Trauma, Rae Anne Marie Frey

Theses and Dissertations

This project draws from posttraumatic growth and resilience theories, as well as Critical Discourse Analysis and utilizes multiple case study to offer an in-depth examination of the military sexual assault experiences across eleven cases of women who served in the Marine Corps, Navy, Army, and Air Force from the 1960s to the present-day military. The cross-case analysis revealed a three-stage model of adjustment including adjustment to the military culture, surviving the sexual assault, and surviving the fallout, as well as the internal characteristics and behaviors women relied on to navigate these stages. While the data yielded pockets of strengths within …

Trans Masculine Identities: Making Meaning In Gender And Transition, Nickolas Hollis Lambrou

Theses and Dissertations

Perspectives on transgender identity have evolved through time, and various models of transgender identity development are emerging from multiple fields of study. However, little is known about what gender identity means to self-identified trans masculine individuals. Additionally, across existing transgender identity development stage models, the concept of transition is often assumed to include some form of medical intervention, with the acquisition of such interventions playing a key role in one’s developmental trajectory. Furthermore, current literature often implies transition is an end goal in the path toward integrating one’s core identity. However, there is little to no research exploring how trans …

An Anti-Deficit Approach To Examining The Career Choice Of African American Men In College, Gary Young

Theses and Dissertations

Awareness of congruence and discrepancies within an individual’s pathway from career interest to occupational choice offers significant insight into the process of conciliation and foreclosure (i.e., psychological disposition toward a circumscription of career options). Given the significant role of careers, understanding the career developmental process is of particular importance. Career interests to occupational choice mediated by self-efficacy are key components in the process of attaining career related goals. Lent, Brown, and Hackett (1994) proposed in the social cognitive career theory (SCCT) that under optimal conditions, career interests give rise to congruent occupational choice goals. Altogether, this leads to goal action …

Assessing The Relationships Between Multicultural Training, Cultural Identity, And Multicultural Counseling Competence Among Master’S Level Counseling Students, Rachel Reinders

Theses and Dissertations

The discrepancy between the demographics of the American population and mental health providers means that providers will increasingly be called upon to work with clients who are different from the provider. This study evaluated the relationship between multicultural competence (MCC), ethnic identity, and worldview variables for Master’s level counseling students enrolled in an introductory multicultural counseling course. It also included an analysis of course factors. A total of 201 students completed the survey at both the beginning and end of the semester. Students reported higher levels of ethnic identity development at the end of the semester as compared to the …

Development And Validation Of A Self-Care Scale For Clinical And Counseling Doctoral Students, Mercedes Santana

Theses and Dissertations

Self-care is a critical component and considered a core foundational competency for doctoral students in the field of psychology. It is an ethical imperative to maintain adequate self-care in order to prevent burnout and negative outcomes to those receiving our healthcare services. Self-care is also related to the professional values of psychology, specifically beneficence and nonmaleficence which relates to our duty of exercising good judgment to avoid harm to clients. Despite being identified as such little research has explored the topic. One reason that may contribute to the lack of research is the need for a measure self-care behaviors. In …

The Impact Of Priming Power On Sexual Harassment Proclivity In Male Correctional Officers, Alexander Gomory

Theses and Dissertations

Previous research has shown that holding a position of power has a significant impact on the likelihood of an individual engaging in sexual harassment. Additionally, cultural scripts among men encourage seeking power, and exerting their power upon others through acts such as sexual harassment. Correctional officers exist in an environment that necessitates the adherence and utilization of power to control dangerous environments. The combination of traditional male norms and the need to access power and authority for male correctional officers could lead to an increase in sexual harassment proclivity. This study will explore whether a short term priming of power …

Examining The Intersections Of Gay Identity, Ethnic Identity, And Spirituality And Their Relationship With Psychological Distress And Internalized Heterosexism, Ernesto Noam Lira De La Rosa

Theses and Dissertations

Researchers have tested Meyer’s (1995, 2003) minority stress theory and have documented the negative impact that minority stress can have on the psychological well-being for minorities. However, few studies have examined the role of multiple minority identities or the protective factors that may buffer against psychological distress. The present study utilized quantitative methodology to examine minority stress theory in a sample of gay men of color. A paper and pencil self-report survey was provided to 302 voluntary adult Gay men of color in Southeastern Wisconsin and Northern Illinois. The measures gathered information about participant’s gay and ethnic identity salience, spirituality, …

Structural Integrity Of Attention Networks In Cross-Modal Selective Attention Performance In Healthy Aging, Michelle Kassel

Theses and Dissertations

The influence of structural brain changes in healthy aging on cross-modal selective attention performance was investigated with structural MRI (T1- and diffusion-weighted scans). Eighteen younger (M=26.1, SD=5.7) and 18 older (M=62.4, SD=4.9) healthy adults with normal hearing performed a reaction time (RT) cross-modal selective attention A/B/X task. Participants discriminated syllables presented in either visual or auditory modalities, with either randomized or fixed distraction presented simultaneously in the opposite modality. Within the older group only, RT was significantly slower during random (M=573.24, SE=33.66) compared to fixed (M=554.04, SE=33.53) distraction, F(1,34)=5.41, p=.026. Average gray matter thickness and white matter integrity were lower …

Case Study Examining The Treatment Effect Of Trainee Psychologists In Schools, Elliot Broch

Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

CASE STUDY EXAMINING THE TREATMENT EFFECT OF TRAINEE PSYCHOLOGISTS IN SCHOOLS

The effects of school- based therapy carried out by trainee psychologists were examined in four urban schools (k4-8th grade) in socio economically disadvantaged neighborhoods. Additionally, the treatment effects were compared between students serviced by trainees compared to those receiving treatment from licensed professionals. Trainee psychologists obtained moderate effect sizes (equivalent to that procured by licensed professionals) on measures of social emotional functioning. Discipline problems did not increase or decrease at a different rate for those receiving counselling from trainees and licensed professionals compared to their same age counterparts. …

Examining Psychologists’ Competence And Cultural Adaptations In Therapy When Working With Latina/O Clients, Marisela Lopez

Theses and Dissertations

The following multiple case study used semi-structured qualitative interviews and quantitative data to examine the multicultural competencies and cultural adaptations of four psychologists during a mock therapy session. This study consisted of three components: (1) Pre-Task, a semi-structured interview; (2) Task, each participant completing a mock therapy session with the same mock client and; (3) Post-Task, followed the client sessions and consisted of a semi-structured interview, a demographic questionnaire and two paper-pencil self-report measures. Immediately after each therapy session with the participants, the mock client completed two paper-pencil measures and a brief semi-structured interview about the participants. Three multicultural psychology …

Neural Circuitry Underlying The Intrusion Of Task-Irrelevant Threat Into Working Memory In Anxiety, Daniel Stout

Theses and Dissertations

Dispositional anxiety is an important risk factor for the development of anxiety and other psychological disorders. Symptoms commonly expressed by highly anxious individuals include intrusive memories, uncertainty, and worry — all occurring in the absence of immediate threat. This raises the possibility that anxious individuals have difficulty governing threat’s access to working memory, the mental workspace where goal-related information is actively retained for guiding on-going behavior. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) while 81 subjects completed a well-validated working memory task, I show that threat-related and neutral distracters unnecessarily gain access to working memory, as evidenced by increased neural activity …

Exploring Proximal And Distal Psychosocial Stressors Influencing The Health Outcomes Of Urban American Indians In The Midwest, Alina Aloma

Theses and Dissertations

Researchers have theorized that colonization and forced assimilation of American Indians/Alaska Natives (AI/AN) in the U.S. are associated with the current health outcomes of AI/AN groups. The literature has begun to link a number of negative health outcomes such as chronic illnesses, substance abuse, grief, depression, and anxiety with distal stressors associated with historical loss, as well as with proximal stressors that are continued reminders of historical trauma such as present day discrimination. The present study utilized a quantitative methodology along with a community informed framework through collaboration with multiple urban AI/AN-serving agencies in a metropolitan area of the Midwest …

The Effects Of Gender Role Conflict, Stigma, And Social Support On Help-Seeking In Male Service Members, Lindsay Erika Danforth

Theses and Dissertations

It is a well-documented fact that men tend to seek professional help less frequently than women. Several factors might affect one’s help seeking behaviors, including gender role conflict, stigma, and perceived social support. This study served to examine help-seeking in male service members; more specifically, it explored how the above mentioned factors influenced attitudes and intentions towards seeking help. It also assessed whether or not the Gender Role Conflict Scale acts as a microcontextual primer. The data was analyzed using a structural equation modeling procedure. Results indicated a poor fit of the model to the data. Results also suggested that …