Developmental Psychology Commons^™

Parental Autonomy Support And Children’S Affect As Predictors Of Children’S Stem Engagement In An Informal Educational Context, Bianca Martins Aldrich

Dissertations

In this project, we examined relations between parental talk and children’s affect on children’s STEM talk during an engineering-related activity (i.e., tinkering) in a local children’s museum. We characterized children’s affect in terms of valence (positive or negative) and activation (activating or deactivating), and parental talk was characterized as autonomy supportive or directive, as well as STEM-related or not. Parents and their 4- to 10-year-old children were recruited at the entrance of the Tinkering Lab exhibit at Chicago Children’s Museum. Parents and children were video and audio recorded during the activity. We coded parents’ and children’s behaviors using a time-sampling …

Early Social Experience And Biased Attention To Threat-Related Emotion In Infancy, Cidnee Hall

Master's Theses

By 7 months of age, infants typically develop a bias toward threatening facial expressions, such as fear and anger (Leppänen & Nelson, 2009; Leppänen et al., 2018; Peltola et al., 2009; 2013). However, individual differences in threat-related attention biases in adulthood are related to socioemotional functioning across a broad range of outcomes, including racial biases and psychological well-being. Links between attention and socioemotional development may begin in infancy, with prior evidence demonstrating that both maternal well-being and race may bias visual processing of emotional expressions (Morales et al., 2017; Vogel et al., 2017; Quinn et al., 2018; 2020). Thus, the …

The Impact Of Intersensory Redundancy On Face Processing In 12-Month-Old Infants: An Investigation Using Behavioral Methods And Erps, Aslı Bursalıoğlu

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Bilingual Latinx Adolescents Experiences In A Predominantly White Institution: A Mixed Method Study, Danieli Marie Mercado Ramos

Dissertations

Extent scholarship has provided insight into how Latinx adolescents actively experience exclusion. These adolescents are often the targets of microaggressions tied to their language (Gonzalez et al., 2018), ethnicity, race, and intersecting identities--such as being bilingual Latinx students--which serve as reminders that they do not belong. However, little is known about Spanish-English bilingual Latinx adolescents and how their heritage language plays a role in predominantly white spaces and institutions. This convergent parallel mixed methods study explored how Spanish-English bilingual Latinx students in the Midwest described their experiences in a predominantly white institution (PWI). A total of 42 Spanish-English bilingual Latinx …

Capturing Diverse Adolescents’ Social Contexts: The Development Of An Ethnic-Racial Microaffirmations Scale For Peer Interactions, Maria Radulescu

Dissertations

The development of a strong and positive sense of ethnic-racial identity (ERI) has been identified as an asset for ethnically and racially marginalized adolescents. Peer interactions during the adolescent years can support ERI development. In particular, a subtle micro-level form of peer support—microaffirmations—may be protective for ERI processes. However, the field of microaffirmations is very small, and there is no scale that captures adolescents’ experiences of ethnic-racial microaffirmations from their peers. The current study developed an ethnic-racial peer microaffirmations scale based on extant literature and feedback from 4 focus groups with 22 sophomore high school students. Findings indicated that 5 …

“What’S Happening In The Gulf Of Maine?”: Middle School Students’ Engagement In Climate Science Through Data Visual Representation And Reflections, Grace Ocular

Dissertations

This study examined how middle school students engaged with science concepts while working with data visualizations during a field trip learning experience. Fifty-one teams of 2–4 students from 35 schools participating in the LabVenture program were video- and audio-recorded. Students completed two activities: one using a frequency table of marine species illustrating threats to Maine’s lobster population, and another using maps depicting changes in Gulf of Maine sea surface temperature. After each activity, students annotated the visualization, discussed their claims, and recorded short reflections. Transcripts were coded for science-related talk, and annotations and gestures were also analyzed. Findings indicate that …

Early Childhood Foundations Of Adolescents' Critical Consciousness In Under-Resourced And Minoritized Communities: The Roles Of Prosocial Behavior And Cognitive Self-Regulation In Middle Childhood, Zahra F. Naqi-Hasnain

Dissertations

As Black and Latino teens from under-resourced backgrounds remain vulnerable to oppressive forces, critical consciousness has emerged as a developmental asset that involves understanding, reflecting upon, and acting against inequitable social structures. However, scholars have yet to determine how critical consciousness may fit into a developmental framework, leaving unanswered questions regarding the roots of adolescents’ critical consciousness. By integrating sociopolitical and developmental frameworks, this dissertation empirically examined how early environmental factors and individual competencies set the stage for critical consciousness during adolescence, via prosocial and self-regulatory skills during middle childhood. Longitudinal data were drawn from the Chicago School Readiness Project …

Examining How Adolescents From Underrepresented And Minoritzed Backgrounds View And Navigate Their Racial Ethnic Identity: Exploring The Impact Of Dominant Narratives And Counternarratives On Racial Ethnic Identity, Jesus Eduardo Ramos

Dissertations

This study delves into the impact of dominant narratives on the perceptions of Racial Ethnic Identity (REI) among adolescents from underrepresented, minoritized backgrounds and assesses the effects of counternarrative interventions. It explores how racially oppressive messages in education and media shape self-perception and examines the potential of counternarratives in challenging stereotypes, promoting critical thinking, and advancing social justice. Utilizing a qualitative cross-case study design, the research involved 8 participants aged 12-14 who identified as Hispanic/Latino or Black/African. Data collection methods included demographic questionnaires, semi-structured pre- and post-intervention interviews, and reflection logs. The analysis employed constant comparison techniques and data triangulation …

Academic Motivation Decreases Across Adolescence For Youth With And Without Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: Effects Of Motivation On Academic Success, Zoe Smith, Marcus Flax, Stephen P. Becker, Joshua Langberg

Psychology: Faculty Publications and Other Works

This longitudinal study examined growth trajectories of academic motivation in youth with and without attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) across the important developmental transition from middle school to high school, and associations with academic success. Consistent with self-determination theory (SDT) of motivation, trajectories of amotivation, extrinsic motivation, and intrinsic motivation were modeled.

Ethnic-Racial Socialization Practices Of Dominican Mothers With Their Young Children: Understanding Practices With A Sociohistorical Context Framework, Sabrina Altagracia Mendez-Escobar

Dissertations

Parents who self-identify as members of a community of color engage in practices aimed at teaching their children what it means to be a member of their ethnic-racial group which are called ethnic-racial socialization (ERS) practices. Promoting a positive sense of ethnic-racial identity through ERS contributes to balancing the negative effects of discrimination which can be helpful to children who are part of a marginalized group in the US including Latinx children. However, when the family practices of Latinx families are explored in the literature, various Latinx groups are lumped together. When studying ERS, research should aim to consider Latinx …

Physical Activity, Self-Determination, And Self-Conscious Emotions In Adolescents And Young Adults With And Without Autism Symptomatology, Dakota Morales

Master's Theses

Previous literature suggests that autistic individuals engage in physical activity less frequently compared to typically developing peers (Bandini et al., 2013; Jones et al., 2017). This is noteworthy because exercise interventions for autistic individuals have found that engaging in physical activity can improve motor, social, and behavioral skills (Anderson-Hanley et al., 2011; Duffy et al., 2017; Nicholson et al., 2011; Oriel et al., 2011). Thus, the present study seeks to understand what factors may promote physical activity engagement, such as self-determination motivation regulations and body-related self-conscious emotions, in adolescents and young adults with and without autism symptomatology. Participants included 51 …

Parental Autonomy Support And Children’S Stem Engagement During An At-Home Tinkering Activity, Bianca Martins Aldrich

Master's Theses

Parents play an important role guiding children’s learning of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) in informal educational contexts. In this project, we considered the ways in which parents use autonomy supportive or controlling language to encourage or discourage children's independence in problem solving, as well as their feedback to children’s ideas and behaviors. We looked at the association between autonomy support and children’s behavioral, STEM, story, and emotional engagement during an at-home tinkering and storytelling activity. Parents and their 4- to 10- year old children were observed at home via Zoom. We coded parents’ and children’s behaviors using a …

Does Co-Speech Gesture Support Children’S Analogical Reasoning? An Investigation Into The Differential Effects Of Gesture On Learning, Katharine F. Guarino

Dissertations

Although the general consensus is that gesture supports learning across a wide range of learning contexts, nuances to gesture’s effects are found across the gesture-for-learning literature. The purpose of this body of research was to advance our understanding of gesture’s effect on learning. Specifically, we explored the utility of gesture in a domain that had not been considered in the gesture literature previously: analogical reasoning (Study 1). We aimed to understand whether gesture supports children’s analogical reasoning ability and why gesture might support this type of reasoning. Specifically, we investigated whether gesture could support learning through directing visual attention, thereby …

Supporting Latine Children’S Informal Engineering Learning And Spatial Thinking Through Tinkering And Storytelling, Diana Acosta

Dissertations

In the United States, the Latine community is the fastest growing minority group. Projections estimate that by the year 2060, they will represent 28% of the total population. Yet, Latines continue to be underrepresented and underserved in STEM fields and careers. Providing equitable informal STEM learning opportunities to young children may be a way to increase access and interest in STEM, to address the broader goal of increasing representation. Importantly, for these learning experiences to be truly equitable they must be meaningful and engage everyday cultural practices. Guided by a strengths-based approach, the current study examines how oral stories as …

Unlocking Desistance: The Role Of Executive Functioning In The Rehabilitation Of Correctional Populations, Danielle Nesi

Dissertations

In a secondary analysis of data collected by Fishbein and Sheppard (2006), the current study sought to explore the relationships among age, executive functioning and antisocial behavior (e.g., changes in institutional infractions, self-reported aggression and reactivity) among a sample of incarcerated men enrolled in a correctional Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) program between 2003 and 2005. Specifically, the current study examined whether baseline executive abilities predicted misconduct and whether this relationship was mediated by treatment engagement. The relationships among age, treatment engagement, and changes in executive functioning post-treatment were also considered. It was predicted that improvements in executive functioning would vary …

Influences Of Latino Caregivers’ Input And Acculturation On Children’S Bilingual Development: A Speech Sample Analysis, Jordan Sierra Perry

Master's Theses

Interactions with caregivers are important for children’s development. In particular, the language input that young dual language learners (DLLs) receive from their primary caregivers affects their cultural knowledge and their bilingual language outcomes. However, relatively little research has been conducted to investigate the cultural contexts that influence Latino caregivers’ bilingual language use at home, including their acculturation level. Thus, the present study examined the relation between caregivers’ acculturation and their children’s bilingual (Spanish and English) language use, and whether this relation varied as a function of caregivers’ bilingual language use. Parent-report measures of bilingual language use, in addition to video …

The Role Of Intersensory Redundancy In Face Recognition In 5- And 12-Month-Old Infants, Aslı Bursalıoğlu

Master's Theses

The goal of this study was to examine the role of audiovisual synchrony in 5- and 12-month-old infants’ attention to and processing of face stimuli. Infants were tested using an online platform called Lookit. In the first phase of the experiment, infants were familiarized with two videos presented simultaneously and side-by-side. Each video displayed a woman speaking in an infant-directed manner. A soundtrack was played that matched one of the videos (experimental condition) or neither of the videos (control condition). It was hypothesized that synchronous audiovisual presentation would attract infants’ attention and promote processing, especially among 12-month-olds. Visual-paired comparison (VPC) …

Latino Parents' Acculturative Stress And Their Preschoolers' Prosocial Development: Testing The Mediating Role Of Parenting Style, Zahra Fatima Naqi

Master's Theses

Studies increasingly recognize the importance of cultural factors when studying the development of immigrant children from low-income backgrounds. There is reason to believe that parents' acculturative stress may be linked to children's prosocial development, via parenting. the present study included a sample of immigrant Latino parents of 3- to 5-year-old Head Start preschoolers (N = 28) to examine how parents' acculturative stress might be associated with children's prosocial behavior at home, as reported by parents, and at school, as reported by teachers. Furthermore, it studied whether this linkage is mediated by warm, supportive, and hostile parenting practices. Results indicated that …

The Social And Contextual Mechanisms Of Children's Learning In Museums, Lindsay R. Maldonado

Dissertations

This study explored the associations between immersive exhibit design, mother-child engagement, conversational interactions, and children's learning. Participants were 41 mothers and their 6-8-year-old children (Mage=7.15, SD=.79). A within-subjects, mixed methods approach was utilized, including naturalistic observations, interview data, and surveys. Mother-child dyads were video and audio-recorded as they visited four different exhibits: two low immersion exhibits and two high immersion exhibits. Interview data was collected from children immediately following the visit to assess learning. Survey data was collected from mothers to assess education, environmental predispositions, and science-related career. In high immersion exhibits, mothers and children spent more time and asked …

Prevalence And Potential Buffers Of Intergenerational Trauma In African American And Latinx Parent-Child Dyads, Kandace Thomas

Dissertations

Buffering intergenerational trauma (IGT) is of great interest to researchers, policy makers and interventionists working to reduce the experience of trauma across generations within the family. IGT has been well studied among families who experienced the Holocaust and there is emerging IGT literature describing the impact of historical events and societal-based adverse experiences across generations. This study expanded upon the IGT literature by exploring and confirming the existence of IGT in a sample of primarily low-income African American and Latinx parents and their 6-year-old children; exploring pre-existing strengths and qualities in parents, such as Contemplative Self-Care (CSC) and Parent Self-Efficacy …

A Latent Class Analysis Of Community Violence Exposure And Peer Delinquency In African American Adolescents, Amanda N. Burnside, Noni K. Gaylord-Harden, Suzanna So, Dexter R. Voisin

Psychology: Faculty Publications and Other Works

Aims

Person-based analyses have demonstrated wide variability among the levels of exposure to community violence (ECV) experienced by youth in disadvantaged communities. In addition, social network research has found that violence victimization tends to occur primarily among a small social group, demonstrating that levels of peer delinquency may be a factor that distinguishes among youth who experience high and low levels of ECV.

Methods

The current study utilized latent class analysis to examine profiles of ECV and peer delinquency in a sample of 618 African American adolescents (54.7% female; mean age = 15.8, SD = 1.41), and the relationship …

The Role Of Multiple Dimensions Of Organized Activity Participation, Impulsivity, And Parental Monitoring On Externalizing Behavior Among Low-Income, Urban Adolescents., Amy Governale

Dissertations

Because the majority of teenage deaths are not due to illness, but instead attributed to risk behaviors, it is pertinent to determine under what circumstances adolescents are likely to injure themselves or others. One well-studied protective factor of adolescent externalizing behaviors is participation in organized activities. Unfortunately, the majority of research involving adolescents’ engagement in organized activities examines single dimensions of participation (intensity, duration, and breadth) at a time, within samples of middle-class, Caucasian youth. Few studies have examined how multiple dimensions of participation in organized activities, including how uninterrupted engagement in organized activities from school year to summer months, …

Characterization Of Cross-Genre Writing Skills In Children With And Without Autism Spectrum Disorders: The Role Of Language, Handwriting, And Cognitive Processing, Elizabeth Hilvert

Dissertations

It has been estimated that writing is one of the most significant academic problems for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), with as many as 60% of children having a learning disability in writing (Mayes & Calhoun, 2008). The majority of evidence demonstrating this achievement gap, however, comes from research finding global writing deficits, using standardized tests. As a result, a number of questions remain about how the texts constructed by children with ASD specifically align or deviate from typical development. For instance, do these texts differ in terms of vocabulary, grammar, or structure? Are children with ASD better at …

The Use Of A Grammaticality Judgment Task To Assess The Role Of Receptive Vocabulary, Cognitive Inhibition, And Cognitive Flexibility On Syntactic Awareness, Lanette Mae Urbin

Master's Theses

Syntactic awareness, receptive vocabulary, and executive control (i.e., cognitive inhibition and cognitive flexibility) are robust predictors of language, literacy, and academic success (Bialystok, Craik, Klein, & Viswanathan, 2004; Davidson et al., 2010; Foursha-Stevenson & Nicoladis, 2011). In general, research demonstrates that receptive vocabulary is related to syntactic awareness (Davidson, Vanegas, Hilvert & Misiunaite, 2017; Galambos & Hakuta, 1988). There is also research to suggest that facets of executive control, such as cognitive inhibition and cognitive flexibility may also be related to syntactic awareness (Bialystok, 1986; Simard, Foucambert, & Labelle, 2013). However, receptive vocabulary, cognitive inhibition, and cognitive flexibility have only …

Unpacking The Ontogeny Of Gesture Understanding: How Movement Becomes Meaningful Across Development, Elizabeth M. Wakefield, Miriam A. Novack, Susan Goldin-Meadow

Psychology: Faculty Publications and Other Works

Gestures, hand movements that accompany speech, affect children's learning, memory, and thinking (e.g., Goldin‐Meadow, 2003). However, it remains unknown how children distinguish gestures from other kinds of actions. In this study, 4‐ to 9‐year‐olds (n = 339) and adults (n = 50) described one of three scenes: (a) an actor moving objects, (b) an actor moving her hands in the presence of objects (but not touching them), or (c) an actor moving her hands in the absence of objects. Participants across all ages were equally able to identify actions on objects as goal directed, but the ability to …

Developmental Assets And Outcomes: An Analysis Of Male Serious Juvenile Offenders To Promote Evidence Based Approaches For Rehabilitation, Danielle Jordan Nesi

Master's Theses

Positive youth development is an approach that seeks to enhance and promote young people's developmental progress. Although there has been a shift toward asset building in rehabilitation of delinquent youth, research on positive youth development has historically focused on children at risk of adverse outcomes, rather than those who are already engaged in criminal behavior. Without knowledge about the distribution of assets among delinquent youth and the relations of these assets to outcomes later in life, it is unclear if interventions based on research of developmental assets among at-risk youth are appropriate for justice-involved youth. The 40 Developmental Assets (Search …

Becoming Adults: Trajectories Of Adult Identity Development Among Undergraduate Students With Implications For Mental Health, Jenna Shapiro

Master's Theses

One of the defining developmental processes that occur during the unique stage of emerging adulthood is the emergence of adult identity, or the subjective sense of adulthood. Adult identity has been hypothesized to grow gradually, linearly, and at different rates for subgroups of individuals over the course of this stage (Arnett, 2006; Côté, 2006). Differences have also been suggested to predict wellbeing and distress (Côté, 2006; Kroger, 1996; Kroger, Martinussen, & Marcia, 2010). The goals of the current study were to examine heterogeneity in adult identity development over four years in college and to examine differences in self-esteem and negative …

How Can Parent-Child Interactions In A Museum Support Children’S Learning And Transfer Of Knowledge, Maria Marcus

Dissertations

This study investigated ways to support young children’s STEM learning and ability to generalize their knowledge across informal learning experiences. Participants were 128 parents and their 4- to 8-year-old children (Mage = 6.63, SD = 1.38). Families were randomly assigned to receive engineering instructions, transfer instructions, both engineering and transfer instructions, or neither. They were then observed working together to solve an engineering problem, and immediately afterward, the children were invited to solve a second engineering problem on their own. Families who received engineering instructions – either alone or in combination with the transfer instructions - were more successful at …

Future Orientation As A Protective Factor For African American Adolescents Exposed To Community Violence, Suzanna So, Noni K. Gaylord-Harden, Dexter R. Voisin, Darrick Scott

Psychology: Faculty Publications and Other Works

For African American youth disproportionately exposed to community violence and the associated risk of externalizing behaviors, developmental assets that reduce the risk for externalizing behaviors and enhance adaptive coping should be explored. In a sample of 572 African American adolescents (M_age = 15.85; SD = 1.42), the current study explored whether future orientation or gender buffered the impact of community violence exposure on externalizing behaviors. The current study also examined the interaction between future orientation, gender, and violence-specific coping strategies to determine their association with externalizing behaviors. Future orientation moderated the relationship between violence exposure and delinquent, but …

Participant Engagement In Home Visits: A Missing Piece In The Puzzle Of Evidence Based Programs And Implementation Science?, Mariel Sparr

Dissertations

Within the social services field, researchers, policy makers, and practitioners are paying increasing attention to the concept of `evidence based' home visiting program models. However, a singular focus on evidence based programs continues a tradition of limited and vague understandings of how programs are actually implemented.

The field of implementation science offers a framework for expanding this focus to more fully understand how home visiting programs are implemented. A key dimension of implementation is participant responsiveness. The field of home visiting lacks a coherent and standard conceptualization of participant responsiveness. As one might expect, it also lacks standard measurement of …