Experimental Analysis of Behavior Commons^™

The Relation Of Therapist Behaviors To Treatment Engagement And Outcomes In Pcit, Kristine Gese Ba

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Parent Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) has proven to be a very effective treatment for child behavioral problems, however, PCIT does not benefit all families equally, presumably at least partly because therapists may not be equally effective in coaching their clients. Although researchers have proposed several dimensions of therapist coaching behaviors that are considered desirable, few of these have been empirically examined in relation to family engagement or child outcomes. Data from two clinical trials examining the effectiveness of culturally modified versions of PCIT (GANA and PersIn), were used to investigate which of several therapist coaching behaviors (brevity, positivity, consistency, accuracy, …

Negative Urgency Predicts Maladaptive Coping Strategies, Alec Martin

Psychological Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

Negative urgency is defined as the disposition to act rashly when under distress. This personality subtype is strongly tied to problematic alcohol and substance use, self-harming behaviors, and binge eating following a distressful period (Cyders et al., 2013; Fischer et al., 2004). The current study hypothesized that participants (62.07% Female, M = 19.81, SD = 4.16, 73.28% White, 6.90% Hispanic, 6.90% African American, 3.45% Native American/Alaskan Native, 3.45% Asian American, 3.45% Middle Eastern, 1.72% Other) who scored high in negative urgency would endorse more maladaptive coping strategies after a negative mood induction (n = 57), compared to a neutral …

Distress Tolerance As A Potential Target For Change: The Relationship Between Distress Tolerance, Craving, And Alcohol Consumption In A Lab-Based Experiment, Isabel F. Augur

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Distress tolerance (DT) has recently been studied as a potential catalyst for the development ofalcohol use disorder (AUD). Research exploring the relationship between DT and craving is limited and has primarily focused on nicotine craving. Furthermore, there are no current studies examining the relationship between DT and alcohol consumption. This study was designed to fill this gap in the literature, which may shed light on a potentially important target for alcohol use treatment. Additionally, the role of mindfulness was explored in the context of the relationship between DT and alcohol craving and consumption, with the intention of expanding on the …

Profiling Child Molesters: Thematic Differentiation Of Crime Scene Indicators And Correlations To Psychopathology, John P. Santora

Student Theses

Offender profiling has become an increasingly important tool in criminal investigations. The current research took an expansive, multifaceted empirical approach to the profiling of child molesters through investigative psychological methodologies with additional perspectives investigating concomitant clinical implications. In doing this, offenders were thematically differentiated based on their behaviors at the offense. The quality of the differentiation was tested, and the distribution of offenders across the derived themes was developed. Associations between the Massachusetts Treatment Center Child Molester Three, Axis One (MTC:CM3 A1) were assessed. This process was repeated for offender characteristic variables which were also thematically differentiated. Finally, behavioral themes …

Observation And Detection Of Adhd Malingering In College Students, Zoe Tenner

Honors Theses

The rate of college students attempting to obtain Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) diagnoses in order to gain access to prescription stimulant medications has shown a large increase over the past 20 years. Research has also shown that college students are frequently able to convincingly present themselves as meeting clinical criteria for ADHD with relative ease, meaning that the barrier to false presentation for the purpose of obtaining inappropriately prescribed medication is minimal. There is a need for more concise, accurate tools to detect these efforts in clinical settings, which is an area of research pursued by members of the University of …

Everyday Memory In People With Down Syndrome, Yingying Jennifer Yang, Zachary M. Himmelberger, Trent Robinson, Megan Davis, Frances Conners, Edward Merrill

Department of Psychology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Although memory functions in people with Down Syndrome (DS) have been studied extensively, how well people with DS remember things about everyday life is not well understood. In the current study, 31 adolescents/young adults with DS and 26 with intellectual disabilities (ID) of mixed etiology (not DS) participated. They completed an everyday memory questionnaire about personal facts and recent events (e.g., school name, breakfast). They also completed a standard laboratory task of verbal long-term memory (LTM) where they recalled a list of unrelated words over trials. Results did not indicate impaired everyday memory, but impaired verbal LTM, in people with …

How Multidimensional Is Emotional Intelligence? Bifactor Modeling Of Global And Broad Emotional Abilities Of The Geneva Emotional Competence Test, Daniel Simonet, Katherine E. Miller, Kevin Askew, Kenneth Sumner, Marcello Mortillaro, Katja Schlegel

Department of Psychology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Drawing upon multidimensional theories of intelligence, the current paper evaluates if the Geneva Emotional Competence Test (GECo) fits within a higher-order intelligence space and if emotional intelligence (EI) branches predict distinct criteria related to adjustment and motivation. Using a combination of classical and S-1 bifactor models, we find that (a) a first-order oblique and bifactor model provide excellent and comparably fitting representation of an EI structure with self-regulatory skills operating independent of general ability, (b) residualized EI abilities uniquely predict criteria over general cognitive ability as referenced by fluid intelligence, and (c) emotion recognition and regulation incrementally predict grade point …

Adolescent Healthcare Contacts In The Year Before Suicide: A Case Control Study, Ana Lanier, Jordan Braciszewski, Hsueh-Han Yeh, Gregory Simon, Rebecca Rossom, Frances Lynch, Stephen Waring, Christine Lu, Ashli Owen-Smith, Arbe Beck, Brian Ahmedani

Medical Student Research Symposium

Introduction: Suicide rates among adolescents have risen steadily since 2007, creating a dire need to expand prevention protocols. Healthcare systems have been identified as a key avenue for identification and intervention. To date, no comprehensive analysis has been done to understand adolescent-specific characteristics and healthcare utilization prior to suicide death.

Methods: A case-control study was conducted using records from eight healthcare systems nationwide. Data from 450 subjects aged 10-24 who died by suicide between the years 2000-2013 was matched with 4500 controls based on health system and time period of membership. We examined past-year health diagnoses and patterns of visit …

Examining How Adverse Childhood Experiences And The Underlying Processes Of Trait And State Impulsivity Influence Suicidal Behavior, Julia K. Duran

Master's Theses or Doctor of Nursing Practice

ABSTRACT

Due to the effects of ACEs and impulsive behavior on mental and physical health, it is important to better understand the relationship between these two as well as how they both may influence choices, such as suicide. Numerous studies have identified impulsive behavior as a risk factor for suicide, however, recent research has identified several underlying independent processes that make up impulsivity. This study uses a broad assessment of trait and state impulsivity to gather a more discrete understanding of the underlying processes that contribute to impulsive behavior. The short version UPPS-P scale was used to measure negative urgency, …

Effects Of Alcohol Intoxication On Hostile Attribution Bias And Relational Aggression In Women, Alita M. Mobley

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Alcohol intoxication is consistently linked to physical and sexual aggression in men, but not women. The lack of evidence supporting the relationship between alcohol and aggression for women could be due to a failure to measure relational aggression (i.e., harmful social manipulation), the form of aggression more commonly employed by women. Further, alcohol intoxication may interfere with the interpretation of social cues, resulting in greater perceived provocation in ambiguous social interactions and increased aggression. The current study examined the relationship between alcohol intoxication and relational aggression in women and the extent to which interpretation of social cues (i.e., hostile attribution …

Historical Trauma Response Scores As A Function Of Unresolved Grief And Substance Use Disorder In American Indian Populations, Andrew R. Saunders

Undergraduate Research Symposium

Abstract

Researchers are interested in the outcomes of interventions, specifically, measuring historical trauma (HT) among American Indian/Alaska Native communities and the long-term distress and substance abuse as a result of historical trauma response (HTR). Previous literature has implicated limitations in the clinical conceptualization of the relationship between intergenerational transfer of HTR and substance abuse. The aim of the current study is to examine treatment efficacy of 50 homosexual, American Indian males randomized to a culturally-adapted juxtaposition of (1) Group Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT), (2) Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), and (3) Historical Trauma and Unresolved Grief Intervention (HTUG), or (4) waitlisted on …

Wicked Problems: Depression, Sebastian Wendolowski

English Department: Research for Change - Wicked Problems in Our World

Depression is a disorder that can affect anybody and is the leading cause of disability and disorders in the United States. This year, due to COVID-19, it has hit an all time high, affecting many more people. Suicide rates have been steadily growing across all ages, and this year is at a record high too, showing correlation with depression. There are two types of depression, major depressive disorder and chronic depressive disorder. Diagnosis of depression is typically done physically or through a questionnaire, which is compared into a DSM-5. There are many risk factors for depression and other common mental …

Coping Self-Efficacy As A Potential Moderator Of The Relationship Between Sexual Orientation And Negative Mental Health Outcomes, James M. Macchia

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Sexual minority individuals (i.e., those who identify as a sexual orientation other than heterosexual) have consistently been linked to an increased risk of negative mental health outcomes. The process of coping can impact the content and severity of said outcomes, and one’s ability to cope is often predicted by the concept known as coping self-efficacy (i.e., one’s belief in his or her ability to cope). This study aimed to assess the effects of sexual orientation, coping self-efficacy, and their interactions on mental health by looking at different aspects of coping self-efficacy as potential moderating variables. Self-perceptions of coping skills were …

Distress Tolerance In Relation To Treatment Persistence, Engagement, And Improvement In An Exposure-Based Treatment For Sexually Abused Incarcerated Women, Ilana S. Berman

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Incarcerated populations are disproportionately affected by traumatic experiences and symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Many effective treatments for PTSD utilize exposure-based techniques which require engaging with emotionally distressing content. However, individuals with PTSD and low distress tolerance (DT) are more likely than those with PTSD and higher DT to engage in avoidant coping behaviors and have relatively high treatment attrition rates in general. This study explored relations between DT and treatment persistence, engagement, and improvement in incarcerated women (N = 85) enrolled in an 8-week exposure-based sexual assault recovery group at a minimum-security prison. I hypothesized lower baseline levels …

The Effects Of Childhood Trauma On Romantic Support And Adult Problem Behavior, Keiva R. Brannigan

Senior Honors Projects, 2020-current

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are a common topic in research investigating outcomes of abused or traumatized children. Previous literature on ACEs have established that high levels of ACEs are associated with both higher levels of problem behaviors in adulthood and lower quality of support in romantic relationships in adolescence/early adulthood. However, the potential for high levels of romantic support and other healthy relationship qualities to act as a buffer against the negative effects of ACEs on later problem behaviors has yet to be addressed in the literature. Thus, the present study utilizes data from an ongoing longitudinal study on social …

Assessing The Utility Of A Brief Abstinence Test To Reduce Smartphone And Social Media Use, Taylor B. Stanley

Masters Theses, 2020-current

The purpose of the current study is to investigate the efficacy of implementing a Brief Abstinence Test (BAT) for reducing smartphone and social media (SM) use among college students. A BAT is a temporally condensed version of contingency management (CM), a reinforcement-based behavioral intervention. Participants (N = 32, males = 6) self-reported using an iPhone updated to iOS 12 and using SM on their iPhones for at least two hours per day. Once enrolled, participants completed an online battery of health-related questionnaires and learned how to capture electronically their smartphone-use data. Participants experienced a BAT for one week, during …

An Experimental Test Of The Effects Of Sleep Deprivation On Approach Behavior, Rebecca L. Campbell

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Emotion regulation and sleep have been identified as mechanisms that may be involved in the development and maintenance of many mental health disorders. However, there has been little research into the relation between sleep and emotion regulation. To address this gap in knowledge, a novel study was conducted. We hypothesized that sleep deprived individuals would demonstrate less approach behavior toward a negatively valenced stimulus, as well as increased self-reported avoidance, compared to a control group. To test this, a randomized controlled experiment using a behavioral measure of approach and a self-report measure of avoidance was conducted. Fifty-two healthy individuals ages …

Gender, Race, And Childhood Abuse As Predictors Of Borderline Personality Disorder, Olivia Moses

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is a debilitating personality disorder that impacts anywhere between 1% to 5% of Americans. Studies claim that women are significantly more at risk than men to suffer from this disorder and may experience stronger symptoms. Previous research has found that victims of childhood abuse such as sexual abuse, physical abuse, and neglect are more at risk for developing Borderline Personality Disorder as adults, particularly when abuse is paired with genetic susceptibility. Some researchers claim that there are no detectable racial differences in Borderline Personality Disorder, but previous studies often have very small sample sizes taken from …

Impact Of The Csi Effect And Authority Bias On Juror Decisions, Meredith Scruggs

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The recent increase in number of crime drama television shows raises the issue that these fictional portrayals may impact real proceedings in the justice system. This phenomenon has become known as the CSI effect. This includes the concept of authority bias, by which laypeople place higher value on information provided by those that they perceive to be in positions of authority. 289 college students completed a survey comparing their likelihood to match an unknown fingerprint to a suspect’s, after actors portraying evidence technicians either confirm the match or provide no conclusion. Results showed no significant interaction between the confirmation condition …

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 …

A Daily Diary Study Of Drinking And Nondrinking Days In Nonstudent Alcohol Users, Cathy Lau-Barraco, Ashley N. Linden-Carmichael

Psychology Faculty Publications

Background: Emerging adults with lower educational attainment are at higher long-term risk for problematic drinking and alcohol use disorders. Efforts to gain a more in-depth understanding of the drinking habits of nonstudent emerging adults are critical to reduce disparities and to shed light on targets of intervention for this vulnerable group.

Objectives: The current investigation aimed to: (1) provide a description of the daily drinking habits of nonstudent emerging adult drinkers using a 14-day diary method, and (2) examine nondrinking days by assessing their reasons for not drinking as well as strategies used to avoid drinking.

Methods: Participants were 27 …

Recording System That Dramatically Increases Intellectual Productivity, Yoshihiko Ariizumi

Learning, Teaching, & Researching Optimization

この記事は、録音システムを使う利点、それが具体的にはどのような活動であり、なぜそのような効果が出るのかについて説明されている。私たちの知性にはまだ多くの研究されていない潜在的な能力があり、この録音システムを使うことによって、そのように眠っている能力を知的生産性のために利用することができる。

知的生産性を飛躍させる録音システム, Yoshihiko Ariizumi

Learning, Teaching, & Researching Optimization

This article explains the benefits of using a recording system, what it is, and why it works. Our intelligence has many unexplored potentials, and by using this recording system, such latent abilities can be utilized for intellectual productivity.

Digital Addiction: A Conceptual Overview, Amarjit Kumar Singh, Pawan Kumar Singh

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Abstract

Digital addiction referred to an impulse control disorder that involves the obsessive use of digital devices, digital technologies, and digital platforms, i.e. internet, video game, online platforms, mobile devices, digital gadgets, and social network platform. It is an emerging domain of Cyberpsychology (Singh, Amarjit Kumar and Pawan Kumar Singh; 2019), which explore a problematic usage of digital media, device, and platforms by being obsessive and excessive. This article analyses, reviewed the current research, and established a conceptual overview on the digital addiction. The research literature on digital addiction has proliferated. However, we tried to categories the digital addiction, according …

Recent Trends, Current Research In Cyberpsychology: A Literature Review, Amarjit Kumar Singh, Pawan Kumar Singh

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Cyberpsychology refers to the study of the mind and behavior in the context of interactions with technology. It is an emerging branch, which has focused on the psychological aspects connected to the increasing presence and usages of technology in modern lives. This paper traces recent advancement and trends of Cyberpsychology is an emerging domain of knowledge and goes on the give a literature review of the same. An analysis of the recent research and literature covering 300 most relevant research papers from the period of 2012 to 15, August 2019 was conducted to determine and shape the research pattern based …

Measuring Contextual Factors Associated With Experiential Avoidance Using A Behavior Analogue Paradigm, Meaghan M. Lewis

Dissertations

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the relationship between levels of state and trait experiential avoidance across two different contexts using behavior analogue methodology. Performance on the cold pressor task (threshold, tolerance, endurance, and intensity; Zettle et al., 2012) was compared to performance on a modified version of the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST; Kirschbaum et al., 1993) to obtain a behavioral measure of experiential avoidance that was standardized across these four behavioral indices. Data were collected from a convenience sample of undergraduate students (N = 133) from college classrooms on the campus of Western Michigan University. …

Child Welfare: Trauma Informed Practice At Time Of Child Removal, Ester Garcia

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

As of 2018, approximately 442,995 children are in the foster care system in the United States according to the federal statistics from the Children’s Bureau. Entry into the foster system involves the removal of children from their home, making it a traumatic experience. The purpose of this study was to examine social workers’ perceptions of what trauma informed practice means and what it looks like in child welfare removals. The study also clarifies what trauma informed practice (TIP) is and how it can be applied in child welfare’s organizational structure. This was a qualitative study in which child welfare social …

Painting Intimacy: Art-Based Research Of Intimacy, Michal Lev

Expressive Therapies Dissertations

This art-based research explores whether — and, if so, how — the process of painting, together with witnessing and reflection on the process and imagery, further an understanding of intimacy. The research also examines the conditions that favor intimacy, the obstacles to intimacy, and the particular features of artistic media, processes and reflection, through the editing of video footage, that can further the intimate experience. The participants in the study were five adults (including the researcher) between the ages of thirty and eighty who were familiar with the creation of visual art. Among them were three women and two men …

Contextually Modulated Avoidance Behavior In Rats Post-Pavlovian Extinction, Lauren Branigan

Theses and Dissertations

The following study sought to examine the psychological substrates of renewal (e.g.., context dependent extinction processes) for conditioned avoidance behaviors in rats. Using signaled active avoidance conditioning, rats acquired two-way shuttle responding, to two different auditory stimuli. These behaviors were then extinguished through exposure to the auditory stimuli where shuttling behavior was now without consequence. Subjects were then tested for renewal of avoidance in three distinct renewal sequences (e.g., ABA vs ABB, AAB vs AAA, and ABC vs ABB) in three separate groups of rats. It was found that subjects showed more responding to a stimulus presented outside of its …

Spatio-Temporal Distribution Of Negative Emotions In New York City After A Natural Disaster As Seen In Social Media, Oliver Gruebner, Sarah R. Lowe, Martin Sykora, Ketan Shankardass, Sv Subramanian, Sandro Galea

Department of Psychology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Disasters have substantial consequences for population mental health. We used Twitter to (1) extract negative emotions indicating discomfort in New York City (NYC) before, during, and after Superstorm Sandy in 2012. We further aimed to (2) identify whether pre- or peri-disaster discomfort were associated with peri- or post-disaster discomfort, respectively, and to (3) assess geographic variation in discomfort across NYC census tracts over time. Our sample consisted of 1,018,140 geo-located tweets that were analyzed with an advanced sentiment analysis called ”Extracting the Meaning Of Terse Information in a Visualization of Emotion” (EMOTIVE). We calculated discomfort rates for 2137 NYC census …