Other Psychology Commons^™

Neurocorrelates Of The Mirror Neuron System In Children With Chromosome 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome, Ade Marais

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Activation of brain regions that make up the mirror neuron system (MNS) is thought to reflect processing and perceiving behavior, action, and intentionality of other organisms. Sensing and perceiving motor behavior in others is an important component of understanding and participating in social interactions. Children with chromosome 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11.2DS) are diagnosed with serious medical, cognitive, and socio-emotional symptoms. Atypical development and function of the MNS may underpin some aspects of socio-emotional impairment and autism spectrum disorder (ASD)-like symptomology reported. This study of the MNS investigates differences in activation in the operculum, sensorimotor areas, and basal ganglia (BG) in …

Is Cooperative Memory Special? The Role Of Costly Errors, Context, And Social Network Size When Remembering Cooperative Actions, Jeffrey R. Stevens, Tim Winke

Jeffrey Stevens Publications

Theoretical studies of cooperative behavior have focused on decision strategies, such as tit-for-tat, that depend on remembering a partner’s last choices. Yet, an empirical study by Stevens et al. (2011) demonstrated that human memory may not meet the requirements that needed to use these strategies. When asked to recall the previous behavior of simulated partners in a cooperative memory task, participants performed poorly, making errors in 10–24% of the trials. However, we do not know the extent to which this task taps specialized cognition for cooperation. It may be possible to engage participants in more cooperative, strategic thinking, which may …

Ask The Pendulum: Personality Predictors Of Ideomotor Performance, Jay A. Olson, Ewalina Jeyanesan, Amir Raz

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

For centuries, people have asked questions to hand-held pendulums and interpreted their movements as responses from the divine. These movements occur due to the ideomotor effect, wherein priming or thinking of a motion causes muscle movements that end up swinging the pendulum. By associating particular swinging movements with “yes” and “no” responses, we investigated whether pendulums can aid decision-making and which personality traits correlate with this performance. Participants (N=80) completed a visual detection task in which they searched for a target letter among rapidly presented characters. In the verbal condition, participants stated whether they saw the target in each trial. …

Spatial-Relational Learning And Memory Deficits Associated With Nmdar Autoantibodies In Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, Brittany L. Bascetta

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Individuals with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) experience inflammation that may target any organ within the body, including the central and peripheral nervous systems. Additionally, these individuals often demonstrate psychological dysfunctions including emotional and cognitive deficits; however, research is inconsistent as to the nature and cause of these dysfunctions. While there are multiple factors that may increase risk for variability in cognitive function, such as population differences, socioeconomic status (SES), mood disorders (depression and anxiety), medication effects, and disease activity, these factors do not reliably predict the severity and extent of cognitive deficits. A growing body of animal research associates autoantibodies …

The Effects Of Goal Systems On Performance In Youth Baseball, Joshua A. Leet

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

This thesis explores the relationship of multiple goals set by youth baseball players with past and present performance. Core to this investigation was the complexity, content, and number of distal and proximal goals reported by players who wrote their goals for an upcoming season. Results showed that players with a greater number of process goals (compared to performance or outcomes goals) and individual goals (compared to team goals) received higher ratings of performance by their coaches. Analyses also revealed that age significantly influenced aspects of goal structure and content for goal reported by players. That is, older players reported having …

Do Different Personality Types Differ In Level Of Confirmation Bias?, Allison J. Long

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The purpose of this research study was to determine if there is a correlation between personality type and level of confirmation bias. Confirmation bias is the idea that people are more likely to agree with opinions already similar to their own and they will actively seek out that opinion. The NEO Five Factor Inventory was administered to determine the subjects’ levels in openness to experience, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism. The Confirmation Inventory was administered to determine the level of confirmation bias. It was predicted that people high in openness will score low in confirmation bias; people who score high …

Cognitive And Emotional Processes Involved In The Experience Of Objects As Holy Or Transcendent, Lotte J. Pummerer

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

In recent years, attitudes about religion/spirituality have become more pluralistic (Pew Research Center, 2015a). At the same time, the number of individuals who identify themselves as nonreligious, atheist or agnostic are growing (Pew Research Center, 2015b), yet we are lacking words and research to describe their attributions of transcendence in language not bound to religious concepts. This study aims at examining both concepts – holiness and transcendence – in their similarities and differences through assessing cognitive and emotional processes involved in experiences of objects.

The study consisted of two parts with a total of 206 Christian and 52 nonreligious/atheistic/agnostic participants. …

Intertemporal Choice And Delayed Gratification, Jeffrey R. Stevens

Jeffrey Stevens Publications

A parasitoid wasp has deposited half of her eggs in a host. She now faces the choice between depositing her remaining eggs in the same host or searching for another. Continuing to deposit in the current host provides the immediate payoff of completing her reproductive duties, allowing her to move on to other activities such as foraging or searching for another mate. Searching for another host, in contrast, delays the payoffs of reproducing until a suitable host is found. This wasp faces an intertemporal choice—that is, a choice between options that involve payoffs available at different times (Read, 2004; Stevens, …

Review Of Bird Brain: An Exploration Of Avian Intelligence By Nathan Emery, Alan B. Bond

Avian Cognition Papers

Over the past 30 years, the study of bird behavior has been completely transformed by the ongoing revolution in cognitive psychology, opening up wholly new perspectives on the mental processes underlying such areas as foraging decisions, social intelligence, problem solving, memory encoding, and communication. Although these studies have contributed to a number of recent popular books, until now there has been no attempt to integrate avian cognition and recent findings in avian neuroanatomy and endocrinology into a single account that is attractive and accessible to a general readership. It is a steep challenge, but Nathan Emery has undertaken it in …

Adolescent Perceptions Of Dating Violence: A Qualitative Study, Sarah Taylor, Carrie A. Calkins, Yan Ruth Xia, Rochelle L. Dalla

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

Scholars have identified dating violence as a public health issue among adolescents. Yet, minimal research has detailed adolescents’ perceptions of dating violence, specifically gender differences in perceptions. Research suggests that in order for dating violence prevention and intervention to be effective, services need to be delivered in a manner that is understood by adolescents. Therefore, this study used a qualitative phenomenology study to investigate adolescents’ perceptions of dating violence, including gender differences in adolescents’ perceptions. Thirty adolescents between the ages of 14 and 19 from a Midwest public high school participated in focus groups. Focus group participants were asked semistructured …

Rationality, Parapsychology, And Artificial Intelligence In Military And Intelligence Research By The United States Government In The Cold War, Guy M. Lomeo

Theses and Dissertations

A study analyzing the roles of rationality, parapsychology, and artificial intelligence in military and intelligence research by the United States Government in the Cold War. An examination of the methodology behind the decisions to pursue research in two fields that were initially considered irrational.

Angels And Demons: Using Behavioral Types In A Real-Effort Moral Dilemma To Identify Expert Traits, Hernan Bejarano, Ellen P. Green, Stephen Rassenti

ESI Publications

In this article, we explore how independently reported measures of subjects' cognitive capabilities, preferences, and sociodemographic characteristics relate to their behavior in a real-effort moral dilemma experiment. To do this, we use a unique dataset, the Chapman Preferences and Characteristics Instrument Set (CPCIS), which contains over 30 standardized measures of preferences and characteristics. We find that simple correlation analysis provides an incomplete picture of how individual measures relate to behavior. In contrast, clustering subjects into groups based on observed behavior in the real-effort task reveals important systematic differences in individual characteristics across groups. However, while we find more differences, these …

Examining Relationships Between Basic Emotion Perception And Musical Training In The Prosodic, Facial, And Lexical Channels Of Communication And In Music, Jamie Twaite

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Research has suggested that intensive musical training may result in transfer effects from musical to non-musical domains. There is considerable research on perceptual and cognitive transfer effects associated with music, but, comparatively, fewer studies examined relationships between musical training and emotion processing. Preliminary findings, though equivocal, suggested that musical training is associated with enhanced perception of emotional prosody, consistent with a growing body of research demonstrating relationships between music and speech. In addition, few studies directly examined the relationship between musical training and the perception of emotions expressed in music, and no studies directly evaluated this relationship in the facial …

Open-Minded Religiosity: Investigating The Link Between Religious Commitment And Thinking Style, Carl W. Sallee

Honors Projects

This study examined the relationship between religious commitment and thinking styles. Participants (n = 195) completed self-report measures of religious commitment, contextualism, Authoritarianism-Conservatism-Traditionalism (ACT - conceptualized as social attitudes/beliefs), and Open-Minded Cognition (OMC - conceptualized as a cognitive style). A marginally significant direct link was observed. Furthermore, when controlling for Contextualism, the strength of the negative link between SRF and OMC increased non-significantly. When controlling for ACT, mediation analysis revealed that the relationship between SRF and OMC was more indirect (via shared variance with ACT) than direct. Moderation analyses did not reveal significant results. Results tentatively suggest a negative …

User Interface Design Recommendations For Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (Suas), Camilo Jimenez, Caitlin L. Faerevaag, Florian Jentsch

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

The number of small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) has dramatically increased in recent years. As a consequence, the number of incidents involving manned and unmanned aircraft has soared. For this reason, the Federal Aviation Administration has released a notice of proposed rulemaking to delineate the operational limitations for sUAS. Many efforts have been introduced to regulate the operations of these systems and educate operators. Despite these efforts, there are no clear standards related to the type of information that should be available to operators, or how this information should be conveyed during flight operations. For this reason we present a …

Correlates Of Appearance And Weight Satisfaction In A U.S. National Sample: Personality, Attachment Style, Television Viewing, Self-Esteem, And Life Satisfaction, David Frederick, Gaganjyot Sandhu, Patrick J. Morse, Viren Swami

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

We examined the prevalence and correlates of satisfaction with appearance and weight. Participants (N = 12,176) completed an online survey posted on the NBCNews.com and Today.com websites. Few men and women were very to extremely dissatisfied with their physical appearances (6%; 9%), but feeling very to extremely dissatisfied with weight was more common (15%; 20%). Only about one-fourth of men and women felt very to extremely satisfied with their appearances (28%; 26%) and weights (24%; 20%). Men and women with higher body masses reported higher appearance and weight dissatisfaction. Dissatisfied people had higher Neuroticism, more preoccupied and fearful attachment …

The Development Of The Scale Of Contemplative Practice In Higher Education, Maryann Krikorian

Educational Studies Dissertations

Some scholars have formed a more expansive view of knowledge that moves beyond the cognitive notion of intellect. For example, emotional intelligence (EI) theory posits that human intelligence encompasses both cognitive and emotional competencies, providing a framework for the concept of contemplative practices in an endeavor to support an eclectic understanding of cognition. Contemplative practices may benefit graduate student disposition and inform areas of educator preparation through the use of emotional adeptness in higher education. The purpose of this study was to: (a) develop a self-report measure: Scale of Contemplative Practice in Higher Education (SCOPE); (b) address the issues of …

How Trust Influences Adoption: Creating Human-Centered Autonomous Vehicles, David R. Garcia

Human Factors and Applied Psychology Student Conference

No abstract provided.

Impact Of Auditory Affect On Urgent Behaviors On A Car Simulator, Cintya N. Larios, Mustapha Mouloua, Marc D. Gentzler

Human Factors and Applied Psychology Student Conference

Emotional content abounds the driver in different forms from billboard signs to in-vehicle devices to roadside situations. Such emotional scenes can result in unsafe driving behaviors and lead to collisions due to their ability to attract attentional resources and change driving goals to irrelevant ones (Megías et al. 2011b; Briggs et al, 2011). Recent studies have looked at the way auditory and visual emotional stimuli can impact individual’s decision under Evaluative and Urgent road environment behaviors. Evaluative behaviors are known as a categorization in which people judge a scene as risky or not, whereas Urgent behaviors are time sensitive, requiring …

Race And Gender And The Perception Of Masculinity And Femininity Of The American Political Parties, Jessica Dulz

Political Science Theses and Capstones

How Americans select and identify with a political party can have many different sources. One important source has been found to be the effects of gender and perceptions of masculinity and femininity on party identification. I look deeper into this phenomenon to analyze the effects of race on the perception of masculine and feminine traits within Democrats and Republicans. In order to study this, I analyze 2012 American National Election Study (ANES) data. I hypothesize that among whites the results will be similar to previous studies which found Republicans to be much more favorable of masculine traits and Democrats to …

Intertemporal Similarity: Discounting As A Last Resort, Jeffrey R. Stevens

Jeffrey Stevens Publications

Standard models of intertemporal choice assume that individuals discount future payoffs by integrating reward amounts and time delays to generate a discounted value. Alternative models propose that, rather than integrate across them, individuals compare within attributes (amounts and delays) to determine if differences in one attribute outweigh differences in another attribute. For instance, Leland (2002) and Rubinstein (2003) propose models that 1) compare the two reward amounts to determine whether they are similar, 2) compare the similarity of the two time delays, and then 3) make a decision based on these similarity judgments. Here, I tested discounting models against attribute-based …

Voluntary Food Sharing In Pinyon Jays: The Role Of Reciprocity And Dominance, Juan F. Duque, Jeffrey R. Stevens

Jeffrey Stevens Publications

Food sharing offers a clear example of prosocial behavior, in which one individual’s actions benefit another. Researchers have proposed a range of hypotheses that explain why food sharing may occur among unrelated individuals. Two such hypotheses, reciprocity and dominance, have been tested in many species, including fish, corvids, rats, bats, and primates, showing that (1) recipients sometimes reciprocate sharing back to previous donors and (2) dominant individuals share more than subordinates. Although primates dominate the study of prosocial behavior, active donation of food is actually quite rare in primates. In contrast, several corvid species spontaneously share food much more frequently. …

The Domain Specificity Of Intertemporal Choice In Pinyon Jays, Jeffrey R. Stevens, Bryce Kennedy, Dina Morales, Marianna Burks

Jeffrey Stevens Publications

When choosing between a piece of cake now versus a slimmer waistline in the future, many of us have difficulty with self-control. Food-caching species, however, regularly hide food for later recovery, sometimes waiting months before retrieving their caches. It remains unclear whether these long-term choices generalize outside of the caching domain. We hypothesized that the ability to save for the future is a general tendency that cuts across different situations. To test this hypothesis, we measured and experimentally manipulated caching to evaluate its relationship with operant measures of self-control in pinyon jays (Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus). We found no correlation …

Music And Memory: A Qualitative Look At How Music Affects Episodic Memory, Jonathan A. Coad

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This study was designed to examine qualitative data regarding gender and age differences about significant life events that are recalled when music is remembered. Two groups of participants were recruited, younger adults (M = 19.78, SD = 4.99) and older adults (M = 49.31, SD = 8.72). Data were collected by creating a survey and allowing participants to choose whichever songs, from their own experience, they like and asking them to list detailed memories that are attached to the song. Using the Linguistic Inquiry Word Count (2015) software, data was coded into categories of word count, positive and negative emotions, …

Slam Poetry: An Online Intervention For Treating Depression, Spencer J. Ruchti, Mercedes Becker, Cara Mckee, Austin Herron, Alex Swalling

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

Given that depression is the “leading cause of disability worldwide,” and that less than 50% of people suffering from depression receive treatment, this study aims to provide support for a globally accessible depression treatment (WHO, 2012). The study conducted implemented an internet-based treatment for depression in which users were provided an opportunity to watch slam poetry videos related to mental health issues and write free responses regarding the content of the videos and their subjective experience of depression. Numerous studies provide support for the effectiveness of expressive writing, online mental health interventions, and slam poetry in particular for reducing symptoms …

Cognitive Phenotypes And The Evolution Of Animal Decisions, Tamra C. Mendelson, Courtney L. Fitzpatrick, Mark E. Hauber, Charles H. Pence, Rafael L. Rodriguez, Rebecca J. Safran, Caitlin A. Stern, Jeffrey R. Stevens

Jeffrey Stevens Publications

Despite the clear fitness consequences of animal decisions, the science of animal decision making in evolutionary biology is underdeveloped compared with decision science in human psychology. Specifically, the field lacks a conceptual framework that defines and describes the relevant components of a decision, leading to imprecise language and concepts. The ‘judgment and decision-making’ (JDM) framework in human psychology is a powerful tool for framing and understanding human decisions, and we apply it here to components of animal decisions, which we refer to as ‘cognitive phenotypes’. We distinguish multiple cognitive phenotypes in the context of a JDM framework and highlight empirical …

Context-Dependent Seed Dispersal By A Scatter-Hoarding Corvid, Mario B. Pesendorfer, T. Scott Sillett, Scott A. Morrison, Alan C. Kamil

Avian Cognition Papers

1. Corvids (crows, jays, magpies and nutcrackers) are important dispersers of large-seeded plants. Studies on captive or supplemented birds suggest that they flexibly adjust their scatter-hoarding behavior to the context of social dynamics and relative seed availability. Because many corvid-dispersed trees show high annual variation in seed production, context-dependent foraging can have strong effects on natural corvid scatter-hoarding behavior.

2. We investigated how seed availability and social dynamics affected scatter-hoarding in the island scrub jays (Aphelocoma insularis). We quantified rates of scatter-hoarding behavior and territorial defense of 26 colormarked birds over a three-year period with variable acorn crops. …

Cognitive And Behavioral Mechanisms Underlying Alcohol-Induced Risky Driving, Jennifer R. Laude

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

Alcohol intoxication represents one situation an individual might increase their amount of risk taking when driving. This dissertation is comprised of three studies that investigate the mechanisms by which alcohol increases driver risk-taking. Study 1 examined the effect of alcohol on driver risk-taking using a proxemics approach. The study also tested whether alcohol-induced increases in risky driving co-occurred with pronounced impairment in the driver’s skill. The study also examined whether the most disinhibited drivers were also the riskiest. Indeed, alcohol increased driver risk-taking and impaired driving skill. The study also revealed risky driving can be dissociable from impairing effects on …

Aesthetics And Performance Evaluation Of Post-Industrial Public Parks, Adel C. Vaughn

Landscape Architecture Undergraduate Honors Theses

Post-Industrial sites are often un-utilized and deserted places that are an aesthetic, social, ecological, and physical hindrance to the realm of the cities in which they lie, however they possess enormous potential. With respectful and transformative design, these new public parks gain a variety of benefits that extend well beyond the typical benefits exhibited by public parks due to their rich history, fascinating existing structures, high levels of visual and sensorial stimulation, one-of-a-kind traits, and opportunity for impactful change. By evaluating these post-industrial public parks, knowledge can be gained about what specific elements in the landscape contribute to their overall …

Olfactory Enrichment In California Sea Lions (Zalophus Californianus), Mystera M. Samuelson

Dissertations

In the wild, California sea lions (Zalophus californianus) are exposed to a wide array of sensory information at all times. However, it is impossible for captive environments to provide this level of complexity. Therefore unique procedures and practices are necessary for the maintenance of physiological and psychological health in captive animals (Wells, 2009). This project aims to explore the behavioral effect of scent added to the environment, with the goal of improving the welfare of captive sea lions by introducing two scent types: 1.) Natural scents, found in their native environment, and 2.) Non-natural scents, not found in …