Social Psychology Commons^™

Facial Expression Discrimination In Adults Experiencing Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms, Brian N. Lee

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The present study examined the impact of posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) on adults’ ability to discriminate between various facial expressions of emotions. Additionally, the study examined whether individuals reporting PTSS exhibited an attentional bias toward threat-related facial expressions of emotions. The research design was a 2 (expression intensity) x 3 (emotional pairing) x 2 (PTSS group) mixed-model factorial design. Participants for the study were 89 undergraduates recruited from psychology courses at Western Kentucky University. Participants completed the Traumatic Stress Schedule to assess for prior exposure to traumatic events. A median split was used to divide the sample into two groups …

Neural Correlates Of The Implicit Association Test: Evidence For Semantic And Emotional Processing, Jason R. Themanson, John K. Williams

Jason R. Themanson, Ph.D

Perceptions Of Beauty Among Female Chinese Students In The United States And China, Carly R. Staley, Ginny Qin Zhan

The Kennesaw Journal of Undergraduate Research

This pilot study compared the perceptions of beauty among Chinese women who were exchange students in the United States with Chinese women who were students in their homeland. We interviewed 19 women in China and 19 women in the United States to determine differences in responses. In accordance with the sociocultural approach and the social comparison approach, we expected Chinese women in the United States to have a be more acculturate, more frequently conclude that American women were more beautiful than Chinese women, be more likely than those studying in China to report body dissatisfaction, be more likely to dislike …

Testing For A Descriptive And Injunctive Norm Interaction In Promoting Health Behavior, Robert E. Low

Master's Theses

Social norms-based interventions have demonstrated efficacy as tools for behavior change interventions. Nonetheless, there is some theoretical and empirical evidence that the efficacy of injunctive norms-based appeals can be undermined by their tendency to 1) arouse psychological reactance among participants, and 2) inadvertently imply that few others are completing the target behavior. The author hypothesizes that supplementing an injunctive appeal with evidence of a supporting descriptive norm will counteract these problematic tendencies. The present research describes a test of of this hypothesis in the context of an intervention to fight H1N1 on campus. Boxes of sanitizing keyboard wipes were placed …

When Knowing Just Isn't Enough: Examining The Role Of Moral Emotions In Health Decision Making Using The Theory Of Planned Behavior, Kate Duangdao

Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

A proposed integrated Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) model aimed to examine the role of moral emotions and two health outcomes: prosocial behaviors and smoking outcomes. Based on Tangney’s work with shame and guilt-proneness, it was expected that those more prone to guilt would engage in more prosocial behaviors and those more prone to shame would engage in more smoking behaviors. Prosocial behaviors were found to be negatively associated with smoking outcomes. However, results suggested that guilt and shame-proneness seem to function similarly in predicting behavioral outcomes. Components within the TPB were generally positively correlated with each health outcome, however …

Understanding The Behavioral Determinants Of Retention In Hiv Care: A Qualitative Evaluation Of The Situated Information, Motivation, Behavioral Skills Model Of Care Initiation And Maintenance, Laramie Smith

Master's Theses

The goal of this study is to identify the content and context of critical informational, motivational, and behavioral skills related facilitators and barriers influencing retention in HIV care in an inner-city clinic population receiving clinic- and outreach-based HIV care services. Elicitation of retention-relevant factors was guided by the Situated Information-Motivation-Behavioral Skills model of Care Initiation and Maintenance, using qualitative in-depth semi-structured interviews. Deductive and inductive content coding were used to identify important theory-based dynamics of retention in HIV care and to identify factors discussed as important to retention in HIV-care that were not well specified by the model. Participants’ experiences …

The Relation Of Self-Efficacy And Error-Related Self-Regulation, Jason Themanson, Matthew Pontifex, Charles Hillman, Edward Mcauley

Jason R. Themanson, Ph.D

Relations between a modifiable psychosocial factor, self-efficacy (SE), and behavioral and neural indices of self-regulation, including post-error behavior, the error-related negativity (ERN), and error positivity (Pe) were examined in young adults during a flanker task emphasizing either accuracy or speed. SE was predicted to be associated with larger ERN and Pe amplitudes, as well as greater post-error behavioral performance during task conditions emphasizing accuracy, but not speed. Results showed that higher SE was associated with greater post-error response accuracy during the accuracy condition, but not the speed condition, and higher SE was related with greater ERN amplitudes across instruction conditions. …

The Behavioral Effects Of Increased Physical Activity On Preschoolers At Risk For Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Jasmin L. Roberts

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

Physical activity (PA) has many health benefits, both physical and psychological. PA has been linked to improved cognitive functioning, superior overall health, and enhanced emotional well-being in populations ranging from school-age children to older adults. There has been less research, however, examining the benefits of PA in atypical preschool populations.

The present study examined the efficacy of a PA intervention in preschool-aged children at risk for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). ADHD symptomatology, response inhibition, and physical activity were measured at three time points over a 6-month period. Results provide support for the efficacy of PA as an alleviative tool …

The Claremont Autism Center, Alex E. Mitchell Mr.

CMC Senior Theses

The Claremont Autism Center is a 23 minute documentary on the strengths and benefits the Center brings to Claremont McKenna students, as well as children and families from the Inland Empire that deal with Autism on a daily basis.

Beyond Tolerance: Consciously Using Universal Energy Laws, Discernment, And Harmonious Relationship Principles, Carroy U. Ferguson

Carroy U "Cuf" Ferguson, Ph.D.

Every day we, as human beings, maneuver through a myriad of circumstances in our individual and collective life spaces. Central to our experiences is the nature, kind, and quality of our relationships. When we encounter differences (racial, ethnic, cultural, religious, economic, sexual orientation, the mentally and physically challenged), a common issue that often emerges in our experiences is the extent to which we use tolerance in relating to other people and circumstances. For this reason, I want to discuss the nature of tolerance and its limitations, and how to move beyond tolerance by consciously using Universal Energy Laws, discernment, and …