Applied Behavior Analysis Commons^™

Why Do Narcissists Disregard Social-Etiquette Norms? A Test Of Two Explanations For Why Narcissism Relates To Offensive-Language Use, John Milton Adams, Dan Florell, K. Alex Burton, William Hart

Psychology Faculty and Staff Research

Narcissists often fail to abide by norms for polite social conduct, but why? The current study addressed this issue by exploring reasons why narcissists use more offensive language (i.e., profanity) than non-narcissists. In this study, 602 participants completed a survey in which they responded on a measure of trait narcissism, rated several offensive words on the degree to which the words were attention-grabbing and offensive, and then indicated how frequently they used the words. Consistent with the idea that narcissists use offensive language to gain attention, narcissists were incrementally more likely to use offensive language if they perceived such language …

Why Gesture!, Gale Stam

Faculty Publications

An editorial on the importance of gesture in understanding second language acquisition and in teaching language.

The Cognitive Underpinnings Of Bias In Forensic Mental Health Evaluations, Tess M. S. Neal, Thomas Grisso

University of Nebraska Public Policy Center: Publications

We integrate multiple domains of psychological science to identify, better understand, and manage the effects of subtle but powerful biases in forensic mental health assessment. This topic is ripe for discussion, as research evidence that challenges our objectivity and credibility garners increased attention both within and outside of psychology. We begin by defining bias and provide rich examples from the judgment and decision-making literature as they might apply to forensic assessment tasks. The cognitive biases we review can help us explain common problems in interpretation and judgment that confront forensic examiners. This leads us to ask (and attempt to answer) …

Identifying Perceived Barriers To Monitoring Service Quality Among Substance Abuse Treatment Providers In South Africa, Bronwyn Myers, Zainoisa Petersen, Rehana Kader, J Randy Koch, Ron Manderscheid, Rajen Govender, Charles Dh Parry

Psychology Publications

Background

A performance measurement system is planned for South African substance abuse treatment services. Provider-level barriers to implementing these systems have been identified in the United States, but little is known about the nature of these barriers in South Africa. This study explored the willingness of South African substance abuse treatment providers’ to adopt a performance measurement system and perceived barriers to monitoring service quality that would need to be addressed during system development.

Methods

Three focus group discussions were held with treatment providers from two of the nine provinces in South Africa. These providers represented the diverse spread of …

Not Just Welfare Over Justice: Ethics In Forensic Consultation, Philip J. Candilis, Tess M. S. Neal

University of Nebraska Public Policy Center: Publications

The ethics of forensic professionalism is often couched in terms of competing individual and societal values. Indeed, the welfare of individuals is often secondary to the requirements of society, especially given the public nature of courts of law, forensic hospitals, jails, and prisons. We explore the weaknesses of this dichotomous approach to forensic ethics, offering an analysis of Psychology’s historical narrative especially relevant to the national security and correctional settings. We contend that a richer, more robust ethical analysis is available if practitioners consider the multiple perspectives in the forensic encounter, and acknowledge the multiple influences of personal, professional, and …

Effects Of Accurate And Inflated Employee Performance Self-Evaluations On Memory Accuracy, Michelle E. Miller

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

Previous research has emphasized the value of carrying out performance appraisals at work. Both employers and employees can benefit from utilizing such measurement tools (Huselid, 1995). While conducting performance appraisals is critical to the success of an organization, companies must also be wary of the misinformation effect and the impact it can have on different parts of an appraisal, especially an employee's self-evaluation. Due to the lack of existing research on the memory for self-evaluations, I designed the present study to identify the effects of both accurate and inflated self-evaluations on memories for the original event. After watching a video …

Effects Of Simultaneous Alarms On Resolution Heuristics, Amanda C. Allen

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Automated signaling systems are frequently used to direct operator attention to potential hazards. Although these automated systems can lead to enhanced human performance, factors such as degraded alarm signal reliability and lack of trust can undermine the potential benefits of automation (Breznitz, 1984; Rice, 2009, Wickens & 2007). Additionally, work by Gilson, Mouloua, Graft, and McDonald (2001), as well as Keller and Rice (2009), suggest that an alarm contained within a larger array of alarms should not be evaluated individually. Due to the increasing use of multiple alarms in complex environments such as operating rooms and cockpits (Konkani, Oakley, & …

Working It Out: Examining The Psychological Effects Of Music And Exercise And Exploring The Theoretical Background Of Health Behaviors, Caroline R. Campbell

Theses and Dissertations

Exercise has been linked to mood benefits, and music may increase these effects. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the psychological effects of music and exercise. Exercise was hypothesized to increase mood more significantly in those who listened to music. Listening to music while exercising was also hypothesized to lead to lower perceived exertion and higher exercise enjoyment. Participants (N = 148) completed 20 minutes of moderately-paced walking, either with or without a personal music player. Exercise significantly increased mood in all measured dimensions. Exercise enjoyment was significantly higher among participants who exercised with music and music …

From Passive Receptacles To Active Contenders: Ovulation And Intrasexual Competition In Human Females, Andres E. Munoz 14

Honor Scholar Theses

Recent evidence has suggested that ovulation in humans might be accompanied by subtle cues. Furthermore, several studies have suggested that women engage in intrasexual competition, or competition with members of the same sex, with the aim of obtaining high quality mates. This competition involves the use of complex strategies including self-promotion and rival derogation. The link between ovulation and intrasexual competition remains largely underexplored, although a few studies have suggested that intrasexual competition might become intensified during ovulation. This paper explores the relationship between ovulatory cue detection and intrasexual competition and outlines two research proposals for future analysis of this …

Teacher Training In Opportunities To Respond And Positive Feedback: Effects On Student Engagement, Yevheniy Sukovskyy

Theses and Dissertations--Early Childhood, Special Education, and Counselor Education

This study investigated the impact of a brief teacher training combined with use of a MotivAider that sought to simultaneously manipulate rate of opportunity to respond and positive feedback on students’ on-task behavior during a classroom activity. The goal of the training was to increase the percentage of time the learner stayed on task during the class activity. Three elementary teacher-student dyads took part in this study. An A-B-A-B withdrawal design was employed to evaluate the function of relation between independent and dependent variables. Results showed low effectiveness of brief training and MotivAider as a strategy of increasing teachers providing …

Status Of And Future Recommendations For Country-Of-Origin Research, Katie Post

Honors Projects

This research investigates whether country-of-origin (COO) cues have an effect on consumer purchase intentions, based on a review of prior literature published in the EBSCO and Summon databases. The findings of these articles show that COO cues do not, on their own, have an effect on consumer purchase intentions; but do have some effect on consumer attitudes/feelings toward the product. Future research has much to offer in terms of identifying whether COO cues have an effect on consumers’ purchase intentions for specific products, or specific types of products.

Using Noninvasive Brain Measurement To Explore The Psychological Effects Of Computer Malfunctions On Users During Human-Computer Interactions, Leanne M. Hirshfield, Philip Bobko, Alex Barelka, Stuart H. Hirshfield, Mathew T. Farrington, Spencer Gulbronson, Diane Paverman

Management Faculty Publications

In today’s technologically driven world, there is a need to better understand the ways that common computer malfunctions affect computer users. These malfunctions may have measurable influences on computer user’s cognitive, emotional, and behavioral responses. An experiment was conducted where participants conducted a series of web search tasks while wearing functional nearinfrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) and galvanic skin response sensors. Two computer malfunctions were introduced during the sessions which had the potential to influence correlates of user trust and suspicion. Surveys were given after each session to measure user’s perceived emotional state, cognitive load, and perceived trust. Results suggest that fNIRS …

Using Behavioral Skills Training And Videotaped Vignettes To Teach Accurate Recording Of Behavior To In-Service Teachers Of Children With Autism, Nicole Marie Hoffman

All Master's Theses

Research on staff training demonstrates a need for better training of service providers in applied settings (Frazier, 1972; Love, Carr, LeBlanc, & Kisamore, 2013; Parsons, Rollyson, & Reid, 2012). Well-trained staff members increase the likelihood that instructional programs are implemented with a high degree of procedural integrity (Catania, Almeida, Liu-Constant, & Reed, 2009), that is, all people implement a given procedure exactly as designed. Four in-service teachers of children with autism observed several You Tube TM videos and were asked to record instances of a given target behavior using three interval recording strategies. The three interval recording strategies that were …

Punishment-Free Toilet Training For Children With Autism: Silent Urine Alarms, Joy Mayer Gulseth

All Master's Theses

The current study aimed to examine the effects of punishment-free toilet training procedures on successful toilet training in two children with autism. The participants had no previous experience with any toilet-training procedures. This study employed the use of scheduled sits, positive reinforcement for sitting and for successful in-toilet urinations, and use of silent urine alarms that signal accidents to parents or caregivers, but not to the child. Toilet-training procedures were conducted across the participant's home and school settings by the principal investigator, research associates, parents, and teachers. One participant made significant progress toward becoming toilet-trained. The other failed to show …

The Politics Of The Face-In-The-Crowd, Mark S. Mills, Kevin B. Smith, John R. Hibbing, Michael Dodd

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Recent work indicates that the more conservative one is, the faster one is to fixate on negative stimuli, whereas the less conservative one is, the faster one is to fixate on positive stimuli. The present series of experiments used the face-in-the-crowd paradigm to examine whether variability in the efficiency with which positive and negative stimuli are detected underlies such speed differences. Participants searched for a discrepant facial expression (happy or angry) amid a varying number of neutral distractors (Experiments 1 and 4). A combination of response time and eye movement analyses indicated that variability in search efficiency explained speed differences …

Long-Term Impacts Of Adolescent Risperidone Treatment On Behavioral Responsiveness To Olanzapine And Clozapine In Adulthood, Jing Qiao, Qinglin Zhang, Ming Li

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

This preclinical study investigated howa short-termrisperidone treatment in adolescence impacts antipsychotic response to olanzapine and clozapine in adulthood. Antipsychotic effect was indexed by a drug's suppressive effect on avoidance responding in a rat conditioned avoidance response (CAR) model. Male adolescent Sprague–Dawley rats were first treated with risperidone (1.0mg/kg, sc) or sterile water and tested in the CAR model for 5 consecutive days from postnatal days P 40 to 44. After they became adults (~P 80–84), they were switched to olanzapine (0.5mg/kg, sc), clozapine (5.0mg/kg, sc) or vehicle treatment and tested for avoidance for 5 days. During the adolescent period, repeated …

Behavioral Relaxation Training: A Stress Management Tool For Graduate Students, Natalie Anne Juhlin

All Master's Theses

Stress can have maladaptive effects on health and academic performance. This study examined the effectiveness of teaching Behavioral Relaxation Training (BRT) as a stress management technique for graduate students. BRT is a form of relaxation training that teaches individuals 10 relaxed behaviors to use when experiencing distressing emotions. A concurrent multiple probe design across four participants was used in conjunction with pretest and follow-up scores from the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). Following baseline probes, participants received two BRT training sessions focusing on acquisition and proficiency of relaxed body postures. Results revealed that after BRT training all participants achieved greater than …

The Effects Of Anxiety And Depressive Symptoms On Working Memory In Children, Rachel Lee Liudahl-Carr

All Master's Theses

The study analyzed archival data of 38 elementary and middle school students from special education records. Scale scores from the Behavioral Assessment System for Children-Second Edition-Teacher Rating Scale (BASC-2-TRS), were used to measure Anxiety, Depression, Attention Problems and Learning Problems. These scale scores were used as predictor variables for Working Memory and Full-scale IQ scores on the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fourth Edition. It was hypothesized that BASC- 2-TRS scores would be negatively correlated with Working Memory scores, but not IQ. Only the inverse relationship between Learning Problems and Working Memory scores was found to be significant.

Anxiety Disorders And School-Based Treatments: Assessing School Pyschologists' Knowledge And Perceptions, Kelly A. Myhasuk

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Anxiety disorders are common in children and youth. Despite high prevalence rates, most children with anxiety disorders do not receive treatment. In fact, for the few children who are receiving treatment, schools are the primary source of mental health care. When left untreated, children experience significant disruptions in their academic, social, emotional, and behavioral functioning. Therefore, it is important for those working in schools to recognize and treat children with anxiety disorders. The present study surveyed school psychologists (n = 178) to assess their knowledge about anxiety disorders and about empirically supported school-based treatments. Also, this study sought to investigate …

Using Internet Artifacts To Profile A Child Pornography Suspect, Kathryn C. Seigfried-Spellar, Marcus K. Rogers

Faculty Publications

Digital evidence plays a crucial role in child pornography investigations. However, in the following case study, the authors argue that the behavioral analysis or “profiling” of digital evidence can also play a vital role in child pornography investigations. The following case study assessed the Internet Browsing History (Internet Explorer Bookmarks, Mozilla Bookmarks, and Mozilla History) from a suspected child pornography user’s computer. The suspect in this case claimed to be conducting an ad hoc law enforcement investigation. After the URLs were classified (Neutral; Adult Porn; Child Porn; Adult Dating sites; Pictures from Social Networking Profiles; Chat Sessions; Bestiality; Data Cleaning; …