Developmental Psychology Commons^™

What's Age Got To Do With It? Examining How The Age Of Stimulus Faces Affects Children's Implicit Racial Bias, Erica Cheree Noles

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Discrepant results regarding the emergence of children's implicit racial bias suggest additional research is needed to understand the developmental timeline of racial bias. Investigations using established explicit racial bias measures and the implicit association task with children demonstrate racial bias in young children (Aboud, 1988; Baron & Banjai, 2006). These findings do not corroborate the only known developmental use of the affective priming task (APT) to measure racial bias, which suggests implicit racial bias does not emerge until adolescence (Degner & Wentura, 2010). Variations in the task demands, the types of stimuli used to represent the construct of race, and …

Connecting The Dots: An Economic Study Of Parental Factors Shaping Early Childhood Cognitive Development, Bryn Alexandra O'Neill

Business and Economics Honors Papers

This study investigates how maternal and paternal employment status and educational attainment, coupled with parental time and educational inputs such as toys, books, etc. devoted to children, have impacted young children's cognitive development in the U.S. Cognitive development comprises the intellectual and conscious thinking growth that begins in infancy. It involves problem solving, reasoning and memory aptitudes and is tested for throughout each year of childhood in various ways. The impact of the use of external childcare in lieu of parental time on development is also evaluated. This paper will outline reviewed literature, a theoretical model, data discussion, model construction …

What It Means To Be A Man: How Emerging Adult Black Gay And Bisexual Men Navigate Gender Norms, Justine A. Stallings, Caleb J. Banks, Sienna L. Willams, Erika J. Janke, Ja'nina J. Walker Ph.D.

Creative Activity and Research Day - CARD

Young Black men learn what it means to be a man from different sources, including family, church, school, and the media. Traditional views on masculinity can be difficult for men to adhere to if they do not identify with current gendered social constructions. The current study examined how Black gay and bisexual men navigate masculine ideologies instilled in them and interpret these expectations as emerging adults. Participants, 20 Black gay and bisexual men (M_age = 22.8, SD = 1.7) took part in a semi-structured qualitative interview examining their experiences with religion, sexuality, gender expectations, and HIV. Using grounded …

External Vs. Innate: Sources Of Resiliency Among Emerging Adults, Black Gay And Bisexual Men, Caleb J. Banks Mr., Sienna L. Willams, Erika J. Janke, Justine A. Stallings, Ja'nina J. Walker Ph.D.

Creative Activity and Research Day - CARD

The purpose of this research was to examine the main sources and origins of resiliency that are present among Black gay and bisexual men. Resiliency refers to one’s response to adversity and ability to positively adapt to difficult situations. Twenty participants ranging in age between 18-25 years old (M = 22.8 years, SD = 1.7 years) participated in a semi-structured interview. Participants indicated varying sources of resiliency, which they utilize to encounter hardships. Innate sources (i.e., I was born this way) and external sources (i.e., music, my grandmother’s spirit) were conveyed by participants as mechanisms to overcome adversity. The …

Religious Vs. Secular Communities: Sources Of Social Support For Emerging Adult Black Gay And Bisexual Men, Sienna L. Williams, Caleb J. Banks, Erika J. Janke, Justine A. Stallings, Ja'nina Walker Ph.D.

Creative Activity and Research Day - CARD

This research investigates factors that contribute to emerging adult black gay and bisexual men’s sources of social support. Participants were 20 Black, gay/bisexual men between 18-25 years old (M_age = 22.8, SD = 1.7). Researchers conducted semi-structured interviews and utilized grounded theory to determine intersectionality between participants’ religious upbringing as well as their racial, spiritual, sexual, and HIV identities. Participants who self-identified as bisexual continued to seek social support within churches despite having endured repeated exposure to negative religious rhetoric pertaining to same-sex behavior in religious settings. Participants who self-identified as queer did not seek social support within …

Possible Psychosocial Benefits Of Having A Sibling With A Disability, Jenna M. Talbott

Senior Honors Theses

Possible psychosocial benefits resulting from exposure to siblings with disabilities are investigated in the current study. Previous literature has generally overlooked the possibility of psychosocial benefits by exclusively focusing on the negative effects of having a sibling with disabilities. Contact theory suggests that the increased exposure to individuals with disabilities should increase positive attitude toward those who are struggling with disadvantages. This investigation hypothesized that this tendency would be manifested as elevated empathy and compassion in individuals who have siblings with disabilities, and that these traits would be influenced by certain demographic variables. A survey was distributed, and the responses …

Attitudes Towards Drug And Alcohol Use: Culture And Emerging Adulthood, Sam Daniewicz

Undergraduate Research Symposium 2014

This study examined attitudes toward drug and substance use during emerging adulthood (18-26 years of age), a stage of the life span that works as a transition into adulthood and is defined by exploration and openness. Since drug and substance use among emerging adults is often a subject of current debates, it is important that more research is done about why young people think of certain drugs the way they do. Specifically, this study focused on how perceptions of drug and substance abuse are related to cultural values (individualism/collectivism) during emerging adulthood. To accomplish this goal, attitudes towards drugs in …

Attachment Representations And Mother-Child Dialogue, Baiba Barene

Open Access Theses

With the emerging linguistic competencies of the child, dialogue becomes a regular part of mother-child everyday interactions, and may serve as one of the mechanisms of transmission of attachment in early and middle childhood. The goal of this study was to investigate the hypothesis about the co-constructive nature of children's knowledge of secure base script. Formation of the secure base script is a result of child-caregiver interactions that have been consolidated into a unit of knowledge available for use in attachment related situations. Individual attachment narratives and mother-child co-constructed narratives were collected from 86 mother-child dyads when children were 3.7 …

Applying Sex Offender Registry Laws To Juvenile Offenders: Biases Against Adolescents From Stigmatized Groups, Jessica M. Salerno, Margaret Stevenson, Cynthia J. Najdowski, Tisha R.A. Wiley, Bette L. Bottoms, Liana Peter-Hagene

Psychology Faculty Scholarship

The need to protect children from dangerous sex offenders has led to policies that require juvenile sex offenders to register on public online registries. It is important to determine the implications of these laws for the wellbeing of child victims and also for juvenile offenders on these registries. Is the application of these laws—designed for adult offenders—to juveniles appropriate, necessary, and supported by public sentiment? The chapter reviews current sex offender registration policies and psychological research addressing whether the assumptions underlying these laws are supported by research, public sentiment toward these laws, factors that might drive biases against stigmatized youth …

The Gender Of Participants In Published Research Involving People With Autism Spectrum Disorders, Erin Watkins

Masters Theses

Research articles involving participants with an autism spectrum disorder and published from 2010-2012 in Autism, Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, Journal of Child Psychology and Child Psychiatry, and Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders were examined to determine the reported gender of participants. The overall male:female ratio was 4.62, which is similar to that reported in epidemiological studies, but the ratio was 6.07 in intervention studies. These findings suggesting that males were in a statistical sense over-represented in intervention studies, but not in other kinds of research. Most (82.21%) of these studies included both male and female participants, but …

Availability Of Sexualized Clothing Among Diverse Stores And Its Possible Effect On Self-Objectification, Melisa Estrada

Honors Program Theses and Research Projects

The clothes people choose to wear can be the first thing that other people notice. Today, young girls can become susceptible to the images presented by the media, which may lead to self-objectification and the desire to use clothing to appeal to society's standards. The purpose of this study was to expand a previous research study conducted to evaluate the extent to which sexualizing clothing is available for young girls. This study focused on fall clothing and was later expanded to spring clothing, as opposed to summer clothing as was evaluated previously. A sample of 435 tops available for girls …

Balancing Parenthood: Men's Prenatal Expectations And The Family System, Ralitsa Stoyneva Maduro

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Positive coparenting expectations of new parents have been related to positive coparenting experiences for both mothers and fathers during the transition to parenthood. Furthermore, positive coparenting in the family system has been linked to better and more stable relationship satisfaction for couples, which in turn has resulted in lower postpartum depression and divorce rates. Despite evidence of the positive impact of coparenting balance on the couple's mmantic life, few investigators have examined the manner in which predictors of relationship satisfaction for one parent cross over to affect the other. Furthermore, less in known regarding which family-wise factors increase fathers'ulnerability to …

A Media Literacy Education Approach To Teaching Adolescents Comprehensive Sexual Health Education, Tracy Marie Scull, Christina V. Malik, Janis Beth Kupersmidt

Journal of Media Literacy Education

As states are moving toward comprehensive sexual health education, educators require engaging and effective curricula. This pre-post study (N=64) examined the feasibility of a comprehensive, media literacy education program for influencing adolescents’ sexual health and media literacy outcomes. After the program, participants were more likely to have the intention to use condoms during sex and talk to partners, parents, or medical professionals prior to sex. Media literacy outcomes included decreased perceived realism of and increased skepticism of media messages and improved media deconstruction skills. Overall, the results suggest that media literacy has the potential for positively influencing sexual health decisions.

Paradoxes Of Porn, Jessie M. Pierce

SURGE

So I have a confession: I’m kind of obsessed with porn. Which is weird considering that I have never actually seen any. [excerpt]

Measure Of Maturity: The Montana Adolescent Maturity Assessment, Nathaan Demers

Graduate School of Professional Psychology: Doctoral Papers and Masters Projects

The construct of maturity is often discussed in the realm of adolescent development; however, relatively little research has been devoted to developing a comprehensive, reliable, and valid measure with which to assess it. The purpose of this study was to investigate the concurrent validity of the Montana Adolescent Maturity Assessment-III (MAMA-III), a proxy measure completed by clinicians regarding an adolescent's functioning, with the immaturity scale (IMM) of the MMPI-A. To provide more specified results, a factor analysis of the IMM was undertaken. Results yielded a low but significant correlation between the MAMA-III and the IMM, as well as significant convergent …

Assessing Attachment Process Among Early Institutionalized Orphans In Burkina Faso, Africa, Clarisse Barbier

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

The focus of this thesis is early attachment among institutionalized infant orphans. Previous research has pointed towards attachment problems in dysfunctional institutions, but did not take a comparative approach to understanding attachment. The present research was conducted in an orphanage in Kaya, a little town located in the Center North Region of Burkina Faso, Africa. The 22 children at the institution were aged four months to five years and were mostly from the Mossi ethnicity. Using mixed psychological and anthropological methods such as behaviors checklist, attachment questionnaires, and participant observation, this research indicates that orphans do not display evident …

The Student Augustinian Values Institute: Assessing Its Impact Of Enhancing The Understanding And Experience Of The Augustinian Core Values Of Veritas, Unitas, And Caritas Upon Students In Augustinian Secondary Schools, Stephen M. Curry

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Educational leadership understands the importance of teaching values in its schools and incorporates this philosophy into the school’s symbolic and structural systems. Roman Catholic Church leaders have always endorsed the teaching of values in its schools and this position was sanctioned at its Second Vatican Council (Vatican Council II, 1962-65). One aspect of the Council emphasized the importance of Catholic education as an essential vehicle for proclaiming the Good News of Jesus Christ. Catholic schools founded and sponsored by religious communities were challenged to reappropriate their founders’ charisms in their educational ministries. The Order of St. Augustine is an example …

Differences In The Identity Formation Process Of American Indian Adolescents In Urban And Reservation Contexts, Irene Churchill

Scholarly Horizons: University of Minnesota, Morris Undergraduate Journal

Currently, the majority of American Indians live in more urban and metropolitan environments. The differences in the way identity develops for American Indian adolescents is compared between growing up in an urban context and a reservation context. Two models are explained and applied to American Indian adolescents in these two settings, Oppedal’s Acculturation development model and Phinney and Baldelomar’s Cross-cultural Identity Status Model. According to the Acculturation development model, American Indian adolescents living on reservations likely have higher levels of interaction with their minority culture, therefore having higher levels of enculturation. Additionally, American Indian adolescents living in urban areas likely …

Child Development Theory As A Mediator Of Novice Teachers' Ethnotheories To Increase Learning And Justice In The Classroom, Nancy Michele Cardwell

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Many urban public schools use teaching methods that isolate and silence children to compel compliance (Schwebel, 2004; Saltman & Gabbard, 2003; Baumrind, 1991). In these contexts, black and brown children are disciplined more often and harshly than white, sent through the court system 70% of the time (Alexander, 2012). Novice teachers, appearing expert without expertise, use unconscious personal theories or ethnotheories to compel compliance, projecting an illusion of expertise without understanding the consequences for children's development and achievement (Elliott, Stemler, Sternberg, Grigorenko & Hoffman, 2010; Skovholt, 2004). An advance in the field would be to learn how ethnotheories interact with …

Changing Gender: Gender Role, Class And The Experience Of Chinese Female Immigrants, Doris Cheung

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation analyzes gender role identity development in Chinese female immigrants from diverse work and education backgrounds. This study focuses on Chinese female immigrants, bakery salesladies and social workers, to addresses a gap in the existing literature, which has previously emphasized factory workers and students, on gender role identity development at the interface of social context and activity system dynamics. To understand further the Chinese female immigration experience, this research investigates how gender role identity is manifested across different social contexts and institutions. I administered questionnaires and conducted interviews with Chinese female immigrants residing in New York City. The sample …