Other Psychology Commons^™

Mental Qualities And Employed Mental Techniques Of Young Elite Team Sport Athletes, Mark J.G. Holland, Charlotte Woodcock, Jennifer Cumming, Joan L. Duda

Jennifer Cumming

Research on the psychological characteristics of elite performers has primarily focused on Olympic and World champions; however, the mental attributes of young developing and talented athletes have received less attention. Addressing this, the current study had two aims: (a) to examine the perceptions held by youth athletes regarding the mental qualities they need to facilitate their development and (b) to investigate the mental techniques used by these athletes. Forty-three male youth rugby players participated in a series of focus groups. Inductive content analysis revealed 11 categories of psychological qualities, including enjoyment, responsibility, adaptability, squad spirit, self-aware learner, determination, confidence, optimal …

The Use Of Imagery To Manipulate Challenge And Threat Appraisal States In Athletes, Sarah E. Williams, Jennifer Cumming, George M. Balanos

Jennifer Cumming

The present study investigated whether imagery could manipulate athletes’ appraisal of stress-evoking situations (i.e., challenge or threat) and whether psychological and cardiovascular responses and interpretations varied according to cognitive appraisal of three imagery scripts: challenge, neutral, and threat. Twenty athletes (Mage = 20.85; SD = 1.76; 10 female, 10 male) imaged each script while heart rate, stroke volume, and cardiac output were obtained using Doppler echocardiography. State anxiety and self-confidence were assessed following each script using the Immediate Anxiety Measures Scale. During the imagery, a significant increase in heart rate, stroke volume, and cardiac output occurred for the challenge and …

Smoking Cessation, Reduction And Motivation Change In A Predominantly Hispanic Sample, Jose Alonso Cabriales

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

To date, few studies have focused on smoking cessation specifically for light and intermittent smokers (fewer than 10 cigarettes per day). Light and intermittent smoking have been on the rise for the past years, and multiple studies have documented the detrimental health effects of low-level smoking. This study assessed the efficacy of a brief smoking cessation intervention for light smokers in a predominantly Hispanic community sample. Additionally, predictors of quitting were also assessed. Two hundred and fifty light and intermittent smokers were recruited primarily from a family health clinic and the UTEP campus. Participants completed baseline measures assessing demographics, tobacco …

Social Understanding And The Effect Of Social Pressure On Children's Suggestibility, Catherine Camilletti

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The current study investigated the effect of varying levels of social pressure in a suggestive interview on children's recall for a witnessed event as well as the relationship between children's social understanding and their suggestibility. Children were randomly assigned to take part in one of four suggestive interviews about a confederate's visit to their classroom. Children also completed several tasks to assess their knowledge and understanding of social situations. Children receiving high levels of social pressure in an interview had higher rates of suggestibility than children receiving lower levels of social pressure in an interview. Children's overall comprehension of a …

From Infanticide To Activism: The Transformation Of Emotions And Identity In Self-Help Movements, Verta Taylor, Lisa A. Leitz

Peace Studies Faculty Books and Book Chapters

Taylor and Leitz trace processes of collective identity construction and politicization among women suffering from postpartum psychiatric illness who have been convicted of infanticide. Joining a growing body of research suggesting that self‐help and consumer health movements can be a significant force for change in both the cultural and political arenas, Taylor and Lietz examine one such movement, a pen‐pal network of women incarcerated for committing infanticide. Taylor and Leitz show how a sense of collective identity fostered by the pen‐pal network triggered a profound emotional transformation in participants, allowing them to convert shame and loneliness into pride and solidarity, …

Group Processes And Group Psychotherapy: Social Psychological Foundations Of Change In Therapeutic Groups, Donelson R. Forsyth

Jepson School of Leadership Studies articles, book chapters and other publications

Social psychology and clinical psychology share an interest in change. Rather than assuming that people are static and that psychological systems are immutable, social psychologists track the shifts in social attitudes, actions, values, and beliefs that result from individuals' everyday interactions in their social worlds. Similarly, clinical psychologists examine changes in adjustment, well-being, and dysfunction that are evidenced as people develop psychologically and physically, confront new life circumstances, or react effectively or less adaptively to daily life events.

The Role Of Generation And Monitoring Processes In Governing The Paradoxical Effects Of Retrieval On Memory For Faces, Kyle Joseph Susa

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Verbal descriptions of faces can at times impair and at other times facilitate subsequent face identification accuracy. Three experiments were conducted from a retrieval-based theoretical perspective to determine the underlying cognitive processes that can account for these paradoxical findings. Results demonstrated that the verbal description-identification relationship is analogous to other domains of memory where an initial retrieval of memory can have both positive and negative effects on subsequent retrieval attempts. Results of Experiment 1 showed that verbal facilitation is a product of self-generated descriptions that enrich the semantic encoding of the original memory trace. Experiments 2 and 3 demonstrated that …

Examination Of The Cognitive Mechanisms Underlying Evaluative And Semantic Priming Effects By Varying Task Instructions: An Erp Study, Jennifer Hilda Taylor

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This study examined the cognitive processes that underlie stimulus identification and the activation of attitudes by investigating behavioral and psychophysiological effects in a priming paradigm. Cognitive mechanisms were investigated by examining evaluative and semantic priming effects on behavioral response times, the N400, and LPP event-related potential (ERP) components by varying tasks between-subjects. Participants either completed an evaluative task, a semantic task, or a feature-detection task. It was hypothesized that the behavioral evaluative priming effect would occur in the evaluative task and that the behavioral semantic priming effect would occur in the semantic and feature-detection tasks. The N400 was hypothesized to …

The Nature And Significance Of Groups, Donelson R. Forsyth

Jepson School of Leadership Studies articles, book chapters and other publications

An understanding of group counseling requires an understanding of groups themselves, their basic nature and processes. Given that human beings are a social species and spend their lives in groups rather than alone, an individual-level analysis of adjustment, well-being, and treatment, with its focus on internal, psychological processes, should be supplemented by a group-level analysis. The defining features of a group are relationships linking a substantial number of members, boundaries, interdependence, structure, cohesion, and entitativity (perceived groupness): and groups with more of these features are more Influential than other forms of association, such as social networks. The chapter reviews a …

Risk Factors For Poor Attendance In A Family-Based Pediatric Obesity Intervention Program For Young Children, Natalie A. Williams, Mace Coday, Grant Somes, Frances A. Tylavsky, Phyllis A. Richey, Marion E. Hare

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

Objective—This study examined the role of demographic characteristics, psychological factors, and family functioning on attendance in a randomized controlled trial of a family-based pediatric obesity program.

Method—Participants included 155 children between the ages of 4 and 7 years (M age = 5.77, 57.4% female, 73.6% African-American, M BMI = 25.5) and their primary caregivers who were randomized to the treatment group. Three groups of participants were created based on their patterns of attendance during the program: 1) noncompleters, 2) partial completers, and 3) completers.

Results—Results indicated no differences among the attendance groups in child gender, child BMI, …

Rural Community Longevity: Capitalizing On Diversity For Immigrant Residential Stability, Rochelle L. Dalla, Tammy R. Stuhmer, Jennifer G. Deleón, Maria Isabel León Carreño

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

The premise of this research is that rural immigrants comprise a significant source of untapped human and social capital necessary for community development. However, to capitalize on the growing ethnic diversity in rural America, immigrant newcomers must want to stay in their new rural communities. This investigation was designed to identify factors necessary to enhance rural Latino immigrants’ long-term residential stability. Thus, we sought to: (1) identify perceptions of rural residence, with particular attention to employment opportunities and challenges; (2) assess formal support availability and community issues of greatest concern to rural Latinas; and (3) identify strategies for creating bi-cultural …

Exiting Prostitution: An Integrated Model, Lynda M. Baker, Rochelle L. Dalla, Celia Williamson

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

Exiting street-level prostitution is a complex, convoluted process. Few studies have described this process within any formal conceptual framework. This article reviews two general models and two prostitution-specific models and their applicability to the exiting process. Barriers encountered as women attempt to leave the streets are identified. Based on the four models, the barriers, the prostitution literature, and the authors’ experience with prostituted women, a new integrated six-stage model that is comprehensive in scope and sensitive to women’s attempts to exit prostitution is offered as a foundation for continued research on the process of women leaving the streets.

“All The Men Here Have The Peter Pan Syndrome— They Don’T Want To Grow Up”: Navajo Adolescent Mothers’ Intimate Partner Relationships—A 15-Year Perspective, Rochelle L. Dalla, Alexandria M. Marchetti, Elizabeth (Beth) A. Sechrest, Jennifer L. White

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

In 1992 and 1995, data were collected from 29 Navajo Native American adolescent mothers. In 2007 and 2008, data were collected from 21 of the original 29 (72%). Guided by feminist family theory, this investigation sought to (a) examine Navajo adolescent mothers’ intimate partner relationships during the transition to parenthood, (b) identify themes in the young mothers’ intimate partnerships across time, and (c) assess participants’ psychosocial well-being in adulthood. Four themes emerged in the women’s long-term intimate relationships: limited support, substance abuse, infidelity, and intimate partner violence. Implications of the findings and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Do You See What I See?, Rachel Mullins

Undergraduate Review

Mild Mental Retardation (MMR) is a general term that refers to impairments in intellectual ability and adaptive skills, which include activities of daily living (ADLs), communication skills and social skills. MMR can be caused by genetic abnormalities (e.g., Down Syndrome [DS]), environmental factors such as head trauma or lack of oxygen at birth, and in some cases for undocumented reasons. These latter individuals are often referred to as having mental retardation of unknown etiology. Although most people associate mental retardation with cognitive impairments, previous research suggests that these individuals have visual perception impairments as well.

Against The State Governance, Governance From Below & Governing Through Terrorism: Analytically Investigating The Technologies Of Power Within The Terrorist Arsenal., Allen Gnanam

Allen Gnanam

Terrorism as a violent and destabilizing act performed by terrorists, meaning loyal followers of political or religious agendas who hold resent and animosity toward a certain authority/ government (Lin, Liou, & Wu, 2007, pg. 149), will be explored and analyzed through the utilization of the governmentality perspective. For the purposes of this paper terrorism governance will refer to the governance/ control/ influence exerted by terrorists and terrorism. The focus of this explorative and analysis paper will be to identify diverse terrorism oriented technologies of governance, and analyze the ways in which these technologies enable terrorist to exert governance both indirectly …

Edge Leadership: Using Senior Leadership Perceptions To Explore Organizational Turnarounds, Lynn William Olsen

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

The researcher developed the concept of an edge leader—that is, one who can mindfully turn around a troubled business to sustain it for the future. In an increasingly turbulent and competitive climate, more edge leaders must be developed to sustain their organizations for the benefit of shareholders, employees, communities, and society. The researcher's review of the classic and contemporary leadership and change literatures suggested that four elements are necessary to develop leaders capable of leading even basic beneficial change. They include: having broad, successful experience; being emotionally and socially aware; having the ability to think differently about priorities and paradoxes …

Why Do Employees Behave Badly? An Examination Of The Effects Of Mood, Personality, And Job Demands On Counterproductive Work Behavior, Malissa Clark

Wayne State University Dissertations

Given the recent interest in the organizational literatures on the topic of workplace aggression and other acts of counterproductive work behavior (CWB), coupled with the interest in how affect and emotions influence organizational behavior, this study aimed to integrate these two themes to test how mood, personality, and factors relating to one's job influence a person's propensity to engage in acts of CWB. This study contributes to the extant literature in several ways. First, this is one of only a handful of studies that examines the relationship between momentary moods and counterproductive work behaviors using an experience sampling methodology. Second, …

The Relationships Among School Counselors' Multicultural Competence, Demographic Data And Ethical Decision-Making, Laura Ann Strong

Wayne State University Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationships, if any, among school counselors' multicultural competence, demographic data and ethical decision-making ability. The participants (N=160) for this study were members of the American Counseling Association (ACA) who designated their area of practice as school counseling. Participant's multicultural competence level was measured by the use of the MCCTS-R© (Revised by Holcomb-McCoy, 2004). Participant's ethical decision-making ability was measured through the use of the EDMS-R© (Revised by Paritzky and Dufrene, 2000; Adapted from James Rest's Defining Issues Test©, 1979, All Rights Reserved). The participants' demographic data was collected through the use …

An Experimental Study Of The Impact Of Psychological Capital On Performance, Engagement, And The Contagion Effect, Timothy Daniel Hodges

College of Business: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Psychological Capital, or PsyCap, is a core construct consisting of the positive psychological resources of efficacy, hope, optimism, and resilience. Previous research has consistently linked PsyCap to workplace outcomes including employee attitudes, behaviors, and performance. Further research has explored the ways in which PsyCap can be developed through relatively brief workplace interventions. The present study focuses on PsyCap development and the relationship to employee engagement and performance. In an experimental design with random assignment of subjects to control group (n = 52 managers and 152 associates) and treatment group (n = 58 managers and 239 employees), a field sample of …

A Preliminary Study: Body Dysmorphic Disorder In Division I Women’S Collegiate Soccer Players, Tammy D. Jones

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The prevalence of Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) among collegiate athletes has not been clearly determined. The purpose of this study was to determine if there are symptoms of body dysmorphic disorder found in Division I women’s soccer players. The researcher hypothesized that there would be some symptoms found within the participants of sport and that there was a need to research this area further.

The study consisted of four participants who participated in semi-structured interviews. The subjects were asked a series of questions from the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale Modified for Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD-YBOCS) to determine if they indicated …