Other Psychology Commons^™

Reactions To Internet Security Warnings: Personal Versus University Computers, Jenny L. Stanhope, L. Jo Elliott

Human Factors and Applied Psychology Student Conference

Many organizations use computer security systems to protect their computers from viruses, intrusion, malware, and other hazards. Additional employees, computer security software, and employee training are time consuming and expensive. It would be beneficial to determine what could be implemented to promote behaviors among employees or students that help to increase computer security. The purpose of the present research is to determine if computer ownership plays a role in reactions to internet security pop-up warnings. University students are asked to bring their personally owned computers to the psychology lab to take a reading comprehension test. The participants are randomly assigned …

Next-Gen Virtual Reality: A Comparative Study Of Immersive Tendency And Differential Presence, Tyler Mullis, Nathan A. Sonnenfeld, Matthew Meyers, Freddy Rincon

Human Factors and Applied Psychology Student Conference

Advancement in Virtual Reality (VR) interface technology in recent years has grown exponentially, resulting in the design and modification of a great number of devices to bring the experience of virtual environments (VE) to the user in ways only barely conceivable just two decades ago, for a variety of applications ranging from gaming to education to simulation-based training (SBT). Our study examines how the experience of being in one environment when one is physically situated in another (known as presence) is measured in current virtual reality interfaces against standard interface systems, both available as a conglomerate of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) …

Robot Autonomy And Malfunction Affects On Trust During Human Robot Interaction, Theresa Kessler

Human Factors and Applied Psychology Student Conference

Many factors affect how much trust a person places in a robotic system that they work with. In particular, the reliability of a robot is a current leader in predicting trust levels in Human Robot Interaction (HRI) (Hancock, et al., 2011). Because robots are built and programmed by fallible humans, it is likely that malfunctions will occur periodically during their operation. However, the question still remains as to how a robot’s decision making capacity (level of autonomy) combined with level of information (status and projected end state) they provide to the operator affect operator trust in the system. Previous studies …

Cultural Differences In Trust Of Space Tourism Travel, Donald Hill, Scott R. Winter, Stephen Rice

Human Factors and Applied Psychology Student Conference

Science fiction or not, commercial space travel is on the horizon. One of the most unknown concepts to public perception is the idea of traveling by spacecraft. The next frontier for mankind is space travel; however, there are many challenges that need to be met before space tourism travel becomes a reality. There are numerous companies on the cusp of making space travel a reasonable and affordable mode of transportation. Since the idea of traveling through space is so new, there is not a lot of data available about public perception. The purpose of this research, however, is to gather …

Problematic Texting Behavior: A Look At Individual Differences, Bradford L. Schroeder, Valerie K. Sims

Human Factors and Applied Psychology Student Conference

Problematic Texting Behavior: A Look at Individual Differences

Bradford L. Schroeder & Valerie K. Sims

University of Central Florida

Text messaging (“texting”) is a communicative social behavior which is the most preferred form of social interaction among young adults (e.g., Harley et al., 2007; Haste, 2005; Lister, 2010; Sierkowski & Wood, 2011). Perhaps the greatest appeal of texting is its convenience – it is easily possible to communicate with anyone, regardless of either party’s location. However, the convenience of texting has opened a door to an important safety issue: texting while driving. The context of safety has been a prime …

Interpreting Electroencephalography Output For Error-Related Negativity, Jenny A. Walker, Peter A. Hancock, Petros Xanthopoulos, Waldemar Karwowski, Ben D. Sawyer

Human Factors and Applied Psychology Student Conference

While individuals complete cognitively demanding tasks under time pressure, the physical action of reporting a mistake may be difficult. It is possible to curtail this issue using error recognition signals in the brain, known as error-related negativity (ERN). When an individual is aware of his or her mistake, an electroencephalography (EEG) system can recognize the event in as few as 150ms (Vi & Subramanian, 2012). One issue is that ERN information is traditionally collected using cumbersome equipment and complex analysis. The goal of this study is to examine if the process can be simplified for use in applied settings. We …

Qualitative And Quantitative Analyses Of Drivers’ Attitudes Towards General Usability Of Smart Technology Specific To The Secondary Task Of Texting While Driving, Indira Maharaj

Human Factors and Applied Psychology Student Conference

Qualitative and Quantitative Analyses of Drivers’ Attitudes Towards General Usability of Smart Technology Specific to the Secondary Task of Texting While Driving

Indira Maharaj

Florida Institute of Technology

The purpose of this study was to assess the qualitative and quantitative analyses of the drivers’ attitudes towards general usability of smart technology specific to the secondary task of texting while driving for University students, age 18-35, at the Florida Institute of Technology main Campus in Melbourne, Florida. A mixed methods research design was utilized to gather data. The qualitative data was measured using content analysis, and the quantitative data was measured …

East-West Psychology Newsletter, Ciis

East-West Psychology Newsletter

This is the Spring 2016 edition of EWP News.

Ciis Today, Spring 2016 Issue, Ciis

CIIS Today

This volume is the Spring 2016 issue of CIIS Today, the Magazine of the California Institute of Integral Studies.

Individual Variation In Fathers’ Testosterone Reactivity To Infant Distress Predicts Parenting Behaviors With Their 1-Year-Old Infants, Patty X. Kuo, Ekjyot K. Saini, Elizabeth Thomason, Oliver C. Schultheiss, Richard Gonzalez, Brenda L. Volling

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

Positive father involvement is associated with positive child outcomes. There is great variation in fathers’ involvement and fathering behaviors, and men’s testosterone (T) has been proposed as a potential biological contributor to paternal involvement. Previous studies investigating testosterone changes in response to father-infant interactions or exposure to infant cues are unclear as to whether individual variation in T is predictive of fathering behavior. We show that individual variation in fathers’ T reactivity to their infants during a challenging laboratory paradigm (Strange Situation) uniquely predicted fathers’ positive parenting behaviors during a subsequent father-infant interaction, in addition to other psychosocial determinants of …

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 …

Nature As A Buffer: The Physiological Effects Of Exposure To Nature On Stress, Tyler J. Stading, Jeffrey R. Stevens

UCARE: Research Products

Exposure to images of nature following a stressful event can reduce physiological measures associated with stress. The objectives of this study was to determine whether exposure to nature before the stressor can buffer the stress response. We varied whether nature or urban images were viewed before or after a stressor and measured galvanic skin response in our participants. We describe how order of presenting the stressor influences nature’s calming effect on physiology.

Emotional Responses And Coping Strategies Associated With Cyber Victimization Via Social Media, Amanda G. Mayhew

Undergraduate Theses and Capstone Projects

This study examined the impact of different forms of social media on the emotional and behavioral response to cyber victimization. Via Survey Monkey®, participants viewed a hypothetical post on either Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram. This post mimicked a cyberbullying scenario that targeted the victim’s weight. Participants were asked to consider a number of different responses to the cyber victimization including: severity of bullying, behavioral response (e.g. liking, sharing, blocking, etc.), emotional responses, and coping strategies. They also completed measures of empathy and cyber victimization experience. They were grouped into one of two cyber victimization groups: history of less victimization vs. …

No More Secrets: Talking With Children And Young Adults About Pornography, Brad Hinman

Faculty Publications

This article provides an overview of the patterns, risk factors, and consequences of Internet pornography addiction and discusses appropriate personal and institutional responses, including discussing pornography with children at a young age in combination with other sexual and health topic. Christians are at higher risk for Internet pornography addictions than other groups, so addressing these issues with our children is particularly important. The article provides resources for ensuring student safety online, preventing online victimization, and learning more about Internet pornography addiction.

Male Psychological Adaptation To Unsuccessful Medically Assisted Reproduction Treatments: A Systematic Review, Mariana Veloso Martins, Miguel Basto-Pereira, Juliana Pedro, Brennan Peterson, Vasco Almeida, Lone Schmidt, Maria Emília Costa

Marriage and Family Therapy Faculty Articles and Research

BACKGROUND Similarly to women, men suffer from engaging in fertility treatments, both physically and psychologically. Although there is a vast body of evidence on the emotional adjustment of women to infertility, there are no systematic reviews focusing on men's psychological adaptation to infertility and related treatments.

OBJECTIVE AND RATIONALE The main research questions addressed in this review were ‘Does male psychological adaptation to unsuccessful medically assisted reproduction (MAR) treatment vary over time?’ and ‘Which psychosocial variables act as protective or risk factors for psychological maladaptation?’

SEARCH METHODS A literature search was conducted from inception to September 2015 on five databases …

Depression And Body Mass Index, Differences By Education: Evidence From A Population-Based Study Of Adult Women In The U.S. Buffalo-Niagara Region, Ashley Wendell Kranjac, Jing Nie, Maurizio Trevisan, Jo L. Freudenheim

Sociology Faculty Articles and Research

The relationship between obesity and depression is well described. However, the evidence linking depression and body mass index (BMI) across the broad range of body size is less consistent. We examined the association between depressive symptoms and BMI in a sample of adult women in the Buffalo-Niagara region between 1997 and 2001. Using logistic regression, we investigated whether increased weight status beyond normal-weight was associated with a higher prevalence of depressive symptoms, and if educational attainment modified the association between obesity and depression. There was a trend for increased weight status to be associated with higher depressive symptoms (obese II/III, …

Relationship Of Optimism And Suicidal Ideation In Three Groups Of Patients At Varying Levels Of Suicide Risk, Jeff C. Huffman, Julia K. Boehm, Scott R. Beach, Eleanor E. Beale, Christina M. Dubois, Brian C. Healy

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Optimism has been associated with reduced suicidal ideation, but there have been few studies in patients at high suicide risk. We analyzed data from three study populations (total N=319) with elevated risk of suicide: (1) patients with a recent acute cardiovascular event, (2) patients hospitalized for heart disease who had depression or an anxiety disorder, and (3) patients psychiatrically hospitalized for suicidal ideation or following a suicide attempt. For each study we analyzed the association between optimism (measured by the Life-Orientation Test-Revised) and suicidal ideation, and then completed an exploratory random effects meta-analysis of the findings to synthesize this data. …

What Keeps Passion Alive? Sexual Satisfaction Is Associated With Sexual Communication, Mood Setting, Sexual Variety, Oral Sex, Orgasm, And Sex Frequency In A National U.S. Study, David Frederick, Janet Lever, Brian Joseph Gillespie, Justin R. Garcia

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Passion and sexual satisfaction typically diminish in longer-term relationships, but this decline is not inevitable. We identified the attitudes and behaviors that most strongly differentiated sexually satisfied from dissatisfied men and women who had been together for at least three years (N = 38,747). Data were collected in 2006 from cohabiting and married men and women via an online survey on a major national U.S. news website. The vast majority of these participants reported being satisfied with their sex life during their first six months together (83% W; 83% M). Satisfaction with their current sex life was more variable, with …

The Conflicts Of Coexistence: Contested Meanings Of Carnivore Management And Conservation In The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, Hannah F. Jaicks

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) encompasses urbanizing areas adjacent to essential conservation habitat with an inimitable capacity to support carnivore populations, including grizzly bears, wolves, and cougars. This geography has resulted in divisive social conflicts about these animals’ management as well as physical conflicts when they come into contact with people over the course of daily life in the region. Employing a qualitative methodology with semi-structured interviews, participant observation, wilderness treks, and archival work, this study examines the context, social processes, and decision-making processes that underlie the predator conflicts and produce management challenges in the GYE. This approach integrates theory …

Political Psychology (Annotated Bibliography), Ingrid J. Haas

Department of Political Science: Faculty Publications

The field of political psychology explains political behavior as a function of both individual- and group-level psychological processes. While the field is interdisciplinary, political psychologists tend to work in either psychology or political science departments. Although the overall aim is often similar, researchers from each discipline approach the same questions in different ways, and interested scholars are encouraged to examine literatures from both fields. The general approach to research is to focus on individual political attitudes, emotion, beliefs, and behavior, and attempt to explain these phenomena using psychological research and theory. Historical approaches to research in this field often relied …