Barrett, The Honors College Thesis/Creative Project Collection
Barrett, The Honors College at Arizona State University proudly showcases the work of undergraduate honors students by sharing this collection exclusively with the ASU community.
Barrett accepts high performing, academically engaged undergraduate students and works with them in collaboration with all of the other academic units at Arizona State University. All Barrett students complete a thesis or creative project which is an opportunity to explore an intellectual interest and produce an original piece of scholarly research. The thesis or creative project is supervised and defended in front of a faculty committee. Students are able to engage with professors who are nationally recognized in their fields and committed to working with honors students. Completing a Barrett thesis or creative project is an opportunity for undergraduate honors students to contribute to the ASU academic community in a meaningful way.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 28
Description
This study was designed to discover any relationship between waiting and purchasing impulse goods. I distributed a survey with three conditions: a control with no wait, a wait with information explaining the wait, and a wait with no information. After the wait, participants saw a group of impulse goods and indicated how much they were willing to spend for each item, and how much they desired to buy each item. Results showed that participants in the treatment condition with information for the wait desired the impulse goods the least, and were willing to spend the least to purchase them. However, there was no significant difference between the participants given no information explaining the wait, and the control group in either desire or the price they were willing to pay. This is possibly explained by the apology in the message read by participants in the condition with information. They felt more valued and were less likely to feel the need to spend money on impulse goods that are often purchased to make the participant feel better about their wait.
ContributorsThornton, Tiffany Lynn (Author) / Mandel, Naomi (Thesis director) / Lisjak, Monika (Committee member) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
Child chronic pain is both common and consequential and identification of malleable risk factors is a critical step towards developing effective interventions. Existing evidence points to the possibility that parent behavior may play a significant role in the development of children’s chronic pain through modeling of pain-related behaviors. An important parental trait that predicts parent behavior in pain contexts is parental pain catastrophizing, which has been linked to child pain outcomes as well as to increased facial pain behavior in both parents and their children during pain induction. Existing research has examined facial pain behavior in aggregate, summarizing facial expressions over the course of an entire dyadic interaction, which does not allow for evaluation of the dynamic interplay between a parent and child. The current study aimed to test the hypothesis that higher parental catastrophizing would predict decreased flexibility in emotional dynamics between parent and child (reflected in facial affect during a parent-child interaction that occurs within the context of child pain-induction), which would in turn predict fewer child chronic pain symptoms. The approach used dynamic systems analysis of facial behaviors during the parent-child interaction during the child’s performance of a pain inducing cold pressor task to assess dyadic emotional flexibility. Nine-year old children from a larger sample of twins (N = 30) were video recorded during a cold-water pain task while their parents observed them. Videos of the children and their parent from these interactions were analyzed using facial action unit software (AffDex), into positive, neutral, and negative facial emotional expressions. Synchronized parent and child coded facial data were then analyzed for flexibility using GridWare (version 1.1). Parents completed the Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS) to assess parental trait pain catastrophizing and the Body Pain Location/Frequency scale to assess child chronic pain symptoms during the prior three months. Contrary to prediction, parental catastrophizing was related to higher levels of flexibility, and flexibility was unrelated to child chronic pain. Exploratory analyses indicated that children with higher levels of effortful control had more emotionally flexible interactions with their parent during the cold pressor, and emotionally flexible interactions predicting lower levels of children’s negative emotional responses to the acute pain task. suggesting some promising avenues for future research.
ContributorsSowards, Hayley Anne (Author) / Davis, Mary (Thesis director) / Lemery-Chalfant, Kathryn (Committee member) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
Postpartum depression is recognized as the most common psychiatric disorder that appears in approximately 10-15% of women, with higher frequencies among low-income minority women. Past studies have revealed that depressive symptoms negatively impact child development and mother-child synchrony. The current study's purpose was to explore the effects of postpartum depressive symptoms on later dyadic dysregulation. The data was collected from Las Madres Nuevas' study, a longitudinal investigation. Participants were 322 Mexican and Mexican American mother-infant dyads from the Phoenix metropolitan area who were recruited though a Maricopa Integrated Health System (MIHS) prenatal clinic. The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) was used to measure depression 6 weeks postpartum. Additionally, the dysregulation-coding scheme used at child's 24 months of age measured the children's, mothers', and dyads' regulatory skills throughout their interactions with each other. Linear regression analyses were the central analyses of this study. In the first regression analysis, results showed that mother's age at prenatal visit (p= 0.44), 6-week depression score (p= 0.37), mother's education (p= 0.77), and number of biological children (p= 0.28) did not significantly predict dyadic dysregulation at 24 months. The second linear regression analysis concluded that the 6-week depression score, mother's country of birth, the interaction of maternal depression and country of birth, mother's education, mother's age at prenatal visit, and number of biological children also did not predict dyadic dysregulation at 24 months. Although not statistically significant, the findings suggest that the Hispanic Paradox theory, conservation of native cultural values, and strong social support have protective effects in Mexican immigrant and Mexican American childbearing women.
ContributorsOlivas Varela, Itzel (Author) / Luecken, Linda (Thesis director) / Lemery-Chalfant, Kathryn (Committee member) / Winstone, Laura (Committee member) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
The purpose of our study was to evaluate whether viewing videos of dogs had an effect on the stress response of college students. While there is strong support in the literature for demonstrating the beneficial effect of human-canine interactions on human stress indicators, there is very little to no literature on whether or not this phenomenon translates across a digital medium. We hypothesized that when exposed to a video of golden retriever puppies after a stress-inducing task, an individual would experience an increase in blood pressure recovery rate and a decline in perceived stress. In order to study this, we put together several surveys to test our participants' perceived stress, and we measured blood pressure several times in order to obtain a physiological measure of stress. Additionally, in order to produce a guaranteed stress response in our participants, we gave them 2 minutes to prepare a 4 minute video-recorded speech that they were not made aware of prior to entering the testing facility. After the speech task, the experimental group quietly viewed a pleasant 4 minute video containing imagery of dogs, while the control group sat silently for the same duration of time. During this time, the control group was asked to mentally review their performance and to focus intently on the feelings they experienced while giving their speech. Through these measures we found a significant recovery rate in systolic blood pressure and a trending difference between groups for the decline in negative affect. The data demonstrated that the experimental group had blood pressure levels that were significantly closer to their baseline levels when compared to the control group, whose blood pressure did not decline at the same rate. Additionally, the experimental group experienced a higher level of change in negative affect when asked to self-report their level of stress before the speech task and after the conditional recovery period. Interestingly, these findings can be applied to recent literature suggesting that systolic blood pressure is the most important factor of cardiac health to consider when assessing an individual for risk of heart disease or cardiac arrest. While the sample size of this study was small, the significant reduction in systolic blood pressure within the experimental group could indicate the possible efficacy of utilizing digital media containing imagery of canines as a form of therapy for systolically-hypertensive individuals as a means of managing their condition.
ContributorsDiModugno, Maria (Co-author) / Barbera, Joseph (Co-author) / Luecken, Linda (Thesis director) / Lemery-Chalfant, Kathryn (Committee member) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05
Description
This study focuses on how parents purchase toys for their children. Specifically, the focus is on how likely parents are to purchase a toy typically associated with being feminine, masculine, or gender neutral. This study builds on research that showed that a parent’s gender role ideology affects how likely they are to purchase cross-gender toys (traditionally masculine toys for girls, traditionally feminine toys for boys) for their children (Kollmayer 2018). The study used photographs of pretested toys that had been deemed as masculine, feminine, or gender neutral. Using a within-subjects design, participants saw toys from each category and indicated their likelihood of purchase for each toy. The likelihood of purchase was used as the dependent variable. The findings were used to make recommendations to toy companies and retailers on how to market toys in regards to gender.
ContributorsSmith, Madeline Grace (Author) / Eaton, Kathryn (Thesis director) / Lisjak, Monika (Committee member) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / School of Social Transformation (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
Research has shown that environmental stressors that occur during childhood and early adolescence are associated with multiple deficits in physiological and psychological functioning later in life. The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis has been proposed as a potential biological mechanism through which these phenotypic alterations occur as studies have shown a link between early life adversity and altered diurnal cortisol patterns (Goldman-Mellor, Hamer, & Steptoe, 2012; Gunnar & Quevedo, 2008). Given research has shown that diurnal cortisol levels are influenced by genetic factors (Veen et al., 2011), but that a majority of differences across subjects can be attributed to the environment (Schreiber et al., 2006), phenotypic associations were explored between the quality of the home environment and children's diurnal cortisol patterns. The first aim of this study was to determine the level of genetic and environmental contributions to different parameters of diurnal cortisol rhythm. The second aim of this study was to examine whether the quality of the home environment, particularly indicators involving parenting and the physical environment, was associated with these same diurnal cortisol measures. A diverse sample of 320 twin children were assessed at 8 years using gold standard home environment interviews and a measure of diurnal cortisol rhythm across three days with three samples taken from each twin every day. Twin intraclass correlations indicated high levels of heritability for the morning to afternoon diurnal cortisol slope as well as the afternoon to evening slope, while measures of cortisol in the afternoon, evening, and across the day showed low levels of heritability, which suggested that differences in the environment were a more influential factor. Multilevel regression analyses showed that the overall quality of the home environment was found to be significantly negatively associated with cortisol levels at bedtime and negatively associated across the morning to afternoon slope at a trend level. The physical environment and emotional climate of the home were not significantly associated with any indicators of the diurnal cortisol pattern. A unique seasonality effect was noted as cortisol measurements taken from participants during the summer were significantly increased when compared to participants throughout the rest of the year. Overall, these findings showed a unique association between the quality of the home environment and diurnal cortisol levels at bedtime and perhaps the change in cortisol levels across the morning to afternoon, as well as a possible seasonal covariate which may affect diurnal cortisol measurements and one which often goes overlooked in cortisol research.
ContributorsSmith, Trevor James (Author) / Doane, Leah (Thesis director) / Lemery-Chalfant, Kathryn (Committee member) / School of Molecular Sciences (Contributor) / Arizona State University. College of Nursing & Healthcare Innovation (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
DescriptionTwo gender-neutral products developed and sold by IKEA were studied in order to learn about the development of such items, as well as what makes gender-neutral products appealing to consumers.
ContributorsDaryanani, Sapna Sonu (Author) / Gray, Nancy (Thesis director) / Lisjak, Monika (Committee member) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts (Contributor) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-12
Description
Through this thesis we studied and interviewed 6 international business managers that oversee employees in countless countries, and the continents of where they work include: Europe, The Americas, Asia, and Africa. These six managers include: David Kuehn and Ann Marie Griffith from the United States; Bogdan Maliszewski from Poland; Denisa Madarova from the Czech Republic; Gert Schmidts from Germany; and Fer Amkreutz from the Netherlands. Per our interview questions, we discussed how these international managers view their company and culture, the external environment, the cultures they work with and oversee, and the future of international management in regards to a universal value system for business. Our questions were constructed using Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions so that we could better understand how Hofstede's Dimensions have changed due to the technological era, in regards to International Management Styles. In the end, we discovered that there is an undeniable change in how international managers are leading their teams. Throughout the business world, cultural dimensions are changing and are becoming more inclusive of other cultures. This allows managers to lead international teams more effectively and efficiently.
ContributorsGriffith, Henry Donovan (Co-author) / Kuehn, Amanda (Co-author) / Moore, James (Thesis director) / Lisjak, Monika (Committee member) / W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Department of Management and Entrepreneurship (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
The objective of the current study was to examine sleep and academic functioning during middle childhood. More specifically, the twin design was used to determine the heritability of academic competence and sleep. Phenotypic analyses using multi-level mixed model regressions were performed to predict academic functioning from sleep. Lastly, socioeconomic status was tested as a moderator in the associations between sleep and academic functioning. Participants included twins (N = 191 families; Mage = 8.47 years) recruited from Arizona birth records at 12 months of age. Sleep duration, latency, onset, efficiency, variability, and sleep problems were assessed using actigraph watches and the Child Sleep Habits Questionnaire. Academic functioning was assessed using subtests of the Woodcock Johnson Cognitive Test of Achievement-IV (picture vocabulary, passage comprehension, and applied problems) and the MacArthur Health and Behavior Questionnaire. As determined by twin intraclass correlations, the heritability of academic competence ranged from 51-76%. Sleep heritability ranged from 14-80%. In addition, phenotypic analyses only showed a significant association between sleep latency and WJ picture vocabulary scores. More specifically, sleep latency was negatively associated with the picture vocabulary subtest. Additional models were run to examine if any interactive effects were present between early SES and the various sleep parameters. Several significant associations were observed with applied problems scores and parent-reported academic competence. Specifically, for children of low SES, a significant positive association was observed for sleep duration and WJ applied problems scores, as well as for sleep efficiency and WJ applied problems scores. No significant associations were observed for sleep efficiency and HBQ scores with children of any SES. Also, no significant relationships were observed with children of high SES for any of the academic measures.
ContributorsVakulskas, Emily (Author) / Doane, Leah (Thesis director) / Lemery-Chalfant, Kathryn (Committee member) / Breitenstein, Reagan (Committee member) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
This study examined the effectiveness of a Social Intelligence Intervention (SII) in improving components of social intelligence, and whether neuroticism moderates such associations in 130 participants aged 45-70. We hypothesized that the SII will improve participants' social intelligence across several factors: social awareness, social skills, social information processing, and perspective taking. Furthermore, we examined if neuroticism moderated participants' responsiveness to the intervention. Specifically, we hypothesize that individuals with high levels of neuroticism will have greater improvements in social intelligence. Individuals were randomly assigned to participate in the SII (n=71) or an attention control condition (n=59) that focused on healthy living tips. Individuals provided self-report data prior to participation in the study, and following completion of the intervention or attention control condition. The results were not statistically significant, however there was a trend for social information processing to improve with the SII. Neuroticism and time significantly moderated social awareness. This research suggests that the SII may not be effective in improving social intelligence scores for participants in midlife. Thus, the SII should be enhanced to surpass improvements that could potentially be from common factors in the intervention.
ContributorsEspinosa, Elaina Nicole (Author) / Infurna, Frank (Thesis director) / Glenberg, Arthur (Committee member) / Lemery-Chalfant, Kathryn (Committee member) / School of Film, Dance and Theatre (Contributor, Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12