Theses and dissertations

This collection includes both ASU Theses and Dissertations, submitted by graduate students, and the Barrett, Honors College theses submitted by undergraduate students. 

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Early Adolescent Socialization: The Effects of Internet and Technology Use in Grades 7-8

Description
Early adolescence is a pivotal stage of social and emotional development. Socialization traditionally occurs in person, but social interactions via technology (e.g., social media, video games) have grown in popularity. However, little research has been conducted on how early adolescents interact with technology and how these interactions relate to their…

Early adolescence is a pivotal stage of social and emotional development. Socialization traditionally occurs in person, but social interactions via technology (e.g., social media, video games) have grown in popularity. However, little research has been conducted on how early adolescents interact with technology and how these interactions relate to their socialization as well as other factors such as reading habits or academic achievement. Seventh and eighth grade students (n = 719) completed a survey that captured information about their technology use, their academic habits and performance, and extracurricular involvement. It was hypothesized that those involved in more extracurricular activities would use the internet more socially and that internet use would be negatively correlated to both academic performance and recreational reading. Responses indicated that a majority of students have access to technology (e.g. internet, computers, television, gaming consoles, and tablets) in their homes. Social media use differed drastically between platforms. Analyses indicated a relation between amount of extracurricular activities on social television watching and social internet use, but not on social gaming. A significant negative correlation was found between recreational reading and time spent socializing online, but there was no significant effect of these factors on academic performance. Thus, hypotheses were partially supported by the relation between amount of extracurriculars and social internet use and the negative correlation between time spent socializing online and recreational reading.
ContributorsHorner, Kate Elizabeth (Author) / McNamara, Danielle (Thesis director) / McCarthy, Kathryn (Committee member) / Davis, Mary (Committee member) / Division of Teacher Preparation (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-12
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Differences among High-Achieving Adolescents in Day Schools and Boarding Schools

Description
In previous research, Luthar and Barkin (2012) found that across three different samples collected from three high-achieving schools, adolescents reported elevated rates of maladjustment behaviors, which include substance use, and internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Additionally, past research has also indicated that these maladjustment behaviors are related to parent relationships. A…

In previous research, Luthar and Barkin (2012) found that across three different samples collected from three high-achieving schools, adolescents reported elevated rates of maladjustment behaviors, which include substance use, and internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Additionally, past research has also indicated that these maladjustment behaviors are related to parent relationships. A group of high-achieving adolescents that research has not yet focused on are those attending boarding schools, who may have higher-quality relationships with parents due to less daily strife. This study aimed to examine high-achieving adolescents across five samples from five high schools, two of which were boarding schools. This study hypothesized that the high-achieving adolescents attending both boarding schools would report lower rates of substance use, internalizing and externalizing symptoms, and lower rates of perceived parent criticism and expectations in comparison to those attending the day schools. Substance use, internalizing and externalizing symptoms, and parent relationships were measured using self-report measures that were completed by students attending these schools. Results showed that both boarding schools reported elevated rates of substance use in comparison to the three day schools and these rates measured above national norms. At the same time, both boarding schools reported lower rates of internalizing and externalizing symptoms when compared to rates reported by the day school students. This study also found that there were differences among parent relationship measures, such as criticism and expectations, among all school samples. Results of this study also showed that aspects of parent relationship, such as parent knowledge, were associated with rates of substance use among all school samples. In summary, boarding school students showed elevated substance use, similar parental relationship quality, and lower mental health symptoms compared to day school students. For all students, some aspects of the parental relationship were related to levels of substance use.
ContributorsTaracena, Emily Gabriella (Author) / Luthar, Suniya (Thesis director) / Infurna, Frank (Committee member) / Davis, Mary (Committee member) / Division of Teacher Preparation (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-12

Sensory Structures in Sceloporus Evolve in Concert: Comparing Skull Morphology Between Blue and White-Bellied Sceloporus

Description

Skulls house sensory systems that perceive communicative signals and may be shaped by behavior over evolutionary time. Here, I used an indicator trait (presence of a blue patch used as a sexual signal and linked to differences in sensory behavior) to test whether Sceloporus lizard species that rely more on…

Skulls house sensory systems that perceive communicative signals and may be shaped by behavior over evolutionary time. Here, I used an indicator trait (presence of a blue patch used as a sexual signal and linked to differences in sensory behavior) to test whether Sceloporus lizard species that rely more on olfactory behavior differ in skull morphology and sensory structures from those that rely more on visual behavior. We marked specific morphological points on Sceloporus skulls to compare the distances between significant sensory structures, such as eye orbit and snout length. Adjusting for body length, I found that white-bellied lizards have a wider snout tip, suggesting more evolutionary investment in chemosensory structures. White-bellied lizards also had a pattern of larger olfactory and visual skull morphology. Finally, I found a strong robust positive correlation between visual and olfactory structures. Together, our results support a hypothesis of strong integration between sensory structures, suggesting that vision and olfaction are evolving in concert rather than independently in Sceloporus lizards.
ContributorsWorden, Bret (Author) / Martins, Emilia (Thesis director) / Erudaitius, Anastassia (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Division of Teacher Preparation (Contributor)
Created2023-05