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- All Subjects: psychology
- Genre: Academic theses
- Creators: Arizona State University
Description
Electrical nerve stimulation is a promising drug-free technology that could treat a variety of ailments and disorders. Methods like Vagus Nerve Stimulation have been used for decades to treat disorders like epilepsy, and research with non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation has shown similar effects as its invasive counterpart. Non-invasive nerve stimulation methods like vagus nerve stimulation could help millions of people treat and manage various disorders.
This study observed the effects of three different non-invasive nerve stimulation paradigms in human participants. The first study analyzed the safety and efficacy of transcutaneous auricular vagal nerve stimulation in healthy humans using a bilateral stimulation protocol with uniquely designed dry-hydrogel electrodes. Results demonstrate bilateral auricular vagal nerve stimulation has significant effects on specific parameters of autonomic activity and is safe and well tolerated. The second study analyzed the effects of non-invasive electrical stimulation of a region on the side of the neck that contains the Great Auricular Nerve and the Auricular Branch of the Vagus Nerve called the tympanomastoid fissure on golf hitting performance in healthy golfers. Results did not show significant effects on hitting performance or physiological activity, but the nerve stimulation had significant effects on reducing state-anxiety and improving the quality of feel of each shot. The third study analyzed the effects of non-invasive nerve stimulation of cervical nerves on the back of the neck on putting performance of yips-affected golfers. Results demonstrated that cervical nerve stimulation had significant effects on improving putting performance but did not have significant effects on physiological activity. Data from these studies show there are potential applications for non-invasive electrical nerve stimulation for healthy and athletic populations. Future research should also examine the effects of these stimulation methods in clinical populations.
This study observed the effects of three different non-invasive nerve stimulation paradigms in human participants. The first study analyzed the safety and efficacy of transcutaneous auricular vagal nerve stimulation in healthy humans using a bilateral stimulation protocol with uniquely designed dry-hydrogel electrodes. Results demonstrate bilateral auricular vagal nerve stimulation has significant effects on specific parameters of autonomic activity and is safe and well tolerated. The second study analyzed the effects of non-invasive electrical stimulation of a region on the side of the neck that contains the Great Auricular Nerve and the Auricular Branch of the Vagus Nerve called the tympanomastoid fissure on golf hitting performance in healthy golfers. Results did not show significant effects on hitting performance or physiological activity, but the nerve stimulation had significant effects on reducing state-anxiety and improving the quality of feel of each shot. The third study analyzed the effects of non-invasive nerve stimulation of cervical nerves on the back of the neck on putting performance of yips-affected golfers. Results demonstrated that cervical nerve stimulation had significant effects on improving putting performance but did not have significant effects on physiological activity. Data from these studies show there are potential applications for non-invasive electrical nerve stimulation for healthy and athletic populations. Future research should also examine the effects of these stimulation methods in clinical populations.
ContributorsHool, Nicholas (Author) / Tyler, William J (Thesis advisor) / Crews, Debbie (Committee member) / Muthuswamy, Jitendran (Committee member) / Helms Tillery, Stephen (Committee member) / Sebold, Brent (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2020
Description
Attending college is like embarking on a journey of self-discovery and transformation. Education as a heroic journey transforms students in such a way that it will invite them to re-examine their conceptual structures, as well as internalized cultural norms. While heroes make their way through their journey, they are often viewed as drawing upon different archetypes. By recognizing the strengths and weaknesses of each archetype, the Hero can consciously rely on the most beneficial attribute of this transformative journey. Despite the essential role of universal archetypes in students’ educational journey, they have been overlooked and replaced by a more functional approach in which personal development is neglected. Therefore, calling for a transformative educational approach in higher education has been advocated to push against the boundaries imposed by the functional approach and to help students transcend their personal boundaries. The purpose of this study is to discover the dominant Shadow archetypes of first-year college students and to explore the influence of archetypal unconscious traits on students’ self-efficacy. To investigate students’ archetypal personalities, two questionnaires: Pearson-Marr Archetypal Indicator (PMAI) and Sherer’s General Self-Efficacy Scale (SGSES), were applied. To investigate students’ perceptions on the influence of their Shadow archetypes, semi-structured online based interviews through Zoom were conducted. For the quantitative data analysis, statistical analysis was carried out using SPSS; and for the qualitative data analysis, deductive thematic analysis was used to analyze the interview protocols. It was revealed from the findings that the most active archetypes among first year college students are the Seeker, Jester, and Caregiver archetypes. The most common Shadow archetypes that are active among first year college students are the Idealist, Ruler, and the Warrior archetypes. The statistical analysis indicated that there is a linear relationship between the Shadow archetypes and students’ self-efficacy. The thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews revealed that first year college students’ academic self-efficacy is influenced by the traits of their Shadow archetypes in various ways. Some of these influences are lack of motivation, procrastination, inability to set goals, irresponsibility, and negative self-evaluation. Keywords: Shadow, Self-Knowledge, Archetypes, Self-efficacy, Transformative Education.
ContributorsAlqadi, Mona (Author) / Van Gelderen, Elly (Thesis advisor) / James, Mark (Committee member) / Roen, Duane (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022
Description
Although social cognitive deficits are considered a hallmark trait of schizophrenia, research on schizotypy and social cognition is inconsistent. The present study examines the associations among schizotypy, aberrant salience, and social cognition. Schizotypy and aberrant salience were assessed continuously using the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire Brief Revised (SPQ-BR) and the Aberrant Salience Inventory (ASI). Social cognition was examined using The Awareness of Social Inference Test (TASIT), an audio-visual paradigm that taps into multiple domains of social cognition. Data from 849 undergraduate students was analyzed. Results indicated that schizotypy overall was not associated with social cognitive deficits. However, when schizotypy was analyzed dimensionally, positive schizotypy was associated with social cognitive impairments. Further, aberrant salience was revealed to be consistently associated with social cognitive impairments, except when positive schizotypy was included in the model. This suggests the possibility that positive schizotypy could mediate the association between aberrant salience and social cognition. Overall, this study highlights the importance of focusing on positive schizotypy and aberrant salience in future investigations of social cognitive difficulties in psychosis.
ContributorsArnett, Ciera (Author) / Karoly, Paul (Thesis advisor) / Corbin, William (Thesis advisor) / Brewer, Gene (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2021
Description
Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) remains a persistent problem around the world, even though antiretroviral therapy has shown to be effective in reducing viral load and limiting transmission of the virus. Due to HIV’s infectious nature, visibility, the populations at risk, and its connections to race, class, and sexuality, it is more stigmatized than any other illness. HIV stigma has been associated with increased depression, social isolation, and poor psychological adjustment. HIV stigma can influence disclosure and care-seeking behavior. Internet-based interventions have shown to be effective in increasing knowledge on STIs and HIV, however, researchers have tested strategies that include educating participants on HIV to reduce stigma and have found that informational approaches alone are not effective. There is evidence that emotional intelligence and empathy are associated with prosocial behavior and influence attitudes towards stigmatized groups. Thus, this thesis aims to test an online intervention using an informational video from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in combination with an empathy-generating component to reduce stigma. It was hypothesized that the online intervention would increase HIV knowledge scores (H1), but stigma will only be reduced in the group introduced to the empathy-inducing component (H2) and those with high emotional intelligence would show the greatest reduction in stigmatizing attitudes (H3). Results did not support these hypotheses, suggesting that the CDC’s video does not significantly increase HIV knowledge in the general public. Further, the video intended to generate empathy and reduce stigma was also ineffective. These findings stress the need for further research and questions the effectiveness of empathy-generating interventions (e.g., FACES OF HIV, HIV Justice Network) to increase knowledge and reduce stigma. Future researchers should test the effectiveness of personalized interventions to reduce HIV-related stigma.
ContributorsEl-krab, Renee (Author) / Vargas, Perla (Thesis advisor) / Roberts, Nicole (Committee member) / Chen, Angela (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2020
Description
Automation is becoming more autonomous, and the application of automation as a collaborator continues to be explored. A major restriction to automation’s application as a collaborator is that people often hold inaccurate expectations of their automated collaborator. Goal alignment has been shown to be beneficial in collaborations and delegation decisions among human-human and human-automation collaborations. Few studies have investigated the difference that goal alignment has on human collaborators compared to automated collaborators. In this 2 (goal aligned or misaligned) x 2 (human or automated) between-subjects study, participants complete a simplified triage patient task and then are given the opportunity to stay with their manual task solution or to delegate their decision and go with their collaborator’s recommendation. Participants never delegated to collaborators with goals that were not aligned to theirs. Participants working with human collaborators that have similar goals to them were more often delegated to and more often associated with a better triage performance. These results can inform the design of similar systems that foster collaboration and achieve better team performance. Although goal alignment was crucial for delegation decisions, it was difficult to achieve complete agreement of goals. Future research should investigate effective methods to better communicate goals among collaborators.
ContributorsLee, Jessica Rose (Author) / Chiou, Erin K (Thesis advisor) / Cooke, Nancy J (Committee member) / Lum, Heather C (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2024
Description
In understanding why cultures differ from one another, one might consider their ecology: the social and physical features of the environment relevant to an organism’s fitness. Multiple theories propose that cultures and the individuals within them respond to the threats and opportunities offered by the ecology in predictable and adaptive ways. This dissertation demonstrates how ecology can -- but does not always -- explain a significant portion of cultural variation. The three published, first-authored, peer-reviewed articles featured in this work leverage best practices in archival data to demonstrate the relationship between ecology and cultural variation. Chapter 2 describes the creation of the Eco-Cultural Dataset which contains data on 11 ecological variables and 72 cultural variables in up to 220 countries. Chapter 3 utilizes this dataset to estimate the effect of ecology on culture, writ large. Chapter 4 explores the potential role of pathogens in the existence and prevalence of food taboos in religious and cultural groups. The final chapter reviews the limitations of utilizing archival data to investigate ecology and culture, as well as proposing exciting future directions for the field.
ContributorsWormley, Alexandra (Author) / Varnum, Michael EW (Thesis advisor) / Cohen, Adam B (Committee member) / Neuberg, Steven L (Committee member) / Wynne, Clive DL (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2024
Description
Among Latinxs living in the United States (U.S.), AfroLatinx individuals are more susceptible to dying from COVID-19 because of pre-existing health conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, and hypertension (Chapman, 2020). These health disparities, in turn, have been associated with economic inequalities AfroLatinx communities face in the U.S. due to discrimination and racism (Weinstein et al., 2017). Scholars have called attention to the need to focus on AfroLatinx populations, given the systematic denial of AfroLatinx experiences in the psychological literature (Sanchez, 2021) and the systemic and institutional barriers AfroLatinx face when seeking physical and mental health support (Borrell, 2005). Using Borrell's (2005) framework for studying the determinants of health disparities affecting AfroLatinxs, in Study 1, I examined the association between individual characteristics (e.g., socioeconomic indicators), psychosocial factors (e.g., economic distress), and contextual factors (e.g., discrimination) reported by AfroLatinx adults and emotional and physical health problems during the COVID-19 pandemic. As an expansion of Borrell's model, I also examined whether having a pre-existing condition can help explain mental health distress above and beyond other determinants of health disparity. Study 2 built on the first study by helping identify the specific areas of stress and needs identified by AfroLatinxs during the COVID-19 pandemic. The second aim of Study 2 was to determine the more frequent and effective strategies AfroLatinxs with pre-existing conditions used to cope with COVID-19-related stressors and needs.
ContributorsFaison, Alexis Duckett (Author) / Capielo Rosario, Cristalís (Thesis advisor) / Dillon, Frank (Committee member) / Vasquez, Elisa (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2024
Description
ABSTRACT
It is unclear how often defense attorneys ask child complainants questions with implied meanings. The present study examined the frequency and content of implied questions asked to 6- to 17-year-old children and analyzed how often children rebutted these questions. This study focused on cross-examinations (N = 122) of child complainants in Child Sexual Assault (CSA) trials. Content analysis revealed prevalent themes of implicit questions that alluded to child complainants having ulterior motives, having been coached, being untruthful, missing disclosure opportunities, having poor memory, and other credibility issues. Implicit questions were posed in 63% of cases, with children rebutting only 11% of implied inquiries. No significant correlations were found between the age of the child testifying and the frequency of implicit questions or rebuttals. However, as children age they are more frequently asked questions related to truthfulness and credibility issues and are less frequently asked implicit inquiries about coaching. These findings present novel evidence that children are frequently asked difficult to answer implicit questions that imply the child has ulterior motives, and that attorneys change the focus of the content of their implicit questions by age.
ContributorsSobrilsky, Lea (Author) / Stolzenberg Roosevelt, Stacia (Thesis advisor) / Fine, Adam (Committee member) / O'Hara, Karey (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2024