Matching Items (710)
Filtering by
- All Subjects: psychology
Description
Retrieving an item from memory can cause subsequent suppression of related items. This phenomenon, involving a procedure where participants retrieve category-exemplar pairs (e.g. FRUIT-orange), is known as Retrieval Induced Forgetting (RIF). Individuals who demonstrate greater amounts of RIF also exhibit greater working memory capacity (WMC). Reasoning ability is highly related to WMC, which may suggest that a similar relation exists between RIF and Reasoning ability. The goal of the present investigation was to examine this possibility. Rotation Span and a Letter Number task were used as indicators of WMC and a Cognitive Reflection Test was used to measure Reasoning ability. A significant RIF effect was found, but it did not significantly correlate with WMC or Reasoning ability. These results demonstrate the importance of designing a RIF task appropriately, selecting measures of Reasoning ability, and the theoretical accounts of the RIF effect. One possibility is that by not controlling for output interference, the obtained RIF effect cannot be reasoned to come from the executive control process as suggested by the inhibition account. Although this account is the chief explanation of the RIF effect, it has been challenged by alternative accounts and it remains unclear how the underlying mechanism of RIF is related to higher cognitive abilities.
ContributorsMaxwell, Joshua (Author) / Duran, Nicholas (Thesis advisor) / Hall, Deborah (Committee member) / Robles-Sotelo, Elias (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2016
Description
It is widely recognized that peer-directed aggression and victimization are pervasive social problems that impact school-aged children and adolescents. This study investigated the developmental course of aggression and victimization, and more specifically, addressed three primary aims. First, distinct subgroups of children were identified based on similarities and differences in their physical, verbal and relational aggression and victimization. Second, developmental stability (and instability) were assessed by examining the extent to which individuals remain (or change) subgroups throughout childhood and adolescence. Third, group classifications and transitions over time were assessed as a function of children’s individual characteristics and their relational and contextual experiences.
The sample for this longitudinal study consisted of 482 children (50% females) who were followed over time from grades 1 to 11. Multiple-informant data on children’s physical, verbal and relational aggression and victimization (peer-reports), individual characteristics including emotion dysregulation, withdrawn behaviors (teacher-reports), and hostile and self-blaming attributions (self-reports), and their relational and contextual experiences including peer rejection, friendships, social hierarchy and classroom aggression (peer-reports) were assessed in grades 1, 5, 8, and 11. Data analyses primarily consisted of a series of person-centered methods including latent profile and latent transition analyses.
Most of the identified subgroups (e.g., aggressors, victims and aggressive-victims) were distinguishable by their frequencies (i.e., levels) of aggression and victimization, rather than forms (physical, verbal and relational), with the exception of one group that appeared to be more form-specific (i.e., relational aggressive-victims). Among children in each group there was a modest degree of intra-individual stability, and findings elucidated how some groups appeared to be more stable than others as well as developmental differences. Although group stability was fairly common across all groups, and over time, patterns of instability also emerged.
The combination of trends reflecting both stability and instability support the perspective that the development of aggression in childhood and adolescence is characterized by heterogeneity. In contrast to perspectives that highlight the individual stability of aggression (e.g., that it is a stable behavioral style or individual disposition), findings elucidate the individual, relational and contextual mechanisms by which developmental stability and instability were more pronounced.
The sample for this longitudinal study consisted of 482 children (50% females) who were followed over time from grades 1 to 11. Multiple-informant data on children’s physical, verbal and relational aggression and victimization (peer-reports), individual characteristics including emotion dysregulation, withdrawn behaviors (teacher-reports), and hostile and self-blaming attributions (self-reports), and their relational and contextual experiences including peer rejection, friendships, social hierarchy and classroom aggression (peer-reports) were assessed in grades 1, 5, 8, and 11. Data analyses primarily consisted of a series of person-centered methods including latent profile and latent transition analyses.
Most of the identified subgroups (e.g., aggressors, victims and aggressive-victims) were distinguishable by their frequencies (i.e., levels) of aggression and victimization, rather than forms (physical, verbal and relational), with the exception of one group that appeared to be more form-specific (i.e., relational aggressive-victims). Among children in each group there was a modest degree of intra-individual stability, and findings elucidated how some groups appeared to be more stable than others as well as developmental differences. Although group stability was fairly common across all groups, and over time, patterns of instability also emerged.
The combination of trends reflecting both stability and instability support the perspective that the development of aggression in childhood and adolescence is characterized by heterogeneity. In contrast to perspectives that highlight the individual stability of aggression (e.g., that it is a stable behavioral style or individual disposition), findings elucidate the individual, relational and contextual mechanisms by which developmental stability and instability were more pronounced.
ContributorsEttekal, Idean (Author) / Ladd, Gary W (Thesis advisor) / Dumka, Larry (Committee member) / Jager, Justin (Committee member) / Kochel, Karen P (Committee member) / Kochenderfer-Ladd, Becky (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2016
Description
MicroRNAs are small, non-coding transcripts that post-transcriptionally regulate expression of multiple genes. Recently microRNAs have been linked to the etiology of neuropsychiatric disorders, including drug addiction. Following genome-wide sequence analyses, microRNA-495 (miR-495) was found to target several genes within the Knowledgebase of Addiction-Related Genes (KARG) database and to be highly expressed in the nucleus accumbens (NAc), a pivotal brain region involved in reward and motivation. The central hypothesis of this dissertation is that NAc miR-495 regulates drug abuse-related behavior by targeting several addiction-related genes (ARGs). I tested this hypothesis in two ways: 1) by examining the effects of viral-mediated miR-495 overexpression or inhibition in the NAc of rats on cocaine abuse-related behaviors and gene expression, and 2) by examining changes in NAc miR-495 and ARG expression as a result of brief (i.e., 1 day) or prolonged (i.e., 22 days) cocaine self-administration. I found that behavioral measures known to be sensitive to motivation for cocaine were attenuated by NAc miR-495 overexpression, including resistance to extinction of cocaine conditioned place preference (CPP), cocaine self-administration on a high effort progressive ratio schedule of reinforcement, and cocaine-seeking behavior during both extinction and cocaine-primed reinstatement. These effects appeared specific to cocaine, as there was no effect of NAc miR-495 overexpression on a progressive ratio schedule of food reinforcement. In contrast, behavioral measures known to be sensitive to cocaine reward were not altered, including expression of cocaine CPP and cocaine self-administration under a low effort FR5 schedule of reinforcement. Importantly, the effects were accompanied by decreases in NAc ARG expression, consistent with my hypothesis. In further support, I found that NAc miR-495 levels were reduced and ARG levels were increased in rats following prolonged, but not brief, cocaine self-administration experience. Surprisingly, inhibition of NAc miR-495 expression also decreased both cocaine-seeking behavior during extinction and NAc ARG expression, which may reflect compensatory changes or unexplained complexities in miR-495 regulatory effects. Collectively, the findings suggest that NAc miR-495 regulates ARG expression involved in motivation for cocaine. Therefore, using microRNAs as tools to target several ARGs simultaneously may be useful for future development of addiction therapeutics.
ContributorsBastle, Ryan (Author) / Neisewander, Janet (Thesis advisor) / Newbern, Jason (Committee member) / Nikulina, Ella (Committee member) / Perrone-Bizzozero, Nora (Committee member) / Sanabria, Federico (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2016
Description
Sociopolitical involvement has been previously shown to be associated with experiences of discrimination. Lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) racial/ethnic minorities have faced multiple levels of discrimination from the mainstream community, racial/ethnic minority communities, and LGB communities. However, not many studies have investigated the association between intersectional forms of discrimination and sociopolitical involvement. The present study examines differences in perceptions of racism in the LGB community, sociopolitical involvement in racial/ethnic communities, and sociopolitical involvement in LGB communities among LGB racial/ethnic minorities (N = 203, MAge = 27.25). The sample included 107 (52.7%) men and 96 (47.3%) women; 41 (20.2%) lesbians, 89 (43.8%) gay men, and 73 (36.0%) bisexuals; 47 (23.2%) African Americans, 50 (24.6%) Asian Americans, 64 (31.5%) Latinos/as, and 42 (20.7%) from another race/ethnicity or mixed race. This study also looks at the association between perceptions of racism in the LGB community and sociopolitical involvement in racial/ethnic communities and/or LGB communities. Asian American participants reported perceiving higher levels of racism in the LGB community than Latino/a participants. No other differences in perceptions of racism in the LGB community were found between sexual orientation or by racial/ethnic group. No differences between racial/ethnic group or sexual orientations were found in sociopolitical involvement in racial/ethnic or LGB communities. When controlling for sexual orientation, gender, and race/ethnicity, perceptions of racism in the LGB community predicted sociopolitical involvement in racial/ethnic and LGB communities. By exploring correlates of discrimination from an intersectional perspective, this study provides a better understanding of the experiences of LGB racial/ethnic minorities.
ContributorsVanDaalen, Rachel (Author) / Santos, Carlos (Thesis advisor) / Homer, Judith (Committee member) / Tracey, Terence (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2016
Description
The prevalence of chronic illness among children in the United States is on the rise (CDC, 2014). Having a child with a chronic illness can be a substantial source of stress for a couple, including physical, emotional, and financial demands of caregiving as well as difficult decision-making regarding the child’s health (Mayo Clinic, 2015). Coping with such stressors can have a negative effect on the couple’s well-being, and, if not managed within the relationship, can lead to increased negative outcomes for both partners. Partners can, however, learn to cope with stress by engaging in the coping process together with dyadic coping (DC). Couples can engage in positive (i.e., supportive emotion-focused, supportive problem-focused, and delegated) or negative forms of DC. DC has been shown to mitigate stress for couples, while increasing reports of individual well-being (IWB) and relational well-being (RWB), but it has not been examined in the context of couples with a child with a chronic illness.
To bridge this gap, the present study examined how couples cope with general stress as well as stress associated with their child’s diagnosis of a chronic illness (CI-related stress) and whether positive DC and negative DC moderate association between stress (general stress and CI-related stress) and well-being (IWB and RWB). Consistent with hypotheses, there were significant main effects of both types of stress (general and CI-related stress) on both types of well-being (IWB and RWB). Contrary to the hypotheses that DC (positive DC and negative DC) would moderate the associations between both types of stress and both types of well-being, only one significant interaction was found between CI-related stress and negative DC on IWB. Implications of these findings are discussed.
To bridge this gap, the present study examined how couples cope with general stress as well as stress associated with their child’s diagnosis of a chronic illness (CI-related stress) and whether positive DC and negative DC moderate association between stress (general stress and CI-related stress) and well-being (IWB and RWB). Consistent with hypotheses, there were significant main effects of both types of stress (general and CI-related stress) on both types of well-being (IWB and RWB). Contrary to the hypotheses that DC (positive DC and negative DC) would moderate the associations between both types of stress and both types of well-being, only one significant interaction was found between CI-related stress and negative DC on IWB. Implications of these findings are discussed.
ContributorsJohnson, Courtney K (Author) / Randall, Ashley K. (Thesis advisor) / Robinson-Kurpius, Sharon (Committee member) / Kinnier, Richard (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2016
Description
Asian American (AA) adolescents and young adults are at risk for poor psychological adjustment and diminished health. Parental involvement and intergenerational gap in acculturation (IGA) have been independently associated with intergenerational acculturative conflict, a common stressor in the AA population. However, few studies have tested how the influence of parental involvement on intergenerational acculturative conflict/family cohesion and subsequent psychological adjustment may vary depending on IGA; and even fewer studies have investigated how such models apply to AA general health. The goals of the present study were, therefore, to identify pathways linking these acculturative family processes to AA young adult general health in a large sample of Filipino and Southeast Asian (SEA) families. Analyses utilized data from the Children of Immigrants Longitudinal Study (CILS; Portes & Rumbaut, 2001), a national longitudinal study of children from immigrant families. Results suggested that although Filipino and SEA families may differ in the acculturative processes that contribute to intergenerational acculturative conflict and family cohesion, depressive symptoms are an important mechanism through which these family outcomes in adolescence influence young adult general health outcomes in both Filipino and SEA families. This investigation serves to inform future programs aimed at providing targeted interventions for AAs at risk for long-term psychological disorders and physical health problems.
ContributorsTanaka, Rika (Author) / Luecken, Linda J. (Thesis advisor) / Gonzales, Nancy (Committee member) / Doane Sampey, Leah (Committee member) / Tein, Jenn-Yun (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015
Description
The primary goal of this study was to investigate whether youth from an affluent community showed elevated rates of substance use and associated problems in young adulthood relative to national norms. The secondary goal was to determine if parents’ “containment,” or stringent disciplinary action, of adolescent substance use as measured in Grade 12 could help predict substance use in senior year of college, over and above other parenting factors. The final goal was to assess trends of substance use over time for stability based on categories of participants’ overall levels of use in Grade 12, (low, medium, high). Results indicated that substance use remained elevated into young adulthood, relative to national norms, consistent with extant research involving upper middle class youth. In regression analyses, high parents’ containment was associated with low substance use in senior year of college; however, the inclusion of Grade12 use as a covariate reduced this association with containment such that it was no longer statistically significant. Such results suggest a mediated effect, with Grade 12 substance use mediating the effects of Grade 12 Containment on college senior year substance use. Finally, upper middle class youth were found to remain in their relative substance use group (low, medium, high) as determined at Grade 12 through all four years of college. Taken together, these results emphasized the importance of high school substance use behaviors as a notable risk factor for problematic substance use over time.
ContributorsSmall, Phillip J (Author) / Luthar, Suniya (Thesis advisor) / Meier, Madeline (Committee member) / Infurna, Frank (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015
Description
For some children, peer victimization stops rather quickly, whereas for others it marks the beginning of a long trajectory of peer abuse (Kochenderfer-Ladd & Wardrop, 2001). Unfortunately, we know little about these trajectories and what factors may influence membership in increasing or decreasing victimization over time. To address this question, I identified children's developmental patterns of victimization in early elementary school and examined which child-level factors influenced children's membership in victimization trajectories using latent growth mixture modeling. Results showed that boys and girls demonstrated differential victimization patterns over time that also varied by victimization type. For example, boys experienced more physical victimization than girls and increased victimization over time was predicted by boys who display high levels of negative emotion (e.g., anger) towards peers and low levels of effortful control (e.g., gets frustrated easily). Conversely, girls exhibited multiple trajectories of increasing relational victimization (i.e., talking about others behind their back) over time, whereas most boys experienced low levels or only slightly increasing relational victimization over time. For girls, withdrawn behavior lack of positive emotion, and displaying of negative emotions was predictive of experiencing high levels of victimization over time.
ContributorsClary, Laura K (Author) / Ladd, Becky (Thesis advisor) / Updegraff, Kimberly (Committee member) / Valiente, Carlos (Committee member) / Ladd, Gary (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015
Description
The human brain controls a person's actions and reactions. In this study, the main objective is to quantify reaction time towards a change of visual event and figuring out the inherent relationship between response time and corresponding brain activities. Furthermore, which parts of the human brain are responsible for the reaction time is also of interest. As electroencephalogram (EEG) signals are proportional to the change of brain functionalities with time, EEG signals from different locations of the brain are used as indicators of brain activities. As the different channels are from different parts of our brain, identifying most relevant channels can provide the idea of responsible brain locations. In this study, response time is estimated using EEG signal features from time, frequency and time-frequency domain. Regression-based estimation using the full data-set results in RMSE (Root Mean Square Error) of 99.5 milliseconds and a correlation value of 0.57. However, the addition of non-EEG features with the existing features gives RMSE of 101.7 ms and a correlation value of 0.58. Using the same analysis with a custom data-set provides RMSE of 135.7 milliseconds and a correlation value of 0.69. Classification-based estimation provides 79% & 72% of accuracy for binary and 3-class classication respectively. Classification of extremes (high-low) results in 95% of accuracy. Combining recursive feature elimination, tree-based feature importance, and mutual feature information method, important channels, and features are isolated based on the best result. As human response time is not solely dependent on brain activities, it requires additional information about the subject to improve the reaction time estimation.
ContributorsChowdhury, Mohammad Samin Nur (Author) / Bliss, Daniel W (Thesis advisor) / Papandreou-Suppappola, Antonia (Committee member) / Brewer, Gene (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
Description
This study examined whether the New Beginnings Program (NBP), a preventive parenting intervention, led to changes in coping strategies and coping efficacy in emerging adults whose families had participated in the program 15 years earlier. Gender and baseline risk were examined as moderators of these relations. Participants (M = 25.6 years; 50% female) were from 240 families that had participated in an experimental trial (NBP [mother-only, mother-child] vs. literature control). Data from the pretest and 15-year follow-up were used. Multiple regression analyses revealed that pretest risk interacted with program participation in the mother-only condition of the NBP such that offspring entering the program with higher pretest risk reported significantly less avoidant coping 15 years later. There was a marginal effect of participation in the NBP on problem-focused coping; emerging adults who had participated in the NBP had marginally higher levels of problem-focused coping. There were no significant main effects nor interactive program by risk or program by gender effects on support coping or coping efficacy. Results are discussed in terms of their implications for implementation of preventive interventions and research on pathways of coping.
ContributorsRhodes, Charla Aubrey (Author) / Wolchik, Sharlene A (Thesis advisor) / Tein, Jenn-Yun (Committee member) / Leucken, Linda (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019