Matching Items (28)
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- All Subjects: psychology
- Creators: Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics
Description
The current study investigated whether intermittent restraint stress (IRS) would impair fear extinction learning and lead to increased anxiety and depressive- like behaviors and then be attenuated when IRS ends and a post- stress rest period ensues for 6 weeks. Young adult, male Sprague Dawley rats underwent restraint stress using wire mesh (6hr/daily) for five days with two days off before restraint resumed for three weeks for a total of 23 restraint days. The groups consisted of control (CON) with no restraint other than food and water restriction yoked to the restrained groups, stress immediate (STR-IMM), which were restrained then fear conditioned soon after the end of the IRS paradigm, and stress given a rest for 6 weeks before fear conditioning commenced (STR-R6). Rats were fear conditioned by pairing a 20 second tone with a footshock, then given extinction training for two days (15 tone only on each day). On the first day of extinction, all groups discriminated well on the first trial, but then as trials progressed, STR-R6 discriminated between tone and context less than did CON. On the second day of extinction, STR- IMM froze more to context in the earlier trials than compared to STR-R6 and CON. As trials progressed STR-IMM and STR-R6 froze more to context than compared to CON. Together, CON discriminated between tone and context better than did STR-IMM and STR-R6. Sucrose preference, novelty suppressed feeding, and elevated plus maze was performed after fear extinction was completed. No statistical differences were observed among groups for sucrose preference or novelty suppressed feeding. For the elevated plus maze, STR-IMM entered the open arms and the sum of both open and closed arms fewer than did STR- R6 and CON. We interpret the findings to suggest that the stress groups displayed increased hypervigilance and anxiety with STR-R6 exhibiting a unique phenotype than that of STR-IMM and CON.
ContributorsShah, Vrishti Bimal (Author) / Conrad, Cheryl (Thesis director) / Newbern, Jason (Committee member) / Judd, Jessica (Committee member) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
In this study, potential differences in the manifestation and rates of eating disorders and symptoms (body dissatisfaction, weight and shape concerns, food restriction, and compensatory behaviors) in college women across sexual orientations were examined. The sociocultural model of eating disorders was also examined for these women across sexual orientations. The participants were organized into three different sexual orientation groups for analysis: heterosexual (group 1), bisexual, pansexual, and polysexual (group 2), and lesbian, gay, queer, transsexual, asexual, and other (group 3). Using cross-sectional data, it was revealed that there were significant group differences when comparing the three sexual orientation groups on loss of control over eating, but no significant group differences on body dissatisfaction, thin ideal internalization, and weight-related eating pathology, and total eating disorder symptoms scores. The sociocultural model was not predictive of eating disorder symptoms among non-heterosexual groups. Longitudinal analyses revealed that the sociocultural model of eating disorders prospectively predicts eating disorder symptoms among heterosexual women, but not non-heterosexual women. Both cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses indicate that non-heterosexual women may be protected from societal pressure to subscribe to the thin ideal and its subsequent internalization. However, the comparison group of heterosexual women in our study may not have been completely representative of undergraduate women in terms of total eating disorder symptoms or eating pathology. Additionally, regardless of sexual orientation, our sample reported more total eating disorder symptoms and emotional eating than previous studies. These findings have both clinical and research implications. Future research is needed to determine what risk factors and treatment target variables are relevant for non-heterosexual women.
ContributorsNorman, Elizabeth Blair (Author) / Perez, Marisol (Thesis director) / Presson, Clark (Committee member) / Cavanaugh Toft, Carolyn (Committee member) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
This project aims to help with the stigma and mystery surrounding mental health through the combination of art and psychology. The project was created by first interviewing individuals with different disorders and then researching the disorders further to acquire an accurate idea of the experiences of those afflicted. Then paintings were created to depict the emotions and struggles faced by individuals with psychological disorders. The project focusses on five different abnormal disorders: Major Depressive Disorder, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Bipolar Disorder, and Schizophrenia. These particular ailments were chosen because they include the main diagnoses that the average American thinks of when mental health is mentioned. My thesis contains interviews that I personally conducted, descriptions of the five disorders included, and artistic representations of those disorders in the form of oil paintings. It is my hope that this project will help unafflicted individuals to better understand others who live with abnormal psychological disorders, as well as help the afflicted see themselves represented in a way that they otherwise might not.
ContributorsSanchez Rodriguez, Wendy (Author) / Solis, Forrest (Thesis director) / Cavanaugh Toft, Carolyn (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
The rates of anxiety, depression, and attempted suicide for transgender individuals are extremely elevated relative to the general population. Yet, little research has been conducted about the transgender population regarding social transition (an individual presenting as their authentic/true gender, one different than the gender they were assigned at birth, in the context of everyday life) and parental acceptance. Both of which have been shown to impact the mental health of transgender individuals. The purposes of this study were: (1) To characterize a sample of transgender adults on their age of awareness of their authentic gender identity and their age of social transition. (2) Examine whether age of social transition, (3) parental acceptance, and (4) the gap in time between age of awareness and age of social transition (awareness-transition gap) were related to mental health. (5) Examine whether parental acceptance was related to age of social transition or to awareness-transition gap. (6) Examine whether age of social transition or awareness-transition gap interact with parental acceptance as correlates of mental health. The sample consisted of 115 transgender adults, ages 18 to 64. Measures were separated into 7 subheadings: demographics, transgender
on-cisgender identity, age of awareness, age of social transition, primary caregiver acceptance, secondary caregiver acceptance, and mental health. Hypotheses were partially supported for age of social transition with mental health, parental acceptance with mental health, and awareness-transition gap with parental acceptance. This study investigated under studied concepts of social transition and parental acceptance that appear to have an effect on the mental health of transgender adults.
on-cisgender identity, age of awareness, age of social transition, primary caregiver acceptance, secondary caregiver acceptance, and mental health. Hypotheses were partially supported for age of social transition with mental health, parental acceptance with mental health, and awareness-transition gap with parental acceptance. This study investigated under studied concepts of social transition and parental acceptance that appear to have an effect on the mental health of transgender adults.
ContributorsRosenberg, Beth Ann (Author) / Gonzales, Nancy (Thesis director) / Saenz, Delia (Committee member) / Davis, Mary (Committee member) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics (Contributor) / College of Public Service and Community Solutions (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
Token economies are a type of behavioral reinforcement that are particularly useful in classroom settings for increasing student compliance, for both typically developing children and children with autism spectrum disorder. During this study, we implemented a token economy in an inclusive preschool classroom with tokens contingent on compliance to classroom rules. Three participants, two with a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder and one considered typically developing, were included in the study. Results indicated that levels of compliance increased for both the typically developing participant and participants with autism, and did not drop below baseline levels during the withdrawal phase, suggesting there was no lack of intrinsic motivation. Further, the typically developing participant and one of the participants with autism spectrum disorder had very similar levels of compliance, while the other participant had much higher levels of compliance throughout every phase, suggesting that the compliance levels for peers with more advanced repertoires with autism may differ from both typically developing peers and peers who have less developed repertoires. The implications of these results are discussed as they relate to compliance from an ABA perspective.
ContributorsEggen, Kelly (Author) / Hahs, Adam (Thesis director) / Cavanaugh Toft, Carolyn (Committee member) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-12
Description
Higher education institutions have increasingly sought to diversify the ethnic makeup of freshmen classes (Covarrubias, Herrmann, & Fryberg, 2016) and rates of Latinx college attendance have been rising (Hall, Nishina, & Lewis, 2017). However, despite comparable levels of earned-credits, Latinx students have lower rates of college completion (Contreras & Contreras, 2015). One potential explanation may be disproportionate increases in stress, and in particular, discrimination experiences reported by Latinx students during the transition from high school to college (Hunyh & Fuligni, 2012). As such, the aim of the current study was to examine whether everyday discrimination in high school and college were associated with changes in adolescent well-being and academic adjustment over the college transition in a sample of Latinx adolescents. Study participants were 209 Latinx adolescents (85.1% Mexican descent, 62.1% 2nd generation; 35.6% male; Mage= 17.59) who completed questionnaire assessments during the spring or summer before entering college (T1) and again during the first semester of college (T2; 88.5% retention). In both high school and college, participants completed a modified version of the Everyday Discrimination Scale (T1 α=.88, T2 α=.89; Williams et al., 1997). Dependent variables included internalizing symptoms in college (depressive symptoms {α = .95}, anxiety symptoms {α = .88}, stress symptoms {α = .94}; DASS; Lovibond & Lovibond, 1995), and institutional records of college GPA. Correlation and regression analyses were conducted in SPSS 23 to examine associations between discrimination experiences (high school and college) and college internalizing symptoms and GPA, controlling for high school levels. Other covariates included immigrant generation status, sex, parent education (as a proxy for socioeconomic status), and whether the participant attended the focal higher education institution. Zero order correlations (Table 1) revealed that greater reports of discrimination in high school and college were associated with higher depressive symptoms, higher anxiety symptoms, higher stress, but not GPA in college (Table 1; all ps <.05). In multivariate analyses and after adjusting for covariates similar patterns emerged (Table 2). Greater reports of discrimination in college were associated with higher depressive symptoms (β = .18, p < .05), anxiety symptoms (β = .19, p <.05) and stress (β = .18, p <.05), but not GPA (β = -.04, ns). Everyday experiences of discrimination in high school were not significantly associated with college outcomes. In summary, our findings suggest that discrimination experiences among Latinx students in college, but not high school, are associated with increases in internalizing symptoms, including depression, anxiety and stress. Interestingly, discrimination experiences in high school and college were not associated with academic achievement in the first semester of college. Such findings suggest that higher education institutions should focus on global indicators of well-being during the Latinx college transition and seek to implement programs to: a) reduce stress associated with engaging in diverse college environments and b) reduce discrimination experiences on college campuses. Future research is needed for replication of these results and should also seek to further explore the trajectories of internalizing symptoms beyond the first semester of college.
ContributorsSills, Jessica (Author) / Doane, Leah (Thesis director) / Perez, Marisol (Committee member) / Castro, Saul (Committee member) / Department of English (Contributor, Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
Today's society increasingly sexualizes women (Kilbourne, 2003). Women are constantly confronted with an image of beauty through various forms of media. Body acceptance programs on college campuses have found that women often report feeling pressure to dress in a sexualized manner, cover up their so-called flaws with make-up, and continually strive to be thin. Currently, no measure exists to assess the daily behaviors of women to wear make-up or dress in certain ways due to body image concerns. Thus, the goal of the current studies was to develop a brief self-report questionnaire on make-up and sexualized clothing for college women. In Study 1, items were developed from qualitative data collected by the Body Project Prevention Program to assess pressure to wear make-up, discomfort when not wearing make-up, pressure to wear sexualized clothing, and body image concerns with regards to sexualized clothing. Exploratory factor analyses revealed a Confidence and a Comfort subscale for the Make-up Questionnaire (MUQ) and a Body Dissatisfaction and Pressure subscale for the Sexualized Clothing Questionnaire (SCQ). Confirmatory factor analyses in Study 2 confirmed the factor structure for the MUQ and SCQ. Study 3 compared scores on the MUQ and SCQ among intervention and control groups across time points. A gain score analysis revealed that women in the intervention did not become significantly healthier over time in comparison to the control group on the MUQ and SCQ subscales. However, the treatment condition did become significantly healthier over time in regard to other measures of eating pathology. These studies provide insight into the pressures women feel to wear make-up and sexualized clothing.
ContributorsSmith, Haylie Jean (Author) / Perez, Marisol (Thesis director) / Glenberg, Arthur (Committee member) / Cavanaugh Toft, Carolyn (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12
Description
Education is a fundamental human right. However, when groups of people are subjugated to systematic violence and institutionalization, the importance of education often is often forgotten. A team of students and faculty at Arizona State University (ASU) currently teach an Introduction to Psychology course within a minimum-security unit in conjunction with both the Arizona Department of Corrections and the Prison Education Program at ASU. This course aims to enhance the current educational programs offered by the prison by fostering an environment where inmates can practice literacy skills and are introduced to standard classroom procedures for the typical university class. In addition, the course introduces students to an academic field previously unknown to them, specifically, psychology. However, the most important aspect of this educational endeavor is to provide an environment where people who have been deemed inhuman and outside of the human experience can come together and learn. By doing so, the curriculum sought to instill confidence in the students by demonstrating that they are in fact capable of learning and comprehending university level material. As of 2016, numerous studies have been conducted from across the nation that have reaffirmed the validity and efficacy of prison education on reducing recidivism levels of the previously incarcerated (ADC 2005, Kim & Clark 2013, Nuttal et al. 2003). Additionally, studies have determined that the benefits that students receive from education while incarcerated are, over time, shared with the family members (Erisman & Contardo, 2005). These benefits, while not strictly educational, are incredibly important within the realm of reduction in crime as they pertain to "reduction of costs, reduction of strain of offenders on their families, and an economic boost for society" (Erisman & Contardo, 2005). Teaching within any prison unit, regardless of the security level, provides a variety of unique challenges. Some of these include the lack of technological resources within most classrooms, prohibition of outside material unless vetted and approved by prison education staff, and rigid restrictions on student-teacher interactions. Also, because of the nature of psychology and the students within the class, certain sensitive topics must be either handled with extreme care or will not be covered at all. However, particular achievements were made in regards to increasing in class participation and encouraging the students to continue to pursue academics. Most importantly, it provides an environment where the humanity of the prisoner is restored, if but for only a few hours a week. It allows them to be seen as more than numbers, allows them to think and voice their opinions in a space that respects them for their beliefs. And the restoration of humanity to an inherently inhumane system is far more important than any other educational goal.
ContributorsLeith, Kaitlyn Lee (Author) / Amazeen, Eric (Thesis director) / Cavanaugh Toft, Carolyn (Committee member) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Department of English (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12
Description
Resilience is defined as an individual's ability to cope or "bounce back" after experiencing stressful life events (Rew et al., 2001). Survivors of trauma who express high levels of resilience are more likely to experience positive future life outcomes than equally troubled peers with lower resilience scores. It is possible to increase resilience by targeting several core factors: (1) personal competence, (2) sense of belonging, (3) sense of optimism (Lee et al., 2009). I developed an eight-week creative writing curriculum to boost these three core factors in the hopes of both increasing resilience in homeless youth while also introducing creating writing as an effective coping strategy. Each one-hour session included free-form writing exercises, mindfulness practices, writing workshops, and group presentations. Prompts and activities were carefully developed to encourage resilience-building in a group of homeless children and adolescents of ages seven to fourteen at Homeward Bound in Phoenix. With sample writing works and facilitator feedback, this curriculum was designed to be exceptionally easy and cost effective for future implementation. I hope that other organizations in the future will consider implementing this program to help build resilience in youth who have experienced childhood trauma.
ContributorsPopeski, Cara (Author) / Popova, Laura (Thesis director) / Cavanaugh Toft, Carolyn (Committee member) / Pickhart, Kalani (Committee member) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05
Description
Curiosity has been linked with many benefits, including increased overall well-being (Lydon-Staley et al., 2020) and greater academic achievement (Gottfried et al., 2016). The value that children place on learning new things and exploring novel ideas is unrivaled by older individuals. However, little research has been conducted to examine how parents may be able to help foster their children’s curiosity in a way that teaches them how to effectively search for and synthesize information. This paper aims to determine how parents’ language during a storybook task is related to their children’s strategy to collect rewards during a search game. Preliminary results suggest that parents may be able to encourage more effective search by asking more close-ended questions. These findings provide insight into how parents and guardians may be able to encourage their children to become better adept at searching for information by taking in clues about their environment and modifying their behavior to maximize their efforts.
ContributorsScirpo, Kalie Rose (Author) / Lucca, Kelsey (Thesis director) / Kupfer, Anne (Committee member) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2021-05