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- All Subjects: psychology
- Genre: Doctoral Dissertation
- Status: Published
Description
Social categories such as race and gender are associated by people with certain characteristics (e.g. males are angry), which unconsciously affects how people evaluate and react to a person of specific social categories. This phenomenon, referred to as implicit bias, has been the interest of many social psychologists. However, the implicit bias research has been focusing on only one social category at a time, despite humans being entities of multiple social categories. The research also neglects the behavioral contexts in which implicit biases are triggered and rely on a broad definition for the locus of the bias regulation mechanism. These limitations raise questions on whether the current bias reduction strategies are effective. The current dissertation sought to address these limitations by introducing an ecologically valid and multidimensional method. In Chapters 1 and 2, the mouse-tracking task was integrated into the implicit association task to examine how implicit biases were moderated in different behavioral contexts. The results demonstrated that the manifestation of implicit biases depended on the behavioral context as well as the distinctive identity created by the combinations of different social categories. Chapter 3 laid groundwork for testing working memory as the processing capacity for the bias regulation mechanism. The result suggested that the hand-motion tracking indices of working memory load could be used to infer the capacity of an individual to suppress the influence of implicit bias. In Chapter 4, the mouse-tracking paradigm was integrated into the Stroop task with implicit associations serving as the Stroop targets. The implicit associations produced various effects including the conflict adaptation effect, like the Stroop targets, which suggested that implicit associations and Stroop stimuli are handled by overlapping cognitive mechanisms. Throughout these efforts, the current dissertation, first, demonstrated that a more ecologically valid and multidimensional approach is required to understand biased behaviors in detail. Furthermore, the current dissertation suggested the cognitive control mechanism as a finer definition for the locus of the bias regulation mechanism, which could be leveraged to offer solutions that are more adaptive and effective in the environment where collaboration and harmony are more important than ever.
ContributorsRheem, Hansol (Author) / Becker, D. Vaughn (Thesis advisor) / Craig, Scotty D. (Committee member) / Gutzwiller, Robert S. (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
Description
Anti-trafficking research recognizes several populations affected by Commercial Sexual Exploitation (CSE) in the United States (U.S.), yet it has not yet recognized long-term survivors, whose experiences of CSE occurred from the 1960s through the 2000s. Rendering long-term survivors invisible erases the history of CSE in the U.S. and prevents an accurate assessment of the true scope of CSE that it extends from infancy through adulthood. The most grievous CSE cultures target both boys and girls beginning at infancy and extending through early childhood. This project provides a foundation for understanding who long-term survivors are, the types of CSE they experienced, and their experiences of survivency in the decades after exiting. This study utilized interviews and surveys to collect data from 35 long-term survivors, regarding their experiences in the years past exiting. In addition, it also included a systematic analysis of 43 survivor-authors who have documented their experiences in 76 published writings. Findings show that long-term survivors display tenacity and resourcefulness in dealing with complex, intersecting issues. Their experiences of creating new, meaning-filled identities, reconnecting with humanity, and building a positive view of the world can help pave the way for a smoother road of restoration for younger survivors.
ContributorsWeaver, Melanie Lynne (Author) / Swadener, Elizabeth B (Thesis advisor) / Nakagawa, Kathryn (Committee member) / Arzubiaga, Angela (Committee member) / Henderson, Deborah (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
Description
The construct of adult emotional intelligence has gained increasing attention over the last 15 years given its significant socioemotional implications for the ability to label, understand, and regulate emotions. There is a gap, however, in understanding how emotional intelligence develops in children. Parenting is one of the most salient predictors of children’s behavior and the current study investigated its prospective link to children’s emotional intelligence. More preceisely, this study took a differentiated approach to parenting by examining the distinct contributions of maternal sensitivity and emotion socialization to children’s emotional intelligence. In addition, executive function, considered a “conductor” of higher-order skills and a neurocognitive correlate of emotional intelligence, was examined as a possible mechanism by which parenting influences emotional intelligence. Data were collected from 269 Mexican-American mother-child dyads during 2-year (parenting), 4.5-year (executive function), and 6-year (emotional intelligence) laboratory visits. Both parenting variables were assessed by objective observer ratings. Exeutive function and emotional intelligence were examined as latent constructs comprised of relevant parent-reported and objective measures. Due to a lack of adequate fit, the emotional intelligence variable was separated into two distinct latent constructs, emotion knowledge/understanding and emotion dysregulation. Results indicated that neither dimension of parenting was predictive of dimensions of emotional intelligence. On the other hand, children’s executive function was positively related to emotion knowledge. Finally, executive function did not emerge as a mediator of the relation between parenting and dimensions of emotional intelligence. Taken together, these findings highlight the need for a nuanced developmental and bioecological framework in the study of childen’s executive function and emotional intelligence.
ContributorsRoss, Emily (Author) / Crnic, Keith (Thesis advisor) / Luecken, Linda (Committee member) / Bradley, Robert (Committee member) / Grimm, Kevin (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2020
Description
Women in the military work in a hypermasculine environment and may have experiences with gender microaggressions that contribute poorly to their mental health. In this quantitative study, the author assessed active duty U.S. military women’s (N = 683) reports of experiences with eight types of gender microaggressions (traditional gender roles, sexual objectification, second class citizen, sexist language, explicit threat to physical safety, implicit threat to physical safety, invalidation of sexism, and environmental; Capodilupo et al., 2010). Participants reported around a little or rarely having experiences with such microaggressions. Exploratory analyses demonstrated that Navy and junior enlisted women reported significantly higher frequencies of gender microaggressions compared to other groups. Using hierarchical regression analysis, controlling for general levels of stress, branch, rank, and sexual orientation, the author also examined whether the eight gender microaggressions explained scores on a measure of depression. Results suggested that only second class citizen explained a significant proportion of variance in depression. Therefore, the author examined whether coping style moderated the association between the gender microaggression subscales and depression as proposed. Results indicated problem focused engagement and emotion focused disengagement both moderated the link between second class citizen and depression. Findings from the current study have the potential to inform military programs, specifically around bringing awareness to subtle forms of sexism and ways to engage in coping. Limitation and directions for future research also are discussed.
ContributorsDimberg, Sierra Kelsey (Author) / Spanierman, Lisa B (Thesis advisor) / Clark, David A. (Committee member) / Dillon, Frank (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2020
Description
The transition from adolescence to young adulthood is an important developmental period, as youth experience rapid changes in many domains of their lives (Settersten & Ray, 2010). These transitions have been linked to both positive and negative turning points in youths’ behavior and psychosocial wellbeing (Elder & Shanahan, 2007). Being disengaged from work and school, two important social institutions involved in the transition to adulthood (Havighurst, 1972), has been associated with poorer mental health and increases substance use; in this literature, there is still a dearth of research among youth in the United States of America and on the developmental implications of disengagement (Hilley et al., 2019). Therefore, this dissertation includes two studies to address these gaps with respect to mental health and substance use. Study 1 explores the heterogeneity in youths’ engagement and disengagement from work and school at two developmentally relevant time points across the transition to adulthood rather than impose a priori definitions of disengagement. Next, this study explores whether risk and protective factors predict membership in these subgroups. Finally, this study examines subgroup differences in problematic substance use concurrently and longitudinally. Study 2 investigates the cross-lagged associations between opportunity youth (or youth who are neither in school nor working) status and mental health over the transition to adulthood and explores whether familial social support and socioeconomic status mitigate or exacerbate the influence of opportunity youth status on mental health. Findings from these studies support the developmental nature of disengagement (despite its heterogeneity) and its connection with mental health and substance use, as well as suggest the need for additional research into risk and protective factors.
ContributorsHilley, Chanler (Author) / Lindstrom Johnson, Sarah (Thesis advisor) / Elam, Kit (Committee member) / Ferguson, Kristin (Committee member) / Jager, Justin (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2020
Description
Using data from a randomized, experimental trial of a brief family-based preventive intervention for parentally-bereaved families, this study evaluated whether participation in the Family Bereavement Program (FBP) when the offspring were in childhood/adolescence (ages 8 to 16) improved competencies when the offspring were emerging/young adults (ages 23 to 32). Participants were 244 emerging/young adults; data used were from assessments at pretest, posttest, 6 years post-intervention, and 15 years post-intervention. In addition to testing the direct effects of the program, developmental cascade effects models were used to test the relations between program-induced improvements in positive parenting and decreased negative life events at posttest and subsequent effects on domains of competence and behavior problems in adolescence/emerging adulthood (ages 14 to 22) and four developmental competencies of emerging/young adulthood: academic, peer, romantic, and work competence. Results supported a cascading effects model of program effects on competence outcomes. In the full sample, there were significant mediation effects of the intervention to decreased negative life events at posttest to increased grade-point average (GPA) at the 6-year follow-up to higher academic and work competence at the 15-year follow-up. For females only, two additional significant mediational pathways of the FBP occurred. The FBP led to an increase in peer competence 6 years post-intervention, which was associated with an increase in work competence 15 years post-intervention. Also, the FBP led to a decrease in externalizing problems in adolescence/emerging adulthood, but externalizing problems were positively associated with work competence. For males, additional mediation effects of the FBP on work competence occurred. The FBP decreased negative life events. However, higher negative life events were associated with lower externalizing problems in adolescence/emerging adulthood, and externalizing problems were positively associated with work competence. For males only, a significant three-pathway mediation effect of the intervention occurred on increased positive parenting at posttest to increased romantic attachment at the 6-year follow-up to higher romantic competence at the 15-year follow-up. Peer competence showed continuity over development. Mediational analyses highlighted the role of program-induced improvements in parenting, reductions in exposure to negative life events, and earlier developmental competencies on competence outcomes in emerging/young adulthood. Implications for promoting resilience in parentally-bereaved, at-risk youth are discussed.
ContributorsINGRAM, ALEXANDRA M (Author) / Wolchik, Sharlene (Thesis advisor) / Corbin, William (Committee member) / Infurna, Frank (Committee member) / Tein, Jenn-Yun (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2020
Description
This dissertation focuses on thermal comfort and walking as an experiential phenomenon in outdoor urban environments. The goal of the study is to provide a better understanding of the impact of psychological adaptation factors on thermal comfort. The main research questions included the impact of psychological factors on outdoor thermal comfort as well as the impact of long-term thermal perception on momentary thermal sensation. My research follows a concurrent triangulation strategy as a mixed-method approach, which consisted of a simultaneous collection and analysis of qualitative and quantitative data. Research consisted of five rounds of data collection in different locations beginning February 2018 and continuing through December 2019. During the qualitative phase, I gathered data in the form of an open-ended questionnaire but importantly, self-walking interviews where participants narrated their experience of the environment while recording one-minute long videos. The visual and audible information was first processed using thematic analysis and then further analyzed via Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA). During the quantitative phase, I gathered information from participants in the form of three-step survey questionnaires, that data was analyzed using T-Test regression analysis in STATA. The quantitative data helped explore and address the initial research questions, while the qualitative data helped in addressing and explaining the trends and the experiential aspects of thermal environment.
Results revealed that spatial familiarity (as a psychological adaptation factor) has a significant relationship for both overall comfort and thermal comfort within outdoor environments. Moreover, long term thermal memory influences momentary thermal sensation. The results of qualitative and quantitative data were combined, compared, and contrasted to generate new insights in the design of outdoor urban environments. The depth and breadth of the qualitative data set consisting of more than a thousand minute-long of narrated video segments along with hundreds of pages of transcribed text, demonstrated the subjective aspects of thermal comfort. This research highlights the importance of context-based and human-centric design in any evidence-based design approach for outdoor environments. The implications of the study can provide new insights not only for architects and urban designers, but also for city planners, stakeholders, public officials, and policymakers.
Results revealed that spatial familiarity (as a psychological adaptation factor) has a significant relationship for both overall comfort and thermal comfort within outdoor environments. Moreover, long term thermal memory influences momentary thermal sensation. The results of qualitative and quantitative data were combined, compared, and contrasted to generate new insights in the design of outdoor urban environments. The depth and breadth of the qualitative data set consisting of more than a thousand minute-long of narrated video segments along with hundreds of pages of transcribed text, demonstrated the subjective aspects of thermal comfort. This research highlights the importance of context-based and human-centric design in any evidence-based design approach for outdoor environments. The implications of the study can provide new insights not only for architects and urban designers, but also for city planners, stakeholders, public officials, and policymakers.
ContributorsGarshasby Moakhar, Mohsen (Author) / Hejduk, Renata (Thesis advisor) / Cheng, Chingwen (Committee member) / Coseo, Paul (Committee member) / Margolis, Eric (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2020
Description
Transcranial focused ultrasound (tFUS) is a unique neurostimulation modality with potential to develop into a highly sophisticated and effective tool. Unlike any other noninvasive neurostimulation technique, tFUS has a high spatial resolution (on the order of millimeters) and can penetrate across the skull, deep into the brain. Sub-thermal tFUS has been shown to induce changes in EEG and fMRI, as well as perception and mood. This study investigates the possibility of using tFUS to modulate brain networks involved in attention and cognitive control.Three different brain areas linked to saliency, cognitive control, and emotion within the cingulo-opercular network were stimulated with tFUS while subjects performed behavioral paradigms. The first study targeted the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC), which is associated with performance on cognitive attention tasks, conflict, error, and, emotion. Subjects performed a variant of the Erikson Flanker task in which emotional faces (fear, neutral or scrambled) were displayed in the background as distractors. tFUS significantly reduced the reaction time (RT) delay induced by faces; there were significant differences between tFUS and Sham groups in event related potentials (ERP), event related spectral perturbation (ERSP), conflict and error processing, and heart rate variability (HRV).
The second study used the same behavioral paradigm, but targeted tFUS to the right anterior insula/frontal operculum (aIns/fO). The aIns/fO is implicated in saliency, cognitive control, interoceptive awareness, autonomic function, and emotion. tFUS was found to significantly alter ERP, ERSP, conflict and error processing, and HRV responses.
The third study targeted tFUS to the right inferior frontal gyrus (rIFG), employing the Stop Signal task to study inhibition. tFUS affected ERPs and improved stopping speed. Using network modeling, causal evidence is presented for rIFG influence on subcortical nodes in stopping.
This work provides preliminarily evidence that tFUS can be used to modulate broader network function through a single node, affecting neurophysiological processing, physiologic responses, and behavioral performance. Additionally it can be used as a tool to elucidate network function. These studies suggest tFUS has the potential to affect cognitive function as a clinical tool, and perhaps even enhance wellbeing and expand conscious awareness.
The second study used the same behavioral paradigm, but targeted tFUS to the right anterior insula/frontal operculum (aIns/fO). The aIns/fO is implicated in saliency, cognitive control, interoceptive awareness, autonomic function, and emotion. tFUS was found to significantly alter ERP, ERSP, conflict and error processing, and HRV responses.
The third study targeted tFUS to the right inferior frontal gyrus (rIFG), employing the Stop Signal task to study inhibition. tFUS affected ERPs and improved stopping speed. Using network modeling, causal evidence is presented for rIFG influence on subcortical nodes in stopping.
This work provides preliminarily evidence that tFUS can be used to modulate broader network function through a single node, affecting neurophysiological processing, physiologic responses, and behavioral performance. Additionally it can be used as a tool to elucidate network function. These studies suggest tFUS has the potential to affect cognitive function as a clinical tool, and perhaps even enhance wellbeing and expand conscious awareness.
ContributorsFini, Maria Elizabeth (Author) / Tyler, William J (Thesis advisor) / Greger, Bradley (Committee member) / Santello, Marco (Committee member) / Kleim, Jeffrey (Committee member) / Helms Tillery, Stephen (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2020
Description
Prejudice and discrimination toward gender non-conforming individuals is prevalent and extreme in today’s society. This prejudice can manifest in social exclusion, bullying, and victimization, or physical and sexual assault, and can result in negative social, psychological, academic, and physical health outcomes (e.g., depression, anxiety, suicidality). Thus, it is important to understand the perpetrators of gender expression-based aggression and discrimination. In two studies, I addressed how and why people experience prejudice toward gender non-conforming individuals. Using an affordance management theoretical framework, Study 1 identified threats young adults perceived from gender non-conforming peers. There were differences in perceived threats to personal freedoms, social coordination, and values for gender conforming and non-conforming peers, and these perceptions differed by the political ideology of the perceiver. Study 2 explored children’s threat perceptions associated with gender non-conformity. Children perceived threats to social coordination from gender non-conforming peers but not threats to moral values. Results from both studies supported the use of this theoretical framework for studying prejudice toward gender non-conformity. Together, these studies provide unique information about adults’ and children’s reasons for prejudice toward gender non-conforming peers.
ContributorsCook, Rachel (Author) / Martin, Carol L (Thesis advisor) / Neuberg, Steven L. (Committee member) / DeLay, Dawn (Committee member) / Ghavami, Negin (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2020
Description
Pew Research Center reported in 2015 that already one-in-seven infants born in the United States are Multiracial (Livingston, 2017). Therefore, the number of Multiracial families is growing, and there is a need to understand how parents are engaging in racial-ethnic socialization, or the transmission of messages to Multiracial children about race, ethnicity, and culture (Atkin & Yoo, 2019; Hughes et al., 2006). I conducted a qualitative interview study with 20 Multiracial emerging adults to understand the types of racial-ethnic socialization messages Multiracial youth receive from their parents, and used these themes to inform the development and validation of the first measure of racial-ethnic socialization for Multiracial youth, the Multiracial Youth Socialization (MY-Soc) Scale.
Study 1 identified nine themes of racial-ethnic socialization content: cultural socialization, racial identity socialization, preparation for bias socialization, colorblind socialization, race conscious socialization, cultural diversity appreciation socialization, negative socialization, exposure to diversity socialization, and silent socialization. Study 2 utilized a sample of 902 Multiracial emerging adults to develop and validate the MY-Soc scale. Items were written to assess all of the themes identified in Study 1, with the exception of exposure to diversity socialization, and the survey was designed to collect responses regarding the socialization practices of two of the youths’ primary caregivers. The sample was split to run exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis, finding support for a 62-item scale measuring all eight themes. The MY-Soc Scale was also supported by validity and reliability tests. The two studies advance the literature by increasing understanding of the racial-ethnic socialization experiences of Multiracial youth of diverse racial backgrounds. The MY-Soc Scale contributes an important tool for scholars and practitioners to learn which racial-ethnic socialization messages are promotive for Multiracial youth development in different contexts.
Study 1 identified nine themes of racial-ethnic socialization content: cultural socialization, racial identity socialization, preparation for bias socialization, colorblind socialization, race conscious socialization, cultural diversity appreciation socialization, negative socialization, exposure to diversity socialization, and silent socialization. Study 2 utilized a sample of 902 Multiracial emerging adults to develop and validate the MY-Soc scale. Items were written to assess all of the themes identified in Study 1, with the exception of exposure to diversity socialization, and the survey was designed to collect responses regarding the socialization practices of two of the youths’ primary caregivers. The sample was split to run exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis, finding support for a 62-item scale measuring all eight themes. The MY-Soc Scale was also supported by validity and reliability tests. The two studies advance the literature by increasing understanding of the racial-ethnic socialization experiences of Multiracial youth of diverse racial backgrounds. The MY-Soc Scale contributes an important tool for scholars and practitioners to learn which racial-ethnic socialization messages are promotive for Multiracial youth development in different contexts.
ContributorsAtkin, Annabelle L. (Author) / Yoo, Hyung Chol (Thesis advisor) / Jackson, Kelly F. (Committee member) / Tran, Alisia G.T.T. (Committee member) / White, Rebecca M.B. (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2020