Matching Items (21)
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- All Subjects: psychology
- Creators: Presson, Clark
- Creators: School of Human Evolution & Social Change
- Member of: Barrett, The Honors College Thesis/Creative Project Collection
Description
The Beck Depression Inventory II (BDI-II) and the Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (PHQ-9) are highly valid depressive testing tools used to measure the symptom profile of depression globally and in South Asia, respectively (Steer et al., 1998; Kroenke et al, 2001). Even though the South Asian population comprises only 23% of the world’s population, it represents one-fifth of the world’s mental health disorders (Ogbo et al., 2018). Although this population is highly affected by mental disorders, there is a lack of culturally relevant research on specific subsections of the South Asian population.<br/><br/>As such, the goal of this study is to investigate the differences in the symptom profile of depression in native and immigrant South Asian populations. We investigated the role of collective self-esteem and perceived discrimination on mental health. <br/><br/>For the purpose of this study, participants were asked a series of questions about their depressive symptoms, self-esteem and perceived discrimination using various depressive screening measures, a self-esteem scale, and a perceived discrimination scale.<br/><br/>We found that immigrants demonstrated higher depressive symptoms than Native South Asians as immigration was viewed as a stressor. First-generation and second-generation South Asian immigrants identified equally with somatic and psychological symptoms. These symptoms were positively correlated with perceived discrimination, and collective self-esteem was shown to increase the likelihood of these symptoms.<br/><br/>This being said, the results from this study may be generalized only to South Asian immigrants who come from highly educated and high-income households. Since seeking professional help and being aware of one’s mental health is vital for wellbeing, the results from this study may spark the interest in an open communication about mental health within the South Asian immigrant community as well as aid in the restructuring of a highly reliable and valid measurement to be specific to a culture.
ContributorsMurthy, Nithara (Co-author) / Swaminathan, Manasa (Co-author) / Vogel, Joanne (Thesis director) / Kwan, Sau (Committee member) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / School of Human Evolution & Social Change (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2021-05
Description
Abstract: Behavioral evidence suggests that joint coordinated movement attunes one's own motor system to the actions of another. This attunement is called a joint body schema (JBS). According to the JBS hypothesis, the attunement arises from heightened mirror neuron sensitivity to the actions of the other person. This study uses EEG mu suppression, an index of mirror neuron system activity, to provide neurophysiological evidence for the JBS hypothesis. After a joint action task in which the experimenter used her left hand, the participant's EEG revealed greater mu suppression (compared to before the task) in her right cerebral hemisphere when watching a left hand movement. This enhanced mu suppression was found regardless of whether the participant was moving or watching the experimenter move. These results are suggestive of super mirror neurons, that is, mirror neurons which are strengthened in sensitivity to another after a joint action task and do not distinguish between whether the individual or the individual's partner is moving.
ContributorsGoodwin, Brenna Renee (Author) / Glenberg, Art (Thesis director) / Presson, Clark (Committee member) / Blais, Chris (Committee member) / School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2015-12
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
There is preclinical evidence that the detrimental cognitive effects of hormone loss can be ameliorated by estrogen therapy (Bimonte, Acosta, & Talboom, 2010), however, one of the primary concerns with current hormone therapies is that they are nonselective, leading to increased risk of breast and endometrial cancers as well as heart disease. Thus, in order to achieve a successful and clinically relevant long-term hormone therapy option, it is optimal to find an estrogen therapy regimen that is selective to its target tissue. Recently, phytoestrogens have been found to exert selective, beneficial effects on cognition and brain. For example, genistein and diadzein produce neuroprotective effects in cognitive brain regions (Zhao, Chen, & Diaz Brinton, 2002). The purpose of this study was threefold: 1) to examine the cognitive impact of phytoestrogens in young ovariectomized rats, 2) to replicate the dose effects found in the Luine study (Luine et al., 2006), while controlling for manufacturer differences, and 3) to assess if the rodent diet used in our laboratory has an estrogenic-like cognitive impact.The current findings suggest that, at least for object memory, diets containing varying amounts of phytoestrogens can alter cognition, with diets containing high amounts of phytoestrogens showing potential benefits to this type of memory.
ContributorsWhitton, Elizabeth Nicole (Author) / Bimonte-Nelson, Heather (Thesis director) / Presson, Clark (Committee member) / Baxter, Leslie (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor)
Created2013-05
Description
This study aims to examine how crossover relations from one parent relate to the other parent's view of familial relationships. The study examines mood state and psychological distress as variables that relate to each other and familial relationships. Home visits were scheduled with families of normally developing three-year olds. During these home visits, naturalistic observation and surveys were done. Researchers then conducted regression analyses to examine the relation between mood state, psychological distress, and familial relationships. The data showed that there were significant relations between one parents' psychological distress and how the other parent viewed the marital relationship, indicating a crossover relation between those two variables.
ContributorsLopez, Nicole Marie (Author) / Crnic, Keith (Thesis director) / Presson, Clark (Committee member) / Nelson, Elizabeth (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor)
Created2013-05
Description
I propose that norms regulate behaviors that negatively impact an individual's survival and reproduction. But because monitoring and enforcing of norms can be costly, individuals should be selective about which norms they police and under what circumstances they should do so. Two studies tested this idea by experimentally activating fitness-relevant motives and having participants answer questions about the policing of norms. The first study examined a norm prescribing respect for status and another proscribing sexual coercion. Results from Study 1 failed to support the hypotheses; activating a status-seeking motive did not have the predicted effects on policing of the respect-status norm nor did activating a mating motive have the predicted effects on policing of the respect-status norm or anti-coercion norm. Study 2 examined two new norms, one prescribing that people stay home when sick and the other proscribing people from having sex with another person's partners. Study 2 also manipulated whether self or others were the target of the policing. Study 2 failed to provide support; a disease avoidance motive failed to have effects on policing of the stay home when sick norm. Individuals in a relationship under a mating motive wanted less policing of others for violation of the mate poaching norm than those in a baseline condition, opposite of the predicted effects.
ContributorsSmith, M. Kristopher (Author) / Neuberg, L. Steven (Thesis director) / Presson, Clark (Committee member) / Hruschka, J. Daniel (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (Contributor)
Created2013-05
Description
Prospective memory is defined as the process of remembering to do something at a particular point in the future after first forming a conscious intention. There are three types of prospective memory intentions; event-based, time-based and activity-based intentions. Research has suggested that activity-based is one of the dominant prospective memory failures that people self-report yet there is little research on this area of prospective memory. The current study focuses on how activity-based PM is influenced by the association between the match of internal context and intended action. According to previous research, similar context between intention formation and retrieval has been shown to facilitate prospective memory, which increases the execution of intentions. Based on literature, we hypothesized that there would be higher intention completion when the internal context matches the intended action to be completed in the future. Results showed that internal context affected activity-based intention completion significantly. However the interaction between internal context and the intended action did not significantly affect intention completion. Although we did not get the hypothesized interaction, the means do cross over showing the interaction pattern is there. We decided to treat this as a pilot study and replicate it with a well-powered experiment consisting of 560 valid participants.
ContributorsEdrington, Alexis Adele (Author) / Brewer, Gene (Thesis director) / Presson, Clark (Committee member) / McClure, Samuel (Committee member) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (Contributor)
Created2015-12
Description
An individual’s reputation can be beneficial or detrimental to their exchanges with others,
and these exchanges may be critical for achieving evolutionary goals, such as reproduction.
Depending on their reputation, an individual may or may not gain access to resources in order to
achieve their evolutionary goals. Reputation is typically described as being “positive” and
“negative,” but the current study aimed to identify potential nuances to reputations beyond the
traditional dichotomy. It was hypothesized that different types of reputations (such as “friendly”,
“dishonest”, and “aggressive”) would group together in categories beyond “positive” and
“negative.” Additionally, individuals with different life history strategies might find different
reputations important, because the reputations they find most important may help them get the
kinds of resources they need to attain their specific evolutionary goals. Therefore, it was also
predicted that the importance individuals place on different types of reputations would vary as a
function of life history strategy. Exploratory factor analysis identified a five factor structure for
reputations. Individuals also placed varying levels of importance on different types of
reputations, and found some reputations more important than others depending on their life
history strategy. This study demonstrates that reputational information is more nuanced than
previously thought and future research should consider that there may be more than just
“positive” and “negative” reputations in social interactions.
and these exchanges may be critical for achieving evolutionary goals, such as reproduction.
Depending on their reputation, an individual may or may not gain access to resources in order to
achieve their evolutionary goals. Reputation is typically described as being “positive” and
“negative,” but the current study aimed to identify potential nuances to reputations beyond the
traditional dichotomy. It was hypothesized that different types of reputations (such as “friendly”,
“dishonest”, and “aggressive”) would group together in categories beyond “positive” and
“negative.” Additionally, individuals with different life history strategies might find different
reputations important, because the reputations they find most important may help them get the
kinds of resources they need to attain their specific evolutionary goals. Therefore, it was also
predicted that the importance individuals place on different types of reputations would vary as a
function of life history strategy. Exploratory factor analysis identified a five factor structure for
reputations. Individuals also placed varying levels of importance on different types of
reputations, and found some reputations more important than others depending on their life
history strategy. This study demonstrates that reputational information is more nuanced than
previously thought and future research should consider that there may be more than just
“positive” and “negative” reputations in social interactions.
ContributorsPatterson, Danielle Nicole (Author) / Aktipis, Athena (Thesis director) / Corbin, William (Committee member) / West, Stephen G. (Committee member) / Ayers, Jessica D. (Committee member) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / School of Human Evolution & Social Change (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-12
Description
Research into criminal fantasies has thus far primarily focused on homicidal. Here, we broaden the study of criminal ideation by examining a wide range of violent and non-violent criminal fantasies. Specifically, we aimed to compare the magnitude of sex difference in actual crimes to sex differences in crime fantasies. Using a questionnaire design, participants were asked about the frequency and recency of multiple categories of criminal fantasies, including violent and non-violent crimes. Reports of crime fantasies from this questionnaire were compared to national rates of arrest and incident for these actual crimes. Results indicated that men not only commit crimes more frequently than women do, they also fantasize about crimes more frequently. At the same time, such sex differences in crime fantasies were smaller than sex differences in actual crimes. Future studies should continue to explore the purpose of crime fantasies and their relation to behavioral regulation mechanisms.
ContributorsBaldwin, Lauren (Co-author, Co-author) / Kenrick, Douglas (Thesis director) / Barlev, Michael (Committee member) / Presson, Clark (Committee member) / School of Criminology and Criminal Justice (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
Catholic confession is one of the most practiced and well-known religious acts in the world. Although Catholic confession has proven to be an important component in the lives of millions of people, little research has been conducted exploring trust engagement within Catholic confession or the variables that affect one’s willingness to confess. The purpose of this study was to examine Catholic confession and find whether variables such as perception of the sexual abuse within the Catholic Church, ability, benevolence, and integrity of the priest, Catholic Church, and pope, propensity to trust, trust, and intrinsic religiosity have a significant relation with one’s willingness to confess. This study was conducted through a series of anonymous questionnaires, including two measures that were created for the purpose of this study—the Sex Abuse Perception Measure and Willingness to Confess Measure. Linear regressions and correlations were used to analyze relation between variables. Results revealed that the perception one has of the sexual abuse within the Catholic Church is significantly related to the perceived ability, benevolence, and integrity for a priest, Catholic Church, and the pope. Additionally, ability and benevolence had a moderate positive relation with trust in a priest and the pope and benevolence and integrity had a moderate positive relation with trust in the Catholic Church. Surprisingly, there were no significant relations between propensity to trust and trust in the priest, Catholic Church, or the pope. Similarly, there were no significant relations between trust in the priest, Catholic Church, or the pope and one’s willingness to confess. Intrinsic religiosity did have a positive relation with willingness to confess. This study highlights that individual and organizational religious figures possibly have differing origins of trust (ability, benevolence, and integrity). This difference may be related to one’s perception of the sexual abuse that occurred within the Catholic Church.
ContributorsCervantes, Jasmine (Author) / Cohen, Adam (Thesis director) / Presson, Clark (Committee member) / Mayer, Roger (Committee member) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-12