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- All Subjects: psychology
- Genre: Masters Thesis
Description
Transgender populations display disproportionately poorer health outcomes compared to the general population. On average, these populations tend to experience decreased well-being in part through increased mental health concerns (e.g., anxiety, depression) and poorer physical and behavioral health status. Understanding the process by which these deleterious outcomes occur for this population is integral to developing interventions. This thesis aimed to examine whether experiences of gender dysphoria and body dissatisfaction influenced the association of felt pressure to conform to gender norms with mental health and quality of life outcomes. Specifically, I hypothesized that greater pressure to conform to gender norms would be directly related to worse mental health and quality of life outcomes, and that gender dysphoria and body dissatisfaction would indirectly mediate this relationship. Furthermore, I hypothesized that participants' gender identity would moderate this relationship, such that transgender individuals would show stronger associations on all pathways as compared to cisgender individuals. The sample consisted of 211 individuals – 109 being transgender and 102 being cisgender. Participants completed a 15-minute online survey including a consent form. Results indicated partial support of hypotheses – pressure to conform to gender norms directly predicted outcomes of compromised mental health (i.e., depression, anxiety, and stress), but did not predict well-being or quality of life. Furthermore, gender dysphoria (but not body dissatisfaction) mediated the relationship between felt pressure for gender conformity and compromised mental health outcomes for cisgender participants, but unexpectedly not for transgender participants. Post hoc analyses suggest that perceived discrimination mediated the relation between felt pressure and all mental health measures and quality of life measures for both transgender and cisgender participants.
ContributorsKlennert, Victoria Elizabeth (Author) / Mickelson, Kristin (Thesis advisor) / Hall, Deborah (Committee member) / Nelson-Coffey, Katherine (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2023
Description
Transgender and nonbinary (TNB) people experience elevated rates of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) due to transphobic violence, discrimination, microaggressions, and minority stress. Oppression against TNB people could also contribute to complex post-traumatic stress disorder (c-PTSD) symptoms, which arises due to exposure to prolonged and repeated trauma from a state of subordination. Nonbinary people in particular experience unique chronic minority stressors (e.g., misgendering, interpersonal invalidation) because of the assumption that gender is inherently binary. These chronic minority stressors threaten nonbinary people’s psychological and interpersonal senses of safety. This study aims to examine how misgendering and invalidation can predict PTSD and c-PTSD symptoms among nonbinary people and whether this association is moderated by pride and community connectedness. Cross-sectional data from 611 nonbinary people were analyzed using hierarchical linear regressions. Misgendering and invalidation were found to be significant predictors of PTSD and c-PTSD symptoms. However, pride and community connectedness were not significant moderators of these associations. Findings from this study contribute to the conceptualizations of traumatic stress among nonbinary people and provide considerations for more affirming trauma-informed care. Future research should explore how additional resilience factors may promote resilience and healing for nonbinary people coping with trauma.
ContributorsColson, Alex (Author) / Matsuno, Em (Thesis advisor) / Randall, Ashley (Committee member) / Barr, Sebastian (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2023
Description
The purpose of this thesis is to determine whether different types of narcissistic behavior are associated with different kinds of economic risk behavior. The thesis examines five published articles to establish whether the sub-classifications of narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) are significantly linked to economic risk behavior, broadly defined. The primary hypothesis states that different classifications of narcissistic behavior will be associated with different kinds of economic risk behavior. The paper finds, broadly, that different kinds of narcissistic behavior classifications are indeed associated with different kinds of economic risk behavior. Specifically, grandiose narcissism (GN) is associated with higher rates of risky gambling behavior; however, manifestations of vulnerable narcissism (VN) appear to play an integral role in the relationship. The paper also finds that both GN and VN are associated with higher rates of oniomania where mediating roles of impulsivity, materialism, and emptiness are present. The thesis concludes that addressing the issue of narcissism cannot be viewed through the lens of any unilateral perspective.
ContributorsYoung, Jessica Ann (Author) / Alozie, Nicholas (Thesis advisor) / Thomas, Kathy (Committee member) / Scheall, Scott (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2023
Description
Behavioral, electrophysiological, and neuroimaging evidence has demonstrated that multiple object tracking (MOT) tasks draw upon visual perception, attention, and working memory cognitive processes. Functional neuroimaging studies identified the middle temporal visual area (MT+/V5) as one of several brain regions associated with MOT in humans. MT+/V5 is thought to be responsible for processing motion from visual information, regulating smooth pursuit eye movements, and encoding memory for motion. However, it is unclear how MT+/V5 interacts with attention and working memory performance processes during MOT. To investigate this question, the right MT+/V5 region was identified in 14 neurotypical subjects using structural magnetic resonance imaging (sMRI). The right MT+/V5 was stimulated using intermittent theta-burst stimulation (iTBS), continuous theta-burst stimulation (cTBS), and sham transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) using a within-subjects design. Average MOT performance was measured before and 5-min, 30-min, and 60-min after each stimulation protocol. There was no significant difference in average MOT performance across time, regardless of the stimulation condition.
ContributorsAlucard, Myles (Author) / Duran, Nicholas (Thesis advisor, Committee member) / Brewer, Gene (Thesis advisor, Committee member) / Burleson, Mary (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2023
Description
Prosecutors’ use of dehumanizing language to describe defendants in their opening and closing statements can often go unchecked. This research aims to assess the effect of dehumanizing language on judgments about Black versus White defendants.Past research has demonstrated the effects of dehumanizing language on lay people's perceptions of out-groups, and how those perceptions can lead to consequential behaviors, prejudice, and even retributive violence and conflict. My first aim is to extend this research to the legal context, more specifically, to address a gap in prior research by randomly assigning participants to read the same closing statement in a murder case with
(a) no dehumanizing language, (b) animalistic dehumanizing language, or (c) mechanistic dehumanizing language to describe either (a) White defendants (Studies 1-2) or (b) Black defendants (Study 2). There has been ample investigation into subtle dehumanization and how it interacts with racial groups, but research has yet to investigate how dehumanized descriptions (both animalistic and mechanistic) of a defendant may influence implicit and explicit perceptions of a defendant and legal outcomes with the inclusion of a race manipulation. I tested the impact of dehumanizing language on participants’ impressions of the defendant, their levels of explicit dehumanization of the defendant specifically and implicit dehumanization of Black versus White targets generally, as well as their ultimate sentencing decisions. I predicted that closing statements including dehumanizing language would lead to greater dehumanization of the defendant and greater likelihood of choosing a death sentence—and that this effect would be greater for Black versus White defendants. I also conducted exploratory tests of the relative impact of animalistic versus mechanistic dehumanization. Investigation into the effects of dehumanization of racial and ethnic groups can help identify underlying psychological causes of racial bias and help to facilitate potential preventative measures in the courtroom.
In this paper, I will report the results from a preliminary study testing the impact of dehumanizing language about a White defendant. I will then report the results from a follow-up study testing the impact of dehumanizing language about a White and a Black defendant.
ContributorsBettis, Taylor (Author) / Salerno, Jessica M (Thesis advisor) / Hall, Deborah (Committee member) / Koop, Greg (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2023
Description
An important facet of daily memory function is prospective memory, which is one’s ability to complete established intentions in the appropriate temporal and spatial context. Many factors contribute to impairments in prospective memory, such as limited cognitive resources or aging. A factor that has been subject to recent investigation is how cannabis use may have an impact on the mechanisms that contribute to prospective memory. Cannabis use has been on the rise across the world, and in the United States more states are pushing to legalize its recreational use, if they haven’t already. As this substance becomes more easily accessible, akin to alcohol use, the necessity to investigate its potential consequences on cognition is needed now more than ever. Prospective memory is an appropriate measure of cannabis-induced deficits due to the wide literature looking at neural correlates of the component mechanisms that contribute to successful prospective memory, attentional and memory processes. The current study employed two experiments to measure this argued claim. Experiment 1 replicated well-defined effects from the prospective memory literature by measuring task accuracy (memory), response times (attention), and pupillary dynamics (attention). Informed by the research looking at the brain regions suspected of experiencing the most functional impairment, Experiment 2 aimed to extend these findings with a sample of participants following acute cannabis administration, however, results indicated cannabis group performance was similar in accuracy and showed faster mean latencies to that of the control group.
ContributorsCelaya, Xavier Lorenzo (Author) / Brewer, Gene A (Thesis advisor) / Meier, Madeline H (Committee member) / Lewis, Candace R (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2023
Description
Dyadic coping is a couple level coping strategy, where partners respond to relationship external stressors as a unit. Dyadic coping behaviors have the ability to strengthen the relationship and improve both partners’ mental health outcomes in the face of adversity. Verbal communication is one of the primary channels of dyadic coping processes. As such, psycholinguistic investigations of predictors of successful dyadic coping comprise a growing body of research within the field of cognitive psychology and psycholinguistics. Aspects of language such as pronoun use and emotion word use are common areas of study. In this study, I examined the effects of language alignment on dyadic coping outcomes among a sample of heterosexual couples. Specifically, I postulated that lexical and semantic alignment would lead to positive outcomes in the cognitive domain of dyadic coping, while alignment in function word use – also referred to as language style matching – would lead to positive outcomes in the affective domain of dyadic coping. I also explored the effect of the temporal dynamics of language alignment on the relevant outcomes. Findings suggest that while function word alignment is weakly predictive of the hypothesized outcomes, no detectable relationships exist between lexical and semantic alignment and cognitive outcomes relating to dyadic coping among my sample. This study also shows a potential weak recency effect of language style matching on one affective outcome of dyadic coping. The absence of statistically significant effects in this study should not be taken to mean that no such effect exists, but that a more sensitive approach with a larger sample may be necessary to uncover the subtle effects of language alignment on dyadic coping outcomes.
ContributorsMariyam Thomas, Anuja (Author) / Duran, Nicholas (Thesis advisor) / Koop, Gregory (Committee member) / Burleson, Mary (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2023
Description
Perceived social support, broadly defined as resources or assistance provided by another person, has been consistently identified as a predictor of health and well-being. These outcomes may be partially explained by direct physiological effects, or the effects of perceived social support on psychological mechanisms that influence engagement in health behaviors, though what exactly these mechanisms are remains unclear. Previous work has proposed that through enhanced self-efficacy and self-esteem, perceived social support increases engagement in health behaviors, though direct evidence for this relationship is limited. Attachment, which plays a crucial role in healthy romantic relationships, may relate to social support’s influence on behavioral outcomes. This study utilized a novel social support priming task to examine if attachment-related working models of romantic partners mediate the relationships among different forms of social support, self-efficacy, and self-esteem in predicting behavioral intentions for self-nominated health goals. Broadly, primed social support positively predicted how supported individuals felt, which in turn predicted working models of their romantic partners. Working models significantly predicted self-esteem, self-efficacy, and intentions to work toward a personally relevant health goal. Self-esteem and self-efficacy also predicted behavioral intentions.
ContributorsVornlocher, Carley (Author) / Shiota, Michelle N (Thesis advisor) / Kwan, Virginia Sy (Committee member) / Ha, Thao (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2023
Description
When questions about a person’s mental state arise in court, psychologists are often called in to help. Psychological assessment tools are routinely included in these evaluations to inform legal decision making. In accordance with the Daubert standard, which governs the admissibility of expert testimony, courts are obligated to exclude evidence that relies on poor scientific practice, including assessment tools. However, prior research demonstrates that psychological assessment tools with weak psychometric properties are routinely admitted in court, rarely challenged on the basis of their reliability, and if a challenge is indeed raised, often still admitted (Neal et al., 2019). Is neuropsychological assessment evidence in particular vulnerable to the same pitfalls? The present research aimed to 1) quantify the quality of neuropsychological assessment evidence used in court, 2) evaluate whether courts are calibrated to the quality of these tools through the rate and success of legal admissibility challenges raised, and 3) compare forensic mental health evaluators’ experiences and practices with regard to the quality of neuropsychological versus non-neuropsychological assessment tools. Neuropsychological tools appeared to perform worse than non-neuropsychological tools in terms of psychometric quality. However, in a case law analysis, significantly fewer challenges were observed to the legal admissibility of neuropsychological tools than to non-neuropsychological tools. To protect the legitimacy of the legal system and prevent wrongful decisions, it is critical that the evidence on which psychologists’ expert opinions are formed is scientifically valid, and that judges and attorneys adequately scrutinize the quality of evidence introduced in court.
ContributorsMathers, Elizabeth (Author) / Neal, Tess M.S. (Thesis advisor) / Burleson, Mary (Committee member) / Roberts, Nicole (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2023
Description
Military sexual trauma (MST) is a risk factor for suicide among service members/veterans. Research reported that 41.79% of male and 63.58% female MST survivors were exposed to pre-military sexual trauma, making MST a revictimization experience. Unfortunately, little is known about mechanisms of the association between revictimization and suicide risk among MST survivors. One possible mechanism is posttraumatic cognitions (PTCs), which include the survivor’s (1) negative thoughts and beliefs about themselves, (2) negative thoughts and beliefs about the world, and (3) self-blame. The current study examined each of the PTC subscales as mediators of the association between sexual revictimization and suicide risk. Participants were 383 service members/veterans reporting a history of MST that involved assault (50.65% female), recruited via Qualtrics., Inc. in 2021. Participants completed self-report questionnaires assessing demographics, suicide risk, history of sexual victimization (MST only, MST and pre-military sexual victimization), and PTCs. Of these, 340 (88.8%) reported a history of MST and pre-military victimization and comprised the revictimization group. Parallel mediation analysis with suicide risk regressed on each of the PTCs subscales and covariates accounted for 43.48% of the variance, and revealed that negative cognitions about the self had a significant indirect effect on the association between revictimization and higher suicide risk, above and beyond negative cognitions about world and self-blame. Targeting negative cognitions about the self among sexual revictimization survivors may be an effective therapeutic strategy to most effectively reduce suicide risk. Cognitive Processing Therapy may be particularly useful among revictimization survivors given the focus on altering posttraumatic cognitions.
ContributorsXu, Bingyu (Author) / Blais, Rebecca (Thesis advisor) / Gewirtz, Abigail (Committee member) / Edwards, Mike (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2023