2019-2020 Senior Honors Theses
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/10657/6786
This collection contains theses produced by Class of 2020 Honors students
Browse
Browsing 2019-2020 Senior Honors Theses by Department "Psychology, Department of"
Now showing 1 - 8 of 8
- Results Per Page
- Sort Options
Item An Evaluation of the Number of Response Options for Scales in Psychology(2020-04) Borjas, MariaSelf-report scales are used widely in the field of psychology. These scales tend to widely differ on scale format for many reasons including consistency, time issues, and convenience. Previous studies have found that scale format has an effect on response variance, and reliability, among other psychometric properties. However, these findings have been mixed. The purpose of this study is to assess the effects of number of response options on response patterns and internal consistency. We used a 5- and 7-point scale of the Rosenberg Self-Esteem measure. Undergraduate college students were administered this scale with either 5 or 7 response options. We found that frequency and response patterns did not differ between the 2 scales, but differences in response patterns per item were present. There were also mean differences between scales, although these effects were small. The number of response options did not affect reliability. Using descriptive statistics and t-tests, differences were not detected between responses to items presented with the 5- and 7-point response scales. Further research assessing more than one measure and comparing even, and odd numbered scales is needed to better understand the effects of number of response options on response patterns.Item Comparing the Time Courses of Top-Down and Bottom-Up Attention in the Temporal Domain(2019-12) Swami, ApurvaAttention shifts within and between time and space frequently during our everyday life. Attention can be controlled both voluntarily and involuntarily and the brain must choose which stimuli are most relevant to process. It is known that this shift in attentional control is costly for the brain in terms of time and resources. In comparison to the well-studied spatial attention, the time courses of top-down (voluntary) and bottom-up (involuntary) temporal attention are less well-known. We examined both top-down and bottom-up attention using the attentional blink and emotion-induced blindness paradigms respectively in order to better understand whether the hallmarks of top-down/bottom-up distinctions in spatial attentional control also occur in temporal attentional control. Participants searched rapid serial visual presentation streams for either two targets or one target following an emotional distractor image. The results showed that participants demonstrated an AB effect, but most likely failed to notice the emotional distractor images and therefore did not show an EIB effect. Due to the lack of the AB-like effect in the EIB condition, this study remains inconclusive as the data in the bottom-up attentional control (EIB) condition were not interpretable.Item Maternal Psychological Burden, Mother-Child Interaction, and Infant’s Looking Behavior(2020-05) Gonzalez, SofiaA number of studies have documented effects of maternal depression, stress, psychological burden on children’s developmental outcomes. Studies suggest that dyads affected by depression or depressive behaviors show compromised mother-child interaction and cognitive developmental outcomes. However, there has been little investigation of the microstructure of mother-child interaction to approach the potential mechanism underlying the relation between the maternal depression/depressive behaviors and infant’s developmental outcomes. The goal of this study was to characterize the microstructure of mother-child object play behaviors by focusing on parental’ scaffolding and their 3 to 18 months-old-infants’ socially coordinated visual experiences during a 10 minutes play. The results showed that the healthy mothers’ attention to toy object and hands (parent’s own and the infant’s) and their child’s attention to toy object were significantly more frequently observed when compared to the effected group. The findings point to the possible pathway in which maternal threshold depressive symptoms may influence early learning via visual experiences with object during social interactions.Item Parent-Adolescent Attachment Patterns in Inpatient Adolescents with Comorbid Borderline Personality Disorder and Substance Use(2020-05) Saubon, FrancesAlthough Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is often comorbid with substance use (SU), both have been associated with unique attachment strategies. BPD is associated with preoccupation and disorganization while SU is associated with dismissal and disorganization. Taken together, adolescents with comorbid conditions may appear more disorganized and lack a clear pattern of strategies. Previous research on attachment and comorbidity has not studied how these may present differently in adolescence, a period when most symptoms are first presented, and early interventions are most effective. Therefore, the present study examined attachment patterns of inpatient youths (N=392) with BPD and SU alone, as well as with comorbid BPD and SU. Using a multi-method approach, we utilized self- and parent-reported questionnaires and clinical interviews. Our findings suggest that comorbid adolescents were significantly less likely to report disorganization when compared to youth with BPD only. In addition, comorbid adolescents scored higher in dismissal with both parents and idealization with their fathers, though this effect did not reach significance. Overall, our findings provide information on how health care providers can assist adolescents with comorbid conditions based on their specific attachment needs.Item Socioeconomic Risk and Neural Correlates of Working Memory in Preschool-Aged Children: An FNIRS Study(2019-04) Montgomery, Diana A.Children exposed to early childhood poverty are at increased risk for learning and academic problems. Recent work has shown that poverty may affect neurocognitive systems that support higher level cognition, which may explain increased risk for delays. In this study, we investigated how variability in poverty exposure, based on family income, influences neural function and behavior during a working memory task in children aged 4 to 7 years. Children (n = 25) participated in a spatial working memory task while their DLPFC was monitored using functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). We found that low SES, based on family income, was associated with lower DLPFC activation. This points to one mechanism by which children exposed to poverty are at increased risk for problematic outcomes and has implications for early intervention and prevention.Item The Effect of Social Skills on Middle School Belonging and Academic Motivation in Low-Income, Minority Students(2020-05) Gentzis, Ersie-AnastasiaThe present research investigated associations between the basic need satisfaction of belongingness and intrinsic academic motivation in low-income, minority middle school students. Current literature suggests that students in middle school suffer a drop in basic need satisfaction and school engagement. Students reporting supportive relationships are better adjusted and more academically engaged. One method used to encourage these relationships is the emphasis of social skills. Therefore, the present research explored whether adding social skills lessons to a middle school curriculum increased intrinsic academic motivation by increasing belonging among students, particularly among a low-income, minority student sample. This was tested in a three-week long study where participants enrolled in summer school (n = 95) completed baseline, weekly, and follow-up measures of need satisfaction and intrinsic academic motivation while receiving weekly social skills lessons. Results indicated that there were no significant differences between baseline and follow-up belongingness satisfaction or intrinsic academic motivation. Study limitations include a small sample size and fidelity challenges, and future research should aim for a larger sample size and a lengthier, more structured longitudinal design.Item The Trickle-Down Effect of Academic Mentoring(2020-05) Lezcano, AlyssaThe mentoring literature has not sufficiently explored the potential trickle-down effects of mentoring, and there has yet to be an examination of how and why amount of mentoring received might lead a person to mentor a greater number of protégés. This thesis seeks to address these gaps in the literature by examining the role of faculty support systems in promoting greater numbers of mentored students. To accomplish this, I examine career sponsorship as a means to increase number of student protégés through heightened faculty commitment to the mentoring process using a sample of 255 tenured and tenure-track faculty members across 25 public universities in the United States. The results support the proposed hypotheses and indicate that career sponsorship of faculty has a positive indirect effect on number of undergraduate and graduate protégés via increased faculty mentoring commitment.Item Walking On Eggshells: Parents Diagnosed With Borderline Personality Disorder Impact On Their Children’s Development(2020-05) O'Hara, Taylor C.Children with parents that suffer from a personality disorder often suffer long-lasting effects and are at a higher risk for developing a personality disorder and those whose parents have other mental illnesses or do not suffer from a mental illness altogether. These children are often neglected and their needs are not being met by the parent that has been diagnosed. Borderline Personality Disorder is a disorder that is characterized by the inability to manage one’s emotions effectively. Relationships are often directly affected and experience a troubling and difficult road to understanding and recovery. Children are among those that are the most affected as they do what is necessary to retain the relationship with that parent. Common effects include the increase of behavioral disorders, a higher risk for developing BPD or other psychiatric disorders, low self-esteem, suicidal ideations and emotional disturbances. By having a parent that suffers from Borderline Personality Disorder, the child is negatively affected emotionally, mentally, and intellectually.