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Browsing by Subject "Department of Psychology"

Now showing 1 - 20 of 169
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    Abusive Supervision and Burnout: The Moderating Role of Subordinates’ Neuroticism and Time Spent with the Supervisors
    (2020-05) Yu, Jie
    Drawing on Conservation of Resources theory (COR. Hobfoll, 1989), the purpose of this study was to further our understanding of the relationship between abusive supervision and burnout by testing the moderating effects of subordinates' neuroticism and time spent with the supervisor. Data collected from two samples showed that there was a positive and significant relationship between abusive supervision and burnout. When considering only the primary moderator, subordinates' neuroticism, on the relationship abusive supervision and burnout, the perception of abusive supervision on burnout was not influenced by any level of subordinates' neuroticism. When considering the primary moderator (subordinates' neuroticism) and secondary moderator (time spent with the supervisor) on the relationship between abusive supervision and burnout, results from Sample 2 only found a significant three-way interaction between abusive supervision, subordinates' neuroticism, and time spent with supervision that was operationalized as time spent interacting with the supervisor in hours per week. Specifically, the positive relationship between abusive supervision and burnout was strongest when subordinates were high neuroticism and they interacted with their supervisor for more than 9.45 hours a week. Practical implications, limitations and future directions are discussed.
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    Adult Attachment and the Perception of Facial Expressions of Emotion: Activating the Attachment System with a Distress Manipulation
    (2011-04-13) Steele, Ryan
    Past research on attachment theory and the perception of facial expressions of emotion has revealed that individuals who exhibit higher attachment anxiety process facial emotions more quickly than do less anxiously attached individuals. In this study, I attempted to replicate and extend this previous research by adding a distress component to an experiment. Using a movie morph paradigm, participants viewed movies of faces in which emotional expressions changed from displaying an emotion to displaying no emotion. Participants were asked to indicate the point at which they could no longer tell that an emotional expression was present. Results revealed that participants who scored higher in attachment anxiety in the no-distress condition perceived the offset of angry emotions earlier than did less anxious participants in the no-distress condition. With respect to the offsetting of happy emotions, highly anxious participants in the distress condition perceived the offset of happy emotions later than did less anxious participants in the distress condition. These results suggest that the perception of facial expressions of emotion is dependent on the level of distress that an individual feels.
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    An Analysis of Body-Specific Mechanisms Explaining the Associations Between Self-Compassion, Body Checking, and Body Image Avoidance
    (2024-06) Backderf, Chloë
    Behavioral manifestations of body image dissatisfaction, such as body checking and body image avoidance, are linked with the pathology of eating disorders (Walker et al., 2018). Due to this relationship, research establishing risk and protective factors for these body image disturbances is important for the development of interventions. One of these potential protective factors is self-compassion (Braun et al., 2016), which is comprised of three compassionate facets (mindfulness, self-kindness, common humanity) and three uncompassionate facets (overidentification, self-judgment, isolation). The mechanisms by which self-compassion are linked to body checking and body image avoidance are understudied, particularly with respect to the individual facets of self-compassion, which could provide information on what aspects of self-compassion relate most with these body image disturbances. The present cross-sectional study examined the relationship between the three uncompassionate facets of self-compassion and body checking/avoidance through mediation models. We anticipated that each uncompassionate facet would be associated with body checking and body image avoidance, and that these relationships would be mediated through a body-specific variable (e.g., body shame, body comparisons, body rumination) that appeared to conceptually align with that particular uncompassionate component. Specifically, we hypothesized that a) the relationship between self-judgement and body checking/avoidance would be mediated by body shame, b) the relationship between isolation and body checking/avoidance would be mediated by body comparisons, and c) the relationship between over-identification and body checking/avoidance would be mediated by body rumination. A total of 195 female college students completed a set of surveys and were included in the analyses. Pearson’s correlations and simple mediation analyses were used to examine the various models we hypothesized. Results showed that the uncompassionate facets correlated with their paired body-specific cognition, and both the uncompassionate facets and body-specific cognitions correlated with body checking and avoidance. The body-specific cognitions significantly mediated the relationship between their paired uncompassionate facet and body checking/avoidance. Parallel mediation analyses showed that no body-specific cognition explained the relationship between any uncompassionate facet and body checking/avoidance significantly more than the other body-specific cognitions. This indicates that body-specific cognitions, in general, appear to co-occur and collectively mediate the relationship between lack of self-compassion and body checking/avoidance, as opposed to specific body cognitions. The results of this study may be helpful in understanding the processes involved in the development of body image disturbances and could be useful in informing specific targets in self-compassion interventions.
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    Antidepressant Effects of TRH Analogue EEP in Female and Male Rats Assessed with the Forced Swim Test and BDNF Assay
    (2023-05) Schulz, Emily N
    The endogenous peptide pGLU-GLU-PRO-NH2 (EEP) has antidepressant effects in male rats demonstrated by decreased immobility in the forced swim test (FST). EEP is a chemical analog of thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH), which has short-term antidepressant effects by intrathecal administration in humans. In people with depression, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is decreased in the hippocampus and frontal cortex which leads to decreased volume in both. When people are successfully treated for depression, irrespective of the treatment type, BDNF and volume increase in the hippocampus and frontal cortex, which can indicate recovery. Sex differences are present in the occurrence and symptoms of depression; however, female animals are not always represented in depression research. Female sex hormones are thought to be a reason for sex differences related to depression, and BDNF is known to fluctuate over the estrous cycle of female rats. This study sought to determine if the antidepressant effects of EEP are related to BDNF levels in rats. This study found no significant effects with the forced swim test (FST) and immobility but had a large effect size. A minor sex difference was present in the FST (p = 0.03). Rats that received EEP were not found to have significantly increased levels of BDNF in the hippocampus and frontal cortex, but the results had a large effect size with the frontal cortex. No sex difference was found with BDNF concentrations. Results related to the estrous cycle were insignificant and considered exploratory. The results suggest that continued testing of EEP is needed to gain a greater understanding.
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    Appetite Awareness Training as a Weight Gain Prevention Intervention for Young Adult Women: A Randomized Controlled Trial
    (2017-08) Guidinger, Claire
    Young adulthood, in particular, is a time of increased risk of weight gain. Indeed,weight gain of 3-5 pounds among college freshmen has been well documented. Given the high rates of obesity, prevention efforts have become a national priority. This Plan B Project evaluated the efficacy of a brief Appetite Awareness Training Intervention in preventing weight gain in young adult women. Appetite Awareness Training (Craighead,2006) aims to increase an individual's ability to eat intuitively based on bodily hunger and satiety cues, rather than external or emotional cues, thereby potentially preventing weight gain. This study was a randomized control trial that used a 3x2 mixed factorial design with participants (n = 89) assigned to one of three groups: Appetite Awareness Training (AAT, n = 31), Nutrition Education (NE, n = 29), or a no-treatment control(NTC, n = 29). Primary (weight, BMI, body fat %, and waist circumference)and secondary(self-regulatory eating processes) outcome variables were assessed at baseline and post-intervention. The findings of this study revealed no statistically significant differences between groups on primary outcome variables, but AAT participants experienced a substantially greater increase in weight management self-efficacy at post-treatment compared to the NE and NTC groups.
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    Are the differences in jealousy responses in men and women moderated by sexual orientation and sexual identification?
    (2020-05-08) Walker, McKenna R; Lloyd, Robert L
    This research strives to determine if the evolutionary psychology theory on infidelity remains true today for cis-males and cis-females. In addition, this study includes non-gender conforming and transgender subjects, not included in the original theory. Jealousy will be measured by using electrodermal responses (EDR) recorded through the software program AcqKnowledge 4.4. This software is ran through the BioPac program. In this study, jealousy is measured by attaching electrodes to the hand of a human subject while they listen to one of two randomly assigned audio recordings. The two recordings will counter-balance the order of the jealousy stimuli as well as reflect the subject's arousal levels.
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    Associated Correlates of Social Comparison Threat to Working Memory Capacity
    (2018) Peper, Philip E
    Social comparison, whether upward or downward, can cause consequences that hinder working memory performance. The present study aimed to illuminate possible moderators and mediators of the threatening effect of social comparison on working memory capacity. No significant group differences were found, so moderation and mediation analyses were not conducted. However, across comparison groups, exploratory analyses revealed negative affect and peak sympathetic nervous system arousal both negatively and significantly predicted working memory performance. Greater research is needed to determine whether these variables mediate the phenomenon and discover whom is most susceptible to detriments.
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    The association between the relationship status of one’s biological parents and relationship destiny/growth beliefs: An application of Implicit Theories of Relationships
    (2021-12) Willhite, Rachel M
    Problem/ Purpose: Humans have an inherent desire to connect, build relationships, and be close to other people (particularly romantic partners). Several studies have shown that healthy relationships promote our mental and physical wellbeing, thus it is important for researchers to prioritize the study of the variables that enhance relationship satisfaction. One construct that has been linked to relationship satisfaction is Implicit Theories of Relationships (ITRs). Proponents of ITRs argue that people adopt one of two belief systems relating to relationships; those who endorse destiny beliefs agree that relationships are either meant to be or not whereas those endorsing growth beliefs argue that relationships must incorporate ongoing communication and survive hardship in order to succeed. Previous research reveals that those who adopt growth beliefs report greater relationship satisfaction than those with destiny beliefs. Although a number of studies have examined whether one's parents contribute to their relationship beliefs, there is no study that has assessed the impact of one’s parents’ relationship status on ITRs. Thus, because growth beliefs are linked to fulfilling relationships, it is expected that adults who report that their biological parents are together will endorse growth beliefs to a greater extent than destiny beliefs and those with parents that are not a relationship will endorse destiny beliefs over growth beliefs. Procedure: A total of 127 English-speaking adults (71 male, 56 female; ages 23-70) were recruited online and asked to complete questionnaires assessing ITRs, parental relationship status (43.3% together, 25.9% not together, 28.3% widowed), the extent to which they look to their parents for relationship advice, and demographic information. Results: The results of a one-way MANOVA revealed that those whose biological parents were together endorsed destiny beliefs to a significantly greater extent (M = 4.95) than those whose parents were widowed (M = 4.15). The results of a correlational secondary analysis determined that there was a significant positive association between seeking relationship advice from one’s parents and endorsing destiny beliefs. Conclusions/Implications: These results confirm that parents have a significant influence on their children’s ITRs, potentially resulting in higher quality relationships. This supports the importance of positive role modeling. Parents should take extra care with how they display their personal relationships with their children. To aid this, parental education groups should prioritize teaching parents how to navigate their relationships in a healthy way in order to positively influence their children’s future relationships.
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    Barriers to Mental Health Services for Children in Low-income, Racial-Ethnic Minority Families
    (2021-07) Knourek, Kimberly A
    Accessing mental health care can be difficult for several reasons, but barriers to treatment can be exacerbated by racial-ethnic minority status, poverty, and its associated stressors. Understanding barriers to mental health care for children and their families experiencing poverty is essential to organize resources and provide better support. The first aim of this study was to examine how poverty status, trauma experience, and age affects access to the child’s mental health care and treatment progress. Data were collected on children aged 6 to 18 years old (N = 224) from August 2018 to February 2020 by using archival medical records in collaboration with a local community mental health organization. Children and their parents completed study measures with a therapist at their first appointment. This study utilized a between-groups, quantitative, natural correlational design and results were determined by the use of the Child and Adolescent Service Intensity Instrument (CASII) to measure treatment progress and treatment intensity measured as number of sessions and weeks of treatment as outcome measures. Results displayed that CASII pre-treatment scores were a significant predictor of CASII mid-treatment scores, meaning there was very little change in scores. Poverty, trauma experience, and age were not significant predictors for either change in symptoms over time, or treatment access as measured by treatment intensity, when CASII pre-treatment scores were included in the model. The second aim of this study is to aid the community collaborator in acquiring information that is beneficial in supporting the families to whom they provide services.
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    The Blame Game: Assessing Blame Placed on Gender Diverse Victims of HIV and the Impact of Perspective Taking
    (2020-03) Deihl, Emma C
    Gender diverse individuals experience higher rates of HIV and are blamed for their diagnoses to a greater extent than cisgender individuals. Proponents of Attribution Theory posit that victim blaming can be explained by understanding how people attribute causes to others' misfortunes (i.e., one's HIV diagnosis), whereby victims whose behavior is perceived as internal, controllable, and stable are blamed to a greater extent than victims whose behavior is perceived as external, uncontrollable, and unstable. Furthermore, perspective-taking is a technique used to reduce blame by altering one's causal attributions. Despite the links between causal attributions and perceptive taking, no study has applied these constructs to understand and reduce blame placed on gender diverse individuals who have been diagnosed with HIV. Thus, the current study examined the extent to which hypothetical gender diverse individuals were blamed for their HIV diagnosis to a greater extent than cisgender individuals, whether causal attributions explained this difference, and if perspective taking reduced blame. U.S. adults (N = 513) were randomly assigned to read one of nine vignettes, depicting an individual diagnosed with HIV, in which the gender identity of the target (transgender, cisgender man, cisgender woman) and the perspective-taking instructions (perspective taking, stay objective, and no instructions) were manipulated. Participants then completed scales assessing casual attributions (locus of causality, controllability, and stability) and blame (using three sub-measures: malice, unreliability, and recklessness). The results revealed that the gender diverse target was perceived to be more reckless than the cisgender targets and that locus of causality attributions partially explained these perceptions. In addition, the perspective-taking manipulation failed to significantly reduce blame placed on gender diverse individuals. The results from this research have important implications for educators and practitioners working to reduce blame associated with HIV diagnoses and stigma placed on gender diverse individuals.
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    A Brief Appetite Awareness Intervention for Eating and Weight Regulation Among College Freshmen: A Randomized Clinical Trial
    (2016-05) Vieaux, Lauren E
    The pervasiveness of obesity within our society has become a leading public health concern. Weight loss interventions are largely ineffective over the long run, thus researchers are turning their efforts toward weight gain prevention approaches. Given that the time of greatest change in dietary quality and incidence of obesity is during young adulthood, it would seem that prevention approaches would ideally target this population. Currently, most prevention programs utilize informational approaches (i.e., providing nutrition education) and/or are time intensive. Although these approaches show small short-term effects, Appetite Awareness Training (AAT), delivered in a brief group format, may offer a low-cost intervention aimed at sustainable skills. With an emphasis placed on an individual's ability to eat intuitively based on bodily hunger and satiety cues, AAT transforms an individual's approach to eating, instilling long lasting awareness of one's eating habits. This study evaluated the efficacy of a brief AAT intervention versus a standard nutrition information intervention (NE) versus a notreatment control. Freshman women (n=34) were randomly assigned to one of the three groups. Changes in weight, BMI, eating self-regulation, and other psychosocial variables were assessed at baseline, post-intervention, and 18 weeks post-intervention. Preliminary results show brief interventions (AAT and NE) to supersede no intervention with regards to ability to prevent unintended weight gain. Further, AAT participants showed greater confidence in efficaciously managing their weight and refraining from eating due to external influences.
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    "Celebrating Women of Courage and Vision": Women's History Month (2001-03)
    (2001) University of Minnesota Duluth. Women's Resource and Action Center
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    Changes in the Fluidity of Coordination with Curling Experience
    (2016) Bernier, Kyle; Segler, Emily; Hessler, Eric E
    This study examined the effects of experience in the sport of curling by comparing different movement tasks of curlers of varying levels of experience. We predicted that curlers with more experience would demonstrate greater amounts of flexibility in their movements, which is consistent with past studies on movement and experience (Bernstein, 1967, Vereijken, van Emmerik, Whiting, & Newell, 1992). Curlers from the Duluth Curling Club were tested on both hit and draw shots while turning their wrists in either a clockwise or counterclockwise movement. Their movement was recorded using an Optotrak Certus device which uses infrared sensors to pick up on slight differences in movement. We found that participants with more experience showed greater amounts of flexibility while performing the motion tasks. Results from this study can be used by curlers trying to make improvements to their game. Further research can be conducted to improve upon our findings.
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    Children Receiving Services at a Community Child Advocacy Center: A Mixed-Method Examination of Early Maladaptive Schemas and Coping Responses
    (2022-05) Zheng, Linda
    Schemas are core emotional and cognitive themes regarding oneself and one’s environment. Early maladaptive schemas (EMS) are themes originating from childhood and are associated with unmet emotional needs and adverse experiences, such as those that occur in caregiver-child relationships. EMS are maintained throughout life by unhelpful coping responses. However, it is unclear when children develop EMS and how the relationship between EMS and coping responses presents in children. Objective: The present study examined: (1) the prevalence of EMS and coping responses in children who have experienced maltreatment, (2) the relationship between EMS and coping responses, (3) how qualitative data compare to previous theoretical structures found in quantitative studies, and (4) how personal factors (e.g., age, gender) and abuse factors (e.g., frequency, type) are related to EMS and coping responses. Participants: Data were collected in collaboration with a child advocacy center through forensic interviews in which a child reported primary and/or secondary abuse. Measures: EMS were assessed using the Dusseldorf Illustrated Schema Questionnaire for Children (excluding illustrations). Coping responses were assessed using the COPE Inventory. Information about individual and abuse factors were gathered from case reports. Procedure: Staff at the child advocacy center completed the measures based on information obtained during forensic interviews. Results: All EMS were present in this sample. Excessive responsibility/standards was positively associated with self-sufficient coping and negatively associated with avoidant coping. Children of color, older children, and children who experienced multiple forms of abuse also reported higher levels of disconnection/rejection. Children who reported multiple forms of abuse also reported higher levels of impaired autonomy/performance. Conclusion: Early interventions should address EMS and reinforce more helpful coping responses for children with such adverse experiences.
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    Children's Wellbeing and ADHD among Rural and Urban Families
    (2024-05) Coleman, Callie Ann
    The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between both positive parent-child relationships and community support to child ADHD symptom severity and child subjective wellbeing across rural and urban families. Past literature has found extensive barriers for accessing quality mental health services among rural families, however there is limited information on assets and strengths of rural families that may facilitate improved mental health. In particular, accessing high quality mental health services is important for assessment and treatment of mental health conditions such as Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Additionally, evaluating the relationships between parents and children would be beneficial, as ADHD is a concern of the entire family. The current study’s aim is to provide information on the unique experiences of rural families with children with ADHD that may ultimately inform community or school based services. The current study recruited children with ADHD and their families from urban and rural settings to complete surveys on the parent-child relationship, child wellbeing, and community support. Results showed a significant main effect of positive parent-child relationships on ADHD symptom severity. However, location and community support were not significant predictors of ADHD symptom severity. Community support and positive parent-child relationships were significantly associated with each other. Results showed there were no significant main effects of the predictors of location, community support, and positive parent-child relationships on child subjective wellbeing. Implications and limitations of the current study are discussed.
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