Preference assessments have been proven to be an effective assessment tool used to identify preferences for individuals with developmental disabilities. There are 4 methods of preference assessments: single-stimulus preference assessment, paired-stimu . . .

Empathy is identified as a necessary trait among helping professionals. Research indicates that empathy is important to treatment outcomes and client satisfaction. However, little consensus on defining and training empathy in helping professionals exi . . .

Trauma is a common occurance, and when unaddressed it could potentially develop into posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Military members are exposed to potential traumatic events when deployed to combat zones. Military veterans are vulnerable to de . . .

Providing opportunities for choice has been demonstrated in past research to reduce problem behaviors, and increase on-task engagement and task performance. The current study sought to also examine the effects of within-task choice on accuracy and tas . . .

This project consisted of two studies, conceptually linked. In Study 1 a working definition of make-up sex was constructed and 60 make-up sex motivations were collected. These motivations formed the basis of a questionnaire used in Study 2. In Study 2 . . .

Variability of responses is an essential skill, and deficits in this area can contribute to pathologies such as autism and depression. It has been widely accepted that response contingencies can increase variability, but research suggests that verba . . .

Conditional discrimination learning in animals has been the source of research for many decades. However, primary factors involving human discrimination learning remain obscure. It is the goal of the current research to investigate the effect physic . . .

The present study focused on stress related to graduation using Lazarus’ transactional theory to formulate hypotheses. It attempted to replicate Folkman and Lazarus’ (1985) study using a stress questionnaire and centering on the emotional experiences . . .

As civilization has evolved, so have the patterns of dietary consumption. Many of these patterns are pathological in nature, and as such, threaten man’s very existence. One such form of eating pathology is that of Orthorexia Nervosa (ON), an unhealt . . .

This study explored the relationship between attachment styles, self-control, and cell phone reliance. A total sample of 118 university students completed the Experiences in Close Relationship, Self-Control, and Cell Phone Reliance scales. Attachment . . .

This thesis examines the relationship between childhood sexual abuse (CSA) history and adult perceptions of body image. The moderating effect of one’s biological sex on this relationship is analyzed as well. In addition, whether or not event central . . .

The current study sought to expand the understanding of the differences between Hispanic and Caucasian women in regards to body image. The predominant thought in body image research appears to be that women of an ethnic minority do not internalize med . . .

Child abuse and neglect is still a problem, in spite of efforts to reduce its impact. The requirement of mandated reporting duties of elementary school employees has continued to be a focus of research, and underreporting of child abuse and neglect . . .

Previous research demonstrates that variability is a feature of operant behavior that can be reinforced. When variability is reinforced (on a VI60 schedule) concurrently to a difficult target behavior (on a CRF schedule), it facilitates the acquisit . . .

Bullying is pervasive across schools in the United States. The bullying circle describes the roles of bully, bystanders, defender, and victim. Bully-victims, students who are both victims and bullies, are of special concern. Bullying consists of dir . . .

The purpose of the present study was to assess if there is a relationship between a Deaf and/or hard of hearing individual’s level of identification with the Deaf culture and their past and current use of therapy. Participants were 25 Deaf and/or hard . . .

Research has demonstrated the acquisition speed of a skill/behavior may be altered by a large quantity of variables. In this research, acquisition speed was measured to determine which method of presentation of the comparison stimuli resulted in the f . . .

This research focused on behavioral coaching methods for improvement of accurate skill performance in sports. Five female volleyball players from a university team participated in the study. Multiple baseline across behaviors design was used to evalua . . .

Positive reinforcement, in the form of praise, is one of the most powerful tools used in effective programming by classroom staff for all types of educational environments. It is not only important for staff to use praise but to also specify the behav . . .

The following study sought to use the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) as a means of decreasing depression and delusional ideation, and increasing insight and coping skills in adults with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. Using the BDI . . .

This study examined the relationships between 2D:4D (the ratio between the second and fourth digits of the hand, which may be a marker of prenatal androgen exposure), sociosexual orientation, and attention to photographic stimuli. The sample included . . .

The present study explored the relationship between coping strategy and physiological responsiveness following exposure to traumatic visual stimuli. A total of 30 psychology undergraduate students between the ages of 18 and 27 were selected to partici . . .

Children diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) often have trouble initiating social interactions. Deficits include omission of questions which are mands for information. This pragmatic language skill may be especially difficult to establish . . .

Decreasing disposable cup use in coffee shop can potentially save trees from being cut down and used to manufacture disposable cups. The current study used a group multiple baseline design across stores to evaluate a personal prompting procedure deliv . . .

The current model of sex education in the United States falls mostly under either abstinence education or comprehensive programs. Previous research has shown that comprehensive programs have helped individuals make safer choices with their sexual b . . .

The present study looked at the effect of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) on implicit and explicit memory test performance in post-menopausal women (N = 60). Women who were either on HRT (n = 20), had previously been on HRT (n = 20), or had never . . .

This thesis examined whether sorority and non-sorority women differed in their sociosexual orientation, or willingness to engage in casual sex. In addition, alcohol consumption and social norms were examined as potential mediators of this differenc . . .

In order to increase our understanding of what factors to include in substance recovery programs, the following relationships were examined in clients: prevalence of sexual concerns, fears of intimacy, time in recovery, relationship status and one’s . . .

Predictors of licensed clinicians’ attitudes toward e-therapy was investigated. This article discusses trends of electronic tools used in the field of psychology. The factors that may predict attitudes toward utilization of e-therapy practices were ex . . .

"Like" as a linguistic filler has been described as an irritant which, when used excessively, negatively impacts impressions of speakers in professional settings. The present study examined the effects of the filler "like" on perceptions of therapist . . .

The differential outcome effect refers to the increase in accuracy obtained in discrimination tasks when rewards provided for correct responses vary according to the stimulus presented. The current research compared a higher magnitude of reinforcement . . .

This study explored the veracity of numerous reports that adoptees experience a higher than average fear of reexperiencing rejection. A higher prevalence of rejection sensitivity and dissociation was predicted among adopted adults relative to comparat . . .

Mental health services in the United States are generally underutilized among minorities (Cauce et al., 2002; Lambert, 2004). Existing literature documents Muslim-Americans’ negative views towards seeking mental health services (Ali, Liu, & Humiedan, . . .

The goal of this study was to determine the relationship between differentiation of self, anxiety, and cultural identity. It is widely accepted that people with high differentiation of self experience lower levels of anxiety than those with low dif . . .

The purpose of this research was to assess cyber-bullying behaviors, both victimization and perpetration, as predictors of perceived parent-child emotional closeness. The participants consisted of freshman and sophomore high school students in the Tra . . .

Previous research has attempted to identify and understand the differences between adults who were raised by an alcoholic parent and those who were not. The present study aimed to compare Adult Children of Alcoholics (ACOAs) with non-ACOAs on locus o . . .

Children diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) often display a variety of maladaptive behaviors that require intensive interventions. These interventions often include behavioral parent training, which has been found to be highly effective . . .

Online social networking (e.g., Facebook), has become a significant part of many individual’s lives as a way to communicate with friends or family members and to express emotions. The purpose of this study was to consider the impact that online social . . .

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of brief, daily mindfulness training derived from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) on the physiological measures of recovery from stress in employees within their work settings. Following two concurrent . . .

The Good Behavior Game (GBG) is a group contingency that has demonstrated to be an effective intervention in reducing disruptive behavior across various settings, populations, and range of classroom grades. The GBG involves immediate positive punishme . . .

Specific praise has been trained when working 1:1 with children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder and is widely regarded as an important aspect of therapy. However, most previous research supports the use of positive reinforcement and attention . . .

Tzanakaki et al. (2014) used a tactile prompt and artificial reinforcement to increase social initiations among children with ASD. Tzanakaki et al. (2014) were the first to successfully fade out an effective initiation intervention. This study looked . . .

The delivery of reinforcement has been used to increase the variability of responses. The current study sought to compare two Lag schedules of Reinforcement Lag-3 and Lag-8 to determine if the higher value of a Lag schedule can produce greater respons . . .

Impulsive behavior in young children has been decreased in self-control training procedures that delay reinforcement gradually over time. Such procedures typically utilize fixed delays to reinforcement during training trials. The purpose of the presen . . .

This study explored the potential relationship between executive functioning, risk engagement, and risk perception. A sample of 41 participants, ages 19-30 (M = 24.95, SD = 3.16), was recruited to participate in the study. A correlational design was u . . .

Test anxiety affects millions of college students across the United States. The current study examines the effects of meditation and biofeedback on test anxiety. Previous research suggests that mediation reduces levels of anxiety and continued use is . . .

The aim of this study was to obtain better insight into the associations between childhood maltreatment and life satisfaction in adulthood by examining the mediating roles of depression and anxiety. Data from 898 adults (aged 34-84 years) who took par . . .

Past research suggests that although there is a similar prevalence of disordered eating among women of different ethnicities, there may be differences in their willingness to seek professional help. The present study examined the relationship between . . .

A growing body of research suggests that decreased vagal activity and increased sympathetic activity contribute to an augmented risk of depression, sleep and psychological disturbances following traumatic brain injury (TBI). Heart rate variability bio . . .

The present study explored participants’ reports of acculturation and barriers experienced when utilizing outpatient mental health services. Participants were primary caregivers for children who received treatment at a specialized ADHD clinic. Thirty- . . .

In order to gain knowledge about changes in the field of psychology, an online survey was completed by 35 mental health practitioners (Licensed Psychologists, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists, Licensed Clinical Social Workers, Board Certified B . . .

Ten college-aged students participated in a choice study to determine preference for video reinforcers of different magnitude under alternating immediate and delayed token exchange conditions. Choosing a key designated green or yellow earned one or th . . .

More women are taking part in the culture of body modifications in the form of tattoos and piercings. Minimal research on body modifications has shown that individuals who modify their bodies are perceived more negatively on personality characteristic . . .

Prior research has identified pictorial prompts as an effective method to teach vocational and play skills to individuals with developmental disabilities. Some studies have reported a “savings effect” whereby subsequent tasks required fewer trials to . . .

Video modeling has been found to be effective in teaching play behavior to children diagnosed with autism. Recently, differences in the “point of view” shown in the video have been studied with this population. The purpose of the present study was to . . .

Preference assessments are effective assessments that can be used to determine preferences for individuals with developmental disabilities. The two preference assessment methods are: approach-based and engagement-based. Engagement-based preference ass . . .

This study aimed to examine the effectiveness of a low-dose Early Start Autism Intervention Program (ESAIP) program on the functioning of participants under 3 years of age and at-risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Data was collected from 108 par . . .

Researchers have evaluated the effects of discontinuous and continuous data collection methods in skill acquisition programs, but they have not been compared in functional analyses. Considering there is no standard method of data collection within fun . . .

Insufficient amounts of physical activity and excessive consumption of high-calorie and low-nutrient foods has led to an alarming rate of young children being overweight with the possibility of early-onset obesity; therefore, methods to increase physi . . .

Decades of research have shown that parenting stress has the potential to have negative consequences on the wellbeing of the entire family. Parents of children with developmental risk frequently report high levels of stress, but less is known about di . . .

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between stress, well-being, gratitude, and gratitude practices among teachers. Participants for this study were teachers (N = 242) who were recruited through Amazon’s Mechanical Turk. Particip . . .

Previous research has examined the connection between exercise, games, and virtual reality. The present study examined the influence of augmented reality exergaming on positive and negative affect, intentions for future engagement, and enjoyment. Part . . .

Previous research suggests exercise is sometimes a form of intrasexual competition. Past research focused on sex differences. The present study took this a step further by examining intrasexual competitiveness and exercise motivations within each gend . . .

It is important to compare different methods to learn a second language. The purpose of this study was to compare the efficiency of teaching college students Spanish words through spoken native-to-foreign intraverbal (S-NTF) and written native-to-fore . . .

Many children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have difficulty with fluency and comprehension of early literacy skills such as sight-word recognition (Mule, Volpe, Fefer, Leslie, & Luiselli, 2015). Sight words contain a unique configuration of lett . . .

The present study analyzes the relationship between conservatism and attitudes towards the foster care system and the Not in My Backyard Effect (NIMBY). It was hypothesized that those with higher levels of conservatism would have more negative attitud . . .

Many professionals within the field of behavior analysis assert that the science is not as widespread as it could or should be. There are many different theories as to why this is the case; however, many believe that it is largely due to the over-use . . .

This study investigated if the addition of a differential outcomes arrangement to direct reinforcement of variability would further facilitate learning a difficult target sequence. Four White Carneau pigeons (Columba livia) of undetermined sex using a . . .

There are many variables related to reinforcers that influence a response’s resistance to change (Nevin, 1974). The type of reinforcer (i.e., conditioned or unconditioned) is one variable that may affect a response’s resistance to change. The purpose . . .

The purpose of the following study was to examine the roles religiosity and problem severity play in willingness to seek religious-based and secular counseling. Previous research by Koenig (2009) suggested that individuals of high religious commitment . . .

Children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) often engage in low levels of peer social interactions; therefore, we often need to explicitly teach these skills. Researchers have implemented various types of prompts to increase social interact . . .

The present study examined differences between first-generation college students (FGCS) and continuing-generation college students (CGCS) in self-efficacy, social and cultural capital (shared agency with parents, non-shared agency with parents, and so . . .

It is important to continue evaluating variables that may influence acquisition and generalization of conditional discriminations required for picture communication systems. In the present study, we compared the conditional discrimination acquisition . . .

The purpose of this thesis was to explore levels of satisfaction and perceived emotional support in heterosexual opposite sex friendships and intimate relationships. The first objective of this study was to examine whether men who reported higher leve . . .

The purpose of the present study was to further examine the concept and existence of the surrogate conditioned motivative operation (S-CMO). The researchers attempted to see if after repeatedly pairing a computer stimulus program with food deprivation . . .

The Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS; Randolph, 1998) is a standardized assessment that was designed to measure cognitive function in older adults. The RBANS is a commonly used neuropsychological assessment wit . . .

The purpose of the following study was to examine the influence of religiosity and spirituality on negative attitudes toward gay, lesbian, and transgender individuals. Self-identified heterosexuals (N = 259) were recruited via Amazon Mechanical Turk. . . .

The presence of sexism and stereotyping of women in media is well documented. Media content has been shown to influence the beliefs of media consumers, and one such belief that can be influenced by media is Rape Myth Acceptance (RMA). The purpose of t . . .

The aim of this research was to test whether manipulation of motivating operations had an impact on participants’ perception of subliminal stimuli. The research consisted of two days of investigation for each participant. The days differentiated from . . .

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of an established social relationship between canines and their owners when utilizing model-rival training to train conditional discriminations of items. Five canines and their owners participated. . . .

Feeding problems are common throughout the development of children. However, children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are at a higher risk for feeding issues, including food refusal and food selectivity. The current study investigated th . . .

Burnout is often experienced by students in graduate programs of many kinds, but is especially prevalent in mental health training programs. This study analyzed levels of burnout of 34 psychology graduate students at California State University, Stani . . .

The purpose of the current study was to compare the effectiveness of general and descriptive praise. Skill acquisition and maintenance was evaluated in teaching manded stimulus selection, using a multiple baseline design across participants combined w . . .

The principle of Motivating Operations (MO’s) has withstood the test of time in the field of Applied Behavior Analysis. It is essentially an overarching term that encompasses any event that makes a reinforcer more effective (Establishing Operations) o . . .

The differences between Third Culture Kids (TCKs) and non-Third Culture Kids (non-TCKs) in college on psychological well-being, perceived social support, and college adjustment were examined. The relationship between TCKs’ scores on perceived social s . . .

Mental health stigma affects a large number of people in the world today. However, video-based interventions have helped improve attitudes about those with mental illness. This study evaluated the effects of a one minute video and participants’ ethnic . . .

Obesity is a serious public health problem in American society and is associated with harmful diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease and cancer. Psychological challenges of living obese can include shame, avoidance of interperso . . .

Women are bombarded with reminders of what they should look like to be considered attractive. The ‘ideal body image” represented by the media which emphasizes thinness, youth, and height is difficult for the average woman to attain. Past research has . . .

The McGurk effect is a perceptual phenomenon in which the combination of discrepant visual and auditory speech stimuli (e.g. hear-ba/see-ga) produces reports of hearing a completely novel response form (e.g. “da”). The present study attempted to expla . . .

The purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of different types of reinforcement in self-management settings. Four university students participated in self-management program in order to increase water intake and walking. Multiple baseli . . .

When forced to make tradeoffs between physical attractiveness and personality, prior research suggests men and women will make these choices based on whether they are interested in a potential partner for a short-term or long-term relationship. In the . . .

It is evident that the use of technology has played a large role in the advancement of intimate behavior through the use of tools such as cell phones and computers. The present study examined individuals’ attitudes toward sexting behavior and the rela . . .

Many students who enter graduate school do not graduate, or take longer than expected time to degree to obtain their degree. Research has identified the adviser as playing a crucial role in facilitating successful or unsuccessful thesis completion. Th . . .

A two-step prompting procedure was implemented with varying levels of integrity (0%, 50% and 100%) to assess effects on noncompliance to instructions with three preschool aged children with autism. Results indicate that maintaining variables and compe . . .

In recent years, applied behavior analytic research has begun to shed light on the application of ABA principles in studying sports and athletic behavior. These applications have involved a set of manipulations collectively known as behavioral coachin . . .

The present study was designed to investigate the role of acculturation and level of education on resilience in Mexican-Americans. Of those recruited in the university’s participant pool website and through the community, 166 self-identified Mexican-A . . .

The death anxiety literature has been conducted based almost exclusively on a European population. Therefore, generalizing findings to other populations can be difficult. There has been a lack of focus on minority groups such as Hispanics in the death . . .

Behavioral parent training has been proven to be an effective and useful tool to not only teach parents the basic principles of applied behavior analysis, but to also aid in helping parents become more successful in managing their child’s behavioral e . . .

The primary purpose of this study was to evaluate the association between childhood trauma and negative alcohol related consequences in college students. Current membership in a Greek organization, perceived parental alcohol consumption and religiosit . . .

Since the introduction of Self-Determination Theory and Overjustification hypothesis a belief that rewards have detrimental effects on the intrinsic motivation perseveres. This assumption has led to the criticism of the reinforcement-based interventio . . .