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- Creator:
- Winters, Karley M.
- Description:
- ABSTRACT GENDER DIFFERENCES IN FACIAL RECOGNITION by © Karley M. Winters 2009 Master of Arts in Psychology Psychological Science Option California State University, Chico Spring 2009 Past research has found significant gender differences in facial recognition, with women recognizing more faces than men. It has also been found that women recognize more same-sex faces. This study attempted to replicate these findings and to explore the effect of a variety of social-personality variables (self-esteem, self-attribute appraisal, body satisfaction, and personality traits) on these differential recognition processes. Multivariate analyses indicated significant gender differences in same-sex and opposite-sex facial recognition abilities, yet not in total facial recognition. Regression analyses examined the ability of these social-personality variables to predict facial recognition, but the results were not significant. Alternative explanations for gender differences in facial recognition are discussed.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Chico
- Department:
- Psychology
1362. Perceptions of Staff on the Addition of an Animal-Assisted Activity at a Regional Cancer Center
- Creator:
- Bibbo, Jessica
- Description:
- ABSTRACT PERCEPTIONS OF STAFF ON THE ADDITION OF AN ANIMAL-ASSISTED ACTIVITY AT A REGIONAL CANCER CENTER by © Jessica Bibbo 2011 Master of Arts in Psychology Psychological Science Option California State University, Chico Spring 2011 This study was grounded in the emerging view of animal-assisted interventions as a complementary and alternative therapy for cancer patients. The study explored the perceptions of staff at a regional cancer center on the addition of a volunteer-based animal-assisted activity. The medical center had recently adopted a patient-centered care model. The intervention aimed to incorporate the model’s integrative approach, while simultaneously further establishing animal-assisted activities as appropriate and effective complementary therapies. Staff perceptions regarding the effects of the intervention on patients and informal caregivers, as well as staff pet ownership were examined. The study also explored the perception of the effect of the x intervention on staff communication due to the documented importance of staff intercommunication on job satisfaction in healthcare settings. Descriptive statistics and Pearson’s product-moment correlations were conducted to determine staff perceptions and the relationships between those perceptions. Staff perceived that the intervention had been beneficial for both patients and caregivers. Staff who had more direct and indirect contact with the visiting teams were more likely to perceive the intervention as being beneficial. Attitudes toward dogs in general and pet ownership were related to attitudes toward the intervention. The results indicated that the handler in the volunteer visitation team played an equally important role (with the dog) in staff acceptance of the animal-assisted activity. Staff did not agree on the influence of the intervention on staff communication. The results illustrated overall staff acceptance of the intervention and agreement for animal-assisted activities to continue at the facility.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Chico
- Department:
- Psychology
- Creator:
- Cook, Alan T.
- Description:
- Are you destined to find your soul-mate? According to Knee, Patrick, & Lonsbary (2003), those with a destiny belief place a high value on whether a relationship is fated, while those with a growth belief believe that relationships develop gradually. I examined whether attachment, love styles, and personality factors predicted belief in destiny or growth. I hypothesized that individuals who scored higher on anxious attachment and the Chance component of locus of control would score higher on belief in destiny. Undergraduate psychology students (n = 117) completed measures of attachment and love styles, belief in destiny versus growth, perceived control over falling in love, and locus of control. Simultaneous multiple regression found that belief in destiny could be significantly predicted from high Eros, Mania, Pragma, and Avoidance. A separate analysis found high conscientiousness and high internal and high chance orientations of locus of control also predicted belief in destiny. None of the variables significantly predicted belief in growth.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Chico
- Department:
- Psychology
- Creator:
- Nardi, Nicholas Michael
- Description:
- AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE AMBIGUOUS CUE PROBLEM WITH PIGEONS by Nicholas Michael Nardi Master of Arts in Psychology: Psychological Science Option California State University, Chico Spring 2009 Twelve pigeons were tested on the ambiguous cue task. The pigeons were divided into 4 groups. In one Group 1, P, A, and N were all colors. In Group 2, P, A, and N were all line stimuli. In Group 3, P and N were colors and A was a line stimulus. In Group 4, P and N were line stimuli and A was a color stimulus. It was hypothesized that the usual finding of superior NA performance would be found with Groups 1, 2, and 3, but that PA performance would be facilitated in Group 4 due to the greater difficulty of discriminating P from N. The manipulation did not “PAN” out. All of the pigeons showed superior performance on NA trials, which in every case exceeded 90% after several sessions of training. Although there were individual differences, PA terminal performance averaged around 60% in all four conditions.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Chico
- Department:
- Psychology
- Creator:
- Magreehan, Debbie Anne
- Description:
- This study aimed to look closer at a specific aspect of metacognitive monitoring— judgments of learning (JOLs). Learners allocate study time according to JOLs so it is essential that JOLs are accurate. Unfortunately, learners are not always accurate when making JOLs. In order to improve accuracy of monitoring, one must understand what cues learners use to form JOLs. The focus of this study is on experience-based JOLs. It looks at a particular aspect, encoding fluency. In order to provide evidence for encoding fluency used as a cue, this study manipulated the fluency of material to alter learner’s JOLs. By manipulating this process, it provides theoretical support and also serves as an application for future learning techniques. All material was manipulated within bounds of what can be used in actual classroom settings. Results of this study showed that the fluency of processing items is a central cue for making JOLs.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Chico
- Department:
- Psychology
- Creator:
- Watabe, Akiko
- Description:
- ABSTRACT THE INFLUENCE OF PARENTING ON CHILDREN’S ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT: COMPARISON BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND JAPAN by Akiko Watabe Master of Arts in Psychology Psychological Science Option California State University, Chico Spring 2011 This study examined the influence of parenting on academic achievement among elementary school children in the United States and Japan based on Baumrind’s parenting typology. The applicability of Baumrind’s parenting typology to Japanese children’s academic outcomes is not clarified yet. Previous works have shown that authoritative parenting tends to yield positive academic outcomes for Western children. Conversely, Asian children are likely to attain better academic goals with authoritarian parenting. These two parenting styles have been revealed as typical parenting models in both Western culture and Asian culture. However, in modern times, the characteristic parenting style that belongs to each culture may be changed by a new generation of parents. Thus, it was hypothesized that (a) authoritarian parenting will be associated with higher academic achievement among modern American children, and (b) authoritative parenting will be associated with higher academic achievement for modern Japanese children. Two hundred and eight students from an American elementary school and 312 students from a Japanese elementary school completed each measure of achievement goal orientations and parental attitudes toward them. After the data was collected, bivariate correlations, a one-way multivariate analysis of variance, and a two-way factorial analysis of variance were utilized to analyze the data. Support was found for the hypothesis that American children acquire the benefit of academic achievement with authoritarian parenting style today. There was no support for the hypothesis that contemporary Japanese children obtain higher academic achievement with authoritative parenting style.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Chico
- Department:
- Psychology
- Creator:
- Skinner, Allison L.
- Description:
- ABSTRACT LOCUS OF CONTROL AND ATTITUDES ABOUT MIDWIFERY by Allison L. Skinner Master of Arts in Psychology Psychological Science Option California State University, Chico Spring 2009 Few research studies have been published on the psychological factors related to women’s childbirth decisions. Studies that have been published identified Internal Locus of Control as a factor related to the use of midwives. However, there has been no investigation of the relationship between Locus of Control and attitudes about the use of midwives among non-pregnant women. To address this issue, 159 non-pregnant women of childbearing age (defined as 18-40 years) completed a questionnaire assessing attitudes about the use of midwives and a Locus of Control Scale. While analysis revealed no significant relationship between Locus of Control and attitudes about midwives, results of a t-test assessing differences between the youngest and oldest thirds of the sample were significant. Results showed the older group had more positive vii attitudes about the use of midwives, t (107) = -4.56 (eta squared = .163). These findings suggest that age is an important factor in understanding attitudes toward midwives.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Chico
- Department:
- Psychology
- Creator:
- Stigers, Robert L.
- Description:
- ABSTRACT ONLINE SOCIAL NETWORK BEHAVIORS AS PREDICTORS OF PERSONALITY by Robert Lewis Stigers Master of Arts in Psychology: Psychological Science Option California State University, Chico Summer 2011 Social network websites have emerged as some of the most popular websites on the internet, with Facebook leading as the most popular site in the United States. Insufficient research has been done to understand the personality characteristics of social network users, and reasons people are flocking to join social networks. A questionnaire was designed to assess demographic information, internet use, and social network behaviors; research scales were used to measure dimensions of personality including introversion-extroversion, need for cognition, satisfaction with life, locus of control, and self esteem. This study utilized separate stepwise multiple regressions for each research scale, using questionnaire data as predictors. Collectively these results suggest significant differences in online social network use related to personality. Number of friends interacting with in-person per month functioned as a predictor of extroversion. Sending and accepting friend requests from strangers on social networks or dating sites predicted internal locus of control; preference for meeting new people online was a predictor of external locus of control. Using webcams regularly, and time spent talking on the phone per week with friends were predictors of high need for cognition. Preferring to interact online, regularly downloading torrents, sending friend requests to strangers, and number of friends interacting with in-person per month were predictors of high satisfaction with life. The predictors of high self esteem included: meeting people in-person that they first met online, and time spent talking to friends per week. Predictors of low self esteem included hours per week accessing socialization content.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Chico
- Department:
- Psychology
- Creator:
- Mortensen, Chad C.
- Description:
- ABSTRACT THE INFLUENCE OF THEMATIC GRAPHICS IN THE INTERPRETATION OF NARRATIVE TEXT by Chad C. Mortensen Master of Arts in Psychology Psychological Science Option California State University, Chico Spring 2009 This investigation was designed to test the hypothesis that decorative graphics serve to reveal the underlying themes of accompanying text, and are not benign in their influence of deeper comprehension processes. One-hundred-forty undergraduate volunteers read or listened to a classic literary short story (Hills Like White Elephants by Ernest Hemingway) accompanied by either one of two decorative graphics or no graphic at all and wrote an essay of their understanding of the passage and its underlying themes immediately and one week later. Results revealed that decorative graphics enhanced understanding of the passage at both the literal and deep semantic level of the passage but only when the graphic was related metaphorically to the story themes. The effect was apparent immediately following reading and became even stronger one week later. The results are discussed in terms of the cognitive function metaphor to incur deep processing between graphics and text.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Chico
- Department:
- Psychology
- Creator:
- Yates, Adam
- Description:
- ABSTRACT DIABETES KNOWLEDGE IN COLLEGE STUDENTS by Adam Yates Master of Arts in Psychology: Psychological Science Option California State University, Chico Fall 2010 Type 2 diabetes is an epidemic in the United States and many parts of the world, especially in the Latino community who are 2.5 times more likely than white, non-Hispanics to develop the disease. Research has shown that risk factors for the development of type 2 diabetes are obesity, heredity, and sedentary lifestyle along with others. However, limited research has been conducted studying whether or not a person’s general knowledge of diabetes has an effect on the development of diabetes in their life. In this study 338 college students from CSU Chico completed a questionnaire assessing their knowledge of diabetes, its prevalence in their families, and BMI (Body Mass Index). It was found that more Latino college students had relatives with diabetes. Latino college students knew significantly less about diabetes than white, non-Hispanic students and Latino college students had significantly higher BMI’s than white, non-Hispanics students. Implications for the results indicate that Latino college students are at high risk viii for developing type 2 diabetes and that immediate action in needed to prevent this. Possible explanations of these results are discussed as well as suggestions for future research.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Chico
- Department:
- Psychology