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- Creator:
- Pastor, Ivylynn Amanda
- Description:
- Head direction (HD) cells and theta oscillations are thought to be part of a network mediating navigational behavior. Intraseptal infusions of muscimol eliminates theta and produces navigational deficits. The present investigation sought to characterize the effects of septal inactivation using muscimol on (1) the basic directional characteristics of HD cells, (2) the control of the HD cell network by visual landmarks, and (3) the maintenance of a stable preferred direction (PD) using idiothetic cues in darkness. Blockade of theta by medial septal infusions of muscimol produced a population of HD cells with PDs that shifted unpredictably between sessions, suggesting that landmark control was affected. Further, a significant population of HD cells was unable to maintain stable PDs when the animals locomoted in the dark, suggesting that idiothetic cue processing was affected. These findings suggest that theta oscillations are necessary for the directional stability of HD cells in anterodorsal thalamus.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Psychology
- Creator:
- Lim, Stephanie
- Description:
- The aim of the present study was to examine the mediating roles of emotion dysregulation and cognitive and behavioral avoidance in the relationship between childhood maltreatment and psychological distress. A total of 305 participants from a large public university volunteered to participate in exchange for course credit. Tests for mediation revealed that emotion dysregulation and cognitive and behavioral avoidance partially mediated the effect of childhood emotional maltreatment on psychological distress. When examined in separate analyses, 65% of the effect of maltreatment on distress is mediated through emotion dysregulation, while 39% of the effect is mediated through cognitive and behavioral avoidance. Given previous findings linking maltreatment to an increased risk for problematic emotional functioning, additional work on how to enhance resilience by improving emotion regulation skills and reducing avoidant behaviors among at-risk children and young adults is needed.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Psychology
- Creator:
- Elliott, Robert T.
- Description:
- It is the purpose of this study to determine the reaction to frustration of a group of mentally retarded children, as measured by the Rosenzweig Picture Frustration Study. Following are two hypothesis which the writer poses in regards to the reaction to frustration of mentally retarded children. Hypothesis I: Mentally retarded children will react to frustration in a significantly more extropunitive, ego-defensive manner than a normal population of comparable age and socio-economic background, as measured by the Rosenzweig Picture Frustration Study. The null hypothesis to be tested is that mentally retarded children will not differ significantly from a comparable normal population, on a dimension of Extropunitiveness as measured by the P.F. Study. Hypothesis II: The mentally retarded children's reaction to frustration will not only be significantly more extropunitive, ego-defensive than a normal group; but the M.R. group's extropunitive reaction to frustration will increase with age of the subject rather than decrease, as measured by the P.F. Study. The null hypothesis to be tested is that mentally retarded children will not increase in their amount of extropunitive reaction to frustration with age, but will be comparable to a normal group in reactions.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Psychology
- Creator:
- Steinwert, Matthew L.
- Description:
- The study expanded upon a previously proposed model of the relationship between self-oriented and socially prescribed perfectionism to motivation and academic outcomes by introducing psychological well-being as both dependent on perfectionism and a predictor of academic outcomes. The study consisted of 301 American college students. Self-oriented perfectionism related positively to self-efficacy, well-being, performance avoidance and performance approach goal orientations while socially prescribed perfectionism related positively to mastery goal orientation but negatively with self-efficacy, well-being and performance avoidance goal orientation. Higher levels of mastery goal orientation related to higher levels of procrastination and test anxiety and lower levels of acceptance towards cheating. Higher levels of performance avoidance were positively related to acceptance towards cheating but negatively towards test anxiety. Both self-efficacy and well-being were negatively related to procrastination. Self-oriented perfectionism is found to be more adaptive than socially prescribed perfectionism due to increased self-efficacy and well-being and lower test anxiety.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Psychology
- Creator:
- Rodriguez, Annette Medina
- Description:
- The aim of this study is to explore the role of the superior colliculus (SC) in the generation and maintenance of the rat head direction (HD) cell signal. The SC is a major pathway by which visuospatial information enters the limbic system and it contains indirect connections to the anterior dorsal nucleus of the thalamus (ADN), where HD cells are found. To determine the functional relationship between these areas, reversible inactivations of the SC were performed while HD cells were recorded in the ADN. This study found that inactivations of the SC produced a degradation of the spatial signal within the HD system, as evidenced by unstable directional-specific activity relative to the landmarks within recording sessions. This study is the first to report that the rat SC is involved in the integrity of the ADN HD signal.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Psychology
- Creator:
- McGee, J. Bruce
- Description:
- The current study explored a potential prejudice reduction strategy and sought to examine how exposure to a way of thinking about the origin and development of human beings, along with pre-existing beliefs about human origins, influence racial attitudes and prejudice. In a computer-based procedure, participants (N = 158) viewed a narrated presentation about human origins, either a scientific evolutionist account designed to induce a broader, more inclusive in-group identity or a biblical creationist account, and completed measures of universal orientation and implicit and explicit racial attitudes. Presentation type did not differentially influence universal orientation or implicit or explicit racial attitudes. However, participants with creationist beliefs were found to be lower in universal orientation and higher in symbolic racism than participants with non-creationist beliefs. Implications and future research directions are discussed.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Psychology
- Creator:
- Haro, Joshua
- Description:
- This study explored the relationships that exist between an individual’s geographical context (i.e., residential isolation and exposure to ethnic groups), social context (i.e., high school diversity and close friends), and cultural variables (i.e., ethnic identity and ethnocultural empathy) with 469 participants, (75.3% women, age M = 20.47 years, SD = 4.24. Structural equation models were employed to explore the relationships between the main study variables. Results suggest a sequential path to ethnocultural empathy that exists between different levels of the individual experience, beginning with the residential ethnic composition to ethnic peers (β = .372, Β = .006, SE = .001, p < .001), ethnic peers to ethnic identity (β = .274, Β = 2.991, SE = 1.048, p = .004) and ethnic identity to ethnocultural empathy (β = .361, B = .361, SE = .047, p < .001). Implications for the diversity of residential areas, schools, and friends are discussed.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Psychology
- Creator:
- Cabrera, Lilian Edith
- Description:
- The present study examined the effect of working memory capacity in false memory elicited by the DRM paradigm in two experiments (Experiment 1: N = 31, 80.6% female, age M = 21.29 years, SD = 4.26; Experiment 2: N = 29, 72.4% female, age M = 20.28 years, SD = 3.02). A concurrent digit load task was introduced to reduce available working memory capacity for the DRM task. The results of Experiment 1 revealed that false recall of critical lures was marginally higher when participants had a concurrent digit load task. While the initial increase in the digit load increased false recognition of critical lures, a further increase in the digit load reduced false recognition. In Experiment 2, participants were forewarned about the tendency of associative lists to elicit false memory of critical lures. Results from Experiment 2 demonstrated that while the concurrent digit load task did not affect false memory, warning instructions significantly reduced false recognition of critical lures.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Psychology
- Creator:
- Sturgeon, Kellie M.
- Description:
- Data from three studies were used for the development and validation of a new inventory called the Spiritual Identity Scale (SIS). In Study 1 a viable factor structure was developed. In Study 2 convergent and divergent validity was established by examining the relationships between spirituality and religiosity. For Study 3, the sample size and lack of age and gender diversity limitations from Studies 1 and 2 were addressed by using Amazon’s Mechanical Turk for participant recruitment, the single-component structure of the SIS was evaluated using confirmatory factor analysis, and the moderating properties of the SIS were assessed in relation to coping strategies, the use of social support, and depressive symptomology using structural modeling (SEM). SEM results revealed that the SIS had no direct effect on maladaptive coping strategies in relation to traumatic stress, but did reveal some age and gender differences that should be explored further in future studies.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Psychology
- Creator:
- Kerschner, Barbara
- Description:
- Intimate social relationships are likely to include messages of health-related social control. Depending on personality characteristics, people may perceive these messages as positive or negative. Relationship quality may also influence these perceptions. It is believed that social control may contribute to health by discouraging health-compromising behavior and promoting health-enhancing behavior. Because of their known influence on health, personality and relationship quality were investigated with regard to their associations with perceptions of health-related social control messages, and ultimately on their propensity to encourage greater participation in physical activity. To examine possible associations, data were collected from 407 participants (Mage = 37.34 years, SD = 1.67; 62% women). Cross-sectional results suggest that personality characteristics not only influence relationship satisfaction and perceptions of health-related social control messages, but that relationship quality also plays a role in whether such messages are perceived as positive or negative.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Psychology
- Creator:
- Powell, Leigh Ann
- Description:
- Confidence building and experience in physical activity (PA) during adolescence can foster confidence to be active throughout life, despite barriers, providing a larger repertoire of activities in adulthood. Sources of Data In this study, predictors of PA in adulthood, namely time constraint barriers and adolescent PA, were examined. From multiple waves of the United States National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health), 4,982 individuals (53.9% males, 46.1% females, Mage = 28.92 years old, range 24.47 - 33.98, SD = 1.78 in Wave IV) were examined. Conclusions Reached. In adulthood, few family obligations, but high screen-time activities, were associated with less PA. Less PA in adolescence was linked to lower PA in adulthood, strengthened further by low to moderate family obligations. Exploratory findings assessed barriers and PA between races and sexes. Implications discuss using findings for individualized plans to increase PA in adolescents and adults.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Psychology
- Creator:
- Stevens, Sam
- Description:
- One of the most frequently used inventories to measure anti-trans prejudice in research is the Genderism and Transphobia Scale (GTS; Hill & Willoughby, 2005). Multiple versions of this inventory have been proposed to improve measurement of both negative attitudes (Genderism/Transphobia) and violent behaviors (Gender-Bashing) toward trans individuals (Carrera-Fernandez, LaMeiras-Fernandez, Rodriquez-Castro, & Vallejo-Medina, 2014; Tebbe, Moradi, & Ege, 2014). The present study assessed the psychometric properties of the original GTS factor structure and 3 proposed revisions. Results of confirmatory factor analysis and reliability assessment indicated poor fit for all existing inventories. Further analysis on 2 independent samples yielded a new 17-item factor structure with good fit, sufficient reliability, and convergent validity. Additional analyses configured a structural model using intrinsic religiosity to predict trans negativity with ethnocentrism and prosociality acting as mediators in this relationship.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Psychology
- Creator:
- Calub, Catrina Andaya
- Description:
- A fear conditioning paradigm with rodents is commonly used to elucidate the neural fear mechanism in humans. One region that is suggested to be involved in detailed processing of stimuli during fear conditioning is the perirhinal cortex (PER). While the PER has previously been shown to be involved in fear conditioning to discontinuous, auditory stimuli, here, a discontinuous visual stimulus served as the conditioned stimulus (CS). Pre-training PER lesions (Lesion = 6, Sham = 7) and temporary PER inactivation (Muscimol = 6, Saline = 7) techniques were employed in rats to assess PER involvement in fear conditioning and, for the first time, fear extinction. Results showed that PER dysfunction impaired both fear conditioning and fear extinction to the CS (p < 0.05) as measured by freezing behavior. These findings offer a potential experimental design that could be employed in neurotranslational research that may allow for the assessment of PER function.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Psychology
- Creator:
- Wallace, Gladys May
- Description:
- The members of the personnel department of the Sacramento Junior College have made an empirical study for several years of the achievements and failures of students who had placed in the lower quarter in any section of their college entrance tests. From this study, the assumption has been made that a scientific analysis of data from the records of these students might reveal valuable information which could be used to give students who entered in future years in the same classification a more practical and satisfying college experience.It was the purpose of this study (1) to validate the assumption based on observations by the personnel of the junior college; (2) to analyze and present the findings in an organized arrangement so that the information could be used to help entering students who had placed in the lower quarter of their college tests; (3) to find which predictive measure or measures would serve to indicate future college achievement of those in the lower classification.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Psychology
- Creator:
- Colby, Lucille Blackwell
- Description:
- California State Colleges are required by law to evaluate the scholastic ability and achievement in English skills of all candidates for public school credentials. The selection of tests to be used for this purpose is left to the discretion of the individual state colleges.It was the purpose of this study to compare the test performance of various age groups represented in the population of credential candidates at Sacramento State College in order to discover what relationships exist between these group both within tests and between tests. A second purpose was to study the performance of age groups on a test designed to isolate a complex of functions judge to be implicit in the completion of standard IBM answer sheets under timed conditions. A third purpose of the study was to evaluate the relevancy of existing normative standards for different age groups.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Psychology
- Creator:
- Grippe, Rachael Christine
- Description:
- There is limited research analyzing the variables that contribute to the preference to engage in short-term mating in strictly female samples. More specifically, the combination of the Big Five, The Dark Triad, esteem, religiosity, physical attractiveness, presence of a father figure, ethnicity, relationship status, and age. Participants in the current study were self-selected from the Psychology research subject pool at California State University, Sacramento. The sample consisted of 316 female participants whose ages ranged from 16 - 44 years, with an average age of 20.5 years. The sample was ethnically diverse. A series of standard linear regression and one-way ANOVAs were used to analyze the data. Results indicated that personality, context variables, and learning predicted unrestricted sexual behavior, as well as attitudes towards uncommitted sexual activity and the desire to engage in short-term mating.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Psychology
- Creator:
- Boys, Deanna Kathryn
- Description:
- Children exposed to violence and abuse have been found to exhibit emotional problems such as high emotional reactivity, which is indicative of maladaptive emotional regulation processes. Young children with dysregulated emotions have exhibited emotional and behavioral problems that can lead to more severe problems and psychopathology in later childhood. The present study evaluated emotional reactivity and emotional regulation among 186 maltreated children as compared to 33 non-maltreated children. Consistent with study hypotheses, child emotional reactivity as rated by caregivers was significantly negatively related to observed emotion regulation during caregiver-child interaction. Contrary to expectations, however, non-maltreated children showed a sharper decline in emotion regulation than maltreated children in response to increasingly aversive play situations with their caregivers, which may be due to lower baseline levels of regulation in the maltreated group. Study results suggest that examining emotion regulatory processes during dyadic interaction in a maltreated population is useful for developing a fuller understanding of the construct in a relationship context.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Psychology
- Creator:
- Anderson, Sarah Christine
- Description:
- Research has shown that people are living longer and the likelihood of developing Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) or another form of dementia has increased. Currently, there is no cure or prevention for AD, but researchers are working to develop treatments to address the disease. Thus, it is crucial to explore and study the experiences of individuals with AD to provide the best care possible. Research into the subjective experiences of those suffering from AD is quite limited due to the challenges concerning the reliability of conducting research on individuals with memory impairment. This study used photovoice, a qualitative research method that utilizes photography to share a message or cause with others, to capture the unique experiences of those living with the disease and compared their experiences to those not diagnosed with AD. Findings with eight participants revealed common themes such as socialization, reminiscing, and emotional expression, and unique themes for each group in relation to the aging process. The implications of conducting research on individuals with AD and understanding what it is like to live with AD will be discussed.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Psychology
- Creator:
- Strelich, Jack
- Description:
- I examined dehumanization as a function of aggression, moral identity salience, and outgroup identity. Dehumanization, the denial of human characteristics and capacities to other humans, is frequently associated with intergroup conflict and violence (Haslam, 2006); dehumanizing the victims of such violence can facilitate aggression by excluding them from moral regard. I investigated the converse: whether individuals who had aggressed against outgroup members would dehumanize them post facto to alleviate cognitive dissonance between their moral identity and their actions. Participants (n = 113) engaged in a spurious taste-preferences and impression formation task with a fictitious partner from the CSUS College of Business Administration. Interactions with partners (aggression and non-aggression), moral identity (moral identity salience and neutral identity), and outgroup identity (Republican and neutral) were manipulated in a 2x2x2 factorial design. Hypotheses were not supported, potentially due to participant suspicion; limitations, resolutions, and directions for future research are discussed.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Psychology
- Creator:
- Roma, Vincenzo G.
- Description:
- The present study examined the links between maladjustment (i.e., neuroticism, intolerance of uncertainty, and avoidant coping), active coping (i.e., individual and social), and distress (i.e., tense depression, anxious arousal, and perceived stress) in a structural model. Four hundred forty college students (80.0% female and 34.2% European-American/White) at a large public university in the Western United States volunteered to participate in exchange for course credit. Questionnaires were used to measure study variables. Results from the structural model were partially consistent with previous research suggesting that maladjustment was linked to greater distress and active coping was related to lower distress. Unexpectedly, maladjustment was related to higher active coping in the mediated model. Future research should evaluate alternative coping methods for effectiveness among maladjusted individuals managing distress.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Psychology
- Creator:
- Patrice, Kesha
- Description:
- The present study examined the relationships of fast food restaurant (FFR) density and proximity, Axis 1 psychiatric disorders, and gender to body mass index (BMI), using geographic information systems (GIS). The sample (N = 123) included adult patients primarily diagnosed with mood disorders (73%), female (63%), Caucasian (51%) and Hispanic (41%), and obese (55%) with an average BMI of 31 (SD = 7.06). On average, participants had access to 22 FFRs within two miles of their home. Findings were non-significant: FFR density and BMI were not correlated; BMI did not differ for those with primary mood disorder diagnoses versus other primary diagnoses; and women’s BMI values were not differentially related to proximity to FFR. Despite the lack of significant findings, the use of GIS to examine environmental factors influencing obesity and mental health status has great potential. Future studies should include a sample with more variability on relevant risk factors.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Psychology
- Creator:
- Brodd, Irene
- Description:
- This research examined the verbalizations of clinic-referred children with a history of maltreatment and behavior problems, specifically comparing children whose mothers did or did not report clinical levels of depressive symptoms. Young children and their biological mothers comprised 158 mother-child dyads selected from the UC Davis CAARE Center archival data. Dyads were observed in a semi-structured play situation involving analogs of child-directed and parent-directed play and clean up. There were no significant differences in the total amount of verbalizations expressed by children of depressed and non-depressed mothers, nor did the ratio and frequency of child positive talk, questions, and negative talk differ by maternal depression status. Analyses of variance (ANOVAs) revealed significant child verbalization differences across analogs indicating that children’s negative talk increased as situational stress increased, i.e., from child-directed play to clean up. Application of the results to existing literature, study limitations and implications for future research are discussed.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Psychology
- Creator:
- Sanchez, Kimberlea
- Description:
- The researcher examined the effect of American Indian mascots on gender stereotypes using a 3 (Prime: stereotypic mascot, neutral mascot, no mascot) x 3 (Gender-typic job: masculine, feminine, gender-neutral) x 2 (Applicant gender: male, female) between-participants MANOVA. Hiring decisions and trait scores indicated endorsement of gender stereotypes. Participants (N = 360) were predominantly female (71.9%), European American (34.2%), and 21.2 years old (SD = 3.1). After prime exposure, participants evaluated applicants. The results indicated a significant multivariate main effect of gender-typic job, Pillai’s Trace = 0.05, F(8, 680) = 2.09, p < 0.05, partial η = 0.02, and multivariate main effect of applicant gender, Pillai’s Trace = 0.03, F(4, 339) = 2.93, p < 0.05, partial η = 0.03. Participants hired applicants more for feminine jobs than they did for masculine jobs, and female applicants scored higher on female traits then male applicants. The multivariate main effect of prime was not significant.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Psychology
- Creator:
- Redford, Elizabeth
- Description:
- The current study investigated whether and which conditions of causation contribute to perceptions of intent. The study used a 2 (locus: internal or external) x 2 (stability: stable or unstable) x 2 (controllability: controllable or noncontrollable) x 2 (performance: success or failure) between-groups design. The independent variables were manipulated by vignettes, which described the causes of a woman’s performance at a job. The dependent variables were participants’ (N = 308) inferences of the woman’s intent to succeed, intent to succeed in the future, probability of future success, Conscientiousness, and Need for Achievement. Performance of a 4-way MANOVA indicated support for 3 of 18 hypotheses. The results suggest which conditions lead to perceptions of behavior as guided by intent, and has implications for perceived causal powers.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Psychology
- Creator:
- Kircher, Debra Anne
- Description:
- Addressing psychological literature’s need for more information regarding the development of transformational leaders, who have a superior ability to successfully lead their employees, this thesis study examines John Bowlby’s (1969) attachment theory as it relates to transformational leadership. Participants were 160 Psychology students at California State University Sacramento (75% women) who completed self-report questionnaires. Hierarchical Multiple Regression analyses revealed that, as predicted, secure attachment was positively related to transformational leadership style. Furthermore, anxious attachment had a negative association with life satisfaction and transformational leadership. Results suggest that people who have an anxious ambivalent attachment, who have been shown to live in a state of negative chaos within their relationships and work environments, might have a harder time developing positive relationships, thus affecting satisfaction with life and work. Working environments could be improved with further knowledge to human resource staff and employee trainings that focus on helping anxiously attached individuals.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Psychology
- Creator:
- Bryan, Cheryl Lynn
- Description:
- Some of the highest increases in overweight and obesity are being seen among young adults worldwide. Research demonstrates that obesity in young adulthood increases the risk of remaining obese through adulthood. The current obesigenic environment contributes to the difficulty with achieving and maintaining a healthy lifestyle during new life transitions faced by young adults. This study examines eating behaviors, social support, physical activity, and objectified body consciousness and their relation to BMI among 269 college students. Participants completed a demographic sheet, the Three Factor Eating Questionnaire, Social Support and Eating Habits and Exercise Surveys, a Physical Activity survey, and the Objectified Body Consciousness scale. Results indicated a positive relationship between age, disinhibition, social support from family, and shame and BMI. Examination of factors that can be modified is crucial to providing effective resources that will empower young adults to make healthy life choices and to combat the current obesity epidemic.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Psychology
- Creator:
- Simmons, Amanda L.
- Description:
- Theories of prefrontal cortical function in human and primate models include regulation of cognitive processes such as working memory and executive functions, both of which may be implicated in spatial navigation behavior. The role of working memory in path integration navigation is not well understood. Lesions of the medial prefrontal cortex administered to twenty rats assessed whether impairment in working memory associated with the lesions produced navigational deficits similar to those found in humans with neurodegenerative disorders. We hypothesized that medial prefrontal lesions would produce impairment in navigation performance during a Whishaw table top path integration task when compared with sham controls. We found no significant differences between lesioned and sham animals on measures of path integration performance. These results are inconclusive in determining the possibility of functional similarities between the rodent prefrontal cortex and the human manifestation of symptoms found in abnormal aging affecting comparable brain regions.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Psychology
- Creator:
- Nafiz, Najia
- Description:
- The present study was designed to investigate the co-occurrence of obesity, mood disorders, and anxiety disorders among a rural population. The sample (N = 117) consisted of Hispanic Americans and non-Hispanic whites with an average body mass index of 30.9, which is considered obese (range 15.7 - 56.5). Data on the mental health status of the participants was collected using the SCID-I and MINI. Results indicated a significant difference in the proportion of obese adults in the sample as compared to the county, the state, and the national averages. Odds of non-Hispanic white females being obese were nearly four times greater, and the odds of Hispanic males being obese were five times greater, than the odds of non-Hispanic white males being obese. Odds of Hispanic females being depressed were seven times greater than odds of Hispanic males being depressed. Prevention and treatment plans need to be implemented in rural communities.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Psychology
- Creator:
- Dukes, Lindsey Kathryn
- Description:
- This study examined the effect of manipulation of motivating operations prior to intervention on the outcome of the extinction procedure for two children with developmental disabilities who displayed problem behavior maintained by access to attention. Following replication of previous studies which showed that problem behavior occurred at a lower rate during extinction sessions following pre-session non-contingent access to attention, participants were repeatedly exposed to pre-session non-contingent attention followed by extinction over many sessions. Results showed that responding for both participants remained below baseline levels when pre-session attention was no longer provided. This suggests that the extinction procedure remained effective when combined with pre-session exposure to the maintaining reinforcer. Implications for addressing potentially injurious or severe problem behaviors are discussed.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Psychology
- Creator:
- Yoshpe, Selina R.
- Description:
- It has become increasingly understood and accepted in recent years that education must concern itself with the development of the whole child. One of the most important functions of the schools, it is agreed, is guiding youth in the development of well-balanced, healthy personalities. There is a need for an efficient and economical personality test to aid school personnel in appraising the adjustment of pupils and discerning their individual needs and problems, so that these pupils can be given the most effective guidance. It is the purpose of this study to determine the validity and probable utility of the Rotter Incomplete Sentences Blank, High School Form, in differentiating maladjusted from well-adjusted pupils in a junior high school population.The junior high school plan has been adopted in Sacramento, as in many other cities, to administer to the particular needs of children during the early adolescent years of 11 to 16 approximately. Most elementary schools do not have special counseling personnel, so that the junior high school is the first stage in the general school system in which counselors' services are provided to help pupils achieve satisfactory adjustment. This, then, is the earliest time when it is feasible to identify maladjusted youngsters, so that the counselors can give them the help and guidance they need. If the Rotter ISB should prove to do this efficiently, it could serve as a valuable tool for the counselors. It is a short test that requires only about thirty minutes to administer to a large group. The scoring system is fairly simple and objective, and counselors could become proficient in using it without extensive special training
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Psychology
- Creator:
- Bachtold, Louise
- Description:
- Parents and teachers share the common objective of guiding youth toward competence and maturity, and a similarity of their attitudes toward behavior should be expected. However, along with the areas of similarity, some differences may also be expected which reflect differences in training and role. A knowledge of these differences and their extent would be useful in relating home and school standards of behavior.A comparison of boys' and girls' attitudes toward behavior may reveal training differences based on sexual role. As a consequence, these groups may be significantly different in attitude. Information on attitudes in these groups, and their comparison with adult attitudes as expressed by parents and teachers should contribute toward a clearer understanding of influences acting on the young adolescent.It was the purpose of this study to compare judgments by seventh and eighth grade pupils, teachers, and parents on the relative importance to mental health of selected behavior traits.Various studies, later to be considered, have measured diverse areas of parents' and teachers' attitudes toward children's problems. Data are lacking, however, as to the children's own attitudes in the same context. Therefore, it was decided to devise an instrument which could be administered to children, teachers, and parents alike, to clarify the relationships among these groups in their attitudes.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Psychology
- Creator:
- Virden, Tyler R.
- Description:
- Due to high rates of teenage pregnancy and STI contraction, it is important to understand what contributes to risky sexual behaviors that are associated with unintended pregnancy and STI contraction. The relationship between virginity status, ethnicity, gender, age, socioeconomic status, religion, self-esteem, self-efficacy, depression, academic achievement and aspirations with five aspects of risky adolescent sexual behaviors was examined. Secondary data analysis was conducted on the responses of 1,358 adolescents from Wave 1 and 2 of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. Ethnic differences diminished and sex differences were non-existent after inclusion of the other independent variables. Self-efficacy and depression were the strongest predictors of risky sexual behaviors. Therefore, comprehensive sexual education programs, which promote self-efficacy, should be a standard method of sexual health education for adolescents.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Psychology
- Creator:
- Crowe, Michelle Francesca
- Description:
- The present study examined the effects of participant’s prior knowledge that some of the presented memories were false, and the addition of specific implausible details on perceived memory characteristics (MCQ ratings) and the veracity judgment of other individual’s memories for true and false childhood events in a group of volunteers (N = 120, 76% female), age (M = 20.54, SD = 3.66). The results revealed an interaction between knowledge and plausibility, such that when knowledge was given, participants detected implausible details at a higher rate than when knowledge was withheld. Although the overall veracity judgment accuracy was at chance level, participants were more accurate when judging memories that contained implausible details than plausible details as well as more accurate at judging true compared to false memories. Lastly, a small group of the participants who rated memories consistent with a typical true and false “memory profile” made fewer false alarms in veracity judgment compared to the other participants.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Psychology
- Creator:
- Wilson, Barbara Ann
- Description:
- The problem to be investigated in this study is the constancy of IQ scores of readers and non-readers using the 1937 Revision of the Stanford-Binet Test of General Intelligence, and the Leiter International Performance Scala, 1948 Revision. Inasmuch as the Binet is a scale which is weighted heavily toward verbal content, it is possible that it would result in a significantly different estimate of intelligence for verbally handicapped children than would the Leiter, which appears to be a purely non-verbal test. This problem becomes important when children are tested to obtain an estimate of capacity to learn. If the child is verbally handicapped and if the Binet tends to penalize this handicap, an incorrect estimate of the child's capacity is obtained. A test, then, which would not depend on verbal ability would perhaps give a better estimate of "general intelligence." The Leiter scale was originally designed to be just such a test. Leiter hoped to measure the same intellectual ability as was measured by the Binet, without using verbal tasks. The purpose ot this study is to attempt to see what type or differences would result from the comparison or the Leiter and the Binet scores, using reading and non-reading children.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Psychology
- Creator:
- Anderson, Charles Clifford
- Description:
- It was the purpose of this study to compare the relative effectiveness of radar scope motion pictures and radar scope still photographs when used as briefing aids for presenting information concerning the location of the radar target aiming point, and in addition to ascertain the comparability between motion and still tests.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Psychology
- Creator:
- Sysavath, Robyn
- Description:
- The present study examined the biasing effects of gender stereotypes on source monitoring by manipulating the source sex, sexual orientation, facial features and statement type in two experiments (Experiment 1: N = 104, 68.3% female, age M = 21.50 years, SD = 4.45; Experiment 2: N = 90, 73.3% female, age M = 20.94 years, SD = 5.06). A significant three-way interaction between source sex, statement type, and sexual orientation emerged in Experiment 1. Source-monitoring accuracy was higher when statements were stereotypically consistent with the source’s sex in the heterosexual conditions. In Experiment 2, a significant three-way interaction between source sex, statement type and facial features was found. Source-monitoring accuracy was higher for statements that were stereotypically consistent with the source’s facial features but for female sources only. Although with qualifications, the present study suggested that under certain conditions, participants relied on gendered facial features when making source attribution decisions.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Psychology
- Creator:
- Naemi, Pegah
- Description:
- The present study explored the relationship of self-determination, autonomy, intrinsic motivation, self-actualization, relationships with academic members and family, well-being, and adaptation and commitment to college in a structural model. Three hundred and ninety eight college students (74% female and 43% White) at a large public university in the Western United States volunteered to participate in exchange for course credit. The final constructs measured included well-being, ambition for personal fulfillment (which included self-determination, intrinsic motivation, autonomy, and self-actualization traits), and college adaptation and commitment. Results from the structural model indicated that 63% of the effect of Ambition on Adaptation was mediated through Well-being. An evaluation of an invariance structural model indicated that the mediation model described both psychology and College Assistant Migrant Program CAMP students in the same way. Limitations included an overwhelming majority of female participants (74%) and a small sample size of CAMP student participants (n = 64).
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Psychology
- Creator:
- Wong, Jennifer Lauren
- Description:
- The present study examined the relationship between religious identity and well-being in a structural model. Four hundred and seventy-two college students (78% female and 27.7% White/European American) at a large public university in the Western United States volunteered to participate in exchange for course credit. Questionnaires were used to measure study variables. Results from the structural model were consistent with theories and research suggesting that religious identity predicted well-being. Further, individual’s self-reported political orientation and ethnicity affected well-being and religious identity. Conservative Latinos reported the highest religious identity and liberal White/European Americans reported the lowest.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Psychology
- Creator:
- Morgan, Diana Lynn
- Description:
- The high-probability instructional sequence with and without demand fading has been used in the treatment of food refusal to establish consumption of non-preferred or novel foods. Previous research suggests that this may be an effective treatment in increasing consumption for children who engage in food refusal. The present study aimed to extend previous research by comparing the effectiveness of the high-p sequence alone (as described by Patel et. al) and when combined with demand fading (as described by Penrod et al.) with children who engage in active food refusal. A multi-element design was used to evaluate the relative effects of the high-p sequence with and without demand fading. Results indicated that both treatments were ineffective in establishing consumption. However, the high-p sequence combined with demand fading was effective in increasing behaviors closer to the terminal response. Implications and recommendations are discussed as they relate to increasing consumption.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Psychology
- Creator:
- Christianson, Kristine D.
- Description:
- In this study, the effects of religious orientation, protestant work ethic (PWE), right-wing authoritarianism (RWA), and belief in a just world (BJW) on victim perception were assessed using a structural equation modeling approach. Of the 362 undergraduate students who participated in this study, 71.5% were female and ranged in age from 17 to 58 years (M = 21.05, SD = 4.19). Participants completed inventories measuring observed variables related to each of the aforementioned traits. The hypothesized model demonstrated somewhat less than acceptable fit with the data; therefore, a re-specified model was constructed. The re-specified model demonstrated good/adequate fit, chi-squared(15) = 40.753, p < .001, GFI = .973, CFI = .971, RMSEA = .069. Higher levels of BJW and RWA were associated with more negative perceptions of victims, and higher levels of religiosity and PWE were associated with greater BJW and RWA. Study limitations and future directions are also discussed.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Psychology
- Creator:
- Maulding, Jennifer Marie
- Description:
- The purpose of the current study was to broaden our understanding of the relationships between family functioning and self-concept. Participants included 311 Psychology students at California State University Sacramento (82% females) who completed self-reported surveys. A hierarchical regression analysis revealed that, as predicted, a more positive self-concept was significantly related to less family intrusiveness, enmeshment, disengagement, and greater family social support. Results suggest that in enmeshed families, social support is not mistaken for family intrusiveness; however, the presence of family intrusiveness, enmeshment, and disengagement can possibly stifle the development of a positive and confident self-concept. Psychology professionals may find it helpful to become aware of these underlying family dynamics that mayplay a subtle but crucial role in an individual’s well-being.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Psychology