Psychology Masters Theses

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Aging and Object-Based Inhibition of Return
(North Dakota State University, 2018) Huether, Asenath Xochitl Arauza
Inhibition of return (IOR) is a cognitive mechanism to bias attention from returning to previously engaged items. While aging models have proposed deficits within select inhibitory domains, older adults have demonstrated preserved IOR functioning in previous studies. The purpose of the present study was to determine whether IOR associated with objects showed the same age patterns as IOR associated with locations. Both young and older adults produced significant location-based IOR in static and dynamic paradigms. In contrast, young adults produced object-based IOR in a dynamic paradigm, whereas older adults failed to produce significant object-based effects. The findings provide partial support for unique age-related inhibitory patterns associated with anterior and posterior attention systems.
Antisocial and Prosocial Peer Experiences and Social Cognitions as Predictors of Children's Responses to Harassment from Peers.
(North Dakota State University, 2009) Visconti, Kari Jeanne
The current study examined whether prosocial and antisocial peer experiences and cognitions are predictive of changes in children's coping behaviors in response to peer victimization. Longitudinal data spanning two time points across two consecutive school years were analyzed. Participants included 305 children who were in the 3rd and 4th grades at the beginning of the study. Peer victimization, a significant form of peer stress for many youth, and positive peer treatment were examined, as well as the beliefs children hold about the characteristics and dispositions of their peers (e.g.,peer beliefs), including both antisocial peer beliefs (i.e., perceptions of agemates as mean, bossy, and untrustworthy) and prosocial peer beliefs (i.e., perceptions of agemates as prosocial, cooperative, and helpful). Five coping strategies were examined - support seeking from friends, parents, and teachers, behavioral avoidance, and retaliation. A series of regressions was performed in which children's coping in the Spring of their 4th or 5th grade year served as the criterion variable. Analyses controlled for children's use of these strategies during the Spring of their 3rd and 4th grade year, respectively, allowing for a test of changes in responses to peer victimization. Children's antisocial and prosocial peer treatment and peer beliefs in the Spring of the 3rd or 4th grade were the primary predictors, and interactions between sex and peer treatment and peer beliefs were included in each regression equation. Results demonstrate that victimization is predictive of decreased retaliation for all children as well as decreased friend support seeking for girls, but not for boys. Prosocial peer treatment was associated with marginal decreases in parent support seeking for girls and was predictive of iv increases in friend support seeking for all children. Although no significant relations were found between antisocial peer beliefs and children's coping with victimization, prosocial peer beliefs were predictive of decreases in retaliation for boys; however this relation was not significant for girls. Furthermore, that friendship moderated the link between victimization and retaliation such that peer victimization predicted decreases in retaliation over time for those children with no mutual friendships in their classroom. Findings from this study help elucidate how children's social experiences and related cognitions contribute to the strategies they utilize when coping with peer victimization.
Applying the Situational Judgment Test Method to Assess Individual Differences in Health Competence
(North Dakota State University, 2017) Persich, Michelle Ruth
People regularly make decisions about their health, yet they clearly differ in their ability to successfully make healthy decisions. We sought to understand this important individual difference by developing a scenario-based measure of health competence (HC) modeled from the Situation Judgment Test (SJT) method. People were required to judge certain responses to health-related scenarios in terms of how healthy the response was and the likelihood that they would enact the response. In study 1, we showed that those with high HC scores tended to participate in less risky health behaviors and more protective health behaviors. In study 2, we used a daily diary methodology to show that HC scores were predictive of daily substance use, healthy eating, impulsivity, and coping. These findings suggest that this HC assessment will contribute to our knowledge of how people make health decisions and how those decisions affect their health.
Belief and Belongingness: Are Supernatural Agents and Forces Social Surrogates?
(North Dakota State University, 2018) Nelson, Taylor
Motivational approaches to the study of supernatural beliefs propose that such beliefs serve psychological functions. I tested the proposal that supernatural agents and forces are sought out as social surrogates to fulfill the need to belong. First, I present preliminary data consistent with the claim that the belongingness motive and deficits in belongingness (i.e., loneliness) are related to supernatural beliefs. Next, I report an experiment testing the supernatural social surrogate proposal. I hypothesized that affirming belongingness would reduce supernatural beliefs and that the relationship between the predictors and supernatural beliefs would weaken if one’s belonging is affirmed. If supernatural beliefs are motivated by belongingness concerns, then meeting people’s belongingness needs should reduce their inclination to turn to supernatural social surrogates. I further predicted these effects would remain significant when controlling for known cognitive correlates of supernatural beliefs. Results did not support the social surrogate hypothesis.
The Body Inversion Effect: The Role of Visual Appearance on Body Processing
(North Dakota State University, 2015) Huynh, Carol
The purpose of this study was to determine if body stimuli are uniquely processed by the visual recognition system. First, my results supported past findings showing that body processing differs from object processing (e.g., cars, chairs, houses). However, body processing depended on the presence/absence of a head. Second, the nature of appearance impacted observers’ performance such that discrimination was better for real than artificial bodies. Finally, I examined the impact of body appearance on event-related potential (ERP) responses, specifically the P100 and N170, and found that amplitudes elicited by real headless bodies was significantly larger than amplitudes elicited by all other variations in body appearance. In general, these results suggest the existence of a body recognition system that processes body images varying in visual appearance. However, this system may be more tuned to bodies that most resemble natural appearance and less tuned to bodies that deviate away from it.
Bridging Attention Across Space and Time: Do Positive Emotion Generated Shifts in Spatial Attention Lead to Changes in Attention Across Time?
(North Dakota State University, 2016) Saxton, Brandon Tyler
Previous research has demonstrated that positive emotion influences various aspects of attention including spatial attention and attention across time. Research has commonly focused on how emotion influences one aspect of attention at a time. Recently a study was done that showed how one’s natural global or local spatial attention bias predicts subsequent performance of attention across time. This study proposed to use a similar mechanism to investigate how positive emotion might influence the link between spatial attention and attention across time. It was hypothesized that individuals who are experiencing positive emotion during a spatial attention task will have a more global attention bias and perform better on a subsequent attention across time task in comparison to those in a neutral or negative emotion. The data were inconsistent with this hypothesis. There were no significant differences between emotion conditions. Limitations and future directions are discussed.
Buddhism is More Than Just Meditation: A Cognitive Non-Attachment Training for Social Stress
(North Dakota State University, 2018) Klein, Robert
Buddhism is essentially a cognitive-behavioral intervention where oral teachings and meditation work together to develop nonattachment, a mind-state considered to be the antidote to all human suffering. The present work investigated a twelve-minute cognitive nonattachment induction that taught a wisdom training called the “Three Marks of Existence.” We expected nonattached attitudes to increase following the training. Anxious reactivity to a public speaking task was also expected to be reduced. Results were mixed, and suggested that the training increased agreement with nonattachment world-views, and reduced threat appraisals as hypothesized. However, the training generally did not reduce anxiety measures, although it was effective across several measures among women. These results suggest that nonattachment could be an important mind-state for mitigating the emotional and social stressors inherent to everyday life, and that more research is needed to better understand the cognitive and behavioral development on nonattachment.
Changes in Negative Affect Following Pain (vs. Nonpainful) Stimulation in Individuals With and Without a History of Nonsuicidal Self-Injury
(North Dakota State University, 2011) Bresin, Konrad Winston
Theoretical models of nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI; i.e., purposeful destruction of body tissue without suicidal intent) suggest that individuals engage in NSSI in order to regulate intense emotions. However, empirical support for these models is limited. This study attempted to address previous limitations by comparing the emotional response to a mood induction and pain (vs. nonpainful) heat stimulation in individuals with history ofNSSI (vs. no history of NSSI) following a negative mood induction. It was predicted that individuals with a history ofNSSI would have a larger increase in negative emotion following the mood induction, and individuals with a history of NSSI who are exposed to a painful stimuli would have the largest decrease in negative emotions compared to the other three groups. Though the first hypothesis was not supported, the second hypothesis received partial support. Clinical implications and future research directions are discussed.
Changing Dating Behavior Expectations by Using Judgmental Anchors to Induce Cognitive Dissonance
(North Dakota State University, 2018) Semanko, Anna Maruska
This study expanded upon literature separately examining numerical anchors and cognitive dissonance, by attempting to use numerical anchors to induce cognitive dissonance and change dating behavior expectations. The high numerical anchors had an effect on dating behavior expectations, such that the expectations assimilated in a healthier direction toward the anchor value. The dissonance manipulation resulted in higher levels of psychological discomfort, as measured by the scale created for this thesis. Further, an exploration of assessing magnitude of dissonance and an examination of the theoretical antecedents of dating behavior intentions was conducted. Overall, future dating behavior intentions for respect, trust, communication and helping behaviors were in healthy directions. Additionally, dating behavior intentions assessed four to six weeks after the study remained in a healthy direction. These findings are informative and contribute to our knowledge regarding the use of numerical anchors, cognitive dissonance, and undergraduate dating behavior expectations and intentions.
Conquering Avoidance by Avoiding Death: The Effects of Mortality Salience on Goal Value, Goal Commitment, and Goal Pursuit in Depressive Individuals
(North Dakota State University, 2010) Myxter, Peter John
Research into the antecedents and consequences of successful goal pursuit is reviewed within the framework of a proposed existential intervention for depression. Behavioral perspectives propose that insufficient goal pursuit and concomitant positive reinforcement leads to depressed mood. While substantial research has been conducted examining the relation between goal pursuit and psychological well-being, little research exists regarding strategies for fostering increased motivation for goal pursuit in depressed individuals. This review suggests that novel strategies for increasing goal pursuit motivation can be derived from the existential paradigm of Terror Management Theory (TMT). Past TMT research indicates that reminders of mortality lead to greater valuing of the standards and values of one's cultural worldview. The current study screened a sample of individuals exhibiting depressed mood to examine whether reminders of mortality lead to greater valuing and pursuit of individualized goals. Participants were randomly assigned to mortality salience or control condition and completed depression and well-being measures in a baseline session and a follow-up session two weeks later. Results indicated that reminders of mortality did not lead to greater valuing and pursuit of individualized goals.
Creativity and Randomness
(North Dakota State University, 2010) Zabelina, Darya Lvovna
Major theories of creative cognition are reviewed in the present thesis. These theories are diverse yet seem to converge on similar key processes. One definition of creativity emphasizes going beyond stereotypical responses in the service of truly novel thought patterns. However, the generation of remotely associated elements must be done in a 111 controlled, goal directed manner. To examine stereotypic and novel thought patterns, I used a cognitive measure termed Random Number Generation (RNG). Baseline tendencies reflecting departures from randomness ('trait' tendencies) were assessed, as were tendencies exhibited in a condition in which participants were asked to type number sequences in as random an order as possible ('ability'). Creative originality and creative achievement were found to relate to lower trait randomness on the Repetition of Responses factor of RNG. Creative fluency and creative flexibility, on the other hand, were related to higher ability for randomness according to the Prepotent Associates factor of RNG. Results indicate that the ability to overcome stereotyped sequences is beneficial for generating ideas, but that a certain rhythmicity of responding facilitates creative achievement. Limitations of the study and future directions are discussed.
Development, Validation and Reliability of the Chrononutrition Profile
(North Dakota State University, 2019) Engwall, Allison Christine
Chrononutrition, or the circadian timing of food intake, has garnered attention as a topic of study due to its associations with health (e.g., weight gain); however, a valid assessment of chrononutrition in daily life has not yet been developed. The present study therefore aimed to develop and validate both a diary and questionnaire version of the Chrononutrition Profile which assess 6 components of chrononutrition that have been associated with poor health (breakfast skipping, night eating, eating window, evening latency, largest meal, and evening eating). The measure demonstrated preliminary evidence of test-retest reliability and convergent validity, though concurrent validity was not interpretable. Based on analyses, the final diary and questionnaire versions of the CP assess 5 components of chrononutrition: breakfast skipping, night eating, eating window, evening latency, and evening eating. This measure offers health care professionals, researchers, and stakeholders a cost-effective method of evaluating chrononutrition and identifying targets for health improvement.
Does Discussing Problems Online Change the Nature of Co-rumination and Its Associated Effects on Negative Affect and Perceived Friendship Quality?
(North Dakota State University, 2012) Ranney, John D.
Engagement in problem-focused discussions that direct attention to negative emotions predicts heightened depressive affect and feelings of closeness with friends (Rose, 2002). The goal of this study was to test whether the psychosocial correlates of such conversations are altered by engaging in those conversations through computer-mediated forms of communication and to identify mechanisms that may account for those differences. Fifty-three female friend pairs engaged in problem-focused discussions in an online or face-to-face context. Observers rated expressed negative affect and information disclosure. Self-reports of self-disclosure, true self-expression, and feelings of similarity were obtained. Although participants interacting online were rated as exchanging less information than those interacting face-to-face, they reported feeling more similar, engaging in more self-disclosure, and expressing fewer aspects of their true self. Discussing problems online was indirectly related to feelings of closeness through greater felt similarity. Implications for the study of computer-mediated communication and problem-focused talk are discussed.
The Examination of the Effect of Nostalgia on Risk Factors for Suicide
(North Dakota State University, 2012) Sand, Elizabeth Claire
In order to investigate the relationship between nostalgic tendencies and risk factors for suicide, two studies were completed. Study 1 examined nostalgic tendencies among individuals with depression symptoms in order to see if those with nostalgic tendencies might have less risk factors for suicide. The Study 2 sought to examine if actually experiencing nostalgia reduced the risk factors for suicide and whether the effect was moderated by dysphoric symptoms. Results of Study 1 indicated that nostalgic tendencies do not have an impact on suicide risk above and beyond other factors like depression. Study 2 found that at medium and high levels of dysphoria, those in a nostalgia condition felt higher levels of perceived burdensomeness. Limitations and implications for future research are explored.
An Examination of the Relationship Between Alcohol Use and Capability for Suicide
(North Dakota State University, 2016) Carter, Darren
The relationship between alcohol use and suicide has been well documented in past research. However, there have been few studies interested in examining potential mediators to explain the alcohol-suicide link. The current study used the interpersonal theory of suicide to examine a potential mechanism of the alcohol use and capability for suicide relationship. 195 college individuals participated in the current study. Results confirmed an indirect effect of painful and provocative events on alcohol use and pain tolerance and an indirect effect of painful and provocative events on alcohol use and heat-induced pain sensitivity. Furthermore, painful and provocative events mediated the relationship between alcohol use and cold-induced pain sensitivity. These results may inform suicide assessments in identifying drinkers who are at greater risk of lethal self-injury.
Facial Expression Recognition in People with Differing Levels of Eating Disorder Symptoms
(North Dakota State University, 2022) Nudnou, Ilya
Previous studies of emotion categorization abilities of people with eating disorders used accuracy and reaction time to identify performance deficits for these individuals. The conclusions from this literature have been mixed, due in part to low sample sizes and inconsistent assessment of comorbid diagnoses. The current study re-examined eating disorder symptom severity as a function of emotion categorization abilities, using visual cognition paradigms that offer insights into how emotional faces may be categorized, as opposed to how well these faces are categorized. This relationship was examined while controlling for anxiety, depression, alexithymia, and emotion regulation. Visual information use, emotion representation fidelity, and categorization accuracy were unrelated to eating disorder symptom severity in a sub-clinical sample of undergraduate students. Future research may benefit from the visual cognition tasks validated in this study. More complex designs are needed to test mediational pathways through which recognition deficits may operate.
False Memories in Depression: Vulnerability Factor or Symptom?
(North Dakota State University, 2015) Myhre, Samantha Kathleen
False memories are sometimes generated when recalling words from lists in which the words are conceptually related. People think of concepts that are associated with the lists but which were never presented. Previous research has shown that sad mood reduces false memories whereas depression increases false memories, especially to negative information. It is possible that false memories represent a cognitive characteristic that is present prior to depression. I hypothesized that depressed individuals and those vulnerable to depression would falsely recall more negative critical lures than controls. Depressed and vulnerable individuals were not expected to perform differently from each other. The results did not support these hypotheses. High ruminators recalled significantly fewer critical lures independent of mood or depression. This finding possibly suggests that ruminators may have a repetitive focus on the words in the lists and do not make extra-list associations.
Gaze Cuing, Familiarity, and the Self
(North Dakota State University, 2009) Wadeson, Heather Kay
Attention researchers have known for over a decade that people have a tendency to shift their attention automatically to a location gazed at by another person (e.g., Friesen & Kingstone, 1998). This social orienting appears to be reflexive in nature, and yet it also seems to be influenced by contextual factors and individual differences (for a review, see Frischen & Tipper, 2007). In the present document, I investigated how the familiarity of the gaze cue provider influences individuals' tendency to shift attention to a gazed-at location. The main questions addressed in the research are: (1) What is the role of familiarity in responding to gaze direction? and (2) If an effect of familiarity is observed, does it generalize to the situation of orienting in response to one1s own gaze direction? My results indicated that participants did orient to a gaze cue provided by their own face, as well as to gaze cues provided by the faces of a friend and a same-sex stranger. Findings which address the roles of the familiarity of the gazing face and of individual differences (i.e., self-esteem, autistic tendencies) among participants will also be discussed.
Hawk and Dove Stress Response Profiles in Humans
(North Dakota State University, 2011) McDonald-Morken, Colleen Ann
A recent evolutionary theory hypothesizes that there are two primary biobehavioral profiles of stress responding. Labeled "hawk" and "dove," each is characterized by divergent patterns of autonomic nervous system and neuroendocrine system activations in response to stress as well as distinct affective and behavioral tendencies. These profiles are prominent in a number of species, and it has been hypothesized that hawk-like and dovelike responses to stress may, in part, explain variability in stress-related health outcomes. This study is a preliminary investigation of hawk and dove biobehavioral profiles in humans. Participants included 73 Midwestern university students recruited from undergraduate-level psychology classes. Upon completion of a stressor task, participants answered questions regarding their psychological experiences during and immediately following the task and reported their emotions and health-related behaviors over the past several weeks. Physiological measures of cortisol and high frequency heart rate variability reactivity were used to identify relatively hawk-like and dove-like responders. Associations between patterns of physiological responding and emotional and behavioral responses were tested. The results showed mixed support for the existence of hawk and dove biobehavioral profiles in humans.
Health Risk Feedback: The Effects of ACE Insight on Stress Reactivity
(North Dakota State University, 2018) Rued, Heidi Anna
Exposure to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) has lasting repercussions throughout an individual’s lifetime. An adult with a history of childhood trauma is at increased risk for excessive stress reactivity, which exacerbates the development of chronic disease. It is important to investigate how this information can be used for adult trauma survivors. This study assessed the psychophysiological impacts of providing “ACE insight”. Participants completed questionnaires and were given false feedback that their childhood experiences put them at increased risk for excessive stress reactivity and the development of disease. Following ACE insight, participants underwent a speech stressor task during which cardiovascular reactivity was monitored and psychological reactions were assessed. Results indicated that participants with more adverse childhoods reported feeling more worried and less happy about feedback. Further, ACE insight caused a significant increase in cardiac output for participants with a history of childhood trauma. Implications and future directions are discussed.

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Browsing Psychology Masters Theses by browse.metadata.program "Psychology"