Psychology

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Research from the Department of Psychology. The department website may be found at https://www.ndsu.edu/psychology/

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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.
Aging, Object-Based Inhibition, and Online Data Collection
(North Dakota State University, 2020) Huether, Asenath Xochitl Arauza
Visual selective attention operates in space- and object-based frames of reference. Stimulus salience and task demands influence whether a space- or object-based frame of reference guides attention. I conducted two experiments for the present dissertation to evaluate age patterns in the role of inhibition in object-based attention. The biased competition account (Desimone & Duncan, 1995) proposes that one mechanism through which targets are selected is through suppression of irrelevant stimuli. The inhibitory deficit hypothesis (Hasher & Zacks, 1988) predicts that older adults do not appropriately suppress or ignore irrelevant information. The purpose of the first study was to evaluate whether inhibition of return (IOR) patterns, originally found in a laboratory setting, could be replicated with online data collection (prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic). Inhibition of return is a cognitive mechanism to bias attention from returning to previously engaged items. In a lab setting, young and older adults produced location- and object-based IOR. In the current study, both types of IOR were also observed within object boundaries, although location-based IOR from data collected online was smaller than that from the laboratory. In addition, there was no evidence of an age-related reduction in IOR effects. There was some indication that sampling differences or testing circumstances led to increased variability in online data.The purpose of the second study was to evaluate age differences in top-down inhibitory processes during an attention-demanding object tracking task. Data were collected online. I used a dot-probe multiple object tracking (MOT) task to evaluate distractor suppression during target tracking. Both young and older adults showed poorer dot-probe detection accuracies when the probes appeared on distractors compared to when they appeared at empty locations, reflecting inhibition. The findings suggest that top-down inhibition works to suppress distractors during target tracking and that older adults show a relatively preserved ability to inhibit distractor objects. The findings across both experiments support models of selective attention that posit that goal-related biases suppress distractor information and that inhibition can be directed selectively by both young and older adults on locations and objects in the visual field.
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 a modern situational measure to improve the reliability, validity, and outcome predictability of dream assessment
(North Dakota State University, 2024) Garcia, Odalis
Dreams are hallucinatory activity occurring during sleep that nearly everyone experiences. To understand and research dreams, the field needs a reliable and valid dream assessment tool. The current, most used, measure (Hall and Van de Castle measure) has presented with various reliability and validity issues since its development in 1966. I propose adapting the DIAMONDS taxonomy for situational characteristics to assess dream content. The validation process of this adapted measure has begun with foundational work informing the development of dream-specific subscales. In two preliminary studies I provide some evidence for substantive and structural validity of the adapted measure. Interim data analysis (n=53) in a larger study begins to establish its external validity as it relates to the measure’s ability to predict next-day affect. The completion of this study should present some evidence of all phases of the validation process, therefore providing the field with a novel validated dream assessment tool.
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.
Are two heads better than one? Investigating the influence of collaboration on creativity
(North Dakota State University, 2024) Knopps, Alexander
Creativity and collaboration are considered fundamental skills for student success in STEM Education (Karimi & Pina, 2021) and are consistently among the top-ranked skills for employers (Flaherty, 2021). To assess creativity, the Remote Association Task (RAT) is an increasingly used tool to measure creative problem-solving (Wu et al., 2021). However, no research has systematically investigated the effectiveness of working collaboratively versus individually using this measure. The current research evaluates how collaboration impacts creative problem-solving using the RAT. Participants worked collaboratively or individually to solve 20 RAT problems (Experiments 1-2) and completed a later, individual test that involved the same 20 RAT problems and 20 novel RAT problems (Experiment 2). Outcomes suggest collaboration lowers performance during initial problem solving, but may benefit later, individual problem solving. Evaluating how best to support creative processes in the context of collaboration has implications for supporting student success and helping them develop highly applicable skills.
Are You a Good Partner? Using the Situation Judgment Test Method to Identify and Measure Romantic Competence
(North Dakota State University, 2017) Penzel, Ian B.
We devised a measure seeking to assess competency within romantic relationships using a scenario-based paradigm that was informed by the situation judgment test (SJT) and emotional intelligence literatures. Pilot data revealed positive correlations between romantic competence (RC) and romantic relationship outcomes such as satisfaction and self-efficacy within romantic relationships. To further research of this type, we conducted a study examining daily romantic behaviors, feelings, and motivations, while also collecting partner and peer reports. Results revealed that RC was a significant predictor of romantic success as quantified by self-perceptions and peer reports, and some of these relationships remain significant when controlling for personality and attachment style. Somewhat surprisingly, RC did not predict partner perceptions. Regardless, RC was a robust predictor of the daily outcomes, suggesting that RC has daily manifestations. The bulk of the evidence supports the idea that RC is an important individual difference within romantic relationships.
Assessing the Neural Correlates, Sources and Consequences of the Attentional Rhythm
(North Dakota State University, 2019) Bocincova, Andrea
Evidence suggests that even when sustained at a single location, spatial attention waxes and wanes over time. These fluctuations are cyclic, lasting about 125-200 ms (i.e., ~4-8 Hz), and are characterized by alternating periods of focused attention to a single location together with exploratory periods during which attention is prone to switching to a new source of stimulation. Despite an increasing interest in this temporal property of spatial attention, multiple aspects of rhythmic attentional sampling remain to be explored. In this dissertation, I introduce and examine three unexplored areas related to this topic. The first area, addressed in Experiment 1, concerns the potential neural oscillatory signatures of attentional rhythmicity. Precisely, it assesses the role of a well-established oscillatory correlate of selective attention, alpha band power, in rhythmic switching of attention over time. The second area focuses on the neural sources controlling rhythmic attentional sampling. More specifically, the goal of Experiment 2 is to establish causal evidence for the involvement of an important attentional hub in generating the attentional rhythm using transcranial magnetic stimulation. Finally, the last area examines the consequences of attentional rhythmicity on the encoding and storage of information in working memory. In particular, Experiment 3 provides evidence that rhythmic changes in spatial attention affect the quality with which information is encoded into working memory. Finally, Experiment 4 assesses whether attention rhythmically cycles between items stored in WM in a manner similar to the cycling observed when attention is directed to the external world. In summary, the work included in this dissertation makes an important contribution to extending our understating of the attentional rhythm and introduces multiple avenues for further research necessary in this area.
At the intersection of gender and sexuality: the role of a counselor in the co-transitioning process
(North Dakota State University, 2024) Simenson, Sara
Transgender and gender-diverse people experience prejudice, invalidation, and minority stress. There have been strides towards counselor competency when working with this population, however research is limited in exploring how a counselor can help the cisgender partners and partner dynamics. The research becomes scanter if the cisgender partner identifies as gay or lesbian. “Co-transitioning” is a term introduced by Theron & Collier (2013) that refers to the adaptation process a partner undergoes alongside their transitioning partner (Theron & Collier, 2013, as cited in Siboni et al., 2023). While a trans individual is transitioning, their partner must also renegotiate different aspects of their identity, as well as navigate a new relationship dynamic. Thus, the cisgender partner is engaging in a transition of their own. With limited evidence-based research available, counselors may not be providing competent services to trans partners. Research suggests that the partners who seek counseling services often experience a lack of psychological support (Van Acker et al., 2023). To combat the lack of research and support, this study aimed to answer the following research question: “What is a counselor’s role in helping gay/lesbian, cisgender partners of trans individuals navigate the co-transitioning process?” The goal of this study was to explore this population's needs and how a counselor may assist these individuals through the co-transitioning process.
Awakening the Social Self: Nostalgia Regulates Loneliness by Energizing Approach-Related Social Motivation
(North Dakota State University, 2017) Abeyta, Andrew Allen
Chronic loneliness is predictive of poor health. Therefore, it is vital to identify psychological resources that combat loneliness and encourage social connection. However, loneliness is difficult to overcome, in part because it is associated with a maladaptive high avoidance and low approach motivation orientation that limits a person’s ability to connect with others. I hypothesized that nostalgia, a positive emotional experience that involves reflecting on cherished memories that are typically social in nature, is a psychological resource that regulates the tendency for lonely people to be less oriented toward social approach goals and motivation. I tested this hypothesis across 3 studies. Studies 1 and 2 examined whether nostalgia mitigates the inverse relation between loneliness and approach-related social goals, intentions, and behaviors. Studies 2 and 3, explored whether nostalgia mitigates the inverse relation between nostalgia and general approach/avoidance motivation. The results provided mixed support for the hypothesis. Nonetheless, there was preliminary evidence that feelings of nostalgia may weaken the relationship between loneliness and deficits in approach-related goals and intentions.
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 Benefits of Metaphoric Thinking: Using Individual Differences in Metaphor Usage to Understand the Utility of Conceptual Metaphors
(North Dakota State University, 2013) Fetterman, Adam K.
Metaphor representation theory posits that people often think, rather than merely speak, metaphorically. Particularly, concrete domains (e.g., tactile experiences) are recruited to represent abstract concepts (e.g., love). Based upon this theory, three assumptions can be derived. The first assumption is that metaphors should be common in speech and are not relegated to the realm of poetics. Second, the manipulation of metaphoric mappings should activate associated domains. The final assumption is that the use of conceptual metaphors facilitates the understanding of concepts with no physical referents (e.g., emotion). Research has supported the first two assumptions. The current studies were the first empirical test of the third assumption. A metaphor usage measure was developed and validated in the first study. Two additional studies directly tested the third assumption. Study 2 demonstrated that the metaphor usage measure predicted emotional understanding. Study 3 demonstrated that low metaphor usage predicted dysfunctional responses to negative daily events to a greater extent than high metaphor usage. Those scoring higher in metaphor usage also showed the established sweetness-pro-sociality metaphor effect to a greater extent than those low in metaphor usage. These findings empirically support the idea that metaphor use is associated with an increased understanding of concepts lacking physical referents, an important theoretical question in the metaphor literature. A foundation for future research is provided.
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.
Combining Trait and Processing Perspectives of the Individual: Toward a New Assessment Model of Interpersonal Competence
(North Dakota State University, 2020) Persich, Michelle Ruth
Satisfying interpersonal relationships are an important and beneficial part of life. However, despite that fact that most people desire close interpersonal relationships, some people are less successful at forming and maintaining these relationships than others. One plausible explanation for such individual differences is that people differ in their levels of interpersonal competence – their ability to consistently enact behaviors that are effective, socially appropriate, and satisfying to others. The present research sought to examine different approaches to understanding and assessing interpersonal competence. A comparison of these approaches led to the creation of an Integrated Interpersonal Competence Model (IICM) that sought to maximize the strengths of each individual approach. This new model was tested in two studies (total N = 348) with the goal of understanding why people receive higher (or lower) interpersonal competence (IC) scores and how competence is related to successful interpersonal functioning. Both Studies 1 and 2 examined how the individual components of the IICM contributed to one’s overall IC score. Both studies found that the ability to accurately process social information was related to one’s likelihood of receiving a high IC score. In addition, how an individual evaluated response options seemed to play the largest role in determining whether or not the person would enact the response. Finally, IC appeared to be composed of a blend of interpersonal warmth and dominance. Study 1 also examined the relationship between IC and daily life outcomes. Results showed that higher competence individuals tended to experience a greater frequency of positive events, higher levels of prosocial feelings and satisfaction, and enacted fewer hostile and submissive behaviors on a daily basis. Study 2 investigated how IC was perceived by others. Individuals who were higher in IC were perceived to have fewer antisocial feelings, and be less selfish by peers and parents, and had higher quality relationships with their parents. Interestingly, processing abilities were unrelated to daily and informant-reported outcomes, but personality-like tendencies toward enacting friendly and hostile behaviors were consequential. Overall, the integrated model produced insights into interpersonal competence and can provide a useful guide for future investigations of interpersonal competence.
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.
Context Processing and Aging Older Adults' Ability to Learn and Utilize Visual Contexts
(North Dakota State University, 2013) Gayzur, Nora Denise
The purpose of the present study was to examine how older adults utilize contextual information to guide attention in visual scenes. Studies that have examined context and attentional deployment have used the contextual cueing task. Contextual cueing reflects faster responses to repeated spatial configurations (consistent context-target covaration) than random spatial configurations (inconsistent covariation). Research has shown mixed results in older adults' ability to utilize context with this task. Young (18-23 years) and older (60-85 years) adults were tested in two contextual cuing experiments to assess age differences in how individuals utilize context in novel and real-world visual scenes. Experiment 1 investigated the development of contextual cueing effects using low-meaning visual contexts (letter arrays). In low-meaning arrays, young and older adults were able to use context effeciently with no age differences in the development of contextual cueing effects. Experiment 2 examined older adults' ability to utilize context when context was meaningful (real-world images). Younger and older adults saw real-world images in an upright (meaningful) or inverted (less meaningful) orientation. Older adults were able to use context similarly to younger adults, with no age differences in the development of contextual cueing. Contrary to predictions, context utilization was not impacted by the meaningfulness of the image. Contextual cueing effects occurred at the same time for upright and inverted images for young and older adults. Together, these studies demonstrated that older adults were able to utilize context. Meaningfulness did not provide an additional benefit for older adults, but this was true of young adults.

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