Browsing Psychology Masters Theses by Title
Now showing items 1-20 of 41
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Aging and Object-Based Inhibition of Return
(North Dakota State University, 2018)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 ... -
Applying the Situational Judgment Test Method to Assess Individual Differences in Health Competence
(North Dakota State University, 2017)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 ... -
Are You a Good Partner? Using the Situation Judgment Test Method to Identify and Measure Romantic Competence
(North Dakota State University, 2017)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 ... -
Belief and Belongingness: Are Supernatural Agents and Forces Social Surrogates?
(North Dakota State University, 2018)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 Body Inversion Effect: The Role of Visual Appearance on Body Processing
(North Dakota State University, 2015)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 ... -
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)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 ... -
Buddhism is More Than Just Meditation: A Cognitive Non-Attachment Training for Social Stress
(North Dakota State University, 2018)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 ... -
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)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 ... -
Changing Dating Behavior Expectations by Using Judgmental Anchors to Induce Cognitive Dissonance
(North Dakota State University, 2018)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 ... -
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)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 ... -
Creativity and Randomness
(North Dakota State University, 2010)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 ... -
Development, Validation and Reliability of the Chrononutrition Profile
(North Dakota State University, 2019)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 ... -
Do Highly Mindful Individuals Experience Less Interference as a Result of Better Attention Control and Emotion Regulation?
(North Dakota State University, 2016)Mindfulness has been found to be beneficial to psychological health. Furthermore, research suggests that mindfulness is associated with better attention control and fewer difficulties in emotion regulation. The purpose ... -
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)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 ... -
Dual Effects Model of Social Control: Extending the Model to 24-Hour Health Behavior
(North Dakota State University, 2017)The Dual Effects Model of Social Control suggests that partners can positively and negatively influence the health behaviors of their partner. However, the model fails to consider the impact of control on non-targeted ... -
Effortful Control Moderates the Association Between Emotional Instability and Binge Eating
(North Dakota State University, 2015)We hypothesized that (H1) emotional instability would be associated with an increased likelihood of a binge episode, and that (H2a) this relationship would be potentiated among individuals with low cognitive control and ... -
The Examination of the Effect of Nostalgia on Risk Factors for Suicide
(North Dakota State University, 2012)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 ... -
An Examination of the Relationship Between Alcohol Use and Capability for Suicide
(North Dakota State University, 2016)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 ... -
Exploring the Effects of Interleaving on Mind-Wandering
(North Dakota State University, 2021)Research has shown that interleaving (a study technique where two topics are practiced in an alternating fashion) enhances learning and memory. However, it is unclear whether interleaving impacts the frequency of mind-wandering. ... -
Facial Expression Recognition in People with Differing Levels of Eating Disorder Symptoms
(North Dakota State University, 2022)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 ...