Major: Psychology
Comp Advisor: Lauren Paulson
The Relationship Between Athlete Attachment Style with Coaches and Disordered Eating and Body Image in Division III Collegiate Athletes
This study examined the relationship between the attachment style of the coach-athlete relationship on disordered eating and body image in NCAA Division III collegiate athletes at Allegheny College. The current study aimed to determine an association between the coach-athlete relationship attachment style and disordered eating behaviors and body image dissatisfaction. The researcher hypothesized that those with secure attachment to their coaches will have less disordered eating habits and lower body image dissatisfaction than those with insecure attachment. Participants were student-athletes enrolled at Allegheny College participating in an NCAA sport. The sample size consisted of 16 male and 53 female Division III Allegheny College student athletes. Descriptive Statistics comparing the means and standard deviations of the measures across gender were calculated. Independent sample t-tests were run to compare the mean difference between secure and insecure attachment groups across the disordered eating and body image scores. Bivariate Pearson correlations were run to observe the relationship between the variables at hand. A statistically significant difference between disordered eating behaviors and body image dissatisfaction and secure attachment and disordered eating behaviors and body image dissatisfaction and insecure attachment was found. Athletes with insecure attachment reported more disordered eating and body image dissatisfaction than those with secure attachment. The current findings are important in establishing prevention and treatment measures for Division III collegiate athletes. Limitations of the present study were the small sample size being drawn from and the lack of research surrounding disordered eating behaviors and body image dissatisfaction in males.
Major: Psychology
Comp Advisor: Monali Chowdhury
Testing social comparison theory: Impact of ethnicity on body esteem in relation to Instagram fitspiration images
Contemporary research has explored Leon Festinger’s social comparison theory (1954) in the context of social media, but has not yet taken into consideration Festinger’s specific claim that people who perceive certain people to be similar to them are more likely to engage in social comparison with these individuals. Research has suggested that exposure to “fitspiration” images from platforms such as Instagram leads to higher social comparison and lower body esteem in women (Sherlock & Wagstaff, 2019; Rounds & Stutts, 2021; Tiggeman et al., 2018). This study sought to examine how ethnicity may impact social comparison, a variable which could be a perceivable similarity, in a sample of college-aged women. It was hypothesized that White participants exposed to fitspiration images of White women would experience greater social comparison and lower body esteem than after exposure to fitspiration images of Black women. Social comparison was assessed through the Physical Appearance Scale-Revised (Schaefer & Thompson, 2014) and body esteem was measured by the Body Esteem Scale (Franzoi & Shields, 1984). The current sample was comprised of N = 24 college students who all identified as cisgender, White women that use social media. Results suggested, supporting the hypothesis, that participants experienced greater social comparison after exposure to the White women image set. There was a significant difference between body esteem scores post-exposure to both image sets (p=.048). Additionally, a large effect size was found post-exposure to the White women image set (Cohen’s d = .76) in comparison to a moderate effect size post-exposure to the Black women image set (Cohen’s d = .44). Interestingly, there was an increase in pre-exposure and post-exposure social comparison scores but this increase was not significant. These preliminary findings warrant the need for further research with a larger, more ethnically diverse sample.
Keywords: social comparison theory, body esteem, ethnicity, fitspiration.
Major: Psychology/Neuroscience
Comp Advisor: Megan Bertholomey
Mind Over Matter: A Systematic Review of the Role of Pain Neuroscience Education in the Treatment of Chronic Pain
Mind over matter is a common cliche, referring to the idea of having control over a physical condition by way of the mind. The power of the human brain and the complexities of stimuli perception are common themes across the field of neuroscience. With that, there exists a growing body of research pointing to the use of educational strategies, and ultimately the brain’s impressive neural plasticity, as a tool to combat chronic pain. Pain Neuroscience Education (PNE) is an approach that aims to provide patients with a deeper understanding of the neurobiological and neurophysiological components of pain perception (Louw, 2016). Shifting the way an individual conceptualizes pain from strictly being interpreted as harmful to a biological process meant to protect the body has been shown to reduce pain intensity, pain behaviors, and disability (Wood & Hendrick, 2018).
Major: Psychology
Comp Advisor: Sarah Stanger
Parent Physical Illness During Childhood and Young Adult Mental Health Outcomes
Many American adults (N = 25,417) live with some kind of chronic, physical health condition (Boersma et al., 2020). There have been many retrospective studies on the lasting effects of parent substance abuse or mental health disorders on children, but there have been few on how parent physical illness may also have a lasting impact. A few previous studies have pointed towards parent physical illness having an impact on children and young adults’ mental health (Barkmann et al., 2007; Stoeckel & Weissbrod, 2015), with some other studies positing that a disruption in parenting may cause more symptomology in children (Armistead et al. 1995; Kallander et al., 2018). The present study explores the correlation between experiences with parent illness during childhood and depression, suicidality, and obsessive-compulsive symptoms (OCS) in young adults. No prior studies have explored OCS in connection to parent physical illness. Symptomologies were assessed using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D; Radloff, 1977), Adapted Positive and Negative Suicide Ideation Inventory (PANSI; Osman et al., 1998), and the Florida Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory (FOCI; Storch, 2007). The Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire (Brief IPQ; Broadbent et al., 2006) was adapted to be retrospective and reflective of perceptions of parent illness to assess the comprehensibility of the illness, emotions tied to the illness, and the cognitive perceptions of the illness. It was hypothesized that more negative experiences with parent illness would correlate with more mental illness symptomologies. The findings of the study were sparse, but indicate a need for more exploration of these variables with more stringent recruitment procedures.
Major: Psychology
Comp Advisor: Monali Chowdhury
The Impact of Compliance and Internalization on False Confessions
This paper will cover a lot of information in regards to false confessions. False confessions are a topic that is not very well known, and more people need to be made aware of and educated about this. This paper is split into five different chapters with the first and the last being the introduction and the conclusion. The second chapter of this paper covers different compliance’s effect on false confessions, and the variable of age and how that factors in as well. The third chapter covers internalization and why it can lead to being the result of someone falsely confessing. The variable of age is also looked at in that chapter as well. The fourth chapter covers public policies revolving around false confessions and what the next steps need to be in order to improve the rates and awareness of this topic. A strong methodological approach was taken to gather the different credible sources that were used in this paper.
Major: Psychology/Neuroscience
Comp Advisor: Rodney Clark
Classically Conditioning Morphine Response Profile to Reduce Behavioral Dependence Withdrawal in Male Sprague-Dawley Rats
The opioid epidemic continues to worsen across the United States. As more individuals
continue to fall victim to substance use disorders, it is becoming even more paramount that we identify possible therapies to help those struggling towards rehabilitation. This study aimed to determine whether utilizing both contextual and discrete cues through classical conditioning could be a viable method to reduce withdrawal symptoms both during and after rehabilitation. Twice daily 10 mg/kg subcutaneous morphine administration were given to male Sprague-Dawley rats until behavioral tolerance thresholds were met as measured by responding for water in operant chambers. Withdrawal symptoms were measured based on changes in completed lever response sets, grooming behaviors, defecation amount, and weight — compared to baseline measures prior to drug exposure. Three groups were maintained for this study: a no-cue control which received no exposure to the conditioned stimuli (CS) during withdrawal, a context-cue-only experimental group which was only exposed to the contextual CS of the injection room, and an all-cue experimental group which was exposed to both the contextual CS and received a saline injection functioning as the discrete CS. Statistical analysis indicated a significant difference in grooming behaviors between the three cue groups (p < 0.001), across the five days of withdrawal (p = 0.008), as well as an interaction between them (p = 0.014). Significant differences were also found across the days of the withdrawal phase in completed response sets, defecation, and weight; with weight also having a significant difference between the three cue groups. These three measures, by the end of the 5 days, returned close to their baseline values. These changes across the days indicated a reduction of withdrawal across the five days, suggesting a longer tolerance phase was necessary. These results indicate separate levels of success in conditioning procedures reducing symptoms between the forms of withdrawal being measured. Such conclusions call for more withdrawal symptoms to be explored in future studies.
Major: Neuroscience
Comp Advisor: Jeff Hollerman
The effects of music on short-term recall and state anxiety
Background music has become a common thing to hear for many people. Whether someone goes to a restaurant, a store, or even while studying at home, it is normal for there to be background music present as well. There is a large sum of research that suggests that background music can negatively affect performance during different types of cognitive tasks. Contrary to this, there is also evidence that music listening during the encoding process will improve retrieval when the same music is played, which can be explained by the potential effects someone’s mood has on their ability to perform, as mood has been seen in a multitude of studies to affect cognitive performance and anxiety levels. Music has also been shown to lower symptoms of anxiety during cognitive tasks, so there is reason to believe a particular type of music could be used to lower anxiety symptoms while having no effect or even the possibility of a positive effect on cognitive performance. In this experiment, participants took memory tests with and without music, and were split into a group that listened to happy music, and a group that listened to neutral music. Results illustrated that music had no significant effect on overall test scores or heart rates. While there was no significant effect of music, trends were seen that could be explained by competition for resources on the brain, so further research to test intrahemispheric competition would help us understand the relationship between music, short term recall, and state anxiety.
Major: Psychology
Comp Advisor: Sarah Stanger
The Mediating Role of Adult Attachment in the Relationship Between Borderline Personality Disorder Symptoms and Romantic Relational Aggression and Victimization
This study aimed to expand the literature on the role that attachment played in the relationship between borderline symptoms and relational aggression and victimization in romantic relationships. The study was conducted online at a small liberal arts college in the northeastern U.S.. Participants consisted of college students (N = 32, M student age = 19.4, 87.5% female, 9.4% male, 3.1% other) who were recruited through SONA and the Psychology department at Allegheny College. Participants were asked to complete three different questionnaires on SurveyMonkey assessing (1) borderline personality disorder symptoms, (2) adult attachment, and (3) romantic relational aggression/victimization. Three hypotheses were made: Hypothesis 1was that participants who reported more BPD symptoms would also report more anxious adult attachment styles. To test Hypothesis 1, a Pearson’s correlation was conducted. The correlation between BPD symptoms and anxious adult attachment style was significant (r = .77, p <.001); participants who reported higher levels of BPD symptoms also reported higher levels of anxious adult attachment. Hypothesis 2 was that participants who reported more BPD symptoms would also report more romantic relational aggression and romantic relational victimization. To test Hypothesis 2, two Pearson’s correlations were performed in JASP to measure the degree of association between BPD symptoms and (a) romantic relational aggression and (b) romantic relational victimization. The correlation between BPD symptoms and relational aggression was significant (r = .45, p = .01); greater BPD symptoms were correlated with higher levels of romantic relational aggression. There was a positive correlation between BPD symptoms and romantic relational victimization, however the p-value was not significant (r = .26, p = .15); people reporting higher BPD symptoms did not show a consistent pattern in their level of romantic relational victimization. Finally, Hypothesis 3 was that the relationship between BPD symptoms and romantic relational aggression and victimization would be explained by participant anxious adult attachment styles and would be tested through a mediation analysis. Hypothesis 3 was not tested. The planned analysis involving romantic relational aggression was not completed because the reliability for this measure was low (α = 0.41). For the planned analysis involving romantic relational victimization, although the reliability was high (α = 0.84), the p-value was not significant for the correlation between BPD symptoms and relational victimization (p = .15), meaning there is no association for attachment to mediate.
Major: Psychology
Comp Advisor: Ryan Pickering
Examining the Relationship Between Stigmatized Identities and the College Experience
Researchers discuss how people belong to different groups based on various aspects of their identity (e.g., race, class, gender) (Hogg et al., 1995). Some of the groups that individuals belong to may be stigmatized – or oppressed – which often comes with negative experiences and impacts on a person’s life (Brown et al., 2010). This contradicts the belief that belonging to a greater number of groups is more of a good thing with positive outcomes (Chang et al., 2016). For this reason, the purpose of this study was to see if a relationship exists between the number of stigmatized identity groups an Allegheny College student reports being a part of and factors related to their college experience (e.g., social support, belongingness, health, and GPA). For this online study, Allegheny College students (n=53) completed a survey consisting of four scales related to the college experience and a questionnaire regarding identity. Correlations were conducted to see if there is a relationship between the number of stigmatized identity groups and the sums of the scales. Both the participants and the researcher identified whether or not identities included are marginalized. The results showed that there is statistical significance regarding the number of stigmatized groups an individual belongs to – in this case, the number generated by the experimenter – and 1) perceived social support from family (PSS-Fa), 2) belongingness (GBS), and 3) mental health (GHQ-12), but not regarding 4) GPA or 5) perceived social support from friends (PSS-Fr). However, when considering whether or not participants believe aspects of their identity are stigmatized, the participant-generated number of stigmatized identity groups, there was no statistical significance for perceived social support, GPA, belongingness, or mental health. Implications for this pattern of results are discussed.
Major: Psychology
Comp Advisor: Sarah Stanger
Psychopathologies and the Methods of Creative Art Therapy
With the increase of documented and even undocumented psychopathologies within our modern society we must be able to have methods to properly cope with them. Allowing us to use methods we typically wouldn’t think about being creative art therapy. I have researched several psychopathologies from eating disorders, depression, anti-social personality disorder, trichotillomania, and anxiety. In conjunction with this research on psychopathologies, I also did research on creative art therapy and how each form of creative art therapy can act as a form of treatment. I went into the specifics of each form of therapy from drawing, poem, music, and dance therapy, and how they can affect us in positive ways. I then wrote a play to combine these components in a college setting with characters who just so happen to have psychopathologies.
Major: Psychology
Comp Advisor: Sarah Stanger
The Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on First-Time Parents
The COVID-19 pandemic affected a particular population of first-time parents who had their first child either right before the pandemic or during it. Postpartum depression (PPD) and anxiety (PPA) can affect both the mother and father of the infant suggesting 1 in 7 parents may experience PPD and 35% may experience PPA (Statistics on Postpartum Depression – Postpartum Depression Resources, n.d.; MBA, 2022). It is also thought that PPD and PPA share a comorbidity together and that up to 50% of cases have both PPD and PPA present (Postpartum Anxiety – How Postpartum Depression Can Cause Anxiety, 2016). PPD and PPA can also affect the parents ability to bond with their child, and research shows that being bonded with at least one parent is beneficial for the child in the future (Lewis, 2012). While parental mental health and the parent-infant bond may already be a struggle for some parents under non-pandemic circumstances, the COVID-19 pandemic may have affected both (Hyland et al., 2020; Ustun, 2021; Öngören, 2021; Gambin et al., 2020). In this study, a correlational and mediation analysis was conducted to examine the relationship between parental mental health (PPD/PPA) and parent-infant bonding, and with parent coping as a mediator of those associations. I conceptualized coping through the Responses to Stress framework, which categorizes coping as primary control, secondary control, and disengagement (Conner-Smith et al., 2000). A cross-sectional sample of parents (N = 52, M parent age = 33.6, 75% female, 76.9% White) of 1-3-year-old children (M child age = 1.9, 51.9% male, 67.3% White) living in the US were recruited online through Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk). The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS; Cox et al., 1987) was used to examine PPD symptoms. The Postpartum Specific Anxiety Scale (PSAS; Adapted; Fallon et al., 2016) was adapted to examine any PPA symptoms. The Responses to Stress -COVID-19 Questionnaire (RSQ; Conner-Smith et al., 2000) was used to examine parent coping strategies in response to COVID-19 pandemic stress. The Postpartum Bonding Questionnaire (PBQ; Brockington et al., 2006) was adapted to examine any bonding difficulties. It was hypothesized that parents who endorsed more anxious and depressive symptoms would also report more difficulty with parent-child bonding. It was also hypothesized that parents who experienced less anxious and depressive symptoms would be more likely to use primary and secondary control engagement coping strategies, and would experience better parent-child bonding. Both PPD symptoms and PPA symptoms were both significantly associated with greater difficulties with parent-infant bonding. None of the mediation analyses were significant. In sum, greater parent-reported PPD and PPA symptoms were associated with greater difficulties with parent-child bonding, but those relationships were not mediated by parent coping strategies. Implications include the importance of mental health support accessibility, involving parent-infant bonding interventions in the treatment of PPD or PPA, and assessing PPD and PPA symptoms well beyond the immediate postpartum period.
Major: Psychology
Comp Advisor: Christopher Normile
A Review of the Current Practices of Interviewing and Deception Detection
No abstract available as I created a Law Review for my senior comp.
Major: Psychology
Comp Advisor: Lydia Eckstein
How Victim Gender and Religious Identity Affects Perceptions of Intimate Partner Violence
On average of 22.3% of women and 14% of men in the US are victims of intimate partner violence (IPV) a year (The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey: 2015 Data Brief — Updated Release, n.d.), yet many victims do not receive the support they need due to stereotypes and beliefs about what IPV or IPV victimhood looks like. Based on previous research, this is more pronounced for those in communities of faith, where divorce is typically frowned upon or there may be stereotypes about the particular faith. Therefore, this study examined how religious identity and gender identity played potential roles in how individuals judged victims of IPV by having participants read vignettes about instances of IPV and rate the severity based on the gender and religion of the victim on a series of scales determined to rate IPV beliefs and victim-blaming beliefs in the participant. It was hypothesized that men would be viewed more negatively than women, Jewish victims would be viewed more negatively than Christian victims, and Jewish male victims would be viewed more nagatively than Christian male victims. Results were not consistent with these hypotheses. Limitations and implications are discussed.
Major: Psychology
Comp Advisor: Lydia Eckstein
Statistics Anxiety as an Impediment to Statistics Literacy: Causes, Consequences, Remedies, and Implications
N/A
Major: Psychology
Comp Advisor: Ryan Pickering
An Examination of Stigma on Opioid-Related Harm Reduction Strategies
In the past few decades, the opioid epidemic revealed a new side to the dangers of drug usage, one that stems from both legal and illegal sources. Opioids are widely viewed in a highly stigmatized way; however, usage has been on the rise, and along with it, the rate of accidental overdoses. There are preventative measures known as harm reduction tools and strategies, which help to minimize the potential risks that come with opioid usage, such as overdose and spread of infectious disease. Students from Allegheny College participated in a researcher-made 4-part survey, in which they responded to statements regarding their feelings about opioid usage, harm reduction, and a true or false knowledge measure. Multiple Pearson’s correlations were used to assess the data for any associations between knowledge and feelings towards opioid usage and harm reduction. No statistically significant results were found from these correlations, however the knowledge measure’s results indicated that participants had a considerably low knowledge base regarding opioid usage and harm reduction, resulting in an average score of 67%. Furthermore, students exemplified an overall uncertainty regarding their feelings towards opioid usage and harm reduction practices. The results signify a need for further education on the topics of opioid usage and harm reduction practices, as well as a willingness from 88% of participants to learn more about these subjects. Future directions here at Allegheny College could mean incorporating more harm reduction education into the curriculum or through information sessions that could educate students on how to utilize harm reduction techniques in a crisis, such as Naloxone training.
Major: Psychology/Neuroscience
Comp Advisor: Rodney Clark
Conditioned Food Preference of Unfamiliar Food in Female Rats
In past food aversion studies, with rodent models, a novel food, indicated as a conditioned stimulus (CS) was paired with an unconditioned stimulus (US) like lithium chloride (LiCl). The pairing of a CS and US are utilized to elicit an aversive response. The introduction of the aversive US with the CS, was utilized for rodent models to consume less of the CS in further trials. This research, although pertinent to learning about food aversion, does not look into aversions with familiar foods. Rats exhibit neophobia, the fear of new things, in particular, food. Neophobia is a confounding variable in food aversion research due to the general aversion to novel foods. What happens when a familiar food is paired with an aversive agent like LiCl? Through pairing a familiar food as a CS with an US like LiCl, this experiment investigates if an aversive response to eating familiar food in rodent models can be replicated. Female Sprague-Dawley rats were utilized in this experiment due to lack of using female rats to indicate potential sex differences in past research. Each rat was injected once intraperitoneally (ip) with LiCl, mg/kg was relative to each rodent’s body weight. This injection was administered prior to introduction of the novel food in experimentation. Rats were then monitored in trials with a Y-maze and CPP. Rats’ intake of the familiar and novel food were recorded as well as entries into each chamber in the CPP and Y-maze. These trials were conducted several times within a week with only one ip injection in the first trial and following trials were monitored for lasting effects of aversion without US. Results indicate there was reduction in food intake and less entries in the familiar food arms of the Y-maze due to illness from LiCl paired with familiar food.
Major: Psychology/Neuroscience
Comp Advisor: Megan Bertholomey
A Systematic Review of Alzheimer’s Disease and Caregivers: Identification of The Burdens and Technical Assistive Tools
Recent studies introduce the increasing number of Alzheimer’s Disease(AD) patients and their caregivers without abundant resources including a rehabilitation environment, professional medical assistance, and active communication among the AD community. As the Alzheimer’s Disease community is increasing with the significantly increased number of caregivers, thus, the impact of the growing AD population is not only implicated those with the disease themselves but also on their families that often take on the caregiver burden, which magnifies the number of people ultimately affected by the disease. However, there are fewer assistive tools for caregivers to take care of their mental health than for patients themselves. This study will examine the pathology of AD, impact of the disease towards the caregivers, current techology-based assistive tools and future studies.
Major: Psychology/Neuroscience
Comp Advisor: Megan Bertholomey
The Effects of Chronic Stress, DHED, and Sex on Spatial Memory and Oxidative Stress
Sex differences are important when looking at certain diseases because some have a higher prevalence in a certain sex and others, which can make treatment complicated. Alzheimer’s Disease is a neurological disease that is more commonly seen in postmenopausal women. The theory behind that is because after women experience menopause they have extremely low levels of estrogen. Estrogens have been shown to improve memory and decrease the likelihood of neurons being damaged by oxidative stress because of its antioxidant properties. Due to oxidative stress being a marker of AD on top of amyloid beta and tau proteins, and estrogen’s neuroprotective characteristics to decrease these markers, estrogen replacement therapy has been considered for being a treatment. However, it has been found that males and females respond to stress and estrogen differently. Plus, estrogen replacement therapy has its drawbacks. DHED is a drug that increases estradiol without the peripheral effects, but it has not been tested for sex differences. The goal of this experiment was to see what effects sex, stress, and DHED had on spatial memory and oxidative stress. Female rats were ovariectomized while males were given a sham surgery. Rats received two weeks of chronic mild stress then two weeks of DHED treatment. Afterwards spatial memory was tested by the radial arm maze. It was found that there is an interaction between test day, sex, and DHED. These findings can be used to further understand estradiol’s effects on memory and how it affects males and females differently.
Major: Psychology
Comp Advisor: Lydia Eckstein
The Role of Pets in Buffering Loneliness in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic
No abstract available
Major: Psychology
Comp Advisor: Sarah Stanger
Modification of “Scientist”: The Intersection Between Physics Education and Sense of Belonging
Women and minorities have been historically underrepresented in physics. This is true in every branch of physics from teachers to students, to the figures spoken about in classes. To combat stereotypes that are currently impacting women and minorities, previous studies have worked to design lessons and interventions centered around sense of belonging, identity, and interest in physics. The present study used a set of interactive lessons centered around diverse voices in physics to teach students in introductory astronomy-based classes about physics concepts as well as women and their discoveries in astrophysics. These lessons were hypothesized to increase sense of belonging, identity with the terms “physicist” and “scientist”, and interest in physics. Paired-sample t-tests were used to look at changes in students’ identity and their sense of belonging. Qualitative analysis was used to find gaps in the quantitative measures and was coded with four major themes in mind: physics content, classroom components, difficulties, and dedication while looking at students’ beliefs about their sense of belonging, identity, and interest in physics. The hypotheses were largely unsupported due to logistical issues with the duration and implementation of the lessons. However, students were able to learn from these lessons and had significant learning gains. This project can be used to better understand how interactive lessons affect students and how the implementation of those lessons can affect student learning. Future directions for this include helping students belong in the scientific community, identify as scientists, and continue to progress in science.
Major: Psychology
Comp Advisor: Rodney Clark
A Review of Current Studies on Psilocybin to Treat Mental Disorders
No abstract available
Major: Psychology
Comp Advisor: Monali Chowdhury
The Relationship Between Instagram Usage, Self-Esteem, And Well-Being
There has been plenty of contemporary research (Sherlock & Wagstaff, 2019) done on social media and its effects on humans, but little is known about this using Rosenberg’s Self-Esteem scale and the Satisfaction with Life Scale including college student participants. Sherlock and Wagstaff (2019) found that Instagram use is correlated with depressive symptoms, self-esteem, general and physical appearance anxiety, and body dissatisfaction. Research has suggested a variety of different results regarding how self-esteem and well-being are affected by social media, but this study focuses on the possible correlational relationship between Instagram and people’s well-being and self-esteem. Based on Vogel et al. (2014), it was hypothesized that participants with a high number of active hours on Instagram will be more likely to have lower self-esteem and lower well-being levels. Based on Diefenbach and Anders (2022), it was hypothesized that participants with less active hours on instagram will have higher self-esteem and higher well-being levels. This study involved 50 Allegheny College students who all used Instagram as a form of social media. The participants all took an online study through SONA where they were asked questions on the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale questionnaire and the Satisfaction with Life Scale questionnaire. They also self reported active and passive Instagram usage. Results suggested that there was no correlation between self-esteem or well-being levels and passive or active Instagram usage.
Major: Psychology
Comp Advisor: Christopher Normile
Statistical Understanding of Undergraduate Students
Statistical cognition is the processes, representations, and activities involved in acquiring and using statistical knowledge by looking at: (1) how people acquire/use statistical knowledge, (2) how they should think about statistical concepts, as well as (3) closing the gap between the previous two ideas (Cumming et al., 2008). This paper looked at the connections between statistical cognition, prior knowledge, statistical self-efficacy, major discipline, and gender. Participants were provided with a statistical self-efficacy questionnaire designed to measure their belief in their ability to complete statistical tasks. Participants then completed a statistical cognition survey designed to measure how much knowledge the students have about key statistical concepts. Results revealed no significant difference in statistical cognition across disciplines. Furthermore, their prior knowledge in statistics did not significantly affect statistical cognition scores. However, the gender of the participant did have a statistically significant effect on self-efficacy, in that women had lower self-efficacy scores than men. This information tells us that statistical education across disciplines may be fairly consistent, prior experience does not limit someone’s knowledge, and women are suffering from the stereotype threat which leads them to believe they cannot excel in math as well as men can even if their scores reveal otherwise.
Major: Neuroscience
Comp Advisor: Jeff Hollerman
The Effects of Dextroamphetamine on Conditioned Place Preference and Locomotion in a Valproic Acid Rat Model of Autism
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a disorder that is prevalent in today’s society, yet the exact etiology is unknown. It is thought to be a matter of genetic and environmental factors that are involved in ASD. Valproic Acid (VPA) intake by humans has been found to be a significant risk factor for ASD, and a model in rats was created and validated using this knowledge. It is theorized that a malfunction or dysfunction in the dopamine system may be a part of the etiology of autism. The dopamine system is strongly associated with reward, and can be stimulated using amphetamines. The dopamine system has also been closely associated with locomotion, with higher levels of dopamine function causing hyperlocomotion. The present study aimed to analyze whether d-amphetamine had a reduced effect in the VPA model in relation to the control, in terms of conditioning and locomotion. In the present study, two groups of male rats were used consisting of a group of VPA model rats and a control group (n=6/group, n=12 total). The rats were conditioned with d-amphetamine using a conditioned place preference paradigm. Additionally, rats’ locomotion was tested based on beam breaks along an X,Y infrared beam axis, with Z axis motion counted manually. The conditioned place preference test did not yield significant results between groups with controls showing similar levels of conditioned preference. The locomotion test yielded the result of a significant difference between groups in Z-axis motion, with VPA rats showing a smaller increase to amphetamine than controls; however, no significant difference in amphetamine effects between groups for X,Y axis movement was found.
Major: Neuroscience
Comp Advisor: Jeff Hollerman
Evidence for Olfactory Discrimination Deficits for Sexual Stimuli in a Valproic Acid Model of Autism: A Study on Sexual Behavior Deficits
Autism Spectrum Disorder is a neurodevelopmental disorder, which affects a portion of the population and is commonly studied using a model created with rats that have been prenatally exposed to valproic acid (VPA). In humans with the disorder, possible sexual behavior and olfactory discrimination deficits exist, with the rat model also representing these olfactory discrimination deficits. The present study is aimed at determining if the sexual behavior deficits correlate to the model, as well as if there is a link between the two deficits described previously. Experimentation was performed using two different three-chamber preference tests, with lateral chambers containing either a neutral or sexual stimuli based on olfactory cues. No significant differences in preference were found using a bedding preference test, however a marginal significance was found in the rat preference test when looking at interaction time with the sexual stimuli, with a decrease for the VPA-exposed group compared to the control group. This marginally significant difference shows that a sexual behavior deficit could exist within the model due to olfactory discrimination deficits. Further research should be performed in order to confirm this hypothesis.
Key Words: Autism, Valproic Acid, Rat, Sexual Behavior, Olfactory Discrimination, Preference, Three-Chamber Test
Major: Psychology/Neuroscience
Comp Advisor: Megan Bertholomey
The Effects of Maternal Separation on Anxiety-Like Behaviors in Female Rats
Stress is something that anyone can experience at any time in their life. However, stress exposure during critical periods of development can have long-lasting effects on affect. With an increase in child neglect and children experiencing stressful situations at younger ages, it is important to determine the long term consequences of early life stress (ELS). In addition, females are more vulnerable to the effects of stress, and women have a greater prevalence of anxiety disorders compared to men; however, females are grossly understudied. To determine the effects of ELS and a subsequent stressor in adolescence on anxiety-like behavior in adulthood, female rats were exposed to maternal separation (MS for 3 hours a day over postnatal day 1-14, and were then exposed to the immunological stressor, lipopolysaccharide (LPS; 1 mg/kg, i.p.) or vehicle, in adolescence (postnatal day 45), to stimulate a two-hit model for stress. Rats were then tested for anxiety-like behaviors in adulthood using the novelty suppressed feeding (NSF) test. The results of this study showed an increase in anxiety-like behaviors as evidenced by increased latency to approach and eat the food, for those who underwent MS compared to non-separated controls, but no effects of LPS exposure in adolescence. Although the effects of MS were expected, future research should explore how the quantity and timing of secondary stressors, like LPS, would have an effect on anxiety-like behaviors in adulthood.
Major: Neuroscience
Comp Advisor: Jeff Hollerman
Effects of Glyphosate on Learned Behavior/Recognition Memory & Potential Sex Differences in Sprague Dawley Rats
Since their introduction in the early 1940s, organophosphates have posed a significant risk to both organisms and their environments (Than, 2013). Studies have shown that exposure can be deadly to humans, causing impacts in the central nervous system (Baglan et. al., 2018). Limited research has been done on the influence these toxins pose on learning behaviors and memory. A study was conducted with Sprague Dawley rats (n=20) to determine if glyphosate, a commonly known herbicide, has any acute or chronic effects on spatial learning and working memory. A repeated measures ANOVA revealed significant differences between subject groups of the amount of re-entries in the Radial Arm Maze (RAM) with Treatment (F(3,28)=4.670, p= 0.046) and Sex (F(3,28)=18.275, p= <0.001). Statistical significance was found in the amount of successes in at least two groups (F(3,28)=5.146, p= 0.037 during RAM. Tukey’s post hoc test indicated that there was significance in RAM reentries (p tukey=0.046;<0.001) and successes (p tukey=0.037). Novel Object Recognition expressed significance, but was not applicable to predicted hypotheses. Further studies should be conducted by implementing more administrations and testing other areas such as sensory memory and unmotivated learning techniques. Increasing the number of subjects within both male and female cohorts as well as eliminating extraneous variables could also lead to a more precise effect.
Major: Psychology/Other
Comp Advisor: Christopher Normile
Impact of Literature on Allegheny College Students Perceptions of Undocumented Immigrants
The United States general population’s opinions towards undocumented immigrants as well as the politization of feelings regarding undocumented immigration is concerning considering the influx of undocumented Latinx/e immigrants crossing the border into the United States. My study filled a gap in the literature surrounding the impact of narration style and paratextual information on participants’ feelings towards undocumented immigrants. Participants in this study filled out a questionnaire that asked them to rate on a 5-point Likert scale the extent to which they agreed with statements intended to measure their feelings towards undocumented immigrants. Participants were then primed with the information that the text they were about to read was fiction or nonfiction before they read a short paragraph about a single Latinx/e adult who is crossing the border without documentation. Following completion of the questionnaire, participants were given a filler task which included questions regarding qualitative information on the participants reading habits and emotions. Finally, participants were asked to answer the questionnaire again and answer demographic questions. This study measured the impacts of different narration styles (first person vs third person vs journalism) and paratextual information (fiction vs nonfiction) on participants’ feelings towards undocumented immigrants. The results of this study showed no statistical significance; however, the trend in the influence of narrative style indicated a potential for statistically significant results if there would have been more participants.