Major: Psychology
Comp Advisor: Other
Emotional Awareness Levels in Students with Varying Studio Art Training through Art Therapy
This study was conducted to investigate the potential differences in emotional awareness levels in students with varying studio art experience before and after completing an adapted art therapy exercise. Experimentation included emotional awareness pretest/posttest surveys, between which participants completed an art therapy exercise and a written reflection. What was hypothesized was that there would be an increase in emotional awareness levels after completion of the art therapy exercise (posttest) for all participants. Another hypothesis was that studio art students’ and non-art students’ mean pretest scores would be relatively the same and that both groups would experience the same increase in their emotional awareness levels during the art exercise. Results revealed that both hypotheses’ were partially supported. Implications and significance of the findings of this research are discussed.
Keywords: art therapy, emotional awareness, studio art
Major: Psychology
Comp Advisor: Lauren Paulson
The Relationship between Body Image, Body Shaming, and Social Support in Pregnant Women
The present study examined the relationship between body image, body shaming, and social support during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy. The study was conducted to answer the question, what is the impact of body shaming and social support on body dissatisfaction in pregnant women? The study consisted of 43 women who were in their second or third trimester of pregnancy. The Body Image in Pregnancy Scale (BIPS), the Perceptions of Teasing Scale (POTS) , and the Perceived Social Support Questionnaire were distributed and administered to women to women in a Facebook group called Mommy’s Page. The analysis of the data involved a two-way between groups ANOVA. Participants were split into groups of either high or low social support and body shaming experiences based off of their scores. The study hypothesized that women who had low levels of social support and experience high levels of body shaming will experience more body dissatisfaction. The results did not find a relationship between body image, body, shaming, and social support during pregnancy. The results of the study may help to alert healthcare providers of the need for resources to help pregnant women cope with body dissatisfaction during pregnancy.
Major: Psychology/Other
Comp Advisor: Lydia Eckstein Jackson
Online Civic Styles, Political Apathy, and Political Efficacy
Civic-mindedness is a concept that has been taken for granted. Recent scholarship has illustrated the ways in which the development of the Internet suggests the existence of different kinds of civic-mindedness or “civic styles,” which may correspond to different patterns of political psychology and participation. This study builds on prior research to propose two online civic styles, the dutiful and actualizing styles, as predictors of participation-predicting political psychological variables. The dutiful citizenship style (DC) is conceptualized as prioritizing one-way communication managed by authorities and is understood as traditional whereas the more recent, actualizing citizenship style (AC) shifts toward peer-to-peer network sharing and self-expression via social media. This study sought to compare the predictive power of DC and AC with respect to four psychological variables. An online survey method was used. Regression analysis was conducted to predict internal political efficacy, external political efficacy, online political efficacy, and political apathy based on AC and DC. Results indicate that DC is stronger than AC as a predictor of all three types of political efficacy and that neither AC nor DC significantly predicts political apathy. Further research is needed to determine the construct validity of each proposed online civic style and to further analyze the ways in which these civic styles might correspond with psychological variables. Limitations and future directions are discussed.
Major: Psychology
Comp Advisor: Lauren Paulson
The Effects of Smartphone Applications on Anxiety Symptoms in College Students
Anxiety disorders are prevalent in the general population today, with 18.1% of adults meeting the criteria for an anxiety disorder in a given year (NIMH, 2005). In college students, only 24% of those diagnosed with a mental disorder of any kind seek treatment (Hunt & Eisenberg, 2010). One potential way to reduce symptoms of anxiety is breathing retraining, which is a method in which a person is taught to breathe slowly and deeply. This study aimed to answer one main question: Can the use of Flowy help to lower anxiety symptoms as self-reported on the Beck’s Anxiety Inventory with daily usage in college students over a two week period? In this study, 8 college students downloaded and used Flowy, an application that teaches breathing retraining techniques for two weeks. Another group of 7 college students used Temple Run for two weeks. Then, the Beck’s Anxiety Inventory was administered, and the results analyzed for statistically significant data. Although none of the data was statistically significant, it was discovered that the Flowy group had lower anxiety scores, on average, than the Temple Run group on the Beck’s Anxiety Inventory. However, this data is inconclusive due to the small sample size and concerns about confounding variables.
Major: Psychology/Neuroscience
Comp Advisor: Sarah Conlkin
Calming Cubes: A Randomized Controlled Trial of Object Fidgeting on Cognitive Function and Cardiovascular Reactivity To Cognitive Stress in College Students
In a world that encourages productivity at the cost of a high-stress lifestyle, the introduction of a cheap relief to stress and source of entertainment while working can seem too good to be true. However, the promises of the Fidget Cube and other fidgeting toys which guarantee increased focus and decreased stress are not backed by an excess of scientific resources to support these claims. The purpose of the present study stood to clarify these claims and support the basis of the Fidget Cube. In order to do so, this study tested whether those who used the Cube during a stress task would experience less stress and perform better on a cognitive test. Young adult undergraduate participants at a Northeastern college (N = 25) were separated into non-fidgeting and fidgeting groups and completed the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Task (PASAT) for a cognitive stress task. Participants were measured for systolic and diastolic blood pressure as well as cardiovascular reactivity for stress reactivity. They were also scored for correct answers on the PASAT to determine cognitive performance. The study resulted in no main effect between the scores on the PASAT or reactivity between the two groups, not supporting the original hypotheses, suggesting the Fidget Cubes may have no effect on cognition or stress. Further studies would benefit from testing other fidgeting toys and their possible effects on cognition and stress.
Major: Psychology
Comp Advisor: Lauren Paulson
An Exploration of LGBTQ+ Individuals, Norms, Emotions and Their Emotional Expression
Abstract
Most psychological research about emotion focuses on the apparent gender binary and builds on the assumption of heteronormativity. Prior studies look at anger as masculine and more physical, while sadness is feminine and connected to powerlessness. This research examined how mainstream norms influence the emotional expression of LGBTQ+ individuals, by having N = 62 participants complete the Expressions in Situations questionnaire (EIS). The research questions were: When LGBTQ+ individuals are upset and in situations with a professor, close friend or stranger are they more likely to express anger or sadness? Moreover, depending on their level of comfort, in what public or private situations with a professor, a close friend or stranger are they more likely to express anger or sadness in a manner considered to be more historically masculine/feminine? In what situations will they deviate from societal norms of emotional expression? Expectations were LGBTQ+ individuals who were upset and in situations with a professor, stranger or close friend would express a blend of anger and sadness. Furthermore, when LGBTQ+ individuals were less comfortable, such as being in public/private spaces with professors and strangers, they were more likely to conform to norms of expression. LGBTQ+ individuals in public/private spaces with close friends were more likely to deviate from norms. None of these hypotheses were supported by this study. Results suggest further research on power dynamics, comfort and emotional expression of LGBTQ+ students should be conducted. Limitations include a lack of generalizability and race/ethnicity.
Keywords: Emotional Expression, Norms, LGBTQ+
Major: Psychology
Comp Advisor: Lauren Paulson
Creative Fiction Writing in Scriptotherapy: Effects on Depression, Anxiety, and Stress
Scriptotherapy is a term used to describe any form of therapeutic writing. However, certain forms of writing have been analyzed far more than others. Methods such as journaling and expressive writing have appeared in numerous studies, but other forms of writing—specifically creative fiction writing—have been overlooked (Pennebaker, 1997; Travagin, Margola, & Revenson, 2014). The present study sought to determine whether a fiction writing activity, as opposed to a neutral writing activity, would have an impact on the participants’ (N=27) levels of depression, anxiety, and stress. It was initially hypothesized that the participants in the creative fiction writing group would experience a reduction in symptoms after the three-day period of the study as indicated by pre- and post-test administration of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21 (S. Lovibond & P. Lovibond, 1996). Although results did not support the hypothesis, they displayed interesting data trends that suggest a reduction in all three categories of symptoms for both groups, with a more pronounced decrease for the experimental group. When considering these trends, in addition to presenting methodological flaws, it becomes apparent that further research into the therapeutic potential of creative fiction writing is needed.
Major: Psychology
Comp Advisor: Ryan Pickering
The Fight to be Unapologetically Fat: How Internalization of Weight Bias Impacts Psychological Well-Being of Plus Size Adults
Weight bias – negative attitudes and discriminatory actions toward individuals perceived to have a bigger body size – has been shown to negatively impact the physical and mental well-being of plus size individuals. Scholars have researched the ways in which plus size individuals experience weight bias from various aspects of their lives – such as in employment, medical, and/or educational settings. The following paper examined the social forces that aid in perpetuating weight bias – such as media influence and public health – and how identity – such as gender and race – shape the experience of weight bias in plus size adults. The relationship between internalized weight bias in forty nine female plus size individuals and how this impacted their psychological well-being was examined. Results revealed no significance between bigger body size and low psychological well-being. Although no significance was found, previous research implies that there is a need for weight bias to be dismantled in order for plus size individuals to gain better psychological well-being.
Major: Psychology
Comp Advisor: Other
The Relationship Between Introversion/Extraversion and Fatigue in Undergraduate Students
The relationship between the personality traits introversion and extraversion and fatigue was studied in an undergraduate student population at a highly selective college in northwest Pennsylvania. Participants were given two surveys measuring introversion and fatigue, and the data was analyzed using Pearson’s Correlation and Spearman’s Correlation. Results were found to be statistically insignificant, showing that the data is inconclusive for the relationship between introverts and extraverts in levels of fatigue. However, the average fatigue score of participants suggested that undergraduate students, whether introverted or extraverted, tend to be fatigued. When calculating the reliability of the scales used, both were shown to have low Coefficient alpha scores, which may be one explanation of why no significant data was found. Investigating further, it was found that, in the fatigue scale, some questions did not correlate well with the other, suggesting that they did not actually measure fatigue. Lastly, the introversion scale used incorporated a few questions about neuroticism, which may explain the low Coefficient alpha score.
Major: Psychology
Comp Advisor: Ryan Pickering
Consistency of Sexual Orientation and Depressive Symptoms
Psychological research has found that sexual minorities as a whole report higher levels of depressive symptoms in comparison to heterosexual individuals, while also asserting that sexual orientation comprises three dimensions: identity, behavior, and attraction. However, due to a lack of standardization of sexual orientation evaluation, these dimensions are rarely studied in conjunction with one another and their effect on mental health and wellbeing, creating difficulties in comparing findings of such studies. This study explores the relationship between consistency of sexual orientation, consisting of the three dimensions mentioned above, and depressive symptoms. Scales evaluating sexual orientation, as well as the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CESD), were used to evaluate this relationship in 216 participants that self-identified as female. Results found statistically different mean CESD scores for those with consistent sexual orientations compared to those with inconsistent sexual orientations, while most participants categorized as inconsistent were categorized as such due to their reported behaviors. As an exploratory study, this provides a foundation for future research to investigate the relationship between sexual orientation consistency and depression more in-depth to better understand the nuances of the effects of sexual orientation on mental health and wellbeing.
Major: Psychology/Other
Comp Advisor: Other
Shocked: Electroconvulsive Treatment at the crossroads between Artistic Representation and Medical Reality
This paper examines the ways in which popular works impact common opinions of psychiatry and mental health treatments. More specifically, the impact of theatrical works that deal with electroconvulsive treatment is addressed. Popular stage works such as next to normal and One flew over the cuckoo’s nest are discussed. The history, methodology, and outcomes of electroconvulsive treatment are introduced, and the lively current and past debates surrounding the treatment are presented. Finally, a proposal for initiatives that the artistic and scientific communities might engage in is explored so that people on either side of the identified divide might work together in the name of forward progress.
Major: Psychology
Comp Advisor: Lauren Paulson
Examining the Relationship Between Adjustment, Mattering, and Athletic Participation in First-Year Students at Small, Division III Institution
The transition to college is often a challenge for incoming students. First-year students are often away from home for the first time, and must adapt to new social and academic demands. Many students are unable to adapt to the college environment, and many colleges experience high attrition rates. Previous studies have identified adjustment to college and mattering as factors related to the transition to college. Previous studies have also identified intercollegiate student athletes as a group that experiences numerous positive benefits from participating in athletics. Drawing from a sample of N = 32 at a small, selective liberal arts college, the present study examined the relationship between athletic participation, adjustment to college, and mattering. The present study predicted that athletic participation would have a positive relationship with adjustment to college and with mattering, and that athletes would demonstrate higher levels of adjustment and mattering than non-athletes. The present study also predicted that adjustment and mattering would demonstrate a positive relationship within the sample. These hypotheses were partially supported, as the findings indicated a positive relationship between adjustment to college and mattering. The results of this study have important implications within the college transition literature, and further our understanding of the relationship between college athletics, adjustment to college, and mattering. The present study also establishes the need for further examination of the correlation between adjustment and mattering.
Keywords: Adjustment to college, mattering, athletics, transition to college
Major: Psychology
Comp Advisor: Lydia Eckstein Jackson
The Ambition Gap: The Effect of Stereotype Threat and Women in Politics
Women are extremely underrepresented in the United States government, holding only about, at best, 25% of seats in both federal and state legislative branches (CAWP, 2018). While these numbers have dramatically increased in the last few decades, there is a clear gender gap in the desire to run for and hold political office. The gender gap in political ambition has been well documented in recent years; however, there has been little data connecting this phenomenon with stereotype threat, a possible reason for this achievement gap. The present study sought to explore the effects of stereotype threat on women and their political ambition. Seventy-two participants from Allegheny College participated in this 2×2 between-subjects design study. Following Von Hipple et al. (2011), participants read a short paragraph about personality characteristics of effective politicians. The high stereotype threat condition led participants to believe that previous studies show that only men are capable of having these characteristics and, therefore, are effective politicians. The results of the study show that women are significantly more likely to believe that men and women are equally capable of making effective politicians. Other results indicated that women are significantly more likely to be politically active online. Contrary to predictions, participants in the high stereotype threat condition reported more feelings of political ambition, with marginal significance. Limitations, implications, and future directions are discussed.
Keywords: stereotype threat, gender gap, political ambition, women
Major: Psychology
Comp Advisor: Other
Pre-instruction in Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity Cases
This study examined effects of pre-trial pre-instruction on mock juror verdicts in Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity cases. Participants were divided into two groups, those who received pre-instruction and those who did not. Both groups of participants received two crime scenarios to read and decide their verdict on. One scenario involved a defendant with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder while the other had a defendant with Schizophrenia. Results showed that there was no significant difference in verdicts between the two groups of participants for the PTSD scenario. Results did show a significant difference in verdicts between the two groups for the Schizophrenia scenario. It was shown that participants who received pre-instruction chose Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity more than the participants who received no pre-instruction. There was a lack of difference between the two groups for the PTSD scenario which could be due to a small sample size and the public’s opinion that PTSD is not as serious of a mental illness compared to Schizophrenia. The study serves to show the difference pre-trial pre-instruction can make in some NGRI cases.
Keywords: PTSD, Schizophrenia, Pre-Instruction, Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity
Major: Psychology
Comp Advisor: Lydia Eckstein Jackson
The Effect of Hearing a Foreign Language on Willingness to Communicate
This study examined the effects of merely hearing a foreign language on monolingual participants’ willingness to communicate (WTC). Extending prior research that has focused on language barriers in people with bilingual understanding, the present study sought to test if merely hearing a foreign language could influence a monolingual participant’s WTC, with specific focus on if the relationship was mediated by social categorization. Thirty- seven undergraduates participated in the study, in which they heard a recording by the same person in either Swahili or English and then answered several questions about the speaker’s likability and perceived similarity, to assess social categorization. Participants also completed a modified Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) to measure state anxiety (Watson, Clark, & Tellegen, 1988), and some demographic questions. Importantly, students had an opportunity to write a response to the recording they heard. The number of words typed was used as a measure of WTC, with a higher number indicating more WTC. The results in terms of WTC and social categorization were not statistically significant. Interestingly, there was a significant interaction between gender and condition, where men tended to write nearly twice as much in the Swahili condition than the English condition, and patterns were the opposite for women. Effect sizes did suggest, however, that measures of social categorization may have been significant if power were increased; therefore, future research should be done in order to better understand the factors that may be influencing a person’s WTC. This research, as well as future research, could be beneficial in explaining the formation of language barriers. It is also possible that results of this and future studies could help to better address problems that language barriers are connected to, such as those in international business, the sciences, and conflict resolutions.
Keywords: Willingness to communicate (WTC), social categorization, monolingual
Major: Psychology
Comp Advisor: Rodney Clark
Rats as Art Critics: An Investigation of Stimulus Discrimination in Art
The present study examined the stimulus control involved in identifying styles of art was in Sprague-Dawley rats. To establish a baseline, the rats were trained to respond with a lever-press in the presence of Cubist or Impressionist paintings (by artists Picasso, Braque, Renoir, and Monet). Once stable response rates were achieved, the experiment was initiated, in which, additional paintings were introduced as a probe test for generalization. The rats’ response rates carried over to novel paintings, suggesting conceptual stimulus control.
Major: Psychology/Enviromental Studies
Comp Advisor: Lydia Eckstein Jackson
Adoption of New Urbanism in Oil City, Pennsylvania: A combined Community and GIS analysis
While studies in the literature use Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for city planning purposes, few have incorporated the functionality of community survey data. In order to communicate the importance of sustainable development and improving quality of life for residents, communities should be included in city planning research as an invaluable source of knowledge. The purpose of this study was to evaluate three specific aspects of new urbanism, community wellbeing, green space, and walkability, as they relate to the neighborhood environment from a dual community and spatial analysis perspective. First, an anonymous survey measuring community perceptions of wellbeing, green space, and walkability was advertised to Oil City residents (n=154). Street addresses were collected with surveys in order to conduct a spatial analysis. Then, a GIS approach was used to 1) spatially represent survey data, 2) determine neighborhood boundaries, and 3) objectively quantify green space and walkability. Green space was analyzed using tax parcel data in combination with multi-spectral imagery to determine quality as well as quantity. Walkability measures in GIS included slope, dwelling density, connectivity (intersection density), and land use diversity. It was predicted that all measures of wellbeing, green space, and walkability would be positively correlated between participants as well as between neighborhoods. It was also predicted that there would be differences between neighborhoods on all measures. Results showed that GIS measures for walkability and green space have a strong negative correlation, r = -0.92, contrary to the hypothesis and implies that more walkable neighborhoods have less green space. Differences between neighborhoods indicated that Hasson is both the greenest and the least walkable. Overall, this work demonstrates the importance of integrating community perceptions into city development projects.
Major: Psychology/Neuroscience
Comp Advisor: Sarah Conlkin
Yoga Nidra Decreases Anxious Terms and Increases Non-Anxious term scores on the State Trait Anxiety Inventory Scores in College Students: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Anxiety, especially test anxiety is steadily on the rise in college students. Contemplative practices such as Meditation and Yoga Nidra have become more accepted forms of treatment for anxiety. There are few studies on nidra as well as Meditation that look at acute effects of the treatments. In this study, thirty participants were randomly assigned to one of three conditions, Yoga Nidra, Guided Breath Meditation, or Instructed Mind Wandering for a 10 minute recorded session. Participants completed the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory before and after the session. It was hypothesized that participants in the Yoga Nidra conditions would have significantly decreased anxious terms and increased non-anxious terms compared with the other two conditions. Results indicated significance for all conditions meaning that all the conditions significantly increased or decreased their specific terms, except for Instructed Mind Wandering in increasing non-anxious terms. Yoga Nidra was more effective significantly over the other conditions at increasing non-anxious terms. Future research should further examine body positioning differences and how that affects the stress reaction of the human body.
Major: Psychology
Comp Advisor: Sarah Conlkin
A New Outlook on Stress: A Randomized Control Trial of Stress Reappraisal Training
Stress perception has been shown to momentarily have an impact on physiological reactions to stress. Additionally, perceived socioeconomic status has been shown to impact physiological and psychological stress. It was hypothesized that participants trained to positively reappraise stress through a text-delivered intervention would have lower perceived stress and cardiovascular reactivity to a stressful event. It was also hypothesized that participants with lower perceived socioeconomic status would have higher perceived stress. This study was conducted by randomly assigning participants to either a text-intervention group or a control group. Participants perceived stress and cardiovascular reactivity to a laboratory stress task were measured before and after the intervention period. Additionally, participants perceived socioeconomic status was examined in relation to their perceived stress scores pre- and post-intervention. No significant difference between cardiovascular reactivity was found between groups following the intervention phase. However, a significant negative correlation was found between participants perceived socioeconomic status and their perceived stress before and after the intervention period. Further directions in research on stress reappraisal should focus on intervention duration, confounding variables for cardiovascular functioning, and affect during the intervention period. Further investigation into non-pharmacological interventions for stress and related conditions plays a small role in combating the global Prescription Drug Epidemic.
Major: Psychology
Comp Advisor: Lauren Paulson
Body Image in Female Collegiate Athletes: The Effect of Instagram Fitness Pages on Body Satisfaction
Body image is influenced by many factors, one of which is media and more specifically, social media. Research has shown that women are typically the most common targets of thin ideals as they show the most body image dissatisfaction after viewing media images, specifically of thin models. The purpose of this study was to specifically look at Instagram and how it affects the subgroup of female athletes. The focus was on collegiate female athletes at a small liberal arts college with a n=12. Participants took the Body Image States Scale (BISS) questionnaire both before and after viewing an Instagram feed of fitness images. Participants in the experimental group showed a significant decrease in scores from pretest to posttest, supporting the hypothesis that Instagram fitness pages can negatively impact body satisfaction in female athletes. This study also brought to light the need for further research on this topic since there was such a small sample size.
Keywords: BISS, body image, Instagram, college athletes.
Major: Psychology
Comp Advisor: Sarah Conlkin
An Acute Randomized Controlled Trial of Tart Cherry on Sleep and Anxiety in College Students
Sleep disorders are becoming more prevalent among Americans and college students are more at risk for restricting sleep. Tart cherry juice has been proven to have high levels of melatonin, which regulates sleep-wake cycles. The purpose of this study was to determine if tart cherry juice would increase sleep quality, which would decrease anxiety levels. In a randomized, controlled trial, 6 participants drank either a placebo or tart cherry juice for three days. Sleep quality was measured by actigraphy and pre/post PSQI questionnaire. Anxiety was measured by a pre/post STAXI questionnaire. Mixed model analyses of variances (ANOVAs) were conducted to determine main effects of time and condition and interactions of time x condition for sleep and anxiety. There was no significant increase in sleep quality or decrease in anxiety. While some means showed a decrease in scores there was no significance. The data suggests that there is a possibility tart cherry juice can increase sleep quality and decrease anxiety.