Keynote Address by:
John C. Norcross, Ph.D., ABPP
Professor of Psychology &
Distinguished University Fellow
Editor, Journal of Clinical
Psychology: In Session
Psychoquackery:
Discredited Psychological Treatments and Tests
Partial Funding
Provided by:
The University of Scranton
Student Government,
A Grant from Psi Chi,
&
Generous
Contributions of Alumni:
Keith Gunn
Megan Hosey
David Osborne
Colleen Phillips
Ryan Pohlig
Organized by:
Association for
Psychological Science Student Caucus
University of Scranton
2006 Conference
We extend our thanks to APSSC student volunteers, the University
Print Shop, the Mailroom, Aramark, Donna Rupp, and University Maintenance.
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
9:00-10:00 Registration (Brennan Hall, Lobby)
10:00-10:15 Introduction
and Welcome (Brennan Hall, Room 228)
10:15-11:30 Keynote
Address (Brennan Hall, Room 228)
Psychoquackery: Discredited Psychological Treatments
and Tests
John C.
Norcross, Ph.D., ABPP
11:45-12:45 Oral
Presentations
Session I: Moral Reasoning
& Behavior
(Brennan Hall, Room 228)
Session II: Animal Behavior
(Brennan Hall, Room 203)
Session III: Perception
& Social
(Brennan Hall, Room 103)
1:00-1:45
Lunch--pre-registration
required (Brennan Hall, 5th
Floor Dining Room)
2:00-3:30
Symposium: (Brennan Hall,
Room 228)
Lovaas vs. TEACCH and the Treatment of Autism:
Can't We All Just Get Along?
Managing Behavior in Preschool-Age
Children:
Fundamentals of Parent-Child
Interaction Therapy
Carl J. Sheperis, Ph.D.
Mississippi State
University,
Director, Behavioral Services, LLC
Workshop:
Brennan Hall, Room 203
John C. Norcross, Ph.D., ABPP
University of Scranton
Psychoquackery:
Discredited Psychological
Treatments and Tests
Given by:
John C. Norcross, Ph.D., ABPP
Professor of Psychology and
Distinguished University Fellow
Editor, Journal of Clinical
Psychology: In Session
University of Scranton
Brennan Hall 228
10:15 – 11:30
Chairperson: Galen Baril, Ph.D.
University of Scranton
Brennan Hall 228
11:45 - 12:05
Shaina Bernardi, Jessica Boynton, and Dana Kragh
Ithaca College
People’s ratings of humorous materials are affected by people’s expectations
(e.g., Wimer & Beins, in press). When somebody anticipates hearing funny
jokes, the person perceives them as funnier than when the person expects
unfunny jokes. In addition, recent research showed that perceptions of
offensiveness can be similarly manipulated (Pashka, et al., 2005), although the
evidence has been mixed. This study examined the effect of primes on
perceptions of funniness and on offensiveness.
Some participants received either a strong or a weak prime regarding how
funny a set of jokes would be. Other participants received either a
strong or a weak prime regarding how offensive the jokes would be. The jokes
victimized either women, men, or somebody of no single gender. All participants
provided ratings of the jokes’ level of funniness and of offensiveness.
The results indicated that giving participants information about the
funniness of jokes exerts a strong effect on the ratings of funniness.
The strength of a prime had no effect on the ratings of funniness or of
offensiveness. Further, both women and men saw jokes victimizing women as more
offensive than jokes victimizing men. Women preferred male-victimizing jokes
and men preferred female-victimizing jokes, which replicates recent findings
but differs from results of two decades ago.
Consistent with previous research, these data suggest that when people judge
a joke’s funniness, they engage in a cognitive task that is susceptible to a
cognitively-based manipulation. In contrast, ratings of offensiveness do not
appear susceptible to cognitive manipulation. Responses involving offensiveness
may involve either an emotional component that is not susceptible to a
cognitive manipulation or an internal standard regarding offensiveness that is
not very malleable. There may be a social context that drives perceptions of
offensiveness.
12:05 - 12:25
Erin Larrisey1, Dr. Marion Mason1
Bloomsburg University of
Pennsylvania1
The investigation explored the relationships between moral development,
gender, and resistance to a mild temptation in a unique population of
undergraduate college-aged participants. Founded on the extensive work first
introduced by Lawrence Kohlberg in the 1960s, this research incorporated the
standardized and highly respected Defining Issues Test (DIT) produced by Rest,
Narvaez (1998), as well as a recreation of a realistic, simple temptation
situation using M&Ms© candies in an effort to observe natural behavior.
Individuals were asked to complete the test in an isolated room and ignore a
bowl of candies (temptation) placed on the desk they were working at. In this
way, researchers hoped to link moral thought and behavior, as well as
investigate further the controversial issues of gender differences in ethical
reasoning and resistance to temptation. A Pearson r analysis yielded a
significant positive correlation between resistance to temptation and
university credits earned. However, using a series of independent t-tests,
results indicated no significant relationship between moral stage, gender and
resistance to temptation. This suggests that a more complex temptation might
have been utilized to engage the participants’ sense of moral character and
motivate them to act on their true values in an ethically challenging situation.
Religiosity, political orientation, and consistency in perceived thought and
action were also measured by DIT. Results showed a significant positive
correlation between grams of M&Ms© absent and consistency in thought and
behavior, as well as a significant negative correlation between grams taken and
a humanitarian/liberal political orientation. Although this research did not
produce significant effects in the areas hypothesized, it may inspire continued
investigations in the area of moral reasoning, gender and resistance to
temptation as well as other correlates that may significantly shape an
individual’s morality.
12:25 - 12:45
Females with High Church Attendance Are Most
Likely to Report Self-Serving Behavior
Galen
Baril & Brentt Swetter
University of Scranton
In a 3-way interaction controlling for prayer,
females who said they would self-servingly assign a desirable task also
reported high church attendance. The reverse occurred with moral priming.
These self reports are seen as a mundane example of Ginges’ finding that high
Mosque attendance is associated with suicide bombing support.
Chairperson: J. Timothy Cannon, Ph.D.
Brennan Hall 203
11:45 - 12:05
Patrick Orr, Neil Patel, & J. Timothy Cannon
University of Scranton
In nearly all past research on environmental
enrichment the enrichment manipulation involves an increase in cage size, while
the control mice have been housed in a standard sized cage. We sought to
reproduce commonly observed enrichment effects in spatial memory and anxiety
without increasing cage size.
48 BALB/c’s were weaned at 21 days
old. The mice were randomly distributed, 24 into an enriched environment, and
24 into a standard environment. Within each condition, half of the mice were
male and half were female. The mice spent a minimum of 4 months in either the
enriched or control condition. The enriched condition consisted of a standard
sized cage which included a Mouse Igloo and attached running wheel. The control
condition was simply a standard sized cage. Both tyes of housing had standard
woodchip bedding, and unlimited access to food and water. Mice were single-sex
group housed, 4 to a cage, in both conditions. After the housing condition
manipulation, the mice underwent a week and a half of behavioral testing on a
number of common tests for spatial memory and anxiety. Anxiety testing was
performed first in order to minimize the potentially anxiogenic effects of
spatial memory testing. Anxiety was assessed using the open field test, a
social approach test, and the elevated plus maze. Spatial memory was measured
using the Barnes maze and the Morris Water Maze.
12:05 - 12:25
Jennifer L. Fleming
Bloomsburg University
Antioxidants have previously been shown to prevent oxidative damage within
the brain. It is hypothesized that a diet rich in antioxidants may
prevent the cognitive declines associated with this damage, which occurs
generally in aging populations. This study was conducted in order to
investigate the effects of grape juice as an antioxidant on temporal memory in
rats. A total of 14 male Sprague-Dawley rats (12 months old at testing)
were placed on a differential reinforcement of low rate 10 s schedule of reinforcement
in an operant chamber for 15 sessions. Nose-poke responding was recorded,
and the time between responses was analyzed. Specifically, responding was
analyzed in terms of 2 s intervals, including 0-2 s, 2-4 s, and so on until the
final interval which represented greater than 20 s. Prior to testing, the
experimental rats received grape juice for 11 weeks. Results indicated
statistically significant differences between the groups on Session 15.
Overall, the rats receiving grape juice temporally discriminated on the
schedule earlier than the control rats, as defined by previous research stating
that discrimination occurs when responding is greatest in the interval of 10-12
s. By the final session, rats receiving grape juice were responding greatest
in the interval of 10-12 s, while control rats were responding most during the
interval of 6-8 s. This study provides insight into the beneficial
effects of grape juice in improving temporal memory in aging rats and provides
a basis for similar study involving aging individuals.
12:25 - 12:45
Kevin T. Ball, Cara L. Wellman, and George V. Rebec
Program in Neuroscience and
Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington,
IN
Repeated, intermittent exposure to amphetamine-like stimulants is associated
with a progressive and enduring augmentation of their locomotor-activating
effects. This form of behavioral plasticity, termed sensitization, can be
observed for months or years after the last drug exposure. This
behavioral phenomenon is accompanied by similarly stable adaptations in the
structure of nucleus accumbens (NAc) medium spiny output neurons. In this
study we examined whether repeated exposure to non-neurotoxic doses of the club
drug MDMA (ecstasy) also results in long-lasting behavioral and morphological
changes in NAc. In Experiment 1, adult, male rats received 2 daily
injections of either 5.0 mg/kg (±)-MDMA or saline vehicle, ~6 hr apart, for 3
consecutive days, followed by 4 drug-free days for a total of 3 weeks.
Following a 4-week drug-free period, rats received a challenge injection of
MDMA (2.5 mg/kg), and the behavioral response was recorded for later
analysis. To assess alterations in NAc neuronal morphology, a separate
group of rats, in Experiment 2, received the same MDMA or saline pre-treatment
as in Experiment 1, but at the 4-week withdrawal time point brains were removed
and processed using a modified Golgi method. Behavioral results revealed
a significant increase in the locomotor response to the challenge injection of
MDMA in MDMA-pretreated rats compared to saline controls. In Experiment
2, medium spiny neurons from MDMA-treated rats displayed large increases in
spine density across all branch orders in both NAc core and shell
subregions. Additionally, MDMA treatment resulted in an especially large
increase in the overall number of multiple-headed spines.
These results show that MDMA exposure results in a long-lasting form of
behavioral sensitization that is evident 4 weeks following the last drug
exposure. Further, our anatomical data suggest that structural changes in
NAc may be a common neural adaptation underlying behavioral alterations
following exposure to many abused drugs.
Chairperson: Steven M. Specht, Ph.D.
Utica College
Brennan Hall 103
11:45 - 12:05
Gregory W. Owens and Steven M. Specht
Utica College
Although extensive research has examined
perceptual experience in visual aesthetics, little attention has been focused
on the experience of colorblind individuals in terms of how they perceive
artwork. The present research investigated perception of artwork by individuals
who were experimentally rendered "colorblind" by being asked to view
artwork through goggles equipped with red gel filters. Participants rated an 8
x 10" color reproduction of an abstract painting through either clear or
red goggles. Additionally, all participants were asked to complete a color
sorting task. Half of the participants who sorted in the red goggle condition
were provided feedback about the accuracy of their sorting performance (which
was generally poor). This feedback manipulation was conducted to create a group
that was "aware" of its experimentally-induced color deficiency and a
group "unaware" of the extent of deficiency produced by the red
goggles. Participants rated the artwork in terms of how much they liked the
artist's use of color; how interesting they perceived the painting to be; how much
they liked painting; and how confident they were in their assessment of the
painting on four separate visual analog scales. Participants who wore the red
goggles reported liking the artist's use of color less than participants who
wore clear goggles. There were no differences in levels of interest in the
painting. Participants who wore red goggles and received no feedback about
their sorting performance liked the painting less than participants in the
clear goggle and red goggle, feedback conditions. Overall, the participants
wearing red goggles had less confidence in their assessments of the painting
than the participants wearing clear goggles with the red goggle, feedback
participants reporting the least confidence of the three experimental
conditions.
12:05 - 12:25
Alison S. Carson and Giamarie R. Daino
Manhattanville College
The present study examined the influence of ethnic identity and
acculturation on body dissatisfaction among US and foreign born females.
Much research has been done on the importance of factors such as the media,
acculturation, and ethnic identity. Differences in body image and body
satisfaction have been consistently found between Caucasian and African
American women (Makkar & Strude, 1995). However, rarely is an attempt
made to understand the specific cultural differences that underlie this
difference in body satisfaction. The purpose of this present study is
explore the specific influences that culture contributes to one’s feelings of
body satisfaction and conception of body image. In order to accomplish
this, through the use of surveys, we investigate the roles that ethnic identity
and acculturation play in one’s body satisfaction. The sample in this
study includes White, Hispanic and Black women from a small liberal arts
college. We hypothesize that women of color who have high ethnic identity
and/or high affiliation with their cultural group will have higher levels of
body satisfaction than Caucasian women and women of color who have low levels
of ethnic identification and/or high levels of identification with the dominant
culture. In addition to establishing these differences, we are also
interested in understanding these differences. To this end, we engaged
participants in three focus groups, each representing a single ethnic group, in
order to identify the specific values that influence body (dis)satisfaction and
body image. This qualitative technique allows for greater participation
of women of color and greater insight into the particular beliefs, values and
norms surrounding beauty and thinness. Analysis will focus on group
differences in body satisfaction and the roles that ethnic identification and
acculturation play in these differences. In addition, qualitative
analysis will elucidate of the cultural values that underlie these differences.
12:25 - 12:45
Sarah Lachiewicz¹, Joseph Sarubbi¹, and Susan Teague¹
Seton Hall University¹
Conformity plays a tremendous role in
the socially constructed world in which we live. Every day, in various
situations, people are faced with options to follow or deviate from beliefs,
ideas, or behaviors seen as “normal”. Majority vs. minority influence has
been especially scrutinized in conformity research as to which seems to be more
effective. While majority influence tends to be seen as more effective by
American social psychologists, this study examined the power of the
European-favored minority influence over people and their behavior. In this
study, Seton Hall University students from Introductory to Psychology courses
were used as participants in a group task where they were asked to work
together to arrange a series of ambiguous pictures to create a story.
Participants were part of either small, medium, or large groups in which a single
assertive or non-assertive confederate was present as the minority
influence. He attempted to convince naïve group members to agree on a
specific picture arrangement and story. Participants then filled out a
brief evaluation questionnaire regarding their feelings about the task, their
performance, and others’ performance in the task. Consistent with
literature on conformity, minority influence, and obedience to authority, the
purpose of this study is to demonstrate the power of the individual to influence
a group decision, sway personal and group opinions, and the willingness of
people to follow a perceived leader in a novel or ambiguous situation.
Brennan Hall 228
2:00 - 3:30
Christie Karpiak, Ph.D.
University of Scranton
Carl J. Sheperis, Ph.D.
Mississippi State University
Dir., Behavioral Services, LLC
Brennan Hall 203
2:00 - 3:30
Applying to Graduate School in Psychology: A
Mini-Workshop
John C. Norcross, Ph.D., ABPP
University of Scranton
3:45 - 4:30
5th Floor Atrium Brennan Hall
Board 1
Board 2
Deborah A. Daniels
Utica College
The majority of studies relating to childrens’ health and perceptions of
childrens’ respiratory health have focused on the child’s perception of their
own condition. Research shows that symptomatology varies among children
with asthma making psychosocial adjustment difficult. The purpose of this
study was to examine college students’ perceptions of asthma as related to
severity of childrens’ symptoms. Volunteers were male and female college
level psychology students. This study was a 3 (health condition) x 2
(severity) factorial design. Participants were given vignettes that
represented different health conditions and asked to answer questions regarding
their perception of the individual’s health and psychosocial
characteristics. This study predicted that college students’ perceptions
of the severity of asthma and allergies would vary as a function of
hospitalization. Results will be presented in a poster session.
Board 3
Dane Hewlett, Allison Robertson, Chelsie Veillux, Dianna Lyko, Allison Trinker, & Mary Turner DePalma
Ithaca College
Diabetes currently affects more than 20 million Americans,
disproportionately affecting African Americans, Latinos, Asian Americans,
Native Americans, and Pacific Islanders (American Diabetes Association, n.d.,
¶2). Tang and Newcomb (1998), Persell et al. (2004), and the American Diabetes
Association (2002) all advocate for the effective delivery of educational
medical information to maximally enhance self-care. The effectiveness of
these educational programs, however, is contingent upon the availability and
believability of health information sources. The present study utilized
the American College Health Association National College Health Assessment
(ACHA-NCHA) 300-item survey which addresses health status, drug and alcohol
use, risk and protective behaviors, as well as the believability and
availability of various sources of health information. The present data
suggest capitalizing on the credibility of medical staff and health educators
as the most efficient means of conveying diabetes health information, particularly
given that these sources were highly credible across all races. Results
also suggest avoiding allocation of resources to less credible sources despite
their ready availability, such as television, magazines, and the
internet. Again, this is a particularly notable finding given that this
lack of credibility was consistent across races. These results may be
used to design future educational initiatives to help people with diabetes
manage their disease.
Board 4
Joanna L. Lowin and Alison S. Carson
Manhattanville
College
Much has been written about the relationship between athletes and their
coaches (Hellstedt, 1990), however, often these relationships are painted in a
negative light. Figure skating has drawn much attention due to its media
focus. Within this elite sport, some research has been conducted
examining these athlete-coach relationships and specifically figure skaters and
their parents (Ryan, 1995). The purpose of this study is to understand
the relationship between coaches, skaters and parents. The current study
has used qualitative and ethnographic techniques to gain a deeper and richer
understanding of the meaning of these relationships to the people
involved. Thirty hours of observation were conducted at a popular ice
skating rink in Westchester County, New York. Coaches, skaters, and
mothers who were present for training at the rink were observed. Informal
conversations with several coaches about the elite figure skating process,
practices, and competitions were conducted.
From these observations, a clearer
understanding of the triadic structure of the skater, parent and coach relationship
emerged. Each component of this relationship plays a pivotal role in the
overall structure. The skater holds the talent, without which the entire
operation would crumble. The coach holds the knowledge; a knowledge that
neither the parent nor the skater could function without. This knowledge
gives the coach authority. The mother holds the money, again a factor
that gives her immense power in the interconnected relationship. Mothers
were also relied upon for support and organization. Essentially, each of
three elements of the overall triadic structure held a certain amount of power
and, therefore, skater, coach and parent were each essential components of the
overall relationship. Each link in the chain is vital for practices and
competitions to occur. More descriptive studies are needed to understand
the strong and complex relationships between coach, skater and
parent.
Board 5
Gomez, N., DellaRocco, J., Walsh, C., Spyratos, A., Grosso, C., Petraglia, N., Research Team 04, Rader, N.
Ithaca College
Eye movements provide a view into the non-verbal infant’s mind. To
examine the effect of speakers’ gestures on attention in infants 10-14 months
of age, we measured visual fixations and heart rate. Visual fixations
were measured using Eyetracker and Gazetracker hardware and software, while
heart rate was measured using a Biopac system. All infants viewed two short
video segments during the learning phase of the study and during the
comprehension phase. During the learning phase a speaker presented two
novel objects with corresponding nonce words either moving the object as she
spoke (dynamic gesture condition) or holding the object still as she spoke
(static gesture condition). We hypothesized that infants would attend
more to the object and show greater heart rate deceleration in the dynamic gesture
condition. We found that infants had longer total fixations to the object
in the dynamic condition and were more likely to look at the object as it was
being named in this condition. Total looking time and Infant heart rate
did not differ across the two conditions. In the comprehension phase of
the study, the speaker asked the infant to look at one of two objects using the
nonce words from the learning phase. We predicted that infants would show
more correct looks if the word had been taught during the learning phase using
a dynamic gesture. However, there was no difference in correct looks
between the two conditions. In summary, we found that the dynamic gesture
resulted in looking more at the object overall and in looking at the object
more while it was being named; however, this difference did not result in
measurably better word learning.
Board 6
Kelly Crowly 1, Marion Mason 1
Bloomsburg University 1
The concept of intrinsic and extrinsic
religiosity was first made popular by Allport and Ross in 1967 as a means of
exploring the motives behind religious belief and practices (Morris & Hood,
1981). Intrinsic religion is exemplified by personal emotional fulfillment and
finding meaning in life. Those who are intrinsic try to live in agreement
with Christian doctrine (Spilka, Hood, Hunsberger, & Gorsuch, 2003).
Extrinsic religion is exemplified by engagement in social relationships and
community membership and extrinsic religiosity can be characterized as the
appreciation of the family, social, business, and community benefits that flow
from involvement in a local religious community (Paloutzian, 1996). The purpose
of this study was to extend the research on intrinsic and extrinsic religiosity
and gender to younger adults, specifically college students. College women felt
that religion was more important in their lives than college men. The results
of this research have shown that college women were higher in intrinsic
religiosity than college men, and college women and men were no different in
levels of extrinsic religiosity. The move toward less importance of religion as
college level increases is primarily happening in females. Also college
freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors were no different in levels of
intrinsic and extrinsic religiosity. Interestingly, college freshmen and
sophomores rated religion as more important in their lives than college
seniors.
Board 7
Thomas J. Lane and Elise N. Pepin
Utica College
Until the past fifty years,
psychological development in adulthood was an area few researchers had
explored. Much research has now been dedicated to the study of the latter part
of the lifespan. Although most of the available literature on adulthood
discusses late adulthood, researchers believe there are many changes that occur
between early adulthood and later adulthood. Therefore, there are more recent
efforts to explore theories of development during the middle adult years, those
between young adulthood and the years of interest to gerontologists. Previous
research demonstrates that psychosocial and identity development continues over
the lifespan, contrary to earlier developmental theories. In addition, aspects
of personality such as communion and agency are shown in past research to be
related to developmental status in adulthood.
The present study explores generativity,
identity certainty, and identity concerns as developmental processes that occur
for parents during their children’s adolescence. Further, personality factors
are explored in relation to psychosocial development. The first research
question investigates whether development in middle adulthood is associated
with the Big Five personality factors (i.e., conscientiousness, extroversion,
agreeableness, neuroticism, openness to experience). The second research
question asks whether different personality factors are related to development
at different ages during middle adulthood.
This study presents a cross-sectional
examination of 190 adults, ages 31-61. Corroborating past research, results
have demonstrated that parents’ generativity, identity certainty, and identity
concerns are associated with all of the Big Five personality factors.
Analyses will continue in order to consider the relationship of personality to
development in adults under 45 as compared to adults over 45 years old.
Board 8
Philip Yurkon and Thomas P. Hogan
University of Scranton
The NEO PI-R is considered one of the premier measures of the Big Five
personality traits: neuroticism, extroversion, openness, agreeableness, and
conscientiousness. The NEO PI-R has a short form (NEO-FFI) with scores intended
to correlate highly with full form scores. Selection of items for NEO-FFI was
based on adult samples. We investigated whether item selection for the
short form might differ for college students versus the original samples by
examining item-test correlations for a sample of 100 college students.
Results showed that approximately one-half of the short form items differed
from the original selection and that alpha reliability improves slightly with
different selection of NEO PI-R items. We identified the preferred
selection of short form items and their correlations with the full scale.
We speculated about the reasons for differences in selection of items for the
college sample versus the original adult sample.
Board 9
Thomas P. Hogan and Gavin Murphy
University of Scranton
Haladyna and colleagues analyzed textbooks and other sources to identify
guidelines for writing multiple-choice (selected-response) test items.
The guidelines have been widely referenced and have served as a basis for
generating research studies on the validity of the guidelines. We undertook a
similar effort to identify experts’ recommendations for preparing and scoring
constructed-response (CR) items as appearing. We analyzed recommendations
offered in 25 measurement textbooks. We identified 15 recommendations for
preparing CR items, with 4 being consensus guides and a few being peculiar to
just one source.; and 14 recommendations for scoring CR items, with 4 being
consensus guides and, again, a few being peculiar to just one source. Interestingly,
some recommendations are contradictory across sources. We outline next
steps for pursuing refinement of the lists and needed research on their
validity.
Board 10
Colleen M. Rengert and Thomas P. Hogan
University of Scranton
Several previous studies have examined frequency of use of various
psychological tests by counselors based on self-report methodology, that is,
what the counselors say they use in practice. The current study examined test
usage as defined by appearance in research studies in all issues of four
counseling journals from 2002-2005 (a total of 604 articles in 53 issues).
Journals included the Journal of Counseling Psychology, Journal of Mental Health
Counseling, Journal of Counseling and Development, and Professional Counseling.
Results show that many of the tests used by counseling psychologists according
to self-report rarely appear in research usage. Most noticeable by their
almost complete absence from the research literature were projective
techniques, despite their wide usage according to self-report. The great
diversity of instruments used in research was noteworthy, as was the very
frequent use of custom-made instruments. Implications for both practice
and research are discussed.
Board 11
Jennifer Applegate, Christie P. Karpiak, and James P. Buchanan
University of Scranton
253 female college students, half of whom wore uniforms in high school, were
surveyed to determine whether high school uniforms correspond with lower stress
about body size and shape. A 2x2 repeated measures ANOVA found no main effects
but a significant interaction (F (1, 250) = 17.40, p < .001). Participants
who attended schools requiring uniforms reported less emphasis on body
size/shape in high school and more in college, while those who attended schools
that did not require uniforms reported more emphasis on body size/shape in high
school and less in college.
Board 12
Sharee
L. Freeman and Steven M. Specht
Utica College
Perceptual
experience in aesthetics has been studied extensively and is generally
considered to be highly individualistic. The present research investigated
artwork perception by manipulating the fame of the artist and the monetary
value of a painting and measuring the effect of these variables on ratings of
viewers. The experiment was conducted as a 2 (Value) x 2 (Fame) x 2
(Abstraction) between-subjects factorial design. Half of the participants
viewed the abstract painting and the other half viewed the representational
painting. The participants viewed either an abstract painting or a
representational painting and were randomly given a combination of the
variables of the artist's fame (i.e., local or nationally recognized) and
the painting's monetary value (i.e., just sold at auction for $1.5 million or
$500). Participants were asked to respond to a series of five questions using
200-millimeter visual analog scales. The scales measured how “interesting”
the participants found the painting, how the participants rated the painting’s
“quality,” how much the participants “liked” the painting, whether the
participants thought the painting was worth the “value” for which it sold and
how the participants rated the painting in terms of “abstraction”.
The
participants rated the abstract painting as significantly more abstract than
the representational painting, therefore validating our use of the stimuli and
serving as a manipulation check. Participants found the painting created by a
"local" artist and sold for $1.5 million to be the most interesting
across both abstract and representational pieces. Participants rated the
abstract painting as more interesting than the representational painting.
Participants found the paintings sold for $1.5 million to be less “worth the
value”. These results suggest that the participants consider
extra-stimulus variables when judging artwork.
Board 13
Peter A. Di Nardo, Steven J. Gilbert, Thomas Gottherer, Joseph Macura, Angela Zzie, Aysha Maisonet, & Jessica Sickles
State University of New York,
College at Oneonta
The “emotional Stroop” is a variation of the color-word Stroop in which
subjects name the colors of words that either do or do not have personal
emotional relevance. When instructed to say the color of the
words as quickly as possible, color naming latency for emotionally relevant
words is greater than for non- emotionally relevant words. Most
explanations assume that the emotional meaning of the words activates an “attentional
bias”, making it difficult to override the word reading process and switch to
color naming. Our purpose was to determine if the emotional Stroop effect
could be enhanced by embedding emotionally relevant words in meaningful
sentences, thereby increasing the activation of an emotional attentive
bias. In a 2x2x2 mixed factorial design, subjects high vs. low in fear of
spiders saw 96 word strings which varied in content (spider vs. neutral) and
form (sentence vs. random). Mean latency per word was measured. We
predicted that high fear subjects would show the greatest latencies for
spider-sentences, and greater latencies for spider-strings than for neutral
strings, irrespective of form. The prediction for low fear subjects was
greater latencies for sentences vs. random presentation form, but no effect of
spider vs. neutral words. Overall, the results did not support these
hypotheses. An ANOVA showed that subjects’ latencies were longer for
spider (M = .81, SD = .18) than for neutral (M = .76, SD = .16) word strings,
F(1,39) = 13.775, p < .001, irrespective of fear status or form of
presentation. The finding that color naming for neutral words was
unaffected by the sentence v. non-sentence context suggests that subjects were
not processing the sentences, and therefore missing their meaning.
A planned follow-up study will alter the presentation of stimuli to increase
the salience of the content and structure of the word-strings.
Board 14
Thomas P. Hogan, Patrick Orr, Allison Smith, and Caitlin Dyer
University of Scranton
Numerosity estimation (NE) is one of three types of quantitative estimation;
the others are measurement estimation and computational estimation. NE involves
estimating the number of objects in an array briefly presented, usually for
less than one second. In two previous studies, NE has failed to relate to
measures of verbal and quantitative ability. This study examined the
relationship of NE to 5 measures of spatial ability in a sample of 96 college
students, with marker tests for verbal and quantitative ability (SAT-V and
SAT-M). We hoped to locate NE within Carroll’s three-stratum hierarchical
model of mental abilities. NE was measured across 30 trials. Two of the spatial
measures were paper-and-pencil tests from the ETS Kit of Cognitive Referenced
Tests. Three other spatial measures were computer-based. NE showed high
internal consistency reliability but no significant relationships with any of
the spatial tests or with the verbal and quantitative markers. Thus, NE
remains an isolate in the constellation of mental abilities. There were
no gender differences in NE, but highly significant gender differences in 2
spatial measures. However, these differences were fully explained by
number of items completed in the timed tests rather than by accuracy of
scores.
Board 15
Thomas P. Hogan, Patrick Orr, Allison Smith, and Caitlin Dyer
University of Scranton
Numerous studies of gender differences in mathematics skill have revealed
some well established generalizations, with differences of opinion relating
mainly to the origin of the differences: genetics or environment. Among
the many gender differences in mathematics, computational estimation (CE) has
seldom been studied. This study examined gender differences in CE for 211
female and 64 male college students drawn from four databases used in
previously published studies. Marginally significant differences by
gender were found in CE raw scores but not in SAT-adjusted scores. There
was some suggestion of an interaction at higher CE levels. Of
special interest was the pattern of CE scores for students of both genders at
differing levels of self-rated math ability. Correlations of CE with
SAT-V, SAT-M, and self-rated math ability were non-significantly different
between genders.
Board 16
Jessica Boynton, Dana Kragh, and Shaina Bernardi
Ithaca College
Research has indicated that certain characteristics of the Five-Factor Model
of Personality are associated with humor. When participants rated hypothetical
others who had poor, average, or good senses of humor, the participants
associated more positive personality characteristics with a better sense of
humor. The stereotype was that good humor was associated with high levels of
extraversion, low levels of neuroticism, and more openness. An unanswered
question is whether people with low, average, or high levels of humor will
assign themselves these same characteristics that they attribute to
others.
In the present study, our participants completed personality scales for
neuroticism, extraversion, agreeableness, and openness. They also responded to
the Multidimensional Sense of Humor Scale (MDSHS), an inventory that provides
an objective measure of sense of humor. Finally, they provided a
self-assessment of how good a sense of humor they had and how funny they
thought they were.
The results indicated that self-perception of the sense of humor related
only to agreeableness. That is, those who reported having a good sense of humor
tended to be high in agreeableness. Only extraversion was related to
self-reports of being funny.
These results reveal that people’s perceptions of the relation of sense of
humor and personality characteristics in others do not match the way they
relate their own sense of humor and their personality. That is, people apply
stereotypes to others that they do not apply to themselves.
Finally, contrary to consistent claims that people do not have a veridical
sense of their sense of humor compared to others, our results reveal that
people can accurately assess their level of humor relative to others. The
important issue here is the way in which the self-assessment is made.
Board 17
Megan A. Johnson1, Christie P. Karpiak1, & James P. Buchanan1
The University of Scranton1
Are young women who attended private high schools less satisfied with
their current body image than those who attended public high schools?
Participants were 253 female freshmen (a response rate of 53%) living on campus
at the University of Scranton. Participants completed a packet of
questionnaires and provided demographic information.
Of interest in this study were high school attendance (Did the student
attend a public or private high school?) and the student’s satisfaction with
her current body image (students were asked whether they were believed they
were: 1) much too fat, 2) too fat, 3) just right, 4) too thin, or 5) much too
thin). A Chi-Square test of independence indicated a significant
relationship exists between the type of high school attended and dissatisfaction
with one’s current body image (X^2(4, N=252)= 12.22, p<.05). Women
that attended private high schools (58%) were more likely than those who
attended public high schools (40%) to believe that they are too fat.
Women that attended public high schools (55%) were more likely than those who
attended private high schools (37%) to believe that their current body size is
just right.
These differences may be attributed to a thinner ideal body image associated
with the emphasis on social acceptance in private schools, as well as the
competition for success associated with upward mobility groups.
Board 18
Stephanie R. Brenne1, Christie P. Karpiak1, and James P. Buchanan1
University of Scranton
Previous studies have failed to clearly distinguish whether maternal or
paternal comments have a negative impact on body image. In the present study,
surveys were administered to freshman women. Correlations were run to compare
the degree to which mother’s and father’s comments about the participants’ own
weight relate to the participants’ scores on the Objectified Body Consciousness
Scale (OBCS). A significant correlation was found between maternal comments and
body shame r(219) = .140, p < .05. No correlations were found between
father’s comments and any of the subscales of the OBCS.
Board 19
Amy M. Brightbill, Christie P. Karpiak, & J. Timothy Cannon
University of Scranton
Same-sex animal behavior is inadequately
documented and poorly understood. More recent studies have shown that
same-sex behaviors are widespread in the animal kingdom; seen in mammals,
birds, and even reptiles. The goal of this study was to document the
quantity of the occurrence of these behaviors. The study was conducted with
environmentally enriched and non-enriched BALB/c female mice.
The mice were weaned at 21 days and
housed into groups of 4 females per cage. Half of the cages were
environmentally enriched; which means that the cage included a running wheel,
igloo, wood chips, food and water. The non-environmentally enriched housing
just included the basics; wood chips, food and water -nothing else. Each
cage was recorded for one half hour in the morning and in the afternoon.
(The mice's day-night cycles were changed to coincide with our cycle.)
Number of mounting episodes was
recorded, as were the duration of each episode. Two females engaging in
mounting is defined by one female on top of the other with their paws on the
others back; while the female below is in the typical female lordosis
position.
Mounting behaviors were observed in the
control environment. Control mice evidenced M = 8.00 incidents in 60
minutes (SD = 7.55), at a duration of M = 39.00 seconds in 60
minutes (SD = 44.19). Mounting behaviors were not observed in the
enriched environment.
Board 20
Lyndsey E. Collins1 & Robert F. Waldeck1
University of Scranton1
Fear is one of the
most basic emotions and is present in both humans and animals. It is this very
emotion that often determines if an animal will escape demise or perish. In
humans, the limbic system is believed to play a role in fear conditioning.
Previous studies have suggested that the goldfish telencephalon, a more
primitive structure, may perform a similar function in goldfish (Portavella,
2003). The current study investigates the connection between the telencephalon
and the acoustic startle response, mediated by the Mauthner cell in Carassius
auratus. The avoidance response was tested for three consecutive days prior
to surgery. On the fourth day, fish were anesthetized and either both right and
left lobes of the telencephalon were removed using microsurgical techniques or
0.14mL of histidine dissolved in vehicle was injected either I.P. or directly
into the telencephalon. Following this removal or injection, fish were
re-tested for three more consecutive days. Avoidance response was scored on a
scale from zero to three, with three indicating a complete C-start response and
zero representing no response. Following the surgical removal of the
telencephalon, the fish show a decreased or, in some cases, completely
extinguished, C-start movement in response to vibratory stimuli. This suggests
that the telencephalon may modulate the response, possibly in some way priming
the Mauthner cell. Sham operated fish had normal avoidance responses. Following
injection of histidine both I.P. and directly into the telencephalon, there was
no significant difference between fish pre- and post-injection. Additionally,
fish injected with vehicle only continued to respond normally. I hope in the
future to investigate the anatomical circuitry that may underlie this
connection between telencephalon and avoidance response.
Applegate,
Jennifer..........................................................................................................................
23
Ball, Kevin
T.....................................................................................................................................
8
Baril,
Galen...................................................................................................................................
3,
5
Bernardi,
Shaina..........................................................................................................................
3,
28
Boynton,
Jessica..........................................................................................................................
3,
28
Brenne, Stephanie
R........................................................................................................................
30
Brightbill, Amy
M............................................................................................................................
31
Buchanan, James
P..............................................................................................................
23,
29, 30
Cannon, J.
Timothy.....................................................................................................................
6,
31
Carson,
Alison................................................................................................................................
16
Carson, Alison
S.............................................................................................................................
10
Collins, Lyndsey
E...........................................................................................................................
32
Crowly,
Kelly..................................................................................................................................
18
Daino, Giamarie
R...........................................................................................................................
10
Daniels, Deborah
A.........................................................................................................................
14
DellaRocco, Gomez
N....................................................................................................................
17
DePalma, Mary
Turner....................................................................................................................
15
Di Nardo, Peter
A...........................................................................................................................
25
Dyer,
Caitlin..............................................................................................................................
26,
27
Fleming, Jennifer
L............................................................................................................................
7
Freeman, Sharee L.......................................................................................................................... 24
Gilbert, Steven
J..............................................................................................................................
25
Gottherer,
Thomas..........................................................................................................................
25
Hewlett,
Dane.................................................................................................................................
15
Hogan, Thomas P.................................................................................................... 20,
21, 22, 26, 27
Johnson, Megan
A..........................................................................................................................
29
Karpiak, Christie P.................................................................................................. 12,
23, 29, 30, 31
Kragh,
Dana...............................................................................................................................
3,
28
Lachiewicz,
Sarah...........................................................................................................................
11
Lane, Thomas
J...............................................................................................................................
19
Larrisey,
Erin.....................................................................................................................................
4
Levitt, Amy
R..................................................................................................................................
13
Lowin, Joanna
L..............................................................................................................................
16
Lyko,
Dianna..................................................................................................................................
15
Macura,
Joseph...............................................................................................................................
25
Maisonet,
Aysha.............................................................................................................................
25
Mason,
Marion...........................................................................................................................
4,
18
Murphy,
Gavin................................................................................................................................
21
Norcross, John
C........................................................................................................................
2,
12
Orr,
Patrick...........................................................................................................................
6,
26, 27
Owens, Gregoyy
W...........................................................................................................................
9
Patel,
Neil.........................................................................................................................................
6
Pepin, Elise
N.................................................................................................................................
19
Petraglia,
N.....................................................................................................................................
17
Rader,
N.........................................................................................................................................
17
Rebec, George
V..............................................................................................................................
8
Rengert, Colleen
M.........................................................................................................................
22
Research Team
04..........................................................................................................................
17
Robertson,
Allison...........................................................................................................................
15
Sarubbi,
Joseph...............................................................................................................................
11
Sheperis, Carl
J...............................................................................................................................
12
Sickles,
Jessica................................................................................................................................
25
Smith,
Allison............................................................................................................................
26,
27
Specht, Steven
M........................................................................................................................
9,
24
Spyratos,
C.....................................................................................................................................
17
Swetter, Brentt..................................................................................................................................
5
Teague.
Susan.................................................................................................................................
11
Trinker,
Allison................................................................................................................................
15
Veillux,
Chelsie................................................................................................................................
15
Waldeck, Robert
F.........................................................................................................................
32
Walsh,
J..........................................................................................................................................
17
Wellman, Cara
L...............................................................................................................................
8
Yurkon,
Philip.................................................................................................................................
20
Zzie,
Angela....................................................................................................................................
25
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