Keynote Address by:


John F. Dovidio, Ph.D.

Yale University

 

Racism Among the
Well-Intentioned

 

 

Partial Funding Provided by:

The University of Scranton Student Government

&

Generous Contributions of Alumni:

Keith Gunn

Colleen Phillips

 

 

Organized by:

Association for Psychological Science Student Caucus

The University of Scranton


2009 Conference

 

 

Faculty………………………………………………………………………………….….J. Timothy Cannon

 

Student Co-Chairs………………………………………………………………………....Kayla Smith

……………………………………………………………………………………………..Marissa Licata

 

 

 

 

 

 

We extend our thanks to APSSC student volunteers, the University Print Shop, the Mailroom, Aramark, Donna Rupp, and University Maintenance.


Schedule of Events

9:30- 10:30

Registration (Brennan Hall, Lobby)

10:30- 10:45

Introduction & Welcome (Brennan Hall, Rm 228)

10:45-12:00 

Keynote Address (Brennan Hall, Room 228)

Racism Among the Well-Intentioned

John F. Dovidio, Ph.D.
Yale University

12:15- 1:15

Lunch (Brennan Hall, 5th Floor Dining Room)

1:30-3:00

Workshop

 

Everything You Need to Know To
Apply To
Graduate School in Psychology
Barry X. Kuhle, Ph.D.
Dickinson College
Joining the Psychology Department of the
University of Scranton in August!
(Brennan Hall, Room 203)

Symposium

Children Raised by Gay and Lesbian Couples: Just the Facts
Christie Karpiak, Ph.D.

The University of Scranton
(Brennan Hall, Room 228)

Psychology in Film
Brooke J. Cannon, Ph.D.

Marywood University
(Brennan Hall, Room 228)

 3:15- 4:30

Poster Session (Brennan Hall, 5th Floor Atrium)

 

 

 


Table of Contents

Symposium….……………………………………………………………………………6

Children Raised By Gay and Lesbian Couples: Just the Facts. 6

Psychology in Film.. 6

Workshop. 6

Everything You Need To Know to Apply to Graduate School in Psychology. 6

Poster Session. 7

The Relationship of Athletic Participation, Self-Esteem, and Academic Performance in Male and Female College Students  7

Out-of-Class Communication, Loneliness, and Relational Motives
of College Students. 8

A Guy Walks into a Bar: Sense of Humor and Reactions to Offensive Jokes. 9

Why Did the Man Cross the Road? Sexist Attitudes and Gender-Based Humor 10

Humor is More Offensive If You Suggest That It Isn’t 11

How Funny is that Joke? It’s as Funny as We Tell You It Is. 12

Visual Field Asymmetry in Processing Irrelevant Singletons
is Found During Feature Search, Not Singleton Search. 13

Working Memory Capacity and Contingent Attentional Capture. 14

Executive Control and Attention Capture. 15

The Relationship Among Measures of Field Dependence/Independence. 16

Measuring Speech-Gesture Synchrony in Mother-to-Infant
Word Presentation Using 3-D Motion Analysis. 17

The Relationship Between Self-Efficacy and Diabetes Management
in a Latino Population. 18

Retrospective Reports of Childhood Emotional Maltreatment as Predictors of Alexithymia in College Students  19

Self-Injury: Functions, Treatments, and Issues. 20

The Perceived Benefits of Therapeutic Horseback Riding from
the Rider and Staff Perspectives. 21

The Perceived Benefits of Equine-Facilitated Therapy for Individuals
with Autism and Cerebral Palsy. 22

Anxious Behaviors in BALB/cJ Mice: Do Different Approaches to Environment Enrichment Produce Different Effects?  23

Dorsal Hippocampal Infusions of Progesterone Enhance Object
Memory Consolidation in Young Female Mice. 24

Reasoning in the Context of Religion and Science. 25

Staying the Course: Connections Between Political Attitudes,
Habitual Responding and 2D:4D Finger Ratios. 26

Doctoral Admissions and Training in APA-Accredited Counseling
Psychology Programs. 27

The Practice-Research Gap: Clinical Scientists and Independent
Practitioners Speak. 29

 

 

 





 

 

 

 

Keynote Address

 

 

 

 

 

Racism Among the
Well-Intentioned

 

 

 

Given by:

 

John F. Dovidio, Ph.D.

Yale University

 

 

 

Brennan Hall 228

10:45-12:00

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Symposium


Brennan Hall 228

1:30-3:00

 

Children Raised By Gay and Lesbian Couples: Just the Facts

Presented by: Christie Karpiak, Ph.D.

The University of Scranton

 

 

Psychology in Film

Presented by: Brooke J. Cannon, Ph.D.

Marywood University

 

 

Workshop

 

Brennan Hall 203

1:30- 3:00

 

Everything You Need To Know to Apply to Graduate School in Psychology

Barry X. Kuhle, Ph.D.

Dickinson College

Joining the Psychology Department at the University of Scranton in August!

 


Poster Session

3:15- 4:30

5th Floor Atrium Brennan Hall

 

Board 1

The Relationship of Athletic Participation, Self-Esteem, and Academic Performance in Male and Female College Students

Ahra Jung, Nicole Nash, & Virginia N. Iannone

Stevenson University                       

There is conflicting data concerning the adjustment of college athletes, with some studies showing that athletes perform academically lower than their peers (Kline, 1997) and other studies showing that athletic participation does not lower Grade Point Average (GPA; Gurney, 1987). There is also conflicting evidence regarding self-esteem, with some data to suggest that there are no significant difference in self-esteem between athletes and non-athletes (Taylor, 1995), and other data to the contrary (Richard and Aries, 2007). Furthermore, there are few studies that examine whether or not this relationship is different in male versus female athletes.

 

Participants included 110 undergraduate students at a small NCAA Division-III university near Baltimore, Maryland. Two cohorts of participants were recruited, athletes and non-athletes. Athlete participants were a current member of a varsity athletic team at the university, whereas Non-athlete participants were not currently participating in competitive athletics. Participants completed an Athletic History Form and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES, Rosenberg, 1979), and agreed to have their transcript released to obtain their current GPA as a measure of academic performance.

 

Independent samples t-tests revealed no significant differences between athletes and non-athletes for self-esteem or academic performance. However, 2x2 ANOVAs were performed to determine whether or not there was an interaction between athletic participation and sex. Results showed no significant findings for self-esteem. However for GPA, there was a significant athlete x sex interaction, indicating that female athletes performed better academically than female non-athletes, whereas male athletes performed worse academically than male non-athletes. This indicates that the potential benefits of athletic participation may be different for male and female college athletes. More research in this area is needed to further investigate the extent of this relationship.

 


Board 2

Out-of-Class Communication, Loneliness, and Relational Motives of College Students

Leeanne M. Bell, Jeffery D. Elliot, Joshua L. Welebob, & Samanta A. Haviland

Stevenson University

 

The purpose of this study was to replicate an earlier study of the relationships among out-of-class communications (OCC), loneliness, and a student’s relational motive for communication with instructors conducted at a medium-sized eastern university (Bell, 2003). The hypotheses of the study were that there would be an inverse relationship between OCC and loneliness and a direct relationship between OCC and students’ relational motives. Participants were 75 (28% men, 74% women; 84% White, 16% non-White) undergraduate students enrolled in business communications classes at a small eastern college. Participants were asked to complete the Out-of-Class Communication Scale (Knapp & Martin, 2003), UCLA Loneliness Scale (Version 3) (Russell, 1996), and Students’ Communication Motives Scale (Knapp & Martin, 2003), which measures five motives for student’s communications with instructors. The present results failed to replicate an inverse relationship between OCC and loneliness; there was no relationship between the number of out-of-class communications and loneliness. However, a direct relationship between OCC and relational motive was replicated (r = .61), such that the higher the number of out-of-class communications, the higher the student’s motive for communicating with instructors in order to establish a relationship with the instructor. No differences were obtained between men and women in OCC, loneliness, or relational motive for communication with instructors, nor were differences obtained between White students and non-White students. The failure to find a relationship between out-of-class communications and loneliness may relate to the overall levels of loneliness among students in the present study, who were more lonely than both the normative sample.

 


Board 3

A Guy Walks into a Bar: Sense of Humor and Reactions to Offensive Jokes

Scott S. D’Annunzio, Tami M. Harris, Julia B. Robbins, Hillary E. Doyle, Andrew M. Pfadt-Trilling, & Bernard C. Beins

Ithaca College

 

Humor is a multidimensional construct. We investigated two dimensions associated with humor: funniness and offensiveness. In addition, the study examined the effects of the participant’s sex and the sex of the joke’s victim. Previous research has shown that ratings of funniness and of offensiveness were uncorrelated, but that participants prefer jokes that victimize the other sex. Our results showed that, for individual jokes, ratings of offensiveness and humor were essentially independent for male victimizing jokes but not for female victimizing jokes, which were viewed more negatively. That is, perceived offensiveness did not predict how participants rated funniness for male-victimizing jokes, but level of perceived offensiveness did predict ratings of female-victimizing jokes. Regarding sense of humor, participants with a low productive sense of humor (vs. high) perceived jokes as more offensive. Generally, participants preferred jokes which victimized the opposite sex. However, men viewed male-victimizing jokes almost as positively as women, whereas women found female-victimizing jokes to be much less funny than men did. Female participants found male-victimizing jokes relating to sex especially funny. Male participants rated jokes referring to women’s gender roles to be funniest. The preference for jokes victimizing the opposite sex was consistent with previous research. In general, participants did not find the jokes very offensive, probably because of the methodology used in the study.


Board 4

Why Did the Man Cross the Road? Sexist Attitudes and Gender-Based Humor

Elizabeth D. Gordon, Aliyah B. Emas, Grace A. Nutter, Julia C. Rugg, Caitlin A. McCarthy, Danielle M. O’Reilly, & Bernard C. Beins

Ithaca College

This study investigated the relation between sexist attitudes and enjoyment of gender-based humor. A total of 83 volunteers completed the Ambivalent Sexism Inventory and rated 40 verbal jokes involving stereotypical roles. Participants rated jokes on funniness and offensiveness to themselves, to men in general, and to women in general. The results revealed that participants found female-victimizing jokes more offensive than male-victimizing jokes, although there was no difference in perceived offensiveness by female and male participants. Each sex was protective of itself, with women showing greater liking for male-victimizing jokes than for female-victimizing jokes, with the pattern reversed for male participants. Furthermore, there was no association between ratings of funniness and offensiveness for male-victimizing humor, whereas there were systematic correlations between funniness and offensiveness ratings involving female-victimizing humor. In addition, high hostile sexism correlated highly with enjoyment of victimizing jokes. High benevolent sexism scores correlated less strongly. Regarding benevolent sexism, men and women comparable levels of sexism and responded to victimizing humor in similar ways. These results involving ratings of humor and of offensiveness differ from those of previous studies in that previous research found that offensiveness and funniness ratings were independent. Differences in methodology may account for the different patterns of results.


Board 5

Humor is More Offensive If You Suggest That It Isn’t

Julia Robbins, Katherine Carella, Alison Christiansen, Aliyah Emas, Tami Harris, Grace Nutter, & Julia Rugg

Ithaca College

Research in our laboratory has revealed two apparently contradictory findings. Early research on offensive humor showed that ratings of offensiveness and funniness of jokes were independent of one another. Recent research, however, revealed negative correlations between offensiveness and humor ratings. That is, when participants thought jokes were more offensive, those participants rated the jokes are less funny, and vice versa. The methodology of the two studies differed in ways that may have led to the conflicting results. In two early studies, we primed participants to expect offensive humor by giving them a strong message that the jokes they would rate were offensive. In a different study, that message was absent. In the present study, we used the same basic methodology as we did in one of the priming studies, but we toned down the emphasis on offensiveness. The results revealed that less emphasis on offensiveness actually led to higher ratings of offensiveness. In addition, there was no systematic correlation between ratings of funniness and of offensiveness in the present study, reversing the finding of the previous research. These results suggest that expectations of offensiveness in humor may lead to lower perceptions of that offensiveness because participants expected humor that is quite offensive when, in reality, the stimuli in our study were, at most, mildly offensive. These data replicate earlier research with minimal priming.


Board 6

How Funny is that Joke? It’s as Funny as We Tell You It Is.

Hillary Doyle, Andrew Pfadt-Trilling, Nadine Wells, & Bernard C. Beins

Ithaca College

           

Without an objective metric for identifying how funny humorous material “really” is, a person may rely on external information in evaluating the humor of a particular humorous. Previous research in our lab has revealed a strong effect of a message that manipulated a participants’ expectations about how funny jokes were likely to be, based on a report of (fictional) ratings of previous participants. In the current study, we examined the effect of expectations on participants’ ratings of jokes, single-panel pictures and cartoons, and multi-panel cartoons. When participants received a message that the humorous materials had previously been rated as funny, they themselves rated the jokes highly. However, participants who expected to see stimuli previously rated as not very funny had less positive responses. As predicted from our previous research, the message that a participant received strongly influenced the rating of the funniness of the stimulus. The effect that we previously documented for jokes replicated with visual stimuli, suggesting that people can rely on external information to decide on the humor value of a stimulus. The single-panel stimuli that tend to elicit an immediate humor response show the same pattern as longer, verbal jokes. These results suggest that an overall mental set regarding expectations may be responsible for the tendency to rate the stimuli low or high.
Board 7

Visual Field Asymmetry in Processing Irrelevant Singletons is Found During Feature Search, Not Singleton Search

Michelle Domingo, Matt Saporito, Nicole E. Bianco, & Bryan R. Burnham

The University of Scranton

 

The contingent involuntary orienting hypothesis (CIO) states that a visual singleton distractor (e.g., one red item among gray items) will capture visual-spatial attention, but only if the singleton distractor is featurally relevant to the searched-for target; that is, to the attentional set. Folk, Leber and Egeth (2002) supported the CIO by finding that target processing was impeded when a peripherally-presented color singleton distractor, which was irrelevant to locating the target’s spatial and temporal position, appeared 100-200 ms before a centrally-presented target in a rapid-serial-visual presentation (RSVP) task, but only when the singleton was the same color as the target; a phenomenon they labeled the spatial blink. Recently, Du and Abrams (2008) found the spatial blink was larger if the same-color singleton distractor appeared in the left visual field compared to the right visual field, suggesting a hemispheric difference in processing singleton distractors. We investigated this visual-field asymmetry by examining the spatial blink when observers were able to adopt a singleton-search mode for detecting the target, rather than having to use a feature-search mode to detect the target, which was necessary in Du and Abrams’ study. We found a larger spatial blink effect when the same-color singleton distractor appeared in left visual field compared to the right visual field when observers had to adopt a feature-search mode; however, we failed to find a visual field asymmetry in the spatial blink when observers could adopt a singleton search mode to detect the target. The results are consistent with the CIO and reveal a hemispheric asymmetry when processing visual singleton distractors, but only when observers have adopted an attentional set for a specific visual feature.
Board 8

Working Memory Capacity and Contingent Attentional Capture

Anne Marie Harris, Matt T. Suda, Antony Delliturri, & Bryan R. Burnham

The University of Scranton

The attentional set adopted for particular stimulus features modulates shifts in visual-spatial attention to items in the visual field. Adopting an attentional set for a target defined by its being the single red item among white items (a color singleton) should cause attention to shift toward other red items in the visual field, because the feature red is relevant to the attentional set. As evidence for their contingent orienting hypothesis, Folk Remington and Johnston (1992) found that responses to a target were faster if the position of a target was cued by a singleton prior to the target’s appearance, but only if the singleton cue shared a feature with the target. That is, a red color singleton cue captured attention, but an abrupt onset singleton cue did not, when the target was red; and an abrupt onset singleton cue captured attention, but a color singleton cue did not, when the target was abruptly onset. However, studies providing converging evidence for the contingent orienting hypothesis use a single fixed cue-target stimulus-onset asynchrony (SOA) and do not examine factors related to the attentional set and the control of spatial attention. We manipulated SOA between singleton onset and target onset to closely examine the time-courses of attentional capture, and measured each subject’s working memory capacity, which has been implicated in establishing the attentional set and controlling attention. Unlike in previous studies, we found significant attentional capture effects for singleton cues that were relevant and irrelevant to one’s attentional set, with capture effects for irrelevant singleton cues being slightly attenuated. Working memory was negatively correlated with capture effects, suggesting stronger working memory is associated with better control over attention. However, this was true only when the target was specified by a specific visual feature; when the target was non-specific working memory was not correlated with attentional capture.
Board 9

Executive Control and Attention Capture

Joe Mertens, Gia Pittaluga, Maria Portelli, & Bryan R. Burnham

The University of Scranton

            Recently, Lavie and de Fockert (2005) found that a color singleton distractor interfered more with visual search for a target when an observer’s verbal working memory was under load, compared to when it was not under load. Their study is consistent with the load theory of attention (Lavie, Hirst, de Fockert, & Viding, 2004), which predicts that selectively attending to items in the visual field is modulated by the information-processing “load” placed on the working memory system. In the case of Lavie and de Fockert, the verbal working memory load negatively affected whether an observer could selectively attend to the relevant items in the visual field and ignore the irrelevant color singleton. But the study by Lavie and de Fockert only examined one component of working memory. The question addressed in our study was whether the other components of working memory also mediate selective attention. In our study observers searched for a green diamond target among green shapes while trying to ignore a red color-singleton distractor. Observers performed this visual search task alone (single-task condition) or while the central-executive component of working memory was under load (dual-task condition). Central executive load was instantiated by requiring observers to count backward by threes from a randomly generated number. We found that the interference by the color singleton distractor was larger in the dual task condition, when the central executive was presumably under load, compared to the single-task condition. The results are consistent with the load theory and indicate that information processing load, in the form of a strain on working memory, interferes with visual selective attention. Future research in our lab will examine whether other components of working memory are related to the control of selective attention.


Board 10

The Relationship Among Measures of Field Dependence/Independence

Steven J. Gilbert, Theresa Greiner, & Katherine Karpel

SUNY Oneonta

In the past the cognitive style dimension of Field Dependence/Independence has been measured though two traditional tests: the Physical Rod and Frame and the Pencil & Paper Embedded Figures Test. Our goal was to devise a measure of Field Dependence/Independence that does not require a dark room and cumbersome special equipment. To do this we created a Multiple-Choice Rod & Frame PowerPoint slide test that could be administered to a group in a normal, dimly lit room; subjects view a series of frames containing rods, with the task of locating the single rod that is vertical. We also created a Computer-Driven Virtual Rod & Frame test to mimic the Physical Rod and Frame. Finally, we administered two individual difference inventories potentially related to Field Dependence/ Independence: the Analytic-Holistic scale (Choi, Koo, & Choi, 2007), and a Locus of Control scale (Levinson 1972). All of the tests and scales were administered to 32 students in two sessions. Results showed that Field Dependence, as measured by the Multiple-Choice Rod & Frame correlated significantly with Field Dependence as measured by the Virtual Rod & Frame (.464, p = .004), the Physical Rod and Frame (.302, p = .046), and Embedded Figures (.508, p = .001). In addition, being a female (.345, p = .027), and endorsing the Holistic attribute of compromise over conflict in the face of contradictions (.528, p = .001), were related to Field Dependence. Future research will replicate these findings with a larger sample of subjects, and incorporate additional individual measures.


Board 11

Measuring Speech-Gesture Synchrony in Mother-to-Infant Word Presentation Using 3-D Motion Analysis

Hannah Avellaneda, Jennifer Parker, Nancy Rader, & Albert Sahlstrom

Ithaca College

 

Research has demonstrated that young infants are attuned to information that is redundant across vision and audition. Detection temporal synchrony across modalities allows for joint processing of sights and sounds. Given this capacity, the use by a speaker of a gesture that incorporates a show of an object that is synchronous with the naming of that object provides a mechanism to allow an infant to associate a word and its referent object. It has been observed that caregivers do, in fact, use gestures that appear to be synchronous with speech when interacting with infants. However, the nature of the gestures and the synchrony between speech and gestures has been difficult to quantify precisely. This research is designed to fill this gap using 3-D motion analysis.

Participants were eight mothers of infants 5-14 months old. The testing apparatus consisted of six real-time motion-tracking cameras, a series of reflective motion-tracking markers, a computer and webcam, a headset microphone, Qualysis motion capture software, and a digital video camcorder. A novel object, called a “borky” was used. Three reflective markers were located on the object and a series of markers were placed on the microphone headset and on the joint centers of the mother’s shoulders and hips. The mother sat in a seat opposite the infant and was instructed “to teach the object’s name” to her child.

We measured the movement of the referent object’s top and bottom motion tracking markers along the x, y, and z axes within the capture frames that corresponded to the naming of the object, as well as 50 frames prior and after the naming. Timing of naming was determined using sound pressure analysis and the audio recording of the mother’s speech. The timing of the extension of the object and its movement corresponded with the naming of the object, with significant differences for pre- and post-name frames compared to the naming frames (p<.01). Looming toward the infant began just prior to uttering the name, with the greatest extension of the object co-occurring with its naming. Waggling occurred in time with the syllables uttered.

As can be seen, naming of the object occurred when the object was in the process of being loomed towards the infant (X axis), and when it was waggled up and down (Z axis). These types of actions are likely to engage the infant’s attention to the view of the object as its name is provided. A full description of the types of motions analyzed will be presented.


 Board 12

The Relationship Between Self-Efficacy and Diabetes Management in a Latino Population

Lindsey Calabrese, Becky Zaremba, Kelly Broadwell, Jacqueline Baum, John Metzger, & Mary Turner DePalma

Ithaca College

 

Diabetes has risen to epidemic proportions both in the United States and worldwide. Since ineffective management of one’s diabetes can lead to serious complications, understanding the psychosocial factors affecting disease management is crucial. Previous research suggests that personal judgments of responsibility for disease onset can affect anger and self-blame. In turn, these variables may influence perceptions of negative and positive social support which have been shown to be important predictors of disease management. In the present study, fifty-one individuals with diabetes (of which 11 self-identified as Latino/a) completed a confidential online survey assessing personal judgments of responsibility for disease onset, trait anger, self-blame, perceived social support, self-efficacy, and disease management. While an overall multivariate analysis showing the effect of race on our model variables was only marginally significant, univariate analyses revealed two interesting findings. First, race was significantly related to perceptions of responsibility for disease onset, F(1,30) = 4.24, p < .05. Latinos (M = 6.86) rated themselves significantly higher on responsibility for disease onset than did non-Hispanic whites (M = 3.68). Second, race was significantly related to negative social support, F(1,30) = 10.49, p < .01. Latinos (M = 16.14) rated themselves significantly higher on negative social support than did non-Hispanic whites (M = 11.16). These data indicate that racial, ethnic, and cultural differences are important to understanding diabetes disease management.


Board 13

Retrospective Reports of Childhood Emotional Maltreatment as Predictors of Alexithymia in College Students

Allison Smith & Ellen Flannery-Schroeder

University of Rhode Island

Childhood maltreatment has received much attention as a risk factor for poor health outcomes in later life. Prevalence estimates of maltreatment histories are quite high in adult community samples. Data from the U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services suggest that 905,000 children experienced maltreatment in 2006. Further, the literature has demonstrated an association between childhood maltreatment and a broad range of deleterious physical and psychological outcomes. Most studies focus on sexual/physical abuse, while emotional abuse and neglect rarely receive attention as distinct forms of maltreatment. Still, emotional maltreatment has been linked to such outcomes as anxiety, depression, and somatic symptoms. Another potential correlate of childhood maltreatment is alexithymia. Alexithymia is a cluster of cognitive-affective characteristics that affect how one experiences and expresses emotions. Its core deficits include difficulties identifying and verbalizing feelings and an externally-oriented cognitive style. Despite the affective nature of alexithymia, studies examining its relationship with maltreatment defined broadly rarely examine emotional forms of maltreatment.

This study examined the relationship between alexithymia and maltreatment in 270 college students at a large university. The sample was 53% female and predominantly white. Participants completed the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, Psychological Maltreatment Inventory, and Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS). Data were analyzed with a series of stepwise multiple regressions. Five maltreatment types served as predictors and TAS subscales and total score served as outcomes. Results suggest that emotional maltreatment predicts each of the core deficits associated with alexithymia, while physical abuse/neglect and sexual abuse do not. Such findings emphasize the importance of studying emotional maltreatment and of considering histories of specific maltreatment types when tailoring interventions. Future studies should seek to replicate these findings in other samples, across gender and culture, and with other emotion regulation deficits.


 

 

Board 14

Self-Injury: Functions, Treatments, and Issues

Katelyn Roussos

Lock Haven University

 

This presentation is based on my extensive literature review on individuals who deliberately commit self-injury in the forms of cutting or burning of the skin. This presentation will focus on the demographics of people that self-injure and the background of self-injury including why and when it became prevalent in clinical settings. This presentation will also identify the various motives to self-injure or in other words, the functions that people expect self-injury behavior to fulfill. Finally, this presentation will explore the common traumatic events that happen in the histories of self-injurers, the connections self-injurious behavior has with other psychological disorders, and the current methods that are utilized to treat these individuals.

 Board 15

The Perceived Benefits of Therapeutic Horseback Riding from the Rider and Staff Perspectives

Alexis L. Bowen, Brittany L. Shetterly, Mika Nieves-Khouw, & Virginia N. Iannone
Stevenson University


Despite numerous client testimonials, there is little empirical support for Equine-Facilitated Therapy (EFT). Therefore, the goal of this study was to learn about the perceived benefits of EFT from the perspective of both riders and staff members.

There were two cohorts of participants: Riders and Staff Members. The Rider participants were randomly selected from two Therapeutic Riding Facilities in Central Maryland, and the Staff participants were instructors at the riding centers who were familiar with the rider’s history.

Once IRB approval was granted, participants were recruited through their therapeutic riding facility. In addition to demographic characteristics, all participants completed the Perception of Equine- Facilitated Therapy (PEFT) Form, which was used to collect data on the perceived benefits of therapeutic horseback riding. On a rating scale of 1 (Not at All) to 5 (A Great Deal), participants were asked to rate how much EFT has contributed to improvements in the Physical, Cognitive, Emotional and Social domains. If the participant felt that an item did not apply, they were asked to circle “Does Not Apply.” Rider participants then granted permission for their instructor to participate in the study. The staff member was then given a Staff Demographic Form and was asked to complete a PEFT Form for that individual rider. The rider and staff member completed their PEFT forms independently without consulting with one another.

Examination of the PEFT composite scores reveal that Rider participants perceive therapeutic riding as most beneficial in the Physical and Emotional domains, with Cognitive and Social benefits rating lower. Data for Staff participants paralleled that of the Rider participants. There were no significant differences in the magnitude of the perceived benefits between the two cohorts.


Board 16

The Perceived Benefits of Equine-Facilitated Therapy for Individuals with Autism and Cerebral Palsy

Brittany L. Shetterly, Alexis L. Bowen, Mika Nieves-Khouw, & Virginia N. Iannone
Stevenson University

 

Equine-Facilitated Therapy (EFT) is a commonly used intervention for children with Autism and Cerebral Palsy (CP). However, there is almost no quantitative data to support its use with these populations. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the perceived benefits of EFT in two cohorts of participants: individuals with CP and individuals with Autism. A secondary goal was to determine whether or not there were any significant differences in perceived benefit between the two groups.

 

The participants for this study were recruited from therapeutic riding centers in Central Maryland. The final sample included 32 participants: 16 were diagnosed with Autism and 16 with CP. The two samples did not differ on demographic characteristics such as age, sex, or length of therapy.

 

Data were collected using the Perceptions of Equine-Facilitated Therapy (PEFT) questionnaire, which asked participants to rate the perceived benefits of therapeutic riding across the Physical, Cognitive, Social, and Emotional domains. For each skill, participants responded to how much they think EFT has contributed to improvements on a scale of 1 (None) to 5 (A Great Deal). A “Does Not Apply” option was indicated if a particular item was irrelevant to that rider.

 

Both cohorts reported the highest levels of perceived benefit in the Emotional and Physical domains. Those with Autism reported more Cognitive benefit than Social benefit, whereas those with CP reported the opposite. Although this difference was not statistically significant, it may have clinical significance in guiding decisions about when to prescribe EFT for particular populations. More research in this area is needed to better understand the relationship between EFT and benefits for individuals with specific diagnoses.


Board 17

Anxious Behaviors in BALB/cJ Mice: Do Different Approaches to Environment Enrichment Produce Different Effects?

Christie P. Karpiak, Brentt Swetter, Caesar Imperio, Michael Garcia, & J. Timothy Cannon

University of Scranton

 

Background: BALB/cJ mice, models of trait or endogenous anxiety (Belzung & Burton, 1997; Kopp et al., 1999), generally exhibit high avoidance & low exploration in novel settings. Enrichment studies have demonstrated that environmental enhancements--often in the form of larger cages with more options for exercise & play--can have a buffering effect, improving performance of tasks including those designed to elicit anxiety. This study was conducted to compare anxious behaviors in BALB/cJ’s resulting from different kinds of environmental enrichment, toward the goal of identifying specific features of enrichment that might be responsible for specific behavioral changes. We hypothesized that unique patterns of behavioral improvement would be associated with running wheel and novel object enrichments.

Procedure: 96 BALB/cJ mice, 48 of each sex, housed 3-4 per cage in standard size (22 x 16.5 x 13.6 cm high) plastic tubs. 12 animals of each sex were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 conditions: control (CTL), mouse igloo without running wheel (IGL), mouse igloo + novel objects (NOV), and mouse igloo + running wheel (RUN). Objects in NOV cages were changed every 3-4 days. Enriched housing was the same size as the standard tubs. The Elevated Plus Maze (EP) and Open Field Test (OF) were conducted during the active hours of the reverse light/dark schedule.

Results: Primary statistical analyses were 2 x 4 (Sex x Condition) factorial MANOVAs. On most measures, as expected, CTL and IGL mice evidenced more anxious behaviors, while NOV and RUN mice evidenced more exploration and less avoidance. An exception was time in open parts of the EP and OF_CTL mice spent more time in the center of the OF and immobile in the open arms of the EP. More time in open sections is typically interpreted as indicative of less anxiety, but we propose that in this set of contrasts it might more accurately be interpreted as an effect of the daily exposure to inescapable light that differentiated mice in the CTL condition, without igloos, from the other three conditions. RUN mice were active during testing, covered more distance, and spent less time immobile than CTL and IGL mice. NOV mice were also active, with some behaviors that are difficult to interpret but perhaps sensibly linked to the enrichment they received. NOV mice were highly active in the EP, where they spent more time than the other mice in the center, vertically exploring the thin ends of the walls that surround the center, and crossing from arm to arm. NOV mice were also significantly less likely to come off of the EP maze than mice from the other conditions. These findings suggest that different approaches to environmental enrichment produce different effects.


Board 18

Dorsal Hippocampal Infusions of Progesterone Enhance Object Memory Consolidation in Young Female Mice

P. T. Orr, M. C. Lewis, & K. M. Frick

Yale University

 

Our lab has previously demonstrated that post-training intraperitoneal administration of progesterone can enhance spatial and object memory (Lewis, Orr, & Frick, 2008). However, the brain regions responsible for mediating this enhancement remain unclear, given the systemic nature of our previous work. This study was designed to determine if the dorsal hippocampus is involved in mediating the beneficial effect of post-training progesterone on object memory consolidation. Young ovariectomized C57BL/6 mice were trained in a hippocampal-dependent object recognition task during which they were allowed to accumulate 30 seconds exploring two identical objects. Immediately after training (post-training), mice received bilateral dorsal hippocampal infusions of vehicle or 0.01, 0.1, or 1.0 μg/μl water-soluble progesterone. Because this progesterone preparation is rapidly metabolized, hormone was not present during subsequent testing. Object recognition memory was tested 48 hours later, using a previously explored object and a novel object. Mice who remember the familiar object should spend more time than chance exploring the novel object. All groups receiving progesterone infusions spent significantly more time than chance with the novel object, whereas the vehicle group did not. These data suggest that the dorsal hippocampus may play a critical role in the progesterone-induced enhancement of object recognition memory.

This work was supported by NIH R01 AG022525 to KMF and Yale University. 


Board 19

Reasoning in the Context of Religion and Science

Carolyn E. Birk, Jacqueline Bayer, & Lauren O. Gonce 

Stevenson University

 

Using a Wason selection task, the current study hypothesized that science items and religion items would elicit different responses from participants as compared to typical (abstract)Wason selection task items. A questionnaire was administered to participants in order to gather relevant background information regarding thier experience with science and religion courses which may have influenced thier responses. Results are discussedin terms of their relation to theories of information processing and decision making.


Board 20

Staying the Course: Connections Between Political Attitudes, Habitual Responding and 2D:4D Finger Ratios

Rebecca Guenther, Eva Piatek, Bryan R. Burnham, & J. Timothy Cannon

University of Scranton

 

Amodio, Jost, Master, and Yee (2007) found that political conservatives commit more errors withholding habitual responses in a Go/NoGo task and show less anterior cingulate activity than political liberals. It’s likely political attitude is related to response sensitivity (d’) and response bias (β, c) on a signal detection task. Because political attitude is related to right-wing authoritarianism, social dominance, and political party agreement, it is likely that d’, β and c are related to those constructs. 2D:4D Ratio, which negatively correlates with prenatal androgen exposure and has found to covary with personality characteristics (Manning, 2002), was found to be related to social dominance (McIntyre et al. 2007). Because social dominance is related to authoritarianism, political party agreement, and political attitude, it is possible that 2D:4D Ratio is related to these constructs and habitual responding. We examined if political party agreement, political attitude, social dominance, and authoritarianism were related to sensitivity, bias to habitual responding and to 2D:4D Ratios.

 

Undergraduates (108 females and 69 males, mean age = 19 years) were tested in groups of 8-20. Participants filled out surveys assessing: demographic information, birth order, political attitude and political party agreement, right-wing authoritarianism, and social dominance. To assess 2D:4D finger ratios, hands were digitally scanned. Participants completed a 5 min Go/NoGo task on a computer where performance was based on the accuracy to withhold a habitual response.

 

We found negative correlations between agreement with the Republican Party and d’, β and c and also between political attitude and d’, β and c; with the trends most pronounced in males. We found positive correlations between agreement with the Democratic Party and d', β and c. Suggesting the more conservative one is, the more prone s/he is to errors in habitual responding and the more biased to continue responding even when not required. In males, we found a positive correlation between 2D:4D Ratio and agreement with the Democratic Party and between 2D:4D Ratio and social dominance. The latter results suggest the less prenatal androgen exposure males have, the more agreement with the Democratic Party and the less socially dominant.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Board 21

Doctoral Admissions and Training in APA-Accredited Counseling Psychology Programs

Krystle L. Evans, Danielle M. Schatz, Jeannette L. Ellis, & John C. Norcross

The University of Scranton

 

Counseling psychology is a vibrant and expanding specialty, with graduate programs located throughout the nation in psychology, counseling, and education departments.

 

We surveyed training directors of all 67 APA-accredited counseling psychology doctoral programs in order to present the most recent admission and training information. We Received responses from 66 of the 67 programs for a response rate of 99%. The survey covered application numbers, acceptance rates, GRE scores, grade point averages, financial assistance, socio-demographic characteristics of incoming students, and theoretical orientations of program faculty. We present results for all APA-accredited doctoral programs in counseling psychology as well as for practice-oriented Ph.D., equal-emphasis Ph.D., and research-oriented Ph.D. programs.

Each doctoral program was categorized into one of three mutually exclusive categories on the basis of the program self-rating on the practice–research continuum (1 = practice oriented, 4 = equal emphasis, and 7 = research oriented). The three categories were practice-oriented PhD programs (ratings of 1-3; n = 7), equal-emphasis Ph.D. programs (ratings of 4; n = 39), and research-oriented Ph.D. programs (ratings of 5-7; n = 20).

 

For all programs, the average number of students applying was 84; the average number accepted was 11; the percent of applicants accepted was 19; the average number of incoming students was 7; and the percent of accepted admission offers was 66.

 

Table 2 summarizes the GPA and GRE scores for incoming students for all programs and then separately for the three types of programs. For all programs, the average GRE total score was 1,116. Research-oriented programs reported significantly higher mean quantitative scores (628) than either equal-emphasis (583) or practice-oriented programs (570).

 

As a resource for graduate applicants, their academic advisors, and program faculty, this study obtained current data on admissions and training in counseling psychology and then highlighted differences between the practice-oriented, equal-emphasis, and research-oriented programs. Overall, these programs are competitive in nature, with substantial admission requirements; secure in financial assistance, with 71% of enrolled students receiving both tuition waivers and assistantships; and inclusive of student diversity, with 29% racial minority students. At the same time, students need to be made aware of the robust program differences across the practice-research continuum to make well-informed choices in the application process and to improve matching between themselves and programs.


Board 22

The Practice-Research Gap: Clinical Scientists and Independent Practitioners Speak

Heather L. Tropiano, John C. Norcross (The University of Scranton), & E. David Klonsky (Stony Brook University)

 

Distinguished clinical researchers and independent practitioners nominated, in their own words, the reasons for the research-practice gap in clinical psychology as well as means to narrow that gap. Expert consensus was secured on a modified Delphi poll on 12 reasons for the gap and 14 suggestions for bridging the gap. Both groups recommended making research findings more accessible and relevant to practitioners and working together more often in the development and evaluation of psychotherapies.
Presenters


Avellaneda, H..................................................................................................................... 17

Baum, J............................................................................................................................... 18

Bayer, J.............................................................................................................................. 25

Beins, B. C............................................................................................................... 9, 10, 12

Bell, L. M............................................................................................................................. 8

Bianco, N. E....................................................................................................................... 13

Birk, C. E........................................................................................................................... 25

Bowen, A. L................................................................................................................. 21, 22

Broadwell, K...................................................................................................................... 18

Burnham, B. R.................................................................................................. 13, 14, 15, 26

Calabrese, L....................................................................................................................... 18

Cannon, B. J......................................................................................................................... 6

Cannon, J. T................................................................................................................. 23, 26

Carella, K........................................................................................................................... 11

Christiansen, A.................................................................................................................... 11

D’Annunzio, S. S.................................................................................................................. 9

Delliturri, A......................................................................................................................... 14

Domingo, M........................................................................................................................ 13

Dovidio, J. F......................................................................................................................... 5

Doyle, H......................................................................................................................... 9, 12

Elliot, J. D............................................................................................................................. 8

Ellis, J. L............................................................................................................................. 27

Emas, A........................................................................................................................ 10, 11

Evans, K. L......................................................................................................................... 27

Flannery-Schroeder, E........................................................................................................ 19

Frick, K. M........................................................................................................................ 24

Gilbert, S. J......................................................................................................................... 16

Gonce, L. O........................................................................................................................ 25

Gordon, E. D...................................................................................................................... 10

Greiner, T........................................................................................................................... 16

Guenther, R......................................................................................................................... 26

Harris, A............................................................................................................................. 14

Harris, T......................................................................................................................... 9, 11

Haviland, S. A....................................................................................................................... 8

Iannone, V. N........................................................................................................... 7, 21, 22

Imperio, C.......................................................................................................................... 23

Jung, A................................................................................................................................. 7

Karpel, K........................................................................................................................... 16

Karpiak, C...................................................................................................................... 6, 23

Klonsky, E. D..................................................................................................................... 28

Kuhle, B. X........................................................................................................................... 6

Lewis, M. C........................................................................................................................ 24

McCarthy, C. A.................................................................................................................. 10

Mertens, J........................................................................................................................... 15

Metzger, J........................................................................................................................... 18

Nash, N................................................................................................................................ 7

Nieves-Khouw, M........................................................................................................ 21, 22

Norcross, J. C.............................................................................................................. 27, 28

Nutter, G............................................................................................................................ 11

Nutter, G............................................................................................................................ 10

O’Reilly, D. M.................................................................................................................... 10

Orr, P. T............................................................................................................................. 24

Pfadt-Trilling, A............................................................................................................... 9, 12

Piatek, E............................................................................................................................. 26

Pittaluga, G......................................................................................................................... 15

Robbins, J....................................................................................................................... 9, 11

Roussos, K......................................................................................................................... 20

Rugg, J.......................................................................................................................... 10, 11

Sahlstrom, A....................................................................................................................... 17

Saporito, M........................................................................................................................ 13

Schatz, D. M....................................................................................................................... 27

Shetterly, B. L............................................................................................................... 21, 22

Smith, A.............................................................................................................................. 19

Suda, M. T......................................................................................................................... 14

Swetter, B........................................................................................................................... 23

Tropiano, H. L.................................................................................................................... 28

Turner DePalma, M............................................................................................................. 18

Welebob, J. L....................................................................................................................... 8

Zaremba, B......................................................................................................................... 18


 


Notes: