Psychology Undergraduate Honors Theses

Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/25221

The PSYC Honors Program allows advanced students to collaborate directly with a faculty mentor to complete an original research project. Results from honors projects have been reported in scientific journals and presented at professional conferences. PSYC Honors includes two terms of independent study courses with the mentor, culminating in a written thesis report and a poster presentation. Successful program participants are awarded an honors designation at graduation (B.S. degree “with honors”).

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    Bystander Responses to College Dating Violence: Can We Educate Undergraduate Students Using an Online Intervention?
    (2020) Herman, Micah; O'Brien, Karen M.
    The purposes of this study were to improve an online bystander intervention educational program (STOP Dating Violence; O'Brien et al., 2019) and conduct a randomized controlled trial to test the effectiveness of this revised intervention. Specifically, the intervention was modified and converted into an engaging animated video and then tested for its effectiveness. College students (N=335) were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: (1) the STOP intervention, (2) a website containing information about dating violence, and (3) a control condition. Results indicated that students who viewed the STOP Dating Violence video intervention had the greatest knowledge of bystander interventions when compared to the website and control conditions. Thus, the STOP Dating Violence video has the potential to successfully educate undergraduates about appropriate bystander interventions for dating violence in a cost-effective manner.
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    Evaluating an Online Intervention to Enhance Knowledge, Confidence and Skills in Undergraduate Students’ Responses to Bereaved Peers
    (2019-12) Hill, Erin; O'Brien, Karen
    The purpose of this study was to conduct a randomized controlled trial to assess the efficacy of CARES, an online intervention developed to educate undergraduate students about how to communicate in person and over text with friends who experienced the death of someone close to them. College students (N=231) were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: (1) the CARES intervention, (2) a website containing information about grief and loss, or (3) a control condition. Participants completed pre- and post-test quantitative and qualitative measures to assess (1) knowledge of grief, appropriate responses to grieving peers, and resources available for grieving college students, (2) confidence in ability to communicate effectively with grieving peers, and (3) skills in communicating effectively with bereaved friends. The results indicated that students who participated in the CARES intervention had the greatest knowledge regarding grief and appropriate communication with grieving peers when compared to participants in the website and control conditions (when controlling for pre-test scores). In addition, students receiving the intervention were more confident in their ability to help a grieving peer and had the greatest skill in communicating with a grieving peer, when compared to participants in the website and control conditions. No differences were found in knowledge of common signs of grief or knowledge of resources. Thus, the CARES intervention has potential for educating undergraduates about effective communication with their grieving peers.