Undergraduate Research Day 2020
Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/20158
With students involved in so many research opportunities, Undergraduate Research Day provides the perfect opportunity for them to share their work with the campus community. Held each April, Undergraduate Research Day showcases current research, scholarship, and artistic endeavors.
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Item Simulating Speech Perception in Bilateral Cochlear Implant Users with Asymmetric Input(2020) Zukerman, Danielle; Goupell, Matthew; Jaekel, Brittany; Milvae, KristinaUnderstanding speech in noise is difficult for cochlear-implant (CI) users. One potential reason for this difficulty is asymmetrical hearing between the two ears; that is, when one ear can process sound more effectively and clearly than the other ear. Such asymmetry may impair some CI users’ ability to fuse speech signals from both ears into a single stream. One way to test this is with an alternating speech paradigm, which is an experimental simplification of speech moving from talker to talker in a rapid conversation between a group of people. Previous studies have shown CI users perform 40% worse on alternating speech listening than normal-hearing individuals. The present study aims to examine if reduced alternating speech perception is the result of asymmetrical hearing, which could cause a listener to only use their better ear when listening to alternating speech, and to miss out on much of the signal that is present in the poorer ear. Six young normal-hearing participants were tested using a CI simulation with varying levels of signal degradation to simulate both asymmetrical and symmetrical hearing. The hypothesis was that participants will show selective attention to the ear with the clearer, less degraded signal in asymmetrical hearing conditions, and will overall perform worse in this condition compared to the symmetrical hearing condition. The results comparing the “better ear” and the asymmetric condition suggest that there is no evidence of selective attention; therefore we can reject the hypothesis. Future directions include increasing asymmetry across ears by simulating more drastic degradation in the “poorer ear”. Speech perception in noise is one of the most common issues CI users face, and quantifying the contributions of asymmetrical hearing to this problem is important for resolving this issue.Item Predicting facial movement using electromyography and machine learning(2020) Choi, Theresa; Brustad, Abby; Morales, Santiago; Fox, NathanVideo coding participants’ behavior is inherently a subjective and time-consuming process. The purpose of this study is to support traditional video coding methods of facial expressions by using machine learning on available electromyographic (EMG) data. For this, we tested the accuracy across four machine learning algorithms (i.e., decision tree, K-nearest neighbors (KNN), multilayer perceptron (MLP), and linear support vector classifier (SVC)). Specifically, we tested their accuracy in distinguishing between (a) any facial activity versus no movement, and (b) different facial expressions (Fearful, Happy, Neutral). Success was measured by final accuracy on a pre-chosen test set. Results showed that the decision tree and KNN classifiers had the highest potential for detecting facial activity with a test accuracy of 94%. However, after plotting their decision boundaries, both had a risk of overfitting, suggesting that the best classifier could instead be a safer choice of the MLP or SVC algorithms with 84% accuracy. For classifying different facial expressions, the MLP algorithm had the highest accuracy with 88% accuracy. Overall, the conclusion is that with further development, machine learning models could simplify the video coding process. While there were some models with very high accuracies (above 90%), they tended to risk overfitting and not generalize to larger datasets. Thus, the best use of these models would be in tandem with other coding methods, such as by quickly verifying low-accuracy classifications via video coding or by outputting cutoff parameters that can be used to facilitate other analyses.Item Bisexual Women’s Female Friendships: Predictors and Outcomes of Sexual Identity Disclosure(2020) Parekh, Nina; Mohr, JonathanThis study examined identity-based predictors of bisexual women’s sexual identity disclosure and outcomes of disclosure related to individual and interpersonal well-being. The study assessed hypotheses that Asian bisexual women would be less likely to disclose their sexual minority status to Asian friends and more likely to White friends, as well as less likely to monosexual friends. The study also identified that the act of sexual identity disclosure for all participants, regardless of race/ethnicity would experience stronger interpersonal wellbeing among the friends to which they have disclosed their sexual minority status. A sample of bisexual women completed measures focused on their demographic information, personal self-esteem, self-authenticity, satisfaction with life, and perceived social support, as well as their interpersonal level of outness, validation, trust, intimacy, and overall friendship.Item The Roles of Body Surveillance, Feminist Beliefs, and Feminine Norm Adherence in Women's Reproductive Health Efficacy and Behavior(2020) Pekosz, Madeleine; Le, Thomas; Iwamoto, Derek; Iwamoto, DerekWhile accessibility to reproductive health resources has increased for women, challenges related to sexual self-efficacy and contraceptive use remain prevalent. Factors including feminist beliefs, empowerment, and adherance to feminine norms have predicted positive and negative health behaviors, but less is known about how they relate to reproductive health, specifically sexual self-efficacy and contraceptive use. This study aimed to examine gender-relevant factors that predict sexual self-efficacy and contraceptive use, specifically, body surveillance, feminism, empowerment, and feminine norms. A survey consisting of these measures was administered to 247 women. Results showed empowerment was positively associated with both sexual self-efficacy and contraceptive use. The feminine norms of appearance, modesty, and sexual fidelity were negatively associated with sexual self-efficacy, while sexual fidelity was also negatively associated with contraceptive use. Findings highlight the importance of addressing the important roles of empowerment and feminine norms in women’s reproductive health beliefs and behaviors.Item Amygdala Volume and Social Reward in Children with and without Autism Spectrum Disorder(2020) Kiely, Matthew; Yarger, Heather; Merchant, Junaid; Redcay, Elizabeth; Redcay, Elizabeth; Yarger, HeatherSocial interaction is a vital part of our everyday life and while there have been many studies that have helped elucidate both the neural components and extrinsic factors of these processes, it is still something that is not completely understood. This is especially relevant to those with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), as they are often characterized as having social processing deficits. Social cognition is one of the many functions associated with the limbic system, along with reward and emotion processing. Previous studies have shown that social interaction is rewarding and has been shown to activate regions in the limbic system (Warnell et al., 2017). The amygdala is a region included in social/reward circuitry within the limbic system, such that larger amygdala volumes have been associated with higher connectivity within these regions (Bickart et al., 2012). There have not been previous studies to our knowledge assessing how amygdala volume and social reward sensitivity may vary together, motivating the current study. Therefore, this study aims to assess how social reward relates to amygdala volume in 49 children (ASD = 21, TD = 31) aged 8 to 14 with and without a diagnosis of ASD. Social reward will be assessed using the Prosocial Interactions and Sociability subscales of the Social Reward Questionnaire (SRQ; Foulkes et al., 2014). Amygdala volumes were extracted using MRICloud (Mori et al., 2016). Amygdala size and SRQ subscale differences between groups will be analyzed using an analysis of covariance (controlling for total gray matter) and an independent samples t-test, respectively. A regression analysis will be conducted in order to examine amygdala and SRQ associations.Item Relations between amygdala:hippocampus ratios and depressive symptoms in typically developing 4- to 8-year-old children(2020) Coley, Katherine; Turcios, Miguel; Weinberg, Benjamin; Riggins, Tracy; Riggins, TracyPrevious literature suggests that the coordination between the amygdala and hippocampus, regions critical for encoding of complex memory and emotion, are associated with depression and risk factors for depression, such as negative memory bias, during adulthood (Yavas et al., 2019; Gerritsen et al., 2012). Research on adolescents ages 8-17 suggests that increased amygdala:hippocampus ratios are related to the severity of anxiety in pediatric major depression (MacMillan et al., 2003). Although associations between amygdala:hippocampus ratios and depression are well-documented in older samples, these associations are not well-explored in early childhood (i.e., <8 years). Given this is a developmental period during which both the amygdala and the hippocampus undergo structural and functional changes (Riggins et al., 2018; Stern et al., 2019), it may be especially important to understand how these developmental changes relate to depressive symptoms in early childhood. The present research aims to address this gap in the literature. Specifically, we examined depressive symptoms and amygdala:hippocampus ratios in typically developing 4- to 8-year-old children drawn from a larger, longitudinal study on brain development in early childhood (N=200, 100 female; Riggins et al., 2018). Depression scores were assessed using the Children’s Depression Inventory (CDI; Kovacs, 1985). Brain region volumes were collected using a standard resolution (.9mm3), T1-weighted whole brain structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan and processed using FreeSurfer (v5.1). In addition to amygdala and hippocampal volumes, intracranial volume (ICV) was collected as a control for participant head size. Analysis using partial correlations revealed a significant association between total amygdala:hippocampus ratios and depressive symptoms, r(50) = -.234, p = .048. The association between right amygdala:hippocampus ratios and depressive symptoms approached significance, r(50) = -.218, p = .060, and the association between left amygdala:hippocampus ratios and depressive symptoms were not significant. Contrary to previous research, smaller amygdala:hippocampus ratios predicted increased depressive symptoms. Implications for this research are discussed further.Item Neuroticism Predicts Negative Reinforcement Tobacco Smoking Motives(2020) Boumaiz, Yasmine; Rogers, Molly; Grogans, Shannon; Kim, Hyung Cho; Shackman, Alexander J.One in every five fatalities in the United States is caused by smoking, causing an estimated 480,000 deaths each year. While tobacco use is the leading preventable cause of mortality in the United States, the habit of tobacco use stems from the addictive nicotine content in cigarettes. Although the addictive and physiological health effects of tobacco have been broadly studied, the influence of personality on smoking motives has been relatively uninvestigated. The present study utilized psychometrically-sound measures of neuroticism and smoking motives in a sample of 77 daily chronic cigarette smokers, with the aim of characterizing the relationship between neuroticism and negative reinforcement smoking motives (e.g., smoking to alleviate anxiety or to reduce irritability). Our hypothesis that neuroticism score would be significantly, positively correlated with negative reinforcement motives was supported by a simple linear regression model. This model revealed that the slope of the simple linear regression line was statistically significant, suggesting that an increase in neuroticism score would be associated with an increase in negative reinforcement smoking motives, b = 0.037, t(84) = 2.45, p = 0.017. The model itself was also statistically significant, with neuroticism accounting for ~6% of the variance in negative reinforcement smoking motives score, R2 = 0.06, F(1,84) = 5.99, p = 0.016. Understanding the influence of personality dimensions on smoking motives has the potential to improve upon and inform new interventions for smoking cessation, potentially yielding increased success rates.Item Confronting Racism: When, Why, and How?(2020) Adolph, Kobe; Wessel, Jennifer; Lee, JaeunIn the face of a transition from Jim Crow era to modern era discrimination, this pilot study was conducted to better understand when, why, and how individuals confront racism. We defined blatant racism as overt and subtle racism as more ambiguous (Pettigrew & Meertens, 1995). Subtle racism is more difficult to detect for both targets and witnesses. Consequently, individuals who witness or experience subtle racism are less likely to confront the perpetrator (Ashburn-Nardo et al., 2008). The ambiguity of these situations leaves the targets questioning their own individual characteristics and those of the perpetrator rather than confronting the perpetrator. Many people are hesitant to accuse someone of being racist because it is unclear how that person will react (Ashburn-Nardo et al., 2008). Fairness theory (Folger & Cropanzano, 2001), and the influence of intent on judgements of fairness posed by Swim et al. (2003), were conceptualized as the basis for our hypotheses. We hypothesized that blatant racism will lead to greater probability of confrontation/wanting to confront and greater racist perceptions than subtle racism. Secondly, we hypothesized that witnesses that are the same race as targets will be less likely to confront/want to confront the perpetrator, but more likely to perceive the perpetrator as a racist. Our findings supported the first hypothesis but did not support the second. Although not the focus of our research, the behavior of our President is relevant because the lack of confrontation of his supporters’ blatantly racist behavior is reminiscent of the racism from the Jim Crow era. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.Item A Preliminary Investigation into Patient-Centered Care in Audiology(2020-04-27) Shah, Malika; Anderson, SamiraIn this investigation, we aim to review the current situation of patient-centered care in audiology through a preliminary literature review. We first explore the definition of patient-centered care in audiology that is consistent and operational. We then seek to identify domination of interactions between audiologists and patients during initial appointments. We use this to further investigate the psychosocial interactions and the effectiveness of the audiologists of addressing psychosocial concerns. We find that overall more research needs to be done in patient-centered care in audiology, but from preliminary review, audiologists fall short of addressing patient’s psychosocial concerns adequately in many cases. Research also points toward exploring the relationship between the patient-audiologist interactions and the outcomes of audiological rehabilitation.Item Children's Evaluations of Helpful and Unhelpful Individuals(2020) Forman, Sydney; Woodward, Amanda; Beier, Jonathan; Beier, JonathanHumans are cooperative and often help one another. Although we know that young children are helpful, there is much to understand about children’s evaluations of others who do and do not help. Prior work examined evaluations during middle childhood of helpers and non-helpers in India and the US in different settings (Miller, Bersoff, & Harwood, 1990). American children’s evaluations centered on their relationships with the needy person (e.g. friend or family member) and how severe the person’s need was. These differences in evaluations raise questions of how children’s views of helpful and unhelpful interactions arise, earlier development. The current studies examine 3- to 6-year-old children’s interpretations and evaluations of helpful and unhelpful people. Experiment 1 (N=95 of planned 96) investigated children’s evaluations of people who help versus neutral people and their views of helpful versus unhelpful interactions. Children watched two sets of videos. First, children watched a video of a helper giving tape to someone hanging a poster and a video of a neutral character with another girl. When asked to evaluate the helpful versus neutral characters, children rated the helper more positively (59 of 95, p = 0.01). Then, children watched videos of helpful and not helpful interactions. Overall, children viewed helpful action as more acceptable than unhelpful actions (X^2(1) = 85.01, p < 0.01). Experiment 2 (N=61 of planned 96) expanded this work by examining children’s evaluations of characters who do not help. Preliminary analyses will be presented in the poster.