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 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 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 Patterns of Hostility and its Effects on Conflict Resolution(2020) Sangraula, Anu; Walsh, Sophia; Avelar, Belen; Faleti, Teni; Makol, BridgetParent-adolescent relationships are one of the first relationships an adolescent has, and can be very influential. Conflict in this relationship is inevitable and hostility is perceived to be counterproductive in conflict resolution. Literature shows that parents who demonstrated less hostility and focused more on the conflict were more likely to resolve the conflict with their adolescent (Marceau et al., 2015). However, there is a lack of literature on the possible benefits of hostility in conflict resolution. This study aims to analyze how nonverbal hostile behaviors influence conflict resolution while examining the temporal patterning of these behaviors. We predict that any hostility during the conflict will signal to the adolescent that their parent is becoming uncooperative, which may increase the adolescent’s efforts to resolve a conflict. Additionally, we predict that parents who demonstrate low hostility levels at the beginning of the conflict are more likely to resolve the conflict with their adolescents than parents who exhibit low hostility levels towards the end of the conflict. 42 dyads were examined using previously recorded videos and the acts of hostility were coded based on an established coding manual. We found that the parental hostility scores obtained in the four conflict resolution groups were significantly different from one another. Additionally, the mean hostility scores obtained by No Resolution were significantly higher than those of Complete Resolution and No Conflict. These results show that hostility is not completely counterproductive and destructive to conflict resolution. We recommend for hostility in conflict to be studied further to understand the behaviors parents display during conflict resolution.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 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 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.Item Understanding the Relationship Between Theory of Mind and Anxiety in Autistic and Typically Developing Children(2020) Stadler, Ryan; Redcay, ElizabethAnxiety disorder can be especially difficult to deal with for children and adolescents. Previous literature has indicated a relationship between anxiety and theory of mind ability. Theory of mind (ToM) is the ability to understand the beliefs, emotions, and intentions of another person and acknowledge that these mental states may differ from their own. Previously, individuals diagnosed with social anxiety disorder demonstrated lower ToM ability than their peers. However, these studies used a limited number of tasks and a sample of only typically developing (TD) adults. The relationship between anxiety and ToM is less understood when the presence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is considered. Understanding anxiety in children with ASD is important because they are diagnosed with anxiety disorder at a higher rate compared to their TD peers. To explore this relationship in both ASD and TD samples, data was collected using the Strange Stories Task and the Screening for Child Anxiety Related Disorders (SCARED) questionnaire for 44 participants ages 7-14 years old. 22 participants had an ASD diagnosis and 22 did not. Strange Stories assesses ability to accurately use ToM to answer questions about characters’ mental states in fictional stories. The SCARED questionnaire is completed by parents to evaluate how much anxiety is typically experienced by the child. From these data, the correlation between ToM accuracy and total anxiety score will be examined. Differences in ToM and anxiety scores between groups will also be investigated. The results could allow for better understanding of ToM and anxiety in children with and without autism.Item How Entitlement Impacts Abusive Leadership & Workplace Aggression(2020) Cerritos, CindyNegative leadership styles have recently captured the attention of organizational psychologists. In specific, abusive supervision has been a focal issue of study due to the detrimental impacts it produces onto followers. The present research examines the mechanisms underlying the consequences of abusive supervisiors and assesses how personality impacts follower attributions of abuse and counterproductive work behaviors toward others in the workplace.Item Is Facial Mimicry Related to Empathy Levels in Children?(2020) Talwar, Reshmi; Pan, Alvina; Morales, Santiago; Fox, NathanFacial mimicry is thought to be involved in several socioemotional skills, including empathy. In this project, we investigated the presence of facial mimicry and its relationship to empathy in children. We collected electromyographic (EMG) activity using an EEG net as participants observed fearful and happy facial expressions. Additionally, Participants’ caregivers completed the Griffin Empathy Questionnaire (Dadds et al., 2008). First, we confirmed that our EEG facial electrodes captured facial muscle (EMG) activity and differentiated between executed happy and fearful facial expressions (p<.001). As hypothesized, we found greater EMG activity in the Zygomaticus Major cluster for happy, compared to fearful expressions (p<.001). As expected, this pattern was reversed for the Corrugator Supercilii cluster (p<.001). Second, we found evidence for facial mimicry while participants observed various expressions (p=.04). However, facial mimicry was only significant for the Corrugator Supercilii cluster (p=.02) and not the Zygomaticus Major, suggesting that evidence for facial mimicry was exclusive to observing fearful facial expressions. Finally, we found that the extent of facial mimicry was not related to levels of empathy, r(45)=.23, p=.12. Together, our results provide evidence for facial mimicry in childhood. However, we do not provide support for the relation between facial mimicry and empathy. Finally, our findings suggest that EMG activity can be successfully captured using EEG equipment, providing future studies a way to directly examine the relation between facial mimicry and the mirror neuron system.
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