Office of Undergraduate Research

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Emphasizing equitable and inclusive access to research opportunities, the University of Maryland's Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR) empowers undergraduates and faculty to engage and succeed in inquiry, creative activity, and scholarship. This collection includes materials shared by undergraduate researchers during OUR events. It also encompasses materials from Undergraduate Research Day 2020, Undergraduate Research Day 2021, and Undergraduate Research Day 2022, which were organized by the Maryland Center for Undergraduate Research.

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Subject: search.filters.subject.Psychology

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Now showing 1 - 10 of 49
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    Associations between social responsiveness and brain structure in children
    (2025) Karan, Anna; Blaustein, Madison; Collins, Mia; Perry, Aleyah; Dr. Tracy Riggins PhD
    Early childhood is critical for assessing socioemotional development, especially to identify risk of a disorder developing. Research exists showing relations between brain development and autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Damage to the amygdala can result in impaired response and perception of social cues (1). Additional findings show larger amygdala and hippocampal volumes (2) and cortical thinning (3) in individuals with ASD. Behavioral studies have shown that social responsiveness as a key indicator of risk (4). However, children with differences in social behavior without ASD are understudied. This project will investigate relations between neurological variations and differences in social responsiveness in 4- to 8-year-old typically developing children. We will explore relations between amygdala volume, hippocampal volume, and cortical thickness of frontal, parietal and occipital lobes and Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS) scores (3). Our study includes approximately 200 children (ages 4-8 years), with neuroimaging and questionnaire data. We measured social responsiveness using the SRS, a parent-report questionnaire (4). We measured amygdala and hippocampal volumes and cortical thickness from structural brain scans using Freesurfer. Correlations between measures will be conducted using R. We hypothesize that lower levels of social responsiveness will be associated with larger amygdala and right hippocampal volumes and decreased cortical thickness. Conducting this research will expand brain research in relation to socioemotional development in all children. (1) Skuse et al., 2003 (2) Barnea-Goraly et al., 2014 (3) Richter et al., 2015 (4) Aldridge et al., 2011
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    Relations between Social Motivation and Gaze Behavior in Autistic and Non-Autistic Adolescents
    (2025) Plastino, Sofia; McNaughton, Kathryn; Redcay, Elizabeth; Redcay, Elizabeth
    Autistic individuals experience challenges in their social interactions. One factor that may underlie these challenges is social motivation, which may also be related to variations in eye contact. Perspectives on this relation consist of several mixed views, potentially due to the fact that most research has been done in static, non-real world settings. My research uses mobile eye-tracking to bridge this gap by analyzing gaze patterns in individuals from three different dyad types: N-AUT (Non-autistic)-N-AUT (n = 37), AUT (Autistic)-N-AUT (n = 24), and AUT-AUT (n = 6), with a total of 67 participants, exploring the link between gaze-to-face behavior and social motivation during live interactions. I hypothesize that there will be a significant positive correlation between gaze and social motivation. The visit my research focuses on simulates a real-world environment, allowing better assessment of the underlying aspects of peer social interactions. It consists of both an interactional and individual section. Throughout the duration of the interaction, both participants of the dyad are wearing eye-tracking glasses, which I will use to quantify their gaze-to-face behavior. To assess social motivation, I am focusing on an individual task, which uses money as a reward. In the task, the participant is given options to choose between learning more about their partner, other kids their age, or trivia facts. I am measuring social motivation by comparing the percentage of time participants select trivia over their partner, and other kids over their partner. Once all data is collected, I will assess the correlation between gaze-to-face behavior and social motivation, furthering understanding of their link in a real-world setting.
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    Intersectionality of Race, Autism, and Anxiety in Marginalized Youth
    (2025) Gyimah, Davina; Thomas, Stephen; Yarger, Heather; Yarger, Heather
    The prevalence of anxiety in marginalized (i.e., non-White) populations has been largely overlooked in literature. Autistic research and its focus on comorbidities with anxiety are mostly focused on White youth and their families (Malone et al., 2022). These gaps in literature are often due to an overrepresentation of White individuals in studies and a lack of wide scale Non-White studies. This may be due to systematic disparities that marginalized populations often face. Research geared towards non-White populations is vital in creating a better understanding of their life experiences and how to treat their diagnoses. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of anxiety in non-White adolescents relative to White adolescents, and to examine the intersectionality with autistic diagnoses and experiences of discrimination. The Anxiety Scale for Children- ASD (ASC-ASD; Rodgers et al., 2016) scale was used to assess anxiety and the Everyday Discrimination Scale (Williams et al., 1997) was used to capture experiences of discrimination. Participants were 30 adolescents (12 Non-Hispanic White, 20 non-White), aged 11-14 years, and their parents. Results of an independent samples t-test indicated that marginalized autistic youth reported higher levels of anxiety in comparison to their non-White counterparts (p = 0.08). When evaluating whether experiences of discrimination moderated relations between race and anxiety, we found that the effect of discrimination varies by race, although not statistically significant (p = .13). Further, being a member of a marginalized group was associated with a 19.18-point increase in anxiety (holding experiences of discrimination constant).
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    Prevalence of Depressive and Loneliness Symptoms in ASD & Non-ASD Youth by Race
    (2025) Raza, Yamha; Yarger, Heather; Thomas, Stephen
    Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is associated with elevated depression rates, yet racial and ethnic disparities in mental health outcomes remain understudied. This study examined differences in depressive and loneliness symptoms among White, Non-Hispanic and Non-White adolescents with and without autism. As part of a larger study on anxiety and psychophysiology in autistic and nonautistic adolescents, we investigated whether depressive and loneliness symptom rates varied across groups. The sample included 34 adolescents (aged 11-14). Participants completed the Child Depression Inventory-2 (CDI-2; Kovacs, 2011) and the Asher Loneliness Scale (Asher & Wheeler, 1985), self-reporting their experiences over the past two weeks. Of note, lower scores on the Loneliness scale indicate more loneliness. Independent samples t-tests compared symptom severity between racial/ethnic groups. No differences between groups (i.e., Non-White, White Non-Hispanic) were identified regarding average depression scores (p = 0.27) or average loneliness scores (p = 0.27). Specifically, Non-White adolescents reported an average of 10.8 (SD = 5.6) on the depression scale whereas White, Non-Hispanic adolescents reported an average of 8.71 (SD = 4.86). White, Non-Hispanic adolescents reported an average of 58.6 (SD = 7.8) on the loneliness scale compared to Non-White Hispanic adolescents who reported an average of 54.7 (SD = 10.80). Although Non-White Hispanic individuals with and without ASD exhibited higher average depression symptom scores, further research is needed to determine whether systemic factors contribute to mental health disparities. Future studies should incorporate larger, more diverse samples and investigate socioeconomic and environmental influences on mental health outcomes among autistic youth.
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    Discrepancies Between Parent- and Child-Reported Anxiety Symptoms in Autistic and Non-Autistic Youth
    (2025) Resnick, Rachel; Yarger, Heather
    Anxiety is one of the most common co-occurring conditions in youth on the autism spectrum (ASD) and can manifest differently compared to non-ASD youth, making it difficult to identify anxiety in ASD youth. The Screen for Child Anxiety-Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED; Birhmaher et al., 1997) is a gold-standard measurement tool that aims to provide a dual-informed perspective of anxiety symptoms (Behrens et al., 2020). However, discrepancies between parent and child reports have been observed, suggesting a need for further analysis of whether discrepancies vary by diagnostic group (ASD or non-ASD). This study aimed to determine if discrepancies existed between parent- and self-reported anxiety symptoms and if there was a difference between diagnostic groups. Data were obtained from a larger study examining anxiety and heart rate variability in youth. Results of a correlation test showed that parent and child-reported anxiety symptoms scores were not statistically significantly correlated (r = 0.33, p = .07). An independent samples t-test indicated that there was a significant difference between parent-reported and child-reported anxiety symptoms (t = - 3.00, p = .01), such that parent anxiety symptom ratings were 7.4 points lower than child anxiety symptoms (95% CI [-13.33, -2.5]). There was a significant mean difference between the discrepancies for the ASD and non-ASD groups (t = -3.41, p = .001) with a higher rate of discrepancy in the non-ASD group (95% CI [-15.44, 0.07]). These results indicate that parents of non-ASD youth are more likely to underreport their child’s anxiety symptoms, while parents of ASD youth are more likely to align with their child’s report.
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    A Tri-Factor Model of Relationship-Specific Intellectual Humility
    (2025) Benvenisti, Laura; Diamond, Romi; Mizrachi, Sarah; Davis, Alexander J.; Lemay Jr, Edward P.; Lemay Jr, Edward P.
    The current study (N = 498) examined the existence, predictors, and consequences of relationship-specific intellectual humility (R-IH). Intellectual humility refers to the degree to which people recognize that their beliefs may be wrong (Leary et al., 2017). While most research has treated intellectual humility as an individual difference variable that is seemingly stable across situations, it is possible that intellectual humility varies depending on who one is interacting with. R-IH refers to one’s tendency to acknowledge that their beliefs might be wrong when interacting with a specific relationship partner who holds different beliefs or brings forth contradictory evidence. Participants received partial course credit in exchange for participation and completed well-established, reliable scales assessing respect for partner knowledge, concern for partner’s well-being, psychological safety with partner in making mistakes, and level of conflict with regard to three relationship partners: someone they are close to, someone they interact with frequently but are not close to, and someone they conflict with. Findings revealed that R-IH in fact varied significantly across participants’ multiple relationships via a tri-factor model, in which R-IH was uniquely predicted by respect, care for one’s partner, and psychological safety, while R-IH predicted reduced conflict frequency. Results suggest that individuals are more intellectually humble in certain relationships as compared to others; that care, respect, and safety in relationships can strengthen intellectual humility in those relationships; and that intellectual humility toward specific partners may lead to fewer conflicts.
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    Exploring the Impact of Prenatal Drug Exposure on Brain Development: Data Collection Framework
    (2024) Sare, Perfect; Jones, Morgan; Chi, Zehua; Riggins, Tracy
    Understanding brain development is a critical area of neuroscience requiring comprehensive research. Numerous factors, including prenatal drug exposure (PDE), significantly influence both pre- and postnatal brain development. The HEALthy Brain and Child Development (HBCD) Study is a longitudinal study that aims to explore these impacts and advance our knowledge of early brain and child development. It utilizes multiple, carefully curated methods to obtain physiological data from participants, including diverse patient recruitment, biospecimen collection, and various MRI scans. This poster will address these methods of data collection and how they will contribute to future research. 2
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    Students' Use of Retrieval Practice
    (2024) Aliabadi, Farah; Oscilowski, Joseph; Wieczynski, Aleysa; Hartwig, Marissa
    Retrieval practice is the highly effective learning strategy of recalling facts and concepts from memory. Examples of retrieval practice include using flashcards, practice quizzes, open-ended recall, and other exercises where information is retrieved from memory. Research is mixed on whether or not students choose to use retrieval practice and whether they fully understand its benefits for their learning. Our research seeks to better understand student attitudes toward retrieval practice. We hypothesized that the type of retrieval under consideration–for example, ready-made quiz questions vs. free-recall summarization–might affect students’ inclination to study with retrieval practice. Two studies examined the popularity of two retrieval practice methods–practice quizzing and summarization–compared to passive studying (i.e., reviewing instructional materials). Study 1 was conducted with undergraduates in a laboratory setting (N = 93). Study 2 was conducted in high school math classes in four different high schools (N = 567). In both studies, participants were taught unfamiliar math lessons via computer tutorials. A study phase followed, where participants could restudy the materials in preparation for a test by selecting any of three study tools: quiz, summarize, or review. Participants could use any combination of tools and could also quit studying at any time. In both studies, the quiz tool was significantly more popular than reviewing or summarization. These results suggest that students’ inclination to use retrieval practice for studying may depend on the form of retrieval practice.
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    Mitochondrial Morphology in Orbitofrontal Cortical Neurons During Incubation of Oxycodone Craving
    (2024) Luo, Xiang; Olaniran, Adedayo; Matheson, Chloe; Lin, Hongyu; Li, Xuan
    Mitochondrial morphology in orbitofrontal cortical neurons during incubation of oxycodone craving Relapse is a major challenge in treating opioid addiction, including oxycodone, a commonly abused prescription opioid. In rats, cue-induced oxycodone seeking progressively increases during abstinence. Our previous work demonstrated that orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) plays a critical role in this incubation of oxycodone craving. However, the molecular mechanisms in OFC that contribute to this incubation are unknown. Here, we focus on mitochondrial dynamics in OFC and characterize the mitochondrial morphology in OFC neurons during incubation of oxycodone craving. We used a dual-virus approach to sparsely label mitochondria in OFC neurons by injecting the adeno-associated virus (AAV)-hSyn-GFP together with AAV-CMV-mitoDsRed bilaterally into OFC. Next, we trained male rats to either self-administer saline (as the control group) or oxycodone (0.1 mg/kg/infusion) for 6 h/day over 10 days. On abstinence day 15, we perfused both groups of animals and processed the brain for confocal microscopy. Our image analysis showed that in the somas of OFC neurons, there was a significant increase in the size-frequency of the smallest mitochondria, accompanied by overall increased mitochondria density, in oxycodone rats compared with saline rats. This finding suggests that mitochondria in OFC neuronal cell bodies enhanced fission after 15-day abstinence from oxycodone self-administration. In contrast, we did not observe the differences in primary dendrites of OFC neurons between the two groups. Studies are underway to examine whether enhanced mitochondrial fission in OFC somas is time-dependent after abstinence and whether there are sex differences in mitochondrial morphology during incubation of oxycodone craving.
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    Pawsitive Impact: How Pets Enhance Our Psychological Well-Being
    (2024) Bagni, Sokun; Tomlinson, Tracy
    Research into psychological well-being (PWB), a multidimensional construct that includes self-actualization and healthy relationships (Adler et al., 2017), is fundamental for improving the positive functioning of individuals and communities. Therefore, this research considers the ability of pets to improve an individual's quality of life and PWB. Interacting with pets can offer emotional support, alleviate stress, and encourage physical activity, which can directly improve PWB (Gaied, 2022). Using a naturalistic observational research design, pet owners in a public park were assessedon their level of engagement and care towards their pets, and their PWB as measured by Duchenne smiles and laughter. The results indicate that those who have high-quality interactions with their pets have significantly better PWB than those who showed low-quality interaction. This study emphasizes the importance of meaningful interactions with pets in promoting PWB, suggesting that active engagement beyond the mere presence of the animal is crucial. This underscores the need for future research on pets in PWB, as their interactions could boost both individual and community well-being. The implications of this research support expanding traditional views on pet involvement by encouraging alternative engagements such as fostering pets and participating in pet cafe experiences. Future research should explore the causal pathways of this relationship and consider broader, more diversified samples to increase the generalizability of the results. Quality interactions with pets have the potential to greatly benefit individuals and society as a whole, making it an important area of future research. References Adler, A., Unanue, W., Osin, E., Ricard, M., Alkire, S., & Seligman, M. (2017). Psychological wellbeing. Happiness, 118. https://www.bhutanstudies.org.bt/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Happiness-transform_Final_with-cover .pdf#page=123 Gaied, J. Y. (2022). Relationship between Pets' Possession and Psychological, Physical and general wellbeing of Community dwelling older adults. Alexandria Scientific Nursing Journal, 24(4), 37-47. https://asalexu.journals.ekb.eg/article_280353_671675a72acfe748e3881cc9e2cfda83.pdf Link to OSF Project: https://osf.io/q5y72