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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    Effect Of Neural Sensitivity to Social Reward on Naturalistic Social Motivation in Autistic and Non-Autistic Adolescents
    (2024-04-19) Nelson, Sarah E.; Redcay, Elizabeth
    Background: Social engagement differences are a core diagnostic feature of autism, though there is debate as to whether they reflect a decreased intrinsic motivation for social interaction due to neural differences in social reward processing. Much of the research in this area has methodological limitations, such as the lack of behavioral measurements of social motivation and non- ecologically relevant social reward stimuli. This is a particularly important topic to research in an adolescent age group, as peer bonds become integral to social and emotional development in this developmental stage. Objective: Assess how neural sensitivity to social reward is related to social motivation to engage with a peer in autistic and non-autistic adolescents. Method: 52 adolescents (11 autistic, 41 non-autistic, age 11-14) completed an fMRI task where they learned about commonalities and differences they had with an anonymous peer as well as randomized responses from a computer. Our primary measure of neural sensitivity to social reward is the differential activation in nucleus accumbens (NAc), a brain region that is often involved in reward processing, between positive peer responses and positive computer responses. Activation was also measured in Heschl's gyrus, an auditory processing area not closely related to reward, as a control comparison. Additionally, secondary exploratory analyses also included assessment of activation in the amygdala and orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), which are also involved in reward processing, to the peer versus the computer responses. Some time afterwards, the participants returned to have an in person interaction in a dyad with an age and gender matched peer in the study. After the interaction, the participants separately completed a behavioral measure of social reward, where they had the opportunity to choose between learning more about their peer partner or about non-social trivia. Each choice corresponded to different amounts of monetary reward (1-4 cents), meaning participants chose whether or not to forgo some monetary reward in order to learn more about their preferred topics. Social motivation was measured based on the proportion of responses where the participants chose to learn more about their partner compared to trivia. Results: The data was analyzed using mixed effects models that take into account neural activation, gender, age, and autism diagnosis status as fixed effects and dyad membership as a random intercept. We found a significant relationship between activation in the NAc (p=.019) and social motivation in the behavioral task. The secondary analyses did not reach significance after correcting for multiple comparisons, with amygdala (p=.033) and OFC (p=.5193) activation not significantly predicting social motivation. There was no significant relationship between activation in Heschl’s gyrus and social motivation (p=.635). Conclusions: The results of this study suggest that heterogeneity in autistic and non autistic adolescents' social motivation relates to their neural sensitivity to social reward in the NAc. The lack of a relationship between activation in Heschl’s gyrus and social motivation provides more support that this relationship is specifically related to differences in reward related regions. This finding can help us better understand and accommodate the social differences found in autism.
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    Social Networks and Fears of Stigma by Association with the LGBTQ+ Community
    (2024) Guberman, Lucas; Lemay, Edward P. Jr.
    Members of the LGBTQ+ community face unjust stigma and discrimination. People may not want to associate with members of this community due to fear that their association will cause them to be similarly stigmatized, termed fears of stigma by association. The purpose of the current research is to examine whether fears of stigma by association mediate the relationship between indirect contact and microaggressions towards members of the LGBTQ+ community. The results of this study point to reduced fears of stigma-by-association as a novel mechanism through which intergroup contact improves intergroup relations. However, there was no significant relationship found between fears of stigma by association and microaggressions. These results suggest people with inclusive social networks may be more accepting of the LGBTQ+ community because they are less fearful of being stigmatized by their network members.
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    Friendships and Mental Health in Autistic and Non-Autistic Adolescents
    (2024-05-09) Sarlak, Deanna; Redcay, Elizabeth; Yarger, Heather A.; Cassidy, Jude
    Friends rise in importance during adolescence (Siegal et al., 2009). Additionally, friends have an impact on internalizing symptoms as adolescents begin to seek approval from friends. High quality friendships are characterized by a variety of factors such as help, security, closeness, companionship, and low conflict (Bukowski et al., 1994). The limitations of current research entails a lack of observation of the quantity of reciprocated friendships alongside marked friendship quality, compared to self-reported internalizing symptoms in autistic and non-autistic youth; thus fueling our research’s objective. The present study investigated 1) group differences in friendship quality, friendship security, and internalizing symptoms. Additionally, we investigated 2) whether reciprocated friendships or friendship quality were associated with internalizing symptoms in autistic and non-autistic adolescents. . Participants were 84 adolescents (64 autistic, 20 non-autistic) aged 11-14 (M = 12.87, SD = 1.79). Friendship security and help were significantly lower in autistic adolescents compared to non-autistic adolescents. However, group accounted for the largest variance in internalizing symptoms. Significant results were not found for our second aim. These outcomes seem to emphasize that non-autistic adolescents may tend to have a higher sense of security and help in their friendships compared to their autistic peers, emphasizing the need for supporting a sense of security and help in autistic youth and their friendships.
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    Educate and Empower: An Online Intervention to Improve College Women’s Knowledge and Confidence When Communicating in a Romantic Relationship
    (2022-05) Trovato, Karoline J.; O’Brien, Karen M.
    Historically, and during the covid-19 pandemic, the vast majority of unpaid family care was provided by women with devastating outcomes including lost jobs, increased poverty, and mental health concerns (Almeida et al., 2020; Dang et al., 2020; Power, 2020). Unequal family work and unhealthy communication were associated with women’s relationship dissatisfaction and depressive symptoms (Bannon et al., 2020; Carlson et al., 2020; Woods et al., 2019). The PARTNERS video intervention was created to educate college women about family work distribution, communication in a romantic relationship, and the PARTNERS model of communication (a strategy for healthy communication based on existing literature and developed by Trovato and O’Brien for this intervention). An experiment was conducted to assess the effectiveness of the video intervention. Participants exposed to the intervention had the highest relationship communication self-efficacy. Those who participated in the intervention or read a partial script were the most knowledgeable about family work distribution, communication, and the PARTNERS model. The PARTNERS intervention has potential to educate women about family work distribution and couple communication and improve their confidence when communicating with a romantic partner. Ultimately, this intervention may increase relationship satisfaction, reduce depression, and equalize family work distribution for women.
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    Black Grief Matters: Disenfranchisement, Social Support, and Coping Among Black College Students Grieving the Deaths of Black Americans by Police Brutality
    (2022-05) Harris, Madelyn; O'Brien, Karen
    Today, Black Americans are nearly three times more likely than their white American counterparts to be killed by police, accounting for more than 40% of the victims of police killings nationwide (Bor et al., 2018). These murders are receiving considerable media attention as some have been captured on video and shared widely via social media and news platforms. Moreover, the Black Lives Matter movement, which aims to emphasize the precarious state of Black lives, focuses needed attention on these horrific murders by police brutality (Rankine, 2015). The ubiquity of social media and news platforms facilitates widespread viewing and sharing of police brutality against Black Americans, with the viewing of such events potentially more pronounced among college students, as over 84% of 18 to 29 year-olds use at least one social media site (Pew Research Center, 2021). Exposure to this violence is associated with negative mental health outcomes among Black Americans including heightened stress, depression, and grief and loss reactions (Allen & Solomon, 2016; Bor et al., 2018; Tynes et al., 2019). Factors which may contribute to these negative mental health outcomes include disenfranchisement of grief (i.e., the grief not being recognized or acknowledged; Piazza-Bonin et al., 2015), the absence of social support during grieving (Burke et al., 2010; Stroebe et al., 2005), and the ways in which college students cope with these killings and their grief (Andersen et al., 2013; Fox, 2019). The purpose of this study was to examine how grief disenfranchisement, social support and coping style predict stress, depressive symptoms, and prolonged grief among Black college students as they respond to the deaths of Black Americans by police brutality.
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    Exploring neural correlates of depression in childhood: The relation between amygdala:hippocampus ratios and CDI depression scores in 4-8 year olds
    (2021-05-11) Coley, Katherine; Riggins, Tracy
    Nationally representative studies have shown that mood disorders such as depression and anxiety are widely prevalent in children, with depression acting as one of the leading causes of disability in the United States (Ghandour et al., 2018; Schmaal et al., 2016). Research on adults suggests that depression and mood regulation can be linked to brain structure and function, specifically abnormalities with the amygdala and hippocampus (Yavas et al., 2019; Gerritsen et al., 2012). Interestingly, these brain regions have been shown to undergo structural and functional changes in early childhood that correspond with critical developmental changes in behavior (e.g., Riggins et al., 2018; Stern et al., 2019). Despite these changes, there is very little research investigating the relation between the brain and depressive symptoms in children, particularly during early childhood. Furthering the understanding of the relation between structural changes in brain and depressive symptoms is critically important not only for addressing high rates of childhood depression, but also for understanding the etiology and course of depression from early childhood into adulthood. This information could inform future intervention strategies and improve our understanding of normative and non-normative development in early childhood. This study aims to fill this gap by assessing the association between amygdala and hippocampus volumes and depressive symptoms cross sectionally and longitudinally in children ages 4-8 years.
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    Exploring Relations Between Memory and Internalizing and Externalizing Behaviors in Childhood
    (2021) Munshell, Paige; Riggins, Tracy
    There is a growing field of research which suggests internalizing and externalizing disorders cause disruptions in cognitive functioning, including memory. This association has primarily been explored in adults. This honors thesis explores the potential connection between mnemonic discrimination as a measure of episodic memory and internalizing and externalizing behaviors in young children. Researchers collected data on memory using a Mnemonic Similarity Task (MST) in children between 3 and 5 years of age and related their performance to ratings of their internalizing and externalizing behavior from the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) completed by a parent or guardian. Results did not support the hypothesis that internalizing and externalizing behaviors were related to poor episodic memory, as has been shown in adult populations. Future research with older children should be conducted in order to understand when during development that internalizing and externalizing behaviors begin to inhibit episodic memory.
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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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    I’m sorry, curry & rice are just not my thing: Online sexual racism as a predictor of body-oriented concerns among East Asian and South Asian sexual minority men
    (2021-05) Dua, Vardaan; Mohr, Jonathan
    Online dating applications routinely expose sexual minority men (SMM) of color to an online culture of body objectification and racial prejudice. Dating app use and sexual racism are related to body-oriented concerns among SMM of color. However, no previous research has focused on experiences of sexual racism and body-oriented concerns among Asian SMM. The main purpose of the present study is to examine the relationship between two types of online sexual racism (racist rejection and racist exotification) and five types of body-oriented concerns among Asian SMM. The present study also investigated whether the associations between these variables differed by (a) racial/ethnic identity, (b) levels of racial/ethnic identity salience, and (c) levels of identity conflicts. East Asian (n =100) and South Asian (n = 100) SMM were recruited through online advertisements and completed measures for body-oriented concerns and online sexual racism. We found that, at large, both types of sexual racism were positively associated with all types of body-oriented concerns. Racist rejection more strongly predicted body concerns for South Asian SMM, whereas racist exotification more strongly predicted body concerns for East Asian SMM. In some cases, racial/ethnic identity salience and identity conflicts significantly moderated the links between sexual racism and body-oriented concerns, and some of the moderation effects differed by racial/ethnic identity. Implications for researchers, clinicians, and advocates working with Asian SMM are discussed.
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    Protective Behavioral Strategies and Alcohol Problems in Heavy Drinking College Students: The Role of ADHD Symptoms and Sex Differences
    (2021-05-10) Steinberg, Amanda; Chronis-Tuscano, Andrea
    College students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are at risk for alcohol-related negative consequences, but key correlates of risks for this population are unknown. The use of protective behavioral strategies (PBS) is designed to mitigate the negative consequences of drinking, but people with ADHD may be at-risk for underutilizing PBS. This study evaluated group differences in PBS use and alcohol variables by ADHD status and biological sex. Participants were full-time undergraduate students (49% female; ages 18-22) with (n=42) and without (n=37) ADHD. Students were screened for high-risk alcohol use and completed measures of alcohol use, alcohol-related negative consequences, and PBS. Despite no significant differences among drinking variables, students with ADHD reported more alcohol-related negative consequences compared to their similarly-drinking peers. Males reported more drinks per week but had comparable binge drinking and intoxication episodes to females, where surprisingly, females reported significantly more alcohol-related negative consequences than males. As predicted, students with ADHD and males reported using fewer total PBS than non- ADHD peers and females. Contrary to expectations, moderation analyses showed no significant moderation for ADHD status on sex differences and PBS use, nor did ADHD status significantly moderate the effect of PBS use in reducing alcohol-related negative consequences. Future research should examine possible mechanisms underlying the association between ADHD and PBS utilization (i.e., emotion dysregulation, impulsivity).