Pictured above from left to right: (Front Row)
Lindsay Marsh, Saffron Redwine,
Michelle Uhlenbrock, Jac Brown, Meredith Cotton, Stephanie Gross, Katie Read
(Back Row) Griffin Liford, Scott Samale, Dani DeVincentis, Jennifer George,
Paige Coulter-Kern, Eric Sharp, Heather Morgan, Aislinn Cooper
Each year the Psychology seniors present their senior thesis work at Butler University’s undergraduate research conference.
Where available, abstracts are printed,
and links to the
PowerPoint Presentations and the
Full paper in PDF form are provided.
More pictures from the day can be found here.
Jac Brown
The Effects of
Depression and Self-Efficacy on Progress in Physical Therapy among the
Elderly.
It has been shown that
depression severely affects the lives of elderly individuals in a very
harmful manner. One potential impact could be its effect on a patient's
progress in physical therapy, which a significant number elderly people
receive. One way to counter this problem could be done through
increasing the level of self-efficacy the patient has. This study was
designed to investigate the effects of depression and self-efficacy on
progress among geriatric physical therapy patients. To examine this
question A Geriatric Depression Scale, a Self-Efficacy for exercise
scale modified for physical therapy was administered to geriatric
patients. Progress reports were then taken from assessments and
re-evaluations or physical therapy notes to determine the amount of
progress made. It is expected that more depressed older adults will
show less progress in physical therapy than older adults who are not
depressed and that this relationship will be mediated by self-efficacy.
PDF
Aislinn Cooper &
Griffin Liford
Short Term Effects of
Animal Assisted Therapy on Emotional Well Being.
Animal Assisted Therapy
(AAT) is a growing field in the treatment of various physical and
mental ailments. There is evidence to suggest that long-term AAT is an
effective method of decreasing patient's depression and anxiety, as
well as improving their self-esteem. The purpose of this study is to
assess whether short-term AAT is an effective alternative.
Approximately 30 participants at a children's hospital will be
administered questionnaires to measure their self-reported depression,
anxiety, and self-esteem levels. After answering the first group of
questionnaires, the participants will interact with an AAT companion
animal for approximately 10 minutes. Following the AAT session, the
participant will answer another set of inventories that measure
depression, anxiety, and self-esteem levels. In addition to the
quantitative data collected by the questionnaires, we will collect
observational data such as the type of interaction with the animal
(petting vs. playing), the extent of interaction with the animal
handler, and the duration of the visit. We anticipate that participants
will report lower levels of depression and anxiety and improved levels
of self-esteem following interaction with the AAT companion animal. If
this hypothesis is supported by our data collected, short-term AAT
could be used in non-traditional settings where long term AAT is not
possible (e.g., pre-op situations in hospitals or immediate
interventions by first responders following traumatic events).
PowerPoint
PDF
Meredith Cotton & Stephanie Goss
The Effect of Mortality
Salience on Attitudes Toward Gender Roles.
Research on mortality
salience shows that when people are faced with the awareness of their
eventual death their thoughts and behaviors change. In one recent
study, participants' self-esteem was damaged through negative feedback
and their tendency to stereotype increased. The purpose of this study
is to determine if the thought of death increases stereotypical
thinking, more specifically attitudes toward gender roles. Participants
completed one of two writing prompts about either their ideal date or
their own death. The goal of the writing prompts was to have a negative
and positive emotion elicited. The participants were scored on their
responses to a gender roles questionnaire as either traditional or
nontraditional. It is expected that those participants who wrote about
their own death will display more traditional thinking about gender
roles than those who wrote about their ideal date.
PowerPoint
PDF
Paige Coulter-Kern & Scott Samale
Effects of Arousal on
Attraction: Physical Characteristics and Psychological Characteristics.
This study is designed
to investigate the effect of physiological arousal on attraction when
faces are accompanied by mitigating information. Approximately 40
participants will be asked to report their level of attraction to
pictures of faces that are accompanied by positive or negative traits.
We will manipulate the level of physiological arousal of those in the
experimental group, while those in the control group will not be
aroused. We expect participants who are aroused to report being more
attracted to the attractive faces, regardless of the information
accompanying them, than participants who are not aroused. We also
expect participants who are aroused to report being less attracted to
unattractive faces, regardless of the information accompanying them,
than participants who are not aroused. The misattribution effect, in
which subjects are more attracted to attractive faces when aroused than
when not aroused, has been widely researched. While many studies
support the theory of misattribution and related theories, we hope to
contribute knowledge about the effect of psychological characteristics
on arousal and attraction. Findings that support our hypotheses may
help to explain why negative traits are often overlooked in the
beginning stage of a relationship (the passionate stage), when high
levels of arousal are present. Conversely, in the later stages of a
relationship (the companionate stage), lower arousal is present, and
positive traits become more important.
PowerPoint
PDF
Danielle DeVincentis
The Effects of a
Drama-Based Intervention on Adolescent Relational Aggression.
Relational aggression
is the manipulation of or damage to peer relationships or social
standing as a means of bullying. Relational aggression research has
primarily focused on its effects, finding it to be positively
correlated with withdrawn behavior, victimization, and rejection (Tan,
2009). When examining relational aggression and other forms of bullying
in students, one third of participants reported experiencing panic,
nervousness, impaired concentration, and recurring memories of bullying
incidences (Sharp, 1995). Others (e.g., Gastic, 2008) found negative
effects on school performance and disciplinary issues. Interventions to
reduce this behavior are less common in research, with successful
interventions even rarer. In the present study, the researcher hoped to
reduce relational aggression in a middle school population, utilizing a
drama-based intervention designed to increase empathy for relational
aggression victims. The researcher's hypothesis was that, following the
performance, students would then engage in fewer relationally
aggressive behaviors. Drama-based interventions focused on increasing
empathy have been successful in previous research (Ostrov, et. al,
2009). One class from the sixth, seventh, and eighth grades from a
small mid-western town participated in the intervention; control groups
from each grade were also assessed. The Young Adult Social Behavior
Scale was used to measure relational aggression. Fewer relationally
aggressive behaviors in students presented with the intervention would
suggest healthier relationships among these students, better strategies
for expressing displeasure within relationships, as well as preventing
negative effects associated with relational aggression. This may
suggest drama-based intervention with emphasis on increasing empathy as
a future tool to reduce relational aggression.
PowerPoint
PDF
Jennifer George & Michelle Uhlenbrock
Effects of
Advertisements on Perceptions of Womenřs Leadership.
This study was designed
to determine whether magazine advertisements in high fashion and beauty
magazines affect people's perception of women's abilities in leadership
positions. Participants answered a set of questions from the Gender
Authority Measure (GAM) Questionnaire, which was followed by a series
of ten advertisements from one of the following categories: sexualized,
heroin chic, doll-like/artificial, neutral, or athletic. Upon
completion of viewing the ads, the participants answered a second set
of questions from the GAM. The researchers expect to find that after
viewing advertisements from the sexualized, heroin chic, and
doll-like/artificial category, participants are likely to have a more
negative view of women's abilities in leadership roles, while there
will be little change for participants who viewed athletic or neutral
advertisements.
PowerPoint
PDF
Heather Morgan & Saffron Redwine
The Effects of Short
Term Exposure to Sexually Explicit Material on Emotion and Attitudes
towards Relationships and Sex.
This study was designed
to investigate short term exposure to sexually explicit material and
the effects on emotional reactions and attitudes towards relationships
and sex. It is predicted that pre-existing attitudes about sexuality
and about romantic relationships in general will have an immediate
impact on how people experience depictions of sexuality in visual
media. Participants responded to a Sexual Attitudes Scale (SAS) (e.g.,
"Casual sex is acceptable") and a Relationship Scales Questionnaire
(RSQ) (i.e., "I often worry that romantic partners don't really love
me"). Participants then viewed the same sexually explicit clip from a
movie. After viewing the clip, participants filled out a brief
questionnaire (PANAS) regarding their current emotional state (i.e.,
"distressed," "enthusiastic," "alert"). We expect to find that
participants who have more negative emotional reactions will have more
conservative attitudes toward relationships and sex. This research will
shed light on the factors that lead to positive and negative emotional
reactions to depictions of sexuality and may have implications for
ratings and other communications with potential audiences about sexual
content in the media.
PowerPoint
Katherine Read
Parental Involvement as a Predictor of School Success: Examining the
Mediating Role of Achievement Goals.
It has been argued that
when parents are involved in their children's academic lives, children
tend to perform better academically than when their parents are not
involved. However, it is possible that more than just parental
involvement plays a role in a child's academics. Achievement goals,
such as mastery and performance goals, also influence success in
academics. This study was designed to examine whether the type of
achievement goals mediate the relationship between types of parental
involvement and childrenřs academic success. Fourth-grade students
completed a survey on perceived parental involvement and a survey on
achievement goals. Childrenřs report card grades were obtained from
their teachers and averaged across all subjects. Expected results
include: a positive relationship between parental support and school
success, but a negative correlation between parental monitoring and
school success; a positive relationship between supportive parental
involvement and mastery goal orientation, as well as a positive
relationship between parental monitoring and performance-avoidance goal
orientation; a positive relationship between mastery goal orientation
and higher success, as well as a negative relationship between
performance-avoidance goal orientation and higher success; and a
decline in the strength of relationships between parental support and
monitoring and academic success when analyses control for goal
orientation.
PowerPoint
PDF