Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis dysfunction is found in heavy alcohol users. Negative urgency is a personality trait reflecting the tendency to act rashly in response to negative emotional states, and is associated with problematic alcohol consumption. The current study examined the relationship between negative urgency and HPA axis functioning following (1) negative mood induction and (2) intravenous alcohol administration among heavy social drinkers (proposed n = 40). I hypothesized the following: (1) Negative mood induction would result in an increase of cortisol release as compared to neutral mood induction; (1a) Negative urgency would be related to increased cortisol release in response to negative mood induction; (1b) Negative urgency would partially mediate the relationship between mood induction and cortisol release; (2) Acute IV alcohol administration would result in increased cortisol levels in the neutral mood condition, but decreased cortisol levels in the negative mood condition; and (2a) Negative urgency would be related to the suppression of cortisol release in the negative mood condition in response to acute IV alcohol administration. Repeated measures analyses of variance, the PROCESS macro, and paired samples t-tests were used to examine study hypotheses. Hypotheses were largely unsupported. Writing mood induction procedures reduced salivary cortisol levels in negative mood (t(35)= 2.49, p= 0.02) and there was a trend decrease in neutral mood (t(35)= 1.87, p= 0.07). Alcohol administration also reduced salivary cortisol levels in both negative mood (t(35)= 3.99, p< 0.01) and neutral mood (t(35)= 2.60, p= 0.01). However, salivary cortisol changes were no different than typical circadian patterns in response to mood induction (t(231)= 0.37, p=0.71) or in response to acute alcohol administration (t(231)= 0.44, p= 0.64). Negative urgency had a trend main effect on salivary cortisol level in response to acute IV alcohol administration, such that those higher in negative urgency were more similar to typical circadian patterns (F(19,28)= 1.59, p=0.13). This could serve as preliminary support for a psychological mechanism for the alcohol sensitivity hypothesis. Overall these findings suggest the current study failed to sufficiently manipulate salivary cortisol levels. Future studies should consider methodological techniques when exploring these relationships, including IV compared to oral alcohol administration, mood compared to stress manipulations, and cortisol compared to other HPA axis biomarkers.

Although early Venetian operas by composers such as Claudio Monteverdi and Francesco Cavalli offer today's listeners profound moments of emotion, the complex codes of meaning connecting emotion (or affect) with music in this repertoire are different from those of later seventeenth-century operatic repertoire. The specific textual and musical markers that librettists and composers used to indicate individual emotions in these operas were historically and culturally contingent, and many scholars thus consider them to be inaccessible to listeners today. This dissertation demonstrates a new analytical framework that is designed to identify the specific combinations of elements that communicate each lifelike emotion in this repertoire. Re-establishing the codes that govern the relationship between text, musical sound, and affect in this repertoire illuminates the nuanced emotional language of operas by composers such as Claudio Monteverdi, Francesco Cavalli, Antonio Cesti, and Francesco Lucio. The new analytical framework that underlies this study derives from analysis of seventeenth-century Venetian explanations and depictions of emotional processes, which reveal a basis in their society's underlying Aristotelian philosophy. Chapters III and IV examine extant documents from opera librettists, composers, audience members, and their associates to reveal how they understood emotions to work in the mind and body. These authors, many of whom were educated by Aristotelian scholars at the nearby University of Padua, understood action and emotion to be bound together in a reciprocal, causal relationship, and this synthesis was reflected in the way that they depicted affect in opera. It also guided the ways that singer-actors performed and audiences interpreted this music. In contrast, post-1660 Baroque operas from France and Italy express affect according to the musical conventions of the Doctrine of Affections (based in the ideas of René Descartes) and aim to present a single, clear emotion for each large semantic unit (recitative or aria). This paradigm does not hold true for operas composed before 1660; thus, this vibrant repertoire requires a new analytical approach that respects its pre-Cartesian musical aesthetics. Early Venetian opera composers express not just one, but many affects in each semantic unit. In their operas, musical sound interacts directly with text and dramatic action on a line-by-line basis to produce an unprecedented fluidity of emotional meaning. Chapter II describes a new analytical framework based in this understanding to reveal the means that librettists, composers, and performers used to communicate emotion in this repertoire. Chapters V through X contain hermeneutic and musical analyses (according to the method described in Chapter II) of case studies drawn from Venetian operas performed between 1640 and 1658. These chapters illustrate how this repertoire uses a flexible but well-defined system of musical and textual markers to convey characters' emotions. This new approach unlocks an aesthetic system that privileges the fluid, real-time emotional reactions of the individual in accordance with Aristotelian emotional understanding. In Chapters XI and XII, supporting information gleaned from seventeenth-century acting treatises, reception documents, and conduct books enables an examination of the singer's role in depicting these textual and musical representations of affect in performance. These two chapters address seventeenth-century views on affective communication through voice acting and physical gesture, together with recommendations for today's singers who perform this repertoire. In taking a systematic approach to the identification of specific textual, musical, and gestural means for communicating affect in early Venetian opera, this dissertation offers a new approach to analyzing and performing its dynamic emotional content.

Text in Afrikaans / No specific measuring instrument to determine the emotions of primary school Pupils exists. There is nevertheless a dire need for a reliable measuring instrument for this purpose. Initially a literature study was undertaken and emotions from the developmental stages of primary school pupils were identified and described. An existing instrument of measurement for personality, the Emotions Profile Index (EPI), was adapted and implemented as a new measurement instrument to determine the emotions of primary learners. Questionnaires were completed by the parents of 144 grade 3 and 4 pupils during an empirical investigation. The degree of reliability of the new measurement instrument is particularly high. Stanines were developed for each of the different emotions. The conclusion arrived at is that the education psychologist can implement the newly adapted EPI as diagnostic instrument and conduct the planning of his therapy accordingly / Daar bestaan nie 'n sp sifieke meetinstrument wat primere leerders se emosies kan bepaal nie. 'n Groot behoefte bestaan egter aan s6 'n betroubare meetinstrument. 'n Bestaande meetinstrument vir die meting van persoonlikheid, naamlik die Emotions Profile Index (EPI) is as nuwe meetinstrument vir die meting van emosies van primere leerders aangepas en ge"implementeer. Die vraelyste is tydens 'n empiriese ondersoek deur die ouers van 144 graad 3 en 4 leerders voltooi. Die betroubaarheid van die nuwe meetinstrument is besonder haag en staneges is oak vir die onderskeie emosies, antwerp. Die slotsom waartoe gekom is, is dat die opvoedkundige sielkundige die nuut aangepaste EPI as diagnostiseringsmiddel kan aanwend en sy terapiebeplanning hiervolgens kan doen. / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (Voorligting)

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between affective factors and the academic achievement of students at the University of Venda. Self-concept, motivation and attitude are affective factors selected for the study. The general aim of the study is to determine the role of self-concept, motivation and attitude in students' academic achievement and ultimately come up with some recommendations for enhancing these factors. The theoretical investigation indicates that there is a relationship between students' self-concepts, motivation, attitude, and academic achievement. Similarly, the empirical investigation has revealed that there is a significant correlation between self-concept, motivation, and academic achievement of students. It was, for example, found that female students are significantly more motivated than their male counterparts. It is therefore essential that educationists should understand the differences in motivational orientations of their students in order to facilitate effective learning. / Educational Studies / M.Ed.(Specialization in Education Psychology))

This thesis explores item response theory (IRT) in the Personal Profile Analysis (PPA) from Thomas International. The study contains two parts (Part 1 and Part II) for which two sample groups were collected. For Part I of the research 650 participants were collected via the old form (CPPA25/C7) in the Beijing office of Thomas International in China (male=323, Female=267, missing=60). Part II of the research used the amended form in the same area and collected a sample of 307 (male=185, female=119, missing=3). The study postulates that IRT methods are applicable to forced-choice psychometrics. The results of Part I showed that the current CPPA form functions, to some extent, according to PPA’s original constructs. Part I of the research identified 16 items that need to be amended (called Amend A in this research). The amended form was returned to China for the collection of samples for Part II, and the results are deemed acceptable. The study concludes with a research protocol for PPA-IRT research generated from the current research. The research protocol suggests four levels of analysis for forced choice (FC) psychometrics, namely: 1. Textual analysis, 2. Functional analysis, 3. Dynamic analysis, and 4. Construct analysis. / Psychology / M.A. (Psychology)

Optimal aging is strongly related to personality factors along with health-behavior habits. Personality has played a key role in understanding the interactions between human behavior and the environment and as a vital predictor in determining health outcomes of individuals. Although previous studies have found links between personality traits and health, less is known about more process-oriented personality constructs, such as goals and self-regulatory strategies as linkages between traits and health outcomes. The purpose of this study is to explore the dynamic linkages of personality and health by examining how daily health-goal progress is associated with daily positive and negative affect as well as whether the association between health-goal progress and positive and negative affect can be predicted by personality traits of neuroticism and conscientiousness. Main research questions are: 1) Are daily positive and negative affect associated with daily health-goal progress? 2) To what extent are the traits of neuroticism and conscientiousness related to the overall levels of daily health-goal progress over a 100-day time period? 3) Do neuroticism and conscientiousness moderate the relationships between daily positive affect and daily health-goal progress as well as between negative affect and daily health-goal progress? This study was guided by developmental systems theory (Ford & Lerner, 1992) and the six-foci model of personality (Hooker & McAdams, 2003). This study utilized data from the "Personal Understanding of Life and Social Experiences" (PULSE) project that was a 100 day internet-based, daily study of Oregon residents over the age of 50. The sample for this study (N = 76) included participants who have participated at both baseline (initial survey) and the microlongitudinal phase (over 100 days). Personal health goals, neuroticism, and conscientiousness were measured at baseline. Daily health-goal progress, daily positive affect, and negative affect were measured over 100 days. Multilevel modeling analysis was used to examine within-person variations and between-person differences in daily health-goal progress and daily positive and negative affect by estimating an intercept (initial status) and slope (change) for each individual. The results of this study show that first, daily health-goal progress was positively coupled with daily positive affect and negatively coupled with daily negative affect within persons. Second, the associations between daily positive affect and daily health-goal progress and between daily negative affect and daily health-goal progress varied between individuals. Third, health-goal progress on the previous day was positively related to concurrent positive affect and negatively related to concurrent negative affect. Fourth, individuals high in neuroticism and individuals high in conscientiousness were only marginally likely to experience higher levels of health-goal progress over the 100-day period compared to those with low scores. Fifth, individuals high in neuroticism when experiencing high levels of negative affect tended to report lower levels of daily health-goal progress. These findings may provide enhanced knowledge of patterns of day-to-day variability within persons and lead to better health care. Moreover, the findings of the current study suggest that health-improving interventions could be targeted individually to participants based on knowledge of the linkages between daily goal progress and daily affect and personality traits. Ultimately, the personality of older adults may act as risk factors and/or protective factors in the processes of aging during the second half of life. / Graduation date: 2013

Text in Afrikaans / No specific measuring instrument to determine the emotions of primary school Pupils exists. There is nevertheless a dire need for a reliable measuring instrument for this purpose. Initially a literature study was undertaken and emotions from the developmental stages of primary school pupils were identified and described. An existing instrument of measurement for personality, the Emotions Profile Index (EPI), was adapted and implemented as a new measurement instrument to determine the emotions of primary learners. Questionnaires were completed by the parents of 144 grade 3 and 4 pupils during an empirical investigation. The degree of reliability of the new measurement instrument is particularly high. Stanines were developed for each of the different emotions. The conclusion arrived at is that the education psychologist can implement the newly adapted EPI as diagnostic instrument and conduct the planning of his therapy accordingly / Daar bestaan nie 'n sp sifieke meetinstrument wat primere leerders se emosies kan bepaal nie. 'n Groot behoefte bestaan egter aan s6 'n betroubare meetinstrument. 'n Bestaande meetinstrument vir die meting van persoonlikheid, naamlik die Emotions Profile Index (EPI) is as nuwe meetinstrument vir die meting van emosies van primere leerders aangepas en ge"implementeer. Die vraelyste is tydens 'n empiriese ondersoek deur die ouers van 144 graad 3 en 4 leerders voltooi. Die betroubaarheid van die nuwe meetinstrument is besonder haag en staneges is oak vir die onderskeie emosies, antwerp. Die slotsom waartoe gekom is, is dat die opvoedkundige sielkundige die nuut aangepaste EPI as diagnostiseringsmiddel kan aanwend en sy terapiebeplanning hiervolgens kan doen. / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (Voorligting)

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between affective factors and the academic achievement of students at the University of Venda. Self-concept, motivation and attitude are affective factors selected for the study. The general aim of the study is to determine the role of self-concept, motivation and attitude in students' academic achievement and ultimately come up with some recommendations for enhancing these factors. The theoretical investigation indicates that there is a relationship between students' self-concepts, motivation, attitude, and academic achievement. Similarly, the empirical investigation has revealed that there is a significant correlation between self-concept, motivation, and academic achievement of students. It was, for example, found that female students are significantly more motivated than their male counterparts. It is therefore essential that educationists should understand the differences in motivational orientations of their students in order to facilitate effective learning. / Educational Studies / M.Ed.(Specialization in Education Psychology))

This thesis explores item response theory (IRT) in the Personal Profile Analysis (PPA) from Thomas International. The study contains two parts (Part 1 and Part II) for which two sample groups were collected. For Part I of the research 650 participants were collected via the old form (CPPA25/C7) in the Beijing office of Thomas International in China (male=323, Female=267, missing=60). Part II of the research used the amended form in the same area and collected a sample of 307 (male=185, female=119, missing=3). The study postulates that IRT methods are applicable to forced-choice psychometrics. The results of Part I showed that the current CPPA form functions, to some extent, according to PPA’s original constructs. Part I of the research identified 16 items that need to be amended (called Amend A in this research). The amended form was returned to China for the collection of samples for Part II, and the results are deemed acceptable. The study concludes with a research protocol for PPA-IRT research generated from the current research. The research protocol suggests four levels of analysis for forced choice (FC) psychometrics, namely: 1. Textual analysis, 2. Functional analysis, 3. Dynamic analysis, and 4. Construct analysis. / Psychology / M.A. (Psychology)

A percepção consciente e inconsciente do indivíduo tem um peso determinante no conforto do usuário em relação ao ambiente construído. Quando se diz respeito à percepção humana, estudos mostram que 75% daquilo que o indivíduo percebe, referem-se ao sistema visual, 20% relaciona-se a percepção sonora e somente 5% provém dos outros sentidos, como tato e olfato. Neste sentido, o objetivo deste trabalho é mostrar como as variações das características do ambiente construído, associadas à visão e a audição, influenciam a percepção do indivíduo, traduzidas em sentimentos negativos ou positivos. Dessa maneira, será possível avaliar como as características percebidas do ambiente construído podem influenciar os usuários em relação ao ambiente. Ao perceber um ambiente, cada indivíduo o faz de maneira distinta. A pesquisa visa à identificação de como a percepção do usuário influencia a maneira de observar e sentir o ambiente e de que forma esses aspectos impactam nas características do projeto. Através da identificação de algumas características de projeto e de alguns sons relacionados com os ambientes construídos, foi elaborado um experimento composto por um questionário, contendo nove imagens e quatro sons que abrangem essas características. O questionário foi aplicado em estudantes dos cursos de Engenharia Civil e Arquitetura e Urbanismo da Universidade Tecnológica Federal do Paraná, nos meses de novembro e dezembro de 2014. Com a aplicação do experimento, associando as imagens e os sons, com afetos positivos e negativos da escala PANAS (Escala de Afeto Positivo e Negativo), concluiu-se que, a percepção do indivíduo em determinadas características do ambiente, proporcionam um aumento de sentimentos ligados aos afetos positivos e em outros casos, aos afetos negativos. Sendo que a variação observada foi em relação a intensidade de sentimentos de afeto negativo. Foi analisado ainda a percepção em relação aos sentimentos e as características de projeto, em relação à orientação profissional e em relação ao gênero. Através dessa pesquisa, pôde-se perceber que o uso de maior incidência de iluminação natural, a utilização de pé-direito alto, a utilização de cor “fria” são características, que para a maioria dos entrevistados, trouxeram maior conforto e sentimentos relacionados aos afetos positivos, quando comparadas às outras características. / The conscious and unconscious perception of the individual has a significant influence on the user's satisfaction with the built environment. When it comes to human perception, studies show that 75% of what the individual perceives refer to the visual system, 20% is related to sound perception and only 5% come from other senses such as touch and smell. In this sense, the objective of this work is to show how variations in built environment characteristics, associated with sight and hearing, influence the individual's perception, translated into positive or negative feelings. In this way, it will be possible to assess how the perceived characteristics of the built environment can influence users towards the environment. When perceiving an environment, each individual makes it in a distinct way. The research aims to identify how the user perception influences the way to observe and feel the environment and how these aspects impact the design features. By identifying some design features and some sounds related to the built environment, a composed experiment with a questionnaire was elaborated, contending nine images and four sounds that enclose these characteristics. The questionnaire was applied in students of the courses of Civil Engineering and Architecture and Urbanism of the Federal Technological University of the Paraná, in the months of November and December of 2014. With the application of the experiment, by associating the images and the sounds, with positive and negative affection of the PANAS Scale (Scale of Positive and Negative Affection), it was concluded that the individual's perception in certain environmental characteristics, provide increased feelings connected to the positive affects and in other cases, the negative affects. It was also analyzed the perception of the feelings and design features in relation to vocational guidance and in relation to gender. Through thisresearch, , it could be perceived which features have more impact on positive and negative feelings and which guarantee and provide comfort to the users of built environments.