No description available.

Psychobiomotor assessment refers to the use of a combination of psychological, biological, and motor-performance tests to comprehensively analyze the skills, attributes, and performance capabilities of athletes. The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that there are significant psychobiomotor differences between successful collegiate football players in the offensive backfield positions and those players who are rates as less successful in these positions. Subjects were 19 male volunteer tryouts (mean age = 20.5) for the positions of quarterback and halfback on the inaugural University of Central Florida football team. They were assessed on the physiological variable anaerobic capacity, they psychological dimensions measure by the Cattell 16PF, and also on four football-playing skills. Football-playing ability (the dependent variable) was assessed by coaches' ratings on 15 sub-variables determined to be important to the offensive backfield positions. Stepwise multiple linear regression analysis, utilized to give the best linear composite of the predictor variables to the dependent variable, resulted in a multiple correlation coefficient of .85 (p < .005). The prediction equation included four variables: conservativism, aggressiveness, anaerobic capacity, and pass-receiving ability. Thus, a significant 68% of the variance of football-playing ability was accounted for by the use of these four psychobiomotor variables. By using a validated test battery, team personnel, performance, profits, prestige, and effectiveness could be improved. Also, a better could be used to train current team members on areas of relative skill deficiencies.

Impulsivity and sleep and circadian rhythm disturbance are two core features of bipolar disorder that are elevated antecedents to bipolar disorder onset and persist even between mood episodes; their pervasive presence in bipolar disorder suggests that they may be particularly relevant to better understanding bipolar disorder etiology, onset, and course. Given considerable research demonstrating bidirectional associations between sleep and circadian rhythm disturbance and impulsivity in healthy individuals, it is surprising that little research has examined how these core features interact to impact bipolar disorder symptomatology, onset, and course. In a sample of late adolescents and young adults (N = 150) at low or high risk for developing bipolar disorder, we employed a naturalistic experiment in the context of an ecological momentary assessment (EMA) design to examine relationships between impulsivity, sleep and circadian rhythm alterations, and mood symptoms in everyday life. Furthermore, we sought to understand how the relationships between sleep and circadian rhythm alterations and mood fluctuation, collected during the EMA study, prospectively predicted mood symptom severity and mood episode onset at a 6-month follow-up. Linear regression, logistic regression, and multi-level modeling (MLM) revealed that higher impulsivity predicted increased mood symptoms during the EMA study, and less total sleep time (measured by actigraphy) predicted increased next-day EMA-assessed mood symptoms. Interaction analyses suggested that dim light melatonin onset time, total sleep time, and sleep onset latency moderated the relationship between impulsivity and mood symptoms (both next-day and at 6-month follow-up). Results are discussed in terms of their contribution to the existing literature. Findings highlight the necessity of multi-method, nuanced examination of the dynamic relationships between impulsivity and sleep and circadian disturbance within bipolar disorder. / Psychology

Changes in social information processing that occur during adolescence are thought to rely on the functional and structural maturation of a network of interconnected brain regions referred to as “the social brain.” The morphology of these brain regions, individually, is thought to be associated with functional specialization and/or ability, but little is known about the relationship between the morphology of the network and its functional specialization. Studies suggest that repeatedly executed psychological processes are not only reflected in functional networks, but may also be related to coordinated morphological changes in the brain across multiple regions that are functionally and structurally connected. The present study sought to explore changes in neuromorphological covariation that occur in the social brain network between adolescence and adulthood (Aim 1), using magnetic resonance imaging and graph theory, and link the properties of this covariance to self-reported and behavioral aspects of social information processing, specifically resistance to peer influence (Aim 2.1), rejection sensitivity (Aim 2.2), and the control of automatic reactions to socially relevant stimuli (Aim 2.3). The specificity of these results to social stimuli was assessed by also analyzing covariance properties in relation to a non-social measure of cognitive functioning (Aim 2.4). Subjects were 217 healthy right-handed individuals between the ages of 13 and 25 – 77 adolescents (ages 13-17), 73 young adults (ages 18-21), and 67 adults (ages 22-25). Analyses involved extracting cortical thickness values for the social brain network for each subject, and conducting group-level graph theoretic analyses. Results suggest that older subjects, subjects who are less sensitive to social stimuli and those who perform better on a behavioral inhibition task, all share one characteristic: the density of covariance in the structural social brain network is low compared to individuals who are younger, more sensitive to social stimuli, and who perform worse on a behavioral inhibition task. Furthermore, this pattern was not observed in a non-social measure of cognitive functioning, suggesting a level of specificity to social information processing in the reported findings. By suggesting that selective structural covariance in the social brain may be characteristic of maturity but also more adaptive in social contexts, the findings from the present study contribute to the idea that adolescence is a time of great opportunity for shaping the brain's structural architecture. / Psychology

College enrollment rates have increased drastically through the years. Yet, retention rates have remained stagnant, particularly from the first to the second year. Some have attributed early departure to poor college adjustment. Bridging together theoretical perspectives and models rooted in retention research and social media research, this study tested a predictive model of college adjustment. An online survey was completed by 611 (22.8% male, 77.2% female) undergraduates. A path analysis revealed that well-adjusted students had strong kinship support, self-esteem and academic self-efficacy, were highly involved both academically and socially, and experienced lower levels of loneliness and academic stress. Shyness was found to forestall successful overall college adjustment by diminishing students' social involvement, which in turn increased perceived loneliness and contributed to poor self-esteem. On the other hand, active coping style was found to facilitate overall college adjustment by increasing academic involvement, which subsequently enhanced academic self-efficacy and self-esteem. The findings also indicate that academic Facebook use promotes greater overall college adjustment by enhancing students' social involvement. Furthermore, moderation analyses showed that the use of Facebook for interpersonal purposes increases social and academic involvement, particularly among less shy and high self-esteemed students. Interpretation of these results and practical implications are discussed. / Psychology

This randomized controlled trial examined the effects of Music Therapy (MT), Music Medicine (MM), or Attention Control (AC) on physiological and psychological parameters of stress for adult and older adult patients receiving care in the Intensive Care Unit of a community general hospital. Previous studies have indicated effectiveness of music therapy or music medicine for these medical patients, but few data are available for music therapy interventions. This study was an attempt to add to available information about the effects of music therapy compared to the effects of music medicine or attention control for this patient population. Participants (twenty-eight adults, ranging in age from 37-83 years; not mechanically ventilated at the time of session) were randomly assigned to music therapy, music medicine or the attention control group. Repeated measures of heart rate, blood pressure, respiratory rate, oxygen saturation, and anxiety and pain levels were collected before the session, immediately after the session and at 60 minutes post-session. Anxiety was measured using the Faces Anxiety Scale, and pain was self-reported via a Visual Analog Scale. Post-session length of stay was collected from the participants' medical records. Overall, there were no significant interactions among study groups and outcome measures. There was a statistically significant difference between length of stay for music therapy participants and attention control. Over time from pre-session to post-session, statistically significant decreases in anxiety scores were measured for both music medicine and music therapy groups. Pain scores decreased for both music medicine and music therapy groups, however not significantly. Some medically beneficial effects of music therapy or music medicine were evident in the data. / Music Therapy

Part I of the present study analyzed the acoustic features of bobwhite quail embryonic vocalizations emitted during the final 36 hours prior to hatching. Using software for sound spectrographic analyses, information was collected on the average fundamental frequency, frequency modulation and range, repetition rate, and duration in seconds of notes emitted by the embryos. Based on frequency distributions plotted separately for three of these acoustic features, the vocalizations emitted spontaneously by bobwhite quail embryos were characterized. Although there were not two dichotomous note types to justify adopting the "distress/contentment" terminology utilized by previous researchers of avian vocalizations, there was a distinctive note type with medium note duration and fast repetition rate, as well as a second common note type with short note duration and fast repetition rate. Evidence from precocial neonates of several species indicates that altering the usual prenatal sound environment alters later perceptual performance. Part II of the present study examined the influence of altered prenatal auditory stimulation (in the form of embryonic vocalizations altered in repetition rate) on postnatal auditory preferences in precocial bobwhite quail chicks. Results indicate that when embryos are exposed to altered prenatal auditory stimulation in the period immediately prior to hatching, their postnatal auditory preference behavior is altered. Specifically, when exposed to a repetition rate that is (only slightly) faster than the species-typical rate for embryos, quail hatchlings did not show a strong preference for the maternal call typically seen at 24 hr post-hatch. Chicks that were exposed prenatally to either unaltered auditory stimulation or auditory stimulation with a slower-than-normal repetition rate did demonstrate the species-typical naive auditory preference. These findings illustrate the importance of understanding the subtle experiential links between the prenatal sensory environment and early postnatal perceptually-directed behavior. / Master of Science

No description available.

Master of Science / Department of Psychological Sciences / Mary Cain / Individuals suffering from depression primarily rely on pharmacological interventions to alleviate the incapacitating symptoms of the disorder. In addition to genetic differences underlying the etiology of depression, environmental factors play a key role as well. For example, environmental enrichment results in various neurotransmitter alterations, significantly affecting serotonin. To test the efficacy of novel antidepressant drugs in the preclinical laboratory setting, researchers commonly implement the forced swim test (FST) for rats or mice. However, the effect of environmental enrichment on the expression of depressive-like states in the FST is unclear, and it is unknown whether environmental enrichment or social isolation can alter the efficacy of the commonly prescribed antidepressant drug, fluoxetine. In the present study, locomotor activity and FST performance were measured after 30 days of rearing in enriched (EC), standard (SC), and isolated (IC) conditions. Results showed that regardless of the significant effect of fluoxetine on locomotor activity in EC, SC, and IC rats, fluoxetine failed to increase swimming and decrease immobility in all three environmental conditions, with enriched-fluoxetine rats displaying significantly less swimming behavior in the FST than enriched rats receiving vehicle control injections. These results suggest that differential rearing, specifically environmental enrichment, can alter the efficacy of antidepressants and may suggest that enrichment reverses the effects of fluoxetine.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Psychological Sciences / Jerome Frieman / Spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta) live in highly-complex, female-dominated groups called “clans.” Due to their social arrangement, spotted hyenas were a logical species on which to test the social complexity hypothesis. In the present study, they were presented with a series of puzzle boxes designed to test problem-solving behavior. The five puzzles varied in difficulty. All spotted hyenas solved the puzzle with the lowest difficulty level, five out of six solved the medium puzzles at least once, and one out of six solved the high difficulty puzzle. Some decreases in behavior diversity and time working on the puzzles were observed over successful trials; however, the decreases were only significant for successful trials of one medium-level puzzle. Decreases in work time were observed for some unsuccessful trials and the decrease was statistically significant for the highest difficulty puzzle. Overall, spotted hyenas were proficient at problem solving in the present study. Social learning is an important component of a lengthy juvenile period for spotted hyenas, and they have also been shown to influence one another’s feeding behavior. Furthermore, spotted hyenas participate in scramble competition when feeding and forage for and hoard food. In light of these behaviors, social learning was examined using the social transmission of a flavor preference (STFP) procedure. STFP was not observed overall. The sex of the subjects did not significantly influence the results; however, subjects that interacted with each other longer were significantly more likely to show STFP. The STFP procedure may not be sensitive enough to detect social learning in spotted hyenas. Perhaps spotted hyenas have no need to learn STFP due to their digestive and/or immune systems. The results of the current experiments make important contributions to existing knowledge. Data from other species like spotted hyenas are vital for evaluating the generality of the social complexity hypothesis since support thus far has come from data on primates. This study was the first to investigate STFP in a species from the Feliformia suborder. Additionally, finding more evidence that spotted hyenas have advanced cognitive abilities is essential for researchers and zoo personnel who work with spotted hyenas in captivity.