The present study investigated the effects of viewing audio-visual presentations of stuttered relative to fluent speech samples on the ocular reactions of participants. Ten adults, 5 males and 5 females, aged 18-55 who had a negative history of any speech, language and hearing disorders participated in the study. Participants were shown three 30 second audio-visual recordings of stuttered speech, and three 30 second audio-visual recordings of fluent speech, with a three second break (black screen) between the presentation of each video. All three individuals who stutter were rated as ‘severe’ (SSI-3, Riley, 1994), exhibiting high levels of struggle filled with overt stuttering behaviors such as repetitions, prolongations and silent postural fixations on speech sounds, in addition to tension-filled secondary behaviors such as head jerks, lip protrusion, and facial grimaces. During stuttered and fluent conditions, ocular behaviors of the viewers including pupillary movement, fixation time, eye-blink, and relative changes in pupil diameter were recorded using the Arrington ViewPoint Eye-Tracker infrared camera and the system’s data analysis software (e.g., Wong & Cronin-Colomb & Neargarder, 2005) via a 2.8GHz Dell Optiplex GX270 computer. For all ocular measures except fixation time, there were significant (p<.05) differences for stuttered relative to fluent speech. There was an increase in the number of pupillary movements, blinks, and relative change in pupil diameter and a decrease in time fixated when viewing stuttered relative to fluent speech samples. While not significant, participants fixated or directed their attention for less time during stuttered than fluent conditions, indicating decreased attention overall during stuttered speech samples. Increases in eye-blink data and pupil-dilation data were also significant. Because both eye-blink, as a measure of the startle reflex, and pupil-dilation are resistant to voluntary control or are completely under the control of the autonomic nervous system, significant increases in both for stuttered relative to fluent speech indicate a visceral reaction to stuttering.

Considered to be the original creator of psychoanalysis as well as the father of psychology, it is likely that the name “Sigmund Freud” has come up at some point in time in many people’s lives. He is undoubtedly the most popular man in the field of psychology, but he also is the most controversial. It is plain to see that there are many limitations in his work, but as a result, he is considered to be outdated by some and no longer relevant in the field at all. This paper will explore the kind of man that Sigmund Freud really was in order to see what specifically influenced his theories and ideas. Further, his works will be compared alongside some of the contributions from fellow psychoanalysts Karen Horney and Melanie Klein in order to show how the field of psychoanalysis has evolved over time, and that many of Freud’s faults were merely a result of his upbringing and the time period that he came from.

There is no consensus of how hypnosis works. The two major theorists in hypnosis research, the Phenomenologists and the Behaviorists, disagree on this issue. The Phenomenologists consider individual talent and change of the state of consciousness the key to how hypnosis works. The Behaviorists consider the social situation and the roles taken by the experimenter and subject, especially the subject's expectations of hypnosis, the mainspring of the hypnotic process. Subject expectations of hypnosis have been found to affect the final results of hypnosis experiments. An experiment was conducted to gain further insight into subject expectations of hypnosis, and how these expectations affect the enhancement of visual imagery (a Behavioral issue) without remaining in the confines of Behavioral theory.

<p>We present the results from a series of experiments which support a novel hypothesis for a special motivational circuit underlying both the detection and response to potential threat, and the typical symptoms of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Szechtman and Woody (2004) proposed that the Security-Motivation System (SMS) has two primary responsibilities: surveillance of the environment for subtle cues that may indicate the potential for danger, and motivation towards avoidance of this harm through participation in appropriate behavioural motor programs. To determine the parameters under which the SMS operates, we designed and implemented several novel paradigms for examining both typical and atypical response of the SMS to potential threat in a number of populations. It was demonstrated that the SMS is specifically activated after exposure to cues that suggest the possibility of harm to the self or others, such as via threats to personal safety or contaminated objects. Once activated, the SMS can only be disengaged through participation in the appropriate motivated corrective behaviour – such as hand washing or checking for danger. Results showed that this essential termination feedback cannot be substituted with cognitive strategies, and that in the absence of these behaviours, activation of the SMS persists; the consequence of incomplete SMS termination strongly resembles the stereotypic compulsions in OCD. Indeed, results demonstrated that patients with OCD are unable to achieve satisfaction from task completion after corrective behaviour, resulting in continued SMS activation, after exposure to stimuli specific to the patients’ symptom profile. Our collective results provide a solid foundation for the view of OCD as a dysfunction of Security-Motivation, and indicate that the SMS is indeed an essential circuit for potential threat detection.</p> / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

The purpose of this study is to determine if a new intervention using techniques from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT; Hayes et al., 1999) in combination with activities from The Body Project (Stice et al., 2009), will be able to reduce negative body image concerns and increase mindfulness skills in college females. Prior to receiving the intervention, participants completed a pre-test measuring their current body image concerns as well as mindfulness abilities. The intervention was administered in a large, group setting and took approximately 35 minutes to administer. After receiving the intervention, participants completed the same assessment measures as the pre-test, but in a post-test form. Results indicate that there was a significant difference in body image after participants received the intervention of ACT and The Body Project. There was not a significant difference for the mindfulness facets measured in the study. This research contributes to a growing area of eating disorder treatment using ACT, and can help provide evidence for the benefits of using specific ACT and The Body Project activities for treating and preventing negative body image.

Sport coaches are perceived as problem solvers who engage in creativity to handle the spontaneity of competitive activity and generate winning results. However, while creativity in athletes has been researched, little has been investigated regarding coaches. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine different aspects of creativity – person, process, press, and product – among collegiate team sport coaches in the United States. Specifically, how personality traits, ideational fluency, remote association ability, years of coaching experience, and work climate related to creative product impact and frequency. A modified creativity personality test was found to be positively related to both the impact and frequency of creative products. Further, self-confidence and years of coaching experience were positively related to creative product impact, while inventiveness was positively related to creative product frequency. Analyzing the creative potential factors related to creative productivity may be useful in enhancing creativity for collegiate coaches and improving outcomes.

The prevalence of alexithymia, a condition characterized by difficulties identifying and verbalizing one’s emotions, increases across the lifespan, with older adults reporting greater alexithymic features than young and middle-aged adults. This late-life increase in alexithymia may be the product of age-related decline in prefrontal brain circuitry implicated in emotional awareness and executive processes, notably in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). There is a dearth of research on the link between executive function and alexithymia in healthy adults. This study determined associations between alexithymia and executive function in healthy younger and older adults. Higher alexithymia scores were predicted to be associated with poorer performance on measures of executive function, specifically one that taps into ACC function (i.e., verbal fluency). Sixty-five young adults and 44 older adults completed the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale, three executive function tasks (Verbal Fluency, Design Fluency, and Trail Making), assessments of memory and verbal ability, and a self-report measure of depressive symptoms. Greater total alexithymia and difficulties describing feelings (a dimension of alexithymia) were associated with poorer verbal fluency, accounting for age, gender, and depressive symptoms, in the full sample and in older adults, but not in young adults. Findings support the theoretical model that alexithymia is associated with age-related decline in frontal circuitry – possibly specific to declines in ACC functioning. Results provide insight into the possible origins of emotion self-awareness deficits in older adulthood.

Nonmedical use of prescription stimuluants (NMUS) can cause adverse outcomes for college students including academic impediments, such as a lowered GPA, and polyuse of illicit substances (Garcia et al., 2021; Holt & McCarthy, 2019; Norman & Ford, 2018). The current study investigated the demographics, academics, stress, and polysubstance use between students who endorsed NMUS and those who did not in an undergraduate college population sample at a large public university in the Southeast. The sample consisted of 429 undergraduate students who completed online measures of demographics, perceived stress, stressful life events, and substance use. Overall, 3.4% of the sample reported NMUS within the past two weeks. Chi-square analyses suggested that the two groups did not differ in gender, ethnicity, and year in school. A significant difference between groups was found for race (p = .002). Students who self-identified as White were more likely to report NMUS as compared to students self-identifying as another race. No significant difference between groups was found for credit hours or GPA. Additionally, no significant differences were observed between groups regarding stress and stressful life events. Concerning overall substance use, approximately 70% of the sample endorsed no drug use. Notably, students who endorsed NMUS were more likely to report some use of another non-stimulant type of drug, suggesting that NMUS may occur in the context of polyuse for some students.

Survivors of physical trauma may be at increased risk for developing suicidal ideation and behavior both during and after their inpatient hospitalization for medical treatment of wounds. It remains to be understood why a population hospitalized for nonpsychiatric reasons may ultimately develop a desire to take their own life. The current study sought to answer this question by hypothesizing that symptoms of posttraumatic stress (PTS) and depression during the recovery period individually mediated the relationship between physical pain and suicidal ideation. Researchers assessed these relationships in 246 patients who were receiving emergency medical treatment for wounds associated with a physically traumatic event. Patients were interviewed using a battery of assessments, including the PTSD Checklist-Civilian, Beck Scale for Suicidal Ideation, Medical Outcomes Study Short Form, and the Patient Health Questionnaire. Regression analyses provided support for the role of PTS and depression as mediators of the relationship between physical pain and suicidal ideation. These findings suggest that it may be important for behavioral health professionals to monitor symptoms of PTS and depression during a trauma survivor’s painful recovery period, as this may provide a crucial window of intervention during which the escalation of suicidal feelings can be prevented.

Insomnia is defined as difficulty initiating or maintaining sleep, or nonrestorative sleep that lasts for at least one month and is accompanied by significant impairment in daytime functioning including fatigue, irritability, and/or difficulty concentrating. It is one of the most common complaints reported by individuals with cancer, especially around the time of cancer diagnosis and treatment. Yet it is often unrecognized and untreated, leading to adverse health consequences and increased healthcare costs. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) has been recommended as the gold standard for treating insomnia among individuals with cancer. Multiple studies have tested and proven the efficacy and effectiveness of CBT-I among individuals with cancer. However, only one study has investigated the efficacy of CBT-I in individuals newly diagnosed with cancer who are undergoing cancer treatment. Moreover, previous studies have been limited by their focus on largely homogenous samples of White, well-educated women with breast cancer. The dissemination of CBT-I among individuals with cancer is greatly limited by the lack of available providers and resources needed to implement the standard face-to-face treatment. One strategy to address this shortage has been to abbreviate standard CBT-I into low-intensity modalities that require fewer resources and can be self-administered on the Internet. The current study sought to examine the feasibility and acceptability, as well as the efficacy of one such program, an online low-intensity CBT-I intervention, Sleeping Healthy Using the Internet (SHUTi), supplemented with clinician support, in a sample of individuals newly diagnosed with heterogeneous malignancies who were undergoing chemotherapy and/or radiation. Results yielded support for the feasibility and acceptability of addressing individuals’ insomnia with a low-intensity CBT-I intervention while they are undergoing cancer treatment. With regard to sleep, there were significant treatment effects observed on a global measure of insomnia severity and on subjective sleep consolidation. There were also significant treatment effects for depressive symptoms. Findings are discussed in the context of study limitations and for the purpose of expanding the literature on disseminating CBT-I early in the cancer care trajectory.