Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Psychology / Jerome Frieman / The present experiment investigated whether dwarf hamsters (Phodopus campbelli) demonstrate temporal discounting. This was investigated by comparing the behavior of dwarf hamsters and Sprague-Dawley rats (Rattus norvegicus) in an adjusting delay procedure and applying the theory of behavioral economics to explain the resulting behavior. Dwarf hamsters demonstrated temporal discounting and tolerated longer delays than did the more impulsive rats. There was not a statistically significant difference between these species concerning indifference points. There was a statistically significant difference in the slopes of their discounting functions and the delay at which the end criterion was met. Neither species exhibited sex differences with respect to these measures nor with storage of food. There were a number of differences between the species. Rats started responding quickly, whereas dwarf hamsters waited significantly longer. When faced with increasing delays, rats increased the number of pellets earned while dwarf hamsters earned the same amount. Finally, rats lost weight throughout the experiment while dwarf hamsters gained weight. There were also a number of similarities. When faced with an increasing delay, both rats and dwarf hamsters increased the number of responses made, and increased the number of times they timed out on Larger Later trials. Some of these findings disagree with previous research and predictions of the behavioral economic theory of demand, creating a need for further research.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Psychology / Donald A. Saucier / Three studies were conducted to further validate the belief in pure evil (BPE) and belief in pure good (BPG) scales (Webster & Saucier, 2012). Study 1 assessed the relationships between BPE, BPG, and sociopolitical ideology, while Study 2 assessed the relationships between BPE, BPG, and various forms of religiosity. Study 1 and Study 2 also tested whether BPE and BPG predicted aggression and helping via support for relevant foreign (Study 1) or domestic (Study 2) policy issues above and beyond sociopolitical attitudes and religiosity, respectively. Study 3 tested whether BPE and BPG predicted evaluations of a prototypically (vs. non-prototypically) evil perpetrator and a prototypically (vs. non-prototypically) good apprehender. Together, these three studies showed that BPE consistently related to greater aggression and less helping, while greater BPG consistently related to less aggression and more helping, while demonstrating convergence but not redundancy with variables known to justify/suppress aggression or helping. In sum, these studies further demonstrate the reliability and validity of the BPE and BPG scales as well as provide solid groundwork for future correlational and experimental research on these constructs.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Psychology / Lester C. Loschky / While watching a film, the viewer begins to construct mental representations of it, which are called events. During the opening scene of a film, the viewer is presented with two distinct pieces of information that can be used to construct the event, namely the setting and an action by the main character. But, which of these two constructs are first cognitively represented by the viewer? Experiment 1 examined the time-course of basic level action categorization with superordinate and basic level scene categorization using masking. The results indicated that categorization occurred in a course-to-fine manner, inconsistent with Rosch et al.’s (1976) basic level theory. Interestingly, basic level action categorization performance did not reach ceiling when it was processed for a 367 ms SOA, suggesting that additional scene information and processing time were required. Thus, Experiment 2 examined scene and action categorization performance over multiple fixations, and the scene information that was fixated for each categorization task. Both superordinate and basic level scene categorization required only a single fixation to reach ceiling performance, inconsistent with basic level primacy, whereas basic level action categorization took two to three fixations, and led to more object fixations than in either scene categorization task. Eye movements showed evidence of a person bias across all three categorization tasks. Additionally, the categorization task did produce differences in the scene information that was fixated (Yarbus, 1967). However, could basic level theory still be correct when subjects are given a different task? When the same scene images were named, basic level action terms were used more often than basic level scene category terms, while superordinate level action terms were used relatively less often, and superordinate level scene category terms were hardly ever used. This shows that linguistic categorization (naming) is sensitive to informative, middle-level categories, whereas early perceptual categorization makes use of coarse high level distinctions. Additionally, the early perceptual advantage for scene categorization over basic level action categorization suggests that the scene category is the first construct that is used to represent events in scene images, and maybe even events in visual narratives like film.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Special Education, Counseling and Student Affairs / Judith Hughey / The purpose of this phenomenological research study was to describe and to understand the experience of being in a PhotoTherapy group for adolescent females in treatment for self-injurious behaviors. The research question was as follows: (1) What was the essence of the experience of a series of PhotoTherapy group sessions for female adolescents with a history of self-injurious behaviors? After the completion of two semi-structured interviews with 5 participants, the researcher acknowledged the emergence of four themes that expressed the essence of the experience of being a part of a PhotoTherapy group process as an adolescent female in treatment for self-injurious behaviors. The themes were the following: Self, Connection with others, Emotions, Motivations in treatment. These themes developed a description of the interactions, emotions, behaviors and thoughts that occurred throughout the group work process. Self-injury is a complex issue and the literature states a need for creative interventions. The study collaborated the needs in the field of self-injury treatment with the resources available from PhotoTherapy. The study gained perspective and understanding of how the experience of being in a PhotoTherapy group impacted the individual. In mental health and education, counselors can use the data and conclusions from this research to understand the use of PhotoTherapy group work with adolescent girls that self injure. The researcher concludes that counseling professionals have an understanding of creative interventions and the personal experiences endure with the use of creative interventions such as, PhotoTherapy to have a holistic perspective on treatment practices.

Master of Science / Department of Psychological Sciences / Kimberly Kirkpatrick / The present experiments examined the effect of different uncertain-reward magnitudes (i.e., gains and losses) on global and local probabilistic choice behavior in rats. In two experiments, rats were given a choice between a variable-amount certain outcome that delivered 2 or 4 pellets and a variable-amount uncertain outcome that probabilistically delivered a larger reward. In Experiment 1, the larger uncertain outcome was always 11 pellets and different groups received 1, 2, or 4 pellets for the uncertain small reward. In Experiment 2, the uncertain small reward was always 4 pellets and different groups received 6, 9, or 11 pellets for the uncertain large reward. In both experiments, the rats increased their uncertain choice behavior with the probability of uncertain food. In Experiment 1, the magnitude of the uncertain small outcome affected choice behavior; there was no such effect of the uncertain large reward magnitude in Experiment 2. The group differences in choice behavior suggest that the expected value of the certain choice served as a reference point distinguishing uncertain gains and losses, and that the rats exhibited differential sensitivities to such outcomes. As some extant theoretical frameworks of choice behavior seem unable to account for all of the present data, a possible mechanism for the present results is proposed. These results emphasize the importance of identifying the choice outcomes that constitute gains and losses in animals such that the effects of prior uncertain gains and losses on subsequent choice behavior can be adequately and comprehensively understood.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Psychological Sciences / Laura A. Brannon / Two common types of advertisement avoidance behaviors in digital domains are skipping and zipping. Skipping involves pressing a “skip ad” button when viewing television content online, and zipping involves pressing a fast-forward button when viewing the same content through some type of recording device (e.g. Digital Video Recording device). The purpose of these studies was to examine if specific factors regarding the content of the advertisement, the persuasion context, and characteristics of the viewer reduce occurrences of skipping and zipping behavior. Participants in these two studies saw a combination of television shows and advertisements. One target advertisement marketed a fictional MP3 player while another discussed the dangers of binge drinking. One version each of the MP3 and binge drinking advertisements contained average-looking (i.e. normal) actors, and the other half contained above-average-looking (i.e. attractive) actors. Half of the viewers were allowed to choose which type of advertisements they would watch while the other half were forced to watch a particular type. The results of one study showed that participants were more likely to skip the MP3 advertisement than the binge drinking advertisement after making an advertisement choice when both contained normally attractive actors. These findings demonstrate that the effect of advertisement choice may be more complicated than previously found. Instead of acting as a means to improve avoidance rates, advertisement choice may make the content more salient to participants. Thus, viewers’ perceptions of the advertisement after making an advertisement choice may determine whether avoidance occurs.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Psychological Sciences / Donald A. Saucier / An overview discusses rape in terms of two systems of social power: oppression and resistance. Components of these systems—i.e., individuals’ rape-related attitudes, beliefs, perceptions, and behaviors, and outcomes—are compared in the literatures on “rape victims” and “rape survivors” (Hockett & Saucier, under review), suggesting that different results and conclusions are associated with different labels applied to the same group (i.e., women who have been raped). Three studies assessed differences in individuals’ rape-related perceptions (Study 1), intergroup helping intentions (Study 2), and interpersonal helping intentions (Study 3) for “rape victims,” “rape survivors,” and “women who have been raped.” Extending feminist and social psychological theories of social power, results generally supported my hypotheses that such labels would produce different perceptions and helping intentions. The discussion addresses implications for theory, limitations, and directions for future research.

Master of Science / Department of Special Education, Counseling and Student Affairs / Christy Craft / It is estimated that nearly twenty-five percent of graduate students experience symptoms of depression, anxiety, or seasonal affective disorder (Kernan, Bogart, & Wheat, 2011). Graduate students are defined as being unique, vulnerable, and at risk for experiencing a variety of challenges (Hyun, Quinn, Madon, & Lustig, 2006). Several of these challenges can result in high levels of stress (Oswalt & Riddock, 2007). Failing to cope with this stress can lead to increased stress levels, more severe mental health concerns or illness, and potentially dropping out (Hamaideh, 2011). Graduate students are not completing programs at the rate that they should, in fact attrition rates are estimated to be as high as fifty percent for some graduate programs (Kent, 2013). Understanding the effect mental health has on a student’s ability to persist through a graduate program is crucial to understanding the graduate student experience. It is suggested that higher education institutions begin to acknowledge the stress graduate students endure, the transitional struggles they encounter, and the barriers graduate students overcome to seek help. Based on the literature and personal experience, it is proposed that higher education institutions focus on preventative measures when combating the mental health challenges graduate students experience. This report provides a summary of the best strategies to consider when focusing on graduate student mental health. These strategies include the creation of an office devoted to providing graduate students with the support services they deserve.

Master of Agribusiness / Department of Agricultural Economics / Kevin Gwinner / This research focuses on factors that serve as motivators or as barriers for consumers in their purchase of local beef. To understand the purchasing habits and preferences of the consumer, a designed survey was used. A convenience population was recruited and encouraged to participate in the survey online. Supporting local agriculture was found to be the highest motivating factor for purchase of local beef within the survey population. That was followed by taste, environment, humane treatment, and health benefits, in that order. Women agreed to all motivating factors at a statistically significantly rate greater than their male counterparts. Price was found to be the largest barrier to the purchase of local beef among the respondents. Lesser barriers were appeal of specifics, convenience, unfamiliar brand, and quality. Statistically significant differences were noted between respondents who had actually purchased local beef versus those that would consider such purchase. Respondents with prior purchasing experience did not perceive the listed barriers to be as inhibitory to their purchase as those who had no prior buying experience. Recommendations produced from this research encourage farmer groups and individual farms to focus on their customer characteristics through key motivating factors, women, and those supporting local agriculture. Finding ways to encourage consumers to try local beef should combat barriers to purchase. Farmers markets should create an experience that customers want to come to and enjoy and individual producers should be relatable and available to customers. Future research could include a large, randomized population of respondents that could give a more accurate description of the typical American consumer with opportunity to expand into other motivating or barrier influences. Other ideas for research could include other motivating and barrier factors, as well as open ended questions and focus groups to gain further insights into the consumer mind with regard to local beef.

Doctor of Philosophy / Psychological Sciences / Patrick A. Knight / This study was designed to examine the combined influence of feedback sign (i.e., positive or negative), feedback specificity, and goal orientation on individuals’ receptivity to performance feedback. Performance feedback is an often-prescribed solution to performance problems for both individuals and organizations, but evidence regarding its effectiveness as a mechanism for promoting positive outcomes has been mixed. It has been argued that one reason for the inconsistency in previous research findings may be a failure to adequately account for reactions to feedback (e.g., receptivity). Accordingly, this study focused on a series of variables with the potential to influence receptivity, in pursuit of a more comprehensive understanding of the feedback process. It was expected that individuals with certain achievement goal orientations would be more or less receptive to different characteristics of the feedback itself, and that the nature of the task being performed would further influence their willingness to accept feedback and implement task-relevant behavioral changes. Data were collected from 536 participants via Amazon’s Mechanical Turk marketplace. Participants completed the experiment in an online environment. Each participant was asked to complete a pair of error-detection tasks, focused on either mathematical computations or grammatical accuracy. Conditionally-assigned, fabricated feedback was provided after task performance on the initial trial. Surveys were used to assess goal orientation and feedback receptivity. Results indicated that greater feedback specificity was associated with greater receptivity to feedback. Analysis also revealed that feedback sign, feedback specificity, and goal orientation interact to influence receptivity, such that for performance-oriented individuals, specific positive feedback leads to the highest levels of receptivity and specific negative feedback prompts the lowest levels of receptivity. For mastery-oriented participants, however, specific feedback was associated with high levels of receptivity, regardless of whether that feedback was positive or negative. The results are discussed within the context of relative theoretical perspectives. Practical implications, promising avenues of future inquiry, and strengths and limitations of the research are discussed.