Festival of Scholars

Student Abstracts

Can Beauty Harm? Revitalization and Environmental Justice Along the Los Angeles River

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The purpose of this study is to determine how environmental justice communities along the Los Angeles River are effected by revitalization efforts. Data for this study are obtained through a mixed method of analysis including: policy and plan analysis of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and the Los Angeles River Revitalization Master Plan (LARRMP); census data analysis to determine demographic shifts; interviews with community members, advocacy groups, and governmental representatives; and site visits to Elysian Valley, Silverlake, and Echo Park to provide a general context for the study. To determine how EJ communities are affected by environmental policies, the following three questions must be considered: 1. What is environmental justice? 2. What policies govern EJ along the LA River? 3. How effective are these policies in promoting EJ? While the LARRMP acknowledges underrepresented communities, it is not required to address potential displacement or gentrification through CEQA. Subsequently, as long as communities are slated to be revitalized, displacement and gentrification persists in environmental justice communities along the River, demonstrated through demographic shifts and disproportionate increases in property values. Mitigation strategies, as seen in the 2018 Resilient Los Angeles plan, are still in early planning phases with medium to long-term timeframe goals that will not be addressed for five years or more, allowing for the continuation of negative impacts.Current environmental legislation does not adequately address environmental justice issues within environmental reform. Through policy recommendations and a new environmental justice framework, this research can inform future legislation to better address environmental justice issues.

Student(s):
Nakiessa Abbassi

Faculty Mentor:
Drs. Haco Hoang and Michael Brint

Intersectionality & Campaign Tactics for Minority Women Candidates

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The 2018 election was a landmark for women in politics, particularly with record-breaking numbers elected to serve in Congress. As women in the United States continue running for public office at all levels, research and tools for female candidates still typically ignore women of color, who face a different set of difficulties in the political sphere. Through the lens of the theory of intersectionality, we see that female minority candidates face both the challenges that come with gender perceptions for women, in addition to racial and ethnic biases and challenges. The purpose of this study is to explore campaign strategies of women of color running for public office by analyzing the experiences of such women who have run for office and providing suggestions for future candidates. The study will draw upon data gathered through in-depth interviews and content analysis of campaign messages to examine the challenges that minority female candidates face, examples of campaign strategies that were effective or ineffective, and suggestions for future campaigns.

Student(s):
Dakota Allen

Faculty Mentor:
Dr. Sharon Docter

The Relationship Between Lighting of a Room and Alertness

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The purpose of this study was to see if the lighting of a room has an impact on an individual’s alertness. In a simple experiment independent groups design with two conditions (bright lighting, dim lighting), 17 undergraduate and graduate college students were randomly assigned to memorize a Word List with 20 words. All participants were timed 25 seconds to memorize as many words as possible on the Word List and timed a minute to write down the words they recalled. There were 4 time slots and each time slot was assigned to one of the two conditions (bright lighting, dim lighting). I hypothesized that participants in a room with bright lighting will be significantly more alert than those in a room with a dim room setting. The results were not statistically significant; hypothesis not supported. The analysis shows that bright lighting did not impact alertness.

Student(s):
Natalie Alvarez

Faculty Mentor:
Dr. Marylie Gerson

Decreasing Disruptive Behavior in a Person with Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder

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As part of the Clinical Practicum, a behavior modification intervention was developed to treat a hypothetical child with Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD). ADHD impacts brain development and brain activity that affects attention, the ability to sit still, and self-control. One behavior deficit satisfying the disorder is disruptiveness and shouting out in class. Techniques were designed to decrease this undesirable behavior and increase a desirable behavior. A token economy was put in place to decrease the number of shout outs during class time. Reinforcement was made contingent on when the child did not disrupt the class and instead raised his hand before speaking. Progress will be measured by the documentation of the number of times the child shouts out during an allotted time period.

Student(s):
Sara Arsinous, Emily Ufland

Faculty Mentor:
Dr. Julie Kuehnel

Impact of Major and Minor Music Chords on Positive Emotions and Altruism

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Positive emotions are an extremely important topic because a positive outlook can help counteract mental illness and bring about a better world. My study looked at how we can show that through music people can open their minds and be more caring for the world around them. The goal of my study was to assess the impact of a major and minor chord on positive emotions and altruistic behavior. I randomly assigned participants to be in either the major condition or the minor condition. I then played participants Imagine by John Lennon in the respective keys and had them fill out three items. Each participant completed a basic demographic sheet with their age, ethnicity, gender, major, and class standing as well as the Dispositional Positive Emotions Scale (DPES) to measure emotions of joy, pride, contentment, and compassion. The final material I had participants complete was a vignette that assessed how altruistic they were by having them rate, on a Likert-type scale, how likely they would be to help someone in need. I predicted that those participants in the major key condition would score significantly higher in the positive emotions survey and be more likely to help someone in need.

Student(s):
Austin Boelman

Faculty Mentor:
Dr. Marylie Gerson

Empathy as a Predictor of Racial Prejudice in Face Categorization

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Previous research has indicated that people typically view others within their group much more favorably than those outside of their group, even with minimally different information. The present study assessed the influence of subconscious racial prejudice on face categorization, and whether affective or cognitive empathy is a better predictor for how successful a person is at categorizing faces of a different ethnicity, but of the same in-group. Participants were asked to estimate the amount of dots in an image over a set of trials, but in actuality were randomly assigned to an “estimator style” group, being named either an Underestimator or an Overestimator. Participants were then told that they would be presented with a series of faces of individuals who have taken the same estimation task in previous years. Underestimators were presented on a green background, while Overestimators were presented on a blue background. Then, participants were asked to identify which faces were Underestimators and which were Overestimators when faces were presented on a neutral background. Finally, participants completed the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) to assess empathy. I predicted that people will be more likely to miscategorize the faces of people who are in their estimator group but not of their ethnicity, such that they will be more likely to see those faces as members of the other estimator group. In addition, I predicted that people who score high in affective empathy will be less likely to wrongly assign people of another ethnicity to the out-group.

Student(s):
Daniel Buonauro

Faculty Mentor:
Dr. Marylie Gerson

Perceived Similarity and Perceived Attractiveness as Predictors of Consumer Interest in a Product

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The present study assessed whether it is the perceived physical similarity towards a model or perceived physical attractiveness of a model that best predicts a consumer’s interest in buying an article of clothing when shopping online. It is important to study what variables are imperative in consumer psychology because with the use of growing technology online shopping is now just one click away. The study complied with the ethical standards of the American Psychological Association (APA, 2002) for research with human participants. A correlational design was employed and materials were delivered online through Qualtrics. All participants were shown five print ads of models wearing dresses. After viewing each model, participants filled out a Consumer Questionnaire which included 11 questions regarding the model’s perceived attractiveness, 11 questions regarding the model’s perceived similarity, and 1 question regarding interest in the model’s dress. I hypothesized that when interest in buying a dress is regressed on both perceived physical attractiveness and perceived physical similarity, perceived physical attractiveness will be the stronger predictor.

Student(s):
Jayci Burrell

Faculty Mentor:
Dr. Marylie Gerson

Protecting Indigenous Populations in New Zealand: A Case Study of the Māori

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The purpose of this study is to examine what impact has the Treaty of Waitangi had on the Māori. This study will assess the protection of indigenous rights in New Zealand through the following framework: Security, Justice and Reconciliation, Social Economic Well-Being and Governance and Participation. The data in this study consists of 1) analysis of the income, prison rates and educational attainment of the Māori. 2) analysis of the rights and expectations set forth by the Treaty of Waitangi. 3) archival research of legal policies subsequent to the Treaty of Waitangi including: 1867 Native Schools Act. 4) interviews of faculty experts from institutions such as: the University of Auckland. The examination of rates of inequality in the sectors of education, incarceration and income will be used in relation with the Treaty of Waitangi. The relation between the two is imperative to note whether the treaty has caused an impact. Analyzing the wording and context of the Treaty will set the foundation for whether the treaty adequately served its purpose. The legal policies created after the Treaty of Waitangi show the effect the treaty had as the basis for Māori rights.

Student(s):
Alicia Cabrera

Faculty Mentor:
Dr. Haco Hoang

Rescuing our Rescuers: An Investigation of Coping Mechanisms Used by Firefighters in Response to Critical Incidents

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Firefighting inherently comes along with occupational hazards. Many of these hazards are traumatic events, also referred to as critical incidents. Critical incidents can be defined as any event that has stressful enough impact to overwhelm the otherwise effective coping skills of a person. Examples of critical incidents can include calls involving burned bodies, murders, suicides, and decapitation. They also include responding to the aftermaths of natural disasters, accident calls, treating crime victims, or providing care to a family member or friend. Being exposed to critical incidents often has a negative effect on one's mental health and overall wellbeing. Although there are programs available that aim to assist firefighters in coping after a critical incident, research suggests these programs are ineffective. Without sufficient treatment following critical incidents, the mental health of firefighters often declines; many firefighters turn to unhealthy coping mechanisms; and a surprisingly large number of firefighters commit suicide. The purpose of this study was to identify which type of critical incident firefighters report to be the most stressing; which coping mechanism firefighters endorse as being used most frequently; and which coping mechanism firefighters identify as being the most helpful when coping after a critical incident. The study employed the Background and Demographic Questionnaire and the Ways of Coping Questionnaire – Revised to gather data. It is hoped that the results of this study will contribute to the creation of a program that is effective in assisting firefighters in coping with critical incident stress and to successfully rescue our rescuers.

Student(s):
Ashley Casella

Faculty Mentor:
Dr. Michael Gerson

The Role That Outside Factors Play on First-Generation College Students’ Perceptions of Self-Efficacy

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The current study assessed the possible roles played by perceived social support and first-generation college student status, on college students’ perceptions of self-efficacy. This is an important piece of research, as there is a gap in the literature regarding the resources needed by first-generation college students to promote their success in college. Undergraduate volunteers were recruited via an online system (SONA), which led them to an online link to a series of questionnaires. Students first completed a Demographic Questionnaire, which included questions to ascertain first-generation status. They then also completed the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, to assess their perceptions of social support by friends, family, and significant other, followed by the General Self-Efficacy Scale, to assess their self-efficacy. Finally, students completed a series of rating scales to explore their expectations regarding graduating within 4 years and other factors, such as financial distress, anticipated to be relevant to their perceived self-efficacy. I hypothesized that perceived social support would correlate positively with perceived self-efficacy for first-generation students.

Student(s):
Vianca Castaneda-Corre

Faculty Mentor:
Dr. Marylie Gerson

The Impact of Retractions on News Credibility

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The current study explores news retractions and the impact that they have on participants’ perception of a news organization’s credibility (N= 482). Amazon Mechanical Turk was used to recruit participants on a voluntary basis. The study found a significant difference in participants’ perceptions of news organizations. Participants who thought highly of the news organization still thought highly of it after seeing a retraction whereas those who had an initial lower perception maintained their lower perception after seeing the retraction, creating the difference between the two groups. The current study also found that people who saw the retractions were still more likely to read The New York Times in the future than those who did not see the retraction. This could mean that because The New York Times is admitting to its mistakes, the readers appreciate the publication’s honesty and the fact that it is taking responsibility for its mistakes. Future studies can also continue to look at retractions, because a gap in the literature still exists on the topic of news retractions.

Student(s):
Vianca Castaneda-Corre

Faculty Mentor:
Dr. Kirstie Hettinga

The Effect of Gratitude on Underlying Mechanisms that Maintain Eating Disorder Pathology

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The aim of this study is to investigate the influence of gratitude as a psychological intervention on the underlying mechanisms maintaining eating disorders. The effect gratitude has on gratitude levels, body appreciation, perfectionism toward physical appearance, and attitudes toward food will be investigated in this study. Clients from two eating disorder treatment sites will participate in a two-week course on gratitude that focuses on psychosocial activities known to have effectiveness with nonclinical populations with poor body image. The gratitude intervention includes activities such as psycho-education, art therapy, journaling, intentional social reciprocity, gratitude reflections, and cognitive reframing. The research design in this study will use repeated measures across three times points with both between and within-subject comparison. Limitations of this study are the lack of diversity in the participants, short duration of the intervention, and the comorbidity of other psychological disorders of the participants. Future directions for research are to implement a longer duration of the gratitude intervention, incorporate participants that are male, participants who have Binge Eating Disorder, and participants with higher BMIs. Clinical implications for this study are to have gratitude as an adjunctive intervention and not a primary intervention for eating disorders.

Student(s):
Angela Claffey

Faculty Mentor:
Dr. Ryan Sharma

Impact of Juror’s Identity and Type of Crime Committed on the Evaluation of a Religious Defendant

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The purpose of this study is to examine differences in a juror’s decision of a defendant who committed a religiously motivated crime (or not) based on the religious affiliation (or assumed affiliation) of the defendant and the identity salience of the juror (religious, moral, or spiritual). Is a juror’s decision-making influenced by factors unrelated to the crime or evidence? There has been evidence to support race and sex stereotype bias in evidence analysis (Smalarz, Madon, Yang, Guyll, & Buck, 2016), but it is unclear as to whether this bias exists based on religion. There have been correlational findings to suggest that religious traits of the juror are related to the verdict and sentencing (Miller, Maskaly, Peoples, & Sigillo, 2014), however, it seems that this has yet to be explored from an experimental perspective, which is what the current study plans to do. Participants will have their identity (religious/moral/spiritual/control) primed by utilizing a widely used sentence scramble. Participants will be asked to evaluate the case of a defendant who was an accomplice to either a religiously motivated crime (terrorism) or not (arson). The religion of the defendant will be explicitly stated as Muslim or will not be mentioned. Participants will then respond to questions asking about the defendant’s guilt, sentencing, and fairness in evaluating the case. It is expected that the jurors’ decisions about the defendant’s guilt and sentencing, along with fairness, will be impacted by the juror’s identity, type of crime committed, and the religious affiliation of the defendant.

Student(s):
Melanie Cohen, Marisa Ferens, Christy MacLeod, Francheska Tanglao

Faculty Mentor:
Dr. Amanda ElBassiouny

The Value of Captions on Social Media and Their Effect on Self-Esteem

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Social media has become a widespread leisure activity all over the world. With its popularity, social media can have potential effects on a person’s well-being. This study investigated the impact of viewing social media on self-esteem for female CLU students. Participants completed the Social Media Addiction Scale (Sahin, 2018) regarding their social media use. Then, they were shown one of two social media profiles that either included captions promoting a life of purpose or just showed the photographs without captions. Finally, participants completed the Janis and Field Feelings of Inadequacy Scale (Janis & Field, 1959) to assess their self-esteem. I predicted that there will be significantly higher levels of self-esteem when exposed to a social media profile with captions regarding living an optimistic, happy, self-loving life than when exposed to a profile without such captions.

Student(s):
Rica Distor

Faculty Mentor:
Dr. Marylie Gerson

The Culture of Self-Esteem: Exploring Differences in the Impact of Perceived Social Support for Different Cultures

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Self-esteem has an important implication for one’s self-concept. Previous research has found that individualist and non-individualist cultures define self-esteem differently. Members of an individualist culture rely on themselves for their assessment of self-esteem while those of a collectivist culture rely on their social group. Since perceived social support has been found to correlate with self-esteem, this study compared individuals from individualist and collectivist cultures in terms of the role of perceived social support in predicting self-esteem. The current study consisted of approximately 80 California Lutheran University Students. Self-esteem was assessed by both the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and the Collective Self-Esteem Scale. I predicted that members of an individualist culture will score significantly higher on the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale than members of a collectivist culture, regardless of perceived social support; while members of a collectivist culture will score significantly higher in collective self-esteem than members of an individualist culture, unless they perceive low social support. Participants completed an online survey assessing their self-concept in which they completed the following measures: a background questionnaire, The Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, and the Collective Self-Esteem Scale.

Student(s):
Caitlin Elizabeth Donida

Faculty Mentor:
Dr. Marylie Gerson

Are You Still Watching? Examining Personality Predictors of Binge-Watching Preferences and Behaviors

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Binge-watching (i.e., watching three or more episodes of a show in one sitting) is a popular activity in our society, with 70% of Americans reporting that they binge-watch shows (Deloitte Digital Democracy Survey, 2016). However, very little is known about the psychological predictors of binge-watching. The purpose of the current study is to examine the personality traits that predict binge-watching preferences and behaviors. To our knowledge, this is the first study to explore the link between personality and binge-watching. Approximately 120 undergraduate students will participate in an online survey assessing various aspects of their binge-watching experiences, including frequency, enjoyment, and reasons for binge-watching (e.g., social connection motives, social isolation motives, etc.). In addition, participants will be assessed on a series of personality traits, such as the Big Five, attachment style, self-esteem, self-control, social anxiety, and fear of missing out (FOMO). Given the novelty of this research topic, all analyses will be exploratory and we have no firm hypotheses. However, we do expect that certain personality traits will predict various aspects of binge-watching. For example, we expect that lower self-control and greater FOMO will predict greater frequency of binge-watching. We also expect that those with greater openness to experience will report more enjoyment from binge-watching. Finally, we expect that higher self-esteem, secure attachment style, and extraversion will predict greater social connection motives for binge-watching. Overall, this study is an important first step in understanding the psychological causes and consequences of binge-watching.

Student(s):
Caitlin Elizabeth Donida, Courtney T. Edukugho, Jessica R. Gott, and SarahRose C. Jarvis

Faculty Mentor:
Dr. Ariana Young

Suicidality in a Sexual Minority Population

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Research indicates that sexual minority individuals, or those who identify as being lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, or otherwise non-heterosexual, are at higher risk of considering suicide when compared to their heterosexual counterparts. Recent studies have found that people who identify with a bisexual orientation are significantly more likely to report suicidal ideation and suicidal behaviors than those who identify as either homosexual or heterosexual. Sexual minority individuals may be particularly vulnerable to suicidal ideation due to particular interpersonal difficulties related to this population such as, lacking a connection with their heterosexual peers and believing that one is a burden to their loved ones due to their sexual orientation. This is an exploratory study and the purpose of this study is to examine the association between sexual orientation, feelings of belongingness, perceived level of burdensomeness, and suicidal thoughts and behaviors. I hypothesize that sexual orientation will be related to suicidal ideation and behavior, specifically that bisexual individuals will be at heightened risk for suicidal ideation more so than their homosexual and heterosexual peers due to higher levels of thwarted belongingness. This study will disseminate an online survey to particpants who identify as homosexual, heterosexual, and bisexual with scales measuring the participant's feelings of belongingness, perceived level of burdensomeness, perceived familial acceptance of sexual orientation, and suicidal ideation.

Student(s):
Rebecca Dreiling

Faculty Mentor:
Dr. Morris Eagle

The Effects of Plastic Surgery Visibility in Social Media on Body Satisfaction, Self- Consciousness, and Self Esteem

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Social media and popular culture are on the brink of completely consuming our society. The looming presence of societal norms is at an all-time high and now, at the click of a button, the world is our responsive audience. The present study assessed how the presentation of plastic surgery on social networking sites affects body satisfaction, self-consciousness, and self-esteem in young women. It was expected that viewing the deceptive social media profile of a surgically altered woman who does not admit to her procedures would lower body satisfaction and self-esteem, and increase self-conscious emotions in young women, relative to those who viewed the non-deceptive social media profile of a surgically altered woman who was transparent about her procedures.Participants took an online Qualtrics survey where they were presented with an online Informed Consent Form to review, sign, and print for their records. Participants were then shown an “Instagram profile”, displayed on Qualtrics, associated with one of three profiles and instructed to view all photos. Condition 1 portrayed a surgically altered woman who accredited her body to fitness. Condition 2 portrayed a surgically altered woman who accredited her body to plastic surgery. Condition 3, the control, portrayed a surgically altered woman who did not accredit her body to anything specific. Once completed, participants were instructed that they will now complete several questionnaires (The Body Satisfaction and Self Esteem Scale, and Physical Appearance Comparisons Scale-Revised), concluding with a few brief demographic questions.

Student(s):
Courtney Edukugho

Faculty Mentor:
Dr. Marylie Gerson

Physical Height Influences Perceived Competence and Maturity Levels in Women in the Hiring Process

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Brief introduction: The present study assessed others’ perceptions of a woman’s perceived qualifications and maturity based on the woman’s height when applying for a job. Height is a major factor when others are making judgments of people.
Purpose statement:

To identify if height plays a role in perceptions of a woman’s qualifications for a job, even when height is irrelevant. I predicted that those who are taller will be rated as more qualified than their shorter counterparts.
To identify if height plays a role in the perceived likelihood that one would hire a woman. I predicted that those who are taller will be more likely to be hired than their shorter counterparts.
To identify if height plays a role in determining a woman’s perceived maturity level. I predicted that those who are taller will be rated as more mature than their shorter counterparts.

Methods: In an online study, a simple experiment with an independent groups design was employed. Participants were presented a fictional job description and qualifications for the job. They were then presented a fictional applicant’s resume, photo, and description. In the description, the two conditions differed. In one condition, the job applicant was described as five feet tall, while in the other condition, the job applicant was described as five feet, eight inches tall. Participants in both conditions were prompted to answer a series of questions regarding perceptions of the applicant’s maturity, qualifications, and likelihood of being hired.

Student(s):
Justine Eller

Faculty Mentor:
Dr. Marylie Gerson

Lutheran Congregational Relations Service Learning Video

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This service learning project serves as a promotional video for California Lutheran University’s Lutheran Church by presenting diversity on campus as a positive contributor to interfaith coexistence. Cal Lutheran welcomes all faith backgrounds and strives to be an institution that accommodates to each and every student. In this video, students reflect on campus life and inclusivity, as well as the spiritual challenges they have overcome. The target audience of this project is adults in various faith communities that will spread the word regarding the university, which will ultimately increase the number of applications and diversity of prospective students. Through the medium of digital videography, we start with storyboarding a general flow of the video, interviewing the participants, and finally editing the footage into a 2-3 minute video. The final product can be used by congregational relations when reaching out to other religious institutions by illuminating the diversity of Cal Lutheran and why so many students are empowered by their actions through this institution.

Student(s):
Stephanie Figueroa, Kristen Case, Aaron Rohrer, Kayla Fontanilla

Faculty Mentor:
Prof. David Grannis

Viewers Perceptions of Homosexuality in Television

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This research explores the factors that affect television viewers acceptance of gay male characters in a diverse adult sample.This study examines 6 of the following current television shows at both the program and character level: Modern Family, Will and Grace, Game of Thrones, The Office, The Walking Dead, and American Horror Story. These shows werespecifically chosen for their highly recallable characters and fell under either the comedy or drama genre.The study examines the results from an online survey taken by 416 participants involving the number of lgbt social contacts, amount of television viewing, parasocial interaction with gay characters, and scores on the Modern Homonegativity scale, Religiosity scale, and Likability scale. Results are discussed in terms on the Parasocial Contact Hypothesis and Identification. Correlations found in this study require further replication due to changing demographics.

Student(s):
Stephanie Figueroa

Faculty Mentor:
Dr. Aaron Heresco

Increasing Social Skills in a Person with Autism

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As part of the Clinical Practicum, a behavioral intervention plan was used to treat a child with Autism Spectrum Disorder level 1. Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder level 1 have persistent deficits with social interactions and exhibit inflexible repetitious behaviors making it difficult to create and maintain relationships. The behavior deficits include difficulty initiating and maintaining conversations, inappropriate outbursts during social interactions, inability to recognize and respond to social cues, and issues with adapting to changes in routine. Shaping techniques were implemented to increase the frequency and duration of appropriate social interactions while reducing targeted problem behavior. Reinforcement was contingent on the child recognizing and implementing appropriate actions during social interactions. Progress was measured by documenting the frequency and duration of behavior, gradually increasing appropriate behavior while decreasing inappropriate behavior.

Student(s):
Savanna Flores

Faculty Mentor:
Dr. Julie Kuehnel

Behavioral Intervention Plan: Brittney

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For the Clinical Practicum, I have written a treatment plan using the principles of reinforcement and the procedures of Applied Behavior Analysis to modify maladaptive behavior and promote development. This paper is a treatment plan will be addressing targeted maladaptive behaviors, but includes some social and cognitive lessons that was seen as necessary after parent feedback and probing of these skills. All data was taken in- vivo through observation or through parent’s ABC data. All behaviors and programs were closely monitored and all progress was supported through data.

Student(s):
Jesse Galvan

Faculty Mentor:
Dr. Julie Kuehnel

Increasing Prosocial Behavior for a Hypothetical Client in a School Setting

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The following is a proposal intervention plan for a hypothetical client who is struggling with social interactions. Ximena a Central American unaccompanied minor who at age 6 surged across the Mexican border seeking asylum turned herself in to the authorities gave horrifying accounts of violence in her home country. After being placed in a U.S detention facility Ximena was placed in a foster home where she was later adopted. Now age 9 she is beginning the process to readjust by starting school in the United States. Although she has shown to be remarkably resilient she has shown some symptoms that put her at risk for Emotional Behavioral Disorder and PTSD. She attends regular therapy sessions. The main deficits she struggles are withdrawal and social interactions in the classroom. Token economy techniques would be implemented to increase her social interactions with other students. She will be reinforced for compliance through a token economy on Monday’s Wednesday’s and Friday’s. Progress would be measured through a fixed ratio. If she interacts with another student she gets a sticker which she can exchange for a prize at the end of the week. Interactions will be defined as playing for five minutes. A peer mentor would also be established so she has someone to relate to. The consequences include reducing her anxiety and increasing her social behavior in a school setting.

Student(s):
Sandy Gonzalez

Faculty Mentor:
Dr. Julie Kuehnel

Wrong Place, Wrong Time: Inclusion and Exclusion for UnDACAmented Students in Higher Education

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Most research associated with the undocumented youth and the DACA program tends to focus on the Hispanic Latino Community, but within DACA 23% of recipients are of non-Hispanic descent.In fact, 10% of the eligible population are of Asian descent, African countries 3% , and youth from the Caribbean represent 2% (Hooker, 2015). This paper used a mixed methods design to investigate the experience of the non-Hispanic DACA recipient population as it relates to their ability to obtain a degree in higher education. 70 self reported DACA students attending universities and community colleges in the United States completed questionnaires from an online self-reported survey based on social cognitive factors emphasizing self efficacy to measure academic success. Individuals who identified as non-Hispanic took a separate qualitative section of this study to further understand the experience of the underrepresented non-Hispanic population. We estimated that from all the racial and ethnic groups within DACA, the non-Hispanic/ Latino recipients may be less prone to seek financial, legal, and emotional opportunities due to their different cultural immigrant experience. Since the support systems available may be unintentionally geared towards the hispanic DACA population it is important to raise awareness of the emotional and social difficulties that the non-Hispanic DACA population encounters in relation to their academic success and the need to promote effective support systems in higher education to all minority groups.

Student(s):
Sandy Gonzalez

Faculty Mentor:
Dr. Rafaela Fiore Urizar

Systematic Light Exposure Therapy for the Treatment of Cancer-Related Fatigue and Depression

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Cancer treatment including chemotherapy, radiation, hormone therapy, surgery and other treatments have long-lasting somatic and psychological impacts including depression, fatigue and diminished quality of life. Systematic Light Exposure Therapy offers an alternative therapeutic treatment option to those with barriers to treatment. The study’s purpose is investigate the effects of systematic light exposure therapy on depression, fatigue and the quality of life in a cancer population. The sample population includes patients endorsing depression or fatigue at the Ridley-Tree Cancer Center and treatment is provided in the form of a light box by the oncology social work department. The light box emits 10,000 lux, full spectrum with a filter and is to be used over the course of thirty (30) days. A within-subject repeated-measure design utilizes the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy Fatigue Questionnaire (FACIT-IV) and the Quality of Life Questionnaire-Cancer 30 (QLQ-C30) to measure the constructs of depression, fatigue and quality of life. An additional post-test survey collects data on adherence as well as qualitative data on the personal experience of the treatment. The study aims to have forty-four (44) participants currently in cancer treatment of within five years of active treatment.

Student(s):
Colin Goodwin

Faculty Mentor:
Dr. Ryan Sharma

The Effects of Parasocial Relationship Status with Idealized Fictional Characters on Memory

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The media plays an important role in individuals’ daily lives. People have access to shows, movies, books, and social media at an arm’s reach. Even if physically alone, individuals often find themselves in the company of celebrities and fictional characters. Because many of these media figures are portrayed with idealized characteristics and traits, people may be setting themselves up for unrealistic social comparisons. For example, exposure to a highly intelligent media figure could make people perceive themselves as less intelligent (Dijksterhuis et al., 1998). The purpose of the current study is to examine the effects of idealized media figures on individuals’ perceived and actual memory. In addition, this study explores parasocial relationship status (PSR; one’s psychological connection with the media figure) as a moderator of these effects. Participants will be undergraduate students who will read a passage about Lisbeth Salander, a character with exceptional memory, from The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo novels. Those in the experimental condition will read about her memory, while those in the control condition will read passages about Lisbeth unrelated to memory. Next, participants will complete a memory recall task and then rate themselves on their memory abilities. We hypothesize that among those who do not have a PSR, exposure to an idealized media figure will lead to worse self-perceived memory and performance on a memory task. However, we expect that among those who have a PSR, exposure to an idealized media figure will lead to better self-perceived memory and performance on a memory task.

Student(s):
Jessica Gott

Faculty Mentor:
Dr. Ariana Young

College Skills Program

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The number of adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) pursuing higher education has been increasing, and there is currently a need to better understand how to support these students’ transition to college. The following study investigated the efficacy of the College Skills Program, a program designed to introduce students to various skills which aid college success (e.g., time management, communication with faculty and staff, note-taking, group work social skills, and self-care). The program consisted of six one-and-a-half hour sessions. Participants (seven males and one female between the ages of 17 and 19 years old) were partnered with current college students to allow the program to be individualized to participant needs. At the end of the final day of the program, participants were interviewed by their partner regarding their experiences. Overall, seven out of the eight participants reported that the program helped them feel less anxious, more prepared for, and/or excited about college. Two sessions were identified by the majority of the participants as most beneficial: listening to an inspirational talk by a current college student with autism and the opportunity to practice meeting with a faculty member during office hours. The majority of the participants also reported that the experiential aspects of the program were very helpful. In regard to advice for future programs, many participants suggested that future programs include more hands-on activities to practice skills and more opportunities to experience different areas of a college campus. Limitations and implications for future programs and research are discussed.

Student(s):
Luz Guevara, Pearl Castro, Katherine Ardon, Victoria Slusser

Faculty Mentor:
Dr. Jodie Kocur

Labeled a “Psycho:” The Media’s Damaging Depictions of Schizophrenia

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Mental illness is extremely common but the stigma surrounding it has a negative connotation, which is only fueled by the depictions that the media chooses to display. However, times are changing and documentaries and biographical films are beginning to outweigh the “psychotic” and severely mentally ill serial killers typically seen in horror films and crime dramas. This educational and more accurate approach to the portrayal of mental illness is important in a world where diagnostic criteria have improved. The current study explored how manipulation of the depicted symptoms of mentally ill persons that individuals come across in media and films can create empathy or fear and increased stigma. Participants completed a Background Questionnaire and a Schizophrenia Knowledge Pretest in order to determine a baseline of their knowledge on the illness. They then read one of two vignettes portraying an individual with either negative or positive symptoms of schizophrenia. The person with negative symptoms was described as someone who became withdrawn and was no longer interested in any type of relationship with others. In contrast, the person with positive symptoms was described as someone who had become extremely delusional, disorganized and catatonic. Finally, participants completed a Schizophrenia Response Posttest, which assessed responses to the vignette. I predicted that individuals who were exposed to the negative symptom vignette would react with sympathy or increased empathy, whereas those exposed to the positive symptom vignette would react with fear or the stigma surrounding the illness would increase.

Student(s):
Luz Guevara

Faculty Mentor:
Dr. Marylie Gerson

Effect of Mood on Memory Recall of Positive and Negative Stimuli

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Memory is a vital part of human life and interaction. There are many factors that influences memory including mood. Research has found that depressed people store less positive information than nondepressed people (Anderson & Shimamura, 2005). Currently, data has shown that college students have high anxiety and depression levels, with research finding that about 41.6% of college students have anxiety and 36.4% have depression (Mistler, Reetz, Krylowicz, & Barr, 2012). Previous research on mood and memory has not included college students, but rather normal adults. The current experiment being done is to help bridge the gap with past studies by finding more research on memory recall of college students as their mental health is different from the average adult. The experiment focuses on how college students happiness levels (mood), both high and low, and stress levels can affect their memory of positive and negative stimuli. In the study, college participants were presented with a list of forty-five words - fifteen positive, fifteen negative, and fifteen neutral, and were then asked to completed a free recall test of the words they viewed. Participants were also asked demographic questions, as well as questions regarding their happiness and stress levels. We hypothesized that generally happy college students will have a better memory recall when presented with positively valence based stimuli, while generally less happy college students will have a better memory recall of negatively based valence stimuli.

Student(s):
Vanessa Hernandez, Martina Kushwaha

Faculty Mentor:
Dr. Andrea Sell

Recovery Outcomes for Injured Intercollegiate Athletes: Results from a Weekly Support Group

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The current study aims to accomplish two goals. The first goal is to analyze and define salient themes of recovery for past or presently injured, collegiate athletes at a private NCAA division III university in the South through semi-structured interviews. Questions asked during these interviews reflected concepts from popular models of psychosocial responses to sport injury. The second goal of the study is to employ a quantitative research design that utilizes the qualitative themes to create and implement an 8-week support group for currently injured athletes from the same university. Topics of discussion during each week will be related to themes garnered in the qualitative analysis as well as other variables related to injury recovery depicted in the aforementioned models. Collegiate athletes in the support group will be given pre-, mid-, and post-group measures in order to gauge any psychosocial changes related to injury-recovery that are concurrent with group participation. Six, one-way repeated measures ANOVAs with follow-up tests will be run, including a bonferroni correction analysis due to the high number of comparisons being performed.

Student(s):
Fledzinskas Jon

Faculty Mentor:
Dr. Mindy Puopolo

The Effect of False Information on Timbral Recall of Flute

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False memories are the recollection of events that did not occur. The misinformation effect explained the fallibility of these memories influenced by previous information (Loftus, 2005). Previous research in the misinformation effect primarily focused on only visual and verbal stimuli such as in the case of eye-witness testimony (Kirk et al., 2015; Gurney, Pine, & Wiseman, 2017). Anglada-Tort and colleagues (2018) recently adapted the misinformation paradigm to examine false memories in musical pieces. The purpose of the present study was to investigate further if false post-information affected the recall of flute in a contemporary instrumental piece. The study employed a two-by-two factorial design. Based on previous findings, I predicted that participants who listened to the music piece without flute and received a musical description that included flute would be more likely to answer yes on the flute target question than those who did not receive misinformation. In the first condition, participants listened to two variations of the same musical piece entitled “Beach Waves”, either the flute solo was present or absent. Then, in the second condition, participants were presented with a description of the music piece, either mentioning the flute solo or not mentioning the flute solo. After answering demographic and arithmetic questionnaires, participants answered five questions targeting the timbral recall of instruments e.g. flute, saxophone, synthesizer, drums, and piano. Results were understood within fuzzy-trace theory (Brainerd & Reyna, 2002) and the activation-based memory model (Ayers & Reder, 1998).

Student(s):
Toby Keagy

Faculty Mentor:
Dr. Marylie Gerson

The Effect of Self-Control on the Directed Forgetting of Emotional Information

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Previous research found that the directed forgetting process can promote forgiveness. Other studies show that this process requires effort and can be difficult after completing a self-control depletion task. However, those studies rarely used emotional stimuli. The purpose of the experiment was to examine the role of self-control in the forgiveness process of emotional or neutral stimuli. We employed a two-by-two design to assess the effects of self-control depletion prior to a directed forgetting task. Some participants watched a humorous video and were instructed to not laugh, while others were allowed to laugh freely. After, participants were asked how much effort they used in the task. Next, participants completed a directed forgiveness task in which they were asked to read a story sentence by sentence, followed by a cue to either remember or forget each sentence. The stories contained either an emotional or non-emotional transgression sentence. After reading the story and a short filler task, participants were asked to write what they could remember from the story. The dependent variables in the study were whether or not they remembered the transgression, and if they did, how likely they would be to forgive the transgressor. We hypothesized that it would take more self-control to forget and subsequently forgive in the emotional transgression condition than in the neutral transgression condition. Results were understood within the process model of forgiveness, willpower depletion theories of self-control, and the retrieval inhibition account of directed forgetting.

Student(s):
Toby Keagy, Cassandra P. Akers, Rachel Lipstone, Brittany A. Salinas, Bridgette E. Stewart

Faculty Mentor:
Dr. Andrea Sell

Mindfulness and Soprts Performance

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Mindfulness has been shown to improve a host of mental health symptoms based on research over the past decade (Baer, 2003; Kabat-Zinn et al., 1992; Teasdale et al., 2000; Roemer, 2009; Argus & Thompson, 2008). Currently mindfulness has been applied to sports psychology with focus on increased performance across recreational and competitive adult populations with varied results (Bernier and colleagues, 2009; De Petrillo et al., 2009; Kaufman and et al., 2009; Rivera, Quintana and Rincon,2001). However, the field is sorely lacking in research on mindfulness and sports performance within an adolescent population (Tan, 2016). This project examines the effects of mindfulness on sports performance within a competitive youth soccer club. Mindfulness workshops will be conducted weekly for a duration of 4 weeks, 1.5 hours per week, with a trained mindfulness instructor. Mindfulness activities will follow the MSPE program designed by Kaufman and will employ some age/development adjusted activities appropriate to the current population. Sports performance will be measure via field test, Illinois Agility Test, and computerized reaction time test. Results will be gathered via pre-test and post-test measures on the first and last session of the workshop. Paired t-tests will be used to analyze the data collected and examine statistical significance of results.

Student(s):
Monique Loza

Faculty Mentor:
Dr. Ryan Sharma

Increasing Social Engagement in a Person with Mild Neurocognitive Disorder and Seasonal Affective Disorder

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As part of the Clinical Practicum, behavior modification procedures were used to treat an individual with mild neurocognitive disorder and seasonal affective disorder. Both cognitive impairments and mood disorders are common amongst patients suffering from vascular dementia and the symptoms are often highly debilitating. One problem behavior following the two disorders was excessive sleeping, which in turn lead to a decrease in crucial social engagement. Shaping techniques were therefore carried out to increase the duration of wake time. Direct reinforcement was implemented on a continuous schedule with the goal of reengaging the individual in social activities at the day center where she attends three days per week. Progress was measured by documenting the duration of wake time.

Student(s):
Anja Lundkvist Winter

Faculty Mentor:
Dr. Julie Kuehnel

What’s Culture Got to do With It? Rwanda’s Road to Cooperation and Integration from Ethnic Conflict

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Can culture generate a sense of cooperation and integration after ethnic conflict? We hypothesized that Rwanda’s seemingly recovery is directly linked to promotion of traditional dance and culture; not only linked, but directly proportional, to Rwanda’s success is the government's support of traditional practices. To answer this question, research was conducted through literature research, site visits, cultural events, and informal interviews. A governmental push of preserving culture, specifically a unified Rwandan culture, has had immense, lasting impact on Rwanda’s recovery. Governmental offices, specifically tailored to cultural preservation are focused on creating one central Rwandan identity. Specifically, the governments focuses history on the colonial creation of the hutu and tutsi groups, that previously had never been ethnic groups. This research not only tells the story of a thriving Rwanda, but it strives to ensure that readers understand the misconceptions that are often learned about Rwanda. It serves as a educational tool not only for those who study the Rwandan genocide, but for those who wish to understand the incredible history of a country in its fight to succeed. Research of such topics not only impacts the readers but impacts the writers themselves. It forces the question, is what you are taught in your life really the truth, and if not how will you react? Will you strive to find the truth, or will you be content to live in a world where what you were taught must be correct?

Student(s):
Anna Lundsten

Faculty Mentor:
Dr. Greg Freeland

The Impact of Similar Group Attention and Content Likeability on the Intensity of Emotion

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Through assessing and understanding the determinants of emotional intensity, psychologists may be able to explain how a person will appraise an experience shared with others, and how it might impact the person. Knowing these determinants may also provide insight into moments in which emotion leads to action and can help professionals aid people who struggle with emotional control. The goal of this study was to assess the roles of perceived similarity within a group and how well a subject is liked in determining the intensity of one’s emotional reactions. I ran a 2 (high or low perceived similarity with other group members) x 2 (high or low liking of a film clip) independent groups experiment. Perceived similarity was manipulated by having participants complete a bogus questionnaire, which was scored to “reveal” that they were either similar or dissimilar. Participants watched a 3 minute, 52 second video of the movie Coco. Liking of the film clip was assessed post hoc by responses to a rating scale. Emotional intensity was assessed by an Emotion Questionnaire. I hypothesized that emotional intensity would be highest when both perceived similarity and subject likability are high. The hypothesis was not supported. However, the interaction between perceived similarity and subject likability was found to affect how comfortable, or “peaceful”, a participant felt in the group while sharing the same experience. Contrarily, subject likability was found to affect the participant’s feelings of engagement, happiness, and affection.

Student(s):
Victoria Miller

Faculty Mentor:
Dr. Marylie Gerson

Recollections of Forgiven Events: The Effect of Directed Forgetting on Forgiveness

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Directed forgetting, a process which can occur in the retrieval process, may be achieved by inhibiting details of a memory (Fawcett, Lawrence, & Taylor, 2016). When people inhibit the retrieval of information, the amount of detail available in the memory can be affected. People can use this to forget memories that they may find discomfortable to think about, or to work on forgiving a person who has wronged them. With this knowledge, we hypothesized that people who used directed forgetting to forgive someone would have less detailed memories of reported events than people who did not forgive someone. Using a between subjects design, participants described either a memory in which they forgave someone, or a memory in which they did not forgive someone. They also self-reported both the clarity and severity of the memory. We compared the number of details in the memories for each condition. Results showed that participants who described memories in which they forgave someone did not present more detailed responses than participants who described a memory they did not forgive someone. We also concluded that a memory is no less clear or detailed between subjects when someone in a memory is forgiven than when someone in a memory is not forgiven. Results imply that participants may not have used directed forgetting to forgive the people in the recalled transgressions.

Student(s):
Anya Moody

Faculty Mentor:
Dr. Andrea Sell

Perceived Mental Stability: College Students' Interpretations of PTSD Symptoms in Military Veterans

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Recent research has found that there is an implicit bias against combat veterans in terms of how stable the general public perceives them to be, as well as a lack of understanding about PTSD. This study aimed to investigate CLU students’ perceptions. Over 100 participants read one of three short vignettes that were identical except for the character’s military background. The vignettes described a man who presented several symptoms of PTSD. In one vignette, the character was a construction worker with no mention of a background in the military, the second vignette mentioned a military background in which the character did not see combat, and the third vignette mentioned a military background in which the character did see combat. Participants also completed several questionnaires regarding what was read in the story, their opinion of the character, and their ability to recognize PTSD symptoms. The Perceived Dangerousness Scale (Kyaale & Haslam, 2016) was used to gather participants’ opinions towards the character, and the Recognition of PTSD Symptoms (Harik, Matteo, Hermann, & Hamblen, 2016) was used to gather data describing participants’ knowledge of PTSD symptoms. I predicted that participants who read a vignette about a civilian with PTSD symptoms would be significantly less likely to notice each symptom and would rate the character significantly less dangerous and more stable than participants who read about a character in the military.

Student(s):
Anya Moody

Faculty Mentor:
Dr. Marylie Gerson

Analyzing the Feasibility and Effects of SB 1: A Closer Look at California's "Gas Tax"

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The purpose of this study is to examine the potential and current effects of the Road Repair and Accountability Act, better known as SB 1 or the “Gas Tax.” The stated goal of SB 1 is to establish a long-term transportation solution that provides new revenues for road safety improvements such as filling potholes and repairing local streets, highways, and bridges as well providing upgrades to California’s public transportation network (Beall and Frazier). The study will specifically explore the policy ramifications of SB 1, the potential roadblocks toward its continued implementation, and the effects of the policy on drivers, infrastructure development, and the environment.Data for this study will include: 1) an analysis of fuel consumption in California and how a 12-cent increase in the gasoline excise tax will impact consumers, 2) public opinion related to SB 1, 3) an analysis of California’s infrastructure and transportation needs, 4) an examination of environmental metrics related to SB 1, 5) site visits, and 6) interviews with individuals and organizations related to SB 1. Additionally, exploring California’s transportation needs and demands will allow for a better understanding of the effectiveness of fund allocation. Potential environmental effects will also be considered with regards to fuel tax increases. Results will focus on three central questions: What is SB1? How and why has it been implemented? How has the policy impacted key California stakeholders, especially with regards to the economy and environmental quality?

Student(s):
Ryan Mundy

Faculty Mentor:
Dr. Haco Hoang

Behavioral Intervention

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In Clinical Practicum, we were assigned to work with a client with a behavioral problem and try to change it via positive reinforcement. For this course, I was assigned to a child in the middle of assessment for ADHD. Children who are diagnosed with ADHD typically has a hard time focusing on a task that requires an undivided attention and lack social cues. On average, children are diagnosed between the ages of 6 and 7 and cannot be diagnosed with ADHD later than the age of 12. For my client, I focused on his classroom attention span and getting schoolwork done. A token economy reinforcement was implemented to change the client’s behavior and try to increase the amount of schoolwork done throughout the day. We started off with the student getting at least half of his schoolwork done. If he succeeded, he would get a chance to choose a prize from the mystery bag. If the behavior continued for the whole week, the student would get a chance to choose a prize from another mystery bag with better prizes. As the weeks progressed, the amount of schoolwork that needed to be done increased, until we reached 100%, at the end of each day. If the child succeeded with getting schoolwork done for the day, he would get a checkmark under “Finished schoolwork” on the date he succeeded. If he got five checkmarks in one week, then he would get a chance to get a prize from the second mystery bag.

Student(s):
Krizzajoyce Perez

Faculty Mentor:
Dr. Julie Kuehnel

A Policy Assessment of California's Drought Policies: Are They Adequately Aiding the Agricutural Industry

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California has the sixth largest economy in the world, with the agricultural industry being one of the main contributors. The state is currently implementing 20thcentury water policies that are not sufficient enough to handle the influx of droughts that have been damaging northern, central, and southern agricultural businesses. This study seeks to answer the overall question of, “How do California drought policies affect the California agricultural industry?” The research methods utilized consisted of (1) Reviewing past water and drought policies and legislation, (2) Interviewing persons who are knowledgeable on the drought crisis and/or California’s water supply, management, and resources (3) Data collection of loss in revenue, and other factors from agricultural industry during the span of the drought (4) Data collection of precipitation rates during the span of the drought. Water is a vital necessity to not only the average Californian citizen but to the agricultural industry which will continue to struggle unless proper policy transformation and implementation are conducted.

Student(s):
Hope Ramos

Faculty Mentor:
Dr. Haco Hoang

The Effects of a Speaker's Head Movements on First Impressions

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A growing body of research has been done on nonverbal communication, particularly head shaking or head nodding. My research included undergraduate participants at California Lutheran University. For the study, participants were shown a video of a woman giving tips to achieve better study habits. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three videos: head nodding, head shaking, or no head movement; other than head movements the videos were identical. Participants rated their first impressions of the speaker’s trustworthiness, convincingness, confidence, likability, relatability, and maturity, and the likelihood of talking to the person, on a scale from 1 (Not at all) to 7 (very much agree). I predicted that the speaker would be perceived most favorably if she showed head movements.

Student(s):
Sarah Reckley

Faculty Mentor:
Dr. Marylie Gerson

Gendered Perception of Numbers

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With changing attitudes towards the definition of gender, research that reflects how people currently think of gender is crucial. This experiment explores the possible differences in how humans perceive gender across different mediums, auditorily and visually. Participants were recruited through Amazon’s MTurk (N=293). We collected a diverse pool across gender (f=124, m=167) and age (M=35.57, SD=11.29). In this within-subject study, participants listened to numbers 0-9 being read aloud. Then they looked at pictures of the same numbers. After viewing and hearing the stimuli, they rated each on a bipolar scale of masculine to feminine. Results showed that 5 out of the 10 pairs of numbers had significant differences in the way gender was perceived across visual and auditory formats. For example, the number one was rated as masculine in the visual condition (M=4.34) and feminine in the auditory condition (M=6.05, p<.000). Additionally, on average all but one number was rated as more feminine than neutral across both platforms (all p’s <.001). This research shows that gender’s influence on perception can be seen in the way people see stimuli, even neutral subjects such as numbers.

Student(s):
Emma Rumpf-Snavely

Faculty Mentor:
Dr. Andrea Sell

Effectiveness of Aggression Replacement Training on the Treatment of Adolescent Aggression: A Meta-Analysis

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Aggression continues to be a major issue amongst adolescents in the US, with more aggressive youth reported than other countries. Several areas put adolescents at risk for the development of aggressive behavior including: biological factors, sociocultural factors, and environmental factors. Aggression Replacement Training (ART) is a an intervention developed by Goldstein et al. (1988), to help provide aggressive youth with necessary skills to better manage their aggression. The intervention consists of three major components: skills streaming, anger control training (ACT), and moral reasoning. Several researchers have continued to utilize ART to treat aggressive youth in a wide variety of settings including: schools, outpatient treatment, residential, camps, and juvenile halls. While ART has become a popular intervention to utilize amongst aggressive youth, little research has looked at the overall effectiveness on ART in reducing aggressive behaviors amongst adolescents. The purpose of this meta-analytic study is to look at the effectiveness of aggression replacement training (ART) in reducing adolescent aggression. After a thorough search of various databases, six articles were found to meet the inclusion criteria for this study. An overall effect size of 0.01 was found, and while this is small there have been important findings that have emerged from this study. It has highlighted the need for future studies to focus on specifically on the adolescent population, as well as a need to compare the effectiveness of ART with other evidence based practices that are currently used in the field today.

Student(s):
Allyson Salas

Faculty Mentor:
Dr. Jennifer Twyford

Cultural Orientation and Attitudes Toward Mate Selection: A Cross-cultural Internet-based Study

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Pre-marital and marital counseling have enjoyed increasing demand in the urban areas of Nigeria. Counselors in these areas therefore require relevant tools with which to conceptualize cases and plan interventions. With much of the extant research focusing on cultural values and corresponding socio-cultural motivations in Europe, Asia and America, there is little empirical research from African populations in the literature. This means that studies of cultural comparison have largely excluded African cultures. This study aims to determine the correlation between culturally-informed values and beliefs regarding mate selection within and between two cultures: Nigerian and American. To do so, the Culture Orientation Scale (a measure of culturally-informed values) and the Attitudes About Romance and Mate Selection Scale (a measure of romantic beliefs) will be administered to unmarried adult participants in Nigeria and the U.S. over the internet, using Qualtrics. It is hoped that this information will add to the growing body of culturally-relevant knowledge in this field, both locally and globally.

Student(s):
Tumini Sekibo

Faculty Mentor:
Dr. Michael Gerson

Increasing Social Interactions During Recess

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As part of the Clinical Practicum, behavior modification was implemented to help a child increase social interaction with their peers. Early childhood is a pertinent time to develop peer relationships and develop social skills that an individual would adapt and use over the course of their lifespan. The individual’s main behavioral deficit is the lack of social interaction with peers, specifically during unstructured play. Shaping techniques were implemented to increase the frequency and duration of social interaction. Reinforcement was made contingent on the child increasing social interaction with his peers during recess. Progress was measured by documenting the minutes of social interaction and how frequently it occurred, gradually increasing both to reach the desired goal.

Student(s):
Kaitlyn Sloniker

Faculty Mentor:
Dr. Julie Kuehnel

A Dramaturgical Exploration of Shakespeare's The Two Noble Kinsmen and Othello

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As a dramaturg the goal is to ask and answer the question, why this play and why now? Especially when we talk about Shakespeare. Why do we keep doing these plays? How do we keep audiences connected? If these questions are asked our audiences are more present and engaged and bring those conversations into their own lives and are able to connect with others with more empathy. For these productions I started by reading the unedited script and the edited script. I went deeper into background research, asked the directors questions about their vision for the piece, and if they need specific research done. I then put together the information on the website for actors and designers. For The Two Noble Kinsmen I focused on the same-sex relationships which had varying levels of intimacy and the complex nature of love and it’s many forms. The intersections of Medieval and Greek literature in the play was important in this production. For Othello my work was focused on race and gender to supplement my director’s research. He chose not to use it, but I created the summary for the production and made his edited script closer to the Arden correcting word usages, spelling, punctuation, and capitalization. Because of my work, the community left these productions with more empathy, more curiosity, and a deeper connection to the productions because of my work.

Student(s):
Ruth Smitherman

Faculty Mentor:
Dr. Michael Arndt

The Effect of Dogs in Dating Profiles on Perceived Attractiveness

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It is commonly believed that including dogs in online dating profile pictures makes individuals more desirable to others. This belief is so pervasive that some people may strategically take and display photos with their furry friends to boost their appeal and increase the likelihood that others will “swipe right.” The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of dog presence in profile pictures on perceptions of individuals’ attractiveness and personality traits. We hypothesize that men with dogs in their profile pictures will be rated as more intelligent, attractive, dateable, and friendly than those without dogs. Approximately 60 female participants will be randomly assigned to one of two groups. The control group will receive three different profiles containing three pictures each without dogs present. The experimental group will receive the same three profiles as the control group except one of the photos will be replaced for one with a dog. Participants from both groups will then answer a survey regarding the attractiveness, date-ability, friendliness, and intelligence of each man. Independent samples t-tests will be used to test our hypotheses.

Student(s):
Christopher Soto, Morgan Mankin and Sarah Morrissey

Faculty Mentor:
Dr. Ariana Young

Outcome Study and Legal Outcomes of Mental Health Court

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Mental Health Court is a specialty court that serves offenders who are mentally ill by requiring that they abide by Mental Health Courts demands, which entail psychological treatment instead of serving jail time. The comparison group in this study completed Treatment as Usual (TAU; i.e., the traditional criminal justice avenues and court sanctions) and has been compared to the intervention group whom completed Mental Health Court and followed all requirements of the program and graduated successfully. The methodology for this study is an outcome study to evaluate the effectiveness of Mental Health Court on reducing recidivism rates in comparison to TAU. The current study investigated whether participants in Ventura County’s Mental Health Court have lower recidivism rates than individuals who do not participate in Mental Health Court. Hypotheses are that those who complete Mental Health Court would have reduced recidivism rates in comparison to those individuals who served jail sentences and did not receive any psychological services and resources.

Student(s):
Shandi Strong

Faculty Mentor:
Dr. Jennifer Twyford

Responses to YouTube Apologies: Comment Sentiment and Intensity of Men & Women Commenters

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The relationship between the sex of an individual and how and what they communicate is undetermined. Some studies have found that there may be differences in the messages created by men and women, while others have found there may be no differences in their communications. The purpose of this study was to investigate how men and women may react to a YouTube apology issued by a public figure. Each participant was first randomly assigned to read a negative or positive biography of a fictitious CEO who committed a transgression; they were then randomly assigned to watch a deviant or normative video apology (based on nonverbal cues), or a text-only apology. The verbal apology content was consistent across all three conditions. A total of 600 survey participants were asked to leave a “YouTube comment” after watching the apology. Two trained independent coders coded 594 comments. Consistent with some studies, no differences were found in the positive or negative valence or intensity of comments left by men and women. Additionally, the majority of the comments reflected a negative opinion of the public figure, regardless of the participant’s sex.

Student(s):
Claire Thompson

Faculty Mentor:
Dr. Monica Gracyalny

Efficacy of CEO Apologies vs Company Apology Advertisements in Cultivating Sincerity & Forgiveness

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When information about a company’s transgressions is made public, a firm often issues a mass-communicated apology. Audience segmentation (differences in the beliefs, attitudes, etc. among demographic groups) and media channel selection (social media, emails, television commercials, etc.) are important in communication strategy. Therefore, companies may wish to choose a spokesperson and a channel perceived as desirable by their audiences. The purpose of this study is to identify differences between demographic groups in how they believe a company should apologize for their transgressions. Participants (N = 600) were recruited via Amazon’s MTurk platform to complete a survey on Qualtrics. Participants were randomly assigned to watch YouTube videos in one of three experimental conditions: 1) a CEO apologizing for the company’s transgression; 2) a television advertisement addressing the transgression; or 3) both of the CEO apology and the advertisement. One set of CEO and advertisement videos were from Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook apologizing for fake news, election interference, hate speech, and data privacy violations on Facebook. The second set of videos included videos from Wells Fargo and their former CEO John Stumpf apologizing for wrongful sales practices. Participants reported their reactions to the apologies and advertisements, as well as their preferred media channel and spokesperson for receiving a corporate apology. This study focuses on two components of apology strategy, and guides companies to consider the demographics of their audience when selecting the media channel and spokesperson.

Student(s):
Claire Thompson, Rachel Salvati

Faculty Mentor:
Prof. Jean Sandlin

The Association between Paternal Depression and Children's Adjustment

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This research investigated the association between paternal depression and children’s adjustment. The purpose of this research was to draw conclusions on paternal depression and its relationship with children’s behavior problems. Currently, there is less research on paternal depression. Therefore, this study aims to examine what types of behavior problems are seen in children whose father is depressed and determine whether or not the level of interaction between father and child impacts this association. Participants were recruited Mechanical Turk hosted by Amazon. Online surveys were made available for fathers or spouses/partners of a father. The Beck’s Depression Inventory was used to measure paternal depression and was provided as a self-report, if the participant was a father, or as a spouse/partner-report, if the participant was a partner/spouse. Participants rated the behavior of their child using the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire. Father-child interaction was evaluated with the parent child interaction survey. Upon the conclusion of this research, I expected to find a positive association between paternal depression and children’s behavior difficulties, with more severe depression related to more significant problems. I expected to see a negative correlation between the amount of father-child interaction and the father’s depressive symptoms with fathers experiencing severe depression reporting less interaction. This research will add to the literature regarding paternal depression and the behavior of their children. Preliminary data analysis with SPSS showed a positive trend between paternal depression and children’s behavior difficulties, and a negative trend between father-child interaction and children’s behavior difficulties.

Student(s):
Ariana Valdez

Faculty Mentor:
Dr. Rachel Casas

Behavior Intervention for Children with Autism

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As part of the Clinical Practicum, a behavior intervention was designed to treat a hypothetical child with suspected low-functioning Autism. Autism is a mental and social impairment usually diagnosed in young children. There are a number of behavioral deficits of this disorder including abnormal social approach, deficits in communication, deficits in relationship building, repetitive behaviors, and fixations. Lack of eye contact is a prominent characteristic of this disorder. Techniques were theorized to increase the frequency of eye contact when making a request. Horse therapy is a technique used to target the physical and emotional benefits that working with an animal can have. It is often used for children with Autism. In our scenario, a social story was given describing the appropriate steps to groom and tack a horse, which targeted the child’s responsibility and motivation to prepare the horse for riding. Mand training and a token economy were implemented following the social story to increase the child's eye contact. Progress was measured by documenting the amount of times the child maintained eye contact while speaking his/her full request during a session.

Student(s):
Sierra Whittaker, Lauren Curl

Faculty Mentor:
Dr. Julie Kuehnel

Audience’s Perceptions of Women’s Communication Style in a Political Crisis

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Crisis communication is becoming increasingly important for public opinion. With over 300 million people involved during a political crisis, communicators must be clear and concise while maintaining a calm, collective demeanor. Previous research suggests that female communicators face difficulties persuading an audience compared to males. The purpose of this study was to investigate how a woman’s communication style, either masculine or feminine, influenced the persuasiveness of a political crisis message, as well as audience perceptions of likeability and credibility. The experiment manipulated gendered communication styles in a mock political crisis. 398 participants completed an online survey where they were randomly assigned to view one of two videos of a female actor presenting a press release during a hypothetical political crisis, with either a feminine or masculine communication style. The verbal content and nonverbal cues were manipulated in each video. The survey asked questions about the extent to which they were persuaded by the message, as well as perceptions of the Press Secretary’s credibility and likeability. Results showed that female participants were less likely to be persuaded by the feminine communication style than the masculine style. There was no difference in persuasiveness for male participants. This is consistent with past research that found that males and females respond differently to female communicators. There were also no differences of audience perceptions of credibility and likeability for either males or females. The results from this study added to the literature addressing the challenges that female communicators face, especially in the political arena.

Student(s):
Heather Wilson-Hooker

Faculty Mentor:
Dr. Monica Gracyalny

Analyzing the Effectiveness of the National Park Service on Environmental Conservation

View abstract

The purpose of this study is to analyze if and how the National Park Service contributes to environmental conservation. The proposed study seeks to analyze specific factors of environmentalism, using Yosemite National Park as a case study to study these factors. The study will focus on three questions: What is the National Park Service and what are its mandates? What is environmental conservation? Has the National Park Service been effective in fostering environmental conservation?Examination of the policies and intent of the National Park Service and the impact on Yosemite National Park will be cross-examined to determine the effectiveness of the Service as a conservation tool. Numerical data will be analyzed on a scale of the last twenty years, fitting within the changes made in the National Park Services’ “Rethinking the National Parks for the 21st Century: Report of the National Park System Advisory Board, July 2001”. The data specifically analyzing number of people entering the park and revenue spent, animal populations, and forestry data within Yosemite National Park will serve as a basis for the functionality of the policies and implementation in place within the National Park Service to preserve the designated land. Interviews will provide information and perspective of the feasibility and success of Yosemite’s, and on a larger scale, the National Park Services’, attempt to conserve the designated land.

Student(s):
Kalin Woodward

Faculty Mentor:
Dr. Haco Hoang

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Audience’s Perceptions of Women’s Communication Style in a Political Crisis

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