Lehigh
Valley Undergraduate Psychology Conference (2005)
Parental Conflict and Divorce and Their Impact on Adult Relationships
Cortney M. Capen
This study examined if family structure (whether an adult child comes
from an intact or divorced family) and levels of parental conflict
(either high or low) affected adult relationships (i.e., attitudes
towards marriage, relationship commitment and sexual encounters). Ninety-six
students from a small women’s liberal arts college in Pennsylvania,
ranging from 18 to 25 years old from intact and divorced families,
were surveyed using three questionnaires (Individual Participant Survey-Demographics
Questionnaire “IPS-DQ”, Individual Participant Survey-Close
Relationship Questionnaire “IPS-CRQ”, and the Individual
Participant Survey-Parental Relationship Questionnaire “IPS-PRQ”).
From this participant pool, the hypotheses were not supported. Results
showed that conflict and family structure may have some effects on
the relationships of adult children. However, the effects found from
this participant pool were not significant. Implications for this study
will be discussed.
Faculty Sponsors: Dr. Kerrie Baker and Dr. Jane
Tyler Ward
The Effects of Age on Perceptions of Interracial Relationships
Patricia
Cilwik
Although interracial relationships are becoming more visible in society,
it is questionable whether they are yet perceived as being acceptable.
The current study explored the changing status of interracial relationships
by looking at the perceptions of two age groups, those 18 to 22 years
old and those 55 and older. Within both groups, it was hypothesized
that interracial relationships would be rated less socially acceptable
than intraracial relationships. It was also hypothesized that the
younger individuals would view interracial relationships as more
socially acceptable than the older individuals. Eighty-five participants,
62 within the 18 to 22 group and 23 within the 55 and older group,
read one relationship scenario paired with pictures, then responded
to an eleven-item questionnaire. Both hypotheses were partially supported;
main effects were observed for both age of the respondent and the
races of the hypothetical partners in the scenarios. Implications
of the study’s findings are discussed.
Faculty Sponsor: Dr.
Kerrie Baker
The Effects of Religious Orientation on Spiritual and Self-Identity
at a Liberal Arts College
Crystal Copp
The purpose of this study was to investigate the differences of one’s
spiritual and self-identity by determining one’s religious orientation.
One hundred twenty two students, faculty, and staff were categorized
into intrinsic, extrinsic, indiscriminately pro-religious and non-religious
groups. It was hypothesized that intrinsic religious subjects would
have higher scores on the three levels of spiritual-identity than extrinsic
religious subjects, followed by the indiscriminately pro-religious
and the non-religious subjects. Intrinsic subjects were predicted to
have spirituality as the central factor for self-identity and extrinsic
subjects were predicted to have social/personal as their central factor.
The results indicated that intrinsic and pro-religious orientations
were similar when compared to spiritual-identity and extrinsic and
non-religious orientations were also similar. The results also revealed
differences between pro-religious and non-religious subjects on self-identity.
These findings will help support the research in the Psychology of
Religion by defining characteristics of religion and spirituality.
Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Kerrie Baker
The Effects of Cats on Human Physiological Reactivity to Stress
Megan Kees
Previous studies have suggested that the presence of a pet may lower
the stress response. The current study was conducted to determine
whether interaction with cats lowers the psychophysiological measures
of stress, such as heart rate and systolic blood pressure. Psychophysiological
measures of the stress response were measured in each group under
four conditions (presence, petting, purring, and petting and purring)
using 40 female subjects (ages 18-23, M = 19.75). The control group
(N = 20) experienced a no stress condition, while the experimental
group (N = 20) was exposed to a stressor (i.e., counting backwards).
No significant differences were found in the psychophysiological
measures between the control and experimental groups. There were
significant effects between several pairs of the four conditions
for the psychophysiological measures in the experimental group. These
results suggest that the presence of the cat was effective in reducing
the effects of stress on the participants.
Faculty Sponsors: Dr Micah
Sadigh and Dr. Kent Fitzgerald
Volunteer Work and It’s Effects on One’s Happiness
and Life Satisfaction
Fatima Kermalli, Dr.Kerrie Baker, Dr. Diane Moyer and Dr. James Scepansky
Previous research findings have revealed a significant rise in the
frequency for volunteer work at all age levels, especially for those
who are more religiously inclined to participate. The current study
hypothesized that volunteer work would be positively correlated to
happiness and life satisfaction. One hundred sixty two college members
(143 students, 11 staff, 7 faculty) of which 61.1% of the participants
age ranged 18-22 years, completed four surveys, including a questionnaire
from Americans’ Changing Lives Study (Thoits & Hewitt,
2001), Subjective Happiness Measures (Lyumbomersky & Lepper,
1999), a Satisfaction with Life Scale (Diener, Larsen & Griffin,
1985) and a Brief Life Satisfaction Scale (Huebner, 1997). An independent
t-test and a set of correlations were run for analysis. Positive
Pearson’s correlations were found between of volunteer participation,
life Satisfaction and happiness. However, the place of volunteering
(religious vs. non-religious) showed no significance. Implications
for the study will be discussed. Faculty Sponsors:
Dr. Kerrie Baker,
Dr. Diane Moyer and Dr. James Scepansky
The Exploration of Operant Learning in the Hirudo Medicinalis
Kristen Kuloy
Behavioral studies have proved that leeches can be trained and tested
to demonstrate operant learning just as well as other invertebrates
(Sahley, 1995). This research was conducted to further demonstrate
operant learning in the leech and determine whether performance is
better in an environment with high intensity lighting or low intensity
lighting. It was hypothesized that leeches will learn better in an
environment with low intensity lighting and during testing will show
more of a preference to the direction of the maze they were trained
in. Twenty leeches were trained and tested to find a mechanical relay
that set off a vibration. Once trained, the leeches were tested to
see if they learned where the vibration was. Results showed that
leeches spend more time in the untrained arm and take less time to
get there. No significance was found for the preference of high intensity
lighting or low intensity lighting.
Faculty Advisors: Dr. Kerrie
Baker, Dr. Kent Fitzgerald, and Dr. Diane Moyer
The Effects of Music on Memory
Heleanna Machlis, Dr. Kerrie Baker and Dr. Micah Sadigh
Previous Research has shown that music can have a profound effect on
memory during performance tasks. Seventy five traditional and non
traditional students from a small women’s liberal arts college
in Allentown, Pennsylvania were recruited for this study. This study
examined the effects of different music while performing a short
term memory task. The subjects in this study were given earphones
and asked to listen to classical, jazz, or no music for three minutes,
during which they examined a list of words. When time was up, participants
were given two minutes to recall as many words as possible. It was
hypothesized that the type of music will affect how they will perform
on the task. A one way ANOVA was used to test for significance. There
was a significant difference in recall with jazz music. Several significant
reactions were found between classical/no music and jazz music/no
music. Faculty
Sponsors: Dr. Kerrie Baker and Dr. Micah Sadigh
The Difference in Psychological Stress Levels in College Athletes versus
Non-Athletes
Jessica Serfass
Previous research indicates stress is abundant in the lives of many
college students. It was hypothesized that athletes experience lower
psychological stress levels than non-athletes due to an outlet to
relieve stress (athletic participation). It was also hypothesized
that freshmen students would have higher stress levels and senior
students because of an environmental change, and an interaction between
class status and athletes was expected. The Cold Pressor Test (Zeltzer,
Fanurik, & LeBaron, 1989), the State Trait Anxiety Inventory
(Spielberger, 1984), and the Coping Operations Performance Enquiry
(Carver, Scheier, & Weintraub, 1989) were used to measure the
hypotheses. Participants (N = 38) were traditional students from
an all-women, liberal arts college. Results indicated no significant
difference between class status, athletic participation and stress
levels. Though the data yielded no significance, a trend was discovered.
Findings indicate that further research is needed to investigate
the trend. Implications of this study will be discussed.
Faculty
Sponsors: Dr. Kerrie Baker and Dr. James Scepansky.
Comparison of Dynamic and Static Feedback in Computer Generated Instruction
Rebekah Simonds
Video games are increasing in popularity across all age groups. One
element that seems to be important is the dynamic, immediate feedback
provided when playing. Would including dynamic feedback make Computer
Generated Instruction (CGI) more compelling? The current study investigated
the effects of feedback type on learning and motivational perceptions.
Participants were 47 female undergraduates, ages 18 – 50, from
a small southeastern liberal arts college. Students received CGI
with static feedback, a positive or negative response to user input,
or dynamic feedback, which had the same elements, but included color
and animation. All participants completed a posttest and the Intrinsic
Motivation Inventory (Ryan, 2004). Contrary to the hypotheses, CGI
with dynamic feedback did not promote higher levels of learning or
motivation than did CGI with static feedback. The results from this
study have further implications regarding the utilization of dynamic
verses static feedback in CGI instruction.
Faculty Sponsors: Dr.
Kerrie Baker and Dr. James Scepansky
The Effects of Work Environment and Color on Task Performance and
Mood
Annalisa Sutera
This study examined the effects of work environment on mood level and
task performance. The subject pool consisted of randomly selected
undergraduate females (ages 18 to 22) from a liberal arts college
in northeastern Pennsylvania. Participants were assigned to either
a non-aesthetic room (Room A) consisting of only a desk and chair,
or an aesthetic room (Room B) with decorated walls and full furniture
set, and then given a series of problem solving tasks. A research
design was set up using a formulated questionnaire to assess a participant’s
mood, asking participants to perform several puzzle tasks, and then
re-assessing mood using a second questionnaire which was administered
upon completion of the puzzle tasks. It was hypothesized that participants
in Room B would exhibit a more positive mood and a higher completion
rate during task performance, as opposed to participants in Room
A. In both groups, task performance was high but mood was lower after
the experiment. The results of this study could be used to help design
a more productive work environment, by boosting employee’s
moods through the use of room aesthetics.
Faculty Sponsors: Dr. Kerrie
Baker and Dr. James Scepansky
Are Behavioral Genes Conserved? The MAOA Gene’s Association
with Aggressive Behavior
Melanie L. Williams, Audrey J. Ettinger and Diane Moyer
Research has shown that aggressive behavior in humans is associated
with variants of the MAOA gene, which produces monoamine oxidase A
protein. Variants of the MAOA gene are also associated with levels
of MAOA enzyme activity in the brain. These different levels of MAOA
activity have been assumed to contribute to the difference in aggressive
behavior among those expressing different MAOA variants. In order to
further investigate the association between the MAOA gene and aggressive
behavior, this study is using cichlid fish as animal models. These
fish display complex social behavior, including aggression. We are
using molecular techniques to determine how conserved the MAOA gene
is among humans and several fish species, as well as to determine which
human MAOA variant is most similar to the sequences obtained from fish.
This study will help us to better understand the function of this gene
and its effects on aggressive behavior.
Faculty Sponsors: Dr. Audrey
J. Ettinger and Dr. Diane Moyer
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