Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Debugging By Design: A Constructionist Approach To High School Students’ Crafting And Coding Of Electronic Textiles As Failure Artifacts, Deborah A. Fields, Yasmin B. Kafai, Luis Morales-Navarro, Justice T. Walker

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

Much attention in constructionism has focused on designing tools and activities that support learners in designing fully finished and functional applications and artifacts to be shared with others. But helping students learn to debug their applications often takes on a surprisingly more instructionist stance by giving them checklists, teaching them strategies or providing them with test programs. The idea of designing bugs for learning—or debugging by design—makes learners agents of their own learning and, more importantly, of making and solving mistakes. In this paper, we report on our implementation of “Debugging by Design” activities in a high school classroom over …

Is Perfectionism Always Unhealthy? Examining The Moderating Effects Of Psychological Flexibility And Self-Compassion, Clarissa W. Ong, Eric B. Lee, Julie M. Petersen, Michael E. Levin, Michael P. Twohig

Psychology Student Research

Objectives: Perfectionism is generally associated with worse mental health outcomes, though evidence suggests elements of it might be helpful. In light of these findings, we examined whether psychological skills like psychological flexibility and self-compassion moderated the relationship between perfectionism and wellbeing (i.e., quality of life, symptom impairment, and psychological distress).

Methods: Undergraduate students (N= 677) completed self-report measures.

Results: A latent profile analysis identified three perfectionism groups (low, average, high) based on four perfectionism subscales: concern over mistakes, need for approval, rumination, and striving for excellence. Generally, we found that psychological flexibility and/or self-compassion buffered the impact of average and …

Neural Efficiency And Spatial Task Difficulty: A Road Forward To Mapping Students' Neural Engagement In Spatial Cognition, Ariel W. Snowden, Christopher M. Warren, Wade H. Goodridge, Ning Fang

Psychology Student Research

The current study examined the neural correlates of spatial rotation in eight engineering undergraduates. Mastering engineering graphics requires students to mentally visualize in 3D and mentally rotate parts when developing 2D drawings. Students’ spatial rotation skills play a significant role in learning and mastering engineering graphics. Traditionally, the assessment of students’ spatial skills involves no measurements of neural activity during student performance of spatial rotation tasks. We used electroencephalography (EEG) to record neural activity while students performed the Revised Purdue Spatial Visualization Test: Visualization of Rotations (Revised PSVT:R). The two main objectives were to 1) determine whether high versus low …

Does The Cognitive Fusion Questionnaire Measure More Than Frequency Of Negative Thoughts?, Jennifer Krafft, Michael E. Levin

Psychology Student Research

Cognitive fusion is a psychopathological process that appears to be relevant to a wide range of disorders. This process is frequently measured with the Cognitive Fusion Questionnaire (CFQ). However, the construct validity of similar measures has been criticized for substantial overlap with distress. It is possible the CFQ may excessively measure the presence of unwanted thoughts, rather than fusion per se. Therefore, this study examined the discriminant validity of the CFQ relative to a measure of automatic negative thoughts (the Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire) in a college student sample (n = 389). While the two measures were highly correlated (ρ …

Confirmatory Factor Analysis And Measurement Invariance Of The Cognitive Fusion Questionnaire-Body Image In A Clinical Eating Disorder Sample, Jennifer L. Barney, Tyson S. Barrett, Tera Lensegrav-Benson, Benita Quakenbush, Michael P. Twohig

Psychology Student Research

Individuals with eating disorders (EDs) may be particularly susceptible to body image related cognitive fusion(i.e., excessive entanglement with one’s body image related thoughts such that they unduly influence on behavior). The Cognitive Fusion Questionnaire-Body Image (CFQ-BI) is the only existing measure of this construct, yet its psychometric properties have not been examined within a clinically diagnosed ED sample. The current study used confirmatory factor analysis and explored measurement invariance, construct validity, and incremental validity of the CFQ-BI when used with adolescent (n = 75) and adult (n= 100) females admitting to residential ED treatment. A modified version of the single-factor …

Preliminary Findings On Processes Of Change And Moderators For Cognitive Defusion And Restructuring Delivered Through Mobile Apps, Michael E. Levin, Jennifer Krafft, Woolee An, Clarissa W. Ong, Michael P. Twohig

Psychology Student Research

A process-based therapy approach emphasizes examining how and for whom specific therapeutic components linked to specific processes of change function. This preliminary study explored the processes of change for cognitive defusion and restructuring with daily ratings of self-criticism from a larger component trial as well as self-compassion as a moderator of these daily effects. A sample of 51 adults high in self-criticism (M age = 22.69, 78% female, 88% non-Hispanic White) were randomized to a cognitive defusion or restructuring mobile app for two weeks and completed daily assessments. Both conditions improved over time on daily frequency, defused noticing, challenging, …

Integrating Storytelling Into The Theory And Practice Of Contextual Behavioral Science, Carter H. Davis, Brandon A. Gaudiano, Louise Mchugh, Michael E. Levin

Psychology Student Research

The practice of generating and interpreting stories can be examined through a behavioral lens and has many potential implications for clinical practice. However, storytelling has for the most part yet to be integrated into the field of contextual behavioral science (CBS). A bedrock of human culture, storytelling has influenced both individual behavior and intergroup cooperation for millennia. Basic principles of relational frame theory, such as those pertaining to coherence, perspective-taking, and the transformation of stimulus function, may help to reveal how stories derive their psychological impact. In turn, understanding storytelling from a CBS perspective can facilitate the broader integration of …

Examining The Feasibility And Effectiveness Of Online Acceptance And Commitment Therapy Self-Help In A Quasi-Stepped Care Model: A Pilot Study, Clarissa W. Ong, Carina L. Terry, Michael Levin, Michael P. Twohig

Psychology Student Research

The global burden of mental illness and limited resources make increasing the efficiency of available mental healthcare resources especially crucial. One way this can be done is a stepped care approach to treatment. To test the viability of using internet-based self-help in a stepped care model, we examined the feasibility, acceptability, and effectiveness of an online self-help acceptance and commitment (ACT) program prior to starting in-person therapy at a university community clinic (N = 51). Online program acceptability was at least moderate. There was clinically significant change in 75.9 to 79.3% and reliable change in 31.0 to 100% of …

Weight-Related Psychological Inflexibility As A Mediator Between Weight Self-Stigma And Health-Related Outcomes, Julie M. Petersen, Carrie Durward, Michael Levin

Psychology Student Research

Weight self-stigma, the internalization of negative societal stereotypes, is a problem amongst populations with high weight. Weight self-stigma is associated with psychological inflexibility and maladaptive health-related behaviors. In this study, we explore how weight-related psychological inflexibility may influence weight self-stigma and health-related outcomes in 79 adults with high weight. Participants were primarily white (92.4%) and female (82.3%), with an average age of 39.56 and average body mass index of 33.78. The present study uses baseline, self-report data from a larger trial. Results indicate that weight self-stigma was negatively correlated with maladaptive eating behaviors, weight, and mental health. Weight-related psychological inflexibility …

A Systematic Review And Psychometric Evaluation Of Self-Report Measures For Hoarding Disorder, Clarissa W. Ong, Jennifer Krafft, Michael E. Levin, Michael P. Twohig

Psychology Student Research

Background: Hoarding disorder (HD) affects approximately 2.5% of the general population, leads to significant distress and impairment, and is notoriously difficult to treat. The crux of developing effective treatments for HD is our ability to reliably and validly measure relevant constructs in HD to better understand its presentation and, subsequently, formulate appropriate interventions.

Methods: We identified measures specific to HD and evaluated their psychometric properties using rating criteria formulated by the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments (COSMIN) group.

Results: The 17 included measures were developed to assess adult and pediatric hoarding severity, functional impairment, and maladaptive …

An Open Trial Of Group Acceptance And Commitment Therapy (Act) With An Adjunctive Mobile App For Generalized Anxiety Disorder (Gad), Jennifer Krafft, Clarissa W. Ong, Carter H. Davis, Julie M. Petersen, Michael E. Levin, Michael P. Twohig

Psychology Student Research

Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is a common and debilitating condition. Effective treatments exist, but they are time-and resource-intensive. This study tested the initial efficacy and acceptability of a novel treatment protocol designed to increase efficiency: acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) taught in groups and through an adjunctive mobile app. Participants were 21 individuals with GAD who received six weeks of 2-hour group ACT sessions as well as access to an adjunctive ACT mobile app. Significant improvements occurred in worry, anxiety, social functioning, and depression as well as relevant processes (psychological inflexibility, anxiety-related cognitive fusion). In-the-moment improvements were also observed in …

The Role Of Psychological Inflexibility And Perspective Taking In Anti-Racism And Anti-Sexism, Carter Davis, Jennifer Krafft, Elizabeth Tish Hicks, Michael E. Levin

Psychology Student Research

Racism and sexism are pervasive forms of discrimination that cause significant individual and societal burden.Understanding manipulable psychological processes that contribute to these modes of discrimination would aid in developing anti-prejudice interventions that target them. Psychological flexibility has been proposed as a potential tool in combating prejudice by modifying one’s relationship with unwanted or automatic prejudicial thoughts, in addition to the ability to take the perspective of marginalized groups. A survey assessing psychological inflexibility and perspective taking along with anti-racist/anti-sexist attitudes and behaviors was administered to a sample of 395 undergraduate students. Perspective taking predicted anti-racist/anti-sexist behaviors above and beyond their …

Ehealth Parent Education For Hearing Aid Management: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial, Karen F. Muñoz, Guadalupe G. San Miguel, Tyson S. Barrett, Courtney Kasin, Kelsey Baughman, Bailey Reynolds, Caitlyn Ritter, Makynzie Larsen, John J. Whicker, Michael P. Twohig

Psychology Student Research

Objective: Parents frequently experience challenges implementing daily routines important for consistent hearing aid management. Education that supports parents in learning new information and gaining confidence is essential for intervention success. We conducted a pilot study to test an eHealth program to determine if we could implement the program with adherence and affect important behavioral outcomes compared to treatment as usual.

Design: Randomized controlled trial

Study sample: Parents of children birth to 42 months who use hearing aids. Eighty-two parents were randomly assigned to the intervention or treatment-as-usual group. Four parents assigned to the intervention group did not continue after baseline …

Mental Health Awareness And Advocacy Assessment Tool (Mhaa-At), Ty B. Aller, Elizabeth B. Fauth, Joshua R. Novak, Sarah Schwartz

Human Development and Family Studies Faculty Publications

The Mental Health Awareness and Advocacy Assessment Tool l (MHAA-AT) consists of three types of items: 1) declarative knowledge items (30 items); 2) self-efficacy items (20 items); and 3) behavior items (15 items). These items are then divided into the three micro-processes that define mental health literacy: a) identifying mental health issues; b) locating evidence-based resources; and c) responding to mental health issues (see Figure 1 below).

Sharing Science Through Shared Values, Goals, And Stories: An Evidence-Based Approach To Making Science Matter, Bethann Garramon Merkle, Evelyn Valdez-Ward, Priya Shukla, Skylar R. Bayer

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Scientists in and beyond academia face considerable challenges to effectively sharing science, including lack of time and training, systemic disincentives, and the complexity of the modern media/attention landscape. Considering these constraints, 3 achievable shifts in mindset and practice can substantively enhance science communication efforts. Here, we provide evidence-based and experientially informed advice on how to center shared values, articulate science communication goals, and leverage the power of stories to advance our communication goals in connection with the values we share with our stakeholders. In addition to a discussion of relevant, foundational principles in science communication, we provide actionable recommendations and …

Group-Affirmation And Trust In International Relations: Evidence From Ukraine, Eunbin Chung, Anna O. Pechenkina

Political Science Faculty Publications

How can states with a history of recent armed conflict trust one another? Distrust between Ukraine and Russia aggravates security fears and limits hopes for a meaningful resolution of the bloodiest armed conflict in Europe since 1994. Hostility levels have risen dramatically between the populations of Ukraine and Russia after the events of 2013–2015. Political psychology offers two competing approaches to increase trust between the publics of different countries: appealing to an overarching, common identity above the national level vs. affirming a sense of national identity. This project asks which of these approaches increases trust towards Russia among the Ukrainian …

Multilingual Literature In Writing Classes: Bringing Out Students’ Authentic Voices, Ekaterina Arshavskaya

World Languages and Cultures Faculty Publications

In this paper, I argue for using the texts written by multilingual writers in second language writing courses. Grounded in the ideas of translanguaging, this instructional approach supports students in using various linguistic resources for different purposes, thus allowing them both to develop positive multilingual and multicultural identities and experience a sense of belonging in the U.S. Moreover, the discussions around the texts were based on a flipped classroom model and were facilitated through an online literature discussion forum. Students' papers and responses in an end-of-semester survey were analyzed using content analysis. The article highlights students' reactions to this instructional …

Can In Vitro Meat Help To Fix What Cattle Ranching Has Broken?, Rachel Robinson-Greene

Languages, Philosophy, and Communication Studies Faculty Publications

It is now clear that growing edible and delicious meat outside of an animal is not merely the stuff of science fiction. In vitro meat, aka cell-cultured meat, aka green meat, aka clean meat, has arrived. Regardless of how we want to brand it, our meat future could be slaughter-free if consumers express their support for it with their pocketbooks. There are many arguments that support this shift. Concerns about animal welfare are right out in front — our current system of industrial animal agriculture is terribly cruel and inhumane. There are also very compelling arguments related to environmental degradation …

The Influence Of Weather On The Spatial Behavior Of Visitors Within Utah National Parks, Emily Wilkins, Jordan Smith

All Current Publications

Social media has been increasingly used to understand visitor use in parks and protected areas (Wilkins, Wood, & Smith, 2020). When people post photos on social media, these photos often contain information on the location, time, and date the photo was taken; all of this information is stored as metadata. Using geotagged images from Flickr, we explored how summer visitors to Utah’s national parks may vary their locations within the park based on the daily weather. We specifically looked at the elevations visitors went to within the parks, as well as their distances from roads, waterbodies, parking areas, and buildings.

Repellent Surface Applications For Pest Birds, Shelagh T. Deliberto, James C. Carlson, Hailey E. Mclean, Caroline S. Olson, Scott J. Werner

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Common pest birds in the United States include the non-native European starling (Sturnus vulgaris), house sparrow (Passer domesticus), and the pigeon (Columba livia domestica), as well as native birds including Canada geese (Branta canadensis) and gull species (Laridae). Large concentrations of pest birds can create human health hazards and monetary losses due to consumption of crops, depredation, and fecal contamination and accumulation. Fecal contamination hazards include the potential spread of zoonotic diseases including antimicrobial-resistant zoonoses and human injury due to the accumulation of fecal material on walking surfaces. Additionally, fecal accumulation causes …

Supporting Farmer Adoption Of Sustainable Bird Management Strategies, Catherine A. Lindell

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Pest birds cause substantial and costly damage to crops. Managing birds is complex because (1) they are highly mobile, (2) they habituate quickly to many deterrents, (3) some species provide benefits to farmers by deterring and consuming pest insects, rodents, and other birds, and (4) birds are highly valued by many people. Thus, farmers have many issues to consider when developing bird management strategies. Here I discuss recent work indicating that farmer adoption of sustainable agricultural practices is more likely when practices are effective, clear guidelines for implementation are available, implementation is relatively easy, and when practices are linked, in …

National Security And Climate Change, Madison Moran

Physics Capstone Projects

Certain scientific subjects are often divisive or technical, which makes those topics difficult to discuss with audiences outside the scientific sphere. One way of getting around this obstacle is to cater scientific communication to different target audiences to cut through any audience biases. In order to accomplish that, a communicator needs to understand the relationship between audiences’ worldviews, and what they know, feel, and do regarding the subject at hand, and then how that relationship influences the types of media audiences trust and to which they respond positively. The following study investigates the worldviews of a military audience with respect …

The Pekingese Dog Breed And Their Influence In China, Lauren Cunningham

Fall Student Research Symposium 2020

The Pekingese were a revolutionary dog breed that changed how dogs as a whole were perceived, treated, and used by humans. The breed began in China and that is where they gained popularity and new function. The Pekingese are unlike anything the world had seen at this point in history. The Pekingese bridge the gap between dog and human in terms of a leisurely relationship.

Crowdsourced Conservation, Emmy Heywood

Fall Student Research Symposium 2020

Since the 1800s, America has been known for its massive conservation projects–setting aside huge swaths of land in public parks and passing legislation like the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts. Now, new technologies are making a different type of conservation project possible, and conservationists are capturing massive amounts of data to inform conservation efforts through community involvement. These crowdsourced projects harness knowledge and skills of large groups of people who can contribute to conservation goals. For example, the internet platform Sciestarter connects 100,000 registered citizen scientists plus millions of onsite visitors with over 3,000 individual conservation projects. The global …

Media And The Covid-19 Infodemic, Alek Nelson

Fall Student Research Symposium 2020

With the recent COVID-19 outbreak, many challenges have arisen across the world. From overloaded hospitals to economic fallout to mental health issues, this pandemic is a new challenge for many people. Among the difficulties faced is the increase in misinformation, information "that is false due to lack of scientifically reliable evidence," regarding treatment, prevention, and the virus itself (Bahrami et al., 2019). An online survey was conducted during June 2020 to determine how media sources affects belief in COVID-19 misinformation. The results of the survey show that people are either using bad news sources, mainstream news is reiterating disinformation, and/or …

Mediating Factors Of Family Risk And Parent-Child Interaction Quality, Gable Munn

Fall Student Research Symposium 2020

Medium or high family risk is defined as having 2 or more risk factors as present in intake surveys in the Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project (EHSREP). Previous research has shown that high and medium risk families are more prone to negative parent-child interactions (Steele et al., 2016), but mediating variables are not clear. We hypothesize that parental stress and familial conflict are significant mediating variables between family risk and parent-child interaction quality. We also suspect that stress will have a more significant effect (Mak et al., 2020). The present study used extant data from the EHSREP (N=3001) …

What's The Difference Between Undergraduate Online Students And Face-To-Face Students?, Janice Snow

Fall Student Research Symposium 2020

Online education has been growing at increasing rates. Online higher education students increased from 21.4% of students taking at least one online class in 2007, to 32.5% of students in 2012 (Kentnor, 2015). To date, there is no available research regarding differential resources relating to distance and traditional students in traditional university settings, however, logic dictates that online students may not receive the same resources as traditional students (e.g., in-person computer labs, counseling services, additional student support offices). Meaningful interactions with faculty and peers, honors societies, clubs, research and service-learning opportunities, academic and logistical support are not commonly available to …

Expanding Healthcare To Underserved Communities, Hunter Murdock, Colten Dougher

Fall Student Research Symposium 2020

According to the Bureau of Health's Workforce Health Resources and Services Administration, there are almost 253 million people who do not have adequate access to healthcare in the United States. While innovations in technology, drug manufacturing, and procedures will continue to make healthcare more affordable and more accessible, policies restricting doctors' and nurses' abilities to practice healthcare are creating barriers that prevent them from utilizing existing technology to reduce healthcare shortages in underserved areas. The underserved populations in America include rural communities, Native Americans, and linguistic minority groups. Many of today's healthcare policy suggestions aim at increasing health insurance coverage …

Stated And Revealed Preferences For Supporting Endangered Species At Mammoth Cave National Park, Erin Crump, Whitney Yardley

Fall Student Research Symposium 2020

When asked to put a value on unique and endangered species that live in US national parks, many people say they would be willing to pay to help conserve species. But it can be difficult to assess whether an individual's stated preferences match up with their actual preferences towards donating to preserving these species. The purpose of this study is to measure whether stated preferences about hypothetical giving match up with revealed preferences about actual giving for how much individuals are willing to pay to help conserve endangered species in Mammoth Cave National Park. To do this, we distributed a …

Early Social-Emotional Development In Children Of Mothers With Psychological Risk, Haylie Demercy

Fall Student Research Symposium 2020

Healthy child development depends on the ability of parents to put in necessary involvement and attention to respond to children's emotions and communication cues (Roggman, 2016). Maternal depression (Paulson et al., 2006) and parenting stress (Coyl et al., 2002) can reduce maternal responsiveness and is a risk factor for negative child social-emotional outcomes (El-Sheikh et al., 2009). The purpose of this study is to investigate how participation in Early Head Start (EHS), an early intervention program that provides families with individualized intervention services, affects social-emotional development for children of mothers with high and low psychological risk. Extant longitudinal data from …