Tag: Psychology

Cerebellar White Matter Integrity and Depression in Chronic Brain Injury

Presenter: Patrick J. Glang

Mentor: Deborah M. Little

Oral Presentation

Major: Psychology 

Across all severities of traumatic brain injury (TBI), deficits in mood and emotion regulation are commonly reported. In moderate to severe brain injury, the incidence of depression has been found to be as high as 77%. Milder TBI (mTBI) showed an increased in depression and self-reported cognitive problems. The cause is unknown. The structure, location, and the functional role of the cerebellum in depression affect regulation. We hypothesized that TBI is associated with shearing and straining in the cerebellum. This associates with the severity of depressive symptoms. The objective of this study was to assess the association of damage to white matter tracts in the cerebellum and depressive symptoms in chronic TBI. High resolution diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) was carried out. Patients with a history of a single closed-head injury (n=24 mTBI and 24 moderate to severe TBI) were matched to controls.

Fractional anisotropy (FA), radial, and axial diffusivity were extracted from regions of interest (ROI) in the pontine crossing tracts, middle and superior cerebellar peduncles, portions of the cortico-spinal tract, and medial lemniscus (bilaterally when appropriate). A total of 3 ROIs were placed on each tract. Regions were drawn independently by two raters with an inter-reliability of 0.91. A history of moderate to severe TBI showed reduced FA in all ROIs compared to healthy controls. The mTBI differed (decreased FA) from controls in the medial lemniscus, pontine crossing tracts, and in the inferior region in the cortico-spinal tract. Depressive symptoms (determined by the Beck Depression Inventory II) weren’t associated with FA for controls for any ROI(p=0.09). For mTBI, FA of the medial lemniscus was correlated with total BDI score (p=0.006). For the moderate to severe TBI, there were correlations between depressive symptoms and FA in the pontine fibers (p=0.04), cortico-spinal tract (p=0.02), and superior cerebellar peduncles (p=0.04). This study provides preliminary evidence that structural alterations in the cerebellum are associated with increased depressive symptoms in TBI.

Personality Impressions on Twitter

Presenter: Tad Falk

Mentor: Sanjay Srivastava

Oral Presentation

Major: Psychology 

The creation and increasing popularity of social media websites have changed the way people around the world interact with one another. Having our information available to the world allows others, such as potential employers, business contacts, new friends and even potential romantic partners to get to know us without ever needing to meet in person. Thus, it is important to understand which types of cues people use when forming judgments and whether these judgments are consistent across various observers. This study examined the extent to which participants agreed on their impressions of Twitter users based only on information presented in the users’ Twitter profile. 131 Amazon Mechanical Turk Workers and 89 University of Oregon Human Subject Pool participants evaluated a random selection of Twitter users’ profile pages. Multilevel modeling techniques were used to separate observer and target effects in order to estimate trait level agreement. This multilevel model with random effects for profile and observer allowed us to obtain estimates of variance attributable to profiles and observers. Following Shrout and Fleiss (1979) and Shrout (1993) those variance components were then used to calculate intraclass correlations (ICC), which were used as the measure of consensus. On average, participants agreed most about the degree of users’ thoroughness, intelligence, social economic status, and arrogance. Participants agreed least about the degree of users’ assertiveness, artistic interest, nervousness, and sense of humor. The findings of this study support existing literature regarding the ability of third party observers to make consistent judgments of strangers based on limited amounts of information present on social media websites. This study also extends previous literature to Twitter, a microblogging social media platform and one of the most popular social media websites in the world.

More Than Just Words: EMOTAIX-Tropes Examines Linguistic Predictors of Mental Health

Presenter: Jackie Cowell

Mentor: Jennifer Ablow

Poster: 6

Major: Psychology 

Given the fundamental role that language plays in our lives, it is apparent that the words people use reveal information the ways in which they experience and interact with those around them. Examining the language use of at-risk first- time mothers is especially pertinent as risk factors such as maternal depression and anxiety lead to adverse child outcomes including delayed emotional development, behavioral problems and lower IQ (Bergman et at., 2007). To broaden the understanding of how language is used in emotion processing with regards to mental health outcomes, we used EMOTAIX-Tropes, a text-analysis software program aimed at assessing the emotional lexicon, to examine 65 first-time mothers’ use of emotion language such as words denoting worry, happiness, or anger. The women were interviewed using the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) and were recorded and transcribed verbatim, then analyzed via EMOTAIX-Tropes, which divides and classifies emotion terms into semantic categories according to valence (positive or negative). Additionally, participants filled out questionnaires to assess levels of depression (CESD) (Radloff, 1977), anxiety (BAI) (Beck, Brown, Epstein & Steer, 1998), trauma history (TSC) (Elliot & Briere, 1992), alexithymia (TAS) (Bagby, Parker & Taylor, 1994), and intelligence (Shipley, 1940). We hypothesized that participants’ emotional language would correlate with self-reported measures of distress, such that those with greater symptomatology will use more negative affect terms. Preliminary Results show that depression is positively correlated with the use of negative emotion words. Further analyses will look at the correlation between emotion language and other mental health factors.

Procedural Justice of Court Appointed Experts: Procedural Justice and Power Differentials

Presenter: Benjamin Davies

Mentors: Robert Mauro and Robert Rocklin, Psychology

Poster: 17

Major: Psychology 

Studying procedural justice has ramifications for legitimacy, and ultimately, legal system success. Jurists are concerned that any departure from the adversary system would call the legitimacy of the system into question. The use of court appointed experts is one such departure. We aim to examine the perceptions of procedural justice in court-appointed experts and the moderating effect of power on this relationship. Participants will be presented with 4 vignette scenarios describing a civil negligence trial in which the plaintiff always loses. The subjective power (Individual, Corporation or Government Agency) of the plaintiff, and whether the 3rd testifying expert is court appointed/adversarial will be varied and participants will report their perceptions of procedural justice in addition to individual difference measures. We have two predictions; (1) Across conditions, court-appointed experts will be perceived as less procedurally just than adversarial experts and (2) There will be an interaction between court- appointed expert and plaintiff status, such that if there is a high status plaintiff and a court appointed expert, perceptions of procedural justice will be lowest. While results have not been collected, we believe these findings will add a new dimension to current understanding of the justice of legal processes, and pave the way towards a more in depth study of court-appointed experts.

Moral Decision Makers: Being Watched and our Judgments of Others

Presenter: Benjamin Davies

Mentors: Azim Shariff and Bret Mercier, Psychology

Poster: 16

Major: Psychology 

Past research has found that some individuals make moral decisions based on rules (deontologists) while others make moral decisions based a deliberative cost benefit analysis of outcomes (utilitarian). Deontologists tend to perceive moral decisions, which break a societal rule (i.e. killing a person), as immoral even when that prevents the most harm. In this study, we tested whether people will make more deontological moral decisions when they know their responses will be visible to others (compared to when responses are anonymous). Undergraduate participants (n=75) completed a worksheet assessing their perceptions of different utilitarian moral decisions. We informed participants that their answers would either be read by another participant (visible condition) or anonymous (anonymous condition). Contrary to our predictions, participants in the visible condition did not make different moral decisions than those in the anonymous condition. In the second part of the study, participants were given the same moral decision questions, ostensibly completed by another participant, and asked to judge the other participant’s personality. Participants perceived those who made deontological decisions as more moral, trustworthy, warm, and caring, but also as less efficient.

Mother TereSlut

Presenter: Alexa Beck

Mentor: Alex Krajkowski, Art Psychology

Creative Work Project: C9 (Ballroom)

Major: Psychology

Our present culture consists of the sexually liberated man and the only-when-appropriate sexually liberated woman. Men can be both wholesome and sexual while women have to choose between the two and if she is both she has to hide her sexual side. Through a compilation of large photographs, I will expose a hidden side of female sexuality that many choose to believe doesn’t exist: women’s sexual desires and female orgasms. In a lecture called Coming to Understand: Orgasm and the Epistemology of Ignorance, Nancy Tuana revealed that 30% of women engaged in sexual activities are preorgasmic meaning that they have never achieved an orgasm. Therefore, she recommends that women masturbate because, compared to 75% of men, only 1/3 of women regularly achieve an orgasm from partnered sex. This current body of work was meant to be a distant relative of Hannah Altman’s “And Everything Nice.” In Altman’s piece, she captures the glorification of all women’s constant need to be beautiful, in every context. The social stigma of this continuous beauty inspired the social stigma within women’s sexuality and its limitations. This work intersects with Altman’s work in that they both are meant to make the audience question the way they view women, in various circumstances. The base of this creative work and representation of these ideas are showcased through the virgin-whore dichotomy. The two opposing concepts come together over the same main point about women’s sexuality and masturbation. Women are just becoming known for their own sexuality and they need to own it. Women and men are supposed to be equal so women should be enjoying sex as much as men, right?

The Influence of Maternal Postpartum Mindfulness on Postpartum Depression

Presenter(s): Emily Myers − Human Physiology

Faculty Mentor(s): April Lightcap, Sienna Howells

Poster 107

Research Area: Psychology

Funding: Grant from: Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues

Postpartum depression (PPD) is an important area of study, as it is a common and debilitating disorder afflicting 1 in 5 mothers of newborns (CDC, 2017); and it is also linked to poorer outcomes for mothers, infants and their families. A growing body of evidence suggest that increases in mindful awareness – a set of qualities involving open, nonjudgmental attention to present- moment experiences, predict decreases in depression symptoms generally. Less research, however, has been conducted to examine the influence of maternal mindfulness on postpartum depression specifically. The present study examines the relationship between maternal trait mindfulness and maternal depressive symptoms in the postpartum period. We predicted that postpartum levels of maternal trait mindfulness would inversely correlate with postpartum depressive symptoms. To test this hypothesis, thirty-eight low-income women completed measures of maternal depressive symptoms and maternal mindfulness both prenatally and in the first three months postpartum. Results of a linear regression analysis revealed a significant correlation between postpartum maternal mindfulness and postpartum depressive symptoms, while prenatal levels of maternal mindfulness and depressive symptoms were controlled. These findings implicate maternal mindfulness in the postpartum period as a potentially important intervening factor in the mitigation of postpartum depression. Integrating postpartum mindfulness practices could potentially reduce the rate of women experiencing postpartum depression, overall enhance mother-infant relationships, and other key relationship dynamics within families.

Picture This: The Role of Digital Storytelling in Motivating Action for Refugee Relief

Presenter(s): Mitra Lebuhn Lebuhn − International Studies

Faculty Mentor(s): Melissa Graboyes, Stephen Wooten

Oral Session 1C

Research Area: Humanitarian Communication, International Studies, Psychology, Social Science

Funding: Presidential Scholarship, Summit Scholarship, SIT study abroad scholarship

It is often assumed that powerful photographs and film footage have the ability to move viewers in the developed population to action. Frank Fournier, the photographer who captured the face of 13-year-old Omayra Sanchez in her last hours of life, said, “I believe the photo helped raise money from around the world in aid and helped highlight the irresponsibility and lack of courage of the country’s leaders (BBC, 2005).” His statement encompasses the common perspective that imagery can motivate action, but there is a lack in data regarding this transition from emotion to action. This study is concerned with the effectiveness of various digital storytelling appeals (shock effect, positive images, and post-humanitarian communication) in encouraging agency in refugee relief efforts. Refugees are perhaps more distant from the donor population than any other victimized group, and have struggled through periods of severe anti-refugee sentiments that have made the collection of aid and process of reintegration challenging. The extreme discourse between populations and the ever-growing number of displaced persons makes refugees the ideal population to study. This study asks what in a digital story, particularly the imagery, motivates developed populations to not only react emotionally towards refugee issues but also make contributive action for refugee relief efforts? Through literature and interviews regarding image-evoked empathy, identity, and group influenced responding, and the analysis of photographs and digital storytelling platforms that unpack various imagery appeals, it is evident that image use for humanitarian campaigns has evolved to it’s most effective form yet. This study explores how advancements in technology have brought forth digital storytelling, which combined with the implementation of the post- humanitarian communication appeal generates evocative and accessible campaigns that fit the framework necessary to motivate action for refugees relief more effectively and ethically than has been done in the past.

The Origins of Empathy During Infancy: Links to Theory of Mind and Prosocial Behavior at Age 5

Presenter(s): Courtne Daum − Psychology

Faculty Mentor(s): Jennifer Ablow, Jeffrey Measelle

Poster 100

Research Area: Psychology

Researchers examining the developmental origins of empathy report that infants as young as 17 months show early indices of empathic behavior in the form of concern for others, positive affect, and emotional distress (Zahn-Waxler, & Robinson, 2005). In turn, a vast amount of research demonstrates the long-term outcomes of empathic children, such as prosocial development, high self-esteem, few externalizing problems and a positive disposition (Eisenberg, Fabes & Spinard, 2015). In addition, early empathic tendencies predict earlier onset of Theory of Mind, which is the ability to attribute beliefs and desires to self and others (Laranjo et al., 2010). Evidence suggests that ToM develops within the context of the parenting relationship during infancy (Laranjo et al., 2010), through parenting mechanisms such as Maternal Mind-mindedness, which is the ability to treat children as their own entities’ with minds through appropriate mind related language. Though there is vast literature on the outcomes of early indices of empathy expressed in infancy, there is little research on the development of empathy prior to 17 months. Given links between Maternal Mind-mindedness in infancy and early onset of ToM, and links between early indices of empathy and ToM, this study examines Maternal Mind Mindedness at 5 months predicting indices of infant empathy at 17 months, which in turn predicts ToM, empathy, and prosocial behaviors at 5 years.

How Experience Gets Under The Skin: An Examination Of Potential Correlation Between Childhood Adversity And Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia

Presenter(s): Fiona Byrne − Family And Human Services

Faculty Mentor(s): Elizabeth Skowron, Shoshana Kerewsky

Oral Session 1S

Research Area: Psychology/Humanities

Exposure to adversity in childhood is shown to be a significant risk factor for negative physical and mental health outcomes in adulthood. What remains to be explored is the impact of adverse childhood experiences on emotional regulation as measured by parasympathetic nervous system activity via respiratory sinus arrhythmia. The present study examines the relationship between Adverse Childhood Experiences Survey (ACES) scores and resting respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) within a population of 65 child maltreating (CM) adult female caregivers. ACE scores were collected through a standardized self report survey. RSA was collected through electrocardiogram leads while participants were seated watching a neutral video. No significant correlation was found within the total population. However, results are encouraging for further study with a larger population, which would allow for an examination of potential correlation by socioeconomic status, number of adverse childhood experiences, and education level attained, to learn more about how early adversity can impact health and behavioral outcomes.