The Department of Psychology invites the university community to attend our Senior Thesis presentation sessions on Thursday, Dec. 11, from noon–1:45 p.m. in the Library Conference Room and Tuesday, Dec. 16, from 10:30 a.m.-1 p.m. in the University Center Presentation Room.
Compared to last year, this year saw nearly triple the students pursuing the Senior Thesis option, with the resulting projects addressing a variety of interesting topics such as parent’s perceptions of substance use; influences on emerging adults’ perceptions of the events in Ferguson, Missouri; religion and stress among undergraduates; video games and academic performance; and academic self-efficacy and grit among student athletes and non-athletes.
The tentative schedule of presenters and brief descriptions of projects can be found below.
Thursday, Dec. 11
12 – 1:45 p.m, Library Conference Room*
*Times are approximate
Brief Opening Remarks and Introductions Noon – 12:05 p.m.
Kayla Theberge: Not My Kid: Parents’ Perceptions of Substance Use 12:05 – 12:25 p.m.
Faculty Sponsor: Eric Goedereis
Over 23 million people in the U.S. over the age of 12 are addicted to drugs and alcohol, suggesting an increased need for novel prevention strategies (National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, Inc., 2014). The present study examines parenting styles and parents’ bias toward their child’s potential substance use. It was expected that all parents would underestimate their own child’s risk for substance use when compared to other children, but that parents scoring high on authoritarian or permissive styles would have more optimistic bias than those scoring high on authoritative styles. These perceptions have important implications for preventing adolescent substance use.
Ian Simpson: Playing with School: Video Games and Academic Performance 12:25 – 12:45 p.m.
Faculty Sponsor: Heather Mitchell
Previous research suggests a possible relationship between video game play and academic performance, specifically low GPA (Anderson, Dill, 2000; Burgess, Sterner, Burgess, 2012; Ferguson, 2010). The purpose of the current study is to examine the possible relationships between hours spent playing video games, likelihood of procrastination in regards to schoolwork and academic performance in terms of GPA, academic self-efficacy, and self-regulated learning. It was expected that more hours spent gaming would be associated with lower academic performance and a higher likelihood of procrastination. Results indicate that more hours spent playing games was associated with a higher degree of procrastination. This may imply that students are spending more hours playing video games instead of using that time for schoolwork.
Anna Poeppelmeier: In the Wake of Ferguson: Influences on Emerging Adults 12:45 – 1:05 p.m.
Faculty Sponsor: Michael Hulsizer
Events in Ferguson have drawn worldwide attention to the small community and larger questions of discrimination and policing. Media attention and social media use has caused a lot of confusion about what occurred when a Ferguson police officer shot and killed unarmed teenager, Michael Brown. Initial reports created an ambiguous event. The present study examined media usage, attitudes toward police, and perceived discrimination in relation to who the participant supported, Michael Brown or Officer Wilson. Supporters of Michael Brown were expected to have high levels of media usage, negative attitudes toward police, and high levels of perceived discrimination. Conversely, Officer Wilson supporters were expected to be low on media usage, have positive attitudes towards police, and would perceive little discrimination.
Jessica Smith: Self-Esteem in Relation to Goal Commitment, Motivation, and Financial Aid 1:05 – 1:25 p.m.
Faculty Sponsor: Eric Goedereis
Financial aid has been associated with patterns of enrollment and academic persistence among college students. The purpose of the current study is to integrate the known data on financial aid, motivation, and goal commitment and examine the impact on students’ self-esteem. It was hypothesized that non-traditional students would have higher self-esteem, motivation, and goal commitment than traditional students.
Results suggest that non-traditional students have higher self-esteem than traditional students, although non-traditional students have a higher need for self-esteem. These findings are inconsistent with prior literature and suggest a need for further research, including efforts to improve existing measures of self-esteem among traditional and non-traditional-aged students.
Joshua Luther: An Examination of Religious Faith and Stress During the 2014 Fall Semester 1:25 – 1:45 p.m.
Faculty Sponsor: Heather Mitchell
Research examining stress has shown that stress can target anyone and produce harmful psychological and physical effects on the human body. On the contrary, research examining religion is shown to have positive outcomes for individuals of religious faith, particularly in the face of lower amounts of stress. The current study examines the relationship between religious faith and stress scores for undergraduates during the fall semester. Participants include 45 male and 118 female undergraduate students ranging from freshman to seniors.
It was expected that those measuring high in religion would exhibit lower stress than those who scored lower in religious faith. Results indicate that those of moderate religious faith reported lower stress scores than those of low and high religious faith. Religion has shown in previous research to provide positive benefits to one’s self, and can be used as a protective coping mechanism against stress. By establishing healthier and positive coping mechanisms, one can avoid negative behaviors and habits and ultimately combat stress in a healthier and more effective method.
Tuesday, Dec. 16
10:30 am – 1:00 pm, University Center Presentation Room*
*Times are approximate
Brief Opening Remarks and Introductions 10:30 – 10:35 a.m.
Kira Webster: Who has Lied: A Psycho-Linguistic Study of the 2012 Presidential Election 10:35 – 10:55 a.m.
Faculty Sponsor: Heather Mitchell
This study explores four debates and thirteen individual interviews between the Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates during the 2012 election as an attempt to see which party was more honest and dishonest through analyzing their words. Five factors were used to determine how dishonest someone was: the amount of self-references used, demonstration of cognitive detail, avoidance of questions, interruptions, and the amount of negative words. This word counting process is based off of Pennebaker’s research on personality and language. My hypothesis is that there will be factors indicating honesty and dishonesty between both parties; however, that the contending party will have higher indicators of deception.
Taylor Madden: Form of Address on Restaurant Patrons’ Tipping Behaviors 10:55 – 11:15 a.m.
Faculty Sponsor: Linda Woolf
This experiment was executed to experimentally examine whether different forms of address used by food servers of different ages related to customers’ tipping behavior. The food servers used in this study included a younger male and female and an older male and female. The servers thanked diners that paid with credit cards by either their first names, titles plus their last names, or used no address. Based on previous research, it was hypothesized that guests addressed by name would leave a larger tip percentage than those whose experience was not personalized with the use of their name.
Tyler Gibson: The Effects of Learning a Musical Instrument, and Type of Instrument, on Visual Pattern Recognition 11:15 – 11:35 a.m.
Faculty Sponsor: Katherine Daniels
Music is a system of patterns, found in qualities such as structure and rhythm. Could practicing these forms of patterns have benefits on our overall pattern recognition ability? Specifically, does playing a musical instrument influence visual pattern recognition (VPR), does formal music education influence VPR, and does the type of instrument learned influence VPR? This study examined students from a Midwest university, ages 19 and up. Participants completed an online survey on VPR using the Matrix Reasoning subtest of the WAIS-III. Analyses examined whether or not past musical experience was associated in variance in VPR.
Tony Latham: Can the Things We See Affect What We Hear? 11:35 – 11:55 a.m.
Faculty Sponsor: Heather Mitchell
The purpose of the present study was to experimentally investigate how a performer’s dress affects an audience’s perception of a musical performance. Participants were randomly assigned to one of two conditions, each requiring them to view a choir and rate a performance. Participants completed a measure of expectation ratings in order to determine what they expected that performance to sound like.
Based on previous research, it was hypothesized that the total expected rating will have a lower mean score than the actual performance. Further, it was expected that the mean expectancy score from the everyday dress group would be significantly lower than those in the concert dress group.
Ryan Metzger: Does Employment Affect Well-being in College Students? A Comparison using Latent Deprivation Theory of Unemployment 11:55 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.
Faculty Sponsor: Eric Goedereis
Unemployment can have devastating effects on well-being. However, these results have not been replicated in all populations without a job, specifically non-working college students. The purpose of this study is to determine whether non-working and working students differ in their levels of the hidden or latent benefits of employment (e.g., time structure, social contact, etc.), and to examine if these differences impact well-being.
Based off of previous research, it was expected that both groups would have similar access to latent benefits; and that greater access to latent benefits would predict well-being across both groups. Results could be used to advise students as to how to best approach their employment. Additionally, these findings hold implications for developing future interventions for the unemployed.
Thomas Hernandez: Levels of Academic Self-Efficacy and Grit in Student Athletes and Non-Athletes 12:15 – 12:35 p.m.
Faculty Sponsor: Linda Woolf
Student athletes have the task of balancing their academic duties while maintaining their performance levels, yet the stigma of the dumb-jock still exists. It is commonly perceived that athletes are not as smart or just do not care as much about their academics than non-athletes. Student athletes and non- athletes were surveyed to examine differences in academic self-efficacy and grit. Participants included 29 athletes and 146 non-athletes. The means of the scales were calculated and used to test research hypotheses.
Joshua Farmer: Efficacy in Relation to the News 12:35 – 12:55 p.m.
Faculty Sponsor: Linda Woolf
The present study considered whether an individual’s rate of political knowledge-seeking behavior is related to internal political self-efficacy (IPSE). Specifically, this research sought to investigate whether high IPSE correlated with higher political knowledge-seeking behavior Following IRB approval, 139 undergraduate students enrolled at a mid-sized Midwestern university were contacted via email and completed an online survey. The items measured participants’ levels of media consumption, IPSE, and political cynicism. It was hypothesized that IPSE would be related to higher rates of political knowledge sought and lower rates of political cynicism.
For more information, please contact ericgoedereis18@webster.edu.
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