Hosanna An
Faculty Research Advisor: Kentaro Fujita
Title: Do Our Emotions Motivate Our Task Preferences? An Exploration Of Metamotivational Knowledge of Emotions
Abstract: In a life where we are constantly faced with endless tasks to complete, is there a way for us to strategically choose tasks to increase our productivity? Previous research has shown that having alignment between our current motivational state and the type of task we are working on could enhance our overall task performance. One possible way people determine what motivational state they are in could be based on their current emotional state, as certain emotional states have been associated with different motivational states. The present research explored people’s lay beliefs about the motivational benefits of various emotions to see if people strategically selected tasks based on their current emotional state. Participants recalled various memories to induce different emotional states, and then were presented with eager and vigilant tasks and asked about their preferences for the given tasks. Results revealed that people preferred different types of tasks based on what they were currently feeling. People preferred eager tasks when experiencing positive emotions (excitement and relaxed), and vigilant tasks when experiencing negative emotions (anxious and depressed). It seemed that people associated positive emotions with eagerness and negative emotions with vigilance, which contradicted past research. Given this tension, further exploration into the role of emotions as motivational input could help people make intentional choices that lead to greater personal achievements overall.
Zihan Bai
Faculty Research Advisor: Julie Golomb
Title: Spatial Congruency Bias: The Influence of Background Scenes on Object-location binding
Abstract: The spatial congruency bias is an effect showing that people are more inclined to misjudge two objects presented sequentially as having the same identity when they are in the same spatial location, implying that irrelevant location information may be bound to object identity (Golomb et al., 2014). Previous research has only explored spatial congruency bias between isolated objects, whereas in realistic settings, objects almost always co-occur with background scenes. Thus, we aimed to explore the influence of background scenes on the spatial congruency bias and object-location binding. In a series of experiments, subjects performed a same-different judgment task on the identity of two objects presented successively in either the same or different spatial locations. The first experiment tested whether the effect of background scenes on the spatial congruency bias depends on the consistency between the identity of background scenes, by presenting two objects with either the same or different background scenes (Same-scene vs. Different-scene condition). We found a significant spatial congruency bias only when two objects were presented with the same background scene, but not when presented with different scenes, though the difference across scene conditions was not significant. Then, the second experiment tested whether the mere presence of a background scene affects the spatial congruency bias. Here, the two objects in a trial were superimposed on a background scene or blank white background (Scene-present vs. Scene-absent condition). We found a more robust spatial congruency bias when objects were presented without a background than with a background scene. We reveal that the mere presence of background scenes may weakly modulate object-location binding, but that consistency of scenes identity may facilitate object-location binding. These findings pave the way for future study into the effect of visual stability of scenes on spatial congruency bias and object-location binding.
Simran Bhola
Faculty Research Advisor: Lauren Khazem and Rosie Bauder
Title: Clinician- Versus Self-Administered Crisis Response Planning
Abstract: Preliminary research indicates that self-administered psychological interventions may be equally or more effective than those administered by clinicians (Wagner et al., 2014; Zimmerman et al., 2018). These findings are promising for expanding the reach of interventions to those who are unable to see a clinician. This is especially true for those experiencing suicidal ideation and are at higher risk for suicide, such as military veterans, who need more urgent, accessible means of intervention that is self-administered and suicide specific. Crisis Response Planning (CRP), an efficacious intervention that reduces suicide attempts and negative affect while increasing positive affect (Bryan et al., 2017; Bryan et al., 2018), involves creating a written, personalized set of steps for immediately mitigating a suicidal crisis. Traditionally, clients collaborate with a clinician to identify warning signs of a suicidal crisis, coping strategies to use independently, and personal and professional support contacts. While preliminary evidence indicates that both clinician- and self-administered iterations of CRP are effective for reducing suicide risk, it is unknown whether specific components of the CRP differ between these iterations. We expect that there will be reasonable differences in the content of CRP responses when self- versus clinician-administered. The present study evaluated 33 CRPs using content analysis and descriptive statistics (Krippendorf, 2018) to investigate differences between the two CRP iterations in a sample of military personnel and veterans who endorsed recent suicidal ideation. Participants were randomized to either an online, self-administered CRP or a virtual, clinician-administered CRP. Participants’ average age was approximately 45 years old (M=44.8; SD=10.8) with the sample split evenly between men (51.6%) and women (48.4%). Only 13 (81%) participants completed all five components of the CRP when self-administered, compared to 15 (93.8%) of those whose CRP was clinician-administered. Participants reported emotional warning signs most often (72.7%), followed by physiological (66.7%), and behavioral (48.5%). There were no significant differences in reported warning signs between self- and clinician-administered CRPs, and data for the rest of the CRP components are still in the process of being analyzed. Future research should seek to expand on potential differences in content and efficacy between clinician- and self-administered, suicide specific interventions.
Logan Bradshaw
Faculty Research Advisor: Brittany Shoots-Reinhard
Title: Neuroticism and Negative Emotional Reactions to Covid-19
Abstract:Major health crises like COVID-19 have profound effects on psychological well-being; however, stressful events as such do not affect people equally. Individuals high in neuroticism have stronger negative affective reactions to stress, which puts them at greater risk for adverse outcomes. The current study elucidates how these individuals' choices, selective exposure to negative information in particular, during stressful events reinforce their negative affectivity. Using longitudinal data from a previous study conducted over six waves (2/17/20-12/17/20), we found that (a) neuroticism predicts higher negative affect, (b) negative emotion was highest after the first COVID-19 related death (in wave 3), and (c) attention bias to negative information was a significant factor in the increase of negative affect in individuals high in neuroticism. Thus, this study offers insight into the choices associated with negative affectivity and has the potential to improve personality-informed interventions, subsequently preventing increases in mental health problems related to major health crises.
Mujtaba Chughtai
Faculty Research Advisor: Russ Fazio
Title: Interpretation of Facial Expressions: The Effects of Rejection Sensitivity and Gender
Abstract: Individual differences impact the ways people categorize ambiguous information, including their perceptions of others’ emotional states. A previous study found that higher social anxiety is correlated with a more negative interpretation of ambiguous facial expressions. Although highly correlated with social anxiety, rejection sensitivity is a unique construct, and the present research assesses whether individuals higher in rejection sensitivity also have a more negative interpretation of ambiguous facial expressions. To assess this, participants saw videos of a smiling face morphing into an angry face over a 20-second interval and were asked to indicate when the facial expression became negative. Results show that individuals higher in rejection sensitivity were significantly faster to identify the face as negative, as hypothesized. Gender differences were also evaluated, given the widespread literature on gender and emotion recognition. In this study, men were significantly faster than women in identifying the face as negative. This research extends previous work on individual differences in the interpretation of facial expressions, as well as provides support for the theory that men may be more sensitive than women to recognizing anger.
Keathun Cunningham
Faculty Research Advisor: Duane Wegener
Title: Perception of Job Candidates
Abstract: The study’s objective was to examine ways to reduce bias against job applicants with a history of incarceration. The research takes a persuasive approach to potentially reduce such biases. A persuasive approach is used to try to change the stereotypes about ex-offenders, allowing an employer to evaluate the applicant based on their qualifications for the position instead of their criminal history. We challenged these stereotypes by using a redemption narrative for the previously incarcerated applicant (PIA). In the redemption narrative condition the PIA has a letter of recommendation where it describes their acknowledgment of the crimes committed, acceptance of punishment, and readiness for the position being applied for. The PIA’s application was reviewed along with an applicant with no criminal background. After the evaluations of the applications participants are asked to rate the applicants on scales of relatability and warmth. They then were asked to indicate who they think is more qualified for the position, who they'd hire, and to describe why. Data is currently being analyzed.
Erin Gilliland
Faculty Research Advisor: Jasmeet P. Hayes
Title: Abnormal Methylation of Genes Associated with Neuropsychiatric Symptoms in Alzheimer’s Disease
Abstract: Background: Alzheimer’s Disease is incurable and affects millions of people world-wide. One aspect of the disorder that has been less researched is neuropsychiatric symptoms. This study examined how epigenetic differences may be involved in neuropsychiatric symptoms associated with AD. Hypothesis: Abnormal methylation levels will be associated with higher scores on the Neuropsychiatric Inventory Questionnaire. Study: An epigenome-wide association study was performed using data from the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Consortium. Blood samples were taken from 263 participants, as well as results from the Neuropsychiatric Questionnaire. Results: Three CpG sites (cg00152838, cg05567165, cg01448944) were identified as significant. Implications: Should this pilot data be replicated in brain tissue, and across other cohorts, may provide a novel biomarker for AD. This may allow for more effective, less invasive treatments for AD.
Adam Haag
Faculty Research Advisor: Jamie Jackson
Title: Sports Involvement, Self-Efficacy, and Emotional Distress in Adolescent Survivors of Congenital Heart Disease
Abstract: More than 1.4 million adults in the United States have been diagnosed with congenital heart disease (CHD), and 1 in every 100 children have defects in their heart which have developed from genetic or chromosomal irregularities. Research into the quality of life of individuals with CHD suggests that they report higher levels of emotional distress. Research also suggests that, overall, people with CHD have less engagement in sports and display a lower exercise self-efficacy. In addition, it is understood that sports involvement and self-efficacy are both negatively correlated with symptoms of emotional distress amongst the general population. The purpose of this study is to understand the relationship between sports involvement, self-efficacy, and symptoms of emotional distress amongst survivors of CHD. Sports involvement and health-related quality of life information was collected from 88 participants. The results indicate that those currently participating in sports display higher self-efficacy than those who never have, p = .004, and self-efficacy is negatively correlated with symptoms of anxiety r = .339 and depression, r = .470. Ultimately, given the health benefits of participating in physical activity, sports involvement is important for the physical well-being of CHD survivors. However, this research indicates that, although not directly, given its influence on self-efficacy, sports involvement may help to improve their emotional well-being as well.
Tiana Jones
Faculty Advisor: Steven J. Spencer
Title: Anti-racism in Policing: The role of self-affirmation and persuasive appeals
Abstract: Police violence against Black communities in the U.S. has put pressure on police departments to enact anti-racist policies (e.g., wearing body cameras, eliminating qualified immunity). Officers, however, are reluctant to enact such systemic changes. One potential reason why police departments haven’t yet adopted these policies and practices is due to threat and defensiveness (McCarthy et al., 2021). Self-affirmation is one tactic to reduce threat and defensiveness to counter-attitudinal messages (McQueen et al., 2006). Police officers who self-affirm (vs. those who do not) will show less threat and defensivess to a persuasive message about anti-racist action in policing and, in turn, show greater support for anti-racist policies and practices. We recruited 140 current or former police officers using the Prolific platform. A two-condition experimental design (Values Affirmation: Present, Absent) was performed. The present intervention tests the efficacy of a two-step persuasion approach (i.e., self-affirmation combined with persuasive appeals) to defuse police officer defensiveness and promote openness to anti-racism efforts. The hypothesis was partially supported. After reading the persuasive message, in the control condition, police officers reported greater threat when they were not self-affirmed. But in the self-affirmation manipulation condition, police officers reported less threat when they were self-affirmed. Additionally, we did not detect condition differences for defensiveness and policy support. For defensiveness, it was low for both conditions but there was greater policy support. Going forward, we will want to examine whether self-affirmation interventions can mitigate some of the threat that officers experience, to promote positive relationships with the Black communities they serve.
Jimin Kim
Faculty Research Advisor: Dr. Sarah Schoppe-Sullivan
Title: Moderator Effects of Father’s Traditional Masculinity and Mother’s Parental Belief on Associations Between Father’s Psychological Distress and Maternal Gatekeeping
Abstract: Maternal gatekeeping, or attitudes or behaviors that facilitate or inhibit fathers’ participation in childcare, predicts less paternal involvement in childcare (Lamb, 1997). A recent study by Thomas and Holmes (2020) suggests that maternal gatekeeping could be a protective tool for the child against fathers’ risk factors such as adherence to toxic masculinity norms (i.e., violence and dominance) and psychological distress (i.e., depression and anxiety). For further investigation of this claim, this study focuses on two research questions: 1) Do mothers gatekeep to protect their children from risk factors? 2) Do paternal masculinity/maternal parental beliefs have moderating effects on the association? This study used survey data from the New Parents Project (NPP), consisting of 182 dual-earner couples that transitioned to parenthood for the first time in 2008-2009. Measures used in this study include self-reports of fathers’ anxiety, parents’ perceptions of mothers’maternal gatekeeping, fathers’ masculinity score, and beliefs regarding parental roles from both mothers and fathers collected at 3 months and 9 months of post-partum. Mothers’ progressive parental beliefs moderated the association between fathers’ anxiety and maternal gatekeeping. When mothers were more progressive, they both gateopened and gateclosed anxious fathers more. This result suggests that mothers use maternal gatekeeping as a protective tool. Progressive mothers may be more cognizant of negative child outcomes from parental anxiety and develop more rigid standards of parenting than traditional mothers. Researchers can further study this correlation in the future. Depending on the type, masculinities can be positively or negatively associated with depression and anxiety (Schoppe-Sullivan et al., 2021). Hence, future research can also examine what distinct masculinities moderate the association.
Jake Lord
Faculty Research Advisor: Richard Petty
Title: Threat-sensitive individual differences moderate attitude-bolstering through extreme behavior
Abstract: Although many social psychologists and scholars alike have investigated the causes of extreme behavior (e.g., any non-normative action that poses real or potential harm to someone), there is a lack of empirical research on the distinct psychological mechanisms that can explain the motivations behind this phenomenon. Accordingly, the present research utilizes multiple perspectives from the social psychology literature to hypothesize extreme behavior as a compensatory result of bolstering highly ambivalent attitudes when threat sensitivity is high. In Study 1 (N = 203), I found that participants bolstered their highly ambivalent attitudes about COVID-19 mask mandates through engaging in attitude-consistent extreme behavior; in contrast, lowly ambivalent attitudes predicted more attitude-consistent moderate behavior (e.g., an attitude strength effect) than did highly ambivalent attitudes. In Study 2 (N = 385), I found that participants high in certain threat-sensitive individual differences (neuroticism and avoidance temperament) were more likely to display this attitude bolstering effect through extreme behavior than participants who were low in these individual differences. These findings suggest that individuals can resolve experiential discomfort associated with attitudinal ambivalence and threat through compensatory attitude-consistent extreme behavior. However, the present research does not elucidate if the possibility of extreme behavior itself facilitates enough threat to produce a compensatory response, or if extreme behavior is a particularly effective compensatory response in resolving discomfort.
Robert Menon
Faculty Research Advisor: Steven Spencer
Title: The Effects of Zero-Sum Beliefs on Willingness to Engage in Collective Action and Endorse Competitive Victimhood Beliefs
Abstract: When someone is participating in a movement (e.g., posting on social media, donating, marching, etc.), that person is engaging in collective action. The purpose of this study was to see if willingness to engage in collective action is affected by zero-sum beliefs, the idea that if someone else is winning, you are losing. 290 participants were recruited to participate in an online study. They were asked to read a fictitious news article that either manipulated into a zero-sum mindset or a win-win mindset. They were then asked to report their willingness to engage in collective action for both Black women’s movements and general women’s movements. It was found that White women participants in the zero-sum condition were less willing to engage in collective action for movements specific to Black women. The results of this study are important since they show how zero-sum beliefs can have a potential negative effect on intergroup relations.
Payton Messersmith
Faculty Research Advisor: Andrew Leber
Title: The Adaptive Choice Visual Search: Social Comparison and Optimal Strategy Use
Abstract: Can social comparisons improve the use of attentional control strategies during visual search tasks? In the present study we employed the Adaptive Choice Visual Search (ACVS), one task designed to measure strategy choices during visual search (ACVS; Irons & Leber, 2016). Irons & Leber found that individuals are not always optimal, or maximally efficient, when choosing strategies during this task, as searching optimally can be cognitively demanding and effortful. However, past research has shown that upward social comparisons, which compare one person to a superior other, can motivate future use of effort, though it is unclear if this can translate to strategy use during visual search. To explore this, we hypothesized that upward social comparisons would increase optimal strategy use on the ACVS by modulating motivation to expend effort. Participants were randomly put into one of three possible conditions: an upward, lateral, or downward comparison condition. At the halfway point of the ACVS, we compared participant reaction times to a bogus peer average that framed participants as slightly slower, about the same, or slightly faster, respectively. Though we are still collecting data, our current results show no significant difference in optimality between conditions. However, participants in the upward and lateral conditions were faster and less accurate after the comparison. It is possible the comparison motivated participants to try harder, though they did so by increasing overall speed, rather than improving optimal strategy use. In future research, we may give comparisons based on optimality, rather than speed, to see if this influenced the current lack of effect on strategy use.
Nimanthi Ranatunga
Faculty Research Advisor: Jasmeet Hayes
Title: The Impact of Stress on Cardiovascular Disease and Examining the Relationship between Cardiovascular Disease and Cognition
Abstract: Scientific research indicates that CVD and its risk factors are associated with deficits in cognitive functioning. Risk for CVD has typically been measured using traditional risk factors, such as age, blood pressure and cholesterol levels. However, incorporating nontraditional risk factors like angina may also have an impact on CVD, which in turn, can help shape future care methods. Our likelihood of experiencing chronic diseases like CVD increases as we age, but also through events such as stress. The present study, therefore, investigated how different experiences with stress (i.e., traumatic events and perceived stress) could impact CVD and its risk factors. We also examined the relationship between CVD, CVD risk factors, and cognition. We hypothesized that those with greater stress would have greater CVD risk and would be more likely to experience CVD. We also hypothesized that those with poorer cardiovascular health would have poorer performance on episodic memory and executive functioning tasks. Participants were 1092 adults (mean age 54.91 years) from the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) study. Stress was assessed using self-reported experiences with traumatic events and the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). CVD risk was assessed using the general Framingham Risk Score (FRS) and experiences with angina. CVD was assessed using self-reported experiences with heart disease and stroke/TIA (transient ischemic attack, i.e., mini stroke). Cognition was assessed using composite episodic memory and executive functioning scores from the Brief Test of Adult Cognition by Telephone (BTACT). Results demonstrated that both measures of stress were not significantly associated with CVD or risk factors. Angina was not significantly associated with episodic memory or executive functioning composite measures. Higher risk scores were significantly associated with lower episodic memory composite measures but not with executive functioning composite measures. Both composite measures were significantly lower among participants who experienced heart disease, and among those who experienced stroke/TIA. The present research demonstrates that higher CVD risk and CVD experiences have negative implications for episodic memory and executive functioning.
Raina Rindani
Faculty Research Advisor: Elizabeth Kirby
Title: Impact of neural stem cell-derived vascular endothelial growth factor on anxiety in adult mice
Abstract: The current, primary treatments for anxiety disorders, which constitute most mental health diagnoses in the United States, have many significant side effects and may even increase suicidality in pre-adolescent people (ADAA, 2018). The ever-evolving need for new treatments has led to the exploration of stem cells and their potentially therapeutic secretomes. In this study, I used a transgenic mouse line which allowed for the inducible knockdown of neural stem cell (NSC)-derived vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). I hypothesized that VEGF-KD mice would show less anxiety-like behavior than control mice. I conducted open field (OF) and elevated plus maze (EPM) tests to determine whether VEGF-KD in NSCs acutely modulates anxiety- like behavior, which revealed an anxiolytic effect of NSC-derived VEGF. I am now conducting histological experiments to examine neuronal activation as a potential mechanism by which VEGF reduced anxiety-like behavior. These findings may lead to translational application in the field of stem-cell mediated therapies, more specifically to those which involve harnessing the secretome of these cells.
Arian Sorani
Faculty Research Advisor: Ruchika Prakash
Title: Does resting-state frontostriatal connectivity moderate relations between vulnerability to substance abuse and trait impulsivity?
Abstract: Substance use disorders (SUDs) are a major public health concern, affecting 9.9% of U. S. adults. Trait impulsivity, expressed as a preference for immediate rewards, is the principal vulnerability to developing SUDs is associated with functional alterations within the frontostriatal circuit. Thus, the current study evaluated whether resting-state frontostriatal connectivity strength moderated the relation between family history of substance abuse and impulsivity among young children. Using a sample of 5566 children from the Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study, our moderation analyses using PROCESS macro showed that frontostriatal connectivity did not moderate the relation between family risk for SUDs and impulsivity, p = .2281. Furthermore, neither sex, p = .2982, nor race moderated this association, p = .7821. These findings suggest that dysfunction in related reward-processing neural networks (e.g., central executive network) may better explain the link between family history of SUDs and high impulsivity.
Elise Spintzyk
Faculty Research Advisor: Charles Emery
Title: Influence of Self-Efficacy on Health Behaviors among Obese Women during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Abstract: This study hoped to evaluate the relationship between self-efficacy and health behavior change during the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, self-efficacy was evaluated as a variable with the potential to facilitate improvement rather than a deterioration of health-promoting behaviors in the overweight and obese population. Data was collected via an online self-report survey of 250 respondents (N=250). All respondents were women, over the age of 18, and had a Body Mass Index (BMI) greater or equal to 25, indicating overweight or obese status. The survey consisted of multiple scale assessments that allowed for the evaluation of eating self-efficacy, exercise self-efficacy, COVID-19 impact, coping strategies, and diet and exercise behavior. Qualitative data regarding health behavior was coded to reflect no change, negative change, or positive change. Analyses found that eating self-efficacy was not significantly correlated with positive diet behavior change (r=0.057, p=0.370), but exercise self-efficacy was positively correlated with positive exercise behavior change (r=0.235, p<0.002). These findings imply that higher exercise self-efficacy potentially served as a protective characteristic and allowed the pandemic to serve as an opportunity for positive behavior change. Further investigations exploring this correlational relationship could help to establish the potential success of an intervention targeting the improvement of exercise self-efficacy for populations at risk for poor health-promoting behaviors (e.g., overweight and obese).
Sophia Yu
Faculty Research Advisor: Stephen Petrill
Title: Bilingualism, math anxiety, and math performance
Abstract: As mathematics gains increasing importance with the rapid development of science and technology (Roman, 2004) and as the bilingual population grows in modern society (Lucas, et al., 2008), the need to identify the mutual impacts between mathematics and bilingualism becomes increasingly important. Thus, the present research hypothesizes that similar to it does in the general population, working memory capacity still acts as a mediator in the math anxiety-performance link in the bilingual population, with the language of the math task as a moderator in the three correlations involved. To test the hypotheses, 46 participants bilingual in English and Chinese were recruited from The Ohio State University. We examined their math performance, working memory capacity, and math anxiety using standardized tests and a bilingual math task. We also measured potential covariates including non-verbal intelligence cognitive skills. A positive correlation between working memory capacity and math performance, but no correlation between math anxiety and math performance or between working memory capacity and math anxiety was found in the population. No significant moderation effect of the language of the task was found. Results from the study will facilitate future research to bridge the gap between bilingualism and math and contribute to a deeper understanding of math learning among the bilingual population. References Lucas T., Villegas, A. M., & Freedson-Gonzalez, M. (2008). Linguistically Responsive Teacher Education: Preparing Classroom Teachers to Teach English Language Learners. Journal of Teacher Education, 59(4), 361-373. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022487108322110 Roman, H. (2004). Why Math Is So Important. Tech Directions, 63(10), 16-18.