Menstrual suppression has been used as a treatment for 20 years and it’s also been an increasingly common choice of lifestyle. Past research revealed that different attitudes towards menstruation may have different impact on willingness to choose menstrual suppression (Johnston-Robledo et al., 2003; Rose et al., 2008). Media content such as commercials and magazine articles has been influential in shaping people’s attitudes towards menstruation, especially enhancing negative attitudes and stigma (e.g., Coutts and Berg, 1993). Thus, it’s important to investigate how media content may influence menstrual suppression tendency. Additionally, people differ widely in their responses to adverse experiences such as negative aspects of menstruation. For example, people with higher self-compassion tend to be more nonjudgmental and kinder to themselves in hard times, and they are less likely to be affected by social influences such as objectification and sexual stigma (e.g., Liss & Erchull, 2015). Building on these, the current research aims at examining the effect of media attitudes on menstrual suppression willingness and how self-compassion may buffer the effect. 250 female students with menstrual experiences from TCU participated in the study. A two-way moderated regression revealed that at low level of self-compassion, participants showed significantly higher tendency to suppress their menstruation after being primed with an online media passage depicting menstruation as a healthy and creative event, whereas they had lower menstrual suppression willingness following reading a negatively toned passage describing menstruation as messy and debilitating. Participants with medium or high self-compassion were not affected by either type of passage. More research is needed to further elucidate the role of menstrual suppression in low-self-compassion people’s response to media depiction of menstruation.

Criminal thinking patterns are a set of processes that predispose someone to engage in criminal behavior. Various theories of criminal thinking posit that people showing criminal thinking patterns have a proclivity towards hostility, verbal and physical aggression, and antisocial behavior. Correspondingly, there needs to be more research with general populations, in contrast to justice populations, to create better assessments of criminal thinking patterns. The objective of this study was to create a measure of criminal thinking in the general population, test the survey for validity, and create normative scores. To do this, the Texas Christian University Criminal Thinking Scales 3.0 (TCU CTS 3.0) was modified to better assess the general population and demonstrate its validity. Results showed the TCU CTS 3.0 measured five areas: 1) Justification, 2) Grandiosity, 3) Power Orientation, 4) Response Disinhibition, and 5) Insensitivity to Others. Measures of criminal thinking had acceptable internal reliability scores (alphas ≥ 0.70) and were moderately correlated with measures of verbal and physical aggression, state-based anger, and hostility. The modified TCU CTS for the general population will provide an important comparison of criminal thinking levels in individuals who do not have histories of criminality or involvement with the justice system.

Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder that impairs social communication and causes restricted and repetitive behaviors, interests, and activities. Autistic children also have a variety of co-occurring difficulties, including elevated levels of internalizing and externalizing behaviors and sleep problems. Research with neurotypical children highlights the importance of considering physiological and family-level predictors of child sleep quality (El-Sheikh & Kelly, 2017). The current study had three objectives: to examine the extent to which children’s baseline respiratory sinus arrythmia (RSA), RSA reactivity (RSA-R) in response to a family stressor, and their interaction were related to children’s self-reported daytime sleepiness (a potential marker of sleep problems); to examine the extent to which a stressful family environment predicts daytime sleepiness, over and above children’s parasympathetic nervous system functioning; and to examine the extent to which a stressful family environment moderates associations between children’s parasympathetic nervous symptom functioning (i.e., baseline RSA, RSA-R, and their interaction) and daytime sleepiness. The RSA-Baseline was measured while children sat still, and measures of sleep quality and family risk were competed by children.

Animals must respond to stimuli in their environment that might pose a threat to their survival, such as the rustling of a bush or a loud noise. However, having a strong response to these stimuli, especially those that occur frequently, can be costly. Habituation occurs when a behavioral response to a stimulus decreases in magnitude after prolonged exposure or repeated presentations of that stimulus. Habituation is one mechanism that allows us to ignore stimuli that do not pose immediate danger, such as a jack hammer outside of our window. A recovery of the response following habituation occurs when a novel stimulus, or a dishabituating stimulus (e.g., a context change) is presented. Such a recovery would not occur if the reduced responding were the result of muscular fatigue. Previous research shows that wheel running in rats habituates within daily sessions (Aoyama & McSweeney, 2001). We investigated whether habituation could be attenuated in rats using context changes across sessions of wheel running. All rats had access to a running wheel for 30-minutes per day across 12 days. The control group encountered the wheel in the same context (olfactory, visual, and tactile) across days. The experimental group alternated between four possible contexts, which consisted of four locations, different visual contexts, and different scents. The dishabituating stimuli are the different contexts that are experienced by the experimental group. The results revealed that both groups had a decrease in wheel running within session, indicating that habituation occurred. The experimental group’s context changes did not slow the effects of habituation. The results will be discussed in terms of factors that influence habituation.

In nature, animals must learn to respond differently to different stimuli. Research using differential outcomes procedures have demonstrated that learning is facilitated when one response (e.g., pressing a right lever [RL]) is reinforced with one outcome (e.g., food) and another response (e.g., pressing the left lever [LL]) is reinforced with another outcome (e.g., sucrose). Previous research has found that highly valued reinforcers (e.g., chocolate-flavored pellets) can disrupt learning and might interfere with the emergence of the differential outcomes effect (DOE). The current research aims to extend the DOE to rats performing a visual discrimination and to compare the effects of a high valued reward (i.e., chocolate pellets) to a less valued reward (i.e., chow pellets) on learning. Rats will be trained to press a left lever during one visual stimulus (e.g., flashing light), and a right lever during another visual stimulus (e.g., solid light). The experimental group will receive a different outcome for each correct response (e.g., flashing light --> LL --> sucrose; solid light --> RL --> pellets). For half of the experimental group, correct responses will be reinforced with chow pellets and an 18% (v/v) sucrose solution, and the other half will receive chocolate pellets and a 30% (v/v) sucrose solution as reinforcement. In the control group, correct responses on both levers will result in both chow pellets and an 18% sucrose or in chocolate pellets and a 30% sucrose solution. We hypothesize that rats in the experimental groups will acquire the discrimination faster than those in the control groups, regardless of reinforcer type. If chocolate pellets disrupt learning, then animals in the chow conditions should acquire faster than chocolate pellet groups.

Retention in medical treatment is one important factor in medication adherence and overall recovery. Transportation, however, can be one barrier that impacts a person’s ability to access treatment consistently. The current study aims to understand how Tarrant County’s public transportation system affects treatment access. Patrons at Fort Worth Central bus station (N = 32) were surveyed on their experiences related to utilization of public transportation for medical appointments. Results show that most patrons did not miss appointments due to transportation access; however, those that relied on public transportation reported missing appointments with some regularity. Results also demonstrate that many patrons were unaware of alternate transportation options, such as ZipZone or faith-based transportation services. Findings highlight the need to raise public awareness of alternative transportation options, especially among those who rely on public transit systems to access necessary medical care. Future research can examine these questions in a population of clinic patrons, or aim to spread awareness of public transportation alternatives.

Indirect evidence for motor preparation and planning comes from neural activity preceding neural commands to activate the effectors. Preparatory neural activity is observed in pallial areas controlling learned motor behaviors. Vocal learning in songbirds is an example of a learned, sequential motor behavior. Sound generation requires airflow past vibratory membranes. Therefore, neural control of respiration is essential for motor preparation and production. Prior to singing in zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) birds sing a series of repeated introductory notes. One view is that introductory notes are preparatory in nature for the upcoming song. An alternative view is that introductory notes are part of song and not preparatory in nature. To begin to unravel this mystery, we investigated respiratory patterns of introductory notes to determine whether they show features that are indicative or preparing to sing. Respiration is composed of cycles of inspiratory and expiratory airflow. During singing, birds accelerate inspiratory phases of respiration and generate higher amplitude pressure patterns, called mini-breaths that are characterized by an absence of phonation. If the introductory notes are preparatory in nature, we postulate that the mini-breaths during successive introductory notes would most closely match the mini-breaths during song. Similarly, during expiration birds produce shorter duration, higher amplitude pressure patterns that are vocal in nature. We hypothesized that the as the birds produce successive introductory notes, they should more closely approach the motor patterns generating the first song syllable. These results will provide evidence of whether introductory notes are a feature of motor preparation for singing or are an act of song production. This information can be used to further our understanding of the neural control of song motor planning, preparation, and production.

Introduction: During emerging adulthood, the dynamics of the parent-child relationship change such that parents need to support their child’s independence and autonomy (Padilla-Walker et al., 2019). Engaging in helicopter parenting, where parents excessively monitor their adult children, is associated with greater mental health problems for emerging adults (Schiffrin et al., 2014). Emerging adults who experience greater helicopter parenting also report higher levels of entitlement (Segrin et al., 2012). As emerging adults transition to attending college, perhaps living away from home for the first time, they may experience challenges that negatively impact their mental health. However, there is a lack of research that focuses on how helicopter parenting impacts well-being specifically related to students’ college experience. Thus, the overall goal of the current study was to examine associations between helicopter parenting and emerging adult’s college-related well-being. A second aim was to determine the extent to which psychological and academic entitlement (i.e., the belief that academic success is deserved and the avoidance of personal responsibility) mediated these associations.

Method: Participants included 657 undergraduate students at two private universities in the United States. Participants completed an online survey composed of several measures evaluating the participants’ parents’ helicopter parenting behaviors and the participants’ own academic entitlement, psychological entitlement, and college related well-being. Measures used in the current analyses included the Helicopter Parenting and Autonomy Supportive Behavior Scale (Schiffrin et al., 2014), the academic entitlement scale (Chowning & Campbell, 2009), the Psychological Entitlement Scale (Campbell et al., 2004), and the College Student Subjective Wellbeing Questionnaire (CSSWQ; Renshaw, 2016).

Results: Multiple mediation was used to investigate the extent to which academic entitlement – externalized responsibilities and entitled expectations -- and psychological entitlement mediated the association between helicopter parenting and well-being related to the college experience. Results revealed that helicopter parenting positively predicted each measure of entitlement, ps ≤ .001; but, only academic entitlement – externalized responsibilities significantly predicted college related well-being (b path), b = -5.82, SE = .71, p ≤ .001. The 95% confidence interval of the indirect effect using 5,000 bootstrap reiterations did not include zero [-1.25, -0.47], suggesting a significant indirect effect of helicopter parenting on college related well-being through academic entitlement – externalized responsibilities.

Discussion: Although helicopter parenting was associated with higher levels of each form of entitlement, only academic entitlement served as a mediator of the association between helicopter parenting and college related well-being. Students with higher levels of externalized responsibility generally avoid taking personal responsibility for their academic difficulties, instead blaming failures on others (e.g., their college professors). It is possible that these students were accustomed to having their parents manage academic tasks, particularly when they were living at home. However, now that they are living away from home and attending college, they feel entitled to expect similar treatment from their professors. These findings are important for college administrators and others working with college students to identify students who may be particularly vulnerable for struggling during the transition to college.

Alcohol consumption has increased in the general adult population, with an estimated 72% of Americans consuming at least one alcoholic beverage per year measured in 2012-2013 compared to 65.4% measured in 2001-2002 (Dawson et al., 2015). Previous research has identified parents as a significant factor in forming attitudes toward alcohol use. For example, children who are regularly exposed to their parents' drinking tend to drink more themselves and have an early onset of drinking behavior (Coombs et al., 1991), while negative attitudes to alcohol at home are associated with less drinking behavior in underaged drinkers (Yu, 1998). Although previous studies explored the effect of parental drinking behavior and parents' attitudes toward alcohol during the early years of life on alcohol consumption in young adulthood, little research has examined the emotional perception of memories of parental drinking in this relationship. Thus, the current research investigates the retrospective childhood stories of parental drinking and the emotional perception of the drinking situations in middle childhood on the current drinking behavior of young adults. In addition, I explored whether parent and child gender were related to this relationship. I hypothesized that more positively perceived alcohol-related memory of parental drinking in middle childhood would be associated with a higher level of alcohol use in young adulthood. Finally, according to previous research, I expected to find that the negative emotions about maternal drinking would be associated with less alcohol use in males (Haugland et al., 2013) and negative memories of paternal drinking will be linked with more drinking in females and males (Chassin et al., 1999). Positive memories of drinking for both females and males were expected to be associated with more alcohol consumption, regardless of a parental gender.
Method:Participants provided information regarding age and gender, ethnicity, GPA, relationship status, and their parents’ household income in demographic questionnaire. Participants’ alcohol consumption was measured using the self-reported, 10-item version of The Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT; Saunders et al., 1993). The Rutgers Alcohol Problem Index (RAPI; White & Labouvie, 1989) was used to measure alcohol misuse among the participants. Alcohol use of parents was measured through the 30-item Children of Alcoholics Screening Test (CAST; Jones, 1983). Participants also retrospectively reported parental alcohol consumption by recalling a memorable or a typical episode from middle childhood (6-12 years) when one of the parents was consuming alcohol, as well as what they were feeling at that time. Each participant recalled an episode for a mother and a father separately.

Background and Research Question:
One strategy that typically improves students’ memory is to test themselves on information that they need to learn (Roediger & Karpicke, 2006). Students may do so by writing or typing their answers (i.e., overt retrieval) or by mentally answering questions (e.g., covert retrieval). We evaluated whether these different types of responses (typed retrieval vs. mental retrieval) influence the effectiveness of self-testing for memory when learning key terms and definitions.
In prior research, overt retrieval resulted in better learning compared to covert retrieval for learning complex material (e.g., definitions to key terms; Tauber et al., 2018), whereas covert and overt retrieval were equally effective for simple material (e.g., single words; Smith et al., 2013). Can differences in the dynamics of retrieval explain the discrepancies in the literature between overt and covert retrieval?

Hypothesis and Predictions:
According to the retrieval dynamics hypothesis, full retrieval attempts are more challenging and are better for memory than are retrieval attempts that are easy and that are terminated prematurely. Simple materials (e.g., key terms) are more easily retrieved than are complex materials (e.g., definitions). We predicted minimal differences between overt and covert retrieval with simple materials because the retrieval attempt is easy – only a word or two needs to be retrieved. However, we predicted overt retrieval to outperform covert retrieval with more complex materials because the retrieval attempt is more demanding – multiple units must be retrieved accurately, and students may stop prematurely when retrieving covertly.

Method:
Over 300 undergraduate students at TCU studied key terms and definitions from cognitive psychology (e.g., heuristic: a general rule or problem-solving strategy that usually produces a correct solution). Then, students underwent four rounds of self-paced retrieval practice with feedback. Some material was retrieved overtly, whereas other material was retrieved covertly. And, some students practiced retrieving definitions, whereas other students practiced retrieving key terms. Two days later, students completed a final test in which they were asked to either (a) recall the definitions when presented with the terms, or (b) recall the terms when presented with the definitions.

Results:
We conducted a 2 (overt vs. covert retrieval) x 2 (term vs. definition) mixed analysis of variance on both final tests. In both the test of terms and the test of definitions, performance was higher for material that was overtly retrieved compared to material that was covertly retrieved. And, the benefit of overt retrieval was larger for those were learned complex material (i.e., definitions).
Conclusions:
Our results are consistent with the retrieval dynamics hypothesis. Future research should explore methods to increase the effectiveness of covert retrieval practice, especially because students may engage in this strategy when studying in public spaces (e.g., a library). Until then, we recommend that students engage in overt retrieval practice, particularly when learning complex material for their courses.