Sex Differences in Vagus Nerve Stimulation Sensitivity and Responsiveness

Type: Undergraduate
Author(s): Ally Jacobs Psychology Savannah Hastings Psychology
Advisor(s): Sarah Hill Psychology

Vagus Nerve Stimulation (VNS) is a neuromodulation tool that is approved as a therapeutic for epilepsy, depression, migraines, stroke recovery, and opioid withdrawal. VNS is more effective for some individuals than others (Olsen et al., 2023). Person based factors that impact vagal activity, such as vagal tone, may contribute to variation in VNS efficacy (Geng et al., 2022). Further, sex-based differences have been found to modulate levels of vagal tone, as women show higher levels of vagal parasympathetic activity compared to men (Koenig and Thayer, 2016). Thus, the current study examines how participant sex (male v. female) impacts sensitivity (i.e., tolerance to the stimulation) and responsiveness, measured via heart rate variability (HRV), to VNS. Eligible participants from the TCU SONA pool used a lab computer to give consent and take a preliminary survey. Research assistants asked participants to put on a Polar Strap that connects to Kubios software to measure HRV. Trained graduate students then administered a taVNS procedure to stimulate the auricular branch of the vagus nerve via the left ear. The current study predicts that male participants will be able to tolerate higher levels of VNS and will have greater responsiveness to VNS than female participants. These findings have clinical implications to improve the efficacy of VNS for therapeutic use, to understand how sex-based differences relate to VNS sensitivity, and to see how VNS sensitivity impacts vagal activation.

Longitudinal Changes in Menstrual Cycle Knowledge among Women who use Menstrual Cycle Apps

Type: Undergraduate
Author(s): Maggie Lovoi Psychology Melissa Brillhart Psychology
Advisor(s): Sarah E. Hill Psychology

Historically, women’s health has been understudied. Unfortunately, improper research of women’s health can lead to unmet health care needs, health disparities, and differences in treatment access. This suggests that not only do women need more research about their health outcomes, but they also need more resources to supplement their knowledge about their own health outcomes. Therefore, the present research aimed to address this gap in the literature by assessing whether long-term usage of a menstrual cycle app, Flo, can improve women’s wellness and knowledge about the menstrual cycle. Participants were randomly assigned to receive Flo premium (experimental condition) or a pamphlet comprising of menstrual cycle information (control condition) before reporting their knowledge of menstrual cycle facts and own cycle knowledge. After having the pamphlet or Flo premium for two months, participants again reported their knowledge of menstrual cycle facts and own cycle knowledge. Results revealed women who used the Flo app gained more knowledge about their own menstrual cycle between survey 1 and survey 2, but women who received the pamphlet had no differences in their own cycle knowledge between survey 1 and survey 2. However, there were no differences in knowledge of menstrual cycle facts across time or between groups. Therefore, these findings suggest that menstrual cycle apps can improve women’s knowledge about their own bodies, but may not act as a tool for understanding facts about the menstrual cycle.

TBRI Practitioner Training Improvement Feedback

Type: Undergraduate
Author(s): Ava McConnell Psychology Carla Ayala Psychology Paige Hassel Psychology Norah Melton Psychology
Advisor(s): Carla Ayala Psychology Erin Razuri Psychology

TBRI Practitioner Training Improvement Feedback

Type: Undergraduate
Author(s): Norah Melton Psychology Carla Ayala Psychology Paige Hassel Psychology Ava McConnell Psychology
Advisor(s): Carla Ayala Psychology Erin Razuri Psychology

Trust-Based Relational Intervention® (TBRI) is an emerging therapeutic intervention technique for professionals working with children and youth who have experienced trauma, providing evidence-based strategies to address complex developmental needs. TBRI Practitioner Training is a key way that the Karyn Purvis Institute of Child Development equips professionals with strategies to support children's developmental potential and continue to expand the use of TBRI. Optimizing TBRI practitioner training to be impactful and accessible as participant needs change remains an ongoing challenge. This exploratory study examines participant feedback from TBRI practitioner training sessions to identify opportunities for improvement across delivery formats and content areas. The current study includes participants who were accepted into TBRI Practitioner Training from 2021-2024 (n = 1,907). The study utilizes data collected through a feedback survey sent out at the conclusion of the training. Thematic analysis and year-to-year comparisons of quantitative and qualitative data reveal several constructive themes including the importance of networking and the benefit of mentor groups. The survey highlights necessary changes needed to fit the changing needs of participants as time goes on and standards evolve. This research offers a vigorous foundation for data-driven improvements to TBRI practitioner training that align with evolving professional needs and delivery preferences.

The Effects of Interparental Marital Conflict on College Student Mental Health

Type: Undergraduate
Author(s): Madison Milligan Psychology
Advisor(s): Naomi Ekas Psychology

Marital conflict is a key factor in the quality of marriages (Gottman & Levenson, 1992; Kiecolt-Glaser et al., 2005), and research shows that it is also pertinent to child functioning, affecting the mental health and behavioral outcomes of the children of marital partners (Buehler et al., 2009; O’Leary & Vidair, 2005; Tavassolie et al., 2016). Most of the past research examining the relationships between marital conflict and child functioning has examined couples with a child in the developmental stages of childhood and adolescence, with little research observing effects beyond adolescence. Emerging adulthood is a developmental period between the ages of 18-25 and is a crucial stage in the development of emotion regulation and suppression (Arnett, 2007; Zimmermann & Iwanski, 2014). Despite this, there is a lack of research observing the effects that marital conflict may have on the children of marital partners in emerging adulthood, a gap that the current study seeks to fill. The current study had three goals. First, it examined the association between parental marital conflict and the mental health outcomes of emerging adults, exploring whether specific conflict resolution strategies differentially influenced mental health outcomes. Second, it examined how parental reports of marital satisfaction relate to reports of marital conflict and strategy use and how these reports relate to emerging adult mental health outcomes. Finally, it aimed to add to existing research on discrepancies between mother, father, and child reports of marital conflict. The current study included 176 emerging adults (18-25 years old) and 163 of their parents, of which 90 were mothers and 73 were fathers. The children answered a series of questionnaires about their self-esteem, anxiety, depression, and their parents’ marital conflict. The parents answered a series of self-report questionnaires about their marital conflict, their marital satisfaction, and their and their partners’ resolution strategies. The results of the study have not yet been analyzed.

Examining Trauma-Informed Attitudes, Knowledge, and Rape Myth Acceptance Among Police Officers

Type: Undergraduate
Author(s): Katie Nguyen Psychology
Advisor(s): Danica Knight Psychology

There has been limited research evaluating Rape Myth Acceptance (RMA) in police officers. However, previous research has suggested that although low levels of RMA have been found among police officers, specific myths such as victim credibility, are still prevalent. The endorsement of specific myths can be impactful as they can influence victim-blaming attitudes and case progression, along with reinforcing negative rape stereotypes (Sleath & Bull, 2017). Police officer's trainings have been held to address rape misconceptions; however, the long-term effectiveness of these trainings remain unclear (Darwinkel et al. 2013);(Sleath & Bull, 2017). As trauma informed-care has begun to emerge in the field of policing, there is a need for further research on how trauma-informed attitudes influence RMA in police officers (Lathan et al., 2019). The study aims to address (1) how RMA scores differ from police officers that have trauma-informed knowledge versus police officers who do not, and (2) the difference in attitudes towards trauma-informed care among officers who have trauma-informed knowledge versus those that do not. This study includes secondary data collected from a previous study recruiting police officers from across the state of Texas. A total of 108 police officers voluntarily completed the online Qualtrics survey that assessed their trauma-informed knowledge, attitudes towards trauma-informed care, and rape myth acceptance. Two t-tests were conducted to examine the differences between (1) trauma-informed knowledge and rape myth acceptance, and (2) trauma-informed knowledge and attitudes towards trauma-informed care. This study provides informative insights about the relationship between trauma-informed knowledge, trauma-informed attitudes, and rape myth accepts among police officers, which overall emphasizes the need for the continuous implementation of trauma-informed care in police officers.

Dilemmas of Morality: How Ethical Perspectives Drive Decision-Making

Type: Undergraduate
Author(s): Amanda Ochranek Psychology Paris Hayes Psychology Will Komar Psychology Adelaide Lovett Psychology Hailey Stuart Psychology
Advisor(s): Timothy Barth Psychology Kevin Diegel Psychology

Moral decision-making is influenced by a range of ethical perspectives; yet little is known about how the more nuanced perspectives impact people's response to different moral dilemmas. The present study examines the predictive power of six ethical perspectives—Utilitarianism, Rights, Justice/Fairness, Common Good, Virtue, and Care—when predicting decision outcomes among 20 dilemmas divided into Sacrificial-Personal (SP), Sacrificial-Impersonal (SI), Contemporary-Personal (CP), and Contemporary-Impersonal (CI) types. Participants in the study comprised two different groups: Study 1 (N = 210) consisted of a sample of college students recruited through TCU’s Psychology Participant Pool, while Study 2 (N = 501) consisted of a general population sample recruited through CloudResearch.
The results indicate that contextual as well as population-specific characteristics drive ethical decision-making. Utilitarian ideals notably predicted the acceptance of sacrificial-impersonal situations, emphasizing the need to maximize group welfare. In contrast, Virtue and Care ethics were inversely related to sacrificial-personal choices, suggesting aversion to causing direct harm. Justice/Fairness and Rights-based ethics exhibited increased relevance in contemporary policy issues, echoing concerns for equity and individual rights. Study 2 also revealed that demographic variables of age, gender, political ideology, and religious affiliation contributed to ethical inclinations: young liberals exhibited a proclivity for Utilitarian and Justice/Fairness ideals, while older, conservative, and religious individuals preferred Virtue-based considerations.
The results highlight persistent disparities in moral judgment within various categories of dilemmas and demographic groups, depicting the effects of context-specific factors along with individual characteristics on ethical decision making. The findings provide additional insight into the workings of ethical perspectives within real-life moral dilemmas and policy decision making.

Existential Isolation and Dehumanization

Type: Undergraduate
Author(s): Rylie Owens Psychology Matthew Espinosa Psychology
Advisor(s): Cathy Cox Psychology

This study explored the relationship between existential isolation (EI) and dehumanization. Studies have shown existential isolation, or feeling alone in one’s experience, is associated with deficits in personal well-being, such as feelings of loneliness, depression and anxiety, and lower levels of self-esteem. Other forms of isolation, such as social ostracism, have been associated with feelings of dehumanization, perceiving oneself or others as being “subhuman” or lacking essential human attributes. Given these associations, we wanted to test whether greater levels of EI were positively associated with dehumanizing perceptions. Across three studies surveying undergraduate students and adults, we found significant evidence of an association between high EI and greater self-dehumanization (perceiving oneself as subhuman), greater meta-dehumanization (perceiving others as subhuman), and lower moral goodness.

Sex Differences in Emotion Regulation and Impulsivity: Implications for Youth in the Legal System and Family Dynamics

Type: Undergraduate
Author(s): Olivia Pisaneschi Psychology
Advisor(s): Danica Knight Psychology Lillyan Shelley Psychology

Research indicates that sex differences are evident in most emotion regulation strategies including impulsivity, as measured by higher delayed discounting, even when controlling for substance use. Impulsivity, linked to deficits in self-control and delayed discounting, contributes to substance use and risk-taking behavior, with emotion dysregulation further reinforcing these patterns in youth. However, protective factors like parental support and monitoring can mitigate impulsivity by fostering moral reasoning and self-regulation, which encompasses emotion regulation, reducing risk of delinquency. A deeper understanding of emotion regulation and impulsivity can inform the development of more effective, tailored interventions for all youth in the legal system (YLS), focusing on self-control deficits and risk behaviors. This study examined sex-based variations in impulsivity and emotion regulation among YLS, while also looking at their link to substance use and family dynamics. Data utilized were from an ongoing 5-year longitudinal project with YLS. Hypotheses were tested through independent t-tests and Pearson’s correlation analyses. Despite prior research with adult samples, findings indicated no significant sex differences in emotion dysregulation or delayed discounting among YLS. Correlation analyses revealed significant associations between family functioning, emotional regulation, and substance use. Specifically, emotional regulation difficulties correlated with poorer family functioning, which was also linked to higher substance use. These results may suggest that future interventions can apply similar strategies for both males and females; however, they should consider the role of family functioning in emotional regulation to mitigate impulsive behaviors and risk of delinquency.

Comparing Different Methods for Assessing Substance Use Post-Release Among Justice-Involved Youth

Type: Graduate
Author(s): Brianna Pitz Psychology Danica Knight Psychology Kevin Knight Psychology Yang Yang Psychology
Advisor(s): Yang Yang Psychology

Substance use is a pervasive issue in adolescents, and justice-involved youth are at a heightened risk of SU compared to the general youth population. Monitoring individual SU trajectory such as initiation, escalation of use, progression, and reductions is important for identifying key prevention and intervention opportunities. There are tools to assess SU in youth populations, but little research has been conducted to compare these assessments in terms of how they accommodate sporadicity of SU within various time frames. This study compared two self-reported measures for post-release SU—Timeline Follow-Back (TLFB) and Substance Use Involvement Scale (SUIS)—within youth who were recently released from secure residential facilities. The aims of this study are to examine the differences between TLFB and SUIS in (1) alcohol and cannabis use (yes/no), (2) the cumulative number of days of alcohol and cannabis use, and (3) the average daily use frequency for youth who have initiated alcohol and cannabis use post-release. This study used a subsample of 89 youth who reported post-release SU. Results revealed that (1) SUIS reported significantly greater number of youth that indicated alcohol and cannabis use (ps ≤ .001) than TLFB, (2) SUIS and TLFB did not differ in cumulative number of days of cannabis use (p = .40), but SUIS recorded a significantly greater number of days of alcohol use than TLFB (p ≤ .001), and (3) SUIS reported significantly greater average frequency of use per day for both cannabis and alcohol use (ps ≤ .001) compared to TLFB. TLFB provided more in-depth results for individual participants’ SU patterns including date of initiation post-release and day-by-day frequencies of use compared to SUIS. Despite TLFB’s advantages, additional strategies are needed to optimize the intensive process of data capturing and to support the external validity for capturing long-term SU. SUIS adequately captured data for sporadic SU without an overwhelming amount of data that worked well for comparing broad patterns of SU. These findings collectively show the importance of TLFB and SUIS measures in addressing different research goals.

Examining Provider Views on Barriers to Delivering Prevention and Treatment of HIV and OUD Services for Individuals with Justice Involvement

Type: Undergraduate
Author(s): Angela Rique Psychology Kevin Knight Psychology Jen Pankow Psychology
Advisor(s): Jen Pankow Psychology Kevin Knight Psychology

Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) and HIV are both critical and interconnected public health issues, particularly among individuals who are justice-involved. Individuals under community supervision face significant obstacles in accessing the prevention and treatment services necessary for both OUD and HIV. Although harm reduction strategies such as Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) for OUD and pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV prevention have proven effective, these interventions remain underutilized and difficult to access. This research explores barriers to service delivery that service providers face in delivering OUD and HIV care to justice-involved individuals with substance use disorder. Qualitative analysis of data sourced from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)-funded study, Addressing Risk through Community Treatment for Infectious Disease and Opioid Use Disorder Now (ACTION) was coded with deductive methods. By identifying systemic, structural, and social barriers, the study aims to understand the challenges that affect care delivery. Key findings included stigma surrounding PrEP, lack of awareness about available services, delays in ART (anti-retroviral treatment) initiation, transportation barriers, judicial resistance to MAT and punitive legal approach to OUD. Addressing these barriers is essential to improving health outcomes and reducing the impact of HIV and OUD in justice-involved individuals, drawing on service provider insights to inform future policy changes.

Survival and seduction: Understanding the adaptive link between threat and sexual openness

Type: Undergraduate
Author(s): Kaylee Sanchez Psychology Melissa Brillhart Psychology
Advisor(s): Sarah Hill Psychology

For much of human evolutionary history, women have relied on their men for direct benefits like resources and protection. Importantly, men are unlikely to provide these benefits without receiving something in return. One potential strategy women may use to secure these resources is offering men sexual access in exchange for investment. Given that sex is a highly valuable resource for men, as their reproductive success largely depends on the number of women who are willing to grant him sexual access, they should be willing to accept obtaining sexual access in exchange for their investment. For women in harsh environments, having an investing male figure is particularly crucial to survival. As such, we should expect that women’s sexual openness may vary depending on whether they are in a stable or harsh environment as being more sexually open may be advantageous for women who are in harsh environments. Thus, the present research aims to examine the impact of environmental harshness on women’s sexual openness. We predict that women who are in harsh environments will be more sexually open than women who are in stable environments. Data are forthcoming.

Beliefs About Emotion and Emotion Regulation Goals

Type: Undergraduate
Author(s): Vladyslav Shelashskyi Psychology Cathy Cox Psychology
Advisor(s): Cathy Cox Psychology

Emotion regulation capability is a major contributor to various areas of functioning, including well-being and mental health(citation). Previous research (Rusk et al., 2011) shows that people differ on how motivated they are to demonstrate their ability to control their emotions (performance goals) and how motivated they are to learn to control their emotions better (learning goals). The current study explored the relationship between beliefs about controllability and usefulness of emotions and how much the participants endorsed higher performance and learning emotion regulation goals. The study also explored how emotion regulation goals and emotion beliefs correlated with various indicators of well-being. The initial correlational study showed that believing emotions can be controlled moderately predicted higher performance-avoidance goals for emotion regulation, while believing that emotions were generally useful had a weak negative association with learning emotion regulation goals. Additionally, higher emotion controllability beliefs, as well as higher performance-avoidance goals, predicted lower well-being. A second study was conducted to assess the causal relationship between emotion controllability beliefs and performance-avoidance emotion regulation goals.

Changes in Wellness Among Women Who Discontinue Using Hormonal Birth Control

Type: Undergraduate
Author(s): Adison Sokolosky Psychology Melissa Brillhart Psychology
Advisor(s): Sarah Hill Psychology

Research looking at the association between hormonal birth control and mental health outcomes has primarily looked at what happens to women when they start using hormonal birth control. However, researchers have not begun to delve deep into the influence of discontinuing hormonal birth control on women’s mental health outcomes. Therefore, this study aimed to address this gap in the literature by investigating mental health outcomes of those who have discontinued hormonal birth control. Participants included women who had never used hormonal birth control (HBC), were currently using hormonal birth control, or had discontinued using hormonal birth control. All participants answered survey questions related to their current mental health outcomes. Results revealed that there were no differences in trait anxiety between never HBC users, current HBC users, or previous HBC users. However, there were differences in depression levels among the groups, such that individuals who had never used HBC reported higher levels of depression than previous HBC users. Therefore, these findings suggest that hormonal birth control usage may act as a neuroprotective intervention against depression during a developmentally critical time in which mood disorders commonly arise.

A Zebra Finch's Lateral Eye View of Self Recognition: Studying Cognition Through Songs and Mirror

Type: Undergraduate
Author(s): Maria Solis Psychology Andrew Magee Psychology
Advisor(s): Brenton Cooper Psychology

Self-recognition is a key indicator of higher cognitive processing and is atypical in children with autism spectrum disorder. A normal hallmark of typical social development requires knowledge of self and others. Self-recognition has been tested in a variety of different species and has been seen in a small number of mammals, birds, and fish. It is classically demonstrated by visual recognition using the mirror mark test. Parishar et al. (2021) previously examined self-recognition in zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata), and despite some potentially promising findings, none of the birds in their experiments passed the mirror mark test. This study sought to extend previous research by exploring whether zebra finches demonstrate self-recognition using a more thorough and exhaustive procedure exposing zebra finches to a mirror following the application of visible mark. Six male zebra finches were habituated to an experimental cage and were exposed to four different conditions (mirror, male bird, female bird, control). Then, two analyses were performed: Experiment 1 examined whether zebra finches change the spectrotemporal features of song in each of the four conditions, and Experiment 2 assessed whether birds attempted to inspect or remove a mark only visible when birds viewed their reflection in a mirror in each condition. Observations suggest that some birds may show attention towards the mark test because as seen by mark-directed behavior. Song characteristics will be explored to determine if zebra finches modify their song structure when facing a mirror compared to singing to a male bird, a female bird, or an empty cage (control). This would provide evidence supporting self-recognition if the singing behavior directed toward the mirror is distinct from that toward a conspecific. This study explores whether self-recognition is observed in zebra finches, providing insight into evolutionary and cognitive mechanisms of self-recognition that can be used for future studies in the neurobiology of social and cognitive behaviors.

Existential Isolation and Its Impact on Empathy and Perspective Taking

Type: Undergraduate
Author(s): Emily Spinning Psychology Cathy Cox Psychology Matthew Espinosa Psychology
Advisor(s): Cathy Cox Psychology

Existential Isolation and Its Impact on Empathy and Perspective Taking

Existential Isolation (EI) is the experience of feeling as though you are alone in your experience of the world; and that those around you do not share or understand your experiences. Past research demonstrates that EI is associated with negative influences on personal well-being including: loneliness, depression, anxiety, and lower levels of self-esteem. The impact of EI on our interactions or perceptions of others is less known and understood. Individuals that feel existentially isolated perceive a disconnect between how they experience the world and how others experience the world. Due to this disconnect, people with higher levels of EI may have difficulty taking the perspective of others or “walking in someone else’s shoes”. Perspective taking is a vital cognitive factor for feeling empathetic towards others. To explore if EI is associated with less empathy for others due to a difficulty in perspective taking, 186 undergraduate students were presented with three short stories depicting someone experiencing stress (e.g., recently experienced the death of a parent), and asked to try taking the perspective of the people in the stories. Results indicated that people who reported greater feelings of EI also reported greater difficulty with perspective taking and, subsequently, reported feeling less empathy for the people in the stories. These findings suggest that EI may inhibit people’s feelings of empathy due to increasing their difficulty with perspective taking. The implications of these findings for the role of EI in helping and supporting behaviors are discussed.

Existential Isolation and Its Impact on Empathy and Perspective Taking

Type: Undergraduate
Author(s): Emily Spinning Psychology Cathy Cox Psychology Matthew Espinosa Psychology
Advisor(s): Cathy Cox Psychology

Existential Isolation and Its Impact on Empathy and Perspective Taking

Type: Undergraduate
Author(s): Psychology
Advisor(s): Cathy Cox Psychology

The Independent Relationships Between Emotion Dysregulation and Anxiety on Marijuana Use for Youth in the Legal System

Type: Undergraduate
Author(s): Jessie Swartz Psychology Danica Knight Psychology Lillyan Shelley Psychology
Advisor(s): Danica Knight Psychology

In conjunction with the legalization of medical marijuana, there has been an increase in recreational marijuana use among youth. In 2016, marijuana use for youth in the legal system (YLS) hit a high of 64%, which far exceeded the 11% rate for youth outside the legal system. Youth that frequently or occasionally use marijuana are linked to adverse health problems, including both physical and emotional, and have poor school outcomes. Prior research has found that youth who use marijuana are more susceptible to emotional dysregulation and higher levels of anxiety. Higher anxiety levels have been linked to greater marijuana use, more significant anxiety symptoms, and increases in anxiety over time. This is concerning as research shows that youth with higher levels of anxiety sensitivity, or fear of anxiety, used marijuana to detach or manage emotional distress. Due to the risks associated with cannabis use, this study examined marijuana use among a sample of YLS, specifically looking at its connection to both emotion dysregulation and anxiety. Data were utilized over three timepoints (i.e., baseline, 3-month follow-up, and 6-month follow-up) from a 5-year longitudinal study. Consistent with prior research, it is expected that there would be a positive relationship between anxiety and marijuana use, as well as emotion dysregulation and marijuana use. Utilizing Pearson’s correlations, results indicated a significant negative relationship between marijuana use and the emotion dysregulation subscale of nonacceptance at baseline. However, there were no significant relationship between marijuana use and anxiety. At month 3 follow-up, there were significant positive relationships between marijuana use and anxiety, as well as marijuana use and emotion dysregulation for total scores and the nonacceptance subscale. At the month 6 follow-up, results indicated a positive relationship between marijuana use and anxiety. However, there was no longer a significant relationship between marijuana use and emotion dysregulation. These preliminary results suggest there is a complicated relationship between emotion dysregulation and anxiety when it comes to marijuana use. Future research should continue examining these relationships to better inform intervention work.

Bleeding Votes: The power of period imagery in politics.

Type: Graduate
Author(s): Bao Han Tran Psychology Cathy Cox Psychology
Advisor(s): Cathy Cox Psychology

Menstruation is stigmatized in many areas of society, often leading to distancing behavior and increased objectification of women. This is commonly reflected in the widespread use of euphemisms, or metaphors, for menstruation. According to conceptual metaphor theory, a society is shaped by the metaphors it adopts. When menstruation metaphors are used in a political context, it raises questions about whether their harmful connotations affect political appeal and broader societal implications. This study explores the power of menstrual metaphors in political attack ads, specifically focussing on the “Tampon Tim” campaign. Participants were randomly assigned to view one of three political ads (i.e., metaphor, non-metaphor, and neutral) and answer questions about ad appeal and individual differences. Results support our hypothesis that menstruation metaphors influence political opinions.

Increasing PrEP Access for Black Women: The Role of Beauty Professionals in HIV Prevention Education

Type: Graduate
Author(s): Stephanie Villaire Psychology Sakina Ghafoor Psychology Savannah Hastings Psychology Quinceola Reid Psychology
Advisor(s): Kevin Knight Psychology Pamela Carey Psychology Randi Proffittt Psychology

Among women in Texas, Black women account for 56% of new HIV infections. However, Black individuals receive only 14% of prescriptions for PrEP, a medication that prevents HIV transmission. In an effort to increase PrEP uptake among Black women, the Beauty Shop Study engages beauty professionals as trusted community members, equipping them to provide sexual health education to their clients. Clients are then connected with the TCU Mobile Health Unit for service delivery and/or referral coordination. In the initial phase, the study collected Beauty Shop Study needs assessment data from 32 beauty professionals in North Texas, exploring their experiences discussing sexual health and related topics with their clients. The current study will present these findings to highlight community readiness and the importance of the Beauty Shop Study.

The anxiety acceptance paradox: State of surrender reduces anxiety sensitivity via distress tolerance

Type: Undergraduate
Author(s): Michael Wrucke Psychology
Advisor(s): Thomas Sease Psychology Cathy Cox Psychology

Problem: Anxiety Sensitivity (AS) refers to the fear of anxiety related feelings and their consequences and is observed at high levels in those with anxiety and panic disorders (Olatunji & Wolitzky-Taylor, 2009). These individuals oftentimes have a propensity to detect changes in bodily sensations and interpret them as negative or catastrophic, creating a positive feedback loop that predicts panic attacks and maladaptive coping behaviors such as avoidance (Schmidt et al., 1997; Berman et al., 2010).

Mindfulness has been shown to be a promising intervention in reducing anxiety sensitivity (Alimedhi et al., 2016). While the exact mechanism is unclear, mindfulness is designed to create an attitude of acceptance which may allow one to notice bodily sensations without judgement. State of Surrender (SoS), while distinct from mindfulness, promotes a similar acceptance and refers to one’s ability to accept what is to come without resistance and to relinquish control (Sease et al., 2024). SoS is an important construct in acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), which has been shown to reduce anxiety sensitivity, although the research is limited (Aghel Masjedi et al., 2020).

No current research has examined the effects of SoS on anxiety sensitivity. First, an exploratory analysis was conducted examining the relationship between SoS and anxiety sensitivity, as well as other variables that may affect the relationship, such as distress tolerance and difficulty in emotion regulation. This study was used to

Method: Participants (N = 263) were recruited using CloudResearch MTurk Toolkit from Amazon Mechanical Turk, and completed an online survey which included state of surrender (short SoS scale), anxiety sensitivity (ASI-3), distress tolerance (DTS), difficulty in emotion regulation (DERS-16), trait anxiety (STAI-Y), arousal predisposition (APS), and demographics. Pearson’s r correlations were conducted to examine the relationship between variables and mediation analysis was used to build a model.

Results: While the results showed no significant correlation between SoS and anxiety sensitivity, exploratory post-hoc analysis revealed that distress tolerance (absorption dimension, specifically) was found to be a significant mediator between SoS and anxiety sensitivity, such that SoS was a positive predictor of distress tolerance absorption, which in turn, was a negative predictor of anxiety sensitivity.

Conclusions: The results revealed a significant mediational model in which distress tolerance absorption mediates the relationship between SoS and anxiety sensitivity. Distress tolerance absorption refers to one’s ability to experience negative emotions without allowing the feelings to absorb their attention, and has been shown to be enhanced by mindfulness practice (Cougle et al., 2013; Nila et al., 2016). However, the effects of SoS have not been studied. Further research is warranted, as the model would prove meaningful if a causal mechanism could be determined experimentally, in that relinquishing control leads to an ability to experience negative emotions without absorbing one’s attention, which in turn, decreases catastrophic appraisal of anxiety related sensations. Broader implications may include the use of ACT to reduce anxiety sensitivity.

Effects of Sensory Modality in a Visual Working Memory Task in Pigeons

Type: Undergraduate
Author(s): Hampton Zidlicky Psychology Ashley Kyle Psychology John Solorzano Restrepo Psychology Brianna Vaughan Psychology
Advisor(s): Kenneth Leising Psychology

Prior research has found that visual cues presented before (pre) or after (retro) an object improve object properties recognition, like identity (what it is) and spatial location (where it is), in humans (Griffin & Nobre, 2003) and monkeys (Brady & Hampton, 2018). However, this has not yet been tested in other species or using other cue modalities (e.g., auditory). The current experiment will analyze the effect of visual and auditory cues on object recognition in 6 pigeons, explicitly examining how these cues influence identity and spatial location processing in a visual working memory task.

Pigeons will perform a change detection task,in a Plexiglas chamber with a monitor, touch screen, and speakers. In each trial, the subject will peck a white crosshair on the center of the screen to start. After 1500 ms, a sample pair of colored circles will appear on the left and right sides of the screen for 5000 ms. After a 1500 ms delay, a test stimulus will be displayed on the screen’s left or right side. Pigeons must compare the test stimulus to the sample previously presented on the same side of the screen. During some trials, pigeons will receive pre- or retro-cue signaling which sample stimulus will be tested (e.g., the one displayed on the left). For half of the pigeons, the cues will be different frequency sounds (auditory group), and for the rest, colored backgrounds (visual group). It is predicted that the auditory group will have higher accuracy than the visual group, suggesting auditory cues may enhance recognition of visual objects more than visual cues.

Exploring the effects of a comprehensive Mediterranean diet verses a typical American diet on spatial memory and behavior in C57BL/6J mice

Type: Undergraduate
Author(s): Hatice Buse Uras Psychology Paige Braden Kuhle Psychology Taylor Ferguson Biology Logun Gunderson Psychology Vivienne Lacy Biology Sarah Grace White Psychology
Advisor(s): Michael Chumley Biology Gary Boehm Psychology
Location: Third Floor, Table 1, Position 2, 11:30-1:30

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia and affects over 6 million Americans 65 and older. In the absence of a cure, addressing modifiable risk factors could potentially reduce the risk of AD development. There is an established relationship between diet and AD risk. For example, studies in rodents found that highly processed Western diets are associated with cognitive impairment and increased amyloid-beta in the hippocampus, a brain region critical for learning and memory. Conversely, plant-based diets like the Mediterranean diet (MD) have been shown to protect against cognitive impairment.

A key limitation in the scientific literature is that most animal studies have only examined the effects of extremely high-fat WD (providing over 40-60% kcal from fat), or a MD with only one or two key nutritional components. We aimed to fill a gap in the literature by designing a rodent diet that mimicked the typical American diet (TAD), rather than an exaggerated WD, and a macronutrient-matched MD. C57BL/6J mice were weaned onto one of the two diets at postnatal day 21. Following six months of diet, we conducted behavioral tests, including open field, elevated zero, and object-location memory task (OLMT). In comparison to the MD, mice consuming the TAD had decreased locomotor activity and exploratory behavior, increased anxiety-like behavior, and reduced spatial memory.

Stereotypy and Variability Predict Interruptibility of Zebra Finch Song

Type: Undergraduate
Author(s): Rima Abram Psychology Andrew Magee Psychology
Advisor(s): Brenton Cooper Psychology
Location: Third Floor, Table 10, Position 1, 1:45-3:45

Motor preparation deficits are a feature of many neurological disorders in humans. Developing animal models to study deficits in motor preparation is essential to explore the potential therapeutic treatment avenues. Preparation for motor actions involves neural pathways that facilitate neuromuscular planning. In male zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata), song production is controlled by a system of brain areas that are analogous to those areas in humans controlling human speech and language. Neural activity in many of these brain areas precedes the execution of song motor sequences. We aimed to differentiate preparatory motor periods from song execution by interrupting female-directed and song produced in isolation (undirected song) with white noise playback. The amplitude and duration of the white noise was systematically varied along with the timing of playback occurring during song. Song respiratory motor gestures were measured in six birds experiencing the noise disruption events. Transition entropy analyses revealed increased variability in syllable progression in the presence of playback compared to undirected song without playback (control condition). There were significant differences in the frequencies of interruption, continuation, and termination for each syllable of directed and undirected song with playback compared to baseline (Χ2, ps < .05). We observed higher rates of interruption and motif disruption during introductory notes and early syllables as well as later syllables within a song motif. Ascertaining patterns of stereotypy and variability in zebra finch vocalizations can elucidate deficits in motor planning that contribute to autism spectrum disorder, speech apraxia, and other clinical disorders.