Frustration is a complex emotional state that occurs when reward expectations are violated. In animals, this can involve a variety of different types of rewards such as food, shelter, or access to mates. When an animal learns to expect a certain reward and that reward is of lesser quality or quantity than expected, the animal will reject the reward and experience a bout of negative emotion known as frustration. This behavior is often modeled in the lab in a paradigm known as consummatory successive negative contrast (cSNC) and involves training rats to expect a high value sucrose solution (32%) and then downshifting them to a lower value sucrose solution (2%). As a result of this downshift, consummatory behavior is shown to be suppressed beyond that of unshifted controls. To better understand the brain circuitry behind this response, neural activity of several key brain areas was assessed after a 32-2% sucrose downshift with additional 32-32% and 2-2% controls using immunohistochemistry. More specifically, the protein c-Fos, which is expressed in recently depolarized neurons and can therefore act as a proxy for neural activity, was quantified in brain areas relating to reward processing, emotion regulation, and action coordination. The results show several areas that are activated and correlate with one another during downshift. These data provide the groundwork for establishing a connectome of brain areas that are activated during cSNC and are essential to frustration.

As our world is becoming more globally connected, the ability to speak another language is increasingly becoming a valuable skill. While there are training programs to help acquire a new novel language, this task becomes increasingly difficult with age– thus presenting the need for a novel method of intervention to assist in this process. Considering this increasing difficulty, a new biologically based intervention could be valuable for improving learning and memory. Previous research conducted in our lab has shown that noninvasive transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) is an effective intervention in memory-based reading comprehension (Thakkar et al., 2023). TaVNS has also been shown to boost associative memory (Jacobs et al., 2015), spatial working memory (Sun et al., 2021), and emotional memory (Ventura-Bort et al., 2021). Despite this knowledge, little is known about taVNS and its effects on long-lasting language retention. Thus, this current study explores whether transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation can improve learning and retention of a new and novel language when paired with a training routine. Typically developing college-aged individuals were recruited through an online participant pool. All individuals were screened for age, IQ, reading, memory, and attention for inclusion in this study. The participants completed a one-hour training session in which they were presented with 30 Palauan nouns, the respective English translations, and images of the nouns. During this time, the participants received sham, 5 Hz, or 25 Hz stimulation to the posterior of the left tragus. Prior to training, participants completed a translation test to measure their knowledge of the Palauan language, and this test was repeated immediately after training and again seven days later to measure learning and retention. After analysis of the results, no effect was found for any stimulation group immediately after training. At retention, however, the 25 Hz taVNS group showed significantly greater performance than both the sham and 5 Hz taVNS groups. There was also no statistical difference between the performance of the sham and 5 Hz taVNS groups..These data suggest that taVNS may be used to help in the retention of novel words of a new language. The results further suggest that stimulation frequency may impact efficacy of the intervention. These data will be important for ongoing research examining the uses of taVNS, and its use as an intervention for learning and retention of a new language, and in other areas of cognition.

Previous research finds that people are perceived as naïve and socially submissive when expressing fear. The outward expression of this emotion is thought to function to elicit prosocial responses from others. However, no work has examined whether fearful expressions are also perceived as an opportunity for exploitation in environments which favor opportunistic responding such as harsh, low resource environments. The current research was designed to examine 1) the perceived opportunities posed by fearful individuals, and 2) whether the presence of someone from a harsh environment leads individuals to suppress, rather than express, their fear. In two studies, participants were randomly assigned to evaluate the opportunities for exploitation posed by a person expressing either fear or no emotion. In a third study, participants were randomly assigned to view a fear inducing video from a horror movie or a neutral video from a nature documentary. Participants then disclosed to a bogus study partner (from a harsh or benign environment) the degree of fear they felt while watching the video. Results revealed that fearful individuals are perceived as posing more of an opportunity for exploitation than individuals expressing no emotion. Additionally, being in the presence of an individual from a harsh environment was associated with reduced fear expression after watching a scary video. These results suggest that the expression of fear may be risky under certain contexts.

Anticipatory nostalgia is when one misses the present before it has even passed and through previous research, is said to reduce psychological well-being (Batcho, 2020). This mentality of “missing out” is related to difficulty in enjoying the present (Batcho and Shikh, 2016). High anticipatory nostalgia, then, will be associated with decreased levels of present-moment awareness, thus increasing levels of anxiety and depression. 210 TCU students completed seven different self-assessment measures related to psychological well-being in a randomized order. The results indicated that high anticipatory nostalgia was associated with greater chances of developing depression, anxiety, a search for meaning, and negative effect. High anticipatory nostalgia was additionally associated with lower rates of life satisfaction, meaning presence, and optimism. In all, the results supported the hypothesis that anticipatory nostalgia is related to lower psychological and emotional well-being. This research can overall help individuals understand the emotional complexity of nostalgia and how it manifests in health and well-being.

Data suggests that the number of unplanned pregnancies is still high among college students. (Sutton & Walsh-Buhi, 2017). Socioeconomic status (SES) and racial/ethnic factors influence contraceptive usage, and lack of knowledge about contraception can lead to inconsistent use of birth control. Research suggests that contraceptive knowledge amongst college students is low or moderate (Carter et al., 2012). Using the Integrated Model of Behavioral Predictions (Sutton & Walsh-Buhi, 2017), the current study seeks to explore the impact of a person’s perceived SES on their attitudes toward contraceptive usage. Texas Christian University (TCU) students were recruited on campus (N = 50) and asked to complete a brief online survey via Qualtrics. We hypothesized that individuals who perceive themselves as having lower SES will have more negative attitudes towards utilizing contraceptives. Little evidence was found to support this hypothesized relationship. However, greater contraceptive knowledge was found to be associated with more positive contraceptive attitudes. These results should encourage efforts that increase contraceptive knowledge among college students, such as by creating opportunities for sexual health education.

One known barrier to treatment initiation and retention is access to transportation. If an individual does not have public transportation, and they do not live nearby accessible clinics, this problem can become exacerbated. The current study aims to overlay maps of the Tarrant County public transportation system with maps of clinics across Tarrant County. The clinics examined include mental health clinics, HIV treatment clinics, and substance use treatment clinics. Results will be interpreted to determine the overlap between service deserts and transportation deserts. Findings will be discussed as they pertain to the impact of public transportation on medical service access, as well as directions for future research.

This presentation will explore the differences in trauma symptoms and self-efficacy ratings before and after participating in Hope Connection Camp 2.0. Current literature suggests that children who experience early life trauma are at a higher risk of developing emotional and behavioral challenges and can manifest in a child's physical, mental, and social wellbeing throughout their lifespan. While many therapeutic approaches focus on the individual aspects of a child to help children overcome early life trauma, TBRI is an attachment-based and trauma-informed approach that focuses on the whole child and their needs. Hope Connection Camp 2.0 is a therapeutic camp for adopted children and their families that utilizes TBRI to support each family's journey. The goal of the camp is for children and their families to build better relationships with each other, understand and meet each other's needs, and teach them how to regulate their behavior. This presentation will analyze the relationship between TBRI and adopted children's trauma symptoms and self-efficacy ratings prior to and after participating in the Hope Connection Camp 2.0.

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.

Animals can either be extrinsically motivated, where an external reward drives their behavior, or intrinsically motivated, where they are driven to engage in the behavior simply for the act itself. The overjustification hypothesis states that if an intrinsically motivated behavior is followed by the delivery of an external reward, the intrinsic motivation to engage in that same behavior is reduced. Lepper et al. (1973) found that children who expected to receive a certificate for drawing freely spent less time drawing (i.e., were less intrinsically motivated to draw) compared to children that unexpectedly received a certificate or did not receive one at all. The current study observed if the overjustification effect could occur in rats when using lever pressing as a measure of intrinsic motivation. For all rats, intrinsic motivation was measured in Phases 1 and 3 by the number of lever presses made by each rat in the absence of an extrinsic reward (chocolate food pellet). In Phase 2, Group Expected Reward (ER) received a reward for each lever press, Group Unexpected Reward (UR) received a reward based on a pseudorandom reinforcement schedule and Group No Reward (NR) received no reward. The overjustification hypothesis was not observed in this study; rather, both expected and unexpected reinforcement had no effect on intrinsic motivation on lever pressing behavior in rats.

In October and November of 2022, TCU’s Karyn Purvis Institute of Child Development hosted the Hope Connection 2.0 camp which is a trauma-informed, therapeutic intervention for adoptive families. Children in adoptive families often have histories of trauma which impacts many aspects of their lives. Sensory processing is the mechanism in the brain that manages incoming sensory information and is known to be affected by early experiences with trauma. The Hope Connection 2.0 camp is designed to address many of the effects of trauma, including sensory processing. This study evaluated the efficacy of the Hope Connection 2.0 camp at reducing sensory processing deficits and improving children’s ability to process sensory input. Ten families participated in the camp which took place over two weekends. Parents completed surveys providing information on their children’s capacity for sensory processing prior to attending camp and after attending the final session in November. The information gathered at each time point was then analyzed to determine the change in the child’s ability to process sensory information over time.

Much research finds that low socioeconomic status (SES) in childhood has a lasting impact on women’s psychosexual development and later sexual behavior. Women from harsh environments have been found to begin puberty earlier, have an earlier sexual debut, and have more sexual partners than women from less stressful, higher SES environments. However, little research has examined the psychological changes within individuals who grew up in low SES communities which would facilitate an accelerated mating strategy in response to stress. Do stressed women from low SES backgrounds show more sexual fluidity and more attraction to a range of gender identities than women who are not stressed out? The current work addresses this gap by first measuring participants’ baseline sexual fluidity and attraction to a range of gender identities through an online survey. Stress was then experimentally manipulated in single, undergraduate women. Participants were randomly assigned to either the stress condition or the control condition of the Trier Social Stress Test, before reporting their sexual fluidity and scope of gender inclusive attraction again. Psychological shifts in mating psychology were examined by assessing the changes in sexual fluidity and gender inclusive attraction before and after the stressor. Results revealed a relationship between experimentally manipulated stress exposure and shifts in mating psychology in women.

Stigma, or the negative social attitude towards an attribute of a perceived individual (American Psychological Association, 2023), could contribute to treatment avoidance among people experiencing problems related to their mental health. In a previous study, stigma towards mental health treatment had a negative impact on college students' willingness to see psychologists or psychiatrists (Komiya et al., 2000). The current study collected surveys from 59 college undergraduates to describe the internalized stigma felt by those with mental health disorders (MHDs) compared to the level of stigma reported by individuals without a MHD. Results indicated that participants with a diagnosed MHD were more likely ready for treatment than those with an undiagnosed MHD. Treatment readiness and social support were positively correlated, as was problem recognition and MHD stigma (n = 23; ps < .05). These results provide knowledge on how internalized and externalized stigma affects the willingness of individuals who are struggling with MHDs to receive treatment, which can be used to better inform the development of interventions and awareness programs.

The purpose of this study is to describe and compare the culturally perceived aspects of childhood, from pregnancy to adulthood, of four different countries. The elements of childhood included in this research relate to different attitudes towards and aspects of childhood events (e.g., childbirth, education, puberty), childhood milestones, rites of passage, and reaching adulthood. The four focus countries include France, the United States of America, India, and Kenya. To obtain data, 4-5 participants from each country were interviewed via Zoom, in-person, or by email. The objective of the research is to explore how childhood experiences vary in different communities and uncover common themes that appear in this period of life. Through these interviews, we (1) gain knowledge on how each country values children and childhood events, (2) step out of the expectations of the western world to evaluate how children globally are raised, and (3) discover common themes amongst various cultures in child rearing.

Humans, are capable of is finding a relationship between two objects that are otherwise unrelated based on similar shared relationships i.e. if A = B and B = C, then A = C. Despite not being told A = C, a person makes this inference by using their prior experiences and events in a relational network. Previous research has examined effects of learning strategies on this outcome, visualization. In a derived relational task referred to as the intraverbal naming task, participants are taught the names to various images, and then later taught certain names are related. Then participants are tested on the relationships between different pictures in a match to sample test (derived relations). In previous studies, participants who were instructed to visualize the images when taught the words pairs performed better at correctly identifying image relational pairs than non-instructed participants. However, in a recent study participants asked to engage in verbal mnemonics during the word pairing stage, performed equally as well as the visualization group in the match to sample test. The current study seeks further compare the effects of two different instructed behaviors, using more monitorable learning behaviors than previous studies. During the intraverbal phase, one group of participants will be instructed to draw images related to the word pairs; another group will be instructed to complete verbal mnemonic exercises on paper, and a third will receive instructions to simply copy the word pairs from the screen.

Previous research on life history theory has suggested that childhood environments characterized by low socioeconomic status (SES) and exposure to high levels of unpredictability reliably predict unhealthy eating and greater risk of obesity. While perhaps evolutionarily advantageous in adverse environments, disordered eating behaviors can contribute to obesity risk. For example, higher levels of environmental unpredictability and lower childhood SES predict less mindful eating and more eating in the absence of hunger (EAH) through its impact on body awareness. Furthermore, slower salivary habituation (i.e., decreasing salivation over time) to new foods has been displayed in obese individuals. These previous findings highlight a largely unexplored area addressing the biological mechanisms linking childhood environment and obesity. The current research aimed to explore whether childhood environment leads to EAH due to changes in salivary habituation. We hypothesized that individuals from low SES and highly unpredictable childhood environments would exhibit less salivary habituation to food stimuli. We tested this hypothesis using a sample of 116 female undergraduates. We began by measuring participants’ blood glucose levels to control for physiological hunger levels. Then, we measured participants’ saliva responses to baseline stimuli (0.5 ml water), habituating stimuli (lemon lollipops), and novel stimuli (green lollipops) over the course of 14 trials using the Strongin-Hinsie-Peck technique. In addition to measuring saliva production and blood glucose levels, participants also completed surveys assessing their childhood SES and childhood unpredictability. Consistent with our prediction, the results demonstrated that childhood SES significantly predicted levels of salivary habituation, such that higher levels of childhood SES were associated with greater salivary habituation. Overall, this suggests that women from lower childhood SES environments habituated to the food stimuli less than women from higher childhood SES environments. This relationship may explain why individuals from low childhood SES environments exhibit greater eating in the absence of hunger, and therefore, greater risk for obesity. We discuss the implications of these results in understanding how interactions between early life environments and evolutionary biology influence the development and progression of disordered eating behaviors.

Aim. This study aims to explore the feasibility, acceptability, appropriateness, and reliability of a new observational assessment tool - the Child and Adolescent Wellbeing Scale (CAWS), designed to evaluate socio-emotional health and attachment patterns in children and adolescents.
Background. There is significant interest in child trauma and interventions, and therefore a need for an assessment tool to assess child-level outcomes of trauma-informed interventions, care, and services. The CAWS was created to address this gap, providing a measure rooted in child-caregiver attachment and relational trauma. The CAWS is a 25-item scale with three subscales: Connection, Regulation, and Felt-Safety, which align with Bath’s Three Pillars of Trauma-Informed Care.
Method. Twenty mental health clinicians were trained to use the CAWS during two virtual sessions. Following training, each participant independently observed and rated 15 pre-recorded video interactions between children and their caregivers (totaling 300 independent ratings). Clinicians provided feedback on the CAWS instrument content and format after rating the videotaped interactions; validated measures were used to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and appropriateness of the instrument. Reliability estimates were calculated using the generalizability theory.
Results. Ninety-four percent of participants (95% white, 85% female, median age 40.5 years, 100% Master’s degree) reported that administering the CAWS was feasible (i.e., implementable, doable), 100% indicated it was acceptable (i.e., appealing, meets approval), and 100% indicated it was appropriate (i.e., suitable, applicable). Additionally, 100% of participants reported that they would likely use the CAWS in their practice. The CAWS demonstrated excellent inter-rater reliability overall (R1F = .82), was a reliable measurement of systematic change in children (Rc = .94), and reliability emphasized the stable individual difference between children (RKF = .98).
Conclusion. The current study demonstrates the CAWS as a promising evaluation tool with excellent reliability, feasibility, acceptability, and appropriateness. Additional studies should investigate the CAWS instrument's validity further, focusing on its applicability in field settings and its utility in measuring change over time.