ILLOWA 2006

(Archive copy)

 

CLICK HERE to Read Abstracts


Paper Sessions at a Glance

 

PAPER SESSION 1A: 9.00AM – 10.45AM

HALDEMAN-THIESSEN 110

COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY

 

 

TIME: 9.00AM

TITLE: Semantic Relatedness Decision Task: Suppression, Knowledge Activation, or Phonological and Orthographic skills

AUTHOR(S): Aimee Bequette

 

TIME: 9.15AM

TITLE: Distractions and Memory Performance

AUTHOR(S): Meleia Browning and James Tyrakowski

 

TIME: 9.30AM

TITLE: The Effect of Cell Phones in the Classroom

AUTHOR(S): Amanda Leah Zulas, Rachel Jeffers, Chavon Fairbanks, and Jeff Grainger

 

TIME: 9.45AM

TITLE: Recall with Auditory Distractions

AUTHOR(S): Erin Hall, Brian Camarata, Felicia Combs, and Michelle Martinez

 

TIME: 10.00AM

TITLE: The Effects of Music on the Stroop Task

AUTHOR(S): Tara Levenhagen and Matt Hahn

 

TIME: 10.15AM

TITLE: The Effect of Gender on Incidental Information Recall

AUTHOR(S): Brooklyn Braun, Erica Coffman, Heidi Zander, and Jami Zinn

 

TIME: 10.30AM

TITLE: The Effect of Word Emotionality and Arousal on Word Recognition

AUTHOR(S): Kate DiGrino, Lori Flynn, Kelsie Hinshaw, and April White

 

PAPER SESSION 1B: 9.00AM – 10.30AM

HALDEMAN-THIESSEN 210

BIOLOGICAL /SENSATION AND PERCEPTION

 

TIME: 9.00AM

TITLE: Facial Perception and Its Possible Relation With Personality

AUTHOR(S): Amy Wiltshire

 

TIME: 9.15AM

TITLE: The Effects of Nicotine on Learning and Memory in Two Rat Paradigms

AUTHOR(S): Nicholas Harvey

 

TIME: 9.30AM

TITLE: Subliminal Presentation of Anxiety Related Information and the Influence on Feelings of Anxiety

AUTHOR(S): Shannon Healy

 

TIME: 9.45AM

TITLE: Interactive effects of Ethanol in Conjunction with 4-iodo-2,5-dimethoxy

Substituted Phenethylamine (2c-i) and Amphetamine (DOI).

AUTHOR(S): William Hamlet

 

TIME: 10.00AM

TITLE: The Effect of Smell on Performance

AUTHOR(S): Aaron Green, Jamie Kenzler, and Kevin Dunbar

 

TIME: 10.15AM

TITLE: The Effects of Instructed Response When Attention is Divided Between Visual and Auditory Modalities

AUTHOR(S): Josie Melton

 

PAPER SESSION 1C: 9.00AM -10.45AM

HALDEMAN-THIESSEN 213

SOCIAL AND PERSONALITY

 

TIME: 9.00AM

TITLE: Lost love letters: Milgram revisited

AUTHOR(S): Reynald Peete and Sarah Cassidy

 

TIME: 9.15AM

TITLE: Big Five Personality Traits and Belief in Ghosts

AUTHOR(S): Rob Kamerer

 

TIME: 9.30AM

TITLE: The Effects of Self-esteem on Friendship Choices

AUTHOR(S): Tyler S. Higgs, Ranae Law, and Lindsay Higgins

 

TIME: 9.45AM

TITLE: Relationship between student characteristics and interaction on Facebook

AUTHOR(S): Scotch McClain and Lorna Werckman

 

TIME: 10.00AM

TITLE: Who's using Facebook? Online social networking in the college setting

AUTHOR(S): Krysti Boden, Kristin Pankey, Andrea Knoll, and Britanny Ulrich

 

TIME: 10.15AM

TITLE: Does the amount of information disclosed preclude negative feedback on Facebook?

AUTHOR(S): Cassie Anderson, Cristin Conley, and  Megan Lewis

 

TIME: 10.30AM

TITLE: The Effects of Family Structure on an Individual's Personality

AUTHOR(S): Diane Yuraitis, Catherine Hoffken, and Jeffrey Miller 

 

PAPER SESSION 1D: 9.00AM – 10.45AM

HALDEMAN-THIESSEN 206

SOCIAL/ATTRIBUTIONS

 

TIME: 9.00AM

TITLE: Responses to Ingroup and Outgroup Rejection

AUTHOR(S): Amy E. Smith and Bradley W. Gerber

 

TIME: 9.15AM

TITLE: Attention Paid to Attractive versus Unattractive Authority Figures

AUTHOR(S): Wendy Bednarz, Ashley Emory, and Kathryn Sibigtroth

 

TIME: 9.30AM

TITLE: Feeling Excluded by Foreign Language Speakers:

Reactions to Ingroup and Outgroup Ostracism

AUTHOR(S): Yvonne Munoz and Ryan Hanninen

 

TIME: 9.45AM

TITLE: The Influence of a Defendant’s Race and Age on Jury Decisions

AUTHOR(S): Daniel Rupp, Lauren Bakula, Nick Carreiro, and Amanda Edler

 

TIME: 10.00AM

TITLE: The Effects of Religious Attire on Impression Formation

AUTHOR(S): Tyler S. Higgs

 

TIME: 10.15AM

TITLE: Stereotyping in hiring practices: Urban versus rural comparisons

AUTHOR(S): Lindsay Donovan

 

TIME: 10.30AM

TITLE: Experience Biases in Attributions

AUTHOR(S): Adam Thomas Biggs

PAPER SESSION 2A: 1.15PM-3.00PM

HALDEMAN-THIESSEN 110

CLINICAL/HEALTH

TIME: 1.15PM

TITLE: Psychological Sequelae of Direct-To-Consumer Pharmaceutical Advertisements

AUTHOR(S): Nate Ewigman

 

TIME: 1.30PM

TITLE: The cancer is gone. What comes next?

AUTHOR(S): Kristin Geary

 

TIME: 1.45PM

TITLE: A Curriculum Based Approach to Teaching Handwashing to Second- Graders in the Rockford Public School System

AUTHOR(S): Amanda Randall and Monica Gonzalez

 

TIME: 2.00PM

TITLE: Development, Implementation and Evaluation of a New Adult Asthma Self-Management Program

AUTHOR(S): Scott Tenney

 

TIME: 2.15PM

TITLE: Examination of the Relationship between Aromatherapy, Human Emotion and Heart Rate

AUTHOR(S): Elizabeth Diviney and Rachel Heininger

 

TIME: 2.30PM

TITLE: Assessing Mental Health Knowledge and Symptoms

AUTHOR(S): Jennifer M. Banks

 

TIME: 2.45PM

TITLE: Stigma Exploration: Attitudes Toward Treatments of Mental Illness

AUTHOR(S): Christie Nelson

  

PAPER SESSION 2B: 1.15PM-2.45PM

HALDEMAN-THIESSEN 210

SOCIAL

TIME: 1.15PM

TITLE: Attitudes about Others

AUTHOR(S): Erin Bedford, Erita Bennett, and Joanna Byrdak

 

TIME: 1.30PM

TITLE: Face-ism, familiarity, and trait attributions

AUTHOR(S): Jenna Kline, Heather Thornton, and Pam Gottschalk

 

TIME: 1.45PM

TITLE: The impact of sibling relationships as role models on college student’s perceived career barriers

AUTHOR(S): Lacey Hatch

 

TIME: 2.00PM

TITLE: Children of Divorce:  Views on Platonic and Romantic Relationships

AUTHOR(S): Wendy Bulthuis, Alison Schuler, Richard Sichelski, and Lora Harshbarger

 

TIME: 2.15PM

TITLE: The Effect of Feedback on Belongingness Threat

AUTHOR(S): Brandy Mowen, Yvonne Munoz, Dawn Presley, and Amber Bowling

 

TIME: 2.30PM

TITLE: Does Acquaintance Moderate Accuracy of Judgments of Values and Beliefs?

AUTHOR(S): Ryne Sherman 

 

PAPER SESSION 2C: 1.15PM-2.45PM

HALDEMAN-THIESSEN 213

SOCIAL: SEX, ATTRACTION AND RELATIONSHIPS

 

TIME: 1.15PM

TITLE: The Impact of Sexual Attractiveness on the Perception of One's Relationship

AUTHOR(S): Jared Weston

 

TIME: 1.30PM

TITLE: Drugs, Sex, and Rock ’n’ Roll and Engaging in Sexual Coercion

AUTHOR(S): Ann Paul and Valerie Leibert

 

TIME: 1.45PM

TITLE: The Effects of Sexual Experience on College Students’ Beliefs about the Sacredness of Sex

AUTHOR(S): Stephanie Kandlik

 

TIME: 2.00PM

TITLE: Love at First Insight: Self-Esteem and Partner's Disclosure in Initial Dating

AUTHOR(S): Michael Knobeloch

 

TIME: 2.15PM

TITLE: Placebo alcohol and sexual arousal levels in females

AUTHOR(S): Victoria Bures

 

TIME: 2.30PM

TITLE: Validity Evidence for the Attitudes Toward Nontraditional Relationships Scale

AUTHOR(S): Erita Bennett 

 

                PAPER SESSION 2D: 1.15PM – 2.45PM

HALDEMAN-THIESSEN 206

SOCIAL: SPORTS, PERFORMANCE, DEVELOPMENTAL

 

TIME: 1.15PM

TITLE: The Effects Of Imagery On Soccer Performance

AUTHOR(S): Annette Mihun

 

TIME: 1.30PM

TITLE: Getting Riled Up: Prototypes, Aggression and Competitiveness Levels as Differentiated amongst Athletes and Position

AUTHOR(S): Devin McQuillan and Adam Biggs

 

TIME: 1.45PM

TITLE: Masculinity, heterosexism, and sports

AUTHOR(S): Anthony McClenathan

 

TIME: 2.00PM

TITLE: “Parting Is Such Sweet Sorrow”: The Empowering Effect of Mixed Emotions

AUTHOR(S): Kim Reeves

 

TIME: 2.15PM

TITLE: Going Hi-Tech

AUTHOR(S): Rebecca Tadlock

 

TIME: 2.30PM

TITLE: A Preliminary Investigation of the Relationship between

Religious Fundamentalism and Aggression/Hostility.

AUTHOR(S): Luther Kalb

 

 


PAPER SESSION 1A: 9.00AM – 10.45AM

HALDEMAN-THIESSEN 110

COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY

 

 

TIME: 9.00AM

TITLE: Semantic Relatedness Decision Task:Suppression, Knowledge Activation, or Phonological and Orthographic skills

AUTHOR(S): Aimee Bequette

SPONSOR: . Raymond Majeres

INSTITUITION: Western Illinois University

 

Three different theories explaining performance on a semantic relatedness decision task were tested. The decision task creates interference by pairing homopohones with a semantically incongruent word (i.e. FLEW-ILLNESS, COLONEL-CORN). Participants must decide whether the word pairs presented are related to each other. The inefficient suppression mechanisms of poor readers theory assumes some participants can't suppress irrelevant word meanings as well as others.The knowledge activation theory assumes participants will better attend to words they are more familiar with.The orthographic and phonological skills theory assumes a participant's basic skill level will predict decision task performance. Varying degrees of evidence found support for knowledge activation and orthographic and phonological skills.

 

TIME: 9.15AM

TITLE: Distractions and Memory Performance

AUTHOR(S): Meleia Browning and James Tyrakowski

SPONSOR: Kristine M. Kelly

INSTITUITION: Western Illinois University

 

According to the Information Processing Model, recall is more difficult when distractions occur at the same time as the target information.  Previous studies have shown that when music, temperature, or lighting is tampered with during a test, the number of correct answers significantly decreases.  Although these types of environmental distractions have been studied, few researchers have investigated the effects of common classroom distractions, which was the purpose of our study.  Participants were college students who were given a reading comprehension test.  They were randomly assigned to two conditions created by exposing participants to a confederate.  In one condition, the confederate tapped his pencil against the desk, coughed, and talked on a cell phone.  In the other condition, the confederate quietly worked on his test.  We hypothesize that the participants who are exposed to classroom distractions will score significantly lower on the reading comprehension test than those who did not encounter the distractions.

 

TIME: 9.30AM

TITLE: The Effect of Cell Phones in the Classroom

AUTHOR(S): Amanda Leah Zulas, Rachel Jeffers, Chavon Fairbanks, and Jeff Grainger

SPONSOR: Kristine M. Kelly

INSTITUITION: Western Illinois University

 

According to Jones and Macken (1993), distractions in the classroom such as auditory disruptions can interfere with the encoding of memory and make it difficult to recall information.  This irrelevant-sound effect disrupts attention, and perception because it draws the listener’s attention away from the relevant material.  In this study we used the idea of the irrelevant-sound effect to find out if cell phones were truly a distraction in the learning process.  College students listened to a lecture about qualities of compatible romantic partners according to an online matchmaking service.  During the presentation, a confederate behaved in one of three ways:  answered his cell phone and had a conversation, turned his cell phone off after it rang twice, or listened quietly to the presentation.  After the presentation, participants completed a test over the information presented.  Our hypothesis is that the longer the cell phone usage, the lower the participants’ test scores will be.

 

TIME: 9.45AM

TITLE: Recall with Auditory Distractions

AUTHOR(S): Erin Hall, Brian Camarata, Felicia Combs, and Michelle Martinez

SPONSOR: Kristine M. Kelly

INSTITUITION: Western Illinois University

 

The precategorical acoustic stage theory (Gathercole et al., 1983) explains that acoustic information contributes to recall.  Previous research in this area has focused on the influence of loud, obnoxious sounds on memory.  However, we wanted to investigate how quiet, calming sounds might also affect the recall process.  Participants were given one minute to memorize a list of 20 school-related words.  During the memorization task, participants were exposed to one of two types of sound via random assignment.  One group of participants heard loud traffic noise, and the other group of participants heard soft, nature sounds.  Participants were subsequently presented with a list of 40 school-related words and instructed to circle the words that they recalled from the first list.  Results are expected to show that participants exposed to the low-level auditory distractions (nature sounds) will have more accurate recall than participants exposed to the high-level auditory distractions (traffic sounds).

  

TIME: 10.00AM

TITLE: The Effects of Music on the Stroop Task

AUTHOR(S): Tara Levenhagen and Matt Hahn

SPONSOR: Stuart Tousman

INSTITUITION: Rockford College

 

The purpose of the current study was to determine if there was a difference in inhibition when personality and music distractors were paired with the Stroop task. Participants were conveniently gathered from classes at a local college. A total of 70 participants were given the congruent and incongruent Stroop tasks in a counterbalanced order, followed by a personality scale which determined if they were introverted or extroverted. An Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) indicated that participants in the no music condition had greater inhibition than those with music (P<.05). Possible reasons for the difference in our results could be associated with the participants’ age, preference in music, or ability to attend to a demanding task.

 

 

TIME: 10.15AM

TITLE: The Effect of Gender on Incidental Information Recall

AUTHOR(S): Brooklyn Braun, Erica Coffman, Heidi Zander, and Jami Zinn

SPONSOR: Greg Bohemier

INSTITUITION: Culver-Stockton College

 

A study was performed to compare differences in how much incidental information each gender recalls from television commercials. We defined incidental information as data a person picks up without consciously paying attention to it. Three neutral commercials were shown to 37 undergraduate Culver-Stockton College students (16 male, 21 female). Participants answered a questionnaire consisting of 15 items (five from each commercial) about incidental information. We predicted that women would recall more spatial and temporal incidental information than men, but the results showed no interactions. Implications of these findings will be discussed.

 

 TIME: 10.30AM

TITLE: The Effect of Word Emotionality and Arousal on Word Recognition

AUTHOR(S): Kate DiGrino, Lori Flynn, Kelsie Hinshaw, and April White

SPONSOR:  Greg Bohemier

INSTITUITION: Culver-Stockton College

 

The purpose of this experiment is to study the effect of word emotionality and arousal on word recognition. Thirty-one undergraduates were tested using a lexical decision task in which the word stimuli were equated for word frequency, emotional arousal, and word length using Bradley and Lang’s Affective Norms for English Words (ANEW) (1999).  An analysis of the reaction times to words revealed that participants were faster to recognize a positive emotional word compared to a neutral or negative emotional word. The implications and plans for further research are discussed. 

 

PAPER SESSION 1B: 9.00AM – 10.30AM

HALDEMAN-THIESSEN 210

BIOLOGICAL /SENSATION AND PERCEPTION

 

TIME: 9.00AM

TITLE: Facial Perception and Its Possible Relation With Personality

AUTHOR(S): Amy Wiltshire

SPONSOR: Corrinne Lim-Kessler

INSTITUITION: Monmouth College

 

Previous research has shown that the right hemisphere is used more in the processing of human faces (Burt and Perrett, 1997).  College students were asked to evaluate faces to measure which hemisphere they used to perceive faces that were whole or faces that had their eyes covered. Personality was also measured using a personality inventory.  Chi-square revealed significant differences (p < .05) for perceiving faces in the right hemisphere for non-covered faces but not the covered faces.  Neuroticism was positively correlated (p = .02) with non-covered faces while extroversion was positively correlated (p = .02) with covered faces.  This shows the functional relationship of the right hemisphere and facial perception.

 

 

TIME: 9.15AM

TITLE: The Effects of Nicotine on Learning and Memory in Two Rat Paradigms

AUTHOR(S): Nicholas Harvey

SPONSOR: Marsha Dopheide

INSTITUITION: Monmouth College

 

Research demonstrates the importance of ACh in learning and memory. Present experiments wished to determine whether nicotine (a nAChR agonist) enhances learning and memory using neophobia and object recognition. In the neophobia paradigm, 29 water-deprived Long-Evans rats received nicotine or saline (0.6mg/kg, i.p.), were presented with a novel sucrose solution, and then administered LiCl or saline (0.1mg/kg i.p.). The next day, rats were tested for consumption of the solution.  Results indicated that nicotine did not, as expected, enhance retention of LiCl-induced nausea and its association with the solution. In the object recognition paradigm, rats underwent two trials. Rats were first administered nicotine or saline, placed in a box, and presented with two identical objects. The next day, one familiar object and a novel object were presented. Although not significant (p=.07), the direction of the means suggest nicotine enhanced memory for the familiar object.

 

TIME: 9.30AM

TITLE: Subliminal Presentation of Anxiety Related Information and the Influence on Feelings of Anxiety

AUTHOR(S): Shannon Healy

SPONSOR: Joan Wertz

INSTITUITION: Monmouth College

 

The purpose of this experiment was to demonstrate that subliminal messages could increase a person’s physical and psychological anxiety level.  There were a total of 36 participants with 29 females and 7 males volunteering from various Monmouth College classes.  The participant’s levels of anxiety were determined using the State-Trait Anxiety Survey, the Positive Affect and Negative Affect inventory, and a Finger Temperature monitor.  The subliminal messages contained 15 anxiety and 15 neutral words, which flashed right before a male or female name appeared.  The name was used as the distractor task and participants had to indicate what sex the name was.  The negative mood and finger temperature were the only measures that had an effect on participants.

 

TIME: 9.45AM

TITLE: Interactive effects of Ethanol in Conjunction with 4-iodo-2,5-dimethoxy

Substituted Phenethylamine (2c-i) and Amphetamine (DOI).

AUTHOR(S): William Hamlet

SPONSOR: Heather Hoffmann

INSTITUITION: Knox College

 

4-iodo-2,5-dimethoxyphenethylamine (2c-i) is a mescaline analogue which is growing in popularity among a sub-culture of recreational drug users. The present study sought to examine potential interaction effects between 2c-i and 4-iodo-2,5-dimethoxyamphetamine (DOI, a control drug) with ethanol, specifically expecting characteristic effects of the compound, such as an increase in locomotion, to be exaggerated in the presence of ethanol treatment. Paradigms to assess overall intoxicating effects and general behavioral changes were applied to detect said differences. A single-factor ANOVA revealed no significant differences between the total neurological deficit score and group; however it did approach significance, F (1, 4) = 1.674, p=0.17. Results do indicate several trends, including changes in locomotion, curiosity, and traction reflex, due to the addition of ethanol to drug treatment. The trends could be the result of an interaction between these compounds, thus affirming the hypothesis.

 

TIME: 10.00AM

TITLE: The Effect of Smell on Performance

AUTHOR(S): Aaron Green, Jamie Kenzler, and Kevin Dunbar

SPONSOR: Greg Bohemier

INSTITUITION: Culver-Stockton College

 

The purpose of this study was to test the effect of smell on performance.  We hypothesized that different background smells would have a modulating effect on the use of fine motor skills as measured by the number of completed peg assemblies in a Purdue Pegboard task.  Ninety-six participants, who were assigned to one of three groups, were presented with one of three possible smells, a pleasant smell (strawberry shortcake), a neutral smell (natural room scent), and an unpleasant smell (stink-bait). The results showed that participants subject to an unpleasant smell made significantly fewer peg assemblies than participants subject to a neutral or pleasant smell. Implications of these results will be discussed.

 

 TIME: 10.15AM

TITLE: The Effects of Instructed Response When Attention is Divided Between Visual and Auditory Modalities

AUTHOR(S): Josie Melton

SPONSOR: Kristin Larson

INSTITUITION: Monmouth College

 

Thirty-seven Monmouth College participants observed a short PowerPoint presentation of 12 simultaneously-presented pairs of single-syllable nouns, one visual and one verbal.  The participants were instructed to respond either verbally or by writing down all the words that they could recall from the presentation.  It was expected that the participants in the verbal condition would recall more of the auditory words while the participants in the written condition would recall more of the visual words.  The results did not support this hypothesis; participants were more likely to recall the visual words regardless of their response condition.  There was an overall serial position effect, however, for the recall of the word pairs.

 

 

PAPER SESSION 1C: 9.00AM -10.45AM

HALDEMAN-THIESSEN 213

SOCIAL AND PERSONALITY

 

TIME: 9.00AM

TITLE: Lost love letters: Milgram revisited

AUTHOR(S): Reynald Peete and Sarah Cassidy

SPONSOR: John Halpin

INSTITUITION: Eureka College

 

Our experiment used a modification of Milgram’s original lost letter technique.  The original technique involved the experimenter dropping pre-addressed envelopes (half containing letters and half containing metal slugs) around a neighborhood to measure the honesty of that particular neighborhood.  Our experiment is similar to Milgram’s in that we also used anonymously addressed letters but different in the sense that our envelopes contained love letters and they were randomly placed in the mailboxes of Eureka College students.  Half of the envelopes were opened and the other half were closed.   To date, the experimenter’s hypothesis of females returning more letters than males has not been supported.  There appears to be an interaction, though, between gender and whether or not the envelope was opened or closed.      

 

TIME: 9.15AM

TITLE: Big Five Personality Traits and Belief in Ghosts

AUTHOR(S): Rob Kamerer

SPONSOR: Tim Kasser

INSTITUITION: Knox College

 

The purpose of this study was to determine which Big Five personality factors correlate with belief in ghosts. We hypothesized that openness to experience and neuroticism would positively correlate with belief in ghosts while extroversion and conscientiousness would negatively correlate with belief in ghosts. Participants in the study were students at Knox College in Galesburg Illinois. Each participant filled out a demographics sheet and two short surveys: the Mini-Marker (Saucier 1994), to determine personality traits on the Big Five, and the specially made Belief in Ghosts Scale, which is to measure the person’s belief in ghosts (Kamerer 2006). After the completion of the surveys, each participant received an instant lottery ticket. Pearson correlations were run to test the hypotheses.

 

TIME: 9.30AM

TITLE: The Effects of Self-esteem on Friendship Choices

AUTHOR(S): Tyler S. Higgs, Ranae Law, and Lindsay Higgins

SPONSOR: Kristine M. Kelly

INSTITUITION: Western Illinois University

 

The current study tested the hypothesis that low self-esteem (SE) individuals are more likely to befriend low SE others.  Previous research has shown that low SE increases a persons’ need for acceptance (Dittes, 1959), indicating that SE may effect friendship choices.  A 2 (Participant SE: positive vs. negative) x 2 (Target SE: positive vs. negative) between-subjects design was utilized.  Desire to befriend the target was the dependent variable.  Participants completed a demographic questionnaire and an intelligence test.  Participants received bogus positive or negative intelligence feedback as a SE manipulation.   Participants then rated their desire to befriend either a high or a low SE target.  A univariate analysis of variance (ANOVA) indicated neither main nor interaction effects.  There was no significant correlation between the subject variables and desire to befriend the target.  It is possible that baseline, rather than barometric, self-esteem is a more accurate predictor of a person’s friendship choices.

 

TIME: 9.45AM

TITLE: Relationship between student characteristics and interaction on Facebook

AUTHOR(S): Scotch McClain and Lorna Werckman

SPONSOR: John Halpin

INSTITUITION: Eureka College

 

The purpose of the experiment was to find if use of Facebook influences social interactions on the Eureka College campus.  Facebook, a virtual community, just this year added Eureka College to its campus register and it has quickly become a campus-wide phenomenon.  College students from the ages of 18 to 23 were participants in the study. Participants were asked to take an online personality survey measuring stability, orderliness, and extraversion.  The participants were also given a short survey about Facebook usage.  Among several interesting results, it was found that the more participants wrote on “walls”, the stronger they rated their bonds with friends.  And the frequency of contact with friends was higher in those participants who reported more posting of events on Facebook.  Implications will be discussed.

 

TIME: 10.00AM

TITLE: Who's using Facebook? Online social networking in the college setting

AUTHOR(S): Krysti Boden, Kristin Pankey, Andrea Knoll, and Britanny Ulrich

SPONSOR: Tami Eggleston

INSTITUITION: McKendree College

 

The purpose of this research was to discover if there are any personality types related to facebook; for instance, are users prone to have lower self-esteem. In addition, we looked at the usage of facebook including addictions and information disclosure. Before our survey was conducted very little research was found concerning this topic. Participants used in this study were students at a small Methodist based undergraduate college. The students were asked to fill out a survey consisting of 35 questions including demographics, Rosenberg’s self-esteem inventory, communication, internet and facebook usage. Interesting results were found including the type of people that use facebook and if it has addictive qualities. For instance, it was found that on average participants accessed their account two to three times a day and being a part of groups on facebook helps them express what they can not through simply speaking with someone. 

 

 TIME: 10.15AM

TITLE: Does the amount of information disclosed preclude negative feedback on Facebook?

AUTHOR(S): Cassie Anderson, Cristin Conley, and  Megan Lewis

SPONSOR: Greg Bohemier

INSTITUITION: Culver-Stockton College

 

A study was performed to examine online social network behavior.  We were particularly interested in testing if a positive correlation exists between personal information disclosure and online social harassment. One hundred college students were given a questionnaire measuring their perceptions on rules of conduct and behavior on a social networking service called FACEBOOK.  The results showed that people who reveal more personal information are (1) likely to be socially harassed, and (2) demonstrate involvement in online social harassment. Additional findings and their implications will be discussed.

 

TIME: 10.30AM

TITLE: The Effects of Family Structure on an Individual's Personality

AUTHOR(S): Diane Yuraitis, Catherine Hoffken, and Jeffrey Miller

SPONSOR: Greg Bohemier

INSTITUITION: Culver-Stockton College

 

A study was performed to measure differences in personality trait patterns of individuals raised in traditional or non-traditional families.  Thirty-seven participants (29 females and 8 males) raised by two different types of families (traditional and non-traditional) were assessed in their pattern of personality traits using the Self-Portrait Test developed by Multi-health Systems Inc (Oldham and Morris, 2003).  An analysis of personality trait patterns revealed that individuals raised in traditional families scord higher as being Vigilant, Dramatic, and Conscientious.  Where as individuals raised in non-traditional families scored higher as being Vigilant, Adventurous, and Self-sacrificing.  These findings as well as additional findings, results, and implications will be discussed. 

PAPER SESSION 1D: 9.00AM – 10.45AM

HALDEMAN-THIESSEN 206

SOCIAL/ATTRIBUTIONS 

 

TIME: 9.00AM

TITLE: Responses to Ingroup and Outgroup Rejection

AUTHOR(S): Amy E. Smith and Bradley W. Gerber

SPONSOR: Kristine M. Kelly

INSTITUITION: Western Illinois University

 

The purpose of this study was to examine how people are affected by being rejected by members of an ingroup vs. members of an outgroup.  Participants interacted with four confederates on a group task while wearing the same colored t-shirt as all confederates (ingroup condition) or wearing a different colored t-shirt than the confederates (outgroup condition).  After the interaction, participants received bogus feedback reflecting that they were either liked by the group members (inclusion condition) or disliked by the group members (exclusion condition).   Next, participants completed several dependent measures:  withdrawal from the group, desire to work harder in the group, derogation of other group members, attitudes toward the group, and threatened psychological needs.  We expect that participants excluded by an outgroup will be more likely to withdraw and derogate the group.  Participants who are excluded by an ingroup are expected to work harder, have positive attitudes toward the group, and report more threatened needs.

 

TIME: 9.15AM

TITLE: Attention Paid to Attractive versus Unattractive Authority Figures

AUTHOR(S): Wendy Bednarz, Ashley Emory, and Kathryn Sibigtroth

SPONSOR: Kristine M. Kelly

INSTITUITION: Western Illinois University

 

According to the “What is beautiful is good hypothesis” (Dion, Berschied, & Walster, 1972), individuals who are attractive are perceived as desirable and successful more so than unattractive people. The purpose of the study was to determine whether attractiveness affects the amount of attention one pays to an authority figure.  Participants were videotaped while a presentation was given by an authority figure under two conditions:  attractive (professionally dressed and careful appearance) and unattractive (casual dress and sloppy appearance). Respondents were then given a questionnaire to assess their memory of topics presented and their self-perceived level of attentiveness.  The videotapes were coded for attentiveness in terms of number of times each participant looked at the presenter and how long each participant looked at the presenter.  The results are expected to show that participants paid more attention to the presenter and, thus, remembered more about the presentation when she was attractive as compared to unattractive.

 

TIME: 9.30AM

TITLE: Feeling Excluded by Foreign Language Speakers:

Reactions to Ingroup and Outgroup Ostracism

AUTHOR(S): Yvonne Munoz and Ryan Hanninen

SPONSOR: Kristine M. Kelly

INSTITUITION: Western Illinois University

 

Previous research has demonstrated evidence for conflicting responses to social exclusion:  withdrawal-oriented behaviors and prosocial behaviors.  The purpose of this study was to investigate one possible explanation for these contradictory findings:  status of the excluding group.  We hypothesized that people who were excluded from an ingroup would engage in sociotropic behavior while those who were excluded from an outgroup would withdraw from the group.  Participants interacted in a chat room with two confederates pretending to be college students from different universities.  By random assignment, participants were excluded from the discussion by the confederates speaking French, Spanish, Czech, or English, or were included in the discussion.  Results indicated that participants excluded via a foreign language reported a greater desire to withdraw from the group, more negative attitude toward the group, and less identification with the group than those who were included or excluded in English.

 

TIME: 9.45AM

TITLE: The Influence of a Defendant’s Race and Age on Jury Decisions

AUTHOR(S): Daniel Rupp, Lauren Bakula, Nick Carreiro, and Amanda Edler

SPONSOR: Kristine M. Kelly

INSTITUITION: Western Illinois University

 

While substantial research has been conducted relating certain attributes of a criminal defendant to juror decision-making, much of the available data is inconclusive.  Some studies have found that the race of a defendant can affect a juror’s verdict (Jones & Kaplan, 2003).  Other studies have come to the opposite conclusion, finding no race-based juror bias overall (Kemmelmeier, 2005).  Studies have also had varying outcomes in determining whether a defendant’s age affects a juror’s decision (Warling, 2003).  This study was designed to determine whether defendant race and age have independent or interacting effects on juror decision-making.  Participants were asked to read a brief vignette describing the robbery of a convenience store, with the race and age of the defendant varied across four different versions.  The participants then recorded a verdict and recommended a sentence.  It is expected that the results will indicate bias against younger, black defendants, compared to white or older defendants.

 

 TIME: 10.00AM

TITLE: The Effects of Religious Attire on Impression Formation

AUTHOR(S): Tyler S. Higgs

SPONSOR: Kimberley A. McClure

INSTITUITION: Western Illinois University

 

The current study expands previous research on impression formation (e.g., Chia & Jih, 1994).  Thirty participants formed initial impressions of women wearing religious or non-religious t-shirts or necklaces. A 2 (Type of Depiction: religious vs. neutral) by 2 (Strength of Depiction: t-shirt vs. necklace) within-subjects design was implemented. The dependent variable was participants’ ratings of the targets on 11 traits (e.g., Caring, Aggressive, and Generous), and completed basic demographic items to assess their religious and political affiliation, religiosity, and spirituality. Participants viewed targets wearing the religious t-shirt as more religious and more moral than targets in the other conditions. Also, religious participants were less likely to percieve a person wearing a religious t-shirt as being religious. It is possible that religious participants perceived the targets in the religious t-shirt condition as being insincere about their religion.

 

TIME: 10.15AM

TITLE: Stereotyping in hiring practices: Urban versus rural comparisons

AUTHOR(S): Lindsay Donovan

SPONSOR: Kristin Larson

INSTITUITION: Monmouth College

 

A study looking at the hiring practices of applicants and the differences between urban and rural areas was conducted. The variables that were analyzed were race, education level, criminal status, and gender. Also the amount that a participant was willing to admit that he or she was using the four variables to stereotype the applicants was analyzed. Statistically significant results were found to show that urban areas and rural areas do differ in the stereotyping of applicants on all four variables. It was also found that people were not willing to admit their stereotyping of applicants on all of the variables except criminal status.

 

TIME: 10.30AM

TITLE: Experience Biases in Attributions

AUTHOR(S): Adam Thomas Biggs

SPONSOR: Dr. Murella Bosse

INSTITUITION: McKendree College

 

Attributions made by individuals without complete information often allow for biases to overwhelm logic and affect interpretations. In this study, 237 participants were examined for variances between their attributions toward amateur and experienced individuals cooking food. They were presented a survey that included four scenarios of incorrect or correctly prepared food and asked to evaluate each section as to the most probable rationale for the food being prepared as it was, being internal or externally responsible. Significant differences among perceptions and impressions were found granting the experienced cook nearly four to one internal versus external reasons whereas if incorrect, the ratio was nearly one to one. As for the amateur cook, the reasons vary far less dramatically, but either ranged approximately one and a half to one. These results allude to another attributional bias dictated by the knowledge, or rather perception of experience in the individual whom they are evaluating.

 

PAPER SESSION 2A: 1.15PM-3.00PM

HALDEMAN-THIESSEN 110

CLINICAL/HEALTH

 

TIME: 1.15PM

TITLE: Psychological Sequelae of Direct-To-Consumer Pharmaceutical Advertisements

AUTHOR(S): Nate Ewigman

SPONSOR: Tim Kasser

INSTITUITION: Knox College

 

How do pharmaceutical advertisements ‘work’ psychologically? What effect does exposure to PAs have on the consumer/patient? DTCA capitalizes on pre-existing American cultural beliefs about health and illness to present a persuasive message via idealized biomedical standards. Social Comparison Theory states that exposure to idealized messages facilitates comparison on the part of the consumer to the idealized standard (Richins 1995). The result of this comparison is the creation of a discrepancy between the advertised biomedical standard and the actual consumer. Self-Discrepancy Theory (Higgins 1987) proposes that discrepancy between the actual self and an ‘other’ presentation of self (e.g. what you ought to be) engenders negative affect. To rid of this undesirable feeling, Higgins (1987) proposes that an attempt to reduce the discrepancy follows. The intended modus operandi for discrepancy-reduction on the part of the advertisement is for the viewer to buy the product.

 

TIME: 1.30PM

TITLE: The cancer is gone. What comes next?

AUTHOR(S): Kristin Geary

SPONSOR: Frank McAndrew

INSTITUITION: Knox College

 

Few studies have been completed on the issues cancer survivors may face following completion of their treatment (Moulton, 2000). This study uses information gained from interviews with twenty cancer survivors who were treated with chemotherapy to attempt to answer questions concerning the post-treatment effects of chemotherapy. These questions deal with classically conditioned anticipatory symptoms (nausea, vomiting, and emotional distress) in response to chemotherapy and their persistence after treatment has ceased and a cancer-free diagnosis has been given. It was demonstrated that classical conditioning can explain this phenomena.

 

TIME: 1.45PM

TITLE: A Curriculum Based Approach to Teaching Handwashing to Second- Graders in the Rockford Public School System

AUTHOR(S): Amanda Randall and Monica Gonzalez

SPONSOR: Stuart Tousman

INSTITUITION: Rockford College

 

The purpose of the present research was to assess if a 5-week curriculum could improve the handwashing skills and reduce absenteeism for 248 second-graders in an Illinois public school system. Volunteers went into 11 different second-grade classrooms for 30 minutes a week for 5 consecutive weeks. The learner-centered curriculum consisted of interactive discussions with agar plates and GlitterBug disclosure centers serving as tools for handwashing education. Purell hand sanitizer dispensers were also installed in each classroom. At the end of the five weeks, a decrease in absenteeism rates among second-graders was found. We found significant increases in hand cleanliness (p<.05). Parents reported a significant change in hygiene (p<.05) and an increase in handwashing behavior (p<.05). These results indicate that a program that integrates learner-centered interactive techniques, with a multiple-week structure, and access to hand sanitizer can lead to improvement in handwashing behavior and lower absenteeism rates.

 

 

TIME: 2.00PM

TITLE: Development, Implementation and Evaluation of a New Adult Asthma Self-Management Program

AUTHOR(S): Scott Tenney

SPONSOR: Stuart Tousman

INSTITUITION: Rockford College

 

The purpose of the research was to develop, implement and evaluate a new adult asthma self-management program.  The structure of the program included multiple long duration meetings with small groups of adults with asthma.  Participants were asked to practice asthma specific behaviors (including peak expiratory flow monitoring, avoidance/removal of asthma triggers, and controller medication adherence) and general lifestyle behaviors (including drinking water, practicing relaxation, washing their hands and exercising).   Techniques used to change behavior included a behavior modification procedure based on social-cognitive theory and an interactive learner centered small group communication style.  Outcomes included statistically significant improvements in asthma knowledge, asthma specific quality of life, asthma symptoms, asthma specific behaviors and general life style behaviors. These results provide evidence that this new adult asthma self-management program can lead to both knowledge acquisition and behavioral changes.   Such outcomes are essential for reducing asthma morbidity and asthma mortality.

 

TIME: 2.15PM

TITLE: Examination of the Relationship between Aromatherapy, Human Emotion and Heart Rate

AUTHOR(S): Elizabeth Diviney and Rachel Heininger

SPONSOR: John Halpin

INSTITUITION: Eureka College

 

This study was designed to assess the olfactory impact of the essential oils of frankincense and lavender on human emotions and heart rate in 30 voluntary Eureka College Students.  The study used a split-plot factorial design.  Each participant was randomly assigned to one of three independent groups and then was connected to an electrical shock machine in a cubicle containing either one of the two odors or no odor.  Measures of heart rate and emotion were given before and after five-minute exposure to the odor.  Lavender caused a significant decrease in heart rates, whereas frankincense only caused a slight decrease in heart rates.  Both odors produced a decrease in fear.  Findings indicate that the properties of these essential oils can produce effects on human emotion and heart rate.

 

TIME: 2.30PM

TITLE: Assessing Mental Health Knowledge and Symptoms

AUTHOR(S): Jennifer M. Banks

SPONSOR: Robert C. Intrieri

INSTITUITION: Western Illinois University

 

The purpose of this study was to investigate participant’s knowledge of mental health symptoms and disorders. Data were collected from 100 participants drawn from the psychology department human subject pool. Participants were provided with a series of written scenarios describing common mental health disorders. Data were collected to assess the accuracy of their judgments about each condition. In addition, participants responded to questions assessing their current mental health, experience with mental health providers, and basic demographic information. Results assessed judgments accuracy for each mental health disorder. Total judgment accuracy was correlated with levels of mental health distress. 

 

TIME: 2.45PM

TITLE: Stigma Exploration: Attitudes Toward Treatments of Mental Illness

AUTHOR(S): Christie Nelson

SPONSOR: Kristin Larson

INSTITUITION: Monmouth College

This research examined attitudes toward the following treatments of mental illness: counseling, medication, and a combination of counseling and medication. After reading a personal statement, applicants were asked to rate on a Likert-scale how well the applicant would be able to cope with academic and social aspects as well as how successful the applicant would be in a college setting. It was hypothesized that individuals with a treatment involving counseling and medication would be viewed as least able to cope with college life. Also, it was hypothesized that those on medication would be viewed as less able to cope than those in counseling. The findings suggest that an individual’s overall ability to cope to a college setting does not differ based on the different treatments.

 

PAPER SESSION 2B: 1.15PM-2.45PM

HALDEMAN-THIESSEN 210

SOCIAL

 

TIME: 1.15PM

TITLE: Attitudes about Others

AUTHOR(S): Erin Bedford, Erita Bennett, and Joanna Byrdak

SPONSOR: David Lane

INSTITUITION: Western Illinois University

 

The purpose of the study was to measure the effect casual and formal clothing had on how people are perceived.  Participants viewed pictures of models either dressed in casual clothing or formal clothing.  The pictured models were the same in both conditions with the only difference being their clothing.  The participants then rated the models on traits such as power/aggression and friendliness.  It was predicted that the formally dressed models would be rated higher than the casually dressed models on the power/aggression subscale, while the casually dressed models would be rated higher on the friendliness subscale.  

 

TIME: 1.30PM

TITLE: Face-ism, familiarity, and trait attributions

AUTHOR(S): Jenna Kline, Heather Thornton, and Pam Gottschalk

SPONSOR: John Halpin

INSTITUITION: Eureka College

 

Face-ism is defined as the relative prominence of the face in depictions of men and women.  Previous research indicates that men are depicted with greater facial prominence than women and that the face-ism effect emerges in the evaluation of unfamiliar stimuli.  This study hypothesized that face-ism would also emerge in perceptual ratings of familiar stimuli.  Questionnaires measured perceptions along twelve attribute domensions for known and unknown faces and bodies.  A face-ism effect was not found in overall ratings or in those for emotional attributes.  In dominant attributes, however, a face-ism effect was found for men, particularly in rating known stimuli.  

 

TIME: 1.45PM

TITLE: The impact of sibling relationships as role models on college student’s perceived career barriers

AUTHOR(S): Lacey Hatch

SPONSOR: Marsha Dopheide

INSTITUITION: Monmouth College

One hundred and seven college students were recruited to participate in a study about the relationship between older sibling role models and perceived career barriers.  It was expected that the strength and valence (i.e., whether the relationship was positive or negative) of the sibling relationship would impact the younger sibling’s amount of perceived career barriers.  More specifically, individuals who had positive affect toward, positive behaviors toward, or positive cognitions about their older siblings were expected to perceive fewer obstacles based on ethnicity, gender, and physical characteristics when working in their future career.