Psychological Science Moderator: William Bailey, Ph.D.

Transcription

1 7-7:15 p.m. Dimorphous Expression and Parenting Styles Robert Bond, Shirley Kyere, Seth Schrader & Lizzie Weintraub Faculty Advisor: William Bailey, Ph.D. Previous research has shown that dimorphous expression, an involuntary emotional coping mechanism, is associated with parental influence (Gross, 2013; Baumrind, 1971). Permissive parenting style has also been correlated with poor emotional coping mechanisms (Patock- Peckham et al., 2007). The present study investigated whether permissive parenting style could predict an individual s amount of dimorphous expression. Participants included 45 Belmont University students recruited from introductory psychology courses who completed two surveys. Participants completed The Parental Authority Questionnaire (Buri, 1991) and a dimorphous expression survey (Aragon, et al., 2015). The results are expected to show that the presence of dimorphous expression will be positively correlated with permissive parenting style. 7:15-7:30 p.m. Locus of Control, State Anxiety, and the Barnum Effect Amber Lowe, Ali Miller, Seth Schrader, Abigail Smith & Lizzie Weintraub Faculty Advisor: Pete Giordano, Ph.D. Previous research has shown that locus of control can be an accurate predictor of state anxiety, and likelihood of acceptance of generalized personality feedback (The Barnum Effect) (Li and Chung, 2009; Fitchen & Sunerton, 1983). There is no research to our knowledge that has studied state anxiety in relation to acceptance of generalized personality feedback, though trait anxiety was shown to be correlated to acceptance of generalized personality feedback (Dickson & Kelly, 1985; Weimann, 1982). The present study investigated how locus of control and state anxiety affect acceptance of generalized personality feedback. Participants included 30 male and female Belmont University students recruited from introductory psychology courses who completed a locus of control scale (Rotter, 1966) and a personality inventory (McCrae & Costa, 1992). They were then randomly assigned to view either 30 neutral images (stairs, lamps) or 30 anxiety inducing images (snakes, spiders). After viewing the images, they received a bogus personality profile and rated it on how accurately it described them. We expect to find that participants who exhibited an external locus of control and who were anxious would be most likely to accept 1

2 generalized personality feedback, as opposed to those who exhibited an internal locus of control and were not anxious. 7:30-7:45 p.m. Shared Multisensory Experiences and Conformity Mikayla O Malley, Scott Dietz, Mallory McDonald & Sam Zacovic Previous research shows that shared multisensory experiences can increase unity, blur self-other boundaries, and create conformity (Paladino, Mazzurega, Pavini, & Schubert, 2010). Experiencing physical stimuli at the same time as another individual can increase the connection between two individuals; as the stimulus is experienced, the line between self and other becomes less defined, thus blurring the boundaries between individuals and potentially causing individuals to conform to the other s responses. The present study investigates whether or not synchronous multisensory stimulation can create conformity of judgment in morally ambiguous situations. Participants included 22 (7 male and 15 female undergraduate Belmont University students recruited from introductory psychology courses. Participants watched a three-minute video of a female (video partner) having her cheek stroked with a brush. Participants were randomly assigned to either have their faces stroked synchronously or asynchronously with the video, intending to blur self-other boundaries as demonstrated by Paladino, et al (2010). Following the stimulus, participants completed a manipulation-check including one item to measure Inclusion of Other in Self (IOS) (Aron, Aron, & Smollan, 1992) and 10 items from the Embodiment scale (Longo et al., 2007). Lastly, participants judged the moral responsibility in four morally ambiguous vignettes (adapted from Foot, 1967; Thompson, 1976) while being provided with the supposed video partner s response to measure conformity. Results are expected to show that participants in the synchronous treatment will report higher levels of IOS, embodiment and conformity. This study will help us better understand how our experiences influence our connection with others as well as factors that push us to conform. 2

3 7:45-8 p.m. The Swipe is Right: Predicting Gaze and Attention in Dating Apps Mallory McDonald A great deal of research has been conducted on attention and webpage design (Jana & Bhattacharya, 2015; Sutfliffe & Namoun, 2012). However, the majority of online dating research has focused on self-reports of profile desirability, personality, and cyber impression formation. Even less work has been done on dating applications, and visual attention driven analysis is nearly non-existent. The present study seeks to incorporate the social and the visually perceptive sides of webpage layout and dating profile research to more closely examine visual attention in dating apps. Participants included 40 male and female undergraduate Belmont University Students recruited from introductory psychology courses. Based on dating preference, participants completed a dating application exercise of either 10 male or 10 female profiles while being monitored by an eye tracker. Profiles included a photograph, a fixed choice section (name, age, job/school, number of mutual friends), and a free text section (bio paragraph). After viewing the profile, participants then indicated whether they were interested in dating the individual, as well as whether or not they found the photograph physically attractive. The results are expected to show that users will gaze first and most at the pictures, second and least at the fixed choice elements, and third and second longest at the free text. Additionally, it is expected that the user will spend less time gazing at a profile overall if they find the photograph unattractive. The study will help us better understand attention in a medium that is becoming increasingly popular and socially relevant. 8-8:15 p.m. Circadian Rhythms and Personality Traits: Introversion and Extroversion Faith Pollard, Brittany Yeager, Madi Lausten, Brittany Lebhar & Emily Fernandez Faculty Advisor: William Bailey, Ph.D. Circadian rhythms influence sleep-wake cycles and are associated with morningness and eveningness. Studies have shown circadian rhythms to be linked with several factors such as mood and performance. The purpose of our study is to find a relationship between the effects of circadian rhythms on an individual s level of extroversion or introversion. This study s 3

4 participants (n=41) were all undergraduate students at Belmont University recruited by Belmont Sona Systems. Each participant was given the Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire (MEQ) and the Eysenck Personality Inventory (EPI) in counterbalanced order. After interpreting our results we hope to find a positive relationship between eveningness and extroversion and a positive relationship between morningness and introversion. These results would support our hypothesis. Further investigation of this relationship with other factors may bring new insight to our study. 8:15-8:30 p.m. It s all in Your Head: the Effects of Mindset on Visual Acuity Morgan Richardson, Madi Lausten, Blair Ferguson & Kathryn Dickenson How much of our attentional ability is influenced by our psychological state of mind? Forty-five Belmont undergraduate students (approximately 30 female and 15 male) completed a set of arbitrary eye exercises (e.g., focus on a visual stimulus). They were randomly assigned to either the experimental group, where they were informed that the exercises they would be completing will improve their visual acuity, or the control group, where the purpose of the eye exercises was not acknowledged. Following the eye exercises, participants completed an online change blindness task (gocognitive.net). This task had a series of seven picture sets in which they were to detect slight differences in two pictures shown back-to-back. It is expected that participants who were primed with the mindset that the eye exercises improve visual acuity will have faster elapsed times and better accuracy in detecting the change than the control group in the change blindness task. This study will help us better understand the relationship between mindset and visual attention in an increasingly graphic world. 8:30-8:45 p.m. The Art of Daydreaming: The Effects of Decoupling on Creativity Emy Gildea, Leah Rose, Billy Scaletta & Ethan Blackbird There are many perceived benefits of mind-wandering, including increased levels of creativity (Baird et al., 2012). This study seeks to examine the influence of mind-wandering on creativity. Participants were twenty female and 10 male introductory psychology students. Participants first 4

5 read from the dictionary for five minutes and pushed a key on a keyboard every time their minds wandered. They then completed the Guilford s Alternative Uses Assessment, a creativityassessment. Participants will be split into groups for low and high levels of mind-wandering based on the number of keyboard-button-presses. We hypothesize that participants who reported higher levels of mind-wandering will score higher on the creativity-assessment. This study explores how mind-wandering can be a useful tool in creative fields, such as the arts and advertising. 5