2014 Abstracts

Sai Samineni, University of Utah Social and Behavioral Sciences Introduction: Salt Lake Peer Court (SLPC) is an alternative program to juvenile justice where Salt Lake School District (SLSD) youth are referred for minor offenses such as truancy, disorderly conduct, fighting, theft, etc… The court is mediated by a panel of high school mentors who act as a jury which questions and mentors the referred youth while adult advisers facilitate court. Restorative justice-based contract requirements are used with many options including community service, attendance tracking, tutoring, counseling, and life skills classes. One major area that remains unaddressed among Peer Court’s disposition options is that of career exploration and college preparation. The intent of this research project is to create a new sustainable option that impedes the cycle of juvenile delinquency in families and increases their ability to stay free of crime by providing youth with tools to gain socioeconomic power through self-direction, goal-setting skills, and discovering their passions.

Chelsea Romney, Brigham Young University Social and Behavioral Sciences Getting adequate sleep is essential for optimal daytime functioning and has implications for both physical and mental health. There are several reasons to believe that social support may influence sleep outcomes. Although certain relationships (e.g., married versus unmarried) have been tied to sleep disturbances, little is known about the association between the quality of one’s overall social network and sleep. Thus, in the present study, we examined how the amount of supportive relationships in an individual’s social network is associated with sleep outcomes.

Chelsey Kenney, Utah Valley University Social and Behavioral Sciences The purpose of this study was to compare the stressors and supportive resources found between Utah emergency medical service personnel who divorced after certification to those who did not divorce.

Natalie Blanton, University of Utah Social and Behavioral Sciences The rates of women interacting with the criminal justice system are increasing steadily—yet little is known about the experiences of these women with/within the system as well as the latent effects that follow them throughout their lives. With a sociological perspective, one comes to understand the immense impact of experiences, inequities, and health/wellness/opportunity disparities in individual’s lives—especially within the criminal justice system. This project takes a multi-pronged feminist perspective/approach to women’s interaction with such.

Megan Ward, Brigham Young University Social and Behavioral Sciences Little research has been done on the effect of parental media monitoring on a child’s thoughts and behaviors. This dearth of research is evident when considering the effect of parental media monitoring for a child who consumes Disney princess media. Research suggests that committed parents who heavily monitor their child’s media use are more likely to have a child who uses less media. The aim of this study is to garner a deeper understanding of the impact of parental media monitoring on a child’s stereotypical behaviors. Initial analyses showed a very strong correlation between how much a child identified with a particular princess and the number of female stereotypical traits. Namely, parents who reported that their children more closely identified with a princess showed gender stereotypical traits related to the types of toys they played with, the types of activities they participated in, and types of characteristics they took part in. Our analysis found the correlations to be especially strong when parents also reported low monitoring of their child’s media use, compared to parents who reported higher monitoring. Implications of these findings could influence children’s relationships with others. For example, children with more stereotypical behaviors may be less open to sharing, empathizing, and playing with other children who do not fit the gender stereotypes as accurately.

Ty Martin, Utah Valley University Social and Behavioral Sciences The purpose of this study was to explore the marital and personal life outcome of couples who either had in-law troubles or did not. Using Gottman’s (1999) core principles, this study explored the complex challenges young married couples faced when trying to turn toward their spouse while problematic relationships with their spouse’s parents created a wedge. Data was obtained via a random sample of 3,000 current and 7,000 former UVU students. Of the 11 percent who responded, 488 were in their first marriage. Two types of statistical analysis were used to explore the relationship between the married student’s relationship to their in-laws and other personal and marital factors.

Steven Clements, Utah Valley University Social and Behavioral Sciences The purpose of this study was to test the impact of having been on a dangerous call to EMS employee’s well-being. Two hypotheses were tested: First, suffering psychological symptoms from a dangerous call had no impact on their well-being; and second, suffering physical symptoms from a dangerous call had no impact on their well-being. In 2010, 7,000 state EMS employees were surveyed, yielding 668 completed surveys for this study.

Chelsea Pineda Davey, Brigham Young University Social and Behavioral Sciences Sense of community on the island of Guernsey is a cross between organic and mechanical solidarity. I argue that this sense of community is built and maintained through the island’s voluntary sector. The charities and volunteers help to preserve Guernsey’s sense of community and hold the society together. As I do this I use Durkheim and Mauss’s theories along with the McMillan/Chavis definition of sense of community to support my findings.

Joshua Matyi, University of Utah Social and Behavioral Sciences The Neural Efficiency Hypothesis (NEH) states that individuals with higher measured intelligence exhibit less neural activation on relatively simple tasks compared to those with lower intelligence (Haier et al., 1988). While the current NEH literature regarding electroencephalography (EEG) primarily focuses on amplitude measures, differences in peak latency relative to task demands could also indicate processing efficiency. The current study examined the relationship between intelligence and event-related EEG amplitudes and latencies during the third of three task conditions, a visual repetition paradigm. Full Scale IQ (FSIQ) scores from the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale III (WAIS-III; Wechsler, 1997) were collected on 30 participants, 18 of whom had sufficient numbers of EEG trials for further analysis (FSIQ: M = 111.56, SD = 13.28, range = 91 to 131). During EEG recording, participants were asked to respond to randomized line drawings representing one of three stimulus conditions from the previous two tasks: Repeated stimuli, Once-viewed, and Novel stimuli. Time-frequency analyses were conducted to identify peak phase-locked activity in the theta (4-7 Hz) and alpha (8-12 Hz) bands between 0 and 500 milliseconds post-stimulus. Results demonstrated no significant effects of IQ or stimulus condition on peak theta and alpha amplitudes. However, difference scores between Novel and Once-viewed conditions in peak theta latency showed a strong positive correlation with IQ (r[16] = .712, p < .01). These findings appear consistent with the NEH in suggesting that higher IQ individuals may process previously seen stimuli more efficiently than lower IQ individuals, as evidenced by shorter peak latencies relative to stimulus onset. A direction of future research could involve manipulating visual stimulus complexity, in order to isolate the effects of task complexity on peak latency, and potential interactions with IQ.

Jenna Deelstra, Weber State University Social and Behavioral Sciences The purpose of the present study was to explore the impact of facilitative mental imagery training on distance runners. Female (n=20) and male (n=11) athletes, separated by skill level classifications: Collegiate (n=19) and recreational (n=12) completed the Motivational Imagery Ability Measure for Sport (MIAMS) before and after 21 days of mental imagery training. Included in the training were relaxation and breathing techniques followed by guided imagery related to distance running training and competition. Physiological data including galvanic skin response (GSR), skin temperature, and breathing rate were also measured while participants took the MIAMS survey, which asked them to imagine and experience a competition. A One-way Analysis of variance (ANOVA) examining the effects of the imagery training on MIAMS survey responses between collegiate and recreational athletes for motivational general-mastery imagery (MG-M) and arousal imagery (MG-A) was employed. Significance was found in the emotional response evoked and the ease of producing imagery between the two groups. Post-training skin temperature and galvanic skin response (GSR) between the two groups was also significant. These findings support previous research indicating that imagery is both a talent and a skill that can lead to better emotional control in competitive athletes. More research must be done to better understand the effects of mental imagery training on male and female distance athletes.

Tyler Moore, Brigham Young University Social and Behavioral Sciences A fundamental concept in behavioral economics is that of loss-aversion, that is, the differentially greater effect of loss when compared to gain. The law of relative effect (also known as the matching law) provides the framework for precise behavioral measurement of that differential in a hedonic scale. We recently developed a video game by which to achieve that measurement. Participants will be invited to play the game during a series of sessions in which gain and loss contingencies are varied–sometimes the participant will gain points and sometimes lose them. In addition to varying the relative frequencies of gains and losses in order to measure their relative effects on behavioral choice, we will measure the effects of an additional variable by means of a different group of participants. This second group will win or lose points in one condition of the experiment and, in the other condition, win or lose actual money. It is our prediction that the group experiencing the loss of money rather than points will demonstrate behaviors indicative of a greater aversion to loss than their counterparts, who will merely lose points.

Kent Hinkson, Utah Valley University Social and Behavioral Sciences PTSD has become increasingly more concerning to the mental health world over the past few decades. A plethora of events (both acute and chronic) that serve as a triggering moment in the lives of those afflicted by this potentially debilitating condition are beginning to be identified more consistently. Yet, it continues to remain an area of concern because of the manner in which it affects nearly every aspect of its victim’s life.

Mary Barnewitz, University of Utah Social and Behavioral Sciences Analysis of archaeofaunal remains aids in the understanding of the ecological effects of past human prey-species exploitation. Sea otters (Enhydra lutris), in particular, were intermediate-return prey for late Holocene human populations along the California coastline. At the Yerba Buena Shellmound, on the San Francisco Peninsula, there is significant evidence of sea otter use by the local human inhabitants from 1950-1000 14C YBP. This study aims to investigate the use of sea otters at this site in order to address the implications of human subsistence patterns and the use of natural resources during this time period. The study will examine sea otter epiphyseal fusion and tooth crown height as measures of age, as well as comparative indices with other larger and smaller prey animals, in order to determine the age structure and abundance of this prey species over the time of site occupation. Given the breeding ecology of the sea otter, prey depression is often signaled by an increase in mean age over time. Prey resource depression is also signaled by decreases in the use of large-prey animals, and an increase in the lower return, small prey. Comparing the sea otter remains in the site to other taxa will provide more information regarding the significance of sea otters as prey. In general, a mean age increase in sea otters is indicated by the Yerba Buena sea otter tooth remains, but to a much lesser extent by the fused and unfused sea otter bone specimens. The interpretations of the comparative indices are still in progress. Nevertheless, the preliminary results support other evidence revealing over-exploitation of local resources in the San Francisco Bay area. Understanding the effect of past human behavior and subsistence patterns on local ecology is an important pursuit as it can help guide our management of future ecological resources.

Derek Oliver, Dixie State University Social and Behavioral Sciences The use of birth interventions has been steadily increasing over the past several decades based on largely non-medical factors. It is thought that the various birth interventions (i.e. forceps, vacuum extraction, epidural, etc.), pitocin use, the mother’s attachment and psychological constructs during pregnancy are related to the incidences of neurodevelopmental disorders. Thus, the current study attempts to understand the association between birth intervention and the development of neurodevelopmental disorders. Three hundred mothers of children between one and five years of age were recruited using social media, flyers and phone calls. Mothers provided access to their medical records of the birth of their child as well as incidences of neurodevelopmental disorders in their children. Mother’s hospital records were obtained to determine length of pregnancy, duration of labor and rate and duration of pitocin use. It is expected that there will be a significant correlation between developmental disorders and interventions broadly. Further, it is expected that pitocin use will be positively correlated with incidences of autism.

Rebecca Holland, Brigham Young University Social and Behavioral Sciences Dialectical Quichua throughout Ecuador faces disappearance through the development of Quichua Unificado, a standardized form of Quichua used the bilingual school system. This form of Quichua was created in hopes that introducing a standardized orthography would help bilingual schools effectively address the Quichua language loss that is pervasive throughout the country. However, as the language steps beyond its intended bounds of being a written language and moves toward replacing dialectical Quichua as a spoken language, it is evident that this revitalization movement is progressing at a great cost. Original ethnographic research in the Napo Valley of Ecuador asserts that this movement is ineffectual at reversing the Quichua language loss in this area, and may in fact prove fatal to the future of spoken dialectical Quichua.

Kyle Durfee, Brigham Young University Social and Behavioral Sciences To promote Self-Reliance, Eagle Condor Humanitarian teaches impoverished communities classes designed to increase their self-reliance in their families, community, and their businesses. This study evaluated what the participants understand, how well they participate in the classes, how well they apply the things they learn, and how well the facilitators teach the program. The community members hold different desires for their future than what Eagle Condor seems to want for their participants, and the participants perceive their obstacles to success as being primarily financial matters rather than things that can be resolved through better understanding and training. Literacy and mathematics problems also hinder the ability of the participants to understand the content received in the classes, all suggesting that Eagle Condor may need to adjust its program, or find populations that can capitalize on its current program offerings more effectively. Participants also struggle to apply the concepts taught, usually as a result of not understanding how to do them, or that they should do them at all. Participants tend to participate well in the classes when they come, but generally miss large portions of the instruction due to tardiness. The facilitators teach the program well, but the current teaching curriculum structure (called the FAMA technique for a process that runs through teaching Facts, Associations, Meaning, and Action) is designed on a more exploratory solution than the rigid and organized structure of Eagle Condor’s program. Overall, a more clearly defined holistic strategy built around either participants or the program may increase Eagle Condor’s efficacy in increasing the levels of self-reliance within the communities that Eagle Condor works.

Melanie Long, Westminster College Social and Behavioral Sciences While differences in hourly earnings between men and women have frequently been investigated in gender economics, the gender gap in unemployment rates has received less attention. According to much of the existing research, the reduction in the unemployment rate differential between the genders over the past 30 years indicates that gender no longer plays a significant role in employment outcomes. This regression analysis evaluated that claim using microeconomic data from the Bureau of Labor Statistic’s National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. Panel data regressions were conducted to establish whether women are subject to more weeks of unemployment in a year than men and whether this difference represents the influence of direct and indirect (i.e., societal) gender discrimination. After accounting for women’s decisions to drop out of the labor force, the regression output indicates that direct gender discrimination against women may no longer play a significant role in employment outcomes. However, there is evidence that societal pressures continue to encourage women to quit work in response to unemployment more readily than men. These findings speak to the complex gender dynamics that persist in the American labor market despite measures to ensure equal employment opportunities and suggest that unemployment rates alone are insufficient to fully understand those dynamics.

Benjamin Hardy, Brigham Young University Social and Behavioral Sciences Researchers of gratitude have typically discussed gratitude as a one-dimensional construct. Gratitude journaling has been shown to enhance well-being (e.g., Emmons & McCullough, 2003), an inherent characteristic of this method is that frequently there is no clear benefactor identified in its entries. This type of impersonal gratitude has been termed generalized gratitude (Lambert, Graham, & Fincham, 2009). Conversely, benefit-triggered gratitude (Lambert et al.) refers to gratitude felt toward a particular benefactor.

Erin Martin, Weber State University Social and Behavioral Sciences There is a rise in the use of drugs and alcohol in college students across the nation. College students are becoming dependent on drugs long after the books have closed and college students have tossed the caps, turned in their gowns, and received their diplomas. The purpose of the study is to determine at what rate is the use of drugs and alcohol being experimented within college dorm rooms. Furthermore, this study will discover whether a person’s gender plays a role a determining if college students are more likely to experiment with drugs or alcohol, because they live in campus dorms. The method of this study is a survey at Weber State University. I will be looking at two different populations, those who live on campus at Weber State University and those who live off campus. I will survey students living in University Village, those in classrooms and those around campus. When the responses come back, the responses are going to be divided by those who live in the college dorms and those who live off campus. They will be further separated by male and female, in order to determine which group is more likely to experiment with alcohol and drugs. My hypotheses is that Weber State University has a smaller housing option for students than most other universities and being a commuter school, the results will be different from those found in other studies. There might not be a large problem of illegal drug abuse at Weber State University; however, you will see abuse in alcohol and prescription drugs.

Benjamin Hardy, Brigham Young University Social and Behavioral Sciences Informed by I3 theory, three studies examine whether engagement in extradyadic behavior is related to aggressive behaviors. It is hypothesized that extradyadic behavior is related to heightened aggression toward a romantic partner. Study 1 (n=97) tested the relationship between extradyadic behavior and anger and found that acts of extradyadic behavior were related to increased use of anger words when describing a recent transgression of a relationship partner. Study 2 (n=72) tested the relationship between extradyadic behavior and aggressive behavior during an interaction. It was found in Study 2 that reports of extradyadic behavior were linked to hostility, criticism, and frustration expressed to a relationship partner. Study 3 (n=99) longitudinally examined the relationship between extradyadic behavior and aggression, and found that extradyadic behavior at Time 1 predicted aggression toward a relationship partner at Time 2, controlling for initial aggressive behavior. Study 4 (n=473) again longitudinally examined the relationship between extradyadic behavior and aggression using a larger sample and longer time frame of twelve weeks and found that extradyadic behavior at Time 1 predicted aggression toward a relationship partner at Time 2, controlling for initial aggressive behavior.

Benjamin Hardy, Brigham Young University Social and Behavioral Sciences Most approaches to education are done with the teacher giving information to the students, with the teacher having the knowledge and “filling” the empty glasses of the students understanding with knowledge. Although this approach is conventional and has its benefits, a “flipped classroom approach” recognizes the student’s unique abilities and gifts of expounding and teaching aspects of given topics in a synergistic form far beyond what the teacher could do alone. Thus, in a “flipped classroom,” the teacher would give each student assignments to teach as well as using the art of questions to allow the students to become the teachers.

Daniel Simmons, Weber State University Social and Behavioral Sciences Too often young citizens (18-29) are ignored or discarded as an unimportant constituency by politicians due to the fact that youth do not vote in a consistent or significant manner. However, when the youth do turnout at the polls, their impact can be significant and can change the dynamics of political campaigning very quickly, as we saw recently with the success of Barack Obama’s presidential campaigns in 2008 and 2012.

Garrett Nagaishi, Brigham Young University Social and Behavioral Sciences Ottobah Cugoano, one of the many black voices from the eighteenth-century Atlantic world, professed that he and millions of other slaves “look for our help and sure deliverance to come from God Most High” (Ottobah Cugoano, Thoughts and Sentiments, 144) Cugoano’s zeal was not unique – many black writers in Europe and the Americas likewise found peace in religious devotion that transcended geographical and cultural boundaries. Yet despite the promises of salvation and peace that religion offered to its followers, slaves were constantly forced to reconcile an uncomfortable reality: that the religion which they literally clung to for dear life was the same faith that their unmerciful masters professed. How were slaves able to come to terms with the blatant shortcomings of religious rhetoric? And for the slave who was not born into Christianity, what kind of connection did he form with his new religion that enabled him to see past the ironies? My paper suggests that the very nature of Christianity presupposed the fallibility of human nature and encouraged the most abject person to rise above adversity with hope in Jesus Christ. For those slaves who were not born into the religion, their close contact and interaction with Christian slaves created a support system among slaves which was based on Christian theology. Furthermore, many slaves crossed the infamous Middle Passage during their infancy and youth, an impressionable period of life, which would have enabled Christianity to more readily appeal to the slave’s psyche. Thus, for many slaves in the eighteenth century, sinful masters and hypocritical evangelists were not seen as a stumbling block to faith; rather, they confirmed the necessity of Christian faith as God’s prescribed method for overcoming an otherwise miserable existence.

Jared Cline, Brigham Young University Social and Behavioral Sciences Our primary purpose was to explore the association between characteristics of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD)-known as the Broader Autism Phenotype (BAP)-and college major choice. The reason this is important is because students with the BAP sometimes have debilitating characteristics similar to ASD, but don’t qualify for academic accommodation. By exploring the relationship between major choice and the BAP prevalence, we may be able to help educate instructors and institutions to be aware of majors with elevated numbers of individuals with the BAP. In turn, we hope this will help allow those individuals to receive needed academic help. Our secondary purpose was to correlate the two separate measures we used to assess the BAP. To assess the BAP we used the well known Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ) and the relatively newer Broad Autism Phenotype Questionnaire (BAPQ). Because the BAPQ is a relatively new measure with promising preliminary psychometric properties, we decided to further test its convergent validity with the AQ in order to confirm its purported soundness.

Kaylie Carbine, Brigham Young University Social and Behavioral Sciences There are multiple benefits of physical activity, such as weight maintenance and overall lower rates of morbidity and mortality; however, individuals with sedentary desk-bound jobs may not receive these health benefits due to less time for physical activity. Consequently, an increasing trend in the workplace is for employees to walk on treadmills while working. Although job-related treadmill walking has known health benefits, such as decreasing back pain, alleviating stress, and reducing weight gain, the effect of treadmill walking on cognitive performance is not well known and may affect employee productivity. Our objective was to determine if there are significant behavioral differences in response inhibition (the ability to withhold an overt response) and conflict-related interference between participants walking on a treadmill and sitting controls. Seventy-six neurologically and psychologically healthy individuals were randomly assigned to sitting (n = 39; 17 female) or treadmill walking (n = 37; 23 female) conditions. Participants did not differ significantly in body mass index or overall fitness levels (ps > .20). All participants completed a computerized Go/No-Go and a computerized Eriksen Flanker task. Accuracy and response time data were analyzed using repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA). Results indicated that there were no significant between-groups differences for individuals walking on a treadmill versus sitting on indices of response inhibition and conflict-related interference (ps > .24). The results suggest that walking on a treadmill does not decrease efficiency in these cognitive tasks and may not impact workplace performance.

Mary Cook, Brigham Young University Social and Behavioral Sciences Traditional western practices in marriage and family therapy rest on a foundation of protecting the union between husband and wife. While relevant methods for couples may be extremely valuable, certain cultural dynamics call for a more family-integrated method to approaching issues in a marriage. This study serves as a person-centered ethnography geared toward understanding the kinship-oriented ideology upon which Hmong women tend to base their decisions to commit to their marriages. One in-depth case study serves as a framework for the evaluation of these factors; supporting evidence is brought in from two other case studies. All three women (one divorced, one separated, and one cohabiting with the husband and second wife) decided to remain committed to polygynous husbands (although in one case, the husband chose to leave) primarily concerning reasons involving their children’s relationships to their clans, ritual practices and ontological foundations of belief. Throughout the course of the interviews, the prevailing notion was that within the traditional Hmong kinship system, children benefit more from remaining in close proximity and emotional contact with the patrilineal clan to promote functional relationships and learn clan-specific ancestral practices. In these cases, the well-being of the children becomes a greater factor in a woman’s decision to remain married to a polygynous husband, as opposed to the relationship between husband and wife. In addition, the concept of karma plays a major role in Hmong women’s beliefs about their station in life and marriage. These culturally grounded influences play a large role in Hmong women’s commitment to marriage and should be incorporated into therapeutic models in addition to more couple-oriented practices.

Robert Bischoff, Brigham Young University Social and Behavioral Sciences Five seasons of excavation by BYU at the ancient Fremont site Wolf Village, located in what is now Goshen Utah, have exposed a large village with many unusual features, foremost of which was the discovery of the largest known Fremont pit structure. Unusually large structures have been interpreted as central gathering places for the community and the locations of intraregional trade fairs. An examination of trade goods (specifically painted pottery, obsidian, and Olivella shell beads) found in this structure compared to the trade goods found in a different residential structure in Wolf Village sheds further light on the nature of communal structures and the nature of exchange among the Fremont, by providing additional evidence of Fremont trade fairs and community architecture.

Carolina Silva, Westminster College Social and Behavioral Sciences This study was a preliminary study to a larger project in the coming fall. The larger study aims at finding influential variables on acculturation and their relationship to the academic achievement of immigrant adolescents. In the pilot study two acculturation measures were assessed on a small sample of immigrant youth to ensure the effectiveness of the measures on immigrant adolescents. The two scales used were the Acculturation Habits and Interest Multicultural Scale for Adolescents (AHIMSA) and the Stephenson Multigroup Acculturation Scale (SMAS). Both scales were selected due to their use of Berry’s model and focus on acculturation across groups. The scales were administered to 15 adolescents, and a discussion was held in order to receive input of the participants’ reception of the measures. Participants were asked to give feedback on the scale’s wording, suitability of format, timing and clarity of statements. This information was analyzed for themes which will be used in the following study.

Grace Hanley, University of Utah Social and Behavioral Sciences The purpose of this study is to examine how engaging in various Eastern practices affects people’s perceptions of their negative experiences and themselves. Yoga is a practice intended to enhance the overall well-being of practitioners through held poses, mindful breathing, and meditation. Yoga (“yuj”), in the original Sanskrit language, means “union,” and explicitly acknowledges the mind-body connection that is at the root of the Eastern practice. This very notion conveys the main theme of this psychological project: that mind-body practice can influence how individuals mentally process and narrate their difficult experiences from the past. Specifically, such practices could result in increased exploration, growth, and positive resolution in such narratives, compared to more neutral conditions. The study is split up into two parts: in the first part, depending on random assignment, subjects are asked to participate in one of four possible 10-15 minute activities: a yoga sequence, an exercise regime, a meditation, or watching a series of neutral pictures. In the second part of the experiment, subjects are asked to recall and narrate three types of life events: two transgressions, two victimizations, and two life turning points. Afterwards, participants are asked to complete several questionnaires about themselves regarding well-being, self-compassion, forgiveness, and interoceptive awareness. After data collection, stories are then coded for instances of emotional exploration, perceived growth, and resolution. It is hypothesized that yoga and meditation conditions will result in increased instances of these constructs as opposed to the physical and mental control conditions.

Keara Moyle, Brigham Young University Social and Behavioral Sciences This study explores the concept of identity within Ojibwe tribal membership in the context of the controversial requirements that are currently in place. Over the course of the 2013 spring and summer terms I conducted an ethnographic study on the White Earth Indian reservation of Anishinaabe (Ojibwe) under the guidance and mentorship of BYU Anthropology department’s Dr. John Hawkins and Minnesota State University-Moorhead Anthropology department’s Dr. Erik Gooding. White Earth is undergoing major constitutional reforms as they are trying to declare their sovereignty as a tribe, rather than be considered a band under the current Minnesota Chippewa Tribe constitution. If this constitution passes it will have a direct impact on enrollment numbers, as they will do away with the imposed blood quantum requirements and open enrollment to anyone who is a descendant of a member. Under the current blood quantum requirements, an individual must have one-quarter Ojibwe blood to be an enrolled member in the tribe.

Kyle Hill, Brigham Young University Social and Behavioral Sciences Mild walking contributes to improved overall health, maintaining healthy weight, strengthening bones, and lifting mood. As such, there is now an attraction to treadmill desk stations in replacement of traditional desks, allowing individuals to walk while performing office work. However, there is little research determining if treadmill walking would affect attention and working memory abilities. We aimed to determine how working memory and attention would be affected while walking on a treadmill. METHOD: Participants included seventy-six healthy individuals assigned to sitting (n = 39; 17 female) or treadmill walking (n = 37; 23 female) conditions. Participants completed the Paced Auditory Serial Attention Task (PASAT) as a measure of attention and working memory while either walking or sitting. Data were analyzed using repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA). RESULTS: A Group x Time ANOVA on PASAT errors showed a main effect of group (p = .03), with those in the treadmill group committing significantly more errors than those in the sitting group on trials two (2.0 seconds) and four (1.2 seconds; ps < .03). The Group x Time interaction overall, however, was not significant (p = .26) as both groups significantly made more errors as the PASAT speed increased (p < .001). DISCUSSION: There were significant overall differences in PASAT performance between participants in sitting and walking groups. Findings suggest treadmill walking may facilitate decreased ability to hold in mind and rapidly process information. Thus, although treadmill desks may have health benefits, performance on speeded and complex attention tasks may be impacted.

Erik Lovell, Brigham Young University Social and Behavioral Sciences This project reports on an investigation of the social mechanisms that constrain or aid goal formation and work motivation among homeless populations. We utilize theoretical insights from organizational behavior to add to a long tradition of research on the persistence of homelessness. The few studies that do use the goal formation literature to understand homelessness generally focus on individual rather than structural constraints. Our unique contribution is in evaluating work motivation from the perspectives of homeless persons and what they experience as limiting or aiding in formulating and achieving their goals.

Emily Jordison, Weber State University Social and Behavioral Sciences Over the last thirty years, millions of dollars in federal funding has been poured into school districts across the nation to promote abstinence among young people. Lawmakers continue to fund abstinence-only education in hundreds of schools, although research has shown that abstinence-based platforms have a lower success rate in reducing teen pregnancies. This study will focus on the opinions of parents residing in Ogden. Currently, Ogden’s teen pregnancy rate is the fourth-highest in the state of Utah. With teens becoming sexually active at an earlier age now than in previous decades, it seems imperative to examine what is being taught in public schools regarding sexual health and how parents feel about it. This study aims to examine the parental attitudes regarding the sexual education being taught in schools in Ogden, Utah to see if the general opinion supports lawmakers’ decisions regarding the sex education policy or if there is a disparity between what parents want and what policy makers have put into place. Sexual education laws in Utah generally lean toward the conservative side; therefore, this study will attempt to broaden the understanding we have regarding how parents feel toward sexual education in schools. Currently, the literature suggests that parents are not happy with the sexual education their children are receiving, noting that it is not as comprehensive as they would prefer (McKay, 1998). A similar survey indicated that parents believe that they, along with health officials, should have more of a say in the sexual education that takes place in schools rather than politicians (Ito, 2006). Further research indicates that local policies overwhelmingly encourage an abstinence-only approach regarding sexual education in schools (Dailard, 2001). This study aims to contribute to the knowledge we have regarding parental attitudes toward the sexual education youth are receiving in schools in Ogden, Utah.

Kyle Haderlie, Utah State University Social and Behavioral Sciences Much has been written about the positive and negative influences of parents in sport and the mechanisms through which parents can enhance their involvement within youth sport contexts (e.g., Côté, 1999; Gould et al., 2006; Holt et al., 2009). Parents’ previous sporting experiences or sports knowledge is often identified as a factor that might influence the appropriateness of parental involvement youth sport (Bowker et al., 2006; Holt et al., 2008; Knight & Harwood, 2010). Further, children (and coaches) have indicated that parents’ own sporting experiences might alter the types of feedback or involvement children will actually accept from their parents (Knight et al., 2010; Knight et al., 2011). However, the specific ways in which parent experiences might influence their involvement in their children’s sport is relatively unknown. Developing an understanding of this relationship is necessary as researchers and practitioners aim to better understand the factors that influence positive and negative parental involvement. As such, the purpose of this study was to examine how parents’ previous sporting experiences influence their sport parenting style and practices. Specifically, this study sought to identify the influence of parents’ own experiences in sport (e.g., through their own youth sport participation), their experiences with children in sport (e.g., with older offspring), and their knowledge or understanding of sport (e.g., through education or coaching) on their present involvement. Open-ended survey data were collected from 102 mothers and fathers of children aged 6-18 in the USA, Canada, the UK, and Australia. Study data illuminate patterns of parent experiences that are consistent with authoritative sport parenting styles and adaptive practices (e.g., support), as well as patterns consistent with authoritarian parenting styles and less adaptive practices (e.g., pressure). Data hold the potential to inform both sport and family theory, as well as policy for parent involvement in organized youth sport.

David Anderson, Utah Valley University Social and Behavioral Sciences Purpose

Branden Nuttall, Brigham Young University Social and Behavioral Sciences The Relationship Anxiety Test was developed to find a way to measure the level of Anxiety in Latter-day Saint (LDS) college aged individuals who are currently searching for a future companion. Research has suggested that relationship anxiety was higher in individuals who are currently looking for a future spouse. The goal of our test was to measure this anxiety in LDS individuals because it is believed that these individuals are under more pressure to find a spouse. The test was formatted by using a set of questions to measure the anxiety using two domains cognitive, and behavioral. The test was administered using Qualtrics and was distributed through email and Facebook. The results of the test are currently being measured and will be available within the next month.

Cory Pettit, Brigham Young University Social and Behavioral Sciences Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate how stress affects performance monitoring, specifically the error-related negativity (ERN) component of the event-related potential (ERP). To produce stress, we used the Trier Social Stress Task (TSST), which elicits a stress response confirmed by cortisol measurements. We hypothesized that increased state levels of social stress would increase ERN amplitudes.

Eleanor Golightly, Brigham Young University Social and Behavioral Sciences This project seeks to better understand the underlying model that motivates parental behaviors. Parents seem to be motivated by an equity constraint, meaning a desire to devote equal amounts of time and money resources at each point in time to each child, even though these children may vary in age and ability. We hope to identify trends in parents who engage in unequal allocations to better understand why such behavior occurs and which children benefit and which are disadvantaged. As growing evidence suggests that happiness is influenced not only by what one has, but also by how much one has in comparison to those around them, this study could give important insight into children happiness. We have compiled data on private school enrollment, a measure of a financial resource that is at times allocated unequally among children in the home, and time spent reading to children. We will perform regression analysis employing fixed effects for this project.

Tammy Zundel, Utah Valley University Social and Behavioral Sciences Eosinophilic gastrointestinal diseases (EGID’s) are a family of digestive disorders that affects a patient’s physical, mental and social well-being. Because some patients are forced to eliminate all foods from their diet, many patients miss out on holiday meals, birthday cakes, and other social events. Patients with severe cases may depend on steroids and the strict use of medical nutrition therapy, such as elemental formula. Elemental formula describes a liquid diet that contains all the necessary nutrients for a complete diet made up of proteins broken down into their amino acid form, making it easier for the body to digest and absorb. Though elemental formula literally saves lives and is the most effective treatment used for those who have failed other treatment options, insurance companies are not required to cover its high costs. Families without insurance coverage are left struggling to pay for this prescribed treatment out-of-pocket. The purpose of this mixed methods study is to explore the financial and emotional costs associated with not having access to a prescribed treatment. Data was collected during an in person interview and the administration of a survey containing standard demographic questions related to age, gender, marriage, income, work status, and education level. Also included were closed-ended questions related to the patient’s diagnosis, elemental formula use, and amount of money spent out of pocket for non-covered medical needs. Several open-ended questions focusing on the financial and emotional impact associated with not having access to elemental formula as a prescribed treatment were included. The results will be used to educate health care providers and promote further research into the issue.

Jonathan Latham, Utah Valley University Social and Behavioral Sciences Introduction: Guatemala has been subject to dictatorial regimes, crimes against humanity, civil war, and genocide. There are nearly 30 million people in need of prosthetics worldwide; two percent currently have access to appropriate prosthetic care. To combat this debilitating issue in Guatemala, Utah Valley University’s Mobility Mission (UVU-MM) travels once a year to manufacture high-quality, low-cost prosthetic legs for individuals in need. For two weeks, Julio Fuentes, Certified Prosthetist & Orthotics (CPO) lends his clinic, equipment, time, and expertise to UVU-MM. The goal of this research is to identify patterns, themes, concerns, and trends among amputees to secure their future well-being.

Caitlin Lagasse, Utah State University Social and Behavioral Sciences In many instances, child labor is a way to exploit the cheap labor a child has to offer. Although in many situations, the exploitation of child labor is not normally the case, such as families living in a developing country. What individuals raised in Western cultures fail to realize is that in some nations and for some families, child labor is a necessary resource to survive, children act as an exceptional resource in these situations. Without the extra income a child could make working in the fields, on the street, or the diamond mines, the family would suffer. Families in developing countries do not have the same luxuries that already developed countries can afford. Without the full knowledge of the detrimental effects, developed countries attempt to superimpose child labor restrictions on countries. Western societal norms differ from countries around the world; our parental views of childhood are far from the reality of parents in developing nations. Furthermore, children face difficulties outside the exploitation of labor, such as slavery, prostitution, malnutrition and low educational standards. The dilemma to send their child to school or work is an ongoing daily battle for parents, even though the families are aware that the schools are an ineffective way of educating their children. All of those situations are the reality of the lives of children living in a developing country. Even though, the money that they make on a day’s wage is small, and generally smaller than that of an adult, it is still more money than they would have been able to make on the street, selling drugs or sex trafficking.

Jarrod Call, Brigham Young University Social and Behavioral Sciences Homelessness is a critical issue affecting a wide portion of the population. As municipalities continue to struggle with the implications of homelessness, researchers are interested in gauging prejudicial attitudes toward homeless people. Assessing current attitudes towards homeless people is a critical first step in beginning to enact positive social change to help mitigate the effects of homelessness. Current inventories used for assessing attitudes towards homelessness, particularly the Attitudes Towards Homeless Inventory (ATHI), are outdated and fail to examine behavioral indications of prejudicial attitudes. This study seeks to rectify these shortcomings by creating an enduring, reliable, and valid measure that encompasses both cognitive and behavioral aspects and which will provide consistency for further research. Our inventory, the Evaluation of Attitudes on Homelessness (EAH), consists of 10 items that measure negative cognitions and avoidance behaviors in order to ascertain current prejudicial attitudes. The test was administered online to a convenience sample of 211 participants who responded to items using a six-point Likert scale. Statistical analysis was completed and the reliability and validity of the inventory was assessed. Preliminary results suggest that the EAH inventory is a reliable and valid method for measuring attitudes towards the homeless.

Justin Curtis, Brigham Young University Social and Behavioral Sciences The rise of political Islam, or Islamism, across the Muslim world, since the Islamic Revolution in Iran, continues to mystify researchers. While there has been considerable debate about the causes and effects of this discourse, researchers have been unable to operationalize Islamism. This study serves two main purposes: 1. It serves as a description of the founder of modern political Islam, Ayatollah Khomeini, as a populist and an Islamist and, 2. It provides an operational definition for Islamism based on textual analysis. In the wake of ground-breaking work on populism in Latin America that analyzed political speeches using a holistic grading approach to textual analysis to quantify discourse, this study uses the same technique and adds a new textual analysis method for Islamist discourse. These two quantitative methods serve as the basis for a qualitative analysis of the relationship between populism and political Islam in the speeches and declarations of Ayatollah Khomeini from 1963-1983. This analysis reveals insights into the modern used of Islamism and demystifies its origins by placing it within the ethos of populism.

Patricia Dirks, Weber State University Social and Behavioral Sciences While much research has evaluated depression, metacognition, and automatic thoughts through various measurement techniques and within various disciplines, no research to date has explored the relationship between the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), Metacognitive Awareness Inventory (MAI), Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire-Negative (ATQ-N), and the Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire-Positive (ATQ-P). The purpose of this study is remedy this gap and to examine the relationship and interaction between depression, thoughts, and metacognitive processes, and to assess if these factors are valid and significant predictors for participants’ ability to correctly predict and postdict exam performance. Participants will be asked to complete a questionnaire that includes the BDI-II, MAI, ATQ-N, and the ATQ-P. Participants will also complete prediction and postdiction questions on introductory psychology exams throughout the semester where they will be asked to first declare the score they predict they will receive on the exam they are about to take, and then state what score they believed they received after having completed the exam but prior to receiving the score from the instructor. The relationship between the accuracy of these pre and post-dictions will be analyzed in relationship to the results of each individual participant determined through the questionnaire data. It is expected that students with moderate to severe depression will be less accurate on performance estimations and participants who score higher in metacognitive awareness will be more accurate in their performance estimations than those with lower scores. We also hypothesize that no relationship will be found between positive/negative automatic thoughts and the accuracy of performance estimations.

Jay Winters, Brigham Young University Social and Behavioral Science The common stereotype of feminism has a negative connotation implying that feminist’s are simply radical women’s rights activists. The reality is that feminism is hard to define given its complexity and the range of issues it encompasses. A scale was developed in 1994 called the Attitudes Toward Feminism and the Women’s Movement (FWM), which sought to predict attitudes toward feminism (Fassinger, 1994). Many social psychologists see it as an effective way of predicting attitudes despite its age or lack of an emotional component. Our Assessment of Feminist Attitudes (AFA) scale was developed to include an emotional response component as well as provide a contemporary view of the ever-changing feminist movement. Our study is in the process of being assessed for statistically significant data. The effectiveness of the AFA in measuring feminist attitudes will be known in the coming weeks.

Madeleine Ary, Brigham Young University Social and Behavioral Sciences In 2010 I conducted research in the city of Cambridge England on the relationship between the Muslims of Cambridge and the police of the same city. I conducted this research primarily through single interviews and data analysis from the United Kingdom in general and England specifically. From this research I discovered that the relationship between these two groups was maintained by frequent, mutual contact and trust. England at the time was experiencing a summer of rioting, much of which revolved around Islam. This may have increased the difficulty in such a faith group, authority relationship, however their efforts to maintain a positive relationship only intensified and there was little to no real disruption within the Cambridge Muslim community. My research demonstrates how such relationships can be effectively conducted even in otherwise tumultuous circumstances.

Clinton Hardy, University of Utah Social and Behavioral Sciences Coercive treatment practices, while controversial, are commonly employed (by mental health professionals and parents) when admitting adolescents into outdoor behavioral healthcare (OBH; e.g., outdoor/wilderness therapy) and residential-based treatment settings. While coercive practices have been investigated in various adult treatment contexts, to my knowledge no study has examined coercive practices or pressures among adolescent treatments. As the first of its kind, my report investigates the relationship between adolescent-perceived coercive treatment pressures (i.e., negative pressures) and their affective reactions reported when entering OBH treatment. Negative pressures, or the perceptions of “threat” and “force” during admissions, are measured via the Negative Pressures Subscale (NPS) of the MacArthur Admission Experience Survey (AES). Affective reactions to entering treatment are measured via the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule – Expanded Form (PANAS-X). Although this study is still taking place, my interim analysis (N = 36, age range: 14-17) has so far demonstrated the following predicted relationships between negative pressures and affective reactions in OBH treatment admissions: An adolescent’s increased perception of negative pressures significantly correlates with (a) increased affective distress (r = .377, p = .037), (b) decreased affective positivity (r = -.61, p < .001), and (c) increased affective hostility (r = .464, p = .003). Therefore, significant medium to large correlational effect sizes are reasoned to be imminent. In recognizing that negative pressures might not only relate to an aversive admissions experience, but also negatively impact or delay positive treatment outcomes, future research is concluded to be essential.

Daniel Cardoza, Brigham Young University Social and Behavioral Sciences This paper aims to offer an introductory platform to the correlation between Russian fatalistic tendencies and conversion to Protestantism. It argues that fatalism is a central aspect of the Russian collective conscious, something that is fundamentally at odds with the Protestant temperament as outlined by Max Weber in his book, The Protestant Ethic and The Spirit of Capitalism. What happens when a Russian converts to a Protestant religion? This paper specifically focuses on conversion to one religion, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS). Analysis of data gathered through ethnographic interviewing and participant observation shows that a correlation might exist between belief in LDS doctrines and a reduction of fatalistic tendencies. This paper serves an introductory basis for future research on this topic. As such, the paper also presents recommendations for further research.

Ryan Hill, Brigham Young University Social and Behavioral Sciences We analyze the presence of two types of framing bias in ballot wordings that affect election outcomes: status quo bias and agent-external loss aversion. Both of these biases are studied extensively in behavioral economics and likely have salient impacts on initiative or proposition measures in state elections. Status quo bias is the tendency of a voter to be more likely to maintain a currently enacted policy rather than passing a new law. Agent-external loss aversion is the tendency for a voter to be more likely to grant a right to a minority population rather than vote to restrict a right. Both of these biases have had important impacts on the outcome of recent ballot initiatives especially on California Proposition 8 that failed to legalize the right of marriage for same-sex couples. We test the salience of these framing biases by conducting a nationwide survey experiment that randomly assigns different ballot wordings for the same policies across different survey respondents. The survey mimics a real voting situation and the randomization of questions ensures that we can identify the specific effect of each bias on the voting outcome. We analyze the treatment effects using difference of means and ordinary least squares analysis. We also extend our analysis to examine whether moderating variables such as political knowledge or opinion have an impact on the magnitude or direction of the bias effects.

Peter Busche, Brigham Young University Social and Behavioral Sciences An undergraduate study on young people in the Channel Islands (near England and France. Such questions will be addressed, such as: What makes growing up in a tiny Island community unique? How does leaving the Island for the outside world affect the young peoples’ transition into adulthood? This project consists of a descriptive outline based on 2 months of ethnographic research, as part of a 10,000 word senior thesis. Current anthropological and psychological theories are part of the overall construction of the data.