Theses and Dissertations at Montana State University (MSU)
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Item The effects of working memory capacity on collaborative inhibition across categorized and unrelated lists(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2024) De Silva, Siyambalapitige Ninoo Nethmalie; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Michelle L. MeadeThe current study examined if working memory capacity (WMC) predicts collaborative inhibition and if this influence can be generalized across categorized and uncategorized lists. Across two experiments, participants' WMC was measured using the operation span, reading span, and symmetry span. They were then presented with the unrelated lists only (Experiment 1), or unrelated words lists and categorized word lists (Experiment 2). Participants were asked to recall the lists on their own or in collaboration with another participant (recall test 1). In addition, they were given a subsequent individual recall test (recall test 2), and an individual source monitoring recognition test. Results from both experiments showed collaborative inhibition in recall test 1 and post collaborative benefits in recall test 2. Importantly, the pattern of collaboration results did not vary across WMC. Higher WMC individuals and lower WMC individuals showed similar effects of collaboration across unrelated and categorized lists. These findings identify important parameters of if and when WMC influences collaborative memory. Moreover, future research can investigate if mechanisms such as attentional control, retrieval inhibition, and collaborative process variables related to collaborative inhibition play a role when WMC is at work.Item Effects of sleep restriction on social contagion of emotional memory(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2024) Giannakopoulos, Konstadena Linda; Co-chairs, Graduate Committee: Cara A. Palmer and Michelle L. MeadeThe amount of sleep that one gets affects their emotional perception, emotional learning and memory, and interactions with others. The current research study examines the effects of sleep restriction on the social contagion of emotional memory. Participants first came to the lab to complete a series of questionnaires to determine eligibility, collect demographics, and to be trained on how to use the sleep watches and sleep diaries for a week of sleep monitoring. Participants completed one week of sleep monitoring using sleep diaries and actigraphy, and then were randomly assigned to either one night of either adequate sleep (8h) or restricted sleep (4h) before returning to the lab. Then, participants learned and recalled a series of emotional images alongside a confederate who recalled both correct and incorrect images. On later individual recall tests, participants were equally likely to incorporate the negative, positive, and neutral images suggested by the confederate, but on recognition tests, social contagion effects were larger for the negative and positive images. Additionally, our findings support a negativity bias in memory on both recall and recognition tests. There was no significant effect of sleep restriction. The results of this study are consistent with source monitoring theories of memory and have important implications for understanding how sleep influences social emotional memory.Item Pupil response as a measure of preparatory control of attention in anticipation of deception(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2024) Brennan, Evan Michael; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Keith A. HutchisonDeception is generally considered to be more cognitively demanding than telling the truth, driving research interest in the relationship between deception and cognitive ability. Few studies have explored the preparatory attentional state occurring after the decision to be dishonest is made, but before the content of the question is known to the deceiver. Participants in the current study were given "Truth" or "Lie" prompts several seconds before being asked questions about autobiographical information that they answered according to the prompt. Cue-evoked pupillary responses, or the changes in participants' pupils during the fixation period between the prompt and question presentation, served as an objective physiological measure of this preparatory state of attention. To assess cognitive ability, several tasks assessing working memory capacity and attentional control were also administered to determine their relationship with pupil response. Aligned with results from a former study, it was hypothesized that pupil diameter would be greatest in anticipation of "Lie" trials, that working memory capacity and attentional control would be negatively correlated with the proportion of errors committed and positively correlated with pupil size in the final few seconds of the fixation interval, and that pupil diameter variability across the fixation interval would be positively correlated with the proportion of errors committed. Results showed a general pattern of constriction in pupil diameter in the fixation interval, which opposed results from previous studies, and did not provide support for the main hypotheses. Lie trials where participants committed an error displayed a significant decrease in pupil diameter across the fixation interval relative to accurate lie trials. Possible reasons for general pattern of pupil constriction are given, prompting a retesting of the hypotheses under better experimental conditions. It is still possible that there is a general pattern of pupil dilation in this preparatory period.Item Sleep and savoring: the influence of sleep restriction on positive emotion regulation(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2022) Powell, Suzanna Lee; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Cara A. PalmerAlthough previous research broadly demonstrates that sleep loss leads to reductions in positive affect, relatively few studies examine the impact of sleep loss on low and high arousal positive affective processes, the regulation of positive emotions, or the influence of different sleep stages. The current study sought to build on previous findings that suggest slow wave and rapid eye movement stages of sleep may have distinct influences on affect by examining the effects of sleep restriction on positive affect, reactivity, and regulation (i.e., savoring and dampening). Thirty-four participants (50% female, ages 18-25 years) were included in final analyses. Participants completed a healthy night of sleep (9h time in bed) and a night of sleep restriction (4h time in bed). Sleep was restricted between participants in two ways, early in the night to primarily restrict slow wave sleep and later in the night to primarily restrict rapid eye movement sleep. Following both a night of normal sleep and the night of sleep restriction, participants completed questionnaires to measure positive affect, and a video task which instructed them react normally or to savor while watching positive affect-inducing videos. After each video, participants reported on their feelings of valence, arousal, and high and low arousal positive affect. Savoring and dampening strategies utilized during the task were also reported. Following sleep restriction participants reported diminished high and low arousal positive affect compared to when they were well-rested. Participants also reported less positive reactivity to the videos when they were sleep restricted compared to when they were well-rested after both reacting normally and after savoring. However, participants experienced greater increases in positive affect when savoring compared to when they were instructed to react after sleep restriction. Slow wave sleep loss was related to marginally reduced positive affect compared to loss of rapid eye movement sleep, but no other effects of type of sleep restriction emerged. This study indicates that sleep loss results in diminished high and low arousal positive affect and blunted reactivity to positive stimuli, but that engaging in intentional up-regulation strategies may help buffer the negative effects of sleep loss.Item The positive emotion regulation questionnaire and the assessment of strategy use profiles as predictors of mental health outcomes(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2022) McCullen, Jennifer Renee; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Brandon ScottPast research has shown that experiencing and upregulating positive emotions may be beneficial for youths' well-being (Martin-Krumm, 2018; Young et al., 2019). Further, research with negative ER suggests having a wider range of strategies enhances ER success (Lougheed & Hollenstein, 2012). However, most studies on positive emotion regulation (ER) have focused on savoring strategies and lack youth involvement. I propose that it is not only how many strategies youth use but the pattern of strategies youth use to regulate positive emotions that relate to internalizing problems. The purpose of our study was to examine the factor structure of a novel self-report measure of positive ER strategies in adolescents and their relations to mental health as well as to investigate the number and type of profiles that emerge from youths' use of 13 positive ER strategies and differences in mental health. I recruited a sample of 349 English-speaking 13- 17-year-old youth (50% females; 32% non-binary/other gender; Mage = 15.7) who reported on positive ER strategies, anxiety, depression, difficulties regulating positive emotions, resilience, and trauma. Exploratory factor analysis of the measure indicated 10 factors. Correlations showed greater use of Self-Improvement, Physical Activity, and Positive Thinking were related to more resilience; greater use of Fantasizing and Sensation Seeking were related to more anxiety; and greater use of Sensation Seeking and Relaxation were related to more depression. Conversely, greater use of Sensation Seeking was related to less resilience; greater use of Positive Thinking was related to less anxiety; and greater use of Positive Thinking and Physical activity were related to less depression. Profile analysis revealed a 6-profile model with two unique profiles characterized by either mainly using personal growth strategies more frequently than other strategies (profile 3) or using more frequently sensation seeking and fantasizing as opposed to other strategies available to them (profile 4). ANOVA results revealed significant differences in depression among profiles. These findings demonstrate adolescents utilize a wide range of emotion regulation strategies to maintain and upregulate positive emotions. Further, certain positive ER profiles may indicate protective (high personal growth only) or risk (high sensation seeking and fantasizing) for experiencing depressive symptoms.Item Sleep attitudes in adolescents: demographic differences and associations with sleep health(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2023) Alvarado, Giovanni; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Cara A. PalmerAbout 70-90% of adolescents in the United States receive less than the recommended 8 hours of sleep on a nightly basis despite its importance in everyday functioning (Keyes et al., 2015). Health-related attitudes are modifiable and predict actual health behaviors and previous research suggests that there are differences in how people value sleep (Ruggiero et al., 2019). Although previous work has examined sleep attitudes in teenagers, this has yet to be examined quantitatively in relation to actual sleep behavior. The purpose of this study is to examine how adolescents prioritize sleep and how this relates to other sleep outcomes. Participants included 649 adolescents from the United States (ages 13-18, M = 16.2, SD = 1.08; female = 79.7%; white = 45.2%) and were recruited through advertisements distributed throughout Instagram. Participants completed a brief 15-minute online survey to assess sleep outcomes and sleep attitudes. Adolescents completed the Charlotte Attitudes Towards Sleep Scale, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, the Sleep Timing Questionnaire, the Adolescent Sleep Hygiene Scale, the MacArthur Scale of Subjective Social Status - Youth Version, and sociodemographics. A series of regression models were conducted examining sleep outcomes predicted by adolescent sleep attitudes while adjusting for sociodemographics. An additional regression model was conducted examining adolescent sleep attitudes predicted by perceived socioeconomic status while adjusting for sociodemographics. Results suggested that teens who reported more positive attitudes towards sleep also reported longer sleep duration, better sleep quality, shorter sleep latency, earlier weekday and weekend bedtimes, and better sleep hygiene. There were also no significant differences in sleep atttitudes across sociodemographics. Follow-up exploratory analyses examined the two sleep attitudes subscales as independent predictors and outcomes and the pattern of findings remained unchanged. This study helps address the lack of research surrounding sleep attitudes in an adolescent sample. Results showed that sleep attitudes significantly predict sleep outcomes, but no significant differences were found across sociodemographic groups once accounting for covariates. Overall, findings from this study advance research on sleep attitudes by examining attitudes in a youth sample and suggest that sleep attitudes are a possible modifiable target to minimize sleep health difficulties.Item U.S. politics as a loss reminder: an adaptation of the historical loss scale(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2023) Wood, Zachary John; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Neha John-HendersonHistorical loss, the degree to which American Indians (AIs) think about losses such as land, culture, and life, is a contributor to experiences of historical trauma and its negative impacts in AIs. The relationship between historical loss and political participation among AIs has not been examined. AIs have lower rates of political participation than other groups, and ample political participation among AIs is necessary to protect their sovereignty, values, and interests. Minority groups can become mobilized to political action through perceiving discrimination or injustices against them. Measures of historical loss contain items related to the discrimination and injustices that AIs have experienced. While the Historical Loss Scale (HLS) measures the frequency with which AIs think about historical loss, it is rather general and may not relate to U.S. politics or the U.S. government in all cases. Thus, an adaptation of the HLS is introduced called the U.S. Politics as a Loss Reminder Scale (USPLRS) that contextualizes historical losses within the context of U.S. politics. A primary goal of the study was to examine the factor structure, reliability, and validity of the USPLRS. Further, it is possible that by directly contextualizing historical loss within U.S. politics, there will be a positive relationship between the extent to which AIs report U.S. politics act as a reminder of historical losses, and their levels of political engagement. It is also possible that a frequency of general thoughts about historical loss measured by the HLS will also be associated with political engagement. To test these hypotheses, a sample of AI adults (n=877) completed a series of questionnaires including the HLS, USPLRS, and measures of political engagement during the November 2020 national election cycle. Results revealed a 3-factor structure of the USPLRS related to losses due to government mistreatment, death, and loss of respect. Scores on both the HLS and USPLRS were positively associated with political participation, with the USPLRS exhibiting unique predictability beyond the HLS.Item Relationship between social support and substance use among American Indian people with substance use disorder(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2023) Neavill, Morgan Eva; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Monica SkewesAmerican Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/ANs) have endured trauma over generations and still experience systemic racism and oppression today. Historical trauma has contributed to health problems among AI/ANs, including high rates of substance use disorder. Social support is a protective factor for substance use in other populations; however, little is known about the role of social support and substance use in AI/AN communities. The current study employed secondary data analysis to understand the relationship between social support and substance use among AI/AN adults with substance use disorder. Using a Community-Based Participatory Research framework, a cross-sectional survey was conducted in partnership with an AI reservation community in Montana to examine risk and protective factors for substance use. Participants were 198 tribal members who self-identified as having a substance use problem. Social network characteristics were assessed using a modified version of the Important People Drug and Alcohol (IPDA) interview and substance use was assessed using the Timeline Followback. Consistent with previous research, the current study found that network substance use behavior was a better predictor of participant substance use outcomes than general support, substance specific support, or support for recovery/treatment. Variables associated with greater drug and alcohol abstinence among participants included living in larger household, having a greater percentage of the household that is sober, not having attended boarding school, having a larger percentage of the social network that does not accept one's substance use, having a smaller percentage of the social network rated as moderate or heavy substance users, and having a smaller percentage of the social network that uses substances frequently. An additional analysis was conducted to test whether the association between social support and participant substance use was moderated by the substance use behavior of the network, but the interaction was not significant. Contrary to prior research, the size, general supportiveness, and importance of the social network were not significantly associated with participant substance use. Results suggest that the IPDA may benefit from modifications to improve its usefulness in addiction research with AI/ANs. Implications for tribal members with substance use problems, their loved ones, and community leaders are discussed.Item Testing the effectiveness of heart rate variability biofeedback as a method to improve attention control(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2023) Hood, Audrey Victoria Blackwell; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Keith A. HutchisonThe current dissertation sought to 1) examine the relationship between working memory capacity (WMC), attention control, and high-frequency heart rate variability (HF-HRV) and 2), to implement an HRV biofeedback training with the goal of increasing resting baseline HF-HRV, and in turn, attention control task performance. In both experiments, physiological measurements were collected during a seated, resting baseline using electrocardiograph electrodes and BioNomadix receivers which transmitted signals to a BioPac MP-150/160 System. The HRV index used in this study was calculated from the inter-beat intervals and inter-breath intervals data extracted from the electrocardiograph and respiration signals. In Experiment 1, participants first underwent a resting baseline period to assess their HRV and then completed two WMC tasks. Experiment 2 took place during two laboratory sessions with a week-long at-home training between lab Sessions 1 and 2. At Session 1, participants first underwent a resting baseline period to assess their HRV and then completed two measures of WMC. They then completed three attention control tasks pre- and post-training. For the training, those randomly assigned to the HRV biofeedback condition underwent a breathing exercise, whereas those randomly assigned to the active control condition completed wordsearch puzzles. Participants were asked to practice the breathing/wordsearch exercises at home for one week. At Session 2, participants underwent a resting baseline physiological assessment followed by the three attention control tasks again. Results demonstrated that HF-HRV is weakly correlated with WMC and attention control and that brief, 5-minute sessions of HRV biofeedback are not sufficient to increase levels resting baseline HF-HRV.Item Childhood trauma exposure, age and self-compassion as predictors of later-life symptoms of depression and anxiety in an American Indian sample(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2023) Larsen, Jade Michael; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Neha John-HendersonPast research has established a relationship between childhood trauma and later-life anxiety and depression symptoms in American Indian samples. However, less is known about protective factors that may reduce the strength of this relationship. The purpose of the present study was to assess self-compassion as a protective factor with an emphasis on age as additional potential moderator. Seven hundred and twenty-nine self-identifying American Indian participants completed self-report measures pertaining to this question online via Qualtrics. The hypotheses were such that self-compassion would be protective against later-life anxiety and depression symptoms at all age points (Hypothesis 1), that the interaction between self-compassion and childhood trauma exposure would be statistically significant for those higher in trauma but not lower (Hypothesis 2) and that there would be a three-way interaction among self-compassion, age and childhood trauma exposure, such that age would moderate the interaction between childhood trauma exposure and self-compassion in predicting symptoms of anxiety and depression (Hypothesis 3). Regression analyses found support for Hypothesis 1, indicating that self-compassion is protective against anxiety and depression symptoms in this sample. Support for Hypothesis 2 was not found, as the interaction between self-compassion and childhood trauma exposure did not significantly predict anxiety or depression symptoms. Hypothesis 3 was supported in that the three-way interaction significantly predicted both later-life anxiety and depression symptoms, such that older participants who reported high levels of self-compassion tended to have the lowest symptoms. These findings indicate that self-compassion may have age dependent effects in moderating the relationship between childhood trauma exposure and later-life symptoms of anxiety and depression in American Indian samples.