Theses and Dissertations at Montana State University (MSU)
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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 Prejudice and traits of victimization among the Crow Indians : an experiment in behavior modification(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 1972) Parks, Helen Margaret BybeeItem Source versus message cues in persuasion : the interaction of modality with credibility and comprehensibility(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 1984) Choriki, Danny Stephen HifumiItem Cult experience : abuse, psychological distress, close relationships, and personality characteristics(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 1997) Gasde, IreneCultic groups distinguish themselves from benign groups through their use of unethical means of persuasion, control, and exploitation. Most people view those who join cults as different from the norm and attribute their psychological problems after leaving cults to personal deficiencies. This study investigated 61 former members of the controversial Church Universal and Triumphant (CUT), evaluating their perceptions of the group’s abusiveness, their level of psychological distress and personality characteristics, as well as changes in the quality of their close personal relationships. Although responses to the Group Psychological Abuse Scale revealed non-abusive pre-involvement perceptions of CUT, current perceptions reflected higher abusiveness, suggesting changes in the interpretations of events for these two time frames, possible misrepresentation on the part of the group, or both. On the revised Symptom Check List-90, many respondents reported high levels of psychological distress, which were influenced by spousal relationships during and after CUT involvement and which decreased since leaving CUT. Respondents’ scores on the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire fell mostly within the normal range, except for extroversion, which fell below the norm. Respondents reported that personal relationships deteriorated during CUT involvement. Similar studies investigating other controversial groups are needed. Research focused on the development of instruments and methodologies permitting the study of children with cult histories would contribute to expanding current understanding of the impact of cults.Item Behavioral covariation in the treatment of chronic pain(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 1986) Kalsher, Michael JohnItem The effects of subject's reading achievement level in a recognition memory task(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 1982) Thompson-Gibbs, AnneItem Analogies as aids to learning(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 1982) Evans, Gerald EdwinItem Duration and warning work independently to reduce false memories in DRM and homograph lists(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2006) Lambert, Ann Elise; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Keith A. HutchisonTwo experiments examined the effects of forewarning and presentation duration on false memory. Durations of 1000 ms and 3000 ms were used to present words in DRM lists containing 12 words which converged onto the same meaning of a critical nonpresented word and homograph lists containing 6 words that converged onto a different meaning of a critical nonpresented word. Associative strength from list items to critical items was equated across list types. In Experiment 1 participants were warned of the tendency of the lists to bring to mind a nonpresented critical word and were instructed to write down their guess as to the identity of that word following presentation of each list. Participants identified DRM critical words more frequently than homograph critical words. In Experiment 2 half of the participants were warned of the tendency of the lists to bring to mind a nonpresented critical word, and half were not. Following the presentation of each list all participants were instructed to recall the words for the lists.Item Evidence for unconscious thought in complex decisions : the result of a methodological artifact or of an active thought process(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2009) Runnion, Brett Matthew; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Ian M. HandleyPrevious research has suggested that a period of unconscious thought can result in judgments that are equal or superior to those of conscious thought (Dijksterhuis, 2004). The existence of unconscious thought as a decision-making process is controversial. In fact, it has been suggested that unconscious thought is not a process rather the evidence supporting it is the result of a methodological artifact (Lassiter et al., in press) that only occurs when participants can retrieve online judgments. This thesis attempts to resolve this controversy. Participants received information describing 4 cars (acquisition stage) that were described by twelve dichotomous attributes (e.g., good/poor mileage). The best car possessed mostly positive characteristics and the worst car had mostly negative characteristics. Participants were told before or after the information was presented, that they would be forming an impression of the four cars. They were then allowed to think about the cars consciously for 4 minutes, were distracted for 4 minutes (unconscious thought), or were asked to make an immediate decision without thinking. When the instructions to form an impression were received before acquiring the information, the participants could form online judgments during acquisition. These could later be retrieved when participants reported their attitudes. When the instructions to form an impression were received after participants acquired the information, they could not form online judgments, but could form only memory-based judgments after the information was presented. Without online judgments, participants are forced to rely on memory-based judgments. Thus, if participants in the unconscious-thought condition formed more favorable attitudes toward the best car relative to the attitudes formed by the participants in the other two conditions, a thought process must be occurring. Additionally, these attitudes should transfer to choosing the best car as well. However, the results of this thesis failed to replicate previous research (Lassiter et al., in press) as the dependent measures failed to reach significance.