Scholarship & Research
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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 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 Influence of emotions: how a film score aids audience attention and understanding in documentary film(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Arts & Architecture, 2023) Weikert, Grace Allison; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Dennis AigThe music that accompanies documentaries often needs to be more valued and utilized. Although documentaries primarily focus on facts or discoveries, their musical scores, which are often secondary, house the emotional nuances and sensitivities that are the true key to their meaning and impact. Intentionally crafted scores--as the emotional undertone--draw viewers into the inner world of the film. By maximizing intellectual stimulation through the visual means of film and auditorial means of music, there is a greater chance for audience attention and understanding. This thesis seeks to examine original scores within documentary films, applications pertaining to learning capabilities, and the proper execution within documentary context to direct attention of the viewer. I include a case study using my science documentary film Holy Curiosity: Uncovering the Expansion Rate of the Universe to assess the effectiveness of sequences in aiding audiences' attention and understanding of complex scientific information through its original musical score as a structural device. Ultimately, documentary films employing an original film score may garner increased audience attention and understanding.Item How do inquiry-focused nature walks influence pre-school students' understanding of their environment, engagement in nature, and emotional regulation?(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2021) Kakuk, Camas S.; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Greg FrancisThe purpose of this study is to discover whether there is measurable value in adding elements of nature school philosophy to a traditional Montessori preschool, even in an imperfect or transitional environment. Do inquiry-focused nature walks influence preschool students' understanding of their environment, engagement in nature, or emotional regulation? In this project I attempted to measure the impact of a daily inquiry walk, through several data streams: a parent survey, a nature inquiry checklist based on the NGSS kindergarten science standards, and by direct observation of nap and walk time and quality. Despite many setbacks and school closures, our initial findings suggest positive results in the areas of healthy sleep, knowledge and understanding of the natural world, and emotional and behavioral health.Item Mindfulness-based social emotional learning in the science classroom(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2021) Cochrum, Caleb Denver; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Greg FrancisThis study evaluated the impact of implementing daily mindfulness and biweekly social emotional learning lessons into a sophomore level Physical Science classroom. Qualitative and quantitative data collected through student surveys, attendance data, content-based assessments, was analyzed to assess the overall impact on student learning, classroom culture, and student self-efficacy. Results indicate that the use of mindfulness and social emotional learning curricula significantly improves classroom culture, while also having a marginally positive impact on academic performance and student self-efficacy.Item Ocean conservation films: connecting the viewer(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Arts & Architecture, 2020) Lanier, Sarah Elizabeth; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Dennis AigDocumentaries about ocean conservation have relied on the model of conventional environmental science documentaries with their use of expository film techniques. Ocean conservation films of this kind follow traditions of objectivity, authority, pressure for change, and placing the audience in the uncomfortable role of acting as an antagonist to aquatic life. By examining a new model for ocean conservation films in which audiences feel connected to the ocean instead of alienated from it, we can create more profound stories as well as emotional connections with the viewer. My film, 'The Crab Man of Kodiak' (2020), utilizes a localized portrait film format to engage the viewer in a discourse about ocean conservation without vilifying them, creating a balance between advocacy, science, and emotion.Item Neither here nor there(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Arts & Architecture, 2020) Marian Albin, Cristina Simona; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Sara MastTraditional rites of passage are losing value today or are forced to take new forms, sometimes at a rapid pace. Inevitable events instantly and actively change our personal, societal and global life. Neither Here Nor There examines mental and physical liminal spaces. My aim is to define the concept, etymology and history of liminality, while exploring its relevance in our modern world. Included as part of this paper, images from my current body of work chronicle different transitional environments, both aesthetically and emotionally. The original concept of liminality, as described by earlier theorists, no longer holds the same meaning. Transitory experiences become perpetual, some occurring at the same time, some repeating. A liminal space can sometimes metamorphose into a home. In this thesis I am addressing several questions of liminality: What are the attributes of liminality and how does it reshape our identity? How do we navigate unsettling unknowns when the ground under our feet seems to constantly shift? During the writing of this paper, the novel virus COVID-19 hit the world, resulting in fear, stress, anxiety, chaos, and changes. However, the crisis also brought with it flexibility, creativity, collaboration, and resilience. New forms of ritual are being born every second.