Devin Petersen and Tyler Pedersen, Counseling and Psychological Services Introduction Online pornography use among college students is frequent and extensive. Studies indicate that roughly 90% of male college students access online pornography with nearly half doing so weekly or daily (Carroll, 2008). Although there is debate about the ultimate effects that frequent pornography viewing may […]
Skill Acquisition in the Identification of Symptoms Associated with Autism Spectrum Disorders Among Three Pre-Professional Groups
Kristi Hoover and Faculty Mentor: Blake Hansen, Department of Counseling Psychology and Special Education Introduction The purpose of this study was to train three groups of pre-professional students on identification of behaviors associated with autism spectrum disorders. Johnson (2008) emphasized that “an increased awareness of early signs of autism can facilitate surveillance and enable [Professionals] […]
Strength-Based Assessment for Children with Autism and Related Disabilities in Bosnia.
McKenzie May and Faculty Mentor: Blake Hansen, Counseling Psychology and Special Education Introduction Bosnia was the center of conflict during the war in Yugoslavia from April 1992 to December 1995. In post-war Bosnia, where there are limited resources, families of children with special needs bare the burden of care on their own. Caring for a […]
Effects of Explicit Print Referencing on the Print Awareness of a Child with Severe Disabilities
Mallory Roberts and Professor Blake Hansen, Department of Special Education This great opportunity of being awarded an ORCA grant allowed me to pursue and share my research with others at an Applied Behavioral Analysis International Conference. I was able to take my research study and present it with many ABA professionals at the conference held […]
The Impact of Autism on Families: Topography and Function of Repetitive Behavior
David Ball and Dr. Blake Hansen, Counseling Psychology and Special Education Introduction The prevalence of autism has received considerable media attention in recent years. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently assessed the prevalence of autism in children and determined that one in 68 children have autism.1 Our study analyzed functional behavior in families […]
LINGERING EFFECTS OF THE APARTHEID DETERMINING FACTORS THAT MEDIATE THE PSYCHOLOGICAL IMPLICATIONS OF PERCEIVED RACISM
Alexandra Knell and Dr. Timothy B. Smith, Counseling Psychology Special Education Department Experiences of racism adversely influence multiple aspects of psychological well-being, and individuals vary in their successful coping to mitigate those consequences. Recent research (van Dyk, 2008) has suggested religiosity and inter-racial forgiveness as two positive ways of coping, and my project will address […]
The Effect of Marital Quality on Mortality: A Meta-Analysis
Tyler Harris and Dr. Timothy Smith In recent years divorce, abuse, neglect and other family issues have been on the rise. Many of these problems stem from a poor marital relationship. Elder Christofferson recently taught, “We have much to do to strengthen marriage in societies that increasingly trivialize its importance and purpose” (Christofferson 2012). This […]
A Meta-analysis of the Effect of Marriage on Mortality
Chris Badger, David Stephenson, and Dr. Tim Smith, Counseling Psychology Introduction Relationships have already been shown to have clear psychological benefits for those involved. (Meyers, 1999) Research has also shown an inverse relationships between the number and quality of relationships and health status. (House 1988, Knox 1998) In addition to health status, an incredible amount […]
Melioration and the Behavioral Addiction Process
Joshua Kirton and Dr. Timothy Smith, Dept. CPSE This project was undertaken to evaluate how melioration explain behavior addiction more robustly than more conventional models such as maximization. Suboptimal behavior, including addiction, can be conceptualized as the consequence of a decision strategy called melioration that is utilized in choice situations in which the value of […]
Reporting Bullying in Middle Schools: Are Students Willing to Use a Website?
Erin Anderson and Dr. Betty Y. Ashbaker, Counseling Psychology and Special Education Introduction Negative incidents occur in schools every day, many of which go unnoticed by the schools administration and staff. While many teachers and administrators are oblivious to the negative incidents, such as bullying, students are very aware of the bullying and other negative […]