APA PFF Tri-state Psychology Symposium
2003 Poster Abstracts
EFFECT OF GENDER AND EXPENSIVE VERSUS INEXPENSIVE POSSESSIONS ON INTERPERSONAL PERCEPTIONS AND SOCIAL ACCEPTANCE
Lauren Olthaus, College of Mount St. Joseph
(Faculty Sponsor: Tim Lawson)
I examined whether expensive possessions and gender affect how a person is viewed. Participants rated the possibility
of forming a friendship with the target person, and the target's materialism and self-consciousness. As predicted,
a 2x2 ANOVA revealed expensive possessions caused a more negative impression of the target than inexpensive possessions.
HOLDING IN MIND CONFLICTING INFORMATION: PRETENDING, WORKING MEMORY AND EXECUTIVE CONTROL
Kathleen Campbell, Miami University
(Faculty Sponsor: Cecilia Shore)
Children's abilities to recall the true and pretend identities of an object in pretense are examined along with
a battery of executive functioning and working memory tasks. It is expected that children who can recall the both
identities will also perform better on executive functioning and working memory tasks.
THE PSYCHOSOCIAL IMPACT OF AUTISM
Becky Kissick, Miami University-Hamilton
(Faculty Sponsor: Shannon Maxwell)
The purpose of this research is to increase the level of awareness of autism and its psychosocial impact on families.
The impact the disorder has on the family unit is hard to fathom. Do parents leave their jobs to care for the child?
How would this effect them financially? Do parents feel helpless? depressed? How do siblings relate to the child,
and does it affect their relationships with other children? How does this impact parents' relationships with each
another and friends? Did they receive support from the community? This research will finally provide answers, benefiting
those in the psychological community as well as parents.
THE BIAS OF ILLUSORY BIAS: LEGAL JUDGMENTS AND ESTIMATES OF LEGAL JUDGMENTS
Elizabeth Dennemann, Northern Kentucky University
(Faculty Sponsor: Robin Bartlett)
This study investigated legal judgments and what people think about legal judgments. Participants (N=168) read
a scenario about a male Caucasian or African-American target convicted of a crime (assault, embezzlement, or negligent
homicide) and recommended a sentence. Participants also estimated the sentence most people would recommend. Although
no actual biases were found, participants saw biases that did not exist.
AMPHETAMINE-CONDITIONED PLACE PREFERENCE IN RATS WITH PARIETAL CORTEX LESIONS
Nathan Lee & Mark E. Bardgett, Northern Kentucky University
(Faculty Sponsor: Mark E. Bardgett)
Functional neuroimaging studies have implicated the human posterior parietal cortex in responses conditioned by
psychostimulants. The present study demonstrated that, in rats, amphetamine-induced conditioned place preference
is not significantly altered by excitotoxic lesions of parietal cortex.
PERCEPTIONS OF SEXUAL ASSAULT VIGNETTES
Aubrey Beidatsch & Elizabeth Dennemann, Northern Kentucky University
(Faculty Sponsor: Kimberly Hanson Breitenbecher)
The purpose of this study was to develop stimulus materials for a future study investigating the relationship between
perceptions of sexual assault vignettes and history of sexual victimization. We created ten stimulus vignettes
describing a sexual encounter between a man and woman. The vignettes varied in parameters shown to influence subjects'
judgments regarding whether rape has occurred. We found main effects for certainty that aggression occurred and
significant results between dating status and perceptions of the vignettes.
ATTITUDES ABOUT EVIL AND THE ROLE OF THE PRISON SYSTEM
Dustin James McKee & Gretchen Lemendola, Earlham College
(Faculty Sponsor: Diana Punzo)
The relationship between participants' beliefs about the nature of evil and their beliefs about the role of prison
were correlated. Fifty-two participants completed a questionnaire regarding their beliefs about evil and the appropriate
role of the prison system. There was a significant positive correlation between participants' belief in rehabilitation
and deterrence, and their beliefs that evil stems from external environmental factors. The results provide insight
about the origins of discrepancies in criminal sentencing and public support for different types of
sentencing.
NOW THAT'S A HORSE OF A DIFFERENT COLOR: ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BIBLE-BASED RELIGIOUS BELIEFS, BIBLE KNOWLEDGE
AND PSEUDOSCIENCE BELIEFS
Jenna McCann, Northern Kentucky University
(Faculty Sponsor: Douglas S. Krull)
This research investigated the relationship between Bible-based religious beliefs (e.g., God, angels), Bible knowledge,
and pseudoscience beliefs (e.g., ESP, palm reading). Religious beliefs and Bible knowledge were positively correlated.
Religious beliefs and pseudoscience beliefs were uncorrelated. Bible knowledge and pseudoscience beliefs were negatively
correlated.