Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, 2005, Psychology (Arts and Sciences)

The present study examined stereotype challenge and threat responses through a manipulation of social comparison information. Female participants received feedback about an ostensibly matched partner who was either similar (i.e., female) or dissimilar (i.e., male) to themselves. After learning that they would be taking a math test that either has or has not demonstrated gender differences in the past, participants learned that their partner either performed very well or very poorly on the test. Subsequently, participants took the math test themselves, and their performance was evaluated. It was predicted that interacting with a peer whose performance was consistent with the negative stereotype would exacerbate stereotype threat effects, while interacting with a peer whose performance challenged the negative stereotype would eliminate stereotype threat effects. The results support these predictions, highlighting the manner whereby peer-group social comparisons can exert a powerful influence on women's math test performance when negative stereotypes are salient.

Committee: Keith Markman (Advisor) Subjects: Psychology, Social

Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, 2022, Experimental Psychology (Arts and Sciences)

Social anxiety (SA) is characterized by anxious symptomology and fear during a social or performance situation, but recent work suggests that social anxiety may not be associated with negative interpersonal and intrapersonal outcomes in support contexts with close friends. The current research investigates key interpersonal, intrapersonal, and physiological associations of social anxiety in social support conversations with close friends. Specifically, we examined the associations between social anxiety and positive and negative affect, perceptions of demands and resources going into the conversation, and perceived partner responsiveness. Additionally, we used the biopsychosocial model of challenge and threat as an organizing framework to understand the physiological responses associated with SA. One hundred and seventy-two friend dyads completed the self-report measures and had their physiological responses recorded while they discussed an extra-dyadic problem that one dyad member disclosed. Trained coders rated observed responsiveness behaviors exhibited during the conversation. Results indicated that greater SA was associated with greater negative affect, and less perceived resources and greater perceived demands, but not associated with perceived partner responsiveness, positive affect, or observed responsive behaviors. Physiologically, greater SA was associated with greater ventricular contractility (indicative of task engagement) and greater challenge and less threat responses. However, follow-up analyses revealed that the challenge responses were not robust. This research integrates the biopsychosocial model of challenge and threat with social anxiety and social support, providing evidence that even though greater social anxiety is associated with greater negative perceptions during a social support conversation, people with greater social anxiety showed physiological signs of more task engagement and did not differ i (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Brett Peters (Advisor) Subjects: Behavioral Psychology; Behavioral Sciences; Experimental Psychology; Health; Mental Health; Physiological Psychology; Physiology; Psychobiology; Psychology; Social Psychology; Social Research

Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, 2022, Experimental Psychology (Arts and Sciences)

Power, the capacity to influence others while resisting their attempts at influence, has implications for a wide variety of individual- and relationship-level outcomes. One potential mechanism through which power may be associated with these various outcomes is motivation orientations. High power has been linked to greater approach oriented motivation and low power has been linked to greater avoidance-orientated motivation. However, current research has mostly relied on self-report or artificially created relationships (and the power dynamics therein) in the lab to measure the associations between power and motivation orientations. By utilizing a framework provided by the Biopsychosocial Model of Challenge and Threat, the current study sought to examine how power is related physiological responses indicative of psychological challenge (i.e., approach) and threat (i.e., avoidance) during extra-dyadic problem discussions between romantic partners. The primary hypothesis that higher actor power would be associated with more approach-oriented challenge and less avoidanceoriented threat was not supported. However, we found that for disclosers with high-power partners, greater actor power was associated with physiological responses consistent with more avoidance-oriented threat and less approach-oriented challenge. Additionally, we found support for our secondary hypothesis that high actor power was associated with self-reported appraisals more consistent with approach-oriented challenge. This research is the first to examine the relationship between power and in vivo indices of challenge and threat during interactions between couples and advances our understanding of how power elicits motivational orientations and influences the stress response system by highlighting the importance of situational attributes that may undermine power during self-disclosure with a high-power partner.

Committee: Brett Peters (Advisor) Subjects: Psychology

Doctor of Philosophy, University of Toledo, 2018, Psychology - Experimental

The Biopsychosocial Model of Threat and Challenge (BPS; Blascovich & Tomaka, 1996) informs research on stress and coping. The present research proposes a new application of this conceptual model: To explain occurrences of placebo and nocebo effects. It is argued here that the processes outlined in the BPS model, concerning how people cope and respond to stress, can be employed to explain how placebo and nocebo effects arise in some cases. Following a review of the BPS model and the placebo effect literature, a pilot experiment is described. In this pilot research, distinct physiological changes, in line with the predictions of the BPS model for coping with stress are exhibited among participants receiving positive placebo expectations about a treatment, compared to controls. That is, treatment expectation participants displayed greater physiological resilience to stress when they were informed they had a new resource (e.g., the treatment expectation) to deal with a situation in which the actual resources available did not change. The main experiment builds on this pilot work. In this experiment, both perceptions of resources and demands were manipulated. This experiment was designed to extend beyond the Pilot Study to demonstrate evidence for a BPS explanation of placebo effects and nocebo effects in the same paradigm. Results depicted that task engagement did not significantly differ from baseline through the performance task. In addition, participant's completion of the performance task did not lead to significant differences between conditions. Within the BPS Model, participants provided with a resource and demand manipulation did not significantly demonstrate physiological indicators of challenge or threat. Implications and explanations of these findings, as well as directions for future research are discussed.

Committee: Andrew Geers PhD (Advisor) Subjects: Psychology

Master of Arts, University of Toledo, 2015, Psychology - Experimental

Placebo effects are the physiological or psychological reactions evoked from the administration of an inactive substance or procedure (Stewart-Williams, 2004). Recent research has demonstrated that a key causal mechanism behind placebo effects is an individual's expectations. Although expectations have been found to generate placebo effects in many studies, researchers have revealed that changing expectations do not always lead to placebo effects. The goal of the present research was to examine the possibility that a prominent framework of the coping literature, the Biopsychosocial Model (BPS) of Threat and Challenge, could help account for placebo effects in performance situations. According to the BPS model, individuals experience more of a “challenge response” if they view themselves as having enough resources to handle the task, or a “threat response” if they do not. If a treatment expectation is conceptualized as an asset, akin to perception of greater resources, then integration of the placebo literature with the challenge threat model is useful. The present research examined how the wording of a placebo expectation (gain or loss-framed) about the difficulty of the performance task determined whether an individual experiences a challenge or threat response to the task. This was tested in the present study using a performance paradigm successfully employed in research on the BPS model. Inconsistent with the BPS Model, task engagement did not increase from baseline through the performance task. In addition, participant's completion of the performance task did not lead to significant differences between conditions. Consistent with the BPS Model, participants provided with a placebo expectation demonstrated physiological indicators of challenge, whereas no expectation participants displayed physiological indicators of threat (p<.05). Implications of these findings and directions for future research are discussed.

Committee: Andrew Geers PhD (Committee Chair); Rose Jason PhD (Committee Member); Levine Jason PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Physiological Psychology; Psychology

Master of Science (MS), Wright State University, 2015, Human Factors and Industrial/Organizational Psychology MS

This study examined the influence of localized temperature change on vigilance performance. Additionally, the effect of stressor appraisals on the relationship between localized temperature change and vigilance performance was investigated. A total of 36 male and female participants between the ages of 18 and 45 completed a stressor appraisal scale before completing a 40-minute simulated air traffic control vigilance task. Depending on the condition, either a hot, cold, or neutral temperature change was induced using a thermoelectric pad and blanket 20 minutes into the vigilance task. Although localized temperature change did not have a significant effect on vigilance performance 25-30 minutes into the task, those who were randomly assigned to the cold condition did experience a significant reduction in their vigilance decrement over time when compared to the neutral condition. Participants were classified as challenged or threatened, depending on their task appraisals. A marginally significant main effect of stressor appraisals on vigilance performance was observed. Challenged individuals appeared to perform better over time than threatened individuals. Although a moderating effect was not observed, these results suggest that individually both localized temperature change and stressor appraisals tend to influence vigilance performance over time.

Committee: Tamera Schneider Ph.D. (Advisor); Kevin Bennett Ph.D. (Committee Member); Lloyd Tripp Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Behavioral Psychology; Climate Change; Cognitive Psychology; Experimental Psychology; Personality Psychology; Physiological Psychology; Psychobiology; Psychology

Master of Science (MS), Wright State University, 2010, Human Factors and Industrial/Organizational Psychology MS

Threat stress appraisals can negatively affect individuals by decreasing performance (Gildea, Schneider, & Shebilske, 2007). Performance is also influenced by a team‟s ability to coordinate tasks (Entin & Serfaty, 1999). This study investigated the link between team stressor appraisals, coordination, and performance. Using a simulated team environment, teams were evaluated on their perceived stress appraisals, coordination as indicated through instant messaging, and team performance. Findings showed that team stressor appraisals were marginally related to coordination and significantly related to performance. Coordination was related to team performance. Further research should be performed using varied levels of a stressful scenario to evaluate the effects of distress on teams and the use of the stressor appraisal scale as a measure of team stress on coordination.

Committee: Tamera Schneider PhD (Advisor); Wayne Shebilske PhD (Committee Member); Valerie Shalin PhD (Committee Member); Joseph Lyons PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Communication; Psychology