Browsing by Author "Black, Sheila"
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Item The Color Line: the Influence of Race on Aesthetic Experience and its Inferred Connection to Implicit Racial Bias(University of Alabama Libraries, 2020) Jackson, Barbara Larsha; Black, Sheila; University of Alabama TuscaloosaImplicit bias literature widely reports that biases shape perception in a number of real-world situations. However, a review of literature found no existing implicit bias studies that focus on the activation of biases during the process of art assessment. The current study fills this empirical gap. Methods: Eighty-nine students (Black — 33; White — 56) participated in a study on art interpretation where they judged fifteen paintings in four categories— Mainstream, Blackstream, Activist and Political— and reported on three dimensions related to their assessment, like, comfort and valence. Results: An analysis of the data determined that the Blackstream category yielded significant results on the dimension of comfort with White people being less comfortable with images in the Blackstream category than Blacks. No other significant results were found on the dimensions of comfort or like in the other art categories, indicating that there were no significant differences in participant responses to the artworks in these categories. A word analysis on the written interpretations of the paintings was conducted on the dimensions of positive, neutral and negative language usage, which indicated that Whites responded less positively than Blacks to art in the Blackstream category. Discussion and implications: These findings indicate that race plays a role in the interpretation of paintings, specifically those in the Black art category. A future study will examine how age, executive functioning, openness to experience, explicit and implicit racism play a role in mediating the responses of Black and White participants to artworks. Keywords: perception, aesthetic experience, race, artItem Decision-Making Across the Lifespan: an Examination of the Influence of Ease of Comprehension on the Utilization of Heuristic Versus Systematic Thinking(University of Alabama Libraries, 2023) Evans, Teairra Z; Black, Sheila; Glenn, AndreaThis study examined age differences in decision-making in a healthcare context. Specifically, I examined whether older adults may be more likely to rely on the recommendation of a credible source, especially when information is difficult to understand, and forgo systematic processing in a decision about their health. Ninety younger (ages 18-25) and 90 older (ages 55-85) participants were exposed to an advertisement in which a physician (presented as a credible source) promotes the use of a supplement. The advertisements presented varied in ease of comprehension, as this has been found to affect the likelihood of using either heuristic or systematic processing in decision-making, and the description of the quality of the supplement was also manipulated. After viewing the advertisement, participants indicated the likelihood that they would purchase the supplement. Consistent with existing literature, the quality of the supplement was shown to impact decision-making in both younger and older adults. Contrary to predictions, younger adults were more likely to purchase the supplement as compared to older adults. Results indicate that older adults were not heavily influenced by the recommendation of the physician and based their decisions on the quality of the supplement. The expertise of older adults possibly provided a framework to attend to the supplements quality and inhibit extraneous source information such as the credibility of the physician.Item The Effects of Age, Priming, and Working Memory on Decision-Making(MDPI, 2016) Wood, Meagan; Black, Sheila; Gilpin, Ansley; University of Alabama TuscaloosaIn the current study, we examined the effects of priming and personality on risky decision-making while playing the Game of Dice Task (GDT). In the GDT, participants decide how risky they wish to be on each trial. In this particular study prior to playing the GDT, participants were randomly assigned to one of three priming conditions: Risk-Aversive, Risk-Seeking, or Control. In the Risk-Seeking condition, a fictional character benefitted from risky behavior while in the Risk-Aversive condition, a fictional character benefitted from exercising caution. Although not explicitly stated in the instructions, participants need to make "safe" rather than risky choices to optimize performance on the GDT. Participants were also given Daneman and Carpenter's assessment of working memory task. Interestingly, although older adults self-reported being more cautious than younger adults on the Domain Specific Risk Attitude scale (DOSPERT), older adults made riskier decisions than younger adults on the GDT. However, after controlling for working memory, the age differences on the GDT became insignificant, indicating that working memory mediated the relation between age and risky decisions on the GDT.Item Effects of Cognitive Demand and Emotion on the Incubation Effect in Dyads(University of Alabama Libraries, 2022) Zhao, Qichen; Roskos, Beverly; University of Alabama TuscaloosaThe incubation effect describes the phenomenon of performance improvement after being away from a hard task for some time. Though much research has been done, the mechanism(s) underlying this effect was unclear yet, together with a lack of studies in groups. The current study examined the incubation effect in a group context using dyads and explored the effects of cognitive demand of interpolated task and emotions on the incubation effect, in hope of deepening understanding of possible mechanisms of the incubation effect. Four experiments were conducted: Experiments 1-3 manipulated cognitive demand of interpolated task and Experiment 4 manipulated emotions during incubation. Three divergent thinking tasks were employed: Experiments 1 and 4 employed alternative uses task, Experiment 2 employed instances task and Experiment 3 employed consequences task. Participants in each trial worked together with their partner on a creativity task, then worked on the designated interpolated task, then came back and worked on the same creativity task again, except in no-incubation condition where they worked on the creativity task continuously.The results showed trends that fit the incubation effect in Experiments 2 and 3, but no significant effect of cognitive demand of interpolated task or emotions during incubation was found on the proposed group incubation effect. Possible reasons might come from the setup of cognitive demand levels and emotion conditions, or the relatively weak nature of the incubation effect. Future studies on the group incubation effect should carefully set conditions and explore more group sizes for the generalizability concern.Item Effects of Context and Age on Feeling of Knowing (FOK) Judgments(University of Alabama Libraries, 2020) Enam, Tasnuva; McDonough, Ian M.; University of Alabama TuscaloosaIn two experiments we wanted to examine how does age and context influence FOK ratings and recognition memory. In Experiment 1 we found age and context have no influence on FOK and recognition memory but influences subjective memory ratings such as recollection and familiarity to a greater extent. Older adults specifically seem to have higher subjective ratings for recollection and familiarity between old and new scenes compared to younger adults. In Experiment 2, explicit instruction was added to draw attention away from context. We found with explicit instruction, older adults have higher ratings overall for FOK judgments and higher subjective memory ratings for recollection and familiarity compared to younger adults. Results may help us to understand how FOK judgments are made as we age in addition to importance of contextual information in subjective memory in aging.Item Executive Functions: Predicting Discrepancies Between Child Performance Measures and Informant Report(University of Alabama Libraries, 2023) Erwin, Hillary; Gilpin, AnsleyExecutive function (EF) skills, such as inhibitory control, working memory, and attention shift, help children control their thoughts, behaviors, and emotions, and thus are foundational and predictive of children's future academic and occupational success (Brock et al., 2009; Zelazo et al., 2016). Executive functions can be assessed directly via child performance measures or via informant report (e.g., parent or teacher report). However, often there is a discrepancy between measures, reflecting differences between the measures' ecological validity, context, capacity, and performance (Isquith et al., 2013; McAuley et al. 2010). The purpose of this research was to investigate the difference between children's EF scores on performance measures versus teacher report, and to determine if there were factors that predict the discrepancy. Results indicated that age, vocabulary, aggression, and hyperactivity were predictors of the direction of the discrepancy, and that aggression and hyperactivity were predictors of the magnitude of the discrepancy. These findings have implications for researchers to determine which measure(s) of EF are best to use for their methodology and to determine if additional variables may need to be considered. Moreover, in the future, this line of research may also inform education and clinical practice to best assess children's EF.Item Factors Affecting Trust in the Police: Age of Past Experiences with the Police and Future Expectations of Police Violence Victimization(University of Alabama Libraries, 2022) Patterson, Tarsha; Roskos, Beverly; University of Alabama TuscaloosaThe aim of this exploratory study was to examine how the age and quality of police encounters might influence trust in the police and future expectations of police violence victimization. A mix-methods approach was utilized, using both quantitative and qualitative approaches. Adult participants were asked to retrospectively recall their most memorable childhood police encounters, most memorable adult police encounters, and perceptions of how these past experiences may have influenced their trust in police and tendency to predict police behavior in the future. Using models of police trust as a theoretical framework, another objective of the study was to determine the characteristics of positive and negative police encounters, which were respectively operationalized as high-quality and low-quality in nature. Results indicated that the age when children experience police encounters and the quality of those encounters were very impactful, and younger children who experienced negative police encounters have an increased likelihood of expecting to be victimized by the police when they are adults. The quality of the police encounters emerged as the most influential factor when determining predictors of childhood trust, adult trust, and expectations of future violence victimization at the hands of the police.Item Her Crowning Glory: Exploring the Implicit and Explicit Cognitive Biases of African American Women's Hairstyles and Their Relations to Judgments of Attractiveness, Professionalism, and Dominance(University of Alabama Libraries, 2022) Horace, Janet; Roskos, Beverly; University of Alabama TuscaloosaFor African American women, hair is often touted as one of the most important characteristics when it comes to outward beauty and attractiveness. Hair can also be thought of an aesthetic style choice, as it can affect potential job and romantic prospects. The primary objective of this study was to measure the effects of African American women's hairstyles on levels of other's perceptions of the woman's attractiveness, professionalism, and dominance. Another objective of this study was to investigate stereotypes related to African American women's hair and their effects on memory and cognitive processing, in particular, the intragroup (or within-group) stereotypes and biases associated with straight and natural hairstyles of African American women by African American men and women themselves. Through the use of both an explicit (social perception task) and implicit (lexical decision task) measure I sought to observe not only the outward ratings of these measures, but also the underlying prejudices that may be present. I hypothesized that straight hair would cause the wearer to be seen as more attractive, more professional and less dominant overall than natural hair. Straight hair was associated with greater professionalism than natural hair especially on the explicit measure when paired with congruent stereotypes as predicted. It was also found that there was a gender difference on the implicit measure where men found straight hair significantly more professional than natural hair as predicted. There were no significant correlations found between differences in responses on the explicit and implicit measures.Item Implicit Stem Identities and Gender-Stem Associations of Women Majoring in Stem and Female-Dominated Fields At Different Points in College(University of Alabama Libraries, 2022) Dunlap, Sarah T; Barth, Joan M.; Roskos, Beverly; University of Alabama TuscaloosaWomen’s implicit associations regarding science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) and gender may inhibit their desire to pursue STEM careers and their success in these fields should they choose to pursue them. Little consensus exists regarding when these associations begin to develop and what may lead to changes over time. This study examined whether STEM-gender implicit associations of college women majoring in STEM are less stereotypical than those who choose female-dominated majors (FDMs), whether these associations might differ between students at the start and at the end of their degree program, and whether these associations are related to previous experiences with STEM or to explicit STEM-gender associations. Participants were 240 women, half STEM majors and half FDMs. Each major group included half first-year and half more advanced students. Participants completed an online survey including two implicit associations tests (IATs). A Career Identity IAT measured participants’ personal career identities by contrasting the attributes of self-other with the constructs of STEM careers and “person” careers, which are careers that involve working with and helping people. The Gender-Career Stereotype IAT contrasted the attributes of male-female with the two career types. Measures of explicit gender stereotypes and earlier educational experiences related to STEM were also gathered. There were four research questions. The first two questions asked if implicit associations differed by major and year in college. Results indicated that STEM women’s scores reflected counter-stereotypical associations on both IATs, in contrast to the more traditional associations of FDMs. There were no effects for year in school. Question 3 asked about the relations of IAT scores with earlier educational experiences and explicit gender stereotypes. Results indicated that educational experiences were related to less stereotypical scores on each IAT. Counterintuitively, traditional explicit gender-STEM associations were related to less stereotypical scores on the Career-Identity IAT. Question 4 examined how all measures predicted major choice. The IAT scores and early educational experiences increased the likelihood of women pursuing STEM. Unexpectedly, STEM Majors and older students reported more pronounced explicit gender-STEM associations. These results have implications for interventions that encourage women’s participation in STEM.Item The Influence of Aging on the Neural Correlates of Judgments of Learning(University of Alabama Libraries, 2022) Erwin, Hillary; McDonough, Ian; University of Alabama TuscaloosaMetamemory monitoring refers to the awareness of one’s own knowledge and memory abilities. A common way to measure monitoring is to have individuals predict their current learning state via metamemory judgments such as judgments of learning (JOLs). JOLs are subjective ratings regarding whether information will be remembered later. Prior research in young adults (YAs) suggests that the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) is involved in making JOLs. Although older adults (OAs) often show spared monitoring via JOLs, they might be able to maintain this ability by recruiting additional brain regions to compensate for alterations in the mPFC. Alternatively, OAs might have preserved monitoring because their neural correlates remain intact. YA and OA participants made JOLs on a 1-3 scale (Likely, Maybe, Unlikely) after viewing picture pairs during Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) scanning. We tested the extent that brain activity differed in OAs compared to YAs in the mPFC using region of interest analyses in prefrontal brain regions, which are often invoked as key sites for neural compensation. Behaviorally, no age differences were found, consistent with the sparing of metamemory in older age. However, OAs showed increased brain activity when compared to YAs for the accurate > inaccurate and maybe > inaccurate contrasts in the middle frontal gyrus. This supports the notion that additional regions besides the mPFC are recruited by OAs when making encoding-based metamemory judgments, which could be indicative of compensatory mechanisms.Item The Last Decade: Longevity Expectations, Death Attitudes, and Health Care Use(University of Alabama Libraries, 2021) Moran, Caitlin; Hamilton, James; University of Alabama TuscaloosaDeath becomes exponentially more probable with each year of aging. Acknowledging this when making health care decisions has important consequences for quality of life, as the benefits of care may not outweigh the costs if little time remains to enjoy those benefits. Death expectations across the lifespan influence how people prepare for and experience death, but little is known about the trajectories of death expectations in the final years of life and how those trajectories relate to health care use. Using biennial subjective survival probability (SSP) ratings gathered over the decade prior to death from participants ages 65 and older in the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), latent profile analyses (LPA) were used to identify profiles of participants using meaningful subgroups. The optimal solution included four distinct profiles of SSP trajectories labeled realists, non-commitals, pessimists, and optimists. A series of t-test, chi-square, one-way ANOVA, and repeated measures ANOVA analyses were then conducted to identify characteristic features of the groups and assess for any differences in health care behaviors and death attitudes. Results demonstrated that two of four profiles had a significant increase in SSP from wave four to wave five: the optimists and non-committals. The pessimists were older at death than non-committals and realists, and were more likely to have had a final illness duration of more than a year than the full sample; pessimists had worse self-perceptions of health than optimists and realists; optimists were less likely to have a living will than the full sample and more likely to identify as African American than their representations in the full sample; and optimists reported fewer depressive symptoms and health conditions than pessimists. I also hypothesized that SSPs during the last decade of life would predict health care use in the same period and that optimists and realists would use more health care health care than pessimists; these hypotheses were not confirmed.Item On the Matter of Black Lives: an Adult Lifespan Investigation of Black Bereavement(University of Alabama Libraries, 2023) McDuffie, Danielle Lynnea; Allen, Rebecca SWhile there is literature exploring bereavement amongst Black individuals, most of this literature addresses Black grief either in a comparative manner to other racial/ethnic groups (i.e., non-Hispanic White) or within one age sample. Additionally, when looking at bereavement through a developmental lens, much of Life Course Theory has been created and normed using majority group samples, disenfranchising the typical experiences of people of color regarding events such as bereavement. This is highly insensitive to racial/ethnic groups such as Black adults, such that stressors and cultural strengths unique to Black populations (e.g., effects of racism, communalism, stoicism) are likely not accounted for in these developmental theories. To address both matters, the present study investigated: 1) bereavement experiences of Black adults across the lifespan, and 2) how the bereavement experiences of Black adults compare to existing Life Course Theory in its extension to bereavement. Two hundred Black adults aged 18 and older, recruited and administered the study completely online, responded to questionnaires assessing adverse childhood experiences, anger, grief, depression, sleep, affect, positive perception, religiousness, spirituality, somatization, gratitude, and life satisfaction. Analyses of variance, regression analyses, and chi squared testing yielded mixed results in the exploration of predicted associations within the realm of Black bereavement. Additionally, some tenets of Life Course Theory were supported (i.e., linked lives, timing), whereas others were deemed in need of alteration to be more culturally appropriate. Implications from this study showcase ways an existing developmental theory (i.e., Elder's Theory) can be shaped to be more generalizable to Black adult bereavement experiences. Further implications and future directions highlight the need to explore culturally based factors (i.e., racial violence, religiosity) more fully within developmental theory, future research, and clinical practice. Furthermore, theoretical underpinnings underlying the overall bodies of bereavement research and treatment need modification to meet the culturally specific treatment needs of Black bereaved populations.Item Reframing Aesthetic Experience: the Influence of Racial Bias, Openness, and Cognition on Painting Perception(University of Alabama Libraries, 2023) Jackson, Barbara Larsha; Black, SheilaThe present study explores whether executive functioning, openness to experience and implicit and explicit racial bias influence painting judgements. Black and White adults (aged 30+) and young adults (aged 18-29) evaluated paintings by Black and White artists and responded to items on like, comfort, valence, and value. Additionally, they completed a 44-item Big Factor Inventory, the Stroop task, the Implicit Association Test (IAT), and the Symbolic Racism Scale. The results yielded statistically significant interactions between Race and Art Type on the dimensions of comfort, like and value. Specifically, White participants were less comfortable with, liked and valued Black Mainstream and Black Political art less. Additionally, White participants compared to Black participants were more likely to use racialized language when describing art in the Black Mainstream and Black Political categories. These results were consistent with expectations. Moderation analyses determined that age did not moderate any of the effects. Meaning, age in this study was not a significant factor contributing to participants ratings of paintings, this was inconsistent with expectations. Additionally, a moderation analysis determined that age, explicit and implicit racial bias, inhibitory control, and openness did not moderate the effects of the Race x Art Type interaction, meaning that racism, personality, and cognitive ability were not significant contributors to ratings of art among participants. This research supports the need for future research that explores intracultural differences in art perception and the underlying factors contributing to these differences.Item The Role of Executive Functions on Ambivalence in Decision-Making(University of Alabama Libraries, 2022) Choi, Jaimie; Black, Sheila; University of Alabama TuscaloosaThis study investigated the age difference in ambivalence as a function of information search style, instruction conditions, and EFs using two separate decision-making paradigms: Car-purchasing scenario and Charity scenario. This study found a significantly heightened ambivalence level in older adults relative to young adults. There was no significant moderating effect of EFs on the relationship between age and information search style, or significant mediating effect of information search style on relation between age and ambivalence. This study found divergent patterns of information search styles and ambivalence as a function of instruction conditions, age, EFs, and types of scenarios, which suggests various elements that influence the level of ambivalence and decision-making difficulties.Item The Senior Sex Education Experience (SEXEE) Study: Considerations for the Development of an Adult Sex Education Pilot Intervention(University of Alabama Libraries, 2020) Pierpaoli Parker, Christina; King, Martha R.; Scogin, Forrest R.; University of Alabama TuscaloosaOverview: Remaining sexually active into later life has health benefits and risks, but middle-aged and older adults (MOAs) receive virtually no sex education. Unprecedented spikes in the prevalence of later-life sexual dysfunction and disease notwithstanding, no study to date has conceptualized a framework for an evidence- and needs-based sex education program for adults. Using the biopsychosocial and sexual health models as guiding theories, this research conceptualized one such program. Methods: A key component of analysis assessed physicians’ and adults’ lived experiences, needs, and recommendations directly, integrating findings into a usable framework. The purposive sample included 17 adults, ages 53 to 77 (M = 65; SD = 7.63; 64.70% female) and six physicians, including two family medicine providers, two geriatricians, and two urogynecologists (M = 56.16; SD = 13.34; 50% female). All participants provided basic demographic information and completed a measure of late-life sexual knowledge. MOAs participated in three separate focus groups to determine their needs, interest in, and suggestions for an educational intervention, while providing additional insights into their lived experiences with aging and sexuality. Physicians completed semi-structured interviews to describe their experiences discussing sexual health, identify the perceived facilitators and barriers to those discussions, and elicit their program recommendations. Constructivist grounded theory oriented qualitative coding techniques. Results: Late life sexual knowledge appeared suboptimal among MOAs and physicians alike. Both groups agreed on the value of an adult sex education program. Of the 21 separate educational modules proposed, physicians and MOAs shared six, including (a) sexual changes with aging, (b) the spectrum of sex, (c) STDs, (d) health and sexuality, (e) sex and dementia, and (f) dating. Adults reported receiving and internalizing ageist messages about their sexuality. Though MOAs and physicians considered sexuality important to successful aging, both identified individual, dynamic, and environmental barriers to clinical sexual health discussions, including (a) time and other logistical barriers; (b) ageist assumptions, attitudes, and beliefs about sexuality; (c) physicians’ perceived lack of knowledge or experience; and (d) avoidance and discomfort. However, they agreed on five facilitators, including (a) bedside manner, (b) rapport, (c) privacy, (d) standardized sexual health assessment, and (e) a comfortable clinical setting.Item Translating virtual interactions: an analysis of the translation of character abilities in the video game World of Warcraft(University of Alabama Libraries, 2015) Wood, Christopher Alan; Picone, Michael D.; University of Alabama TuscaloosaLocalization is the process of making something more local in character, with the goal being to recreate the work to make the target audience feel as if it were created in their own language and not merely translated from another. Instances of psychological immersion similar to those experienced when reading a book or watching a film have also been noted in individuals playing video games (Taylor, 2002, p.12). In this type of immersion, the individual is temporarily absorbed into the environment, blurring the lines of reality. Research has shown that comprehension of the narrative and surrounding virtual environments have been reported to play a key role in the realization of an individual's immersive experience (Qin et al., 2009; Tavinor, 2005). The present study analyzed the translations of the abilities of the Mage and Rogue classes in the video game World of Warcraft in order to determine which translation methods were used in the game's localization from English to French. The secondary objective was seeking to determine if player immersion played a role, if at all, in the translation process, which was found to be difficult to argue without consulting the original translators. Despite this, the results reveal that the translators took liberties during the translation process, at times yielding illogical or unconventional translations. Translations of this nature could potentially be indicative of an evolution in the translation of fantasy literature.Item An upside of aging: aging effect in ambivalence(University of Alabama Libraries, 2019) Choi, Jaimie M.; Black, Sheila; University of Alabama TuscaloosaAmbivalence refers to a conflict between two contradicting values, principles, beliefs, or emotions. Heretofore, there have not been studies that have focused on age differences in ambivalence within the context of a dual system framework. According to dual process theory, there are two separate cognitive systems that are primarily responsible for either deliberative logical judgments (System 2) or responsible for fast, automatic, intuitive, visceral judgments (System 1). The current study investigated the impact of intra and/or intersystem conflict on decision making. Thus, in some instances the stimuli were configured in such a way as to elicit System 2 processing (only logical statements) and in other instances, the stimuli were configured so that System 1 processing would be elicited (only emotional statements). This study also investigated possible age-related changes in processing contradictory information and the ambivalence that often arises when considering opposing viewpoints. One of the unique characteristics of the current study is that I varied the extent to which participants would have to engage system 1 processing to resolve the experimenter-induced ambivalence associated with making a decision. The results of this study show that older adults generally experience less ambivalence compared to young adults, except in the condition in which they received two emotionally conflicting options (i.e., intrasystem conflict within system 1).