Department of Psychology

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https://hdl.handle.net/10217/100503

These digital collections include theses, dissertations, faculty publications, and datasets from the Department of Psychology.

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Open Access
A context-specific social norms intervention to reduce college student alcohol use: manipulating reference groups to target tailgating students
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2015) Anthenien, Amber M., author; Aloise-Young, Patricia, advisor; Henry, Kimberly, committee member; Cross, Jennifer, committee member
Alcohol use among college students may result in a variety of ill effects for students and their community. The social norms approach is commonly employed to address these issues, targeting individuals' perceptions of normative consumption. However, normative interventions have rarely been implemented in specific situations or contexts that encourage alcohol consumption, when college students need prevention programming the most. Moreover, researchers have often ignored the important gender differences that exist in alcohol use by providing gender-neutral norms. In the current investigation, a randomized controlled trial was conducted in the Fall of 2013 with three experimental conditions: a no-treatment control, a context-specific social norm intervention, and a combined context-specific and gender-specific social norm intervention. Psychology students (N = 216, Mage = 19.11, 72.6% female) were exposed to one of the experimental conditions and completed pre-test assessments online 48 hours prior to the football game they intended to tailgate, and then responded to follow-up measures within 7 days after the football game. Results indicate that the combined intervention may be a promising technique for reducing college students' perceived norms and alcohol consumption in tailgating situations. Specifically, students in the combined condition perceived their peers drank less alcohol while tailgating. In addition, females in the context and combined conditions reported consuming less alcohol than participants in the control group. However, due to small sample sizes in the present study, these effects failed to reach conventional levels of statistical significance. The implications for designing effective normative interventions are discussed.
Open Access
Bystander helping in response to a staged incident of cyberaggression
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2012) McDonald, James Ney, author; Henry, Kimberly, advisor; Aloise-Young, Patricia, advisor; Martey, Rosa, committee member
The recent emergence of cyberbullying as a serious problem stands as a reminder that basic principles of social psychology should be retested and re-evaluated in emergent contexts to demonstrate their enduring value. This study sought to test the applicability of Darley & Latane's (1968) Bystander Effect in a chat-room environment. Participants were admitted to a chat-room ostensibly for a series of informal debates which a researcher would record and analyze later as part of an observational study in online communication patterns. Chats included one participant and either 2 (control condition) or 4 (bystander condition) non-participant characters (NPCs) whom the participant was led to believe were other participants. The researcher assigned two of the NPCs to debate informally and then left. In both conditions, the two NPCs engaged in discussion, until one began bullying the other by persistently attacking him with insults, even after the victim voiced distress and asked the attacker to stop. In the bystander condition, the two additional NPCs remained logged in throughout the bullying episode, but took no action to support or discourage the bullying. Participants, free to comment or contact the researcher, demonstrated a clear inclination towards altruism, but the bystander effect was still evident. Participants in the bystander condition were significantly less likely to intervene by attempting to defuse the conflict in the chat, defending the victim, attacking the bully, or contacting the researcher about the problem, OR = 0.39, p = .03, 95% CI [0.17, 0.90], n = 111. Participant suspicion and methodological constraints limit the conclusions that can be drawn from this study, but it supports speculation that the bystander effect may be present but less inhibitory in an online environment.
Open Access
Female graduate students in atmospheric science explain what supports and challenges their persistence
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2013) Trott, Carlie D., author; Canetto, Silvia Sara, advisor; Aloise-Young, Patricia, advisor; Denning, A. Scott, committee member
Women are underrepresented in Atmospheric Science (ATS) higher education, particularly at the doctoral level (NSF, 2012c). The present study explored how female ATS graduate students explain their persistence in the field, with a focus on both supportive and challenging influences on persistence. In-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 25 women in an ATS graduate program (11 doctoral and 14 Masters level students), their ages ranging from 22 to 30 (Mage = 25.13). Five interrelated thematic categories, comprised of positive and negative influences on persistence, were generated through the analyses: (1) academic self-confidence and academic self-doubt; (2) educational engagement and educational detachment, (3) supportive and undermining personal relationships; (4) motivating and discouraging professional relationships; and (5) supportive and undermining ATS academic/professional systems, expectations, and practices. Each of the main five themes is explained in relation to women's ATS persistence and is also examined through a 'gendered lens', offering critical insights into women's views and experiences by recognizing the impact of structural constraints. This study provides important new information on women in graduate ATS studies, with implications for the design of future research as well as programs aimed at supporting women's persistence in ATS higher education and careers.
Open Access
Formative evaluation of the behavior change components within a Colorado Weatherization Assistance Program
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2017) Sandoval, Perla K., author; Aloise-Young, Patricia, advisor; Harman, Jennifer, committee member; Cross, Jennifer, committee member
A formative evaluation of behavior change elements of an ongoing Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) offered by the Energy Resource Center (E.R.C.) in Denver, CO was conducted. The WAP as administered by the E.R.C. in Colorado saves residents an average 15% of energy consumption (E.R.C., 2015). However, research suggests that adding behavioral components to WAPs could increase energy savings to 21-26% (Gregory, 1992; APPRAISE, 2002). The goal of this evaluation is to provide recommendations to E.R.C. for program changes using Community Based Social Marketing (CBSM) and Theory of Planned Behavior. The CBSM Step 1Step 3 is the focus of this formative evaluation. This program evaluation has four components: 1) review of written materials, 2) interviews with staff, 3) surveys mailed to E.R.C. clients and 4) in-home observations conducted with E.R.C. clients. Results of this formative evaluation has 3 sections of behaviors recommended for future intervention high priority, mid priority, and low priority recommendations based on CBSM penetration, probability, and impact factors. Behaviors that are listed as high priority for E.R.C. Behavioral intervention are cold water washing, hang drying, setting back thermostats, and window coverings. Overall increase in staff engagement is also recommended to be pursued. Each staff level is also given recommendations on how to engage in behavior change interventions.
Open Access
Measurement and latent class typologies of smoking patterns in college students
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2012) Rosa, Juliana Da Rocha, author; Aloise-Young, Patricia, advisor; Henry, Kimberly, committee member; Cross, Jennifer, committee member
Recently, there has been a reported decrease in smoking in many populations, but the prevalence of cigarette smoking in college samples is still high. Before effective prevention and intervention programs can be developed to address this issue, there was a need for more qualitative and quantitative research on what types of patterns of smoking are present on campus. Therefore, the goal of this present study was to investigate different types of smokers on campus, in particular different types of occasional smokers, using both survey and focus groups methods. The survey was completed by 335 smokers (M=18.58 years; 63.9% female; 85.7% White/Caucasian) from Colorado State University. The survey included measures of smoker identity, age of initiation, current smoking behavior, reasons for smoking, desire to quit, addiction level, and alcohol use. To test whether reasons for smoking could produce different classes of smokers in the college population, a LCA was conducted using the modified reasons for smoking scale (n=327). The results revealed that a four class model (Logliklihood= -2362.594; BIC=5136.275; AIC=4867.188; LRT= p < .05) was a good fit. The classes included addicted smokers (23.55%), non-endorsing smokers (18.04%), stress smokers (33.03%), and social smokers (25.38%). An advanced LCA with covariates was used to examine whether these classes differed on specific characteristics (n=303). Overall, the results revealed age of initiation, current smoking patterns, smoker type, and smoking cessation predicted class membership while current age and alcohol use did not. To augment these findings with qualitative data, 41 individuals taken from the larger sample participated in focus groups based on their current smoking patterns (i.e., social smoker, regular smoker, and occasional smoker groups). The focus groups indicated that there were light, regular, heavy, and nondaily/occasional smokers on campus which included, stress, social, and "drunk smokers". These findings as well as the findings from the survey support the notion that there are different types of nondaily smokers with distinct smoking patterns in the college population. More specifically, both data sources revealed that stress smokers and social smokers were occasional smoker typologies that emerged as distinct classes and differed on key predictors. Two relatively new typologies also emerged: non-endorsing smokers and drunk smokers. More research is needed to make further conclusions about these groups of occasional smokers. The typologies revealed in the present study should be kept in mind when designing interventions for the college population. Additional implications and future directions are also discussed.
Open Access
Reducing greenhouse gas emissions: using community-based social marketing to identify targets for behavior change
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2022) Ross, Elizabeth C., author; Aloise-Young, Patricia, advisor; Witt, Jessica, committee member; Long, Marilee, committee member; Tompkins, Sara Anne, committee member
Greenhouse gas emissions produced by human activities threaten all life on earth. Project Drawdown (2020), Wynes and Nicholas (2017), and other similar efforts have catalogued behaviors that individuals can adopt to stall and mitigate climate change. Thus far, no empirical attempts have been made to determine which of these behaviors make viable targets for behavior change interventions. The current study remedies that gap through the use of community-based social marketing (CBSM), which distinguishes behavioral targets using the behaviors' probability, penetration, impact, and barriers. Following the CBSM framework, penetration and probability were assessed for 16 low-carbon behaviors to find those with the lowest adoption rates (i.e., penetration) and the highest likelihood of being adopted (i.e., probability). Impact for each behavior was also estimated using Project Drawdown and other similar sources. The perceived barriers and benefits of behavior engagement were then assessed for the five behaviors with the most ideal combination of impact, penetration, and probability: living motor vehicle free, purchasing green energy credits, following a plant-based diet, avoiding a plane flight, and installing compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) and light-emitting diode (LED) bulbs. Recommendations for future interventions aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions were then made based on the findings pertaining to these five behaviors. Among the target audience considered in this work, very few individuals had purchased green energy credits. Additionally, the barriers to purchasing green energy credits had clear solutions for many participants. Given the comparable ease with which participants can engage in this behavior, I recommend that future interventions target the purchasing of green energy credits. Additional recommendations are made for the five behaviors, considering the benefits and challenges associated with each one.
Open Access
Smoking patterns, attitudes, and motives of college student daily and nondaily smokers
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2016) da Rocha Rosa, Juliana, author; Aloise-Young, Patricia, advisor; Henry, Kimberly, committee member; Swaim, Randall, committee member; Riggs, Nathaniel, committee member
To further expand on the existing research on college student smokers, the aims of the current study were threefold: (1) to use a the 17-item College Students Motives for Smoking Scale (CSMSS) to identify different subtypes of daily and nondaily student smokers present across different colleges and universities, (2) to investigate whether smoking variables such as smoking frequency, smoking environment, cigarette purchasing habits, products used, cessation efficacy, and alcohol use patterns predict typologies of college student smokers, and (3) to investigate whether subgroups of college student smokers differ on attitudinal variables such as health-related attitudes, smoker identity attitudes, smoking secrecy, smoker image, and perceived feelings of stigma. Participants included 876 students smokers between the ages of 18 and 24 enrolled at a four-year university or college. Results of the Latent Profile Analysis using the CSMSS revealed that five typologies of smokers were present in the sample. Three of these typologies were nondaily smokers: (1) stress/emotional regulation smokers, (2) low endorser smokers, and (3) nondependent smokers. The remaining two typologies, high endorser smokers and addiction/dependence smokers, were daily smokers. An LPA with covariates revealed that days smoked, purchasing patterns, and environment in which smoking occurs were all predictive of membership within the three nondaily smoker typologies. These constructs as well as cessation efficacy predicted membership between nondaily smoker typologies and daily smoker typologies. Lastly, an LPA with outcomes revealed that the nondaily smoker typologies differed from the daily smoker typologies on smoker identity, perceived stigma towards use, smoker image, secrecy of use, and perceived harm of current use. In general, the current study found that motives for smoking can differentiate between daily and nondaily smokers. However, the CSMSS was not as effective at distinguishing within the nondaily smoker typology. The current study also showed that nondaily smokers and daily smokers differed on both their smoking behaviors and their attitudes towards smoking. Future research should continue to investigate better methods of distinguishing within nondaily smoker and daily smoker typologies.
Open Access
Using perceived norms to predict heavy alcohol use among college students: implications for social norms marketing campaigns
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2015) Zaleski, Adam C., author; Aloise-Young, Patricia, advisor; Henry, Kim, committee member; Cross, Jennifer, committee member; Conner, Brad, committee member
The purpose of the present study was to investigate the relationship between perceived norms of heavy peer alcohol use and self-reported heavy alcohol use among college students from a large public university. A total of 865 participants completed a survey in Fall 2008 and 506 of those participants completed the follow-up survey in Spring 2009. As hypothesized, the perceived injunctive norm was found to predict additional unique variance in heavy alcohol use above and beyond gender, year in school, residence hall, retrospective high school alcohol use and the perceived descriptive norm. The interaction between the perceived injunctive norm and perceived descriptive norm was not significant in the prediction of heavy alcohol use, as hypothesized. This suggests that the combined effect of the perceived injunctive norm and perceived descriptive norm in predicting heavy alcohol use is additive and not multiplicative. In a secondary hypothesis, the relationship between the perceived descriptive norm and heavy alcohol use was stronger for males than females. Lastly, as predicted, the results revealed that the relationship between perceived norms of heavy alcohol use and self-reported heavy alcohol use are stronger among more proximal than distal groups. These results suggest that social norms marketing campaigns aimed at reducing heavy alcohol use among college students should include the injunctive norm, target males, and use more proximal reference groups such as the student’s own residence hall rather than more distal reference groups such as the typical university student.

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Browsing Department of Psychology by Author "Aloise-Young, Patricia, advisor"

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