NYU OPUS Vol. IX Issue I | Spring 2018

The Online Publication of Undergraduate Studies was initiated in 2010 by undergraduate students in the Department of Applied Psychology, NYU Steinhardt. The ideas and opinions contained in this publication solely reflect those of the authors and not New York University. All work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial No Derivative Works License.

To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org 2

OPUS

Online Publication of Undergraduate Studies Volume IX Issue I | Spring 2018 Editors-in-Chief Julius A. Utama Elysha Clark-Whitney

Layout & Design Director Sophia Meifang Wang

Faculty Mentor Dr. Adina R. Schick

Programming & Communications Director Alyce Cho

Special Thanks NYU Steinhardt Department of Applied Psychology Dr. Gigliana Melzi Judson Simmons Katie-Rose Nunziato

Assistant to the Editors Eleanor Harrison Alexa Montemayor Staff Writers Sarah Gouriche Vincci Ho Spencer Judd Nanying Li Maya Mester Contributing Writers Claire Callahan Claire Kraft Denise Lau Gabrielle MacNaughton Anjali Menon Anjali Parmar

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CONTENTS

05 Letter from the Editors

06 Literature Reviews 07 Claire Callahan The Effects of Cyberbullying on the Well-Being of Female Adolescents 11 Anjali Menon Intimate Partner Violence in Indian Child Brides: Mechanisms of Trauma 14 Nanying Li The Psychological Well-Being of Chinese Left-Behind Children and Migrant Children

17 Book and Film Reviews 18 Vincci Ho The Tale of Two Wes Moores: Differences in Microsystem Figures on Child Development 21 Sarah Gouriche Finding Nemo: The Role of Loss in Empathy and Satisfaction

23 Interviews 24 Spencer Judd Kaleidoscopic Sound: An Interview with Dr. Petr Janata on the Psychology of Music 28 Maya Metser Guilt, Desensitization, and Anger: An Interview with Dr. Dale Atkins

32 Independent Research 34 Gabrielle MacNaughton & Denise Lau The Effect of Anxiogenic Parenting Behaviors on Treatment Outcomes for Children with Selective Mutism 38 Anjali Parmar & Claire Kraft The Influence of Goal Setting on Motivation in Community Advocacy

44 Biographies 4

Letter From the Editors

New York University’s Applied Psychology Online Publication of Undergraduate Studies, also known as OPUS, was established in 2009. OPUS provides Applied Psychology undergraduate students with a forum for sharing their independent work. This publication is entirely written, edited, and designed by Applied Psychology undergraduates, and is one of the only undergraduate psychology journals in the United States.

We are thrilled to once again present our Spring issue at the Applied Psychology Undergraduate Research Conference. The themes of the Spring 2018 issue reflect the diverse research and clinical interests of our contributing writers, and demonstrate a desire to understand the role that interpersonal interactions play in ongoing development.

First, our writers review research surrounding the well-being of specific at-risk populations: Claire Callahan investigates the experiences of cyberbullying among female adolescents, while Anjali Menon explores how trauma is evoked and sustained through Intimate Partner Violence among Indian child brides. Subsequently, Nanying Li describes the unique factors that contribute to the psychological well-being of Chinese migrant and left-behind children.

For this issue, we also extended writing positions to include a wider array of academic pieces, such as book reviews, film critiques, and interviews with psychologists. This issue features a book review analyzing the role of microsystem-level influences in The Other Wes Moore, as well as a film critique investigating how the theme of loss in Finding Nemo relates to the viewers’ satisfaction. We are also excited to present two interview pieces: a discussion with Dr. Petr Janata on the field of music psychology, and a dialogue with Dr. Dale Atkins on the relationships between parents and their adult children.

Our final two articles showcase our undergraduates’ passion for psychological theory, research, and practice, as well as their ability to combine classroom knowledge with fieldwork experience. Thus, two empirical research studies are featured in this issue: one that investigates anxiogenic behaviors among caregivers of children with Selective Mutism, and one that examines the influence of goal setting on intrinsic motivation among community advocates.

We would like to thank our enthusiastic and talented writers for their scholarly contributions, as well as Sophia Meifang Wang and Alyce Cho, the OPUS administrative staff, for their hard work and commitment to the journal. We would also like to thank Alexa Montemayor and Eleanor Harrison for their tireless effort in guiding our writers toward publication. We are grateful to Dr. Gigliana Melzi, the Director of Undergraduate Studies in Applied Psychology, and Judson Simmons, the OPUS advisor, for their continuous support of OPUS. Finally, we would like to thank Dr. Adina Schick, our faculty mentor, for the indispensable guidance she has provided to the development of the publication.

Best wishes and thank you for reading,

Julius A. Utama

Elysha Clark-Whitney

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Literature Reviews

Online Publication of Undergraduate Studies 2018, Volume 9, Issue 1

Cyberbullying and Female Adolescents

The Effects of Cyberbullying on the Well-Being of Female Adolescents Claire Callahan

Approximately, 97% of teens in the United States use the internet every day (Kowalski & Limber, 2007). In fact, adolescents interact through social media sites at comparable rates to phone calls and face-to-face communication (Hinduja & Patchin, 2008), thereby highlighting the prominence of the internet as a social tool for adolescent youth (Kowalski & Limber, 2007; O’Keeffe & Clarke-Pearson, 2011). The salience of online communication today, however, is problematic, as it is associated with high rates of cyberbullying, with 21% of adolescents reporting being bullied online (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2017). Cyberbullying is defined as repeated and intentional harm that occurs over digital mediums (e.g., threats, alienation, posting compromising pictures of the victim online; Hinduja & Patchin, 2008; Pujazon-Zazik & Park, 2010), and can occur on multiple online forums, such as social media sites, email services, and instant messaging services (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2017). The growing usage of online networking mediums (Valkenburg, Peter, & Schouten, 2006), and the frequent adolescent peer interactions that occur on them (O’Keeffe & Clarke-Pearson, 2011), has led to an increased interest in the potential effects of cyberbullying on adolescents. Understanding the impact of cyberbullying on female victims is particularly important, as adolescent girls tend to use online networks more frequently than males (Kowalski & Limber, 2007; Pujazon-Zazik & Park, 2010), and are, therefore, at greater risk of experiencing cybervictimization (Heiman & Olenik-Shemesh, 2015) as compared to male adolescents (Sourander et al., 2010). Given the high usage of internet mediums among female adolescents, this review sought to explore female adolescents’ experiences of cyberbullying.

Cyberbullying as a Form of Female Aggression

In order to understand the experiences of adolescent female cyberbullying victims, it is important to explore why girls bully other girls online. Girls are typically socialized to behave in a less confrontational manner than boys, and thus they often express their aggression in more underhanded ways (Hinduja & Patchin, 2008). One salient outlet for female aggression, therefore, is the internet (Athanasiades & Deliyanni-Kouimtzis, 2010), which provides a medium for girls to indirectly and covertly victimize one another (e.g., through excluding others from chat rooms and spreading false rumors; Chisolm, 2006; Connell, Schell-Busey, Pearce, & Negro, 2014; Hinduja & Patchin, 2008). Thus, the propensity for females to direct their aggression towards other females through the internet also

leads to high rates of cyberbullying victimization among female teenagers. In fact, almost 40% of adolescent girls have been victims of cyberbullying (Burgess Proctor, Patchin, & Hinduja, 2010). The prevalence of cyberbullying among young females is especially problematic given that cyberbullying has a more severe impact on psychological well-being (e.g., feelings of loneliness) than that of direct bullying (e.g., physical violence; Klomek et al., 2009), in light of the stresses involved in facing an anonymous perpetrator and the potential for the victimization be witnessed by a larger audience of peers (Beckman, Hagquist, & Hellström, 2012; Hinduja & Patchin, 2008; Raskauskas & Stoltz, 2007; Turner, Exum, Brame, & Holt, 2013).

In fact, female cyberbullying is often aimed at sabotaging or ending a relationship (Rose & Rudolph, 2006), which is alarming in light of females’ propensity to focus on relational issues in peer groups (Crick & Grotpeter, 1995), and to experience high stress when confronted with relational problems (Rose & Rudolph, 2006). As such, the effects of cyberbullying are especially damaging for females, and are associated with a series of internalizing problems such as excessive worrying and a lower sense of self-worth (Katzer, Fetchenhauer, & Belschak, 2009). Female victims of cyberbullying experience higher rates of depression as compared to those who were not cyberbullied (Selkie, Kota, Chan, & Moreno, 2015), and this risk for depression was sustained even when females were infrequently victimized, suggesting that female adolescents can be negatively affected by even minor experiences of cyberbullying (Klomek, Marrocco, Kleinman, Schonfeld, & Gould, 2007; Turner et al., 2013).

Additionally, youth who are cyberbullied show an increased susceptibility to suicidal thoughts and feelings of loneliness, both of which are often precursors of suicidal ideation and intention (Hinduja & Patchin, 2010). Hence, the effects of cyberbullying on mental health appear to endure long after the bullying has ceased, potentially persisting even into adulthood (Selkie et al., 2015).

Risk-Seeking Behaviors

In order to cope with the low self-esteem and loneliness associated with being a victim of cyberbullying, many female victims engage in risk-seeking behaviors online. For example, victims of cyberbullying are more likely to give personal information such as passwords to others (Baumann, 2010), and to interact extensively with online strangers (Van den Heuvel, Van den Eijnden, Van Rooij, & Van de Mheen, 2012). These interactions often take the form of risky sexual behaviors (e.g., Literature Reviews | 7

Online Publication of Undergraduate Studies 2018, Volume 9, Issue 1 sending explicit messages to strangers; Katzer et al., 2009), which have the potential to lead to harmful in-person encounters (e.g., sexual assault; Van den Heuvel et al., 2012).

The emotional effects of cyberbullying are also related to further risky behaviors offline. Victims of cyberbullying often seek to cope with negative sequelae such stress, anxiety, and depression, through binge-drinking and marijuana use (Chan & La Greca, 2016; Goebert, Else, Matsu, Chung-Do, & Chang, 2011). When such risk-taking behaviors are undertaken during adolescence, they place females at greater risk for experiencing sexual assault and forceful sexual relationships (Welsh et al., 2017). Given that risky behaviors can lead to further cyberbullying (Reyns, Burek, Henson, & Fisher, 2013; Walrave & Heirman, 2011), adolescent girls have the potential to become trapped in a cycle of victimization.

School Outcomes

It is not surprising that the negative outcomes associated with cyberbullying victimization transcend into other settings, most notably the school (Beckman et al., 2012; Betts, Spenser, & Gardner, 2017; Latvala et al., 2014; Ybarra & Mitchell, 2004).

In particular, victims of cyberbullying report feeling unsafe at school (Varjas, Henrich, & Meyers, 2009), feelings that can in turn lead to frequent absences (Katzer et al., 2009; Beran & Li, 2008; Ybarra, Diener-West, & Leaf, 2007) in an attempt to avoid facing their online bullies (Beckman et al., 2012; Raskauskas & Stoltz, 2007).

Over time, the accumulation of these negative perceptions of school safety contribute to more unfavorable perceptions of school in general (Betts et al., 2017). Furthermore, due to the negative influence cyberbullying has on peer relationships, students can feel discouraged from engaging in the school environment (Betts et al., 2017); this lack of engagement in school, in turn, is associated with lower academic achievement (Li, 2007), and a greater risk of dropping out of high school (Fall & Roberts, 2012). Thus, although cyberbullying is not perpetrated in the school environment, it can nevertheless have an extremely damaging impact on adolescents’ academic outcomes by decreasing feelings of safety and peer inclusion in school.

Conclusion

A large and growing body of research suggests the negative impact cyberbullying can have on the well-being of female adolescents. The emotional disruption of adolescent females as a result of cyberbullying can increase risk-seeking behaviors such as substance use and negative school outcomes.

Additionally, many cyberbullying studies are conducted using self-report measures (Sourander et al., 2010), suggesting that the data used in studies may be biased, as adolescents are likely to perceive themselves in socially desirable ways (Van den Heuvel et al., 2012). As similar effects of cyberbullying victimization have been seen with respect to traditional bullying victimization (Kowalski et al., 2014; Vieno et al., 2015), and many individuals 8 | Literature Reviews

Cyberbullying and Female Adolescents

can experience both types of bullying, further research is needed to determine whether a combination of traditional bullying and cyberbullying has an additive effect on the likelihood of adverse mental health outcomes (Connell et al., 2014; Katzer et al., 2009). As such, given the adverse effects of cyberbullying for the emotional well-being, risk-seeking behaviors, and school outcomes of female adolescent victims, future longitudinal research is needed to address the long-term implications of cyberbullying for female adolescents’ development, as well as its effects in tandem with other forms of bullying victimization.

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Hinduja, S., & Patchin, J. W. (2010). Bullying, cyberbullying, and suicide. Archives of Suicide Research, 14(3), 206-221.

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M. R. (2014). Bullying in the digital age: A critical

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T., & Kaprio, J. (2014). Drinking, smoking, and

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Cyberbullying and Female Adolescents

O’Keeffe, G. S., & Clarke-Pearson, K. (2011). The impact of

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the emotional and behavioral development of girls and boys. Psychological Bulletin, 132(1), 98–131.

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in female college students: A multisite study.

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T., Koskelainen, M., Ristkari, T., & Helenius, H. (2010).

Psychosocial risk factors associated with cyberbullying

among adolescents: A population-based study. Archives

of General Psychiatry, 67(7), 720–728.

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U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2017) What is Cyberbullying? Retrieved from https://www. stopbullying.gov/cyberbullying/what-is-it/index.html Valkenburg, P. M., Peter, J., & Schouten, A. P. (2006). Friend

networking sites and their relationship to adolescents’

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& Van de Mheen, D. (2012). Meeting online contacts in

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and school safety. Journal of School Violence, 8(2), 159-176.

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Literature Reviews | 9

Online Publication of Undergraduate Studies 2018, Volume 9, Issue 1 Walrave, M., & Heirman, W. (2011). Cyberbullying: Predicting

victimisation and perpetration. Children & Society, 25(1), 59–72.

Welsh, J.W., Knight, J.R., Hou, S.S, Malowney, M., Schram, P.,

Sherritt, L., & Boyd, J.W., (2017). Association between

substance use diagnoses and psychiatric disorders in

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Ybarra, M. L. (2004). Linkages between depressive

symptomatology and Internet harassment among

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aggressors, and targets: A comparison of associated

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Psychiatry, 45(7), 1308-1316.

10 | Literature Reviews

Cyberbullying and Female Adolescents

Online Publication of Undergraduate Studies 2018, Volume 9, Issue 1

IPV Trauma in Indian Child Brides

Intimate Partner Violence in Indian Child Brides: Mechanisms of Trauma Anjali Menon

Each year, 15 million girls around the world are married before their 18th birthday (Laoiza & Wong, 2012; Roest, 2016). Globally, there are currently 720 million women who were married as children or adolescents, and more than a third of these women were younger than 15 years old on their wedding day (Laoiza & Wong, 2012; Roest, 2016). Child marriage - defined as marriage before the age of 18 - is not only a child and human rights violation (United Nations Population Fund, 2018), but is also the source of trauma for many girls and women (Chaudhuri, 2015; Nour, 2006; Roest, 2016).

Trauma is often understood as an emotional response to an event or circumstance that is deeply distressing (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). The experience might be life threatening, or one that seriously violates an individual’s integrity as a human being and threatens the their trust in how the world works, how relationships should operate, and the extent to which they can trust people around her (American Psychiatric Association, 2013; Chaudhuri, 2015; Roest, 2016). Experiencing trauma often leads to the development of a number of disorders, including Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, adjustment disorders, and other attachment and anxiety disorders, and has a high comorbidity rate with mood disorders such as Major Depressive Disorder (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Child marriage can be traumatizing in multiple ways - it removes school-aged girls from a developmentally appropriate environment, interrupting healthy adolescent development, and forcing the child bride into adult responsibilities such as childbearing and other domestic duties far before she is ready (Chaudhuri, 2015; Nour, 2006; Roest, 2016). However, one particularly deleterious form of trauma for child brides is their increased likelihood of experiencing intimate Partner Violence (IPV; Garcia-Moreno, Guedes, & Knerr., 2012; Parsons et al., 2015). Although IPV spans physical, emotional, and verbal abuse, recent findings suggest that sexual IPV is one of the most under-researched yet psychologically harmful forms of IPV that child brides experience (Kamimura, Ganta, Myers, & Thomas, 2015). As such, this literature review selectively focused on child brides’ experiences of sexual IPV.

Moreover, while sexual IPV in child marriage is a global problem, almost half of all child brides live in South Asia, and of these girls, a third of them live in India, mostly in rural villages (Laoiza & Wong, 2012). Furthermore, rates of IPV are particularly high for young brides in India (Garcia-Moreno et al., 2012; Parsons et al., 2015). Given the high prevalence of sexual IPV among child brides in India, this literature review

examined the societal and interpersonal mechanisms through which sexual IPV is traumatic for Indian child brides in India.

Child Marriage in India

There are several cultural and contextual factors that heighten the risk for IPV among Indian child brides (Roest, 2016). Culturally, much of Indian society associates the onset of puberty and menarche, as well as the development of secondary sexual characteristics such as breasts, with a girl’s readiness for marriage (Chaudhuri, 2015; Roest, 2016). Furthermore, this assumed readiness for marriage is associated with an equally strong expectation of subsequent childrearing; a wife who does not produce children quite early on in the marriage is likely to be shunned as an outcast (Chaudhuri, 2015; Jejeebhoy, Shah, & Thapa, 2005; Nour, 2006; Roest, 2016). These cultural associations, in turn, produce an environment in which sexual intercourse is expected of married girls, even at a young age (Chaudhuri, 2015; Roest, 2016), thus increasing their likelihood of experiencing IPV-related trauma.

Before examining experiences of trauma among child brides in India, however, it is important to note that existing research surrounding trauma has been completed through a Western lens and on a Western population (Wilson & So-Kum Tang, 2007). Notably, though, while terms such as “rape” and “trauma” are not used in communities in India, findings from in-depth interviews indicate that the experiences of child brides are consistent with Western definitions of trauma (Chandra, Satyanarayana, & Carey, 2009; Jejeebhoy et al., 2005). In these interviews, girls report crying, screaming, and begging for the sex to stop, and talk about not having their wishes honored or their needs accommodated. They recall the encounters being so painful that they fainted during the act and had nightmares afterwards. They describe being pushed down to the bed and having men tell them it does not matter whether the girl wants it or not, as they have to oblige to their husband’s wishes (Jejeebhoy et al., 2005). With regard to mental health symptomatology as a result of sexual IPV, many of these girls report intrusive thoughts about the sexually traumatic experiences they endured, poor concentration, flashbacks, irritability, nightmares, hyperarousal (Chandra et al., 2009), intense sadness, and hopelessness about themselves and their future in the marriage (Chaudhuri, 2015).

These symptoms are largely in line with how most of Western psychiatry characterizes depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder, thus exemplifying the deep psychological burden of sexual IPV among Indian child brides.

Literature Review | 11

Online Publication of Undergraduate Studies 2018, Volume 9, Issue 1 Interpersonal Mechanisms of IPV-Related Trauma

These symptoms occur due to several specific reasons and mechanisms. Foremost, many Indian women who were married as children report being unaware of sex prior to marriage, and were forced into sex by their husbands (Chaudhuri, 2015; Jejeebhoy et al. 2015). Additionally, more than 47% of child brides say they did not know their partners before wedding day, suggesting that sexual violence is oftentimes perpetrated by someone completely unfamiliar to the child bride (Chaudhuri, 2015; Jejeebhoy et al., 2015). This lack of familiarity is compounded by the girl’s unfamiliarity with sex, and in turn produces severely traumatizing effects on the girl’s mental health (Roest, 2016). Her husband is thus established as someone who violates the girl’s autonomy and trust from the very beginning (Jejeebhoy et al., 2005), which is problematic given that the negative outcomes of IPV are worse among when victims have a low sense of autonomy (Calvete, Estévez, & Corral, 2007).

Another major mechanism behind the trauma associated with sexual IPV is the stark age differential between child brides and their husbands. Husbands of child brides in India are an average of 7.3 years older than the girls themselves (Jejeebhoy et al., 2005), with 12% of girls being married to men who are at least 12 years older (Roest, 2016). This often means that young girls have very low negotiating power with regards to how decisions are made in the household, including what is done to their bodies in a sexual context, because of how much younger they are than their husbands and the greater degree of power given to older men in the family unit (Chaudhuri, 2015). Child brides have very little autonomy over how often they have sex, what kind of sex they have, and whether they use protection. In fact, research suggests that only 21% of child brides report using contraception, as opposed to 61% of Indian women who were married after reaching 15 years of age and who have more agency in negotiating contraception use given their older age (Chaudhuri, 2015). The child bride’s inability to make decisions about contraceptive use can be traumatic because unprotected sex - when one party does not understand the possible consequences, or has requested to use protection is considered rape, as true informed and ongoing consent has not been given by both parties.

Societal Mechanisms of IPV-related trauma

Moreover, there are several external factors (i.e., beyond the child and her husband), that perpetuate traumatic experiences for child brides. For many survivors of intimate partner sexual violence, marital rape is socially sanctioned by community members (Chaudhuri, 2015; Jejeebhoy et al., 2005).

When girls go to older women in the community seeking support about the feelings they experience after IPV, their own family members (e.g., grandmothers and aunts), often tell them that their experiences are normal, and that they must accept them as part of their married life (Chaudhuri, 2015). Such statements invalidate the posttraumatic feelings these girls experience, while also sanctioning and normalizing the violence that the girls 12 | Literature Reviews

IPV Trauma in Indian Child Brides

endure (Chaudhuri, 2015). In fact, research suggests that young women with higher social support are less likely to experience sexual IPV (Kapadia, Saleem, & Karim, 2010), indicating that the lack of support that many child brides receive might be a particularly important factor in perpetuating their experiences of trauma.

Furthermore, physical, emotional, and sexual abuse does not end with the girl’s husband. Many brides report some level of abuse from their in-laws, such as receiving beatings from their mothers-in-law for not performing domestic duties to a certain standard, even while the girls are with child (Sahoo, 2014). This abuse at the hands of second parties other than the girl’s husband is particularly common for widow brides, who face a host of retraumatizing life circumstances even after their first marriages end (Kamimura et al., 2015; Pandey, 2014). For example, oung widow brides are particularly common in India, given that child brides’ husbands tend to be much older than the girl (Sahoo, 2014). Though one might expect that being widowed would free a child from her husband’s abuse, these women still often experience social restrictions and forms of violence even after their husbands have passed. Widows are socially expected to publicly mourn their husbands for the rest of their lives through everyday choices like clothing and food. Many stay away from foods like onion and garlic that are thought to fuel sexual energy, as they can no longer be seen as sexual beings after their husbands die, without experiencing shame and humiliation; many also avoid wearing bright clothing, as it would be seen as a sign of disrespect to her late husband (Sahoo, 2014). Given that widowhood is seen as a form of social death, some widows are forced by their relatives to marry their husband’s brothers or cousins in order to maintain their social status as a married woman, rather than an a widowed outcast (Sahoo, 2014). The cycle of IPV often continues with these new partners, rendering the girl’s first marriage as the first of many traumatic episodes throughout her lifetime (Sahoo, 2014).

Conclusion

While the consequences of early marriage for Indian girls are often examined with regard to physical health, sexual and psychological health often remain overlooked (Chaudhuri, 2015; Jejeebhoy et al., 2005; Nour, 2006; Roest, 2016). In addition, few have investigated the psychological burden of child marriage (Nour, 2006; Roest, 2016), and the role of IPV as one of the many factors that make child marriage traumatizing for millions of people across the globe (Jejeeboy et al., 2005).

Thus, a nuanced and culturally sensitive approach that takes into account the complexities of rural Indian society, and the ways in which trauma is not only initially experienced, but how it is sanctioned, normalized, and perpetuated for young girls (Jejeeboy et al., 2005), is integral in mitigating the negative effects of sexual IPV on Indian child brides.

Future research and intervention efforts must be mindful of the fact that child marriage often occurs because girls and their parents living in deep poverty see marriage as a channel for upward mobility (Jejeeboy et al., 2005), especially

Online Publication of Undergraduate Studies 2018, Volume 9, Issue 1 when girls marry outside of their caste (Roest, 2016). Thus, while the bulk of the interventions addressing child marriage to date have attempted to prevent such marriages from occurring, these interventions are often unsuccessful because of the deeply ingrained cultural and economic factors that perpetuate child marriage. Therefore, further research should seek to better understand the psychological impact of marriage on young Indian girls, as well as how to build resilience in girls and women who experience IPV-related trauma (Jejeeboy et al., 2005).

References American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and

statistical manual of mental disorders DSM-5 (5th ed.).

Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Association.

American Psychological Association. (2017). The Road to Resilience. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/ helpcenter/road-resilience.aspx Calvete, E., Estévez, A., & Corral, S. (2007). Intimate partner

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Chaudhuri, E. (2015). Unrecognised sexual abuse and

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IPV Trauma in Indian Child Brides

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Literature Reviews | 13

Online Publication of Undergraduate Studies 2018, Volume 9, Issue 1

Chinese Migrant and Left-Behind Children

The Psychological Well-Being of Chinese Migrant Children and Left-Behind Children Nanying Li

In recent years, there has been an increase in Chinese families moving into urban centers in search of higher salaries and work opportunities, thus creating two groups of children with distinct experiences – migrant children and left-behind children (All-China Women’s Federation, 2013; Guo et al., 2015; Hu, Lu, & Huang, 2014). In particular, while migrant children move with their parents to the city (Hu, Lu, & Huang, 2014), leftbehind children remain in their rural homes with a caretaker, and have one or both parents who live and work in the city (Su, Li, Lin, Xu, & Zhu, 2013). Despite their different experiences, research suggests that both migrant children and left-behind children experience unique challenges that place them at greater risk for lower overall well-being. Migrant children tend to experience trouble adjusting to their new environment, as their rural values are confronted with urban values (Guo, Yao, & Yang, 2005; Shen, 2006; Zhou, 2002), and are thus likely to exhibit high levels of depression and loneliness (Fan et al., 2009; Guo et al., 2015; Mao & Zhao, 2012; Wong et al., 2009). Similarly, left-behind children also experience higher levels of anxiety, depression (Chen, Wang, & Wang, 2009; Liu, Li, & Ge, 2009), and loneliness (Liu et al., 2007; Ren & Shen, 2008; Su et al., 2013; Yeung & Gu, 2016). As Chinese families continue to migrate to urban centers at high rates, and the number of children who are influenced by parental migration increases, it is imperative to study the cultural, systemic (e.g., resource-based), and familyspecific (e.g., age of migration) factors that are related to the well-being of migrant and left-behind children (Stone Feinstein & Ward, 1990; Su et al., 2013; Ward & Kennedy, 1992). As such, this literature review addressed the following research question: What factors contribute to the development of loneliness and depression among Chinese migrant and left-behind children?

Migrant Children

Migrant children experience high levels of loneliness and depression due to difficulties in sociocultural adjustment (Guo, Yao, & Yang, 2005), the successful management of differences between host and origin cultures (Ward & RanaDeuba, 1999). Migrant children’s ability to navigate host and origin cultures is often challenged as their rural values of family responsibility conflict with urban values of individuality (Guo et al., 2005; Shen, 2006; Zhou, 2002). These differences in values, in turn, can lead migrant children to perceive themselves as marginalized individuals, placing them at greater risk of facing loneliness (Guo et al., 2005).

In addition, research has underscored two divergent 14 | Literature Reviews

groups of migrant children – permanent migrant children in urban public schools, and temporary migrant children in migrant schools (Liang & Chen, 2005; Lu & Zhou, 2012) – who might experience differences in loneliness and psychological adjustment. While migrant children benefit from urban “Hukou” (i.e., household registration system) privileges, such as nine years of free education before high school and free healthcare, temporary migrant children do not receive the advantages associated with urban “Hukou” (Liang & Chen, 2005; Lu & Zhou, 2012). Thus, compared to permanent migrant children, temporary migrant children’s parents have to work longer hours to be able to pay for their children’s school fees and healthcare, and might be less likely to focus on tending to their children’s emotional needs (Guo et al., 2005; Guo et al., 2015; Hu, Lu, & Huang, 2014). This lack of physical and emotional availability, in turn, is associated with greater levels of depression and loneliness among migrant children (Guo et al., 2005). As a result, migrant children, whose caregivers tend to be less actively engaged, might suffer most from the lack of positive parent-child relationships (Guo et al., 2015; Hagan, MacMillan, & Wheaton, 1996) – relationships which are crucial in offsetting the negative effects of migration (Guo et al., 2015; Hagan, MacMillan, & Wheaton, 1996).

Left-Behind Children

Left-behind children are also at risk of poor psychological well-being, especially when communication with their migrant parents is sparse (Fan et al., 2009; Gao et al., 2007; Guo et al., 2015; He et al., 2012; Hu et al., 2014; Liu et al., 2009; Su et al., 2013). Nevertheless, parents who migrate but frequently communicate with their left-behind children are more likely to make their children feel loved, cared for, and secure (He et al., 2012; Hu et al., 2014; Man et al., 2017; Su et al., 2013), and ultimately less depressed (Gao et al., 2007; Su et al., 2013). These findings suggest that frequent communication can be a helpful strategy for migrant parents, especially in reducing feelings of loneliness and depression among their left-behind children (Gao et al., 2007; Su et al., 2013).

Left-behind children’s experiences, however, also differ depending on whether they have one or two parents migrating, the duration of separation, and the age at which their parents leave. Most studies find that children with both parents migrating tend to endure longer periods of separation, feel lonelier, and have higher levels of depression than children with only one parent migrating (Gao et al., 2007; Hu et al., 2014; Liu

Online Publication of Undergraduate Studies 2018, Volume 9, Issue 1 et al., 2009; Su et al., 2013; Xu et al., 2017). Parents who migrate are not able to act as a constant, secure figure for their children, which in turn, instills a sense of hopelessness (Bowlby, 1951; Hu et al., 2014). According to Bowlby’s attachment theory (1952, 1969), children experience intense distress and hopelessness if they do not feel securely attached to their parents. A secure attachment style is characterized by a child’s confidence in his or her caregiver’s likelihood of returning after a period of separation (Bowlby, 1951, 1969). Left-behind children below the age of three may form insecure attachments after prolonged and repeated patterns of separation, and will have more difficulty adapting to change (He et al., 2011; Liu et al., 2009). In fact, research suggests that children whose migrant parents leave before they turn the age of three are more likely to experience feelings of loneliness and depression than those whose parents migrate when their children are older (Fan et al., 2009; He et al., 2011; Hu et al., 2014; Liu et al., 2009; Su et al., 2013). Thus, length of parent-child separation might also be a factor in left-behind children’s well-being (Xu et al., 2017). These findings imply that, in order to best support the psychological well-being of leftbehind children, it might be crucial for parents to communicate frequently with their children, make them feel secure, and avoid separation in the earlier years.

Conclusion

Overall, several factors contribute to the psychological well-being of left-behind and migrant children. Nonetheless, there exists a lack of research on left-behind children’s relationships with their caretakers, despite findings that suggest caretaker education, age, and child-rearing style might also influence children’s mental health outcomes. Furthermore, current research focuses on the quantity of parent-child communication in migrant families, but does not explore the quality of communication. Thus, further research should focus on the quality of parent-child communication (i.e., beyond the frequency of communication) in migrant families, and its association with children’s experiences of loneliness and depression. Finally, further studies should investigate the experiences of migrant and left-behind children in other Chinese provinces, in order to delineate more effective ways to support this growing population.

Chinese Migrant and Left-Behind Children

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conditions of left-behind children in rural China and

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from http://acwf.people.com.cn/n/2013/0510/c99013 21437965.html Bowlby, J. (1951). Maternal care and mental health. Geneva:

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The effect of social support and perceived

discrimination on loneliness among migrant children:

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Book and Film Reviews

Online Publication of Undergraduate Studies 2018, Volume 9, Issue 1

Microsystem-Level Influences on Child Development

The Tale of Two Wes Moores: Differences in Microsystem Figures on Child Development Vincci Ho

Ecological systems theory posits that human development is influenced by the interactions individuals have with those in their environment (Bronfenbrenner, 1977). In particular, the microsystem, or the relationships between an individual and his or her immediate environment, consists of family members, teachers, and classmates who directly influence child development (Bronfenbrenner, 1977). As such, it is important to analyze the different figures in one’s microsystem in order to better understand one’s developmental trajectory.

The Other Wes Moore (Moore, 2010) illustrates the role of microsystem-level figures in impacting a person’s life outcomes. The book documents how two men with similar early experiences in low-socioeconomic neighborhoods ultimately led vastly different paths of life. While the author Wes Moore is now a Rhodes scholar, renowned author, and White House Fellow, the “other” Wes Moore is currently in prison, serving a life sentence without parole for the murder of a policeman. The Other Wes Moore echoes research surrounding the significance of mentorship in fostering resilience (e.g., academic success, job readiness, and financial independence; Beam, 2018) among children from low-income backgrounds, who are often at risk of increased exposure to violence and crime (Keating, Tomishima, Foster, & Alessandri, 2002). As such, this book review employed Bronfenbrenner’s (1977) ecological systems theory to explore how two salient microsystem factors -- the role of family and teachers — led to both Wes Moore’s leading divergent lifestyles.

Family-Level Influences

Family members represent key figures that impact child development, especially as they represent the first social figures children come into contact with. Parent-child interactions are particularly influential because children are dependent on their caregivers to model appropriate behavior to prepare them for successful socialization in the future (Bandura, 1978; Bronfenbrenner, 1977). The relationship between the two Wes Moores and their primary caregivers exemplifies the precise ways in which parents’ parenting style (i.e., the ways they respond to, discipline, and place demands on the child) shape the development of their children’s behaviors, attitudes, and communication styles (Peterson, & McCracken, 1998). Given that the author Wes Moore’s father passed away when Wes was three years old, Wes was raised in a single-parent household with his mother, an authoritative parent who exhibited high warmth and high strictness (e.g., Baumrind, 1991; Estep, Avalos, & Olson, 2017). Since the beginning of Wes’ childhood, Wes’ 18 | Film & Book Reviews

mother enforced strict policies to teach him self-discipline and control. For instance, while playing a game with his sister, Wes chased after her and lightheartedly punched her.

Although his intentions were harmless, his mother yelled at him, telling him that he should never hit a woman, and then sent him up to his room. At the time, Wes had been angry with his mother for being “too strict” (Moore, 2010, p. 13), but he came to realize later on that she only scolded him to teach him how to interact with people in appropriate ways. Indeed, past research has suggested that parents who provide their children with warmth and support while implementing clear rules and firm control (i.e., an authoritative parenting style) tend to have children who are more independent and who hold a sense of responsibility to themselves and others (Baumrind, 1991).

Furthermore, authoritative parenting also involves monitoring the child’s behavior by being aware of their children’s activities, who they spend time with, and what they do; such practices, in turn, are associated with children who engage less in risky behaviors (Grolnick & Pomerantz, 2009).

When Wes’ mother realized that Wes had succumbed to negative peer influences, that his academic performance had thus suffered, and that he was getting into trouble with the authorities, she decided to enroll him in Valley Forge Military School, albeit to Wes’ dismay. Despite Wes’ pleas to return home, his mother refused, explaining that she had made the decision in hopes of teaching him self-discipline and to prevent him from participating in further risky behaviors. In doing so, Wes’ mother upheld consistency in her disciplinary choices and provided reasons and explanations for her methods, both of which are parenting practices that help children understand and internalize adaptive behavioral expectations (Estep et al., 2017; Grolnick & Pomerantz, 2009). Because of his distance away from home, Wes gradually learned to adjust to the strict environment at Valley Forge Military School and ultimately became a more disciplined and responsible man.

By contrast, the “other” Wes Moore’s single mother utilized a permissive parenting style, which is characterized by high warmth and low strictness (Estep et al., 2017). Similar to authoritative parents, permissive parents are emotionally supportive and responsive to their children’s needs (Estep et al., 2017). However, in comparison to authoritative parents, permissive parents lack the structure and control children require in order to gain a sense of responsibility (Grolnick & Pomerantz, 2009). While research highlights the importance of parents in helping their children internalize behavioral

Online Publication of Undergraduate Studies 2018, Volume 9, Issue 1 norms and expectations (Day, Peterson, & McCracken, 1998), the “other” Wes Moore’s mother believed that she was not in a position to correct Wes’ behavior because she felt responsible for her son’s drug use; indeed, Wes’ first encounter with drugs was when he stole his mother’s marijuana from her bedroom.

Subsequently, Wes’ mother did very little to prevent his actions.

Research suggests, however, that parental supervision, and the provision of firm and consistent reinforcement of adaptive behaviors is crucial in correcting misbehaviors (Day et al., 1998) — practices that were infrequently used by Wes’ mother. As such, it is evident that parents are one of the most significant factors in the microsystem, especially in the ways that their parenting practices might play in can encourage appropriate behaviors, while discouraging risky others.

School-Level Influences

In addition to individuals in the home setting, teachers represent another microsystem figure that plays a prominent role in children’s socioemotional development (Ruini, Ottolini, & Tomba, 2009). Teachers who support and establish students’ existing strengths create an environment that fosters academic performance (Mitchell & DellaMattera, 2010). However, when students feel alienated or are exposed to non-constructive criticism or feedback, they are less able to adjust successfully to the school environment (Mitchell & DellaMattera, 2010).

The importance of teachers for students’ moral development is evident in The Other Wes Moore, particularly in the contrast between Wes’ academic performance before and after moving to Valley Forge Military School. At his previous school, Wes felt alienated living in a predominantly white neighborhood as one of very few African American children, reducing his sense of belonging and motivation to attend class. At the same time, however, Wes met a successful high-ranking African American captain named Ty Hill, who eventually motivated Wes to undertake a leadership role. The book describes how, with the presence of an African American male role model, Wes was able to see how he, too, could succeed, ultimately leading to Wes’ promotion as sargeant. Indeed, research has found that an individual’s sense of self-efficacy — or the belief in one’s capacity to succeed at a task (Ruini et al., 2009) — increases when one is able to see similar others work hard to achieve a goal (Kamins & Dweck, 1999; Lockwood, 2006). In Wes’ case, meeting Captain Hill increased his own sense of self-efficacy, inspiring him to achieve greater degrees of success.

Wes’ college experiences were also characterized by support from another mentor. In particular, Wes met Paul White, the assistant director of admissions at John Hopkins University, who encouraged him to apply to college regardless of his GPA, provided guidance throughout the application process, and offered positive encouragement. Ultimately, Wes not only ended up being accepted by John Hopkins University, but also received academic and athletic scholarships. Research does suggest that students who receive positive messages about their skills and capabilities are better able to handle challenging situations, and

Microsystem-Level Influences on Child Development

are more likely to put in greater effort to overcome adversity (Kamins & Dweck, 1999; Lockwood, 2006). Thus, the schoollevel influences of Captain Hill and Paul White encouraged Wes to achieve success.

The “other” Wes Moore, however, did not come across supportive mentors at school. Wes’ teachers did not offer him support or resources to foster his sense of self-efficacy, which contributed to his overall negative attitude toward school.

Research indicates that students who perceive their teachers as unsupportive tend to become disengaged and uninvolved in school — patterns that can impair academic achievement (Gillham et al., 2007). Indeed, Wes decided to enter the drug trade as he felt it was the only high-paying job available to him without a high school diploma. The role of school-based microsystem figures is thus important in the ways that it promotes or hinders the motivation, engagement, and selfefficacy needed for children to succeed.

Conclusion Overall, The Other Wes Moore suggests that various individuals within one’s microsystem (e.g., the home and school settings) influence his or her development in unique and multifaceted ways. Parents and teachers are crucial in facilitating children’s internalization of societal standards precisely through their modeling of adaptive behaviors, the amount of support they provide, and their reactions to their children’s behaviors (Estep et al., 2017; Gillham et al., 2007). As such, the differences in the two Wes Moores’ life outcomes can be explained in part by differences in their respective microsystems. However, further research can be done to examine the influence of peers, siblings, and sources of community support on an individual’s development, as these factors may provide better insight into what specifically lead to the vast differences in both Wes Moore’s life outcomes.

Book & Film Reviews | 19

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Baumrind, D. (1991). The influence of parenting style on

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Gillham, J. E., Reivich, K. J., Freres, D. R., Chaplin, T. M.,

Shatte, A. J., & Samuels, B. (2007). School-based

prevention of depressive symptoms: A randomized

controlled study of the effectiveness and specificity of

the Penn Resiliency Program. Journal of Consulting

and Clinical Psychology, 75(2), 9-19.

Grolnick, W. S., & Pomerantz, E. M. (2009). Issues and

challenges in studying parental control: Toward a new conceptualization. Child Development Perspectives, 3(3), 165-170.

Kamins, M. L., & Dweck, C. S. (1999). Person versus process

praise and criticism: Implications for contingent self worth and coping. Developmental Psychology, 35(2), 835-847.

Keating, L., Tomishima, M., Foster, S., & Alessandri, M. (2002).

The effects of a mentoring program on at-risk youth.

Adolescence, 5(4), 717-734.

Lockwood, P. (2006). “Someone like me can be successful?”: Do

students need same-gender role models? Psychology

of Women Quarterly, 30(2), 36-46.

Mitchell, S. N., & DellaMattera, J. N. (2010). Teacher support

and student’s self-efficacy beliefs. Journal of

Contemporary Issues in Education, 5(2), 24-35.

Moore, W. (2010). The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates. New York, NY: Spiegel & Grau Trade Paperbacks.

Ruini, C., Ottolini, F., & Tomba, E. (2009). School intervention

for promoting psychological well-being in adolescence. Journal of Behavior Therapy and

Experimental Psychiatry, 50(4), 522-532.

20 | Film & Book Reviews

Microsystem-Level Influences on Child Development

Finding Nemo :Loss, Empathy, and Satisfaction

Online Publication of Undergraduate Studies 2018, Volume 9, Issue 1

Finding Nemo:The Role of Loss in Empathy and Satisfaction Sarah Gouriche

Finding Nemo, the third most profitable G-rated movie to date (Box Office Mojo, 2018), follows a father fish, Marlin, struggling to find his son, Nemo, after Nemo gets taken by humans and is alone for the first time in his life. As both fish struggle to reunite, they each encounter obstacles such as beguiling sharks and captivity in a fish tank. Given the popularity of the film, it is clear that it provides audiences with a high degree of satisfaction - a term which, with reference to films, means that viewers feel fulfilled after having watched the film. However, it is somewhat surprising that Finding Nemo engenders such a high degree of satisfaction in its viewers, given the challenging nature of the main theme of the film: loss. Loss is not only depicted through Nemo and Marlin’s struggle to cope with their separation from one another. In fact, loss enters the film from its first minute when Nemo’s mother, Coral, is murdered by a barracuda before Nemo has even hatched. Thus, even when Nemo and Marlin are reunited at the conclusion of the film, Coral’s death remains a loss that cannot be resolved, emphasizing to the audience the harsh reality that loss is an unavoidable component of life. In light of the seeming incongruity between this melancholy message and Finding Nemo’s ongoing popularity, this review sought to understand how the film’s depiction of loss is related to audience satisfaction.

While Finding Nemo represents loss as inevitable, there is a clear focus on overcoming the adversity of loss. After being separated from one another, Nemo and Marlin are willing to undergo great hardship in order to reunite - such as Nemo’s bravery in swimming into the dangerous water filter of a tank as part of a plan for escape. In fact, the more final loss of Coral is depicted as an ongoing challenge of adaptation, in that, prior to their separation, Nemo and Marlin struggle to navigate and define their relationship as each other’s only family; Nemo seeks greater freedom from his father, but we see Marlin struggling with the memory of losing Coral as he seeks to shelter Nemo from any possible danger. Thus, Finding Nemo shifts the audiences’ focus from the loss itself to the characters’ attempts to deal with it (Colman et al., 2014), therefore making Nemo and Marlins’ emotions of anxiety at how to cope with the loss the main focal point of the film (Langham, 2018).

By centering the film on the emotional challenges of two likeable characters, Finding Nemo is able to trigger a reaction of empathy in its audience; our emotions naturally shift to mirror those of the characters, such that we feel Nemo and Marlin’s anxiety along with them (Davis, 1980). Empathy is a filmmaker’s most important tool, with cinema being the

medium which “allows people in a virtual dialogue with their own and their culture’s unconscious” (Izod & Dovalis, 2015, p.

1). In the context of movie-watching, the audience relates to a character by putting themselves in the character’s shoes - in light of the human tendency to be egocentric, we can only understand characters’ experiences by viewing them in the context of our own (Planck, 2018). Thus, even children, who might not yet have experienced extreme loss such as the death of a parent, will contextualize the characters’ struggles and emotions within their own knowledge and experiences of loss and anxiety (Izod & Dovalis, 2015), though their ability to fully understand Nemo and Marlin’s experiences will grow as their own store of experiences expands (Planck, 2018). As such, the lessons that films such as Finding Nemo teach deepen as maturity grows, and so the emotional impact of such films is different for children than it is for adults, explaining the popularity of animated films with people of all ages.

Notably, it is, in fact, the very experience of an intense emotional response that makes watching films feel satisfying, and so audiences intentionally seek out films that will evoke complex and vivid emotions (Oliver, 1997). Empathizing makes us, as humans, feel satisfied with our own ability to interpret emotions. It reassures us that we are able to understand emotional situations even outside our own agendas. Thus, although the inclusion of difficult themes such as death, separation and grief in children’s movies might initially appear to be detrimental to a child’s happiness, it actually may be beneficial to introduce such concepts using relatable, quirky characters and life-like situations as tools (Colman et al., 2014), to allow children to begin to understand death through a comparison to their own range of experiences. Therefore, while at first it might seem that such challenging issues as death and anxiety are out of place in a children’s film, and that they might detract from the audience’s enjoyment, it is precisely these dark themes that make the film satisfying to audiences. Finding Nemo continues to satisfy both adults and children because the portrayal of characters’ suffering and their anxiety as they try to work through it naturally evokes strong feelings of empathy; Nemo and Marlin’s struggles with loss create the vivid emotional response that makes the film fulfilling as we struggle along with them.

Book & Film Reviews | 21

Online Publication of Undergraduate Studies 2019, Volume 9, Issue 1 References Colman, I., Kingsbury, M., Dykxhoorn, J., Hynes, K., Loro, A.,

Martin, M. S., . . . Anushka. (2014). Cartoons Kill:

Casualties in animated recreational theater in an

objective observational new study of kids’ introduction

to loss of life. BMJ, 349, online.

Davis, M. H. (1980). A multidimensional approach to individual

differences in empathy. JSAS Catalog of Selected

Documents in Psychology, 10, 85-104.

Langham, R. (2018). The psychological effects of children’s

movies. Retrieved from http://www.winmentalhealth. com/childrens_movies_media_effects.php Oliver, R. L. (1997). Customer delight: Foundations, findings,

and managerial insight. Journal of Retailing, 73(3), 311-336.

Planck, M. (2013). I’m OK, you’re not OK: Right supramarginal

gyrus plays an important role in empathy. Retrieved

from https://www.sciencedaily.com/ releases/2013/10/131009133057.htm Top Grossing G Rated Movies at the Box Office. (n.d.). Retrieved

from http://www.boxofficemojo.com/alltime/ domestic/mpaa.htm?page=G&p=.htm

22 | Film & Book Reviews

Finding Nemo :Loss, Empathy, and Satisfaction

Interviews

Online Publication of Undergraduate Studies 2018, Volume 9, Issue 1

Dr. Petr Janata On Music Psychology

Kaleidoscopic Sound: An Interview with Dr. Petr Janata on the Psychology of Music Spencer B. Judd

When one thinks of psychology, typical associations range from defense mechanisms to the treatment of mental illness, and from Pavlov’s conditioning experiments to online personality tests. But does music ever make the list? It is only recently that the field of psychology has begun to analyze the relation between music and human behavior. One significant contribution of music psychology involves the effectiveness of music therapy in addressing a variety of behavioral, emotional, developmental, and neurological disorders (e.g., Geipel, Koenig, Hillecke, Resch, & Kaess, 2017; Gold, Voracek, & Wigram, 2004; Koger, Chapin, & Brotons, 1999; Sherratt, Thornton, & Hatton, 2004), especially as a means for self-expression (Rentfrow & Gosling, 2006) and mood regulation (Juslin, Liljestrom, Västfjäll, Barradas, & Silva, 2008). Recent research also indicates a salient link between music preference and personality (Rentfrow & Gosling, 2003), such that couples who share music preferences tend to also share similarities in personality traits (Boer & Fischer, 2011). Given the significance of the role of music in psychology, and in light of recent technological advancements, the subfield of music psychology is accelerating in growth and relevance (Juslin & Sloboda, 2013; North & Hargreaves, 1997, 2008). In order to better contextualize the ever-increasing role of music in society, the author interviewed Dr. Petr Janata to learn more about his unique perspective on music psychology.

Dr. Janata received his Ph.D. from the Institute of Neuroscience at the University of Oregon, and completed a postdoctorate at the University of Chicago to examine how birds learn to sing. He then served as a faculty member at Dartmouth College, and has since taught as a professor at the University of California at Davis. His current research interests involve the relationship between music, emotion, and memory, and particularly autobiographical memories that are evoked through music. He also studies brain responses in relation to pleasurable experiences arising from music (Janata, Tomic, & Haberman, 2012).

The present interview covered a range of topics within the field of music psychology, including the role of music in mood regulation and memory preservation, the relationship between music and nostalgia, and avenues to obtain an enhanced and customizable musical experience. Dr. Janata adds insight with regards to: (1) how music preferences relate with personality, (2) whether our ability to discern between correct or incorrect musical compositions is innate or learned, and (3) the future trajectory of the field of music psychology.

24 | Interviews

Seminal authors Rentfrow and Gosling (2003, 2011) found a connection between personality traits and music preferences. How do you think that music genres connect with identity formation, if at all?

I think they connect pretty strongly. If you look at the time when there is a lot of identity formation, our teenage years, there is also a whole lot of music listening that is happening during that time. That is a time in life where people have a lot of time on their hands and are very engaged in social activities and listening to music. Those two things become very closely associated for many people.

As you mentioned, our teenage years are when people start listening to music and also when they start exploring their own identity.

The directionality of this influence, however, is unclear. Do you think that our personality traits influence our music preferences, or that our music preferences influence our personality?

I do not know of evidence that speaks to which direction that would go, but it seems to me that it could go in both directions and be mutually reinforcing.

Do you have an opinion on whether nature or nurture represents a greater influence in determining our music preferences?

I think it is largely driven by the music we hear and experience, so I am more on the nurture side of things. We are very much influenced by the music we hear growing up.

In my case, up until my early-to-mid teenage years, I listened exclusively to classical music and a hefty dose of Czech folk songs just because that is what my parents listened to. Since then, my music preference has certainly diversified. I listen to a lot more music and started doing that in my mid teenage years. So, when I look at my kids, their music preferences, too, have been shaped by what my wife and I play in the house. But they too have explored and listened to songs that I do not listen to, lots of bands I have never heard of. I also think their listening habits have been influenced by their friends and their peers, so there is always going to be a connection between what people important to you are listening to and your familiarity with particular artists or genres – all of which is going to influence what you end up listening to when you enjoy music on your own.

Online Publication of Undergraduate Studies 2018, Volume 9, Issue 1 It seems apparent from my own experience that there are some types of music that we are bound to like if given the right exposure.

At the same time, however, one might end up liking certain genres regardless of exposure. Why is that so?

Sure. That speaks to the issue of what the aspects of musical structure are, the characteristics of particular styles of music, and how they interact with our brain either in ways that we do or do not find pleasing, and finally where that goes beyond simple effects of familiarity and repeated exposure.

One of the current debates in music psychology surrounds the question of our innate ability to judge instantly when a note fits in correctly or is out of place with a string of other notes, even if one is not knowledgeable about music theory. You have previously explored this question, especially as it pertains to whether we judge musical notes through purely sensory information, or through the activation of long term schemas (Janata, 2015). Where do you currently stand on this debate?

What we find is that bottom-up sensory variables do explain a lot of our ability to do so, but when you add in our learned representations and schemas in music, such as the major and minor keys and the tonal schemas of Western music, one is better able explain more of the variability in these abilities. [In my past research], if you evoke a schema such as the concept of [musical] closure and model what closure looks like, you can further explain more of the data. Other studies also support the view that our schemas are really important, and that you cannot just use bottom-up sensations to explain all of our responses to music.

Do you think the subfield of music psychology is underdeveloped or under-appreciated? And how so?

Probably both. It is certainly gaining steam, but it also matters where in the world you are referring to. Music is fairly under-appreciated within academic circles in the United States. Other countries, however, have invested much more in music psychology and the neuroscience involved in music.

Historically, music has been seen as one of those arts that is beyond scientific comprehension, where all responses to music are seen as subjective, and thus cannot be studied scientifically.

[In addition], areas of music psychology that are relevant to public health [often] determine what gets researched. Nonetheless, there is less of an impetus to study music psychology, and that is some of the historical reasons for why music has not been more prevalent among research institutions in the U.S. Are you aware of any current attempts to foster greater attention and appreciation for the field of music psychology?

Yes. So, I think it is growing. The national institutes of health have held initiatives in recent years that have sought to examine the role of the arts more generally, including music, in various care situations. A couple of years ago, my colleagues and I received a pretty substantial planning grant to nurture new collaborative research, focused on music, among the University

Dr. Petr Janata On Music Psychology

of California campuses. So I do think there is a growing appreciation for [music psychology]; it is just a matter of time. It is going to keep growing in relevance and attention.

Would you describe the current state of the field of music psychology as being in the infant, adolescent, or mature stage of development?

I would say it is in the adolescent stage. It is increasingly moving toward examining stimuli, tasks, and situations that resemble real-life music experiences, rather than abstractions that [would otherwise] divorce it from everyday interactions with music. There is a lot to be done, but in terms of the breadth of the topics that have been covered, [music psychology] is clearly much more developed beyond the infant stage.

What do you think is the great question yet-to-be answered in the field of music psychology?

This goes back to the beginning where we started with personality and individual differences. I think understanding why people respond differently to the music that they listen to and how it shapes their emotional state are some of the big questions, largely because individuals seem to indicate that using music to regulate their emotions is a really important reason for why they engage with music in the first place. But I do not think that the field has really embraced it as much as it needs to; I see that as a big open issue.

Analysis and Conclusion

The present interview highlighted several insights regarding the field of music psychology. Foremost, the interview explored the link between music preference and personality, and how it is influenced by both development and social settings.

Secondly, it is evident that emotional responses to music are also affected by our musical expectations (Janata, 2015; Janata et al., 2010). Several theories have attempted to explain our recognition, discernment, and expectations of how certain music notes and chords should be contextualized within a greater set of notes. While there are no complete explanations as to why humans possess such abilities, Dr. Janata explains that the sensory and schematic models best account for these processes (Janata & Collins, 2014; Krumhansl, 1991; Purwins et al., 2008). Foremost, Meyer’s theory (1956) posits that our musical expectations arises from statistical or inductive learning; in other words, individuals form musical expectations based on the amount of experience they have with a given material, such that repeated exposure to one song will determine later expectations of musical structures. Huron’s theory (2006), on the other hand, states that while expectations are adaptable over time, much of our perceptions and expectations are an innate rather than learned ability. Viewed together, Dr. Janata argues that both sensory and schematic models, as evident in Meyer’s and Huron’s theories, are needed to explain the variability in our emotional responses to musical stimuli (Janata, 2014).

Dr. Janata’s past research has also explored the use of music to preserve memories among dementia-diagnosed Interviews | 25

Online Publication of Undergraduate Studies 2018, Volume 9, Issue 1 seniors (Janata, 2011) – advances that he believes will only develop further with time. In fact, one of Dr. Janata’s most salient insights on music psychology and technology involves devices that would allow listeners to customize musical input during a concert, much akin to filters in visual photographs (Charron, 2017). Despite these technological advances, however, Dr. Janata concludes that the field of musical psychology is in its adolescent phase, with rapid developments yet to come.

Expanding Dr. Janata’s insights on the personalization of music psychology, future research should investigate the effectiveness of music for other performance-related outcomes.

The effects of music listening while studying, for instance, remain largely inconclusive (Cabanac, 2013; Cavanagh, 2009; Cox & Stephens, 2006; Southgate, 2009; Vaughn, 2000); exploring the role of music preferences in moderating the link between music listening and studying outcomes, in turn, represents an applied first step toward explaining our deep-seeded relationship with music.

References Boer, D., & Fischer, R. (2011). Towards a holistic model of

functions of music listening across cultures: A

culturally decentered qualitative approach. Psychology

of Music, 40(2), 179-200.

Cabanac, A. (2013). Music and academic performance.

Behavioural Brain Research, 256(1), 257-260.

Cavanagh, S. (2009). Music and academic achievement: The

impact of music on childhood adolescent achievement.

Education Week, 28(23), 4-5.

Charron, J. (2017). Music audiences 3.0: Concert-goers’

psychological motivations at the dawn of virtual reality.

Frontiers in Psychology, 8, 1-8.

Cox, H., & Stephens, L. (2006). The effect of music participation

on mathematical achievement and overall academic

achievement of high school students. International

Journal of Mathematical Education in Science &

Technology, 37(7), 757-763.

Geipel, J., Koenig, J., Hillecke, T., Resch, F., & Kaess, M. (2017).

Music-based interventions to reduce internalizing

symptoms in children and adolescents: A meta- analysis. Journal of Affective Disorders, 225(1), 647 656.

Gold, C., Voracek, M., & Wigram, T. (2004). Effects of music

therapy for children and adolescents with

psychopathology: A meta-analysis. Journal of Child

Psychology and Psychiatry, 45(6), 1054-1063.

Huron, D. (2006). Sweet anticipation: Music and the psychology

of expectation. Cambridge, MA: M.I.T. Press.

Janata, P. (2011) Effects of widespread and frequent personalized

music programming on agitation and depression in

assisted living facility residents with Alzheimer-type dementia. Music and Medicine, 4(1), 8-15.

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Dr. Petr Janata On Music Psychology

Janata, P. (2015). Petr Janata, UC Davis, USA: Music, memories,

and the brain. [Video file]. Retrieved from

www.cirmmt.org/activities/distinguished-lectures/ janata/?searchterm=janata.

Janata, P., Barrett, F., Grimm, K., Robins, R., Wildschut, T., &

Sedikides, C. (2010). Music-evoked nostalgia: Affect,

memory, and personality. Emotion, 10(3), 390-403.

Janata, P., & Collins, T. (2014). A combined model of sensory

and cognitive representations underlying tonal

expectations in music: From audio signals to behavior.

Psychological Review, 121(1), 33-65.

Janata, P., Tomic, S., & Haberman, J. (2012) Sensorimotor

coupling in music and the psychology of the groove.

Journal of Experimental Psychology, 141(1), 54-75.

Juslin, P., Liljeström, S., Västfjäll, D., Barradas, G., & Silva, A.

(2008) An experience sampling study of emotional

reactions to music: Listener, music, and situation.

Emotion, 8(5), 668-683.

Juslin, P., & Sloboda, J. (2013). Music and emotion. The

Psychology of Music, 1(1), 583-645.

Koger, S., Chapin, K., & Brotons, M. (1999). Is music therapy an

effective intervention for dementia? A meta-analytic

review of literature. Journal of Music Therapy, 36(1), 2-15.

Krumhansl, C. (1991). Music psychology: Tonal structures in

perception and memory. Annual Review of Psychology, 42(1), 277-303.

Meyer, L. (1956). Emotion and meaning in music. Chicago, IL:

Chicago University Press.

North, A., & Hargreaves, D. (1997). Liking for musical styles.

Musicae Scientiae, 1(1), 109-128.

North, A., & Hargreaves, D. (2008). The social and applied

psychology of music. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

Purwins, H., Herrera, P., Grachten, M., Hazan, A., Marxer, R.,

& Serra, X. (2008). Computational models of music

perception and cognition: The perceptual and cognitive

processing chain. Physics of Life Reviews, 5(3), 151 168.

Rentfrow, P., Goldberg, L., & Levitin, D. (2011). The structure of

musical preferences: A five-factor model. Journal of

Personality and Social Psychology, 100(6), 1139-1157.

Rentfrow, P., & Gosling, S. (2003). The do re mi’s of everyday life:

The structure and personality correlates of music preferences. Journal of Personality and Social

Psychology, 84(6), 1236-1256.

Rentfrow, P., & Gosling, S. (2006). Message in a ballad.

Psychological Science, 17(3), 236-242.

Sherratt, K., Thornton, A., & Hatton, C. (2004). Music

interventions for people with dementia: A review of

the literature. Aging & Mental Health, 8(1), 3-12.

Southgate, D., & Roscigno, V. (2009). The impact of music on

childhood and adolescent achievement. Social Science

Quarterly, 90(1), 4-21.

Online Publication of Undergraduate Studies 2018, Volume 9, Issue 1

Dr. Petr Janata On Music Psychology

Steele, K., Bass, K., & Crook, M. (1999). The mystery of the

Mozart Effect: Failure to replicate. Psychological

Science, 10(4), 366-369.

Vaughn, K. (2000). Music and mathematics: Modest support for

the oft-claimed relationship. Journal of Aesthetic

Education, 34(3), 149-166.

Interviews | 27

Online Publication of Undergraduate Studies 2018, Volume 9, Issue 1

An Interview with Dr. Dale Atkins

Guilt, Desensitization, and Anger: An Interview with Dr. Dale Atkins Maya Mester

The parent-child relationship is one of the most emotional and enduring social ties in a person’s life. As such, the relationship that an individual has with their parents remains salient, even once the child reaches adulthood themselves (Birditt, Miller, Fingerman, & Lefkowitz, 2010). While the relationship between parents and adult children can be positive and supportive, it might also involve some degree of conflict. In particular, families with older adult children tend to report more strained relationships than families with younger adult children (Birditt et al., 2010), indicating that parent-child tensions might rise as adult children age. These tensions are rooted in problems surrounding communication, lifestyle choices, and beliefs surrounding child-rearing practices (Clarke, Preston, Rakson, & Bengtson, 1999). As such, the parent-child relationship can become increasingly difficult for all parties to navigate, especially if it involves continued frustration and unresolved conflict.

In order to better understand the relationship dynamics between parents and their adult children, this interview with Dr. Dale V. Atkins explored the potential causes of conflict between parents and adult children and the strategies typically utilized to resolve these conflicts. As a clinical psychologist who holds a private practice in New York City, Dr. Atkins specializes in the relationships between, and well-being of, individuals and families across the lifespan. She received her B.S. from New York University, her M.A. in Special Education from Columbia University, and her Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from University of California at Los Angeles. She is a lecturer, a media commentator, and makes frequent appearances on NBC’s Today Show and CNN’s Headline News to discuss social and relationship issues. She is also the author of several books and articles on topics surrounding parent-child relationships, marriage, families with hearing-impaired children, and living a balanced life.

In this interview, Dr. Atkins discussed themes of anger and guilt from her book I’m OK, You’re My Parents (2004). She explained some of the tensions between parents and their adult children, discussed ways to effectively address these tensions, and highlighted why it is important for adult children to overcome feelings of frustration. Given the role of parent-child relationship tensions in overall well-being (Birditt et al., 2010), and in order to better gauge the effect of anger, guilt, empathy, and body language on parent and adult child relationships, this interview investigated: (1) the role of parental guilt and high expectations for self-esteem, and (2) the role of empathy and coping strategies in reducing anger.

28 | Interviews

Guilt and Expectations Why is it common for parents to say things that make us feel guilty?

I think it has to do with [their] expectations of themselves as parents, of what they had hoped their children would be like. Some people do not know they are making people feel guilty. They can say “I had this great dinner with my friends, and their daughter was there. You know they have dinner together once a week? Isn’t that just the best?” That can be an innocuous, neutral comment, but it generally is not, because the recipient thinks, “I do not have dinner with my mother once a week. I am a terrible daughter.”

Often the adult child does not feel good enough in the eyes of their parent. [The adult child] feels that they have disappointed [their parents] with their choices or maybe just by being who they are. It could be how they look, their personalities, what they do for a living, their spouse, or the way they are raising their children; it does not matter what it is – it is that [adult children] do not feel that they are good enough for who they were supposed to be.

In your book, you describe a process called desensitization, which aids us in remaining calm even when triggered by “guilt pyrotechnics” (Atkins, 2004, p. 36). Such a process involves exercises like making lists of those guilt-inducing statements and listening to ourselves saying them, punching a pillow, and assuming a restful position. Can you explain a little bit about why this kind of desensitization works?

We hold emotions in our body, and our body is our first indicator of how we feel. People get sweaty hands, their neck gets really upset, or they feel the hair on the back of their neck [stand up]. It is a real physiological response because we feel assaulted and need to defend ourselves. If one can respond on this basic, visceral level, get out of our heads, and just go back into relaxing our body, we can then renew who we are rather than being thrown off course by something that immediately makes us feel awful. So the reason I like to do desensitization, and particularly immediately trying to breathe and relax one’s body and soften the mind, is because what is going on becomes negative in the mind. We have to be aware of ourselves and be alert, but these kinds of assaults need to be tempered with kinder thoughts, which is why with desensitization, I ask people to really restructure their thoughts [about themselves].

Online Publication of Undergraduate Studies 2018, Volume 9, Issue 1

An Interview with Dr. Dale Atkins

Why do we desensitize?

The first of two [reasons] is to come back to your own center with your body so that you can really feel grounded. It is really hard to do any of this stuff when you are feeling off center and even more vulnerable. You have to get to what you are feeling. The body is the first indicator. The second indicator about the guilt and what you can do is to understand why you feel that way. What is this tapping into? Did you really not call your mother who has been in ICU for five months? Well, then, you might feel guilty. Where is the reality? What are you telling yourself about why you need not call her?

People cut themselves off from their parents, but I think what I am trying to do with my book is to get people to understand that they each have the ability to become the people they would like to be, and a great ‘petri dish’ is their family.

There is not a whole lot of growth when there is no push back and challenge, and where there is challenge, you can say “What do I need to do? What can I do?”

How do we even begin achieving an empathetic position when we feel like our parents are not reciprocating, and when doing so involves so much pain?

Once again, this has a lot to do with our expectations.

We ask: “How come I am the only one who has to change? Why are you not trying to reach me?” We cannot expect that people are going to change. Others may change their stance, but we cannot go into negotiating: “I’m going to this, you’re going to do that.” In some families that might work, but not in a lot of them.

An adult child [may spend] a weekend with a parent who is so relentless, or a parent who is narcissistic, who can spend an entire weekend with their child without asking how they are because everything is in service to them, the parent. That is not going to change. In order to be able to not only survive but even thrive in that kind of a setting, you might [instead] buoy yourself up with getting what you need from other people and understanding that [neither your] mother or father can do that for you.

Empathy and Anger In order to resolve anger with our parents, you write that we can work toward recognizing what is making us angry and reaching a position of empathy and acceptance. Why does this work and why is empathy so important?

I do not believe that resolving anger means that you are never going to be upset with your parents. It really has to do with how we respond to the feelings of anger that we keep inside. We can ask ourselves “Is every interaction going to be rooted in a foundation of anger and resentment?” If that is what we choose, then we are the ones who are going to suffer.

So, the idea is to notice when you are angry and not get caught up in the story surrounding that. What I am suggesting is that people understand what those feelings do to them, that they are fleeting, and that they do not have to control us – we can take control. When you latch onto [anger], you have attached yourself to it. You defend your right to feel this way, and you distance yourself from the person even further because you have to be right. If you understand the feeling, observe it, accept it, breathe through it, if you do art, or walk in nature, or arrange flowers, or read poetry to help you through it, if you accept that it will pass, then you will have created some distance to express how you felt thoughtfully and, hopefully, with compassion for yourself and for the other.

To me, the goal of empathy is to allow yourself to see a situation through somebody else’s eyes. When you do that, you do not have to agree with their perspective, you do not have to believe their truth - you just need to see the situation from their perspective. It is about understanding and attempting to both cognitively and emotionally experience the situation as they would. When I see a situation as you do, I am much more likely to appreciate – but not necessarily agree with – why you respond the way that you do. For adult children, I have found that empathy opens their heart to feel compassion for their parent, and that is what is often missing in these relationships.

A lot of these expectations may come from this ideal image we have of our parents which we form at a very young age, and when we question: “why can’t my parent’s be more like X’s parents?” Why is it so hard to accept our parents’ flaws?

This is related to both wishful thinking and competition. Sometimes we are in competition with them or with other parents. Who they are in real life can be annoying and embarrassing and we want them to be different so that we will feel more comfortable. Accepting people as they are can be difficult. We need to see them as human and allow them to be imperfect. To accept them as they are does not mean we like everything they do or say. We may be polar opposites regarding our lifestyles, political beliefs, religious convictions, values, communication styles, choice of partner, childcare philosophies, or our career aspirations. That can feel uncomfortable because thinking about these differences [might feel like] walking on eggshells to avoid confrontation, but I think the issue is that we need to be with them as they are. The more we get to know them, the better we can become at handling potentially explosive topics.

How might holding onto anger, as a coping mechanism, be a way of regaining control over a situation by not letting your parents “off the hook?” In other words, how is holding onto anger actually a form of relinquishing control?

I think that feeling anger is very normal. Holding onto it creates a lens through which you see your parent in every interaction. I think the question is what can you learn from the situation that precipitated the anger. Do you learn to be cautious? How is this consistent anger serving you? Being cautious, if you do not become paranoid and totally afraid, can be a good coping strategy. But hanging onto anger is not going to help the relationship. Being aware that certain situations have made you angry can be instructive and helpful for understanding the past as well as for future interactions. What can you learn Interviews | 29

Online Publication of Undergraduate Studies 2018, Volume 9, Issue 1 about them? And then, how do you transform that feeling into something that can be productive? Because walking around angry is generally not good for one’s health.

Advice and Closing Remarks What advice do you have for people who have tried the steps you recommend but have not been able to reconcile with their parents?

Is there hope?

There are very few situations where, with a true desire, sincere effort, and reasonable expectations, a workable solution cannot be found. In my experience, people give up. They say, “If she talks to me one more time like that, I am finished.” We forget that people can evolve, even though they do not realize it could be beneficial. They think, “I cannot be with you because you do not respect me.” I understand that, but find your respect within yourself and develop respectful relationships with others.

If you deal with the relationship you have with your parent, you will be a better friend. If you do not, you will be expecting and searching and demanding what you did not get and likely super-impose that on friendships. You can often get what you need elsewhere if you first do the work and understand that you are not going to change your parents. You can have loving, caring relationships. If you have a job interview, you may want to hear your mother call and inquire, “How’d it go, how’d it go?” But maybe she had a career and gave it up. It might just be too difficult for her [to call]. And you say, “It is really too bad that my mom cannot do that,” and you accept it.

Analysis and Conclusion

In this interview, Dr. Atkins touched on themes of guilt, physiological responses, and the role of empathy in resolving anger in relationships consisting of parents and their adult children. Foremost, Dr. Atkins highlighted the role of parents’ guilt-inducing comments on the adult child’s selfesteem — feelings that might have roots in adult children’s feelings of incompetence when failing to meet their parents’ expectations. As Dr. Atkins explained, these experiences of guilt can manifest as either a situational (e.g., feeling guilty for not calling one’s mother in the ICU) or trait-based (e.g., feeling like a total disappointment) devaluation of the self. In addition to devaluing the self, research indicates that guilt-proneness is, in turn, associated with depression, anxiety, hostility, and low selfesteem (Harder & Lewis, 1987; Velotti, Garofalo, Bottazzi, & Caretti, 2016). As such, Dr. Atkins emphasized the importance of desensitizing oneself to parents’ guilt-evoking comments, in order to mitigate potential negative effects on the adult child’s self-image, emotions, and physiological stress (e.g., Rabinovich, 2016; Wolpe, 1958). In fact, Dr. Atkins noted that desensitizing in the parent-adult child relationship might help the adult child recognize that one cannot change his or her parents, but can change how they view and respond to situations.

30 | Interviews

An Interview with Dr. Dale Atkins

This guilt arising within an adult child as a result of parents’ comments is also often related to behaviors that may — purposefully or inadvertently — harm the parent. When one feels guilty about behaviors that are “presumably controllable” (Tangney, 1991, p. 599), he or she may be more empathetic and/ or likely to act in a reparative manner in an effort to be “one step closer to the distressed other” (Tangney, 1991, p. 605). Dr. Atkins noted, for example, that if someone feels guilty for not visiting their mother in the ICU, he or she may be motivated to change their behaviors in order to reduce the pain his or her parent might be feeling. In order to avoid ruminating on the negative thought cycles associated with poor parent-adult child interactions, Dr. Atkins proposes distancing oneself from heated interactions, and then, when space is created, practicing mindfulness to disentangle one’s true feelings surrounding the interaction. Research has indicated that mindfulness promotes greater distress tolerance, which is the capacity to withstand experiential distress, including anger and guilt (Lotan, Tanay, & Bernstein, 2013; Zvolensky, Vujanovic, Bernstein, & Leyro, 2010). In fact, individuals who frequently practice mindfulness are more likely to report higher levels of perspective-taking and lower levels of personal distress than those who practice mindfulness at lesser rates (Block-Lerner, Adair, Plumb, Rhatigan, & Orsillo, 2007). Creating this distance from the interaction and necessitating the practice of mindfulness following difficult parent-child interactions can reduce distress for both parties and increase the adult child’s compassion for their parents, even if the adult child does not necessarily reach a total acceptance of what his or her parents say.

Overall, this interview with Dr. Atkins highlights the effectiveness of desensitization and perspective-taking as methods to reduce guilt and anger in parent-adult child relationships. To further learn about relationships and wellbeing, please refer to Dr. Atkins’ monthly newsletter, “Sanity Savers.” Her upcoming work on parenting includes a book, The Kindness Advantage: Cultivating Compassionate and Connected Children.

Online Publication of Undergraduate Studies 2018, Volume 9, Issue 1

An Interview with Dr. Dale Atkins

References Atkins, D. V. (2004). I’m OK, you’re my parents. New York, NY:

Henry Holt and Company.

Birditt, K. S., Miller, L. M., Fingerman, K. L., & Lefkowitz, E.

S. (2009). Tensions in the parent and adult child

relationship: Links to solidarity and ambivalence.

Psychology and Aging, 24(2), 287–295.

Block-Lerner, J., Adair, C., Plumb, J., Rhatigan, D. L., & Orsillo,

S. M. (2007). The case for mindfulness-based

approaches in the cultivation of empathy: Does non judgmental, present-moment awareness increase

capacity for perspective-taking and empathic concern?

Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 33(4), 501–516.

Clarke, E. J., Preston, M., Raksin, J., & Bengtson, V. L. (1999).

Types of conflicts and tensions between older parents

and adult children. The Gerontologist, 39(3), 261–270.

Harder, D. W., & Lewis, S. J. (1987). The assessment of shame

and guilt. Advances in Personality Assessment, 6, 89 114.

Lewis, H. B. (1971). Shame and guilt in neurosis. New York, NY:

International Universities Press.

Lotan, G., Tanay, G., & Bernstein, A. (2013). Mindfulness

and distress tolerance: Relations in a mindfulness

preventive intervention. International Journal of

Cognitive Therapy, 6(4), 371-385.

McNally, R. (2007). Mechanisms of exposure therapy: How

neuroscience can improve psychological treatments for

anxiety disorders. Clinical Psychology Review, 27(6), 750-759.

Rabinovich, M. (2016). Psychodynamic emotional regulation in

view of Wolpe’s Desensitization Model. The American

Journal of Psychology, 129(1), 65-79.

Tangney, J. P. (1991). Moral affect: The good, the bad, and the ugly. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 61(4), 598-607.

Velotti, P., Garofalo, C., Bottazzi, F., & Caretti, V. (2016). Faces

of shame: Implications for self-esteem, emotion

regulation, aggression, and well-being. The Journal of

Psychology, 151(2), 171-184.

Wolpe, J. (1958). Psychotherapy by reciprocal inhibition. Palo

Alto, CA: Stanford University Press.

Zvolensky, M. J., Vujanovic, A. A., Bernstein, A., & Leyro, T.

(2010). Distress tolerance: Theory, measurement,

and relations to psychopathology. Current Directions

in Psychological Science, 19(6), 406-410.

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ENDENT ARCH

Online Publication of Undergraduate Studies 2018, Volume 9, Issue 1

Parents and Selective Mutism Treatment Outcomes

Anxiogenic Parenting Behaviors in Treatment for Children with Selective Mutism Gabrielle MacNaughton and Denise Lau

Anxiety disorders are the most common group of psychological disorders among children and adolescents (Barrett, 2000). Selective mutism (SM) is a rare, early-onset anxiety disorder that affects up to two percent of children (American Psychiatric Association [APA], 2013; Bergman, Piacentini, & McCracken, 2002; Gensthaler et al., 2016; Nowakowski et al., 2011). SM is characterized by a consistent failure to speak in situations where there is an expectation to speak (e.g., school, social settings), despite speaking in other settings (e.g., at home; APA, 2013). Further, children with SM typically display symptoms common to childhood anxiety disorders, such as behavioral inhibition, shyness, withdrawal, and avoidance (Gensthaler et al., 2016; Muris & Ollendick, 2015; Vecchio & Kearney, 2005). When left untreated, SM can lead to functional impairments such as poor academic performance and daily social functioning (APA, 2013), and thus early treatment intervention is key (Barrett, 2000; Oerbeck, Stein, WentzelLarsen, Langsrud, & Kristensen, 2014).

Parents play an important role in the treatment of young children with anxiety disorders (Barrett, 2000), as treatment often requires parents’ active involvement and implementation of treatment techniques. However, parents of children with SM are more likely to exhibit their own symptoms of anxiety as compared to parents of non-anxious children (Anstendig, 1999; Chavira, Shipon-Blum, Hitchcock, Cohan, & Stein, 2007; Gensthaler et al., 2016), which might in turn affect the child’s treatment (Barrett, 2000; Hudson, Comer, & Kendall, 2008). Specifically, anxious parents often engage in anxiogenic behaviors (i.e., behaviors that provoke anxiety in others) in their interactions with their children, which has been hypothesized to exacerbate child anxiety (Hudson & Rapee, 2004). As such, this study investigated how parental behaviors affect the treatment outcomes of children with SM. Parents’ Role in Treatment for Selective Mutism

A recently developed adaptation of Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) specifically targeting children with anxiety disorders has shown to be effective in treating symptoms of SM (Carpenter, Puliafico, Kurtz, Pincus, & Comer, 2014).

PCIT focuses on interactions between parents and children, with the goal of breaking the cycles of negative reinforcement that are maintaining children’s lack of speech (i.e., parents enabling children to refrain from speaking by answering for their child or not expecting them to speak in difficult situations). To achieve this, the treatment utilizes parent training and dedicated family 34 | Independent Research

involvement (Carpenter et al., 2014). Specifically, parents and other important figures in the child’s life are trained in child directed interaction (CDI), in which adults follow the child’s lead and give labeled praises, behavioral descriptions and verbal reflections, as well as verbal directed interaction (VDI), in which adults prompt the child to speak by asking forced choice and opened ended questions. These skills are used to prompt and reinforce verbalization in a progressive manner across settings, allowing the caregiver to be the mediator of change (Barrett, 2000). Through the systematic use of shaping, stimulus fading, external reinforcements, and social skills training, this behavioral intervention supports young children with SM in overcoming their anxiety and becoming successful in speaking (Cohan, Chavira, & Stein, 2006).

While parents are expected to encourage their child’s speech during PCIT treatment, mothers of anxious children often perpetuate children’s avoidance of speaking and other anxiety-provoking stimuli (Hudson et al., 2008; Rapee, 1997).

In particular, mothers of anxious children tend to behave in an intrusive manner, display less warmth, and provide higher levels of aid to their children than mothers of non-anxious children when their children demonstrate negative emotions (Hudson et al., 2008; Rapee, 2001). As such, parental anxiogenic behaviors (e.g., control, overprotection, overinvolvement, encouragement of avoidance, and lack of autonomy granting; Hudson et al., 2008; Rapee 1997) might also impact treatment outcomes for their children.

Parental overinvolvement can be particularly problematic in cases of childhood SM, as it can minimize children’s exposure to situations where speaking is expected (Hudson et al., 2008; Rapee 1997). Shielding children with SM from anxiety-provoking situations can limit the effectiveness of PCIT, given that a central goal of the treatment is to use such anxiety-provoking situations to help the child develop strategies to effectively manage their anxiety. By limiting such exposure to anxiety-provoking situations, parents encourage their children to continue coping with anxiety through the avoidance behaviors that PCIT aims to eliminate (Hudson et al., 2008; Rapee, 1997, 2001). This is likely to undermine the child’s progress in treatment.

Current Study

However, research surrounding the effectiveness of PCIT for children with SM has been minimal, with only two published randomized control trials thus far, both of which

Online Publication of Undergraduate Studies 2019, Volume 9, Issue 1 demonstrated the effectiveness of PCIT (Bergman, Gonzalez, Piacentini, & Keller, 2013; Oerbeck et al., 2014). Additionally, very few studies have focused on the interpersonal interactions between parents who display anxiogenic behaviors and children with anxiety disorders in treatment settings (e.g., Hudson et al., 2008; Rapee, 1997; Teetsel, Ginsburg, & Drake, 2014). Therefore, this study builds upon the small body of past research looking at the use of PCIT to treat SM by examining the question: How does the behavior of parents affect the response-to-treatment for children with selective mutism?

Method Participants and Setting

Participants were sampled from a private clinical psychology consulting practice. Two parent-child dyads, both of which were regular patients of the clinic, were included in the study. The children were one boy and one girl, aged four and five, respectively. The parents observed were both mothers; ages of the mothers were unknown.

Procedure

The researchers obtained data through videos of the Selective Mutism Baseline Observation Task (SM-BOT), stored in the clinic’s patient file database. The Selective Mutism Baseline Observation Task (SM-BOT) is a task adapted from the baseline protocol of PCIT used to assess the severity of the child’s symptoms (Cohan et al., 2006). The researchers collected data from the first five-minute chunk of parent and child interaction, in which the parent and child are alone in the room. The researchers then collected data from the following five-minute chunk while the parent and child interacted in the presence of a stranger (i.e., a clinician, or intern at the clinic). The presence of a stranger creates a situation in which a child with SM may feel anxious and speaking may be inhibited. SM-BOT videos were each coded twice: once to code parent behavior and once to code child behavior.

Child behavior. The researchers used the SM-BOT coding form to record each child’s behavior. This document assigns preset codes to record the type of question asked by the parent (i.e., yes/no, forced choice, or open ended) and the type of response each question elicited from the child (i.e., verbal response, no response, gestural response, or no opportunity to respond). Instances of spontaneous child speech were also recorded. Both researchers’ SM-BOT coding forms were then compared with one another; in cases of numerical discrepancies between the researchers, the higher frequency count was recorded. This decision was made to account for the possibility that one researcher may not have been able to hear a verbalization that was recorded by the other researcher.

Parent behavior. To code for parent behavior, Teetsel and colleagues’ (2014) coding system for examining anxietypromoting parent behavior was used (see Appendix A). This system was used to assign codes for five parental behaviors: overcontrol, granting of autonomy, hostility/negative affect,

Parents and Selective Mutism Treatment Outcomes

warmth/positive affect, and anxious behavior. At the end of each 5-minute segment, both researchers rated each of these behaviors separately on a Likert-type scale from 0 (i.e., behavior did not occur) to 4 (i.e., behavior occurred frequently). Subsequently, both researchers compared one another’s ratings, addressed any discrepancies, reviewed the videos, and established a rating consensus through discussion.

Results and Discussion

Coding of the Selective Mutism Baseline Observation Task (SM-BOT) videos demonstrated a pattern in that both child participants’ verbal responses decreased and nonverbal responses (i.e., points, nods, or gestures) increased after the stranger entered the room. This can be interpreted as avoidant behavior, and is consistent with current literature suggesting that children with SM tend to refrain from speaking when participating in activities with their parents (Nowakowski et al., 2011).

In addition, both parents demonstrated low levels of overcontrol and anxious behavior, as both received a score of one for each (i.e., a score of one indicated that the behavior rarely occurred), regardless of whether the parent was alone with their child or in the presence of a stranger. Additionally, both parents exhibited higher levels of granting of autonomy across both variable settings, as both parents received a rating of three while alone with their child. When the stranger was introduced, however, one parent’s score remained unchanged, while the other’s score increased by one, suggesting that both parents demonstrated relatively frequent autonomy granting behaviors. No similarities were found between the behavior ratings of each parent with regards to hostility/negative affect and warmth/positive affect.

Overall, results from the coding of SM-BOTs showed that parent participants exhibited low levels of overcontrol and anxious behaviors, and higher levels of autonomy-granting behaviors. Past research has suggested that parents of anxious children tend to exhibit anxious behaviors themselves (Chavira et al., 2007), in that they display overcontrolling behaviors, as well as grant less autonomy to their children (Hudson et al., 2008; Rapee, 1997). A contrasting, smaller body of research has indicated, however, that previous models suggesting that parents of anxious children are more likely to exhibit anxiogenic behaviors (e.g., overcontrolling) might not be applicable to all parents of children with anxiety (Drake & Ginsburg, 2011; Hudson & Rapee, 2004). The results of the current study more consistently align with research indicating that overcontrolling and other anxiety-provoking behaviors among parents of anxious children are not consistently present; nonetheless, further research is needed to determine which specific groups of parents tend to exhibit anxiogenic behaviors.

General Discussion

The present study examined how parental behaviors affect treatment outcomes for children with selective mutism Independent Research | 35

Online Publication of Undergraduate Studies 2018, Volume 9, Issue 1 (SM). Overall, results align with current literature suggesting that parental anxiety and related behaviors are not always indicative of their child’s expression of anxiety (Drake & Ginsburg, 2011).

The present study, however, was limited by the absence of parent screening for anxiety disorders and symptoms of anxiety. Future research should thus determine whether parents themselves are anxious or not, and investigate how this relates to parent and child behavior during treatment for SM. Future research should also examine fathers of children with anxiety in order to more holistically capture the role of parent behaviors on treatment outcomes for children with SM. Finally, the current study is limited in that the method design in the SM-BOT coding made it unclear as to whether differences among children’s response to treatment was due to parental behaviors or to the introduction of a stranger. Thus, future research employing a method design that controls for possible confounding variables (i.e., the introduction of a stranger) could increase the researcher’s ability to measure the direct effects of parental anxiety on treatment outcomes for children with SM. Overall, therefore, the current study represents an important first step towards understanding the role of parent behavior in the treatment of children with SM receiving PCIT. References American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and

statistical manual of mental disorders, fifth edition.

Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Association.

Anstendig, K. D. (1999). Is selective mutism an anxiety disorder?

Rethinking its DSM-IV classification. Journal of

Anxiety Disorders, 13(4), 417-434.

Barrett, P. M. (2000). Treatment of childhood anxiety:

Developmental aspects. Clinical Psychology Review, 20(4), 479-494.

Bergman, R. L., Gonzalez, A., Piacentini, J., & Keller, M. L.

(2013). Integrated behavior therapy for selective

mutism: A randomized controlled pilot study. Behavior

Research and Therapy, 51(10), 680-689.

Bergman, R. L., Piacentini, J., & McCracken J. T. (2002).

Prevalence and description of selective mutism in a

school-based sample. Journal of the American

Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 41(8), 938 946.

Carpenter, A. L., Puliafico, A. C., Kurtz, S. M. S., Pincus, D. B., &

Comer, J. S. (2014). Extending parent-child interaction

therapy for early childhood internalizing problems:

New advances for an overlooked population. Clinical

Child and Family Psychology Review, 17(4), 340-356.

Chavira, D. A., Shipon-Blum, E., Hitchcock, C., Cohan, S., &

Stein, M. B. (2007). Selective mutism and social anxiety

disorder: All in the family? Journal of the American

Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 46(11), 1464-1472.

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Parents and Selective Mutism Treatment Outcomes

Cohan, S. L., Chavira, D. A., & Stein, M. B. (2006). Practitioner

review: Psychosocial interventions for children with

selective mutism: A critical evaluation of the literature

from 1990-2005. Journal of Child Psychology and

Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines, 47(11), 1085-97.

Drake, K. L., & Ginsburg, G. S. (2011). Parenting practices of

anxious and non-anxious mothers: A multi-method

multi-informant approach. Child & Family Behavior

Therapy, 33(4), 299-321.

Gensthaler, A., Khalaf, S., Ligges, M., Kaess, M., Freitag, C. M. &

Schwenick, C. (2016). Selective mutism and

temperament: The silence and behavioral inhibition

to the unfamiliar. European Child and Adolescent

Psychiatry, 25(10), 1113-1120.

Hudson, J. L., Comer, J. S., & Kendall, P. C. (2008). Parental

responses to positive and negative emotions in

anxious and nonanxious children. Journal of Clinical

Child and Adolescent Psychology, 37(2), 303-313.

Hudson K. L., Rapee R. M. (2004). From anxious temperament

to disorder: An etiological model. In R. G. Heimberg,

C. L. Turk, & D. S. Mennin (Eds.), Generalized Anxiety

Disorder: Advances in research and practice (pp. 51 74). New York, NY: Guilford Press.

Kendall, P. C., Aschenbrand, S. G., & Hudson, J. L. (2003). Child focused treatment of anxiety. In A. E. Kazdin & J. R.

Weisz (Eds.), Evidence-based psychotherapies for

children and adolescents (pp. 81-100). New York, NY:

Guilford Press.

Muris, P., & Ollendick, T. E. (2015). Children who are anxious in

silence: A review on selective mutism, the new anxiety

disorder in DSM-5. Clinical Child and Family

Psychology Review, 18(2), 151-169.

Oerbeck, B., Stein, M. B., Wentzel-Larsen, T., Langsrud, Ø.,

& Kristensen, H. (2014). A randomized controlled trial

of a home and school-based intervention for selective

mutism-defocused communication and behavioural techniques. Child and Adolescent Mental Health, 19(3), 192-198.

Nowakowski, M. E., Tasker, S. L., Cunningham, C. E., McHolm,

A. E., Edison, S., Pierre, J. S., … Schmidt, L. A. (2011).

Joint attention in parent-child dyads involving children

with selective mutism: A comparison between anxious

and typically developing children. Child Psychiatry

and Human Development, 42(1), 78-92.

Rapee, R. M. (1997). Potential role of childrearing practices in

the development of anxiety and depression. Clinical

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503). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Online Publication of Undergraduate Studies 2019, Volume 9, Issue 1 Teetsel, R. N., Ginsburg, G. S., & Drake, K. L. (2014). Anxiety

promoting parenting behaviors: A comparison of

anxious mothers and fathers. Child Psychiatry and

Human Development, 45(2), 133-142.

Vecchio, J. L., & Kearney, C. A. (2005). Selective mutism in

children: Comparison to youths with and without

anxiety disorders. Journal of Psychopathology and

Behavioral Assessment, 27(1), 31-37.

Parents and Selective Mutism Treatment Outcomes

Appendix

Independent Research | 37

Online Publication of Undergraduate Studies 2018, Volume 9, Issue 1

Motivation and Community Advocacy

The Influence of Goal Setting on Motivation in Community Advocacy Claire Kraft and Anjali Parmar

The prevalence of community advocates, or individuals trained to make community resources (e.g., housing, employment, social support and schooling needs) more accessible for their clients (Bybee & Sullivan, 2002; Ingram, Sabo, Rothers, Wennerstrom, & de Zapien, 2008; Sullivan & Bybee, 1999; Weeks et al., 2009), has risen in recent years.

Research has shown, however, that such hands-on work is often emotionally, physically, and mentally draining; community advocacy requires flexible hours, a high level of persistence, and dedication to one’s client (Ingram et al., 2008). Given the importance of community advocacy in impacting a wide range of client outcomes, recent research has sought ways to better support community advocates.

In particular, research suggests that fostering intrinsic motivation might be especially beneficial for the overall experiences of community advocates. Intrinsic motivation involves an inner desire to fulfil a task, and is associated with feelings of control and autonomy (i.e., in choosing the direction of their work; Bidee et al., 2017; Latham & Baldes, 1975; Locke & Latham, 2002); greater feelings of control and autonomy, in turn, increase the overall quality of community advocacy (Bidee et al., 2017; Deci & Ryan, 2000, Ingram et al., 2008). In fact, advocates must feel as though there is an ethical importance in the work that they have chosen to do in order to feel sufficiently motivated (Deci, Olafsen, & Ryan, 2017; Koster, Simaens, & Vos, 2017).

However, community advocates face a variety of challenges that often lead to decreased motivation (i.e., the desire to engage in an activity; Deci, Koestner, & Ryan, 1999), especially when their clients are placed in negative situations (e.g., imprisonment) despite advocates’ best efforts (Sullivan & Bybee, 1999). When advocates feel higher levels of intrinsic motivation, however, they are more likely to persist through these challenging situations, and face a reduced likelihood of reaching burnout (Deci et al., 2017; Grant, 2008; Van den Berghe et al., 2014).

In light of work that highlights the importance of goal setting in promoting advocates’ motivation (Latham & Baldes, 1975; Locke & Latham, 2002; Ryan & Deci, 2000a), therefore, this study sought to investigate the potential effects of goal setting on community advocates’ intrinsic motivation.

Motivation

Research suggests that intrinsic motivation consists of two main components: foremost, intrinsic motivation is characterized by a full sense of volition and autonomy when choosing to do an activity (i.e., prior to the activity itself; Deci, 38 | Independent Research

et al., 2017; Ryan & Deci, 2000b). Secondly, intrinsic motivation is evoked when an individual feels rewarded through the autonomous completion of an activity (i.e., after the activity itself; Deci et al., 2017). Autonomy alone, however, is insufficient in sustaining intrinsic motivation (Van den Berghe et al., 2014).

In fact, research suggests that some degree of external motivation is required to foster intrinsic motivation (Deci & Ryan, 2000; Grant, 2008; Van den Berghe et al., 2014). Extrinsic motivation, or the actions undertaken with the objective of achieving a certain outcome (Deci et al., 2017; Ryan & Deci, 2000a), constitutes the presence of some “other” desired entity to be acquired through accomplishing a given task (Deci et al., 2017; Ryan & Deci, 2000a). In particular, external motivation requires individuals to internalize the reasons behind the work that they do (i.e., the perceived benefits), as well as integrating these reasons to their work (Deci et al., 2017; Ryan & Deci, 2000a). As such, effective external rewards that encourage both internalisation and integration might be important for community advocates, especially in encouraging their persistence through tedious and time-consuming cases (e.g., legal advocacy).

Goal Setting

Research has identified goal setting as a particularly effective external motivator (Deci et al., 1999; Van den Berghe et al., 2014). Goal setting is a specific form of extrinsic motivation, in which the satisfaction associated with completing a task motivates an individual to continue setting higher goals for themselves (Latham & Baldes, 1975; Locke & Latham, 2002).

Goal-setting theory assumes that, in order for an external influencer to act effectively as an incentive, a person must perceive it to be a goal; a goal, in turn, needs to be attainable and further the work of the community advocate for it to be considered an incentive (Locke, 1968). When a goal is clearly defined, and the steps to achieve it are specifically stated, perceived self-efficacy increases and leads to the setting of higher goals in the future (Latham & Baldes, 1975; Locke & Latham, 2002; Ryan & Deci, 2000a). Thus, community advocates who set intervention goals might have greater intrinsic motivation and an overall determination to achieve their goals.

Furthermore, motivation is increased through the accomplishment of specific yet challenging goals (Latham & Baldes, 1975; Locke & Latham, 2002). Splitting a challenge into goals is crucial as it breaks a problem into pieces that feel more attainable than the larger problem at hand (Locke & Latham,

Online Publication of Undergraduate Studies 2018, Volume 9, Issue 1 2002). Overcoming challenging goals increases feelings of self-achievement, which increases intrinsic motivation and empowers advocates to continue performing well (Latham & Baldes, 1975; Locke & Latham, 2002; Ryan & Deci, 2000a). In community advocacy, if there is a particularly tough situation, splitting the problem up into attainable goals boosts advocates’ intrinsic motivation, and the achievement of these goals then enables them to continue their work.

Current Study

Despite findings that suggest the importance of motivation and goal setting for various work outcomes, existing research has focused solely on identifying avenues to improve intervention content, as opposed to supporting the community advocates themselves. Furthermore, there is limited research on community advocates overall, and past research has only focused on the impact of mentor relationships (Eby, Allen, Evans, Ng & DuBois, 2008; Thompson & Kelly-Vance, 2001) that involve the partnership between the youth and an adult. By contrast, the advocate-client relationship is between a youth and a collegeaged student (Eby et al., 2008; Javdani & Allen, 2014; Thompson & Kelly-Vance, 2001). In order to understand how to better support community advocates in their work, the current study sought to explore the relation between goal setting theory and intrinsic motivation in the context of community advocates, and posed the following research question: How does goal setting influence the intrinsic motivation of community advocates?

Method Participants

The authors of the paper were the primary participants of this study. Both authors were twenty-two year old female undergraduate students in the Applied Psychology program at New York University. The first author identified as a White American and came from a middle-class background. The second author was an international student, identified as Southeast Asian, and was from a middle-class background. Both participants had lived in New York City for three years and had been involved in the Resilience, Opportunity, Safety, Education, and Strength (ROSES) program for approximately two years as advocates. ROSES is a community advocacy intervention that serves adolescent girls (ages 11 to 18) in the juvenile justice system by advocating on their behalf. Specifically, advocates connect girls with community resources and teach advocacy skills over a 10- to 12- week intervention period.

Researcher Stance

Since the authors were using their own advocacy experiences, there is a possibility of bias in this study. The first author has worked with ROSES for the past two years. She has had only one client as a ROSES advocate but has interacted with many different clients and their families through data collection.

Similarly, the second author has been an advocate for two years.

She has had two clients during her time as an advocate. Both

Motivation and Community Advocacy

authors went through 40 hours of advocacy training to prepare for their roles as advocates.

Procedure

The primary focus of the first author’s intervention was around legal, educational, and healthcare-related resources, and involved tasks such as talking to key individuals such as members involved in the Manhattan court, the school principal, and doctors. The primary focus of the second author’s intervention was around building a relationship with her client. This included having conversations about a diverse range of topics including after-school dance activities as well as social-justice related conversations, and playing UNO. In addition, both authors shared with their respective clients self-advocacy skills such as goal setting, how to access resources, and how to talk with key individuals.

The authors attended weekly 2-3 hour ROSES supervision sessions. Using goal sheets (i.e., sheets filled out every week detailing goals that advocates wished to accomplish), the authors shared their experiences during their past intervention week using an oral format: the goals for the past week, whether or not these goals were accomplished, (and if certain goals were not accomplished, why they did not meet them), an update on important events from the previous week and, lastly, the goals for the next week as well as the necessary means to attain these goals. At the end of their presentation, in line with goal setting theory (Latham & Baldes, 1975; Locke & Latham, 2002), advocates clearly defined their goals and the steps required to achieve them for the following week.

ROSES advocates also maintain weekly field notes in which they record all contact they have with their client, or any important individual in the client’s life— for example, their guardian. The field notes also include a rich description of the advocates meeting with the client: what they spoke about, what they did, if anything concerning came up, what they plan to do in the next week, their feelings during the interaction, and any notes from supervision. Field notes are typically written immediately after meeting with the client so as to provide a realtime record of the advocates experience in the intervention; they are not shared during supervision (Javdani & Allen, 2014).

Coding

To explore the influence of goal setting on intrinsic motivation in community advocates, the authors used classical content analysis to code the goal sheets. Using this method, the authors first identified three types of goals that they anticipated to find, based on the ROSES framework: (1) relation-oriented, (2) accessing resources, and (3) legal advocacy. Relationoriented goals are used to establish a strong relationship with their client. These goals include getting to know the client, or doing a fun activity with the client. Accessing resources related goals are based on the client’s interests and require direct action from the advocate. These can include activities such as opening up a bank account. Lastly, legal advocacy related goals depend Independent Research | 39

Online Publication of Undergraduate Studies 2019, Volume 9, Issue 1 on how involved the client wants the advocate to be in the legal aspect of the client’s life. Some clients mention their upcoming probation meetings and even ask for their advocate to attend probation meetings, which then becomes a Legal Advocacy goal.

In order to minimize any observer effects (i.e., greater attention paid to the author’s own motivation, rather than what actually exists in their partner’s field notes), the authors coded their partners’ goal sheets rather than their own (see Table 2).

Classical content analysis (Leech & Onwuegbuzie, 2008) was used to identify which types of goals occurred more often during each of the five weeks.

Classic content analysis (Leech & Onwuegbuzie, 2008) was also used to code the field notes. Four main codes were decided a prior and the frequency of each of these codes per intervention week was recorded. Since autonomy, competence, and direction are the main factors associated with intrinsic motivation (Bidee et al., 2017; Ryan & Deci, 2000b; Ingram et al., 2008) the authors decided to code for “autonomy”, “direction”, “positive feelings”, and “negative feelings.” Autonomy was operationalized as independence within a task (e.g., whether or not the advocate given a task with freedom to determine how best to complete it). Direction was operationalized as concrete steps communicated by the client (e.g., whether the client told the advocate exactly what resources they wanted the advocate to look into). Positive and negative feelings were used to represent competence. Although competence is generally understood as the ability to do something effectively, research on intrinsic motivation suggests that the feelings of competence are more significant than actual competence (Deci et al., 1999; Deci, et al., 2017; Ryan & Deci, 2000a). For the purposes of this study, positive feelings such as happiness, contentment, and satisfaction were used as an indicator for competence. Conversely, negative feelings, such as sadness, distress, and nervousness served as indicators for lack of competence.

Results and Discussion

The authors hypothesized that greater goal accomplishment (i.e., whether or not a certain goal was met, as measured through goals set during the prior week) would be associated with greater intrinsic motivation. Specifically, goal accomplishment would be linked to more positive feelings, while a greater number of incomplete goals would be linked to negative feelings towards their client as well as the intervention.

Findings suggest that the first author exhibited a higher number of incomplete goals during weeks two and five -approximately 38% and 44% incomplete goals, respectively (see Table 1). In fact, during week two, the first author reported an increase in negative feelings (see Table 3). However, the first author reported comparatively greater levels of positive feelings in week five than week two, although the number of incomplete goals were similar across both weeks. Thus, while incomplete goals from one week corresponded to negative feelings, incomplete goals from another week corresponded to positive feelings.

40 | Independent Research

Motivation and Community Advocacy

The second author exhibited a greater number of incomplete than complete goals, the former representing 60% and 80% of all goals in weeks three and four, respectively (see Table 1). However, in both weeks, the second author reported having higher positive feelings toward the intervention (see Table 3), which suggests that the second author had high positive feelings despite the high number of incomplete goals during the same two weeks. These findings suggest the lack of a clear relationship between complete/incomplete goals and the type of feelings reported.

In fact, research suggests that feelings of positivity or negativity might be more related to the nature of the advocate’s interaction with his or her client during a particular week, rather than the goals that were set. Since the ROSES intervention is heavily focused on building and maintaining relationships with clients, community advocates might be referring to other aspects of the intervention (i.e., instead of goal completion) when speaking about their feelings during the intervention week. Indeed, past research has highlighted the importance of advocate-client relationships, as it determines the foundation for the rest of the intervention (Javdani & Allen, 2014). Thus, depending on the community advocate’s individual personality, more support from those who are considered important in the intervention can increase the overall feelings of the advocates’ competency (Guay, Ratelle, Larose, Vallerand & Vitaro, 2013; Milyavskaya, McClure, Ma, Koestner & Lydon, 2012). The authors in the present study, however, were unable to account for the nature of the client-advocate relationship due to strict confidentiality policies.

The authors were also interested in investigating the types of goals that would appear the most, and whether or not these goals changed as the interventions progressed. In the majority of interventions, the most challenging goals reported were legal-related (e.g., attending probation meetings or going to court), whereas the most frequent goals were accessing resources-related (see Table 2). Interestingly, while legal advocacy was the second-highest type of goal reported for the first author, relationship-oriented goals were more common amongst the second author’s responses (see Table 2). This is consistent with the aims of the ROSES intervention program to increase clients’ access to a range of resources (Javdani & Allen, 2014).

Findings of the current study further suggest that intrinsic motivation differs depending on the type of goal. One key difference between the two authors is that, while the second author reported having relationship-oriented-goals for all five weeks, the first author reported having these goals for only the first three weeks (see Table 2). This finding suggests that the second author might have been able to spend more time building a relationship with their client, while the first author focused on accomplishing legal goals – all of which might have impacted the advocates’ feelings towards their client and the broader intervention. Indeed, commensurate with past research, while relationship-building goals are initially set to foster positive

Online Publication of Undergraduate Studies 2018, Volume 9, Issue 1 relationships with each client (Javdani & Allen, 2014), with time and greater familiarity, these goals may change to more specific academic or personal ones.

Finally, findings suggest that goal setting influences intrinsic motivation only when goals provide direct action steps (i.e., consist of either accessing resources or legal advocacy goals). For example, during week four, the first author reported 22% of accessing resources goals and 56% legal advocacy goals (see Table 2), as well as higher levels of autonomy and direction (see Table 3). Similarly, during week five, the first author reported 33% of accessing resources goals and 22% of legal advocacy goals, as well as higher levels of autonomy and direction. These findings correspond to research related to goal setting theory, which suggests that action-related goals that produce greater goal accomplishment than non-action related goals (Latham & Baldes, 1975; Locke & Latham, 2002).

Conclusion

Overall, the present study’s findings correspond to literature suggesting that intrinsic motivation is influenced by challenging goals. These goals need to be specific to push the advocate to use their skills and knowledge toward goal accomplishment (Latham & Baldes, 1975; Locke & Latham, 2002). In fact, research has found that motivation is achieved by accomplishing these difficult goals (Bidee et al., 2017; Deci & Ryan, 2000a; Deci & Ryan, 2000b; Latham & Baldes, 1975; Locke & Latham, 2002). Given that legal goals tend to be more challenging than both resource-oriented and relationoriented goals, both authors also reported more completed legal advocacy goals, and simultaneous reports of higher autonomy and direction. Community advocates, in particular, are focused on the ways that resources can be utilized in service of their client (Sullivan & Bybee, 1999; Weeks et al., 2009). Therefore, achieving goals related to this focus would make the advocate feel as though they were competent at their job and were able to effectively lead the intervention.

However, given that this study only consisted of two participants, and each intervention in the ROSES program is individualized to each client, we were not able to fully explore the range of community advocates’ experiences. Given the uniqueness of ROSES intervention program (i.e., targeting atrisk youth), future research should explore the experiences of community advocates in other intervention programs, using larger sample sizes.

In addition, future research should focus on comparing different types of community advocate programs to see if the influence of goal setting on intrinsic motivation changes with the specific population of a given program. This would help in generalizing the findings to various types of advocacy groups.

Additionally, a longitudinal research design should be used to follow advocates through multiple intervention periods. Such findings would be beneficial to study the impact of burnout as well as resilience in more experienced advocates. Despite these limitations, this study represents a first step in exploring the role

Motivation and Community Advocacy

of goal setting among community advocates, and its relation which intrinsic motivation.

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BIOG

GRAPHIES

Julius A. Utama

Elysha Clark-Whitney

Julius A. Utama is a senior in the Applied Psychology undergraduate program, with a minor in Sociology. He is a research assistant on the NYU L-FELD team, led by Dr. Gigliana Melzi and Dr. Adina Schick, and has completed an honors thesis investigating the role of homeschool continuity in behavior management practices on the self-regulation skills of Latino preschoolers. Julius is also a research assistant on Dr. Lisa Suzuki’s Emotional Intelligence lab, where he has conducted several independent research projects examining the association between emotional and cultural intelligence, the mediating role of ethnic identity, and the creation and validation of the Digital Emotional Intelligence index (DEQ). Julius has presented his research at various conferences, including the APA Convention, the L. Starling Reid Undergraduate Psychology Conference (UVA), and the UCLA Psychology Undergraduate Research Conference. he has also worked as a research assistant for the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Jakarta, Indonesia. Julius hopes to expand his involvement in analytics and big data as he transitions into a market research role at IBM post-graduation.

Elysha Clark-Whitney is a senior in the Applied Psychology undergraduate program, with a minor in history. Her primary area of interest is Autism Spectrum Disorder. She has had the opportunity to work with children on the Autism spectrum through volunteering at LearningSpring School and an internship conducting Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) at the Manhattan Children’s Center. She is particularly interested in researching the relation of anxiety and restricted/repetitive behaviors among children on the Autism spectrum, and will be furthering her work in Autism research at the Weill-Cornell Center for Autism and the Developing Brain/Sackler Institute for Developmental Psychobiology. Elysha also works with preschoolers from families of low socioeconomic status, as part of her work with the NYU L-FELD research team, and is also a research assistant in the NYU FACES Lab. Elysha recently completed an honors thesis about the relation between expressive language, executive function, and narrative skills in low-income bilingual preschoolers, and will be presenting her findings at the National Research Conference on Early Childhood (NRCEC) in June 2018.

Editor-in-Chief jau228@nyu.edu

46 | Biographies

Editor-in-Chief ecw330@nyu.edu

Alyce Cho

Programming & Communications Director ac5843@nyu.edu Alyce Cho is a current junior in the Applied Psychology program with a minor in Sociology.

Her primary area of interest is in child development and special education. She is currently a research intern at MDRC, a nonprofit, nonpartisan education and social policy research organization, assisting in the ExCEL P-3 study, focused on exploring approaches to sustain children’s early preschool gains. Over the summer, she will join as a research assistant to Dr. Catherine Tamis-LeMonda’s lab to explore spatial skills in Korean and U.S. Children. She plans to pursue her interests in special education policy through the field of law.

Sophia Meifang Wang Layout & Design Director sophia.m.wang@nyu.edu

Sophia Meifang Wang is a rising Junior pursuing a B.S. in Applied Psychology and Global Public Health program. She also has a minor in Web Programming and Applications. She is currently a research assistant in the Social Inequalities and Intergroup Relations Lab as well as the Chinese Families Lab. She is interested in how technology can mitigate mental health stigma in minority communities. Over the summer, she is working as a research assistant in Dr. Lawrence Yang’s lab, evaluating the effectiveness of mental health and anti-stigma interventions in cross-cultural contexts. In the future, she hopes to combine her skills in web programming and applied research in a user experience research role.

Biographies | 47

Eleanor Harrison

Alexa Montemayor

Eleanor (Ellie) Harrison is a junior in the Applied Psychology program with a double minor in Education and Animal Studies. She is currently working as a PATH-Certified Registered Therapeutic Riding Instructor, teaching horseback riding to individuals with mental and physical disabilities. She is also the current president of Psi-Chi, the psychology honors society, and an advocate for the ROSES Advocacy Program, serving youth who are involved with NYC’s juvenile justice system by connecting them to community resources and promoting self-advocacy skills on their behalf.

Ellie is presently conducting research with a CAS Psychology faculty member on how individuals react to those portrayed as having personality disorders in an economic game theory setting, as well as in the NYU Child Study Center on the efficacy of a cognitive-behavioral therapy group for gender nonconforming youth with social anxiety. She hopes to pursue a career working as a clinical psychologist for an inpatient unit.

Alexa Montemayor is a Junior in the Applied Psychology undergraduate program with a minor in Sociology. She is a research assistant on the RISE (Researching Inequity in Society Ecologically) team, led by Dr. Shabnam Javdani and Dr. Sukhmani Singh. As part of the RISE team, Alexa is also a member of the ROSES (Resilience, Opportunity, Safety, Education, Strength) data collection team, a communitybased program that is being implemented and evaluated as part of a New York University study. The goal of the ROSES study is to learn more about the needs of girls who are at-risk for involvement or are involved in the juvenile justice system and to understand how the system can better work for these individuals.

Assistant to the Editors egh268@nyu.edu

48 | Biographies

Assistant to the Editors am7129@nyu.edu

Claire Callahan | Contributing Writer cvc268@nyu.edu Claire Callahan is a graduating senior in the Applied Psychology program. As an intern in the Selective Mutism (SM) program at the Child Mind Institute, Claire assists clinicians in sessions and co-leads weekly group treatment programs for children who are selectively mute. Claire also works at NYU Langone Department of Population Health as a research assistant for smoking cessation studies involving veterans and low-income immigrants. Recently awarded a Fulbright grant to teach English in South Korea, Claire is looking forward to exploring her interests of clinical psychology and public health in a new cultural context.

Claire Kraft | Contributing Writer cjk420@nyu.edu Claire Kraft is a senior in the Applied Psychology undergraduate program with a minor in Anthropology. Claire has been a part of the ROSES research team since fall 2016 first as a data collector and now an advocate. Through this experience she has gained critical insight into the juvenile justice system, the methodology of data collection, and the practice of connecting underserved youth with critical resources.

Denise Lau | Contributing Writer dl2881@nyu.edu Denise Lau is a senior pursuing a B.S. in Applied Psychology with a minor in Chinese. She is currently conducting research at the NYU Child Study Center, working on developing the first self-report measure for older children and adolescents with selective mutism. She was previously a clinical intern at Kurtz Psychology Consulting PC, working with children with selective mutism and families going through Parent Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT). She is interested in a career working as a psychologist in a school setting. Denise has accepted a position with Teach for America as a high school special education teacher in Oahu, Hawaii and plans to attend graduate school after her two-year commitment is complete.

Biographies | 49

Gabrielle Macnaughton | Contributing Writer gm1700@nyu.edu Gabrielle MacNaughton is a senior at NYU, pursuing a B.S. in Applied Psychology. She is interested in children with neurodevelopmental disorders, such as Autism and ADHD, and has spent time as a classroom volunteer in a school for children with autism. She has also worked as a job coach for teens with autism, and interned at KPCPC working with kids with selective mutism. She is currently a research assistant in Dr. Chacko’s FACES lab, which focuses on youth with ADHD. After graduation, Gabrielle will be working as a Clinical Research Assistant the Laboratories of Cognitive Neuroscience at Boston Children’s Hospital. She plans to pursue a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology and hopes to work with children in a clinical setting.

Anjali Menon | Contributing Writer amm1271@nyu.edu Anjali Menon is a senior studying Applied Psychology and Global Public Health. She currently is a Research Assistant at the NYU Child & Family Policy Center, where she works on studies related to adolescent civic engagement as well as professional development for early childhood educators. She hopes to pursue a career in either social work, law, or both. She enjoys working with children and adolescents and taking a systems-based and trauma-informed approach to clinical work and research.

Anjali Parmar | Contributing Writer ajp616@nyu.edu Anjali Parmar is a senior from Kampala, Uganda. She is majoring in the Applied Psychology program and minoring in Sociology.

She has been involved with the ROSES Advocacy Programme since the Spring of 2016, where she has been trained on traumainformed models of care. As part of ROSES, she has also worked with juvenile-involved adolescent youth in New York City and has helped connect them to community resources. Anjali is also a member of the Inside Scoop! peer mentorship program in the applied Psychology undergraduate department, providing support for students transitioning into life at NYU. 50 | Biographies

Sarah Gouriche | Staff Writer sg5121@nyu.edu Sarah Gouriche is a first year studying Applied Psychology with a minor in Media, Culture and Communications. She has worked with children and parents in The Center for Research on Culture, Education, and Development (CRCDE) at NYU. As a research assistant for CRCDE, she has explored her interest in early childhood development in cognition and language.

Vincci Ho | Staff Writer vh685@nyu.edu Vincci Ho is a senior in the Applied Psychology undergraduate program pursuing a career in Human Resources. She is currently an intern at the NYU Wasserman Center for Career Development, working closely with professional career coaches to plan, manage, and promote career development-related services and programs for undergraduate and graduate students and alumni. She is also involved with creating and publishing monthly newsletters concerning career exploration, career transition, and job search strategies to better prepare students for post-graduation employment.

Spencer Judd | Staff Writer sbj272@nyu.edu Spencer Judd is a first year student double majoring in Philosophy and Business, with a minor in Applied Psychology. He has been a research assistant for Joshua Aronson’s Mindfulness research team, investigating the effects of growth mindsets, meditation, and mindfulness for success in education, careers, and relationships. He currently leads a group for the 1199 teaching initiative, which implements mindfulness exercises among New York City high school teenagers. He hopes to study the positive and negative aspects of the relationship between psychology and religion in the future.

Biographies | 51

Nanying Li | Staff Writer nl1625@nyu.edu Nanying Li is a first year in the Applied Psychology program at NYU Steinhardt. She is currently a research assistant at Professor Niobe Way’s Chinese Families Lab. In 2016, she found the first non-profit organization in China, “We Are With You,” focusing on the mental health of left-behind children. In the future, she hopes to continue helping children in need and to solve greater social problems.

Maya Mester | Staff Writer maya.metser@nyu.edu Maya Metser is a first year double majoring in Applied Psychology and Spanish with a minor in Sociology. She is an advocate with the ROSES Advocacy Program where she provides direct services to justice system-involved adolescent girls in order to meet their goals. She is excited to continue exploring her interest in psychology and see where her education leads.

52 | Biographies

Biographies | 53