RSS 1.0Department of Psychology (UMKC)
The Department of Psychology is focused on behavioral science contributions to health and healthcare. Our faculty members are national and international leaders in research on areas such as HIV/AIDS, tobacco use, obesity and eating disorders, cancer, neuropsychological functioning, safety and violence and community factors in health. We have strong and active collaborations with important community partners such as Saint Luke’s Hospital, the Cancer Institute, Mid America Heart Institute, the Kansas City Free Health Clinic, University of Kansas Medical Center and Truman Medical Center
At the undergraduate level, the department offers a general program of study leading to the bachelor of arts degree in psychology. A psychology minor is available to students majoring in other disciplines. Graduate programs are also offered by the Department of Psychology.
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Predictors of performance-based measures of instrumental activities of daily living in stroke survivors
(University of Missouri–Kansas City, 2016)The aim of this dissertation was to investigate the relationship between cognitive domains/executive functions and performance on measures of Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADLs) in stroke survivors. Fifty-two ... -
Assessing the effects of a novel intervention for antiretroviral medication adherence
(University of Missouri–Kansas City, 2016)The use of antiretroviral therapy (ART) has led to substantial declines in morbidity and mortality in patients with HIV, however the benefits of ART are largely dependent on strict adherence. Effective interventions have ... -
Examining the Impact of Childhood Adverse Experiences on Adulthood Health Related Quality of Life
(2016)The Purpose of this study was to investigate how traumatic experiences in childhood impact adulthood Health Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) among women experiencing homelessness. HRQoL was determined to be an important ... -
Biopsychosocial Comparison of Adherent and Nonadherent Multiple Sclerosis Patients
(2016)OBJECTIVE: Between 30-50% of patients with relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) prematurely discontinue disease modifying therapies (DMTs). Despite this, relatively little is known about clinical factors that ... -
Negative Mood Impacts the Relationship between Explicit and Implicit Age-Related Attitudes
(2015)The Implicit Association Test (IAT; Greenwald, McGhee, and Schwartz, 1998) has become a widely used method of measuring individuals’ implicit preferences based on the speed of sorting words or images into respective ... -
The Impact of Sleep Quality on Energy Intake, Eating Behavior, and Physical Activity
(2015)Obesity is associated with numerous health risks and is prevalent across all stages of the lifespan, although it tends to increase with age. As such, the college years are an important time for the development of obesity. ... -
The Effect of Emotion Stimulus Intensity on the selection and Implementation of Distraction and Reappraisal as Emotion Regulation Strategies
(2015)Emotion regulation is an important coping mechanism for handling emotional situations and stimuli in day-to-day life. More effective emotion regulation is linked to better mental and physical health. The present study ... -
Sympathetic Arousal During Approach-Avoidance Decision- Making
(2015-08-12)In response to emotional stimuli, individuals exhibit increased sympathetic nervous firings, which stimulate eccrine gland activation. This eccrine activity changes the electrical properties of the skin, or electrodermal ... -
Theory of Mind in Multiple Sclerosis: Disease Subtype Differences and Association with Measures of Social Functioning
(2015-08-11)Theory of mind (ToM) allows a person to make inferences about the mental and emotional states of others. Generally, people with multiple sclerosis (MS) perform more poorly on ToM tests than neurologically intact controls. ... -
Psychometric Evaluation of a Motivation Assessment in Smokers
(2014)The aim of this dissertation was to describe the psychometric properties of the Brief Motivation Scale used during an intervention for participants who have declared low interest in discontinuing their use of cigarettes. ... -
Episodic Future Thinking in Young Children: Considering Body Mass and Memory
(2015-08-04)With the increase in pediatric obesity, research continues to evaluate new intervention strategies to improve the effectiveness of current obesity treatments. One area of study which may hold promise for pediatric obesity ... -
Dance as a Community of Practice: Exploring Dance Groups in the Kansas City Area through the Lifespan
(2015-08-04)This dissertation examines the embodied cultural practice of dance among several groups in the Kansas City area. The dance groups were studied as Communities of Practice (CoP), as outlined in the Lave-Wenger model of ... -
The Relationship between Change Talk during Motivational Interviewing and HIV Medication Adherence
(2015-08-04)Although studies have demonstrated that change talk (CT) and sustain talk (ST) are related to behavior change in multiple addictive behaviors, few have investigated the relationship between change talk and outcome in ... -
Effects of a violence prevention program on the aggressive scripts and prosocial behavior of "high risk" students
(2015-07-28)The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of a school-based violence prevention program, Project SAFE, which was designed to decrease beliefs supporting the use of aggression in response to conflict, as measured ... -
Social Support and Health Behaviors in Cardiac Rehabilitation: Depression as a Mediator
(2015-05-26)Social support and psychological factors (i.e., depression) have been linked to negative outcomes, such as recurrence and mortality, following a cardiac event. Further, these constructs have been associated with health ... -
Bright Light Therapy for the Treatment of Night Eating Syndrome
(2014)The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of an open label bright light therapy (BLT) intervention on night eating behaviors as well as secondary outcomes of mood and sleep quality. It was hypothesized that ... -
The effect of violent video game exposure on emotion modulation of startle and aggression
(2014 Fall)Video games are quickly becoming the most widely accessible, and used, form of entertainment, with those that contain violence have consistently been the most popular. Building on previous research examining other forms ... -
Socioeconomic Status, Acculturation, Family Characteristics, and Health Behaviors: Testing the Reserve Capacity Model with Hispanic Adolescents
(2014-09-30)Research shows that socioeconomic status (SES) can impact adolescent use of alcohol and smoking. These relationships may be mediated by stress, psychosocial reserves, and negative emotions. I explored these relationships ... -
Validation of a test assessing functional capacity in stroke survivors: UCSD performance-based skills assessment (UPSA)
(2014-07-30)Everyday functioning is an important outcome that is evaluated and targeted in stroke rehabilitation programs. Therefore, it is important to identify assessments of functional capacity that are feasible, acceptable and ... -
Program and Personal Factors as Predictors of Spiritual Competence
(2014-03-31)Many Americans who value their religious/spiritual beliefs tend to rely on their faith as a means of coping with difficult situations. When seeking therapy, these individuals prefer counselors who can help them resolve ...