As is true for most majors at Bates, all psychology seniors must complete a senior thesis. This archive lists the name, title and a brief summary (abstract) of the projects of select seniors who graduated in 2023.

Please check out our complete Senior Thesis Archive.

Note: indicates an empirical thesis project and indicates a community-based learning thesis project.

Click a name to view that student’s abstract, or scroll down to view all students.

Maya Castiblanco
Joanna G. Cloutier
Liam Conklin
Ruby Cramer
Maya Joy Golden
Caroline Grady
Hannah Kleinbardt
Alexi H. Knight
Darya Lee
Zoë Maguire
Oo Meh
Kate Peters
Abigail Segal
Amanda Taylor

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Maya Castiblanco        

Internalization, Body Image, and Appetite: An Exploration of Eating Disorders, Mental Health, and Ethnic Identity in Latina Women

White supremacist acculturation creates unattainable body ideals for ethnic minority women to achieve. Specifically, Latina women often struggle with increased eating disorders and depression due to racist and sexist body ideals. Informed by mujerismo psychology, the present study seeks to understand Latina adults’ experiences by examining the relationships among the internalization of Latina women’s body image, eating disorders, and depression. This study hypothesizes that a higher Latina identity may attenuate the relationship between internalization, eating disorders, and depressive symptoms; a strong ethnic identity may serve as a protective factor in developing body dissatisfaction and may reject notions of white supremacy and internalization. The sample of the study includes 173 women who i dentified as Latina in the United States (mean age = 35 years old; SD = 10.39). Multiple correlations and regression analyses suggest that Latina women are vulnerable to eating disorders and depressive symptoms and should be monitored through their health care. Findings from this study reveal that body shame and depression mediated the relationship between increased internalization and eating disorder symptomology. This study also found that increased ethnic identity was negatively correlated with depression, body shame, and internalization; however, there was no correlation between ethnic identity and eating disorder, suggesting that increased ethnic identity was a preventative factor for depression and body shame but not eating disorders. Implication for psychological practice and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Joanna G. Cloutier       

Strategies to Address Spiking Demand for Treatment in College Counseling Centers

College students have reported higher anxiety, depression, and suicidality rates over the past decade; consequently, college counseling centers have been overwhelmed by the demand for services (Center for Collegiate Mental Health, 2020). Using the EPIS model, this mixed methods research study aims to explore undergraduate attitudes toward three treatment models to inform college counseling center practices. A diverse sample of undergraduate students (largely, but not exclusively students at Bates College) participated in an online anonymous survey. Gender was important in assessing preferences for isolated treatment strategies and male participants were more likely to endorse lower intensity treatments than females. Furthermore, when assessing Stepped Care levels, BIPOC students were less likely to find therapist assisted steps acceptable. Overall , individualized therapy methods were more highly endorsed than any other kind of therapy regardless of demographic characteristic. These results informed a proposed new college counseling center model. Research, clinical implications, and recommendations are discussed.

Liam Conklin       

Individual vs Team Based Sports: Differences in Attribution Theory in Student Athletes Across Sports

This paper looks at attribution theory across varsity athletes at Bates College. I examined the ways different sports teams attribute success and failures to determine if they differ for individual based sports versus team based sports. I gave student-athletes at Bates an attribution questionnaire that gives both positive and negative scenarios in which they must imagine themselves, and they answered how they attribute successes or failures in the given scenario. I categorized each sport into a team or individual sport before the study so that there is a predetermined definition. I analyzed the data with a repeated measures ANOVA test to examine whether there was any difference between team sports and individual sports. The results show that there were no main effects for sport type on the five dimensions of attribution, and there were no significant interaction effects of sport type and success or failure experiences on any of the five dimensions of attribution. However, there were significant effects of success and failure experience on three of the five dimensions of attribution: stability, controllability, and intentionality.

Ruby Cramer       

Evaluating Telehealth Medical Care with Tri-County Mental Health Services using i-PARIHS

Abstract The purpose of the study is to evaluate the effectiveness of telehealth mental health services at Tri-County Mental Health Services (TCMHS). This project is a community-based research inquiry, working in collaboration with TCMHS. This study asked 7 adult patients of TCMHS about their experiences with telehealth services in semi-structured qualitative interviews. These responses were analyzed using i-PARIHS, a health implementation science data analysis codebook. Participant responses found strengths and weaknesses in the innovation (telehealth) such as variations in session length, confusion/clarity on how to use the technology, and considerations over the at home environment (is it safe, comfortable, confidential). Results also presented strengths and weaknesses of the recipients (TCMHS, employees, and patients) such as team members’ communication, resources available to help get to in-person appointments, and skill level of employees. Finally, results pointed towards strengths and weaknesses of the context (TCMHS as a company and the broader socio-cultural context) such as insurance, views on mental healthcare, and infrastructure (or lack thereof) to aid in such care. Such findings provide tangible and practical implications for TCMHS and how they provide care while also critically contributing to evaluative studies of public health and mental health programs: local change can help abate such structural inequalities, but not solve them. Limitations and ideas for future research are discussed. In conclusion, telehealth is an emerging technology that needs critical evaluation but has the power to expand mental healthcare for marginalized populations. Keywords: telehealth, community-engaged, i-PARIHS, qualitative

Maya Joy Golden       

The Alerting Congruency Interaction: A Window into the Dynamics of Attention and Response Selection

When trying to complete any task, there are often distractions in the surrounding world that can take our attention away from the task at hand. Being distracted can make us slower and less accurate at the task. However, if the “distractions” consist of information that can help you with completing the task, then we actually might complete the task faster and more accurately than if there were no distractions at all. Researchers have found that if you are alerted before being presented with the task and distractors, then distractors have a larger impact on performance (making the difference between beneficial and harmful distractors more pronounced). This effect is called the altering congruency interaction. The purpose of this research is to investigate potential causes and moderators of this alerting congruency interaction. Th e factors being studied include emotional affect, arousal, novelty, stimulus onset asynchrony, and previewing of the distractor stimulus. Results show that congruency effects do not differ with manipulations of affect, arousal, and novelty and are inconclusive with respect to stimulus onset asynchrony. A theory of the alerting-congruency interaction based on the temporal overlap between target and distractor response code activation is proposed and tested, and the data support this novel account.

Caroline Grady       

ESCape from the NICU: A Secondary Research Study on the Effectiveness of the Eat, Sleep, Console Method

Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS) is an increasingly prevalent issue given the current opioid epidemic in the United States. Every 19 minutes, a newborn is born with withdrawal symptoms to opioids – that is, 80 newborns per day. Recent studies demonstrate how the processes of anticipating, identifying, and responding to NAS are characterized by uncertainty and marginalization among parents and healthcare providers. In 2018, the Eat, Sleep, Console (ESC) method emerged as the preferred treatment method for infants with NAS where infants feed when needed, sleep between feedings uninterrupted, and are consoled through touch when irritable. The goal of ESC is to improve the mother/infant relationship, educate the mother about hands-on non-pharmacologic assistance, and reduce the severity of withdrawal symptoms in infants with NAS. In the current study, data are used from Central Maine Medical Center (CMMC) to test the effectiveness of the Eat, Sleep, Console (ESC) method. ESC is expected to lower hospital costs, decrease pharmacologic treatment, and shorten hospital length of stay compared to traditional pharmacologic treatment methods.

Hannah Kleinbardt       

The Representation of Adoption in Children’s Literature and its Effects on Asian American Adoptees’ Cultural Affirmation and Sense of Identity

In recent decades, more than 200,000 children were adopted from East Asia, primarily China and South Korea, and brought to the United States. The present study examines the representation of adoption in existing children’s literature and seeks to identify its effects on Asian American adoptees’ cultural affirmation and sense of identity. The study primarily focuses on participant experiences as they navigate the reality of being adopted and raised by White adoptive parents in the United States. Participants included five transnational and transracial adoptees from China and South Korea ranging from 21 to 25 years old and were between 5 and 16 months at the time of their adoption. Data were collected from pre-interview questionnaires and semi-structured virtual interviews. As part of the interview, participants read aloud one of five pre-selected adoption-related children’s books to determine how such exposure is imperative to the development of strong cultural affirmation and positive senses of identity. The findings established the necessity and desire for additional representation of adoption in children’s literature and proposed several conceivable solutions to benefit Asian American adoptees. Keywords: transracial adoption, East Asia, cultural affirmation, children’s literature

Alexi H. Knight       

Guess Who�s Coming to Lunch: What Types of High School Students Have Lunch in Teachers� Classrooms and Why?

Abstract There has been a significant amount of research conducted on student-teacher relationships in recent years, based on attachment theory and Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory; however, nearly all of this pertains only to the relationship within the classroom. Yet many students connect with their teachers in other places, a prime example being having lunch together. Using phenomenological mixed methods research, I surveyed participants who graduated high school within the last four years via the Positive Student-Teacher Relationships Scale and open-ended questions about their experiences having lunch with their teachers while in high school with the intention of gaining a deeper understanding of what types of students had this experience and why. Qualitative analyses show emerging themes of older students who have shared interests with or outside connections to their teachers engaging in this phenomenon; they participate for reasons such as preferring the alternate environmen t, seeking academic or postgraduate support, or having a close emotional connection with their teachers. Quantitative analyses overwhelmingly show that students who have lunch with teachers have positive relationships with them. This research provides insight into some of the nuances of positive student-teacher relationships and how they may differ based on characteristics such as school type and student demographics.

Darya Lee       

Gen Z’s Perceptions of Assisted Reproductive Technology and the Experiences of Donor Conceived People

In the age of genetic testing and genealogical databases, families utilizing assisted reproductive technology (ART) are facing unique psychosocial challenges. The purpose of this research is to study college students’ attitudes toward the use of ART and the experiences of donor-conceived individuals. Participants will include Bates College students from all class years who will take an online Qualtrics survey. Participants will read short scenarios describing assistive and donor-conceived reproductive strategies, and respond to a variety of Likert-scored questions about attitudes and perceptions. This study will help inform our understanding of the attitudes toward infertility and assistive reproductive technology in emerging adults, as well as explore the consequences of such attitudes for donor-conceived individuals.

Zoë Maguire       

Musical Preferences & Social Identity

Music listening is an important pastime, functioning as a leisure activity, an emotion regulation strategy, and a point of connection between people. Because music is so relevant in most people’s lives, it is reasonable to speculate that music may have an impact on identity. The purpose of this study is to explore a possible association between musical preferences and experiences and social identity. I interviewed 11 Bates college students using a phenomenological approach to elicit personal narratives about music and identity. My research demonstrated six key themes: identity, change in musical listening habits, peer influence, individual music listening, emotional significance, and playing musical instruments. These themes highlighted three important findings: music can promote social bonding and social identity, music can enforce individuality, and family plays a critical role in individuals’ musical preferences. Overall, my findings suggest that musical exploration acts as a vehicle for identity development but does not often embody full identity achievement. Future research should examine these concepts within a larger context, specifically beyond the scope of Bates College students.

Oo Meh       

The Susceptibility to Shame, Guilt, and Embarrassment across Levels of Education, Income, and Subjective Social Status

Research suggests that lower social class individuals are more attuned to and more influenced by the external environment while upper social class individuals tend to have an individualistic orientation to the environment and are more resistant to its influence. It was also found that higher class individuals experienced more of the self-oriented positive emotions of pride, contentment, and amusement while the lower class individuals experienced more of the other-oriented positive emotions of love, compassion, and awe. Based on these results, I hypothesized that individuals in the lowest level in income, educational attainment, and subjective social status will be more susceptible to shame, guilt, and embarrassment due to their tendency to be oriented to the environment and greater need for social inclusion. Results from th is study (N = 269) showed that those in the lowest subjective social status at the community level are the most prone to embarrassment. However, individuals in the highest level of educational attainment and subjective social status reported the most susceptibility to Shame-Withdraw. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Kate Peters       

The Effect of Giftedness on Teachers’ Conceptions of Students in Dimensions Related to Socio-emotional Ability and Teacher Motivation: Replication Study

The purpose of this study is to explore teachers’ conceptions of gifted students in relation to average-achieving students and how these compare to the harmonious and disharmonious hypotheses of giftedness. This study will replicate aspects of the Baudson and Preckel, (2016) and Matheis et al., (2017) studies by using a survey containing vignettes depicting students of varying intellectual ability (gifted and average-ability) and gender (girl and boy) in a classroom setting. These scenarios will be rated by current and former kindergarten through twelfth teachers. Participants will rate the students in three socio-emotional and ability-based dimensions: maladjustment, intellectual ability, and prosociality as well as two dimensions measuring the teachers’ motivation to teach, m easured using self-efficacy and enthusiasm. Based on the study being replicated and past research, we predicted that participants would rate gifted students lower in prosociality and higher in maladjustment and intellectual ability and have lower self-efficacy to teach them and no difference in enthusiasm. Additionally, we predicted to find that participants would exhibit higher motivation to teach girls and there may be a stronger effect of gender on socioemotional and ability ratings overall. Analyses using two-way ANOVAs revealed no significant effects of ability level, gender, or significant interactions between the two on teacher ratings. Implications of this study for student well-being and teaching will be discussed.

Abigail Segal       

Magic Tricks to Promote Mindfulness and Creativity amongst College Students

Magic is an art form with a purpose of bringing wonder, entertainment, and astonishment to an audience by curating unexplainable moments that challenge one’s perception. Witnessing seemingly impossible feats from a magician is a rare and surprising experience that can produce a range of complex and diverse responses that are worth further assessing. Therefore, the purpose of the study is to explore the effects of a one-on-one magic performance intervention on individuals’ states of mindfulness, positive and negative affect, and creativity before and after the intervention. A total of 53 Bates College students participated in the study in which half received an individual magic performance and the other half experienced an individual guided meditation activity. A 2 x 2 repeated measures ANOVA (Time: Pre vs Post x Intervention: MI vs GMI) was conducted on th e participant’s emotions and creativity before and after the intervention. The results showed that both the Magic Intervention (MI) and the Guided Meditation Intervention (GMI) significantly impacted positive and negative affect but did not significantly impact creativity. The mean accuracy was significantly greater in the MI condition than the GMI condition for positive affect however, there were no significant effects amongst intervention on negative affect. An independent samples t-test was conducted to show the effectiveness of interventions on state mindfulness. There were no significant main effects on state mindfulness across intervention types. Notable evidence for the benefits of watching a magic performance as a form of meditation came from the participant’s positive affect scores across time and the open-ended responses that revealed participants’ personal feelings and reflections following the interventions. An expansion of research and data is necessary for implem enting magic in the field of meditation and Positive Psychology. Keywords: magic tricks, emotions, creativity, mindfulness, intervention

Amanda Taylor       

For the Love of the Game: Creating a Co-Cultural Clubhouse in a Diversifying Baseball Landscape

As of 2022, 28% of Major League Baseball (MLB) players were Hispanic or Latino, 7.2% were Black or African American, and 1.8% were Asian, with the remainder being White (Gough, 2022). Since the conception of baseball, diversity and inclusion have increased drastically, yet there are shortcomings related to inclusive practices, embracing culture of origin, and cultivating an environment supportive of all identities and backgrounds. This review considers the history of MLB’s international practices and the increasing presence of international baseball players on professional teams, and suggests practices to support racial and ethnic identity, and optimize prospects for player well-being. The way in which the players’ ethnic and cultural identities are portrayed by the media and perceived by the American audience is foundational for developing practices and means to promote inclusivity. In the context of the professional clubhouse, identity, language, co-cultural dynamics, and educational sources will be studied to suggest practices and values to promote an inclusive and supportive environment in the clubhouse. Keywords: baseball, co-cultural, inclusivity, language, identity