Psychological Science
http://hdl.handle.net/10211.3/10211.8_10
2024-03-29T07:40:45ZWas it you, the other Zazz, or that Flurp? Children's Moral Evaluation of Self-Serving and Prosocial Lies in the Context of Social Groups
http://hdl.handle.net/10211.3/217124
Was it you, the other Zazz, or that Flurp? Children's Moral Evaluation of Self-Serving and Prosocial Lies in the Context of Social Groups
Hunt, Rosa
The present study examined children’s evaluation of self-serving and prosocial lies and whether these evaluations were altered by the presence of arbitrary social groups. As 3rd party observers, children (3- to 7-year olds) listened to four stories about an agent who told a prosocial or self-serving lie that was used to take the blame for, or wrongfully place blame on, the agent’s in-group or out-group member. Children’s moral and trust evaluations, and their theory of mind were assessed. Although children judged all lies to be immoral, children judged self-serving lies as more immoral than prosocial lies, suggesting children use both veracity and context-specific details when making moral judgments. Regardless of the type of lie told, children judged lies to be more immoral when they involved the agent’s out-group member. However, children did not differentially evaluate prosocial and self-serving lies based on whether these lies were told in reference to an ingroup or outgroup member. Additionally, older children trusted prosocial over self-serving liars, while younger children displayed the opposite pattern. Children’s theory of mind was not related to their moral or trust evaluations in prosocial liars. Overall, these results suggest young children consider pro- and anti-social contexts when evaluating lies, and that there may be an age-related shift in the way children use past behavior to evaluate trustworthiness in others.
2020-08-05T00:00:00ZThe Effects of Maternal Defense on Development of a Conditioned Place Preference and Tyrosine Hydroxylase Activation in Lactating Primiparous Mice
http://hdl.handle.net/10211.3/217121
The Effects of Maternal Defense on Development of a Conditioned Place Preference and Tyrosine Hydroxylase Activation in Lactating Primiparous Mice
Selke, Alexandra
Maternal defense behavior is a behavior that is uniquely associated with the hormonal changes that accompany late pregnancy and lactation. The general onset and maintenance of maternal behavior in a lactating dam is dependent on the dam having a functional and intact mesolimbic system. Due to the role that the mesolimbic system plays in maternal behaviors, dams are wired to find pups and pup-related behaviors rewarding. These interactions result in a general increase in dopamine (DA) activity within the mesolimbic system and maternal brain regions. The role the mesolimbic system may play in maternal defense behavior, however, has not yet been investigated. Research on aggression in male rodents suggests that males find aggressive encounters with other male rodents to be rewarding and that they seek out opportunities to be aggressive to subordinate male rodents. This aggressive-seeking behavior has been linked to increases in DA activity within the mesolimbic system in males and the display of aggression in male rodents in general is dependent on an intact mesolimbic system. Due to the rewarding nature of pup-related interactions in mothers and because we know maternal behaviors are dependent on DA functioning, it is expected that maternal defense behavior can be rewarding to dams in a similar way it is rewarding to males. Therefore, the present study compared the total percentage of time spent in each chamber between one of three stimuli: an unobtainable male, a maternal defense test, or a control group. Additionally, on postnatal day 8, mothers were exposed to one of these stimuli in the conditioned place preference (CPP) apparatus, and cells expressing tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) activity, which is a marker of DA activity, were counted in brain regions related to reward (the ventral tegmental area and the nucleus accumbens) and regions related to maternal behaviors (the medial preoptic area and bed nucelus of the stria terminalis). Dams did not develop a preference for the maternal defense stimulus in the CPP paradigm, and no significant differences were found between any group in the total percentage of time spent in either the stimulus-paired or null chambers. Additionally, there were no significant differences in cells expressing tyrosine hydroxylase in maternal or mesolimbic brain structures. Finally, tyrosine hydroxylase activation had no relationship to aggressive behavior or the total time dams in the maternal defense group spent in the stimulus-paired chamber. These findings suggest that the maternal defense is a not a rewarding behavior for dams to perform, and DA neurotransmission is not related to maternal defense behavior. Changes in neuroendocrine mechanisms that alter arousal and maternal behaviors following a stressor during lactation specifically could block any rewarding qualities of maternal defense behavior in favor of pup-biased behaviors.
2020-08-05T00:00:00ZDose-Dependent Effects of Psychostimulants on Affect Following Repeated Administration to Laboratory Rats
http://hdl.handle.net/10211.3/215844
Dose-Dependent Effects of Psychostimulants on Affect Following Repeated Administration to Laboratory Rats
Cervantes Aldana, Cristian
Psychostimulants produce strong pleasurable effects in users which are thought to play a role in the development of drug addiction. Two highly rewarding and abused psychostimulant drugs are methamphetamine and d-amphetamine. Although there has been extensive investigation of the rewarding effects of these drugs, we used a relatively new approach, drug-induced ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs), to examine the dose-dependent rewarding and aversive effects of these drugs following a single and repeated administration. The inverted-U shaped dose-response curve is seen across many drugs of abuse and behaviors, however this phenomenon has not been reported with USVs. Broadly, it was hypothesized that animals treated with methamphetamine or d-amphetamine would show inverted U dose-dependent responses with ambulations and 50 kHz USVs and that repeated administration of methamphetamine or d-amphetamine would lead to complex changes across doses and behaviors. We conducted two experiments, identical in methodology, with the only difference being the drug (methamphetamine and d-amphetamine). The four major results obtained from the present thesis were: 1) acute administration of methamphetamine and d-amphetamine produced an inverted U dose-response with locomotor activity and reward-related ultrasonic vocalizations (FM 50 kHz USVs); 2) acute administration of the highest dose of methamphetamine or d-amphetamine produced aversive effects and an interplay of reward (FM 50 kHz USVs) and aversion (22 kHz USVs) that helps to explain the inverted U shaped dose response; 3) repeated administration of methamphetamine and d- amphetamine produced sensitization to locomotor effects and USVs at low and moderate doses; and 4) sensitization persisted following a period without drug administration. These data provide a revealing picture of the complex relationship between dose and response, with particular attention to the affective component in drug addiction and abuse.
2020-05-07T00:00:00ZEffects of Marijuana Use on Smokers Switching to Electronic Cigarettes
http://hdl.handle.net/10211.3/215837
Effects of Marijuana Use on Smokers Switching to Electronic Cigarettes
Rice, Myra
Electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) have received attention as a harm reduction strategy for smokers unable to quit. However, African American and Latinx smokers are less likely than Whites to switch exclusively to e-cigarettes, which could perpetuate a tobacco-related health disparity. Marijuana smoking is a known barrier to cigarette cessation and is associated with increased carbon monoxide (CO) exposure. The goal of the present study was to evaluate whether cigarette reduction and corresponding changes in short-term cardiopulmonary outcomes were attenuated by combustible marijuana use among smokers switching to e-cigarettes. This was a secondary analysis from a larger randomized controlled trial with 186 underrepresented minority cigarette smokers (92 African American and 94 Latinx) who were provided an e- cigarette for six weeks and encouraged to make a complete switch (n = 125) or assigned to a control group (n = 61). Results found marijuana smoking was not a barrier to harm reduction outcomes among smokers provided e-cigarettes compared to the control. Combustible marijuana use was linked with higher CO at week six (p < .05) for both groups, but it did not qualify the association between study condition and CO. Marijuana smoking during this six-week harm- reduction trial was not linked with other outcomes: cigarettes smoked, respiratory symptoms, and lung function (ps > .05). Noteworthy is that combustible marijuana use was related to the outcome of CO, a common biomarker used to define and verify exclusive switching status. A possible implication is reduced ability to bio-verify and identify exclusive switching among marijuana smokers, due to elevated CO from combustion. Further, higher CO among co-users suggests an additive effect that could exacerbate health risks.
2020-05-07T00:00:00Z