Theses/Dissertations - Psychology and Neuroscience

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A brief seizure prior to learning selectively impairs hippocampal learning and memory and is associated with alterations in PI3K/Akt/mTOR and FMRP signaling.
(2018-06-11) Holley, Andrew Jacob, 1990-; Lugo, Joaquin N.
Studies utilizing rodent models of acute seizures have indicated that a single brief seizure impairs retention of spatial and contextual memory. However, the timespan for which a solitary seizure can impact memory or which kinds of memory it can hinder are obscure. Additionally, evidence for a mechanism underlying seizure-induced memory impairment is lacking. Addressing the first question, we induced a seizure and then trained mice in trace fear conditioning, novel object recognition, or the accelerating rotarod and later examined memory at various time points following the seizure. We also examined activity levels and anxiety-like behavior in the open field and elevated plus maze (EPM). We investigated a potential mechanism using western blot analysis to assess PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling at time points correlated with the memory tests. We also stained brain tissue taken at 24 hours and one week using hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) to examine for gross damage after a seizure. In the open field, we found a reduction in locomotion 24 hours, but not one week after a seizure. Anxiety-like behavior in the EPM was unchanged. Hippocampal trace fear memory was impaired at 24 hours and one week in mice that experienced a seizure one hour prior to training. Moreover, the level of impairment was more prominent during the one week test. In contrast, non-hippocampal learning and memory was unaffected in the NOR and rotarod tasks. Western analysis revealed increased hippocampal phospho-S6 and total FMRP one hour after a seizure. H&E stained tissue revealed no indication of cellular damage or gross lesions. Together our data indicates that a brief seizure selectively impairs hippocampal learning and memory, while sparing non-hippocampal learning and memory. Increased PI3K/Akt/mTOR and altered FMRP signaling one hour after a seizure suggests that changes to de novo protein synthesis necessary for memory consolidation underlie the memory impairments we observed. The lack of overt damage and transient changes in molecular signaling in the current study in comparison to studies using chronic and multiple seizure models suggests a different mechanism underlies memory impairment associated with brief seizure activity.
A hypnosis intervention reduces anxiety among postmenopausal women with hot flashes : results from a randomized controlled trial.
(2018-07-13) Roberts, Rejena Lynae, 1990-; Elkins, Gary Ray, 1952-
Anxiety is common, yet under-treated, among women in menopause and postmenopause. This study examined the effect of a hypnotic intervention designed to reduce hot flashes, on anxiety levels of postmenopausal women. Anxiety was assessed using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale-Anxiety subscale, and a visual analogue scale. Additionally, trait anxiety and hypnotizability were tested as moderators of anxiety reductions. Significant reductions in anxiety were found from baseline to endpoint and follow-up and hypnosis was superior to the control condition. Additionally, ratings of Current Anxiety decreased from pre-session to post-session at each weekly visit and the pre-session scores reduced continuously. Trait anxiety and hypnotizability were found to significantly moderate anxiety reductions. These data provide initial support for the use of hypnosis to reduce symptoms of anxiety among postmenopausal women.
A multimethod examination of the relevance of executive control to disgust and mental contamination among female sexual assault survivors.
(2018-06-06) Clayson, Kelsi A., 1989-; Fergus, Thomas A.
Sexual assault among women is a significant and ongoing public health problem in the United States, and studies indicate a particularly high prevalence of sexual assault among college-aged women. A large body of research has linked sexual assault to posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS), and researchers have sought to better understand how disgust and mental contamination may contribute to PTSS following sexual assault. Existing literature points to the possibility that executive control deficits are important in understanding the role of disgust and mental contamination in relation to PTSS. Yet, to date, whether disgust or mental contamination relates to executive control deficits among female sexual assault survivors remains unexamined. Addressing this gap in the literature, the present study examined the relationship between executive control and both disgust and mental contamination among female sexual assault survivors. It was predicted that greater disgust and mental contamination would relate to greater deficits in both self-reported and performance-based executive control. Additional analyses were completed to examine if disgust and mental contamination related to executive control deficits independent of trait anxiety and PTSS. Eighty-eight undergraduate women who reported previously experiencing a sexual assault participated in the present study. Participants completed self-report measures assessing the targeted variables and then attended an in-person session where executive control was assessed using performance-based tasks. Consistent with predictions, greater disgust and mental contamination were associated with greater self-reported executive control deficits. However, these associations were rendered non-significant after controlling for trait anxiety. Contrary to predictions, disgust and mental contamination were generally unrelated to executive control on performance-based tasks. However, supplementary analyses revealed that among women who identified a sexual trauma (versus a non-sexual trauma) as their most distressing traumatic event, greater disgust and mental contamination were related to greater deficits in cognitive flexibility on a performance-based task. These findings suggest that sexual trauma may need to elicit a certain level of distress for disgust and mental contamination to relate to deficits in cognitive flexibility, and have important implications for the potential use of interventions targeting cognitive flexibility in the treatment of disgust and mental contamination following sexual trauma.
A pilot study on the effects of brief-ACT on college student drinking, correlates of drinking, and cognitive fusion.
(2016-05-27) Grosso, Justine A., 1988-; Dolan, Sara Lynn.
The current study aimed to examine the feasibility and preliminary effectiveness of a single session of modified Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. The study investigated whether various drinking outcome variables, cognitive fusion, a theoretically-hypothesized mechanism of change in ACT which has yet to be studied empirically, and dispositional mindfulness would significantly reduce after the intervention. The study also explored associations between outcome variables (drinking variables and cognitive fusion) and other process variables (e.g., cognitive fusion, dispositional mindfulness, and drinking coping motives). Participants were 139 undergraduate students who completed questionnaires at baseline (BL), the intervention, and then questionnaires at follow-up (FU; two- to four-weeks post-intervention). Statistically significant reductions were found in all drinking outcomes, cognitive fusion, and dispositional mindfulness (Cohen’s d’s = .22 – 1.78) from BL to FU. Exploratory autoregressive analyses found significant associations between all drinking outcomes and coping motives, but not between drinking outcomes and either cognitive fusion or dispositional mindfulness. A post-hoc hierarchical linear regression found a significant two-way interaction effect indicating that cognitive fusion moderated the relationship between BL and FU negative alcohol-related consequences, such that participants who were high in BL cognitive fusion had greater rank order stability between BL and FU negative alcohol-related consequences and those low in BL cognitive fusion had less rank order stability in negative alcohol-related consequences from BL to FU. Results provide initial support for the effectiveness of a single session ACT intervention among a population of college students. Implications for further intervention refinement and future research are summarized.
A second hit approach using early life seizures in Fmr1 knockout mice induces autism-like behavioral deficits.
(May 2023) Blandin, Katherine J., 1996-; Lugo, Joaquin N.
Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is the leading monogenetic cause of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and expresses a high rate of seizures. Individuals with epilepsy also have a high rate of ASD. To disentangle the effects of FXS and early-life seizures on later behavioral deficits, we examined the impact of repeated seizures on the behavior and molecular changes in Fmr1 knockout (KO) male mice and wild-type (WT) male mice, serving as a model of FXS. A high seizure load was accomplished through three flurothyl-induced tonic-clonic seizures per day across postnatal days (PD) 7-11. In adulthood, mice were assessed in a battery of behavioral tasks to assess long-term behavioral deficits. A high seizure load decreased exploratory behavior and activity in both KO and control mice. Genotypic differences were observed with KO mice expressing significantly more repetitive and anxiety-like behavior. Early-life seizures in KO mice significantly decreased locomotor activity and increased associative learning, The double hit of FMR1 knockout and seizures resulted in a potentiation of repetitive behavior in the nose poke test. Following western blot analysis, we found no significant effects of genotype or treatment on mTOR signaling proteins, neuroinflammatory markers, or ion channel proteins. A high seizure load shows to have detrimental effects singularly and did exacerbate behavioral deficits in the mice with Fmr1 deletion. These findings further illuminate the long-term effects of early-life seizures, the impact of the FMR1 deletion, and the impact of two hits on the developing brain.
A vitamin D enriched diet attenuates sex-specific behavioral deficits in the NS-Pten knockout mouse.
(2020-06-17) Womble, Paige Deann, 1995-; Lugo, Joaquin N.
Individuals who experience recurrent spontaneous seizures are at a high risk for bone fractures as well as an increased likelihood of a comorbid diagnosis of Autism spectrum disorder. Additionally, individuals with epilepsy could have vitamin D deficiencies. The neural subset-specific (NS) Pten knockout (KO) mouse has shown autistic-like deficits and has a lower bone mineral density. We examined the effect of a vitamin D enriched diet in the NS-Pten KO mouse. Results indicated that a vitamin D diet attenuated altered activity levels in male NS-Pten KO mice. NS-Pten KO animals exhibited a reduction in sociability, however in male wildtype mice, vitamin D increased sociability. There was a significant effect of genotype and death, and between diet and death, finding that only CTL NS-Pten KO animals died. Overall, these findings suggest that a vitamin D enriched diet had a significant impact on the behavioral phenotype and survivability of NS-Pten KO mice.
Acculturative stress and obesity : the moderating role of emotional eating in a community sample of Latino/a adolescents.
(2018-07-20) Simmons, Stephanie Jernigan. 1991-; Limbers, Christine C.
Acculturating to American culture is often a stressful experience for Latino/a adolescents and has been associated with negative health outcomes and obesity. Previous research suggests that maladaptive coping increases the association between stressful acculturative experiences and negative health outcomes. Emotional eating has been identified as a maladaptive coping mechanism in Latino/a adolescents and has been shown to contribute to increased weight. However, previous studies have investigated neither differenes in emotional eating and stress between Latino/a and non-Latino/a adolescents, nor the role of emotional eating as a coping mechanism for acculturative stress. The current study sought to fill these gaps using a community sample of 168 Latino/a adolescents. A series of Pearson correlations compared differences in emotional eating and stress between Latino/a and non-Latino/a adolescents. Second, a series of hierarchical linear regressions determined if emotional eating strengthened the relationship between baseline acculturative stress and longitudinal change in body mass index. Participants completed self-report measures of emotional eating, eating habits, perceived stress, and acculturative stress at time one. Height and weight measurements were taken at time one and repeated at a three-month follow-up. There were no differences in emotional eating between Latino/a and non-Latino/a adolescents. In Latino/a adolescents, neither acculturative stress nor emotional eating was associated with longitudinal change in body mass index. Further, emotional eating failed to moderate the relationship between acculturative stress and change in body mass index; additional research is needed to determine if acculturative stress or emotional eating contributes to longitudinal weight gain. Despite these negative findings, it appears that Latino/a adolescents are at a high risk for negative health outcomes. Compared to non-Latino/a adolescents, Latino/a adolescents demonstrated significantly higher body mass index at time one and time two, gained significantly more weight between time one and time two, demonstrated significantly worse eating patterns, and endorseed significantly higher levels of stress. Additionally, results suggest that acculturative stress is a significant risk factor for higher emotional eating in Latino/a adolesents. Such knowledge should be applied when considering prevention of disordered eating, unhealthy eating patterns, and weight gain in the rapidly growing population of Latino/a adolescents in the United States.
Acute agomelatine administration does not attenuate deficits in vocalizations, inflammation, or excitation in kainic acid treated pups.
(2020-04-16) Binder, Matthew S., 1992-; Lugo, Joaquin N.
Seizures during early-development result in an increase in proinflammatory cytokine production and impact communication behavior in murine models. Our study investigated the efficacy of the anti-inflammatory pharmaceutical agomelatine on neuroinflammatory processes and ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) in mice. On postnatal day (PD) 10 male and female C57 BL6/J mice were administered kainic acid (KA) to induce status epilepticus (SE). The mice then received either agomelatine, DMSO (vehicle), or saline either 1-hour post SE or 24 hours post SE. The early life communication behavior ultrasonic vocalizations was evaluated on PD 11 and 12 and western blotting was conducted on PD 15. While KA administration lead to an increase in vocalizations overall on PD 11 at the 1-hour timepoint, agomelatine was unable to attenuate this deficit. No main effects of seizures were observed on PD 12 1-hour post treatment or on PD 11 or PD 12 in the 24-hour post treatment groups. When the quantity of USVs emitted per each call type was assessed, agomelatine was similarly unable to attenuate the increased quantity of frequency steps, upward, downward, chevron, and composite call types observed throughout the 1-hour and 24-hour treatment groups. Similarly, the KA induced alterations in the average duration, peak frequency, fundamental frequency, and amplitude of the call types were also not altered by agomelatine administration. When markers of excitation and inflammation were assessed via western blotting, KA was found to increase GFAP, Iba1, and GluR1 relative to controls, with no significant difference present in the expression of mGluR1/5. Agomelatine did not significantly alter this upregulation. Overall, our study suggests that despite its high theoretical promise, agomelatine displays minimal efficacy to treat aberrant vocalizations, excitation, and neuroinflammation in neonates administered KA.
Acute alcohol produces ataxia and cognitive impairments in aged animals : a comparison between young adults and aged rats.
(2013-05-15) Novier, Adelle.; Diaz-Granados, Jaime L.; Matthews, Douglas B.; Psychology and Neuroscience.; Baylor University. Dept. of Psychology and Neuroscience.
Aging in both humans and rodents appears to be accompanied by physiological changes that increase biological sensitivity to ethanol intoxication; however, animal models designed to investigate the behavioral significance of increased alcohol sensitivity have yet to be established. The present study sought to determine if acute ethanol administration produces differential effects on motor coordination and spatial performance in adult and aged rats. Findings revealed a dramatic increase in ethanol induced ataxia and cognitive impairment in aged animals relative to young adults as evaluated by several behavioral tasks. Importantly, the heightened deficits seen in aged animals were not due to differential blood ethanol levels. Possible neurophysiological mechanisms are proposed to explain the age-related increase in sensitivity to motor- and cognitive-impairing effects of ethanol. Given the high prevalence of alcohol use among the elderly, increased vulnerability to alcohol-induced deficits may have a profound effect on injury and quality of life in this population.
Adherence to gender roles as a predictor of compassion and self-compassion in women and men.
(2012-11-29) Tatum, Kelsie J.; Benedict, Helen Elizabeth, 1946-; Psychology and Neuroscience.; Baylor University. Dept. of Psychology and Neuroscience.
Previous research has demonstrated consistent differences between men and women in self-reported compassion, but has yielded inconsistent results regarding sex differences in reported capacities for self-compassion. The current project sought to address these equivocal results by examining the relationships among compassion, self-compassion, and identification with traditional gender roles. Participants (N = 444) were recruited from a university subject pool and an online survey administration program and were administered the Compassionate Love scale (Sprecher & Fehr, 2005), the Compassion Scale (Pommier, 2010), the Self-Compassion Scale (Neff, 2003a), and the Personal Attributes Questionnaire (Spence, Helmreich, & Stapp, 1974). Overall, results indicated that gender, as opposed to sex differences, accounted for a greater proportion of variance in participants’ reported levels of self-compassion. However, inconsistent with initial hypotheses, data suggested that women’s and men’s adherence to traditional gender roles was associated with higher, rather than lower, self-compassion scores. The implications of these results and directions of future study are discussed.
An examination into the subjective experience of grace and its relation to well-being.
(2021-04-22) Dunn, Hilary N., 1996-; Rowatt, Wade Clinton, 1969-
Grace has a rich theological context and has been conceptualized in various ways among various religious traditions, though it features most prominently within Christian traditions. While the existing empirical work has been disjointed for lack of a unifying theoretical conceptualization of grace, recent work has synthesized the varying theological and philosophical conceptualizations (Emmons et al., 2017) and suggested a more unified empirical approach. Drawing on this conceptualization, two studies were conducted using mixed-methodological approaches were used to investigate the relationship between grace and positive psychological constructs, and grace from God as a unique manifestation of grace. College students (N = 218) and Cloud Research workers (N = 220) completed online questionnaires containing measures of grace experienced, individual differences and well-being outcomes. College students described individual experiences of grace, which were examined via text analysis and word count so as to identify the frequency of various themes as a proportion of overall responses. Self-reported experiences of grace contained religious themes and mention of affective words and social processes. The experience of grace was positively associated with forgiveness, domain-specific intellectual humility about grace, religiosity, life satisfaction, and flourishing. Grace from God was reported more frequently than grace from any other source. Measurement limitations and suggestions for more empirical work are discussed.
An investigation of the feasibility of Mindfulness-Based Hypnotherapy for stress and anxiety.
(2016-08-01) Olendzki, Nicholas A.; Elkins, Gary Ray, 1952-
Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) programs have shown considerable promise for reducing anxiety and stress. However, group mindfulness interventions often involve 8 weekly 2 hour sessions and a one-day retreat, and mindfulness interventions have not generally been shown to be superior to alternative treatments. It is theoretically possible that hypnosis can be used to deliver a mindfulness-based intervention, reducing the total time required for sessions while maintaining or enhancing treatment gains. However, the feasibility of a mindfulness-based hypnotherapy intervention is not yet known since no feasibility studies have been conducted. The purpose of the present investigation was to evaluate the feasibility of implementing Mindfulness-Based Hypnotherapy (MBH), a novel intervention for anxiety and stress. Forty-two students with elevated stress levels participated in the study, and were randomly assigned to either MBH or waitlist control conditions. MBH participants each completed an eight-week intervention with each session lasting approximately one hour. Feasibility of the intervention was determined by participant satisfaction, treatment adherence, and a low rate of significant adverse events attributable to the intervention. Treatment effect outcomes were determined by measures of perceived stress, distress, and mindfulness. Hypnotizability was explored as a potential moderator as measured by the Elkins Hypnotizability Scale (EHS). Results indicated significant and large decreases in perceived stress and distress, and significant, large increases in mindfulness, self-compassion, spirituality, and meaning in life. Although further research is needed, the results of this study indicate that Mindfulness-Based Hypnotherapy is a feasible intervention that holds considerable promise as a treatment for stress and psychological distress.
An analysis of factors related to seeking clinical hypnosis.
(2010-10-08T16:25:53Z) Robin, Brian M.; Elkins, Gary Ray, 1952-; Psychology and Neuroscience.; Baylor University. Dept. of Psychology and Neuroscience.
Hypnosis has found a broad range of clinical applications. These include management of many forms of physical pain, reducing anxiety and quitting smoking. However, hypnosis is underutilized as a treatment. Therefore it is important to understand factors affecting people's willingness to use clinical hypnosis. Little research examines the clinical conditions for which people would be willing to seek hypnosis or the referral sources and advertisements that may most influence them. Further, most research on attitudes toward hypnosis is performed using only college student samples; little is known about differences between college student and community samples. This study begins to address these gaps through a survey administered to 160 undergraduate college students and 98 community participants. Findings indicate that participants report being most likely to seek hypnosis for anxiety or as a complementary treatment to standard medical practices. Participants report that the referral and information source they would find most influential is their primary care physician. When asked to rate phonebook style listings for clinical hypnotherapy services, there were positive main effects for the presence versus absence of noting the clinician's extended credentials, board certification in clinical hypnosis, and indication of a range of hypnosis services provided. Few differences were found between the student and community groups, save the students were more influenced by extended credentials than were community members. Implications of these findings for the promotion of clinical hypnosis are discussed.
Are intellectually humble people aware of their reputation? An empirical investigation of the metaperception and meta-accuracy of intellectual humility.
(2019-07-22) Leman, Joseph C., 1982-; Rowatt, Wade Clinton, 1969-
Scholars conceive of intellectual humility (IH) as an accurate sense of one’s limitations and strengths. Presumably, awareness of one’s reputation concerning IH would be included in the epistemic domain, meaning those high in IH should realize that how they are perceived by others. These studies empirically test this conception of IH by using interpersonal perception paradigms originally designed to examine metaperceptions and meta-accuracy, or the extent to which people are aware of how they are perceived by others. If the current understanding of IH is accurate, then someone with high IH should have a more accurate impression of how intellectually humble other people perceive them to be. Combining IH, metaperception, and meta-accuracy allows a unique examination of the construct validity of self-reported measures of IH. In the reported studies, metaperceptions of IH were correlated with self-report, and moderated the relationship of self-report to other-report, as previously found in the literature. However, no relationship between self-reported IH and meta-accuracy was found- those claiming IH did not have accurate metaperceptions of how others view them. This finding is unaffected by length of acquaintance. This work extends the literature on meta-accuracy and person-perception more broadly by examining IH as a component of the individual differences in interpersonal perception.
Are jurors persuaded by the "concreteness of truth"? : the impact of eyewitness concreteness, juror instructions, and visualization on juror decision making.
(2016-07-11) Kurinec, Courtney A., 1988-; Weaver, Charles A.
I investigated the impact of eyewitness use of linguistic concreteness on juror decision making. Mock jurors read a summary of an ambiguous criminal case that included a concrete or abstract version of an eyewitness’s testimony. When jurors received only these materials (Experiment 1), those who received the concrete testimony were more likely to render guilty verdicts and found the eyewitness more credible. However, concreteness had no effect when jurors received an additional document (Experiment 2), although juror instructions did induce skepticism of the eyewitness and the case in general. Neither concreteness nor juror visualization of the case directly influenced jurors’ decisions (Experiment 3), but those jurors who received the concrete testimony while visualizing perceived the eyewitness to be more accurate over time. Overall, these results do not suggest a consistent effect of concreteness on juror decision making. Future research should consider utilizing more robust methods to manipulate concreteness.
Assessing perceived support and countersupport with remembered interactions : validation of the inventory of perceived support and countersupport interactions.
(2019-03-20) Rivers, Alannah Shelby, 1996-; Sanford, Keith Philip.
Existing measures of support assess schemas of support, but specific perceptions of support are theoretically distinct and consequential for affective coping. Moreover, such perceptions can be decomposed into two independent dimensions of perceived support and countersupport. Therefore, five pilot studies were used to develop and evaluate a two-dimensional measure capable of assessing perceived support and countersupport. This instrument, the Inventory of Perceived Support and Countersupport Interactions (IPSCI), was validated in a sample of 244 stressed individuals recruited using Amazon Mechanical Turk. The IPSCI demonstrated good psychometric properties, including factor validity, convergent, discriminant, and incremental convergent validity, and item discrimination. Perceived support and countersupport were independently related to episodic and schematic affective coping outcomes. The IPSCI can be used to assess perceived support and countersupport across research settings.
The assessment of strong and weak influence tactics in couples' conflict conversations through computer based language programs.
(2012-11-29) Fogle, Kristin Wolfe.; Sanford, Keith Philip.; Psychology and Neuroscience.; Baylor University. Dept. of Psychology and Neuroscience.
The goal of this study was to investigate the reliability and validity of a new method of assessment of communication strategies for influencing the other person during couples’ conflict conversations using the language-based computer programs LIWC, a word counting program, and LSA, a latent semantic analysis program. Two dimensions of influence tactics were expected: strong influence tactics, such as demanding or telling, and weak influence tactics, such as hinting or flattering. Videos of 82 couples’ conflict conversations from previous studies by Dr. Keith Sanford were re-coded and assessed for strong and weak influence tactics using LIWC, LSA, and observational coding. Influence tactics measured through the computer programs were found to weakly relate to influence tactics measured through observational coding. Reliability of influence tactic use was found to be weak for computer-based influence tactics. Some significant associations were discovered between influence tactics and marital satisfaction and communication behaviors. Compositional effects were found for several of the relationships. Limitations and future research directions are discussed.
Attachment style and underlying concerns in romantic relationship conflict.
(2010-10-08T16:17:45Z) Grace, Aaron J.; Sanford, Keith Philip.; Psychology and Neuroscience.; Baylor University. Dept. of Psychology and Neuroscience.
The current study investigated the relationship between underlying concerns in romantic relationship conflict and adult attachment. Participants were 109 undergraduate students in dating relationships who completed between one and five assessments via internet questionnaire over the course of eight weeks. At each assessment, participants considered a recent conflict in their romantic relationship, and completed measures of underlying concerns in the conflict as well as attachment at the time of the conflict. Data were analyzed at the within-person level as well as at the between-person level. At the within-person level, the underlying concern of perceived partner under-investment was predicted by attachment anxiety but not by attachment avoidance. In addition, the underlying concern of perceived partner threat was predicted by both attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance. After controlling for within-person effects, perceived partner under-investment was further predicted by participants' mean level of attachment anxiety.
Bane of Adam's rib : religious priming effects on sexism.
(2013-05-15) Haggard, Megan C., 1987-; Rowatt, Wade Clinton, 1969-; Psychology and Neuroscience.; Baylor University. Dept. of Psychology and Neuroscience.
Previous research has indicated that sexism can be separated into factors of ambivalence – hostile and benevolent – to address the many issues that arise with discrimination against women. Whereas hostile sexism is openly negative toward women, benevolent sexism positively camouflages unfair differentiation between the sexes. Many cultural organizations and traditions subtly approve of sexism, including Judeo-Christian religious beliefs. The present study examined the effect of different types of subliminal religious priming – agent, institution, or spiritual – on attitudes toward women, hostile sexism, and benevolent sexism. Participants exposed to religious primes were more likely to endorse benevolent sexist statements than those in a control group. This effect remained after controlling for participant gender and self-reported religiosity. The main difference was between the agent religious prime condition and the control group. The implications of religious approval of benevolent sexist attitudes and behaviors are examined, as well as connections with personality and cognitive styles.
Better understanding the paradoxical relationship between religiosity and prejudice through priming religious concepts : an intergroup bias perspective.
(2012-08-08) Johnson, Megan K.; Rowatt, Wade Clinton, 1969-; Psychology and Neuroscience.; Baylor University. Dept. of Psychology and Neuroscience.
Across two experiments, the paradox of religiosity and prejudice was examined through priming methods in a laboratory setting. The effects of priming religiosity (religious, control) and religious group membership (Christian, Muslim, atheist) on resource distributions (Experiment 1) and physical aggression through hot sauce allocation (Experiment 2) were examined. Across both studies, individuals demonstrated intergroup bias toward atheists relative to Muslims and Christians. In Experiment 1, priming religiosity decreased the number of raffle tickets given to atheists but increased the number of raffle tickets given to Muslims. In Experiment 2, priming religiosity had no effect on aggression toward individuals. However, individuals gave atheists significantly more hot sauce than Muslims. These results indicate the effects of priming religiosity do depend, in some cases, on the religious group identification of the person with whom one is interacting. Moreover, these studies demonstrate atheists as the out-group (compared to Muslims) that experiences the most intergroup bias. Namely, individuals gave fewer resources, and aggressed and reported the most negative and least positive emotions toward atheists. Results are discussed within an intergroup bias framework.

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