Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, in-person mental health services became, in many cases, prohibited, increasing the need for telehealth. The present study will investigate clinicians’ perceptions of the effectiveness of delivering cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) via telehealth. Telehealth, in this context, refers to remotely delivering psychotherapy via a variety of platforms such as on-line services, video, and/or phone calls. Previous studies found that delivering CBT via telehealth can be as effective as in-person delivery. However, there are barriers to implementing psychotherapy remotely, including lack of training support, organizational and clinician buy-in, and cost. Thus, we aimed to investigate whether clinicians found delivering CBT via telehealth effective, whether it had an impact on engagement and therapeutic relationships, and how well elements of CBT training were provided during telehealth delivery. Data came from a project leveraging a Washington State CBT+ Initiative. Clinicians and supervisors from agencies in WA state participated and got training in CBT for youth depression, anxiety, trauma, and behavioral problems. Clinicians completed pre-and post-training surveys with questions pertaining to how telehealth preparation time compared to in-person sessions, clinicians’ opinions on continued telehealth implementation, clinicians’ ability to deliver effective services via telehealth, and client and caregiver engagement levels over telehealth. We plan to run descriptive analyses to summarize clinicians’ perceptions of telehealth. Preliminary analyses suggest that most clinicians found telehealth to be beneficial and an effective way to deliver CBT to youth. Further, our analyses reveal that clinicians, on average, found engaging younger children in treatment as the most significant barrier associated with telehealth. Harnessing telehealth for the provision of CBTs may be a viable solution that addresses some barriers to access. If telehealth is found effective by clinicians, it could serve as a long-term option for delivering CBTs. Therefore, it is important to understand clinicians’ perspectives.

Diversity training in organizational environments has become commonplace in the 21st century. Most contemporary training seeks to make employees aware of implicit bias and the structural inequities that exist from systematic oppression. However, training is often not grounded in evidence-based practices and past research has shown diversity training may increase stereotyping and bias towards minorities. Additionally, high-status groups (e.g., White people, men) may perceive increased unfairness towards high-status members due to the emphasis on diversity, commonly referred as “reverse racism” or anti-White bias. This study seeks to further investigate how applicants view an organization's approach to diversity. White participants will be asked to apply for a scholarship and subsequently rejected. By investigating anti-White bias after a rejection, this study aims to examine whether Whites rationalize rejection with pro-diversity messages to protect against threat. I am also interested in perceived employability: a principle that has been shown to be linked with emotional regulation, health, and self esteem. I predict the magnitude of perceived qualification for a position moderates the degree of anti-White bias reported. Research on organizational diversity is imperative to decrease turn-over rates and increase satisfaction for minority employees.

The ability to actively reflect on one's own mental processes, or metacognition, plays a significant role in learning and executing complex tasks by interacting with different learning processes. This study examined the influence of metacognition on declarative and reinforcement learning (RL) mechanisms. I collected data from 221 undergraduates (139 female; age from 18 - 22, mean = 19.0) using a within-subjects metacognitive manipulation half way through the stimulus-response (S-R) learning task created by Collins (2018). The metacognitive manipulation aims to activate monitoring by drawing participants' attention to their own learning strategies and task performance. The task consists of learning blocks of differing lengths; the long blocks rely more on RL, while the short blocks can be completed with declarative or working memory processes. Contributions of declarative and RL mechanisms are also assessed through an incidental post-test given after an intervening task. If metacognition differentially affects declarative and RL, we expect a three-way interaction between the task phase (learning/post-test), block type (long/short) and metacognition (before/during). Results showed significant main effects of task phase (F(1,220) = 153.83, p = 6.32e-34), block length (F(1,220) = 527.29, p = 2.79e-102) and metacognition (F(1,220) = 18.00, p = 2.32e-05), with better performance during the learning phase, short blocks, and metacognitive manipulation. A significant phase by metacognition interaction (F(1,220) = 8.21, p = 0.0042) suggested that metacognitive monitoring improved test performance without interfering with learning performance. Future experiments will examine the possible mechanisms by which metacognitive monitoring facilitated long term memory retrieval.

Statistical learning—predictions based on pattern recognition from varied inputs—is critical in language development. People reference previous grammar encounters in their native language to recognize language patterns, and a strong understanding of statistical learning in language could help create interventions that enhance language development and pattern recognition. However, most research studies on statistical language learning have focused on a select group—monolinguals—ignoring the bilingual community that represent 43% of the world’s population. As such, I review current literature on the unique language learning processes of bilinguals and ask the following research questions: Does bilingualism affect language learning speed, and if so, does it increase or decrease it? When subjects first acquired their second language, what key factors (such as age, proficiency, and whether their second language can be considered another native language) are present? Are there advantages or disadvantages associated with bilingualism in regard to statistical learning and language and how does this compare in relation to monolingualism? To answer these questions, I examined 10 articles that focus on languages across numerous learned languages. A preliminary review of the literature shows that bilinguals have different processes of statistical learning in language development compared to that of their monolingual counterparts. They also indicate that age at which a language is acquired further affects these learning processes. Additionally, results could reveal advantages to bilingualism that strengthen these language learning processes. This literature review can inform future research and studies of the effects of more than one language on statistical learning in language development and point to the need for additional research on not only bilinguals, but also trilinguals, etc.

Nationwide, many states are starting to provide training in evidence-based treatments for psychological disorders to clinicians from mental health organizations. In Washington state, many clinicians participate in a Cognitive Behavioral Therapy training (CBT+) each year, which employs a common elements approach to address multiple psychological disorders common in children. However, there has been limited research on clinicians’ underlying reasons for participating in these trainings. Thus, this study examines main motivations behind why clinicians participate in CBT+, along with whether or not differences in motivation exist amongst clinicians with varying levels of familiarities with CBT prior to training. In this study, surveys were distributed to CBT+ participants (N = 197) to self-report on a 5-point Likert scale their levels of agreement with each reason for participating in CBT+: organizational requirement, interest in learning/refreshing CBT skills, helping clients, and professional development.The participants also self-reported on their frequencies of using CBT prior to training, with answers ranging from “almost always” to “never”. For understanding clinicians’ motivations in general, I employed descriptive statistics. For evaluating potential differences in motivation amongst clinicians, I used four two-way ANOVAs, a statistical test employed to analyze differences amongst means, with post-hoc Tukey tests to compare the level of agreement for each reason for participation amongst clinicians with high frequency (n = 62), moderate frequency (n = 78) , and low frequency (n = 57) of using CBT. Ultimately, understanding clinicians’ motivations for participating in the CBT+ can help researchers tailor advertisements and refine features of training programs.These adaptations may engage clinicians in more effective ways by indicating how trainings can help them attain their specific goals. Future directions of research can investigate whether specific adaptations in response to clinicians’ motivations can enhance learning outcomes and feelings of satisfaction of clinicians.

Harmful myths are widely circulated about the cognitive effects of bilingualism on children. Studies tend to focus on bilingualism’s effects on overall executive functioning, but looking at preschoolers’ metaphor comprehension allows us to explore a specific, challenging area. Preschoolers struggle to comprehend metaphors, possibly because the mutual exclusivity bias inhibits their understanding that there can be multiple labels for one concept. However, this may not apply to bilingual children, as they were raised with the understanding that there are multiple words for the same meaning. Additionally, examining different types of metaphors and seeing which are harder for children (with fixed factors of age and language exposure), informs us further of this development. In the present study, we aim to understand if early language exposure affects metaphor comprehension and if the metaphor type affects children’s comprehension ability. I run 2.5-4.5 year-old subjects through our study every week by asking them to choose which of two pictures answers my question. Half of my questions are perceptual metaphors, where children can compare visual components to understand the metaphor (e.g. “Which dog is wearing socks?” about two photos of dogs, one with white paws). The other half are abstract metaphors, where children must apply conceptual mapping between two discrete domains (e.g. “Which kid is having a bumpy day” about two photos of kids, one dropping his books and frowning while the other holds his books and smiles). We hypothesize that bilingual children will perform better on the metaphor comprehension tasks because they lack the mutual exclusivity bias. We also predict that perceptual metaphors will be easier because they only require visual comparison. The results of our study can be used to provide clarity on the bilingualism controversy and illuminate challenges and areas of future research in language development.

There is great interest in understanding how experiences of adversity impact mental health. In particular, adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) can have long-term negative effects on a wide range of adult health and mental health outcomes. One mechanism of this effect might be the impact of adversity on cardiac functioning via regulation of the parasympathetic nervous system by the prefrontal cortex. This regulation is measured using respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), or regular variation in heart rate with respiration. Higher baseline RSA indicates better trait emotional regulation, while lower baseline RSA indicates reduced emotional regulation and greater risk of psychopathology. This project explores the pathways from mothers' ACEs to infants’ RSA, highlighting the potential for intergenerational transmission of experiences of adversity. Data were obtained from 120 mothers and their infants living in low-income contexts. Baseline RSA is calculated using electrocardiogram recordings taken as the mother sits quietly with the infant on her lap. Mothers completed questionnaires related to stress, mental health, financial security, and adversity. Data was collected at two time-points: when the infant was 2-4 months of age (T1) and 4-6 months of age (T2). The results from multiple regression analyses showed that higher current economic insecurity predicted lower baseline RSA in infants at T1 (Β=.299, p=.004) but not in mothers, whereas mothers’ report of ACEs predicted lower maternal baseline RSA at T1 (Β=-.226, p=.032). Higher maternal baseline RSA at T1 predicted increases in infant RSA from T1 to T2 (Β=.306, p=.024). Exploring impacts of maternal RSA and risk context on infant RSA is significant as low infant RSA can impact growth, coping, and mental health outcomes. The findings also indicate a pathway from maternal experiences of adversity as a child to emotional regulation in mothers, and in turn, to subsequent psychophysiological functioning of infants. 

Metaphors are used continuously in everyday language and they can subtly shift how we perceive and respond to stimuli. Metaphors can also be used in the media to frame complicated topics. For example, describing climate change as a war (“combat excessive energy use”), instead of a race (“get in front of this challenging problem”), can lead to the perception of greater urgency and risk. There have been previous studies that have looked at metaphors surrounding current events but they have primarily relied on manual metaphor identification methods. The purpose of this project is to develop an automated system to identify metaphorical language. The data we are using are New York Times articles about COVID-19 from February through August 2020. We are using the tidyverse and corpus packages in the programming language R to create this pipeline. First, we created a corpus of articles in R, then we created a process to filter and analyze the text. So far, we have identified multiple metaphors used when writing about COVID, such as the “war” metaphor and the “journey” metaphor. The media discusses our “invisible enemy” and our “path forward” during the pandemic. Currently, our pipeline maintains sentences that use our target metaphors while filtering out sentences that contain literal or non-metaphorical language (such as “culture war” or “World War II”). Creating an automated process for analyzing corpora (a collection of texts) for metaphorical language in the COVID articles will allow us to gain a deeper understanding of how the usage of metaphors has changed throughout the pandemic. This pipeline will also allow us to analyze other texts and media for metaphors which will give us greater insight into how culture, language, and perception interact.

Aptitude tests are commonly used to measure an individual’s potential to learn a new skill or succeed in a new domain. However, psychometric measures of aptitude are constrained by issues of measurement validity and are susceptible to systemic biases. An alternate neuropsychometric approach is to leverage individual differences in task-free brain characteristics to measure aptitude. Previous researchers have employed this approach using task-free electroencephalography (EEG). Specifically, their work has provided evidence that higher power in the beta frequency band (~13-29.5 Hz), particularly over the right hemisphere, predicts as much as 60% of the variance in the rate at which individuals learn a second-language or a programming language. However, it is unclear what drives this observed relation between beta power and learning rate. The current study explores the mechanistic explanation of this relation, and hypothesizes that this relation is driven by either individual differences in motor control or cognitive control more generally. To test these hypotheses, we tested if individual differences in behavioral measures of motor control (i.e., the Stop Signal task) and/or cognitive control (i.e., the Simon task) mediate the relation between task-free beta power and language learning rate. Contrary to our hypotheses, neither measure of cognitive or motor control mediated the relation between beta power and learning rate. The results of the present study extend previous work relating beta power and learning rate, but future work is needed to elucidate the mechanism driving this relation.

My project is about automated classification of vicarious trial and error (VTE), a behavior observed in rats when they pause and look around before making decisions during a spatial memory task. During delayed spatial alternation (DSA) tasks, a rat is randomly placed on one of two start arms of a plus maze, with reward delivered on alternating arms for each trial. The movements of rats are recorded as position data while they perform the task.

Since our lab don’t have a commonly agreed upon criteria for VTE classification with our maze, manual scoring of VTE with recorded behavioral data has been time consuming, requiring many people to do the same work. Thus, my mentor and I decided to make a machine learning program to achieve automated and highly efficient VTE classification.

I first produced a representative data set with trials that were manually scored and commonly agreed by our lab members. Then, my mentor and I figured out several quantifiable features of VTEs and non-VTEs based on the representative data set. My mentor and I used machine learning algorithms to let our program learn those features that separate VTEs from not VTEs and help us accomplish automatic classification of VTEs with raw behavioral data from the DSA task. Preliminary result indicates that the supervised classification by the program aligns well with manual scoring, with roughly the same degree of agreement. Thus, I am currently transiting from a fully supervised method to a semi-supervised method, which allows almost full automation and minimal manual oversight. This work will provide insights for the behavioral strategy of rats throughout learning and guide us to find the connection between VTE behavior and neural circuitry.

Having a female role model who possesses traditionally masculine traits like assertiveness and independence might inspire other women to join a company. However, we believe it might also signal a company's masculine work culture, and thus make applying to this company a less appealing choice for female applicants. Our research aims to test the hypothesis that women will be less interested in applying to a company that has stereotypically masculine female role models. In this study we designed with our group, participants will read either a profile of a stereotypically masculine or feminine female employee, and then answer a series of questions about their impressions of the company and their interest in working in that company. We expect the result to show that female participants are less interested in applying for a company when shown with the profile of a masculine female employee. We hope this study will expand our understanding of gender expression in the work environment and develop a novel intervention to increase gender diversity.

The push for social change seen in modern sociopolitical movements is rooted in the social divide between majority and minority populations. Liberation psychology is a field that seeks to address these disparities through reconciliatory and transgressive practices that incorporate and amplify the voices of those affected. In its support for the values, histories and concerns of oppressed groups, liberation psychology offers tools for examining broad sociopolitical struggles and challenging contemporary systems of oppression that perpetuate social inequalities. This perspective also provides a framework for understanding the motivation and actions of individuals who are engaged in processes of political resistance and dismantling existing power structures.

This theoretical review of the current literature uses the lens of liberation psychology (also referred to as critical or radical psychology) to deconstruct the factors that lead up to transformative collective action by marginalized communities. Specifically, we compare core social movements in history with modern protests by examining the interplay between societal structures, cultural assumptions, and psychological responses in which they occur, grounding this analysis within critical theory.

While the reasons for protests vary across geographic region, time, and population, our research on the dynamics of oppression has revealed five motivating factors of social movements: grievances, emotions, identity, efficacy, and social embeddedness. Understanding the psychological forces behind revolutionary action is imperative to understanding and bolstering the foundational impact and social change that such future movements can bring about.

 As international students make up an unignorable part of the public university population in the U.S., there is a need to better understand their inclusion and involvement on campus. Inclusion in the university community and local society is not only important for international students' success in their college education, but also critical for the benefits of U.S. colleges in terms of economic revenue, diversity, and knowledge & cultural exchange (Bevis, 2002; Harrison, 2002). In this study, we are interested to learn more about the relationship between international students’ perceived community inclusion and their participation in university services and support programs. In a pilot study, 69 students (36 International, 45 Asian, 18 White, 6 Other racial groups) completed an online survey on the Psychology Online Research Pool Program at the University of Washington. Preliminary analyses show that international students show significantly less sense of inclusion in the U.S. compared to domestic students. Additionally, the sense of inclusion in the university is correlated with students’ usage of university services for international students but not for domestic students. The study has provided insights into the differences between international and domestic students’ perceived inclusion in the public university community and their opinions around university programs that aim to foster student success. It also has the potential to help public universities better understand and serve their student body.

The freemium business model has taken the video game world by storm and generated billions of dollars in the process. At first glance, this model seems user-friendly. This literature review will assess many aspects of this business design to prove it is not by using operant conditioning theory, expert's critical analysis of the business design, and empirical study results that reveal addiction potential. This model also promotes player information collection to create targeted ads. Considering these game's primary target demographic is adolescents, saving and selling their information is predatory monetization, raising privacy concerns. After recognizing these principles at work, the next step is advocating for regulations to restrain and make the freemium model more transparent and safe. This will prevent young children from creating harmful habits during a vulnerable stage of development.

Schools are an accessible setting in which to embed youth mental health care; however, anecdotal evidence indicates that caregivers may be less involved in treatment when it is school based. Previous literature examines the relationship between clinician embeddedness across different settings and the involvement of youths’ caregivers. However, it does not evaluate the quality of clinician’s contact with caregivers. This retrospective study aims to compare the frequency of clinician contact with youths’ caregivers across school versus non-school-based mental health care settings. I will extend the previous literature by evaluating the quality of clinician’s contact with caregivers (phone versus in-person). Data for this study came from a Washington State-funded cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT+) training initiative in 2019-2020. All participants were clinicians (N=215) who attended an in-person training followed by six months of expert consultation, completed pre-training and post-consultation surveys, and received CBT+ certificates upon completion. In the surveys, participants reported demographic information, amount of school-based practice, and frequency of caregiver contact. I will conduct chi-squared tests to assess the associations between degree of school-based practice and frequency of interaction between clinicians and youths’ caregivers. I hypothesize that there will be less caregiver contact with school-based clinicians compared to non-school-based clinicians, and less caregiver contact with full-time school-based clinicians compared to part-time school-based clinicians. Next, I will use descriptive statistics to summarize the frequencies of phone versus in-person contacts between clinicians and caregivers. Findings from this study can better inform our understanding of clinician involvement with youths’ caregivers across different service settings, which could aid in efforts to improve the quality of mental health care delivered in schools.

Violence exposure during childhood has been associated with increased post-traumatic stress symptoms, negative physical health outcomes, and risk of future violence perpetration and victimization. Psychotherapy may help buffer against the negative consequences of violence exposure: however, little is known about how community-based clinicians address violence exposure in psychotherapy. Data for the present study came from CBT+ — a statewide, state-funded training initiative for child-focused community mental health clinicians in Washington State. As part of the training evaluation, CBT+ training participants completed a survey that assessed their comfort with addressing violence and aggression and the frequency with which they address these topics in therapy. Using data collected from this survey, we aimed to describe 1) clinicians’ comfort level in addressing issues of violence and aggression during therapy; and 2) the frequency with which clinicians address violence and aggression during therapy. Our results included descriptive data (mean, standard deviation, and range) on clinician’s comfort and frequency addressing violence and aggression, which indicated clinicians did not frequently address violence and aggression in therapy settings and did not have a high level of comfort addressing the topics . Understanding clinician’s comfort and frequency in addressing violence and aggression is an important step toward ensuring the CBT+ training is best meeting the needs of clinicians in preparing them to address these topics during therapy. Clinicians who are willing to openly discuss violence in therapy may benefit clients by helping to reduce the negative mental health effects associated with violence exposure. Findings can help inform future CBT+ trainings on addressing violence and aggression to improve clinician comfort and increase the frequency with which clinicians address violence and aggression.

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines social determinants of health (SDH) as “the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work, and age”, all of which shape the conditions of daily life. There is significant evidence that those who have lower socioeconomic status’ and lower education are more likely to experience various mental health disorders (GAD, depression, etc.), and often do not have adequate services available to combat those disorders. Consequently, there has been increased attention to the importance of social determinants of health (socioeconomic status, living with racism, unstable housing) in relation to providing psychotherapies. We are looking to understand if prior to cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)+ training, clinicians had received any training in social determinants of health, and if clinicians incorporate SDH into their delivery of CBT. Our descriptive analysis examines 195 licensed clinicians, and their answers to a variety of questions on their past training on social determinants. Based on past research, it is predicted that the majority of clinicians will have received some type of prior training on social determinants in relation to their delivery of CBT. Due to the importance of considering a variety of social determinants when conducting CBT, it is also predicted that clinicians often tailor their CBT to account for different SDH that their patients might be experiencing. This analysis will give organizations knowledge of what areas of training are being utilized by clinicians, therefore, giving them insight on what further trainings may be appropriate. This study may also help guide researchers when further studies surrounding CBT, and implementation are conducted.

Delivering psychotherapy via telehealth has become a necessity during the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure individuals with mental health problems continue to get access to evidence-based treatments (ESTs). Many clinical settings were unprepared for the transitioning from delivering therapy in-person into via telehealth, introducing many barriers for clinicians and patients. Several studies have found that telehealth can increase the accessibility of therapy and reduce costs associated with travel. Although telehealth has provided significant benefits, making it a potential long-term medium for delivering therapy, it has also posed several barriers that must be addressed for its use after the COVID-19 pandemic. In this study, we explored the barriers that clinicians experienced when transitioning from in-person therapy to telehealth. Data came from a Washington state-funded cognitive-behavioral therapy training initiative. Clinicians completed pre-training and post-consultation surveys. Survey questions covered a list of barriers that clinicians had to rank from a scale of 0 (not a barrier at all) to 10 (a very significant barrier). Barriers included technological problems to issues conducting clinical assessments. Descriptive statistics will be used to summarize clinicians’ responses. Clinicians may continue to use telehealth even beyond the pandemic and this may become the possible standard of care. In order to improve the delivery of ESTs via telehealth, we must understand clinicians’ barriers to using telehealth, and then identify ways to ensure using telehealth to deliver ESTs is feasible, acceptable, sustainable, and effective.

Previous studies have shown that the anatomical structure of the visual cortex is altered in individuals who become blind early in life. Here we examine whether blindness also affects the anatomical structure of auditory cortices. In sighted individuals, there is increased folding of the primary auditory cortex in professional musicians and musically trained children. Given that blind individuals must rely heavily on auditory information, we thought it possible that auditory areas of the brain might also be structurally altered by early blindness. Our goal is to measure the effects of early blindness on auditory cortices, by measuring cortical folding, surface area, and the amount of grey matter. These measures are compared in four groups of participants: anophthalmic (individuals whose eyes never develop, so no retinal signals reach cortex during prenatal development), congenitally blind (blind at birth), late blind, and sighted individuals. The auditory cortex is identified in each individual using an anatomical template, which is further refined manually. Our results provide important insights into how the auditory cortex is affected by the loss of vision. If differences between blind and sighted subjects occur prenatally, then we expect to see altered auditory cortex structure in individuals who are anophthalmic, but not in individuals who are congenitally blind or become blind late in life. If these differences develop in early infancy, then we expect to see altered auditory cortex structure in individuals who are anophthalmic and congenitally blind, but not in individuals who became blind later in life. Any alterations in structures that are due to an ongoing increased reliance on auditory information, would be present in all blind individuals.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 264 million people of all ages suffer from depression globally. Depression is associated with a variety of psychosocial and physical impairments that can each act as both a risk for and consequence of depression. In particular, sleep disturbance commonly accompanies depression and is often a target for remediation in depression treatment (e.g., CBT-I). However, some individuals are more prone to sleep problems (e.g., young adults) than others and not every individual with sleep problems or depression develops the other. Therefore, idiographic approaches that build personalized models which are sensitive to individual heterogeneity are needed to better understand day-to-day links between depression symptoms and sleep problems. In the current study, we hypothesize that the links between specific hygiene behaviors and depression symptoms from day-to-day will be different from person to person. Ambulatory assessment (AA) data was collected from young adults to test whether common sleep hygiene practices are associated with sleep quality, negative affect, anhedonia, and other depression-related phenomena uniformly across individuals. We identified the sleep hygiene behaviors that have person-specific (vs. universal) links with depression and mood across individuals. Our results will have important implications for better understanding how sleep problems exacerbate or maintain depression symptoms for each individual so that more specific aspects of behavior may be targeted in treatment (e.g., CBT-I) to improve its relevance to the individual.