ATTENTION: The software behind KU ScholarWorks is being upgraded to a new version. Starting July 15th, users will not be able to log in to the system, add items, nor make any changes until the new version is in place at the end of July. Searching for articles and opening files will continue to work while the system is being updated.
If you have any questions, please contact Marianne Reed at mreed@ku.edu .
The Impact of Abuse Exposure on Memory Processes and Attentional Biases in a College-Aged Sample
dc.contributor.advisor | Greenhoot, Andrea F. | |
dc.contributor.author | Bunnell, Sarah Loveland | |
dc.date.accessioned | 2008-07-14T23:21:38Z | |
dc.date.available | 2008-07-14T23:21:38Z | |
dc.date.issued | 2007-11-07 | |
dc.date.submitted | 2007 | |
dc.identifier.other | http://dissertations.umi.com/ku:2232 | |
dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/1808/3957 | |
dc.description.abstract | This research assessed whether attentional biases in response to negative stimuli were related to the poor specificity and low levels of emotional language that have previously been observed in stressed individuals. The relations between abuse and assessments of autobiographical memory, working memory, attentional biases, and psychopathology were examined in eighty college students, thirty-four of whom reported past experiences with abuse or domestic violence. Abuse history was unrelated to memory specificity, but recent abuse was related to lower levels of positive emotional language. Depressive symptoms were related to more negative emotional language and overgeneral memories. The analyses also indicated that child abuse exposure was associated with a subliminal bias to attend to abuse-related stimuli. An unconscious bias toward trauma, in turn, predicted fewer overgeneral, and more specific, memories. One implication is that poor memory specificity may be due to automatic attentional processes instead of strategic avoidance of potentially negative memory content. | |
dc.format.extent | 91 pages | |
dc.language.iso | EN | |
dc.publisher | University of Kansas | |
dc.rights | This item is protected by copyright and unless otherwise specified the copyright of this thesis/dissertation is held by the author. | |
dc.subject | Cognitive psychology | |
dc.subject | Developmental psychology | |
dc.subject | Abuse | |
dc.subject | Memory | |
dc.subject | Attentional biases | |
dc.title | The Impact of Abuse Exposure on Memory Processes and Attentional Biases in a College-Aged Sample | |
dc.type | Thesis | |
dc.contributor.cmtemember | Colombo, John | |
dc.contributor.cmtemember | Ingram, Rick | |
dc.thesis.degreeDiscipline | Psychology | |
dc.thesis.degreeLevel | M.A. | |
kusw.oastatus | na | |
kusw.oapolicy | This item does not meet KU Open Access policy criteria. | |
kusw.bibid | 6599353 | |
dc.rights.accessrights | openAccess |
Files in this item
This item appears in the following Collection(s)
-
Psychology Dissertations and Theses [459]
-
Theses [4088]