Investigating the Impact of Unlimited Sucrose During Adolescence on Flex Maze Performance in Rats

As depression continues to impact many people, there are important considerations to be taken in how depression impacts people\u27s learning and motivations. The objective of this study is to examine the effects of unlimited sucrose consumption during adolescence, which can mimic symptoms of depression, on spatial memory and motivation in rats. The flex maze is used in the present study to assess these behaviors. Before initial training on the flex maze, 6 male rats were separated into two groups: an experimental group with unlimited access to 5% sucrose (and water) for approximately 3 weeks and a control group with free access to two bottles of plain water. Rats were first trained to complete the maze and during testing trials the time to complete the maze and the number of errors were recorded. Previous research has concluded that male rats fed a high-sucrose diet exhibited a delay in their ability to make decisions (Wong et al., 2017). Thus, we hypothesize that rats given unlimited access to sucrose water during adolescence would move slower in the flex maze due to the delay in making cognitive decisions because of depressive symptoms compared to control rats

Investigating Estrogen as a Biomarker for Depressive and Anxious Behavior in an Emotional Stroop Task

Sex differences have shown to have a profound effect on the increased prevalence of the development of depression and anxiety disorders within women. Women are two times more likely to suffer from major depression than men (Shors & Leuner, 2003). This suggests that gender-specific biological factors, specifically hormones, may be responsible. Women are known to have fluctuating levels of estrogen throughout their menstrual cycles. Furthermore, estrogen is also known to act as a protective mechanism against symptoms of both depression and anxiety. In order to examine any potential correlations between levels of estrogen and symptoms pertaining to Major Depressive Disorder or Generalized Anxiety Disorder, participants were recruited to partake in responding to a Qualtrics survey containing items from the Beck’s Hopelessness Inventory and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). Afterwards, participants were guided to complete an Emotional Stroop Task measuring accuracy and response time in reference to emotionally positive or negative words. To test the estrogen concentration levels of each participant, saliva samples will be collected and identified through conducting ELISA saliva tests. We hypothesize that there will be better performance on the Emotional Stroop task and decreased risk of depressive and anxious behavior based on a Beck’s Hopelessness Inventory and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory screening in participants with higher levels of estrogen. The results of this study further the discussion on how biological factors, such as estrogen, play a role in the mental health of women

How Spirituality Correlates with College Students’ Views on Potential Romantic Relationships

Choosing a romantic partner is a process that looks a little bit different for everyone. If a person is looking to marry at some point in their life, they may have certain criteria that each potential new partner has to meet. Some of the criteria that people may consider could be a number of characteristics such as sexual orientation, values, traditions, or even faith. In a study regarding the connection between religion and marriage, the majority of participants reported that they valued faith when seeking a successful lifelong partner (Marks, 2005). Furthermore, there is another study that examines how partner similarity between romantic partners provides a more satisfying relationship; however, faith compatibility has not been considered (Lutz-Zois et al., 2006). While there are plenty of studies looking into important factors when considering a romantic partner, there seems to be a gap in the literature when it comes to the role that religion plays when choosing a partner, which is the reason for this study. The purpose of this research is to examine possible correlations between a person’s religious values and their attitudes about potential romantic relationships. Two Likert surveys and some demographics questions will be answered by participants. It is anticipated that engagement in religious practice will positively correlate with the expectation to marry one’s current partner. We also predict that a higher rating of constraining beliefs about a partner will have a positive correlation with higher religious self-reports. Our last prediction is that reliance on religion for decision making will be positively correlated with the belief that living together first is a good way to test how manageable a marriage would be. Religiosity and choice of romantic partner are intertwined for many people. In this study we have learned that certain religious beliefs typically match up with certain beliefs about a potential romantic partner

Relationships Among Social and Nonsocial Use of Instagram, Social Anxiety, Neuroticism and Extraversion

Social media use has become one of the main forms of online connection in the digital age and proves to be a staple of social relations especially for adolescents and young adults. With the relatively recent emergence of social media popularity, there is room for exploration when it comes to the effects of different social media habits. Based on previous literature and studies, there has been a significant link found between social anxiety and neuroticism and the overuse of social media (Sindermann, 2020). A 2012 study added to the topic by identifying the distinction between “social” and “non-social” social media use (Fernandez, 2012). Through looking at what people are doing during their social media time on Instagram, we studied relationships between non-social and social Instagram use and social anxiety, neuroticism and extraversion. Our study was administered to 40 college students enrolled in Belmont University’s Introduction to Psychology course. We obtained our data from a Qualtrics survey that included the Big Five Inventory (BFI), Social Anxiety Scale – Social Media Usage (SAS-SMU), Instagram motives questionnaire, demographic questionnaire and consent and debriefing forms. Our first hypothesis is Non-social Instagram use is positively correlated with social anxiety, neuroticism and negatively correlated with extraversion. Our second hypothesis is social Instagram use is positively correlated with extraversion and negatively correlated with social anxiety and neuroticism. We found that our data supported both hypothesis 1 as well as hypothesis 2. With this data we hope to provide awareness towards individuals whose personalities might increase their risk of unhealthy social media use