Honours Theses

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https://hdl.handle.net/10587/1235
Honours theses authored by undergraduate students in Department of Psychology.

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    The Inside of Coming Out: A Critical Autoethnography of Sexual Identity Transformation in Adulthood
    (Mount Saint Vincent University, 2025-04) Wright, Alicia
    This thesis explored the phenomenon of a reidentification of sexual identity, from heterosexual to lesbian, in middle life. As a source of data, the author used first person narratives to recount personal experience, highlighting three pivotal periods over a ten-year experience that conveyed the deconstruction, recognition, and synthesis of a sexual identity shift. Popular theories of identity formation were referenced in relation to this experience. Erikson’s (1959) theory of psychosocial development, where identity is understood to become stable in adolescence, was referenced as a comparison to the author’s identity challenge in her thirties. Additionally, Cass’ (1984) theory of Homosexual Identity Formation, which proposes six sequential stages that culminate in a disclosure of same-sex orientation, was used to contrast the author’s non-linear arrival at a non-heterosexual identity. Finally, queer theory was drawn upon to remove the heteronormative lens from the stories in this study and to critically view these experiences through an acknowledgment of religious, patriarchal, and heterosexist influence that acted to obscure non-heterosexual thoughts, feelings, and behaviours. Throughout this critical analysis, the controversy of whether sexuality is essential or socially constructed was addressed, suggesting an understanding of an interplay between nature and nurture that is mediated by an element of authenticity. The concluding discussion consolidates the findings by addressing three research questions relating to 1) how sexual identity transformation happens in adulthood, 2) whether this change is spontaneous or gradual, and 3) what psychosocial influences affect such a change. The results of this thesis serve to enhance existing psychological understanding of sexuality and identity by offering subjective and intersectional meaning to the current discourse.
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    An Evaluation of the Paths Curriculum in the Context of Theories of Social-Emotional Development
    (Mount Saint Vincent University, 2019-10) Foley, Bláthnaid
    Experiencing trauma, particularly within the primary caregiving environment can have a negative effect on the development of social-emotional skills, particularly self-regulation in children. School success is dependent upon social-emotional skills making it important for schools to have programs that teach social-emotional skills. PATHS is a social-emotional learning program widely used in schools in Nova Scotia. The study examined whether PATHS is a good curriculum to use in schools with children who have experienced trauma using a framework based on research about social-emotional learning and the developmental needs of traumatized children identified by the Attachment Regulation Competency (ARC) model. In general, the PATHS curriculum introduces social-emotional skills in a manner that could be beneficial for all students, but additional supports would likely be needed to address the individual areas of competency and difficulty and build the necessary skills of children who have experienced trauma. Recommendations are about implementing PATHS in a real school environment.
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    Evidence Based Best Practices in the Teaching of Written Expression: Implications for the Atlantic Provinces Educational Outcomes
    (Mount Saint Vincent University, 2013) Roberts, Crystal D.
    This thesis examined evidence-based best practices in the teaching of written expression in two phases. The first phase, linked evidence-based research on writing instruction directly to Atlantic Canada Curriculum outcomes (Grades 4-6) in writing. In the second phase, the Teaching in Action document (Nova Scotia Department of Education, 2007) was analyzed to determine the nature of evidence for the components of effective instruction as explained by the Learning Oriented Teaching (LOT) model (Cate, Snell, Mann, & Vermunt, 2004). Effective components in instruction include the development of basic writing skills, metacognitive skills, motivation and the gradual release of responsibility from teacher to student. This thesis can benefit Nova Scotia teachers as it can serve as a clear and simple reference that links empirically supported teaching practices to curriculum outcomes. It also provides recommendations to enrich outcomes within the English language arts curriculum.
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    Validation and Characterization of a New Attention Task in Typically Developing Children and Adolescents
    (Mount Saint Vincent University, 2012-09) Fisher, Megan Joan
    Research has shown that our attentional system is comprised of three different networks: alerting, orienting, and executive control. While much research has been completed on these attentional networks, studies have most often employed the Attention Network Task (ANT). Even though the ANT is widely used in attentional research and has been revised, modified and/or adapted to be child-friendly, the fact remains that it has several psychometric and methodologically limitations. The purpose of the present study was to examine the validity of the Combined Attentional Systems Task (CAST), a new attentional task developed in response to the limitations of the ANT. A total of twenty-four typically developing children and adolescents (ages 8-16) completed the CAST. Overall, results yielded the expected main effects for orienting, alerting and executive control. Age effects were also found for participant reaction times for orienting and executive control. These findings provide support for the validity of the CAST in the age range examined in the current study.
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    Linking recommendations from psycho-educational reports to curriculum outcomes for the Atlantic Provinces: Examining evidence-based practices in reading instruction.
    (Mount Saint Vincent University, 2008-08) Kara K., MacLeod-MacDougall
    This thesis examined evidence-based practices in instruction for students struggling to acquire reading skills. These practices were then used to formulate recommendations which relate to the Atlantic Canada English language arts curriculum outcomes. The two main purposes for this thesis were to better inform school psychologists and teachers about evidence-based practices in reading instruction for students who struggle with reading; and to relate psycho-educational recommendations to the curriculum outcomes provided in the Atlantic Canada English Language Arts Curriculum, both in the Elementary K-3 (e.g., New Brunswick Department of Education Curriculum Development Branch, 1998) and Grades 4-6 (e.g., Nova Scotia Department of Education and Culture, 1998) documents.