Browsing by Subject "Expectations"

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
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    Everyone Wants An "A": The Role of Academic Expectations in Academic Performance
    (2019-08) Fortney, Sarah Katherine; Rand, Kevin L.; Cyders, Melissa; Stewart, Jesse C.
    Expectations are a key aspect of human success and behavior that predict outcomes in a variety of settings, including academics. Trait expectations (e.g., hope and optimism) and previous experiences appear relevant to the formation of specific expectations. Specific expectations predict outcomes, with positive expectations predicting better outcomes. In academics, positive specific expectations predict improved academic performance; however, there are aspects of this relationship that are unclear. This study sought to examine the formation of specific academic expectations and the relationship between these expectations and academic performance. The current study aimed to replicate previous research about the unique influences of academic expectations, expand this knowledge by examining possible mechanisms of the relationship between academic expectations and academic performance, and test how previous academic experience affected this relationship. Results of this study showed that previous GPA and optimism, but not hope, predicted academic expectations. Academic expectations predicted academic performance, but this relationship was not mediated by study time or stress. Finally, previous GPA moderated the relationship between academic expectations and academic performance, such that the positive association between academic expectations and academic performance was stronger for those with poorer prior performance.
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    The Role of Trait and Specific Expectations in the Dysmenorrhea Experience
    (2024-08) Rogers, Sarah K.; Rand, Kevin L.; Mosher, Catherine E.; Stewart, Jesse C.; Chen, Chen X.
    Dysmenorrhea is the most common pain condition in reproductive-aged women and is characterized by pain during menstruation. Dysmenorrhea has far-reaching effects, such as increased psychological distress, increased relationship problems, reduced physical activity, and decreased sleep efficiency. It is the leading cause of absenteeism in this population. Though dysmenorrhea impacts many women and has such far-reaching effects, it has not been studied as extensively as other pain conditions, specifically regarding trait expectations and specific expectations. In other pain conditions, hope and optimism, the two most studied trait expectations, are protective factors for pain severity, interference, and the psychological effects of pain. Trait expectations additionally predict specific expectations, with hope predicting specific expectations related to the self, and optimism predicting specific expectations related to experiences. Both self- and experience-expectations predict outcomes, such as pain severity and pain tolerance. The current study sought to 1) examine the factor structure of specific expectations for dysmenorrhea; 2) examine the roles of trait and specific expectations in predicting dysmenorrhea; and 3) examine the roles of trait expectations and dysmenorrhea in predicting psychological adjustment. A longitudinal study of 389 menstruating women, over the age of 18, who could read and write English was conducted through CloudResearch. Confirmatory factor analysis and mixed latent- and measured-variable path analysis were used. Results indicated two distinct factors of specific expectations, pain-expectation and self- expectation. Hope predicted self-expectation, which predicted dysmenorrhea interference. Pain- expectation predicted dysmenorrhea severity and interference. Additionally, both hope and optimism predicted psychological adjustment. Dysmenorrhea interference predicted psychological distress. However, trait expectations did not predict dysmenorrhea. This study is the first to examine the associations among trait expectations, specific expectations, and dysmenorrhea and expands on the differences between dysmenorrhea and other pain conditions.
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    The effect of dysmenorrhea severity and interference on reactions to experimentally-induced pain
    (Frontiers Media, 2024-07-23) Rogers, S. K.; Nichols, K. L.; Ahamadeen, N.; Shanahan, M. L.; Rand, K. L.; Psychology, School of Science
    Introduction: Dysmenorrhea is associated with increased risk of chronic pain and hyperalgesia. Menstruating individuals with dysmenorrhea are more likely to have elevated pain reactivity when experiencing experimental pain, than those without. However, no study has examined intragroup differences in reactions to experimentally induced pain for individuals with dysmenorrhea. The main aim of this study was to examine the relative roles of dysmenorrhea severity and interference in the experience of experimentally-induced pain. Methods: Participants were 120 menstruating individuals involved in a larger research study examining the influence of expectations on experimentally-induced pain. As part of the study, participants completed an online questionnaire regarding demographic and menstrual information and participated in a cold pressor task. Participants were randomized into four groups based on the manipulation of two independent variables: (1) high vs. low expectations about pain severity (pain-expectations); (2) and high vs. low expectations about one's pain tolerance (self-expectations). Participants verbally rated their pain severity throughout the cold pressor task using a 0-10 scale. Regression analyses were conducted examining the relationships between dysmenorrhea experience (i.e., average severity and interference) and cold pressor data [pain severity ratings and pain tolerance (i.e., total time in the cold pressor)], controlling for the manipulated expectations and age. Then, moderation analyses were conducted examining expectation group differences. Results: When controlling for manipulated expectations and age, dysmenorrhea severity significantly predicted initial pain severity rating (p = 0.022) but did not predict final pain severity rating (p = 0.263) or pain tolerance (p = 0.120). Dysmenorrhea interference did not predict initial pain severity rating (p = 0.106), final pain severity rating (p = 0.134), or pain tolerance (p = 0.360). A moderation analysis indicated that the relationship between dysmenorrhea severity and initial pain severity rating was not moderated by pain-expectations, χ 2(1) = 0.412, p = 0.521. Discussion: During an experimentally-induced pain task, dysmenorrhea severity but not interference predicted initial pain severity rating, such that higher levels of dysmenorrhea severity predicted greater initial pain severity rating. This suggests individuals with more severe dysmenorrhea pain may experience greater initial sensitivity to pain and be at risk for increased sensitivity to acute pain and potentially the development of chronic pain.