2004 Research Fair Archive - Psychology Abstracts

The Illusion of Control: What's Luck Got To Do With It?
by Andrea Breinholt and Lynnette A. Dalrymple

This study examines the relationship between desire for control and belief in luck as a predictor of illusory judgments.Breinholt and Dalrympleshow that under low involvement conditions one's belief in luck will predict amount wagered whereas under high involvement conditions desire for control will reliably predict the amount wagered.

To Sleep Perchance to Dream: Trauma Response and the Function of Nightmares and Rumination in Trauma Survivors
by Lynnette Astrid Dalrymple

Though extensive research in the field of trauma has been conducted, no definitive explanation has been found as to the function of nightmares in trauma survivors and what comprises the risk factors of maladaptive trauma response. Focusing on the cognitive processes involved in adaptation to trauma, Dalrymple reviews five of the best established and most substantiated theories. These five theories: Horowitz's (1986) theory of stress responses and Janoff Bulman's (1983, 1992) theory of assumptive worlds, Jones and Barlow's (1990) theory, Pennebaker's (1987) theory, and Litz and Keane's (1989) theory are comprehensive, influential, and innovative representations of empirical research. After review of these five theories, Dalrymple lists what future research needs to be done to attain further insight into the phenomenons of trauma and trauma response.