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    Doing good and feeling well : understanding the relationship between volunteering and mental wellbeing in older adult populations through the application of a social-cognitive theory of depression : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctorate in Clinical Psychology at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2015) Cooper, Louise Elizabeth
    Previous research indicates that volunteering can improve positive psychological wellbeing, and protect against the onset of depressive symptoms amongst older adults. However, the mechanisms at play in the relationship remain unclear. This research project analysed two data sets in order to test the predictions of a social-cognitive theory of depression as it applies to the volunteering-psychological wellbeing relationship. A social cognitive theory of depression (as described by Oatley and Bolton (1985)) suggests that older adults are susceptible to symptoms of depression and reduced psychological wellbeing when difficult life events limit their ability to maintain social roles that have previously facilitated investment in valued facets of their self-concept. Therefore, volunteering may compensate for such role losses by enabling older adults to continue to contribute to their sense of self through their volunteering role, and subsequently protect them from the effects that such role-loss may have on their psychological functioning. Using longitudinal data from a New Zealand-based sample, this research illustrates that older adults who have relatively poorer physical health are more likely to be protected from experiences of depressive symptoms as a result of consistently volunteering than those who experience higher levels of health. Analyses of longitudinal data also provide some evidence that employment status may moderate the impact of volunteering consistency on protection against symptoms of depression. In addition, analyses of cross-sectional data demonstrate a relationship between contributions to self-concept through the enactment of social roles, and better psychological wellbeing. This research also suggests that the extent to which negative life events limit a person’s ability to invest in their sense of self is related to psychological wellbeing outcomes. Finally, it is suggested that the amount of investment in self-concept facilitated by a volunteering role is related to psychological wellbeing. However, investment in self-concept through volunteering was not shown to moderate the relationship between pertinent life stressors, and psychological wellbeing. To a large extent, these findings align with a social-cognitive theory of depression (Oatley & Bolton, 1985), but they raise questions about the way that compensatory coping through social role changes has previously been theorised.
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    False memories and ageing : source-monitoring interventions reduce false recognition in both younger and older adults : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Clinical Psychology at Massey University, Manawatu, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2015) Sim, Rachael
    The purpose of the current research was to examine age-related differences in false recognition and attempt to establish whether these differences were best explained by the fuzzy-trace theory, source-monitoring processes (as part of the activation-monitoring theory), or sensitivity and/or criterion differences in signal detection ability. Eighty participants (40 younger adults, 16-30 years old, and 40 older adults, 75-80 years old) were randomly assigned to one of two experimental conditions. Twenty participants from each age group completed one of two versions of the Deese (1959) Roediger and McDermott (1995) false recognition task (DRM). The standard version required a simple old/new recognition judgement, while the source-monitoring version also required a source judgement. The results showed that older adults were sometimes, but not always, more prone to making false recognition errors compared to younger adults. Requiring source judgements decreased false recognition in both younger and older adults to a similar extent. Signal detection analyses showed that older adults were less sensitive than younger adults, and those in the source-monitoring condition were more conservative than those in the standard condition when making decisions about whether items were old. These and other results are discussed in terms of their implications and applications to real life false memories. As expected the results did not favour one theoretical perspective over another. Most of the results can be adequately explained by both the fuzzy-trace and activation-monitoring theory, although source-monitoring processes provided a simpler explanation of the research findings than fuzzy-trace theory or an appeal to bias and/or sensitivity differences.
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    Improving memory in midlife : a multiple case study evaluation of a group-based memory programme for healthy middle-aged individuals : a dissertation presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Clinical Psychology at Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2012) Scheibner, Gunnar Benjamin
    The research presented in this thesis evaluates a memory programme (N = 5) that was specifically designed for middle-aged individuals. A preliminary online survey (N = 409) examined the theory of Selective Optimisation with Compensation (SOC) in the context of everyday memory. The survey informed some aspects of the memory programme by examining the relationships between cognitive failures, memory compensation efforts, and control beliefs. Results indicated that SOC endorsement accounted for a significant reduction in everyday cognitive failures (i.e., forgetfulness, distractibility, and false triggering) and a higher sense of memory control. The beneficial effects of memory control beliefs were partially mediated by SOC endorsement. Counter to expectations, SOC endorsement did not affect the forgetfulness/memory compensation relationship. The Midlife Memory Programme, containing four treatment components (i.e., goal pursuit, memory and ageing education, strategy training, and group discussions), was evaluated by a before/after design with a three month follow-up. The data showed improvements in objective and subjective memory performance and worries about memory performance decrements diminished. While the findings were encouraging, a larger scale study is needed to establish the efficacy of the programme.
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    Memory mistakes and ageing : how susceptibility to false recognition and the illusory truth effect changes across the lifespan : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Psychology at Massey University, Manawatu, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2010) Sim, Rachael
    The purpose of the current research was to investigate if there was a common susceptibility to false memories and the illusory truth effect, and how performance in these two tasks varied with age. False memories were investigated using the Deese (1959) Roediger and McDermott (1995) (DRM) recognition paradigm, and the illusory truth effect was examined by asking participants to read and rate a set of statements labelled as true or false, and then soon after rate the truth of a subset of the previously presented statements amongst a set of new statements. The study followed a quasi-experimental, within/between-subjects design. The participants were 161 individuals aged from 16 to 92 years old. The sample was divided into three similar-sized age groups: young (16-39), middle (40-60), and old (61+). It was hypothesised that there would be a common susceptibility to DRM false memories and the illusory truth effect, and that older adults would perform more poorly than the young and middle age groups on the two tasks, and that the middle age group would perform more poorly on the two tasks than the young group. The results showed that only the old group demonstrated a common susceptibility to the two tasks. Unexpectedly, there were no age-related differences in the DRM false recognition task. However, in the illusory truth effect task the older groups’ performance was poorer compared to the younger two groups, but performance did not differ between the young and middle age groups. These results (along with others) are discussed in relation to the mechanisms believed to underpin performance in the two tasks.