Heidi A. Wayment

Northern Arizona University | NAU · Department of Psychological Sciences

Background Disease control relies on pathogen identification and understanding reservoirs. Staphylococcus aureus infection prevention is based upon decades of research on colonization and infection, but diminishing returns from mitigation efforts suggest significant knowledge gaps. Existing knowledge and mitigation protocols are founded upon cultur...

Well-known predictors of prejudice toward Muslims include social dominance and authoritarianism. However, a gap exists for variables reflecting a rejection or mitigation of ideological motivations associated with prejudice toward Muslims. We examined if quiet ego was related to positive attitudes toward Muslims, and whether this could be explained...

There is consistent empirical support for the benefits of using adaptive selling behaviors with customers. However, the identification of trainable salesperson antecedents remains elusive in practice with respect to what enables salespeople to adapt their behaviors. We suggest that the salesperson’s personal resources provide unique, unexplored opp...

Agreement between self-reported dysphagic symptoms and actual swallowing physiology can vary widely across individuals. The Eating Assessment Tool-10 (EAT-10) is a self-report questionnaire commonly used to identify individuals with oropharyngeal dysphagia, but its interpretation for highly prevalent populations is poorly defined. Our primary objec...

Problem Research productivity is expected of academic faculty, and mentoring can facilitate it. This paper presents a framework for using mentoring to develop researchers in health disciplines. Approach We utilized recent literature reviews, and experience developing researchers at an emerging research institution within the Research Centers for M...

As women age, they typically experience a progressive decrease in skeletal muscle mass and strength, which can lead to a decline in functional fitness and quality of life. Resistance training (RT) has the potential to attenuate these losses. Although well established for men, evidence regarding the benefits of RT for women is sparse and inconsisten...

Mentoring to develop research skills is an important strategy for facilitating faculty success. The purpose of this study was to conduct an integrative literature review to examine the barriers and facilitators to mentoring in health-related research, particularly for three categories: new investigators (NI), early-stage investigators (ESI) and und...

This article provides a case study of a student-focused research experience that introduced basic data science skills and their utility for psychological research, providing practical learning experiences for students interested in learning computational social science skills. Skills included programming; acquiring, visualizing, and managing data;...

We examined predictors of subjective well-being (SWB) associated with do-it-yourself (DIY) activities in a sample of 525 self-identified DIYers through Amazon’s Mechanical Turk. We hypothesized that positive mood, feeling energized or aroused, and experiencing flow during DIY activities, would each contribute to subjective well-being (SWB), and, th...

Early disclosure of possible concussive symptoms has the potential to improve concussion-related clinical outcomes. The objective of the present consensus process was to provide useful and feasible recommendations for collegiate athletic departments and military service academy leaders about how to increase concussion symptom disclosure in their se...

This study was carried out to evaluate hypotheses generated by fundamental cause theory regarding the socioeconomic status (SES) gradient in colonization with Staphylococcus aureus among Hispanic and non-Hispanic adults living in a border community. Participants ( n = 613) recruited in naturally occurring small groups at public and private sites th...

Early disclosure of possible concussive symptoms has the potential to improve concussion-related clinical outcomes. The objective of the present consensus process was to provide useful and feasible recommendations for collegiate athletic departments and military service academy leaders about how to increase concussion symptom disclosure in their se...

We examined patterns of self-evaluative information use in a sample of college women who were trying to lose weight (N = 306). Participants described their weight loss experiences and answered questions about their self-evaluative activity via an online survey. The analysis strategy examined the relative use of four types of self-evaluative informa...

Social network analysis (SNA) is a uniquely situated methodology to examine the social connections between players on a team, and how team structure may be related to self-reported team cohesion and perceived support for reporting concussion symptoms. Team belonging was positively associated with number of friendship ties ( degree ; r = .23, p < .0...

Most of the health interventions designed to increase athletes’ reporting of potential concussion symptoms have focused only on the individual athlete. Unfortunately, interventions targeted at athletes’ knowledge and understanding of concussion risk has not reliably increased their reporting behavior, leading to increased calls for “changing the cu...

Background: Understanding concussed athletes' motivations for reporting concussion symptoms is important for health care professionals who are charged with the care, management, and prevention of future injury. Objectives: To examine if athletic and academic identity predict concussion symptom reporting intentions above and beyond traditional so...

Objective: Understand from whom concussed football players seek and receive emotional support, and whether this support is associated with injury perceptions. Participants: Football players (N = 26) from three NCAA Division I programs. Methods: With approval from the head athletic trainer, concussed athletes (2017 season) completed short surve...

While research on sport-related concussion has increased dramatically over the past decade, research investigating concussion reporting is in its early stages. The purpose of this project was to assess concussion reporting and work with stakeholders to develop and assess strategies to improve reporting. We used a multi-site, repeated measures desig...

Context: Few researchers have examined the views of important stakeholders in football student-athletes' spheres of influence and whether their views map well in a systems approach to understanding concussion-reporting behavior (CRB). Objective: To examine the extent to which stakeholders' beliefs about what influences football players' CRBs ref...

Introduction: Prevention and treatment of sport-related concussions is an important public health issue and has led to increased research on concussion symptom reporting behavior. To date, there is neither a common understanding of what constitutes concussion symptom reporting behavior nor measures that capture key features of concussion symptom r...

Unemployment can be associated with negative psychological and physical health outcomes when it undermines an individual’s sense of self-worth and confidence. This study examined whether quiet ego, a self-identity motivated by a compassionate stance toward the self and others would be positively associated with self-reported health. Further, we exp...

Objective: Examine the unique contributions of self-control and grit subscales (perseverance, interest consistency) as potential mediators of the relationship between quiet ego characteristics and less perceived stress in college students. Participants: Data from 1117 college students were collected between October, 2015 and May, 2016. Methods:...

Over the past several decades, increasing numbers of people have become involved in the do-it-yourself (DIY) or “Maker” movement, i.e., creating a wide range of products from home improvement to self-service to crafts. Little is known about the psychological benefits of these actions; there is an assumption that involvement ultimately increases qua...

We examined whether grief and general distress reactions characterized mothers’ reactions to their child’s ASD diagnosis, and whether these two types of reactions had unique predictors. Hierarchical regression analyses were conducted on data collected from 362 mothers recruited from the Interactive Autism Network (IAN). The mothers were predominant...

The impact of interpersonal violence extends beyond the victims and perpetrator(s). The purpose of this research was threefold: (a) to identify whether college students’ very early reactions to an on-campus shooting were associated with well-known predictors of distress, (b) to examine whether grief and distress reactions were distinguishable in th...

Posttraumatic growth theory posits that when life circumstances are perceived as stressful, secondary appraisal processes can be recruited in ways to facilitate both coping efforts and personal growth. Using a mixed-methods approach, we found mothers’ most challenging experiences involved child behavior (e.g. aggression, communication, and social i...

The quiet ego is a way of construing the self that transcends egotism, not by neglecting the self but rather by facilitating a balance of concerns for the self and others as well as by facilitating the growth of the self and others. This study examines whether the Quiet Ego Scale (QES—Wayment et al. in J Happiness Stud 16:999–1033, 2015) correlates...

This chapter shows how the qualities of a quiet ego counter the egotism of the noisy ego. Far from a squashed, deflated, or silenced ego, the quiet ego comes from a place of non-defensive strength. The quiet ego is a self-identity nurtured through deliberate reflection and endorsement of four values that promote balance and growth: detached awarene...

We examined a novel personal fitness training program that combines personal training principles in a small group training environment. In a typical training session, exercisers warm-up together but receive individualized training for 50 minutes with 1-5 other adults who range in age, exercise experience, and goals for participation. Study particip...

Purpose: To evaluate the concussion-reporting behaviors of collegiate football student athletes and gain insight into reasons contributing to the underreporting of concussion signs and symptoms. Methods: Eleven collegiate football student athletes with at least 1 more year of eligibility participated in focus groups using a semi-structured set of i...

The present study examined the ability of an interpersonal construct called athletic connectedness to mediate the relationship between task and ego goal orientations and well-being. We operationalised athletic social connectedness as a sense of social belonging and sense of connection with teammates. We hypothesised that athletic social connectedne...

The authors hypothesized that a textile art-making activity that was high in arousal, engagement, and positive mood and low in rumination and negative affect would be most effective for mood repair and would buffer inflammatory immune reactions. Forty-seven experienced textile handcrafters were asked to recall an upsetting situation before random a...

Hyland, Lee, and Mills (2015) provide ample evidence regarding the value of mindfulness to individuals and the industrial–organizational community as a whole. However, as they noted, mindfulness programs and practices have not yet found widespread implementation among businesses and other organizations. Hyland et al. suggest two primary reasons for...

Excessive self-concern increases perceptions of threat and defensiveness. In contrast, fostering a more inclusive and expanded sense of self can reduce stress and improve well-being. We developed and tested a novel brief intervention designed to strengthen a student's compassionate self-identity, an identity that values balance and growth by remind...

The quiet ego refers to a self-identity that transcends egoism and identifies with a less defensive, balanced stance toward the self and others. Study 1 establishes and confirms the 14-item Quiet Ego Scale (QES) as a higher-order latent factor (capturing the theoretical intersection of four first-order factors: detached awareness, inclusive identit...

Growth motivation is studied as a desire for personal growth, framed within a model of eudaimonic growth and self-development (Bauer and McAdams in Dev Psychol 46:761–772, 2010). Five studies examine two facets of growth motivation (reflective and experiential) that aim respectively toward two paths of eudaimonic self-development (maturity/wisdom a...

The Sacred Mountain Youth Project was conducted to investigate risk and protective factors related to alcohol and drug use among American Indian youth. Findings indicated that stressful life events were positively associated with depressed mood, substance use, and risky behavior; cultural identity had no direct effects, but a secondary model showed...

Western Buddhism has been of growing interest to scholars in the U.S. but most studies have been historical narrative accounts with few quantitative studies of Buddhists' religious practices and beliefs. No epidemiological studies of Buddhists' health have been published. A web survey of Buddhist religious practices and beliefs, medical history and...

Belief in a just world theory (BJWT) restoration strategies were longitudinally examined after the September 11 terrorist attacks. Analyses examined the influence of terrorism-related distress, identification with victims, and the passage of time on levels of group- and individual-level blame. Initial levels of distress were associated with less bl...

This prospective study examined the unique predictors of grief and depressed mood in a sample of gay men (34 HIV positive, 69 HIV negative) who lost a close friend to AIDS. Individuals low in self-esteem reported greater depressed mood but no differences in grief following the death. Individuals with personality factors that predispose toward negat...

We examined the relationship between meditation experience, psychological mindfulness, quiet ego characteristics, and self-reported physical health in a diverse sample of adults with a range of Buddhist experience (N=117) gathered from a web-based survey administered to Buddhist practitioners around the world between August 1, 2007 and January 31,...

A web survey of Buddhists' religious practices and beliefs, and health history and practices was conducted with 886 Buddhist respondents. Eighty-two percent were residents of the USA. Ninety-nine percent practiced Buddhist meditation and 70% had attended a formal retreat for intensive meditation practice. Eighty-six percent were converts to Buddhis...

A Web-based survey was conducted to study the religious and health practices, medical history and psychological characteristics among Buddhist practitioners. This report describes the development, advertisement, administration and preliminary results of the survey. Over 1200 Buddhist practitioners responded. Electronic advertisements were the most...

To evaluate racial/ethnic disparities in life satisfaction and the relative contributions of socioeconomic status (SES; education, income, employment status, wealth), health, and social relationships (social ties, emotional support) to well-being within and across racial/ethnic groups. In two cross-sectional, representative samples of U.S. adults (...

Little information is available about how departments might improve undergraduate students' access to research experience. At a midsized psychology department (550 majors, 21 full-time faculty), we identified 5 barriers in our existing program (lack of student awareness, unequal student access, poor curricular timing, lack of publicity, and uneven...

For decades social scientists have observed that Americans are becoming more selfish, headstrong, and callous. Instead of lamenting a cultural slide toward narcissism, Transcending Self-Interest: Psychological Explorations of the Quiet Ego provides a constructive framework for understanding--and conducting research on--both the problems of egocent...

The authors conducted a needs assessment among students and health-care providers of a southwestern university health center with the goal of developing health-care-provider training addressing substance-abuse screening and intervention. They collected data from focus groups of undergraduate students and structured interviews and questionnaires wit...

Many gay men who have tested negative for HIV were sexually active prior to a general awareness of how HIV is transmitted. Based on the work of Lifton (1980), such HIV-negative gay men may be considered “survivors” since they have witnessed the deaths of many members of their community and have been spared. Survivors may be expected to manifest one...

Risky and precautionary sexual behaviors were examined in a community sample of 260 single and married/cohabitating White women. Structural equation modeling was used to assess the ability of age, socioeconomic status (SES), marital status, religiosity, and 9 health belief constructs to predict risky sexual behavior with one's partner, using a barr...

The paper describes the process by which a team conducted a needs assessment and developed training programs to address service gaps in substance abuse prevention for young people.

This study examined the relationships between avoidant and ambivalent attachment dimensions, empathy, and helping behavior in the context of one of the most tragic examples of collective loss in the USA. US college students (314 total: 219 females, 95 males) completed questionnaires between 20 and 42 days after the September 11 terrorist attacks. R...

College students (60 female, 33 male) were asked to describe their personal standards for romantic relationships and what types of information were important for their creation. Respondents' open-ended responses revealed an average of over six standards, the content of which closely matched a comprehensive framework of relationship standards (Vange...

College students who had experienced no personal bereavement in the September 11 terrorist attacks completed questionnaires between 3 and 5 weeks after the attacks and 5 months later. Cross-sectional and longitudinal structural equation model (SEM) analyses revealed that general distress and disaster-focused distress are discernable reactions follo...

Individuals who were exposed to the terrorist attacks of September 11th through the media but suffered no personal bereavement may have experienced a "collective loss." College students (314 total, 219 females, 95 males) completed questionnaires between 20 and 42 days after the attacks. Structural equation modeling was used to examine theoretically...

The contemporary view of perfectionism is that it is a multidimensional construct (e.g., Frost, Marten, Lahart, & Rosenblate, 1990; Hewitt & Flett, 1991), and that the dimensions comprising perfectionism can have either adaptive or maladaptive influences upon cognition, affect, and behavior. Research in non-sport settings has consistently shown tha...

The relationships between self esteem, self evaluative information use, and athletic performance were examined among 103 intercollegiate athletes. As predicted, personal standards were rated as the most useful form of information with downward social comparisons and feared selves information as the least useful. Athletes high in self esteem used mo...

Ninety-five sexually active White American female college students participated in a questionnaire study about their sexual behavior in the past 12 months. A path model was tested in order to assess specific hypothesized predictors of risky sexual behavior. As predicted, participants with greater sex guilt reported using condoms more and having had...

This study explored specific associations between global attachment styles (e.g., secure, anxiousambivalent, avoidant),attachment to the deceased, suddenness of death, and three specific reactions to bereavement (grief, depression, and somatization) in a sample of 91 adults (21 men, 70 women) who had lost a loved one in the past 18 months. A path m...

A multidimensional model of self-evaluation was modified to examine individuals' perceptions of how they evaluate their romantic relationships. Participants provided estimates of the frequency and usefulness of 10 types of information (objective information, feedback from others, personal standards, feared future relationships, future ideals, posit...

Latinas are nearly 3 times more likely to acquire AIDS than other women in the United States. It is critical to understand this vulnerability and to identify predictors of risk. Structural equation models were used to test predictors, mediators (including components of the health belief model), and sex-related outcomes and behavior. Interview data...

Latinas are nearly 3 times more likely to acquire AIDS than other women in the United States. It is critical to understand this vulnerability and to identify predictors of risk. Structural equation models were used to test predictors, mediators (including components of the health belief model), and sex-related outcomes and behavior. Interview data...

This study examines factors predicting the context of HIV related sexual behaviors in a random, community sample of 227 African American single and married women, ages 18 to 50. Structural equation models tested associations between women's past sexual histories, relationship factors, and risks for unintended pregnancies, sexually transmitted disea...

The study examined how social constraints on discussion of a traumatic experience can interfere with cognitive processing of and recovery from loss. Bereaved mothers were interviewed at 3 weeks (T1), 3 months (T2), and 18 months (T3) after their infants' death. Intrusive thoughts at T1, conceptualized as a marker of cognitive processing, were negat...

The study examined how social constraints on discussion of a traumatic experience can interfere with cognitive processing of and recovery from loss. Bereaved mothers were interviewed at 3 weeks (T1), 3 months (T2), and 18 months (T3) after their infants' death. Intrusive thoughts at T1, conceptualized as a marker of cognitive processing, were negat...

ABSTRACT At least three motives guide self-evaluation: accuracy, self-enhancement, and self-improvement. To satisfy these motives, self-evaluation may utilize different information sources. Self-esteem may also moderate self-evaluation strategies. Participants evaluated the frequency and usefulness of eight types of information for meeting the thre...

Four motives (self-assessment, self-enhancement, self-verification, and self-improvement) are hypothesized to guide self-evaluation. Results of an empirical investigation suggest that two sets of circumstances may commonly elicit all four motives: a situation of past threat or failure and anticipation of some important future threat or challenge. T...

The authors examined the types of social support that lesbian and heterosexual women receive from their social networks and the link between support and psychological well-being. Participants were White, middle-class, single and coupled women. Using Robert Weiss's typology of social provisions, the authors found that lesbian and heterosexual women...

We describe and compare the drug-use patterns of ethnically diverse (45% white, 39% African American, 15% Hispanic) female and male intravenous drug users (IVDUs) not-in-treatment. Focusing on a group of hard-to-reach and economically disadvantaged IVDUs, we were able to document drug use patterns and practices that have been shown to place them at...

consider the ways in which people act to control and manage their affect through benign distortions of the stressful situations they face / argue that these are effective coping strategies that are reliably related to low or reduced negative affect, and that they do not appear to compromise other aspects of functioning / consider recent research on...

We examined a model of stress and coping in 749 African-American women at risk for HIV infection. Women in the sample were either homeless, intravenous drug users (IVDUs) sexual partners of IVDUs, or prostitutes. A model was hypothesized based on stress and coping theory and research. Antecedents studied were personal resources, specifically self-e...

Five sentence completion stems about coping were administered to 60 adolescents (30 learning handicapped [mean IQ = 76], 30 nonhandicapped). Content analysis revealed that sources of everyday stress fell into four categories that reflected developmental concerns: frustrated efforts, direct conflict, social injustice, and performance issues. Coping...

Partially replicating a study by Savin-Williams and Jaquish (1981), assessment of self-concept was explored by investigating the relationships of "presented" and "experienced" selves among seven adolescent girls participating in a team sport at a high school in Southern California. Behavior observations and self- and peer ratings were used to asses...

It is well known that HIV-infected women of child bearing ages are reported to be at substantive risk of transmission of AIDS. A complex illness with devastating consequences, AIDS affects an infant's interactions with the physical and social environment. As such, physiological and neurological impairments associated with AIDS prevent and increase...