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The Role Of Organizational Buy-In In Employee Retention, Serena Hsia

Industrial-Organizational Psychology Dissertations

This study examined the role of organizational buy-in, the acceptance and willingness to actively support and participate in the organizations plans, in the relationship between job satisfaction and intent to stay. Furthermore, this study proposed that job position would moderate the influence of organizational buy-in, as those in higher positions may be more invested in the organiation’s strategy. Two models were tested – a moderated moderation model, and a double moderated model. Support was found for the double moderated model. Organizational buy-in acted as a buffer between job satisfaction and intent to stay, such that those who have low job …

College For The Sake Of What? Promoting The Development Of Wholly Educated Students, Michael P. Yoder

Industrial-Organizational Psychology Dissertations

There is increasing pressure on institutions of higher education to accurately measure student success. What was once thought of as a way to develop students holistically via a liberal arts degree, higher education is now often regarded as a means to an end: a well-paying job. Lost in the drive for quantifiable data is the holistic development of individuals who are capable of interacting with and influencing the world around them. Thus, higher education struggles to respond to market pressures while maintaining a focus on wholly developing individuals. In this research study, it is proposed that student “success” should include …

Predictors Of Identified And Introjected Religiosity In Upper Elementary Age Children, Heather Ingersoll

Education Dissertations

The rise of research investigating children’s spirituality along with the emerging

view of children as social actors in their development provides the impetus to expand research investigating children’s voices around their religious experiences. A significant number of children regularly attend Christian education in church and yet there is limited research investigating how those programs support children’s faith (Bunge, 2006). The investigator designed this study to fill a gap in the literature by investigating the church as a context which supports children’s religiosity. The study was guided by theological reflection on the human spirit and self-determination theory as the theoretical framework. …

Developing Conviction In Women Leaders: The Role Of Unique Work And Life Experiences, Mckendree J. Hickory

Industrial-Organizational Psychology Dissertations

The past 20 years has seen a proliferation of studies identifying the barriers women often face in leadership. Two potent obstacles women face are gender bias and stereotype threat, which manifest in both management selection and performance ratings. One option some women use to combat negative stereotypes is to adapt themselves to their environments, an approach that may lead to a decrease in self-regulation, goal clarity, and authenticity. Demonstrating conviction is a powerful strategy used by leaders to maintain a consistent sense of direction and connection to what is most important to them, even under the most pressing situations. This …

The Effectiveness Of Text Coaching On Substance Use Treatment Outcomes In Adolescence, Emily Hu

Clinical Psychology Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the utility of text coaching on reducing substance use in adolescents participating in a school-based manualized intervention that utilizes Motivational Interviewing (MI) and motivational enhancement principles. A further aim of this study was to examine how perceived treatment satisfaction and self-efficacy mediate this relationship. Participants included 76 adolescents (62% male, 65% ethnic minority), ages 14-19 (M = 16), referred for substance use assessment and intervention by school administrators at large suburban public high schools. It was hypothesized that individuals who received the addition of text coaching would evidence a greater reduction in …

Risky Sex And Alcohol-Related Behaviors And Cognitions In Adolescents: Evaluating A Values-Based Intervention, Meredith K. Chapman

Clinical Psychology Dissertations

The co-occurrence of alcohol use and risky sexual behavior is prevalent among underage drinkers and causes numerous psychosocial and health related consequences. There is a need for interventions to target these risk-taking behaviors. The purpose of this study was to test the efficacy of a values-based intervention to decrease risky sex, problematic alcohol behaviors and related expectancies. These risk-taking behaviors were also examined in the context of an acquired preparedness model (APM). Thirty-eight youth from a high school and university setting completed both time points. Participants were randomly assigned into one of two treatment conditions: a treatment as usual group …

The Relationship Between Trauma And Well-Being: Moral Emotions In Sex-Trafficked Women, Gina M. Scarsella

Clinical Psychology Dissertations

Cognitive models of PTSD implicate attention to threat, negative social cognition, and behavioral avoidance in perpetuating symptoms. In contrast, moral elevation and gratitude are positive socio-moral emotions theorized to facilitate attention to positive features of one’s social context and prosocial approach behavior. No research has examined the relevance of positive moral emotions in the well-being of sex-trafficked women, who may be prone to PTSD symptoms and low positive socio-moral emotions. I tested trait gratitude, elevation, and moral purity as predictors of well-being and moderators of PTSD symptoms on well-being. Participants included sex-trafficked (n = 16) and college (n …

The Etiology And Phenomenology Of Sexual Shame: A Grounded Theory Study, Noel Clark

Clinical Psychology Dissertations

Although sexual shame is widely present in social discourse and has previously been described clinically—as shame related to sexual thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and attitudes—it has not been defined in an operational manner that can be empirically tested. This study creates a bridge between the colloquial knowledge regarding sexual shame found in clinical practice and the way in which sexual shame is defined and measured scientifically in the psychological research literature. Grounded theory was used in this study to generate theory related to the development and experience of sexual shame. The concept of sexual shame was explored from both a personal …

The Effect Of Emotional Vulnerability And Invalidation On Emotion Dysregulation In Early Adolescence: An Empirical Investigation Of Linehan’S Biosocial Theory Of Borderline Personality Disorder, Sarah Crystal

Clinical Psychology Dissertations

The current study examined the relationship between emotional vulnerability, invalidation, and emotion dysregulation as they predicted borderline features in a community sample of young adolescents. Emotional vulnerability, as measured by trait negative affect (trait NA), as well as the psychophysiological component of basal vagal tone, as measured by respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), were proposed as risk factors for borderline features. Emotion dysregulation as indexed both by psychophysiological indices (vagal tone in response to stress i.e., RSA reactivity) and self-report measures was hypothesized to function as a mediator between trait NA and borderline features. A moderated mediation model was then proposed …

Seeking Quality Mentors: Exploring Program Design Characteristics To Increase An Individual’S Likelihood To Participate As A Mentor, Kristen Voetmann

Industrial-Organizational Psychology Dissertations

Previous mentoring research has focused on informal mentoring relationships, but as formal mentoring programs proliferate throughout organizations as a means to train and retain high-quality employees, there is a need for more empirical research investigating the specific elements of formal mentoring programs that positively impact their success. The purpose of the current study, therefore, is to explore the causal relationship between formal mentoring program design characteristics and the likelihood that a qualified individual will choose to participate as a mentor. This relationship is examined through the hypothesized mediator of potential mentors’ perceptions of organizational support. Participants were recruited through Amazon’s …

Validation Of The Transformative Work In Society Index: Christianity, Work, And Economics Integration, John R. Terrill

Industrial-Organizational Psychology Dissertations

In recent years, concern for faith-work integration has evolved from a special interest to a sustained movement within workplace and ecclesiastical communities. This study’s purpose is to validate the Transformative Work in Society Index (TWSI) exploring Christian faith, work, and economics integration within the larger nomological net of workplace spirituality, organizational outcomes, and faith maturity measures. The TWSI incorporates the full affective, behavioral, and cognitive dimensions of what it means to be agentic human beings at work. A total of 405 participants who self-identified as Christians took part in this study (40.2% female; mean age = 46 years; mean as …

Predicting Employee Performance Using Text Data From Resumes, Joshua D. Weaver

Industrial-Organizational Psychology Dissertations

Text analytics using term frequency was proposed as an extension of biodata for predicting job performance and addressing criticisms of biodata and predictor methods—that they do not identify the constructs they are measuring or their predictive elements. Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count software was used to analyze and sort text into validated categories. Prolific Academic was used to recruit full-time workers who provided a copy of their resume and were assessed on impression management (IM), cognitive ability, and job performance. Predictive analyses used resumes with 100+ words (n = 667), whereas correlational analyses used the full sample (N …

Approaching Stressful Situations With Purpose: Strategies For Emotional Regulation In Sensitive People, Amy D. Nagley

Industrial-Organizational Psychology Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to evaluate strategies for emotional self-regulation (EMSR) in highly sensitive people (HSPs) under pressure. Specifically, a model of EMSR was evaluated through a moderated-mediation design with two manipulations across two experiments. A total of 445 individuals participated in the current study (52% female), all of which were US citizens. Results suggested that the relationship between sense of purpose (SoP) and EMSR was moderated by focus on potential (FoP). Specifically, SoP significantly impacted FoP, b = .89, t = 5.23, p < .01, FoP significantly impacted EMSR, b = 1.11, t = 5.88, p < .01, and the Sobel test suggested a significant indirect effect, z = 3.91, p < .01.

The hypothesis that …

Sexual Assault Coping Self-Efficacy As Moderated By Legal Advocacy Social Support, Clara Jane Roberts

Clinical Psychology Dissertations

Sexual assault is a pervasive issue with the potential to impart serious and lasting consequences. Of the many possible factors that may influence outcomes, coping self-efficacy (CSE) and social support (SS) may play a role. Specifically, higher levels of SS appears to predict higher CSE following trauma (Hohl et al., 2015). SS also appears to be impacted by age, such that older individuals are often more negatively impacted by low SS (Matt & Dean, 1993; Schnittker, 2007). This study examined if the SS provided by a legal advocate (LASS) produced similar effects on CSE, with age as a moderator. Participants …

The Psychometric Evaluation Of A Personality Selection Tool, James R. Longabaugh

Industrial-Organizational Psychology Dissertations

Personality is one of the primary ways that people are distinguished from one another on the basis of their unique tendencies and behavioral patterns. Decades of empirical research have yielded five primary personality traits which have consistently emerged, becoming known as the Five Factor Model (FFM). In particular, the FFM has been widely used in the employee selection realm. However, there have been mixed reviews as to how well the FFM of personality accomplishes that objective, with some research drawing into question the strength of the relationship between personality and job performance.

The purpose of the current investigation is to …