Digital Commons Network^™

Occurrence Of Rumination: Effects Of Feedback Valence, Self-Disclosure, And Social Anxiety, Chun Han Chen

Student Work

Rumination, defined as repetitive and automatic thought reviewing of negative experiences, was the major object to explore. The research contemplated the mechanism facilitating the occurrence of ruminative thoughts. The hypothesis was that negative emotion from depreciated performance as well as the task requiring self-disclosure might instigate the intense discomfort within which rumination might occur. The researcher examined the potential interaction effect of Performance Feedback x Self-disclosure on rumination. In addition, stable individual characteristics of social anxiety might affect rumination. The statistical analysis explored the predictive effect of social anxiety on rumination. When the situation required one to disclose the self …

Acceptance Of Technological Change: Do Age, Expertise And Self-Efficacy Matter?, Cheryl Fernandez

Student Work

This study was designed to examine the acceptance of change by employees of different ages, in different contexts. This study challenged the stereotypes held against older individuals by proposing that factors other than age contribute to the acceptance of changes. It examined two context-specific variables, self-efficacy and expertise which contribute to acceptance of technological changes. The findings indicated that older individuals with computer experience had higher self-efficacy. On the other hand, younger individuals had higher self-efficacy, regardless of computer experience. Also, individuals who felt younger than they actually were had higher self-efficacy when they had experience with computers, compared to …

The Effect Of Values, Conscientiousness, And Self-Efficacy On Ethical Decision-Making, Marcy Young

Student Work

This research explores the roles that values, conscientiousness, and self-efficacy play in ethical decision-making. Although previous research has shown that values affect ethical decision-making, few researchers have evaluated the effect that conscientiousness has on ethical decision-making. Research has evaluated the effect that self-efficacy has on ethical decision-making, but a relationship has not been found. The current study hypothesizes that individuals high in self-transcendence values will make more ethical decisions than individuals high in self-enhancement values. Also, individuals high in conscientiousness are expected to make more ethical decisions than individuals low in conscientiousness. Third, individuals high in self-efficacy are expected to …

Play Assessment: The Effects Of Peer Interaction On Children's Cognitive Capabilities., Korrinda Mendez

Student Work

Play Assessment (PA) has recently gained the attention of researchers as a potential valid assessment tool for determining the cognitive capabilities in younger children. O f particular importance is the use o f PA among various contexts. Specifically, PA can provide insight into the types of contextual situations that promote higher levels of cognitive skills in younger children. The present study explored peer interactions as a contextual aspect of PA using the PACSS empirical coding scheme to determine the highest level of play behavior. According to the present study, results did not yield any significant differences in overall cognitive play …

Emotional Intelligence As A Moderator Of Problem Based Arousal On Solution Quality And Quantity, Anne E. Herman

Student Work

The study examined the interactive influence o f the affective qualities of a problem and a problem solver’s emotional intelligence (El), an individual difference in the ability to perceive, express, integrate, understand, and regulate emotion, on the quality and quantity of solutions generated to two different ill-structured problems. The general hypothesis was that emotional intelligence would moderate the effect of the negative emotional arousal of a problem controlling for the influence of cognitive intelligence, such that the discrepancy between those higher and lower in emotional intelligence would be greater for the problem which is high in emotional arousal than for …

Fears And The Presence Of Imaginary Companions And Personified Objects In Preschool Children, Jill R. Ramet

Student Work

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between a pre-school child’s fears and the child’s use of an imaginary companion or personified object. Preschool-aged children (36 To 74 months) were interviewed using a revised version o f the FSSC-R fear scale, and an imaginary companion questionnaire. Parents were asked to complete a demographic questionnaire. Data analyses revealed that children who did not have an imaginary companion or a personified object had an absolute higher total fear score than children who had this type o f figure, although this difference was not significant. Children with the lowest absolute …

Assessing Toddlers' Problem-Solving Skills Using Play Assessment: Facilitation Versus Non-Facilitation, Leslie J. Mccaslin

Student Work

Play assessment is rapidly emerging in the field of cognitive assessment in young children. One aspect of play assessment involves the identification of the types and levels of problem-solving skills children possess. Information about a child’s degree of problem-solving skills could aid school psychologists in understanding the child’s level of cognitive development. Research in the area of play assessment has not focused as much attention on problem solving as it has on other components of play. More research is needed in order to determine if a free play session or an adult-facilitated session is better for assessing a child’s problem-solving …

The Relationships Between Biodata And Personality: How Different Is Different?, Lindsay A. Bousman

Student Work

The relationships between personality measures and biodata measures were examined using a measure of the Big Five Factors of personality, and a newly created biodata measure. Each measure was used to predict academic achievement and job satisfaction. The biodata measure was created to mimic a factor structure similar to the five factors of personality, to allow a better comparison of the two measures. However, the biodata items were original (with combinations of previously used original items), and were developed for use in this study. Biodata items are typically multiple-choice, situational, and historical in nature, whereas personality items are typically based …

Interpersonal Forgiveness In Elementary School-Aged Children, Susan M. Goss

Student Work

The purpose of this study was to extend the adolescent and adult research and assess how forgiveness develops in elementary school-aged children. Sixty-three children aged 7 to 12 reported how willing they would be to forgive three types of transgressions (emotional, physical, and property) involving an accidental or deliberate act, with or without an apology, and of either low or high severity. In addition, empathy, prosocial behavior, and religiosity were measured. Age, empathy, prosocial behavior, and religiosity were not related to willingness to forgive as had been expected. However, gender differences were found, with boys reporting a greater willingness to …

The Effects Of Expertise And Information Relevance On Information Search Strategy., Jason Lebsack

Student Work

Differences between experts and novices have been the focus of a variety of studies throughout the psychological literature. In general, task outcome differences have been found between experts and novices, but further study is needed to understand the mechanism for explaining these outcome differences. This study investigated taskprocessing differences between experts and novices, specifically, the use of relevant and irrelevant information. Forty human resource professionals served as experts and 40 undergraduate students served as novices in this study. Participants made two hiring decisions. Using an information board format, participants examined eight attributes across six candidates for the job of museum …

The Moderating Role Of Trust On The Relationship Between Ingratiatory Communication Strategies And Interactional Fairness, Erik Drafsten

Student Work

Previous research has shown that when perceptions of both procedural justice and distributive justice are low, increasing perceptions of interactional fairness can serve to reduce negative consequences that an organization may face, including subtle forms of retaliation, or what are known as organizational retaliatory behaviors (ORB). In an organizational setting personal attempts to improve perceptions of interactional fairness, under conditions of low distributive and procedural justice, can take on ingratiatory-like qualities when the source attempting to boost these perceptions of interactional fairness uses flattery, expresses excessive empathy, or excessive sympathy. Research has shown that ingratiatory actions such as these become …

The Impact Of Communication Medium And Outcome Severity On The Effectiveness Of Social Accounts, Peter D. Timmerman

Student Work

The present study was designed as a partial test of the model of social accounts by Folger and Cropanzano (1998). Organizational justice researchers have shown that social accounts are effective in reducing negative reactions and displacing blame from the decision-maker following a harmful decision. Using a 2 x 3 completely randomized design, the study examined the effects of outcome severity and media choice on four types of fairness perceptions, medium appropriateness, anger, and turnover intentions. A temporary pay cut scenario was used to manipulate two levels of outcome severity, and the company president provided an explanation of the pay cut …

Making Organizational Punishment Work: The Effects Of Social Accounts And Punishment Severity, Andrew L. Noon

Student Work

Punishment continues to be used by organizations as one method to eliminate unwanted employee behaviors. Bennett (1998) argued that managers must be aware of two aspects of the punishment situation: (a) the punishment intensity and (b) the negative consequences of the punishment. Previous research indicates that strong punishments are most effective at changing unwanted behaviors, but strong punishments are also more prone to producing negative attitudes in the punished individual. One way managers may be able to reduce the negative impact of punishment is by using explanations regarding the need for punishment. These explanations are called social accounts. Not all …

Interpersonal Forgiveness In Adolescent Friendships, Molly A. Wernli

Student Work

The purpose of the present study was to investigate interpersonal forgiveness in the context of adolescent friendships. The following factors were examined in relation to an adolescent’s forgiveness of a transgressing friend: a) religiosity, b) commitment, c) relationship closeness, d) empathy, e) apologies, and f) transgression severity. A total of 161 students (66 males, 95 females) from grades 7,9, and 11 (12- to 18-years of age) participated. Transgression severity was found to have the most influence on forgiveness, accounting for 70% of the variance. Adolescents were more forgiving after low-severity transgressions than high-severity transgressions. The presence of apology had a …

Characteristics And Qualities That Are Important To Middle School-Aged Students In Choosing Friends, Kristin R. Honaker-Carter

Student Work

This study investigates the characteristics that are important to middle school students when they choose their friends. The subjects for this research study are seventh, eighth, and ninth graders with ages ranging from 11-15 years old.

The population surveyed was limited to 47 middle-school aged children whose parents responded to a flyer posted in one of two college universities. The study design was a 14-question value survey using a Likert scale. The questions relate to the importance of various characteristics in choosing friends. The survey also included demographic questions pertaining to the subject’s gender, grade level, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and …

Variability In Word Learning: Phonological Sensitivity And Phonological Memory, Marnie E. Arkenberg

Student Work

Presently, investigators believe that variability in children’s word learning results from individual differences in one of two separate processes thought to underlie word learning: phonological sensitivity or phonological memory. Traditionally, researchers have viewed differences in children’s vocabularies as being the result of differences in either phonological memory or phonological sensitivity. However, there is reason to believe that a different type of relation exists among phonological sensitivity, phonological memory, and vocabulaiy. The purpose of this investigation was to determine the nature of these relations in preschoolers. Three hypotheses were presented: either phonological memory or phonological sensitivity plays a larger role in …

Cultural Differences In Self-Appraisal Of Group Task: Usage Of Group Vs. Individual Feedback, Mamiko Fujita

Student Work

The present study focused on differences in using group and individual feedback in self-evaluation of performance when engaging in a group task. Based on an established category of cultural differences, collectivistic-individualistic, Japanese and American students participated to represent each culture. The current study tested a hypothesis that Japanese students would use group feedback more heavily in evaluating their individual performances than would American students. The results did not support the hypothesis. Interestingly, the assumption that Japanese students represent collectivistic culture, and American students represent individualistic culture was not supported. According to the scale used in the study, the American participants …

Development Of Commitment In Young Children's Best Friendships, Andrea L. Kelp

Student Work

Although the amount of research conducted on children’s friendships is large, the specific characteristic of friendship commitment has received little attention to date. At what age and to what extent commitment is present in children’s friendships is the main focus of this study. Students in grades 2 through 7 completed a demographic questionnaire, the Commitment and Satisfaction Scale, the Children’s Self-Efficacy for Peer Interaction Scale, The Network of Relationships Inventory, and they also responded to hypothetical vignettes. Of particular interest were the effects of children’s age, gender, friendship reciprocity, self-efficacy and friendship satisfaction on their friendship commitment levels. Analyses of …

Viewing The Parent As A Person: An Individuation-Related Phenomenon, Brian Andersen

Student Work

When do adolescents start viewing the parent as a person, and what influence this process were the developmental research questions examined in this study. The participants were high school and college students, ranging in ages from 14 to 27 years, who completed three different scales: the Family Relationships Measure, the Psychological Separation Inventory, and the Emotional Autonomy Scale. Age differences were found for the Family Relationships Measure as well as the Psychological Separation Inventory. Individuation and viewing the parents as people were not related, but both measures appeared to tap separate processes that occur at similar times in development during …

The Relationship Between Cynicism And Dispositional Attributions: Examining Individual Differences Of Police Officers, Jennifer L. Weimer

Student Work

Previous research has shown that veteran police officers are more cynical than less experienced police officers. Research has also shown that veterans are more likely than less experienced officers to make dispositional attributions for the actions of suspects in interpersonal disputes. This study examined these two premises and the relationship between cynicism and attributions. Participants included 127 police officers and 70 undergraduate students who completed a cynicism scale and were then asked to read two scenarios depicting interpersonal disputes. Participants answered several questions pertaining to their attributions of responsibility and their perceptions of credibility of the suspect and the victim …

Trait Anxiety As A Moderator Of Problem Structuring Effects On Solution Generation, Judith A. Wightman

Student Work

This study investigated the effects of problem structuring and anxiety on the quantity and quality of solutions generated for ill-structured, complex problems. Trait anxiety, the tendency to feel anxious across a wide variety of situations, has been shown to impair problem solving performance in certain conditions. Trait anxiety was examined as a possible moderator of the relationship between problem structuring and solution generation. Participants were 184 undergraduate psychology students. Participants completed a trait anxiety measure (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory; Spielberger, 1983) and generated solutions to an ill-structured problem, with varying levels of structuring (no objectives, one-objective-at-a-time, conflicting objectives). The quantity and …

Developmental Changes In Verbal And Imaginal Mnemonic Techniques For Serial Recall, Michelle L. Rupiper

Student Work

Children’s ability to use mnemonic techniques was investigated in first, fourth and sixth graders. Children in each age group were assigned to one of three conditions: method of loci, story mnemonic or elaborative control group. Subjects were given three recall tests. Each test was scored with and without regard to the order in which subjects recalled the words presented. Relative to the control group, both mnemonic conditions showed an advantage in memorizing lists of 20 words. However, all conditions, including the elaborative control group showed significant increases in the number of words recalled between the baseline test and recall Test …

Stress, Stress Utilization, And Creativity, Lisa M. Kobe

Student Work

This study investigated the effects of stress on creative problem solving. It was predicted that individuals in a stressful condition would perform worse on creative problem solving tasks than individuals in a relaxed condition and worse than individuals in a stressful condition where they successfully coped with the incident. It was also predicted that when in a stressful experience, individuals who are able to acknowledge and to advantageously use the information obtained from a stressful situation (high stress utilization) would perform better on creative problem solving tasks than individuals who are not able to acknowledge and use this information (low …

The Effects Of Choice And Ego-Involvement On Confidence Judgments, Jonathan H. Chow

Student Work

Studies on confidence judgments have generally shown that people are overconfident about their abilities or knowledge, and their confidence judgments are not well calibrated. The purpose of this study was to contribute toward a more precise and defensible version of how motivational factors interact with cognitive biases to influence confidence judgments. Review of the effect of choice on confidence judgments suggests an avenue to study the joint effect of motivational factors and cognitive biases on confidence judgments. In particular, the study investigated how motivational factors such as ego-involvement interact with cognitive biases involved in making choices to increase overconfidence in …

Information Search And Creativity: The Role Of Need For Cognition And Personal Involvement, Jody J. Illies

Student Work

The effects of type of personal involvement and need for cognition on information search behaviors and creative problem solving were investigated. It was predicted that participants who are involved through the personal relevancy of the outcome of a problem would engage in more information search behaviors and be more creative than participants who are involved through having their values and morals engaged. It was also predicted that participants high in need for cognition would engage in more information search behaviors and would be more creative than would participants low in need for cognition. Results showed that information search behaviors effectively …

Incidental Memory For Spatial Information In Young Children As A Function Of Age And Gender, Isabelle D. Cherney

Student Work

The purpose of the present study was to investigate Hasher and Zacks' (1979,1984) automaticity theory of memory for spatial location information in young children using two incidental memory tasks. A total of 96 three- and fiveyear- olds (48 boys and 48 girls) were randomly assigned to either the "manipulation condition" (MC) or the "observation condition" (OC). In order to assess task difficulty, half of the participants manipulated a total of 18 genderstereotyped animal toys (male, female, neutral) and half of the participants a total of 9. After a 2 minute filler task, the participants were instructed to return the animals …

Temporal Integration In 17- And 20-Month Old Infants As Assessed By Elicited Imitation, Rebecca M. Starr

Student Work

The present study used a unique task derived from the elicited imitation paradigm to assess temporal integration in 17- and 20-month-old infants. Experiment 1 implemented a simpler task than has previously been used in order to tap temporal integration ability in 17-month-olds. The results indicated that the performance of 17- month-olds did not improve over that of previous research (de Haan & Bauer 1997). Experiment 2 added storage and processing demands to the de Haan and Bauer task in order to assess the robustness of temporal integration ability in 20-month-olds. The results indicated that the performance of 20-month-olds did not …

Gender Types, Self-Esteem, And Academic Achievement In Middle School Students, Kimberly D. Noll

Student Work

The relationship among gender typing, self-esteem, and academic achievement was investigated in 314 middle school participants. Participants were administered the Children’s Sex Role Inventory (CSRI) and the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory-School Form (CSEI). The results of the CSRI and CSEI were compared to each participant's score on the California Achievement Test (CAT). Analysis of variance, chi-square, and Pearson product moment correlation's were utilized to assess relationships among the variables. Results indicated that, in the current sample, self-esteem and achievement were unrelated, aschematic characteristics were correlated with high achievement, girls exhibited higher achievement than boys, both boys and girls responded most frequently …

A Comparison Of Relation-Breaking Behaviors, Relation-Maintaining Behaviors, And Maternal Sensitivity In Population Of Handicapped And Non-Handicapped Infants, Karol Basel

Student Work

The infant enters the world with certain abilities that allow him or her to interact with the environment. Early on infants demonstrate a preference in viewing the human face (Fantz, 1968) and selectively responding to the sounds of human speech (Eimas, Sigueland, Jusczyk, & Vigorito, 1971). The early development of perceptual sensitivities enable the infant to become a partner in the social environment. It has been suggested that the ability to engage in social interactions provides the infant with the structure to organize cognitive and affective experiences (Stern, Beebe, Jaffe, & Bennett, 1977). Through the interaction process the infant first …

Effects Of Process Vs. Outcome Accountability, Responsibility, And Indentifiability On Solution Quality, Megan Potter

Student Work

This study investigated the effect of accountability, responsibility, and identifiability on the quality of solutions generated to an ill-defined problem. Accountable participants provided written justification for their output, either the solution generation process (process accountability) or the solution generation outcome (outcome accountability). Participants perceived themselves as either sharing responsibility for solution generation with others (shared responsibility) or solely responsible for solution generation (sole responsibility). Lastly, participants were either identifiable, such that their responses could be traced to them personally, or anonymous. Solution quality was measured by resolving power, or the degree to which a solution resolves conflicting aspects of the …