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An Expanded Conceptualization And A New Measure Of Compulsive Buying, Nancy Ridgway, Monika Kukar-Kinney, Kent B. Monroe

Marketing Faculty Publications

Drawing on the theoretical foundation of obsessive‐compulsive spectrum disorder, this article develops an expanded conceptualization and new measure of consumers’ proclivity to buy compulsively. Compulsive buying is defined as a consumer’s tendency to be preoccupied with buying that is revealed through repetitive buying and a lack of impulse control over buying. This measure includes dimensions of both obsessive‐compulsive and impulse‐control disorders. By measuring income‐dependent items or consequences of compulsive buying separately from the compulsive‐buying scale, we develop a measure that has a strong theoretical foundation, well‐documented psychometric properties, and an ability to be applied to general consumer populations.

A Unification Fable, Donelson R. Forsyth

Jepson School of Leadership Studies articles, book chapters and other publications

Not-so-long-ago in a not-so-far-away land lived three little pigs. These three little pigs grew up in the same neighborhood, attended the same schools, and shared the same passion: houses. The three were fascinated by the various types of structures inhabited by pigs the world over, and they while away many a happy hour puzzling over the nature and design of such dwellings. They could think of nothing more meaningful than dedicating their lives to the scientific study of houses and the ways they can be improved and repaired.

As they grew older, however, the pigs gradually grew apart in values, …

Personality And Social Psychology Connections Is In Development Stage, Donelson R. Forsyth

Jepson School of Leadership Studies articles, book chapters and other publications

When will technology, in all its varied forms both complicated and simple, begin to give back some of the minutes, hours, and days that it has stolen from us? Slogging through emails, developing online teaching materials for courses, readying a manuscript for online submission, searching for information on the web, formatting a survey so that it prints nicely, and navigating through digital libraries and journal article repositories wastes more time than a Dean’s introductory remarks at a meeting of the full faculty, the paperwork required by a detailed-oriented IRB, or an eighth-year students’ dissertation defense.

Seeking to counter the trend …

The Role Of Phonological Similarity In Constructing A Developing Lexicon, Lin Li

Master's Theses

The implicational hierarchy of phonological feature development has proposed that children acquire native phonemic inventory in a systematic way, from the least articulatory-effort-required phonemes to most demanding ones. On the phonemic inventory level, the hierarchy suggests that perceptual features bearing by oral stops /p/, /b/, /t/, /d/, /k/, /g/ would appear ahead of perceptual features bearing by fricatives, affricatives and liquids ... while nasals stops ... would emerge in the middle. With the help of age-of-acquisition index and a phonemic change schema, the distributions of 489 phonological neighbors have been examined against the data from MacArthur Communicative Development Inventory to …

Attentive Mothers Versus Minimally Invested/Neglectful Mothers : The Development Of New Neurons In The Hippocampus Specifically Activated By Foster Pup Exposure, Danielle Christina Worthington Stoneman

Master's Theses

As pregnancy progresses, the female is transformed from an animal that actively avoids pup-related cues (Kinsley, 1994) to one highly motivated to build nests, and retrieve, group, groom, and crouch over a set of pups. In the vast majority of events, motherhood progresses normally; in a striking subset, however, it does not. This study seeks to evaluate neurological differences in the dentate gyrus between primiparous females that respond maternally and those that do not when exposed to foster pups. It was hypothesized that the attentive mothers which perform the expected maternal behaviors have a different number of triple labeled BrdU(measuring …

Extraordinary Exaltation, Donelson R. Forsyth

Jepson School of Leadership Studies articles, book chapters and other publications

The Internet, with its listservs, web pages, and video-conferencing, provides us the opportunity to join together in a virtual space, but despite technology’s charms there is still nothing like that quaint once-a-year gathering of psychologists known as the Annual Meeting. Leave it to Émile (Durkheim, that is, and a true lover of groups if there ever was one) to describe the importance of a face-to-face ritualized gathering of members, for when all “are once come together, a sort of electricity is formed by their collecting which quickly transports them to an extraordinary degree of exaltation” (1912/1965, p. 262). Durkheim was …

Implicit Theories Of Relationships : Prediction Of Dating Strategies And Relationship Initiation, Heather Stone

Honors Theses

The present study aimed to merge research on initial attraction and implicit theories of relationships by examining how beliefs about relationships influence dating strategies. Research has examined role of implicit theories in the functioning of existing relationships but there is much room for growth in the area of initial attraction and dating strategies. Results revealed that destiny theory (theory that relationships are either meant to be or not) predicted increased likelihood of internet dating, a lower frequency of dating, and dating to avoid loneliness and missing opportunities. Growth theory (theory that relationships improve by cultivation and development) predicted dating to …

Maternal Experience And Alzheimer's Disease : Degenerative Differences In The Female Rat, Lindsay W. Victoria

Honors Theses

Alzheimer’s disease is a degenerative disease found in many aging adults. The presence of amyloid precursor protein (APP) is an early indicator of the onset of Alzheimer’s, primarily in memory-related brain regions like the hippocampus. Hormones accompanying pregnancy, such as estrogen, may provide the female brain with protection against neurodegeneration and deposits of APP. The present study will compare concentrations of APP in the brains of parous and nulliparous animals and examine the interaction of APP with estrogen receptor beta (ERβ). Young and aged animals will also be compared to determine any early effects of APP or ERβ. It is …

Social Perceptions Of Underdog Job Applicants, Maggie Place

Honors Theses

Research demonstrates that there are several characteristics that could render someone an underdog as a job applicant, including gender, race, able-bodied or disabled, immigrant status, and age. Study 1 used a between-subjects design to examine support for the underdog and the top dog in a low-consequence and high-consequence scenario. The underdog was given more support in low-consequence than high-consequence scenarios, but most participants indicated a neutral response instead of offering more support for either when asked to choose between the two applicants. Study 2 employed a forced-choice task on SuperLab in which participants chose which applicant they would hire in …

The Influence Of Auditory Stimuli On Judgements Of Word Valence, Chris E. Chandler

Honors Theses

The present study examined the link between affect and auditory stimuli in three parts. The first sought to determine the affective norms for the auditory stimuli. The second assessed the influence of a musical note’s register on the evaluation of a positive or negative word, while the third assessed the influence of harmonic musical intervals. Participants were simultaneously presented with auditory stimuli and a word, and their task was to judge as quickly as possible whether the word was positive or negative by pressing a corresponding key. It was hypothesized that congruence between auditory valence and word valence would facilitate …

Defining Deception As The "Waiver Of An Element", Donelson R. Forsyth

Jepson School of Leadership Studies articles, book chapters and other publications

When dealing with the public, and with Institution Review Boards (IRBs), the moral high ground is the place to be. Yet, personality researchers and social psychologists, because of their methods and interests, often find themselves down in a moral morass. Take deception research as a case in point. Social psychologists, because they study people’s spontaneous reactions, prefer to not fully inform participants about all aspects of the situation until after the data have been gathered. This desire to withhold information, although scientifically essential, is nonetheless inconsistent with key elements in the Nuremberg Code, the Belmont Code, and HHS 45 CFR …

The Power Of Groups, Donelson R. Forsyth

Jepson School of Leadership Studies articles, book chapters and other publications

Who can deny the power of groups? Although poets, social philosophers, and the other members of the intelligentsia overlook no occasion to bemoan the growing alienation of individuals from the small, cohesive interpersonal units that once linked them securely to society-at-large—families, neighborhoods, work teams, communities, and even the spontaneously formed groups like my street-corner altruists—those who study groups believe in the complexity and integrity of individuals’ interpersonal lives. People are in many respects individuals who seek their personal, private objectives, yet they are also members of larger social units that seek shared, collective outcomes. Our groups sustain us, and remind …

Integration Of The Stereotype Content Model And Implicit Theories : A Dynamic Understanding Of Stereotyping Against Obese Individuals, Jenna Sorge

Honors Theses

The current paper integrated Fiske and colleague’s (2002) Stereotype Content Model (SCM) with the implicit theoretical approach to investigate the stereotyping process against obese individuals. Two studies evaluated the proposition that implicit theories of weight, the belief that weight is fixed (entity theorist) versus malleable (incremental theorist), and implicit person theories, the belief that human attributes are fixed or malleable, will predict how people categorize and discriminate against obese individuals. A pilot study found that entity and incremental theorists of weight have equal knowledge of societal stereotypes against obese individuals. Study 1 revealed those whose endorse an entity theory of …

Medicating Children: The Enduring Controversy Over Adhd And Pediatric Stimulant Pharmacotherapy, Rick Mayes, Jennifer L. Erkulwater, Catherine Bagwell

Political Science Faculty Publications

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) holds the distinction of being both the most extensively studied pediatric mental disorder and one of the most controversial. This is partly due to the fact that it is also the most commonly diagnosed mental disorder among minors. On average, one in every ten to 15 children in the U.S. has been diagnosed with the disorder and one in every 20 to 25 uses a stimulant medication—often Ritalin, Adderall, or Concerta—as treatment. The biggest increase in youth diagnosed with ADHD and prescribed a stimulant drug occurred during the 1990s, when the prevalence of physician visits …

Self-Serving Bias, Donelson R. Forsyth

Jepson School of Leadership Studies articles, book chapters and other publications

A self-serving bias is any cognitive or perceptual process that is distorted by the need to maintain and enhance self-esteem. When individuals reject the validity of negative feedback, focus on their strengths and achievements but overlook their faults and failures, or take more responsibility for their group’s work than they give to other members, they are protecting the ego from threat and injury. These cognitive and perceptual tendencies perpetuate illusions and error, but they also serve the self ’s need for esteem.

Ethics In Experimentation, Donelson R. Forsyth

Jepson School of Leadership Studies articles, book chapters and other publications

Experimentation in the social sciences, by its very nature, requires researchers to manipulate and control key aspects of the social setting so as to determine what effect, if any, these manipulations have on the people in that setting. Such studies, although unmatched in terms of their scientific yield, nonetheless raise questions of ethics: Do researchers have the moral right to conduct experiments on their fellow human beings? What practices are unacceptable and what procedures are allowable? Can standards be established to safeguard the rights of participants?

The Effects Of Target Age And Perceived Death Responsibility On Posthumous Impression Formations, Jenny Rebekah Heilborn

Master's Theses

Death positivity biases and posthumous evaluations are considered a universal normative social phenomenon which influences social judgments of the dead; we postulate that these individual biases are mediated by both sympathy and fear of mortality, or the belief in a just world. Study 1 postulated that sympathy mediates such positivity biases when target responsibility for cause of death is manipulated. We hypothesized the mediation of the just world violation on posthumous evaluatory measures when age at the time of death was manipulated in Study 2. Although results were inconclusive for both studies, alternate hypotheses and boundary conditions of death positivity …

Ernest R. Hilgard, David E. Leary

Psychology Faculty Publications

Hilgard, commonly known as Jack, enjoyed one of the longest and most productive careers in twentieth-century American psychology. As a scholar who synthesized and advanced important areas of research, a teacher of leading scientists and writer of influential textbooks, an administrator who played key roles in the development of academic and professional organizations, and a strong advocate for the application of psychological knowledge in the improvement of human life, Hilgard left a lasting mark upon the scientific, educational, professional, and social spheres in which he lived and worked. His most notable scientific contributions were his integration of cognitive and motivational …

Deifying The Dead And Downtrodden: Sympathetic Figures As Inspirational Leaders, Scott T. Allison, George R. Goethals

Jepson School of Leadership Studies articles, book chapters and other publications

This chapter proposes that leaders often derive their most inspirational qualities from events or actions that transpire before and after, rather than during, their tenure as leaders. These events or actions engender sympathy, emotional support, and adoration for the leader. We identify three types of individuals whose effectiveness as leaders stem from actions that elicit sympathetic responses from others: underdog leaders who attract sympathy from their ability to overcome significant obstacles before they assume their leadership; deceased leaders who attract sympathy and whose deaths elicit reverence and inspiration long after they are gone; and martyrs who make the ultimate sacrifice …

Group Dynamics, Donelson R. Forsyth

Jepson School of Leadership Studies articles, book chapters and other publications

Group dynamics are the influential actions, processes and changes that take place in groups. Much of the world's work is accomplished by people working with others in groups, and the processes that take place within these groups--the continual vying for social status, the give-and-take collaboration between members, the pressure of the group on the atypical individual, and the eruption of conflict and discord that can shatter the group--significantly shape members' experiences as well as their accomplishments. It was the eminent social scientist Kurt Lewin (1951) who used the term 'group dynamics' to describe the powerful and complex social processes that …

Autokinetic Effect, Donelson R. Forsyth

Jepson School of Leadership Studies articles, book chapters and other publications

The autokinetic effect is an optical illusion. It occurs when a perceiver staring at a stationary pinpoint of light in an otherwise completely dark visual field believes that the light moves from its fixed position. This “self-motion” (auto-kinetic) is caused, in part, by the nearly imperceptible movements of the eye known as saccades. Ordinarily the visual system compensates for these naturally occurring motions of the eye, but when only a single light is visible with no frame of reference, the light appears to wander in unpredictable directions and at variable speeds. This illusion was first noted by astronomers when viewing …