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Challenges To Career As A Source Of Meaning And Satisfaction Among Certified Athletic Trainers In The United States Of America, Nicole Marie Glasgow
Challenges To Career As A Source Of Meaning And Satisfaction Among Certified Athletic Trainers In The United States Of America, Nicole Marie Glasgow
Dissertations and Theses
There is a high prevalence of burnout in the athletic training profession. Similar to what has been found in other healthcare professions, burnout is correlated with lack of job satisfaction, high turnover, and decreased productivity. In phase one of this study, the purpose was to investigate whether there was a relationship between perceived career meaning and burnout among certified athletic trainers. In phase two, the purpose of the study was to explore the lived experiences of meaningfulness and purposefulness by certified athletic trainers. The overall objective of the research was to generate an understanding of factors associated with burnout in …
A Phenomenological Exploration Of Young Adults Who Self-Identify With Primary Complex Motor Stereotypies, Vanja Maria Popovic
A Phenomenological Exploration Of Young Adults Who Self-Identify With Primary Complex Motor Stereotypies, Vanja Maria Popovic
Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies
Primary complex motor stereotypies (p-CMS) are repetitive, rhythmic, and predictable involuntary movements which occur in typically developing individuals. To date, research has focused on observational data involving parents, leaving a lack of first-hand information about the effect of p-CMS on experiencers’ quality of life and wellbeing in adulthood. This phenomenological study, grounded in Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory, explored lived experiences of six young adults, ages 21 to 29 years, who self-identified with p-CMS, through in-depth telephone and Zoom interviews. I aimed to answer how p-CMS affected participants in academic, work, and social settings, what meaning participants assigned to their p-CMS, and …
The Meaning Of Words: For Richer Or For Poorer, Susan Lutfallah
The Meaning Of Words: For Richer Or For Poorer, Susan Lutfallah
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
The current study operationally defined semantic richness as the depth and breadth of meaning associated with words. It also examined the relationship between known language variables and their relative contribution to semantic richness as a construct. A total of 60,000 subjective word ratings were explicitly collected from adult participants across 39 different countries who identified as speaking English as a first language. These ratings were compared to other known language variables to investigate the individual and collective relationships among them and determined their predictive influence on the collected ratings. It was found that although most variables were significantly related to …
The Need For Purpose: The Desire For Meaningful Direction As A Fundamental Human Motivation, Jose A. Espinoza Mogollon
The Need For Purpose: The Desire For Meaningful Direction As A Fundamental Human Motivation, Jose A. Espinoza Mogollon
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
The present research investigated the hypothesis that humans have an innate and fundamental need for purpose. This need is defined as a pervasive drive for a sense of meaningful direction and the experience of progress toward associated objectives. First, theoretical development of the need for purpose is presented, along with a review of the existing research literature covering evidence for the need for purpose’s fulfillment of well-established criteria for evaluating needs. This review is followed by three empirical studies developing a measure assessing satisfaction and frustration of purpose, examining an initial nomological network of the construct, and testing whether purpose …
Narrative Communication: How Sending And Receiving Impact Statements On Past Ingroup Suffering Influences Conflict Attitudes, Brooke Burrows
Narrative Communication: How Sending And Receiving Impact Statements On Past Ingroup Suffering Influences Conflict Attitudes, Brooke Burrows
Masters Theses
In the aftermath of mass violence or harm perpetrated against one group by another, commemoration or memorialization processes held by the victim group are often a space in which narratives of impact and suffering are expressed and shared. While there may be no formal or direct calls for justice or policy during these commemoration processes, prior research indicates that such public forums, ranging from truth commissions to museum exhibits, may have diverse impacts on individual emotions as well as attitudes towards the broader conflict implicated (Humphrey, 2000; Reeves & Heath-Kelly, 2020). The current work proposes a closer examination of such …
True Self In Threat Resilience: Using Essentialist Self-Views To Neutralize Personal Morality Threats, Ellen S. Dulaney
True Self In Threat Resilience: Using Essentialist Self-Views To Neutralize Personal Morality Threats, Ellen S. Dulaney
College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations
course of this dissertation, I introduce the idea of the true self construct as a personalized route to individual meaning and stability at a time in history when external direction regarding values and purpose is in decline. Setting aside the question of the ontological status of the true self, I emphasize that beliefs about and representations of the true self have distinctive psychological impact and cite research supporting this assertion. I then review evidence of the aptness of such true self-orientations in supporting well-being, fulfillment of basic psychological needs, and resilience against threat. Across two studies, I investigated the effectiveness …
Making Emotions Meaningful: The Power Of Mindfulness During Leader Developmental Trigger Events, Jason Beck
Making Emotions Meaningful: The Power Of Mindfulness During Leader Developmental Trigger Events, Jason Beck
CGU Theses & Dissertations
Successful leaders act with a sense of inner meaningfulness that contagiously influences followers to perform at their best. Leaders who purposely engage with emotionally intense developmental experiences (e.g., trigger events) cultivate greater meaningfulness in their work. Negative trigger events may be more impactful than positive trigger events because negative emotions shock beliefs and assumptions about reality. Additionally, due to the emotional intensity, leaders often fail to learn from trigger events that could develop leader meaningfulness. Mindfulness may help leaders appropriately use the emotional intensity of trigger events to produce meaningfulness. The purpose of this study was to empirically test the …
Clinicians’ Perspectives On Distinguishing Between Religious/Spiritual And Psychotic Phenomena, Jessica K. Parker
Clinicians’ Perspectives On Distinguishing Between Religious/Spiritual And Psychotic Phenomena, Jessica K. Parker
Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies
Psychosis is a central concept in mental health, yet the concept is unclear. Clinicians are challenged with the task to be able to distinguish psychotic phenomena; however, little is known about how clinicians are able to distinguish religious/spiritual phenomena from psychotic phenomena, as both may be similar in presentation. The focus of this dissertation was on understanding the perspectives and distinguishing processes of mental health professionals when distinguishing between religious/spiritual and psychotic phenomena. Taking a generic qualitative framework approach, the study included face-to-face and telephone interviews with 10 licensed mental health professionals recruited through social media and snowball sampling. Interviews …
Enhancing The Emotional Impact Of Prospections Via Personal Values, Bethany Grace Gorter
Enhancing The Emotional Impact Of Prospections Via Personal Values, Bethany Grace Gorter
Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers
Prospection involves imagining future events using mental representations. When people engage in positive, vivid, prospections they report “boosts” of mood, and higher rates of well-being. This study sought to cultivate positive affect in response to prospections by incorporating values into future imagery. Two groups imagined everyday future events in detail. One group additionally learned about values and linked these values to the everyday future events. We hypothesized that the values-based prospection would result in greater increases in mood, and that this increase would be mediated by additional access to details and phenomenological features. Contrary to hypotheses, there was no positive …
A Change Of Heart: Understanding Spirituality Following A Shift In Values Or Beliefs In Young Adults, Aaron Boggs
A Change Of Heart: Understanding Spirituality Following A Shift In Values Or Beliefs In Young Adults, Aaron Boggs
Educational Specialist, 2009-2019
As a counselor, how does one sit with others who have experienced a dramatic change in their belief system and values? This paper seeks to identify the effects of a significant change in values or beliefs on young adults and the recovery of the spiritual dimension of their lives. Spirituality, defined as an individual's inner process to define their purpose, meaning, and values through a connection to others (which may include God) and themselves, is an increasingly important component to consider in assessment and therapy. The case study of Angela and the personal journey of the author illustrate the psychological …
Exploring The Self-Referent Meaning Mechanisms Of Terror Management Theory And Socioemotional Selectivity Theory, Joseph A. Galluzzo
Exploring The Self-Referent Meaning Mechanisms Of Terror Management Theory And Socioemotional Selectivity Theory, Joseph A. Galluzzo
College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations
Two theories of mortality threat management propose distinct psychological mechanisms to cope with mortality concerns. Terror management theory suggests death prompts existential concern whereas socioemotional selectivity theory suggests a limited lifetime prompts hedonic concerns. Both reminders of the finality of life threaten self-existence, yet only terror management theory research has investigated the capacity for art to reaffirm self-referent meaning compromised by death awareness. In two studies, we explored the potential existential nature within death and limited-lifetime awareness and then examined self-referent meaning reaffirmation through naturalistic and surrealistic art in response to death awareness and limited-lifetime awareness. We found that limited-lifetime …
Meaning As A Buffer Against Adolescent Psychopathology, Ellen Shaina Dulaney
Meaning As A Buffer Against Adolescent Psychopathology, Ellen Shaina Dulaney
College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations
This thesis investigates the function of meaning in life in adolescence to ascertain whether specific psychological resources may protect youths against threats to subjective well-being. Meaning in life and the search for the meaning in stressful occurrences were independently examined for their influence on stress impact and depression symptomatology. 201 American middle-school and high-school students between 12 and 19 years of age were recruited for this study. Participants reported on questionnaires targeting frequency of negative life events; depressive symptoms; sense of meaning; and tendency to reframe stressors in terms of their meaning, termed “stressor meaning seeking”. It was expected that …
Morality Provides Meaning, Geoffrey Alexander Wetherell
Morality Provides Meaning, Geoffrey Alexander Wetherell
College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations
Previous separate models of meaning in life have suggested that meaning is composed of several components operating across levels of construal. For example, sometimes people might look to a component of meaning in a state of concrete construal to gain a sense of consistency or predictability, and at other times they may look to a component of meaning to create feelings of higher purpose in life. These models of meaning have the potential to shed light not only on the various facets of life that make people feel life is meaningful, but to discover the ways in which these components …
Interpreting, Stephanie Jo Kent
Interpreting, Stephanie Jo Kent
Doctoral Dissertations
What do community interpreting for the Deaf in western societies, conference interpreting for the European Parliament, and language brokering in international management have in common? Academic research and professional training have historically emphasized the linguistic and cognitive challenges of interpreting, neglecting or ignoring the social aspects that structure communication. All forms of interpreting are inherently social; they involve relationships among at least three people and two languages. The contexts explored here, American Sign Language/English interpreting and spoken language interpreting within the European Parliament, show that simultaneous interpreting involves attitudes, norms and values about intercultural communication that overemphasize information and discount …
Conditional Discriminative Functions Of Meaningful Stimuli And Enhanced Equivalence Class Formation, Roxana I. Nedelcu
Conditional Discriminative Functions Of Meaningful Stimuli And Enhanced Equivalence Class Formation, Roxana I. Nedelcu
Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
Two experiments explored how the formation of two 3-node, 5- member equivalence classes by college students was influenced by the prior acquisition of conditional discriminative functions by one of the abstract stimuli, designated as C, in the class. In Experiment 1, participants in the GR-0, GR-1, and GR-5 groups attempted to form classes after mastering 0, 1 or 5 conditional relations between C and abstract stimuli that were not included in the to-be-formed classes. Participants in the GR-many group attempted to form classes that contained four abstract stimuli and one meaningful, familiar picture that served as the C stimulus. In …
The Bridge Drawing With Path Art-Based Assessment: Measuring Meaningful Life Pathways In Higher Education Students, Olena Darewych
The Bridge Drawing With Path Art-Based Assessment: Measuring Meaningful Life Pathways In Higher Education Students, Olena Darewych
Expressive Therapies Dissertations
This cross-sectional study investigated the relationships among the Bridge Drawing with Path (BDP) art-based assessment and two positive psychology instruments: the Meaning in Life Questionnaire (MLQ; Steger et al., 2006) and the Adult State Hope Scale (ASHS; Snyder et al., 1996). All three assessments (BDP, MLQ and ASHS) are intended to test for an individual’s goal-related pursuits. Forty-four higher education students studying in Britain and Canada participated in the study. Results indicated that an association exists between BDP written associations and MLQ-presence of meaning sub-scores. Participants who scored high on MLQ – presence of meaning generated more sources of life …
Meaning, Resilience, And Traumatic Stress Following The Gulf Oil Spill: A Study Of Mississippi Coastal Residents Seeking Mental Health Services, Bethany Jane Aiena
Meaning, Resilience, And Traumatic Stress Following The Gulf Oil Spill: A Study Of Mississippi Coastal Residents Seeking Mental Health Services, Bethany Jane Aiena
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
In April of 2010, the Deepwater Horizon Oil Platform exploded, resulting in the release of millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico over a period of three months. In addition to the ecological and economic impact of the disaster, the spill also had a significant impact on the psychological well-being of coastal residents. Following a disaster, not all affected people experience the same level of distress or long-term, negative psychological effects. Coping mechanisms such as resilience and perceived meaning in life are essential variables in understanding how people respond to a wide range of disasters. The present …
Development And Validation Of A Measure Of Perceived Life Significance, Rachel Hibberd
Development And Validation Of A Measure Of Perceived Life Significance, Rachel Hibberd
Dissertations
Theoretical and empirical approaches to the study of meaning in bereavement suggest a distinction between meaning as sense-making, or the integration of the loss into a coherent and positive set of beliefs about world and self, and meaning as life significance, or the perception that some aspect of one's life experience “matters” in the wake of loss. Although several authors have pointed to the importance of life significance in grief recovery, currently no psychometrically valid measure exists. The present study examined the reliability and validity of a new measure: the Perceived Life Significance Scale (PLSS). The PLSS total score, as …
Meaning, Morality, And Fluid Compensation In Response To Attitude Threat, Geoffrey Wetherell
Meaning, Morality, And Fluid Compensation In Response To Attitude Threat, Geoffrey Wetherell
College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations
Research demonstrates that people desire a sense of existential meaning in life, and imbue attitudes with a sense of moral conviction. People want to protect their beliefs, because they help them to create a sense of meaning in life. No research however, has examined whether or not moral conviction, a facet of attitude strength associated with a sense of ultimate right or wrong, contributes to one's sense of meaning in life. Furthermore, no research has tested whether or not threatening attitudes leads people to imbue them with increased moral conviction, possible as a means of protecting attitudes, and the sense …
Meaning Maintenance In Close Relationships, Daryl R. Van Tongeren
Meaning Maintenance In Close Relationships, Daryl R. Van Tongeren
Theses and Dissertations
The human motivation for meaning has been a longstanding topic of inquiry, and recent research has begun to investigate how individuals maintain a sense of meaning in life. Given the importance of social connectedness in human life, as well as the role of relationships in providing a sense of meaningfulness, the present investigation explored meaning maintenance within the domain of close relationships. Specifically, a theoretical model for interpersonal meaning maintenance is presented, which proposes that moral actions—particularly forgiveness—are oriented toward restoring relationship quality, and, in turn, meaning in life, in the wake of interpersonal transgressions. The tenets of this model …
Is Religion "Just" Supernatural Agency, Social Support, Or Meaning?, A. Taylor Newton
Is Religion "Just" Supernatural Agency, Social Support, Or Meaning?, A. Taylor Newton
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
There is longstanding tension in the study of religion between those who believe religion can be reduced to general psychosocial processes and those who think that religion is somehow unique. One way to test these two possibilities is to compare religious versions of mechanisms to nonreligious versions. If religion is somehow unique, then the religious versions should explain variance in outcomes that the nonreligious versions do not. Three studies confirmed religion's independent predictive power. Exposure to a religious supernatural agent reduced cheating more than exposure to a nonreligious supernatural agent (Study 1), receiving religious social support during a stressful task …
De-Mystifying The Magic: Meaningful Moments In Music Therapy When Working With Children That Have Severe Special Needs, Kayla C. Daly
De-Mystifying The Magic: Meaningful Moments In Music Therapy When Working With Children That Have Severe Special Needs, Kayla C. Daly
Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses
The purpose of my study is to explore the “magic” that occurs in these music therapy sessions, and to discover what this word means for those who use it. For the purpose of this study we will define “magic” as having the occurrence of meaningful outcomes or moments in music therapy sessions. This study will attempt to reveal methods and techniques that are being used by music therapists to further facilitate the therapeutic process for children with severe special needs in their lives and everyday experiences. This study included naturalistic inquiry and phenomenological inquiry.
Exploration Of The Meaning Of Depression Among Psychologists: A Quantitative And Qualitative Approach, Akira Murata
Exploration Of The Meaning Of Depression Among Psychologists: A Quantitative And Qualitative Approach, Akira Murata
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
While depression is considered the most common mental illness regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status, compared to research on the general population, depression among psychologists has received little attention. However, as they are one of the major mental health care professionals, psychologists' mental health could greatly affect their clients' mental health, which raises competency and ethical concerns regarding their work as clinicians. In order to learn more about depression in this group, questionnaires were mailed to 800 randomly selected psychologists in the state of Colorado to examine the prevalence of depression among psychologists, how they dealt with their …
The Epistemic Qualities Of Quantum Transformation, Jonathan Edward Skalski
The Epistemic Qualities Of Quantum Transformation, Jonathan Edward Skalski
Theses and Dissertations
Growth and development are central constituents of the human experience. Although the American Psychological Association aims to understand change and behavior in ways that embrace all aspects of experience (APA, 2008), sudden, life-altering or quantum transformation has been disregarded throughout the history of psychology until recently (see Miller & C' de Baca, 1994, 2001). Quantum transformation is similar to self-surrender conversion (James, 1902), but different from peak experiences (Maslow, 1964) and near death experiences (Lorimer, 1990) because quantum transformation, by definition, involves lasting change. Quantum transformation contains epistemic qualities, which refer to the content and process of knowing (Miller & …
Meaning In Sexual Behavior: Associating Personal Constructs With Condom Use, David W. Indest
Meaning In Sexual Behavior: Associating Personal Constructs With Condom Use, David W. Indest
Psychology Theses & Dissertations
Thirty-seven female and 30 male heterosexual undergraduates responded first to vignettes of sexual behavior in which they were asked to describe the partners' behaviors using their own personal constructs and using the researcher-provided constructs safe sex, unsafe sex, intimate, and impersonal; participants then responded to questions about condom use. Sixty-one percent of participants reported using condoms at least 75% of the time, and 64% reported use on last intercourse. Women reported a higher percentage of intercourse without condoms than did men. Within-subject principal components analysis was used to identify the extent to which an individual's personal constructs loaded …