Digital Commons Network^™

Just Post It: A Critical Discourse Analysis On Nike’S Instagram, Jillian Cataldo

Honors Theses and Capstones

No abstract provided.

Patient Outcomes Following Hip And Knee Joint Replacement Surgery: Role Of The Social And Physical Environment In Recovery, Brittany Anne Sampson

Honors Theses and Capstones

Osteoarthritis is a degenerative joint disease that affects over 27 million Americans (Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, 2014). Joint replacement surgery is often recommended for patients who do not respond to conventional medical treatment. Post-surgical rehabilitation, especially occupational therapy (OT), promotes recovery in patients with osteoarthritis. Occupational therapy intervention is aimed at improving one’s ability to function independently in various environments and complete basic tasks of everyday life, such as eating, bathing, shopping, driving, and preparing food. While such tasks may seem mundane for some, others faced with debilitating conditions struggle to complete them without assistance. For individuals with …

The Impact Of Motivational Factors On Daily Fantasy Sports Participation, Brendan Phelan, Matthew O'Hern

Honors Theses and Capstones

Since the passing of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Act (UIGEA) in 2006, the fantasy sports world has had a tumultuous decade. Shortly after the passing of UIGEA, daily fantasy sports became marketable, and saw several years of tremendous growth. However, recent legal issues have clouded the industry, and lawmakers have questioned whether daily fantasy sports indeed fall under the exception granted by UIGEA as a “game of skill”, or whether the games are illegal gambling. This study is meant to look at what motivates fantasy sports participants, especially through this time of turmoil in the industry. It specifically looks at …

Impressions Of College Intructors: Stability And Change In Student Ratings, Kari L. Dudley

Doctoral Dissertations

Although the topic of stability and change in classroom impressions research is not new, there remain unanswered questions about what impressions are stable, when they are likely to change, and for whom they are likely to change over the course of a semester. My research will begin to answer those questions.

My research took place in four college classroom studies and assessed students' impressions of their instructor's teaching effectiveness and personal qualities 1) after the first day of class, 2) before and following at least one exam, and 3) at the end of the semester. My results supported previous findings …

Examining Social Climate And Youth Social Goals On Extended Wilderness Courses: A Path Toward Improving Participant Experiences, Benjamin J. Mirkin

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation examined participants' expectations of the social climate on extended wilderness courses, how students' actually experienced the social climate during their course, and how these expectations, perceptions and the influence of environmental characteristics, impacted their goals for peer interactions. Pre and posttest surveys were used to assess students' expectations and perceptions of their experience and multi level modeling was used to better understand the relationship of social climate to peer interaction. The research was undertaken to improve the practical and theoretical understanding of organizations' and leaders' ability to facilitate a social climate that promotes adaptive forms of social motivation. …

Testing The Procedural Justice Model Of Legal Socialization: Expanding Beyond The Legal World, Rick Trinkner

Doctoral Dissertations

The procedural justice model of legal socialization predicts that perceptions of legitimacy and cynicism toward rules mediate the relation between procedural justice and engagement in rule-violating behavior. This dissertation used a multi-methodological approach to test this model in terms of three authority figures: parents, police, and teachers. In Study 1, cross-sectional methodology was used to test the model in a community sample of adolescents and young adults. Participants completed online surveys assessing the degree to which they perceived three authority figures as procedurally fair, the degree to which they perceived the authorities as legitimate, how cynical they were about the …

Violent Socialization Processes And Criminal Behavior: An International Perspective On Variations In Social Control During Late Adolescence And Emerging Adulthood, Aimee Delaney Lutz

Doctoral Dissertations

Using Gottfredson and Hirschi's parental socialization thesis as a theoretical framework, the present study explores whether or not violent socialization processes are associated with criminal behavior, both at the micro-level and macro-level, across 32 different nations. Analyses were conducted on data from the International Dating Violence Study (Straus & Members of the International Dating Violence Research Consortium, 2004). Bivariate statistical analyses show that violent socialization tends to be more prevalent among nations with indicators of violence (e.g., laws supporting the death penalty) compared to nations without such indicators. The results of ordinary least squares regression analysis indicate that violent familial …

Three Elements Of Self-Regulated Learning: Metacognitive Functioning, Self-Efficacy, And Study Behavior, Catherine E. Overson

Doctoral Dissertations

Individuals' metacognitive insight regarding their own performances -- what people think they know about what they know -- is often flawed. Students' metacognitive functioning was examined in two studies. In Study 1, exam performance estimates compared with actual scores were assessed across three in-class exams. Results demonstrated a systematic tendency for lower performers to overestimate their exam performances. Top performers underestimated their performance. In Study 2, an incentive to be as accurate as possible in exam performance estimations ($50 gift card) did not reduce estimation miscalculations for either bottom or top performers.

In Study 1, higher levels of students' self-efficacy …

The Effect Of Culture And Self-Construal On Memory Development: Mother-Child Conversations In Eastern Turkey, Western Turkey And The United States, Basak Sahin

Doctoral Dissertations

Eighty-seven mothers and their four-year-old children from Eastern Turkey (N = 32 mother-child pairs), Western Turkey (N =30 mother child pairs) and the United States (N = 25 mother-child pairs) participated in a study of mother-child memory talk, self-construal and parenting goals. Mother-child pairs were audio-recorded while drawing pictures and talking about shared past and anticipated future events. Mothers completed Balanced Integration-Differentiation questionnaires and were scored as high or low on individuation and relatedness orientations. They completed child rearing goals questionnaires that were scored for conformity, self-maximization and power factors. Memory and future talk differed across culture and self-construal groups. …

Violent Video Game Exposure And Physical Aggression In Adolescence: Tests Of The General Aggression Model, Donald Bucolo

Doctoral Dissertations

The General Aggression Model indicates that long term exposure to violent video games increases aggression by altering players' aggressive personality (Anderson & Bushman, 2002). In this dissertation, cross-sectional and longitudinal tests of this mediated relation were conducted to determine if violent video game exposure had a direct effect on physical aggression as well as a direct effect via pathways through trait aggression (Buss & Perry, 1992) and normative status (Cohn & White, 1990). A category-based scale assessing violent video game exposure (Trinkner, Bucolo, Cohn, Rebellon, & Van Gundy, 2009) was used as the independent variable and a self-report measure of …

Sophisticated Credulity: Are Old Beliefs Disguised By New Terminology And Selective Learning?, Matthew A. Ramsey

Doctoral Dissertations

The present research attempted to distinguish between traditional anomalistic belief (TAP) and pseudoscientific anomalistic belief (PSAP). In Study 1, I constructed the PSAP scale and then, to establish construct validity, examined its correlation to other measures related to TAP. In Studies 2 and 3, I examined how high and low TAP and PSAP believers differed in recalling information that either did, or did not support the existence of anomalistic phenomena. Participants read 12 abstracts on paranormal phenomena and were given T/F recall questions either immediately (Study 2) or following a four day delay period (Study 3). As expected, high and …

Socially Prescribed Perfectionism And Limerence In Interpersonal Relationships, Robin M. Banker

Master's Theses and Capstones

Socially prescribed perfectionism, in which one perceives that others have unrealistic expectations for them, appears to have a strong correlation to maladaptive characteristics and interpersonal problems. Another concept with maladaptive features and relational difficulties is an unhealthy form of obsessional love, known as limerence. Limerence is defined as an involuntary cognitive and emotional state of intense romantic desire for another individual. The aim of this thesis is to examine the relationship between socially prescribed perfectionism and limerence. It is hypothesized that an association exists between socially prescribed perfectionism and limerence, specifically in intimate relationships. A theoretical comparison supported the hypothesis, …

The Maritime Revival: Antimodernity, Class, And Culture, 1870--1940, Glenn Michael Grasso

Doctoral Dissertations

Between 1870 and 1940, Americans redefined their perceptions, ideas, and cultural meanings of seafaring under sail. The Maritime Revival---a cultural phenomenon that took the workaday nineteenth-century maritime world and converted it into an archetypical exercise in essential Americanism---selectively picked stories, symbols, and specific lifestyles and elevated them to heroic status. Part of larger nineteenth-century revivalism, the Maritime Revival created an image of seafaring that was a small subset of the entire experience-as-lived. By the 1930s, Americans recognized a heroic, but lost, golden age of sailing ships that did not correspond to the maritime world that had once been a ubiquitous …

Emotional Responses To Environmental Messages: Implications For Future Environmentally Responsible Behavioral Intentions, Jeffrey L. Perrin

Doctoral Dissertations

The present study analyzed the role of environmental message characteristics (message modality and message valence) and emotional arousal (positive and negative) in predicting environmentally responsible behavioral intentions. Using an experimental protocol designed to induce emotions in the laboratory, I measured specific emotional responses to gains-framed and losses-framed video and text-only environmental messages, and investigated the relation between intensity of emotional responses to environmental messages and environmentally responsible behavioral intentions. The sample consisted of 161 college students (116 women, 45 men). A hierarchical linear multiple regression was computed to assess the contributions of background variables (environmental knowledge, environmental beliefs, and outdoor …

Correctional Group Treatment For Victims Of Sexual Assault, Todd Derbyshire

Master's Theses and Capstones

There is a lack of research regarding therapeutic treatment for inmates who suffer from suicidal ideation after being sexually victimized. This paper reviews the existing research on sexual assault in prisons and the various impacts an event can lead to including suicidal ideation. A model is proposed in using reality therapy to introduce a new perspective in treatment for inmates that suffer suicidal ideation from being sexually victimized.

Many psychological theories are suggested when working with the sexually victimized population. The uniqueness of the correctional population emphasizes the strengths of reality therapy. In reality therapy the individual is limited only …

Impact Of Media Exposure, Ethnicity And Body Mass Index On The Body Image Of College Women, Shannon Wong

Master's Theses and Capstones

The current thesis project sought to analyze the following three problems: (1) the relationship between media exposure and body image, (2) the relationship between body image and media exposure to determine if there are racial group differences, and (3) the relationship between body image, Body Mass Index and media exposure.

Eighty-one females participated in this study, recruited from two large public northeastern universities. The results of the study show a significant negative correlation between media exposure and measures of body image. There were no significant differences found between Caucasian and non-Caucasian women for media exposure. Based on the results, magazines …

The Social Construction Of Disability And The Modern-Day Healer, Jennifer Anne Vanderminden

Master's Theses and Capstones

Ramon Cuevas is a physical therapist and the founder of Cuevas Medek therapy (CME), a physical therapy for children with severe physical impairments. Since creating CME he has taught and practiced throughout the world. Families bring their children to see Ramon in his Chile office and elsewhere around the world to see him for therapy. I have conducted in-depth interviews with parents and Ramon, more than five weeks of participant-observation, and analyzed various online materials related to CME. I found that the community that is formed around these families and Ramon provides an excellent example of how disability is constructed …

Understanding Personality Through Preferences In Popular Mass Media: An Archetypal Approach, Michael A. Faber

Doctoral Dissertations

In the Digital Age, it may be possible to assess personality in ways beyond those traditionally employed by psychologists. This work examines individual preferences in popular or mass culture media and what they say about people's psychological processes. For example, knowing that someone likes romantic comedy movies and jazz music arguably paints a more useful picture of personality than saying that one is high in both extraversion and openness. In such cases, a media-based self-description provides a clear and tangible metric of individual interests. Here, we hypothesize that one reason such preferences may reflect personality is because media and the …

The Effect Of An Experiential, Adventure Based "Anti-Bullying Initiative" On Levels Of Resilience: A Mixed Methods Study, Jesse Beightol

Master's Theses and Capstones

The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of an experiential, adventure based program on levels of resilience. Specifically, a mixed methods, quasi-experimental design was implemented to measure the impact of an Anti-Bullying Initiative on students self reported Goals and Aspirations, Problem Solving, Empathy, and Self Efficacy traits. Quantitative data was gathered using the Anti-Bullying Initiative Survey and converged with results from focus groups, interviews, and program observations to assess both program outcomes and processes. Results indicated that this adventure education program did affect levels of resilience in the individual students as well as their school and home …

Illusory Judgments Under Conditions Of Uncertainty: Reasoning Errors Related To Paranormal And Religious Beliefs, Erin C. Goforth

Doctoral Dissertations

This research examined the predictors of illusory judgments of prediction under conditions of uncertainty. Study 1 investigated the believability of an experimental manipulation that required participants to choose a strategy for target object selection. Study 2 expanded upon Study 1 by giving participants an additional choice strategy (e.g., a computer's selection). In both Study 1 and Study 2, participants relied on the paranormal strategy (e.g., a psychic) to a greater degree under conditions of uncertainty than under conditions of certainty. Study 3 replicated these results using a between subjects design but also expanded upon Study 1 and 2 by examining …

Psychoeducational And Therapeutic Group Counseling For Central American Female Immigrants, Amy Dolores Deutsch

Master's Theses and Capstones

There is a significant and increasing amount of Latinos immigrating to the United States. They face many challenges in successfully adapting to life in this country. These challenges are several and include cultural differences, premigration and migration trauma, economic hardship, lack of facility with the language, and attitudes of United States citizens toward immigrants. The needs of Latino immigrants are unique, and the costs of not addressing these needs are likely to be significant. As the United States becomes increasingly more racially and culturally diverse, it is encumbent upon those in the helping professions to prepare to serve a radically …

Race Salience In Defense Attorney Opening And Closing Statements: The Effects Of Ambiguity And Juror Attitudes, Donald Bucolo

Master's Theses and Capstones

Two studies were conducted to evaluate if making a defendant's race salient in defense attorneys' opening and closing statements would reduce White juror racial bias towards a Black defendant when evidence against the defendant was strong (Study 1) or weak (Study 2). In Study 1, making race salient did reduce guilty verdicts against the Black defendant. In addition, more racist jurors were more likely to find the Black defendant guilty only when race was not made salient. In Study 2, making a defendant's race salient did not affect White jurors verdicts. Further, in Study 2 participants with more positive views …

Parental Emotion Coaching: How Does It Relate To Attachment, Anger, Assertiveness, And Conflict Management?, Ines S. Cofrin

Doctoral Dissertations

This study investigated the relationship between participants' retrospective reports of parental emotion coaching (EC) and emotion dismissing (ED) and participants' anger, romantic attachment, assertiveness, and conflict management. EC and ED were assessed by a retrospective self-report developed by the author (RECS; Kroll, 2002), based on Gottman's theory (Gottman, Katz, & Hooven, 1996). Results suggested that for most analyses, EC and ED correlated significantly with all outcome variables, even after controlling for attachment and caregiver emotional stability. Retrospective EC and ED were also assessed directly from primary caregivers through a mailed survey, and correlated with participants' reports of EC and ED. …

"Coming Out" Stories Of Gay And Lesbian Young Adults: Relation Between Memory Characteristics And Psychological Well-Being, Nicole E. Rossi

Doctoral Dissertations

Gay and lesbian young adults (N = 53) were interviewed in detail about coming out for the first time to each of their parents. Participants also completed an extensive battery of psychological measures, including event centrality related to disclosure to their mother and father, parental attachment, attitudes toward homosexuality, relationship satisfaction, anxiety, and depression. Analyses of memory content and structure (complexity, coherence, descriptiveness) were conducted, and the relation between memory qualities and well-being were analyzed. Hypotheses related to disclosure to parents and peers were largely supported. The majority of participants first disclosed their sexual orientation to a friend. More participants …

Underlying Processes Of Antisocial Decisions: Adolescents Versus Adults, Kathryn L. Modecki

Doctoral Dissertations

The question of adolescent decision maturity holds significant ramifications for today's youth. When adolescents are viewed as competent, rational decision makers, they may be considered mature enough to make decisions in their best interest in criminal court (Grisso, 1997) and are held fully culpable for their crimes. In contrast, when adolescents are viewed as immature decision makers, they may be considered less competent to make criminal decisions, and thus may not be considered fully culpable for their crimes (Woolard, Reppucci, & Redding, 1996). The present study is based on responses to hypothetical vignettes and measures maturity of judgment (Scott, Reppucci, …

Searching Under Stress: Anxiety And Selective Information Exposure, Melissa K. Surawski

Doctoral Dissertations

For centuries, political philosophers have argued that emotion clouds rational judgment and should be avoided at all costs. In light of advances made in the fields of social cognition, political science, and social psychology, however, the question of how affective states work in conjunction with cognitive processes has been approached anew, and interesting patterns have emerged in the data. They theory of affective intelligence (Marcus, Neuman, & MacKuen, 2000) posits that emotional arousal, particularly anxiety, alerts organisms to gather and evaluate information from the environment that can be useful for self-protection. On the other hand, terror management theory (Solomon, Greenberg, …

Knowledge And Perceptions Of "Cyberterrorism", Andrew J. Van Hoogenstyn

Master's Theses and Capstones

While the threat of terrorists utilizing the Internet to execute a cyberterrorist attack is of prominent concern there exist great misconceptions and factual errors in the media as to the nature of this threat (Conway, 2002; Embar-Seddon, 2002; Weimann, 2005). This thesis examined media exposure, knowledge of cyberterrorism, fear of terrorism and perceived seriousness of cyberterrorist events in a sample of college students. Generally, participants had little knowledge of cyberterrorism. Women were found to be more fearful of terrorism and cyberterrorism than men. A positive relation was found between media consumption and fear of terrorism among women. Finally, fear of …

Gender Socialization: Implications For Gender Differences In Self-Concept Among Adolescents, Erin D. Libby

Master's Theses and Capstones

The purpose of this research study was to investigate the relationship between traditional gender socialization and self-concept during adolescence, in the domains of athletic competence, physical appearance, social competence, and close friendship.

The sample used in the study consisted of 33 eighth graders, of which 19 were female and 14 were male. Participants completed an instrument developed by the researcher to measure level of gender socialization, along with Harter's (1988) Self-Perception Profile for Adolescents (SPPA) to measure self-concept in the above-referenced domains.

The Mann-Whitney U-Test was used to test distributions of means. Results were not statistically significant and therefore failed …

Psychopathological Symptoms And Their Relation To Paranormal Belief And Illusory Judgment, Michael P. Cofrin

Doctoral Dissertations

The relationship between psychopathological symptoms and paranormal belief and abilities was explored in four studies. Study 1 investigated the relationship between depressive symptoms and paranormal belief. Study 2 shifted the investigation into the laboratory by testing participants' illusory judgments on a paranormal task and assessing the relationship between their judgments and depressive symptoms. Study 3 combined scale and lab tasks testing for additional psychopathological symptoms and illusory judgment on four paranormal tasks. Study 4 incorporated techniques to increase illusion of control induction and minimize context effects and fatigue. Psychosis proneness and mood symptoms were positively related to general paranormal belief …

Responses To Terrorism Scenarios: Event Features, Individual Characteristics, And Subjective Evaluations, Clinton Michael Jenkin

Doctoral Dissertations

The extensive research into responses to terrorism has focused on the effects of individual characteristics on reactions to past terrorism events. This literature has largely omitted two issues: the impact of terrorism event features, and reactions to possible future terrorism events. The first purpose of this dissertation was to account for the effects of event features as well as subjective evaluations on responses to terrorism events. The second purpose of this dissertation was to compare reactions to past and future terrorism scenarios.

A series of actual and hypothetical written scenarios were presented to undergraduate psychology students, and various responses measured. …