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Cultural Values And Creativity: A Two Country Comparison Between The United States And South Africa, Junior A. Badibanga

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Research on the influence of culture on creativity is in its infancy. Organizations world-wide may benefit from such research by implementing work environments that maximize creativity. In this article, the cross-cultural differences in creativity and the cultural values of cognitive uncertainty and desire for change were investigated. Three hundred eighty three undergraduate students from the University of North Florida and the University of Pretoria in South Africa participated in a study where creativity was measured using the Abbreviated Torrance Test for Adults (ATTA; Goff & Torrance, 2002) and the Creative Achievement Questionnaire (CAQ), particularly the portion of the CAQ identifying …

The Role Of Social Support And Emotional Representations In Health Outcomes For Individuals With Chronic Illness, Courtney Ann Lemons

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Health related outcomes for individuals with chronic symptoms of illness can be influenced by complex, socio-emotional processes. The primary interest of this study was to determine whether perceived social support lessens the negative emotional appraisals of illness experience (e.g. anger, fear, hostile interpretations of illness), and the role of these emotional appraisals in health outcomes for those diagnosed either with a conventional chronic illness (e.g. diabetes, arthritis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) or a functional somatic syndrome (e.g. fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, irritable bowel). Data for this study were collected from a series of four surveys administered online, which included measures …

Creativity Across Cultures: A Comparison Of Cognitive Creativity To Creative Achievement Between The United States And India, Smit Shah

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Creativity is a topic that is relevant to everyday life. Research in this area has mainly focused on comparing creativity in work contexts and between Eastern and Western conceptualizations. The current study was designed to measure differences in creativity between students in the United States and India by comparing a measure of cognitive creativity, the Abbreviated Torrance Test for Adults, to a measure of creative achievement, the Creative Achievement Questionnaire. The results from a linear regression showed that the Abbreviated Torrance Test for Adults was predictive of the Creative Achievement Questionnaire in the United States, but not in India. Results …

It’S Personal And Not Just Business: The Effects Of Admitting Transgressions On The Perception Of Transgressors, Alexander Blandina

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Three experiments examined how a transgressor’s response, once accused of a wrongdoing, alters other’s perceptions of transgressor. Study 1 investigated how a baseball player’s response to steroid usage accusations affected fans’ perceptions of him. Participants thought of the athlete more positively when he apologized for his drug usage as compared to when he denied it or provided no comment. Study 2 examined if the effects of a transgressor’s response are moderated by the transgressor’s reputation. Participants were predicted to prefer apologies over denials if they had a pre-existing positive view of the transgressor (i.e., the person was a friend and …

You Get What You Deserve : The Relationship Between Injustice And The Consequences Of Social Exclusion, Heather A. Pease

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this current research I sought to answer two questions; 1) Do individuals have the capacity to recognize when they are being justly or unjustly socially excluded or conversely socially included? 2) Do the consequences of just and unjust social exclusion or social inclusion vary? In efforts to address these questions, I used perceptions of burden (i.e., participant’s overall contribution to a group task) to manipulate the perceived fairness of one’s inclusionary status to see how this affects the participants’ emotional and behavioral reactions.

In Study 1, participants engaged in an imaginary group interaction in which they were burdensome (performing …

A Tale Of Self-Monitoring, Social Capital, And Social Media, David A. Beane

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

We examined whether individual self-monitoring differences predict what type of relationships people have on Facebook. In the offline world, high self-monitors have large heterogeneous social networks made up of weak emotional ties, whereas low self-monitors have small homogenous social networks made up of strong emotional ties. In our study, we defined online relationships in terms of bridging and bonding social capital. Bridging social capital refers to large heterogeneous social networks made up of weak emotional ties. People maintain these relationships for social benefits. Bonding social capital refers to small homogeneous social networks made up of strong emotional ties. People maintain …

Self-Monitoring And Partner Knowledge Structures, Ronald Lee Gainey

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A connection between self-monitoring, which is an individual difference in concern about self-presentation, and partner knowledge structures, which is how people organize thoughts about their current romantic partner, is explored in this study. There were two competing hypotheses. If people structure thoughts about their partner in a way similar to how they structure their social worlds, then low self-monitors would have integrated partner knowledge structures and high self-monitors would have compartmentalized partner knowledge structures. If people structure thoughts about their partner in a way that reflects their relationship motivations and needs then we would find the opposite pattern of results. …

Climatic Influences On Social Cognition, Tyler Joel Swartz

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The effects of ambient room temperature on social cognition were examined in the current study. This study included 202 participants who completed a computer-based survey consisting of eight items measuring participants’ self-perception and desired social dynamics. I included these constructs because they serve to empirically examine the claims put forth by the Socio-Relational Framework of Expressive Behavior (Vigil, 2009). Participants completed the survey in experimental settings with the ambient room temperature ranging from 67.8 °F to 77.2 °F. I identified several important relationships that support the current theoretical framework, such as the differential desire for either affiliative or avoidant social …

The Effect Of Race And Masculinity On Female Mate Preference, Michael S. Penuliar

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The current work extends upon the theories of female mate preference in a novel way by examining how the interaction of race and the masculinity of males affect preference in females. In Study 1, I manipulated the facial masculinity of photographs of White, Black, and Asian males. Female participants rated the faces on attractiveness, masculinity, and age. In Study 2, nine photographs were matched on masculinity and participants made judgments on dimensions relating to dateabiltity, attractiveness, resources, masculinity, and parenting behaviors. Asian males are often neglected as potential romantic partners. A major aim of the current work was to assess …

Does Need For Cognition Moderate The Relationship Between Eyewitness Age And Perceived Credibility?, Anna E. Pittman

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The relationship between age and perceived credibility was examined, particularly whether or not middle-aged witnesses were perceived as more credible than older eyewitnesses. Additionally, I was interested in whether or not the relationship between age and credibility was moderated by need for cognition. Participants read a trial transcript about a child pedestrian-car accident wherein a defendant was charged with manslaughter. The sole eyewitness, either a 49 or 79 year-old male, testified that the child hit his head on a rock upon stepping off the curb before being struck by the defendant’s vehicle. Transcripts included direct and cross-examination with half accompanied …

A Preliminary Evaluation Of The Parent Resilience Program: A Program For The Parents Of Shy And Anxious Preschool-Aged Children, Jillian Leigh Brock

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a new anxiety prevention program, the Parent Resilience Program. The program is a cognitive-behavioral based prevention program designed to reduce the risk of anxiety in young children, specifically by reducing parent stress and teaching coping skills. The sample consisted of the parents and/or caregivers of 12 preschool-aged children. Parents attended eight weekly sessions of a psychologist-led intervention. Significant reductions were observed related to the impact of shyness on the child’s quality of life as well as parental anxiety and stress, both of which are risk factors for developing an …

Online Aggression : The Influences Of Anonymity And Social Modeling, Adam G. Zimmerman

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Behavioral temptation to aggress and participant blog responses following a group word unscrambling game were examined in situations of anonymity and positive or negative social modeling. Anonymous participants were more aggressive than non-anonymous participants. Also, social modeling seemed to moderate the effect of anonymity on behavioral temptation to aggress as well as verbal aggression via blog posts. Specifically, anonymous participants responded more aggressively when they viewed aggressive models following failure in a team word unscrambling game. These findings suggest that although anonymity may increase the likelihood that individuals will aggress, social modeling may influence aggressive outcomes.

Improving Dynamic Decision Making Through Training And Self-Reflection, Sarah Jane Donovan

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The modern business environment requires managers to make decisions in a dynamic and uncertain world. In the current study, experimenters investigated the effects of a brief training aimed at improving dynamic decision making (DDM) skills on individual performance in a virtual DDM task. During the training, experimenters explained the DDM process, stressed the importance of self-reflection in DDM, and provided 3 selfreflective questions to guide participants during the task. Additionally, experimenters explored whether participants low or high in self-reflection would perform better in the task and whether participants low or high in self-reflection would benefit more from the training. Participants …

Individual Differences In Perceptions Of Health-Related Behaviors, Shawn Thomas Lewis

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

When provided an opportunity for thought, individuals experience a strengthening of their already moderate attitude toward some attitude object. This process was studied in the context of variables – attitudes toward behavior, norms about behavior, and perceived behavioral control – known to predict intentions to engage in health-related behavior. A potential moderator of this process – locus of control beliefs – was also investigated. In this study, 195 participants indicated their attitudes toward eight health-related behaviors. Participants were randomly assigned to either a high or low opportunity for thought during which time they were asked to focus their thoughts on …

The Relationship Between Positive Beliefs About Post-Event Processing And Social Phobia Symptoms, Amanda N. Hammond

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Meta-cognitive models have been utilized to explore the relations between worry and generalized anxiety disorder, as well as, the associations between rumination and depression. However, relatively few studies have focused on the role of meta-cognitive variables and social phobia symptoms. It is possible that individuals with social phobia follow a pattern of thinking similar to that of those who experience depressive rumination and worry. Specifically, it may be that individuals with social phobia hold positive beliefs about their highly negative prolonged post-event evaluations of social interactions. The primary goal of this study was the development and assessment of the Positive …

An Exploration Of The Cognitive Predictors Of Perseverative Worry, Jessica L. O'Leary

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The mood-as-input model of perseverative worrying is a conceptual model that has been developed to explain the perseverative aspect of worry inherent in Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) (Davey, 2006a). The first objective of this study was to provide additional empirical support for the mood-as-input model of perseverative worrying. A second objective of this study was to investigate the association between perseverative worry and GAD symptoms. The final objective of this study was to assist in generating a comprehensive model of worry that incorporated unique predictors of GAD. Results indicated that unique variables, such as ‘as many as can’ stop rules …

Can Implied Isolation And Novelty Be Responsible For The Effect Of 'Adaptive Memory'?, Kim Anastasia Trajbar

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Adaptive memory is "the idea that [our] memory systems might have evolved to help us remember fitness-relevant information—specifically, information relevant to survival" (Nairne, Thompson, & Pandeirada, 2007, p. 263). Nairne et al. found that processing words in terms of survival relevance yielded the best memory retention compared to other deep processing conditions. The purpose of the present research was to investigate whether factors including a feeling of isolation or novelty could explain the adaptive memory advantage observed in previous adaptive memory research. In two incidental learning experiments, participants rated word relevance in one of four conditions: grasslands survival, space mission, …

Adaptive Memory And Social Influences, Aaron D. Leedy

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Recently, cognitive psychologists have focused their research on the survival aspects of human memory, showing advantages for remembering information encoded for adaptive qualities. When participants rated words related to survival relevance (stranded in grasslands), Nairne et al. (2007) and others found survival processing’s retention superior to many semantic encoding techniques, however, we questioned the global application of survival processing. In the present adaptive memory experiment we used the thematic word list paradigm pioneered by Deese, Rodeiger and McDermott, allowing us to measure false recall of critical items from sets of word lists. To investigate recall differences based on the material …

Cognitive Predictors Of Worry In An Adolescent Community Sample, Marco Roberto Mentuccia

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Although worry is a common source of distress in children and adolescents, relatively few studies have focused on understanding worry in both of these age groups (Cartwright-Hatton, 2006). This area of research is of particular relevance, as understanding worry in youth may have implications for the assessment and treatment of adolescent worry and other anxiety-related difficulties. Consequently, the focuses of this study were to examine the validity and relevance of metacognitive measures of worry in an adolescent sample, to determine the degree to which metacognitive worry is associated with worry in adolescents, and to examine the potential association between adolescent …

The Evaluation Of Adaptive Memory In Both Words And Narratives Using Modern Situations, Adam M. Wilde

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Nairne, Thompson, and Pandeirada (2007) have focused on the evolutionary aspect of memory by showing that when participants rate words relative to their relationship to survival, their subsequent retention of those words is superior to other well-known encoding techniques. Survival processing was induced using a written scenario of being stranded in grasslands that participants read. Several other experiments have replicated their findings, and some incorporated the Deese–Roediger–McDermott (DRM) paradigm with survival-processing (Roediger, & McDermott, 1995). The use of DRM word lists has been shown to increase rates of false memories, and the same pattern held true with the original grassland …

Cosmetic Surgery Pictures: Does Type Of Picture Affect Acceptance Of Cosmetic Surgery And/Or Body Image?, Lindsay Nicole Fuzzell

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The researcher investigates the effect of viewing positive and negative cosmetic surgery images, with short descriptive scenarios, on acceptance of cosmetic surgery. Two hundred ninety-nine participants were assigned to view one of three conditions: positive before/after cosmetic surgery pictures and an accompanying scenario, negative pictures and scenario, or no pictures or scenario (control), followed by the Acceptance of Cosmetic Surgery Scale (ACSS, Henderson-King & Henderson-King, 2005), the Body Parts Satisfaction Scale (Berscheid, Walster, & Bohrstedt, 1973), and the Physical Self Description Questionnaire (Marsh, Richards, Johnson, Roche, & Tremayne, 1994). There was a significant relationship between ACSS Intrapersonal subscale and picture/scenario …

The Positive And Negative Effects Of Jealousy On Relationship Quality: A Meta-Analysis, Melissa Ann Newberry

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Several theories have been posited regarding the role of jealousy on romantic relationships. However, they differ in terms of predictions which when confirmed has resulted in conflicting results. One way to sort out mixed results is to conduct a meta-analysis. Thus, the current investigations conformed to a meta-analysis of studies wherein the association between jealousy and relationship quality had been examined. In the present investigation jealousy had a negative relationship with relationship quality. Type of jealousy experienced moderated the effect on relationships, with anxious jealousy having a stronger negative relationship. Future directions for research in the field of jealousy and …

Emotional Intelligence And Conflict Management Style, Laura Noelle Henderson

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The relationship between emotional intelligence (EI) and conflict management was investigated using 229 college students and 4 3 participants from organizational settings. A positive correlation was found between emotional intelligence scores and use of the integrating style of handling conflict with one's bosses, one's subordinates and one's coworkers. Of the five styles of handling conflict, emotional intelligence had the highest significant positive relationship with the integrating style; this style is generally considered to be the best approach to handling conflict. High levels of emotional intelligence were associated with high levels of socially desirable responding. Emotional intelligence scores decreased with age, …

Intrusive Thoughts And Stress During The Evacuation Phase Of A Technological Disaster, Alisa Mastin Aston

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The current study investigates the quantity and quality of intrusive thoughts (IT) experienced during the evacuation following a technological disaster. This study is aimed at evaluating which aspects of IT are related to increased frequency and disturbance of intrusive thoughts, as well as stress and coping outcomes.