Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Role Of Valence In Construct Dimensionality Debates, Chun Seng Kam

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

There continues to be debate about the dimensionality of important psychological constructs (e.g., anxiety; job satisfaction). The standard procedures for determining whether a construct is unidimensional or two-dimensional have been to (a) conduct factor analyses and (b) test for differences in the nomological network of correlations with other variables. I argue, and demonstrate empirically, that these approaches can sometimes mislead researchers to draw incorrect conclusions. In Study 1, I examined how item valence (i.e., favorability of item content) can affect factor analyses and nomological network analyses with two separate samples of undergraduate students. Results consistently showed that item valence can …

Inclusive Fitness, Reciprocal Altruism And Emotion: Testing A Social-Functional Model Of Anger And Gratitude Across Kin And Non-Kin Relationships, Harris Rubin

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Guided by the theories of inclusive fitness (Hamilton, 1964) and reciprocal altruism (Trivers, 1971), two studies tested hypotheses related to the notion that emotions are part of an evolved psychological system that functions, in part, to regulate social exchange. Emotional experience and exchange behaviors were predicted to vary based on both the structure of the situation and the type of relationship one has with a partner. Due to an absence of inclusive fitness effects, interaction with non-kin (compared with kin) exchange partners was expected to trigger more intense emotional responses. Study 1 found that, as expected, unfair offers led to …

Deliberate Self-Persuasion And Forgiveness, Irene Cheung

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

After being hurt by a romantic partner, individuals may feel ambivalent towards their partner. Specifically, individuals’ feelings about their partner after a transgression (current attitudes) may be discrepant from how they want to feel about their partner (desired attitudes). When individuals are aware of such a discrepancy, they may be motivated to resolve it by using mental strategies (e.g., focusing on the positive characteristics of the partner or focusing on events that are not related to the transgression) that bring their current attitudes more in line with their desired attitudes, a process that has been labeled deliberate self-persuasion (Maio & …

Parental Relocation: Factors Present In Judges’ Decisions, Emily A. Reddick

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Abstract

The present study examined multiple factors that may account for Canadian judges’ decisions in relocation cases where one parent contests a move away by the other parent and children after separation. The decisions were collected from a stratified random sample of judgments consisting of 50 cases where the relocation was approved and 50 where it was denied. The cases reviewed took place between 1996 and 1999 and followed the highly criticized Supreme Court decision in Gordon v. Goertz.

Cases were analyzed to determine the extent to which child, parent, judicial, move, and legal factors predicted court outcomes. All identified …

Profiles Of Children And Youth Displaying Inappropriate Sexual Behaviours: Relevance For Assessment For Sexual Offending Patterns, Julia M. L. Rick

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The purpose of this study was to evaluate a specialized assessment program with a sample of children/youth (n = 80) who were seeking intervention for inappropriate sexual behaviour (ISB) at a tertiary mental health facility in London, Ontario. The primary goal was to identify predictive factors in participants with offending behaviour—both sexual and non-sexual—in order to prioritize treatment needs and to address strategies for reducing the risk of sexual offending against others. As participant ages increased by 1 year, their odds of sexually offending someone increased by approximately 27%. Also, males were found six times more likely to sexually …

Hearing Women’S Voices: Understanding Women's Stories Of Violence From The Perspective Of Strength, Kayla M. Janes

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The purpose of this study was to understand women's experiences of violence from the perspective of strength. Women who had experienced woman abuse participated, identifying common themes that emerged relating to their strengths and resilience that helped them survive their traumatic experiences, as well as their posttraumatic growth. Interviews were conducted with women who were involved in an adult education program for women who had experienced woman abuse. All of the women in this study were suffering distress and mental health concerns related to their experiences of violence; however all of them showed resilience and posttraumatic growth in areas of …

Coping Experiences Of 911 Communication Workers, Sarah G. Horsford

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This research explored coping experiences among emergency communications personnel. Ten individuals from a communication centre of a policing unit in Ontario participated in semi-structured interviews. Seven themes emerged to form the content analysis including Meaning-Focused Coping, Emotion-Focused Coping, Problem-Focused Coping, Reappraisal, Comm Centre Culture, Occupational Dimensions and Organizational Structure. Themes were compared to workplace stress, coping and burnout literature in addition to literature regarding organizational interventions and emergency responders. Implications were presented for counselors working with communications personnel and emergency responders.

Cultural Connectedness As Personal Wellness In First Nations Youth, Ben Davis

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Adolescent development involves changes in self-concept and identification with different groups or cultural norms. Many First Nations adolescents have additional difficulties due to disconnections with family, schooling and cultural background, as a legacy of colonisation and social marginalisation. The present study used data from the First Nations Regional Longitudinal Health Survey, Youth, Phase 2 to test the hypothesis that connectedness to social and cultural factors would predict lower rates of reported depression in First Nations youth, using a logistic regression analysis. The findings indicated that connectedness to family and school, as well as having a sense of control over one's …

The Aftermath Of Intergenerational Trauma: Substance Use Risk And Resiliency, Laurel E. Pickel

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The present study explored resilience factors to substance use within Canada’s First Nations adults. This was explored through a lens of historical trauma experienced as a group through the Residential School establishments. Secondary data from phase II (2008/10) of the Regional Health Survey were analyzed in coming to determine the effects of resiliency factors in the lives of abstainers/low substance users, moderate users and heavy users. Analysis of variance tests revealed some significant differences in experience with resilience factors in the lives of abstainers/low users versus heavy users; no significant observations were had for the moderate group. Logistic regression analysis …

Motivation In Goal Orientation And Motivational Climate In Elite Wheelchair Tennis Players, Laurence M. Zalmanowitz

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This research explored motivation in relation to goal orientation and motivational climate among elite wheelchair tennis players in Canada who were asked to recall their experiences from early development to the highest levels of competition. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with three Canadian wheelchair tennis players via Skype. Each represented Canada in international competition during their career. An ethnographic collective case study method was followed. All interviews were transcribed and analyzed by the researcher. Four themes emerged from the data, including involvement, process, impact/support of others and measures of success. Results were compared with existing research. Similarities and differences were discussed. …

The Relative Influences Of Knowledge, Beliefs And Preferences On Adherence To Asthma Medication, Naomi J. Gryfe Saperia

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Purpose: Patients’ decisions about whether or not to adhere to their prescribed regimens are shaped not only by their knowledge and beliefs about their condition and its treatment options, but also by what they value in these domains. This study represents an integration of theory and methods from nursing/public health, psychology and economics to explore the additive effects of knowledge, beliefs and preferences on adherence to preventer medication in a sample of patients with asthma. It was hypothesized that knowledge, beliefs and preferences pertaining to long term outcomes would independently predict improved adherence. Method: 140 patients with asthma were asked …

Psychological Contracts In The Workplace: A Mixed Methods Design Project, Kate J. Mcinnis

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Employee perceptions of psychological contracts were explored in a mixed methods design project. Although psychological contract research has been popular since its inception over 50 years ago, the field makes a number of assumptions about how employees truly experience psychological contracts (Conway & Briner, 2009). The primary goal of the present research was to identify how psychological contracts should be measured and theorized to reflect the natural experiences and language of employees. In Study 1, I examined a number of the theory’s assumptions by asking employees in interviews about their psychological contract experiences. A descriptive phenomenological approach allowed me to …

Investigating The Necessary Components Of A Sarcastic Context, John D. Campbell

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This research is designed to investigate the contextual components utilized to convey sarcastic verbal irony, testing whether theoretical components deemed as necessary for creating a sense of irony are, in fact, necessary. A novel task was employed: Given a set of statements that out-of-context were not rated as sarcastic, participants were instructed to either generate discourse context that would make the statements sarcastic or meaningful (without further specification). In a series of studies these generated contexts were shown to differ from one another along the dimensions presumed as necessary (failed expectation, pragmatic insincerity, negative tension and presence of a victim) …