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Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons

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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Are People Motivated To Experience Emotions For Their Cognitive Impacts? The Motivational Implications Of Cognitive Appraisal Theories Of Emotion, Daniel R. Rovenpor Nov 2016

Are People Motivated To Experience Emotions For Their Cognitive Impacts? The Motivational Implications Of Cognitive Appraisal Theories Of Emotion, Daniel R. Rovenpor

Doctoral Dissertations

I propose a novel framework for understanding why people want to feel different emotions. I argue that people may be motivated to experience emotions for the cognitive appraisals they are associated with. In an effort to lay the foundation for an appraisal-based model of emotional preferences, I drew upon research on cognitive appraisal theories of emotion, emotional preferences, and basic human motivation. I tested my proposed model by either measuring (Study 1) or manipulating (Studies 2-7) appraisals and measuring emotional preferences, using anger (Studies 1-6) and guilt (Study 7) as specific test cases. I predicted that uncertainty appraisals would lead …


Processing Messages For Reconciliation: What Produces Changes In Attitudes Instead Of Resistance?, Rachel R. Steele Nov 2016

Processing Messages For Reconciliation: What Produces Changes In Attitudes Instead Of Resistance?, Rachel R. Steele

Doctoral Dissertations

Conflicts between groups harm positive intergroup relations. Parties to intergroup conflict have developed a variety of methods for fostering reconciliation following conflicts. Out of these different mechanisms, intergroup apology is the most studied empirically but there are still a number of gaps in this research. To address these gaps, my research brought together intergroup apology research, attitude change and persuasion research, and findings on the role of group identification. In this research I assumed that apologies and other efforts for reconciliation function as persuasive messages for intergroup reconciliation. The research assessed the way in which participants from both victim and …


Correspondence Between Change In Adult Attachment Patterns And Change In Depression Symptoms In Early Marriage, Cassandra C. Devito Jul 2016

Correspondence Between Change In Adult Attachment Patterns And Change In Depression Symptoms In Early Marriage, Cassandra C. Devito

Doctoral Dissertations

Countless studies have demonstrated the association between attachment styles and depressive symptoms; however, thus far, none have examined concurrent change. That is, does change in attachment style predict change in depressive symptoms over time? This question was examined in a sample of 229 heterosexual newlywed couples from Western Massachusetts. It was found that changes in attachment avoidance in particular predicted changes in depressive and anxious symptoms over time. Being a parent also played a role in participants' overall attachment styles, depressive symptoms and anxious symptoms on average, with differences observed by gender. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.


Do Bad Boys Finish First? An Investigation Of A Lay Theory Of Heterosexual Women's Mate Preferences, Casey J. Debuse Jul 2016

Do Bad Boys Finish First? An Investigation Of A Lay Theory Of Heterosexual Women's Mate Preferences, Casey J. Debuse

Doctoral Dissertations

The notion that heterosexual women are romantically interested in “bad boys” is a pervasive lay theory of close relationships in U.S. culture. The current research investigated women’s perceptions of bad boys and individual differences in their romantic interest in bad boys. Three studies recruited heterosexual female participants from Amazon’s Mechanical Turk website. Study 1 asked participants to rate their associations of a list of trait adjectives with the bad boy and other prototypes (the “hero,” “nice guy,” and “loser”). Paired comparisons indicated that supportiveness and social dominance traits discriminated among prototypes. Study 2 asked participants to rate their romantic interest …