Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Cognitive Dissonance Within The Realm Of Implicit Bias, Shelby Luptak

Undergraduate Research Conference

According to research professors from Harvard University, one’s individual actions will affect his fundamental preferences or beliefs. This is in compliance to cognitive dissonance theory, which posits that an “individual experiences a mental discomfort after taking an action that seems to be in conflict with his or her starting attitude” (Acharya, Blackwell, & Sen, p. 2) Individuals will then choose to subconsciously change their attitudes or beliefs to “conform more closely with their actions” (Acharya et al., p. 2). In other words, from a starting attitude, one makes the decision to engage in contradictory behavior, which results in a change …

The Effects Of Being The Target Of Envy On Satisfaction With Success, Stephen Ratliff, Lauren E. Brewer, Kyle E. Conlon

Undergraduate Research Conference

Envy has been defined as wanting something that someone else has, which is distinct from jealousy, because jealousy is emotion fueled by an evolutionary need to protect one’s mate (Parrot & Smith, 1993) .

Benign and malicious envy are distinct in how they motivate us. Benign envy motivates us to perform as well as the target of envy, whereas malicious envy motivates us to sabotage the performance of the target of envy (Lange & Crusius, 2015).

Benign envy is exhibited through feelings of motivation whereas malicious envy is exhibited through feelings of anger (van de Ven, Zeelenberg, & Pieters, 2011; …

Making Marriage: Some Key Ingredients For A More Successful Union, Caitlin Davis Hornback, Dianne Dentice

Undergraduate Research Conference

Before entering into my own marriage on October 17, 2015, I wanted to discover the factors of what makes a successful marriage to help prevent becoming part of the 50% divorce statistic. When divorce can range anywhere from $15,000- $30,000, why would anyone want to leave their spouse?

Realizing Art In Multiple Media: How Different Art Forms Capitalize On Varying Elements Of Artistic Communication, Jesse Edwards, Scott Runnels

Undergraduate Research Conference

Art involves a very large and diverse collection of practices which humanity utilizes to express and communicate. Though these forms are highly similar in many ways, each holds a unique strength in relation to the others. This project was organized in an attempt to illustrate how several particular art forms excel in communicating in very diverse ways.

Differential Media Portrayal Of The Pope, Keara King, James Morris

Undergraduate Research Conference

This project presented the media portrayals of Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis. It examined theories of media impact on media consumers, and applied these to media coverage of the Popes and perceptions of Catholicism in America.

Gender Effects In Perceiving Advertising Archetypes, Sabrah Shipman

Undergraduate Research Conference

This study will examine the gender effects in perceiving advertising archetypes. Our society is constantly becoming more and more media saturated, and advertisers need to focus on employing evidence-based strategies to reach their target audiences. One repeating pattern throughout advertising is the use of archetypes. This study analyzes the prominent use of archetypes in today’s advertising, and factors in information on how gender can potentially impact the effectiveness of archetypes. Many studies in the past have shown females are naturally better at non-verbal communication, and perhaps this translates over into them being able to recognize advertising archetypes better.