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Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons™
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- Climate change (5)
- Close relationships (5)
- Intergroup relations (5)
- Emotion (4)
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- Prejudice (4)
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- Ingroup glorification (2)
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Articles 1 - 30 of 64
Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Buffering Effects Of Negative Intergroup Contact Through Complex Social Identities, Liora Morhayim
Buffering Effects Of Negative Intergroup Contact Through Complex Social Identities, Liora Morhayim
Masters Theses
Although negative intergroup contact occurs less frequently than positive contact, negative contact can more strongly influence outgroup attitudes and behaviors due to the effect of category salience in the generalization process. The present study (N =306) tests whether being aware of an outgroup member’s complex social identity will serve as a buffer against the adverse impact of a negative intergroup contact experience on outgroup attitudes. In a 3X2 between-subjects design, social identity complexity (SIC) of an outgroup confederate (high versus low versus control) and the valence of contact (neutral versus negative) were manipulated. Participants interacted with an outgroup confederate …
Structural Racism, Black Out-Group Preference, And Mental Health, Alexander J. Kellogg
Structural Racism, Black Out-Group Preference, And Mental Health, Alexander J. Kellogg
Masters Theses
Structural racism has increasingly been implicated as a root cause of racial disparities in health and well-being. Specifically, areas where White Americans hold more negative attitudes toward Black Americans have been associated with both anti-Black discrimination and poorer Black physical and mental health. However, previous research has relied on cross-sectional designs and has neglected the potential effects of Black community-level attitudes on mental health. We hypothesized that higher aggregate pro-White bias among White Americans would be associated with higher implicit out-group preference among Black residents living in the same communities, above and beyond the effects of traditional measures of structural …
Collective Autonomy Restriction: A Theoretical Model And Empirical Investigations, Adrian Rivera-Rodriguez
Collective Autonomy Restriction: A Theoretical Model And Empirical Investigations, Adrian Rivera-Rodriguez
Doctoral Dissertations
Collective autonomy refers to a group’s freedom to define and practice their own cultural and social identity without interference from other groups. According to the “threat and defense” hypothesis of collective autonomy restriction, group members are motivated to defend their collective autonomy from outside restriction. However, the psychological processes that influence advantaged vs. disadvantaged group members perceptions of collective autonomy, as well as the specific strategies they use to protect collective autonomy, have yet to be articulated. This dissertation presents three manuscripts that examine the social conditions and psychological processes that shape advantaged and disadvantaged group members’ perceptions of collective …
The Collateral Consequences Of Criminal Stigma In Higher Education: Investigating Barriers To Institutional Access And Social Inclusion, Hannah K. Chimowitz
The Collateral Consequences Of Criminal Stigma In Higher Education: Investigating Barriers To Institutional Access And Social Inclusion, Hannah K. Chimowitz
Doctoral Dissertations
This dissertation explores the collateral consequences of criminal record stigma within the realm of higher education, an important institutional domain that is recognized as facilitating social mobility and providing opportunities for individuals with criminal histories. I develop an integrative theoretical framework and present two empirical studies. Study 1 investigates the relationship between criminal screening in undergraduate admissions applications and campus crime rates, as well as Black undergraduate enrollment rates. Using the Common Application's removal of criminal history questions as a natural experiment, I employ propensity score methods and estimate a series of latent growth curve models using structural equation modeling. …
Examining Shifts In Racial Attitudes In The Aftermath Of George Floyd’S Death And The 2020 Blm Protests, Se Min Suh
Examining Shifts In Racial Attitudes In The Aftermath Of George Floyd’S Death And The 2020 Blm Protests, Se Min Suh
Doctoral Dissertations
The killing of George Floyd in the summer of 2020 instigated one of the largest social movements in the United States history. Despite the wealth of research that has evaluated the efficacy of social movements using different social outcomes (Andrews, 1997; Biggs & Andrews, 2015; Branton et al., 2015; Enos et al., 2019; Gillion, 2012; Schwartz, 2016), less attention has been given to how social movements that concern racial issues impact racial attitudes (Riley & Peterson, 2020). Thus, the current research aimed to examine how Americans’ racial attitudes shifted in the period immediately following the onset of BLM protests. We …
For The Love Of Teaching: Pre-Service Teachers’ Experience Of Moral Education, Anne Marie Foley Ruiz
For The Love Of Teaching: Pre-Service Teachers’ Experience Of Moral Education, Anne Marie Foley Ruiz
Doctoral Dissertations
Moral aspects of teaching arise each and every day, yet we lack information about how prepared teachers feel about this critical aspect of teaching. This multi-case study explores perceptions of five pre-service teachers in an elementary teacher education program in Western Massachusetts. A series of interviews explore their histories prior to the program and their experiences in the program as related to the pre-service teachers’ orientations to the moral work of teaching. Research questions address the awareness and self-efficacy of student teachers in implementing the moral aspects of teaching. Using Thematic Analysis (Braun & Clark, 2006), this study explores beliefs …
On The Importance Of Perceived Interpersonal Safety: Antecedents And Consequences Of Living A Subjectively Safe Life, Stylianos Syropoulos
On The Importance Of Perceived Interpersonal Safety: Antecedents And Consequences Of Living A Subjectively Safe Life, Stylianos Syropoulos
Doctoral Dissertations
The need to be and feel safe is a fundamental human need. Despite extensive theoretical arguments on the subject, and research on relevant concepts, empirical work on what it means to feel interpersonally safe (i.e., in the presence of others or in social environments in general) is scarce. This dissertation presents four investigations that seek to address this gap. It also seeks to highlight the consequences of feeling interpersonally safe for our mental and physical health, and to what degree healthy and high-quality close relationships influence how safe we feel. Chapter 1 is a literature review summarizing theories underlying these …
Negotiation And Peacemaking In Conflict Narratives: The Influence Of Narrative Reminders Of Peace Processes On Attitudes Toward Protracted Conflicts Via Zero-Sum Beliefs, Quinnehtukqut Mclamore
Negotiation And Peacemaking In Conflict Narratives: The Influence Of Narrative Reminders Of Peace Processes On Attitudes Toward Protracted Conflicts Via Zero-Sum Beliefs, Quinnehtukqut Mclamore
Doctoral Dissertations
“Hegemonic” conflict narratives help reinforce intergroup conflict through focus on ingroup victimhood, denying outgroup narratives, and advancing beliefs that the conflict is “zero-sum” in nature. Many researchers have used narrative-based interventions to shift exclusive focus on ingroup victimhood and denial of outgroup narratives, but relatively little attention has been paid to the role of zero-sum beliefs. Here, I argue that narrative primes recalling past peace processes can potentially be used to shift zero-sum beliefs, thereby shifting conflict-relevant outcome variables indirectly. In two survey studies of American participants (Studies 1 & 2), I found evidence that participants who read about the …
The Roles Of Identity And Beliefs About Social Change In Decision Making Processes For Identity-Laden Social Change Efforts, Joel Ginn
Doctoral Dissertations
This dissertation presents three investigations into distinct processes that attempt to explain people’s decision making around social change action in three identity-laden domains. Chapter 1 reviews existing literature and theory on how social identity and social change beliefs can impact social change action. Chapter 2 examines identity-based motivated cognition by showing how identification as a meat-eater leads to biased estimates of meat reduction’s climate change impacts. Chapter 3 examines cisgender student reactions to faculty who use gender pronouns as an inclusion strategy for transgender and gender nonconforming students to examine if this action leads to stereotyping and judgement. Chapter 4 …
Why Does Equality Matter Anyway? How Indifference To Inequality Relates To U.S.-Born White, Latino, And Black Americans' Attitudes Toward Immigration Policy, Trisha A. Dehrone
Why Does Equality Matter Anyway? How Indifference To Inequality Relates To U.S.-Born White, Latino, And Black Americans' Attitudes Toward Immigration Policy, Trisha A. Dehrone
Masters Theses
Research on attitudes towards immigration policies typically considers the economic and cultural threats that compel many Americans to favor exclusionary policies that curb immigration. Less is understood about how indifference to inequality shapes Americans’ attitudes towards immigration policies—that is, how ‘not caring’ about the unequal conditions faced by immigrants likely has detrimental consequences for their safety and wellbeing. The present research examines indifference to inequality as a predictor for policies that impact opportunities for immigrants to come to the U.S., and who are otherwise undocumented and/or at great risk for exploitation. Using survey data from the American National Election Studies …
Coping With Climate Change, Andrea Yj Mah
Coping With Climate Change, Andrea Yj Mah
Masters Theses
Climate change is a source of anxiety and stress. To be resilient to the changes that are occurring, individuals must cope with that stress. Because there are many ways that people might manage stress we examined variation in coping strategy use among Americans who reported some concern about climate change to understand generally how people cope with such stress, and whether it can be predicted from individual difference factors, namely degree of climate change concern and political ideology. We examined these variables specifically because in the study of responses to climate change, conservatives and liberals often report divergent beliefs, attitudes, …
Behavior Or Diagnosis? Effects Of Irritable Patient Behavior And Diagnostic Labels On Mental Illness Stigma, Nathan R. Huff
Behavior Or Diagnosis? Effects Of Irritable Patient Behavior And Diagnostic Labels On Mental Illness Stigma, Nathan R. Huff
Masters Theses
Although research demonstrates significant stigma towards individuals with mental illness, the relative importance of observed behavior and a psychiatric diagnosis in eliciting stigma remains poorly understood. Using video vignettes, three experiments (ns = 195, 749, and 791) examined the effect of irritable (vs. calm) behavior and the presence (vs. absence) of a psychiatric diagnosis (schizophrenia in Studies 1 and 2; schizophrenia and depression in Study 3) on attitudinal, emotional, and behavioral dimensions of stigma towards a fictitious emergency room patient seeking migraine treatment. In line with labeling theory, irritable behavior resulted in greater blameworthy attributions for behavior, greater fear and …
Assessing Impacts Of Negative Stereotypes And Designing Theory-Driven Interventions To Support Underrepresented Minorities In Stem, Deborah Wu
Doctoral Dissertations
The underrepresentation of women, racial ethnic minorities, and first-generation college students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields in the United States has been well-documented. Members of these minority groups face negative stereotypes casting doubt on their abilities in these fields, which can cause the concern that they will be judged through the lens of the stereotype and devalued. This concern is called social identity threat. This dissertation presents three investigations focusing on the experiences of underrepresented students in STEM, examining when and how altering situational contexts increases or decreases their vulnerability to social identity threat. Chapter 1 is …
Quiet Ego And Well-Being: The What, Why, And How -- An Investigation Of The Implications Of The Quiet Ego For Psychological Well-Being, Guanyu Liu
Doctoral Dissertations
Ego is that which constructs and evaluates the concept of self in that it processes information and interprets objects (e.g., people, experiences) and labels them as part of the self (or not). To put it another way, ego is an active experiencer, perceiver, and doer that constructs, maintains, and regulates our sense of self and our relationships with others. Ego processes information in different modes. The mode that has been most extensively studied is the egotistical-narcissistic one because it fits well with the predominant cultural ideology of being individualistic and being motivated by self-interest. Thus, what has largely been ignored …
The Dual Process Model Of National Identification: Harmonious And Dangerous Worldviews As Antecedents Of National Attachment And Glorification, Stylianos Syropoulos
The Dual Process Model Of National Identification: Harmonious And Dangerous Worldviews As Antecedents Of National Attachment And Glorification, Stylianos Syropoulos
Masters Theses
Worldviews can shape the way in which we perceive the world. They can also shape the way in which we identify with our ingroup. Conceptualizing national identification as national attachment and glorification, four studies (total N = 1795) tested the association between endorsement of a harmonious or a dangerous worldview and national identification. Study 1 established the harmonious worldview and refined the dangerous worldview scale. Study 2 examined these relationships correlationally, and highlighted the prejudicial ideologies of right wing authoritarianism (RWA) and social dominance orientation (SDO) as mediators to this association. Study 3 examined this relationship longitudinally, across the span …
Narrative Communication: How Sending And Receiving Impact Statements On Past Ingroup Suffering Influences Conflict Attitudes, Brooke Burrows
Narrative Communication: How Sending And Receiving Impact Statements On Past Ingroup Suffering Influences Conflict Attitudes, Brooke Burrows
Masters Theses
In the aftermath of mass violence or harm perpetrated against one group by another, commemoration or memorialization processes held by the victim group are often a space in which narratives of impact and suffering are expressed and shared. While there may be no formal or direct calls for justice or policy during these commemoration processes, prior research indicates that such public forums, ranging from truth commissions to museum exhibits, may have diverse impacts on individual emotions as well as attitudes towards the broader conflict implicated (Humphrey, 2000; Reeves & Heath-Kelly, 2020). The current work proposes a closer examination of such …
The Impact Of Social Distancing And Loneliness On Adolescents' Mental Health During Covid-19, Marielena Barbieri
The Impact Of Social Distancing And Loneliness On Adolescents' Mental Health During Covid-19, Marielena Barbieri
Masters Theses
The COVID-19 pandemic has severely limited physical interaction (e.g., school closures, 6ft- distances, quarantine) and disrupted the daily lives of adolescents which likely heightened levels of perceived loneliness and internalizing symptomology. Due to the novelty of social distancing regulations caused by COVID-19, little is known about the role that loneliness plays in the association between stress from social distancing regulations and adherence to these regulations, and later difficulties with internalizing symptoms. The current study examined the impact of social distancing regulations on adolescents’ wellbeing through perceived loneliness by using data from a 5-week longitudinal survey-based study conducted on parents and …
Effects Of Interracial Contact On University Students' Perceptions Of Inclusion, Cierra Abellera
Effects Of Interracial Contact On University Students' Perceptions Of Inclusion, Cierra Abellera
Masters Theses
Research from higher education and social psychology has recognized feelings of belonging and perceptions of inclusion as important factors within the university student experience. Yet little research has examined the extent to which interracial contact may correspond with belonging and inclusion in the university setting. In the present study, I conduct secondary analyses of a 2016 campus climate survey of undergraduate students to examine the associations between interracial contact and three indicators of belonging and inclusion (e.g., feeling a sense of belonging, perceiving the campus to be welcoming, perceived university commitment to inclusion) among undergraduate students from different racial and …
The Influence Of Victim Gender And Emotional Expression In Victim Impact Statements On Legal Judgments And Punishment Decisions, Hannah Chimowitz
The Influence Of Victim Gender And Emotional Expression In Victim Impact Statements On Legal Judgments And Punishment Decisions, Hannah Chimowitz
Masters Theses
Victim impact statements (VISs) are written or oral statements detailing the effects a crime has had on a victim. While the practice of having victims present VISs at sentencing hearings has generated much debate for over 25 years, the effects of this practice on victims, defendants, and legal decision-makers remain poorly understood. Prior research suggests that a victim’s emotional expression can affect how victims are perceived, and the legal judgments made in response to their statements. The current research considers how the effects of victims’ emotional displays on sentencing decisions might be conditioned by victim gender. Using audio-recorded VIS stimuli, …
Multiple Identities In Sport Fandom: Balance, Conflict, & Negotiation, Aaron Mansfield
Multiple Identities In Sport Fandom: Balance, Conflict, & Negotiation, Aaron Mansfield
Doctoral Dissertations
Simultaneous to the sport industry’s ascent, obesity has become an issue of growing societal concern. Scholars have explored the role of social-psychological identification in both fandom and physical health, but have not yet explored the intersection of the two. Throughout life, individuals must negotiate all of their identities, including their attachment to sport teams, yet understanding of role identity within sport management is limited. Likewise, scholars have noted the need for greater illumination of the relationship between fandom and physical well-being. I address these gaps through three studies. In Study One, I completed semi-structured interviews with individuals who consider both …
Really, You Should Be Thanking Us: Paternalism And Instrumental Gratitude Expectations, Greg Larsen
Really, You Should Be Thanking Us: Paternalism And Instrumental Gratitude Expectations, Greg Larsen
Doctoral Dissertations
Intergroup helping is sometimes motivated by paternalistic narratives about recipients being incapable of making good choices. Five studies investigated whether paternalistic perceptions of recipients encouraged members of groups that provide help expect gratitude from recipients, and whether receiving gratitude and affirmation from recipients was rewarded when it was given. I first found preliminary evidence that paternalistic perceptions of recipients affects the way that members of a helper group respond to recipients’ responses to help (Study 1). I then found that believing paternalistic narratives about recipients did increase participants' expectations that recipients should show them gratitude, and that these expectations did …
Getting The Message Across: Flexitarians As Messengers For Meat's Climate Change Impacts, Joel Ginn
Getting The Message Across: Flexitarians As Messengers For Meat's Climate Change Impacts, Joel Ginn
Masters Theses
Meat consumption has been a prominent part of humanity’s dietary culture, particularly in modern, Western developed nations. However, recent research has shown that collectively reducing our consumption of animal products can have major benefits for mitigating our environmental footprint. Despite a consensus among climate scientists on its potential impact, the public does not recognize the effectiveness of this behavioral shift. Recent efforts to address this have created movements and organizations that focus on reduction of meat consumption (e.g. flexitarianism, reducetarianism, Meatless Mondays), rather than elimination of meat consumption (e.g. vegetarianism, veganism) with the intent of creating a more acceptable message, …
Understanding Shame And Guilt In Chinese Culture, Se Min Suh
Understanding Shame And Guilt In Chinese Culture, Se Min Suh
Masters Theses
Research on shame and guilt has mainly been conducted in individualistic Western cultures. Some qualitative research, however, examined shame and guilt experiences in Chinese culture. Bedford (2004) identified 7 terms that represent emotional experiences of “shame” and “guilt.” We report 3 studies examining Mandarin Chinese speakers’ recalled experiences of negative self-conscious emotions and their related appraisals and motivations. Results reveal that instead of categorizing negative self-conscious emotion terms into 2 superordinate categories of “shame” and “guilt,” 3 clusters are more suitable based on their correlations and associated characteristics. Implications for cross-cultural studies on self-conscious emotions are discussed.
Shadows Of The Past: The Effects Of Movements' Past Strategy On Third-Parties' Support For Its Current Strategy, Seyed Nima Orazani
Shadows Of The Past: The Effects Of Movements' Past Strategy On Third-Parties' Support For Its Current Strategy, Seyed Nima Orazani
Doctoral Dissertations
Social movements benefit from third-party support in waging social change. The budding literature on the effects of social movements’ strategy (violent vs. nonviolent) on third-parties’ willingness to support and join the social movement has mainly regarded social movements’ strategy as something fixed and unrelated to its past strategy. Using varied contexts, I investigated how social movements’ past strategy may affect, if any, third parties’ moral perception of the current strategy of social movements and how this perception translates into third parties’ (un)willingness to support and join social movements. In the context of the conflict between hate groups and counter-protestors in …
Social Signals For Change: Examining The Role Of Interpersonal Communication For Positive Ecological Progress, Meaghan Guckian
Social Signals For Change: Examining The Role Of Interpersonal Communication For Positive Ecological Progress, Meaghan Guckian
Doctoral Dissertations
It perhaps goes without saying that society is collectively failing to meet the challenges posed by climate change and natural resource management, among other issues. Stagnated efforts may in part be driven by social processes that have been shown to shape whether, how, and to what extent individuals engage with environmental issues. In light of these stalled efforts to advance positive change, there is a pressing need to broaden our understanding of the normative processes that support the formation and maintenance of situation-appropriate social norms. In this dissertation, I integrate research from various fields to explore the role of interpersonal …
Television And Perceived Control: A Longitudinal Study Of The Cultivation Of Powerlessness Among Millenial Adolescents, Fernando Rodriguez
Television And Perceived Control: A Longitudinal Study Of The Cultivation Of Powerlessness Among Millenial Adolescents, Fernando Rodriguez
Doctoral Dissertations
Cultivation research has observed the long term subtle contribution of television mediated storytelling on the perceptions and beliefs of American viewers for fifty years. Early criticisms of cultivation argued the associations of viewing amount and fear of victimization were spurious and explained away by personality traits such as perceived control or authoritarianism. This project frames perceived control as a cognitive assessment of the personal ability to cope with life challenges. As a cognitive assessment, perceived control is assumed to be in constant revision. From a life-course approach, the symbolic cultural environment (which includes television) is seen as providing context and …
Public Attitudes Toward Collective Action: Three Social Psychological Investigations In Malaysia, The United States And Israel-Palestine, Hema Preya Selvanathan
Public Attitudes Toward Collective Action: Three Social Psychological Investigations In Malaysia, The United States And Israel-Palestine, Hema Preya Selvanathan
Doctoral Dissertations
Collective action often aims to elicit a response from the broader public. This dissertation presents three distinct but interrelated investigations on the societal outcomes of collective action among both high- and low- status groups in society, grounded in a range of social and political contexts. Chapter 1 provides an integrative literature review that identifies the motivation for the present research. Chapter 2 examined whether and how collective action organized by a social movement can shape the public’s subsequent attitudes toward the movement and its goals, in the context of the electoral reform Bersih movement in Malaysia. Chapter 3 investigated when …
To Defend Or Not To Defend--The Low Glorifier's Question: The Relationship Between Low Glorifiers' Defensiveness Of Ingroup-Perpetrated Harm And The Tangibility Of Intergroup Conflict, Quinnehtukqut Mclamore
To Defend Or Not To Defend--The Low Glorifier's Question: The Relationship Between Low Glorifiers' Defensiveness Of Ingroup-Perpetrated Harm And The Tangibility Of Intergroup Conflict, Quinnehtukqut Mclamore
Masters Theses
Members of groups in conflict are often defensive of ingroup-perpetrated violence, especially if they glorify their ingroup. While past literature has established that high glorifiers are unconditionally defensive of their ingroup, findings regarding low glorifiers are mixed, with some studies finding low glorifiers to be similarly defensive as high glorifiers and others finding low glorifiers to not be defensive or even critical of the ingroup. Across six studies, I investigated whether perceiving a conflict to be tangible (rather than intangible) drives defensiveness among low glorifiers. I tested this hypothesis across two national contexts that were naturally closer (Israel) or farther …
Three Investigations Into The Dynamics And Implications Of Identity-Protective Cognition For Public Responses To Environmental Problems, Daniel A. Chapman
Three Investigations Into The Dynamics And Implications Of Identity-Protective Cognition For Public Responses To Environmental Problems, Daniel A. Chapman
Doctoral Dissertations
In the case of responding to climate change and related environmental problems, opinions about the best course of action have become starkly polarized along ideological lines. The identity-protective cognition thesis posits that when individuals experience a sense of challenge to these identities, they are motivated to engage in cognitive shortcuts and other reasoning processes to protect these identities against threat. In this research, I discuss three investigations into identity-protective cognition in the context of responding to environmental problems, applying the broader identity-protective cognition framework to a diverse set of theoretical and practical questions. Chapter 2 highlights research exploring the effect …
Conceptualization And Measurement Of Adolescent Prosocial Behavior: A Two-Study Mixed Methods Investigation, Shereen El Mallah
Conceptualization And Measurement Of Adolescent Prosocial Behavior: A Two-Study Mixed Methods Investigation, Shereen El Mallah
Doctoral Dissertations
Prosocial behavior is a multifaceted construct that may be expressed and received in a myriad of ways, thereby posing several challenges in measurement. Undoubtedly, significant advancements in the measurement of prosocial behavior have been made since the construct first found its way onto the research stage; however, a few fundamental problems persist with regard to: 1) the absence of a universally employed definition, 2) substantial variation in operationalization and measurement of the construct, and 3) inconsistent reports regarding the nature of prosocial development during the transition between adolescence and young adulthood. These issues are further compounded under conditions of adversity …