Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Negative Intergroup Contact: Self-Distancing Facilitates Wisdom For First-Generation Immigrants, Hajer Al Homedawy

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Negative intergroup interactions can be utilized for the collective good if reasoned through wisely. An effective mechanism for facilitating wise reasoning is the empirically well-established self-distancing perspective. First-generation immigrants were recruited because their position in society makes them susceptible to a different set of challenges than second- or third-generation immigrants. Negative intergroup interaction memories were conjured by either the distanced-why or immersed-why perspective. The distanced-why perspective proved ineffective at reducing explicit negative affect but marginally increased wise reasoning (p = .057) when compared to the immersed-why perspective. The effect of condition was significant for the “search for compromise and …

Correctional Officers "Through The Looking Glass": Understanding Perceptions And Their Impact On Personal And Professional Identity, Emma Mistry

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

ABSTRACT

The external and institutional stressors that correctional officers face while performing their duties, such as managing a demanding workload, staffing shortages, and monitoring potentially dangerous inmates, have received some attention in the literature. However, researchers have not examined correctional officers’ perceptions of how others view their role and professional identity—whether prisoners, their families, or members of the general public—and how these perceptions are believed to influence an officer’s perspective of their work and their well-being. To explore this gap in the literature, this project seeks to analyze whether or not correctional officers sense these perceptions while performing their duties …

The Social Self-Compassion Scale (Sscs): Support For A Multi-Domain View Of The Self-Compassion Construct And Its Relevance To Anxiety, Alison Flett

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Self-compassion refers to the tendency to be kind and understanding towards oneself in times of failure rather than responding to such situations with harsh self-criticism. There is reason to believe on the basis of existing research that self-compassion is particularly relevant within the social domain. As such, this thesis is focused on describing and evaluating the Social Self-Compassion Scale (SSCS), which was developed for the purposes of this research and measures the degree to which individuals tend to be kind and understanding towards themselves when confronted with social adversity. This thesis begins by describing Studies 1 through 3, which were …

Spicing Things Up: How Regulatory Focus Affects People’S Willingness To Try Novel Activities With A Romantic Partner, Jill Prince

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

While spending time together is an important interpersonal goal for most romantic couples, “spicing things up” through participation in novel activities is a route commonly recommended and used in order to enhance relationship quality. However, relationship research has yet to focus on whether some people may have a greater proclivity toward pursuing these types of activities than others. The present research examines whether people’s motivational states – specifically, their regulatory focus orientation – may influence their desire to pursue novel activities with their romantic partners. In Study 1, participants (N = 110) indicated their regulatory focus, relationship quality, and …

Relationship Commitment As A Moderator Of The Effects Of Promotion Focus On The Pursuit Of Change And Stability Relationship Goals, Sarah Wall

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

According to regulatory focus theory, promotion-focused people should experience stronger engagement toward goals which are framed as leading to advancement. However, because situations can afford or constrain people’s regulatory preference, the present research investigates how promotion-focused individuals’ preference for change and advancement may be altered by the affordances offered by the broader contextual environment (i.e., their romantic relationship). I hypothesized that among participants in romantic relationships, those with a promotion focus (chronic or induced) would engage less in relationship goals when they reflected on how completing these goals would positively change their romantic relationship from its current state, compared to …

The Relationships Of Role Conflict With Role Ambiguity, Role Efficacy, And Task Cohesion: A Study Of Interdependent University Sport Teams, Brennan Petersen

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Roles, important structural components in groups, delineate group members’ jobs and responsibilities. Through this division of labour, group members must function interdependently to achieve shared group outcomes. A critical perception that individuals hold regarding their role is the degree to which incongruent expectations are present (i.e., role conflict). This perception is divided into several dimensions: intra-sender conflict, inter-sender conflict, person-role conflict, and inter-role conflict. Previous research has demonstrated that role conflict can negatively affect individual- and group-level variables (e.g., other role perceptions, task cohesion). However, two limitations pervade this research. First, role conflict is generally assessed unidimensionally. Second, the dimensions …

Exploring The Middle Path: Effects Of Ethical And Secular Mindfulness On Well-Being And Prosocial Behaviour, Siyin Chen

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Mainstream mindfulness programs generally remove Buddhist ethics, causing some to worry they may encourage self-indulgence and have limited capacity to promote well-being. We compare the effects of secular and ethical mindfulness (incorporating principles of non-harm and interdependence) on well-being and prosocial behaviour. Participants (N = 621) completed six days of ethical or secular mindfulness or active control exercises. Secular and ethical mindfulness practices both reduced stress and self-image concerns, and increased life satisfaction and self-awareness. Ethical mindfulness also enhanced personal growth. Participants were also invited to donate to a charity. Both mindfulness practices potentiated effects of trait empathy on …