Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Collectivism And Efficacy: Relationship To Academic Performance In Early Adolescents, Richvinder Kaur

Selected Full-Text Master Theses 2021-

This study explored the mathematics efficacy beliefs of 270 South Asian (Indo American) immigrant and Anglo American nonimmigrant 7th grade students. Self-efficacy beliefs strongly predicted mathematics performance for both cultural groups, but there were differences between the 2 groups in the sources of self-efficacy, the predictiveness of the secondary motivation variables. It is argued that the Indo American students are more vertical or hierarchical than the Anglo-American students and that comparison with others strongly influences their motivation beliefs and the formation of their efficacy beliefs. Self-efficacy in some cultures may be more other-oriented than is typically seen in Western cultures. …

The Punitive Laboratory Of Neoliberalism: A Cross-National Examination, Beth A. Fera

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

A large body of research has been produced to explain global punitive trends in recent decades. Neoliberalism, an economic philosophy expressed by market deregulation, privatization, and the retrenchment of social supports, has been offered as an explanation for increases in cross-national punitiveness. According to neoliberal penality theory, neoliberalism has shifted principles guiding punishment practices and the treatment of offenders, which has resulted in harsher national responses to crime. However, many tenets of this theory have not yet been tested empirically. Drawing heavily on propositions from neoliberal penality, group-threat, and penal populism literature, this dissertation examines the relationship between economic shifts, …

The Impact Of The Csr Messages Type On Corporate Image: A Cross-Cultural Investigation, Hansen Lee

All Theses

This study investigates the impact of internal and external CSR messages on corporate image within a cross-cultural context. A 3 x 2 between-subjects experiment was conducted to examine the effects of CSR message types on general corporate image, trust, and credibility among U.S. and Chinese participants. The results revealed that U.S. and Chinese participants displayed varying levels of perceived corporate image and credibility. Chinese participants exhibited higher levels of trust, corporate image, and credibility after receiving CSR messages, regardless of type. Significant interaction effects were noted between CSR message type and culture on corporate image and credibility. Chinese participants had …

Liberal Men, Rational Kings: The Democratization Of Sovereign Individualism, Austin Daniel Ladd

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Theoretical traditions are reactionary insofar as they are attempts to remedy deleterious conditions generated by certain political, cultural, and economic situations characteristic of a particular polity at a particular time. Using this lens, I investigate the principles of classical liberalism and suggest that they are specifically designed to solve the problems that animated the world of divine right, essentially functioning as transitional mechanisms pulling society towards liberal social contract regimes and away from antiquated feudal institutions and absolute monarchy. I craft a narrative that demonstrates that the main problem all of them coalesce to solve is individualism which, under divine …

Who Votes And Why: Economic And Psychological Predictors Of Political Participation, Rhea Malhotra

Scripps Senior Theses

At the centre of democracy lies the right to vote. The United States of America is considered to be an emblem of democracy, so voting is naturally a topic of discourse in colloquial spheres especially given the long fight for equal voting access. In general, voting is a way for citizens to advocate their needs, interact with contemporary society, and prove their affiliation with their country. That being said, the individual reasons to vote differ from citizen to citizen, but patterns may still exist which is why it is important to explore which variables can predict voting outcomes. By doing …

Sociocultural Orientations And Mental Illness Stigma: A Novel Mediational Model, Karis Treadwell

Honors Projects

This study proposes a novel mediational model to investigate the relationship between sociocultural orientations and mental illness stigma by exploring empathy and controllability attributions as mediators. Past literature suggests that understanding these variables may contain important implications for guiding stigma-reducing efforts. Questionnaires assessing sociocultural orientations, empathy, blaming attributions, and general mental illness stigma were administered to 109 students at a small liberal-arts college in the northeast United States. The sample consisted of 80 female-identifying participants, 28 male-identifying participants, and 1 non-binary participant. Questionnaires administered included the Individualism and Collectivism scale (Triandis & Gelfand, 1998), the Questionnaire of Cognitive and Affective …

"Are We Done?": The Minimization Of Covid-19 And The Individualization Of Health In The United States, Cassidy R. Boe

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As the death toll from Covid-19 in the United States exceeds 1 million in just over two years, more variants continue to emerge, threatening more waves of Covid-19 and ultimately, more deaths. Despite this, mask use continues to decline, and one third of Americans say that the pandemic is over. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has been central in publicly disseminating biomedical knowledge using Twitter. The CDC’s Twitter account (@CDCgov) shares information related to the spread of Covid-19, including mitigation measures such as mask recommendations and vaccine information. I have conducted a narrative analysis of the replies …

A Nation Of Priests: Authority, Expertise, And The Religious Nones, Riley Ct Brown

MSU Graduate Theses

Much of recent scholarship on the nones and the spiritual but not religious attempts to understand them through the concept of authority. Often scholars argue that authority has left traditional American religious institutions and that the nones are self-authorized in terms of religion. Scholars often make these claims without considering what self-authorization means. This thesis shows that attributing authority to the self is problematic and aims to provide another lens through which to view the nones. The better approach is to view the nones as experts rather than authorities. Thus, this thesis argues that the nones are religious experts. Furthermore, …

Exploring Generational Differences In Emotional Response To The Pandemic, Michelle Aros

Honors Undergraduate Theses

COVID-19 was a pandemic that has impacted the world in various ways and forced everyone to quarantine within the confounds of their homes. As studies investigated the effects of the pandemic, it was found that undergraduate students faced severe emotional and psychological difficulties being “at-risk” for greater psychological distress (Mayorga et al., 2021). Undergraduate students are currently made up of Generation Z individuals who are born from 1995 to 2010 (Ang et al., 2021). The present study investigates the relationship between mental health and generational cultural attitudes to explore whether there is a correlation between the stressors from COVID and …

Vegan Food For Thought: Moral Constructions Of Animals, Ryan F. Turner

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation examines how humans make moral sense of and with animals. Each substantive chapter is devoted to one of three topics: animal selfhood, veganism, and animal rights. In chapter two, I examine animal selfhood and its moral implications. I argue that animal selves, particularly in an elemental Meadian sense, are potentially real, but in most cases are unobservable or unverifiable phenomena. I also argue that any moral theory of animal rights based on animal selfhood is limited by the empirical and epistemological limitations of substantiating animal selves. In chapter three, I present the interactional strategies ethical vegans employ when …

Social Media's Link With Individualism And The Dangers That Follow, Veronica Prytko

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

A Cross National Comparison Of Family Friendly Work Policies: The Potential Influence Of Cultural Values, Adeline Grace Hardten

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Around the world people must work for a living, but also must raise their families. To balance these obligations, parents need high levels of support. But the existence of family friendly work policies, defined as paid parental leave and affordable, high-quality childcare, vary significantly across nations, making it difficult for many to obtain the necessary support. Research indicates that countries providing supportive family friendly policies see economic benefits, increases in profitability, and stronger overall youth development. Even though research reveals strong positive outcomes, there is a deficiency of exploration into why more countries still lack comprehensive policies that support working …

Jazz, Improvisation & The Importance Of Collaboration, Laurie Marcotte

Theses and Dissertations

Project Statement

As one of the least popular, yet highly influential and pervasive, musical genres of modern times, jazz will help inspire impressionable high school aged students in cultivating individual expression and collaboration through an environment of musical and social interaction. The project is designed to be a safe haven for these students where the ambiance intends to promote a sense of self-worth, security, and curiosity through the engagement of jazz music.

Concept Statement

The project celebrates harmony and individual expression through the improvisational and collaborative efforts of jazz music.

Motivation

It is commonly accepted that music education has a …

Is Friendship Political In The Land Of Opportunity? How Conservative Values Affect Helping Behavior Towards Friends, Adele Fantasia

Sociology Senior Seminar Papers

Abstract Individualism operates as a dominant ideology in American society, so how does individualism pervade both people’s larger views on society as well as their dyadic relationships? Do world views about the value of hard work and if people deserve help permeate the private sphere in tangible ways? I propose a relationship between individualistic tendencies and the frequency with which individuals help their friends and family who are feeling depressed. I hypothesize that the more the respondent believes that those in need have to learn to take care of themselves, the less frequently they will help a relative, friend, or …

Minimum Wage And National Culture, Zhongyu Cao

Theses and Dissertations

Minimum wage adjustment affects economic agent behaviors and leads to an unintended side effect s. The first chapter of the dissertation studies the impact of the minimum wage level on the college enrollment. Using institution-level data from IPEDS, the results show that the real minimum wage level has significant and diverse effects on different types of enrollment. The results are robust using several alternative specifications and individual level analysis. The second chapter of the dissertation addresses another side effect of the minimum wage law: crime. Using U.S. state-level arrest and offense data and agency-level offense data, this chapter provides empirical …

Individualism, Privacy, And Poverty In Determining The Best Interests Of The Child, Dena Jolie Miller

Honors Papers

This thesis explores the guiding legal standard in child custody law, that custody should be decided 'in the best interests of the child.' I begin with the most common critique of the best interests standard: that it is too vague, allowing for the personal biases of judges to play too great a role in custody decision-making. I challenge this critique by examining the standard in a different context, shifting from divorce proceedings to the child welfare system, to ask how the vagueness of the standard is mobilized differently in child protective proceedings. I argue that it is not the individual …

Culture Shift: Values Of Generation X And Millennial Employees, Brent A. Stevenor

ETD Archive

The current study measured levels of individualism and collectivism among Millennial and Generation X employees. With the Millennial generation being the most scrutinized in history, previous research suggests that Millennial and Generation X employees hold differing cultural values, causing the two generations to clash at work. This study revealed mixed findings in which there were certain instances where Millennial employees were more collectivistic than Generation X employees, and others in which they were more individualistic. In addition to the limitations and implications of the current study, a concluding remark on the current state of generational research is offered.

Persistence Of Cultural Heritage In A Multicultural Context: Examining Factors That Shaped Voting Preferences In The 2016 Election, Anna M. Schwartz

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The prevailing discourse about the myth of the “melting pot” of American culture implies that heritage cultures are eliminated in favor of a homogenous “American” norm. However, this myth belies the persistence of our cultural heritage in forming our attitudes, morals, and habitual patterns of thought, each of which shape how we participate in our democracy through voting. By contextualizing voting predictors such as authoritarianism, social dominance, and sexism in developmental and ecological theories, this dissertation shows how they are shaped by culture and transmitted through consumption of media and interaction with members of one’s community and family. In an …

Health As An Individualized Project: Gender Bio-Authenticity And Responsibilization Governance In Functional Medicine, Emma E. Radich

Senior Projects Spring 2018

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College.

The Doctor Of Change: A Ideological Criticism Of Doctor Who, Noah Zepponi

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

This thesis has used the methodology of an ideological criticism on the long-running science-fiction television series, Doctor Who. Argued within, is that an ideological paradigm shift occurred during the fifty years of scripted storylines. To discern evidence supporting the shift, multiple episodes were viewed from each of the first eleven Doctors. During the viewing process all aspects presented within the show, such as dialogue, movements, tactics, and traits, were explored for ideological agency. Once found, the discourse was further analyzed to understand how these ideologies were enforced. From the findings, proof was examined in order to show by the end …

Politics, Technology, And Libertarianism, Thomas J. Perry

Honors Projects

In recent years, technology has started to play a major role in the U.S. political climate. Specifically, it has created a platform for outside groups, such as libertarians, to have their voices heard. This brought forward an important research question: How has technology helped or hindered the ability of individually focused libertarians to organize for collective action? Through the exploration of previous research, two major findings are discovered: 1) technology and the growth of individualism in politics are intertwined and 2) technology and individualism both have ties to libertarianism. The implications of libertarianism are analyzed further through the study of …

Non-Medical Use Of Prescription Drugs, Stress, Cultural Orientation, Utilization Of Healthcare, And Protective Factors Among College Students In China, Cheuk Chi Tam

Theses and Dissertations

Background: Non-medical use of prescription drugs (NMUPD) refers to the use of prescription drugs which are traditionally utilized to manage pain or treat psychiatric problems but without a doctor’s prescription. In 2010, an investigation by the Substance Use and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) revealed that 5.3% of young adults (18 to 25-year-olds) in the United States reported past-month NMUPD. NMUPD has become a growing concern owing to associations with consequences such as college dropout, poor academic achievement, and health jeopardizing behaviors. College students' NMUPD has been well documented in the United States. Limited studies, however, have been conducted among …

Cultural Moderation Of The Relationship Between Anticipated Life Role Salience And Career Decision-Making Difficulties, Emily Anne Schmidtman

Dissertations

The perceived importance of, and commitment to, work and family roles has significant implications for the career decision-making difficulty (CDMD) of undergraduate college students. Additionally, cultural variables have been shown to influence undergraduate students’ anticipated life role salience (LRS) as well as the amount of difficulty experienced in making a career decision. Given this information, the current study assessed the relationship between LRS and CDMD specifically in terms of differences that may occur within this relationship for different cultural groups. Using a sample of college students (total N = 246), an online survey was used to gather information about their …

Inverted Quarantine: Individual Response To Collective Fear, Katherine Parker Moncure

Honors Papers

In his 2007 book Shopping Our Way to Safety, sociologist Andrew Szasz coined the term inverted quarantine to describe a phenomenon in the way that Americans react to the changing natural environment. Inverted quarantine, or the impulse to remove one’s self from perceived environmental dangers, often manifests in consumption behavior such as consuming only organic food, drinking filtered or bottled water, moving from a city to a suburb, or even being enclosed in a gated community. Although inverted quarantine may result in some form of protection, in the long run it is unsustainable in the face of the changing natural …

Cultural Influences On Attitudes Toward The Criminal Justice System: A Focus On The Filipino American Community, Moises Osias Mina Jr.

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

Based on the Individualism-Collectivism (I-C) perspective and elements of Cullen's social support theory, the present exploratory analysis tested for differences in individualism and collectivism and the potential impact of such differences on attitudes toward criminal justice constructs. Survey participants were Philippine residents, Filipino immigrants to the United States, and US-born Filipino Americans. Initial results suggested minimal variations in individualism and collectivism among the three groups, however, more significant differences were found when respondents were grouped by country of birth, with US-born Filipino Americans exhibiting lower scores in collectivism and, unexpectedly, in individualism. Measures of specific I-C traits, such as independence, …

From King Leonidas To Lord Farquaad: Popular Culture And How Authority Is Portrayed In Popular Film Of 2000-2009, Solai N. Wyman

Honors Theses

In a modern age dominated by technology, the role of entertainment such as film is steadily growing in American culture and politics. Film and politics “inform” one another, meaning that film reflects the politics within a society in which they are placed (Christensen & Haas 2005). Using this as justification, the central research question of this thesis is, "What is the political content of popular films of the 2000s in terms of authority, and what does this suggest about the culture and view on authority of the Millennials as a generation?" A content analysis of popular films from 2000-2009 was …

Are Associations Between Parenting Style And Academic Achievement Moderated By Ethnicity And Individualism-Collectivism?, Thiago L. De Oliveira

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Researchers have long been concerned in documenting the nature of associations between parenting styles and academic achievement in adolescents. Social learning theory has shown how domains such as individualism, collectivism, and ethnicity are associated with parent behavior. Research suggests compatibility between individualism and authoritative parenting and collectivism with authoritarian parenting styles, which could have critical implications in the relationship between parenting styles and academic achievement. Despite the robust research on parenting styles, no research has investigated the moderating roles of individualism and collectivism. Thus, the purpose of this study was to determine the associations between parenting style and academic achievement …

The Effects Of Individual Cultural Differences On Reactions To 360-Degree Feedback, Kimberly Lepore

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This study examined the effects of individual-level cultural values (i.e. self-construal and power distance orientation) on reactions to 360-degree feedback. This study also explored the extent to which the sign of the feedback, either negative or positive, influenced ratings of feedback acceptance. It was proposed that the 360-degree feedback design would elicit more positive reactions to the feedback in individuals with a higher independent self-construal and lower power distance orientation. Similar findings have been supported by Shipper, Hoffman, and Rotondo (2007) using comparable cultural dimensions, but at the national level. It was also proposed that positive, rather than negative, feedback …

A Multilevel Examination Of Cultural Moderators Of The Job Demands-Resources Model, Seulki Jang

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Although the Job Demands-Resources Model (JD-R) is the dominant theoretical framework used to understand the relationship between workplace factors and employee well-being, the cross-cultural generalizability of this model has seldom been directly tested. Therefore, this study examined whether and to what extent relationships between: 1) job demands (i.e., organizational constraints) and strain (i.e., job satisfaction, and turnover intentions) and 2) job resources (i.e., job control, participation in decision-making, direct supervisor support, senior leader support, and clear goals and performance feedback) and strain were moderated by cultural dimensions (i.e., individualism-collectivism and uncertainty avoidance). Survey data from workers in 28 countries were …

Differences In Cultural Perception In Websites, Andrew Allen

Open Access Theses

The goal of this research was to determine what elements of websites are tied to the value of individualism and collectivism when viewed by two different national cultures. The research determined whether two participant groups (United States or Chinese) looked at the same or different website elements when experiencing the website. The Website Experience Analysis protocol was used to create a questionnaire that the students filled out as they experienced the website, allowing the researcher to determine what elements of the website they were experiencing when focusing on a particular cultural or organization-public relation value. This research found that culture …