Psychology Commons^™

Quality-Space Theory In Olfaction, Benjamin D. Young, Andreas Keller, David Rosenthal

Publications and Research

Quality-space theory (QST) explains the nature of the mental qualities distinctive of perceptual states by appeal to their role in perceiving. QST is typically described in terms of the mental qualities that pertain to color. Here we apply QST to the olfactory modalities. Olfaction is in various respects more complex than vision, and so provides a useful test case for QST. To determine whether QST can deal with the challenges olfaction presents, we show how a quality space (QS) could be constructed relying on olfactory perceptible properties and the olfactory mental qualities then defined by appeal to that QS of …

Quantum Of Solitude: Lonelines As Experienced By Pastors' Wives, Jama Davis, Fred Milacci

Fred Milacci

This phenomenological study investigated the individual experiences of eight pastors’ wives with the phenomenon, loneliness. Data was collected using informal, conversational, taped and transcribed interviews. Descriptions of the experiences of loneliness and the general factors contributing to loneliness were identified by the participants. The experiences and general contributing factors were compared and contrasted. The findings of this study suggest three factors which most significantly impact pastors’ wives and loneliness. Suggestions for future research involving pastors’ wives and pastors are provided.

Embodying Social Practice: Dynamically Co-Constituting Social Agency, Brian W. Dunst

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Theories of cognition and theories of social practices and institutions have often each separately acknowledged the relevance of the other; but seldom have there been consistent and sustained attempts to synthesize these two areas within one explanatory framework. This is precisely what my dissertation aims to remedy. I propose that certain recent developments and themes in philosophy of mind and cognitive science, when understood in the right way, can explain the emergence and dynamics of social practices and institutions. Likewise, the view I construct explains how social practices and institutions shape the character of cognition of their constituent agents. Moreover, …

Melungeon Portraits: Lived Experience And Identity, Tamara L. Stachowicz

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

The desire to claim an ethnicity may be in response to an institutional and systemic political movement towards multiculturalism where ethnic difference is something to be recognized and celebrated (Jimenez, 2010; Tatum, 1997). Those who were a member of a dominant or advantaged group took that element of their identity for granted (Tatum, 1997). Identity work has included reflections and congruence between how individuals see themselves and how they perceive others to see them, including Optimal Distinctiveness Theory where one determines the optimal amount of individual distinctiveness needed to feel a healthy group and personal identity (Brewer, 2012). When most …

Phenomenological Theories Of Crime, Peter K. Manning, Michael W. Raphael

Graduate Student Publications and Research

The distinctive aspect of phenomenological theories of crime is that they are based upon a stated epistemology: how things are known and a specific ontology—the nature of social reality. This specificity aligns itself with neo-Kantian concern with forms of knowing, interpretation, and meaning, as well as with 20th-century concern with perception, cognition, and the framing of events. While there are influences of phenomenological thinking on varieties of theorizing, such as symbolic interactionism, critical theory, queer theory, and gender-based theories of crime, these ideas are refractions and are inconsistent in their reference to and understanding of the foundational phenomenological works. A …

Listening In Action: Students' Mobile Music Experiences In The Digital Age, Rebecca Marie Rinsema

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Since the introduction of the iPod in 2001, portable music listening devices that play or stream compressed music files have steadily become the standard devices used to listen to music. Despite this, few music education researchers have investigated the role that such devices have in shaping students' music listening experiences. This dissertation is meant to fill that gap in the literature and contribute to the existing sociological and psychological literature on music listening in everyday life.

Phenomenology served as the theoretical framework for the design of the study. 10 college students from three institutions underwent iterative interviews and were asked …

The Origin Of A Sense Of Self In Women, Kimberly Dewing Robbins

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

This phenomenological study focuses on how a strong sense of self in women changes social precepts and gender stereotypes empowering women to define themselves instead of being defined by society. A sense of self may be defined as the ability to distinguish one’s own values from those of any outside persuasions, and to do so well enough to be able to protect those ideals from unwanted external influence. Is a sense of self, realized at a young age, an innate feeling or developed over time through adversity and the maturation process? This study will specifically look at what influences can …

Common Core Thesis And A Qualitative And Quantitative Analysis Of Mysticism In Chinese Buddhist Monks And Nuns, Zhuo Chen

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

This study explored the phenomenological structure of mystical experience among 139 Chinese Pure Land and Chan Buddhist monks and nuns. Semi-structured interviews, thematic coding, and statistical analyses identified Hood’s Mysticism Scale as a valid tool for studying mysticism across religions and cultures. Stace’s common facets of mysticism as measured by Hood’s scale successfully described Buddhist experience as modified by Buddhist doctrines. Confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated that these facets could be formed into Stace’s three-factor structure. A mystical introvertive unity hypothesized to be separate from an extrovertive unity appeared instead to converge in the Chinese Buddhist context. These results lent strong …

Yamato Kotoba: The Language Of The Flesh, Yukari Kunisue, Judy Schavrien

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

This inquiry builds on the work of such thinkers as David Abram and Maurice Merleau-

Ponty; like their work, it addresses the fact that people in the Western developed world,

through their acculturations, sacrifice intimacy with the natural world. The article explores

one remedial measure: the Yamato Kotoba language of the Japanese. This is a language

before the Chinese injection of spoken and written words, one that preserves the earlier

words better suited, the authors propose, to expressing the interpenetrating experience of

the person with—in this case the Japanese—natural setting. Such an intimacy appears, for

instance, in Basho’s Haiku. In …

Gifted Voices: A Study Of High School Students' Proficiency In Persuasive Writing And Their Perceptions Of Personal Agency, Susan Carol Anderson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Development of the talents and abilities of gifted children is not ordinarily provided by regular public school programs. Their need for accelerated, complex, and challenging curriculum and processes is often overlooked by educators focused on helping underperforming students to reach grade-level standards. Gifted high school students who are proficient in persuasive writing are able to clearly state a claim, support that claim with evidence and backing, recognize and rebut counterclaims, and draw a conclusion leading to action. If gifted students are proficient at writing persuasively, perhaps they are also able to advocate for learning experiences that are challenging, complex, and …

Not So Black And White: The Color Of Perception In Corporate Layoffs, Carole A. Isom

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

This research addressed the question of whether or not the perception exists that African Americans are disproportionately impacted during layoff periods within corporations. Portraiture was the selected method of inquiry for this research as it captures the experience of the participants and enables storytelling which is based upon perception as opposed to hard, quantitative data. Additionally, portraiture’s autobiographical roots supported my autoethnographic position, encouraging the artistic process while including aesthetic aspects. Portraiture allowed for the voice of the researcher everywhere: in the assumptions, preoccupations, and frameworks brought to the inquiry; in the questions asked; in the data gathered; in the …

Quantum Of Solitude: Lonelines As Experienced By Pastors' Wives, Jama Davis, Frederick Milacci

Faculty Publications and Presentations

This phenomenological study investigated the individual experiences of eight pastors’ wives with the phenomenon, loneliness. Data was collected using informal, conversational, taped and transcribed interviews. Descriptions of the experiences of loneliness and the general factors contributing to loneliness were identified by the participants. The experiences and general contributing factors were compared and contrasted. The findings of this study suggest three factors which most significantly impact pastors’ wives and loneliness. Suggestions for future research involving pastors’ wives and pastors are provided.

Mentoring Apprentice Music Therapists For Peace And Social Justice Through Community Music Therapy: An Arts-Based Study, Guylaine Vaillancourt

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

Community music therapy (CoMT) is a creative approach that liberates expressions, giving voice to groups of individuals of all age, status, and race who contribute, in their own way, to build a better society. In this dissertation, I intend to reveal some of the critical themes in the experiences and relationships that apprentice music therapists have with community music therapy, peace, social justice, leadership, and mentorship. Individual interviews were conducted with apprentice music therapists who participated in a co-researchers’ group experience using arts-based research (ABR) and participatory action research (PAR). Principles and foundations for a future model of practice in …

The Leader's Experience Of Relational Leadership: A Hermeneutic Phenomenological Study Of Leadership As Friendship, Deborah A. Fredericks

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

There are many ways to lead others, all of which involve a relationship among parties. However, the heartbeat of leadership may be a leader's relational sensibility. This research explored the leader's experience of relational leadership and the extent to which the metaphor of leadership as friendship described its qualities. It also explored whether actual friendship between leaders and followers was possible with this form of leadership. The topic of relational leadership was approached through a hermeneutic phenomenological methodology to explore the lived experiences of six women leaders. Their experience of relational leadership and the degree to which the metaphor of …

Living Past Your Expiration Date: A Phenomenological Study Of Living With Stage Iv Cancer Longer Than Expected, Cynthia Levine

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

More treatment options exist today for persons diagnosed with terminal cancerextending lives longer than expected though there is little known about the psychosocial needs or resources for these individuals. This study describes the experience of living past the expiration date and still living with Stage IV cancer. A transcendental phenomenological approach was used to elucidate vivid expressions of this experience in a sample population of five Caucasian women. The women survived beyond their prognoses of an earlier expiration are not close to imminent death and are still living with incurable breast cancer metastases. The aim of this phenomenological inquiry is …

Portraits: Discovering Art As A Transformative Learning Process At Mid-Life, William Scott Wallace

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

This study explores art as a transformative learning process at mid-life. As adults individuate as they develop into middle age and move towards integration, they may experience transformative learning, a process that can lead to a much broader and deeper life view. Most studies have viewed transformative learning as a process that occurs through critical reflection, (Mezirow, 1991, 2000), possible disorienting dilemmas, (Mezirow, 1991, 2000, and Daloz, 2000), influence of personality type (Cranton, 1994), soulfulness (Dirkx), and other means of awareness. While researchers acknowledge the possibilities of experiencing transformative learning through the arts, a review of the empirical literature reveals …

Témoigner : Les Voies De La Connaissance, Catalina Sagarra

Présence Francophone: Revue internationale de langue et de littérature

The author analyzes the narrations of Survivors of the genocide of the Tutsi, in 1994. A particular attention is paid to how the witnesses express two affects : guilt and responsibility. Their life stories explore these concepts which help them to carry out a search for Truth, which is deeply linked with the sufferings the horror of the past inflicted to them to the point of being haunted by the past. The Survivors ask themselves an array of questions, not always finding a satisfying answer which could bring them some peace. They address their questioning to different agents, telling them …

The Use Of Phenomenology For Family Therapy Research: The Search For Meaning, Carla M. Dahl, Pauline Boss

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.