Psychology Commons^™

Model Of Inspiring Media, Mary Beth Oliver, Arthur A. Raney, Anne Bartsch, Sophie Janicke-Bowles, Markus Appel, Katherine R. Dale

Communication Faculty Articles and Research

Scholars have increasingly explored the ways that media content can touch, move, and inspire audiences, leading to numerous beneficial outcomes including increased feelings of connectedness to and heightened motivations for doing good for others. Although this line of inquiry is relatively new, sufficient evidence and patterns of results have emerged such that a clearer picture of the inspiring media experience is coming into focus. This article has two primary goals. First, we seek to synthesize the existing research into a working and evolving model of inspiring media experiences reflecting five interrelated and symbiotic elements: exposure, message factors, responses, outcomes, and …

The Acute And Persisting Impact Of Covid-19 On Trajectories Of Adolescent Depression: Sex Differences And Social Connectedness, Sabrina R. Liu, Elyssia Poggi Davis, Anton M. Palma, Curt A. Sandman, Laura M. Glynn

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Background

The COVID-19 era is a time of unprecedented stress, and there is widespread concern regarding its short- and long-term mental health impact. Adolescence is a sensitive period for the emergence of latent psychopathology vulnerabilities, often activated by environmental stressors. The present study examined COVID-19′s impact on adolescent depression and possible influences of different domains of social connectedness (loneliness, social media use, social video game time, degree of social activity participation).

Methods

A community sample of 175 adolescents (51% boys, mean age = 16.01 years) completed questionnaires once before and twice during the COVID-19 pandemic. Piecewise growth modeling examined the …

Applying Theoretical Models Of Positive Emotion To Improve Pediatric Asthma: A Positive Psychology Approach, Brooke N. Jenkins, Judith T. Moskowitz, Jill Halterman, Zeev N. Kain

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Positive emotion, encompassing feelings such as joy and happiness, has been shown to predict a multitude of health outcomes. However, the role of positive emotion in pediatric asthma is not understood. No work to date has examined how positive emotion may offer benefits to children and adolescents with asthma. Based on theory and models of positive emotion and health, we hypothesize that positive emotion may improve asthma outcomes through mediators such as health behaviors and health-relevant physiological functioning. Moreover, boosting positive emotion during times of stress may be particularly relevant in mitigating asthma symptoms. In the present commentary, we elaborate …

Can I Buy My Health? A Genetically Informed Study Of Socioeconomic Status And Health, Jennifer W. Robinette, Christopher R. Beam, Tara L. Gruenewald

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Background

A large literature demonstrates associations between socioeconomic status (SES) and health, including physiological health and well-being. Moreover, gender differences are often observed among measures of both SES and health. However, relationships between SES and health are sometimes questioned given the lack of true experiments, and the potential biological and SES mechanisms explaining gender differences in health are rarely examined simultaneously.

Purpose

To use a national sample of twins to investigate lifetime socioeconomic adversity and a measure of physiological dysregulation separately by sex.

Methods

Using the twin sample in the second wave of the Midlife in the United States survey …

How Music Awakens The Heart: An Experimental Study On Music, Emotions, And Connectedness, Rebecca N. H. De Leeuw, Sophie Janicke-Bowles, Qihao Ji

Communication Faculty Articles and Research

Many studies in the field of positive media psychology have investigated the effects of meaningful film on viewer’s feelings and openness to others, all the while music is the number #1 media source for feeling moved, touched or inspired. Therefore, the current study examined the role of meaningful compared to pleasurable music on listeners emotional experiences, feelings of connectedness, and altruistic behaviors. In a pre-posttest experiment, 105 participants (M_age = 23.800; SD = 6.082; 77.3% female) listened to either their favorite meaningful music or their favorite pleasurable music. Findings revealed that listening to meaningful music leads to stronger …

Neighborhood Safety Concerns And Daily Well-Being: A National Diary Study, Jennifer W. Robinette, Jennifer R. Piazza, Robert S. Stawski

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

People living in unsafe neighborhoods often report poor health. The reasons for this are multi-faceted, but one possibility is that unsafe neighborhoods create a situation of chronic stress, which may deplete people's resources to cope with the daily stressors of life. How people respond to daily stressors (e.g., with increased self-reported negative affect and physical symptoms) is positively associated with health problems and may thus be one pathway linking perceptions of neighborhood safety to poor health. The current study investigated the relationship between neighborhood safety concerns, daily stressors, affective well-being, and physical health symptoms in a national sample of adults …

Internalized Consensual Non-Monogamy Negativity And Relationship Quality Among People Engaged In Polyamory, Swinging, And Open Relationships, Amy C. Moors, Heath A. Schechinger, Rhonda Balzarini, Sharon Flicker

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Drawing on an internalized homonegativity and minority stress framework, the present study sought to address whether people engaged in consensual non-monogamy (CNM) internalize stigma toward their relationship style, and if internalized CNM negativity is associated with poorer relationship quality and functioning. We recruited a community sample of 339 people engaged in CNM (open, swinging, or polyamorous relationship) with at least two concurrent partners. Participants completed a newly developed measure of internalized CNM negativity (which assessed personal discomfort, social discomfort, and public identification) and four measures of relationship quality for each partner. Regression analyses showed that personal discomfort with CNM (e.g., …

Does The Tripartite Influence Model Of Body Image And Eating Pathology Function Similarly Across Racial/Ethnic Groups Of White, Black, Latina, And Asian Women?, Natasha L. Burke, Lauren M. Schaefer, Yvette G. Karvay, Anna M. Bardone-Cone, David A. Frederick, Katherine Schaumberg, Kelly L. Klump, Drew A. Anderson, J. Kevin Thompson

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

The tripartite influence model suggests that appearance pressures from family, peers, and the media contribute to thin-ideal internalization, which leads to increased body dissatisfaction and subsequent eating disorder pathology. The tripartite influence model was initially developed and tested among primarily White samples, and emerging research suggests racial/ethnic differences in mean levels of particular model constructs. Consequently, the model's appropriateness for understanding eating disorder risk in racial/ethnic minorities warrants investigation to determine its usefulness in explicating eating disorder risk in diverse populations. Participants in the current study were White (n = 1167), Black (n = 212), Latina (n …

Why Do Some Americans Resist Covid-19 Prevention Behavior? An Analysis Of Issue Importance, Message Fatigue, And Reactance Regarding Covid-19 Messaging, Hannah Ball, Tayah Renea Wozniak

Communication Faculty Articles and Research

Despite the rapid transmission of and death toll claimed by COVID-19, there is evidence of resistance toward behaviors shown to effectively prevent and slow the spread of the disease, such as mask wearing and social distancing. This study applies psychological reactance theory to examine COVID-19 message factors (i.e., message fatigue, issue importance) that may be linked to nonadherence to CDC recommendations via the experience of reactance. Participants (N = 268) were current U.S. residents over the age of 18 who completed an online survey about their perceptions of COVID-19 messaging in general as well as toward a specific COVID-19 …

Traditional Sexual Script And Double Standard Adherence: Predictors Of Heterosexually Identified Women’S And Men’S Previous Engagement In Consensual Non-Monogamy, Nina Dours, Amy Moors, Amanda N. Gesselman, Justin R. Garcia

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

With respect to consensually non-monogamous (CNM) relationships (e.g., open relationships, polyamory), a consistent gender difference emerges: heterosexual men report greater desire and engagement in CNM than heterosexual women (Haupert et al., 2017; Moors et al., 2015). This gender difference raises the question: Why do women and men differ in their CNM behaviors? In the present study, we suggest that this may be due to women’s stronger adherence to the traditional sexual script, which is rooted in gendered dating norms, punishes women who engage in non-committed sexual behaviors, and glorifies monogamy (Fritz & Kitzinger, 2001). We examined how heterosexual men’s and …

Cultural Influences On Exercise Type And Body Confidence In Women, Skye Sakashita, Desiree Crevecoeur-Macphail

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

This study examined cultural influences on exercise habits and body confidence in women, specifically between ethnic minority and white women. Past research has indicated that Asian women often feel more cultural pressure than their White counterparts. This study wanted to examine further and see if an individual’s parent being an immigrant differs in amount of cultural pressure. Another aspect that this survey examined is motivation for exercise. Past research found that women who felt greater dissatisfaction with their physical appearance were more likely to list factors such as appearance or weight as their reasoning for exercise rather than for health …

Personality Rigidity And Psychopathology Pre And Post Covid19 Pandemic, Kiyono Mcdaniel, David Pincus

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

Personality structure of an individual can fall on a spectrum from rigid to flexible. Rigid people tend to be very simple in personality structure, and only have a few defining traits that encompass who they are. Flexible people have a range of personality traits and are versatile in many different scenarios. Furthermore, it is possible that the intensity of identification with personality traits may be related to response times to the individual questions on the personality test. Expanding on the results of Pincus et al 2019 and McDaniel 2020, the current study tests the hypothesis that personality rigidity is adaptive …

Personality Differences Between College Students With And Without Siblings, Lindsay Hammerle

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

The purpose of the current study was to determine the personality differences between college students with siblings and college students without siblings in regard to the Big 5 traits of extraversion, neuroticism, and conscientiousness. Additionally, the research aimed to examine whether college students with siblings engage in higher amounts of social comparison than college students without siblings. It was hypothesized that the group with siblings would score higher in extraversion and social comparison engagement, while the group without siblings would score higher in neuroticism and conscientiousness. The Big Five Inventory (BFI) and Social Comparison Scale were used to measure the …

The Impacts Of Social Support And Loneliness On The Physical Health And Coping Styles Of College Students During Covid-19, Hee Youn Lee, Harshitha V. Venkatesh, Julia K. Boehm, Brooke N. Jenkins

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been an increased mental health risk among college students. Recent studies have suggested that this concerning phenomenon can be attributed to social isolation and loneliness caused by preventive measures including social distancing. Being socially isolated can also have harmful effects on one’s physical health, such as a weakened cardiovascular system. Furthermore, existing literature reported that social support can promote more active coping strategies, which is associated with better psychological adjustment. Nevertheless, there hasn’t been any research on the influence of social factors and loneliness both on students’ health and their coping …

2nd Place Contest Entry: Loneliness As A Predictor Of Physical And Mental Health Problems In University Students, Jolie Binstock

Kevin and Tam Ross Undergraduate Research Prize

This is Jolie Binstock's submission for the 2021 Kevin and Tam Ross Undergraduate Research Prize, which won first place. It contains her essay on using library resources, a three-page sample of her research project on the association between loneliness and mental and physical health in university students, and her works cited list.

Jolie is a sophomore at Chapman University, majoring in Health Science. Her faculty mentor is Dr. Julia Boehm.

Desire, Familiarity, And Engagement In Polyamory: Results From A National Sample Of Single Adults In The United States, Amy C. Moors, Amanda N. Gesselman, Justin R. Garcia

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Coupledom and notions of intimacy and family formation with one committed partner are hallmarks of family and relationship science. Recent national surveys in the United States and Canada have found that consensually non-monogamous relationships are common, though prevalence of specific types of consensual non-monogamy are unknown. The present research draws on a United States Census based quota sample of single adults (N = 3,438) to estimate the prevalence of desire for, familiarity with, and engagement in polyamory—a distinct type of consensually non-monogamous relationship where people typically engage in romantic love and sexual intimacy with multiple partners. Results show that …