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Full-Text Articles in Psychology

What About Me: Understanding The Relationship Between Gender Identity And Social Anxiety, Jessica Allen Jan 2022

What About Me: Understanding The Relationship Between Gender Identity And Social Anxiety, Jessica Allen

All Master's Theses

Anxiety disorders have been researched primarily in cisgender populations until very recently. A clear gap in the literature exists for gender diverse individuals in this research. Through analysis of transgender and gender-diverse individuals’ accounts of their experiences with social anxiety, this study developed a scale specifically aligned with these encounters, titled the Allen Scale. Further, this study examined whether body dysmorphia symptoms have any correlation with social anxiety symptoms in either gender-diverse or cisgender populations. Results uncovered no clear statistical difference between the gender diverse group and the cisgender group on ratings of experienced discrimination, social anxiety or body dysmorphia …


The Creation Of Personal Happiness, Jayme Zesiger Jan 2021

The Creation Of Personal Happiness, Jayme Zesiger

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Happiness is something human beings strive to acquire but how to obtain this elusive feeling remains a longstanding and intriguing inquiry. One reason for this is that there is no one specific definition of happiness and no standard measurement for it. This project focuses on defining what is believed to affect happiness from an individual’s personal perspective and aims to shed light on the current research and understanding of how to define happiness and what common variables lead to happiness. To this aim, a structured literature review was conducted which led to the development of a mixed methods survey designed …


Forgive Them, Forgive Them Not: The Role Of Remorse And Empathy In Interpersonal Forgiveness, Molly Mortensen Jan 2020

Forgive Them, Forgive Them Not: The Role Of Remorse And Empathy In Interpersonal Forgiveness, Molly Mortensen

All Master's Theses

Forgiveness research has suggested that the reduction of negative thoughts and emotions between a victim and perceived transgressor (forgiveness) may be beneficial for close, personal relationships. The current study aimed to examine the influence of perceived remorse and elicited empathy on forgiveness following the occurrence of a hypothetical transgression. It was hypothesized that (a) participants would demonstrate the greatest levels of Forgiveness in the condition of Remorse and Empathy compared to all other conditions, (b) Empathy would increase Forgiveness only when combined with Remorse, and (c) Remorse would be more critically to increasing Forgiveness than Empathy. Participants from Central Washington …


Effects Of Illness Type And Empathy Induction On Illness-Related Stigma In Undergraduate Students, Karlie Hill Jan 2020

Effects Of Illness Type And Empathy Induction On Illness-Related Stigma In Undergraduate Students, Karlie Hill

All Master's Theses

The current study investigated if increasing empathy would decrease stigma toward populations with illness. One hundred and seventy-nine participants were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: 1) sexually transmitted infections (STIs), 2) mental illness, or 3) cancer. Participants were primed with either a high-empathy prompt or low-empathy prompt. After reading the prompt, participants read a vignette detailing the experience of being diagnosed with the illness in their condition. Participants then responded to three stigma measures to assess their stigmatizing attitudes toward the person in the vignette with the illness. To test the experimental hypothesis, a multivariate analysis of covariance …


The Effects Of Self-Esteem And Mood On The Perception Of Others, Sydney Wirkkala Jan 2019

The Effects Of Self-Esteem And Mood On The Perception Of Others, Sydney Wirkkala

All Master's Theses

The purpose of the current experiment was to examine the role that self-esteem and mood have on judgment formation regarding strangers. Mood has been shown to play an important role in judgments such that being in a positive mood has been shown to result in more positive judgments (Forgas & Bower, 1987; Forgas, Bower, & Krantz, 1983). It has also been shown that having a higher self-esteem can lead to more positive judgments about the self as well as others (Brown & Mankowski, 1993; Sanna, Turley-Ames, & Meier, 1999). Few studies have examined the interaction of self-esteem and mood on …


Exploring Locus Of Control In Offender Cognition And Recidivism Paradigms, Anistasha Lightning, Danielle Polage Jan 2019

Exploring Locus Of Control In Offender Cognition And Recidivism Paradigms, Anistasha Lightning, Danielle Polage

All Master's Theses

Working with four Washington State county jails to administer surveys to currently incarcerated inmates, we investigated locus of control and beliefs in the likelihood of continued legal involvement as possible antecedents to criminal recidivism. The surveys examined whether there was any connection between legal involvement frequency and the externalization of locus of control. We investigated external locus of control with specific respect to involvement with the law, the prospect of future incarceration, and feelings concerning the overall cause of original and/or sustained legal involvement utilizing the Revised Causal Dimension Scale (McAuley, Duncan, & Russell, 1992). We identified statistically significant interactions …


A Book And Its Cover: The Effects Of Dynamic And Static Facial Expressions On The Perction Of Personality Traits, Jonathan Ojeda Jan 2019

A Book And Its Cover: The Effects Of Dynamic And Static Facial Expressions On The Perction Of Personality Traits, Jonathan Ojeda

All Master's Theses

This study used three dynamic and three static images of older adult men depicting either smiling, scowling, or neutral facial expressions to examine the influence of motion on emotion identification and stereotype activation, specifically the Halo Effect, in older adults (55-85 years). To that end, two hypotheses emerged: 1) older adults will be more accurate in identifying facial expressions when viewing dynamic facial expressions than static facial expressions, and 2) participants exposed to the dynamic stimuli would experience greater levels of the Halo Effect with the greatest levels in the smiling facial expression condition. A 2 (stimulus type: dynamic and …


Attitudes Toward Anonymous Public Nudes, Marianna Wendt Jan 2018

Attitudes Toward Anonymous Public Nudes, Marianna Wendt

All Master's Theses

While technologically-mediated expressions of sexuality have been previously studied, there is very little research regarding anonymous public nudes (APNs). APNs are nude photographs which are taken or cropped so as not to include the face or other identifying characteristics, and posted on the Internet. This differs from sexting in that the photographs are meant to be seen by an audience of strangers online, rather than one or a few trusted individuals. The purpose of this study was to examine perceptions of APNs. Sixty-seven male and 160 female students over the age of 18 were recruited from Central Washington University to …


The Effects Of Moral Message Framing On Political Ideology, Matthew Christiansen Jan 2018

The Effects Of Moral Message Framing On Political Ideology, Matthew Christiansen

All Master's Theses

There is disagreement as to whether and to what extent the American public is becoming more polarized, but certain issues such as climate change have been found to be polarizing. However, ideologically congruent moral message framing has been shown to moderate attitudes towards climate change and may provide a method to reduce polarization and moderate extreme attitudes. The current study attempted to broaden previous findings to investigate whether moral message framing could result in not only shifting relevant attitudes, but political ideology as a whole. Operating under Moral Foundations Theory (Haidt & Graham, 2007) two proenvironmental messages were constructed using …


Confidence In Academic Testing: The Effect Of Induced Checking And Anxiety On University Students' Emotional Responses To, And Performance In, Academic Challenge, Elijah Bruner Jan 2018

Confidence In Academic Testing: The Effect Of Induced Checking And Anxiety On University Students' Emotional Responses To, And Performance In, Academic Challenge, Elijah Bruner

All Master's Theses

Academic tests such as the American College Testing (ACT), Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), and National Assessment for Educational Progress (NAEP) have been used to assess academic aptitude. Research suggests that both test anxiety and test emotions (positive and negative) influence academic performance. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of test anxiety and uncertainty (i.e., re-checking items) on performance and test emotions. It was hypothesized that induced checking and participant anxiety would negatively predict performance and positive testing emotions, and positively predict negative testing emotions. It was also hypothesized that induced checking and anxiety would interact, with …


A Cultural Comparison Of The Facial Inference Process, Janine Swiney Jan 2017

A Cultural Comparison Of The Facial Inference Process, Janine Swiney

All Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to compare emotion and personality trait attributions to facial expressions between American and Asian Indian samples. Data were collected using Amazon.com’s Mechanical Turk (MTurk). Participants in this study were asked to infer the emotions and personality traits shown in three facial expressions (scowling, frowning, and smiling) of young white females and males in six photographs. Each picture was randomly presented for 10 seconds followed by four randomized questions about the individual in the picture. The first question asked participants to identify the emotion shown from a list of six emotions (anger, disgust, fear, happiness, …


Differences In Attitudes Towards Heterosexual And Lgbt Homeless Youth In College Students, Jonathan P. S. Clinkenbeard Jan 2016

Differences In Attitudes Towards Heterosexual And Lgbt Homeless Youth In College Students, Jonathan P. S. Clinkenbeard

All Master's Theses

Youth homelessness, particularly among those who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT), continues to be an underreported problem in society today. This research was designed to investigate hypothesized differences in college students’ empathy towards heterosexual and LGBT youth, and what factors influence these differences. A sample of 81 female and 36 male participants read one of 12 vignettes describing a homeless youth’s situation and then, using the Interpersonal Reactivity Index, rated their level of empathy on a scale of 1 (low) to 7 (high). Vignettes differed by the youth’s gender, sexual orientation, and reason for …


Measuring Self-Reported Exercise, Motivation To Exercise, And Sexism In Women, Sydney C. Jensen Jan 2016

Measuring Self-Reported Exercise, Motivation To Exercise, And Sexism In Women, Sydney C. Jensen

All Master's Theses

The harmfulness and pervasiveness of benevolent sexism is not a well disseminated issue, despite the belief that women are treated with equality in today’s society. The current study was designed to investigate whether exercise type and motivation to exercise would predict participants’ self-reported benevolent and hostile sexism, particularly in light of gender-related stereotypes about physical activity. A sample of 79 females completed an online survey that included questions about demographic characteristics, primary exercise type (i.e., cardiovascular exercise, weight-lifting, or hobbies), average number hours spent engaging in their primary exercise weekly, exercise motivations, and finally the Ambivalent Sexism Inventory which served …


Online Usage Among College Students: A Comparison Of Online Gaming And Facebook Users, Jonathan M. Ingram Jan 2016

Online Usage Among College Students: A Comparison Of Online Gaming And Facebook Users, Jonathan M. Ingram

All Master's Theses

The purpose of the present study is to investigate undergraduate students' patterns of use and perceived consequences of online gaming and Facebook. In Study 1, 38 male and 31 female participants completed measures examining online gaming usage, whereas Study 2 included 24 male and 75 female participants who were asked to complete measures examining Facebook usage. Study 1 results indicated online gaming participants identified time loss (78.3%) and playing longer than planned (91.3%) as common consequences of use. In contrast, Facebook users in Study 2 were less likely to report time loss (20.6%) but were more likely (91.8%) to visit …


An Evaluation Of Behavioral Skills Training To Teach Assertiveness Skills To College Students, Savannah Warrington Jan 2015

An Evaluation Of Behavioral Skills Training To Teach Assertiveness Skills To College Students, Savannah Warrington

All Master's Theses

Assertiveness skills are related to a variety of life factors including stress levels, social relationships, social fears, and anxiety. The previous research has shown that engaging in nonassertive behavior can have negative effects, and assertive behaviors can lead to a healthier life (Eldeeb, Enstar, & Eldosoky, 2014; Elliot & Gramling, 1990; Larijani, Aghajanie, Baheiraei, & Neiestanank, 2010; Morgan, 1974). The purpose of the current research was to determine if behavioral skills training (BST) was effective in teaching assertiveness skills to college students and if the skills would generalize to novel situations. BST is a method for teaching skills that uses …


A Comparison Of Chimpanzee (Pan Troglodytes) Responses To Caregiver Use Of Positive Reinforcement Training (Prt) And Species-Specific Behaviors (Ssb), Whitney D. Emge Jan 2015

A Comparison Of Chimpanzee (Pan Troglodytes) Responses To Caregiver Use Of Positive Reinforcement Training (Prt) And Species-Specific Behaviors (Ssb), Whitney D. Emge

All Master's Theses

The present study compared the effects of positive reinforcement training (PRT) and unstructured interactions (UI) on chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) behavior. In the PRT condition, a caregiver interacted with a chimpanzee to condition behaviors for 10 min. In the UI condition, a caregiver interacted without PRT for 10 min. Participants were five chimpanzees in a sanctuary setting. Chimpanzees were also videotaped for 10 min after trials (PTP) and for 10 min in a matched control (MC) period on a different day. From these videotapes experimenters coded chimpanzee behaviors and calculated durations in behavioral contexts. Chimpanzees spent a significantly higher …


Javan Gibbon (Hylobates Moloch) Non-Vocal Social Communication And Gesture Use With Conspecifics, Melanie Bell Jan 2015

Javan Gibbon (Hylobates Moloch) Non-Vocal Social Communication And Gesture Use With Conspecifics, Melanie Bell

All Master's Theses

I explored gestures used by captive Javan gibbons (Hylobates moloch) at the Gibbon Conservation Center (Santa Clarita, CA). I hypothesized that a sender gibbon’s gesture modality would vary with the recipient gibbon’s attentional state and the sender would be equally likely to use all modalities (tactile, visual, actions, and facial expressions) when the recipient was attending (facing the sender), but would use more tactile gestures and actions when the recipient was non-attending (oriented away from the sender). I collected data from 10 individuals using all-occurrences sampling and an ethogram to score behaviors from video recordings. In 1,143 interactions, …


Peer Tutoring To Teach Children To Seek Help When Lost, Andrew J. Arellano Jan 2015

Peer Tutoring To Teach Children To Seek Help When Lost, Andrew J. Arellano

All Master's Theses

There are many programs that are designed to teach children safety skills. Skills such as gun safety, first aid, and abduction prevention have all been taught using a method called Behavioral Skills Training (BST). However, BST only teaches a few children at a time and is often taught by an expert. This study aimed to test whether young children (5 year olds) can learn from older peer trainers (11 & 12 year olds) who have been taught to use BST. The safety skill targeted for the current study was the behavior of seeking help when lost in a store because …


Priming The Data: Examining Self-Potentiation In A Word Fragment Completion Task, Michael P. Mcdonald Jan 2014

Priming The Data: Examining Self-Potentiation In A Word Fragment Completion Task, Michael P. Mcdonald

All Master's Theses

The studies presented assessed the presence and severity of self-potentiation effects in a word fragment completion task commonly used to evaluate priming effects. Priming effects have suffered a plethora of replication issues, and the field is currently under intense scrutiny. By analyzing and refining the methodology used, we will be able to more effectively evaluate the significance and strength of these effects in future research, and increase the reliability of results under replication. In these experiments, outcomes on a word fragment completion task were examined under a variety of conditions. In the first study, responses were collected in a free-response …


Sustainability Policy’S Inherent Dilemmas – Exemplified Via Critical Examination Of The Las Vegas Metropolitan Sustainability Campaign, Kathryn A. Zimmerman Jan 2014

Sustainability Policy’S Inherent Dilemmas – Exemplified Via Critical Examination Of The Las Vegas Metropolitan Sustainability Campaign, Kathryn A. Zimmerman

All Master's Theses

In response to a dual problem of critical water scarcity and rapid population growth, leaders of metropolitan Las Vegas implemented a region-wide, internationally marketed sustainability campaign. Preliminary studies found that, while sustainability policy attains its rhetorical goals, solutions initiated not only perpetuate but also purposefully expand the original dual problem to justify continuous water resource acquisitions. To examine this sustainability conundrum constructed by leadership—problem-perpetuation rather than problem-resolution—a critical examination in resource management asked two basic questions: what is being sustained and by what means? Via this inquiry, specific processes by which leaders perpetuate problems can be identified; and, so-informed, new …


Television-Mediated Aggression And Its Effects On Children’S Level Of Aggressiveness, Thomas M. Ferguson Jul 1970

Television-Mediated Aggression And Its Effects On Children’S Level Of Aggressiveness, Thomas M. Ferguson

All Master's Theses

It was hypothesized that subjects viewing film-mediated aggressive models would perform more aggressive behaviors in the test situation, than either of the other two groups, despite the low similarity factor. Results failed to confirm this hypothesis. It was found that boys were more aggressive than girls across all treatment levels.