Psychology Commons^™

Scale Validation Of American Exceptionalism Index, Evan Hunter Charles

Online Theses and Dissertations

A powerful nation that commits reprehensible actions but only holds other countries accountable must be checked, especially if the nation's populace turns a blind eye. This thesis sought to validate a new scale called the American Exceptionalism Index. The current study draws from instruction and examples from academics and professionals who have experience with scale validation – a primer was developed and available to guide future scale development. Following these steps or the inherent purpose behind these steps, the current study seeks to contribute to the American Exceptionalism literature. The current study seeks to validate the American Exceptionalism Index (AEI) …

Impact Of Living Learning Communities On Underserved Minority Students At A Regional Comprehensive University, Brandon Leonard Thompson

Online Theses and Dissertations

As access to higher education for underserved minority (USM) students has consistently increased over the past 20 years, college and university campuses across the United States have observed an achievement gap between USM students and their white counterparts (Brown, 2019; Doan, 2015; Flores, Park & Baker, 2017; Pope, 2002; Ramos; 2019). This achievement gap is acute and carries significant consequences if not addressed. As campuses seek to find solutions to close this achievement gap, it is essential to identify strategies that meet the needs of USM students instead of waiting for students to adapt to higher education and campus culture …

Factors Contributing To Feelings Of Inclusion And Exclusion Among Swahili-Speaking Refugees In Lexington, Kentucky, Aaron Lankster

Online Theses and Dissertations

This study examines Swahili-speaking refugees’ feelings of inclusion and exclusion through focus group interviews. We hypothesized that language, tangible aid, and social interactions would be related to feelings of inclusion and exclusion in the host society. We also examined demographic moderators of these associations. The 9 refugees, all first generation, who participated were from 3 different countries (DRC, Kenya, and South Sudan). There were 3 males and 6 females between the ages of 18 and 28. Findings indicate that experiences related to social interactions were cited most frequently as causes of feeling included or excluded. Individual interactions were more likely …

The Importance Of Culture-Fit For Remembering Church Sermons, Emily N. Adkins, Madelyn Mcknight, Jonathan S. Gore

Kentucky Journal of Undergraduate Scholarship

This experiment tested the degree to which culture-fit influences memory for the content of a sermon. We hypothesized that people who read a sermon emphasizing the infallibility of Christian scriptures will remember it more accurately if they have collectivistic rather than individualistic values. In contrast, we hypothesized that people who read a sermon emphasizing the subjectivity of Christian scriptures will remember it more accurately if they have individualistic rather than collectivistic values. Participants (n = 270) were randomly assigned to read either an orthodox- or quest-oriented sermon regarding Peter 1:20-21. They then completed a true-false memory test as to …

Harming The Help-Seeking: Necessity For Assessing Harmful And Biased Attitudes Toward Clients With Substance Use Disorder, Crystal D. Mcdowell, Crystal Dawn Mcdowell

Psychology Doctoral Specialization Projects

Numerous times, as a new clinician, I have witnessed the substance use disorder population referred to as not being dependable, dangerous, burnt out, and even hopeless. Often times I have heard mental health professionals make statements amongst themselves that the client could not be helped, referred to them as a “frequent flyer,” (meant to convey they frequently present for treatment, relapse, and return for treatment), and complain how tax dollars are being wasted to support the client. I felt empathy and a sense of hopelessness for these clients as they were seeking treatment in order to get help and yet …

The Influence Of Technological Reliability And Supervisor Supportiveness On Work Stress, Justin W. Morgan, Jonathan S. Gore

Kentucky Journal of Undergraduate Scholarship

Despite the prevalence of workplace stress, little research has identified both the social and technological sources of it. In two studies, we examined the role of supervisor support and reliable technology in the alleviation of stress. In Study 1, working adults in Mechanical Turk (n = 225) completed an online survey asking them about their workplace attitudes and opportunities. Results of a regression analysis showed that supportive supervisors and reliable technology were the only predictors of lowered stress, even while accounting for coworkers, pay, promotion opportunities, and everyday workplace tasks. In Study 2, undergraduate students (n = 186) …

Deaf Culture: Bicultural Identity Integration's Effect On Self-Esteem, Jessica E. Ritzmann, Jonathan S. Gore

Kentucky Journal of Undergraduate Scholarship

Bicultural Identity Integration (BII) is the result of how much a bicultural individual may feel that their two cultures cohesively work together, such as Chinese and American cultures (Benet-Martínez & Haritatos, 2005). BII’s effect on self-esteem has previously been looked at with immigrant families but has not really been looked at in regard to that of Deaf individuals with Deaf culture and hearing culture. The current study’s goal was to investigate the relationship between BII and a Deaf individuals self-esteem. It was hypothesized that 1) a Deaf individual’s level of BII will be positively correlated with their self-esteem. 2) those …

Anti-Fat Bias Of Occupational Therapy Students, Carli Friedman, Laura H. Vanpuymbrouck

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

Anti-fat biases in healthcare providers can result in substandard and decreased care, and also result in health disparities. There are very few studies that examine occupational therapists’ attitudes towards fat people and implications on practice. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore the implicit fat prejudice of occupational therapy students. The authors also sought to understand how this prejudice related to the occupation-based models/frames of reference with which students professionally identified. To do so, 58 occupational therapy students from three Midwestern universities, all of whom recently completed their first year of professional occupational therapy education, completed the Weight …

Behavioral Style Indicators Of Communication And Professionalism In A Family Medicine Residency, Jillian Marie Atherton

Online Theses and Dissertations

This study examined DiSC behavioral style profiles and their indications of Communication and Professionalism for family medicine residents. DiSC profile reports, and ACGME Milestone Project Communication and Professionalism competency scores were used as predictive variables for the purpose of this study. Data were collected from the University of Kentucky Department of Family & Community Medicine residency program. The analysis of the results revealed that the "I" DiSC profile type scored the lowest Professionalism and Communication milestone scores among all four profile types. Further, "C" DiSC profile types scored the highest among all four profile types in Communication milestone scores; and …

Play Like You Mean It: Motivational Predictors Of Female Student Athletes' Practice And Game Performance, Zipporah Rebekah Foster

Online Theses and Dissertations

The current study explores how motivational reasons for goals influence athletic performance on a women's basketball team. The purpose of the current study was to expand on past research associated with fluctuation of motivation in practice and game performance throughout a season. Participants (n = 15) in the current study were female student-athletes, who completed a motivational survey that measured Relationally-Autonomous Reasons (RARs), Personally-Autonomous Reasons (PARs), and Controlled Reasons (CRs). Athletic performance was measured by examining daily practice performance and game statistics for each athlete. The results of the current study showed that RARs were associated with game performance (p < .05), however PARs and CRs were not. RARs were positively associated with game performance whereas PARs were not. The association for RARs and game performance was stronger than RARs and practice performance. Overall, the findings confirm that RARs are associated with game performance in women's sports.

Culture, Religion, And Homonegativity, Erica Cecelia Dawn Leach

Online Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to connect possible factors that may influence homonegativity within an individual. Specifically, we hypothesized that a) high amounts of societal threats and high levels of tightness will predict orthodox orientation, which will be associated with higher levels of homonegativity, b) high amounts of societal threats and high levels of tightness will predict intrinsic orientation, which will be rated with higher levels of homonegativity, c) high amounts of societal threats and high levels of tightness with extrinsic orientation will predict high on levels of homonegativity, d) low amounts of societal threats and looseness with extrinsic …

My Religion And My People: Levels Of Ingroup Identification And Christian Religious Orientations, Hayley L. Sparks Ms., Jonathan Gore

Kentucky Journal of Undergraduate Scholarship

People adopt a variety of approaches to practice their religion, but to date there has been no examination as to how identification with one’s community, with Americans, and with all humanity may relate to different religious orientations. Two studies tested the hypotheses that 1) intrinsic religious orientation would be associated with all three levels of ingroup identification, 2) extrinsic religious orientation would be associated with community-level identification only, 3) quest religious orientation would be associated with humanity-level identification only, and 4) orthodox religious orientation would be associated with community- and country-level identification only. Study 2 controlled for several individual difference …

Does Social Support Diminish Depression In Students? Evidence From Athletes And Greek Life, Benjamin Chartoff, Myra Beth Bundy

Kentucky Journal of Undergraduate Scholarship

Depression and stress are extremely prevalent in college students. The goal of the current study was to examine if social support from athletic teams and fraternities or sororities are related to lower levels of depression and stress than that found in students normally. Participants (N=134) were asked to fill out a questionnaire with scales of depression, stress and social support. It was hypothesized that members of Greek life and student-athletes will show higher levels of social support and lower levels of depression compared to a control group of students. The results supported these hypotheses and suggest that joining social groups …

The Effects Of Strong Ties On Socialization, Colton Alan Burgess

Online Theses and Dissertations

Organizations that successfully socialize newcomers benefit from effective workforces comprised of employees who experience higher job performance, satisfaction, and commitment. Organizational insiders, known as social agents, play an integral role in facilitating the socialization of newcomers, as these individuals make up the networks in which newcomers work. To better understand in what ways social agents help assimilate newcomers, a more thorough understanding is needed concerning how tie strength between individuals facilitates the socialization process.

This thesis has two objectives. First, two types of antecedents to strong tie development are explored: orientation practices deployed by organizations to promote interaction between newcomers …

The Exploration Of Machiavellianism, Logan Taylor Penticuff

Online Theses and Dissertations

Dyads, whether in an academic or practical setting, are commonplace. Workforces and academic settings alike are often comprised of groups of two or more individuals working together towards a common goal. As these interactions continue to be prevalent and important in the various settings, the context in which these interactions takes place and the people involved, influence the efficiency of these pairings. More specifically, the realm of business harbors more individuals considered high in a personality trait referred to as Machiavellianism (i.e., Mach) than other common professions. To better understand how Machiavellianism influences commonplace dyads in settings applicable to everyday …

To Foster Change, Damon Tichenor

Online Theses and Dissertations

The current study intended to investigate the effects of increased similarity to upward, lateral, and downward comparison targets on changes to participants’ psychological well-being and self-aspect valence. Based on previous literature, hypotheses were proposed in regard to the effect of increased similarity to each direction of comparison. A sample of students in introductory psychology classes from Eastern Kentucky University were employed to test these hypotheses. All of the participants completed measures that captured their self-aspect valence and centrality, perception of comparison targets, and psychological well-being. The results of this study confirmed some of the hypotheses. The results showed that for …

When Focusing On Differences Leads To Similar Perspectives: A Replication Study Of Todd, Hanko, Galinsky, And Mussweiler (2011), Cassie Marie Whitt

Online Theses and Dissertations

Todd et al., (2011) found support for the hypothesis that participants primed with a difference mind-set were more likely to spontaneously adopt an other-oriented visual perspective than participants primed with a similarity mind-set or participants in a control condition. The current study was an attempt to directly replicate this finding using American and German samples collected via Amazon’s Mechanical Turk. The project utilized the ‘Replication Recipe’ (Brandt et. al, 2014) to facilitate the replication process and set the conditions necessary for replication access. The replication was deemed inconclusive; possible explanations are discussed.

Why Do Narcissists Disregard Social-Etiquette Norms? A Test Of Two Explanations For Why Narcissism Relates To Offensive-Language Use, John Milton Adams, Dan Florell, K. Alex Burton, William Hart

Psychology Faculty and Staff Research

Narcissists often fail to abide by norms for polite social conduct, but why? The current study addressed this issue by exploring reasons why narcissists use more offensive language (i.e., profanity) than non-narcissists. In this study, 602 participants completed a survey in which they responded on a measure of trait narcissism, rated several offensive words on the degree to which the words were attention-grabbing and offensive, and then indicated how frequently they used the words. Consistent with the idea that narcissists use offensive language to gain attention, narcissists were incrementally more likely to use offensive language if they perceived such language …

The Influence Of Close Others In Daily Goal Pursuit, Jonathan S. Gore

Psychology Faculty and Staff Research

This study tested the hypothesis that daily contact with close others during goal pursuit would activate relationally autonomous reasons and would also be associated with the corresponding levels of goal effort. We also hypothesized that the association would be strongest among highly relational and agreeable people. Participants (n ¼ 49) completed self-construal and agreeableness assessments at a face-to-face session, then they completed daily reports of relational motives, contact with close and distant others, and goal effort daily for the next 6 days online. The results of hierarchical linear modeling analysis showed that contact with friends and family members were associated …

Why Do Narcissists Disregard Social-Etiquette Norms? A Test Of Two Explanations For Why Narcissism Relates To Offensive-Language Use, John Milton Adams, Dan Florell, K. Alex Burton, William Hart

Psychology Faculty and Staff Research

Narcissists often fail to abide by norms for polite social conduct, but why? The current study addressed this issue by exploring reasons why narcissists use more offensive language (i.e., profanity) than non-narcissists. In this study, 602 participants completed a survey in which they responded on a measure of trait narcissism, rated several offensive words on the degree to which the words were attention-grabbing and offensive, and then indicated how frequently they used the words. Consistent with the idea that narcissists use offensive language to gain attention, narcissists were incrementally more likely to use offensive language if they perceived such language …

The Effect Of Appalachian Regional Dialect On Performance Appraisal And Leadership Perceptions, Amie Sparks Ball

Online Theses and Dissertations

Speakers of Appalachian English face unique difficulties in the workplace. Long-held stereotypes of Appalachian English speakers can lead to unfair presumptions about a person's competence and professionalism. Previous research has shown stereotyping on the basis of non-standard dialect can affect recruitment and hiring decisions made by employers. The present study addresses the possibility that these biases extend beyond the hiring process by investigating the impact of Appalachian regional dialect on performance appraisal, perceptions of leadership potential, promotion potential, status perceptions, and solidarity perceptions.

Examining The Occupational Engagement Of College Students With Asperger's Syndrome: A Mixed Methodology, Laura Leigh Henley

Online Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this convergent parallel mixed methods design was to determine how young adults enrolled in school with Asperger's Syndrome engage in occupations and how this population perceives their quality of life. Quantitatively, assessment data was gathered using Flanagan's Quality of life Scale and the Occupational Behaviors Satisfaction Checklist. Qualitatively, a phenomenological approach was taken utilizing the Lifestyle Performance Model as a guide to administer semi-structured interviews in order to determine occupational engagement experiences of the young adult population with Asperger's Syndrome enrolled in college. Results will be discussed with implications for occupational therapy and future research.

Mental Health Services In Appalachia, Miranda Renee Waters

Online Theses and Dissertations

People from rural areas of the country, such as the Appalachian region of Kentucky, continue to struggle with inadequate mental health services. Past research has identified several barriers for mental health services in rural communities such as lack of mental health providers, lack of transportation, and lack of education. The purpose of this study was to examine the severity of a psychological problem and how it could influence Appalachian and non-Appalachians' preference for type of help. It was hypothesized that people from the Appalachian region would recommend seeing a mental health professional when a problem had reached its highest severity. …