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Full-Text Articles in Psychology
The Effectiveness Of Peer To Peer Mentoring In Reducing Symptoms Of Depression And Anxiety In College Students, Ryan Harra
Psychological Science Undergraduate Honors Theses
University counseling centers are struggling against resource constraints to meet the rising demand for mental health care. Peer-based mentoring programs offer the potential for an alternative approach to mitigate the increasing demand for treatment and improve overall psychological well-being among college students. However, research investigating peer mentoring programs on college campuses is lacking. This study evaluates program feasibility and potential effectiveness in reducing anxiety and depression symptoms among college students that underwent a 4-week peer mentoring program. Results from this preliminary study indicate peer-based programs may be more effective in reducing symptoms of depression (especially anhedonic depression) compared to anxiety. …
Monolingual And Bilingual Children's Language-Based Social Preferences In A Predominantly Monolingual Environment, Rachel Marie Stevens
Monolingual And Bilingual Children's Language-Based Social Preferences In A Predominantly Monolingual Environment, Rachel Marie Stevens
Graduate Theses and Dissertations
Monolingual children consistently display Social preferences for individuals who speak their native language with a native accent compared to individuals who speak a foreign language or speak their native language with a foreign accent. Two explanations have been proposed for these language-based preferences. The first explanation is that language cues a child to in-group membership and children prefer to affiliate with individuals who are members of the same in-group. The second explanation is that children display preferences for their native language and accent because that is what they are most familiar with, and children prefer familiarity over the unknown. The …
Give Hate A Chance: An Exploration Of The Affective State Of Interpersonal Hate, Carmen Merrick
Give Hate A Chance: An Exploration Of The Affective State Of Interpersonal Hate, Carmen Merrick
Graduate Theses and Dissertations
Interpersonal hate, the affective state of one individual experiencing hate toward another, is widely experienced. However, to date there is no experimental evidence of interpersonal hate. This phenomenon was explored, as was its place in the triad of hostile emotions. It was theorized that interpersonal hate would be differentiated from the hostile emotions (contempt, anger, and disgust) by appraisal of violation type and by behavioral response, and that the hostile emotions could be recognized by these characteristics, as well. Specifically, it was hypothesized that interpersonal hate would be incited by autonomy violations and avoidance responses; anger would be incited by …
Fitting Eyewitness Identification And Confidence To A Diffusion Model Of Processing, Brittany Nicole Race
Fitting Eyewitness Identification And Confidence To A Diffusion Model Of Processing, Brittany Nicole Race
Graduate Theses and Dissertations
It is necessary to better serve justice to understand the mechanisms behind eyewitness identification and reports of confidence. The material contained within attempt to fit eyewitness identification to a diffusion model of processing, RTCON (Ratcliff & Starns, 2009). Participants saw eight mock crime videos and were then tasked with using eight showups or eight lineups to identify the suspects within the video. Half of the presentations were target present and half were target absent. Additionally, participants were either presented with biased or unbiased instructions. Strangely, unbiased lineups led to higher hit rates which is contrary to most findings in the …
Familiarity Bias: Examining A Cognitive-Affective Mechanism Underlying Ideological Support For The Status Quo, John C. Blanchar
Familiarity Bias: Examining A Cognitive-Affective Mechanism Underlying Ideological Support For The Status Quo, John C. Blanchar
Graduate Theses and Dissertations
It is well established that people like familiarity over novelty. Because that which is most familiar is frequently indicative of the way things are, favoring familiarity should create a psychological advantage for the status quo. In two studies, I tested the hypothesis that familiarity bias—susceptibility to the mere-exposure effect whereby attitude objects receive increasingly favorable evaluations due to repeated sensory experience—is foundational to ideological support for the status quo. In Study 1, individual variation in familiarity bias predicted greater Right-Wing Authoritarianism. Existential threat was experimentally manipulated via the salience of international terrorism in Study 2, but was unsuccessful due to …
Beer For Brohood: A Laboratory Simulation Of Masculinity Confirmation Through Alcohol Use Behaviors In Men, Jessica Lauren Fugitt
Beer For Brohood: A Laboratory Simulation Of Masculinity Confirmation Through Alcohol Use Behaviors In Men, Jessica Lauren Fugitt
Graduate Theses and Dissertations
Alcohol use is a widespread behavior that may be associated with negative consequences, especially for men. Research suggests that individuals are motivated to maintain in-group status by engaging in behaviors prototypical of the in-group when group status has been challenged, and that men are particularly likely to do this when masculine in-group status is threatened. This study investigated masculine drinking behaviors through Social and individual lenses, examining the impact of group identification and individual differences on alcohol consumption rates after a simulated gender threatening situation in a bar laboratory. Sixty-five male students (ages 21-29; 74% Caucasian) were given the chance …
The "We-Ness" And Empathy Of Liberalism, David Sparkman
The "We-Ness" And Empathy Of Liberalism, David Sparkman
Graduate Theses and Dissertations
Most research in Social and political psychology focuses on the psychological antecedents to conservatism; the primary aim of this work was to investigate antecedents to liberalism. This led to an examination of we-ness and empathy as underlying mechanisms to liberal attitudes. Using perspective taking as a cognitive process common to both we-ness and empathy, I tested a model of we-ness and empathy as serial mediators of the effect of perspective taking on political attitudes. Results suggested that we-ness and empathy serially mediated the association between perspective taking and liberalism (and its Social and economic sub-attitudes), and empathy independently mediated the …
A Preliminary Investigation Of Positive Imagery Training To Reduce Risk For Suicidal Behavior Among Adolescent Girls, Sasha Micaella Rojas
A Preliminary Investigation Of Positive Imagery Training To Reduce Risk For Suicidal Behavior Among Adolescent Girls, Sasha Micaella Rojas
Graduate Theses and Dissertations
Suicide is the second leading cause of death among adolescents, with risk for suicidal thoughts and suicidal behavior emerging during adolescence particularly among girls. Consistent with theory and empirical evidence, the current study examined the effects of Socially-focused positive imagery training among a small sample of adolescent girls evidencing suicidal thoughts. This preliminary small n design also allowed for a detailed assessment of acceptability of imagery training for the adolescent sample. Risk for suicidal intent was indexed by 1) negative affect, 2) positive affect, 3) greater resting right (relative to left) prefrontal asymmetry, 4) perceived Social isolation, and 5) suicidal …
The Effects Of Alcohol On The Interpretation Of Social And Emotional Cues: A Field Study Of College Student Drinking, Emotion Recognition, And Perceptions Of A Hypothetical Sexual Assault, Alexander James Melkonian
The Effects Of Alcohol On The Interpretation Of Social And Emotional Cues: A Field Study Of College Student Drinking, Emotion Recognition, And Perceptions Of A Hypothetical Sexual Assault, Alexander James Melkonian
Graduate Theses and Dissertations
Alcohol use and abuse among emerging adults is highly correlated with increased risk for sexual victimization. Alcohol myopia theory has been used to explain impairments in Social information processing resulting in decreased attention to environmental Social cues including risk factors for sexual assault as well as facial emotional recognition. Those with deficits in Social information processing may be at particular risk for the misperception of salient risk factors for sexual assault by victims, perpetrators, and bystanders when intoxicated. In this naturalistic field study, participants who had been consuming alcohol were recruited to engage in tasks of facial emotion recognition and …
Differential Extinction Of Disgust And Anxiety Among Victims Of Sexual Traumatization, Christal Badour
Differential Extinction Of Disgust And Anxiety Among Victims Of Sexual Traumatization, Christal Badour
Graduate Theses and Dissertations
Emerging evidence suggests that in addition to fear, traumatic event-related disgust reactions may be integral to understanding the sequelae of sexual traumatization. Importantly, evidence broadly suggests compared to fear, disgust may be resistant to extinction. As such, conditioned disgust reactions may not evidence the same pattern of extinction observed with fear-based reactions. This may have important implications for the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). As such, the current study sought to fill an important gap in the existing literature by examining specific processes and mechanisms that are likely to affect outcomes of exposure-based interventions following sexual traumatization. Specifically, 72 …
Lunch Buddy Mentoring For Bullied Children: Four Case Studies And A Thematic Analysis, Samantha Gregus
Lunch Buddy Mentoring For Bullied Children: Four Case Studies And A Thematic Analysis, Samantha Gregus
Graduate Theses and Dissertations
Lunch Buddy (LB) mentoring, a type of school-based mentoring, holds promise as a selective intervention for children who are chronically bullied (Elledge, Cavell, Ogle, & Newgent, 2010). This study expanded upon previous research (Elledge et al., 2010) by utilizing a case-study approach combining qualitative and quantitative methods to gain more evidence about the palatability of the intervention and to uncover possible mechanisms by which the intervention is working. Participants were four elementary school children in grades four and five who had been identified as bullied based on child and teacher reports. Quantitative data were collected at multiple points during the …
The Mechanisms Of Interpersonal Privacy In Social Networking Websites: A Study Of Subconscious Processes, Social Network Analysis, And Fear Of Social Exclusion, Bryan I. Hammer
Graduate Theses and Dissertations
With increasing usage of Social networking sites like Facebook there is a need to study privacy. Previous research has placed more emphasis on outcome-oriented contexts, such as e-commerce sites. In process-oriented contexts, like Facebook, privacy has become a source of conflict for users. The majority of architectural privacy (e.g. privacy policies, website mechanisms) enables the relationship between a user and business, focusing on the institutional privacy concern and trust; however, architectural privacy mechanisms that enables relationships between and among users is lacking. This leaves users the responsibility to manage privacy for their interpersonal relationships. This research focuses on the following …
Testing An Attribution Model Of Caregiving In A Latino Sample: The Role Of Familismo And The Caregiver-Care Recipient Relationship, Bianca Teresa Villalobos
Testing An Attribution Model Of Caregiving In A Latino Sample: The Role Of Familismo And The Caregiver-Care Recipient Relationship, Bianca Teresa Villalobos
Graduate Theses and Dissertations
The Social and economic consequences of depression place a heavy burden on society. Many family members and friends often feel the need take on the role of informal caregivers when loved ones require assistance due to disabling conditions. However, caregiver burden can arise when providing support for a person with a chronic condition. Caregiver burnout is associated with numerous negative outcomes for both the caregiver and care recipient. As such, efforts to understand factors related to reducing caregiver burden are necessary. Research on help giving has been guided by an attribution model developed by Weiner (1988), which describes how attributions …
An Empirical Examination Of The Associations Among Crystal Methamphetamine Use History, Posttraumatic Stress Symptom Severity, And Perceived Social Support, Courtney Elaine Dutton
An Empirical Examination Of The Associations Among Crystal Methamphetamine Use History, Posttraumatic Stress Symptom Severity, And Perceived Social Support, Courtney Elaine Dutton
Graduate Theses and Dissertations
Social support functions as a protective factor against the development of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Crystal methamphetamine use, however, is associated with a decrease in Social functioning. This is noteworthy as people with PTSD endorse elevated rates of crystal methamphetamine use. The current study proposed to look at perceived Social support as it relates to crystal methamphetamine use among individuals endorsing a wide range of posttraumatic stress symptoms. Questionnaires measuring perceived Social support and posttraumatic stress symptom severity were administered to 98 traumatic event-exposed adults (Mage = 48.5, SD =7.74) recruited from the San Francisco bay area who …
The Effect Of Alcohol Outcome Expectancies On The Relationship Of Social Anxiety And Desirability Of Alcohol, Hilary Casner
The Effect Of Alcohol Outcome Expectancies On The Relationship Of Social Anxiety And Desirability Of Alcohol, Hilary Casner
Graduate Theses and Dissertations
The comorbidity of Social anxiety disorder and alcohol use disorders is well-documented in the research literature. However, conflicting findings have been noted in cross-sectional investigations of this link; some studies indicate that individuals with Social anxiety disorder are more likely to engage in problematic alcohol use, while others suggest that Social anxiety may serve as a protective factor against heavy drinking. Alcohol outcome expectancies (AOEs), the beliefs one holds about the effects of alcohol consumption, have been identified as an important variable in the consideration of the Social anxiety-alcohol use link. The current study tested the effect of an expectancy …
Are All Voices Created Equal?: Conditional Indirect Effects Of Directness Of One's Voice On Perceived Uncertainty And Performance, Dennis Lawrence Poepsel
Are All Voices Created Equal?: Conditional Indirect Effects Of Directness Of One's Voice On Perceived Uncertainty And Performance, Dennis Lawrence Poepsel
Graduate Theses and Dissertations
The purpose of the current investigations was to examine the effects of the amount of voice one is given during decision-making on group behaviors. In particular, across two studies, participants were members of groups that needed to make a decision. In these situations, participants were provided varying degrees of voice during a decision-making process. Depending on the study, participants were either given a direct voice (Personal Voice), an indirect voice (Group Voice), a direct voice and an indirect voice (Composite Voice), or were not allowed a voice (No Voice). The results of Study 1 found that having Personal Voice or …
Context And The Assessment Of Peer Preference: The Lunch Table Rating Scale, James Thomas Craig
Context And The Assessment Of Peer Preference: The Lunch Table Rating Scale, James Thomas Craig
Graduate Theses and Dissertations
This study reports on the development and initial evaluation of a novel peer-report measure of lunch mate preference. The Lunch Table Rating Scale (LTRS) was designed to assess peer preference within a narrow but important Social context while limiting the unwanted influence of reputational bias on peer ratings. Psychometric properties of the LTRS were examined using a sample of 298 fourth-grade students. The LTRS demonstrated good internal consistency and adequate stability over a four-month interval. LTRS scores were positively correlated with Social preference scores from a traditional classroom sociometric instrument and negatively correlated with self-, teacher-, and peer-reported levels of …
Managing Sibling Conflict And The Relation Between Mothers' Emotion Socialization Beliefs And Children's Coping With Peer Victimization, Melissa Anne Faith
Managing Sibling Conflict And The Relation Between Mothers' Emotion Socialization Beliefs And Children's Coping With Peer Victimization, Melissa Anne Faith
Graduate Theses and Dissertations
This study examined the degree to which children's strategies for coping with peer victimization were related to their strategies for coping with sibling victimization. Also examined were the relations among mothers' sibling conflict management strategies, their emotion Socialization beliefs, and children's coping with peer and sibling victimization. Data were obtained from 98 4th grade children and their mothers. Results indicated that children's peer victimization coping strategies were significantly related to their sibling victimization coping strategies. I found that mothers who value and accept children's negative emotions were more likely to coach their children through sibling conflict. Unexpectedly, I found that …
The Effects Of Symbolic And Realistic Threats On Moral Exclusion From The Scope Of Justice, Dana Charles Leighton
The Effects Of Symbolic And Realistic Threats On Moral Exclusion From The Scope Of Justice, Dana Charles Leighton
Graduate Theses and Dissertations
Moral exclusion refers to a psychological process that removes others from our moral community--those whom we treat with fairness and concern for their welfare. The present research is concerned with how perceived symbolic threats (threats to the ingroup's values, morals, and worldview) and realistic threats (threats to the ingroup's well-being and resources) are related to moral exclusion. Perceived symbolic and realistic threats from an outgroup (Mexican immigrants) were measured (Study 1) and manipulated (Study 2) to discover their predictive and causal relationships with moral exclusion. It was found that both symbolic and realistic threats predicted moral exclusion and did so …
Power Evokes Reluctance For Group-Relevant Advocacy Among Marginalized Groups, John C. Blanchar
Power Evokes Reluctance For Group-Relevant Advocacy Among Marginalized Groups, John C. Blanchar
Graduate Theses and Dissertations
Marginalized groups face difficulties voicing their interests. They are perceived as more self-interested, biased, and excessive for advocacy relative to majority groups. While such accusations are intimidating in their own right, powerful members of marginalized groups may be especially sensitive to reprisals in response to advocacy. The present research highlights the ironic role of power on group-relevant advocacy among marginalized groups; identity-based pressures dissuade advocacy because it is personally costly. An Internet study and one lab study examined the effect of high and low power primes on women's self-reported and actual willingness for group-relevant advocacy. Data support my hypothesis that …
More Than Memories? Schema Transference From Media Characters To Real People, Hilary Ray
More Than Memories? Schema Transference From Media Characters To Real People, Hilary Ray
Graduate Theses and Dissertations
This study focused on whether personality traits and evaluations of television personalities are used to make inferences about new Social interaction partners. It tested the hypothesis that priming schemas of television personalities will bias inferences made about a stranger. The results were mixed. Participants in the experimental condition made more biased inferences about a stranger than did participants in the control condition. This transference was not influenced by participants' parasociability, and methodological limitations prevented conclusive study of the influence of affective evaluations in this effect. Future studies should attempt to increase methodological control and introduce a diverse set of measures …
Predicting Dating Violence Victimization Among College Women: The Role Of Previous Exposure To Violence And Acceptance Of Dating Violence, Marie Elisabeth Karlsson
Predicting Dating Violence Victimization Among College Women: The Role Of Previous Exposure To Violence And Acceptance Of Dating Violence, Marie Elisabeth Karlsson
Graduate Theses and Dissertations
Dating violence is a worldwide problem (Straus, 2004). The majority of empirical studies and conceptual models of dating violence have focused on perpetration, and examined the impact of prior exposure, positing an intergenerational transmission model. More recently, researchers have examined the influence of other moderating and mediating variables and hypothesized that attitudes, such as acceptance of dating violence, are an important variable to examine (Flynn & Graham, 2010; Lichter & McCloskey, 2004). Focusing on victimization, this study attempted to assess the applicability of the intergenerational hypothesis (previous exposure to violence, such as witnessing interparental abuse and childhood abuse) as well …