Psychology Commons^™

Forgiveness And Rumination: Their Relationship And Effects On Psychological And Physical Health, Kimberly A. Edmondson

Doctoral Dissertations

Forgiveness has recently become a popular focus of research in psychology. In addition to philosophical and theological explorations, psychologists have extended the study of forgiveness into physical and psychological health. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between forgiveness and rumination, as well as the associations among these two factors, health and acute physiological responses. Sixty females participated in a betrayal narrative as well as a rumination period. Two measures of state forgiveness, one measure of trait forgiveness, and two measures of trait rumination were used. Blood pressure and cortisol reactivity were assessed. State forgiveness was associated …

Gender Differences In Adolescents With Disruptive Behavior Disorders: A Look At Self-Report, Projective, And Treatment Outcome Measures, Ashley Campbell

Doctoral Dissertations

The vast majority of research on disruptive behavior disorders has focused on all male or predominantly male samples. However, researchers have noticed a primary difference in the way boys and girls present symptoms of disruptive behavior disorders. This study examined gender differences in the description of and the psychological mechanisms underlying adolescent disruptive behavior disorders. Differences were assessed using the Child Behavior Checklist, MMPI-A and Rorschach with a group of adolescents (N=61; 34 males and 27 females) in residential treatment who had a diagnosis including a disruptive behavior disorder. Measures were given upon admission and discharge from treatment.

The results …

Criterion-Related Validity Of Big Five Adolescent Personality Traits, Amy Susannah Friday

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation examined the correlation of academic performance of adolescents and the Big Five personality traits, as well as gender and age differences one and two years later. An archival sample of 542 6^th graders, 446 9^th graders and 341 12^th graders from the southeastern United States were used. All five of the Big Five personality traits were found to significantly correlate with GPA at all three grade levels except for Extraversion with 12^th graders. Correlations between personality and GPA were not statistically different for 6^th, 9^th, and 12^th grade males …

Summarizing And Measuring Participants' Perceptions Related To Performance Appraisal Effectiveness, Stephen Henry Gaby

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation was to summarize the performance appraisal literature regarding the characteristics associated with effective outcomes and then develop an instrument that can be used in field settings to measure these characteristics. A framework based on the organizational justice literature was developed to organize and integrate the various findings from past appraisal research. Characteristics which past research has found to be associated with desired outcomes were grouped into three broad categories which roughly parallel the three types of organizational justice. An instrument was then created drawing on findings from the climate literature which indicate that individuals respond …

Keeping Quiet: Self-Silencing And Its Association With Relational And Individual Functioning Among Adolescent Romantic Couples, Melinda Schuessler Harper

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the association between self-silencing and aspects of relational and individual functioning among adolescent couple members involved in romantic relationships. Two hundred and eleven adolescent couples dating for a minimum of four weeks completed questionnaires assessing relationship satisfaction, self-silencing behaviors, sexual behaviors, global communication, and experiences of depressive symptomatology. Adolescent couples also participated in a videotaped conflictual interaction and rated perceptions of themselves and their partner on dimensions of frustration, conceding, sarcasm, and discomfort.

Data analyses addressed the effect of self-silencing on aspects of relational and individual functioning for both actor (the person …

The Dynamics Of Identity Development: Exploring The Relevance Of Separation-Individuation, Jennifer N. Engler

Doctoral Dissertations

The current study attempted to illuminate the patterns of relations between the processes of separation-individuation and identity development in a late adolescent, university sample. A total of 281 undergraduate volunteers participated in the study, each completing the Separation-Individuation Test of Adolescence (SITA), the Ego Identity Process Questionnaire (EIPQ), and a brief demographic survey. Results indicate that there are significant relations between these two processes and that those combinations of separation-individuation variables that are associated with more process in identity development may differ by the identity test under investigation. Utilizing a stepwise multiple regression, degree of identity exploration was found to …

A Validation Study On The Teamwork Receptiveness Inventory, Matthew E. Fearrington

Doctoral Dissertations

As the use of work teams has increased in American corporations during the last 30 years, much of the empirical research has focused upon the relationship between individual personality traits and job performance rather than on individual attitudes about working on team settings. This study attempted to establish the construct (convergence of indicators and discriminant validity) and criterion-related validity of an instrument designed to measure individual receptiveness to working in teams. Four hundred seventy-four undergraduate, first-year engineering students (over 80% were male) were asked to complete the Teamwork Receptiveness Inventory (TRI; Fearrington, 2001), the NEO-FFI (Costa and McCrae, 1992a), the …

Relationship Of College Students' Response Styles On The Strong Interest Inventory To Scores On The Beck Depression Inventory And The Career Thoughts Inventory, Martha C. Dagenhart

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among college students’ response styles on the Occupations section of the Strong Interest Inventory (SII), as indicated by the “Like,” “Dislike,” and “Indifferent” percent indexes, and their scores on the Career Thoughts Inventory (CTI) and the Beck Depression Inventory – Second Edition (BDI-II). The SII is a career interest inventory that measures a person’s level of interest across a wide range of areas including occupations and leisure activities. When presented with an item on the SII, an individual indicates whether he or she likes, dislikes, or is indifferent to that …

Suggestion And Suggestibility: A Factor Analysis, Anthony F. Tasso

Doctoral Dissertations

The aim of this study was to examine the domains of suggestion and suggestibility using factor analytic methodologies. Previous investigations, all of which were carried-out between forty and sixty years ago, yield equivocal results. The present study used nine behavioral measures of suggestibility and hypothesized that three distinct factors would emerge. It was hypothesized that hypnosis, Chevreul pendulum and body-sway would load on the first factor, the odor test, progressive weights, and placebo responsiveness on the second factor, and conformity, persuasibility, and interrogative suggestibility to load on the third factor. 110 college students participated in the study. Factor analyses failed …

In Theirown Voices: Attitudes About Mental Health Utilization By African American Females At A Predominantly White Institution, Dionne Maria Smith

Doctoral Dissertations

This study explored the attitudes of mental health utilization by African American female students at a Predominantly White Institution (PWI). Because African American females have been found to underutilize mental health services, particularly those provided by the university, the study’s goals were to explore participants’ beliefs related to (a) treatment efficacy, (b) barriers to seeking mental health services, and (c) counselor preferences. The data from this study were analyzed using a modified grounded theory approach to identify participant attitudes regarding the utilization of mental health services. The findings resulted in the development of a theory of mental health utilization. In …

Reducing Adverse Impact While Maintaining Validity: Finding The Balance Between Competing Employee Selection Goals, John Ashley Henderson

Doctoral Dissertations

Adverse (or disparate) impact has probably represented one of the most persistent and pervasive problems in employee selection. Innumerable approaches to eliminating its presence have been attempted, but most have been met with limited success. To date, this success has been measured in only slight reductions in adverse impact unless substantial losses in validity are accepted. While a number of reasons for these results have been advanced, this research asserted that part of the problem originated in the narrow perspective with which employee selection is often defined. This narrow perspective has resulted in a singular focus on validity with insufficient …

Still Always The Dad’: The Meaning Of Fatherhood For Midlife Fathers Of Adult Children, Truett Paul Mcanear

Doctoral Dissertations

This study describes the subjective experience of being an involved midlife father with adult children. While previous fatherhood research has focused primarily on the impact of father involvement on child outcomes, researchers have only recently begun to explore the impact of father involvement on the fathers themselves. Within this literature minimal research is evident regarding the impact of fatherhood on men at midlife. This study addresses this gap in the literature with a phenomenological investigation of the experience of father involvement for midlife fathers of adult children. The researcher conducted in-depth interviews with 9 midlife fathers regarding their experience of …

An Empirical Examination Of Reactive And Proactive Aggression Subtypes Among Juvenile Delinquents, Rosine Lawanda Christmas

Doctoral Dissertations

This study is an archival examination of psychological differences among court-referred delinquent youth. There were 80 participants, with 56 males and 24 females between 13 and 17 years old. By using Ward’s hierarchical cluster analysis, juvenile offenders were grouped into four predetermined clusters of reactive and proactive aggression based on high and low scores obtained on scales measuring Internalization and Externalization dimensions from the Child Behavior Checklist Youth Self-Report (CBCL-YSR) and the Millon Adolescent Clinical Inventory (MACI).

Scales from the YSR and MACI, which were not used in forming the four clusters, along with the Stress Index for Parents of …

Personality And Work Situational Predictors Of Exit, Voice, Loyalty, And Neglect: An Interactionist Perspective, Michelle Lynne Roberts

Doctoral Dissertations

The present dissertation investigates the degree to which personality and work situational variables are related to how employees respond to dissatisfaction in the work place based upon the EVLN (Exit, Aggressive Voice, Considerate Voice, Loyalty, and Neglect) model. On the basis of previous research and the underlying dimensions of the model, it was hypothesized that four personality variables (i.e., self-control, extraversion, proactive personality, and positive affect) and six work situational variables (i.e., prior job satisfaction, investment size, quality of job alternatives, leader support, perceptions of procedural justice, and perceptions of distributive justice) would be significantly related to the five responses …

Predicting Paricipant Activity In A Development Program: The Roles Of Personality And Performance, Maria Rose Louis-Slaby

Doctoral Dissertations

Development programs have become popular among today's managers. These programs generally involve various assessments aimed at providing participants with a broad overview of their own characteristics and performance levels in various categories. The goal of this feedback is to prompt developmental activity. In essence, a chief objective is to increase participant awareness of individual strengths and weaknesses and encourage them to enhance and exploit those areas in which they excel and improve upon areas of deficiency. In spite of that, some individuals enrolled in these types of development-oriented programs fail to actively engage in development and may simply expend time …

Broadening The Scope Of Residential Treatment Outcome: The Information Processing And Object Relations Of Externalizing Adolescents, Dennis Plant

Doctoral Dissertations

Experimental and clinical research has discovered certain qualities of information processing and object relations to underlie externalizing behavior disorders in adolescence. The purpose of this study was to test the hypotheses that adolescents with externalizing behavior disorders demonstrate distinct and clinically significant . information processing tendencies and object relations than non-patient adolescents. Additionally, this study aimed to investigate changes in information processing and object relations among this sample through treatment at a residential treatment center. Finally, this study tested the hypothesis that information processing and object relations changes underlie changes adolescents make in their social behavior as a consequence of …

Cognitive Ability, Big Five, And Narrow Personality Traits In The Prediction Of Academic Performance, James Michael Loveland

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation was to examine the degree to which the academic performance of adolescents could be predicted by cognitive ability, the Big Five personality traits, and the narrow personality traits of optimism, work drive, and aggression. The analyses were conducted using an archival sample of 542 sixth-graders and 446 ninth-graders. Results from a hierarchical regression revealed that cognitive ability produced multiple R’s of (.462; R²=23.2% ) and (.521, R²=27.2% ) in 6^th and 9^th grade samples, respectively. Entry of the Big Five in both samples produced an R² change …

The Effects Of Marital Conflict On Sibling Relationships, Allison Mercedes Caban

Doctoral Dissertations

In an effort to capture college students’ (N = 331, average age = 18.9 years, SD = 1.5 years, 87% Caucasian, 74% have married parents) perceptions of conflict between their parents, the Parental Marital Questionnaire (PMQ) was developed in Study 1 of this investigation. The PMQ demonstrated good full-scale reliability (α = .90) and good reliabilities for its three factors (Intensity α = .96, Negative Affect α = .94, and Support α = .96). Further, the PMQ also showed consistent validity with 9 established measures of family and marital relationships. Taken together, the results of Study 1 suggest that the …

The Effects Of Optimism And The Five-Factor Model Of Personality On Stress And Performance In The Work Place, Fung Ming Chan

Doctoral Dissertations

Occupational stress is an ever-increasing public health hazard and occupational risk factor. There are growing concerns around the world; people work harder and longer while injury and illness rates associated with occupational stress continues to grow. This field study explores the relationship among optimism, the Five-Factor Model (FFM) of personality (conscientiousness, openness, emotional stability, agreeableness, and extraversion), stress (perceived stress), and job performance variables (dedication, teamwork, self-responsibility, winning attitude, fit, quality of operations, guest promises/service) in employees of the service industry. It is hypothesized that the variable of optimism will be a better predictor than the FFM personality constructs for …

Temperament And Alcohol Use: The Relationship To Psychological Reactance, Pearle Elizabeth Bobbitt

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of the present study was to examine personality traits in college students that may predispose them to alcohol-related problems or the development of alcohol abuse or dependence. The personality traits of interest were temperaments and psychological reactance. The participant's personality temperaments were assessed through the utilization of the Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire (TPQ), and psychological reactance was measured with the Therapeutic Reactance Scale (TRS). The drinking patterns of the students were determined through the use of the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) and a three-item binge drinking questionnaire.

Results revealed that the personality temperament of Novelty-Seeking was clearly …

Psychological Effects Of Martial Arts Training: Fear Of Physical Assault And Self -Esteem, Robert C. Clanton

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine gender differences in the effects of martial arts training on self-esteem and fear of physical assault. Two studies were performed. The Fear of Physical Assault Scale was developed in the first study in order to measure individuals' perceived vulnerability to attack. Results indicated that the instrument was a reliable measure. Males scored significantly higher on the scale, indicating that they tend to perceive themselves as less vulnerable and more competent at defending themselves against physical assault. The second study examined the effects of martial arts training on the self-esteem and fear of …

An Exploration Into Gender Role Conflict, Attitudes Toward Females, And Relationship Beliefs, Julia M. Wood

Doctoral Dissertations

Gender role conflict and negative attitudes toward females have been areas of increasing concern since the early 1970s. Research has shown that both gender role conflict and negative attitudes toward females cause complications for the person with such perspectives. Relationships are an area that has been impacted by gender role conflict and attitudes toward females. Determining the impact that gender role conflict and attitudes toward females have upon each other and upon relationship beliefs will increase awareness of the seriousness of these complications allowing clinicians to focus therapeutic interventions on methods that will increase relationship quality.

Using the Gender Role …

Self -Esteem And Sense Of Entitlement In Violent And Nonviolent Criminal Behavior, Susan Frank

Doctoral Dissertations

There are two conflicting theories concerning self-esteem in violent and nonviolent criminal behavior. One theory proposes that low self-esteem is more influential than high self-esteem in an individual's decision to participate in criminal behavior, whereas the other theory proposes the opposite. Limited research is available concerning the role that sense of entitlement has in criminal behavior, beyond its previously explored role in rape. The first purpose of this study was to clarify the role of self-esteem in criminal behavior by having individuals currently incarcerated for both violent and nonviolent crimes complete the Self-Esteem Rating Scale. Using the scores obtained on …