Psychology Commons^™

Exploring The Spirit In U.S. Audiences: The Role Of The Virtue Of Transcendence In Inspiring Media Consumption, Sophie Janicke-Bowles, Arthur A. Raney, Mary Beth Oliver, Katherine R. Dale, Robert P. Jones, Daniel Cox

Communication Faculty Articles and Research

Little is yet known about audiences who routinely seek out media content that is inspirational in nature. The current study expands the research on inspirational media by utilizing a nationally representative sample of U.S. audiences (n = 2,016) to explore relationships between inspiring media exposure, trait transcendence, and self-transcendent emotions. Results show that media content is a reliable source for everyday self-transcendent emotional experiences in U.S. audiences. These experiences are most frequently encountered by persons with high levels of trait spirituality and gratitude. The profile of U.S. audiences that seek out inspiring media is discussed.

Renaming Me: Assessing The Influence Of Gender Identity On Name Selection, Sharon Obasi, Richard Mocarski, Natalie Holt, Debra Hope, Nathan Woodruff

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Our identity is our name connected with a specific face and body. Yet, our name, a critical aspect of the “names-body-identity” nexus is rarely selfselected. The naming of a newborn is often the purview of family and the name selected is often linked to the sex assigned to the child. Assigned sex, however, may differ from gender identity. Renaming, the process of selecting and using a new name, can be instrumental in expressing an authentic gender identity. Thus, gender identity and renaming were examined among transgender and gender nonconforming (TGNC) adults using an online survey. Participants indicated that the recognition …

The Political Personality Of Former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, Aubrey Immelman

Psychology Faculty Publications

Note: The paper whose abstract appears below, titled "The Political Personality of Former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden" has been replaced on the 'Download' tab with an updated paper containing a more thorough personality assessment and a more detailed leadership style analysis, titled "The Political Personality of 2020 Democratic Presidential Nominee Joe Biden." The earlier paper has been archived and may be uploaded at the bottom of this page from the hyperlink under 'Additional Files.'

This working paper presents the results of an indirect assessment of the personality of former U.S. vice president Joe Biden — a contender for …

Awareness Of Sex Offender Registration Policies And Self-Reported Sexual Offending In A Community Sample Of Adolescents, Cynthia J. Najdowski, Hayley M. D. Cleary

Psychology Faculty Scholarship

Sex offender registration laws are widely implemented, increasingly restrictive, and intended to serve both specific and general deterrent functions. Most states have some form of policy mechanism to place adolescents on sex offender registries, yet it remains unclear whether adolescents possess the requisite policy awareness to be deterred from sexual offending. This study examined awareness of sex offender registration as a potential sanction and its cross-sectional association with engagement in several registrable sexual behaviors (sexting, indecent exposure, sexual solicitation, and forcible touching) in a community sample of 144 adolescents. Results revealed that many adolescents were unaware that these behaviors could …

Self-Concept Clarity And The Bodily Self: Malleability Across Modalities, Sonia A. Krol, Rémi Thériault, Jay A. Olson, Amir Raz, Jennifer A. Bartz

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

The self has fascinated scholars for centuries. Although theory suggests that the self-concept (cognitive self-understanding) and bodily self (pre-reflective awareness of one’s body) are related, little work has examined this notion. To this end, in Study 1, participants reported on self-concept clarity (SCC) and completed the rubber hand illusion (RHI), a paradigm in which synchronous (vs. asynchronous) stimulation between a prosthetic hand and one’s own hand leads one to “embody” the prosthetic hand. Whereas participants were equally susceptible to the RHI during synchronous stroking, low-SCC individuals were more vulnerable to the illusion during asynchronous stroking, when the effect is unwarranted. …

Imagined Contact Intervention With An American Muslim Target, Jamie Williams

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Recent studies have shown that imagining contact with a member of a differing social group can reduce prejudice toward said group. This type of prejudice intervention, known as an imagined contact intervention, can be beneficial when direct contact with the outgroup is not feasible. This study adds to existing research on imagined contact interventions by replicating a simple version of the intervention by Husnu and Crisp (2010) and assessing attitudes toward an American Muslim out-group. This study extends the research of Husnu and Crisp (2010) by using American participants as opposed to British participants and also uses an online distribution …

Social Psychology, Griffin N. Thayer

Open Educational Resources

A syllabus designed with OER concepts in mind to teach social psychology.

Self-Transcendent Emotions And Social Media: Exploring The Content And Consumers Of Inspirational Facebook Posts, Katherine R. Dale, Arthur A. Raney, Qihao Ji, Sophie Janicke-Bowles, Joshua Baldwin, Jerrica T. Rowlett, Cen Wang, Mary Beth Oliver

Communication Faculty Articles and Research

Although a great deal of research has examined the potential negative effects of Facebook, studies also show that Facebook use can lead to various positive effects. This study builds on this positive effects scholarship: together, the two studies presented herein aim to provide an understanding of the inspirational content available on Facebook and the way social media users in the United States encounter, recall, and interact with this content. Results from the quantitative content analysis in Study 1 show that inspirational Facebook posts contain similar frequencies of hope and appreciation of beauty and excellent elicitors when compared with other forms …

The Path To God Is Through The Heart: Metaphoric Self-Location As A Predictor Of Religiosity, Adam K. Fetterman, Jacob Juhl, Brian P. Meier, Andrew Abeyta, Clay Routledge, Michael D. Robinson

Psychology Faculty Publications

Metaphors linking the heart to warm intuition and the head to cold rationality may capture important differences between people because some locate the self in the heart and others locate the self in the head. Five studies (total N = 2575) link these individual differences to religious beliefs. Study 1 found that religious beliefs were stronger among heart-locators than head-locators. Studies 2 and 3 replicated this relationship in more diverse samples. Studies 4 and 5 focused on questions of mediation. Heart-locators believed in God to a greater extent partly because of empathy-related processes (Study 4) and partly because they tended …

The Relationship Among Social Media, Interpersonal Relationships, And Self-Conscious Emotions, Mikayla Stone

McNair Scholars Research

This study examined the relationship among social media, interpersonal relationships, and self-conscious emotions. Participants responded to surveys that were distributed on Facebook and through email. The participants varied in age, gender, and ethnicity. Each participant responded to a four-part online survey. The survey contained the following scales: TOSCA (assesses the self-conscious emotions of shame and guilt-proneness), Social Media Use (measures the usage of social media of the individual), and Dispositional Authenticity and Relationship Authenticity (measures interpersonal relationship). These three variables were analyzed quantitatively and compared to find significant negative correlations.

The Association Of Optimism With Sleep Duration And Quality: Findings From The Coronary Artery Risk And Development In Young Adults (Cardia) Study, Rosalba Hernandez, Thanh-Huyen T. Vu, Kiarri N. Kershaw, Julia K. Boehm, Laura D. Kubzansky, Mercedes Carnethon, Claudia Trudel-Fitzgerald, Kristen L. Knutson, Laura A. Colangelo, Kiang Liu

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Optimism is associated with better health outcomes with hypothesized effects due in part to optimism's association with restorative health processes. Limited work has examined whether optimism is associated with better quality sleep, a major restorative process. We test the hypothesis that greater optimism is associated with more favorable sleep quality and duration. Main analyses included adults aged 32-51 who participated in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study (n = 3,548) during the fifth (Year 15: 2000-2001) and sixth (Year 20: 2005-2006) follow-up visits. Optimism was assessed using the revised Life-Orientation Test. Self-report measures of …

Personality And Technology: Big Five Personality Traits As Descriptors Of Universal Acceptance And Usage Of Technology Utaut., Shohar Bano, Ubaid Ullah Shah, Dr. Sabha Ali

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Presently, information professionals are progressively dependent on information and communication technologies to complete their everyday tasks. As, result dependence on PC frameworks, programming and data innovation-related technologies are increasing for better working and providing quality services. Therefore, to understand, analyze and evaluate the acceptance and use of this technology several models of technology acceptance and use have been formulated in information science literature. Using eight such models, Venkatesh, Morris, Davis and Davis proposed a unified model called the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology or (UTAUT) model. The UTAUT model has been studied and analyzed in various spheres …

Testing The Tripartite Influence Model Among Heterosexual, Bisexual, And Lesbian Women, Vivienne M. Hazzard, Lauren M. Schaefer, Katherine Schaumberg, Anna M. Bardone-Cone, David A. Frederick, Kelly L. Klump, Drew A. Anderson, J. Kevin Thompson

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

This cross-sectional study explored similarities and differences between heterosexual, bisexual, and lesbian women in levels of, and relationships between, the following constructs using a Tripartite Influence Model framework: family, peer, and media appearance pressures, thin- and muscular-ideal internalization, and eating disorder (ED) pathology. Self-identified heterosexual (n = 1,528), bisexual (n = 89), and lesbian (n = 278) undergraduate women completed the Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire-4 and the Eating Disorder Examination-Questionnaire. Sexual orientation differences in appearance pressures, appearance-ideal internalization, and ED pathology were examined via analysis of variance tests. Relationships between these variables were examined with multi-group …

Sexuality Through The Lens Of Secure Base Attachment Dynamics: Individual Differences In Sexploration, Dylan Selterman, Amanda N. Gesselman, Amy C. Moors

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

A key aspect of attachment functioning is the secure base, which empowers people to explore their environments, though some individuals do this more effectively than others. While most researchers have focused on adult attachment dynamics in terms of stress and threat (safe haven), we argue that concerted attention should also focus on relational processes in times of optimal functioning. In this paper, we introduce a new theoretical concept: secure base sexual exploration (or sexploration). We define this as the degree to which individuals are able to effectively explore multifaceted dimensions of sexuality (e.g., behaviors, identity) as a function …

Multiple Loves: The Effects Of Attachment With Multiple Concurrent Romantic Partners On Relational Functioning, Amy C. Moors, William Ryan, William J. Chopik

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

In the present study, we sought to understand whether people in polyamorous relationships have similar attachment orientations with each of their partners. Further, we examined the extent to which the attachment relationship with a given partner affects relationship quality both within that relationship and across concurrent romantic relationships. We recruited a community sample of 357 people engaged in polyamory with at least two concurrent romantic partners. People engaged in polyamory exhibited secure attachment with both of their partners (low in avoidance and anxiety); specifically, these scores were lower than established norms. In terms of within-relationship effects, avoidance and anxiety with …

The Role Of Dreams, Intuition, And Social Influences On Conscious Decision-Making Processes, Robert Bouffard

Senior Honors Projects

The average person makes approximately 35,000 conscious decisions per day, which, accounting for the daily amount of sleep a person gets, is equivalent to a decision madeevery two seconds. Upon realizing the frequency, I sought to find a distinctive connectionbetween the conscious and unconscious when it pertains to how people make decisions. I hypothesized that people make decisions regarding their personal relationships with the help of intuition, which I considered to be the ultimate link between our dreams and our conscious thought. I also believed the concept of intuition was entirely dependent on our processing and decoding of dreams. In …

Steadfast Standards Or Fluctuating Fancies? Stability And Change In People’S Mate Criteria Over 27 Months, Carrie A. Bredow, Nicole Hames

Faculty Publications

Although research on mate preferences has been built on the assumption that the criteria people report at one point in time should predict their future partnering behavior, little is known about the temporal stability of people’s standards. Using survey data collected at four time points from 285 originally unmarried individuals, this study examined the rank-order, meanlevel, individual-level and ipsative stability of people’s mate criteria over 27 months. Overall, reported standards exhibited moderate to high baseline stability, with rank-order and ipsative estimates comparable to those reported for personality traits. At the same time, mean- and individual-level analyses revealed small, but significant, …

Seeking And Ensuring Interdependence: Commitment Desirability And The Initiation And Maintenance Of Close Relationships, Kenneth Tan, Christopher R. Agnew, Benjamin W. Hadden

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

The current research offers and examines the concept of commitment desirability, defined as the subjective desire to be involvedin a committed romantic relationship at a given time. In pursuing their desire for a committed romance, how do individualshigh in commitment desirability strategically ensure success? We suggest that high perceived partner commitment is soughtby individuals who themselves desire to be involved in a committed relationship. In three studies involving individuals bothcurrently involved and not involved in a relationship, we found support for the hypothesized interactive effect of commitmentdesirability and perceived partner commitment, such that greater commitment desirability was associated with more …

Development Of The State Optimism Measure, Rachel A. Millstein, Wei-Jean Chung, Bettina B. Hoeppner, Julia K. Boehm, Sean R. Legler, Carol A. Mastromauro, Jeff C. Huffman

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Background

Optimism, or positive expectations about the future, is associated with better health. It is commonly assessed as a trait, but it may change over time and circumstance. Accordingly, we developed a measure of state optimism.

Methods

An initial 29-item pool was generated based on literature reviews and expert consultations. It was administered to three samples: sample 1 was a general healthy population (n = 136), sample 2 was people with cardiac disease (n = 96), and sample 3 was persons recovering from problematic substance use (n = 265). Exploratory factor analysis and item-level descriptive statistics were used to select …

The Effects Of Message Matching In Climate Change Persuasion, Matthew R. Penner

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Public opinions of climate change are not consistent with the reality that climate change is occurring. Effective persuasive messages must be created to ensure that irreparable damage to the environment is prevented. This study investigated the cognitive processes that occur when an individual is exposed to a persuasive message regarding environmental concerns that is matched to an individual’s personality characteristics like right wing authoritarianism and purity.

Messages on two environmental topics (solar panels and the Environmental Protection Agency) were created. Each topic was framed in multiple ways to test hypotheses about personality-based message matching. Participants completed a thought listing task …

East Asian Low Marriage And Birth Rates: The Role Of Life History Strategy, Culture, And Social Status Affordance, Jose Yong, Norman P. Li, Peter K. Jonason, Yi Wen Tan

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Although economic development is broadly associated with low fertility, countries with a predominantly East Asian cultural population exhibit the lowest fertility rates in the developed world. This study (N = 243) examined social status affordance (SSA) as a novel factor underlying cultural variations in marriage and childbearing attitudes. Drawing from a life history perspective, we argue that SSA reflects the availability and ease of attaining social status from the environment, which then influences people's reproductive motivations. We found that strong competition for prestigious jobs in developed East Asian countries, which is hypothesized to be an outcome of their collectivistic nature …

An Exception In Risk-Taking Behavior: Religiosity As A Situation-Specific Predictor Of Sexual Risk-Taking, Trenton Buhr

Honors Theses

The relationship between religiosity and sexual risk-taking has been widely studied but conclusive consensus on the influence has not been established. Part of this stems from how religiosity is measured. The current study analyzes how religious fundamentalism, one way of measuring religiosity, and risk-taking propensity predict sexual risk-taking. We used a wide range of risk-taking propensity measures to better understand their role and the unique role of religious fundamentalism in this risk-taking area. The current study aims to assess whether religious fundamentalism has potential to be a situation-specific predictor of sexual risk-taking. To test this, 17 participants completed risk-taking propensity …

Who Are We? How Knowing Our Personalities Can Improve Our Personal And Professional Lives, Sarah Grison

Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning Workshops

This slide presentation for Professional Development Day at Parkland College had three goals: to discover personality traits, explore why understanding peoples traits matters, and discuss how considering traits can improve lives with the growth mindset model.

Brief Mood Introspection Scale (Bmis): Technical And Scoring Manual (3rd Edition), John D. Mayer, Rachael Cavallaro

UNH Personality Lab

The BMIS scale is an open-source mood scale consisting of 16 mood-adjectives to which a person responds (e.g., Are you "happy"?). The scale can yield measures of overall pleasant-unpleasant mood, arousal-calm mood, and it also can be scored according to positive-tired and negative-calm mood.

It’S About Time: Readiness, Commitment And Stability In Close Relationships, Christopher R. Agnew, Benjamin W. Hadden, Kenneth Tan

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Timing matters in relationships. People vary in their sense of when they think the time is right to be involved in a committed relationship. We propose and examine the construct of commitment readinessand its role in predicting important relationship outcomes including commitment level, maintenance processes, and stability among involved intimates. Data from five independent samples obtained with various methods revealed, as hypothesized, that readiness (a) predicts commitment, maintenance processes, and actions toward ending a relationship; (b) serves to moderate commitment in predicting maintenance processes (self-disclosure, accommodation, sacrifice); and (c) serves to moderate commitment in predicting leave behavior, with those reporting …

Technical Supplement For The Article "Advances In Measuring Personal Intelligence", John D. Mayer, David R. Caruso, Abigail T. Panter

UNH Personality Lab

No abstract provided.

An Insight To Project Manager Personality Traits Improving Team Project Outcomes, Thomas G. Henkel, Gordon Haley, Debra T. Bourdeau, James Marion

Publications

Individual personality assessments tools have a strong following among Fortune 100 companies.[1] Besides being used for hiring purposes, individual personality assessment tools give project managers insight into personality and aspirations, as well as how they process and organize information, make decisions, and interact with team members and other stakeholders. The aim of this research study was to explore what personality traits project managers need to lead a project team effectively. To accomplish this, we employed the Big Five Personality® and the 1/11 Myers-Briggs (MBTI®) personality assessments to identify favorable personality traits and characteristics when managing projects.

Narcissism And Social Media Usage: Is There No Longer A Relationship?, Christina M. Frederick, Tianxin Zhang

Publications

In previous studies, narcissism has been found to relate to social media behaviors, such as how often one posts and how many friends or followers one has (McCain & Campbell, 2016; Singh, Farley, and Donahue, 2018). The present study attempted to create a model of social media use predicted by narcissism and selfconsciousness. A sample of 397 adults with a mean age of 29 years was collected using MTurk. Participants completed a social media use survey, the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (Raskin & Hall, 1979) and the Self-Consciousness Scale (Scheier & Carver, 1985). Results showed that while narcissism and selfconsciousness were …

Come Together: Inclusive Leadership And Public Relations Education, Heather Paige Preston

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

Multiple voices from educational and professional arenas have called for change in the way in which public relations undergraduates are prepared to navigate complex communication challenges in the 21st century. Some scholars have advanced leadership as a way to address this change, identifying the undergraduate public relations curriculum as the ideal place to introduce future practitioners to leadership as a way to better prepare them to initiate and participate in positive social change in complex contexts. However, scholars have neither made in-depth connections with leadership theory and practice, nor provided a framework for designing a curriculum for incorporating leadership into …

Worldview Conflict In Daily Life, Mark J. Brandt, Jarret T. Crawford, Daryl R. Vantongeren

Faculty Publications

Building on laboratory- and survey-based research probing the psychology of ideology and the experience of worldview conflict, we examined the association between worldview conflict and emotional reactions, psychological well-being, humanity esteem, and political ideology in everyday life using experience sampling. In three combined samples (total N = 328), experiencing disagreement compared to agreement was associated with experiencing more other-condemning emotions, less well-being, and less humanity esteem. There were no clear associations between experiencing disagreement and experiencing self-conscious emotions, positive emotions, and mental stress. None of the relationships were moderated by political ideology. These results both replicate and challenge findings from …