Other Psychology Commons^™

Intercorrelations Between Essentialist Beliefs And Religious, Political, And National Identities, Truman Deree

James Madison Undergraduate Research Journal (JMURJ)

Research on essentialist beliefs has largely focused on a few identities associated with biological traits that have socially constructed significance and meanings placed on them (e.g., skin color for race or voice pitch for gender). Identities that are more choice-based (e.g., religion or politics) or otherwise non-physical (e.g., nationality) have been underrepresented in research on essentialism. The concept of essentialism is important because the action of regarding natural biological factors as immutable and determinant has been found to lead to racial and political discrimination. The current study surveyed participants on their national, religious, and political beliefs to investigate the relationships …

U.S. Extremism And Media: How The New Age Of Politics Speaks To Media Usage, Josephine R. Haneklau

Senior Honors Projects, 2020-current

On January 6th, 2021, the nation watched from their television screens as a group of extremists stormed the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C. An interesting emotion fell over the U.S. public – it was both shocking and not shocking at all. The attack on the Capitol was a by-product of years of internal division, catapulted by Trump’s presidency. Between racial divisions and the progression of Black Lives Matter, the advancement of COVID and its governmental policies, and Trump’s divisive nature of president at a peak, it seemed almost inevitable that an offense like this would occur.

As political conversations …

Exploring The Effects Of Positive Behavioral Supports On Disciplinary Practices In Schools And It's Potential To Mitigate Disproportionality In Disciplinary Outcomes For African American Students, E'Lexus Emily King

Educational Specialist, 2009-2019

Disproportionality in special education and school discipline in the U.S. Education system has been a crucial and complex issue. Research has shown that evidence-based interventions that lie within the positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS) framework has been effective in improving educational outcomes for all students. In this study, the author investigated the impact of the School-Wide Benchmarks of Quality, a PBIS fidelity measure, on student disciplinary outcomes. 380 schools presented four years of disciplinary outcome data. Results showed that the PBIS fidelity measure had a modest effect on the overall student disciplinary outcomes but did not address the disproportionate …