Personality and Social Contexts Commons^™

Weighing In: Therapeutic Benefits Of Online Communities For Individuals With Eating Disorders, Cheri L. Greenfield

Educational Specialist, 2009-2019

The treatment of eating disorders involves a complex approach. In recent years, a number of websites have developed in an attempt to meet the needs of individuals struggling with this set of disorders. Some of these websites are nationally recognized organizations dedicated to improve treatment and provide educational resources, while other websites have been authored by individuals with eating disorders in an attempt to create a safe community of support. This project explores various components found in online communities, examines characteristics of eating disorders, and evaluates the worth of such resources, even when in perceived contrast with traditional treatment. Rather …

How Technology Interacts With Emerging Adulthood Psychosocial Developmental Tasks: An Examination Of Online Self-Presentation And Cell Phone Usage, Samantha Lynn Gray

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation outlines three distinct, yet interrelated, projects aimed at understanding the role of technology in relation to emerging adulthood developmental tasks: individuation & identity development. The first paper provides a context for understanding the developmental tasks of emerging adulthood, and the role that technology may serve in relation to those developmental tasks. This brief review of the literature on emerging adulthood developmental tasks provides a solid theoretical background and history for the theoretical premises proposed for the respective studies included in this dissertation. The second project is an empirical investigation that seeks to understand how the task of identity …

Validation Of A Personality Scale: A Factor Analytic Approach, Leslie Forbush

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Researchers and clinicians alike make use of various assessment instruments to investigate variables of interest. These instruments include affective assessments, which require individuals to make judgments about themselves. To make these judgments individuals reflect upon their attitudes, interests, values, and personality traits and choose the corresponding response option that they feel best represents their current status with regards to the variable of interest for each question. The optimal number of response options to be included in such affective measurement scales has been greatly debated over the past several decades (Cox, 1980; Foddy, 1993; Jacoby & Matell, 1971; Jones & Loe, …

Exploring Communication Apprehension And Its Relationship To Communication Attitude And Socio-Communicative Functioning In Children With Velopharyngeal Insufficiency, Agnieszka Dzioba

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Myriad findings on children with velopharyngeal insufficiency (VPI) indicate the potential for this population of children to experience feelings of apprehension specific to communication and the potential for other psychological and social difficulties. The purpose of the present investigation was to explore the construct of communication apprehension (CA) and its potential relationship to social and communicative functioning in a diverse group of children with VPI. Potential linkages between CA and multiple socio-communicative constructs including attitude, speech satisfaction, speech and language skill, social competence, and speech severity were explored in a cohort of children with and without VPI, followed by an …

The Development And Validation Of A Multidimensional Measure Of Moral Orientation, Erica A. Giammarco

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Researchers have found that when individuals are faced with moral dilemmas, they tend to approach the situations with the same general perspective. This general perspective is referred to as their moral orientation. Studies have shown that moral orientations tend to be either justice or care focused. A justice orientation refers to a focus on rights, rules, and objective decision making. In contrast, individuals using a care orientation are more likely to consider relationships, contextual factors, and minimizing harm to others. Although numerous studies have reported individual differences in these orientations, the literature has failed to consider how individuals with “abnormal” …

A Multi-University Examination Of College Student-Athlete & Coach Fit, Amanda Celeste Alexander

Doctoral Dissertations

This study examines the relationship between student-athletes’ personality traits and satisfaction with their collegiate coaching experience, as guided by vocational research and theory on job satisfaction and turnover. Specifically, this study was designed to examine both broad and narrow personality traits in relation to student-athletes’ satisfaction across four dimensions of the student-athlete/coach relationship and to explore intent to transfer as a dependent of these variables. This study is an expansion of a previous study investigation of personality and satisfaction with coaching (Levy, Alexander, & Lounsbury, under review). A national sample of NCAA Division I, II, and III collegiate student-athletes was …

Males’ Expectations Of Counseling, Sheryl Kelly

Dissertations

In today’s society, a man upholding masculinity alone is not enough. There is a constant need to “prove” their masculinity. Men’s inability to recognize when they are experiencing stress, strain, and sickness is noted as being due to them being socialized to ignore their feelings (Wilson, n.d.). Although research that addresses the concept of help-seeking has expanded, it continues to be limited in its focus on men. In addition, not much attention has been given to counseling expectations. The purpose of the present study is to expand the current knowledge base on men and their counseling expectations. This study examined …

Career Decision Status, Career-Related Thinking, And Emotional Distress: A Structural Equation Model, Lindsey Marie Andrews

Dissertations

The choosing of a college major or occupation is an important decision with which many individuals struggle. Prior research has suggested that difficulty choosing a major or occupation affects a majority of students entering college and stems from multiple sources including lack of information, insufficient learning experiences, and ineffective decision-making processes. Cognitive-behavioral theory has shown utility in working with a diverse set of difficulties and with diverse populations through the examination of the influence of thoughts and emotions on resulting behavior. Research in the career literature has begun to emphasize connections between one’s thoughts and emotions in regards to career …

The Fatherhood Factor: The Impact Of The Father-Child Relationship On The Social, Interpersonal, And Recidivism Risk Factors Of Previously Incarcerated Men, Larissa A. Maley

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Of the men who return home from prison, nearly 7 out of 10 will be re-arrested and sent back within 3 years of their release (Travis, Solomon, & Waul, 2001). This trend has large- scale implications, not just for individuals, but for their families and communities as well. Clearly, understanding the factors that contribute to a man’s success or failure in staying out of prison is extremely important in constructing policy and programs to assist these at-risk individuals and communities. Of the few studies that have explored the lives of previously incarcerated men, some have found fatherhood to be a …

Human And Canine Personality Assessment Instruments To Predict Successful Adoptions With Shelter Dogs, Sheryl Lynn Walker

Open Access Dissertations

Animal shelters are often over-crowded with animals, and efforts to match potential adopters with shelter dogs, to improve the quality of adoptions, are increasing. However, a lack of evidence-based practices makes matching difficult. This research was conducted to investigate the role of dog and human personality, using questionnaire-based measurements, on adoption success in two Indiana shelters, Clinton County Humane Society and the Humane Society of Indianapolis. Ultimately, the aim of this project was to assess dog personality, human personality, and satisfaction, to evaluate adoption success in shelter dogs.^ The present thesis contains three studies exploring dog and human personality traits, …

Effects Of Gender Bias And Gender Inversion Stereotypes On Assessment Of Personality Traits And Diagnosis Of Personality Disorders, Beatrice Charmaine Mosier

Doctoral Dissertations

Past research has shown the results of gender and gender role biases on the diagnostic decision-making process, particularly with regard to personality disorders. This bias has implications for homosexual individuals, as they often are viewed as displaying traits of opposite sex individuals. With regard to personality assessment, current research continuously supports a more dimensional conceptualization of personality pathology. In the most recent edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, a hybrid model of personality assessment, which utilizes both categorical methods and dimensional approaches, has been added as an alternative model. The study explored the effects of …

Interrelationships Between Sensation Seeking And Psychopathy, Casey S. Iwai

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Psychopathic and sensation seeking traits are often correlated; however, sensation seeking alone is not inherently pathological. This study seeks to investigate possible moderating variables between individuals who are high on sensation seeking but low on measures of psychopathic or antisocial traits. Specifically, a positive family environment is hypothesized to be a moderating variable in the development of psychopathic traits among high sensation seekers. A college student sample assessed for psychopathy, sensation seeking, and family functioning is used to test this hypothesis. Significant relationships between all three constructs were found. Similar to previous data, sensation seeking was found to correlate with …

Blame Recovery: Modeling The Effects Of Personality, Religious-Spiritual Belief, And Gender On Blame Attributions And Psychological Wellbeing After A Failed Romantic Relationship, Gillian C. Tohver

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Blame attribution (BA) is the complex cognitive-affective process through which individuals feel negative feelings of internalized self-blame/guilt or externalized other-blame by varying degrees. High BA is accompanied by distress, anxiety, depression and reduced health outcomes, while low BA indicates healthful release from negative affect and direction of attention toward past transgressions or negative events. Previous research has demonstrated a multitude of personality and individual difference associations with BA and psychological wellbeing (PWB) in cross-sectional samples, but little focus has been directed at determining if such traits affect changes in (i.e. recovery from) BA and PWB over time. The present study …

Overcoming Panethnicity: Filipino-American Identity In A Globalized Culture, Brandon Napenias Oreiro

Global Honors Theses

Filipino-Americans have struggled to create a unique and visible social identity within the United States. Whether it be from their early colonial experiences in America to their more recent status as a ‘minority within a minority’, these groups of individuals are caught in a constantly expanding and increasingly complex identity crisis (Cordova, 1983; Revilla 1997; San Juan 1998). However, due to the effects of globalization and the increased application of technologies such as the internet, new avenues of self-representation have opened up, allowing for the creation of more individualistic and transnational identities that are currently challenging the conventional notions of …

Improving Data Quality With Four Short Sentences: How An Honor Code Can Make The Difference During Data Collection, Alexander Scott Mckay

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Careless responders have a large impact on a study by causing issues such as Type II errors (failing to reject a false null hypothesis), which then waste researchers’ time and money. Research on careless responding has focused primarily on detecting and removing careless responders rather than on reducing careless responding before data collection begins. The purpose of the present study was to test the use of honor codes with or without the presentation of a picture of watchful eyes to increase self-awareness thereby reducing careless responding. Participants (N = 305) were randomly assigned to one of five honor code …

The Effects Of Tripartite Self-Construal On Prosocial Behavior, Nicole Ruser

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

The current study examined the effects of both primed and unprimed tripartite self-construal on real helping behavior offered in a laboratory setting. Additional variables commonly associated with prosocial behavior, namely empathy (Eisenberg & Miller, 1987) and agreeableness (Graziano, Hasbashi, Sheese & Tobin, 2007; Caprara, Alessandri & Eisenberg, 2912), were also assessed. Undergraduate students (N = 119) completed self-report measures of empathy, agreeableness, and chronic self-construal, then completed a self-construal prime before the experimenter requested help with a simple task. It was predicted that the independence prime would increase helping among participants, as seen in the work of Finlay and …

College Students’ Attitudes Towards Adults With Developmental Disabilities: Does Direct Contact Make A Difference?, Caroline E. Greene

Honors College Theses

Data were collected from thirty college students who participated in an alternative break trip and approximately seventy college students who did not attend the trip. Study subjects served as counselors at a camp for adults with developmental disabilities. Data were collected using five measures: a) before the week started, students filled out a survey which questioned their comfort level and attitude when interacting with this population; b) this same survey was administered to a random sample of college students who did not attend the break trip c) at camp, students kept a journal throughout the week documenting their experiences; d) …

Discovering The Perfect Study Abroad: Using The Five Factor Model To Fit Students To Their Ideal Program, Meagan Ann Halligan

Accounting Undergraduate Honors Theses

The goal of this paper is to examine the relationship between personality types and study abroad program selection. This paper explores the different factors that play a role in the decision making process of individuals as well as the multiple dimensions of personality. In order to research the relationship between these two elements, a survey was sent to a portion of the University of Arkansas student population that had taken part in study abroad programs. It was discovered that there is indeed a relationship between personality types, study abroad program selection, and the successfulness of study abroad experiences.

Social Rejection: Downward Simulation, The Road To Recovery, Monica L. Hesler

Honors Theses

Prior research on social rejection has found that people with high self-esteem tend to cope better with social rejection. However, there is still not a complete understanding as to why they tend to cope better with rejection. Some research has found that persons with high self-esteem think about rejection differently than persons with low self-esteem which results in a better ability to cope. This thesis further examines the relationship between self-esteem and social rejection. Specifically this thesis examines how different thought being used by persons with high or low self-esteem may affect their reactions to social rejection. Based on prior …

The Influence Of Bystanders In Subsequent Bullying Behavior, Jenny Lane Morris

Dissertations

Aggression that is targeted towards an individual or a group of individuals who is at a disadvantage to respond is known by several terms in the literature, including bullying, harassment, and mobbing. There has been much interest in this sort of targeted aggression among school-aged children and, therefore, a large body of literature on the topic exists. In adult populations, especially in workplace environments, much research has focused on the respective roles of the victim and bully in this adverse social dynamic, with less information available on the role of the bystander, which has emerged as an important part of …

Investigating The Relationships Between Personality, Valence And Modern Health Worries, Thomas Green

Honors Capstone Projects - All

In our evolving world, new technologies and practices are frequently introduced to society and assimilated into daily life. People often form concerns about how these new technologies, and other types of change, affect public health and the surrounding environment. This paper aims to form a better understanding of Modern Health Worries (MHW). Two studies were conducted: one investigating personality correlates of the MHW scale, and a second examining the covariation of the MHW scale with participants’ valence and arousal ratings of images of MHWs selected in terms categories presented in the literature.

Undergraduate students at Syracuse University (n=143) took part …

Who Will Defy Authority? Personality Features And Destructive Obedience In The Milgram Paradigm, Ashton Caroline Southard

Dissertations

The present study examined the potential role of individual differences in personality in the likelihood of engaging in destructive obedience to authority within a modified version of the Stanley Milgram paradigm (Milgram, 1963, 1974). Personality features examined included the Big Five dimensions of agreeableness, openness, neuroticism, conscientiousness, and extraversion, and the dimensions of the Dark Triad, which consist of narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism (Paulhus & Williams, 2002). Participants were 39 undergraduates enrolled in introductory psychology classes who participated in exchange for partial fulfillment of a research requirement. Data were collected in two phases. Phase 1 consisted of online completion of …

An Empirical Investigation Of The Concept Of “Pornography”, Taylor A. Kohut

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

“Pornography” as a concept remains unclear. The lack of consensus about the meaning of pornography is particularly problematic for empirical enterprises where inconsistent conceptualizations of pornography undermine the reliability and validity of research findings, impede the integration of knowledge across studies, and contribute to the miscommunication of research findings to the general public. With this in mind, the goal of this dissertation was to explore the concept of pornography, particularly as it was understood by lay individuals, with the hope of uncovering insights that would strengthen research practices in this field. To this end, seven studies were conducted using both …

Individual Differences In Ownership Reasoning: A Twin Study, Callista Forchuk

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Vast similarities in ownership behaviour across species and age ranges have been used to support the notion of an innate basis for ownership reasoning. Using a twin study paradigm, this is the first study to investigate the extent to which genetic and environmental factors contribute to individual differences in ownership reasoning. 65 pairs of adult monozygotic (MZ) twins, and 16 pairs of same-sex dizygotic (DZ) twins completed a 24-item ownership questionnaire, which included items on (1) new ownership and (2) appropriate transfers of ownership. For both of these factors, it was found that MZ correlations were larger than DZ correlations. …

The Effect Of State Orientation On Emotion Dysregulation, Borderline Personality Disorder, And Nonsuicidal Self-Injury, Desiree Leboeuf-Davis

Doctoral Dissertations

The current study extends the application of Personality Systems Interactions (PSI) theory (Kuhl, 2000b) to the distinction between Nonsuicidal Self-injury (NSSI) and Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) by examining the effect of State Orientation (Kuhl, 1994) on emotion dysregulation, BPD, and NSSI. Participants were recruited using social media and internet-based snowball techniques. Participants were directed to a web-based survey consisting of a demographic questionnaire, the Action Control Scale -24 (ACS-24; Kuhl, 1994; Kuhl & Fuhrmann, 1998), the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS; Gratz & Roemer, 2004; Gratz and Roemer, 2008), the McLean Screening Instrument for Borderline Personality Disorder (MSI-BPD; Zanarini …

The Perfectionism-Psychological Outcome Link: The Mediating Effect Of Personal Resiliency, Martin M. Smith

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Perfectionism is a multidimensional personality trait encompassing two higher-order dimensions: perfectionistic strivings and perfectionistic concerns. People high in perfectionistic strivings rigidly and ceaselessly demand perfection of the self and hold unrealistically high personal standards. People high in perfectionistic concerns have overly negative reactions to perceived failures, nagging self-doubts, and excessive concerns over other’s expectations. Research suggests perfectionistic strivings are predominantly associated with positive psychological outcomes, whereas perfectionistic concerns are predominantly associated with negative psychological outcomes. Theory suggests differences in personal resiliency may account for the divergent psychological outcomes associated with perfectionistic strivings and perfectionistic concerns. However, this contention has yet …

The Relation Between Selective Cross-Modal Attention And Emotional Multisensory Integration, Jamie Christine Klein

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.

The Multicultural Study Of Psychopathy: An Examination Of Latin American Differences, Chelsea Spraberry Tekell

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Psychopathy is a personality disorder that is composed of characteristics that include poverty of empathy, lack of anxiety or fear, impulsive actions, and manipulation of others. The definition and measurement of psychopathy has changed over time and remains controversial. Ethnicity is an under researched area of psychopathy. In particular, previous psychopathy research has focused primarily on European American men. Despite increased attention to differences between African Americans and European Americans, Latin Americans continue to be overlooked, with only a small number of studies examining psychopathy among individuals from Latin ethnicities. The current study is among the first to examine psychopathy …

Psychopathy And The Hexaco Personality Model, M. Todd Lobrano

Doctoral Dissertations

Within the recently published DSM-5, alternative diagnostic criteria for personality disorders have been offered (American Psychiatric Association [APA], 2013). These changes allow for a more dimensional diagnostic system than has been previously used while maintaining some aspects of a categorical system (Skodol et al., 2011). These changes also include a description of specific traits that characterize personality disorders and make it possible for measures of normal personality to have a more significant impact in their diagnosis. Relevant to the present study are the changes in the diagnosis of antisocial personality disorder and psychopathy, considered by many to be an extreme …

Direct Vs Indirect Aggression Tactics As A Function Of Domin-Specific Self-Esteem, Joy Plumeri Wyckoff

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.