Social Psychology Commons^™

From Other And From World: Expanding The Current Model Of Existential Isolation, Roger Young Jr.

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Extant research investigating the nature of existential isolation (EI) has focused primarily on the experience of the gap between one’s mind and the minds of others (self-other EI). The general purpose of the current research was to begin exploring the experience of the gap between one’s mind and the world (self-world EI). This purpose was carried out across three studies. A pilot study confirms that self-world EI is a relatively common experience that usually involves meaning violation or dissociation, and results in psychological discomfort and self-doubt. Study 1 found that self-world existential isolation produces more “EI affect” (e.g., nervous, afraid, …

The Need To Address Religious Diversity At Work: An All-Inclusive Model Of Spirituality At Work, Ivonne Valero Cázares

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis discusses the importance of embracing religion and spirituality in the workplace as an aspect of workplace diversity. This document aims to help us understand the definition of spirituality at the workplace and its constituents.

We conducted a literature review from predominant scholars about the salience of spirituality and religion at the workplace and its relevance to building meaning, connectedness, and a sense of belonging. We will also review Maslow's theory of Human Needs, his research on human peak-experiences, and its correlation to self-actualization and transcendence.

We will present a new model of Spirituality and Religion at the workplace …

Palatable Shades Of Gender: Status Processes At The Intersections Of Race, Gender, And Team Formation, Jasmón L. Bailey

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation addresses the importance of studying how race and gender influence partner selection processes of team formation. Stratified social systems influence the choice and decision-making behaviors that shape group and team formation (Hechter 1978). By testing Skvoretz’s and Bailey’s (2016) formal theory of team formation choice processes derived from expectation states theory, the dissertation aims to understand how race and gender influence a person’s choice and decision-making with respect to forming a group of problem-solving teammates. Through a quasi-experimental research design, subjects participate in simulated interactive environments in which they can select and personalize self-represented avatars and then choose …

Reconceptualizing The Role Of Essentialism In Attitudes Toward Gays And Lesbians: The Intersection Of Gender And Sexual Orientation, Vanessa Hettinger

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Social psychology researchers have become increasingly interested in the role of essentialist beliefs in predicting attitudes toward social groups. However, there is little agreement about what the term actually means, whether it means different things for different groups, what endorsement of essentialism (or its sub-components) means for attitudes, and how much this varies depending on the relevant social context. This underlying lack of clarity helps to explain some of the difficulty in understanding the relationships between essentialist beliefs about sexual orientation and attitudes toward gay men and lesbians. In the current project, I suggest a fundamental shift in the approach …

The Harm Of Influence: When Exposure To Homosexuality Elicits Anger And Punishment Tendencies, Timothy Andrew Caswell

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In the current project, I examined the distinct elicitors and behavioral outcomes of anti-gay anger and anti-gay disgust. The CAD triad hypothesis (Rozin, Lower, Imada, & Haidt, 1999) suggests that anger and disgust are elicited by distinct moral violations and cognitive appraisals. A plethora of research has documented the strong link between disgust and sexual prejudice, but very little attention has been given to the role of anger in sexual prejudice. The biocultural framework of stigmatization (Neuberg, Smith, & Asher, 2000) suggests that people who counter-socialize against prevailing social norms are stigmatized by others. If homosexual sexual behavior does not …

Race, Ethnicity, And Exclusion In Group Identity, Rochelle Milne Burnaford

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The current project investigates exclusion in terms of racial/ethnic identity and group behavioral norms. Research concerning the "black sheep effect" evidences the tendency for group members to derogate a fellow in-group member who has violated an important social norm (Marques, Yzerbyt, & Leyens, 1988). Similarly, Oyserman's (2007) model of identity-based motivation argues that any group identity can shape behavior through a process of identity infusion such that group members are motivated to behave in ways that are in-group identity-infused and equally avoid behaviors that are out-group identity-infused. Finally, identity misclassification research provides evidence that individuals feel threatened by the notion …

Deconstructing The "Power And Control Motive": Developing And Assessing The Measurability Of Internal Power, Shelly Marie Wagers

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Despite the increased social recognition, law and policy changes within the criminal justice system, and the widespread use of court mandated batterer intervention programs (BIPs) domestic violence continues to be a persistent problem. The lack of significant decline in incidence rates along with a growing body of empirical evidence that indicates BIPs are, at best, only moderately effective raises serious concern. Effective policies and programs are based upon empirically tested theory. The assertion "the batterer's motive is power and control" has become fundamental to almost all of our currently used and accepted mainstream theoretical explanations regarding domestic violence. However, the …

Listening In Action: Students' Mobile Music Experiences In The Digital Age, Rebecca Marie Rinsema

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Since the introduction of the iPod in 2001, portable music listening devices that play or stream compressed music files have steadily become the standard devices used to listen to music. Despite this, few music education researchers have investigated the role that such devices have in shaping students' music listening experiences. This dissertation is meant to fill that gap in the literature and contribute to the existing sociological and psychological literature on music listening in everyday life.

Phenomenology served as the theoretical framework for the design of the study. 10 college students from three institutions underwent iterative interviews and were asked …

General Strain Theory And Juvenile Delinquency: A Cross-Cultural Study, Wen-Hsu Lin

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

General strain theory (GST) (Agnew, 1992, 2001, 2006a) is an established criminological theory. Although the theory has been examined by many and enjoys empirical support, some limitations of previous studies need to be addressed. First, previous studies have not incorporated all major types of strain in their models; hence, the effects of these strains on delinquency are unclear. Second, many previous studies did not include negative emotions and even negative emotions other than anger. Finally, and the most serious limitation, many previous studies rely heavily on samples from Western countries, mostly the U.S.; thus, possible cultural influences are ignored. Although …

A Gay Savior: Reducing Anti-Gay Feelings With Gay Male Kindness Following Ostracism, Kenneth Michniewicz

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Social scientists have extensively examined ways of reducing negative feelings toward minority groups. However, no research has examined the ability for passive ostracism, the implicit exclusion of an individual by one's peers, to reduce such negative feelings despite evidence that such exclusion can yield similar positive benefits. The present study sought to address this deficit in the literature by exploring whether or not implicit ostracism by one's peers can cause a kind gesture by a stigmatized minority group member (gay men) to improve general perceptions of the associated group. A sample of 211 undergraduate students from the University of South …

Friendship Networks, Perceived Reciprocity Of Support, And Depression, Ryan Francis Huff

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Using social network analysis as a theoretical framework, the current study examined the associations between self-reported egocentric network characteristics and depression among a sample of United States college students. It is important to understand factors related to depression among this population due to the severity of its potential outcomes (e.g., suicide and interpersonal problems at school). Drawing inspiration from a recent study conducted by Christina Falci and Clea McNeely (2009), the current investigation used OLS regression to test for both linear and curvilinear relationships between egocentric network size and depression. Potential interactions between network size, density, and gender were also …

When Does The Straw Break The Camel's Back?: Examination Of The Exclusion-Elicited Anti-Social Behavior Model, Douglas Phillip Cooper

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Being excluded should motivate pro-social behaviors. Yet, exclusion can incite aggressive and anti-social responses. Two studies were conducted to examine how frequent experiences of exclusion impact self-esteem, perceptions that exclusion is typical of social experiences, and anti-social behaviors. In Study 1, participants completed pre and post-measures of exclusion typicality and self-esteem and reported, over eight weeks, feelings of exclusion and state self-esteem. Results supported the hypotheses in that experiences feeling excluded have direct and indirect effects on state and trait self-esteem as well as on exclusion typicality. In Study 2, participants were exposed to an exclusion manipulation and subsequent aggressive …