Social Psychology Commons^™

Exploring How Covid-19 Impacts Relationship Dynamics Among Cohabitating Heterosexual And Female Same-Sex Couples, Mishele Kaplan

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This qualitative study investigates the experiences of cohabitating heterosexual (n=10) and female same-sex couples (n=8) during the COVID-19 pandemic. It explores how these couples utilized dyadic coping and relational resilience to manage pandemic-related stressors and how their gender identities influenced their responses. Employing a phenomenological approach informed by feminist, queer, and dyadic coping theories, the study reveals that couples strengthened their bonds during the pandemic through intentional communication and novel activities. The findings of the study also highlight that societal perceptions of gender roles continue to exert pressure on individuals, but female same-sex couples demonstrated greater adaptability by challenging these …

Young Arabs In Canada: Ethnic Identity And Intersectionality, Rama Eloulabi

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Arabs make up almost 2% of the population in Canada, and their numbers are growing rapidly. Yet, literature on Arabs in Canada is sparse, both from academic and governmental sources. Using ethnic identity and intersectionality frameworks, this study explores the meanings of Arab identity for youth in Ontario, Canada, and the interactions between their Arab identity and their other identities. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted in Arabic and English with 30 participants (ages 18-30) who are from, or whose background is from, the Arab world. Findings highlighted the diversity of the population, and the themes that emerged regarding self-identification with …

Exploring The Dimensions And Dynamics Of Partnered Sexual Behaviours: Scale Development And Validation Using Factor And Network Analysis, Devinder S. Khera

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Sexual behaviours are an integral part of most intimate relationships and can serve as mechanisms for building intimacy, enhancing emotional connection, and can serve as non-verbal communication to express care, love, and compassion for significant others. Sexually compatible behaviours are also associated with sexual satisfaction – something especially important given the downstream consequences of sexual satisfaction on relationship satisfaction, relationship stability, and general well-being. However, to date, no inclusive, psychometrically validated measure of partnered sexual interests and behaviours exists. Given the central role of sexual interests and behaviours in sexual satisfaction and in turn relationship quality, we sought to develop …

Economics Or Culture? Measuring Economic Thinking And Cultural Enrichment Beliefs About Immigration., Paolo Aldrin Palma

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The present work attempts to distinguish people’s economic concerns about immigration from their (anti-)diversity attitudes, and examines how these economic concerns influence attitudes towards immigrants. To do this, we develop a scale to assess economic thinking and cultural enrichment beliefs about immigration (ETI/CBI). Economic thinking was associated with personality and ideological traits related to viewing the world as competitive and anti-diversity attitudes. Cultural enrichment beliefs on the other hand, were associated with traits associated with a preference for equity and pro-diversity orientations. Furthermore, economic thinking was associated with greater preferences to reduce immigration for all migrant groups except economic migrants, …

The Concept Of Trust In Newly-Formed Versus Long-Term Romantic Relationships, Omar Jordan Camanto

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Trust, a fundamental principle upon which social relationships are predicated, is axiomatically thought to develop for someone by virtue of time spent and past experiences with that someone. However, existing data suggest that trust for a romantic partner already manifests at unvaryingly high quantities from the earliest stages of the relationship onward. Via measurement modelling, we investigated the extent to which the construction of trust – harkening to the intra-psychic entity itself, rather than the measured quantity – varies and addresses different psychological meaning at different stages of romantic relationships. Across two studies (Study 1, N = 464; Study 2, …

What Is Good Sex, And For Whom? A Psychometric Perspective, Nini Longoria

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Research has demonstrated that satisfying sex is a crucial element for sexual health. However, what makes good sex good, and for whom, are often not explored, and these conceptualizations are critical to equitable sexual health promotion. I therefore explored different groups’ good sex constructions using novel psychometric methods (i.e., applying qualitative meaning-making interpretations to bifactor-specific invariance tests). I recruited 13 diverse groups (N = 3,141) consisting of: gay, lesbian, queer, bisexual, heterosexual, cisgender, non-binary, kink and non-monogamous identities. I asked participants the extent to which they considered 67 sexual behaviors as representing “good sex.” Pairwise invariance tests revealed different …

Affectivity And Its Role In Predicting Sociometric Position In Small Group Networks, Roy Hui

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

An individual’s tendency to experience positive emotions can impact the likelihood they find themselves in advantageous positions within their social circle. Adopting a network perspective to map social relations, the current study examined the extent to which dispositional positive affectivity predicts one’s eigenvector centrality and indegree centrality within interaction networks and status networks, respectively. Gathering data during the Fall of 2023, I collected data from 16 student clubs and the members within them and utilised multilevel modeling to disaggregate data. Controlling for individual demographics and group-structure variables, the results suggest that dispositional positive affectivity significantly predicted eigenvector centrality for interaction …

Self-Worth And Identity: The Influence Of Workplace Violence And Harassment In Canadian Workplaces, Chelsea Reid

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

As innately social beings, individuals crave acceptance and yearn to find a sense of purpose in life. More often than not, this sense of purpose is linked to careers or roles within a system. Examination of individuals’ perception of self-worth following acts of violence in the workplace is limited. The gap in the literature on self-worth following experiences of violence and harassment is critical to explore because not only is self-worth linked to overall well-being, but individuals also vary in outcomes following the survival of violence (Breines et al., 2008; Sojo et al., 2016). Violence within the workplace is evident …

The Social Context Of Nonverbal Behaviour, Alexa S. Clerke

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Although nonverbal behaviour has long been a topic of research, it is often studied in isolation from social partners and the social environment. This work presents three empirical chapters that reintroduce the social environment to the investigation of nonverbal cue exchange, focusing on the value of social rewards and the perceptive and affiliative functions of nonverbal communication. Findings reported in Chapter 2 indicate that the subjective value of social rewards changes as a function of social media use saliency. Specifically, thinking about a recent social media post, but not a synchronous conversation, increases the value of social rewards, such that …

Development And Validation Of The Fat Microaggressions Scale, Megan Lindloff

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Much of the discrimination that higher-weight people face takes the form of microaggressions, which have yet to be quantitatively measured. Across five studies, I describe the development and validation of the Fat Microaggressions Scale (FMS). In Study 1, I created the initial item pool through examining previously published measures of experienced weight stigma, qualitative studies, and tweets using the #FatMicroaggressions hashtag. In Study 2, I conducted a Delphi review with fat activists and scholars to receive feedback on the scale. In Study 3, I provided initial evidence for a four-factor structure of the FMS through an exploratory factor analysis. In …

A Demonstration Of The Utility Of Formalizing Theory: Mapping, Evaluating, And Testing The Theory Of Devaluation Of Alternatives, Rebecca Koessler

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Devaluation of alternatives is often identified as a key relationship maintenance strategy that is used to combat the threat of attractive alternatives. However, since the theory was proposed by Johnson and Rusbult (1989), few efforts have been dedicated to evaluating the progression of the theory and assessing the quantity and quality of the existing evidence that claims to corroborate it. The present research fulfilled this need by formalizing the theory of devaluation of alternatives using a metatheoretical approach that involved categorization, deconstruction, reconstruction via theory mapping, and evaluation (Chapter 2). P-curve meta-analyses were used to determine whether p-hacking …

How Do Individuals In Intercultural Romantic Relationships Use Communication Strategies To Maintain Their Relationship? A Qualitative Analysis., Adira Daniel

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Intercultural relationships—romantic relationships where one partner is outside the other’s racial, ethnic, religious, and/or language group—are a growing sociodemographic group. Individuals in such relationships must navigate their cultural differences to mitigate the negative effects of the challenges they face and ameliorate the benefits of their relationship. Culture can impact preferences in communicating about these differences and consequently relationship maintenance. Yet little is known about how intercultural couples communicate about their cultural differences to effectively maintain their relationship. To address this gap, I conducted semi-structured, virtual, interviews with 23 intercultural couples and found that intercultural couples’ overall preference and efficacy …

Virtual Reality, Mindfulness And Their Associations To Personality Traits, Somer Schaffer

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Mindfulness, conceptualized as actively noticing and engaging with oneself and one’s surroundings with a nonjudgmental mind, is associated with many positive outcomes such as healthy relationships, stress reduction, performance engagement, and increased well-being. Virtual reality (VR) technologies offer people immersive experiences to engage with novel environments for entertaining and therapeutic purposes. While in any VR environment, participants may perceive themselves as if they are in the scenes, that is, they experience moment-to-moment awareness and immersion in these virtual environments. Thus, practicing mindfulness meditation with technologies like smartphones and VR has become increasingly popular over the past decade. However, little research …

Revisiting Cognitive Dissonance: A Closer Look At The Core Assumptions Of A Classic Theory, Mikayla V. Colthirst-Reid

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Cognitive dissonance is a well-established and highly cited psychological theory. However, many of its basic assumptions have come under recent criticism concerning methodological design, variable manipulation, and measurement of dissonance as a unique psychological phenomenon distinct from general negative affect. A within-subjects design compared measures of dissonance-related affect at baseline to the same affect measures across varying magnitudes of belief-behaviour inconsistency via a counter-attitudinal task. The study also measured belief change in response to dissonance conditions and explored relationships between dissonance experience and individual difference variables (extraversion, religiosity, and political orientation). Results did not support an increase of dissonance relative …

Making Mindfulness Matter With Arabic Speaking Families: A Process Evaluation Study, Amal M. Baobaid

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Arabic-speaking refugees experience a significant amount of trauma in their pre-and post-migration journey in Canada, which can negatively impact their well-being. Mindfulness programs have demonstrated wide-ranging benefits for children and youth, but there is a gap in the literature on providing culturally based mindfulness programs to refugee families. The present study conducted a process evaluation for the culturally adapted version of the Making Mindfulness Matter (M3) program (an 8-week concurrent parent and children mindfulness intervention), to assess program successes and challenges with families. Three groups were run, and a total of nine families recruited from the Muslim Resources Centre for …

Co-Rumination In Social Networks, Samantha M. Jones

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Although co-rumination is associated with positive relationship perceptions, individuals that engage in this behaviour often report fewer friends and peer difficulties. Those with a tendency to co-ruminate also report elevated levels of internalizing symptoms. Thus, the tendency to co-ruminate may put individuals at risk of depressive and anxious symptoms as well as social problems as they make the challenging transition to university and build new social networks. I analyzed social network data from 458 first year undergraduate students during their first university semester. Co-rumination within a particular relationship was associated with greater tie strength and socio-emotional multiplexity. Co-rumination was positively …

The Predictive Validity Of Intimate Partner Violence Warning Signs, Nicolyn H. Charlot

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is harmful and prevalent, but leaving abusive partners is often challenging due to investments (e.g., time, cohabitation). Identifying warning signs of abuse is one primary prevention strategy to help people avoid abusive relationships. The present research sought to identify thoughts, feelings, and behaviors which are not considered abusive (Study 1), appear before abuse occurs in relationships (Study 2), and predict abuse (Studies 3 and 4). Study 1 distinguished potential warning signs of abuse from abusive behaviors using the ratings of professionals with experience in IPV. Study 2 established a timeline of when violent behaviors and possible …

More Than Just Virtual Communication: Examining Canadian Volunteers’ Virtual Contact Experiences With Refugees, Maria Besselink

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Canada plays a key role in addressing the ‘global refugee crisis’ as it accepts more refugees per capita than any other country. Although Canadians increasingly view support for immigration and multiculturalism as integral components of their national identity, the number of immigrants and refugees Canada accepts yearly is an increasingly polarized issue. In line with the Intergroup Contact Hypothesis, the current study investigated how Canadian volunteers’ repeated virtual contact experiences with refugees affected their generalized attitudes towards refugees over time. Our findings did not suggest that the quality and quantity of participants’ virtual contact experiences affected their attitudes. The findings …

The Expression Of Guilt, Chloe A. Stewart

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Though aversive, the experience and expression of guilt is important to healthy social functioning. Guilt is often described as visceral, and nonverbal guilt expressions are anecdotally observed, yet much remains unknown about how guilt is expressed. The present work aimed to explore the visceral experience of guilt via the autonomic nervous system (ANS), and the nonverbal display of guilt via facial, gestural, and postural expressions. Using a novel film paradigm, we explored ANS activity during guilt in healthy adults and adults with neurodegenerative disorders (NDs). We further explored the nonverbal behaviours associated with guilt in healthy adults. We hypothesized that, …

The Effect Of Feminist Identity On Women's Conceptualizations Of Beauty And Body-Based Stigma: A Conceptual Replication And Extension, Courtney C. Hillier

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Research in the area of feminist identity and body image has produced mixed results. Some evidence suggests that feminist identity may be protective against negative body image in women. The current study was an independent partial conceptual replication and extension of Roy et al. (2007) and examines the experimental effect of feminist self-identification on forms of internalized body stigma. After completion of baseline measures, undergraduate women (N = 149) were assigned to one of three experimental conditions and read about either a positive portrayal of feminists, negative portrayal of feminists, or non-feminist-related topic. Participants then completed measures of feminist …

A Mixed-Methods Examination Of Modern Feminist Identity, Jaclyn Siegel

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Gender inequality remains a pressing social issue around the world. Due to recent social movements, feminism has become a part of the cultural zeitgeist, and an increasing number of people have begun identifying as feminists in recent years. However, many modern feminists maintain a sense of ambivalence about the movement and their place within it. This ambivalence is difficult to study because the tools designed to evaluate feminist attitudes and identity do not capture this or other important and common aspects of modern feminist identity, such as fear of stigma, solidarity with other feminists, and competence to engage in feminist …

Understanding Differences In Social Learning, Joshua Patenaude

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Previous research has shown that individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) appear to learn from social and non-social rewards at different rates compared to typically developing individuals. Several hypotheses have been developed to explain these differences, including the social motivation hypothesis, the weak central coherence hypothesis and hypotheses related to probabilistic learning ability. However, in all cases, the literature shows only mixed support for these ideas. This dissertation focuses on identifying which assumptions from these hypotheses replicate and what replication successes and failures mean for the study of autism-spectrum traits within the general population.

This work takes a “spectrum” approach …

Linguistic Signaling In Speed-Dates, Negar Mohammad Vali Samani

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

How people use language may signal as much about a person as the conversation topic itself. For example, evidence suggests that similarities in language style may signal romantic interest as people become acquainted. Additionally, language may signal various personal attributes. In the current study, I analyzed linguistic signaling in 174 transcripts from 4-minute heterosexual speed-dates to explore how language style relates to interest in dating a partner and whether linguistic features indicate individual characteristics. I also explored how desired partner features related to actual popularity of dates as well as how partner perceptions predicted romantic interest. Contrary to previous research, …

The Relationship Between Perfectionism And Procrastination: Examining Trait And Cognitive Conceptualizations, And The Mediating Roles Of Fear Of Failure And Overgeneralization Of Failure, Lital Yosopov

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The relationship between perfectionism and procrastination has been established in the literature; however, findings regarding the magnitude of this correlation are inconsistent. Some studies found small-to-medium effects between trait-perfectionism and trait-procrastination, while others found large effects between perfectionistic cognitions and procrastinatory cognitions, suggesting that the association may be stronger when assessed from a cognitive perspective. The present study addressed this inconsistency, by exploring this association using both trait and cognitive measures. There was a significant and positive correlation between perfectionism and procrastination, and the largest effect size was observed between perfectionism (trait and cognitive measures) and procrastinatory cognitions, suggesting that …

What To Say And How To Say It: The Interplay Of Self-Disclosure Depth, Similarity, And Interpersonal Liking In Initial Social Interactions, Yixian Li

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

We often initiate social relationships with others through revelations of personal information, or self-disclosure. Self-disclosure is heavily involved in shaping interpersonal liking, but there are disparate and sometimes contradictory findings in the literature regarding the causal relationship between them. Moreover, a lack of careful control in experimental designs in many existing studies failed to eliminate important confounding factors that might provide alternative explanations for the disclosure-liking relationship. Here, we examined the relationships between self-disclosure and interpersonal liking during initial social interactions, while carefully controlling for a potential confounding factor, similarity between the social partners.

Across the first five experiments, I …

‘Instead Of Life In Prison, It Was Life In My Own Skin’: Scope And Limitations Of A Week-Long Daily Online Self-Compassionate Writing Intervention For Young Women’S Body Image, Katarina Huellemann

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Self-compassion involves reappraising negative events, accepting uncomfortable emotions, and practicing self-kindness. This thesis examined the effect of cultivating self-compassion via daily self-compassionate writing completed online for one week on stigmatizing and affirming self-perceptions in young undergraduate women. Undergraduate women (N = 254) were randomly assigned to one of the three conditions (i.e., self-compassionate writing, attentional-control, wait-list control) and completed measures of trait self-compassion, fear of self-compassion, affirming self-perceptions (i.e., body appreciation and broad conceptualization of beauty), and stigmatizing self-perceptions (i.e., self-objectification and phenomenological body shame) at baseline, post-test, and one-month follow-up. Hypotheses were tested using MANCOVA and a latent …

An Information—Motivation—Behavioural Skills Model Of Sexual Consent, Erin J. Shumlich

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This dissertation proposed an Information-Motivation-Behavioural Skills (IMB) model of affirmative sexual consent, which is consent that is ongoing, continuous, and clearly communicated. The overall objectives of the current dissertation research were to: 1) elicit — from young, sexually active individuals — information, motivation, and behavioural skills factors that are related to affirmative sexual consent behaviours; 2) develop and empirically test an Information–Motivation–Behavioural Skills (IMB) model of sexual consent and use this to examine the hypothesized relationships of affirmative consent-related information, motivation, and behavioural skills with affirmative consent behaviours; and 3) evaluate the psychometric properties of an IMB scale measuring …

Recognizing Relational Boredom And Coping With It Through The Introduction Of Novelty, Kiersten Dobson

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Relational boredom is a pervasive and potentially damaging relationship experience, but accurately perceiving these experiences in one’s partner may offer the opportunity for corrective action. The current studies examine whether romantic partners are accurate and biased in their perceptions of each other’s relational boredom (Studies 1-3), how these (in)accurate perceptions are associated with relationship quality (Studies 1-3), and the best practices for incorporating relationship maintenance behaviours to cope with the knowledge of one’s partner’s boredom (Studies 4-6). Studies 1 and 2 examine romantic couples’ accuracy, bias, and the consequences of these constructs on relationship quality cross-sectionally, while Study 3 examines …

Exploring The Links Between Social Anxiety And Depression In The Maintenance Of Romantic Relationships, Christian M. Hahn

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Social anxiety is characterized by fear and avoidance of social encounters and has recently been associated with a variety of difficulties in romantic relationships. Complicating further investigation of these associations is the high degree of comorbidity between social anxiety and depressive symptomatology, which share several similarities in expression despite disparate underlying causes. The present thesis examines the unique influences of social anxiety and depression on a number of central aspects of relationship functioning and provide the first longitudinal investigation of the impacts of actor and partner social anxiety and depression on relationship quality and functioning. In Study 1, three independent …

Ceos Don't Wear Afros: Exploring The Justification-Suppression Of Prejudice Against Black Women In The Workplace, Bukun F. Adegbembo

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

There have been numerous cases where Black women have been disparaged for wearing their natural hair or Afrocentric hairstyles in the workplace. While some have argued that such mistreatment was due to racism, others have stated that it was a case of not adhering to a professional dress code. In line with the justification-suppression model of prejudice, this research investigated whether prejudice against Black women in the workplace is expressed when they wear Afrocentric hairstyles as this allows the bias to be justified under the guise of normative standards of professionalism. Our pilot and main study showed that the Black …