Social Psychology Commons^™

Loss Associated With Chronic Illness: Application Of The Roy Adaptation Model, Linda M. Dehaan

Masters Theses

The Roy Adaptation Model guided this pretest-posttest quasi-experimental study to test an intervention addressing loss associated with chronic illness. Differences in adaptation and well-being were evaluated between control (n = 20) and experimental groups (n = 20) 30 days after intervention. Adaptation was measured by PAIS-SR scores and analyzed using ANCOVA to adjust for pretest differences. T-test and Mann-Whitney U was used to evaluate well-being as measured by the Global Well-being Scale. Changes in adaptation were not significantly different between groups, but well-being improved 12.8% in the experimental group as compared with 1.4% in the control group. Inconsistency of results …

O.J. Simpson Verdict Raises Questions About Jury System, Aubrey Immelman

Psychology Faculty Publications

This opinion column examines whether conformity pressures, confirmation bias, and belief perseverance could have influenced jury deliberations and the verdict in The State of California v. O. J. Simpson.

Affective Reactions, Social Support And Willingness To Self-Disclose To Hiv Seropositive Individuals: Impact Of Sexual Orientation And Responsibility For The Infection, Susan Paige Sherburne

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

An attributional model of controllability suggests that perceptions of someone's controllability of an event lead to anger and rejection, whereas perceptions of uncontrollability lead to pity and helping. This study examined the impact of an HIV victim's sexual orientation and "responsibility" for infection on subjects' affective responses, self-disclosure to the person, social support, and liking and trust for the person. Subjects received messages from their "partner" (a confederate) stating that he had just learned he was HIV positive. The message either stated that he was heterosexual or homosexual, and that he had either only one partner or many partners. Subjects …

Views Of Feminist Family Therapy: A Q-Methodological Inquiry, Bronwen Cheek

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The feminist critique of family therapy has had a growing impact on theory and practice for almost two decades (Hare-Mustin, 1978; Bograd, 1990). Writings on feminist family therapy (FFT) reveal both common and diverse opinions about what FFT is. The present study examined how views of FFT are segmented using Q-methodology (Stephenson, 1953; Brown, 1980; McKeown & Thomas, 1988), a small-sample empirical technique for identifying emergent viewpoints and studying their similarities and differences. A Q-sort instrument of 60 statements was constructed to sample diverse discourse on FFT. Magraw's (1992) interviews with leading experts in FFT served as a primary source …

Attitude-Behavior Correspondence? Why Susan Smith Was Spared, Aubrey Immelman

Psychology Faculty Publications

This opinion column employs the Susan Smith homicide case to explore attitude-behavior correspondence. The article describes Richard LaPiere's (1934) landmark study "Attitudes vs. actions" published in the journal Social Forces and Leonard Bickman's (1972) study "Environmental attitudes and actions" published in the Journal of Social Psychology.

The Association Between Perceived Family Support And Psychological Well-Being In Infertile Couples, Linda Marquardt Mintle

Health Services Research Dissertations

A correlational research design utilizing a cross-sectional survey methodology was used to investigate the association between perceived family support and psychological well-being in infertile couples. Family stress theory and the construct of boundary ambiguity were conceptual frameworks applied to the developmental family life cycle. Respondents were 35 married infertile couples with primary infertility recruited from a private For-profit infertility clinic located in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Responses on the Moos and Moos (1984) Family Environment Scale and from the SCL-90-R developed by Derogatis (1977) measured perceived family support and psychological distress respectively. Major findings indicated that infertile couples rated their families …

Examination Of Knowledge And Attitudes About Human Sexuality As Predictors Of Adolescent Sexual Behavior, Diane Waymire

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

This study investigated the variables influencing adolescent sexual behavior. Using cognitive learning theory, social learning theory, and social development as an organizing framework, factors influencing adolescent sexual behavior and the respondent's personal demographics were examined for their contribution to explaining adolescent decision-making about sexual activity.

A convenience sample of high school students from a Riverside county school district provided data for the study. Data was gathered by using a self-administered questionnaire. A total of 55 students from two of the three school sites within the district participated in the study during the winter quarter of 1995.

The findings of the …

Athletic Identity And Sport Orientation Of Adolescent Swimmers With Disabilities, Jeffrey J. Martin, Carol Adams Mushett, Kari L. Smith

Kinesiology, Health and Sport Studies

Measures of athletic identity and sport orientation, developed from self-schema theory, social role theory, and achievement motivation theory, were used to examine international adolescent swimmers with disabilities. The multidimensional Athletic Identity Measurement Scale (Brewer, Van Raalte, & Linder, 1993) was used to assess self-identity, social identity, exclusivity, and negative affectivity. The Sport Orientation Questionnaire (Gill & Deeter, 1988) measured competitiveness, win orientation, and goal orientation. Swimmers reported (a) a strong self-identity, (b) a moderate to strong social identity, (c) negative affectivity with lower levels of exclusivity, (d) strong competitiveness and goal orientation, and (e) moderate win orientation. Self-identity was correlated …

The Effects Of Aerobic Exercise On State And Trait Body Image And Physical Fitness Among College Women, Sherri L. Hensley

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

Cumulative evidence shows body dissatisfaction is a salient problem among women, and is linked to various psychological disorders and disturbances. While numerous perspectives regarding the negative body-image phenomenon exist, one area of scientific inquiry is the relationship between physical exercise and body image. With the current sociocultural emphasis on physical fitness and attractiveness, the effects of exercise on body image warrants serious consideration. The present investigation compared 57 women who participated in a 13-week aerobic exercise program to 29 sedentary control women on the following variables: state and trait body image, cardiorespiratory fitness, and body composition. The exercising women were …

Reciprocity, Donelson R. Forsyth

Jepson School of Leadership Studies articles, book chapters and other publications

This is the mutual exchange of similar-in-kind responses among interactants.

Norms, Donelson R. Forsyth

Jepson School of Leadership Studies articles, book chapters and other publications

Consensual standards that describe what behaviors should and should not be performed in a given context are called social norms. They prescribe the socially appropriate way to respond in the situation - the "normal" course of action - as well as proscribing actions to avoid if at all possible. Social norms, in contrast to statistical norms or general expectations based on intuitive base rates for behavior, include an evaluative component. People who do not comply with the norms of a situation and cannot provide an acceptable explanation for their violation are evaluated negatively. This condemnation can include hostility, pressure to …

Relationship Of Perceived Social Support To Readmission Of The Congestive Heart Failure Patient, Margaret A. Guthaus

Masters Theses

This study examined the relationship between perceived social support and the time between hospital admissions for congestive heart failure (CHF) patients based on Lazarus' Stress and Coping Theory. A descriptive correlational design was used with a convenience sample of 40 inpatients aged 33-100 at a mid-western hospital. The Personal Resource Questionnaire was used to measure social support.; Data indicated that 50% of the sample were readmitted within 90 days of discharge. However, the hypothesized positive relationship between perceived social support and the number of days between admissions was not supported. Subjects' age was related to time between admissions(r =.33, df …

Double Relative Deprivation: Combining The Personal And Political, Mindi D. Foster, Kimberley Matheson

Psychology Faculty Publications

Double relative deprivation, which has been virtually ignored in research on relative deprivation, was expected to predict women's collective action over and above egoistic and collective deprivation. The role of socio-political resources in perceiving deprivation and participation in action was also investigated. Female students (N=164) completed a questionnaire designed to assess their perceptions of egoistic, collective, double relative deprivation (defined as the interaction between egoistic and collective deprivation), resource availability and participation in collective action. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that double relative deprivation predicted collective action over and above egoistic and collective relative deprivation, and that resource availability also uniquely …

Human Destructiveness And Authority: The Milgram Experiments And The Perpetration Of Genocide, Steven Lee Lobb

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.

Structuring Skinner: Argument, Structure, And Metaphor In Verbal Behavior, Patrick Hamilton

Anthós Journal (1990-1996)

Skinner’s purpose in Verbal Behavior is to make the study of behavior a science and thus to eliminate argument, rhetoric, and metaphor. But clearly Skinner has not completely eliminated argument, rhetoric, and metaphor from his study. This discussion of Skinner’s work demonstrates that these rhetorical and persuasive ways are tied into his "scientific" investigation of language and verbal behavior, and in many ways, it is these very methods that allow Skinner to create and describe his conception of verbal behavior, even as he claims to be eliminating and avoiding the use of these techniques. This analysis of Skinner's Verbal Behavior …

Beyond Black Demons & White Devils: Antiblack Conspiracy Theorizing & The Black Public Sphere, Regina Austin

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Sexual Assault And Emotional Intimacy, Kathryn J. Karageorge

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.

Coping With The Transition To University: The Impact Of A Social Support-Based Intervention, Daniel Jeff Lamothe

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The transition to university can be a particularly stressful time for incoming students, as indicated by high first-year attrition rates (Levitz & Noel, 1989). This stress may be produced in part by a reduction in social support that many students experience when they begin their university studies (Albert, 1988; Kenny, 1987). The present study examined an intervention program based on social support, and its impact on students' adjustment to university. Fifty-five first-year university students completed pretest questionnaires in August aimed at assessing levels of social support, as well as self-esteem, depression, stress, and integrative complexity of reasoning about university issues. …

Racial Attitude Priming And Effectiveness Of A "Black Rage" Defense, Melissa Speck Garth

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.

Differences In Judging Styles Of Law-Students And The Effect On Sentencing, Beverly Annette Hamby

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.

Reference Group, Donelson R. Forsyth

Jepson School of Leadership Studies articles, book chapters and other publications

Any group, including general social groupings based on demographic similarities (e.g., race or culture), that individuals use as a basis for social comparison.

An Analysis Of The Relationship Between Nurturing Spousal Friendship And Marital Quality, Cherryl Anne Galley

Dissertations

Problem

Limited research has addressed the value of friendship between husbands and wives to the health and well-being of their marital relationships. The present study evaluated the relationship between spousal friendship and marital quality. It made a gender analysis as well.

Method

The Dyadic Adjustment Scale, the Caring Relationship Inventory, and a demographic questionnaire were mailed to 500 couples (1000 married individuals). One or both spouses were members of a Lutheran or a Seventh-day Adventist church in the Columbus, Ohio, area. The sample consisted of 176 married individuals who volunteered to participate anonymously in the research project. A total of …

Attachment Theory And Self-Disclosure Of Hiv Status, Amy H. Grimshaw

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

This study examined the influence of attachment style on self-disclosure of HIV seropositive status. Subjects were classified according to Bartholomew's model of adult attachment (i.e., secure, preoccupied, fearful, or dismissing). Steps were then taken to assess differences in the subjects' willingness to disclose their HIV seropositive status, the communication style chosen for disclosure, the subjects' perceptions of the importance of disclosing their HIV seropositive status, and the feared negative consequences of disclosure. To increase generalizability subjects were asked to assess their self-disclosure to three types of target persons: lover, same-sex friend, and opposite-sex friend. Attachment style significantly affected perceived importance …

Peer Evaluation: The Effect Of Reciprocity And Level Of Performance On Evaluative Feedback, Doreen Maria De Veen

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The study was designed to examine the impact of reciprocal evaluation, a factor which differentiates the relational aspect of peer and supervisor evaluation contexts, and level of performance on the accuracy of performance ratings. One hundred and thirty-six undergraduate students evaluated standardized solutions on an 'Organizational Problem Solving Task' which demonstrated either a poor or a satisfactory level of performance, under one of two rating conditions. In one rating condition, participants were told that they would simply evaluate another person's performance on the task (non-reciprocal rating condition). In the other rating condition, participants were informed that not only would they …

Social Identity And Integrative Complexity: The Effects Of Silent Group Membership On Reasoning About Social Issues, Stephen Leonard Friedman

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The works of self-categorization theorists (e.g., Conover, 1988, 1984; Turner et al., 1987) suggests that presenting individuals with social issues central to the interests of their social group, and individual differences in group identification, can accentuate the salience of one’s group membership. Further, they suggest that social group salience may affect individuals’ viewpoints on group central social issues, resulting in more extreme, black-and-white thinking. The present study was designed in order to investigate the extent to which social group salience and/or individual differences in group identification affect the complexity with which gender group members think about a gender-central social issue. …

Exploring Young Children's Knowledge Of Their Social Network, Their Social Competence, And Links To Their Social Behaviour, Natalie C. Leitao

Theses : Honours

The primary focus of this study is to explore young children's knowledge of their social network and their social competence and the links with their social behaviour. The secondary focus is to investigate ways in which young children may be helped to articulate such knowledge. The six participants were pairs of five-year old children selected from three pre-primary classes located in a common school. Each pair comprised a socially able and a less socially able child as selected by their class teacher. Self-reports, dialogue-interviews, video-taped vignettes and dolls were used to help the participants talk about their knowledge of their …

Justice, Liability, And Blame: Community Views And The Criminal Law, Paul H. Robinson, John M. Darley

All Faculty Scholarship

This book reports empirical studies on 18 different areas of substantive criminal law in which the study results showing ordinary people’s judgments of justice are compared to the governing legal doctrine to highlight points of agreement and disagreement. The book also identifies trends and patterns in agreement and disagreement and discusses the implications for the formulation of criminal law. The chapters include:

Chapter 1. Community Views and the Criminal Law (Introduction; An Overview; Why Community Views Should Matter; Research Methods)

Chapter 2. Doctrines of Criminalization: What Conduct Should Be Criminal? (Objective Requirements of Attempt (Study 1); Creating a Criminal Risk …