Social Psychology and Interaction Commons^™

Art Majors' Perceptions Of Their Self-Concept, Academic Self-Efficacy, And Social Identity, Sara E. Triplett

Masters Theses

This study utilized a qualitative approach was used to provide insight into students' perspectives on their self-concept, academic self-efficacy, and social identity in relation to their majors at a mid-size Midwestern university. Two undergraduate students majoring in 2D Studio Art and three undergraduate students majoring in Theater Performance were interviewed. Through individual interviews several themes emerged such as: 1) using art to have a meaningful impact on the audience, communicating a message, and clarifying their understanding of the world was important; 2) clear professional support strengthened art majors' self-efficacy; and 3) peer groups play a large part in art majors' …

The Impact Of Social Media On The Grieving Process, Resa Ware

Masters Theses

In 2015 the Pew Research Center reported that 72% of adult Internet users are on Facebook and it continues to be the most used social networking site in the world (Duggan, 2015). Facebook is a source of social expression, connections, and support for others. It is becoming much easier to express feelings such as grief in an online setting. In fact, the online expression of grief has been found to empower individuals who feel that traditional grieving practices are ineffective (Carroll & Landry, 2010). The purpose of the current study was to explore the impact of social media (i.e. Facebook) …

Political Intolerance In The 21st Century: The Role Of Ideology And Emotion In Determining Intolerant Judgments, Matthew Cain

Masters Theses

Decades of research in Social Psychology have demonstrated that political intolerance is not displayed equally with respect to ideology. In particular, conservatives and those with right-wing beliefs are much more likely to display intolerant judgments than those with liberal or left-wing beliefs. This "prejudice gap" has been found to be so ubiquitous that it is now the conventional wisdom regarding the relationship between ideology and intolerance. However, a small, but growing literature challenges this presumed ideological asymmetry and has instead found that liberals and conservatives display intolerance under certain circumstances. Synthesizing the recent research showing ideological symmetry in intolerance judgments, …

Perform + Function: A Proposal For A Healthy Public Housing Community, Brandon M. Harvey

Masters Theses

PERFORM+FUNCTION: Proposal for A Healthy Public Housing Community

Architecture exists in Place, the integrated context of both the built and natural environments, including socio-economic, cultural, and political climates that influence our growth, development, and survival. As architecture necessitates around human purposes, it is important that architecture is built for and sited in an environment compatible for human well-being. My thesis focuses on human habitation and its immediate relationship with human health, assessing the performance and functionality of Place that have an impact on human health. Using public housing as the vehicle of my investigation, I will seek the appropriate application …

Hoodie Today, Gown Tomorrow: An Ideological Rhetorical Analysis Of Gender-Neutral Clothing, Meridith Irene Styer

Masters Theses

The fields of psychology and sociology have long understood the importance of clothing in self-formation, this study extrapolates this social-science understanding into the realm of rhetorical analysis. This study looks at gender-neutral clothing and its role in meaning making and self identification for women. With a rhetorical basis from Richards and Ogden, this research uses the feminist works of Brummett and Butler to uncover both the positive and negatives effects of gender-neutral clothing on a woman's self-identification and perceptions. Through the presentation of a diffuse narrative and evaluation of the same, gender-neutral clothing is read and decoded for meaning. This …

We're Not Thugs And Rappers: An Examination Of African American Male Athletes' Perceptions Of The Media, Keia Janese Bragg

Masters Theses

Manipulation of stories and events expose issues of false representation and stereotyping within the mainstream media. This research examined the media’s role in shaping the behaviors and experiences of African American male athletes while using Critical Race Theory as the framework in conducting research. A focus group consisting of six former African American male student athletes was conducted. A semi-structured interview schedule was used in order to allow for open discussion. The Constant Comparison Method was instrumental in thematizing the data while QDA Miner software was used to analyze the data. The findings suggested that African American male athletes feel …

Young Children's Talk At Play: Orientation To Self And Orientation To The Joint Exigencies Of Conversation, Paige K. Parker

Masters Theses

This study employed a conversation analytic approach to determine how children in naturally constructed play episodes use language as an object of play and how children in their naturally occurring talk display orientation to their own individual activities and others' social actions. The participants were thirty-nine kindergarten and first grade students at South Elementary School in Marshall, Illinois. The study is based upon fifteen hours of conversation collected during recess periods. Relevant segments from the corpus were transcribed according to an adapted version of Jefferson's Transcript Notation System (1984). The findings suggested that (1) the groups of children used language …

The Relationship Between Empathy And Socially Deviant Behaviors In Delinquent Adolescents, Terrie L. Fisk

Masters Theses

Past research has demonstrated that empathy, traditionally defined as the ability to discriminate, label and then experience the emotional response of another, acts as an inhibitor of aggressive behavior. Additional evidence has shown an increase in empathic functioning can be the result of various empathy training strategies. It has recently been hypothesized that aggressive behavior might be decreased as empathic functioning increases. The present study sought to determine if an inverse relationship existed between empathy and socially deviant behavior, which is a less extreme degree of aggression characterized by disruptiveness and attention seeking. In addition, it was hypothesized that if …

Effects Of Distance And Sex On Verbal Productivity And Anxiety, Peter Lindsay Rogers

Masters Theses

The present study was designed to determine whether physical distance between male and female interviewees and a female interviewer affected verbal productivity and anxiety level when interviewees discussed academic, social, and personal topics. The interview was conceptualized as an information-gathering interview. Crucial variables in such interviews are client participation and information flow. Client verbal productivity appears to be directly related to these variables, and was used as one dependent variable to measure the impact of distance on interviewee verbal behavior. A self-report measure of anxiety, the Fear Thermometer was used as a second dependent variable.

The experimental distances used in …

The Existence Of Ambivalence Among Students: A Question Concerning Alienation, Stephen M. Puckett

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.