Social Psychology and Interaction Commons^™

People, Place, And Pokémon: How Location-Based Games Enhance Well-Being, Rachel B. Peterson

Master of Applied Positive Psychology (MAPP) Capstone Projects

Social connections and relationships are a critical component of overall human flourishing and well-being. Over time, the structure of physical spaces and how we engage with each other has changed. This paper explores how social ties impact well-being and how advances in technology have shifted people’s conception of public and private spaces and how we interact with each other in them It also examines both the positive and negative effects of video games on social connections and well-being with a focus on location-based games like Pokémon Go which blur the line between physical and virtual reality. It concludes with suggestions …

The Revolutionary Force Of Self-Compassion For Girls And Women, Erin E. Dullea

Master of Applied Positive Psychology (MAPP) Capstone Projects

In the early 1990’s, Gloria Steinem, a leader of the feminist movement, authored the book A Revolution from Within: Self-Esteem to help empower girls and women. Decades later, females continue to suffer disproportionately from higher occurrences of psychological disorders and distress, such as depression, anxiety, eating disorders, and self-harm behaviors. While causes are likely multi-faceted, research shows that girls and women experience high levels of shame and self-criticism. In essence, we are at war with ourselves. Drawing largely from research in the field of positive psychology, and contrasting with Steinem’s theory on self-esteem, this paper illustrates how self-compassion may address …

Positive Rituals For Motherhood: Pain Points And Practices For Maternal Well-Being, Kelsey Klinefelter

Master of Applied Positive Psychology (MAPP) Capstone Projects

Motherhood is both meaningful and arduous. The decades spent mothering bring with them stressors like decreased downtime, overload, high stress, fatigue, and more. As parenting takes priority, mothers often neglect their own needs for their child’s, negatively impacting their well-being. Today, many mothers in the United States face declining health and increasing burnout as a result. A variety of factors may be contributing to this: institutional invisibility, inequity, inflexibility, imbalance, isolation, and identity issues among them. Despite the multigenerational impact of a mother’s well-being, American culture and politics give comparatively little attention to the issue. In this paper, I propose …

Distracted: Why Students Cannot Focus, J. Wong, Andree Hartanto

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

No abstract provided.

A Critical Review On The Moderating Role Of Contextual Factors In The Associations Between Video Gaming And Well-Being, Andree Hartanto, Verity Yu Qing Lua, Frosch Yi Xuan Quek, Jose C. Yong, Matthew H. S. Ng

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

The appeal of video gaming has undoubtedly withstood the test of time. In view of its increasing popularity, lay people and researchers alike have taken an interest in the psychological consequences of video gaming. However, there seems to be a paradox associated with the effect of video gaming on gamers' well-being—namely, while most video game players cite “fun” as their motivation to play video games, video games continue to hold a notorious reputation among some researchers for being detrimental to mental health and emotional well-being as measured by indicators such as happiness, perceived stress, anxiety, and depressive symptoms. We suggest …

Childhood Disadvantage, Social And Psychological Stress, And Substance Use Among Homeless Youth: A Life Stress Framework, Kimberly A. Tyler, Rachel M. Schmitz

Sociology Department, Faculty Publications

We used a life stress framework to examine linkages between distal or primary stressors (e.g., child abuse) and proximal or secondary stressors (e.g., street victimization) and their association with substance use among 150 youth experiencing homelessness in the Midwestern United States. Results revealed that numerous primary stressors such as number of times youth ran from home and number of foster care placements were associated with secondary stressors, such as anxiety, total duration of homelessness, and street victimization. Only street physical victimization (e.g., been beaten up since leaving home) was associated with greater substance use. Our findings provide a more holistic …

Anti-Muslim Bias: Investigating Individual Differences, Threat Perceptions, And Emotions In Islamophobic Policy Support, Aeleah M. Granger

Dissertations and Theses

Following the terrorist attacks of 9/11, Muslims in the United States were victims of increased surveillance by law enforcement on the basis of their religious identity, often resulting in mistreatment and unjustified imprisonment. These biases against Muslims and subsequent policy shifts have been pervasive and have had negative impacts on the growing number of Muslims in the United States. The current study focuses on individual differences that predict Islamophobia, including Social Dominance Orientation (SDO), Right-wing Authoritarianism (RWA), and Nationalism, as well as the specific types of intergroup threat perceptions (i.e., realistic, symbolic, terroristic) and subsequent emotional reactions (e.g., anger, fear) …

Black And White Health Disparities: Racial Bias In American Healthcare, Yasmeen Almomani

Bridges: An Undergraduate Journal of Contemporary Connections

This paper explores the historical implications of race in American society that have led to implicit racism in the healthcare system. Racial bias in healthcare against Black people is a factor in the health disparities between Black and white people in America, such as the gap in life expectancy, infant death, and maternal mortality. Black people are more likely to report racial discrimination from healthcare providers, which is a reason for the decreased quality of care received. The past justifications of slavery, the Tuskegee syphilis study, and the medical experimentations on Black women are horrifying but were considered acceptable in …

Privacy, Confidentiality And Anonymity: Understandings From People Who Inject Drugs Enrolled In A Study Of Social Networks And Hiv Risk., Roberto Abadie, Celia Fisher, Kirk Dombrowski

Sociology Department, Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Finding Their Fit: An Exploratory Study Of Interpreters’ Perceptions Of Their Membership In The Deaf Community, Cami J. Miner

Journal of Interpretation

In the U.S., Deaf individuals who use a signed language as their preferred and dominant means of communication are considered a distinct linguistic and cultural group known as the Deaf community. Sign language interpreters, particularly non-native signers who are leaning ASL, are frequently encouraged to associate with the Deaf community as part of their language acquisition process. However, interpreters who are not deaf or native signers, especially students, often experience tension as they interact with the Deaf community. The literature is divided on whether hearing interpreters who learn ASL later in life, even those who are arguably bilingual and bicultural, …

Vulnerability To And Protection Against Covid-19 Fear, Threat, And Worry, Marsha Kim Huh

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Drawing from a sample of 10,368 adults living in the U.S., the current study examines the role of social and psychological resources in lowering COVID-related fear, threat, and worry, controlling for a number of social vulnerabilities (e.g. gender, race/ethnicity, and presence of children). The impact of social location, particularly in regards to race, and how one accesses and/or utilizes social and psychological resources is also examined through disaggregated regression models. Results demonstrate that some social and psychological resources impact COVID-specific distress (fear/threat/worry), but depending on the resource, relationships vary in direction and significance. The strength of social ties and mastery …

Defining Marriageability: Black Men Graduate Student’S Definition Of A Marriageable Man, Gabriel Evans

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The project aims to explore Black graduate men's conception of the term Marriageable Man. Traditionally, men's marriageability has been defined by their ability to attain consistent income and or in their ability to provide for a wife or a family (Johnson and Loscocco 2015; King and Allen 2009a). However, there is a need for more holistic marriageability measurements due to the evolution of marriage practices and desires (Coontz 2006, 2007). Marriageability is contextualized through classed definitions and presents different requirements for one's SES standing (Bridges and Boyd 2016). This project seeks to add to the literature by exploring Black men …

Combating Conspiracy Theories: An Attitudes-Based Approach, Marie Altgilbers

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The prevalence of conspiracy theories is a topic of increasing concern among researchers. Much of the research in this area has been focused on why people endorse conspiracy theories, and relatively little attention has been paid to how they may be mitigated. What research has been done focused primarily on interventions with arguments based in cognitive, fact-based appeals, with mixed success. The present research draws on findings from the attitudes and persuasion literature to test the hypothesis that conspiracy theory endorsement is more effectively reduced by affectively-based arguments than by cognitively-based arguments. Two affectively-based interventions were tested against a cognitively-based …

Drug Use In College Students: The Implication Of The Social Learning Model, Rachael L. Cook

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

A thesis presented to the faculty of the Caudill College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences at Morehead State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts by Rachael L. Cook on June 28, 2021.

Effect Of Demographic And Health Dynamics On Cognitive Status In Mexico Between 2001 And 2015: Evidence From The Mexican Health And Aging Study, Silvia Mejia-Arango, Jaqualine Avila, Brian Downer, Marc A. Garcia, Alejandra Michaels-Obregon, Joseph L. Saenz, Rafael Samper-Ternent, Rebeca Wong

Sociology Department, Faculty Publications

Sources of health disparities such as educational attainment, cardiovascular risk factors, and access to health care affect cognitive impairment among older adults. To examine the extent to which these counteracting changes affect cognitive aging over time among Mexican older adults, we examine how sociodemographic factors, cardiovascular diseases, and their treatment relate to changes in cognitive function of Mexican adults aged 60 and older between 2001 and 2015. Self and proxy respondents were classified as dementia, cognitive impairment no dementia (CIND), and normal cognition. We use logistic regression models to examine the trends in dementia and CIND for men and women …

Metal Music And Gender, Adam Fortney

Sociology Student Work Collection

Heavy metal music is experienced as a vibrant and empowering global community, but its history, structure, and practice reflect and recreate larger patterns of masculine hegemony within the metal world. As the metal ethos is centered around the practice and affirmation of social transgression, some are pushing the boundaries of metal itself to become a vehicle for critical social discourse around structural inequalities, including gendered hegemony.

A Configurable Social Network For Running Irb-Approved Experiments, Mihovil Mandic

Dartmouth College Undergraduate Theses

Our world has never been more connected, and the size of the social media landscape draws a great deal of attention from academia. However, social networks are also a growing challenge for the Institutional Review Boards concerned with the subjects’ privacy. These networks contain a monumental variety of personal information of almost 4 billion people, allow for precise social profiling, and serve as a primary news source for many users. They are perfect environments for influence operations that are becoming difficult to defend against. Motivated to study online social influence via IRB-approved experiments, we designed and implemented a flexible, scalable, …

Decisions Are More Than Skin Deep: Exploring Correlations Between Self-Esteem And The Decision To Have Bariatric Surgery, Penny Fox, James Maples

Kentucky Journal of Undergraduate Scholarship

Bariatric surgery is now a commonplace approach to addressing obesity. One insightful area of research is examining how bariatric decision relates to self-esteem. Of particular interest is correlations between self-esteem levels and the reason the surgery was selected, the source of the decision to get the surgery, and if the surgery recipient experienced a major life change following the event. In this study, the researchers examine a convenience sample of persons receiving bariatric surgery (n=31) and their motivations for having the surgery along with a pre-post measure of having the surgery. Results show respondents who indicated having the surgery was …

Community Attitudes Toward Police In Benton Harbor And St. Joseph, Michigan, Brian Molina

Dissertations

The present study sought to help investigate which public safety interventions may be appropriate for improving the safety and quality of life of Benton Harbor community members. To begin answering this question, researchers collected baseline measures of community attitudes toward police (ATP). St. Joseph residents were sampled to allow for a direct comparison of two sister cities within the same county, with nearly opposite racial and economic characteristics.

To obtain these data, surveys were administered to both Benton Harbor and St. Joseph community members. There were nine demographic/predictor variables included in the community perception survey. The variables were (a) location, …

Social Psychology Of Climate Change In The Asian Context: Introduction To Special Issue, Kim-Pong Tam, Angela K. Y. Leung, Susan Clayton

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Climate change is one of the biggest challenges facing many countries in the Asia Pacific. Asia as a whole is a primary contributor to carbon emissions. According to the BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2020, the Asia Pacific region alone accounts for more than half of the world’s total greenhouse gas emissions. This represents an increase in consumption of oil, gas, and coal in Asia Pacific from 44.5% in 2009 to 50.5% in 2019. According to the review, compared to the rest of the world, Asia Pacific had the highest growth rate (2.7%) of carbon emissions between 2008 and …