Digital Commons Network^™

Two Essays On The Role Of Anthropomorphism In Consumer Behavior, Faegheh (Faa) Taheran

Theses and Dissertations in Business Administration

The first essay of this dissertation investigates the contradictory findings on the relationship between anthropomorphism and self-control by focusing on how everyday anthropomorphized objects, rather than the products being used for consumption, influence consumer behavior. While previous studies have shown that using anthropomorphized products may decrease consumers’ self-control, this paper examines how unrelated [to consumption] anthropomorphized objects in a consumer’s environment—such as a water bottle with a humanlike face—can evoke a sense of social presence, increasing consumers’ perceptions that they are being negatively evaluated. Drawing on mind perception theory, I propose that this fear of negative evaluation can enhance self-control. …

One Step Closer To Greater Understanding! Does A Correlation Exist Between Fluid Intelligence And Player Rank In League Of Legends?, Evan Miller

Dissertations

Chess, one of the oldest modern games, has long been a model domain for expertise research. In comparison, research on video games has historically been influenced by moral panic. Cycles of moral panic tend to revolve around preconceived notions of threats, held at a societal level (typically by older generations). Politicians, quick to capitalize, then advocate for policy change based upon their constituents’ fears. Concurrent media reports draw further attention to the issue, amplifying the perception of harm. As the panic escalates, pressure is placed on scientific communities to perform confirmatory (not exploratory) research. This fundamentally biased approach to research …

The Career Resilience Of Women Of Color Amidst Intersectional Racism-Sexism In The Us: A Consensual Qualitative Study, Hannah Ahmad Ridzuan

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

Women of color have historically and presently experienced both sexism and racism on interpersonal, institutional, and cultural levels (Sue et al., 2007). While discrimination based on racial-ethnic and gender identities has by far the most extensive literature base (Duffy et al., 2016), literature on the development of women of color career resilience is not as expansive. Informed by the Psychology of Working Theory (PWT) (Blustein, 2006; Duffy et al., 2016), the intersectionality framework (Crenshaw, 1989; Collins et al., 2021), and critical consciousness (Freire, 1971; Quiñones-Rosado, 2020), this consensual qualitative research (CQR; Hill, 2006) explored how women of color in the …

Peer Functioning And Risk For Co-Occurring Adhd And Anxiety Symptoms In School-Aged Children: A Cross-Sectional And Longitudinal Analysis., Helena F. Alacha

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Background. Youth with Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) often have higher rates of anxiety in comparison to their peers without ADHD. Children with co-occurring ADHD and anxiety exhibit a unique clinical presentation that poses challenges to both assessment and treatment. Consequently, children with comorbid ADHD and anxiety experience increased impairment, and often have poorer long-term outcomes than children with either ADHD or anxiety alone. Preliminary evidence suggests that different psychosocial phenomena commonly experienced by children with ADHD—such as peer functioning—may increase susceptibility to anxiety. Considering that children with ADHD encounter a range of peer difficulties, the present study proposed and evaluated different …

Cultural Adaptation Of The Act Guide For Immigrant Community Members, José Manuel González Vera

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Undocumented immigrants face many challenges that can harm their mental health, such as anti- immigrant policies, the threat of deportation, and difficulty accessing mental health care. Online mental health programs can make mental health care more accessible. The ACT Guide is a self-paced online tool designed to help with anxiety and depression. While it has mainly been used by white college students, similar ACT-based programs have been effective for diverse communities worldwide. The first paper was focused on gathering feedback from community members and Latine psychologists. This was done in partnership with United We Dream (UWD) and the Latinx Immigrant …

Protecting The Dreams Of Indigenous Psychology Trainees: Stories Of Culturally Competent Supervision, Erica Ficklin

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Supervision is the process through which current psychologists pass on important lessons about providing clinical services to the community. Through supervision, psychology trainees learn how to make therapy beneficial to as many people as possible, how to balance their work as therapists with their personal lives, and how to continue learning new skills throughout their careers. Because supervision is vitally important to the field of psychology and future psychologists, it is important that supervision support trainees from all cultural backgrounds. Currently, little research exists on culturally congruent supervision for Indigenous psychology trainees. This study aimed to add to the literature …

An Exploratory Study Of The Vertical Snarc Effect In Mayan Numerals: Effects Of Language Transparency And Reading Direction, Emmett A. Speed

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

The Mayan numerical system, used by the ancient Maya people, is very different from the Western Arabic numerical system. Instead of being based on 10, it's based on 20, and it uses dots and bars instead of the numbers 0 through 9. This study explored how people learn and understand Mayan numbers.

Participants took a 2.5-hour online course to learn Mayan numerals and number words. They were tested to see how quickly and accurately they could recognize and compare Mayan numerals. The results showed that people can learn the Mayan number system and use it automatically.

The study also looked …

The Experience Of Latine Parents During Covid-19: Coping, Support, And Wellness, Jazmin Lara

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Documentation status affects not just individuals, but entire family units. This project shares the voices of Undocumented Individuals and their Loved Ones (UnLOs), specifically Latine parents navigating multiple, overlapping stressors. Data was collected during a particularly challenging time marked by the COVID-19 pandemic and threats to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. Participants shared how they cope with stress, who they rely on for social support, how they practice wellness, and the type of community programming they would like to see more of. This research was possible through the collaboration between the Latinx Immigrant Health Alliance (LIHA) and …

Sports Teams As Multiteam Systems, Frederic Vinal

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

A multiteam system (MTS) is a unique and complex organizational form consisting of two or more distinct component teams which interact interdependently in pursuit of a shared goal. In many contexts, such as emergency response teams military operations units, disaster relief task forces, and collaborative scientific efforts, MTSs are easily and intuitively identifiable as distinct entities. However, there is a gap in the literature regarding boundary conditions of MTSs, and classification of an organizational form as an MTS in novel contexts. This study addresses that gap by examining whether and how sports teams can be conceptualized as MTSs. Using a …

Project Choices: An Experimental Serious Video Game For Performance-Based Risk Assessment, Rachel Bomysoad

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Risk assessment for future criminal conduct currently relies on evaluator ratings or self-report measures, with imperfect predictive utility. A new serious (clinical) video game, Project Choices, was developed for assessment and treatment purposes with persons involved with the criminal legal system. Project Choices offers performance-based measurement of individuals’ responses to realistic scenarios relevant to overall criminogenic risk and individual risk factors. The current study aimed to pilot test the newest version of Project Choices (Version 2) using a sample of university students (N = 100), examining gameplay performance metrics (number of risky decisions overall and within individual risk domains) for …

Electrophysiological Markers Of Emotion Dysregulation In Autistic Youth, Rachel G. Mcdonald

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Emotion dysregulation (ED) is a transdiagnostic mechanism that is conceptualized as difficultly regulating emotions and deploying appropriate regulation strategies in response to environmental stimuli. Meta-analyses suggest that autistic people, across the lifespan, experience more severe ED as compared to both neurotypical people and those with mental health conditions. Despite elevated risk and evidence linking ED to disruptions in neural mechanisms, no studies to date have examined neural markers of ED in autistic populations. The current project uses multi-method and multi-informant measurement to examine similarities and differences in neural mechanisms of ED in autistic and non-autistic populations. Forty-four youth aged 11—17 …

Mind Mentor, The Workplace Mental Health Navigator: Evaluating The Utility Of A Self-Paced Web-Based Mental Health Awareness Training For Supervisors, Lauren Offermann

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

The growing prevalence of mental health challenges in the workplace – such as anxiety and depression, burnout, suicide, and substance abuse – has increased demand for evidence-based supervisor training programs that promote psychological well-being. This study evaluated the effectiveness of Mind Mentor: The Workplace Mental Health Navigator, a 1.5-hour, web-based, self-paced adaptation of the Mental Health Awareness Training (MHAT; Dimoff, 2016) for supervisors. The training aimed to enhance mental health knowledge, awareness, self-efficacy, and supportive behaviors among U.S.-based supervisors with at least one direct report. Using a pre/post/follow-up design (baseline N = 51, immediate post-test N = 35, and 4-week …

Using Interpersonal Motives To Identify Latent Profiles Of Borderline Personality Pathology: Implications For An Overcontrolled Style Of Bpd, Regina Schreiber

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is conceptualized as a disorder of undercontrol (i.e., behaviorally impulsive, emotionally expressive), with affective, interpersonal, and identity instability. BPD related impairment is high, yet diagnostic accuracy remains a problem for individuals who present with greater overcontrol (i.e., behavioral inhibition, expressive suppression), which occurs in some BPD subtypes. The current study used ecological momentary assessment (EMA) to expand on prior research by identifying latent profiles based on interpersonal motives for agency and relatedness, desire for predictability, perceived dependency, and self-efficacy in a sample of people with elevated BPD features (n = 136). Individual differences in overcontrol, undercontrol, …

Assessment Of Mental Health Needs For Chronically Unhoused Individuals Living In A Bridge Housing Community, Isabel Furse Augur

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Higher rates of psychopathology and substance use are reported in individuals experiencing homelessness compared to the general population, especially in those who are chronically unhoused. Chronically homeless individuals are also less likely to access treatment for these problems because of barriers to care. Addressing housing needs is an important first step in engaging people who are homeless with the care they need. This project focused on assessing the mental health needs of a Housing First community in Northwest Arkansas, which has few barriers for entry but does not provide direct support for mental health. This project adopted a community-based participatory …

Lifetime Stressor Exposure, Race And Ethnicity, And Habitual Stress Processes: An Evaluation Of Repetitive Negative Thinking And Hair Cortisol Concentration, Harrison Dickens

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Habitual stress processes are thought to influence acute stress reactivity and stress-related disease. Habitual stress processes have been shown to adapt in response to stressor exposure experienced across the lifespan. The current study seeks to explore whether two habitual stress processes, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity and repetitive negative thinking (RNT), were associated with lifetime stressor exposure (self-reported and objective neighborhood-level stressors). Additionally, the current study attempts to quantify how this process may be moderated by race and ethnicity. Participants (N = 134, Mage = 18 [SDage= 1.69], 56.7% female) consisting of White (N = 52), Black (N = 37 ), …

Positive Psychology And Positive Education: A Strengths-Based Approach To Sen, Michelle Y. Tytherleigh

Plymouth Interdisciplinary Education Open Journal

This paper, originating from the ‘Power of Us!’ conference held in June 2025, reflects on the session titled: Positive psychology and positive education: a strengths-based approach to SEN, which looked at how positive psychology and positive education can be applied to better support students, and with a particular focus on those with SENs.The paper offers an insight into the session, sharing reflections from the discussions and research findings, and calls for action to create a truly inclusive educational system.

Flex-Spatialities: Interior Spaces, Play, And Fantasy, Camilo Lozano-Rivera

Interiority

This article examines how interior spaces in the digital age have evolved into flexible, adaptive environments shaped by technological mediation and shifting everyday practices. Focusing on smart homes and home offices, this article introduces the concept of flex-spatiality to describe how these spaces continually reconfigure in response to changes in needs and digital interfaces. Grounded in Gregory Bateson’s (1972) theory of play and fantasy, the study explores how interior spatiality operates on two levels: as a locus for expressing identities and as a structure for organising social interaction. Through Bateson’s distinction between metalinguistic and metacommunicative functions, flex-spatiality is framed as …

Logged Out Or Logged In? Stress, Burnout, And Job Satisfaction Between Remote And In-Person Workers, Ryan H. Nguyen

McNair Scholars Research

There is an increasing concern about job-related stress, burnout, and satisfaction. This study explores stress, burnout, and job satisfaction patterns among remote and in-person workers. The sample for this study comprised 88 adults recruited through social media who voluntarily completed a 40-item Google Forms survey. The survey included 10 demographic items and incorporated items from three inventories: Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI), and Aggregate Job Satisfaction Scale (AJSS). The data were analyzed quantitatively using Pearson correlation and independent samples t-tests to assess the relationship among burnout, work-related stress, and job satisfaction, and to determine the influence of …

Postpartum Experiences Of Arab Women And The Educational Role Of The Mother, Diana Ikki

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Women in the Arab world traditionally observe a 40-day postpartum rest period, during which they rest, follow specific rituals, and learn to care for their newborn under the guidance and care of a family matriarch, typically their mother. Despite the prevalence of this practice, there is limited empirical research exploring the educational role of Arab mothers during their daughters' postpartum period; this qualitative study addressed this gap. Foundational to this study’s theoretical framework was Ramona Mercer’s theory of maternal role attainment. The study addressed two research questions: how Arab women describe their postpartum experiences and the educational role their mothers …

Guardian Perceptions Of Living In Group Homes Versus Family Homes For Individuals With Intellectual Disabilties, Gail Roberts Williams

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The living environment of group homes and family homes offer different qualities of life for individuals with intellectual disabilities. Guardian perceptions may shed light on how individuals with intellectual disabilities perceive their experiences, environments, and daily lives. Exploring and examining this social problem may positively impact policies, processes, and procedures, and have an impact on the lives of parents, families, and individuals with intellectual disabilities while driving positive social change. The purpose of this qualitative study using narrative inquiry was to explore, examine, and better understand guardian perceptions. The quality-of-life theoretical framework and Saldana’s process of color coding were used …

From Backstage To Front Stage : Understanding Dramaturgical Work Behavior In The Workplace, Yufei Cheng

Lingnan Theses (MPhil & PhD)

Modern organizations often reward “looking busy” rather than genuinely contributing, prompting employees to engage in superficial displays of productivity. This type of behavior can be considered as a previously unexplored yet important form of impression management. While impression management research has predominantly examined outcome-oriented tactics, it has not fully captured the subtler, non-contributory forms of performative behavior that permeate everyday work life. To address this gap, this dissertation introduces Dramaturgical Work Behavior (DWB), a concept grounded in Goffman’ s dramaturgical theory, which outlines how employees enact symbolic “front-stage” performances—such as feigned urgency or exaggerated busyness—to signal conformity without adding real …

Understanding User Behaviors: Impact Of A 28-Day Intervention On Screen Time And Problematic Internet Use, Cade T. Campigli

Master's Theses

This thesis examines a 28-day self-monitoring intervention to reduce problematic internet use among undergraduate Instagram users. A quasi-experimental factorial mixed design with a repeated measures component was used, with participants split into an experimental group (daily Instagram screen time logging) and a control group (reporting Instagram interactions). Problematic Internet use was measured using the Generalized Problematic Internet Use Scale 2 (GPIUS2). Results showed no reduction in problematic internet use in the experimental group compared to the control, nor a correlation between screen time changes and problematic internet use. However, the experimental group showed a modest decrease in mean screen time …

Synthesizing Co-Reading Behaviors: Insights From Graduate Students’ Experience And A Rapid Scoping Review, Watcharasak Sudla, Wannee Kaemkate

Higher Learning Research Communications

Objectives: Collaborative reading of research articles is essential for graduate students to develop academic reading skills through peer engagement in knowledge sharing, reflection, and feedback. However, limited information exists about the behaviors indicative of co-reading practices. This study aims to identify behavioral indicators and social participation in students’ co-reading of research articles.

Methods: In this study, we integrated key behavioral indicators of co-reading based on data from interviews with 23 graduate students and a rapid scoping review. The collected data were then subjected to content analysis and data visualization.

Results: The findings categorize individuals involved in co-reading into six groups: …

Delusion Or Faith? Exploring Religious Delusions In Individuals With Schizophrenia Within The Banjar Culture, Nabila Regita Putri Mustafa, Nur’Aulia Maisyarah, Aulia Maulidina, Muhammad Reza Aditya, Muhammad Abdan Shadiqi

Makara Human Behavior Studies in Asia

Schizophrenia is often characterized by delusions and hallucinations, which often appear as manifestations of religious delusions in the Banjar cultural context. This phenomenon can be understood through the hyper-religiosity theory, which explains excessive religious behavior in individuals with schizophrenia. This qualitative case study aims to identify the forms of religious delusion in individuals with hyper-religiosity and the underlying causal factors. Data were collected through in-depth interviews and observations with 10 informants, comprising four individuals with religious delusions selected using purposive sampling based on their experience of studying Tasawwuf and experiencing religious delusions and six significant others. The findings show that …

Career Counseling With Foster Adolescents Transitioning To Adulthood: A Phenomenological Study Using A Psychoeducation Group Counseling Approach, Carly Paro-Tompkins, Elda Veloso Ph.D., Galaxina G. Wright, Jennifer Reeves, Samantha Both

The Qualitative Report

Young adults who age out of the foster care system face a unique set of challenges including increased risk of homelessness, substance use, mental health problems, and difficulty with employment. The current phenomenological study aims to understand participants’ experiences of Project P.A.T.H., a group psychoeducational group intervention aimed at improving self-efficacy, employment hope, and job search knowledge in individuals who were unemployed or underemployed and actively seeking employment. Participants were recruited through the FLITE Center, a nonprofit organization providing services supporting individuals transitioning out of the foster system. A total of 23 participants aged 18-26 participated in this study. The …

Factors Influencing Successful Community Reentry For Formerly Incarcerated Men Who Have Received Supportive Services: A Qualitative Study, Ryan W. Fechner

Theses and Graduate Projects

The current study examined reentry experience among men following incarceration to determine salient protective and risk factors. The study reviews the impacts of incarceration, previous factors of recidivism identified in research, and qualitative research conducted on justice-involved individuals. Using a grounded theory qualitative approach, nine men recruited from a substance use treatment program who were released from prison within the past five years were interviewed to explore protective and risk factors. Findings from the current study were consistent with previous research in identifying barriers to reentry, such as difficulties finding housing, employment, and transportation. Additional findings indicate the importance of …

African American Women’S Lived Experiences Of Adultification Bias And Emotional Well-Being, Carolyn Lovette Lanier

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

While existing studies have explored the manifestations of adultification bias in various contexts, there is a significant gap in the literature regarding research on the emotional well-being of African American women who have navigated this bias. The purpose of this study was to understand how adultification bias manifests in the lives of African American women, to illuminate the nuances of how adultification bias unfolds in the lives of African American women, and to examine its presence within their emotional realms. The theoretical frameworks of adultification bias and emotional well-being ground the study. The key research questions centered on the specific …

The Relationship Between Psychological Contract Breach And Work Motivation And Attitude Among Tech Employees: The Moderating Role Of Conscientiousness, Rama E. Khoury

Master's Theses

There has been some research on moderating factors of the relationship between psychological contract breach (PCB) and work engagement and affective commitment. However, most studies conducted have mainly focused on situational factors (e.g., job satisfaction, exchange imbalance), not on individual factors (e.g., personality traits). This research gap leaves a question in the role that personality traits play in influencing the negative consequences of PCB. The purpose of this study was to examine the moderating role of conscientiousness on the relationship between PCB and two outcomes, work engagement and affective commitment. Hypotheses were tested using 103 technology industry employees in the …

Replicating Vignoles Et Al. Results On Multidimensional Self-Construal: Comparing The United States, East Asia, Southeast Asia, And Latin America, Jon Lorenz A. Lim

Master's Theses

Contemporary research on self-construal indicates that people define and perceive themselves either as independent or interdependent. Self-construal scales have become the most common method to quantitatively measure both types of self-construal across the United States, East Asia, Southeast Asia, and Latin America. Multidimensional measures of the self tend to be more accurate in defining the self than earlier dichotomous scales. In general, European Americans and Latin Americans perceived themselves as independent and East and Southeast Asians as interdependent. In the current study, undergraduate European American, East Asian American, Southeast Asian American, and Latin American students from San Jose State University …

Evaluating Preference And Reinforcer Assessments For Distinct Social Interactions, Alecksandra Castaneda

Thesis Projects

The present study evaluated the efficacy of different assessments to assess reinforcer value and order of preference in regard to social interactions. A key component in this study was to expand on forms of social attention that have not typically been assessed, specifically non-physical. The lack of research in this area has led to an extension in understanding the effects of social attention in terms of reinforcement, as well as determining the optimal methods to do so. The researchers conducted a sequence of assessments across participants: concurrent operant reinforcer assessment, social interaction preference assessment, and multiple stimulus without replacement preference …