Digital Commons Network^™

Corporate And Individual Influences On Managers' Social Orientation, Joachim W. Marz, Thomas L. Powers, Thomas Queisser

WCBT Faculty Publications

This paper reports research on the influence of corporate and individual characteristics on managers' social orientation in Germany. The results indicate that mid-level managers expressed a significantly lower social orientation than low-level managers, and that job activity did not impact social orientation. Female respondents expressed a higher social orientation than male respondents. No impact of the political system origin (former East Germany versus former West Germany) on social orientation was shown. Overall, corporate position had a significantly higher impact on social orientation than did the characteristics of the individuals surveyed.

A Model Of Group Sundering: The Impact Of Communication, Shannon Michel Clements

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A theoretical framework is presented addressing the way in which communication affects cohesion among group members and how this, in tum, impacts group splitting. Participants will be given a membership packet from a fictional group entitled Student Advocates for Al.c ohol Guidelines (SAAG). They were asked to imagine they were members of the fictional group for the duration of the study. During this time, they wrote notes regarding information in the membership packet and answered questions regarding their willingness to remain a member of this group. The two manipulations across conditions were (1) whether or not participants read the notes …

The Life And Death Of Saddam Redux, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article updates a previous IBPP analysis on the significance of whether Saddam Hussein is alive or dead.

Young Childrens' Understanding Of Superstitions, Kara Yeckering

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The aim of this study was to examine young children's understanding of superstitions—specifically bad luck superstitions. Children between the ages of 4 and 9 received a set of interview questions concerning their experiences with superstitions, their beliefs about the efficacy of superstitions, and their knowledge of the mental and physical components of superstitions. Participants also completed a belief task designed to assess the relative importance of belief and action in superstitions. The findings indicate developmental patterns in children's awareness of superstitions and beliefs in efficacy of superstitions. With age, children demonstrated a significantly greater awareness of superstitions. In contrast, children …

The Relationship Between Sport Fandom, Identification With A Specific Team, And An Individual's Socialization Experiences, Paul Frederiksen

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The present study was designed to gain a better understanding of why some people become sport fans and others do not. The study focused specifically on the differences in socialization experiences between people high and low in sport fandom and people high and low in team identification. Warm (2003) defines sport fandom as one's identification with his or her role as a sport fan. Wann (1997) states that team identification involves a person's psychological connection and attachment to a specific team. Understanding why people become sport fans can be of vital importance to sport marketers. Participants completed self-report measures of …

Peer Sexual Harassment And Peer Violence Among Adolescents In Johanesburg And Chicago, Susan Fineran Phd, Licsw, Larry Bennett Phd, Terry Sacco Msw

School of Social Work

In this comparison study of peer sexual harassment and peer violence in South African and US schools, the roles of gender and power in the experience, perpetration, and reaction to peer sexual harassment, physical violence and sexual violence are described for 208 South African students and 224 US students age 16-18.

Academic Persistence Among Native American College Students, Aaron P. Jackson, Steven A. Smith, Curtis L. Hill

Faculty Publications

Qualitative interviews with 15 successful Native American college students who grew up on reservations identified the following themes related to their persistence in college: (a) family support, (b) structured social support, (c) faculty/staff warmth, (d) exposure to college and vocations, (e) developing independence and assertiveness, (f) reliance on spiritual resources, (g) dealing with racism, (h) nonlinear path, and (i) paradoxical cultural pressure. The results indicated a need for stable mentoring relationships and programmatic support.

Religiousness And Depression: Evidence For A Main Effect And The Moderating Influence Of Stressful Life Events, Timothy B. Smith, Michael E. Mccullough, Justin Poll

Faculty Publications

The association between religiousness and depressive symptoms was examined with meta-analytic methods across 147 independent investigations (N = 98,975). Across all studies, the correlation between religiousness and depressive symptoms was –.096, indicating that greater religiousness is mildly associated with fewer symptoms. The results were not moderated by gender, age, or ethnicity, but the religiousness–depression association was stronger in studies involving people who were undergoing stress due to recent life events. The results were also moderated by the type of measure of religiousness used in the study, with extrinsic religious orientation and negative religious coping (e.g., avoiding difficulties through religious activities, …

Alex Bradley, Carl Milofsky

Northern Ireland Archive

Bradley is a psychotherapist based in a religious NGO. His talk primarily involves general comments and observations about the events of Bloody Sunday, sectarian conflicts in general, and values statements from Bradley offered in response to student questions about the conflict in Northern Ireland. He continues to talk about the White Oak Center in Donegal, which is a residential treatment center that in this account it heavily concerned with treating alcohol abuse. The tape shifts to talk about Bradley's work treating trauma experiences related to the Troubles. He began working in the Catholic community but then was asked to work …

The Role Of Parenting Styles In The Development Of Social Responsibility, Michelle C. Gordon

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

This study investigated factors that contribute to the development of social responsibility. A sample of approximately 104 men and women attending a private liberal arts university participated in the study. Each participant completed the Global Social Responsibility Inventory (GSRI; Starrett, 1996), the Parental Authority Questionnaire (PAQ; Buri, 1991), and an accompanying demographic questionnaire that included measures of parental modeling of social responsibility, family adaptability, and family cohesion. It was hypothesized that the participants who reported having authoritative parents as children would be more socially responsible than those who reported having authoritarian or permissive parents as children. Secondly, in a stepwise …

Are Asian Thinking Styles Different? Acculturation And Thinking Styles In A Chinese-Canadian Population, Jenny M. Tang

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

This research examined the theory of mental self-government and its various thinking styles. The theory of mental self-government (Sternberg, 1988a) has established its utility in verbal contexts including education, occupation, partner choices, and cross-culturally. The Associated Thinking Style Inventory (TSI; Sternberg & Wagner, 1991; 1992) has also demonstrated its reliability and validity in a Hong Kong population (Zhang, 1999; Zhang & Lcks, 1997; Zhang & Sternberg, 1998), but it has not been used with Chinese-Canadians. It was hypothesized that as Chinese individuals become more acculturated to the North American cultural system, their thinking styles approach European-American norms. This study found …

The Psychometrics Of Student Evaluations Of Instructors And Courses At Eastern Michigan University, Thomas P. Proctor

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The study applied Classical Test Theory to the student evaluation forms for 25 departments to assess reliability. The study also applied Generalizability Theory to assess the reliability of the Psychology Department evaluation form. Regression analysis on the Psychology Department form assessed the effect of absolute expected grades on student ratings of teaching effectiveness and courses. The results show that the reliability of the 25 department forms is very high, exceeding .80 for each form. Generalizability theory indicates the Psychology Department form to be reliable for assessment of student ratings of the effectiveness of teaching but not necessarily of courses. Results …

Expected Happiness, Love, And Longevity Of Marriage: Effects Of Wedding Type Preference, Gender, And Location Of The Wedding Ceremony., Karen Sue Rudd

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Gender and wedding type preference affect views of those who get married in a courthouse as opposed to a church. The participants for this study consisted of 198 unmarried, undergraduate students that planned to marry someday. Participants responded to a wedding location scenario then completed a wedding type preference questionnaire, the Life Orientation Test Revised, and a demographics questionnaire. Results revealed that group 1 (participants who were high on traditional wedding preference and received the scenario of courthouse wedding ceremony), rated the hypothetical couple as having a higher chance of being happy after 25 years of marriage and being more …

Do You Know Your 50 States?, Katherine Friedhoff

Undergraduate Psychology Research Methods Journal

When information is forgotten, sometimes a visual cue can act as a spark to cue your memory into remembering the lost facts. In this study, the task at hand is recalling as many of the 50 United States as possible. Twenty undergraduate students were randomly assigned into two groups, where the first group’s task was free recall of the 50 states and the second group received a blank map of the states to test cued recall. This memory task may sound like an easy one but recalling the United States of America is tougher than participants imagined. However, there was …

Influences On Juror's Perceptions Of Sexual Harassment, Shawn Rainey

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Participants role-played jurors evaluating the facts of a potential sexual harassment incident, including information on victim and perpetrator intoxication levels. They first made an individual determination of sexual harassment, followed by a group determination. Generally, sober perpetrators were more likely to be perceived as guilty of sexual harassment than either intoxicated perpetrators or when no information on perpetrator intoxication was available. However, victim intoxication interacted with gender to impact decisions of sexual harassment. Men were less likely than women to find the perpetrator guilty when the victim was sober. Women were less likely than men to find the perpetrator guilty …

Married Asian-Indian Women's Attitude Toward Divorce And Its Relationship To Acculturation In The United States, Kavita K. Ajmere

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the relationship between married predominantly Hindu Asian-Indian women's attitude toward divorce and their acculturation in the United States. The final data set included a total of 66 participants (33 first generation and 33 second generation). These participants were administered The Majority Minority Relations Survey (MMRS), the Attitudes Toward Divorce Questionnaire, and a Demographic Information Questionnaire. Results showed on average, first generation participants endorsed more conservative attitudes toward divorce, higher levels of perceived prejudice by the majority group, and higher level of language usage in their native Indian language. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis showed that acculturation added 15% …

Gender Differences In Shopping Habits And Goals Of Shopping, Angela R. Merrell

Undergraduate Psychology Research Methods Journal

A review of the literature suggested there could be gender differences in the goals and shopping habits of consumers. The hypothesis is that female college students will take part in the activity of shopping for the sake of shopping while male college students will take part in the activity of shopping to purchase specific items. I tested this hypothesis by giving out questionnaires concerning one’s shopping habits and goals to volunteer undergraduate college students of both genders from Lindenwood University in St. Charles, MO. The findings did support the hypothesis. Individual statistics from each question show support for gender differences. …

Spring 2003, Full Issue

Undergraduate Psychology Research Methods Journal

No abstract provided.

Community Factors That Correlate With Middle-Adolescent Antisocial Behavior, Olga Kamenchuk

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Many adolescents nowadays display antisocial behavior. A large number of theories explaining origin of antisocial behavior have been developed in the last several centuries. The current study utilizes the "ecological" theoretical framework that allows the researcher to consider multiple ecological systems in which individuals operate and to focus on the community factors influencing antisocial behavior.

The researcher used part of the Prevention Needs Assessment survey to identify which community risk and protective factors correlate with middle-adolescent antisocial behavior. Analysis included intercluster, cluster-item correlations, and partial correlations. Results indicated correlations between antisocial behavior and a number of community risk factors, and …

On-Campus And Off-Campus Students' Ratings Of Instruction And Courses, Noriko Saeki

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The associations of student ratings of instruction and courses (SRIC) with noninstructional variables (e.g., class size, expected grade) were examined in three instructional delivery groups--on-campus, off-campus face-to-face, and distance education courses. Factor analysis of SRIC from a 20-item form yielded two highly correlated factors, which differed somewhat across the groups ("Course " and "Instruction"; "Course/Instruction" and "Interaction Opportunities /Instructor Availability"; "Course/Instruction" and "Interaction Opportunities/Helpfulness"). The only educationally significant (r² > .05) zero-order correlations were between SRIC total scores and expected grade, and were positive in all three groups (r² = .07, .08, .06). In multiple regression analyses, …

Test Of A Psychosocial Strain Model Of Delinquency For Mexican American Youth, Jose De Jesus Rodriguez

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purposes of this study were twofold: (1) to compare rates of delinquency between Mexican American and European American adolescents, and (2) to test the application of a model of delinquency designed to be especially relevant to Mexican American adolescents. The study is one of the first attempts to advance knowledge about delinquency among Mexican American adolescents through the development and test of a comprehensive model of delinquency. The model constructed as part of this study—labeled the psychosocial strain model—was unique in that it integrated variables from different theoretical perspectives and its construction was guided by knowledge of cultural and …

Female Sexual Arousal And Race: A Comparison Study, Katrenia Y. Reed Hughes

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Social Learning Theory (Bandura, 1986) suggests that individuals differ in sexual behavior according to societal expectancies. Therefore, there may be differences in sexual responsiveness between African American and European American females, particularly to different sexual stimuli. However, few studies have investigated female sexuality and virtually none have investigated African American female sexuality. The present two-part study assessed African American and European American women's subjective sexual arousal to erotic films that vary in the ethnicity of the actors. Study one assessed participants' willingness to engage in interracial relationships, levels of sex guilt, and levels of sensation seeking. One hundred and twenty-one …

The Relationship Between Participation In Goal Setting, Company Size And Performance, Commitment, Acceptance And Job Satisfaction In The United States And Macedonia., Kristin Michelle King

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

While some researchers have suggested that participative goal setting increases performance, acceptance, commitment, and satisfaction, others have suggested that it does not. Additionally, much research on goal setting has been done in the US while none has been done in Macedonia.

The purpose of this study was to clarify the relationship between participation in goal setting and company size on these variables and to determine if there are differences in the effects of participation in goal setting in the US and Macedonia. The independent variables were country, company size, and type of participation and dependent variables were performance, commitment, acceptance, …

The Development Of A Measure Of Men's Objectification Of Women, Liza Zolot '03

Honors Projects

Objectification is any action that separates a woman's body, body parts, or sexual functions from her person, or regards her as if her body were capable of representing her. This study aimed to develop a measure of men's objectifying attitudes and behaviors towards women. Based on research in areas of sexual harassment and self-objectification, items for this measure were developed across six categories: exclusion of face and emphasis on body, independence from attraction, disempathy/ disrespect, anonymity, surveillance, and social behaviors. Sixty items were created across these categories, and the measure was distributed to 93 Illinois Wesleyan University male students. Internal …

Trends. Espionage And Sex: A Commentary On Personnel Security Criteria, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This Trends article discusses one aspect of sexual orientation – homosexuality - in a security and intelligence context.

Racial Attitudes Among South African Young Adults: A Four-Year Follow-Up Study, Timothy B. Smith, Christopher R. Stones, Anthony Naidoo

Faculty Publications

Due to many social changes that have occurred in South Africa since the first democratic elections in 1994, careful scrutiny must be given to the racial attitudes of South Africa’s young adults. Their degree of acceptance of the doctrine of deracialisation and reconciliation represents a hope or a warning in regard to a stable future. A follow up study was thus carried out in order to update data collected in 1995, with the hypothesis that, over time, greater acceptance of other racial groups would be reported. The authors examined the differences among the 180 Xhosa-speaking black, 89 so-called coloured, and …

Review Of Fantasies Of Fetishism: From Decadence To The Post-Human, By Amanda Fernbach, C. Jason Smith

Reconstruction: Studies in Contemporary Culture

No abstract provided.

The Effect Of Law School On Political Attitudes: Some Evidence From The Class Of 2000, J D. Droddy, C Scott Peters

Journal of Legal Education

No abstract provided.

God And Man In The White House: Implications For Going To War, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article highlights pertinent psychological research on the relationship between a national leader’s religious beliefs and that leader’s decision making on going to war.

Analysis Of The Theoretical Relationships Between Work Exhaustion, Job Satisfaction, And Turnover Intention Of Air Force Information Systems Managers, Alfred D. Ray

Theses and Dissertations

The use of information technology has increased exponentially over the last two decades (Cohen and Burton, 2001), Accordingly, the ability of organizations to retain their information systems staff has been a critical factor in the effort to achieve strategic goals (Moore, 2002), When IS professionals leave an organization, not only is the number of them available for assignment to projects depleted, the professionals themselves often take specialized skills, tacit knowledge, and understanding of specific business operations and information systems with them (Agarwal and Ferratt, 2002), Chief Executives have become increasingly interested in issues related to the recruitment, development, and retention …