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Proximal Stress And Gender Identity: The Role Of Internalized Transphobia In Future Expectations, Maribelle Almonacy

Student Theses and Dissertations

Transgender and non-conforming (TGNC) youth and young adults are more likely to experience symptoms of posttraumatic stress due to identity-specific abuse. Studies on the impact of trauma on negative expectations in high-risk youth show a high association between pessimism, nihilism, and instability. Internalized transphobia, similarly, is correlated with negative mental health outcomes, such as depression and anxiety, and the internalization of social messages and discrimination. These studies are not specific to the experiences of gender minorities and do not explore the intersections of internalized stressors or trauma in young adults. To address this gap in literature, this study sought to …

Thomas Mann’S Unbound Bodies: A Formal Analysis Of Disease In The Magic Mountain, Julia Shi

Student Theses and Dissertations

My senior thesis argues that disease is a formal element in Thomas Mann’s novel, The Magic Mountain, through the lens of a newly theorized genre: the “Bindungsroman” (“binding-novel”). The scholar Jonas Rosenbrück proposed the Bindungsroman as the successor genre to the Bildungsroman after the latter fell out of public favor after World War I.  Whereas the Bildungsroman narrates its hero’s maturation as a process of integration into society, the Bindungsroman’s hero is ontologically unstable and does not achieve normative resolution. This paper examines The Magic Mountain’s protagonist’s development as defined by the doubled play of binding and …

War Photography & The Limits Of Empathy, Andrea Shi

Student Theses and Dissertations

The proliferation of photography, particularly war and poverty photography, has had massive implications for the level of vividness with which Americans are able to picture suffering beyond their doors. The mass atrocities that have occurred since the advent of photography – that is to say, the last 200 years – are so relentlessly circulated that they feel, sometimes, as an inevitable byproduct of human nature. It’s not surprising, then, that a lot of media theory and analysis reduce the dilemma of atrocity photographs to a psychological level. Do they numb us, or do they incite empathy? Are they a call …

Psy 1100 Writing Intensive Syllabus, Jos Khan

Open Educational Resources

This is an ZTC/OER syllabus for a PSY 1100 writing intensive course at Kingsborough Community College.

Talking Climate: Does Peer Anxiety Amplify Or Alleviate Climate Change Worries?, Emma Tupone

Student Theses

As the climate crisis intensifies, climate change anxiety (CCA) has become increasingly common, yet it remains unclear whether discussing climate concerns with peers alleviates or amplifies distress. This study examined how climate conversations related to daily climate change anxiety, optimism, and pro-environmental behavior (PEB), as well as whether the perceived emotional tone of conversation partners shapes these associations. Using an 8-day daily diary design (N = 121), participants reported their daily climate-related emotions, engagement in private and public PEBs, and perceptions of peers’ climate anxiety and optimism following climate-related conversations. Results indicated that engaging in climate conversations was associated with …

The Greater Good?: Tradeoffs Between Social Connection And Status In Decision-Making Scenarios, Jonah M. Dratfield

Student Theses

Strong social relationships have consistently emerged as predictors of well-being in the psychological literature. However, research has not distinguished between the intrinsic social value derived from these relationships and the status derived from them. We constructed the novel Relationship Orientation Scale to explore this gap, utilizing binary decision-making scenarios in which individuals were forced to pit these two goods against one another. Across two studies, we found that individuals displayed a significant, but by no means universal, preference for intrinsically rewarding social relationships. We found, also, that social media use and comparison orientation were negative predictors of relationship orientation, whereas …

Climate Anxiety Shapes Career And Parenthood Decisions In College Students, Minha Hossain, Patrycja Sleboda-Sobolev

Publications and Research

This study examined how climate anxiety influences future-oriented decision-making among college students, with particular attention to four decision-making domains: career planning, parenthood decisions, sustainability behaviors, and geographic mobility. Although climate anxiety has become increasingly common among young adults, less research has explored how it shapes long-term life decisions within diverse U.S. college populations or how psychological and contextual factors influence these relationships. A sample of 257 undergraduate students from Baruch College completed a Qualtrics survey measuring climate anxiety, climate-related emotions, hope, self-efficacy, migration background, and future-oriented decision-making domains. Results indicated that climate anxiety significantly predicted career and parenthood decision-making, but …

What History Shows: A Structural Account Of Fixed-Point Theory Formation, Griselda Poe

Publications and Research

Theory generation has long been subsumed under categories such as creativity, genius, and innovation. These categories do not distinguish assembly-based conceptual synthesis from fixed-point theory generation.

This paper makes that distinction explicit. The termination condition of assembly is external: data, citation, endorsement, usability. The termination condition of fixed-point theory generation is internal: consistency with internally held constraints, resolution of structural contradiction. The two operate under different processing conditions.

The historical record confirms this distinction. What Darwin, Einstein, Spinoza, and Kant produced was not assembly. Their processes involved unresolved branch retention and decomposition necessity, arriving at internally constrained fixed-point termination. Freud …

Trauma, Memory, And Decision-Making: How Covid-19 Shaped Autobiographical Memories And Risky Decision-Making In Young Adults, Rachel Seo

Student Theses

Autobiographical memory is a critical component of the memory process that guides future behaviors by relying on past personal experiences connected to major public events. This decision-making process is heavily influenced by trauma exposure and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, as they may guide individuals to riskier behaviors. The COVID-19 pandemic represents a global traumatic stressor that contributed to shifts in behavioral outcomes post-pandemic. Despite research showing associations between memory accessibility, traumatic symptoms, and decision-making, there is limited research on health-related behaviors and post-pandemic behavioral outcomes in individuals with high trauma exposure specifically from the pandemic. The present study investigates …

Lineup Construction Strategies In The Presence Of Within-Person Variability, Abbey M. Greenfield

Student Theses

Photographic lineups are used more frequently than live lineups, but photographs are not always reliable representations of a person’s appearance. Oftentimes, images used in lineups are drawn from mug books, passports, and driver’s license photographs—which may be outdated. As a result, even when a culprit is correctly identified for inclusion in a lineup, the photograph used may differ significantly from their appearance during the event due to natural changes in appearance (Jenkins et al., 2011). Further, the degree of suspect-filler similarity sufficient to achieve optimal discriminability remains a topic of debate (Fitzgerald et al., 2013). We examined the impact differing …

Estimator And Reflector Variables In Eyewitness Recall, Sakshi Mundra

Student Theses

Eyewitnesses are frequently asked to describe culprits following a crime, but how accurate and complete are such descriptions? This study examined eyewitness description completeness and accuracy by investigating estimator variables (Race and Gender), reflector variables (Confidence and Response Time), and elicitation methods (Free Recall and Prompted Recall). Participants viewed one mock-crime video featuring a culprit who varied in race (White or Black) and gender (Female or Male), then provided free recall descriptions followed by prompted descriptions of facial features. Prompted recall improved completeness beyond free recall, though with a minor reduction in accuracy. Descriptions were more complete for same-race and …

Fear Of Crime, Intolerance Of Uncertainty, And Trait Worry: A Mediation Model Of Perceived Risk And Victimization Concerns, Nicholai N. Chasseau

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined psychological vulnerability and fear of crime in 538 adults from Trinidad and Tobago. Perceived risk was the strongest predictor of fear, while prospective intolerance of uncertainty predicted fear directly. Mediation was supported among Afro-Trinidadians but not Indo-Trinidadians, suggesting sociocultural differences in cognitive pathways linking vulnerability to fear.

The Portrayal Of Caseworker Turnover In New York State Foster Care Assessment Documents, Shelby S. Cover-Lapomarede

Student Theses and Dissertations

This paper examines how caseworker turnover is portrayed in New York State foster care assessment documents published between 2014 and 2024. Utilizing a qualitative content analysis (QCA) approach informed by Margrit Schreier’s methodology, this study evaluates publicly available government reports, assessment documents, policy documents, and audit reports to identify how turnover is represented, what causes are highlighted, and what consequences are downplayed. The data reveals that turnover is often framed as an administrative issue rather than a workplace welfare crisis with extensive emotional and relational impacts on caseworkers, children, and families. Burnout, heavy caseloads, inadequate mental health care, low pay, …

Ephemeral System, Shibo Chan

Theses and Dissertations

Ephemeral System examines systems, feedback, repetition, and material fragility through a kinetic wax sculpture repeatedly dragged across a wooden ramp. Drawing from cybernetics, absurdist waiting, and personal mourning, the work explores how bodies and systems wear themselves down through continuous operation.

“Before Your Honour?”: Divine Morality And Women Reclaiming Power In Ben Jonson’S Volpone And William Shakespeare’S Measure For Measure, Delilah G. Fleming

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores how the female protagonists in Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure and Jonson’s Volpone navigate and combat corrupting patriarchal forces through moral religious speech. In both plays, the male characters have allowed false gods and hypocrisy to dictate and justify their corrupt behavior. By engaging with the historical significance of early modern female rhetoric this thesis examines Jonson’s Celia and Shakespeare’s Isabella, and how they operate in the interest of godly virtue rather than blind obedience to patriarchal figure heads.  Volpone’s Celia is a character largely neglected in the canon, and whose speech emphasizes the relationship between female agency …

Monitoring Biodiversity Growth In An Oyster Reef Restoration: Understanding How Oyster Reef Life Cycle May Impact Biodiversity., Gabriel A. Roses

Theses and Dissertations

Oyster reefs are vital to marine ecosystem health, improving water quality and providing food and habitat for diverse species. We assessed biodiversity changes for a proposed oyster reef restoration site to help guide management, future assessment, and deepen understanding of how oyster reefs function and their ecosystems dynamics.

Memory Organs, Coco Ma

Theses and Dissertations

Working across architectural sculpture, sonic works, and monoprints, this thesis explores the body as a site where memory, materiality, and cultural history converge. Drawing from muscle memory, Chinese architectural thresholds, and female narratives, it traces a body that is simultaneously physical and psychological, personal and collective, constant yet always shifting.

Initial Type Craft, Micah Angelus

Theses and Dissertations

What kinds of objects can still think when the self-contained aesthetic object can no longer be taken for granted? The historical ruptures that have placed painting under crisis have also brought into view the fallacy of artistic autonomy, raising questions about how value, contemplation, and meaning persist under conditions of deconstruction.

Living Doll: Puppetry, Performance, And The Art Of Greer Lankton, Madison Lee

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis argues that puppetry is the animating logic of Greer Lankton's practice. Drawing on archival evidence—including letters, planners, and drawings—it recovers an engagement with puppetry spanning childhood through her final years, and applies puppet theory to argue that Lankton understood selfhood as something made, not given.

The Earth Holds What I Cannot, Satabdi Tripathy

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores memory, landscape, identity, and gendered silence through painting, video and film. Inspired by glaciers, volcanoes, and Arctic landscapes, my work transforms personal memory into environmental memory and investigates silence, trauma, and renewal.

The Knock That Never Leaves, Alvin Seenauth

Theses and Dissertations

Peter Asan, a father and small business owner in New York, faces uncertainty after immigration agents arrived at his home in 2021. A decades-old conviction resurfaced, threatening his family life. The Knock That Never Leaves follows his daily routine as he lives between stability and the ongoing fear of deportation.

A Meta-Analysis Of The Impact Of Narrative Perspective On Trauma Recall Outcomes, Samantha R. Lefton

Theses and Dissertations

This study is a meta-analysis of trauma, linguistics, and emotional reactivity, examining how narrative perspective relates to emotional experiences of trauma recall. Synthesizing narrative, affective forecasting, and memory research, it finds narrative distancing to be associated with a decrease in emotional reactivity, bridging clinical psychology and applied linguistics.

Notes On Rhythm, Maya Lee-Parritz

Theses and Dissertations

Line meets impulse, association meets sign. I weave the eye towards the smudge and sublime—a fractal lineage flowing through the brush, my body, space itself. I walk toward reality in serial successions, allowing what is fragmentary to move me, to cohere in shards, murky and strange inside of me. My body is a repository of images, of broken rhythms and dissonant ideologies. All of these flow and stutter onto the surface, dripping and blurring over each other. Through all of this, I always try to make something whole, perfect, and true.

The Storyteller: Concealment, Memory, And The Architecture Of Exile, Dylan Hirsh

Theses and Dissertations

The Storyteller is an expressive documentary investigating the life of Francis Kalnay (1899–1992). A Jewish-Hungarian intellectual, Kalnay lived as a socialist, an X-2 Counter-espionage chief for the American Office of Strategic Services (OSS) during World War II, an architect in Mexico, and a celebrated children's book author. The film's central conflict lies in his hidden identities and exploring how, despite his position as a high-level spy, he failed to save his sister and mother from death at the hands of the Nazi-aligned Arrow Cross government. As a filmmaker investigating a lost part of my own Jewish-Hungarian heritage, I believe Kalnay …

Why Don’T They Leave? : An Exploration Of Barriers That Prevent Women From Leaving Relationships Where They Experience Intimate Partner Violence, Jaelene Beltre

Theses and Dissertations

Relationships involving intimate partner violence (IPV) can often entail physical or verbal abuse from one individual to another in a romantic relationship. In a heterosexual relationship, the abuse most often occurs from the man to the woman. From an outside perspective, when considering the victims of abuse, one might ask simply, “Why don’t they leave?” However, the answer to this question, much like the abuse experienced in these dynamics, is nuanced. The present study is a literature review of studies meant to answer this very question. Abuse can often be some combination of physical, verbal, emotional, sexual, or financial. We …

I Now Pronounce You..., Paul Mims

Theses and Dissertations

In this satirical dramedy, an interracial gay couple’s picture perfect relationship is  upended when a “beloved” family member decides to get married—on a plantation

Embodied Archives: Cultural Memory And Material Rhetoric In Dindga Mccannon’S Fiber Arts Practice, Mary Lisette Morris

Theses and Dissertations

“Embodied Archives: Cultural Memory and Material Rhetoric in Dindga McCannon’s Fiber Arts Practice” examines mixed-media artist Dindga McCannon’s interdisciplinary career and practice. It argues that her research-driven homages to Black women’s lives and achievements challenge divisions of fine art and craft through cultural memory, material rhetoric, and textile-based archival strategies.

Do Clothes Make The Man? Ftm Crossdressing In The 18th-19th C. Anglo-American World, Aidrian Graber

Theses and Dissertations

This paper seeks to analyze the legacy of "Female Husbands" and other female-to-male crossdressers in the 18/19th c. Anglo-American world and how such people can illuminate the field of transgender history.

Grass As Green As Money, Andrew Dominguez

Theses and Dissertations

Grass as Green as Money looks at golf and painting, making comparisons based on class privilege and barriers to entry to examine the audience’s role in determining meaning in an artwork. It establishes historical research into the artist’s paintings’ aims to produce self-awareness within a contemporary art context.

One Long Yawn, Dylan Musler

Theses and Dissertations

Dylan Musler contextualizes her painting and ceramic work. She explores themes around time, the grotesque, transference, holes, and dirty snow piles.