Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Big Five Aspect Personalty Scales And Social Anxiety Severity In A Nonpsychiatric Sample, Samantha Simpson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-

Personality can be explored hierarchically with higher- and lower-order factors. Recent research suggests the personality hierarchy is comprised of higher-order Big Five traits with two lower-order factors per Big Five trait, termed aspects. There is a lack of research examining the relationship between these lower-order aspects and social anxiety (SA) severity. To better understand these relationships, 443 university undergraduate students (72.2% female; mean age = 20.48, SD = 4.64) completed the Big Five Aspects Scale (BFAS) and the Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory- 23 (SPAI-23), and were retained following exclusionary criteria. Path analysis, covarying for sex, age, and general anxiety …

Creativity As A Resource: How Creativity Influences The Appraisal Of Work Stressors And Subsequent Strain, Alyssa Perez

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-

Although creative behaviors are known to have positive effects on general well-being, little research has looked at the relationship between an individual's creativity and stress within the context of work. This research explored how creativity may work as a buffer against the strain of job stressors. In study 1, six vignettes were developed using Role Stressor Theory (Kahn et al., 1964) and the Challenge/Hindrance Framework of stress (Cavanaugh et al., 2000). A sample of 164 undergraduate students responded to the vignettes and results showed that trait-level creativity was directly related not only to the creativity of the solutions the participants …

"A Penny For Your Thoughts?": Development And Validation Of A Revised Measure Of Rumination, Jenna Beltramo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-

The present research sought to demonstrate the utility, validity, and reliability of a new measure of rumination assessing both the intentionality and valence of ruminative thought. The Intentionality and Valence of Work-Related Ruminations Questionnaire (IV-WRRQ) is developed based on Martin and Tesser's (1996) goal progress theory of rumination and existing approaches across various sub-disciplines in psychology. Specifically, it is designed to assess four distinct forms of rumination: deliberate-positive, deliberate-negative, intrusive-positive, and intrusive negative rumination. Initial expert ratings provided insight into the initial construct validity, face validity, and readability of the items. The measure was further refined in a study among …

The Effects Of Situational And Individual Factors On Algorithm Acceptance In Covid-19-Related Decision-Making: A Preregistered Online Experiment, Sonja Utz, Lara N. Wolfers, Anja S. Göritz

Human-Machine Communication

In times of the COVID-19 pandemic, difficult decisions such as the distribution of ventilators must be made. For many of these decisions, humans could team up with algorithms; however, people often prefer human decision-makers. We examined the role of situational (morality of the scenario; perspective) and individual factors (need for leadership; conventionalism) for algorithm preference in a preregistered online experiment with German adults (n = 1,127). As expected, algorithm preference was lowest in the most moral-laden scenario. The effect of perspective (i.e., decision-makers vs. decision targets) was only significant in the most moral scenario. Need for leadership predicted a stronger …

The Effect Of Covid-19 Risk-Enhancing Job Characteristics On Emotional Exhaustion, Zoe Politis, Ignacio Azcarate, Michael Distaso

The Pegasus Review: UCF Undergraduate Research Journal

The COVID-19 pandemic has posed heightened threats to worker well-being. We know that different jobs pose different levels of risk to employees. Physical proximity and exposure to disease/illness are job characteristics that present threats to employee physical health. Based on cognitive theories of stress, we hypothesized that these job characteristics also pose a threat to employees’ emotional well-being. Our sample of 177 participants was made up of working students coming from the University of Central Florida, Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, and healthcare professionals recruited using a snowball sampling method. These participants consisted primarily of healthcare workers, food service workers, teachers/ …

How Music And Art Affect Compassion And Perspective Taking: A Collaboration Between Ucf Restores And Opera Orlando, Kathryn Sunderman

The Pegasus Review: UCF Undergraduate Research Journal

The ability of music and art to impact emotions and behavior is well understood based on studies conducted in a laboratory. However, research in a laboratory setting does not always generalize well to a natural environment. In this pilot study, we investigated how attending an opera that portrayed a wartime Christmas truce affected the audience’s levels of empathic concern and perspective-taking. Paired samples t-tests were conducted on data from 63 adult participants (M = 52.17 years). The results indicated that attendance at this operatic performance positively changed both empathic concern and perspective-taking, suggesting that even in a naturalistic setting, music …

Modeling The Relationship Between Perceptual And Stimulus Space In Category Learning, Clay Killingsworth

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-

Learning to categorize visual stimuli is a fundamental cognitive skill underlying both everyday functioning and professional competencies in domains such as radiology and airport security screening. Categories may be very simple or highly complex, with accurate categorization dependent on multiple interacting features. General recognition theory (GRT) models uniquely allow examination of feature dimension interactions, but basic questions remain about the applicability of such models and the 2x2 categorization tasks (four-alternative forced choice) employed in studies which use them. Findings in several studies that factorially combine 2 levels of 2 stimulus dimensions indicate a common pattern of perceptual advantage for the …

Out With The Humans, In With The Machines?: Investigating The Behavioral And Psychological Effects Of Replacing Human Advisors With A Machine, Andrew Prahl, Lyn Van Swol

Human-Machine Communication

This study investigates the effects of task demonstrability and replacing a human advisor with a machine advisor. Outcome measures include advice-utilization (trust), the perception of advisors, and decision-maker emotions. Participants were randomly assigned to make a series of forecasts dealing with either humanitarian planning (low demonstrability) or management (high demonstrability). Participants received advice from either a machine advisor only, a human advisor only, or their advisor was replaced with the other type of advisor (human/machine) midway through the experiment. Decision-makers rated human advisors as more expert, more useful, and more similar. Perception effects were strongest when a human advisor was …

Forms And Frames: Mind, Morality, And Trust In Robots Across Prototypical Interactions, Jaime Banks, Kevin Koban, Philippe De V. Chauveau

Human-Machine Communication

People often engage human-interaction schemas in human-robot interactions, so notions of prototypicality are useful in examining how interactions’ formal features shape perceptions of social robots. We argue for a typology of three higher-order interaction forms (social, task, play) comprising identifiable-but-variable patterns in agents, content, structures, outcomes, context, norms. From that ground, we examined whether participants’ judgments about a social robot (mind, morality, and trust perceptions) differed across prototypical interactions. Findings indicate interaction forms somewhat influence trust but not mind or morality evaluations. However, how participants perceived interactions (independent of form) were more impactful. In particular, perceived task interactions fostered functional …

Social Responses To Media Technologies In The 21st Century: The Media Are Social Actors Paradigm, Matthew Lombard, Kun Xu

Human-Machine Communication

Clifford Nass and his colleagues proposed the Computers Are Social Actors (CASA) paradigm in the 1990s and demonstrated that we treat computers in some of the ways we treat humans. To account for technological advances and to refine explanations for CASA results, this paper proposes the Media Are Social Actors (MASA) paradigm. We begin by distinguishing the roles of primary and secondary cues in evoking medium-as-social-actor presence and social responses. We then discuss the roles of individual differences and contextual factors in these responses and identify mindless and mindful anthropomorphism as two major complementary mechanisms for understanding MASA phenomena. Based …

Hp Windows Mixed Reality Vs Meta 2: Investigating Differences In Workload And Usability For A Ball-Sorting Task, Joseph Pruitt, Melissa Marques, Hannah Singer, Amber Blatchford

The Pegasus Review: UCF Undergraduate Research Journal

Perceived workload and usability are crucial components of human-computer interactions. Currently, there is a gap in research comparing Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) systems for workload and usability. This study attempts to bridge that gap through the comparison of the HP Windows Mixed Reality system and the Meta 2 system for a ball-sorting task. Subjective questionnaires on workload and usability were implemented as comparative measures for three game scenarios of increasing difficulty. Forty-one participants were recruited from the University of Central Florida and its surrounding communities. Results showed significantly lower cumulative total workload and greater usability (for the …

Effects On Interpretation Bias, Mood, And Physical Tension During Mobile Device Usage: An Examination Of Slumped, Upright, And Lying Down Postures, Gabriela Flores-Cruz

The Pegasus Review: UCF Undergraduate Research Journal

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of posture on interpretation bias, mood, and physical tension when using a mobile device. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: sitting slumped, sitting upright, or lying down. They were then asked to unscramble emotional and neutral sentences to measure interpretation bias. Self-reported measurements were used to measure mood and physical tension. No significant differences were found in the type of sentence unscrambled when sitting slumped and upright. When lying down, participants unscrambled fewer neutral sentences compared to emotional sentences. Physical tension was found to mediate the relationship …

Personality Patterns In Psychopathology: An Examination Of Lower-Order Personality Facets, Depression, And Anxiety, Tori Jansen

The Pegasus Review: UCF Undergraduate Research Journal

Past research concerning personality and psychological disorders have focused predominantly on higher- order personality traits. However, investigating the lower order facets of personality traits may reveal unique aspects of psychological disorders. Participants were asked to complete a survey evaluating the relationships between symptoms of Major Depressive Disorder, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, and Social Anxiety Disorder. Associations between these disorders and positive and negative affect were also investigated. This study revealed numerous associations between each of the disorders and various facets compiling each trait. Of particular interest are the links found between facets of Agreeableness and Openness to Experience and all three …

Will It Be Ok Boomers?: Effects Of Precarious Work On Older Job-Insecure Workers, Alissa (Gebben) Neal

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-

The changing nature of work, in conjunction with union power decline, has resulted in increasing levels of job insecurity and precarious work among the global workforce (Benach et al., 2014; Hoffman et al., 2020). Additionally, research has shown that older workers experience work differently than younger workers (Ng & Feldman, 2012), and represent 44% of the workforce in the United States (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2020). The present study explores the extent to which the confluence of precarious work and age creates a scenario where these workers respond to job insecurity in ways which differ from what is typically depicted …

Examining The Indirect Effects Of The Big-Five Traits On The Change In Job Satisfaction Via The Change In Specific Work Characteristics, Jimmy Zheng

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-

The present series of studies leveraged the ASTMA model (attraction, selection, transformation, manipulation, attrition), theory of purposeful work behavior, and work on job crafting to investigate the influence of personality on job satisfaction through the active and passive shaping of one's work environment (i.e., work characteristics). Study 1 integrates the ASTMA model and theory of purposeful work behavior perspectives to suggest that individuals who are conscientious, agreeableness, emotionally stable, open to experiences and extraverted become more satisfied with their jobs because each of these traits is associated with active and passive changes to specific work characteristics. These ideas were tested …

Loss Of Control Eating Predicted By The Interaction Between Emotion Regulation Difficulties, Distress Tolerance, And The Expectancy That Eating Reduces Negative Affect, Emily Burr

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-

A prominent theory of binge eating is the affect regulation theory, which posits that individuals binge eat to alleviate negative affect, and subsequently reduced negative affect reinforces the behavior. Although it is well-supported that individuals experience elevated negative affect pre-binge, findings do not consistently evince reduced negative affect after binge eating. Therefore, the affect regulation theory does not fully account for binge eating. However, habitual binge eating without reliable improvement in affect may be accounted for by expectancy theory. Expectancies may be predictive of behavior whether the outcomes of a behavior are inconsistent. Additionally, there is an increasing scientific awareness …

Empathy As A Buffer: The Moderating Effect Of Trait Empathy On Counterproductive Work Behavior, Amanda Grinley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-

While much research has been dedicated to determining what may cause workers to engage in counterproductive behavior at work, fairly less attention has been paid to the factors which may influence individuals to refrain from enacting these behaviors. The current study was conducted to determine whether trait empathy may be one such factor and serve as a moderator of the relationship between work stressors and intentions to commit counterproductive work behavior (CWB). Using the theoretical framework of the stressor-emotion model of CWB it was hypothesized more specifically that empathy moderated the mediating effects of negative affect on relationships between stressors …

Measurement Invariance In The Cesd-8 And Assessment Of Mood Correlates Between American And Mexican Community Studies On The Multisystemic Geriatric Depression Cycle, Manuel Herrera Legon

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-

The Health and Retirement Study is a longitudinal study that is conducted every other year in the United States and has served as a precursor to similar studies across the world, such as the Mexican Health and Aging Study. The purpose of the current project was evaluating the relationship between depressive symptoms, inflammation and physical activity levels using data from the HRS and MHAS studies. The current project was divided in two main studies. The first study aimed at establishing measurement invariance in a brief questionnaire about depressive symptoms, the CES-D 8. The second study looked at various theories of …

A Longitudinal Examination Of Depression Among Older Adults: The Role Of Working Memory And Sleep, David Brush

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-

Introduction: The development and regulation of depressive symptoms and the ability to regulate their development is a complex process. Both working memory and sleep disturbance relates to depressive symptom endorsement, though the mechanisms relating these variables have not been examined longitudinally. The current manuscript contains a series of three interrelated studies that aim to elucidate the relationship between potential emotion regulation resources longitudinally within the context of the Selection, Optimization, and Compensation of Emotion Regulation (SOC-ER) model. Study one examined the temporal relationship between working memory and depression, study two examined working memory and depression following loss of spouse, and …

Misinformation In The Media And Its Influence On Racism, Jared Champa

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The purpose of the current study was to examine how the media's positive and negative portrayals related to racism impact the viewer's attitudes regarding African Americans. Previous research has shown how misinformation in the media can implicitly affect one's level of racism. Previous research has also shown that gender and one's sociodemographic status can affect the way individuals perceive misinformation. This study aimed to address the relationship between misinformation depicting racist views directed toward African Americans and consumer's attitudes toward African Americans. It was hypothesized that exposure to misinformation will have a significant impact on participants' level of racism. A …

People, Places, And Things: The Relationship Between Presence, Demographic Factors, And Self-Concept On A University Campus, Lydell E. Kerbo Jr

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Within the framework of ecological psychology, environments are places, defined as landscapes of affordances, or the array of potential actions that can be executed. The feedback between direct perception-action and use of affordances results in the sense of presence in place. According to previous research, increased presence has been correlated with greater attachment and connectedness with the place as well as beneficial psychological states in a campus setting. However, it is unclear what factors, such as demographics, may influence differences in engagement with campus affordances, and hence, presence among individuals. The aim of the study is to investigate the relationship …

Self-Affirmation Intervention On Eating Disorders, Stephanie Kaine

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This research studied the feasibility of a self-affirmation identity technique as an intervention in the treatment of eating disorders patients. Self-affirmations have been proven successful among various problems so this research examined the effectiveness it'd have on participants with eating disorders.

The Association Of Cultural Orientation With Identity Development And Psychological Adjustment, Madison M. Cooper

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The current study aimed to examine possible relationships between cultural orientation and identity formation. Late adolescent college students (N = 480) completed an anonymous survey online. Measures included the Cultural Orientation Scale, the Ego Identity Process Questionnaire, and the Identity Distress Survey. Contrary to predictions, neither identity exploration nor identity distress were found to be related to cultural orientation. However, identity commitment was significantly correlated with both individualism and collectivism. Further, a ONEWAY ANOVA suggested differences between identity statuses. An LSD post-hoc analyses found that the two committed statuses, Achievement (high in identity commitment after extensive identity exploration) and …

Sign Language And Language Development: A Meta-Analysis, Yasmin Sanchez

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This study takes a look at baby signing and its effect on caregiver responsiveness, considering how vital caregiver responsiveness is when it comes to language development. A meta-analytic review that quantitatively combines data was conducted to estimate the effect size between baby signs and caregiver responsiveness. There were no restrictions on geography or culture in which studies were conducted. However, the time period of publication was limited from 2009 to 2020 in an attempt to examine the most recent research possible. The following search terms were used: baby signing, gestures, caregiver responsiveness, caregiver interactions, and caregiver. For a study to …

"To Love Or To Loathe": The Impact Of Childhood Bullying On The Quality Of Adult Romantic Relationships, Richelle M. Cruz Quetell

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The current study explored whether childhood bullying has a lasting impact on the quality of adult romantic relationships. A complete case analysis of 86 participant responses examined the association between bullying, insecure attachment, romantic relationship satisfaction, and trust. The findings partially supported study hypotheses. Specifically, a significant positive correlation between social manipulation, a type of bullying, and avoidant attachment was found. Physical victimization was also positively correlated with trust. However, no significant association between bullying and relationship satisfaction was found. Exploratory multiple regression analysis showed that both physical victimization and romantic relationship satisfaction predict the level of trust experienced in …

Gastrointestinal Symptoms And Belly Pain During The Phases Of The Menstrual Cycle In Healthy Young Females, Preethashree Anbukkarasu

Honors Undergraduate Theses

There are significant differences between the incidence of gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms between males and females. A recent review found that females report having more severe GI health problems compared to males. One explanation for the higher reporting rates of GI symptoms in females could be attributed to menstrual cycle influences rather than GI processes.

This research aims to examine the relationship between how gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms experienced by women covary with the different stages of the menstrual cycle. Additionally, a secondary purpose is to determine the moderating effect of health anxiety on the severity of menstrual and GI symptoms.

Responses …

Examining Motivation In Online Learning Amongst Traditional And Nontraditional College Students, Juan J. Echeverri

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Nontraditional students continue to grow as a population in universities across North America. These individuals are characterized as twenty-five years of age or older, have taken time off from school, and usually hold a job outside of their school duties. With our increased immersion in online environments, many individuals earning an educational degree through online participation, and previous studies calling upon further research, we decided to investigate this line of research. Specifically, the present study seeks to understand the motivational factors seen between traditional and nontraditional students, with an emphasis on intrinsic motivation. The results suggest that nontraditional students are …

Message, Messenger, Or Receiver: Effects Of Social Identity And Personality Characteristics On Foreign Policy Decision Making, Joseph Aromando Iv

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This project investigates the effects of social identity and personal characteristics on foreign policy decision-making. The two main US political parties, Democrats and Republicans, were used as markers for social identity. Participants were first instructed to read a scenario regarding a hostile fictional country followed by a speech regarding the same fictional country. Two speeches were created using a content analysis of speeches from Democrats and Republicans prior to the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Participants were randomly placed into one of four conditions. One condition paired a Democratic-themed speech with a Republican speaker, another paired a Democratic speech with a …

Gender Identity, Discrimination, And Adjustment Among College Students, Nicole A. Coco

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This research sought to test the notion that the non-cisgender population experiences an inordinate toll in regard to their mental well-being as a result of inaccurate or incomplete classification of their self-identified gender identity among US college students (N = 591). In accordance with the previous literature, the non-cisgender population experienced a significant increase of perceived experience of microaggressions and internalized symptoms. Contrary to expectations, there was no significance found for rates of identity distress. Previous literature did not reflect a significantly lower score of challenging the binary for Caucasians in relation to Hispanic and Asian ethnicities, as this …

The Effects Of Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy On Irritability In Menopausal Women, Giavana Hanna

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The start of the menopausal transition involves the introduction of various somatic, urogenital, and psychological symptoms; of the symptoms, irritability is one of the main complaints reported by women. The use of bioidentical hormone replacement therapy has become more prevalent in society, specifically treating the somatic and urogenital symptoms of the menopausal transition. This study aims to determine the effects of bioidentical hormone replacement therapy (BHRT) on irritability in menopausal women. To test the hypotheses, an online survey was distributed to women via social media and word-of-mouth. Participants were asked to respond to various questions, which were then analyzed based …