Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

I Saw Him First: Competitive Nonverbal Flirting Among Women, The Tactics Used And Their Perceived Effectiveness, T. Joel Wade, Maryanne L. Fisher, Elizabeth Clark

Faculty Journal Articles

Here we explored nonverbal actions women use to flirt competitively against each other for the purposes of accessing a mate. We also investigated the perceived effectiveness of these competitive flirting actions. Using act nomination, Study 1 (n = 91) yielded 11 actions (eye contact with the man, dancing in his line of sight, smiling at him, touching him, giggling at his jokes, butting in between the other woman and the man, showing distaste for her, brushing against him, hugging him, flirting with other men, waving to him) for competitive flirtation against other women. Actions that signal possession (e.g., tie-signs) …

Disney Princess Films And Their Effects On Gender And Body Image Through The Social Learning Theory, Jessica Yakubovsky

Capstone Showcase

Many of us grew up watching Disney Films and throughout the last decade and prior, the Walt Disney Company has created a variety of characters whom we grew up alongside. As we watched these films we found ourselves within the characters and learned things through them. This thesis paper aims to analyze Disney Princess Films and their profound effects on Gender and Body image through the theoretical perspective of the Social Learning theory. I will analyze Classic Disney princesses such as Snow White and Cinderella, and modern princesses such as Mulan(1998) and Merida (2011). My critical analysis indicates that Disney …

A Fluctuating Sense Of Power Is Associated With Reduced Well-Being, Eric M. Anicich, Michael Schaerer, Jake Gale, Trevor A. Foulk

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Social power research has been limited by theoretical and methodological traditions that prioritize static comparisons of high and low-power states. This is a crucial limitation given power’s inherently dynamic nature. Accordingly, Anicich and Hirsh (2017a) recently developed a theoretical framework related to the consequences of vertical code-switching – i.e., the act of alternating between behavioral patterns directed toward higher-power and lower-power interaction partners – known as the approach-inhibition-avoidance (AIA) theory of power. Across five main studies and two supplemental studies, we present the first empirical test of this theory using a mix of survey, experimental, and experience-sampling methods. We demonstrate …

Influence Of Political Affiliation On Perceived Media Bias And Trustworthiness In The Covid-19 Pandemic, Tabitha Lamberth

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Partisanship and news source attribution may influence perceived media bias and trust in COVID-19 information. This study aimed to explore how the similarity liking effect relates to political identity and perceived credibility. Our main hypothesis was that individuals would find news sources that shared their political affiliation as more trustworthy than other news sources. To test our hypothesis, 216 undergraduate students participated in a study that measured participants’ trustworthiness of a news article with randomized source attribution from a liberal, conservative, and neutral source. A 2X3 ANOVA tested the relationship between our participants’ political affiliation, measured by the 12-item Social …

Which Toys Are Right For Boys? How Threat And Confirmation Of The Gender Hierarchy Impact Purchase Intentions For Stereotypical And Counter Stereotypical Products, Connor Samuelson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Social movements with potential to change the traditional gender hierarchy may be met with approval or disapproval, depending upon levels of status-legitimizing beliefs (SLBs). Under conditions of gender hierarchy change, one mechanism in which people may choose to fight or support such change is through their purchase of gender stereotypical or counter-stereotypical products. Community members completed a measure of System Legitimizing Beliefs (Levin et al., 1998) and then read one of two news articles about women in the workplace that suggested trends that either threatened or did not threaten the current gender hierarchy. Participants then imagined needing to purchase a …

Applicant Religion And Work Qualifications Impacting Hiring Decisions, William T. Cagle

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The underlying effect of religious bias towards Muslims has negatively impacted their chances of receiving equal employment opportunities. The current study attempts to observe this effect by having Christian participants pretend to be a boss of a company and asking them to evaluate a fictitious resume and rate the applicant on their suitability for the managerial job at hand. The applicants were either Christian or Muslim. Based on the justification-suppression model, we also attempted to observe the effect having different hiring qualifications had on the applicant ratings. To do this, applicants either had a high or low GPA, and they …

Do The Age And Drama Type Of Individuals Affect Their Perceived Social Status?, Bradly A. Mcginnis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Drama is a type of performative, interpersonal conflict where traditional victim/aggressor dynamics seen in most types of bullying does not always appear. Different personalities display different types of drama, which may have different levels of usefulness across development. I am interested in discovering whether the level of target social status changes for different drama types across the lifespan. This interaction between target social status and drama type was analyzed by a 2 x 3 design with an expected 2 x 2 interaction. Overall, there were non-significant main effects and a non-significant interaction in the 2 x 3 between subjects ANOVA. …

Therapists' Perspectives On Aiding Individuals To Maintain Social Connection While Struggling With Health Concerns, Shari Howington-Carlin

Theses and Dissertations

This applied dissertation was designed to explore therapists’ perspectives on aiding individuals to maintain social connection while struggling with health concerns. Social relationships support physical and psychological well-being, yet individuals struggling with physical or mental health issues often have difficulty maintaining their relationships. Therapists, as health professionals, often discuss physical as well as emotional health concerns with their patients, including components of physiological and psychological heath care. Emerging neuroscience is aiding in understanding how research in this field supports early intervention for health outcomes around healthy social and family relationships during chronic disease or illness onset.The researcher conducted a phenomenological …

Ascertaining The Relationship Between Traditional Masculinity Ideology And Personal Growth Initiative In College Students, Christopher J. Ha

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The emerging psychological field of men and masculinities is credited with the development and validation of an array of instruments to assess masculinity-related constructs, with many emanating from the gender role strain paradigm (GRSP; Levant & Powell, 2017; Levant & Richmond, 2007, 2016; Pleck, 1981, 1995). However, there is little research that employs a positive psychology framework while considering the potential positive aspects of masculinity. The majority of literature utilizing these measures focus on the pathological effects of masculinity. The goal of this study was to explore the relationship between traditional masculinity ideology (TMI) and personal growth initiative (PGI) in …

Antecedents To Self-Perceived White Privilege And Organizational Citizenship Behaviors, Anthony Micale

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

White privilege in organizational settings often gives White employees an undeserved edge over employees of color. The current study functioned to determine the precursors to self-awareness of one’s White privilege, specifically focusing on participants’ multicultural experiences as well as personal and parental education levels. Increased self-awareness of White privilege was also suspected to increase the frequency of engagement in organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs). Finally, White privilege attitudes were hypothesized to mediate the relationship between multicultural experience and OCBs. White participants (N = 98) were asked to complete an online questionnaire designed to assess multicultural experience, self-perceptions of White privilege, and …

Reducing Anticipatory Anxiety: Does Values-Affirmation Increase Self-Compassion?, Elena Harwood

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Mindfulness- and acceptance-based interventions for social anxiety incorporate techniques such as self-compassion and values articulations. Self-compassion has been shown to reduce anticipatory anxiety in students with high social anxiety but the impact of values-affirmation has not yet been explored. Additionally, past research suggests that values-affirmation may foster self-compassion. Three studies were conducted to explore whether values-affirmation, too, reduces anticipatory anxiety (related to an upcoming speech task) and to evaluate whether self-compassion is a mechanism of change. In study one, participants (N = 93) were randomly assigned to a self-compassion manipulation, a values-affirmation condition, or a control condition. After controlling …

How Do You Talk To Yourself? – The Effects Of Pronoun Usage And Interpersonal Qualities Of Self-Talk, Sonya M. Bisol

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Abstract

Self-talk is defined as an inner voice that addresses the self, usually silently but sometimes aloud, with content that is self-relevant. In two studies, this work investigates the pronouns people use within their self-talk, classified by a newly developed pronoun coding scheme, and the interpersonal qualities of self-talk, characterized by an interpersonal framework. For each study we also explore how pronoun usage and interpersonal self-talk styles relate to each other, and to other important variables that pertain to the possible causes and effects of self-talk. In our first study, 131 participants completed a structured interview in which they provided …

Who Is The Stranger Really? A Reluctant Autoethnography Of The Strange Situation Procedure, Tara Yazdani

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This paper aims to review the cross-cultural application of attachment theory as a western model of thought and practice. That is, this research aimed to recognize and question how embedded attachment theory has become in programming and education within North American academic and practical arenas. In applying the Strange Situation Procedure (SSP) to a limited sample of Eritrean dyads, important considerations and questions arose regarding the cross-cultural application of this protocol. The aims of this research shifted toward further exploring these considerations and questions, due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, the new research aim emphasized how to inform future …

A Tale Of Two Tweets: What Factors Predict Forgiveness Of Past Transgressions On Social Media?, Andrew Dawson

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

As more and more of our lives take place online, we are developing a very public and permanent record of our past views and actions. It is increasingly common for public figures to have their current image tarnished by their mistakes and transgressions in what is often the distant past. Although factors such as the passage of time and age of the actor are typically given consideration in moral judgement, they may be swept away by identity and politics when the transgressions are viewed along partisan lines. Three experiments (N = 2,018) found that judgements of a public figure …

Who Is Bisexual? Perceptions Of Sexual Orientations Under Ambiguity, Megan E. Wilson

Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations

How do people determine another individual’s sexual orientation? As sexuality often does not have visible cues, people must often rely on how others identify and behave. However, sexual identity and behavior can often conflict (Pathela et al., 2006; Ross et al., 2003). In Study 1, I examined whether participants perceived individuals to be straight, gay, or bisexual when identity and behavior conflicted (e.g., a man who identifies as “straight” but had sex with other men). Study 2 examined how perceptions were affected by the characteristics of the target and their behavior and Study 3 examined how perception was related to …

Does Manipulating Source Gender Predict A Person's Open-Mindedness As A Function Of Sexism?, Tanyelle Annette Galman

Master's Theses

The present research examines whether Communication Source Gender influences a message recipients' level of Open-Minded Cognition, and whether Ambivalent Sexism moderates this effect. Participants were asked to think of themselves as part of a military panel which considers proposals to military spending. Then after reading a proposal from either Cassandra Smith or David Smith, participants were asked to indicate whether they would be open to hearing more from the author. Participants were then instructed to complete the Ambivalent Sexism Inventory (Glick & Fiske, 1996). In total there were 395 participants in this study. Results show that there was no main …

Influencing Capitalist Attitudes To Drive More Capital Towards Social Good, Leah Michelle Burton

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The purpose of this study is to better understand how to influence capitalist attitudes and drive more capital towards social good. This is why we must explore the prospect of emancipating the capitalists from capitalism. This study identifies capitalism as a form of oppression that is contributing to a newly developed ethics of capital, a term introduced in this study. Emancipatory action research and general systems theory were employed as the primary approaches to engaging a group of venture capitalists and finance professionals in activities and dialogues. Value2 is the theory of action I use to influence the attitudes of …

"The Candy Problem, Solved!": White Children And White Parents Grappling With Dysconscious Whiteness, Lindsay E. Olson

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

During an amplification of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement, white children and parents have faced multiple interruptions to their protective territory of dysconscious whiteness—an uncritical approach to a structural status quo that favors white lives. Through semi-structured activities and interviews with ten children ages 3 to 9 and nine of their parents who observed these activities, I discovered a parent–child subsystem of dysconscious whiteness. White children and parents revealed aspects of this subsystem by grappling with dysconscious whiteness (grappling) as they struggled to avoid implicating skin color in resource inequality. Through grounded theory analysis of the process of grappling, …

Social Influences And Social Desirability On Recollections Of Childhood Bullying, Jaynee L. Bohart

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Parents and peers play important roles in shaping attitudes toward a variety of matters during adolescence. However, little research has investigated parental and peer influence on developing attitudes toward bullying. Further, few studies have looked at whether socially desirable responding (SDR) impacts self-reports in bullying research. To address these gaps in literature, the current study recruited college students from a mid-sized public university in the Rocky Mountain region of the United States to complete a survey. The survey assessed the participants’ past attitudes toward bullying, perceptions of their parents’ and peers’ influence on their attitudes, and bullying participant roles during …

Feels Like Home: On Campus Housing And Its Effect On Sense Of Belonging, Makenzie Joseph

Masters Theses

There has been substantial research done on sense of belonging for college students. This study explored the on-campus experience of upperclassman on-campus residents at a mid-sized Midwestern university. This research was a qualitative study that examined the impact on-campus housing had on a student’s sense of belonging and their intentions to reenroll in their institution. The findings of this study supported many of the previous findings in relation to on-campus housing and a sense of belonging, as well it presented new findings. Many different themes emerged such as the importance of faculty and staff relationships, institutional size, and personal and …

The Effect Of Mortality Salience On Compromising Mate Selection Standards In Homosexual And Heterosexual Individuals, Sydney Rohmann

Masters Theses

Terror management theory (TMT), proposed by Greenberg, Pyszcynski, and Solomon (1986), suggests that humans cope with terror resulting from the knowledge of their own mortality. The need for coping mechanisms arises when individuals are reminded of their own inevitable death; that is, when they experience mortality salience (MS). Hirschberger, Florian, and Mikulincer (2002) found that when primed with death reminders, heterosexual individuals tend to compromise their ideal mate selection to form close relationships. There has also been extensive research on the differences between homosexual and heterosexual mating preferences. This study examined the effect mortality salience has on an individuals’ mate …

Body Appreciation As A Means To Protect Social Media Users From Body Dissatisfaction, Jennifer Yurchisin, Alyssa Dana Adomaitis, Kim K. P. Johnson, Haesung Whang

Publications and Research

When young adult women and men are exposed to idealized images in traditional media outlets, they often experience body dissatisfaction. As the use of social media increases, so do the opportunities for appearance-based comparisons. Individuals who are heavy users of social networking sites also tend to exhibit body dissatisfaction. Body appreciation is a personal characteristic that seems to counteract the negative influence traditional media exposure, and it may have a similar effect for social media exposure. The purpose of our research was to investigate the impact of body appreciation on the relationship between social network sites usage and body dissatisfaction …

Holding On To Who They Are: Pathways For Variations In Response To Toxic Workplace Behavior Among U.S. Intelligence Officers, Greta Creech

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The U.S. intelligence community is a critical mission industry responsible for protecting lives and safety in ways that impact the global security environment. Research on the deleterious impact of toxic workplace behavior on other critical mission fields, such as health care and the U.S. military, is robust. However, intelligence scholars publishing within the unclassified arena have been silent on the phenomenon, how personnel respond to it, and how it may impact the intelligence function. This lack of scholarship has afforded an opportunity to understand what constitutes toxic behavior in the intelligence environment and how it may affect U.S. national security …

“They Let Me Loose, Will You Hold Me Tight?” Adult Adoptees And Their Romantic Partners' Experience Of Attachment After Participating In The Hmt Program, Bethany Baker

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Adult adoptees may be blocked from feeling securely attached to their romantic partners and they may not even know it or what to do about it. The literature shows adult adoptees being overrepresented in insecure attachment styles, and not enough attention has been paid to the effect this has had on adoptees in their romantic relationships. In fact, no known study, to date, has provided an attachment-based psychoeducational approach for this marginalized population. The purpose of this introductory qualitative study was to explore the experiences and meaning-making of attachment, specifically related to adoption, for the adult adoptee and their romantic …

Divine Narcissism: Raising A Secure Middle-Aged Adult, Rachel Sachs Riverwood

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Utilizing an arts-based feminist autoethnographic stance and method, this dissertation is an evocative exploration of the process and experience of attempting to develop a cohesive identity and build a secure attachment to the self. The author uses countercultural methods—prioritizing and centralizing her experience and uncovering and acting in defiance of oppressive norms—to identify and experience their impact on her identity and intra- and inter- personal relationships. Various tensions are explored, including the suppression of self and desire, self-objectification, fearful-avoidant attachment, and shame; and their influence on engaging in emotional and sexual intimacy is examined. Critique on the role of female …

Implications Of Attitudes On Environmental Challenges: Understanding The Human Dimensions Of Invasive Insects In New England Landowners, Ariana Margarita Cano Gomez

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Many scientists argue that the threat of invasive insects is one of the most pressingenvironmental issues of our time. Decades of research quantify the threat and risk invasive species pose to the New England Forest, yet there is little research combining both the ecological impacts of invasive insects and human attitudes of the potential threats they pose. This dissertation aims to understand the current attitude of landowners in the New England region that are experiencing the threat of hemlock woolly adelgid, emerald ash borer, or Asian longhorned beetle. This dissertation includes three different studies focusing on social psychology frameworks and …

Evaluating The Effects Of Self-Control Depletion On Task Persistence: A Focus On The Moderating Effects Of Performance Monitoring, Hayley Houseman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Self-control is essential in day-to-day life and has important implications for goal attainment, successful living, and psychological well-being. However, self-control is known to fail when resources are depleted physically, cognitively, or emotionally, which can lead to difficulties completing important tasks. Performance monitoring, which makes a standard salient so that people can sustain their performance while attending to their goals, might buffer the loss of self-control on task performance. Overall, the purpose of this study was to experimentally examine the effects of self-control depletion and performance monitoring on task persistence. Eighty undergraduate students were recruited to participate in the study. Participants …

Mortality Salience And Moral Dilemmas: The Impact Of Stress On Regret In Trolley Problem Decision-Making, Nicolas Perdomo

Master's Theses

The present study experimentally investigated the effects of stress, in the form of mortality salience, on decision regret in participants presented with the trolley problem. Participants (N = 166) were recruited through Amazon Mechanical Turk and randomly assigned to a mortality salience or threatening control topic (dental pain) writing prompt and either the standard trolley problems (i.e., the "switch" and "footbridge" dilemmas) or an experimental reversal where the default was five people on the tracks instead of the usual one. The effects of mortality salience on affective regret, the trolley reversal on cognitive regret, and the relationship between mortality salience …