Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Through The Eyes Of The Homeless, Aisha M. Soto

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

When reviewing the entire project from start to completion, I can honestly say, Through the Eyes of the Homeless is a play about ten women and their plight. It illustrates their dealings with everyday issues of hurt, disappointment, abuse, love, and hope. I believe the true impact of this play is the undeniable prayer for help and hope within each monologue. Despite the horrors that are unveiled and released through hidden secrets, the undertone of betterment is truly resonating. My own expectation for this play is simply to strike awareness and understanding in the eyes of the people. It is …

Do Both Misery And Happiness Love Company? The Emotional Consequences Of Listening To Experiences Shared By Others., Samantha Warchol

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Relationship Quality, Individual Wellbeing, And Gender – A Series Of Longitudinal Studies, Patricia Nola Eugene Roberson

Doctoral Dissertations

Using multiple theories, three studies examined the association between relationship quality, individual wellbeing (e.g., psychological distress), and gender across multiple time points. In Study 1 applied life course theory concepts (e.g., roles, role configurations, role trajectories) and second order latent class analyses were then conducted. Using four relationship role trajectories were identified from these analyses. Relationship role trajectories differed on wellbeing, wherein individuals in stable marriages with higher satisfaction consistently reported greater wellbeing (i.e., lower depression and higher life satisfaction).

Study 2 sought to determine the direction of the association between individual wellbeing and relationship quality. This study specifically examined …

How Technology Interacts With Emerging Adulthood Psychosocial Developmental Tasks: An Examination Of Online Self-Presentation And Cell Phone Usage, Samantha Lynn Gray

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation outlines three distinct, yet interrelated, projects aimed at understanding the role of technology in relation to emerging adulthood developmental tasks: individuation & identity development. The first paper provides a context for understanding the developmental tasks of emerging adulthood, and the role that technology may serve in relation to those developmental tasks. This brief review of the literature on emerging adulthood developmental tasks provides a solid theoretical background and history for the theoretical premises proposed for the respective studies included in this dissertation. The second project is an empirical investigation that seeks to understand how the task of identity …

Building Reconciliation In Bosnia And Herzegovina : The Effects Of Ingroup Identification, Outgroup Trust, And Intergroup Forgiveness On Intergroup Contact Quantity., Branka Damjanovic

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

After the violent breakup of Yugoslavia, it was necessary to find a way for Bosnia and Herzegovina’s three main ethnic groups to live together again. The Dayton Peace Agreement was thought to be the answer. Signed in 1995, it provided a new framework for the country, establishing the Republika Srpska for the Serbs, the Brcko District as an autonomous region, and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which was further divided into cantons between the Bosnian Croats and the Bosniaks. With such a political structure, it was of interest to survey the quantity of intergroup contact between the groups today, …

Relational-Interdependent Self-Construal And Relationship Quality: Same-Sex Friendships And Opposite-Sex Romantic Relationships, Tabitha L. Ingram

Selected Honors Theses

The purpose of this study was to elucidate the connection between relational-interdependent self-construal and relationship quality, with the cognitive mindset mediating the demonstration of autonomous efforts to maintain a relationship. For this study, I used a 22-question survey for relationship quality, measured separately for friendships and romantic relationships (using the Friendship Quality Scale and the Romance Quality Scale), and the 11-question Relational-Interdependent Self-Construal Scale for the measurement of self-construal. The surveys were distributed by means of an online survey accessible to the student population at a religiously affiliated private university in the South-Atlantic region of the United States. For both …

The Utility Of The Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire In Identifying Stably Peer-Victimized Children, Freddie Aníbal Pastrana Rivera

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

I evaluated the utility of using the Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire (OBVQ) in identifying stably peer-victimized children. Participants were 676 fourth grade students from 37 classrooms in ten public schools. Stable peer victims were identified as children who met elevated levels of peer victimization at both fall and late spring assessments from at least one source (i.e., self, peer, teacher). Four potential screeners using the OBVQ were evaluated. Logistic regression analyses were performed to identify how well a recommended cutoff point from the global item of the OBVQ (i.e., being bullied 2 or 3 times a month) identified stable victims. Additional …

A Narrative Study Of Male Accompanying Partners: Adaptation To A Nontraditional Role In Dyadic Partnerships, Donald J. Bernard

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Although the traditional conceptual paradigm of an accompanying spouse, sometimes referred to in social science literature as a trailing partner, emanates from a predominantly female perspective, an emerging trend involves men functioning in that role. With America's changing workforce due to the increased labor force participation of women, a postmodern family structure has emerged as the role of men as breadwinners-in-chief in the traditional nuclear family has been steadily eroded. The academic literature on the traditional pattern of wives trailing their husbands to new geographical for better employment and income is voluminous. However, studies on the emergence of males accompanying …

Chinese Outbound Tourists Food Consumption In The U.S.: An Extension Of The Theory Of Planned Behavior, Kaiyang Wu

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Although Chinese outbound tourists made enormous economic contribution to the U.S. restaurant industry, they seem to have the tendency to consume Chinese cuisine solely during their international trips. This study applies structural equation modeling (SEM) to evaluate different behavioral beliefs' impact on the intentions of Chinese outbound tourist unfamiliar ethnic food consumption in the U.S. Additionally, this research combines the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and food neophobia, a food-related personality trait to better explain Chinese outbound tourists' food rejection behavior in the U.S.

Results of this study showed safety concern, acceptance of table manners, perceived communication gap and food …

Gender Difference In Emotional Reactions To Media: Examining Self-Report During Bittersweet Video Clips, Catherine C. Brown

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

The (Un) Desirability Of Happiness: Pathogen Threats Predict Differences In The Value Of Happiness, Sharon Li Hua Koh

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

People in some parts of the world find positive emotions more desirable than others. What accounts for this variability? We predicted that happiness would be valued less under conditions where the behaviors that happiness promotes would be less beneficial. We analyzed international survey data and United Nations voting records and found that happiness was valued relatively less in environments that had been historically pathogen-rich. Using a series of experimental studies, we showed that people who were experimentally primed by the threat of pathogens judged happiness in others less favorably and found happiness less appropriate. Our findings contribute to research on …

Women As Victims Or Survivors, Shelby N. Swanson

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Research shows that women who have been sexually assaulted once are more likely to be sexually assaulted again (revictimized). Several factors contribute to the likelihood of a woman being revictimized, including social support, personal behavior, and psychological health. This research proposes that a combination of these factors contributes to a woman’s self-perception as a victim or survivor of sexual assault. It is this self-perception that determines revictimization. Twenty women were interviewed to explore the victim or survivor mentality and its relation to revictimization. All women had negative consequences of the assault. Negative consequences lead some women to develop a victim …

My Lips Are Sealed: Whistle-Blowing As A Function Of Collective And Interpersonal Connections To Social Groups, Amy Kathleen Heger

Masters Theses

Persons experience attachment to groups because they (a) share those aspects (characteristics, goals, values) that define the group and/or (b) have close relationships with the group members. Two studies examined whether such collective and interpersonal connections affect whistle-blowing (reporting ingroup wrongdoing). We hypothesized that collective connection would promote whistle-blowing via concern for the group’s welfare and interpersonal connection would inhibit whistle-blowing via fear of lost relationships. In Study 1 (N =127) participants listed up to eight ingroups and, for each, rated their collective connection, interpersonal connection, and likelihood of whistle-blowing. In Study 2, participants (N =153) were prompted to think …

Cognitive Malleability: Does Disgust Act As A "Stop" Signal On Currently Accessible Cognitive Processing Styles In Perceptual And Conceptual Tasks?, Elicia C. Lair

Doctoral Dissertations

Much of the research on feeling and thought supports the notion of a fixed relationship between affect and cognition, specifically that particular affective experiences promote particular ways of thinking (i.e., information processing styles). Surprisingly, little is known about the relationship between disgust and cognition, and this dissertation sought to rectify this omission. The recently proposed Cognitive Malleability approach (Clore, et al., 2001; Huntsinger & Clore, 2007; Isbell, 2010; Isbell, Lair, & Rovenpor, 2013) calls the fixed nature of the affect-cognition relationship into question, and instead argues that affect confers value on whatever information processing style is currently dominant. This new …

The Effect Of Colorblind Racial Ideology On Discussion Of Racial Events: An Examination Of Responses To The News Coverage Of The Trayvon Martin Shooting, Stephanie Lawrence

Masters Theses

This study explores how participants respond to news coverage of the Trayvon Martin shooting based on their colorblind racial attitudes. The purpose of this study is to understand how people’s beliefs about the salience of race and racism, as well as how framing within news coverage, contributes to how people privately respond to racial events and their willingness to publicly express their views in discussions. Participants answered questions about their racial ideology, their views about the role of race in the Trayvon Martin shooting, and whether or not they were willing to express these views in a discussion after reading …

The Ironic Effects Of Perspective-Taking On Reactions Toward Illegal Immigrants, Levi Adelman

Masters Theses

Illegal or undocumented immigration is a political hot-button issue in the United States and around the world. This study investigated social psychological factors that influence reactions toward illegal immigrants. Drawing on America’s identity as a nation of immigrants and on research showing positive effects of perspective–taking on intergroup relations, this research asks how reminders of one’s ingroup history in the U.S. and perspective-taking impact Americans emotional responses to illegal immigrants and their support for pro- and anti-immigration policies. Additionally, this research investigates whether the effects of reminders of one’s ingroup history and perspective-taking depend on people’s political orientation. Results show …

East Asian Low Marriage And Birth Rates: The Role Of Social Status Affordance In Marriage And Childbearing Behavior, Jose C. Yong

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

Although declines in marriage and birth rates are generally associated with industrialization and economic advancement, countries with a dominantly East Asian cultural population exhibit the lowest marriage and birth rates in the developed world. This study aims to identify and verify a new latent construct, social status affordance, as an underlying account for the differences in long-term mating outcomes (i.e., marriage and childbearing) between developed East Asian countries and other developed countries. Drawing on an understanding of the specific East Asian cultural values of harmony and deference and, subsequently, the importance of social status conferred by educational and occupational prestige …

Telework And Organizational Citizenship Behaviors: The Underexplored Roles Of Social Identity And Professional Isolation, Lauren Mondo Kane

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Although telework--a flexible work arrangement in which employees work from a remote location at least some of the time--has been increasing in practice, little research has investigated its implications for employee behaviors and performance. The main focus of this study was to identify the mediating processes that explain the relationship between telework frequency and OCB performance, and to determine whether personality moderates the psychological consequences of teleworking. Survey data were collected from 286 teleworkers and 62 of their coworkers across organizations from a range of industries, jobs, and locations. Coworkers were recruited in order to assess teleworkers' OCBs, but OCBs …

Mental Representations, Social Exclusion, And Neurobiological Processes In Borderline Personality Disorder: A Multi-Level Study, Jeffrey K. Erbe

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is an ongoing public health crisis. Poor developmental quality of differentiation-relatedness of object representations and attachment insecurity have been clinically and empirically demonstrated as core patterns of intrapsychic and interpersonal dysfunction in this particular form of personality pathology. Differentiation-relatedness (D-R), which involves a complementary relationship between intrapsychic autonomy and interpersonal relatedness, has been shown to be a significant aspect of internal psychic experience that relates directly to external relationship patterns, including characteristic response to interpersonal interactions and has been a specific target for treatment of BPD. Specifically, individuals with BPD have shown lower developmental quality of …

Who Am I Faced With?: The Influence Of Gender-Professional Identity Integration (G-Pii) And Sex Of Opposing Negotiator On Female Businesspersons’ Negotiations, Yi Wen Tan

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

Previous research examining sex differences in negotiation revealed conflicting evidence for its presence. This could be due to the lack of consideration of having a business identity on top of having a gender identity. This suggests the importance of examining how female businesspersons integrate their female and business identities using the construct of gender-professional identity integration (G-PII). The purpose of Study 1 was to develop a measure for G-PII by adapting and validating from existing items from past bicultural identity integration research. A 15-item measure with two factors (distance and conflict) emerged. Study 2 investigated how the sex of the …

The Ha-Ha Holocaust: Exploring Levity Amidst The Ruins And Beyond In Testimony, Literature And Film, Aviva Atlani

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

ABSTRACT

Jewish humour sheds a crude light on the social, political, and historical realities of the Holocaust. Paradoxically, contentiously, doses of levity during this period were very much a reality, and even a psychological necessity. The purpose of my thesis is to explore the historical, social, and political ramifications of such laughter provoking manifestations. In doing so, the nuances are highlighted which are found within the laughter of the ghettos, the transit camps, and the concentration camps. Furthermore, some of these jokes, and their subsequent variations, reappear within the discourse of children of survivors. The dissertation explores how some of …

Influence Of Seductive Details, Belief-Congruence, And Repeated Testing On Memory For Controversial Information, Daniel Adam Nuccio

Theses and Dissertations

People often encounter conflicting information on a wide array of topics. How they evaluate this information in relation to their current beliefs, and the effects of other influences, such as the weight given to superficial aspects of the information (e.g. pictures, anecdotes, or jargon that are at most minimally related to an author's argument), has been of interest to researchers for many years. One component of their processing

and evaluation of this information is their memory for the information. This study set out to examine the following questions: (1) Is belief-congruent in

formation remembered better or worse than belief incongruent …

When Objects Become Part Of Self: Effects Of Ownership And Choice On Self-Object Associations, Yang Ye

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Despite its significant role in the society, ownership has received little research attention from social psychology. Understanding ownership as a form of people-object relations has important implications for social cognition, as the relations between people and objects share similar mechanisms with the relations between people and other social entities. Adopting an associative approach to relations, the present research investigates how ownership influences self-object association—mental associations between the owner’s self and the owned objects in the owner’s associative network. It is argued that the formation of self-object associations is gated by the levels of congruence or incongruence between the owner’s active …

Interpreting, Stephanie Jo Kent

Doctoral Dissertations

What do community interpreting for the Deaf in western societies, conference interpreting for the European Parliament, and language brokering in international management have in common? Academic research and professional training have historically emphasized the linguistic and cognitive challenges of interpreting, neglecting or ignoring the social aspects that structure communication. All forms of interpreting are inherently social; they involve relationships among at least three people and two languages. The contexts explored here, American Sign Language/English interpreting and spoken language interpreting within the European Parliament, show that simultaneous interpreting involves attitudes, norms and values about intercultural communication that overemphasize information and discount …

Multiple Group Relations: Maintaining Balance Through Indirect Contact Effects, Diala R. Hawi

Doctoral Dissertations

Most research on intergroup relations has focused on two groups, whereby one group’s attitudes toward another group may change as a result of their contact experiences with that other group. Yet in real life settings, contexts in which groups come into contact are likely to involve multiple groups. This research argues that attitudes and perceptions that members of one group form about another group depend not only on their direct contact experiences with that group, but also on their relationship with third-party groups, and the perceived relationships that third-party groups have with the other group. The present research uses structural …

The Link Between Insecure Attachment And Depression: Two Potential Pathways, Cassandra C. Devito

Masters Theses

A wealth of research demonstrates a strong link between insecure attachment and depressive symptoms. However, thus far no work has discerned different pathways to depression for each of the insecure subtypes: anxious and avoidant attachment. This work looks at the behaviors that couples engage in during a conflict interaction as a potential mediator for the attachment-depression relationship, with different behaviors mediating the link between anxious and avoidant attachment and depression. For anxiously attached individuals, it was predicted that lack of support and response from the partner (actual or perceived) would account for the relationship between their attachment and depressive symptoms. …

Why We Disagree: Morality And Social Categorization, Nathan Christopher Carnes

Masters Theses

Recent research has identified important functional differences between Prescriptive morality (based in approach motivation) and Proscriptive morality (based in avoidance motivation). The purpose of the present research was to understand the consequences of these moralities applied at the group level for social categorization, especially in response to threat. I measured social categorization with a novel method in which participants categorized same-race and cross-race morphed faces. Social Justice (which is Prescriptive morality applied to the group) was associated with more inclusive social categorization under conditions of threat compared to a control condition. Social Order (which is Proscriptive morality applied to the …

The Role Of Diversity In Peer Influences On Students' Academic Engagement, Hyuny Clark-Shim

Dissertations and Theses

Children's classroom engagement is important for their learning and academic achievement. Extending Kindermann's (2007) study of peer influence on adolescents' engagement to an ethnically homogeneous sample, the current study examined how different aspects of diversity affect the peer influence process. Three types of diversity were considered: ethnic diversity existing at the school level, relational diversity at the peer network level, and motivational diversity at the group level. Ethnic diversity was observed in the student body as well as among school teachers and staff. Relational diversity was measured by z-scores resulting from binomial tests reflecting how closely two pair of individuals …

The Role Of The Media In The Automatic Dehumanization Of Refugees, Stelian Medianu

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The media plays an important role in the process of shaping attitudes about controversial issues such as the arrival of refugees to Canada. The first aim of this research was to investigate how the Canadian newsprint media portrayed one noteworthy event involving the arrival of refugees to Canada: the arrival of the Tamil refugee boat to British Columbia in August of 2010. A media content analysis revealed that the overall portrayal of refugees in the Canadian press in response to this event was mixed. On the one hand, refugees were perceived either as bogus claimants or as criminals/terrorists. On the …

Benevolent Racism? : The Impact Of Race And Sexual Subtype On Ambivalent Sexism, Jean Marie Mcmahon

Dissertations and Theses

How does a woman's race influence perceptions of her sexual behavior? This study investigated how race and sexual behavior intersect within an ambivalent sexism framework. Benevolent sexism characterizes women as pure and defenseless, which contrasts with the cultural stereotype of Black women as aggressive and hypersexual. Gender and racial stereotypes may combine to produce different outcomes for women who behave according to negative (promiscuous) or positive (chaste) sexual subtypes. According to shifting standards theory, evaluations and treatment of these women should vary depending on whether the measured behavior is non-zero sum (limitless) or zero sum (finite). To test this hypothesis, …