Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Effects Of Diverse Body-Positive Instagram Posts On Body Image Across The Spectrum Of Adulthood, Sophie Nelson, Cindy Miller-Perrin, Jennifer Harriger

Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium

Recent studies have examined the effects of diverse body-positive social media content on levels of body acceptance and appreciation. However, these studies have not addressed how different types of Instagram content affect women across the spectrum of adulthood in an ecologically valid manner. The current study addressed this gap in the literature by examining the effects of diverse body-positive Instagram content on body image in women across the spectrum of adulthood. We randomly assigned 205 women (18-76 years old) to view either diverse body-positive, thin-ideal, or neutral Instagram content. Participants completed a variety of measures in an online survey that …

Loneliness In Students' Own Words, Stephanie Burris, Benjamin Sargent

Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium

Loneliness has been shown to have detrimental effects to both physical and mental health. A 2017 survey of Pepperdine undergraduates found 69% of student felt lonely, compared to the national average of 64%. This study sought to understand loneliness through students' own words. Focus groups, divided by gender, were conducted and participants were asked to discuss their experiences of loneliness at Pepperdine. Additionally, participants were asked to create a list of words that come to mind to describe loneliness. Data from the focus groups were analyzed by identifying key themes and sub-themes and quotes from the participants were coded and …

Colorblind Attitudes And Religious Fundamentalism As Predictors Of Racial And General Campus Climate Perceptions, Jeongbin (Jenny) Song, Cindy Miller-Perrin

Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium

The present study aimed to understand the racial differences in perception of general and racial campus climate in college students, and investigate if colorblind attitudes and religious fundamentalism help explain these differences. A sample of 2,101 undergraduate students (M_AGE=19.59, SD_AGE= 2.33) attending a private, Christian college in Southern California served as participants in this correlational survey research. The sample consisted of 37.9% male (n=796), 62% female (n=1303), and 0.1% other (n= 2). The following racial/ethnic groups were represented in the sample: 3.4% Black (n= 72), 18.7% Asian ( …

The Relationship Between Instagram Photo Editing And Undergraduate College Women's Body Dissatisfaction, Madeline R. Wick, Cindy Miller-Perrin, Jennifer Harriger

Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium

The current study examined the correlation between Instagram self-photo editing and body dissatisfaction (n = 136), in addition to using an experimental method that randomly assigned participants to either view edited photos of others on Instagram (n = 35) or a series of control photographs (n = 34) to assess how viewing edited photos of others on Instagram affects body dissatisfaction. Findings suggested a positive correlation between Instagram self-photo editing and body dissatisfaction and no significant differences in body dissatisfaction of the two experimental groups. Self-perceived changes in body dissatisfaction as it relates to Instagram photo editing …

The Effectiveness Of Coloring Methods For Anxiety Reduction, Laura Ashlock, Cindy Miller-Perrin, Elizabeth Krumrei-Mancuso Dr.

Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium

Anxiety is one of the most prevalent mental health concerns in the United States according to the National Institute of Mental Health. A popular nonprofessional approach to managing anxiety is coloring. While mandala patterns have long been considered meditative and anxiety reducing, adult coloring books bring a new possibility to anxiety treatment. The present study compared the effects of four different coloring methods on state anxiety scores to determine whether adult coloring books are similar to other coloring approaches in impacting anxiety. Participants included 160 undergraduates (96 female, 64 male) attending a private, liberal arts university who were randomly assigned …

Marital Satisfaction: The Role Of Post-Formal Thought And Partner Blame, Kendall Jory, Cindy Miller-Perrin, Dr. Janet Trammell

Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium

Post-formal thought, a recently identified fifth stage of developmental cognition, is a type of complex cognition initially present in emerging adulthood. It is more practical, flexible and dialectical than previous stages of cognition. Research has suggested the benefits of enhanced post-formal thought in intrapersonal functioning, as well as interpersonal functioning. In interpersonal functioning, social relationships provide an opportunity to think using post-formal cognition because two people often share different “truths” in a relationship which creates logical conflict that must be resolved to continue the relationship (Griffin et al, 2009). Using this framework, the current study aimed to further examine the …

Seeking The Shield Of Faith: The Influence Of Defensive Theology On The Development Of Religious Fundamentalism Following Mortality Salience, Brian Lammert, Cindy Miller-Perrin, Steven Rouse Dr.

Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium

This study examined religious fundamentalism in a sample of 88 undergraduate students attending a private, Christian university. After completing a measure of defensive theology, participants were randomly assigned to either a mortality salience or control condition and then assessed using a religious fundamentalism measure. A moderation analysis was performed in order to test the hypothesis that defensive theology moderates the relationship between mortality salience and religious fundamentalism. Results indicated that only defensive theology significantly predicted post-manipulation fundamentalism (p

The Reliability Of Crowdsourcing: Latent Trait Modeling With Mechanical Turk, Matt Baucum, Steven Rouse Dr., Cindy Miller-Perrin, Elizabeth Mancuso Dr.

Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium

Mechanical Turk, an online crowdsourcing platform, has recently received increased attention in the social sciences as studies continue to suggest its viability as a source for reliable experimental data. Given the ease with which large samples can be quickly and inexpensively gathered, it is worth examining whether Mechanical Turk can provide accurate experimental data for methodologies requiring such large samples. One such methodology is Item Response Theory, a psychometric paradigm that defines test items by a mathematical relationship between a respondent’s ability and the probability of item endorsement. To test whether Mechanical Turk can serve as a reliable source of …

The Effect Of Mobile Health Applications On Health Behaviors: A Pilot Study, Danielle M. Shilling, Cindy Miller-Perrin, Elizabeth Krumrei Mancuso

Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium

The present research examined the effectiveness of mobile Health (mHealth) fitness and nutrition applications where effectiveness was defined as eliciting behavior changes towards national guidelines for minutes of weekly exercise and daily water consumption. In this study, it was hypothesized that an mHealth Application condition using the MyFitnessPal application would be more effective at altering water consumption and exercise behaviors when compared to a Daily Monitoring condition and a Paper Dairy condition. All 92 participants of this randomized trial participated in a one-week baseline collection and three weeks of intervention for a total of four weeks of participation. Results indicated …

The Reciprocal Relations Between Self-Compassion And Romantic Relationship Variables, Sarah S. Zhang, Khanh Bui Dr., Cindy Miller-Perrin Dr., Elizabeth Mancuso Dr.

Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium

This study examined the reciprocal relations between self-compassion and romantic relationship variables longitudinally. Participants included a community sample of 107 U.S. adults (46% female, 54% male, M_age = 34.53 years) who were in the same relationship at both data-collection points. The cross-sectional correlational analyses demonstrated that at both time-points, self-compassion was positively associated with both relationship quality and satisfaction. Structural equation modeling was used to test a longitudinal mediation model, which represented a good fit to the data (χ² = 28.49, df = 13, χ²/df = 2.19, p = .008; GFI = .95; CFI = …

The Relationship Between Religiosity And Friendship Quality, Namele Gutierrez, Cindy Miller-Perrin, Elizabeth Krumrei-Mancuso Dr.

Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium

The study’s objective was to examine a possible relationship between religiosity and friendship quality through the relational model. We hypothesized that higher levels of religiosity would positively enhance friendship quality. Young adults (N = 118) from a small, Christian university participated in an online survey. We observed a main effect for religiosity of the participant and religiosity of the best friend in predicting greater support and depth as well as an interaction between the participants’ religiosity and best friend’s religiosity in predicting support. Specifically, for participants low in religiosity, having a friend with higher levels of religiosity was associated …

The Virtual Self: Avatar And Individual Determinants Of Mood, Ivana Wang, Steven Rouse Dr., Elizabeth Krumrei-Mancuso Dr.

Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium

We explored the potential of avatar-based games as a method of influencing mood. Factors such as avatar customization, participants’ perception of accurate avatar-self representation, self-esteem, and personality were assessed in relation to changes in affect following avatar game play.

With technology dominating the culture of the current day, it’s no surprise that people are becoming increasingly more concerned with their online persona. Most often, this impression is managed via an avatar, which through customization can become an accurate translation of the individual who created it (actual-self) or instead portray the self that he or she wants to be (ideal-self). The …