Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Comparing Levels Of Situational Empathy Based On Medium Of Exposure To Covid-19 Mortality Information: Does Political Affiliation Impact Levels Of Situational Empathy?, Keira N. Mills, Kaylee Ries, Beth Durkin, Abby Braden, Wesley Barnhart

Honors Projects

Psychophysical numbing, compassion fading, and the singularity effect are strongly affecting the world amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Empathy-motivated prosocial behavior is not consistent with the drastic number of lives lost due to COVID-19. The current study evaluated participants for situational empathy levels post-exposure to either COVID-19 death statistics or a personal reflection on loss due to COVID-19. Alongside empathy, political affiliation and COVID-19 personal loss were measured as potential moderators on the relationship between medium of exposure to mortality information and empathy levels in the sample.

Comparing Levels Of Situational Empathy Based On Medium Of Exposure To Covid-19 Mortality Information And Proximity To Others, Beth Durkin

Honors Projects

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, many people expressed a lax attitude to the policies put in place to keep the public safe despite the high risk of infection and its devastating effects on health across the United States. It is possible that this response may be partially due to a “numbness to numbers,” a phenomenon that describes diminished empathy for a large group of people experiencing a negative event (eg. COVID-19). The present study explored the relationship between levels of situational empathy and the medium of exposure to COVID-19 mortality information (eg. personal story or fact sheet) in an …

Changes In Body Image, Eating Behaviors, And Exercise During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Megan Gressley

Honors Projects

The Covid-19 pandemic transformed many different aspects of life as many individuals were sent home from school or work and were confined within their homes. Within restricted life, individuals experienced changes in their social lives, eating habits, and day-to-day routine. Within this research study I chose to examine how individuals' lives changed directly from the year before the Covid-19 pandemic to the first year of domestic shutdown. A sample of BGSU undergraduate students responded to a survey questioning them on their behaviors, feelings, and attitudes among these time periods. Results showed that individuals experienced significantly more disordered eating within the …

Coping With The Pandemic In College, Sam Beery

Honors Projects

This experiment studied the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the mental health of a college population from spring 2021 to fall 2021. It measured levels of stress, anxiety, coping strategies, depression, and social support reported by participants via several well validated psychological surveys. It was created with Qualtrics and distributed via advertisements in Campus Update and the SONA scheduler.

Chambers Of Reflection: Rousseau, Tocqueville, And Self-Government In The Digital Age, John Sweeney

Honors Projects

Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Alexis de Tocqueville each warn that the dominant cultures of their days may hinder the project of self-government. Against the backdrop of advancing Enlightenment philosophy, Rousseau writes that as social visibility increases relative to intimate connection, the drive for recognition corrupts self-love. Following the American and French revolutions, Tocqueville explores the democratic erosion of social hierarchies. He writes that a rise in individualism may obscure “self-interest well-understood”—the perspective gained through collaboration with others, thoughtful reflection, and reverence for truths that lie beyond the dictates of cursory instincts.

In this project, I apply these political theories to the …