Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Religiosity And Aggression In College Students., Shanea J. Watkins

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The present study examined whether high and low religiosity had any relationship to a person’s five measures of aggressiveness. The participants in this study consisted of 274 female and 202 male undergraduates. The results revealed that: (A) high scores of Religious Conflict and Hostility to Church yielded higher scores of aggression, (B) high scores of Religious Orthodoxy, Religious Solace and Religious Tranquility yielded lower scores of aggression, (C) high scores of Religious Conflict and Hostility to Church yielded higher scores of total aggressiveness, and (D) high scores on Religious Solace and Religious Orthodoxy yielded low scores of total aggression. Frequency …

Perceptions Of Cosmetic Alteration In Different Sized Attractive Women., Deborah Suzanne White

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Two experimental phases examined the characteristics impacting the physical attractiveness stereotype and a potential stereotype shift. From reading a description of a hypothetical target, Phase 1 of this study revealed that participants considered an overweight attractive woman significantly more likely to help a friend in need and significantly more likely to become a friend than an underweight attractive woman. These findings provide understanding of how particular stereotypes may provide social benefits. In Phase 2, knowledge of the woman's plans for liposuction, which was disclosed in a second description of the target, dramatically lowered the participants' evaluations of her physical attractiveness, …

Predicting Self-Esteem Based On Perceived Parental Favoritism And Birth Order., Kristy Lynn Adkins

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Parental favoritism is the preference or perception of preference of a parent for one child over another. The present study examines parental favoritism as well as the effects perceived favoritism has on one's self-esteem and if the effects are based on birth order. Participants were 325 undergraduate college students enrolled in introductory level classes. The mean age of the participants was 21.4 with 60% being women and 40% being men. Participants completed a parental favoritism questionnaire developed by the experimenter which assessed if the participant thought his/herself to be favored by a parent compared to a sibling. Self-esteem was assessed …

Expected Happiness, Love, And Longevity Of Marriage: Effects Of Wedding Type Preference, Gender, And Location Of The Wedding Ceremony., Karen Sue Rudd

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Gender and wedding type preference affect views of those who get married in a courthouse as opposed to a church. The participants for this study consisted of 198 unmarried, undergraduate students that planned to marry someday. Participants responded to a wedding location scenario then completed a wedding type preference questionnaire, the Life Orientation Test Revised, and a demographics questionnaire. Results revealed that group 1 (participants who were high on traditional wedding preference and received the scenario of courthouse wedding ceremony), rated the hypothetical couple as having a higher chance of being happy after 25 years of marriage and being more …

Depictions Of Ethnicity And Gender On The Front Pages Of College And University Websites., Mackenzie Blair Frazier

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examined how women and men and people of different ethnicity are represented in the photographs found on the front screens of websites of colleges and universities offering four-year degrees and above in the United States. A content analysis analyzed 1,677 images of men and women found on the front pages of 412 colleges and university websites. A six-point Body Index Scale coding instrument was used to determine if emphasis was placed on the face or the body of the human image, determined through an analysis of where the images were cropped.

Frequencies of men and women were moderately …

Misguided Instructions: Do Jurors Accurately Understand The Law In Death Penalty Trials?, Chasity Anne Stoots-Fonberg

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Sixth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution guarantees individuals’ right to trial by an impartial jury. However, empirical research indicates that the jury system is flawed, especially regarding judicial sentencing instructions. More specifically, jurors frequently misunderstand or misinterpret State patterned instructions. On a more encouraging note, there is evidence that comprehension of jury instructions can be improved. Thus, this research assessed improvement in juror comprehension using revised sentencing instructions. For the current investigation, participants included 201 volunteers called for jury duty in Western Tennessee. Data were generated via a questionnaire, which allowed for the collection of information relating to participants’ …

The Relationship Between Participation In Goal Setting, Company Size And Performance, Commitment, Acceptance And Job Satisfaction In The United States And Macedonia., Kristin Michelle King

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

While some researchers have suggested that participative goal setting increases performance, acceptance, commitment, and satisfaction, others have suggested that it does not. Additionally, much research on goal setting has been done in the US while none has been done in Macedonia.

The purpose of this study was to clarify the relationship between participation in goal setting and company size on these variables and to determine if there are differences in the effects of participation in goal setting in the US and Macedonia. The independent variables were country, company size, and type of participation and dependent variables were performance, commitment, acceptance, …

Employability Of Individuals With Varying Disabilities And Costs Of Needed Workplace Accommodations., Bram Cassidy Bevins

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The present study examined the relationship between an individual's disability and needed workplace accommodations and employability. The participants for this study were businessmen and businesswomen in Southwestern Virginia who possessed the ability to hire employees. Results indicated that an individual with a physical disability was thought of as more employable and favorable than a nondisabled individual, a blind individual, and an obese individual. Results also indicated that a physically disabled individual would be hired before a blind individual and an obese individual when workplace accommodations were needed. One possible explanation for these findings is that it is desirable to hire …

The Well-Being Of Children As Viewed Through Their Conceptions Of Death, Jennifer Kampmann

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

An explorative study was conducted to try and understand how young children’s emerging death concepts form including, (a) what family demographics and child factors contributed to family well-being, (b) did family well-being influence children’s social competence, and (c) did family well-being and children’s social competence influence children’s death conceptions. Although the subject of death contains many unique characteristics, it is not easily separated from other aspects of life; death is inseparable from the whole human experience (DeSpelder & Strickland, 2002). It was the assumption of this paper that children develop their conceptions of death based on the appreciation they hold …

Athletic Participation: A Test Of Learning And Neutralization Theories., Mario Bernard Hankerson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Athletics has been regarded as a means of encouraging youth to build character, discipline, and develop healthy habits. However, literature has emerged that asserts athletics do not prevent deviant behaviors, but instead, influence one to commit deviant acts. As such, this research examined effects of athletics on the commission of deviant behaviors via learning and techniques of neutralization theories.

Subjects for this project included 325 college students from a southern regional university. Data were generated through the use of a self-report questionnaire, which measured variables pertaining to self-reported deviant behaviors including perceptions of peer deviance, neutralizing indicators, and sports participation. …

The Need For Control In Interpersonal Relationships And Courtship Violence., Marcella Horn Dunaway

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study explored an individual's need for control and the level of violence within a dating relationship.

This was a self-report study. Subjects consisted of 175 students from a university in the southern Appalachian region of the U.S. Questionnaires were combined with a scenario depicting violent behavior. Subjects were asked to rate their level of control on the Fundamental Interpersonal Relations Inventory (FIRO-B), to complete the Conflict Tactics Scale - revised (CTS-2), and to rate the acceptability of the scenario. Data were analyzed using an ANOVA.

Results did not support the main hypothesis. No relationship was found between control and …

Perceptions Of Patronizing Speech By Service Providers Toward Elderly Adults: A Comparison Between Older Women And Female Nursing Students., Tammi Rae La Tourette

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Older adults are frequently the recipients of patronizing speech, particularly within healthcare settings where aging cues are salient and negative age-stereotypical expectations are common. Few studies have compared caregivers' and elderly adults' perceptions of patronizing speech. No studies have specifically examined perceptions of communicative competence in terms of how patronized elderly targets are evaluated, nor have they investigated the relationships between ratings of speech styles and ratings of the elderly target's communicative competence. Seventy-seven nursing students and 62 community elders viewed two vignettes, one in which a nurse spoke to an elder in a patronizing tone, and one in which …

Artificial Tanning Salon Behaviors, Intentions, And Attitudes In Terms Of Sensuousness And Sensation Seeking., Christopher Jonathan Armes

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Using the Theory of Alternative Behavior (Jaccard, 1981), we examined the relationship of warmth sensuousness, physical sensuousness, and sensation seeking to individuals' tanning salon behaviors, intentions, and attitudes among undergraduates at a Southeastern university.

Females, high sensation seekers, those high in warmth sensuousness, and those with darker skin types were more likely to tan. Females were more likely to intend to tan in the next year. Those higher in warmth sensuousness were more likely to intend to tan more than 10 times in the next year. Females and subjects higher in warmth sensuousness had more positive attitudes toward tanning. Significant …

Differing Death Scenarios: Self Esteem And Death Anxiety., Kenneth Grant Brewer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Previous research has found a correlation between death anxiety and self esteem. Researchers have found that both self-esteem and death anxiety play a significant role in an individual's behavior.

The purpose of this study was to investigate a correlation, if any, between death anxiety and self esteem using death related scenarios. It was hypothesized the high death anxiety groups will have lower self-esteem than the low death anxiety group, and that the low self-esteem group will have higher death anxiety than the high self-esteem group.

Results of an ANOVA indicate that there is a significant difference between the high death …

A Land Use History Of The Holly Springs National Forest, Michelle R. Mcanally

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis details the land use history of the Holly Springs National Forest. A description of the physical environment and a narrative cultural history of the area from the arrival of people into the North Central Hills are included. Archaeological survey data, soils data and witness tree locations were brought together using Geographical Information Systems (GIS) technology and analyzed in an ecological framework.

An environmental reconstruction using witness tree locations and soil types served as a platform for the delineation of environmental zones in which presettlement tree cover was estimated and compared with previous environmental studies of the area. Prehistoric …

The Difference Of Body Exposure: Images Of Females And Males In Three Top Teen Magazines., Angie Lovette Blank

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examined differences of how females and males were represented in three top teen magazines. Depiction of female and male bodies in the magazines was explored by the cropping of the photographs. The images were examined to determine if emphasis was placed on the face or the body. The researcher used the Body Index Scale coding instrument. A simple random sample of 1200 images in the three top teen magazines was analyzed.

The study did not show any statistical significance on hypotheses one, which stated that photographic images of females will be cropped lower on the body than images …

Role Of Police, Prosecutors And Defense Attorneys In Traffic Accident Investigation And Adjudication In Chattanooga, Tennessee., Karen L. Beisel

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study provides, via personal interviews, a qualitative examination of police, district attorneys, public defenders and private attorneys who were involved in traffic accident investigation and criminal court adjudication in Chattanooga, Tennessee. These data were compiled to develop a profile of the actors and their involvement in the process of a criminal charge stemming from a traffic accident. The literature suggests that the actors work as a team to process a case from investigation to adjudication; however, the actors in Chattanooga, Tennessee were fragmented in their handling of a case. This study collectively examines police and attorneys in relation to …

Out Of The Spotlight And Into The Shadows: An Examination Of Communication About Adolescent Girls On Music Television., Stacy Nichole Fentress

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examines portrayals of adolescent girls on Music Television (MTV). A content analysis of 26 hours of MTV programming was conducted and analyzed using quantitative and qualitative methods. Analyzed programming was shown August-November 2001. Dates were chosen randomly; times were chosen randomly from the pools of hours in which adolescents usually watch television.

Adolescent girls predominantly appear in the background of MTV programs. Many of them cheer for male celebrities, but only 12% speak. The content analysis reveals that a narrow beauty ideal is promoted on the channel-most girls are thin, White, and wearing revealing clothing. It is argued …

When Parents Come Out As Parents Of Gay And Lesbian Children: A Transformation Of The Self., Crissy E. Stewart

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examines how and why parents of gay and lesbian children come to join a support and advocacy group when same-sex attraction and sexuality are still considered deviant and immoral by the majority of society. Based on participant observation of and interviews with parents in two separate support and advocacy groups this study examines how parents come to define themselves in terms of the issues they are fighting for, in this case gay and lesbian acceptance, inclusion, and equality. This research also examines how parents formulate new religious convictions to satisfy their new parental role as supporter and advocate …

Profitability Determinants In South Dakota's Beef Cow/Calf Enterprise, Amy N. Singrey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

South Dakota beef cow/calf producers who had completed a 2000 Standardized Performance Analysis were surveyed and interviewed to gain a better understanding of what personal characteristics and management factors may help determine profitability. Low, medium and high profitability categories were defined by calculating one standard deviation above or below a mean ROA. Producers were unaware of their profitability category at the time of the interview. Statistically significant differences were found in reference to the involvement of the operator in physical labor and management functions, and in the percentage of other family members involved in the management functions in the enterprise. …

Fracture Patterns Of Fire Cracked Rock, An Analysis Of Artifacts From The Batesville Mounds, 22pa500, Panola County, Mississippi / By John Sullivan, John Sullivan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The excavations at Batesville Mound sites recovered a large quantity of artifacts. Fire Cracked Rock (FCR) was the major artifact type, if not sheer in weight certainly in number. Much research is being done in Texas, Michigan, Oregon and other states that have helped archaeologists to determine the different ways heated rocks fracture. Rocks will fracture in regular patterns depending on the rate and method of heat loss or gain. The patterns are expansion (dry) and compression (wet) fractures. A large amount of FCR in the mound fill and very little in the village area suggests that the mound refuse …

Male Visual Dominance Continues: A Global Study Of Images Of Men And Women In 750 Online Newspapers In 74 Nations., Kelly Blake Price-Rankin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examined how women were represented globally in online newspapers. Depiction of men and women in online newspapers was investigated via cropping of photographs. The photograph was examined to determine if emphasis was placed on the face or body of the human image.

The researcher used the Body Index Scale coding instrument. A simple random sample of 1,969 published photographs in 750 global online newspapers was examined.

A major finding was that men dominate the front screens on global online newspaper Web sites. The data concluded men were cropped with an emphasis on the head, emphasizing intellect. Women were …

Involvement In Sports And Engagement In Delinquency: An Examination Of Hirschi's Social Bond Theory., Randy Hass

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Sports have been proposed as a means of reducing participation in delinquency. One criminological theory that would support this hypothesis is Travis Hirschi's social bond theory. The involvement element of that theory proposes that engaging juveniles in non-delinquent activities reduces engagement in delinquency. However, the relationship between sports and delinquency has not been adequately tested. Data from the first wave of the National Youth Survey were examined by ordinary least squares regression to determine if there was evidence supporting school sponsored sports programs as a means of reducing delinquency. No evidence was found to support the research hypothesis. Involvement in …

Attitudes Toward Suicidal Women Based On Gender Of The Participant And Race Of The Target Figure., Carrie E. Smith

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of gender on attitudes toward Black and White suicidal females.

Participants included 37 Caucasian graduate students who completed demographic questionnaires, Suicide Behavior Questionnaires (SBQ) (Ellis & Jones, 1996), and one of two scenarios with a modified version of the Suicide Attitude Vignette Experience Scale (SAVE) (Stillion, White, Edwards, & McDowell, 1989). The research design was a 2 (sex of participant) x 2 (suicide ideation of participant) x 2 (race of target figure) independent groups factorial. Independent ANOVAS were performed to interpret the significance of main and interaction effects.

No main …

Affectional Orientation, Sex Roles, And Reasons For Living., Shana Valere Hamilton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to research gender, affectional/sexual orientation, and sex roles to determine how people respond to the Expanded Reasons for Living Scale by Linehan, Goodstein, Nielsen, and Chiles (1983). This study used the Bem Sex Role Inventory, short form (Bem, 1981) to assess androgynous and nonandrogynous people.

Results from the statistical analysis revealed that bisexuals had the lowest reasons for living score followed by gay men/lesbians, and then heterosexuals on the Total RFL, as well as on the Responsiblility to Family and Moral Objections subscales. On the Child-Related Concerns subscale heterosexuals had a higher RFL score …

Attitudes Toward Violence And Reasons For Living In Adolescents With High, Moderate, And Low Self-Esteem., Rhonda Marie Blevins

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine attitudes toward violence and reasons for living in adolescents with high, moderate, and low self-esteem. An attitudes toward violence scale was devised for the purposes of this study. Self-Esteem was assessed using the shortened version of Rosenberg's Self-Esteem Scale (SES). The Brief Reasons for Living in Adolescents (BRFL-A) was utilized to assess adaptive characteristics. The independent variables were gender and self-esteem. The dependent variables were total reasons for living score and attitudes toward violence score.

Participants included 138 males and 95 females, ages 11 to 15 years old (M = 13.3) from …

Gender Differences In Coping With Chronic Illness., Madhu Karnad

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Suicide is the ninth leading cause of death in the United States. Therefore, it is important to discover adaptive life-maintaining characteristics in high risk populations. Many patients with life-threatning illnesses have frequent suicidal thoughts. The difference in reasons for living between men and women with and without chronic illness was investigated. The suicide ideation was determined by ratings on a 48 item Reasons for Living questionnaire. Degree of chronocity of illness and illnes related issues were determined by a demographic questionnaire. Results showed that men commit suicide at a higher rate than women. Results of ANOVA'S indicated that individuals with …

Socioeconomic Status And Media Exposure As Factors In Empathic Development., David E. Cox

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The current study examined the empathic attainment of young children (mean age 7 years) as a function of the child's socioeconomic status. Further, the potential intervening variable of violent media representations within product advertisements is assessed within and between the observed socioeconomic status groups. Three critical dimensions of empathy were assessed: cognitive, affective and behavioral. Participants were 200 volunteers recruited from public and private schools in a small region in southern Appalachia. Respondents were rated on their response to animated video clips depicting an individual in emotional distress. Results suggest that media exposure has significant effect on measures of affective …

Social Responses To Hiv Positive Suicide Ideators., Saborah Lee Bishop

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the present investigation was to examine responses to suicidal ideation by an HIV positive male described as heterosexual/homosexual in a promiscuous/monogamous relationship.

Men (101) and women (137) enrolled in introductory psychology courses participated in the study. Participants completed a short demographic questionnaire, read one of four scenarios, and completed the Attitudes and Helping Behavior Scale (AHBS) designed to measure the participantsÆ emotional responses, attributions, and willingness to help the target subject. Present research involved a 2 (sex of subject) x 4 (scenarios) independent groups factorial. Independent ANOVAS were performed to interpret the significance of the main and …

Black Folk Medicine In Southern Appalachia., Steve Crowder

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study is an exploration of existing informal health care beliefs and practices of blacks in Southern Appalachia and how they compare with the majority white population. How regional black folk belief systems compare to those documented in other parts of the country is also examined. Thirty-five blacks selected opportunistically were interviewed with a structural questionnaire. Topics addressed during the interviews included: illnesses from childhood, adulthood, and old age; folk illnesses; ideas on religiosity in healing and healthcare, and views on folk medicine in light of biomedicine.

The collected data suggest that black folk medicine in the study region is …