Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Many Roads To Social Satisfaction? Social Anxiety, Social Interaction Format, And Social Belonging, Mohamed Mi Ismail

Honors Theses

This study explored how different social interaction formats (face-to-face versus virtual) influence individuals’ belongingness need satisfaction and interaction enjoyment. Furthermore, it also explored how personality variables related to social anxiety (i.e., Interaction Anxiousness, Fear of Negative Evaluation) interact with social interaction format to influence belongingness needs satisfaction and enjoyment. Participants engaged in a conventional face-to-face interaction or a virtual interaction (via Instant Messenger) with a same-sex confederate on a between-subjects basis. Participants then indicated the extent to which the interaction satisfied fundamental social needs (e.g., self-esteem, belonging), their positive and negative mood, as well as how much they enjoyed the …

The Separate And Combined Effects Of Heredity And Environment Predicting Alcohol Use Disorder Symptoms And Antisocial Personality Disorder Symptoms, Jaylee R. Gill

Honors Theses

The current study examined genetic and environmental influences in relation to alcohol use pathology. The 756 participants (378 adoptive, 378 non-adoptive) came from the 2001-2002 NESARC conducted by the NIAAA. A factorial ANOVA was used to measure the effects that the three grouping variables had on each dependent variable for a total of seven datasets. Results showed that biological parents’ drinking did pose a risk in participants for Loss of Control (p = .000) and Dangerous Behavior (p = .00). Adoption status was correlated with Conduct Disorder (p = .007) and Antisocial Personality Disorder (p = .014). This suggests that …

Like A Boss: Presidential Prerogative As A Means For National Security, Joshua E. Darichuk

Honors Theses

Executive power in America is outlined by the U.S. Constitution, but presidents have made decisions which questionably violate the rights American citizens are guaranteed by the same document. How are we able to maintain sovereignty as “we the people,” if our most powerful elected official is able to overstep the rules during a national security threat? The answer is because the constitution would not exist without a state, therefore the union must always be preserved. Niccolo Machiavelli, John Locke, Alexander Hamilton, and Carl Schmitt share very different views on democracy, but their insistence on national security is universally present. The …

Ni Putes Ni Soumises: Unveiling Women’S Voices Through Feminism And Social Media In The 21st Century, Lilianna K. Deveneau

Honors Theses

Ni Putes Ni Soumises (NPNS; English translation: “Neither Whores Nor Submissives”) is a French, largely Muslim, feminist political organization that aims to promote laicité (secularization), mixité (the ability for women to fraternize with men), and gender equality. I have conducted an organizational case study including the triangulation of data comprised of critical analyses of the NPNS website, Facebook group, and other documentation and publications, to identify whether and how this organization has been successful in igniting social change. Findings indicate NPNS has grown its movement from one location (Paris) to forty-eight chapters throughout France, seven international headquarters, and has obtained …

Behavioral Training Relations: Transferring Behavioral Contingencies From Shelter To Home Settings Through Online Enrichment., Alaina Birchmeier

Honors Theses

Behavioral analysis can be used in our everyday lives to better our environment. Unfortunately, most do not know the behavioral principles, and therefore cannot apply it effectively. Just one area in which behavioral analysis can better our lives is in training our pets. These training techniques are not only useful, they are often sought after. The Kalamazoo area has a few resources which can help train dogs, however all are associated with fees and are still not very informative. In order to fill this void, I have made a website for the general public use, along with psychology students. The …

Overall Nasalance Versus Trimmed Selection Of Stable Syllable Repetition, Jackson Peebles

Honors Theses

Objective: To evaluate the difference between nasalance measured using overall nasalance for the full set of syllable repetitions in a speech sample contrasted with syllable repetitions selected (trimmed) from the overall sample.

Method: Participants included 24 males and 34 females between 18 and 30 years of age who participated in a normative study of nasalance in Michigan’s lower peninsula. Participants produced 14 syllable stimuli. Each syllable sequence was repeated at least 8 times. Three trials of each repetition were recorded together with other speech stimuli. Overall nasalance was calculated for each syllable repetition sequence (whole) and compared with the mean …

The Confessional Model And Sectarian Politics: Lessons From Lebanon And The Future Of Iraq, Scott Preston

Honors Theses

This paper uses education policy as a case study in order to examine the issues affiliated with the Confessional model of government and compares Lebanon’s education sector with Iraq to inspect the universality of those issues. There are many features that make the country of Lebanon unique, but perhaps none more characterizing than its one-of-a-kind Confessional government. According to the tenants of Confessionalism specific government offices are to be reserved for specific ethnic groups. The system was an innovative experiment imposed by the French as a means to guarantee various communal groups representation within the government in an effort to …

On The Relation Between Parenting Practices And Pathological Narcissism In Adolescents, Kristen L. Mechanic

Honors Theses

The present study examined the relation between parenting practices and grandiose and vulnerable narcissism. The study used the self-report data of 407 adolescents (348 males, 57 females, 2 unreported) who were enrolled in a residential program in the summer and fall of 2011 and 2012. Participants completed a battery of surveys, including the Pathological Narcissism Inventory and the Alabama Parenting Questionnaire. Findings link grandiose narcissism to positive parenting practices and poor monitoring and supervision, with positive reinforcement and poor monitoring and supervision predicting unique variance in adolescent grandiose narcissism. Vulnerable narcissism was significantly positively correlated with the negative parenting practices …

The Council Of Conservative Citizens: Extolling Nativism And Perpetuating Stereotypes, Jordan M. Tinnon

Honors Theses

The Council of Conservative Citizens (CofCC), an overtly pro-white, anti-immigrant political organization, uses biased news articles laden with racial stereotypes to promote and propagate their dogma of white superiority and nativism. In these articles particular attention is paid to the supposed threats of Hispanic immigration, attempting to make the case that Hispanics put white Americans’ health and safety, along with the white American way of life, at risk. Six recent articles from the CofCC website are shown to capitalize on the fear of the public to further advance and support a doctrine of nativism. Nativism has serious ramifications both to …

The Level Of Commitment Of Intrinsic Religiosity And Relational Aggression In Middle-Aged Women, Hannah E. Allen

Honors Theses

The study examined the relationship between the level of commitment to intrinsic religiosity and the role of relational aggression in the lives of middle-aged women. Research has shown that middle-aged women participate in relational aggression, but few studies have investigated it. The causes and methods of prevention in relational aggression are something to be considered, and a first step is examining risk and protective factors. Is intrinsic religiosity a protective or risk factor for participating as an instigator in relational aggression? Does intrinsic religiosity actually buffer the negative effects associated with victimization in relational aggression? Based on research that previously …

How Not To Spot A Terrorist: The Prevent Strategy’S Effect On British Muslims, Haddy K. Rikabi

Honors Theses

The United Kingdom’s Prevent Strategy is a unique government response to the threat of domestic terrorism. The program mixes social interaction and police work to dissuade suspected political extremists from participating in or supporting terrorist activities. This approach to preventing terrorist threats has had its share of criticism, though. British activists decried the Prevent Strategy for promoting discrimination against Muslims in Britain, misuse of public funding for programs, and a fear of government intrusion into private lives. In addition to a divisive history between Muslims and British natives, the Prevent Strategy’s emphasis on threats posed by Al-Qaeda and other Islamist …

Assessing Behavior Change Related To Acute Stress Exposure In The Zebrafish, Christine E. Breazeale

Honors Theses

Stress affects how we function in all aspects of our lives. It is our physiological response to a threat. In fact, its origins were very adaptive. Stress can cause an animal to flee a predator and avoid being eaten. In today’s society, stress can prompt us to work harder to achieve a good education or promotion at work so that we can afford food, shelter, and entertainment. But stress can also impair performance at work, on tests, and even can cause long-term bodily harm. In order to fully understand the deleterious effects of stress and thereby properly treat it, it …

Effects Of Illegal Immigration Upon Crime In The United States, Christopher M. Necaise

Honors Theses

The U. S. Government regularly compiles and publishes statistics involving crimes occurring in the United States, especially through the Uniform Crime Reporting Statistics (UCR) and the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS). These publications can be used to search facts and figures with respect to crime, including by locale, type of crime and the race of the perpetrator, among others. Inexplicably, however, no data is provided with respect to whether the perpetrator has a legal or illegal immigration status or his/her ethnicity. This absence of objective data on crime and immigration has led to some with political agendas from both sides …

Black Empowerment And Mobilization: A Comparison Of Urban And Small City Trends, Samantha D. Rayborn

Honors Theses

This research to follow compares voting trends between blacks in urban cities and smaller, non-urban cities. The research aims to replicate the findings based on studies of large cities that blacks tend to have higher or lower turnout rates when there is a black public office holder. Election results were taken from mayoral elections in Alexandria, LA and Monroe, LA. Previous research indicates that blacks have a high rate of turnout in urban areas when there is a black elected official. However, does this effect hold true in non-urban, small cities? Blacks in smaller, non-urban cities, this study finds, do …

Explaining Leisure Interests, Personality, Work Centrality, And Vocational Interests, Stormy Z. Speaks

Honors Theses

The current study examined the relations between leisure interests and other vocational constructs among undergraduate university students. Methods included utilizing previously obtained data from a sample of 194 undergraduate students at the University of Minnesota, where study measures were given in 2007. Data collected included the Leisure Interest Questionnaire, used to determine leisure interests and activities outside the workplace; the International Personality Item Pool, a measure of five main personality traits; and the Strong Interest Inventory, a measure of vocational interests. Work centrality, or the importance of the role of work, was also assessed to determine the relations between leisure …

The Impact Of Self-Esteem And Religiosity On The Marital Readiness Criteria Of College Students, Molly J. Gunnels

Honors Theses

The focus of this exploratory study was to better understand the impact of self-esteem and religiosity on marital readiness criteria of college students. Data was collected from 18-25 year old students at a large, public university in Southern Mississippi. A total of 216 participants completed questionnaires that consisted of demographic information and self-esteem, religiosity, and marital readiness scales. Results indicated that self-esteem and religiosity combined have a statistically significant positive relationship with marital readiness criteria. In addition to the analysis among all of the variables, the independent relationship between each independent variable on marital readiness was examined. The relationship between …

The Relation Of Adhd Characteristics To Positive Illusory Bias Among Gifted Elementary Students: Iq As A Possible Moderator, Meredith S. Manguno

Honors Theses

The current study examined the relation between Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) characteristics and Positive Illusory Bias (PIB) in gifted elementary students. Children with ADHD have a propensity toward a PIB—or seeing themselves in a more positive light than other standards would indicate—even among domains in which they struggle (Owens, Goldfine, Evangelista, Hoza, & Kaiser, 2007). This tendency toward a PIB may be linked with their encounters of a great number of setbacks and could be a way to create hope and positivity. In comparison, gifted students frequently meet and surpass goals, often with few setbacks. Thus, twice-exceptional students (e.g., gifted students …

Differences In Latent Fingerprints Of Caucasian Children, Jessica D. Hill

Honors Theses

It is already known that the latent fingerprints of adults and the latent fingerprints of prepubescent children are different from each other in chemical makeup. This study compares the latent fingerprints of prepubescent children to each other—specifically attempting to determine if there are any noticeable differences between the latent prints of Caucasian male and female children using the processing methods of ninhydrin and indane dione. The latent fingerprints included in the study were processed and graded. Two independent t-tests as well as a factorial ANOVA were performed on the acquired data. It was found that there is not a significant …

Professional First Ladies In The Media: Framing Of Clinton, Bush, And Obama In The Washington Post, Jazmyne E. Butler

Honors Theses

This study examines how the news media portray and frame modern first ladies. By prefacing the research with background information about the history of the role of first ladies, and media theories such as framing, the reader is able to better understand the implications of this coverage. Other previous research delved into gender roles and how deviation from these roles is subject to criticism. The goal of the research is to examine the first 100 days of a presidency to determine if a first lady who steps out of bounds with the traditional societal female gender role is subject to …

Aaarrrggg I’M A Pirate: Cloud-Streaming Services And Their Effects On Music Consumption And Music Piracy, Caitlin M. Seale

Honors Theses

With advances in technology, music consumption among listeners has vastly changed throughout the years. These changes in technology have allowed piracy to thrive and prosper while physical sales vastly decreased. Previous studies have explored how music piracy effects music consumption. This study goes beyond the work that previous studies have explored by examining a new form of music consumption—cloud-streaming websites. This thesis examines how cloud-streaming services have affected music consumption and music piracy through an analysis of an online study distributed to music consumers. The results showed that cloud-streaming services do change the way that people consume music. Respondents demonstrated …

Behavorial Lateralization Of Pectoral Fin Rubbing Researched In 27 Identified Bottlenose Dolphins, Brittany R. Poelma

Honors Theses

This thesis takes a look at the behavioral lateralization of handedness present or not present within the bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) population housed at the Roatan Institute for Marine Sciences. Dolphins and humans share similar brain structures in that the brain is split into hemispheres that allow an individual to present behaviorally dominate features on different sides of their body. This type of split brain structure allows for a phenomenon known as handedness, where one hand presents dominant motor control. For dolphins, their “hand” is their pectoral fin. This thesis looked at a managed care population to investigate …

The Persistence Of Calvinism And Arminianism In The Southern Baptist Convention, Brett M. Rushing

Honors Theses

The Southern Baptist Convention is the largest Protestant denomination in the world. For over 150 years, the Convention has grown throughout, not only the southern United States, but throughout the world. Within this denomination, though, two opposing belief strands coexist. Those two strands are Calvinism and Arminianism. The researcher investigates why these two strands coexist and have not led to a schism within the denomination. The researcher also looks at if the two strands will cause a split at some point, or if the issue of the two is a non-issue to most.

The Relation Between Language And Social Skills In Children With Down Syndrome: Examination Of Pressure Equalization Tube Placement During The Critical Developmental Period, Brandi M. Ellis

Honors Theses

The current study examined the relation among status regarding placement of pressure equalization tubes (PET), expressive language, receptive language, and social skills in children with Down syndrome. Previous research has documented the importance of PET placement for children with Down syndrome who suffer from chronic otitis media during the critical developmental period for language —not only to treat ear infections but also to prevent permanent damage leading to hearing loss. For the current study, the critical developmental period was defined as birth to 36 months. Parents and teachers of three children with Down syndrome (ages 12 to 15 years) completed …

The Effects Of Rating Accuracy On Treatment Fidelity, Joshua Labeff

Honors Theses

The current study attempts to evaluate if there is a relationship between treatment fidelity and interobserver agreement. Participant performance on rating the accuracy of a video demonstration of a functional analysis session was analyzed in comparison to their performance in implementing a mock functional analysis session. Video models (some with confederates and some with the actual participant) of functional analysis conditions were shown to and graded by participants and were immediately followed by their participation in a mock functional analysis session with a confederate child. The results of the study tend to show little to no relationship between the two …

The Effectiveness Of The Adult Tutoring Program In Increasing Reading Levels Within The Kalamazoo Literacy Population: A Research Proposal, Sarah Beu

Honors Theses

Purpose: The results of this study will examine the effectiveness of the Adult Tutoring Program in increasing adult reading levels within the population served by the Kalamazoo Literacy Council (KLC). Method: The data in this study will be collected using a quantitative design comparing the reading levels of subjects who participated in the Adult Tutoring Program to those who dropped out of Program. The researcher will collect subjects' reading levels using the Test of Adult Basic Education (TABE), and will compare subjects' previously reading levels (collected between 13 weeks and two years prior to implementation of this study) to their …

Webmail Crisis 2012: A Case Study Analysis Of The Western Michigan University Webmail Plus Failure, Matthew Vargo

Honors Theses

Background Electronic mail, or email, can trace its origin to Arpanet. Arpanet was a network of interlinked computers created by the Advanced Research Projects Agency (Harrison, 2003). The proliferation of email from Arpanet in the 1970's to modern use has been apparent. Today, over 3.4 billion email accounts exist worldwide with expected growth (The Raticati Group, Inc., 2012). Webmail Plus is the email platform used at Western Michigan University. The system is a third-party cloud based service provided by Merit Network Inc. (Merit Network Inc., 2013). On September 2ih, 2012, five hard drives failed at Merit Network in Southfield, Michigan. …

Warning Signs: A Study In The Proximate Causes Of Genocide, Bradley Ryktarsyk

Honors Theses

This paper analyzes the cases of genocide in Bosnia and Rwanda as well as the humanitarian interventions in Kosovo and Libya to study the proximate causes of genocide. Proximate cause, defined as any event or condition, leading directly, or indirectly, to genocide, or the intervention by foreign powers, occurring within the immediate generation preceding the genocidal acts, or perceived threat thereof, is herein explored through Gregory Stanton’s “Eight Stages of Genocide” (1996). “The Eight Stages of Genocide” allows these cases to be examined through a preexisting, though imperfect, framework which compartmentalizes the process of genocide into stages allowing for analysis …

The Effect Of An Exercise Regimen On The Psychological Health Of Parkinson's Disease Patients, Alexander Stephens

Honors Theses

This paper reports a study on the effect of an exercise regimen on the psychological health of Parkinson's disease patients. The 11 participants of the study were Parkinson's disease patients who were participants of a six-week exercise program titled 'Delay the Disease,' which was specifically designed for Parkinson's disease patients. The participants of the study were given the Geriatric Depression Scale twice before the start of the exercise regimen, and once per week for the duration of the six-week exercise regimen. They were also given a quality of life questionnaire at the beginning and end of the regimen. The data …

Investigations At The Fort St. Joseph Archeological Project Unit N25 W9, Erika Mammen

Honors Theses

The Western Michigan University Archaeological Field School is a program that allows students with an interest in Anthropology or History an opportunity to participate in a learning community devoted to the practice of archaeology. Since 2002 the field school has been held regularly at the site of historic Fort St. Joseph (20BE23). During the summer field season of 2011 I was a student archaeologist at Fort St. Joseph. For my honor’s thesis I am presenting a summary of my field experience and a discussion of my findings.

The purpose of this thesis is twofold. First, I aim to provide future …

Service Learning And Groundswell, Katherine Baran

Honors Theses

Service learning has become an important part of getting students engaged and excited about learning. Groundswell is a G-rand Valley State University nonprofit organization funded through the Great Lakes Fishery Trust. Groundswell works with teachers and students across Kent County in Southwest Michigan to provide funding and educational support for successful service learning projects that deal mostly with the Great Lakes, the Grand River and watershed. There are 22 partners of Groundswell throughout Michigan. With those partners, Groundswell serves 17 different schools in Kent County. Service learning has a wide variety of definitions. However, at the basic level service learning …