Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Loneliness By Choice Or By Circumstance?: Examining The Relationship Between Friendship, Need To Belong, And Loneliness, Yuting Hong

Honors Theses

A sense of belonging is a fundamental human need (Baumeister & Leary, 1995; Maslow, 1943). On college campuses, students’ need to belong is often satisfied by interactions with peers. Friends comprise the largest component of college students’ social network, and good friendships provide a variety of resources, such as companionship, help, and emotional security. When students lack high-quality friendships, they are more likely to experience feelings of loneliness. However, there are likely important individual differences in the relationship between friendship quality and loneliness. The cognitive discrepancy theory of loneliness suggests that loneliness arises when there is a gap between the …

Shame On Us: The Democratic Costs Of Public Shaming, Elijah Han

Honors Theses

This thesis argues that contemporary public shaming—amplified today by the Internet and universal social membership—is unjustifiable because existing theories ignore its distinctly democratic harms. Defining public shaming as an intentional, collective act that weaponizes social opprobrium, I critique existing consequentialist and deontological defenses, showing they overlook how shaming erodes the conditions for democratic citizenship. Public shaming breeds mistrust, skews who gets to set social norms, chills political participation, radicalizes targets, and obscures what norms actually govern us; these six systemic costs undermine democracy and outweigh any social, economic, or moral benefits except in rare cases where public shaming averts existential …

The Impact Of Corporate Profits On Gdi Estimates: Forecasting And Data Revisions, Peterson Haas

Honors Theses

The National Income and Product Accounts (NIPAs) produced by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) provide key measures of U.S. economic activity, including gross domestic product (GDP) and gross domestic income (GDI). Although conceptually equivalent, GDP and GDI often diverge due to differences in source data and revision timing. This study focuses on corporate profits—a small but volatile component of GDI that is frequently revised, especially during the BEA’s annual (A1) and benchmark (C1) revisions. I examine how revisions to corporate profits influence GDI revisions and whether they can improve real-time estimates of GDI. First, I document the size …

Left Turn? Progressive Caucus Characteristics & Influence In The 117th Congress, John C. Paschold

Honors Theses

In this thesis, I address three critical questions about the Congressional Progressive Caucus. First, which characteristics are associated with whether a House Democrat is more likely to be a member of the Progressive Caucus? Second, are Progressive Caucus members more effective as lawmakers than other House Democrats not part of the caucus? Third, how much influence does the Congressional Progressive Caucus exert influence over their party’s legislative agenda in Congress? The answers to these questions are important because this research helps provide a further understanding of characteristics and influence that party caucus members share in the contemporary Congress. My research …

Adaptation Challenges In Scene-Specific Visual Search For Individuals With Asd, Carmen Ovalle

Honors Theses

This research investigates how individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) process category information and adapt to changing visual environments during search tasks. Drawing on Enhanced Perceptual Functioning and Weak Central Coherence theories, the study examines whether individuals with ASD rely more on detailed, exemplar-based templates compared to neurotypical individuals. Two experiments manipulated category-color associations within real-world scene contexts using match and mismatch conditions to assess visual search efficiency and cognitive flexibility. While no statistically significant group differences were found, a trending effect suggested that neurotypical participants may engage in more scene-based processing. These findings contribute to a growing body of …

Hegemony And Homophobia Drive Conservative Men’S Heightened Endorsement Of Adverse Relationship Conflict Responses, Abigail Smith

Honors Theses

Conflict is inevitable in romantic relationships, and men vary widely in the strategies they use to resolve such conflict. The present study tested the roles of sexual orientation, political orientation, and masculine norm conformity in predicting men’s endorsement of adverse conflict responses in romantic relationships. In this pre-registered experiment, 403 cisgender men (200 straight, 203 queer-identifying; 44% racial/ethnic minority) first indicated their conformity to stereotypical masculinity norms then were presented with four randomly-ordered vignettes of a couple in an argument—each depicting a target man engaging in one of four conflict responses (physical violence, psychological aggression, withdrawal, compromise). After each vignette, …

The Fragility Of Belonging: Interpersonal And Institutional Factors Shaping Student Experiences In Higher Education, Ziran (Ted) Zhou

Honors Theses

Belonging is a core human need that shapes students' emotional well-being, motivation, and academic persistence (Baumeister & Leary, 1995; Strayhorn, 2019). Students who experience a strong sense of belonging in higher education report lower levels of stress and depression, greater engagement, and higher academic achievement (Gillen-O'Neel, 2021; Meehan & Howells, 2019). Yet belonging remains a fragile and uneven experience, shaped by social relationships, campus climate, and institutional structures (Covarrubias, 2024; Valdez & Golash-Boza, 2020).

This study addressed two primary research questions: (1) How do experiences of belonging differ across students with varying social and identity backgrounds? (2) What factors foster …

The Effect Of The Black Ink Red Ink Testing Method On Anxiety Levels, Test Performance, And Note-Taking Behavior Among College Students, Peyton Murphy

Honors Theses

Anxiety among students has emerged as a pressing concern due to its significant impact on academic performance and mental well-being (Chen, 2004; Davis, DiStefano, & Schutz, 2008) and is particularly evident in student performance within STEM-related courses (Magula, 2019; Vakili & Pourrazavy, 2017). Previous research has explored various factors influencing test anxiety, including testing methods. The present study examined a testing method called "Black Ink Red Ink" (BIRI), proposed by Rodgers and Rodgers (2011). The effects of the BIRI method were examined on (1) test anxiety, (2) test scores, and (3) note taking motivation and behaviors. Thirty-eight students in a …

The Interplay Between Attribution Bias And Psychotic-Like Experiences: The Role Of Social Media, Jordan Leggett

Honors Theses

Psychotic-like experiences (PLEs) are perceptions, thoughts, or beliefs that resemble symptoms of psychosis but are less severe and not necessarily related to a mental disorder. A plethora of research has found associations between PLEs and hostile attribution bias, the tendency to over-interpret situations as hostile, aggressive, or intentional. Some work suggests viewing certain types of content online may be linked to hostile attribution bias. Yet, limited research has examined hostile attribution bias and PLEs through the lens of social media. This study aimed to explore these relationships by modifying a measure of hostile attribution bias using social media vignettes. This …

American Girl(Hood): Gender Performance, Tween Media, And Social Media Content, Mary Carol Dassau

Honors Theses

The American Girl brand of eighteen-inch dolls presents narratives of young girls throughout historical and contemporary settings, as well as manufacturing a line of dolls designed to look “just like you.” Despite the company’s commitment to female empowerment, these narratives still fall into certain tropes of societal expectations for women and are not inclusive of all girls’ experiences. Young American Girl fans and teen collectors on YouTube then take these narratives to create their own original video content, often in stop-motion animated format. These animations typically consist of original stories and characters, which both reinforce the narratives presented by the …

The Sexual Assault Survivor Experience Of Medical Forensic Examinations, Brielle Simonsen

Honors Theses

Following a sexual assault, survivors may seek medical forensic examinations (MFEs) at hospitals. MFEs can be important in identifying and prosecuting the assailant and in receiving necessary physical and psychological care, yet many survivors choose not to undergo the examination. In this qualitative study, I explored survivor experiences of MFEs at United States hospitals to identify possible areas for improvement of the MFE experience. Understanding these experiences is essential to reducing barriers to care, minimizing further harm, and supporting survivor recovery.

Comparing Urban And Rural Mississippi Residents’ Health Literacy Of Sexually Transmitted Infections, Leah Tucker

Honors Theses

Health literacy is an individual’s ability to understand medical information to make decisions regarding their health, and it has become an important topic of discussion in the medical field. This is because people with low health literacy are more likely to be in poor health. There have been several programs aimed at improving health literacy across the US, but health literacy varies geographically. Typically, urban areas have higher health literacy rates than rural areas since rural areas have less access to health resources and health care. Almost 80% of Mississippi’s counties are considered rural, and Mississippi has some of the …

Forensic Search Methods: Comparing Effectiveness And Efficiency In A Grassland Environment, Robert Brown

Honors Theses

An important aspect of death investigations is the recovery of human remains to determine crucial details such as body identity, time of death, and cause of death. Physical evidence is often moved by elements, such as water, gravity, plants, and scavengers in outdoor crime scenes, making recovery challenging. As a result, forensic scientists have created several search methods to locate dispersed human remains. Previous studies have primarily focused on predicting animal scavenging patterns, but few have compared the performance of forensic search methods in specific environments. This study addresses this area of research by assessing three common search methods in …

Women’S Independence In The Archives: A Study Of The Sisters Of The Holy Family As Found In The New Orleans Archdiocese Archive, Georgia Campbell

Honors Theses

The Sisters of the Holy Family, a Catholic convent based in New Orleans, have a space in the archival records of the archdiocese. The overwhelming presence of documents by men means that the story in the archive belongs as much to them as it does to the sisters. This follows the patriarchal hierarchy of the Church. Nevertheless, the documents that are available tell the sisters’ story and how they sought independence

Perceptions Of Mississippi Parents Of Youth And Young Adults With Autism Regarding Relationship Training And Sex Education, Cade Mccormick

Honors Theses

This study used analysis of variance (ANOVA) to determine if there was a

significant difference between the age of a parent with a youth or young adult with ASD

(autism spectrum disorder) and the age of their child when they plan to discuss the three

sex education and relationship training topics of sexual intercourse, sexually transmitted

diseases, and contraception. The results of the ANOVA were not significant for the sex

education and relationship topics of sexual intercourse F (2, 22) = 1.485, p = 0.248 and

contraception F (2,22) = 3.059, p = 0.0667. However, the results of the ANOVA …

Making An Online Kitchen, Two Southern Women, Foodways, And Social Media, Olivia B. Merrell

Honors Theses

This thesis attempts to understand the ways in which social media has shaped southern women, specifically the ways it has shaped southern women in the kitchen. While exploring this topic, I spoke with both a Black and white southern woman from the south, both of which have grown a social media following based off the southern food they share online. This thesis aims to explore how social media has played a role in reshaping the southern kitchen for women across the south.

From Basel (1989) To Busan (2024): Developments And Contradictions In The Global Plastic Waste Trade, Megan E. Hughes

Honors Theses

In 1989, the international community convened in Basel to adopt groundbreaking, legally binding legislation on the transboundary movement of hazardous waste. Plastic waste was notably absent from the initial Basel Convention due to the perceived economic value in plastic recycling despite social, economic, and environmental harms. Consequently, the transboundary sale of plastic waste for recycling– known as the Global Plastic Waste Trade (GPWT)– has proceeded largely unregulated, enabling unsustainable plastic consumption while exacerbating environmental justice divides between developed and developing nations. Recent commitments in the GPWT, such as the European Commission Circular Economy Action Plan (2015), China’s National Sword policy …

Political Socialization In Generation Z, Audrey E. Seibel

Honors Theses

This thesis examines the political socialization experienced by Generation Z. With the twenty-first century of American politics characterized by intensely negative emotions, affective polarization, and the augmentation of social media as a means to communicate and engage politically, this thesis argues that the modern political environment has led to a “hot” political socialization. The primary objective of this research was to measure political socialization, and explore the effects of this on current engagement, emotions, trust, and polarization within Generation Z, as well as how the cohort potentially differs from previous generations. The research for this thesis was conducted through the …

A World Without Prison: The Role Of Policy In Prison Abolition, Kristen Davis

Honors Theses

As concerns about mass incarceration persist, prison abolition offers an innovative approach to safety and justice. The prison abolition movement has been active in the United States since the 1970s. Despite increasingly critical attitudes of the prison system, prison abolition is yet to be accepted in mainstream policy making. Instead, policymakers focus on reform, which problematically legitimizes and reinforces locking people away as criminals. One reason why reform takes precedent may be that prison abolition is often understood in negative terms, as a movement that only advocates ending incarceration. However, its essence is better captured in positive terms, such as …

Verlan: Resistance To French Linguistic Standards By Maghrebi Communities, Phaedra Dunnigan

Honors Theses

From the moment language is acquired, it comes with implicit rules that structure communication and establish social expectations. “Proper” speech is linked to compliance and is often used to assess a person’s intelligence, identity, and social status. For this reason, language moves beyond communication and is used for deeper associative meanings that can group, judge, silence, and empower individuals.

Therefore, those who diverge from linguistic norms, whether by choice, necessity, or exclusion, often face significant social consequences. Language becomes an indicator of social conformity, while deviation can be a form of resistance. This resistance is particularly common among marginalized communities …

Dr-4429: Social Perceptions And Narratives Of The 2019 Mississippi Delta Flood, Lily B. Langstaff

Honors Theses

This thesis examines the social perceptions and narratives surrounding the 2019 Mississippi Delta flood. Recognizing flooding as a “wicked problem,” the research highlights how socioeconomic and cultural identities relate to access to resources and assistance for affected communities, with an emphasis on infrastructure. Through qualitative analysis, including thematic coding of journalistic media sources covering the flood, the study explores the perceptions and experiences as well as the concept of ‘deservingness’ and its relationship with government resources and assistance. Findings indicate that the Mississippi Delta community faced temporal barriers to post-flood recovery due to disparities in representation and perception, underscoring the …

Protective And Risk-Related Factors Associated With College Student Burnout, Dominic X. Chavez

Honors Theses

Burnout is an occupational phenomenon commonly defined by the exhaustion, cynicism, and lack of efficacy a person experiences with regard to their role (i.e., educator, healthcare worker, student, etc.). Despite the prevalence of burnout in academia, very few research studies have attempted to examine the variables associated with burnout’s severity in the case of American college and university students. Thus, the current study sought to analyze the protective and risk-related factors previously determined to be associated with academic burnout within a college population. Specifically, burnout self-ratings were compared to perceived burnout stigma, resilience, perceived social support, help-seeking attitudes, and perceived …

The Implementation Of Higher Education In The Prison System In Mississippi: The Challenges And Benefits, Elizabeth F. Ratliff

Honors Theses

Growing support for higher education in prison has sparked much conversation regarding the challenges and benefits of the programs and their implementation. In Mississippi, this has become an increasingly prevalent issue as the incarcerated population continues to grow and programs continue to be limited in accessibility. Mississippi’s incarcerated population deserves the opportunity to gain knowledge and skills through higher education to better themselves individually and better their communities upon release. However, Mississippi faces unique challenges in its prison system, preventing the benefits of these programs from showing. The purpose of this study is to gain insight into the challenges and …

Effects Of Acute Exercise On Cognition: Consideration Of Potential Moderators, Elizabeth G. Gaines, Mckenzie M. Cotten, Elizabeth Reese Carwile, Mary Griffin Jackson, Marascalco Liston, Lucy Wilson

Honors Theses

The present thesis aims to determine the effects, if any, of six potential moderators on the effects of acute moderate-intensity exercise on cognitive functioning. The modes of exercise undertaken by the participants included treadmill (Experiment 1) and stationary bike (Experiment 2) exercise. Participants in each experiment either exercised or rested for twenty minutes and then participated in either a memory recall task or cognitive functioning (“Stroop”) task. The bouts of either exercise or rest on the stationary bike were followed by a rest period during which the participant would be exposed to either standard air oxygen levels (normoxia) or hypoxic …

Asymmetric Effects Of The Ebbinghaus Illusion On Relative Depth Judgments In A Perceptual Matching Task, Caden J. Thompson

Honors Theses

The Ebbinghaus illusion, also know as Titchner Circles, is a perceptual illusion that is typically presented as a two-dimensional set of disks. These disks are configured as a central disk surrounded by an annulus of smaller or larger disks. Numerous studies have found the illusion to have an effect on size perception, but fewer studies have analyzed its effects on depth judgments. This study utilized a head-worn virtual reality environment as well as a three-dimensional display to examine the effects of the Ebbinghaus illusion on relative depth judgments in a perceptual matching task. Findings indicated that Ebbinghaus configurations featuring an …

Caregivers’ Satisfaction With And Perceived Cultural Sensitivity Of A Modification Of A Child Injury Prevention Program For Spanish-Speaking Families, Karen Padilla

Honors Theses

Unintentional injuries are a leading cause of death among children in the United States. Caregivers play a critical role in reducing children’s risk of injury by adopting appropriate supervision behaviors and engaging in safety-proofing practices. The Supervising for Home Safety (SHS) program is a video-based intervention developed to increase caregiver supervision for children ages 2–5 by targeting beliefs about injury vulnerability, injury preventability, and self-efficacy for implementing safety precautions. While SHS has demonstrated effectiveness in English-speaking populations, no research has examined its adaptation and impact among Spanish-speaking caregivers. This study aimed to examine caregivers perceived cultural sensitivity and satisfaction with …

Daca’S Impact On Recipients: Interviews With Three Daca Recipients From Michigan, Jazmin Moron

Honors Theses

This thesis explores the lived experiences of three Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients residing in Michigan. It examines how DACA has impacted their lives across three distinct phases: pre-DACA, while applying for DACA, and post-DACA. Through qualitative, semi-structured interviews, this research uncovers key themes: normal childhood, proof of presence, skeptical DACA future, and restricted immigration pathways. While DACA offered recipients increased opportunities in education, employment, and stability, it also imposed systemic challenges such as costly renewals, limited career growth, and continued legal uncertainty. By focusing on Michigan—a state with a relatively small Hispanic/Latino population—this study highlights the unique …

Paper Or Digital? Comparing Vocabulary Learning From Internet Search To A Physical Dictionary, Olivia L. Hamilton

Honors Theses

There is an increasing presence of technology found in the educational environment. With that there are many questions about the effectiveness of learning when information can be re-accessed with the click of a mouse. Information is more accessible than ever online but expecting to be able to rely on the internet may make learning less effective than other learning methods, such as paper. Continuing research has shown deficits, which could imply a digital presence is harming the learning environment. 125 students completed this study which compared differences between paper versus online learning platforms. The study tested peoples word translation accuracy …

A Tale Of Two Faiths: Contemporary Protestantism In The Spanish-Speaking Catholic World, Jackson B. Mitchell

Honors Theses

This thesis explores the shifting religious landscape of the Spanish-speaking Catholic world through the lens of Protestant growth, particularly Pentecostal and Evangelical movements. Beginning with a historical account of Spain’s Catholic hegemony and its colonial export of Catholicism to Latin America, the study traces how Latin America’s religious identity has gradually diverged from its Spanish roots. Over the past half-century, Protestantism has grown rapidly across Latin America, challenging Catholic dominance and reshaping the region’s spiritual and social fabric.

The thesis then turns back to Spain, where rising immigration from Latin America and changing cultural dynamics have facilitated the reintroduction of …

Supporting Doctoral Research In Aging: From Exercise Barriers To Geropsychology Competencies, Alexandra Crites

Honors Theses

This thesis explored hands-on experiences supporting ongoing research in behavioral gerontology, addressing the growing need for individualized interventions, and improving professional training to meet the complex needs of aging populations. Through involvement in two primary studies—one examining exercise nonadherence in people with osteoarthritis (OA) and another developing competency standards for professionals entering geropsychology. I contributed to data analysis, research design, and the analysis of qualitative and quantitative literature. My work with Haley Hughes’ study included developing a comprehensive data table that mapped participant responses from focus groups and identifying nuanced themes related to barriers and facilitators for physical activity. For …