Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Consumers' Evaluations Of Genetically Modified Food Messages, Taylor K. Ruth, Joy N. Rumble

Journal of Applied Communications

Consumers are concerned about the risks related to genetically modified (GM) food, and there is a need for agricultural communicators and educators to address those concerns. The purpose of this study was to explore Florida residents’ latitudes of acceptance, rejection, and noncommitment toward GM food messages. The findings from this study can be used to guide communication and education campaigns for GM food. An online survey was distributed to a non-probability sample of 500 Florida residents to fulfill the purpose of the study. The messages that most aligned with the respondents’ views toward GM food discussed how potential risks related …

Meanings Of Preconception Health To Overweight Women In An Economically Depressed County, Valeria Ninette Balogh

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The intention-behavior gap between receiving professional health information and transitioning to improved health behaviors prior to conception is not well understood. In order to improve preconception health across the board, a more integrative understanding of the problem must present itself. This study combined elements from the theory of planned behavior, self-determination theory, and the bioecological model of human development as it's foundation. Qualitative phenomenology and semistructured face-to-face interviews were used to gain a deeper understanding of the ways in which nine overweight and obese women described preconception intentions and beliefs and the bioecological experiences leading to those beliefs. Interpretation of …

Can Religiosity Be Explained By ‘Brain Wiring’? An Analysis Of Us Adults’ Opinions, Sharan Kaur Mehta, Christopher P. Scheitle, Elaine Howard Ecklund

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Studies examining how religion shapes individuals’ attitudes about science have focused heavily on a narrow range of topics, such as evolution. This study expands this literature by looking at how religion influences individuals’ attitudes towards the claim that neuroscience, or “brain wiring,” can explain differences in religiosity. Our analysis of nationally representative survey data shows, perhaps unsurprisingly, that religiosity is negatively associated with thinking that brain wiring can explain religion. Net of religiosity, though, individuals reporting religious experiences are actually more likely to agree that brain wiring can explain religiosity, as are individuals belonging to diverse religious traditions when compared …

Deepening Our Understanding Of Sheep, Lori Marino, Debra Merskin

Animal Sentience

Our Response is centered on five major themes: (1) our presentation of human mythologies about sheep; (2) the relevance of cognitive complexity (“intelligence”) as a dimension underlying the way people perceive and treat sheep; (3) whether our review is too anthropocentric or anthropomorphic; (4) animal welfare versus animal rights (abolitionism); and (5) whether knowledge and education are enough to change human attitudes and behavior.

Empathic Stories To Address Intergroup Discrimination Towards Undocumented Latinx Immigrants: Stories When We Cannot Live Experiences, Ricardo Mendoza Lepe

CGU Theses & Dissertations

A growing body of research in social psychology focuses on ameliorating intergroup discrimination. A substantial amount of this work originates from the contact hypothesis (Allport, 1954). However, many indirect contact studies utilize stories as interventions or cite other studies that use stories. The work in narrative psychology shows that stories provide consumers the opportunity to rehearse intergroup interactions (Oatley, 1999), induce empathy that allows for understanding and feeling the experiences of others (Van Laer et al., 2014), and provide mental experiences felt as if truly occurring (i.e., transportation; Green & Brock, 2000, 2002). Two focal questions of the current research …

African American Aged Adults' Attitudes And Perceptions About Assisted Living Facilities, Delois Ann Wilson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In comparison with the national U.S. population, African American aged adults are less likely to reside in assisted living facilities (ALFs). At present, little qualitative data exist concerning how African American aged adults perceive living at home as opposed to living in an ALF. Using a phenomenological approach, this study explored how African American aged adults who live at home feel about residing in ALFs. The research questions focused on aged adults' perceptions, beliefs, and attitudes about ALFs and the conditions that may prevent African American aged adults from living in ALFs. A conceptual framework based on the Purnell Model …

Attitudes Of Jordanian Women Towards Interpersonal Violence Against Women And Help-Seeking Preferences, Nariman Zarzour

Wayne State University Dissertations

Violence against women is a public health concern bearing substantial importance in developed and developing countries. In Jordan, there are no specific foundations or legislations in the penal code that illegalize domestic violence, and there are no confining orders to apply in cases of abuse. The purpose of this study was to examine Jordanian women attitudes towards spousal abuse and help-seeking preferences. A quantitative study was conducted using a self-administered questionnaire; the survey contained questions from the Muslim Marital Violence Scale (MMVS, 2006) as well as demographic questions. A convenience sample of 199 women was recruited from Jordanian University of …

The Enbridge Line 3 Replacement Pipeline: Attitudes, Symbolism, And Geography, Catherine W. Fraser

Honors Theses

Oil pipelines, such as the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines, are increasingly controversial and contested in the United States. Since its proposal in 2015, the Enbridge Line 3 Replacement (L3R) pipeline in Minnesota has also generated considerable debate. People who support and oppose oil pipeline projects are influenced by their ideologies, core values, partisan learnings, age, identity, and place attachment, as well as their proximity to new energy projects. However, the ability of any one variable, like spatial proximity or age, to predict attitudes towards new energy projects is debated. I conducted a literature review on attitudes towards energy …

The Relationship Of Spirituality, Religiosity And Attitudes Toward Lesbians And Gay Men Among Students At A Faith-Based Institution, Megan C. Cormier Castaneda

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Research indicates heterosexual students at faith-based universities often hold negative attitudes toward gay men and lesbian women. The factors that can influence these attitudes are complex. This study examines the relationship between attitudes toward gay men and lesbian women, religiosity and spirituality in students who are enrolled in a faith-based institution. A correlation was run to examine the relationship between these variables along with further statistical analyses to gather more information. There is a small positive relationship between higher levels of spirituality and positive attitudes toward gay men and lesbians. There is a medium positive relationship between high levels of …

Toward A Comprehensive Worldview Measure, Shailee R. Woodard

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Worldview is an individual difference construct that has been linked to various behavioral and health outcomes. However, very little is known about how worldviews develop and how worldview beliefs, values, and attitudes coalesce into different worldview factors. One obstacle that has impeded research on worldviews is the lack of a robust worldview measure. The creation of a new, more valid worldview measure will aid in answering these important questions. This research project is the first step in the creation of a more comprehensive worldview measure. The primary aims of Study 1 were to compile existing published worldview measures and reduce …

Perceptions And Attitudes: Analyzing Opinion Leaders In Relation To Genetically Modified Foods, Levy G. Randolph Ii, Joy N. Rumble, Hannah S. Carter

Journal of Applied Communications

Controversial issues in agriculture arise, and it falls on opinion leaders to disseminate information to their networks and the public. Agriculturalists are often blamed for not taken consumers’ concerns into consideration. This study sought to add to previous research by identifying the current perceptions of Florida agricultural leaders toward GM food, what percentage of them identify as opinion leaders with respect to GM food, and what they identify as sources of information regarding GM food. Through an online survey, the trust and attitudes towards GM foods and science, of agricultural leaders who participated in the Wedgworth Leadership Institute, were measured …

Confronted With Bullying When You Believe In A Just World, David Voss

Theses - ALL

Bullying has been recognized as a phenomenon that detrimentally affects the lives of many, and researchers continue to explore its various potential influences and correlates. Among such correlates that have been examined, are scales measuring the belief in a just world (BJW). While the BJW predicts victim blaming across a wide host of circumstances, both the personal BJW and the global BJW have been found to correlate positively with empathetic attitudes toward bullying. However, the global BJW’s relation to bullying has only been examined in one study that used an explicit five-item measure to capture attitudes toward bullying. The current …

Nurse Practitioner Knowledge, Attitudes, And Beliefs When Caring For Transgender People, Catherine Paradiso, Robin M. Lally

Publications and Research

Purpose: The aim of this study was to explore Nurse Practitioner (NP) knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs when working with transgender people and to inform about Practitioner education needs.

Methods: A qualitative descriptive design was used to explore (NP) experiences. Focused semistructured interviews were conducted in 2016 with 11 (N = 11) NPs in the northeastern United States who represent various years of experience and encounters with transgender patients. The interviews explored NP knowledge attitudes and beliefs when caring for transgender patients and described their overall experiences in rendering care in the clinical setting. The interviews were professionally transcribed and analyzed …

Changes In Acceptance Of Dating Violence And Physical Dating Violence Victimization In A Longitudinal Study With Teens, Marie E. Karlsson, Maegan Calvert, Juventino Hernandez Rodriguez, Rebecca Weston, Jeff R. Temple

Psychological Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Teen dating violence is a pervasive issue in adolescence and has been linked to maladjustment (Temple, Shorey, Fite, et al., 2013). Physical dating violence is a particularly significant problem with one in five adolescents reporting experiencing physical teen dating violence (TDV; Wincentak et al., 2016). Acceptance of violence has been suggested to increase the risk of TDV; however, most studies to date have been cross-sectional. The purpose of the current study is to examine patterns of acceptance of dating violence and TDV victimization across time. Participants were ethnically diverse teenagers (N = 1,042; ages 13 – 18) …

Octo- And Nonagenarians' Outlook On Life And Death When Living With An Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator: A Cross-Sectional Survey, Ingela Thylén, Debra K. Moser, Anna Strömberg

Nursing Faculty Publications

Background: Elderly individuals are increasingly represented among patients with implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICD), but data describing life with an ICD are scarse among octo- and nonagenarians. Moreover, few studies have reported those elderly patients’ perspective on timly discussions concerning what shock deactivation involves, preferences on battery replacement, and their attitudes about turning off the ICD nearing end-of-life. Consequently, the aim of the study was to describe outlooks on life and death in octo- and nonagenarian ICD-recipients.

Methods: Participants were identified via the Swedish Pacemaker- and ICD-registry, with 229 octo- and nonagenarians (82.0 ± 2.2 years, 12% female) completing the survey …

The Influence Of A Short-Stay International Trip On Chaperones’ Attitudes Toward Traveling Students, Co-Chaperones, And The Destination Culture: A Case Study, Frederick N. Mbayu

Doctor of Education (Ed.D)

Chaperones are adults who accompany, look after, and supervise traveling students. This case study examined the influence of an urban middle school short-stay international trip to France on chaperones’ perceptions and attitudes toward traveling students, co-chaperones, and the destination culture. Five chaperones on spring break trips from 2014 to 2017 provided data during individual ex post facto semi-structured interviews. Trip-related documents and trip vendor participant online accounts were analyzed to corroborate and augment the interview data. Participants developed a positive view of the traveling students after traveling together for ten days. Chaperones increased their understanding of diversity, developed a deeper …

Student Attitudes Toward Sex Offender Policies And Laws In An Era Of High Profile Sex Crimes In The News, Amber Bennett

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

This is a study looking at the attitudes that undergraduate college students taking introductory sociology and criminology courses have toward sex offender policies and laws such as community notification, residence restrictions, and the registry system. Voluntary participants were also asked to look at the appropriateness of the punishment given to perpetrators in case studies based off real cases. Results showed that there are potential gender differences in the attitudes about appropriateness of notification and the registration of sex offenders. There were less favorable attitudes toward chemical and surgical castration. Further research should be done to look at different types of …

Zoo Animal Welfare: The Human Dimension, Justine Cole, David Fraser

Zoo and Aquarium Animal Populations Collection

Standards and policies intended to safeguard nonhuman animal welfare, whether in zoos, farms, or laboratories, have tended to emphasize features of the physical environment. However, research has now made it clear that very different welfare outcomes are commonly seen in facilities using similar environments or conforming to the same animal welfare requirements. This wide variation is almost certainly due, at least in part, to the important effects of the actions of animal care staff on animal welfare. Drawing mostly on the farm animal literature, we propose that this “human dimension” of animal welfare involves seven components: (1) positive human–animal interaction, …

The Use Of Mentoring To Effect Cultural Change: Irish Farm Deaths And Injuries, Maurice Murphy, Kieran O'Connell

Dept. of Management & Enterprise Conference Material

Agriculture is the most dangerous occupation in Ireland. For every fatality in the sector, more than 125 farm workers are injured, many of them so seriously that the viability of the farm is undermined. These terrible and largely hidden figures have remained constant for the past decade, despite legal requirements, awareness-raising events and inspections by the Health and Safety Authority (HSA). The agricultural sector accounts for just 6% of the working population of Ireland, yet it consistently has the highest proportion of fatal incidents of any sector. This was again evident in 2017 where 51% (24 of the 47) of …

A Weight–Related Growth Mindset Increases Negative Attitudes Towards Obese People, Nic Hooper, Alison Crumpton, Michael D. Robinson, Brian P. Meier

Psychology Faculty Publications

In implicit personality theory, people with entity views or a fixed mindset perceive characteristics (e.g., intelligence) as uncontrollable, whereas people with incremental views or a growth mindset perceive characteristics as controllable. In addition to other benefits, the literature sometimes suggests that having a growth mindset will protect against prejudice, which the current two studies examine in terms of negative attitudes towards obese people. Participants (total N = 501) were randomly assigned to complete a questionnaire assessing attitudes towards an obese or non-obese person and a self-theory questionnaire also assessed ideas about body weight. People with a growth mindset, and not …

College Students' Social Perceptions Toward Individuals With Intellectual Disability, B. Allyson Phillips, Stoni Fortney, Lindsey Swafford

Articles

The purpose of the current study was to describe the social perceptions of American college students towards individuals with intellectual disability (ID), identify factors that influence social perception, and determine if level of functioning alters one’s perception. The sample was comprised of 186 American college students. The participants completed the Attitudes Toward Intellectual Disability Questionnaire (ATTID). The ATTID measures five factors—discomfort towards ID, knowledge of capacity and rights, interaction with individuals with ID, sensibility/tenderness, and knowledge of causes. The students’ overall social perception towards ID was primarily positive for all factors except for sensibility/tenderness. More positive social perception was found …

Attitudes De Se And Logophoricity, Yangsook Park

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation investigates two related notions that represent attitudes and perspectives, de se attitudes and the notion of logophoricity, based on the case study of the long-distance reflexive caki in Korean, which specifically encodes attitudes towards oneself in attitude reports or co-refers with individuals whose point of view or perspective is represented in a sentence. The main claim of this thesis is that there are distinct semantic/syntactic mechanisms for the obligatory de se interpretation of the long-distance reflexive caki on the one hand, and the long-distance binding of caki on the other. Specifically, for the semantics of the de se …

Systemic Behaviour Change: Irish Farm Deaths And Injuries, Maurice Murphy, Kieran O'Connell

Dept. of Management & Enterprise Conference Material

While the Irish agricultural sector accounts for just 6% of the working population of Ireland, it consistently has the highest proportion of fatal incidents of any sector - generally ranging from between 35% and 45% of all workplace fatalities in any given year. This was again evident in 2014 where 55% (30 of the 56) of the fatal workplace incidents were in the agricultural sector. Agriculture has an ageing workforce with the average age of an Irish farmer now standing at fifty-seven and farmers are eight times more likely to be fatally injured in a farm accident than the general …

The Association Between Attitudes Towards High Intensity Exercise And Self-Esteem, Emily Fullhardt

Honors College Theses

There has been much research that has examined the association between exercise and self-esteem. Specifically, research suggests that there is a positive association of high intensity exercise, including running, weight lifting, and interval training, with self-esteem in both children and adults. However, much of this past research involved experiments where an exercise regimen was introduced to test cause and effect of exercise and self-esteem. Further, much of the past research focused on adults outside of the United States (Hasanpour, Yìğiter, Yook). I aim to test whether there are associations of preferences for and attitudes towards high intensity exercise with self-esteem …

Authority, Legitimacy, And The Obligation To Obey The Law, Richard Dagger

Political Science Faculty Publications

According to the standard or traditional account, those who hold political authority legitimately have a right to rule that entails an obligation of obedience on the part of those who are subject to their authority. In recent decades, however, and in part in response to philosophical anarchism, a number of philosophers have challenged the standard account by reconceiving authority in ways that break or weaken the connection between political authority and obligation. This paper argues against these revisionist accounts in two ways: first, by pointing to defects in their conceptions of authority; and second, by sketching a fair-play approach to …

Correctional Officers’ Perceptions And Attitudes Toward Mental Health Within The Prison System, Alexandra Rose Serafini

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This research explored correction officers’ perceptions and attitudes in relation to inmates with mental health issues. In a qualitative fashion, semi-structured interviews were conducted with five correction officers in Southern California (N = 5) during the Winter 2018 Quarter. Using thematic analysis, this study identified six major themes from the interview data: mental health has remained a prominent issue within the prison population; correction officers were fairly knowledgeable about mental health; correction officers perceived themselves as having to play a limited role in the rehabilitation of inmates with mental health problems; constant prompts in daily activities and medication management were …

Badges And Brothels: Police Officers’ Attitudes Toward Prostitution, Cody Jorgensen

Criminal Justice Faculty Publications and Presentations

There is a gap in the literature regarding police officers’ attitudes about vice, specifically prostitution. Scholars should study this topic because police are interacting with drug dealers and drug users, prostitutes, and Johns, and gamblers and bookies regularly. Additionally, how police perceive prostitution is likely to influence how they enforce laws prohibiting it. This paper presents survey items measuring police officers’ attitudes about prostitution related offenses and examines the relationships between officers’ attitudes toward prostitution and their personal as well as professional characteristics. Responding officers displayed fairly serious and punitive attitudes toward prostitution offenses. Respondents believed that prostitution was a …

Development And Evaluation Of The Havuc (Hostility, Ambiguity, Volatility, Uncertainty, & Complexity) Environment Fitness Scale (Hefs), Phillip Thomas

Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the psychometric properties of a newly developed scale to measure individuals’ attitudes toward hostile, ambiguous, volatile, uncertain, and complex (HAVUC) environments—the HAVUC Environment Fitness Scale (HEFS). The 30-item summated scale consists of five 6-item subscales representing each element of HAVUC, utilizing a 7-point Likert scale ranging from one (1-strongly disagree) to seven (7-strongly agree). This study serves a need to better understand antecedents of individuals’ intentions and behavior (e.g., attitudes toward the environment) when operating in turbulent environments, aside from individual traits and the general notion of personenvironment (PE) fit. The study follows Spector’s (1992) recommendations for …

Social Work Perceptions Of Pedophiles: Opening The Dialogue, Dana Rose Montes

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Pedophiles are the most stigmatized population in society (Jahnke, Imhoff, & Hoyer, 2015; Sanghara & Wilson, 2006). Social worker’s responsibility is to maintain standards and treat individuals with dignity and respect (NASW, 2017). It is important to explore bias against pedophiles because studies have shown bias is linked to offender recidivism rates (Jahnke, Schmidt, Geradt, & Hoyer, 2015). Social workers may unintentionally inhibit pedophiles from seeking treatment if they hold strong biases against them which could potentially negatively impact child abuse rates. The purpose of this study was to identify bias reduction techniques so that they could possibly be implemented …

Is Self-Other Overlap A Malleable Predictor Of Willingness To Work With People With Disability?, Michael Ioerger

Dissertations - ALL

Nearly 1 in every 5 Americans have some form of disability, creating a high demand for professionals who are interested in working with people with disability (PWD). However, many people are uncomfortable working with PWD, or are unwilling to put in the additional effort that may be necessary to meet their needs. As a result, PWD face many barriers when seeking services. Interventions to address this issue typically focus on changing attitudes or increasing empathy. While these components influence people’s behavior in the short-term, they do not completely account for the variability in people being willing to make sacrifices to …