Psychology Commons^™

Cultural Homelessness, Self-Esteem, And Skin Color Satisfaction Among Latinxs, Josephine M. Almanzar

Dissertations

This study explored feelings of cultural homelessness, self-esteem, and skin color satisfaction among Latinxs. A close interest was placed in examining responses of participants who identified as racially Black or Afro-Latinx. Through an electronic survey, the study aimed to answer the four research questions: (1) Is there a correlation between cultural homelessness, self-esteem, and skin color satisfaction; (2) Do participants of different self-perceived skin colors differ in self-esteem, cultural homelessness, and skin color satisfaction; (3) Does age moderate the relationship between self-perceived skin color and self-esteem; and (4) Does age moderate the relationship between self-perceived skin color and cultural homelessness. …

Within-Person Variability Of Internal And External Sexual Consent, Malachi Willis

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Background: Sexual consent is often conceptualized as an internal willingness to engage in sexual activity, which can be communicated externally to a sexual partner. Preliminary evidence indicates that people’s sexual consent varies from day to day. Study designs that assess sexual consent at multiple time points (e.g., experience sampling methodology [ESM]) are needed to better understand the within-person variability of sexual consent; however, extant validated measures of sexual consent are not appropriate for ESM studies, which require shorter assessments due to the increased burden this methodology has on participants. As such, the goal of this dissertation was to develop valid …

Executive Function And Subjective Well-Being In Middle And Late Adulthood, Wei Xing Toh, Hwajin Yang, Andree Hartanto

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Objectives: A growing body of research has investigated psychosocial predictors of subjective well-being (SWB), a key component of healthy ageing, which comprises life satisfaction and affective well-being. However, few studies have examined how executive function (EF)-a collection of adaptive, goal-directed control processes-could affect SWB in middle and late adulthood. Methods: By analyzing a nationally representative adult cohort ranging from early 30s to early 80s from the Midlife Development in the United States 2 study, we examined two potential mediators (i.e., sense of control versus positive reappraisal) that could underlie the relation between EF and SWB. Further, we assessed how these …

The Personality Profile And Leadership Style Of U.S. President Donald J. Trump In Office, Aubrey Immelman, Anne Marie Griebie

Psychology Faculty Publications

This paper presents the results of an indirect assessment, from the conceptual perspective of personologist Theodore Millon, of the personality of Donald J. Trump, 45th president of the United States, based solely on personality dynamics revealed by his political behavior in office.

Psychodiagnostically relevant data were collected from biographical sources and media reports of Trump’s postinaugural political behavior from January 20, 2017 until July 2020 and synthesized into a personality profile using the Millon Inventory of Diagnostic Criteria (MIDC), which yields 34 normal and maladaptive personality classifications congruent with DSM-III-R, DSM-IV, and DSM-5.

The personality profile yielded …

Supporting Intersex People: Effective Academic And Career Counseling, Jack D. Simons, Jose-Michael Gonzales, Melissa Ramdas

Psychology Faculty Publications

This phenomenological study explored the academic and career experiences of 10 intersex people. Researchers conducted the study to share knowledge with counselors and other helping professionals about the importance of validating intersex personhood during the school-age years and in work settings. Five findings were uncovered: (a) coping as intersex, (b) range of feelings, (c) gender identity development, (d) bullying at school and work, and (e) body problems. This article reports on specific needs and recommendations of this self-identified sample and includes implications for education and counseling practice, along with limitations and recommendations for future research.

Sense Of Purpose In Life And Five Health Behaviors In Older Adults, Eric S. Kim, Koichiro Shiba, Julia K. Boehm, Laura D. Kubzansky

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Accumulating evidence shows that a higher sense of purpose in life is associated with lower risk of chronic conditions and premature mortality. Health behaviors might partially explain these findings, however, the prospective association between sense of purpose and health behaviors is understudied. We tested whether a higher sense of purpose at baseline was associated with lower likelihood of developing unhealthy behaviors over time. Prospective data were from the Health and Retirement Study, a national sample of U.S. older adults. Our sample included 13,770 adults assessed up to five times across eight years. Among people who met recommended guidelines for a …

The Dark Triad And Honesty-Humility: A Preliminary Study On The Relations To Pornography Use, Peter Muris, Henry Otgaar, Cor Meesters, Eirini Papasileka, David Pineda

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

The present article reports on a preliminary study exploring the relationships between Dark Triad (narcissism, Machiavellianism, psychopathy) and honesty-humility personality traits and pornography craving and deviant pornography use in a sample of 121 participants (46 men and 75 women) who completed an online survey. Narcissism and psychopathy were positively related to pornography craving and deviant pornography consumption, while honesty-humility appeared to be negatively associated with these pornography-related variables. Furthermore, the data suggested that these relationships were only present in men and not in women. While the current results should be interpreted with caution in the light of a number of …

Three Essays On Ceo Characteristics And Corporate Bankruptcy, Rajib Chowdhury

Theses and Dissertations in Business Administration

Scholarly studies have focused on the impact of managerial characteristics on various corporate activities. Following this stream of literature, this dissertation empirically examines the potential effects of three major Chief Executive Officer (CEO) characteristics, i.e., CEO ability, CEO risk taking behavior induced by compensation structure, and CEO overconfidence on corporate bankruptcies. Essay 1 examines whether chief executive officers (CEOs) are to be blamed for corporate failure. Using alternative measures of CEO ability, we document that high-ability CEOs are less likely to be associated bankruptcy. Bankruptcy-related high-ability CEOs manage to salvage their post-bankruptcy careers either with the reorganized firms or with …

Athletes With Mental Health Illnesses, Trenton Allmang

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The focus for this research study is to understand the development of mental health symptoms that result from sports engagement. Participating in sports for several years within different developmental stages of human life can increase the probability of identity conflict and mental distress. This study addresses the risk factors that contribute to the development of mental health illnesses from former athletes’ perspectives through qualitative research. The study includes former male and female participants ages 18 and older as well as their family members, friends, sports stakeholders, sports officials, coaches, social workers, and athletic training staff. This study was conducted from …

Refinement Of The Spitefulness Construct, Arturo Covarrubias-Paniagua

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

In this research we reviewed the current definition of Spite in the psychology field and the current and historical definitions of Spite in other related fields. Given the narrow contemporary definition of spite used by psychological researchers, the first aim of this study was to provide a comprehensive and refined conceptualization of spite that differentiates it from similar aggressive behaviors, along with delineating conditions in which spite may arise. The second aim of this study was to create a measure of trait spitefulness and a measure of engagement in spiteful behaviors. A total of 156 respondents participated in this study, …

The Influence Of Social Media On Murder, Brandy Jones

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This research contains information on how much or if at all social media influences murder. Social media has such a big impact on the lives of many around the world, it is almost impossible to avoid. There is research on how social media effects brain processes and may even cause addiction. And there is research on why people commit murder, but there is little to no research on the role social media can play in some murders. Social media is almost like an alternate universe where people can pretend to be the people they want to be in real life, …

Generalized Anxiety Disorder Symptoms As A Moderator Of Affective Reactions To Perceived Interpersonal Behaviors, Narayan B. Singh

Clinical Psychology Dissertations

Individuals with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) symptoms often struggle with heightened sensitivity and arousal in response to perceived threats. Moreover, interpersonal dysfunction in GAD has become increasingly a focus of empirical investigation and treatment, given the possibility that responses to social interactions may contribute to GAD symptom maintenance. Laboratory studies and cross-sectional trait assessments of interpersonal problems comprise most of our understanding of interpersonal dysfunction in GAD. However, how GAD symptoms interact with perceived interpersonal threats to predict affective responses (increased arousal, lower valence) within daily life remains poorly understood. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to examine …

Stubborn Optimism Or Toxic Positivity, Essraa Nawar

Library Articles and Research

"A global pandemic, 6,332,783 Covid19 cases, 376,041 deceased and counting, riots in the streets of every major American city, recession on the horizon, 40 million jobs lost, a devastated world economy and more. This is pretty much the world we are ALL living in across the globe and sometimes it is impossible to escape the news. If it is not on TV, you will catch it on any of your social media platforms, if not on any of these two, you will get it through a text from a friend or as you chat with another.

Amid all of …

Mate Preference Priorities In The East And West: A Cross-Cultural Test Of The Mate Preference Priority Model, Andrew G. Thomas, Peter K. Jonason, Jesse D. Blackburn, Leif E. O. Kennair, Rob Lowe, John Malouff, Steve Stewart-Williams, Danielle Sulikowski, Norman P. Li

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Objective: Mate choice involves trading-off several preferences. Research on this process tends to examine mate preference prioritization in homogenous samples using a small number of traits and thus provide little insight into whether prioritization patterns reflect a universal human nature. This study examined whether prioritization patterns, and their accompanying sex differences, are consistent across Eastern and Western cultures. Method: In the largest test of the mate preference priority model to date, we asked an international sample of participants (N = 2,477) to design an ideal long-term partner by allocating mate dollars to eight traits using three budgets. Unlike previous versions …

The Effects Of Self-Esteem And Motivation On Cognitive Control, Andrea Benavides

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Cognitive control describes a set of mechanisms that guide behavior towards a goal (Cohen, 2017). The successful execution of cognitive control is essential for effective learning, information processing, problem solving, and academic achievement (Visu-Petra et al., 2011). The Expected Value of Control framework (EVC; Shenhav et al., 2013) suggests that control carries an inherent cost, which is weighed against the potential benefits of expending it. This cost-benefit analysis determines the direction and intensity that a goal is pursued. Importantly, motivation plays a role in this cost-benefit analysis and may function as the factor that offsets the cost of control expenditure …

Measuring The Impact Of Academic Entitlement In First-Year College Students, Tanner Carollo

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Research on academic entitlement (AE) in college students has provided support for its maladaptive nature. Students high in AE are reported to present greater levels of externality in the locus of control, exhibit behaviors and actions that are inconsistent with traditional academic norms, score lower on assessments, and hold expectations that are aligned with academic consumerism. However, research examining AE and its effects on student behavior have relied on AE scores collected after students have attained some collegiate experience and have yet to evaluate interventions that may reduce the corresponding implications of AE. Using survey data collected from 941 matriculating …

Connecting To The Self: Increasing Self-Awareness In Children With Asd, Development Of A Method, Madison Janke

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Dance/movement therapy is a popular method utilized with the autism spectrum population due to its focus on increasing social skills, developing relationships, improving function, increasing positive body image, and expanding movement repertoire. The literature indicated that mirroring is the most common and most utilized DMT intervention for this population, but it provided minimal alternative dance/movement therapy interventions. The dance/movement therapy method implemented through this research attempted to provide an alternative to mirroring through the creation of a body outline. This method was developed through the theoretical framework of relational-cultural theory, emphasizing the impact that relationships can have on the shaping …

What’S Emergent? A Literature Review Of Thirdness And The Guide In Drama Therapy, Kathleen D. Moye

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This thesis engages two concepts in conversation: thirdness, which is a quality, awareness, or point of reference between two people in a relationship (Benjamin, 2004), developed within relational and intersubjective systems theories; and drama therapy’s guide from Landy’s role theory, a role in a story that emerges between two other roles and brings balance, perspective, and growth (Landy, 2008, 2009). Both are referenced as essential components of the therapeutic relationship. This thesis is a review of the literature on relational, intersubjective systems, and role theories, focusing on how theorists conceptualize the way a person interacts in relationship to others, the …

Technical Report For “When People Estimate Their Personal Intelligence Who Is Overconfident? Who Is Accurate?”, John D. Mayer, A. T. Panter, David R. Caruso

UNH Personality Lab

The Technical Supplement includes additional information about the article “Who Believes they are High in Personal Intelligence.” The Supplement is organized such that material follows the organization of the article, with the exception that group-wise analyses—i.e., analyses based on median splits of the archival samples on the Test of Personal Intelligence and Self-Estimated Personal Intelligence, are in their own Appendix owing to the considerable length of that material.

Student Beliefs About What Factors Influence Their Gpa, Emma R. Denelsbeck

Senior Honors Projects, 2020-current

There are many different factors that contribute to grade point averages (GPAs) in college. Students may attribute their academic performance and GPAs to any number of different variables such as stress levels, sleep quality and alcohol use. The current study investigated what students believed had an effect on their GPA, and if these differed based on concussion history. This study examined if students thought that concussions affected their GPA. Participants were University students who completed an online survey consisting of the Texas Evaluation of Concussion History (TECH), and the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS-21). The results of a Mann-Whitney …

An Exploration Of Student Athletes Perception On The Athletic Trainer/Coach Relationship, Nikki Owens

Masters Theses, 2020-current

The goal of this study was to explore how the athletic trainer and coach relationship impacts the social support provided to Division I intercollegiate student—athletes. Through a qualitative-case study design, eleven participants were recruited and interviewed for the study. Criterion for inclusion included all NCAA sports at the university. This included males and females in various years of school and sport. After the completion of data analysis, four main themes were developed. These themes included social support, positive impact, negative impact, and unforeseen findings. Seven of the eleven student—athletes reported feeling that there was a direct relationship between the athletic …

Imaginary Grave, Bailey M. Tennery

Toyon: Multilingual Literary Magazine

I posted the work on my Wordpress blog Cinder-Bay.

https://cinderbay.wordpress.com/2018/01/08/pretend-grave/

Yes, I have permission to re-publish the work in Toyon because the blog is my personal site.

An Examination Of Non-Traditional Bridal Wear And Its Primary Consumer, Erica Thalmann, Kristina Dimaria

Senior Honors Projects

Bridal wear has traditionally been viewed as big white dresses. But as times change, so do brides’ preferences for bridal wear. Jumpsuits, rompers, short dresses, and other “non-traditional” choices are experiencing an increased demand in the market. Unfortunately, brides who seek these options are often not met with a promising assortment. This study examined primary consumers of non-traditional bridal wear. Specifically, we sought to find out whether women who belong to the LGBTQ community choose to consume more non-traditional bridal wear compared to heterosexual brides. The study also examined through which channels (e.g., online, in store, etc.) consumers predominantly purchase …

Art And The Pursuit Of Happiness: How Artists Use Art To Promote Their Emotional Well-Being, August Namuth, Bruce Chase

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

Artists have used art’s positive mental and physical health effects for as long as art has been around. Art is known to have many therapeutic and mood benefiting effects, from reduced anxiety and stress levels, to increased confidence and a sense of purpose. Many different clinical studies have found art to be beneficial to people who have suffered from PTSD, bipolar disorder, strokes, and cancer pain. Despite the clearly beneficial effects of creativity associated with art, artists suffer from disorders such as depression, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia at a much higher rate than the general population. This study sought to …

Examining Entitlement And Antagonism As Distinguishing Features Of Narcissism, Zane M. Repp

USC Aiken Psychology Theses

Objective: In this study, I worked to examine possible core features in narcissism. Researchers largely accept that there are at least two main dimensions of narcissism, grandiosity and vulnerability. However, these two dimensions have very different presentations in individuals, with very different personality factors, interpersonal traits, and relationships to other psychopathology. This raises the question of whether grandiosity and vulnerability are two versions of the same disorder, or if they would be better understood as different pathologies. This study examines whether the features of entitlement and antagonism can be used to distinguish grandiosity and vulnerability as both unique versions of …

Relationships Among Specific Types Of Trait Mindfulness, Need For Cognitive Closure, And Affect, Kelly Parker

Psychological Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

Mindfulness has a multitude of benefits including, but not limited to, increasing one’s positive affect, decreasing stress, lowering blood pressure, protecting against depression and reducing chronic pain. The pre-existing literature on mindfulness unanimously suggests that mindfulness relies on self-regulating functions to improve overall well-being but lacks information regarding which specific emotion-regulating characteristics may play a role in determining mindfulness tendencies. The present research investigated whether or not an individual’s trait mindfulness is correlated with one’s need for cognitive closure (NFC) and how these measures relate to positive and negative affect. A total of 328 participants, recruited from the University of …

Exploring Connections Between Social Anxiety And Social Media Use In College Students, Alexandra Deman

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

When young adults enter college their identity and self-esteem are tested in a novel environment. Interacting, forming new relationships, having some sense of independence for the first time, and often living in a new area can take a toll on someone who has not sufficiently developed a stable identity. This, in-turn, may create a negative outlook on one’s self and the individual’s capabilities to participate in social interaction, or ultimately a desire to avoid them altogether. If such a negative view further intensifies and remains present, it may develop into social anxiety disorder. Social media can either alleviate or escalate …

Perspective Driven Behavior: The Effects Of Classroom Climate On A Student's Personality And Willingness To Communicate, Nicholas Weber

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

Modern students are experiencing problems novel to the college environment. Much emphasis has been placed on learning in the classroom and the interactions with other students and professors, but this research has neglected features intrinsic to the student in question. The current study evaluates the student’s communication climate (or Connected Communication Climate Inventory (CCCI) score) within their classrooms as it relates to the relationship between key personality traits (i.e. Extraversion, Intellect/ Imagination, and Neuroticism) and their willingness to communicate (WTC) in those settings. College students have been given assessments to evaluate the prevalence of distinct personality traits and their relationships …

Assessing The Role Personality Plays In Puppy Raisers And Guide Dogs In Training, Cassidy D. Wood

Honors Theses

Several factors affect how guide dogs in training fare during the period before the dogs are paired with their future handler. One factor that has not been researched in the past is personality compatibility between the puppy raiser and the dog in training. For the needs of the visually impaired community to be met, guide dog schools need to efficiently train and match dogs to handlers without the dogs failing. To help reduce the number of dogs that fail guide dog training, this study suggests the assessment and comparison of personality for the dog and potential puppy raisers to better …

Social And Individual-Level Identities And College Male Alcohol Use Behaviors: Examining The Utility Of Protective Behavioral Strategies, Robert Bearden Whitley

Dissertations

Recent literature has consistently identified conformity to traditional masculine norms as motivating hazardous drinking behaviors of college men. Given the high prevalence of hazardous drinking among college men and the particular negative consequences that emerge secondary to it, additional research is needed in this area to better identify possible intervention targets. The present study sought to better elucidate the proximity of male norm conformity to drinking behaviors through including a specific identity factor related to alcohol use: drinking identity. Secondary to this goal, this study also sought to examine how these factors of identity predicted the safe drinking behaviors of …