Psychology Commons^™

Intercollegiate Athlete Perceptions Of Justice In Team Disciplinary Decisions, Jared M. Diaz

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The present study examined justice perceptions of an intercollegiate athlete who was punished for a team rule violation outside of competition. This scenario study is a modified replication of Severs’ (2009) study on justice perceptions of intercollegiate athletes; one additional factor, importance of the next competition, was examined in the current study. Perceptions of fairness and perceptions of likelihood of deterring future misconduct were examined using a factorial design with two levels of punishment severity (severe and moderate), two levels of misconduct severity (severe and moderate), two types of punishment distribution (consistent and conditional), and two types of game importance …

Hyper Masculinity; Influences And Prevention In Children, Brittany Doherty

Honors Senior Capstone Projects

This article is a research piece on hyper masculinity. It will discuss what hyper masculinity is, how it effects our society and the ways that we can prevent it. This is a review of many other articles pertaining to hyper masculinity. It also includes my attempt at combating hyper masculinity stemming from childhood interactions and beliefs. Research states that masculinity is ingrained into our children at a young age. This masculinity can transform to hyper masculinity in young men due to simple influences. It is important to combat this behavior at all stages of development. This article will focus on …

Attachment As Affirmation To Inhibit Health Risk Information Avoidance, Elizabeth C. Mccrary

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Previous research on information avoidance has revealed that people choose to avoid negative health information, but that this effect is interrupted by self-affirmation (Howell & Shepperd, 2013). The current study aimed to contribute to the field’s understanding of the conditions under which self-affirmation reduces information avoidance by using a unique affirmation: secure attachment figures. I hypothesized that activating a secure attachment would serve as the affirmation necessary for participants to choose to view their risk information for a fictitious enzyme deficiency. However, when given a choice, participants in both the experimental and control conditions chose to view this information. At …

The Body Image Culture Within Sororities: A Qualitative Study, Kyle Ross, Melissa Bene, Lisa Edwards, Rebeca Chlebnikow, Alexandra Dolla, Kristen Perone, Deanne Zotter

Psychology Student Work

No abstract provided.

Group Identity As A Source Of Threat And Means Of Compensation: Establishing Personal Control Through Group Identification And Ideology, Chris Goode, Lucas A. Keefer, Nyla R. Branscombe, Ludwin E. Molina

Faculty Publications

Compensatory control theory proposes that individuals can assuage threatened personal control by endorsing external systems or agents that provide a sense that the world is meaningfully ordered. Recent research drawing on this perspective finds that one means by which individuals can compensate for a loss of control is adherence to ideological beliefs about the social world. This prior work, however, has largely neglected the role of social groups in defining either the nature of control threat or the means by which individuals compensate for these threats. In four experiments (N = 466), we test the possibility that group-based threats to …

Perceptions Of Gender Non-Conforming Men: The Impact Of Perceiver Gender, Relationship Status And Gender Role Ideology, Ciara A. Atkinson

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Projects

Due to patriarchal gender role norms, the male gender has been historically afforded increased social status and prestige by way of social, political, and economic advantage. While men benefit from this privileged status, they experience many negative consequences from these norms as well. Male gender roles are more rigid than female gender roles, as demonstrated by previous research suggesting that men who deviate from prescribed gender roles are met with more social backlash than women (Siren, McCreary, & Mahalik, 2004). However, research on why this is the case is inconclusive.

Thus, the present study sought to examine variables associated with …

Heterosexual Allies' Confrontation Of Sexual Prejudice: The Effect Of Gender, Attitudes, And Past Allied Behavior, Kelly L. Lemaire

Dissertations (1934 -)

Confrontation of prejudice is one method that has been demonstrated to reduce future discrimination on behalf of perpetrators and non-target witnesses in the future. The current study sought to 1) determine whether the gender of the perpetrator, target, or witness of heterosexist prejudice affects witness’s reactions to prejudice, including confrontation, 2) understand if other factors including participants’ attitudes about society, gender roles, and gay men and lesbian women, as well as their general level of assertiveness and previous allied behaviors were predictive of confrontation behavior and 3) examine participant’s satisfaction with their responses and anticipated future responses in relation to …

Preference Organization, Danielle M. Pillet-Shore

Communication

Conversation analytic research on “preference organization” investigates recorded episodes of naturally occurring social interaction to elucidate how people systematically design their actions to either support or undermine social solidarity. This line of work examines public forms of conduct that are highly generalized and institutionalized, not the private desires, subjective feelings or psychological preferences of individuals. This article provides a detailed and accessible overview of classic and contemporary conversation analytic findings about preference, which collectively demonstrate that human interaction is organized to favor actions that promote social affiliation (through face-preservation) at the expense of conflict (resulting from face-threat). While other overviews …

Does Distance Equal Length? : The Effect Of Relational Closeness On Length Of Sentencing In Child Sexual Abuse, Brittney Peiffer

Student Theses

Expectations of how family and friends are supposed to treat children may influence decision- making in child sexual abuse cases. These expectations can be understood from a moral code and moral violation perspective, such that broken moral codes formed by society can elicit negative emotions resulting in moral hypervigilance. Moral hypervigilance is the need to mediate the negative emotions elicited by the moral code violations with action, such as deciding the length of sentencing for a person who the moral code. This study examined the impact of relational closeness and victim gender on the length of sentencing for child sexual …

Cultural Influences On Time Pressure In The U.S. And Taiwan, Maribel Guevara-Myers, Helen C. Harton

Research in the Capitol

Levine and Norenzayan’s (1999) multicountry observational study investigated differences in time pressure due to cultural differences (individualism vs. collectivism). They found people in New York City walked more quickly down a sidewalk than people in Taipei, Taiwan. In this study, I investigated whether there would be a difference in walking pace in a smaller United States city (Des Moines, Iowa) compared to Taipei, Taiwan. I examined whether pace would differ by location—an outdoor shopping area vs. downtown. I also examined possible differences in time of day (12pm and 5pm) and day of week (Monday and Friday). The results were that …

Colorblind Attitudes And Religious Fundamentalism As Predictors Of Racial And General Campus Climate Perceptions, Jeongbin (Jenny) Song, Cindy Miller-Perrin

Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium

The present study aimed to understand the racial differences in perception of general and racial campus climate in college students, and investigate if colorblind attitudes and religious fundamentalism help explain these differences. A sample of 2,101 undergraduate students (M_AGE=19.59, SD_AGE= 2.33) attending a private, Christian college in Southern California served as participants in this correlational survey research. The sample consisted of 37.9% male (n=796), 62% female (n=1303), and 0.1% other (n= 2). The following racial/ethnic groups were represented in the sample: 3.4% Black (n= 72), 18.7% Asian ( …

Loneliness In Pepperdine Students, Brandon Vandyke, Haley St Martin, Ayelen Lee

Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium

No abstract provided.

The Apocalyptic Imagination And The Fundamentalist Mindset, Charles B. Strozier

New England Journal of Public Policy

This article explores the psychological meanings of the apocalyptic imagination in what I call a fundamentalist mindset. That mindset has its own long history but is newly relevant in the nuclear age. We no longer need God to bring about ultimate destruction. There are many facets of the fundamentalist mindset (for example, its intense literalism), but the focus in the article is on two: its kairotic sense of time and its rampant paranoia. These two facets interact synergistically around violence that is experienced by those who revel in it as moral in a totalistic sense. Killing becomes healing. The evil …

Suicide Terrorism: Performance Violence As Public Plunge, Gregory Saathoff

New England Journal of Public Policy

This article explores the relationship between the social psychology of the individual and the final abyss of suicide terrorism. The boy on the high dive is a metaphor for the fearful pause before the leap. For a young child, the dive is exciting and dangerous: the fearful pause is somewhat analogous to thoughts and feelings before the terrorist’s catastrophically destructive contemplated homicidal/suicidal behavior. If we think about the leap itself, there may be a better analogy. Is there any corollary to a specific group of suicide completers? What can be learned from others who have contemplated and undertaken perhaps the …

Religious Discrimination In Courtroom Oaths, Shannon M. Griffith

Theses and Dissertations

The current study investigated whether trust in Atheists moderates the relationship between prejudice against Atheists and belief in a hypothetical Atheists’ witness testimony. Pilot studies revealed that participants do not innately label witnesses who affirm as Atheists and determined that there was no significant difference between ratings of belief in Atheists witnesses in comparison to Christian witnesses. Responses from 185 MTurk participants confirmed that belief in witnesses did not significantly differ between Atheists and Christians. Furthermore, trust did not moderate the relationship between prejudice against Atheists and belief in the Atheist witness. These studies furthered research in distrust against Atheists …

Beyond Black And White: Infusing Restorative Practices Into Student Discipline, Louis L. Fletcher Phd, Peter Hilts

National Youth Advocacy & Resilience Conference

As a reaction to school violence, zero-tolerance became the rule in many school districts. The latter practice silenced student voices and institutionalized the overrepresentation of minority students in discipline situations. An over-reliance on punishment has not significantly changed behavior; therefore, it is time to explore proactively using restorative practices to allow students to value the reasons behind rules instead of simply complying to avoid punishment.

Childhood Victimization Pathways And Violent Extremism, Michael K. Logan

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

The current study elaborates on childhood victimization as a nonideological risk-factor for participation in violent extremism. In particular, we focus on contextualizing the early lives of a sample of former members of violent White supremacist groups (n = 44). Data were collected through life-history interviews and analyzed using a modified grounded theory approach. The findings indicate that there are three distinct victimization pathways characterize the early lives of our sample: (a) living in a dangerous family, (b) residing in a dangerous community, and (c) living in an unstable, chaotic family environment. These victimization pathways provide further insight into the …

The Influence Of Humorous Priming And Situation Type On Generation Of Malevolently Creative Ideas, Reo W. Newring

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Creativity is usually considered a positive attribute, but what happens when creativity is used to generate a harmful product? Malevolent creativity (Cropley, Kaufman, & Cropley, 2008) refers to a clever, original product with negative valence, or intention to harm. The purpose of the current study was to examine predictors of malevolent creativity, expanding on existing knowledge and exploring a new area, specifically humor. Humorous primes were used to evoke malevolence, in the form of dialogues between two cartoon characters engaged in highly aggressive, moderately aggressive, self-defeating, or neutral exchanges. Subjects were then provided with a hypothetical situation (problem) and asked …

Cynical Towards What? Cynicism Towards Management And Cynicism Towards Diversity Training Differentially Relate To Post-Diversity-Training Measures, Danielle B. Rutz

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

We examined the role of organizational cynicism, that is, the belief that the management of an organization lacks integrity and cannot be trusted to provide truthful information (Dean, Brandes, & Dharwadkar, 1998). In the present research, we further developed our measure of cynicism, distinguishing between cynicism towards management and cynicism towards diversity training.

White participants (N=198; 55% female; M_age = 37.57, SD_age = 10.52) were recruited via MTurk for a study concerning impressions of diversity training. Participants responded to a cynicism measure and then read ostensible corporate memos that described the training as being supported by …

Volunteer Perceptions Of Upward And Downward Communication Facilitate Organizational Commitment, Kelly Prange

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Retaining productive volunteers is an essential issue nonprofit organizations face, as volunteers help extend the services of their target populations. The current study examined upward and downward communication and training as important volunteer management practices with respect to facilitating volunteer engagement and commitment. Using social exchange theory as a framework, the present study investigated the reasons why organizations should stress giving volunteers training and open communication and soliciting feedback from volunteers. Doing so may initiate a social exchange relationship in which volunteers receive training and communication from organizations and in turn become more engaged and committed to the organization. As …

Aware Of What? The Structure And Meaning Of Gender Aware And Blind Ideologies Across Gender And Race, Abigail M. Folberg

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Aware and blind ideologies concerning race (i.e., multiculturalism and colorblindness) have received considerable attention. However, few studies have assessed parallel ideologies about gender, gender awareness (GA) and gender blindness (GB). We examined the relationships of GA/GB to benevolent (BS) and hostile (HS) sexism and assessed the factor structure and measurement invariance of GA and GB across gender and race. Evaluation of the GA/GB measure indicated the presence of two factors (GA and GB) that were invariant across gender and race. Further analyses indicated that greater GA was associated with HS but not GB, whereas greater GB was positively associated with …

Levels Of Teacher Emotional Intelligence In Selected "Beat The Odds" Schools: A Descriptive Study, Nathan L. Schmutz

CUP Ed.D. Dissertations

This study sought to describe selected “beat the odds” schools in Washington state based on the levels of emotional intelligence of classroom teachers. In total 5 schools were selected to participate, and 3rd-5th grade teachers were invited to complete the EQ-i 2.0, a validated emotional intelligence assessment. Participants also completed the validated School Culture Triage survey to assess teachers’ perspectives of school culture. In total, 20 teachers participated in the study, completing both survey instruments. A descriptive analysis of the EQ-i 2.0 results found that this sample of teachers had a mid-to high mean level of emotional intelligence on all …

Stop Truancy Before It Starts: Getting Every Kid To School, Everyday, Brittany Roulette, Hannah Twedt, Paula Skala

Master of Social Work Student Policy Advocacy Briefs

Attending school consistently builds a foundation for academic achievement and social success in the future. Students missing an excessive number of school days throughout childhood for any reason experience increasingly negative outcomes as they grow older. When truancy leads to dropping out of school, this costs individuals money in lost wages associated with reduced education levels. Truancy also costs society as a whole in reduced tax collection, increased crime, and increased need for public services. Research demonstrates that minority students and youth with other risk-factors are more likely to experience school disengagement leading to truancy. Punitive school policies such as …

Mental Imagery Boosts Music Compositional Creativity, Sarah Shi Hui Wong, Stephen Wee Hun Lim

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

We empirically investigated the effect of mental imagery on young children’s music compositional creativity. Children aged 5 to 8 years participated in two music composition sessions. In the control session, participants based their composition on a motif that they had created using a sequence of letter names. In the mental imagery session, participants were given a picture of an animal and instructed to imagine the animal’s sounds and movements, before incorporating what they had imagined into their composition. Six expert judges independently rated all music compositions on creativity based on subjective criteria (consensual assessment). Reliability analyses indicated that the expert …

Cumulative Sexual Victimization And Mental Health Outcomes Among Incarcerated Women, Jennifer Hartsfield, Susan F. Sharp, Sonya Conner

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

This research explores the relationship between three different types of self-reported sexual victimization and subsequent mental health problems in a sample of incarcerated women. Previous literature establishes a link between victimization histories and poor mental health outcomes. This study focuses on sexual victimization experienced as a child, as an adolescent and as an adult, both individually and cumulatively, in relation to entering prison with a mental health diagnosis as well as reporting current depressive symptoms while incarcerated. Each type of victimization is significantly related to both prior mental health diagnosis and current depression in prison. Furthermore, there is an additive …

Exploring The Impostor Phenomenon's Behavioral Characteristics: How Do Gay Male Leaders And Impostors Cope?, Donald B. Scott

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this mixed-methods case study was to explore and describe the coping skills used to overcome 9 behavioral characteristics by gay men serving in civic or nonprofit leadership roles who are identified as experiencing the impostor phenomenon (IP) by the Clance Impostor Phenomenon Scale (CIPS; Clance, 1985).

Methodology: This study used a mixed-methods, descriptive case study approach to collect both quantitative and qualitative data about 14 study participants. Each completed the 20-question CIPS that represented the quantitative strand of the study prior to an interview that included 10 semistructured interview questions designed to collect rich, descriptive data. …

Being While Doing: An Inductive Model Of Mindfulness At Work, Christopher Lyddy, Darren J. Good

School of Business Faculty Publications

Mindfulness at work has drawn growing interest as empirical evidence increasingly supports its positive workplace impacts. Yet theory also suggests that mindfulness is a cognitive mode of “Being” that may be incompatible with the cognitive mode of “Doing” that undergirds workplace functioning. Therefore, mindfulness at work has been theorized as “being while doing,” but little is known regarding how people experience these two modes in combination, nor the influences or outcomes of this interaction. Drawing on a sample of 39 semi-structured interviews, this study explores how professionals experience being mindful at work. The relationship between Being and Doing modes demonstrated …

Prostitution Survivors: Backlash In Australia, Melinda Tankard Reist

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

This report is a personal account of prostitution survivors facing harassment from representatives of the sex industry in Australia. At events to promote a new collection of stories by survivors of the industry—Prostitution Narratives: Stories of Survival in the Sex Trade—speakers were intimidated and insulted. The survivors describe their experiences and their determination to speak-out against prostitution, even in the face of opposition.

Expanding Intersectionality Praxis: Informing Culturally-Responsive Programming For Black And Latino Gay And Bisexual Young Men, Justin T. Brown

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Black/Latino gay/bisexual young men face a multitude of health disparities caused by various determinants of health. However, despite the awareness of the gaps, health intervention research rarely explores the impact of current health intervention strategies on Black/Latino gay/bisexual young men’s overall health and well-being. Traditional health interventions are deficit-based, health condition-specific, and often limited in their cultural-specificity. As health-related fields move toward holistic, evidence-based practices, new primary prevention approaches need to emerge. Using qualitative investigation strategies, this study included primary analysis of participatory workshop artifacts, and secondary analysis of survey and focus group data. This study identified critical factors necessary …

Diversity's Impact On The Quality Of Deliberations, Amanda N. Bergold

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Racial minorities endure unfair treatment in our legal system on a variety of different outcomes, jury decisions in particular. Courts and researchers propose increasing diversity in juries as a method for improving jury deliberations and reducing racially biased outcomes for minority defendants (Peters v. Kiff, 1972; Sommers 2006). In the present research, I investigated the impact of diversity on the quality of deliberations, as defined by both sensitivity to case strength, and by more high quality contributions to deliberations. In the first study, both minority group members and majority group members provided more, higher quality, contributions when they …