Psychology Commons^™

Team Performance On A Computerized Intellective Task, Joseph Bihary

Master's Theses

This study examined the effects of a reflexivity manipulation on the performance of dyads and triads working on an intellective task known as letters-to-numbers. Past research has shown triads consistently outperforming dyads on this task. The current study sought to determine whether giving dyads an opportunity to reflect on strategy would close this gap in performance. Participants performed a computerized version of two letters-to-numbers problems in dyads or triads. Between problems, half of the groups performed a reflexivity task designed to facilitate strategy improvements. Experimental sessions were videotaped. It was predicted that triads would outperform dyads, reflexivity groups would outperform …

Envy As Pain: Rethinking The Nature Of Envy And Its Implications For Employees And Organizations, Kenneth Tai, Jayanth Narayanan, Daniel J. Mcallister

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Although envy has been characterized by resentment, hostility, and ill will, researchers have begun to investigate envy's benign manifestations. We contend that the substance of envy has been confounded with its consequences. We conceptualize envy as pain at another's good fortune. This reconceptualization allows envy to result in both positive and negative consequences. We then examine how envy affects interpersonal behaviors and job performance, contingent on core self-evaluation, referent cognitions, and perceived organizational support.

How Selective Is Social Learning In Dolphins?, Stan A. Kuczaj Ii, Deirdre Yeater, Lauren Highfill

Psychology Faculty Publications

Social learning is an important aspect of dolphin social life and dolphin behavioral development. In addition to vocal social learning, dolphins discover behaviors for foraging, play, and social interactions by observing other members of their social group. But dolphins neither indiscriminately observe nor mindlessly mimic other dolphins. To the contrary, dolphin calves are quite selective in their choices of who to observe and/or imitate. Calves are most likely to learn foraging behaviors from their mothers, but they are more likely to watch and reproduce the play behaviors of other calves than the play behaviors of adult dolphins (including their mothers). …

Listening In Action: Students' Mobile Music Experiences In The Digital Age, Rebecca Marie Rinsema

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Since the introduction of the iPod in 2001, portable music listening devices that play or stream compressed music files have steadily become the standard devices used to listen to music. Despite this, few music education researchers have investigated the role that such devices have in shaping students' music listening experiences. This dissertation is meant to fill that gap in the literature and contribute to the existing sociological and psychological literature on music listening in everyday life.

Phenomenology served as the theoretical framework for the design of the study. 10 college students from three institutions underwent iterative interviews and were asked …

Show And Tell: Using Restorative Practices And Asset Based Community Development To Address Issues Of Safety And Violence, Tera Lynn Mcintosh

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The purpose of this study was to explore how restorative practices could help increase the social fabric within communities in order to help solve complex community problems. Although literature on restorative practices is bountiful for the purposes of restorative justice and restorative practices in schools, there is little literature on how to use restorative practices to create more restorative communities or neighborhoods. For the purpose of this study I looked at the issue of violence and safety within a particular community and implemented a framework of restorative practices that focused on asset based community development and building healthier relationships. I …

Getting Back To My Life: Exploring Adaptation To Change Through The Experiences Of Breast Cancer Survivors, Charles A. Foster

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The holding environment concept, developed by Donald Winnicott, has been used to represent the type of support that encourages adaptive change during psychosocial transitions. The leadership and change literature posited that the holding environment had the ability to shape the trajectory of the transition, yet did not test this empirically. The psychosocial breast cancer literature empirically researched support during and after treatments ended, but did not incorporate the holding environment concept. This presented the opportunity to inform both the leadership and breast cancer fields by studying holding environments in the breast cancer setting. This study had a twofold purpose: 1) …

Millennial Integration: Challenges Millennials Face In The Workplace And What They Can Do About Them, Chip Espinoza

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

There is a monumental changing of the guard that is currently taking place in organizations due to demographic metabolism. One of the largest birth cohorts or generations in history (Baby Boomer) is beginning to retire while their predecessor (Builder) is almost completely out of the workforce. Gen X is hitting stride and on the cusp of inheriting the proverbial organizational mantle. The three aforementioned age cohorts have learned to play in the organizational sandbox together. However, a new age cohort (Millennial, a.k.a. Gen Y), equal or greater in size to the Baby Boomer cohort started entering the playground approximately ten …

The Effect Of Race And Masculinity On Female Mate Preference, Michael S. Penuliar

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The current work extends upon the theories of female mate preference in a novel way by examining how the interaction of race and the masculinity of males affect preference in females. In Study 1, I manipulated the facial masculinity of photographs of White, Black, and Asian males. Female participants rated the faces on attractiveness, masculinity, and age. In Study 2, nine photographs were matched on masculinity and participants made judgments on dimensions relating to dateabiltity, attractiveness, resources, masculinity, and parenting behaviors. Asian males are often neglected as potential romantic partners. A major aim of the current work was to assess …

Does Need For Cognition Moderate The Relationship Between Eyewitness Age And Perceived Credibility?, Anna E. Pittman

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The relationship between age and perceived credibility was examined, particularly whether or not middle-aged witnesses were perceived as more credible than older eyewitnesses. Additionally, I was interested in whether or not the relationship between age and credibility was moderated by need for cognition. Participants read a trial transcript about a child pedestrian-car accident wherein a defendant was charged with manslaughter. The sole eyewitness, either a 49 or 79 year-old male, testified that the child hit his head on a rock upon stepping off the curb before being struck by the defendant’s vehicle. Transcripts included direct and cross-examination with half accompanied …

A Tale Of Self-Monitoring, Social Capital, And Social Media, David A. Beane

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

We examined whether individual self-monitoring differences predict what type of relationships people have on Facebook. In the offline world, high self-monitors have large heterogeneous social networks made up of weak emotional ties, whereas low self-monitors have small homogenous social networks made up of strong emotional ties. In our study, we defined online relationships in terms of bridging and bonding social capital. Bridging social capital refers to large heterogeneous social networks made up of weak emotional ties. People maintain these relationships for social benefits. Bonding social capital refers to small homogeneous social networks made up of strong emotional ties. People maintain …

Social Connectedness And The Impact On Chronic Illness, Tara L. Hatchcock

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Having a chronic illness may feel alienating, yet examination of the literature shows limited research on social connectedness and health. In order to contribute to the understanding of this impact of illness, I examined perceived levels of social connectedness in persons with chronic diseases (CD), functional somatic syndromes (FSS) and medically unexplained symptoms (MUS). A major focus of this study was to investigate the association of social connectedness with depression, anxiety, and general health in patients with ongoing symptoms of illness. Data collection was obtained through the use of four online surveys collectively known as VOICE (Verification of Coping, Illness …

Lessons From Social Psychology For Complex Operations, Rosa Brooks

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

This short essay looks at several social forces that powerfully affect human behavior, often trumping individual “character,” personality, knowledge, and even deeply held moral beliefs. Specifically, this essay looks briefly at issues of obedience, conformity, and group polarization, discussing the ways in which they can affect and distort individual behavior. Ultimately, this essay suggests, understanding these dynamics can have important implications for how we think about counterinsurgency and stability operations.

Social Job Characteristics And Older Workers: Effects On Job Satisfaction And Job Tension, Jennifer Rae Rineer

Dissertations and Theses

The workforce in most industrialized countries is aging and becoming more age diverse, but few studies have examined the implications of age differences in the design of jobs. This study examined the role of age as a moderator in the relationship between job characteristics and two individual outcomes, job satisfaction and job tension. Specifically, the study focused on the relationship between social characteristics of the job (given social support, [received] social support, interdependence, interaction outside the organization, and feedback from others) and job tension and job satisfaction among Portland Water Bureau employees. Based in Socioemotional Selectivity (SES) theory (Carstensen, 1991), …

Role Of Foundations In The Changing World Of Philanthropy: A Houston Perspective, Ronnie Hagerty

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

From the earliest days of the American nation, philanthropy has had a defining role in leading change. Philanthropy has provided vision and voice for nascent social movements ranging from civil rights and the women’s movement to AIDS research and environmentalism. As the 21st century has moved into its second decade, philanthropy finds itself facing significant pressures that threaten to compromise its ability to innovate and advocate for issues and individuals whose voices cannot be heard over the public rhetoric of the day. Once perceived as the purview of the rich and well connected, modern philanthropy cuts across social, economic, and …

The Crossover Effects Of Supervisor Work-Family Positive Spillover On Employee Sleep Deficiency: Moderating Effects Of Family Supportive Supervisor Behaviors (Fssb), Tori Laurelle Crain

Dissertations and Theses

The majority of literature on the work-family interface has focused on, and provided evidence of, the conflict associated with engagement in both work and family roles (Eby, Casper, Lockwood, Bordeaux, & Brinley, 2005). Research examining the positive aspects of work and family participation remains limited. The current study investigated how work-family positive spillover is transferred between members of the supervisor-employee dyad and subsequently how this affects employee sleep outcomes. It was hypothesized that work-to-family affective positive spillover experienced by supervisors would crossover to employees and increase their experiences of work-to-family affective positive spillover. In turn, this would allow for better …

Using Video And Contact To Change Attitudes Toward Gay Men And Lesbians, Jonna J. Cooley, Gary J. Burkholder

Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences

Prejudice against gay men and lesbians has continued to fuel negative attitudes that are perpetuated by stereotypes and by validation from those within one’s own social group. While there has been some research regarding the impact of contact on attitudes, the present study expands the theoretical approach of Allport and the empirical work of researchers such as Herek to examine the impact of adding media to interactive contact with lesbian and gay individuals. Participants were placed into one of three treatment groups: control, video only, and video plus contact with gay men and lesbians. The sample included 106 undergraduate students …

"Is This Really A Police Station? Police Department Exteriors And Judgments Of Authority, Professionalism, And Approachability.", Ashley Clinton, Ann Sloan Devlin

Psychology Faculty Publications

This study examined the relationship between exteriors of police department facilities and participants’ ratings of the buildings’ authority, professionalism, and approachability. After a pilot study, research was conducted with 122 participants who were undergraduate students from a small, liberal arts college in the Northeast. On each of three characteristics (authority, professionalism, and approachability), participants rated 16 color images of police departments located in the United States. The façade ratings for each characteristic were then categorized into factors through factor analyses. There were three factors for authority (Ineffectual, Strong, and Outdated); three for professionalism (Unskilled, Non-traditional, and Governmental); and four for …

From Nixon’S War On Drugs To Obama’S Drug Policies Today: Presidential Progress In Addressing Racial Injustices And Disparities, Cigdem Sirin

Selected Works Temporary Series

This study investigates presidential progress in addressing racial injustices and disparities within the context of the war on drugs. I argue that racial inequalities emanating from the war on drugs have been largely overlooked and at times aggravated by previous administrations. Although there have been some improvements in this regard since President Obama took office, more extensive policy reforms are needed to better remedy such inequalities. I also argue that the viability of a progressive presidency for racial justice vis-à-vis U.S. drug policies depends not only on the personal agenda of the president but also on a supportive public as …

Assessing The Efficacy Of A Modified Therapeutic Community On The Reduction Of Institutional Write-Ups In A Medium Security Prison, Lee Maglinger

Dissertations

This study explored the impact a modified Therapeutic Community (TC) had on reducing institutional disorder as documented by institutional write-ups. Substance abuse treatment programs are typically evaluated in terms of their ability to prevent relapse and reduce recidivism. The current study examined the efficacy of a modified TC in relation to these parameters but also explored its overall impact on prison safety and security for both the inmates and staff of a medium security prison located in Kentucky. Specifically, the number of institutional write-ups exhibited by clients participating in a modified Therapeutic Community was compared with the number of write-ups …

Uncertainty And Information Processing, Robert E. Frost Iii

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The purpose of these two studies was to examine two factors that may influence the effects of uncertainty on information processing. The first factor is the positioning of uncertainty relative to a target of judgment, and how this affects people’s judgment processing. The second factor had to do with the degree to which uncertainty signals active goal conflict or not. In the first study, 145 participants with a mean age of 19.51 were induced with uncertainty either before or after information about the target accused of illegal behavior. The results demonstrated that uncertainty before information produced higher guilt judgments of …

Facial Expression Discrimination In Adults Experiencing Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms, Brian N. Lee

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The present study examined the impact of posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) on adults’ ability to discriminate between various facial expressions of emotions. Additionally, the study examined whether individuals reporting PTSS exhibited an attentional bias toward threat-related facial expressions of emotions. The research design was a 2 (expression intensity) x 3 (emotional pairing) x 2 (PTSS group) mixed-model factorial design. Participants for the study were 89 undergraduates recruited from psychology courses at Western Kentucky University. Participants completed the Traumatic Stress Schedule to assess for prior exposure to traumatic events. A median split was used to divide the sample into two groups …

From Nixon’S War On Drugs To Obama’S Drug Policies Today: Presidential Progress In Addressing Racial Injustices And Disparities, Cigdem Sirin

Departmental Papers (PS)

This study investigates presidential progress in addressing racial injustices and disparities within the context of the war on drugs. I argue that racial inequalities emanating from the war on drugs have been largely overlooked and at times aggravated by previous administrations. Although there have been some improvements in this regard since President Obama took office, more extensive policy reforms are needed to better remedy such inequalities. I also argue that the viability of a progressive presidency for racial justice vis-à-vis U.S. drug policies depends not only on the personal agenda of the president but also on a supportive public as …

Individualism And Collectivism In A Korean Population, Diana D. Ahn

Scripps Senior Theses

Though much research has been conducted concerning the horizontal and vertical attributes of individualism and, not much has been done comparing and contrasting an Eastern culture, collectivism to a specific aspect of American culture, individualism, such as Korean American. The 32-item INDCOL scale was used to measure the 4 attributes (Singelis et al., 1995). Contrary to the proposed hypothesis, this study found high scores in horizontal individualism in Korean American participants and high scores in horizontal individualism and horizontal collectivism in Korean participants. These results could indicate a shift towards a different attribute in the Korean and Korean American community.

More Than Memories? Schema Transference From Media Characters To Real People, Hilary Ray

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study focused on whether personality traits and evaluations of television personalities are used to make inferences about new Social interaction partners. It tested the hypothesis that priming schemas of television personalities will bias inferences made about a stranger. The results were mixed. Participants in the experimental condition made more biased inferences about a stranger than did participants in the control condition. This transference was not influenced by participants' parasociability, and methodological limitations prevented conclusive study of the influence of affective evaluations in this effect. Future studies should attempt to increase methodological control and introduce a diverse set of measures …

What Is The Perceived Impact Of Social Media On Personal Relationships In Adolescence?, Samantha Sexton

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

A study was conducted to review the perceived impact social media plays in children’s personal relationships during adolescence. Surveys and interviews were sent out to 50 subjects in an effort to gather and compile information for analysis. The Compulsive Internet Use Scale (Meerkerk et al.) was used in a survey format and administered to participants to access their perceptions in which their child(ren) and/or grandchild(ren)’s use the internet and social media. A 5-point Likert Scale was also implemented in order to provide measurable analysis. Adult anxiety in regards to social media was observed at different levels depending on the developmental …

Going Beyond The Multicultural Experience-Creativity Link: The Mediating Role Of Emotions, Chi-Ying Cheng, Angela K. Y. Leung, Tsung-Yu Wu

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

This research examines the mediating role of emotions implicated in the multicultural experience—creativity link. We propose that when individuals are dealing with apparent cultural contradictions upon encountering two cultures simultaneously, mentally juxtaposing dissonant cultural stimuli could lower positive affect or increase negative affect, which could in turn induce a deeper level of cognitive processing of cultural discrepancies and inspire creativity. Two studies compared dual cultural exposure versus single cultural exposure among bicultural Singaporeans (Study 1) and compared self-relevant (jointly presenting local and foreign cultures) versus self-irrelevant (jointly presenting foreign cultures only) dual cultural exposure among monocultural Taiwanese (Study 2). As …

Perceptions Of Sexual Dangerousness: Accurate Identification Of Sexual Offenders From Static Photographs, Amber Jean Culbertson-Faegre

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The present research expands understanding of the phenomenon of accurate identification of sexually dangerous men. Study 1 was designed to examine the influence of experience on accuracy of perceptions of sexual dangerousness. Receiving feedback about test trials increased accuracy on future trials at a marginally significant level. Study 2 was designed to determine the importance of specific facial features on these judgments. This study, however, failed to replicate the findings from the first study. Implications for Study 1, as well as possible explanations for Study 2 are discussed.

Creativity In Triadic Supervision: Using Mandalas To Impact The Working Alliance, Kelly Agnes Dunbar

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study investigated the use of mandalas as a creative approach with the potential to impact the supervisory working alliance within the context of triadic supervision. Participants (n=7) included master's level counselors-in-Training (CITs), all female, and ranging in age from 23 to 44. Data generated by the formal interviews gained support for using mandalas as a creative approach in triadic supervision as they revealed the potential to impact the working alliance and the goals, task, and bond therein. Of further importance was the finding that the bond between paired CITs in triadic supervision sessions was also impacted by the …

Happiness Around The World: The Paradox Of Happy Peasants And Miserable Millionaires, Carol Graham

Brookings Scholar Lecture Series

For centuries the pursuit of happiness was the preserve of philosophers. More recently there is a burgeoning interest in the study of happiness in the social sciences. Can we really answer the question what makes people happy? Is it grounded in credible methods and data? Is there consistency in the determinants of happiness across countries and cultures? Are happiness levels innate to individuals or can policy and the environment make a difference? How is happiness affected by poverty and by progress? This presentation introduces a line of research which is both an attempt to understand the determinants of happiness and …

The Bathsheba Syndrome: When A Leader Fails, Donelson R. Forsyth

Jepson School of Leadership Studies articles, book chapters and other publications

Another leader—no, an entire cadre of leaders—has been found to be a moral failure. Legal authorities have charged Jerry Sandusky, who retired as the defensive coordinator for the Penn State football team in 1999, with the sexual abuse of children who he targeted through his involvement in the charitable organization The Second Mile. Additionally, a number of other administrators and leaders at Penn State University—the university’s president Graham Spanier, vice-president Gary Schultz, athletic director Tim Curley and long-time football coach Joe Paterno—face charges or have been fired from the university because of their failure to take action when Sandusky’s crimes …