Psychology Commons^™

Oestradiol Level And Opportunistic Mating In Women, Kristina M. Durante, Norman P. Li

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

The ovarian steroid hormone oestradiol plays a crucial role in female fertility, sexual motivation and behaviour. We investigated the relationship between oestradiol and the likelihood that women would engage in opportunistic mating. Two salivary samples were taken from normally cycling women within the peri-ovulatory and luteal phase of the menstrual cycle. At both testing sessions, participants also completed selfperceived desirability scales and provided subjective reports of sexual and social motivations, and satisfaction with their primary relationship partner. Oestradiol level was positively associated with a woman’s self- and other-perceived physical attractiveness and with inclinations to mate outside her current relationship. Oestradiol …

The “Booty Call”: A Compromise Between Men And Women's Ideal Mating Strategies, Peter K. Jonason, Norman P. Li, Margaret J. Cason

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Traditionally, research on romantic and sexual relationships has focused on 1-night stands and monogamous pairs. However, as the result of men and women pursuing their ideal relationship types, various compromise relationships may emerge. One such compromise is explored here: the ‘‘booty call.’’ The results of an act-nomination and frequency study of college students provided an initial definition and exploration of this type of relationship. Booty calls tend to utilize various communication mediums to facilitate sexual contact among friends who, for men, may represent low-investment, attractive sexual partners and, for women, may represent attractive test-mates. The relationship is discussed as a …

Adaptive Rationality: An Evolutionary Perspective On Cognitive Bias, Martie Haselton, Gregory A. Bryant, Andreas Wilke, David Frederick, Andrew Galperin, Willem E. Frankenhuis, Tyler Moore

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

A casual look at the literature in social cognition reveals a vast collection of biases, errors, violations of rational choice, and failures to maximize utility. One is tempted to draw the conclusion that the human mind is woefully muddled. We present a three-category evolutionary taxonomy of evidence of biases: biases are (a) heuristics, (b) error management effects, or (c) experimental artifacts. We conclude that much of the research on cognitive biases can be profitably reframed and understood in evolutionary terms. An adaptationist perspective suggests that the mind is remarkably well designed for important problems of survival and reproduction, and not …

The Lived Experience Of Hiv-Positive Tanzanian Orphans, Carol A. Parker

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The purpose of this investigation was to generate a context- specific model of the lived experience of HIV positive Tanzanian orphans. With the advent of anti-retroviral drugs, Sub-Saharan African populations with high burdens of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) face annually accumulating increases in the number of HIV positive children, and ultimately adults. Perinatally infected, these children often become orphans while still young. Extended interviews were performed with a purposive sample of 12 HIV infected orphaned children between 9 and 12 years of age. Half of the research participants lived in an orphanage and half were children living with guardians in …

Understanding The Pendejo Phenomenon In Puerto Rico: An Example Of Culture -Specific Therapy, Miriam Biascoechea-Pereda

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Although the current literature calls for generally increased attention to culture-specific influences in therapeutic settings, much more needs to be known regarding specific groups. Accordingly, this exploratory phenomenological study addressed the lack of awareness of the pendejo construct and its perceived threat as a stigmatizing attribute among indigenous Puerto Ricans. Since this phenomenon is believed to jeopardize self-other relationships including therapeutic relationships, the purpose of the study was to describe the pendejo concept as a cultural dimension of Puerto Rican psychology. The research focus included participants' personal and collective experiences of the pendejo construct, with attention directed to how this …

Behavioral Couple Therapy: Partner-Involved Treatment For Substance-Abusing Women, William Fals-Stewart, Wendy K.K. Lam, Michelle L. Kelley

Psychology Faculty Publications

Among the various psychosocial interventions presently available to treat alcohol and drug abuse, it could be argued that partner-involved treatments are the most broadly efficacious. There is not only substantial empirical support for the use of couple-based treatments in terms of improvements in primary targeted outcomes, such as substance use and relationship adjustment, but also in other areas that are of clear public health significance, including intimate partner violence (IPV), children's adjustment, and cost-benefit ratio and cost-effectiveness. During the last few decades, programmatic research on the application of partner-involved therapies for substance abuse has been among the most active and …

Relating Color Blind Racial Attitudes, Social Dominance Orientation And Just World Beliefs, Jennifer Marie Kestner

Dissertations

This research study explored the relationship between Just World Beliefs, Social Dominance Orientation, and Color-blind Racial Attitudes. Beliefs in Just World (BJW) asserts that people believe in a world where, in general, good things happen to those that are good and bad things happen to those that are bad. Research has shown that just world beliefs can be adaptive and protective, but unhealthy behaviors and attitudes can develop in an effort to defend these beliefs. For example, individuals with high beliefs tend to blame victims, deny the reality of social inequality, and hold prejudiced attitudes. Similar constructs related to attitudes …

Notions Of Distance: Communication Constraints In Long-Distance Dating Relationships, Jenny Marie Farrell

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study addressed communication constraints perceived by individuals in long-distance dating relationships (LDDRs) and how these constraints are managed. Internal constraints are identified within the boundaries of the individual or relationship and external constraints are those that originate from outside the boundaries of the individual or relationship. Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with 27 participants; ages ranged from 18-35. Participants reported perceiving 11 internal constraints (mediated communication, avoidance, talk habits, physical absence, emotions, view of outsiders, uncertainty and expectations, effort, notions of distance, visits, and miscellaneous) and five external constraints (schedules, social network, finances, and technology, miscellaneous). Participants reported managing …

Diversity Issues In Recruitment And Retention Of Clients For Parenting Classes, Rachel Elizabeth Davis

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Parenting skills classes are an effective means of preventing and remediating juvenile delinquency, youth violence, and child maltreatment. In particular, juvenile delinquency and child maltreatment disproportionately affect low-income African American families. Unfortunately, data from most parenting classes suggest dismal attendance and participation rates for racial- and ethnic-minorities from low-income backgrounds. The lack of effective recruitment may be due, in part, to the level of cultural competency inherent in the design, content, and implementation of existing parenting classes. Using semi-structured interviews and the qualitative methodology of grounded theory, this study explored the self-reported parenting beliefs, values, and struggles of a sample …

Identity Development Of Latino Gay Men, Manuel Montoya Tajon

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Much has been written on gay identity development and ethnic identity, but research conducted that examines the cross-section of both identities is very limited. Several theories have been proposed which detail gay and lesbian identity development, which involve a conversion of attitudes, values, beliefs, and behavior from a dominant heterosexual culture to those of the minority gay and lesbian culture. Likewise, ethnic identity models propose similar stage sequential processes and conversion from a dominant Anglo culture to those of a minority ethnic culture. Both the ethnic and gay identity development models function and are based on two dichotomous variables (e.g., …

Making The Value Of Development Visible: A Sequential Mixed Methodology Study Of The Integral Impact Of Post-Classroom Leader And Leadership Development, Laura Curnutt Santana

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

In a time of increasing complexity, many organizations invest in leadership development programs to prepare those who will assume the role of leader. Although many studies have evaluated programs’ impact, the questions remain: does development happen in leadership development program? If so, what kind of development? And what is the participant’s experience of personal or organizational impact? The purpose of this sequential mixed methodology study is to address these three questions utilizing an online follow-through platform as a lens on 248 participants in the Center for Creative Leadership’s Leadership Development Program (LDP) who reported completing their LDP goals. Those who …

A Test Of Tmt: Mortality Salience And Avoidance Of Worldview Threats, Taylor Wayne Wadian

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Imagine playing a game of catch with three people, and all the things that would influence to whom you throw. Were thoughts of death included as one of those factors? The hypothesis that mortality salience motivates avoidant behavior toward a worldviewthreatening target was empirically tested on a sample of 200 undergraduate Caucasian college students from a Midwestern university. I induced participants to write about either their own death or dental pain, and presented them with summer descriptions of three fictitious male African American targets that they believed they were going to interact with later in the study. Targets' descriptions were …

Characteristics Of Aversive Racism, Bryan T. Hall

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Recently in the psychological field, attitudes are being recognized as existing on the explicit and implicit level (Greenwald, McGhee, & Schwartz, 1998). Aversive racists have been defined as people low in explicit prejudice but high in implicit prejudice (Son Hing, Li, & Zanna, 2002). The purpose of this study was to determine what distinguishes those who are low in prejudice from aversive racists. Participants were compared on eight different constructs: authenticity, moral judgment development, moral identity, nonprejudice, social dominance, authoritarianism, empathy, and social desirability. No differences were found between low prejudice people and aversive racists. People high in explicit prejudice …

An Evaluation Of The Efficacy Of The Consultant Workshop Model In A Human Service Setting, Nicole E. Gravina

Dissertations

The purpose of the present dissertation was to document and evaluate the consultant-workshop model commonly employed by OBM consultants. The consultation took place in a non-profit human service setting that delivers behavioral services to children diagnosed with autism and their families. Workshop attendees were 13 senior therapists each of whom oversaw 6 to 8 instructor therapists who provided behavioral services to clients and 3 clinical supervisors who oversaw senior therapists. The training took place in 2005 (i.e., three years prior to this evaluation) across five months and four workshop sessions. Participants learned to pinpoint, measure, diagnose, and intervene and then …

The Role Of Racial Attitudes And Identity In Black Client-White Counselor Dyads, Tara Michelle Ferguson

Dissertations

The therapeutic alliance has become an important area of investigation in the psychotherapy literature due to its demonstration of a moderate and consistent relationship with therapy outcomes. Some researchers have suggested that barriers to alliance formation may exist in cross-ethnic dyads due to different worldviews, race related socialization experiences, and racial attitudes. Although past research has indicated that racial identity and attitudes played a role in predicting various counseling processes, no studies in this area have examined their influence in actual counseling dyads. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the role of Black racial identity and attitude …

Employers' Perceptions Of Utah State University's Marriage And Family Therapy Program Requirements, Blake D. Altom

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to assess the influence of program requirements on employability of Utah State University's (USU) marriage and family therapy (MFT) program graduates, the training and employability of USU MFT graduates, and whether or not there is anything that sets these graduates apart from graduates of other MFT programs. Nineteen employers participated in this study. Twelve of these employers were known to have hired USU MFT graduates as the graduates' first employment post-graduation, and seven of the participants were considered potential employers: those who could hire MFTs in the future. Questions were asked to these participants …

The Social Psychology Of Evil: Can The Law Prevent Groups From Making Good People Go Bad?, David Crump

BYU Law Review

No abstract provided.

Establishing A Basis For Multi-System Collaboration: Systemic Team Development, Rosalyn M. Bertram

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Reports of child sexual abuse require police, child protective services, forensic and medical evaluators, prosecutors, family court and treatment providers to negotiate complementary, overlapping roles with children and families. Administrators from these agencies in Kansas City, Missouri clarified this multi-system response by applying a theory-based model for team development previously studied in direct practice with families. This article presents that model and an exploratory case study of this effort. Findings suggest the model's efficacy for resolving inter-agency conflict and may contribute to constructing logic models in multi-system collaboration

The Impact Of Religious Schema On Critical Thinking Skills, Matthew Kirby

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between critical thinking and religious schema as represented by religious orientation. Past research has included religious belief within the larger construct of paranormal belief, and demonstrated a correlation between high levels of paranormal belief and poor critical thinking skills. Studies in the psychology of religion suggested that a more complex religious measure based on religious orientation was necessary to understand these correlations. Additionally, schema theory offered a cognitive framework within which to experimentally test the cause of these correlations. This study found that primed religious schema did not account for …

Mother-Child Interactions Among Latino Families And European-American Families In Relation To Children's Language Outcomes, Katie Christiansen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The number of Latino families in the United States is increasing dramatically. For some of the children in these families, the acquisition of reading skills is hampered by inadequate early language development. Early language development is a key predictor of reading success. Identifying ways in which parents in these families can help children acquire early language skills will better prepare them for acquiring reading skills.

This study used a new parenting measure, PICCOLO, to identify parenting behaviors that are related to children's language development. The primary focus of this project was on Spanish-speaking Latino families, but a group of English-speaking …

Reported Mental Health Issues And Marital Quality: A Statewide Survey, Joseph Ruben Smart

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study included a representative random sample of 886 married individuals in Utah. This sample was surveyed to discover the relationship between demographic variables, reported mental health issues, and marital quality. In addition, this study sought to discover models, using demographic variables and reported mental health issues, to predict for separate dimensions of marital quality. This survey was a replication of a study completed primarily in Oklahoma, with the addition of questions about the participants' mental health.

Spearman's rho, Pearson's R, and multiple regression were used to analyze the data. The results of the study show that: religious beliefs …

Longitudinal And Reciprocal Effects Of Ethnic Identity And Experiences Of Discrimination On Psychosocial Adjustment Of Navajo (Diné) Adolescents, Matthew D. Jones

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study examined the relationships among ethnic identity, cultural identity, experiences of discrimination, their interactions, and their effects on various psychosocial outcomes (self-esteem, depression, sense of school membership, social functioning, substance abuse, substance related problems, delinquent behaviors, and grade point average [GPA]). Data were collected twice over a 2-year period.

Change across time was observed in male adolescents' experiences of discrimination. Affirmation and belonging to Navajo culture was the strongest protective predictor at Time 1, but at Time 2 less consistent patterns of association emerged. Also at Time 2, experiences of discrimination emerged as a powerful negative predictor of psychosocial …

Bullying Prevention, Naveen Jonathan

Marriage and Family Therapy Faculty Presentations

Defines various forms of bullying, addresses why they are issues, discusses the motives behind bullying, and gives tips on how to stop bullying.

Resisting And Transforming: Pastoral Theology And Care Of Korean Military Wives, Bocheol Chang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Korean military wives have been symbolized as "dirty," "nothing," and "evil" by Koreans, Korean Americans, and their American families. They also experience same level of oppression and discrimination within Korean American congregations. In Korea, the women suffered poverty, sexual violence, and Confucian gender discrimination. They have also experienced racial and sexual oppression, intercultural familial conflicts and violence, and identity crisis in America. All of those experiences are caused the sense of not belonging of Korean military wives.

The sense of not belonging and desperation can be explained well by Andrew Sung Park's theology of han. The theology of han …

Changes In Women's Choice Of Dress Across The Ovulatory Cycle: Naturalistic And Laboratory Task-Based Evidence, Kristina M. Durante, Norman P. Li, Martie G. Haselton

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

The authors tested the prediction that women prefer clothing that is more revealing and sexy when fertility is highest within the ovulatory cycle. Eighty-eight women reported to the lab twice: once on a low-fertility day of the cycle and once on a high-fertility day (confirmed using hormone tests). In each session, participants posed for full-body photographs in the clothing they wore to the lab, and they drew illustrations to indicate an outfit they would wear to a social event that evening. Although each data source supported the prediction, the authors found the most dramatic changes in clothing choice in the …

Interactive Effects Of Multicultural Experiences And Openness To Experience On Creativity, Angela K.-Y. Leung, Chi-Yue Chiu

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Extensiveness of multicultural experiences and Openness to Experience were used to predict European American undergraduates' performance on two measures of creative potential: (a) generation of unusual uses of garbage bags and (b) retrieval of nonprototypical or normatively inaccessible exemplars in the conceptual domain of occupation. The results showed that having extensive multicultural experiences predicted better performance on both measures of creative potential only among participants who were open to experience. Among those who were not open, having more extensive multicultural experiences was associated with a lower level of creative potential. Implications of these findings for promoting creativity in schools are …

Connecting The Dots Within: Creative Performance And Identity Integration, Chi-Ying Cheng, Jeffrey Sanchez-Burks, Fion Lee

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

In two studies drawing from social identity theory and the creative-cognition approach, we found that higher levels of identity integration - perceived compatibility between two social identities - predict higher levels of creative performance in tasks that draw on both identity-relevant knowledge domains. Study 1 showed that Asian Americans with higher identity integration were more creative in developing new dishes using a given set of ingredients, but only when both Asian and American ingredients were available. Study 2 showed that female engineers with higher identity integration were more creative in designing a product, but only when the product was targeted …

The Relationship Between Stigma Consciousness And Variables Of Well-Being Among Foreign-Born Faculty Members, Sharnail D. Bazemore

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between stigma consciousness and positive feelings toward the university, feelings of well-being, loneliness, and teaching effectiveness among foreign-born faculty members employed by American institutions of higher education. Participants included 162 foreign born faculty members who represented 12 urban East coast universities. Participants completed a series of online questionnaires that assessed levels of stigma consciousness, feelings toward the university, self-esteem, well-being, loneliness, and self-perceived teaching effectiveness. We hypothesized that stigma consciousness would contribute unique variance to positive feelings toward the university, feelings of well-being, loneliness, and teaching effectiveness. Four hierarchical regression …

Measuring Self-Disclosure Over The Internet, David Pope

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

A two-axial measure of disclosure intimacy by Morton (1976, 1978) was expanded to create a new measure usable for linear analyses. Morton's item of "Description" was divided into three "Context" items: Self-Concept, Interpersonal, and Taboo. The other axis of "Evaluation" was divided into four "Expression" items: Detail, Protected, Intensity, and Negativity/Vulnerability. As test data for the measure, demographic information from l50 users' weblogs was compared to free-response disclosures measured with the Morton measure and the linear Context/Expression measure. A multiple regression analysis of profile information versus disclosure intimacy did not reach significance. Results were inconclusive because the measures used in …

Personality And Social Psychology Connections Is In Development Stage, Donelson R. Forsyth

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

When will technology, in all its varied forms both complicated and simple, begin to give back some of the minutes, hours, and days that it has stolen from us? Slogging through emails, developing online teaching materials for courses, readying a manuscript for online submission, searching for information on the web, formatting a survey so that it prints nicely, and navigating through digital libraries and journal article repositories wastes more time than a Dean’s introductory remarks at a meeting of the full faculty, the paperwork required by a detailed-oriented IRB, or an eighth-year students’ dissertation defense.

Seeking to counter the trend …