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Articles 481 - 510 of 795

Full-Text Articles in Psychology

Empathy And Intergroup Relations: Do People Empathize Less With Outgroup Members?, Gillian Macdonald Jan 2005

Empathy And Intergroup Relations: Do People Empathize Less With Outgroup Members?, Gillian Macdonald

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The present studies were designed to examine if people empathize with a member of a different ethnicity as readily as a member of their own ethnicity. In Study 1, participants read a mock radio program about a target who was either of the same or different ethnicity. It was predicted that participants would empathize less with an ethnic outgroup member due to feelings of dissimilarity based on group membership. Results from Study 1 indicate no significant differences in levels of empathy and perspective taking based on target ethnicity. Study 2 sought to increase the salience of ethnicity and also included …


The Potential Impact That Intimacy Has On Generativity In Emerging Adulthood: An Examination Of Four Relationship Domains, Erin Elizabeth Allard Jan 2005

The Potential Impact That Intimacy Has On Generativity In Emerging Adulthood: An Examination Of Four Relationship Domains, Erin Elizabeth Allard

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This study focused on examining the possible impact that intimacy (in each of four separate relationship domains) had on generativity in emerging adulthood. In total, 50 emerging adult respondents (mean age: 24) participated in a one and one half hour structured interview. Twenty-five of the participants were from an ongoing longitudinal study, and the other 25 were newly recruited. By examining the longitudinal participants, it was possible to: track the trajectory of development of loneliness, generative concern, generative action, and generative narration across time, and to study the potential impact that earlier loneliness (the relative absence of intimacy) had on …


'To The Streets Cuz We're On The Streets': Exploring The Controversy Of Homeless Youth Activism In Kitchener-Waterloo (Ontario), Nadia Hausfather Jan 2005

'To The Streets Cuz We're On The Streets': Exploring The Controversy Of Homeless Youth Activism In Kitchener-Waterloo (Ontario), Nadia Hausfather

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Throughout the past years, homeless youth have been involved in activism in Kitchener-Waterloo (K-W), a mid-size city located in southern Ontario. Such activism has caused a great deal of controversy in the K-W community. The main objective of this research was to explore that controversy. The three main research questions used to explore this controversy were: (1) Why do homeless youth become involved in activism? (2) What are the effects of homeless youth activism? (3) What factors limit or facilitate homeless youth activism? I used a participatory action research approach, consisting of a steering committee of homeless youth and two …


Seeing The Future: Does Visual Perspective Influence Motivation?, Noelia Vasquez Jan 2005

Seeing The Future: Does Visual Perspective Influence Motivation?, Noelia Vasquez

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This research examined how people's thoughts about their future task performance influence their current motivational state. It was hypothesized that the effects of imagining a successful future performance would depend upon the visual perspective adopted. People were expected to feel more motivated when they imagined a highly successful performance from a third-person perspective rather than a first-person perspective. In two experiments, participants identified an important academic task that they would be completing in the near future and were asked to imagine it unfolding either very successfully (positive valence) or less successfully (negative or neutral valence). To manipulate visual perspective, participants …


Minimizing The Pervasiveness Of Women’S Personal Experiences Of Gender Discrimination, Mindi D. Foster, Lydia C. Jackson, Ryan Hartmann, Shannon Woulfe Jan 2004

Minimizing The Pervasiveness Of Women’S Personal Experiences Of Gender Discrimination, Mindi D. Foster, Lydia C. Jackson, Ryan Hartmann, Shannon Woulfe

Psychology Faculty Publications

Given the Rejection-Identification Model (Branscombe, et al., 1999) which shows that perceiving discrimination to be pervasive is a negative experience, it was suggested that there would be conditions under which women would instead minimize the pervasiveness of discrimination. Study 1 (N = 91) showed that when women envisioned themselves in a situation of academic discrimination, they defined it as pervasive but when they experienced a similar laboratory simulation of academic discrimination, its pervasiveness was minimized. Study 2 (N = 159) showed that women who envisioned themselves experiencing discrimination minimized its pervasiveness more so than women reading about discrimination …


When The Advantaged Become Disadvantaged: Men’S And Women’S Actions Against Gender Discrimination, Mindi D. Foster, Stacey Arnt, Jill Honloka Jan 2004

When The Advantaged Become Disadvantaged: Men’S And Women’S Actions Against Gender Discrimination, Mindi D. Foster, Stacey Arnt, Jill Honloka

Psychology Faculty Publications

Intergroup theories suggest that different social identities will either discourage or encourage the taking of action against discrimination (Bartky, 1977; Jost & Banaji, 1994). However, research (e.g., Branscombe, 1998) has shown that discrimination is a less negative experience for men than for women. As such, it is possible that men may take greater action than women, regardless of identity. However, men’s responses to their perceived disadvantage has not yet been tested. Among those induced to ascribe to a gendered stereotype identity, men endorsed more action than women did.Among those induced to ascribe to an identity based on a gendered social …


The Role Of Hardiness In Moderating The Relationship Between Global/Specific Attributions And Actions Against Discrimination, Mindi D. Foster, Kenneth L. Dion Jan 2004

The Role Of Hardiness In Moderating The Relationship Between Global/Specific Attributions And Actions Against Discrimination, Mindi D. Foster, Kenneth L. Dion

Psychology Faculty Publications

In this study, we proposed that individual differences in hardiness may moderate the relationship between global attributions and actions against discrimination. Specifically, global attributions were expected to predict decreased endorsement of actions to combat discrimination among low hardy women. In contrast, global attributions were expected to predict increased endorsement of actions among high hardy women. High and low hardy women were exposed to a laboratory situation of discrimination, and their attributions for, and responses to, discrimination were then assessed. Results showed the expected interaction, but in the opposite direction: among low hardy women, global attributions predicted stronger endorsement of action.Among …


Event Knowledge And The Subjective Temporal Distance Of Past Events, Travis Mcteer Jan 2004

Event Knowledge And The Subjective Temporal Distance Of Past Events, Travis Mcteer

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Three studies investigated a proposed relation between memory quality for past events and the subjective temporal distance of those events. The findings support the hypothesis that those events that are remembered more vividly and in greater detail tend to feel closer than more poorly remembered events. Studies 1 and 2 establish a correlational link between memory quality and subjective distance. Study 3 uses an experimental design to demonstrate that an individual's memory quality for a past event can affect his/her rating of the subjective distance of that event. The results are discussed in terms of the associations between feelings of …


The Relationship Between Youth Involvement And The Transition To University: An Examination Of The Mediating Factors, Thanh-Thanh Tieu Jan 2004

The Relationship Between Youth Involvement And The Transition To University: An Examination Of The Mediating Factors, Thanh-Thanh Tieu

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Research shows that involvement in activities outside of schoolwork and paid employment predicts better adjustment to university. The purpose of this study was to determine why involvement predicts better adjustment. Literature indicates that in addition to involvement, adjustment to university may be influenced by self-esteem, stress, social support and social skills. It was hypothesized that these factors mediate the relationship between involvement and adjustment. Two studies examined this hypothesis. In study 1, two new scales (the Quality of Involvement Scale, and the Social Skills Scale) were developed and pilot tested for use in study 2. In study 2 undergraduate students …


Optimism In Parents Of 8-Year-Olds And Adolescents: Relations With Parental Efficacy, Age Of The Child, And Gender, Shannon E. Werner Jan 2004

Optimism In Parents Of 8-Year-Olds And Adolescents: Relations With Parental Efficacy, Age Of The Child, And Gender, Shannon E. Werner

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Parental optimism may be an important parenting characteristic that influences the parenting process, along with other parent, child and social characteristics. Optimism has generated a great deal of research in social psychology, but has remained relatively unstudied in the context of parenting. Parental optimism is distinguished from personal optimism in the sense that it is the specific tendency for parents to be positive about their child’s future development. In the present study, 35 families completed a series of questionnaires concerning their 8-year-old, first-born child (17 males and 18 females). Measures included the Parent Expectations Index (the measure of parental optimism), …


Investigating Age Factors In Cross-Language Transfer Of Phonological Processing Across English And Chinese Languages, Yan Gu Jan 2004

Investigating Age Factors In Cross-Language Transfer Of Phonological Processing Across English And Chinese Languages, Yan Gu

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The current study compared the reading and phonological performance of younger and older Chinese-speaking children who learned to read English as a second language in Canada. Parallel measures of reading, phonological processing, orthographic processing, and oral language proficiency were administered in English and Chinese to 25 younger children (Grades 1 and 2) and 26 older children (Grades 5 and 6). Phonological processing skill in English and Chinese were intercorrelated and correlated with English reading performance in both age groups. For the younger children, English phonological processing skill was a unique predictor of English reading performance. Conversely, for the older children, …


Parents' Perceptions Of Children With Learning Disabilities: Asian Indian And Caucasian Cultural Perspectives, Henareet Singh Jan 2004

Parents' Perceptions Of Children With Learning Disabilities: Asian Indian And Caucasian Cultural Perspectives, Henareet Singh

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Past literature on parents' identification of children with learning disabilities is very limited. Within the existing literature, the possibility of differences between cultures in parents' perceptions of children with learning disabilities has scarcely been examined. Two cultural groups were examined in the present study: Asian Indian (Sikh, collectivist culture) and Caucasian 1 (individualistic culture). Parents with children without learning disabilities (and some with children with learning disabilities) were examined. Both groups were given a survey to explore how they would identify children with learning disabilities. Population proportions were calculated on how the entire sample (i.e., Caucasian and Asian Indian participants …


Effect Of Ondansetron And Delta(9)-Tetrahydrocannabinol On The Establishment Of Lithium-Induced Conditioned Taste Avoidance In The House Musk Shrew (Suncus Murinus), Magdalena Kwiatkowska Jan 2004

Effect Of Ondansetron And Delta(9)-Tetrahydrocannabinol On The Establishment Of Lithium-Induced Conditioned Taste Avoidance In The House Musk Shrew (Suncus Murinus), Magdalena Kwiatkowska

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Recent evidence suggests that toxin-induced taste avoidance in the non-emetic rat is not mediated by conditioned sickness. In contrast, it appears that toxin-induced taste avoidance in an emetic species is mediated by conditioned sickness. The present experiments evaluated the potential of the anti-emetic agents, ondansetron [OND; a serotonin receptor (5-HT3) antagonist] and Delta(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol [THC; a cannabinoid (CB 1) agonist] to interfere with lithium chloride (LiCl)-induced taste avoidance in the house musk shrew (Suncus murinus). In Experiment 1, shrews were pretreated with OND (1.5 mg/kg) or saline 30 min prior to drinking 0.1% saccharin solution then they were injected with LiCl …


Cultural Differences In Holism, Focalism And Affective Forecasting, Kent C.H. Lam Jan 2004

Cultural Differences In Holism, Focalism And Affective Forecasting, Kent C.H. Lam

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The "impact bias" in affective forecasting - a tendency to overestimate the emotional consequences of a particular future event - might not be a universal phenomenon. This prediction bias occurs in part because of a cognitive process known as focalism, whereby predictors focus attention narrowly on the target event and neglect other mitigating events and circumstances. It was hypothesized that East Asians, because of their holistic tendencies, would be less susceptible to focalism and consequently to the impact bias. These hypotheses were partially supported. In Study 1, participants predicted on a cold day how happy they would be when outdoor …


Story Telling: A Narrative Based Evaluation Of Supported Housing For Consumers At Waterloo Regional Homes For Mental Health, Inc., Sarah L. Peddle Jan 2004

Story Telling: A Narrative Based Evaluation Of Supported Housing For Consumers At Waterloo Regional Homes For Mental Health, Inc., Sarah L. Peddle

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

A qualitative, narrative approach was used to evaluate a supported housing program for formerly homeless people with serious mental health problems. The housing organization hosting the research is currently providing supported-living, single-occupancy apartments funded under the Phase II Mental Health Homelessness Initiative by the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care. The study was designed to gather the stories of those who have been recently homeless or at risk for homelessness, have a serious mental illness, and have been housed within the past year in this housing, as well as to provide an evaluation of the effectiveness of supported housing …


Social Interaction And Attitudes Towards Computers In Seniors, Melanie Jennifer Webb Jan 2004

Social Interaction And Attitudes Towards Computers In Seniors, Melanie Jennifer Webb

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Sixty-eight participants were introduced to computers through 5 workshops. Seniors worked in dyads with either one shared computer or a computer for each participant. Social interactions while working on the computers between partners were examined. In addition, participants completed a total of five surveys across the sessions to determine whether the introduction of the computers had any impact on their attitudes towards computers and technology. Differences were found for the types of social interaction engaged between the one computer and two computer conditions. Specifically, participants in the one computer condition engaged in a significantly greater amount of problem-solving, as well …


Perception Of Empty And Filled Time Intervals In Pigeons: An Attentional Allocation Explanation Of The Empty Interval Illusion, Stephanie Hornyak Jan 2004

Perception Of Empty And Filled Time Intervals In Pigeons: An Attentional Allocation Explanation Of The Empty Interval Illusion, Stephanie Hornyak

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Studies with humans and non-human animals have established how stimulus properties play an important role in the subjective duration of time. A phenomenon referred to as the Filled Interval Illusion has been found with humans, which demonstrates that filled intervals are perceived to be longer than empty intervals of equivalent duration. Recently, it has been demonstrated that pigeons judge empty time intervals bounded by two 500-ms light markers to be longer than an equivalent filled interval of light. Experiment 1 was able to replicate the Empty Interval Illusion with pigeons. Experiment 2 attempted to determine whether the Empty Interval Illusion …


A Media Literacy Intervention: Using Self-Objectification As A Tool For Identifying Changes In Well-Being And Internalization, Becky L. Choma Jan 2004

A Media Literacy Intervention: Using Self-Objectification As A Tool For Identifying Changes In Well-Being And Internalization, Becky L. Choma

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

According to objectification theory, females are socialised to internalize a third person perspective of their own physical appearance (Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997), which in turn serves to decrease well-being (Sands & Wardle, 2003). In our culture, one of the biggest culprits for portraying a negative perspective of women's bodies is media (Thompson & Heinberg, 1999). In an effort to combat the harmful effects of media, researchers have suggested that being able to critically evaluate (i.e., media literacy) such messages may be helpful (Tiggeman, Gardiner, & Slater, 2000). Past research has failed to measure trait self-objectification (TSO: high, low) and its …


Improving Preschoolers' Memories For The Sources Of Events: A Comparison Of Two Source-Monitoring Training Techniques, Francine M. Pilon Jan 2004

Improving Preschoolers' Memories For The Sources Of Events: A Comparison Of Two Source-Monitoring Training Techniques, Francine M. Pilon

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Preschoolers have a tendency to confuse the sources of events when recalling information. Two source-monitoring training (SMT) techniques were compared to see whether source confusions can be reduced in 3- to 4-year-old children (N = 37). After watching a puppet-show and story, children were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: two SMT conditions (explicit and implicit) and one control condition (memory training) where they were trained on non-target puppet-show and story events. The explicit method consisted of a clear mention of both sources (story, puppet show) and their modality (hearing and seeing, respectively) during training, specific instruction to utilize …


Novelty And The Running-Induced Feeding Suppression, Elham Satvat Jan 2004

Novelty And The Running-Induced Feeding Suppression, Elham Satvat

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

In adult rats, wheel introduction induces a temporary feeding suppression, which may be the result of either a conditioned taste avoidance induced by wheel running (Left & Grant, 1996), or an anorectic effect produced by running (Mueller, Loft, & Eikelboom, 1997). The first experiment investigated the effect of alternate-day wheel access on consumption of novel 32% sucrose solution in 36 adult male rats. The first group of rats had no wheel access, the second continuous wheel access, and the third alternate-day wheel access. Rats without wheel access consumed large amounts of sucrose from the first day. Both groups with wheel …


Dispositional Hardiness And Women’S Well-Being Relating To Gender Discrimination: The Role Of Minimization, Mindi D. Foster, Kenneth L. Dion Jan 2003

Dispositional Hardiness And Women’S Well-Being Relating To Gender Discrimination: The Role Of Minimization, Mindi D. Foster, Kenneth L. Dion

Psychology Faculty Publications

Three studies examined whether personality-based hardiness would be associated with mental health benefits in contexts of gender discrimination. Hardy women encountering both a laboratory simulation and a hypothetical scenario of discrimination showed greater self-esteem and less negative affect than low hardy women. However, these benefits were mediated by the use of specific attributions, suggesting that the well-being in hardy women may have been achieved through minimizing the pervasiveness of discrimination. Study three showed this mediation pattern occurred only for participants exposed to higher threat scenarios versus lower threat scenarios of discrimination. Thus, minimizing the pervasiveness of discrimination may have been …


The Meaning Of Engagement: An Exploration Of Generativity In The Domain Of Politics, Sean Curtis Cameron Jan 2003

The Meaning Of Engagement: An Exploration Of Generativity In The Domain Of Politics, Sean Curtis Cameron

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Survey research has raised concerns over recent declines in political participation (Putnam, 2000). However, there has yet to be much research examining reasons for this from a narrative, life history perspective. In the current study, we examined intensive interviews of 94 midlife adults from the MacArthur Foundation Study on Successful Midlife Development, for levels of generative concern using the Loyola Generativity Scale, as well as political behaviours, values and beliefs using measures developed by the authors. This exploratory analysis focused on the accounts that men and women gave of political involvement, as well as predictors of these patterns. Generativity was …


Moving Forward While Remaining Rooted: A Case Study Of The Ebytown Food Co-Operative In Waterloo, Ontario (Perspectives And Findings From A Member Turned Researcher), Maria Hatzipantelis Jan 2003

Moving Forward While Remaining Rooted: A Case Study Of The Ebytown Food Co-Operative In Waterloo, Ontario (Perspectives And Findings From A Member Turned Researcher), Maria Hatzipantelis

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Retail food co-operatives provide a unique opportunity for community psychologists to work with democratically-controlled organisations that purport to offer each member control over the food she or he consumes on a daily basis. In this case study of the Ebytown Food Co-operative in Waterloo, Ontario, I document the activities of the co-op as it functions on a practical level, based both on my experiences as a researcher and an active member of the co-op. My thesis process was guided by the belief that research should be useful to the people with whom one works, and therefore, I followed a participatory …


'Why Should We Learn About Crime?': Exploring The Perceptions And Fear Of Crime Among Recent Immigrants In Waterloo Region (Ontario), Jennifer Robena Bernier Jan 2003

'Why Should We Learn About Crime?': Exploring The Perceptions And Fear Of Crime Among Recent Immigrants In Waterloo Region (Ontario), Jennifer Robena Bernier

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The purpose of this research project was to achieve a greater understanding of the perceptions and fear of crime among recent immigrants in Waterloo Region, including how recent immigrants define crime, the types of activities that recent immigrants considered to be criminal in both Canada and their countries of origin, and how perceptions of crime are similar and different among the various countries that the participants represented. Furthermore, in this study I hoped to identify the types of crime(s) that recent immigrants in Waterloo Region fear and the factors that may be important in explaining fear of crime among recent …


Visualizing The Future: Can 'She' Predict Project Completion More Accurately Than 'I' Can?, Jenny Deslauriers Jan 2003

Visualizing The Future: Can 'She' Predict Project Completion More Accurately Than 'I' Can?, Jenny Deslauriers

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Although people often make overly optimistic predictions of when their own projects will be completed, neutral observers tend to be more realistic. Study 1 examined whether people would make more accurate predictions for their own projects by adopting the visual perspective of an observer. Participants identified a personal project that they hoped to complete in the next two weeks, and predicted when it would be finished. To vary visual perspective, participants were instructed either to visualize the project through their own eyes as if it was actually occurring (first person perspective), to picture themselves and their surroundings as an observer …


The State Of Our Union: Appraisals Of Romantic Relationships, Stephen Allan Michael Gallant Jan 2003

The State Of Our Union: Appraisals Of Romantic Relationships, Stephen Allan Michael Gallant

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

How do romantic partners determine if they are happy in their current relationship? What standards do they use when appraising their romantic relationship? The present thesis examines people’s preferences among various comparison standards (social comparisons, temporal past comparisons, temporal future comparisons and previous relationship comparisons) for relationship appraisal, the direction in which people prefer to make various relationship comparisons and the reported and actual impact of these comparison standards on relationship appraisals. The present research also examines the hypothesis that certain relationship beliefs and characteristics (controllability and satisfaction) affect how one interprets these comparison standards. In study 1, 140 undergraduate …


Bridging The Gap Between Ethnically/Culturally Diverse 'Others': A Contribution To The Understanding Of How Women Work Together, Kristi D. Kemp Jan 2003

Bridging The Gap Between Ethnically/Culturally Diverse 'Others': A Contribution To The Understanding Of How Women Work Together, Kristi D. Kemp

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

In this thesis, I explore the ways in which ethnically and culturally diverse women work together to rbedige their differences. Using a critical, feminist, reflexive and post-colonialist approach, I conducted eight in-person, semi-structured interviews with women who were staff and board members, volunteers, or participants in programmes offered by an organization serving immigrant women. Wommen were asked to name their cultural or ethnic identities, to share their views on multiculturalism, tolerance, and the “welcoming” of newcomers to Canada, the uniting and divisive issues they faced in their work, as well as appropriate roles for Canadian-born and immigrant women in the …


Exposing The Needs Of An Invisible Community: Queer Youth In Kitchener-Waterloo, Meghan Kenny Jan 2003

Exposing The Needs Of An Invisible Community: Queer Youth In Kitchener-Waterloo, Meghan Kenny

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Using a participatory action research approach, and a steering committee composed of stakeholders from the community, this thesis focused on identifying the needs of queer youth in Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario. Multiple methods were used including focus groups, key informant interviews, and an online survey. A total of 31 participants were involved in this study including youth between the ages of 16 and 25 (who identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, questioning, or unsure), parents of queer youth and other community members. Barriers to queer youth wanting to access resources were addressed and strategies to overcome them are offered. In addition, suggestions …


French And English Word Reading And Word Decoding Performance In Bilingual Children: How Are Phonological Processing Skills Related?, Catherine Adèle Lafrance Jan 2003

French And English Word Reading And Word Decoding Performance In Bilingual Children: How Are Phonological Processing Skills Related?, Catherine Adèle Lafrance

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The French (L1) and English (L2) reading development of bilingual children in French schools was examined using measures of oral language proficiency, letter-name and letter-sound knowledge, phonological processing (phonological awareness, naming speed and working memory), and word decoding over an eight month period. At Time 1 (Senior Kindergarten), a series of multiple regressions indicated that, when controlling for oral language proficiency, letter name knowledge and non-verbal reasoning, L1 phonological awareness was the only consistent and unique predictor of French and English word reading and word decoding performance. At Time 2 (Grade 1), French and English phonological awareness were consistent and …


Looking Forward To Fitness: The Effects Of Time Perception On Exercise Behaviour, Lianne Mclellan Jan 2003

Looking Forward To Fitness: The Effects Of Time Perception On Exercise Behaviour, Lianne Mclellan

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Previous research has shown that people induced with a future-oriented time perspective were more likely to adhere to an exercise program because they were focused on the benefits of exercise and therefore better able to overcome short-term (ST) costs. The current research aimed to extend these findings by examining time perception—how close or distant the future benefits of exercise subjectively feel. Three studies examined participants’ perceptions of the ST and long-term (LT) benefits of exercise on their motivation to be physically active and their subsequent exercise behaviour. Study l found that having a future time perspective was related to higher …