Psychology Commons^™

A Girl Power Study: Looking And Listening To The Role Of Emotions And Relationality In Developing Critical Consciousness, Jennifer Wallin-Ruschman

Dissertations and Theses

The concept of critical consciousness centers on the capacity for involvement in social change efforts. Its development has been the aim of many recent social movements (e.g., the consciousness raising groups of the women's movement). In this work, critical consciousness is defined as the highest level of socio-political-cultural (SPC) consciousness development. SPC consciousness is characterized by the linking of the personal and the political so that structures and discourses of oppression are not only understood but also lead to critical action and transforming relations of domination. Additionally, critical consciousness includes the ability to tolerate ambivalence and conflict as well as …

The Effects Of Organizational Justice And Exercise On The Relationship Between Job Stressors And Employee Health, Ana Cristina B. Costa

Dissertations and Theses

Recent decades have seen an explosion of research centered on understanding the influential impact that job stressors have on employees' subjective well-being, and now more recently, on objective assessments of physical health. Utilizing baseline data from a larger study funded by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), I conducted a field study on blue-collar employees from two organizations in the construction industry, with the goal of exploring the impact of job stressors on job satisfaction (subjective well-being) and body mass index (objective health), as well as the influence of organizational justice as a moderator and exercise as …

Reciprocal Effects Of Student Engagement And Disaffection On Changes In Teacher Support Over The School Year, Cailin Tricia Currie

Dissertations and Theses

Building upon previous research on the importance of students' motivation for their learning and academic success, this study sought to examine how students' motivation in the classroom may impact the way their teachers' treat them. Specifically, data from 423 middle school students and their 21 teachers were used to examine the extent to which student engagement and disaffection (individually and in combination) in the fall predicted changes in teachers' provision of motivational support from fall to spring of the same school year. The study also examined whether these relationships might differ by student grade or gender, and whether the effects …

Motivation And Engagement Across The Kindergarten Transition: A Self Determination Perspective, Rita Mcleod Yelverton

Dissertations and Theses

The American school system currently faces gaps in achievement between its low-income, minority students and their higher-income, white peers. These gaps exist both in academic and socioemotional skills, are present by kindergarten entry, and persist throughout students' school careers. One proposed strategy through which these gaps may be reduced is through the promotion of student motivation and engagement. In the primary and secondary school settings, these constructs are promoted through teachers' motivational support of students' psychological needs for relatedness, autonomy, and competence. However, the development of these factors prior to kindergarten entry has not been as well studied.

Data from …

Individuals With Intellectual Disabilities In Faith Communities: Perspectives Of Catholic Religious Leaders, Mazna Patka

Dissertations and Theses

Community psychology is concerned with the relationship between individuals and social systems in community contexts, but the field has under-explored the role of religious organizations in the lives of individuals with intellectual disabilities. Worldwide, most people identify with a religion, and congregations serve as important mediating structure that creates a sense of community and provides linkages between individuals and society. There may be significant benefits to religious participation, including greater life satisfaction, health, and quality of life. Such benefits may be especially important to individuals with intellectual disability who generally experience poorer outcomes. However, we know very little about the …

Attachment And Adolescent Offending: An Examination Of The Links Between Sexually Abusive Behavior And The Level Of Attachment To Parents And Peers, Lee Anna Knox

Dissertations and Theses

Child sexual abuse (CSA) is recognized as a public health problem with consequences affecting all levels of the ecological model. In recent years it has been recognized that up to 40% of reported sexual offenses occur at the hands of adolescent offenders (Burton, 2000), who are defined as children aged 12-18 years. In recent years, research has suggested that attachment deficits contribute to sexual offending behavior in adolescence. The current study augments the sparse research with adolescent offenders and by exploring of the participant's perceived attachment to important others (mother/mother figures, father/father figures, and peers/friends). Participants included 101 Juvenile sex …

Factors Influencing Youth Self-Perceptions Of Overweight And Obesity, Caitlin Helen Sommers

Dissertations and Theses

This study sought to examine whether participation in physical activity affects the ability to correctly classify body size, based on body mass index classifications. Secondarily, this study determined whether adolescents who incorrectly classified their body size overestimated or underestimated their size. Self-report data from the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were analyzed. Logistic regression was performed to examine relationships between self-perception of body size and physical activity, television viewing time, computer/video game use, physical education class time, and extracurricular sports activities. Significance was set to p<0.05. Physical activity was the only statistically significant independent variable (p=0.058, OR = 1.060). Although physical activity was shown to be statistically significant, it did not appear to meaningfully increase the ability of youth to correctly classify body size. Secondary analysis showed that adolescents who incorrectly classified their body size were more likely to underestimate their body size. Females more frequently underestimated their body size (females=673; males=384).

Work Stress Reactivity And Health Outcomes: A Study Of Nurses, Laurie Marie Jacobs

Dissertations and Theses

Negative events encountered in daily life influence individual well-being. Individuals vary in their reactivity to these events, the extent to which they are behaviorally, physiologically, and psychologically influenced by them (Almeida, 2005; Neupert, Almeida, & Charles, 2007). Reactivity to events in the form of changes in health behavior could represent either an attempt at coping (Cooper, Frone, Russell, & Mudar, 1995) or a stressor-related failure of self-control (Muraven & Baumeister, 2000). Such changes in behavior could have later effects on health.

Although a great deal of attention has been paid to both the immediate and long-term effects of stressors on …

"Do Not Disturb": A Micro-Macro Examination Of Intrusions At Work, Bing Chun Lin

Dissertations and Theses

Intrusions, or interruptions by others, are a common phenomenon in the modern workplace (Grove, 1983; Jett & George, 2003), particularly in the computing and information-technology (CIT) industry, as cross-specialty, and cross-team collaborations become more common (Beck et al., 2001). The present study examines the relationship between day-to-day intrusions (measured Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday) and strain reactions and perceived job performance over the week (measured on Thursday) among 150 CIT employees. Using a number of resource-based theories (i.e., Conservation of Resources, Ego Depletion Model, Cognitive Fatigue Model), I hypothesize that participants experiencing more frequent intrusions on a day-to-day basis will experience …

Fated To Pretend?: Culture Crisis And The Fate Of The Individual, Rebecca Jade Ok

Dissertations and Theses

The question of this thesis is whether the individual can resolve the problem of culture crisis in her own case. Culture crisis is a historical moment in which our culture leads us to expect a world drastically different from the one in which we find ourselves. This thesis will focus on the experience of Generation Y in the fall-out of the 2008 Recession. It will be argued that we need a Wittgensteinian view of language in order to account for the phenomenon of culture crisis. It will be suggested that our individual has to be a Nietzschean individual in order …

Beyond The Yellow Brick Road: Queer Localization In The Age Of Anita Bryant, 1974-1980, Stewart John Van Cleve

Dissertations and Theses

Collective memories of gay rights in the late 1970s offer a conflicted portrait of Anita Bryant, an infamous anti-gay personality who inspired, organized, or funded four anti-gay referendums between 1976 and 1978. I employ J. Jack Halberstam's concept of "metronormativity" in an analysis of campaigns that failed to preserve local gay rights laws in Miami and Eugene, the first and last of Bryant's four "target cities." I use L. Frank Baum's Wizard of Oz as a metaphor to compare the beginning of Bryant's role as a leader in Miami to her subsequent role as a specter of national controversy in …

The Effects Of Offender Age And Offender-Victim Relationship On Modus Operandi Strategies To Lure The Victim, Hayley Lauren Tews

Dissertations and Theses

Research on the modus operandi (“method of operation”) of child sexual abuse (CSA) offenders has been useful in informing successful prevention programs (LeClerc, 2009). However, a gap in the literature regarding the strategies offenders use to lure potential CSA victims still remains. The present study seeks to examine the effects of offender-victim relationship and offender age on the use of strategies to lure victims for the purpose of committing CSA. Data for this study is taken from a larger investigation which included 854 identified adolescent and adult CSA offenders from nine different states. A 2 X 2 MANCOVA analysis revealed …

Emotion Regulation And Strain In Corrections Officers: Examining The Role Of Recovery Experiences And Coping Mechanisms, Frankie Guros

Dissertations and Theses

Research has begun to identify recovery experiences during nonwork time as an important mechanism explaining the relationship between job characteristics and strain (Geurts & Sonnentag, 2006; Kinnunen, Feldt, Siltaloppi, Sonnentag, 2011). Corrections officers face challenges unique to their occupation (Armstrong & Griffin, 2004) that may contribute to the high levels of strain that currently characterize their occupation (i.e., short life expectancy, high suicide rates; Spinaris & Denhof, 2011; Stack & Tsoudis, 1997). Though previous research has not examined emotion regulation, recovery experiences, and coping within corrections officers, these constructs may be of particular importance to an occupation that requires employees …

First-Generation Latinos At Pacific Northwest University: Their Adjustment And Experience During Freshman Year, Marco Antonio Aguirre

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis details the lived experiences of ten first-generation Latino students at a large public university in the Pacific Northwest. Their experience and adjustment reveal that they relied on their friends and family, especially their parents for the male participants, for support and encouragement. The help these students received in the form of caring and social capital from faculty and staff during their freshman year ensured that they made a successful adjustment to college. Participants cite influential people and programs that motivated them to succeed and become comfortable in the college student role.

Perceived Dangerousness Of The Job And Well-Being Among Correctional Officers: The Role Of Perceived Stress And Family Supportive Supervisor Behaviors (Fssb), David Duane Meier

Dissertations and Theses

Occupational stress has become a world-wide epidemic exacting severe tolls on both businesses and employees alike. Of all the workplace stressors, the perceived dangerousness of one's job is ever present within the occupation of corrections. The current study examined the mediating process of perceived stress on the relationship between perceived dangerousness of the job and the negative employee well-being outcomes of work-family conflict and symptoms of psychological distress, as well as the moderating effects of family supportive supervisor behaviors on this process. As part of a larger study, survey data were collected from 1,370 state correctional officers. It was hypothesized …

Natural Area Stewardship Volunteers: Motivations, Attitudes, Behaviors, Corinne Handelman

Dissertations and Theses

To better understand the value of those who engage in environmental stewardship of natural areas, we studied volunteer steward's motivation to participate, their sustainable behaviors and attitudes toward stewardship-related constructs. Specifically, we designed and conducted a survey of volunteers who work as stewards in urban natural areas in Portland, Oregon. We hypothesize that as volunteer frequency increases: participants will be more motivated to participate for environmental reasons, volunteers will be more likely to feel a strong connection to the stewardship site, participants will be more likely to engage in public pro-environmental behaviors, and their level of environmental literacy will increase. …

Peak Of The Day Or The Daily Grind: Commuting And Subjective Well-Being, Oliver Blair Smith

Dissertations and Theses

To understand the impact of daily travel on personal and societal well-being, researchers are developing measurement techniques that go beyond satisfaction-based measures of travel. Metrics related Subjective Well-Being (SWB), defined as an evaluation of one's happiness or life satisfaction, are increasingly important for evaluating transportation and land-use policies. This dissertation examines commute well-being, a multi-item measure of how one feels about the commute to work, and how it is shaped. Data are from a web-based survey of workers (n=828) in Portland, Oregon, U.S.A., with three roughly equally sized groups based on mode: bike, transit and car users. Descriptive analysis shows …

Lost In The Margins? Intersections Between Disability And Other Non-Dominant Statuses With Regard To Peer Victimization And Psychosocial Distress Among Oregon Teens, Marjorie Grace Mcgee

Dissertations and Theses

Youth with disabilities experience greater levels of victimization than non-disabled youth. However, little is known about the associations between peer victimization and disability status alone and in combination with sex and race/ethnicity, or with sex and sexual orientation. Further, little is known about the extent to which exposure to peer victimization mediates the relationship between disability status and psychosocial distress. Thus, one purpose of this study was to investigate the extent to which disability status, as a marker of social difference, alone and in combination with other social identities, is associated with differential levels of exposure to peer victimization. A …

Work Design Characteristics As Moderators Of The Relationship Between Proactive Personality And Engagement, Damon Thomas Drown

Dissertations and Theses

This study examines which and how trait relevant work design characteristics moderate the relationship between proactive personality and engagement. Proactive personality is defined as an individual's tendency to intentionally and directly affect change in their environment (Bateman & Crant, 1993; Crant, 2000). Previous research has been primarily focused on the positive aspects of proactive personality; to fill this gap, I used trait activation theory (Tett & Burnett, 2003) to identify which work characteristics will activate proactive personality to affect engagement and developed specific hypotheses about which work characteristics will attenuate the proactive personality engagement relationship. In the study I identified …

Attitudes Toward Science (Ats): An Examination Of Scientists' And Native Americans' Cultural Values And Ats And Their Effect On Action Priorities, Adam T. Murry

Dissertations and Theses

Science has been identified as a crucial element in the competitiveness and sustainability of America in the global economy. American citizens, especially minority populations, however, are not pursuing science education or careers. Past research has implicated `attitudes toward science' as an important factor in the public's participation in science. I applied Ajzen's (1991) Theory of Planned Behavior to attitudes toward science to predict science-related sustainability-action intentions and evaluated whether scientists and Native Americans differed in their general attitudes toward science, cultural values, and specific beliefs about science. Analyses revealed that positive attitude toward science and the cultural value of individualism …

Phantom Islands A Collection Of Short Stories, Marie Buckner

Dissertations and Theses

This collection of short stories takes its name from various islands historically believed to exist and at one time or other located on maps, sometimes remaining on them for centuries, but later removed after they were proved to be illusory. Reports of these islands usually came from sailors as they explored new realms, mistaking actual islands for imaginary ones or by geographical error. Illusions can persist unchallenged for ages. A similar yet modern illusion is the persistence of vision, a phenomenon by which an afterimage, say, on a screen, is thought to persist on the retina for approximately one twenty-fifth …

Examining The Mechanisms Of The Work-Nonwork Boundary Fit And Health Relationship, Jenna Risa Lecomte-Hinely

Dissertations and Theses

This study examined the construct of work-nonwork boundary fit, or the congruence between an individual's work-nonwork boundary management preferences and the work-nonwork boundary management policies and practices supplied by their employer. The present study used boundary theory and person-environment (P-E) fit theory to propose that high levels of work-nonwork boundary fit would be beneficial to mental and physical health, both directly and indirectly via the dual mechanisms of conflict and enhancement. Survey methods and latent congruence modeling (LCM) were used to test these hypotheses, which were then supplemented by polynomial regression response surface mapping and qualitative analysis. Results showed that …

Supervisor-Subordinate Directional Age Differences And Employee Reactions To Formal Performance Feedback: Examining Mediating And Moderating Mechanisms In A Chinese Sample, Gabriela Burlacu

Dissertations and Theses

As a result of changing demographic trends in today's workforce, employees of all ages can now be found in all career stages. Consequently, the pairing of a younger supervisor with a relatively older employee is becoming increasingly more common. Research in the United States has shown that such demographically "non-normative" pairings have negative implications for employee attitudes and behaviors, and thus for employee performance management. However, little is known about the effects of such pairings in other nations and cultures, despite the fact that these demographic shifts are occurring on a global level. As such, this study examined the effects …

Integrating Leader Fairness And Leader-Member Exchange In Predicting Work Engagement: A Contingency Approach, Fangyi Liao-Holbrook

Dissertations and Theses

Growing research attention has been devoted to understanding the implications of work engagement with an emphasis on its motivational mechanism linking its antecedents to consequences. Findings from such research efforts could inform intervention efforts. Integrating organizational justice theories within the leadership framework, this study examined the effects of supervisory interactional justice and supervisory procedural justice on subordinates' work engagement. Based on survey responses from 352 Chinese employees collected at two time points with three months in-between, moderated regression analyses were conducted to test hypotheses that there is a direct positive effect of supervisory interactional justice and supervisory procedural justice on …

Horizontal Workplace Aggression And Coworker Social Support Related To Work-Family Conflict And Turnover Intentions, Sarah Elizabeth Van Dyck

Dissertations and Theses

Horizontal workplace aggression is a workplace stressor that can have serious negative outcomes for employees and organizations. In the current study, hierarchical regression analyses were used to investigate the hypotheses that horizontal workplace aggression has a relationship with turnover intentions, work-to-family conflict and family-to-work conflict. Coworker social support was investigated as a potential moderator in these relationships. Surveys measuring these constructs were administered to a group of 156 direct-care workers (specifically, certified nursing assistants, or CNAs) in a long-term assisted living facility corporation in the Northwestern United States. Results indicated that horizontal workplace aggression had a significant and positive relationship …

Exploring Four Barriers Experienced By African Americans In Healthcare: Perceived Discrimination, Medical Mistrust, Race Discordance, And Poor Communication, Adolfo Gabriel Cuevas

Dissertations and Theses

For many health conditions, African Americans bear a disproportionate burden of disease, injury, death, and disability compared to European Americans. African Americans also use health services less frequently than do European Americans and this underuse of services contributes to health disparities in the United States. Studies have shown that some disparities are present not as a result of poor access to care, but, to a certain extent, as a result of the experiences patients have at their doctors' offices. It is, therefore, essential to understand African American patients' perspectives and experiences with healthcare providers. Past studies have shown that four …

Teacher Stress And Coping: Does The Process Differ According To Years Of Teaching Experience?, Jeffry Childs Beers

Dissertations and Theses

Teaching is stressful. The demands placed on teachers can result in emotional exhaustion and burnout, causing many to leave the profession. Teachers early in their careers seem to be at special risk, with desistence rates estimated as high as 40% in the first five years. This study was based on the notion that constructive coping can be a resource for teachers, and that teachers later in their professional lives may provide a model for adaptive ways of dealing with professional demands. The goal of the study was to examine whether the coping process utilized by teachers (including reported demands, appraisals, …

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), …

First-Generation Student Success After Academic Warning: An Exploratory Analysis Of Academic Integration, Personal Adjustment, Family And Social Adjustment And Psychological Factors, Gabrielle Shoshana Zeisman

Dissertations and Theses

As many as a quarter of undergraduate college students are placed on academic probation at least once during their college career. In addition, first-generation college students are even more at-risk for stopping out or dropping out due to being less academically prepared than their non-first-generation peers. In order to examine factors that influence first generation student academic risk and success, this exploratory study examined the intersection of academic standing and four primary conceptual contributors: academic integration, personal adjustment, family and social adjustment, and psychological factors. Survey data were collected from first generation undergraduate students at an urban research university who …

Adolescent Males' Similarity, Emotional Safety, And Change In Strengths-Based Programming, Wendy Elaine Viola

Dissertations and Theses

In recent decades, the use of strengths-based approaches has become increasingly popular in youth intervention and prevention programs (Maton et al., 2004), which emphasize creating emotionally safe environments through the process of relational community building (Maton, 2000). However, relatively little is known about the relationship between group composition, specifically similarity between group members, and emotional safety and program efficacy. This thesis examines the relationship between adolescent males' similarity to their peers in terms of their demographic profiles and behaviors and belief systems, experiences of emotional safety, and changing behaviors and belief systems in a strengths-based intervention program within Ohio juvenile …