Experimental Analysis of Behavior Commons^™

Controlling The Narrative: The Effects Of Media Coverage On Fear Of Crime And Socio-Political Ideology, Andrew Koppelman

Theses

Several decades of study have established an understanding that media have a unique power to influence the perspectives and worldviews of audiences. This phenomenon has been explored through the lenses of Social Learning and Cultivation theory, wherein media appeal to base human tendencies of self-preservation and teaches audiences how to maximize rewards for their actions by acting as a sort of instructor or friendly warning from members of the community. While prior studies have suggested the presence of this effect, little research has been devoted to understanding the ways that this may influence behaviors in viewers. My research seeks to …

Multiple Approaches To Examining Gender Norms In Romantic Relationships, Carrie Underwood

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Romantic relationships are essential to the human experience, and gender stereotypes are so ingrained they can be automatic. In this dissertation, I address three empirical questions through both quantitative and qualitative research methods, all of which contribute to the growing body of literature on gender norms and romantic relationships. In Chapter 2, I present a mixed-methods study that examines how heterosexual men reason about benevolent sexism. Results revealed themes of equality in the workplace and men’s roles as providers. In Chapter 4 I implemented a two-study research design to understand how heterosexual women and men reason about troubled romantic relationships. …

Alternative Approaches To Police Interventions When Responding To Mental Health Crises Incidents, Karen Rivera Apolinar

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Purpose: This study explored mental health workers perspectives on alternative approaches in responding to mental health crises.

The study was carried out in Southern California, in collaboration with mental health workers who currently work or previously have worked in mental health crisis. It adopted a post-positivists paradigm and data was gathered through individual interviews with mental health workers who have direct experience with mental health crisis response in the community and with the police. The twenty participants in the study were men and women working in the mental health field, and of various backgrounds, licensures, and ages.

The study found …

The Effects Of Family Size And Birth Order On Students' Social Emotional And Cognitive Development, Mary Watson

Honors Projects

This project sought to analyze and understand the differences in student’s cognitive and social emotional development based on their number of siblings (also referred to as family size) and birth order. To accomplish this, a 130-question survey was created and emailed to approximately 125 teachers. 27 survey responses were received, which is a response rate of approximately 21.6%. The response data was categorized by only child, oldest child, youngest child, child with one or two siblings, child with three or four siblings, and child with five or more siblings. Though the responses were varied, the data showed that oldest children …

Analyzing The Effects Of Video Games On Social Anxiety And Communication, Ana S. Quigley

Senior Projects Spring 2023

Those with high levels of social anxiety can struggle with their communication skills, and confidence in communication. By using a virtual platform such as Zoom to communicate with others, individuals with social anxiety have shown decreased levels of anxiety, even noting that they prefer the virtual platform over face-to-face encounters (Yen et al., 2012). Video games can increase this level of anonymity that could be felt through zoom, by removing the ability to see the other individual’s face. This gives video games the opportunity to decrease anxiety levels while still requiring a degree of communication. Participants will be randomly sorted …

K-5 Elementary Alternative Program: A Case Study, William E. Scheuer Iv

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this case study was to examine how the K-5 elementary alternative program All Students Can Thrive (ASCT) used student-centered learning practices to influence the whole child. There is a lack of research on K-5 elementary alternative programs, such as ASCT, and specifically those that integrate student-centered learning practices to influence the whole child. Literature does not contain universally accepted interventions that are effective in the elementary alternative setting to help students return to the mainstream classroom setting better prepared to display appropriate behaviors when a student is removed from a mainstream classroom setting due to disruptive behaviors. …

God’S Plan For Life: Training Drill Sergeants To Better Serve Their Neighbor By Developing Moral Character Utilizing The “Transformational Moral Leadership” Model, Matthew Christensen

Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project

Instances of moral failure within the U.S. Army raises the question of whether an individual’s character may be developed and improved by utilizing a moral decision-making process. If so, is it possible to measure this improvement? From a Lutheran perspective, is it possible to improve moral character without appealing to the boundaries provided by God’s Word and a Christian community influencing the spiritual dimensions of one’s life.

This project set out to build upon an eighteen-hour Transformational Moral Leadership training model being utilized to strengthen the moral character of drill sergeants at Fort Benning, Georgia. The project allowed me as …

Prospective Person Memory In The Case Of Missing Persons: A Coffee Shop Study, Cara Bascom

Psychological Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

Prospective person memory (PPM) is the process of remembering to perform some action after encountering a target individual, such as identifying and reporting a missing person sighting after viewing a missing person alert (Moore et al., 2021). Research has shown that identification rates generally tend to be low in simulated missing person studies (Lampinen & Moore, 2016b). The purpose of the current research is to determine how to improve missing person recognition rates. This project explores the potential effects of using videos in missing person reports as compared to using static images. We also consider differences between rigid and non-rigid …

Examining The Effects Of Different Coping Styles On Dependent Stress Generation, Whitney Skaggs

Psychological Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

In this study, I prospectively examined the associations between different coping styles and stress. Stress can be classified as independent, which is stress that an individual has no control over, or dependent stress, which is stress that occurs because of the individuals’ actions. Coping is how individuals deal with that stress. With the role that coping plays in stress, I expected that it would relate to stress generation. I hypothesized that some forms of coping would prospectively predict the occurrence of less dependent stress but not independent stress. To test this hypothesis, I had college students (N=73) complete …

Differential Neural Correlates Underlying Different Cognitive Control Strategies And Their Relationship With The Barratt Impulsiveness Scale, Carroll Bentley

Psychological Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

Impulsivity is defined as a rapid unplanned action to a stimulus, where the person does not consider the consequences of their actions (Moeller et al., 2001). Various measurement techniques exist in the study of impulsivity and include self-report, behavioral and physiological measures. This breadth of measurement techniques affords researchers the opportunity to understand what is likely a multifaceted nature of this construct. Previous literature shows mixed results between the relationship of the three measures. The present study seeks to add clarity between the three different modalities of measuring impulsivity. To address this relationship, an undergraduate sample (n = 171) completed …

More Than Just Virtual Communication: Examining Canadian Volunteers’ Virtual Contact Experiences With Refugees, Maria Besselink

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Canada plays a key role in addressing the ‘global refugee crisis’ as it accepts more refugees per capita than any other country. Although Canadians increasingly view support for immigration and multiculturalism as integral components of their national identity, the number of immigrants and refugees Canada accepts yearly is an increasingly polarized issue. In line with the Intergroup Contact Hypothesis, the current study investigated how Canadian volunteers’ repeated virtual contact experiences with refugees affected their generalized attitudes towards refugees over time. Our findings did not suggest that the quality and quantity of participants’ virtual contact experiences affected their attitudes. The findings …

The Influence Of Misinformation From The American Perspective, Tyler W. Nelson

Honors College Theses

Over the last decade, conspiracy theorists and larger groups have become much more prominent across the United States, despite conspiracies being present for decades. Previously, they have been dismissed by most, however over the last decade due to an explosive political climate and growing numbers, these groups have begun to act on their beliefs. Events such as the January 6th Insurrection on the United States Capitol building is an unfortunate example as to how far these groups are willing to go. This study’s purpose is to use a nationwide survey to help determine who exactly are these types of individuals …

Healing Racial Injustice With Mindfulness Research, Training, & Practice, Danielle "Danae" Laura

Mindfulness Studies Theses

This thesis offers a collection of authors and studies in support of improved research, training, and practice connecting mindfulness with racial justice through intergroup applications. The paper identifies barriers at work (e.g., colorblindness, spiritual bypass, white fragility, and implicit bias) in contemplative science, Western Buddhist communities, and secular mindfulness centers, which block the sizeable contributions possible in studying the intergroup application of mindfulness practice—specifically Lovingkindness Meditation, among others—when used as an intervention with anti-racist aims. Through secondary qualitative research, I reviewed six key works from Black authors on mindfulness and race, as well as six sample studies on the prosocial …

The Youthful Pandemic, Brook Sahlemariam

Nursing | Senior Theses

This paper attempts to examine the neurological, physical, and societal effects of e-cigarette use among youth and young-adults in North America. Furthermore, the paper investigates the parallels between e-cigarette users, tobacco users, and dual users in regard to behavioral patterns, reasons for use, and age of initiation.

Peer Verbal Sexual Harassment In Early Adolescence: A Feminist And Sexual Scripts Theoretical Approach., Shawn M. Rolfe

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Until recently, sexual harassment research has focused primarily on adults and college and high school students with little attention given to younger students. While recent research has noted sexual harassment occurs among younger students, the literature addressing sexual harassment among middle school students is still sparse. Additionally, most studies of sexual harassment have focused on sexual harassment generally, with no distinction made between verbal and sexual harassment. In fact, only limited research has been exclusively conducted on verbal sexual harassment. Using self-report data, the current study adds to the literature by examining the nature of verbal sexual harassment as well …

A Screenplay For Bystander Intervention For Sexual Harassment Scenarios For College Students, Shanti Herzog

Journalism

This project was developed to describe the drafting of a screenplay for an interactive, virtual reality sexual harassment training module for students of the California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo. The research began with the examination of the prevalent and persisting issue of sexual harassment within college campus communities, and how to present college students with the tools to intervene as bystanders, thus encouraging them to intervene when encountering sexual harassment scenarios. The resulting screenplay was written to provide college students at Cal Poly with strategies to identify and take action when encountering sexual harassment, especially in small group gatherings …

Gender, Race, And Childhood Abuse As Predictors Of Borderline Personality Disorder, Olivia Moses

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is a debilitating personality disorder that impacts anywhere between 1% to 5% of Americans. Studies claim that women are significantly more at risk than men to suffer from this disorder and may experience stronger symptoms. Previous research has found that victims of childhood abuse such as sexual abuse, physical abuse, and neglect are more at risk for developing Borderline Personality Disorder as adults, particularly when abuse is paired with genetic susceptibility. Some researchers claim that there are no detectable racial differences in Borderline Personality Disorder, but previous studies often have very small sample sizes taken from …

How Does Alcohol Intoxication Impair Risk Detection Of Sexual Assault? Testing An Integration Of Alcohol Myopia And Social Information Processing Theories, Alexander James Melkonian

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Sexual assault among young adults is a highly prevalent public health concern. Alcohol is often implicated as a risk factor for sexual assault through its impairing effects on an individual’s ability to process and respond to social cues in the environment. The effect of alcohol myopia can result in greater focus of attention on salient environmental cues. The relationship between alcohol intoxication and resulting behavior may depend on what type of information is most salient. The current study examined the effects of alcohol on social information processing as it relates to sexual assault risk detection. Method: Participants were 48 young …

Child Welfare: Trauma Informed Practice At Time Of Child Removal, Ester Garcia

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

As of 2018, approximately 442,995 children are in the foster care system in the United States according to the federal statistics from the Children’s Bureau. Entry into the foster system involves the removal of children from their home, making it a traumatic experience. The purpose of this study was to examine social workers’ perceptions of what trauma informed practice means and what it looks like in child welfare removals. The study also clarifies what trauma informed practice (TIP) is and how it can be applied in child welfare’s organizational structure. This was a qualitative study in which child welfare social …

Its Skin Is My Skin, Bryan Page

Graduate School of Art Theses

This text examines the complexity of attempting to empathize with bodies that are vastly othered from my own. This broad yet nuanced subject crosses epistemological boundaries and complicates the dualities between both the mind and body, and between the corporeal and the virtual. My desire to better understand the conditions of another’s experience originates from a painful traumatic loss which caused me to feel isolated and incomplete. In response to this suffering, I long to emotionally connect with other beings and create artwork that attempts to bridge the qualia of individual experience.

I am interested in the capacity (or lack …

Painting Intimacy: Art-Based Research Of Intimacy, Michal Lev

Expressive Therapies Dissertations

This art-based research explores whether — and, if so, how — the process of painting, together with witnessing and reflection on the process and imagery, further an understanding of intimacy. The research also examines the conditions that favor intimacy, the obstacles to intimacy, and the particular features of artistic media, processes and reflection, through the editing of video footage, that can further the intimate experience. The participants in the study were five adults (including the researcher) between the ages of thirty and eighty who were familiar with the creation of visual art. Among them were three women and two men …

Men And Masculinity: How The Brain And Heart Respond To Shame, Christopher Spromberg

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

This dissertation examined the influence that level of adherence to traditionally masculine gender values, norms, and beliefs has on how men cognitively and physiologically respond to a shame based projective measure. A 2-stage study was used. In the first stage 208 undergraduate men responded to the Conformity to Masculine Norms Inventory (CMNI; Mahalik, Burns, & Syzdek, 2007). Utilizing the total masculinity score from the CMNI, quartiles were constructed. The two extreme quartiles comprised 2 groups; most traditionally conforming (TMASC) and most non-traditionally conforming (NTMASC) to masculinity norms. Men from these groups (TMASC n = 11; NTMASC n = 13) were …

Values Vs. Self-Interest As Determinants Of Attitudes: Through A Construal Level Theory Lens, (Sometimes) Self-Interest Wins, Austin D. Eubanks

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The present study (n = 335) attempted to conceptually replicate Hunt, Kim, Borgida, and Chaiken (2010) with a high-powered design to investigate whether values and self-interest differentially impact attitudes depending on psychological distance. Participants were assigned to complete a task that made self- or other-focused values more accessible, then indicated their attitudes about a student fee increase at a university to fund scholarships the participants would not be eligible to receive (thus going against their own financial self-interest for the well being of someone else). The memo describing the fee increase was manipulated such that the increase would be occurring …

When “Right Makes Might”: Moral Superiority And Its Effects On Decision-Making For Others, Emily Shakal

USC Aiken Psychology Theses

Within the psychological literature of morality, little research has been done on the concept of moral superiority. The aim of this study was to determine whether a self-perception of moral superiority led to increased severity of judgment toward social issues and harsher moral action against perpetrators. Participants in the experimental condition were given a moral identity prime prior to all tasks. The results showed that the moral prime was not effective in increasing a sense of moral superiority in comparison to the control condition. Severity of judgment also did not differ between groups. There was no difference between groups on …

Surprisingly Open Or Openly Surprised? That Is The Question; Using Surprise Experiences To Increase Openness To Experience And Tolerance Of Ambiguity, Anneke Veenendaal-De Kort

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

Using Surprise Experiences to Increase Openness to Experience and Tolerance of Ambiguity

In the fast-changing world in which we are currently living, we constantly come across situations and problems that we have not encountered before. An open mind and the ability to tolerate ambiguity are important skills in uncertain times. People who embrace the unpredictable can develop their resilience and flexibility. Surprisologists Luna and Renninger (2015) have discovered that a great way of dipping into unpredictability is through surprise. For my Master’s Project, I designed experiences that transform people’s openness and tolerance for ambiguity through surprise. This paper begins with …

Childhood Development: How The Fine And Performing Arts Enhance Neurological, Social, And Academic Traits, Katherine Rowe

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Abstract

Childhood development has always been a major topic when studying psychology and biology. This makes sense because the brain develops from the time a child is conceived to the time that child has reached around the age of twenty-seven. Doctors, psychologists, and sociologists look at numerous things when studying childhood development. However, how common is it for researchers to study how the fine and performing arts affect childhood development? Sociologists tend to be extremely open and mindful of all aspects of things such as culture, sexuality, religion, and even age. By taking a sociological standpoint when studying the arts …

The Predictors Of Juvenile Recidivism: Testimonies Of Adult Students 18 Years And Older Exiting From Alternative Education, La Toshia Palmer

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this descriptive, qualitative study was to identify and describe the importance of the predictors of juvenile recidivism and the effectiveness of efforts to prevent/avoid juvenile recidivism as perceived by previously detained, arrested, convicted, and/or incarcerated adult students 18 years of age and older exiting from alternative education in Northern California. A second purpose was to explore the types of support provided by alternative schools and the perceived importance of the support to avoid recidivism according to adult students 18 years of age and older exiting from alternative education.

Methodology: This qualitative, descriptive research design identified …

Stasi Brainwashing In The Gdr 1957 - 1990, Jacob H. Solbrig, Jacob Hagen Solbrig

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the methods used by the Ministerium für Staatssicherheit (MfS), more commonly known as the Stasi, or East German secret police, for extraction of information from citizens of the German Democratic Republic for the purpose of espionage and covert operations inside East Germany, as it pertains to the deliberate brainwashing of East German citizens. As one of the most efficient intelligence agencies to ever exist, the Stasi’s main purpose was to monitor the population, gather intelligence, and collect or turn informants. They used brainwashing techniques to control the people of the GDR, keeping the populace paralyzed with fear …

More Than Just Talking: The Role Of Self-Disclosure In The Fast Friends Procedure, Chloe Shearer

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

The Fast Friends (FF) procedure was developed to generate feelings of closeness in the laboratory through escalating, mutual self-disclosure by partners (Aron, Melinant, Aron, Vallone, & Bator, 1997). Research indicates that, in addition to generating feelings of closeness, self-disclosure can also benefit mood. This study examined not only the total, but also the relative amount of self-disclosure between dyad partners in the FF vs. control condition. It was found that while participants in FF engaged in more self-disclosure overall, disclosure within FF dyads was not equitable. Contrary to prediction, the FF procedure did not generate more positive feelings than the …

The Role Of Social Class And Construal Level In Social Justice And Fairness Beliefs, Prerana Bharadwaj

Doctoral Dissertations

What predicts support for the redistribution of resources to improve socioeconomic inequality? Social class, or the subjective perception of one’s resources and position in relation to others in a larger society, was examined as one relevant characteristic. Across four experiments, social class as subjective social status was manipulated (two) and measured (all four), and found to have a significant negative effect on support for the moral values of group-based equality (social justice) but not on individual deservingness (fairness) separate from political identity and other demographic characteristics. This effect was seen on stated principles but particularly relevant in approval ratings of …