Other Psychology Commons^™

Identity In Second Language Learning: Access To The Target Language Group, Stephanie J. Marra

Graduate Research Papers

In recent years the role of identity in SLA has emerged in the literature as the linguistic community develops an understanding of the significance of identity in language learning (McKay & Wong, 1996). Norton (2000) refers to identity as “how a person understands his or her relationship to the world, how that relationship is constructed across time and space, and how the person understands possibilities for the future” (p. 5). An understanding of identity in language learning and the relationship of the language learner to the learning environment helps to illuminate what previous theories about the role of affective variables …

No One Will Love You If You Are Fat, Mary Lynn Gerzema

Graduate Research Papers

Research shows that media plays a dominant role in influencing teenage females' perception of the world around them, as well as helping them to define their sense of self. This paper examines the influence that media has on the adolescent females' feelings towards their sexuality and self-esteem with their perception of a thin body image as emphasized in six of the most popular magazines that teenage girls read: CosmoGirl, Elle, Glamour, Seventeen, Teen People, and Teen Vogue. The study examined magazine advertisements, feature articles, and photographs of other teens in influencing what body types are acceptable, attractive, and popular. Advertisements, …

Academic And Social Self-Efficacy In Honors And Non-Honors University Students, Carmen Marie Krapfl

Honors Program Theses

Self-efficacy research has shown that successful past experiences have an influential impact on self-efficacy (Bandura, 1977). The purpose of this study was to compare academic and social self-efficacy between university honors and non-honors students. It was hypothesized that honors students would score higher on academic self-efficacy, but would have lower social self efficacy than their non-honors peers. Participants were invited to complete questionnaires on self-efficacy and background information. Results show that honors and non-honors students do not differ significantly in their general or social self-efficacy, but honors students had significantly higher academic self-efficacy. Further research is needed into the cause …

Repeat After Me: The Use Of Errorless Learning In The Foreign Language Classroom, Mark Adam Foster

Honors Program Theses

Errorless learning is one of these concepts. It is a technique that allows for efficient learning devoid of the frustrating process of making countless errors; something that is usually associated with the mastering of almost any topic. Errorless learning has proved beneficial to many specialized populations, yet has eluded implementation in a normal classroom setting. It seems especially well suited for use in foreign language classrooms. It has been noted that these classrooms often lack specialized teaching strategies, particularly in regards to vocabulary and pronunciation learning (Gonzalez-Bueno, 2001; Barcroft, 2004). Errorless learning is an effective teaching strategy, and could be …

Everybody's Doing It But Me: Comparing Pluralistic Ignorance Across Behaviors, Katherine S. Corker

Honors Program Theses

This study examined pluralistic ignorance (PI) for a variety of behaviors and attitudes such as health behaviors ( exercise frequency, fruits and vegetables consumed, personal hygiene, marijuana use), subjective well-being, and television habits. Student and nonstudent participants indicated their, their best friend's, the average student's, and the average American adult's attitudes on various topics (e.g., drugs, personal well-being; Prentice & Miller, 1993) and completed measures of alienation (Dean, 1961 ). Student and nonstudent populations showed PI; however, some items showed greater PI than others. High PI items tended to be health behaviors for the student sample and television habits for …

Men's Quest For Wholeness: The Changing Counseling Needs Of Paheka Males, Philip Culbertson

UNIversitas: Journal of Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity

In this essay I will claim that one of the most significant factors explaining the high levels of domestic and public violence in New Zealand is the definition of masculinity that Pakeha (descendants of white colonial settlers) men have inherited and the risks and demands for men who attempt to achieve it. In order to comprehend the extreme stress which the Pakeha definition of masculinity places on men, we need to begin by understanding how culture-specific every definition of masculinity (and femininity) is. Next we need to review how this Pakeha definition developed as a result of the history of …

Hang With The Dude, Jeffery Byrd

UNIversitas: Journal of Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity

The Greeks created idealized versions of themselves. But what good is making a perfect body if you are still schlepping around in the frumpy one you were born with?

In 2002, I designed an idealized version of myself that was wearable. The Dude is cool, hip, young and buff and not afraid to unleash his inner geek. He is totally at ease with who he is. In short, he was just what I wanted to be. And you may notice he is also short because I have honestly never had a problem with my height.

The Dude got around. He …

Cooperative And Competitive Games: An Examination Of The Effects Of Goal Structures On Social Development, Courtney J. Darby

Honors Program Theses

It is the purpose of this review to examine the results concerning social development in the context of cooperative and competitive games. First, research supporting the use of cooperative games will be discussed, including studies that have findings relating to aggression, and then research supporting the use of competitive games will be discussed. A personal position statement on the value of cooperative and competitive games for social development will be presented as well.

Psychometric Characteristics Of The Multidimensional Anxiety Scale For Children In Adolescent Samples, Nicole Carlson

Honors Program Theses

Most children and adolescents, on any given day, experience some levels of anxiety. They worry about school, about friendships, and about their physical appearance. For most children and adolescents, these worries are considered a normal part of growing older. ln some cases, these worries take control over the child's life and seriously affect the normal developmental process. When the symptoms of anxiety become excessive and debilitating, a person may be diagnosed with an anxiety disorder. ln the child and adolescent literature, the three primary internalizing disorders are anxiety disorders, somatization disorders, and depressive disorders. This paper focuses on the anxiety …

Competition And Success In Secondary School Drama Programs: A Comparative Study, Lisa Lenstra-Norman

Graduate Research Papers

Among the participants in secondary school drama programs, indirect competition, with its emphasis on mastery and personal achievement, may promote the development of successful behaviors such as having the ability to perform tasks skillfully, revealing a commitment to setting and reaching high expectations, showing responsibility, possessing self-esteem and caring for others. Therefore the purpose of this study is to determine an answer to the following question: does indirect competition enhance the success of participants in a secondary school drama program? Because one of the two schools studied does not take part in large group or individual speech contests, this study …

Body Image, Eating Disturbance And Estrogen Levels Across The Menstrual Cycle, Mei-Chuan Wang

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The principal interest of the current study was to examine estrogen levels across the menstrual cycle related to body image and eating disturbance. Participants were undergraduate female students at a medium size Midwestern university. There were two phases of this study-a between-subjects aspect (N = 119) followed by a within-subjects aspect (N = 41 ). Multivariate analyses of covariance (MANCO VA) were used to analyze the first phase data. Results showed that when eating disorders were viewed as a whole. eating patterns were stable across the menstrual cycle; but if looked at separately. symptoms of anorexia were worse when estrogen …

Bibliotherapy : Background, Application And Research, Carla Marie Eich

Graduate Research Papers

This paper examines bibliotherapy in several aspects. Bibliotherapy is using books to help with client's problems or for developmental adjustment and growth. Bibliotherapy has a long history, dating back to early man. However, it was not until this century that scholars began studying it further. In 1949, the process of bibliotherapy was developed which is discussed in this paper. Research support for bibliotherapy has been mixed and speculation as to why is also discussed. There are many limitations of bibliotherapy which are important to consider if a therapist is interested in bibliotherapy. This paper allows the critics of bibliotherapy to …

Subliminal Advertising: The Commercial Appropriation Of The Unconscious, Brian D. Williams

Presidential Scholars Theses (1990 – 2006)

Subliminal advertising refers to the use of subliminal techniques by mass media and what these media messages are doing to society. A secret technology has existed and been in widespread use for decades which modifies consumer's behavior invisibly, channels basic value systems, and manages to drive much bigger segments of the population into certain pathological behaviors.

The Psychology Of Menstruation, Natalie J. Martin

Presidential Scholars Theses (1990 – 2006)

The menstrual cycle is not only a physiological experience, it is also a psychological, social, and cultural one. However, the majority of the research on menstruation views the experience of menstruation via the medical model. Through this lens, menstruation is not a natural, healthy part of a woman's experience, but a pathology requiring diagnosis and treatment. This study focuses on whether cultural and social expectations affect women's psychological evaluations of the menstrual experience, and particularly, whether identification with feminism affects attitudes toward menstruation and the physical and emotional symptoms experienced. Subjects were 87 college women who completed 30 days of …

Is The Error-Reaction Time Correlation In Category Verification Tasks Evidence Of Fuzzy Limits In Categories?, Sergio Chaigneau

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

This thesis attempts to review evidence supporting a positive error-reaction time correlation in category verification tasks. All reviewed models predict that categorization errors will increase when the time needed to make a membership judgement increases. This is explained either as a result of the structure of categories (e.g., as another manifestation of category fuzziness), or as a product of the category verification process (e.g., attributed in general memory models to the random nature of the retrieval process). Two specific models that attempt to explain the correlation were tested. One that assumes the correlation is the result of incomplete or inconsistent …

Personal Space And Territoriality Of Users In An Academic And Public Library, Ruth A. Hamilton

Graduate Research Papers

An observation checklist was used to investigate responses of patrons to intrusion in their personal space. The study was done in a small academic library and a small public library. After the subject was seated an intruder would come in and sit as close to the subject as possible. The responding time was limited to five minutes. The response of the subject was recorded on a detailed checklist. Findings indicated that female subjects make more adjustments than male subjects. In general, adjustments made by subjects were minimal in number and minor in nature.

"Self-Esteem Enhancement: A Personal Approach" Leader's Guide, Jodi L. Hammer

Presidential Scholars Theses (1990 – 2006)

This workshop is designed to:

1. Provide participants with an increased understanding of what self-esteem is, its impact on life, and how it can be enhanced.

2 . Assist participants in developing personal action steps to increasing their self-esteem based on a variety of enhancement techniques discussed.

Amanda’S Mirror, Judy Stark

Graduate Research Papers

The purpose of this research project was to explore the problem-solving and positive self-concept techniques used in drama and dance programs. After studying the specific techniques of role play, pantomimes, and body control, the book Amanda's Mirror was written. The specific problem was can a children's book be written using problem-solving and positive self-concept techniques used in drama and dance programs.

A Content Analysis Of The Portrayal Of The Emotionally Disturbed In Books Popular With Adolescents, Judith A. Heusinkveld

Graduate Research Papers

The major purposes of this research were to analyze the portrayal of emotionally disturbed characters in books which adolescents are reading and to attempt to determine if this portrayal was realistic and balanced in terms of the entire group of books. A panel of experts was used to obtain a sample of ten books. The portrayals of twelve characters from these ten books were analyzed using an inventory of twelve elements which were derived from traditional stereotypes of the emotionally disturbed. The results of this analysis suggested that, for the most part, a realistic and generally balanced portrayal of emotionally …