Personality and Social Contexts Commons^™

Faculty Perceptions Of Campus Diversity, Meghan K. Purdy

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The primary purpose of this study was to assess faculty perceptions of campus diversity at Western Kentucky University. A Diversity Survey was developed and administered to faculty at Western Kentucky University. Responses from the 378 fulltime faculty members who completed the survey were used in this study. Composites including campus diversity climate, satisfaction with diversity effects, race, gender, and religion were formed from the survey items for use in the analyses. Results indicated that minority and women faculty perceive campus diversity less favorably than do majority and men faculty.

Uncertainty And Information Processing, Robert E. Frost Iii

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The purpose of these two studies was to examine two factors that may influence the effects of uncertainty on information processing. The first factor is the positioning of uncertainty relative to a target of judgment, and how this affects people’s judgment processing. The second factor had to do with the degree to which uncertainty signals active goal conflict or not. In the first study, 145 participants with a mean age of 19.51 were induced with uncertainty either before or after information about the target accused of illegal behavior. The results demonstrated that uncertainty before information produced higher guilt judgments of …

Facial Expression Discrimination In Adults Experiencing Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms, Brian N. Lee

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The present study examined the impact of posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) on adults’ ability to discriminate between various facial expressions of emotions. Additionally, the study examined whether individuals reporting PTSS exhibited an attentional bias toward threat-related facial expressions of emotions. The research design was a 2 (expression intensity) x 3 (emotional pairing) x 2 (PTSS group) mixed-model factorial design. Participants for the study were 89 undergraduates recruited from psychology courses at Western Kentucky University. Participants completed the Traumatic Stress Schedule to assess for prior exposure to traumatic events. A median split was used to divide the sample into two groups …

Situational Assessment On Leadership - Student Assessment (Salsa©): An Evaluation Of The Convergent Validity With Multi-Source Feedback In Division I Intercollegiate Athletics, David Normansell

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The current study assessed the convergent validity of the Situational Assessment of Leadership – Student Assessment (SALSA©) and multi-source ratings in Division I intercollegiate athletic teams. Identified student-athlete team leaders were asked to complete the SALSA©, which assesses eight dimensions of leadership. By assessing the relationship between SALSA© scores and multi-source ratings (i.e., self, teammate, and coach), of the same eight leadership dimensions, a unique multi-dimensional perspective of leadership is revealed. Results indicated a significant positive relationship between overall SALSA© scores and overall self and coach performance ratings. Overall SALSA© scores also were significantly correlated with Overall Leadership Effectiveness peer-ratings. …

An Evaluation Of The Convergent Validity Of Situational Assessment Of Leadership-Student Assessment (Salsa© ) With Multi-Source Feedback In Mba And Ed.D. In Educational Leadership Students, Justin Tucker

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The current study assessed the convergent validity of the Situational Assessment of Leadership – Student Assessment (SALSA©), a situational judgment test (SJT), with multi-source ratings. The SALSA© was administered to MBA and Ed.D. in Educational Leadership students via Blackboard; multi-source ratings, which paralleled the leadership dimensions of the SALSA©, were administered online. Each student completed the SALSA© and was rated by his or her supervisor, 3-5 peers, 1-5 subordinates, and him/herself. SALSA© scores were not correlated with any of the corresponding dimensions on multi-source ratings. This finding may suggest that the multi-source ratings and SALSA© are not measuring the same …

An Evaluation Of Alternate Forms Of Reliability Of The Situational Assessment Of Leadership: Student Assessment (Salsa©), Ashley N. Wade

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The primary goal of the current study was to re-evaluate, revise, and abbreviate alternate forms of the Situational Assessment of Leadership: Student Assessment (SALSA©) developed by Grant (2009). Archival response sets collected from individuals with extensive experience in leadership who were administered either the full-length SALSA© or Form A or B in previous studies. A total of 80 individual response sets comprised the final sample. Items were categorized by p-value and Subject Matter Expert ratings gathered from the previous study. Items were then selected based on a combination of difficulty and item-total correlation (ITC) values. Selected items were paired based …

Gender Differences In Perceived Costs And Benefits Of Workplace Mistreatment, Lindsey Greco

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Workplace mistreatment, in the form of both incivility and aggression, can have a major impact on personal and organizational outcomes. The purpose of this study was to examine the mental judgments that individuals make before engaging in either uncivil or aggressive behavior. Data was analyzed in terms of both the potential costs and the potential benefits that an instigator could expect from engaging in such behavior, with specific emphasis on gender differences in cost/benefit expectations. There were no significant gender differences in either the perceived costs or the perceived benefits of engaging in incivility. The hypothesis that individuals with a …

The Relationship Between Superstitious Behaviors Of Sports Fans, Team Identification, Team Location, And Game Outcome, Shana M. Wilson

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The present study examined how a fan's desire to participate in superstitious behaviors depends on team identification, team location, and game outcome. The study is a 2 (team identification: high vs. low) x 2 (game outcome: close game vs. blowout) x 2 (location of team: local vs. distant) between subjects factorial design. Participants for the current study included 234 students, recruited from undergraduate psychology classes at Western Kentucky University. Participants completed the Sport Spectator Identification Scale, read a randomly assigned vignette differing in team location and game outcome, and filled out the Superstition Questionnaire to measure their desire to complete …

Socio-Cultural Adjustment Of International Students As Expatriates In America, Li Zhao

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This study examined the relationships between international students’ ethnic identity, self-efficacy, uncertainty avoidance, and their socio-cultural adjustment. A total of 65 international students (aged 18 to 33 years) from seven countries completed the online questionnaire. As hypothesized, path analyses demonstrated a positive relationship between students’ self-efficacy and their socio-cultural adjustment. International students’ uncertainty avoidance had a negative relationship with their self-efficacy, but a positive relationship with ethnic identity. The hypotheses that international students’ ethnic identity and uncertainty avoidance are negatively correlated to their socio-cultural adjustment were not supported in the present study.

Essences And Transformations In Objects, Animals, And Humans, Alicia Brooke Smith

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Research as to how humans group natural kinds, such as animals, is essential to understanding categorization processes. However, it lacks conventional application and generalization to everyday life. Humans are social beings that encounter a wide array of individuals on a daily basis. In these situations, we are required to consider various properties that make up these people. As Keller (2005) suggests, the way we categorize is shaped by our theories about the world. Therefore, when we determine the rationale behind people’s social categorization processes, we are better able to understand people’s perceptions of their social environment. Moreover, when we conduct …

Exploration Of The Relationship Between Moral Judgment Development And Attention, Lauren I. Clark

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Research in moral psychology has focused on understanding what factors assist in the development of moral action and decision making. The purpose of this study was to address whether variability in attention relates to moral judgment development. The reason for exploring moral judgment development was to further explore the research of Thoma and Bebeau (2008) who documented that the moral development scores of college and graduate students has been declining over time, with more college-aged students scoring in the lower levels of moral reasoning. Attention was chosen as a viable topic of research, based on the writings of Carr (2008a) …

Cultural Differences In Relational Aggression In An Elementary School-Age Sample, Brittany L. Walker

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The current study addressed whether there were differences in relational aggression in 9- to 10-year-old boys and girls in Hungarian and German samples. There has been very little empirical research conducted comparing children of diverse cultures in their use of relational aggression. The current study used teachers’ reports of different aggression styles observed in their 9- to 10-year-old students (N = 269). The purpose of this study was to examine the incidence and styles of aggression used in a 9- to 10-year-old culturally diverse population, as it was hypothesized that culture would be a factor in the incidence of relational …

An Examination Of Student-Ahtletes' Perceptions Of Their Academic Abilities, Tiffany Ann White

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

A common stereotype in our society is that athletes are not as capable of performing well academically as their non-athlete counterparts; they are “dumb jocks”. Do athletes feel that others have lower expectations of them academically? This is important because previous research in education has shown that expectations play a role in academic achievement (for example, Rosenthal and Jacobson’s Pygmalion effect (1968) and self-fulfilling prophecy research). The current study examined student-athletes’ perceptions of this stereotype. Three areas were addressed: athletes’ perceptions of their peers’ awareness that the student is a student-athlete, perceptions of their instructors and peers academic expectations of …

Examining The Relationship Between Body Work And Muscle Dysmorphia Symptoms, Katharine J. Reynolds

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether men with a large amount of Muscle Dysmorphia symptoms had a more favorable outlook and opinion of body work. Participants in the current study were a convenience sample of men recruited from undergraduate classes at Western Kentucky University and the community of Bowling Green Kentucky and Somerset Kentucky. A total of 215 men completed the study. Participants completed the Muscle Dysmorphia Inventory (MDI) and the Attitude-Behavior Questionnaire (ABQ). Results indicate scores on the MDI were significant predictors of scores on the ABQ. This suggests that men with a high number of …

Knowledge Of Nonsuicidal Self-Injury In Populations That Self-Injure, Darcy Leanne Cates

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Archived data was utilized for the present study which examined knowledge about non-suicidal self-injury, or NSSI, in individuals who engage in various degrees of the behavior and those who do not self-injure. Knowledge about NSSI was measured in three groups of respondents: those with no history of self-injurious behavior (no NSSI group), those with more limited experience with NSSI who reported 1-30 incidences of NSSI (limited NSSI group), and those with an extensive history (extensive NSSI group) who reported over 30 incidences of NSSI. To measure knowledge, participants were asked level of agreement with myths and facts about NSSI using …

School Counselors' Training, Knowledge, And Perceptions Of Non-Suicidal Self-Injury, Amy Reed

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This investigation examined school counselors’ perceptions and levels of knowledge in regard to nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI), existing school prevention and protocol, resources and training opportunities available, as well as identified training needs. NSSI is the socially unaccepted, deliberate, self-inflicted harm of an individual’s body to reduce psychological distress with out the intention to die as a consequence (Simeon & Favazza, 2001). As a mental health professional in the schools, school counselors are often salient figures in adolescents’ educational environment. They are also many times the most appropriately qualified individuals to work with self-injuring adolescents in the school setting. While existing …

Examining The Relationship Between Criticism And Muscle Dysmorphia Symptomotology In Collegiate Men, Lauren M. Menees

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The goal of the current study was to examine the relationship between critical comments that men can recall others making about their bodies and their current level of Muscle Dysmorphia (MD) symptomotology. Participants (N = 118) were recruited via study board from a mid-Western university with a population of 20,674 students. The hypothesis of the current study was that men who can recall critical comments about their bodies will report more MD symptomotology than those who remembered no such comments. In addition, it was expected that out of those who recall critical comments, the more severe or threatening they remember …

The Effect Of An Overall Rating Item On Halo Error In Performance Evaluations, S. Elizabeth Hogue

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This study focuses on how the presence or absence of an overall rating item on a performance evaluation form affects levels of halo error and satisfaction with the form. Participants included undergraduate college students who were randomly assigned to groups receiving a form with or without an overall rating item at the beginning of the form. A satisfaction item was included on both forms. The analyses included a z-test for correlations from independent samples to determine the difference between the two evaluation forms and a t-test to determine the difference between the satisfaction scores of the two forms. The analyses …

Potential Factors That Influence Team Identification: A Desire To Be Similar Or Different?, Courtney A. Clippert

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The purpose of the current study is to determine whether eliciting the need for assimilation or the need for differentiation influences individuals’ identification with a given team. Team identification is defined as a fan’s psychological connection to a team; that is, the extent to which the fan views the team as an extension of him or herself (Wann, Melnick, Russell, & Pease, 2001). It is important to understand potential factors that may motivate and potentially increase one’s identification with a particular team.

The sample consisted of 106 participants attending Western Kentucky University. The participants completed the Sport Fandom Questionnaire (SFQ) …

The Effects Of Picture Presentation On Male Body Shame And Muscle Dysmorphia, Samantha A. Wilson

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether picture presentation influenced men’s experienced body shame or Muscle Dysmorphia symptomatology, and whether there was a relationship between body shame and Muscle Dysmorphia. Participants were 112 men attending Western Kentucky University. Participants completed the Body Shame Questionnaire and Muscle Dysmorphia Inventory. Participants were randomly assigned to either view eight photographs of average men or eight photographs of muscular men. After viewing the photographs, the participants completed the Objectified Body Consciousness Scale and the Muscle Appearance Satisfaction Scale. Although there was a trend, results indicate that men who view photographs of muscular …

An Evaluation Of The Impact Of A Thesis Colloquium On Self-Regulated Motivation Toward Thesis Completion, Frank Nicholas Reding

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

What motivates one to write a thesis? This study assessed whether presenting one’s master’s thesis proposal at a thesis colloquium increased the probability of Industrial/Organizational I/O) Psychology graduate students completing their thesis on time (i.e., finishing their thesis as they finished their graduate coursework). This study also examined the relationship between presenting one’s thesis proposal at a thesis colloquium and different forms of motivated regulation and three basic psychological needs (autonomy, competence, and relatedness).

Participants included 94 master’s level I/O Psychology alumni from four universities. As expected, students who presented at a thesis colloquium had a higher rate of on-time …

College Students Who Self-Injure: A Study Of Knowledge And Perceptions Of Self-Injury, Stacey Edwards Clinard

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Archived data was utilized for the present study which examined self-injurious behaviors in a college population. College students, who engage in non-suicidal self-injury, or NSSI, were expected to evidence a higher knowledge base for the behavior than those who do not. The demographic variables of gender and sexual orientation were predicted to be over represented in the NSSI group. Further, this study examines the perceived riskiness of the behavior in individuals who self-injure, as well as their perceptions of others who engage in NSSI. The survey consisted of four sections: demographics, knowledge ofNSSI, experience with NSSI, and perceptions ofNSSI. Individuals …

Personality As A Gestalt: A Cluster Analytic Approach To The Big Five, Thomas John Reece

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

There has been a recent resurgence in interest in the study of personality types. This personality type research has focused on the uncovering of statistical types, rather than relying on rationally developed types. Using the method of cluster analysis, I investigated whether such statistical types could be uncovered and whether they correspond to the types described in previous analyses. The expected number of personality types was uncovered and, while these types resemblanced the personality types discussed in the literature, the patterns of scores for these types were not exactly as hypothesized.

An Examination Of Body Dissatisfaction And Media Exposure, Richard H. Kirchmeyer

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The goal of the current study was to examine the relationship between muscle magazine consumption and body dissatisfaction. The study also examined the relationship between muscle magazine consumption and the amount of disparity between ideal and real body shape. Participants (N = 108) were recruited via study board, and also on a volunteer basis, from a mid-Western university with a population of 20,674 students. The first hypothesis stated that men with greater exposure to muscle magazines would indicate that their actual body shape falls further away from their ideal body shape, in terms of both muscularity and fat level, than …

How Does Sport Team Identification Compare To Identification With Other Social Institutions?, Shelley Elizabeth Smith

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

As social beings, people naturally form identifications with various social groups within their environment. Individuals gain benefits by forming identifications with groups, such as increased self-esteem and psychological support. Past research has examined the identification people form with various social groups, but no research has examined with which of these social groups people form the strongest identification. This study examines the strength of identification with various social groups within one’s life. It is predicted that individuals will indicate a stronger identification with a sport team than with any other social group. Secondly, it is predicted that identification with a sport …

The Relationship Between Goal Orientation And Gender Roles, Amanda Michelle Hutchins

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This study was designed to examine the relationship between a person’s goal orientation and the gender roles that they adopt. The relationship between gender and goal orientation has been studied for years, but the results have been inconclusive. Some studies find a gender difference and some studies do not. For this reason, this study examined if there was another factor that was influencing goal orientations that was related to gender.

Goal orientations are perceptual-cognitive frameworks for how individuals approach, interpret, and respond to achievement situations. Gender roles are the behaviors, thoughts, and emotions that are considered acceptable and appropriate for …

Examining The Team Identification Of Football Fans At The High School Level, Frank Nicholas Reding

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Although sport fandom is often stereotypically associated with negative behaviors such as poor interpersonal skills and aggressiveness, theorists have suggested that, because sport fandom provides such a social and fun atmosphere, fandom may actually be related to psychological health. ... Research for the current study looked to expand prior research as the correlation between Team Identification and several factors, including psychological well-being, collective self-esteem, and community identification. ....

Peer Perceptions Of Self-Injurious Behavior, Fantom Shakeria Smith

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Students of a south central university provide data for this study investigating knowledge of self-injury (SI), experiences with those who self-injure, and perceptions of SI. This study proposes that college peers of those who self-injure have higher levels of SI knowledge than professionals who work with individuals who self-injure. In addition, the study proposes that individuals who have experience with others who self-injure have higher levels of SI knowledge than individuals who do not have experience with others who self-injure. An additional purpose of this study is to explore information regarding experiences people have with others who self-injure and their …

Characteristics Of Aversive Racism, Bryan T. Hall

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

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

Self-Injury In The Schools: A Survey Of Educators, Jacquetta Danielle Butts

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Self-injury (SI) is a growing concern for professionals working in educational settings who desire more information on SI and express a lack of confidence in working with youth who self injure (Carlson, DeGreer, Deur, & Fenton, 2005; Heath, Toste, & Beettam, 2008).

A sample of 263 teachers from a small, rural Kentucky county completed a survey (response rate of 45.5%) designed to address educators’ knowledge of SI, training needs, and knowledge of school response plans for working with youth who self-injure.

A 20-item measure developed by Jeffery and Warm (2002) assessed SI knowledge. Educators evidenced significantly lower scores on the …