Personality and Social Contexts Commons^™

Multidimensional Resilience In Honors Students At Bryant University, Haley Nicol

Honors Projects in Applied Psychology

College level honors programs are continuously working towards improvement of their programs and working towards improving the college experience for their students. Apart from recognition and developing a positive reputation for the university, the goals for these selective academic programs include better serving their students from both academic and professional perspectives, as well encouraging and increasing program completion retention rates. There are various ways of testing students to assess their mindset and personal drive as well as gauge the possibility of students graduating with successful completion of their Capstone project or thesis in their senior year. To better understand how …

Financial Literacy And College Students: An Exploration Of College Students’ Attitudes, Behaviors, Influences And Preparedness For Financial Decisions After Graduation, Kerry Quirk

Honors Projects in Finance

Financial literacy is the level of understanding an individual has for different financial topics, including but not limited to, investment vehicles, retirement accounts, saving, budgeting, credit and taxes, and the use of such knowledge to change one’s financial behavior to create a more positive financial position for the future. Past research has shown that college students consistently have low levels of financial literacy. They also lack knowledgeable influences on their financial education. Because many college students will soon enter the workforce after graduation and will be responsible for managing their own salary, retirement accounts and investment options, they can be …

An Empirical Investigation Into The Role That Boredom, Relationships, Anxiety, And Gratification (Brag) Play In A Driver’S Decision To Text, Nathan White

CCAC Theses and Dissertations

Texting while driving is a growing problem that has serious, and sometimes fatal, consequences. Despite laws enacted to curb this behavior, the problem continues to grow. Discovering factors that can reduce such risky behavior can significantly contribute to research, as well as save lives and reduce property damage. This study developed a model to explore the motivations that cause a driver to send messages. The model evaluates the effects that boredom, social relationships, social anxiety, and social gratification (BRAG) have upon a driver’s frequency of typing text messages. In addition, the perceived severity of the consequences and the presence of …

Cluster B Personality Disorders Separated By Gender Expectations, Brianna Kloss

Journal of Undergraduate Research at Minnesota State University, Mankato

Criticisms of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed., text rev.; DSM-IV-TR; American Psychiatric Association [APA], 2000), the most widely recognized system for classification of psychological disorders in the U.S., including gender discriminating disorders and diagnoses, have existed for all editions of the DSM. Arguably, gender construction has a profound influence on the standards and evaluation of normal and abnormal behaviors. Concern for the presence of gender bias of personality disorders has been raised within the DSM, in part, by the frequent diagnoses made according to gender stereotypes. The DSM-IV-TR characterizes personality disorders as marked distress and …

Males’ Expectations Of Counseling, Sheryl Kelly

Dissertations

In today’s society, a man upholding masculinity alone is not enough. There is a constant need to “prove” their masculinity. Men’s inability to recognize when they are experiencing stress, strain, and sickness is noted as being due to them being socialized to ignore their feelings (Wilson, n.d.). Although research that addresses the concept of help-seeking has expanded, it continues to be limited in its focus on men. In addition, not much attention has been given to counseling expectations. The purpose of the present study is to expand the current knowledge base on men and their counseling expectations. This study examined …

Bullying: Prevention/ Intervention Strategies With High School Students, Chloe Blau

Senior Honors Projects

Bullying has been a prevalent issue within the public and private school systems for as long as they have existed. There have always been students who were victimized for various reasons, or for no reason at all, but this generation has become much more vicious when it comes to the lengths to which they will go to hurt someone. Many methods have been used in an attempt to create both prevention and intervention plans for these horrible acts, but it is quite difficult to change a person’s behavior. So what if instead of trying to alter the mind of the …

The Effect Of Alcohol Outcome Expectancies On The Relationship Of Social Anxiety And Desirability Of Alcohol, Hilary Casner

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The comorbidity of Social anxiety disorder and alcohol use disorders is well-documented in the research literature. However, conflicting findings have been noted in cross-sectional investigations of this link; some studies indicate that individuals with Social anxiety disorder are more likely to engage in problematic alcohol use, while others suggest that Social anxiety may serve as a protective factor against heavy drinking. Alcohol outcome expectancies (AOEs), the beliefs one holds about the effects of alcohol consumption, have been identified as an important variable in the consideration of the Social anxiety-alcohol use link. The current study tested the effect of an expectancy …

An Investigation Of Gender Differences In Pro-Environmental Attitudes And Behaviors, Sonja Plavsic

Honors Scholar Theses

Environmental responsibility has become an increasing concern in today's world. "Green" practices have become the norm with a growth in recycling options on school campuses and in cities, emissions restrictions for cars, and many brands positioning themselves as eco-friendly. The purpose of this study was to determine whether there are gender differences regarding pro-environmental attitudes and behaviors among college students as predicted by socialization and social role theories, ecofeminism, and social norms. Participants were 313 University of Connecticut students (124 male, 189 female) who took part in an online survey measuring their attitudes towards the environment and conservation behavior. This …

Reflections On Bystander Intervention: Barriers And Facilitators In Sexual Assault Helping, Madeline C. Whitcomb

Honors Theses and Capstones

An innovation in the prevention of sexual assault and relationship violence on college campuses capitalizes on the motivation of bystanders to help stop the crime. Specifically, research on bystander helping shows factors that make it more or less likely that bystanders will take action: sharing a common social group with the victim, perceiving the severity of the situation, concerns about peer reactions and personal safety. While these studies illustrate the reasons bystanders do or do not step in, detailed descriptions of this helping process have yet to be examined. I content coded 20 in-depth qualitative interviews of student’s personal experiences …

Research Brief: "Battlefield Compassion And Post-Traumatic Growth In Combat Servicepersons", Institute For Veterans And Military Families At Syracuse University

Institute for Veterans and Military Families

This brief is about the compassionate acts that come out of post-traumatic growth among veterans after serving. For policy and practice, the research shows that military values, bonding experiences, and maturation through military service allows for positive personal growth and that the VA should provide programs for discussing this growth. Suggestions for future research include taking into account variations in specific experiences when analyzing post-traumatic growth and including a representative random sample.

There Is No Normal, Meghan Donohoe

Common Reading Essay Contest Winners

Honorable Mention

Dear Christopher, Abby Shelley

Common Reading Essay Contest Winners

Second Place

A Typology Of Preadolescent Sexual Abusers Based On The Emerging Personality Patterns In The Millon Preadolescent Clinical Inventory, Sam Wallace

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to develop a personality-based typology of preadolescents with sexual behavior problems based the Emerging Personality Patterns in the Millon Preadolescent Clinical Inventory (M-PACI, Millon et al., 2005). Grounding a typology in a theory driven personality system may offer clarity and specificity in understanding preadolescents with sexual behavior problems in a manner that has not yet been explored. A personality and theory driven typology could provide a more comprehensive framework for assessing and treating children who sexually abuse than any of the current taxonomic models.

The study used an ex post facto design with test …

Competitiveness And Individualism-Collectivism In Bali And The U.S., John M. Houston, Cokorda Bagus Jaya Lesmana, Luh Ketut Suryani Udayana University

Faculty Publications

Competitiveness is an important individual difference variable that influences behavior across a range of social domains; however, surprisingly few studies have examined competitiveness from a cross-cultural perspective. This study examined the relationship betweendifferent aspects of competitiveness and individualism-collectivism as individual difference variables in two cultures by comparing Balinese (n = 104) and American (n = 124) undergraduate college students. The results indicated that healthy competitiveness was positively related to collectivism for both Balinese and American students; however, unhealthy competitiveness or hypercompetitiveness was only negatively related to collectivism for Balinese students.

Virtual Into Verisimilitude: Videogames' Ability To Induce Empathy, Blake T. Bennett

CMC Senior Theses

The current study seeks to link traditional forms of empathy induction with new research that suggests videogames can be used as an experiential method of induction. One hundred-nine college students, sixty-four females and forty-six males, were used in a 2x2x2 design, the independent variables being prosocial/neutral videogame, empathic/neutral instructions, and gender. Dependent variables were both questionnaire responses to a fictional story and an opportunity to be realistically altruistic. Participants played either a prosocial or neutral videogame, received either empathic or neutral reading instructions, and then read a vignette depicting a difficult situation faced by the writer. They then rated their …

Climate Change In The Media: Collective Guilt And Behavioral Effects Of News Reports And Environmental Identity, Amanda Koehn

Senior Independent Study Theses

No abstract provided.

Psychological Assessment: What Will The Future Bring?, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

The author discusses the (de)valuation of psychological assessment from various perspectives.

A Multiple Regression Analysis Of Personality’S Impact On Actuarial Exam Performance, Matthew Ciaffone

Honors Projects in Mathematics

Existing literature indicates that there is some connection between personality and both academic and work-related performance. The author's intent for the research described herein is to explore this connection for students majoring in actuarial mathematics with regard to their performance on actuarial certification exams. Specifically, using the five-factor model of personality, the author seeks to predict the number of attempts required to pass the first two exams in the process (Exam 1/P - probability; Exam 2/FM - financial mathematics) using measures of the five dimensions of the five-factor model (openness to experience, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and emotional stability) through regression …

Self-Monitoring Personality At Work Revisited: A Comparative Meta-Analysis, Michael P. Wilmot

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communication: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The validity of self-monitoring personality in work and organizational settings was reexamined. Comparative meta-analyses using both random-effects and fixed-effects models were conducted (349 total samples; N = 75,811) to test the relationship between self-monitoring personality and work-related and demographic correlates, as well as the reliability of the self-monitoring measures. Contributions were made to the literatures of self-monitoring and meta-analysis. Self-monitoring: Results indicated that self-monitoring related to a number of relevant organizational outcomes, including job effectiveness and success, leadership, and ingratiation. Some results ran contrary to the prior meta-analysis (Day, Shleicher, Unckless, & Hiller, 2002). Meaningful differences were found between the …

Relationships Among Heart Rate Monitor Usage, Neuroticism, And Performance In Triathletes, Matthew Galluzzo

Honors Projects in Applied Psychology

Triathlon, a sport that consists of swimming, biking and running, is growing in popularity throughout the country and the world. There is a large percentage of athletes that rely on the use of a heart rate monitor to gauge effort, but there is also a group of athletes that do not use this technology. The purpose of this research was to determine if personality, specifically neuroticism, played a role in determining which athletes use heart rate monitors and whether these variables had any effect on performance. Ninety-eight triathletes were surveyed from 2 half iron distance triathlons in the summer of …

Facebook Profiles And Usage As Indicators Of Personality, Erica Dawson

Honors Projects in Applied Psychology

The online social networking website, Facebook, has greatly changed the way the world communicates. Face-to-face interactions have been replaced by wall posts, status updates and friends liking posts or leaving comments. This study looks at how certain cues on Facebook profiles relate to personality traits, specifically, extraversion, conscientiousness and emotional stability. Three hypotheses focused on profile photos and how frequently the users change their photo. I predicted that 1) extraversion scores would be higher for participants who use a party scene as their profile photo, 2) conscientiousness scores would be lower for these same participants, and 3) the emotional stability …

Assessing Perfectionism And Coping In Athletes, Kirsten Hengstler

Honors Capstones

Capstone submitted as a graduation requirement for the BSU Honors Program.

If These Men Could Still Talk, Rebecca Damphousse

Academic Symposium of Undergraduate Scholarship

For this assignment, two theorists in psychology were selected to engage in conversation. Erik Erikson and Jean Piaget were chosen and their theories of human development were researched. Erikson was asked how his experiences as a child impacted the formation of his theories. The question for Piaget was directed at the permanence, relevancy and universality of his theory into the 21st century. While a large amount of research was conducted, the questions and answers were pure conjecture.

Jurors And Social Loafing: Factors That Reduce Participation During Jury Deliberations, Cynthia J. Najdowski

Psychology Faculty Scholarship

The American jury system rests on the fundamental assumption that jurors will engage in a thorough analysis of facts and robust debate to ensure that verdicts are reliable. Research demonstrates, however, that this expectation is rarely met. All jurors do not participate equally in deliberations. This may be explained in part by social loafing, or the withdrawal of effort that may occur when an individual works in a group relative to when the individual works alone. Despite evidence that jurors do not participate equally during jury deliberations, an analysis of factors contributing to participation, or the lack thereof, has not …

The Multiple Identities Of Second-Generation Haitian Women, Regina Pierre Milfleur

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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Mate Selection, Margaret J. Cason, Norman P. Li

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

"It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife"—so wrote Jane Austen in Pride and Prejudice. From classic literature to contemporary screenplays, from the latest celebrity news to office gossip, it is nearly impossible to escape the pervasive topic of romantic relationships. Indeed, the pursuit of mates consumes a significant portion of our time and energy, and for good reason—mates give us companionship, pleasure, comfort, security, and even health benefits. As we discuss in this article, there are two major theoretical perspectives for understanding mate selection. …

Proactive Behavior: A Selection Perspective, Laura Elizabeth Marler

Doctoral Dissertations

In the 15 years since Bateman and Crant (1993) formulated the construct of proactive personality, numerous researchers have devoted a significant amount of attention to proactive attributes and behaviors (e.g., Parker, Williams, & Turner, 2006; Crant, 2000; Frese & Fay, 2001; Parker, 2000; Erdogan & Bauer, 2005). Campbell's (1990) model of performance suggests that an organization's selection system may ultimately promote proactive behavior. Consequently, in this dissertation, I advocate a selection approach as the initial building block towards creating a workplace in which proactive behavior is a fundamental outcome.

One of the selection tools yet to be explored by researchers …

The Impact Of Childhood Sexual Abuse On A Woman's Attitudes, Perceptions, And Behaviors As She Transitions To Motherhood, Tina Haydu Snider

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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The Relationship Among Locus Of Control, Coping Style, Self-Esteem And Cultural Identification In Female Adolescents, Jennifer Butler-Sweeney

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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Trends. After The Deluge: Psychology And Post-Totalitarianism, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This Trends article discusses the psychological impacts – both positive and negative - of the transition from totalitarian rule in Iraq following the US-led military intervention against Saddam Hussein’s regime.