Social Psychology Commons^™

Does Enhancing Mind Perception Affect Conspiracy Belief?, Jorge R. Noguera - Sepulveda

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of a novel mind perception manipulation. Mind perception is currently theorized to be an essential aspect of a number of human social psychological processes. Thus, a successful manipulation would allow for the causal study of those processes. This manipulation was created in an attempt to explore the downstream impact of mind perception on the endorsement of conspiracy theories. Conspiracy theories are steadily becoming more and more prominent in social discourse. Endorsement of conspiracy theories are beginning to show real world ramifications such as a danger to human health (e.g., in the anti-vaccination …

The Effect Of Religious Dress On Perceived Attractiveness And Trustworthiness, Courtney Swank

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The hijab, a symbol of modesty and privacy in the Islamic faith, negatively affects ratings of perceived attractiveness. Although postcolonial feminism strives to portray women as not one universal group, but as an incorporation of different races, ethnicities, social classes, and other cultures, the Western world may not be where it endeavors to be. In this study the impact of the hijab on people’s perceptions of attractiveness was examined. Participants rated four target photos of the same woman with and without a hijab, and with or without cosmetics. Attractiveness and trustworthiness was then assessed in each condition, between genders, in …

Cognitive And Emotional Processes Involved In The Experience Of Objects As Holy Or Transcendent, Lotte J. Pummerer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In recent years, attitudes about religion/spirituality have become more pluralistic (Pew Research Center, 2015a). At the same time, the number of individuals who identify themselves as nonreligious, atheist or agnostic are growing (Pew Research Center, 2015b), yet we are lacking words and research to describe their attributions of transcendence in language not bound to religious concepts. This study aims at examining both concepts – holiness and transcendence – in their similarities and differences through assessing cognitive and emotional processes involved in experiences of objects.

The study consisted of two parts with a total of 206 Christian and 52 nonreligious/atheistic/agnostic participants. …

The Effect Of Social Influence On Perception Of Tornado Warnings, Jason A. Parker

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Tornado activity annually results in many deaths throughout the U.S. As a result, the emergency alert system (including tornado warnings) has made considerable advancements throughout the past few decades. However, continued improvements could be made to warning content that aid to facilitate adaptive decision-making by increasing individuals’ motivation to respond. One method that could increase adaptive responses to warnings is by including the modality of descriptive social information within the warning. Research suggests that normative social influence acts as a powerful motivator for individuals to conform toward the witnessed or perceived behaviors of others. The current study examined the impact …

The Effects Of Construal Level On Stigmatizing Attitudes Toward An Individual With Mental Illness, Jeremy Glenn Gay

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

People with mental illness often face stigmatization by society. However, little research has examined cognitive factors that may activate or dissipate stigmatizing attitudes toward those with mental illness. Construal level, or the extent that people focus on abstract generalizations versus concrete details of events, may be one such cognitive factor. Two contradictory hypotheses emerged concerning how construal may affect stigmatizing attitudes. One hypothesis suggests that abstract construals will decrease stigmatization because abstract construals tend to increase the activation of similar goals, thus leading to a similarity focus. In contrast, another hypothesis suggests that abstract construals will increase stigmatization because abstract …

Do Placement And Repetition Of Information In Pictorials Affect Comprehension And Memory Of Medication Instructions?, Jessica Le

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine how text and picture pairings affected comprehension and memory for medication instructions. Participants viewed instructions on how to prepare a mock oral suspension drug. These instructions either had the picture repeat the information in the text, or complement information in the text. The text instructions were also either integrated into the pictures, or were separated from the pictures. Next, participants were assessed on their comprehension and memory including memory for the order of the steps and their belief in their ability to carry out this task effectively. The results indicated that participants …

Anger In The Courtroom: The Effects Of Attorney Gender And Emotion On Juror Perceptions, Christian B. May

Honors College Theses

This study sought to examine the effects of gender stereotypes of emotional expression on jurors’ perceptions of an attorney’s competence. Participants watched a video of a closing statement of a male or female attorney expressing either anger or neutral emotions and were asked to give a verdict and rate the attorney’s competence. Participants rated an angry male attorney highest in competence and an angry female attorney lowest in competence. Results also showed that participants who viewed a male attorney were more likely to attribute the attorney’s emotions to the situation compared to participants who viewed a female attorney. The implications …

Predictors Of Bullying In An Adolescent School Sample, Schell Hufstetler

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Author's abstract: Bullying is a pervasive problem in our society. Contributing to this problem is the fact that bullying is not well understood. This makes it difficult to design successful interventions. The current study aims to create a complete picture of bullying in order to increase understanding of this behavior. For this study, 59 adolescents completed a survey packet including measures of bullying behaviors and other variables expected to relate to bullying. The results revealed that bullying is a problem for both genders. Multivariate analyses revealed males to be more directly and indirectly aggressive, but there were no significant gender …

"...Bless Her Little Heart!": The Culture Of Honor And Emotion Recognition, Forrest J. Rackham

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Author's abstract: Some researchers assert that cultural display rules may explain differences in perceiving emotions (Matsumoto, Yoo, & Chung, 2010). The current study examined the display rule of masking within the Southern culture of honor. It was hypothesized that masking within the culture of honor negatively affects emotion perception sensitivity, particularly in the speed and accuracy of recognizing anger. Southern undergraduate students were primed with the culture of honor and then presented with the Emotional Expression Multimorph Task. Participants chose one of the six emotions (i.e., sad, happy, surprise, fear, disgust, or anger). It was hypothesized participants in the masking …