Social Psychology Commons^™

The Development And Validation Of Implicit Measures Of Emotional Intelligence, Ricardo R. Brooks

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Emotional intelligence (EI) has attracted much attention in the decades since Goleman’s (1995) claim that EI is important for success in a wide range of social and professional roles. With this interest has come much debate about whether EI should be defined and measured as a set of abilities or as a set of dispositional self-perceptions. The latter is typically assessed with self-report measures that are susceptible to contamination related to inaccurate self-knowledge and impression management artifacts – problems that may be mitigated by implicit measures. This research used Implicit Association Test (IAT) procedures to develop implicit measures of EI …

Finding Meaning At Work: The Role Of Inspiring And Funny Youtube Videos On Work-Related Well-Being, Sophie Janicke-Bowles, Diana Rieger, Winston Connor Iii

Communication Faculty Articles and Research

Watching online videos on social media is a common activity in today’s digital age, but its’ impact on employee well-being at work has not been investigated yet. The current study tried to fill this gap by investigating the role hedonic and eudaimonic online videos play on employee’s stress levels and well-being at work. An online experiment with 200 full time employees in the US was conducted exploring the role of inspiring affect and positive affect on three distinct well-being outcomes: subjective well-being, psychological well-being and social well-being at the workplace. A path model suggests unique effects for inspiring videos on …

Power Or Concerns: Contrasting Perspectives On Missionary Conflict, David R. Dunaetz, Ant Greenham

CGU Faculty Publications and Research

Among the consequences of conflicts between missionaries are a reduction in ministry effectiveness and an increase in the likelihood of missionary attrition. In contrast to perspectives of conflict management in Christian contexts which tend to focus on power (condemning the other party as sinful, enforcing submission to the hierarchical superior, or separation of the conflicting parties), the dual concern model of conflict management views conflict as an opportunity to understand each party’s concerns so that the two parties may cooperate and find solutions that correspond to the interests of both parties (Phil. 2:4). The dual concern model also predicts conflict …

Recovering From Workplace Offenses: Understanding The Roles Of Resilience And Forgiveness, Francisca Saldanha

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Workplace transgressions have been shown to have pervasive and detrimental consequences for employees and organizations. Given these negative consequences, past research has examined how managers and organizations can prevent transgressions from occurring in the first place (i.e., preventive approaches) and how transgressions can be fixed when they do eventually occur (i.e., remedial approaches). However, it is unlikely that transgressions can ever be fully eradicated from organizations and it is doubtful that providing remedies can fully redress the harm that was caused. Accordingly, it is important to complement the preventive and remedial approaches with a deeper understanding of how employees can …

Exploring Illusions Of Height In Suit Design, Michael P. Lee

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

Objective: The goal of this research was to explore how the design of clothing, specifically the design of the suit, can create height illusions.

Background: Taller people enjoy many advantages, such as increased income and perceived attractiveness. These advantages motivate people to try to appear taller than they actually are, and clothing experts provide advice on how to accomplish this. However, there is little empirical evidence to validate the illusory effects clothing might have on overall height perception. The few studies that have explored illusions of body size created by clothing design have been limited in two important ways – …

Silent Hands: A Leader’S Ability To Create Nonverbal Immediacy, Linda Talley, Samuel R. Temple

Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences

Nonverbal immediacy is a core element of a leader’s ability to lead followers. Nevertheless, there are no empirical studies regarding a link between a leader’s hand gestures and followers’ perceptions of immediacy (attraction to someone) or nonimmediacy (distancing). Guided by Mehrabian’s theory of nonverbal behavior, this study included one independent variable segmented into seven levels (positive hand gestures defined as community hand, humility hands, and steepling hands; three defensive gestures, defined as hands in pocket, arms crossed over chest, and hands behind back; and neutral/no hand gestures) to test for immediacy or nonimmediacy. In this experimental study, participants (n …

I’M Afraid To Tell You What I Really Think: An Investigation Into The Feedback Withholding Bias Mechanism And Outcomes Within Stem Settings, Deborah Lee

Dissertations

This study builds on previous research findings that White individuals who desire to not appear racist is associated with Black students failing to receive constructive feedback, compared to White students (Croft & Schmader, 2012). This Feedback Withholding Bias (FWB) may inhibit the ability for Black students to learn from constructive feedback which is important for student learning and future performance. Black male students and White male evaluators with a STEM major were the focus of this study because of the underrepresentation of Black STEM students and workers and previous research focusing on racism stereotypes impact on the FWB. The results …

The Effects Of Social Power Bases Within Varying Organizational Cultures, Ayanna Cummings

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This study focuses on social power in the context of organizational culture and how this relationship impacts outcomes of follower compliance and trust. Power is the ability to direct or influence the behavior of others or a course of events (Handgraaf, et al., 2008). There are six different types of social power, including informational, referent, legitimate, coercive, rewarding, and expert (Fontaine & Beerman, 1977). Each type of social power may lead to varying psychological outcomes, such as compliance, satisfaction, and agreement. To date, the empirical literature has not fully addressed the issue of whether one type of power is more …

The Role Of Specificity And Apologies In Excuse Messages Following Train Delay, Emiel Cracco, Nicolas Dirix, Christopher P. Reinders Folmer

Journal of Public Transportation

An important issue in public transport is punctuality. Because delays are often caused by external factors, an efficient way to mitigate passengers’ negative reactions is to point out these factors in an excuse. The current study investigated whether excuses following train delay can be optimized by making minor changes to their content. Specifically, we compared the effectiveness of specific and non-specific excuses. Furthermore, we investigated whether adding different types of an apology influenced the effectiveness of the excuse. The results indicated that specific excuses resulted in more forgiveness and a reduced intention to avoid public transport in the future. Further …

The Effect Of Mode Of Education And Degree Level On Employer Perceptions Of Applicants' Hireability, Benjamin Safara

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Online education is becoming more prominent, but it has been found that employers are biased against hiring job applicants with online education. The influence of mode of education and degree level on employer perceptions of applicants’ hireability was investigated. It was hypothesized that employer perceptions would decrease as the education of an applicant moved to a category consisting of more online education. It was hypothesized that employers would be less likely to move forward with applicants in the hiring process (viability) as applicants’ education moved to a category consisting of more online education. It was hypothesized that degree level would …

Expressing Pride: Effects On Perceptions Of Agency And Communality Based On Race And Gender, Rosalyn A. Miles

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

This study investigated how the expression of pride shapes perceptions of agency and communality, and how those perceptions differ when the pride expresser is of a certain gender and race. Participants were primed with a scenario featuring a picture of a target varying in race and gender. Participants were then invited to complete a survey assessing their perceptions of agency, communality, leadership competence, and ascribed interpersonal hostility. It was hypothesized that the expression of pride over happiness would rank someone as being more or less agentic, communal, competent in leadership, or interpersonally hostile. It was also hypothesized that black targets …

What’S In It For Me? The Impact To Social Exchange Dynamics Of Hispanic Males Serving As Mentors In Formal Youth Programs, Annica Meza Dawe

Dissertations

Purpose: The U.S. Hispanic population is on the rise and will continue to be an important thread in the fabric of American society as a whole. However, in the midst of this burgeoning group lies its male subpopulation which faces its own unique challenges. One outlet that has demonstrated success for minorities is mentoring. Mentoring can provide Hispanic males with numerous benefits in a social exchange paradigm. Unfortunately the majority of mentoring research has focused solely on the perspective of the protégé, thus leaving mentor perceptions, particularly those of Hispanic males, unexplored. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study sought …

Positive Vs. Negative Politics And Behavioral Intentions: An Experimental Examination, Sarah Hill

Dissertations

Despite research showing that politics can be beneficial, a commonly held perception is that politics are negative, harmful, and associated with adverse outcomes. The qualitative differences between positive and negative politics perceptions and their results are still mostly elusive.

This research adds clarity by examining perceptual processes surrounding positive and negative politics perceptions. Using an experimental manipulation, behavior was held constant while political actor motivation was varied. The positive or negative inferred motives and attributions made of the actor related logically to the positive or negative nature of the politics perceptions. Further, attribution type was related to positive or negative …

Childhood Victimization Pathways And Violent Extremism, Michael K. Logan

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

The current study elaborates on childhood victimization as a nonideological risk-factor for participation in violent extremism. In particular, we focus on contextualizing the early lives of a sample of former members of violent White supremacist groups (n = 44). Data were collected through life-history interviews and analyzed using a modified grounded theory approach. The findings indicate that there are three distinct victimization pathways characterize the early lives of our sample: (a) living in a dangerous family, (b) residing in a dangerous community, and (c) living in an unstable, chaotic family environment. These victimization pathways provide further insight into the …

The Influence Of Humorous Priming And Situation Type On Generation Of Malevolently Creative Ideas, Reo W. Newring

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Creativity is usually considered a positive attribute, but what happens when creativity is used to generate a harmful product? Malevolent creativity (Cropley, Kaufman, & Cropley, 2008) refers to a clever, original product with negative valence, or intention to harm. The purpose of the current study was to examine predictors of malevolent creativity, expanding on existing knowledge and exploring a new area, specifically humor. Humorous primes were used to evoke malevolence, in the form of dialogues between two cartoon characters engaged in highly aggressive, moderately aggressive, self-defeating, or neutral exchanges. Subjects were then provided with a hypothetical situation (problem) and asked …

Cynical Towards What? Cynicism Towards Management And Cynicism Towards Diversity Training Differentially Relate To Post-Diversity-Training Measures, Danielle B. Rutz

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

We examined the role of organizational cynicism, that is, the belief that the management of an organization lacks integrity and cannot be trusted to provide truthful information (Dean, Brandes, & Dharwadkar, 1998). In the present research, we further developed our measure of cynicism, distinguishing between cynicism towards management and cynicism towards diversity training.

White participants (N=198; 55% female; M_age = 37.57, SD_age = 10.52) were recruited via MTurk for a study concerning impressions of diversity training. Participants responded to a cynicism measure and then read ostensible corporate memos that described the training as being supported by …

Volunteer Perceptions Of Upward And Downward Communication Facilitate Organizational Commitment, Kelly Prange

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Retaining productive volunteers is an essential issue nonprofit organizations face, as volunteers help extend the services of their target populations. The current study examined upward and downward communication and training as important volunteer management practices with respect to facilitating volunteer engagement and commitment. Using social exchange theory as a framework, the present study investigated the reasons why organizations should stress giving volunteers training and open communication and soliciting feedback from volunteers. Doing so may initiate a social exchange relationship in which volunteers receive training and communication from organizations and in turn become more engaged and committed to the organization. As …

Aware Of What? The Structure And Meaning Of Gender Aware And Blind Ideologies Across Gender And Race, Abigail M. Folberg

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Aware and blind ideologies concerning race (i.e., multiculturalism and colorblindness) have received considerable attention. However, few studies have assessed parallel ideologies about gender, gender awareness (GA) and gender blindness (GB). We examined the relationships of GA/GB to benevolent (BS) and hostile (HS) sexism and assessed the factor structure and measurement invariance of GA and GB across gender and race. Evaluation of the GA/GB measure indicated the presence of two factors (GA and GB) that were invariant across gender and race. Further analyses indicated that greater GA was associated with HS but not GB, whereas greater GB was positively associated with …

Being While Doing: An Inductive Model Of Mindfulness At Work, Christopher Lyddy, Darren J. Good

School of Business Faculty Publications

Mindfulness at work has drawn growing interest as empirical evidence increasingly supports its positive workplace impacts. Yet theory also suggests that mindfulness is a cognitive mode of “Being” that may be incompatible with the cognitive mode of “Doing” that undergirds workplace functioning. Therefore, mindfulness at work has been theorized as “being while doing,” but little is known regarding how people experience these two modes in combination, nor the influences or outcomes of this interaction. Drawing on a sample of 39 semi-structured interviews, this study explores how professionals experience being mindful at work. The relationship between Being and Doing modes demonstrated …

The Impact Of Social Dominance Orientation On Experienced Threat And Consequent Interviewer Discriminatory Behavior: A Psychophysiological Approach, John F. Capman

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Though the representation of Black males within lower echelons of organizations has increased since the inception of Title VII (CRA 1964), Black males continue to be highly underrepresented in management-level roles (EEOC, 2015). The current study was developed to examine how social dominance orientation (SDO) among White males (Sidanius & Pratto, 1994) might disadvantage Black males attempting to advance into management jobs. Additionally, I evaluated the role of threat in contributing to discrimination against Black males by directly assessing threat responses among Organizational Decision Makers (ODM) using psychophysiological measures (i.e., cardiovascular responses). Male and female participants were recruited to participate …

Size, Functional Heterogeneity, And Teamwork Quality Predict Team Creativity And Innovation, Robert L. Dipboye

Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Team size, heterogeneity, and an aggregate measure of teamwork quality predicted the effectiveness of organizational problem solving teams in generating ideas and obtaining the acceptance of management for these ideas. The results of regression analyses revealed that large teams generated more total and implemented ideas than smaller teams. In addition to more total and implemented ideas, teams with higher functional heterogeneity and teamwork quality generated more total and implemented ideas per member. Team size also moderated the effects of self-reported teamwork quality such that larger teams showed a stronger positive relation of teamwork quality with total and implemented ideas than …

Called To Power, Errol N. Mclean

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Computer Monitoring In The Workplace: Performance Effects And Perceptions, Kimberly S. Rubenstein

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Computer performance monitoring (CPM) has become prevalent in modern day as several work functions are now completed on the computer. Under the framework of social facilitation effect (Zajonc, 1965), it is possible that CPM may affect performance because of the feeling of being evaluated. In addition to its effects on performance, employees’ perceptions of CPM are important to consider when employers are deciding whether or not to implement its use in the workplace. Employees may feel apprehensive about being electronically observed, however CPM can be used to employees’ benefit through its ability to provide accurate and detailed information about their …

Insecurity Threat And Its Implications For Leadership Preference, Allen Lee

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

I investigated insecurity threat and its implications for employee leadership preferences. Preferences for three types of leadership style were examined: charismatic, relationship-oriented, and task-oriented leadership. It was anticipated that individuals’ salient work values would predict leadership preference more strongly after insecurity threat than under control conditions. Two different types of threats were investigated in comparison to a neutral control condition.

Results showed that there were no statistically significant differences in leader ratings between threat conditions. My results suggest that threat does not significantly influence preference for charismatic or task-oriented leaders. Work values did not significantly predict a preference for a …

Time, Money, And Happiness: Does Putting A Price On Time Affect Our Ability To Smell The Roses?, Scott Connors, Mansur Khamitov, Sarah Moroz, Lorne Campbell, Claire Henderson

Psychology Publications

DeVoe and House (2012; Experiment 3) demonstrated that the process of thinking about one’s income in relation to time (i.e., as an hourly wage) affected the enjoyment that participants derived from pleasurable experiences. Participants compelled to think of “time is money” experienced more impatience and less enjoyment in reaction to listening to a pleasurable piece of music compared to participants not asked to think of time as money. These effects were attenuated when participants were financially compensated for this leisure time. This suggests that putting a price on time can influence enjoyment of leisure activities, depending on the degree to …

The Development Of The Creative Synergy Scale, Amy E. Climer

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This study developed a scale for teams to assess their behaviors related to creative synergy. Creative synergy is the interactions among team members where the collective creative results are greater than the sum of their individual efforts. When a team achieves creative synergy they have the potential to solve difficult problems with innovative solutions leading to positive impacts on our communities, societies, and even our world. This study looked at the internal-process variables of teams to determine what factors impact creative synergy. The research process involved two phases.In Phase 1, a survey was taken by 830 adults who were members …

An Examination Of Newcomer Integration Processes In Sport Teams: A Socialization Perspective, Alex J. Benson

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

In highly interdependent groups, the ability to swiftly and successfully integrate newcomers is an important component to maintaining functional team dynamics. The current dissertation explored how sport teams structure the nature and timing of events that newcomers are put through by implementing specific socialization tactics. In the first manuscript, a qualitative study was initiated to garner descriptive insights into the tactics that are used to socialize athletes into sport teams. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with coaches, veteran athletes, and newcomer athletes (i.e., individuals in their first year as a team member). Participant insights were thematically analyzed and compared to existing …

Contemplating Mindfulness At Work: An Integrative Review, Darren J. Good, Christopher Lyddy, Theresa M. Glomb, Joyce E. Bono, Kirk W. Brown, Michelle K. Duffy, Ruth A. Baer, Judson A. Brewer, Sara W. Lazar

School of Business Faculty Publications

Mindfulness research activity is surging within organizational science. Emerging evidence across multiple fields suggests that mindfulness is fundamentally connected to many aspects of workplace functioning, but this knowledge base has not been systematically integrated to date. This review coalesces the burgeoning body of mindfulness scholarship into a framework to guide mainstream management research investigating a broad range of constructs. The framework identifies how mindfulness influences attention, with downstream effects on functional domains of cognition, emotion, behavior, and physiology. Ultimately, these domains impact key workplace outcomes, including performance, relationships, and well-being. Consideration of the evidence on mindfulness at work stimulates important …

Relationship Among Motivation, Emotion Regulation, And Psychological Well-Being Of Sophomore And Senior Level Nursing Students, Aryene Delgado, Douglas Garner, Nicole Langhals

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Nursing education and professional work involve stressful circumstances that may lead to attrition, which can further contribute to the projected nursing shortage. This study examines the relationships between motivation, emotional regulation, psychological well-being and academic performance in baccalaureate sophomore and senior level nursing students at a Midwest urban university in the United States. The non-experimental, correlational study is guided by Deci and Ryan’s self-determination theory and uses an online survey data collection and convenience sampling. Measures include: motivation, emotional regulation, psychological well-being (burnout; inauthenticity), and academic performance (GPA), and will be measured using Deci and Ryan’s scale, the Emotion Regulation …

An Examination Of Several Variables Influencing The Efficacy Of The Gateway In Street Sign Configuration On Motorist Yielding Behavior, Miles Bennett

Dissertations

This study contains five different experiments that examine the effects of several variables influencing the effectiveness of the In-Street sign and various In-Street sign configurations. Experiment 1 and 2 compared the effects of the Gateway configuration using R1-6 signs to blank fluorescent yellow-green signs arranged in the Gateway configuration on motorist yielding to pedestrians in crosswalks. The results showed that the blank signs produced an increase in yielding from 7% to 33%, while the addition of the message and symbols to the sign increased yielding to 78%. Experiment 1, 2, and 4 examined the effects of different configurations of the …