Social Psychology Commons^™

"This Is Exactly Why We Sweep Things Under The Rug:" A Polite Approach To Abc's Modern Family, Andrea Fasciano

Masters Theses

The sitcom has remained a popular choice for television viewers since its inception. They have evolved in their methods of entertaining their audiences, often depicting unlikeable characters engaging in antisocial behaviors. This study examines one such sitcom, Modern Family, through the lens of Brown and Levinson's politeness theory, and related concepts contributed by other theorists. These theorists maintain that a primary motive behind any interaction is the presentation and maintenance of a chosen identity or "face." Those actions that fail to maintain face, for either participant are called "face-threatening acts." This study attempts to determine if the characters behave in …

Playing Hard-To-Get: Manipulating One's Perceived Availability As A Mate, Peter K. Jonason, Norman P. Li

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

‘Playing hard-to-get’ is a mating tactic in which people give the impression that they are ostensibly uninterested to get others to desire them more. This topic has received little attention because of theoretical and methodological limitations of prior work. We present four studies drawn from four different American universities that examined playing hard-to-get as part of a supply-side economics model of dating. In Studies 1a (N = 100) and 1b (N = 491), we identified the tactics that characterize playing hard-to-get and how often men and women enact them. In Study 2 (N = 290), we assessed reasons why men …

Age Differences In Women’S Anger Experience And Expression, A. Antonio González-Prendes, Nancy Praill, Poco Kernsmith

Social Work Faculty Publications

Research on women’s anger is relative scarce. In this study the authors examined differences in anger experience and expression in women across three distinct age groups: 18-30, 31-49, and 50 and above. The authors used the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory-2 (STAXI-2) to survey a sample of 239 women in the United States and Canada. The groups were established according to hypothesized transitional life stages of changing responsibilities and expectations. A MANCOVA was used to test the effect of age and covariates of education, employment, relationship status, and country of residence on participants’ experience and expression of anger. The authors discuss …

Like Or Dislike: The Emotional Toll Of Being On Facebook, Lauren N. Weathers

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The current study examined the relationship between affect changes or lack thereof when one logs onto Facebook or Yahoo!. Facebook was specifically chosen for examination in the current study due to its widespread use, its vast effect on society, and its unique features that allow users to obtain information and have social interaction at the same time. Yahoo! served as a control due to the fact that it is a highly popular site that has similar features of Facebook without having the social functions. Both sites allow users to observe news that is pertinent and of interest to them and …

A Study Of How Selected Public School Junior-High Students Perceive The Effect Of Popular Music On Classroom Behavior, Christopher Mc Allister

Masters Theses

The objective of this study is to further the understanding of how junior-high students in the public schools perceive the effects of popular music on their behavior in the classroom. Two primary research questions serve as the foundation for this study. The first question investigates how themes disclosed in interviews of selected public school junior high students help to explain their personal perceptions of how popular music affects their behavior in the academic environment. The second question seeks to determine whether students that listen to a particular genre of popular music have different or similar perceptions of how music affects …

Revisiting The Multicultural Experience-Creativity Link: The Effects Of Cultural Distance And Comparison Mindset, Chi-Ying Cheng, Angela K. Y. Leung

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

A growing literature provides evidence for the multicultural experience-creativity link such that exposure to the juxtaposition of two cultures facilitates individual creativity. The underlying mechanisms for this relationship, however, are still far from being well explored. Drawing upon the novel perspective of motivated cognition, we hypothesize that two factors interact to affect creative outcomes: (a) perceived cultural distance between the two juxtaposed cultures, and (b) comparison mind-sets. Specifically, we argue that individuals’ creative performance will be increased only when a difference mind-set is employed to process the cultural stimuli that are sufficiently different from each other. In two studies, individuals …

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 …

The Influence Of Children's Affective Ties On The Goal Clarification Step Of Social Information Processing, Amanda C. Thorn

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Previous studies have shown that children’s social goals are influenced by
emotion and that emotions can be manipulated using relationships. The present study combines these previous findings by examining the effect of children’s relationships on social goals. Social goals were examined in second and fifth grade children using hypothetical ambiguous provocation situations in which the relationship between the participant and the provocateur was manipulated by inserting the name of a friend, enemy, or a neutral peer into the story. After each situation, children rated the importance of four different social goals, indicating which of the four would be the most …

Inequality And Health: Stress Mediates The Relationship Between Subjective Ses And Wellbeing, Elizabeth L. Tull

Honors College

Socioeconomic disadvantage is linked to a variety of health problems ranging from obesity to mental illness (Ball & Crawford, 2005; Wilkinson & Pickett, 2009). The problem lies not in the inequalities between societies, but within societies themselves (Wilkinson & Pickett, 2009). An individual’s perception of his or her socioeconomic status (SES) relative to others may be more important to their health than objective measures of SES, such as income or education. Stress associated with the perception of low status could also be linked to negative health outcomes (Adler et al., 2000). In the current research, I examined the relationship between …

Cross-Cultural Adaptation, Validation And Reliability Of The Brazilian Version Of The Richmond Compulsive Buying Scale, Priscilla Leite, Bernard Range, Monika Kukar-Kinney, Nancy Ridgway, Kent Monroe, Rodolfo Ribas Jr., J. Landeira-Fernandez, Antonio Egidio Nardi, Adriana Silva

Marketing Faculty Publications

Objective: To present the process of transcultural adaptation of the Richmond Compulsive Buying Scale to Brazilian Portuguese.

Methods: For the semantic adaptation step, the scale was translated to Portuguese and then back-translated to English by two professional translators and one psychologist, without any communication between them. The scale was then applied to 20 participants from the general population for language adjustments. For the construct validation step, an exploratory factor analysis was performed, using the scree plot test, principal component analysis for factor extraction, and Varimax rotation. For convergent validity, the correlation matrix was analyzed through Pearson’s coefficient.

Results: The scale …

Short Communication: Powerless And Jobless? Comparing The Effects Of Powerless Speech And Speech Disorders On An Applicant’S Employability, Christian M. End, Katherine Saunders

Faculty Scholarship

The present study examines the impact of a speech disorder (a lateral lisp) and powerless speech on an applicant’s hireability. College students (N = 113) reviewed an applicant’s resume, as well as a description of two occupations/job openings that varied in regard to necessitating speech. Participants listened to one of three interviews (speech disorder vs. powerless speech vs. control), indicated their willingness to hire the applicant, and then completed hire-ability and employability scales for both positions, as well as an impressions ratings form. Contrary to the hypotheses, few differences between the “employers” responses to the control and speech disorder applicants …

Knowledge Of Juvenile Sex Offender Registration Laws As A Predictor Of Adolescent Sexual Behavior, Cynthia J. Najdowski, Margaret C. Stevenson, Tisha Ra Wiley

Psychology Faculty Scholarship

Because juveniles can now be registered as sex offenders, we conducted a pilot study to investigate awareness of these policies and sexual behavior histories in a convenience sample of 53 young adults (ages 18 to 23, 79% women). These preliminary data revealed that 42% percent of participants were unaware that youth under the age of 18 can be registered as sex offenders, and when informed that they can be, participants were unaware of the breadth of adolescent sexual behavior that warrants registration. Furthermore, those unaware of juvenile registration policies, compared to those who were aware, were marginally more likely to …