Social Psychology Commons^™

Indigenous Women In Active Drug Abuse Recovery: An Analysis Of Native And Non-Native Programs, Raquel J. Muñoz

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

In general, much has been written on the experiences of prototypical women in drug recovery programs, however there is only a scarcity of research on the experiences of rural women of color in drug recovery programs. Very few Northern American cultures had experience with alcohol before the first wave of European settlers. Responses to intergenerational trauma faced by Native women include substance abuse, depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, suicidal thinking, and more. Due to socioeconomic disadvantages drug and alcohol abuse tends to be a coping mechanism for many Native American women. Drawing on the narratives of ten Indigenous women who are …

Sexual Objectification Of Women: What Can Ancient Rome And Modern Psychology Teach Us?, Noa Raskin

Honors Theses

Sexual objectification (SO) is an omnipresent experience for women that decreases their quality of life. Researching why SO occurs and is perpetuated can help us understand how to decrease the interpersonal, mental health, and safety consequences women face from being sexually objectified. This presentation looks at sexual objectification through the lenses of two different disciplines: psychology and classics. The psychology component involved an empirical study aimed at better comprehending women’s perceptions of their own SO and the connection SO has to Greek life. Nineteen men from Union College completed two scales to assess their direct and indirect SO of women, …

Examining Women's Psychophysiological Responses Under Increasingly Obvious Sexism, Shelby Helwig

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

When women experience sexism, it may at first be subtle and difficult to label only becoming clearer over time. Sexism is often ambiguous in nature and experienced over an extended period; therefore, studying sexism as it occurs in daily life is crucial to extending our understanding of how women cope with discrimination. Past research has shown that women may experience maladaptive physiological responses when exposed to various forms of sexism. The current study investigated women’s cardiovascular reactivity and recovery responses to prolonged, increasingly obvious sexism. Women evaluated resumes in a mock search committee meeting with two male confederates whose statements …

Women’S Experiences Of Self-Objectification And Sexualization And Their Impact On Attitudes Towards Online Sex Work, Storm Balint

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Current research suggests that women students may be increasingly turning to sex work to help finance their education due to increased economic demands. However, for this to be considered a viable work option, increased acceptance of student engagement in sex work is also necessary. To date, no research has examined empirically the influence of societal factors such as sexualization, objectification and the proliferation of digital technology as factors potentially increasing positive attitudes toward sex work. This exploratory study examined whether the type of sex work influenced young women’s attitudes and if the internalization of sexualization and objectification affected their attitudes. …

The Use Of Social Media In Moderating Feelings Of Belongingness And Suicidal Ideation Among Women, Latasha Davidson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Suicide among women in the United States increased significantly over the last decade, now accounting for six suicides per 100,000 population. Concurrently, there has been an increase in social media use, with women exhibiting elevated presence on social networking platforms. Grounded in the theoretical framework of the theory of suicide and the interpersonal theory of suicide, the purpose of this quantitative nonexperimental study was to evaluate the association between social media use, feelings of belongingness, and suicidal ideation to address the increased suicide rate among adult women in the United States. One research question focused on how social media use …

‘Instead Of Life In Prison, It Was Life In My Own Skin’: Scope And Limitations Of A Week-Long Daily Online Self-Compassionate Writing Intervention For Young Women’S Body Image, Katarina Huellemann

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Self-compassion involves reappraising negative events, accepting uncomfortable emotions, and practicing self-kindness. This thesis examined the effect of cultivating self-compassion via daily self-compassionate writing completed online for one week on stigmatizing and affirming self-perceptions in young undergraduate women. Undergraduate women (N = 254) were randomly assigned to one of the three conditions (i.e., self-compassionate writing, attentional-control, wait-list control) and completed measures of trait self-compassion, fear of self-compassion, affirming self-perceptions (i.e., body appreciation and broad conceptualization of beauty), and stigmatizing self-perceptions (i.e., self-objectification and phenomenological body shame) at baseline, post-test, and one-month follow-up. Hypotheses were tested using MANCOVA and a latent …

Papal Support For Women Under Uncertainty: Changing Perceptions Of Women In Religious Leadership Positions In The Roman Catholic Church, Stephanie M. Byers

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Women have historically been barred from holding positions of leadership and power. As a result, much of the literature examining women as leaders is narrow in context, focusing mainly on business and political settings (Eagly & Johnson, 1990). The current work contributes to diverse leadership research by analyzing women leaders in the context of the Roman Catholic Church - a historically gender-biased religious organization with no current leadership opportunities for women. The Church’s rigid leadership stance provides an optimal setting for exploring openness to accept change in traditionalist organizations. Previous research on identity leadership has shown that prototypical leaders are …

Disordered Eating, Depression, And Cognitive Vulnerabilities In College Women., Kelsea Visalli

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study tests a path model of disordered eating and symptoms of depression derived from the Hopelessness Theory of Depression (Abramson, Metalsky, & Alloy, 1989). The model proposes that cognitive vulnerabilities to depression will be associated with disordered eating behaviors and symptoms of depression in college women. A sample of undergraduate women (n = 181) completed self-report measures assessing disordered eating symptoms and symptoms of depression. Findings revealed that one, but not all, cognitive vulnerability was associated with disordered eating behavior, and that disordered eating behaviors and symptoms of depression are bi-directionally associated. Implications and future research directions are discussed.

Impressions Of A Female Political Candidate Based On Political Party Affiliation, Candice J. Veilleux

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

There is a gender gap in United States politics; men are over represented, and prioritize issues/policies differently compared with women. Stereotypes may be associated depending on group memberships. Stereotypes of men (competent) are consistent and stereotypes of women (warm) are inconsistent with politicians (competent). I examined stereotypes of major/non-major political parties, and how party affiliation affects whether stereotypes about men/male politicians/women/female politicians predict female politicians’ traits. Stereotype valence ascribed to political parties is important because people vote for a positively viewed party/representative. I assessed the strength and valence of stereotypes associated with political parties, and found major parties were viewed …

Confronting Sexism In Science, Technology, Engineering, And Math (Stem): What Are The Consequences?, Eden J.V. Hennessey

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Disparaging remarks that female scientists are ‘Distractingly Sexy’ (Waxman, 2015) and ‘Too Pretty to Do Math’ t-shirts (Amazon.com) highlight the common belief that women in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) violate perceived gender norms. However, by confronting these beliefs, women may incur a ‘double-dose’ of hostility; once for being present in science, and again because of the confrontation itself (Kaiser & Miller, 2001). Across three studies, this research tested how women confronting sexism in STEM contexts would elicit and anticipate social costs. Study 1 showed that male participants rated a hypothetical female confronter in STEM higher in bossiness and …

African-American Women And Work-Life Balance, Alisha Diane Powell

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

African American women have high rates of depression and anxiety and are more likely to experience marital instability. Work-life balance (WLB) has been a topic of growing discussion and research as the number of women in the workplace has increased significantly. Researchers have demonstrated that women who work full time outside of the home have the unique challenge of fulfilling work obligations while taking care of household responsibilities. Work-life balance (WLB) has been a topic of discussion and research as the numbers of women in the workplace have increased significantly in the United States. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological …

Persistent Pleasures: Agency, Social Power, And Embodiment In Women's Solitary Masturbation Experiences, Christin P. Bowman

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Though sexuality has historically been a useful site for examinations of social power, looking at power through the lens of sexuality often involves interpersonal analyses. But social power can also inform solitary experiences through the internalization of social norms and discourses. In this dissertation, I move beyond explorations of how people interact sexually with one another, and instead investigate women’s solitary masturbation experiences throughout their lives as a means to better understand the intricate ways in which sexist, racist, and heterosexist ideologies weave themselves into women’s bodies and lives. Specifically, I ask the following research question in this dissertation: How …

Lived Experiences Of Mothers Returning To Work After A Child-Rearing Hiatus, Brenda Marceline Yahraes

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Mothers who leave the workforce to raise children may face personal and professional difficulties when returning. There was a lack of qualitative research on what these women experience in their return to work. The purpose of this study was to discover and describe how a mother in a professional or managerial position experiences a return to the workforce after a hiatus of 2 or more years to raise children. The philosophy of Husserl and the methodology of Moustakas guided this transcendental phenomenological study. Through purposive snowball sampling, 12 women participated in semistructured interviews. Data analysis followed the Stevick-Colaizzi-Keen method leading …

Saudi Women's Experiences Of Control And Engagement As Employees In Private Universities, Kimberly Dawn Deatherage

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Saudi women have higher rates of graduation from college than their male counterparts, but are underrepresented as employees in the private higher education sector. Saudi women working in higher education report a lack of involvement in the planning of their work, challenges in balancing family and career, and low wages. Yet, no research has explored how Saudi women in administrative support staff positions in private universities perceive control and how their perceptions of control affect their engagement in the workplace. Therefore, based on locus of control theory, the 2-process model of perceived control, and compensatory control theory, the purpose of …

The Nerve: Associations Between Perceived Parenting Style And Coping With Stress, Lauren Mcgrew

Undergraduate Theses

Throughout a lifetime, women are twice as likely as men to develop an anxiety disorder. Several factors – biological, psychological, and social/environmental – are involved in the mechanisms of anxiety. The present study was designed with particular interest in the association between parents’ parenting styles and daughter anxiety, specifically paternal influences in correlation with how daughters cope with stress. Previous studies suggest that anxious tendencies in parents can be transferred to their children (Ballash, Leyfer, Buckley, & Woodruff-Borden, 2006). Studies have also identified three main parenting styles – authoritarian, authoritative, and permissive – which may also play a role in …

An Examination Of The Relationship Between Authenticity And Female Sexual Dysfunction, Ellen Kaye Smith

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Since the late 1990s, researchers have reported a high degree of sexual dysfunction among American women that is associated with significant negative consequences (e.g., reduced quality of life and sexual satisfaction). In addition, sexual satisfaction is a primary factor in marital stability. Because of the widespread impact on both individual well-being and marital relationships, female sexual dysfunction is a significant public health problem. Most research has supported the predominance of psychocultural factors in women's sexual issues. Authenticity, defined by Kernis and Goldman as acting in accord with one's natural inclinations, is associated with increased well-being, but researchers have often overlooked …

Sexual Content In Music's Relationship With Consumers' Body Image, Sexualization And Objectification, Marika Gilbert

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The current study examined the relationship between sexual content in popular pop, rap, and R&B music videos and female consumers’ body image, self-objectification, the objectification of other women, and self-esteem. The current study had two main hypotheses: (1) exposure to sexual content in music videos would be negatively correlated with women’s body image, self-objectification, and the objectification of other women and (2) Women’s body image and self-objectification would mediate the relationship between exposure to sexual content in music videos and self-esteem. Participants included 308 female college students who answered questions related to the study aims online. Exposure to sexual content …

Measuring Self-Reported Exercise, Motivation To Exercise, And Sexism In Women, Sydney C. Jensen

All Master's Theses

The harmfulness and pervasiveness of benevolent sexism is not a well disseminated issue, despite the belief that women are treated with equality in today’s society. The current study was designed to investigate whether exercise type and motivation to exercise would predict participants’ self-reported benevolent and hostile sexism, particularly in light of gender-related stereotypes about physical activity. A sample of 79 females completed an online survey that included questions about demographic characteristics, primary exercise type (i.e., cardiovascular exercise, weight-lifting, or hobbies), average number hours spent engaging in their primary exercise weekly, exercise motivations, and finally the Ambivalent Sexism Inventory which served …

Men And Women In Engineering: Professional Identity And Factors Influencing Workforce Retention, Caitlin Hawkinson Wasilewski

Industrial-Organizational Psychology Dissertations

The purpose of this investigation was to gain insight into professional identity and retention in the field of engineering, for both men and women, in an effort to mitigate the shortage of engineers in the United States. Although past efforts have predominantly focused on improving women’s retention since they represent a significant minority of this population, retention should be addressed in men as well, as both typically leave engineering within 10 years of entering the workforce (Frehill, 2012).

Professional identity and retention were evaluated with a mixed methods approach using archival data from a previous investigation on degreed engineers. Professional …

The Influence Of Backlash On Self-Sexualization And Cognitive Depletion, Mallory Helen Elizabeth Nurse Grembowski

Master's Theses

A woman who acts agentically in the workplace is more likely to be disliked and viewed as less competent than a woman who acts caring and communal. The negative consequences for acting outside of a cultural stereotype are called backlash. Cultural gender stereotypes for western society depict women as warm and communal while men are agentic and independent. Women in the workplace act outside of the cultural stereotype, and thus face backlash from their peers. This study examines the extent to which women utilize self-sexualization as a recovery strategy to cope with the fear of backlash, and ultimately how these …

Through The Eyes Of The Homeless, Aisha M. Soto

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

When reviewing the entire project from start to completion, I can honestly say, Through the Eyes of the Homeless is a play about ten women and their plight. It illustrates their dealings with everyday issues of hurt, disappointment, abuse, love, and hope. I believe the true impact of this play is the undeniable prayer for help and hope within each monologue. Despite the horrors that are unveiled and released through hidden secrets, the undertone of betterment is truly resonating. My own expectation for this play is simply to strike awareness and understanding in the eyes of the people. It is …

Benevolent Racism? : The Impact Of Race And Sexual Subtype On Ambivalent Sexism, Jean Marie Mcmahon

Dissertations and Theses

How does a woman's race influence perceptions of her sexual behavior? This study investigated how race and sexual behavior intersect within an ambivalent sexism framework. Benevolent sexism characterizes women as pure and defenseless, which contrasts with the cultural stereotype of Black women as aggressive and hypersexual. Gender and racial stereotypes may combine to produce different outcomes for women who behave according to negative (promiscuous) or positive (chaste) sexual subtypes. According to shifting standards theory, evaluations and treatment of these women should vary depending on whether the measured behavior is non-zero sum (limitless) or zero sum (finite). To test this hypothesis, …

Beyond Biracial: The Complexity Of Identity Construction For Women With One Black And One White Parent, Roxanne Kymaani

Dissertations

In the United States, the post-Civil Rights Movement era changed forever the social perceptions about race and the self-perceptions of people who are born with mixed racial origin. Choosing to identify as mixed race in America inevitably leads to a racial cross-examination linked to America’s continued struggle with its racial heritage and the enduring legacy of a dominant discourse.

This dissertation focuses on the lived experience of women with one Black and one White parent. While subject to labels such as Black and White, Black, mulatto, biracial, mixed, or other, the central question is what do these women wish to …

Why Don't I Look Like Her? The Impact Of Social Media On Female Body Image, Kendyl M. Klein

CMC Senior Theses

The purpose of this paper is to understand and criticize the role of social media in the development and/or encouragement of eating disorders, disordered eating, and body dissatisfaction in college-aged women. College women are exceptionally vulnerable to the impact that social media can have on their body image as they develop an outlook on their bodies and accept the developmental changes that occurred during puberty. This paper provides evidence that there is a relationship between the recent surge in disordered eating and high consumption of social media. I examine the ways in which traditional advertising has portrayed women throughout history, …

Being Muslim In 21st Century America: Does Living In America Create An Identity Crisis For The Generation X Muslim Woman?, Laila Uddin

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Over the years, I've observed South Asian females and males alike struggling to fulfill religious and cultural obligations to their family while fitting in with the norms of society. I also learned of the term "ABCD" which stands for American Born Confused Desi. This refers to people of Desi or South Asian origin living in the United States. "Confused" refers to their confusion regarding their identity from either being born in America or living here since an early age and having been exposed to American culture more than their ancestral culture. That is when I realized that I was not …

The Effects Of Aerobic Exercise On State And Trait Body Image And Physical Fitness Among College Women, Sherri L. Hensley

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

Cumulative evidence shows body dissatisfaction is a salient problem among women, and is linked to various psychological disorders and disturbances. While numerous perspectives regarding the negative body-image phenomenon exist, one area of scientific inquiry is the relationship between physical exercise and body image. With the current sociocultural emphasis on physical fitness and attractiveness, the effects of exercise on body image warrants serious consideration. The present investigation compared 57 women who participated in a 13-week aerobic exercise program to 29 sedentary control women on the following variables: state and trait body image, cardiorespiratory fitness, and body composition. The exercising women were …