Social Psychology Commons^™

The Effect Of Prior Cooperation And Competition On Approaches To A Decomposed Social Dilemma, Keith M. Rettig

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The effect of cooperation and competition in a primer task upon subject's later choice of strategy in a social dilemma was examined. The effect of explicit and implicit instructions and cooperative and competitive milieu on subjects' behavior, individually and as a team, during both the primer task and the social dilemma was also examined. Male and female subjects participated in a naval simulation task under Implicit-Cooperative, Explicit-Cooperative, Implicit-Competitive, and Explicit-Competitive instructions and later participated in a prisoner's dilemma game. Simmons, Wehner, Tucker, and King's (1987) Cooperative / Competitive Strategy Scale was used as a covariate. A significant effect of instructions …

Materialism And The Self, Kathleen Shirley Micken

Theses and Dissertations in Business Administration

Materialism has been called the most significant macro development in modern consumer behavior. Despite its importance, research about the construct is rather new. Two scales have been developed to measure materialism, one proposed by Belk, the other by Richins and Dawson.

The purpose of this dissertation is threefold. First, it extends the materialism research program by investigating the relationship between materialism and one's self concept. Hypotheses which drive the research posit that people who are more materialistic have lower self-esteem, are less likely to be self-actualized, are extrinsically rather than intrinsically motivated, and are likely to be high self-monitors. The …

The Effects Of Exposure To The Modeling Of Normative Discontent Versus Rational Coping On Women's Body-Image Affect, Lyse Guttau

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of the present study was to examine the nature and effects of appearance-focused conversations among women. One hundred-twenty female college students listened to one of three types of scripted audiotapes. The three conditions were a negative modeling condition, a rational coping condition, and a neutral condition in which appearance was not discussed. The three components under investigation were: (a) perceptions about the conversation, (b) the impact of the conversation on body image, and (c) the impact of the conversation on emotional affect. The influence of appearance orientation on reactions to the conversations in each of the three areas …

Social Support For Family Caretakers Of The Chronically Mentally Ill, Gina L. Bankes

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The present study examined the relation between coping style, social support, family member symptom severity, and negative affect. Fifty-one caretakers of chronically mentally ill family members completed a demographic questionnaire, a general appraisal questionnaire, a family member symptom severity questionnaire, the Coping Strategy Indicator, the Social Support Questionnaire, and the Multiple Affect Anxiety Checklist. Caretakers with family members living at home were different than caretakers with family members living away from home (HOME) in several respects. Controlling for HOME, family member symptom severity was related to negative affect, coping strategies were related to negative affect and the Social Support Questionnaire …

The Effects Of Confidentiality Gender And Subject Shyness On The Social Desirability Response Bias, Scott D. Bradshaw

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

This study examined the effect of confidentiality on objective and semi-projective personality measures. Confidentiality was manipulated by telling the subject his/her responses would, or would not, be discussed with the examiner. The effect was assessed by comparing a subject s scores on two different measures of the same construct'ne test completed with confidentiality, the other without. It was hypothesized that subjects in the non-confidential condition would alter the responses on the measures and that this effect would be greatest with opposite gender pairings of subjects and examiners. The possible moderator variables of shyness, self-monitoring, and self-actualization were also examined. Data …

Effects Of Extraversion And Gender On Self-Disclosure Of Emotion With A Same-Sex Friend, Patrick M. Ulmen

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The study examined subjects' perceptions about disclosure of emotion by a stimulus person who was depicted as extraverted or introverted, and subjects' self-disclosure of emotion based on their own level of extraversion. In addition, the role of gender in disclosure of emotion was examined. The findings on differences in disclosure of emotion based on gender are considered tentative. Males self-disclosed anger more to same-sex stimulus persons than did females, but this was the only significant difference. An introverted compared to an extraverted stimulus person was found to elicit more disclosure about emotions associated with calmness and depression. Emotions which an …

Religious Orientation And Sex-Role Attitudes: The Apportionment Of Paid Employment Childcare And Household Tasks Within The Context Of Marriage, Gregory Ralph Caron

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between intrinsic/extrinsic religious orientation and sex-role attitudes within the context of marriage. Three hundred and ten students from urban Catholic high schools participated in the study. Sex-role attitudes were measured using Likert-type scales reflecting judgment on apportionment of time between spouses for paid employment, childcare, and housework. Also, Likert-type scales reflected perceived comfort, perceived marriage satisfaction, and divorce probability for a husband and wife represented in an egalitarian and a traditional sex-segregated scenario. Sex-role attitude scores were examined by categorizing students according to gender and high/low intrinsic and extrinsic groups. …

Relocation Decision-Making In Dual-Career Couples, Lori Bartels

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

This study examined the decision-making process of individuals in dual-career couples when faced with a job opportunity in a distant city. The purpose was to determine which factors would be given the most importance by males and females during the decision process.

Each scenario presented an identical situation in which the participant was offered a job in a distant city. Following this paragraph were five brief statements representing five factors; job opportunities for self, job opportunities for spouse, career commitment--self, career commitment--spouse, and economic considerations. Two levels (moderate and high) of each factor were used in order to manipulate the …

Psychosocial Developmental Levels Of Freshman Urban University Students With Learning Disabilities, Nancy Ann Wolthuis Olthoff

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

This research study addressed the question, "Is there a difference in psychosocial developmental levels, as defined by Arthur Chickering, between male and female traditional-aged urban university freshmen with and without learning disabilities?" Twenty students with learning disabilities, as diagnosed by independent practitioners who exhibited spelling disabilities on a writing sample placement test, were compared to two comparable groups of twenty students. One comparison group did not exhibit spelling disability. The second group while demonstrating spelling problems, did not have documentation of learning disabilities. The Student Developmental Task and Lifestyle Inventory, a measure of Arthur Chickering's theory of psychosocial development, was …

Patient Satisfaction With Psychiatric Hospitalization: A Social Exchange Theory Approach, Jan H. Nelson

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

During the past decade patient satisfaction with mental health treatment has become an important issue in research. Administration of patient satisfaction surveys has become a standard practice in treatment and therapy in order to evaluate and improve treatment programs and services. This study examined patient satisfaction in inpatient psychiatric hospitalization based on two social exchange theories. These theories are Kelley and Thibaut's (1978} interdependence theory and Rusbult's (1980) investment model. Fifty inpatients at a state psychiatric facility were given a questionnaire designed to assess satisfaction and commitment based on costs, rewards, investments, comparison level, and comparison level for alternatives. Reliabilities …

The Role Of Values In Personality Development, Joanne Peterson

Institute for the Humanities Theses

As an important element of human life, values play a distinctive role in structuring the developing personality. Considerations of this role are discussed from an objective, subjective, and situational perspective, recognized as three known value orientations incorporated into differing personality theories. Initial inquiries suggest that values are not as important as the degree to which an individual commits to a moral life and then employs this viewpoint in sorting through various alternatives to select those beliefs, attitudes and behaviors best reflecting this commitment.

A Social Exchange Approach To Explaining Satisfaction With Therapy, Brenda B. Counts

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The present study examined the effect of Reward, Cost, Comparison Level, Comparison Level of Alternative, and Investment on Satisfaction and Commitment in therapy from the perspective of social exchange theory and the investment model. Relationship variables were assessed by 114 subjects for the beginning of therapy, the first few sessions: middle of therapy, when therapy was clearly underway and issues were being dealt with; and the end or last few sessions. Results confirmed that Satisfaction and Commitment were significantly predicted by greater Reward, lower Cost, and Comparison Level. Investment was consistently positively related to Commitment and not to Satisfaction. However, …

Couples' Interpretations Of Unwanted Sexual Advances At Three Stages Of A Dating Relationship, Kerrie D. Quinn

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Sexual aggression in dating is now a widespread social phenomenon. The present study was designed to examine interpretations and expectations in a sexual disagreement situation within young dating couples. Forty-five heterosexual couples classified into one of three distinct stages of involvement (first date, several dates, or steady dating) were asked to complete several questionnaires requesting background and sexual information, and respond to six brief scenarios describing dating situations. It was hypothesized that the respondent's sex, couple's dating stage, woman's type of ''No" response, and the level of intimacy were related to the following: a woman's preferred response to her partner's …

Causal Analysis Of Disengagement Among Paid And Volunteer City Employees, Margaret Carson Zimmerman

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

This multivariate test of the full Mobley, Griffeth, Hand, and Meglino (1979) model of turnover used 184 volunteer and 202 paid workers employed as firefighters, library workers, and rescue squad workers. It addressed the issue of whether the motives and behaviors of volunteers could be accommodated by the same model that normally would be applied to paid workers. Little research exists on the characteristics of volunteer workers, and their worth and manageability are commonly denigrated. The study of volunteers is similar jobs to paid workers might reveal much about the disengagement process since the need to maintain a source of …

The Effect Of Internal Vs. External Attributions And Level Of Information On Perceptions And Concessions In A Conflict Situation, William Walter Docalovich

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

This study investigated predicted concessions and subject impressions of internally vs. externally motivated opponents in a conflict situation. One hundred and twenty undergraduate subjects read brief scenarios that presented opening statements made by opponents in a negotiation involving the division of excess funds in an organization. The opponent asked for 80% of the excess money and either blamed external or internal reasons for not conciliating. Half the subjects were also presented with additional information regarding the opponent's prior behavior along the dimensions of consistency, consensus and distinctiveness. It was hypothesized that attribution would interact with additional information so that external …

Factors Involved In Battered Women's Decision To Leave Their Abusive Partners: Shelter Research In The Southeast, Mary Ellen Miles

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

This paper is an examination of some of the factors involved in battered women's decision to leave their partners. A review of past literature on battering, suggests factors that account for the women's decision: 1. the more financially dependent (whether actual or perceived) the battered woman is on the batterer, the more likely the woman will stay in the violent relationship regardless of the shelter services offered; 2. women with a teenage child or children will be more likely to leave the violent relationship than women without teenage children; 3 . women who were abused as children will be more …

The Effectiveness Of Three Modes Of Conversation On Coping With Stress In Same Sex Friendship Dyads, Robert Sal Costanza

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

To induce stress, pairs of friends, serving as subjects, were told they would be moving a spider through a maze. In three experimental conditions the friends were allowed to talk with one another prior to interacting with the spider; in the fourth condition the subjects waited alone. The conversations were structured so that the differential effects of problem-solving, emotion-based, or situationally unrelated discussion between friends could be observed on measures of negative mood state and behavioral fear. Subjects in the emotion-based condition generally experienced the greatest amounts of negative mood and fear. Problem-solving and unrelated discussions resulted in lower levels …

Speech Anxiety As A Self-Handicapping Strategy, Gerald Macon Travis

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The present study tested the hypothesis that trait speech-anxious females use reports of speech anxiety symptoms and self-statements reflecting speech anxiety as a self-handicapping strategy to preserve their self-esteem when confronted with an evaluative threat situation. Forty-eight college females, classified into high and low speech anxiety groups on the basis of their responses to the Personal Report of Confidence as a Speaker (PRCS; Paul, 1966), served as subjects, It was predicted that trait speech-anxious subjects would report more speech anxiety symptoms and self-statements reflecting speech anxiety in an evaluative setting in which speech anxiety could serve as an explanation for …

Social Sensitivity In Adolescents And Adults With Learning Disabilities, Patricia Anne Jarvis

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of the present study was to investigate social sensitivity and self-concept in students with learning disabilities and their non-disabled peers. Thirty students each from Junior and Senior public high schools and a community college in Tidewater, Virginia participated in the study with 15 learning disabled and 15 non-disabled students from each of the three grade levels (N-90). Students were individually assessed in 50 minute interviews for their accuracy in interpreting the thoughts and feelings of actors in tape-recorded stories depicting two adults in happy, angry, anxious, and sad interactions. A questionnaire measuring self-concept in learning situations as a …

Influence Of Touch And Preferences For Control On Visual Behavior, Teresa Whitehurst Caudill

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The present study investigated the effects of touch, as mediated by the preference for control (PC) of the recipient, upon visual behavior as well as evaluative and affective responses. Subjects were female students at Old Dominion University, selected on the basis of their scores on the Expressed Control subscale of the Fundamental Interpersonal Relations Orientation (FIRO-B) Inventory (Schutz, 1958). Based upon their scores on the subscale, 29 females scoring high and 30 females scoring low were randomly assigned to either touch or no touch conditions. Subjects in the touch condition were touched on the arm by a male confederate after …

Relationship Between The Empathy Levels Of Dental Hygiene Students And Their Teachers, Claudia Hudak Sanderlin

Dental Hygiene Theses & Dissertations

This investigation assessed empathy in first year, second year, and graduate dental hygiene students, and dental hygiene educators. Change in empathy levels of students and educators over one academic year was determined by taking repeated measures of the dependent variable, empathy, as measured by the Hogan Empathy Scale, A convenience sample of subjects from two universities was included in this study.

Empathy scores were compared and analyzed by a three-way analysis of variance at the .05 level of significance and also three separate one-way analyses, Results established that graduate students and educators score significantly higher in empathy than first and …

Reciprocal Self-Disclosure In Mixed-Race And Same-Race Dyads, David Roger Sholis

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Sixty-four male teenage residents (32 white, 32 black) of a juvenile detention home were exposed to intimate self-disclosure from an experimental confederate posing as a volunteer at the facility. Subjects were assigned to one of eight conditions which varied subject race (white or black), confederate race (white or black), and content of confederate disclosure (depression or substance abuse). Following the confederate's disclosure, each subject revealed in return and then completed a questionnaire measuring various dimensions of attraction to the confederate. Subjects disclosed more intimately and gave higher ratings of liking, trust, and similarity to same-race partners. Also, black subjects reported …

The Effect Of A Movement Education Program On Self Concept Among First Grade Children, Rosemarie Zumbo Tyree

Human Movement Studies & Special Education Theses & Dissertations

No abstract.

The Relationship Between Attributional Style And Learned Helplessness In Interpersonal Situations, Hedy L. Weinberger

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

An initial investigation was done to assess the relationship between attributional style and learned helplessness in an interpersonal situation. Forty female subjects were given the Attributional Style Questionnaire (ASQ) at the beginning of the semester and were called a month or more later to participate in a dating experiment. The subjects gave attributions for rejection and acceptance for the dating situations as well as their expectations for being accepted by each man. Depressive affect was measured at the beginning of the experiment, after the first rejection and after they were to assume a second rejection or acceptance. The ASQ was …

A Multidimensional Scaling Analysis Of Sex Guilt, Kevin E. O'Grady

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Sixty males and 60 females, divided at the median of their scores on the sex guilt subscale of the Mosher Forced Choice Guilt Inventory, made all possible comparisons between 15 stimulus cues. The cues were descriptions of individuals written to reflect characteristics felt to be important to the concept of sex guilt. Ratings of dissimilarity were analyzed by INDSCAL, and an unfolding method, both of which are multidimensional scaling techniques. Results indicated that high sex guilt individuals perceived a greater degree of dissimilarity between the stimulus "individuals" than did low sex guilt subjects. Furthermore, although the dimensions along which high …

The Effects Of Central And Peripheral Graphics On Personal Disclosure, Louis C. Saksen

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Forty-eight college students, twenty males and twenty-eight females, were used to assess the effects of central and peripheral graphic environments on personal disclosure and subjective evaluation. Scales developed by Cash (1972) were used to determine the type and amount of subjects' disclosure and non-disclosure; scales developed by Nehrabian and Russell (1974) were utilized to assess subjective evaluation of the environmental space in terms of information theory and approach-avoidance.

Results replicated a previous study by Cash (1974), indicating that females made more positive self-references than males (p < .01) . Hales also chose to disclose less often than females (p < .05) . No significant differences resulted from the graphic environmental conditions.

The data did produce substantial variance between the sexes in response to the environments. …

Intimacy And Content Of Self-Disclosure As A Function Of Target-Status, John Richard Mccallum

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

No abstract.