Social Psychology Commons^™

A Model Of Individual, Relationship, And Societal Factors And Mental Health And Well-Being In Partnered Sexual Minority Women: The Central Role Of Relationship Satisfaction, Charlotte A. Dawson

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Sexual minority women (SMW) are at increased risk for mental health disorders, substance abuse, and physical health problems compared to heterosexual women. For heterosexual individuals, romantic relationships have been found to be protective against a variety of health issues. Less research, however, has focused on the association between romantic relationships and health in same-sex couples. The purpose of this study was to examine the potential protective nature of being in a relationship for SMW and to test a model investigating the central role of relationship satisfaction in the association between individual, relationship, and societal factors and mental health and well-being …

Racial Socialization In Non-Hispanic White American Families: An Exploration Of The Role Of Parental Racial-Ethnic Socialization, Julia C. Rodil

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Racial-ethnic socialization is a largely unstudied topic for White Americans. Most of the research on racial-ethnic socialization (RES) focuses on minority populations, but more literature is starting to focus on RES in White individuals. However, the mechanisms by which RES messages are transmitted are understudied. This study examined how prior parental RES strategies (i.e., egalitarianism, history of other groups, group differences, preparation for bias, general discrimination, and discrimination against other groups) impacted White college students’ own attitudes towards ethnic-racial minorities (i.e., racist, colorblind, and multicultural) and how these attitudes influenced inclusive (and non-inclusive) behavior, psychosocial costs of racism (White empathic …

A Daily Diary Examination Of Microaggressions And Alcohol Use Among Emerging Adult Bisexual Women: The Role Of Alcohol Demand, Sarah J. Ehlke

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Bisexual women are at far greater risk for alcohol use, alcohol-related negative consequences, and alcohol use disorder than heterosexual or lesbian women. However, research on sexual minority women often combines lesbian and bisexual women into a single group. One possible explanation for the increased alcohol use and associated consequences among bisexual women relates to their experiences of discrimination or microaggressions that are daily insults and comments, intentional or unintentional, about their sexuality from both the heterosexual and sexual minority communities. Thus, it is possible that bisexual women drink to cope with microaggressions. Specifically, bisexual women may drink more and have …

A Multi-Dimensional Model Of Sexual Stigma And Relationship Satisfaction Among Female Same-Sex Couples: The Self-Fulfilling Prophecy Of Rejection Sensitivity, Alexander Thomas Shappie

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Sexual stigma is associated with impaired relationship functioning among sexual minority couples and is associated with a variety of negative outcomes that result in an inequitable burden for members of this population. While there is considerable evidence that sexual stigma and minority stress are related to individual health outcomes, less research has examined relationship health. The present study provides an important contribution to the literature because it was the first to offer a dyadic model that tested the relatedness between all three individual-level manifestations of sexual stigma (i.e., enacted, internalized, and perceived sexual stigma) and relationship satisfaction among same-sex couples. …

Popular Television’S Health And Safety Message: What Has Changed In The Past Generation?, Heather Ann Leon

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The assertion that television has an impact on viewers is well-supported in theory and empirical research. Hundreds of researchers have conducted hundreds of studies focused on limited, specific programming content or specific effects to contribute to this evidence. However, far fewer researchers have conducted broad, comprehensive programming content analysis. One exception is a 2005 study from Will et al. examining multiple health and safety behaviors including sexual activity, driving behaviors, intoxicating and unhealthy substance use, and violence depicted in the 1997/1998 primetime television season. Results of their research showed overall that primetime television promoted the perception that the observed health- …

Being Listened To With Empathy: The Experience And Effect For Emerging And Middle-Aged Adults, Elizabeth (Casey) Moore

Communication & Theatre Arts Theses

This study examined the experience of being listened to with empathy for two lifespan cohorts, using survey methodology to collect qualitative and quantitative data from 223 emerging adults (ages 18–25) and 61 middle-aged adults (ages 35–64). While both cohorts described the impact of empathic listening with similar positive themes, including feeling cared for and happy, chi-square analyses revealed statistically significant differences between the two groups in the frequencies of nine of the twenty-seven themes (33.3%). Independent t-tests also identified statistically significant differences in perceived empathy based on the listeners’ age cohort. First, respondents rated middle-aged listeners higher on the Responding …

Modeling Social Learning: An Agent-Based Approach, Erika G. Ardiles Cruz

Computational Modeling & Simulation Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Learning is the process of acquiring or modifying knowledge, behavior, or skills. The ability to learn is inherent to humans, animals, and plants, and even machines are provided with algorithms that could mimic in a restricted way the processes of learning. Humans learn from the time they are born until they die because of a continuous process of interaction between them and their environment. Behavioral Psychology Theories and Social Learning Theories study behavior learned from the environment and social interactions through stimulus-response. Some computer approaches to modeling human behavior attempted to represent the learning and decision-making processes using agent-based models. …

Associations Between Drinking, Condom Use Resistance, And Condom Use Among College Students, Caitlin B. Turner

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Alcohol use and sexual intercourse are common behaviors among young adults in college. Drinking is considered a risk factor for unprotected sexual intercourse. Having condomless sex is associated with increased risk of contracting an STI or becoming pregnant unintentionally. Although correct and consistent condom use protects against such consequences, many individuals may resist condom use during sexual intercourse. As such, condom use resistance beliefs may be the factor through which alcohol reduces condom use. Evidence from Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), Alcohol Expectancy Theory, and a body of evidence supports individual beliefs to be predictive of condom use intentions and …

Workplace Bullying: A National Survey Of Dental Hygienists, Savannah Dawn Sundburg

Dental Hygiene Theses & Dissertations

Problem: Workplace bullying in health care affects career satisfaction, career longevity and patient outcomes. The purpose of this study was to determine if bullying was occurring in dental hygiene employment settings as well as its prevalence in a convenience sample of dental hygienists.

Methods: After IRB approval, 1200 subscribers to a professional dental hygiene journal were invited to participate. Employing the validated Negative Acts Questionnaire-Revised (NAQ-R), participants were asked to indicate how often they experienced 22 defined negative behaviors according to rate of occurrence (never, now and then or monthly, weekly or daily) over the past six months. Bullying was …

Fashion Brand Love: Application Of A Cognition–Affect–Conation Model, Tae-Im Han, Dooyoung Choi

STEMPS Faculty Publications

A large numbers of studies have supported the crucial role of brand love in consumer–brand relationships; however, research that examines fashion brand love and its relationship with cognitive aspects and self-concept congruency remains limited. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to identify important factors that are associated with fashion brand love. A questionnaire in which participants provided self-reported responses was created to measure the constructs and structural equation modeling (SEM) and independent sample t-tests were conducted to test the hypothesized relationships. Our results indicated that consumers who know more about fashion brands are more likely to have stronger emotional …

Teacher And Child Interaction: The Effects Of Familial Distress, Child Behavior, And Teacher Perceptions, Jessekah R. Ennis

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

There has been a significant amount of research that has studied the ecological conditions that create behavioral problems for children from families that are female headed, in poverty, and live in areas where there is violent crime. There has also been evidence that revealed statistically significant associations between the way teachers perceive students from low socioeconomic backgrounds and their beliefs of the capacity of the children to learn. Studies have also examined how teachers interact with children that are exhibiting behavioral problems that are from low socio-economic status. However, to date there has been no study that has combined these …

Examining Trait Mindfulness As A Moderator Of The Mediating Relationship Between Social Anxiety, Coping Motives, And Substance-Related Consequences, Cody A. Raeder

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The present research examined the mediating relationship between social anxiety, drinking to cope with social anxiety, and alcohol-related consequences. Additionally, this study examined the mediating relationship between social anxiety, using cannabis to cope with social anxiety and cannabis-related consequences. Furthermore, this study examined whether or not trait mindfulness exhibited a moderating effect on both of these mediation relationships which have been previously observed in the literature. The study consisted of students recruited through the psychology research participant pool at a mid-sized southeastern university. Two data sets were created based on type of substance use (alcohol or cannabis). The majority of …

A Ulysses Pact With Artificial Systems. How To Deliberately Change The Objective Spirit With Cultured Ai, Bruno Gransche

Computer Ethics - Philosophical Enquiry (CEPE) Proceedings

The article introduces a concept of cultured technology, i.e. intelligent systems capable of interacting with humans and showing (or simulating) manners, of following customs and of socio-sensitive considerations. Such technologies might, when deployed on a large scale, influence and change the realm of human customs, traditions, standards of acceptable behavior, etc. This realm is known as the "objective spirit" (Hegel), which usually is thought of as being historically changing but not subject to deliberate human design. The article investigates the question of whether the purposeful design of interactive technologies (as cultured technologies) could enable us to shape modes of …

Green Practices Among Fashion Manufacturers: Relationship With Cultural Innovativeness And Perceived Benefits, Dooyoung Choi, Tae-Im Han

STEMPS Faculty Publications

The purpose of this study was to examine green practices implemented among fashion manufacturers and identify factors that drive the adoption of those practices, specifically focusing on a company’s cultural innovativeness and the perceived benefits of green innovations. An online survey was created containing both open-ended and multiple-choice questions using Likert scales. Data were gathered from 29 fashion manufacturers that were identified by the Google search engine and then approached. Qualitative data were analyzed to obtain insights into fashion manufacturers’ green practices and a cluster analysis was conducted to categorize companies into distinct groups based on their level of green …

Must Stay Woke: Black Celebrity Voices Of Dissent In The Post Post-Racial Era, Lily Kunda

Institute for the Humanities Theses

In today’s racially charged climate there is an expectation that black celebrities cry out #BlackLivesMatter, get on the field to #TakeAKnee and be #UnapologeticallyBlack whenever they are in the spotlight. This climate transcends what was once seen as a post-racial America— a time where the media portrayed race as no longer being an issue— and encourages black celebrities to address racism. Prior research on black celebrities by Sarah J. Jackson, Ellis Cashmore, bell hooks, James Baldwin and others acknowledges the historical burden placed on black celebrities to publicly discuss racism and represent blackness in order to challenge dominant narratives. Today, …

Civilians On The Battlefield: Creating A Realistic Training Aid For The United States Military, Aaron D. Beam

Computational Modeling & Simulation Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The United States and our allies and partners have adopted a humane approach to warfare based on established principle of the laws of war centered on the principles of Military Necessity, Humanity, Proportionality, Distinction, and Honor. These principles dictate that US Military forces conduct warfare with a careful consideration of our impact on civilian populations with a special duty to protect and limit harm as much as possible given the accomplishment of a mission. Likewise, the US Military has developed a sound counterinsurgency and unified action military model that recognizes that warfare is not fought simply with kinetic force, but …

Examining Body-Focused Self-Improvement And Self-Evaluation Social Comparisons On Exercise In Young Adult Women Using Ecological Momentary Assessment, Rachel I. Macintyre

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Exercise is highly recommended by health professionals due to its numerous health benefits, yet little is known about the social factors that influence people’s motivation to exercise each day. Studies on social comparisons reveal that college women frequently evaluate their weight and shape compared to those around them through upward body-focused comparisons (i.e., comparing themselves to someone they perceive to be thinner or in better physical shape). Research suggests these comparisons can be driven by two different motivations, self-evaluation and self-improvement. However, the occurrence of these two different types of motivations in everyday life and how they may be associated …

Diversity Team Building: Impact On Virtual Team Performance, Nina C. Magpili-Smith

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Although organizations have addressed diversity issues at the organizational-level with resulting positive employee outcomes, lack of scholarly attention to team-level interventions remain. Team-level interventions would benefit organizations more directly as they address issues directly related to task accomplishment. Since diversity may lead to negative performance results for teams, a team building intervention based on the latest empirical research was developed and tested to address the potential performance losses associated to diversity in decision-making teams. The team building intervention provides six crucial elements, namely (1) direct experience of how deep-level team diversity affect team dynamics, (2) diversity education, (3) cultivation of …

Jointness, Culture, And Inter-Service Prejudice: Assessing The Impact Of Resident, Satellite, And Hybrid Joint Professional Military Education Ii Course Delivery Methods On Military Officer Attitudes, Charles Mark Davis

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

The efficacy of United States (U.S.) military forces is predicated on a condition of jointness, which enables members of different military services to overcome their cultural and experiential prejudices and operate interdependently. Joint Professional Military Education Phase (JPME) II, offered through the Joint Forces Staff College (JFSC), is the principal mechanism within the Department of Defense to reduce the inter-service prejudices held by military officers and to cultivate the optimal joint perspectives and attitudes associated with jointness. The JFSC employs three different methods for delivering JPME II—Resident, Satellite, and Hybrid—yet it remains unknown whether significant differences exist between them regarding …

An Examination Of The Most Recent Episode Of Molly Use Among College Students, Amy L. Stamates, Ashley N. Linden-Carmichael, Brynn E. Sheehan, Perter D. Preonas, Cathy Lau-Barraco

Psychology Faculty Publications

OBJECTIVE--The current study examined event-level characteristics (e.g., contextual factors, risk behaviors) during the most recent episode of Molly use among a sample of college students who reported previously using Molly.

PARTICIPANTS--Participants (N = 151; 66.7% female) were drinkers aged 18 to 25. Data were collected from October to November 2014, February to April 2015, and September to November 2015.

METHOD--Participants completed measures regarding typical Molly use and items related to context and behaviors during their most recent episode of Molly use.

RESULTS--Findings revealed that our sample most commonly reported using Molly earlier in the evening while hanging out with friends …

Socio-Cognitive Factors And Perceived Consequences Associated With Alternative Forms Of Alcohol Use, Abbly L. Braitman, Ashley N. Linden-Carmichael, Amy L. Stamates, Cathy Lau-Barraco

Psychology Faculty Publications

Objective: Popular media have highly publicized alternative forms of alcohol use (eg, eyeballing, inhaling alcohol vapor) among college students as a growing concern, possibly associated with severe health risks. Formative research indicates rarity of use.

Participants and Methods: College students (Study 1: n = 411; Study 2: n = 687) completed an online survey.

Results: Findings confirmed infrequent use of alternative methods of alcohol use and low likelihood of trying them in the future (Study 1). Participants indicated varied reasons for possibly trying each alternative form of alcohol use, but consistently perceived consequences for all forms (ie, health concerns), as …

Prejudice Toward Atheists In The United States As Related To Perceived Prevalence, Wanda D. Brooks

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

By manipulating mortality salience (MS) in place of life-threatening events to stimulate death-related thoughts, the current research contributes to the body of research supporting Terror Management Theory. It was hypothesized that religious participants should exhibit cultural worldview defense by scoring higher in anti-atheist prejudice following the MS manipulation than would those in the control condition. Further, this research extends the current research into Terror Management Theory as a cause for conflict among out-groups and explores its effects on cultural worldviews in the area of prejudice toward atheists. This includes examining how the perception of an increasing prevalence of atheists contributes …

Body Image And Quality Of Life Among Postsurgical Bariatric Patients, Amy Leigh White

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

In recent decades, bariatric surgery has become an increasingly popular intervention for the treatment of morbid obesity. Bariatric surgery leads to substantial improvements in physical health (e.g., weight loss, increased life expectancy) and psychological health (e.g., body image, quality of life). After bariatric surgery, many patients undergo subsequent surgical procedures to remove excess skin (“body contouring”), which are also associated with positive medical and psychological outcomes.

The present study sought to expand upon existing research into the psychosocial outcomes of bariatric surgery, investigate correlates of patients’ desire for body contouring, and determine whether presurgical motivations were associated with postsurgical outcomes. …

A Daily Diary Investigation Of Behavioral Disinhibition And Alcohol-Related Aggression, Brynn Elizabeth Sheehan

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Experimental demonstrations and theoretical developments have identified that the ability to control one’s own behavior (i.e., trait self-control, state self-regulation) may be particularly influential in the prediction of aggression and alcohol-related aggression. The research investigating alcohol-related aggression, however, has neglected a large body of research focused on state variation of self-regulation. Consequently, the current study aimed to use a daily diary methodology design to examine associations between daily alcohol use and aggressive behaviors (i.e., direct, indirect), as well as the influence of trait self-control and state self-regulation on these relationships. Participants were 105 (80% female) college student drinkers. Mean age …

The Role Of Harm, Detectability, And Knowledge Of Hiv Non-Disclosure Laws In Affecting Punishment Recommendations For Hiv Law Violators, Christina Marie Dodson

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Many U.S. states have passed HIV non-disclosure laws that criminalize sexual behavior on the part of HIV-positive persons who do not disclose their HIV status to sexual partners. This study broadly focused on the impact of two major philosophical approaches for meting out punishment to law violators: the just deserts and the deterrence perspectives. The study examined how these two approaches may influence laypersons’ motivations for punishing someone with HIV who violates an HIV non-disclosure law. In addition, the study examined how knowledge or no knowledge of an HIV non-disclosure law by the law violator influenced punishment recommendations. A 2 …

Motivational Factors That Influence Retirement Contentment, Mary Greer Landon, John M. Ritz

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Faculty Publications

Retirement is a stage of life where people withdraw from a position of active employment. According to retirement no longer focuses entirely on an event that occurs when one ends their primary working career, but it is now a stage of life and stage of human development that can extend beyond full-time work to part-time employment and the stoppage of work for pay. This research focuses on the withdrawal from full-time work and the factors that contribute to retirees a well-being in retirement. Retirement models, for the most part, have focused on financial resources such as income and personal assets. …

Reflections On Black Lives Matter In The Context Of Human Rights And Family Science, Shuntay Z. Mccoy, Anthony James

Counseling & Human Services Faculty Publications

- While all lives do matter, the humanity of all lives is not collectively recognized.

- Violent contexts place an extraordinary amount of stress on Black youth, families, and communities.

- Systematic violence causes multiple transitions in families and threatens families' psychosocial adjustment.

- The collectivistic approach served as an adaptive response to varying levels of oppression faced by Black people since arriving in the Americas.

- Black Lives Matter has significant implications for the work of family life educators, researchers, and practitioners.

Panic That Spreads Sociobehavioral Contagion In Pedestrian Evacuations, Terra Elzie, Erika Frydenlund, Andrew J. Collins, R. Michael Robinson

VMASC Publications

Crowds are a part of everyday public life, from stadiums and arenas to school hallways. Occasionally, pushing within the crowd spontaneously escalates to crushing behavior, resulting in injuries and even death. The rarity and unpredictability of these incidents provides few options to collect data for research on the prediction and prevention of hazardous emergent behaviors in crowds. This study takes a close look at the way states of agitation, such as panic, can spread through crowds. Group composition—mainly family groups composed of members with differing mobility levels—plays an important role in the spread of agitation through the crowd, ultimately affecting …

Caffeinated And Non-Caffeinated Alcohol Use And Indirect Aggression: The Impact Of Self-Regulation, Brynn E. Sheehan, Ashley N. Linden-Carmichael, Cathy Lau-Barraco

Psychology Faculty Publications

Research shows that heavier alcohol use is associated with physical aggression. Scant research has examined the way in which alcohol relates to other forms of aggression, such as indirect aggression (e.g., malicious humor, social exclusion). Given the possible negative consequences of indirect aggression and the limited evidence suggesting alcohol use can elicit indirectly aggressive responses, research is needed to further investigate the association between drinking behavior and indirect aggression. Additionally, specific alcoholic beverages, such as caffeinated alcoholic beverages (CABs; e.g., Red Bull and vodka), may potentiate aggression above the influence of typical use, and thus warrant examination with regard to …

College Student Dating Partner Drinking Profiles: Differences In Relationship Functioning And Relationship-Specific Alcohol Expectancies, Ashley N. Linden-Carmichael, Cathy Lau-Barraco, Michelle L. Kelley

Psychology Faculty Publications

Background: Although the majority of research on partner drinking styles has examined married couples, dating partners may influence one another's problem behaviors including alcohol use.

Objectives: This study identified patterns of at-risk alcohol use in college women and their dating partners using a person-centered statistical approach (i.e., latent profile analysis). Methods: Participants were 286 college student women in dating relationships. They completed questionnaires regarding their own and their partners' drinking, alcohol use severity, intimate partner violence (IPV), relationship satisfaction, and relationship-specific alcohol expectancies. Data were collected in 2012 through 2013.

Results: Results revealed three distinct, latent classes based on both …