Social Psychology Commons^™

Decisional Bias As Implicit Moral Judgment, Toni Spring, Herbert D. Saltzstein

Publications and Research

Decisional bias (false alarm rate) when judging the guilt/innocence of a suspect is offered as an implicit measure of moral judgment. Combining two data sets, 215 participants, ages 10-12, 13-15, and 16-18 watched the visually identical film involving a person setting a fire, framed either as (a) intentional but not resulting in a fire (BI-NF), (b) unintentional but resulting in a major fire (NI-F), or (c) intentional and resulting in a major fire (BI-F). After watching the film, participants identified seriatim who of six individuals was the perpetrator and how certain they were. The data were subjected to a signal …

Neighborhood Cohesion, Neighborhood Disorder, And Cardiometabolic Risk, Jennifer N. Robinette, Susan T. Charles, Tara Gruenewald

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Perceptions of neighborhood disorder (trash, vandalism) and cohesion (neighbors trust one another) are related to residents’ health. Affective and behavioral factors have been identified, but often in studies using geographically select samples. We use a nationally representative sample (n = 9032) of United States older adults from the Health and Retirement Study to examine cardiometabolic risk in relation to perceptions of neighborhood cohesion and disorder. Lower cohesion is significantly related to greater cardiometabolic risk in 2006/2008 and predicts greater risk four years later (2010/2012). The longitudinal relation is partially accounted for by anxiety and physical activity.

The Factor Structure And Construct Validity Of The Inventory Of Callous-Unemotional Traits In Chinese Undergraduate Students, Meng-Cheng Wang, Yu Gao, Jiaxin Deng, Hongyu Lai, Qiaowen Deng, Cherie Armour

Publications and Research

The current study assesses the factor structure and construct validity of the self-reported Inventory of Callous±Unemotional Traits (ICU) in 637 Chinese community adults (mean age = 25.98, SD = 5.79). A series of theoretical models proposed in previous studies were tested through confirmatory factor analyses. Results indicated that a shortened form that consists of 11 items (ICU-11) to assess callousness and uncaring factors has excellent overall fit. Additionally, correlations with a wide range of external variables demonstrated that this shortened form has similar construct validity compared to the original ICU. In conclusion, our findings suggest that the ICU-11 may be …

Manipulating Entitativity Affects Implicit Behavioral And Neural Attentional Biases Toward Gay Couples, Cheryl L. Dickter, Catherine A. Forestell, Nicholas Gupta, Joellen J. Blass

Arts & Sciences Articles

This study investigated whether attentional bias toward homosexual couples differs as a function of the manipulation of perceived entitativity, the degree to which group members are perceived to share common values and pursue common goals. Across two experiments, heterosexual college students were randomly assigned to read statements that suggested that homosexual and heterosexual couples were either high or low in entitativity. Following this task, 199 participants completed a dot probe task in Experiment 1 and electroencephalogram (EEG) activity was recorded for 74 participants in Experiment 2 to measure the implicit attentional processing that resulted from viewing pictures of gay, lesbian, …

Family Income, Cumulative Risk Exposure, And White Matter Structure In Middle Childhood, Alexander J. Dufford, Pilyoung Kim

Psychology: Faculty Scholarship

Family income is associated with gray matter morphometry in children, but little is known about the relationship between family income and white matter structure. In this paper, using Tract-Based Spatial Statistics, a whole brain, voxel-wise approach, we examined the relationship between family income (assessed by income-to-needs ratio) and white matter organization in middle childhood (N = 27, M = 8.66 years). Results from a non-parametric, voxel-wise, multiple regression (threshold-free cluster enhancement, p < 0.05 FWE corrected) indicated that lower family income was associated with lower white matter organization [assessed by fractional anisotropy (FA)] for several clusters in white matter tracts involved in cognitive and emotional functions including fronto-limbic circuitry (uncinate fasciculus and cingulum bundle), association fibers (inferior longitudinal fasciculus, superior longitudinal fasciculus), and corticospinal tracts. Further, we examined the possibility that cumulative risk (CR) exposure might function as one of the potential pathways by which family income influences neural outcomes. Using multiple regressions, we found lower FA in portions of these tracts, including those found in the left cingulum bundle and left superior longitudinal fasciculus, was significantly related to greater exposure to CR (β = -0.47, p < 0.05 and β = -0.45, p < 0.05).

It's More Than Self-Presentation: Mum Effects Can Reflect Private Discomfort And Concern For The Recipient, Jayson L. Dibble

Faculty Publications

Is the reluctance to share bad news (i.e., the MUM effect) motivated more by a public display or private concern, and does it benefit mainly the messenger or the recipient? An experiment (N = 309) that crossed good/bad news with three communication channels (face to face, text messaging, email) revealed that messenger reluctance was greatest under conditions of bad news and did not vary based on channel through which the recipient contacted the messenger. In contrast with earlier work, this MUM effect was more consistent with a private fear of distressing the recipient. Theoretical implications and limitations are discussed.

The Neural Basis Of Human Female Mate Copying: An Empathy-Based Social Learning Process, Jin-Ying Zhuang, Xiaoqing Ji, Zhiyong Zhao, Mingxia Fan, Norman P. Li

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate the neural basis of human female mate copying.Consistent with previous mate copying effects, women's attractiveness ratings for target males increased significantlygreater after the males were observed paired with romantic partners versus ordinary friends, and this wasmainly accounted for by males being paired with attractive romantic partners. Attractiveness ratings for male targetswere lower when they were paired with an attractive opposite-sex friend. The fMRI data showed that the observationallearning process in mate copying recruited brain regions including the putamen, the inferior frontal gyrus, themiddle cingulate, the SMA, the insula, and the thalamus …

Weight Beliefs And Messages: Mindsets Predict Body-Shame And Anti-Fat Attitudes Via Attributions, Jeni L. Burnette, Crystal L. Hoyt, Carol S. Dweck, Lisa Auster-Gussman

Jepson School of Leadership Studies articles, book chapters and other publications

In two samples (N=247, N= 291), we examined the link between beliefs and messages about the changeable (incremental theory) vs. fixed (entity theory) nature of weight, attributions for weight, and body shame. We recruited participants using online sampling, employing a correlational design in Study 1 and an experimental design in Study 2. Across both studies, we found evidence for the stigma-asymmetry effect—incremental, relative to entity beliefs/messages of weight predicted both (a) stronger onset responsibility attributions, indirectly increasing body shame and (b) stronger offset efficacy attributions, indirectly decreasing body shame. Study 2 replicated the stigma-asymmetry effect with anti-fat …

Intercultural Experience And Creativity, Chi-Ying Cheng, Yi Wen Tan

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Creativity, commonly defined as a production of novel and useful ideas, has long been considered as a type of individual difference that is highly associated with personality traits and intellectual intelligence, which cannot be changed easily. Recently, it has been demonstrated that creativity can occur as a result of cognitive, emotional, and motivational processes that are driven by intercultural experiences, which can be acquired. In line with the creative cognition approach, individuals with direct intercultural experiences exhibit higher individual creativity. Specifically, those who adopt biculturalism as their acculturation strategy and develop a high level of integration between their bicultural identities …

Discrimination And Anger Control As Pathways Linking Socioeconomic Disadvantage To Allostatic Load In Midlife, Samuele Zilioli, Ledina Imami, Anthony D. Ong, Mark A. Lumley, Tara Gruenewald

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Objective

Recent evidence suggests that experiences of discrimination contribute to socioeconomic status health disparities. The current study examined if the experience and regulation of anger—an expected emotional response to discrimination—serves as an explanatory factor for the previously documented links between socioeconomic disadvantage (SED), discrimination, and allostatic load.

Methods

Data were drawn from the second wave of the Midlife Development in the U.S. study and included 909 adults who participated in the biomarkers subproject.

Results

Results revealed that perceived discrimination was associated with higher levels of allostatic load. Furthermore, we found evidence that perceived discrimination and anger control sequentially explained the …

Picture This: Using Photo-Research Exhibits As Science Outreach, Eden J.V. Hennessey, Mindi D. Foster, Shohini Ghose

Psychology Faculty Publications

Is a picture worth a thousand words? This paper discusses a unique science outreach initiative–provocative photo-research exhibits on sexism in science.

Gender imbalance in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) is not only a concern from a social justice perspective, but also has negative consequences for scientific innovation and the economy, given that lack of workplace gender diversity is associated with lower revenue and returns. Science outreach (i.e., public outreach by scientists) could be particularly impactful in Waterloo, Ontario – a region known as ‘Canada’s Silicon Valley’ that contributes over $30-billion annually to the global economy. Portraying complex social issues …

Jabal Al-Weibdeh: A Counter-Memory Of Amman A Case Study In The Resistance Of Memory, Gwendolyn Dilworth

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The neighborhood of Jabal al-Weibdeh is one of Amman’s most historic neighborhoods, founded in the 1930s atop one of Amman’s seven original hills. Using previous research on the construction of Jordanian national identity and the marginalization of Ammani identity, this paper aims to serve as a case study of the relationship between Amman and hegemonic discourses of Jordanian identity in Weibdeh. Through interviews with Jordanians who are connected to Weibdeh, this study examines the presence of collective memory and Ammani identity in Weibdeh. This paper argues that Weibdeh’s collective memory acts as an explicit counter-memory to Hashemite constructions of national …

Angry Faces Are More Resistant To Forgetting Than Are Happy Faces: Directed Forgetting Effects On The Identity Of Emotional Faces, Peter Kay Chai Tay, Hwajin Yang

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Using the item-method directed forgetting paradigm (i.e. intentionally forgetting specified information), we examined directed forgetting of facial identity as a function of facial expression and the sex of the expresser and perceiver. Participants were presented with happy and angry male and female faces cued for either forgetting or remembering, and were then asked to recognise previously studied faces from among a series of neutral faces. For each recognised test face, participants also recalled the face’s previously displayed emotional expression. We found that angry faces were more resistant to forgetting than were happy faces. Furthermore, angry expressions on male faces and …

Selfie-Takers Prefer Left Cheeks: Converging Evidence From The (Extended) Selfiecity Database, Lev Manovich, Vera Ferrari, Nicola Bruno

Publications and Research

According to previous reports, selfie takers in widely different cultural contexts prefer poses showing the left cheek more than the right cheek. This posing bias may be interpreted as evidence for a right-hemispheric specialization for the expression of facial emotions. However, earlier studies analyzed selfie poses as categorized by human raters, which raises methodological issues in relation to the distinction between frontal and three-quarter poses. Here, we provide converging evidence by analyzing the (extended) selfiecity database which includes automatic assessments of head rotation and of emotional expression. We confirm a culture- and sex-independent left-cheek bias and report stronger expression of …

Sexual Conflict In Mating Strategies, Norman P. Li, Jin Chuan Yong

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Why do men and women come into conflict over mating and sex? This chapter examines the adaptive reasons, which trace back to key differences in minimum obligatory parental investment (Trivers 1972). Reflecting these differences, men tend to be relatively eager for casual sex, whereas women are relatively more cautious, requiring their sexual partners to be of higher quality or committed for a longer duration. As each side strives for its own reproductive interests, the other side’s strategy is often interfered with, resulting in conflict.

Tackling The Health Gap: The Role Of Psychosocial Processes, Nancy E. Adler, Jacinth J. X. Tan

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

In The Health Gap, Michael Marmot describes how, starting even before birth, social conditions set individuals on trajectories that eventuate in inequities in health and longevity. In addition to race and ethnicity, socioeconomic status linked to income and education plays a major role in determining health trajectories. The effects emerge not only at the very bottom of the socioeconomic spectrum, but across the whole range.1 The fact that health effects persist at levels where resources are more than adequate to fulfill material needs suggests that the health gap is not due only to material privation associated with poverty, but also …

Impact Of Anonymity And Social Modeling: Online Aggression In Emerging Adults And Their Religious And Political Ideologies, Adam Zimmerman

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation investigated online aggression in emerging adults to understand the contextual power of anonymity and social modeling. Emerging adults are characterized as undergoing a period of identity exploration, instability, self-focus, transition, and possibility (Arnett, 2004). Given the importance of identity development at this stage of the lifespan, this research explored religiosity/spirituality and political ideology; two pivotal belief systems that are introspectively evaluated and molded in emerging adults as they separate their identities from their world views (Barry & Nelson, 2004). Furthermore, this dissertation sought to apply religiosity/spirituality and political ideology to the previously established link of anonymity and social …

Personality Traits As Predictors Of Leadership Style Preferences: Investigating The Relationship Between Social Dominance Orientation And Attitudes Towards Authentic Leaders, Joseph E. Trimble, Phd, Jordan A. Romager, Kamran Hughes

Psychology Faculty and Staff Publications

Background and Purpose: The purpose of the current study was to assess the degree to which followers view authentic leadership as viable. Prior research has suggested that authentic leaders are multiculturally competent and effective in the workplace. For authentic leadership to thrive, it will help to better understand followers’ attitudes towards it. We investigated followers’ attitudes towards authentic leaders along with other influential leadership styles. Additionally, we sought to further an individual difference perspective concerning how followers view their leaders. We examined the relationship between followers’ level of social dominance orientation and their attitudes towards authentic leaders.

Materials and Methods: …

Enduring Chronic Kidney Disease: An Investigation Of Psychosocial Factors And Life Satisfaction In Older Adults Receiving Dialysis Treatment, Bailee Sobotka

Honors Theses

Chronic kidney disease is a condition during which the kidneys begin to shut down and no longer filter blood efficiently. Once the disease has progressed far enough, dialysis treatments are mandatory to sustain life. To further understand how older adults receiving dialysis treatments cope with their disease, psychosocial factors were evaluated to investigate possible correlations with life satisfaction using a Life Satisfaction Index Z (LSI-Z). Expected correlations with life satisfaction were sociability, financial satisfaction, importance of spirituality, and activities of daily living scores. Interviews were conducted with 30 dialysis patients and results were analyzed using various statistical measures. Significant correlations …

(Re)Grounding Grounded Theory: A Close Reading Of Theory In Four Schools, Tavis Apramian, Sayra Cristancho, Chris Watling, Lorelei Lingard

Health and Rehabilitation Sciences Publications

The debate over what counts as theory has dominated methodological conversations in grounded theory research for decades. Four of the schools of thought in that debate – Glaserian, Straussian, Charmazian, and Clarkeian – hold different assumptions about what theory is and how it is made. The first two schools understand theory as an abstraction that exactingly accounts for exceptions. The second two schools understand theory as a process of describing voices hidden from public view. While Glaserian and Straussian coding processes focus on coding exceptions, Charmazian and Clarkeian coding processes focus on building a story of the participants or social …

Dress And Sex: A Review Of Empirical Research Involving Human Participants And Published In Refereed Journals, Sharron J. Lennon, Alyssa Dana Adomaitis, Jayoung Koo, Kim K. P. Johnson

Publications and Research

Our research purpose was to assess research addressing relationships between dress and sex. Our review was focused on a 25 years span (i.e., 1990–2015) and on empirical research utilizing human participants published in refereed journals. Three main areas of research emerged: (1) dress used as cue to sexual information, (2) dress and sexual violence, and (3) dress, sex, and objectification. Our analyses revealed parents do invest their young children with sex-typed dress however sometimes children demand to wear such dress. Some women intentionally use dress to communicate sexual information but inferences about women who wear sexy dress can be misinterpreted …

Ignorance Is Bliss: Emotion, Politics, And Why Whites Avoid Information About Race, Evangelina Derosa

Honors Scholar Theses

This study investigated partisan differences, as well as guilt, anger, and shame as motivating emotions, to understand and predict information avoidance on topics related to race and policing. We predicted liberals would be more likely than conservatives to seek information on topics related to race; guilt, anger, and shame would be motivating emotions to seek information. We expected liberals to use guilt, anger, and shame as motivating emotions to seek information, and expected conservatives to experience lower levels of these emotions, and therefore avoid such information. Participants (N=420) were given information about police violence against people of color. …

Longitudinal Predictors Of Parental Sensitivity: The Role Of Parent Personality And Infant Temperament Across Early Infancy, Lauren Grace Bailes

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Parents play a critical role in their infants’ social and emotional development (Zeifman, 2003). High parental sensitivity contributes to greater infant attachment security (De Wolff & van IJzendoorn, 1997), as well as better compliance later in life (van Berkel et al., 2015). Personality influences how parents respond to their infants, such that parents higher in neuroticism are more controlling and less stimulating (Clark, Kochanska, & Ready, 2000), and less responsive (Kochanska, Friesenborg, Lange, & Martel, 2004). However, previous studies have found mixed results with parent extraversion. Some studies found that high parental extraversion could lead to more parent responsiveness (Clark …

The Effect Of Disclosure Of Suicide Attempt On Suicide Risk, Michael Matthew Mcclay

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Survivors of suicide attempts are at increased risk for future suicide, and there are few empirically validated treatments designed to reduce suicidal thoughts and behaviors among this population. The Interpersonal Psychological Theory of Suicide proposed that reducing suicidal individuals’ feelings of burdensomeness on others and disconnectedness from others will decrease the desire for suicide. Disclosing one’s history of suicidal behavior to a trusted confidant has been found to have a positive impact on depression symptoms, so the present study sought to evaluate the benefits of disclosing on measures of social support and proximal suicide risk described by the Interpersonal Psychological …

The Effects Of Communication, Gender, And Sexism On Dating Initiations, Alexandra Marie Buscaglia

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The purpose of this study was to increase understanding of the initial screening process that occurs during dating interactions, and to measure the perceptions of different communication styles that individuals use during such interactions. A review of current literature focused on attractiveness of potential mates, ambivalent sexism theory, gender stereotypes, and communication theory. The present study examined how individuals view others’ approaches in initial dating interactions, and which of these approaches are most effective for increasing the target’s interest in spending time with the pursuer. A pilot study involving 45 undergraduate psychology students from Western Kentucky University was conducted to …

Being Smart About Using Smartphones, Andree Hartanto, Hwajin Yang

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

In recent years, smartphones have become a ubiquitous part of our lives. Their multi-functionality and portability have made our lives more convenient and efficient.

Priming For Honesty: A Novel Technique For Encouraging Children's True Disclosures Of Adult Wrongdoing, Allison P. Mugno

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Children are often involved in the legal system as victims of maltreatment, and their disclosure of adult wrongdoing is necessary to initiate effective legal responses and protect them from continued abuse. However, external pressures and children's perceptions of the consequences of truth-telling (e.g., punishment, removal from the home) may result in the delay of disclosure or failure to disclose altogether. Research examining techniques for promoting children's truth-telling has almost exclusively relied on explicit requests to tell the truth (e.g., a promise, reassurance, assessments of conceptual knowledge and moral discussions), and the success of these techniques has varied. The present study …

Group Decision-Making From An Evolutionary/Adaptationist Perspective, R. Scott Tindale, Tatsuya Kameda

Psychology: Faculty Publications and Other Works

Over the 20 years that Group Processes & Intergroup Relations has been in existence, evolutionary theory has begun to play a larger role in our understanding of human social behavior. Theory and research on group decision-making is no exception and the present paper attempts to briefly highlight how an evolutionary/adaptationist perspective has informed our understanding of how groups reach consensus and make collective choices. In addition, we attempt to show that humans are not the only species that use group processes to make important choices. Looking for similarities and continuities among research domains with different species should lead to a …

Exploring The Differences Between Pet And Non-Pet Owners: Implications For Human-Animal Interaction Research And Policy, Jessica Saunders, Layla Parast, Susan H. Babey, Jeremy V. Miles

Human-Companion Animal Relationships Collection

There is conflicting evidence about whether living with pets results in better mental and physical health outcomes, with the majority of the empirical research evidence being inconclusive due to methodological limitations. We briefly review the research evidence, including the hypothesized mechanisms through which pet ownership may influence health outcomes. This study examines how pet and non-pet owners differ across a variety of sociodemographic and health measures, which has implications for the proper interpretation of a large number of correlational studies that attempt to draw causal attributions. We use a large, population-based survey from California administered in 2003 (n = 42,044) …

‘Speaking Truth’ Protects Underrepresented Minorities’ Intellectual Performance And Safety In Stem, Avi Ben-Zeev, Yula Paluy, Katlyn L. Milless, Emily J. Goldstein, Lyndsey Wallace, Leticia Márquez-Magaña, Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, Mica Estrada

Publications and Research

We offer and test a brief psychosocial intervention, Speaking Truth to EmPower (STEP), designed to protect underrepresented minorities’ (URMs) intellectual performance and safety in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). STEP takes a ‘knowledge as power’ approach by: (a) providing a tutorial on stereotype threat (i.e., a social contextual phenomenon, implicated in underperformance and early exit) and (b) encouraging URMs to use lived experiences for generating be-prepared coping strategies. Participants were 670 STEM undergraduates [URMs (Black/African American and Latina/o) and non-URMs (White/European American and Asian/Asian American)]. STEP protected URMs’ abstract reasoning and class grades (adjusted for grade point average [GPA]) …