Social Psychology Commons^™

Exploring The Spirit In U.S. Audiences: The Role Of The Virtue Of Transcendence In Inspiring Media Consumption, Sophie Janicke-Bowles, Arthur A. Raney, Mary Beth Oliver, Katherine R. Dale, Robert P. Jones, Daniel Cox

Communication Faculty Articles and Research

Little is yet known about audiences who routinely seek out media content that is inspirational in nature. The current study expands the research on inspirational media by utilizing a nationally representative sample of U.S. audiences (n = 2,016) to explore relationships between inspiring media exposure, trait transcendence, and self-transcendent emotions. Results show that media content is a reliable source for everyday self-transcendent emotional experiences in U.S. audiences. These experiences are most frequently encountered by persons with high levels of trait spirituality and gratitude. The profile of U.S. audiences that seek out inspiring media is discussed.

Relatedness In Gaming: The Effect In‑Game Touch Has On Player Connection, Victoria K. Lew, Joshua Smith, Nicholas Reuss, Xiyu Zhang, Jacob Gulliuzo, Christina M. Frederick

Publications

With the number of individuals becoming gamers on the rise, it has become ever so important to understand the underlying motivations and social interactions that occur within this video game medium. Research has revealed that player motivation and relatedness within a game setting can be affected by the interpersonal relationships that develop from in game social interactions. This specific study was interested in how interpersonal touch and relatedness gestures, more specifically positive or negative touch conditions within a gameplay experience, can impact both player motivations, as well as inter-player impressions. Additionally, observational data measuring the quality of interaction between the …

I Saw That: Being Observed Reduces Race-Based Shoot Decisions, Sarah S. Kramer, Kaitlin M. Lewin, Allison S. Romano, Brian P. Meier

Student Publications

The shooter bias effect reveals that individuals are quicker to “shoot” armed Black (vs. White) men and slower to “not shoot” unarmed Black (vs. White) men in a computer task. In three studies (N = 386), we examined whether being observed would reduce this effect because of social desirability concerns. Participants completed a “shooting” task with or without a camera/live observer supposedly recording behavior. Cameras were strapped to participants’ heads (Studies 1a/1b) and pointed at them (Study 1b). In Study 2, a researcher observed participants complete the task while “filming” them with a smartphone. We replicated the shooter bias, …

Autism Spectrum Disorders And Positive Familial Effects, Genevieve Weaver

Senior Honors Theses

Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) have been found to significantly impact familial structures and outcomes in various studies. The majority of the impact, however, has been primarily negative; effects like increased stress, marital discontentment, and stigmatization are commonly expressed by families. In this study data from a questionnaire, interview, and picture presentations were analyzed and triangulated to identify the positive familial effects of having a child or sibling with ASD. Parents and siblings shared that having a child or sibling with ASD has bettered their life through learning to enjoy the identity of the individual with ASD, through personal growth, and …

Women’S Preferences For Men’S Facial Masculinity Are Strongest Under Favorable Ecological Conditions, U. M. Marcinkowska, M. J. Rantala, A. J. Lee, M. V. Kozlov, T. Aavik, H. Cai, J. Contreras- Garduno, B. J. Dixon, O. A. David, Li, Norman P., Norman. P. Li, I. E. Onyishi, K. Prasai, F. Pazhoohi, P. Prokop, S. L. Rosales Cardozo, N. Sydney, H. Taniguchi, I. Krams, B. J. W. Dixon

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

The strength of sexual selection on secondary sexual traits varies depending on prevailing economic and ecological conditions. In humans, cross-cultural evidence suggests women’s preferences for men’s testosterone dependent masculine facial traits are stronger under conditions where health is compromised, male mortality rates are higher and economic development is higher. Here we use a sample of 4483 exclusively heterosexual women from 34 countries and employ mixed effects modelling to test how social, ecological and economic variables predict women’s facial masculinity preferences. We report women’s preferences for more masculine looking men are stronger in countries with higher sociosexuality and where national health …

Awareness Of Sex Offender Registration Policies And Self-Reported Sexual Offending In A Community Sample Of Adolescents, Cynthia J. Najdowski, Hayley M. D. Cleary

Psychology Faculty Scholarship

Sex offender registration laws are widely implemented, increasingly restrictive, and intended to serve both specific and general deterrent functions. Most states have some form of policy mechanism to place adolescents on sex offender registries, yet it remains unclear whether adolescents possess the requisite policy awareness to be deterred from sexual offending. This study examined awareness of sex offender registration as a potential sanction and its cross-sectional association with engagement in several registrable sexual behaviors (sexting, indecent exposure, sexual solicitation, and forcible touching) in a community sample of 144 adolescents. Results revealed that many adolescents were unaware that these behaviors could …

Plea Decision-Making: The Influence Of Attorney Expertise, Trustworthiness, And Recommendation, Kelsey S. Henderson, Reveka Shteynberg

Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications and Presentations

Attorney recommendations influence defendant plea decisions; and the degree of influence likely rests on the perceived trustworthiness and level of expertise of the attorney (factors of source credibility). We explored attorney source credibility factors and how these characteristics influence defendants’ plea decision-making. MTurk participants read a hypothetical plea scenario and were asked to imagine themselves as the defendant in a DWI/DUI case making a plea decision; in the scenario, we manipulated the defense attorney’s level of trustworthiness, expertise, and plea recommendation. There was a significant interaction between attorney recommendation and trustworthiness on defendants’ plea decisions; participants who were advised to …

The Effects Of Biased Literature On Self- And Social-Perceptions Of Lgbtq Individuals, Marielle Crisler

Honors Theses

Though media portrayal of lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals has increased significantly in recent years, the representation has brought and cemented harmful stereotypes along with it. People who are discovering their identity as sexual minorities might consume media that portrays LGBTQ individuals negatively, or even kills them in many cases, and believe that they are doomed to the same outcome. Literature is no exception to this influx of negative stereotypes. The purpose of this study is to determine the effects of stereotypes in LGBTQ literature on those who identify with the characters presented in the text to the same extent …

The Effects Of Criminal Embeddedness On School Violence In Brazil, Elenice De Souza De Souza Oliveira, Braulio Figueiredo Alves Da Silva, Silvio Segundo Salej Higgins

Department of Justice Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

This study examines the influence of criminal embeddedness on the intensity of criminal behavior among primary and secondary school students in a large Brazilian city. A database conceived by the Center for the Study of Crime and Public Security at the Federal University in Minas Gerais is used to analyze the involvement of youths displaying delinquent behavior at home or at school and how school performance and peer relationships are effected. Based on differential association and learning theories, the main hypotheses are (1) the greater the criminal embeddedness, the lower the degree of school satisfaction as well as future expectation …

Variations In Parent And Teacher Ratings Of Internalizing, Externalizing, Adaptive Skills, And Behavioral Symptoms In Children With Selective Mutism, Evelyn R. Klein, Cesar E. Ruiz, Kylee Morales, Paige Stanley

Psychology Faculty Work

Selective mutism (SM) is an anxiety disorder that impacts communication. Children with SM present concerns to parents and teachers as they consistently do not speak in situations where there is an expectation to speak, such as at school, but speak in other settings where they feel more comfortable, such as at home. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between parents’ and teachers’ perceptions of children with SM on behavioral rating scales and language measures. Forty-two children (22 boys and 20 girls, ranging from 2.4 to 13.8 years, with a mean age of 7.1 years) took part …

Social Psychology, Griffin N. Thayer

Open Educational Resources

A syllabus designed with OER concepts in mind to teach social psychology.

Utilization Of Lgbt-Specific Clinics And Providers Across Three Cohorts Of Lesbian, Gay, And Bisexual People In The United States, Adam W. Fingerhut

Psychological Science Faculty Works

Lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) people navigate issues of stigma, discrimination, structural barriers, and a history of medical mistrust when seeking healthcare services. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT)-specific clinics and providers offer alternative spaces where these issues may be avoided, but limited research is available on how LGB people utilize these resources. The current study analyzes data from a nationally-representative survey of 1534 LGB people across three age cohorts. Gender, sexual identity, income, proximity to LGBT community health centers, perceived health status, and the total number of lifetime diagnoses are each associated with past utilization of LGBT-specific clinics and …

Imagined Contact Intervention With An American Muslim Target, Jamie Williams

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Recent studies have shown that imagining contact with a member of a differing social group can reduce prejudice toward said group. This type of prejudice intervention, known as an imagined contact intervention, can be beneficial when direct contact with the outgroup is not feasible. This study adds to existing research on imagined contact interventions by replicating a simple version of the intervention by Husnu and Crisp (2010) and assessing attitudes toward an American Muslim out-group. This study extends the research of Husnu and Crisp (2010) by using American participants as opposed to British participants and also uses an online distribution …

The Psychology Of Pro-Environmental Support: A Global Problem In Need Of Global Solutions, Kimin Eom, Viki Papadakis, David K. Sherman, Heejung S. Kim

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

We review research that provides a sociocultural perspective on proenvironmental support. Despite the increasing volume of psychological research on proenvironmental action, there has been a relative dearth of consideration of sociocultural contexts, which poses critical theoretical and practical limitations to understanding and fostering proenvironmental actions across diverse populations. The sociocultural perspective posits that the primary motives driving action are context dependent. Building on this perspective, our research examines significant divergence in key determinants of proenvironmental support, focusing on several sociocultural variables, including national culture (individualism-collectivism), socioeconomic status, and religion. This program of research shows that personal environmental beliefs more directly …

The Role Of Bilingual Interactional Contexts In Predicting Interindividual Variability In Executive Functions: A Latent Variable Analysis, Andree Hartanto, Hwajin Yang

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Despite a growing number of studies on bilingual advantages in executive functions (EF), their findings have been inconsistent. To shed light on this issue, we aimed to address both the conceptual and methodological limitations that have prevailed in the literature: failure to consider diverse bilingual experiences when assessing bilingual advantages or to address the task impurity problems that can arise with EF tasks. Drawing on the adaptive control hypothesis and control process model of code-switching, we adopted theory-driven and latent variable approaches to examine the relations between bilingual interactional contexts and EF. By administering 9 EF tasks to 175 bilingual …

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 …

Situational Factors Influencing Receptivity To Bullshit, Mitch Brown, Lucas A. Keefer, Shelby J. Mcgrew

Faculty Publications

Individuals are motivated to maintain a sense of meaning, and enact cognitive processes to do so (e.g., perceiving structure in the environment). This motivation to find meaning may ultimately impact humans’ interpretation of "bullshit", statements intended to convey profundity without any meaning. Conversely, subtle cues threatening the meaningfulness of bullshit may elicit greater skepticism. Three studies tested situational factors predicted to heighten or diminish susceptibility to bullshit by changing motivations to seek meaning. We employed diverse methods including symbolic meaning threat (Study 1), social exclusion (Cyberball; Study 2), and manipulating cognitive fluency (Study 3). Taken together, the results indicate basic …

Self-Transcendent Emotions And Social Media: Exploring The Content And Consumers Of Inspirational Facebook Posts, Katherine R. Dale, Arthur A. Raney, Qihao Ji, Sophie Janicke-Bowles, Joshua Baldwin, Jerrica T. Rowlett, Cen Wang, Mary Beth Oliver

Communication Faculty Articles and Research

Although a great deal of research has examined the potential negative effects of Facebook, studies also show that Facebook use can lead to various positive effects. This study builds on this positive effects scholarship: together, the two studies presented herein aim to provide an understanding of the inspirational content available on Facebook and the way social media users in the United States encounter, recall, and interact with this content. Results from the quantitative content analysis in Study 1 show that inspirational Facebook posts contain similar frequencies of hope and appreciation of beauty and excellent elicitors when compared with other forms …

What Are The Most Powerful Predictors Of Charitable Giving To Victims Of Typhoon Haiyan: Prosocial Traits, Socio-Demographic Variables, Or Eye Cues?, Zoi Manesi, Paul A. M. Van Lange, Niels J. Van Doesum, Thomas V. Pollet

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Major natural disasters often prompt charities to start rallying for extra donations. However, little is known about which variables predict disaster donations most strongly. Here we focused on donations to victims of typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines (2013). A multifaceted approach combined three potential predictors: (a) prosocial traits (social value orientation and social mindfulness, or SVO and SoMi), (b) socio-demographic variables, and (c) minimal social cues (eye images). Participants (N = 643) completed an online survey in which they decided whether or not to spend time on a fundraising task to support the typhoon victims. Results of this exploratory study …

The Relationship Among Social Media, Interpersonal Relationships, And Self-Conscious Emotions, Mikayla Stone

McNair Scholars Research

This study examined the relationship among social media, interpersonal relationships, and self-conscious emotions. Participants responded to surveys that were distributed on Facebook and through email. The participants varied in age, gender, and ethnicity. Each participant responded to a four-part online survey. The survey contained the following scales: TOSCA (assesses the self-conscious emotions of shame and guilt-proneness), Social Media Use (measures the usage of social media of the individual), and Dispositional Authenticity and Relationship Authenticity (measures interpersonal relationship). These three variables were analyzed quantitatively and compared to find significant negative correlations.

Testing The Tripartite Influence Model Among Heterosexual, Bisexual, And Lesbian Women, Vivienne M. Hazzard, Lauren M. Schaefer, Katherine Schaumberg, Anna M. Bardone-Cone, David A. Frederick, Kelly L. Klump, Drew A. Anderson, J. Kevin Thompson

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

This cross-sectional study explored similarities and differences between heterosexual, bisexual, and lesbian women in levels of, and relationships between, the following constructs using a Tripartite Influence Model framework: family, peer, and media appearance pressures, thin- and muscular-ideal internalization, and eating disorder (ED) pathology. Self-identified heterosexual (n = 1,528), bisexual (n = 89), and lesbian (n = 278) undergraduate women completed the Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire-4 and the Eating Disorder Examination-Questionnaire. Sexual orientation differences in appearance pressures, appearance-ideal internalization, and ED pathology were examined via analysis of variance tests. Relationships between these variables were examined with multi-group …

Allocation To Groups: Examples Of Lord's Paradox, Daniel B. Wright

Educational Psychology, Leadership, and Higher Education Faculty Research

Background Educational and developmental psychologists often examine how groups change over time. Two analytic procedures – analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) and the gain score model – each seem well suited for the simplest situation, with just two groups and two time points. They can produce different results, what is known as Lord's paradox. Aims Several factors should influence a researcher's analytic choice. This includes whether the score from the initial time influences how people are assigned to groups. Examples are shown, which will help to explain this to researchers and students, and are of educational relevance. It is shown that …

Identifying Depression In The National Health And Nutrition Examination Survey Data Using A Deep Learning Algorithm, Jihoon Oh, Kyongsik Yun, Uri Maoz, Tae-Suk Kim, Jeong-Ho Chae

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Background

As depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide, large-scale surveys have been conducted to establish the occurrence and risk factors of depression. However, accurately estimating epidemiological factors leading up to depression has remained challenging. Deep-learning algorithms can be applied to assess the factors leading up to prevalence and clinical manifestations of depression.

Methods

Customized deep-neural-network and machine-learning classifiers were assessed using survey data from 19,725 participants from the NHANES database (from 1999 through 2014) and 4949 from the South Korea NHANES (K-NHANES) database in 2014.

Results

A deep-learning algorithm showed area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUCs) …

An Experimental Study On The Effects Of Pro-Anorexia Content On Eating Disorder Development, Skyler Green

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Pro-anorexia content, or content that promotes the development and sustainment of eating disorders, is an important topic that has been understudied in the literature. Previous research has primary examined the content featured on pro-anorexia websites, but few researchers have conducted experimental studies examining the direct impact viewing pro-anorexia content has on individuals struggling with an eating disorder. The current study was an experimental study that exposed participants to three conditions: proanorexia content, pro-recovery content, and a control group. The researcher examined the impact that viewing the three levels of content for 10 minutes had on individuals who met criteria and …

The Effects Of Cognitive Bias, Examiner Experience, And Stimulus Material On Forensic Evidence Analysis, Michelle M. Pena

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Forensic examiners have come under scrutiny in recent years because of high profile exoneration cases that have highlighted the negative impact contextual bias can have on investigations including forensic evidence analyses. This has led to several proposed solutions to reduce the effects of bias including blind testing and redacting task-irrelevant information. However, practitioners have not been receptive to such recommendations because of the limitations found in past research, such as the use of untrained undergraduate students to examine complex pieces of forensic evidence (e.g., fingerprints). The current study thus had the following aims: (a) examine the effect of contextual bias …

Randomized Trial Of A Single-Session Growth Mind-Set Intervention For Rural Adolescents’ Internalizing And Externalizing Problems, Jessica L. Schleider, Jeni L. Burnette, Laura Widman, Crystal L. Hoyt, Mitchell J. Prinstein

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

Objective. Adolescents living in rural regions of the United States face substantial barriers to accessing mental health services, creating needs for more accessible, non-stigmatizing, briefer interventions. Research suggests that single-session “growth mindset” interventions (GM-SSIs)—which teach the belief that personal traits are malleable through effort—may reduce internalizing and externalizing problems in adolescents. However, GM-SSIs have not been evaluated among rural youth, and their effects on internalizing and externalizing problems have not been assessed within a single trial, rendering their relative benefits for different problem types unclear. We examined whether a computerized GM-SSI could reduce depressive symptoms, social anxiety symptoms, and …

Health Information Literacy On The Risks Of Using Skin Bleaching Products, Olufemi K. Aramide Phd, Olusoji S. Olatunji, Olusola Ayandele

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Information enables individuals to develop knowledge which can influence their health behavior and attitude while inadequate literacy about health information is associated with poor understanding of medical advice and negative health outcomes among the population. Skin bleaching is a health practice involving the (mis)use of chemical solutions to change one’s complexion to a lighter tone. This paper investigated the viability of using the concept of health information literacy to reduce skin bleaching by reviewing previous empirical studies on skin bleaching with emphasis on health information. Finding showed that skin bleaching is driven by a self-destructive, unattainable beauty standard. It also …

A Meta-Analysis Of Procedures To Change Implicit Measures, Patrick S. Forscher, Calvin K. Lai, Jordan R. Ast, Charles R. Ebersole, Michelle Herman, Patricia G. Devine, Brian A. Nosek

Psychological Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Using a novel technique known as network meta-analysis, we synthesized evidence from 492 studies (87,418 participants) to investigate the effectiveness of procedures in changing implicit measures, which we define as response biases on implicit tasks. We also evaluated these procedures’ effects on explicit and behavioral measures. We found that implicit measures can be changed, but effects are often relatively weak (|ds| < .30). Most studies focused on producing short-term changes with brief, single-session manipulations. Procedures that associate sets of concepts, invoke goals or motivations, or tax mental resources changed implicit measures the most, whereas procedures that induced threat, affirmation, or specific moods/emotions changed implicit measures the least. Bias tests suggested that implicit effects could be inflated relative to their true population values. Procedures changed explicit measures less consistently and to a smaller degree than implicit measures and generally produced trivial changes in behavior. Finally, changes in implicit measures did not mediate changes in explicit measures or behavior. Our findings suggest that changes in implicit measures are possible, but those changes do not necessarily translate into changes in explicit measures or behavior.

Understanding Pro-Environmental Intentions By Integrating Insights From Social Mobility, Cosmopolitanism, And Social Dominance, Angela K. Y. Leung, Brandon Koh

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

To offer an integrative account bridging individuals’ sociocultural orientations with pro-environmentalism, the current research tested the mediating and moderating relationships among pro-environmental intentions and three person-level factors: perceived social mobility, cosmopolitan orientation, and social dominance orientation (SDO). With a Singaporean college student sample (N = 220), we found support for the hypothesized second-stage moderation model that perceived social mobility positively predicts cosmopolitan orientation, and in turn, cosmopolitan orientation is moderated by SDO to positively predict pro-environmental intentions. Specifically, lower levels of SDO strengthen the pro-environmental advantages of endorsing higher levels of cosmopolitan orientation. These findings add novel knowledge to the …

Mindsets Of Health And Healthy Eating Intentions, Fanice M. Thomas, Jennifer L. Burnette, Crystal L. Hoyt

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

Across two studies, we examined the relation between mindsets of health, expectancy-value and eating intentions. We also explored if relations are stronger for African Americans compared to White Americans. In Study 1, we conducted a correlational study (N= 158) to examine initial relations among constructs. In Study 2, we employed an experimental design (N = 205), and randomly assigned participants to either a growth mindset or a fixed mindset of health condition. In both studies, we measured participants’ mindsets of health, expectancy-value beliefs, healthy eating intentions, past eating habits and demographics.

In Study 1, stronger growth mindsets of health predicted …