Social Psychology Commons^™

Do Racial Stereotypes Contribute To Medical Misdiagnosis Of Child Abuse? Investigating Tunnel Vision In The Emergency Room, Cynthia J. Najdowski, Kimberly M. Bernstein, Katherine S. Wahrer

Psychology Faculty Scholarship

Despite growing recognition that misdiagnoses of child abuse can lead to wrongful convictions, little empirical work has examined how the medical community may contribute to these errors. Previous research has documented the existence and content of stereotypes that associate race with child abuse. The current study examines whether emergency medical professionals rely on this stereotype to fill in gaps in ambiguous cases involving Black children, thereby increasing the potential for misdiagnoses of child abuse. Specifically, we tested whether the race-abuse stereotype led participants to attend to more abuse-related details than infection-related details when an infant patient was Black versus White. …

The Effects Of Sexual Advertisements On Women’S Mental Health And Marketing, Kaitlyn Jones

Capstone Showcase

The following study analyzed the effects of sexually objectifying advertisements on self esteem, self objectification, affect, and restrictive eating behaviors. Previous literature supports the claim that sexual media can negatively impact the mental health of women, which includes variables such as lowered self esteem, higher levels of self objectification and higher levels of restrictive eating behaviors. Purchase intent was also analyzed in regards to objectifying advertisements and neutral advertisements. Forty-two female undergraduate students were recruited and were asked to answer purchase intent questions about six advertisements (either objectifying or neutral). After the advertisement section, questionnaires and an ice cream “taste …

Shadow Women: Wives Betrayed By Sex Buyers, Ingeborg Kraus

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

Shadow women are women whose husbands betray them by using prostituted women. Until now, there has been almost no attention paid to the harm to the wives or partners of men who use prostituted women. In this interview, Dr. Ingeborg Kraus talks to the former wife of a sex buyer. She describes the impact of her husband’s betrayal on her and her family. This type of harm needs to be taken seriously and more research done on it.

The Psychology Of Breakup Sex: Exploring The Motivational Factors And Affective Consequences Of Post-Breakup Sexual Activity, James Moran, T. Joel Wade, Damian Murray

Faculty Journal Articles

Popular culture has recently publicized a seemingly new postbreakup behavior called breakup sex. While the media expresses the benefits of participating in breakup sex, there is no research to support these claimed benefits. The current research was designed to begin to better understand this postbreakup behavior. In the first study, we examined how past breakup sex experiences made the individuals feel and how people predict they would feel in the future (n = 212). Results suggested that men are more likely than women to have felt better about themselves, while women tend to state they felt better about the …

The Reproductive Priming Effect Revisited: Mate Poaching, Mate Copying, Or Both?., Rebecca Burch, T. Joel Wade, James Moran

Faculty Journal Articles

According to the reproductive priming effect, an individual who enters into a romantic relationship tends to see an increase in admirers. To further understand the mechanisms underlying this effect and its relationship with mate poaching and copying, 560 undergraduates were asked to report their experiences of being a romantic target (i.e., experiencing more admirers when in a new relationship) or an admirer (having greater attraction for someone in a relationship). Over two thirds of respondents noticed this increase in admirers, and approximately half reported being more attracted to a person who recently entered a new relationship. Many of the responses …

Culture And Hiv/Aids-Related Psychological Distress, Ndayiziveyi Constance Scott

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The over-representation of HIV infections among Black populations relative to the mainstream population continues to be documented in Canada. Previous research has implicated cultural factors in the transmission of HIV in addition to linking HIV/AIDS to psychological distress. Some studies established a link between awareness of increased HIV/AIDS risk and vulnerability to distress, and others indicated cultural differences in the experiences of cognitive dissonance as a function of cultural variations in beliefs and practices. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine cultural variables associated with cognitive dissonance (dependent variable) arousal as a function of cultural sexual gender-role socialization …

Experiences Of College Freshmen Women Who Eat In A Social Environment, Kylie Cowens Blodgett

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The social cognitive theory suggests that social surroundings influence health behaviors, and social modeling literature supports that eating behaviors are influenced by social norms. Eating decisions are especially vulnerable to social influence during the transition to college, although current interventions do not address social influence in the context of the eating environment itself or consider how men and women may experience this environment differently. This generic qualitative study explored how freshmen women perceived their experiences eating in a cafeteria setting. The research questions investigated freshmen women’s perceptions about social influence on self-efficacy, self-regulation, outcome expectations, and modeling of normative information …

Court Intervention And Recurrence Of Child Maltreatment, Steven Wayne Luke

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The problem of child maltreatment recurrence is both complex and pervasive, affecting nearly every nationality and culture worldwide. The current body of research consistently contains reports of a gap due to the lack of input from the families served that may be resolved through the application of intergroup contact theory. The purpose of this study was to determine if the presence of an attorney representing parents in child maltreatment intervention predicted lower recurrence in child maltreatment as opposed to when those attorneys are absent from the process. While much of the practice of social work is based on ecological systems …

Emotional Closeness Within Romantic Relationships: Is There Transmission Between Generations?, Mckenna Diane Fey

Theses and Dissertations--Family Sciences

This study tested the existence of intergenerational transmission of romantic emotional closeness using Galovan and Schramm’s (2018) model of relationship flourishing as a theoretical backbone. Romantic emotional closeness in the present study included intimacy (i.e., self-disclosure), admiration (i.e., appreciation expression), and dyadic coping. Couples among three generations from the Panel of Analysis of Intimate Relationships and Family Dynamics (Brüderl et al., 2013) were examined to test whether romantic emotional closeness in the first generation predicted romantic emotional closeness in the second generation, and whether that of the second generation predicted that of the third. Regressions within a partial latent model …

Deindividuation In Anonymous Social Media: Does Anonymous Social Media Lead To An Increase In Non-Normative Behavior?, Shayn S. Davidson, Amy Bradshaw Hoppock, Rebecca A. Rohmeyer, Joseph Keebler, Christina M. Frederick

Publications

This research presents several aspects of anonymous social media postings using an anonymous social media application (i.e., Yik Yak) that is GPS-linked to college campuses. Anonymous social media been widely criticized for postings containing threats/harassment, vulgarity and suicidal intentions. However, little research has empirically examined the content of anonymous social media postings, and whether they contain a large quantity of negative social content. To best understand this phenomenon an analysis of the content of anonymous social media posts was conducted in accordance with Deindividuation Theory (Reicher, Spears, & Postmes, 1995). Deindividuation Theory predicts group behavior is congruent with group norms. …

Putting Adversity In Perspective: Purpose In Life Moderates The Link Between Childhood Emotional Abuse And Neglect And Adulthood Depressive Symptoms, Andree Hartanto, Jose C. Yong, Sean T. H. Lee, Wee Qin Ng, Eddie M. W. Tong

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Background: Childhood emotional abuse and neglect is linked with a host of adverse outcomes later in life, including depression. However, potential psychological resources that may mitigate the adverse outcomes of childhood emotional abuse and neglect are not well-understood. Aims: Drawing from the insight that having a sense of purpose can help individuals deal with setbacks and difficulties better, we propose that purpose in life can also help sufferers of childhood maltreatment cope more effectively and reduce the onset of depressive symptoms. Methods: Participants were drawn from two large, nationally representative studies comprising a total of 3664 respondents. Purpose in life, …

Narcissistic Worldview: How Narcissism Relates To Perceptions Of Conflict And Exploitative Behaviour, Nicola Urquhart

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Narcissism is associated with highly competitive and exploitative behaviour. This thesis examines the possibility that these behaviours may be, in part, due to a bias to perceive a high amount of social conflict, thus promoting exploitative behaviour through greed or to avoid being taken advantage of. Two studies tested this possibility through a game format – one a novel anagram task, and the other a Commons Dilemma task. Results across both studies suggest that individuals high in grandiose narcissism perceive a higher amount of conflict than individuals low in grandiose narcissism, regardless of the degree of conflict inherently present. Study …

Disclosure Of Trans & Gender Variant Identities By Students To Students, C. A. Brimmer

Graduate Research Papers

In this study the ways in which trans and gender variant students come out to their cisgender peers is discussed utilizing a framework of communication privacy management (CPM), which is broken down into privacy ownership, privacy control, and privacy turbulence. Foundationally, this work was intended to magnify the experiences of trans and gender variant students in addition to expanding the application of CPM to the experiences of those who transition across binaries and who eschew them altogether. Previous literature examines CPM in a binarily gendered way, and does not take into account how the appearance of bodies can disclose private …

I’M Sexy And I Know It: The Impact Of Sexual Self-Esteem And Body Satisfaction On Disordered Eating Behavior, Marissa Parks

Scripps Senior Theses

Rates of dieting, disordered eating, and eating disorders are continuing to rise in the United States. Many factors influence decisions to engage in problematic eating, including body satisfaction and self-esteem. This paper outlines two studies that examined these relationships and proposed an intervention to reduce disordered eating. In the first study participants were primed to think about a time when they had negative thoughts about their intelligence, their body, or their sexual self-esteem and then measured body image avoidance, self-esteem, sexual self-esteem, disordered eating behaviors, well-being, and depressive symptoms. Consistent with previous research, it was found that having participants recall …

The Use Of Postural Aggression In Intimate Partner Relationships: What Is It And Is It Being Recognized As "Abuse" By Intimate Partners, Elizabeth Gentry Myers

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The use of aggression towards an intimate partner has been an increasingly concerning topic in the violence literature over the last five decades; however, many dimensions continue to lack clarity. Intimate partner violence (IPV) remains the most common form of violence committed against women worldwide with about 30% of women reporting a lifetime prevalence of physical and/or sexual violence by a partner (World Health Organization [WHO], 2019), often accompanied by psychological aggression (Larsen, 2016; Williams et al., 2012). Postural aggression is defined as a subtype of psychological aggression which consists of both direct and indirect forms of non-physical abuse; although, …

Ideological Asymmetries In Social Psychological Research: Rethinking The Impact Of Political Context On Ideological Epistemology, Ingrid J. Haas

Department of Political Science: Faculty Publications

Ideological asymmetries in social psychological research: rethinking the impact of political context on ideological epistemology.

Conclusion

In sum, while I agree with many of the arguments raised by Clark and Winegard (this issue), we should continue to de-bate the degree to which liberals and conservatives are equally motivated by tribalism, especially in the context of contemporary American politics. While there is no doubt that personal political views influence the questions that scientists deem important, I do wonder to what extent the ideological biases recently observed in the field of social psychology generalize to the social sciences as a whole (and …

Domain-Specific Self-Compassion In Individuals High Versus Low In Social Anxiety, Leah Brassard

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Self-compassion involves showing kindness and understanding to the self during times of hardship. Individuals with social anxiety have been shown to exhibit lower levels of self-compassion than the general population. The present set of studies seeks to build support for a domain-specific conceptualization of self-compassion, as it relates to social anxiety. Study One (N=160) explored self-compassionate responding in three domains of stress from self-generated recollections in an online format. It was predicted that individuals high in levels of social anxiety would be more self-compassionate in scenarios involving non-social situations (i.e., burnout, physical illness) than in a socially evaluative …

Toward A Non-Anthropocentric View On The Environment And Animal Welfare: Possible Psychological Interventions, Sarah Gradidge, Magdalena Zawisza

Animal Sentience

Treves, Santiago-Avila, and Lynn (2019) argue for adopting a non-anthropocentric worldview to prevent further environmental damage and lack of consideration for animals. We discuss psychological interventions that might help achieve this.

Selling Just Preservation, Scott W. Danielson, Andrew J. Vonasch

Animal Sentience

Treves et al. argue for better representation of voiceless groups in current policy decisions. We agree with the argument but believe it will be challenging to convince enough people of its importance to change policy — especially those political groups who are not predisposed to agreeing with these kinds of arguments. We draw on the social psychology literature to recommend three principles for increasing the persuasiveness of the argument to the public: pre-suasion, framing, and tailoring for the audience. We apply these principles to make concrete recommendations for framing the argument to persuade the American political right.

A Psychological Perspective On Elephant Rewilding, Janet Vt Pauketat

Animal Sentience

Baker & Winkler describe the complexities of captive elephant conservation efforts in Thailand through multiple lenses. They advocate rewilding captive elephants within mixed elephant-human communities based on the benefits to captive elephants as well as to Karen mahout communities, given the entrenched economic and social systems in Thailand. From a psychological perspective, this advocacy is grounded in considerations of culture, cognition, speciesism, the differential valuing of others in social hierarchies, and the potential for positive interaction to build positive emotions and trust that enable successful rewilding in a world of elephants and humans.

Uncertainty And Support For Extremist Governments, Dennis Estrada

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Extremist governments and regimes have risen to power throughout history and the 2016 U.S. presidential election of Donald Trump raised concerns amongst scholars and politicians that the U.S. government is trending in this direction. Arguably questionable actions conducted by the Trump administration, such as the “Muslim Ban” or the inhumane treatment of migrants at the U.S. border, can be considered extremist in nature and at minimum they mimic the actions of extremist governments. What drives a populace to support extremist governments, particularly a populace raised in democracy? Previous literature and research suggests that under conditions of uncertainty, people are motivated …

Effects Of Illness Type And Empathy Induction On Illness-Related Stigma In Undergraduate Students, Karlie Hill

All Master's Theses

The current study investigated if increasing empathy would decrease stigma toward populations with illness. One hundred and seventy-nine participants were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: 1) sexually transmitted infections (STIs), 2) mental illness, or 3) cancer. Participants were primed with either a high-empathy prompt or low-empathy prompt. After reading the prompt, participants read a vignette detailing the experience of being diagnosed with the illness in their condition. Participants then responded to three stigma measures to assess their stigmatizing attitudes toward the person in the vignette with the illness. To test the experimental hypothesis, a multivariate analysis of covariance …

Forgive Them, Forgive Them Not: The Role Of Remorse And Empathy In Interpersonal Forgiveness, Molly Mortensen

All Master's Theses

Forgiveness research has suggested that the reduction of negative thoughts and emotions between a victim and perceived transgressor (forgiveness) may be beneficial for close, personal relationships. The current study aimed to examine the influence of perceived remorse and elicited empathy on forgiveness following the occurrence of a hypothetical transgression. It was hypothesized that (a) participants would demonstrate the greatest levels of Forgiveness in the condition of Remorse and Empathy compared to all other conditions, (b) Empathy would increase Forgiveness only when combined with Remorse, and (c) Remorse would be more critically to increasing Forgiveness than Empathy. Participants from Central Washington …

Who Deserves To Be In Stem? How Threat And Confirmation Of The Gender Hierarchy Impact Helping Behavior Towards Prospective Stem Majors, Samantha A. Gnall

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Current events that either threaten or confirm the current gender hierarchy may impact people differently. This can depend upon one’s group membership and their attitudes towards a fair and just society. When people are asked to help others while facing uncertainty of the hierarchy, they may choose to help or lash out in an effort to re-establish the hierarchy or dismantle the hierarchy. STEM faculty were presented with information that either did not threaten the gender hierarchy (i.e., maintaining gender inequality) or that threatened the current gender hierarchy (i.e., reaching gender equality). Participants were then given an opportunity to offer …

Attitude Formation And Malleability In Response To Visual Cues And Counterattitudinal Information, Tyler W. Mueller

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this research is to investigate how individuals form attitudes based on the appearance of another person and how malleable those attitudes are when the individual is presented with new information about the other person. The predicted effect from this study was that participants would form attitudes about another person's agreeableness based on visual information and that when presented counterattitudinal information would be more likely to change attitudes than information that matches their initial attitude. It was also expected that negative first impressions would be harder to change. METHOD: Participants (N = 109) were presented one …

Experience Of Academic Motivation Among Disadvantaged High School Graduates, Jamaal Anthony Thomas

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Impoverished students face obstacles that influence academic achievement and motivation. These young people are disadvantaged by their circumstances and are at risk for missing opportunities that could prepare them for meaningful careers and improved quality of life. The purpose of this qualitative study was to gain a deeper understanding of academic motivation in academic scholarship students who attended disadvantaged schools. Social identity theory provided the theoretical framework for a narrative analysis of the experience of academic motivation, academic achievement, and social identity. Five female and 4 male college students were interviewed. The thematic analysis revealed 4 themes: motivated by overcoming …

Role Centrality And Shared Activities With Grandchildren: Effects On Grandparent Wellbeing, Madeline Marie Marello

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Research shows that physical and mental health are closely linked (Ohrnberger, Fichera, & Sutton, 2017). Further, social role theory states that holding and enacting valued roles, such as grandparenting, can buffer the negative effects of health on depression (Reitzes & Mutran, 2004). Using data from 247 grandparents (Mean age = 66.5; range 42 to 90 years; 46.2% grandfathers), we examined whether grandparent role centrality and engagement with grandchildren altered the effects of physical health on depression. We then explored model differences between 164 custodial and 83 traditional grandparents. We found that for all grandparents the model was of sufficient fit: …

Battered Women's Help-Seeking In The Rural Southwestern United States, Celina Gerese Bryant

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Many victims of domestic violence who seek help are never able to break the cycle of abuse. Many studies address the stages and types of domestic violence, but few focus on successful recovery from abuse. The purpose of this study was to fill the gap in the literature concerning battered women's help-seeking processes in rural southwestern United States. The specific focus was on how victims and survivors of intimate partner violence seek help for domestic violence issues and whether their help-seeking processes determine successful recovery from domestic violence situations. This study was a qualitative case study based on symbolic interactionism …

Factors And Alleviation Of Learned Helplessness In The Elderly, Ashley Eckett

Capstone Showcase

Learned helplessness is a condition caused by maladaptive thinking related to a sense of powerlessness. It can result from lack of control in the face of life challenges leading to a loss of hope, motivation, and an inability to take action. Learned helplessness can have negative effects on an individual both mentally and physically. In regards to the elderly population, it can cause premature death. Gaining a better understanding of learned helplessness can play a lead role in preventing it and its negative effects in the geriatric population. The aim of the literature review was to answer how to recognize …

The Fear Of Reinjury And Motivational Influences Contributing To An Athlete's Return To Sport, Erica Moyer

Capstone Showcase

ERICA MOYER

The Fear of Reinjury and Motivational Influences Contributing to an Athlete’s Return to Sport

Recovery from injury can be a difficult and lengthy process both physically and psychologically. Research that exists on the subject on injury recovery and return to sport mainly focuses on the importance of physical recovery, while discounting the psychological side. Fear of reinjury and motivation are two psychological concepts that contribute to an injured athlete’s decision of whether or not to return to sport. These factors are prominent during the recovery phase, up until and including a return to athletic competition. Self-determination theory provides …