Social Psychology Commons^™

When Intelligence Hurts And Ignorance Is Bliss: Global Pandemic As An Evolutionarily Novel Threat To Happiness, Satoshi Kanazawa, Norman P. Li, Jose C. Yong

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Introduction: The savanna theory of happiness posits that it is not only the current consequences of a given situation that affect happiness but also its ancestral consequences, and that the effect of ancestral consequences on happiness is stronger among less intelligent individuals. But what about situations that did not exist in the ancestral environment and thus have no ancestral consequences? Global pandemic is one such situation that has no ancestral analog, and the theory predicts such evolutionarily novel threats to have a negative effect disproportionately on the life satisfaction of more intelligent individuals.Methods: We analyzed prospectively longitudinal data from population …

The Influence Of Beliefs About Emotion On Avoidance Behaviors, Elise Warner

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The beliefs individuals hold about emotions have been shown to influence their tendencies to avoid distressing situations. While much of the work to-date has been on beliefs about whether emotions can be changed (i.e., malleability beliefs), there is research suggesting that the belief that emotions last for long periods of time (i.e., longevity beliefs) have important implications for emotion regulation (Veilleux et al., 2020). Thus, our aim was to examine the relationship between longevity beliefs and experiential avoidance. We predicted that greater longevity beliefs would be associated with greater avoidance tendencies, and that stronger beliefs in the moment would also …

Female Adults’ Experiences Of Sexual Harassment And Assault In The Presence Of Others: A Qualitative Analysis Of The Effectiveness And Consequences Of Bystander Intervention Strategies, Kayla Ford

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Bystander intervention programs aim to reduce the acceptance of violence against women by fostering prosocial behavior from community members, and often provide knowledge on behaviors associated with sexual risk and ways a bystander can intervene. However, there is limited knowledge on which intervention strategies are used, and how these interventions impact perpetrator behavior and incidence of verbal and physical harm to those involved. There is even less research on these phenomena from the perspective of the victim. To address these gaps, the current study utilized a qualitative approach to (1) identify bystander intervention strategies employed; (2) discuss trends of the …

The Impact Of Video-Taped Social Modeling On Alcohol Outcome Expectancies Of Young Adults And The Role Of Social Anxiety, Kyle Kevin Jackson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Alcohol outcome expectancies (AOEs) represent people’s ideas about the effects of alcohol (Fromme, 1993). Positive AOEs particularly have been identified as a potential risk factor for hazardous drinking (e.g., Brown et al., 1985). The exact mechanisms that modify AOEs are not fully understood. Further, people higher in social anxiety may be especially receptive to social modeling due to attentional bias shift towards others in social contexts (Rapee & Heimberg, 1997). The current study examined how social anxiety and social modeling associate with AOEs. It was hypothesized that 1) those in the social modeling treatment condition would have higher social anxiety-adjacent …

Helping Responses By Indirect Bystanders Of Coercive Sexual Harassment In Academia: Friendship Status With Source Of Information, Donna M. L. Heretick, Inna Learn, Jessica M. Holmes

Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences

Coercive sexual harassment (CSH) by faculty is a risk factor for women in higher education. Bystander intervention and support for a victim are critical. Social networks can influence peers’ social reactions to victims of sexual violations. This is the first study to explore the responses of peers who learn about CSH of a peer indirectly, thus becoming indirect bystanders. In this scenario, a peer classmate learns of CSH of a classmate from another classmate who witnessed the CSH. The 181 participants (52.8% female) were randomly assigned to one of four conditions where a written vignette described an interaction between the …

The Effects Of Segmenting Worksheets And Behavior Specific Praise On Independent Seatwork With Elementary Students, Lauren Peak

Dissertations

While the education system has seen many changes over the years due to COVID-19, one constant is that students must complete independent seatwork at certain times throughout the day. As teachers accommodate the many students in their classroom, an intervention that could increase students’ amount of academic production when doing independent seatwork would be mutually beneficial. For students, the increased contact with learning opportunities would provide the students means to increase fluency for that skill. Examining the effects of segmented and whole worksheets on production would, therefore, create additional learning opportunities.

This study sought to assess the effectiveness of the …

Personality Traits In The Workplace: Examining The Light Triad And Its Relationship With Job Satisfaction, Sarah Overton

Scholars Week

The expanding psychological research into several “dark traits” of one’s personality (Moshagen et al., 2018) has presented a void in examining more positive characteristics. In recent years, Kaufman and colleagues (2019) developed the “Light Triad” to provide a more holistic perspective on humankind. The Light Triad is a construct encompassing benevolent personality traits, including humanism, faith in humanity, and Kantianism. Most relevant to the current study, Kaufman and colleagues (2019) found a significant relationship between the Light Triad and life satisfaction. Furthermore, life satisfaction is also positively correlated with job satisfaction (Rice et al., 1980). Given these relationships, it was …

Individual Costs And Community Benefits: Collectivism And Individuals’ Compliance With Public Health Interventions, Suyi Leong, Kimin Eom, Keiko Ishii, Marion C. Aichberger, Karolina Fetz, Tim S. Müller, Heejung S. Kim, David K. Sherman

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Differences in national responses to COVID-19 have been associated with the cultural value of collectivism. The present research builds on these findings by examining the relationship between collectivism at the individual level and adherence to public health recommendations to combat COVID-19 during the pre-vaccination stage of the pandemic, and examines different characteristics of collectivism (i.e., concern for community, trust in institutions, perceived social norms) as potential psychological mechanisms that could explain greater compliance. A study with a cross-section of American participants (N = 530) examined the relationship between collectivism and opting-in to digital contact tracing (DCT) and wearing face coverings …

The Correlation Between The Covid-19 Pandemic And Nursing Students’ Academic And Professional Engagement And Performance., Jolie Mathilde Komlan

Honors College Theses

Even without the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic, nursing schools are recognized as a stressful environment "that often exert a negative effect on the academic performances and psychological well-being of the students" (Gomathi et al., 2017). Exploring the changes this ongoing pandemic has on nursing students' views and perspectives, along with their perceived threats, failures, and successes brought on by this pandemic will provide good insight into further changes that need to be implemented to better prepare nursing students through their programs. To accomplish this, participants within the nursing program were surveyed via a 21-question survey on Qualtrics. A retrospective analysis …

Deliberate Errors Promote Meaningful Learning, Sarah Shi Hui Wong, Stephen Wee Hun Lim

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Our civilization recognizes that errors can be valuable learning opportunities, but for decades, they have widely been avoided or, at best, allowed to occur as serendipitous accidents. The present research tested whether greater learning success could paradoxically be achieved through making errors by intentional design, relative to traditional errorless learning methods. We show that deliberately committing and correcting errors even when one knows the correct answers enhances learning—a counterintuitive phenomenon that we termed the derring effect. Across two experiments (N = 160), learners engaged in open-book study of scientific expository texts and were then tested on their retention and higher-order …

Undergraduate Perceptions Of Warmth And Competence Across Academic Professions, Porsha Nichole Neal Mcgregor

Student Theses and Dissertations

The Stereotype Content Model (SCM; Fiske et al., 2002) is utilized to make sense of how individuals and groups assess others. The SCM consist of to two basic dimensions: perceived warmth and competence. Little research has been conducted to analyze how people perceive individuals in relation to their professional roles. To better understand potential stereotypes of professions, participants were asked to rate general professions on the two dimensions of warmth and competence. Results from the study supported some patterns found in previous research by Brambillia et al. (2010) in regards to two professions and indicated similarities in newly studied professions.

An Object For Sexual Pleasure: Does Viewing Sexualized Media Predict Increases In Self And Partner Objectification Impacting Feelings Of Sexual And Romantic Closeness?, Kaitlyn Ligman

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Exposure to sexually objectifying media has been linked to the objectification of the self and of one’s romantic partner (e.g., partner-objectification); yet the implications of this for romantic relationships have remained relatively unexamined. There is, however, reason to suspect that exposure to sexually objectifying media and engaging in objectification may have implications for romantic couples. When a woman frequently monitors her appearance this may undermine her ability to sexually connect with her partner and when a man views his partner as an object for sexual pleasure it may impede his ability to develop intimate feelings of relational closeness to his …

Tiempo Y Gubernamentalidad: Aproximaciones Al Gobierno Del Tiempo En El Neoliberalismo, Edwin Alexander Hernández Zapata, Mauricio Hernando Bedoya Hernández

The Qualitative Report

En este trabajo problematizamos los diagnósticos sobre gubernamentalidad neoliberal, analizando las formas en que hoy son dirigidas las conductas de los sujetos con base en ritmos caracterizados por la velocidad, el presentismo y la competencia. Estudiar estas formas marcan un precedente para el abordaje de los procesos de subjetivación contemporánea a partir de la analítica de la temporalidad. Así, la pregunta de investigación que guía este trabajo es la siguiente: ¿Cómo los diagnósticos sobre la racionalidad neoliberal describen la experiencia del tiempo que tienen los sujetos contemporáneos? Utilizamos el método histórico crítico, específicamente lo que Foucault denominó ontología del presente, …

Coping In The Time Of Covid-19: Mindsets And The Stories We Tell, Whitney Becker, Jeni L. Burnette, Crystal L. Hoyt

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

Across two studies (N = 803), we explored how meaning-making systems (i.e., mindsets and narrative identity) are related to each other as well as to coping in the wake of challenges faced during the COVID-19 pandemic. In Study 1, we find that struggle-is-enhancing, relative to struggle-is-debilitating, mindsets predicted stories defined by elements of personal control with opportunities for growth (agency) and an emphasis on the positive, rather than on the suffering (redemptive). Stronger enhancing mindsets and agentic as well as redemptive narratives predicted more adaptive coping, including less negative affect, less avoidance, and positive expectations for future success. In …

Liberation Psychology: Drawing On History To Work Toward Resistance And Collective Healing In The United States, Hannah K. Heitz

Psychology from the Margins

With the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic and increased media coverage of systemic racism, the necessity to work toward liberation and collective healing has become increasingly salient. While psychology has prided itself on being ahistorical in the past, there is much that can be learned from scholars, activists, and movements that have fostered positive change. Ignacio Martín-Baró, Spanish-born Jesuit scholar, social psychologist, and founder of liberation psychology, worked toward significant positive social change and liberation prior to his death. In one of his last interviews, Martín-Baró outlined tasks that could be used to facilitate liberation: 1) recovering historical memory; 2) …

Exploring Post-Traumatic Growth From Citizen Narratives Of Refugees From The 1947 Partition Of British India, Keshav J. Dhir, Kathryn J. Azevedo

Psychology from the Margins

Background: There is paucity of ethnographic survivor analysis of the 1947 Partition of British India. Methods: This qualitative study leverages post-traumatic growth (PTG) theory to explore the impact of mass migration trauma in childhood. Ten refugee narratives were collected by citizen historians. Interviews were translated, transcribed, and analyzed. Results: Elements of post-traumatic growth were revealed in all 5 domains for nine out of ten survivors. Discussion: Survivors’ appreciation of life often manifested in passion for a discipline or hobby. The importance of meaningful interpersonal relationships was observed and extended to acquaintances from other religious groups. Increased personal strength was revealed …

Dsm Discrimination And The Lgbt Community: Using The History Of Diagnostic Discrimination Against Sexual Minorities To Contextualize Current Issues In Transgender And Gender Diverse Mental Healthcare, Ginelle Wolfe, Nicole Fogwell

Psychology from the Margins

This paper provides a historical context of diagnoses in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) related to sexual orientation and gender identity. We use the historical context of psychology’s discrimination against sexual minorities (e.g., lesbian, gay, and bisexual persons) to critique current discriminatory practices targeting gender diverse (i.e., trans, nonbinary, and other not cisgender) persons- specifically, the explicit pathologizing of gender variance. The events that led to the removal of homosexuality as a diagnosis are discussed, as are subsequent diagnoses related to sexual orientation and gender identity that continue to pathologize gender variance. We conclude by deriving …

Black Market: An Exploration Of Black Mental Health In America, Alexandria D. Burroughs

Psychology from the Margins

The stories and experiences of marginalized groups are rarely heard and given the attention they deserve, so the purpose of this article is to analyze the history of the African American community and the treatment they have received from the mental health profession. The article takes an in depth look into the journey of the Black community beginning with the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade and ending with the current sociocultural climate of present day society. This journey through the history of the African American community reveals generational scars that are still very prevalent within the community and the obstacles they continue …

Together: Exploring A Solution-Focused Activity For Parent And Young Adult Relationships, Ashley Bruehlman

Journal of Undergraduate Research at Minnesota State University, Mankato

Parents and young adults share an important and interdependent relationship that. This mixed-methods cross-sectional study examined the systemic impact of a brief solution-focused activity to promote empathy within parent/young adult relationships (paired, n = 73). Baseline well-being and empathy scores were recorded on 5-point Likert scales. Quantitative findings highlight above average well-being scores for parents and young adults. Researchers found a significant correlation between parent and young adult well-being and empathy scores suggesting an interdependent relationship. Additionally, researchers found a significant linear correlation for parent and young adult well-being scores as predictive of empathy scores. Qualitative findings from the brief …

Ethical Hiv Research With Transgender And Non-Binary Communities In The United States, Augustus Klien, Sarit Golub

Publications and Research

Introduction: Because transgender individuals experience disproportionately high rates of HIV infection, this population is an increasing focus of epidemiological and implementation science research to combat the epidemic. However, study participants, providers and other advocates have become increasingly concerned about research practices that may alienate, objectify, exploit or even re-traumatize the communities they are designed to benefit. This commentary explores the common pitfalls of HIV research with transgender communities and provides a potential framework for ethical, community-engaged research practice.

Discussion: We review some of the critical challenges to HIV research with transgender and non-binary communities that limit the potential for such …

Using Constructivist Grounded Theory To Examine The Experiences Of Black British Female Managers: A Worked Example, Denise A. Miller

The Qualitative Report

Staff working at children and young people’s services (CYPS) are often charged with the responsibility of restructuring, developing, and putting into effect policies and procedures that are supposed to safeguard their clients and their colleagues from the effects of institutional racism. However, there continues to be incongruences between some leaders’ espoused commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion, and their actions. In this paper, I draw on a larger research project to critically reflect on the usefulness of constructivist grounded theory (CGT) as a methodological approach for developing understandings about the experiences of 10 Black British female managers working for CYPS. …

Moral Values, Social Ideologies, And Threat-Based Cognition: Implications For Intergroup Relations., Brandon D. Stewart Phd, David S. M. Morris

Faculty Publications

Moral foundations theory (MFT) has provided an account of the moral values that underscore different cultural and political ideologies, and these moral values of harm, fairness, loyalty, authority, and purity can help to explain differences in political and cultural ideologies; however, the extent to which moral foundations relate to strong social ideologies, intergroup processes and threat perceptions is still underdeveloped. To explore this relationship, we conducted two studies. In Study 1 (N = 157), we considered how the moral foundations predicted strong social ideologies such as authoritarianism (RWA) and social dominance orientation (SDO) as well as attitudes toward immigrants. …

Gender Differences In College Drinkers: The Role Of Masculine Norms, Jared A. Davis

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Drinking among college students has remained a prominent problem within the United States, with more than 50% of college students drinking alcohol, 30% considered binge drinkers, and 9% considered heavy drinkers (SAMHSA, 2018). Evidence also shows that males are more likely to partake in risky drinking behaviors (e.g., binge drinking or drinking to intoxication) and are at higher risk to be diagnosed with a alcohol use disorder when compared to women (Iwamoto et al. 2014; Grant et al., 2004). Recent findings suggest that adherence to particular masculine norms as a risk factor for problematic alcohol use among men (Mahalik, 2000; …

The Protective Benefits Of Sexual Surrogacy In Dissatisfying Romantic Relationships, Ryan Liu-Pham

Dissertations

The study tested whether the negative effects of dissatisfaction in romantic relationships can be mitigated by sexual surrogacy, an imagined sexual relationship with a celebrity or other socially distant target. I conducted a cross-sectional experimental study to examine my question. Participants were first randomly assigned to a relationship threat task asking them to reflect on insecurities in their romantic relationship or a friendship (control). Then were randomly assigned to reflect on either a celebrity crush or their desire to travel (control). Afterward participants were asked to complete measures of relationship satisfaction and well-being (happiness, loneliness, and affect). I predicted that …

Psychometric Properties Of The Dyadic Coping Inventory (Dci), Amorita Christella Anggamsari, Fitri Andriani

International Conference on Assessment and Learning (ICAL)

A survey conducted by The Indonesian Central Bureau of Statistics (Badan Pusat Statistik/BPS Indonesia) last year has found that the divorce rate in Indonesia had increased up to 53,50% compared to the data in 2020, and more than half of the divorce cases happened because of “unsolved conflicts between couples”. Out of various studies on marital or romantic relationships done internationally, it suggests that dyadic coping could be the protective factor in the relationship between stress and the couples’ well-being. According to a meta-analysis study held in 2015 along with systematic literature reviews published in 2019 and 2022 regarding the …

The Relationship Among Gender, Attachment Style And The Perception Of Text Message Valence, Bailey Harvey, Ivy Huesmann, Marie Martan, Gavin Mitchell

Science University Research Symposium (SURS)

ATTACHMENT STYLE AND PERCEPTION

Abstract

Text messaging has become a quick and easy way to get in touch with peers whether professionally or informally, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. This form of communication, however, can be detrimental if a message is perceived incorrectly. In order to understand what can cause these miscommunication issues, prior research studied the influence of punctuation, capitalization, and emoticons on the perception of text messages. However, specific traits of the message-recipient might be relevant for the interpretation as well. Butterworth and colleagues (2019) discovered that women are more likely to rate text messages as more affectionate …

The Effects Of Peer Pressure On Social Conformity, Jeniffer Zou, Kayla Colley, Abby Westbrook, Caroline Grace Coey, Meg Combs

Science University Research Symposium (SURS)

The urge to be a member of a group, to fit in, and peer pressure can lead to many unexpected and unwanted repercussions. We see evidence of such consequences around us and even within ourselves daily. Social media can easily contribute to this problem by either allowing users to present their lives as something they are not, a deceptive representation of their true wants, or by allowing them to express their opinions in a way that denigrates those of others. To examine the link between peer pressure and social conformity, researchers have been studying whether strength of attraction to a …

Moderating Roles Of Racial Identity In The Effects Of Racial Discrimination On Distress, Sarah Gobrial

Psychology Theses and Dissertations

Racial discrimination has been linked to psychological distress among people of color. The degree to which psychological distress is associated with racial discrimination experiences varies across individuals. Racial identity may be one key set of individual difference factors that can influence how discrimination impacts psychological distress, but existing empirical findings remain mixed on the moderating role of racial identity in the links between discrimination and distress. The present study leveraged virtual reality technology to experimentally invoke experiences of discrimination. The study was aimed to (1) determine the causal effects of racial discrimination on psychological distress (i.e., stress and negative affect), …

Reducing Prejudice Through Law: Evidence From Experimental Psychology, Sara Emily Burke, Roseanna Sommers

Articles

Can antidiscrimination law effect changes in public attitudes toward minority groups? Could learning, for instance, that employment discrimination against people with clinical depression is legally prohibited cause members of the public to be more accepting toward people with mental health conditions? In this Article, we report the results of a series of experiments that test the effect of inducing the belief that discrimination against a given group is legal (versus illegal) on interpersonal attitudes toward members of that group. We find that learning that discrimination is unlawful does not simply lead people to believe that an employer is more likely …

A Qualitative Exploration Of Social Support In Males And Females Experiencing Issues With Infertility., Maya Pinzon, Shawna Rotoli

Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine Departmental Research

INTRODUCTION: The purpose of this study was to qualitatively investigate and compare male and female experiences of infertility in the context of social support.

METHODS: A Qualtrics survey (Qualtrics, Provo, Utah, United States) was posted to online fertility support groups and the responses were thematically analyzed. Only participants that completed the qualitative component of the survey were included in the study. Responses were subsequently thematically analyzed.

RESULTS: A sample of 110 participants (13 males and 97 females) were included in the present study. Thematic analyses revealed that isolation and loneliness, stigma, sentiments of misunderstanding, insensitive reactions, and others' unhelpful attempts …