Social Psychology Commons^™

Age Differences In Women’S Anger Experience And Expression, A. Antonio González-Prendes, Nancy Praill, Poco Kernsmith

Social Work Faculty Publications

Research on women’s anger is relative scarce. In this study the authors examined differences in anger experience and expression in women across three distinct age groups: 18-30, 31-49, and 50 and above. The authors used the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory-2 (STAXI-2) to survey a sample of 239 women in the United States and Canada. The groups were established according to hypothesized transitional life stages of changing responsibilities and expectations. A MANCOVA was used to test the effect of age and covariates of education, employment, relationship status, and country of residence on participants’ experience and expression of anger. The authors discuss …

Exploring Stimulus Variability In Applicant Attractiveness, Robert L. Dipboye, Lyndsey Dhahani

Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Previous research on physical attractiveness bias in job applicant evaluations has ignored three important issues. First, the sex-typing of the positions for which applicants are evaluated is usually weak despite the need to provide strongly male and female-typed positions in testing for beauty is beastly effects. Second, the samples of stimuli used in the manipulations of applicant sex, attractiveness, and sex-typing of the job are small. Third, the statistical analyses used in testing hypotheses fail to incorporate variability among both human participants and stimuli. The present research corrected for these three omissions in an experiment in which participants evaluated the …

Like Or Dislike: The Emotional Toll Of Being On Facebook, Lauren N. Weathers

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The current study examined the relationship between affect changes or lack thereof when one logs onto Facebook or Yahoo!. Facebook was specifically chosen for examination in the current study due to its widespread use, its vast effect on society, and its unique features that allow users to obtain information and have social interaction at the same time. Yahoo! served as a control due to the fact that it is a highly popular site that has similar features of Facebook without having the social functions. Both sites allow users to observe news that is pertinent and of interest to them and …

Towards Decrypting Attractiveness Via Multi-Modality Cue, Tam Nguyen, Si Liu, Bingbing Ni, Jun Tan, Yong Rui, Shuicheng Yan

Computer Science Faculty Publications

Decrypting the secret of beauty or attractiveness has been the pursuit of artists and philosophers for centuries. To date, the computational model for attractiveness estimation has been actively explored in the computer vision and multimedia community, yet with the focus mainly on facial features. In this article, we conduct a comprehensive study on female attractiveness conveyed by single/multiple modalities of cues, that is, face, dressing and/or voice; the aim is to discover how different modalities individually and collectively affect the human sense of beauty.

To extensively investigate the problem, we collect the Multi-Modality Beauty (M²B) dataset, which is …

Using Normative Messages And Incentives To Improve Organizational Performance, Anna L. Conard

Masters Theses

While social norms have been a popular area of study among social psychologists, they have yet to receive much consideration from an Organizational Behavior Management (OBM) standpoint. Much of OBM research has focused on consequences and the utilization of incentives to improve organizational performance. Such research has shown incentive systems to have sustaining, long-term effects on behaviors. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the impact of normative messages and lottery incentives on organizational performance. Participants were randomly assigned to one of four experimental conditions: a) Standard Message with Lottery Incentive, b) Standard Message without Lottery Incentive, c) …

Testing An Attribution Model Of Caregiving In A Latino Sample: The Role Of Familismo And The Caregiver-Care Recipient Relationship, Bianca Teresa Villalobos

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Social and economic consequences of depression place a heavy burden on society. Many family members and friends often feel the need take on the role of informal caregivers when loved ones require assistance due to disabling conditions. However, caregiver burden can arise when providing support for a person with a chronic condition. Caregiver burnout is associated with numerous negative outcomes for both the caregiver and care recipient. As such, efforts to understand factors related to reducing caregiver burden are necessary. Research on help giving has been guided by an attribution model developed by Weiner (1988), which describes how attributions …

Jurors’ Subjective Certainty And Standards Of Proof: The Role Of Emotion And Severity Of Charge In Subjective Probability Judgment, Yimoon Choi

Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Recent empirical research suggests that jurors struggle to understand and correctly apply the standard of proof. Many researchers have focused on methods to re-write jury instructions so that standards of proof are clearer and easier for jurors to understand. This dissertation suggests the fundamental cause of jurors’ confusion concerning standards of proof is that jurors may use different decision processes (intuitive decision processing or systematic decision processing) and decision indices (objective probabilistic judgment or subjective confidence) depending upon their transient emotions or the seriousness of charge.

Study 1 assessed whether experiencing particular emotions (sadness or anger) could change mock jurors’ …

Exploring The Relationships Between Rap And Hip-Hop Music Use And Objectified Body Consciousness, Body Dissatisfaction, And Gender Norms In Female Juvenile Delinquents, Nina Simone Brathwaite

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Various forms of portable media (e.g., television, movies, magazines, internet, music) are increasingly accessible to and used by the average adolescent in the U.S. (American Psychological Association [APA], 2007; Ward, 2003). Two of the most popular genres of adolescent entertainment, rap and hip-hop music are frequently criticized for their use of misogynistic images and lyrics that objectify women and glorify sex, drug use, and violence (Bretthauer, Zimmerman & Banning, 2006; Conrad, Dixon & Zhang, 2010; Ward, 2003). Although understudied, one could argue that increased accessibility to and use of such media that fosters sexually-explicit and -objectifying messages common in Western …

The Relationship Between Sex-Typing And Help-Seeking Behaviors In Adults, Joshua Juvrud

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The process of expressing what is masculine promotes attitudes and behaviors that can discourage men from seeking help, contributing to numerous health issues in males. The purpose of this study was to explore how personally endorsed gender stereotypes vs. gender stereotyped attitudes impacted help-seeking behavior. In the current study, female and male adults completed challenging puzzle tasks, recalled previous health help-seeking behavior, and completed sex-typed measures. Females utilized personally endorsed gender stereotypes more during the puzzle tasks, while males utilized both personally endorsed gender stereotypes as well as gender stereotyped attitudes. When males recalled health-related events, however, personally endorsed feminine …

Coveting The Backstage: A College Student Audience Study Regarding Authenticity Construction In The Reality Television Viewing Process, Lisa Marie Kruse

Dissertations

Television is a major staple of daily life for those who live in the United States and reality television has persisted as a primary genre of television programming. While it is unclear just how much reality television (RTV) viewers are watching, the genre’s dominance in primetime lineups suggests that RTV is a main type of programming viewed by television audiences.

Many audience studies have focused on the primary motivations for viewing the genre of reality television converging on four: to satisfy psychological desires (voyeurism, vengeance, and status); to connect with others; to socially learn; and the “quest for authenticity.” The …

The Influence Of Person Familiarity On Children's Social Information Processing, Andrew J. Cummings

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study examined the influence person familiarity has on children's social information processing (SIP) choices and emotion recognition. Children in grades 2nd through 5th watch a videotaped expression of a familiar or unfamiliar individual while listening to a hypothetical social interaction. Following the video clip, children responded to open-ended questions and prompted questions designed to assess their strategies and goals in the social interaction. Children also selected from two choices (either `on purpose' or `by accident') for their attribution of the individual's intent. Last, children identified the emotion that they believed the individual in the video was experiencing the most. …

A Study Of How Selected Public School Junior-High Students Perceive The Effect Of Popular Music On Classroom Behavior, Christopher Mc Allister

Masters Theses

The objective of this study is to further the understanding of how junior-high students in the public schools perceive the effects of popular music on their behavior in the classroom. Two primary research questions serve as the foundation for this study. The first question investigates how themes disclosed in interviews of selected public school junior high students help to explain their personal perceptions of how popular music affects their behavior in the academic environment. The second question seeks to determine whether students that listen to a particular genre of popular music have different or similar perceptions of how music affects …

Can Self-Compassion Be Induced To Reduce Sexual Minority Stigma And Protect Psychological Functioning?, Sheri Chandler

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Sexual minorities must deal daily with their stigmatized identities. Specifically, depression and anxiety as well as psychological distress and self-stigma are common among people with stigmatized identities. Self-compassion has been linked to enhanced psychological well-being and less negative feelings toward the self. The aim of this study was to investigate selfcompassion as a potential buffer of the effects of sexual minority related rejection experiences on self-perceptions of stigma and psychological symptoms. Participants were randomly assigned to a self-compassion induction group versus 1 of 3 control groups (self-esteem only induction; expressive writing condition; true control) to examine whether self-compassion can be …

The Effect Of Alcohol Outcome Expectancies On The Relationship Of Social Anxiety And Desirability Of Alcohol, Hilary Casner

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The comorbidity of Social anxiety disorder and alcohol use disorders is well-documented in the research literature. However, conflicting findings have been noted in cross-sectional investigations of this link; some studies indicate that individuals with Social anxiety disorder are more likely to engage in problematic alcohol use, while others suggest that Social anxiety may serve as a protective factor against heavy drinking. Alcohol outcome expectancies (AOEs), the beliefs one holds about the effects of alcohol consumption, have been identified as an important variable in the consideration of the Social anxiety-alcohol use link. The current study tested the effect of an expectancy …

An Empirical Examination Of The Associations Among Crystal Methamphetamine Use History, Posttraumatic Stress Symptom Severity, And Perceived Social Support, Courtney Elaine Dutton

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Social support functions as a protective factor against the development of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Crystal methamphetamine use, however, is associated with a decrease in Social functioning. This is noteworthy as people with PTSD endorse elevated rates of crystal methamphetamine use. The current study proposed to look at perceived Social support as it relates to crystal methamphetamine use among individuals endorsing a wide range of posttraumatic stress symptoms. Questionnaires measuring perceived Social support and posttraumatic stress symptom severity were administered to 98 traumatic event-exposed adults (M_age = 48.5, SD =7.74) recruited from the San Francisco bay area who …

The Problem With Adhd: Researchers' Constructions And Parents' Accounts, Bora Pajo, David Cohen Dr.

All Faculty and Staff Scholarship

An enduring controversy over the nature of ADHD complicates parents’ decisions regarding children likely to be diagnosed with the condition. Using a fallibilist perspective, this review examines how researchers construe ADHD and acknowledge the controversy. From a systematic literature search of empirical reports using parents of ADHD-diagnosed children as primary informants, 36 reports published between 1996 and 2008 (corresponding to 30 studies) were selected. Data on the studies’ characteristics and methodologies, definitions of ADHD, and extent of the acknowledgment of the ADHD controversy were extracted, as were data on a wide range of parental concerns and experiences. Researchers in 27 …

Analyzing Reflective Functioning As A Potential Mediator In The Relationship Between Parent's Attachment, Past Trauma, Depression, And Their Parental Sensitivity: Implications For Treatment Of Higher Risk Dyads, Kayla M. Sizemore

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

A thesis presented to the faculty of the College of Science and Technology at Morehead State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science by Kayla M. Sizemore on July 11, 2013.

How To Get Rid Of Thunder Thighs, Helena E. Yang

SURGE

I appreciate the insightful and important things your muffin top has to say to me, but my thunder thighs still think they’re fat.

I’m overweight (sometimes).

On a BMI scale, I fluctuate in and out of the dreaded “overweight” category. While I acknowledge that the BMI scale has its flaws, it was designed to be a quick approximation of weight to height; it is not designed to be a scientific test. Sometimes I tell myself I am super muscular and the scale doesn’t apply to me, but it’s actually not true. [excerpt]

Child-Parent Attachment And The Assessment Of Self, Jin Qu

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

A thesis presented to the faculty of the College of Science and Technology at Morehead State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science by Jin Qu on July 10, 2013.

An Investigation Of The Relationships Among The Family Of Origin, Need For Achievement, And Career Development, David G. Arcement

Doctoral Dissertations

The study was designed to examine, from a family system theory and a contextual approach, the impact of family environment on career thoughts, career indecision, and vocational identity. It further expanded career development research to include the need for achievement by examining the relationship between need for achievement and career-related variables. A sample of 211 undergraduate college students was administered the Family Environment Scale, Career Decision Scale, Career Thoughts Inventory, My Vocational Situation, and Personal Values Questionnaire. The results revealed a limited relationship between the family of origin and career development outcome measures. Specifically, independence and expressiveness in the family …

Depression, Social Anxiety, And Attachment As Predictors Of The Use And Quality Of Cyber Communication, Stefan E. Latulip

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

This study examined the influence of depression symptoms, social anxiety symptoms, and adult attachment style on the use and the perceptions of the quality of cyber communications with close friends, romantic partners, and family members. One hundred thirty-five individuals completed an initial survey, with sixty five of the original group completing a follow-up survey five weeks later. Results indicated that anxious attachment was associated with a greater reported usage of social networking sites, whereas avoidant attachment predicted less instant message use over time. Depression symptoms and avoidant attachment were generally associated with perceptions of higher negativity and lower positivity with …

Moral Development In The Military: The Efficacy Of Rotc Morality Training At The Sophomore Level, Paul A. Gillett

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

The Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) is an accessions program designed to produce quality commissioned Officers for operational units, in support of strategic Department of Defense (DoD) objectives. The traditional program length of 4 years coincides with the average number of years required to obtain a baccalaureates degree in the United States, in part because a degree is required for program completion. The program goals are to develop candidates physically, mentally, and morally in order to ensure they can be entrusted with the highest levels of leadership required of a US citizen.

This study aimed at assessing the moral development …

The Effects Of Acute Psychosocial Stress On Cognitive Performance, Anne I.S. Gray

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of acute psychosocial stress on cognitive performance. Psychosocial stress evolves from the perceived presence of a social evaluative threat and results in the activation of the home hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. As part of this reaction the stress hormone cortisol is secreted into the blood stream, ultimately crossing the blood-brain barrier, where it can have profound effects on various aspects of cognition. A review of the literature reveals that that attention, working memory, spatial judgment and cognitive processing efficiency are particularly susceptible to stress induced changes in performance level. A test battery …

Revisiting The Multicultural Experience-Creativity Link: The Effects Of Cultural Distance And Comparison Mindset, Chi-Ying Cheng, Angela K. Y. Leung

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

A growing literature provides evidence for the multicultural experience-creativity link such that exposure to the juxtaposition of two cultures facilitates individual creativity. The underlying mechanisms for this relationship, however, are still far from being well explored. Drawing upon the novel perspective of motivated cognition, we hypothesize that two factors interact to affect creative outcomes: (a) perceived cultural distance between the two juxtaposed cultures, and (b) comparison mind-sets. Specifically, we argue that individuals’ creative performance will be increased only when a difference mind-set is employed to process the cultural stimuli that are sufficiently different from each other. In two studies, individuals …

The Effectiveness Of A Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program That Offer Special Benefits For Pregnant And Parenting Teens: A Qualitative Study, Marsha Brown

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Teen pregnancy continues to be a problem for families, educators, health care professionals, and the government. Teenagers are not afforded the opportunity to learn or receive reinforcement on God's laws on abstaining from premarital sex because religious education is not allowed in the public school system. This increase has led to the creation of the Teenage Parenting Center (TAPP), located in southwest Georgia. TAPP is one of 64 schools in a school district that offers special benefits for pregnant and parenting teens. This qualitative case study used a phenomenological approach to explore the experience of eight former attendees of the …

The Role Of Emotion In Environmental Decision Making, Hannah Dietrich

Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Given the environmental concerns of our planet, it is imperative to consider issues of environmental sustainability. Researchers argue that the most serious environmental problems are not merely issues of science, but that of individual behavior. Solutions, therefore, must consider the role of the individual—how one can change his/her behaviors to be more environmentally conscious. The experience of negative or positive emotions, may impact not only people’s experiences with the environment, but also their tendency to engage in pro-environmental behavior. The present study sought to experimentally investigate the role of emotion and information on pro-environmental behavior change. Results indicate that neither …

Lost In The Margins? Intersections Between Disability And Other Non-Dominant Statuses With Regard To Peer Victimization And Psychosocial Distress Among Oregon Teens, Marjorie Grace Mcgee

Dissertations and Theses

Youth with disabilities experience greater levels of victimization than non-disabled youth. However, little is known about the associations between peer victimization and disability status alone and in combination with sex and race/ethnicity, or with sex and sexual orientation. Further, little is known about the extent to which exposure to peer victimization mediates the relationship between disability status and psychosocial distress. Thus, one purpose of this study was to investigate the extent to which disability status, as a marker of social difference, alone and in combination with other social identities, is associated with differential levels of exposure to peer victimization. A …

Fourth Time's The Charm?: Modeling A Psychologically-Based Peace Iv Program In Northern Ireland, Cailin A. Rogers

The Macalester Review

Abstract: Social conflict has consumed Northern Ireland for centuries. The relationship between Catholic Nationalists and Protestant Loyalists has proved difficult to reconcile–current policy approaches have been unable to attain peace. This paper seeks to explore the gaps in policy created by ignoring the important distinction between the social identities Nationalists and Loyalists have created and which they continue to perpetuate. This paper examines Social identity theory in context of Northern Ireland and applies the psychology of disparate community identities to current policies and trends in Northern Ireland to suggest reasons for a lack of progress towards peace. Unfortunately, contemporary Northern …

The Role Of Instrumental Emotion Regulation In The Emotions-Creativity Link: How Worries Render Neurotic Individuals More Creative, Angela K.-Y. Leung, Letty Kwan, Shyhnan Liou, Chi-Yue Chiu, Lin Qiu, Jose C. Yong

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Based on the instrumental account of emotion regulation, the current research seeks to offer a novel perspective to the emotions-creativity debate by investigating the instrumental value of trait-consistent emotions in creativity. We hypothesize that emotions such as worry (vs. happy) are some trait-consistent experiences for neurotic individuals and experiencing these emotions can facilitate performance in a creativity task. In two studies, we found support for our hypothesis. First, individuals higher in neuroticism had a greater preference for recalling worrisome (vs. happy) events in anticipation of performing a creativity task (Study 1). Moreover, when induced to recall a worrisome (vs. happy) …

Locating The Social Ladder Across Cultures And Identities, Michael W. Kraus, Jacinth J. X. Tan, Melanie B. Tannenbaum

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

It is rare to have the opportunity to write a theory paper on a topic that, we believe at least, will become a very important part of psychological research in the future. That this target article has sparked such a high level of sophistication in the commentaries is indicative of this possibility; psychologists have truly arrived at the forefront of the social class discussion, and we are very excited to be a part of it! In the spirit of moving forward this discussion, each of the commentaries raises a number of important points that intersect with our own theory. Engaging …