Social Psychology and Interaction Commons^™

Unsex Me Here: Gendered Psychology In Shakespeare's Major Tragedies And Comedy, Md. Abu Bakkar

Journal of Language, Literature, and Arts

This study examines how gender shapes psychological experience across five of Shakespeare’s major plays: Macbeth, Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, and Twelfth Night. Existing scholarship treats Shakespeare’s tragic women, tragic men, and comic heroines as separate problems; this article asks whether one framework connects them. Its starting point is the reversal in psychological positions between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth: he resists killing on moral grounds and then grows recklessly violent, while she plans the murder with cold resolve and is later overwhelmed by guilt. The study asks whether this pattern recurs more broadly, and why. Drawing …

Using Photovoice And Life Course Theory To Understand The Lived Experiences Of Filipino Teenage Parents, Nina Linly D. Capulong, Liane Peña Alampay, Bernice Landoy Mamauag, Jennel Drezza Fe C. Reyes

Psychology Department Faculty Publications

Teenage parents face the unique challenge of simultaneously navigating adolescence and parenthood. Rising adolescent pregnancy rates in the Philippines necessitate urgent efforts to better understand and support them. Using Photovoice, Filipino teenage parents captured their lived experiences through photographs, resulting in eight themes: (1) Managing stresses and conflicts in partner relationships, (2) Peers as a source of emotional support, (3) Support and strain in family relationships, (4) Shifts in normative adolescent experiences and priorities, (5) Strain and agency in balancing roles, (6) Desire to enhance parenting knowledge and skills, (7) Environmental drivers of early sexual exposure, (8) Sexual knowledge from …

Tales Of The Empathic Support Provider: How Emerging Adult Women Make Sense Of Providing Empathic Support To Female Friends, Emma R. Eslinger

Department of Communication Studies: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The current study explored the stories and reflections of 33 emerging adult women who made sense of their empathic support provider (ESP) identity in the context of female friendships. From the standpoint of the retrospective storytelling heuristic, within communicated narrative sense-making theory, participants told stories about their ESP identity, including how they provide support to others and reflect on the benefits of drawbacks of serving in this role (CNSM, Koenig Kellas, 2022). Under Proposition 1 of CNSM theory, meanings, values, and beliefs (MVBs) that ESP women expressed in this role were depicted as key takeaways gathered. Findings illuminated how ESP …

Psychological Architecture: Evaluating The "Greenhouse Model" As A Structural Standard For Lgbtq+ Well-Being, Ava Lee

University Honors Theses

Traditional LGBTQ+ mental health frameworks often conceptualize psychological safety as a matter of individual endurance. This paper critiques this focus on adaptive resilience, which systematically shifts responsibility from institutions to individuals. To counter this, the study introduces "Psychological Architecture," a framework viewing social environments as constructed infrastructures that can either support or undermine queer well-being. The model contrasts performative "Glasshouses," which prioritize visibility over safety, with engineered "Greenhouses" that nurture sustainable safety through three sequential pillars: Authentic Representation (walls), Emotional Validation (insulation), and Vocal Activism (ventilation).

Grounded in the findings of a 2024 qualitative pilot study of a queer roller …

The Goad, The Bad, & The Ugly: The Livestreamed Vice Signaling & Body Fascism Of Clavicular & Asmongold, Jacob T. Fry

Department of Communication Studies: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This thesis explores the rhetorical, material, and symbolic implications of fascist livestreaming in the United States through two popular streamers: Clavicular and Asmongold. These two streamers represent a small slice of the rise of different reactionary rhetorics online and how the use of different masculine subcultures—in this case ‘Looksmaxxing’ or Gamer inspired rhetoric—are used as ideological texts for white male supremacy. Whether in front of the glow of their gaming monitor or the flashing lights of a nightclub, the livestreaming of the body, home, relationships, and lifestyles challenge rhetorical conceptions of style, the ‘public/private sphere,’ and political communication. As different …

Beyond The Cycle: How Menstruation Influences Gender Identity And Well-Being In Binary And Non-Binary Adults, Rin Nguyen

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Approximately 1.8 billion people worldwide menstruate, including transgender and gender-diverse (TGD) people, yet their experiences remain underrepresented in research. Given that menstruation can affect gender alignment and psychological well-being, understanding its impact on TGD people is critical. Gender congruence, or alignment between one’s gender identity and expression, is a key factor influencing well-being, with research linking it to reduced depression and anxiety. Furthermore, emerging research on gender euphoria, the joy experienced when gender congruence is experienced, suggests it may serve as a protective factor for mental health and well-being. Gender euphoria has been associated with reduced psychological distress and increased …

We’Ve Been Dying From Trying: Taylor Swift, Earnestness, And The Collective Repudiation Of Cool., Kathryn J. Lively

The Manuscript: Journal of Taylor Swift Studies

This essay argues that cool operates not as an aesthetic preference but as a feeling rule—a socially enforced constraint on which emotions are permissible in public life. Drawing on Thornton's concept of subcultural capital, Goffman's dramaturgical framework, and Hochschild's theory of feeling rules, the paper identifies three structural requirements of cool: distinction in the mode of appreciation, performative concealment of effort, and emotional constraint. Taylor Swift violates all three. Through analysis of the Eras Tour, Swift's songwriting, her public persona, and the ritual practices of her fandom, the essay demonstrates that Swift's cultural significance lies not in her popularity but …

Affect Regulation In The Context Of Sexual And Gender Minority Stress: A Scoping Review Protocol, Daphne Y. Liu, Benjamin A. Swerdlow, Shao Yuan Chong, Nadia Kako, Alex Rubin, Nicholas S. Perry

Psychology: Faculty Scholarship

Objective

To provide a broad, comprehensive picture of affect regulation in the context of sexual and gender minority stress, this scoping review aims to identify and synthesize methods, methodologies, and available evidence pertinent to emotion regulation and coping in the context of minority stress among sexual and gender minority (SGM) people.

Introduction

SGM people face disproportionately high rates of mental health problems due to experiences of minority stress and lack of social safety. Theories and growing evidence suggest that affect regulation plays a critical role in SGM people’s well-being in the face of minority stress. Researchers have largely studied emotion …

Male Disposability, Law, And Feminism, Edward Cantu

Faculty Works

This article explores scientific evidence that societies care more about the welfare and safety of females than that of males, and that this dynamic of "male disposability" is deeply entrenched in culture, and thus in law. The recognition and integration of male disposability theory would mean an evolutionary leap in modern theorizing about gender and the law, but it is ignored. Why? Feminist theory dominates current academic gender discourse. Far from appreciating the explanatory power of male disposability theory, feminist theorists are often invested in theorizing gendered problems in ways that mischannel compassion away from men and toward women. The …

"If I Knew Then What I Know Now": Analyzing Online Narratives Of Regretful Parents, Marina Binti Mohd Hamdan

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This exploratory study seeks to understand the extent to which parenthood affects individual self-actualization by identifying the trade-offs, compromises, and sacrifices that parents make within the context of family life. Using a thematic analysis of 221 archived posts from the Reddit community r/regretfulparents, this study examines how social pressures surrounding parenthood may be related to experiences of parental regret. Specifically, it identifies two domains: pressures to be parents, including social norms, familial coercion, and interpersonal conflict, and pressures of parenting, including issues of labor, number of children, and challenging children. Across these domains, this study explores how tensions between personal …

Examining Challenges For Sociology Master’S Degree Students At California State University, David Ortuno

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to identify the lived experiences of CSU sociology graduate students pursuing a master’s degree. Seven sociology graduate students from six of the eight (75%) total sociology MA programs throughout the entire CSU system were interviewed. Their responses were designed to analyze the support systems and challenges they face while pursuing a master's degree, as well as to investigate whether their experiences correlate with or fail to correlate with the promises in the CSU mission statement, and to answer the study’s research questions and achieve the purpose of this qualitative study.

Four themes emerged from …

Teaching Note - Embedding The Human Library Experience Within Social Work Curriculum, Emily M. Paine

Social Work Faculty Works

The Human Library is a global initiative designed to challenge stereotypes and foster dialogue through storytelling and presents a unique opportunity for experiential learning within social work education. This teaching note explores how the Human Library framework can be integrated into social work curriculum in alignment with the 2022 Council on Social Work Education’s Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards, with particular emphasis on Competency 3: Engaging in Anti-Racism, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion practice. When embedded in coursework, the Human Library enables students to engage in brave and authentic conversations with storytellers who share aspects of their lived experiences, promoting mutuality, …

9th Gsep Research Symposium - 2025

GSEP Research Symposium

The Ninth Annual GSEP Research Symposium, themed "Building Bridges to Elevate Humanity: Innovations and Insights in Education and Psychology", was hosted by the Pepperdine University Graduate School of Education and Psychology (GSEP) on June 19–20, 2025, at the historic Château d’Hauteville in Switzerland and virtually via Zoom.

This hybrid symposium convened a vibrant global community of students, alumni, faculty, and scholars to share research that addresses real-world challenges, advances scholarly inquiry, and builds pathways for inclusive collaboration and leadership. Spanning a wide array of topics—from artificial intelligence and mental health to trauma-informed practices, educational equity, social justice, and cross-cultural leadership—the …

Hiv And Sti Testing Service Utilization Among Youth Experiencing Homelessness: A Multi-Method Inquiry, Alexander A. Ochs

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Youth experiencing homelessness (YEH) face disproportionately high risk for HIV and sexually transmitted infections (STIs), yet rates of testing remain low. This dissertation examines the individual and social network level factors that influence HIV/STI testing behaviors among YEH. Guided by insights from multiple theoretical frameworks, this three-paper dissertation integrates quantitative and qualitative approaches to better understand how personal relationships and social context shape HIV/STI testing decisions in this population.

Paper 1 presents a secondary data analysis of the Homeless Youth Risk and Resilience Survey (HYRRS), which includes 1,426 YEH across seven U.S. cities. Logistic regression models identified geographic variation in …

Moral Judgment Toward Individuals In Consensually Non-Monogamous Relationships As A Function Of Moral Foundations And Disgust Sensitivity, Dylan Selterman, Jeff Bowen, Ria Datwani, Amy C. Moors

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

In two experiments we demonstrate how participants perceive individuals in consensually non-monogamous relationships (e.g., polyamory) more negatively compared to those in monogamous relationships, as a function of moral foundation variables and trait-level disgust sensitivity. In Study 1, we experimentally presented participants with vignettes depicting characters in one of two relationship types (monogamous or non-monogamous), after which participants completed character judgments (ethics) and relationship impressions. Participants viewed the characters in a monogamous relationship as more ethical and having higher relationship quality, and these associations were fully mediated by perceptions of the characters as pure, loyal, caring, fair, and honest. Participants high …

Introduction To Sociology: Socialization, Dr. Marcia Morrison Ph.D.

Open Educational Resources

Abstract

This paper offers a comprehensive examination of socialization and identity development through a comparative lens, focusing on American, Chinese, and Japanese cultures. It explores how distinct cultural values—individualism, loyalty, and cooperation—shape personal and collective identities from childhood through old age. Utilizing the life course perspective, the analysis considers how factors such as generation, socioeconomic status, race, and gender influence the trajectory of human development. The evolution of childhood is traced across historical and cultural contexts, highlighting shifting perceptions, the impact of industrialization on children's roles, and the persistent influence of class and ethnicity on access to education and well-being. …

Not Meant To Be Read: The Stories They Silence, The Resistance That Speaks, Cristina Onea

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In this dissertation, I trace the evolution of surveillance from overt state violence to the more insidious forms of ideological policing embedded in everyday life. Through lived experience, oral history, and critical autoethnography, I explore how surveillance moves through bodies, families, institutions, and memory—not simply as external control, but as internalized rhythms of fear, vigilance, and self-surveillance. I move between my father's life under Romanian dictatorship, my own embodied inheritance, and the contemporary struggles of librarians facing ideological suppression to reveal surveillance as a structure that persists through generations, mutates across contexts, and demands new forms of resistance.

I argue …

Hope In Times Of Helplessness: A Literature Review On The Queer Art Of Resilience And Melancholia Via The Expressive Arts, Andrew Crowthers

Expressive Therapies Theses

This thesis explores the intersection of Queer resilience, expressive arts therapy, and community-building practices within marginalized communities – particularly focusing on how Queer communities have utilized art as means of survival, perseverance, and legacy in times of struggle. Queer communities have consistently turned to artistic gestures of expression as a way to not only resist oppression, but to also preserve collective memory and identity. In a world experiencing heightened stress, disconnection, and violence, finding ways to maintain hope is critical.

Through the lenses of trauma-informed expressive arts therapy, Queer aesthetic sensibility, and Queer melancholia, this paper examines how artistic practices …

Deep-Fake Revenge Porn: The Intersection Of Artificial Intelligence And Revenge Porn For A Modern Attack On Women, Eva C. Hunt

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

This study aims to provide a legal analysis grounded in gender legal theory to critique current legislation enacted in the United States. It focuses on the societal and gendered impacts of revenge porn, particularly examining how victimization differs across genders. The legal analysis explores state-by-state legislation addressing revenge porn, assessing the severity of criminal penalties and the timeline of enactment. For current contextual reasons, the study evaluates how emerging Deepfake artificial intelligence technologies intersect with and complicate existing revenge porn laws. Finally, it analyzes the extent to which each state has incorporated Deepfake AI considerations into its legal framework.

Men’S Fertility Beliefs, Intentions, And Contraceptive Use, Meagan Kunitzer

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

Despite advancements in reproductive technology, gender-inclusive approaches remain limited, and research on men’s reproductive health is scarce. Specifically, little is known about how men conceptualize reproductive health and how perspectives vary by race and social class. As such, the purpose of this study is to further the field’s understanding of men’s reproductive health, including fertility beliefs, intentions, and behaviors. Guided by the theory of conjunctural action, this study uses survey-driven narrative construction to explore how 35 men think about their reproductive health and how this varies by race and class. The main benefit of using this method is that it …

Internalized Homophobia In Midwestern Sexual Minorities, Charissa Farr

Department of Anthropology: Theses and Student Research

Research into internalized homophobia in sexual minorities has identified several factors that tend to lead to higher levels of internalized homophobia. These factors are parental acceptance or rejection, religion, urban versus rural environment, and societal attitudes. There are, however, few studies that have been done on these factors specifically in Midwestern sexual minorities. Twenty participants that identified as non-heterosexual were interviewed for this study. Participants completed a short quantitative survey on internalized homophobia before being interviewed with questions that looked at the known factors of internalized homophobia as well as what they thought needed to happen for future generations to …

Resilience, Joshua Liashenko

Sociology Faculty Articles and Research

Once a ubiquitous framework for assessing the capacity for recovery, perseverance, and success in the face of adversity, resilience has been met with growing critiques in its application. As a frequently used “pretty word” within health disparities research, resilience has come to signify how at-risk communities overcome hardship in ways this work argues overdetermine their labor, activist potential, and existence. This critique examines resilience through the lens of ethnographic research conducted among transgender and nonbinary healthcare providers who provide gender-affirming care within their communities. As a marginalized community experiencing transphobia and increasing structural barriers to life-affirming and life-saving healthcare, trans …

The Effect Of Need For Closure, Gender Essentialism, And Contact On Transphobia, Jacob E. Vargas

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Using a motivated social cognition framework, this study explores whether there is an indirect effect of need for closure on transphobia via gender essentialism and whether this relationship is moderated by transgender contact. Data were collected from an undergraduate sample of 405 cisgender participants (n_men = 159, n_women = 246). A simple mediation and a moderated mediation were used to examine the hypothesized relationships, controlling for participant gender. Results reinforced the positive correlation between gender essentialism and transphobia and the negative correlation between transgender contact and transphobia. However, the mediation and moderation hypotheses were not supported. Need …

A Phenomenological Study Of The Lived Experience Of Gay White Men In Mid-Level Student Affairs Leadership Roles, S. Craig Mourton

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The purpose of this dissertation was to investigate the lived experience of mid-level student affairs leaders who identify as cisgender, gay, White, and male in order to further understand the multidimensionality of embodying both privileged as well as marginalized identities. Four participants were interviewed using a semi-structured interview guide and the resulting transcripts were analyzed utilizing the Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) perspective. Experiential themes that emerged from the analysis of the individual cases as well as across the cases include unintended pathways into the field of student affairs, experiences of challenging heterosexual male supervisors and the preference for women supervisors, …

Girl Gamers, Online Community, And Social Identity Theory: The Role Of Positive Distinction Strategies On Group Engagement On R/Girlgamers, Rachael Green

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Identity theorists have studied the complex relationship between gender and gaming for over two decades, but research on how women persist in gaming communities despite harassment remains underdeveloped. Grounded in Social Identity Theory, this dissertation examines the subreddit r/GirlGamers to evaluate the prevalence and impact of positive distinction strategies in countering identity threats. Based on a mixed-methods approach, the findings highlight three key strategies (group permeability, social creativity, and social competition) alongside themes of emotion, structural inequality, and interpersonal violence. Statistical tests indicate that posts employing at least one positive distinction strategy receive significantly more upvotes and comments than those …

A New Theater For Age-Old Social Patterns: An Exploratory Study Of Interpersonal Dynamics And The Overlay Of Gender Within Ai Companionship, Miriam Wolff

Theses and Dissertations

The emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) companions fundamentally shifts the landscape of interpersonal communication, introducing artificial entities as relational partners rather than mere facilitators of human-to-human interaction. This exploratory study examines the interplay of machine gendering, self-disclosure, perceived partner responsiveness (PPR), and interpersonal satisfaction within human-AI interactions. Participants engaged in conversations with gendered AI companions through the program Replika, completed structured surveys, and participated in qualitative interviews. Findings indicate that users' willingness to self-disclose was influenced by their perceptions of AI responsiveness, while gendered characteristics of AI significantly shaped user expectations and communication patterns. Specifically, users often attributed distinct personality …

A Critical Discourse Analysis Of The Representation Of Gender Images In Wedding Speeches In Tanzania, Reuben Ndimbo, Antoni Keya

Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

This study examined parents’ counsel during weddings to determine how wedding discourse represents gender relations. This article utilized a qualitative methodology, using audio-visual records of speeches and the focus group discussion technique to gather data. Using critical discourse analysis, the study found that wedding discourse reinforces stereotypical gender roles following the dominant male ideology, portraying men as the supreme heads of households who are responsible for making important decisions, including financial and political matters. On the other hand, women are projected as obedient, showing humility: perpetuating the image of dependent and submissive individuals. The study provides a basis for linguistic …

Conceptualizing Empathy And Prosocial Action: Teaching Film Within The Literature Classroom, Mayuri Deka

Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Popular Culture and Pedagogy

The experience of viewing a movie in the global era is multi-faceted. A viewer’s response to a cinematic experience as Carl Plantinga explains in Moving Viewers: American Film and the Spectator’s Experience is not only admiration for the aesthetics and techniques employed in the movie but also in the emotions aroused by the storyline. Audiences react to the story and characters presented with directed emotions by imagining either their mental lives and feelings or their situations. Empathy occurs within this framework of imagination where the audience engages with the story and character based on these directed emotions. The audience …

A Gaze Of Cruelty, Deferred: Actualizing The Female Gaze In Cate Shortland’S Berlin Syndrome (2017), Natasha Chuk

Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Popular Culture and Pedagogy

Australian director Cate Shortland’s dramatic thriller Berlin Syndrome (2017) follows the conventions of the genre involving a psychologically unstable male perpetrator and his female victim, thus could hinge on patriarchal control. Instead, based on a close reading of feminist film scholar Laura Mulvey’s theoretical definition of the former, Shortland’s cinematic apparatus can be read as an inverse of the male gaze, a type of systematic ‘female gaze’. This observation both warrants clarification of the term and concept behind the female gaze and suggests a pressing need to re-evaluate the language of cinema and its habitually damaging depictions of women. In …

Which Idea To Pursue? Gender Differences In Novelty Avoidance During Creative Idea Selection, Mengzi Jin, Roy Y. J. Chua

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Despite women having made significant progress in the modern workforce, gender gaps are still evident in creative work. In this paper, we propose that, although women and men are equally capable of generating creative ideas, gender differences emerge during the idea-selection stage. Specifically, compared with men, women engage in higher novelty avoidance during idea selection—the degree to which one selects an idea that is less novel than the most novel idea one has generated. In two laboratory studies and a field survey involving creative professionals, we found significant gender differences in novelty avoidance during idea selection and identified women’s concerns …