Sociology of Culture Commons^™

Cumulating Evidence About The Social Animal: Meta-Analysis In Social-Personality Psychology, Blair T. Johnson Dr., Marcella H. Boynton Dr.

CHIP Documents

Like most scientific fields, social-personality psychology has experienced an

explosion of research related to such central topics as aggression, attraction, gender,

group processes, motivation, personality, and persuasion, to name a few. The

proliferation of research can be a monster unless it is tamed with the scientific

review strategy of meta-analysis, literally analyses of past analyses that produce

a quantitative and empirical history of research on a particular phenomenon. The

purpose of this article is to outline the basic process and statistics of meta-analysis,

as they pertain to social-personality psychology. Meta-analysis involves: (i) defining

the problem under review; (ii) gathering qualified …

How Does Advertising Articulate The Tropes Of The Posthuman That Exist In Contemporary Culture?, Norah Campbell

Doctoral

The posthuman is a concept that has accrued much currency in disciplines as diverse as legal theory, artificial life science and philosophy. This thesis explores the meaning of the concept by initially examining what it means to be human, finding that art and science have so far failed to provide a long-lasting definition of humanness. Instead of a temporal “coming-after” stage of humanity, posthumanism might be more usefully seen as a concept that draws attention to the cracks that have always existed in the apparently water-tight description of the human- how the “human” has changed radically and continues to change …

Familialism, Social Support, And Stress: Positive Implications For Pregnant Latinas, Belinda Campos, Christine Dunkel Schetter, Cleopatra M. Abdou, Calvin J. Hobel, Laura M. Glynn, Curt A. Sandman

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

This study examined the association of familialism, a cultural value that emphasizes close family relationships, with social Support, stress, pregnancy anxiety, and infant birth weight. Foreign-born Latina (n = 31), U.S.-born Latina (n = 68), and European American (n = 166) women living in the United States participated in a prospective study of pregnancy in which they completed measures of familialism, social support, stress, and pregnancy anxiety during their second trimester. As expected, Latinas scored higher on familialism than European Americans. Familialism was positively correlated with social support and negatively correlated with stress and pregnancy anxiety in the overall sample. …

Systems Of Distribution And A Sense Of Equity: A Multilevel Analysis Of Meritocratic Attitudes In Post-Industrial Societies, Sheri L. Kunovich, Kazimierz M. Slomczynski

Sociology Research

Meritocratic attitudes are defined as general beliefs that education and its correlates should determine personal economic outcomes. Using the International Social Survey Project (ISSP): Social Inequality Module (1992), we examine both individual-level and country-level determinants of pro-meritocratic attitudes. According to self-interest and rational-action theories, individuals with high educational attainment and high personal income are expected to have strong meritocratic beliefs because meritocracy is in their best interest—they would gain under such a system. At the same time, both modernization and post-industrial theories imply that persons living in countries with a high degree of societal meritocracy hold stronger meritocratic beliefs than …

The Depiction Of Alcohol Tobacco And Other Substances In Children's G & Pg-Rated Animated Films Post 2000, Lindsay F. Graham

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

This study will analyze the depiction of alcohol, tobacco, and other substances in G and PG-rated animated films from November 1, 2000 to December 31, 2005. These films will include those released in theaters and video in English, at least 60 minutes in length, and of the animated genre during this five-year window. There is evidence that due to recent societal pressures facing the Motion Picture Association of America and their rating guidelines, the presence of alcohol and tobacco in children's animated Grated films has lessened. These incidents of exposure have since moved up the rating totem pole to receive …

Perceived Cultural Importance And Actual Self-Importance Of Values In Cultural Identification, Ching Wan, Chi-Yue Chiu, Kim-Pong Tam, Sau-Lai Lee, Ivy Yee-Man Lau, Siqing Peng

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Cross-cultural psychologists assume that core cultural values define to a large extent what a culture is. Typically, core values are identified through an actual self-importance approach, in which core values are those that members of the culture as a group strongly endorse. In this article, the authors propose a perceived cultural importance approach to identifying core values, in which core values are values that members of the culture as a group generally believe to be important in the culture. In 5 studies, the authors examine the utility of the perceived cultural importance approach. Results consistently showed that, compared with values …

Masturbation And Sexual Satisfaction In Relationally Committed Men, Micha T. Ballard

Graduate Theses

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships between masturbation frequency with and without the use of pornography, and sexual satisfaction in men in committed relationships. One hundred and twelve participants ranging from 23 to 70 years of age completed a sexuality survey and an Index of Sexual Satisfaction survey. Correlations revealed a significant negative relationship between masturbation frequency during the last month and sexual satisfaction. When clinical participants were factored out, correlation between masturbation frequency and sexual satisfaction dropped. This study found that using themes of incest or homosexuality, while masturbating, was significantly associated with higher ISS …

Paved With Good Intentions: A Definitional Study On The Issue Of Psychological Child Abuse, Anita Renee Fromm

Graduate Theses

Definitional issues concerning child abuse have long plagued the identification and treatment of this malady. This study examined the role of perpetrator intention in categorizing adverse parenting skills, as well as psychological child abuse potential. Exploitative parenting styles were displayed and rated in a variety of vignettes. Social service professionals and university students were participants in this vignette style questionnaire study. Results indicated that with a few exceptions, a constant perpetrator intention did not appear to alter subject perceptions that the scenarios presented adverse parenting skills and child abuse potential. The participants were indecisive concerning scenarios that represented excessive athletic …

Cosmic Patriotism And Spiritual Internationalism: Addams’S Newer Ideals Of Peace, Marilyn Fischer

Philosophy Faculty Publications

In Newer Ideals of Peace (1907), Addams notes the coming of a “beneficent and progressive patriotism,” a “newer patriotism” that may grow large enough “to soak up the notion of nationalism.” She charts rising cooperation and fellowship within cosmopolitan cities and across national boundaries. Not knowing what to call this phenomenon, Addams writes, “We are driven to the rather absurd phrase of “cosmic patriotism.”

What is she talking about? The first several times I read Newer Ideals, a question tugged in the back of my head: what is this book about? I had too much respect for Addams as a …

Setting The Pole: Critical Factors In Nascar's Success, Matthew N. Maisano

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

This study examines the critical factors that make NASCAR so successful. Now known as the fastest growing sport, NASCAR started out as a limited funding, dirt track racing sport to a multimillion dollar, super speedway sport. Just like every sport, NASCAR has gone through many changes and this study will further discuss how it went from a sport to a business and then to entertainment and now a lifestyle. In the beginning NASCAR drivers were renegades with ties to moonshining; today drivers are considered role models and are active in Pop Culture. Constant changes in the sport have allowed it …

Being Muslim In 21st Century America: Does Living In America Create An Identity Crisis For The Generation X Muslim Woman?, Laila Uddin

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Over the years, I've observed South Asian females and males alike struggling to fulfill religious and cultural obligations to their family while fitting in with the norms of society. I also learned of the term "ABCD" which stands for American Born Confused Desi. This refers to people of Desi or South Asian origin living in the United States. "Confused" refers to their confusion regarding their identity from either being born in America or living here since an early age and having been exposed to American culture more than their ancestral culture. That is when I realized that I was not …

“Texts Memorized, Texts Performed: A Reconsideration Of The Role Of Paritta In Sri Lankan Monastic Education.”, Jeffrey Samuels

Philosophy & Religion Faculty Publications

During the past twenty years there has been a growing interest in monastic education within the larger field of Buddhist studies. Within the last ten years in particular, a number of monographs and articles examining the training and education of monks in Korea (Buswell [1992]), Tibet/India (Dreyfus [2003]), Thailand/Laos (Collins [1990], McDaniel [2002, 2003]), and Sri Lanka (Blackburn [1999a, 1999b, 2001] Samuels [2002]), have been published. Many of those works have paid particular attention to the texts used in monastic training, as well as to how the information contained in those very texts is imparted to and embodied by monks …

Toward A Cleaner Whiteness: New Racial Identities, David Ingram

Philosophy: Faculty Publications and Other Works

The article re-examines racial and ethnic identity within the context of pedagogical attempts to instill a positive white identity in white students who are conscious of the history of white racism and white privilege. The paper draws heavily from whiteness studies and developmental cognitive science in arguing (against Henry Giroux and Stuart Hall) that a positive notion of white identity, however postmodern its construction, is an oxymoron, since whiteness designates less a cultural/ethnic ethos and meaningful way of life than a pathological structure of privilege and narrowminded cognitive habitus.

Parental Influence On Children's Ethnic Identity Among Chinese Americans, Sham'ah Md. Yunus

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the influence of Chinese American parents on their children's ethnic identity. Two research questions were designed to examine these relationships: Does the personal construct of Chinese American parents influence their children's ethnic identity and does the length of stay in the United States of Chinese American parents influence children's ethnic identity? Parental influence was identified as parents' ethnic behaviors, parents' ethnic values, parents' personal construct, and their length of stay in the United States. The 93 families who participated in this study were purposely selected from three Chinese language schools from a Midwestern city of the United …

An Examination Into The Effects Of Social Positioning And Capitalist Immersion On Gendered Attitudes Towards Homosexuality In The United States, Fiona J. Blee

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

Previous research on attitudes towards homosexuality has concentrated on characteristics of individuals, and neglected the capitalist structure of society that provides the contextual setting for the creation and maintenance of cultural attitudes.

This thesis uses responses collected in the general social survey of the United States between 1993 and 1998, to provide a more comprehensive explanation of differences in attitudes towards homosexuality, through an analysis of social position and the capitalist agenda. The analysis revealed significant relationships between sex, age, race, income, beliefs regarding the domestication of women, and attitudes towards homosexuality.

The analysis showed that respondents categorized as black …

Motivated Breast Cancer Screening Behavior And Its Cultural Antecedents, Patricia M. Flynn

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Discrepancies in breast cancer screening behavior exist among various ethnic groups in the United States (Jacobs & Lauderdale, 2001), with Latino American women reporting particularly low screening rates in comparison to Anglo American women (ACS, 2002). Research indicates that behavior is in part influenced by aspects of culture and relevant psychological processes (Betancourt & Lopez, 1993; Betancourt & Fuentes, 2001). This study was designed to investigate the relations among cultural values, attributions regarding the causes for not screening, related emotions, expectancy that screening leads to early detection and value incentive of early detection as determinants of breast cancer screening intention …

Cultural Value Orientations, Attributions, And Breast Cancer Screening Behaviors, Patricia M. Flynn

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Discrepancies in breast cancer screening behavior exist among various ethnic groups in the United States (Jacobs & Lauderdale, 2001), with Latino American women reporting particularly low screening rates in comparison to Anglo American women (ACS, 2002). Research indicates that behavior is in part influenced by aspects of culture and relevant psychological processes (Betancourt & Lopez, 1993; Betancourt & Fuentes, 2001). This study was designed to investigate the relations among cultural values, attributional processes, and breast cancer screening behavior among Anglo and Latino women. This study also investigated the influence of acculturation among Latino women in relation to the other study …

Euthanasia: An Exploration Of Public Opinion, Debra M. Babylon

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

The acceptance of euthanasia is examined using the 1972-2002 GSS cumulative dataset. The dataset contains a total of 43,698 respondents. The euthanasia question, "Should a terminally ill patient be allowed the right to die?" was asked beginning in 1977. The number of respondents answering the euthanasia question totals 22,039. The independent variables age, race, gender, political view, religious affiliation, and education were reviewed to assess their impact on support of euthanasia. Additionally, in order to test the "slippery slope" hypothesis, the abortion question, "Should abortion be allowed under any circumstance?" was added to the independent variable list. Cross tabulation was …

The Relationship Between Childbirth Experience And Psychological Functioning In The Postpartum Period, Dena Dian Daniel

Graduate Theses

The purpose of this research is to examine the relationships between the mother's perception of the birth experience, symptoms of the post-traumatic stress, and symptoms of postpartum depression. Sixty-seven participants ranging from 17 to 40 years of age completed a self-report questionnaire containing items from three instruments including the Perception of Birth Scale, the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, and the Davidson Trauma Scale. The findings reveal a more negative perception of the birth experience is significantly related to a greater frequency and/or. severity of. post- traumatic stress and postpartum depression symptoms following childbirth., These findings support the conclusion that an …

(Review) World History For Behavior Analysts: Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs, And Steel, Stuart Vyse

Psychology Faculty Publications

The article examines two important messages for behavior analysts contained in the book "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies," by Jared Diamond. It provides an environmentalist explanation of the different fates of the world's cultures that are compatible with the views of many behavior analysts. It details ways for behavior analysts to investigate the neglected forms of individual behavior.

The Effects Of Experiential Therapy On Adolescent Self-Esteem, Blair Kemp

Graduate Theses

The present study attempted to determine the effects of Experiential Therapy on emotional intelligence and self-esteem in adjudicated males and females aged 13 to 17. Twenty-four individuals participated in the study and were randomly assigned to either an experimental or control group. It was predicted that participants in the experimental group would display improvements in general self-esteem and emotional intelligence. The individuals in the experimental group received approximately 40 to 45 hours of Experiential Therapy. The control group continued with the normal JCC program. The Culture Free Self-Esteem Inventory 2 (CFSEI-2) and the BarOn Emotional Quotient Inventory: Youth Version (BarOn …

Levels Of Acculturation Of Children Of Mexican Descent As Perceived In Their Kinetic Family Drawings, Kevin Adolfo Rosado

Dissertations

Problem. Information on Hispanic children and their families is limited. More research activity is crucial in the light of the rapidly expanding population of Latino/Hispanics. Mexican families present a particular challenge to clinicians and to treatment settings, as well as to researchers. The impact of acculturation on psychological assessment instruments is largely unknown. This study sought to use the Kinetic Family Drawing (KFD) as a tool to gain information about how differences in acculturation are reflected through drawings done by children of Mexican descent.

Method. Private and public schools with representation of Mexican-American and Caucasian children from rural, semi-rural, small …

Mass Media And Violence: Science As Ideology, Ideology As Science, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article critiques a commonly promulgated belief that mass media-conveyed violence induces commensurate behavioral violence in its recipients.

A Political Psychological Primer Of Virtual Reality Sequelae For Mental Health Professionals, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This paper describes a number of sequelae stemming from virtual reality (VR) and VR technology (VRT) based on theoretical and empirical research in the behavioral sciences, social sciences, humanities.

Georgia On My Mind: Aborting Children Through Adoption Policy, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

The author discusses transnational adoption policies and procedures.

Elderly Hispanics In The United States: Their Use And Non-Use Of Social Services, Paulina X. Ruf

Masters Theses

The Commonwealth Fund Commission on Elderly people Living Alone (1988), conducted the National Survey of Hispanic Elderly, 1988. Using data from this survey, the present descriptive work, examines the use and non-use of selected social services by general demographic characteristics of the elderly Hispanic sample. In addition, general characteristics of this sample are discussed. A summary of the findings and recommendations for future research conclude this thesis.

The findings indicate that although the elderly Hispanics in the United States reported needing the selected social services used in this thesis, many of them reported not using these services. Additionally, as the …

The Occurrence Of Alexithymia In Children And Adolescents With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Michael S. Routh

Graduate Theses

Previous studies of the relationship between alexithymia and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have utilized samples of combat veterans with PTSD. However, children and adolescents who have experienced trauma and are diagnosed with PTSD exhibit similar or identical symptomology. The current study examined alexithymia in a sample of children and adolescents diagnosed with PTSD. It was hypothesized that the sample, when compared to non-PTSD and control samples, would reveal a significantly greater severity of alexithymia and PTSD. Although overall results were not consistent with previous research, trends of group means supported a relationship between alexithymia and PTSD. 1

The Attributes Of Leadership In Southern Baptist Churches In West Texas, Tim Winn

Graduate Theses

This study deals with leadership attributes in Southern Baptist churches in West Texas. A review of literature indicated that leadership in the congregations would tend to reflect the perceived purposes of the group, would be elected by the church or arise to counter poor leadership by the elected leader(s), probably be relationship oriented, and that the selection of leaders would be affected by the size of the churches and the length of tenure of the pastors. The study attempted to determine if there were characteristics that set leaders apart from non leaders in the churches. Six variable clusters of characteristics …

Genocide In Our Time : An Annotated Bibliography With Analytical Introductions, Michael N. Dobkowski, Isidor Wallimann, Alison Palmer, Alan Rosenberg, Evelyn Silverman, Sidney M. Bolkosky, Agi Rubin, Rouben Adalian, Lyman H. Legters, Eric Markusen, Israel W. Charny

Books

Genocide is a modern term whereby groups of people are killed on the basis of their religion, race, ethnicity, or nationality. This book suggest that modernity and the tremendous social differentiation that is a part of our modern world may, in part, be to blame. The authors examine textbook 20^th century horrors: from the massacre of the Armenians, to the planned famine in the Ukraine, to the Holocaust, and links of modern warfare to genocide. By studying cases of genocide, the authors hope to inform and connect to all other efforts to understand and to prevent the mass destruction …

Assimilation And Acculturation In The Middle Eastern Community Of Jacksonville, Florida, Gladys David Howell

Correspondence and Textual Material

No abstract provided.