Personality and Social Contexts Commons^™

Teacher Perception Of Principal Leadership Practices: Impacting Teachers' Sense Of Self-Efficacy In Rural Appalachia Kentucky, Brandon Lee Hibbard

Online Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if a significant relationship existed between principal leadership practices, as perceived by teachers, and teacher’s sense of self-efficacy. The target population was rural Appalachian teachers that worked for a principal that had been in administration for at least three consecutive years. This study utilized teacher responses from a survey consisting of the Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy Scale (TSES, Tschannen-Moran & Woolfolk-Hoy, 2001) and the Leadership Practice Inventory – observer (LPI, Kouzes & Posner, 2003).

Results from the survey categorized levels of self-efficacy for teachers based on the works of Tschannen-Moran and Woolfolk-Hoy …

Prudence And Persistence: Personality In Student Retention, Logan J. Michels

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Student retention is a concern for many higher education institutions and there are many techniques that can be used to increase student retention. Previous research has used student personality data to customize interventions aimed at increasing student success and retention. In this study, prudence levels of incoming students was assessed, and a customized email intervention was designed and administered to students with students having low prudence levels. A variety of outcome measures were used to assess the usefulness of the intervention, including GPA, academic and behavioral citations, and use of campus resources. Results indicate that prudence levels are positively related …

Understanding Mental Toughness And Stress: The Role Of Cortisol, Alexis K. Satterwhite Ms.

Honors Program Theses

Mental toughness research aims to understand how two people of the same skill level, experience, and background react to pressure and stress, with one succumbing to the pressure while another succeeds (Clough & Strycharczyk, 2012). This study used Clough, Earle, and Sewell’s (2002) four C’s of mental toughness (commitment, challenge, control, and confidence) as a theoretical framework. The current study aims to explore physiological aspects of mental toughness through cortisol, a stress hormone that is released as an internal reaction to some type of threat occurring externally to the body (Kottler & Chen, 2011). The relationships between mental toughness and …

Psyc 287: Psychology Of Personality—A Peer Review Of Teaching Project Benchmark Portfolio, Maital Neta

UNL Faculty Course Portfolios

In this portfolio, I am assessing student learning in a mid-level Psychology course, Psyc 287: Psychology of Personality. The course introduces students to the major theories of personality, and covers a wide array of topics intended to provide a broad overview of issues in the field. The course attracts a somewhat representative sample of UNL students, including non-majors, and therefore most are from Nebraska. The course is not a prerequisite to any other courses, but it could be a useful foundation course for students pursuing a career in psychology research, and it could also help people to consider issues related …

Daily Hassles Among College Students: The Role Of Spirituality On Risky Behaviors And Emotional Distress Indices, Kristen N. Campbell

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Stressful life events are correlated with a higher likelihood of engaging in maladaptive coping techniques (Boden et al., 2014; Kohn, Lafreniere, & Gurevich, 1990; Park, Armell, & Tennen, 2004). One type of maladaptive coping technique is engagement in risky behaviors (e.g., high-risk sports, risky sexual behaviors, illicit drug use; Fromme, Katz, & Rivet, 1997). College students are at an increased risk of engaging in these behaviors. Research demonstrates that stressful life events are also correlated with higher levels of depression and anxiety (Kohn, Lafreniere, & Gurevich, 1990). As college students are exposed to a more stressful environment, they are at …

Contemplating Mindfulness At Work: An Integrative Review, Darren J. Good, Christopher Lyddy, Theresa M. Glomb, Joyce E. Bono, Kirk W. Brown, Michelle K. Duffy, Ruth A. Baer, Judson A. Brewer, Sara W. Lazar

School of Business Faculty Publications

Mindfulness research activity is surging within organizational science. Emerging evidence across multiple fields suggests that mindfulness is fundamentally connected to many aspects of workplace functioning, but this knowledge base has not been systematically integrated to date. This review coalesces the burgeoning body of mindfulness scholarship into a framework to guide mainstream management research investigating a broad range of constructs. The framework identifies how mindfulness influences attention, with downstream effects on functional domains of cognition, emotion, behavior, and physiology. Ultimately, these domains impact key workplace outcomes, including performance, relationships, and well-being. Consideration of the evidence on mindfulness at work stimulates important …

Schadenfreude, The Dark Triad, And The Effect Of Music On Emotion, Robin Lane

Honors College Theses

Schadenfreude is a humorous response at the misfortune of others and has been suggested to be an empathic defense mechanism. Previous research indicates that individuals who tend to exhibit the Dark Triad personality traits narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism, experience higher levels of Schadenfreude. Additional studies suggest that music modulates neural activity associated with experiencing humor. In the present study we ask, do music and dark personality traits influence Schadenfreude? Participants viewed a series of brief, randomly intermixed physical misfortune and neutral videos (e.g., a person falling off a treadmill or running on a treadmill, respectively), with either an upbeat or …

Making Decisions Affecting Oneself Versus Others: The Mediating Effect Of Interpersonal Closeness And Dark Triad Traits, Jessica R. Carre

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The payment incentives of portfolio managers and investors are often asymmetrical such that actions that benefit the portfolio manager can harm the client and vice-versa. Despite the presence and potential harm of these asymmetries, relatively little research has investigated self and other decision making broadly. There has also been few attempts to address the effect of reward asymmetries. Additionally, despite the presence of reward asymmetries not every portfolio manager will make risky decisions for their clients, which suggests the presence of an individual difference characteristic. This study addresses these knowledge gaps by examining the effect of interpersonally manipulative personality traits …

Generation Rated X: Personality Traits, Sexual Attitudes, And The Effects Of Sexually Explicit Media On Attraction Among Men, H. Christopher Eckstein

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Previous research has indicated that exposure to pornography, or sexually explicit media (SEM), can lead married men to express a stronger desire for sexual intimacy (Staley & Prause, 2013). However, SEM exposure has also resulted in decreased physical attractiveness ratings among men evaluating their spouses (Kenrick, et al., 1989). Only a small amount of research has investigated the effects of SEM on attraction among unmarried males. The current study examined the effects of SEM in a sample of 108 heterosexual, undergraduate males. Participants evaluated pictures of 15 unknown women’s faces for physical attractiveness. They were then exposed to five minutes …

Cynicism And Narcissism: Masking The Good Life?, Joshua B. Bell

EWU Masters Thesis Collection

"Gratitude is a virtue capable of conferring a constellation of benefits. Research on gratitude has mostly focused on these benefits, but in understanding the construct fully an examination of moderating factors and inhibitors is important. A recent study, utilizing a prospective design, revealed cynicism and narcissism as significant inhibitors of trait and state gratitude over time (Solom, Watkins, McCurrach, & Scheibe, 2016). The current study hoped to build upon those results by examining whether these two possible inhibitors affect grateful processing after a gratitude induction. I hypothesized that higher levels of cynicism and narcissism would moderate the experience of grateful …

Secrecy In The Context Of Romantic Relationships, Kristyn Marie Jackson

Theses and Dissertations--Family Sciences

The studies included in this dissertation investigated the experiences of individual romantic partners as secret keepers and couples as collective secret keepers. Study 1 investigated the topics of secrets kept by individual romantic partners and public perception of secret keeping in the context of romantic relationships via qualitative content analysis. The analysis of secret topics resulted in the following themes: (1) secrets about the Redditors’ relationship, (2) secrets about the Redditor, and (3) a discussion of secrecy. The analysis of public perception resulted in the following themes: (1) normalization, (2) advice, (3) comfort, (4) personal reactions, and (5) a request …

Self-Expansion And Romantic Partner Request For Friendship Termination, Emily C. Wages

Scripps Senior Theses

According to self-expansion theory, there is an innate drive to gain new resources, identities, and perspectives, which causes people to seek and maintain interpersonal relationships. However, an individual’s relationship partners may come into conflict with each other. In the current research, 656 adults in established monogamous romantic relationships completed an online questionnaire about romantic partners asking them to give up a friendship. The researcher explored the prevalence of this friendship interference phenomenon and its relationship to sources of self-expansion. The amount of self-expansion provided by a friendship was manipulated through vignettes. Additional measures assessed the relationship between amount of self-expansion …

Contributing Factors To Attitudes And Beliefs About Diversity, Rachael M. Duda Ms.

Honors Theses and Capstones

Diversity is a major issue in the world today. This project studied the attitudes and beliefs about diversity in order to understand where they originate. It focused on family beliefs and educational experiences and whether they each play a role in one’s perspective of other races/ethnicities. The sample consisted of 100 University of New Hampshire undergraduate students recruited through Facebook as well as in-class presentations on campus. Students were asked to complete a survey online. Quantitative results revealed that neither family nor education, as measured with forced-choice questions, were predictive of acceptance of other races. Overall, students reported themselves and …

The Relationship Between “Feeling Fat” And Weight-Gain Feedback In A Non-Eating-Disordered Female Sample: Clinical Perfectionism As A Related Variable, Jenna Dilossi

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

This study investigated the relationship between feeling fat and weight-gain feedback in a sample of 111 non-eating-disordered women between the ages of 18 to 45 years. Specifically, this study examined feeling fat with regard to feedback type (i.e., weight reading or clothing size) and social context (i.e., alone or with peers present). Additionally, perfectionism was examined as a related variable within this relationship. Hypotheses related to social context and perfectionism were supported, whereas hypotheses related to feedback type were not supported. Results indicated a significant main effect for social context on feeling fat scores and an insignificant interaction effect for …

The Effects Of A Trauma-Informed Care Training Program On Mental Health Professionals Knowledge, Skills, And Attitudes With The Smi, Angelina Pelletier

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Trauma has been found to be highly prevalent among individuals diagnosed with SMIs. Mental health professionals have been reported to misdiagnose or avoid addressing trauma in this population. There is a need to provide information about trauma and to foster awareness among mental health professionals who are treating individuals diagnosed with SMIs. With a TIC approach, operating from a recovery-oriented philosophy, there have been interventions created to address trauma and SMIs with the aim of developing awareness about trauma and the impact it may have on someone’s life. With these factors in mind, mental health professionals should be competent in …

Love In The Golden Years: A Narrative Examination Of Romantic Relationships In Older Adulthood As Compared To Young Adulthood, Ariana Turner

Scripps Senior Theses

Life-stories offer an approach to understanding personality processes within a larger, developmental context. This study examines the role that one area of a person’s larger context (namely romantic relationships) plays in that person’s life-story. Specifically, the study examines whether this role changes over the lifespan. Nineteen students from a consortium of colleges in southern California, and an equal number of older adults living in a nearby retirement community, were interviewed about their romantic relationship history. The interview was semi-structured and asked participants about past and current relationships, and their most meaningful relationship overall. The interviews were coded for the themes …

The Relationship Between Emotion Regulation, Social Support, And Alcohol-Related Problems Among Racially Diverse Adolescents., Briana A. Woods-Jaeger, Richard H. Nobles, Linnea Warren, Mary E. Larimer

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

No abstract provided.

Effects Of Priming The Concept Of Luck On Task Persistence, Koryn R. Haight

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

Does feeling lucky influence the way we perform? Do we try harder and persist at tasks if we think luck is involved, or are we more prone to give up? To help answer these questions, this research examines the effect of priming the concept of luck on persistence. In particular, some participants completed a word descramble task designed to prime luck; others completed a neutral word descramble task. All participants then completed a set of reasoning puzzles, one of which they were told was ‘difficult’ but in reality was unsolvable. Persistence was measured by (a) the amount of time participants …

The Relationship Between Servant Leader Coach Behaviors And Achievement Goals In Collegiate Tennis Players: The Mediating Effect Of Motivational Climate, Leah Broker-Newell Parton

EWU Masters Thesis Collection

No abstract provided.

The Relationship Of Intelligence And Psychopathic Traits To Premeditated And Impulsive Aggression, Elizabeth Witt

EWU Masters Thesis Collection

Psychopathy encompasses two distinct factors, Factor 1 and Factor 2 (Hare, 1991, 2003). Factor 1, is characterized by affective-interpersonal traits of psychopathy (Benning, Patrick, Hicks, Blonigen, & Krueger, 2003 ; Hare 1991, 2003) while Factor 2, is characterized by impulsive antisocial behavior (Benning et al., 2003; Hare 1991, 2003). Research abundantly shows that males tend to score higher on personality traits associated with Factor 2 (Hare, 1991), but there are inconsistencies in the literature regarding females relationship to the psychopathy subtypes. Research shows that there is a significant negative correlation between psychopathy scores and intelligence (O'Kane, Fawcett, & Blackburn, 1996). …