Social Psychology Commons^™

The Emergence Of Violent Extremism: Threats To Social Identity And Psychological Motivations Underlying Identity-Defining Extreme Aggression, Austin Leigh Shockley

CGU Theses & Dissertations

Building on the framework of social identity (Tajfel & Turner, 1979, 1986) and uncertainty-identity (Hogg, 2007, 2012, 2021a, 2025) theories, the following research analyzed threats to social identity and psychological motivations underlying identity-defining extreme aggression. The two main motivations associated with social identification a) self-esteem via collective enhancement and b) epistemic knowledge via uncertainty-reduction are first reviewed and subsequently incorporated into the proposed empirical design. The role of identity-uncertainty (i.e. Study 1) and superordinate identity-uncertainty (i.e. Study 2) in social identity-defining processes toward extreme aggression were also examined (Hogg & Wagoner, 2016; Wagoner & Hogg, 2016; Hogg & Rast, 2022; …

Pathways To (Prevent) Radicalization: How Uncertainty And Identity Complexity Shape Vulnerability, Michelle Blaya Burgo

CGU Theses & Dissertations

Violent radicalization and politically motivated violence are pressing concerns that threaten global peace, security, and social cohesion. Violence is costly, in both lives and resources, and reactive measures have failed to decrease its occurrence. In a world marked by uncertainty where some degree of conflict is unavoidable, the focus should be on preventing violence. Previous research had demonstrated that various group- and individual-level factors can lead people to radicalize; this work extends that research by introducing social identity complexity (Roccas & Brewer, 2002) as a potential buffer against radical pathways. The current research proposed that complex identity structures – defined …

American Spirits: The Impact Of Social Setting On Voter Turnout, Annika Lindberg

Scripps Senior Theses

Low voter turnout has characterized American elections for the past century, raising ongoing concerns about democratic representation. Although scholars agree that low turnout is problematic, they differ on which factors most strongly influence participation. This thesis examined whether creating a celebratory, patriotic Election Day environment modeled after Fourth of July festivities increased voter engagement.

Using two complementary methods, the research evaluated the effects of celebratory Election Day settings on voting behavior. Study 1 used a partial field case study, comparing turnout after Election Day parties held for three student organizations at a small California liberal arts college with turnout from …

Protecting Those Who Protect Us: A Blueprint For Mandatory Mental Wellness Standards For First Responders, Joy Hutchinson

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

First responders, including firefighters, law enforcement officers, emergency medical technicians (EMTs), dispatchers/telecommunicators, and corrections officers, serve as the backbone of public safety in the United States. Their work requires rapid decision-making, repeated exposure to traumatic events, and sustained emotional regulation in high-stakes environments (Hoell et al., 2023; Vig et al., 2020). Despite their critical roles, mental health support across these professions remains inconsistent, optional, and largely reactive rather than preventative, with many systems relying on self-referral only after crisis onset (Burke, 2021; Johnston et al., 2025).

Between 2021 and 2025, U.S.-based research has documented alarming levels of burnout, depression, anxiety, …

Don’T Give The Fae Your Name: Focus Of Attention And Victim Blaming, Entropy Cramer

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

Victim-blaming is thought to be a result of the fundamental attributional error, where people over-emphasize internal attributions about the victim. Despite this, there is little literature on manipulating the focus of attention and the result for victim-blaming. People who are high in rape myth acceptance tend to visually focus on the victims longer (Süssenbach et al., 2015). Rempala and Bernieri (2005) found that adding irrelevant information, such as height and weight, to the trial about the victim increased victim-blaming compared to when it was absent. The current study investigated if relevant information about the victim and perpetrator changed the amount …

"It's Dangerous To Go Alone": Examining Npcs As Influential Social Agents In An Original Single-Player Rpg, Chloe Bella Whitfield

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

Parasocial Interactions (PSI) and Parasocial Relationships (PSR) may have the capacity to act as an extension of and supplement for healthy social interaction (Elvery, 2021). In some instances, PSI and PSR may even be used as a means to improve unfulfilled social needs and decrease feelings of loneliness (Jarzyna, 2021). It has been noted that digital media such as video games may produce parasocial encounters that are particularly unique, as they often simulate realistic, back-and-forth social interactions between users and a virtual agent (Elvery, 2022; Hartmann, 2008). The present study observed PSR formation between players and a non-player character (NPC) …

Exploring Biopsychosocial Influences On Hookup Culture And Disrupting Compulsory Behaviors In Emerging Adults: A Multidisciplinary Analysis Of A Contemporary Public Health Concern, Catherine Benjamin

Honors Theses and Capstones

Multidisciplinary analysis, including biology, psychology, and sociology, to better understand the compulsory Hookup Culture that exists as a contemporary public health concern among the age group defined as emerging adults. Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) diagnoses are steadily rising in the United States and disproportionately affecting college students. Early socialization and current educational resources that contribute to shame and stigma are discussed to explain how lifestyle and social conditions can act as risk factors for individual health outcomes.

Hey, Siri: How Companionate Ai Usage Affects Social Satisfaction And Personal Intelligence, Ryan E. Moran, Marley Ireland

Honors Theses and Capstones

Artificial intelligence is a field that is growing and changing faster than humanity can keep up. While part of the population is benefiting from its unmatched diagnostic power, increased productivity in school and in work, and even its surgical and therapeutic contributions, others are filing lawsuits based on claims that an AI chatbot was a key factor in the mental health crisis of someone they loved. Research has found that reliance on these AI-generated conversational agents can lead to social withdrawal, unrealistic relationship expectations, addictive tendencies, and, in the worst cases, increased or encouraged suicidal ideations, especially in vulnerable populations. …

Social Media, Masculine Body Ideals, And The Drive For Muscularity: A Serial Mediation Model Across Sexual Identities, Sean P. Mcdaniel

Theses and Dissertations

Body image concerns among men are increasingly prevalent yet remain understudied compared to women’s experiences. Drawing on objectification theory, the present study examines the relationship between social media influence and men’s drive for muscularity through a serial mediation model. Specifically, the present study investigates whether the internalization of masculine body ideals and engagement in body surveillance behaviors mediate the link between social media influence and the drive for muscularity. Furthermore, the present study model attempts to explore how these processes differ across sexual identities, given evidence that sexual minority men face distinct sociocultural pressures regarding appearance. Adult male-identifying social media …

The Influence Of Social Connectedness And Adverse Childhood Experiences: Understanding Motivation To Change In Early Substance Use Disorder Recovery, Adam M. Daniel

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Substance use disorder is a significant issue facing society today. As the rate of individuals with substance use disorders continues to rise, so too does the need of the counseling profession to explore further the ways to best support this population. The purpose of this study was to explore two specific variables for their impact on motivation to change for individuals in early recovery: social connectedness and adverse childhood experiences. Grounded in the Process-Person-Context-Time model, this study focused on the ways in which an individual’s motivation to change in early sobriety relates to their sense of connectedness to their family …

The Effects Of Strong Parental Support And Societal Support Compared To Low Or Absent Support In Lgbtqia+ Youth, Kassandra Bautista

Nursing | Senior Theses

Background: LGBTQIA+ youth with unsupportive backgrounds face negative outcomes in their mental health. Past studies share that LGBTQIA+ youth have increased symptoms of mental illness including depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts and behaviors related to unsupportive environments among parents, peers, and society. Objective: By advocating for this minority group through education and culturally competent care, healthcare providers can reduce negative outcomes in the mental and physical well-being of the youth. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to address the impact of parental and societal support in LGBTQIA+ mental health, and to implement interventions and increase awareness of this issue. …

Designed To Please: How Sycophantic Ai Voices Reinforce Gendered Expectations, Zoe O. Feuer

CMC Senior Theses

Scholars have raised concerns that the popularization of feminized, agreeable AI assistants normalizes associations between women and subservient behavior, potentially reinforcing broader gender stereotypes through repeated exposure. This study tested whether AI sycophancy and AI gender shape user perceptions of AI warmth, competence, affective trust, and cognitive trust, and whether interacting with a sycophantic female AI shifts explicit or implicit gender stereotype endorsement. Using a 2 (AI gender: male vs. female) × 2 (sycophancy: high vs. low) between-subjects design, 202 participants completed a simulated travel planning task with a voice-based AI agent. Despite successfully manipulating sycophancy, neither sycophancy nor AI …

System Disparities: Racial Criminalization And The Risk Of Coerced And False Confessions In Youth, Cynthia J. Najdowski

Psychology Faculty Scholarship

Black youth may be even more vulnerable than other youth to admitting to crimes they did not commit in the context of police interrogations. In support, analysis of data from the National Registry of Exonerations indicates that 65% of people who were wrongfully convicted on the basis of false confessions they gave when under 18 years old are Black, whereas only 14% of the U.S. population is Black. In this chapter, I seek to understand the overrepresentation of Black youth in samples of juvenile false confessors by examining the cultural stereotype about Black criminality in relation to both investigators and …

Five Tensions Of Artificial Intelligence Adoption For Organ Allocation: Applying The Technology–Organization–Environment Framework, Amaneh Babaee, Daniel Burton Shank, Casey I. Canfield, Joely Grace Hall, Krista L. Lentine, Henry Randall, Mark Schnitzler

Psychological Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

Background: The US organ transplantation system is pursuing modernization of the allocation process through the integration of new technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI). However, the legal and ethical issues within the transplantation industry are still of concern. Objective: We explore the opportunities and challenges for Organ Procurement Organizations (OPOs) to adopt AI. The US organ transplant system is a highly regulated industry yet open to innovation. Methods: Ten structured interviews were conducted with OPO representatives using the Extended Technology, Organization, Environment (TOE) framework. Results: Overall, we identified five core tensions in AI adoption: (1) misconceptions, (2) approach to training, …

Children's Peer Selection In Stem: The Influence Of Gender, Ethnicity, And Disability, Meagan Girard, Kim P. Roberts

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The present study examined how children’s peer selection in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) may be influenced by gender, ethnicity, and physical disability. Sixty-four children (ages 6-12) from elementary schools in Southwestern Ontario completed three tasks: a simulated peer selection task, an attribution of ability task, and a stereotype belief questionnaire. In the peer selection task, participants were repeatedly asked to select one peer from a set of AI-generated photographs showing children who differed by gender (male, female), ethnicity (White, Black, East Asian), and physical disability status (able-bodied user vs. nondisabled). The Peer Selection Task was based on the …

When Civilians Involve Themselves In Crime Control: Do Perceived Police Legitimacy And Trust In The Police Predict Support For Vigilantism And Citizen’S Arrests?, Charlotte T. Parque

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

Recent cases in which civilians involved themselves in the crime control process have garnered divided reactions, with some people supporting and others disapproving the civilians’ actions. Although existing research shows that perceptions of the police predict support of civilians involved in crime control, exact directions of the effects conflict. I address these conflicting findings by examining how people conceptualize police legitimacy and trust in the police, whether those conceptualizations align with scholarly definitions of legitimacy and trust, and explore if the two constructs differentially predict support of vigilantism. Additionally, I explore whether people approve of two types of civilian crime …

Picturing Your Goals: Examining Imagery Perspective And Self-Concordance In Goal Motivation, Cana J. Reuber

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Mental imagery is often used as a strategy to increase motivation and support goal pursuit, but it remains unclear when different forms of imagery are most effective. Prior work suggests that adopting a third-person imagery perspective may enhance goal striving by promoting more abstract, identity-relevant processing. In line with this work, we predicted that third-person imagery would be most beneficial for self-concordant goals. The present research tested this prediction across three studies. In Study 1 (N = 273), participants identified a personal goal, visualized themselves pursuing and attaining it from either a first- or third-person perspective, and reported their …

The Efflorescence Of Apocalypticism (Imminent & Prepping Beliefs): Considering Informational And Motivational Regulatory Mechanisms, James T. Good Mr.

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

In the last quarter of the 21st century, apocalyptic beliefs emerged in scholarly and lay representations notably doubling over the last decade. With nearly forty percent of United States citizen reporting this belief, unfulfilled questions arose: What drives discrepancies in beliefs of an imminent end of the world? Additionally, what drives beliefs in the need to prepare for an end of the world? These individual questions were examined together in this study using Construal Level Theory (CLT) and Regulatory Focus Theory (RFT) in an attempt to identify how psychological mechanisms are significantly affecting the fluctuations, in these self-reported beliefs. A …

Cultural Schemas Regarding Resilience And Strength In Blacks: Implications For Well-Being And Academic Success, Aniya G. Ashford

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Culturally shaped strength-based coping frameworks among Black college students, particularly the Strong Black Woman Schema and John Henry’s Active Coping, are associated with responses to racism-related stress and academic pressure, yet the ways these internalized expectations interact with emotional regulation, perceived cultural norms, and academic functioning remain unclear. Prior research has primarily examined these constructs in isolation or focused on psychological distress or physical health outcomes, often relying on single-method self-report designs that do not capture how culturally embedded coping processes are reflected in lived experiences; as a result, limited work has integrated identity-based schemas, behavioral coping strategies, and narrative …

Casual And Confused: Engagement In Non-Committal Sexual Relationships And Its Contributions To Depression And Self-Esteem Struggles Among Young Adults, Sofia A. Marasco

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Non-committal sexual relationships such as hook-ups, friends-with-benefits (FWB/FWBR), and situationships have become increasingly common among young adults and have generated substantial discourse on social media. Despite the rise in modern relationship dynamics and new terminology (i.e., “situationships”), these relationship categories have not been adequately represented in psychological research. The present study examines whether engagement in non-committal relationship types is associated with differences in self-esteem and depressive symptoms compared to committed romantic relationships. Using Bowlby’s Attachment Theory and the Big Five Personality Model, this research also explores whether common interpersonal patterns, attachment styles (anxious and avoidant), and personality traits predict relationship …