Social Psychology Commons^™

Which Toys Are Right For Boys? How Threat And Confirmation Of The Gender Hierarchy Impact Purchase Intentions For Stereotypical And Counter Stereotypical Products, Connor Samuelson

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Social movements with potential to change the traditional gender hierarchy may be met with approval or disapproval, depending upon levels of status-legitimizing beliefs (SLBs). Under conditions of gender hierarchy change, one mechanism in which people may choose to fight or support such change is through their purchase of gender stereotypical or counter-stereotypical products. Community members completed a measure of System Legitimizing Beliefs (Levin et al., 1998) and then read one of two news articles about women in the workplace that suggested trends that either threatened or did not threaten the current gender hierarchy. Participants then imagined needing to purchase a …

The Immigrant In Our Head: Skin Tone, Social Categorization, And Support For Policy, Patrizia Chirco

All Master's Theses

Researchers in diverse fields such as psychology, sociology, anthropology, and geography have extensively researched push and pull factors that lead to migrations (Castles et al., 2014) as well as the political and economic consequences that migrations have on both sending and receiving countries (Golash-Boza, 2015). However, relatively little research is published on whether markers of racial categorization affect the social classification of immigrants, their legal status, and the relationship between support for immigration policies and specific patterns of categorization. In the current research, I investigated whether social categorizations of individuals as undocumented immigrants depend on phenotypes (i.e., skin tone), and …

Information Prioritization: A Comparison Between Utility Maximizers And Probability Matchers, Yusuf Ismaeel

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis examines the differences between probability matchers and utility maximizers in their preferences for information sources in a lab environment. In this paper, we consider the best source of information to be the most connected one. We conducted several linear probability model type regressions along with logit regressions. Furthermore, we also attempted to control and fix any potential misclassifications in classifying the cognitive strategy by using instrumental variables. The results show that utility maximizers will almost always choose the most informed node. Probability matchers, on the other hand, do not exhibit such a behavior as the probability matching strategy …

The Impact Of Perfectionism On Mental, Social, And Physical Health Of Graduate Students In The Health Sciences, Kelly B. Filipkowski, Alicia H. Nordstrom, Triet Pham, Michael Floren, Scott L. Massey

Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice

Purpose: Perfectionism is considered a multidimensional construct with adaptive and maladaptive features. It was hypothesized that the diverse perfectionism components would predict well-being outcomes of similar valence. Method: The current study investigated perfectionism and mental, social, and physical health outcomes of graduate students in health science disciplines, across two semesters. We utilized two approaches in our empirical analysis. We first examined the continuous relationships between perfectionistic strivings, perfectionistic concerns, and health-related outcomes of graduate students. Additionally, we assessed differences between three perfectionism groups (i.e., adaptive, maladaptive, or non-perfectionist) on these well-being outcomes. Results: Results indicated that generally, adaptive perfectionism was …

Harming The Help-Seeking: Necessity For Assessing Harmful And Biased Attitudes Toward Clients With Substance Use Disorder, Crystal D. Mcdowell, Crystal Dawn Mcdowell

Psychology Doctoral Specialization Projects

Numerous times, as a new clinician, I have witnessed the substance use disorder population referred to as not being dependable, dangerous, burnt out, and even hopeless. Often times I have heard mental health professionals make statements amongst themselves that the client could not be helped, referred to them as a “frequent flyer,” (meant to convey they frequently present for treatment, relapse, and return for treatment), and complain how tax dollars are being wasted to support the client. I felt empathy and a sense of hopelessness for these clients as they were seeking treatment in order to get help and yet …

Cultural Differences Among Psychologists In Pursuit Of Self-Care, Lisa Paliotta

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Psychologists experience a myriad of professional stressors and barriers to self-care that can affect their well-being and ability to offer effective care to patients. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between demographic variables, professional stressors, barriers to treatment and help-seeking behaviors among psychologists. Using a revised Bearse survey and the professional quality of life measurement, data were collected and analyzed using analysis of variance and hierarchical multiple regression. The 235 respondents comprised 74% women, 62.3% European American, and 56.2% reported having a PhD in psychology. Findings indicated significant differences between non-European American and European American ethnic …

Disney Princess Films And Their Effects On Gender And Body Image Through The Social Learning Theory, Jessica Yakubovsky

Capstone Showcase

Many of us grew up watching Disney Films and throughout the last decade and prior, the Walt Disney Company has created a variety of characters whom we grew up alongside. As we watched these films we found ourselves within the characters and learned things through them. This thesis paper aims to analyze Disney Princess Films and their profound effects on Gender and Body image through the theoretical perspective of the Social Learning theory. I will analyze Classic Disney princesses such as Snow White and Cinderella, and modern princesses such as Mulan(1998) and Merida (2011). My critical analysis indicates that Disney …

Antecedents To Self-Perceived White Privilege And Organizational Citizenship Behaviors, Anthony Micale

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

White privilege in organizational settings often gives White employees an undeserved edge over employees of color. The current study functioned to determine the precursors to self-awareness of one’s White privilege, specifically focusing on participants’ multicultural experiences as well as personal and parental education levels. Increased self-awareness of White privilege was also suspected to increase the frequency of engagement in organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs). Finally, White privilege attitudes were hypothesized to mediate the relationship between multicultural experience and OCBs. White participants (N = 98) were asked to complete an online questionnaire designed to assess multicultural experience, self-perceptions of White privilege, and …

Social Influences And Social Desirability On Recollections Of Childhood Bullying, Jaynee L. Bohart

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Parents and peers play important roles in shaping attitudes toward a variety of matters during adolescence. However, little research has investigated parental and peer influence on developing attitudes toward bullying. Further, few studies have looked at whether socially desirable responding (SDR) impacts self-reports in bullying research. To address these gaps in literature, the current study recruited college students from a mid-sized public university in the Rocky Mountain region of the United States to complete a survey. The survey assessed the participants’ past attitudes toward bullying, perceptions of their parents’ and peers’ influence on their attitudes, and bullying participant roles during …

Ascertaining The Relationship Between Traditional Masculinity Ideology And Personal Growth Initiative In College Students, Christopher J. Ha

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The emerging psychological field of men and masculinities is credited with the development and validation of an array of instruments to assess masculinity-related constructs, with many emanating from the gender role strain paradigm (GRSP; Levant & Powell, 2017; Levant & Richmond, 2007, 2016; Pleck, 1981, 1995). However, there is little research that employs a positive psychology framework while considering the potential positive aspects of masculinity. The majority of literature utilizing these measures focus on the pathological effects of masculinity. The goal of this study was to explore the relationship between traditional masculinity ideology (TMI) and personal growth initiative (PGI) in …

Your Presence Threatens Me! Experimental Examination Of Intergroup Threat Theory To Assess Prejudice Towards Muslims, Sukhmani Pal

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Prejudice towards Muslims has been longstanding and is on the rise in the World. To address this prejudice, it is important to understand the associated underlying mechanism. Intergroup Threat Theory (ITT) suggests that prejudice is motivated by the perceived symbolic and/or realistic threat a group represents. To date, the relationship between threat and prejudice towards Muslims has primarily been examined correlationally rather than experimentally. This project experimentally examines ITT to understand the role of threat in prejudice towards Muslims. Across three studies, I examine how manipulating the salience of threat leads to prejudice, support for harsh policies, and violence towards …

Psychosocial Preoperative Preparation In A Non-Children's Hospital Without Child Life Supports, Haley M. Fricke

EWU Masters Thesis Collection

On average, 6 million children undergo general anesthesia for surgery annually in the United States (Shah et al., 2021).Anesthesia can be one of the most stress provoking experiences, with 40% to 60% of children displaying emotional and behavior stress before surgery (Boles, 2016). Psychosocial preoperative preparation in pediatrics has been seen to lower children’s stress levels, enhance understanding, increase compliance, decrease length of time in recovery, and decrease analgesic use (Aranha et al., 2017; Al-Yateem et al., 2016; Dolidze et al., 2013; Tunney & Boore 2013; Wenstrom et al., 2011). The purpose of this exploratory case study was to better …

Constructively Deviant: Examining The Positive Employee Consequences Of Pro-Social Rule Breaking, Su Kyung (Irene) Kim

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Conceptualized as a form of constructive deviance, pro-social rule breaking (PSRB) refers to employees’ intentional violation of a formal organizational policy, regulation, or prohibition with the primary intention of promoting the welfare of organization or one of its stakeholders. The extant research primarily focused on the antecedents of PSRB, and research on the consequences of the behavior is limited. In my dissertation, I adopt a combination of correlational and experimental designs to examine various employee outcomes of PSRB, including employee well-being and behavioral outcomes, as well as evaluative outcomes rated by others. The first manuscript focuses on rule breaking for …

Who Is The Stranger Really? A Reluctant Autoethnography Of The Strange Situation Procedure, Tara Yazdani

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This paper aims to review the cross-cultural application of attachment theory as a western model of thought and practice. That is, this research aimed to recognize and question how embedded attachment theory has become in programming and education within North American academic and practical arenas. In applying the Strange Situation Procedure (SSP) to a limited sample of Eritrean dyads, important considerations and questions arose regarding the cross-cultural application of this protocol. The aims of this research shifted toward further exploring these considerations and questions, due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, the new research aim emphasized how to inform future …

How Did We Learn About Sex? —— Sex Education And Sexual Health In Chinese Youth, Yujuan Liu

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Attitudes toward sexuality among Chinese youth have become more liberal in recent generations, but sex education remains controversial and limited. Due to the lack of awareness of sexual risks, many Chinese youth engage in unprotected sexual activities resulting in unintended pregnancy, abortions, and STIs. Therefore, understanding successful pathways and unique challenges are crucial to develop adequate sex education for youth’s sexual health in China. The current study used semi-structured in-depth interviews and investigated 28 Chinese youths’ experiences of sex education and sexual health. The results mapped out youth’s sex education experiences by age and sources and demonstrated the impacts of …

Reducing Anticipatory Anxiety: Does Values-Affirmation Increase Self-Compassion?, Elena Harwood

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Mindfulness- and acceptance-based interventions for social anxiety incorporate techniques such as self-compassion and values articulations. Self-compassion has been shown to reduce anticipatory anxiety in students with high social anxiety but the impact of values-affirmation has not yet been explored. Additionally, past research suggests that values-affirmation may foster self-compassion. Three studies were conducted to explore whether values-affirmation, too, reduces anticipatory anxiety (related to an upcoming speech task) and to evaluate whether self-compassion is a mechanism of change. In study one, participants (N = 93) were randomly assigned to a self-compassion manipulation, a values-affirmation condition, or a control condition. After controlling …

How Do You Talk To Yourself? – The Effects Of Pronoun Usage And Interpersonal Qualities Of Self-Talk, Sonya M. Bisol

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Abstract

Self-talk is defined as an inner voice that addresses the self, usually silently but sometimes aloud, with content that is self-relevant. In two studies, this work investigates the pronouns people use within their self-talk, classified by a newly developed pronoun coding scheme, and the interpersonal qualities of self-talk, characterized by an interpersonal framework. For each study we also explore how pronoun usage and interpersonal self-talk styles relate to each other, and to other important variables that pertain to the possible causes and effects of self-talk. In our first study, 131 participants completed a structured interview in which they provided …

Is It Just A Dream? How Attributions For Successful And Unsuccessful Social Mobility Attempts Maintain The Myth Of The American Dream, Erin Shanahan

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Despite rising inequality making upward social mobility difficult, faith in the American Dream persists. Why is this the case? In six studies (five pre-registered), we demonstrate that in scenarios where hard work and ability are held constant, people praise the hard work and talent of individuals who successfully move up the social ladder while derogating these same characteristics among individuals who do not; a pattern of attributions which is likely to reinforce the American Dream. Further, conservatives explain mobility failure particularly in terms of personal shortcomings whereas liberals look to systemic disadvantages, attributions that in turn predicted lowered and heightened …

A Low Self-Esteem Perspective On Support Provision, Alexandra Hirniak

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Social support is an essential part of personal and relationship well-being. However, not all relationship partners may be equally willing to provide social support to close others. Due to their tendencies toward pessimism (Baumeister et al., 2003) and self-protective biases (Murray et al., 2003, 2008) individuals with lower (vs. higher) self-esteem may have biased perceptions about their own efficacy when it comes to providing support, as well as the consequences and benefits of support provision. These biased beliefs could mediate the relationship between provider self-esteem and support provision. In the present research, I examine how self-esteem affects social support provision. …

The Perceived Deservingness Of Narcissistic Individuals, Danielle Lynch

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Previous research has explored how narcissism relates to empathy and deservingness. It has been suggested that not only do narcissistic individuals lack empathy for others, but also that others lack empathy for narcissists when they experience misfortunes. It is not clear if this is because the narcissists’ own behaviour is believed to have contributed to the misfortune or because of their over-arching personality. The present research aimed to explore how narcissism affects empathy and perceptions of deservingness. Study 1 (N=962) investigated whether the target person’s amount of control over the negative outcome influenced how deserving they were perceived …