Social Psychology Commons^™

Gender Inequality In The Law: Deficiencies Of Battered Woman Syndrome And A New Solution To Closing The Gender Gap In Self-Defense Law, Meredith C. Doyle

CMC Senior Theses

Dr. Lenore Walker developed battered woman syndrome to address the issue of domestic violence and to give battered women a defense in situations in which they kill their abusive partners when they are not overtly threatening them. Self-defense law is based on male on male combat. Women are less able to protect themselves in an attack by a man, and so they may preemptively attack their sleeping partners to avoid a situation in which they cannot adequately protect themselves. Battered woman syndrome explains why these battered women act in a way that is irrational to a non-battered person. Walker's theory …

Appreciating Bilingualism: The First Step To Reducing Racism In The United States, Jenna Suttmeier

CMC Senior Theses

The goal of this paper is to explore the origins of modern-day racism and to discuss ways to reduce discrimination in the United States. Research on bilingualism and bilingual education indicates that bilingualism can be one method that helps reduce racism and increase cultural acceptance. For example, bilingual education can help establish multicultural identities in school children by providing better educational opportunities for English learners, teaching a new language and culture to native-English speakers, and integrating diverse cultures in classroom settings. Therefore, bilingual education can be a powerful tool in facilitating cultural awareness and reducing racial tensions in the U.S.

A Theory Of Mental Credit, Jason Soll

CMC Senior Theses

Many philosophical subjects attempt to analyze the basis of human welfare. Theories of desert, distribution of property, and happiness tend to dominate philosophical discourse. Mental credit, which is the mental acquisition of credit for one’s accomplishments and the satisfaction one derives from this credit, is absent from this discourse despite its underlying role in the way people think about their lives. Mental credit is an eternal cognitive good that deserves thoughtful attention and pious decisions for implementation. The following theory of mental credit seeks to serve as a unifying theory for the mental calculations that guide life’s most imperative decisions, …

Performance Under Pressure: The Effect Of Explanatory Style On Sensory-Motor Performance Under Stereotype Threat, William R. Macphail

CMC Senior Theses

Do participants with external attribution styles outperform participants with internal explanatory styles in pressure-filled situations? Explicit-monitoring theory suggests that performance becomes impaired when conscious attention is devoted to performing a task normally carried out by automatic processes. Attributing potential failure to an external source (e.g., blaming a sudden gust of wind for a poor golf shot) can decrease the negative effects of stereotype threat, a social-psychological predicament known to engender feelings of stress similar to those experienced in pressure-filled situations, by preventing explicit monitoring from taking place. The current study examined whether individual differences in attribution style, as measured by …

Confirming The Stereotype: How Stereotype Threat, Performance Feedback, And Academic Identification Affect Identity And Future Performance, Tessa L. Dover

CMC Senior Theses

This study investigates the post-performance effects of stereotype threat. Undergraduate students (N = 130) classified as either strongly- or weakly- identified with academics were told a diagnostic anagram task either typically shows poorer performance for their gender (stereotype threat) or no gender differences (no stereotype threat), and received arbitrary positive or negative feedback on an initial task. They later performed a second anagram task. Results indicate a 2-way interaction between stereotype threat and academic identification among those who received negative feedback. Negative feedback under stereotype threat did not harm performance for participants strongly-identified with academics, but did harm performance …

The Claremont Autism Center, Alex E. Mitchell Mr.

CMC Senior Theses

The Claremont Autism Center is a 23 minute documentary on the strengths and benefits the Center brings to Claremont McKenna students, as well as children and families from the Inland Empire that deal with Autism on a daily basis.

The Relationship Of Leadership Styles, Context, And Outcomes, Max A. Anawalt

CMC Senior Theses

New and experienced leaders sometimes underestimate the importance of the follower and context in their ability to be effective and successful in the long term.  During an organization crisis or in a conflict situation, a leaders’ verbal and nonverbal communication behaviors and an awareness of the contextual factors and followers’ feelings involved may contribute more to long-term effectiveness and success more generally than certain characteristics or type of leadership, even if that style is the prevalent model of leadership within the organization. In theory, every leader should benefit from a greater understanding of the evolving study and theory of leadership …

The Homeless Adolescent Population: Complexity, Protective Factors, And Prevention, Anastasia Jones

CMC Senior Theses

The growing number of people living below the poverty line has made homelessness a topic of interest, once again. This paper focuses on the homeless adolescent population that is often overlooked, and explores the complexity of the homeless situation, and how there is no definite solution to overcome homelessness. At-risk and homeless adolescents are affected by many negative factors that cause them to seek early independence, such as parenting style, finical instability, lack of an education, drugs and alcohol, physical and sexual abuse, all of which are discussed in this paper. Along with the negative factors, there are protective barriers …

Rhetorical Weapons: The Social And Psychological Influences Of Language And Labeling In Instances Of Genocide, Emma C. Jones

CMC Senior Theses

It is difficult to understand why genocide continues to occur, even when the international community pledges never to let it happen in the future. Techniques such as moral disengagement and dehumanization have consistently resulted in genocide. These techniques can be greatly amplified through the careful use of language and labeling. The purpose of this paper is to examine the roles that language and labeling play in genocide. Social and psychological influences that use language will be investigated through the examination of the Holocaust, the Cambodian genocide and the Rwandan genocide. These influences are many times unintentionally or unknowingly exercised and …

The Experiences Of Married International Graduate Students And Their Accompanying Non-Student Spouses In The Us Culture: A Qualitative Study, Adriana Yellig

Dissertations

Many studies document the experiences of single international students in the U.S. culture. However, little is known about the experiences of married international students, their marital relationships, and the experiences of their accompanying nonstudent spouses in the U.S. culture.

This qualitative phenomenological study focused on the experiences of married international graduate students and their accompanying spouses in the U.S. culture. Additionally, the study explored the impact of cultural influences on the participants' marital relationships, as well as the impact of marriage on their adjustment to the culture.

The study included twenty participants (ten couples) from a range of countries, most …

The Effects Of Implementing Restorative Justice In An In-School Suspension Program, Nikki Brown-Kersey

Dissertations

The purpose of the proposed study was to assess the effects of implementing an in-school suspension program with a Restorative Justice component on office referrals, suspensions and grade point averages. The combination of Restorative Justice and inschool suspension as an alternative to out-of-school suspension warrants empirical evaluation. According to recent research, neither Restorative Justice nor in-school suspension alone have enough empirical evidence to support their success and continued use in schools in isolation. The positive aspects of each combined may produce a more successful alternative to suspension. A group design procedure was used to assess if significant changes in the …

Evaluating The Impact Of Small-Group Discussion On Learning In Anorganizational Psychology Class Utilizing A Classroom Response System, Thorhallur Orn Flosason

Dissertations

A classroom response system is a technology that allows individual students to clickers favorably. The second study showed that clicker use during lecture was associated with higher exam scores, but that relationship can be interpreted in several different ways, some of which are not tied to active responding. The implications of these findings with respect to previous research are discussed. provide answers to questions posed by the instructor during lecture using hand held remotes (clickers) that transmit a signal to the instructor's computer via a receiver and computer software (Judson & Sawada, 2002). This instructional technology is widely used in …

Sense Of Coherence: The Relationship To Personal Growth And Distressafter A Breakup, Kristin R. Gillen

Dissertations

Romantic relationship issues are among the most common presenting concerns in university counseling center settings (Benton, Robertson, Tseng, Newton, & Benton, 2003; McCarthy, Lambert, & Brack, 1997). Specifically, romantic relationship breakups have received attention in the literature, as these particular losses tend to generate a myriad of emotions for college students. While numerous studies have explored distress reported after a breakup, few studies have focused on the personal growth individuals could potentially gain after experiencing a breakup (Tashiro & Frazier, 2003). The current study explores both the distress as well as personal growth individuals endorsed subsequent to a breakup.

Since …

Soviet Holocaust Survivors: An Ethnographic Study, Marina Shafran

Dissertations

The purpose of the current study was to help understand the lives, worldview, and meaning making of Soviet Holocaust survivors currently residing in the United States. Ethnographic interviews were conducted to explore survivor's childhood, family life, religion, political views, work, and social life. These areas were examined during the following time periods: pre-WWII, during WWII, and post-WWII.

From the collected and analyzed data I was able to offer an insight into the experiences of five Soviet Holocaust survivors under the Soviet regime. I described the struggles that the survivors experienced during the Holocaust, the losses they had suffered, and the …

Assessing The Effects Of A Rectangular Rapid-Flashing Beacon On Vehicle Speeds Along A Four-Lane Divided Highway, Michelle Van Wagner

Dissertations

In 2008, nearly 31% of vehicle fatalities were related to failure to adhere to safe vehicle speeds (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 2009). Two studies were conducted to evaluate the effects of a Rectangular Rapid-Flashing Beacon (RRFB) triggered by excessive speed on vehicle speed using a combined alternating treatments and reversal design. Experiment 1 assessed the RRFB's impact on speeds as compared to baseline conditions only. Experiment 2 compared the RRFB to two standard beacon configurations. Both experiments were conducted at the same site during approximately the same time period and both employed the same data collection methodology. The …

A Gay Savior: Reducing Anti-Gay Feelings With Gay Male Kindness Following Ostracism, Kenneth Michniewicz

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Social scientists have extensively examined ways of reducing negative feelings toward minority groups. However, no research has examined the ability for passive ostracism, the implicit exclusion of an individual by one's peers, to reduce such negative feelings despite evidence that such exclusion can yield similar positive benefits. The present study sought to address this deficit in the literature by exploring whether or not implicit ostracism by one's peers can cause a kind gesture by a stigmatized minority group member (gay men) to improve general perceptions of the associated group. A sample of 211 undergraduate students from the University of South …

An Examination Of The Primary And Secondary Effects Of Cyber-Bullying: Development And Testing Of A Cyber-Bullying Moderator/Mediator Model, Crystal Lin Johnson

Wayne State University Dissertations

This study examined cyber-bullying as a social transgression and the potentially negative effects it has on individuals, specifically adolescents and young adults from experiences recalled by college students. Findings established support for a moderator/mediator model, designed and tested for this study, that describes the psychological process prompted by a cyber-bullying message, which is moderated as well as mediated by several factors. This study examined the theoretical and practical value of the model in terms of being able to reflect the psychological process that individuals move through when exposed to a cyber-bullying message, and its ability to account for both primary …

Mental Health Services In Appalachia, Miranda Renee Waters

Online Theses and Dissertations

People from rural areas of the country, such as the Appalachian region of Kentucky, continue to struggle with inadequate mental health services. Past research has identified several barriers for mental health services in rural communities such as lack of mental health providers, lack of transportation, and lack of education. The purpose of this study was to examine the severity of a psychological problem and how it could influence Appalachian and non-Appalachians' preference for type of help. It was hypothesized that people from the Appalachian region would recommend seeing a mental health professional when a problem had reached its highest severity. …

A Qualitative Study Of The Lived Experiences Of Adults With African American And Korean Heritages, Elizabeth Sue Bradshaw

Dissertations

Scholarship on biracial persons has been primarily focused on those of African American and White heritages. The dominance of research on this one segment of the biracial population has in turn led to the myth of a universal biracial experience. There is a critical need to hear the voices and experiences of those who are members of two or more communities of color. While many researchers have recommended that more studies be done with biracial participants from two or more communities of color, few studies have been conducted. The purpose of this study was to explore exclusively the lived experiences …

Policy Appears Upon The Scene, Hand In Hand With Poverty: An Analysis Of The Moderating Effects Of Teacher Attitude On The Relationship Between Professional Development And Student Achievement., Kristen Beth Adler

Master's Theses

Massive deficits in local, state and national education budgets are forcing schools to adapt their spending to align with these reductions. Rather than merely increasing or decreasing resources, the effectiveness of resource allocation is demanding renewed attention at all levels of educational expenditure. The purpose of this study is to assess the effectiveness of teacher professional development across five campuses at Chicago International Charter School. It is the goal of this project to examine how teacher professional development directly impacts student performance, as well as to evaluate whether this relationship is moderated by teacher attitude towards professional development activities. It …