Social Psychology Commons^™

Testing An Educational Intervention To Improve Recognition And Understanding Of Emotional Manipulation In Romantic Relationships, Tiss Zaitz

Dissertations and Theses

Romantic relationships significantly impact happiness and well-being, yet rarely is it taught how to build them or recognize unhealthy relationship dynamics. This gap has profound implications, as Emotional Manipulation (EM) can have severe and lasting consequences. This study examined whether an educational intervention could improve participants' ability to recognize and understand EM in interpersonal relationships. Participants (N = 327) completed a pretest assessing recognition and comprehension of EM and were then given an answer sheet with detailed explanations to enhance understanding. A subset (n = 46) completed a posttest to measure changes in recognition and knowledge. Results showed significant improvement …

Musical Motivation: Investigating Musical Contingent Self-Worth And Its Interactions With Music Training And Perceived Musical Ability, Douglas Allan Kowalewski

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

This program of research centers on a novel measure of how much value one places on having and displaying their musical ability – musical contingent self-worth – and how that construct interacts with existing measures of music training and perceived musical ability to predict performance on both musical and general cognitive tasks. Two studies (Experiments 1 and 2) provide evidence for the validity and reliability of an MCSW scale and additionally show that it uniquely predicts both reactions to, and performance on, a musical skills task (Experiment 1). These initial studies also show that MCSW interacts with music training to …

The Cultural Mechanisms Of Mental Health Stigma In Asian Americans, Vaishnavi Suren

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Asian Americans show hesitation seeking professional mental health services, as well as stigmatized attitudes towards help-seeking for mental health treatment in general. While the link between this stigma and lack of help-seeking is clear in past studies, there is a gap in the literature in looking at how various cultural mechanisms important to traditional Asian cultures interact with one another to contribute to mental health stigma. The goal of the current study was to examine intergenerational conflict, saving face, and temporal orientation to predict mental health stigma among Asian Americans. Participants (N = 208) were all second-generation Asian American …

Investigating The Perceived Masculinity And Femininity Of Nonbinary Individuals, Dante D. Sasso Jr.

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

Nonbinary individuals identify outside of the typical gender binary of men and women. Existing research has not investigated how nonbinary people are perceived in terms of masculinity and femininity. We hypothesized that nonbinary individuals would be perceived as less masculine than men and less feminine than women, while also being perceived as overall more feminine than masculine. Participants viewed a researcher-generated social media profile. The primary experimental manipulation involved varying the pronouns listed in the profile biography, denoting a man (he/him), woman (she/her), or nonbinary person (they/them). Participants rated how masculine and feminine they perceived the target person to be, …

Pitch Identification In Musical Dyads That Vary In Harmonic Quality And Pitch Register, Edward E. Smith

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

Seror and Neill (2015) found that consonant dyads are processed more fluently than dissonant dyads. Their finding suggested that this advantage in fluency accounts for the generalized preference for these chords. Recently, Eerola and Lahdelma (2021) found that the pitch register of the chord also affects consonance judgements of musical chords. This may suggest that chords in higher registers are processed less fluently than chords in the middle register. The present study combines these two studies by investigating processing fluency for musical dyads that vary in harmonic quality and pitch register. Participants were tasked with identifying whether an initially presented …

The Future We Imagine Together: The Role Of Collaborative Imagination In Our Social, Emotional, And Creative Lives, Zoë Fowler

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

Humans are profoundly social: we play together, solve problems together, and work towards goals together. In doing so, we also imagine together. Yet cognitive research on imagination has largely remained focused on how an individual imagines the future, with little consideration of whether imagination could take place beyond the individual. This dissertation introduces a novel framework through which imagination is understood as a collaborative, interpersonally distributed process in which individuals co-create hypothetical events outside the present moment. Across six studies, this work investigates both the features of co-imagined events, and the potential functions co-imagination may have in social cognition. To …

A Look Into A Great Coach: Qualitative Study Of Post-Game Talks Of A Highly Successful Volleyball Collegiate Coach, Daniel Nobuo Llarenas

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

The primary purpose of this study was to explore the post-game talks of a highly successful collegiate coach. A total of 19 post game talks were audio recorded during the 2012 championship season of the University of California Irvine (UCI) Men’s Volleyball team. Coach John Speraw; an American Caucasian Division I Men’s Collegiate Volleyball coach and was the Head coach during the 2012 season. Post game talks were recorded with intentions of assessing content and transcribed verbatim with the average length of each talk was 7 minutes and 23 seconds (4:36 – 23:04 mins). Analyses of the transcripts revealed 2 …

Utilizing The Spatial Evaluation Of Language And Flexibility For Youth (Self-Y) In Clinical Case Conceptualization, Katelyn Frahm

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often experience challenges with restricted and repetitive behaviors, relating directly to challenges with psychological flexibility (Hyman et al., 2020; Hayes et al., 2006). Unfortunately, the history of applied behavior analysis has extended harmful implications of treatment that have focused on compliance training and punishment, often worsening psychological flexibility (Sandoval-Norton et al., 2019). Research is calling behavior analysis to combine flexible approaches, such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, with technologies exploring the intricacies of individual relational networks (Hayes et al., 1999; Hayes et al., 2022; Hayes & King, 2024). The present study introduced the …

From Trans Health To Vaccines: A Theoretically Driven Model Exploring Factors Related To Susceptibility To Medical Misinformation, Catherine Wall

Theses and Dissertations

Medical misinformation represents a significant threat to both individual and public health. While some consequences of this form of misinformation are relatively benign, there can be serious consequences ranging from a decreased trust in healthcare systems to an increased likelihood of epidemic outbreak and death. One such consequence can be seen in the recent legislative actions taken regarding access to transgender healthcare in the United States. Gender affirming care has been shown to benefit the mental well-being of transgender youth and adults; however, the demonstrably false information that underlies these legislative efforts can and has yielded significant harm. But what …

Witnessing Intellectual Humility: How A Peer’S Humble Introduction Affects Feedback Receptivity And Social Perception, Stephanie A. Barrientos

Theses and Dissertations

Might intellectual humility (IH) be contagious? Across two studies, we examined how individuals respond to constructive criticism depending on whether the feedback-giver demonstrated IH—defined as acknowledging one’s limitations and valuing learning. We focused on outcomes related to intellectual (or epistemic) openness in the context of writing, including self-focused state IH (acknowledging one’s own knowledge limitations), other-focused IH (valuing the insights of a peer expert), corrigibility (comfort with being corrected), feedback engagement, and attitudes toward future academic help-seeking in writing (AHS).

In Experiment 1, participants received feedback from a peer who conveyed IH through a brief self-descriptive statement. This subtle manipulation …

Yoga As A Self-Care Practice For Mental Health Counselors Who Treat Trauma, Kari Michelle Fitzgerald

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Given the high rates of burnout and compassion fatigue among trauma-exposed counselors, understanding effective self-care practices is critical for sustaining clinical effectiveness and well-being. Utilizing Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), exploration of the lived experiences of licensed mental health counselors who treat trauma and use yoga as a self-care practice was conducted. Eight participants who were regular yoga practitioners each participated in one semi-structured interview and submitted one pre- and one post-interview reflective journal entry. Thematic analysis was used to identify six major themes; 1) emotional impact and sacred responsibility of clinical work, 2) yoga as a regulating and restorative practice, …

A Multitude In The In-Between: The Impact Of Perceived Social Support On Resilience For Neurodivergent And Gsd Identities, Along With Barriers To Receiving Support, Theo Edwards

Masters Theses

This study used intersectionality theory to examine how overlapping minority identities impact receiving social support and the cultivation of resiliency. Individuals who identify as in the Gender and Sexually Diverse (GSD) community or the neurodivergent (ND) community may experience unique stressors due to various barriers to support. Overlap of GSD and ND identities can present added struggles. Information from 46 GSD and/or ND college students was collected through self-report scales and recorded interviews to examine the effects of perceived social support on resiliency. Also assessed were common values in social support like having someone to talk to and being understood, …

Barriers To Leisure-Time Physical Activity Among College Students, Ben Andrew Winfield

Masters Theses

Obesity is an increasing problem worldwide. In general, people eat more and exercise less, with a lot of individuals not meeting World Health Organization recommendation of 150-300 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity or 75-150 minutes of vigorous-intensity physical activity weekly. At times, individuals may face barriers which prevent or inhibit their ability to participate in leisure-time physical activity (LTPA), exercise completed in one’s free time. These barriers are known as leisure constraints and are comprised of three categories: intrapersonal, feelings and psychological aspects; interpersonal, relationship aspects; and structural, physical aspects. Body image, the perception individuals have about their bodies and …

Hurts So Good: An Exploration Of Benign Masochism And Other Motivations Toward Discomfort, Cody T. Gibson

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Benign masochism describes the tendency for individuals to seek discomfort for enjoyment andis frequently measured by the self-reported enjoyment of various experiences thought to involve mild levels of discomfort. Although research suggests individuals engage in uncomfortable experiences because they enjoy discomfort, research on benign masochism rarely considers other motivations individuals might have. Pilot testing (N = 81), exploratory factor analysis (N = 442), and confirmatory factor analysis (N = 363) were conducted using three rounds of data collection using U.S. participants on CloudResearch’s Connect platform, resulting in a 28-item scale for benign masochism. Six factors—benign masochism, identity, limitations, affiliation, growth, …

The Role Of Metaperceptions In Mindset Formation From Performance Feedback, Audra Paige Jensen

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation investigated the cognitions that recipients of feedback had about their evaluators, and how that impacted achievement choices. Specifically, it aimed to analyze the role that metaperceptions of developability played in the mindset formation process following feedback. Although mindsets form based on different ways feedback is framed, the exact method that leads from feedback to mindset formation is not clear. Prior research has pointed to a meta-lay theory as the mediating component that leads from feedback framing to mindset. However, how the perception of an evaluator’s mindset would lead to changes in a recipient’s own beliefs was still unclear. …

Emotional Balance, Health, And Resilience At The Start Of Covid-19 Pandemic, David Pincus, Bernard P. Ricca, Brooke Jenkins, Julia K. Boehm, Vincent Berardi, Amy C. Moors, David A. Frederick

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Self-organizing systems can shift between stability and flexibility in response to perturbation, a potential adaptive mechanism for understanding biopsychosocial resilience. Inverse Power-Law (IPL) structure, a frequency distribution that describes fractal patterns commonly produced by self-organization, produce measurements of stability and flexibility. This study applies these measures to emotional resilience at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. Ratings of frequency over the past week (1-5 Likert scale) across 12 emotions (six positive and six negative) gathered in mid-April 2020 as part of a survey of adults’ (N = 4,094) pandemic experiences and health in the USA. The distributions of everyone’s emotion …

Assessing The Relationship Between Perceived Psychological And Physical Pain In Adults With Orthopedic Pain, Daniel C. Karimi Dehkordi

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Suicide remains a public health concern in the U.S., particularly among individuals experiencing chronic pain and psychological distress. This cross-sectional study investigated the relationship between perceived physical and psychological pain in 41 adults with chronic orthopedic conditions. The relationship between other risk and protective factors and perceived levels of pain distress was also examined. Results showed a significant positive correlation between psychological distress and physical pain (r(39) = 0.388, p < .05) and psychological distress and depressive/anxiety symptoms (r (39) = 0.477, p < .01). Psychological distress was moderately associated with feelings of hopelessness (r (39) = 0.403, p < .01), however, the relationship between physical pain and hopelessness was weak and nonsignificant (r (39) = -0.06, p = .71). Contrary to expectations, emotional support did not buffer the effects of psychological distress (r (39) = 0.07, p = 0.66). Mediational analysis confirmed that emotional support did not influence the relationship between physical pain and psychological distress (Beta (β) = -0.969, p = 0.572; Sobel Z = 0.5598, p = 0.575). Age was not correlated with psychological distress (r (39) = -0.24, p = 0.13) or mental health symptoms (r (39) = -0.05, p = .77). While there was no significant difference across sex, males reported higher mental health symptomatology and psychological distress scores than female counterparts. These findings underscore the direct impact of physical pain on psychological distress and challenge assumptions about the protective role of social support. The study highlights the need for integrated, multidisciplinary interventions targeting both physical and psychological pain to mitigate suicide risk among individuals with chronic orthopedic conditions. Future research should iii explore alternative support mechanisms and resilience-building strategies to address the complex interplay of pain, distress, and suicidality.

"We Talk About It At The Dinner Table": Parent Discussions Of Identity And Politics In Diverse Adoptive Families In The United States, Abigail L. Moore

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

Parents discussing identity and politics with their diverse adolescents can be protective against experiences of political stress and negative outcomes (Anderson, 2023). Identity discrepancies between parents and adolescents may complicate these conversations (McCrimmon et al., 2024). However, this research often only focuses on only one identity (e.g., race or gender; Mendez, 2022). Because negative political climates affect multiple identities simultaneously (Kassing et al., 2021), the current study explores political conversations in diverse, adoptive family contexts with varying (un)shared identities. Through reflexive thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2021), 7 major themes were developed. Results suggest that identity discrepancies may underlie a …

Experiences And Perceptions Of Gaslighting In The Workplace, Lauren Flanagan

Dissertations

The topic of gaslighting has gained increasing traction over the last several years. People have begun researching it in real-world settings such as relationships, politics, and the workplace. Furthermore, researchers have looked at the effects it has on the victim. However, there has been limited research on how one might react to an instance of gaslighting. This study examines how the victim’s race and the perpetrator’s position of power influence third parties’ recommendations on how to handle a scenario of workplace gaslighting. Psychology 101 students (N = 154) were randomly assigned to a 2 (race of victim: white vs black) …

“Take Eight Bits And Call Me In The Morning” Video Games, Well-Being, And The Psychology Of Nostalgia, Nicholas Bowman

Media Studies - All Scholarship

For nearly 60 years, video games have arrested the attention of players, inviting us to interact and interface with on-screen content. More than just short-term entertainment experiences, video games are part of a broader cultural milieu—they are the most profitable media entertainment sector (global revenues nearly $400 billion USD in 2023) with more than 3.5 billion players globally (Clement, 2023). Similar to other entertainment media, some video game intellectual properties have transcended generations and, in many cases, grown beyond the medium itself: common cultural touchstones include Super Mario Bros. and Sonic the Hedgehog, along with seemingly endless subcultures of devoted …