Social Psychology Commons^™

Confronting Sexism On Tiktok: Is Sarcastic Humor Effective?, Rebecca A. Upton

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Confronting sexism is important but can be difficult because of the social backlash that is associated with it. However, many individuals have begun to call out sexism online. For example, the social media platform TikTok is an increasingly popular space for women to confront misogyny. In one current trend, creators target individuals who create sexist content by using sarcasm to humorously mock their original video. In this study, I examined the effectiveness of this trend in persuading observers and how the use of sarcastic and mocking humor influences perceptions of a woman confronting sexism. 492 participants were randomly assigned to …

The Effects Of Perfume On Work Performance, Tian Soon Choo, Hiral Bharatbhai Variya

Introduction to Research Methods RSCH 202

This study investigates how fragrance could affect staff efficiency at work in the service industry, particularly insurance agents. Scent is recognised to affect human behavior and perception; nevertheless, the majority of study to date has overlooked scent's possible impact on job performance in favor of focusing on its relationship to confidence and beauty. We will explore whether wearing perfume improves work performance through a panel study with 100 insurance agents. Performance is gauged by the number of policies sold and the amount of premium generated. Our study proposes to investigate the potential significant impact of perfume, both positive and negative, …

On-Site Sensory Experience Boosts Acceptance Of Cultivated Chicken, Mark Chong, Angela K. Y. Leung, Tricia Marjorie Fernandez

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

This study set out to assess if presenting cultivated chicken in the context of a familiar meal, in a familiar dining setting, would motivate repeat consumption and recommendation. A survey of 107 diners was conducted at Huber's Butchery and Bistro in Singapore – the world's first butchery to serve cultivated meat – from April to June 2023. The findings showed that eating cultivated chicken significantly boosted post-consumption acceptance levels. In addition, cultivated chicken's tastiness may be a more important factor than its integration into a familiar meal or dish in fostering repeat consumption. Implications for the cultivated meat industry, limitations, …

Subjective Socioeconomic Status Moderates How Resting Heart Rate Variability Predicts Pain Response, Jacinth Jia Xin Tan, Chin Hong Tan, Michael W. Kraus

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Higher resting heart rate variability (HRV)—an index of more flexible response to environmental stressors, including noxious stimuli—has been linked to reduced perception of experimentally induced pain. However, as stress responses are adapted to one’s chronic environments, we propose that chronic exposure to threats captured by one’s subjective socioeconomic status (SSS) may shape different adaptations that produce distinct pain responses linked to higher resting HRV. Specifically, lower SSS individuals with more threat exposures may prioritize threat detection by upregulating sensitivity to stressors, such as acute pain. Therefore, higher HRV would predict greater perceived acute pain among lower SSS individuals. In contrast, …

At The Intersection Of Domestic Violence And Mass Shootings: A Qualitative Analysis Of The Relationship Between Ipv And Gun Violence, Troy Bleau

University Honors Theses

The intersectional study of domestic violence and mass shootings has only recently been the subject of inquiry within the psychology field. Within the past ten years research has been developed to examine the relationship between these two epidemics. What authors have found is that DV does play a role in shooting perpetration. This study aimed to identify domestic violence as a risk factor to predict, and subsequently intervene before future instances of shootings. 112 shootings were analyzed between the years of 2020 and 2023--they were then categorized as DV-related, non-DV related, and/or History of DV. The tested hypothesis was that …

A Dual-Angle Exploration Towards Understanding Lapses In Covid-19 Social Responsibility, Sean T. H. Lee, Jerome J. X. Mah, Angela K. Y. Leung

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Breaking infection chains requires not just behaviours that allow individuals to stay healthy and uninfected (i.e. health protective behaviours) but also for those who are possibly infected to protect others from their harboured infection risk (i.e. socially responsible behaviours). However, socially responsible behaviours entail costs without clear, immediate benefits to the individual, such that public health-risking lapses occur from time to time. In this important yet understudied area, the current exploratory study sought to identify possible psychological factors that may affect people's likelihood of engaging in socially responsible behaviours. Assuming that self-perceived infection should provide an impetus to engage in …

Bystander Intervention In The Workplace Sexual Harassment, Yunjung Lee

Student Theses

Despite increased global attention since the #MeToo movement of 2017, workplace sexual harassment remains a pervasive issue. This is because victims of workplace sexual harassment often react passively, meaning that approaches primarily reliant on victim reporting are less likely to succeed. Given this, bystander intervention has emerged as a promising way to prevent sexual harassment and protect victims. Adopting the previous theoretical framework (Bowes-Sperry & O’Leary‐Kelly, 2005), this study aimed to investigate the decision-making process of bystanders responding to workplace sexual harassment, and to identify the relative frequencies of intervention types and influencing factors. 170 participants from various occupations in …

Do Cognitive Resources Matter For Eudaimonia? The Role Of Inhibitory Control In Psychological Well-Being, Wei Xing Toh, Hwajin Yang

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Although past work has investigated the psychosocial and biological correlates of psychological well-being (PWB), little is known regarding the cognitive underpinnings of PWB. Given that prior research has predominantly relied on indices of general cognitive abilities and PWB, we examined the relations between Ryff’s (1989) six-factor model of PWB and inhibitory control (i.e. the ability to actively maintain pertinent goals by resisting interference from irrelevant information or prepotent responses). Using structural equation modelling (N = 170), based on three inhibition measures and six facets of PWB, we found that better inhibitory control was associated with greater personal growth, when cognitive, …

Corner Revolution: Beyond “Skynet”, Brightening Grey Space And Building Security, Caimin Shen

Masters Theses

The existence of surveillance areas restricts many bad behaviors, but why do we still feel vague anxiety and uneasiness when walking through street corners and promenades in a city protected by a network of cameras? As China has implemented grid management of cities through the establishment of the “Skynet”—— a system that uses facial recognition and surveillance cameras to strengthen public safety, the crime rate has dropped significantly. But public safety doesn’t just mean fewer criminal activities. Reducing people’s perceived insecurity and anxiety has become a new challenge in China today. “Corner Revolution” explores the transformative power of architectural design …

Human-Animal Interaction And Human Prosociality: A Meta-Analytic Review Of Experimental And Correlational Studies, Nicole Ruiying Chen, Nadyanna M. Majeed, Gloria J. Lai, Paye Shin Koh, Manmeet Kaur, K. T. A Sandeeshwara Kasturiratna, Zhi Yan Alycia Ho, Jose C. Yong, Andree Hartanto

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Pet ownership and interactions with animals confer various physiological and psychological benefits to humans. Although interactions with animals are commonplace, there is no consensus in the literature on the actual impact of animal exposure on prosociality. Hence, this meta-analysis investigated 20 eligible studies (n = 4,116, k = 48) and provided an extensive examination into the different potential moderators of the relationship between human–animal interaction (HAI) and prosociality, such as the distinction between empathy and prosocial behavior, HAI characteristics, and sample characteristics. Overall, a small positive effect size was found (d = 0.22), suggesting that human exposure to animals is …

The Impact Of Playing As A Non-Stereotypical Woman In A Role-Playing Video Game On Players’ Real World Gender Role Attitudes, Hunter Kincaid

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This study had participants play the modern role-playing video game Skyrim as a female character with one of three different body types: an idealized feminine body typically found in video games, a tall muscular body that more realistically represents a warrior woman, and a lizard body that is hard to gender stereotype using human gender role attitudes. Participants were given a pretest and posttest measure that checked their gender role attitudes and were allowed to play the game with no restrictions on the role-play choices they make within the game itself. A lens of Black cyberfeminism was applied to critique …

Shake Ya Ass, But Watch Yourself: An Intersectional And Decolonial Approach To Exploring The Sexualization Of Female Recording Artists And The Empowerment Of Women In The United States, H.B. Rebeka

Dissertations

This dissertation, titled Shake Ya Ass, But Watch Yourself: An Intersectional and Decolonial Approach to Exploring the Sexualization of Female Recording Artists and the Empowerment of Women in the United States, critically examines the phenomenon of sexualization of women in the music industry and its impact on female empowerment. Through an intersectional and decolonial feminist lens, the study delves into the historical and socio-cultural contexts that shape the portrayal and perception of female recording artists in the United States.

The research traces the roots of feminism and the commodification of racial stereotypes through music, exploring how female empowerment has been …

In My Softest & Most Liberatory Dreams: Reflections On Holding Complexity & Decentering Whiteness, Richard C. Clark

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

As the world contends with a global pandemic, climate catastrophes, white supremacy, coloniality, and concurrent genocides my attention splinters. In an act of futurity, or future making, I ask myself: What is needed to move from this place toward softer, more liberatory futures? This body of work finds its answer in exploring two interrelated concepts: Decentering Whiteness and Holding Complexity. Decentering Whiteness is the process of working toward a future where all the personal, spiritual, educational, epistemological, social, structural, psychological, financial, and systemic ties to white supremacy are unraveled. Holding Complexity weaves together knowledges of care, accountability, intersectionality, and …

Religious Communication In Interfaith Romantic Relationships: Positive Approaches To Improve Relationship Outcomes, Jaclyn K. Doherty

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

As interfaith romantic relationships become more common, it is important to understand how couples can effectively navigate their religious differences and promote positive relationship outcomes. A critical strategy to this end is communication, yet the existing literature provides limited evidence to understand how the content of religious conversations affects couples’ outcomes. This dissertation explores communication about religion in interfaith relationships and positive relational approaches to religion that may increase relationship quality.

First, I conducted a mixed methods pilot study, finding that interviewees in interfaith couples promoted relationship quality, in part, by addressing their religious differences and recognizing their religious similarities. …

The Nuanced Relationship Between Mindfulness, Racial Prejudice, And Policy Support, Jared Michael Cutler

Dissertations and Theses

Researchers have investigated the relationship between mindfulness and prejudice, although the findings have been somewhat inconsistent. Two broad factors may be responsible for these mixed findings: different conceptualizations of mindfulness across studies, and ideological differences among participants. Attention monitoring and acceptance, together, are proposed to be responsible for the psychological benefits of mindfulness, including reduced emotion rumination. Attention alone, however, strengthens rumination, which predicts prejudice. Additionally, prejudice hinders the endorsement of equitable policy. As such, mindfulness measures and interventions that capture attention alone, then, may be positively related to prejudice and negatively associated with support for equitable policy, whereas mindfulness …

Ripl: Recursive Inference For Policy Learning, Kunal Jha, Jeremy R. Manning, Alberto Quattrini Li

Computer Science Senior Theses

Humans excel at understanding the thoughts and intentions of others (theory of mind) and leverage this ability to learn and adapt in social environments. However, replicating this capability in artificial agents remains a challenge. This paper explores the gap between fast, efficient learning often achieved by Reinforcement Learning (RL) algorithms and the interpretability and adaptability desired in agents interacting with humans. We propose a novel approach that integrates an inference network within existing RL frameworks. This allows agents to reason about the beliefs of others (nested reasoning) while learning optimal actions. Our method leverages approximate solutions to the I-POMDP framework, …

Gender Diversity In The Workplace: Pronouns, Gender-Stereotyped Job Listings, And Perceptions Of Hireability, Elise B. Charette, Sarah E. Nemanick, Paige C. Keim, Sarah M. Ledoux, Lindsay A. Goolsby, E. Paige Lloyd

DU Undergraduate Research Journal Archive

Past research has investigated the impact of gender and gender biases on hiring decisions for cisgender individuals. However, there is a lack of research on how perceptions of gender diverse individuals impact hiring decisions. The current work explores how a job applicant’s gender pronouns may impact the likelihood of the applicant getting hired. We also investigated whether this likelihood varied depending on the job description—specifically whether it included content related to gender stereotypes (e.g., “nurturing” versus “leadership capabilities” as a desired trait in job applicants). Ninety-six participants were randomly assigned to view an application package including she/her, he/him, or they/them …

Sexual Abuse: A Multi-Faceted Problem, Marcus Venable

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

On average, US citizens have experienced approximately 400,000 sexual assaults per year, which results in enormous immediate and long-term consequences for individuals, as well as society in general.

In the U.S., the principal method of combatting this crime has been the creation of Sex Offender Registries used to notify the public of the identity and location of convicted sex offenders who may be living in proximity to their residence. In addition to the Registry, laws have been passed forbidding convicted sex offenders from residing within buffer zones around areas of high child concentration [schools/parks/etc.].

The efficacy and consequences of these …

A Trauma-Informed Socially Just Approach To Working With Juvenile Justice-Involved Youth Utilizing Expressive Arts Therapy, Ciara Carr

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Youth involved with the juvenile justice system often have a history of trauma and oppression resulting from their positionality and circumstances. Most juvenile justice-involved youth are boys, youth of color, low-income, LGBTQIA2S+, disabled, and traumatized. This literature review explores the history of the juvenile justice system, issues with the present-day model, and trauma-informed and transformative justice approaches to practice. The implementation of socially just, trauma-informed expressive arts therapy programs is proposed as a more equitable practice to replace commonly used punitive practices across the United States. More research is needed to understand the impact of such programs on this population …

Feldenkrais And Music Informed Listening: A Neurophenomenological Perspective On Autism, Arona Primalani

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Phenomenologists identify the subjective body and its felt-senses as the basis for human development and consciousness, including mental health. Several mental health disorders, when viewed from a phenomenological perspective, share common symptomology related to varying extents of fractured selves, which in turn hinders dynamic interaction between individuals, their actions, and their relationships with their social and material worlds. Autism is one such condition. Hence, I created an intervention to investigate how listening, which foster subjective and intersubjective experiences, lies at the heart of somatic and arts-based interventions. This thesis, first, begins with a summary of the presenting symptoms observed in …