Social Psychology Commons^™

The Role Of Bicultural Identity Integration In The Relationship Between Discrimination And Well-Being, Jasmine Chananna

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Previous research indicates that experiencing discrimination from dominant group members and having a less integrated bicultural identity are associated with negative psychological outcomes for bicultural individuals. Further, bicultural identity integration (BII) has also been found to mediate the relationship between discrimination from dominant group members and well-being. However, there is insufficient research exploring the impact of discrimination from one’s heritage group members. Thus, this study aimed to explore the impact of in-group discrimination on psychological adjustment and self-concept clarity. This study also aimed to explore BII as a mediator between in-group or out-group discrimination and psychological outcomes. Correlational analyses supported …

Ambivalent Sexism Impacts Attitudes Toward Marital Surname Change Decisions, Erin N. Palmwood

Psychological Science Articles

Couples are making increasingly varied surname change decisions following marriage. However, despite this increased variability, cultural attitudes toward nontraditional surname choices remain rooted in sexism, with women who retain their maiden names often being viewed negatively as individuals and as partners within their marriages. The present study aimed to examine ambivalent sexism as a potential moderator of the link between women’s and men’s nontraditional surname choices and negative perceptions of those individuals and their marriages. To this end, participants (n = 129) viewed a series of vignettes describing heterosexual couples who made traditional vs. nontraditional choices regarding whether to …

The Integrated Behavioral Model Of Mental Health Help Seeking (Ibm-Hs): A Health Services Utilization Theory Of Planned Behavior For Accessing Care, Joseph H. Hammer, David L. Vogel, Patrick R. Grzanka, Nayeon Kim, Brian T. Keum, Claire Adams, Sarah A. Wilson

Chemical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications

This article introduces the integrated behavioral model of mental health help seeking (IBM-HS), a theoretical model for understanding the constructs (e.g., systemic, predisposing, and enabling factors; mental health literacy; illness perceptions; perceived need; stigma; shame; perceived benefits, motivation) that influence people’s decision making around seeking professional mental health care and their ultimate access to formal treatment. The IBM-HS is a help-seeking-specific adaptation of the empirically supported integrated behavioral model and integrative model, which are themselves evolutions of the theory of planned behavior and theory of reasoned action. The IBM-HS posits that help-seeking determinants (e.g., structural forces; cultural influences; past help-seeking …

Shifting Perspectives On Crime: Empathy, Cognitive Reappraisal, And Media Sources, Gillian Sherman

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

When reporting crime, media sources can influence public perception of the crime, the victim, and the perpetrator. They can also influence the justice policies that people endorse. With support growing for more community-oriented justice policies that allow for perpetrator reintegration (Maruna & King, 2009), it is important to understand how portrayals of crime may soften public judgements toward perpetrators without reducing concern for victims. In two studies drawing from empathy-attitude effect research (Batson et al., 1998) and emotion regulation theory (Gross, 1998) this research examines how media portrayals of a crime may cause people to change their perceptions of those …

Is Trust A Zero-Sum Game? What Happens When Institutional Sources Get It Wrong, Andrew Dawson

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, trust in mainstream institutions is on the decline while people are increasingly turning to alternative media and conspiracy theories. Previous research has suggested that these trends may be linked, but the exact nature of the relationship is unclear. In a fractured informational environment, is trust a neutral process, where each source is judged independently, or is it in fact a zero-sum competition, where a loss for one side is a gain for the other? Across three experimental studies (N = 2,951) we examined how people react when a source makes a serious error, …

Freedom Of Emotional Expression: Exploring The Effects Of Emotional Expression Restriction On Marginalized Identities, Erik Caceros

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Across two studies we examined the relation between emotional expression restriction – perceiving that others restrict one’s freedom to determine how they express their authentic emotions– on people’s emotion regulation strategies and their well-being. In cross-sectional Study 1 (N = 438), people of colour felt significantly greater collective and personal emotional expression restriction relative to White people suggesting that feelings of emotional expression restriction are more prevalent among members of marginalized versus dominant groups. However, among both groups, perceiving collective emotional expression restriction was significantly associated with greater feelings of personal emotional restriction, which in turn, was related to the …

Time-Travel And Teleology: Morality, Society, And The Life Of Lucas Bishop, Justin Martin

Psychology Faculty Scholarship

The paper focuses on a rarely analyzed superhero within the X-Men universe: the time-traveling mutant and law enforcement officer Lucas Bishop. Through highlighting core narrative themes consistent throughout his various depictions in comics and animation through the lens of a constructivist approach to sociomoral development (Social Cognitive Domain Theory; SCDT), the author contends that the character’s complexity and multifaceted nature potentially has implications for understanding superheroes like Bishop as subjects worthy of scholarly and pedagogical inquiry. The narrative themes examined in support of this argument pertain to (1) how different dystopian social orders or arrangements potentially inform his morally relevant …

Fantasia On A Theme Of Purpose: Using A Music-Guided Scribble Technique To Support Meaning-Making In Older Adult Retiree Musicians, Sophia R. Smith

Art Therapy | Master's Theses

Within the population of older adults, overall well-being corresponds with the ability to self-actualize and seek meaning, but age-related changes combined with ageism and isolation can negatively impact this capacity to maintain a sense of purpose, especially following retirement. It may be that retired musicians are especially vulnerable to this experience later in life due to a loss of the primary method of creative engagement and community that is facilitated by musical performance in a group setting. Integrating phenomenological and ethnographic approaches, this study utilized a qualitative design to understand how music-guided art-making incorporating the scribble technique could support a …

Exploring The Role Of Self-Complexity In Reducing Intergroup Anxiety And Fear Of Discrimination Among Marginalized Group Members, Homa Sheibani Asl

All Master's Theses

Multi-cultural and multi-ethnic societies experience unique challenges regarding interactions between different social groups. Negative emotions such as intergroup anxiety are one of the most common challenges that marginalized group members report about their experience of intergroup interactions. As such, social psychologists continue to explore methods to reduce negative intergroup emotions. Given that research on self-concept representation has repeatedly demonstrated that higher self-complexity serves as a buffer during stressful situations, in the current study, I combined intergroup and self-concept research to examine the role of self-complexity as a tool for reducing intergroup anxiety and fear of discrimination among members of marginalized …

What Does It Mean To Be The Goat: A Narrative Study On Retired White Male Elite Individual Sport Athletes?, Tyler Behrmann

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

The greatest of all time (GOAT) is a topic commonly discussed in sports today (Lundberg & Rosenberg, 2020). Despite this increased use of the term, there is a lack of research on the topic of the GOAT which could serve to benefit individuals in performance domains. The purpose of this qualitative exploratory study was to investigate characteristics that describe a GOAT and the impact these characteristics of the GOAT have on individuals. Two participants were included in this study. The participants were white male, retired, and individual sport athletes who competed in multiple World Championships. Participants were interviewed using semi-structured …

What Is It Really: The Role Of Intergroup Threat In Educational Decision-Making, Kyle A. Walker

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Perceptions of intergroup threat correlate with prejudice against Black Americans (Iyer, 2022). For example, White Americans tend to move out of communities they dominate when the population of Black Americans increases in those communities beyond a “tolerable” rate due to a perceived threat to the neighborhood's safety and resources; this phenomenon is known as White Flight (Grodzins, 1958; Zou & Cheryan, 2022). This exodus of White Americans predicts urban decay, which affects the public school systems in those areas, leading to poorer public services and higher dropout rates among those in the now racially segregated neighborhoods (Mayer & Jencks, 1989; …

State Politics And Stress Amongst Lgbtq+ Students At Florida’S Private Colleges: A Psychological And Normative Analysis, Alise Fortune

Honors Program Theses

The recent wave of anti-LGBTQ+ politics and policies in Florida pose potential risks to the mental health and well-being of Florida’s LGBTQ+ students. The present study surveyed LGBTQ+ students attending private colleges in Florida to measure their self-reported stress levels in comparison to non-LGBTQ+ students, the level at which they believed specific sources of stress contributed to their stress levels, their level of distress upon experiencing discrimination, their sense of sexual identity distress, and their awareness of and involvement in advocacy against Florida’s anti-LGBTQ+ bills. Survey results suggested that anti-LGBTQ+ politics in Florida and the personal lives (social and family …

Humor Matters: An Adapted Multiple Case Study Exploring Music Therapists’ Perspectives Of Humor With Older Adults, Caleb M. Posey

Theses and Dissertations--Music

Humor is a ubiquitous human experience and a skill retained in older adulthood. It is also an integral but elusive therapeutic tool with numerous benefits and risks to well-being. Therapeutic humor – the application of humor to client well-being – is an emerging area of study. However, scant music therapy literature on humor is available. The purpose of this qualitative thesis was to explore the use and function of humor in music therapy with older adults from the perspectives of experienced music therapists. There were three research questions: (1) how do music therapists describe their use of humor with older …

Coping With Social Media Envy In Luxury Consumption: The Role Of Social Networking Site Actions, Murong Miao, Chuanyi Tang, Lin Guo, Kiran Karande

Marketing Faculty Publications

Because social networking sites (SNS) facilitate social comparison, consumer envy becomes inevitable among social media users. Drawing on social comparison and coping theories, this study examines how different types of envy lead to consumers? distinct behaviors on SNS, some of which are self-directed and focus on self-enhancement, and others are either positive or negative interactions with the envied person. Employing both the contexts of luxury product and service sharing experiences on Instagram, our four studies consistently found that while consumers who experience benign envy are more likely to interact with the envied positively, such as liking the envied? posts, those …

Conditional Love: Perceived Parental Religiosity And Self-Esteem In Lesbian Women, Sarah Teske

Scripps Senior Theses

There is a variety of research linking religiosity and internalized homonegativity with negative mental health outcomes in queer populations. Minority stress theory can be used to better understand the mechanisms that perpetuate these relationships. However, little research in this area focuses on parental religiosity and lesbian women’s unique experiences. This study seeks to remedy the gap in the literature by investigating the relationship between perceived parental religiosity, internalized homonegativity and self-esteem in lesbian women. To do so, Christian lesbian women will complete an online survey on measures of each of these constructs. It is expected that perceived parental religiosity will …

Influence Of Collectivistic And Individualistic Cultures On Adhd Treatment Preferences And Efficacy In Adults, Natasha Sethia

Scripps Senior Theses

This thesis investigates the influence of collectivistic and individualistic cultural values on the treatment preferences and efficacy for Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in adults. Drawing upon theories like Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions and Markus and Kitayama's concept of Independent and Interdependent Selves, it examines how cultural norms shape perceptions and management strategies for ADHD. The study uses a mixed-methods approach, incorporating quantitative surveys and qualitative interviews with a diverse sample of adults diagnosed with ADHD. We hypothesize that there will be a preference for Western medicine among individualistic cultures and traditional remedies among collectivistic cultures. It also expects to find that individuals …

A New Frontier Of Responsibility: Children's Attributions Of Moral Responsibility To Autonomous And Controlled Robots, Thomas M. Macko

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

A prevailing theory in moral psychology, known as the Theory of Dyadic Morality, proposes that we evaluate moral transgressions primarily through weighing the mental states and intentions of both the perpetrator and the victim of a given transgression. Previous research has found adults and children similarly refer to mental states and intentions when making moral evaluations as third-party observers of a moral transgression. How might this framework apply to social robots, who arguably lack the mental states and intentions we can effortlessly identify in humans? The present study sought to examine how children view a social robot as culpable for …

Attitudes And Perceptions Of Mental Health In The Vietnamese Community: A Comprehensive Analysis, Mai Ly Nguyen-Luu

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This thesis explores the complex and multifaceted landscape of attitudes and perceptions toward mental health within the Vietnamese community. Mental health issues remain a significant global concern, and understanding how these issues are perceived and addressed within specific cultural contexts is vital for effective mental health promotion and intervention. In the case of the Vietnamese community, the interplay of cultural values, stigmatization, and access to mental healthcare services makes this study particularly relevant.

The research investigates the cultural factors that shape attitudes and perceptions toward mental health in the Vietnamese community, including traditional beliefs, familial roles, and the influence of …

Women Objectifying Women: The Impact Of Social Power, Sarah E. Attaway

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Objectification Theory (OT) states that women’s humanity is reduced to being a physical object whose sole purpose is to give men physical pleasure; OT explains why men objectify women, and why women objectify themselves, but does not explain why women objectify other women (Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997). Research has found that participants primed to experience high- or low-power objectified others in a work relationship more than those primed to experience equal-power (Schaerer et al., 2018). The current study aimed to examine if this finding would replicate to women engaging in sexual and beauty objectification and dehumanization towards other women. 330 …

Moving Forward While Looking Back: How Expectations Of Future Success Are Linked With Past Experiences, Claire Jordan

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Following a disappointing past event, how do people maintain motivation and hope for the future? Temporal Self-Appraisal Theory posits that in the face of past disappointing events, people will perceive these events as feeling far away in time to protect the current self-concept. In line with this theory, we reasoned that people who perceive past failures as further away and thus less relevant may maintain a more positive outlook. In Study 1 (N = 410), students reported their final grade in a previous psychology course, predicted their final grade in an ongoing course, and rated their hope and …