Social Psychology Commons^™

Loneliness Is The Nucleus For Psychopathology: Relationships With Cognitive, Social, And Personality Disorders, Natalie S. Byrd

Soaring: A Journal of Undergraduate Research

Loneliness is not just a phenomenon observed in clinical practice but is a core issue in the study of mental disorders more broadly – psychopathology. Loneliness is the key to the study of all mental disorders as many have shown significant relation to loneliness either as a risk factor for developing or maintaining the disorder, or as a co-occurring condition of the disorder. In other words, loneliness is both a cause and a consequence of mental illness. Specifically, this review explores the relationships of loneliness in cognitive disorders (Alzheimer’s disease, schizophrenia, and major depressive disorder), social disorders (social anxiety disorder, …

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 …

Ability To Reduce Gram Scams Through Educational Intervention, Ellis Garel

Scripps Senior Theses

Objective: This study aims to understand why people fall for scams and seeks to explore what interventions for scam prevention are the most effective in older adults. Participants: Approximately 686 participants aged 65 and above will be randomly assigned to view one of four intervention types: celebrity endorsement PSA, community-based PSA, personal advice from a family member, or the control group. Method: A path analysis will be conducted to examine how the type of intervention, gender of the participant, and history of financial fraud, mediated through concerns and susceptibility to scams, impact the propensity to fall for a hypothetical scam …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

Rewriting Reality: The Sociological Context Of Gaslighting, Kristen L. Engasser Jr.

Honors Undergraduate Theses

In 2007, Robin Stern published The gaslight effect: How to spot and survive the hidden manipulation others use to control your life, highlighting gaslighting as a form of psychological abuse that makes victims question the validity of their perceptions. Since then, gaslighting has primarily been tackled from a psychological perspective. Some sociologists, however, theorize that gaslighting is not simply a psychological issue but a sociological one as well. They argue that gaslighting may take place unintentionally when a perpetrator acts on their biases towards members of other social groups, a concept known as epistemic gaslighting. As a form of …

The Influence Of Intersectionality On Identity And Resilience, Stephanie Washburn

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Co-occurring multiple minority group membership (e.g., ethnic/racial minority and sexual/gender minority) has come to be referred as intersectionality. The purpose of this study was to explore if intersectionality is related to identity and resilience in undergraduate adults. The participant pool consisted of college students from a large metropolitan university in the Southeastern United States, (N = 340), who took an anonymous online self-report survey battery in exchange for course credit. Higher levels of resilience were associated with lower levels of identity distress. Further, identity commitment, but not identity exploration, predicted resiliency. Sexual/Gender Minority (SGM) individuals had lower resiliency than …

Exploring Communication Gaps In Pakistani Desi Families: A Comparative Analysis Of Joint And Nuclear Settings And How The Existence Of A Communication Gap Impacts The Emotional Wellbeing Of Members In Either Settings, Maria Rehman

SSLA Culminating Experience

This qualitative research explores the existence and impact of communication gaps in Pakistani, desi families and compares joint and nuclear family systems by delving into the nuances of family dynamics. It explores how the presence of a communication gap impacts the emotional well-being of family members. It was aimed to uncover the manifestations of communication gaps, the comparison of that between joint and nuclear families, and how it has an emotional, psychological effect on family members. A sample of six young women were recruited and divided into two groups based on the family they belonged to i.e., joint or nuclear. …

Effects Of Mindfulness Training On Prosocial Responses In Intergroup Relations: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial, Denise Yiran Zheng

Theses and Dissertations

Based on social identity theory and intergroup emotions theory, individuals feel for and act toward others based on their group-based social identities. Recent research shows that mindfulness can enhance prosocial responses toward others across group divides. The current research examined the effects of mindfulness training on prosocial behavior in intergroup relations where such behavior is difficult (e.g., with marginalized or devalued social groups). The study also examined potential mechanisms, namely state empathic concern and appraisal, that may explain how mindfulness increases prosocial behavior toward outgroups. This study compared the effects of a 2-week mindfulness training to a matched coping training …

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 …

Masculine Vs. Feminine Women: Verdict, Blame, And Punishment Outcomes In The Legal System, Alaina Helmerichs

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

It is commonly recognized that sentencing disparities exist between men and women who are accused of the same crime—with men often receiving harsher judgements than women. However, research explaining why this disparity exists is incomplete. Research suggests that higher levels of facial masculinity in men is tied to higher levels of criminality (Estrada-Reynolds et al., 2017); however, little research looks at this pattern amongst female defendants. The current study investigated whether the gendered appearance (masculine vs. feminine) of female defendants in different types of cases (child negligence vs. medical malpractice) affects mock jurors’ judgments about verdict, punishment, and internal blame …

The Neural Mechanisms Of Inter-Friend Aggression, Wyatt Brown

Theses and Dissertations

Decades of research concerns intimate partner aggression (IPA). While important to understand and prevent, investigations of IPA largely ignore another vital social relationship: close friendships. To investigate aggression between close friends – inter-friend aggression (IFA) – functional neuroimaging analyses enable to assessment of neural activity and mental representations of aggression in different social relationships. As such, 98 participants completed the well-validated Taylor Aggression Paradigm modified for a magnetic resonance environment against their current romantic partner, a close friend, and a stranger. Univariate analyses assessed the differences in the degree of neural activity and the role of Narcissism and negative urgency …