Social Psychology Commons^™

Longevity Bias, Ingroup Bias, And Culture: A Study In Modern Japan, Sophia Chier

Psychological Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

Japan has long been cited as the prime example of a collectivistic nation with many instances of ingroup bias, and is also known for its respect for things that are old. This research examined a proposed link between longevity bias, or the belief that things that are older are inherently better, and ingroup bias in a Japanese population by replicating the “art” domain in Eidelman et. al’s (2010) longevity bias study. Participants, undergraduates at a Japanese university, completed questionnaires that evaluated their aesthetic enjoyment of a painting, while also manipulating the participants’ knowledge of the artists’ nationality and the artwork’s …

Examining Fear Of Negative Evaluation In Oral Contraceptive Users And Naturally Cycling Women, Emily Furlow

Psychological Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

Oral contraceptive use has gained popularity over recent decades and is currently the most used form of contraception. However, women who take oral contraceptives may experience significant side effects that impact their bodies, moods, and emotions. The current study examined fear of negative evaluation in women taking oral contraceptives and women who were naturally cycling following a social stress test. I hypothesized oral contraceptive users would have a higher fear of negative evaluation in comparison to naturally cycling women following the Trier Social Stress Test. Results did not support this hypothesis. There was marginal support for the opposite effect. Following …

On Versus Off-Campus Living: An Exploration Of College Students' Mental Well-Being, Sameer Siddiqui

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

The World Health Organization defines mental health as “a state of mental well-being that enables people to cope with the stresses of life, realize their abilities, learn well and work well, and contribute to their community” (“Mental Health,” 2022). Risk and protective factors can be used to predict mental health outcomes. Both positive and negative outcomes can be predicted, respectively. The categories of these include individual, relationship, community, and societal. When examining college students, it is most reasonable to study the relationship and community factors. This study examined whether living on or off campus impacts predicted mental health outcomes in …

Aggression In And Out Of The Surrounding Space, Marissa Incer

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Social isolation is a type of punishment used to address misbehavior in individuals, such as children with time-outs and prisoners in solitary confinement. It was thought to be an effective method for teaching good behavior or alleviating tense situations. However, this type of punishment may worsen the punished individual’s aggression depending on the environment of isolation. The current study was divided into two experiments. In the first experiment, participants were isolated in a small (2x2 feet) or large (6x6 feet) space to observe if the space alone affected their aggression. In the second experiment, a frustration-inducing task was given to …

Steps Toward Healing From The Possessive Other: The Vital Role Of Fantastical Literature In Trauma Theory, Rebekah Izard

English (MA) Theses

Fantastical narratives such as fairy tales and magical realist literature utilizes fantastic and intangible spaces to unpack that which is often beyond the limitations imposed on our understanding by reality: the stunting experience of individual and generational traumas. This study aims to contribute to the current literary discourse’s understandings of fantastic literature and its subgenres as a tool for healing from trauma through the application of ontological notions of Selfhood and Otherness supplied by 20th century philosopher, Paul Ricoeur, and the notion of Orientalism by postcolonial scholar, Edward Said. The dialogue generated by these schools of thought provide a space …

Multiple Approaches To Examining Gender Norms In Romantic Relationships, Carrie Underwood

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Romantic relationships are essential to the human experience, and gender stereotypes are so ingrained they can be automatic. In this dissertation, I address three empirical questions through both quantitative and qualitative research methods, all of which contribute to the growing body of literature on gender norms and romantic relationships. In Chapter 2, I present a mixed-methods study that examines how heterosexual men reason about benevolent sexism. Results revealed themes of equality in the workplace and men’s roles as providers. In Chapter 4 I implemented a two-study research design to understand how heterosexual women and men reason about troubled romantic relationships. …

"I Think It's Biblically Wrong, But Temptation Gets The Better Of Me": A Survey On Out-Of-Control Sexual Behavior In A Christian Cohort Of Men In The Uk, Timothy C Y Lau, Glenn M. Miles

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

The current study aims to better understand influences on men within the UK Christian community on their engagement with pornography and prostitution. The authors utilized the Carnes (2012) survey to examine the landscape of sexual knowledge and behaviours, and to identify symptoms, and the propensity towards, “out-of-control sexual behavior” among participants. Data from a survey sent to the Christian community through church networks and word of mouth was used for this study. Of the 491 men who participated, the majority (94%, 460) described their personal Christian faith as “strong.” Despite the Christian faith community's moral code of conduct, the survey …

Self-Confidence And Hormonal Contraceptive Use, Abigail Doran

Biological Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

Hormonal contraceptives are widely used to regulate menstrual cycles, alleviate certain symptoms linked to reproductive hormones, and prevent pregnancy. However, women who take hormonal contraceptives may experience significant physical and psychological side effects such as increased rates of depression and changes in self-image. The current study examined self-confidence in women before beginning hormonal contraceptives and two months after using them. These participants were compared to a control group of naturally cycling women who were also assessed twice. I hypothesized that women would experience decreased feelings of self-confidence in several domains of their lives, compared to the naturally cycling women. Results …

Forming And Maintaining Intimate Friendships As A Twentysomething, Molly S. Burke

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Emerging adulthood is a life stage of great change, and often instability in relationships and attachment (Demir et al., 2015; Lane et al., 2017; Shulman & Connolly, 2013). Intimate friendships can be a moderating factor and assistance in gaining stability and increasing life satisfaction (Demir, 2021; Demir et al., 2015; Sanchez et al., 2020). This study used grounded theory methodology (Creswell & Poth, 2018) to develop a model of the process which Twentysomethings undergo while forming and maintaining intimate, or best, friendships. Through interviews with best friend pairs, this study found three main phases of the best friend process: forming …

(Nearly) All Roads Lead To Polarization: Cognitive Dissonance And The Inverse Relationship Between Polarization And Trivialization In The 2016 And 2020 Elections, Austin D. Eubanks

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The present study investigated cognitive dissonance theory—in particular, outcome-based dissonance, i.e., dissonance experienced from facing an outcome inconsistent with ones’ choice (in this case, preferring the candidate who lost the election)—in electoral contexts using the 2016 and 2020 American National Election Studies data (ns = 3,648 and 7,453, respectively). The particularly negative context of the 2016 and 2020 elections offered an opportunity to make a novel direct empirical comparison of choice valence between “hard/positive choices” (i.e., between two “good” alternatives) and “hard/negative choices” (i.e., between two “bad” alternatives) using real-world data. Results showed that after the election, respondents who preferred …

Freedom, Abortion, And Hypocrisy: The Effect Of Hypocrisy On Pro-Life Abortion Attitudes, Emily M. Vance

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Previous research suggests that highlighting the gap between inconsistent values can result in long-term attitude change (Rokeach, 1971), that feeling hypocritical might prompt pro-attitudinal behavior (e.g., Dickerson et al., 1992), and that a reactance decoy makes participants more receptive to subsequent persuasive messages (Schumpe et al., 2020). Drawing from these findings, the purpose of the present study was to investigate whether the impact of induced hypocrisy on pro-life abortion attitudes, an attitude commonly grounded in the value of freedom, depended on a reactance decoy. Consistent with Aronson et al.’s paradigm (1991), participants first publicly advocated for the importance of personal …

Smells Like Team Spirit: How To Foster Psychological Safety And Enhance Team Creativity, Shannon S. Burrows

Creative Studies Graduate Student Master's Projects

Creativity is one of the most sought-after skills of the 21^st century, yet team members may be reticent to contribute to creative problem-solving out of fear of ridicule, retribution, or because of rigid hierarchical team structures. However, psychological safety is the underpinning of creativity; without it a culture of silence prevails, mistakes go unreported, and team creativity languishes. But how do leaders cultivate psychological safety in their teams? This project seeks to answer that question. Although the term “psychological safety” has become common in the corporate lexicon, misconceptions abound. Through the creation of a short, animated video, this project …

Is It Good To Be Bad? The Potential Buffering Role Of Callous-Unemotional Traits On The Relationship Between Trauma And Juvenile Offending, Kathryn Anne Mcgill

Theses and Dissertations

Juvenile offending is prevalent, costly, and often difficult to intervene in. Although there are a multitude of factors previously studied that contribute to offending, researchers are still unable to pinpoint all possible variables contributing to juvenile offending. More so, of explored and accepted factors leading to juvenile offending, predictive ability of any specific factor leading to offending is still weak. Thus, study of specific predisposing factors leading to juvenile offending, as well as mediational or moderational variables, is needed. This study explores two previously studied variables in the pathway to juvenile offending: trauma and callous-unemotional traits. Novel study of the …

Alternative Approaches To Police Interventions When Responding To Mental Health Crises Incidents, Karen Rivera Apolinar

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Purpose: This study explored mental health workers perspectives on alternative approaches in responding to mental health crises.

The study was carried out in Southern California, in collaboration with mental health workers who currently work or previously have worked in mental health crisis. It adopted a post-positivists paradigm and data was gathered through individual interviews with mental health workers who have direct experience with mental health crisis response in the community and with the police. The twenty participants in the study were men and women working in the mental health field, and of various backgrounds, licensures, and ages.

The study found …

Discrimination And Cognitive Failures In Singapore And The Us: An Investigation Of Between- And Within-Persons Associations Through Multilevel Modelling, Nadyanna Binte Mohamed Majeed, Kasturiratna Tennakoon Appuhamillage Sandeeshwara Kasturiratna, Verity Yu Qing Lua, Mingyao Li, Andree Hartanto

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Experiencing everyday discrimination can have a significant negative impact on an individual’s wellbeing. While much attention has been paid to the physical and mental health consequences of discrimination, less is known about how discrimination can affect cognitive health, and most existing work has been conducted in laboratory settings where participants recall discrimination retrospectively. Given the artificial environment and susceptibility to recall bias in such procedures, the current study utilised two daily diary studies, consisting of young adults in Singapore (Study 1; N = 484) and midlife adults from the US (Study 2; N = 3577), to examine the association between …

Does Watching Videos With Natural Scenery Restore Attentional Resources? A Critical Examination Through A Pre-Registered Within-Subject Experiment, Andree Hartanto, Nicole Lee Anne Teo, Verity Y. Q. Lua, Keith Tay, Nicole R. Y. Chen, Nadyanna M. Majeed

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Existing studies have shown that direct exposure to a real nature environment has a restorative effect on attentional resources after a mentally fatiguing task. However, it remains unclear whether virtual nature simulations can serve as a substitute for real nature experienced in the outdoors to restore executive attention. Given the mixed findings in the literature, the present study sought to examine if viewing videos with natural scenery (vs. a control with urban scenery) restores participants’ working memory capacity – measured by an operation span task – in a high-powered pre-registered within-subject experimental study. Overall, our within-subject experiment did not find …

Problematic Smartphone Usage, Objective Smartphone Engagement, And Executive Functions: A Latent Variable Analysis, Andree Hartanto, Yi Jing Chua, Frosch Yi Xuan Quek, Joax Wong, Wei Ming Ooi

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

The negative consequences of smartphone usage have seen frequent discourse in popular media. While existing studies seek to resolve these debates in relation to executive functions, findings are still limited and mixed. This is partly due to the lack of conceptual clarity about smartphone usage, the use of self-reported measures, and problems related to task impurity. Addressing these limitations, the current study utilizes a latent variable approach to examine various types of smartphone usage, including objectively measured data-logged screen time and screen-checking, and nine executive function tasks in 260 young adults through a multi-session study. Our structural equation models showed …

Do Executive Functions Buffer Against Covid-19 Fear And Stress? A Latent Variable Approach, Tina Li Yi Ng, Nadyanna M. Majeed, Verity Yu Qing Lua, Andree Hartanto

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Levels of COVID-19 stress have soared worldwide as a result of the pandemic. Given the pernicious psychological and physiological effects of stress, there is an urgent need for us to protect populations against the pandemic’s psychological impact. While there exists literature documenting the prevalence of COVID-19 stress among various populations, insufficient research has investigated psychological factors that might mitigate this worrying trend. To address this gap in the literature, the current study seeks to examine executive functions as a potential cognitive buffer against COVID-19 stress. To do so, the study adopted a latent variable approach to examine three latent factors …

Monoracials’ Perceptions Of Biracials In Singapore, Sheila Xi Rui Wee, Chi-Ying Cheng

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Objectives: Drawing on social identity theory, present research examined the effects of overlapping racial membership on monoracials’ categorization of biracials as in-/out-group members, as well as its impact on monoracials’ social perceptions of biracials in Singapore. Within Singapore, it is hypothesized that biracials who share racial membership with monoracials would be rated more as monoracials’ racial in-group and be evaluated more positively. Furthermore, monoracials’ positive perceptions of biracials with (vs. without) shared racial membership would be less influenced by biracials’ confrontation of racial prejudice. Method: Studies 1 (N = 242) and 2 (N = 153) sampled Chinese Singaporeans to assess …

Attitudes Towards Mental Health, Spiritual Seeking, And Well-Being, David Mitchell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Religion plays a crucial role in many peoples’ lives, shaping the way they interact with the world and react to stressors. The Relational Spirituality Model (Sandage & Shults, 2007) posits that individuals’ relationship with God resembles humans’ relationships with one another. That is, relationships consist of intimacy and closeness as well as independence and time away from each other, otherwise known as dwelling and seeking. Previous literature has analyzed the relationship between spiritual coping and well-being, yet none have analyzed the relationship between spiritual seeking and overall well-being using attitudes towards mental health as a moderator. Participants were 84 undergraduate …