Social Psychology and Interaction Commons^™

Developing Marketing Strategies To Enhance Students’ Perception Of Service Within The Thompson Scholarship Program, Emileigh Kleps

Honors Projects

Understanding the perceptions of Thompson Family Scholars to suggest improvements of marketing strategies within the Thompson Scholarship Program for the benefit of current and future Thompson Family Scholars.

“I Hear You”: Exploring The Lived Experience Of Counselors’ Empathic Response To Clients When Conducting Telephonic Counseling During Covid-19, Michael Sickels

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Dissertation supervised by Dr. Debra Hyatt-Burkhart

This study sought to unearth the lived experience of counselors empathically responding to clients via telephonic counseling during COVID-19. The term empathic response refers to as attending to the emotional and mental state of another person in a way that is attuned with the feelings and meanings of the individual’s experience. There are few studies that have assessed the merits of telephonic counseling, and even fewer that have examined counselors’ empathic response to clients through this medium.

To uncover the lived experience of the target population, the participants of the study were purposefully selected …

Grandchildren Of Ottomans Vs. Children Of Atatürk: A Script On Turkey's Emerging Political Identities Towards 2023, İrem Taştan, Ezgi Karanfil

Markets, Globalization & Development Review

The aim of this script is to take the initiative to open an updated discussion of the ways in which the global ideological market is shaping the collective political identities in the context of contemporary Turkey. We craft two seemingly opposing yet deeply connected political identities, namely the "grandchildren of Ottomans" and the "children of Atatürk", to critically explore the future possibilities for Turkey's contested ideological market.

From Physical Violence To Online Violation. Forms, Structures And Effects: A Comparison Of The Cases Of ‘Domestic Violence’ And ‘Revenge Pornography’, Matthew Hall, Jeff Hearn

psychology

In this paper, we examine the nature and limits of violence by way of a comparison of the physical violence and online violation, in terms of their form, structure and effects. We explore similarities and dissimilarities in what precedes the event, perpetrator intentions and motivations, the forms and types of violence, the medium through which they are delivered, who they are directed towards, the technologies and processes deployed, and their impacts. We argue that it is problematic to restrict the concept of ‘violence’ to intended physical acts that cause harm, because non-physical, psychological, emotional and other forms of non- (directly)physical …

Climbing The Masculine Hierarchy: Examining Constructions Of Masculinity Through Incel Identities, Alyssa Jewel Davis

All Theses

In a gender-segregated digital space known as the Manosphere, a group of men calling themselves “Incels,” or involuntary celibates, express feelings of hostility and hatred towards women. Incels hold a low position on a masculine hierarchy where the men who hold the most power in society are those who have access to women’s emotional and sexual services. Incels are characterized by feelings of entitlement to women’s services and aggrievement by their inability to access them. As a result, they often appear to fantasize about or engage in acts of violence to compensate for their lack of masculine privilege. However, there …

“I'M Not Batman” And Other Factors Impacting Bystander Intervention Against Sexual Violence In Australian Nightlife Settings, Aimee-Rose Wrightson-Hester, Alfred Allan, Maria M. Allan

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Unsolicited sexual behaviors that constitute sexual violence appear to be commonplace in nightlife settings in many countries and bystander intervention might be a way to eliminate them. However, few researchers have investigated the barriers and facilitators that affect Australian bystanders’ likelihood to help, and these should be considered in the planning of bystander intervention programs. Using a grounded theory approach, we interviewed fourteen men and women about their perceptions of factors that might influence bystander behavior in Australian nightlife settings. The categories identified suggest that it is difficult for nightlife patrons to notice and identify sexual violence occurring around them. …

Imposter Phenomenon Progression And Intersectionality Among Undergraduate Students, Asia Johnson

USC Aiken Psychology Theses

Previous research indicates that women, students, and racial ethnic minorities experience Imposter Phenomenon (IP) at higher rates when compared to their counterparts. Anxiety and depression have also been linked to IP at seemingly high rates, as the construct overlaps with aspects of both disorders. The amount of time at a collegiate institution has not been examined in relation to IP, with little research emphasizing the effect of a predominately White campus climate on African American undergraduate students. The current study seeks to full these gaps in the literature, with an additional investigation of the role intersectionality plays. The results of …

Compliance With Ostracism: How Excluding A Member Of A Despised Outgroup Affects Psychological Need Satisfaction, Emma Nettles

USC Aiken Psychology Theses

Ostracism is a social process through which individuals are excluded or ignored (Williams, 1998). While recent research has slowly shifted toward the perpetrators of ostracism, relative to the targets, there is still little research on the effects of complying with ostracism. While previous research suggests engaging in ostracism leads to negative affect and thwarted need satisfaction, ostracism was directed toward an otherwise underserving target (Legate et al., 2013). The current research examined the effects of being instructed to ostracize a member of a despised outgroup on affect and need satisfaction. Seventy-one participants were recruited to play Cyberball, in which they …

Examining Dehumanization Of Individuals With Schizophrenia, Brianna Drake

USC Aiken Psychology Theses

Objective: Previous literature examines dehumanization of marginalized groups; though, most of this work focuses on ethnic and racial groups. Currently, there is a gap in the literature examining the extent to which people with mental illness are dehumanized. This study examined whether people with schizophrenia are dehumanized (relative to other marginalized groups, such as drug addicts). Furthermore, this research will investigate if using “person-first” language can attenuate dehumanization.

Method: Participants (n = 310) were recruited from Amazon Mechanical Turk to complete a measure of dehumanization and demeaning needs for each of the nine targets (i.e., self, close friend, lawyer, elderly, …

Public Perceptions Of Police Use Of Force: Does Officer Race Matter?, Diamond G. Pilgrim

USC Aiken Psychology Theses

Objective: The purpose of the current study was to examine the effects of police officer as well as suspect race on U.S.residents’ perceptions of police use of force.

Method: Participants were randomly assigned one of four vignettes describing an encounter between either a Black or White police officer and a Black or White robbery suspect. Suspect race and officer race were manipulated so that participants received a vignette involving pairings of a White officer with a Black suspect; a White officer with a White suspect; a Black officer, White suspect or a Black officer and suspect. Participants were then surveyed …

What Makes A Good Relationship? Examining The Role Of Psychological Needs On Relationship Satisfaction Moderated By Attachment, Kristin Rutland

USC Aiken Psychology Theses

Objective: The current study examined the relative importance of psychological needs as predictors of relationship satisfaction and how differences across dimensions of adult attachment moderate these relationships. Through the examination of psychological needs, relationship satisfaction, and attachment questionnaires, it was predicted that psychological needs predict relationship satisfaction differently across the attachment spectrum, with attachment serving as a moderator of these associations.

Method: Data was collected from online crowd sourcing software, Amazon Mechanical Turk (Mturk). There were one hundred and fourteen participants, ranging from 18-78 years of age (M = 27.39, SD = 11.21), who were currently involved in a romantic …

Music: Seeking Pleasure, Emotional Language, Ritualized Communication, Jillian N. Gerlach

Interdivisional Studies Summer Fellows

The impetus for my project was how I view listening to music as a spiritual or religious experience. Listening to music, instead of practicing religion, satisfies my inclination toward spirituality. In the introduction to my paper, I outlined how music exists in my life. I thought it was valuable to provide my unique experience to give context to my research. I created a diagram that delineates how I interact with music and the benefits I derive from listening to music. During this self-reflection, I realized listening to music functions like a ritual for me. I noticed my individual ritualized listening …

Promoting Body Positivity Through Stories: How Protagonist Body Size And Esteem Influence Readers’ Self-Concepts, Megan A. Vendemia, Melissa J. Robinson

Communication Faculty Articles and Research

Through two experiments (N = 497), we documented how distinct portrayals of women in stories can impact readers’ engagement in social comparisons and influence important aspects of their self-concepts. Specifically, this research investigated the effects of character body size (thin vs. large), body esteem (low vs. high), and story ending valence (sad vs. happy) with two distinct storylines. Results indicated that high (vs. low) body esteem characters are not only rated more aspirational, but also led readers with greater self-discrepancy to report lower state body image, suggesting upward social comparison processes are at play. Further, results indicated that reading …

Encouraging Productive Behavior In Student Teams With Interventions, Jacqueline M. Zalewski, Susan Brudvig

Anthropology & Sociology Faculty Publications

Teamwork pedagogies are used for teaching and learning in sociology, addressing general education goals, and developing students’ professional skills. Nevertheless, problems arise in group work that negatively affect learning, engagement, treatment of others, and team satisfaction. An intervention was added to an Introduction to Sociology course with an established teamwork pedagogy to improve these outcomes. We compared the results of student surveys before and after the intervention, finding improvement in students’ satisfaction with teamwork and students’ perceptions of their teammates. There were large, statistically significant improvements in interactional fairness. Students’ perceptions of learning improved, although the gains were not statistically …

The Role Of Age And Time Horizon In Affect–Meaning Relations, Jun Sheng Keh

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

Extant research has demonstrated robust positive relations between positive affect (PA) and meaning, although the strength of this relationship has been found to vary as a function of both chronological age and time horizon (Hicks et al., 2012). This can be explained by the Socioemotional Selectivity Theory (SST), which posits that both older adults and those with a limited time horizon (i.e., perceive less remaining in life) tend to focus on emotional goals over knowledge goals. In the current paper, I sought to extend SST’s findings to the level of activities by examining how chronological age, time horizon (both existing …

Emotional Experiences Of Muslim Americans Regarding The Intolerance Displayed By Non-Muslims, Munder Abderrazzaq

Journal of Sustainable Social Impact

Muslims in the United States report experiencing unequal treatment and racial profiling from non-Muslims. Recent literature (Simon et al., 2018) suggests the need for further research on the intolerance displayed by majority members from the point of view of minority members in the United States. The unwillingness or refusal to respect or tolerate individuals from a different social group or minority groups, who hold beliefs that are contrary to one’s own, is referred to as intolerance. The display of intolerance among members of different cultural and religious backgrounds can hinder the discovery of new information needed to promote positive social …

Implications Of Covid-19 Mitigation Policies On Recreational Trail Users: Exploring Antecedents To Physical Distancing On Trails Across The Rural-Urban Continuum, Christopher J. Wynveen, Ingrid Schneider, Deonne Vanderwoude, Taylor Stein, Heather Gibson, Kim Shinew, William Hendricks, Megha Budruk

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent travel restrictions led to a worldwide increase in greenspace use. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention encouraged policies including physical distancing and COVID-related signage. However, the extent to which these policies influenced behavior is unknown. To fill this gap, we report on a 2020 observational study at 14 trails across six U.S. states framed within a social-ecological model. Behavioral observations of 8,093 groups assessed compliance rates with infection-mitigation behaviors. Additionally, we noted the presence of COVID-related signs, the days between the observation and stay-at-home order start date, the setting (i.e., urban, suburban, and …

Misinformation And Disinformation: Detecting Fakes With The Eye And Ai, Victoria Rubin

Data and Test Instruments

How do we detect, deter, and prevent the spread of mis- and disinformationwith the human eye and AI? How does theory inform the practice, and how do theevidence-based research and best practices in lie-catching and truth-seekingprofessions—inform AI? The book looks into well-established human practicessuch as the routines and processes used in detective work, journalism, and scientificinquiry, and how they contribute toward innovative AI solutions. The book explainsthe principles, inner workings, and recent evolution of five types of state-of-the-artAI technologies suitable for curtailing the spread of mis- and disinformation:automated deception detectors, clickbait detectors, satirical fake detectors, rumordebunkers, and computational fact-checking tools.

Lgbtq+ Congregants Navigating Identity In The Context Of "Welcoming But Not Affirming" Evangelical, Pentecostal, And Non-Denominational Religious Institutions: A Queer Narrative Analysis, Sarah E. Rasmussen

University Honors Theses

Welcoming but not affirming Evangelical, Pentecostal, and non-denominational churches invite LGBTQ+ people to attend their church, but do not affirm their identity as a gender and/or sexual minority. Because of this, they restrict LGBTQ+ attendees from participating in leadership, paid staff positions, and ministry work. LGBTQ+ attendees are often not aware of these restrictive policies initially. The current study aims to examine how LGBTQ+ people navigate their faith and identity within welcoming but not affirming church spaces through narrative analysis. Fifteen participants engaged in an interview, where they were asked about their experience within welcoming but not affirming church spaces. …

What Aspects Of Religiosity Are Associated With Values?, Philip Schwadel, Sam A. Hardy

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

A large body of research shows that religiosity in general is associated with values. Yet, we know little about the specific aspects of religiosity that drive this association. Using nationally representative data from a sample of young adults in the United States, we examined how various aspects of religiosity—religious tradition, service attendance, frequency of prayer, religious salience, belief in God, closeness to God, and number of religious friends—are associated with the 10 values that compose Schwartz’s circle of values. Bivariate results indicate that most measures of religiosity are correlated with Schwartz’s circle of values. Multivariate regression results, however, show that …