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Title: Elucidating factors underlying parent-offspring similarity in eating pathology in pre- and early puberty : exploring the possibility of passive gene-environment correlation
Creator: O'Connor, Shannon Marie
Date: 2018
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: "Objective: Eating pathology has been found to aggregate in families. Typically, familial resemblance has been attributed to parents providing an environment that leads to the development of eating pathology. However, offspring raised by biological parents receive both their environment and genes from their parents, raising the possibility that genetic influences, environmental influences, and/or gene-environment interplay may account for familial resemblance. Past studies have not explored...
Show more"Objective: Eating pathology has been found to aggregate in families. Typically, familial resemblance has been attributed to parents providing an environment that leads to the development of eating pathology. However, offspring raised by biological parents receive both their environment and genes from their parents, raising the possibility that genetic influences, environmental influences, and/or gene-environment interplay may account for familial resemblance. Past studies have not explored the possibility of parents' genes influencing the environment they provide (i.e., passive gene-environment correlations or "passive rGE"). If present, passive rGE is most likely to "hide" in estimates of shared environmental influences in classical twin models. The current study used a nuclear twin family design to explore the possibility of passive rGE during pre-/early puberty when past studies have demonstrated the importance of shared environmental influence. Additionally, the present study explored whether sibling-specific (i.e. influences specific to the twin generation) or family-specific (i.e., "cultural" influences within the home) shared environmental influences accounted for shared environmental influences found in past studies. Methods: Participants included pre-/early pubertal twins and their biological parents from the Minnesota Twin Family Study and the Michigan State University Twin Registry. Disordered eating (i.e., overall disordered eating, body dissatisfaction, weight preoccupation, binge eating) was assessed with self-report measures in the twins and parents. Pubertal status was determined using an established cut-off on a self-report measure. Results: Passive rGE was not indicated in pre-/early puberty. Instead, sibling-specific (not family-specific) shared environmental and nonshared environmental influences were most influential. Conclusions: Future research should explore parental influences that may impact the twin generation only (e.g., parenting style, parents' comments about weight/shape to their offspring, etc.), as this would be represented by sibling-specific environmental influences."--Page ii.
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Title: Examining effects of sex, familiarity, and conflict on patterns of dominance and warmth
Creator: Harrison, Alana
Date: 2016
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Many important psychological phenomena occur in social interactions, which can be influenced by factors related to the individual interactants, the dyad, or aspects of the situation. The current study seeks to investigate the effects of specific person, relationship, and situation factors on patterns of interpersonal behavior that occur during a social interaction. Four samples were examined: 1) unacquainted undergraduates, 2) undergraduates with a confederate, 3) husbands and wives, and 4)...
Show moreMany important psychological phenomena occur in social interactions, which can be influenced by factors related to the individual interactants, the dyad, or aspects of the situation. The current study seeks to investigate the effects of specific person, relationship, and situation factors on patterns of interpersonal behavior that occur during a social interaction. Four samples were examined: 1) unacquainted undergraduates, 2) undergraduates with a confederate, 3) husbands and wives, and 4) mothers and children. Analyses tested the impact of individual sex, dyadic familiarity, and situational conflict on momentary warmth and dominance, interpersonal complementarity, and changes in warmth and dominance over the course of the interaction. Results indicated a limited effect of sex. Unfamiliar dyads were significantly more submissive, warmer, less complementary on dominance, more complementary on warmth, and warmer over time than familiar dyads. Individuals in conflict tasks were significantly more dominant, colder, more complementary on dominance, less complementary on warmth, less dominant over time, and less warm over time than individuals in non-conflict tasks. The findings within the current study offer unique implications related to the factors that may influence the patterns and outcomes of social interactions.
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Title: Malleability beliefs of anxiety : impact on treatment preferences and emotion regulation
Creator: Schroder, Hans (Hans S.)
Date: 2018
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Beliefs about how much people can change their attributes influence cognitive, affective, and motivational responses to challenging situations. Most research on this topic has focused on academic contexts, but newer work suggests these types of beliefs may relate to clinical phenomena as well. Specifically, recent studies show that the belief that anxiety is changeable (the growth mindset of anxiety) relates to a preference for individual therapy versus medication and greater engagement in...
Show moreBeliefs about how much people can change their attributes influence cognitive, affective, and motivational responses to challenging situations. Most research on this topic has focused on academic contexts, but newer work suggests these types of beliefs may relate to clinical phenomena as well. Specifically, recent studies show that the belief that anxiety is changeable (the growth mindset of anxiety) relates to a preference for individual therapy versus medication and greater engagement in psychosocial treatments for anxiety disorders. A working model proposes that the growth mindset of anxiety promotes a motivation to engage in effortful strategies to experience and learn from uncomfortable emotions. However, all research to date on this construct has been correlational in nature. Therefore, the present investigation sought to examine the impact of a brief experimental manipulation promoting the growth mindset of anxiety. Study 1 was an online study and examined the causal impact of this belief on treatment preferences (therapy vs. medication), willingness to initiate in future treatment, and anticipated efficacy of such treatments. The intervention successfully increased growth mindset of anxiety endorsement, increased participants’ willingness to initiate future treatment, and increased expected efficacy at a trend level. It did not have an effect on treatment preference. Study 2 examined the impact of the mindset manipulation on electrophysiological correlates of emotion regulation. Baseline differences (before the intervention) between groups made comparisons difficult, but there was some evidence that those in the mindset condition were less reactive to negative stimuli overall after the intervention. Overall, the two studies suggest that the anxiety mindset can be induced and may have implications for treatment motivation and emotion regulation processes that deserve further study.
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Title: The relationship between attachment and emotional experience during semi-natural and therapy-like couple interactions
Creator: Seedall, Ryan B.
Date: 2011
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Although a sizeable amount of research has investigated and demonstrated the effectiveness of couple therapy, a substantial number of couples still do not receive the optimal benefits of statistically and clinically significant change. This highlights the importance of moving from if to how couple therapy is effective. More specifically, it is important to understand client experience in therapy and those factors that influence both the course and outcome of therapy. This would facilitate the...
Show moreAlthough a sizeable amount of research has investigated and demonstrated the effectiveness of couple therapy, a substantial number of couples still do not receive the optimal benefits of statistically and clinically significant change. This highlights the importance of moving from if to how couple therapy is effective. More specifically, it is important to understand client experience in therapy and those factors that influence both the course and outcome of therapy. This would facilitate the ability to more effectively adapt treatment to the needs of clients. Client-treatment matching research has attempted to accomplish this, but results have been disappointing as it has primarily focused on matching treatment models to specific diagnoses. A common factors perspective provides the insight that the core ingredients of change that exist across treatment models may be confounding results. If this is the case, it would be important to understand client-treatment matching from a more process-oriented approach that looks at how specific client and treatment characteristics interact to influence client experience and ultimately treatment outcome. This study sought to begin looking at treatment process from a common factors perspective by looking at how attachment as a client characteristic interacted with a low (semi-natural) or high (therapy-like) structure interactional context to influence two indicators of emotional experience, physiological arousal and interpersonal distress. Emotional experience, as defined by emotional processing and regulation, ultimately influences emotional expression and has been shown to influence therapeutic outcomes. Findings appear to indicate that attachment influences emotional experience and provides preliminary evidence that taking into account attachment may be useful in improving outcomes. Specific relationship process, clinical, and research implications are discussed. Overall, it is hoped that this study will provide the impetus for additional work that will continue to investigate how attachment and other client characteristics interact with elements of therapy process to positively influence client experience and outcomes. This will then facilitate the more effective adaptation of treatment to the specific needs of clients.
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Title: DETERMINANTS OF SINGLEHOOD SATISFACTION
Creator: Oh, Jeewon
Date: 2022
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: lthough everyone experiences singlehood, people’s experiences and satisfaction with singlehood have not been as thoroughly examined as people’s experiences with romantic relationships. However, single people make up a heterogeneous group and the proportion of single people is rising in many places (Jones & Gubhaju, 2009; Lee & Payne, 2010; U. S. Census Bureau, 2020), making it particularly timely to identify predictors of a satisfying single life. Across a series of studies, this dissertation...
Show morelthough everyone experiences singlehood, people’s experiences and satisfaction with singlehood have not been as thoroughly examined as people’s experiences with romantic relationships. However, single people make up a heterogeneous group and the proportion of single people is rising in many places (Jones & Gubhaju, 2009; Lee & Payne, 2010; U. S. Census Bureau, 2020), making it particularly timely to identify predictors of a satisfying single life. Across a series of studies, this dissertation aimed to examine psychological factors underlying a satisfying single life. First, I examined how attitudes about romantic relationships changed and their links to well-being (Study 1). Expectations toward relationships at the societal level and individual level changed over time. Fewer people perceived marriage as a necessity in recent years. However, even among single people, those who perceived marriage as a necessity tended to report higher life satisfaction. Within individuals, people expected fewer benefits and fewer negatives from being in a relationship over time, and expectations had differential links with life satisfaction and singlehood satisfaction. Even though expectations and resulting singlehood satisfaction might be assumed to change because of major life events (e.g., job loss), trajectories of singlehood satisfaction were not moderated by most major life events except experiencing declines in self-rated health was associated with lower levels of singlehood satisfaction (Study 2). Asking long-term single people, I identified events that single people perceived to be influential for their singlehood (Study 3; e.g., experiences that highlighted their independence). Regardless of the actual event, perceiving the event to be positive predicted higher life satisfaction and singlehood satisfaction. I integrated findings across studies and discuss implications, limitations, and future directions.
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Title: From sitting to living : examining the role of meditation in understanding the emotion regulatory mechanisms of mindfulness
Creator: Lin, Yanli
Date: 2020
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Mindfulness has received widespread interest for its purported benefits to emotional well-being. Despite a rapidly growing literature base supporting the salutary relationship between mindfulness and emotion regulation, little is known about how mindfulness confers its emotion regulatory benefits. A pertinent, yet underexplored, approach to addressing this question is to examine neural mechanisms involved in the effects of mindfulness training via meditative practice to "off-the-cushion"...
Show moreMindfulness has received widespread interest for its purported benefits to emotional well-being. Despite a rapidly growing literature base supporting the salutary relationship between mindfulness and emotion regulation, little is known about how mindfulness confers its emotion regulatory benefits. A pertinent, yet underexplored, approach to addressing this question is to examine neural mechanisms involved in the effects of mindfulness training via meditative practice to "off-the-cushion" changes in emotion regulation. The primary aim of the present study was therefore to determine the extent to which change in neural oscillatory activity (i.e., alpha and theta power) during mindfulness meditation related to subjective (i.e., self-reported negative affect) and neural (i.e., late positive potential [LPP]) measures of emotional reactivity elicited during a subsequent affective picture viewing task. Toward this end, a multimodal experimental paradigm was employed to test three predictions: 1) participants randomized to engage in brief guided mindfulness meditation, relative to those randomized to a control condition, would exhibit increased alpha and theta power during meditation relative to rest; 2) participants in the meditation group, but not those in the control group, would exhibit attenuated LPP responses and report lower negative affect during the picture viewing task; 3) the predicted increases in alpha and theta power during meditation would correlate with the predicted reductions in the LPP and self-reported negative affect during picture viewing. Contrary to expectations, the guided meditation did not produce demonstrable effects on alpha and theta power, the LPP, or self-reported negative affect relative to the control condition. Change in theta, but not alpha, power during meditation was, however, positively correlated with the early time window of the LPP, suggesting that change in neural activity during meditation may relate to subsequent emotion processing. Overall, the study demonstrated the utility of investigating the relationship between what occurs during mindfulness meditation and its purported effects on emotion regulation. Moreover, reflections on the unexpected nature of the null findings dovetail with the prevailing consensus that theoretical and methodological factors unique to the construct of mindfulness are integral in shaping the direction, design, and interpretability of mindfulness research.
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Title: Modeling decision processes in the use of lethal force : the role of racial bias in judging faces
Creator: Harder, Jenna Anne
Date: 2020
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: To empirically address the question of whether and why police officers are more likely to shoot Black than White suspects, psychologists have developed the First-Person Shooting Task (FPST): a laboratory task in which participants must make shooting decisions based on rapid assessments of whether a Black or White target is holding a gun versus a harmless object. Typically, studies employing the FPST have found that participants' errors and reaction times show a bias toward shooting Black...
Show moreTo empirically address the question of whether and why police officers are more likely to shoot Black than White suspects, psychologists have developed the First-Person Shooting Task (FPST): a laboratory task in which participants must make shooting decisions based on rapid assessments of whether a Black or White target is holding a gun versus a harmless object. Typically, studies employing the FPST have found that participants' errors and reaction times show a bias toward shooting Black targets over White targets. Evidence for the mechanisms behind this bias is mixed, but several studies point to stereotypic associations between the category "Black" and some indication of threat (e.g. weapon possession). Collectively, this past work is suggestive that racial bias on the FPST is influenced by racial bias in threat perception. I investigated this hypothesis across three studies. Participants rated Black and White faces with regard to how "threatening" the faces appeared, then completed the FPST 3-15 days later. Behavioral and process-level (Drift Diffusion Model) methods were used to determine whether racial bias in a participant's threat ratings explained racial bias in the FPST. Across two stimulus sets, results indicated that although participants displayed process-level racial bias, this was not explained by biased threat perceptions. I consider implications such as the possibility that biased shooting decisions are produced by information-processing mechanisms rather than affective mechanisms.
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Title: LIFE IS NOT JUST BLACK AND WHITE : THE INFLUENCE OF SOCIAL CLASS CUES ON RACE IN AN AFFECT MISATTRIBUTION PROCEDURE
Creator: Carrillo, Alejandro
Date: 2022
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Indirect measures of racial bias, such as the Affect Misattribution Procedure, Evaluative Priming Task, and the Implicit Association Task, have been used to provide evidence of stereotypical associations and valenced evaluations towards different racial categories. However, a common limitation shared across these tasks is the tendency to use simplistic racial stimuli that do not capture or account for the multiple categories people may belong to. That is, it is unlikely that people are...
Show moreIndirect measures of racial bias, such as the Affect Misattribution Procedure, Evaluative Priming Task, and the Implicit Association Task, have been used to provide evidence of stereotypical associations and valenced evaluations towards different racial categories. However, a common limitation shared across these tasks is the tendency to use simplistic racial stimuli that do not capture or account for the multiple categories people may belong to. That is, it is unlikely that people are perceived and evaluated along a single feature (i.e., race) but rather at the intersections of multiple categories (i.e., race, age, attractiveness, social class, etc.). Social class, in particular, is a strongly evaluated category and has been shown to share stereotypic associations with race (Moore-Berg & Karpinski, 2019). Thus, this thesis investigated the effects of social class on racial evaluations in an AMP task. Social class was manipulated using occupational clothing in Study 1 and residential areas in Study 2, while race was limited to Black and White men. Across two studies, participants demonstrated a consistent, unexpected pro-Black bias. In addition, an effect of social class was only found in Study 2 such that high-class primes were associated with positive responses. Regarding social class, the results suggest that the manipulations chosen may play an important role in categorization; however, future research is needed to examine just how different class representations impact evaluation.
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Title: Attachment-related differences in transference across the lifespan
Creator: Leahy, Katelin E.
Date: 2020
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Previous research examining transference - which posits we draw on our past experiences with close others to inform novel interactions - has found that people attribute qualities to and express preferences to interact with novel targets based on their similarity to significant others. However, less is known about how transference differs across the lifespan and how it applies to dating contexts. The current study (N = 541, Mage = 34.73, SD = 9.78; 61.4% Men, 63% White) tested whether...
Show morePrevious research examining transference - which posits we draw on our past experiences with close others to inform novel interactions - has found that people attribute qualities to and express preferences to interact with novel targets based on their similarity to significant others. However, less is known about how transference differs across the lifespan and how it applies to dating contexts. The current study (N = 541, Mage = 34.73, SD = 9.78; 61.4% Men, 63% White) tested whether transference replicated with an automated, online version of a transference task. We also tested whether participants found targets that resembled significant others (i.e., parents, ex-partners) to be preferable to control targets, and whether these effects were moderated by age and attachment orientation. Indeed, the effect of transference replicated in the online task: participants misattributed characteristics to and expressed greater preference for targets that resembled significant others relative to control targets. Younger and older adults engaged in transference in the same way; however, the effect was stronger in older adults. Individual differences in attachment avoidance and anxiety moderated transference processes and preference. Implications and future directions for transference are discussed.
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Title: Mother-infant touch in the context of risk
Creator: Bernard, Nicola K.
Date: 2019
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Touch is a primary form of communication for mother-infant dyads in the infant's first year of life. Mothers use touch to soothe their infants, communicate safety, and teach self-regulatory skills. Infants, in turn, increasingly use touch to communicate their internal states and get their needs for care and regulation met. Stressors such as intimate partner violence (IPV) and maternal depression experienced during pregnancy and the first year postpartum may interfere with mother-infant touch...
Show moreTouch is a primary form of communication for mother-infant dyads in the infant's first year of life. Mothers use touch to soothe their infants, communicate safety, and teach self-regulatory skills. Infants, in turn, increasingly use touch to communicate their internal states and get their needs for care and regulation met. Stressors such as intimate partner violence (IPV) and maternal depression experienced during pregnancy and the first year postpartum may interfere with mother-infant touch by disrupting the communicative function of touch and affecting maternal representations, which guide mothering behavior postpartum. It was hypothesized that exposure to IPV or depression during pregnancy or postpartum would be associated with fewer positive and more negative maternal and infant touch behaviors, and that the relationship between these risk factors and maternal touch would be mediated by maternal representations. Mother-infant touch behaviors were coded in 173 mother-infant dyads while they engaged in a free play. One half of the mothers had been exposed to IPV during pregnancy and one third experienced clinically significant levels of pregnancy depression. The findings indicated that pregnancy IPV predicted increased use of positive touch behaviors by mothers with infant sons, whereas pregnancy and postpartum IPV predicted more negative touch behavior by infants, primarily in males. Pregnancy and postpartum depression were associated with more intrusive touch by mothers with male and female infants, and more negative touch behavior in male infants. Maternal representations did not mediate the relationship between IPV/depression and maternal touch. The results suggest that mothers may attempt to compensate for one type of risk-IPV-specifically with their male infants. In addition, male infant touch may be more susceptible to alterations in the context of risk than female infant touch.
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Title: PARTNER ACCURACY IN HUMOR PERCEPTION AND ASSOCIATIONS WITH RELATIONSHIP SATISFACTION
Creator: Purol, Mariah Faith
Date: 2021
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Partners tend to evaluate each other’s personalities and behavior with some degree of accuracy and inaccuracy or idealism. A person’s humor style—the degree to which they use positive (i.e., affiliative) or negative (i.e., aggressive) forms of humor—is highly subjective, evaluative, and important for people’s relationship satisfaction. The current study extends work on partner perception by examining accuracy and bias in people’s perception of their partners’ humor styles. I recruited 261...
Show morePartners tend to evaluate each other’s personalities and behavior with some degree of accuracy and inaccuracy or idealism. A person’s humor style—the degree to which they use positive (i.e., affiliative) or negative (i.e., aggressive) forms of humor—is highly subjective, evaluative, and important for people’s relationship satisfaction. The current study extends work on partner perception by examining accuracy and bias in people’s perception of their partners’ humor styles. I recruited 261 heterosexual couples (N = 522 individuals; Mage = 65.42, SD = 12.31) who completed self- and partner-reports of humor styles. Truth and Bias modeling revealed that, although bias varied across styles of humor, participants consistently demonstrated accuracy in their judgements of their partner’s humor styles. In general, relationship satisfaction was positively associated with individuals reporting their partners using positive forms of humor (i.e. affiliative and self-enhancing humor). Relationship satisfaction was negatively associated with individuals reporting their partners using aggressive forms of humor. Bias forces were moderated by relationship satisfaction such that assumed similarity biases were stronger among those in particularly satisfying relationships. The results are discussed in the context of the origins of truth and bias in partner reports of humor in close relationships.
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Title: Examining Attachment-Based Predictors of Intimate Partner Violence in Emerging Adulthood Relationships
Creator: Kobayashi, Jade E.
Date: 2021
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Intimate partner violence (IPV) is understood to be a reactive response to attachment threat as directed by one’s standing on two dimensions of attachment (i.e., anxious or avoidant). IPV is also influenced by multiple factors related to the individual and their partner’s behavior, although few studies have attempted to examine these factors together. A better understanding of the relationship between attachment and IPV may be important during emerging adulthood (18-25 years old) when rates...
Show moreIntimate partner violence (IPV) is understood to be a reactive response to attachment threat as directed by one’s standing on two dimensions of attachment (i.e., anxious or avoidant). IPV is also influenced by multiple factors related to the individual and their partner’s behavior, although few studies have attempted to examine these factors together. A better understanding of the relationship between attachment and IPV may be important during emerging adulthood (18-25 years old) when rates of IPV tend to be high. I proposed that a multidimensional model of attachment that includes various attachment-related processes (i.e., dyadic influences, daily context, and individual/relational functioning) may help to clarify how adult attachment influences IPV during this developmental period. This model was examined in two studies: In Study 1, a 28-day diary study of violent couples (n = 208), I examined daily context (i.e., stress, jealousy, and commitment) as mediating and moderating influences and found generally that stress and jealousy operate to increase the influence of attachment on IPV while commitment operates to decrease the influence of attachment on IPV. In Study 2 (n = 280), I examined individual and internal processes (i.e., emotion regulation and dimensions of interpersonal functioning) as mediating influences in a different set of couples and found mixed support for these as explanatory factors. Altogether, the findings suggest that attachment anxiety and avoidance influence IPV through a variety of paths that have implications for clinical intervention for emerging adulthood couples experiencing IPV.
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Title: The effects of charitable cause on physical activity motivation
Creator: Gurleyik, Duygu
Date: 2017
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: "The primary purpose of this study was to investigate whether er or not linking an exercise task to an immediate reward in the form of a charitable giving opportunity tunity influences the amount of effort expended in a single bout of exercise on a stationary cycle ergometer. The secondary purpose was to examine the effect of adding an image-based reward component in the form of making results public (e.g., posted on social media) on effort experienced in a cycling bout."--From abstract.

Title: Big Five personality and relationship satisfaction : actor, partner and similarity effects
Creator: Dyrenforth, Portia S.
Date: 2010
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Data from married couples in the United Kingdom (N = 6,554), Australia (N = 5,278), and the United Kingdom (N = 11,418) were used to examine the intrapersonal and interpersonal effects of personality on relationship and life satisfaction. The Actor-Partner Interdependence Model (APIM; Kenny, Kashy, & Cook, 2006) was used to examine three kinds of personality effects: actor effects, partner effects, and similarity effects. Across these three large, nationally representative samples there was...
Show moreData from married couples in the United Kingdom (N = 6,554), Australia (N = 5,278), and the United Kingdom (N = 11,418) were used to examine the intrapersonal and interpersonal effects of personality on relationship and life satisfaction. The Actor-Partner Interdependence Model (APIM; Kenny, Kashy, & Cook, 2006) was used to examine three kinds of personality effects: actor effects, partner effects, and similarity effects. Across these three large, nationally representative samples there was clear evidence of actor and partner effects of personality for both marital and life satisfaction. In addition, despite the sufficient statistical power provided by these large samples and the use of different indexes to capture similarity in both elevation and profile shape, there was no consistent evidence that the dyadic variable of similarity matters over and above the actor and partner effects of personality.
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Title: Personality stability and change : the role of life events and normativeness in two longitudinal surveys
Creator: Wortman, Jessica Ashley
Date: 2016
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: In this study, longitudinal data from two national panel studies were used to examine mean-level and differential stability in personality traits over an eight-year time span, and how stability or change was related to life events. Results showed that, in both samples, Agreeableness and Conscientiousness increased over the life span, whereas Openness to Experience and Neuroticism decreased over the life span, replicating prior work and extending it to three waves of data (e.g., Lucas &...
Show moreIn this study, longitudinal data from two national panel studies were used to examine mean-level and differential stability in personality traits over an eight-year time span, and how stability or change was related to life events. Results showed that, in both samples, Agreeableness and Conscientiousness increased over the life span, whereas Openness to Experience and Neuroticism decreased over the life span, replicating prior work and extending it to three waves of data (e.g., Lucas & Donnellan, 2011; Specht, Egloff, & Schmuckle, 2011; Wortman, Lucas, & Donnellan, 2012). In addition, results indicated that experiencing the birth of a child was associated with a decrease in Conscientiousness, whereas marriage was weakly associated with a decrease in Agreeableness, again, replicating prior work (Specht et al., 2011). This study also explored the potential role of the normativeness of the event experience to determine if experiencing a life event at a socially average time might increase its association with personality change, as suggested by past researchers (Neyer, Mund, Zimmerman, & Wrzus, 2013). Results showed that normativeness did not increase the association between life events and mean-level personality trait change. With regard to differential stability, results showed that differential stability (or rank-order stability) showed an inverted U-shaped pattern over the life span, again, replicating past studies showing the same patterns (Lucas & Donnellan, 2011; Wortman et al., 2012). Finally, differential stability showed a positive association with experiencing a greater number of life events between 2009 and 2013, supporting the notion of cumulative continuity (Caspi et al., 2005), or the idea that experiencing life events strengthens personality traits. Overall, this study supports prior work in personality trait stability and change, and represents the first exploration of the role of normativeness of life events as a possible moderator of personality trait change. The implications of these results are discussed.
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Title: Social observation and moral hypocrisy
Creator: Defever, Andrew Marcel
Date: 2016
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Previous research shows that self-interest has a motivating influence in moral reasoning and decision-making. However, cues of social observation show a positive influential effect on moral and cooperative behavior, in both experimental and real-world contexts. Implementing an expected utility framework to model moral deliberation as a cost-benefit calculation, the present study synthesizes these two effects by examining whether social observation impacts decisions in a moral dilemma...
Show morePrevious research shows that self-interest has a motivating influence in moral reasoning and decision-making. However, cues of social observation show a positive influential effect on moral and cooperative behavior, in both experimental and real-world contexts. Implementing an expected utility framework to model moral deliberation as a cost-benefit calculation, the present study synthesizes these two effects by examining whether social observation impacts decisions in a moral dilemma situation. Utilizing Batson et al.’s (1997) moral dilemma paradigm, we test whether the perceived presence of observers increases the likelihood of making a fair allocation of a reward in a large university sample (N = 161). Across three social observation conditions, participants’ allocation decisions were recorded, including their emotional reactions and open- ended justifications. Behavioral and affective response patterns indicated that participants acted in accordance with a self-interested, morally hypocritical motivational approach, while cues of observation were not shown to influence behavior. Past and future theoretical implications are discussed.
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Title: Do siblings matter in physical activity? : systematic review and examination of perceived competence in youth sport
Creator: Blazo, Jordan A.
Date: 2015
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Sibling relationships in the physical domain potentially tie to the quality of youth physical activity experiences, yet research in this area is scant and lacks structure. The proximity and length of sibling relationships afford multiple opportunities for social comparison and related self-evaluations (Gamble et al., 2010; Harter, 1999). Importantly, these comparisons are affectively charged; characterized by warmth, conflict, and power differences (Furman & Buhrmester, 1985). The purpose of...
Show moreSibling relationships in the physical domain potentially tie to the quality of youth physical activity experiences, yet research in this area is scant and lacks structure. The proximity and length of sibling relationships afford multiple opportunities for social comparison and related self-evaluations (Gamble et al., 2010; Harter, 1999). Importantly, these comparisons are affectively charged; characterized by warmth, conflict, and power differences (Furman & Buhrmester, 1985). The purpose of this dissertation was to explore the potential contributions that siblings make to sport experience of young athletes, specifically perceptions of sport competence. Study 1 consisted of a systematic review of siblings in physical activity contexts to gauge current knowledge on this topic and provide a guide for future empirical endeavors. Collectively, the studies demonstrate that siblings are associated with multiple outcomes in the physical domain including physical activity levels, sport socialization, sibling-based comparisons, and engagement in sex-typed activities. Overall, the findings provide an outline of sibling-based subject areas and identify topics needing further attention to advance the study of sibling relationships in the physical domain.Study 2 was a cross-sectional survey study that aimed to enrich our understanding of sibling interactions in sport, with emphasis on the association between sibling sport-referenced comparisons, relationship qualities, and perceived sport competence. Our primary hypothesis of a moderated relationship of sibling-based comparisons with perceived sport competence was generally not supported; however, a three-way interaction between birth position (younger or older sibling), tendency to compare, and sibling warmth significantly predicted perceptions of sport competence. Younger siblings with a greater tendency to make sibling comparisons and higher warmth perceptions were related to higher sport competence perceptions. This suggests that sibling-based comparisons and relational warmth may be salient for younger siblings, whereas older siblings utilize alternative sources of competence information.Lastly, Study 3 was a cross-sectional survey study that provided a focused examination of age, sibling-based sport comparisons, relationship quality, and perceptions of sport competence of younger siblings in late childhood and early adolescence. The findings further supported the importance of sibling warmth and sibling-based comparisons to competence beliefs. The findings also suggested that the relative contributions that sibling warmth and comparisons make to perceptions of competence were not age-bound. A supplemental examination of sibling relationship profiles revealed distinguishable groups of participants based on their pattern of scores on sibling warmth, sibling conflict, and comparison tendency. These profiles were associated with significantly different outcomes on perceived sport competence, sibling role modeling, and shared activities. In sum, this dissertation highlights the contributions that sibling relationships make to the physical activity experiences of youth and showcases the importance of continued investigation of siblings in the physical domain. This area represents a fruitful direction for researchers to pursue and further our understanding of social processes in physical activity contexts.
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Title: The role of narcissism in romantic relationship initiation
Creator: Ackerman, Robert A. (Robert Alfred)
Date: 2011
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Two studies were designed to clarify the roles of normal, grandiose, and vulnerable narcissistic traits in the initiation of romantic relationships. Study 1 examined whether these traits were differentially predictive of relationship initiation motives connected to self-enhancement (i.e., motives that concern increasing positive sentiments towards the self), self-protection (i.e., motives that concern decreasing negative sentiments towards the self), and intimacy. The question of what types...
Show moreTwo studies were designed to clarify the roles of normal, grandiose, and vulnerable narcissistic traits in the initiation of romantic relationships. Study 1 examined whether these traits were differentially predictive of relationship initiation motives connected to self-enhancement (i.e., motives that concern increasing positive sentiments towards the self), self-protection (i.e., motives that concern decreasing negative sentiments towards the self), and intimacy. The question of what types of partners (i.e., admiring, desirable, and caring) are considered attractive by people with differing levels of these narcissistic dimensions was also investigated. Normal narcissism was connected to the diminished adoption of self-enhancement and self-protection relationship initiation motives. The grandiose narcissistic traits, in contrast, were generally related to the increased adoption of self-enhancement motives and an increased attraction towards desirable romantic partners. Last, the vulnerable narcissistic traits were connected to the increased adoption of both self-enhancement and self-protection relationship initiation motives. Study 2 examined the roles of these traits in actual dyadic interactions using a paradigm similar to speed-dating. Normal narcissism was associated with the expression of dominant and confident behaviors. The grandiose narcissistic traits were generally linked to the expression of dominance and gregariousness; moreover, participants with greater levels of the grandiose traits were considered more attractive and desirable by their dates. Findings for the vulnerable narcissistic traits were not as straightforward as there were few connections between these traits and outcomes in the interpersonal interactions. Taken together, this dissertation demonstrates that the different narcissism dimensions play unique and important roles in the romantic relationship initiation process.
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Title: Income redistribution and life satisfaction
Creator: Cheung, Felix Chi-Kong
Date: 2016
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: The widening income gap between the rich and the poor has important social and economic implications. Governmental-level income redistribution presents an opportunity to reduce income inequality through tax and welfare policies. Redistributing income from the rich to the poor may improve societal well-being. The current studies examined the extent to which change in income redistribution relates to life satisfaction along with the moderating factors concerning this relation. Using a...
Show moreThe widening income gap between the rich and the poor has important social and economic implications. Governmental-level income redistribution presents an opportunity to reduce income inequality through tax and welfare policies. Redistributing income from the rich to the poor may improve societal well-being. The current studies examined the extent to which change in income redistribution relates to life satisfaction along with the moderating factors concerning this relation. Using a nationally-representative sample of 57,932 German respondents from 16 German states across 30 years (Study 1) and a world-wide sample of 115,293 respondents from 35 countries across 24 years (Study 2), I found that increases in state- and national-level income redistribution over time were associated with greater life satisfaction. The models predicted that a 10% reduction in Gini through income redistribution in Germany increased life satisfaction to the same extent as an increase of €12,715 (or about USD$18,185) in annual income (Study 1), and a 5% reduction in Gini through income redistribution increased life satisfaction to the same extent as a USD$1,582 increase in GDP per capita (Study 2). This association was positive across levels of income, amount of tax paid, political attitude, egalitarian value, economic mobility, and cultural values. These findings suggest that income redistribution is linked to greater life satisfaction for most people. These correlational findings provide initial evidence that redistribution policies may play an important role in improving societal well-being.
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Title: Examining the Burden of Treatment Within Cancer Patients with Multimorbid Conditions
Creator: Vachon, Eric Andrew
Date: 2018
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: The purpose of this dissertation was to examine the concept of burden of treatment (BOT), from both a conceptual and operational perspective, within cancer patients with multimorbid conditions. BOT is the combination of a patient’s workload to manage their conditions, and the patient’s perspective of that workload and their conditions. Manuscript one was a conceptual analysis and development of a conceptual model focused on the BOT of cancer patients with multimorbid conditions. Manuscripts...
Show moreThe purpose of this dissertation was to examine the concept of burden of treatment (BOT), from both a conceptual and operational perspective, within cancer patients with multimorbid conditions. BOT is the combination of a patient’s workload to manage their conditions, and the patient’s perspective of that workload and their conditions. Manuscript one was a conceptual analysis and development of a conceptual model focused on the BOT of cancer patients with multimorbid conditions. Manuscripts two and three were secondary data analyses that utilized data from a parent trial study. The parent trial was a multi-site, randomized controlled trial (RCT) that tested an adherence and symptom management intervention in cancer patients that were newly prescribed oral oncolytic agents (OOA) over 12 weeks. Manuscript two examined patients’ OOA acquisition, defined as the number of days from the time of initial prescription until patients received their drug. This manuscript also examined how baseline disease/treatment factors (OOA drug class) and healthcare system factors (insurance type, recruitment site, and OOA copay) might predict the time to acquisition. All 272 patients form the parent trial were included in manuscript two. The number of days to acquisition was collected from the patient during the baseline telephone interview. The sample was evenly split between males and females, had a mean age of 61 years (SD=12.2), and was primarily Caucasian (89%). Patients waited on average 9.73 days from the time of initial prescription to receive their OOAs (range 0-135 days). ANOVA results showed that those that had a copay waited longer to receive their OOA (P = .02). Additionally, there was a significant interaction effect between OOA drug class, insurance type, and OOA copay (P = .01). Simple interaction effects showed significant acquisition times for those prescribed kinase inhibitors, F (1, 114) = 6.709, p .01, and sex hormone inhibitors, F (1, 19) = 7.879, p .01, depending on the type of insurance and whether or not individuals had a copay. Manuscript three operationally tested the conceptual model developed in manuscript one. This chapter examined the direct relationship between baseline antecedent characteristics and temporary stoppages of patients’ OOA regimens. Additionally, BOT-indicator variables were examined for a moderation effect on this direct relationship. OOA regimen complexity was utilized for the patient workload component of BOT, while patients’ rating of their symptom interference on daily activities was used for patient perspective. More than 36% of patients in the parent trial experienced a temporary stoppage of their OOA regimen over 12 weeks. The moderation, interaction terms between BOT and multimorbidity were statistically non-significant. However, females (P = .02) and those prescribed kinase inhibitors (P < .01) were more likely to experience temporary stoppages when compared with males and other OOA drug classes, respectively. Burden of treatment is a recently developed concept that will be valuable to research and practice as the prevalence of individuals with cancer and multimorbid conditions continues to increase. An individual’s BOT can be related to the tasks required of them to manage their conditions, as well as the perspective they have about these tasks and conditions. This dissertation provided conceptual insight into the BOT experienced by cancer patients with multimorbid conditions, as well as the negative outcomes they may experience if their burden becomes too great. Patients may experience long wait times to receive cancer treatment that is vital, given their critical disease status. Although non-significant, there was a descriptive trend of more multimorbid conditions being associated with a greater proportion of temporary stoppages, as well as sex and drug class having an impact on these treatment modifications. The current literature does not adequately describe the burden of treatment experienced by cancer patients. Future research and practice guidelines are needed to help identify and ease the burden of treatment that individuals with cancer and multimorbid conditions experience.
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