The current study examined the emergent nature of close relationship construals from the perspective of Action Identification Theory. Specifically, participants were induced to think about the actions of a romantic partner or close friend at a high- (i.e., overall meaning) or low- (concrete details) level, and then instructed to rate the validity of false feedback regarding the nature of their relationship (i.e., spontaneous, or predictable). Marginal support was found for the main prediction that focusing on low level details rather than high-level meaning would lead individuals to rate false high-level relational construals as more valid, although this effect was found only for those reporting on a romantic relationship, but not a close friendship. Further, exploratory analyses examining potential interaction effects demonstrated the relative influence of partner concept-clarity and relationship satisfaction on patterns of psychological emergence. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (MA)--Florida Atlantic University, 2021. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

This study examined how different perfectionist facets (adaptive and maladaptive) are related to self-efficacy and perceived performance. The study consisted of 145 college athletes between 18-24 years old. The sample comprised both varsity and club athletes from individual and team sports. All participants have completed a questionnaire packet, which included the Sport-MPS-2, the Physical Self-Efficacy Scale, and the Perceived Personal Performance Questionnaire. A model postulating the relationship between these variables was constructed and a path analysis was conducted to test the study's hypotheses. Results of the path analysis were inconclusive. Multiple regression analyses were then conducted to tests the hypotheses. The findings of the MR analysis suggests that even though the dimensions of perfectionism are significantly correlated, only adaptive perfectionism was a significant predictor of physical self-efficacy (PSE) and perceived performance (PPPQ). The relationship between PPPQ and PSE was not significant and thus neither of these variables mediated their respective relationships. The results conclude that the two different dimensions of perfectionism predict sport specific variables differently. / A Thesis submitted to the Department of Educational Psychology and Learning Systems in partial fulfillment of the Master of Science. / Spring Semester, 2015. / November 14, 2014. / Path Model, Perceived Performance, Perfectionism, Self-Efficacy / Includes bibliographical references. / Gershon Tenenbaum, Professor Directing Thesis; Alysia Roehrig, Committee Member; Brad Cox, Committee Member.

The purpose of the study was to examine relationships among athletic identity, reason for retirement, self-concept clarity, and loneliness during the transition process out of competitive athletics. Participants were former high school athletes (N = 65) no more than 12 months removed from their last competitive event (M = 8.52 months, SD = 3.2). Results showed that athletic identity significantly and negatively predicted the self-concept clarity of transitioning athletes. Additionally, athletes retiring for voluntary reasons showed higher self-concept clarity during the transition phase, as compared to athletes involuntarily ending their sporting careers. Self-concept clarity moderated the relationship between athletic identity and loneliness. Understanding the factors that contribute to an athlete's self-concept clarity and loneliness during the transition process allows practitioners to take a proactive approach by preventing some of the negative consequences associated with these variables including low self-esteem, neuroticism, negative affect, depression, and anxiety (Campbell, 1996). / A Thesis submitted to the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies in partial fulfillment of the Master of Science. / Spring Semester, 2015. / April 3, 2015. / Athletic Identity, Self-Concept Clarity, Sport Psychology, Transition / Includes bibliographical references. / Graig Chow, Professor Directing Thesis; Gershon Tenenbaum, Committee Member; Shengli Dong, Committee Member.

Decades of research have described East Asian cultures as collectivistic, often characterized by ingroup relationships that are harmonious and cooperative. I propose an alternative account of East Asian Collectivism—the Harm-in-Harmony Theory. Specifically, I propose that East Asian culture can be better understood as a tension between high levels of cooperation and competition within groups. The co-existence of cooperation and competition drives competition covert. To cope with covert competition, people in East Asia develop a heightened threat-detection system—ingroup vigilance—a cognitive tendency to perceive ingroup members as hostile and threatening. The Harm-in-Harmony theory provides an alternative account for a number of cross-cultural differences (i.e., East Asians being more responsive and attentive to others) that have previously been explained through harmonious interdependence. This work contributes to a more balanced view of collectivism, revealing its interpersonal tensions in the forms of covert competition and ingroup vigilance.

Nurses comprise the largest single component of hospital staff, and are the primary providers of direct patient care (American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 2011). Nationwide, nursing is the largest healthcare profession, with more than 3.1 million Registered Nurses (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2010). The number of nurses that passed the licensing exam increased steadily between 2001 and 2011, from 68,561 to 142,390 NCLEX-RN passers; representing a 107.7% growth (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2013). Music therapy, as a growing health care profession, has 19% of the Board Certified music therapists employed in a mental health setting, the largest population served, according to the response to the 2015 American Music Therapy Member Survey and Workforce Analysis (AMTA, 2015). With the understanding of the steady increase in upcoming nursing professionals and the growth and need of music therapy in mental health settings, this study aimed to assess nursing students' attitudes towards music therapy and its role in mental health. Participants (N=194) completed a one-time survey consisting of Likert-scale questions with responses pertaining to knowledge, perception, and opinions on music therapy. The largest group of participants (39%) responded that they knew about music therapy's role in mental health but were doubtful if this information was accurate. Regarding the effectiveness of music therapy in addressing certain goals in mental health treatment, the goals ‘Decrease Depressive Symptoms', and ‘Anxiety Reduction" were found to have higher scores than the other goals listed on the survey. Results also showed that participants who indicated that they previously attended/observed a music therapy session, viewed it as more valuable in mental health treatment than those who indicated no former experience. These results were statistically significant at the α = .05 level. Academic level was also a variable that had a significant effect on participants' perceived value of music therapy in mental health treatment. Participants who identified themselves as seniors rated music therapy as more valuable compared to those students who identified themselves as juniors. Additionally, 52% of participants who stated previous exposure to music therapy indicated future patient's referral to music therapy to be ‘Extremely Likely'. Implications for these results are explored. / A Thesis submitted to the College of Music in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Music. / Spring Semester 2016. / April 14, 2016. / Attitudes, Music, Music Therapy, Nursing Students, Opinions, Perception / Includes bibliographical references. / Jayne M. Standley, Professor Directing Thesis; Dianne Gregory, Committee Member; Lori F. Gooding, Committee Member.

Farmers markets surged in popularity in the United States over the past two decades. The negative consequences of large-scale, industrialized agriculture and changing consumer interests together stimulated this drive towards alternative farming practices and local, direct-from-producer foods. As a result, farmers markets created the opportunity for new, small-scale producers to enter the marketplace and make a living off the land. The need persists to explore the social aspects of this food phenomenon from the perspective of the farmer. Using in-depth interviews with farmers and fieldwork at several farmers markets, I examine how producers became and remained vendors at farmers markets. In the first empirical analysis (Chapter 4), I use farmers' retrospective accounts to outline the ways farming was discovered and the indirect and lengthy process of becoming a farmers market vendor. Along with market opportunity, I find that this process was dependent on a combination of social support, personal determination and unforeseeable life circumstances. In my second analysis (Chapter 5), I use a combination of interviews, fieldwork, and personal experience as a farmer and vendor to explore the spoken and unspoken requirement for farmers to create an "authentic" farmers market. Farmers' success at the market depended on their ability to create this authentic experience. I find that farmers used strictly enforced market rules and carefully crafted product displays, personal presentations, and social interactions to meet customers' expectations of legitimate farmers and an authentic farmers market. Additionally, I show how these expectations and presentations directly contrasted with the realities of life on the farm. Overall, my research shows how socialized perceptions of farming determined farmers' willingness to adopt the occupation. Once in, farmers sustained their place at the market by meeting customers' expectations and standards of authenticity. Often times this meant farmers had to cover and hide the ugly aspects of their work. These findings show that expectations, meanings, and the social interactions that create and maintain them are import factors to consider in research connecting food production and consumption. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Sociology in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester 2016. / April 11, 2016. / Farmers Markets, Farming, Food, Identity, Social Construction / Includes bibliographical references. / Douglas Schrock, Professor Directing Dissertation; Jeffrey Broome, University Representative; John Reynolds, Committee Member; Hernan Ramirez, Committee Member.

What biological processes underlie self-control, such that this adaptive skill differs among people and appears to be functionally limited? The current research aims to answer this question by proposing that adenosine, an inhibitory neurotransmitter that helps to link the rate of energy expenditures to available energy resources in the brain, signals self-control depletion. Two studies were conducted to test the adenosine hypothesis, taking advantage of caffeine’s ability to block adenosine’s action. A first, correlational study furnished evidence for the hypothesis that people who can benefit most from a boost in self-control (i.e., who have lower trait self-control and higher demands for self-control at work) would consume and depend on caffeine to improve their performance in domains which require self-control more than people with sufficient self-control resources (i.e., who have higher self-control and lower demands for self-control at work). A second, experimental study using a self-control depletion manipulation tested whether caffeine directly improves self-control and counteracts ego depletion. However, Study 2 did not furnish support for the adenosine hypothesis. Implications and future directions are discussed. / A Thesis submitted to the Department of Psychology in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science. / Summer Semester 2016. / May 4, 2016. / Adenosine, Caffeine, Ego Depletion, Practice Effects, Self-Control / Includes bibliographical references. / Roy F. Baumeister, Professor Directing Thesis; James K. McNulty, Committee Member; Lisa A. Eckel, Committee Member.

Understanding athlete transition is a complex process which involves many subjective pieces. A review of previous literature on athletic career termination has shown that two of the most highly debated topics include athletes' specific reason for retirement (Cockerill 2004; Orlick & Sinclair 1993; Webb, Nasco, Riley, & Headrick 1998), and the coping techniques employed by athletes during their transition period (Coakley 1983; Grove, Lavallee, & Gordon, 1997; Lavallee 2005; Sinclair & Orlick, 1993; Reynolds 1981). The purpose of this study was to examine important components involved in retirement from National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) competitive athletics: self-concept clarity, athletic identity, willingness to retire, coping and overall life satisfaction. Self-concept clarity was conceptualized as the primary variable of focus because it tends to be internally consistent over time (Lodi-Smith & Roberts, 2010), and previous studies have shown that the effect of role exits and entries negatively predicts one's perceived self-concept clarity (Light & Visser, 2013). Participants were female (n=148) and male (n=89) former NCAA athletes from over 75 different Division I colleges and universities across the United States, ranging in age from 20 to 27 years old (M=22.47, SD=.837). They were to be no more than 12 months removed from their last NCAA game or practice, and the total number of months they were retired ranged from 1 to 12 months (M=7.77, SD= 2.1). Path analyses were used to determine which factors significantly contributed to self-concept clarity, and overall life satisfaction. Results revealed coping style, significantly mediated the relationship between athletic identity, willingness to retire, and self-concept clarity. Most importantly, emotion-focused coping lead to higher self-concept clarity for athletes during the transition process, and avoidance coping lead to a negative effect on athlete self-concept clarity. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Educational Psychology and Learning Systems in partial fulfillment of the Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester 2017. / April 12, 2017. / Athletics, Career Termination, Coping, NCAA, Retirement, Self-Concept / Includes bibliographical references. / Graig Chow, Professor Directing Dissertation; Joshua Newman, University Representative; Gershon Tenenbaum, Committee Member; Paul Conway, Committee Member.

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