The perspective from which people view or imagine a situation has downstream effects on the construal of that situation and subsequent cognitions and behaviours. My study suggests that these effects from the mental and visual imagery literature carry over to the domain of interactive media, specifically video gaming. I manipulated whether 82 undergraduates played a motorcycle racing video game from either the first-person perspective or the third-person perspective and had participants rate the perceived risk of a list of 24 different inherently risky activities and then rate their willingness to engage in the same activities. Participants who had played the video game from the third-person perspective perceived the activities as more risky than participants in the first-person perspective. Furthermore, participants in the third-person perspective condition reported less willingness to engage in the risky activities than those in the first-person condition. Mediation analysis confirms that the effect of perspective on willingness to take risks is mediated by risk perceptions. Implications are discussed for the literatures on visual perspective, action construal and detrimental effects of video gaming.

Visual perspective in the context of autobiographical memory research refers to the point of view from which an individual constructs a visual image of a past event. While the number of studies focusing on this phenomenological aspect of retrieval has increased in the last decade, a basic understanding of the meaning of perspective and its fundamental characteristics has not been fully established. The current studies attempt to further this understanding. The first series of studies examine the role of memory age in perspective using continuous scales to measure self-reported perspective. These studies show memories change in a linear fashion, from first- to third-person perspective, as memories become more remote. Furthermore, individuals report more than one perspective during a single retrieval episode, females report more third-person perspective than do males, and individual differences in perspective use were observed. These individual differences were not accounted for by personality differences, such as levels of public self-consciousness. A second series of studies asked participants to describe the location of their visual perspective, rather than using continuous scales. These studies show visual perspective location varies greatly and consistently across space and for different events. For example, memories of giving a presentation were more likely to be visualized from in front of the individual, whereas memories of running from a threat were visualized from behind the individual. Although perspective location varies across events and space, location did not affect other phenomenological aspects of retrieval, such as memory vividness, belief in the accuracy of one's memory, or the degree of reliving experienced, nor did location map onto the ideal location for watching an event unfold or for watching one's self complete a task. Together these studies further characterize visual perspective during retrieval, suggesting it is more complex than a simple, dichotomous distinction between first- and third-person perspective. Additionally, they highlight the importance of understanding the phenomenological experience of perspective in order to appreciate its significance in other domains. / Dissertation

No description available.

The perspective from which people view or imagine a situation has downstream effects on the construal of that situation and subsequent cognitions and behaviours. My study suggests that these effects from the mental and visual imagery literature carry over to the domain of interactive media, specifically video gaming. I manipulated whether 82 undergraduates played a motorcycle racing video game from either the first-person perspective or the third-person perspective and had participants rate the perceived risk of a list of 24 different inherently risky activities and then rate their willingness to engage in the same activities. Participants who had played the video game from the third-person perspective perceived the activities as more risky than participants in the first-person perspective. Furthermore, participants in the third-person perspective condition reported less willingness to engage in the risky activities than those in the first-person condition. Mediation analysis confirms that the effect of perspective on willingness to take risks is mediated by risk perceptions. Implications are discussed for the literatures on visual perspective, action construal and detrimental effects of video gaming.

Using an anthropological perspective and referring primarily to work by Sidney Mintz, Michel Foucault and Pierre Bourdieu this dissertation focuses on the cultural importance of sugar in rural Berber communities within the Rif region of North Africa. In particular, Mintz is referred to with regard to slavery, Bourdieu in relation to habitus and Foucault in relation to normalization of mass beliefs as well as to events occurring in Morocco which relate directly to power structures within society. As well as providing information about the cultural importance of sugar, an historical account of the development of the sugar industry in Morocco is provided. This includes subsequent economic effects both in Morocco and Europe, with details in relation to the development and decline of the sugar industry, the introduction of slavery to Morocco as well as worldwide economic influences. The latter also demonstrates that sugar has been attributed power which is exerted not only within Berber culture from birth to death, but has had an influence throughout social and economic history since the introduction of the Qu’ran to the present day. An argument is developed which suggests that the presence of apparent discrimination and inequalities have arisen partly from a pure desire for sugar. Some long lasting health and environmental effects of processing sugar are outlined and discussed in relation to the health of Rif Berber. This includes a general outline of societal inequalities between genders in health care, including diseases such as diabetes. Tuberculosis along with diabetes, are discussed in order to show that they are social markers which reinforce various power structures within Moroccan communities. The emergence of slavery, land use, and the effects of the rise and subsequent decline of the sugar industry in Morocco are covered. Examples are given of how power shifted from those initially in authority to individuals at local level who complied with certain social norms and beliefs. This closely relates to the importance of sugar in Morocco, its relevance as an introduced crop along with the subsequent social, national and international changes which occurred and to a large extent remain firmly in place today. The long-lasting environmental impacts of the sugar industry represent both direct and indirect power struggles which are unlikely to be remedied without international intervention.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Alabama at Birmingham, 2008. / Additional advisors: Daniel Anderson, Daniel Siegel, Mary Kaiser. Description based on contents viewed Feb. 10, 2009; title from PDF t.p.

Thèse (M.A.)--Université de Sherbrooke (Canada), 2007. / Titre de l'écran-titre (visionné le 6 mai 2008). In ProQuest dissertations and theses. Publié aussi en version papier.

Thesis (M.A.)--Humboldt State University, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 59-63). Also available via Humboldt Digital Scholar.

Thesis (M.S.)--West Virginia University, 2010. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains vii, 104 p. : ill. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 52-62).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California. / Photocopy made by University Microfilms International, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 1980.