An individual`s eyes provide a wealth of information during social interactions. The present research investigates the social adjustment implications of one gaze behaviour, specifically, shared attention, which is the tendency to follow an interlocutor`s directed gaze to attend to the same object or location. Recent clinical research suggested that gaze control reflects the capacity to differentiate self from other at the attentional level, since patient populations with poor gaze control abilities (i.e., schizophrenic patients) were also found to exhibit difficulty in differentiating between the self and another agent. Four studies were conducted to examine whether flexible gaze following behavior, specifically the ability to inhibit gaze-following, when the situation warrants, would be positively linked with two markers of adaptive social functioning: sociocognitive abilities and self-close other(s) differentiation. Based on previous research that gaze cues linked to upright (but not inverted) faces trigger reflexive gaze following mechanisms, an upright face condition was used to assess social cueing mechanisms and an inverted face condition, as a control for non-social cueing mechanisms in a gaze control task with realistic (Study 2) and schematic faces (Studies 1, 3, and 4). Studies 1-4 showed that more flexible gaze following behavior predicted superior sociocognitive abilities, as indexed by higher capacity to infer the mental states of others in both young and older adults (Studies 1-3), as well as in clinical populations (i.e., Parkinson’s Disease [PD] patients, Study 4). Studies 2-4 further revealed that poorer gaze control predicted decreased self-close other differentiation in both younger and older adults. In Study 2, poorer gaze control performance characterized young adults from enmeshed family systems, which allow limited private space and emotional autonomy. In Studies 3 and 4, poorer gaze control predicted decreased cognitive-affective differentiation from one’s spouse and lower marital quality in healthy elderly couples (Study 3) and elderly couples, where one spouse had PD (Study 4). The present findings argue for the existence of a unified sociocognitive network, perpetually shaped by one’s interpersonal history, and which encompasses perceptual mechanisms, specialized for face and gaze processing and higher-order cognitive mechanisms, specialized for processing the meaning (s) of social environments.

The current dissertation employed a multi-method approach to examine gratitude as a mediator of the well-established relation between agreeableness and relationship quality. Study 1 examined this hypothesis in a sample of 158 same-sex best friend pair recruited from the Introductory Psychology subject pool at the University of Toronto, Mississauga. Each friend made self- and informant ratings of agreeableness and dispositional gratitude. Friends also made self-ratings of friendship quality. Structural equation model analyses with latent factors revealed that dispositional gratitude fully mediated the effects of agreeableness on friendship support, intimacy, and affection. Study 2 extended the findings of Study 1 by examining whether frequency of grateful affect was a more proximal mediator of the relation between agreeableness and marital quality. One hundred and ninety-seven family triads (student, mother and father) were recruited from the Introductory Psychology subject pools at the University of Toronto, St. George and Mississauga. Each member of the triad made self- and informant ratings of agreeableness, dispositional gratitude, frequency of grateful affect, and relationship quality. Structural equation model analyses with latent factors showed that frequency of spouses’ grateful affect fully mediated the effects of spouses’ agreeableness on marital support and intimacy and partially mediated the effect of agreeableness on marital companionship and affection. In sum, the findings of the current dissertation suggest that gratitude is one way in which agreeable individuals maintain good quality friendships and marital relationships. The implications of these results for current theories of gratitude as well as relationship research are discussed.

The goal of this dissertation was to examine how people pursue their personal goals in the context of an intimate relationship. Two studies were conducted; a daily diary study of dating partners’ joint activities and a longitudinal study of newly dating couples. In the daily diary study, people reported on their daily joint activities with their dating partners regarding whether their goals were met and how they were feeling during the given activity. The results showed that when people’s goals were met in an activity, their partners were able to accurately perceive that their goals were being met. However, when their goals were not met in the activity, their partners’ accuracy regarding their goals was only at chance levels. The partners’ overall levels of goal congruence did not predict the proportion of goal-congruent activities the partners participated in. However, the partners’ level of goal congruence predicted increases in life satisfaction, relationship commitment, and relationship satisfaction, as well as decreases in negative affect over time. In the longitudinal study, newly dating couples filled out measures of their goals, well-being, and relationship quality during their initial session. Three months later, the couples filled out measures of these same constructs again and answered questions about the goals that they reported pursuing during their initial session. Results showed that concurrently, the partners’ levels of goal congruence were associated with greater ability to make goal progress and higher relationship satisfaction, both of which, in turn, were associated with higher subjective well-being. Longitudinally, initial levels of goal congruence did not predict changes in goal progress and relationship quality over time. However, analysis of the individual goals indicated that people adjusted their goal pursuits based on the level of goal conflict between their own goals and their partners’ goals, such that people were more likely to stop pursuing or devalue goals that conflicted with their partners’ goals over time. Furthermore, the tendency to adjust goals over time was associated with increasing relationship commitment. The results of these studies show that conflict between relationship partners’ goals has important consequences for their relationship, goal progress, and personal well-being.

Master of Science / Department of Psychology / Donald A. Saucier / Researchers have yet to examine how trait sensation seeking and state positive affect combine to influence participation in risky behaviors. This study examined how participant levels of sensation seeking and positive affect interacted to influence participant interest in performing a risky behavior. It was hypothesized that an interaction between sensation seeking and positive affect would be found, such that high sensation seekers low in positive affect would show more interest in participating in a risky activity than high sensation seekers that were high in positive affect or all participants low in sensation seeking, regardless of positive affect. Trait sensation seeking was measured in an initial group of participants (N = 693), using a subscale of the Zuckerman-Kuhlman Personality Questionnaire (Zuckerman Kuhlman, Joireman, Teta, & Kraft, 1993). Using these scores, high and low sensation seekers (N = 99) were invited to a second study, where videos were used to manipulate levels of state positive affect (Hemenover, 2003). Participants were then given a questionnaire to measure interest in participating in a risky drug study. No interaction was found, but a main effect for sensation seeking (Zuckerman, 1971) was discovered, such that high sensation seekers reported more interest in participating in a risky behavior than low sensation seekers. Therefore, it appears that participant interest in risky behaviors was a function of levels of trait sensation seeking. It is possible that problems with data collection or the risk-taking scenario contributed to the inability to support the hypothesis.

Master of Science / Department of Psychology / Mark A. Barnett / The term “moral rebel” describes an individual who refuses to comply, remain silent, or conform to others when doing so would compromise his or her values. Although researchers have identified individuals whose moral judgments reflect an adherence to “individual principles and conscience,” little attention has been given to the assessment, correlates, and perceptions of individuals who follow their own moral convictions despite considerable social pressure not to do so. The present study examined (1) the extent to which adolescents, peers, and teachers agree in their ratings of adolescents’ tendencies to be a moral rebel, (2) some characteristics potentially associated with differences in adolescents’ tendencies to be a moral rebel, and (3) the extent to which adolescents’ attitudes toward a moral rebel (vs. a non-moral rebel) are influenced by their own level of “moral rebelness” (as assessed by self, peers, and teachers). Results revealed significant positive correlations among all of the self-report, peer, and teacher ratings of moral rebelness for the entire sample (and for male and female participants considered separately). Contrary to predictions, self-report, peer and teacher ratings of adolescents’ moral rebelness were not robustly associated with any individual difference variable. Generally, adolescents reported relatively favorable attitudes toward a moral rebel (compared to a non-moral rebel), especially when they themselves had heightened ratings on this characteristic. The implications and limitations of the present findings, as well as directions for future research on the topic of moral rebelness in adolescents, are addressed.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Psychology / Clive J. A. Fullagar / New scales were developed to measure conflict between work and school and family and school. These scales displayed adequate psychometric properties. A scale was developed to measure the propensity to experience inter-role conflict. The Propensity for Inter-role Conflict Scale (PIRCS) has excellent psychometric properties as established through exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis and scale and item analysis. PIRCS scores mediated the relationship between 14 of the 15 inter-role conflict to inter-role conflict pairs and displayed incremental validity, beyond known correlates of inter-role conflict, in the prediction of the six forms of inter-role conflict included in the study. The consequences of inter-role conflict were shown to affect the frequency of conflict between roles. However, this was only true when the data were aggregated. This indicates people take deliberate actions to limit certain forms of inter-role conflict. The boundaries between roles are differentially permeable. The work role boundary was most resistant to inter-role conflict. The family role boundary was least resistant to conflict from other roles. Personal characteristics affected the amount of inter-role conflict a person experienced. Women experienced significantly more conflict between family and school and school and family than men. Women were more adversely affected by the presence of children in the home than were men. Work conditions were also related to the experience of inter-role conflict. Working more hours was associated with higher levels of work-to-family and work-to-school conflict. Participants who worked weekends reported higher levels of work-to-family and work-to-school conflict. Employees who perceived greater flexibility at work reported less work-to-family and work-to-school conflict than those with less flexibility. The more semester hours participants were taking, the more conflict they reported between family and school, school and family and work and school. Spending more time on homework and study was associated with higher levels of conflict from school to family. The spillover of conflict between spouses was also demonstrated. The more hours a participant‟s spouse worked the more conflict the participant experienced from family to school and school to family.

La psychopathie est un désordre de la personnalité caractérisé par des traits de comportement, tels qu’un manque d’empathie, du narcissisme, une estime de soi élevée, etc. Souvent, ces traits sont considérés comme indésirables. Ces caractéristiques se manifestent chez l’homme et la femme, autant dans la population criminelle que non-criminelle. L’étude de la psychopathie et la relation entre celle-ci et d’autres désordres mentaux représente un domaine relativement novateur de la psychologie. Des études démontrent une forte corrélation négative entre la psychopathie et l'anxiété, et entre la psychopathie et la dépression. Au total, 92 étudiants actuels ou ayant récemment graduées, au niveau du baccalauréat, de la maîtrise, et du doctorat ont été recrutés pour participer à cette étude. Ces participants ont complété quatre questionnaires standardisées qui évaluent leur niveau de psychopathie, d’anxiété et de dépression. Les évaluations utilisées sont le « Levenson’s Self-Report Psychopathy scale », le « Childhood and Adolescent Taxon Self-Report », le « Beck Depression Inventory », et le « Beck Anxiety Inventory ». Les résultats suggèrent l'existence d'une forte corrélation positive entre la dépression et la psychopathie, entre l'anxiété et la psychopathie, et entre l'anxiété et la dépression. Des variables additionnelles, tels que le sexe et l’éducation antérieure, contribuent aussi de façon significatives à ce modèle. Les résultats sont analysés tout en considérant des études antérieures et l’importance de la comorbidité psychopathique dans la recherche à venir. / Psychopathy is a personality disorder characterized by behavioral traits that are often considered undesirable. These traits include callousness, lack of empathy, narcissism, and increased sense of self-worth. These characteristics of psychopathy manifest themselves in men and women alike, and within both criminal and noncriminal populations. The study of the relationship between psychopathy and other mental disorders is a relatively new area of research within the field of psychology. The present study attempted to expand this area of research, namely by examining the relationship between psychopathy, anxiety, and depression. Studies conducted on this relationship have thus far shown that both anxiety and depression disorder are significantly and negatively correlated with psychopathy. For the present study, a total of 92 currently enrolled or recently graduated undergraduate and graduate students were recruited for participation. The participants completed four standardized scales that assessed their level of psychopathy, anxiety, and depression disorder. Participants were assessed using the Levenson’s Self-Report Psychopathy scale, the Childhood and Adolescent Taxon Self-Report, the Beck Depression Inventory, and the Beck Anxiety Inventory. The results suggested that both anxiety and depression are positively and significantly correlated with psychopathy as well as with each other. Additional variables, such as gender and educational origins, were found to contribute significantly to the model. The discussion of the results of the present study includes the findings of previous, related research as well as the importance of psychopathic comorbidity analyses in future research.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Human Nutrition / Edgar Chambers IV / Understanding how consumers perceive fragrances based on different aspects (e.g., hedonic, emotions, term association, expectation of functional benefit, and use occasion, etc.) can help product developers or marketers create the right product or message for consumers. The objective of this study was to understand how consumers from different demographic groups, personality types, and liking patterns responded to fragrance samples. Five masculine odorants were selected and evaluated by 240 consumers across the United States. Results demonstrated that consumers from different groups (classified based on age, gender, or personality) generally differentiated products similarly. However, consumers from different personality segments used the scales differently. That is, persons who were more open, extrovert, or agreeable tended to score higher than the others. Consumers associated the most liked odorants with terms such as clean, crisp, fresh, and natural. In addition, the most liked odorants increased positive emotions, tended to be used across the most occasions, were appropriate for most products, and raised expectations of functional benefits. In contrast, consumers associated the least liked samples with the terms heavy and bold and had negative responses to most items. Similar findings were found when analyses were conducted on consumers classifying based on liking patterns. Each consumer group liked specific odorants; however, the relationship between the most liked samples and the response variables were similar. Analysis results demonstrated that openness to experience was the only personality factor that influenced fragrance acceptance. Consumers from different demographic segments tended to like different fragrances. For example, men tended to like chypré smells, whereas younger consumers tended to like soft floral/powdery scents. One limitation of the study is the number and type of fragrances tested. It is possible that a different set of fragrances could have produced different results. However, the range of fragrances in this study was broad-based and generally covered the types of fragrances typically available in the marketplace.

The problem investigated in this research, comprising 2 studies, concerned factors influencing successful transition to retirement. Study 1 employed a survey methodology to explore the effects of demographics, involvement in activities, and the use of effective coping strategies/styles on depression-happiness levels.Study 2, emerged from the findings of Study 1. Comprising 84 participants, it used an experimental design, and investigated whether retirees could develop coping strategies to enhance happiness. Participants were matched according to their Depression Happiness Scale scores, and then one from each pair was randomly assigned either to a treatment group or to a control group.Implications from the research are that a coping skills program can be successful in enhancing happiness levels, and it may be beneficial to include happiness indicators in government social policies. Results obtained increased the understanding of factors contributing to a healthy adjustment in the later years of life.

Popular music plays a significant role in the lives of most adolescents. The central question explored is whether three groups of adolescents (psychiatrically ill, depressed, and non-clinical adolescents) differed on self-reported data on: (a) the role of popular music in their lives, and (b) in their emotional reactions to music. The next question is whether the developmental issues of gender and personality consolidation, age, and school commitment simultaneously influence how the three groups of adolescents use music in their lives and in their emotional reactions to music. The last question is whether the three groups have significantly different music preferences in the five genres of popular (rap, pop/dance, heavy metal/hard rock, classic rock, and alternative). There were 126 subjects employed in this research. I created the Walker Music Questionnaire (WMQ) to explore the role and importance that music plays in the lives of the adolescents. A factor analysis found five factors (Introspection, Identity-Music, Discerning Music Identity, Fantasy-Rebellion, and Identity-Self). The Adolescent Semantic Differential Scales (ASDS) measured the adolescents’ emotional responses to 10 pieces of popular music representing the five genres described above. These scales are well known measures of emotional response and I added eight adjectives that represented adolescent issues. This measure was also factor analyzed and the three factors of Evaluation, Romance, and Potency emerged. Preference for the five genres was determined from the Adolescent Semantic Differential Scales. MANOVAS were done with both sets of factors derived from the WMQ and ASDS simultaneously using the developmental variables of age group, gender, personality, and school commitment. Psychological health was found to be a significant variable. Specifically, the role of music for the depressed group was significantly different from the other two groups of adolescents. The developmental issues that remained significant were personality and school commitment. Furthermore, the psychiatrically ill group reacted more emotionally to the music than the other two groups and this remained significant even when the developmental variable of personality was considered. The three groups were not differentiated by their preference ratings on the ASDS.