Thesis (M.A.)--State University of New York at Binghamton, Department of Psychology, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Rhode Island, 2009. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 128-151).

Thesis (Ph. D. in Psychology)--Vanderbilt University, Aug. 2008. / Title from title screen. Defense date: May 7, 2007-- ETD data sheet. Includes bibliographical references.

M.A. (Social psychology) / The purpose of this study was to determine whether parental rejection and a characteristic attributional style contribute to childhood depression. After a review of existing literature on the relationship between depression,parental rejection and attributional style, it was hypothesized that parental rejection and attributional style would affect childhood depression, and therefore contribute to childhood depression. In order to test the hypothesis, children and their parents were tested. Out of the initial sample, 50 depressed and 50 non-depressed children as well as their parents undergone further tests. The tests used in this study were the CDI, DSRS, PPI and the KASTAN for the children, and the BDI, ASQ and the PARI for the parents. The results of this study indicated that parental rejection does contribute to childhood depression. There was, however, not much support provided by the data for the contribution of a characteristic attributional style to childhood depression. This would imply that further research in this area is necessary.

M.A. / The present study examined the relationship between shyness and self-conscious emotions in terms of attribution style. Participants were administered questionnaires and then categorized into fearful shy, self-conscious shy, undifferentiated shy and non-shy groups. These four groups were then compared in terms of shyness, shame, guilt, embarrassment, and attribution style. Furthermore, the relationships between shame, guilt, and embarrassment and the different attribution styles were examined. The fearful shy, self-conscious shy and undifferentiated shy groups differed from the non-shy group in terms of the attribution styles of context and luck. The fearful shy group was found to score higher than the non-shy group in terms of context, in addition to the fearful shy as well as the self-conscious shy groups scoring higher than the non-shy groups in terms of luck. However no differences were found in terms of ability and effort between the four groups. With regards to experiencing self-conscious emotions, the fearful shy, self-conscious shy, and the undifferentiated shy groups differed from the non-shy group by scoring higher on shame. The fearful shy, self-conscious shy, and the undifferentiated shy groups also scored higher in terms of embarrassment from the non-shy group, with the fearful shy group scoring the highest followed by the self-conscious shy group and then the undifferentiated shy group. Furthermore, the fearful shy and undifferentiated shy differed from one another with the fearful shy group scoring higher in terms of embarrassment. The four groups, however, did not vary in terms of guilt. In terms of the relationship between attribution styles and self-conscious emotions, positive correlations were found between ability and shame and ability and embarrassment. A positive correlation was found between effort and guilt. Positive correlations between luck and shame and luck and embarrassment were also found. Self-conscious emotions were found to be highly correlated with shyness. Attribution styles may play a significant role in terms of an individual experiencing these emotions. Shy individuals may differ from non-shy individuals with regards to the attributions they engage in, causing them to experience self-conscious emotions to a higher extent. This may suggest a cognitive component that may be associated with self-conscious emotions. Therefore, shy individuals may be predisposed to experiencing self-conscious emotions more frequently than non-shy individuals. It is suggested that future research focus on this cognitive component in the experience of self-conscious emotions.

This thesis examines the effect of ethnicity on assessments of achievement outcomes, and presents a theoretical explanation using Foschi's reformulation. The reformulation integrates aspects of attribution theory and status generalization theory. It proposes that when a higher status performer and a lower status performer are equally successful at a task, the success of the former will tend to be attributed to ability more than the success of the latter. Also, when the two performers are equally unsuccessful at a task, the performance of the lower status person will tend to be attributed to lack of ability more than the performance of the higher status person. The propositions are tested for ethnicity by collecting evidence from attribution studies dealing with ethnicity and assessment of performance outcomes. The findings indicate that there is substantial support for the propositions. Since these have not been directly tested, an experiment is proposed. In the final section of the thesis a standardized experimental format such as the one used in expectation states research is presented. / Arts, Faculty of / Anthropology, Department of / Graduate

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published_or_final_version / Education / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy