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In the history of Catholic initiation, there have been moments of dissonance between what the institution expects to happen in the sacraments of baptism, confirmation, and Eucharist, and what actually occurs when they are practiced at the local level. Such dissonance often then leads to an evolution in the understanding and/or practice of these sacraments such as when Augustine‟s theology of imputed sin created an emphasis on infant baptism or when the drunkenness of early Christians at the Eucharist table led to shifting communion from an evening meal to a morning liturgy. In light of this historical pattern, this dissertation looks at a current form of dissonance and evolution in the specific context of the western suburbs of Minneapolis. Here, the dissonance relates to high rates of initiate attrition immediately following the ritual process despite institutional expectations that initiates be incorporated into the community as actively participating members. This dissonance is documented through two years of qualitative, interview-based research in multiple Catholic parishes as well as several Protestant churches on a comparative basis. Based on these reports, the dissonance, seen among Catholics and Protestants alike, seems to arise from the fact many initiates in this part of Minneapolis live as highly-empowered individuals who regularly negotiate a variety of disconnected social and relational networks – each of which vies for their attention. In this competition of social spheres, initiates commonly leave the church to participate in contexts that they perceive to “meet their needs” such as schoolwork, athletics, jobs, and other extra-curricular activities. As a result, the church appears to be in the early stages of an evolution in which initiation sacraments focus less on community incorporation and more on how they meet needs in an individual‟s faith journey.

It is commonly assumed that the more an object facilitates attainment of important goals, the more it is liked. Dissonance theory yields an opposite prediction. A two process conception of the relation between reward and attitude which reconciles these views is presented. A V-curve relation between reward magnitude and liking for activity instrumental to reward attainment is hypothesized. At the point where the relative number of dissonant cognitions is psychologically insignificant or zero, a direct satisfaction process supplants the dissonance process. The slope of the reward-attitude curve shifts from negative to positive at this transition point. In an experiment designed to test this hypothesis students were offered 2, 4, or 3 experimental credit points for committing themselves to three hours of work at a highly repetitious task. Experimental credit points contribute to students' final course grades and are therefore highly valued by subjects. The instructions were varied such that both the task and the subject’s part in the experiment were placed in either a neutral or a negative light (Neutral or Negative Instructions conditions). Regardless of the Instructions used, 8 Credit groups expressed greater liking for the activity and more pleasure with participating than 4 Credit groups. Contrary to expectation. Affect scores for 2 Credit Neutral subjects were similar to those of 4 Credit Neutral subjects and significantly lower than those of 8 Credit Neutral subjects. Several possible explanations of the lack of difference between 2 and 4 Credit Neutral groups are discussed. It is suggested that the reward-attitude function is U-shaped rather than V-shaped and that these two groups both He in a relatively flat region of the curve in which dissonance and direct satisfaction effects operate simultaneously to increase attitudinal positivity. Though Negative Instructions (administered to one 4 Credit and one 8 Credit group) were expected to produce an inverse relation between reward and liking, they simply resulted in a uniform drop in Affect Scale scores. The Instructions variable had no impact on Desired Frequency of Rest Period, a less direct index of attitude. For the reward manipulation an opposite trend occurred. Varying the number of credit points had a relatively stronger effect on Desired Frequency of Rest scores and a relatively weaker (though still significant) effect on the Affect Scales. This result suggests that the Instructions variable actually failed to alter activity attractiveness. The effects of Negative Instructions on Affect Scale ratings could have been produced either by subjects* tendency to conform to the experimenter's apparent expectations or by the decrease of inter-personal situational restraints against public expression of dislike for the experiment in the experimenter's presence. Neither acceptance nor rejection of the general two-process hypothesis of attitude formation is warranted by these data. Nevertheless, the experiment clearly demonstrates that reward magnitude and attitudes toward activities instrumental in securing the regard are positively related under certain conditions, a finding which suggests an important restriction on the generality of Festinger’s dissonance theory. / This thesis was digitized as part of a project begun in 2014 to increase the number of Duke psychology theses available online. The digitization project was spearheaded by Ciara Healy.

This thesis introduces a web of concepts to analyse Brahmsian metre and move toward a more nuanced understanding of metrical expression and narrative in his music. Recent analytical studies of metre in common-practice Western classical music have utilised a powerful analogy of consonance and dissonance between tonal and metrical dimensions. More theoretical studies, particularly of Brahms's music, have investigated how metrical states can be systematised, both abstractly and by Brahms, to create a sense of tonicity. This thesis synthesises and extends these approaches. Metrical dissonance is suggested to offer only an insufficient purchase on Brahms's metrical style, and the concept of accentual counterpoint is suggested as an alternative that gives fuller power to the explication of Brahms's metrical complexity, but without reducing that complexity. The complexity of metrical states that Brahms employs, in turn, is explored. Brahms's path to the composition of extraordinary metrical complexity in his Op. 78 violin sonata shows both his increasing systematisation of metrical states and his increasing ability to separate and manipulate metrical accent-types, the latter supporting the concept of accentual counterpoint. That metre has expressive power invites the concept of metrical narrative. An attempt is made to unite a recent theory of musical narrative with metrical analysis, inviting readings of different narrative archetypes within Brahms's metrical trajectories, with a focus on non-romantic narratives as a complement to traditional readings of unity. The pitch-metre analogy, and particularly the typicality of tonicity in metrical organisation, is problematised by those works by Brahms that begin and end in different notated metres. These instances, apparent manifestations of directional metre, are analysed, principally using the theories of hypermetre, metrical dissonance, metrical states and accentual counterpoint, with the hypothetical concepts of organisation (directional metre, metrical narrative and metrical tonicity) as interactive heuristics. Moving from organisation back to expression, the thesis closes by exploring a problem within current theories of form and phrase structure: the difference between musical expansion and extension. It highlights a metrical manifestation of this created as an effect of accentual counterpoint, dubbed metrical expansiveness, and examines the interaction of this effect with form and narrative.

Fundamental Dissonance, an original composition scored for alto saxophone and sinfonietta, explores the concept of dissonance not only in the traditional musical sense related to tonality, but as a general principle indispensable for variety and creation. The particular perspective of this concept that can be found in the early work of the Hungarian philosopher, aesthetician, and literary historian Georg Lukács has given a specific direction to my creative process. In one of his first writings, The Theory of the Novel (1914), Lukács presents the idea of dissonance in the following terms: “Every form is the resolution of a fundamental dissonance of existence.” Here Lukács refers to a general conception of form, which includes the artistic context. A couple of texts about Lukács contribute to a thorough understanding of this idea and help to give shape to my interpretation of this sentence. Resolution is the key term in the sentence and mediates between form, what will be created, and dissonance, what needs to be resolved. In this way dissonance is presented as a problem, a question, or what others have also called a knot. It is fundamental because of its previous condition to existence. Without unrest, unity keeps things in a state of equilibrium, inhibiting movement or variety. Instead, disunity, or dissonance, permits change and creation, hence existence. There is a strong link between creation and dissonance. These ideas, and the multiple interpretations of dissonance in the musical context, influenced the original concepts used in Fundamental Dissonance and guided the compositional process. The first, and perhaps more evident manifestation of dissonance is the use of specific intervals as foundations of the musical language in the piece. Uses of the set class (012); with variants (013), (023), or (024) obtained by the expansion of (01); appear not only in the melodic and harmonic aspects but also at the structural level. Some scattered uses of microtonality are also part of this approach. In opposition, and as a reference to its genesis, the “equilibrium before its existence” is represented with unisons, adding contrast and variety to the previous intervals. Contrast is the second element I used to represent Lukács’s idea of dissonance. I have included references to contrasting styles and genres, short passages in tonal chords or short melodic cells with tonal character. These traditionally consonant elements play a contrasting –i.e., dissonant- role because of the general dissonant language in which they have been placed. Other compositional aspects that serve as contrast have to do with the opposition of densities and textures; the highly marked differences between the two main themes; and the use of the alto saxophone, an instrument traditionally not belonging to the sinfonietta, as the soloist. Extramusical elements have been used as general principles in the creative process. The saxophone adopts a role of leadership from the very beginning of the piece, presenting its ideas in a monologue style. Some instruments follow the soloist while others oppose, creating a clash of forces that ultimately generates more dissonance.

For the past decade the attainment gap in college admission and graduation rates between Black males and their White counterparts has continued to grow. A growing body of research has held that there is a negative correlation between educational attainment and the decline of the Black family structure. As the structure of the Black family has deteriorated due to the lack of a male presence, so have participation rates in higher education for African American males. It is established that environmental and cultural factors have a profound influence on human behaviors, including academic performance. What is less understood is how environmental and cultural factors influence the way in which Black males come to perceive education and how those perceptions influence not only their behavior but their performance in school. It is unknown why being African American and male causes this segment of the population to stand out in the most negative and disheartening ways, both in school and in society. This study measures the perceived influence of four factors (societal dissonance, self-efficacy, African American male mentorship, and institutional support) on the academic success of African American male students at a predominantly White institution of higher education.

Genom att använda reflex kan gångtrafikanten i mörkret upptäckas 100 meter tidigare av bilisten. Ändå används de inte. CLT rör hur mentala konstruktioner formas och hur individen rör sig mellan psykologiska distanser på abstrakta eller konkreta nivåer. Kognitiv dissonans innebär att beteenden ligger i konflikt vilket leder till obehag som behöver reduceras. En enkätundersökning med 120 deltagare genomfördes med syftet att se om individer inomhus i dagsljus förklarade sin frånvaro av reflexer abstrakt medan individer utomhus i mörker förklarade konkret. Resultatet visade inget stöd för detta men däremot att män hade en tendens att förklara sig mer abstrakt än kvinnor samtidigt som de använde reflexer mer sällan och ansåg dem vara mindre viktiga för säkerheten. Resultatdiskussionen gällde om frågorna i indelningarna av abstrakt och konkret är alltför olika. Dessutom diskuteras om den psykologiska distansen var för liten eller om kön avgör mer för typ av förklaring än miljön.

For the past decade the attainment gap in college admission and graduation rates between Black males and their White counterparts has continued to grow. A growing body of research has held that there is a negative correlation between educational attainment and the decline of the Black family structure. As the structure of the Black family has deteriorated due to the lack of a male presence, so have participation rates in higher education for African American males. It is established that environmental and cultural factors have a profound influence on human behaviors, including academic performance. What is less understood is how environmental and cultural factors influence the way in which Black males come to perceive education and how those perceptions influence not only their behavior but their performance in school. It is unknown why being African American and male causes this segment of the population to stand out in the most negative and disheartening ways, both in school and in society. This study measures the perceived influence of four factors (societal dissonance, self-efficacy, African American male mentorship, and institutional support) on the academic success of African American male students at a predominantly White institution of higher education.

Title from PDF of title page (University of Missouri--Columbia, viewed on Feb 17, 2010). The entire thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file; a non-technical public abstract appears in the public.pdf file. Thesis advisor: Dr. Nelson Cowan. Includes bibliographical references.

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