This dissertation created a model to explore the effect of dominant group status on stigmatization of mental illness and on moral relativism and the interactive effect of dominant group status on stigmatization of mental illness through moral relativism. The model was conceptualized according to social dominance theory. Latent variables were created to measure moral relativism and stigmatization of mental illness. The latent measures were conceptualized according to current theories in the fields of moral relativism and stigmatization. During statistical analyses the latent measure for moral relativism was found to be unreliable. The study then became confirmatory-exploratory in nature by first comparing the fit indices of three alternate models with single-measure latent variables. The model that best fit the data was then used to conclude the exploratory research on the effect of group status on moral relativism and stigmatization of mental illness. The model was not supported by the data based on fit index and standardized residual scores.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Racial and gender discrimination in the workplace is still prevalent in western society. Authoritarian organizational hierarchies may further embed stereotypes and prejudice that reduce the likelihood for inclusion and equity within organizations. Democracy as an alternative governance structure for organizations has been proposed and practiced in organizations within western societies demonstrating effectiveness in reducing class disparities, but limited work has investigated racial and gender-based disparities. Employees working in democratically and non-democratically governed organizations were surveyed on their level of participation in organizational governance and attitudes toward their organization. Employees within democratically governed organizations experience on average higher positive job attitudes compared to employees in non-democratically governed organizations regardless of gender or race. It is found that women, Asian American, and Pacific Islander employees participate in organizational governance at equivalent rates as White male colleagues, but Black, Indigenous, and People of Color employees do not. Members of minoritized groups within democratically governed organizations experience similar feelings influence over organizational outcomes and psychological ownership compared to their White male colleagues. Findings also imply having an ownership stake in the organization plays a significant role individual participation but cannot fully account for racial disparities in participation rates within democratically governed organizations. These results imply democratically governed organizations may effectively increase racial and gender inclusion and equity, but not fully reduce existing racial disparities. Future work should continue to explore additional mechanisms that influence individual participation in organizational governance and how perceptions of status and competence differentiate between governance structures within organizations.

This thesis examines the factors which impact societal willingness to integrate in a post conflict, post power sharing agreement environment. Utilizing the Northern Ireland case, this study analyzes variance in willingness to integrate between Protestant and Catholic groups. Analysis of the Northern Ireland Life and Times survey data illustrates the shifting relationship between political trust and ingroup/outgroup frustrations on levels of willingness to integrate since the Good Friday Agreement. Statistical analyses indicate confirmation of ingroup attachment and elite political trust hypotheses, and reduced impact of outgroup benefit perceptions on willingness to integrate since the Good Friday Agreement.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Psychological Sciences / Patrick Knight / Recruiters and recruitment materials can signal to job seekers certain aspects of the organization which may affect how attractive the organization appears as a potential employer (signaling theory; Rynes, Bretz, & Gerhart, 1991). Some signals received during recruitment can indicate that social-based inequalities and hierarchies may exist (social dominance theory; Sidanius & Pratto, 1999). It is possible that women might perceive themselves as part of a subordinate group in fields where they are underrepresented, such as the areas of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The current research examines participant gender and the effects of using traditionally feminine words, masculine words, or neutral words in recruitment material on participants’ ratings of STEM program attractiveness and perceptions of institutional belonging. Furthermore, one’s goal orientation can influence the type of goal one is attracted to and whether it will be adopted; the current research looks at the effects of one’s goal orientation and how that is related to the person’s efficacy regarding STEM recruitment materials (Elliott & Dweck, 1988). Additionally, a goal orientation intervention was conducted in an attempt to influence participants’ situational learning goal orientations and measured efficacy. While the gendered wording of the recruitment material did not influence participants’ ratings of attraction and perceived belongingness, women rated the STEM recruitment material as more attractive than men. Additionally, participants’ learning goal orientation was found to have a significant influence on their measured efficacy. The results of this research have implications for recruiting female applicants to STEM programs/careers and suggestions for organizational interventions and best practices in order to positively affect job outcomes.

<p dir="ltr">Ninety percent of humans are right-handed, and this is often construed to mean that the right hand is better than the left at all tasks, in the right-handed individuals. However, we often ignore the important role played by the left-hand when performing certain bimanual tasks. For instance, when slicing a bread loaf, stabilizing the bread with the left hand is as important as slicing it with the right hand. This implies that each hand is dominant in different types of tasks. The influential dynamic dominance theory posits that each hand’s specific dominance arises from the contralateral hemisphere specialization. The dominant (right) arm produces well-coordinated movements because the left hemisphere is superior at predictive control, and the non-dominant (left) arm shows better stabilizing performance because the right hemisphere is superior at impedance control. This theory has been proposed by studying arm movements. However, it is unclear whether the features of this theory extend to grip force control during object manipulation. This is an important gap in our knowledge; identifying the differences in hand-specific control of grip force would improve our understanding of sensorimotor control of skilled bimanual manipulations. Therefore, the goal of my dissertation was to investigate whether the features of dynamic dominance extend to the control of grip forces in bimanual object manipulation.</p><p dir="ltr">In this dissertation, I performed two studies to investigate the control of complex, bimanual object manipulation tasks. Participants held an object in each hand. The two objects were connected by a spring. The grip forces of each hand accounted not only for the dynamics of the object that the hand manipulated, but also for the destabilizing forces that arose from the actions of the other hand that were transmitted by the spring. This experimental design mimics ecological tasks like slicing bread to the first degree of approximation. The goals were to determine whether the features of hand-specific specialization of control observed in wrist movements is also evident in the movement of hand-held objects and in the control of grip forces during movement execution (study 1) and planning (study 2). Furthermore, I investigated how task uncertainty interacts with hemispheric specialization in modes of grip forces control in both studies.</p><p dir="ltr">In study 1, I investigated whether grip force characteristics differ between hands during an ongoing bimanual manipulation. The right hand produced accurate object movement performance accompanied by stronger modulations in grip force in response to dynamics of loads associated with object movement compared to the left hand. In contrast, the left hand stabilized the object’s position better by exerting a higher grip force on the object. The main contribution of this study is that it suggests that the left hemisphere specializes in predicting dynamics of loads associated with object movements whereas the right hemisphere specializes in ensuring object’s stability by increasing its impedance.</p><p dir="ltr">In study 2, I investigated anticipatory modulations in grip force before an impending bimanual object manipulation task. I studied how each hand prepared grip force for the expected increase in load force, thereby uncovering differences in underlying motor planning processes of each hand. Grip force increased in both hands; however, this increase was greater in the left hand. This result indicates that the right hemisphere relies more on impedance control during planning. The main contribution of this study is that it suggests that even the motor planning processes that prepare each hand for an impending motor action are specialized in a way consistent with the predictions of dynamic dominance theory.</p><p dir="ltr">This dissertation adds to the existing knowledge about hemispheric specialization of arm movement control and extends it to grip force control. Future studies should focus on how the control of arm movements and grip force interact in each hemisphere. Furthermore, building on this dissertation, future work on pathology- and age-related dexterity loss could potentially lead to better interventions that improve the quality of life in these populations.</p>

This study aims to analyse how sex and sexuality are presented in the Buddhism and Hinduism chapters of religious studies textbooks for upper secondary school. The chosen textbooks are all linked to the new curriculum Lgr 11 which was implemented in the Swedish school system in the spring of 2012. The textbooks were analysed by using two methods; content analysis and discourse analysis. Content analysis was used to examine with which frequency sexes and sexualities appear in the textbooks, while discourse analysis was used to find what discourses surround the two concepts. The discourse analysis used two theories in order to contextualize the several discourses about sex and sexuality. The two theories were social dominance theory and norm critical theory.   The study shows that men are more frequently mentioned in the textbooks than women, with two exceptions. In the chapter describing Buddhism in one of the textbooks, women are more frequently portrayed in pictures. Women are also more frequently mentioned in the chapter describing Hinduism in another textbook.   In the chapters about Buddhism, men are often described as leaders and are mentioned in connection to education. When women are mentioned, it is often in the role of nuns, who are always described as subordinate to monks. In the chapters about Hinduism, men are often mentioned in connection to education, and are often described as in power and as practitioners of the religion. Women are described as dependent on men and are mentioned in connection to marriage and their husbands. Sexuality is a subject which only one textbook brings up. It defines homosexuality as unacceptable in the Hindu society, but does however point out that it is not illegal. Other than that, the textbooks display a lack of interest in discussing sexualities in patriarchal religions in which heterosexuality is considered a norm. Every example and description the textbooks give about religious life and the different stages humans go through are based on a heteronormativity. The authors always base their examples on heterosexual relationships and heterosexual people. The findings of this study are troubling, particularly as the Nation Agency for Education (Skolverket) has stated that the Swedish upper secondary school must study religion from different perspectives, for example sex and sexuality.

Doctor Legum - LLD / According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, women account for 48% of the refugees globally. "Persecution" is the central tenet in the refugee definition, but the ensuing jurisprudence was initially developed from the male experience. Therefore, the phallocentric nature of international and domestic refugee regimes mean that women's experiences of persecution are often marginalised, first, in their country of origin, and secondly, by the States from whom they seek refuge. Thus, the patriarchal conceptualisation of persecution exists in the content, interpretation and application of refugee law. The critical analysis of international refugee law, together with a comparative study between South Africa and Canada's refugee regimes, confirms that this conceptualisation impacts negatively on the manner in which gender-related asylum claims are assessed. This thesis argues for a reconceptualisation of refugee law through feminist scholarship, to investigate, question and expose the patriarchy residing in refugee laws and processes, and to theorise how gender-related persecution should be determined. Refugee jurisprudence has generally established that gender is socially constructed and based on sex which is biological and unchangeable The arrangement of sex and gender as immutable constructs enable the subordination of women, and within the refugee discourse, underpins gender related persecution specifically. Therefore, the reconceptualisation of sex and gender into malleable and dynamic concepts facilitates a paradigm for the protection of refugee women. The dominance theory and the deconstruction theory, together with feminist methods are used to conceptually explore the construction of sex and gender, recognising how the intersection with other identities, such as race and class, influence the understanding of sex and gender in refugee discourse. This thesis argues that the current construction of sex and gender together with the strategies that are increasingly used by governments to prevent refugees from crossing the borders, mean that asylum-seekers generally, and women, specifically are not receiving adequate protection. The xenophobic rhetoric of officials together with the enactment of restrictive refugee legislation, collectively result in South Africa and Canada creating and maintaining the illegal status of asylum-seekers.

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Social dominance theory (SDT) and Social identity theory (SIT) are theoretical frameworks that have been conceptualised and examined in societies that predominantly have stable intergroup relations. The present study sought to examine both theoretical frameworks in a context that is undergoing social change. Three cross-sectional studies were conducted amongst black and white students from a South African University. Results indicated that there was no difference in the desire for group-based inequality (i.e. social dominance orientation, SDO) amongst groups affected by social change, when group status was measured subjectively. Yet, when group status was determined sociologically, dominant group members had significantly higher SDO levels. Furthermore, results indicated that the perception of social change had a conditional effect on the relationship between SDO and support for affirmative action amongst white participants, in that when white participants perceived higher in-group status loss, higher SDO levels predicted opposition towards affirmative action. Racial in-group identification had a conditional effect on the relationship between perceived social change and support for affirmative action amongst black participants; when black participants had higher racial in-group identification, greater perception of social change predicted support for affirmative action. Lastly, amongst black participants, hierarchy-attenuating legitimising myths had a conditional effect on the relationship between SDO and support for affirmative action. Specifically, when colourblindness or Ubuntu were endorsed, higher SDO predicted support for affirmative action. However, when these hierarchy-attenuating legitimising myths were rejected, higher SDO predicted opposition towards affirmative action. / Psychology / M.A. (Psychology)

Social dominance theory (SDT) and Social identity theory (SIT) are theoretical frameworks that have been conceptualised and examined in societies that predominantly have stable intergroup relations. The present study sought to examine both theoretical frameworks in a context that is undergoing social change. Three cross-sectional studies were conducted amongst black and white students from a South African University. Results indicated that there was no difference in the desire for group-based inequality (i.e. social dominance orientation, SDO) amongst groups affected by social change, when group status was measured subjectively. Yet, when group status was determined sociologically, dominant group members had significantly higher SDO levels. Furthermore, results indicated that the perception of social change had a conditional effect on the relationship between SDO and support for affirmative action amongst white participants, in that when white participants perceived higher in-group status loss, higher SDO levels predicted opposition towards affirmative action. Racial in-group identification had a conditional effect on the relationship between perceived social change and support for affirmative action amongst black participants; when black participants had higher racial in-group identification, greater perception of social change predicted support for affirmative action. Lastly, amongst black participants, hierarchy-attenuating legitimising myths had a conditional effect on the relationship between SDO and support for affirmative action. Specifically, when colourblindness or Ubuntu were endorsed, higher SDO predicted support for affirmative action. However, when these hierarchy-attenuating legitimising myths were rejected, higher SDO predicted opposition towards affirmative action. / Psychology / M.A. (Psychology)