The COVID-19 virus hit in 2020, affecting everyone worldwide. In America, between the time frame of April and July 2020, there was a lockdown initiated that resulted in people being forced to quarantine from others. This forced many geographically-close romantic relationships to become long-distance. This study focuses on how these romantic relationships were impacted due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its resulting quarantine. A survey was distributed asking 256 college students to assess their behaviors before and during the lockdown period. The communication technology used between the couples and its frequency of use was correlated with the satisfaction of the relationship. Both synchronous and asynchronous communication methods were compared and maintenance behaviors between the couples were analyzed. This study found that relationship satisfaction significantly correlated with the use of certain communication technologies, with synchronous proving more effective than asynchronous. In addition, the COVID-19 quarantine did play a role in ending relationships in some way as well as changing the maintenance behaviors couples utilized while being long-distance. This study offers a new way to look at how relationships can suffer or be maintained when couples are forced to be long-distance.

Academic dishonesty and academic entitlement plague many college campuses. This research applies the theory of cognitive dissonance to the classroom in an attempt to curb academic dishonesty. Hypocrisy, a branch of the theory of cognitive dissonance, has been induced with regards to health and pro-social causes, but has not been applied to the field of higher education. In order to apply the concept of hypocrisy to academic dishonesty, a two-part experiment was conducted. The first portion of the experiment was an in-class manipulation and the second portion was an online survey conducted one month after the manipulation. Two hundred two students participated in both portions of the experiment. The participants were randomly assigned to one of four conditions (e.g., hypocrisy, commitment only, mindfulness only, control) and participated in two activities. One month after the manipulation took place, students were sent a link to the online survey with a cover story indicating that the survey was part of a research study. After the survey was closed, participants were debriefed and the data was cleaned. Upon analyzing the data, no significant results were detected. The lack of statistical significance was likely due to the month time lapse and the single dose of the manipulation treatment. Overall, this study pioneers the application of hypocrisy in the field of education and provides guidance for future hypocrisy induction studies.

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This research was concerned with the collection of empirical data necessary to estimate the effects of decision support tools on the performance of distributed groups. Data was collected in a controlled experimental environment that simulated a geographically-dispersed meeting through the use of videoconferencing and group communication support (GCSS) technology. Results of the use of a Group Decision Support System (GDSS) on group process and outcome variables were mixed. As predicted by the literature the use of a GDSS by distributed groups improved overall group consensus, decision accuracy, and decision effectiveness. The use of a GDSS also increased perceived process structure. Contrary to previous studies, the use of a GDSS increased decision time, and decreased overall satisfaction with the group process. No significant effects were found for perceived consensus, cooperation, amount of information exchange, or confidence in the decision. A strong correlation was found between decision quality and decision time. An even stronger correlation was found between perceived structure of the process and satisfaction with the process. The lack of feedback about the process and its outcomes could explain the lack of a GDSS effect on perceptions of consensus, cooperation, and confidence in the decision. Perception of subjective measures of the process may depend on the presence of the appropriate types of feedback. The results suggest that an increase in structure without a perceived improvement in decision quality (confidence in the decision) tends to reduce group satisfaction. A richer taxonomy for Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW) systems is proposed whereby three orthogonal dimensions of group support are defined. These three dimensions of group support are: Communication support, decision support, and presence support. This new taxonomy suggests a number of research directions aimed at the empirical identification of contextual and design factors relevant to distributed group performance and decision making performance in general. / Master of Science

The studies included in this dissertation investigated the experiences of individual romantic partners as secret keepers and couples as collective secret keepers. Study 1 investigated the topics of secrets kept by individual romantic partners and public perception of secret keeping in the context of romantic relationships via qualitative content analysis. The analysis of secret topics resulted in the following themes: (1) secrets about the Redditors’ relationship, (2) secrets about the Redditor, and (3) a discussion of secrecy. The analysis of public perception resulted in the following themes: (1) normalization, (2) advice, (3) comfort, (4) personal reactions, and (5) a request for more information. Study 2 investigated the experiences of collective secret keepers. Inductive analysis was used in the analysis of participants’ (n = 522) responses to questions investigating: (1) the topics of collective secrets, (2) the reasons for keeping or disclosing the secret, and (3) the reasons for disagreeing over the disclosure of the secret. Further analyses revealed a relationship between secret topic and the overall relational impact of collective secret keeping (F(27, 385) = 1.64, p < .05, 2 = .10); some topics were found to be more distancing than others. A relationship between relationship satisfaction and disagreement between spouses over the disclosure (F(1, 310) = 5.83, p < .05, η2 = .02) was also found; disagreement on the disclosure of a secret was found to result in lower relationship satisfaction. Study 2 also investigated the relationship between collective secret functions and relational outcomes via multilevel modeling. A relationship between secret functions and the following relational outcomes were found when the collective secret was kept: relational impact (χ2= 14.18, df = 1, p < .001), relational closeness (χ2= 14.18, df = 1, p < .001), and relationship satisfaction (χ2= 17.60, df = 1, p < .001). A relationship between secret functions and the relational impact was also found when the collective secret was disclosed (χ2= 3.12, df = 1, p < .10).

The Nature and Perceived Influence of Lifestyle Discussions with Older Adults in Primary Care Rationale: A healthy diet and physical activity help with disease prevention and disease management and can promote quality of life regardless of the age at which an individual begins engaging in these behaviors. Despite the value of these health behaviors, many older adults do not follow lifestyle recommendations. Given that older adults frequently interact with the healthcare system, primary care providers are well situated to counsel older adults to improve their health behaviors. Unfortunately, we do not know how to most effectively engage in this counseling. The purpose of this dissertation is to better understand whether and how providers discuss diet and physical activity with their older patients and how patients perceive their providers’ communication regarding diet and physical activity. Method: One hundred and four older adults, ranging in age from 65 to 95, consented to have their routine primary care visits recorded and immediately following their visits engaged in semi-structured interviews regarding current health behaviors and perceptions of their providers’ diet and physical activity recommendations. Clinical visits were selectively transcribed and analyzed using qualitative description. Interviews were transcribed verbatim, coded, and analyzed through a process of constant comparison. Findings: Discussions of diet and physical activity occurred in over two thirds of visits; recommendations for diet and physical activity occurred in less than half of these discussions. The majority of patients correctly recalled whether or not discussions of diet or physical activity had taken place. Patients reported that the likelihood of engaging in healthy diet and physical activity related to personal motivation and perceived confidence in the ability to make effective changes, both of which could be influenced by providers’ recommendations. When providers did not discuss diet or physical activity, or mentioned these topics only briefly, patients often perceived the message that they should continue with their current behaviors. Implications: These findings support an integrated theoretical framework, highlighting the role of autonomy and confidence, for understanding how providers can promote patients’ health behaviors. Implications for providers’ training and the healthcare system are discussed.

In recent years medical societies have begun to recognize the effects and benefits of good communication between physician and patient. Like any other relationship, the exchange of information with fluent understanding creates a stronger bond of trust. Most applied research conducted in the area of physician-patient communication concentrates on physician behaviors which the patient views as problematic. This thesis focuses on patient assertiveness and its relationship to physician-patient satisfaction in the consultation process. Specifically, the study focuses on the relationship between patient assertiveness and physician-patient satisfaction. For the study the researcher developed a patient questionnaire and pre- and post-physician questionnaires to assess patient assertiveness. This factor relates to outcomes of satisfaction from the physician-patient consultation. Twenty doctors and two hundred patients participated in the study. The implications of these finding should provide insight into the patient-physician consultation process.

Research on projectably multi-unit tellings (e.g., stories) has largely focused on their contexts of emergence, beginnings, endings, and uptakes (or lack thereof), rather than on their ‘middles.’ The relatively small literature on such ‘middles’ has focused on different types of responsive behaviors when they do occur (e.g., continuers). However, there is virtually no research on relevance rules that might systematically organize these ‘middles,’ including the production of responsive behaviors (or lack thereof) and the management of intersubjectivity. This thesis describes and defends one such relevance rule: Advisors are strongly accountable for responding – either vocally and/or nonvocally – at each and every complex possible-completion place. This relevance rule provides an inferential framework with which to monitor and manage advisors’ understanding of ‘middle’ units. The method used is conversation analysis – including the analysis of deviant cases – complemented by the coding of data and resultant distributional patterns. Data are dual-camera-videotaped, drop-in, advising sessions conducted in English between 20 non-native-English-speaking international students and native-English-speaking advisors working for a university's Office of International Affairs. Specifically, data involve students’ projectably multi-unit problem presentations (e.g., related to Visa status, course scheduling, international travel, housing, etc.).

Research has identified that one limitation of traditional mentoring occurs when there is a mismatch between the mentor and the protégé in work styles and personalities. Further, most of the literature on mentoring has not examined the informal mentoring that occurs between college students. Recent research has identified this type of peer mentoring as collaborative mentoring. The purpose of this study was to examine the role of interpersonal attraction in the development and success of collaborative mentoring relationships and to further examine which attraction dimension was the best predictor of the success of the relationship. Multiple regression analysis showed task attraction was the best predictor of the overall success of a collaborative mentoring relationship. This work is significant because it shows a person's perceived level of competence directly influences the success of a collaborative mentoring relationship more than likeability or physical appearance.

Introduction: Nursing presence occurs when nurses expend themselves on the behalf of a unique patient. This phenomenon requires further research to develop instruments. The Presence of Nursing Scale (PONS) measures the patient’s perspective (Kostovich, 2012). Psychometric testing of PONS-Revised using exploratory factor analysis is warranted to further develop a reliable and valid measure of nursing presence. Contextual workplace variables need exploration in inpatient settings for correlation with nursing presence. Method(s): A convenience sample of 122 adult inpatients from ten acute-care nursing units in a Southeastern Magnet hospital were surveyed to conduct the first psychometric testing of this revised instrument using exploratory factor analyses. Seven research questions evaluated potential correlations between the PONS-R, patient satisfaction using nurse-sensitive measures of HCAHPS, nursing unit-specific workforce factors and patient demographic factors. Results: PONS-R demonstrated high internal consistency reliability (r = .974), test-retest reliability (statistically significant at the .01 level) and divergent validity (p=.002). PONS-R compared to nurse HCAHPS measures was statistically significant at the .01 level, (r = .736). EFA revealed one factor (eigenvalues over 1), with a weak secondary factor centered on intimacy factors suggesting addition of items and repeated study with a larger sample size to further psychometrically develop the instrument. Unexpected negative correlations were found with unit-workforce factors including average RN experience level (r= -.185, significant at the .05 level), and average RN age (r = - .218). An unexpected positive correlation was found - percentage of Associate degree nurses (r = .269, statistically significant at the .05 level. The Triangle region was correlated with a higher PONS-R score (p = .038; n=4), otherwise no statistically significant correlations were found for PONS-R and patient demographics nor patient-specific variables such as estimated number of RN providing care, nor length of stay on the unit. Discussion & Conclusions: Further psychometric testing is indicated with larger samples and perhaps with the inclusion of intimacy factor items. Additional correlational studies focused on other patient quality outcomes measures with expansion of nurse demographics is indicated to explore for confounding variables.