published_or_final_version / Psychology / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / Educational Psychology / Master / Master of Social Sciences

Thesis (Ph.D.)--York University, 2008. Graduate Programme in Psychology. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 95-101). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&res_dat=xri:pqdiss&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:NR39013

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hong Kong, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references.

In the 1990's, the U.S. saw one of the largest periods of migration to its shores in its history. This surge of immigrants can be classified predominantly as Latino or Asian, which will inevitably result in demographic changes within the country. The largest proportion of immigrants claim Mexico as their country of origin, and according to the U.S. Census Bureau, Hispanics now represent the country's largest minority population. Given these facts, it is important to examine a body of literature that warns of the "balkanization" of America and suggests an inability of this new wave of immigrants to assimilate into American society. Previous research on attitudes towards immigrants has found both cultural and economic indicators to be important determinants of public opinion on this issue. I will expand this research by examining how the public perception of the ability of immigrants to assume an "American" identity and assimilate into society will affect attitudes towards immigrants. My primary research questions are: 1) How do different conceptions of national identity affect attitudes towards immigrants? 2) How do perceptions of the ability of immigrant groups to integrate into American society affect restrictionist views on immigration policy? 3) What group and individual-level characteristics determine differing levels of support for the dimensions of American national identity? My findings suggest that the weight attributed to three distinct dimensions of national identity conditions attitudes towards immigrants and their incorporation into American society.

Adolescents (N=516) in a rural Midwest high school, grades 9-12, indicated the crowds to which they belong from a list of 10 crowds specified by 4 classes in the school (e.g., Jocks, Emo, Farmers, Smart Kids/Nerds), along with the crowd to which they belong "more than any other." Most of the students (76%) claimed to belong to more than one crowd. Two-step cluster analysis was used to identify patterns of crowd membership, resulting in 8 clusters of distinct, heterogeneous composition. Students were compared on S. E. Paulson's (1994) parenting scale and on J. T. Jost and E. P. Thompson's (2000) social dominance orientation scale. SDO differed significantly among the males in the different crowd clusters, but not the females. Male members of clusters with a majority of members belonging in the Smart Kids/Nerd crowd or who considered themselves "Just Normal" had lower SDO scores than members of clusters with few or no members in the Smart Kids/Nerd crowd. Both mother's and father's responsiveness significantly predicted adolescent's SDO scores after controlling for gender, which was higher among males than females in this adolescent sample. In combination, mother's and father's responsiveness and demandingness explained 12% of the variance in SDO scores. Adolescents who perceived their parents as more responsive had lower SDO scores than adolescents with less responsive parents, but parent responsiveness and demandingness were not related to crowd cluster membership. / Department of Educational Psychology

Objectives: The general problematic of social science research is located in individualized explanations of social and collectively based phenomena. This is due to methodological issues inherent in the way social research is conducted. Research on ingroup bias via the renowned minimal group studies is an exemplar of this general problem and is examined in this study. This research argued that explaining ingroup bias in terms of individuals’ psychological needs is insufficient. This is because the original paper and pencil test failed to account for the effects of social interaction and how the interaction unfolds over time. Consequently, the old problem of ingroup bias was revisited using a new technology: the Virtual Interaction Application (VIAPPL). Design: A within-subjects and between-groups experimental design was used. Methods: VIAPPL was used to replicate the original study but in a way that demonstrated how ingroup bias was produced in interaction over time. This was facilitated by the ‘Give and Get’ game, where participants allocated tokens to one another in a simulated game-like environment. A repeated measures ANOVA and social network analyses were used to analyse the data. Results: As predicted, 1) ingroup bias was found most likely to be manifest in social interaction characterised by group categorization, and 2) more ingroup bias was expressed when the group interaction is visible to those participating in the interaction. Ingroup bias did not amplify as the group interaction unfolded over time. However, there was evidence proving that ingroup bias is not static, as was previously thought. Instead, it changed by increasing and decreasing as the rounds of the game advanced. Furthermore, the investigation revealed that 1) participants distributed their tokens fairly when they acted with and without a group membership, 2) observing the interaction informed the way tokens were allocated in both individual and group conditions, and 3) reciprocity was not operant in the interaction. Conclusions: This study introduced a new framework for studies in the minimal group paradigm (MGP) that allowed participants to interact in a virtual environment and enabled both traditional ANOVA methods and social network analyses. By rendering social interaction visible in the MGP, this study moved beyond an individualized explanation of social interaction by offering a social explanation of the behaviours manifested. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2014.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Texas at El Paso, 2007. / Title from title screen. Vita. CD-ROM. Includes bibliographical references. Also available online.

Thesis (D. Min.)--Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, 1993. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 114-118).

Thesis (M.A.)--Bowling Green State University, 2009. / Document formatted into pages; contains viii, 60 p. Includes bibliographical references.