Lau Ka Hing. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 72-79). / Abstract in English and Chinese. / ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS --- p.2 / TABLE OF CONTENTS --- p.4 / LIST OF TABLES --- p.7 / LIST OF FIGURES --- p.8 / LIST OF APPENDICES --- p.9 / ABSTRACT --- p.10 / Chapter CHAPTER 1: --- Research Objectives --- p.12 / Chapter CHAPTER 2: --- Guanxi Conceptualization --- p.14 / Components and Definition --- p.14 / Guanxi´ةs Influence at Operational Level --- p.15 / Chapter CHAPTER 3: --- Guanxi Model on Chinese Interpersonal Behaviors --- p.17 / Conceptualizing Obligations --- p.17 / Obligations as Assumed Affection and Hierarchical --- p.18 / Superiority/Inferiority / Assumed affection --- p.18 / Hierarchical Superiority/Inferiority --- p.19 / Quantifying Obligations into Obligation Demanding Level --- p.20 / Formulating Hypotheses about Obligations --- p.21 / Two Paths in Chinese Interpersonal Behaviors --- p.22 / Guanxi-oriented path --- p.22 / Person-oriented path --- p.23 / The Role of Instrumentality: A Necessary Foundation for Real Affection --- p.24 / Concluding Remarks --- p.25 / Chapter CHAPTER 4: --- Overview of the Present Study --- p.26 / Objectives Review --- p.26 / Scales --- p.26 / Tasks --- p.26 / Resources: Money and Time --- p.27 / Help Directions: Resource Allocation Vs. Request --- p.28 / Mutual Perspectives --- p.28 / Summary --- p.30 / Chapter CHPATER 5: --- Methods --- p.32 / Design of Questionnaire --- p.32 / "First Part of Questionnaire: Tri-psychological Constructs, Hierarchical" --- p.32 / "Superiority/Inferiority, & Obligation Demanding Level Assumed and real affections" --- p.32 / Instrumentality --- p.33 / Hierarchical superiority/inferiority --- p.33 / The obligations demanding level --- p.34 / Scale types --- p.34 / Second Part of Questionnaire: Scenarios --- p.35 / Scenarios --- p.35 / Situational Appropriateness --- p.36 / Stimuli Selection --- p.37 / Pilot Study --- p.37 / Procedure --- p.38 / Data Validation --- p.39 / Participants --- p.40 / Chapter CHAPTER 6: --- Results --- p.41 / Scale Validation --- p.41 / "The Tri-psychological Constructs: Assumed affection, real affection, instrumentality" --- p.41 / Items for Situational Appropriateness --- p.42 / The Obligation Demanding Level --- p.42 / Preliminary Analysis and Correlation --- p.43 / Path Analysis --- p.44 / Hypothesized Model --- p.44 / Model Estimation --- p.45 / Model's interpretation --- p.46 / Verifying Hypotheses --- p.46 / Double negative in the influence of hierarchical superiority/inferiority --- p.48 / Obligations could predict request scenarios' responses only in family guanxi --- p.50 / Significant relationships between assumed and real affections --- p.51 / The modified model --- p.53 / Summary --- p.54 / Chapter CHAPTER 7: --- Discussion --- p.56 / Person-oriented Path --- p.56 / Echoing major findings in western studies --- p.56 / Foundation of real affection in person-oriented path: Instrumentality --- p.57 / Guanxi-oriented Path --- p.58 / Indigenous element in Chinese interpersonal mechanism --- p.58 / Obligation demanding level: Only in resource allocation but not request --- p.58 / Perceiving different help intention when receiving or providing help --- p.58 / Afraid of making reciprocation to the help received --- p.59 / Avoid losing face by not making request --- p.59 / Does hierarchical superiority/inferiority still affect Chinese interpersonal behaviors? --- p.61 / The Dynamic Mechanism between Real and Assumed Affections --- p.63 / Equilibrium Status between Real and Assumed Affections --- p.63 / Interaction Results Caused Distortion to Equilibrium --- p.64 / The Solution to the Distortion: Using a New Guanxi --- p.64 / Evidence and Summary --- p.65 / Concluding Remarks --- p.66 / Chapter CHAPTER 8: --- Limitations and Future Directions --- p.68 / Limitations --- p.68 / Future Directions of Further Studies --- p.70 / REFERENCES --- p.72 / FOOTNOTES --- p.79 / TABLES --- p.80 / FIGURES --- p.104 / APPENDICES --- p.113

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2000. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 145-163). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.

To date, cross-gender friendships in childhood and adolescence have been virtually ignored in the peer relationships literature. The purpose of the present investigation was to chart the territory of cross-gender friendship by examining the domains of friendship conceptions and the selection of friends. Accordingly, 176 students (91 girls, 85 boys) in grades 3, 6, 9, and 12 participated in individual sessions and were asked to describe their beliefs about, and expectations for, both same- and cross-gender friendship. In addition, students participated in a hypothetical decision-making task using a series of information boards on which they were asked to search for, and select, a same- and cross-gender friend. Findings revealed that beliefs and expectations for both same- and cross-gender friendships were observed to follow a common developmental sequence with little evidence that cross-gender friendships lag behind. Although the pattern of gender differences in conceptions of cross-gender friendship was consistent with previous research, the results of this study suggest that for several features of friendship, participants made distinctions on the basis of what is expected in friendships involving girls versus boys. The differential emphasis placed on various expectations in friendship provides support for the notion that same- and cross-gender friendships may represent different types of personal relationships. As compared to conceptions of friendship, observations in the friendship selection task revealed that students engaged in similar predecisional searching regardless of the gender of the target friend. Findings suggest that the process of same- and crossgender friendship selection was somewhat different at different grade levels but did not vary markedly for boys and girls. Indeed, boys and girls at all ages were observed to select same- and cross-gender friends who were highly similar to themselves. The present discussion concludes with a description of the cross-gender friendship experiences of children and adolescents in this sample including consideration of the potential challenges and benefits associated with having a friend of the other gender.

Thesis (M. Div.)--Emmanuel School of Religion, 2007. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 49-51).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2004. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 105-116). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2004. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 105-116). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (M.S.W.)--Smith College School for Social Work, Northampton, Mass., 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 85-91).

Thesis (M. Div.)--Emmanuel School of Religion, 2007. / Vita. Description based on Microfiche version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 49-51).

To date, cross-gender friendships in childhood and adolescence have been virtually ignored in the peer relationships literature. The purpose of the present investigation was to chart the territory of cross-gender friendship by examining the domains of friendship conceptions and the selection of friends. Accordingly, 176 students (91 girls, 85 boys) in grades 3, 6, 9, and 12 participated in individual sessions and were asked to describe their beliefs about, and expectations for, both same- and cross-gender friendship. In addition, students participated in a hypothetical decision-making task using a series of information boards on which they were asked to search for, and select, a same- and cross-gender friend. Findings revealed that beliefs and expectations for both same- and cross-gender friendships were observed to follow a common developmental sequence with little evidence that cross-gender friendships lag behind. Although the pattern of gender differences in conceptions of cross-gender friendship was consistent with previous research, the results of this study suggest that for several features of friendship, participants made distinctions on the basis of what is expected in friendships involving girls versus boys. The differential emphasis placed on various expectations in friendship provides support for the notion that same- and cross-gender friendships may represent different types of personal relationships. As compared to conceptions of friendship, observations in the friendship selection task revealed that students engaged in similar predecisional searching regardless of the gender of the target friend. Findings suggest that the process of same- and crossgender friendship selection was somewhat different at different grade levels but did not vary markedly for boys and girls. Indeed, boys and girls at all ages were observed to select same- and cross-gender friends who were highly similar to themselves. The present discussion concludes with a description of the cross-gender friendship experiences of children and adolescents in this sample including consideration of the potential challenges and benefits associated with having a friend of the other gender. / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate

This research was undertaken to measure the level of comfort pregnant women felt regarding the changing communication they experienced and how that response related to facets of self-concept over the last six months of pregnancy. Major focus was placed on the relationships between variables used to measure social interaction and self-concept. A descriptive, correlational research design with longitudinal data collection was chosen to measure the concepts. Social interaction was measured with the Prenatal Communication Comfort, Close Scale, the Prenatal Communication Comfort, Far Scale and the Interpersonal Support Subscale. Aspects of self-concept were measured with the Present Body Image Scale, the Self-esteem Scale, the Modified Self-reliance Scale and the Mastery Scale. All scales demonstrated acceptable levels of reliability and validity. Purposive sampling was used to obtain the initial sample of 87 pregnant women (averaging 14.7 weeks gestation at time one) from across South Dakota. Over the next six months 67 of the women completed all three data collection periods. The women averaged 26 weeks gestation at time two and 37 weeks gestation at time three. Relationships among the major variables and the demographic variables were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson Correlation, analysis of variance and covariance, and t-tests. Analyses of variance suggested no significant change over time in self-esteem, self-reliance, mastery, body image or interpersonal support. Using exploratory data analysis, four subgroups demonstrated significant variance in comfort with prenatal communication with those inside and outside their immediate social circles. The four subgroups evidenced significant differences in their level of self-esteem, self-reliance and body image. This research clarifies the actuality that women who value themselves experience discomfort with the alterations they perceive in social exchanges during their pregnancies. Women with a lower sense of self-worth become more comfortable with prenatal communication changes, but the increasing comfort does not necessarily result in a better sense of self-worth. The results of this research further underline the importance of identifying women with a diminished self-concept. Nurses may be catalysts in helping pregnant women recognize that negative attention is not necessarily better than no attention.