The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between selected personal investment behaviors and the meaning non-select choir members attach to their choral experience.

A follow-up was done to Leak and Fish's (1989) study of intrinsically and extrinsically religious individuals using Paulhus' (1984) Balanced Inventory of Desirable Responding, a two factor scale of socially desirable responding measuring self-deceptive enhancement (SDE) and impression management (IM). 275 introduction to psychology students were group tested and categorized by gender and by religious orientation with Allport and Ross's (1967) fourfold Religious Orientation Scale (ROS). Differences between the four types were hypothesized on the religious relevance of the SDE and IM scale items. A difference score was also computed by contrasting two instructional sets on the BIDR as a measure of variation across situations. Measures of private and public self-consciousness, social anxiety, fear of negative evaluation, and self esteem were included.

Clinical research suggests that adolescent offenders often do not view their criminal behaviors as problematic and, therefore, are not motivated for treatment. Although customarily defined as a static characteristic, the transtheoretical model (TTM) proposes treatment amenability is dynamic and can be achieved through tailored interventions that motivate individuals for treatment. The current study examines the predictive validity of TTM measures for adolescent offenders at a maximum security correctional facility. In particular, the Stages of Change Scale (SOCS) and Decisional Balance for Adolescent Offenders (DBS-AO) were compared with a more traditional assessment tool utilized in evaluating treatment amenability of juvenile offenders (i.e., Risk-Sophistication-Treatment Inventory; RSTI). One hundred adolescent offenders from the Gainesville State School completed two waves of data collection with a 3-month time interval. Information was collected on offenders' treatment progress between waves. Consistent with TTM research, predictors of treatment progress included low scores on the Cons scale on the DBS-AO and on the Precontemplation scale on the SOCS. Participants in the most advanced levels of treatment also scored high on the Sophistication-Maturity scale on the RSTI and the Impression Management scale on the Paulhus Deception Scale.

M.A. (Information Science) / Management is usually concerned with the motivation and job satisfaction of employees. When workers are adequately motivated and they derive sufficient satisfaction in their job, it is assumed that their productivity is likely to be enhanced. However, even without relating it to productivity, workers' job satisfaction is considered important enough to deserve serious attention from managers and researchers in various disciplines. This study intends to examine the motivation and job satisfaction of information specialists in public libraries in South Africa. The study of motivation is a candid search for answers to perplexing questions that revolve around human nature. There is no doubting the fact that the problem of motivating other people is surely as old as human history. The common adage that "one can lead a horse to water but cannot force it to drink" was, and remains, the most important aspect of the motivation problem. Because human behaviour is complex, there are numerous theories of motivation. Eight of the most well known theories are discussed: Maslow, Herzberg, MacGregor, McClelland, Atkinson, Hackman and Oldham, Vroom and Porter and Lawler. Attention is paid to the possible implications of the theories for library management. It seems though that, whatever theory of motivation one consults, some fertile sense and some constraining theory turns up. The focus should therefore rather be on the development and integration of existing theories to formulating new ones. A review of literature revealed that there is a relationship between motivation and job satisfaction. Thesurvey instrument was a forty-six-item questionnaire developed specifically for this study by the researcher. The first section of the questionnaire elicited background information, such as age, marital status, qualification, tenure, salary and benefits. The second section of the questionnaire gathered information about the participation and perceived participation of the responding information specialist in the library situation.

The current research investigated the effects of competition on empathy and prosociality in two studies. Study 1 aimed to explore associations between competition and prosociality by asking participants to play a computer puzzle game that was either high or low on competitiveness, and then to complete measures of empathy, perspective taking, compassionate love and willingness to sacrifice for a romantic partner. Study 1 found a marginally significant difference across conditions for perspective taking, a marginally significant gender interaction for perspective taking, and a significant gender by condition interaction for compassionate love, in support of hypotheses that competition reduces prosocial responses in men. Study 2 addressed methodological limitations from Study 1 and examined the effect across a broader range of relationship contexts, including close friends. Results for Study 2 did not replicate the marginally significant effect for perspective taking seen in Study 1, but found a significant interaction between gender and condition predicting perspective taking. Significant findings in line with prior research emerged for dominance and commitment, indicating that higher dominance and lower commitment were associated with less empathy and prosociality. Overall, results do not consistently support the hypothesized effect of competitive situations on prosocial and empathic behavior, although results of exploratory analyses suggest potential moderated or conditional effects. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2017. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

System justification theorists have proposed that people will defend one's circumstances, even if they inflict psychological and material costs. This tendency has been found to extend even to outcomes that have not yet been decided, but are perceived as being likely; however, this research has only examined outcomes that will be decided on in the near future. According to Construal Level Theory (CLT), distant future events are represented primarily according to their essential features, while thoughts about temporally near events are more concrete and contextual. We hypothesized that system justification results from the motivational impact of low-level thinking, and so would be expected to occur for near-future, but not distant-future, outcomes. Consistent with our hypothesis, our Main Study found evidence of system justification only when outcomes were to be decided in the near future. Distant future outcomes, in contrast, were viewed as being more undesirable as they became increasingly likely. / by Nicholas J. Martens. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2008. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2008. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

Resource allocation theory, Polich (2007) suggests cortical measures may attenuate when processing demands increase. Thirteen HIV-negative women (M = 36.5) and 15 HIV-positive women (M = 36.1) infected were instructed to view neutral and negative IAPS images and then to detect rare tones in a subsequent auditory oddball task. A 2 x 2 ANOVA for the auditory P3 did not indicate a main effect for picture valence however an interaction was found between picture valence and serostatus at location Fz, F(1,24) = 18.99, p<.001. During the visual ERP sequence an interaction between valence and serostatus was found at the Pz location, F(1,24) = 18.99, p<.001, meaning the late positive potential (LPP) was not modulated between viewing neutral and negative images in HIV-positive women. These findings suggest that the manifestation of HIV in women may alter the neural processing of emotions, though not to the detriment of a subsequent cognitive task. / by Roger C. McIntosh. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2010. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2010. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

Previous research suggests that self-reports of the frequency of events can vary dramatically. Minor changes in question format can result in major changes in the obtained results. The purpose of this study is to examine how changes in reference period, memory cue, and measurement scale affect participants' self-reports of conflict frequency. Additionally, the role of cognitive effort was examined to gain insight into the recall strategy used for different measures of conflict. Participants include 175 college undergraduates between the ages of 18-24, enrolled in psychology courses at Florida Atlantic University. Results indicate that reference period and memory cue form a significant interaction to create changes in reports of conflict frequency. Both reference period and memory cue act differently within the different conflict measurement scales. In the 0-10 or more scale, memory cue was statistically significant with higher rates of conflict reported in the cued condition than the uncued. In the open (fill in the blank) scale, there was a significant interaction between reference period and memory cue with the highest amount of conflict being reported in the one day/cued condition. The Likert scale behaved differently than the other two absolute frequency scales. Within the Likert scale there was a significant interaction between reference period and memory cue, however, the highest amount of conflict reported was in the two weeks/uncued condition. Finally, cognitive effort varied as a product of reference period, within both the 0-10 or more scale and the open scale with the two weeks condition eliciting higher reports of effort than the one day condition. These cognitive effort findings suggest that participants used enumeration as a recall strategy for the absolute frequency scales and estimation for the Likert scale. / by Justin Puder. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2011. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2011. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

Prosocial behavior can be defined as any behavior that an individual engages in to benefit another (Eisenberg, Fabes, & Spinrad, 2006). Prosociality is not one homogenous trait, however, but is made up of three specific types of behavior: helping, cooperating, and sharing (or, more accurately, donating) (Tomasello, 2009). Although helping and cooperating are important to understanding prosocial development, giving behaviors might be particularly informative when trying to understand prosociality in young children as it poses a distinct problem for younger children (Tomasello, 1998). Research on proximate causes of prosocial behavior state that these behaviors are influenced by emotions of empathy (Batson, 1991), theory of mind, or understanding of social norms of ownership (Blake & Rand, 2010). Research on more ultimate causes of prosociality suggest that these behaviors evolved due to mechanisms or kin selection (Hamilton, 1964) and inclusive fitness (Trivers, 1971), and is evident by the effect of social category and relatedness on donations in resource- allocation games (Gummerum et al., 2009). Research with children using resource- allocations games, such as the dictator game, are sparse, but typically find that children donate more as they get older, and that out-group receive fewer allocations than in-group members (Moore, 2009). This research also highlight the importance of anonymity and its effect on prosociality. When tested using an anonymous design, children donate less and some children don’t donate at all (Benenson et al., 2007). Using an anonymous dictator game, children’s giving behaviors were examined across in- group, out-group, and family members. Thirty-five children (12 3-year-olds (7 male), 13 4-year-olds (8 male), and 10 5-year-olds (7 male) completed the experiment. Each child participated in each condition, as well as measures of theory of mind and ownership understanding. Children’s empathy scores were attained from a parent questionnaire regarding children’s empathic behaviors. Results revealed that some children did not donate any stickers at all; seven in total, and that these children differed significantly from those that gave on measures of empathy. Of those that donated, 3-year-old children donated significantly more than 5-year-old children (F(1,3) =3.64, p < .05). This is contrary to previous findings which find that giving increases across age., The was no main effect for Recipient, and no significant interaction between Age and Recipient. Five-year-olds scored significantly higher on measures of ownership understanding (F(2, 25) = 4.36, p< .05), suggesting that understanding of social norms of ownership may be partially responsible for their decrease in overall giving. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2014. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

The term profession is found throughout the scholarly literature; despite frequent use of the term, there exists little or no means of providing a common conception of the term. Consequently, calls for increasing professionalization of public administration appear to be premature. Therefore, this dissertation utilizes inductive research to generate theory, which synthesizes the inchoate concept of the professional public administrator. The motivation to pursue this line of inquiry stems from a personal need to weigh in on the perennial debate about what skills, knowledge, and information should be communicated to future generations of public administration thinkers and practitioners. To that end, this research will provide a theoretical framework grounded in the literature, which federates the term professional and the professional concept in such a way that purposeful debates can be had. It is, as will be shown, an attempt to link understanding and interpretation. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2016. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection