Research shows that music transmits both embodied (universally perceptible) and referential (culturally specific) meanings. The present study sought to explore the persuasive power of music in commercial advertising, and the complex ties that exist between music, life experience and perception. The study looked at how the perception of a product could be altered in accordance with specific embodied and referential meanings. With a focus on the effects of music genre and birth cohort on product perception, embodied meanings were expected to produce similar results across birth cohorts, and referential meanings were expected to produce significantly different results. A total of 100 participants were administered the survey online. Participants watched 30-second original video clips and were asked to complete a survey. There were 16 videos made with the 4 products types and 4 music genres selected for the experiment. The survey measured perception through ratings of agreement to statements; one set of statements aimed to measure embodied meaning and the other to measure referential meaning. Each measure of the survey was individually analyzed; data used here is from the analysis of a product as classic. There was a significant main effect of music genre on product perception for a majority of the measures, F(3,273)=13.075, p F (2,91)=3.941, p=.023. There was no significant interaction between birth cohort and music genre on product perception for any measures, F(6,273)=.801, p =.570. Results show that the older cohort prefers classic rock and jazz, the younger birth cohort prefers electronic and pop. Results for the questions looking at referential meaning primarily produced insignificant results.

False confessions are a leading cause of wrongful convictions. Defendants under the age of 18 or who have mental retardation are at a high risk of making false confessions. Participants read a short synopsis of a hypothetical robbery and trial. They then answered several questions as jurors. The age (16 years or 32 years) and intelligence in terms of IQ (68 or 102) of the defendant were manipulated. Results suggest there was no effect of age or intelligence on verdict or confidence that the confession was true. There was an effect of age and intelligence on guilt confidence such that defendants are less confident of a guilty verdict when the defendant is a juvenile or has mental retardation than when the defendant is an adult or of average intelligence. Punishment of younger defendants was more lenient than punishment of adult defendants. Confessions made by defendants with mental retardation were perceived as less reliable than confessions made by defendants of average intelligence, but there was no effect of intelligence on punishment.

The purpose of the study is to identify specific leadership behaviors of team captains and to determine how perceived leadership behaviors influence teammates’ perception of cohesion and satisfaction. Last, the study will demonstrate the relationship between perceived team captain leadership and team success mediated by perceived cohesion and satisfaction, while controlling for athletic ability. The team captains and coaches, from division III teams, were interviewed and team mates were given three surveys: Athlete Leadership Survey (ALS), Group Environment Questionnaire (GEQ) and an Athlete Satisfaction Questionnaire (ASQ), measuring perceived leadership, cohesion, and satisfaction respectively. Statistically significant results of two bivariate regression analyses between ASL and ASQ, and team success (defined by winning percentage), suggest a strong positive relationship between perceived team captain leadership and team success. Yet, the effect was decreased when mediated by perceived satisfaction.

There is popular belief among Kenyans that their government inappropriately distributes resources unequally between different regions in Kenya. A modified version of Zimmerman and Zahniser's (1991) Sociopolitical Control Scale (SPCS) tested for differences in perceived sociopolitical control (SPC) between residents of Kenya's three biggest cities, Nairobi (n = 49), Mombasa (n = 50), and Kisumu (n = 51). Hypotheses were based on expected levels of leadership competence (LC) and policy control (PC), two sub-scales that combine to create SPC. Contrary to the hypothesis, results indicated no significant differences in levels of SPC among the cities. Results could indicate a shared urban culture throughout these cities, or could be due to methodological issues. Suggestions for creating a Kenya-specific SPCS are outlined.

My thesis is about Virginia Woolf’s novels, Mrs. Dalloway, The Waves, and To the Lighthouse. I examine these novels in relation to the theories of Henri Bergson, William James, and Sigmund Freud, and the groundwork of Modernism. I relate Woolf's use of water imagery and stream of consciousness technique to Bergson’s theory of “la durée,” or psychological, subjective time, James’ “stream of consciousness” theory in psychology, and Freud’s theory of the “oceanic” feeling of religious experience.

Post-recession, middle-aged parents may provide various types of support to their grown children and parents. In the current study, parents age 40 to 60 (N =92) reported on a survey the support and affection they exchange with each child over age 18 (N =169) and each parent (N=185). The middle-aged generation (G2) differentiated among children (G3) and parents (G1) within families, and provided emotional, financial, and practical help on average to their children. The more dependent the child (G3), the more support was exchanged. Dependence was measured on normative status like education, employment, disability, and crisis as well as the emotional support and the overall affection. Parents (G1) received as a function of their dependence upon their children. Findings support contingency theory; downstream flow is more common in both physical and emotional support. Furthermore, the motivation the phenomenon is explained based on developmental stake theory and developmental schism to assure support later in life and progeny success. Finally, additional analysis of the upstream support found that a function of the existing relationship and individual factors based on caregiver burden, filial maturity, and appraisal impact the support exchange.

Research shows that music transmits both embodied (universally perceptible) and referential (culturally specific) meanings. The present study sought to explore the persuasive power of music in commercial advertising, and the complex ties that exist between music, life experience and perception. The study looked at how the perception of a product could be altered in accordance with specific embodied and referential meanings. With a focus on the effects of music genre and birth cohort on product perception, embodied meanings were expected to produce similar results across birth cohorts, and referential meanings were expected to produce significantly different results. A total of 100 participants were administered the survey online. Participants watched 30-second original video clips and were asked to complete a survey. There were 16 videos made with the 4 products types and 4 music genres selected for the experiment. The survey measured perception through ratings of agreement to statements; one set of statements aimed to measure embodied meaning and the other to measure referential meaning. Each measure of the survey was individually analyzed; data used here is from the analysis of a product as classic. There was a significant main effect of music genre on product perception for a majority of the measures, F(3,273)=13.075, p F (2,91)=3.941, p=.023. There was no significant interaction between birth cohort and music genre on product perception for any measures, F(6,273)=.801, p =.570. Results show that the older cohort prefers classic rock and jazz, the younger birth cohort prefers electronic and pop. Results for the questions looking at referential meaning primarily produced insignificant results.

Since its discovery in 1984, psychological investigators have continued to explore the Flynn Effect, the phenomenon of consistent and secular IQ gains within industrialized nations approximating 0.3 points per year. The most contentious debate within this field of research surrounds the purported cause of the Effect, and yet the research literature lacks a synthesis of the leading causal theories and the evidence supporting them. The principal hypothesized causal mechanisms – psychometric artifact, educational intervention, environmental changes, nutrition, genetics, gene-environment interaction model, medical improvements, and the multiplicity hypothesis – are reviewed and analyzed within the larger breadth of Flynn Effect scholarly literature. Flynn Effect causal investigation has not yielded any decisive results, and the unproductive postulation of causal theories has recently stagnated, so researchers must accept a necessary shift in the focus of their research toward a more collaborative and holistic understanding of the Effect in order to effectively determine its causes. Extensive social implications of the Effect within the scopes of special education and judicial policy necessitate the expedited revitalization of Flynn Effect research such that contemporary society may be better able to appropriately incorporate the Effect into public policy.

Alcohol research has shown that alcohol-related stimuli can disrupt behavioral control and attract more attention in alcohol drinkers. Stimuli typically used in tasks assessing these mechanisms are likely representative of an individual's history. Responses to visual stimuli that no longer closely resemble an individual's history may help shed light on whether these behaviors are due to classical conditioning or processes such as semantic priming. Hypotheses were tested using typical visual stimuli and modified, abstract versions in these tasks. 41 participants were exposed to these stimuli types while using a visual dot probe task. The difference in degree of attentional bias between real and modified stimuli was determined using gaze time. Individuals participated in two versions of the attentional bias-behavioral activation (ABBA) task. Proportion of inhibitory failure differences between versions was examined for the effects of stimuli modification on behavioral control. Results demonstrated that the sample did not exhibit an attentional bias to alcohol. Visual probe results yielded no differences between real and modified stimuli on attentional bias. ABBA performance indicated no differences as a result of image abstraction or stimuli type. Reasons for these findings and comparisons to similar research inquiries using the tasks the current thesis utilized were explored.

The current study investigates how discrete negative emotions are related to specific facets of counterproductive work behaviors (CWB). The sample consisted of 241 employees who reported their frequency of experiencing negative emotions and their frequency of committing CWBs in the workplace. For 103 employees, supervisor reports of employee CWB were also obtained. The findings provide evidence that a wide range of negative emotions are related to most of the sub facets of CWB. There was also some evidence that supervisor reports differ systematically from employee reports of CWB. The theoretical, methodological, and organizational implications are discussed.