<p> Increased competitive and regulatory pressures are requiring American universities to find new and innovative models to improve student academic success and college value. Previous research has noted that the introduction of mobile or tablet-based devices into education pedagogies can support learning activities if implemented effectively. This study provides an empirical analysis on the relationship between instructor iPad adoption in classroom learning activities and instructor perceived improvement in student retention rates. An adapted version of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model was used as the theoretical model to assess this relationship along with regression analysis to estimate the variance. Overall, the findings validate the application of the UTAUT model towards instructor adoption of iPad technologies in classroom learning activities, and support the supposition that instructors who more readily adopt the use of iPads technologies in their classroom activities also perceive that student retention outcomes can improve by doing so. Social influence and performance expectancy were determined to be the largest factors influencing instructor adoption. Furthermore, the personality traits of versatility, creativity and emotional control were found to have no bearing on the relationship between instructor technology adoption and perceived improvement to student retention. Recommendations for further research included: (a) extending this study to other educational institutions, (b) exploring the relationship between instructor adoption of iPad technology and actual, as opposed to perceived, student retention outcomes, and (c) adapting the theoretical framework used in this study to include perceived student retention as a predictor of intent to adopt.</p>

<p> The purpose of this historical case study was to explore how individual moral identity can influence leadership ethics in decision making. By focusing this case study on former U.S. Presidents Kennedy and Nixon, this study examined how moral identity influences of education, family, peers, and religion from childhood through college could affect ethical decision making. Using NVivo^&reg; 10, data analysis determined emergent themes from the four key moral identity influences for both study subjects. Analysis of each emergent theme established positive or negative moral identity development. For this study, positive moral identity demonstrated a close alignment with a concern for the welfare of others; whereas, negative moral identity development demonstrated alignment with concern for oneself. Results showed that President Kennedy demonstrated greater moral identity development because of education and family influences than President Nixon. Closer analysis of moral identity core themes revealed that President Kennedy possessed a higher number of high moral identity core themes to support ethical decisions made during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Conversely, President Nixon possessed a higher number of low moral identity core themes to support unethical decisions during Watergate. Study results contributed to the literature by showing how moral identity can affect ethical and unethical decision making. Suggested recommendations showed the need for further qualitative studies of leader moral identity as well as the need to establish reliable testing mechanisms to determine and measure individual moral identity.</p>

<p> Workplace bullying is a global problem that leaves workers emotionally harmed and organizations financially strapped; yet in many cases, business leaders fail to adequately address the problem. The purpose of this research was to determine if the top leader had a direct impact on the presence of bullying within the workplace. Based on personality trait theory as a theoretical foundation, the key issue this study explored was the relationship between the presence of workplace bullying and observed narcissistic behaviors exhibited by the top leader. Participants consisted of 84 human resources professionals reporting directly to the CEO/president of companies located in the United States. Observer-rated assessments were used to measure the leader's observed narcissistic behaviors along with the prevalence of bullying within the workplace. Logistic regression and Pearson correlation were used to analyze assessment data. Results revealed a strong and positive relationship between top leaders' observed narcissistic behaviors and the presence of bullying within the organization. These results suggest the top leader may not only directly impact the presence of workplace bullying, but may actually create the problem. This study contributes to social change by providing support for the need to use personality assessments when hiring or promoting top leaders. By identifying those who contribute to the sustainability of bullying, these individuals can be excluded from the selection process and workplace bullying will therefore be minimized, improving the well-being of employees and the financial performance of organizations, world-wide.</p>

<p> The three studies that follow were designed to advance the field's knowledge of positive coping patterns in response to insidious, ongoing natural and human-generated disaster threat. They will address the following three aims: 1) to create a psychometrically sound measure of self-efficacy as it applies to human-generated and natural disaster events; 2) to test a theory-driven moderation model of emergency preparedness self-efficacy and its role in the relationship between perceived risk and psychological outcomes; and, 3) to examine how the role of emergency preparedness self-efficacy might vary in ethnically diverse populations. Although numerous assessments of disaster mental health functioning exist, the field has lacked continuity of measurement across disasters; a parsimonious, all-hazard measure is needed in order to identify important psychological risk and resilience factors across disasters. In Paper 1, the psychometric properties of the Emergency Preparedness Self-Efficacy (EPSE) scale are evaluated; this scale assesses an individual's perceived self-efficacy with respect to preparation for, and response to emergencies arising in natural and human-generated disasters. Results from undergraduate and community samples suggest reliability and validity of this emergency preparedness self-efficacy measure. Paper 2 examines the moderating roles of both general self-efficacy and domain-specific (emergency preparedness) self-efficacy on the relationship between the ongoing perceived risk of human-made disaster (terrorism) and mental health outcomes. As hypothesized, emergency preparedness self-efficacy (but not general self-efficacy) moderated the relationship between perception of risk and anxiety and perception of risk and general distress. Greater emergency preparedness self-efficacy reduced the impact of risk perception on both mental health outcomes, highlighting the protective function of the contextually specific belief in one's capacity to overcome hardship and exercise control. Paper 3 examines how the moderating effect of emergency preparedness self-efficacy might differ for the ethnic minority subgroup as compared to the Caucasian subgroup. Results revealed that the relationship between perceived risk and anxiety was stronger for individuals with lower levels of emergency preparedness self-efficacy, compared to those with higher levels of emergency preparedness self-efficacy, in the Caucasian subsample. However, the relationship between perceived risk and anxiety did not differ according to level of emergency preparedness self-efficacy in the ethnic minority subgroup. Although preliminary, findings reveal a differing role of self-efficacy in response to ongoing terrorism threat for Caucasian versus ethnic minority individuals. Limitations of these studies are noted and recommendations for future research are provided. However, in combination, these studies provide evidence to support the psychometric properties of a scale for self-efficacy for disasters, which is noticeably absent from the field; highlight intervention opportunities at the individual level; and, demonstrate the need to tailor interventions to differing protective mechanisms across cultural populations.</p>

<p> The purpose of this study was to examine whether intrinsic, extrinsic, and quest religious motivations mediate the relationship between the religious philosophy and perceived well-being of believers. The intrinsic-extrinsic-quest paradigm has been the dominant measure of religious motivation for more than 3 decades. However, the different effects of intrinsic, extrinsic, and quest motivation on the well-being of believers has not been tested on a stratified, purposeful sample of the major world religions. A quantitative, quasi-experimental research design was used with an online, self-report questionnaire and mediation analysis to examine the effects of religious motivation on the relationship between religious philosophy and well-being. A stratified, purposeful sample of 763 members of the major world religions completed assessments of religion and well-being. Linear regressions revealed that intrinsic, extrinsic, and quest religious motivations were three distinct constructs, that they do exist across the world religions, and that they mediated the relationship between different religions and well-being, depending on which predictor and outcome variables were being examined in the mediation triangle. Positive social change is possible for counselors, therapists, psychologists of religion, religious leaders, and laypersons at the individual and societal level through knowing which religious beliefs, motivations, and practices are associated with positive affect, satisfaction with life, the fulfilment of basic human needs, eudaimonic well-being, and better physical health. Individuals come to religion mainly during times of personal crises as a way of coping, expecting urgent results, and these findings illuminate the effectiveness of their chosen coping strategy. </p>

<p> Beneath the familiar noise of a 21^st Century American popular culture enthralled with the new, the bright-and-shiny, the golden hero versus dark villain, a back-beat refrain can be heard: Where have all the grownups gone? </p><p> This dissertation searches for those adults in modern American life who have endured cycles of heroic ascent and fall, crisis and reckoning with their own unknown-wild in a process known in depth psychology as archetypal initiation. Beyond the consulting room of depth psychotherapy, the stories of public figures in the news present rich opportunity to examine the initiatory crises of adulthood within a pervasive cultural context. Hence this study focuses its inquiry as a dialogue between the culture's biographical journalism&mdash;"people stories" in the news&mdash;and the thinkers of depth psychology. It seeks to give voice to an emerging contemporary grownup by metaphorically placing-the-culture-on-the-couch of depth psychology. </p><p> Review of the literature establishes the work in the overlap of three key areas of study: The mythological hero's journey, adulthood as explored in depth psychology and prevailing cultural literature, and the journalism of depth psychology juxtaposed with the journalism of popular culture. The study employs a cultural-historical hermeneutic method using a systematic grid or matrix of interpretive inquiry to "interview" biographical and journalistic texts about 10 public figures from American business, sports, politics, military, and arts/entertainment: Steve Jobs, Joe Paterno, Marion Jones, Tiger Woods, Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, Mark Sanford, Paula Broadwell, David Petraeus, and Oprah Winfrey. </p><p> Findings are presented as character-sketch essays aligned tightly to the interpretive matrix. The essays establish first a biographical-journalistic narrative then develop the depth-psychology dimensions of shadow confrontation, initiatory crisis, inter-subjectivity, and archetypal motifs. As with myth, this journo-psychological matrix can serve as both contextual lens and predictive model. This study's ultimate purpose is to discover a new myth of the emerging grownup and propose a template in service to adults striving to mature through cycles of initiatory crisis and their archetypal journeys of individuation&mdash;in and beyond both news of the day and consulting room. </p><p> Key Words: adult, archetype, biography, depth psychology, grownup, initiation, journalism.</p>

<p> Two processes working together account for the building and maintenance of the mind. The generative process makes links within the mind, whereas the degenerative process is used to dissolve links. In this hermeneutic study of the relationship between psychotic and creative processes in the human psyche, some of the prevailing research on psychosis and creativity is reviewed. A model is presented in which the mind is seen as an ecosystem that is built and maintained through continuous establishment and dissolving of links. An imbalance of the generative and degenerative processes is suggested as being responsible for the manifestation of psychotic symptoms. Creativity is proposed as a product of the interaction between these processes of the mind.</p>

<p> This study proposes that the paintings of the Surrealist artist, Remedios Varo, reveal the process of individuation over the course of time. Since the Surrealistic approach to art was founded on the principle of representing the unconscious in artistic form, a basic assumption of this study is that transformational symbols of the individuation process should be revealed in the body of work compiled by a Surrealist artist. This dissertation will demonstrate that Varo's paintings, like dreams, follow a pattern comprised of classical symbols, images, and alchemical motifs that are universal and consistent, that are arise repeatedly in her work, and that are reflective of her individuation process. The goal is achieved through an exploration of twelve of Varo's paintings done in the last decade of her life, 1953 to 1963. This is a theoretical dissertation, utilizing both hermeneutic and heuristic approaches. The study views Varo's paintings as "texts," with interpretation through three "lenses"&mdash;the cultural-historical, the personal-historical, and the Depth-archetypal, as well as interpretation by direct, personal encounter with her works of art. </p><p> The cultural-historical perspective emphasizes the Surrealistic movement, the movement's attitude toward the feminine, and Varo's work within this context. Varo's personal life experiences, which shaped her view of the world and choice of subject matter, form the basis for the personal-historical lens. The Depth-archetypal perspective draws its focus from the central issues in Depth psychology, including the individuation process and active imagination. Additionally, the paintings will be examined for their collective content, particularly as it can be understood to reveal unconscious themes. </p><p> This study suggests that an intense examination of Varo's paintings can serve as a microcosm of the individuation process and provide a guide for the therapeutic enhancement of that process in the therapy room by its replicative capacity. This study also suggests that the images in this study can be utilized as "snapshots" of moments of transformation and psychic forms of expression to guide patients as they embark on their respective journeys of individuation. </p>

This thesis began largely as an exploration into right-wing political ideology and its relationship to The Authoritarian Personality proposed by Adorno, Frenkel-Brunswick, Levinson and Sanford (1950). It had initially been envisaged that contemporary examples would manifest themselves within many neo-Fascist or ‘White Pride’ style organisations and as an adage to their supposed historical underpinnings, would therefore be representative of modern day authoritarianism. As previously discovered by Eysenck and Coulter (1974) in their examination of British Fascists and Communists, the authoritarian syndrome is somewhat more complex to explain by way of reference to a number of radical semi-political organisations. Subsequently, the thesis was to take on a deeper and more philosophical direction as various parts of the literature were analysed and critiqued. And indeed to some extent the original proposal was abandoned in favour of a richer and more conceptual approach to our understanding of authoritarianism. This was discovered to be distinctly missing from the majority of the current literature in the field.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Pacific Graduate School of Psychology, 1990. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 51-07, Section: B, page: 3612. Chair: Karl J. Mueller.