Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Psychological Sciences / Donald A. Saucier / To better understand factors related to greater social control of norm violators, I conducted two studies. The social group membership of the norm violator was of foremost importance to these studies and tested the general prediction that who violates the norm determines the perceived appropriate reaction to the norm violation. Consistent with contemporary theories of prejudice (i.e., the justification-suppression model of prejudice, the stereotype content model, and aversive racism theory) results revealed that norm violators with intellectual disabilities were given stronger (yet more paternalistic) social control reactions than Black norm violators and that Black norm violators were perceived as less competent when they violated a norm that was high (vs. low) in personal implication. Results also supported theories related to social-identity theory by demonstrating that White norm violators were generally less liked than other norm violators. The results of these studies demonstrate that social group membership influences how individuals react to norm violators and contributes to our understanding of the unfair treatment of individuals in our society.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Psychological Sciences / Mark A. Barnett / The term “moral rebel” describes an individual who refuses to comply, stay silent, or conform to others when doing so would compromise his/her values (Monin, Sawyer, & Marquez, 2008). Preliminarily, this study examined the extent to which adolescents themselves, their peers, and their teachers agree in their ratings of adolescents’ general expressions of the tendency to be a moral rebel, tendencies to possess a moral identity (i.e., prioritize morality as an important part of identity), and tendencies to possess moral courage characteristics (i.e., qualities that motivate individuals to take action on their beliefs and values). As a theoretical and empirical extension of previous research (see Sonnentag & Barnett, 2013), the present study's primary purpose was to examine the interactive and independent roles of moral identity and moral courage characteristics in adolescents’ general and situation-specific (i.e., caring, just, and brave) expressions of the tendency to be a moral rebel. With regard to the interactive role of moral identity and moral courage characteristics, the present study examined (1) if relatively high levels of various general moral courage characteristics (i.e., Self-Esteem, [Low] Need to Belong, Self-Efficacy, Assertiveness, Social Vigilantism) encourage adolescents to act on their moral identities to display the general and situation-specific expressions of the tendency to be a moral rebel and (2) if relatively high levels of situation-specific moral courage characteristics (i.e., Empathic Concern, Justice Sensitivity, Willingness to Take Action in Physically Dangerous Situations) encourage adolescents to act on their moral identities to display the corresponding situation-specific (i.e., caring, just, and brave, respectively) expressions of the tendency to be a moral rebel. As predicted, results revealed significant positive correlations among the self-report, peer, and teacher ratings of adolescents' (1) general expressions of the tendency to be a moral rebel, (2) tendencies to possess a moral identity, and (3) tendencies to possess general moral courage characteristics. These significant positive inter-correlations emerged for the entire sample as well as for the male and female participants when they were considered separately. Contrary to prediction, moral identity (when considered independently and in combination with the general and situation-specific moral courage characteristics) did not consistently predict the general nor situation-specific expressions of the tendency to be a moral rebel. Furthermore, although the general moral courage characteristics did not consistently predict the adolescents’ caring, just, and brave expressions of the tendency to be a moral rebel, all of the indices of the adolescents' general moral courage characteristics (i.e., Self, Peer, and Teacher ratings; Self-Esteem, [Low] Need to Belong, Self-Efficacy, Assertiveness, Social Vigilantism) positively predicted the adolescents’ self-reported general tendency to be a moral rebel. Finally, two of the situation-specific moral courage characteristics (i.e., Empathic Concern and Willingness to Take Action in Physically Dangerous Situations) were found to be positively associated with the corresponding situation-specific (i.e., caring and brave, respectively) expressions of the tendency to be a moral rebel. The implications and limitations of the present findings, as well as directions for future research on the topic of moral rebelliousness in adolescents, are addressed

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Family Studies and Human Services / Jared R. Anderson / The current study tested Rusbult’s (1980) investment model of relationship commitment. Specifically, this study used data from 875 married individuals to examine the associations between marital satisfaction, alcohol use, video gaming, relationship length, and the presence of children on two types of relationship commitment: psychological attachment and behavioral intent. The results indicate that alcohol use, video gaming, relationship length, and presence of children are not significantly associated with psychological attachment or behavioral intent. However, findings in the current study do suggest that psychological attachment and behavioral intent are independent constructs and should be examined separately. Furthermore, neuroticism and religiosity did predict individual’s behavioral intent, but not psychological attachment.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Psychology / Donald A. Saucier / Research on contemporary sexism suggests that sexism has many different forms and they influence women differently. Evidence shows that women who experience subtle forms of sexism (e.g., modern and benevolent sexism) feel anxious and less competent, yet are less likely to identify these forms of sexism as prejudice against women. Because research suggests that social support is related to better psychological outcomes, we hypothesized that higher levels of perceived social support would be associated with better psychological outcomes among female participants who experienced sexism. In addition, receiving a supportive message after experiencing sexism would buffer the negative psychological effects of sexism, and thus the participants would perform better on a problem-solving task. However, the results only partially supported the hypotheses. Higher levels of perceived social support were indeed associated with better psychological outcomes, but participants who experienced sexism did not differ significantly from those who did not experience sexism regarding psychological outcomes. Further, receiving social support after experiencing sexism did not produce significant improvements on the problem-solving task, though participants who experienced modern sexism did report an increase in hostile affect if they did not receive social support. Possible reasons for the findings are discussed.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Psychology / Ronald G. Downey / Entrepreneurship represents an important path to job creation, product development and organizational competitive advantage. Therefore, the identification and retention of entrepreneurial talent is of primary importance. The Entrepreneurial Orientation Profile Inventory (EOPI) was developed to evaluate the Proactiveness, Innovativeness and Risk-Taking dimensions of Entrepreneurial Orientation using a situational judgment test (SJT) testing methodology. The current research outlines the initial development of the testing items and provides a preliminary review of the process used to develop a scoring key and evaluate the psychometric properties of the measure among two independent samples. Study 1 focused on developing a key to score and evaluate data in subsequent samples. In Study 1, 49 adult workers provided ratings regarding the most and least effective response to 12 business-related scenarios designed to measure the Proactiveness, Innovativeness and Risk-Taking dimensions of Entrepreneurial Orientation. Interrater consistency analyses were conducted to determine the correct rank order of the response options within the most and least effective response conditions. In the most effective condition, raters reached consensus on the correct ranking of the response options for 7 of the 12 items. In the least effective condition, raters reached consensus on the correct ranking of the response options for 9 of the 12 items. The highest ranked response option was identified as the “correct” response and used as a scoring key in Study 2. This finding suggests individuals are generally better at identifying a single best ineffective solution to a business-related problem, but less effective at identifying a single best effective solution to a business-related problem. Thus, when using an SJT format to evaluate business-related problems, asking respondents to identify the least effective responses is likely to provide better identification of a “correct” response. Items for which the adult sample reached agreement were retained for further examination in Study 2. Study 2 was conducted to evaluate the impact of three response option instruction and scoring methodologies (i.e., “most effective”, least effective” or a combined “most and least effective”) on the reliability and validity of the EOPI measure. Using a sample of 188 undergraduate students, the construct and criterion validity of the EOPI measure as a unidimensional composite and at the item level was evaluated. Across the three conditions, the results of the construct and criterion validity analyses generally failed to support the EOPI instrument as an effective method to evaluate Entrepreneurial Orientation at the composite level. The modest correlation coefficients among the criteria variables suggest a potentially broader measurement issue with currently available measures of Entrepreneurship in general. Within the “least effective” response instruction condition, minor significant results were found at the item level. A review of these items provides insight into how modifications of EOPI items may facilitate future item development. Further, the current research also suggests that biographical data may provide insight into the measurement of Entrepreneurial Orientation. A biodata-based unidimensional composite of Entrepreneurial Behavior was found to be both marginally reliable and significantly related to an alternative measure of Entrepreneurial Orientation. The development of additional biodata items that correlate with the current items is likely to improve the psychometric properties of the Entrepreneurial Orientation composite and provide insight into the role of previous experience as a valid and reliable indicator of Entrepreneurial Orientation and Entrepreneurship behaviors.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Psychology / Donald A. Saucier / Individuals who associate with a stigmatized group may take on a “courtesy stigma”, and this may lead individuals to dissociate from stigmatized individuals for fear of also being stigmatized (Goffman, 1963). However many heterosexual individuals (i.e., straight allies) openly associate with lesbians and gay men (LG), and/or actively engage in LG social activism despite the risk of assuming a courtesy stigma. The current research examined the perceptions of and the identification processes associated with being straight allies. Results revealed that the willingness to take on a courtesy stigma may be influential in the process of straight ally identification. This research has implications for understanding the processes related to straight ally perceptions and identification. The current research will also promote general understanding of individuals who engage in prosocial behaviors despite possible negative consequences.

Master of Science / Department of Psychological Sciences / Donald A. Saucier / In recent American culture, expressions of racial prejudice have become increasingly subtle and ambiguous. Given such ambiguity, whether or not prejudice is perceived by observers may be related to individual differences in the tendency to make attributions to prejudice. The present set of studies test the hypothesis that the beliefs and expectations related to a propensity to make attributions to prejudice are moderated by different information about harm and intent that have been shown in previous research to influence observers’ attributions of prejudice. Study 1 manipulated information about the harm caused by a White actor to a Black target (no harm, ambiguous harm, clear harm). Study 2 manipulated information about a White actor’s intent to racially discriminate against a Black target (no intent, ambiguous intent, clear intent). Across both studies, evidence supported the conclusion that attributions of prejudice are related to observers’ beliefs and expectations about racial prejudice when they are given ambiguous information about harm and intent. Understanding when differences in observers’ propensity to make attributions to prejudice might influence their attributions will contribute to our understanding of when expressions of prejudice are perceived, and more generally about how and when beliefs influence how individuals interpret their social world.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of School of Family Studies and Human Services / Jared R. Anderson / This study prospectively examined how parent-adolescent relationships influence romantic relationship quality of offspring, utilizing the National Longitudinal Survey of Adolescent Health (ADD Health, n = 3,946). Further, this study investigated whether self-esteem and depression symptoms mediated these relationships, and if gender was a significant moderator. Adolescent girls who perceived their relationships with their mothers and fathers to be strong were more likely to have better quality romantic relationships as young adults. This relationship was found to be direct and indirect, through the effect of self-esteem. Adolescent boys who perceived their relationship with their father to be strong and whose mothers were more knowledgeable about them were less likely to experience depression symptoms as young adults, and in turn, to have better quality romantic relationships. Adolescent boys whose mothers perceived to have a strong relationship with them had higher self-esteem as young adults. Finally, there were significant differences between boys and girls in that the association between mother knowledge and depression symptoms was stronger for boys. Results support the stability of parent-adolescent relationships in influencing future relationships and highlight the importance of parent-adolescent relationships in predicting psychological wellbeing and romantic relationship quality.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Family Studies and Human Services / Sandra M. Stith / This dissertation presents an emerging inquiry about family therapists’ lived experiences as they work with families in situations that may also require the therapist to act as agents of social control whether through implementation of therapy, treatment, or programs. I used a grounded theory approach, informed by feminist qualitative research, to address the following three questions: 1) How do therapists experience their role as agents of social control? 2) What processes and strategies do they use as they navigate that role when working from a social justice perspective and 3) what implications does this have for family therapists as they conceptualize and plan treatment for their cases? This study used purposeful sampling: Eleven professional family therapists who have researched, taught and written about social justice issues were interviewed. The results of this study provide a preliminary map clarifying how family therapists navigate that role of working as an agent of social control while maintaining a social justice perspective. This research clarifies family therapists’ recognition of their role as agents of social control through the context, meaning, and expectations of therapy. The navigation of this role from a social justice perspective is accomplished through the therapists’ framework of therapy, their understanding of the lived experiences of their client systems, and their therapeutic approach to therapy. These participants also addressed the supervision and development of beginning therapists. These results are intended to provide a foundation for further discussion and research on the topic of therapists as agents of social control.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Family Studies and Human Services / Kristy Archuleta / Jared Anderson / The current study tests a conceptual model exploring the relationship between perceived money ownership (PMO) in marriage, negative communication, financial satisfaction, marital satisfaction and marital instability. Relying on a cross-sectional, convenience sample (N=345) of social media users, structural equation modeling was used to analyze the relationship between these variables. The results indicate that individuals who perceive money as shared in their relationship experience greater marital satisfaction and financial satisfaction and less marital instability, and that the relationship between PMO and these outcome variables are mediated by negative communication. Thus, having a shared money ownership perception is associated with lower levels of negative communication which in turn is associated with higher levels of financial satisfaction and marital satisfaction and lower levels of marital instability. These findings add to the literature on couples, finances, and relationships by showing that PMO is a potentially important variable in understanding relationship processes and outcomes in marriage.