<p> Social media posts are used to examine what people experience in their everyday lives. A new method is developed for assessing the situational characteristics of social media posts based on the words used in these posts. To accomplish this, machine learning models are built that accurately approximate the judgments of human raters. This new method of situational assessment is applied on two of the most popular social media sites: Twitter and Facebook. Millions of Tweets and Facebook statuses are analyzed. Temporal patterns of situational experiences are found. Geographic and gender differences in experience are examined. Relationships between personality and situation experience were also assessed. Implications of these finding and future applications of this new method of situational assessment are discussed.</p>

abstract: To make meaningful comparisons on a construct of interest across groups or over time, measurement invariance needs to exist for at least a subset of the observed variables that define the construct. Often, chi-square difference tests are used to test for measurement invariance. However, these statistics are affected by sample size such that larger sample sizes are associated with a greater prevalence of significant tests. Thus, using other measures of non-invariance to aid in the decision process would be beneficial. For this dissertation project, I proposed four new effect size measures of measurement non-invariance and analyzed a Monte Carlo simulation study to evaluate their properties and behavior in addition to the properties and behavior of an already existing effect size measure of non-invariance. The effect size measures were evaluated based on bias, variability, and consistency. Additionally, the factors that affected the value of the effect size measures were analyzed. All studied effect sizes were consistent, but three were biased under certain conditions. Further work is needed to establish benchmarks for the unbiased effect sizes. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Psychology 2019

The purpose of this study was to investigate current practices used by clinicians when diagnosing children with AD/HD as well as to explore possible relationships between practices, professional disciplines, opinions, and theoretical leanings.;The study utilized a researcher designed questionnaire mailed to licensed Psychiatrists, Pediatricians, Clinical Psychologists, and Counselors in Virginia. The sample included 274 professionals.;Hypotheses examined relationships between professional discipline and use of assessment methodologies, consultation practices, and classification system preferences, as well as relationships between opinions about classification and assessment of AD/HD and practitioners' opinions about assessment practices.;It was found that physical examination was the only variable with any practical significance that was able to differentiate between the professional disciplines with regard to their preferences and utilization of specific methodologies for the assessment of AD/HD. Results revealed a negative relationship between one's confidence in assessing AD/HD and a practitioner's use of an interview in an assessment.;It was also found that practitioners were no more likely to engage in consultation with other professionals from their respective disciplines than from other disciplines, (2) those professionals who subscribed to a categorical system of classification were no more likely to utilize clinical techniques in assessment while those who subscribed to a dimensional model showed no preference for normative tools, and (3) physicians were no more likely than mental health professionals to subscribe to a categorical system of classification, while mental health professionals showed no preference towards a dimensional model of classification.

Developmental styles and strategies (DSS) are preferences and repeated patterns in intentional self-development. A taxonomy of DSS based on the convergence of talent development and Sternberg's Triarchic Model of Intelligences was proposed to distinguish school learners, street learners, talent developers (specialists), and all-knowers (generalists). This study explored the reliability of the researcher-developed Educational Developmental Style and Strategy Scale, the relationships of age, gender, birth order, ethnicity, and SES to developmental DSS adoption, and the characteristics of five types of DSS adopters (i.e., street learning specialists, street learning generalists, school learning specialists, school learning generalists, the neutral group). Eighty out of 160 students at a governor's school for science and technology completed the survey.;The major findings were the following. (1) The reliability coefficient for the Specialist-Generalist Subscale (SGS) was .79, and that for the Street Learning-School Learning Subscale (SLSLS) was .76. (2) There were no statistically significant differences among the five types of DSS adopters in age, gender, ethnicity, number of siblings, birth order, and parental education. (3) There were no statistically significant differences across five groups in most measures in the questionnaire. The five groups did not differ significantly in books at home and amount of reading, strengths during childhood, Holland personality types, educational aspirations, developmental ideals and parental expectations, contributors to educational growth, contributors to strength development, source of influence on students' development, amount of time spent on activities weekly, taking private lessons, parents' ability to give good advice on students' development, parents' knowledge in students' areas of interest, the freedom to make decisions on one's own development, having different values from peers, have interests different from peers, not following the crowd, grade-orientation, importance of schooling, diversification strategy, opportunity-orientation, spending efforts on the nearest goal, basing their career choices on their missions rather than on competences and interests, having private projects, considering school as an extra burden, ability to learn on one's own, and having highly developed talents.;There were some significant differences found in some areas. Generalists had more books at home than specialists had. Generalists were more likely to have military, political, and sports books. School learners were more likely to have science books and less likely to have social science books. School learners' mean school rank in percentile was significantly higher than that of street learners. School learning generalists were different from street learning generalists and school learning specialists in perceiving whether their interests were shared by their classmates.

Mindfulness has been found to enhance romantic relationships through the practice of remaining open, calm, and emotionally regulated during times of struggle. There was a gap in the literature, however, related to how the practice of mindfulness is subjectively experienced in women's romantic relationships. The purpose of this heuristic study was to understand how women's practice of mindfulness effects their romantic relationships. The conceptual framework for this study was mindfulness-to-meaning theory, which highlights that wellbeing is supported through 2 main mechanisms of mindfulness: savoring and reappraisal. The nature of this study was a qualitative approach using Moustakas's heuristic method. After the data were collected through semistructured interviews, 6 themes were identified. The themes were (a) heightened presence in the relationship; (b) enhanced emotional regulation within the relationship; (c) expanded awareness in the relationship; (d) stronger connection to self and partner; (e) increased gratitude for self, partner, and their shared life; and (f) continued growth in the relationship. Women identified feeling a sense of enhanced emotional regulation within the relationship which enables them to remain calm, less reactive, and better able to communicate with their partners during times of difficulty. The findings from this study confirmed and expanded previous research. This study may enhance understanding of how mindfulness may lead to deeper connection and stability in romantic relationships. By doing so, this study may also contribute to positive social change by informing the work of those in the wellness industry who provide support to women.

In 2013, military leadership took action to lift the ban on women participating in combat roles, thus creating a vital need to understand protective cognitive factors in women veterans exposed to combat. There is no prior research examining the relationship between resilience and thinking styles in this population. The purpose of this quantitative survey study was to examine the predictive relationship between resilience, measured with the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, and thinking styles, measured with the Thinking Styles Inventory-Revised 2, on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) scores, measured by PCL-5, in women with combat exposure (CE). A cross-sectional design was used. A convenience sample size of 130 female veterans ages 30 to 55 who had been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan with a spectrum of PTSD scores and CE was recruited through Facebook's various women veterans organizations. The theoretical framework for this study was Sternberg's theory of mental self-government, which suggests there are different ways individuals will organize, govern their lives, and complete tasks. A Pearson's correlation analysis found significant relationships between the criterion (PSTD scores) and predictor variables (resilience, hierarchical, and liberal thinking styles). A multiple regression analysis found only resilience significantly predicted PTSD symptom scores. The results contribute to social change by adding to the limited research on resilience and thinking styles, which may further cognitive treatment for women veterans and, as the military female population increases, promote additional training for women veterans to increase resilience and enhance positive thinking styles.

Perception of fairness is a key construct affecting job performance, and perceptions of promotional processes are related to employees' sense of justice in private organizations. In police departments, negative perceptions of procedures can be detrimental to departmental effectiveness. The purpose of this quantitative quasiexperimental study was to compare Louisiana officers' perceptions of fairness of a seniority-based promotion system in relation to Louisiana deputies' perceptions of fairness of a merit-based promotion system. Organizational justice theory, including procedural justice, was the theoretical foundation. The research questions were designed to examine whether seniority, transparency, knowledge of the promotion systems, gender, and race predicted levels of perceived fairness. Data were analyzed using an independent samples t test, a MANOVA, and a multiple linear regression. Participants in the seniority-based system perceived it as being fairer than participants in the merit-based system viewed their merit-based system. There were significant differences in knowledge of promotion systems and perceived fairness for rank and system type, but not race and gender. Collectively, predictor variables correlated with perceived fairness. Type of promotion system was not significant when examined with other variables suggesting confounding of predictor variables. Human resources should make employees aware of promotion procedures. Hybrid systems might help address both employee fairness and the promotion of qualified individuals. Officers viewing promotion as fair could lead to positive social change by motivating officers and positively influencing how they serve the public.

One of the most important decisions to make when performing an exploratory factor or principal component analysis regards the number of factors to retain. Parallel analysis is considered to be the best course of action in these circumstances as it consistently outperforms other factor extraction methods (Zwick & Velicer, 1986). Even so, parallel analysis could benefit from further research and refinement to improve its accuracy. Characteristics such as factor loadings, correlations between factors, and number of variables per factor all have been shown to adversely impact the effectiveness of parallel analysis as a means of identifying the number of factors (Pearson, Mundfrom, & Piccone, 2013). Critically, even the choice of criteria on which to evaluate factors (such as the eigenvalue at the 50th or 95th percentile) can have deleterious effects on the number of factors extracted (Peres-Neto, Jackson, & Somers, 2004). One area of parallel analysis yet to be researched is the magnitude of the difference between the actual eigenvalue and the random data-based eigenvalue. Currently, even if the margin between the actual eigenvalue and the random data-based eigenvalue is nominal, the factor is considered to be meaningful. As such, it may behoove researchers to enforce a higher standard, such as a greater margin between the two eigenvalues than just a simple difference. Accordingly, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of a 10% margin criterion as compared to an absolute margin. These margins were evaluated in conjunction with the 50th, 90th, 95th, and 99th percentile eigenvalue criteria on a population correlation matrix designed to engender underextraction. Previous research (Matsumoto & Brown, 2017) explored the same conditions on a population correlation matrix designed to elicit overextraction. They found that the most stringent standard (99th percentile eigenvalue plus a 10% margin) was the most accurate. For the present study however, it was hypothesized that the most accurate results would be obtained from a standard less stringent than the 99th percentile eigenvalue plus a 10% margin. The results suggest that when a correlation matrix has properties which may illicit underextraction, the use of less stringent criteria may lead to greater accuracy in identifying the number of factors and that the incorporation of an additional margin criterion may not improve the accuracy of the analysis.

Empathy, the ability to feel and/or understand another’s emotional state, plays a significant role in interpersonal interactions, mitigating hostility and enhancing affiliation and helping. However, empathy also biases interpersonal reactions. For example, at the group level empathy can become amplified towards members of their ingroup and blunted towards individuals in outgroups, a term called parochial empathy. Currently, no validated measures of parochial empathy at the dispositional level exist, and development of such a scale would be important to understanding the role of group-based emotions in prejudice and discrimination against outgroups. I conducted five studies to develop and validate a self-report Trait Parochial Empathy Scale (TPES) that could measure tendencies to respond with parochial empathy across any set of group membership categories. Study 1 assessed the factor structure of the TPES through exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses while Study 2 attempted to replicate the Study 1 factor structure and assess concurrent and divergent validity of the TPES using attitudinal measures. Study 3 assessed the temporal consistency of the TPES. Study 4 examined whether the TPES could be flexibly used across a variety of groups by assessing its relation to various outcomes across different ingroup and outgroup combinations. Finally, Study 5 assessed the ability of the TPES to predict in vivo behavior.

Divorce rates have consistently risen over the past several decades along with the subsequent increase in parental alienation occurring after the breakup of the family. Parental alienation has long-term negative effects on children who have experienced it, including mental health issues, increased risk of substance abuse, lower levels of self-sufficiency, and decreased physical health. The purpose of this quantitative, nonexperimental study was to determine whether alienation from a parent during childhood impacts the quality of adult romantic and marital relationships of the children when they become adults. The Bowen family systems theory and theory of attachment were used as the framework for the study. A convenience sample included 170 adult participants over the age of 18 who were either married or involved in a dating relationship who had parents that divorced during their childhood between the individual's birth and the age of 14. The results from multiple regression analyses indicated that alienation from father was a significant predictor of marital or dating relationship quality, and alienation from mother was a significant predictor of relationship happiness, satisfaction, and quality. As alienation from father or mother scores increased, the criterion variable scores decreased. Anxious attachment was also a significant predictor of relationship satisfaction as higher scores on anxious attachment resulted in lower relationship satisfaction scores. These findings have positive social change implications as practitioners may use the results to help individuals better understand their relationships and identify the negative lasting effects of parental alienation in adult relationships.