<p>Using a mix of quantitative and qualitative measures, the current study examines how jealousy is experienced and expressed in close peer relationships during emerging adulthood. 193 college student participants (94 males, 99 females) described actual jealousy experiences, answered questions from a newly developed jealousy questionnaire, and completed questionnaires assessing individual characteristics. To better understand the phenomenon of jealousy, descriptive data are presented regarding a variety of jealousy features. An interest in the role of gender and relationship context prompted an examination of the association between gender, relationship context, and jealousy variables. Additionally, a number of hypotheses are tested regarding factors that affect jealousy intensity and frequency. Results suggest jealousy experiences during college are normative and similarly experienced by males and females. However, friendship jealousy has qualities that differ markedly from romantic relationship jealousy. Implications of these findings are discussed. Study limitations and ideas for future research are also addressed.</p> / Dissertation

People hold images of themselves, of their ideal partner, and of the ideal relationship (Simpson, Fletcher, & Campbell, 2001). The present study examined Perceived Meta-Ideals (PMI): people’s conceptions of who they think their partners want them to be, whereas Perceived Meta-Ideal Similarity (PMIS) is how close individuals feel they are to their PMI. 143 dyads in a romantic relationship were randomly assigned to one of three experimental conditions: primed similar/dissimilar to the PMI, and no prime control. Individuals higher in self-esteem (HSEs) reported higher PMIS than individuals lower in self-esteem (LSEs). Higher PMIS lead to an overestimation of the amount of positive qualities that the partner is looking for. HSEs were more satisfied in their relationship and reported a greater self-other overlap, and higher PMIS predicted relationship satisfaction. Finally, self-other overlap mediated the relationship between PMIS and the desire to become the PMI.

Powerful people perform observable agentic behaviors (e.g., directing tasks), and people expect powerful people to act in these agentic ways. Furthermore, Role Congruity Theory predicts that people are disliked when their behavior contradicts such expectations. To this end, we examined perceivers’ romantic liking for opposite-sex targets depending on whether or not the targets conformed to a powerful role. Participants interacted with two opposite-sex partners in brief, recorded sessions. We manipulated (a) which of the opposite-sex partners was actually given power and (b) participants’ perceptions of which opposite-sex partners was given power. Participants reported the most romantic liking for partners who actually were given power, but only when this reality matched participants’ perceptions of who had power. This interaction effect on liking was mediated by the time the opposite-sex partner directed the conversation; that is, when perceptions of power were shared, the powerful partner behaved more agentically and was better liked.

Thesis--Auburn University, 2008. / Abstract. Vita. Includes bibliography (p.112-137).

The history that H. Rider Haggard writes about in his imperial adventure romance fiction is neither collusive nor consensual with the Zulu who are often the focus of his novels. He writes a complex colonial narrative that characterises the Zulu as a proud and mythic, yet ultimately doomed, race. His early twentieth century trilogy, Zikali, is unique in that he uses the three books, Marie, Child of Storm and Finished, to narrate three pivotal events in the nineteenth century history of the Zulu Kingdom. In Zikali, he simultaneously propounds the legitimacy of the colonial endeavour, so effectively that he rewrites history, to ensure the primacy of the Englishman in nineteenth century Southern Africa historiography, whilst aggrandising the Zulu kingdom. This reframing of the colonial narrative—to suit the Western interloper—would be evidence of what is a standard trope within imperial adventure romance fiction, were it not for the fact that Haggard is ambivalent in his imperialism. He is both recorder and creator of imperial history, bewailing the demise of the Zulu Kingdom whilst validating the importance of the role of the colonial white Englishman; he senselessly kills hundreds of natives within his books, yet privileges the Zulu. Referencing one of the primary motivational sources in Haggard's own colonial experience, Theophilus Shepstone, I propose to show Haggard's sublimation of Shepstone's ideas into his own African Arcadian romances, and his creation of a Zulu historiography, which would go on to be lauded by the early South African National Native Congress as being one of the foundations of early twentieth century native socio-political self-fashioning. Haggard's work provides a fragmentary and elusive insight into nineteenth century southern African history and offers an abstruse glimpse into colonial culture rarely found in other imperial adventure romance fiction.

Mary Wollstonecraft’s ghost haunts women’s writing of the Romantic period. After her untimely death in 1797, and the publication of William Godwin’s candid biography in 1798, Wollstonecraft’s reputation was besmirched by the reactionary press in an attack on radical support for revolutionary ideals. Wollstonecraft’s campaign for women’s rights was conflated with a representation of her as sexually promiscuous, politically dangerous and religiously unorthodox. For women writing after Wollstonecraft’s death, an engagement with her political ideals risked identification with her lifestyle, deemed both improper and impious. My thesis explores how women writers negotiated Wollstonecraft’s scandalous reputation in order to discuss her influential feminist arguments and develop their own positions on these pressing issues in post-revolutionary Britain. In the early nineteenth century, Wollstonecraft’s life and work gets elided with the figure of the female philosopher, already popular in both pro- and counter-revolutionary writing of the 1790s. After Wollstonecraft’s death, fictional female philosophers echo elements of her biography whilst voicing an often caricatured version of her arguments. By rejecting these satirically overblown feminist positions, women writers could adopt a more moderate form of feminism, often closer to Wollstonecraft’s original polemic, to critique cultural restrictions on women, revealing how these warp female behaviour. My project modifies our understanding of the origins of modern feminism by focussing on Wollstonecraft’s reception across a range of socially and politically diverse texts, and the ways in which the process of reading itself is treated as potentially revolutionary.

abstract: The organ is in a continued state of evolution, tonally and mechanically, designed by the builder to meet certain expectations related to the musical aesthetics of the time. Organ building in the United States has been influenced by both European organ building traditions and American innovations. During the early twentieth century, Ernest M. Skinner emerged as one of the greatest organ builders in America. Throughout his life, Skinner's quest was to create an "ideal organ," capable of playing a variety of music. Skinner's vision was rooted in the Romantic Movement and influenced by the dynamic gradations and rich, colorful sonorities of orchestral and operatic music of the era. A number of technological developments were applied to the design of the organ which made the romantic organ possible. The prominent European organ builders of the nineteenth century created organs that defined the romantic-style instrument in their respective countries. By the end of the century, American organ builders were creating their own versions. Skinner traveled to Europe to learn what he could from the foreign builders. Skinner built organs that synthesized European and American elements, along with his own innovations, as continuation of nineteenth-century trends that brought the romantic-symphonic organ to its fullest realization. Additionally, Skinner developed many new organ timbres, including a number of stops that imitate various orchestral instruments. The result of Skinner's creative work is the the American symphonic organ. This paper attempts to illustrate how the tonal designs of organs built by Walcker, Cavaillé-Coll, and Willis influenced the work of Skinner and the American symphonic organ. The work of each builder is discussed with descriptions of their designs. The designs and innovations of Skinner are examined as related to these European builders. A number of organ specifications are provided to supplement the information presented here. Today, American symphonic organs, particularly those built by Skinner, are revered for their warmth and charm and are inspiring the work of present day organ builders who are incorporating elements of this style into their own designs. / Dissertation/Thesis / D.M.A. Music 2012

I begin by discussing structural alienation in the United States and its relationship to the pursuit of romantic love. I argue that romantic love is idealized due the lack of community inherent in a competitive, individualistic society; the romantic partner becomes a replacement for the community individuals once relied on for material and psychological needs. Despite the allure of romantic love, the norms and values associated with it often undermine the development of intimacy, as does the larger society in which the relationship is situated. I refer to this phenomenon as the romantic contradiction. I then discuss some of the factors that contribute to the romantic contradiction, such as the commodification of relationships in a market-based economy, impression management in dating, and the role of gender in heterosexual relationships. Central to this dissertation, I investigate the dominant ideology of romantic love by conducting a textual analysis of the ten most popular romantic comedies and self-help books on romantic relationships from 2006-2010. My findings suggest the dominant ideology of romantic love promotes long-term, monogamous relationships as the primary way to meet a person’s psychological and physical needs. Furthermore, the ideal relationship is based on gendered needs and responsibilities: men are expected to provide material and physical protection, while women are expected to provide emotional support and sexual intimacy. The ideology encourages a dependency between women and men and various forms of inequality. It also reinforces individualism in relationships by placing greater emphasis on meeting needs rather than developing intimacy (e.g. knowledge, empathy) for its own sake. I conclude with a discussion of competitive individualism and romantic alienation, and suggest avenues for reducing gender dependency and alienation in relationships.

abstract: Receiving support from intimate others is important to individual well-being across the lifespan. However, the role of support in adolescent romantic relationships has not been investigated extensively. Using two studies, this dissertation utilized data from N = 111 adolescent couples collected as part of the Adolescents, Schools, Peers, and Interpersonal Relationships (ASPIRE) to investigate the implications of support for adolescents’ relationship quality, and positive behavioral adjustment. The first study expanded on existing research by investigating whether support given in response to a partner’s experience of a stressful event, and gauged from the perspective of the support recipient, was associated with the quality of adolescents’ romantic relationships. The study, further investigated whether the association between support and relationship quality changed depending on stress levels experienced due to the stressful event. Results from the dyadic process multilevel model showed that support receipt was associated with increased relationship quality on the same day and that this association was moderated by stress. Results imply that support processes engaged in by adolescents may operate in a similar manner as they do for adults. Implications for the research literature are discussed. The second study examined the role of parental support in adolescents’ romantic relationships. Although, research indicates parents continue to play an important role in the socialization of their children during the adolescent years, very little is known about the role of parenting practices in the domain of adolescent romantic relationships. Study two used longitudinal data to investigate the influence of parental support of adolescent romantic relationships and parental trust on adolescents’ disclosure of information about romantic relationships and adolescent problem behaviors. Results of the Actor Partner Interdependence Model indicated that parental support of romantic relationships but not parental trust was associated with increases in adolescent romantic relationship disclosure at time one, and decreases in problem behaviors at time two. Furthermore, important sex differences emerged. Sex differences and implications for parents of adolescents are discussed. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Family and Human Development 2016

abstract: The goal of this study was to examine the correlation between the brain's preconscious processing of relationship events and direct observation of couples' behavior during a videotaped discussion task. Although we know about the interaction dynamics within romantic relationships that portend conflict and dissatisfaction, very little is known about how individuals read interpersonal events within their relationship. Romantic partners participated in a dyadic EEG (electroencephalogram) lab session in which they played a gambling task. The gambling task consisted of three conditions: 1) individual gambling 2) watching their partners gamble and 3) gambling with advice from their partners. Following the gambling tasks, partners were videotaped discussing relationship topics. Neurocognitive reactions to winning and losing a gamble in response to partner's advice were analyzed as an Evoked Response Potential (ERP). The ERP of interest was the P300, which is associated with the brain making sense of unexpected information. Using an actor partner framework, it was found that the females' P300 predicted observed coercive interaction patterns. This finding suggests that for females with an established coercive relationship with their male partners, positive feedback was unexpected compared to losing. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Psychology 2016