published_or_final_version / Clinical Psychology / Master / Master of Social Sciences

<p> Today people are more connected by technology than ever, but the impact of changing preferences for interacting on communication is still largely unknown. Differing levels of richness in modes of communication as determined by media richness theory were examined as a function of participants' accuracy and certainty in interpreting ambiguous messages. A sample of 111 undergraduate student participants were randomly assigned to text, audio, or video condition groups where they read, heard, or viewed ambiguous stimuli in four emotional tone categories (affection, aggression, sarcasm, and wit/humor) in an online survey. Findings included significant positive correlations between accuracy and certainty overall; when separated by condition, the association between accuracy and certainty was significant in the richest communication condition (video) across all four emotional tone categories and in the leanest condition (text) for affectionate messages only. Overall, there was a significant main effect for condition on accuracy scores, with the richest (video) condition having highest accuracy scores across the majority of emotional tone categories. Affectionately toned message accuracy was the exception, with higher accuracy scores in the moderately rich audio condition. Generally, the moderately rich condition produced accuracy rates that were lower than the richest condition but higher than the leanest (text) condition. Across all emotional categories, the leanest condition had significantly lower accuracy scores. There were no significant differences in certainty scores between conditions. In summary, while accuracy decreased in leaner forms of communication, individuals' confidence in their ability to accurately perceive messages remained stable across all communication mediums and emotional categories. This suggests people tend to be overconfident in their ability to accurately perceive messages; they may be unaware interpretational accuracy can vary significantly both across emotional tone and by medium, with accuracy decreasing most in text-based interactions. These findings could be used to help individuals better predict when to use richer forms of communication mediums to avoid misunderstandings, or to at least be more aware when their messages may be less clear. Additionally, the certainly findings support that richness alone does not predict media choices as participants did not appear to consider richness as a factor in effectively conveying meaning in their perceived understanding of information. </p>

<p> Using an ecological perspective, this dissertation examined experiences of homonegativity in different settings and its influence on internalized homonegativity. It also examined whether there were significant paths between internalized homonegativity and experiences of homonegativity and self-efficacy to practice safe sex. In addition, it examined paths between self-efficacy to practice safe sex and internalized homonegativity and unprotected anal intercourse at 3 month and last sexual encounters. Men who have sex with men (N = 136) completed an on-line survey designed to address these questions. A measure of experiences of homonegativity was adapted to include four specific settings: church, family, neighborhood, and friends. Participants reported experiences of homonegativity highest from church and the lowest from friends. Experiences of homonegativity from family, friends, and neighborhood were all significantly positively associated with internalized homonegativity. Results indicated significant paths between internalized homonegativity and experiences of homonegativity in different settings (i.e., friends, family, and neighborhood) and self-efficacy to practice safe sex. Significant paths between self-efficacy to practice safe sex and internalized homonegativity and unprotected anal intercourse at last sexual encounter and within the last three months were also found. Implications for future research and clinicians working with individuals who experience homonegativity are discussed. </p>

<p> Severely mentally ill adults are a historically underserved population that tends to be highly resistant to taking psychiatric medications. Although medications generally help to decrease the severity of symptoms and lower risk of relapse/hospital readmission, they also negatively impact sense of self and identity, and lead to unwanted side effects. Non adherence frequently leads to involuntary hospitalizations, where a medication adherence intervention is needed. In order to make a case for a medication adherence intervention, regression analyses were conducted on an inpatient psychiatric sample of 178 adults diagnosed with severe mental illnesses in order to determine predictive relationships between symptom severity upon admission, frequency of hospital readmission, medication adherence/non-adherence, and length of hospital stay (LOS). Results yielded insignificant findings, which is informative and even compelling due to medications being considered the gold standard in inpatient psychiatric care. Results were limited by medication adherence being measured dichotomously, and confounds related to ethnicity, family involvement, and substance abuse. Post-hoc analyses yielded significant relationships between pretest symptom severity and length of stay, as well as significance between medication non-adherence and elevations on the symptoms: Conceptual Disorganization, Grandiosity, Suspiciousness, and Motor Retardation, which indirectly support concerns about severely mentally ill adults not taking medications due to concerns related to autonomy and distrust of providers. Implications and future research and practice are also discussed.</p>

<p> Previous literature indicates that slower electroencephalography (EEG) waves and hemispheric EEG asymmetry in frontal lobe regions (which are indicators of deficits in frontal lobe functioning) have been associated with violence and crime in habitually aggressive offenders. The current project is the first to investigate the relationship between frontal lobe functioning (EEG slow wave activity and asymmetry), trait displaced aggression (TDA), and crime. Results showed that TDA moderated the effect of frontal lobe asymmetry on violent crime. Specifically, there is a significant positive relationship between delta asymmetry and violent crime for those with high or mean levels of TDA but delta asymmetry did not impact crime for individuals low in TDA. Implications of this research for reducing violent crime will be discussed.</p>

his multiple study thesis considered the findings of research around the factors that influence individual and group propensity to violence in a socio‐political context and tested key variables to establish their relative contribution in driving this process. An initial pilot study, using a sample of 30 UK participants, recorded perceptions about violent behaviour and its causes using a 27 item parcel: five factor model including variables: environmental, belief systems, social identity, demographic, experience of violence (Wray, 2007), a 10 item measure of the big‐five personality inventory (Gosling, S.D; et al. 1992), an 8 item measure of authoritarian conformity (Couch A.S. and Bales, 1960) and a 7 item measure of aggression (Couch A.S. and Bales, 1960). The pilot identified key variables affecting propensity to violence from both existing literature and research and real life perceptions about violence. The findings identified three variables: group cohesion, transnational support for violence and conformity to authority. The main simulation study, based on 159 UK participants, then tested the impact of group cohesion and authoritarian conformity, plus an additional variable, moral disengagement, on the dependent variable, Propensity to violence (PTV). Participants were asked to consider how they might respond collectively in a hypothetical pressurised artificial politically violent scenario, measuring the degree of violence in their chosen options on a 7‐point scale. Statistical analysis supported the three main hypotheses showing that propensity to violence was shown to increase in groups with higher levels of cohesion in the presence of an authority figure and in response to visual and written stimulus. There was effect overtime for the all conditions with some variance between group types. In addition, Integrative Complexity scoring was applied to each group discourse confirming a positive correlation between differentiation, integration and propensity to violence. Specifically, that group discourse was seen to be least differential or lateral in authority groups irrespective of whether violence or non‐violence was encouraged. Overall the findings confirmed that in a simulated environment, propensity to violence in a UK sample was affected in the context of the variables tested. The resulting model helps to describe the relative and combined relationship between key components of the radicalisation process and the violence of terrorism that can result.

<p> The purpose of this study was to examine the potential effects a freshman transition program has on high school success rates. Results could provide the basis for freshman transfer strategies and help academic success following the No Child Left Behind mandate. The research question asked was: Did program complexity have an impact on the success of freshman students, measured by number of failing grades, percentage of discipline referrals assigned, and attendance rates? </p><p> To answer the question, the researcher studied three homogenous high schools in the greater St. Louis area. These three freshman transition programs varied in complexity provided for incoming students. The length of study was over four academic years, from 2009 through 2013. There were three hypothesis studied in order to determine if the complexity of the freshman transition programs had an effect on performance outcomes for incoming students, with regards to attendance, number of discipline referrals and failing grades. A combined statement of the hypotheses is: The attendance rate, discipline referral rate, and grade point averages are different between the most complex (East High School), less complex (South High School), and the least complex (West High School) programs and between the pre-to-post comparisons of the most complex (East High School) program. </p><p> In this study, the data did not support significant changes in the student outcomes of attendance rates, discipline referral rates, nor failing grade rates, for each of the three high schools studied, East, West, and South, despite the varying levels of complexity in the freshman transition program implemented at each school. </p><p> No significant differences were established through use of ANOVA, Chi Square tests for Independence, and z-tests for difference in proportions applied to secondary data generated by the three schools through the years 2009 to 2013.</p>

<p> Although it is well established that people are motivated to maintain a positive self-image, choice researchers have largely ignored how this desire impacts what consumers choose. The current research investigates the notion that people's choices can serve as a signal that affects their beliefs about themselves. I explore a self-signaling framework to make unique predictions in two important substantive domains: prosocial giving and forfeiture choice. </p><p> The first essay shows that consumers are more likely to give to a charity when the donation appeal mentions a hedonic product. This occurs because the presence of a hedonic product changes the self-attributions, or self-signaling utility, associated with the choice to donate. I demonstrate the effect with real choice and field experiments, and provide evidence that the increase in donation rates occurs because the choice not to donate is a stronger signal of selfishness in the context of a hedonic product.</p><p> The second essay looks at forfeiture choices and finds that the structure of the self-concept can determine whether or not people give up an unused good. I develop a conceptual framework based on a known aspect of the self (self-concept clarity) to predict that when consumers are less clear about their self-concept they are more likely to self-signal. Four experiments show that people are more likely to keep an informative good or service they do not use (e.g. keep paying for a digital magazine subscription they do not read) when they are unclear about their self-concept.</p><p> Taken together these findings enrich our understanding of the role of self-signaling in choice, enhance our knowledge of how people use choice to manage their self-image, and link the behavioral findings of self-signaling in marketing to an established literature on self in psychology. The results have implications for choice theorists interested in understanding self-image motives and for marketing practitioners interested in understanding choice. </p>

Relationships between implicit measures of stereotyping (using subliminal semantic priming) and implicit measures of prejudice (using facial electromyography) were examined in both Black and White participants. Race of the participant showed a trend towards moderating the relationship between priming bias scores and EMG bias to face stimuli and the relationship between priming bias scores and EMG bias. There were nonsignificant relationships between priming bias scores and differences in application ratings for Black and White applicants. The issue of statistical power is discussed as a possible explanation for nonsignificance.

<p> Using a meaning making lens and a qualitative methodology, this dissertation study sought to explore transformative meaning making and implicit beliefs of parenting among a sample of 40 adolescent mothers participating in a home visiting program during their transition to parenthood. Given the high attrition rate for interventions serving adolescent moms, the study also explored the alignments between meaning making and home visiting program participation. Through iterative coding and theme analysis, this investigation revealed that participants&rsquo; beliefs about parenting evolve as they transition from pregnancy to parenting. They engage in meaning making throughout the process, which leads to scripts of change in three areas: improvements in relationships, changes in life outlook, and changes to self. Two groups emerged on either end of the spectrum of meaning making. High meaning-making <i> transformers</i> tended to remain actively enrolled in the intervention while the low meaning-making <i>remainers</i> all dropped out by the second year. An analysis of implicit beliefs about parenting, or meta-parenting mindset, identified three groups of participants: <i>fixed theorists, </i> <i>incremental theorists,</i> and <i>mixed theorists. </i> Fixed theorists, who believed parenting ability was natural or instinctual, had a lower retention rate in the program (14%) than the overall rate of the sample (42%) even after controlling for participants who moved away. Incremental theorists, who attributed their parenting abilities to gradual growth and learning, had a 50% retention rate and also represented just 6.6% of those receiving a low number of visits and 66.6% of those who had high rates of home visits.</p>