Thesis (M.A.)--Carleton University, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 80-91). Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

Modification of self-traits is defined as a user's modification of his or her physical self-description between real life and online dating profiles. Personality traits may impact this modification in online dating. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship of gender and modification of self-traits on measures of anonymity, social desirability, and self-monitoring to identify factors that contributed to deception in online dating. The theoretical framework used in this study was Paulhus' social desirability model to explain changes in social interactions with the inclusion of anonymity and the desire to be perceived in a favorable light. The research questions concerned the differences in anonymity, social desirability, and self-monitoring between men and women, and the differences in anonymity, social desirability, and self-monitoring between high- and low-level modified self-traits. Archival data of 80 participants were obtained from a 2008 study conducted by Toma, Hancock, and Ellison. A factorial MANOVA was employed to determine the significance of gender and level of modified self-traits on anonymity, social desirability, and self-monitoring. Nonsignificance was found in anonymity, social desirability, and self-monitoring between gender and high- and low-level modified self-traits. Educators could benefit from the result of this study by informing new online daters of the existing digital landscape to include risky and questionable online dating conditions and predators. Likewise, law enforcement officers could benefit from this study by identifying and pursuing deceptive online daters who commit criminal acts or civil crimes against other online daters.

<p>The main objective of the present study was to investigate sex and cultural differences in the use of power and the way power is affected by personality-traits as well as by expectation about the other person. This investigation was carried out in two parts. The first part utilized a questionnaire and in the second part three laboratory experiments were conducted.</p> <p>In the first part of the study a 3 x 2 matrix was used which gave the subjects the opportunity to give the other person more than, equal to or less than what they could have for themselves or to take for themselves more than, equal to or less than what they could give to the other person. Canadians, especially Canadian males, were found to give the other person more than what they could have for themselves and also to take more for themselves than what they could give to the other person as compared with Canadian females and Indians of both sexes.</p> <p>In the second part of the study three experiments using a modified Prisoner's Dilemma Game were carried out which involved Canadian Ss (both males and females) only. In the first experiment, Ss denied those in a high power position more than those in a low power position. Females were also more "denying" than males. The second experiment investigated the effect of power reversal under conditions of 'Information' and 'No Information' about the switch. Ss denied more in the 'Information' than in the 'No Information' Condition' and 'Information' resulted in more 'denying' responses in the Ss before the switch whereas in 'No Information' Ss 'denying' responses increased considerably after the switch in power positions. The effects of machiavellianism and empathic tendency on the use of power were not found to be very great but the expectations about the other person's behaviour did affect responding for those in both the high power or low power positions.</p> / Master of Arts (MA)

<p> The field of evolutionary psychology focuses on many human behaviors; mate selection and value being some of the issues under examination. Mate value is an important concept for explaining mating strategies. Self-perceived mate value is a component of mate value that explains how one views himself or herself as a potential mating partner. The utilization of theories including the triangular theory of love and social exchange aid in explaining the variables under review. The three variables under review include level of confidence in maintaining a relationship, level of commitment to the relationship, and length of time in the relationship, which impact one&rsquo;s level of self-perceived mate value. This study used one demographic measurement and three questionnaires: Relationship Contingent Self-Esteem Scale, Commitment to Relationship Scale, and the Mate Value Inventory. Further, this research distributed surveys to 114 students at a 2-year technical college in central Wisconsin to test a model through multiple regression. Using multiple regression, this study found that two of the variables (level of confidence in maintaining a relationship, the level of commitment to the relationship) aided in explaining self-perceived mate value, while time spent in a commitment relationship was not statistically significant in relation to self-perceived mate value.</p>

<p> Approximately 10% of adults living in the United States meet criteria for a Substance Use Disorder. Although 12-step groups are considered evidence-based practices for substance use problems, an understanding of the underlying mechanisms by which they facilitate recovery practices remains in its infancy. The purpose of the current study was to explore whether attachment could be considered a possible mediator of the effects of recovery practices on positive psychosocial outcomes. Participants (N = 112) were self-identified NA members from 26 U.S. states who completed an online survey assessing attachment style, psychosocial sense of community, psychological well-being, and various other recovery and psychosocial constructs. Results indicated a number of recovery-related practices emerged as significant predictors of secure attachment, over and above covariates. For example, higher levels of home group comfort were associated with increased probability of secure attachment classification (by self-report). In general, psychological sense of community did not significantly predict secure attachment, over and above covariates. Although attachment predicted psychological well-being in univariate models, it generally failed to predict psychological well-being in models that included covariates and recovery-related predictors. Theoretically, these data suggest that functional social support variables are primary recovery-related predictors implicated in NA-involvement, above and beyond other structural social support variables. This further suggests that attachment-related dimensions of 12-step interventions may be integral to recovery outcomes. </p>

<p> Roleplaying activities of various sorts are frequently used to train specific skills or to conduct social science studies. The research on the use of roleplays finds that the more realistic the roleplay, the more effective it is as a teaching tool, at least for easily definable behaviors. Activities such as leadership, decision making, and working with a group are all behaviors that are difficult to precisely define but which are also critically important to the ability of a group to accomplish a task. Research on groups finds that groups are more effective when group members are better educated about each of these topics. Viewed from a Dramaturgical perspective, leadership, decision making, and working with a group can be seen as group members filling certain roles and engaging in role appropriate activities in order to accomplish the tasks of the group and manage the impressions group members have of one another. This study employed a qualitative, grounded theory methodology to explore how participants in Live Action Role Playing (LARP) games, a form of immersive, complex, plot-driven roleplay perceive leadership, decision making, and working with a group. A total of 14 participants provided rich, detailed responses to an open-ended questionnaire that explored their perceptions of each of the three topics being investigated, and also explored how they perceived LARP as influencing those perceptions. Based on the results of the study, a theory was developed connecting LARP participation to an enhanced ability to understand leadership, decision making, and working with a group. </p>

Social contagion concerns, which are defined as heterosexuals’ fears about being misidentified as gay/lesbian, can lead to avoidant and hostile responses toward gay men/lesbians. I argue that fear of becoming the target of sexual advances from gay men or lesbians, if misidentified, contributes to contagion concerns. I further hypothesized that the overperception of sexual interest from gay/lesbian individuals leads to heightened fears of sexual advances by same-sex gay/lesbian individuals if misidentified. Consistent with these predictions, in two studies fear of sexual advances was identified as a strong, independent predictor of social contagion concerns (Study 1a & 1b). An additional study (Study 2) showed people who are higher in trait contagion concerns thought their gay/lesbian interaction partner displayed more sexual interest in them, compared to those lower in trait contagion concerns. However, contagion concerns did not influence the interpretation of sexual interest from a heterosexual interaction partner. Additionally, when paired with a gay/lesbian partner high trait contagion participants were more concerned about being misidentified as gay/lesbian, more anxious about the upcoming interaction, and more interested in avoiding the interaction. Finally, perceptions of sexual interest and concerns about sexual advances mediated the indirect effect of the partner sexual orientation X contagion concerns interaction on concerns about being misidentified during the interaction. High contagion participants with a gay/lesbian interaction partner perceived more sexual interest from their partner, which was associated with increased fear of sexual advances from their partner, which then predicted increased concerns about being misidentified as gay/lesbian during the interaction. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Psychology in partial fulfillment of the Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester 2017. / July 12, 2017. / Overperceptions, Prejudice/Stereotyping, Sexual Advances, Sexuality/Sexual Orientation, Social Contagion Concerns / Includes bibliographical references. / E. Ashby Plant, Professor Directing Dissertation; Kathryn Tillman, University Representative; James McNulty, Committee Member; Andrea Meltzer, Committee Member; Colleen Ganley, Committee Member.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that can affect an individual’s communication, social interactions, adaptive functioning, and academic achievement (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Prevalence rates of those diagnosed with ASD have been increasing, with rates rising to one in 68 children diagnosed with ASD by the eight years of age (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2014). Although the presence of ASD symptomology varies between individuals, parents of children with ASD may experience a myriad of challenges in raising their child. Considering the pervasive nature of ASD, this subset of parents may be at an additional risk to experience chronic stress over time, which can lead to caregiver burnout or maladjustment to their parenting situation (Benson, 2014; Paynter et al., 2013; Pedersen, Crnic, & Baker, 2015). Although this experience is undoubtedly challenging, recent trends in the literature have suggested that this subset of parents may also be apt to experience stress-related growth or benefits in light of their parenting experience (DePape & Lindsay, 2015); however, less is known about this experience with fathers in general. Considering the lack of research on the experience of fathers with children with ASD, the current phenomenological study sought to better understand the parenting experience with fathers, including how their experience has changed over time. The current study also investigated the notion of stress-related growth with a small sample of fathers. Five fathers were successfully recruited for participation in the current study to answer the following research questions: Research Question 1: How do fathers initially describe the experience of raising a child with ASD and how has this experience changed over time? Research Question 2: What meaning or stress-related growth do fathers attribute to raising a child with ASD? To answer these questions, the participants first provided demographic information through an online survey and then completed a semi-structured interview with the researcher to learn more about their respective experiences. The data from this study resulted in the identification of four superordinate themes (e.g., initial impact, early stressors, coping strategies, and change over time), with 14 subordinate themes related to understanding the first research question (e.g., experience of fatherhood). Two superordinate themes (e.g., lessons learned, personal growth), with six subordinate themes, were associated with answering the second research question (e.g., meaning attributed to the parenting experience). / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Educational Psychology and Learning Systems in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester 2018. / July 5, 2018. / Includes bibliographical references. / Angela I. Canto, Professor Directing Dissertation; Juliann Woods, University Representative; Beth Phillips, Committee Member; Jeannine Turner, Committee Member.

Research on women's competition, indirect aggression, and gossip has uncovered a perplexing pattern: women deny their own competitiveness and gossip, but openly acknowledge that of other women. The current investigation proposed one solution to this paradox: women's unawareness of their competitive and malicious motivations grants a competitive advantage in female intrasexual reputation competition. Gossipers who express concern for their targets can preserve their own social desirability while simultaneously transmitting information that harms their target's reputation. Two online studies tested this theory by examining the prevalence and efficacy of concern motivations within gossip. Study 1 tested the prediction that women would assert greater concern relative to malicious motivations for gossiping by comparing male and female participants' perceptions of their own and others' social conversation motivations. Indeed, compared to men, women endorsed stronger concern motivations and lower reputation-harming motivations when gossiping. Moreover, women were especially likely to assert benevolent intentions when discussing same-sex peers compared to men, suggesting these motivations characterize women's gossip about same-sex rivals. Study 2 tested the competitive efficacy of ostensible concern motivations. Male and female participants evaluated female gossipers and their targets across three hypothetical gossip scenarios. The framing of the gossiper's statement was experimentally manipulated such that she delivered her information with concern, with malice, or neutrally. Consistent with predictions, gossip delivered with concern enhanced perceptions of the gossiper's trustworthiness, interpersonal desirability, and romantic desirability compared to gossip delivered neutrally or maliciously. Taken together, these findings suggest women's belief in their prosocial motivations for gossiping is a socially advantageous strategy for female intrasexual reputation competition. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Psychology in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester 2018. / February 12, 2018. / Female competition, Gossip, Intrasexual competition, Morality, Prosociality, Self-deception / Includes bibliographical references. / Roy F. Baumeister, Professor Co-Directing Dissertation; Jon K. Maner, Professor Co-Directing Dissertation; Laura Arpan, University Representative; Andrea Meltzer, Committee Member; Paul Conway, Committee Member; Jesse Cougle, Committee Member.

Recent scholarship has challenged the long-held assumption in the social sciences that Conservatives were more biased than Liberals, contending that the predominance of Liberals in the social sciences might have caused social scientists to ignore liberal bias. Here, we argue that victims’ groups are one potent source of liberal bias. We contend that many Liberals are cosmic egalitarians, that is, they believe that demographic groups do not differ (genetically) on socially valued traits (e.g., math ability, IQ). This, coupled with a sacred narrative about protecting victims’ groups (e.g., Blacks, Muslims, women), leads to bias against any challenge to cosmic egalitarianism that portrays a perceived privileged group more favorably than a perceived victims’ group (Equalitarianism bias). Eight studies support this theory. Liberalism was associated with perceiving certain groups as victims (Studies 1a-1b). In Studies 2-7, Liberals evaluated the same study as less credible when the results concluded that a privileged group (men and Whites) had a superior quality relative to a victims’ group (women and Blacks) than vice versa. To rule out alternative explanations of Bayesian (or some other normative) reasoning, we used within-subjects designs in Studies 6 and 7. Significant order effects for Liberals suggest that Liberals think that they should not evaluate identical information differently depending on which group is said to have a superior quality, yet do so. In all studies, higher equalitarianism mediated the relationship between more liberal ideology and lower credibility ratings when privileged groups were said to score higher on a socially valuable trait. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Psychology in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester 2018. / June 18, 2018. / egalitarianism, liberal bias, motivated cognition, political psychology / Includes bibliographical references. / Roy F. Baumeister, Professor Directing Dissertation; Kevin Beaver, University Representative; James K. McNulty, Committee Member; Jesse Cougle, Committee Member; Ashby Plant, Committee Member.