The aim of the present research was to investigate the association between how individuals in romantic relationships conceptualize themselves sexually, and levels of reported sexual satisfaction for both themselves and their partner. Of additional interest was how an individual’s sexual self-schemas are associated with their perception of their partner’s sexual satisfaction. Reasoning that sexual self-schemas will have an influence on how individuals interpret and act in sexual situations, we propose that individuals’ sexual self-schemas will play a role in sexual satisfaction within relationships. We additionally examined whether sexual self-schemas influenced an individual’s perceptions of their partner after controlling for that partner’s reported levels of satisfaction. For both men and women, individual’s own sexual self-schemas were associated with own sexual satisfaction, but not partner’s sexual satisfaction. Additionally, individual’s own sexual self-schemas were associated with perceptions of partner’s sexual satisfaction, even after controlling for that partner’s self-reported sexual satisfaction.

The aim of the present research was to investigate the association between how individuals in romantic relationships conceptualize themselves sexually, and levels of reported sexual satisfaction for both themselves and their partner. Of additional interest was how an individual’s sexual self-schemas are associated with their perception of their partner’s sexual satisfaction. Reasoning that sexual self-schemas will have an influence on how individuals interpret and act in sexual situations, we propose that individuals’ sexual self-schemas will play a role in sexual satisfaction within relationships. We additionally examined whether sexual self-schemas influenced an individual’s perceptions of their partner after controlling for that partner’s reported levels of satisfaction. For both men and women, individual’s own sexual self-schemas were associated with own sexual satisfaction, but not partner’s sexual satisfaction. Additionally, individual’s own sexual self-schemas were associated with perceptions of partner’s sexual satisfaction, even after controlling for that partner’s self-reported sexual satisfaction.

Although the psychological effects of appearance schemas have been studied in the general population, we know little about the relation of these schemas to appearance-based rejection sensitivity. This study examined the relations among predictive variables of appearance-invested self-schemas (self-evaluative salience [SES] and motivational salience [MS]), appearance-based rejection sensitivity, and depressive affect. Self-discrepancy theory was used to theorize that when individuals experience discrepancies with self, conflict arises in self-schemas, and that this conflict relates to an increase in depressive affect and appearance-based rejection sensitivity. The sample consisted of 131 adult female college students participating in a continuing education program. Multiple regression was used to evaluate the relation between appearance-invested self-schema and depressive affect. A second multiple regression equation was conducted to evaluate the relation between appearance-invested self-schema and appearance-based rejection sensitivity. Participants with higher SES scores had significantly higher depressive affect scores and appearance-based rejection sensitivity scores. Participants with higher MS scores had significantly lower depressive affect and appearance-based rejection sensitivity scores. High SES significantly predicted more depression and sensitivity to rejection based on appearance, and high MS appeared to be a protective factor against depression and appearance based rejection. The results of the study promote positive social change by helping professionals improve treatments for individuals suffering from negative appearance-invested self-schemas, rejection sensitivity, and depression.

Master of Science / Department of Psychology / Laura A. Brannon / Self-monitoring was examined as a moderator of the effectiveness of persuasive messages for reducing college student binge drinking. Low self-monitors tend to be influenced by their personal values and attitudes, while high self-monitors tend to be influenced by the behavior of those around them. Via a website simulation, college students were presented with one of three types of anti-binge drinking messages: a self-schema message, which highlighted how responsible drinking is consistent with the message recipient’s personal values and attitudes; a social norms message, which explained that most college students drink less than one might think they do; or a control message, which stated in general terms that people can experience a variety of problems from binge drinking. Overall intended drinking behavior in the self-schema message condition was almost identical to that of the social norms message condition, both of which were lower than drinking intentions in the control message condition. When presented with a self-schema matched message, low self-monitors intended to drink less alcohol than did high self-monitors, but these means were not significantly different. However, high self-monitors intended to drink significantly less than did low self-monitors when presented with a social norms message. The results suggest that self-schema matched messages may be effective at reducing binge drinking for most students, and that social norms messages may be equally as effective but only for high self-monitors.

Sexual assault (SA) has been associated with various negative psychological consequences for survivors. Recent studies have shown an association between the history of sexual assault and sexual dysfunction among female survivors of sexual victimization. Specifically, sexual assault survivors experience difficulties with aspects of sexual functioning, sexual satisfaction, and sexual self-schemas (Rellini & Meston, 2011). The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship between sexual victimization severity and sexual functioning and sexual satisfaction. In addition, we tested a sequential mediational model in which sexual self-schema followed by depressive and PTSD symptoms would mediate the relationship between sexual victimization severity and sexual satisfaction and sexual functioning. Seventy-three female college students with a history of sexual victimization were asked to complete a series of self-report questionnaires designed to assess the history of sexual victimization, sexual functioning, sexual satisfaction, sexual self-schemas and psychological distress levels (i.e., depression and posttraumatic stress disorder symptom severity). Results revealed no significant associations between severity of sexual victimization and sexual satisfaction and sexual functioning. Additionally, our sequential mediational models, in which sexual self-schema followed by depressive and PTSD symptoms would mediate the relationship between sexual victimization severity and sexual satisfaction and functioning were non-significant. Our findings may have been limited due to the lack of variability in sexual victimization severity. Future studies further investigating the role of sexual self-schema, depression, and PTSD on sexual functioning and sexual satisfaction among sexual assault survivors are warranted.

The current study was an investigation of the self-schema and social comparison theories of the development of body dissatisfaction. Social comparison stimuli, consisting of photographs of women, were piloted and selected to form 3 stimuli sets: upward comparison, downward comparison, and no comparison. A priming manipulation consisting of an imagery exercise intended to prime participants appearance self-schema was also piloted. Participants completed state measures of body image and mood at pretest, were given the priming manipulation and the social comparison stimuli, then completed posttest measures of mood and body image, as well as providing demographic information. Results indicated no significant interaction between priming and social comparison and no significant main effect for priming. However, there was a significant effect of social comparison, such that those in the downward comparison condition showed decreased body dissatisfaction and negative mood. Results are discussed in the context of self-schema theory and social comparison, and suggestions are given for future research that might further shed light on these topics.

The purpose of this thesis is to give an account of the significance of time in Kant&rsquo / s Critique of Pure Reason by discussing its role in the unification of sensibility and understanding. I primarily investigate the role that time plays in the constitution of objective knowledge. I discuss that since time is the necessary condition for objects to be given to our sensibility, without it any representation would be without a temporal order and perhaps would not make any sense at all. Kant claims that it is imagination that enables the connection between sensibility and understanding possible. After investigating the relation between imagination and time, I argue for the following thesis: what lies at the very heart of the possibility of the connection between sensibility and understanding must be time itself. Finally, I focus on the kinship between time and the self. I argue that when it comes to knowledge of the phenomenal world, time together with transcendental self stands as the condition of all human knowledge.

abstract: Background: Previous research suggests a healthy eater schema (i.e., identifying yourself as a healthy eater) may be a useful concept to target in interventions. A "stealth" intervention that discussed the moral issues related to food worked better at promoting healthful eating than an intervention focused on the health benefits. No research has explored the relationship between moral foundations, a theoretical model focused on delineating core "foundations" for making a moral decision, and healthy eater self-identity or self-efficacy. Purpose: We explored the relationship between moral foundations (i.e., harm/care, fairness/reciprocity, in-group/loyalty, authority/respect, & purity/sanctity) and health eater self-identity and fruit and vegetable self-efficacy (FVSE). Methods: 542 participants completed an online cross-sectional survey, which included moral foundations (i.e., MFQ), political views, healthy eater self-identity (i.e., HESS), and FVSE measures. Logistic regression was used to assess the relationship between moral foundations between healthy eater self-identity after controlling for age, gender, major, BMI, and political beliefs. OLS regression was used to explore the relationship between self-efficacy and the moral foundations after controlling for the covariates. Results: 75.6% of the sample were college students, with a mean age of 25.27 (SD=8.61). 25.1% of students were nutrition majors. Harm/care, authority/respect, and ingroup/loyalty were significantly associated with healthy eater schema, (i.e., OR=1.7, p<.001, OR=1.5, p=.009, and OR=1.4, p=.027, respectively). Ingroup/loyalty, authority/respect, and purity/sanctity were related to FVSE (p=.006, p=.002, p=.04, respectively). Conclusion: Among college students, harm/care and authority/respect were associated with a healthy eater schema. Future research should explore possible uses of these moral foundations in interventions (e.g., a plant-based diet based on reduced harm to animals or eating fewer processed views based on "traditional" values). / Dissertation/Thesis / M.S. Nutrition 2013

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Psychology / Laura A. Brannon / Two studies address the serious problem of college student binge drinking. Both studies identify factors that improve the effectiveness of public service announcements (PSAs) encouraging responsible drinking presented through a website simulation. Study 1 tested four levels of Message Personalization (i.e., extent to which the PSA targets important aspects of the individual's personality) by comparing the effectiveness of messages matched to the person's Big Five personality traits, their actual self-schema, their ideal self-schema, or a non-personalized control message. Matching to actual self-schema has been found to be effective in past research. However, it was expected that the more thoroughly personalized the message, the more effective it would be. Results revealed that in no instance was the most thoroughly personalized condition (Big Five matched) or the alternate way of matching to schema (ideal self-schema) more effective than the actual self-schema matching. When designing PSAs, there appears to be a threshold of personalization. Research related to testing PSAs discouraging binge drinking should continue to pursue self-schema matching rather than the more complicated Big Five matching. Study 2 tested Person Matching (i.e., whether the PSA matches the person's self-schema type or not) and two types of Context Matching (i.e., whether the PSA matches the Topic or Values of the message context) to determine their relative influence on the effectiveness of the PSA. It was expected that PSAs matched to any of these factors would be more effective than messages not matched, and that Person Matching would be more influential on the PSAs effectiveness than the two types of context matching. Person Matching reduced intentions to drink while staying in/home, but Topic Matching reduced intentions to drink when going out, suggesting that different factors are important for PSAs targeting drinking behavior in different locations. The interaction of Topic Matching and Values Matching indicate that the PSA should not match the message context too closely. Again, there appears to be a matching threshold; increasing the number of factors the message matches does not increase message effectiveness, possibly because it makes the message too redundant with the webpage content.

When regarding the history of role theory, one becomes aware of the fact that, although much knowledge is available specifically pertaining to roles in small group settings (e.g. expectations about behaviour, types of roles, flexibility of locus, appropriateness of the role system, dynamic nature of role formation and development as well as typologies dividing roles into categories), not much literature is available specifically pertaining to what the impact of an individual’s self-concept is on his/her propensity to either assume or avoid certain roles in such a setting. Accordingly, this study aimed to explore the above-mentioned aspect of role division in small groups. Research was done by means of a case study research design, with a constructivist/interpretevist meta-theoretical paradigm as research approach. This paradigm holds that there are multiple subjective realities involved when studying human interactions and the consequences thereof. The study was furthermore conducted from a psychodynamic and systems theory perspective. Data was collected from a sample of postgraduate students, who participated in a training group as part of their Industrial and Organisational Psychology master’s degree programme at the University of Pretoria, by means of three different methods, namely video and voice recordings, a document study, as well as semi-structured interviews. Data was furthermore analysed by Atlas.ti, a qualitative data analysis programme, according to the principles of constructivist grounded theory. When regarding current literature on the subject, it is implied by some that an individual will only allow roles to be imposed on him/her if he/she is predisposed to assuming such roles, and if he/she can accordingly integrate the responsibility somehow with his/her self-concept. Accordingly, the results obtained showed some connection between an individual’s self-concept and the role(s) that was assumed by the individual in the small group setting. More specifically, the results showed that an individual is more likely to change roles with ease should the alternate role requirements also be in line with elements of the individual’s self-concept. The results further indicated that it might be difficult for an individual to adapt and change to another role should the roles, which are required in the small group setting, be in conflict with the individual’s self-concept. These findings thus imply that an individual’s self-concept might have an impact on an individual’s propensity to either assume or avoid certain roles (role valency) in a small group setting. / Dissertation (MCom)--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Human Resource Management / unrestricted