Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Psychological Sciences / Donald A. Saucier / The current studies examine two types of rape humor to determine whether there are differences in individuals’ evaluations and understanding of each. Reinforcing rape humor is that which contributes to the normalization of rape, while subversive humor challenges it. Across two studies, I compared these types of humor to determine if individuals’ evaluations (i.e., as funny, offensive, etc.) and understanding differed between types (and compared to neutral humor), as well as how individual difference variables may moderate those effects. Results suggest that while there is variation in individuals’ understanding of subversive humor depending on the way in which they are asked to express their understanding, subversive humor evokes more positive evaluations than reinforcing rape humor, as expected. Additionally, reinforcing rape humor also evoked variation in understanding, which was related to participants’ evaluations of the humor, and selected individual differences. Examining these research questions provides insight into an issue that has become increasingly important in the United States, and may also inform us about the potential role of humor in contributing to the national discussion on this issue. Thus, although some have suggested that rape humor is never appropriate, these studies suggest that there is potential for humor to be an effective tool in working toward diminishing rape culture.

Master of Science / Department of Family Studies and Human Services / Jared R. Anderson / This study investigated the relationships between attachment style, relationship confidence, and constructive communication among a sample of 71 newlywed military couples. Using Karney & Crown’s (2007) military adapted Vulnerability-Stress-Adaptation model as a guide, the current study predicted that romantic attachment style (an enduring vulnerability) would be associated with couples’ communication (an adaptive process) directly, and indirectly through marital confidence (a marital resource). Actor and partner effects were examined using the Actor Partner Interdependence Model (APIM; Kenny, Kashy, & Cook, 2006). Results indicate that after controlling for financial worry and husband’s rank, wives’ avoidant attachment was directly associated with her constructive communication and husband’s anxious attachment was directly associated with his constructive communication. Tests of mediating paths from anxious and avoidant attachment to relationship confidence through constructive communication were significant for wives. When accounting for anxious attachment partner effects were present between relationship confidence and constructive communication. The results suggest the importance of assessing for attachment style and relationship confidence when working with military couples in the early years of their marriage.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Psychology / Mark A. Barnett / To date, the research testing the predictors of relational aggression has largely mirrored that of the more robust physical aggression literature. Similar to the physical aggression literature, research on relational aggression has focused on age and gender differences and, more recently, the possible associations between relational aggression and other variables. However, there is a lack of research investigating the parent and peer behaviors that could potentially model relationally aggressive behavior in children. The current study drew upon social-cognitive models of aggression to test such associations. Specifically, I measured parents’ use of psychological control with their children, parents’ use of manipulative behavior with their children and other adults, and peer groups’ use of relational aggression to determine whether these variables predicted children’s use of relational aggression. It was expected that the aforementioned variables would be positively associated with children’s use of relational aggression. One hundred and sixty-five fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-grade children (52% male) enrolled in public elementary schools in the Midwest participated in the study. Additionally, 137 female and 70 male caregivers also participated. The children completed questionnaires to measure a) their use of relational aggression, b) their peers’ use of relational and physical aggression, c) the cohesiveness and distinctiveness of their main group of friends, and d) their parents’ use of psychological control. The caregivers also completed questionnaires that assessed a) their behaviors toward other adults when angry, b) how they respond to their children’s misbehavior, and c) social desirability. Consistent with Social Learning Theory and the Social-Cognitive Theory of Aggression, children’s use of relational aggression was positively related to their mothers’ use of psychological control and to their peer groups’ use of relational aggression especially when that peer group was seen as relatively cohesive and distinct. In addition, children’s use of relational aggression was more strongly associated with their parents’ use of psychological control than was their peer groups’ use of relational aggression. The current study was the first to examine and compare the associations between parent- and peer-related variables and children’s use of relational aggression.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Psychology / Donald A. Saucier / Three studies were conducted to further validate the belief in pure evil (BPE) and belief in pure good (BPG) scales (Webster & Saucier, 2012). Study 1 assessed the relationships between BPE, BPG, and sociopolitical ideology, while Study 2 assessed the relationships between BPE, BPG, and various forms of religiosity. Study 1 and Study 2 also tested whether BPE and BPG predicted aggression and helping via support for relevant foreign (Study 1) or domestic (Study 2) policy issues above and beyond sociopolitical attitudes and religiosity, respectively. Study 3 tested whether BPE and BPG predicted evaluations of a prototypically (vs. non-prototypically) evil perpetrator and a prototypically (vs. non-prototypically) good apprehender. Together, these three studies showed that BPE consistently related to greater aggression and less helping, while greater BPG consistently related to less aggression and more helping, while demonstrating convergence but not redundancy with variables known to justify/suppress aggression or helping. In sum, these studies further demonstrate the reliability and validity of the BPE and BPG scales as well as provide solid groundwork for future correlational and experimental research on these constructs.

Master of Science / Family Studies and Human Services / Farrell J. Webb / Relationship and risk factors of infidelity within intimate and romantic relationships were examined using the Relationship and Risk factors influencing Infidelity Model (RRIM). It is based in part on Sternberg’s (1998) theoretical construct known as the triangular theory of love. Relationship factors included demographics, and relationship, development, strengths, and dynamics. Risk factors included sexual compatibility, and relationship problems. Data gleaned from Wave IV of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) measured a subsample of approximately 1,000 respondents (n = 939) young adults from 24 to 32 years of age (M = 28.64, SD = 1.79, Mdn = 28.61) and was designed to test the accuracy of the RRIM. Hierarchical logistic regression was used to explicate the relationships found across the elements within the RRIM. The overall results revealed that the RRIM correctly classified that 72.2% of the men and 78.8% of women were not likely to commit infidelity. The final results revealed that the level of commitment, the feeling of love, and the frequency of sex within the relationship were statistically significantly likely to influence infidelity between both men and women. Meanwhile, education and believing that one’s relationship would be permanent were statistically significantly likely to influence infidelity for women, but not for men. Although these results are encouraging, limitations were found within the RRIM and problems generated from using the Add Health must be acknowledged as several measures were not reliable. Future investigations should focus on how role models within young adults immediate and external environment influence their participation in committing infidelity.

Doctor of Philosophy / School of Family Studies and Human Services / Karen Myers-Bowman / Sibling relationships have often been studied with the goal of understanding the sibling influence on development of an individual. With the focus on development, research has often been limited to the time of life between the ages of birth to 18. Sibling research in adulthood has often been limited to examining siblings’ interactions in a particular context. Most of the research has examined siblings dealing with caregiving, family businesses, finances, or parental treatment. How siblings feel about their relationship, how the relationship has enhanced their lives, and what meaning individuals ascribe to that relationship through their lifetime has been understudied. This study focused on the meaning ascribed to a relationship between sisters by those in the relationship as well as the importance of sisterhood to the individual’s identity or perception of who they are because of the relationship. Participants responded to questions designed to gather information about what it means to them to be a sister in middle adulthood. The sisters indicated that the relationship held meaning for them though out their adult life. Parents were found to have influenced the relationship. In addition the sister relationship impacted the development of a sisters identity in multiple ways. For most sisters, they could not imagine who they would have become without the influence of their sisters.

Master of Science / Department of Psychological Sciences / Laura A. Brannon / Previous research has repeatedly demonstrated that undergraduate students overrate others’ norm comfort with and consumption of alcohol (i.e., Prentice & Miller, 1993). This is a dangerous misperception, as students are increasing their personal alcohol intake and / or frequency in order to match their incorrect perception of how much everyone else is drinking. Already assuming that their peers are more comfortable with, and consume more, alcohol than they do, college students’ perception of norm alcohol use may be influenced by peer comments indicating approval / disapproval of alcohol use. Thus, the present study experimentally tested whether a positive or negative comment in reaction to a portrayal of excessive drinking would influence participants’ perceptions of drinking behavior among their campus peers, and whether the sex of the person making the comment differentially influences participants’ perceptions of each sex’s extent of participation in drinking. Participants’ perceptions of drinking behavior were not influenced by the confederate comment nor confederate sex; however, participants consistently estimated that the drinking norm is higher for males than females. Additionally, female participants perceived the drinking norm to be higher than did male participants. Participants’ ratings of the confederates did differ, however, depending on the comment; participants rated the confederates more favorably when the comment made was negative / criticizing of excessive drinking than when the comment made was positive / endorsing of excessive drinking.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Psychological Sciences / Laura A. Brannon / The current research investigated strategies to reduce cell phone use while driving. Anti-distracted driving campaigns, which typically communicate risk information and target driver behavior, may produce limited effects because people tend to underestimate their risk from this behavior (e.g., Schlehofer et al., 2010). Study 1 compared the effects of messages targeting drivers to messages targeting non-drivers in order to examine the potential of discouraging people from having cell phone communication with others who are driving. Some anti-distracted driving campaigns have emphasized the potential harm to both the driver and others, but whether one approach (self-oriented or other-oriented messaging) is more persuasive than the other has not been examined empirically. Study 1 compared messages that were self-oriented, other-oriented, or neutral in terms of who could be affected by cell phone use while driving. Although cell phone use while driving generally is perceived as dangerous, people may make justifications for engaging in the behavior on at least some occasions, and these justifications may override the influence of risk knowledge on behavior. Consistent with inoculation theory (McGuire, 1961), if given the opportunity to practice refuting these justifications in a controlled setting, people will be more likely to defend themselves against justifications to engage in cell phone use while driving. Thus, Study 1 tested the prediction that participation in an inoculation task would reduce the likelihood of cell phone use while driving. Results from Study 1 suggested an advantage of targeting non-driving participants of cell phone conversations to enhance efforts for reducing on-the-road cell phone use. Study 1 also demonstrated a positive effect of inoculation, but primarily for behavior of non-driving participants of cell phone conversations. In addition to overconfidence in ability to avoid risk, habitual tendencies also may impede the influence of risk communication campaigns (Bayer & Campbell, 2012). Study 2 investigated the potential of mindfulness-based and implementation intentions techniques for helping people overcome habitual responses to their cell phone when doing so is inappropriate or inconvenient. Results indicated that pairing mindfulness-based training with risk information may be significantly more effective than risk information alone at inhibiting inappropriate cell phone use.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Psychological Sciences / Gary Brase / Although fertility decision-making has been the source of considerable theoretical and empirical investigation, the effect of several contextual variables on individuals’ fertility decision-making processes are not yet understood. For example, are individuals more strongly influenced by social forces that are informational or normative? Also, do individuals change their fertility intentions based on their current and developmental economic conditions? Further, how ‘shared’ are reproductive decisions within a couple, are males or females more likely to get what they want? This 3-study program of research used both experimental and exploratory qualitative methods to elucidate the nature of these unresolved issues within the domain of fertility decision-making. Study 1 (N = 344, M[subscript]age = 23, SD[subscript]age =6.41, 59.3% female) found that highly motivated individuals’ fertility intentions were more susceptible to informational, compared to normative messages (the opposite was true for unmotivated participants). Study 2 (N = 249, M[subscript]age = 24, SD[subscript]age =6.10, 61.4% female) found that exposure to mortality primes up-regulated fertility intentions for individuals with “fast” life history strategies, but facilitated the down-regulation of fertility intentions for individuals with “slow” life history strategies. Interestingly, resource scarcity primes were associated with the postponement of fertility plans in individuals’ with “fast” life history strategies. Study 3 (N = 120, M[subscript]age = 21, SD[subscript]age =4.96, 50% female) found that, contrary to predictions, the similarity of couples’ gender role attitudes, career-orientations, and education levels did not significantly predict the frequency of their use of statements coded as compromise and agreement or persuasion and disagreement in their discussions regarding their future reproductive plans. Findings do suggest that individuals with higher levels of education were more likely to use persuasion and disagreement statements in their child timing and number discussions with their romantic partner, indicative of greater decision-making power in that particular social exchange. Further, men and women in study 3 were equally likely to use statements coded as compromise and agreement, persuasion and disagreement, and concession when discussing both their future fertility plans as well as their future financial plans.

Master of Science / Department of Family Studies and Human Services / Amber V. Vennum / Patterns in, and quality of, early romantic relationships have been found to impact future relationship outcomes (Donnellan et al., 2005; Overbeek et al., 2007). Commitment and satisfaction with sacrifice have been cited as important constructs in relationship health and stability as they indicate investment in the relationship (Stanley & Markman, 1992; Rusbult, 1983). Little research has been done on the bi-directional relationship of these two constructs. Many authors indicate that commitment predicts sacrifice (e.g. Van Lange, Rusbult, et al., 1997), but others argue that sacrifice predicts subsequent commitment (e.g. Kelley, 1979). The purpose of this study was to explore the time-ordering of these constructs and whether a history of relationship breakup and renewal (termed cyclicality) moderated this relationship in an emerging adult population (n = 246). Using a cross-lagged model over three time points, the present study found support for a bi-directional relationship between commitment and satisfaction with sacrifice that was not moderated by a history of cyclicality. However, partners with a history of breakup and renewal did report lower dedication at Time 3, indicated by a group mean difference. Implications for theory, research, and intervention are discussed.