It is through the announcement and placement of various identities that one is able to enter into various types of social relations. Identity is a label used to describe a person in a particular situation as being a kind of social object. A person announces his identity and others place him as having this identity on the basis of his appearance. Structural relations have been defined as relations where one may enter by using a title, while interpersonal relations are entered by using a name or nickname. Structural identities place people in categories, while separating them from others in different categories. Names are used to identify an individual and thus, distinguish him from all other individuals. It has been the purpose of this thesis to gain an understanding of an empirical world (gay drinking places) through the application of the theoretical concept of identity as discussed by those in the interactionist perspective. The method of participant observation was used to gather the data for this investigation. The role of "participant-as- observer" was assumed. The observations were conducted in male gay drinking places in an urban area over a period of three months. Both informal and formal interviews were conducted with informants. It was found that in the gay drinking places there are different structural identities which may be announced and placed in order to enter into structural relations. In most situations these structural identities are announced and placed on the basis of appearance. Knowledge of these structural identities allows the exploration of the relations between those presenting a specific structural identity with those presenting the same structural identity and with those presenting different structural identities. While the announcement and placement of identities facilitates interaction, in some cases it may preclude interaction. Additionally, It is suggested that the various gay bars and taverns acquire imputed identities. The subject of identity transformation in the gay drinking places was also investigated. When a person new to the gay subculture is aspiring to the identity of gay regular, he must learn how to announce this identity. Gay drinking places serve as places where the individual may announce his intention of becoming a gay regular and where he may meet others who have the identity to which he is aspiring. In gay drinking places he enters into a coaching relationship with other gay regulars who serve as models for him, teach him how to appear, and define the various situations in which he finds himself. Names and nicknames are used to enter into interpersonal relations with others in the gay drinking places. In the gay drinking places, it was found that while a person's structural identity indicates that the person can be shown to be a specific type of person, it is a person's name or nickname which identifies him as an individual. In interaction, a name brings to mind various situationally relevant elements of biographical information. The biographical information which may be brought to mind is in many cases limited to information accumulated about the person's activities in the gay drinking places because last names are rarely used.

This project was originally conceived of as an exploration and written presentation of various dimensions of the contemporary social movement called the Women’s Liberation Movement. The exploration was to be through personal experience in the movement and research in movement literature. From a research point of view, the specific objective was to identify the issues and elements of the Women's Liberation experience for those who are involved, in other words, to determine what are the salient dimensions of this experience for the individual in Women’s Liberation.

The study was designed to examine the social workers' and clients’ perceptions of change in the treatment process; specifically to examine the question of why clients discontinue service prior to planful termination. Also, the authors attempted to assess the client's perception of gain and the worker's assessment of gain. Significant Findings Seventy-two per cent of the clients who responded to the questionnaire felt they had been helped. In those cases where the client indicated he had received no help or that his situation became worse, the authors found that the client often indicated that his spouse was unable or unwilling to participate in treatment. These clients also often indicated that they had divorced. The client tended to rate the gains he made from treatment slightly higher than the worker rated them. The inability or unwillingness of the spouse to participate in the treatment process was seen as an important reason for discontinuance before six interviews were completed. The client seemed more likely to indicate fee as a reason for termination of service after six interviews. Clients who paid no fee were more likely to terminate in an unplanned manner before six interviews. If the client paid any fee, his termination was more likely to be planful. Recommendations and Suggestions for Further Research The authors recommend, as in the study done by Dr. Dan Jennings, that any questionnaire mailed out by the agency in the future be a more immediate follow-up to treatment, that is, there is a need for further exploration of the optimum time for follow-up study. A future questionnaire might be returned to the individual practitioner so that he could evaluate the service. Also a planned follow-up of this sort might result in the practitioner reaching out to the client to re-involve him in the treatment process if the client so indicated the need on the returned questionnaire. Recommendations and Suggestions for Further Research The authors recommend that workers indicate clearly on the statistical cards which members of the family were seen in order to facilitate and expedite data gathering. The statistical cards give assessment of service in terms of gain only. The authors recommend that because service is not always gainful, that there be a place on the statistical card to so indicate this. The situation may be so deteriorated that in the worker's assessment there is no ability on the part of the client for motivation, capacity and opportunity for change. On the basis of the data derived from the questionnaire, the authors recommend that further exploratory study be done in the following areas: (a) In the cases where the spouse is unable or unwilling to participate in the treatment process. (b) In the cases where the clients who paid no fee were more likely to terminate unplanned and before six interviews. The authors recommend, as in the study done by Dr. Dan Jennings, that any questionnaire mailed out by the agency in the future be a more immediate follow-up to treatment, that is, there is a need for further exploration of the optimum time for follow-up study. A future questionnaire might be returned to the individual practitioner so that he could evaluate the service. Also a planned follow-up of this sort might result in the practitioner reaching out to the client to re-involve him in the treatment process if the client so indicated the need on the returned questionnaire. Findings in this study showed that the critical period for clients continuance seems to be within the first five interviews. The author recommend that further exploratory study be done on this critical period of treatment.

This study was designed to determine the predictive validity of a police officer selection program and identify the contribution made by each major selection device to the total program. Police officers employed by the Portland Police Bureau who had completed three years of post-probationary employment were randomly assigned to a validation group and a cross-validation group on a two for one basis respectively. Beta weights were computed for the written test, interview and psychological scores in the validation group. The regression formula was then applied to the data in the cross-validation group. A cross-validation R of 0.12 was obtained between the predicted performance criterion scores and the actual performance scores. When the interview variable was removed from the equation the cross-validation R increased to 0.16. Neither validity coefficient reaches statistical significance. Reasons were offered for believing that the low magnitude of the coefficients was attributable to restriction in range in the predictor variables and the unreliability of the criterion variable.

Sexual selection shaped psychological mechanisms in both sexes to assess potential mates for evidence of mate quality (Buss, 2005). Attraction preferences are one such mechanism (Sugiyama, 2005) and physical attraction preferences are sensitive to fitness-promoting traits present in a potential mate. Physically attractive traits are thought to act as signals of good genetic quality (Neff & Pitcher, 2005) and are preferred because of the advantage such quality bestows towards reproductive success. Specifically, genetic quality is proposed to be a biological requirement necessary for physically attractive traits to develop and be maintained (Johnstone & Grafen, 1993). Furthermore, genetic quality is heritable to offspring, thereby increasing offspring reproductive success (Orr, 2009). All mating decisions inherently involve trade-offs due to costs inflicted on time and resources when choosing a long-term mate. Assessing a mate for genetic quality is imperative to ensuring one selects a quality mate with heritable fitness benefits towards offspring reproductive success (Buss, 2005). In order to minimize costs and maximize benefits when making mate selection decisions, humans use multiple and redundant signals of mate quality (Fink & Penton-Voak, 2002; Møller & Pomiankowski, 1993). Accordingly, this study supposed that siblings act as redundant signals of genetic quality that would factor into mating decisions. Because genetic quality is heritable (Houle, 1991) and visible through physical attractiveness (Thornhill & Gangestad, 1999), this study explored the possibility that knowledge of relatedness influenced attractiveness judgments of human faces. Supporting the main hypothesis of the current study, siblings affected judgments of physical attractiveness for target faces. Analyses showed this effect to be driven entirely by female raters for both male [t(62)=3.87, p<.001] and female [t(61)=2.24, p=.029] target faces. Secondary analyses examining the effects of sibling pair attractiveness differences (low vs. high) showed that relatedness significantly increased female ratings of facial attractiveness for both low and high facially attractive male and low facially attractive female target faces. Results offer two possible conclusions as to the role relatedness may serve in mate quality assessments that align with parental investment as well as kin selection assumptions.

According to social psychologists, we as a species are inequity averse. We prefer conditions that foster fairness and reject injustice against common good. At the same time, however, unequal power and status hierarchies color almost every aspect of our lives. Advantages are distributed asymmetrically based on hierarchical status processes. Life, in other words, is systematically unfair in addition to being populated by free riders. Are the outcomes of potential free riders correlated with status as well? Does status affect the individual’s ability to successfully free ride? Are higher status actors typically granted a greater degree of social leniency than lower status actors? Are they less likely to be marked as free riders? I conducted a simple vignette study to in which participants were presented with a hypothetical, one-shot interaction, involving a collectively oriented, task in order to investigate the relationship between status and free riding.

To examine individual, interpersonal, family, and community correlates associated with moderate-to-severe depressive symptoms among pregnant adolescents. A total of 249 primarily African American and Hispanic pregnant adolescents ages 15–18 years were recruited into either an intervention group utilizing Centering Pregnancy prenatal care and case management, or to a comparison group receiving case management only. Moderate-to-severe depressive symptoms were defined as a score ≥16 on the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). Intervention and comparison groups did not significantly differ on demographic characteristics or depression scores at baseline. A total of 115 (46.1 %) participants met criteria for moderate-to-severe depressive symptoms at entry into the program. Pregnant adolescents who were moderately-to-severely depressed were more likely to be African American, to have reported limited contact with the father of the baby, and to have experienced prior verbal, physical or sexual abuse. Depressed adolescents also experienced high levels of family criticism, low levels of general support, and exposure to community violence. A significant number of pregnant adolescents were affected by depression and other challenges that could affect their health. Comprehensive interventions addressing these challenges and incorporating partners and families are needed.

Body modification is a global phenomenon. In the southeastern United States, two forms of modifications present themselves most often: piercings and tattoos. Much of the research conducted on body modifications looks at deviance as a primary concern, focusing less on what the individuals are like. This study examines the personal accounts of people with body modifications and add to the existing information about body-modified people. Interviews were conducted with fifteen participants across several months in different parts of two east Tennessee cities. Questions were open-ended and all responses were transcribed. Participants discussed a variety of topics, including pain, belongingness, and body image. This research offers suggestions for future research in focused areas of body modification.

This study focuses on the identities of family farm operators and the challenges to maintaining viable farm operations in today’s agricultural economy. Employing a grounded qualitative approach, the author conducted 18 in-depth interviews with principal farm operators from Iowa and Tennessee. Using the insights of farmers from geographically different agricultural regions, this study notes how preserving family histories, socialization processes, and farming as a moral career inform operators’ understandings of themselves and the work they do. The analysis also focuses on how family farm operators contend with a globalized agricultural economy and the moral and ethical concerns of managing a farm. Farm operators implement various tactics and framing mechanisms for resolving and, in some cases, circumventing these challenging issues in order to maintain their farms, identities, and family farm legacies.

This thesis examines the virtual social world of the Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game, Runescape. I observed several locations in the Runescape world, conducted in-depth interviews with players, and participated in clan activities. I analyzed how individual players develop and extend concepts of self through their participation in the game. Players attach patterned meanings to in-game social objects, particularly their character (avatar) that mediates their experiences in the game. Many players refer to their character’s appearance and accomplishments as an extension of the self, particularly when they master game skills or accumulate in-game wealth. How players spend and think about time in the game suggests that they experience a blurred boundary between “play” and “work.”