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Although cohesiveness has been studied for more than half a century, there is no common definition and associated measure. The current focus of research has moved from general explanations to context specific approaches. This particular thesis focuses on organisationally based, limited life, project teams. Despite the increasing use of these types of teams over the last 15 years, there is no published literature dealing directly with them, and no instrument designed specifically to measure their cohesiveness. This study has defined the construct of cohesiveness for these teams, using team members themselves, and a psychometrically sound measure of cohesiveness has been devised. It is made up of two sub-scales: task and people, and 20 component items. This tool is designed not only as an indicator of cohesiveness but also as a diagnostic tool to allow teams to increase their cohesiveness. Meta-analytical research has found that cohesiveness and performance are related, but that a number of factors moderate this relationship, e.g. type ofteam (Mullen and Copper, 1994). Using the task/people cohesiveness measure, three studies relating cohesiveness to performance and other variables were undertaken. Since project teams are of limited life and each team's output is unique, a correlational design was utilised. Altogether, data from over 500 teams was collected. Studies were carried out with 'real' teams and also a number of teams undertaking a business simulation game. Cohesiveness was found to be related to performance across a basket of performance measures in both circumstances. Task cohesiveness was more strongly related to performance than was people cohesiveness. By comparing levels of performance feedback, evidence was found to support Mullen and Coppers' (1994) suggestion that performance and cohesiveness have a reciprocal effect on one another and that the performance to cohesiveness effect is the larger of the two. The relationship of a number of variables to both cohesiveness and also the cohesivenessperformance relationship were investigated. This thesis contributes to the literature by using Social Identity Theory as an approach to defining and producing a measure of cohesiveness for a specific type of group - project teams. Its application has provided data on the cohesiveness-performance relationship that supports earlier meta-analytical findings where these are comparable.

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Research investigating etiology, or beliefs and values related to prejudice toward transgender individuals, is in the early stages. This study examined correlates and predictors of anti-transgender prejudice from a sample of 298 undergraduates at a large, urban university in the Southeastern United States. Measures of traditional values and beliefs, such as right-wing authoritarianism, and social dominance orientation, as well as social identity factors, such as intergroup contact, intergroup anxiety, in-group identity, and contact apprehension toward transgender individuals were examined. Bivariate correlations revealed that right-wing authoritarianism, contact apprehension, and intergroup anxiety were strongly correlated with anti-transgender prejudice, using the Genderism Transphobia Scale Revised version (GTS-R; Tebbe & Moradi, 2014). Contact with gay men and lesbians yielded a moderate negative correlation with GTS-R. Contact with transgender individuals yielded a small, but significant negative correlation with GTS-R. Hierarchical regression analysis revealed that contact apprehension, right-wing authoritarianism, and contact with gay men and lesbians were significant predictors of GTS-R. A post hoc mediation analysis revealed that contact apprehension significantly mediated the relationship between gender and anti-transgender prejudice.

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Recent accounting research has indicated that not only do auditors form relational bonds with their clients, but they also tend to acquiesce to their client’s perspective because of that bond. As a result, professional skepticism is often compromised. Accounting research has suggested auditor rotation as a potential solution with mixed results. This may be explained by psychology research showing how quickly bonds can form. Using Social Identity Theory, I predict and find that increasing accountability as operationalized by increasing the salience of any potential client bond before the auditor makes an audit judgment can mitigate the impact of this bond on the auditor’s likelihood to acquiesce to the client’s point of view. This accountability mitigation could be implemented in practice regardless of auditor tenure or auditor rotation. This research provides an intervention that helps to maintain auditor independence while being both cost-effective and practical as it does not require the auditor to discontinue working at their client’s office.

The changing relationship of Americans to their churches has been documented but has not been explained. This is a narrative qualitative research inquiry for the purpose of exploring the perspectives of members of Southern Baptist churches who experienced disaffection as a result of marginalization within the church as they practiced their religious faith. Using Social Identity Theory (SIT) and the microaggressions literature, this study described negative interactions and explained the group processes that marginalize church members and motivate their disaffection from the church. The narratives of this study extend the literature on negative interactions in the religious community, describing and examining antecedents and consequences. Two semi-structured interviews with ten participants who were once members of Southern Baptist churches informed this study. Four Southern Baptist churches were represented by the ten participants. Data analysis was aided by NVivo 11. In spite of the inclusive mission of the church, the results of this study clearly place microaggressions, with their accompanying marginalization, within the church. Characteristic of microaggressions, this study found that micro aggressions in the church: a) leave the responsibility of reparation with the target; b) deny the existence of microaggressions within their congregation; and c) breed a sense of rejection as a result of marginalization. This study affirms and extends Pargament's (2002) suggestion that short-term distress may lead to long-term spiritual growth. This study also emphasizes the need to address issues of faith as a dimension of diversity.