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The problem with which this investigation is concerned is that of examining the association between personality as measured by a standard scale and the extent of projection in a social perception role projection task. The investigation assumes that perceptions regarding environment are systematically related to choice behavior. In this regard, the research examines those specific dimensions of personality that facilitate or inhibit social perception. Chapter I presents an introduction to the problem. Additionally, the background of the problem, purpose of the study, the hypotheses, the limits of the study, and the assumptions are given. Chapter II is the methodology. The nature of the subjects, the procedure, the research instrument and the methodological steps used for analysis of data are explained. Results of the investigation are given in Chapter III, while Chapter IV presents a discussion of the results, including the conclusions, implications of the study, and suggestions for further research.

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In the past two decades, the advance in computational power and the availability of social interaction data have opened the way for applying statistical physics such as Monte-Carlo simulations, mean-field approximations, and theories of non-linear dynamics and network topology to explain and predict social dynamics. Opinion dynamics is an important topic in the study of social dynamics. In particular, Social Judgment Theory (SJT) is a well-established theory which explains how an individual's opinion changes upon encountering a new idea. SJT is not limited to predicting individual behavior. It also provides a framework for us to exploit statistical mechanical methods to simulate the collective opinion dynamics. Therefore, we proposed a SJT-based model to study opinion dynamics by using both agent-based and density-based approaches. Our model can be regarded as an extension of the famous Deffuant model. Unlike the Deffuant model, our model exhibits opinion polarization, which is a crucial topic in the real world. Through in-depth investigation, we found that the boomerang effect suggested in SJT could be an origin of opinion polarization. In this thesis, I presented and compared the results obtained from agent-based and density-based approaches. I also applied mean-field analysis to explain the interesting observations in phase diagrams and collective opinion dynamics. Lastly, by further adapting our model to heterogeneous agents, I discovered that advocating open-mindedness to a small fraction of agents could reduce the total number of final opinion clusters and the degree of opinion polarization. Our findings might help us to search for feasible solutions towards the problem of opinion polarization. / published_or_final_version / Physics / Master / Master of Philosophy

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Thesis (B.A.)--Haverford College, Dept. of Psychology, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references.

No description available.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hong Kong, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 108-122).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Rutgers University, 2008. / "Graduate Program in Psychology." Includes bibliographical references (p. 137-142).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, Santa Cruz, 1986. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [206]-213).