Study One aimed to provide a current understanding of pupils’ attitudes towards people who are overweight and the prevalence and significance of weight-based unkindness in school. Methods: The study followed a mixed method, sequential qualitative and quantitative research design. Part One of the study used exploratory focus groups to ascertain that weight-based unkindness was a valid concern for children and young people, when compared against unkindness of other content. The focus group also ensured that the vignettes used in the survey (Part Two) were ecologically valid. Part Two included an existing measure of weight-stigma (attitude scale) and three sets of vignette-based questions to measure pupils’ perceptions of the frequency and severity of different incidents of unkindness. Part Two, was administered to 214 participants via a computerised survey. Results: The majority of pupils (61%) judged the overweight characters to be the least accepted. Participants also perceived significantly greater hurt, anger, embarrassment and humour to follow episodes of weight-based unkindness. Study Two aimed to better understand why, how and what is ‘different’ about pupils’ understanding of weight-based unkindness when compared to other types of unkindness. Methods: This study adopted an explorative approach to hear the lived experiences of six teachers and 29 children in two South West Primary Schools. Data was collected via semi-structured interviews, administered through focus groups (pupils) and paired interviews (teachers). Data was analysed using latent thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006). Results: The study found that pupils used the language of personal choice to attribute personal responsibility to overweight CYP, whilst teachers attributed this blame to their parents. Teachers espoused acceptance for the overweight whilst their behaviours implicitly reinforced the ‘thin-ideal’. Key findings are discussed from a theoretical perspective and their implication for supporting attitude change is highlighted.

The thesis deals with attributional styles and their research in patients with psychosomatic disorder. The text is divided into a theoretical part and an empirical part. The term psychosomatic disorder is defined in the theoretical part. The essential links between psychosomatic disorder, stress and cognitive processes are mentioned. Selected attribution theory and the concepts of attributional styles, then make up the majority theory. In the empirical part, there are hypotheses defined using three psychodiagnostic methods tested on a set of people with psychosomatic disorder and compared with the healthy population. Key words: attribution attribution theory attributional style psychosomatic disorder/psychosomatic illness somatoform disorders

Não respostas são comuns na vida cotidiana, especialmente quando as pessoas interagem em mercados C2C (consumer-to-consumer). Consumidores estão suscetíveis a diferentes desfechos sempre que oferecem algo no mercado ou estabelecem comunicação com outros consumidores e empresas. Às vezes, suas ofertas têm sucesso, às vezes elas são explicitamente rejeitadas, e outras vezes elas ficam no "vácuo". Essa tese defende que não respostas levam as pessoas a reagirem de forma mais intensa do que em respostas negativas, por meio de diferentes processos de atribuição. Cinco estudos em quatro contextos diferentes trazem evidências do efeito e apresentam fatores que influenciam a interpretação e as reações à não resposta. O estudo 1A exibe o efeito da não resposta no contexto de encontros online. Ele mostra que as pessoas estão mais dispostas a mudar quando enfrentam uma não resposta do que uma resposta negativa. O estudo 1B amplia os resultados do primeiro experimento, no entanto, os participantes avaliaram uma situação envolvendo outra pessoa, ao invés de a si próprios. Este estudo também controlou o sexo da pessoa que não recebeu resposta. Além disso, os dois primeiros estudos demonstram que a autoestima modera o efeito de não resposta na intenção comportamental. O estudo 2 replica os resultados dos primeiros estudos, avaliando inferências sobre o comportamento das pessoas imediatamente após respostas negativas e não respostas frente a uma experiência malsucedida de venda de carro online. O estudo 2 revela o papel mediador do interesse percebido sobre a influência da não resposta na intenção comportamental. O estudo 3 força as pessoas a atribuírem responsabilidade pelos resultados de uma tentativa malsucedida de aluguel de casa on-line, mostrando evidências do papel moderador do locus da responsabilidade sobre a intenção comportamental após uma não resposta. Não respostas levam a uma maior atribuição de responsabilidade à outra parte, no entanto, um pedido de desculpas da empresa para a não reposta do consumidor, reverte este efeito. Finalmente, o estudo 4 mostra que o efeito da não resposta desaparece quando o esforço é controlado. Os resultados trazem evidências de que quanto maior o esforço empregado em uma resposta, maior a percepção de interesse e qualidade da oferta. No entanto, a obrigação em responder diminui a percepção de esforço da resposta. Quanto maior esforço percebido, maior a atribuição de interesse. / No-replies are common in everyday life, especially when individuals interact in C2C (consumer-to-consumer) markets. When consumers participate in the marketplace and interact with sellers or other consumers, they may encounter various kinds of outcomes. Sometimes offerings may succeed, while other times they are explicitly declined. But it is also possible that offerings are met with a “cold shoulder”, where no explicit acceptance or rejection response is given. I posit that no-replies lead individuals to stronger attitudinal reactions than negative replies, because of different attributional process. Five studies in four different contexts show evidence of the effect of no-reply and demonstrate factors that influence the interpretation and the reactions after consumers do not receive replies. Study 1A shows the effect of no-reply in the online dating context, that individuals are more willing to react when facing no-reply than a negative reply. Study 1B broaden the results of the first experiment but in a context of speculated reaction from a third party instead of the participant’s own reaction. This study also controlled for gender as a potential factor. These first two studies demonstrate that self-esteem moderates the effect of no-reply on behavioral intentions. Study 2 replicates the results of the first studies, assessing individuals’ attributions and behavior immediately after to the encounter to negative and no-replies in an online car selling scenario. Study 2 reveals the mediating role of attributions on the influence of a no-reply on behavioral intentions. In study 3 participants attribute responsibility for the outcomes of an unsuccessful online house rental, showing evidence for the moderating role of locus of responsibility on behavioral intentions after unreplies. No-replies lead to higher attribution of self-responsibility to the outcome; however, company’s apologies for consumer’s no-reply overturn the effect. Finally, study 4 shows that the effect of no-replies on attributions disappears when perceived effort from the opposite party is low. The results show evidence that the higher effort is employed in replying, the higher perception of interest and quality of the offer. However, the obligation for the effort attenuates the perception of effort. As higher effort is perceived better the attributions to the offer.

Conduct problems describe behaviors that violate either age-appropriate societal norms or the rights of others. They include: physical or verbal aggression, theft, lying, arguing with authority, defiance, violation of rules, property destruction, fire setting, and truancy. Among youth with conduct problems, a subset display features known as callous-unemotional (CU) traits. CU traits, or interpersonal callousness, are exemplified in behaviors such as: (a) absence of remorse or guilt, (b) lack of empathy and, (c) callous use of others for personal gain (Frick & White, 2008). This study aims to fill the gap of examining these students in schools and which practices are currently being used to manage these students’ behaviors. Because students with callous unemotional traits are typically the students exhibiting the most extreme and aggressive forms of conduct problems, there is a need to discover effective ways to manage their behavior in order to maintain a safe and effective learning environment for all students. In this study, vignettes were used to make comparisons between youth with and without CU traits in the following areas: (RQ1) teachers’ attributive perceptions of conduct problems (i.e., Why do they think the child behaves this way?), (RQ2) teachers’ self-efficacy in addressing conduct problems in the classroom, (RQ3) the most appropriate educational setting for students with conduct problems, (RQ4) the type of behavior management strategies believed to be most effective, and (RQ5) the expected trajectory of the student. Teachers were most likely to attribute problem behavior of all students to home and within child factors but they were somewhat more likely to attribute home factors to the students with CU traits. Teachers additionally feel overall less efficacious in working with students with CU traits, had lower expectations of success, and were more likely to recommend ongoing home-school collaboration. Participants in this study showed overwhelming support for the fact that reinforcing interventions are more effective than punitive interventions and knowledge of a wide range of interventions. The discussion describes suggestions for future training to increase teacher competency in working with students with conduct problems in the general education setting.

In the field of cognitive science, as well as the area of Artificial Intelligence (AI), the role of context has been investigated in many forms, and for many purposes. It is clear in both areas that consideration of contextual information is important. However, the significance of context has not been emphasized in the Bayesian networks literature. We suggest that consideration of context is necessary for acquiring knowledge about a situation and for refining current representational models that are potentially erroneous due to hidden independencies in the data.<p>In this thesis, we make several contributions towards the automation of contextual consideration by discovering useful contexts from probability distributions. We show how context-specific independencies in Bayesian networks and discovery algorithms, traditionally used for efficient probabilistic inference can contribute to the identification of contexts, and in turn can provide insight on otherwise puzzling situations. Also, consideration of context can help clarify otherwise counter intuitive puzzles, such as those that result in instances of Simpson's paradox. In the social sciences, the branch of attribution theory is context-sensitive. We suggest a method to distinguish between <i>dispositional causes</i> and <i>situational factors</i> by means of contextual models. Finally, we address the work of Cheng and Novick dealing with causal attribution by human adults. Their <i>probabilistic contrast model</i> makes use of contextual information, called focal sets, that must be determined by a human expert. We suggest a method for discovering complete <i>focal sets</i> from probabilistic distributions, without the human expert.

In the field of cognitive science, as well as the area of Artificial Intelligence (AI), the role of context has been investigated in many forms, and for many purposes. It is clear in both areas that consideration of contextual information is important. However, the significance of context has not been emphasized in the Bayesian networks literature. We suggest that consideration of context is necessary for acquiring knowledge about a situation and for refining current representational models that are potentially erroneous due to hidden independencies in the data.<p>In this thesis, we make several contributions towards the automation of contextual consideration by discovering useful contexts from probability distributions. We show how context-specific independencies in Bayesian networks and discovery algorithms, traditionally used for efficient probabilistic inference can contribute to the identification of contexts, and in turn can provide insight on otherwise puzzling situations. Also, consideration of context can help clarify otherwise counter intuitive puzzles, such as those that result in instances of Simpson's paradox. In the social sciences, the branch of attribution theory is context-sensitive. We suggest a method to distinguish between <i>dispositional causes</i> and <i>situational factors</i> by means of contextual models. Finally, we address the work of Cheng and Novick dealing with causal attribution by human adults. Their <i>probabilistic contrast model</i> makes use of contextual information, called focal sets, that must be determined by a human expert. We suggest a method for discovering complete <i>focal sets</i> from probabilistic distributions, without the human expert.

This study investigates the influence of different crisis response strategies and relationship history on corporate credibility and the dimensions of the organizational-public relationship. The relationship dimensions examined were trust, commitment, satisfaction and control mutuality. An experiment was conducted among undergraduate students drawn from an introductory mass communication class. Results indicate that when an organization's relationship history with its publics is positive, the public is more likely to view the post-crisis relationship quality and organizational credibility as positive than negative. Additionally, more accommodative crisis response strategies have a greater impact on relationship quality than less accommodative strategies. Crisis response strategy does not have an effect on corporate credibility. The results emphasize the importance of relationship building before crises and of assessing previous relationship history when matching response strategies to crises.

No description available.

Christian Science is one of several religious groups with doctrines that suggest that medical use hinders spiritual development and/or is ineffective. Because of the beliefs, Christian Science has faced controversy in both Canada and the United States, and experiences difficulty maintaining a committed following. In some cases, Scientists who choose to rely on Christian Science risk increased pain or death for themselves or their children. This study seeks to identify the influences that Scientists face when deciding upon a healthcare option for themselves and their children. I applied interpretative phenomenological analysis to eleven interviews with current Canadian Scientists and one interview with a former Scientist. In addition, I analyzed biographies, church policies and doctrines, Canadian laws, and relevant court cases to contextualize my data. I concluded that Scientists use diverse forms of healthcare (some of which may be risky).

Não respostas são comuns na vida cotidiana, especialmente quando as pessoas interagem em mercados C2C (consumer-to-consumer). Consumidores estão suscetíveis a diferentes desfechos sempre que oferecem algo no mercado ou estabelecem comunicação com outros consumidores e empresas. Às vezes, suas ofertas têm sucesso, às vezes elas são explicitamente rejeitadas, e outras vezes elas ficam no "vácuo". Essa tese defende que não respostas levam as pessoas a reagirem de forma mais intensa do que em respostas negativas, por meio de diferentes processos de atribuição. Cinco estudos em quatro contextos diferentes trazem evidências do efeito e apresentam fatores que influenciam a interpretação e as reações à não resposta. O estudo 1A exibe o efeito da não resposta no contexto de encontros online. Ele mostra que as pessoas estão mais dispostas a mudar quando enfrentam uma não resposta do que uma resposta negativa. O estudo 1B amplia os resultados do primeiro experimento, no entanto, os participantes avaliaram uma situação envolvendo outra pessoa, ao invés de a si próprios. Este estudo também controlou o sexo da pessoa que não recebeu resposta. Além disso, os dois primeiros estudos demonstram que a autoestima modera o efeito de não resposta na intenção comportamental. O estudo 2 replica os resultados dos primeiros estudos, avaliando inferências sobre o comportamento das pessoas imediatamente após respostas negativas e não respostas frente a uma experiência malsucedida de venda de carro online. O estudo 2 revela o papel mediador do interesse percebido sobre a influência da não resposta na intenção comportamental. O estudo 3 força as pessoas a atribuírem responsabilidade pelos resultados de uma tentativa malsucedida de aluguel de casa on-line, mostrando evidências do papel moderador do locus da responsabilidade sobre a intenção comportamental após uma não resposta. Não respostas levam a uma maior atribuição de responsabilidade à outra parte, no entanto, um pedido de desculpas da empresa para a não reposta do consumidor, reverte este efeito. Finalmente, o estudo 4 mostra que o efeito da não resposta desaparece quando o esforço é controlado. Os resultados trazem evidências de que quanto maior o esforço empregado em uma resposta, maior a percepção de interesse e qualidade da oferta. No entanto, a obrigação em responder diminui a percepção de esforço da resposta. Quanto maior esforço percebido, maior a atribuição de interesse. / No-replies are common in everyday life, especially when individuals interact in C2C (consumer-to-consumer) markets. When consumers participate in the marketplace and interact with sellers or other consumers, they may encounter various kinds of outcomes. Sometimes offerings may succeed, while other times they are explicitly declined. But it is also possible that offerings are met with a “cold shoulder”, where no explicit acceptance or rejection response is given. I posit that no-replies lead individuals to stronger attitudinal reactions than negative replies, because of different attributional process. Five studies in four different contexts show evidence of the effect of no-reply and demonstrate factors that influence the interpretation and the reactions after consumers do not receive replies. Study 1A shows the effect of no-reply in the online dating context, that individuals are more willing to react when facing no-reply than a negative reply. Study 1B broaden the results of the first experiment but in a context of speculated reaction from a third party instead of the participant’s own reaction. This study also controlled for gender as a potential factor. These first two studies demonstrate that self-esteem moderates the effect of no-reply on behavioral intentions. Study 2 replicates the results of the first studies, assessing individuals’ attributions and behavior immediately after to the encounter to negative and no-replies in an online car selling scenario. Study 2 reveals the mediating role of attributions on the influence of a no-reply on behavioral intentions. In study 3 participants attribute responsibility for the outcomes of an unsuccessful online house rental, showing evidence for the moderating role of locus of responsibility on behavioral intentions after unreplies. No-replies lead to higher attribution of self-responsibility to the outcome; however, company’s apologies for consumer’s no-reply overturn the effect. Finally, study 4 shows that the effect of no-replies on attributions disappears when perceived effort from the opposite party is low. The results show evidence that the higher effort is employed in replying, the higher perception of interest and quality of the offer. However, the obligation for the effort attenuates the perception of effort. As higher effort is perceived better the attributions to the offer.