Erectile performance anxiety (EPA) is a subset of sexual anxiety characterized by a fear of erectile failure. EPA has been shown to play a pivotal role in male sexual problems including premature ejaculation and erectile dysfunction (Loudon, 1998; Perelman, 2006). EPA affects approximately 14% to 23% of U.S. men across age groups (Laumann, Paik, & Rosen, 1999), and is the most common proximal cause of psychogenic ED (Hale & Strassberg, 1990; Hedon, 2003; Perelman, 1994; Rosen, 2001). Phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE5) inhibitors such as sildenafil citrate (brand-name Viagra) are the first line of pharmacological treatment for ED. Recreational use of PDE5 inhibitors -- defined as unprescribed use with the goal of sexual enhancement and prevention of erectile failure among men without clinically significant erectile difficulties. Approximately 13.4% of young men between the ages of 18 - 30 report using PDE5 inhibitors recreationally. The most commonly reported reason for off-prescription use is to enhance one's sexual performance, i.e., longer lasting erections or impress one's sexual partner (Bechara, Casabe, De Bonis, Helien, & Bertolino, 2010; Harte & Meston, 2011; Holt, 2009; Korkes, Costa-Matos, Gasperini, Reginato, & Perez, 2008; Musacchio, Hartrich, & Garofalo, 2006). Reducing anxiety -- specifically EPA is often given as a reason for recreational use, though to a lesser extent (Korkes et al., 2008; Schnetzler, Banks, Kirby, Zou, & Symonds, 2010). However, PDE5 inhibitors do not exert a significant increase in penile tumescence among men without erectile dysfunction (Mondaini et al., 2008). The actual sexual enhancement from recreational use of PDE5 inhibitors among this population would be limited in that blood flow to the healthy erectile tissue is already optimal. The proposed study aimed to examine the effects of an erection-enhancing pill description misattribution on anticipatory anxiety and subsequent subjective and physiological sexual response to an audiovisual erotic stimulus. Participants underwent two assessments of their subjective and physiological arousal response to an erotic film after randomization to one of three conditions (erection-enhancing pill description, memory-enhancing pill description, or a no pill control). It was hypothesized that compared to those in the memory-enhancing pill group and the no pill control group, participants in the erection-enhancing pill group would respond with greater anticipatory anxiety and dampened penile tumescence in response to a subsequent no-pill erotic film presentation. Results of the study provided partial support for the hypothesized negative effects of the pill attribution manipulation. In the subset of subjects with complete pre and post-manipulation physiological data, those led to believe they ingested an erectile-enhancing herb showed a dampening of erectile tumescence to a subsequent erotic film presentation. Also, consistent with prediction, erectile performance anxiety was associated with decreased tumescence after the bogus "average" erectile performance feedback compared to baseline. These findings suggest that pill attribution may influence sexual arousal to some extent, despite methodological issues such as partial physiological data loss and believability of the pill instructional set manipulation. / text

published_or_final_version / Psychology / Master / Master of Philosophy

No description available.

Fairness theory represents a widely cited framework for modeling the cognitive processes that underlie the formation of fairness perceptions in the workplace. Nonetheless, imprecise language and scant empirical research limit its ability to further organizational justice research. Therefore, in this dissertation I provide a review and critique of fairness theory suggesting several revisions. I then build upon this revised model to develop a new model of fairness perception formation. The developed model is tested via a laboratory experiment and a field study, both of which provide initial evidence in favor of the proposed model.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of evaluation apprehension and achievement on subjects' internal causal attributions in a physical skills task. One hundred and twenty private school male students, aged 12 to 19, were assigned to one of two conditions of evaluation. Feedback on level of achievement was given upon completion of the task and the students asked to complete a seven item attribution questionnaire. A 2 x 2 (evaluation x achievement) multivariate analysis of variance was used to examine differences across conditions among the four internal attributions. The results indicated that the subjects' attributions were affected by evaluation, as well as different levels of achievement. The predicted interactive effect of evaluation and achievement on attribution was not found. It was concluded that there was a flaw in the logic which suggested that internal attributions would be affected by an interaction of evaluation apprehension and achievement.

The prevalence of overweight and obesity is on the rise. Being overweight or obese is associated with serious medical, psychological, and social consequences. The main social consequence of being overweight or obese is stigma, which is detrimental to overweight and obese people. Three types of obesity stigma reduction interventions have been proposed and tested: changing attributions, increasing empathy, and social consensus. The purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of these interventions and to determine the effectiveness of an intervention that incorporates major elements of the three interventions. Three hundred eighty one University of Manitoba undergraduate students participated in this study. They were randomly assigned to one of five intervention groups: status quo group, changing attributions group, increasing empathy group, social consensus group, and multi-level intervention group. The interventions involved presenting participants with information intended to influence participants’ perceptions of overweight and obese individuals. Pre-test and post-test ratings were obtained on participants’ attributions about weight, feelings about obese people, and endorsement of positive and negative stereotypes of obese people. Analyses of these ratings revealed that the empathy and multi-level interventions are the only interventions that improved attributions, feelings, and endorsement of stereotypes, and this suggests that the multi-level and empathy interventions were the most powerful. On the other hand, the attribution intervention had the largest overall effect and affected attributions, feelings, and negative stereotypes. Therefore, there are reasons to believe that the attribution intervention was the most powerful in this study. Participants were subsequently asked to rate a target overweight person. Half of all participants were informed that the target was overweight because of medical reasons, while the other half were informed that the target was overweight because of regular overeating and a sedentary lifestyle. Surprisingly, the intervention groups did not significantly differ in target ratings on any variable. Reasons for this lack of effect are discussed. A main effect did occur in the ratings of the target for controllability information. Specifically, participants who were informed that the target was overweight for uncontrollable reasons (e.g., glandular disorder) reported more favorable ratings in liking her and not blaming her, as compared to participants who were informed that the target was overweight for controllable reasons (e.g., regular overeating and sedentary lifestyle). Ratings of the target’s characteristics and physical attractiveness did not change with this manipulation. Overall, this study provided logical and consistent results, while adding specific information to the literature. Further, this study offered a new, effective intervention for obesity stigma reduction, as well as providing some support for the empathy and attribution interventions. These three interventions proved to be the strongest in this study, and perhaps they will one day be used as part of a more global intervention to reduce stigma and discrimination toward overweight and obese people.

Background: Climate change has increased the frequency, intensity, duration, and spatial extent of some extreme weather events, for instance heat waves. Societies today are experiencing an ongoing change in the population structure yielding an increasing proportion elderly due to increased longevity, resulting in higher prevalence of chronic and degenerative diseases. Literature suggests that the elderly and certain susceptible subgroups with chronic disease are among the most vulnerable to heat waves and elevated temperatures. Aim: The main aims of this thesis were to expand the scientific knowledge on the short-term effects of extreme heat on mortality for the general population and certain susceptible groups in society, to investigate the development of this relationship over time and to attribute mortality to observed climate change. Methods: Daily numbers of deaths and daily meteorological observations during three different periods were collected for present day Stockholm County, Sweden. The analyses of the relationship between mortality and temperature extremes were analysed using a time series approach. The regression models assumed the daily counts of mortality to follow an overdispersed Poisson distribution and adjustments were made for time-trends as well as confounding factors. Results: The literature review of recent studies identified a strong relationship between heat and heat waves and increasing death rates among the elderly, particularly for respiratory and cardiovascular mortality. A statistically significant increase in total daily mortality during heat extremes in all decades investigated, as well as over the entire period, during the period 1901-2009 with a declining trend over time for the relative risk associated with heat extremes, was reported in paper II. For the period 1901-2009 cold extremes significantly increased mortality, with a more disperse pattern over individual decades and no declining trend over time. Paper III attributed increased mortality due to climate change between 1900-1929 and 1980-2009. This increase was mainly due to a large number of excess heat extremes in the latter time period. Furthermore certain subgroups of the population above 50, were in paper IV found to have significantly increased mortality during heat waves as compared to non-heat wave days. Conclusions: Although the relative risk of dying during extreme temperature events appears to have fallen in Stockholm, Sweden, such events still pose a threat to public health. The elderly population and certain susceptible subgroups of the population experience higher relative risks of dying on heat waves days as compared to normal summer days. Some of the groups most susceptible during heat waves were identified. In order to minimize future impacts of heat waves on public health, identifying susceptible subgroups in an ageing society as well as develop strategies to reduce the impact of future temperature extremes on public health will be important.