Greenwald, McGhee, and Schwartz (1998) developed the Implicit Association Test (IAT), a measure of mental associations between target pairs and positive or negative attributes. Highly associative categories yield faster responses than the reverse mental associations, which is thought to reflect implicit attitudes toward stereotypes. The present study investigated the effect of ethnic group on one’s implicit attitudes toward aging and gender stereotypes by comparing two groups of older adults, Asian Americans and Caucasian Americans, that likely hold different culture values. Past qualitative studies have established the existence of mental health stigma in Asian American populations, including negative Asian American perceptions of aging, but have not yet established a quantitative measure of this phenomenon. The age-attitude and gender-science IATs were administered to 20 Asian American and 20 Caucasian American older adults in the Southern California region. The results from the age-attitude IAT found that Asian American older adults demonstrated higher implicit bias toward aging, evidenced by faster responses to the category pairings associating “old” + “bad” and “young” + “good”. In contrast, performance on the gender-science IAT was similar for both groups, showing no strong bias toward gender stereotypes. Potential implications on the wellbeing of older adults, as stereotype threat and other forms of bias are already established harmful constructs in the population, are discussed.

This study furthers Alzheimer’s family literature regarding the impact of caregiver attachment, readiness to provide care, and caregiver quality of life. A sample of 33 participants caring for a parent with Alzheimer’s disease in the state of Kentucky was recruited to complete a questionnaire for the study. The questionnaire consisted of an online survey about participants’ experiences and attachments growing up with their parents, their experiences becoming caregivers to their parents with Alzheimer’s disease, and participants’ current perspectives of their own quality of life. Positive perspectives in regards to quality of life among caregivers seem to be a predictor of both stronger readiness to care and stronger attachments. These finding inform therapists about the importance of recognizing a caregiver’s presenting problems of burden and their significance to attachment and readiness to provide such care. This recognition may impact therapy to strengthen a caregiver’s positive adaption, thus it may also decrease burden.

Public safety radio dispatchers incontrovertibly have to manage multiple tasks at any given time, from relaying lifesaving information to field units, to simultaneously overseeing several monitors and keeping up with the radio transmissions in a timely manner. Interestingly, however, the underlying cognitive abilities necessitated for performing such tasks have not been thoroughly investigated. To begin understanding the cognitive faculties that underlie dispatching tasks, we gauged cognitive ability measures relevant to dispatcher duties and introduced Working Memory Capacity (WMC) as underlying the differentiation on performance. The four general dispatcher cognitive factors identified by Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) literature, were Reasoning, Perceptual, Memory, and Verbal. This study substantiated the relationship that higher WMC had on increased performance of the four factors; WMC was a strong predictor of overall cognitive task accuracy. This study also measured dispatcher abilities detached from any dispatcher-like duties, to better explore the cognitive underpinnings without the confound of dispatcher-like tasks within the measures. High and low WMC group comparisons also revealed accuracy differences in cognitive abilities, task switching costs, and dual-task interference. Overall, this study provides support for WMC’s executive functioning as a key underlying mechanism determining dispatcher cognitive ability level.

Contents: Body dissatisfaction; Discharge of emotion through art; Stigmas' consequences as captured through photography; Lauren Greenfield; The perceptions of others; This is beautiful; Psychological consequences; Thesis project: "Being There"; Artistic influences; "Being There" revisited; Past endeavors in mixed media; Artistic influences: everyday materials and structural art; Conclusion; Honors in Studio Art thesis extension; Works cited. Includes 21 images.

The purpose of the current study was to investigate the effect of mindfulness and task-relevant attentional focus on running performance. WKU psychology undergraduate students were assigned to one of two conditions: task-relevant attentional focus experimental training and no training control. Participants in the experimental condition received training designed to optimize the use of attentional focus strategies in a running context. Trait level mindfulness was examined as a covariate. Participants were compared on two mile run times and the use of attentional focus strategies. Differences were expected to reveal the effectiveness of the training by showing faster running times in the experimental group, and higher use of task-relevant attentional focus strategies. Only higher use of task-relevant attentional focus strategies, specifically focus on bodily sensation was supported by the data. Explanations of the results as well as exploratory analyses are provided in addition to suggestions for future research.

The goal of the present study was to examine the relationships between gender schema, level of cultural identification, and body dissatisfaction in African American men. The first hypothesis under study was that men with a low identification to African American culture would report higher dissatisfaction with their body than those with a high cultural identification. Secondly, it was hypothesized that men with a large discrepancy from their culture’s description of an “ideal man” would also report higher body dissatisfaction than those with low or no discrepancy. Lastly, it was hypothesized that an interaction between variables would occur and that men who were less identified with their African American culture and reported themselves as not matching their culture’s masculine ideal would have higher levels of body dissatisfaction than men who were highly identified with their African American culture and reported themselves as strongly matching their culture’s masculine ideal. Participants were 42 college and post-graduate African American males that were recruited from a Southern university. Participants were assessed using the Body Assessment (BA), Body Satisfaction Questionnaire (BSQ), Physical Appearance Comparison Scale (PACS), Physical Attractiveness Scale (PAS), Cross Racial Identity Scale (CRIS), and the Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI). Results supported all three hypotheses: men lower in cultural identification with a high masculine discrepancy reported higher body dissatisfaction than those higher in cultural identification with a lower masculine discrepancy. The importance of these findings is that, as the idealized physical image of masculinity becomes more ubiquitous, it is likely that men who measure themselves against this ideal will have greater difficulty achieving self-acceptance and struggle for an unrealistic (and often unhealthy) level of control. Such a struggle for control could lead to engagement in behaviors that could potentially contribute to poor health such as pathological or disordered eating, excessive exercise, and abuse of performance-enhancing substances including food supplements and anabolic steroids. Limitations and suggestions for continued research are also discussed.

The goal of the current study was to examine the relationship between critical comments that men can recall others making about their bodies and their current level of Muscle Dysmorphia (MD) symptomotology. Participants (N = 118) were recruited via study board from a mid-Western university with a population of 20,674 students. The hypothesis of the current study was that men who can recall critical comments about their bodies will report more MD symptomotology than those who remembered no such comments. In addition, it was expected that out of those who recall critical comments, the more severe or threatening they remember the comment being, the more MD symptomotology they will report. In this study it was also expected that men who associate more negative emotions with the comment will have higher levels of reported MD symptomotology. To evaluate the first hypothesis, an independent samples (-test was used. Results did not support this hypothesis, and no significant differences were found on MD symptoms between participants who recalled comments about their bodies and those who did not recall such comments. These results are not consistent with previous research that was conducted on women with eating disorders which found that female athletes with disordered eating habits were more likely to recall critical comments made about their bodies than women without disordered eating habits. Results supported the second and third hypotheses. Correlational analyses were conducted to determine if there was a relationship between how threatened a participant reported being from the critical comment made about his body and his current level of MD symptomotology. A significant correlation was found. A correlational analysis revealed that there was a significant relationship between associating negative emotions with the critical comment and having higher levels of MD symptomotology. The participants in the study were asked to name who made the comment about their bodies. The most commonly named person was a friend, followed by a coach, and then a girlfriend. Additional tests showed that there was no significant correlation between how long ago the comment occurred and participants' levels of MD symptoms. However, there was a significant relationship between how well a person remembered the comment and his current level of MD symptomotology. Results from this study extend on what is known about MD and the effects of criticism. Although there was no significant relationship between one's ability to recall critical comments made about his body and his current level of MD symptomotology, there was a significant relationship between finding the comment threatening and associating negative emotions with the comment, if one was reported, and one's current level of MD symptomotology. One limitation of the study is that all of the data was gathered via self-report measures. Data may have been affected by poor recall by the participants as well as denial of symptoms. Also, all of the participants attended Western Kentucky University. There was little diversity in regards to age and race.

The present study examined procedural and distributive justice outcomes of discipline in an athletic team setting. A 2 (Consistency of Punishment: consistent vs. conditional) x 2 (Violation Severity: moderate vs. severe) x 2 (Punishment Severity: moderate vs. severe) x 2 (Decision Maker: head coach vs. team captains) factorial design was used. Participants responded to four of the 16 hypothetical scenarios resulting from the design. Participants included 354 fans in attendance at a several university athletic events and students in psychology courses. The results indicated that consistent punishment was perceived as more fair to the punished athlete, teammates, and fans than was conditional punishment. Consistent punishment was perceived as more likely than conditional punishment to deter future misconduct by the punished athlete and teammates. The findings of the importance of consistency to fairness perceptions are consistent with the organizational justice literature and suggest that principles derived in traditional organizations may apply in athletic team settings. However, the current study did not find that severe punishment was more likely than moderately severe punishment to deter future misconduct by the punished athlete and teammates, which was inconsistent with the research literature on punishment. The present research indicated that inconsistencies in applying punishment based on status likely will have a negative effect on fairness perceptions in an athletic setting just as it does in an organizational setting. Intercollegiate athletics are unique in the sense that there are many outside observers, most notably fans, who pay close attention to athlete misconduct and its subsequent outcome. According to the present results, if coaches are interested in fan perceptions of fairness, punishment should be consistently applied according to team rules for all players regardless of their status on the team.

The goal of the current study was to examine the relationship between muscle magazine consumption and body dissatisfaction. The study also examined the relationship between muscle magazine consumption and the amount of disparity between ideal and real body shape. Participants (N = 108) were recruited via study board, and also on a volunteer basis, from a mid-Western university with a population of 20,674 students. The first hypothesis stated that men with greater exposure to muscle magazines would indicate that their actual body shape falls further away from their ideal body shape, in terms of both muscularity and fat level, than men who read fewer magazines that focus on muscle building. The second hypothesis stated that men with greater exposure to muscle magazines would indicate higher levels of body dissatisfaction than men who read fewer magazines focused on muscle building. To evaluate the first hypothesis, a linear regression analysis was conducted to determine whether magazine consumption would predict the distance between real and ideal body shape, in terms of both fat and muscle content. Results did not support the first hypothesis and are not consistent with prior research that showed higher levels of muscle and fitness magazine consumption correlating positively with a greater drive for thinness and a greater drive for muscularity. Results did not support the second hypothesis: greater exposure to muscle magazines did not lead to greater levels of body dissatisfaction. Regression analysis found that there was no predictive relationship between muscle magazine consumption and body dissatisfaction or muscle magazine consumption and greater distance between ideal and real body shapes. Additional t-test analysis found that men who read muscle magazines actually indicated significantly lower levels of dissatisfaction with their bodies than men who did not read muscle magazines; however, that result is restricted to collegiate athletes only. Results from this study are important in that they indicate, in men, there are other factors involved in determining how individuals end up with increased levels of body dissatisfaction. Prior findings also concluded that men’s concerns with body shape thrive as a combination of multiple constructs involving social, personal, and mass media factors. Although magazine literature has some bearing on body image concern, particularly with women, it is unclear as to whether magazine consumption contributes to its effect on men. One limitation of this study is that participants reported on the degree to which they were dissatisfied with their bodies. Some individuals may not have acknowledged their level of dissatisfaction with their own bodies. Information based upon self-reporting measures may have been inaccurate due to under or over reporting in surveys. Another limitation of this study, particularly when using the results as a comparison tool toward previous studies, is that the measures used to determine levels of body dissatisfaction differ. Researchers abroad have used different measures to arrive at what would be considered similar conclusions regarding body dissatisfaction. There are multiple measures that can be used to determine a person’s level of satisfaction and drive for muscularity. Some measures are better than others at capturing variable characteristics. Another important limitation is that muscle magazines only represent one form of media consumption. A study that incorporated other forms of media may be more fruitful in its findings. Therefore, results should be interpreted with caution. However, with everexpanding information technology capabilities, society is increasingly bombarded with information more so than ever before. This study provides additional insight into the question of whether or not more is better. It also identifies a gender difference in the predicting power of magazine consumption and body dissatisfaction.

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether picture presentation influenced men’s experienced body shame or Muscle Dysmorphia symptomatology, and whether there was a relationship between body shame and Muscle Dysmorphia. Participants were 112 men attending Western Kentucky University. Participants completed the Body Shame Questionnaire and Muscle Dysmorphia Inventory. Participants were randomly assigned to either view eight photographs of average men or eight photographs of muscular men. After viewing the photographs, the participants completed the Objectified Body Consciousness Scale and the Muscle Appearance Satisfaction Scale. Although there was a trend, results indicate that men who view photographs of muscular men do not experience more body shame than those who view photographs of average men. In the sample, 63.5% reported that they were dissatisfied with their bodies, 69% with their chest size, 69% with their own body build, 65% with their arms, and 63% were dissatisfied with their own abdomen. Results indicate that viewing photographs of muscular men does not increase one’s symptomatology of MD. However, there was a positive correlation between body shame and muscle dysmorphia symptoms for both men who viewed photographs of muscular men and those who viewed photographs of average men.