The current study investigated role model selection and racial identity for 104 African American male college students attending historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs)and predominantly White institutions (PWIs). Participants completed a demographic questionnaire, a role model measure, and a racial identity measure. Data were analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively and findings revealed that 82% of participants identified role models with 92% identifying racially-similar role models. Qualitative analysis using open and axial coding methods yielded 11 themes that allowed for a closer look into the characteristics African American male college students identified as important in role models: Personality Attributes, Community, Success, Spirituality, Providing Inspiration or Challenge, Mentorship, Education, Family, Emotional Support, Shared Career Interest, and Proximity. A discussion of the results with research and applied implications are included. / Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services

Linguists have long accepted the inevitability of linguistic variation as scientific fact. However, the general public continues to associate regional variation with low intelligence and to promote a non-regional, “accentless” English as the ideal. The result of this ideology, which ignores the natural diversity of all languages, is that speakers of marked, stigmatized dialects suffer from linguistic discrimination. As a solution to the problem of dialect discrimination, many linguists have attempted to disseminate knowledge about the natural diversity of all languages; however, only one study (Reaser, 2006) has quantitatively evaluated the effectiveness of such dialect awareness programs. The purpose of the present study is to determine if explicitly teaching dialect awareness can provide a successful counter to pervasive negative attitudes towards stigmatized dialects. In order to determine the effectiveness of teaching dialect awareness, I designed a dialect awareness unit for a first-year composition course. This unit incorporates previously published language and dialect awareness lessons with original lesson plans. This eight-week dialect awareness unit was taught to 19 students at Ball State University. The effectiveness of this dialect awareness unit was evaluated using a pre-test post-test study design; a control group was also given the pre-test and the post-test for comparison purposes. The results of the Likert-style scale pre-tests and post-tests were subjected to statistical analysis and the participants’ written responses were analyzed qualitatively. The results of statistical tests and qualitative analysis of the students’ answers support the hypothesis that the dialect awareness unit increased students’ tolerance for stigmatized dialects and increased their linguistic awareness. The paired samples t-test for the experimental group was statistically significant, indicating that the dialect awareness unit made a measurable difference in their answers. The qualitative results reveal that although the participants learned basic linguistic facts about the nature of linguistic variation, a few participants resisted some learning objectives of the dialect awareness unit. These results indicate that college-age adults learned to be more tolerant of linguistic variation at approximately the same rate as Reaser’s eighth-grade learners (2006). We can therefore conclude that college-age adults are not too old to unlearn myths related to the standard language ideology or to develop tolerance for nonstandard dialects. / Department of English

The problem of this study was to determine the relationship of double sex standards to achievement and to selected personality variables of female college students. The following hypotheses were formulated: Hypothesis 1 Women with low acceptance of double sex standards will be found to have a higher grade-point average than will women with high acceptance of double sex standards. Hypothesis 2 Women with low acceptance of double sex standards will have greater internal locus of control than will women with high acceptance of double sex standards. Hypothesis 3 Women with high acceptance of double sex standards will be more influenced by powerful others than will women with low acceptance of double sex standards. Hypothesis 4 Women with high acceptance of double sex standards will show a greater tendency to believe that chance controls their lives than will women with low acceptance of double sex standards. Hypothesis 5 Women with high acceptance of double sex standards will have a greater fear of negative evaluation than will women with low acceptance of double sex standards. Hypothesis 6 Women with low acceptance of double sex standards will show more motivation to succeed than will women with high acceptance of double sex standards. The testing of hypotheses resulted in rejection of Hypothesis 1 and Hypothesis 6, and acceptance of the remaining four hypotheses. The conclusions, limited to the subjects included in the study, are that women who differ greatly on the subject of equality between the sexes do not differ in their scholastic achievement or in their motivation to succeed. In terms of the variable of locus of control, it is concluded that in the two groups studied women who show high support for equality between the sexes are more internal and women who show low support for equality are more external as a group. Lastly, the conclusion can be made that women in the group who reject equality between the sexes are more fearful of receiving negative evaluations of their behavior.

The purpose of the study is to determine if there is an effect on intervention/nonintervention attitudes associated with an introductory microeconomics class. The population consisted of all students enrolled in eighteen sections of Economics 1100 during the Fall semester, 1984, at North Texs State University. There were seven sections of Economics 1100, ten sections of Sociology 1510, and ten sections of Political Science 2010 used as control groups. The instruments used for pretesting and posttesting were the twenty-three item Attitude Scale and Demographic Questionnaire. The Attitude Scale contained twelve intervention and eleven nonintervention questions. Intervention questions were reverse scored so that a high score is noninterventionist and a low score is interventionist. Data were analyzed using a multiple linear regression to determine how each variable affected the intervention/nonintervention student attitudes.

Retention, attrition, persistence, dropout literature.

No description available.

Although researchers have studied perceptions regarding sexually abused children, little was known about how other types of abusive events were perceived. This study examined 480 college students' abuse history and perceptions of child, spousal, and elder abuse by varying the respondent, victim, and perpetrator genders. Physical abuse, psychological abuse, and neglect were investigated. Perceptions of abusiveness, seriousness, harm, and responsibility were examined, along with the extent of identification with the victims/perpetrators. Participants viewed spousal abuse as less serious and harmful than other abuse types, especially when perpetrated against a male or by a female. Although able to recognize psychological abuse, students did not fully understand what other abuse types entailed. Individuals also showed a considerable amount of blame toward victims. Results further demonstrated important findings about how ethnic identity/orientation, religious affiliation, and history of abuse related to perceptions of abusive events.

The problem with which this investigation is concerned is that of determining the differential impact of an introductory economics course on the liberalism/conservatism of students, as compared to an introductory course in sociology or psychology. In addition, the study seeks to determine whether a significant relationship exists between a course in microeconomics and student conservatism. The source of data is the pre- and posttest class means of the scores on the Rokeach Opinionation Scale, measuring liberalism/conservatism. Chapter Five contains the conclusion that there is a significant difference between postmean scores on liberalism/conservatism of the students in economics and those in sociology or psychology. Also, an introductory course in microeconomics produces significantly different mean gains in student conservatism, as measured by the Opinionation Scale/compared to mean gains in an introductory course in sociology or psychology. A nonhypothesized relationship emerged between teacher attitude and student posttest mean scores on the Opinionation Scale.

Fear of crime is argued to be a social problem that may lead to restriction of activities, increased security costs, and avoidance behaviors. Findings from research indicate that there are many demographic influences on the fear of crime. Specifically, gender has been found to be one of the most consistent predictors of crime, that is, females significantly fear crime more than males. Additionally, research suggests that a person's fear of crime or perceived risk to crime may increase their engagement in precautionary behaviors, such as carrying a weapon for protection. The current study examined these relationships using data collected from 588 students at the University of Central Florida in the fall of 2006. The results indicated that females reported significantly higher mean scores on the fear scale for all crimes except property crimes, as well as higher mean scores for most crimes on the perceived risk of victimization scale. Females also reported feeling less safe from crime in their neighborhood and at home. Furthermore, females were more likely to engage in precautionary behaviors, but less likely to engage in risky behaviors. Fear of crime was not a significant predictor of the use of precautionary behaviors. However, respondents with greater perceived risk were more likely to use a greater number of precautionary behaviors. Additionally, respondents who had a perceived lack of safety were more likely to use precautionary behaviors and engage in them more often. Risky lifestyle behaviors were not significant predictors of either fear or guardianship activities. Exposure to the media was only shown to increase fear, perceived risk, and perceived lack of safety at the bivariate level. And finally previous victimization was not a significant predictor of fear or perceived risk. Overall, the results were fairly consistent with previous literature. Implications for future research and policy are discussed.

This study extends previous research on safer sexual behavioral practices by exploring the relationship between self-esteem and risky sexual behavioral practices. The Health Belief Model is the theoretical model used in this research. The Health Belief Model has been used to predict preventive health behaviors (Weiss & Lonnquist, 1993). To test the model, a questionnaire was given to undergraduate Introductory Sociology students at a land-grant university. What this research found, was that self-esteem was statistically significantly related to risky behaviors; more specifically, for those sexual behavioral practices which carry the highest risk, such as unprotected anal intercourse and sharing of needles for the injection of drugs. Students with high levels of self-esteem, as well as high levels of knowledge of HIV/AIDS, reported engaging in safer behavioral practices, for the unconventional sexual behaviors than those with low and moderate levels of self-esteem. With respect to those more conventional sexual behavioral practices, such as unprotected vaginal/penile intercourse and unprotected sex with multiple sex partners, those with high self-esteem reported more risky sexual behaviors than those with low and moderate self esteem which was not as hypothesized. Males and females reported similar levels of unconventional risky sexual behavioral practices and conventional risky sexual behavioral practices. The results indicate that self-esteem operates differently in different contexts. An important result of this study is that factors which predict unconventional sexual behavioral practices are not the sa,me as those which predict conventional sexual behavioral practices. Theses differences need to be taken into account by those trying to influence less risky sexual behavioral practices. / Master of Science