Hierarchies are a ubiquitous form of human social organization. I hypothesized that one reason for hierarchies’ prevalence might be that core motivational needs for order and control make hierarchies psychologically appealing—because of the structure they offer—relative to other, less structured forms of social organization. This hypothesis is rooted in compensatory control theory (Kay et al., 2008), which posits that individuals have a basic need to perceive the world as orderly and structured. Therefore, personal and external sources of control are substitutable, inasmuch as they both serve the superordinate goal of believing that the world operates in an orderly fashion. An initial study confirmed that hierarchies are perceived as more structured and orderly relative to egalitarian arrangements. In five subsequent experiments, I threatened participants’ sense of personal control to increase their need to rely on external structure. Participants who lacked control perceived more hierarchy occurring in ambiguous social situations (Study 2) and preferred hierarchy more strongly in business contexts (Studies 3-4). Two studies tested my account that hierarchies are appealing because of their structure. Preference for hierarchy was higher among individuals high in Personal Need for Structure (PNS), and control threat increased preference for hierarchy even among low-PNS participants (Study 4). Importantly, framing a hierarchy as unstructured reversed the previous effects, so that participants who lacked control now found hierarchy unappealing (Study 5). A final study found that hierarchy-enhancing careers were more appealing after control threat, even when those jobs were low-status (Study 6). I discuss how the compensatory control account for the allure of hierarchies complements and extends other influential theories of hierarchy maintenance, such as Social Dominance Theory and System Justification Theory.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether there were any changes, attributable to participation in a Home Start program, in a mother's attitude towards children or in the children's measured intelligence.

Thesis (M.S.)--Missouri State University, 2009. / "May 2009." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 57-62). Also available online.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1964. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 83-86).

Sepsis is a worldwide health problem with an enormous economic burden and devastatingly high mortality rate. The pathophysiology and immune dysfunctions that occur during sepsis remain largely unknown, severely limiting current treatment options for sepsis. Both the innate and adaptive parts of the immune system are known to be involved in the dysfunctions that occur during sepsis. Over the last few years adenosine has been recognized as an endogenous mediator that alters both innate and adaptive immune responses. Adenosine receptors are largely expressed on many different immune cells and may serve to limit excess collateral damage in the setting of inflammation. In this study, the pharmacological effects of an A2A receptor antagonist on septic mice were examined using the CLP model of sepsis that results in a polymicrobial infection. Pharmacological inactivation of the A2A receptor significantly increased mortality in septic mice predicted to live in comparison to those given only vehicle. Treatment with the A2A receptor antagonist also increased expression of CD40, part of a pathway well known for its roles in inflammation. Our data also showed increased monocyte MHCII expression after treatment with an adenosine antagonist. Our data support the role that A2A receptors are involved in the immune response to sepsis, and that these receptors may serve to damage excess collateral damage ensuing from the host immune response, and that additional studies on adenosine and its related purine nucleosides would be of use for better understanding of the immune dysfunctions that occur during sepsis and other diseases.

Thesis (MTech (Quality))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2014. / Academic Development Programmes at higher education institutions in South Africa were implemented and funded in 2004 by the Department of Higher Education and Training as an initiative to address the low throughput rate and low graduation output. An example of the Academic Development Programmes is the Extended Curriculum Programme (ECP) where the length of the mainstream course is extended by six months to one year to allow for additional assistance in individual subjects and the offering of courses/programmes to assist students with basic life skills in adapting to tertiary education. The objective of this research was to look at whether ECP’s were effective in improving throughput rates and graduation output and whether there were quality management practices in place to gauge the effectiveness of ECP’s. The ECP in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at a university of technology was used as a sample. Academic histories of the ECP and Mainstream students of the 2007 cohort were analysed to draw comparisons on the throughput rate, graduation output and continuation to postgraduate studies of the two programmes.

In a series of experiments, with a total sample of over 2,400 participants, this thesis investigates how various threats that customers may encounter influence the customers’ subsequent purchase and choice behaviors. Furthermore, this thesis examines whether individuals’ predicted behaviors in certain consumer contexts are congruent with customers’ actual behaviors in these very contexts. Paper I takes an evolutionary approach and investigates whether a status threat to male customers, induced by exposure to physically dominant men, results in compensatory consumption of products that signal status through price or size. Paper II takes a reactance-based approach and examines whether customers whose freedom to touch has been threatened compensate by touching, and ultimately purchasing, a larger number of products. Paper III investigates whether threats to customers’ self-control in one domain influence choice behavior and consumption preferences in another unrelated domain. More specifically, the paper examines whether exposure to attractive opposite-sex faces (and hence a subtle activation of sexual desire and its associated pleasure-seeking mindset) makes individuals more motivated to choose and consume unhealthy-but-rewarding foods.      The main findings of this work can be summarized as follows: Consumer threats result in compensatory consumption, not only in the specific domain under threat, but also in unrelated or only symbolically similar domains. Such compensatory responses are in direct contrast to consumer lay beliefs and even the predictions made by marketing professors and other scholars, which suggests that people are generally unaware of the impact that certain threats have on their behavior. These results should be as interesting for customers who want to make informed choices and resist various influence attempts as for marketers, advertisers, and retail managers who want to influence customers. / In a series of experiments, this thesis investigates how threats that customers may encounter influence their subsequent purchase and choice behaviors. Moreover, this thesis examines whether individuals’ predicted behaviors are congruent with customers’ actual behaviors in certain consumer contexts. Paper I investigates whether a status threat to male customers, induced by physically dominant men, results in compensatory consumption of products that signal status through price or size. Paper II examines whether customers whose freedom to touch has been threatened compensate by touching, and ultimately purchasing, more products. Paper III investigates whether attractive opposite-sex faces threaten individuals’ self-control, thereby making them more motivated to choose and consume unhealthy-but-rewarding foods. The results reveal that consumer threats do indeed lead to compensatory consumption. Such compensatory responses are in direct contrast to lay beliefs and even predictions made by marketing professors, suggesting that people are generally unaware of the impact certain threats have on their behavior. These results should be as interesting for customers trying to make informed choices as for marketers, advertisers, and retail managers trying to influence customers.

This research introduces the unique context of immoral inaction—situations in which consumers have the opportunity to engage in virtuous behaviors but opt against doing so. Through five studies I demonstrate that in such contexts, embarrassment—a negatively valenced self-conscious moral emotion evoked by the perception that one's behavior is worthy of judgment by others—interacts with the use of approach-motivated coping strategies to lead consumers to engage in prosocial compensatory behaviors. Though extant literature suggests that marketers seeking to evoke prosocial behaviors should employ communications and promotions framed to elicit consumers' guilt, such studies are based in contexts whereby individuals feel guilty and/or embarrassed because of something they have done, not for something they did not do. This research suggests that that the condition of immoral inaction serves to evoke a contrasting psychological mechanism that reverses these findings, making embarrassment a more effective driver of desired outcomes when marketers seek to promote overcoming past inactions. These findings are discussed in light of their implications for research and application.

Individuals with mild neurocognitive disorder complete many activities of daily living independently; however, they may require the use of compensatory strategies while performing everyday tasks. Compensatory strategies, such as external memory aids, incorporate a strengths-based approach to enhance the functional needs of individuals. Although external memory aids have a strong evidence-base, limited assessment tools and interventions are available to facilitate the development of individualized treatment plans that promote sustained strategy use. To better support the everyday needs of individuals with mild neurocognitive disorder and to inform clinicians who are developing interventions, the current dissertation includes four paper that examine a functional framework for external memory aid assessment and intervention. The first paper examined a group intervention teaching three types of external memory aids on functional strategy use, perceived strategy use, and cognitive skills. The second paper identified individual preferences for experiences with external memory aids during and following intervention. The third paper examined individual changes in functional and perceived strategy use following a group-based intervention teaching external memory aids. Lastly, the fourth paper examined the content validity and internal structure of the Functional External Memory Aid Tool: a measure that explores external memory aid use with simulated everyday tasks. By understanding the weaknesses in currently used assessment and intervention practices and the unique preferences of clients, this multi-manuscript dissertation aims to enhance the immediate and long-term needs of individuals with mild neurocognitive disorder.

Older adults often show declines in subjective and objective memory performance relative to younger adults. One potential path for helping older adults with memory may be compensatory memory training programs. Compensatory memory training programs teach strategies to manage memory impairment. Traditional compensatory memory training programs tend to be highly specific to a task and often do not generalize to other memory tasks. Ecologically Oriented Neurorehabilitation of Memory (EON-Mem) is a method for teaching memory strategies that may generalize for efficient use in everyday contexts. We performed a feasibility study to determine the value of pursuing a group-based version of EON-Mem with older adults in a future larger-scale randomized controlled trial. The current feasibility study took place in two phases with two separate samples. The first sample consisted of five separate groups of healthy young adults (n=39). The second sample consisted of three separate groups of older adults (n=26). We collected data on recruitment, treatment adherence, memory improvement, drop-out rate, cost, time spent, and participant-report data on barriers to successful implementation of EON-Mem treatment. We also collected data on memory performance and overall cognitive functioning. In order to assess improvement before and after treatment within our sample, reliable change indices were calculated using the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS) delayed memory index score. Participants first performed a baseline assessment (traditional and ecological memory tasks, general cognition tasks, emotional functioning, demographics). After the baseline assessment, participants attended one treatment session (90 minutes) per week for a total of seven group-based EON-Mem treatment sessions. Thirty-nine young adults and 26 older adults enrolled in the study; 20 young adults and 10 older adults completed the treatment sessions. We prematurely ended older adult group treatment sessions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. All participants performed a post-intervention assessment using alternate versions when available. Attendance rates were low for the young adult sample (51% completed the treatment) and as expected for the older adult sample when accounting for COVID-related changes (77% eligible for completer status prior to cancelling sessions). Twenty percent of each sample reliably improved on the RBANS delayed memory index score before and after treatment. Costs were higher than expected ($345 and 18.6 research hours for each young adult participant; $319 and 16.9 research hours for each older adult participant). Subjectively, both samples reported enjoying the interactions with others and the presentation of the treatment, but disliked peg words. Overall, although a randomized controlled trial of group-format EON-Mem in older adults is feasible, such a study may or may not be cost-effective depending on the resources and goals of the researcher.