Affect has been theoretically important to charismatic leadership for over 80 years as Weber (1920) referred to the emotion, passion, and devotion that ensue from charismatic authority, and is still evident in modern theories of charismatic and transformational leadership. When leaders express positive affect, they elicit more positive follower attributions of leadership (Lewis, 2000; Newcombe & Askanasy, 2002) and better follower performance (George, 1995; George & Bettenhausen, 1990). Yet the mechanism for these effects has largely been ignored in empirical research. The current studies examine emotional contagion as one means by which leader affect influences follower outcomes. Emotional contagion is the transfer of affect between persons that is thought to occur through unconscious and automatic mechanisms (Hatfield, Cacioppo, & Rapson, 1992). If leaders are able to transmit positive affect to their followers, then followers' positive affect should result in more positive attributions of leadership and better performance. In two laboratory studies and one field study, I tested the effects of affect and emotional contagion on leader and follower outcomes. Study 1 examined the effect of manipulated positive and negative affect on leadership behavior, using MBA students (n = 42). Leaders in the positive affect condition exhibited better leadership behavior than leaders in the negative affect condition. Study 2 tested the subsequent impact of leader affect on follower outcomes (n = 200). The proposed model suggested that leader affect influenced follower attributions of transformational leadership and performance directly, and through follower affect. Structural equation modeling indicated that the hypothesized model fit the data well. Study 3 largely replicated the findings of Study 2, using a field study of principals and teachers ( n = 228). Hierarchical Linear Modeling demonstrated that leader (principal) positive affect related to follower (teacher) positive affect via emotional contagion. Follower positive and negative affect related to follower attributions of transformational leadership and performance, in terms of organizational citizenship behavior. Follower attributions of transformational leadership also related to follower organizational citizenship behavior. As a whole, these three studies highlight the importance of affect and emotional contagion in leadership.

The present study examined nontraditional career modeling from the perspective of social categorization and subtyping theories. Its main objective was to isolate the discrete, additive, and interactive effects of the manipulated model prototypicality factors, femininity and exceptionality on a set of dependent measures related to children's occupational gender stereotyping and girls' career interest and confidence. This research also pioneered the use of peers as career models and examined their effectiveness relative to adults. In general, prototypical models were expected to be more influential in decreasing stereotypes and increasing girls' interest in the modeled career than atypical models. Results showed that model femininity did, in fact, have the hypothesized effect on girls' career interest. Also as hypothesized, models who were both feminine and nonexceptional generally had the most influence in decreasing stereotyping. The expectation that models who were both nonfeminine and exceptional would have the least influence was supported for only one of the stereotyping measures. On other stereotyping measures, a model exceptionality model femininity interaction revealed a pattern whereby feminine models had more influence when they were nonexceptional. No overall superiority of peer models over adult models was hypothesized, or found. The expectation that exceptional peers would inspire less career confidence than exceptional adults was supported.

In an epidemiological study of mental health in couples, individual and systemic approaches were compared in terms of their appropriateness for general versus clinical populations. / The primary results from the study of 845 couples in the general population suggest that there exists a significant spouse-similarity across the various mental health dimensions examined (psychological distress, general well-being, and role satisfaction). / The main results from the study of 17 couples in marital therapy suggest that significant sex differences exist in dyadic adjustment. Sex differences were also noted in the correlations between dyadic adjustment and depressive symptoms. / In conclusion, it appears that epidemiological research on the mental health of couples should have as its objective a simultaneous consideration of both the individual and the couple, as well as a simultaneous consideration of clinical and general populations, in order to create a double complementarity out of this apparent double dichotomy.

The primary purpose of this randomized controlled trial was to examine the effect of the Webster-Stratton Parents and Children Series, a proven, video-based, modeling, nurse-delivered, group cognitive-behavioural parent program, on the parenting skills and autonomous self-regulated behaviours of children (ages 3-to-8 years) in families on the caseload of child protection. Twenty-eight families on the caseload of one of three child protection agencies were randomly assigned to one of two conditions: the 16-hour weekly intervention group or the 4-month wait-list control group. Twenty-six families completed the study. Results of the statistical analysis showed that mothers in the treatment group had statistically significant improvement in one parenting skill, involvement, and marginally significant improvement in another parenting skill, autonomy-support, during one of two study activities (free-play) compared to the wait-list control group. No significant improvement was found among children in the treatment group when compared to their study counterparts. Further, little but promising support was found for the hypothesized relationship between mothers with a strong parenting profile and children with a strong autonomous self-regulated profile. / Given the small sample size, providing only 30% power to detect a 10% change, further exploratory analyses were conducted. Although not statistically significant, performance was found to vary according to group, activity and behaviour. Several characteristics distinguished mothers, and children whose performance showed most change (improvement, deterioration). The fact that 92% of the mothers attended six or more of the eight parent program sessions and the low attrition rate (7%) indicate that the intervention may have been more successful with this population than statistical evidence demonstrates.

<p> We know that development is greatly influenced by early parenting experiences (Gauthier, 2003; Koestner, Franz, &amp; Weinberger, 1990). Sibling violence has been shown to have long lasting effects into adulthood, including a range of mental health problems such as depression, anxiety, low self-worth, and aggression (Graham-Bermann, Cutler, Litzenberger, &amp; Schwartz, 1994). What is less known is the combined impact of sibling violence and parental physical aggression on subsequent adult intimate partner relationships. A study was conducted with 93 participants to examine the relationship of sibling violence while controlling for the experience of parental physical aggression in childhood on conflict resolution styles experienced in adulthood. Four hierarchical regressions were conducted to determine the relative influence of parental and sibling violence as well as the severity of each type of violence on four conflict resolution styles. Participants were recruited from the internet and completed the Conflict Resolution Style Inventory (CRSI) (Kurdek, 1994) measuring current conflict resolution styles, the Conflict Tactics Scale 2 (CTS2) measuring sibling violence, and the Conflict Tactics Scales: Parent/Child Version (CTSPC) (Straus, Hamby, &amp; Warren, 2003) measuring parental use of physical aggression. It was found that familial violence was related to three of the conflict resolution styles: Conflict Engagement, Withdrawal, and Compliance. Social learning theory could account for these findings, as what we learn in the family environment we tend to later emulate in other relationships.</p>

<p>In light of the increasingly complex sustainability problems facing local and global communities, and the need to improve the scientific basis for decision making, sustainability science elevates the role of research collaborations and communication among scientists and stakeholders in developing solutions. Although many universities are heeding the calls for collaborative research and are making progress on bringing diverse groups together to address sustainability issues, disconnections between the production of knowledge and its actual use in society persist. These persistent divisions indicate that we still have a great deal to learn about how to develop university-stakeholder partnerships that facilitate collaboration between the various actors in society. </p><p> Building successful, enduring research partnerships is essential for improving links between knowledge and action. The overarching question addressed in this dissertation is: <i>"In the quest to develop sustainable solutions, what factors may strengthen or hinder the development of robust stakeholder-university research partnerships?"</i> In answering this question, I interrogate the role of communication in partnership development, the influence of communication practices on stakeholder and researcher interactions, and ways that we can use interdisciplinary forms of and approaches to research to improve communication with partners. The goal of this research is to improve university and community capacity for collaborative, problem-focused research to address pressing societal problems. </p><p> Using quantitative and qualitative survey data from the <i>Maine Municipal Official Survey</i> and the <i>Collaboration and Stakeholder Engagement Survey,</i> each chapter addresses the overarching research question in different ways. In the first and second chapters, I develop theoretically and empirically supported statistical models to identify a set of factors influencing officials' reported interest in developing a community-university research partnership and factors influencing officials' participation preferences in community-university research partnerships, respectively. The models strengthen the capacity for co-learning by providing data on interest and preference alignment between potential project partners, and they provide data on stakeholder preferences and experiences that may improve communication between partners and inform partnership interactions. The third chapter bridges interdisciplinary theories from social psychology and communication to deepen the conversation about justice in community-university research partnerships. The dissertation concludes with lessons learned about developing community-university research partnerships. </p>

<p> Behavioral economists have attempted to show that human iterated reasoning faculties discourage non-equilibrium, non-convergent game dynamics. But what if individuals iterating through each other's strategic intentions are instead driving complex collective dynamics? The results in this manuscript demonstrate that bounded "what you think I think you think" reasoning can cause sustained deviations from Nash equilibrium and other fixed-point solution concepts. Supporting my thesis are a series of six experiments, a revisitation of a classic game theory experiment, a variety of computational models, and an analysis of a real-world dataset with highly motivated agents. I also introduce two new games, the Mod Game and the Runway Game. By bridging human higher-level reasoning and animal collective behavior, this work challenges attitudes in economics that complex social dynamics can--or even should--be designed away. </p>

While acculturation is among the most popular concepts in cultural psychiatry and psychology, the conceptualization and measurement of this construct continue to be issues of significant debate. Recent literature supports the development of multidimensional models of acculturation, in contrast to traditional linear or unidimensional models. The current study examined a multidimensional model of acculturation in a multi-ethnic community sample of first-generation immigrants in Montreal. Two cultural orientations - Canadian and Self-Defined Ethnicity - were assessed independently among Caribbean (n=109), Vietnamese (n=97), and Filipino (n=109) participants. These two cultural orientations were examined across three dimensions of acculturation: ethnic loyalty, ethnic behaviour, and situational ethnic identity. Correlational and factor analysis were used to assess the distinctiveness of the three dimensions, and the relationship between the two cultural orientations. For ethnic behaviour and situational ethnic identity, the two cultural orientations were not related to one another. Among the Vietnamese and Filipino groups, loyalty to one's self-defined ethnic group was positively related to loyalty towards Canadians. Factor analysis revealed two independent components, corresponding to the two cultural orientations. Overall, results support both the need to assess cultural orientations independently, and the multidimensional nature of acculturation.

<p> The prevalence of sexual assault and its consequences for individuals and society has been the subject of much research and advocacy even though most cases remain unreported and when reported, rarely move through the criminal justice and legal systems. This study uses a mixed methods approach in order to understand police officer perceptions of sexual assault reports and the factors that might influence their perceptions and decision making processes. Findings indicate wide variability in police officer perceptions of reported sexual assaults as &ldquo;legitimate&rdquo; and perceptions of victims as credible. Officers consider reported sexual assaults involving strangers, the use or threat of a weapon, and evidence of injury, as more clearly legitimate. The majority of sexual assaults reported to the police are considered ambiguous, often because of prior relationship between the victim and suspect, substance use or intoxication, a lack of clear non-consent, and a lack of evidence in general. There is less variation in officer&rsquo;s reported behavioral intentions, indicating that one&rsquo;s procedural response is routine, and all reports are responded to thoroughly. Officers also show wide variability in acceptance of rape myths and attributions of blame towards the suspect. Some officers point out the propensity for false reporting in sexual assault, however, many others counter this assumption, and argue that police officers should never make judgments about the veracity of a reported sexual assault. This research has implications for the way in which first responders&mdash;often police officers, health care workers, social service providers, mental health professionals and victim advocates&mdash;take action in a dignifying manner with those who have experienced sexual assault and have reported the incident with the hopes of achieving justice.</p>

<p> The predictive validity of the Displaced Aggression Questionnaire (DAQ) was studied by allowing participants to engage in both displaced and direct aggression. Participants were given the DAQ and the Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire (AQ), assessments of trait displaced and direct aggression, respectively. Participants were then provoked and given the opportunity to engage in both direct and displaced aggression. Results indicated that both the DAQ and the AQ were positively correlated with both displaced and direct aggression. Furthermore, the type of aggression dependent measure (viz., physical versus verbal) did not moderate these effects. Finally, there was a significant negative correlation between the DAQ and the Differentiation of Self Questionnaire, which measures the process of separating from ones multigenerational family, indicating that higher levels of trait displaced aggression are associated with negative differentiation from one's family of origin. Implications for both predicting and reducing aggressive behavior are discussed. </p>