Doctor's dissertation at Leipzig university.

Recent technological innovations affecting romantic relationships include the rise in prominence of social networking sites (SNSs), including Facebook. SNSs have become an increasingly fundamental part of developing and maintaining relationships. A majority of research focuses on the ways in which individuals access SNSs. Less studied is how individuals' use of SNSs affects their romantic relationships. An important aspect of the stability of romantic relationships is the construct of commitment. Relationship commitment is conceptualized as the intent to continue a relationship into the future and is composed of many constructs that can either keep individuals in or pull them away from the relationship. One aspect that may pull individuals away from their relationship is the quality and availability of potential alternatives, or relationship forms other than the current one. There is evidence that using tools like Facebook may prompt individuals to pay attention to alternative relationship options. This study examined how SNSs use may affect current relationships with a sample of 645 unmarried individuals in dating relationships and with current Facebook accounts. All participants completed measures of their Facebook use, relationship commitment, and attention to relationship alternatives. A sub-sample of 432 participants were randomly assigned to one of two study conditions. One condition prompted participants to view the Facebook profiles of friends that they might consider as possible relationship partners and the other condition prompted participants to view organizations they follow on Facebook. Analyses indicated that Facebook monitoring condition did not predict differences in individuals' reported commitment. However, hierarchical regression analyses using the full sample revealed that high levels of online monitoring of alternatives were associated with low levels of commitment for both males and females, but more so for males. Analyses also revealed that low levels of satisfaction predicted high levels of monitoring of alternatives and high levels of Facebook use predicted high levels of online monitoring of alternatives. These results suggest that tools such as Facebook can be used to monitor alternatives, yet doing so may negatively affect current romantic relationships. Future studies should explore these relationships by using a repeated measures design to assess change over time. / text

This dissertation examines some counterintuitive effects associated with having high status. Whereas much literature focuses on benefits associated with holding high status, in this dissertation, I highlight some negative outcomes that can come from having status. Study 1 examines marital costs that can emerge when women hold high job status relative to their spouses. I propose a conditional process model such that when women experience job status leakage, a construct referring to contempt that women feel towards their husbands’ lower job status, this will positively predict marital instability, mediated through decreased relationship satisfaction. The model is tested in a cross-sectional field study on women in high job status positions, and the model is supported. The second study of this dissertation examines potential costs when in high status positions to CEOs longevity. I argue that despite the benefits accrued at the highest level of organizational status; CEOs will compare their status to other CEOs, which influences their longevity. Using a retrospective cohort analysis on award winners from Financial Word Magazine’s “CEO of the Year” contest, I test four competing models, which suggest that the ways CEOs interpret their status can predict longevity. The results of this study are largely unsupported, though post-hoc analyses and theorizing suggest that status maintenance comes at a cost to longevity for this group of CEOs. In the third study of this dissertation, I examine the relational costs associated with holding high status. Given the relational nature of status, for some individuals to have high status, there must be lower status referents. The emotions and behaviors of those lower status others are the focus of the third study. I propose that in the presence of status differences, lower status individuals will feel envious of others’ higher status positions, and I quantify how much status dispersion must be present in order for envy to be triggered. I also suggest that when individuals are envious of others’ status positions, they are more likely to ostracize high status targets and perceive themselves as ostracized in social interactions. The results suggest that there is a curvilinear relationship between status dispersion and envy, where only minimal status differences need be present in order for envy to emerge, and envy then predicts feeling ostracized in social situations. The dissertation closes with a general discussion of the studies, and suggests areas for future research. / Thesis (Ph.D, Management) -- Queen's University, 2013-09-13 14:12:57.107

This thesis investigates approaches to the problem from a learning-sociological point of view, because it gives a more complete concept of the authoritarian personality. Within the framework of this theory, it was generally found that the authoritarian personality is rigid; is concrete in its thinking; does not handle abstractions or material dealing with human relations easily; prefers instead to deal with well organized and well ordered material.

Thesis (M.S.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / 2031-01-01

The effect of attributions for rejection on the perceived levels of threat to different basic needs was experimentally tested. In this 3 (Internal, External, and Ambiguous attribution) x 3 (Controllable, Uncontrollable, and Neither attribution) experiment, participants read one of nine relationship termination vignettes manipulating which attribution was provided as the reason for being rejected. Perceived levels of threat to Fiske’s (2002) core social motives (belonging, control, and self-esteem) were measured. Analyses revealed main effects of the internal/external attributions, such that an internal attribution led to increased feelings of anger and desire to retaliate. Both effects were mediated by increases in threat to self-esteem. No effects of the rejection controllability attribution were found. These findings suggest that rejections that include internal attributions, such as that it’s the rejected person’s fault that they are being rejected, threaten a person’s self-esteem, which in turn leads to anger and desires to retaliate.

Dual relationships in the family therapy field are currently under debate. Within this debate extreme viewpoints and opinions, on what is the best way to navigate dual relationships, are being voiced. These views range from avoiding non-sexual dual relationships at all costs to glorifying the possibilities of such a relationship. To obtain a snap shot of faculty and student experiences a web survey was sent to fifteen masters and ten doctoral COAMFTE-accredited programs. Participants were 76 students and 30 faculty members, a total of 106 respondents. The web survey revealed that the majority of respondents had positive and successful dual relationships. Faculty and students indicated several strategies to keep relationships positive and to prevent unsuccessful dual relationships. These strategies included: boundaries, respect, communication, and awareness. Additionally, the web survey revealed that students and faculty did have training on dual relationships but the majority was limited to a general exposure in an ethics class. Furthermore, the faculty and students seemed to reflect diverse opinions on how to handle dual relationships, which is also present in the MFT field. The participants' perception of how dual relationships are viewed in the MFT field ranged from avoiding dual relationships to extolling the benefits of being in a dual relationship. To further explore how to create a successful dual relationship between faculty and students, in-depth telephone interviews with a sub-sample from the web survey were conducted. Five dyads, consisting of faculty and their respective students, were used. These interviews explored contextual issues related to positive non-sexual relationships between faculty and student dyads. An overarching theme revealed in the interviews was the amount of activity present for both students and faculty to create the successful dual relationships. Additionally, two major themes emerged, characteristics of success and strategies for success. Characteristics which seemed to facilitate the relationship were: student characteristics, faculty characteristics, nurturance, trust, awareness, being a person, decreased hierarchy/equality, and mutual respect. Strategies revealed in these relationships included: checking, open communication, viable boundaries, navigating boundaries, assessing risk, decreasing hierarchy, and advice. Also, implications for family therapy programs are presented, as are implications for future research. / Ph. D.

Thesis (M.S.)--Oregon State University, 1982. / Typescript (photocopy). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 80-83). Also available on the World Wide Web.

This research investigated the effects of mothers' and stepfathers' parental behaviors on late adolescent adjustment and the moderating effects of stepfathers' parental status on the relationship between stepfathers' parental behaviors and late adolescent adjustment. In Study 1 a measure for parental status (PSI: The Parental Status Inventory) was developed. Parental status, as a social cognition, addresses the degree to which the stepparent is perceived as a parent by the stepchild, the stepparent, and/or the residential parent. Findings resulted in a 14-item scale with good reliability (Cronbach's alpha .97). The PSI was moderately associated with attachment and closeness to the stepparent but was not associated with peer attachments. The PSI had a low to moderate association with the age of the respondent at the time the stepfamily originated. In Study 2, the effects of late adolescent perceptions of parental behaviors by mothers and stepfathers on late adolescent adjustment and the moderating effects of stepfathers' parental status on the relationship between his parenting behaviors and late adolescent adjustment were explored. Results of a series of hierarchical multiple regression analyses with interaction terms indicated that, of mothers' and stepfathers' parenting behaviors, only mothers' connection explained a significant amount of variance (10%) in female adaptive behaviors. The models explaining problem behavior in late adolescents did not show significant results for either females or males. Additional findings were that parental status did not moderate the effects of stepfathers' connection, regulation or psychological control on late adolescent adaptive or problem behaviors for either females or males. In summary, parental status did not moderate the variables in question. However, the evidence from this research suggests that the construct of parental status is valid and that the PSI is a valid and reliable measure. Together the construct of parental status and the PSI have the potential to contribute to the development of knowledge in stepfamilies in theoretical, research and clinical settings.

Group mentoring has received much less empirical attention than one-on-one mentoring and it is not clear whether group programs can be expected to yield similar outcomes or whether the mechanisms of change are similar compared to one-on-one mentoring programs. This study examined the effects of a group mentoring intervention on quality of relationships with parents and peers for 71 program participants relative to a comparison group of 31 students. Further, analyses were performed among program participants only to determine effects of sense of belonging with mentor and mentoring group on changes in quality of relationships with parents and peers. Findings revealed no program effects, yet among program participants, findings revealed that sense of belonging with mentor and group are important in predicting changes in quality of relationship with fathers and peers.