Accompanying the high prevalence of rape among college women is a high prevalence of unacknowledged rape, or women who have been raped who do not label it as such. The current studies explore one theory which may help account for unacknowledged rape, script theory. Specifically, it may be that individuals have scripts for rape and seduction which overlap on a number dimensions, which may lead certain incidents of rape to be labeled seduction. Three studies were conducted to test the possible role of scripts in labeling an incident rape or not. In study 1, unique and overlapping elements of undergraduates' rape and seduction scripts were identified using a free-writing task and a questionnaire. In study 2, an ambiguous sexual scenario was developed. In study 3, script salience was manipulated by labeling the ambiguous scenario as either rape or seduction. This manipulation had little effect on participants' characterization of the scenario. However, results of internal analyses suggested that what script was activated affected participants' beliefs about the outcome of the scenario for the woman as well as their recall for the elements of the scenario. Implications of the results for the phenomenon of unacknowledged rape are discussed. / Master of Science

In 2014, the Swedish Government decided to review the sexual offences legislation, in order to introduce a consent-based regulation. The main argument in support of a consent-based legislation is that it will change the norms and attitudes regarding gender and sexuality, thereby decreasing the occurrence of sexual violence in society. A consent-based legislation emphasizes the importance of sexual consent within sexual relations, thus giving such legislation a potential to construct a more just and gender-equal sexual culture. Sexual consent is, however, not reducible to a simply “yes” but rather consisting of different elements and dependent on the context in which it is communicated. The aim of this thesis is to examine how the sexual consent is constructed in the publications included in the legislative process and analyze this construction from a heteronormative perspective.  Using the sexual script theory developed by John Gagnon and William Simon demonstrates how sexual consent is constructed in terms of which subject consents to what acts in what context and to what purpose. Analysing the construction of sexual consent from a heteronormative perspective demonstrates how the consent-based legislation both challenge and reproduce normative ideas of sex and sexual culture.  Examining the construction of sexual consent through script theory demonstrates how heteronormative understandings of sexual acts and subjects influence the understanding of which subjects are able to consent to what actions. The construction of consent is characterized by a division between the legislative understanding of sexual offences as a crime against a genderless individual, and a gendered understanding of sexual violence as a part of men’s violence against women. In theory, there is a clear understanding of the difference between consensual and non-consensual sex, but when situated in a heteronormative context these two becomes harder to separate. Therefor, the potential of challenging normative understandings of sexuality of gender seems limited, even though it takes further research in order to establish the actual effects of the legislation.

This dissertation is based on the Kida-Smith (1995) model of "The encoding and retrievability of numerical data." It is concerned with the variable conditions under which a positive affective response (i.e., a decision or opinion that results in a positive valence) on previously viewed accounting information may and may not influence current decision-making. An affective response to accounting numbers may adversely influence decisions made based on those numbers. Prior research has found that individuals recall information that is consistent with prior decisions more readily than they recall inconsistent information. Research has also shown that current judgements are biased toward prior decisions or judgements. These biases may cause current decisions to be suboptimal or dysfunctional. Two 2x2 experiments were conducted to examine four hypotheses. These hypotheses concerned (1) the influence of an affective response on an investment decision when the differences between two sets of accounting numbers are small and when the differences are large, (2) the influence of an affective response on the recall of numerical data, (3) the influence of time on the recall of numerical data given an affective response, and (4) the influence of an affective response on an investment decision when the level of cognitive processing at the time the affective response is produced is low and when the level of processing is high. The first experiment used graduate students in an accounting course to investigate the influence of differences between numerical amounts on decision making. It also investigated the influence of time between the encoding and retrieval on recall of numerical amounts. The second experiment used accounting practitioners to investigate the influence of differences between numerical amounts on decision making, and to examine the influence of different levels of cognitive processing at the time of encoding on decision making. Results indicate that an affective response does produce suboptimal decisions. In the case of accounting practitioners, however, the influence of the affective response is mitigated when the magnitude of the difference between the accounting numbers previously viewed and those undergoing current examination is large rather than small. The affective response did not significantly influence the recall of numerical amounts. There was no significant change in the influence of the affective response on recalled amounts with increased time between encoding and retrieval. Also, there were no significant changes in decision-making with increased processing at the time of encoding. / Ph. D.

This thesis tests various hypotheses from a variety of research traditions that predict the likelihood for potential sex differences in "talking": a newly-emergent phase of romantic courtship. Data for this study was derived from a purposive sample of 566 students enrolled during the Fall 2011 semester generated using a self-administered survey available on the East Tennessee State University SONA system. Statistical analyses using chi-square, analysis of variance (ANOVA), and binary logistic regression reveal statistically significant differences for males and females on beliefs about sexual exclusivity and sexual activity during the "talking" phase. Significant behavioral differences exist in whether "talking" is viewed instrumentally as a means for information gathering. However, contrary to expectation, males and females did not reveal significant differences in how they defined "talking." It is suggested that future research further expand the types of variables included, and further efforts be made to combine quantitative and qualitative data sources.

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Cardi B and Meg Thee Stallion have no issues telling men how they can satisfy women. While WAP is considered vulgar and crude by some, the overall message is about outspoken intersectional feminism based on sex positivity and empowerment. Unapologetic of women’s sexuality, Cardi B and Meg Thee Stallion promote women’s right to sexuality and pleasure through power. They reject the male gaze and reverse the societal narrative by describing their standards for men’s sexual performance and stature. While the over-sexualization and objectification of women is societally acceptable in the patriarchy, Cardi B and Meg Thee Stallion’s rap in WAP aims to encourage the audience to critically think of how to combat and dismantle the power imbalance between genders in the current societal structure. Presenting women being assertive and demanding as a positive thing, as well as empowering women to own their sexuality places them in a dominant position which is uncommon in popular culture, especially in Hip-Hop. It can be debated that the over-sexualization and objectification of men is just as inhumane as it is for women, but is that not how sympathy is created? By putting oneself in another’s shoes? This tactic has been criticized in the media. Within the patriarchy, it is socially acceptable for men to be open about having their sexual needs met by women. The promotion of women owning their sexuality and therefore, advocating for themselves and their desires so that they can be satisfied by their partner, is actively discouraged. What Cardi B and Meg Thee Stallion are aiming to portray in WAP is the double standards enforced by men within the patriarchy which frames power as a positive in men and a negative in women, and make a point of this by extensively critiquing this in their song. While men are comfortable objectifying women and holding power over them, women making men feel uncomfortable when their power is stolen, is a means by which men can be compelled to increase their emotional intelligence and social awareness. There is no shame in taking power from men when it comes to the lyrics in WAP, and for research purposes, this makes an interesting and unique dynamic to thematically analyze through sexual script theory.

This study explores the social approval of internet dating through the ranking of vignette scenarios. The scenarios are manipulated by the conditions of face-to-face interaction, presence of mutual acquaintance, and use of internet technology. Measures of legitimacy, predicted longevity, and social perception test for changes in attitudes of the varied ways in which a hypothetical couple meets. One of seven randomly distributed scenarios was ranked by a total of 346 undergraduates to disentangle the above conditions and test for an effect on social approval. Situated in the framework of cultural adaptation, script theory and the saturated self, support is found for low cultural approval of internet dating. Conditions of face-to-face interaction, issues of trust, and affinity to the internet demonstrate clear effects on the approval of relationships formed through internet dating.

Mad Pursuits: Therapeutic Narration in Postwar American Fiction examines three mid-century American novels—J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye (1951), Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man (1952), and Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar (1963)—in relation to the rise and popularization of psychoanalytic theory in America. The study historicizes these landmark novels as representing and interrogating postwar America’s confidence in the therapeutic capacity of narrative to redress psychological problems. Drawing on key concepts from narrative theory and the multidisciplinary field of narrative and identity studies, I argue that these texts develop a multi-layered, formal problematization of therapeutic narration: the narrativization of the self through modes of interpretation based on character action and development. The study, thus, investigates how the texts both critique the purported effectiveness of being healed through narrative means, as well as how they problematize their society’s investment in this method. I propose that the novels ultimately explore submerged possibilities for realizing what I call fugitive selves by creating self-representations that negotiate and exceed the confines of the paradigmatic models of plot and character of the period. In Chapter One, I argue that the ego and pop psychological movements during the postwar era encouraged the American public to define and realize psychological health, success and happiness through narrativized means. I show in Chapter Two how careful differentiation between narrative levels of interpretation in The Bell Jar reveals the novel’s complication of the self created in narrative, with and against the socio-cultural scripts and therapeutic assumptions of the period. Chapter Three concentrates on The Catcher in the Rye’s various methods of de-composing the narrative identity of the subject created through developmental and therapeutic narration. In the final chapter, I read Invisible Man as a satire of postwar psychoanalytic theory and method specifically concerning racialized narrative identities, and as a reflection on a method of enduring psychological illness. The Conclusion brings together several argumentative strands running throughout the dissertation regarding what the novels contrastively reveal about the perils, and even the possibilities, inherent in the narrativizing of the self in early postwar America.

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De första 18 åren av en människas liv präglas av fysiska förändringar som bidrar till nya mentala tankeprocesser kring sex, sexualitet och relationer. Denna förändringsprocess som människan går igenom skapar en nyfunnen medvetenhet om sin egen och andras sexualitet. I en tid som definieras av förändringar på denna nivå är det inte ovanligt att privata och intima frågor dyker upp och det kan då vara skönt att ha en opartisk vuxen att prata med. Denna opartiska vuxen kan vara skolkurator.  Denna studie ämnar att, med hjälp av kvalitativa intervjuer, få en ökad förståelse för hur ett urval av skolkuratorer i Sverige väljer att arbeta med frågor kring sexualitet och sexuell hälsa. Studien avser även att undersöka om samtalet kring sexualitet och sexuell hälsa bör ske i en skolmiljö och om det är relevant för skolkuratorns yrke. Resultaten visar att skolkuratorerna som deltagit i studien har olika syn på relevansen av sexualitet och sexuell hälsa för deras arbete. Det framkom finnas ett samband mellan tidigare yrkeserfarenheter och hur en skolkurator väljer att utforma sitt arbete. En annan slutsats som kom fram i denna studie var att skolkuratorernas arbetsbeskrivning inte anger några tydliga ramar kring vad som ska ingå i arbetet, vilket ger yrkesutövaren stort utrymme att forma sina egna arbetssätt. / The first 18 years of a human being's life is characterized by physical changes that contribute to new mental thought processes concerning sex, sexuality and relationships. This process of change that the human goes through creates a newfound awareness of one’s own and others’ sexuality. In a time that is defined by changes on this level, it is not uncommon for private and intimate questions to arise and it can be nice to have an impartial adult to talk to. This impartial adult can be the school counselor.  The aim of this study is to, with the help of qualitative interviews, gain an increased understanding of how a selection of school counselors in Sweden choose to work with issues surrounding sexuality and sexual health. The study also intends to investigate whether the conversation regarding sexuality and sexual health is supposed to take place in a school environment and whether it is relevant to the school counselor's profession. The results show that the school counselors who participated in the study have different views on the relevance of sexuality and sexual health to their work. There seemed to be a correlation between previous professional experiences and how a school counselor chooses to design their work. Another conclusion that was reached in this study was that the school counselors' job description does not specify any clear framework around what should be included in the work, which gives the professional a lot of room to mold their own working methods.