An attempt was made to determine empirically the structure of self-disclosure. Based on the literature, a list of statements relating to the rating of self-disclosure was assembled. This list was condensed into dimensions by two evaluators, working independently. The dimensions were then used to score transcripts of male undergraduate students' verbal self-disclosures. Factor analyses of these scores produced four factors relating to self-focus, intimacy or depth, risk taking, and amount. A tentative fifth factor, intimacy value of disclosure topic, was also found. Regression analysis of dimensions on the Doster (1971) Disclosure Rating Scale produced three tentative scales for measuring self-disclosure. The first scale utilized stepwise regression of all dimensions, the second used stepwise regression of mechanical dimensions, and the third regression used composite scales representing the factors of the orthogonal factor analysis. For each scale, only three dimensions were included in the regression equation.

Graduate

The purposes of this study were to examine the occupational goals of women in banking, manufacturing, and education; to examine women's awareness of their own potential; to compare the attitudes of working women toward themselves; to compare the attitudes, self-concepts, and career achievement between females aged twenty-five to thirty-five and females aged forty to fifty; and to compare the attitudes, self-concepts, and career achievement of females in banking, manufacturing, and education.

The central aim of this study was to contribute to the clarification of the nature of self-insight in psychotherapy by means of a qualitative research design. A pilot study provided direction by suggesting a psychologically relevant focus that was experientially specific; that is, the kind of therapeutic self-insight that carries a greater sense of freedom. A phenomenological research method was used to describe and interpret in depth the experiences of eight clients who had been in psychotherapy. Their experiences were explicated to yield a psychologically relevant general description of the phenomenon. The results indicated ten central constituents of the experience. Such themes included, amongst others, the role of language in providing perspective, the increased understanding of personal agency, the achievement of a more complex self-image, and the ability to express existing desires and motives within a more flexible or creative behavioural context. The general description also indicated how phenomena such as memory, feeling, motive, metaphor, dreams and present behaviour interact in the co-constitution of this kind of therapeutic self-insight. After dialoguing the results of the study with relevant literature, the thesis concluded with reflections on the intrinsic value of therapeutic self-insight, as revealed in this study, in relation to the spirit of technology.

This study examined the ways in which women and men view themselves and their women and men friends, in the context of their friendships. Ninety-five female and 95 male undergraduates completed the Friendship Questionnaire, in which they rated each of their closest friends, and rated themselves with each of those friends, on 13 dimensions of friendship. Test-retest procedures demonstrated the measure had satisfactory reliability. The general results are reflected in three patterns of friendship: 1) relationships with men friends tend to be less reciprocal than relationships with women friends in self disclosure, empathic understanding, deepening other's self awareness, and responsibility; 2) men's same-sex relationships tend to be lower in appreciation, empathic understanding, deepening other's self awareness, responsibility, and empowerment; and 3) women tend to report that they give more than they receive in friendships with women and men, on empathic understanding, self disclosure, and connectedness. The results of this study support the notion that although there is more commonality than difference in women's and men's friendships, many significant differences do exist. Further, this methodology illustrates the importance of studying people's conceptions of themselves and their friendships within the context of their specific real-life relationships. / Arts, Faculty of / Psychology, Department of / Graduate

This study examines ideas of self and self-cultivation as developed during the first half of the Choson Dynasty (1392-1911) by focusing on introductory texts or commentaries, diagrams, or Korean annotations on the Great Learning. Moreover, given that much of this material is pedagogical, how and to whom these ideas were presented will also be examined. The scholars examined here were leading thinkers during the first half of the Choson Dynasty— Kwon Kun (1352-1409) helped introduce and lay the intellectual framework of Ch'eng-Chu Neo-Confucianism in the early period of the Choson Dyansty. T'oegye (1501-1570) is often seen as the foremost Confucian scholar of the Choson period. His ideas served as the foundation of a major school of thought during the Choson Dyansty, the Yongnam school. The last scholar, Yulgok (1536-1584), is also seen as one of the great scholars of the period. His ideas form the basis of the other major school of thought in Korean Neo-Confucianism- the Kiho school. Examining the ideas of these thinkers will reveal how ideas of human nature and self-cultivation developed and changed over the early course of the Choson Dynasty and how and to whom these ideas were presented. / Arts, Faculty of / Asian Studies, Department of / Graduate

M.Ed. / The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of conditioning on the realization of a person's full potential from a personal leadership perspective. As humans our perception of ourselves and our capabilities are subject to many conditioning influences, for example family, education, society, culture and the media. Conditioning influences can lead to the formation of habits in the way people think and act. A problem arises because many of these conditioning influences have a negative impact on the way in which a person perceives himself and his potential, by focussing mainly on possible limitations and by overemphasizing conformation. A field of study that focuses on the overcoming of self-imposed boundaries and that strives to promote personal growth and the realization of a person's unique potential, is personal leadership. Personal leadership was defined in the study as an ongoing process of introspection and self-examination and a commitment to self-improvement, change and personal growth on the way to realizing one's unique potential. The general aim of the study was to investigate the nature of the concept 'conditioning' and the influence it has on a person's perception of himself and his potential, as well as to search for ways in which the negative influence of conditioning on personal growth can be identified and overcome, all within a personal leadership framework. The research methodology used in the study included hermeneutic and descriptive strategies. The research methods that were used included a word and concept analysis of the concept 'conditioning' as well as a literature study in order to identify and describe ways in which conditioning affects personal growth and how negative conditioning influences can be eliminated. The following are the most important findings of the study: • Both classical and operant conditioning are learning processes that play a role in establishing habits of thoughts and actions, by means of the formation of stimulus-response associations. • Conditioning can be a powerful inhibiting factor in personal growth, because it can lead to the formation of a poor self-image and limiting beliefs regarding personal potential. • Conditioning influences like family, education, peer groups, culture and the media can condition a person to believe that he has limited potential. • Conditioning influences can inhibit a person's ability to adapt to change and may also cause a person to become satisfied with the average and loose his motivation to actualize his full potential. • Through personal leadership a person can overcome the negative influence of conditioning by becoming aware of conditioning influences in his life and by realizing that conditioned habits are formed by his own free will and that it can be overcome by equipping himself with knowledge of how to successfully implement the desired change. • By overcoming the negative influence of conditioning in his life, a person can progressively realize personal goals that will lead to realizing of his unique potential and personal fulfillment.

The purpose of the current study is to investigate the extent to which mindfulness (observing and describing), dispositional optimism and personal meaning are associated with self-efficacy for managing a chronic disease (SEMCD) among 57 people living with HIV in the DFW Metroplex. Several statistical analyses, including a hierarchical linear regression analysis, were conducted. Results indicate, after controlling for age and gender, the overall model accounted for a significant proportion of the variance (adjusted R2 = .39) in self-efficacy for managing chronic disease, F (6, 50) = 5.80, p < .01. Both subscales of mindfulness were significantly related to self-efficacy. However, observing was negatively, associated with SEMCD (β = -0.44, p < .05), and describing was positively associated with self-efficacy (β = 0.60, p < .01). As a result, incorporating these mindfulness skills into self-efficacy based self-management programs may greatly improve self-management, thus positively influencing psychological and physiological health outcomes that are essential to the health and wellbeing of people living with HIV/AIDS. Future research should investigate methods of manipulating observing and describing, and determine what proficiency in these skills is most beneficial to improve self-efficacy.

This study is an investigation of the theoretical accounting viewpoints and the accounting procedures used in business practice for the origination and administration of a self-insurance program. The purpose of this study is to compare the correct theoretical accounting procedures for self-insurance planning with those used in practice today.

Despite good intentions, people often encounter challenges and obstacles in pursuit of their goals. The types of difficulties people experience each day have been well-documented (e.g., desires and temptations, resource depletion, social influences). However, despite these difficulties, some people are still able to attain their goals. Research on self-determination theory (Ryan & Deci, 2000) suggests that relative autonomous motivation (RAM) may explain inter-individual (and intra-individual) differences in effort and persistence when self-regulation is difficult (e.g., Ntoumanis et al., 2014). In two manuscripts, a series of daily diary designs are used to examine the role of motivation when self-regulation is difficult. The first focuses on the role of RAM during goal striving in a healthy eating across each day (Study 1) and during lunches (Study 2). These studies provide some evidence that students with higher (vs. lower) RAM are more likely to attain more difficult healthy eating goals, which may be due to perceiving fewer obstacles in pursuit of these goals, or through the use of more effective (i.e., approach-based) strategies. Then, the second manuscript involves undergraduate students enrolled in online (Study 1) and in-person classes (Study 2) during the Covid-19 pandemic, and focuses on how their situational motivation to do schoolwork may be impacted when they experience motivational interference. Mixed findings emerged regarding the impact of motivational interference on students’ situational motivation but further evidence highlighted the protective effects of RAM when interference occurred. Taken together, these manuscripts contribute to a growing body of research on the study of self-regulation in daily life and on the role of RAM when difficulties arise. / Graduate / 2022-12-14