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In a series of five studies, I used the Internet and computed-mediated technologies as tools to revisit the longstanding issue within the fields of personality and experimental social psychology: "person by context" interaction on social communicative behaviour. The effects of the personality trait of shyness were examined in visually anonymous and non-anonymous conditions to see if the interaction of the person and context influenced social communication. Participants were paired in dyads and instructed to converse using a text-based online Instant Messenger program. Dyads were randomly assigned to converse with webcams or without webcams. For some types of behaviour (e.g., self-disclosure), shyness and level of visual anonymity interacted (Studies 1 and 2). Shy individuals disclosed more personal information in a visually anonymous context than a visually non-anonymous context. For non-shy individuals, self-disclosure was not influenced by the context. For other types of behaviour (e.g., affective language), the effect of shyness was consistent across context. To determine the specificity of the shyness-anonymity interaction, other person-anonymity interactions were examined (e.g., self-esteem, loneliness, sex of the participants) (Studies 3 and 4). Finally, the influence of the shyness-anonymity interaction on social communicative behaviour was examined in a cooperative performance-related task (Study 5). These series of studies suggest that anonymity is a particularly salient contextual cue for shy individuals. Furthermore, the moderating effects of anonymity on shyness do not generalize to other characteristic of the person. Instead, anonymity moderates the other characteristics (e.g., self-esteem) uniquely. The present findings have theoretical implications to the study of person by context interactions by identifying how such interactions influence specific aspects of social communication. These findings also have practical or clinical implications. For example, the treatment of social difficulties related to high shyness, low self-esteem, or high loneliness, may involve specific treatment plans building off of modifications in anonymity. Shy individuals benefit from using the Internet as a social medium in which they can control the level of anonymity as is demonstrated by their bolder behaviour during visually-anonymous conversations. The present findings also suggest that the Internet and computer-mediated technologies can be used in novel ways to study longstanding questions in personality and experimental social psychology. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

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Suicide affects hundreds of thousands of people around the world each year. Despite many coordinated efforts to address this problem, in multiple domains, these numbers have risen over the last decade. The Interpersonal Theory of Suicide is a relatively recent theory that has received considerable attention and investigation. Perceived burdensomeness is one of the constructs from this theory. The belief that you are a burden on others is a robust predictor of suicidal ideation and, to a less understood extent, suicidal behavior. To my knowledge, few studies have looked at the factors that lead to perceived burdensomeness. This study was conducted to begin to address this gap in the literature. Attributional style, hopelessness, socially-prescribed perfectionism, and self-esteem were identified as potential vulnerability factors for perceived burdensomeness. One hundred twenty individuals were surveyed about these constructs and perceived burdensomeness. Participants were also asked to read three vignettes based on interviews with individuals with lived experiences related to suicide attempts. Following each vignette, participants were asked to report the level of perceived burdensomeness that they anticipated that they would feel in that situation as an additional analogue measure of perceived burdensomeness. It was found that attributional style, socially-prescribed perfectionism, and self-esteem predicted current levels of perceived burdensomeness. Self-esteem was the only variable that predicted analogue levels of perceived burdensomeness, beyond current levels of depression. This exploratory study has the potential to contribute to the literature by guiding and informing future research related to better understanding or reducing perceived burdensomeness.

Parental favoritism is the preference or perception of preference of a parent for one child over another. The present study examines parental favoritism as well as the effects perceived favoritism has on one's self-esteem and if the effects are based on birth order. Participants were 325 undergraduate college students enrolled in introductory level classes. The mean age of the participants was 21.4 with 60% being women and 40% being men. Participants completed a parental favoritism questionnaire developed by the experimenter which assessed if the participant thought his/herself to be favored by a parent compared to a sibling. Self-esteem was assessed by the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Inventory. Results indicated no statistically significant main effects or interactions for gender, birth order, or perception of favoritism based on self-esteem. Results also indicated that women perceive favoritism slightly more often than men. Critiques of the present study and implications for future research are also discussed.

Sexual minority individuals (lesbians, gay men, and bisexuals) suffer from stigmatization, or minority stress, which often predicts negative mental health outcomes and low self-esteem. However, specific dimensions of identity (e.g., centrality and regard) may buffer against these negative outcomes in racial minorities and other stigmatized groups, including sexual minorities. Indeed, research in other stigmatized populations has found evidence for the protective properties of identity. Yet, limited research has examined dimensions of identity that buffer or protect sexual minorities. This study aimed to explore the moderating role of identity characteristics in the relation between sexual stigma and mental health outcomes. Findings in a sample of 209 gay, lesbian, and bisexual individuals suggested that public stigma, centrality, and private regard predict psychological distress, but did not support a moderation model. Private regard emerged as a predictor of self-esteem as well. Additionally, centrality and public stigma interacted in such a way that those who reported higher centrality of sexual orientation identity did not report decrements to self-esteem in the face of public stigma to the same extent as those who reported lower centrality of sexual orientation identity. All of these suggest centrality and private regard as key factors in the psychological well-being of sexual minorities and should further be explored.

Sexual minority individuals (lesbians, gay men, and bisexuals) suffer from stigmatization, or minority stress, which often predicts negative mental health outcomes and low self-esteem. However, specific dimensions of identity (e.g., centrality and regard) may buffer against these negative outcomes in racial minorities and other stigmatized groups, including sexual minorities. Indeed, research in other stigmatized populations has found evidence for the protective properties of identity. Yet, limited research has examined dimensions of identity that buffer or protect sexual minorities. This study aimed to explore the moderating role of identity characteristics in the relation between sexual stigma and mental health outcomes. Findings in a sample of 209 gay, lesbian, and bisexual individuals suggested that public stigma, centrality, and private regard predict psychological distress, but did not support a moderation model. Private regard emerged as a predictor of self-esteem as well. Additionally, centrality and public stigma interacted in such a way that those who reported higher centrality of sexual orientation identity did not report decrements to self-esteem in the face of public stigma to the same extent as those who reported lower centrality of sexual orientation identity. All of these suggest centrality and private regard as key factors in the psychological well-being of sexual minorities and should further be explored.

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The purpose of the current study was to explore the direct and indirect influences of both paternal and maternal anxiety on adolescent self-esteem as mediated by parental criticism and autonomy allowance. Participants included 331 parent-child triads with a child between the ages of 12 and 15 from the Flourishing Families Project. Findings suggested that maternal anxiety had a significant negative influence on adolescent self-esteem while paternal anxiety did not. Also, the influence of maternal anxiety on adolescent self-esteem was carried directly rather than indirectly through autonomy allowance and parental criticism; however, this influence was only significant prior to adolescent gender comparisons. Furthermore, maternal autonomy allowance was positively associated with self-esteem for male adolescents with male self-esteem being more sensitive to maternal autonomy allowance than female self-esteem. In addition, maternal anxiety was associated with an increased use of parental criticism. For fathers, anxiety was associated with restricted autonomy allowance and increased use of parental criticism. Findings may be helpful to both parents and clinicians in identifying how parental anxiety influences parenting and adolescent self-esteem.