Thesis (Ph.D.)--Boston University / The purpose of this dissertation is to understand the Christian conception of sin through the disciplines of theology and psychology. The method of correlation is used in order that the distinctive nature of each discipline can be retained while the insight of one discipline, psychology, can be used to illuminate a theological concept, sin. The basic elements of a Christian view of sin are discovered through a historical survey of the writings of eight theologians. From this, sin is defined as the universal and inevitable non-recognition, denial, or defiance by man of the life-giving dependent relationship of man upon God. This non-recognition, denial, or defiance is predicted in the conditions of existence and brings about a disruption of the man-God relationship. In this disruption man disobeys Fod and is unable to become what God intended him to be. Unbelief is the core element of the disruption and it evaluates in rebellion, pride, and concupiscence [TRUNCATED]

Despite research documenting the association between shame and aspects of poor psychological functioning, shame's adverse effects have remained largely invisible in modern societies. Shame has been described as the "attachment emotion" (Lewis, 1980), yet, there is little research that examines the relationship between attachment style and shame, and conclusions from this research are tempered by methodological limitations. The current study aimed to address methodological limitations with a quasi-experimental design and employed measures of state and trait shame, shame coping styles, an Emotional Stroop task for assessing implicit shame, and a shame mood induction procedure (MIP). This methodology provided a basis to examine differences by attachment style for 271 university students in state, trait, and implicit shame, as well as the use of maladaptive shame coping styles at baseline and following a shame MIP. Additionally, a qualitative analysis of the shame MIP written responses was conducted to provide a more nuanced understanding of the task used to elicit feelings of shame and individual differences in events identified as shame-triggering. Results revealed that students evidencing an insecure attachment style (i.e., preoccupied, fearful, or dismissive). reported significantly more state and trait shame compared to students evidencing a secure attachment style after the shame MIP. Individuals with an insecure attachment also demonstrated significant increases in state shame from baseline to post-MIP. Additionally, students with a preoccupied or fearful attachment style were also significantly more likely to endorse utilizing maladaptive shame coping strategies compared to students with a secure attachment style. Clinical implications, limitations, and future research directions are discussed.

Gender differences are frequently revealed on the popular TOSCA-2 measure of guilt- and shame-proneness. These gender differences could reflect biases in the eliciting conditions that participants evaluate and confounds between them. A new instrument, the Gender Relevant Test of Self-Conscious Affect (GR-TOSCA), was developed to eliminate these confounds, thereby introducing a gender-sensitive, and therefore more valid, measure of guilt and shame proneness. The psychometric integrity of the new instrument, hypotheses regarding condition-specific gender differences in the two emotions, and relationships of guilt- and shame-proneness scores to gender role endorsement were examined in a sample of undergraduate students (93 men and 109 women). Encouraging evidence was produced for the reliability and validity of the GR-TOSCA, but the hypothesized gender differences in guilt and shame proneness were not found. Several possibilities for these results are explored, including the possibility of biases in the research procedure.

The purpose of this study was to examine the role played by gender in the relationship between the degree of depressive symptomatology and levels of adaptive guilt-, maladaptive guilt-, and shame-proneness in a college population. A measure of depressive symptomatology (the Beck Depression Inventory) and a measure of guilt- and shame-proneness (the Self-Conscious Affect and Attribution Inventory - Revised) were administered to 299 college students (113 males and 186 females). Females reported higher total levels of depressive symptomatology than males. Statistically significant gender differences were found for nine BDI items. Females also had higher levels of adaptive guilt-, maladaptive guilt-, and shame-proneness. However, correlations among the three emotion variables and levels of depressive symptomatology were generally low, and the correlations for males were higher than those for females. The percentage of variance in depression accounted for by the emotion variables was also low. However, the hypothesized relationships were found in preliminary results from the 19 subjects with depression scores greater than 18, and implications for future research were discussed. The results were compared to past research on gender differences in depression in college populations, as well as previous research relating guilt- and shame-proneness to depression. The socialization of gender differences in guilt- and shame-proneness was also discussed.

Magister Artium - MA / This mini-thesis explores the poetic journey toward the subconscious images of an individual’s memory. It comprises a collection of 35 authentic poems and a reflective essay that examines the uncovering during the creative process. The project explores opposites and dualities of the mindroom and examines the concept of a hypothetical door as a mechanism to reveal archetypal patterns through memory.

No description available.

This thesis examines the role of “the frolic” in Frances Burney’s Camilla. Frolics take the form of light-hearted pranks centered on ritualized public humiliation; they are comically framed and particularly painful, encouraging a discussion about the ethics of laughter and the dynamics of power operating in both Camilla and Burney’s world. The purpose of this study is twofold: firstly, this project seeks to qualify current emphasis on politeness in the eighteenth century by tracing a history of violent comedy, engaging with jestbook humour, print culture, conduct literature and theorists such as Fielding, Hobbes, Smith and Locke. This study suggests that Camilla responds to popular debates about laughter and propriety, pushing the boundaries of comic acceptability with violent pranks and the use of animal and deformity humour. Secondly, this study explores the structure of the frolic itself, its function as a system of domination and control. The prankster, a socially transgressive figure able to displace the rules governing propriety through a prank, is also a social tyrant – seizing complete control over others, causing humiliation and shame. The frolic is based on plotting, secrecy, deception and public exposure, and Burney aligns the prankster with other transgressive figures in the novel, such as guardians and mentors, who exert the same type of power over the vulnerable and the weak. Burney’s pranks bring as much pain as they do laughter, becoming an important satiric device that explores both the politics of laughter and the social forces at work in her novel. / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA)

This thesis will examine the ways in which Palestinian women in Ramallah experience and think about shame (eib). I will approach this topic with the intention of complicating the traditional anthropological narrative regarding the honor/shame dichotomy. Within studies focused on honor and shame in the Middle East, anthropologists have examined the ways that honor and shame impact men and women (Abu-Lughod 1986; Baxter 2007; Glick et.al. 2016; Harik & Marston 1996; Kanaaneh 2002; Rasmussen 2007; Zoepf 2016), yet rarely are the two concepts, especially shame, examined independently. Overarchingly, I wish to understand what Palestinian women in Ramallah think about shame, how shame manifests in their daily lives, how it is enforced, and how and why shame ideologies have shifted across generations of Palestinian women.

No description available.

Background Shame is a powerful emotion involved in a wide variety of phenomena including psychopathology. The propensity to react with shame to situations of transgression is formed early in life, but the processes by which elevated shame-proneness causes higher levels of psychological distress and functional impairment in some people rather than in others is as yet poorly understood. Objectives The main objective of this thesis was to further elucidate these processes by investigating the implications for shame states, guilt, general coping strategies, attachment styles, and shame-related coping in this context, as well as to evaluate an assessment method for shame-proneness. Methods The self-report questionnaires Test of Self-Conscious Affect (TOSCA), Compass of Shame Scale (CoSS-5), Harvard Trauma Questionnaire (HTQ), Ways of Coping Questionnaire (WCQ), Attachment Style Questionnaire (ASQ), Symptom Checklist 90 (SCL-90), and an interview measure for event-related shame and guilt were used for assessment in adult normative, healthy-only, crime victim, and patient samples (n=25-361). A combination of uni- and bivariate approaches and multivariate soft and hard modeling approaches were used for statistical analysis. Results Paper I showed that the TOSCA could be used as a reliable measure for shame-proneness. Paper II showed that guilt was unrelated to post-victimization distress. Elevated shame-proneness was related to higher levels of post-victimization distress. This effect was partially mediated by event-related shame. Paper III showed that in CFS patients, higher levels of shame-proneness, escape-avoidance, and accepting responsibility coping contributed to elevated levels of psychological distress. Seeking support, positive reappraisal coping, and proneness to detachment contributed in the opposite direction. These relationships were weaker in the comparison groups. Paper IV showed that shame-proneness was associated with secure attachment style in a negative direction. Higher levels of secure attachment style contributed to lower levels of psychological distress, whereas shame-proneness, insecure attachment styles and withdrawal, attack self, and attack other shame coping strategies contributed in the opposite direction. There were mean differences between women and men regarding most of the variables, butiithe relationships between variables did not differ between men and women. Conclusions The association between shame-proneness and psycho-logical distress seem to involve a complex balancing act between motives toward preserving close relationships and protecting a relatively positive sense of self. If others are perceived as trustworthy and compassionate and are utilized for support in times of need, the effects of shame-proneness may be less debilitating, whereas if others are perceived as distancing or disapproving, and life stress and social transgressions are managed by escape strategies, social withdrawal, self-blame or by transferring blame onto others, the distress effects become more severe. The inner psychodynamics of these functional patterns seem to be rather similar in women and men.