Nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) is prevalent among young adults, and is associated with increased suicide risk. The self-punishment hypothesis theorizes that individuals who are highly self-critical may engage in NSSI due to finding the experience of pain as ego-syntonic. Although evidence links self-critical views to NSSI, minimal research has examined how these views are influenced by more proximal social stressors, such as peer criticism, to trigger NSSI urges. The current study addresses the following questions: (1) Will the effects of recalled peer criticism (vs. praise and a neutral interaction) on pain endurance (a proxy measure for NSSI urges) and self-reported NSSI urges be moderated by group status (i.e., whether or not an individual has a history of NSSI)? We hypothesized that group status would moderate the effects of recalled peer criticism on pain endurance and NSSI urges, such that the relationships between these constructs would be stronger among the NSSI group vs. the no NSSI group; (2) If these interaction effects are present, will they be mediated by self-critical views? We hypothesized that the interaction between group status and peer criticism on pain endurance and NSSI urges would decrease in magnitude after accounting for self-critical views. Participants were 137 young adult women with either a recent or recurrent history of NSSI (n = 79) or no NSSI history (n = 58). Idiographic scripts of a recalled peer interaction involving critical, praising, or neutral feedback were used as the experimental manipulation, and measures of pain endurance (via a pressure algometer) and self-reported NSSI urges were administered at baseline and post-manipulation. The NSSI group demonstrated marginally higher pain endurance and stronger self-critical views than the control group. The overall effects of recalled peer criticism were not moderated by group status in predicting pain endurance or NSSI urges. Exploratory pairwise comparisons revealed that those in the NSSI group who received criticism (vs. the other conditions) demonstrated a significant increase in NSSI urges. Findings highlight peer criticism as one context in which risk for NSSI urges may be elevated among those with a history of NSSI, and underscore self-critical views as an important intervention target.

Denna studie behandlar företags köp av social feedback inom sociala medier. Vi har sett att flera aktörer väljer att köpa tjänster som ger sken av att de har ett stort antal anhängare. Det är även möjligt att köpa uppmärksamhet i hopp om att få synas framför miljontals användare och vi har undersökt om de gör rätt i att göra så. Vi har med hjälp av två exempel där en lyckad viral spridning genomförts och en enkätundersökning, granskat vad den allmänna åsikten är kring höga antalet anhängare. Spelar det någon roll för deras intresse kring företagen eller deras produkter? På så sätt kan vi se huruvida de aktörer som köper Likes och Followers gör rätt eller fel. Företagen hoppas på flera anhängare, större spridning och vi kan med vår undersökning se ifall våra respondenter är mottagliga för deras strategi. Det essentiella i vår undersökning är således tekniken som gör det möjligt för företagen att bland annat köpa falska konton som vilseleder användare genom att öka antalet Likes och Followers på Facebook-sidor och Twitter-konton. Vi kan genom vår granskning se att användarna bland sociala medier använder företagens höga antal anhängare som någon form av tillit till att sidan eller produkten de tittar på är bekräftad från officiellt håll. / This study deals with corporate purchase of social feedback in social media. We have seen that many companies choose to buy services that give the impression that they have a large number of followers. It is also possible to purchase attention, hoping to be seen in front of millions of users, and we have investigated if they are right to do so. We have used two examples of a successful viral campaign and a survey to examin what the general opinion is about company’s high number of social media followers. Does it matter for their interest in the companies or their products? That way we can see whether the corporations who are buying Likes and Followers are doing it rightfully or not. Companies hope for increasing numbers of followers, a larger spreading and with our investigation we are able to see if our respondents are receptive to their strategy. The essence in our study is thus the technology that makes it possible for companies to purchase fake accounts to mislead users by increasing the number of Likes and Followers on Facebook pages and Twitter accounts. We can, through our examination, see that users among social media use the high number of followers as some sort of self-assurance that company pages or the product they are looking for is officially confirmed.

No description available.

abstract: My research is motivated by a rule of thumb that no matter how well a system is designed, some actors fail to fulfill the behavior which is needed to sustain the system. Examples of misbehavior are shirking, rule infraction, and free riding. With a focus on social-ecological systems, this thesis explored the effectiveness of social feedback mechanisms driven by the two available individual options: the exit option is defined as any response to escape from an objectionable state of affairs; and the voice option as any attempt to stay put and improve the state. Using a stylized dynamic model, the first study investigates how the coexistence of participatory and groundwater market institutions affects government-managed irrigation systems. My findings suggest that patterns of bureaucratic reactions to exit (using private tubewells) and voice (putting pressure on irrigation bureaus) are critical to shaping system dynamics. I also found that the silence option – neither exit nor voice – can impede a further improvement in public infrastructure, but in some cases, can improve public infrastructure dramatically. Using a qualitative comparative analysis of 30 self-governing fishing groups in South Korea, the second study examines how resource mobility, group size, and Ostrom’s Design Principles for rule enforcement can co-determine the effectiveness of the voice option in self-controlling rule infractions. Results suggest that the informal mechanism for conflict resolution is a necessary condition for successful self-governance of local fisheries and that even if rules for monitoring and graduated sanctions are not in use, groups can be successful when they harvest only stationary resources. Using an agent-based model of public good provision, the third study explores under what socioeconomic conditions the exit option – neither producing nor consuming collective benefits – can work effectively to enhance levels of cooperation. The model results suggest that the exit option contributes to the spread of cooperators in mid- and large-size groups at the moderate level of exit payoff, given that group interaction occurs to increase the number of cooperators. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Environmental Social Science 2020