The aim of this study was to examine the relations between sense of coherence (SOC), perceived social support and mood, the study also included gender and civil status in the analysis. In the analysis mood was the dependent variable. The study included 81 respondents, all students from Växjö university, who answered a survey with three parts: SOC 13, Mood Adjective Checklist (MACL), and an own constructed instrument that measured perceived social support. The result showed that those with a high SOC tended to have a greater mood. High scores on perceived social support also were related to a greater mood. No significant interaction effects was found between SOC and perceived social support. In the whole sample SOC was the strongest predictor for MACL. Women reported higher social support from friends than men, but this variable had no effect on women’s MACL. Among men the perceived social support from friends was the strongest predictor for MACL.

While a vast amount of research in marketing has examined how information prior to purchase helps consumers to make purchase decisions, relatively little work has considered how marketers can increase the value consumers derive from subsequent experiences using this information. This dissertation develops a construct called "experiential preparation" that describes how consumers can increase the hedonic benefit of their experiences. This dissertation defines "experiential preparation" as any mechanism that allows consumers to familiarize themselves with upcoming experiences in advance of consumption, while the "preparation effect" refers to the increase in liking for an event due to experiential preparation.In a series of ten experimental studies this dissertation demonstrates that experiential preparation increases satisfaction, particularly where the respondent is in a positive mood. It also identifies the primary mechanism through which experiential preparation works, showing that increased satisfaction is fully mediated by fluency. These effects occurred across a range of experiences and modes of preparation. In all the studies, participants viewed feature-length and short, films and read short stories. Participants who engaged in experiential preparation received previews in the form of plot summaries or actual excerpts from the films and stories. In all studies, participants reported their enjoyment for the experiences, and, in several studies additional preference measures were collected. Finally, measures were developed to test for the ways in which fluency mediates and positive moods moderate the preparation effect.This dissertation is organized in three chapters. In Chapter One, experiential preparation and the preparation effect are defined, and background literature is discussed. Chapter Two analyses the results of the ten studies thematically around various mechanisms, some of which have a significant impact on the preparation effect, and some, little impact. Chapter Three presents the studies' results in detail. / Dissertation

Cause-Related Marketing(CRM), which was initiated by American Express Company in 1981 to support the arts in San Francisco raising fund. Many academic researches have tried to discover the benefit and risk of CRM since 1990s. Print advertisement is a main channel for CRM. Therefore, how to structure CRM ads, especially for the focus of visual component, will be important in CRM campaigns. Based on previous studies relevant to charitable donations, this study compares the effects of cause-focused and product-focused CRM ads through experimental design method. In addition, donation magnitude and consumer mood are also considered to observe how they sway the effectiveness of CRM ads. The present study employs an experimental design to investigate the effects of the types of visual component (cause-focused vs. product-focused), donation magnitude (5% of invoice price vs. 20% of invoice price) and consumer mood (positive vs. negative) on CRM effectiveness. A 2x2x2 factorial design is conducted. Eight different scenarios are established and the ad effects are measured by purchase intention and attitude toward the brand. The results indicate that the cause-focused ads are more effective than the product-focused ads. Although donation magnitude does not make a difference in a cause-focused ad, but low donation magnitude leads to higher purchase intention when a product-focused ad is presented. Positive mood facilitates the advertising effects of cause-focused ads. Finally, low donation magnitude and positive mood enhance the advertising effects of product-focused ads. The implications of these findings are discussed as well as the limitations and directions for future research.

Over the years, multiple studies have been conducted to determine what influences writing. Through the studies, few concrete conclusions have been reached on why individuals write the way they do. Research on children has shown that reading does influence writing; however, there has been little research done on adults. Some research has been conducted on how emotions influence writing, but no solid consensus has been reached. This study asked a select group of agricultural journalism and communications student writers what they perceived influenced their writing. The results of this study have implications for the way agricultural journalism and communications students learn and are taught. The study may serve as a model for further research. The purposive sample was agricultural journalism and communications students who were selected by the lead instructor at their school. The instructors served as gatekeepers. Each U.S. university with an agricultural journalism and communications program was asked to participate. The study showed that respondents believe many things influence their writing, and the factor mentioned most was surroundings. Respondents also mentioned the things they read and the things they had written in the past as influencers of their writing. The following recommendations were made based on the findings and conclusions of this study. Researchers should continue to look at what writers believe influences their writing as a way to develop better writers. Instructors should focus on teaching students in various surroundings. Students should not be allowed to write only in the surrounding in which they feel the most comfortable. Research should be conducted to determine if what respondents perceive influences their writing truly does.

ABSTRACT WUTHERING HEIGHTS BY BRONT&Eacute / AND A HERO OF OUR TIME BY LERMONTOV Hacizade, G&uuml / nel M.A., Department of English Literature Supervisor: Dr. Deniz Arslan November 2008, 118 pages This study aims to make a comparative analysis of the Russian novelist Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov&rsquo / s A Hero of Our Time and the English novelist Emily Bront&eacute / &rsquo / s Wuthering Heights in the light of the narratological model introduced by G&eacute / rard Genette in Narrative Discourse. Through an analysis of the narrative methods employed in both A Hero of Our Time and Wuthering Heights, this study offers a discussion of the characterization of the protagonists, Pechorin and Heathcliff, who belong to different cultures and whose stories have nothing in common, and shows how similar narrative strategies used in both novels play an active role in the formation of similar character traits. Pechorin and Heathcliff are complex characters inspiring contradictory feelings, which is possible due to the complex mechanism provided by fractures in time, changes in distance and perspective, and multiple narrators. Both protagonists are superior in their passions and powers to the average man, but they do not possess heroic virtues. Lermontov and Bront&eacute / &rsquo / s characterizations of their protagonists create various reactions to and feelings about them in the reader. The reader becomes fascinated by the protagonists despite their repulsive deeds. The thesis presents the narratological analysis to find out whether similar narrative methods in their novels form similar character traits in the protagonists and to reveal the impact of these methods on the reader&rsquo / s reactions to the protagonists.

Thesis (M. S. in Psychology)--Vanderbilt University, May 2006. / Title from title screen. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of North Carolina at Wilmington, 2001. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves : 93-102).

published_or_final_version / Medical Sciences / Master / Master of Medical Sciences

Consistent with classical conditioning theories of drug use, previous research has demonstrated that presenting smokers with either exteroceptive (e.g., pictures of cigarettes) or interoceptive (e.g., negative affect) cues results in increased motivation to smoke, as measured by urge and smoking topography (e.g., shorter latency to begin smoking). However, few studies have presented both types of cues to determine whether and how they might interact in the production of smoking motivation, and little research has focused on identifying potential moderators of cue reactivity. In a randomized 2 x 2 crossed factorial between-subjects design, the current study tested whether an interoceptive cue (anxiety induced via a speech preparation task) and an exteroceptive cue (exposure to a lit cigarette) interacted in the production of urge and behavioral reactivity and whether the personality trait of impulsivity moderated these effects. Results indicated main effects but no interactive effects for the two cue types on self-reported urge, no main or interactive effects on smoking topography, and no moderating effects of impulsivity. However, impulsivity was significantly correlated with urge to smoke, self-reported negative affect, and expectancies that smoking relieves negative affect, suggesting that this trait plays an important role in continued tobacco use. Implications for future research on the relationship between impulsivity and smoking behavior are discussed.

Previous studies have sought to investigate the effects of rumination and distraction on social problem-solving, mood and confidence of dysphoric and depressed individuals. The current study is aimed at extending this literature by examining the effects of rumination on parental problem-solving, mood and problem-solving confidence among dysphoric post-natal women. Fifty-nine post-natal women took part in the study and were allocated to either the dysphoric or control group based upon the Edinburgh Post-natal Depression Scale (Cox, Holden & Sagovsky, 1987). Women were asked to complete measures of mood, confidence and four problem-solving tasks following a rumination or distraction mood induction. Results indicated that dysphoric post-natal women induced to ruminate showed poorer problemsolving and lower mood than dysphoric women induced to distract and non-dysphoric women induced to distract or ruminate. No significant differences were seen in reported confidence levels for dysphoric post-natal women induced to ruminate than dysphoric women induced to distract and non-dysphoric women induced to distract or ruminate. Consideration is given to the clinical implications of these findings as well as the limitations and possibilities for future research.