Research on consumer behavior shows that consumers tend to avoid products associated with dissociative groups (e.g. White and Dahl 2006). In this research, I show that stereotypes that associate products with dissociative groups can pose a threat to consumers, thus adversely affecting their performance when using these products. Results of this research suggest that consumers facing the threat of dissociative groups show low ability in using the products related to these groups. Specifically, they report low competence when using these products and shun opportunities to blame their poor performance on external or unstable barriers to success thus signaling that they have low ability regarding the use of these products. Assuring consumers that they do not belong to dissociative groups by acknowledging that they lack ability in the domains stereotypically related to these groups attenuates the effect of the threat thus enhancing performance. Results also show that stereotype threat created by dissociative groups is accompanied by a fear of rejection from one’s ingroup. A method that helps reduce fear of rejection (i.e. money priming) helps in attenuating the effect of the threat on performance.

Research on consumer behavior shows that consumers tend to avoid products associated with dissociative groups (e.g. White and Dahl 2006). In this research, I show that stereotypes that associate products with dissociative groups can pose a threat to consumers, thus adversely affecting their performance when using these products. Results of this research suggest that consumers facing the threat of dissociative groups show low ability in using the products related to these groups. Specifically, they report low competence when using these products and shun opportunities to blame their poor performance on external or unstable barriers to success thus signaling that they have low ability regarding the use of these products. Assuring consumers that they do not belong to dissociative groups by acknowledging that they lack ability in the domains stereotypically related to these groups attenuates the effect of the threat thus enhancing performance. Results also show that stereotype threat created by dissociative groups is accompanied by a fear of rejection from one’s ingroup. A method that helps reduce fear of rejection (i.e. money priming) helps in attenuating the effect of the threat on performance.

acase@tulane.edu / Two common metaphors can be used to spatially represent time: the ego-moving metaphor, wherein one sees themselves as moving forward in time past stationary objects; and the time-moving metaphor, wherein an individual perceives time moving toward them while they remain stationary. The way in which one conceives of time can influence the way events in time are perceived, and conversely, perceptions of events in time can influence the metaphor one adopts. Study 1 examined the influence of one's racial group membership on the time perspective one adopts. It was hypothesized that when considering a future where racial equality has been achieved, White Americans would be more likely to adopt a time-moving perspective, whereas Black Americans would be more likely to adopt an ego-moving perspective. Furthermore, this relation was hypothesized to be moderated by endorsement of group hierarchies. Results showed that participant race did influence time perspective-Black participants were more likely to adopt an ego moving time perspective than were White Participants. However, this effect was not moderated by social dominance orientation or by egalitarianism. Study 2 sought to build upon Study 1 by examining the consequences of adopting a particular time perspective for White Americans when considering racial equality. It was hypothesized that participants exposed to an ego-moving prime who are high in social dominance orientation would perceive more threat toward their ingroup than those who are exposed to a time-moving prime, and in turn impact policy support. A similar model was also examined with egalitarianism as a moderator. Evidence for moderated mediation was not found. Participants who were high in social dominance orientation were more likely to perceive threat to their ingroup and perceived threat did predict policy endorsement. Conversely, those who were high in egalitarianism perceived less threat to their group, and threat again predicted policy support. These findings suggest that an individual's perception of time can be influenced by their racial group membership. / 1 / Emily Shaffer

Research has argued that perfectionism, as well mood state, can serve to influence the type and amount of information that will be attended to and remembered in one’s surrounding environment. The purpose of the current study was to look at how mood and differing degrees of threat may influence the cognitive processes of individuals higher in perfectionism. Following completion of the perfectionism measures, 121 post-secondary students were exposed to a mood induction as well as a threat condition and then asked to complete three cognitive tasks – d2 test of attention, emotional Stroop, and a recognition task. Results indicated that perfectionism was associated with accuracy and reaction time and this impact differed based on mood and threat. Results also indicated individuals higher in perfectionism had a memory bias towards negative and perfectionistic content, reinforcing the idea that perfectionism has a distinctly cognitive component that impacts how an individual processes incoming information.

Individuals defend and rationalize social systems in order to maintain the belief that the world in which they live is fair and good. This justification often involves seeing intergroup inequality as legitimate and holding negative attitudes toward lower status groups. Although research on system justification is plentiful, the effects of perceived threat to the system on intergroup interaction behavior and dynamics have remained unexamined. With ethnic diversity increasing in North America, it is imperative that we understand the factors that promote more positive (and negative) intergroup interactions. Across three studies I examined individuals’ reactions to system threatening information versus low threat in the context of an intragroup or intergroup interaction. In general, priming dominant group members with system threat (versus low threat) led to less negative intergroup interaction behavior. Specifically, being primed with system unfairness led dominant group members in Study 1 to express more positive other-directed remarks during a written exchange with an ostensible outgroup member. Study 2, conducted with a different minority group than Study 1, found that dominant group members feel more guilt when interacting with minority group members versus members of their own group in the face of system threat. Finally, a face-to-face intergroup interaction study replicated the positive behavioral effects of salient system threat found in Study 1, this time manifest in increased nonverbal friendliness and self-disclosure for both pair members. These findings suggest that system threat instantiated in an interaction setting leads dominant group members toward exhibiting more positive behavior to minority group members that benefits both parties involved, rather than toward derogation. Implications for social change initiatives are discussed.

Individuals defend and rationalize social systems in order to maintain the belief that the world in which they live is fair and good. This justification often involves seeing intergroup inequality as legitimate and holding negative attitudes toward lower status groups. Although research on system justification is plentiful, the effects of perceived threat to the system on intergroup interaction behavior and dynamics have remained unexamined. With ethnic diversity increasing in North America, it is imperative that we understand the factors that promote more positive (and negative) intergroup interactions. Across three studies I examined individuals’ reactions to system threatening information versus low threat in the context of an intragroup or intergroup interaction. In general, priming dominant group members with system threat (versus low threat) led to less negative intergroup interaction behavior. Specifically, being primed with system unfairness led dominant group members in Study 1 to express more positive other-directed remarks during a written exchange with an ostensible outgroup member. Study 2, conducted with a different minority group than Study 1, found that dominant group members feel more guilt when interacting with minority group members versus members of their own group in the face of system threat. Finally, a face-to-face intergroup interaction study replicated the positive behavioral effects of salient system threat found in Study 1, this time manifest in increased nonverbal friendliness and self-disclosure for both pair members. These findings suggest that system threat instantiated in an interaction setting leads dominant group members toward exhibiting more positive behavior to minority group members that benefits both parties involved, rather than toward derogation. Implications for social change initiatives are discussed.

Prospective memory, memory to perform future intended actions, is an important component of independent living for older adults. The current study examined prospective memory performance in 120 adults (Young-Old; 45-64 years old and Old; 65 - 87 years old) using Virtual Week (Rendell & Craik, 2000; Rendell & Henry, 2009). Virtual week was used to assess performance for regular and irregular event based, regular and irregular time based, and time check prospective memory tasks. Prospective memory performance under conditions of stereotype threat, stereotype boost, and a neutral condition was also examined. Stereotype threat occurs when individuals fear their behavior will confirm a negative opinion regarding one’s in-group. Older adults completed fewer prospective memory tasks compared to participants in the Young-Old group. No effect of stereotype condition on completion of prospective memory tasks was observed. The implication that stereotype threat may influence memory systems differently, as well as the possible role of the positivity effect on performance is considered.

The postsecondary acts of violence at Virginia Technical University (VT) and Northern Illinois University (NIU) forced Illinois legislators to approve the Campus Security Enhancement Act in 2008 (110 ILCS 12/20). The Act requires all private and public postsecondary education institutions to develop a Campus Violence Prevention Plan (CVPP), as well as two multi-disciplinary groups to implement the plan and address behaviors of concern, a Campus Violence Prevention Committee (CVPC) and Threat Assessment Team (TAT) (CESA, 2008). Recent research has uncovered that several institutions within the state have not completed their CVPP and the Act has left some institutions unsure of which agency to report to and how to effectively develop and implement their CVPP (Gregory, 2012; Pawlowski & Manetti, 2011). This research study is the first investigation into the groundbreaking Illinois legislation. Utilizing a case study design, the purpose of the research study is to explore how three Illinois postsecondary institutions of similar Carnegie classifications created, implemented, assessed, and addressed challenges in developing their CVPP's. One-on-one interviews and document analysis were used to gather data. With-in case analysis and cross-case analysis were performed to generated research themes to answer the research questions. Four cross-case analysis themes were created to answer the corresponding research questions. Conclusions from this study may assist other Illinois postsecondary institutions in developing their CVPP's and decrease the likelihood of violence occurring in the postsecondary environment.

This thesis explores the effects of gender-based leader stereotypes on leader-follower relations in terms of the implications of shared identity between the leader and the followers (team and/or gender). Four experiments assessed followers’ attitudes toward their leaders when the leaders’ genders were under conditions of stereotype threat as compared to advantage (Studies 1 and 2), no-threat (Study 3) or control (Study 4). Experimental conditions were invoked using text-based stereotype manipulations. In Study 1 (where stereotypes favoured male leaders, thus implicitly representing threat for females) and Study 2 (where stereotypes manipulated advantage/threat for both genders), undergraduates in mixed-sex teams rated team leaders’ presentations. In Study 3, undergraduates in single-sex teams (under conditions of stereotype threat or no-threat) predicted their team leader’s performance, indicated leader-follower proximity (leader’s prototypicality, leader identification and collective threat), and reported perceived self-efficacy for leadership. Similar measures were obtained in Study 4, where corporate employees selected an effective leader from their work experience, prior to exposure to stereotype manipulations (threat or control). The student studies had three main findings. First, male leaders benefitted from the ratings of high team identifiers (a) in the context of male advantage/ female stereotype threat and (b) when males were under threat relative to the advantage condition. The benefit of team identification was not evident for female leaders. Second, male leaders benefitted from female followers’ ratings under threat compared to the advantage condition. In contrast, female leaders under stereotype threat were downgraded by female followers relative to advantage or no-threat conditions. Third, stereotype threat negatively affected high team identifiers’ self-efficacy for leadership. In the corporate study, male respondents’ choice of an effective leader was more likely to be a male whereas there was no gender difference in the leaders chosen by female respondents. Drawing on role congruity theory and a social identity framework, the thesis analyses and finds evidence suggesting that stereotype threat as collective threat contributed to followers’ relatively negative attitudes toward female leaders in terms of leader-follower relations.

Today cyber attacks, incidents, threats, and breaches continue to rise in scale and numbers, as sophisticated attackers continuously break through conventional safeguards each day. Whether strategic, operational, or tactical, threat intelligence can be defined as aggregated information and analytics that feed the different pillars of any given company’s cybersecurity infrastructure. It provides numerous benefits, enabling improved prediction and detection of threats, empowering and informing organizations to make better decisions during as well as following any cyber attack and aiding them to develop a proactive cyber security posture. It helps provide actionable intelligence, which equips senior management to make timely actions and decisions that might otherwise have an impact on the company’s ability to keep ahead and defend against this growing sea of threats. Driving momentum in this area also helps reduce their reaction times, enabling a shift for organizations to become more proactive than reactive. Perimeter defenses seem to no longer suffice as threats are becoming more complex and escalating with no best practices and guidelines available for companies to follow after, during, or before the time of the threat and risk due to the multiple components involved, including the various standards and platforms. Sharing and analyzing threat data effectively requires standard formats, protocols, shared understanding of the relevant terminology, purpose, and representation. Threat intelligence and its analysis are seen as a vital component of cyber security and a tool that many companies cannot leverage and utilize fully. Securing today's organizations and businesses, therefore, will require a new approach. In our study with security executives working across multiple industries, we have identified the various challenges that prevent the successful adoption of threat intelligence and with the rising adoption of the multiple platforms, including issues related to data quality, absence of universal standard format and protocol, challenge enforcing data sharing based on CTI data attribute, lack of authentication and confidentiality preventing data sharing, missing API integration capability in conjunction with multi-vendor tools, lack of identification of tacticalIOCs, failure to define TTL value(s), lack of deep automation, analytical and visualization capabilities. Ensuring the right expertise and capabilities in these identified areas will help leverage threat intelligence effectively, help to sharpen the focus, and provide the needed competitive edge.