Individuals who are members of stigmatized groups, such as lesbians, gays, and bisexuals, have cognitive deficits in situations that are threatening or hostile to the group in question. Stereotype threat and stigma threat research suggests these cognitive deficits occur in people who identify with stigmatized groups as a result of anxiety. Yet regulating impulses may also create cognitive deficits because it is effortful and diminishes the ability to perform cognitive tasks. This study investigates whether the regulation of undesired sexual impulses causes cognitive deficits in threatening situations even in people who do not identify with a stigmatized group. An implicit measure of sexual attraction to the same gender was administered to participants who self-identified as heterosexual (n = 317). Sexual impulses were primed by asking participants to write about an attractive person of the same or opposite sex or a neutral object. An interaction was found between implicit same sex attraction and the salience of same sex attraction in predicting self-control performance. Participants with a higher level of implicit same sex attraction performed worse on a self-control task after writing about the attractiveness of a same sex person. People with implicit same sex attraction who identify as heterosexual may have more difficulty with tasks requiring self-control or regulatory abilities as well as worse performance outcomes in work and school settings.

From the Chou Dynasty, China expands the south part. At the point of the process of expansion, the frontier and boundary of China changing frequently. This study discusses China¡¦s policy toward frontier and boundary based on the control power of empire center. The history had identified that any nations never had stable boundary. This study explains the making and changing of frontier and boundary, and the impact of geography on the design of national security strategy. This treatise focuses on geography, national organizations and international threats, and result defense, offense and deterrent national style. In this research, I divided the changing process o China¡¦s frontier and boundary into expansion system, dominant system, guard system and buffer system. <p> Our object is to trace the territorial expansion of China from imperial to present the modern nations. This treatise regards the southern expansion of China from the geography standpoint only, not from history, as I understand the word, being both a philosophy of history and a theory of frontiers. China had been a empire, city-state or political system that different from western civilization, and Welpolitik. <p> This treatise, in short, is a contribution to the geography of China state. The policy of China southern expansion shows not only horizontal expansion via military force, but also vertical expansion through economic and administration capability, especially agricultural development. In this research, I illustrate history comparative approach on the south China¡¦s the frontiers and boundary and use an expanded version of military geographic analysis for the organizing framework. First, the gain of earth means that the rulers should invest administration and military resources. Besides, to maintain expansion also means enough domestic economic resources. Second, the increase power means the increase the relative power and nation will raise the status of international system. Rather, it was a conflict internal to the Sinocentric world system. Third, the increase of power means that more geographic ambition. With the expansion of geography, China can not maintain newly occupied territorial order. The result is China most withdraw troops from the southern boundary and carry out tribute system. The tribute system is manage its relationship with countries that did not belong to the China Empire but surrounded it as the nearest neighbours. China uses military forces upon controlled frontiers and use cooperation policy upon the nearest neighbours that as China confronted with limited military forces.

The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a series of the ¡§Gender Stereotype Threat Inventory¡¨(GSTI) of junior high school students in science classroom. The GSTI was included three scales: domain indentification, gender stereotype and learning environment. The GSTI was conducted to a total of 640 8th graders in Kaohsiung city. Results of the study were employed for internal consistency analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, Rasch modeling analysis, as well as the multiple invariance approach to test its reliability and validity. The result manifested that each scale had reasonable coefficient Cronbach alpha ranging from .73 to .85 and the overall model fit indices indicated that model fitted the oberserved data and had cross-validation. Finally, the results of gender stereotype threat in science classroom and implications for using the GSTI inventory in future research are presented.

The current study evaluated individual differences in factors that both facilitate (narcissism) and inhibit (self-regulation) the expression of aggression upon provocation. The overarching goal of the study was to examine the integration of two models of aggression: the threatened egotism model and the self-regulation model. An undergraduate sample of participants (N=323) were assigned to receive either positive or negative (provocative) feedback from a fictitious opponent. After receipt of the feedback a competitive reaction time task, in which the participant was allowed to subject the ostensible opponent to sound lasts of white noise, was employed as a behavioural measure of aggression. Consistent with previous research, negative feedback elicited aggression compared to positive feedback, especially among narcissistic males compared to females. Self-regulation was assessed using a battery of executive functioning measures. Results indicated that males with higher perseveration were more aggressive in the negative feedback condition. When the influence of narcissism and self-regulation were assessed simultaneously, a moderating model (i.e., narcissism X self-regulation) was not supported but there was evidence in support of an additive model for males only. Self-regulation predicted a unique portion of variance in aggression (7%) over an above the variance accounted for by narcissism (16%) for males who received negative feedback. These results are discussed in terms of a risk factor model for aggression.

Integrating research on attachment anxiety, rejection, self-regulation and health behaviours, I investigated the interactive effect of attachment anxiety and relationship threat on self-regulation. I hypothesized that self-regulation would decrease following a threat to one’s romantic relationship. Moreover, I expected that this association would be moderated by attachment anxiety, such that it would be stronger for individuals high, relative to low, in attachment anxiety. In three laboratory experiments, relationship threat was made salient and participants were given the opportunity to consume snack foods. In a non-experimental diary study, participants’ relationship stress and health behaviours were measured for a period of seven days. The results for Study 1 indicated that women, but not men, high in attachment anxiety experienced self-regulation failure (i.e., ate more jelly beans) when relationship threat was elicited. In contrast, although women low in attachment anxiety demonstrated the same pattern, it was attenuated and non-significant. Study 2 was designed to replicate the findings from Study 1 using a more powerful relationship threat manipulation that I hoped would cause a consistent pattern for both genders. Contrary to hypotheses, both men and women high in attachment anxiety experienced increased self-regulation (i.e., ate fewer brownie pieces) in the experimental, compared to the control, condition. One important difference between these studies was the presence of the partner in the laboratory in Study 2. I hypothesized that this might account for the discrepant findings between these studies and designed Study 3 accordingly, such that participants either participated alone or with their partners. Unfortunately, this study did not reconcile the discrepancies between the first two studies: Only a main effect of relationship threat on number of jelly beans consumed emerged. For Study 4, individuals completed questionnaires for seven days that assessed how fluctuations in relationship stress interacted with attachment anxiety to affect health outcomes. Analyses of the same-day and lagged effects demonstrated several significant interactions consistent with the hypotheses. These four studies provide initial evidence for the interactive effect between attachment anxiety and relationship stress on health outcomes and well-being. Although the findings were inconsistent, two of the studies provided support for my hypotheses. / Thesis (Ph.D, Psychology) -- Queen's University, 2010-08-17 21:23:46.461

The current study was conducted to investigate whether gender and physical attractiveness of face primes had any effect on subsequent categorization of weapons and non-weapons by participants. In Study 1 participants were required to rate a set of face photos of men and women on their level of at-tractiveness and also how threatening they perceived them to be. These photos were used for Study 2 as primes paired with weapons and non-weapons. One hundred and ten University of Canterbury students were required to categorise weapons from non-weapons after primed faces appeared on a computer screen. Adapted from the ‘shooter paradigm’ and priming studies, this aimed to discover participant’s stereotypes when threat is involved. Specifically, it aimed to assess people’s susceptibility to perceive a non-threatening item as a threat. Three possible theories are presented to explain the findings – the halo effect, the evolutionary intra-sexual competition theory, and the arousal theory. The results of study 1 indicated that there is a negative correlation between physical attractiveness and threat, such that as a target’s physical attractiveness increases their perceived level of threat decreases, suggesting the existence of an overall halo effect (attractive people are non-threatening). The results of study 2 revealed an impact of female primes (in particular attractive female primes) on males’ misclassification of non-weapons. There was no effect found of the primes on females’ classifications. An arousal theory is used to explain this differential response. The results are discussed in terms of implications for the real-world and limitations of the study are outlined and suggestions are made regarding future research.

Relative autonomy describes the degree to which people connect their actions to internal values and goals, rather than external standards and expectations (Deci & Ryan, 2000). The present research examined how relative autonomy moderates defensive responses to psychological threats. The first set of studies compared the effects of negative performance feedback to negative feedback about internal aspects of the self (i.e., motivation). The latter threat was expected to be more self-relevant to higher than lower autonomy individuals, who typically do not react defensively to performance threats. In Study 1 (N = 106), having a more autonomous disposition predicted decreased positive affect in neutral and performance threat conditions, but not under motivation threat. In Study 2 (N = 165), participants having a more autonomous disposition showed a consistent desire to engage in intrinsic pursuits across all conditions, but a decreased interest in extrinsic pursuits when threatened. The second set of studies aimed to expand the spectrum of threat-responses to determine whether autonomy would predict greater commitment toward personal goals upon exposure to universally relevant threats (i.e., mortality salience, relational threat). Results of Study 3 (N =120) suggested that more autonomous participants reacted to the threat of mortality (i.e., thinking about their own demise) by planning for future goals and maintaining positive affect. Study 4 (N = 122) compared positive with negative relationship feedback and revealed that participants higher in autonomy were increasingly likely to agree with positive, and disagree with negative, feedback. Additionally, autonomy predicted consistent positive affect and sustained engagement with intrinsic pursuits. In sum, compared with individuals lower in autonomy, those higher in autonomy displayed more positive affect and eagerness to accept positive feedback under a variety of threats, including threats to motivation, relational need satisfaction, and existence as an individual. More autonomous participants distinguished themselves from less autonomous participants by sustaining their interest in existing pursuits and selectively disengaging from less intrinsic activities. Expanding on existing self-determination theory research, these results suggest that a more autonomous disposition relates to greater positivity overall and to a tendency to react to threat with focus on and discernment among personal goals.

Patriotism is an important value in American culture. Patriotism has obvious benefits such as increasing civic unity; however, researchers have acknowledged that it can take both positive and negative forms. Schatz (1994) developed the concepts of blind and constructive patriotism to characterize this difference. The current study, based on previous research linking blind patriotism and stereotyping to RWA and threat, predicted that blind patriotism would be related to increased stereotyping of African Americans, gay men, and lesbians while constructive patriotism would not. It was also predicted this relationship would be mediated by RWA, SDO, and threat. Results generally supported these predictions; blind patriotism was related to increased stereotyping and this relationship was largely mediated by RWA, SDO, and threat. Interestingly, constructive patriotism was also found to be related to increased stereotyping although this relationship was not mediated by RWA, SDO, and threat. / Department of Psychological Science

This work intends to be an application and understanding of the Christian just war tradition as it pertains to the actions of the United States government in Iraq. It includes a short history of the evolution of the tradition, the application and discussion of the three most controversial criterion, and a discussion of how the terror attacks on the World Trade Center may constitute a pre-emptive strike. Essentially, the piece endeavors to explore how untested, unseen dangers drive a government to act for the defense of its citizens and their way of life. The theory draws heavily on Michael Walzer’s invention of the concept of “supreme emergency” which allowed for exceptional actions during war if a people’s entire way of life is threatened.

The purpose of my dissertation was to examine whether adult romantic attachment and interpersonal threat bias people’s perceptions of physical distance within a social context. Across three separate studies, I assessed the interactive effects of attachment anxiety, attachment avoidance, and threat on perceptions of distance. In the baseline (control) condition, I predicted that people higher in attachment anxiety would perceive greater interpersonal closeness than people lower in attachment anxiety. However, in the threat condition, I predicted that this perceptual difference would disappear or, alternatively, that people higher in attachment anxiety would perceive greater interpersonal distance than people lower in attachment anxiety. Furthermore, I hypothesized that higher levels of attachment avoidance would be associated with greater perceptions of physical distance regardless of condition. In Study One, I used a loneliness prime and measured attachment orientation to examine their influence on the strength of the tendency to perceive an ambiguous, computerized figure as walking toward oneself. In Study Two, I investigated how attachment and the threat of separation affected estimations of physical distance from one’s romantic partner who was standing relatively close by. In the third and final study, I examined the impact of attachment and separation threat on perceptions of physical distance from one’s romantic partner when the partner was absent and imagined to be in another city. A meta-analysis of the experiments revealed that the influence of attachment anxiety on distance perception was not only dependent on condition, but also on attachment avoidance. Specifically, for people high in attachment avoidance in the control condition, higher attachment anxiety was associated with smaller perceptions of distance. In contrast, for people high in attachment avoidance in the threat condition, higher attachment anxiety was associated with greater perceptions of distance. For people low in attachment avoidance in both conditions, attachment anxiety did not predict distance perception. This pattern is partially consistent with, but also more complicated than, my original predictions. Explanations for the findings are discussed as well as future directions for investigation. Additionally, the important implications of this research for real-life interactions and, ultimately, the development and maintenance of attachment orientation are explored. / Thesis (Ph.D, Psychology) -- Queen's University, 2014-04-21 12:36:58.104