Theses and dissertations

This collection includes both ASU Theses and Dissertations, submitted by graduate students, and the Barrett, Honors College theses submitted by undergraduate students. 

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How Should I Sentence Her? It Depends on How Much She Is Worth to Me

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Previous studies exploring variability in sentencing decisions have consistently found gender differences, such that women receive lighter sentences than men. In the proposed study, I present a new framework for understanding gender differences in sentencing preferences, including circumstances under which no gender differences should emerge. The Affordance Management Approach suggests…

Previous studies exploring variability in sentencing decisions have consistently found gender differences, such that women receive lighter sentences than men. In the proposed study, I present a new framework for understanding gender differences in sentencing preferences, including circumstances under which no gender differences should emerge. The Affordance Management Approach suggests that our minds are attuned to both group- and individual-level threats and opportunities that others afford us. I conceptualize the sentencing difference between men and women as driven by perceived affordances that assist or hinder an individual in achieving certain fundamental goals. When faced with sanctioning an offender in our community, the offender's sex, the victim's age, and environmental variables such as the ratio of men to women may influence our decision-making, because these factors have affordance implications. Thus, I hypothesized that individuals will express differences in the sentencing of offenders who commit assault, and that these differences vary by offender sex, victim age, and sex-ratio. The results indicate that, as predicted, female offenders received lighter sentencing than men when the offender committed an assault against a same-sex adult, but received equally punitive sentences as men when the assault was committed against a child. In general, results do not support a consistent effect of sex ratio as a factor when making sentencing decisions. Although results do not fully support the current study's specific hypotheses, there remains much to be gained from applying an affordance management perspective to understanding variability in sentencing between the sexes.
ContributorsUzzanti, Charlene Ann (Author) / Neuberg, Steven (Thesis director) / Knight, George (Committee member) / Salerno, Jessica (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Criminology and Criminal Justice (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor)
Created2015-05

Honors Thesis: An Analysis on Violence, Adverse Childhood Experiences, and Stress Perception

Description

Background: ACEs has been associated with stress and violence in prior research. More research is needed to set up gender differences between males and females displaying violence and stress in response to ACEs. Objectives: This study investigated the effects of ACEs and gender on exhibited frequencies of violence and stress…

Background: ACEs has been associated with stress and violence in prior research. More research is needed to set up gender differences between males and females displaying violence and stress in response to ACEs. Objectives: This study investigated the effects of ACEs and gender on exhibited frequencies of violence and stress within youth. Methods: This study used descriptive statistics and regression to examine the relationships between gender and aces on violence and stress using data from the Arizona Youth Survey (AYS). Interactions were included to evaluate if gender moderated the effect of ACEs. Results: Analyses showed that ACEs significantly impacted youths’ engagement in violence and experiences of stress. Additionally, boys engaged in more violence while girls experienced increased stress. Interaction effects were not substantial as compared to the main effects of ACEs and gender. Conclusion: Given the results, youth interventions should focus on the overall impact of ACEs, regardless of gender.
ContributorsPark, Deborah (Author) / Pardini, Dustin (Thesis director) / Fine, Adam (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Criminology and Criminal Justice (Contributor)
Created2023-05

Park_Spring_2023.pdf

ContributorsPark, Deborah (Author) / Pardini, Dustin (Thesis director) / Fine, Adam (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Criminology and Criminal Justice (Contributor)
Created2023-05

Honors Thesis Presentation.pdf

ContributorsPark, Deborah (Author) / Pardini, Dustin (Thesis director) / Fine, Adam (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Criminology and Criminal Justice (Contributor)
Created2023-05