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- All Subjects: psychology
- All Subjects: Emotions
- Creators: Kenrick, Douglas T.
- Creators: Burleson, Mary H
- Member of: Theses and Dissertations
Description
An emerging body of literature suggests that humans likely have multiple threat avoidance systems that enable us to detect and avoid threats in our environment, such as disease threats and physical safety threats. These systems are presumed to be domain-specific, each handling one class of potential threats, and previous research generally supports this assumption. Previous research has not, however, directly tested the domain-specificity of disease avoidance and self-protection by showing that activating one threat management system does not lead to responses consistent only with a different threat management system. Here, the domain- specificity of the disease avoidance and self-protection systems is directly tested using the lexical decision task, a measure of stereotype accessibility, and the implicit association test. Results, although inconclusive, more strongly support a series of domain-specific threat management systems than a single, domain- general system
ContributorsAnderson, Uriah Steven (Author) / Kenrick, Douglas T. (Thesis advisor) / Shiota, Michelle N. (Committee member) / Neuberg, Steven L. (Committee member) / Becker, David V (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
Description
Psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES), is a conversion disorder thought to be linked to unresolved emotional distress. While some studies suggest that PNES patients do not attribute their somatic symptoms to severe psychological experiences (Stone, Binzer, & Sharpe, 2004; LaFrance & Barry, 2005), it is unclear what PNES patients do think causes their seizures, and the psychological consequences of those attributions. The aim of the present study was to investigate PNES patients' attributions for their seizures, and to determine how these attributions relate to stress and emotion regulation. It was hypothesized that participants who attribute their seizures to something (i.e., have an explanation for their seizures) will have lower perceived stress and less difficulty with emotion regulation than those who are unsure of the cause of their seizures. Twenty-four PNES participants completed a questionnaire assessing seizure diagnosis, characteristics of seizure impact, perceived stress, psychological symptoms, emotion regulation, attributions for seizures, and coping resources. Contrary to the hypothesis, having an explanation for seizures, rather than being “unsure” of seizure cause, was related to greater perceived stress. While it would seem that attributing unpredictable seizure events to a cause would lower perceived stress and emotion regulation difficulty, this study indicates that an attribution to an unknown cause may be more beneficial for the individual.
ContributorsBarker, Mallory (Author) / Roberts, Nicole A. (Thesis advisor) / Miller, Paul A. (Committee member) / Burleson, Mary H (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
Traditional perspectives on sexual prejudice typically focus on the distinction between heterosexual ingroup and homosexual outgroup. In contrast, I focus on an affordance-management paradigm which views prejudices as resulting not from ingroup/outgroup relations, but instead from perceptions of the threats and opportunities posed by members of different groups. Past research has demonstrated that non-heterosexual target groups are perceived to pose a variety of threats, including threats to the socialization of young children, of child molestation, of disease, and to values. My research, however, suggests sexual prejudices arise for college students from beliefs that certain sexual orientation groups pose threats of unwanted sexual interest. For young adults, mating concerns are salient and should define relevant threats and opportunities--including those that might drive prejudices. For individuals with different active motivations, however, different threats and opportunities and threats are salient, and so the threats driving sexual prejudices may also differ. I extend my past research to consider how activating different fundamental goals (e.g., disease avoidance, parenting) alters patterns of sexual prejudice. I posit that activating disease concerns will increase prejudice specifically toward non-heterosexuals associated with disease (gay and bisexual me)--but not other non-heterosexuals (lesbians and bisexual women)--whereas activating offspring care will increase prejudice toward all non-heterosexual target groups, as all are perceived to pose socialization threats. To test this, heterosexual participants were randomly assigned to a parenting or disease-avoidance goal activation, or control condition, and then rated their general negativity towards heterosexual, bisexual, and homosexual male and female targets. They also rated their perceptions of the extent to which each target posed unwanted sexual interest, socialization, and disease threats. Contrary to predictions, activating parenting and disease avoidance systems failed to affect sexual prejudices. Furthermore, although the pattern of observed data was largely consistent with previously observed patterns, women's attitudes towards gay men in the control condition were more negative than that found in previous studies, as were men's attitudes towards bisexual and lesbian women. Multiple mechanisms underlie sexual prejudices, and research is needed to better understand the circumstances under which alternative mechanisms are engaged and have their effects.
ContributorsPirlott, Angela (Author) / Neuberg, Steven L. (Thesis advisor) / Kenrick, Douglas T. (Committee member) / Mackinnon, David P. (Committee member) / Shiota, Michelle N. (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
The present study examined daily survey data collected from married couples over the course roughly 14 days. I investigated the relationships of the morning quality ratings of three distinct spousal interactions conversation (physical affection, and sexual activity) reported in mornings on later-day positive and negative affect, as well as next-day intensity of negative somatic symptoms (e.g. headaches, dizziness, aches and pains). Hierarchical linear modeling was used to estimate path models for both husbands and wives. Direct and indirect effects were observed. Results showed that quality of conversation and physical affection increased later-day positive mood for both husbands and wives; however, positive quality activity increased later-day positive affect for wives only. Quality of sexual activity decreased later-day negative affect for wives only. Less later-day negative affect decreased next-day intensity of symptoms for both husbands and wives. Lastly, quality of sexual activity decreased later-day negative affect, which decreased next-day somatic symptoms for wives. This was the only significant indirect effect. Implications are that high marital quality is important for maintaining psychological health for both spouses, and physical health, particularly for wives.
ContributorsVincelette, Tara (Author) / Burleson, Mary H (Thesis advisor) / Roberts, Nicole A. (Committee member) / Schweitzer, Nicholas J (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
As the world's resources face increasing pressure from a growing population, it is critical that psychologists understand the motivational processes that lead to cooperation or defection in the context of social dilemmas. Research has uncovered several key strategies for encouraging maintenance of these resources, however, one area that remains understudied is the effect various emotions may have on cooperation. Furthermore, it is important to consider the specific type of desired behavior: reduction of consumption of a shared resource, or increased contribution to a shared resource. The current study takes a step in this direction, examining the effects of two self-conscious emotions, guilt and pride, on behavior in two different kinds of social dilemmas. Guilt, a prosocial emotion that has been described as a "behavioral interrupt mechanism," is predicted to increase cooperation in both a social trap game and a public goods dilemma game. However, its effects should be strongest in the social trap game, in which the desired behavior is reduced consumption. Pride, an emotion that is conceptually related to the constructs of status and power, is predicted to motivate action in both domains, by increasing both consumption in the social trap game and contribution in the public goods dilemma game. Results partially support these predictions: Whereas guilt and pride both had the predicted effects on consumption in the social trap game, neither had a significant effect on contribution in the public goods dilemma game. Individual differences are examined, as are the results of a Game Feedback Sheet, which yielded insight as to how participants understood the rules of the games, and why they chose the strategies they did. Results support the idea that emotions represent a potentially fruitful avenue of research in social dilemma cooperation, and possible future directions for this research are discussed.
ContributorsNeufeld, Samantha L (Author) / Shiota, Michelle N. (Thesis advisor) / Kenrick, Douglas T. (Committee member) / Ledlow, Susan E (Committee member) / Saks, Michael J. (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
Integrating research from life history theory with investigations of construal-level theory, the researcher proposes a novel relationship between life history strategy and construal-level. Slow life history strategies arise in safe, predictable environments where individuals give up current reproductive effort in favor of future reproductive effort. Correspondingly, high-level construals allow individuals to transcend the current context and act according to global concerns, such as the type of future planning necessary to enact slow life history strategies. Meanwhile, fast life history strategies arise in harsh, unpredictable environments where the future is uncertain and individuals need to pay close attention to the current context to survive. Correspondingly, low-level construals immerse individuals in the immediate situation, enabling them the flexibility needed to respond to local concerns. Given the correspondence between aspects of life history and construal-level, it seems possible that individuals adopting slow life history strategies should more frequently use high-level construals to assist in transcending the current situation to plan for the future, while individuals adopting fast life history strategies should more frequently use low-level construals to assist in monitoring the details of their harsh, unpredictable environment. To test the relationship between life history and construal, the researcher investigated whether or not a childhood cue of environmental harshness and unpredictability, childhood SES, and a current cue of environmental harshness and unpredictability, local mortality rate, influenced construal-level. In line with past research, the researcher predicted that childhood SES would interact with current cues of local mortality rate to influence construal-level. For individuals growing up in high SES households, a high local mortality rate will lead to an increase in high-level construals. For individuals growing up in low SES households, a high local mortality rate will lead to an increase in low-level construals. Overall, results did not support the hypotheses. Childhood SES did not interact with prime condition to influence either categorization or trend predictions. Examining how the prime interacted with another measure of life history strategy, the Mini-K, yielded mixed results. However, there are several ways in which the current study could be altered to reexamine the relationship between life history strategy and construal.
ContributorsWhite, Andrew (Author) / Cohen, Adam B. (Thesis advisor) / Kenrick, Douglas T. (Committee member) / Kwan, Virginia Sy (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
Description
Prior studies have demonstrated the positive impact of touch on both individualand relational well-being. In contrast, a history of trauma is associated with reductions
in well-being. Post-traumatic stress disorder caused by prior interpersonal trauma (IPT)
may cause individuals to avoid interpersonal touch, which may lead to many negative
outcomes. Additionally, prior studies found that experiencing more post-traumatic stress
symptoms (PTSS) is linked with worse romantic relationship quality. Accordingly, higher
PTSS may be a pathway through which more IPT leads to fewer touch behaviors, more
touch aversion, and worse relationship quality. Participants were 543 English-speaking females (64.8% White; mean age 30.3 years) recruited through online survey systems Sona and Prolific. The following
measures were used: Cumulative Stress and Trauma Scale (IPT); Brennan Touch Scale
(touch aversion); the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PTSS); CSE Scale for Trauma (CSET);
Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (expressive suppression); and Perceived Relationship
Quality Component Index (relationship quality). Mediation and moderated mediation
models were analyzed using the PROCESS macro v.3.4 in SPSS v. 27. The major hypotheses were that 1) more IPT would lead to fewer touch behaviors, greater touch aversion, and worse relationship quality through its links to greater PTSS; and 2) the pathways between PTSS and the outcome variables would be moderated by
expressive suppression (strengthening the association) and trauma coping self-efficacy
(weakening the association). The results showed that the overall associations between IPT and touch behaviors
and between IPT and relationship quality were not significant, but the indirect links via
PTSS were significant. The association between IPT and touch aversion was significant,
but the addition of PTSS as a mediator made that association nonsignificant. When moderators were added, there were mixed outcomes. The moderation term for CSET on the PTSS to touch behaviors pathway was significant. Because touch is important for healthy relationships, therapies should focus on reducing touch aversion for people with a history of IPT and high PTSS. Furthermore, therapy focusing on improving CSET and reducing expressive suppression may help increase touch behaviors, reduce touch aversion, and improve relationship quality in individuals with IPT.
ContributorsMunson, Aubrie A (Author) / Burleson, Mary H (Thesis advisor) / Roberts, Nicole A (Committee member) / Hall, Deborah L (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022
Description
Individuals with psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES) show signs of emotion-related dysfunction and disrupted interpersonal relationships. Affectionate touch is an important form of non-verbal communication in relationships that may foster emotion regulation and emotional awareness. The present online survey study included 62 individuals with PNES and 80 seizure-free trauma-exposed controls high (n=40) or low (n=40) in overall symptoms of psychopathology. As hypothesized, PNES individuals reported experiencing less frequent affectionate touch and less interoceptive awareness than either control group. They also reported more somatic symptoms, more emotion regulation difficulties, and less positive emotion than the low psychopathology group. Unexpectedly, there were no group differences in emotional awareness difficulties, nor in initiation of affectionate touch. Across participants, lower interoceptive awareness was associated with lower affectionate touch frequency, indicating that if one has difficulty understanding and being aware of their own body, affectionate touch sensations may not necessarily be understood as pleasant and may be minimized or avoided. Emotional awareness difficulties surprisingly were associated with greater affectionate touch frequency among PNES (versus the expected pattern of awareness difficulties associated with less affectionate touch, as found among controls), suggesting affectionate touch may be used as an attempt to try and understand one’s own feelings, or to compensate for, or even mask a lack of understanding. Findings indicate a distinct difference in physical affection frequency and interoceptive awareness among PNES individuals even when matched to a group similar in psychiatric distress/psychopathology. These findings offer insight into the relationships between interoceptive awareness, affectionate touch, and emotion regulation more broadly.
ContributorsVillarreal, Lucia (Author) / Roberts, Nicole A (Thesis advisor) / Burleson, Mary H (Committee member) / Duran, Nicholas (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2021
Description
Which evolutionarily important social motives are cultural products about? Songs from the 2020 Billboard Hot 100 year-end chart were rated in terms of their relevance to the fundamental social motives. These songs were thought to be about seeking a romantic partner, followed by maintaining romantic relationships, breakups, and acquiring or maintaining status. Songs were thought to be least about avoiding infectious diseases and caring for children. Relative success of a song was found to be largely unassociated with which motive it reflects but significantly related to simplicity of the lyrics and prestige associated with the artist.
ContributorsKwon, Jung Yul (Author) / Varnum, Michael E. W. (Thesis advisor) / Kenrick, Douglas T. (Committee member) / Cohen, Adam B. (Committee member) / Infurna, Frank J. (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022
Description
Cultural background and norms can shape beliefs and behavior. As such, the propensity toward seeking help from others is likely also dependent on cultural background. Those who identify strongly with their native culture may have different attitudes toward help-seeking compared to individuals who are more acculturated to U.S. culture. This investigation surveyed a sample of 551 participants from four ethnic backgrounds via Prolific and the School of Social and Behavioral Sciences Research Participation System (SONA) to examine whether greater overall help-seeking was evident among 1) individuals from the majority U.S. culture (European American) compared with ethnic minority individuals in the U.S. identifying as Black/African American, Asian American, or Hispanic/Latino; 2) individuals who endorsed more individualistic cultural values; 3) individuals reporting higher levels of acculturation (i.e., greater comfort with mainstream American culture); and 4) individuals who reported greater emotion granularity (EG), which is the ability to understand one’s own emotions in a more detailed way; and 5) the interactions of ethnic group and each of these constructs (i.e., individualism, acculturation, and emotion granularity). Results based on analysis of variance revealed that, contrary to the first study hypothesis (H1), White/European American participants reported being less likely to seek help for personal or emotional problems than Black/African American participants. In exploratory analyses, Black/African Americans also reported greater help-seeking tendencies than Asian Americans. Also contrary to what was hypothesized (H2), participants high in individualism reported less help-seeking tendencies than participants low in individualism. The third hypothesis (H3) was not supported: Ethnicity did not interact with individualism in predicting help-seeking behavior. As hypothesized (H4), greater acculturation (i.e., comfort with mainstream culture), was associated with greater help seeking; however, (H5) acculturation and ethnic group membership did not interact to predict help-seeking. Finally (H6), there were not differences in help-seeking based on comparisons of individuals higher versus lower in EG, nor did EG interact with ethnic group membership (H7); however, exploratory correlational results indicated greater EG (when measured as a continuous variable) was associated with greater help-seeking. Understanding cultural influences on help-seeking can be invaluable in helping professionals navigate how to effectively provide diverse populations with culturally accessible resources.
ContributorsSuciu, Julia Anna (Author) / Roberts, Nicole A (Thesis advisor) / Burleson, Mary H (Committee member) / Nelson-Coffey, Katherine (Committee member) / Hall, Deborah L (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2024