Matching Items (8)
Filtering by
- Resource Type: Text
Description
Do emotions help explain our behaviors? Can they condemn us, excuse us, orr mitigate our moral responsibility orr blameworthiness? Can they explain our rationality and irrationality, orr warrant such attributions? Can they be justified orr warranted? Are they constitutive aspects of our consciousness, identity, characters, virtues, orr epistemic status? The answer to these questions, at least to a significant extent, depends on what emotions are. This illustrates the importance of what emotions are to academics across multiple disciplines, as well as to members of governing bodies, organizations, communities, and groups. Given the great importance of emotions to various aspects of our lives, this dissertation is about the relevance of the topic of emotion as an area of study for the discipline of philosophy. This dissertation is also broadly about the need to bridge the interests, concerns, and collective bodies of knowledge between various distinct disciplines, thereby contributing to the process of unifying knowledge across the various disciplines within the realm of academia.
The primary aim in this dissertation is to initiate the unification of the interests, concerns, and collective bodies of knowledge across disciplines of academia. To do so, however, this dissertation aims to bridge some disciplinary divides between the disciplines of philosophy and psychology. I fulfill this aim by first demonstrating that interdisciplinary research and theorizing is needed within the disciplines of philosophy and psychology. I do this by considering how the problem of skepticism arises within these two disciplines. I also derive, propose, and argue for the acceptance of a new foundation for academic research and theorizing in response to the problem of skepticism. I refer to my proposal, in general, as The Proposal for Unification without Consilience (UC).
The primary aim in this dissertation is to initiate the unification of the interests, concerns, and collective bodies of knowledge across disciplines of academia. To do so, however, this dissertation aims to bridge some disciplinary divides between the disciplines of philosophy and psychology. I fulfill this aim by first demonstrating that interdisciplinary research and theorizing is needed within the disciplines of philosophy and psychology. I do this by considering how the problem of skepticism arises within these two disciplines. I also derive, propose, and argue for the acceptance of a new foundation for academic research and theorizing in response to the problem of skepticism. I refer to my proposal, in general, as The Proposal for Unification without Consilience (UC).
ContributorsMun, Cecilea (Author) / Calhoun, Cheshire (Thesis advisor) / Kobes, Bernard (Committee member) / Shiota, Michelle (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
Four hundred years after the word "virtuous," came to be associated with a woman's sexuality, today's female adolescent seemingly has everything. Yet, there is a psychological civil war raging in the psyche of the 21st century young American female because her mind is divided against itself due to the conflicting instructions of who and what she should be. She has so many choices; it is easy to become overwhelmed by them. Today's female youth is threatened. She communicates more and more, but her ability to express herself is inhibited because she is unsure of how to develop an authentic sense of self. It is a hermeneutic understanding of communication and what it means to be "virtuous" that can free young women to cultivate authentic self and continue to make decisions that support such a lifestyle. It is the aim of this thesis to reclaim the word "virtuous" for the benefit of today's young women. Deeper understanding of hermeneutics and communication allow us to view this word in a different light and read the entirety of Proverbs 31 as feminists. Young women have always faced challenges in adolescence, but a return to classical wisdom and philosophy will equip them to further advance themselves and their communities, rather than forcing them into a life of speaking tongue twisters. The virtuous young woman does not know what the future holds, but armed with the lessons of tradition and the fire of hope, she may speak a virtuous magic over the world with a tongue fit for the challenge.
ContributorsNichols, Hannah May (Author) / Ramsey, Ramsey Eric (Thesis director) / Gaffney, Cynthia (Committee member) / Watrous, Lisa (Committee member) / School of Social and Behavioral Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
Sport is a widespread phenomenon across human cultures and history. Unfortunately, positive emotions in sport have been long vaguely characterized as happy or pleasant, or ignored altogether. Recent emotion research has taken a differentiated approach, however, suggesting there are distinct positive emotions with diverse implications for behavior. The present study applied this evolutionarily informed approach in the context of sport to examine which positive emotions are associated with play. It was hypothesized that pride, amusement, and enthusiasm, but not contentment or awe, would increase in Ultimate Frisbee players during a practice scrimmage. Further, it was hypothesized that increases in pride and amusement during practice would be differentially associated with sport outcomes, including performance (scores, assists, and defenses), subjective social connectedness, attributions of success, and attitudes toward the importance of practice. It was found that all positive emotions decreased during practice. It was also found that increases in pride were associated with more scores and greater social connectedness, whereas increases in amusement were associated with more assists. The present study was one of the first to examine change in positive emotions during play and to relate them to specific performance outcomes. Future studies should expand to determine which came first: emotion or performance.
ContributorsKuna, Jacob Anthony (Author) / Shiota, Michelle (Thesis director) / Glenberg, Arthur (Committee member) / Danvers, Alexander (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
In the current study, the author investigated whether sociosexual orientation interacted with an experimental manipulation of sex ratios previously used by Li et al. (2010) which showed that men and women report greater religiosity after viewing profiles of attractive members of their own sex. The author predicted that only people of restricted sociosexual orientation would be reporting greater religiosity after viewing profiles of attractive members of their own sex. A sample of 171 undergraduate students (85 men, Mage = 19.5) from a large Southwestern university participated in the study for course credit. Participants were first administered the Sociosexual Orientation Index (Simpson & Gangestad, 1991). Then, under the pretense of assisting psychology faculty in designing a dating website for incoming students, participants viewed a set of profiles (photo and description) of either attractive men or attractive women, after which they answered a series of questions on a religiosity scale developed for the current study. Results showed that sociosexual orientation did not interact significantly with the experimental manipulation. Additionally, the results of the current study failed to replicate those of Li et al. (2010). The author discusses possibilities for why the results of the current study failed to replicate the results of Li et al., and for alternative explanations of the potential role of sociosexual orientation in responding to shifting sex ratios.
ContributorsCottengaim, Isaiah John (Author) / Cohen, Adam (Thesis director) / Neuberg, Steven (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Social and Behavioral Sciences (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of two positive discrete emotions, awe and nurturant love, on implicit prejudices. After completing an emotion induction task, participants completed Implicit Association Test blocks where they paired photos of Arab and White individuals with "good" and "bad" evaluations. We hypothesized that nurturant love would increase the strength of negative evaluations of Arab individuals and positive evaluations of White individuals, whereas awe would decrease the strength of these negative evaluations when compared to a neutral condition. However, we found that both awe and nurturant love increased negative implicit prejudices toward Arab individuals when compared to the neutral condition.
ContributorsCarrasco, Mia Annette (Author) / Shiota, Michelle (Thesis director) / O'Neil, Makenzie (Committee member) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
Alzheimer's disease and related dementias are a growing issue in the United States. While medical experts try to develop treatments or a cure, what are we as a society to do in the meantime to help those living with Alzheimer's? The arts seem to be an answer. In this thesis, I highlight numerous programs already in place across the United States that utilize the visual, musical, and dramatic arts to give people with Alzheimer's an avenue for expression, a connection to the world around them, as well as a better quality of life. I address the largely positive impact these arts engagement programs have on caregivers and their perceptions of their loved ones. I discuss what it means to have narrative identity and personhood in the midst of a disease that appears to strip those things away. Finally, I share my own experiences creatively engaging with residents at a local memory care facility and what those experiences demonstrated with regard to narrative, being, and Self. The examination of material and experiences demonstrates that art taps into innate parts of human beings that science is unable to touch or treat; however, the reverse is also true for science. When faced with an issue as complex as Alzheimer's disease, art and science are strongest together, and I believe the cure to Alzheimer's lies in this unity. In the meantime, we must utilize the arts to validate the Selves of and improve the quality of life for our growing Alzheimer's population.
ContributorsSpeight, Gemma (Author) / Gruber, Diane (Thesis director) / Manninen, Bertha (Committee member) / School of Social and Behavioral Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
This paper explores the idea of xenophilia and the circumstances under which it may occur. Xenophilia is the preference for an outgroup member over an ingroup member. This preference does not have to be amicable, and in fact can be exploitative under certain circumstances. Previous research indicates that xenophobia is much more common, but a few researchers have found support for the existence of xenophilia. To experimentally test the circumstances under which xenophilia might occur, I conducted a survey-based experiment on Amazon’s Mechanical Turk. This consisted of directed visualizations that manipulated participant goal (self-protection vs. mate acquisition) and the resources offered by both a fictitious outgroup and the hometown ingroup, followed by measures of ingroup/outgroup preference. I hypothesized that when the resource offered by the group addressed the participants’ goal, they would prefer the group with the “matched” resource—even if it was the outgroup providing that resource. My hypothesis was not supported, as the univariate analysis of variance for preference for the outgroup was not significant, F (2, 423) = .723, p = .486. This may have occurred because the goal manipulations were not strong enough to counteract the strong natural preference for ingroup members.
ContributorsDrury, Margaret E. (Author) / Neuberg, Steven (Thesis director) / Davis, Mary (Committee member) / Kenrick, Douglas (Committee member) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / School of Social and Behavioral Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
In this thesis, I will be discussing the similarities between Stoicism (as both an ancient Greek and Roman philosophy, as well as how it is interpreted in the modern age) and modern therapeutic methods; However, I will not be developing any type of novel theory as to how Stoicism can be used as one of those therapeutic methods by itself. That would require a degree of psychological and medical knowledge that I, as an undergraduate student, do not yet possess and do not have the authority to expand upon in a safe manner. What the goal of this thesis is, instead, is to draw and explore parallels between the ideals and principles of stoicism (such as eudaimonia, ethics, and relative asceticism) as compared to modern therapeutic techniques, like cognitive-behavioral and dialectical-behavioral therapies. I will draw direct parallels between Stoic philosophy and the therapeutic treatments commonly used to address the symptoms of two psychiatric issues (Bipolar Mood Disorder and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder). I will also be addressing a third psychiatric case study, as relating to Stoic philosophy - suicide, and how our view of it has changed and progressed,both through a Stoic lens as well as from a contemporary psychological viewpoint.
As a result of drawing these parallels, this thesis will also explore some of the more modern uses of Stoicism - for example, those discussed in A Guide To The Good Life by William B Irvine, and Stoic Warriors by Nancy Sherman. Irvine focuses primarily on the use of Stoicism to avoid the factors of“chronic dissatisfaction” that afflict much of our modern-day lives - an absence of control, unhappiness, and erroneous personal values, to name a few. Sherman takes a more targeted approach - the application of Stoic philosophy to the workings of the military mentality and instinct. Sherman explores how being “Stoic” is taught as a part of military bearing, specifically when serving in the American forces. Stoic values are used to create a culture of discipline and self-control in the military - as Sherman puts it, “The idea that one’s happiness could depend solely on one’s own virtue, and that one’s agency and control might be bulletproof, appealed to [them]” (Sherman, 11). These authors’ perspectives are just two examples of how Stoicism can be applied in the modern age, as will be shown in further detail in subsequent sections.
As a result of drawing these parallels, this thesis will also explore some of the more modern uses of Stoicism - for example, those discussed in A Guide To The Good Life by William B Irvine, and Stoic Warriors by Nancy Sherman. Irvine focuses primarily on the use of Stoicism to avoid the factors of“chronic dissatisfaction” that afflict much of our modern-day lives - an absence of control, unhappiness, and erroneous personal values, to name a few. Sherman takes a more targeted approach - the application of Stoic philosophy to the workings of the military mentality and instinct. Sherman explores how being “Stoic” is taught as a part of military bearing, specifically when serving in the American forces. Stoic values are used to create a culture of discipline and self-control in the military - as Sherman puts it, “The idea that one’s happiness could depend solely on one’s own virtue, and that one’s agency and control might be bulletproof, appealed to [them]” (Sherman, 11). These authors’ perspectives are just two examples of how Stoicism can be applied in the modern age, as will be shown in further detail in subsequent sections.
ContributorsSimpson, Naomi (Author) / Lynch, John (Thesis director) / O'Neill, Joseph (Committee member) / School of Music (Contributor) / School of Social and Behavioral Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05