Matching Items (27)
Description
This study investigated whether research by researchers affiliated with a religious academic institution would be seen as of less scientific merit than research done by researchers affiliated with a nonreligious academic institution. Such a bias may exist given the different value systems underlying religion and science, the widespread perception of a conflict between religion and science, and research on differences in cognitive styles and stereotypes about religious versus nonreligious people. In this study, U.S. participants recruited from Amazon Mechanical Turk completed an online survey, which included an abstract of an article describing scientific research with authors’ names and academic institutions, and questions on perceived scientific merit, religiosity, spirituality, religion as Quest, and perceived conflict between religion and science. There was a significant difference in the perceived merit of the researchers, with the group believing the researchers were affiliated with a religious academic institution rating the research as lower in scientific merit than the group believing the researchers were affiliated with a nonreligious academic institution. The perceived level of conflict between religion and science was found to moderate the relationship, such that higher levels of perceived conflict between religion and science showed a greater difference in scientific merit between groups.
ContributorsPorter, Erik W (Author) / Hall, Deborah L. (Thesis advisor) / Mickelson, Kristin (Committee member) / Burleson, Mary (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
Description
Physical pain and social pain are two types of pain humans experience. Physical pain is defined as any pain experienced upon bodily injury, whereas social pain is defined as the pain experienced upon social injury when social relationships are threatened, damaged or lost (Eisenberger & Lieberman, 2004). Both physical and social pain can be experienced as acute or chronic, acute lasting for up to three months, and chronic lasting for more than three to six months. Studies on acute and chronic social pain have shown that social pain leads to less empathy. The Pain Overlap Theory suggests that social pain and physical pain share similar neural networks and underlying processes. If social pain and physical pain overlap in the brain, then it would be expected to see a similar reduction in empathy when experiencing acute and chronic physical pain. Therefore, it was hypothesized that those who suffer from chronic physical pain will be less empathetic overall, and they will be less empathetic to others in physical pain and social pain.
ContributorsThrall, Jillian (Author) / Burleson, Mary H. (Thesis advisor) / Roberts, Nicole A. (Committee member) / Mickelson, Kristin (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2017
Description
Older children are expected to serve as support substitutes when parents are not able to adequately provide the support needed to their younger siblings. This exchange of resources may influence the individual who is serving as a substitute to experience feelings of obligation and resentment that can ultimately lead to mental health symptoms. The term mental health is broadly conceptualized in this thesis as negative affect and positive affect. Online surveys were conducted on a sample of 170 Arizona State University students to analyze whether the provision of sibling support was related to worse affect. Hypotheses included: 1) provision of support from the student to the sibling will be related to lower positive and higher negative affect, 2) sibling support provision will be related to greater feelings of obligation and resentment, 3) obligation and resentment will mediate the relationship between sibling support provision and affect and 4) gender differences exist in the mediational relationship of sibling support provision, obligation/resentment, and affect. Results showed that sibling support provision is related to higher levels of both negative and positive affect. Moreover, provision of sibling support was significantly related to feelings of obligation and resentment. There was also some evidence for a mediational model, such that there was an indirect effect of sibling support provision on negative and positive affect through feelings of obligation, but not resentment. Lastly, females experienced significantly greater feelings of obligation to provide support, while males experienced significantly greater feelings of resentment. However, there was no evidence of a moderated mediation by gender. These results suggest that sibling support provision is related to affect and one potential explanation is the feelings of obligation engendered by the sibling support provision.
ContributorsCortez, Litzia R (Author) / Mickelson, Kristin (Thesis advisor) / Roberts, Nicole (Committee member) / Hall, Deborah (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2017
Description
An expanse of research has demonstrated that persons with mental illness (PWMI) tend to avoid formal psychological treatment.One possible explanation for this failure to pursue formal treatment is the tendency of religious individuals to construe mental illness as spiritual in nature, leading religious communities to actively discourage emotional and psychological help-seeking through non-spiritual means. The present study examined help-seeking behaviors among religious PWMI by examining the impact of religiosity and gender on the relationship between mental illness stigma and help-seeking behaviors. Results indicate that higher levels of perceived stigma and religious salience relate to higher reported indirect support-seeking (ISS). Moreover, only religious salience appears to significantly relate to ISS among men, whereas perceived mental illness stigma significantly predicts direct and indirect support-seeking behaviors among women.
ContributorsMalouf, Laura Means (Author) / Mickelson, Kristin (Thesis advisor) / Hall, Deborah (Committee member) / Schweitzer, Nicholas (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2020
Description
Sexual minorities use social media platforms at higher rates than heterosexual individuals, often to find and connect with other sexual minorities and the broader online LGBTQ+ community. These online connections may help normalize feelings and experiences as a sexual minority in a heterosexual-normed society by increasing exposure to more meaningful reference groups and helping to mitigate the negative impact of heterosexist norms. There has been relatively little research investigating online social connectedness (OSC) among sexual minority adults, the relation between OSC and positive psychological outcomes, and the role of OSC in lessening the impact of heterosexist norms. The goal of the present thesis was to examine the relation between OSC and positive psychological outcomes, and whether such a relation is mediated by compulsory heterosexuality (CH; i.e., heterosexist norms) and internalized heterosexism (IH; i.e., internalizing and accepting heterosexist norms). A sample of 298 sexual minority adults in the U.S. completed an online survey that included measures of OSC, CH, IH, and positive psychological outcomes including resilience, well-being, self-acceptance, and self-esteem. The hypothesized model, with CH and IH as serial mediators of the relation between OSC and positive psychological outcomes, along with a series of alternative models, were tested using structural equation modeling. Support was found for the hypothesized model, such that greater OSC predicted lower CH, which then predicted lower IH, which in turn predicted greater positive psychological outcomes. While several alternative models had adequate fit, the hypothesized model was best supported statistically and by previous literature. These findings provide insights into the psychological benefits of social media connections for sexual minorities and the potential for OSC to lessen the impact of heterosexist norms. This study also adds to the existing literature regarding OSC and sexual minority adults, expanding the literature from primarily focusing on sexual minority youth. Future studies should be more socio-demographically diverse and longitudinal in nature in order to help better understand the directionality of the relationship between CH and IH. The present findings may also inform the development of interventions aimed at decreasing CH and IH, which future studies should investigate more fully.
ContributorsBaumel, Katie (Author) / Hall, Deborah (Thesis advisor) / Mickelson, Kristin (Committee member) / Salerno, Jessica (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2021
Description
The purpose of this research was to investigate the effect of the type of crime (namely, its perceived immorality) a juvenile is suspected of on how juvenile suspects are perceived (in terms of moral character, immaturity, and suggestibility) and, in turn, interrogated. I expected act-person dissociation to influence that effect. To that end, perceptions of crime (i.e., immorality, seriousness) were also investigated. The study was first conducted with law enforcement officers (n = 55), then replicated with laypeople (n = 171). Participants were randomly assigned to one of three crime conditions: robbery, sexual assault, and murder. In each condition, participants read a probable cause statement involving a 15-year-old suspect. There were several key findings: (1) Murder was the most serious crime, whereas robbery and sexual assault were more immoral. (2) Act-person dissociation did not occur. (3) Participants were more likely to endorse the use of psychologically coercive tactics on the juvenile suspected of sexual assault than the juvenile suspected of murder. (4) The more favorably participants perceived a juvenile’s moral character, the less likely they were to endorse the use of psychologically coercive interrogation tactics. (4) Participants who more strongly agreed that juveniles are more immature and suggestible than adults were less likely to endorse the use of psychologically coercive tactics, more likely to endorse the use of tactics that encourage compliance with interrogators, and more likely to adhere to the PEACE model of juvenile interrogations. The implications and limitations of these findings are discussed, along with potential directions for future research.
ContributorsFaison, Lakia (Author) / Mickelson, Kristin (Thesis advisor) / Smalarz, Laura (Committee member) / Salerno, Jessica (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2021
Description
Tuition costs for undergraduate students have been on the rise in the United States in recent years. The National Center for Education Statistics estimates that the current average cost of tuition at a public four-year college is 23 times higher than it was in 1963, leading students to work while attending school. Additionally, Gen-Z young adults report significantly higher rates of stress than all other generations, making burnout a salient concern within this demographic. Taking these two factors of employment and stress into consideration, the current study aimed to explore the role of job type (major vs non-major) in the relationship between burnout and social support for undergraduate students in the United States. The current study sampled 312 undergraduate students from the United States ages 18-24 (M = 20.75, SD = 1.89). The results indicated that there was no significant difference in academic burnout among employed vs unemployed students. Both perceived and actual social support-seeking were linked with lower academic burnout only for employed students. Higher person-job fit was associated with lower job burnout. Finally, students with jobs related to their major reported significantly lower job burnout at the lowest levels of person-job fit than students with non-major jobs.
ContributorsNazir, Zainab (Author) / Mickelson, Kristin (Thesis director) / Hall, Deborah (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Social and Behavioral Sciences (Contributor)
Created2024-05