1,721,034 research outputs found
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Chimpanzees consider freedom of choice in their evaluation of social action
Full text linkJudgements of wrongdoing in humans often hinge upon an assessment of whether a perpetrator acted out of free choice: whether they had more than one option. The classic inhibitors of free choice are constraint (e.g. having your hands tied together) and ignorance (e.g. being unaware that an alternative exists). Here, across two studies, we investigate whether chimpanzees consider these factors in their evaluation of social action. Chimpanzees interacted with a human experimenter who handed them a non-preferred item of food, either because they were physically constrained from accessing the preferred item (Experiment 1) or because they were ignorant of the availability of the preferred item (Experiment 2). We found that chimpanzees were more likely to accept the non-preferred food and showed fewer negative emotional responses when the experimenter was physically constrained compared with when they had free choice. We did not, however, find an effect of ignorance on chimpanzee's evaluation. Freedom of choice factors into chimpanzees' evaluation of how they are treated, but it is unclear whether mental state reasoning is involved in this assessment
Why Do Youth Join Gangs? A Psychological Approach to Answering an Age-Old Question
No full textResearchers have been studying gangs for nearly a century, and yet there remains a lack
of consensus about why youth join gangs. In an effort to bring some clarity to this area,
this thesis discusses the risk factors and motivations associated with joining a gang.
Given the dangers that gangs pose to their members and to society, this is certainly a
topic worthy of research attention. This thesis presents a broad discussion of the
conceptual and empirical issues concerning gang joining. The first chapter will offer a
brief history of gang research in the United States, along with the definitional and
structural issues surrounding gang research. In the second chapter, the available
empirical literature on the potential risk factors for gang membership is reviewed.
Thirty-two studies were located that met the selection criteria. The third chapter will
describe and summarize what is known about motivations for gang joining. In the fourth
chapter, the author draws on the empirical research discussed to present a motivational
model of gang joining. This model describes the processes by which individuals living in
the same high-risk neighborhood decide to join (or not join) a gang. The thesis
concludes with implications for prevention and recommendations for future research
efforts
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Effects of exposure to idealized body portrayals in an ethnically diverse sample of men and women
Full text linkThere is considerable support in the literature for the proposition that exposure
to portrayals of idealized bodies in advertising has various negative effects
on men�s and women�s self and body image. Yet, there is also evidence for self-enhancement
effects of these advertisements. This disparity in findings suggests
the possibility that not all men and women react to advertising portrayals in the
same way and invites a careful study of potential moderators of exposure effects.
The proposed research aimed to explore three types of moderators of media exposure
which address limitations of prior work. First, we studied these effects in
populations that were largely ignored before: men and ethnically diverse individuals
(demographic moderators). Second, we investigated whether personality traits
might reveal important differences in men�s and women�s vulnerability to media
exposure to idealized body portrayals (personal moderator). Third, we have attempted
to explore subtler differences in the exposure effects by using new implicit
methodology, enabling us to measure automatic processing of advertising content
(methodological moderator). Using implicit measures as opposed to explicit measures
is an important contribution because implicit measures are free from many
of the limitations of self-reports. These contributions were investigated via four
experimental and one correlational study. Results revealed that in some cases
ethnic-minority men and women respond differently to idealized body portrayals
in advertising than do White individuals. In accordance with prior work done
almost exclusively in White samples, White men and women experienced negative
effects of exposure on their self-esteem and body perception, whereas Asian and
Hispanic (men only) individuals experienced self-enhancing effects, suggesting that
these individuals engaged in a �fantasy� rather than upward social comparisons.
These findings have important health implications and may be helpful in designing
targeted interventions and media campaigns focusing on ethnic-minority men
and women suffering from eating disorders. Turning to personality, even though we
found that personality traits (extraversion, conscientiousness, emotional stability)
were closely related to self-esteem (directly) and body dissatisfaction (indirectly),
we did not find a strong support for their moderating role. Finally, this dissertation
provided some evidence that implicit measures record subtler differences in
exposure effects as compared to explicit ones. In conclusion, we provided more
support for self-enhancing effects than negative effects of exposure, which were revealed
by incorporating moderating variables (demographic and methodological).
Implications for future work in this area are highlighted and discussed
The Effects of Dominance Hierarchy Disruption and Related Variables on Progenitor Cell Proliferation and Adult Neurogenesis in the Dentate Gyrus
No full textThe process by which athletes assimilate into their sports teams and the effect this has on their performance.
No full textThis study examines the process by which athletes assimilate into their teams and the effect that
the assimilation process has on effort towards individual and team performance assessments. It
was hypothesized that participants’ levels of effort during team assessments would increase with
increasing time on their teams, indicating a shift in cognitive categorization of that team from a
task group to an intimacy group. Participants completed up to three questionnaires over two
months to determine the relationship between time as a team member, level of social
identification with that team, and the levels of effort exerted, pressure experienced, and
perceived importance of assessments. No relationship was found between effort exerted and
time, however significant effects were found linking other elements
A Productive Learning Environment: Group Association and Social Status
No full textIn light of the importance of education and the powerful influence of external social factors on learning, this study, divided into two experiments, the Control and the Manipulation, investigated the effects of group association and group social status on word recall. This study tested the idea that group association holds academic advantages (the Control) and expanded upon this relationship through manipulation of group social status (the Manipulation). While there was no significant group association effect or group social status effect on word recall and, by extension, learning, directional consistency and the emergence of certain trends might suggest the possibility of their existence. Taken together, the possibility of these effects, the limitations of this study, and the suggested adjustments for the future foster a need for further research
Self-Selected Group Membership as a Moderator of Vicarious Cognitive Dissonance
No full textThis paper examines how vicarious cognitive dissonance operates for self-selecting groups. In the main study, Princeton students elected to either listen to rap or classical music and then read that they would be analyzing an essay in favor of raising tuition written by someone in either the same or opposite group. There was no significant attitude change towards agreement with raising tuition as a result of the manipulation. However, there was a significant effect among participants in the rap music group in the same-group condition who increased agreement with both favorable and unfavorable stereotypes about their in-group. The finding leads the researchers to speculate that vicarious dissonance in self-selecting groups can be reduced by increasing approval of the in-group on measures more central to the defining criteria for group membership and decreased approval on dimensions not directly relevant to the group boundaries
Gender Stereotyping in Early Childhood: Knowledge, Endorsement, and Perception of Parental Attitudes
No full textOver the past several decades, abundant research has investigated the onset of gender role development in early childhood, suggesting that children as young as 3 possess substantial awareness of gender stereotypes and, by age 5, strong beliefs about the need for individual maintenance of those stereotypes. However, crucial gaps in the literature still remain, particularly with regard to the differentiation of gender stereotype knowledge and personal endorsement and the role played by parents in socialization. The current study addresses the relationship between gender role knowledge and stereotype endorsement in a sample of 24 preschoolers, and their perception of parental responses to gender-typical and -atypical behavior. Using picture cards of validated “male” and “female” items as well as two cutout figures, participants were asked three sets of questions regarding who typically uses the illustrated item, whether a boy or girl should be using the item, and whether parents would be happy or unhappy about the activity. Analyses revealed that gender stereotype knowledge was unrelated to personal endorsement; furthermore, the perception of parental stereotyping was strongly and significantly correlated with personal stereotype endorsement among girls, who demonstrated greater knowledge of both male and female gender roles than boys. Findings, implications, and directions for future research are discussed in the context of both cognitive development and social influence from parents
Evaluating PEER as an intervention on self-esteem, social self-efficacy, ethnic identity, and locus of control: a study on socioeconomically disadvantaged Chinese adolescents
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