Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Cognitive And Contextual Underpinnings Of Food Cravings : A Multi-Method Exploration, Martha Niemiec

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The notion of addiction pervades Western vernacular. While firmly established in the substance and drug literature, the concept of addiction is now increasingly associated with other ingested substances (coffee, chocolate, highly processed foods) and a range of compulsive behaviors (gambling, sex, online social networking, gaming). Addiction is associated with substantial morbidity and mortality, and a greater understanding of its etiology has significant public health implications. The physiological mechanisms thought to contribute to the development and maintenance of addiction (tolerance, withdrawal, and, possibly, craving) are widely considered hallmark features and primary treatment targets, while psychological and contextual factors are often underappreciated …

The Everyday Sacred : A Symbolic Analysis Of Contemporary Yucatec Maya Women's Daily Realities, Crystal Sheedy

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

As a collaborative effort between myself and the Maya women with whom I worked, who live in Xocén, this dissertation seeks to illuminate the sacred world of Maya women, as well as dismantle the insidious narrative that younger generations of Mayas are losing their culture. Instrumental to this process is the use of decolonial methods (Lawless 1993) and descriptive theoretical premises (Geertz 1973; Turner 1967, 1969) that allowed me to analyze Maya women’s discursive speech, referred to as both chismes and heridos in Spanish, which can be translated as gossip, as well as the speech genre of u t’àan nukuč …

Digital Segregation: Gender, Occupation, And Access To Politics, Amanda Friesen, Ryan Burge, Kylee Britzman

Political Science Publications

In the United States, women often show less interest in politics, and under some conditions, perform worse than men on political knowledge tests. In an age where education levels have reached parity, we suggest one of the explanations for gender differences in political engagement might be due to selection of occupation. Past research has shown women and men segregate into different occupations due to early gender socialization, differences in interest, and structural barriers. It is possible that due to these segregation effects, women in traditional female occupations (e.g., education, health care, service work) may have less access to personal Internet …

An Analysis Of Teachers’ Judgements Of Executive Capacities Between Male And Female Students, Carly Stranges

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

School systems function in a way determining that all students are expected to perform at a certain level based on the grade that they are in. Academic tasks involve many executive skills to be used at any given time, making it sometimes difficult to differentiate between specific executive strengths and weaknesses. Understanding a student’s challenges with executive control can lead to an understanding of places where additional help and support could be beneficial. The purpose of the present study is to examine gender differences in children’s and adolescents’ executive capacities, based on teachers’ ratings collected during the standardization of the …

Faith, Feminism, And Marriage: Institutions, Norms, And Relationship Quality, Jason S. Carroll, Spencer James, W. Bradford Wilcox, Richard Reeves, Laurie Derose

Faculty Publications

In this essay, we explore the links between religion and relationship quality for cohabiting and married couples. Our evidence from an 11-country sample suggests men and women in highly religious couples enjoy significantly higher levels of relationship quality and sexual satisfaction. Joint decision-making, however, is higher among men in shared secular relationships and women in highly religious relationships, compared to their peers in less/mixed religious couples. We also find a J-Curve in overall relationship quality for women such that women in shared secular, progressive relationships enjoy comparatively high levels of relationship quality, women in the ideological and religious middle report …

“Your Picture Looks The Same As My Picture”: An Examination Of Passing In Transgender Communities, Alecia D. Anderson, Jay A. Irwin, Angela M. Brown, Chris L. Grala

Sociology and Anthropology Faculty Publications

Transgender people remain one of the groups most susceptible to discrimination in the U.S. Previous studies have examined the discrimination and stress transgender people face, but few studies have examined trans identities using existing sociological theories of marginalized groups and identity formation. Using the theories of Dubois and Cooley, this study explores identity formation in conjunction with the phenomenon of passing among transgender people residing in Nebraska. Results suggest that while trans people do pass as a mechanism for subverting discrimination, there are other factors that influence an individual’s choice and strategy to pass or not. The current investigation lends …

Juror Gender And Confession Evidence: An Exploratory Study Of Effects On Empathy And Trial Outcomes For Juvenile Defendants, Cynthia J. Najdowski, Jennifer N. Weintraub

Psychology Faculty Scholarship

Objectives: We explored how relations among juror gender, confession evidence, and empathy impacted verdicts for a juvenile defendant accused of a serious crime. Methods: Jury-eligible women and men (N = 128) participated in a mock trial involving a girl defendant who had either maintained her innocence, confessed voluntarily, or confessed under coercion. Participants reviewed case materials, received juror instructions, and reported their verdict and empathy for the girl defendant. A manipulation check ensured participants attended to details surrounding the confession and participants were grouped by whether they perceived the confession as voluntary or coerced. A logistic regression analysis examined main …

Repression And Women’S Dissent: Gender And Protests, Dakota Thomas

Theses and Dissertations--Political Science

Why do women protest? Why do women protest “as women”? Why do some women participate in protests but not others? In the wake of the Women’s March of 2017, perhaps the largest single day protest event in history, these questions are particularly timely and deserve scholarly attention. One important but understudied and undertheorized motivation for women’s protests is state sanctioned violence, particularly repression. This dissertation explicitly theorizes about how state perpetration of violence, particularly state use of repression, both motivates and shapes women’s protests on a global scale.

In this dissertation, I argue that one key motivation for women’s protest …

Multiplicative Advantages Of Hispanic Men Living In Hispanic Enclaves: Intersectionality In Colon Cancer Care, Keren M. Escobar, Mollie Sivaram, Kevin M. Gorey

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

We examined Hispanic enclave paradoxical effects on cancer care among socioeconomically vulnerable people in pre-Obamacare California. We conducted a secondary analysis of a historical cohort of 511 Hispanic and 1,753 non-Hispanic white people with colon cancer. Hispanic enclaves were neighborhoods where 40% or more of the residents were Hispanic, mostly first-generation Mexican American immigrants. An interaction of ethnicity, gender and Hispanic enclave status was observed such that the protective effects of living in a Hispanic enclave were larger for Hispanic men, particularly married Hispanic men, than women. Risks were also exposed among other study groups: the poor, the inadequately insured, …

Gender, Social Networks, And Microenterprise: Differences In Network Effects On Business Performance, Seon Mi Kim

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This article aims to find if female micro-entrepreneurs have different social networks that affect their business performance from males. This article uses the longitudinal Panel Study of Entrepreneurial Dynamic (PSED) II data set (2005-2011) in the U.S. The key finding is that even in cases where female micro-entrepreneurs gained the same number of weak ties and resources from their networks as their male counterparts, their weak ties and gained resources did not help them to improve their business performance unlike their male counterparts. Implications for Microenterprise Development Programs and future studies are informed.

Nature Of Stressors On Female Law Enforcement Academy Recruits, Sandra Patricia Dillard

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A problem in law enforcement academy training is that female recruits endure more stressors than male recruits endure. This can lead to fewer females opting for careers as law enforcement officers. The purpose of this study was to explore the unique stressors on female recruits when they are held to the same standards as males. The feminist theory was used as the theoretical framework for this study to depict how stress is perceived for the female. The first research question examined how outside stressors affected female trainees. The second research question examined how job-€related stressors affected female trainees. In-€depth, semistructured …

The Prediction And Relationship Between Age, Ethnicity, Gender, And Quality Of Life Using Self-Efficacy Scores Among Stroke Survivors, Sabrina Angela Thornton

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Stroke is a serious illness that requires urgent attention. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether age, ethnicity, gender, and quality of life predict self-efficacy scores in stroke survivors. The theoretical foundation of the study was the social cognitive theory of perceived self-efficacy that was developed by Bandura. There were 4 specific research questions investigated. A correlational research design was used to sample 115 stroke survivors from several Arkansas rehabilitation facilities who completed a pilot study, demographic form, QOL rating scale, and the Daily Living Self-Efficacy Scale (DLSES). Stepwise multiple regression analysis was applied to identify the independent …

Progress On The Economic Empowerment Of Female Entrepreneurs In Kenya's 30% Preferential Public Procurement Policy, Rukaya Mohammed

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In Kenya, a 2013 presidential directive reserved 30% of government procurement opportunities for enterprises owned by women, youth, and persons with disabilities to promote economic empowerment; however, as of 2016, female entrepreneurs continued to be outpaced by their male counterparts. The lack of policy evaluation from the female entrepreneur perspective limits the ability to assess progress and identify obstacles. Through purposeful sampling and semistructured interviews, this qualitative phenomenological study obtained the perceptions of the implementation and impact of Access to Government Procurement Opportunities (AGPO) on economic empowerment from the perspective of 20 female entrepreneurs in Kenya previously awarded procurement contracts. …

Who Runs The World: The Impact Of The Gender Of Clerks On The Legal Profession, Taylor Bernstein

Honors Theses

This paper investigates the role of gender on law clerks from the federal appellate clerks. There has been significant scholarship on the importance of the gender of judges and on the role and influence of law clerks; however, to this date there has been no analysis of how the gender of law clerks may or may not influence the clerkship experience. This honors thesis seeks to address that question and shed light on important aspects of the federal judiciary and the legal profession. I have approached this inquiry through descriptive and qualitative analysis, focusing on law clerks from this millennium. …

Disciplining The Female Body Through Fitness: "Women Participating In Crossfit And Perceptions Of The Body", Noemi Dimuzio

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Women's self-surveillance has been shaped through nutrition, technologies, social media and fitness. Women are constantly struggling with disciplining their bodies to produce a particular body image. The use of technologies has produced images of ideal bodies of beauty, perfection and constant awareness of body parts. The body can be shaped and molded in a variety places, most notably the gym. Fitness allows for the construction of the perfect body. Fitness creates a constant urge to develop and change the body and produces self-surveillance and discipline. There has been a shift from the Western thin ideal image to a new fitness …

Great Sexpectations: Analyzing The Influence Of Expectation And Desire On Sexual Behaviors Performed In Hookups, Mariel Boyle

Research Days Posters 2016-2019

Sexual acts performed in college hookups are determined by a variety of factors. A significant problem is that culturally driven taboos cloud open communication during hookups leading to unexpressed expectations. These unexpressed expectations play a large role in sexual decision-making. Ideally, hookup partners would only engage in acts they desire, but culturally driven expectations are powerful forces, and may lead to the performance of less-preferred acts. Norm driven expectations develop into persistent sexual scripts that young adults follow closely. Moreover, the influence of expectations may be gendered due to sex role traditionality. Implications for hookup behavior are discussed.

The Gender Wage Gap In Sports: Explaining The Pay Gap In Sports, David Streeter Runcie

Senior Projects Spring 2019

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College.

Gender And Power Metrics Database, Population Council

Reproductive Health

This compendium of gender- and power-related scales used in social health and behavioral science research includes unique scales, many tested in multiple settings, that come primarily from the areas of sexual and reproductive health, family planning, STIs/HIV, and intimate partner violence. The database includes multi-item scales and single-item questions that reflect gender norms, personal views or beliefs about gender roles and norms, related feelings or emotions, gender role stress, gendered-dynamics, power and control in relationships, and individual-level agency and self-efficacy, among others. The database facilitates the identification of validated scales for use in a given population or setting, fosters exchange …

Does Sharing Information With Friends And Family Cause Men To Adhere More Strongly To Masculine Norms?, Clint E. Johnson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

It is clear that social influence can elicit conformity to norms (e.g., Asch, 1956). It remains unclear, however, how various relationships elicit differential conformity to masculine norms in particular. In this pre-registered experiment, I tested the hypothesis that when men are asked to reveal their responses on the Conformity to Masculine Norms Inventory (CMNI; Mahalik et al., 2003), men conform more when sharing that identifiable information with others who know them (i.e., “public” conformity), namely friends and family, as compared to sharing that information anonymously with a random stranger (i.e., the anonymous “private” condition). My convenience sample consisted of participants …

Urban Congolese Refugees’ Social Capital And Community Resilience During A Period Of Political Violence In Kenya: A Qualitative Study, Julie A. Tippens

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

Community resilience has been used as a conceptual framework to promote urban refugee protection, integration, and well-being. In the context of this focus on “refugee communities,” it is critical to gain a deeper understanding of the ways urban refugee “communities” function. This study explored urban Congolese refugees’ use of social capital to promote resilience during a period of political violence in Nairobi, Kenya. Findings illustrate how refugees used social capital across different contexts to access and distribute resilience-promoting resources. Women primarily relied on informal bonding forms of capital while men exhibited greater degrees of access to formal bridging and linking …

Cultivating Chingona Power: A Study On The Chingona Identity, Celia Orosco Haro

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Mujeres across the country are claiming the Chingona identity and using it to cultivate their Chingona strength, feel empowered, and live for their own approval. A Chingona in this newly reclaimed use means a woman who embodies confidence, acceptance of self, reclamation of sexuality, siguiendo le adelante por su propio camino sin importarle lo que digan los demás, rejects social and cultural norms/expectations of women, and uses her strengths to empower and uplift others. Through the reclamation of this identity, these mujeres are moving beyond being hijas de la chingada to being Chingonas. This research highlights the Chingona identity …

(In)Difference To Survivors: The Anti-Violence Comics Project, Henry Solares

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Sexualized violence prevention at the university level can sometimes leave out the perspectives and needs of marginalized groups. Ethics should always serve to temper any endeavors to work with marginalized groups. Any endeavor into the field requires methods and frameworks that serve not only the needs of the researcher but also the knowledge builders involved. Postmodern ethnography articulates a need for contesting a positivist understanding of knowledge through use of alternative methods like novelized fiction, autobiography, documentary, and visual art. In conjunction, intersectional theory forces us to consider our place as researchers and the larger power dynamics within our culture. …

Feminización De Las Ocupaciones Y Diferencias Salariales Por Género Para Colombia Urbana: 2008-2016, Maria Camila Palacios Riaño

Economía

Evidencia empírica sugiere que, como resultado de la segregación ocupacional en la brecha salarial de género, las ocupaciones mayoritariamente desarrolladas por mujeres ofrecen salarios más bajos para ambos sexos. La concentración constante en grupos de trabajo con salarios bajos perpetúa al mismo tiempo el fenómeno de segregación y la desventaja salarial por género. El presente trabajo sigue la metodología utilizada por Isaza Castro (2013), donde se realiza una clasificación de las ocupaciones para el caso colombiano y una estimación de ecuaciones de salarios para hombres y mujeres controlando por la proporción de mujeres existente al interior de cada ocupación como …

Are Women Bad At Math Or Is It Just An Illusion? How False Memories And Gender Stereotypes Can Influence Women’S Perception Of Stem, Alexa Nicole Jayne

Regis University Student Publications (comprehensive collection)

False memories and gender stereotypes were used to investigate if inducing a false memory of having a negative experience in a STEM field would influence participant’s preferences pertaining to the field. Women were recruited or volunteered to participate in the study. In the first session, participants completed a series of questionnaires to gauge their pre-existing experiences and attitudes towards STEM and non-STEM related subjects (n = 268). In the second session, participants whose responses from the first survey qualified, were randomly assigned to either the control (n = 74) or experimental condition (n = 71). Participants received …

The Most Beautiful Of All: A Quantitative Approach To Fairy-Tale Femininity, Jeana Jorgensen

Scholarship and Professional Work - LAS

Feminist folklorists have long asserted that women’s bodies are represented in fairy tales differently than men’s bodies, in normative and sexist ways. By using computational approaches to analyze a corpus of canonical fairy tales, I assess these claims and establish that women’s bodies are depicted in distinctive ways in fairy tales. This finding is important for scholars interested in fairy-tale studies, gender studies, and computational approaches to folklore studies.

Indigenous Masculinities And The Tarascan Borderlands In Sixteenth-Century Michoacán, Daniel Santana

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This Dissertation studies the hypermasculine narratives related to the expansion of the Tarascan state and its borderlands in early colonial Michoacán. Colonial texts such as the Relación de Michoacán and the relaciones geográficas depict the ascendance of the powerful Uacúsecha dynasty whose solar deity and male rulers oversaw the conquest of the Lake Pátzcuaro Basin and succeeded in holding back the Mexica (Aztecs) from penetrating their territories. The Dissertation pays particular attention to how contemporary political events, namely the Spanish conquest of Michoacán, endemic warfare in center-west Mexico, and political rivalries amongst Indigenous elites, influenced these accounts. Consequently, these narratives …

Actual And Self-Assessed Financial Literacy Among Employees Of A South African University, Gizelle D. Willows

Numeracy

This study examines the level of financial literacy and self-assessed financial literacy amongst members of a South African tertiary institution’s retirement fund. Based on surveys of the fund’s members, I employ descriptive statistics and multivariate regression analyses to examine differences in financial literacy within and across groups. The results show that, despite working for an employer implementing many best practices identified by financial literacy advocates, respondents from all demographic subgroups possess relatively low levels of financial knowledge. Men, White respondents, and those with a higher cost of employment or higher educational attainment were more likely to have a higher level …

Parents Who Kill: Media Constructions Of Male And Female Filicide Cases, Mary Mccluskey

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Often, mothers who murder their children are portrayed as “bad mothers”, as “the news media creates monsters out of [those] who transgress what is considered appropriate maternal behavior” (Goc, 2009, p. 42). This is especially important, as the media has created portrayals of females as murderers which are different from portrayals of males who murder their children. Previous research has addressed the association of motherhood in female offenders, however, there is a lack of research that compares the portrayals of females and males who murder their children, formally known as filicide. Using a social constructionist lens, this research analyzes filicide …

New Technology, Old Ways? The Gender Price Discount In Online Contemporary Art Auctions, Madeleine Peterson

Scripps Senior Theses

There is evidence there is a global gender price gap in traditional global art auctions. Taking into account recent technological advances in the secondary art market, this study examines if there is a gender gap for the sale prices of female artists’ work in the contemporary, online art auction market. The analysis uses a unique data set of art works sold in Christie’s Online-Only Auctions for the year of 2018. We regress measures of price on gender and controls for various characteristics of the art work and artist. We find that while there is discount in prices of 17% for …

Sentencing Length Disparities: Assessing Why Race And Gender Influence Judges’ Decisions, Janna Akers

Scripps Senior Theses

The purpose of this study is to assess why the race and gender of defendants influence judges’ decisions using the focal concern theory. This study will require around 84 participants. Participants will be federal judges who will be recruited via email. In an online survey, participants will be randomly assigned to one of four conditions . Participants will all read a vignette which an individual was convicted for in trafficking of Xanax. The vignette will be manipulated by the name and accompanying a mugshot based on the race (Black/White) and gender (male/female) of the defendant. The expected result is that …