Bachelor of Arts, Wittenberg University, 2023, Psychology

This current study investigates the relationship between sexist beliefs, self-objectification, and fear of crime. In addition, the researchers sought to investigate whether these social attitudes would predict trustworthiness ratings of male faces. In part one, survey responses from 52 participants were collected. In part two, 45 participants were exposed to a crime salience manipulation before rating the trustworthiness of a series of male faces. We ran bivariate correlations between the predictor variables to confirm existing relationships as seen in the literature regarding the development of the scales as well as the research used well after the scales were developed. The results confirmed these existing relationships and revealed a significant negative relationship between fear of crime and body shame, as well as a significant positive relationship between right-wing political ideology and hostile sexism. In part two, those who were exposed to the crime salience manipulation agreed more with the results of the crime-centered poll if they scored high in fear of crime rather than low. Those exposed to the control condition showed no difference in agreement whether low or high in fear of crime. A 4-way interaction was also found between the dichotomized fear of crime variable, the manipulation condition, face model type, and the amount of manipulation applied to faces. For trust model-derived faces, trustworthiness ratings increased in a linear progression as more information was applied. However, for dominance model-derived faces, trust judgments increased in a curvilinear progression. Trust ratings peaked at the mid-level of information and were the lowest at the highest level of information.

Committee: Michael Anes (Advisor); Cynthia Richards (Committee Member); William Davis (Committee Member) Subjects: Gender Studies; Physiological Psychology; Psychological Tests; Psychology; Social Psychology; Womens Studies

Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, 2021, Industrial/Organizational Psychology (Arts and Sciences)

While there is a substantial body of literature investigating personal experiences of sexism at work, less research has been dedicated to investigating witnessed sexism and how third parties respond to these occurrences at work. However, given the increased organizational reliance on third party intervention as a way to combat workplace sexism, it is important to understand how third parties appraise and react to sexism when they witness it. Further, the absence of research is even more pronounced for subtle forms of sexism, such as benevolent sexism, which contributes to an incomplete understanding of how third party responses may vary following different forms of sexism. Thus, this study explored differences between witnessed hostile sexism and witnessed benevolent sexism for three important third party responses: perceptions that the sexist event is a moral violation, moral anger, and reported intervention intentions. Results showed that hostile sexism was associated with higher mean levels of perceived moral violation and moral anger when compared to benevolent sexism. Additionally, the results supported a mediated model in which witnessed hostile sexism was associated with higher levels of perceived moral violation, which was then positively associated with moral anger, leading to greater reported intervention intentions than instances of witnessed benevolent sexism. These results contribute to the literature by highlighting how the subtlety of the sexism employees are exposed to impacts third party reactions. Current third party intervention trainings can also be improved through understanding how subtle discrimination differs from overt discrimination.

Committee: Lindsay Dhanani PhD (Advisor); Ryan Johnson PhD (Committee Member); Jeffrey Vancouver PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Psychology

Bachelor of Arts, Wittenberg University, 2019, Psychology

The Ambivalent Sexism Theory consists of two subdimensions of sexism—hostile sexism and benevolent sexism. Hostile sexism comprises of openly negative attitudes towards women, while benevolent sexism endorses the continuation of traditional paternalistic attitudes towards women. Previous research in the field has found significant associations between both hostilely and benevolently sexist attitudes and the Big Five personality traits of Open-Mindedness and Agreeableness as well as the personality traits of other-oriented empathy. Previous research has also found significant associations between Open-Mindedness, Agreeableness, and empathy and the interpretation of hostile sexism in real-world. The aim of this study was to determine the existence of associations between the aforementioned personality traits and the interpretation of benevolent sexism in real-world scenarios. Participants completed an anonymous online survey that assessed their endorsement of Open-Mindedness and Agreeableness personality traits, their endorsement of empathy, and their interpretation of benevolent sexism in ambiguous scenarios. The scenarios were presented in a series of vignettes created specifically for this study. This study found significant positive associations between Open-Mindedness and the interpretation of benevolent sexism. There were no significant associations between Agreeableness and the interpretation of benevolent sexism or other-oriented empathy and the interpretation of benevolent sexism. However, findings may be limited due to low power as a result of small sample size.

Committee: William Davis (Advisor); Lauren Crane (Committee Member); Kate Polak (Committee Member) Subjects: Gender; Gender Studies; Psychology; Womens Studies

Doctor of Education, Ashland University, 2018, College of Education

The underrepresentation of the African American female superintendent is disappointing and calls into question the reasoning behind such despairing amounts. In order to address that issue, one must examine the history of the African American female superintendent, recognize the barriers that she faces, and inquire about her lived experiences. The purpose of this study was to examine the lived experiences of African American female superintendents. The research answers the question of what are the lived experiences of African American female superintendents in the state of Ohio with an emphasis on their career paths, barriers, perspectives and successes. Black Feminist Theory and Critical Race Theory represent the theoretical frameworks for the research. The qualitative approach to this research was a phenomenological case study. Data for this case study were collected from four current African American superintendents in the state of Ohio. The participant presented a variety of reasons why she felt there are so few African American female superintendents in the state Ohio. The lived experiences of the participants in this study expounded the strategies necessary for overcoming barriers, facing challenges, or striving for success.

Committee: Judy Alston PhD (Committee Chair); James Olive PhD (Committee Member); Tanzeah Sharpe EdD (Committee Member) Subjects: African American Studies; African Americans; Educational Leadership; Gender Studies

Psy. D., Antioch University, 2014, Antioch Seattle: Clinical Psychology

This study examined the association between endorsement of benevolent sexism and marital satisfaction in heterosexual marriages, which are perceived as being egalitarian. The goal was to explore how covert power dynamics like those involved in benevolent sexism affect marital satisfaction, and how perceived fairness and decision-making outcomes interact with this relationship. Men and women who have cohabitated with their spouses at least five years were asked to complete measures assessing their endorsement of benevolent sexism and their perceived global marital satisfaction. Participants were also asked to fill out measures examining the mediating effect of perceived fairness and decision-making outcomes. Previous research on marital satisfaction in egalitarian couples has been equivocal. Much research has found that wives in egalitarian marriages tend to be less satisfied, while husbands tend to be more satisfied. Research on Ambivalent Sexism indicates that, very often, both men and women hold favorable views toward women who behave in "gender appropriate" ways. This study did not find a relationship between endorsement of benevolent sexism and marital satisfaction in either men or women, but it did find that perceived fairness was a significant mediator. Benevolent sexism was positively correlated with the perception that division of household labor was fair, despite wives performing a greater share of the burden. Perceived fairness was also strongly correlated to marital satisfaction. Mediation analysis indicated that marital satisfaction was affected by benevolent sexism indirectly through perceived fairness. Though decision-making outcomes were not found to be a mediating variable, a significant relationship was found between endorsement of benevolent sexism and decision-making outcomes. The goal of this research was to explore how covert power dynamics like those involved in benevolent sexism affect marital satisfaction, and how perceived fairne (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Alejandra Suarez (Committee Chair); Mary Wieneke (Committee Member); Stacey Prince (Committee Member) Subjects: Families and Family Life; Psychology