Master of Arts, The Ohio State University, 2005, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects:

Master of Arts, The Ohio State University, 1970, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects:

MA, Kent State University, 0, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Psychological Sciences

Research has shown that internalizing disorders are on the rise. Notably, this rise has mirrored the increased use of social media. Despite research on the association between social media use and internalizing disorders, there has been limited investigation into the impact of social media experiences, connections to social media, or potential moderators of the relationship. To address this gap, the present study examined the relationship between indices of social media usage (i.e., experiences, victimization, emotional connection) and an individual's level of depressive, generalized anxiety, and social anxiety symptoms. As hypothesized, negative and ignored experiences were associated with increased depression, generalized anxiety, and social anxiety. Contrary to hypotheses, higher emotional connection to social media was only significantly associated with increased generalized anxiety, not depression or social anxiety. The association between negative experiences and depressive symptoms was moderated by sleep quality. Sleep quality also moderated the association between negative experiences and generalized anxiety, but not social anxiety. The frequency of social comparison and life satisfaction did not significantly moderate the relationship between negative experiences and increased depression, generalized anxiety, or social anxiety. These results support the relationship between social media experiences, emotional connection, and internalizing disorders. Future directions and limitations of the current study are discussed.

Committee: Jeffrey Ciesla (Advisor); Christopher Was (Committee Member); Amy Sato (Committee Member); Joel Hughes (Committee Member) Subjects: Clinical Psychology

PhD, University of Cincinnati, 2023, Arts and Sciences: Sociology

Visualizations of Black males have transfixed the minds of laypersons and scholars for hundreds of years. Yet, while diverse Black boys and men are hyper-visible in contemporary U.S. films, scholars still utilize a deficit perspective when analyzing their representations and argue that they are overwhelmingly depicted in deleterious, disparaging, and stereotypical ways. Scholarship on the impacts of such representations assumes a link between negative portrayals and negative outcomes. Much less attention has been given to the potential benefits of more nuanced and positive portrayals of Black characters on the lives of everyday Black men. Moreover, such limitations means that we know surprisingly little about how audiences of Black males interpret their on-screen equivalents as related to their own understandings of who they are. Drawing on qualitative data from in-depth individual and focus group interviews with 51 Black men from across the United States with varied social locations, I examine how they (re)negotiate race, masculinity, and personhood with respect to the Black cinematic characters they consume. Relying on foundations in Black Male Studies, conceptualizations of Black males and masculinity, and Collins Black feminist thought, I develop the theory of Black Masculine Thought to understand how Black men decode Black male characters in film. More specifically, the findings reveal three main strategies that the men use to decode their on-screen counterparts. First, while they acknowledge the existence stereotypical portrayals, they either deflect them as unimportant, or they actively resist them by reconsidering the characters in complex, humanizing ways. Second, they approach Black men in film as sources of social representation or identification. They see themselves in a range of characters and use them as inspiration for their own lives—especially instances where characters persevere through struggle. Finally, they are especially attuned to, and inspire (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Annulla Linders Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Earl Wright II Ph.D. (Committee Member); Ronald Jackson II Ph.D. (Committee Member); Omotayo Banjo Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Sociology

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2023, Communication

Perceived character depth is a concept relevant for understanding and predicting audience responses to narrative media, yet it has been largely unexplored in the field of media psychology. Through a careful review of diverse literatures, the current work offers a formal conceptualization of character depth as the extent to which a character's textual exposition evokes a detailed and multi-faceted mental conception of a character's psyche, behavior, and experience. After devising a series of items to measure character depth, this work then presents a series of experimental studies designed to test various aspects of validity of the proposed measurement scale and to test a causal path model of the relationship between character depth and processes specified by affective disposition theory (see Zillmann, 2000). Study 1 uses a known-groups approach and confirmatory factor analysis to test the predictive validity and measurement model of a 20-item proposed perceived character depth scale. Selective item retention results in a 6-item scale with excellent model fit. Studies 2 and 3 lend additional support to the validity of this 6-item scale's measurement model through tests of the scale in two different narrative contexts, both of which result in excellent model fit. Across Studies 1-3, evidence emerges of the convergent and discriminant validity of the scale in relation to other character perception variables. Study 4 applies this new measure in a 2 X 3 between-subjects experimental design that manipulates both character depth and character moral behavior independently. Results show that character depth impacts disposition formation and anticipatory responses above and beyond audience reactions to moral behavior. This finding has important theoretical implications for affective disposition theory (Zillmann, 2000), indicating that perceived character depth may serve as an additional predictor of disposition formation not specified in the original theory. Future research d (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Matthew Grizzard (Advisor); Emily Moyer-Guse (Advisor); Nicholas Matthews (Committee Member) Subjects: Communication; Mass Communications; Mass Media; Psychology

Bachelor of Arts, Capital University, 2021, Psychology

The purpose of this research was to examine how young adults aged 18-24 at Capital University, a small Midwestern liberal arts institution, post items on Instagram with specific focus on the level of accuracy of their self-representations. Social media has changed the way that people communicate with each other, including changing the self perceptions they project about their lives. Participants completed surveys that assessed the level of self-reported isolation; further, they reported how they view themselves through social media. Guided by both sociological and psychological theoretical frameworks, including Charles Horton Cooley's theory of the 'Looking Glass Self' and Erik Erikson's Psychosocial Theory of Human Development, the results support the need to test theories that have long influenced our understanding of the importance identity development and self-perceptions have within an ecological framework. Specifically, how can we use these theories to understand present day social media? Such studies can glean information about the role of social media young adult development, specifically within relationships.

Committee: Pam Ellwanger-Schmidt (Advisor); Stephanie Wilson (Advisor) Subjects: Developmental Psychology; Psychology; Social Psychology; Social Work

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2019, Political Science

Social influence shapes the political opinions people form and the norms they adopt. I show that three key types of social networks drive the type of social influence people face: fully-connected deliberative networks, social hierarchies based on status, and star networks that group up around a central opinion leader. In chapter one, I lay the foundation for thinking of public opinion as emerging from people's social structures. I then apply the theory to international norm adoption and show that the type of network an individual is placed in has a direct effect on the norms they adopt, over and above partisanship. In chapter two, I use a custom-made Twitter-like environment to show experimentally that hierarchies foster the adoption of partisan-leaning norms as members pursue status. Stars, in contrast, inoculate their members against false claims due to the reputations costs opinion leaders face in misleading their followers. In chapter three, I expand on these findings by priming subjects in a survey experiment with an image of their social structure, and show that placing a political independent in a social hierarchy at the individual-level makes them favor U.S. isolationism, international competition in domains such as trade, and overall unilateralism on the world stage. The conclusion of these two studies is clear: social hierarchies prime competitive political thinking, often leading to the adoption of norms based on false premises, and star networks help their followers sift through the noise and misinformation that prevails in online fully-connected networks. These findings highlight the importance of viewing norm adoption and opinion formation as a social endeavor that is deeply influenced by one's reference network. As online social networks continue to expand, identifying the types of networks that characterize these social environments becomes imperative for students of public opinion and international relations that seek to understand why some norms an (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Skyler Cranmer (Committee Chair); Christopher Gelpi (Committee Member); Richard Herrmann (Committee Member); Jon Krosnick (Committee Member) Subjects: International Relations; Political Science

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 2017, Psychology/Clinical

The present study explored the nature of social justice discussions on the social networking site Tumblr using publicly available data from Tumblr posts generated between March 16, 2016 and March 30, 2016. Posts were self-identified by users with at least one of five common hashtags related to social justice identified in a pilot study on Tumblr. These hashtags were #Black Lives Matter, #Feminism, #Racism, #Social Justice, and #SJW, an abbreviation for “social justice warrior” a phrase used to label individuals who engage in social justice discussions online. Findings indicated that posts about social justice are common on Tumblr with 15,160 public posts created by 8,794 users across the two weeks. However, not all posts reflect a positive attitude toward social justice with 8.6% of posts expressing disagreement or even hostility toward movements promoting equality. Data from the present study were compared to data collected in the pilot study to describe consistency and differences in results using the same methodology at two different time points for two different lengths of time. Implications of study findings for clinical and research purposes are discussed.

Committee: Catherine Stein Ph.D. (Advisor); Dale Klopfer Ph.D. (Committee Member); Carolyn Tompsett Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Clinical Psychology; Psychology

Artium Baccalaureus (AB), Ohio University, 2016, Political Science

This thesis attempts to investigate and advance understanding of polarizing leadership through a case study of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The study utilizes operational code analysis as the basis of investigation, examining Netanyahu through his speeches, interviews, and social media. Qualitative and quantitative methods are utilized, including applying George's operational code questions and running a sample of texts through VICS coding. Facial recognition technology is also used to demonstrate new methods of collecting data for the purpose of leadership studies. Though VICS coding results in fairly neutral results for most measures, both facial recognition software and qualitative analysis suggest that Netanyahu may harbor a more negative, conflictual operational code. Qualitative analysis also provides a much greater wealth of nuanced information that helps to understand Netanyahu's belief system and likely actions. In the process, this study provides evidence of information overlooked in VICS coding that should be better addressed moving forward. It also suggests that Netanyahu is best understood as a realist or pragmatic realist who is most concerned with maintaining security through a power imbalance. Conclusions drawn suggest that there is little chance for Israel to obtain peace with its neighboring countries under Netanyahu's leadership and may also provide broader implications and research directions regarding polarizing leadership as a whole.

Committee: Nukhet Sandal Dr. (Advisor) Subjects: Middle Eastern Studies; Personality; Political Science; Psychology

Psy. D., Antioch University, 2015, Antioch Santa Barbara: Clinical Psychology

This dissertation focused on capturing and describing the experience of sexuality for women between the ages of 65 and 75 as they live in American society. The main research question asks how these women gain awareness, perceive, and react to the stereotypes, assumptions, expectations, and negative images associated with their sexuality. The participants completed a questionnaire and a semi-structured interview with the principal researcher. Information was gathered about age, relationships, family history, employment, and sexuality. In the interview general and specific questions were asked relating to sexuality in order to answer the research questions. The data from these was analyzed to answer the research questions. The short term goal of this research was to gain understanding and inform the field of psychology and the public about the experience of the studied population. Another goal was to outline possible implications of the findings for clinical practice and future research. The data collected was able to answer questions related to how social influences played a role in the lives of older women. The electronic version of the dissertation is accessible at the Ohiolink ETD center http://www.ohiolink.edu/etd

Committee: Sharleen O'Brien Psy.D (Committee Chair); Bella DePaulo Ph.D (Committee Member); Whitney Dunbar Psy.D (Other); Susan Kolod Ph.D. (Other) Subjects: Clinical Psychology; Developmental Psychology; Gender Studies; Psychology; Social Psychology

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Bowling Green State University, 2015, Psychology/Clinical

Having extra body fat places one in a low-status social group. People with obesity face numerous negative social consequences such as stigma and prejudice. This stigma exists in many domains including interpersonal relationships, work, school, and mass media. In television and film, characters with obesity are rare and when present they are often the targets of humor and ridicule. Research has established that attitudes toward stereotyped groups can be affected by short-term exposure to stereotypical media portrayals. Additionally, humorous presentation of disparaging stereotype-related information can alter expression of attitudes toward low-status groups. This study sought to uncover how humor and disparagement interact to affect individuals' attitudes about people with obesity. In Study 1, participants were randomly assigned to read a list of derogatory jokes about obesity, read a list of derogatory comments about obesity, or read jokes that were unrelated to obesity. All participants were then asked to report their 1) attitudes toward people with obesity in several domains, 2) level of belief in stereotypes about obesity and 3) judgment of the social acceptability of jokes about obesity. Participants' scores on these dependent measures did not differ across groups. There were no significant interactions between the independent variable and any participant characteristics. Study 2 was designed to 1) present participants with a stronger stimulus and 2) detect effects for the gender of the recipient of the derogatory humor. Participants were shown a compilation of video clips from film and television programs that featured derogatory humor targeting an obese character. They were randomly assigned to either watch videos that targeted female characters, watch videos that targeted male characters. Dependent variables were identical to Study 1. Participants' scores on these dependent measures did not differ across groups and there were no significant (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Robert Carels (Advisor); Gary Heba (Committee Member); Anne Gordon (Committee Member); William O'Brien (Committee Member) Subjects: Psychology

Doctor of Psychology (Psy.D.), Xavier University, 2004, Psychology

This study examined the effectiveness of media literacy programs in changing components of body image for undergraduate women. One hundred and twenty-two women between the ages of 18 and 21 participated in one of four psycho-educational intervention groups (Combination Intervention, Video-only Intervention, Image-Alteration only Intervention, and Control). Participants completed pre- and post-intervention assessments that measured body image perception, attitudes and behaviors, and preoccupation. This is the first study to include the demonstration of alterations to images through a computer program as a component of a media literacy intervention. In general, results demonstrated that participants exposed to an image-alteration intervention exhibit improved body image attitudes and behaviors as well as lower body image preoccupation than those who were exposed to no intervention, video-only intervention, or a combination intervention. Evidence from this study implies that including an image alteration component in a media literacy programs is beneficial for undergraduate women relative to their body image.

Committee: Cynthia L. Crown Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Christine M. Dacey Ph.D., ABPP (Committee Member); Kandi Stinson Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Counseling Psychology; Mass Communications; Womens Studies

Doctor of Psychology (Psy.D.), Xavier University, 2008, Psychology

The present study examined the effects of a media literacy intervention on the media skepticism and body image of 106 high-school sophomores (Mage= 15.67 years) at low- and high-risk for an eating disorder. The researcher developed and presented the media literacy program to 62 girls, while 44 girls served as the control group. Results indicated that, although significant decreases were found on all dependent variables, changes could not be attributed solely to the intervention. This study did reveal intervention-specific increases in media skepticism, however. Limited support was found for use of a supplemental e-mail intervention in prolonging intervention effects. Future research should explore how such programs can transcend media skepticism and produce more direct effects on eating disorder risk.

Committee: Christian End Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Cynthia L. Crown Ph.D. (Committee Member); Christine M. Dacey Ph.D., ABPP (Committee Member) Subjects: Counseling Psychology

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, 2009, Psychology (Arts and Sciences)

This study examined the effects of a mass-media, public service announcement (PSA) style video intervention that was developed for this study. Prior research findings on expectations, attitudes and intentions towards seeking mental health services were applied to the design of the intervention. A total of 228 participants were randomly assigned to one of two conditions: (1.) the media-exposed intervention group, who watched programming in which the video intervention was inserted, and (2.) a control group, who watched the same programming without the video intervention. Results indicated that the intervention was effective at increasing both positive attitudes towards therapy and intentions to seek therapy. The overall positive effect of the media intervention on intentions was primarily for seeking help for interpersonal problems (and not for academic or substance abuse problems). However, the media intervention was no different from the control group on measures of the belief-based factors that, in theory, should change prior to changes in attitudes and the actual intentions to seek. Implications of these findings for future research are discussed.

Committee: Timothy Anderson Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Benjamin Ogles Ph.D. (Committee Member); Keith Markman Ph.D. (Committee Member); John Garske Ph.D. (Committee Member); Eric Williams (Committee Member) Subjects: Health Care; Health Education; Psychotherapy; Public Health