Bachelor of Arts, Wittenberg University, 2023, Political Science

For a comprehensive understanding of attitudes toward the death penalty, it is crucial to examine the historical backdrop of racial inequality in the criminal justice system. By delving into the history of incarceration and influential policies from the abolition of slavery to the present day, this study seeks to uncover the potential connections between these policies and death penalty attitudes. Utilizing data from the Pew Research Center, bivariate and multivariate analyses were conducted to investigate the interplay among various variables, including race, partisanship, religion, age, and gender. The results revealed significant associations between all independent variables and attitudes toward the death penalty. Females exhibited a negative relationship, indicating a lower likelihood of supporting capital punishment compared to males. Religious denomination displayed a statistically significant relationship across all three categories, with Protestants, Catholics, and Mormons more inclined to support the death penalty. Party affiliation exhibited a statistically negative relationship, indicating that Democrats were less likely to support capital punishment compared to Independents and Republicans. Notably, race was found to be negatively associated with the death penalty, suggesting that black individuals are less likely to support it compared to their white counterparts. This finding can be attributed to the historical mistreatment and discriminatory practices faced by African Americans within the criminal justice system. Given the pervasive inequalities experienced by African Americans throughout history due to governmental policies, it is unsurprising to observe a substantial disparity in death penalty attitudes between African Americans and white individuals.

Committee: Staci Rhine (Advisor); Scott Rosenberg (Committee Member); Rob Baker (Committee Member) Subjects: African American Studies; African Americans; Criminology; Ethnic Studies; Political Science; Sociology

Doctor of Philosophy, University of Toledo, 2021, Foundations of Education

University courses implementing multicultural pedagogy currently appear to be one solution to countering the long history of racism in education, but they are often not required as a part of the curriculum. Additionally, in higher educational institutions, students are not expected or required to take courses that address their beliefs about race. Given the rapidly changing racial demographics of society, schools must be intentional about how they educate, address, and confront racial issues. This study focused specifically on the changes in racial actions, attitudes, knowledge, and opinions that occurred over one semester. The quantitative data gathered from a pre-test and post-test surveys were analyzed to determine if there was a change in student attitudes about race while enrolled in a course that utilized a multicultural social reconstructionist approach to teaching about issues of diversity. The results showed significant directional change from students. This research study contributed to the body of literature surrounding the critical and descriptive analysis of student action, attitudinal, knowledge, and opinion changes during a single semester course.

Committee: Edward Janak PhD (Committee Chair); Christine Fox PhD (Committee Member); Sammy Spann PhD (Committee Member); Anthony Mitchell PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Sociology

Doctor of Psychology (Psy.D.), Xavier University, 2021, Psychology

The prevalence of transracial adoptions of Black children by White parents in the United States is rapidly increasing, and currently the adoption of Black children by White parents is the most frequent transracial adoptee-parent combination (Lee, 2003; Marr, 2017). With the increase of transracial adoptions in the U.S., questions arise about White transracial adoptive parents' capability to promote the racial-ethnic identity of their adopted Black child(ren), specifically with regard to their knowledge about how to promote the healthy racial-ethnic identity of racially diverse youth. The current study examined if White transracial adoptive parents' knowledge of how racial-ethnic identity develops impacts their intentions to promote their adopted Black children's racial-ethnic identity in the context of the theory of planned behavior. Caucasian parents (both mothers and fathers) who have adopted, or were in the process of adopting, Black or African American child(ren) (n = 199) completed measures examining their factual knowledge of normative racial-ethnic identity development and their attitudes, perceived subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, and intentions related to engaging in the racial-ethnic socialization process. Results revealed that parents' knowledge of normative racial-ethnic identity development was negatively correlated with their intentions to engage in the racial-ethnic socialization of their Black child; however, parents' intentions were positively correlated with their attitudes toward, subjective norms for, and perceived behavioral control of the racial-ethnic socialization of their adopted Black child(ren). Further, knowledge was not an incremental predictor of parents' intentions to engage in the racial-ethnic socialization process beyond the components of the theory of planned behavior. Finally, results revealed that parents who perceived greater subjective norms for and greater behavioral control of racial-ethnic socialization report (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Tammy Sonnentag Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Stacy Raj Ph.D. (Committee Member); Christian End Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Developmental Psychology; Psychology; Social Psychology

PhD, University of Cincinnati, 2020, Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services: Criminal Justice

Beginning around 2010, the United States saw a sea change that shifted the focus of correctional policy away from punishment and toward promoting rehabilitation and the successful reentry of prisoners upon returning to society. Two key aspects of this shift have been (1) the call for a pathway by which those who have committed crime can be “redeemed” for their past misdeeds and go on to live a life free of crime and (2) demands to acknowledge and put an end to racial disparities and injustices in the criminal justice system. Although criminal justice public opinion research has done well to examine how animus toward Black people impacts support for punitive policies, research on public opinion of progressive reforms has received decidedly less attention. Likewise, researchers have largely ignored racial attitudes other than animus that have long existed but are becoming increasingly apparent in present day America. In this context, the purpose of this dissertation is to measure a diverse set of racial attitudes that capture White Americans' resentment toward Blacks, sympathy toward Blacks, and beliefs about Whiteness and to evaluate the effects of those attitudes on individuals' opinions of wide range of correctional policies.

Committee: Ben Feldmeyer Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Francis Cullen Ph.D. (Committee Member); Paula Smith Ph.D. (Committee Member); Thomas Vander Ven Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Criminology

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD), Wright State University, 2020, School of Professional Psychology

Jurors, representatives of the communities from which they are selected, are tasked with the responsibility of reaching a verdict in an impartial, unbiased manner. Previous research has found that bias and negative attitudes impact juror decision-making, despite practices that are in place to dismiss potentially biased jurors, such as voir dire. Studies have found a correlation between racial biases and juror verdicts. Additionally, a correlation has also been found between insanity defense attitudes and a juror's propensity to favor (or not favor) a Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity (NGRI) acquittal. However, there has been limited examination of the impact of racial bias on juror decision-making in cases of NGRI, as evidenced by a lack of available research in this area. The Insanity Defense Attitudes – Revised (IDA-R) scale is a validated measure of venirepersons (potential jurors) attitudes surrounding NGRI. The IDA-R and a demographic survey were issued to jury-eligible participants from a Midwestern state, following a NGRI case vignette featuring either a White or African American male defendant. All participants met minimum criteria to be an Ohio juror. Findings include the overestimation of NGRI pleas in criminal court, the underestimation of NGRI acquittals, and a correlation between higher IDA-R scale scores and Guilty verdicts among participants. Additionally, race of the participant appeared to predict final verdict for some groups.

Committee: LaTrelle Jackson PhD, CCFC, ABPP (Committee Chair); Michelle Schultz PsyD (Committee Member); Christy Tinch PsyD (Committee Member) Subjects: Psychology

Doctor of Philosophy, University of Toledo, 2019, Counselor Education (Clinical Mental Health Counseling)

Multicultural counseling competence is described in the literature as a close companion and complement to social justice (Ratts, 2011; Ratts, Singh, Nassar-McMillan, Butler, & McCoullah, 2015). Social justice in the counseling profession involves work with individuals, groups, and systems to improve the human condition by removing oppressive barriers in the environment through empowerment and advocacy (American Counseling Association, 2014; Lewis, Arnold, House, & Toporek, 2002). Calls from the profession are evident in the development of the Advocacy Competencies, the inclusion of advocacy in the 2014 ACA Code of Ethics, and 2016 CACREP training standards. Counselor trainees are expected to obtain training in multicultural counseling and social justice advocacy and engage in such practices during their profession. The following study explored social justice training, training environment supports and barriers, perception of institutional support on social justice and student beliefs on colorblind racial attitudes, social justice interest, social justice commitment, and social justice self-efficacy. Master's level trainees in CACREP accredited Clinical Mental Health Counseling and School Counseling programs were surveyed using the Color-Blind Racial Attitudes Scale (Neville et al. 2000), Social Issues Questionnaire (Miller et al., 2009), and the Training Environment Support and Barriers scale (Miller & Sendrowitz, 2011). This study sought to identify if formal training experiences and supportive training environments influence, if at all, Masters' level counseling trainees beliefs on colorblind racial attitudes, social justice interest, commitment, and self-efficacy. Survey results did not find statistically significant differences between students that did and did not take a multicultural course, social justice course, or completed at least three conferences or workshops on social justice on their reported social justice interest, commitment, self-efficacy, or colo (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: John Laux (Committee Chair); Christopher Roseman (Committee Member); Shanda Gore (Committee Member); Sammy Spann (Committee Member) Subjects: Counseling Education

BA, Oberlin College, 2017, Psychology

In addition to structural issues within the U.S. justice system, psychological factors contribute to the recent pattern of non-indictments of police officers tried for potential uses of excessive force against Black people. This paper examines the effects of metaphorically framed racial stereotypes and victim race on juror cognition, reasoning, and decision-making. A study was administered via Amazon Mechanical Turk to 420 White participants. The hypotheses were tested using a 3 (Black stereotype metaphors vs. non-stereotypical race-neutral dehumanizing metaphors vs. non-metaphoric semantically similar descriptors) x 2 (race of victim of police violence: White vs. Black) factorial design. While no significant effects of metaphor were found, the experiment identified significant main effects of race and general attitudes toward police as well as interactions between the two. When the case involved a Black victim as opposed to a White victim, participants were more likely to confidently vote against the indictment of the police officer and rate the actions of the police officer as more justified and use of lethal force as more necessary. The involvement of a Black victim also strengthened the relationship between favorable attitudes toward the police and pro-police ratings and decision-making.

Committee: Cynthia McPherson Frantz (Advisor); Nancy Darling (Committee Member); Patricia deWinstanley (Committee Member); Meghan Morean (Committee Member) Subjects: Cognitive Psychology; Legal Studies; Psychology; Social Psychology; Social Research

PHD, Kent State University, 2017, College of Nursing

African American women have poorer pregnancy outcomes than other groups in the U.S., and this disparity is not fully understood. Preconceptional health status, including obesity, influences pregnancy outcomes, and chronic stress may increase obesity via Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis dysfunction. Racial discrimination (RD) as a chronic stressor may contribute to obesity; however racial identity attitudes may reduce negative health effects of race-related stress. This cross-sectional study investigated relationships among three manifestations of interpersonal RD (overt, microaggressions and vicarious), explicit and implicit racial identity attitudes, and objective measures of obesity in 136 collegiate African American women aged 18 to 25 years. Participants were recruited using multiple methods. Correlations and multiple regression were used to answer research questions. Microaggressions explained variance in obesity and central adiposity, with obesity measures increasing as microaggressions rose. Overt RD also explained variance in obesity measures, but inverse relationships were observed. Private regard was significantly inversely correlated with both obesity and central adiposity, and ethnic identity was significantly inversely correlated with waist circumference. Interactions between public regard, centrality, implicit racial identity and all three RD measures explained variance in obesity and central adiposity. A secondary aim was to assess the acceptability of assessing Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis functioning through the use of cortisol derived from hair samples. Few hair cortisol studies to date have included African American participants, and most have focused on older populations. Participants who accepted and declined hair sampling described their reasons via an open-ended written survey question. Seventy-one women (52%) took part in hair sampling.

Committee: Mary Anthony PhD (Committee Chair); Barbara Broome PhD (Committee Member); Lori Kidd PhD (Committee Member); Angela Neal-Barnett PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: African Americans; Health; Nursing

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD), Wright State University, 2014, School of Professional Psychology

This study was designed to examine how skin tone discrimination affects African American women. The phenomenon of colorism is not exclusive to African American women, but the manifestations on this group are diverse, and the effects are unique. Previous research has shown that the experience of colorism is pervasive within the Black community and that most African American women have been, either culturally or personally, affected by intra-racial discrimination. This body of work used a focus group to investigate the experiences of African American women who were categorized according to their self ascribed skin tone group. It specifically explored skin tone bias as a three-tiered variable in terms of intra-racial dynamics, including light, brown, and dark skinned women. The experiences of these women were coded into broader themes that depict the experiences of African American women as a function of their skin tone. The findings suggest that women of different hues have unique experiences based on their skin tone, and that these experiences influence how they feel about themselves, and how they interact with others. This research should inform the clinical work of future clinicians engaging with this population. It will hopefully stimulate critical discussions within academic forums that would promote further research and better understanding of this group's dynamics.

Committee: James Dobbins Ph.D., ABPP (Committee Chair); Kathleen Malloy Ph.D., ABPP (Committee Member); Celeste Waller Psy.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: African American Studies; African Americans; Ethnic Studies; Minority and Ethnic Groups; Psychology; Women's Studies

EdD, University of Cincinnati, 2009, Education : Urban Educational Leadership

Racial identity and color-blind attitudes were compared among one hundred and forty-two (N=142) college students from a predominantly white urban Midwestern university. Racial centrality, private regard, and public regard were compared between African American college students in a race-specific scholarship program and African American college students not in the race-specific scholarship program. The perceptions of color-blind attitudes were also compared between African American college students in the race-specific scholarship program and African American college students not in the scholarship program. The findings indicate that African American college students who were not in the race-specific scholarship program had higher racial centrality and private regard. African American college students in the race-specific scholarship program were more favorable to affirmative action than Asian American and Hispanic college students in the same race-specific scholarship program. In addition, African American college students overall did not adopt color-blind attitudes.

Committee: Roger Collins PhD (Committee Chair); Eric Abercrumbie PhD (Committee Member); Vanessa Allen-Brown PhD (Committee Member); Nancy Evers PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: African Americans; Higher Education; Minority and Ethnic Groups

PhD, University of Cincinnati, 2008, Education : Criminal Justice

During the past three decades a considerable amount of research has revealed disparity between whites and minority group members in their assessments of the police. One of the most consistent findings is that African Americans hold less favorable opinions of the police than do Whites. Although the literature has consistently demonstrated that degree of satisfaction with the police varies between these two groups, Blacks and Whites. Several variables, both at the individual and contextual levels, have been specified by researchers and have contributed to the understanding of both citizens' attitudes and assessments of the police. However, sources of racial variations are still not well understood. The present study investigates another possible source of explanation citizens' preferences for police work. The current study seeks to determine if race is a factor affecting citizens' preferences for police work. The findings indicate some distinctive differences between the two groups signifying that there do exist racial differences in preferences for police work. These findings support the need for more research examining citizens' preferences; particularly research examining the impact of differing racial preferences on attitudes towards and assessments of the police.

Committee: Lawrence Travis III PhD (Committee Chair); Sandra Browning PhD (Committee Member); James Frank PhD (Committee Member); Helen Taylor Greene PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Criminology

Doctor of Philosophy, Miami University, 2011, Psychology

Two experiments tested the hypothesis that stereotypic expectancies exacerbate the cross-race effect in face recognition (CRE). Experiment 1 examined this stereotyping hypothesis by pairing cross-race (CR) Black targets and same-race (SR) White targets with either firearms or tools. Given the stereotypic linkage that exists between Blacks and firearms (Correll et al., 2002; Payne, 2001), the stereotyping hypothesis predicts an exacerbated CRE in the firearm relative to tool conditions. Furthermore, it was predicted that this increase should be predicted by the strength of participants‟ own race-weapon associations. Experiment 2 investigated attentional bias as a possible mechanism for these effects using a dot probe paradigm. Across both experiments, SR faces were better recognized than CR faces (consistent with the CRE), and faces were better recognized in the firearm than tool conditions. Neither the presence of a firearm nor the strength of participants‟ own race-weapon associations predicted the CRE. Possible theoretical implications for social cognitive models of the CRE and applied implications for eyewitness memory are discussed as well as possible directions for future research.

Committee: Kurt Hugenberg (Advisor); Heather M. Claypool (Committee Member); Maria L. Cronley (Committee Member); Amanda B. Diekman (Committee Member); Allen R. McConnell (Committee Member) Subjects: Psychology; Social Psychology

Master of Arts (M.A.), University of Dayton, 2012, Psychology, Clinical

The present study examined whether stigma toward individuals with mental illness will evidence itself in job performance evaluations. To enhance this potential effect of mental illness stigma, an additional “difference” of race was included as a factor that may affect perception of functioning and attitude towards the individual with a mental illness diagnosis. Additionally, general professed attitudes towards mental illness and direct attitudes when one is exposed to an individual with a mental illness diagnosis were considered. Participants were drawn from the undergraduate population of a midsize private university and responded to three questionnaires after viewing a video clip of an individual experiencing a moderately stressful day at work. Half the participants were given the information that the individual they viewed was undergoing treatment for a mental illness, and the other half were not given this information. Some of the participants viewed an actor of the same race, while the others viewed an actor of a different race. Data were analyzed by condition and race. The results of this study did not support the hypotheses. Contrary to expectations, information that the actor had been diagnosed with a mental illness did not influence job ratings or attitudes toward mental illness. Similarly, results indicated that participants' evaluations were not affected by similarities and differences in the races of the observed and the observer. Finally, attitudes to mental illness generally did predict participants' direct attitudes toward an individual who was presented as having a mental illness. Prior contact and experience with individuals with mental illness did not moderate these results. Possible explanations for the outcome of the study are discussed.

Committee: Carolyn Phelps PhD (Committee Chair); Lee Dixon PhD (Committee Member); Matthew Montoya PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Behavioral Psychology; Clinical Psychology; Psychology; Social Psychology

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 2006, Sociology

Universities invest a considerable amount of time and money in diversity education because they believe that contact with diversity will directly translate into more positive attitudes toward diverse racial and ethnic groups within society. However, this assumption, that contact will directly influence attitudes and dispel stereotypes, has not found consistent support in research studies. The purpose of this thesis project was to gain a greater understanding of the potential effect interracial contact occurring in one's college years has on one's attitudes toward other racial groups, specifically, one's support for affirmative action policies. This topic was approached from a social psychological perspective. It was the interaction between an individual and his or her environment that was of particular interest. The data for this investigation were analyzed using a variety of statistical modeling strategies: two regressions using lagged endogenous variables as covariates; one regression using the change-score method; one regression using the cross-sectional data only; and a fixed-effects model using the first-differencing approach. The potential for bias due to sample-selection effects was also examined. The analytic sample comes from the Michigan Student Study. This is a four-year longitudinal study that follows the University of Michigan undergraduate class of 1994 from the time students enter the university until their fourth year. According to the University of Michigan researchers, the major emphasis of this data collection effort is on racial and ethnic diversity including students' reactions to academic and social experiences. The results of these regressions, taken together, did not provide much support for the claim that increased interracial contact leads to more positive racial attitudes. However, the first- differencing approach, the technique perhaps best suited to the research question, did find some weak support for a relationship between interracial (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Alfred DeMaris (Advisor) Subjects: Sociology, Ethnic and Racial Studies

Doctor of Philosophy, University of Akron, 2007, Counseling Psychology

Much of the previous literature on the assessment of multicultural counseling competence has examined counselors' abilities when working with individual clients; this study expanded prior research by investigating trainees' multicultural case conceptualization ability (MCCA; Ladany, Inman, Constantine, & Hofheinz, 1997) with couples. Additional methodological limitations present in the assessment of multicultural case conceptualization ability were addressed by looking at variables that might detract from competence (i.e., color-blind racial attitudes), examining the stimulus value of the race of the client in the vignette, and exploring the effects of a multidimensional measure of social desirability. The current study also investigated two different assessment methods, self-report and observer-report, of multicultural counseling competence and ascertained how each method is related to multicultural training and clinical experience. The present study represents an exploration of trainees' self-reported multicultural counseling competence, color-blind racial attitudes, social desirability, and multicultural case conceptualization ability when working with couples. Participants completed online a demographic questionnaire, a multicultural case conceptualization ability task (cf. Constantine & Ladany, 2000), the Multicultural Counseling Knowledge and Awareness Scale (MCKAS; Ponterotto et al., 2002), the Color-Blind Racial Attitudes Scale (CoBRAS; Neville et al., 2000), and the Balanced Inventory of Desirable Responding (BIDR; Paulhus, 1991). Major findings of the study were: 1) socially desirable responding had no significant relation with the MCCA task, the MCKAS, and two of the three subscale of the CoBRAS; 2) self-reported multicultural knowledge was not related to an observable measure of multicultural counseling competence; 3) multicultural didactic training (other than coursework) accounted for a significant amount of variance in multicultural case conceptualiza (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Loreto Prieto (Advisor) Subjects: Psychology, General