Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Affiliative behavior'

The future of the critically endangered `Alala (Corvus hawaiiensis ), with only seven individuals remaining in the wild, is wholly dependent upon the reproductive success of its captive population. Throughout the 1999 breeding season, behavioral observations were carried out on eight pairs of captive-reared Hawaiian crows. Due to the limited size of the captive population, and to avoid inbreeding, birds were paired based on their genetic profiles. As a result, there were differences in age and breeding experience within pairs. There were also differences in rearing conditions between mates. It has been suggested that social play and other affiliative behaviors may be important in young birds to form normal social bonds later in life. Affiliative behavior, such as allopreening and feeding other, was common among social-reared crows, but was virtually absent in isolate-reared individuals. Conversely, isolate-reared crows displayed various forms of aberrant behavior, including inappropriate play and self-mutilation, significantly more than the social-reared individuals. Since such behaviors occurred in the nest area throughout all phases of the breeding season, namely nest-building, egg-laying and incubation, it would appear as if early rearing condition plays a role in future reproductive success.

This dissertation consists of two studies: the first focuses on reliability of chimpanzee personality and subjective well-being (SWB) scores, the second on validating those scores by comparing them to subjective assessments of behavior in dyads. The first measured reliability of scores of personality and subjective well-being (SWB) across ten years. Dominance rank, and the Dominance and Extraversion Factors significantly correlated between time points. In the second study, I investigated the impact of personality, SWB, and demographic characteristics on individual variation in dyadic-level individual behavior. Age predicted likeability in females, and age and rank predicted likeability in males. Neither personality factors nor SWB were correlated to likeability. An Affable domain scale and an Agonistic domain scale were constructed from the personality items. The Affable domain scale correlated with chimpanzees who were scored high neutral in social interactions, and the agonistic scale correlated with low neutral score in social interactions.

Den ökade globaliseringen har resulterat i att många organisationer stiger in på denkonkurrenskraftiga internationella marknaden. Detta har influerat organisationer att spridaderas budskap globalt – oftast genom marknadsföring. Tv-reklam är en mediekanal som anseseffektiv när man tillämpar humor som en kommunikationsstrategi då den enligt tidigareforskning genererar högt medvetande hos konsumenterna. Dock, finns det ett behov av attbelysa de kulturella skillnaderna när reklamen riktas internationellt eftersom humor uppfattasolika beroende på kultur, vilken kan generera negativa effekter. Eftersom att de kulturellaskillnaderna i humoristisk reklam tenderar att bli bortsedda så fokuserar denna kvantitativestudie på att belysa dessa skillnader med hjälp av Hofstedes kulturdimensionsteori. Dennakvantitativa studie fokuserar därför på att belysa karaktärerna av de kulturella skillnaderna ihumoristisk reklam, genom att använda Hofstedes kulturdimensionsteori, eftersom de tenderaratt bli översedda. Länderna Sverige och Kina jämfördes genom att betona kulturen motreaktionerna gentemot de olika humorstilarna i tv-reklam kopplat till uppfattade känslor. Föratt kunna identifiera humortyperna, användes Rod Martins fyra humorstilar affiliative humor,self-enhancing humor, aggressive humor och self-defeating humor.Syftet med studien var att upplysa hur viktiga aspekterna av de kulturella skillnaderna är ihumoristisk reklam med betoning på kultur och hur känslor mottas i svensk och kinesiskkultur. Detta för att se hur humor kan tillämpas effektivt i reklam över internationella gränser.Enkäten utfördes på svenska och kinesiska universitetsstudenter vilket genererade i detinsamlade empiriska materialet. Resultatet visade att affiliative humor och aggressive humorapplicerad i reklamfilm tas emot likadant känslomässigt i både kinesisk och svensk kultur ochpåverkar även köpintentionerna på samma sätt. Medan, self-defeating humor och selfenhancinghumor tas känslomässigt emot likadant i båda kulturera, men de kinesiskakonsumenterna är mer villiga att köpa produkten.
The growth of globalization has resulted in more organizations entering the competitiveinternational market which has influenced organizations to disseminate their message globally- commonly through the use of advertising. Television commercial is a media channelconsidered to be highly effective if applied with humor as a communication strategy. Theeffectiveness of this strategy generates in high awareness according to previous studies.However, there is a need of highlighting the cross-cultural distinctions when promoting acrossinternational boarders as humor is perceived differently depending on culture, which cannegatively affect the results. As the cultural characteristics in this matter tend to beoverlooked, this quantitative research is focusing on highlighting the cross-culturalcharacteristics in humorous advertising, through the use of Hofstede’s framework of nationalculture. The countries Sweden and China were compared with emphasize on cultureassociated to the reaction toward different humor styles in television commercials linked toperceived emotions. For identifying the humor types, Rod Martin’s four humor stylesaffiliative humor, self-enhancing humor, aggressive humor, and self-defeating humor, wereused.The purpose of this research was to disseminate the importance of cross-cultural aspects inhumor advertising with emphasize on culture and how emotions are perceived in Swedish andChinese culture. The importance relied within how to effectively apply humor in commercialsover cross-cultural boundaries. The questionnaires were performed by Swedish and Chineseuniversity students that generated in the collection of the empirical chapter. The researchfindings indicated that affiliative humor and aggressive humor used in commercial is equallyperceived emotionally in both Chinese and Swedish culture and also affects the purchaseintention similarly. Whereas self-defeating humor and self-enhancing humor are emotionallyequally perceived in both cultures, but the Chinese consumers are more willing to purchasethe product.

Research into the origins of our own social behavior begins with understanding how environmental elements lead to complex social interaction. Social structure emerges from these interactions as a bottom-up process, whose patterning constitutes the very framework of a society. Studies of behavioral mechanisms are important in determining the full repertoire that results in the social and dominance structures of a species. Hormones such as oxytocin and cortisol facilitate and fluctuate in response to social interactions and measuring their relative values among individuals is a valuable tool in testing functional hypotheses of behavioral mechanisms. The objective of this dissertation is to investigate several fundamental, under-, or previously unstudied behavioral mechanisms and hormonal correlates that shape the unique social system of bonobos. The first study describes the pattern of expression of harassment behavior among immatures and tests predictions generated by the Exploratory Aggression and Rank Improvement hypotheses. Results demonstrate that immatures use harassment to test the nature of existing inter-individual relationships and to explore the parameters of aggressive behaviors and furthers our understanding of juvenile development of aggression and integration into the dominance hierarchy. The second study describes the pattern of occurrence of infant handling and tests predictions generated by several functional hypotheses, including examining the relationship between oxytocin and handling behaviors. Results show a significant sex difference in expression of handling where, during adolescence, male interest in infants sharply declines whereas females continue to handle infants, the expression of which was correlated with oxytocin. These results primarily support the Learning-to-Mother hypothesis and provide insight into the role oxytocin may play in facilitating care-giving behaviors in young females. The final study explores the patterning of female sexual behavior and male aggression, and investigates whether male constraint of female choice imposes a cost to females through induction of a stress response. Results show that while females exercise unconstrained mate choice through proceptive behaviors, males influence female receptivity through aggression and sexual coercion, shedding light on the degree to which rank related asymmetry in male mating success reflects female choice vs. constraint of choice. This dissertation includes previously published and unpublished co-authored material.

This dissertation engages in two major hypotheses regarding infants' naïve theory of social relationships. First, it proposes that infants may apply a domain-specific understanding to represent and reason about social groups defined by affiliation amongst their members. Second, it argues that infants may have an understanding of the causal role that behavioral conformity plays in promoting affiliation, and that this understanding may help to determine how infants reason about the coalitional social groups referred to in the first hypothesis. Experiments across three chapters address different aspects of these hypotheses. The experiments in Chapter 2 ask whether infants selectively use coalitional groups to make certain sorts of behavioral inferences, in contrast to the inferences they draw regarding other animate and inanimate categories. The experiments in Chapter 3 investigate the role of similarity of appearance in infants' representations of coalitional groups. Finally, the experiments in Chapter 4 look at how infants evaluate behavioral conformity and what they think it indicates about the attitudes of conformers and their targets. Chapter 5 synthesizes this work and discusses how it might apply to the study of imitation in both developmental and comparative fields.
Psychology

Technology is essential to organizations, especially computer-mediated communications, allowing for globalization, improved quality, and increased profits. Knowledge workers rely on technology as well as computer-mediated communication tools. Research on the use of computer-mediated communications among adolescents and in social settings has suggested that there is a lack of effective interaction and relatedness when technology is used. Research further posits that this can cause a breakdown in trust and commitment. This study used a survey to collect data about organizational commitment levels and relatedness and affiliation needs in the workplace for knowledge workers, and to what extent computer-mediated communications could explain these variables. The research question was: What is the extent of relationship between computer-mediated communications, relatedness and affiliation needs, and organizational commitment of knowledge workers? There were 199 responses collected by the researcher and analyzed with linear regression. The survey and structural model utilized a composite of existing instruments to measure computer-mediated communications, relatedness and affiliation needs in the work place, and commitment levels to the organization. Two structural models examined the relationships for the constructs and resulted in two null hypotheses being rejected. The first model tested computer-mediated communications use and relatedness and affiliation needs. The results supported a significant relationship between these variables. The second research question tested the relationship between computer-mediated communications use and normative and affective organizational commitment levels. The second model also rejected the null hypothesis and discovered a significant relationship exists between these variables. Future research was recommended to further analyze the results based on sex and age and include different classifications of knowledge workers.

There is seemingly no panacea to encourage Pro-Environmental Behaviour (PEB) however, a viable option consistently points to communities as drivers of change. The focus on individuals as targets of change has been a futile endeavour with negligible results, which has provided the impetus for research into community-led PEB. Various types of communities exist and this thesis is concerned with Communities of Practice (CoP). The CoP framework is used to analyse the success of three communities in Northern Ireland who actively promote PEB in various capacities. The research aimed to develop the CoP framework for this analysis through the use of sensitising concepts, which helped the framework to regain its analytic ability. Using place attachment, social capital and social learning as conceptual lenses to look at the communities provided specific themes relevant to PEB and community whilst encapsulating the dimensions of the CoP framework, giving them explanatory power. The research was conducted using qualitative methods to gain a deep understanding of individual biographies, the role the community plays in their life and vice versa, and finally to understand the reasons for the successful promotion of PEB in their community. The research identifies the need for bridging and linking social capital in addition to the strong bonding social capital demonstrable in the communities, but more importantly, the need for bridging capital to bring together heterogeneous communities as opposed to homogenous communities. Accessing bridging and linking social capital relies heavily on pro-active agents who have the support and capacity to do so, which should come from both the community and Government bodies. The embodiment of the practice, and social learning, helped members form an identity that affiliated them with the rest of the community, thus impacting positively on their participation. The impetus for participation was strongly affected by place attachment, which became heightened as members became more embedded in the community through practice. The place of attachment was seemingly a determinant of the level of PEB displayed in each community. Further research which takes a broader political economy of learning approach is needed to understand the roles of both voluntary, private and public sectors in helping to promote PEB via CoP's. Taking such an approach will better inform policy making to ensure communities are receiving adequate support to maintain their efforts and promote PEB on a wider scale.

A sample of 7724 college students in Washington and Utah was selected to study the relationships of religious activity and religious affiliation to illicit sexual behaviors, use of marijuana, and getting drunk. For all religious affiliations (except for the Jews), there were significant correlations between church activity and the measured illicit behaviors. LDS rates of behavior were significantly lower at <.001 for the five illicit behaviors. Two factor analyses were calculated to determine which sexual behaviors would load on a single factor and which substances would load on another factor. Extramarital coitus, heavy petting, and passionate kissing formed the first "sexual" factor. The use of beer, liquor, and marijuana combined with the behavior getting drunk to form the "substance-abuse" factor. A canonical analysis reported a moderate relationship with a canonical coefficient of .534 between the two factors. A discriminant analysis based on each subjects' religious affiliation and activity level yielded a 70-80 percent correct classification percentage.

How do predominantly religious rural communities influence members who are not associated with the dominant religion? Does disassociation with the majority religious affiliation impact community desirability? Current community literature has shown that religious affiliation identification can influence community sentiment (Jennings and Krannich 2013; Kan and Kim 1981; Stinner, Van Loon, Chung, and Byun 1990; Mattarita-Cascante, Stedman, and Luloff 2010) while other studies suggest the possibility of either mixed or inconclusive results (Adams 1992; Andrews 2011; Flagg and Painter II 2019; Reitz, Banerjee, Phan, and Thompson 2009). Using data from the Rural Utah Community Study in 2017, the current study will examine the association between religious affiliation and community desirability in a unique setting. I find that even when accounting for length of residence, age, and the perception of local services, religious affiliation continues to be associated with community desirability. These findings have potential implications for other communities with a majority religion.

Thesis (M.A.)--Kent State University, 2009.
Title from PDF t.p. (viewed Nov. 30, 2009). Advisor: Manfred van Dulmen. Keywords: extracurricular activity participation; adolescent antisocial behavior; deviant peer affiliation; perceived friendship closeness. Includes bibliographical references (p. 40-45).

The purpose of this study was to test whether the influence of after school activities upon school commitment and academic achievement among a sample of 146 African American adolescents was mediated by affiliation with prosocial peers. The study also examined whether risky peer affiliation mediated the effects of negative school experiences upon school commitment and academic achievement. Participants were recruited from middle schools within the greater metropolitan area of a mid-sized Mid-Atlantic city and a surrounding rural community. Participants completed a questionnaire with several measures. Academic achievement was measured by a one-item self report school of grades. School commitment was measured by the Commitment to School Measure. Prosocial peers was measured by the Teacher Checklist of Social Behavior. Risky peers was measured by the Peer Problem Behavior Scale. Participation in after school activities was measured by the Neighborhood Involvement Scale. Negative school experiences was measured by an item from the School Transition Stress Scale. An abbreviated version of Silverberg’s Parental Monitoring Scale was used to measure parental monitoring, a covariate. Hierarchical linear regression was used to test for direct and mediation relationships. Participation in after school activities predicted prosocial peer affiliation and was positively correlated with academic achievement and commitment to school. Prosocial peer affiliation predicted both academic achievement and school commitment. However, there was not a direct effect of after school activities upon academic achievement or school commitment. Negative school experiences predicted risky peer affiliation and was negatively correlated with academic achievement. However, there were no direct effects of negative school experiences upon academic achievement. Secondary analyses found that high levels of parental monitoring was predictive of low levels of risky peers, but did not predict prosocial peers. Findings showed some support for peer cluster theory although mediation hypotheses were not supported. One program implication is for program developers to consider cultivation of prosocial peer affiliations as a strategy to increase a possible wide range of positive individual youth outcomes, including attitudes toward school, positive student-teacher relationships and reduced problem behaviors. Further research is needed to identify factors that help explain how participation in after school activities can increase the likelihood of positive and prosocial peer affiliations.

Research has demonstrated that attachment anxiety undermines our ongoing relationships; however, less is known about the role anxiety plays in the context of relationship initiation (Creasey & Jarvis, 2008; Mikulincer & Shaver, 2007). The present research therefore explored how attachment anxiety affects people's behaviour and outcomes in initial interactions. The first manuscript presents two studies using a social dilemma game paradigm. In the first study, chronic attachment anxiety was associated with uncertainty about cooperation and longer decision latencies in selecting their behaviour. In the second study, the contextual activation of attachment security was used to ameliorate the effects of chronic anxiety. The next two manuscripts examined more overtly interpersonal contexts. In the second manuscript, field data collected at speed-dating demonstrated that attachment anxiety was associated with lower romantic selectivity—that is, more anxious participants made attempts to pursue further contact with a larger number of potential dating partners—and decreased romantic popularity—more anxious participants were pursued for further contact by fewer potential dating partners. In a signal detection analysis, it was shown that more anxious participants were therefore making more false alarms, or maximizing the number of failed relationship initiation attempts. Finally, the third manuscript sought to test a meditational model, wherein the link between attachment anxiety and negative social outcomes in initial interactions was mediated by theory-derived interpersonal displays. In a first study, participants filmed a video introducing themselves to an attractive, available confederate in another room; these videos were coded by peer research assistants. In a second study, participants engaged in speed-dating and were evaluated by potential dating partners. In a third study, participants engaged in a semi-structured, 40 minute interaction with a confederate. Video
Bien que les recherches soutiennent l'idée que l'attachement anxieux a des effets indésirables sur nos relations interpersonnelles courantes, on en sait encore peu quant au rôle joué par l'anxiété sur l'initiation d'une relation (Creasey & Jarvis, 2008; Mikulincer & Shaver, 2007). La présente recherche explore donc comment l'attachement anxieux affecte les comportements des individus et l'initiation d'une interaction. Le premier manuscrit inclut deux études ayant utilisé un jeu portant sur un dilemme social. Dans la première étude, l'attachement anxieux chronique était associé avec l'incertitude concernant la coopération et une plus longue période de latence quant au choix des comportements. Dans la deuxième étude, l'activation contextuelle de la sécurité d'attachement a été utilisée afin d'améliorer les effets de l'anxiété chronique. Les deux autres manuscrits examinent plus directement différents contextes interpersonnels. Dans le deuxième manuscrit, des données recueillies sur le terrain lors d'un speed-dating ont démontré que l'attachement anxieux était associé à une sélectivité romantique plus faible. En d'autres mots, les participants plus anxieux ont tenté de poursuivre les contacts amorcés lors du speed-dating avec un plus grand nombre de partenaires amoureux potentiels. De plus, ils avaient une popularité romantique plus faible, c'est-à-dire que moins de partenaires amoureux potentiels choisissaient de poursuivre avec les participants anxieux. Dans une analyse de détection de signaux, les participants qui étaient davantage anxieux, faisaient plus de fausses alarmes ou maximisaient le nombre de tentatives échouées d'initiation de relation. Finalement, le troisième manuscrit évalue un modèle de médiation où les manifestations interpersonnelles agissent comme médiateur dans le lien entre l'attachement anxieux et les effets sociaux négatifs lors d'une première interaction. Dans une première étude, les part

The main objective of this study is to contribute to understanding the relationship between the cultural style of senior management teams and sustainable development in an international mining group. Sustainability has become a business imperative and this study examines the behaviours of senior management teams in terms of their cultural norms and the influence their behaviours have on the success of executing a strategy for sustainable development.An initial theoretical model was developed to test 11 hypotheses, which related to the influence of different cultural management styles on triple-bottom-line performance along with the influence of governance processes for sustainable development and the strategic effectiveness of the organisation. A total of 13 organisations within the international mining group participated in the study which resulted in 66 members of senior management teams responding to a web-based survey using the Organisational Culture Inventory® (OCI®) to measure cultural norms. The survey was augmented with questions relating to perceptions of the strategic effectiveness and sustainable development performance of the organisation. The results of the survey were analysed using structural equation modelling (SEM) Partial Least Squares (PLS) and the statistical package PLS-Graph. There are a number of reasons for the selection of -this PLS technique, a key one of which is the ability of the technique to handle small sample sizes.The theoretical framework of the initial model was found to be highly reliable although there were issues with discriminant validity of the measurement model. The model was subsequently refined with the sustainable development performance of the organisation being reflected by the social, environmental and governance dimensions in the final model. Three additional hypotheses were also included in the final respecified model, following from research noted in the literature review of the mediating influences on the relationship between culture and performance and evidence of intervening variables found in the analysis of the initial model. This final respecified model was found to be valid and reliable.The findings from this study make an original contribution to the literature on the culture-performance relationship. Evidence was found that a constructive cultural management style where senior management teams behave in humanistic-encouraging and affiliative ways is a significant predictor of sustainable development performance. In addition, this cultural management style is the only style directly influencing the social, environmental and governance dimensions of sustainable development performance. In contrast, aggressive/defensive and passive/defensive management styles were found to influence sustainable development performance indirectly. Evidence was also found for the effect of the three cultural management styles being explained to some extent by the strategic effectiveness of the organisation. The passive/defensive management style was also found to have a highly detrimental effect on strategic effectiveness.There are limitations to every study and while cognisant of these limitations, this study offers both theoretical and practical contributions. The findings of this study suggest there may well be benefits for the international mining group, which aspires to differentiate itself from its competitors through leading the industry sector in sustainable development performance, in understanding the existing culture within its senior management teams and the role it may have on sustainable development performance. In particular, if superior sustainable development performance is desired, and the current culture which is best described as aggressive/defensive and does not reflect these constructive norms, then decision-makers could consider taking action to shift the culture towards more humanistic-encouraging and affiliative behaviours which are more likely to support the long-term sustainability goals of the organisation.

Some individual investors follow institutional investors in trading, a phenomenon called herding, that leads to excess market volatility and mispriced stocks. Individual investors who herded suffered from inferior investment performances and monetary losses, and the impact is broader in an individual investor dominant market such as Taiwan. Behavioral finance is the theoretical base of herd behavior. The purpose of this causal-comparative study was to examine individual investor herd behavior as related to characteristics of stocks in the Taiwan stock market. The research questions addressed what differences in individual investor herd behavior, if any, existed by market capitalization, price-to-book (P/B) ratio, and industry affiliation. The target population was the individual investors who traded in Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) between January and December 2016. Participants were a purposive sampling of the target population with the exclusions of individual investors who traded illiquid stocks or exchange sanctioned stocks only. Data were collected through a subscription of TWSE data. The extent of individual herding estimated with Lakonishok, Shleifer, and Vishny's measure was 0.04. The 3 characteristics of stocks were separately and as a whole related to individual herding. The findings confirmed more serious sell-herding than buy-herding. The result from the logistic regression extended the knowledge of more serious herding in low P/B ratio stock with other variables controlled and different extents of herding by industry affiliation. The findings may improve individual investor financial literacy that may result in the positive social change of the alleviation of both herding and inferior investment performance.

Adolescence involves an increase in risky decisions, such as reckless driving and illicit substance use, but prosocial characteristics and peer affiliation have yet to be investigated as protective factors. The present study assessed altruistic tendencies, prosocial peer affiliation (PPA), and empathic concern as predictors and moderators of risk-taking, including both self-reported health risks and riskiness in a behavioral task. Young adults from ages 20 to 25 (M = 22.55, SD = 1.38) completed a battery of behavioral tasks (including the Balloon Analogue Risk Task and the Dictator Game) and questionnaires on Amazon MTurk, measuring risk-taking (drunk driving, texting while driving, binge drinking, illicit substance use, and tobacco use), altruistic tendencies, PPA, empathic concern, reward sensitivity, and self-regulation. Results indicated that drunk driving and texting while driving were negatively associated with all three prosocial characteristics, and binge drinking was related to PPA and empathic concern. Moderating effects included interactions between altruistic tendencies and reward sensitivity on drunk driving, altruistic tendencies and self-regulation on drunk driving, PPA and reward sensitivity on binge drinking, and empathic concern and self-regulation on binge drinking. Mediating effects, however, were not found. Overall, prosocial characteristics seemed to buffer against reward sensitivity and strengthen self-regulation in several models. The discussion centers on how prosocial individuals might be less prone to risk-taking, and how affiliating with positive peers can offset the effects of heightened reward sensitivity during this crucial developmental period.

Although culture and subcultural norms have been subjected to increased scrutiny in recent years as explanatory constructs for various dimensions of consumer behaviours, religion as a subsystem of culture has received only slight attention in the marketing literature. The purpose of this study was to examine the religious influences on some selected aspects of consumer behaviour. Utilising consumer behaviour model of retail patronage as a framework, religious influences on the following aspects of consumer behaviour were examined: lifestyle, use of information source, shopping orientation, store attribute importance and store patronage. Consistent with previous research, religion was viewed from two different perspectives namely religious affiliation and religiosity. Religious affiliation is the adherence of individuals to a particular religious group while religiosity, or religious commitment, is the degree in which beliefs in specific religious values and ideals are espoused and practiced by an individual. Fieldwork for this study was carried out in Malaysia where the populace contains sizable percentages of adherents to four of the world’s leading religions, namely Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism and Christianity. The research data was collected by means of a survey through personal interviews with a structured questionnaire. Out of three hundred respondents targeted, two hundred and twenty-six questionnaires were deemed usable for statistical analysis. Statistical tests were calculated using statistical procedures of SPSS version 11.5. The main statistical techniques used include exploratory factor analysis, analysis of variance (ANOVA), multivariate ANOVA and multiple linear regression analysis. Findings indicated significant differences between religious affiliation groups in the areas of lifestyle, store attributes and store patronage. Significant differences between religiosity groups were also revealed in the areas of lifestyle, information source, shopping orientation and importance of store attributes. The usefulness of religious variables was further tested using multiple linear regression analysis with demographics and lifestyles were entered as extraneous variables. Results indicated that when the effect of other predictor variables were explicitly controlled (i.e. held constant) during the regression analysis, religious affiliation appeared to influence the perceived importance of store attributes. Intrapersonal religiosity, when controlling for the effect of other predictor variables, appeared to influence the use of information source, shopping orientation and perceived importance of store attributes. Similarly, interpersonal religiosity, when controlling for the effect of other predictor variables, was found to influence the use of information source, shopping orientation and importance of store attributes. Overall, findings indicated that consumer religiosity, as compared to religious affiliation, was more useful in predicting aspects of retail patronage activities. Thus it is suggested that religiosity variable should be given consideration in future patronage behaviour model building and research efforts. The implications of these results for theories of consumer behaviour along with the practical implications of the findings were discussed and opportunities for future research were provided.

Thesis (M.A.)--East Tennessee State University, 2004.
Title from electronic submission form. ETSU ETD database URN: etd-0714104-142930 Includes bibliographical references. Also available via Internet at the UMI web site.

The American social welfare system is a mixed system consisting of loosely coupled government programs, private nonprofit and for-profit organizations, grassroots and religious entities. Although religious entities historically played a key role in the development of the social welfare system, the faith-based initiative of President George W. Bush targeted religious service providers to receive government funding and take on a larger role in service delivery to at-risk populations based on the belief that these providers were substantially different from traditional providers. Using a cross-sectional research design and a survey instrument created for the study, data was collected from 121 nonprofit service providers in the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area of Virginia. Nonprofit organizations were selected from three online databases using identified criteria and sent paper surveys and/or emails inviting them to complete a web-based survey. The study identified similarities and differences between characteristics of faith-based service providers and traditional providers and used a conceptual model composed of Resource Dependence Theory and Neo-Institutional Theory to suggest dynamics impacting similarities and differences between providers. Data analysis included univariate and multivariate analysis of organization characteristics. Univariate findings identified that faith-based organizations in the study were older, served more people in 2006, generally provided services via volunteers, received more funding from congregations and other religious entities and did not favor membership in professional organizations. Other than these notable differences, faith-based providers were fairly similar to their traditional counterparts. A multivariate analysis used a two-group discriminant function (DFA) procedure to determine which variables best discriminated between provider groups. Two variables, funding from congregations/other religious entities and funding from government grants/contracts, were found to be the most important discriminating variables. Study findings were consistent with prior research comparing the provider groups. Although some differences do exist, overall similarities tended to outweigh differences suggesting that the claim of substantially differences between providers did not fit the geographic area studied. For those concerned with community service delivery, the implication is that recent economic developments suggest that attention should be placed on collaboration and service delivery capacity-building rather than on the differences between service providers.

À La Réunion, les activités de pleine nature sont au cœur d'enjeux environnementaux importants. De plus en plus, ces activités sont présentées comme des pratiques passionnées. Selon le type de passion, l'engagement dans l'activité est différent et le degré d'ouverture à la nature et à l'environnement pourrait être impacté. En ce sens, la passion pourrait être un facteur clé dans le développement d'un pro-environnementalisme à la suite de la pratique de ces activités. L'objectif de cette thèse est d'étudier le rôle de la passion pour une activité de pleine nature sur l'affiliation à la nature et le conflit vis-à-vis de la protection de l'environnement et leur influence sur la motivation environnementale, tout en soulignant le rôle des émotions et de l'attachement au lieu comme médiateurs
In La Réunion, outdoor activities are at the core of environmental issues. Increasingly, these activities are presented as passionate practice. According to the kind of passion, engagement in the activity is different and the degree of opening to nature and environment would be impacted. Therefore, passion could be a key factor in pro-environmentalism development following outdoor activities practice. The objective of this thesis is to study the role of passion for outdoor activity on nature affiliation and conflict toward environmental protection and their influence on environmental motivation, while emphasizing the role of emotions and place attachment as mediators

Bereavement is an important area of research as it may result in grief reactions that lead to serious psychological and health consequences (Stroebe, Schut, & Stroebe, 2007). Positive outcomes, such as personal growth or spiritual well-being, may also transpire post-loss (Hogan & Schmidt, 2002; Paloutzian & Ellison, 1982). Though research on bereavement has grown, few studies have focused on the at-risk group of emerging adults (Hardison, Neimeyer, & Lichstein, 2005; Arnett, 2000). The current study aims to add to the bereavement in emerging adulthood literature through analyzing descriptive data and assessing the impact of type of loss (i.e., nonviolent vs. violent), religious affiliation (i.e., Affiliated/Christian vs. Unaffiliated), and religious coping on post-loss grief intensity, personal growth, and spiritual well-being among emerging adults. Although results did not support several hypotheses, findings from the current study reinforce and expand extant literature on bereavement and religiosity/spirituality in emerging adults.

Warum verwenden wir Wörter, die mit physikalischer Temperatur zu tun haben, zur Beschreibung zwischenmenschlicher Phänomene (wie zum Beispiel “eine warmherzige Person” oder “jemandem die kalte Schulter zeigen”)? Jüngere Forschung im Bereich Embodied Cognition hat in aktuellen Publikationen eine Antwort auf diese Frage geliefert: Das Erleben von physikalischer Wärme wird unbewusst mit Gefühlen interpersonaler Wärme assoziiert; physikalische Kälte hingegen wird mit Gefühlen von interpersonaler Kälte und Einsamkeit verbunden. In diesem Zusammenhang konnten beispielsweise Williams und Bargh (2008) zeigen, dass bereits das kurzzeitige Halten einer Tasse mit heißem Kaffe (verglichen mit einer Tasse Eiskaffee) dazu führt, dass die Persönlichkeit einer Zielperson als wärmer (d.h. großzügiger und fürsorglicher) eingeschätzt wird. Diese unbewusste Assoziation hat weitreichende Konsequenzen für das Urteilen und Handeln von Menschen. Die vorliegende Arbeit zielt darauf ab zu klären, ob und wie Temperatur menschliches Urteilen und Verhalten in verschiedenen Kontexten beeinflusst. Desweiteren sollen zugrundeliegende Prozesse (Mediatoren) sowie weitere Rahmenbedingungen (Moderatoren) untersucht werden. Insgesamt wurden drei Versuchsreihen in drei angewandten Kontexten durchgeführt (Rechtsprechung, Verkauf und Dienstleistungen). Diese Bereiche stehen exemplarisch für eine große Anzahl von Situationen, in denen Temperatur das Urteilen und Handeln von Menschen beeinflussen kann (insbesondere alle Situationen, in denen Menschen sich gegenseitig wahrnehmen und miteinander interagieren). Zur Manipulation von Temperatur wurden verschiedene Methoden angewandt. Dies umfasste sowohl semantische Temperaturprimings als auch die systematische Variation der Raumtemperatur. Dabei wurde die Raumtemperatur unter Berücksichtigung bauphysikalischer Gesichtspunkte erfasst und innerhalb einer Komfortzone manipuliert. Die Ergebnisse aus allen Experimenten der vorliegenden Forschungsarbeit zeigen, dass Temperatur das Urteilen und Handeln von Menschen entscheidend beeinflussen kann. Ergebnisse aus dem ersten Laborexperiment (Kontext Rechtsprechung) legen nahe, dass die Beurteilung von Verbrechern signifikant von der Raumtemperatur, die innerhalb einer Komfortzone manipuliert wurde, beeinflusst wird: In einem kühlen Raum wurden Verbrecher als kaltblütiger eingeschätzt, während sie in einem warmen Raum als hitzköpfiger eingestuft wurden. In diesem Zusammenhang schrieben die Teilnehmer bei niedriger Raumtemperatur Verbrechern mit einer höheren Wahrscheinlichkeit Kalkülverbrechen, mehr Morde und schwerere Verbrechen, die mit längeren Gefängnisstrafen verbunden sind, zu (verglichen mit Teilnehmern bei mittlerer und hoher Raumtemperatur). Bei hoher Raumtemperatur hingegen hielten es die Teilnehmehmenden für wahrscheinlicher, dass die Verbrecher ein Affektverbrechen begangen haben (verglichen mit den anderen beiden Bedingungen). Diese Ergebnisse zeigen, dass Temperatur attributionale Prozesse beeinflusst. In der zweiten Versuchsreihe (Kontext Verkauf) gaben die Teilnehmer bei niedriger Raumtemperatur positivere Konsumentenurteile gegenüber Produkten und Verkaufspersonal ab (im Vergleich zu Teilnehmenden bei mittlerer und hoher Raumtemperatur). Zudem zeigten sie positivere Verhaltenstendenzen gegenüber Produkten und Verkäufer/innen (z.B. eine höhere Kaufwahrscheinlichkeit und eine höhere Bereitschaft, mit Verkaufspersonal ein Beratungsgespräch zu beginnen). Überdies steigerte in einer weiteren Studie ein semantisches Kältepriming den Drang der Teilnehmer, umgehend einen Einkauf zu tätigen (verglichen mit einem Priming von Wärme und einer Kontrollbedingung). In der dritten Versuchsreihe (Kontext Dienstleistungen) zeigten Personen in einem umfassenden Dienstleistungsszenario bei niedrigen Raumtemperaturen (im Vergleich zu hohen Temperaturen) eine höhere Kundenorientierung – sowohl in kritischen Service-Szenarien als auch in einem Selbstberichtsmaß. Zudem vergaben sie Kunden signfikant höhere Rabatte. Dieser Effekt wurde auch in einer Stichprobe mit erfahrenen Dienstleistern bestätigt, die nach einem semantischen Temperaturpriming eine höhere Kundenorientierung in der Kaltbedingung (im Vergleich zur Warm- und Kontrollbedingung) angaben. Mithilfe dieses Experiments konnte zudem aufgezeigt werden, dass die gefundenen Effekte unabhängig von menschlicher Routine, Erfahrung und individuellem Wissensstand stattfinden. Die vorliegende Forschungsarbeit konnte als erste in der Embodied Cognition-Forschung einen Mediationseffekt zwischen Temperatur und Verhaltensvariablen (im Kontext von Konsumentenverhalten) nachweisen. Niedrige Temperaturen führen demnach zu einem erhöhten Anschlussmotiv. Dies wirkt sich wiederum auf das Verhalten von Konsumenten aus (z.B. durch eine höhere Bereitschaft, mit einem/r Verkäufer/in in Interaktion zu treten oder etwas zu kaufen.) Zudem zeigt die vorliegende Arbeit als Erste in diesem Forschungszweig einen Moderationseffekt: In der dritten Versuchsreihe konnte in einer Moderationsanalyse bestätigt werden, dass die Verträglichkeit der Teilnehmenden den Einfluss von Temperatur auf die Gewährung von Kundenrabatten moderierte. Auf diese Weise liefert die Arbeit nicht nur in verschiedenen Kontexten Erkenntnisse über die Tragweite von Temperatureffekten auf menschliches Urteilen und Handeln – sie gewährt auch wertvolle Einblicke in die zugrundeliegenden Faktoren und Rahmenbedingungen von Temperatureffekten. Abschließend werden die Ergebnisse vor dem Hintergrund theoretischer und praktischer Gesichtspunkte diskutiert sowie künftige Forschungsthemen abgeleitet.

Cette recherche s’intéresse à la façon singulière dont l’adolescent ou le jeune adulte suicidant se représente ses liens familiaux et extra-familiaux. Elle explore la façon dont ces jeunes s’inscrivent dans leur histoire familiale, se repèrent dans leur généalogie, mais aussi la façon dont ils construisent, dans le monde qui les entoure, leur réseau d’appartenance. Comprenant l’accès aux transmissions familiales et la possibilité de tisser un réseau de lien extra-familiaux, comme un élément capital de la construction identitaire, ce travail envisage l’hypothèse selon laquelle l’acte suicidaire de l’adolescent traduirait une revendication de l’unicité et de l’authenticité de son existence. L’intention de se faire exister serait plus prégnante que l’intention de se donner la mort. De telles conduites, à valeur ordalique, témoigneraient d’un affrontement avec le monde, dont l’enjeu serait de vivre plus. Elles amèneraient l’adolescent à s’imposer, inconsciemment, de frôler la mort pour se transformer, renaître, revivre après le traumatisme, pour enfin exister. A l’aide d’entretiens cliniques et d’outils d’évaluation systémique comprenant la réalisation de génogrammes libres et imaginaires, seize études de cas ont été réalisées. Ces données ont permis d’effectuer une analyse qualitative individuelle et groupale et, plus particulièrement une exploration familiale tri-générationnelle. Sans confirmer la valeur ordalique de la conduite suicidaire, nos résultas suggèrent que les jeunes rencontrés tentent de se faire exister en cherchant une enveloppe généalogique mais aussi affiliative, contenante au sein de laquelle ils se sentent inscrits et reconnus. Le sentiment d'appartenance qui permet la différenciation et qui donne sens à l’existence fait défaut chez tous. Ces résultats ouvrent une piste de réflexion sur la signification du geste suicidaire à l’adolescence: il s’agit d’une quête de sens, mais aussi de reconnaissance, qui passe par l’épreuve personnelle et le fait d’y survivre.

Doctorat en Sciences Psychologiques et de l'éducation
info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

Most recent literature that analyzes parties from an organizational perspective focuses often on the concepts of intra-party democracy and party organizational democratization (Scarrow, 1999a; Scarrow and Kittilson, 2003; LeDuc, Niemi and Norris, 2002; Bosco and Morlino, 2007). Le Duc (2001) and Rahat and Hazan (2007) underline that the most used instrument for implementing this ‘democratization’ process is the enhancement of the inclusiveness of the methods for candidate and party leadership selection. The actors endowed with candidate and leader selection powers are the central actors in the functioning of the party according to many authors (Gallagher and Marsh 1988, Marsh 1993; Massari, 2004; Hazan and Rahat, 2010). At the moment, the most inclusive method identified by the literature for selecting candidates for elections or the party leader is represented by party open or closed primaries, i.e. internal direct elections by party members and, in the case of open primaries, supporters and voters (Cross and Blais, 2011; Kenig, 2009b).

In this study, we explore two specific dimensions of party politics: membership and internal activisms, on the one hand, and on the other hand the internal democratization processes and in particular those dealing with broadening the inclusiveness of leadership selection procedures. Therefore, this study integrates in particular the debate on the nature and consequences of party organizational democratization. The debate finds its origins both in the influential work of Michels on the “iron law of oligarchy” thesis but has been more recently boosted by the theories of May (1973), Mair (1994) and also the studies on intra-party democracy in the British Labour (Shaw, 1994; Russell, 2005).

However, we are interested in the point of view of members themselves on the consequences of internal democratization. We are interested on how members perceive these organizational changes, in whether they are frustrated form the actual consequences on their role and powers and whether they perceive them as a potential threat that could undermine their organizational position within the party. In order to respond to the debate on the consequences of intra-party democracy at individual level, we rely mainly on three questions. The main research questions of this study are thus the following: to what extent party organizational changes in the sense of greater democratization affect the membership role at individual level? How are these organizational changes perceived by members? To what extent members’ perceptions of their own role affect their behaviors and in particular their internal activism?

The aim of this study, thus, is to empirically assess the impact on members’ activism of party internal democratization and in particular of the perception of membership role. We are interested in whether party members’ attitudes are changing as a result of parties’ organizational changes, particularly if these changes are giving members more say over outcomes. This is a study of how (and whether) perceived roles affect behaviour. The independent variable is constituted by the members’ perception of their own role within party organizational structures and in particular with regard to the leadership selection methods, whilst the dependent variable is represented by the level of activism of party members, in terms of participation to party activities in general. In fact, the impact of party rules at individual level will be addressed, as well as how the perception of organizational rules affects individual attitudes and behaviors. In particular, the focus is on leadership selection methods that integrate party members at some point in the overall process (Lisi, 2009), such as direct elections (Hazan and Rahat, 2006). The case selection is thus implemented on the basis of the research question: the comparison is developed across parties (and not across time) using different instruments for enhancing intra-party democracy.

Therefore, we analyze the role perception, attitudes and behaviors of grass-roots members of three contemporary Western European parties: the Belgian French-speaking socialist party (Parti Socialiste, PS), the British Labour and the Italian Democratic Party (Partito Democratico, PD). Among the selected parties, one (PD) holds primaries open to all voters for selecting their leader and one (Belgian PS), on the contrary, has chosen the closed primary (OMOV) system. The British Labour Party uses an electoral college for electing its leader since 1981. The Electoral College method refers to a system in which specific groups are allocated a specific share of the leadership vote. In the case of the UK Labour, the votes are equally divided among its constituency members, the parliamentary caucus and the trade union members.

Concerning the first research question of our study, our empirical results underline that in the three selected cases organizational changes affect indeed the membership role at individual level and that grass-root members perceive very clearly this impact on their status and organizational rights, obligations and privileges. When grass-roots members evaluate their role within the party, in particular with regard to the procedure for selecting the leader and the involvement of non-members and passive members within party organization, their perceptions take into account their organizational power as defined, among other factors, also by their share of votes in leadership selection. Thus, we expect that PD members perceive their role as more blurred than Labour members and particularly than PS members. In the case of parties, such as the PS, adopting direct elections of the party leader only by the affiliates, the majority of the members are expected to perceive clearly the distinction of the position, privileges and functions between members and non-members and the extensive role reserved for the affiliates.

Our data show that the perception of own role vary among members, but also that many members perceive their own role as being rather blurred. They display in fact nuanced but generally negative attitudes towards the integration of voters and supporters within the selection of party leader. On the basis of our survey data, the observed variation in the perception of membership role within and between the three parties seems to correspond to what we expected. A higher proportion of PD surveyed members declare to perceive their role as blurred, while smaller proportions of PS and particularly labour respondents share this evaluation. In general, our data confirm that party members do not evaluate positively the fact that these formal privileges are extended not only to all individual members, not only to activists but even to passive ones, but also to party voters and supporters. Mair’s “activists’ disempowerment” thesis (Mair, 1994) seems to be supported by our data, at least in terms of individual perceptions.

Moreover, our data show that the degree of satisfaction with intra-party democracy significantly vary among parties and is generally not nearly as high as could be expected on the basis of party politics literature. If in the British Labour survey the responses of grass-roots members seem to form a more positive picture, with a great majority of member declaring that the party leader is not too powerful, the level of dissatisfaction with party functioning is rather higher in the other two parties. Nevertheless, PS members are fairly more convinced than PS members that the party internal decision-making is democratic. This is what we expected to find on the basis of our first hypothesis. In fact, our first hypothesis postulated that the perception of the role of party membership by affiliates in terms of (lack of) distinction between members and non-members affects inversely their level of satisfaction with the internal functioning of the party and their degree of perceived political efficacy. The stronger the perception of the blurred role of membership, the lower will be the level of political efficacy and specific support for the party. According to our data, among PD members the perception of the blurred, undefined role of members is rather high and so is the degree of dissatisfaction with intra-party functioning. On the contrary, within the other two parties and especially within the Labour, the role perception by grass-roots members is rather positive and well-defined and the level of specific support for the party is also higher.

The expectations formulated on the basis of our first hypothesis appear to be supported by the empirical data also with regard to the variations in the sense of external political efficacy of members. Our data seem consistent with the hypothesis, developed by several scholars (Katz and Mair, 1995; Carty, 2004; Bolleyer, 2009), that expanding the leadership selectorate and granting formal powers to party members and supporters may hide, on the other hand, the perception by enrolled members to be actually loosing power. On the basis of our data, it is possible to assert that grass-roots members seem to be aware of the possibility of a trade-off between extreme inclusiveness of decision-making procedures and actual centralization of organizational power in the hands of party elites.

With regard to the third research question of this study, our results confirm that indeed members’ perceptions of their own role, in relation to internal democratization, affect their behaviors and in particular their internal participation. The three parties appear to have different features in terms of internal activism, at aggregate but in particular at individual level. Secondly, not only the overall level of intra-party activism of grass-roots members vary between and within the three selected parties, but appears to be influenced by members’ attitudes towards the party. In fact, our second hypothesis postulated that the levels of specific support for the party and political efficacy of party members impact directly on their level of activism. The lower the level of political efficacy and specific support for the party, the lower will be the degree of activism of all members (as well as the quality of the activities they perform) and vice-versa. In a party holding open and direct elections to choose its leader, party membership is thought to be divided between a highly active avant-garde and a larger mass of inactive affiliates, feeling inefficacy, frustrated with intra-party democracy and perceiving their own role as blurred and undefined. Consequently, dissatisfied or low efficacy members are argued to participate less.

Our data only partially support the expectations. In fact, the impact of the sense of external efficacy is clear and strong in all the three cases, while on the contrary the relationship between specific support and intra-party activism is less clear-cut than expected. The results are therefore nuanced with regard to the expectations formulated in the second hypothesis of this study. The explanatory power of external efficacy and specific support in terms of internal mobilization is only partially supported by our data. Therefore, the evaluation of the consequences of the implementation of party organizational changes such as the adoption of open primaries depends on what party elites are interested in: if the goal is to assure membership loyalty, adopting open primaries is not a good way to strengthen membership involvment in the party.

We believe that real intra-party democracy is normatively impossible with regard to the position of members. Organizational power cannot be too dispersed among different units without jeopardizing not only effective functioning of the party, as the old debated on the trade-off between democracy and efficacy asserted (Duverger, 1951; Panebianco, 1988), but also the incentives for internal participation of the party base. Party members are well aware that internal power cannot be too dispersed. From the point of view of members, a party should have a clear chain of command and should be composed by elites, activists and members. Each one of them should also be endowed with clearly defined tasks and responsibilities. In conclusion, we believe that intra-party democracy is a symbolic element of party organization but not as actually implementable.

In sum, intra-party democracy does not mean the same for different party units. For party elites, it represents a process for either legitimizing the party, changing party image, mobilizing electoral support, managing internal faction or even indirectly increasing their own organizational room for manoeuvre. For party members, intra-party democracy represents an incentive for mobilizing and a political identification tool until a certain point. After that, it becomes a threat to their rights and their status. For grass-roots affiliates, intra-party democracy is not a value per se, but it depends on its real intensity and actual implementation. In conclusion, at theoretical level, we can conclude that party organization theories should increasingly take into account membership’s point of view. On the contrary, at practical level, we can conclude that parties should adapt their strategies with regard to intra-party democracy according to their goal. If party elites are interested in tightening their grip on internal decision-making while increasing their room for manoeuvre and legitimizing party image at the same time, increasing intra-party democracy could be the best organizational strategy. On the contrary, if the leadership’s aim is to mobilize members and guarantee a stable and loyal membership, then it should be noted that increasing intra-party democracy is not always the best choice. To this regard, it might be useful for party elites to find other and more effective ways to loyalize member.

Doctorat en Sciences politiques et sociales
info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

L'économie des organisations étudie l'ensemble des arrangements institutionnels permettant la mise en oeuvre de la production et l'échange de biens et de services. Dans cette thèse, nous analysons le comportement activiste des organisations non gouvernementales spécifiques au Liban. Il apparaît que le mode de gouvernance des ONG libanaises est fondé sur un concept de solidarité intra-communautaire. Comment expliquer le recours des Libanais aux services offerts par les ONG ? Ainsi, nous avons démontré que ces ONG locales sont conduites de manière à atteindre des objectifs de nature politique. La théorie de l’entrepreneuriat politique est parfaitement adaptable à ce cadre d’analyse. Un nouvel équilibre politique dans la société libanaise est trouvé. Afin de mettre en évidence l’activisme des ONG libanaises, nous avons proposé une méthodologie empirique, qui se base à la fois sur une démarche quantitative et qualitative. Le modèle proposé a pour objectif principal de montrer l’existence d’une relation entre la perception des bénéficiaires des services rendus par les ONG et leur appartenance communautaire. Ainsi nous avons démontré qu’au Liban, la plupart des bénéficiaires appartenant à une communauté particulière connaît et identifie les ONG qui leur sont favorables en matière de redistribution. Il s’agit d’une explication de la persistance du communautarisme. Les ONG libanaises comme les groupes de pression jouent un rôle intermédiaire sur le marché politique. Cette intermédiation de la démocratie représentative permet de penser les jeux et les stratégies des groupes de pression mais surtout de sortir de l’idéal normatif de la démocratie représentative égalitaire
The economy of organizations examines the institutional mechanisms that lead to the production and exchange of goods and services. This thesis analyzes the mode of operation of NGOs which are specific to the Lebanese Society. It raises the following question: how can one explain the appeal of NGOs to the Lebanese people and the lure to use and benefit from its services? This thesis has demonstrated that these NGOs operate to achieve certain goals of political nature. The theory of political entrepreneurship applies to this concept and is considered as the theoretical framework of this dissertation. Accordingly, this thesis posits that a new political balance is achieved in the Lebanese society. In order to highlight the effectiveness of Lebanese NGOs, this thesis proposes an empirical methodology based on both quantitative and qualitative approach. The main objective of the proposed model is to underscore the existence of a relation between the perception of individuals benefiting form services rendered by NGOs and their sectarian affiliations. This dissertation reveals that the majority of people benefiting of NGOs services in Lebanon belong to a certain sect that favors people pertaining to its denomination in terms of redistribution. This signifies that the effects of sectarianism are still rampart in the Lebanese society. Lebanese NGOs can be considered as pressure groups that play an intermediary role on the Lebanese political scene. This intermediation of representative democracy allows a reconsideration of political strategies of pressure groups especially as to go beyond the norms of egalitarian representative democracy used in the Lebanese model of governance

Personalisierung ist ein wichtiger Bereich des Internet Marketings, zu dem es wenige experimentelle Untersuchungen mit großen Teilnehmerzahlen gibt. Für den erfolgreichen Einsatz von Empfehlungsverfahren sind umfangreiche Daten über das Käuferverhalten erforderlich. Diesen Problemstellungen nimmt sich die vorliegende Arbeit an. In ihr wird das Shop-übergreifende individuelle Käuferverhalten von bis zu 126.000 Newsletter-Empfängern eines deutschen Online-Bonussystems sowohl mittels ausgewählter Data-Mining-Methoden als auch experimentell untersucht. Dafür werden Prototypen eines Data-Mining-Systems, einer A/B-Test-Software-Komponente und einer Empfehlungssystem-Komponente entwickelt und im Rahmen des Data Minings und durch Online-Feldexperimente evaluiert. Dabei kann für die genannte Nutzergruppe in einem Experiment bereits mit einem einfachen Empfehlungsverfahren gezeigt werden, dass zum einen die Shop-übergreifenden individuellen Verhaltensdaten des Online-Bonus-Systems für die Erzeugung von Empfehlungen geeignet sind, und zum anderen, dass die dadurch erzeugten Empfehlungen zu signifikant mehr Bestellungen als bei der besten Empfehlung auf Basis durchschnittlichen Käuferverhaltens führten. In weiteren Experimenten im Rahmen der Evaluierung der A/B-Test-Komponente konnte gezeigt werden, dass absolute Rabattangebote nur dann zu signifikant mehr Bestellungen führten als relative Rabatt-Angebote, wenn sie mit einer Handlungsaufforderung verbunden waren. Die Arbeit ordnet sich damit in die Forschung zur Beeinflussung des Käuferverhaltens durch Personalisierung und durch unterschiedliche Rabatt-Darstellungen ein und trägt die genannten Ergebnisse und Artefakte bei.

Diese Arbeit bietet eine solide theoretische Grundlage zu Philanthropie und religiös motivierten Spendenaktivitäten und deren Einfluss auf Wohltätigkeitstrends, Entwicklungszusammenarbeit und einer auf dem Gedanken der sozialen Gerechtigkeit beruhenden Philanthropie. Untersucht werden dafür die Strukturen religiös motivierte Spenden, für die in der islamischen Tradition die Begriffe „zakat“, „Waqf“ oder im Plural auch „awqaf-“ oder „Sadaqa“ verwendet werden, der christliche Begriff dafür lautet „tithes“ oder „ushour“. Aufbauend auf diesem theoretischen Rahmenwerk analysiert die qualitative und quantitative Feldstudie auf nationaler Ebene, wie die ägyptische Öffentlichkeit Philanthropie, soziale Gerechtigkeit, Menschenrechte, Spenden, Freiwilligenarbeit und andere Konzepte des zivilgesellschaftlichen Engagements wahrnimmt. Um eine umfassende und repräsentative Datengrundlage zu erhalten, wurden 2000 Haushalte, 200 zivilgesellschaftliche Organisationen erfasst, sowie Spender, Empfänger, religiöse Wohltäter und andere Akteure interviewt. Die so gewonnen Erkenntnisse lassen aussagekräftige Aufschlüsse über philanthropische Trends zu. Erstmals wird so auch eine finanzielle Einschätzung und Bewertung der Aktivitäten im lokalen Wohltätigkeitsbereich möglich, die sich auf mehr als eine Billion US-Dollar beziffern lassen. Die Erhebung weist nach, dass gemessen an den Pro-Kopf-Aufwendungen die privaten Spendenaktivitäten weitaus wichtiger sind als auswärtige wirtschaftliche Hilfe für Ägypten. Das wiederum lässt Rückschlüsse zu, welche Bedeutung lokale Wohltätigkeit erlangen kann, wenn sie richtig gesteuert wird und nicht wie bislang oft im Teufelskreis von ad-hoc-Spenden oder Hilfen von Privatperson an Privatperson gefangen ist. Die Studie stellt außerdem eine Verbindung her zwischen lokalen Wohltätigkeits-Mechanismen, die meist auf religiösen und kulturellen Werten beruhen, und modernen Strukturen, wie etwa Gemeinde-Stiftungen oder Gemeinde-„waqf“, innerhalb derer die Spenden eine nachhaltige Veränderung bewirken können. Daher bietet diese Arbeit also eine umfassende wissenschaftliche Grundlage, die nicht nur ein besseres Verständnis, sondern auch den nachhaltiger Aus- und Aufbau lokaler Wohltätigkeitsstrukturen in Ägypten ermöglicht. Zentral ist dabei vor allem die Rolle lokaler, individueller Spenden, die beispielsweise für Stiftungen auf der Gemeindeebene eingesetzt, wesentlich zu einer nachhaltigen Entwicklung beitragen könnten – und das nicht nur in Ägypten, sondern in der gesamten arabischen Region. Als konkretes Ergebnis dieser Arbeit, wurde ein innovatives Modell entwickelt, dass neben den wissenschaftlichen Daten das Konzept der „waqf“ berücksichtigt. Der Wissenschaftlerin und einem engagierten Vorstand ist es auf dieser Grundlage gelungen, die Waqfeyat al Maadi Community Foundation (WMCF) zu gründen, die nicht nur ein Modell für eine Bürgerstiftung ist, sondern auch das tradierte Konzept der „waqf“ als praktikable und verbürgte Wohlstätigkeitsstruktur sinnvoll weiterentwickelt.
This work provides a solid theoretical base on philanthropy, religious giving (Islamic zakat, ‘ushour, Waqf -plural: awqaf-, Sadaqa and Christian tithes or ‘ushour), and their implications on giving trends, development work, social justice philanthropy. The field study (quantitative and qualitative) that supports the theoretical framework reflects at a national level the Egyptian public’s perceptions on philanthropy, social justice, human rights, giving and volunteering and other concepts that determine the peoples’ civic engagement. The statistics cover 2000 households, 200 Civil Society Organizations distributed all over Egypt and interviews donors, recipients, religious people and other stakeholders. The numbers reflect philanthropic trends and for the first time provide a monetary estimate of local philanthropy of over USD 1 Billion annually. The survey proves that the per capita share of philanthropy outweighs the per capita share of foreign economic assistance to Egypt, which implies the significance of local giving if properly channeled, and not as it is actually consumed in the vicious circle of ad-hoc, person to person charity. In addition, the study relates local giving mechanisms derived from religion and culture to modern actual structures, like community foundations or community waqf that could bring about sustainable change in the communities. In sum, the work provides a comprehensive scientific base to help understand- and build on local philanthropy in Egypt. It explores the role that local individual giving could play in achieving sustainable development and building a new wave of community foundations not only in Egypt but in the Arab region at large. As a tangible result of this thesis, an innovative model that revives the concept of waqf and builds on the study’s results was created by the researcher and a dedicated board of trustees who succeeded in establishing Waqfeyat al Maadi Community Foundation (WMCF) that not only introduces the community foundation model to Egypt, but revives and modernizes the waqf as a practical authentic philanthropic structure.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Tennessee, Knoxville, 2004.
Title from title page screen (viewed Sept. 20, 2004). Thesis advisor: Andrew Kramer. Document formatted into pages (vii, 67 p. : ill. (some col.)). Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 62-66).

Past research suggested that greater rhythmic complexity in musical behavior increases affiliation in small groups. The current research tested the hypothesis that musical behavior including melody would promote affiliation. In the current experiment, a video showed models either singing nonsense syllables in unison or speaking identical syllables in synchrony. Participants were assigned to either imitate, or merely listen to, the videos. Participants perceived both the synchronous speaking condition and singing conditions as musical behavior. In the imitate conditions, synchronous speaking produced more affiliation and ingroup favoritism and less embarrassment than singing, whereas in the listen-only conditions, affiliation, ingroup favoritism, and embarrassment did not differ between singing and speaking. Reported happiness and fun were greater in the imitate conditions. The successfulness of imitation, coded by judges, was less, and self-reported difficulty was greater, in the singing condition compared to the synchronous speaking condition. Ratings of success at imitation were positively related to affiliation, positive affect, and ingroup favoritism. Ratings of success were also related to the average trait approach motivation, agreeableness, and emotional stability of the groups. The results partially supported the hypothesis that musical behavior promotes affiliation. However, performance of the sound-making task was much worse in the singing condition than in the synchronous speaking condition. Because melody was confounded with failure at the sound-making activity, the effect of melody on affiliation is difficult to interpret. Future research should examine the effect of melody on affiliation when melody is not confounded with failure.

Social grooming is one of the most common forms of affiliative behaviour among socially living animals and has been in the centre of interest from the early beginnings of primatology. Social grooming is a behaviour in which social animals, clean or maintain one another's body and many studies focused on investigating the function of grooming behaviour. This thesis consists of general introduction and three studies that investigate social grooming in a population of semi-free ranging Barbary macaques from Gibraltar. The studies are based on original data and the results provide an interesting and new insight into the grooming behaviour in Barbary macaques. The first study focused on grooming patterns among females and we found that grooming was directed up the hierarchy, was affected by friendship and kinship. In the second study we tested the effect of maternal status on grooming among females and results showed that mothers gave less grooming but did not receive more grooming from other females. On the basis of these results we proposed that the observed patterns would be better explained by time constraints posed on mothers, rather than by grooming for infant handling exchange. In the last study we investigated the relationship between grooming and sexual activity between males and females. Our data showed that males as well as females preferred for mating activities those individuals that groom them most.

Tese de doutoramento apresentada à Université du Quebec, Montreal
Durant les troís dernières décennies, les chercheurs ont accordé une importance croissante au role des pairs dans le processus de socialisation de l’enfant. Toutefois, la majorité des recherches sur le développement de 1'enfant traitent principalement des différences individuelles du statu social et négligent, de façon tacite, l'examen des contraintes relationnelles inhérentes à 1'écologie des groupes de pairs. En contraste, les approches socio-éthologiques ont souligné comment les groupes naturels soumissent une variété de rôles sociaux distincts susceptibles d'influencer la croissance et le développement individuel. Malgré tout, les analyses éthologiques se sont longtemps limitées à documenter uniquement les relations agressives et la structure de dominance dans les groupes. Parallèlement, des recherches similaires sur 1'organisation affiliative furent entravées par 1'absence de modèles propres à 1'étude des structures sociales cohésives. Les analyses contemporaines des réseaux affiliatifs entre pairs, selon les profils d'association, offrent une base descriptive heuristique pour 1'étude de 1'organisation cohésive du groupe à Age préscolaire. Toutefois, 1'usage exclusif du comportement affiliatif, à titre d'indice socio-structurel. réduit d’autant 1'examen de la qualité de réinsertion individuel dans la structure affiliative et de son influence sur les activités sociales des enfants. De plus, les analyses portant sur la discrimination sociale se doivent de dépasser les considérations sur 1'association à un sous-groupe particulier afin de mieux définir l’impact des entourages locaux sur le développement individuel. Une attention particulière doit être accordée à la stratification des réseaux affiliatifs et à 1'influence probable des différences de statut sur 1'organisation des relations cohésives. Dans cette recherche, 1'évaluation des réseaux est réalisée à partir d'indices de proximité inter-personnelle et de mesures sociométriques pour déterminer la préférence sociale envers les partenaires de jeux. Ces procédures complémentaires permettent l'analyse empirique de la stratification des sous-groupes et 1'examen de la variabilité du phénomène de discrimination sociale. Dans la première étude, des patrons collectifs de proximité interpersonnelle et d'investissement prosocial pendant les activités de jeu libre servent à identifier les choix associatifs des enfants. L'échantillon comprend trois groupes d'enfants Portugais d'âge préscolaire. L’échantillonnage par balayage instantané est utilisé pour identifier les sous-groupes naturels sur une période de trois mois. A la fin des observations, les nominations sociométriques positives et négatives des partenaires de jeux sont obtenues par entrevues individuelles. L’application d'algorithmes matriciels et de techniques multivariées développées par Strayer et ai. (1988) génèrent des résultats descriptifs des réseaux mettant en évidence certaines similarités dans 1'organisation affiliative des trois groupes préscolaires et indiquant qu'une vaste majorité d'enfants sont intégrés dans des cliques sociales cohésives. Les résultats d'analyse des nominations positives et négatives révèlent que 1'appartenance des enfants à des cliques cohésives est associée à une préférence marquée vers 1'endogroupe sans rejet face à 1'exogroupe. Inversement, les membres des agrégats sociaux ne démontrent pas de préférence envers l’endogroupe. L'analyse de Ia stratification sociale indiquent que les sous-groupes affiliatifs se distinguent entre eux sur la dimension de la désirabilité des pairs et aussi que les membres de chaque sous-groupe ont, de façon significative, tendance à obtenir des scores similaires de désirabilité. Enfin, l’introduction des statuts différentiels dans les analyses du biais endogroupe permet de souligner que les membres de cliques de haut et moyen statut sont fortement discriminants IV en faveur de leurs co-membres tandis que les enfants de diques de bas statut ne démontrent pas de préférence significative similaire. Dans la seconde étude empirique, 1'analyse des réseaux s'élargie par 1'utilisation de données sur "le voisin le plus près" recueillies durant trois sessions consécutives d'une année scolaire auprès d'un groupe d'enfants Américains d'âge préscolaire. L'évaluation du biais social et de la stratification sociale est dérivée d'une méthode sociométrique de comparaison par paires qui fournit une meilleure information en terme de stabilité et d'ampleur. De plus, 1'attention sociale est utilisée à titre d'index comportemental pour valider les procédures d’analyse de réseaux et de stratification et afin d'évaluer les fonctions de socialisation potentielles des sous-groupes particuliers dans le contexte plus large du groupe de pairs. Le choix de 1'attention sociale offre également 1'opportunité de contribuer au débat actuel en éthologie de 1'enfant sur les modèles d'organisation sociale des groupes de pairs. L’information extensive fournie par la méthode sociométrique de comparaisons-pairées révèle une plus forte similarité des sous-groupes au niveau de la désirabilité des pairs. De plus, les enfants de cliques de haut statut démontrent une plus grande préférence vers 1'endogroupe que les enfants de cliques de moyen ou bas statuts. Enfin, les enfants de cliques de bas statut manifeste une préférence endogroupe significative ce qui fournit une validation additionnelle à la conception de réseaux de diques sociales cohésives. Les analyses sur le biais dans 1'attention sociale indiquent que les membres des cliques sont fortement biaisés envers leurs co-membres. D'autre part, les membres des agrégats sociaux ne démontrent pas un tel biais dans 1'allocation de leur attention sociale. Ces résultats confirment la vision initiale quant aux différences dans la nature cohésive des deux types de sous-groupes affiliatifs et fournissent une importante validation externe pour la présente approche socio-structurelle. Le degré de magnitude de 1'attention sociale des enfants envers leur co-membres augmente en fonction du statut de leur clique et demeure significatif même pour les enfants de bas statut. La réalisation d'analyses additionnelles sur la distribution de l’attention non dirigée vers des co-membres indiquent que 1'attention sociale reçue des pairs provient principalement des membres de la clique sociale immédiate de 1'enfant et dans une proportion beaucoup moindre par les pairs situées en dehors de 1'entouragé affiliatif immédiat. Cependant, les membres de sous-groupes de plus haut statut démontrent une plus grande capacité pour attirer 1'attention résiduelle des enfants d'autres groupes de pairs. Un tel résultat supporte la notion que 3e degré de stratification social, aussi bien que l’association cohésive influencent la distribution de 1'attention sociale à 1'intérieur d'un groupe stable de pairs. La discussion des résultats de la présente recherche aborde la question de 1'étude des activités cohésives et dispersives chez les groupes de pairs d'âge préscolaire dans une perspective éthologique renouvelé. Une intégration interdisciplinaire des recherches sur les bases biologiques et psychologiques du développement comportemental est proposée afin de mieux démontrer 1'ínfluence des rôles sociaux structurés au sein des groupes de pairs sur 1'adaptarion et le développement social à long terme de 1'enfant. ------ ABSTRACT ------ During the last three decades, developmental research has increasingly emphasized the relevance of peer relations in children's socialization. However, most studies of child development still focus upon individual differences in social status, tacitly neglecting relational constraints inherent in the ecology of the peer group. In contrast, socio-ethological approaches have stressed that natural groups provide a variety of distinct social roles that differentially impact upon individual growth and development. However, ethological analyses have often been limited to aggressive relations and group dominance structures. Cornparable studies of affiliative organization have been hampered by the paucity of models for the study of cohesive social structure. Current network analyses of patterns of peer association offer an heuristic basis for investigating the cohesive organization of preschool stable groups. However, the exclusive use of affiliative behavior as a socio-structural index imposes limits on analyses of how insertion into the peer group affiliative structure influences the patterning of children's social activity. Moreover, analyses of social discrimination must extend beyond consideration of subgroup association in order to better characterize the impact of cohesive local contexts on individual development. Attention must be to given to the stratification of children!s affiliative networks and to the potential influence of status differentials on the organization of cohesive relationships. In the present research, network assessments based on indices of interpersonal proximity are integrated with sociometric methods for determining "likability" of play partners. Together, these procedures permit an empirical analysis of subgroup stratification and variation in subgroup discrimination. In the first empirical study. Vil collective patterns of interpersonal proximity and prosocial involvement during free play were examined as indices of associative patterns in three Portuguese preschool groups. The observational assessment was based on repeated scan sampling of naturally occurring subgroups during a three month period. Children's sociometric nominations of most and least liked play partners were obtained from individual interviews following the observation period. Using matrix algorithms and multivariate techniques developed by Strayer et al (1988), the network descriptive results show similarity in the affiliative organization for the three groups, with the vaste majority of children integrated within cohesive social cliques. Analyses of positive and negative nominations revealed that children's membership in cohesive cliques was associated with strong ingroup preference but not with outgroup rejection. In contrast, members of social aggregates showed no ingroup preference. Social stratification analyses revealed that affiliative subgroups differed on a peer likability dimension and that there was a significant tendency for subgroup members to have similar likability scores. Finally, the introduction of status differentials in the analysis of ingroup bias revealed that members of high and medium status cliques were highly discriminative in favor of co-members, while in contrast, children in low status cliques showed no significant ingroup preference. In the second empirical study. network analysis were extended using nearest neighbor data collected during three sessions of the school year in an American preschool group Assessments of social bias and social stratification were derived from a paired comparison sociometric method which yields more stable and extensive information. In addition, social attention was used as a behavioral index for validating the network and stratification procedures and for assessing potential socializing functions of particular vm subgroups in the larger context of the peer group. The choice of social attention also offer the possibility to contribute to an ongoing debate In the child ethology literature concerning models of peer group social organization. The more extensive information provided by the paired-comparisons sociometric method showed stronger subgroup similarity in peer likability. Moreover, children in high status cliques reveal more ingroup preference than children in medium or low status cliques. Most important, children in low status cliques showed significant ingroup preference, a result that provide additional validation for the network conception of cohesive social cliques. Analyses of bias in social attention revealed that clique members were highly biased towards co-members. Members of social aggregates showed no such bias in the allocation of their social attention. These findings confirm the earlier view of differences in the cohesive nature of the two types of affiliative subgroups, and offer an important external validation of the present socio-structural approach. The magnitude of children1 s ingroup attraction of social attention increased as a function of the status of their clique but was significant even for low status subgroups. Supplementary analyses of the distribution of attention not directed to co-members indicated that social attention received from peers came predominantly from members of a child’s immediate social clique and to a considerable lesser degree from peers outside the immediate affiliative entourage. However, members of higher status subgroups appeared to nave slightly more capacity to attract the residual attention of other peer group members. Such a result supports the notion that social standing as well as cohesive bonding influences the distribution of social attention within the stable peer group. Results of the present research are discussed in terms of future ethological approaches to cohesive and dispersive activities in preschool peer groups. An interdisciplinary integration of biological and psychological research on behavioral development is proposed in order to IX furthering the understanding of how social roles within early peer groups impact on children's social adaptation and shape their long term social development.

Although people frequently pursue multiple goals simultaneously, these goals often conflict with each other. For instance, consumers may have both a healthy eating goal and a goal to have an enjoyable eating experience. In this dissertation, I focus on two sources of enjoyment in eating experiences that may conflict with healthy eating: consuming tasty food (Essay 1) and affiliating with indulging dining companions (Essay 2). In both essays, I examine solutions and strategies that decrease the conflict between healthy eating and these aspects of enjoyment in the eating experience, thereby enabling consumers to resolve such goal conflicts.

Essay 1 focuses on the well-established conflict between having healthy food and having tasty food and introduces a novel product offering (“vice-virtue bundles”) that can help consumers simultaneously address both health and taste goals. Through several experiments, I demonstrate that consumers often choose vice-virtue bundles with small proportions (¼) of vice and that they view such bundles as healthier than but equally tasty as bundles with larger vice proportions, indicating that “healthier” does not always have to equal “less tasty.”

Essay 2 focuses on a conflict between healthy eating and affiliation with indulging dining companions. The first set of experiments provides evidence of this conflict and examine why it arises (Studies 1 to 3). Based on this conflict’s origins, the second set of experiments tests strategies that consumers can use to decrease the conflict between healthy eating and affiliation with an indulging dining companion (Studies 4 and 5), such that they can make healthy food choices while still being liked by an indulging dining companion. Thus, Essay 2 broadens the existing picture of goals that conflict with the healthy eating goal and, together with Essay 1, identifies solutions to such goal conflicts.

Dissertation

This paper studies the impact of confirmation bias on the choice between biased sources of political information in a pre-election period. A sample of 204 Portuguese respondents was used, through a survey regarding their political identity and relating it to each one’s choice of information sources, as a voter and as a single decision-maker. Significant differences in behaviour were found according to one’s political identity. Evidence was found for some significant confirmation-seeking behaviour among right-wing participants, but some hypotheses concerning expressive voting and the effects of various factors on confirmation bias weren’t confirmed.

Over the years, consumption habits have suffered some changes. The consumer has more access to information and, consequently, is more demanding when selecting goods and services. Moreover, and regarding, smoking habits, there is also a greater awareness of the harmful effects of tobacco and, so the attempts to quit this addiction are increasing. Faced with this reality, companies in the tobacco industry felt the need to keep up with trends and transform their strategies, which is the case of Tabaqueira. Tabaqueira, an affiliate of Philip Morris International, is a Portuguese firm, which has been in the market since 1927 and is responsible for the production and commerce of international tobacco brands. This company has invested in products with reduced risk and, in 2015, launched, in Portugal, IQOS, an electronic innovative device that is potentially less harmful than ordinary cigarettes since it has no combustion. With this thesis, I will try to understand what is the perception and acceptance of IQOS in the Portuguese market. Therefore, I will analyse the changes in smoking habits and examine the main reasons that led to the introduction of IQOS. Finally, I will explore the sustainability of Tabaqueira’s strategy.
Ao longo dos anos os hábitos de consumo têm sofrido algumas alterações. O consumidor tem cada vez mais acesso à informação e consequentemente é mais exigente na escolha dos produtos. Em relação ao tabagismo existe também uma maior consciência dos malefícios associados ao tabaco que têm incentivado a tentativa de abandono deste vício. Face a esta realidade empresas inseridas no sector do tabaco sentiram a necessidade de acompanhar as novas tendências, alterando ou até mesmo reformulando as suas estratégias, como é o caso da Tabaqueira. A Tabaqueira, subsidiária da Philip Morris Internacional é uma empresa portuguesa que está presente no sector do tabaco desde 1927 e é responsável pela produção e comercialização de marcas internacionais e nacionais de tabaco. Ao longo dos anos, a empresa decidiu investir na categoria de produtos de risco reduzido e em 2015 a marca lançou em Portugal o IQOS, um dispositivo electrónico inovador que é potencialmente menos prejudicial para a saúde, uma vez que não tem combustão. O propósito da minha tese é perceber qual a aceitação e perceção do IQOS no mercado português. Desta forma, vou analisar as diferenças de comportamento do consumidor face ao tabagismo e quais os principais motivos para a introdução do IQOS. Consequentemente irei explorar a viabilidade da estratégia da Tabaqueira.

Our perceptual systems can create a rich representation of the social cues gathered during social interaction. Very brief exposures or ‘thin slices’ of behavioural and linguistic information are sufficient for making accurate judgments regarding social situations and building these social representations. This is akin to our accurate recognition of static visual stimuli with brief exposures to a scene in the study of scene gist (Oliva, 2005). This thesis examines a specific social cue during social interaction - how the correlation of movement between two people varies as a result of their affiliation. Further, this thesis investigates how we perceive that behavioural cue when making judgments of affiliation while observing conversation. It has already been established that there is coordination of linguistic and behavioural information during social interaction (Ambady & Rosenthal, 1992). This coordination is more prominent when individuals are familiar with each than when they are not (Dunne & Ng, 1994). The first study in this thesis quantifies the variation in the coordination of movement between two people in conversation based on their affiliation. Results demonstrate that the correlation of movements between friends is greater than the correlation during stranger interaction. This experiment demonstrates that movement varies as a result of affiliation and that people could use this coordination as a cue when making accurate judgments of affiliation while observing social interaction. The second study used the analysis of movement correlation to examine how correlation serves as a cue for accuracy of affiliation judgment by observers. Results demonstrate that although correlation was not a significant cue in affiliation perception, participants could indeed do the perceptual task. These results suggest that the perception of social information is multi-faceted and many cues contribute to its perception. These findings are discussed in terms of our sensitivity to more specific movement correlations as opposed to the global correlations used in this study. These studies highlight the need for further investigation in how behavioural cues function within the judgment of social information.
Thesis (Master, Psychology) -- Queen's University, 2012-09-12 17:25:36.484

The primary objectives of the current research were to (1) test the effectiveness of conspicuous consumption as a status-enhancement tactic and (2) examine access to material resources as an interpersonal benefit that incentivizes status striving behavior. The studies that follow investigated the status striving motivations of both men and women; however, this research endeavor was primarily designed to address the paucity of research on female status. In Study 1, a nation-wide sample of participants perceived target women to be higher status when they were depicted conspicuously consuming than when not. Several individual difference variables that predict conspicuous consumption were also identified, many of which related to the attainment of high status. In Studies 2 and 3, conspicuous consumption was shown to increase perceptions of status in face-to-face interactions, further supporting the status signaling function of conspicuous consumption. Study 3 utilized a Dictator Game methodology to test the prediction that participants would share more of a monetary allotment with confederates who were conspicuously consuming than with those who were not. Results indicated that conspicuous consumption did not increase generosity except in male participants who shared more of a monetary allotment with conspicuous consumers, particularly those of the same sex. This sex-specific result is discussed in light of the possibility that conspicuous consumption signals a type of status that is particularly relevant to men (i.e., economic status). In conclusion, I consider the different pathways by which high status individuals receive increased access to resources.
text

This purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between religious beliefs, religious affiliation, religious orientation, as defined by Allport and Ross (1967) and help-seeking behaviour amongst students at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg campus. The need for this research has been motivated by the limited amount of previous research in this area. The influence of gender on help-seeking behaviour and on religious orientation was also explored. Questionnaires comprising of the Religious Orientation Scale, General Help-seeking questionnaire and demographic information in terms of age, gender and religious affiliation were administered to students at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg campus. The sample consisted of 100 students from various religions, language, sexual orientation, age. The results revealed a significant difference between religious beliefs and religious orientation on help-seeking behaviour. In terms of demographic variables, gender had influence on religious orientation or help-seeking behaviour, respectively. However, religious affiliation had no influence on help-seeking behaviour.
Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2011.