4,456 research outputs found
Social Anxiety and Interpersonal Interactions: Investigating the Impact of Anxiety on Interpersonal Behaviours, Perceptions, and Processes
Interpersonal theory suggests that the most important variations in people’s interpersonal behaviours can be captured by just two major constructs, dominance and affiliation. Despite the admirable parsimony of interpersonal theory, in the current thesis, we argue that a key influencing variable has been absent from discussions of interpersonal behaviour and dynamics. People’s levels of social anxiety during interactions has been acknowledged as an influencing factor within the interpersonal space, yet a systematic investigation of its impact on behaviours and interpersonal processes has been sparse. Thus, in the current work we consider the impact of people’s social anxiety levels during an interaction on their own interpersonal behaviours, the reactions received from interaction partners, interpersonal processes (e.g., interpersonal complementarity and anxiety contagion) and relationship and task outcomes. We conducted three studies (a hypothetical scenario study (N = 160), a confederate study (N = 95), and a dyad study (N = 113 dyads)), and the methodologies of our studies were scaffolded in such a way that allowed for stronger tests of our hypotheses with each subsequent study. Although results were somewhat disparate across our studies, several interesting results emerged. We found that increased social anxiety in participants during an interaction led to more submissive behaviour (demonstrated in Studies 2 and 3), and less affiliative behaviour (demonstrated in Study 3). We also found that there was a discrepancy between how people reported responding to partners who were higher on social anxiety and how outside observers saw partners responding. For instance, participants reported responding with more affiliation towards anxious interaction partners in Studies 1 and 2, yet were coded by observers as responding with less affiliation towards anxious partners in Study 3. Results also indicated that social anxiety moderated interpersonal processes. For example, we found that the ability for interaction partners to pass agency back and forth smoothly at a moment-to-moment level was diminished when interactants were more anxious. In contrast, the coordination of affiliative behaviours at the moment-to-moment level was enhanced when interactants were more anxious. We also demonstrated across all three studies that anxiety in one interaction partner resulted in increased anxiety in the other interaction partner. Finally, we demonstrated the detrimental impact of social anxiety on relationship and task outcomes. For example, in Study 3, the more situational social anxiety that participants experienced, the less the dyad enjoyed the interaction and the worse they did on a task assigned to them. Overall, our work has important implications for interpersonal theory and models of social anxiety, and demonstrates that the study of social anxiety using an interpersonal theory lens provides a fertile ground for further study
Relations of environmental contaminants, algal toxins, and diet with the reproductive success of American alligators on Florida Lakes
(113 page document
Evaluating Student Preparedness and Conceptual Change in Introductory Biology Students Studying Gene Expression
Conceptual difficulties experienced by introductory college biology students studying gene expression are explored in this empirical study. We used an open-ended assessment instrument and a pre-test/post-test design to measure prior knowledge and conceptual change over the course of one semester. Our findings suggest that introductory biology students struggle with the basic terminology necessary to understand complex biological systems at the molecular and genetic level. While conceptual growth from the beginning to the end of the semester was less than expected, learning gains were significant for all concepts examined by our assessment strategy. Qualitative evaluation of pre- and post-tests further highlighted the difficulty students have articulating their knowledge using scientific language. In our discussion, we emphasize the importance of assessing conceptual understanding, developing instructional strategies to promote conceptual change, and the need for closer alignment of curriculum between and within institutions. Ultimately, educational and institutional resources to support faculty development in the area of teaching and learning are critical for the retention and preparation of a diverse student population in the biological sciences
The social networks of unaccompanied asylum seeking young people in the transition to adulthood
The number of children seeking asylum alone in the UK and across Europe is increasing. Previous research has focused on the support unaccompanied children receive within children’s services, and highlighted their vulnerability and isolation. Limited research exists that considers their transition to adulthood, at which time the process of leaving local authority care may coincide with a need to re-engage with the immigration system in an attempt to achieve the right to remain in the UK permanently. This thesis therefore focuses on unaccompanied young people as they transition to adulthood. Focusing holistically on the social networks of the young people, this study is concerned with understanding the process of transition and its impact on the social worlds of the young people. Taking the life-course approach as iits conceptual framework, issues of time, space, structure and agency are emphasised.
Based on interviews with both unaccompanied young people and professionals (accessed through statutory and voluntary services in one large urban local authority in the north of England) the findings suggest that unaccompanied young people’s social networks are active, complex and diverse, yet may be negatively impacted by uncertain and temporary immigration statuses. The findings illuminate previously unexplored aspects of unaccompanied young people’s social networks, including their continued embeddedness in multi-sited family networks. The findings also challenge current constructions of unaccompanied young people as vulnerable recipients of support, and repositions them as young people who provide care and support to others as they begin to develop adult identities
The mother lode : a tragicomedy : the space between pleasure and necessity : an exegesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the postgraduate degree of Master of Fine Arts at Massey University, Wellington
This exegesis discusses aspects of my current practice where I make jewellery that melds the narratives of home, workshop and motherhood, to explore power and gender and the subtle and sometimes not so subtle burden they place on women. Drawing on the previous function of objects collected and selected from domestic, industrial and utilitarian realms, these jewellery re-contextualisations traverse tense and complex territories between people, bodies and things. While exploring the material traces of the everyday, they open a space for engagement and debate about womanhood and the emotional labour of parenting
Webcam Child Sex Tourism: An Emerging Global Issue
Increased globalization through access to the internet has made it easier than ever for child perpetrators to exploit children overseas from the comfort of their couches. Webcam Child Sex Tourism (WCST) occurs when an adult pays to direct and view live-streaming video footage of a child in another country preforming sexual acts in front of a webcam. Currently this issue resides mainly in the Philippines where there are tens of thousands of child victims. According to a study conducted by Terre des Hommes, an advocacy organization based in the Netherlands, many child victims of WCST suffer psychological symptoms consistent with sexual trauma. There are international legislations and policies that indirectly prohibit WCST, yet only six perpetrators have been convicted for this crime. This presentation is a review of literature and research on the emerging global issue of Webcam Child Sex Tourism and will focus specifically on defining the issue, the trauma experienced by WCST victims, international policies, and what can be done to prevent the spread of WCST
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