Psychology & Philosophy
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/11274/15382
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Item Human error: The principal cause of skydiving fatalities(Society for Human Performance in Extreme Environments, 2003) Hart, Christian L.; Griffith, James D.Between 1993 and 2001, 308 people died while participating in civilian recreational skydives in the United States. Using a database generated by the United States Parachute Association, the authors of the present study conducted an analysis to determine the proportion of fatalities that were due to human error. The results of the analysis indicated that human error was the principal cause in 86% of the cases. Methods for reducing human error fatalities are suggested.Item Satisfaction with campus police services: A community policing initiative(Project Innovation Austin LLC, 2004) Griffith, James D.; Hueston, Harry; Wilson, Eddie; Moyers, Casey; Hart, Christian L.Problem: Higher education has seen dramatic increases in student enrollments, diversity and crime rates during the past 25 years. These changes have created the need for new approaches from campus law enforcement agencies. There has been a movement toward community oriented policing (COP) policies and practices by campus police departments to address these changes. A vital step as part of a comprehensive COP strategy is to gather information from its community members. Method: This study collected survey responses from 557 students at a mid-sized university on information regarding victimization, contact with campus police, satisfaction with campus police services, and overall feeling of safety. Results: There was a low crime rate on campus and those that were a victim of crime did tend to report it to a university official. Students were highly satisfied with campus police services and felt safe on campus. Conclusions: This survey represents an initial step toward developing a foundation for a community policing initiative. Implications of the findings are discussed.Item Collegiate skydivers: Do they fear death?(Individual Differences Association, Inc, 2005) Griffith, James D.; Hart, C. LanierSkydiving is considered to be among the most dangerous sporting activities in the world. Each time a skydiver exits an aircraft, they essentially face death. Although there is a relatively high risk of death compared to other sports, a large number of individuals participate in this activity in a recreational capacity. The present study compared 54 collegiate skydivers (high-risk) and 54 college students who never made a skydive (low-risk) on death anxiety. Death anxiety was measured using the Collett-Lester Fear of Death Scale (Lester & Abdel-Khalek, 2003). The analyses revealed that skydivers had lower levels of death anxiety on three of the four dimensions. This finding is in opposition of studies that have found that individuals working in death-risk occupations (e.g., police officer, firefighter) had higher death anxiety scores compared to control groups. Possible explanations for these divergent findings include the extent to which individuals have personal control over death-risk situations and self-esteem enhancement.Item Managerial beliefs about the behavioral cues of deception(Individual Differences Association, Inc, 2006) Hart, Christian L.; Hudson, Lucas P.; Fillmore, Derek G.; Griffith, James D.Lies and deception occur regularly in the workplace during the application and interview process, as excuses for failures and missed deadlines, or as excuses for absenteeism. Undoubtedly, this workplace deception results in tremendous financial losses for companies. Generally, people believe that they can use behavioral cues to detect when others are lying to them. This study examined the behavioral cues that managers use to detect when others are lying. Managers (N = 120) completed a survey in which they indicated the degree to which ten separate behavioral cues increase, decrease, or stay the same when people lie to them. For the most part, managers held incorrect beliefs about the behavioral changes that typically accompany lying. The managers' beliefs about lying behavior were compared to the beliefs held by non-managerial employees. The results of this comparison indicated that managers and non-managers hold similar incorrect beliefs about the behavioral changes that occur when people lie, although managers are more confident in their ability to detect lies.Item Teaching grant writing with service learning(International Society for Exploring Teaching and Learning, 2006) Griffith, James D.; Hart, Christian L.; Goodling, Morgan M.Grant writing experience can be a valuable asset for students completing masters-level degree programs across a variety of disciplines. A service learning grant writing project was incorporated in a multidisciplinary program evaluation course as part of a writing requirement. Twelve students served as “ghost writers” and wrote grant proposals to foundations for community organizations. Projects were assessed by ratings provided by faculty across departments who served as judges. Qualitative data was collected from students and organizational sponsors that showed high levels of satisfaction from both groups and an awareness of reciprocity of benefit from service learning were observed in both groups. Benefits and limitations of the pedagogical technique are discussed.Item Ironic effects of mental control in problem solving: Evidence for the implementation of ineffective strategies(McNeese State University, 2006) Hart, Christian L.; Randell, Joe A.The ironic effect of intending to solve problems was examined in this study. Previous research has demonstrated ironic effects of mental control for numerous behavioral and cognitive processes. In this study, subjects were either asked to solve problems, or they were asked to solve the same problems as quickly and efficiently as possible. Based on previous demonstrations of ironic effects of mental control, it was expected that those exercising the greatest mental control would have the poorest performance. Results indicated that those subjects trying to solve problems quickly and efficiently actually solved fewer problems and committed more errors than those who were not intended to work quickly and efficiently. Furthermore, there is evidence that this ironic effect of mental control in problem solving was associated with the use of different strategies. The use of ineffective strategies is suggested as one explanation for the ironic effects of mental control.Item Responses to the sports inventory for pain among BASE jumpers(University of South Alabama, 2006) Griffith, James D.; Hart, Christian L.; Goodling, Morgan; Kessler, Jill; Whitmire, AndyBASE jumping is considered to be among the most dangerous sporting activities in the world. Individuals involved in this activity jump off of four different types of fixed objects that include buildings, antennas, spans (e.g., bridges), and edges (e.g., cliffs). There are many similarities between skydiving and BASE jumping, but there are distinct differences that force BASE jumpers to deal with more hazards in less time resulting in a much smaller margin of error necessary to make a successful jump. Although there is a high risk of injury and death compared to more traditional sports, no studies have examined how these extreme sport participants perceive pain. A total of 134 BASE jumpers were categorized on the basis of experience (low, medium, high) and completed the Sports Inventory for Pain (Meyers, Bourgeois, Stewart, & LeUnes, 1992) that measured six dimensions of pain coping styles. Multivariate analyses revealed significant differences on five of the six dimensions. In each significant finding, there was a similar pattern such that experienced BASE jumpers used more conservative pain coping styles than inexperienced participants as conceptualized by the instrument. It is argued that more conservative responses among experienced jumpers are associated with a greater awareness of the risk factors involved in BASE jumping and a higher level of self-preservation.Item Ironic effects of attempting to remember(North American Journal of Psychology, 2007) Hart, Christian L.; Randell, Joe A.; Griffith, James D.In this study, ironic effects of intentional memory processes were explored. Ironic effects have previously been demonstrated in a number of mental control domains such as sleep onset, anxiety, and physical behavior. In this study, it was determined that ironic effects of mental control do occur when individuals apply greater cognitive effort toward the memorization of a word list. Specifically, individuals trying the hardest to remember information were later able to recall less information than those who were not trying as hard to encode and store information. It was further determined that the conditions that give rise to these ironic effects in the memory domain are associated with heightened cognitive workload. Finally, we demonstrated that while elevated intention to remember results in less than optimal recall, this heightened intention is still more effective than no intent. Thus it appears that ironic effects of attempting to remember vary with the level of mental control over mnemonic processing. A theoretical perspective linking ironic effects of mental control with the implementation of ineffective strategies is discussed.Item Evaluation of the race card strategy: The importance of supporting evidence(Boise State University, 2007) Hart, Christian L.; Lopez, Edward P.; Griffith, James D.The role that racial issues play in the courtroom has been studied in terms of the effect of salient racial variables on juror perceptions and decision- making. However, no prior research examined the effects of using charges of racial bias by police officers as a criminal defense strategy. The “race card” strategy can be defined as the introduction of salient racial variables in an attempt to sway attitudes and beliefs of jurors or judges. In these two experiments, subjects reviewed fictional criminal case summaries in which the race card strategy was or was not used. Furthermore, evidence supporting the defendant claims of racial bias was introduced in some of the cases. The results indicated that when a defendant claimed arrest because of racial bias by the arresting officer, those claims resulted in significant reductions in juror perceptions of guilt. However, claims of racial bias were only effective when the defense produced further evidence supporting claims of racist attitudes or behaviors by the arresting officerItem Indirect detection of deception: Looking for change(Center for the Study of Group Processes at the University of Iowa, 2009) Hart, Christian L.; Fillmore, Derek G.; Griffith, James D.In this study, we examined the effectiveness of using indirect methods to detect liars. College students viewed a video in which half of the people told some lies and half of the people were entirely truthful. Participants were either asked to detect the liars in the video or they were asked to identify people in the video whose behavior, mannerisms, or speech changed. Participants using the indirect lie detection method of looking for behavioral change were more accurate in their categorizations of liars and nonliars than were participants who were directly and explicitly looking for liars.Item Machiavelli’s politics and critical theory of technology(Argumentos de Razón Técnica: Revista Española de Ciencia, Tecnología y Sociedad, 2009) Harding, BrianThis paper has four major parts. First is a discussion of the critical theory of technology offered by Andrew Feenberg in his book, Questioning Technology. I argue that Feenberg’s theory is similar, in important respects, to the political theory of Machiavelli and that consequently, a comparison of the political philosophy of Machiavelli is possible. Second, I discuss the political philosophy of Machiavelli, in particular his description of the foundation of society. Third I discuss the relationship between virtue and the natural world according to Machiavelli. Fourth, I argue that this comparison reveals problems for the critical theory of Feenberg. Feenberg wants a politics and technology of liberation and Machiavelli shows that politics (and also technology) is always linked to coercion.Item Using vignettes to change knowledge and attitudes about rape(Project Innovation Austin LLC, 2010) Griffith, James D.; Hart, Christian L.; Brickel, MollyThis article describes a classroom activity that was aimed at increasing knowledge and changing attitudes regarding rape in an undergraduate Forensic Psychology class. Students from four sections of the course taught over two years were included in the study. Two of the sections participated in the exercise which required students to read vignettes of fictional rape cases and make individual and group decisions by determining if rape occurred or not and two of the sections did not perform the exercise and represented the control condition. Students showed a lack of understanding in identifying instances of rape. There was a greater increase in knowledge and more favorable attitude change for students in the experimental group compared to the control condition. Exercises of this nature can be easily incorporated into a variety of classes in order to provide information regarding rape to college students.Item Deceptive communication in the workplace: An examination of beliefs about verbal and paraverbal cues(Individual Differences Association, Inc., 2010) Hart, Christian L.; Fillmore, Derek; Griffith, JamesLies and other forms of deception in the workplace exact a tremendous financial toll on companies and organizations around the world. In this study, 240 employees from numerous businesses and municipal organizations completed a survey in which they indicated the degree to which they believed various aspects of communication change when people lie in the workplace. In support of the hypothesis, the employees held incorrect beliefs about fifteen of the eighteen verbal and paraverbal communication cues that were examined, suggesting that most employees may lack the information necessary to detect liars. The implications of these finding are discussed.Item Save the best for last? Social psychology taught in introductory psychology courses(McNeese State University, 2012) Curtis, Drew A.; Hart, Christian L.The purpose of the current study was to explore social psychology as it is taught within introductory psychology courses. Sixty syllabi from various educational institutions were randomly selected. Several variables such as the duration and placement of social psychology within introductory psychology courses were examined. Results indicated that social psychology is typically taught in the second half of an introductory psychology course (90.7%) and most lectures occur in the last quarter (51.2%). Results also show that 75% of the syllabi dedicated no more than 3 sessions to social psychology and over half of the courses spend no more than 3 hours teaching social psychology (65%). An argument for covering social psychology earlier in the course is made.Item Pornography actors: A qualitative analysis of motivations and dislikes(North American Journal of Psychology, 2012) Griffith, James D.; Adams, Lea T.; Hart, Christian L.; Mitchell, Sharon; Kruger, Alex; Phares, Bekah; Forbes, RandyThere is a paucity of research on individuals who perform in x-rated films because this group of actors represents a difficult-to-access population. The current study used a discovery oriented qualitative methodology to examine the responses of 105 male actors in the adult entertainment industry regarding the motivations for becoming involved in the pornography industry. The results indicated that there were nine reasons that emerged from the data with the most frequent responses being money, sex, and social interactions. The results provide insight from a large sample of actors on why they chose to become involved in the pornography industry and represent a step in better understanding the characteristics and attributes of individuals in the adult entertainment industry.Item Online female escort advertisements: The cost of sex(Sage, 2016) Griffith, James D.; Capiola, August; Balotti, Brandon; Hart, Christian L.; Turner, RyanFemale escorts represent an occupational group that charges a fee for sex, which can be regarded as an extreme form of short-term mating. The present study examined if the fees charged by escorts are related to traits typically associated with female short-term mate value. A total of 2,925 advertisements for female escorts offering sexual services in the United States were examined, as a customized software program was used to download all the advertisements from an online escort directory. The advertisement content was coded, and relationships between advertised physical characteristics and the hourly rate charged by female escorts were examined. The analyses showed that higher fees were associated with female escorts who advertised a waist-to-hip ratio near 0.7, lower weight and body mass index, younger age, and photographic displays of breast and buttocks nudity. The findings provide evidence that evolutionarily relevant traits associated with female short-term mate value are systematically related to fees charged for sexual services.Item The impact of religious commitment on women’s sexual self-esteem(Springer, 2016-07) Abbott, Dena M.; Harris, Jeff E.; Mollen, DebraReligious commitment is associated with decreased sexual activity, poor sexual satisfaction, and sexual guilt, particularly among women. The purpose of this paper was to investigate how religious commitment is related to sexual self-esteem among women. Participants included 196 female undergraduate students, 87 % of whom identified as Christian. Participants completed the Sexual Self-Esteem Inventory for Women (SSEI-W), Religious Commitment Inventory-10, Revised Religious Fundamentalism Scale, Brief Sexual Attitudes Scale, and a measure of their perception of God’s view of sex. Results suggested that women with high religious commitment held more conservative sexual attitudes. Significant relationships between religious commitment and two subscales (moral judgment and attractiveness) of the SSEI-W revealed that women with high religious commitment were less likely to perceive sex as congruent with their moral values and simultaneously reported significantly greater confidence in their sexual attractiveness. A significant relationship between religious commitment and overall sexual self-esteem was found for women whose religion of origin was Catholicism, such that those with higher religious commitment reported lower sexual self-esteem. A hierarchical regression analysis revealed that high religious commitment and perception that God viewed sex negatively independently predicted lower sexual selfesteem, as related to moral judgment. Implications of the findings are provided.Item Evolutionary perspectives in publications across subfields of psychology(The Evolutionary Studies (EvoS) Consortium, 2017) Hart, Christian L.; Morley, S.; Herzog, L.Across time, there has been variability in the degree to which evolutionary perspectives and explanations have been integrated within the prevailing theoretical perspectives in psychology as a whole and within the various subfields of psychology. In the current study, we explored recent (2004-2013) publication rates of papers presenting evolutionary perspectives within the top journals in eight sub-disciplinary areas of psychology. We selected the journals with the highest impact factor ratings in each sub-disciplinary area and searched for publications within those journals that utilized evolutionary-relevant terms (e.g., evolution, natural selection, etc.) in their abstracts. While the general experimental and multidisciplinary journals had the highest rates of evolutionary-themed publications, the applied areas had the lowest rates. Overall, a rather modest proportion of recent publications in psychology’s top journals integrate evolutionary perspectives.Item Deception in psychotherapy: Frequency, typology and relationship(Wiley, 2019) Curtis, Drew A.; Hart, Christian L.Deception in therapy has been documented anecdotally through various narratives of therapists. The investigation of its occurrence within therapy has largely been overlooked. We explored the reported frequency of deception within psychotherapy, the types of deception used within therapy, the likelihood of people lying to a therapist compared to other groups of people, and client perceptions of the types of deception that therapists use. Ninety-one participants were provided with a series of deception examples, asked questions about the use of these types of deception within therapy, and asked generally about their use of deception in therapy. We found that a majority of the participants had been deceptive in therapy, and a majority were willing to be deceptive in future therapeutic contexts. Participants were more likely to use white lies than other forms of deception in therapy. Lastly, participants were less likely to lie to therapists compared to strangers and acquaintances. Implications for research and practice are discussed.Item Interpersonal resilience inventory: Assessing positive and negative interactions during hardships and Covid‐19(Wiley, 2020) Rivers, Alannah S.; Sanford, KeithWhen people face difficult life situations, close interpersonal interactions that are positive (supportive, warm, and intimate) and negative (critical, withdrawing, and unhelpful) can be assessed with the Interpersonal Resilience Inventory and should be distinct from social support indices (structural support and perceived support schema), associated with stress and well-being, and salient across different stress contexts. Online participants completed the Interpersonal Resilience Inventory when facing family or financial stressors (n = 327) and the COVID-19 pandemic (n = 180). Confirmatory factor analysis, discrimination, correlations, and models regressing stress and well-being on positive and negative interactions indicated that scales are distinct and explain unique variance in stress and well-being beyond general social support. Results highlight the unique function of perceived interactions. This study expands previous medical and couple-specific work on perceptions of positive and negative interactions by assessing them across important relationships, in two unique stress contexts (family and financial hardships, and COVID-19), and after controlling for other types of social support (support schemas and structural support). This work is important for building parsimonious theories of perceived interactions that may be generalizable across relationships and stress contexts and may illuminate social support pathways to well-being.