We decided to do a virtual ASPS conference this year for two reasons.
The first reason was to ensure the continued recognition of students for their research work and dedication. This is the mission of ASPS and we did not feel that COVID-19 should prevent us from accomplishing this mission. As you will see through the research presentations that follow, students in Arkansas are doing fantastic work. Well done! And to those of you graduating this semester, congratulations!
The second reason was to honor the years of dedication of Dr. Timothy Maxwell (Hendrix College) to both psychology students in Arkansas and the Arkansas Symposium for Psychology students. Dr. Maxwell was a stalwart supporter of ASPS, research, and undergraduate psychology. The ASPS was greatly enriched through his engagement and support.
Authors denoted with an * are members of Psi Chi, the International Honor Society in Psychology
Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet, REM Sleep, and Cognitive Decline in the Blue Zones
Emma Gimenez*, Jennifer Peszka*, & Anne Goldberg
Hendrix College
This research proposal is an extension of a study examining diet, sleep quality, and social support in the Blue Zones. Blue Zones are regions where people live longer than average. The previous study found that the moderation of the relationship between type of diet and sleep quality by social support approached significance. These results raised questions regarding the specific diet components affecting the relationship and the relevance to aging. The next step of the project is to study the Blue Zone of Sardinia, Italy. Therefore, I propose examining the relationship between adherence to the Mediterranean Diet and cognitive decline in older adults in Sardinia. Furthermore, I hypothesize that REM sleep will act as a mediator in this relationship.
Communal or Agentic Trait Prediction of Student-Instructor Rapport: Does Biological Sex Matter?
Pearl McGowan, Chaunacy McRae, & Sara Vaca-Anaya (William Lammers)*
University of Central Arkansas
The current study is looking to find the relationship between personality traits and student-instructor rapport within the different groups of biological sex. Participants who completed the study included 85 students (83.53% Female, 15.29% Male, 1.18% Transgender, 7.06% Freshmen, 22.35% Sophomores, 30.59% Juniors, 40.00% Seniors) from the University of Central Arkansas who received credit through Sona for Psychology courses, and volunteered for the study. Researchers created six different scenarios. The scenarios were split between three different groups: no sex, female and male groups, and they were split in half between agentic and communal traits. So, each participant received an agentic and communal trait scenario and the difference between groups were the pronouns used in the scenario. Researchers used Lammers and Gillaspy’s (2013) SIRS-9 scale to score the student’s predicted student-instructor rapport based on the scenarios they received. To see what sex the students thought the scenarios in in the no sex group were two questions were asked at the end of their survey for student to identify the sex they thought the instructors were. Using Qualtrics software, researchers created the study and administered it to participants. After students answered demographic questions, participants viewed two of the six scenarios based on the last digit of their phone number. For each scenario participants answered questions from the SIRS-9 on their expected rapport with each professor. Researchers found that instructors that exhibited communal traits overall rated higher on the SIRS-9 than those that exhibited agentic traits. Researchers also found that the biological sex did not affect the ratings of the instructor and the biological sex did not interact with the personality traits. An implication of this study is that professors, no matter the sex, could exhibit communal traits in their instruction to increase overall student-instructor rapport.
Keywords: student-instructor rapport, personality traits, communal, agentic, biological sex
Keywords: student-instructor rapport, personality traits, communal, agentic, biological sex
Correlation Between Professor Big Five Personality Traits, Level of Student-Instructor Rapport, and Student’s Grade
Alyssa Burris*, Trey DePriest, & Claire Tober (William Lammers)*
University of Central Arkansas
It was the aim of this study to determine any correlations between instructors big five personality traits, student-instructor rapport, and resulting grade. Results indicated positive correlations between mean levels of rapport and instructors levels of openness, conscientiousness, agreeableness, and extraversion in addition to a negative correlation between mean levels of rapport and instructors levels of neuroticism. No correlation was found between student grade received and instructor personality, but there was a positive correlation between student grade received and levels of rapport. This understanding of how an instructors personality can affect levels of rapport with their students and subsequently student grades can help instructors foster these relationships.
Differentiating Negative Emotions Toward Groups, Organizations, and Public Figures
Carmen Meijer, Callista Rinesmith, & Elizabeth Yang (Carmen Merrick)
Hendrix College
The aim of this research was to examine the differences in the affective experiences of hate, anger, and dislike toward groups and public figures. This research utilized a two-part study. In Part 1, participants provided examples of times they experienced either hate, anger, or dislike toward a group or public figure and answered follow-up questions pertaining to their experience. In Part 2, the target of participants’ emotion from Part 1 was presented to them in a series of pictures, with follow up questions pertaining to their emotional experience toward the target. Broadly, we predicted unique patterns of appraisals and action tendencies for all three emotions. We also predicted that viewing pictures of the target would differentially affect participants’ emotional experiences.
Does a Tip-Enhanced Gratitude Journal Impact Connection to Humanity?
Zane Ashcraft, Mary Beth Smith*, Micah Smith*, & Bri Vongvilay (Anna Park)
University of Central Arkansas
Our goal in this study was to see if a gratitude journal with tips to encourage deep grateful reflection would increase connection to humanity more than a gratitude journal without tips. Connection to humanity is feeling care for all humans, even outgroup members (McFarland et al., 2020). Participants (N= 73) completed online assessments of their connection to humanity and gratitude. Participants were then randomly assigned to either the tip-enhanced gratitude journal group or the regular gratitude journal group, with each writing three journals per week for two weeks. They then completed online assessments of connection to humanity and gratitude a second time. Neither group increased in connection to humanity. The tip-enhanced group showed growth in a specific type of gratitude.
Does Deep Grateful Contemplation Improve Emotional Well-Being?
Dalton Handlin, Fati Kamara, McKenzi Spurgin, & Cat Whitlow (Anna Park)
University of Central Arkansas
We tested the hypothesis that providing individuals with tips for writing deep/elaborative gratitude journals would result in more benefits to emotional well-being than a gratitude journal without these tips. Participants (N= 73) completed an online study that assessed frequency of positive and negative emotion and gratitude. Participants were then randomly assigned to either the tip-enhanced gratitude journal group or the regular gratitude journal group and all wrote three journals a week for two weeks. Finally, they completed an online survey that matched the first online survey. Neither group showed improvements in positive or negative emotion. However, the tip-enhanced group showed increases in specific types of gratitude.
Drinking to Cope as a Mediator of Social Anxiety and Alcohol Use Problems: Do the Pathways Vary by Gender?
Kylie Schultz* (Lindsey Ham*)
University of Arkansas, Fayetteville
Hazardous alcohol use (HAU) among college students is common and may be exacerbated by drinking to cope with social anxiety disorder (SAD). This study gains insight into how men and women with SAD differ in development of HAU. I predict coping motives will mediate relationship between social anxiety group (SAG) and HAU, and gender moderate the relationship between SAG and coping motives, with men observing a stronger relationship between the two than women. 557 participants completed alcohol use, drinking motives, and social anxiety measures. Gender was not found to moderate SAG and coping motives. Relationship between SAG and HAU was not significant, but the pathways between SAG and coping motives, and coping motives and HAU were significantly related.
Factors that Influence Changing Majors
Titus Babineaux, Samantha Adauto, & Maddisin Bailey (Darshon Anderson)*
University of Central Arkansas
Many students choose to stay in their first declared majors based on their interest in their degree of choice, however; students entering college may not realize the requirements of their career choice such as: investing more time and effort into classes, financial cost, and sacrificing personal goals. The purpose of this study was to examine predictive factors of changing majors using a model of goal commitment that focuses on satisfaction, investment and alternatives. We predicted that satisfaction would be the best predictor of time spent in a major. Participants(N= 129) responded to one survey that assessed each factor from the model. The results supported the hypothesis.
Follow Your Feed
Lucas Leamon, Hannah Cox, & Don Boyd (Marc Sestir)
University of Central Arkansas
Social media is highly prevalent in today’s society (Kim, 2011). One possible way of understanding social media’s effects could be through cultivation theory. Cultivation Theory essentially explains how we receive subtle messages through types of media (Potter, 2014). Political discussion and posts have now become a staple on many social media platforms (Kim, 2011). Our study primed individuals with various logos. Each condition was exposed to either the social media logos, general media logos, or non-media related logos. Participants then filled out questionnaires regarding their social media usage, political beliefs, and their current mood to assess hostility. Results from this study showed insignificance. All three priming conditions seemed to have no effect on how individuals reported their belief of the public being cultivated to believe a certain political agenda, as well as the individuals personal belief of the political statement.
Gender and the Relations between Drinking Motives and Alcohol Problems
Edward Molina* & Noah Wolkowicz* (Lindsay S. Ham)*
University of Arkansas
This study explored the impact of drinking motive (DM) type and participant gender in predicting alcohol problems. Males were hypothesized to have higher alcohol-related problems across all DM types, and higher enhancement DM endorsement, than women. Undergraduates (N=535; 68% female) from a midsouthern university completed the Drinking Motives Questionnaire-Revised and the Rutgers Alcohol Problems Index. Four hierarchical regressions assessed the interaction between sex and DM types in predicting alcohol-related problems. All final models were significant, F’s(3,531)=13.18-39.32, R2’s=.07-.18, p<.001. A significant interaction was present between sex and conformity DM’s, such that conformity DM predicted alcohol problems for women, b=2.83, p<.001, but not men, b=-0.07, p=.925. These findings suggest external, negative reinforcement is only predictive of alcohol-related problems in female undergraduates.
Influence of Formal Interest Surveys on Career Confidence
Ashley Gould, Brooklyn Hicks, & Channing Miller (Shawn R. Charlton*)
University of Central Arkansas
This study investigated the influence of a career interest survey on experienced major and career confidence. Formal interest surveys, such as Holland’s RIASEC 47-item questionnaire, are influential on major/career decisions, especially when introduced early. In this study, participants were provided with randomized, false-feedback of high or low percentage match in concurrence with their major after completing the RIASEC. Following the false feedback, participants were asked to answer questions about their career confidence and survey confidence to determine if the feedback was influential. We hypothesized when people are told there is a match between their career goals and RIASEC results, their reported career confidence will increase or when people are told there is a match between their career goals and RIASEC results, their reported confidence in the RIASEC will increase. Our survey participants consisted of 198 students attending the University of Central Arkansas. In general, we found in our results that participants are more likely to their view of the validity of the survey than their confidence in their chosen career or major when told there is a mismatch between the two.
Perception of Clothing on Personal Characteristics
Bethany Koprovic*, Garett Reed, & McKenzie Reed (Ken Sobel)*
University of Central Arkansas
The popular adage “the clothes make the man” has existed for hundreds of years. In this study, we looked to see if there was any psychological evidence to support this claim and researched if the style of clothing worn changed the way that people perceive an individual. We believed that participants would rate models who wore conservative and light clothing with positive characteristics, while they would rate models who wore provocative and dark clothing with negative characteristics. In this study, participants took an online survey featuring pictures of models wearing four different styles of clothes (casual – light, casual – dark, provocative, and conservative), followed by a series of questions that asked participants to rate the perceived personal characteristics of the models.
Perception of Subtle and Dramatic Faces
Jasmine Hagan, Aysha Aktar, & Lindsey Hughes (Ken Sobel)*
University of Central Arkansas
Meeting people leads to wondering what their personality traits are. First impressions influence how we see people for a very long time. Despite all this, impressions are liable to be misinterpreted. Because people’s appearances change with their attire, we wanted to explore how people perceive them in different clothing, and to compare the impression to their actual personality. Based on everyday life and other experiments that have been done on first impressions, we believe that individuals will base their impressions on how people are dressed. In our experiment we manipulated a person’s clothing and facial appearance. We hypothesized that individuals dressed professionally and without piercings will receive more positive judgements, while individuals dressed casually and with tattoos and/or piercings will receive more negative judgements. Six volunteers posed for two pictures each and also filled out a personality survey. Each participant viewed six photos and never saw the same person twice, then answered several questions regarding the person’s personality to see if they could form an accurate impression from someone’s appearance.
Process Evaluation of WISE Implementation Strategies Using Qualitative Coding
Madelynn Darby* (Taren Swindle & Janna Martin)
Harding University
This presentation, drawing on Implementation Science methods and frameworks, will share the findings of a process evaluation of 8 discrete, stakeholder-selected implementation strategies for the Together We Inspire Smart Eating! (WISE) curriculum. Head Start educators participated in interviews on their perceptions of these strategies after one school year of exposure. To maximize time and cost efficiency, Rapid Assessment Procedure-Informed Clinical Ethnology (RAPICE) was used to identify and analyze barriers and facilitators for the 8 strategies. Results will present notable findings for each implementation strategy illustrated with exemplar quotes. Participants noted facilitating factors for the implementation strategies of (1) having a trained, local champion and (2) incentives for fidelity of WISE practices. An implementation strategy with few facilitators and several barriers was the WISE cutting board suggesting it was a weaker strategy.
Protective Behavioral Strategies as a Moderator of the Relationship Between Alcohol Use and Casual Sex
Maria Folkerth*, Hannah Sawyer*, Kayla Ford*, & Isabel Augur* (Lindsay S. Ham)*
University of Arkansas
College student drinking has been linked to risky sexual behavior, including casual sex (Cooper, 2002). Protective behavioral strategies (PBS) can be utilized to prevent potential negative consequences while drinking (Pearson, 2013). For women, PBS usage reduces risk of alcohol-related sexual consequences (Lewis, 2010). We investigated whether usage of PBS moderates the association between hazardous drinking and casual sexual behavior among college women. Female undergraduates (n=766; Mage=18.96, 83% Caucasian) completed measures assessing hazardous drinking, PBS, and past-month casual sex. Analysis revealed that women who used fewer PBS were more likely to engage in casual sex, p=0.032; hazardous drinking and its interaction with PBS were unrelated to casual sex. Results suggest PBS may be a useful method to reduce risky sexual behavior.
Reactions to Health Goal Regimens
Jodie Blankenship, Jose Sandoval, & Jaclyn Tropp (Darshon Anderson)*
University of Central Arkansas
There are many different approaches to accomplishing one’s health goals. Often society has varying views on the different approaches. The purpose of this study was to determine if social norms influenced the perception of health goals. We hypothesized that participants reading a scenario of a person pursuing a health goal that included both exercise and diet would respond more positively than those reading a scenario about exercise only or diet only. Additionally, we expected participants who read the approach was typical (vs. unique) would respond more positively. The results indicated that there was no effect of the scenario read, the statement read, or the interaction on ratings of effectiveness of the health approach and likelihood of using the approach. Thus, the hypothesis was not supported.
Relationship Between the Enneagram Types of Professors and Student-Instructor Rapport
Sarah Weaver, Julie Bates*, & Bethany Russell (William Lammers)*
University of Central Arkansas
We examined the relationship between instructor Enneagram personality type and rapport with students. Participants completed an online survey that assessed their level of expected rapport with a professor based on keywords about that professor. These keywords were determined based on the keywords for each of the 9 Enneagram types. Results showed that students expected to have higher rapport with professors who were described with keywords from Enneagram types 1-3 and 9. Of those, students expected to have the best rapport with Enneagram types 3 and 9.
Swimming in the Stream
Christian Aspinwall, Makenna Clark, & Morgan Herndon (Marc Sestir)
University of Central Arkansas
This study investigated the perceived streaming usage, materialistic, and life satisfaction views. Participants were randomly assigned into one of three conditions, then primed with questionnaires about either their streaming site usage, opinions of streaming sites logos, or no priming. Participants were then asked about their materialistic and life satisfaction views. Our study concluded with a total of 78 participants. We predict that the priming condition of the recollection of streaming usage will produce the highest reported materialistic views, and life satisfaction views. Overall, the statistics did not support our hypothesis. A one way ANOVA was conducted for gender, age, and race, for each condition. The ANOVA comparing racial groups between perceived streaming site usage, materialism, and life satisfaction views revealed that each racial group reported similar views. This study has brought new knowledge on how different races differ in streaming site usage, materialistic views and life satisfaction.
The Changes in Future Career Confidence, Career Decision Self-Efficacy, and Academic Major Satisfaction Across the Undergraduate Years
Kassidy Dahlem & Kyra Robinson (Shawn R. Charlton*)
University of Central Arkansas
This study explored the confidence undergraduate students have in their career-related decisions throughout their undergraduate years. We hypothesized that (1) career confidence would increase as students progressed through their undergraduate career, (2) students that have changed their majors will have lower career confidence and (3) career-relevant experiences would have a direct relationship with career confidence. To test these hypotheses, we surveyed undergraduate students at the University of Central Arkansas on their career confidence, classification, major satisfaction, changes in major, and career-relevant experience. We found support for changes in career confidence across the undergraduate years and with career experiences, but no evidence that major changes influenced career confidence.
The Effect of Social Comparison and Social Media Use on Self-Esteem and Goals
James Jez, Brandi Brown, & Jennifer Manjarrez (Darshon Anderson)*
University of Central Arkansas
Comparing one’s performance to another person’s performance is a central part of the human experience. Technology has made it possible to engage in social comparison at a very high level. Social media can be a platform for daily if not hourly comparisons. The purpose of our study was to identify if high social media use coupled with social comparisons (upward or downward) had effects on self-esteem and goals through self-efficacy. Participants (N = 133) completed a social media use questionnaire, social comparison questionnaire, self-esteem questionnaire, and a self-efficacy questionnaire. The results indicate there was an effect of social comparison on self-esteem and self-efficacy, but no other effects were found.
The Impact of Deep Grateful Contemplation on Prosocial Behavior
Hadleigh Austin*, Michaela Cormier, Madison Henshaw, & Abby Rand (Anna Park)
University of Central Arkansas
We tested the hypothesis that a tip-enhanced journal designed to encourage deep grateful contemplation would increase prosocial behavior more than a gratitude journal that did not include these tips. Participants (N= 73) filled out an online study that contained measured frequency of recent prosocial behavior and gratitude (pre-journal assessment). Participants were then randomly assigned to either the tip-enhanced gratitude journal group or the regular gratitude journal group. Both groups wrote three journals per week for two weeks. They then filled out the same online survey again (post-journal assessment). Neither group increased in prosocial behavior. The tip-enhanced group showed increases in particular facets of gratitude.
The Impact of Feedback Manipulation on Academic Pride and STEM Learning
Jeremiah Sullins*, Lucy Grace Camp*, Ashlyn Wilson* (Jeremiah Sullins)
Harding University
The current study explored the impact of feedback on the induction of academic pride and STEM learning. In a randomized controlled study, 57 participants received one of three different types of feedback after the completion of a shortened aptitude test: 1) Quantitative 2) Qualitative, or 3) Control (No feedback). After receiving the feedback, participants were given 30 minutes to learn all they could about the circulatory system using a hypermedia encyclopedia. Results revealed a significant main effect for learning as a function of condition (i.e., type of feedback) and a significant main for learning as a function of hubristic pride. Although no significant interaction was present, Tukey’s HSD revealed multiple significant pairwise comparisons between pride and condition.
The Power of Self Efficacy and IQ Testing
Madison Robbins, Victoria McCauley, & Nathaniel Hernandez- Juarez (Kenith Sobel)*
University of Central Arkansas
One of the only guarantees we have in life is that we will eventually face some sort of challenge. Philosophers and common people alike have argued for years for the right proverbial advice to give to those facing a challenge. One such proverb that has been offered, that almost everyone in Western Culture has heard before, is “if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again”, when facing adversity. Our research seeks to investigate this proverb by testing self-efficacy. Self-efficacy is the belief that a person holds about themselves and their own abilities. Previous studies have shown that those with higher self-efficacy tend not give up as easily and to keep trying again in the face of adversity. Through the use of an intelligence quotient test our group tested how much people’s self-efficacy really does influence their tendency to keep trying. We also tested to see if we could influence people’s sense of their own self-efficacy.
The Relationship Between Gender and Academic Shame: An Investigation of the Effects of Gender and Individual Differences on Academic Shame
Lucille Grace Camp* (Jeremiah Sullins)
Harding University
Shame is considered by some to be a silent epidemic with significant negative consequences. While there is a plethora of research suggesting that women experience more general shame than men, very little research has been done to determine if the same trend applies to academic shame. Despite the lack of research, this area requires investigation because academic shame has been shown to have a negative impact on learning. Moreover, research suggests a relationship regarding shame proneness and self-regulated learning skills with academic shame. Therefore, this study examines gender differences in academic shame. Participants completed questionnaires regarding shame proneness, self-regulated learning, and state–in the moment–shame. Data was analyzed using independent samples t-tests, a two-way ANOVA, pearson correlations, and simple linear regressions. Results revealed no significant gender differences in academic shame, self-regulated learning, or academic shame resilience. Results did find significant gender differences in shame proneness, with women being more prone to shame than men. Furthermore, shame resilience increased under the effects of state shame, but decreased under the effects of shame proneness. Implications for further research are discussed.
The Role of An Academic Advisor in Future Career and Academic Confidence
Katelyn Bigger, Sharae Gibson, & Catherine Hall (Shawn R. Charlton*)
University of Central Arkansas
Advising in undergraduate programs has the ability to influence academic and future career choices. For undergraduate advising to be the most beneficial for students, it is necessary that advisors be perceptive to student needs as well as willing to direct students to additional resources. We hypothesized that when students have more confidence in their advisor, they will be more confident in their future academics and career. Participants answered questions in a survey covering attitude toward advising as well as their perception of career aptitude. We found a significant relationship between the students’ satisfaction in their advisors and how confident they feel about their future.
The University of Central Arkansas Faculty Perceptions on Career and Graduate Preparation Across Academic Colleges
Katelyn Bright, Rebecca Corder, Caleb Davis, & Carly Taphorn (Shawn R. Charlton*)
University of Central Arkansas
AbstractThere is an inconsistency in the amount of career and graduate preparation offered across colleges at a university. This study investigated faculty perspectives on the relationship between career and graduate preparation in undergraduate programs, including differences in perspective between faculty and department chairs and across academic colleges. Participants in our study consisted of 166 faculty members from the University of Central Arkansas. We hypothesized that faculty will perceive their curriculum offers less career preparation than graduate preparation. Our second hypothesis predicted faculty would express a greater preference to include career preparation than will administrators. Our findings supported hypothesis one, where the faculty perceptions from the College of Liberal Arts showed less career preparation compared to graduate preparation. Results did not support hypothesis two with no observed differences in the perceptions of faculty and department chairs.
Time is a Commodity
Ashley Green, Katherine Cotton, & Ammar Lee-Fowler (Darshon Anderson)*
University of Central Arkansas
The path after graduation can lead to immediately joining the workforce or continuing the educational journey to obtain an advanced degree. There are many factors that may influence this decision, but one may be how a person views time. The purpose of this study was to determine if time orientation impacts the choice to pursue an advanced degree or immediately join the workforce. Participants (N =125) completed the Future Perspective Scale and answered 3 questions about plans after graduation. The results revealed there was a significant difference in likelihood to pursue an advanced degree across the different time orientation groups.
Time of Day as a Predictor for Student-Instructor Rapport Development
Joshua Hart, Annah Dixon, & Lindsey Bates (Bill Lammers)*
University of Central Arkansas
The current study aims to help find the use of the time of day as a predictor for student/instructor rapport development. Participants in this study are made up of the University of Central Arkansas students (41-female, 5-male, 1-nonbinary,1-transgender). Those who participated will receive credits through Sona and they are assigned to any class of their choosing. Researchers logged into Qualtrics to create a questionnaire using its software. The questionnaire helped researchers establish rapport surrounding how the time of day a class is held with the participants morningness or eveningness functionality.
Urgency and its Power Over Decision-Making
Devin Jones, Noah Smith, & Kayla Hughes* (Kenith Sobel)*
University of Central Arkansas
Decision making is influenced by many conditions, including one’s environment, mental state, and subjective experience. In this study, we sought to identify how urgency and the availability of options plays a role in decision making for both high and low-risk situations. We believed that when presented with a time-sensitive, high-risk situation with various options, participants would choose a safer, lower-risk solution than when presented with a non-time-sensitive, low risk situation. In order to do this, we presented participants with a multiple choice survey. The survey randomly categorized participants into a control and experimental group. Each group received the same questions, which consisted of ten high-risk situations and ten low-risk situations. The control group was not given a time constraint and were only given three solutions to choose from. The experimental group was given a time limit and four or five solutions to choose from. We categorized each solution on a scale from “safe” to “risky,” and then recorded the responses of the participants in order to determine if the time constraint and number of options had a statistically significant effect on the participant’s decision making.
Video Games and Morality
Courtney Chastun, Grant Flagg, & Natsuki Nomura (Marc Sestir)*
University of Central Arkansas
This study explores cultivation theory as formed by Gerber in how video games manage to present ideas and beliefs that affect public moral behaviors and personal moral action. We conducted our study on 63 University of Central Arkansas students and used random assignment for our study. Participants are tasked to fill in a survey that asks how much time they spend on one of three hobbies: video games, social media, or sports, followed by hypothetical moral dilemmas that ask for participants’ thoughts on others’ actions as well as their own. Our hypothesis was that those who were exposed to our video game prime prior to being prompted with the moral dilemmas would choose more actionable answers compared to those primed with social media or sports.
Youtube Personalities: The Effects of Media Streaming Levels on Identity
Madi Stark, Sydney Icenhower, & Kaitlyn Lyles (Marc Sestir)*
University of Central Arkansas
Humans have been consuming media for decades with newspapers, books, television, etc. Along with the increase of media consumption came questions and critics such as Gerbner’s cultivation theory-the long-term effects that media, particularly television, has on an individual’s beliefs and outlooks (Potter, 2014). This theory has begun to transition into looking at media in the modern day.
For our study we primed 73 participants to think about Youtube, Instagram, and Friends with the hypothesis that participants thinking about Youtubers would be more likely to align their beliefs and outlooks, defined as identification, with media influencers. After filling out a priming questionnaire, participants were given three separate questionnaires to measure their identification with media influencers, self-esteem, and streaming media usage. Our data found insignificant differences at the p < 0.05 level for all three conditions. While insignificant, these results could lead into further research on how media influencers can change people’s outlook.
For our study we primed 73 participants to think about Youtube, Instagram, and Friends with the hypothesis that participants thinking about Youtubers would be more likely to align their beliefs and outlooks, defined as identification, with media influencers. After filling out a priming questionnaire, participants were given three separate questionnaires to measure their identification with media influencers, self-esteem, and streaming media usage. Our data found insignificant differences at the p < 0.05 level for all three conditions. While insignificant, these results could lead into further research on how media influencers can change people’s outlook.