Browsing by Author "Smith, Paige"

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An analysis of perceptual fluency and sexuality schemas: the effect on ratings of relatedness and processing speed
(2016-05-20) Smith, Paige
This study looked at how response times and ratings of relatedness were impacted by congruency and fluency of stimuli. It was predicted that when information was presented in the fluent or congruent conditions, response times would be faster than for information that was presented in the incongruent or disfluent conditions. It was also hypothesized that the slowdown effect associated with incongruent category label pairings would be eliminated through the manipulation of fluency. The prediction was also made that ratings of relatedness would be lower for category labels that were presented disfluently or incongruently than labels presented fluently or congruently. The congruency by fluency interaction displayed support for the first and second hypothesis. There was a significant difference in response times between the Congruent/Fluent and Incongruent/Disfluent conditions in Group 1. Another interesting finding was that the response times for the Congruent/Disfluent and Incongruent/Fluent conditions in Group 2 had no significant difference, indicating that the typical slowdown caused by the incongruent condition had been eliminated. The third hypothesis, related to attribute ratings, was supported by the main effect of congruency and the interaction between congruency and sexuality. These results demonstrated that when presented congruently paired labels were rated as more related than incongruently paired labels. Therefore, these results suggest that fluency can impact response times through the use of the sexuality IAT. Future studies should analyze whether sexuality schemas vary for different ages and whether the current results hold true for different age groups
The impact of family dynamic on perceptions of marriage and divorce
(2020-08-05) Smith, Paige
It has been found that individuals with a non-intact family dynamic often report a lower level of well-being, relationship confidence, decision making, relationship satisfaction, and a more external locus of control than those raised in an intact family dynamic. Furthermore, young adults from a non-intact family can have a more negative attitude toward marriage than young adults from an intact family. The current study sought to support previous literature findings in examining individual levels of well-being, locus of control, deciding, as well as relationship confidence and satisfaction. Individual attitudes toward marriage and divorce were also measured in order to determine if there were variances in attitudes of those raised in differing family dynamics. Additionally, the current study used narratives describing characters from an intact and non-intact family dynamic, to determine the perception the participant had of the character in the narrative. This can be used to understand whether previous personal experience reflects on or influences the participant’s attitudes and perceptions of family dynamic forms. The results showed that females from a non-intact family dynamic reported lower levels of well-being than females from an intact family dynamic, whereas males were found to have lower levels of relationship confidence, deciding, and relationship satisfaction compared to females regardless of their family dynamic. Additionally, attitudes toward marriage were significantly higher than attitudes toward divorce overall. Finally, the non-intact family dynamic was perceived as significantly more negative than the intact family dynamic regardless of the participant’s own dynamic. This study helps to develop a better understanding of how being raised in an intact versus non-intact family household could influence an individual’s perspective of themselves, narrative characters, attitudes toward differing family dynamics, and their confidence in interpersonal relationships.