Theses and Dissertations at Montana State University (MSU)

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://scholarworks.montana.edu/handle/1/733

Browse

Search Results

Now showing 1 - 6 of 6
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Intersectional identity: factors impacting student odds of first semester STEM major declaration
    (Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Education, Health & Human Development, 2023) Jacobs, Jonathan Daniel; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Lauren Davis
    Though there is a large amount of literature on those who graduate from college with STEM degrees, there is a dearth of literature involving intersectional identity of college freshman who are considering entering STEM majors. This study seeks to begin the process of meeting the gaps in research. Data from the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (HSLS:2009) were analyzed using logistic regression; using listwise deletion, intersectional identities which impact odds of student declaring a STEM major were identified. Student race and ethnicity, student sex, student socio-economic status, teacher race and ethnicity, teacher sex, science utility, science interest, science self-efficacy, and science identity were the components of intersectional identity for this study. Student race, student socio-economic status, science self-efficacy, and science identity were statistically significant factors that increased student odds of entering college with as STEM degree (p<0.001). Students who were Asian had a statistically significant increase in odds over White students to enter college with a STEM degree. All other aspects of identity were not statistically significant. More research is needed in this field to gain a deeper understanding of how intersectional identity impacts a students' odds of declaring a STEM majors their first semester in college.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Understanding adolescents' experiences of ageism
    (Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2022) Poppler, Ashleigh Katelyn; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Brandon Scott
    Ageism, defined as discrimination against people on grounds of age, has been examined almost exclusively with regard to adults' perceptions of older adults (Nelson, 2005). Less research has examined adults' beliefs about teenagers and the ways adolescents experience ageism. Research on intersectionality indicates that adolescents of multiple social identities may be at a heightened risk of experiencing ageism (Crenshaw, 1989). The current study used a mixed-method approach to understand adolescents' subjective experiences with cognitive and behavioral facets of ageism and how these experiences differ across sociocultural backgrounds. All adolescents in the sample were asked: 'have you ever been treated differently because of your age' (yes or no?); 'if so, how have you been treated differently?' and 'how do you think adults feel about teenagers these days?' Results demonstrate that most youth believed that they were treated differently because of their age and that they believed adults felt negatively about teenagers. Additionally, logistic regressions indicated that Black youth were more likely to report that adults perceive teenagers as lazy and with contempt compared to non-Black youth, and young women were more likely to report that they were treated as unknowing or incapable compared to non-females in the sample. Findings indicate that adolescents perceive both cognitive and behavioral forms of ageism. These findings extend Positive Youth Development theory by highlighting that despite the importance of supporting adolescents, many adults hold negative beliefs about teenagers. Results from this study inform PYD theory and can be used to promote healthy adult-adolescent relationships.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Nurses' perceptions of the utility of patient scripting with regards to patient satisfaction
    (Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Nursing, 2012) Hasenkrug, Kally Marie; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Susan Luparell
    This research study was intended to determine the perceptions of nurses' regarding the utility of patient scripting with regards to patient satisfaction. Patient scripting refers to a script used by nurses while speaking to patients and/or their families to convey a consistent message from all nurses and employees. Hard copy surveys were delivered into the work mailboxes of 95 part-time and full-time nurses on the maternal child department of a local community hospital. It was found that nurses find patient scripting important to patient satisfaction, easy to use, and easy to incorporate. However, some nurses felt that it was awkward and not words they would generally use in conversations with patients or families. The nurses did not feel it increased their job satisfaction or hospital revenue. It appears that if the nurses were to develop a script that was easier to use or made up of words they would use more easily, they would utilize patient scripting more frequently.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Testing the existence of unconscious thought through a memory perspective
    (Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2012) Yosai, Erin Rachelle; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Ian M. Handley
    Research indicates that engaging in unconscious thought processes may aid individuals in making optimal decisions (e.g. Bos et al., 2008, Bos et al., 2011, Dijksterhuis, 2004; Dijksterhuis & Nordgren, 2006) when conscious processing capabilities are limited. Experiments within this domain have dubbed the result of optimal complex decision making after delay in which conscious thought is distracted, relative to no conscious distraction the 'Unconscious Thought Effect' (Strick et al., 2011). However, skeptics of unconscious thought processes assert that the 'unconscious thought effect' may be an artifact of conscious or memorial-based processing (e.g. Lassiter et al., 2009; Reyna, 2003). The current experiment hypothesized that measuring individuals' working memory capacity (Unsworth et al., 2005), or attentional control, would clarify whether controlled memorial processes or unconscious thinking produces this effect. Namely, the control and effortful direction of attention influences conscious processes, but unconscious thought processes do not require attention (Dijksterhuis & Nordgren, 2006). Specifically, it was hypothesized that individual WMC would moderate decisions within conditions where conscious thought processes and attention were necessary to car evaluations. This thesis' specific interest is the 'unconscious thought condition.' Results indicating that individual WMC moderates car evaluation following a distraction period would support a memorial-based explanation for unconscious thought effects. Conversely, results indicated no effect of individual WMC on object evaluations following a distraction period would support the existence of independent, sophisticated unconscious thought processes (e.g. Dijksterhuis & Nordgren, 2006). Although this experiment failed to clearly support either hypothesis regarding WMC, several possible explanations of the null and inconsistent results were identified. Attending to experimental issues and theoretical inconsistencies in future research may improve the understanding of the existence and boundarit.es of unconscious thought.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Perceptions
    (Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Arts & Architecture, 2006) Muldoon, Dara Anne Hartman; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: N. R. Pope
    My work is informed by the cultural construction of the ideal woman, i.e., a pretty, tidy, clean, little package; and by the women close to me, the women I encounter from day to day, and the representations of women throughout history. To this end, I want the representations of the female figures I create to possess a goddess-like quality, to show the beauty that all women possess, and to portray the reality of feminine struggles in a society obsessed with constructed images of beauty. I want to reference the idea of the male gaze and the objectification of the female body through the use of the torso but to also bring the viewers attention to the perceptions a woman may have about her own body. My intention is to place the object in front of the viewer in an effort to provoke, educate, and compel the viewer to think differently about the complexities of the female body.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    The dual process model of stereotyping : using social cognitive research to reduce bias in the workplace with an emphasis in gender stereotyping
    (Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2005) Betzen, Nathan John; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Michael Babcock
    As more women and minorities enter organizations, the issue of the glass ceiling fails to evaporate, due in part to the less favorable evaluations of women and minorities in the workplace. A likely cause for this is the lack of research and understanding in the business environment on stereotyping and its results. The following narrative review seeks to bridge the gap between social psychological and social cognitive research and business and Industrial/Organizational research on the topic through the introduction of a dual process model that identifies and attempts to correct for the harmful effects stereotypes may have on assessments, using the moderators of Information, Situation, and Motivation.
Copyright (c) 2002-2022, LYRASIS. All rights reserved.