The present study is a methodological examination of the implicit empathic accuracy measure introduced by Zaki, Ochsner, and Bolger (2008). Empathic accuracy (EA) is defined as the ability to understand another person's thoughts and feelings (Ickes, 1993). Because this definition is similar to definitions of cognitive empathy (e.g., Shamay-Tsoory, 2011) and because affective empathy does not appear to be related to empathic accuracy (Zaki et al., 2008), the Basic Empathy Scale--which measures cognitive and affective empathy separately--was used to test construct validity. Validity was also examined by relating this implicit measure of EA to psychological constructs characteristically associated with empathy deficits (i.e., autism, alexithymia, and psychopathy) as well as behavioral measures of interpersonal sensitivity (i.e., the DANVA, IPT, and PONS). The "modularity" of this measure is explored by examining EA as a function of group membership (i.e., ingroup and outgroup empathic accuracy). EA is tested via one group of participants (i.e., targets) providing video-recorded data of themselves discussing a personal event and later making continuous ratings of their emotional appearance. A second group of participants (i.e., perceivers) also makes continuous ratings on the videos and accuracy is defined as the correlation between ratings. Previous research neglects to mention the specifics of obtaining continuous rating utilities, so the present study suggests using the freely available software GTrace in research attempts to implement this methodology. Analyses from the present study indicate this measure of EA does indeed appear to be more related to cognitive empathy than affective empathy. However, there may also be affective aspects to this measure, or perhaps constructs like autism and psychopathy function differently than expected on this task. The measure also does not appear to relate to (or overlap with) other established behavioral measures of interpersonal sensitivity, although the IPT (arguably the most social information-laden measure) seems to be the best predictor of EA. Furthermore, the ingroup and outgroup versions of EA uncovered significant relationships that may have otherwise gone unnoticed. But perhaps beyond all of these results, there are considerable gender differences to contemplate. Research implications, limitations, and future suggestions are discussed in further detail.

Research has shown that cognitive theories of motivation play a key role in students’ academic motivation and achievement. However, the current literature only tests limited aspects of these cognitive theories, and the findings sometimes contradict the original hypotheses. Therefore, the purpose of the present study is to test a causal model combining seven current cognitive theories of motivation – beliefs about intelligence, academic self-efficacy, goal orientation, stereotype threat, stereotype vulnerability, causal uncertainty, and self-handicapping – in terms of college students’ achievement. Such causal modeling methods are important because they allow for testing the complex conceptual model as a whole and go beyond the basic investigation of relationships between two sets of variables.

To determine the relationships between these factors, undergraduate students were chosen as the sample population because the college environment provided an ideal setting for examining the implications of these cognitive theories of motivation for achievement behaviors. Three hundred and sixty-seven undergraduates participated in an online survey designed to measure their self-perceptions of the seven cognitive factors.

Based on the hypothesized model it was predicted that: (1) theories of intelligence (entity and incremental) would directly predict academic self-efficacy, (2) academic self-efficacy would directly predict achievement goal orientations (mastery, performance-approach, and performance-avoidance), (3) performance-avoidance goals would directly predict both causal uncertainty and stereotype vulnerability, (4) stereotype vulnerability and causal uncertainty would directly predict both stereotype threat and self-handicapping, and (5) mastery goals, stereotype threat, and self-handicapping would directly predict students’ achievement (i.e. GPA). Also based on the model, it was hypothesized that theories of intelligence would indirectly predict student achievement (i.e., GPA) with academic self-efficacy, goal orientation, stereotype threat, stereotype vulnerability, causal uncertainty, and self-handicapping acting as mediators.

Results from structural equation modeling indicated that these constructs are all appropriate for predicting academic achievement in undergraduate students. Results revealed overall support for the hypothesized model with the exception of two constructs: (1) the mediating effects of academic self-efficacy on entity intelligence beliefs and performance goals, and (2) the adaptive nature of performance-approach goals.

These results, along with other findings from the present study, suggest that college students’ beliefs about intelligence, level of academic self-efficacy, goal orientation, susceptibility to stereotype and causal uncertainty, as well as their use of self-handicapping strategies, can predict students’ academic performance. Overall, the findings are consistent with those of previous studies that identified two general patterns of achievement motivation, maladaptive and adaptive, patterns, which may encompass these cognitive constructs.

One goal of examining these constructs is to better understand how to help students function and adapt to academic demands. The implications are also of applied significance to practitioners. Recognizing potential discrepancies between the broader implicit theories and the students’ personal beliefs can help in the creation of interventions and training.

The present dissertation empirically examines the impact of death thoughts on intergroup relations; the findings are explained using Terror Management Theory (TMT). TMT proposes that when mortality is made salient (Mortality Salience Hypothesis, MSH) people are more likely to exhibit greater positive evaluations of their in-group; greater adherence to the values of their in-group. People have a tendency to do this because culture tends to confer self-esteem (i.e., immortality), which allegedly mitigates death anxiety. Therefore, while there is a general tendency for people to exhibit greater positive evaluations of their in-group in the face of death, people who are high in tolerance are hypothesized to show out-group favoritism or, at least, no bias; while people who are intolerant should show in-group favoritism. Three studies investigated these hypotheses. In Study 1, participants were asked to evaluate presidential candidates Obama and McCain after answering questions regarding their own death (i.e., mortality condition) or answering question about a university exam (i.e., control condition). Although the expected main effect of mortality salience on in-group favoritism was not significant, participants high in openness exhibited out-group favoritism. Study 2 examined these processes by having participants evaluate a pro and an anti-gay marriage author following a reminder of their own mortality or an exam. Beyond a significant main effect for in-group favoritism, participants low in openness exhibited the Terror Management effect. The third study examined the MSH after participants watched a movie entitled The Final Destination (i.e., "mortality condition") or another movie (i.e., "control condition"). They then evaluated a pro and an anti-gay marriage author. Beyond an expected significant relationship between the type of movie watched and positive evaluations, participants high in similarity to the author who supported their view exhibited what the MSH would predict - greater positive in-group evaluations. Those low in similarity exhibited the reverse of this effect. Assuming that one's similarity rating for a culture is based on the extent the culture either upholds or challenges one's identity, it would make sense - according to the MSH - for these effects to manifest. Limitations of these studies and their relevance to Terror Management Theory are discussed.

The purpose of the present dissertation was to examine whether, and how, behavioral academic self-handicapping and claimed academic self-handicapping differentially relate to the academic identity statuses (i.e., achieved, diffused, moratorium, and foreclosed). Self-handicapping has been defined as creating or claiming obstacles to performance in order to enhance the ability to externalize failure and internalize success. Academic identity status involves a student’s decision to attend college and the extent to which the student has committed to that choice. In Study 1, three hundred seventy undergraduate students completed survey instruments measuring academic self-handicapping, academic identity, high school college-going climate, self-efficacy, and impostor feelings. The results revealed divergent associations between academic self-handicapping and academic identity status. Specifically, achieved academic identity was negatively associated with both behavioral and claimed self-handicapping, diffused academic identity and moratorium academic identity were positively associated with both types of self-handicapping, and foreclosed academic identity was only positively associated with claimed self-handicapping. These findings are further explicated by the examination of college-going climate, self-efficacy, and impostor feelings.

The purpose of Study 2 was to examine the relationships between self-handicapping, academic identity status, and studying behavior in an undergraduate course. One hundred sixty undergraduate students completed survey instruments measuring academic self-handicapping and academic identity. Participants also recorded their studying behavior (i.e., days and hours spent studying) and their affect while studying (i.e., anxiety, depression, distractedness) during the week preceding the date of an undergraduate course examination. Behavioral academic self-handicapping scores were negatively associated with number of days spent studying and number of hours spent studying; it was positively associated with depression and distractedness while studying. Claimed academic self-handicapping scores were positively associated with self-reports of anxiety, depression, and distractedness while studying. The achieved academic identity was positively associated with number of days and hours spent studying and negatively associated with depression and distractedness while studying. Overall, the results of the present dissertation suggest that developing an achieved academic identity is associated with more positive student behaviors and psychological experiences. Interventions aimed at reducing the prevalence of academic self-handicapping should consider methods that facilitate academic identity development.

Racial prejudice has been linked to influencing perceptions of criminal acts when the criminal is a member of a stigmatized group. The current study addresses reliance on stereotyping and emotional reactions to a crime when the participants are from an ethnically diverse samples (i.e., Latino and Asian Americans) and the crime is stereotypically congruent (i.e., African American assailant) or stereotypically incongruent (i.e., White assailant). Participants were videotaped reacting to a newspaper article about an assault and robbery crime in which the race of the suspect and victim were manipulated. Independent raters coded the reactions in terms of participant's emotional responses and the types of explanations given for the crime. Attributional styles for explaining criminal behavior are compared by suspect race (Black or White), victim ethnicity (Asian or Latino), and participant ethnicity (Asian or Latino). The fundamental assumptions underlining the "intergroup bias" and the "ultimate attribution error" were tested.

Overall, the results did not fully support the current theoretical framework in that participants did not show a pronounced preference for in-group victims, or explain the perpetrators behavior using mainly dispositional attributions. Although participants used more situational than dispositional attributions overall to explain the perpetrators behavior, some evidence of activation of stereotypes was found. Qualitative analysis of attributions for criminal behavior differed between the Black suspect and the White suspect conditions. For instance, participants were more likely to attribute the Black perpetrators behavior being "gang-related" or a "rite of passage" but in the White suspect condition a common explanation was "childhood neglect" or "abuse." There was very little overlap in specific explanations given between conditions, which demonstrates that differential framework is being activated by the race of the suspect and that stereotypes may be influencing explanations. Results merit replication but demonstrate the importance of theory testing in diverse samples. Important ethnic group differences as well as implications, limitations of the current design, such as low variability in several of the judge-rated dependent variables, and future directions are discussed.

Migration enforcement in the United States remains characterized by mass detention and deportation, which have been consistently found to intensify im/migrants’ exposure to violence. Social psychological research investigating the psychosocial impacts on im/migrants from the intersections of violence, human rights violations, and migration enforcement, remains scarce. To fill this void, a grassroots peacebuilding and human rights participatory action research initiative was pursued with two grassroots organizations, the Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice and the Inland Empire Immigrant Youth Collective. Grassroots approaches served to: expose the logics of systems of violence (structural, legal, cultural, and direct) and rights violations related to migration enforcement; document the localized understandings of violence, peace, and rights; capture the responses of survival among im/migrants; and identify community-based solutions to prevent continued violence and rights violations. This initiative took place in the Inland Empire, where im/migrants remain negatively affected by the Adelanto Detention Facility—one of the largest immigration facilities in the country run by the private prison company GEO Group, Inc. A total of 228 participants were recruited that included community collaborators; migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers (including those previously detained in the Adelanto Facility); family members related to an im/migrant deported and/or detained in the facility; im/migrant residents of Adelanto; and im/migrant rights advocates. This study was conducted in both English and Spanish, using methods involving a survey, needs assessment, focus groups, and facilitating a community peace forum. Im/migrants were found to be exposed to violence throughout their migration, especially while in the United States. Additionally, the top priority areas im/migrants needed access to included legal support, health and wellness, and language and cultural orientation. In using grounded theory, a localized framework was derived and termed, surviving and transforming violent enclosures. Five themes comprised the framework: structural contributors of violence, material conditions and social relations, navigating terrains of violence, psychosocial and health consequences, and grassroots solutions. From systematizing the knowledge of the im/migrant community, a collective vision for change was established to inform the actions needed to transform violent conditions produced by migration enforcement, into contexts of safety and support.