2022

Category: Behavioral and Social Sciences

Winner: Michael Baum

Degree: M.A. Psychology

Presentation Title: Religiosity Predicts Negative Personality Attributes: Links with Dogmatism, Social Dominance Orientation, and Right-Wing Authoritarianism

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Heidi Riggio

Abstract: The literature on the psychological benefits of religiosity has yielded mixed results, with some research indicating that religious faith promotes positive psychological health (Faber, 2001; Luhrman, 2013) and other research indicating a negative relationship between religiosity and psychological health (Hjelm et al., 2003). In the present study, we hypothesize that higher levels of religiosity are associated with higher levels of negative psychological attributes including dogmatism, self-righteousness, social dominance orientation, and right-wing authoritarianism. Participants from across the United States (N = 397, M age 37.2 years, 84% European American) completed an anonymous online survey that included measures of religiosity, political ideology, dogmatism, self-righteousness, social dominance orientation, and right-wing authoritarianism. Results of hierarchical linear regression analyses indicate that participants who report higher levels of religiosity and political conservatism are significantly higher in self-righteousness, dogmatism, and social dominance orientation compared to participants who reported lower levels of religiosity and conservatism. Interestingly, analyses indicate that religiosity fully mediates the relationship between political ideology and right-wing authoritarianism, indicating that, in some cases, religiosity is the mechanism by which political ideology comes to predict negative psychological attributes. These results aid in the understanding of how and why religious identity contributes to negative psychological attributes.

Category: Behavioral and Social Sciences

Participant: Jarenni Ambriz

Degree: B.A. Anthropology

Poster Title: The Empathy Project in Disguise

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Dawn Amber Dennis

Abstract: The purpose of this project is to highlight the necessity of using empathy to address global issues (complex problems with multiple root causes), like impoverishment, educational inequities, and food scarcity. Often, these global issues are discussed from an economic, or policy standpoint that does not always employ empathy in finding solutions to eliminate them. The current Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted this lack of empathy in public-space as individuals are refusing to exchange a portion of their personal freedom to wear face mask coverings in order to protect the health of the broader public. Empathy allows individuals to understand others (even if the specific incident does not personally impact their lives) and invokes a desire to take action to help others by solving issues. An empathy training was conducted through social media posts and a live webinar to enhance and develop the public’s personal levels of empathy and promote an empathetic approach towards solving global issues. Engagement and learning outcomes of both trainings were measured through surveys. The outcomes of both training sessions resulted in participants enhancing their understanding of empathy. In the future collaborations with student organizations will be developed in order to reach a larger audience.