Control (Psychology)

Like Salt for Bread is a sixteen poem creative thesis that explores the razorwire
balance of power and vulnerability. In some poems, the relationship seems
clearly defined by an aggressor or catalyst that threatens emotional and
sometimes physical violence. In the others, the balance shifts from the speaker to
another, alternates between one speaker and another, or even alters within the
speaker's consciousness. Regardless, each poem examines a moment that is not a
measure of time but a force that tends toward rotation- changes that occur
around the axes of authority and control. The resulting torque exposes
assumptions about long-standing myths, personal and popular.

The purpose of this research was to investigate if various psychological wellbeing
assessments can predict maximal strength performance and self-scored rating of
perceived exertion (RPE) in the back squat. Fifty-eight resistance-trained males and
females were recruited, and reported to the laboratory on one day. Subjects completed
eight different scales and questionnaires before completing one-repetition maximum
(1RM) testing of the squat, followed by two single-repetition sets at 30%, 40%, 50%,
60%, 70%, 80%, and 90% of 1RM, and a set to volitional fatigue at 70% of 1RM.
Cognitive anxiety and hypersomnia were found to be positive and negative predictors
(p<0.05), respectively, of 1RM performance. Further, self-confidence, grit, and perceived
recovery status were significant negative predictors of RPE (p<0.05). Finally, PRS was
discovered to be a positive predictor of subject-reported 1RM self-efficacy (b=0.39,
t=3.14, p<0.01, R2=0.15).

Almost twenty-one percent of the United States population spoke a language
other than English in 2011. Furthermore, there has been a dramatic increase in the
enrollment of students of Hispanic and other ethnic backgrounds in U.S. post-secondary
institutions between 1976 and 2013 (from 4% to 16%) (National Center for Education
Statistics NCES, 2016).
Until now, no systematic research has focused on the differential effects of selfefficacy
on academic achievement in monolingual and bilingual undergraduate college
students. The present study aimed to investigate this relationship, as well as contribute
additional insight on whether the academic self-efficacy of monolingual and bilingual
undergraduate college students plays a role in their academic success specifically in
science and math courses. Additionally, the findings of this research study were expected to provide data to inform the development of educational programs that might
specifically target monolinguals or bilinguals in enhancing students’ self-efficacy.
Seven instructors of foundational undergraduate science courses and math
courses at a southeastern university agreed to contribute to the study by asking their
students for their voluntary participation in the data collection. A total of 361 students
participated in the study. Overall, 256 (70.9%) participants reported being monolingual
and 105 (29.1%) reported being bilingual; 335 (92.8%) students were enrolled in
science courses and 26 (7.2%) were registered in math courses; 237 (65.7%) were
female students and 124 (34.3%) were male. Demographics, self-efficacy, and
sociolinguistic data were collected using the Self-Efficacy Research Study Online
Questionnaire. Final science and math grades were also collected from the instructors at
the end of the semester for all students who volunteered to participate in the study.
The findings of this research study revealed that the self-efficacy levels of
undergraduate college students in science and math predict their academic achievement
in these subjects. They also showed that the self-efficacy levels of bilingual participants
are higher than those of their monolingual counterparts. Findings also indicated that
when the relationship between final grade and self-efficacy was examined separately in
each linguistic group the correlation was significant and positive for monolinguals.

Breast cancer affects one in eight women in the United States. Estimated new
breast cancer cases for 2012 in the U.S. are 229,060 women (American Cancer Society, 2012). For all women it is important to be informed regarding all current treatment options. For women in high-risk categories of breast cancer it is even more important. Risk-reducing strategies for women at high-risk of breast cancer include surveillance, chemoprevention, and bilateral prophylactic mastectomy. Prophylactic mastectomy reduces the risk of breast cancer by excision of most breast tissue. Breast cancer among those initially diagnosed as high-risk is 90-94.3% (Hartmann et al., 1999). This procedure entails serious surgeries with numerous physical, social, and emotional ramifications and is not without side effects. The patient has the right to be informed and base her decision-making on the suitability of the procedure for herself. This research describes six (6) woman’s experiences, focusing on the role of transformational learning and self-efficacy, as these women progressed through the stages. Prophylactic mastectomy is radical, irreversible, and costly at the onset. The procedure may preclude a whole lifetime of surgeries, radiation, and chemical treatments. If this treatment is the right fit, and has been fully researched, balanced with options, family history, genetic predisposition, personal concerns, and anxiety levels, along with physician recommendations, a woman should consider pursuing it.

There is no question that the percentage of women in administrative positions is disproportionate to the number of women who make education their career. That this number is declining is well documented. External factors blamed for this disparity are many; school board prejudices, community attitudes, and the organization of school systems, are but a few. This study is important because it investigates the intrinisic motivation of women. The question considered is, Are women motivated to seek administrative jobs? The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between motivation and employment of women in education. The data was collected by giving David Winter's Power Motive test to both sexes of administrators and teachers. Winter's instrument assesses power motivation from stories subjects make up to describe a series of ambiguous pictures. Stories were scored using Winter's scoring system. It was determined that there was no significant difference in the power motive of men and women, whether they were teachers or administrators. There was, however, a very significant difference between the power motive scores of teachers and administrators, with teachers having a higher power motive score.

The goal of this study was to exaoine the relatively reinforcing
properties of predictability (or the absence of it)
in human subjects' choice for control and no control presentations
of a mildly aversive stimulus (Time Out from positive
reinforcement). Subjects, overall, preferred predictability
with control significantly more than predictability without
control (Experinent I). There was less of a difference in
their preference for control in the absence of predictability
(Experiment II). Results demonstrated greater preference for
control among males than females and female variability was
large. The "motive to avoid success" on the part of female
subjects was purported to explain the variability and lesser
preference for the control conditions.

This study uses Foucault's (1979, 1983, 1995) theoretical work as a guide in examining relation of power and resistance within the unique context of street-level bureaucracies (Lipsky, 1980). It explores relationships by asking how employees and managers are objectified within street level organizations, if there are any similarities in objectifications across organizations providing different government services, and how these objectifications intersect within relations of power and resistance. As an artifact of the relations of power between street-level bureaucrats and managers, ten purposively selected collectively bargained contract documents from public organizations in Florida are analyzed in this research. Ethnographic Content Analysis (Altheide, 1996) was used to study the collective bargaining agreements selected, with phrases from the documents serving as the unit of analysis. Using Foucault's (1979, 1983a, 1995) descriptions of techniques of power as a guide, four specific protocol matrices were developed, tested and then used to collect and code phrases as illustrative of one or more techniques of power. The results of the analysis are first summarized using displays and matrices. Then, rich illustrations from the data is are discussed in detail, using Foucault's categories of normalization, individualization, panopticism and pastoralism as a framework for presentation. Results of this research demonstrate that, in the collective bargaining agreements analyzed, both 'managers' and 'employees' are objectified in ways that were similar across all of the documents studied. Through techniques of power as theorized by Foucault, 'managers', 'employees', and 'union representatives' are produced, but also constrained as well. The collective bargaining agreements in this analysis serve to 'fix' relationships between these two objectifications that are discursively affirmed as unequal. Constrained by this 'reality', any potential for changing relationships between managers and employees through prescriptions that ask street-level bureaucrats to be 'leaders'; "responsible choice-makers" (Vinzant & Crothers, 1998, p. 154) rather than policy implementers simply carrying out management directives are largely futile. As persuasive as these ideas might be, within the context of this project it is impossible to think of employees in terms of 'leader', given the objectifications of 'employee' and 'manager' found in the documents analyzed.

The treatment of obesity has been a challenge for health professionals. Treatment failures point to the need for research to isolate variables contributing to success. A major drawback in most of the research is the lack of long-term follow-up evaluations. The purpose of this study was to identify variables which may predict an individual's success at maintaining weight loss. The two independent variables studied were status of weight control and methods of treatment. The status of weight control had two levels: individuals who maintained a weight loss for at least two years (maintainers) and individuals who had regained weight loss (regainers). The method of treatment had three levels: group, individual, and self-administered. The dependent variable was locus of control, which indicates how individuals perceive control over their environment. Individuals who perceived they had control over their environment were classified as having an internal locus of control, while those individuals who perceived they did not have control over their environment were classified as external. There were 54 females over the age of 21, who qualified as subjects. Subject selection was based on the Weight History Questionnaire. The Reid and Ware Three Factor Internal-External Scale was administered to all subjects and provided three separate locus of control scores: self-control, social system control, and fatalism. A 2 x 3 analysis of variance factorial design was utilized for each of the internal-external factors. The results showed a significant difference on the self-control and fatalism factor, where the maintainers were more internal than the regainers. The maintainers and the regainers, also differed significantly in age, highest weight achieved, and maintenance period. No significant differences were found on the social system control factor. A significant interaction effect was found on the fatalism factor. The possible significance of using locus of control to facilitate weight control may be found in the self-control and fatalism factors. Internal self-control and internal fatalism was shown to be characteristics of maintainers. The fatalism factor also showed that internals were more successful in a self-administered program or an individual treatment, whereas externals were more successful in a group treatment.

individuals who self-identify as sex addicts, unique health and social consequences are not well understood because of factors, such as stigma. It is important that the nursing community understand this phenomenon to address, understand, and provide sensitive and meaningful care. However, there is limited research on this topic. The purpose of this study was to explore the lived experience of individuals who self-identify as sex addicts. Through snowball sampling, five men and five women between 27 to 45 years old, and older. participated in the phenomenological study. Meaning units and themes were revealed through the participants' experiences as follows: A Connecting with Others: 1. Reaching Out 2. Seeking Shared Understanding 3. Connecting with Your Higher Power B Managing Stigma: 1. Revealing Concealing C Integrating the Past for Recovery: 1. Reflecting Triggers 2. Overcoming Powerlessness. D Being Vigilant: 1. Intentional Refocusing 2. Living an Honest Life E Giving of Oneself: 1. Informing Others 2. Doing Service. The overall structure synthesized from the meaning units and themes was: "The lived experience of seeking health in recovery from sex addiction is dancing on the outer circle, connected to a community that understands fear, shame and the struggle to remain vigilant for pitfalls while intentionally refocusing on living an honest life of giving and receiving." Seeking health incorporates a holistic, community involved, multifaceted approach to recovery. Understanding how individuals seek health in recovery provides a framework to impart meaningful, sensitive nursing care.

System justification theorists have proposed that people are motivated to view their political, economic, and social circumstances as desirable, necessary, and fair (e.g., Jost, Nosek & Banaji, 2004). Despite more than 15 years of system justification research, the meaning of fairness within this context has not been investigated directly. Over the past several decades three major criteria have been identified as contributing to people's perceptions of fairness: distributive justice, procedural justice, and one's own idiosyncratic set of personal values. Focusing on the last two, we reasoned that values are represented more abstractly than is information about procedural fairness, and that the relative weight of values versus procedures should increase at higher levels of mental construal. Whereas information about procedures is often seen as providing a basis for the acceptance of undesirable outcomes, judgments based on personal conceptions of right and wrong are considered to be independent from "establishment, convention, rules, or authority" (Skitka & Mullen, 2008, p. 531), and are therefore unlikely to be used in a motivated defense of the status quo. We therefore hypothesized that system justification would be most likely to occur in conditions where procedures are most salient (i.e., at low levels of construal). However, despite using manipulations of the system justification motive that have previously been successful, and working with issues similar to those used in previous work, we were unable to produce the typical system justification pattern of results. Possible reasons for this are discussed.