Browsing by Subject "Personality change"
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Item Identity change in students who study abroad(2008-05) Angulo, Sarah Kathryn, 1977-; Swann, William B.Over 240,000 American students studied abroad in the 2006 - 2007 academic year (Commission on the Abraham Lincoln Study Abroad Fellowship Program, 2005). Despite the large number of students abroad and the breadth of the study-abroad literature (e.g., Dwyer 2004, Anderson, Lawton, Rexeisen, & Hubbard, 2006; Dewey, 2004; Milstein, 2005), there is relatively little work on the psychological ramifications of going abroad. Specifically, few studies investigate issues of identity change in students who study abroad. This dissertation was designed to provide an initial examination of these issues. Three theories of identity were applied to understand identity change in students abroad. Self-categorization theory (Oakes, Haslam, & Turner, 1994), which emphasizes the fluidity of identity and its dependence on social memberships, predicts that students will internalize the culture abroad and become very connected to it. Self-verification theory (Swann, 1997; Swann, Rentfrow, & Guinn, 2002) states that because people's personal identities give their lives coherence, meaning, and continuity, people are highly reluctant to change their personal identities. According to self-verification theory, students abroad will cling to their existing identities and remain connected with people from the country of origin. Identity negotiation theory (Swann & Bosson, in press; Swann, 1987) adopts a moderate position, suggesting that people retain their original identities but, under some conditions, modify them in response to exposure to the host culture. Students spending a semester abroad completed online questionnaires before they left the United States, and three times during the semester abroad. Students changed on several characteristics across the semester abroad. Students abroad changed more than a matched-control group spending the semester at the University of Texas at Austin. Personal characteristics, such as extraversion, agreeableness, and openness to experience, predicted degree of personal change, personal growth, and identification with the host country. Various social behaviors abroad, as well as living with a host family, were correlated with identity change. A model linking each theory with data about various choices of living arrangements, social behaviors, and identity outcomes is presented.Item Personality change resulting from a religious conversion experience(Texas Tech University, 1986-12) Johnsen, Michael WThroughout time humanity has been both intrigued and frightened by the possibility of change. Nowhere has this ambivalence been more prevalent and personally relevant than in the arena of religion. From St. Paul's dramatic conversion on the road to Damascus to contemporary revival meetings and religious cults, people have sought in religion a means of effecting life-altering change. This study was undertaken to investigate the extent of personality change subsequent to a gradual religious conversion experience. The dimensions of personality selected for study included level of state and trait anxiety, degree of intrinsic and extrinsic religious orientation, extent of self-actualization, and degree of affirmation of fundamental Catholic charismatic beliefs. These personality dimensions were evaluated via a quasi-experimental pre-test/post-test design in which a group of Catholic charismatics was assessed both prior to and following the conversion experience. Their performance was then compared with a demographically similar control group of active Catholics who had never experienced a religious conversion. The results suggested a significant decrease in trait anxiety in conjunction with significant increases in degree of intrinsic religious orientation and affirmation of charismatic beliefs. No change was observed in degree of self-actualization, extrinsic religious orientation, or level of state anxiety. The study concludes by speculating about a possible personality profile for Catholic charismatics as well as suggesting recommendations for future research.