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Effects of personal resource sufficiency on perceived difficulty and desirability of earthquake preparedness
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Effects of personal resource sufficiency on perceived difficulty and desirability of earthquake preparedness
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EFFECTS OF PERSONAL RESOURCE SUFFICIENCY ON
PERCEIVED DIFFICULTY AND DESIRABILITY OF
EARTHQUAKE PREPAREDNESS
by
Juliette Williamson
A Thesis Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment o f the
Requirements for the Degree
M ASTER OF ARTS
(Psychology)
December 1997
Copyright 1997 Juliette Williamson
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UMI Number: 1389984
UMI Microform 1389984
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UNIVERSITY O F S O U T H E R N C A LIFO R N IA
T H E G R A D U A T E SC H O O L
U N IV E R S IT Y PA R K
LO S A N G E L E S . C A L IF O R N IA 9 0 0 0 7
This thesis, written by
Juliette Villiamsor.
under the direction of hzr.....Thesis Committee,
and approved by all its members, has been pre
sented to and accepted by the Dean of The
Graduate School, in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the degree of
Dean
T H E S IS , C O M M I T T E E '
Chairman
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ii
TABLE OF C O N T EN TS
page
LIST OF TABLES iii
ABSTRACT iv
INTRODUCTION 1
M ETHOD 12
PARTICIPANTS 12
DESIGN 13
M ATERIALS 13
PROCEDURE 19
PRELIM INARY ANALYSES 19
RESULTS 2 0
M ANIPULATION CHECKS 20
DEPENDENT M EASURES 24
DISCUSSION 29
GENERAL DISCUSSION 29
REFERENCES 3 7
FOOTNOTES 41
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iii
LIST OF TABLES
Table Page
1 Intercorrelations Between Items Designed to Measure Desirability 18
o f Earthquake Preparedness
2 Cell Means for the Event Manipulation Check 21
3 Cell Means for the Person Manipulation Check 23
4 Cell Means for Perceived Difficulty o f Earthquake Preparedness 26
5 Cell Means for Perceived Desirability and Challenge o f 28
Earthquake Preparedness and Assessed Value o f Earthquake Insurance
6 Cell Means for Perceived Self-Efficacy Regarding 36
Earthquake Preparedness
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Abstract
The revised person-relative-to-event (PrE) theory suggests that individuals appraise the
sufficiency o f their resources when they encounter threats. T he relation between
sufficiency magnitude and level o f problem-focused coping (PFC ) is held to be mediated
by perceived task difficulty and desirability. As degree o f sufficiency decreases, perceived
PFC difficulty increases. High PFC difficulty translates into increased desirability which
then results in augmented PFC. In this study high, low, and inadequate (impossible)
levels o f resource sufficiency relative to level o f earthquake threat w ere manipulated by
varying the information in reading materials distributed to participants. We predicted that
individuals would perceive earthquake preparedness as m ore difficult and desirable in the
low sufficiency condition than in the high sufficiency and impossible conditions.
Predictions regarding task difficulty were supported. H ow ever, predictions regarding
task desirability were not. Findings and an alternative explanation involving self-efficacy
are discussed.
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Effects o f Personal Resource Sufficiency on Perceived Difficulty and Desirability o f
Earthquake Preparedness
Extensive research has been devoted to the problem o f persuading individuals to
adopt behaviors that promote well-being. O ne approach to this problem that has been
given substantial attention within the field o f social psychology is the use o f fear arousing
com m unications (Janis & Feshbach 1953). Fear-arousing com munications, also referred
to as negative threat appeals by M cGuire (1985), aim to achieve compliance by
persuading an individual that he or she is at risk with regard to the occurrence o f a
harmful event. It has been presumed that when a person is convinced that a threat to
well-being exists, he or she will engage in coping strategies that are intended to evade or
decrease the impact o f harmful outcom es associated with the threat. The effectiveness o f
negative threat appeals in producing such adaptive coping strategies has been strongly
supported in research (Janis, 1967; Leventhal, 1970; Leventhal, W atts & Pagano, 1967).
Given the robust effects o f negative threat appeals, researchers began to analyze
the specific aspects o f this type o f communication that are most responsible for its
effectiveness. Early theorizing on negative threat appeals argued that features of the
event (i.e., severity) determined the persuasiveness o f the message. However,
inconsistent results across various types o f event manipulations led to the conclusion that
the relationship can not be determined solely by event features (Chu, 1966; Janis &
Terwillinger, 1962; Janis & Feshbach, 1953). In light o f these findings, researchers later
shifted the focus to the role o f person variables, such as the extent to which a person is
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informed about managing th e event (e.g., Leventhal, 1970), as a possible causal factor in
bringing about compliance w ith suggested coping strategies. Inconsistent results were
also obtained with regard to person variables. Beginning with the research o f M addux &
Rogers (1983), it became increasingly clear that the combination o f variables associated
with both the person (e.g., self-efficacy, outcom e efficacy) and the event (e.g., severity,
probability o f occurrence) are involved in determining the persuasiveness o f the fear-
arousing communication (M addux & Rogers, 1983; Mulilis & Lippa, 1990; Mulilis &
Duval, 1995; Mulilis & Duval, 1996). Integrating these findings, Rogers and his
colleagues developed the protection motivation theory addressing the nature o f the
combination o f person and event variables (Rogers & M ewbom, 1976; Rogers, 1983;
Prentice-Dunn & Rogers, 1986). Protection motivation theory (PM T) proposes an
additive combinatorial rule suggesting that the effect o f a negative threat appeal is
maximized when all person and event variables are at high levels. However, research in
this area has shown mixed outcom es regarding the validity o f this additive combinatorial
rule. Results o f some studies supported a multiplicative combinatorial rule (Rippetoe &
Rogers, 1987), other studies supported a subadditive combinatorial rule (M addux &
Rogers, 1983) while the data o f other studies failed to conform to either version (Mulilis
& Lippa, 1990).
The person-relative-to-event theory, o r PrE (Duval & Duval, 1985; Duval &
Mulilis, 1991; Mulilis & Duval, 1995; Mulilis & Duval, 1996), seeks to resolve these
inconsistent results regarding the effects o f various combinations o f person and event
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levels on active coping. This theory is derived from Lazarus’ and his colleagues work on
stress, cognitive appraisal, and coping (Lazarus, 1966; Lazarus, 1991; Lazarus &
Folkman, 1984; see also, Janis & Mann, 1977, for a similar approach presented in terms
o f decision theory). Based on Lazarus’ theorizing, PrE theory assumes that a primary
cognitive appraisal o f an event as a threat to well-being activates secondary appraisal
processes involving evaluations o f resources required for threat management and
location o f responsibility for action. These appraisals determine the extent to which the
person engages in problem -focused coping (PFC) and/or emotion-focused coping (EFC).
Problem focused coping (PFC) involves taking active, practical steps toward
preparedness, while em otion focused coping (EFC) often involves withdrawing from
active efforts to either manage emotions or to deny the existence o f a problem.
The PrE theory is designed to more clearly specify the variables and how the
levels o f variables com bine in negative threat appeals to affect PFC and EFC. More
specifically, PrE assum es that degree o f PFC and EFC is a function o f appraised level o f
coping resources relative to the level o f threat associated with the appraised event. The
term, “relative” is emphasized because regardless o f the absolute values o f threat and
resources, when resources are appraised as sufficient (resource levels equal or greater
than the magnitude o f environmental threat) to reduce or avert the consequences o f the
threatening event, PFC will be greater and EFC less evident than in the case in which
coping resources are appraised as insufficient. This hypothesis regarding PFC has been
confirmed in 3 studies. Preparation for earthquakes (Duval & Mulilis, 1997; Mulilis &
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4
Duval, 1995) and tornadoes (Mulilis & Duval, in press) increased as appraised resources
relative to the threat increased from clearly insufficient to clearly sufficient.
PrE theory also asserts that the absolute magnitude of appraised threat impacts
coping behavior. The effect that the absolute magnitude o f threat has upon coping is
hypothesized to depend upon the dichotomous assessment o f resource sufficiency or
insufficiency. Given that person resources are appraised as sufficient (i.e., absolute
magnitude o f resources greater than or equal to the task o f managing the threat o f a
specific m agnitude), increasing the level o f threat will cause an increase in PFC and a
concomitant decrease in EFC. Conversely, if resources are appraised as insufficient,
increasing the level o f threat will decrease PFC and increase EFC. These hypotheses with
regard to PFC (but not EFC) were generally confirmed in a field experiment with Long
Beach, California hom eowners as participants. In this study, persons high in resources
faced with a low level o f threat prepared less than persons high in resources faced with a
high level o f threat (Duval & Mulilis, 1997).
It was initially postulated that the intensity o f PFC under conditions o f sufficiency
or insufficiency is directly related to the level o f threat (high, moderate or low)
regardless o f absolute resource levels (high, m oderate or low). This hypothesis, however,
was not confirmed in the field study (Duval & Mulilis, 1997).Contrary to expectations,
under low threat conditions, homeowners who appraised their resources as low
demonstrated greater change in preparedness than did those who appraised their
resources as high with levels o f preparedness exhibited by moderate resource persons
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5
falling between the two extremes. This outcom e was not only contrary to PrE theory’s
expectation o f low but equal levels o f preparedness change in the tw o conditions (due to
the low threat level and sufficiency o f resources in both cases), but also to predictions
that can be derived from PM T and other models o f health protective behavior (e.g.,
Weinstein, 1993). In addition, these findings do not appear to be an isolated finding
attributable to the characteristics o f the experimental procedure. In fact, numerous
studies have dem onstrated similar effects. For instance, Salomon ( 1984) found that
persons low in resources performed at a higher level than did those with higher levels o f
resources when faced with the same minimally threatening event (see also, Bandura,
1982; 1986, for further discussion o f this phenomenon). The frequency with which
similar results are found in research suggests that the “anomalous” findings o f the field
study are actually a regularly occurring phenom enon that requires further investigation.
Furtherm ore, these results raise the following fundamental question to be answered by
subsequent research: why, given overall sufficiency o f resources relative to threat, are
low levels o f resources relative to low m agnitude threat more effective in increasing PFC
than in cases o f low threat where resources are either extremely low o r extremely high?
Several possible answers to this question have been explored.
The theorizing o f Bandura seems to integrate the anomalous results o f the
aforementioned field study well (Duval & Mulilis, 1997) if we assume that sufficiency o f
resources relevant to the task o f preparing for an earthquake is an indication o f self-
efficacy. While social cognitive theory (Bandura, 1982) posits that the level o f task
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perform ance increases as self-efficacy increases, Bandura noted an exception to this
relationship, namely, the case o f the “supremely self-efficacious person” (Bandura, 1977;
1982; 1986). According to Bandura, when a “supremely self-efficacious person”
encounters an easy task, he or she invests less energy in it and performs more poorly
than persons lower in self-efficacy encountering the same task. This notion can be
applied to the low level o f preparedness evidenced in the high person resources/low
threat condition in the field study (Duval & Mulilis, 1997) such that the person high in
resources faced with a low level o f earthquake threat appraised their self-efficacy as
extremely high and the task o f preparing as easy. Such appraisals, according to
B andura’s conceptualization, presumably led to low levels o f motivation which resulted
in low er levels o f earthquake preparedness. Overall, B andura’s theorizing provides a
plausible interpretation o f the anom alous findings o f the field study. However, the
“supremely self-efficacious person” notion remains an exception to his own social
cognitive theory and, hence, does not provide a systematic explanation o f why a
“supremely self-efficacious” individual is not motivated to perform the relevant task.
A second, and m ore plausible explanation o f the anom alous findings is Brehm
and his colleagues’ (e.g., Brehm, W right, Soloman, Silka, & Greenberg, 1983) theory o f
energization regarding the determ inants o f goal valence (with valence referring to the
extent to which a particular goal or goal-directed activity is perceived as desirable or
attractive). In this formulation, the positive valence o f a particular goal is a direct
function o f the amount o f energy that is mobilized by the person as he or she prepares to
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engage in an effortful task (e.g., Brehm et al., 1983). According to this theory, as the
m agnitude o f energy recruited in preparation for activity increases, the positive valence
or desirability o f the task also increases (Brehm et al., 1983).
This process, which Brehm et al. (1983) refer to as energization, is influenced by
the degree o f difficulty associated with the task (e.g., Brehm et al., 1983). Specifically, as
perceived task difficulty increases to the upper limiting condition o f perceived
impossibility, the am ount o f energy recruited to undertake the task increases (Wright &
G regorick, 1989). This hypothesis has been confirm ed (e.g., Contrada, Wright, & Glass,
1984; W right, Contrada, & Patane, 1986; W right, 1984) using both physiological and
self-report measures o f sympathetic nervous system activation. As the amount o f energy
mobilized increases as a result o f increased task difficulty, the desirability (positive
valence) o f the task also increases, thereby leading to high levels o f task performance1
(see, Brehm & Self, 1989, for a review o f relevant research).
Prior to a discussion o f how the theory o f energization can be integrated with
PrE theory, it is necessary to consider the nature o f task difficulty. Although task
difficulty is often treated as a stable property o f the task per se (e.g., Weiner, 1986),
Heider (1958) points out that the difficulty o f a task is always indicative o f the presence
o f som e agent who is undertaking that particular activity. This notion is clearly illustrated
by the fact that the same task can be easy for one person and difficult for another,
depending upon their abilities. Thus, the perception o f task difficulty is a function o f
properties o f the task interacting with properties o f the person. This assertion is in
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accord with PrE theory’s approach to the assessm ent o f PFC difficulty. PrE theory
assumes that the level o f difficulty associated with PFC in response to a particular threat
is a function o f resources relative to the event appraisal, rather than an appraisal o f a
stable property o f the task necessary to prepare for a threatening event. Thus, the
appraisal o f difficulty is hypothesized to be directly related to degree o f sufficiency o f
resources relative to the threat.
M ore specifically, PrE theory now proposes that the assessment o f w hether
resources relative to the threat o f an event are sufficient also involves an assessment
regarding the degree o f sufficiency. In this formulation, degree o f sufficiency refers to
the extent to which successful management o f a threatening event o f a given magnitude
(e.g., high, moderate o r low) requires utilization o f available resources. Assessed degree
o f sufficiency is assumed to range from the case in which maximal utilization o f
resources is demanded for successful PFC (low sufficiency) to the case in which
successful PFC requires minimal use o f resources (high sufficiency). In the case o f
insufficiency, no resources are available for PFC, hence, the task is perceived as
impossible. From this perspective, as assessed degree o f sufficiency decreases (e.g.,
available coping resources would be heavily taxed in order to successfully manage the
threat), perceived task difficulty would increase. Alternately, as assessed degree o f
sufficiency increases (e.g., appraised coping resources substantially exceed those needed
for successful coping), perceived task difficulty would decrease. Given this relationship
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between degree o f sufficiency and difficulty assessm ents, a theory o f how difficulty
appraisals increase performance can be utilized to explain the unexpected results o f the
field study (Duval & Mulilis, 1997).
We postulate that Brehm’s et al. (1983) theory o f energization is applicable to
the findings in which individuals low in resources faced with a mildly threatening event
(i.e., low person/low event magnitude condition) evidenced higher levels o f change in
preparedness (indicative o f PFC) than did those confronting a threat that was equally low
in magnitude but who appraised coping resources as high (i.e., high person/low event
magnitude condition). Assessing the degree o f sufficiency o f appraised resources relative
to threat as low, and thereby perceiving the task o f earthquake preparedness as difficult,
persons in the low personal resources/low threat magnitude condition may have
mobilized more energy in preparation for the task than did persons in the high personal
resources/low threat magnitude condition. Having recruited more energy due to higher
perceived difficulty o f preparation, participants in the low personal resources/low threat
magnitude condition may have perceived the task o f preparing as m ore desirable (i.e.,
positively valenced) than did persons in the high personal resources/low threat magnitude
condition (e.g., Brehm et al., 1983). Because greater task desirability, in general,
translates into higher levels o f task perform ance (Ford, Wright & Haythom thwaite,
1985), it might be expected that individuals in the low personal resources/low threat
magnitude condition w ould evidence higher levels o f preparedness in comparison to
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10
those in the high personal resources/low threat magnitude condition despite the same
absolute magnitude o f threat (i.e., low threat magnitude) in both conditions. Results
indicated that this was, indeed, the case in the field study (D uval & Mulilis, 1997).
Given the above analysis involving the integration o f B rehm ’s theory of
energization with PrE theory, and the application o f this integration to the unexpected
results o f the field study (Duval and Mulilis, 1997), PrE theory has been expanded to
include a task difficulty factor. PrE, in its revised form, postulates that as the degree o f
perceived sufficiency o f resources relative to the event decreases, perceived task
difficulty will increase. The energy mobilized as a function o f high appraised task
difficulty augments the perceived desirability (goal valence) o f the task and, thereby leads
to an increased level o f PFC activity.
Due to the complexity o f the revised version o f PrE theory, the present study was
not intended to test all aspects o f the theory simultaneously. For the sake o f clarity and
accuracy, this study was designed to accomplish tw o main objectives, each
corresponding to one aspect o f the revised theory. The first objective was to examine the
validity o f the proposition that as degree o f sufficiency decreases, perceived task
difficulty increases until the upper limiting condition o f impossibility is reached. The
second objective was to test Brehm ’s et al. (1983) notion that goal desirability (goal
valence) increases as task difficulty increases. The procedure utilized to carry out these
objectives was similar to that o f the previously discussed field study (Duval & Mulilis,
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1997) in that levels o f perceived resources relative to the threat were constructed by
asking participants to read earthquake information essays containing the relevant
resource (person) and threat (event) manipulations. However, this study differed in that
the participants were undergraduate students recruited from the University o f Southern
California rather than homeowners; it was a single session study designed to assess
difficulty and desirability, as opposed to a dual session study designed to assess change
in actual preparedness; and there w ere only three conditions incorporating high and low
levels o f resources and threat, as opposed to nine conditions utilizing high, moderate and
low levels o f resources and threat. The three conditions o f the present study, composed
o f combinations o f high and low levels o f both resource (person) variables and threat
(event) variables, represented high degree o f resource sufficiency (high person/low
event), low degree o f resource sufficiency (low person/low event) and a low level o f
resources relative to high threat indicative o f task performance as being impossible (low
person/high event). After reading these essays, participants filled out questionnaires
assessing the difficulty and desirability o f taking it upon themselves to prepare for an
earthquake.
Two hypotheses w ere generated from the revised model o f PrE discussed above.
The first is related to perceptions o f difficulty. It was hypothesized that participants low
in quantity and quality o f earthquake coping resources faced with the possible
occurrence o f an earthquake low in threat magnitude (low sufficiency condition) would
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perceive earthquake preparedness activities as m ore difficult than would those who
appraised their resources as high, also faced with an earthquake low in threat magnitude
(high sufficiency condition). Furtherm ore, from Brehm ’s et al. (1983) point o f view,
individuals who appraise their resources as low and are faced with an earthquake high in
threat magnitude are essentially in an impossible task condition. Because level o f
difficulty is irrelevant with regard to impossible tasks, participants in this condition
would be expected to rate task difficulty as low er than would those in the low sufficiency
condition. However, it is also possible that regardless o f the relevance o f difficulty, an
impossible task is always appraised as extremely difficult. Due to these conflicting
arguments, no clear hypothesis was developed for the difficulty ratings in the impossible
condition relative to those in the other conditions. The second hypothesis dealt with
levels o f task desirability. Based on the theory o f energization, it was hypothesized that
the task o f earthquake preparedness w ould be perceived as more desirable by those in
the low sufficiency condition than by those in the high sufficiency and impossible
conditions.
M ethod
Participants
A sample o f 52 undergraduates from the University o f Southern California
participated on a voluntary basis for course credit. Only students enrolled in introductory
psychology were recruited to ensure that participants would be relatively unfamiliar with
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13
psychological experiments. This sample was composed o f 11 males and 41 females. One
female was dropped from the analysis because o f her prior participation in an experiment
related to earthquake preparedness.
Design
Participants were randomly assigned to the following 3 conditions: high
person/low event (high degree o f sufficiency), low person/low event (low degree o f
sufficiency), and low person/high event (impossible). Participants com pleted the
experiment in groups ranging in size from three to six persons.
Materials
MLEPS. The first instrument participants received was the modified MLEPS
(i.e., the Mulilis-Lippa Earthquake Preparedness Scale), which is a multi-act scale
designed to assess participants’ individual earthquake preparedness behavior at any point
in time (Mulilis, Duval & Lippa, 1990; Mulilis & Lippa, 1985; 1990). This scale contains
37 earthquake preparedness items such as, “Do you have a 4-day supply o f dehydrated
or canned food?”, and “Does your residence have an earthquake plan?” (see, Mulilis,
Duval, & Lippa, 1990 for the complete scale). For each item, participants w ere
instructed to report whether they were prepared or unprepared, and the value o f
performing each behavior on a scale from 1 (i.e., not at all difficult) to 5 (i.e., extremely
difficult).
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M anipulation o f person and event variables. After com pleting the M LEPS,
participants read “earthquake information” essays designed to m anipulate their levels o f
appraised earthquake preparedness resources (i.e., the “person paragraph” ) relative to
levels o f appraised consequences o f a major earthquake (i.e., the “event paragraph”).
Participants were randomly assigned to read 1 o f 2 “event paragraphs” designed to
induce appraisal o f the degree o f threat associated with the occurrence o f an earthquake
as being either low or high. A s suggested by Paterson and N eufeld (1987), different
levels o f appraised threat in the “event paragraph” were produced by varying information
concerning the threat o f the next major earthquake. Participants then read 1 o f 2
different “person paragraphs” designed to induce appraisals o f personal earthquake
preparedness resources as being either low or high. The levels o f resources were created
by varying information regarding the individual’s ability to engage in behaviors that
minimize o r obviate physical dam age and personal injury (e.g., level o f self-efficacy,
Bandura, 1977).
As a whole, participants were assigned to 1 o f 3 different conditions with regard
to the content o f the essays they read. The combination o f the levels o f person and event
manipulations formed the various magnitudes o f resource sufficiency. M ore specifically,
participants read the low person and low event paragraphs in the low level o f sufficiency
condition, the high person and low event paragraphs in the high level o f sufficiency
condition, and the low person and high event paragraphs in the impossible condition.
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15
Manipulation checks. N ext, to assess the impact o f the information presented in
the essays, participants were asked to indicate their degree o f agreement/disagreement
(on a six point scale anchored by disagree strongly and agree strongly) with six
statements. Three o f these statements were designed to assess the effectiveness o f the
person component o f the manipulation (i.e., “It is easy to prepare for the occurrence o f a
major earthquake.”, “Preparing for a major earthquake is important.”, and “B eing
prepared for a major earthquake is an effective strategy ”). The remaining 3 statem ents
were designed to assess the effectiveness o f the event component o f the manipulation
(i.e., “There is a high probability o f a major earthquake occurring in the Los Angeles
area.”, “M ajor earthquakes cause a great deal o f dam age and injuries.”, and “A m ajor
earthquake will soon occur in the Los Angeles area.” ). These manipulation checks w ere
interspersed among a total o f 38 items in the questionnaire packet.
Dependent measures. The remainder o f the questionnaire was composed o f 20
filler items and 12 items which w ere dependent measures. The dependent measures
corresponded to the hypotheses regarding difficulty and desirability. Four o f these items
w ere designed to measure perceived difficulty o f earthquake preparedness. These items
consisted o f the following: ( I )‘B ecom ing prepared for a major earthquake takes a very-
long time.”, (2) ‘Becom ing prepared for a major earthquake takes only a short tim e.”
(reverse coded), (3) “How difficult will it be for you to prepare for an earthquake?”, and
(4) “H ow difficult is it to fully prepare for the occurrence o f a major earthquake?”
Participants responded by circling a number on a 6 point scale anchored by “disagree
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16
strongly” and “agree strongly” for questions 1 and 2 and by “not at all” to “very much”
for questions 3 and 4.
It was also necessary to develop a measure o f the extent to which earthquake
preparedness was, in general, perceived as a desirable outcom e. The Lewinian
interpretation o f attractiveness/desirability as some outcom e worth having (Lewin, 1938)
was utilized to generate the following 4 items: (1) “ How much do you care about
whether you prepare for an earthquake?”, (2) “ Rate your level o f interest in getting m ore
information about how to prepare for the occurrence o f a major earthquake ” , (3) “ H ow
attractive is the possibility o f being prepared for the occurrence o f a major earthquake?”,
and (4) “How worthwhile is it to be prepared for the occurrence o f a major earthquake?”
According to Lazarus and Folkman (1984), a “challenge appraisal” implies that there is
something positive to be gained from a particular activity. This conceptualization seems
to fit within the category o f outcom es worth wanting or having (i.e., desirability).
Consequently, an item measuring perceived challenge o f earthquake preparedness w as
developed for inclusion in the scale. This item read, “To w hat extent do you find
preparing for a major earthquake a challenging task?” Finally, in previous studies (see
Lindell & Perry, 1997 for a review) desirability o f earthquake preparedness has been
assessed by measuring the extent to which participants perceived earthquake insurance to
be valuable. Thus, the following item was included as well: “H ow valuable would you
consider earthquake insurance that totally protected you and your family from loss o f
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17
property that could be caused by a major earthquake?” Again, participants responded to
these questions on a 6 point scale anchored by “not at all” and “very much.”
A reliability analysis o f the initial scale that included all 6 o f the items listed above
yielded an acceptable cronbach alpha level o f .77. To further assess the extent to which
the items were related to the central construct o f desirability, an inter item correlation
analysis was conducted. As can be seen in table 1, the extent to which the 6 items
correlated with each other varied. W hereas the items generated by the Lewinian
approach were highly intercorrelated, the correlations between the “challenge” (Lazarus
& Folkman, 1984) and “value” ( e.g., Lindell & Perry 1997) items and individual items in
this form er group were generally low and either marginally significant o r non-significant.
Furthermore, the correlation between responses to the “challenge” and “value” items was
low and non-significant. However, although appraised challenge and value o f obtaining
earthquake insurance do not appear to assess the dimension o f desirability as defined by
Lewin, previous research (e.g., Lazarus & Folkman, 1984; Lindell & Perry, 1997)
indicates that appraisal o f these aspects o f preparedness are included in the person’s
overall evaluation o f the degree to which preparedness will be beneficial. Consequently,
it seems reasonable to examine the impact o f the experimental manipulations on
responses to these items although no specific hypotheses are proposed.
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18
T able 1
Intercorrelations Betw een Items Designed to M easure Desirability o f Earthquake
Preparedness
Item 1 2
"»
J 4 5 6
1. Attractive — .40** .52*** .25
5 3 ***
.25
2. Care -- .69*** .14
4 7 ***
.28*
3. Interest — .1 2
5 7 ***
.31*
4. Value -- .34* .09
5. W orth — .28*
6 . Challenge —
N ote. * p < .05 ** p < .005 ***p < .001
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19
Procedure
Upon arrival, the participants w ere greeted by the experimenter and then escorted
to a room with three tables, each divided into tw o sections by a partition. After being
seated, the participants w ere told they were going to participate in an experiment on
Geopsychology, ostensibly defined as the study o f attitudes, behaviors and beliefs
associated with earthen disasters such as earthquakes. Subsequently, the participants
w ere informed that they w ould be reading information on earthquakes and earthquake
preparedness and completing a series o f related questionnaires. Following the
instructions, the experimenter distributed the booklet containing the following: the
M ulilis-Lippa Earthquake Preparedness Scale (M LEPS), the earthquake information
essay, manipulation checks o f person and event variables, the dependent measures
assessing difficulty and desirability, and various filler items. When the participants had
com pleted their questionnaires, they were debriefed as to the true purpose of the study
and dismissed.
Preliminary Analyses
All analyses o f variance (ANOVA) were first conducted with gender entered as
an independent variable. Results o f these analyses failed to demonstrate any significant
main o r interactive effects o f gender on manipulation checks or on the dependent
variables o f interest. Consequently, analyses reported in the results section do not include
gender as a factor.
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20
Results
Manipulation checks
Event. The event scale assessed the effectiveness o f the manipulation o f the level
o f threat o f the occurrence o f an earthquake in the information essay. A cronbach alpha
level o f .84 indicated the high internal consistency o f the items in this scale. M ean
responses to the event items across conditions are presented in Table 2. A one-way
analysis o f variance (ANO VA) revealed the presence o f significant differences between
means, F(2,49) = 25.13, g < .001. Independent samples t-tests were performed to
determine which conditions w ere significantly different. As expected, the mean o f the
low person/high event (impossible) condition, which contained a high event
manipulation, was significantly higher than those conditions involving low event
manipulations, namely the low person/low event (low sufficiency) and high person/low
event (high sufficiency) conditions, t(32) = 6.79, g < .001 and t(33) = 5.37, g < .001,
respectively.
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21
T able 2
Cell Means for the Event Manipulation Check
Condition M SD N
low event/high person
(high sufficiency) 3.83 .77 18
low event/low person
(low sufficiency) 3.45 1.06 17
high event/low person
(impossible) 5.27 .41 17
Note. The higher the mean value, the greater the perception o f the threat of a “major”
earthquake.
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Person. The person scale, which assessed the success o f the manipulation o f personal
resources, possessed marginal reliability with a cronbach alpha level o f .58. Refer to table
3 for the mean responses to the items in this scale across conditions. A one-way
ANOVA demonstrated the presence o f significant results F(2,49) = 7.74, g = .001. To
reveal which conditions differed significantly, an independent samples t-test was
conducted. As anticipated, the mean o f perceived personal resources was greater in the
high person/low event (high sufficiency) condition than that o f the low person/low event
(low sufficiency) condition. The t-test indicated that this difference was significant, t(33)
= 3.96, g < .001. Furthermore, the mean o f the low person/high event (impossible)
condition was significantly lower than that o f the high person/low event (sufficiency)
condition, t(33) = 2.38, g < .05. Contrary to expectations, however, the mean o f the low
person/high event (impossible) condition w as not significantly different from that o f the
low person/low event (low sufficiency) condition, t < 1.
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T able3
Cell Means for the Person M anipulation Check
Condition M SD N
low event/high person
(high sufficiency) 4.89 .78 18
low event/low person
(low sufficiency) 3.86 .76 17
high event/low person
(impossible) 4.27 .80 17
N ote. The higher the mean value, the greater the perceived number o f personal resources
available for successful earthquake preparedness.
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I
I
24
Dependent m easures
Perceived difficulty. The difficulty scale was designed to measure the perceived
difficulty o f successful earthquake preparation. A reliability analysis o f the difficulty scale
yielded a cronbach alpha o f .91, assuring the high internal consistency o f this scale. It
was predicted that as participants’ degree o f sufficiency o f resources relative to the
threat decreases, level o f perceived difficulty o f preparing for an earthquake would
increase. M ore specifically, participants in the low person/low event (low level o f
sufficiency) condition, w ere expected to perceive preparation for earthquakes as being
more difficult than w ould those in the high person/low event (high level o f sufficiency)
condition. As previously noted, no clear predictions with regard to difficulty appraisals in
the low person/high event (impossible) condition relative to the other experimental
conditions were made.
Means o f the responses to difficulty items are presented in table 4. Results o f a
one-way ANOVA dem onstrated the presence o f significant differences between
conditions with regard to perceived difficulty, F(2,49) = 7.24, g = .002. As predicted,
participants in the low person/low event (low level o f sufficiency) condition rated the
difficulty o f preparing for an earthquake as higher than did those in the high person/low
event (high level o f sufficiency) condition. An independent samples t-test indicated that
this difference was significant, t(33) = 3 .6 6 , p < .001. The level o f preparation difficulty
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25
perceived by the low person/low event (low level o f sufficiency) condition was also
higher than that o f the low person/high event (impossible) condition, but this difference
between these means w as not significant, t < 1 .
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26
T a b le 4
Cell Means for Perceived Difficulty o f Earthquake Preparedness
Condition M SD N
low event/high person
(high sufficiency) 2.87 1.00 18
low event/low person
(low sufficiency) 4.26 1.04 17
high event/low person
(impossible) 3.88 .32 17
N ote. The higher the mean value, the greater the level o f perceived difficulty o f
preparing for an earthquake.
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27
Perceived desirability. It was predicted that as the degree o f appraised sufficiency
o f resources relative to the event decreases, the level o f perceived desirability would
increase. This increase was hypothesized to continue until the upper limiting condition of
impossibility is reached, at which point desirability would decrease. Specifically, we
expected participants in the low person/low event condition to perceive preparing for an
earthquake as m ore desirable than would participants in the low person/high event and
high person/low event conditions.
The mean levels o f desirability o f earthquake preparation corresponding to each
condition are located in table 5. An internal reliability analysis o f the 4-item scale derived
from the Lewinian interpretation o f desirability yielded a cronbach alpha o f .81,
indicating an acceptable level o f reliability. A one-w ay ANOVA perform ed on these data
failed to find significant differences between conditions, F(2,49) = 1 .44, ns.
Challenge appraisals and value o f earthquake insurance. The exploratory analyses
regarding possible effects o f degree o f resource sufficiency on appraisals o f “challenge”
o f earthquake preparedness and “value” o f earthquake insurance also failed to show any
significant differences between conditions (F < 1 for both items). Therefore, no further
consideration w as given to these dimensions.
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28
T able 5
Cell M eans fo r Perceived Desirability and Challenge o f Earthquake Preparedness and
Assessed Value o f Earthquake Insurance
Level o f person relative to event
High person/ Low person/ Low person/
low event low event high event
Type o f assessment
(n=18) (n=T7) (n— 17)
Desirability (Lewinian)
M 4.00 3.73 4.36
SD 1.13 1.04 1.11
Value
M. 4.62 4.94 4.44
SD 1.25 1.07 1.82
Challenge
M 3.05 3.58 3.38
SD 1.30 1.40 1.60
Note. The higher the mean value, the greater the perception o f desirability, challenge and
value o f earthquake insurance.
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29
Discussion
According to the revised PrE theory we predicted that as degree o f resource
sufficiency decreases to the limiting condition o f impossibility, perceived task difficulty
would increase. This hypotheses was supported by the results o f the study. Consistent
with predictions, the mean level o f task difficulty was significantly higher in the low
sufficiency condition than in the high sufficiency condition. Additionally, no differences
in mean difficulty ratings were evident in the comparison between the low sufficiency and
impossible conditions. Consequently, the results o f this study shed no light on whether
impossible tasks are perceived as higher or lower in difficulty than tasks that heavily tax
resources yet remain within the capabilities o f the individual.
Next, according to the integration o f PrE and Brehm ’s energization theory, it was
predicted that as perceived degree o f sufficiency decreases, task desirability would
increase; conversely, as perceived degree o f sufficiency increases, task desirability would
decrease. These predictions w ere not supported by the present study. There were no
significant differences between conditions in terms o f desirability. The implications o f
these findings and an alternative explanation are explored in the following section.
General Discussion
According to the PrE theory, when encountering information about a threat, a
person first makes the dichotomous assessment o f sufficiency or insufficiency o f
resources available to cope with the threat. Regardless o f absolute values o f threat and
resources, when resources are appraised as sufficient (resources equal to or greater than
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30
the level o f threat) to reduce or avoid consequences o f the negative event, PFC will be
greater than in the case w here resources are appraised as insufficient. Initially, PrE
theory also asserted that under conditions o f sufficient (as opposed to insufficient)
resources, the level o f threat was directly related to level o f PFC regardless o f resource
levels. This expectation w as not supported in the research (Duval & Mulilis, 1997).
Contrary to early predictions, the low person/low event condition dem onstrated higher
levels o f preparation than did the high person/low event and low person/high event
conditions. In this regard, the PrE theory was then revised to state that as the degree o f
sufficiency (as opposed to only the dichotom ous assessment o f sufficiency/insufficiency)
o f resources relative to threat decreases, level o f task difficulty, desirability and,
ultimately that o f PFC increase until the upper limiting condition o f impossibility is
reached. The present study w as designed to test components o f this revision.
The antecedents o f perceived task difficulty involve an evaluation o f the
characteristics o f the task as well as the resources relevant to that activity. Consequently,
an assessment o f difficulty is produced by an appraisal o f the magnitude o f degree o f
sufficiency o f resources relative to the threat. The first goal o f this study was to find
evidence for this hypothesized relationship. As indicated, the results o f the present study
revealed that as degree o f sufficiency decreased to the upper limiting condition o f
impossibility perceived task difficulty increased. Having gained support for the
hypothesis regarding the relationship between magnitude o f sufficiency o f resources
relative to the event and perceived difficulty, we then focused upon a second goal o f this
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31
study which w as to explore a possible mechanism through which low sufficiency
assessments (assessments o f difficulty) lead to higher levels o f PFC.
According to Brehm et al. (1983), the effects o f difficulty and the corresponding
energization upon task performance is mediated by the dimension o f desirability. That is,
the greater the difficulty o f the goal, given that it is within the person’s range o f ability,
the greater the energy levels recruited. H ow ever, when the demands o f the task are
beyond the individual’s range o f ability, the corresponding energy levels are low. The
high level o f energy created by a difficult task leads to a high level o f perceived
desirability o f the task (i.e., goal valence) thereby promoting high levels o f task
performance. To the extent that the goal is either easy or impossible, energy levels will
be extremely low or non-existent, resulting in decreased desirability o f the goal (negative
goal valence) and a low to negligible level o f task performance. Because the results o f
this study did not support the hypotheses based on Brehm ’s et al. (1983) theory o f
energization, it is still unclear how perceptions o f difficulty are associated w ith increased
performance levels.
Fortunately, some o f the filler items used in this study correspond with an
alternative theory o f a possible mechanism through which task difficulty im pacts
performance. This theory, developed by Edwin A. Locke and his colleagues (Latham &
Locke, 1991; Lem er & Locke, 1995) posit that self-efficacy is a mediating factor
through which task difficulty levels lead to high levels o f performance. This approach is
analyzed in m ore detail in the remainder o f this section.
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L ocke used Bandura’s term s to define self-efficacy as a judgm ent of. “how well
one can execute courses o f action required to deal with prospective situations.” Self-
efficacy has also been referred to as task-specific confidence (Bandura, 1986).
Confidence w ith regard to completing a task, according to Locke, can be influenced by
the nature o f the task assigned by an external source (Latham & Locke, 1991). Previous
studies have shown that with the effects o f ability controlled, the difficulty o f a goal
assigned by another person is positively related to self-efficacy and personal goals.
Salancik (1977) asserted that such effects are com mon because the assignment o f
difficult goals is, in itself, an expression o f confidence by the person w ho assigned them
(Latham & Locke, 1991). This can be interpreted to mean that the assignment o f difficult
goals implies that the source believes that the individual is capable o f attaining them,
thereby increasing their self-efficacy regarding the task. According to Locke, as self-
efficacy increases, task performance also increases (Latham & Locke, 1991; Lemer &
Locke, 1995). W e analyzed Locke’s suggestions o f how task difficulty leads to self-
efficacy and how self-efficacy is related to task performance. Later, relevant items were
utilized to test the relationship between difficulty and self-efficacy.
Taking Locke’s theory into consideration, we argue that the levels o f perceived
difficulty in the current study influenced participants’ confidence in their ability to
prepare for earthquakes. In this study, participants in the low resource sufficiency
condition perceived a higher level o f task difficulty than those in the high resource
sufficiency and impossible conditions. Incorporating Locke’s suggestions with the
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findings, the perceptions o f high task difficulty could have lead participants to infer that
the source o f the information was confident that they possessed the ability to successfully
prepare for an earthquake, resulting in a higher level o f self-efficacy. We tested the
validity o f this proposed relationship in which level o f sufficiency generates perceived
difficulty, which in turn influences self-efficacy, in a further attem pt to find an
explanation o f how task difficulty assessments can lead to increased PFC.
To test the notion that the difficulty o f the task o f earthquake preparation
influenced self-efficacy, the following items were analyzed: “Indicate the extent to which
you believe you can prepare for a major earthquake so that the dam age and injuries
resulting from such an event would be reduced.”, “Indicate to w hat extent you believe
you can make adequate progress toward preparing for a major earthquake ”, and “H ow
confident are you in your ability to prepare for an earthquake?” The estimate o f internal
consistency (cronbach alpha) o f the measure was .6 6 , indicating that the self-efficacy
scale possessed modest reliability. Based upon the theorizing o f Locke, it was
hypothesized that as the perceived difficulty o f the task increases, self-efficacy would
also increase. Therefore, it w as predicted that because those in the low level o f
sufficiency and impossible conditions were higher in perceived task difficulty than those
in the high level o f sufficiency condition, they would also be higher in levels o f perceived
self-efficacy than those in the the high level o f sufficiency condition. This hypothesis w as
not supported by the evidence o f the study. The mean levels o f perceived self-efficacy
across conditions can be found in table 6 . A one-way ANOVA indicated no significant
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34
differences between the conditions in term s o f perceived self-efficacy, F (2,49) = . 10, ns.
The means o f the low level o f sufficiency and the impossible conditions w ere not
significantly higher than the mean o f the high level o f sufficiency condition. These results
provide no evidence to support the positive relationship between self-efficacy and
difficulty. Although self-efficacy has been shown in numerous studies to have facilitative
effects upon task performance, the evidence o f this study suggested that self-efficacy is
not affected by difficulty appraisals.
In summary, the findings o f this experiment provided evidence that the degree o f
sufficiency o f resources relative to the event is associated with levels o f perceived task
difficulty. With regard to the mechanisms through which perceived task difficulty might
increase task performance, the evidence o f this study supported neither the association
between difficulty and desirability (Brehm et al., 1983), nor the association between
difficulty and self-efficacy (Latham & Locke, 1991; Lem er & Locke, 1995). Therefore,
it remains unclear how the perception o f difficulty is linked to increased PFC. M ore
research is needed to further explore the effects o f perceived task difficulty brought
about by levels o f resource sufficiency magnitude. O ne possible approach might be a 2
session design in which sufficiency o f resources relative to the event is m anipulated and
the levels o f physiological arousal, task difficulty, perceived desirability and PFC are
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35
measured. Such a design combined with mediational analyses w ould provide a stronger
basis for assessm ent o f the extent to which the various variables postulated by Brehm et
al. (1983) actually influence the relationship betw een resources relative to event
magnitude and PFC.
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36
T ab le 6
Cell M eans for Perceived Self-Efficacy Regarding Earthquake Preparedness
Condition M SD N
low event/high person
(high sufficiency) 4.13 . 8 6 18
low event/low person
(low sufficiency) 4.17 .94 17
high event/low person
(impossible) 4.25 .70 17
N ote. The higher the mean value, the greater the perception o f self-efficacy with regard
to earthquake preparedness.
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37
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Footnote
1 Although the necessity o f positive goal valence (i.e., desirability) in the
transformation o f energy into increased task performance was not discussed by Brehm et
al. (1983), it appears that Brehm and his colleagues endorse a conceptualization parallel
to that o f Lewin’s (1938) theory o f motivation. The core o f Lewin’s theory is that
tension (a term conceptually equivalent to energization or arousal) is scalar. The term
“scalar” indicates that tension possesses the property o f magnitude without direction.
According to Lewin, any stimulus in the environment that is positively valenced gives
rise to a vector that directs scalar energy tow ard the stimulus. Commensurate to Lewin’s
theorizing, the theory o f energization (Brehm et al., 1983) implies that positive goal
valence (i.e., desirability) provides the vector that directs physiological arousal (i.e.,
nergization) tow ard a particular goal.
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Asset Metadata
Creator
Williamson, Juliette Anne
(author)
Core Title
Effects of personal resource sufficiency on perceived difficulty and desirability of earthquake preparedness
School
Graduate School
Degree
Master of Arts
Degree Program
Psychology
Publisher
University of Southern California
(original),
University of Southern California. Libraries
(digital)
Tag
OAI-PMH Harvest,psychology, cognitive,psychology, social
Language
English
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Digitized by ProQuest
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[illegible] (
committee chair
), [illegible] (
committee member
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Permanent Link (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c16-18664
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UC11342043
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1389984.pdf (filename),usctheses-c16-18664 (legacy record id)
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1389984.pdf
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18664
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Thesis
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Williamson, Juliette Anne
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(contributing entity),
University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses
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The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the au...
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Tags
psychology, cognitive
psychology, social