Tag: Human Behavior—I am Who I Am

How Does Our Background Influence Social Output?

Presenter(s): Kathryn Paulus—Linguistics, Pre-International Studies

Co-Presenter(s): Claire Amistoso, Bryan Salazar, Owen Morgan

Faculty Mentor(s): Melissa Baese-Berk

Session 1: Human Behavior—I am Who I Am

Recently, intersectionality has been used to analyze social dynamics around the world . We recognize that everyone comes from different places and has many different experiences . To operationalize social background, we divided social background into four subsections: race/ ethnicity, socioeconomic, language and gender . Our research focuses on how people express each subsection of social background . We plan on releasing a survey that focuses on four major topics by asking a series of questions within each topic . Because of the current situation of the world, we plan on releasing this survey on our social media platforms such as Snapchat and Instagram . The significance of this research is to identify the results of intersectionality through social output from diverse backgrounds .

Focusing on those aspects of our lives is something that not everyone around the world fully realizes yet, as we only focus on either one or two of those . So it’s a topic that we as a research group want to focus as to how everything builds up to one point in our lives and how impactful it is for better or for worse .

Outlasting the Binary: Analysis of Gender and Queer Representation in Outlast II

Presenter(s): Maggie Murphy—Psychology

Faculty Mentor(s): Oluwakemi “Kemi” Balogun

Session 1: Human Behavior—I am Who I Am

The components within Horror Media has been a topic of study for decades . A major gap in the scholarship is how representations within horror media impacts marginalized communities negatively . Using the first-person survival horror game Outlast II, I ask how these tropes
accentuate the archetypes of hegemonic masculinity and emphasized femininity as well as how they conventionalize individuals that challenge the gender binary . The cutscenes, dialogue, documents, and recordings collected will be analyzed, providing evidence for the forthcoming discussions about the representation of gender and queer communities within this game . Results show that the game emphasizes similar themes commonly found in horror media . These include: the “male protector” and “damsel in distress” archetypes, the violent mistreatment of women, framing sexually transmitted diseases (STD’s) as grotesque, exclusion of primary female characters, stereotyping queer characters, and emphasis on hegemonic masculinity, a term coined by Connell (1987) . This case study will provide further evidence for ongoing research on horror media and its use of the gender binary, stereotypical male/female roles, and exclusion of non-stereotypical gender non-conforming or queer characters .

Post-stroke Dysphagia’s Impact on Survivors and Spousal Caregivers: The Importance of Perceptual Congruence

Presenter(s): Kayla Davis—Communication Disorders and Sciences

Faculty Mentor(s): Samantha Shune

Session 1: Human Behavior—I am Who I Am

Previous studies have shown a link between survivors’ stroke severity and family caregiver burden, however other factors may contribute to this burden . Burden specific to post-stroke dysphagia and the consequences of incongruence between care recipient and care partner in their perception of the impacts of the care recipient’s dysphagia are potential variables that are unexplored . The present study aimed to determine the role of partner congruence of the perceived mealtime impacts of post- stroke dysphagia on caregiver burden . Twenty-seven spousal dyads consisting of a stroke survivor experiencing post-stroke dysphagia and their spousal caregiver were surveyed concerning their perceptions of the logistical and social impacts of dysphagia on mealtimes and stroke and dysphagia severity . Dyadic congruence in perceptions of mealtime logistical impacts, but not mealtime social impacts, was associated with increased caregiver burden . Additionally, increased survivor dysphagia severity and caregivers’ perceived mealtime logistical impacts were also associated with increased caregiver burden . These results can guide speech-language pathologists and other health professionals in their interventions for clients with dysphagia and their families .