Date of Award:

5-2002

Document Type:

Thesis

Degree Name:

Master of Science (MS)

Department:

Psychology

Committee Chair(s)

Tamara J. Ferguson

Committee

Tamara J. Ferguson

Committee

Karl White

Committee

Ann Leffler

Abstract

Gender differences are frequently revealed on the popular TOSCA-2 measure of guilt- and shame-proneness. These gender differences could reflect biases in the eliciting conditions that participants evaluate and confounds between them. A new instrument, the Gender Relevant Test of Self-Conscious Affect (GR-TOSCA), was developed to eliminate these confounds, thereby introducing a gender-sensitive, and therefore more valid, measure of guilt and shame proneness. The psychometric integrity of the new instrument, hypotheses regarding condition-specific gender differences in the two emotions, and relationships of guilt- and shame-proneness scores to gender role endorsement were examined in a sample of undergraduate students (93 men and 109 women). Encouraging evidence was produced for the reliability and validity of the GR-TOSCA, but the hypothesized gender differences in guilt and shame proneness were not found. Several possibilities for these results are explored, including the possibility of biases in the research procedure.

Checksum

bf3601e23837616ba480f097acaa164e

Included in

Psychology Commons

Share

COinS