Katherine Aumer | University of Hawaii West Oahu (original) (raw)

Papers by Katherine Aumer

Frontiers in psychology, Feb 21, 2024

Pet behaviour science, Sep 14, 2022

The preference for animal companionship over human companionship may be predicted by a itudes abo... more The preference for animal companionship over human companionship may be predicted by a itudes about pet ownership. We hypothesized that pet a itudes could predict preferences for relationships with pets over humans. We sampled 182 people who named a person and a pet they love and care about. Participants rated their feelings of love, time spent, enjoyment, and equity in both their human and pet relationships. We also presented seven hypothetical negative event scenarios that involve both the pet and human and asked participants to predict their feelings and reactions based on these events. The Pet A itudes Scale (Templer et al., 1981) was used to assess a itudes towards pets. People had similar positive feelings about their pet-human and human-human relationships. However, people were more likely to react negatively towards a human compared to a pet. Positive pet a itudes predicted more positive and less negative reactions to pets. Positive pet a itudes can predict preference for pet relationships over human relationships and may help researchers identify what relationships work best depending on a personʹs pet a itudes. HIGHLIGHTS Creative Common License 4.0-Non Commercial-Share Alike-Attribution

American Ethnologist, 2010

Skip to Main Content. ...

Pacific Health

Introduction: Reports of mental health issues increased nationally in the USA during the COVID-19... more Introduction: Reports of mental health issues increased nationally in the USA during the COVID-19 pandemic, often attributed to the effects of quarantine, isolation, and restriction of travel. Given that Hawaiʻi State’s population is unique in its largely ethnic minority population, geographic isolation, and economic dependence on tourism, it is important to document if similar mental health outcomes have occurred during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: This study compares Hawaiʻi’s rates of depression using data from the National Center for Health Statistics collected in 2020 and the Hawaiʻi Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System collected in 2016. Results: Hawaiʻi’s rate of depression, like the rest of the nation, increased significantly during the first wave. A chi-square test of independence was conducted, and the results were significant, χ2 (1, n = 20,261.42) = 582.48, p < .001. Before COVID-19, typical rates of depression were at 11.03%, 95% CI [10.51%,...

Journal of American College Health

Ethnic and Racial Studies, Dec 15, 2022

Open Health

Background Depression can impact both the administration and efficacy of vaccines. Identifying so... more Background Depression can impact both the administration and efficacy of vaccines. Identifying social factors that contribute to depression, especially during a pandemic, is important for both current and future public health issues. Publicly available data can help identify key social factors contributing to depression. Method For each US state, information regarding their change in depression as measured by the Patient Health Questionnaire 2, predominant political affiliation, coronavirus disease 19 cases/100k, and lockdown severity were gathered. Structural equation modeling using latent change scores was conducted to assess the longitudinal relationships among depression, cases/100k, and state social restrictions. Results Higher initial levels of lockdown severity and depression predicted rank-order decreases in themselves over time. Correlations among the latent change variables reveal that changes in lockdown severity are negatively related to changes in cases/100k and changes...

NEJM catalyst innovations in care delivery, May 18, 2022

Ethnic and Racial Studies

The Psychology of Extremism, 2020

Hate and love have often been viewed as polar opposites. Historically, researchers have viewed ha... more Hate and love have often been viewed as polar opposites. Historically, researchers have viewed hate as a destructive and hostile emotion (Royzman, McCauley, & Rozin, 2005). Oatley, Keltner, and Jenkins (2006) even went so far as to posit that hate is “our biggest handicap as a social species” (p. 44). Philosophers and psychologists have continuously debated hate’s categorization and characteristics. Rempel and colleagues have examined people’s explanations for interpersonal scenarios and classified hate as a motivation (e.g., Rempel & Burris, 2005; Rempel, Burris, & Fathi, 2019). Others, using more explicit criteria and prototype analyses, categorized hate as an emotion (Fitness & Fletcher, 1993; Sternberg, 2003). Yet hate could also be an attitude (Ekman, 1992) or a syndrome (Shand, 1920). When considering the consequences of hate, Descartes (1694/1989) argued that hate causes a kind of withdrawal, while Aristotle contended that hate initiates attack (Aristotle, trans., 1954). Categorical incongruencies aside, there is a general repugnance for hate shared by both laypersons and scholars. The presumption that hate is bad is not without merit. Sternberg (2003) argued that hate is at the root of war, ethnic cleansing, and evil. Halperin, Russell, Dweck, and Gross (2011) demonstrated that Israelis with high levels of hate and anger are less likely to compromise with Palestinians on upcoming peace negotiations. U.S. Federal law contains a special classification of crime: “hate crimes,” that are considered especially egregious and opprobrious, and that usually result in more severe penalties (Iganski & Lagou, 2015). People tend not to have the same disdain, moral repugnance, or severity of sanction for “crimes of passion” or for “white-collar crimes” although both may and can be committed with hate. Even in common discourse, hate is consistently denounced. For example, websites like hateiswrong.org declare that, “Hate in any form is wrong” (Hate is wrong, 2020). Political leaders such as Nelson Mandela and Barack Obama tweet laments about hate’s abhorrent unnatural source with declarations such as, “People must learn to hate…” (Obama, 2017). Regardless of whether hate is an emotion, an attitude, or a motivation, scholars and laypersons seem to agree that it is a bad thing. A rare exception to this can be seen in Proverbs 8:13 (New International Version), where hate is advocated to be a wise response when targeted at certain adverse qualities or behaviors.

elainehatfield.com

... Katherine Aumer-Ryan University of Texas at Austin Elaine Hatfield University of Hawai'i... more ... Katherine Aumer-Ryan University of Texas at Austin Elaine Hatfield University of Hawai'i at MānoaRosemary Frey University of West Indies Page 2. Equity in Romantic Relationships 2 Abstract Are people throughout the world equally concerned about social justice in their ...

Proceedings of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 2009

When examining the ways in which individuals evaluate the credibility of information sources, it ... more When examining the ways in which individuals evaluate the credibility of information sources, it is easy to assume that these judgments are based solely on the quality of the information being presented. The study described here questions this assumption by establishing a link between the quality of the interface (rather than the content) and perceived credibility. Essentially, interface design and the "form" of information (the messenger) can negatively impact the perceived quality of the "content" of information (the message). This study tests the hypothesis that individuals searching a poorly designed digital library will perceive the contents of the collection as less authoritative and credible than a digital library with a superior interface. This focus on interface design illuminates one of the methods by which individuals evaluate new or poorly understood information: by examining the quality of its distribution mechanism. Generally speaking, this research is an indication of how individuals are prone to the carrier effect, allowing features of the messenger (the interface) to affect the perception of the message (the digital library content).

Perspectives on Politics, 2010

Interpersona: An International Journal …, 2007

In order to better understand culture's role between perceived equity in one's romantic... more In order to better understand culture's role between perceived equity in one's romantic relationship and relationship satisfaction, we sampled two groups from different cultural backgrounds and attempted to answer the question of whether culture would impact the relationship ...

be a by-product of large brains and general intelligence. Yet humor is pervasive across all cultu... more be a by-product of large brains and general intelligence. Yet humor is pervasive across all cultures and plays a large role in our everyday lives. Whether we are going to the movies, interacting with a stranger or a friend, or looking for a potential romantic partner, we seek and rapidly notice humor. When considering potential mates for example, sense of humor is a highly desirable characteristic to both sexes

Are people who are funny more attractive? Or does being attractive lead people to be seen as funn... more Are people who are funny more attractive? Or does being attractive lead people to be seen as funnier? The answer may depend on the underlying evolutionary function of humor. While humor has been proposed to signal “good genes, ” we propose that humor also functions to indicate interest in social relationships – in initiating new relationships and in monitoring existing ones. Consistent with this interest indicator model, across three studies both sexes were more likely to initiate humor, and to respond more positively and consider the other person to be funny, when initially attracted to that person. The findings support that humor dynamics—and not just humor displays—influence romantic chemistry for both men and women, suggesting that humor can ultimately function as a strategy to initiate and monitor social relationships. Evolutionary Humor 3 An Evolutionary Perspective on Humor: Sexual Selection or Interest Indication? The existence of humor is somewhat puzzling from an evolution...