2
12
142
-
https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/1909/archive/files/4e35886d70a54bb9996c595c4fc7acdf.pdf?Expires=1712793600&Signature=azttU6VMkD-Z8otssGwJERASZ%7E3kjhIwGapVRJULen3pRHN4gX9vpqXFZnQ9z-3FMlILYKvk7iqt4ORTLWj-B%7EQooZFAEfukcZPs4pr%7E5Xt%7EfEjstctV6V4f3Q4VcAXoSglcQYPwe-%7EgSzs9hl25i6vCSHcR1bc0TfcCz94lZswzTtBSam8tZMrwjwzgkbJihp3cf0nGiSxQvt-wzUGdVEaIy9un6aWqmJ4qgSaAKxb7Ud57D99U38fgw-sbDq954XhFQwthLq4Wf5FSNprmX-EhY1TVPO29crpWvYlgcYV1%7EOpym-6FYYgP8UgU2gctGJ1bDEFPguMXQBMBkA0NJA__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM
ad894586f68713b5436fb30717cddf39
PDF Text
Text
ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
1
Motivation in the Workforce
Skye Nankervis
Wagner College
�ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
2
Table of Contents
Page
ABSTRACT……………………………………………………………………………………….3
CHAPTER
1
THE EVOLUTION OF HOW ORGANIZATIONS APPROACH MOTIVATION
IN THE WORK
FORCE……………………………………………………………………….......4
Historical Approaches to Motivation in Work Organizations…………………………….5
Hedonism………………..........…………………………...………………………5
Instinct Theory…………………………………………………………………….6
Drive Theory………....……………………………………………………………6
Major historical events that influenced popular motivational theorists………………….. 7
Industrial Revolution..........…………………………...………………..…………7
World Wars………………………………………………………………………..8
Human Relations Movement…..………………………………………………….9
Rise in influential motivational theories ……………………………….…………...….. 10
Frederick Taylor’s Principles of Scientific Management...……………………...10
Maslow’s Hierarchy of
Needs……..……………………………………………..11
Elton Mayo Hawthrone Studies…...………………………………………..……12
McGregor Theory X and Theory Y……………………………………………...13
Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………...…..14
2
THEORY AND RESEARCH BEHIND
MOTIVATION...……………….……………..15
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs ……..........…………………………...……...…………..15
McClelland’s Needs Theory ………....…………………………..……………………...17
Herzberg’s Motivation Theory …...……………………………………………………..18
Importance of job satisfaction; appreciation and recognition……………………………19
Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………….20
3
QUIET QUITTING AND THE GREAT RESIGNATION IN THE
WORKFORCE AND STRATEGIES TO ALLEVIATE THESE
PROBLEMS…………………………….…..21
Quiet Quitting and the Great Resignation ……….………...…………………………….21
Cause and Impact of Quiet Quitting and the Great Resignation……………...………….22
Strategies to alleviate quiet quitting and great resignation…………………………..…..23
Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………….24
4
REFLECTION…………………………………………...………………………………25
�ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
3
LIST OF REFERENCES………………………………………………………………………...28
�ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
4
Abstract
This paper provides an examination on the theories and research behind motivation, and how
historical events have influenced motivational theorists in their approach to motivation.
Following, the current problem of Quiet Quitting and the Great Resignation and effective
strategies to alleviate this problem. The aim in writing this paper is to present the foundations of
motivational theories and how organizations have evolved to effectively target employee
motivation. Throughout the paper we see a parallel in the works of psychologists and
management theorists, illuminating the importance of interdisciplinary studies to tackle
employee motivation. Chapter 1 deals with the historical motivational theories and follows on to
highlight major historical events during the 19th and 20th century that have shaped motivational
theorists in their creation of ideas and approach to employee motivation. Additionally, delves
deeper into well-known motivational theorists, explaining the essence of their theories and their
influence in the workplace. Chapter 2 introduces the research and theories behind motivation.
The theories examined are the most popular and influential in the workplace and provide further
insight into why people behave and what motivates them. With research and theories,
organizations can recognize and target the most effective way to achieve maximum motivation
and business success. Chapter 3 deals with the rising problem of quit quitting in organizations
and the great resignation over the last decade. This problem has been particularly prominent over
the last couple of years exemplified through COVID-19. Organizations must recognize the issue
and implement strategies to combat the negative consequences.
Keywords: Motivation, theories, historical events, quiet quitting, great resignation, workplace
�ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
5
Chapter 1
The Evolution of How Organizations Approach Motivation in the Work Force
Motivational theories have evolved to place increased focus on the employees achieving
their personal needs and wants as a human, rather than focusing on the outcome and completion
of tasks. The evolution of motivational theories has advanced extensively over the decades and
the influence of historical events such as World Wars, the industrial revolution and human
relations movement in the 20th century is evident in the works of motivational theorists with
their approach to employee motivation. Historically, there were three theoretical approaches that
explained why outcomes are valued and the primary forces behind motivation (Edward, 1994).
Hedonism dates back to BCE with Greek Philosopher Aristippus (Heathwood, 2013), instinct
Theory dominated by English Psychologist William McDougall (Edward, 1994) and drive theory
studied by American Behaviorist Psychologist; Clark Hull. For adequate analysis of motivation
in the organization, the theories must be clearly defined and distinguished (Young, 1952),
therefore these theories died of its own weight as there was no real empirically content and
untestable (Edward, 1994). With the major historical events shaping popular motivational
theorists such as; American mechanical engineer; Federick, TaylorAmerican Psychologist;
Abraham Maslow, Australian psychologist; Elton Mayo and lastly American Management
Professor and psychologist; Douglas McGregor, we see the transition of the approach of
employee motivation. The purpose of this paper is to examine the evolution of motivational
theories and the role of historical events in shaping these theorists' ideas about organizational
motivation.
�ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
6
Historical Approaches to Motivation in work organizations
Prior to the 1940’s three theoretical approaches to explaining why outcomes are values
dominated the thinking in psychology (Edward, 1994).
Hedonism
The first theory was hedonism; the origins of most contemporary conceptions of
motivation can be traced to the principle of hedonism as a principle driving force in behavior
(Steers et al., 2004). Aristippus was a Greek philosopher in the late 5th century (BCE) and the
first to examine hedonism (Heathwood, 2013). Moreover, it is the central assumption that
behavior is directed towards outcomes that provide pleasure and away from those that produce
pain (Edward, 1994). During this time, the Greek Philosophers believed hedonism is the
principle driving force of behavior (Steers et al., 2004). They believed in every situation people
select from alternative possibilities the course of action which they think will maximize their
pleasure and minimize their pain (Vsroom, 1932/1964). However, in the seventeenth and
eighteenth centuries philosophers such as Locke, Bentham, Mill and Helvetius further developed
this principle of hedonism (Stanford Encyclopedia, 2004). This doctrine presented many
problems for those who saw in it the foundation for a theory of behavior as there was no
specification of the type of events which were pleasurable or painful and how these events could
be determined. Resulting in “the hedonism assumption having no empirical context and being
untestable'' (Steers et al., 2004). As a result, some of the circulatory of hedonism has been
overcome by the development of more precisely stated models and by the linking of the concepts
in these models to empirically observable events (Vsroom, 1932/1964).
Instinct Theory
�ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
7
As behavioral scientists began searching for more empirically based models to explain
motivation, instinct theory was proposed. Instinct theory was brought to attention by Charles
Darwin in On The Origin of Species in 1859 explaining the possibility that much of human and
animal behavior may be determined by instincts (Darwin, 1859/2008). This instinct theory poses
that people are motivated to behave in certain ways because they are evolutionarily programmed
to do so (Ibrahim, 2014). William James, Sigmund Freud and William McDougall developed
instinct doctrine as an important thought of instincts as mechanical and automatic rather than
conscious motivators of behavior (Edward, 1994). The English born social psychologists;
William McDougall developed the most comprehensive taxonomy of instincts, believing they are
purposive, inherited, goal seeking tendencies (McDougall, 2000). However, instinct theory died
of its own weight as more and more instincts were stated, psychologists began to question the
explanatory usefulness of the approach (Edward, 1994). As instincts cannot be readily observed
or scientifically proven and fails to explain all behaviors.
Drive Theory
As a reaction to instinct theory and hedonism, the development of drive theory was
established. Psychologists such as Thorndike, Woodworth, and Hull were drive theorists,
introducing the concept of learning in motivated behavior and suggested that decisions
concerning present or future behaviors are largely influenced by the consequences of rewards
associated with the past behavior (Steers et al., 2004). It is in the tradition of hedonism, but is
more closely tied to empirical events and therefore testable (Edward, 1994). Clark Hull was a
behaviorist and assumed that all behavior is motivated by either primary or secondary drives. In
his theory he provides a clear-cut answer to the question of what objects or outcomes have value
– that is, objects or outcomes that either reduce primary, biologically based drives or have been
�ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
8
related to outcomes that do (Edward, 1994). Overall, hedonism and instinct theory do not make
scientifically testable predictions of what outcomes people will seek and drive theory represents
an attempt to develop a theory that does make testable predictions. Illustrating the reason for
these theories being unsuccessful and insignificant for organizations to use in order to increase
employee motivation.
Major historical events that influenced popular motivational theorists
Through examining the most important historical events such as industrial revolution,
world wars and a rise in the human relations movement, it enlightens our understanding on the
importance of history in how it shapes the ideas of motivational theorists.
Industrial Revolution
The industrial revolution was a major historical event during the 19th and 20th century,
categorized by a shift to capital intensive production, rapid growth in productivity, the creation
of large corporate hierarchies, overcapacity, and closure of facilities (Jenson, 1993). This shift
from agriculture and handicrafts into economies based on large scale industry, mechanized
manufacturing, and the factory system, forced a change in the way employees performed their
work and ultimately altered the way organizations operate (Keremitsis, 1984). Organizations
believed that “the most obvious ways in which productivity might have increased in domestic
industry was by the adoption of more efficient hand tools, or by the imposition of a stricter work
discipline” (Hopkins, 1982, p.56). This illustrates organizations' strict enforcement to target
efficiency and their approach to treat employees like machines rather than people to reach this
productivity. Moreover, the industrial engineer Federick Taylor laid out the Principles of
Scientific Management (1911), influenced by the distinctive industrial type of the economic
growth and shaped by a political environment of an industrial economy (Grachev & Rakitsky,
�ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
9
2013). With the foundations of Taylor's work, introduced the bureaucratic style of management
to increase the work efficiency and reduce the exploitation of employees in the industries
(Gulzar, 2015). It's important to acknowledge that employee motivation and psychological
dimension at work was recognized during the industrial revolution, illustrated in a part of
Taylor's Principle of Scientific Management, discussing the importance of studying the motives
which influence men (Taylor, 1911). However, in this era employee motivation was categorized
by wages and salaries, thus providing money incentives to increase productivity and employee
motivation (Locke, 1982). In 1946, managers ranked ‘good wages’ as the top job reward to
motivate employees, however, employees themselves ranked ‘appreciation of work done’ as the
top job reward (Kovach, 1987). This illustrates the organizations belief that money incentives is
the only way to increase productivity and employee motivation
World Wars
In the decades before the war, despite significant advancements of the industrial revolution,
organizations had struggled to create effective motivational strategies because they lacked a
unifying idea, exemplified above when managers and employees responded differently to what
motivates them the most (David, 2020). World War I created the urgency and importance of
staffing, resulting in high demands of hiring an efficient and effective workforce, however no
recognition of motivation. The organization's focus was purely on job analysis, mental tests of
intelligence and the criterion. However, the effects of World War II assisted the widening of
democracy in social, political and economic terms as well as opened ways for the coming of
participative and democratic management styles (Koronváry & Horváth, 2008). This was also
assisted during World War II, human relations research was attempting to boost morale by
�ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
10
approaching the factory as a ‘social system’(David, 2020), therefore further emphasizing
organizations to transition into a democratic management style.
Human Relations Movement
A change in organizations' approach to employee motivation was enlightened during the 20th
century, with a rise in the Human Relations Movement. The human relations movement is the
study of people within organizations, and how they relate to their internal and external
environments (Kennedy et al., 2007). The movement arose as a reaction to the earlier approaches
of Frederick Taylor's Scientific Management, with their individuality and over rational emphasis,
and their tendency to explain the behavior of workers as a response to the environment defined
largely in material terms (McKenna, 2012, pg, 12). Elton Mayo was an Australian Psychologist
and a social scientist from Harvard University who was a pioneer for the human relations
movement (Burawoy, 1979). The writings of Elton Mayo and his followers in the human
relations movement, sparked a large amount of research carried out on the influence of the social
environment on the behavior of workers. (Vsroom, 1932/1964). Mayo’s series of investigations
conducted at the Hawthorne works of the Western Electric Company in Chicago, between 1927
and 1932 (McKenna, 2012), outlined the importance to acknowledge work behavior and attitudes
of a variety of physical, economic and social variables (Carey, 1967). Moreover, as the human
relations movement grew, organizations continued to see the need to provide their employees
with these “proper conditions” that would support growth and responsibility in their workforce
(Carson, 2005). These ‘proper conditions’ relate to Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs, where
employees are motivated by the desire to achieve or maintain the various conditions upon which
these basic satisfactions rest and by certain more intellectual desires (Davis & Newstrom, 1989).
The human relations movement led to organizations altering their approach to employee
�ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
11
motivation by placing an emphasis on relationship building, organizational support, and
strengthening of employee-firm commitment. (Vsroom, 1932/1964). Evidently, through these
historical events we see a strengthened link between management and psychology working in
parallel to achieve employee motivation and the approaches organizations implement to create
success.
Rise in influential motivational theories
Examining the historical events paints a picture of the background context in how these
theorists' ideas were shaped and influenced.
Frederick Taylor’s Principles of Scientific Management
Prior to WWI, several new models of work motivation evolved. Industrial engineer
Federick Taylor published the Principle of Scientific Management, which laid out his ground
rules for efficient industrial organization (Freeman, 1992). Taylor believed that wages and
salary are the most important motivators for workers emphasized in his statement that “nonincentive wage system encourages low productivity” (Taylor, 1911, p.92). Edward Cadbury
(1914) review of Taylor's Principles of Scientific Management provides an insight into Taylor’s
influence in the 20th century and the significance of his work by illustrating how organizations
have applied Taylor’s principles and avoided some of its dangers. Cadbury’s examination of
Taylors point in regards to wages as an incentive, emphasizes the effectiveness of increased
production will result in higher wages being paid, and if this is not done then employees will
leave and go to another factory to get paid higher wages. However, he goes on to critique that
“when all factories adopt this method, and all workmen are trained in the new way, the
monopoly value will have disappeared and the laborer will no longer be able to enforce higher
�ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
12
wages” to target employee motivation (Cadbury, 1914, p.103). With this being said, the
effectiveness of Taylor’s Principles of Scientific Management would only be noticeable so long
as only a few firms have this system. Thus, provides evidence for the movement away from this
approach to employee motivation as it is not sustainable and effective. Evidently, Taylor's theory
was used by organizations during the industrial revolution, however it lacked popularity during
the late 20th century as the focus on employee motivation shifted to a humanistic approach,
resulting in a decline and lack of popularity.
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
In the WWII period, there is a move to focus beyond income needs of employees,
Maslow’s 1943 hierarchy of needs theory proposes that as individuals develop, they work their
way up a hierarchy based on the fulfillment of a series of prioritized needs, including
physiological, safety and security, belongingness, esteem, and self-actualization (Maslow, 1943).
Abraham Maslow is an American psychologist and one of the founders of humanistic
psychology (Hoffman, 1998). Maslow was part of the Humanistic movement in psychology, also
known as the 3rd force that rejected behaviorism and psychoanalysis regarding human
motivation (Smith, 1990). According to Maslow’s Theory, needs at the bottom of the list must be
fulfilled before motivation can be derived from the needs at the top of the hierarchy (Gordan,
2004). Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory is one of the most influential motivational theories in
management and organizational behavior (Acevedo, 2015). Moreover, this theory is still highly
relevant and important in organizations today, businesses using practical application of the
hierarchy of needs theory, achieve higher levels of employee motivation (Lopez, 2013).
�ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
13
Elton Mayo Hawthorne Studies
Elton Mayo, an Australian organizational theorist, was influential in the growth in the human
relations movement in the 20th century (Vsroom, 1932/1964). Mayo (1930, p176) stated that “it
is urgently necessary that industry should give as much attention to human as it has to material
inquiry”, adding on to Maslow’s theory. Mayo’s ideas have stimulated both social science
research and factory management and the influence of his work has been greatest in the
promotion of a sociological and anthropological approach to industrial management (Bendix &
Fisher, 1949). Mayo was widely recognized through his works in the Hawthorne experiments
(Smith, 1998). From 1924 to 1933, the Western Electric Company conducted at its Hawthorne
Works a research program or series of experiments on the factors in the work situation which
affect the morale and productive efficiency of workers (Davis & Newstrom, 1989). They
conducted two main experiments; illumination and the test room which introduced specific
psychological and social variables that may affect the employees motivation and productivity
(Bendix & Wickstrom, 2000). The experiment's findings outlined that a change in working
conditions would result in a change in production and Mayo recognized the strong correlation
between the work environment and employee motivation (Davis & Newstrom, 1989). Mayo’s
contribution to industrial sociology provided a new and different way of looking at motivation
and productivity, changing the nature of management-labor relations (Hanna, 2021). The role of
group dynamics and the need to view employees as complex beings with multiple motivational
influences were recognised as powerful influences on performances (Steers et al., 2004). There's
an evident parallel between management and psychology in Mayos work, with the interchanging
influence they contribute to each other.
�ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
14
McGregor Theory X and Theory Y
Douglas McGregor was an American psychologist and management professor (Edgar,
2011) who published 1957 ‘The Human Side of Enterprise’, proposing two motivational
theories: Theory X placed exclusive reliance upon external control of human behavior, whereas
Theory Y relied heavily on self-control and self-direction (McGregor, 1957/2000). McGregor
later built on Mayo’s findings that a Theory Y person found in an academic setting that the
managerial style resulting from this set of assumptions was ideally suited to what an academic
environment needed (Schein, 2011). Additionally, McGregor’s Theory Y correlates to Maslow’s
self-actualization level of motivation, based on the assumption that self direction, self-control
and maturity controls employee motivation (Pardee, 1990). Contributing to the parallel of work
from management theorists and psychologists towards the approach of employee motivation.
McGregor (1960) effectively targets employee motivation at another angle compared to the other
theorist by acknowledging that “the average human being for creativity, for growth, for
collaboration, for productivity are far greater than we yet have recognized”. Therefore, proposes
that management has conceived of a range of possibilities between two extremes; being an
individual categorized by Theory X or Theory Y (Davis & Newstrom, 1989) and thus,
managerial behavior is a direct reflection of the manager's assumptions about human nature
(Edgar, 2011). During the mid-20th century, his work was highly influential in providing
“intellectual nourishment to design and implement a values-based, vision-driven philosophy of
governance that was appropriate for the circumstances” (O’Brien, 2000, p.7). Moreover,
McGregor’s work influenced current business leaders in shaping their ideas and approach to
employee motivation (Wilson, 2000, p.14). McGregor’s significance was in applying a better
understanding of how people behave in the business world (Heil et al., 2000).
�ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
15
Conclusions
To conclude, there is an evident parallel between the works of psychologists and
management theorists in their approach to employee motivation and their integrating influence
on each other. Illustrated in the influence of psychologist Maslow needs theory in the works of
management theorists McGregor Theory Y explained above. Moreover, this interdisciplinary
relationship between psychology and management is continually illustrated throughout the paper,
evident through American Psychologist Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs theory, which is a staple in
management, organizational behavior, marketing and other business courses (Acevedo, 2015).
Research illustrates the demanding influence of historical events on theorists during that time
and its relevance in their formation of ideas and approach to employee motivation. Workers no
longer were believed to be motivated solely by wages, and managers came to recognize that
antagonistic labor relations practices could have detrimental long-term effects on productivity
(Hanna, 2021). Consequently, an ever-changing world, requires that organizations adapt their
approach to motivation by ensuring they are responding to the external world and maintaining a
high focus on employee’s well-being and satisfaction at work. Overall, the study of psychology
provides valuable knowledge and insights that help us to understand the behavior of people in
business organization and settings, and ultimately increase employee motivation (McKenna,
2012).
�ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
16
Theory And Research Behind Motivation
Motivation is a theoretical concept utilized to clarify human behavior; the motive for
human beings to react and fulfill their needs and maintain goal-oriented behaviors (Gopalan,
2017). Without employee motivation, the company's experience reduced productivity, lower
levels of output and it’s likely that the company will fall short of reaching important goals too.
Furthermore, organizations operating without any purpose of motivation result in depression,
turnover and burnout which can disrupt the success of organizations (Badubi, 2017).
Consequently, it is of significant importance to complete current research in motivation as it is
vital for organizations to understand and alter their strategies approaching motivation in order to
achieve maximum productivity and potential of the employees. Moreover, motivation is the key
to an organization’s success and is relevant to everyone in society, therefore by completing
research in relation to how organizations can maximize employee motivation, can significantly
help organizations learn and attack employee motivation in the most effective and productive
way to achieve business success. The three main motivational theories in this literature review
are Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, McClelland’s Needs and Herzberg’s motivator-hygiene
theory. They play a large role in achieving this motivation in conjunction with recognition,
appreciation, and job satisfaction as key employee variables that must be conducted. These
theories will outline how organizations can extract employee motivation and cultivate a highly
productive and successful environment.
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
A commonly known and influential workplace motivation theory is the Maslow’s
Hierarchy of Needs (1943) by Abraham Maslow. This theory emphasizes that humans are
motivated to satisfy five basic needs which are arranged in a hierarchy. Maslow identified five
�ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
17
categories of human needs that dictate an individual’s behavior in a hierarchical order:
physiological, safety, social, self-esteem, and self-actualization (Gambrel & Cianci, 2003). As
individuals develop, they work their way up a hierarchy based on the fulfillment of a series of
prioritized needs, including belongingness, esteem, and self- actualization (Maslow, 1943).
Moreover, this theory fulfilled a higher psychological need and the idea to study and
cultivate motivation, which significantly advanced organizations' approach to motivation and
how to treat employees to achieve success (Lussier, 2019). Furthermore, Maslow’s theory has
made valuable contributions in drawing attention to lower order needs which may be neglected
in some organizations, and in the absence of satisfaction of these needs, the higher order needs
may not be operative in the organization (Pareek, 1974). With Maslow’s hierarchy of needs,
organizations must be constantly looking to achieve these needs for employees or reach the
higher elements of the hierarchy, such as self-actualization. Therefore, it’s critical for managers
to be aware that their employees may all be operating at different levels of needs and take this
into consideration in their style of management (Elizabeth, 2009). In this instance, organizations
may need to look at various approaches other than traditional benefits e.g. flexible working to
offer staff greater work-life balance or training and development opportunities (Taylor, 2006).
Research states that managers who use these strategies are generally viewed to be more
favorable, considerate, supportive, and interested in their employees’ welfare (Ramlall, 2004).
However, the theory has yet to be tested empirically in social work management practice, thus
moving into more contemporary motivational theories such as McClelland’s Need theory and
Herzberg’s theory (Elizabeth, 2009).
�ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
18
McClelland’s Needs Theory
In addition, McClelland’s Needs Theory moved away from the concept of a hierarchy
and focused instead on the motivational effectiveness of a range of individual and clearly defined
needs e.g., achievement, affiliation, power, and autonomy (Harrell & Stahl, 1981). Adding on,
McClelland mostly emphasized his model on the needs for achievement and power which
offered researchers a set of clearly defined needs as they related to workplace behavior (Steer el
al., 2004). This strive for personal achievement rather than the rewards of success themselves
(Khan et al., 2012) leads to higher levels of motivation within the workforce. McClelland
emphasized that high needs for socialized power such as self-control and autonomy result in
higher motivation to be an effective manager at the higher levels of an organization (Henderson,
1995).
Employees with a high power need to have control and influence over their environment.
They desire to be influential in a group or to be responsible for others, therefore are more likely
to value rewards such as company cars, prestigious job titles and executive share options.
Additionally, employees with a high achievement need are more motivated to challenge
themselves and solve difficult tasks. They are goal oriented, task focused, and they desire
recognition, thus may feel more rewarded by performance related pay schemes or incentivised
programmes (Taylor, 2006). Lastly, employees with a high affiliation need acceptance and
productive working relationships with others. They desire social interaction and cooperation in
the workplace, resulting in more flexible work schedules, working in teams, and building
friendships. McClelland divides the power motivator into two groups: personal which refers to
the power drive to control others and institutional refers to the power drive to organize the efforts
of a team to further the company’s goals. Moreover, McClelland’s Three Needs Theory
�ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
19
postulates critical understandings about human nature that organizations can use to broaden the
impact of employee motivational efforts to overall lead the team to success and achieve
maximized potential.
Herzberg’s Motivation Theory
While Maslow and McClelland mostly focused on the role of individual differences in
motivation, Herzberg’s Motivation Theory sought to understand how work activities and the
nature of one’s job influences motivation and performance (Alshmemri el al., 2017). Herzberg’s
Two Factor Theory known as motivator -hygiene is developed by Frederick Herzberg determines
what makes an individual feel good or bad about their job. This study revealed that there are job
satisfiers (motivators) related to the job contents and job-dissatisfiers (hygiene factors) are
concerned with the job context. Motivators incorporate achievement, recognition work itself,
responsibility, and advancement. The hygiene factors do not ‘motivate/satisfy’ rather ‘prevent
dissatisfaction’ (Khan et al., 2012). Following on, Herzberg’s theory categorizes the intrinsic
variables ‘satisfiers’ as work itself, responsibility, and advancement and the extrinsic variables
‘dissatisfier’ as company policy, administration, supervision, working conditions and pay. This
theory explains that an individual at work can be satisfied and dissatisfied at the same time as
these two sets of factors work in separate sequences (Alrawahi et at., 2020). Thus, the whole idea
of certain variables being ‘satisfiers’ and ‘dissatisfiers’ does not precisely characterize the
method which produces job satisfaction (Ewen, 1996). Following on, research has found that
present extrinsic motivation factors have positively contributed to respondent’s job satisfactions;
while absence of intrinsic motivation factors don’t really neutralize their feeling, but have demotivated them (Yusoff et al., 2013). In order to achieve maximum work motivation, the
intrinsic and extrinsic motivation factors will go through employees’ preferences for motivation
�ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
20
factors (Tan, 2013) and organizations must place more emphasis on extrinsic factors for higher
motivation.
Moreover, Herzberg introduced job design, specifically job enrichment as a key factor in
work motivation and job attitudes, which is a more recent study that proves employee
motivation. This emphasis was to motivate employees by providing opportunities for individuals
to utilize abilities so that productivity and performance of the employees increase and positively
impact the organizational environment and smoothing the way for achieving organizational goals
(Bahaudin, 2013).
Importance of job satisfaction; appreciation and recognition
Additionally, a successful organization must combine the strengths and motivations of
internal employees and respond to external changes and demands (Nethi, 2020). Appreciation
and recognition are two important components of motivation within an organization. Offering
recognition and praise not only makes the employee feel accomplished and appreciated, but it
also reinforces good performance and encourages employees to continue repeating the actions
that led to the performance (Sahl, 2017). Moreover, studies have found that recognition increases
performance significantly, this is particularly evident when recognition is exclusively provided to
the best performers (Bradler, 2016). Thus, through organizations understanding the importance
of appreciating and recognizing their employees, not only will employees be willing to push
themselves to their full potential, but overall can increase individual motivation and the
organizations success.
Accordingly, job satisfaction is a key theme that leads to employee motivation through
recognition, promotion, achievement, and the sense of fulfillment. Job satisfaction is directly
correlated with employee motivation, however it is also linked to job performance. Studies have
�ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
21
shown that high satisfaction would lead to an increase in greater work performance, thus
illustrating the correlation among job performance and job satisfaction. Moreover, an employee’s
sense of accomplishment and performance of the task will directly increase job satisfaction,
which links to efficacy and personal wellbeing. For this reason, organizations must ensure their
employees are satisfied with their job and organizations are putting in the theories listed above to
attack job satisfaction in the best possible way, as in turn it will significantly impact the business
in a positive way and ultimately lead to high motivation for individual employees and business
success (Sabir, 2017).
Conclusion
In conclusion, employee motivation is essential to an organization and companies must
be willing to examine employees to ensure they find a motivational theory that accurately
represents the individual. Moreover, motivational theories provide insights into the way people
behave and what motivates them. Thus, it is highly important to recognise and examine how
organizations can achieve maximum motivation and business success. All three of these theories
target specific employee motivation as achievement, growth recognition and work itself
categorized under Herzberg’s motivation factors, similarly, Maslow’s Self Actualization and
Self-esteem, and additionally, McClelland’s Needs of Achievements. Through research we have
found significant factors and variables that might alter an individual’s motivation level, thus by
acknowledging these three most common theories; McClelland’s Three Needs Theory, Maslow’s
Hierarchy of Needs and Herzberg’s Motivation Theory, organizations can identify the best
strategy that would accurately fit into the individuals’ personal variables.
�ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
22
Quiet Quitting and the Great Resignation in the workforce and strategies to alleviate these
problems
Quiet quitting is an emerging trend in the workplace that is creating major workplace
conflict between employees and managers and ultimately resulting in this great resignation
which has disastrous impacts on the organization. This recent phenomenon of the high number
of employees quitting their job in a short time period is called the ´Great Resignation´
(Gittleman, 2022; Langdon & Stryker, 2022). About half of US workers are described as ‘quiet
quitters’; according to new research they fulfill their job description but are psychologically
detached from their work (Constantz, 2022). The ‘Great resignation’ and ‘quiet quitting’ are two
relevant changes, especially since Covid-19 that have significantly affected organizations. This
has forced a shift in the way organizations are approaching their workforce to ensure they are
taking a personal approach to the employees and placing high emphasis on relational, cultural
and self-fulfillment factors tasks. This solution will improve employee work engagement and
ultimately reduce quiet quitters and resignations.
Quiet Quitting and the Great Resignation
Quiet Quitting is a phenomenon in which individuals reduce their enthusiasm at work and
stick to the minimum expectations of their role (Chou et al., 2022.) Quiet Quitting has always
been a term used; however it is a new term for an old concept of employee disengagement. This
term became evident after the great resignation when businesses reported current activity within
their organizations and the ratio of engaged to actively disengaged employees is now 1.8 to 1 in
the US. Meaning, 32% of employees are engaged and 18% disengaged, which is the lowest in
almost a decade (Fuller & Kerr, 2022). Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and the prolonged
�ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
23
time in isolation, employees had the opportunity to think about their work, and how to get a fresh
start, once the pandemic was over (Formica & Sfodera, 2022). As a result, nearly a quarter of
workers plan a job change or retirement in the next 12-18 months (Langdon & Stryker, 2022),
and by the end of 2021, over 47 million Americans quit their jobs (Fuller & Kerr, 2022). This
reveals the extensiveness of this current problem within organizations and the need to
immediately change practices to adapt to this environment. In this problem of quiet quitting and
the great resignation, research has found that certain generations are commonly classified as
‘quiet quitters’ than other generations; with employees who are Gen Z and younger millennials
reporting more symptoms of quiet quitters, therefore significantly contributing to this problem
(Formica & Sfodera, 2022). This is crucial for organizations to acknowledge, so they can provide
more support and initiatives to employees categorized as Gen Z or millennials to avoid any
repercussions.
Cause and impact of Quiet Quitting and the Great resignation
Employee’s quiet quitting and this mass exit of employees referred to as the Great
Resignation, has caused disruptiveness in the workforce and led to a major work shortage in the
economy, ending the relationship between workers and the labor market (Serenko, 2022). Quiet
quitting can be common when employees are faced with unrealistic demands and workloads, as
well as being symptomatic of bad management (Smith, 2022).It is evident “when job demands
(workload, emotional demands, and work-home interference) increase, and job resources (job
control, feedback, social support, and opportunities for learning) decrease, future burnout scores
increase, resulting in a higher number of quiet quitters and elevated resignation rate (Bakker et
al., 2009). Research suggests that there are five main factors that have combined to contribute to
the great resignation that have been intensified by the Covid-19 pandemic. These factors are
�ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
24
referred to as the five R’s: retirement, relocation, reconsideration, reshuffling and reluctance.
Workers are retiring in greater numbers but aren’t relocating in large numbers;
they’re reconsidering their work-life balance and care roles; they’re making localized switches
among industries, or reshuffling, rather than exiting the labor market entirely; and, because of
pandemic-related fears, they’re demonstrating a reluctance to return to in-person jobs (Fuller &
Kerr, 2022). According to Gallups Study, only 10% of full-time employees in America are
satisfied with their job, therefore they are completing their work tasks with no mental or
emotional engagement (Kuzior, 2022). This not only results in poor performance of completed
tasks, reducing the business standards and success, but it also builds this negative work
environment that becomes contagious, leading to everlasting impacts on the organization.
Strategies to alleviate quiet quitting and great resignation
Through research, organizations can tackle the problem of the great resignation and quiet
quitting by analyzing the motivation behind the employee’s disengagement, for example
psychological stress, occupational burnout as well as symptoms of depression and anxiety. Work
engagement is a critical factor when delving into the solution for quiet quitting and the great
resignation as it refers to employee’s self-expression on a physical, emotional, and mental level
during professional performance (Kuzior, 2022). Organizations need to improve their
motivational strategies to target employee engagement and productivity. The Job-DemandsResources (JD-R) model is an example of such a balanced approach that seeks to explain
negative (burnout) as well as positive (work engagement) aspects of well-being by linking it to a
strain and motivation process (Bakker & Demerouti, 2007). Further, they need to provide selfdevelopment opportunities which will ultimately change their mind set, transforming from a
fixed to growth mindset about work tasks. In addition to this, job resources such as social
�ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
25
support, performance feedback and autonomy may instigate a motivational process leading to job
related learning, work engagement and a movement away from quiet quitting and resignation
(Bakker & Demerouti, 2007). Moreover, the solution to the problem should be a shift towards a
sustainable organization that takes a personal approach to the employees and puts emphasis on
relational, cultural and self-fulfillment factors tasks (Kuzior, 2022).
Conclusion
Quiet quitting and the great resignation have particularly stemmed from COVID-19;
therefore this will be a constant problem organizations will have to face for many years to come.
While it is clear that the American workforce is in a state of tremendous trainition, and
subsequently impacting organizations and the way they operate, there is also a very clear that a
primary factor driving those changes is that individuals do want to work for organizations that
meet their needs and wants as an individual (Langdon & Stryker, 2022). Therefore, there is a
solution to this problem in which organizations need to undertake a shift towards a sustainable
organization that takes a personal approach to the employees and puts an emphasis on relational,
cultural and self-fulfillment factors. This will significantly increase employee work engagement
and motivation, resulting in high employee well-being. It’s crucial for organizations to recognize
this issue and adjust to the evolving nature of the workplace by transiting into this shift to
achieve business success.
�ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
26
Chapter 4 redacted to remove personal reflections and any identifying information.
�ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
27
References
Acevedo, A. (2018). A personalistic appraisal of Maslow’s needs theory of motivation:
From “humanistic” psychology to integral humanism. Journal of Business Ethics, 148(4),
741–763.
Alrawahi, S., Altouby, S., Alwahaibi, N., & Brommels, M. Sellgren, S. F (2020). The
application of Herzberg’s two-factor theory of motivation to job satisfaction in clinical
laboratories in Omani hospitals. National Library of Medicine, 6(9), 1-9.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e04829
Alshmemri, M., Shahwan, L. A., & Maude, P. (2017). Herzberg’s two-factor theory. Life
Science Journal, 14(5), 12-16.
Atkinson, J. W. (1964). An introduction to motivation. D. Van Nostrand Company.
Badubi, R. M. (2017). Theories of motivation and their application in organizations: A
risk analysis. International Journal of Innovation and Economic Development, 3(3), 4451. https://doi.org/10.18775
Bahaudin, G., Mujtaba, Razzaq, K., Zareen, M. (2013). Job design and employee
performance: The moderating role of employee psychological perception. European
journal of business and management, 5(5), 46-52.
Bakker, A. B., & Demerouti, E. (2007). The job demands-resources model: State of the art.
Journal of Managerial Psychology, 22(3), 309-328.
https://doi.org/10.1108/02683940710733115
Barto, A. G. (2013). Intrinsic motivation and reinforcement learning. Intrinsically
motivated learning in natural and artificial systems,17-47.
�ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
28
Bendix, R., & Fisher, L. H. (1949). The perspectives of Elton Mayo. The Review of
Economics and Statistics, 31(4), 312–319. https://doi.org/10.2307/1928657
Bradler, C., Dur, R., Neckermann, S., & Non, A. (2016). Employee recognition and
performance: A field experiment. Management science, 62(11), 3085–3099.
Burawoy, M. (1979). The Anthropology of industrial work. Annual Review of
Anthropology, 8, 231–266.
Cadbury, E. (1914). Some principles of industrial organization: The case for and against
scientific management. The Sociological Review, a7(2), 99–117.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-954X.1914.tb02369.x
Carey, A. (1967). The Hawthorne Studies: A radical criticism. American Sociological
Review, 32(3), 403–416.
Carson, C. M. (2005) A historical view of Douglas McGregor’s theory Y. Management
decision, 43(3), 450-460. https://doi.org/10.1108/00251740510589814
Chou, S., Hadley, R., & Jacobs, S. (2022). A team approach to thriving in the face of
workforce shortage. SBI-Online, 9-10.
Constantz, J. (2022). “Quiet quitters” make up half of the US workforce, Gallup Finds.
Bloomberg.com, vol. 1.
Darwin, C. (1859/2008). On the origin of species (revised ed.,G. Beer, Ed.).Oxford.
David A. Gray. (2020). Work better, live better: Motivation, labor, and management
ideology. University of Massachusetts Press.
https://eds.s.ebscohost.com/eds/ebookviewer/ebook/bmxlYmtfXzI3MTY0OTZfX0FO0?s
id=cfc9d305-79ed-461a-aee2-f3c72e974c28@redis&vid=7&format=EB&rid=1
�ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
29
Edward, E. L. (1994). Motivation in work organizations (1st ed.). The Jossey-Bass
Management Series.
Elizabeth A. Fisher (2009) Motivation and leadership in social work management: A
review of theories and related studies, administration in social work, Administration in
social work, 33(4), 347-367. http://doi10.1080/03643100902769160
Ewen, R. B., Smith, P. C., & Hulin, C. L. (1966). An empirical test of the herzberg twofactor theory. Journal of Applied psychology, 50(6), 544–550.
https://doi.org/10.1037/h0024042
Formia, S., & Sfodera, F. (2022). The Great Resignation and Quiet Quitting paradigm
shifts: An overview of current situations and future research directions. Journal of
Hospitality marketing & management, 31(8), 899-907.
https://doi.org/10.1080/19368623.2022.2136601
Freedman, D. H. (1992). Is management still a science? Harvard Business Review, 70(6),
26–38.
Fuller, J., & Kerr, W. (2022). The Great Resignation Didn’t Start with the Pandemic.
Harvard Business Review. Harvard Business Publishing.
Gambrel, P. A., & Cianci, R. (2003). Maslow's hierarchy of needs: Does it apply in a
collectivist culture. Journal of Applied Management and Entrepreneurship, 8(2), 143161.
Gittleman, M. (2022). The “Great resignation” in perspective. Monthly Labor
Review, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://doi.org/10.21916/mlr.2022.20
�ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
30
Gopalan, V., Bakar, J. A. A., Zulkifli, A. N., Alwi, A., & Mat, R. C. (2017). A review of
the motivation theories in learning. In AIP Conference Proceedings, 1891(1), 020043-1,
020043-7. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5005376
Gordon Rouse, K.,A. (2004). Beyond Maslow's hierarchy of needs: What do people
strive for? Performance Improvement, 43(10), 27-31.
Grachev, M., & Rakitsky, B. (2013). Historic horizons of Frederick Taylor's scientific
management. Journal of Management History, 19(4), 512-527.
https://doi.org/10.1108/JMH-05-2012-0043
Gulzar, A. (2015). Impact of industrial revolution on management thought. Sukkur IBA
Journal of Management and Business, 2(1), 1-16. https://doi.org/10.30537/sijmb.v2i1.85
Hanna, M. D. (2021). Hawthorne studies examine human productivity. Salem Press
Encyclopedia.
Harrell, A. M., & Stahl, M. J. (1981). A behaviorist decision theory approach for
measuring McClelland’s trichotomy of needs. Journal of Applied Psychology, 66(2), 242247. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.66.2.242
Heathwood, C. (2013). Hedonism. The international encyclopedia of ethics.
Heil, G., Bennis, W., & Stephens, D. C. (2000). Douglas McGregor, revisited: Managing
the human side of the enterprise. John Wiley & Sons.
https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=hxmCgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR7&dq=Heil,+G.,+Bennis,+W.,+%26+Stephens,+D.+C.
+(2000).+Douglas+McGregor,+revisited:+Managing+the+human+side+of+the+enterpris
e.+John+Wiley+%26+Sons.+&ots=YHFaPGMO3X&sig=rh8DhE_uBn40dNN5_zeIBnS
X6M8#v=onepage&q&f=false
�ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
31
Henderson, M. C. (1995). Nurse executives: Leadership motivation and leadership
effectiveness. The Journal of nursing administration, 25(4), 45–51.
Hoffman, E. (1988). The right to be human: A biography of Abraham Maslow. Jeremy P.
Tarcher. https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1988-97666-000
Hopkins, E. (1982). Working hours and conditions during the industrial revolution: A reappraisal. The Economic History Review, 35(1), 52–66. https://doi.org/10.2307/2595103
Ibrahim, T. O. (2014). A theory of human motivation: the Tirimba grouping theory of
motivation. SOP Transactions on Economic Research, 1(1), 17-21.
https://doi.org/10.15764/ER.2014.01003
Jensen, M. C. (1993). The modern industrial revolution, exit, and the failure of internal
control systems. The Journal of Finance, 48(3), 831-880. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.15406261.1993.tb04022.x
K., Newstrom, J. W. (1989). Organizational Behavior (8th Ed.). Readings and exercise.
Kennedy, J. W., Heinzman, J., & Mujtaba, B. G. (2007). The early organizational
management theories: The human relations movement & business ethical practices
pioneered by visionary leader Mary Parker Follett. Journal of Business & Economics
Research, 5(3).
Keremitsis, D. (1984). Latin American women workers in transition: Sexual division of
the labor force in Mexico and Colombia in the textile industry. The Americas, 40(4), 491504. https://doi.org/10.2307/980858
Khan, S., Nawaz, A., Farzand, A., Jan, Muhammad, I. (2012). Synthesizing the theories
of job satisfaction across the cultural/attitudinal dimensions. Interdisciplinary Journal of
contemporary research in Business, 3(9), 1382-1396.
�ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
32
Koronváry, P., & Horváth, L. (2008). Some thoughts concerning the effects of World
War 2 on the development of modern management theory. HADMÉRNÖK, 3(4), 187193.
Kovach, K. A. (1987). What motivates employees? Workers and supervisors give
different answers. Business Horizons, 30(5), 58. https://doi.org/10.1016/00076813(87)90082-6
Kuzior, A., Kettler, K., & Rąb, Ł. (2022). Great resignation—ethical, cultural, relational,
and personal dimensions of generation Y and Z employees’
engagement. Sustainability, 14(11), 1-9. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14116764
Langdon, E. R., & Bosacki, J. (2022). How to battle the great resignation with deferred
compensation plans. Journal of deferred compensation, 27(4), 16–21.
Locke, E. A. (1982). The ideas of Frederick W. Taylor: An evaluation. The Academy of
Management Review, 7(1), 14–24. https://doi.org/10.2307/257244
Lussierm K. (2019). Of Maslow’s, motives, and managers: The hierarchy of needs in
American business, 1960-1985. Journal of the History of the behavioral sciences, 55(4),
319-341. https://doi.org/10.1002/jhbs.21992
Maslow, A. H. (1943). A theory of Human Motivation. Psychology review, 50, 370-396.
Maslow, A. H. (1943). A theory of human motivation. Psychology review, 50(4), 370396. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0054346
Mayo, E. (1930). The human effect on mechanization. The American economic review,
20(1), 156-176.
McDougall, W. (2000). An introduction to social psychology (14th Ed.). Batoche Books.
McGregor, D. (1957/2000). The human side of enterprise. Reflections, 2(1), 6-15.
�ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
33
McKenna, E. (2012). Business psychology and organizational behavior (5th ed.).
Psychology press.
Mohammad I, M., Tan, K. S., Wan, Y.W. Herzberg’s two factors theory on work
motivation: Does it work for today’s environment?. Global Institute for Research &
Education, 2(5), 18-22.
Nethi, S. (2020). A literature review on Employee motivation. Journal of Engineering
Sciences, 11(6), 1247-1255.
O’Brien, B. (2000). Commentary on The Human Side of Enterprise. Reflections, 2(1), 78.
Pardee, R. L. (1990). Literature review: Motivation theories of Maslow, Herzberg,
McGregor & McClelland. Information Analysis.
Pareek, U. (1974). A conceptual model of work motivation. Indian Journal of industrial
relations, 10(1), 15–31.
Sabir, A. (2017). Motivation: Outstanding way to promote productivity in employees.
American Journal of Management Science and Engineering, 2(3), 35-40.
https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajmse.20170203.11
Sahl, A. (2017). The importance of faculty appreciation and recognition: A case study of
one institution. Humboldt Journal of social relations, 39(39), 246–259.
Schaufeli, W. B., Bakker, A. B., & Rhenen, W. V. (2009). How changes in job demands and
resources predict burnout, work engagement, and sickness absenteeism. Journal of
Organizational Behavior, 30(7), 893–917. http://doi.org/10.1001/job.595
�ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
34
Schein, E. (2011). Douglas McGregor: Theoretician, moral philosopher or behaviorist?
Journal of Management History, 17(2), 156-164.
https://doi.org/10.1108/17511341111112569
Serenko, A. (2022). The Great Resignation: the great knowledge exodus or the onset of
the Great Knowledge Revolution?. Journal of Knowledge Management.
https://doi.org/10.1108/JKM-12-2021-0920
Smith, J. H. (1998). The enduring legacy of Elton Mayo. Human Relations, 51(3), 221249.
Smith, M. B. (1990). Humanistic psychology. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 30(4),
6-21. https://doi.org/10.1177/002216789003000402
Smith, S. (2022). Quiet Quitting: A wake-up call for better management. Personal
Excellence, 27(10), 15-16.
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. (2004/2013). Hedonism.
Steele, F. I. (1964). Review on Work and motivation by Victor H. Vroom. Industrial
Management Review- Pre-1986, 6(1), 106.
Steers, R. M., Mowday, R. T., & Shapiro, D. L. (2004). Introduction to special topic
forum: The future of work motivation theory. The academy of management review, 29(3),
379–387. https://doi.org/10.2307/20159049
Steers, R. M., Mowday, R. T., & Shapiro, D. L. (2004). Introduction to special topic
forum: The future of work motivation theory. The Academy of Management
review, 29(3), 379–387. https://doi.org/10.2307/20159049
Tan, S. K. (2013). Herzberg’s two-factor theory on work motivation: Does it work for
today’s environment? Global Institute for Research and Education 2(5), 18-22.
�ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
35
Taylor, V. (2006). It needn’t end in tiers. Employee benefits, 7–9.
Vsroom, V. H. (1964) Work and motivation (2nd ed.). John Wiley & Sons.
Watson, J. B. (1913). Psychology as the behaviorist views it. Psychological Review,
101(2), 248–253. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.101.2.248
Wickström, G., & Bendix, T. (2000). The “Hawthorne effect” — what did the original
Hawthorne studies actually show? Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment &
Health, 26(4), 363–367.
Wilson, I. M. (2000). Commentary on The Human Side of Enterprise. Reflections, 2(1),
14-15.
Young, P. T. (1952). The role of hedonic processes in the organization of behavior.
Psychological Review, 59(4), 249–262. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0057176
�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Senior Presentations Archive
Description
An account of the resource
This archive contains materials from Wagner’s annual ‘Senior Presentations.’ This event honors outstanding students from each discipline who completed their Senior Learning Community project with excellence. The work is representative of Wagner’s highest standards, and is exemplary of the diversity of subject matter, public-facing scholarship, and civic-minded professionalism our students have attained through their four years here. These students were specially invited to present their work in a formal setting, traditionally the day of Baccalaureate. Students are encouraged to present their work in a format appropriate for their discipline, and so, the presentations vary in their format. Some might be in the form of a short video, or paper abstracts, while others might be posters or music clips. We expect this archive to serve as a resource for generations to come. Congratulations to our Seniors!
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2017 -
Rights Holder
A person or organization owning or managing rights over the resource.
Wagner College, Staten Island, NY
Document
A resource containing textual data. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre text.
Date Digital
2023
Original Format
If the image is of an object, state the type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data
Thesis
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
2023_Psychology_Nankervis
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Skye Nankervis
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
5/1/2023
Title
A name given to the resource
Motivation in the Workforce
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Dr. Jessica England, Dr. Laurence Nolan
Psychology
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
text
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
application/pdf
Extent
The size or duration of the resource.
35 pages
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
U.S. and international copyright laws may protect this work. It is provided by Wagner College for scholarly or research purposes only. Commercial use or distribution is not permitted without prior permission of the copyright holder.
Rights Holder
A person or organization owning or managing rights over the resource.
Wagner College, Staten Island, NY
-
https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/1909/archive/files/895347d9719f5a7ef2cc75c65949fc04.pdf?Expires=1712793600&Signature=Gbt8feA2kqgKuXxtKYsdtqtdaePeaHwfKOCFp60B3daez96aQTQTXYW7c1gjVhv0EX4CFkM7IHoi4Ky%7E9QrNyNhmTqXZRoSrDXiolNVGCk4l7GnAM9RJZyy64A4-6fXTLcIN2B%7ET2ZoVVO6qWZPWu7X1MMqSpUXjtu3dyjN7ubgZLBwhCcLpD7jX4xYtB9O-0szDyicNQ%7ECTx-NDTGeQ55PSBSRQ7K48vKPGedjECQKN5VAyDnuBVzkR5E5h2lhD7%7EMHe4H8ECtZqTuXoXvIrVcUs4KLIFOhXXAGXkjAwtd5DgJocXf80mKz%7En4-dKwrRQDiUJrA9p2aUTUQ17H%7E0g__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM
c0c15021b043bcd03b6fd68dcfd5c0d5
PDF Text
Text
TERROR MANAGEMENT THEORY
1
Prosocial Benefits of Terror Management Theory:
Extended Abstract of Honors Thesis
Justin Siejk
Department of Psychology, Wagner College
Terror management relies on the premise that human beings are purely biological
organisms. Similar to others in the animal kingdom, the human’s only true goals are
self-preservation and survival (Greenberg et al., 1997). However, humans have self awareness,
including awareness of their inevitable demise. Culture brings meaning to the individual that
transcends death and combats death anxieties (Jonas et al., 2002). Self-esteem, the confidence
that one is behaving in line with culture, saves the individual from the anxiety of death (Volini,
2017). Just as individuals go through defense mechanisms when their self-esteem is explicitly
threatened, terror management theory posits individuals will go to great lengths to protect their
self-esteem when made aware of their own mortality. Past research has relied heavily on the
derogation of other cultures to restore self-esteem; this thesis focuses prosocial behaviors as
another avenue of defense (Kunzendorf et al., 1992; Hirschberger et al., 2008).
Terror management effects are predicted to be especially strong in young adults as they
are not particularly focused on their own mortality while still possessing solidified core values of
their culture (Helson & Moane, 1987; Greenberg et al., 1992). Statements pertaining to their own
mortality may have a greater effect on them than on older adults more aware of their aging.
Twenty research participants (ages 19-21, recruited through the Wagner College
Psychology Department participant pool) were each paid four $1 bills at the start of the study.
Participants then responded to a filler survey, followed by the experimental manipulation.
�TERROR MANAGEMENT THEORY
2
Participants were randomly assigned either to two questions about emotions when visiting the
dentist (control condition) or two questions that made mortality salient (“describe the emotions
the thought of your own death arouses” and “describe, in detail, what you think happens to you
after death”). The experimenter was unaware of each participant’s condition.
Following a second filler survey, all participants watched a video from Save the Children.
A time lapse has been shown to be critical for allowing death thoughts to become unconscious
(Greenberg et al., 1992). Following the video, the experimenter stated he was raising money for
Save the Children. Participants were welcome to donate cash or use venmo.
A non-significant trend suggests participants who experienced mortality salience (M =
$6.78, SD = 2.68) donated somewhat more than those in the control group (M=$4.80, SD=1.87),
t(18) = 1.88, p = .077 (see Figure 1). Given that Cohen’s effect size value (d = 0.86) suggests a
high practical significance, the small sample size might not have provided enough statistical
power to test the hypothesis.
Since self-esteem is maintained by acting in line with internalized worldviews, and
prosocial behavior is a value internalized by many cultures, engaging in prosocial behavior is a
suitable way for an individual to restore their self-esteem (Jonas et al., 2008). Individuals
regularly deal with primes of death; therefore, this research is vital to figure out a way to
perpetuate prosocial behaviors and promote acceptance, rather than hostility, towards other
cultures (Yum & Hamlin, 2005).
�TERROR MANAGEMENT THEORY
3
References Cited in Abstract
Greenberg, J., Simon, L., Pyszczynski, T., Solomon, S., & Chatel, D. (1992). Terror management
and tolerance: Does mortality salience always intensify negative reactions to others who
threaten one’s worldview? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 63, 212-220.
Greenberg, J., Solomon, S., & Pyszczynski, T. (1997). Terror management theory of self-esteem
and cultural worldviews: Empirical assessments and conceptual refinements. In M. P.
Zanna (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology, Vol. 29. (pp. 61–139). San
Diego, CA: Academic Press.
Helson, R., & Moane, G. (1987). Personality change in women from college to midlife. Journal
of Personality and Social Psychology, 53, 176-186.
Hirschberger, G., Ein-Dor, T., & Almakias, S. (2008). The self-protective altruist: terror
management and the ambivalent nature of prosocial behavior. Personality and Social
Psychology Bulletin, 34, 666–678.
Jonas, E., Martens, A., Niesta Kayser, D., Fritsche, I., Sullivan, D., & Greenberg, J. (2008).
Focus theory of normative conduct and terror-management theory: The interactive impact
of mortality salience and norm salience on social judgment. Journal of Personality and
Social Psychology, 95(6), 1239–1251.
Jonas, E., Schimel, J., Greenberg, J., & Pyszczynski, T. (2002). The scrooge effect: Evidence
that mortality salience increases prosocial attitudes and behavior. Personality and Social
Psychology Bulletin, 28, 1342–1353.
�TERROR MANAGEMENT THEORY
4
Kunzendorf, R., Hersey, T., Wilson, J., & Ethier, M. (1992). Repressed self-consciousness of
death and insensitivity to religious genocide. Unpublished manuscript, University of
Lowell, Lowell, Massachusetts.
Volini, L. A. (2017). An introduction to global family therapy: Examining the empirical
evidence of terror management theory within the family and social system. American
Journal of Family Therapy, 45(2), 79–94.
Yum, Y.-O., & Schenck-Hamlin, W. (2005). Reactions to 9/11 as a function of terror
management and perspective taking. The Journal of Social Psychology, 145(3), 265–286.
�TERROR MANAGEMENT THEORY
Figure 1
Mean Donations (With Standard Error Bars) as a Function of Experimental Condition
5
�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Senior Presentations Archive
Description
An account of the resource
This archive contains materials from Wagner’s annual ‘Senior Presentations.’ This event honors outstanding students from each discipline who completed their Senior Learning Community project with excellence. The work is representative of Wagner’s highest standards, and is exemplary of the diversity of subject matter, public-facing scholarship, and civic-minded professionalism our students have attained through their four years here. These students were specially invited to present their work in a formal setting, traditionally the day of Baccalaureate. Students are encouraged to present their work in a format appropriate for their discipline, and so, the presentations vary in their format. Some might be in the form of a short video, or paper abstracts, while others might be posters or music clips. We expect this archive to serve as a resource for generations to come. Congratulations to our Seniors!
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2017 -
Rights Holder
A person or organization owning or managing rights over the resource.
Wagner College, Staten Island, NY
Document
A resource containing textual data. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre text.
Date Digital
2020
Original Format
If the image is of an object, state the type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data
Abstract
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
2020-psychology-Siejk
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Siejk, Justin
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
5/1/2020
Title
A name given to the resource
Prosocial Benefits of Terror Management Theory
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Psychology
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
text
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
application/pdf
Extent
The size or duration of the resource.
5 pages
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
U.S. and international copyright laws may protect this work. It is provided by Wagner College for scholarly or research purposes only. Commercial use or distribution is not permitted without prior permission of the copyright holder.
Rights Holder
A person or organization owning or managing rights over the resource.
Wagner College, Staten Island, NY
Psychology
-
https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/1909/archive/files/19ddc07c6cfb628f0884733288f1aa74.pdf?Expires=1712793600&Signature=G3Gb2yLnkw0q-YLtsXOV6SRQNASGZ2ejr0higFG22BmaTShc1k3ypXBCR0rWoIGgnNz8ovDb0qmhYAL2n9wRFK51GJeDXb2QVeFYlU4X1Mmh1vjnBpDTF2y%7EMxIYxVTrMXI3Z4hMHEfuMnbGElGrFFKsh3tOSbkOhCPP8evmkf-PB--QWog3O2AoFTU5Zt-vY6Tl4ckPnOQFvCR2u2yE8Z806TnQ3XW7820%7Egdx15wQqUGgxwTwUwWpXUCGiKx8-vPUESS-i05GtgmqmYf%7ErtaBXixpNFLtR2tsBH4W1Qdglg93MPm1JnXI2I07eLvPamr56aI9LzYJNXXk5pdtVCQ__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM
66b34f48d26f0e001529b3cffc26ba4f
PDF Text
Text
Running head: THE DUNNING-KRUGER EFFECT AND COMPETITION
The Relationship Between The Dunning-Kruger Effect and Competition Entry
Debra Shteinberg
Wagner College
1
�THE DUNNING-KRUGER EFFECT AND COMPETITION
2
Abstract
Studies show that most people are overconfident about their own relative abilities, even
when these abilities are unsubstantiated. Overconfidence plays an important role in a person’s
decision to enter into a competition and this decision can have a significant effect on economic
behavior. In the present study, 30 Wagner College students were asked to answer a 10 question
quantitative reasoning questionnaire with five subsequent questions that asked them how
difficult they thought the questionnaire was, to compare how they think they scored on this
questionnaire to other college students based on percentile rank, and to note how many questions
out of 10 they think they answered correctly. Participants were also asked if they would like to
enter their scores into competition with other Wagner College students and if they would like to
enter their scores into competition with Harvard University students. The relationship between
overconfidence and entry into competition were then analyzed. Evidence of overconfidence was
present, but the results did not support the hypothesis that the proportion of overconfident
Wagner students who enter into a competition with other Wagner students is greater than the
proportion of overconfident Wagner students who enter into a competition with Harvard
students. Implications of this study and future applications of the model are discussed.
Keywords: Dunning-Kruger effect, overconfidence, quantitative reasoning, competition
economic behavior
�THE DUNNING-KRUGER EFFECT AND COMPETITION
3
The Relationship Between The Dunning-Kruger Effect and Competition Entry
Beliefs about one’s abilities are an important ingredient to making decisions. Beliefs that
are misinformed by a person's own overconfidence, however, can lead people to make decisions
with disastrous consequences. The Dunning-Kruger effect explains why people are
overconfident, particularly when they lack the very abilities they believe they possess. The
Dunning-Kruger effect is an observation recognizing that incompetent individuals, or those who
have low levels of ability in a particular area, tend to have high levels of confidence in this
ability (Kruger & Dunning, 1999). On the other hand, individuals who are more competent tend
to have lower levels of confidence in their ability than those who are incompetent.
Overconfidence occurs when an individual's certainty that their predictions are correct exceeds
the accuracy of these predictions (Simon & Houghton, 2003). When people are incompetent in
the strategies they choose to reach success, they suffer a dual burden: They not only reach wrong
conclusions, but they are not competent enough to recognize their own mistakes.
Studies show that most people are overconfident about their own relative abilities, and
unreasonably optimistic about their futures (Camerer & Lovallo, 1999). Individuals are
overconfident in their everyday lives, for example, people report themselves to be above average
in driving ability, their ability to get along with others, and their chances of obtaining jobs that
they like (Moore & Cain, 2007). Overconfidence plays a significant role in people’s decisions to
enter competitions. People compete all the time, whether they notice it or not. They contend with
others for top grades, jobs, trophies, and friends. It is optimal to enter into competitive
environments in which they are certain to do well and to avoid those in which they are doomed
to fail. (Rose et al., 2012).
�THE DUNNING-KRUGER EFFECT AND COMPETITION
4
The relationship between overconfidence and competition entry has been observed in
multiple studies. Researchers have found that gender plays a role in the decision to enter a
competition (Niederle and Vesterlund, 2007). When people decide to enter into a competition,
researchers have noted that they tend to overweight beliefs about their own performance and
underweight beliefs about the performance of their competition, causing them to enter without
full consideration of the entire scenario (Moore et al. 2007). Research done on the relationship
between overconfidence and entry into competitive markets shows that people tend to enter into
competitions they deem “easy” and avoid those they perceive as “difficult” Cain et al. (2015).
The extent to which overconfident individuals enter into competitions can have a
significant effect on economic markets. Overconfidence can have severe implications on industry
profits and wages. If people are generally overconfident about their relative abilities, then in
industries or professions where overconfidence is likely to be largest, industry profits or total
wages may be negative (Camerer & Lovallo, 1999). If a person enters an industry as an
employee with high optimism in his or her ability, but is unable to supply the high quality of
work that they predicted, the firm the person works for loses money. Overconfidence occurs
when decision makers, such as traders, investors, managers and financial analysts, are too
confident about their ability to make the right decision and give appropriate advice. These overly
optimistic estimates of ability can have negative consequences in several domains: People
overestimate their own ability to pick stocks, and then trade stocks too often; they take
inappropriate risks in product development; they overestimate their chances of winning in court
and are therefore too willing to take their lawsuits to trial; and they take excessive risks in
founding firms (Moore et al., 2007). Simon and Houghton (2003) find that overconfident
�THE DUNNING-KRUGER EFFECT AND COMPETITION
5
managers overestimate the success of pioneer products, Malmendier and Tate (2008) find that
confident CEOs are more prone to take value-destroying merger decisions, and Odean (1999)
finds that overconfident investors trade too much.
The goal of the present study is to understand the relationships between overconfidence
and entry into competition. It will first aim to show that individuals with low levels of ability,
determined by low scores on quantitative reasoning questions, will be more confident in how
well they did compared to those who received high scores. Next, it will aim to show the
relationship between overconfidence and competition entry by asking participants if they would
enter their scores into a competition with Wagner College students and if they want to enter their
scores into a competition with Harvard University students, based on how well they perceived
they did. To maintain overconfidence, people might self select into “groups” to help sustain this
confidence. Because of self selection bias, those who are overconfident are likely to want to
remain confident, and therefore likely to choose the “easier” option that will help them do so. It
is expected that the proportion of overconfident Wagner students who enter into a competition
with other Wagner students is greater than the proportion of overconfident Wagner students who
enter into a competition with Harvard students.
Literature Review
The Dunning-Kruger Effect and Overconfidence
Kruger and Dunning (1999) established The Dunning-Kruger Effect across four initial
studies. In their second study in particular, the researchers provided 45 Cornell undergraduate
students from a single introduction to psychology class with a 20-item logical reasoning test
taken from a previous LSAT. After taking this test, participants made three estimates about their
�THE DUNNING-KRUGER EFFECT AND COMPETITION
6
ability and test performance: They compared their "general logical reasoning ability" with that of
other students from their psychology class on a percentile scale, they estimated how their score
on the test would compare with that of their classmates on a percentile scale and they estimated
how many test questions they thought they had answered correctly. The researchers found that
participants in the bottom quartile overestimated their logical reasoning ability and test
performance to the greatest extent. Individuals scored at the 12th percentile on average, but
believed that their general logical reasoning ability fell at the 68th percentile and their score on
the test fell at the 62nd percentile. They thought they had answered 14.2 problems correctly on
average, but actually had a mean score of 9.6. However, participants in the top quartile
underestimated their ability. Individuals scored at the 86th percentile on average, but believed
that their general logical reasoning ability fell at the 74th percentile and their score on the test
fell at the 68th percentile, a significantly lower percentile.
Pennycook et al. (2017) conducted two studies examining this phenomenon using a
cognitive reflection test (CRT), and produced similar results to Kruger and Dunning (1999). This
test aims to measure analytic thinking disposition and can include questions such as the
following: “A bat and ball cost $1.10 in total. The bat costs $1.00 more than the ball. How much
does the ball cost?” A previous study done by these researchers in 2016 determined that around
sixty-five percent of people respond with ten cents, despite this being the wrong answer. A
possible reason for this occurrence is that people tend to be cognitive misers, or they aim to
avoid overusing mental resources in order to conserve energy and rely on solving problems in
the most simple and straightforward manner possible, saying the first thing that comes to mind.
Pennycook et al. (2017) applied the Dunning-Kruger Effect to this problem, believing that
�THE DUNNING-KRUGER EFFECT AND COMPETITION
7
participants who gave incorrect intuitive responses would fail to recognize their biases. In their
first study, participants were given eight CRT items and then asked to estimate the number of
questions they had answered correctly. On average, participants estimated that they had correctly
solved 5.59 CRT problems but the mean was only 3.88. Additionally, those who scored high on
the CRT, receiving a 7 out of 8, estimated that they had scored a 6.36 on average, a statistically
significant underestimation of their actual score.
Kruger and Dunning (1999) claim that incompetence stems from a lack of metacognitive
skills, or ability to know how well one is performing. One reason incompetent individuals fail to
learn that they are unskilled may be because they do not receive enough negative feedback about
their abilities from others in everyday life (Kruger & Dunning, 1999). The researchers give an
example of the common saying, “If you do not have something nice to say, don’t say anything at
all,” to demonstrate how negative feedback is not commonly welcomed. However, it is not
mentioned how competent individuals, who will also experience a lack of negative feedback in
their lives, are able to respond to the issue so differently from those who end up being
incompetent. The researchers also state that even if individuals do receive negative feedback it is
important that they understand why the failure has occurred in order to learn from it, but
oftentimes this understanding is limited. In order to be successful, a person must experience
several factors: skill, effort, and luck. However, in order to fail, lacking just one of these is
enough. It is the inability of individuals to pinpoint why exactly they failed that leads them to
attribute their shortcomings not to factors such as skill or effort, but rather to a lack of luck. By
doing so, individuals are put under the impression that their failures and any subsequent efforts
to correct them, are out of their control.
�THE DUNNING-KRUGER EFFECT AND COMPETITION
8
Kruger and Dunning (1999) studied one particular feedback to which they believe
incompetent individuals are unable to respond: social comparison. The incompetent cannot gain
insight into their own competence by watching the behavior of others. The researchers gave 84
Cornell undergraduate students a 20-question grammar test then asked them to complete a
self-assessment similar to the one given in study one. In the next phase, participants were asked
to grade the exams of five other students and evaluate how competent they had been. After
grading, participants were asked to reassess themselves. As predicted, participants who scored in
the bottom quartile were less able to accurately assess the performance of others than those who
scored in the top quartile. These individuals were also unable to gain insight into their own
incompetence by observing the behavior of other people. Despite observing high performances
by other students, bottom quartile participants did not change assessments of themselves, and
some even raised their estimates. On the other hand, top quartile participants raised their self
assessment rating after recognizing that other participants had not done as well as them. Kruger
and Dunning (1999) attribute their original underestimates to the false-consensus effect. The
participants assumed that because they performed so well, their peers must have performed well
too. This would lead them to underestimate their comparative abilities. The researchers infer that
poor performers provide inaccurate estimates because they are wrong about their own
performance, while top performers provide inaccurate estimates because they are wrong about
other people. Similarly, Simon and Houghton (2003) suggest that receiving little or ambiguous
feedback about prior decisions also increases overconfidence.
Overconfidence and Competition
Overconfidence in one's ability is observed in real life scenarios and can become
�THE DUNNING-KRUGER EFFECT AND COMPETITION
9
problematic when it comes to competition between individuals. For example, Niederle and
Vesterlund (2007), conducted a laboratory experiment in which they examined whether men and
women of the same ability differ in their selection into a competitive environment. Participants
were asked to solve a mathematical task, first under a noncompetitive piece rate and then a
competitive tournament incentive scheme. Although they found no gender differences in
performance, men selected the tournament twice as much as women when choosing their
compensation scheme. The researchers found that men are substantially more overconfident
about their relative performance than women and that these beliefs about relative performance
help predict entry decisions. Such differences in overconfidence and therefore preferences for
competition have economic effects. Holding performance levels between men and women and
job characteristics constant, women are less likely to enter into competitions and therefore less
likely to win them. Consequently, the chance for women to succeed in competition for
promotions or more lucrative jobs decreases.
Cain et al. (2015) further explain the relationship between overconfidence and entry into
competitive markets with varying degrees of difficulty within these markets. In this study,
participants had to complete two quizzes, one easy and one difficult, which represented making a
choice about entering the market with easy or difficult tasks. As they predicted, participants
preferred competing on an easy quiz, in which they believed they outperformed others, over a
difficult one. The better a person believes they are on a certain task, the higher the chance that
they will compete in that task. Therefore, a relationship is developed between task difficulty and
competitive market entry. The economic effect of such a concept is that industries thought to be
“easy” attract more competitors than difficult ones. If competitors believe that running a business
�THE DUNNING-KRUGER EFFECT AND COMPETITION
10
in a certain industry will be easier than another, then the landscape of that industry will become
more competitive. The researchers point out that if there are too few businesses entering into a
particular market, prices will rise and the consumers will be the ones who suffer (Cain et al.,
2015). However, if there is overentry, businesses will waste resources on fixed costs.
When people compare themselves to others, their judgments tend to be short-sighted.
(Moore et al., 2007). Their judgements more closely represent their own abilities with respect to
a task, rather than these abilities in relation to others. When a task is relatively easy or all the
competitors are strong, each individual competitor tends to believe that he or she will be above
average. In other words, people tend to discount the abilities of others and overweight their own.
When a task is simple and people predict they will perform well, they expect that their
performance will be above average, despite the fact that simple tasks are simple for everybody
and not everybody can be above average. When a task is difficult and people expect to perform
poorly, they believe that their performance will be below average, despite the fact that difficult
tasks are difficult for everybody and not everybody can be below average. Therefore,
comparative judgments are often based on short-sighted self-evaluations.
Moore et al. (2007) observed this relationship between overconfidence and entry into
competition. In this study, the researchers aimed to examine the market-entry decisions of three
groups: actual entrepreneurs, working professionals who considered starting their own firms but
did not, and participants in a market-entry experiment. They found that overconfidence played a
role in excess market entry, but such confidence was limited to markets in which entrants felt
confident about their own personal performance, often ignoring the performance of their
competitors. Essentially, they entered markets that they perceived to be “easy,” but avoided those
�THE DUNNING-KRUGER EFFECT AND COMPETITION
11
that seemed “difficult.” Some entry decisions may be seen as easy because success in these
industries (such as coffee shops, restaurants, or retail) is based in part on knowledge or abilities
that most people believe they possess. The researchers noted that entrepreneurs tended to
overweight beliefs about their own performance and underweight beliefs about the performance
of their competition, causing them to enter a market without full consideration of their
surroundings. However, over entry was not observed for all markets. Focusing on oneself
increased entry in simple-rank markets, but decreased entry in difficult-rank markets. This means
that the tendency to be overconfident in oneself without valuing the success of potential
competitors can lead to excess entry in some markets and insufficient entry into others.
A similar result was found by Moore and Cain (2007) who state that people tend to
predict that they will be better than others on easy tasks where their own performance is high, but
worse than others on difficult tasks where their own performance is low. This is because on
skill-based tasks, people have better information about themselves than they do about others,
including those who might be competing against them, so their beliefs about others’
performances tend to be less extreme than their beliefs about their own performances. Doing
well on a task should leave one thinking that they did better than others and doing poorly on a
task should leave them thinking that they did worse than others. Moore and Cain (2007) point
out that when people use their beliefs about their own performance, they are predicting another
person’s performance and that is what allows them to decide to enter into competition. However,
predictions can only go so far since they are based on one’s own beliefs about themselves and
therefore the ignorance of another’s belief. According to Camerer and Lovallo (1999), this is due
to reference group neglect. Reference group neglect predicts that when people compete with each
�THE DUNNING-KRUGER EFFECT AND COMPETITION
12
other based on skill, they will not be insufficiently aware of the quality of competition. One
implication of this is that people will gather too little data about the nature of their competitors
when deciding whether to enter a competition.
Impact on Economic Behavior
Overconfidence is a persistent and prominent behavioral bias found among top
executives and has great influence over their firms’ financial decisions (Yu, 2014). Firms may
often hire overconfident employees for strategic reasons. Overconfident CEOs tend to act more
aggressively in research and development to maintain a competitive edge over their rivals. When
managers, competing to be appointed CEO, are overconfident, they tend to underestimate project
risks and therefore take on more projects than their more realistic counterparts. These managers
therefore have a higher probability of being promoted to CEO. While overconfidence may
facilitate a firm’s economic progress by spurring experimentation, it can lead many individual
firms down pathways to disaster and to ultimate failure.
For example, Simon and Houghton (2003) analyze the impact of CEO overconfidence on
ill-structured decisions made by managers, such as product introductions. They explain that one
important prediction tool that managers use when attempting to forecast the success of their
strategies is called a diagnostic cue. Diagnostic cues allow people to retrieve information from
previous experiences stored in their memory that will help them predict the extent of success in
regards to the scenario at hand (Soll, 1996). They use previous examples of success to make their
current predictions. For example, when predicting the success of a new product, a manager may
use "positive customer feedback prior to an introduction" as a diagnostic cue that has been
frequently associated with the outcome of “achieving positive demand.” Overconfidence steps in
�THE DUNNING-KRUGER EFFECT AND COMPETITION
13
when these managers overestimate the extent to which a diagnostic cue can make an accurate
prediction. Diagnostic cues are especially poor in predictive validity when the context in which
decisions must be made is unfamiliar, such as with a pioneer product, or a product that
incorporates a major innovation (Dean, 1969). Its market is therefore ill-defined, since potential
and decisions usually have to be made recognizing wide margins of error in terms of cost,
demand, and competitor capabilities. In such an instance, the predictive ability of a diagnostic
cue breaks down, but a risk averse manager may not recognize this (Simon & Houghton, 2003).
Instead, the managers become overconfident because they disproportionately observe instances
of the cue's association with positive outcomes, even though they may not pertain to the pioneer
product. Therefore, managers responsible for making decisions regarding the product, may
overestimate the predictive validity of a cue because they have information about the instances
when the cue was associated with a positive outcome and limited information about instances
when the cue was associated with a negative outcome, even if the negative outcome was more
likely. Therefore, the presence of overconfidence encourages managers to pursue actions that are
riskier than those they might have pursued without a biased perception of risk. Simon and
Houghton (2003), find that managers taking riskier actions are too certain they will achieve
success and thereby underestimate risk.
Malmendier and Tate (2003) analyze the impact of CEO overconfidence on mergers and
acquisitions. They looked at Fortune 500 CEOs who held options in their own company’s stock
until the year of their expiration. They state that, “Previous literature in corporate finance shows
that risk-averse CEOs should exercise stock options well before expiration” (Malmendier and
Tate, 2003). By exercising options early, the CEO can diversify his portfolio. But, thet define an
�THE DUNNING-KRUGER EFFECT AND COMPETITION
14
overconfident CEO as someone who will hold an option until its final year, showing that he is
consistently optimistic about the company’s prospects. The researchers argue that
overconfidence can drive the acquirer's, or the company purchasing another company, decision
to merge. Mergers and acquisitions are among the most significant and disruptive activities
undertaken by large corporations. Overconfident CEOs overestimate their ability to generate
returns, both in their current firm and in potential targets. Thus, they undertake mergers their
rational counterparts would not. According to Malmendier and Tate’s (2003) theory,
overconfidence can manifest itself in two ways. On one hand, the manager may overestimate the
value of the potential merger. This stems from the manager’s belief that his leadership skills are
“better than average,” and thereby better than the target’s current management, or from an
underestimation of the downside to the merger due to the “illusion of control” over its outcome.
Because the CEO conducting the merger is essentially replacing the current management of the
target firm with himself, he is likely to feel an illusion of control over the outcome and to
underestimate the likelihood of failure. On the other hand, the manager may overestimate the
value of his current company or that his company’s worth is undervalued by the market.
Malmendier and Tate (2003) find that not only are overconfident CEOs more likely to conduct
mergers on average, but they
are also more likely to conduct bad mergers, or mergers that either have no value or destroy
value for the acquiring firm’s shareholders.
Overconfidence is also an issue in investment and trading. Odean (1999) proposed that
due to their overconfidence, investors will trade too much. People who are more overconfident in
their investment abilities may be more likely to seek jobs as traders. This would result in an
�THE DUNNING-KRUGER EFFECT AND COMPETITION
15
increase of overconfident individuals in the population of investors. Consequently, traders who
find further success in their investments successful in the past may overestimate the degree to
which they are responsible for their own successes and grow increasingly overconfident. Odean
(1999) found that when trading is costly, rational investors will not make trades if the expected
returns from trading are insufficient to offset costs. Overconfident investors, however, have
unrealistic beliefs about their expected trading profits. They may engage in costly trading, even
when their expected trading profits are insufficient to offset the costs of trading, mainly because
they overestimate the magnitude of expected profits. Overconfident investors often believe that
they have useful information, when in fact they have no information.
Cooper et al. (1988) collected data from 2994 entrepreneurs who had recently become
business owners and analyzed it to determine their perceived chances of success. They perceived
their prospects as very favorable. Out of almost 3,000 entrepreneurs, 81% believed that their
chance of success was 70% or higher; and a massive 33% estimated their chance of success to be
100%.
In the world of business and finance, such overconfidence can lead to erroneous decisions
with serious financial consequences. Moosa and Ramiah (2017), state that it is not implausible to
suggest that overconfidence has been a reason for corporate collapses and recurring financial
crises where decision makers put too much faith in their predictions. They give an example of
the collapse of the hedge fund LTCM (Long-Term Capital Management) in 1998 and the
insurance giant AIG (American International Group) in 2008. These events were the results of
blind beliefs in models predicting that something would never happen, which then ended up
happening. The LTCM model was devised by Nobel Prize winners who were known to be good
�THE DUNNING-KRUGER EFFECT AND COMPETITION
16
at solving partial differential equations. It predicted that bond yields could not deviate
significantly, but this was not the case. LTCM’s capital fell from $4.8 billion at the beginning of
1998 to only $600 million in September. Its investors lost 88 percent of their investment
(Stonham, 1999). The AIG copula-based model (a multivariate distribution whose marginal
distributions are uniformly distributed on the interval (0,1) (Kolev & Paiva, 2009)), constructed
by statisticians, predicted that house prices in the United States could not fall nationwide, leading
to overselling of credit default swaps, without adequate financial cover. Terzi and Uluçay (2011)
define credit default swaps as privately negotiated bilateral contracts in which one party, the
buyer, pays a fee or premium to the other party, the seller, to protect himself against the loss that
may be acquired due to exposure to an individual loan or bond as a result of an unforeseen event.
AIG, with $1 trillion in assets, lost $99.3 billion during 2008 (McDonald & Paulson, 2015).
Policy makers, who put too much trust into their models and believed too much in the ability of
the market to correct itself, were false in their predictions, which led to the collapse of their firms
(Moosa & Ramiah, 2017).
The current study will show that individuals with low levels of ability, determined by low
scores on a mathematical series questionnaire (Appendix B), will be more confident in how well
they did compared to those who received high scores. These individuals are expected to rank
themselves higher when comparing how they think they scored on the questionnaire to other
college students, estimate that they received a higher score on the questionnaire than they
actually did, and to find the questionnaire less difficult than participants who are not
overconfident. The relationship between overconfidence and competition entry will be observed
by asking Wagner College participants if they want to enter their scores into a competition with
�THE DUNNING-KRUGER EFFECT AND COMPETITION
17
other Wagner students and if they want to enter their scores into a competition with Harvard
students. It is hypothesized that the proportion of overconfident Wagner students who enter into
a competition with other Wagner students is greater than the proportion of overconfident Wagner
students who enter into a competition with Harvard students. In other words, overconfident
participants will be more likely to enter a competition with other Wagner students.
Considerations of previous literature by Moore et al. (2007) and Cain et al. (2015) led to
the assumption that overconfident participants will be more likely to enter a competition with
other Wagner students rather than Harvard students. At first, it may seem as though
overconfident individuals should be expected to enter into competitions with both Wagner and
Harvard students. The very definition of overconfidence should suggest that these individuals are
confident in their abilities and should be willing to enter into any competition. However, these
researchers have shown that although they have high levels of confidence in their abilities,
individuals do not prefer to enter into competitions pertaining to difficult tasks. It is possible that
they want to maintain their high levels of confidence by self selecting into easier options, which
will help them remain overconfident. In the current study, participants are tasked with entering
into a tournament, or a “winner takes all'' situation. Here, only the winner will be rewarded and
the loser will get nothing, therefore participants should be self-assured that their scores will be
strong enough to win. In this study, the degree of difficulty of the questions does not change.
Rather, the perceived difficulty of the competition itself changes. The options to enter into
competition with students from Wagner, a small liberal arts school with an acceptance rate of
70% (The Princeton Review, Wagner College) and students from Harvard, an ivy-league school
with an acceptance rate of 5%, (The Princeton Review, Harvard College) represent these changes
�THE DUNNING-KRUGER EFFECT AND COMPETITION
18
in difficulty. Harvard was chosen as an option because of the stereotype that students there are
exceptionally smart. Though these questions are rather subjective, it is interesting to observe
whether this stereotype and the name “Harvard” will have an effect on competition entry.
One aspect of the study will examine the Dunning-Kruger effect by measuring
overconfidence among participants. The second aspect will examine if a higher frequency of
overconfident individuals choose to compete with Wagner students compared to Harvard
students.
Method
Participants
Participants were 30 Wagner College students who received access to a Qualtrics
questionnaire link via social media and messaging. Ages of the participants ranged from 18 to 22
years old, ethnicity was mainly white, but included one of each of the following: African
American, Hispanic, and mixed. Out of the participants 3 were male and 27 were female.
Participants did not receive any benefits, such as money or class credits, all participation was
strictly voluntary.
Materials and Procedures
After filling out an informed consent form (Appendix A), participants were asked to fill
out a questionnaire containing 5 mathematical reasoning questions (Appendix B) taken from a
math practice website (Number Series Questions and Answers, 2005). These questions required
participants to have strong quantitative reasoning abilities. After answering these questions,
participants were given 5 self-assessment questions asking them how difficult from 1 to 10 they
thought the questionnaire was, to compare how they think they scored on this questionnaire to
�THE DUNNING-KRUGER EFFECT AND COMPETITION
19
other college students based on percentile rank, and to note how many questions out of 10 they
think they answered correctly. The last two questions asked participants: if you were told that in
a tournament, the student with the greater score would win $10, would you enter your answers
into this tournament with another Wagner College student? Would you enter your answers into
this tournament with a Harvard University student? Participants were not given a timeframe to
complete the questionnaire. A debriefing statement (Appendix C) and scores to the questionnaire
were provided at the end of the survey.
A within-subject design was used in this study, exposing all participants to both
tournament conditions. Each participant was asked whether they would like to enter the scores
into either tournament, one with Wagner students and one with Harvard students. However,
between-subjects would likely have been a cleaner experimental design, as explained in the
discussion.
By using math series questions, the study aims to challenge the participants’ quantitative
reasoning ability. Quantitative reasoning is the application of basic mathematics and statistics
skills, interpret data, draw conclusions, and solve problems (Elrod, 2014). It requires critical
thinking and problem solving. While the questions used in this study (Appendix B) may appear
inconsequential and tedious, the ability to interpret quantitative information is not only relevant,
but critical in the analysis and interpretation of data in real world scenarios.
Examples of quantitative reasoning can be found in areas such as health, economics,
politics, science, engineering, social science, and even the arts. For example, parents face the
vaccination question early in the life of their children. Parents might ask questions like, "What
are the risks associated with vaccinating my child and what are the benefits?" In order to answer
�THE DUNNING-KRUGER EFFECT AND COMPETITION
20
these questions, they must take into account quantitative information, such as disease occurrence
rates in populations over time, or numbers of cases of complications with certain vaccine
preparations (Elrod, 2014). In economics, quantitative reasoning can be applied in understanding
the power of compound interest or the uses of percentages and in research, it can be applied to
analyze accuracy of a statistical study.
.
Results
Overconfidence
To first demonstrate that participants were overconfident in their abilities on the
questionnaire, a series of regressions were performed. The tests analyzed the relationship
between overconfidence and three different variables: estimated percentile rank compared to
other students, estimated score out of 10 questions, and actual score. Overconfidence was
operationally defined as the estimated score divided by the actual score participants received on
the questionnaire. If this number was greater than zero, the participants were said to have
overestimated their scores. If this number was zero or less than zero, the participants were said
not to have overestimated their scores. Five participants overestimated their performance by at
least one question and 25 participants did not overestimate.
As anticipated, participants identified as overconfident (M = 67.00, SD =8.36) rated
themselves as doing better on the questionnaire than other students in contrast to participants
who were not overconfident (M = 57.44, SD = 24.22) (Figure 1). The regression, rank = β0 + β1
overconfidence + ε, was run and the following equation was established: rank = 34.53 + 28.15
overconfidence. Using the T- Distribution table and 29 degrees of freedom, the critical t value
�THE DUNNING-KRUGER EFFECT AND COMPETITION
21
(tc) is found to be 2.045 at a 5% level of significance. The t-statistic for overconfidence, t = 3.09,
is greater than tc indicating that a statistically significant relationship exists between
overconfidence and the percentile rank that participants predicted. The p value from the F-test
also suggests that the regression is valid, Prob > F = 0.0044.
Similarly, participants identified as overconfident (M = 5.40, SD = 0.89) predicted
receiving higher scores in contrast to participants who were not overconfident (M = 4.84, SD =
2.03) (Figure 2). The regression, guess = β0 + β1 overconfidence + ε, was run and the following
equation was established: guess = 2.47 + 2.83 overconfidence. The t-statistic for
overconfidence, t = 4.02, is greater than tc = 2.045 at a 5% level of significance, indicating that a
statistically significant relationship exists between overconfidence and participants’ estimated
score. The p value from the F-test also suggests that the regression is valid, Prob > F = 0.0004.
Also as expected, participants identified as overconfident (M = 3.60, SD = 0.89) received
lower scores in contrast to participants who were not overconfident (M = 6.28, SD = 1.62)
(Figure 3). The regression, score = β0 + β1 overconfidence + ε, was run and the following
equation was established: score = 6.63 - 0.91 overconfidence. However, the absolute value of
the t-statistic for overconfidence, t = 1.09, is not greater than tc = 2.045 at a 5% level of
significance, indicating that a statistically significant relationship does not exist between
overconfidence and participants’ scores. This is also suggested by the p value from the F-test,
Prob > F = 0.2843.
Additionally, a regression was run to identify the relationship between overconfidence
and the perceived difficulty of the math series questions. Participants identified as overconfident
(M = 4.40, SD = 1.34) found the questions to be less difficult in contrast to participants who were
�THE DUNNING-KRUGER EFFECT AND COMPETITION
22
not overconfident (M = 7.36, SD = 1.86) (Figure 4). The regression, difficult = β0 + β1
overconfidence + ε, was run and the following equation was established: difficult = 10.04 - 3.65
overconfidence. The absolute value of the t-statistic for overconfidence, t = -5.23, is greater than
tc = 2.045 at a 5% level of significance, indicating that a statistically significant relationship
exists between overconfidence and perceived difficulty of the questions. The p value from the
F-test also suggests that the regression is valid, Prob > F = 0.0000.
Competition Entry
After establishing the presence of overconfident participants, three subequations were
established to determine the relationship between overconfidence and the participants' decision
to enter into a competition with Wagner or Harvard students. A third equation was included to
observe the relationship between overconfidence and the participants' decision to enter into a
competition with students from both schools. The equations used to model these relationships
are:
Wagner = β0 + β1 overconfidence + ε
Harvard = β0 + β1 overconfidence + ε
Both = β0 + β1 overconfidence + ε
After running the regressions, the following equations and t-statistics were established:
Wagner = 0.70 - 0.002 overconfidence, where tWagner = -0.01; Harvard = 0.48 - 0.02
overconfidence where tHarvard = -0.07; Both = 0.43 + 0.01 overconfidence, where tBoth = 0.04.
However, no absolute values of the t-statistic for overconfidence were greater than tc = 2.045 at a
5% level of significance, indicating that the coefficient, or marginal effect, is not statistically
significantly different from zero for the decision to enter into a competition with Wagner
�THE DUNNING-KRUGER EFFECT AND COMPETITION
23
students, Harvard students, or both. Therefore, the null hypothesis that the proportion of
overconfident Wagner students who enter into a competition with other Wagner students is not
greater than the proportion of overconfident Wagner students who enter into a competition with
Harvard students, cannot be rejected.
Lastly, a proportion test was run to determine what proportion of strictly overconfident
participants chose to compete against Wagner College students and what proportion chose to
compete against Harvard University students. A greater proportion of overconfident participants
chose to enter into a competition with other Wagner students (M = 0.60, SD = 0.22) than they did
with Harvard students (M = 0.40, SD = 0.22) (Figure 5). However, by evaluating the p value of
the z-test, P > |z| = 0.527, it is evident again that there is no statistically significant difference
between the proportion of participants who chose to compete with Wagner students and the
proportion of participants who chose to compete with Harvard students.
Discussion
These results show that several participants could be identified as overconfident in their
ability to perform well on this quantitative reasoning questionnaire. The results also demonstrate
a statistically significant relationship between overconfidence and three other variables:
percentile rank, estimated score, and perceived difficulty. As the number indicating how well
participants think they did on the questionnaire based on percentile rank increased, so did levels
of overconfidence. Similarly, as the number of questions participants believed they got correct
increased, overconfidence increased. As perceived difficulty of the questionnaire increased, the
level of overconfidence actually decreased. As explained by the Dunning Kruger effect,
overconfident individuals have high levels of certainty that their abilities are strong, even though
�THE DUNNING-KRUGER EFFECT AND COMPETITION
24
this confidence is unfounded. Because these individuals are confident in their abilities, they don’t
find this questionnaire as difficult as their non-overconfident counterparts. The observed
relationship between overconfidence and scores was also supported by the Dunning Kruger
effect, as it showed that overconfident participants received lower scores on the questionnaire
than those who were not overconfident. However, these results were not statistically significant
and it cannot be ruled out that this relationship occurred by chance.
These results cannot support the hypothesis that a greater proportion of overconfident
participants will enter into a competition with other Wagner College students than the proportion
of overconfident participants who enter into a competition with Harvard students. Though the
observed proportion of participants entering into a competition with Wagner students was greater
than those entering into a competition with Harvard students, these results were not statistically
significant and again, it cannot be ruled out that this relationship occurred by chance.
There were several limitations associated with this study. One such limitation is the small
number of participants in the study. Had there been a larger sample size, the data would have
likely been more accurate and representative of the population of Wagner College students. A
larger sample size would allow for more accurate mean values and a smaller margin of error.
Only 5 participants were identified as overconfident, making the chance of accurately identifying
the proportion of overconfident participants entering into a competition very low. Had the
sample size been larger, more overconfident participants would have been recognized, which
would have allowed for a far more accurate regression and proportion test, possibly with
statistical significance.
�THE DUNNING-KRUGER EFFECT AND COMPETITION
25
Another limitation of this study was the use of a within-subjects design, rather than a
between-subjects design. In between-subjects, participants would have been assigned to two
different conditions, with each participant experiencing only one of the tournament conditions.
Half of the participants could have been asked whether they would like to enter into a
tournament with Wagner students and the other half could have been asked if they would like to
enter into a tournament with Harvard students. Using this design could provide more confidence
that the differences between the groups, those exposed to Wagner and those exposed to Harvard,
are due to the differing treatments rather than to other treatment factors, such as order effects,
that can occur when the same individual is exposed to more than one treatment. Order effects
occur when participants are exposed to the same treatment conditions, in the same order. This is
especially prominent in within-subject designs. In this study, displaying the same questions
regarding Wagner students and Harvard students, particularly in the same order, could have
made order effects more pronounced. Respondents could have reacted differently to the
questions based on the order in which the questions appeared. Seeing the ‘Wagner question’ first,
could have affected the way they answered the ‘Harvard question.’
Another limitation of the study was the subjective nature of the Wagner and Harvard
options. It was thought that participants would assume entering into a competition with Harvard
students would be more challenging simply based on stereotypes. However, it cannot be
expected that all participants feel the same way about Harvard students’ levels of intelligence
compared to students at Wagner. Because of within-subjects design, it is possible that
participants may have actually been looking at these options as substitutes. Rather than observing
�THE DUNNING-KRUGER EFFECT AND COMPETITION
26
two distinct options, participants may have felt as though they had to have chosen to compete
against Wagner students or Harvard students.
Despite its limitations, this study adds to the understanding of the relationship between
overconfidence, as explained by the Dunning Kruger effect, and entry into competition.
Although the hypothesis that the proportion of overconfident Wagner students who enter into a
competition with other Wagner students is greater than the proportion of overconfident Wagner
students who enter into a competition with Harvard students could not be accepted, the research
provides a basis for future studies. If the study were to be conducted again it is recommended
that a between-subjects design and a larger sample size be used so more tests can be run on
strictly overconfident individuals.
Conclusion
The impact of overconfidence on economic behavior is explained by Simon and
Houghton (2003), Malmendier and Tate (2003), and Odean (1999). Managerial overconfidence
regarding decisions about product introductions, mergers and acquisitions, and trading can lead
severe financial consequences for firms. Moosa and Ramiah (2017) demonstrate how
overconfidence likely led to the collapse of two firms which resulted in severe financial financial
crises. Overconfidence and misguided predictions clearly play a significant role in business,
finance, and simply in everyday life.
However, Kruger and Dunning (1999) explain that overconfidence can be unlearned with
an improvement in metacognitive skills. When Kruger and Dunning (1999) gave participants a
training session to improve logical reasoning skills before being asked to make self assessments,
they made much more accurate judgements. After being given a training packet, participants who
�THE DUNNING-KRUGER EFFECT AND COMPETITION
27
were originally in the bottom quartile were just as accurate in monitoring their test performance
as those in the top quartile. Ehrlinger et al. (2016) state that one effective strategy for improving
accuracy in self assessments is to shift people's attention toward more difficult aspects of a task,
which can inspire more accurate self evaluations among people who demonstrate the most
overconfidence. This agrees with research conducted by Moore et al. (2007) and Cain et al.
(2015). After conducting a study to determine initial levels of confidence, the researchers
manipulated their participants’ attention towards easier or more difficult problems on a general
knowledge quiz. When attention was placed on easier problems, participants with entity views of
intelligence (a belief that intelligence is fixed) showed greater overconfidence in their abilities
than participants with incremental views of intelligence (a belief that intelligence can be
improved). However, when attention was placed on more difficult problems, confidence fell to
the same level for both types of participants, showing that this intervention might help
discourage overconfidence and inspire greater self-insight.
Beliefs about one’s abilities are incredibly important when it comes to decision making.
But in order for beliefs to be helpful in making unbiased and careful decisions, a person must not
be overconfident. A person must not overestimate their abilities, especially when these abilities
are not realistic. Such overconfidence plays a huge role in decisions to enter into competitions,
decisions people have to make in their everyday life. If people are not careful, their misinformed
beliefs can lead to negative consequences.
�THE DUNNING-KRUGER EFFECT AND COMPETITION
28
Works Cited
Cain, D. M., Moore, D. A., & Haran, U. (2015). Making sense of overconfidence in market
entry. Strategic Management Journal, 36, 1–18.
Camerer, C. & Lovallo, D. (1999). Overconfidence and excess entry: An experimental
approach. The American Economic Review, 89, 306.
Cooper, A. C., Woo, C. Y., & Dunkelberg, W. C. (1988). Entrepreneurs’ perceived chances for
success. Journal of Business Venturing, 3, 97–108
Dean, J. (1969). Pricing pioneering products. Journal of Industrial Economics, 17, 165.
Ehrlinger, J., Mitchum, A. L., & Dweck, C. S. (2016). Understanding overconfidence: Theories
of intelligence, preferential attention, and distorted self-assessment. Grantee Submission,
63.
Elrod, S. (2014). Quantitative reasoning: The next “Across the Curriculum” movement. Peer
Review, 16, 4–8
Kolev, N., & Paiva, D. (2009). Copula-based regression models: A survey. Journal of Statistical
Planning and Inference, 139, 3847–3856.
Kruger, J., & Dunning, D. (1999). Unskilled and unaware of it: How difficulties in recognizing
one’s own incompetence leads to inflated self-assessments. Journal of Personality and
Social Psychology, 77, 1121–1134.
Malmendier, U., & Tate, G. A. (2003). Who makes acquisitions? CEO overconfidence and the
market’s reaction. SSRN Electronic Journal.
McDonald, R., & Paulson, A. (2015). AIG in hindsight. The Journal of Economic Perspectives,
29, 81.
�THE DUNNING-KRUGER EFFECT AND COMPETITION
29
Moore, D. A., & Cain, D. M. (2007). Overconfidence and underconfidence: When and why
people underestimate (and overestimate) the competition. Organizational Behavior and
Human Decision Processes, 103, 197–213.
Moore, D. A., Oesch, J. M., & Zietsma, C. (2007). What competition? Myopic self-focus in
market-entry decisions. Organization Science, 18, 440.
Niederle, M., & Vesterlund, L. (2007). Do women shy away from competition? Do men
compete too much? The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 122, 1067.
Number Series Questions and Answers. (2005). The Online Test Center. Retrieved from
http://www.theonlinetestcentre.com/number-series7.html
Odean, T. (1999). Do investors trade too much? The American Economic Review, 89, 1279.
Pennycook, G., Ross, R. M., Koehler, D. J., & Fugelsang, J. A. (2017). Dunning–Kruger effects
in reasoning: Theoretical implications of the failure to recognize incompetence.
Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 24, 1774–1784.
Rose, J. P., Windschitl, P. D., & Smith, A. R. (2012). Debiasing egocentrism and optimism
biases
in repeated competitions. Judgment & Decision Making, 7, 761–767.
Simon, M., & Houghton, S. M. (2003). The relationship between overconfidence and the
introduction of risky products: Evidence from a field study. Academy of Management
Journal, 46, 139–149.
Soll, J. B. (1996). Determinants of overconfidence and miscalibration: The roles of random
error and ecological structure. Organizational Behavior & Human Decision Processes,
65, 117–137.
�THE DUNNING-KRUGER EFFECT AND COMPETITION
30
Stonham, P. (1999). Too close to the hedge: the case of long term capital management LP.
European Management Journal, 17, 282–289.
Terzi, N., & Uluçay, K. (2011). The role of credit default swaps on financial market stability.
Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 24, 983–990.
The Princeton Review (n.d.). Harvard College. https://www.princetonreview.com/college/
harvard-college-1022984
The Princeton Review (n.d.). Wagner College. https://www.princetonreview.com/college
/wagner-college-1023835
Yu, C.-F. J. (2014). CEO overconfidence and overinvestment under product market competition.
Managerial and Decision Economics, 35, 574–579.
�THE DUNNING-KRUGER EFFECT AND COMPETITION
31
Figure 1. Participants identified as overconfident significantly overestimated how well they did,
in terms of percentile rank, on the questionnaire than other students in contrast to participants
ability in contrast to participants who were not overconfident.
�THE DUNNING-KRUGER EFFECT AND COMPETITION
32
Figure 2. Participants identified as overconfident significantly overestimated their scores on the
questionnaire in contrast to participants who were not overconfident.
�THE DUNNING-KRUGER EFFECT AND COMPETITION
Figure 3. Participants identified as overconfident saw lower scores in contrast to participants
who were not overconfident. However, this difference was not statistically significant.
33
�THE DUNNING-KRUGER EFFECT AND COMPETITION
Figure 4. Participants identified as overconfident found the questions to be significantly less
difficult than participants who were not overconfident.
34
�THE DUNNING-KRUGER EFFECT AND COMPETITION
35
Figure 5. A greater proportion of overconfident participants chose to enter into a competition
with other Wagner students than they did with Harvard students. However, this difference was
not statistically significant.
�THE DUNNING-KRUGER EFFECT AND COMPETITION
36
Appendix A
Informed Consent Form
The Department of Psychology at Wagner College supports the practice of protection of
human participants in research. The following information is provided for you to decide whether
you wish to participate in the present study. You should be aware that even if you agree to
participate, you are free to withdraw at any time.
In this study you will be asked to complete a questionnaire. You will be asked to report your
answers 3 demographic questions, 10 math series questions, and 5 self assessment questions.
Immediately following your participation today, you will be provided with more detailed
information regarding the purpose of this study. Although participation will not directly benefit
you, it is believed that information you provide will be useful in furthering our understanding of
perceptions and attitudes.
Your participation is solicited although strictly voluntary. Although this questionnaire will
request some demographic information about you, your responses will be kept completely
confidential. If you would like additional information concerning this study before or after it is
completed, please feel free to contact me by email.
Sincerely,
Debra Shteinberg
Debra.Shteinberg@wagner.edu
Do you consent to these terms?
(1) Yes
(2) No
�THE DUNNING-KRUGER EFFECT AND COMPETITION
Appendix B
Knowledge of Quantitative Reasoning Questionnaire
Demographics
1. What is your age?
_______________
2. What is your gender identity?
_______________
3. What is your ethnicity?
________________
Mathematical Series Questions
1. Look at this series: 42, 40, 38, 35, 33, 31, 28 ... What numbers should come next?
(1) 25, 22
(2) 26, 23
(3) 26, 24
(4) 25, 23
(5) 26, 22
2. Look at this series: 3, 5, 35, 10, 12, 35, 17 ... What numbers should come next?
(1) 22, 35
(2) 35, 19
(3) 19, 35
(4) 19, 24
(5) 22, 24
3. Look at this series: 544, 509, 474, 439 ... What number should come next?
37
�THE DUNNING-KRUGER EFFECT AND COMPETITION
(1) 404
(2) 414
(3) 420
(4) 445
4. Look at this series: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 4, 8 ... What numbers should come next?
(1) 9, 10
(2) 4, 8
(3) 10, 4
(4) 9, 4
(5) 8, 9
5. Look at this series: 28, 25, 5, 21, 18, 5, 14 ... What numbers should come next?
(1) 11, 5
(2) 10, 7
(3) 11, 8
(4) 5, 10
(5) 10, 5
6. Look at this series: 5, 16, 49, 104 ... What number should come next?
(1) 171
(2) 191
(3) 181
(4) 161
38
�THE DUNNING-KRUGER EFFECT AND COMPETITION
7. Look at this series: 664, 332, 340, 170, ____, 89, ... What number should fill the blank?
(1) 85
(2) 97
(3) 109
(4) 178
8. Look at this series: 5, 8, 28, 162, ____, 12870 ... What number should fill the blank?
(1) 1738
(2) 2318
(3) 1288
(4) 2224
(5) 2950
9. Look at this series: 16, 41, 61, 85, ____, 145... What number should fill the blank?
(1) 124
(2) 167
(3) 119
(4) 113
(5) 185
10. Look at this series: 16, 43, 98, 209, ____, 879... What number should fill the blank?
(1) 428
(2) 432
(3) 386
(4) 422
(5) 396
39
�THE DUNNING-KRUGER EFFECT AND COMPETITION
40
Self Assessment
1. How difficult did you find this questionnaire? (On a scale from 1 to 10)
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Not at all difficult
8
9
10
Extremely difficult
2. Compare how you think you scored on this questionnaire to other students based on percentile
rank. (Rank from 1-99)
Note: For example, if you say you are in the 75th percentile this means you scored as
well or better than 75% of students.
Percentile Rank:
______
3. How many questions out of 10 do you think you got correct?
_____/10
4. If you were told that in a competition, the student with the greater score would win $10, would
you enter your answers into a competition with another Wagner College student?
Note: This is a hypothetical scenario.
(1) Yes
(2) No
5. If you were told that in a competition, the student with the greater score would win $10, would
you enter your answers into a competition with a Harvard University student?
Note: This is a hypothetical scenario.
(1) Yes
(2) No
�THE DUNNING-KRUGER EFFECT AND COMPETITION
Appendix C
Debriefing Statement
Thank you for participating in this study!
As a reminder, all of your results will be kept confidential.
This study examines the relationship between knowledge of quantitative analysis,
overconfidence in this knowledge, and the decision to enter into a competition regarding this
subject area.
Each participant was given a questionnaire that contained 10 mathematical series questions
found online.
Based on my review of previous research, I am interested in determining if individuals with
lower levels of proficiency (lower scores on the questionnaire) will overestimate their ability
and performance in this subject area and subsequently enter into competition more often.
Previous studies have confirmed this hypothesis and the phenomenon has been called the
Dunning-Kruger Effect.
If you have any questions or would like a copy of the final research report, please feel free to
contact me.
Contact Information:
Debra Shteinberg - Researcher
Debra.Shteinberg@wagner.edu
41
�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Senior Presentations Archive
Description
An account of the resource
This archive contains materials from Wagner’s annual ‘Senior Presentations.’ This event honors outstanding students from each discipline who completed their Senior Learning Community project with excellence. The work is representative of Wagner’s highest standards, and is exemplary of the diversity of subject matter, public-facing scholarship, and civic-minded professionalism our students have attained through their four years here. These students were specially invited to present their work in a formal setting, traditionally the day of Baccalaureate. Students are encouraged to present their work in a format appropriate for their discipline, and so, the presentations vary in their format. Some might be in the form of a short video, or paper abstracts, while others might be posters or music clips. We expect this archive to serve as a resource for generations to come. Congratulations to our Seniors!
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2017 -
Rights Holder
A person or organization owning or managing rights over the resource.
Wagner College, Staten Island, NY
Document
A resource containing textual data. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre text.
Date Digital
2020
Original Format
If the image is of an object, state the type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data
Paper
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
2020-economics-shteinberg
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Shteinberg, Debra
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
5/1/2020
Title
A name given to the resource
The Relationship Between the Dunning-Kruger Effect and Competition Entry
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Behavioral Economics
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
text
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
application/pdf
Extent
The size or duration of the resource.
41 pages
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
U.S. and international copyright laws may protect this work. It is provided by Wagner College for scholarly or research purposes only. Commercial use or distribution is not permitted without prior permission of the copyright holder.
Rights Holder
A person or organization owning or managing rights over the resource.
Wagner College, Staten Island, NY
Description
An account of the resource
Studies show that most people are overconfident about their own relative abilities, even when these abilities are unsubstantiated. Overconfidence plays an important role in a person’s decision to enter into a competition and this decision can have a significant effect on economic behavior. In the present study, 30 Wagner College students were asked to answer a 10 question quantitative reasoning questionnaire with five subsequent questions that asked them how difficult they thought the questionnaire was, to compare how they think they scored on this questionnaire to other college students based on percentile rank, and to note how many questions out of 10 they think they answered correctly. Participants were also asked if they would like to enter their scores into competition with other Wagner College students and if they would like to enter their scores into competition with Harvard University students. The relationship between overconfidence and entry into competition were then analyzed. Evidence of overconfidence was present, but the results did not support the hypothesis that the proportion of overconfident Wagner students who enter into a competition with other Wagner students is greater than the proportion of overconfident Wagner students who enter into a competition with Harvard students. Implications of this study and future applications of the model are discussed.
Economics
-
https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/1909/archive/files/0518065be333255b039baf5417fa5034.pdf?Expires=1712793600&Signature=GjxAQoUlsN0QvRyoMtwE8LSrqcKc5lcHvsJ2Z4ABKdng77wup3OJtdNGjBwAsAsc6vRF6f1w1D12bglbPugfWNwczxqW7qG1Z-JjIQmXnr0zdF3zb9y1d4uRQZftFHYa9xtuEukzvKbxdxjnY98bS6Rx6FKsPVnaOdUAJZ9SG4bfTvnaBoT5t5h6fpXtB7m5vpXtqgfTPEgYipsXHXQ9F5xz7V%7ExPOXzF60PMyTXVdlbHp6E5L0kfOwJUJIliDu%7EkURU5pyMoRWncUXYTbA-8FYZyw4WGKu2TxWZHu7TNjahoFue%7E7i3Nb3IKjMLt0rNEX0QQPpmbT-M4u0ut-mk2w__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM
bbc23f1e1e556febcf92656822cb5fca
PDF Text
Text
Sex Trafficking In Sacramento, California
Selena Lombardo WCNS, Stephanie Masciulli WCNS, and Kelsey Walsh WCNS
Wagner College Evelyn L. Spiro School of Nursing
Ab str a ct
In Sacramento, California, there has been an increase of
victims who have been involved in the crime of sex
trafficking. Both nationally and globally, people are still
not aware of the severity of this issue, due to the lack of
awareness. The implementation of human trafficking
programs and task forces will provide guidance, in
regards to the prevention, protection and prosecution
approach. As a result of this, nurses will be the key to
diminishing the occurrences of sex trafficking. By
instilling a program in the community’s hospital, nurses
will be trained for these specific situations. Through
training, awareness, and prevention, sex trafficking can
decrease as a whole.
C o m m u n ity Asse ssm e n t
• The city of Sacramento, California has
•
Key words: prevention, sex trafficking, victims,
community, awareness
•
R e fe r e n ce s
1. Jorgensen, J. (n.d.). Sacramento, CA. Data USA.
https://datausa.io/profile/geo/sacramento-ca/#economy
2. ScaleUP Sacramento: An Economic Action Agenda. (2021, January).
City of Sacramento. Available from: https://www.cityofsacramento.org//media/Corporate/Files/EDD/IECD /ScaleUp-Sacramento.pdf?la=en
3. Conduent Healthy Communities Institute (2022, January). Sacramento
County. Be HealthySacramento. Available
from:https://www.behealthysacramento.org/index.php?
module=indicators&controller=index&action=dashboard&alias=alldata&lo
caleId=271
4. Smith, M. D., Cvetnic, N. L., & Miranda, M. (2022, July 21). Sex
trafficking in Sacramento County draws in thousands. The Sacramento
Bee. Available from: https://www.sacbee.com/news/equity lab/representation/article263657403.html
5. Mary C, Brucker. Human Trafficking (2016): Nursing for Women's
Health, 20(3). Pages 324-326. Available from:
https://doi.org/10.1016/S1751-4851(16)30145-3.
6. Edinburgh, L., Pape-Balboli, J., Harpin, S., and Saewy, E. (2015).
Assessing exploitation experiences of girls and boys seen at a Child
Advocacy Center. Child Abuse & Neglect, 46, 47–59.
DOI:10.1016/j.chiabu.2015.04.016
7. Zimmerman C, Kiss L. Human trafficking and exploitation (2017): A
Global Health Concern. 14(11) DOI:10.1371/journal.pmed.1002437.
8. Simmons, J.V., Lee,T., Simmons, M., and López, I. A. (2019). Nurses'
knowledge and attitudes towards victims of sexual trafficking. Florida
Public Health Review: Vol. 11,
Article 10. Available from:
https://digitalcommons.unf.edu/fphr/vol11/iss1/10
9. Roe- Sepowitz, Dominique. (2019). A six year analysis of sex traffickers
of minors: exploring characteristics and sex trafficking patterns. Journal of
Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 29:5 (608-629). doi:
10.1080/10911359.2019.1575315.
Byrne, M., Parsh, S., & Parsh, B. (2019). Human trafficking: Impact,
identification, and
intervention. Nursing Management, 50(8), 18–24. doi: 10.1097/01.NU
MA.0000575304.15432.07.
P r o p o se d So lu tio n
•
•
•
approximately 503,000 residents with a median age
of 35 years old. English is the primary shared
language with 90.7% of residents being US citizens,
with White ethnicity as highest percentage. In 2017,
California had the highest estimated number of
35,798 homeless individuals in the US. “The largest
demographic living in poverty are Females 25 - 34,
followed by Males 25 - 34 and then Females 18 24” (1).
The current unemployment rate, is at 4%, a
dramatic decrease from 13% in 2010. “While
median wages increased by 6% between 2011 and
2016, this was offset by rapidly rising housing
costs, such as a 30% increase in rents” (2). In the
year 2020, the median household income was
$65,847, more than the annual income of the entire
country.
The prevalent issues that primary care physicians
are seeing are related to sexually transmitted
infections, a smoking rate of 13.3%, and asthma,
which is responsible for 9.9% of the county.
As for mental health, a growth of depression in the
Medicare population, is most commonly seen in
women.
“The Age-Adjusted Death Rate due to Diabetes is
29.2 deaths/100,000 population” (3).
Through research at Sacramento State, interviewing
the victims helped to understand the motives and
experiences as a survivor” (4).
P r o b le m in th e C o m m u n ity
• Sex trafficking is described as, “involving the use
of force, fraud, or coercion in order to obtain
some type of labor or commercial sex act” (5).
This can occur to people of any age, gender or
race.
• Sex trafficking is a known worldwide problem
and numbers have increased to 84%.
• The majority of victims targeted are female, of
adult age and trafficked for sex” (7).
• Criminals of sex trafficking are tricking their
predators by luring them in with bribing
techniques.
• The majority of these predators stated that
trafficking occurred by working for a “third
party” involuntarily. Others were trapped by their
relationships.
• The major problem following these instances is,
"over 75% of our people in our country do not
know that sex trafficking and human trafficking is
a prevalent issue in our county" (6).
• The rising numbers of sex trafficking instances
have greatly affected the community of
Sacramento as they are losing many young adults
whom they share similar characteristics with.
• This ongoing occurrence is making many people
in the community feel uncomfortable and unsafe.
• In order to avoid the community from falling
apart, they have decided to work together and
bring awareness to this problem.
• Our solution is “The Protection Awareness
Program” which heightens awareness of sex
trafficking and the methods of prevention.
• The more people aware of this the less victims
there will be
• The Program will be placed in new hire training at
hospitals
• There will be three specific activities
1. orientation for new nurses
2. a yearly staff competency
3. a yearly simulation
• Funds for this will come from hospitals and people
in the community
• Hospitals will want their employees to have this
training, therefore they will not hesitate to purchase
it.
• The community health goal for sex trafficking
would be to increase awareness and identification
for victims of sex trafficking in the community’s
hospital which will host this program
• There are many learning objectives that should be
implemented about sex trafficking in this
population. Specifically for nurses here are three:
1. nurses will be aware of specific signs of
human trafficking
2. nurses will know how to treat a patient who
they believe or is being trafficked
3. nurses will report any signs of trafficking in or
outside of work
.
�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Senior Presentations Archive
Description
An account of the resource
This archive contains materials from Wagner’s annual ‘Senior Presentations.’ This event honors outstanding students from each discipline who completed their Senior Learning Community project with excellence. The work is representative of Wagner’s highest standards, and is exemplary of the diversity of subject matter, public-facing scholarship, and civic-minded professionalism our students have attained through their four years here. These students were specially invited to present their work in a formal setting, traditionally the day of Baccalaureate. Students are encouraged to present their work in a format appropriate for their discipline, and so, the presentations vary in their format. Some might be in the form of a short video, or paper abstracts, while others might be posters or music clips. We expect this archive to serve as a resource for generations to come. Congratulations to our Seniors!
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2017 -
Rights Holder
A person or organization owning or managing rights over the resource.
Wagner College, Staten Island, NY
Document
A resource containing textual data. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre text.
Date Digital
2023
Text
Any textual data included in the document.
text
Original Format
If the image is of an object, state the type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data
Poster
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
2023_Nursing_Group17 Lombardo Masciulli Walsh
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Selena Lombardo, Stephanie Masciulli, Kelsey Walsh
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
5/1/2023
Title
A name given to the resource
Sex Trafficking in Sacramento, California
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Lorrie DeSena
Nursing
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
application/pdf
Extent
The size or duration of the resource.
1 page
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
U.S. and international copyright laws may protect this work. It is provided by Wagner College for scholarly or research purposes only. Commercial use or distribution is not permitted without prior permission of the copyright holder.
Rights Holder
A person or organization owning or managing rights over the resource.
Wagner College, Staten Island, NY
-
https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/1909/archive/files/f723cd92c8a2052845d8e7fe83aa9f07.pdf?Expires=1712793600&Signature=GrUF7GMjLg-NEGZScn%7EkBHMKw7MloqnlZtaCTYN9ybr6pUHj4Y7fGuZfb5JxKdOl7l1z-Mzsy6h2-gnS7w9zK4rNoUz4Gk5aY41aSyYFjfkPXsWBbVpofa8g7sMBXUj2VRuNE8XAD7m8xL2kIO1UhmQDV5KUxsBBL-kBUTCP8i1c6sH69WkC9nb9TYERLbh5be30TyCmuwilS5i2uhnlHYOS3ALYgI7hCz76LE8zmWMw1ipurvgr16WYSIiDLvB07lGNa8gUwvmpZxZYiRC5k6obVuuUcjgzzQaJEIcolXVT1pFMOc3-OkfGX98cLjCTO50V3v4StqfLBC31io%7E7bQ__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM
425725bd0328aa3900091977092b30de
PDF Text
Text
SCITILOP DNA ,SSENISUB ,TNEMNIATRETNE NI NEMOW
ROF TNEMECNAVDA FO LOBMYS A SA TIUSTNAP EHT
Since the Middle Ages, pants had become a Western symbol for masculinity and work that was gendered male like politics, war, and manual labor. Skirts
became a symbol of femininity and for domestic work. Wearing male clothes was scandalous for two seemingly opposite reasons. The first being that imitating
men, by wearing traditionally male clothes, subverted the gender roles and expectations for being a woman, which reduced femininity. The second being that
the different fit of pants on a female’s lower half was sensational and increased sex appeal. Both reactions, as contradictory as they may be, are present
throughout the history of the pantsuit and women wearing pants in general. The adoption of suits, a traditionally male garment, into women’s fashion has
made it possible for women to advance in career fields traditionally dominated by men. The pantsuit has been controversial since it simultaneously imitates
the male silhouette to gain women access to male spaces while representing female power as women claim the pantsuit as a symbol of femininity.
YROTSIH NOIHSAF
Amelia Bloomer, a feminist,
suffragette, and editor
presented her new invention.
The Bloomers, ankle-length
trousers to be worn under the
dress, inspired by the pants
women in the Ottoman Empire
wore. Women could still have a
feminine silhouette in society
but the bloomers underneath
enabled them to have greater
physical mobility and to work
outside the home, mostly in
factories. Amelia Bloomer wore
her invention from 1851 to
1859, when she stopped due to
ridicule from men and
conservative women.
In 1923, Coco Chanel
created her signature skirt
suit, inspired by a
menswear silhouette with a
knee length skirt and
coordinating wool button
down jacket. Chanel’s suit
is a lasting icon in
American fashion,
particularly the pink Chanel
suit worn by Jackie Kennedy
when President Kennedy
was assassinated. The skirt
suit remained a women’s
fashion staple until the
1990s, even as the pantsuit
grew in popularity
simultaneously.
By 1930, 24.3% of American women were
employed, mostly in domestic service or
lower paying clerical work. Fashion began
to respond by developing womenswear for
the working woman. Italian designer and
Chanel rival, Elsa Schiaparelli was inspired
by the surrealist art movement and
exaggerated the silhouette. As part of her
1939 fall/winter collection, she designed a
menswear inspired wool pantsuit which
included single pleat cuffed slacks and a
speckled brown wool jacket with large
buttons. During the time of its debut ‘only
the most unconventional designer would
offer a straightforward pantsuit, and only a
fearless woman would wear it.’" Pantsuits
were still a taboo in mainstream society,
and in some areas still a punishable
offense.
The 1950s represented a return to
The 1980s signaled a boom in
traditional gender roles, A-Line
the popularity of the pantsuit.
silhouettes and sweeping skirts. The
From 1980 to 1987, annual
1960s were ready to change all of
sales of the women’s pantsuit
that. Second-wave feminism fought for
rose by almost 6 million units.
women’s rights. Hippie counterculture
Designers like Saint Laurent
also influenced gender roles by
and Giorgio Armani presented
advocating for pacifism and sexual
the new wardrobe for the
freedom. In 1966, Yves Saint Laurent
business woman, power
introduced Le Smoking Suit, considered
dressing. “Power suits updated
to be the first tuxedo designed for
women. The suit consisted of “a dinner pantsuits with broad shoulder
jacket, trousers with satin stripes
pads, bigger lapels, and
down the side, a white shirt, a black
sharper cuts that emulated a
bowtie, and a cummerbund. The
man's silhouette. These big
powerful look pioneered what the
shouldered jackets and pants
fashion world thought of women in
disguised a woman's figure and
pantsuits and the idea of androgynous
took the focus off her gender,
dress.” Finally women wearing pants
creating a feeling of authority.
was accepted in the mainstream.
�TNEMNIATRETNE
Women in entertainment wearing pantsuits are some of the earliest and most
influential examples in pop culture. Marlene Dietrich, a German actress,
starred in her first American film, Morocco, in 1930 as Amy Jolly, a cabaret
singer, and was costumed in a tuxedo, top hat and bow tie. In the film she
kisses a woman on the mouth, which was the first homosexual kiss in the
history of cinema. This marked the beginning of sexualizing menswear and its
association with perceived transgressive sexuality.
Katharine Hepburn defiantly dressed in menswear for her film roles as well as
in her daily life. When working at RKO Pictures, Hepburn would wear jeans to
set and they would be confiscated from her dressing room while she was
filming. Instead of changing into a skirt, Katherine would return to set in her
underwear and refuse to dress in protest until her jeans were returned.
Diane Keaton starred as the title role in Woody Allen’s Annie Hall in 1977. At
the dawn of the power dressing era, women were inspired to wear high waisted
pants, hats, neckties, and button downs like Keaton donned in her roles and on
red carpets. The early exposure of the pantsuit by Dietrich, Hepburn and
Keaton paved the way for normalizing menswear for women and made it
possible for regular women to advance in male-dominated career fields.
SSENISUB
The pantsuit provided women with a way to integrate into business, finance, and academia by
simultaneously using the male silhouette as a camouflage and a bold feminine statement to
advance in their fields. Since women were permitted to work in professional environments, they
have been subjected to corporate dress codes that highly regulate the pant suit. John T. Malloy’s
The Woman’s Dress for Success Book, published in 1977 states, “In most business offices, the
pantsuit is often a failure outfit… If you have to deal with men, even as subordinates, you are
putting on trouble.”Malloy is also notable for coining the term “power dressing” in the 1975
handbook, Dress for Success. The book concedes the pantsuit’s corporate appropriateness. His
dress code states that “a dark suit, consisting of trousers, and a jacket over a white shirt—
representing a safe option for both men and women. For women, any reference to the erotic
dimension— necklines, spiked heels, slits, but also light fabrics— should be eliminated.” The
female dress code, defined by men like Malloy, set the standard for corporate dress even today.
SCITILOP
Politics is another sphere where the pantsuit has been controversial but
undoubtedly helped women advance and make a statement. Thanks to Senator
Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), 1993 would be the first year a woman would wear pants
in Congress. Bill Clinton was also inaugurated in 1993 which began his first lady,
Hillary Clinton’s reign as the queen of the pantsuit and the first First Lady to wear
a pantsuit in an official White House Portrait. Clinton uses the pantsuit to
symbolize that she is an equal player who occupies her own space within the maledominated political world.
Recent political statements made with the pantsuit also call into question the
politics of the pantsuit itself. For Donald Trump’s first State of the Union speech,
Democratic members of Congress wore “suffragette white” pantsuits to protest the
Trump Administration reversing women’s rights and progress. On the one year
anniversary of that State of the Union address, Melania Trump also wore a white
pantsuit.
The first female Prime Minister of the U.K., Margaret Thatcher, happened to oppose
pants for women but took part in power dressing by imitating the broad shoulders
of a male silhouette in a shoulder padded skirt suit. The pantsuit grants women
access to male spaces and it unapologetically puts women visually on the same
plane as men.
World War II further increased women’s
opportunities for employment and
advancement in society. Men were going
off to war and the workforce back home
needed women to fill the void for the
war effort. From 1940-1945 women in
the workforce increased from 27% to
47%. Many women abandoned their
skirts to become blue-collar workers in
factories. Women’s Levis jeans had been
introduced in 1935 and many found it
easier to wear pants on the job.
Working and wearing pants became an
act of patriotism as one company
offered a “woman-all” jumpsuit for “the
patriotic woman eager to do her bit in
the kitchen or garden.”
�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Senior Presentations Archive
Description
An account of the resource
This archive contains materials from Wagner’s annual ‘Senior Presentations.’ This event honors outstanding students from each discipline who completed their Senior Learning Community project with excellence. The work is representative of Wagner’s highest standards, and is exemplary of the diversity of subject matter, public-facing scholarship, and civic-minded professionalism our students have attained through their four years here. These students were specially invited to present their work in a formal setting, traditionally the day of Baccalaureate. Students are encouraged to present their work in a format appropriate for their discipline, and so, the presentations vary in their format. Some might be in the form of a short video, or paper abstracts, while others might be posters or music clips. We expect this archive to serve as a resource for generations to come. Congratulations to our Seniors!
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2017 -
Rights Holder
A person or organization owning or managing rights over the resource.
Wagner College, Staten Island, NY
Document
A resource containing textual data. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre text.
Original Format
If the image is of an object, state the type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data
Presentation
Date Digital
2021
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
2021_Theater Studies_Yates
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Savannah Yates
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
5/1/2021
Title
A name given to the resource
The Pantsuit as a Symbol of Advancement for Women in the Entertainment, Business and Political Spheres
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Dr. Felicia Ruff
Performing Arts / Theatre
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
text
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
application/pdf
Extent
The size or duration of the resource.
2 slides
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
U.S. and international copyright laws may protect this work. It is provided by Wagner College for scholarly or research purposes only. Commercial use or distribution is not permitted without prior permission of the copyright holder.
Rights Holder
A person or organization owning or managing rights over the resource.
Wagner College, Staten Island, NY
Theatre
-
https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/1909/archive/files/2c150d6e5a997689982cc8d92bc1e323.pdf?Expires=1712793600&Signature=s8ukh3EvfugHbC-Zd49axWOxmdUuENzXoH2l1j%7EawqwEBwvZdqLHra-elSab3BQoDZcq%7E-TZ1XBnnub2dsV2VbKoJU%7EnwEBkv-krulzMNGhN-1O0Q%7ECtK56HIcmM1b8EO%7EVr180YjEcCvIaNfeKTZs54kD8b6hVmVfe3RzbxGsCM7VWICEkzOFGz56N-hqYqwb1TjlHsYo3Cjhgbg2rdv8ye-BDh9EVerqrWsVu9L1T1cHLYwkQCxDlBYBpQBL9yos3lxNlTvE1Rmh4dunxtt5DJ1-ieYSYHwwzL%7E5cbhTRgrwSyaWhlpSO1jlETfKQybcaH489a7-iY%7EnwwOOCtOw__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM
48a7961ed154fe23075d1ee0fa09fcca
PDF Text
Text
Characterisation of Novel Seed Endophytes in Medicago sativa
by
Sarah Lott
Senior Thesis
(Senior Learning Community)
Experiential Component: Research
Department of Biological Sciences
Wagner College
Spring, 2022
Approved by:
Signature
Date
Thesis Advisor, Chair of the Defense Committee: Katherine Moccia, Assistant Professor
1
Signature
Committee member: Donald Stearns, Professor
1
Date
�Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
1. Abstract
2. Introduction
2.1. Members of Seed Endophyte Communities
2.2. Vertical Transmission of Endophytes
2.3. Location of Endophytes within the Seed
2.4. Seed Endophyte Functions
2.5. Plant Growth Promotion among Seed Endophytes
2.6. Alfalfa as a Model Organism
2.7. Summary
3. Objectives
4. Materials and Methods
4.1. Biological Materials
4.2. Other Materials
4.3. Techniques
4.3.1. Culture Based Methods
4.3.1.1. Media Preparation- Alexsandrow’s Media/ Jensen’s Media/
Actinomycetes Media
4.3.1.2. Seed Surface Sterilization and Isolation of organisms
4.3.1.3. Media Preparation- Yoshida Agar
4.3.1.4. Seed Sterilization and Germination
4.3.1.5. Colonization Experiment 1
4.3.1.6. Seed Sterilization and Germination
4.3.1.7. Colonization Experiment 2
4.3.1.8. Seed Sterilization
4.3.1.9. Germination Experiment
4.3.1.10. Colonization Experiment 3
4.3.2. Molecular Methods
4.3.2.1. Colony PCR and PCR cleanup
4.3.2.2. DNA Extraction
4.3.2.3. ITS PCR
4.3.2.4. 16S PCR and PCR Cleanup
5. Results
5.1. Isolation of organisms
5.2. Seed Sterilization
5.3. Colonization Experiment 1
5.4. Seed Germination
5.5. Colonization Experiment 2
5.6. Seed Sterilization
5.7. Germination Experiment
5.8. Colonization Experiment 3
5.9. Colony PCR
5.10. DNA Extraction
5.11. ITS PCR
5.12. 16S PCR and Cleanup
4
4
5
5
6
7
7
8
10
10
10
11
11
11
12
12
12
13
13
14
14
15
15
16
16
16
17
17
18
18
19
20
20
21
22
23
25
25
26
27
29
29
30
31
2
�6.
7.
Discussion
6.1. Summary
6.2. Culture Based Experiments
6.3. Molecular Experiments
6.4. Future Research
References
36
36
36
39
43
44
3
�Acknowledgments
I would like to thank my mentor Dr. Katherine Moccia for helping me through all stages
of this project as well as Dr. Stearns for helping and motivating me throughout my time at
Wagner. I would also like to thank my parents and grandparents for supporting me. I would like
to thank all my friends for helping me throughout my thesis but particularly Hannah Cloutier for
keeping me company in the lab while working and helping throughout the whole thesis process.
This research was conducted at Wagner College which is on the land of the Lenepe people. I
acknowledge the Lenni-Lenape as the original people of this land and their continuing
relationship with their territory.
1. Abstract
The microbiome of plants is essential in their development and health. Seed endophytes
are microorganisms that live within the seeds of plants, the majority of which are believed to be
non-pathogenic, although more research is needed to better understand the function of seed
endophytes. They are present from the beginning growth stages and play many important roles.
A variety of bacterial species have been found as seed endophytes. They have also been found to
have common functions for colonization, benefiting plant growth, and antifungal properties. In
this project, seed endophytes were isolated from surface sterilized Medicago sativa seeds on
selective media for potassium solubilization, actinomycetes, and nitrogen free media. Sterilized
seeds were germinated and planted in Yosida agar. The sterilized plants were then inoculated
with the seed endophyte isolates and uptake of the isolates into the plant roots was measured.
The methods were improved, germinating the seeds in sterile water often led to self toxicity and
the seeds germinated at a much higher rate using the Murashige and Skoog Medium. Several
4
�sources of contamination within the protocol were found and eliminated. The isolates also
underwent DNA extraction and colony PCR for 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Using this method
a Pseudomonas species was identified. Seed endophytes from Medicago sativa were
characterized.
2. Introduction
2.1 Members of Seed Endophyte Communities
Seed endophytes are microorganisms that can colonize the seeds of plants without
causing damage to the plant (Truyens et al., 2014). These microorganisms can be beneficial to
the seeds in many different ways. A great variety of organisms colonize seeds. One hundred
thirty-one bacterial genera have been found as seed endophytes, according to a meta-analysis by
Truyens and colleagues in 2014 (Truyens et al., 2014). This included bacteria identified using
many different methods such as 16S rRNA sequencing, which most commonly identified the
phyla Frimicutes, Actinobacteria, and the genera Pseudomonas, Enterobacter, Methylobacteria,
Pantoea, and Sphingomonas (Ferreira et al. 2008, Mastretta et al., 2009, Johnston-Monje and
Raizada 2011, Liu et al., 2012). 16S rRNA sequencing is the most common genetic tool of
phylogeny and taxonomy, it looks at the 16S rRNA gene is found in all bacteria and archaea, is
large enough for bioinformatics and the function hasn’t changed (Janda and Abbott, 2007). PCR
DGGE was used to find Stenotrophomonas, Ochrobactrum, Pseudomonas, and Enterobacter
species (Hardoim et al., 2012). Bacillus, Pseudomonas, Burkholderia, and Curtobacterium were
isolated from seeds using fatty acid methyl ester profiles (Vega et al. 2005, Graner et al., 2003).
Overall this meta-analysis found that the most common phyla present in bacterial seed
endophytes are Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, and Frimcutes across 25 plant species (Truyens
5
�et al., 2014). A core microbiota of seed endophytes is conserved in maize and its ancestors from
Mexico to Canada (Johnston-Monje and Raizada, 2011).
A study of fungal seed endophytes identified Hormonema, Beauveria, Cladosporium,
Geopyxis, Geomyces, and Sarcinomyces from Pinus monticola seeds (Ganley and Newcombe,
2006). Pini and colleagues looked at the bacterial communities in Medicago sativa and found
that Alphaproteobacteria dominated the plant tissues, but no bands of 16S rRNA were recovered
from surface-sterilized seeds (Pini et al., 2012). MALDI-TOF has been used to find the phyla
Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Frimicutes, and Bacteroidetes within surface sterilized
Medicago sativa seeds (Lopez et al., 2017).
2.2 Vertical Transmission of Endophytes
Johnston-Monje and Raizada found that the conserved core microbiota is vertically
transmitted between generations (Johnston-Monje and Raizada, 2011). Endophytes can enter
seeds in several ways. Vascular connections to the parent plant can act as a path for endophytes
to get into seed endosperm. Shoot meristems which can develop into ovules can be colonized by
endophytes causing the seeds to be colonized (Truyens et al., 2014). This allows plants to pass
beneficial bacteria onto their offspring which might help maintain the stability of endophyte
communities. The endophytes passed down have been shown to be shaped by environmental
stressors experienced by the parent plant (Truyens et al., 2014). GFP gene tagging has been used
to show the transfer of Pantoea agglomerans from inoculated seeds to seedlings in Eucalyptus
(Ferreria et al., 2008). Endophytes from seeds were also found in the same switchblade plants a
year later (Gagne-Bourgue et al., 2012). Mitter and colleagues found that by adding
Paraburkholderia phytofirmans to the plants' flowers it would then be included in the
microbiome of that plant's progeny seeds (Mitter et al., 2017).
6
�2.3 Location of Endophytes within the Seed
Endophytes have been found in the seed coat, crease tissue, and endosperm (Robinson et
al., 2016). FISH has also been used to detect bacteria along the cell walls inside of seeds
(Compant et al., 2011). They have also been found in the intercellular spaces of the root cortex
and vascular system (Puente et al., 2009). Several different endophyte isolates were found using
GFP throughout the vascular system (Johnston-Monje and Raizada, 2011).
2.4 Seed Endophyte Functions
Metagenomic and bioinformatics studies have looked at bacterial endophyte genomes for
common genes and functions. Current evidence does not suggest that endophytes are not specific
to a plant host, so it makes sense that there is a general strategy for host colonization. Prominent
features found across many different species were flagella, plant-polymer degrading enzymes,
protein secretion systems, iron storage, quorum sensing, detoxification of reactive oxygen
species, nitrogen fixation and denitrification, transporters, transcriptional regulators, redox
potential maintenance (Sessisch et al., 2012, Ali et al., 2014). Johnston-Monje and Raizada
tested isolated seed endophytes for similar traits and found that the ones most commonly
observed were phosphate solubilization and the production of acetoin/butanediol
(Johnston-Monje and Raizada, 2011). As discussed below, many of these can benefit plant
growth, such as iron storage, nitrogen fixation, and phosphate solubilization. Others may be
useful for colonizing the plants.
Interestingly, all known protein secretion systems other than type III were found in
endophytes. The type III section system is often used by pathogenic bacteria to control host
response (Sessisch et al., 2012, Ali et al., 2014). Several different plant-ployer dragging enzymes
have been found to help endophytes enter and move through the plant. Similarly, flagella have
7
�been consistently found in seed endophytes; motility may likely be helpful for colonization. The
presence of enzymes used for the detoxification of reactive oxygen species (ROS) have been
found. Plants produce ROS when stressed, or as a response to colonization by microorganisms,
so it seems these enzymes might help endophytes to survive (Sessisch et al., 2012, Ali et al.,
2014). Transporter proteins for the MFS and ABC transport systems have been found in
endophytes, which may allow them to take up nutrients from the plants (Ali et al., 2014). Many
different translational regulators were also found, mostly global regulators that affect cellular
metabolism, which may help respond to nutrients and the environment in the host (Ali et al.,
2014).
2.5 Plant Growth Promotion Among Seed Endophytes
Seed endophytes can provide many different benefits to plants. Several studies have
shown that they can stimulate plant growth. Many different plant growth-promoting traits have
been found in seed endophyte isolates, such as indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) production, phosphate
solubilization, siderophores production, nitrogen fixation, and 1-aminocyclopropane
-1-carboxylate (ACC) deaminase in Bacillus species isolated from tomato seeds (Xu et al.,
2014). IAA is naturally produced by plants to help with cell growth but can also be made by
bacterial symbionts. It promotes plant growth by altering cell orientation, cell elongation and
helping with organ development (Labeeuw et al., 2016). Plant-associated bacteria release organic
acids, which solubilize phosphates into ortho-phosphate. Phosphate in the soil is insoluble
making it unavailable to plants but when microbes convert it to soluble phosphate then it can be
used by the plants (Otenio et al., 2015). Siderophores are used to uptake iron from the
environment, which the plants can then use (Lurthy et al., 2020). Plants produce ethylene under
stress conditions. Bacteria with the enzyme ACC deaminase can lower ethylene levels by
8
�hydrolyzing ACC, the precursor of ethylene, into ammonia and α-ketobutyrate, which can make
the plant more resistant to stress (Gupta and Pandey, 2019). Some bacteria can produce the
enzyme dinitrogenase, which reduces N2 to fixed inorganic nitrogen, putting the nitrogen in a
form that the plants can use (Li et al, 2017). One study found that when cactus seeds were
inoculated with isolated source endophytic bacteria, they grew for a year with no fertilization
getting all of their nutrients from endophytes, the same seeds sterilized with antibiotics they were
unable to grow, but if sterilized seeds were inoculated then growth resumed (Puente et al., 2009).
Bacillus pseudomycoides strain BM1 was isolated from the rhizosphere of alfalfa and has the
ability to produce IAA, siderophores, lipase, cellulase, and pectinase. It was also found that
inoculating the seeds with BM1 increased root and shoot length by up to 21.43% (Knezevic et
al., 2021).
Seed endophytes have also been shown to have antifungal properties. Studies have found
well-known toxins from seed endophyte isolates such as surfactins (C 13, 14, 15), iturins,
mycobacillin (Gagne-Bourgue et al., 2012). Iturnin and surfactins are lipopeptides. They
primarily work by binding to the cell membrane, forming ion channel-like complexes, and
releasing ions from cells, causing cell death (Tran et al., 2022). Surfactins have been shown to
have antifungal properties against several plant pathogens in particular (Vitullo et al., 2012).
Mycobacillin binds to ATP transports on the plasma membrane, resulting in over-release and cell
starvation (Tran et al., 2022). Rice seed endophyte isolates were found to inhibit the growth of
three plant pathogens, Curvularia, Fusarium oxysporum, and Pythium ultimum (Ruiz et al,
2011). The isolated endophyte Bacillus pseudomycoides strain BM1 inhibited F. graminearum, F.
proliferatum, and F. oxysporum in vitro. When seeds were inoculated, the number of seedlings
infected with F. oxysporum were reduced by 25.41% (Knezevic et al., 2021).
9
�2.6 Alfalfa as a Model Organism
Alfalfa (Medicago sativa) is a legume grown in temperate climates around the world and
is often used in crop rotation. It is useful in crop rotation due to its symbiotic nitrogen fixing
bacteria which can help add organic nitrogen to the soil (Pini et al., 2012). Alfalfa has also been
investigated as a possible crop for biomass feedstock to be turned into bioenergy (Sanderson and
Adler, 2008). Alfalfa has also been used in land restoration due to the deep taproot and nutrient
cycling abilities. It is often used as a model species for studies of bacterial symbionts of plants,
especially Sinorhizobium meliloti (Pini et al., 2012).
2. 7 Summary
The microbiome of plants is essential in their development and health. Seed endophytes
are microorganisms that live within the seeds of plants, the majority of which are believed to be
non-pathogenic although more research is needed to better understand the function of seed
endophytes. They are present from the beginning growth stages and play many important roles.
They have been found to be vertically transmitted between generations. A variety of bacterial
species have been found as seed endophytes. They have also been found to have common
functions for colonization, benefiting plant growth, and antifungal properties.
3. Objectives
The objectives of this experiment were to isolate and then characterize seed endophytes
from Medicago sativa. There are many remaining questions about the functions of seed
endophytes. This experiment used both molecular and culture based methods to try and address
some of those questions. Molecular methods were used to genetically identify the isolates.
Culture based methods were used to try and quantify the uptake of each isolate into sterile plants.
10
�4. Materials and Methods
4.1 Biological Materials
Alfalfa Seeds (Medicago sativa), Isolates 1-6
4.2 Other Materials
Media Ingredients
Magnesium sulfate (MgSO4), Calcium Carbonate (CaCO₃), Potassium Feldspar
(AlKO8Si3), Dextrose (C₆H₁₂O₆), Ferric Chloride (FeCl3), Agarose (C24H38O19), Sucrose
(C12H22O11), Magnesium Sulfate (MgSO₄), Sodium Chloride (NaCl), Ferrous Sulfate (FeSO4),
Sodium Molybdate (Na2MoO4), Difco Bacto Actinomycete Isolation Agar dehydrated,
Ammonium nitrite (NH4NO2), Potassium sulfate (K2SO4), Calcium chloride (CaCl2),
Manganese(II) chloride (MnCl2), (NH4)Mo7O2, Boric acid (H3BO3), Copper sulfate (C4SO4),
Potassium phosphate (KH2PO4), Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), LB broth mix, TSA
mix, Murashige and Skoog Medium.
Lab Equipment
Distilled water, Bleach, 1.5ml Eppendorf Tubes, Sterile Petri dishes, 70% ethanol, sterile
1X Phosphate Buffered Saline, p20/p200/p1000 pipettes and sterile tips, PCR tubes, agarose, 1X
TAE, gel box, 15ml tubes, sterile mortar, mason jars, Autoclave, heat block, 28 0C incubator,
Thermocycler, Spectrophotometer, grow lights, nanodrop, and qubit.
Molecular reagents
Invitrogen 27F, invitrogen 1492R, Master Mix, DNA Ladder, DNA loading dye, Promega
Wizard SV Gel and PCR cleanup kit, Qiagen DNeasy Ultra Clean Microbial kit, ITS 4, ITS 9,
and Qubit reagents.
Table 1: Primers used in these experiments
11
�Primer Name
Sequence
27F
5'-AGAGTTTGATCCTGGCTCAG-3’
1492R
5'-AGAGTTTGATCCTGGCTCAG-3’
ITS4
5’-TCC TCC GCT TAT TGA TAT GC-3’
ITS9
5’-GAA CGC AGC RAA IIG YGA-3’
4.3 Techniques
4.3.1 Culture-based Methods
4.3.1.1 Media Preparation- Alexsandrow’s Media/ Jensen’s Media/ Actinomycetes Media
1000ml of Alexsandrow’s Media (K solubilization) was made using 0.5g of Magnesium
Sulfate, 0.1g of Calcium Carbonate, 2g of Potassium Feldspar, 5g of Dextrose, 0.005g Ferric
Chloride, 20g of Agar. The 2g of Calcium Phosphate was left out because there was none in the
lab. 1000 ml of Jesens Media (Nitrogen Free) was made using 20g of Sucrose, 1g of Potassium
Phosphate, 0.5g of Magnesium Sulfate, 0.5g of Sodium Chloride, 0.1g of Ferrous Sulfate, 0.005g
of Sodium Molybdate, 2g of Calcium Carbonate, and 15g of Agar (Jesen, 1941). Potassium
Phosphate was substituted for dipotassium Sulfate. 1000ml of Actinomycetes Media was made
using 22g of Difco Bacto Actinomycete Isolation Agar dehydrated, which contains 2g of Sodium
Caseinate, 0.1g of Asparagine, 4g of Sodium Propionate, 0.5g of Dipotassium Phosphate, 0.1g of
Magnesium Sulfate, 0.001g of Ferrous Sulfate, and 15g Agar. All three media were made by
dissolving the ingredients listed above in 1000ml of distilled water on a hotplate, once dissolved
they were placed within the autoclave (Buxton 8200) and the autoclave was set to the liquid
cycle. Once the autoclave cycle finished they were all allowed to cool. Once cooled enough to
touch the media was poured into sterile labeled petri dishes in the sterile media hood. Once the
12
�plates were cooled and solidified they were placed into lalbed sleeves and stored in the
refrigerator. All other media for this experiment was prepared the same way.
4.3.1.2 Seed Surface Sterilization and isolation of organisms
Fresh 10% bleach solution was made. About 30 Alfalfa seeds were added to a sterile 1.5
ml eppendorf tube. 70% ethanol was added to the tube to cover the seeds and left at room
temperature for five minutes. The ethanol was poured off and 10% bleach solution was added to
cover the seeds and left at room temperature for five minutes. The bleach solution was poured off
and the seeds were rinsed five times with sterile water. 1X PBS was added to the tube to cover
the seeds and they were left overnight at room temperature. The next day a sterile mortar was
used to homogenize the seeds. A p200 was used to pipet 100 μl of homogenized material onto
each plate. Three plates of each media (Alexandrow’s, Jensen’s, and Acintomyeyete) were used.
Each of these plates plus one control per media were placed in a 280C incubator.
Six days later there was growth on all of the plates inoculated with homogenized seeds
and no growth on the control plates. One organism was isolated from the Actinomycete media
(Isolate 1). Two organisms were isolated from the Jensen’s media plates (Isolate 2 and 3). Two
organisms were isolated from the Alexdanrow’s Media plates (Isolates 4 and 5). The organisms
were isolated by touching a sterile loop to the colony and then performing a quadrant streak on
the corresponding media. Each isolate was quadrant streaked twice. The new plates were
incubated at 280C. The original plates were also incubated in order to look for slow growing
organisms.
4.3.1.3 Media preparation- Yoshida Agar
Stock solutions were prepared for the Yoshida Agar in 50ml of distilled water. 2.84g of
NH4NO2 for a 50X solution, 2.18g of K2SO4 for a 50X solution, 3.675g of CaCl2 for a 50X
13
�solution, 6.16g of MgSO4 for a 50X solution, 0.204g of MnCl2 for a 250X solution, 0.01g of
(NH4)Mo7O2 for a 250X solution, 0.143g of H3BO3 for a 250X solution, 0.003g C4SO4 for a
250X solution, 1.07g KH2PO4 for a 250X solution, and 1.55g of EDTA for a 250X solution.
Regular EDTA was substituted for Ferric EDTA and KH 2PO4 was substituted for H2PO4, ZnSO4
was left out.
4.3.1.4 Seed Sterilization and Germination
A 3% bleach solution was made. Alfalfa Seeds were added to a sterile 1.5ml eppendorf
tube. Sterile water was added to the level of the seeds. The tube was then heated on a 400C heat
block (VWR scientific products Select heatblock) for thirty minutes. The water was removed and
70% ethanol was added to cover the seeds and left at room temperature for one minute. The
ethanol was removed and the freshly prepared 3% bleach was added to cover the seeds and left at
room temperature for five minutes. The bleach was removed and the seeds were rinsed with
sterile water. The seeds were left in a small approximately 8 ml petri dish with sterile water and
covered with foil for two days then left to sit under the grow lights for one day.
The original sterilized seeds were not germinating, possibly due to self toxicity. The seed
sterilization was performed again as above but this time they were put in a normal approximately
20 ml sized petri dish at the end with sterile water.
4.3.1.5 Colonization Experiment 1
LB broth was made using the mix. 5ml of LB broth was added to sterilized 15ml tubes
and then inoculated with each of the isolates. They were incubated in the 280C incubator for two
days. The optical density of each isolate was measured using the spectrophotometer. They were
then standardized to 0.01 OD. The Yoshida agar was made by using 1ml of 50X stock solutions
and 200μl of 250X stock solutions and the media preparation as described above. Three plates
14
�per isolate were prepared. Each plate was prepared by using sterilized tweezers to place one
germinated seed on each plate. 100μl of each standardized isolate was pipetted onto the
corresponding plant focusing on the root area. The plants were then placed under the grow lights
for one week.
Tryptic Soy Agar was made using a mix and the media preparation as described above as
a general media for the serial dilutions. Using sterilized tweezers the plants were placed into
individual 1.5 ml eppendorf tubes and weighed, the weight was recorded. 500μl of 1X PBS was
added to each tube; the tube was then vortexed for thirty seconds and poured off; this was
repeated twice. 500μl of 1X PBS was added to each tube and the plant was homogenized with a
sterile mortar. Once homogenized a serial dilution with 1X PBS was performed on each plant up
to 10-6. 100μl of each dilution was plated onto a TSA plate which was then spread with a sterile
loop. The plates were then placed in the incubator at 280C. Two days later all of the plates were
equally contaminated. A TSA plate and TSA plate with the 1X PBS were placed in the 280C
incubator.
4.3.1.6 Seed Sterilization and Germination
Germination Agar was made using 2.22g Murashige and Skoog Medium and 5g of agar
in 500ml distilled water and using media preparation as described above. Seed sterilization was
performed as described above. About ten sterilized seeds were placed on each of the four plates
using sterile tweezers. The plates were wrapped in foil and left on the bench for two days. Then
the plates were placed under the grow lights for one day.
4.3.1.7 Colonization Experiment 2
Made LB broth and added 5ml to 15ml falcon tubes which were inoculated with the
isolates and put in the 280C incubator for two days. The Yoshida agar was made again as
15
�described above but put into mason jars that had been sterilized in the autoclave. The isolates in
LB broth had the optical density measured and were standardized as described above. The
germinated seeds were placed in the mason jars and the rest of the inoculation was performed as
described previously. Had two control plants which were placed in the mason jars but not
inoculated. The Mason jars were placed under the grow lights for one week and the serial
dilutions were performed as described above.
4.3.1.8 Seed Sterilization
The seed sterilization used before germinating seeds was performed but at the end the
seeds were homogenized and plated on LB agar. The plates were put in the 280C incubator for
two days. The same procedure was done with new bleach at 3% and 10%.
The seed sterilization was performed as described above using 3% of the new bleach.
Three plates of Murashige and Skoog Medium with 10 sterilized seeds each were placed under
the grow lights for three days.
4.3.1.9 Germination Experiment
The seed sterilization was performed as described above using 3% of the new bleach. The
isolates were grown in LB broth and standardized to 0.01 optical density using the
spectrophotometer as described above. 15ml of each 0.01 OD isolate (other than isolate 4 which
did not grow enough in the LB broth) were added to a sterile petri dish and twenty sterilized
seeds were added to each dish along with a control petri dish with 15ml sterile water. The petri
dishes were then left under the grow lights for one week.
4.3.1.10 Colonization Experiment 3
One 1L of Yoshida was made as described above. Six of the germinated sterilized seeds
were placed into their own mason jars with Yoshida agar. Three were left as controls and three
16
�were inoculated with 50 ul of 0.1 OD of isolate 2. The mason jars were left under the grow lights
for one week. The plants were weighed and the homogenization and serial dilution were
performed again as described above. The plants were homogenized in 200ul 1X PBS and 50ul of
each dilution were plated on the LB plates and placed in the 280C incubator for two days.
In order to calculate the colony forming units (CFU) per gram the amount of colonies on
each serial dilution plate was counted, anything over 300 colonies was considered too numerous
to count (TNTC). The amount of CFU in 200ul was calculated by multiplying the amount on
plates (amount in 50ul) by four. The CFU per gram was found by dividing the CFU in 200ul by
the weight of the plant in grams.
4.3.2 Molecular Methods
4.3.2.1 Colony PCR and PCR Cleanup
After five days when the isolates had grown a colony PCR was performed. 1μl of
invitrogen 27F, 1 μl of invitrogen 1492R, 12.5μl of Master Mix (Taq 2X Master Mix NEB
#MO270S), 9.5μl dH2O, were added to six PCR tubes. Each colony was touched using a sterile
loop and then the loop was submerged in the corresponding PCR tube. The PCR tubes were put
into the thermocycler (Applied biosystems GeneAmp PCR system 9700) and ran with the
program: 940C- 3 minutes, (940C- 1 minute, 480C - 30 seconds, 720C - 1 minute) x35, 720C - 7
minutes, 40C. An agarose gel was made using 0.3g of agarose, 60ml of 1x TAE, combined in a
150ml flask and microwaved in thirty second increments until dissolved. The flask was left at
room temperature until cooled and then poured into the gel box thing. The ladder was prepared
by combining 8μl of dH2O, 2μl DNA Ladder, 2μl loading dye in a PCR tube. After the cycle had
run 5μl of DNA loading dye was added to each tube, and 5μl of each sample were loaded into
the gel along with the ladder. The gel box was filled with 1x TAE and at 50 volts for thirty
17
�minutes. Once done the gel was imaged using the UV gel box (Fisher scientific Transilluminator
FBTIV-88).
PCR Cleanup was performed using the Promega Wizard SV Gel and PCR cleanup kit.
10μl of PCR product from isolate 2 was used. The kit protocol was followed. The product was
sent to Genewiz for sequencing and the results were visualized using Ugene and identified using
NCBI BLAST.
4.3.2.2 DNA Extraction
Used Qiagen DNeasy Ultra Clean Microbial kit according to protocol to extract DNA
from each of the isolates. Working stocks of ITS 4 and ITS were made. 10μl of Master Mix,
0.5μl of ITS 4, 0.5μl of ITS 9, and 2μl of DNA extraction product were added to each PCR tube.
The PCR tubes were added to the thermocycler and run using the program: 950C - 3 minutes,
(950C - 30 seconds, 550C - 30 seconds, 720C - 30 seconds) x25, 720C - 5 minutes, 40C. Made and
loaded gel as described above. The DNA extraction products were nanodroped (Thermo
scientific nanodrop 2000c). The ITS PCR was performed again with a positive and negative
control.
4.3.2.3 ITS PCR
A PCR was performed using the DNA extraction product. 0.5 μl of ITS 4, 0.5 μl of ITS 9,
and 10μl of Master Mix, were added to 7 PCR tubes. 2μl of DNA extraction product from each
isolate was added to the corresponding tube. The PCR tubes were put into the thermocycler
(Applied biosystems GeneAmp PCR system 9700) and ran with the program: 950C- 3 minutes,
(950C- 30 seconds, 550C - 30 seconds, 720C - 30 seconds) x25, 720C - 5 minutes, 40C. An
agarose gel was made using 0.3g of agarose, 60ml of 1x TAE, combined in a 150ml flask and
microwaved in thirty second increments until dissolved. The flask was left at room temperature
18
�until cooled and then poured into the gel box. The ladder was prepared by combining 8μl of
dH2O, 2μl DNA Ladder, 2μl loading dye in a PCR tube. After the cycle had run 5μl of DNA
loading dye was added to each tube, and 5μl of each sample were loaded into the gel along with
the ladder. The gel box was filled with 1x TAE and at 100 volts for twenty minutes. Once done
the gel was imaged using the UV gel box (Fisher scientific Transilluminator FBTIV-88).
The exact same protocol was repeated using only a positive and negative control.
4.3.2.4 16S PCR and PCR Cleanup
A PCR was performed using the DNA extraction product. 1.5 μl of invitrogen 27F, 1.5 μl
of invitrogen 1492R, 12.5μl of Master Mix, 8.5μl dH2O, were added to 8 PCR tubes. 1μl of DNA
extraction product from each isolate was added to the corresponding tube. The PCR tubes were
put into the thermocycler (Applied biosystems GeneAmp PCR system 9700) and ran with the
program: 940C- 5 minutes, (940C- 30 seconds, 580C - 30 seconds, 720C - 1 minute) x25, 720C 10 minutes, 40C. An agarose gel was made using 0.3g of agarose, 60ml of 1x TAE, combined in
a 150ml flask and microwaved in thirty second increments until dissolved. The flask was left at
room temperature until cooled and then poured into the gel box. The ladder was prepared by
combining 8μl of dH2O, 2μl DNA Ladder, 2μl loading dye in a PCR tube. After the cycle had run
2μl of DNA loading dye was added to each tube, and 5μl of each sample were loaded into the gel
along with the ladder. The gel box was filled with 1x TAE and at 75 volts for twenty minutes.
Once done the gel was imaged using the UV gel box (Fisher scientific Transilluminator
FBTIV-88).
PCR Cleanup was performed using the Promega Wizard SV Gel and PCR cleanup kit.
20μl of PCR product from isolates, 1, 4, 5, and 6 was used. The kit protocol was followed. The
PCR cleanup product was nanodropped and then a Qubit was also performed.
19
�The 16S PCR was performed again exactly as described above. A PCR Cleanup was
performed using the QIAGEN PCR cleanup kit, eluting in 30μl elution buffer and letting the
elution buffer sit for one minute before centrifugation. The products were sent to Genewiz for
sequencing and the results were visualized using Ugene and identified using NCBI BLAST.
5. Results
5.1 Isolation of organisms
Six different colonies were isolated from the surface sterilized alfalfa seeds. Isolate 1
grew on the Actinomycetes media, it was a small yellow round shiny colony. Two colonies were
isolated from the Jensens Media. Isolate 2 was very small round white colonies, isolate 3 was a
larger white fuzzy colony. Two colonies were isolated from the K Solubilization agar. Isolate 4
was a small round white colony, isolate 5 was a large fuzzy white colony with a slightly green
center. There was no growth on any of the control plates. 5 days after the initial isolation another
slow growing colony was isolated. Isolate 6 grew on the K solubilization agar and had small, tall,
hard colonies that were gray with a white coating. These plates can all be seen in Figure 1.
20
�Figure 1: Left to right, Isolate 1 on Actinomycetes agar, Isolates 2 and 3 on Jensen's Media, Isolates 4 and 5 on K
Solubilization Agar, Isolate 6 on K solubilization agar.
5.2 Seed Sterilization
After the alfalfa seeds were sterilized they were placed in an 8ml petri dish with sterile
water and 4 of the 88 seeds germinated. More alfalfa seeds were sterilized and then placed in a
20ml petri dish and 28 of the 66 seeds germinated (Figure 2).
21
�Figure 2: Left, Sterilized alfalfa seeds in an 8ml petri dish with sterilized water after 2 days in tin foil and 4 days
under the grow lights. Right, sterilized alfalfa seeds in a 20ml petri dish with sterilized water after 2 days in foil and
1 day under the grow lights.
5.3 Colonization Experiment 1
After one week under the grow lights the inoculated alfalfa sprouts’ roots and leaves had
grown and the inoculated bacteria could be seen in a halo in the Yoshida agar surrounding the
plant roots (Figure 3).
22
�Figure 3: Alfalfa plants grown on yoshida agar and inoculated with isolates 4 and 5 after one week under grow
lights.
In the first colonization experiment there was an even amount of contamination growth
across all of the plates after two days in the 280C incubator. All plates of an isolate 6 replicate are
shown as a representation but all of the plates looked very similar across all isolates and
replicates (Figure 4). To find the contamination a plain TSA plate was incubated and no growth
occurred, but there was growth on the plate with the 1X PBS used.
Figure 4: Serial Dilutions of homogenized alfalfa sprouts inoculated with isolate 6 on TSA after two days in the
28oC incubator and 1X PBS on TSA after one day in the 28oC incubator.
5.4 Seed Germination
Seeds were germinated using Murashige and Skoog Medium and 88% of the seeds
germinated (Figure 5).
23
�Figure 5: Sterilized alfalfa seeds germinated on Murashige and Skoog Medium after 2 days in tin foil and 3 days
under the grow lights.
Table 2: Effectiveness of methods for germinating Alfalfa seeds
Method of
Germination
Number of seeds
germinated
Total number of seeds Percent of seeds that
germinated
Sterile water in 8ml
petri dish
4
88
0.45%
Sterile water in 20ml
petri dish
28
66
42%
Murashige and Skoog 39
Medium
44
88%
24
�Figure 6: Percent of alfalfa seeds germinated using different methods
5.5 Colonization Experiment 2
In the second colonization experiment there was growth on all of the serial dilution plates
including the control. There were multiple colonies with different colony morphology across all
plates. The contamination was consistent with the dilutions, there was much more growth on the
100 plates than on the 106 plates.
5.6 Seed Sterilization
The alfalfa seed sterilization was performed exactly as before but the seeds were
immediately homogenized and plated onto LB agar, there was growth on the plates. It was found
that the bleach in the lab was one year expired. The serialization was performed again with new
bleach at both 3% and 10% and there was no growth for either (Figure 7).
25
�Figure 7: Left to right, homogenized seeds after seed sterilization using original bleach from the lab on LB agar
after 2 days in the 28oC incubator, homogenized seeds after seed sterilization using new bleach at 3% then 10% on
LB agar after 2 days in the 28oC incubator.
5.7 Germination Experiment
Sterilized seeds were germinated in 0.01 OD of each of the isolates under grow lights for
one week. There was only germination in the control with sterile water. The sterilized seeds in
the inoculants did not germinate (Figure 8).
26
�Figure 8: Left to right, 15 ml of isolates 1, 2, 3, 5, at 0.01 OD and control of sterile water. Each plates with 20 sterile
alfalfa seeds after 1 week under grow lights
5.8 Colonization Experiment 3
In the third colonization experiment one of the controls got contaminated, the other two
had no growth. For isolate 2, replicate 1 had 12 colonies on the 10-6 plate and 125 colonies on the
10-5 plate, replicate 2 had 18 colonies on the 10-5 plate and 178 colonies on the 10-4 plate, lastly
replicate 3 had 2 colonies on the 10-6 plate and 46 colonies on the 10-5 plate. This can be seen in
Figure 9.
27
�Figure 9: Results of third colonization experiment, serial dilutions on LB agar after 24 hours in 280C incubator.
From top to bottom, Control replicates 1-3 and Isolate 2 Replicates 1-3. From left to right serial dilutions 10-6 - 100.
Table 3: Isolate 2 Colony Counts and CFU Calculations
There was found to be 16x108 CFU/g for replicate 1, 18x107 CFU/g for replicate 2, and
2x108 CFU/g for replicate 3 for isolate 2 (Table 3).
Figure 10: CFU per gram of isolate 2 in alfalfa
28
�5.9 Colony PCR
A colony PCR was performed and a band was there for the positive control and for
isolate 2 (Figure 11).
Figure 11: Gel from Colony PCR
5.10 DNA Extraction
A DNA extraction was performed and the DNA extraction product was nanodroped. The
DNA concentration varied by isolates with some having very high concentrations of DNA and
others with very little (Table 4).
Table 4: DNA concentration in extracted DNA product from each isolate
Isolate
Nanodrop DNA
Concentration (ng/µl)
1
185
Graph
29
�2
132.7
3
2.4
4
242.9
5
25
6
56.3
5.11 ITS PCR
30
�An ITS PCR was performed and there were bands for isolates 1 and 4. The bands
appeared to be between 600-400bp (Figure 12).
Figure 12: Gel from ITS PCR
The ITS PCR was performed again using just a positive and negative control; no bands
for either control appeared (Figure 13).
Figure 13: Gel from ITS PCR with only controls
5.12 16S PCR and PCR Cleanup
A 16S PCR was performed using the DNA extraction product, there was a between
2640bp and 1400bp band for the positive control as well as all isolates other than isolate 3
(Figure 14).
31
�Figure 14: Gel from 16S PCR using DNA extraction product
The results from the 16S PCR Cleanup were nandroped and all isolates had very low
concentrations of DNA. A Qubit was performed and very similar concentrations of DNA were
detected for all samples (Table 5).
Table 5: DNA concentration from 16S PCR Cleanup
Isolate
Nanodrop DNA
Concentration (ng/µl)
Nanodrop Graph
Qubit DNA
Concentration (ng/µl)
1
3.9
3.09
4
3.3
2.96
32
�5
2.0
1.93
6
7.2
3.30
The 16S PCR was performed again with a modified PCR Cleanup and the nanodrop
DNA concentrations were higher, between 31 and 16ng/µl.
Figure 15: Gel from second 16S PCR using DNA extraction product
Table 6: DNA concentration from modified 16S PCR Cleanup
Isolate
Nanodrop DNA
Concentration (ng/µl)
Graph
33
�1
31.0
4
23.9
5
16.1
6
22.0
The PCR product from isolate 2 from the colony PCR was sent to Genewiz for
sequencing and using NCBI BLAST was found to be a 99.35% match for several Pseudomonas
partial sequences.
The PCR products for Isolates 1,4,5, and 6 from the 16S PCR were sent to Genewiz for
sequencing. The samples were visualized using Ugene and appeared to be a little bit
contaminated. The samples were identified using NCBI BLAST anyway. Isolate 1 had no
34
�BLAST matches. Isolate 4 was a 93% match for Pseudomonas monteilii. Isolate 5 was a 77%
match for Pseudarthrobacter sp.L1SW. Isolate 6 was an 83% match for Pantoea agglomerans.
35
�Figure 16: 16S sequences for (from top to bottom) isolate 2, 1, 4, 5, 6, visualized in UGene
6. Discussion
6.1 Summary
Seed endophytes from alfalfa were isolated and characterized. The germination of
sterilized seeds was optimized and the best germination was found using Murashige and Skoog
Medium. Two different sources of contamination were identified and eliminated in the
colonization experiment, 1X PBS and expired bleach. It was found that isolate 2 (Pseudomonas
sp) colonized alfalfa at an average of 6x108 CFU/g after 7 days. Using colony PCR and 16S PCR
the isolates were identified as a probable Acintomcyeytes species, 99.35% match for
Pseudomonas species, a 93% match for Pseudomonas monteilii, a 77% match for
Pseudarthrobacter sp, and an 83% match for Pantoea agglomerans. An optimal PCR cleanup
protocol was also developed. The protocols for these experiments were performed for the first
time at this institution and optimized. This created a functioning framework of experiments for
this lab.
6.2 Culture Based Experiments
The germination of the alfalfa seeds was optimized. In the first attempt to germinate the
surface sterilized seeds only 4 of the 88 seeds germinated. This may have been due to alfalfa
36
�autotoxicity. Alfalfa are known to have autotoxicity where water soluble compounds are secreted
which inhibit germination. These allelochemicals are likely produced in the shikimic acid or
acetate pathway. They work by inducing oxidative stress and causing reactive oxygen species to
build up which can result in membrane lipid peroxidation and even cell death (Zhang et al,
2021). When the alfalfa were germinated in a larger petri dish with less seeds 41% more of the
seeds germinated. The highest percentage of seeds germinated when using Murashige and Skoog
Medium, this is a medium for plant growth (Murashige and Skoog, 1962).
There were several sources of contamination that were found and eliminated. During the
first colonization experiment the serial dilution plates were all equally overgrown with
contamination. Since the contamination was the same throughout all of the serial dilution plates
the contamination mostly likely occurred after the dilution had taken place. The most likely
sources were either the TSA plates themselves or the 1X PBS which was used to dilute the
samples. A TSA plate and a TSA plate with 50ul of 1X PBS were left in the incubator. There
was no growth on the plain TSA plate but there was growth on the 1X PBS plate (Figure 4). This
indicates that the 1X PBS was the source of this contamination. The lab is a shared space among
both research students and students using the space for lab assignments for classes. 1X PBS is
very commonly used in many different experiments. There were many different opportunities for
the 1X PBS to become contaminated.
In the second colonization experiment there was still contamination but the
contamination was serially diluted. There were several different types of colonies on each plate
including the control but the distribution through the dilutions was what was expected. The
contamination being diluted means that the contamination had to occur before the serial dilution
step. It also means that the original source of contamination had been eliminated. In order to find
37
�this new source of contamination the earlier steps within the protocol were evaluated. The first
step is sterilizing the seeds which are then germinated. The seeds were sterilized according to the
original procedure and immediately homogenized rather than germinated. The homogenization
was plated on LB agar and there was growth so the original seed sterilization procedure was not
working (Figure 7). The bleach used during this procedure was the bleach used to clean the labs.
After examining all the reagents used to the procedure it was found that the bleach in the lab was
over a year expired. The seed sterilization was performed again with fresh bleach at both 3% and
10% bleach concentrations and there was no growth on the plates (Figure 7). The issue with the
procedure was the expired bleach and when fresh bleach was used the seeds were sterile so that
source of contamination was eliminated. Since there was no growth on plates at both
concentrations the issue was the bleach itself and not the concentration of the bleach so going
forwards 3% of the fresh bleach continued to be used for this procedure.
The colonization experiment was repeated but less seeds germinated. This could be due
to the fresh bleach in the sterilization protocol. Due to the amount of germinated seeds the
colonization experiment was performed with only controls and isolate 2 since isolate 2 was able
to be identified at that point. There was no growth on any of the plates for two of the controls but
one of the controls had growth on the plates (Figure 9). The growth followed the serial dilutions
and the colony morphology was the same as isolate 2. The serial dilutions and plating for the
isolate 2 replicates was done before the controls. The control that was contaminated was the first
control replicate so it is possible that the contamination occurred during the procedure. There
was found to be 16x108 CFU/g for isolate 2 replicate, 1. 18x107 CFU/g for isolate replicate 2,
and 2x108 CFU/g for isolate 2 replicate 3 (Table 3). These values are similar to what has been
38
�found for other Pseudomonas species colonizing alfalfa. P. fluorescens F113 has been found to
colonize alfalfa roots at a level of 2.9x107 CFU/g at day 7 (Villacieros et al., 2003).
None of the seeds germinated in the presence of 0.01 OD of the isolates (Figure 8). This
could mean that the isolates are plant pathogens. Since all of them did not grow there also could
have been an issue with the protocol or calculations. There was also an unexpected amount of
turbidity in the water for 0.1 OD. This could indicate that the calculations were off or the
spectrophotometer values were off. The spectrophotometer is quite old and infrequently used so
it is very possible that the calibration is off. The control group of sterile water had an expected
amount of germination which indicates that there was not an issue with the protocol. This
experiment could be run again using a different spectrophotometer and having another person
double check all calculations.
6.3 Molecular Experiments
A colony PCR is performed by touching a sterile loop to an isolated colony on an agar
plate and using that as the DNA template for the PCR. When this was done there was only a
band for one of the isolates, isolate 2 (Figure 11). Colony PCR is a lab technique usually used for
rapid screening of yeasts or bacteria. Since it relies on using an isolated colony as the DNA
template rather than DNA that has been extracted, often they do not work. This is because the
membrane of the cells is unable to be broken open during the PCR. Since gram positive bacteria
have a thick peptidoglycan cell wall they are harder to break open using colony PCR. The one
organism that was amplified during the colony PCR was later found to be a Pseudomonas sp.
which are gram negative. Other than isolate 4, the other isolates that underwent the colony PCR
were later identified as gram positive organisms which might explain why they were not
amplified by the colony PCR.
39
�The first time that the ITS PCR was performed there were bands for some of the isolates
but they appeared to be the wrong length (Figure 12). The protocol was done again with a
positive and negative control and no bands appeared for either (Figure 13). It was confirmed that
the primers used were correct and the DNA extraction products were nanodropped and other than
isolate 3 all had fairly high concentrations. Later bands were found for all isolates other than
isolate 3 during the 16S PCR, meaning that the isolates were all either bacteria or archaea. This
would explain why there was no amplification during the ITS PCR as the ITS region is found in
fungi (Martin and Rygiewicz, 2005). If none of the isolates were fungi then there is no ITS
region to amplify.
A 16S PCR was performed using the DNA extraction products and there were bands for
all isolates other than isolate 3 which is to be expected since the initial DNA concentration for
that sample was very low (Figure 14). A PCR cleanup was performed using the Promega Wizard
SV Gel and PCR cleanup kit and the DNA was eluted in 50ul sterile water. The DNA
concentrations were very low using both the nanodrop and Qubit DNA concentrations between
1-3 ng/ul were found (Table 5). The PCR was performed again with the same results for the gel.
The PCR cleanup was performed using the QIAGEN PCR cleanup kit and the DNA was eluted
in 30ul of elution buffer and let to sit for one minute before the final centrifugation. After this
change to the protocol DNA concentrations between 16-31 ng/ul were found (Table 6). For this
kit DNA elution is most efficient under slightly basic conditions (pH between 7 and 8.5) with a
low salt concentration (Kit handbook). DNA is more stable at this slightly basic pH because
hydroxide ions can interrupt the hydrogen bonds in the DNA. It being more stable allows it to
dissolve faster in the buffer which is important as the elution step is very quick. The pH of the
40
�sterile water used for the initial elution was not tested and if the pH was too acidic that could
have interfered with the elution and caused the low DNA concentrations initially found.
Isolate 1 was unable to be identified using molecular techniques. It was amplified using
16S primers meaning that it is either a bacteria or archaea. It was also isolated on actinomycetes
selective media. Therefore it is very likely an actinomycetes species. Actinomycetes are a
common endophyte with 123 actinomycete strains having been found in over 113 species of
plants (Matsumoto and Takahashi, 2017). They have been found to have some plant growth
promoting properties along with antibacterial and antifungal activity (Shan et al., 2018). Of 46
actinomycetes isolates from tea plants 93.5% produced indole acetic acid (IAA) and 21.7%
produced 1-aminocyclopropane- 1-carboxylic acid (ACC) deaminase.
Isolate 2 was identified using DNA sequencing as a 99.35% match for Pseudomonas
species. Isolate 4 was also identified as a 93% match for Pseudomonas monteilii. These isolates
both have very similar colony morphology so it makes sense that they are both Pseudomonas
species. Pseudomonas spp. have been found as a seed endophytes in several different plants
using many different technologies such as 16S rRNA Sequencing, PCR DGGE, and fatty acid
methyl ester profiles (Ferreira et al. 2008, Mastretta et al., 2009, Johnston-Monje and Raizada
2011, Liu et al., 2012, Hardoim et al., 2012, Vega et al. 2005, Graner et al., 2003). Pseudomonas
have been found using both MALDI-TOF and 16S rRNA gene sequencing in alfalfa seeds
(Lopez et al, 2017). P. monteilii has been isolated from surface sterilized Salvadora persica (the
toothbrush tree) leaves, shoots, and roots (Korejo et al., 2019). It has been shown to have a zone
of inhibition and the lysis of fungal hyphae against M. phaseolina, F. solani, F. oxysporum and R.
solani, which are all root infecting fungi. It was also found to have a positive effect on sunflower
growth. Similar results were found in Okra where P. monteilii was shown to reduce infection of
41
�M. phaseolina, F. solani, and P. decumbens in okra roots alongside Penicillin (Urooj et al., 2020).
In a mixture with Penicillin it was also found to improve okra height, weight and polyphenol
production. Pseudomonas fluorescens F113 has been found to have several plant growth
promoting features and siderophore production, 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC)
deaminase activity, and inorganic phosphate solubilization (Lally et al., 2017). P. fluorescens
F113 has been found to increase crop height, and stem, leaf and pod biomass in field experiments
using Brassica napus.
Isolate 5 was identified as a 77% match for Pseudarthrobacter sp. L1SW complete
genome. This species is unpublished and was uploaded directly to NCBI by Li, J at the School of
Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiaotong University (NCBI website). Another
Pseudarthrobacter species, Pseudarthrobacter phenanthrenivorans strain MHSD1, has been
isolated from surface sterilized leaves of Pellaea calomelanos, which is a species of fern
(Tshishonga and Serepa-Dlamini, 2020). A different Pseudarthrobacter species has been
identified in the rhizosphere of D. antarctica from King George Island in the Antarctic peninsula
(Marian et al, 2022). Pseudarthrobacter have also been found in sterlized roots of tobacco plants
(Shimasaki et al., 2021). While not much is known about the role of Pseudarthrobacter species
as endophytes they have been found in a broad range of plants and environments. Isolate 3 was
never able to be identified since there was a very low DNA concentration after DNA extraction.
Isolate 3 had a very similar colony morphology to isolate 5 so it is possible that isolate 3 was
also a Pseudarthrobacter sp.
Isolate 6 was identified as an 83% match for Pantoea agglomerans. Pantoea
agglomerans YS19 isolated from rice plants has been shown to be a plant growth promoter
(Shen and Song, 2006). It has been found to fix nitrogen and produce indole-3-acetic acid,
42
�abscisic acid, gibberellic acid and cytokinin which are all phytohormones. It was also found to
increase plant biomass as well as enhance the transportation of the photosynthetic assimilation
product. The sugarcane endophyte Pantoea agglomerans strain 33.1 has been found to colonize
all areas of the sugarcane plant including the rhizosphere, inside the roots and aerial plant tissues
(Quecine et al., 2012). It has been found to produce indole acetic acid (IAA) and solubilize
phosphate and it has been suggested to stimulate chitinase and cellulase production in plant
roots.
The 16S identifications come with an important caveat. The 16S samples had relatively
low similarity to the sequences they matched to in BLAST and when visualized in UGene they
appeared to be contaminated. There were multiple overlapping peaks for all of these samples
(Figure 16). Overlapping peaks most commonly mean that there were two template DNA
sequences present in the reaction. The most obvious cause of this is contamination. The 16S
reaction was run twice and both times the negative control did not have any amplification
suggesting that contamination did not come from any of the reagents. One possible source of
contamination would be intracellular bacteria, if two organisms with 16S regions are present then
both would be amplified. Overlapping peaks can also mean that there are two priming sites
present in the DNA template or too low of a primer annealing temperature was used (Nucleics
DNA sequencing support, website). These isolates all came back as organisms that are known to
be plant endophytes which could indicate that the identifications are correct. But all analysis on
the identity of these organisms should be considered with the knowledge that these
identifications could be incorrect.
6.4 Future Research
43
�There are many interesting directions for future research. Now that a working protocol
has been developed the colonization experiment could be repeated for the rest of the isolates.
This is the first time these experiments have been run at this institution and now there is a
framework for all of these experiments to be run again in the future. The colonization experiment
could also be repeated for different lengths of time. Due to time constraints the colonization
experiment was only conducted over 1 week but there can be differences in endophyte
colonization over different phases of plant growth. It would be interesting to look at colonization
over a month or two and look at the changes in colonization week by week. The colonization in
different parts of the plant could also be measured. The roots, leaves, and stem could be
homogenized separately and colonization levels in these different areas of the plant could be
measured. FISH could be used to visually examine the location of these endophytes within both
the seeds and the plant's roots as they colonize. Various biochemical assays could be used to look
for plant growth promoting activities in the isolates such as indole-3-acetic acid (IAA)
production, phosphate solubilization, siderophores production, nitrogen fixation, and
1-aminocyclopropane -1-carboxylate (ACC) deaminase production.
7. References
Ali, Shimaila, et al. “A Bioinformatics Approach to the Determination of Genes Involved in
Endophytic Behavior in Burkholderia Spp.” Journal of Theoretical Biology, vol. 343,
Feb. 2014, pp. 193–98. DOI.org (Crossref), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtbi.2013.10.007.
Compant, Stéphane, et al. “Endophytes of Grapevine Flowers, Berries, and Seeds:
Identification of Cultivable Bacteria, Comparison with Other Plant Parts, and
Visualization of Niches of Colonization.” Microbial Ecology, vol. 62, no. 1, July 2011,
pp. 188–97. PubMed, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-011-9883-y.
44
�Feng, Y., et al. “Rice Endophyte Pantoea Agglomerans YS19 Promotes Host Plant Growth
and Affects Allocations of Host Photosynthates.” Journal of Applied Microbiology, vol.
100, no. 5, May 2006, pp. 938–45. DOI.org (Crossref),
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2672.2006.02843.x.
Ferreira, Anderson, et al. “Diversity of Endophytic Bacteria from Eucalyptus Species Seeds
and Colonization of Seedlings by Pantoea Agglomerans.” FEMS Microbiology Letters,
2008. Semantic Scholar, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1574-6968.2008.01258.x.
Gagne-Bourgue, F., et al. “Isolation and Characterization of Indigenous Endophytic Bacteria
Associated with Leaves of Switchgrass (Panicum Virgatum L.) Cultivars.” Journal of
Applied Microbiology, vol. 114, no. 3, 2013, pp. 836–53. Wiley Online Library,
https://doi.org/10.1111/jam.12088.
Ganley, Rebecca J., and George Newcombe. “Fungal Endophytes in Seeds and Needles of
Pinus Monticola.” Mycological Research, vol. 110, no. Pt 3, Mar. 2006, pp. 318–27.
PubMed, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mycres.2005.10.005.
Granér, Georg, et al. “A Study on Microbial Diversity in Different Cultivars of Brassica
Napus in Relation to Its Wilt Pathogen, Verticillium Longisporum.” FEMS
Microbiology Letters, vol. 224, no. 2, July 2003, pp. 269–76. DOI.org (Crossref),
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0378-1097(03)00449-X.
Gupta, Shikha, and Sangeeta Pandey. “ACC Deaminase Producing Bacteria With
Multifarious Plant Growth Promoting Traits Alleviates Salinity Stress in French Bean
(Phaseolus Vulgaris) Plants.” Frontiers in Microbiology, vol. 10, 2019. Frontiers,
https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fmicb.2019.01506.
Hardoim, Pablo R., et al. “Dynamics of Seed-Borne Rice Endophytes on Early Plant Growth
Stages.” PLoS ONE, edited by Scott E. Baker, vol. 7, no. 2, Feb. 2012, p. e30438.
DOI.org (Crossref), https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0030438.
Janda, J. Michael, and Sharon L. Abbott. “16S RRNA Gene Sequencing for Bacterial
Identification in the Diagnostic Laboratory: Pluses, Perils, and Pitfalls.” Journal of
Clinical Microbiology, vol. 45, no. 9, Sept. 2007, pp. 2761–64. PubMed Central,
https://doi.org/10.1128/JCM.01228-07.
45
�Jensen, H. L. “Nitrogen Fixation in Leguminous Plants. II. Is Symbiotic Nitrogen Fixation
Influenced by Azotobacter?” Proceedings of The Linnean Society of New South Wales,
vol. 67, 1941, pp. 205–12.
Johnston-Monje, David, and Manish N. Raizada. “Conservation and Diversity of Seed
Associated Endophytes in Zea across Boundaries of Evolution, Ethnography and
Ecology.” PLoS ONE, edited by M. Thomas P. Gilbert, vol. 6, no. 6, June 2011, p.
e20396. DOI.org (Crossref), https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0020396.
Knežević, Magdalena M., et al. “The Ability of a New Strain of Bacillus Pseudomycoides to
Improve the Germination of Alfalfa Seeds in the Presence of Fungal Infection or
Chromium.” Rhizosphere, vol. 18, June 2021, p. 100353. ScienceDirect,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rhisph.2021.100353.
Korejo, Farzana, et al. “Management of Root Rotting Fungi and Root Knot Nematode with
Endophytic Fluorescent Pseudomonas Associated with Salvadora Species.” Pakistan
Journal of Botany, vol. 51, no. 4, Apr. 2019. DOI.org (Crossref),
https://doi.org/10.30848/PJB2019-4(19).
Labeeuw, Leen, et al. “Indole-3-Acetic Acid Is Produced by Emiliania Huxleyi
Coccolith-Bearing Cells and Triggers a Physiological Response in Bald Cells.”
Frontiers in Microbiology, vol. 7, 2016. Frontiers,
https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fmicb.2016.00828.
Lally, Richard D., et al. “Application of Endophytic Pseudomonas Fluorescens and a
Bacterial Consortium to Brassica Napus Can Increase Plant Height and Biomass under
Greenhouse and Field Conditions.” Frontiers in Plant Science, vol. 8, 2017. Frontiers,
https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpls.2017.02193.
Li, Hai-Bi, et al. “Genetic Diversity of Nitrogen-Fixing and Plant Growth Promoting
Pseudomonas Species Isolated from Sugarcane Rhizosphere.” Frontiers in
Microbiology, vol. 8, 2017. Frontiers,
https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fmicb.2017.01268.
Liu, Yang, et al. “Study on Diversity of Endophytic Bacterial Communities in Seeds of
Hybrid Maize and Their Parental Lines.” Archives of Microbiology, vol. 194, no. 12,
Dec. 2012, pp. 1001–12. DOI.org (Crossref),
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00203-012-0836-8.
46
�López, José Luis, et al. “Isolation, Taxonomic Analysis, and Phenotypic Characterization of
Bacterial Endophytes Present in Alfalfa (Medicago Sativa) Seeds.” Journal of
Biotechnology, vol. 267, Feb. 2018, pp. 55–62. DOI.org (Crossref),
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbiotec.2017.12.020.
Lurthy, Tristan, et al. “Impact of Bacterial Siderophores on Iron Status and Ionome in Pea.”
Frontiers in Plant Science, vol. 11, 2020. Frontiers,
https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpls.2020.00730.
Marian, Malek, et al. “Ecology and Potential Functions of Plant-Associated Microbial
Communities in Cold Environments .” FEMS Microbiology Ecology, vol. 98, no. 1, Jan.
2022.
Martin, Kendall J., and Paul T. Rygiewicz. “Fungal-Specific PCR Primers Developed for
Analysis of the ITS Region of Environmental DNA Extracts.” BMC Microbiology, vol.
5, no. 1, May 2005, p. 28. BioMed Central, https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2180-5-28.
Mastretta, Chiara, et al. “Endophytic Bacteria from Seeds of Nicotiana Tabacum Can
Reduce Cadmium Phytotoxicity.” International Journal of Phytoremediation, vol. 11,
no. 3, Mar. 2009, pp. 251–67. Taylor and Francis+NEJM,
https://doi.org/10.1080/15226510802432678.
Matsumoto, Atsuko, and Yōko Takahashi. “Endophytic Actinomycetes: Promising Source
of Novel Bioactive Compounds.” The Journal of Antibiotics, vol. 70, no. 5, May 2017,
pp. 514–19. www.nature.com, https://doi.org/10.1038/ja.2017.20.
Mitter, Birgit, et al. “A New Approach to Modify Plant Microbiomes and Traits by
Introducing Beneficial Bacteria at Flowering into Progeny Seeds.” Frontiers in
Microbiology, vol. 8, 2017. Frontiers,
https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fmicb.2017.00011.
Mixed DNA Templates.
https://www.nucleics.com/DNA_sequencing_support/DNA-sequencing-mixed-template
.html. Accessed 13 Apr. 2022.
Murashige, Toshio, and Folke Skoog. “A Revised Medium for Rapid Growth and Bio
Assays with Tobacco Tissue Cultures.” Physiologia Plantarum, vol. 15, no. 3, July
1962, pp. 473–97. DOI.org (Crossref),
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1399-3054.1962.tb08052.x.
47
�Otieno, Nicholas, et al. “Plant Growth Promotion Induced by Phosphate Solubilizing
Endophytic Pseudomonas Isolates.” Frontiers in Microbiology, vol. 6, 2015. Frontiers,
https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fmicb.2015.00745.
Pini, Francesco, et al. “Exploring the Plant-Associated Bacterial Communities in Medicago
Sativa L.” BMC Microbiology, vol. 12, no. 1, May 2012, p. 78. BioMed Central,
https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2180-12-78.
Pseudarthrobacter Sp. L1SW Chromosome, Complete Genome - Nucleotide - NCBI.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nucleotide/NZ_CP078079.1?report=genbank&log$=nucl
top&blast_rank=1&RID=4W87UC6M016. Accessed 7 Apr. 2022.
Puente, M. Esther, et al. “Endophytic Bacteria in Cacti Seeds Can Improve the Development
of Cactus Seedlings.” Environmental and Experimental Botany, vol. 66, no. 3, Sept.
2009, pp. 402–08. DOI.org (Crossref), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envexpbot.2009.04.007.
Quecine, M. C., et al. “Sugarcane Growth Promotion by the Endophytic Bacterium Pantoea
Agglomerans 33.1.” Applied and Environmental Microbiology, vol. 78, no. 21, Nov.
2012, pp. 7511–18. PubMed Central, https://doi.org/10.1128/AEM.00836-12.
Robinson, Rebekah J., et al. “Wheat Seed Embryo Excision Enables the Creation of Axenic
Seedlings and Koch’s Postulates Testing of Putative Bacterial Endophytes.” Scientific
Reports, vol. 6, no. 1, May 2016, p. 25581. DOI.org (Crossref),
https://doi.org/10.1038/srep25581.
Ruiza, Dante, et al. “Characterization and Screening of Plant Probiotic Traits of Bacteria
Isolated from Rice Seeds Cultivated in Argentina.” The Journal of Microbiology, vol.
49, no. 6, Dec. 2011, pp. 902–12. DOI.org (Crossref),
https://doi.org/10.1007/s12275-011-1073-6.
Sanderson, Matt A., and Paul R. Adler. “Perennial Forages as Second Generation Bioenergy
Crops.” International Journal of Molecular Sciences, vol. 9, no. 5, May 2008, pp.
768–88. www.mdpi.com, https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms9050768.
Sessitsch, A., et al. “Functional Characteristics of an Endophyte Community Colonizing
Rice Roots as Revealed by Metagenomic Analysis.” Molecular Plant-Microbe
Interactions®, vol. 25, no. 1, Jan. 2012, pp. 28–36. DOI.org (Crossref),
https://doi.org/10.1094/MPMI-08-11-0204.
48
�Shan, Wenna, et al. “Endophytic Actinomycetes from Tea Plants (Camellia Sinensis):
Isolation, Abundance, Antimicrobial, and Plant-Growth-Promoting Activities.” BioMed
Research International, vol. 2018, Nov. 2018, p. e1470305. www.hindawi.com,
https://doi.org/10.1155/2018/1470305.
Shimasaki, Tomohisa, et al. “Tobacco Root Endophytic Arthrobacter Harbors Genomic
Features Enabling the Catabolism of Host-Specific Plant Specialized Metabolites.”
MBio, edited by David S. Guttman, vol. 12, no. 3, June 2021, pp. e00846-21. DOI.org
(Crossref), https://doi.org/10.1128/mBio.00846-21.
Tran, Charlie, et al. “Antimicrobial Bacillus: Metabolites and Their Mode of Action.”
Antibiotics, vol. 11, no. 1, Jan. 2022, p. 88. DOI.org (Crossref),
https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics11010088.
Truyens, Sascha, et al. “Bacterial Seed Endophytes: Genera, Vertical Transmission and
Interaction with Plants: Bacterial Seed Endophytes.” Environmental Microbiology
Reports, vol. 7, no. 1, Feb. 2015, pp. 40–50. DOI.org (Crossref),
https://doi.org/10.1111/1758-2229.12181.
Tshishonga, Khuthadzo, and Mahloro Hope Serepa-Dlamini. “Draft Genome Sequence of
Pseudarthrobacter Strain MHSD1, a Bacterial Endophyte Isolated From the Medicinal
Plant Pellaea Calomelanos.” Evolutionary Bioinformatics Online, vol. 16, Apr. 2020, p.
1176934320913257. PubMed Central, https://doi.org/10.1177/1176934320913257.
Urooj, F., et al. “Role of Endophytic Penicillium Species and Pseudomonas Monteilii in
Inducing the Systemic Resistance in Okra against Root Rotting Fungi and Their Effect
on Some Physiochemical Properties of Okra Fruit.” Journal of Applied Microbiology,
vol. 130, no. 2, Feb. 2021, pp. 604–16. PubMed, https://doi.org/10.1111/jam.14894.
Vega, Fernando E., et al. “Endophytic Bacteria in Coffea Arabica L.” Journal of Basic
Microbiology, vol. 45, no. 5, 2005, pp. 371–80. PubMed,
https://doi.org/10.1002/jobm.200410551.
Villacieros, Marta, et al. “Colonization Behaviour of Pseudomonas Fluorescens and
Sinorhizobium Meliloti in the Alfalfa (Medicago Sativa) Rhizosphere.” Plant and Soil,
vol. 251, no. 1, 2003, pp. 47–54. JSTOR, https://www.jstor.org/stable/24129144.
Vitullo, D., et al. “Role of New Bacterial Surfactins in the Antifungal Interaction between
Bacillus Amyloliquefaciens and Fusarium Oxysporum.” Plant Pathology, vol. 61, no.
49
�4, 2012, pp. 689–99. Wiley Online Library,
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-3059.2011.02561.x.
Xu, Mingshuang, et al. “Bacterial Community Compositions of Tomato (Lycopersicum
Esculentum Mill.) Seeds and Plant Growth Promoting Activity of ACC Deaminase
Producing Bacillus Subtilis (HYT-12-1) on Tomato Seedlings.” World Journal of
Microbiology & Biotechnology, vol. 30, no. 3, Mar. 2014, pp. 835–45. PubMed,
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11274-013-1486-y.
Zhang, Xiao-Yan, et al. “Effects of Autotoxicity on Alfalfa (Medicago Sativa): Seed
Germination, Oxidative Damage and Lipid Peroxidation of Seedlings.” Agronomy, vol.
11, no. 6, May 2021, p. 1027. DOI.org (Crossref),
https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy11061027.
50
�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Senior Presentations Archive
Description
An account of the resource
This archive contains materials from Wagner’s annual ‘Senior Presentations.’ This event honors outstanding students from each discipline who completed their Senior Learning Community project with excellence. The work is representative of Wagner’s highest standards, and is exemplary of the diversity of subject matter, public-facing scholarship, and civic-minded professionalism our students have attained through their four years here. These students were specially invited to present their work in a formal setting, traditionally the day of Baccalaureate. Students are encouraged to present their work in a format appropriate for their discipline, and so, the presentations vary in their format. Some might be in the form of a short video, or paper abstracts, while others might be posters or music clips. We expect this archive to serve as a resource for generations to come. Congratulations to our Seniors!
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2017 -
Rights Holder
A person or organization owning or managing rights over the resource.
Wagner College, Staten Island, NY
Document
A resource containing textual data. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre text.
Date Digital
2022
Original Format
If the image is of an object, state the type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data
Thesis
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
2022_Microbiology_Lott - Sara Guariglia
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Sarah Lott
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
5/1/2022
Title
A name given to the resource
Characterisation of Novel Seed Endophytes in Medicago sativa
Abstract
A summary of the resource.
The microbiome of plants is essential in their development and health. Seed endophytes are microorganisms that live within the seeds of plants, the majority of which are believed to be non-pathogenic, although more research is needed to better understand the function of seed endophytes. They are present from the beginning growth stages and play many important roles. A variety of bacterial species have been found as seed endophytes. They have also been found to have common functions for colonization, benefiting plant growth, and antifungal properties. In this project, seed endophytes were isolated from surface sterilized Medicago sativa seeds on selective media for potassium solubilization, actinomycetes, and nitrogen free media. Sterilized seeds were germinated and planted in Yosida agar. The sterilized plants were then inoculated with the seed endophyte isolates and uptake of the isolates into the plant roots was measured. The methods were improved, germinating the seeds in sterile water often led to self toxicity and the seeds germinated at a much higher rate using the Murashige and Skoog Medium. Several sources of contamination within the protocol were found and eliminated. The isolates also underwent DNA extraction and colony PCR for 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Using this method a Pseudomonas species was identified. Seed endophytes from Medicago sativa were characterized.
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Katherine Moccia
Microbiology
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
text
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
application/pdf
Extent
The size or duration of the resource.
50 pages
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
U.S. and international copyright laws may protect this work. It is provided by Wagner College for scholarly or research purposes only. Commercial use or distribution is not permitted without prior permission of the copyright holder.
Rights Holder
A person or organization owning or managing rights over the resource.
Wagner College, Staten Island, NY
-
https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/1909/archive/files/16819cd18cb38eedee348df85f6b745f.pdf?Expires=1712793600&Signature=dl03q456HTFngAU-2zRGqezUmpLAIZLOGW2LdGa1Py4gXnl6Wm5wsQhfBsr0ALxglCa4ze1B%7EwM%7EInXcT2RA3zHRKW-gpdj5nD3KDsAva8gKPf4Q3F7TDqtPNGVdZ2gAv6YVelaqvjDLt--FAFc5q3PmopXa5uoMTN%7EwP-dfSbwbA6Zip6cNM9-%7EbOlH6CJKfSiZcIeNy5D65NNg5BFyoqPyp2btIOUpFd86K5vP%7EF95EFmfeDRnXc-virhPb%7Em4BJcSXtaLMCtRWknSCPJtHznQyw9v5c1LAP7swEkElKK86QULvr7U7FwUFROOVCkqoU4T50OWJ54U8sAg01hOiA__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM
53f55ff48a2372eda7191c038a345dfe
PDF Text
Text
HEALTHCARE
1
Healthcare and Healthcare Disparities Within the United States
Samantha Mayadunna
Department of Psychology, Wagner College
PS441 and PS400
Dr. Nolan and Dr. England
�HEALTHCARE
2
Table of Contents
page
ABSTRACT ……………………………….……….……………………………….………. 3
CHAPTER
1
HISTORICAL FACTORS IN HEALTHCARE DISPARITIES HISTORY OF
ATTEMPTS TO MAKE UNIVERSAL HEALTHCARE (INCLUDING MENTAL
HEALTH) WITHIN THE UNITED STATES.……………………………….……….
4
The Push for Universal Healthcare .……………………………….……….…..….….
5
Attitudes and the Misunderstandings Surrounding Mental Health …………………
10
Funding for Mental Healthcare………………….……………………………….……. 13
2
HEALTH DISPARATIES: THE REASON SOUTH ASIANS STRUGGLE WITH
CARE OR TREATMENT OF HEALTH WITHIN THE UNITED STATES OF
AMERICA………………….…………………………………………………….…
16
Immigration and Mental Health …………………………….……….…..….….……. 18
Causes and Effects of Health Disparities………….……….…..….……………...…. 20
3 SOUTH ASIAN MIGRANT HEALTH: COMBATTING HEALTH DISPARITIES…. 24
Possible Solutions for Health Disparities…………….………………………………... 25
4 REFLECTION………………….…………………………………………………….…30
LIST OF REFERENCES……………….…………………………………………………….….33
�HEALTHCARE
3
Abstract
This paper focuses on healthcare and health disparities within the United States. By reviewing
the history of healthcare, this research attempts to gain an understanding of how the current U.S.
healthcare system— which is ridden with various health disparities for U.S. minority populations
and is the only industrialized country lacking a universal healthcare system—developed (Sen,
2015). In an attempt to address the many current disparities within the U.S. healthcare system,
the problems causing such disparities and possible solutions will also be addressed. Lastly, all of
the information discussed will be tied together to create a comprehensive thesis, advocating for
the overall improvement of the U.S. healthcare system, specifically for mental healthcare.
Keywords: Universal healthcare, health disparities, South Asians, mental illnesses, mental
healthcare
�HEALTHCARE
4
Chapter One: Historical Factors in Healthcare Disparities: History of Attempts to Make
Universal Healthcare(including Mental healthcare) Within the United States
Ensuring all individuals within a society have access to healthcare (including mental
healthcare), is vital for the maintenance of their health and wellness. Many industrialized
countries such as Japan, China, and most of the countries in Europe, have taken initiative toward
reforming their healthcare systems by implementing universal healthcare (Sen, 2015; Jones &
Kantarjian, 2019). Universal healthcare systems refer to national healthcare systems which
enable all individuals to have access to quality healthcare treatments and services (Bloom et al.,
2018). The implementation of a universal healthcare system can also be beneficial financially, as
it prevents financial hardship (individual or familial) by reducing the costs of healthcare (Sen,
2015; Bloom et al., 2018,).
Unfortunately, the United States of America is still the only industrialized country that
has yet to develop a universal healthcare system (Sen, 2015). To better understand why the
United States lacks a universal healthcare system, specifically for mental healthcare, this paper
will review the history of attempts to establish universal healthcare within the United States, as
well as the challenges faced throughout the process (Sen, 2015).
Based on the past research reviewed within this study, this current paper argues that
lobbying against the establishment of universal healthcare by politicians and organizations with
legislative influence, negative attitudes surrounding mental health, the misunderstanding of
�HEALTHCARE
5
mental illnesses, and poor funding by Congress for mental healthcare have all resulted in the
current lack of universal healthcare within the United States.
The Push for Universal Healthcare
The push for a universal healthcare system within the United States began during the
early 1900s. However, during this time, many opposed the idea of healthcare reform and
prohibited the implementation of universal healthcare within the United States. This current
paper will focus on three of the most significant changes within the U.S. healthcare system over
time while also discussing the challenges experienced.
Although many individuals have pushed for universal healthcare, one of the first
individuals to begin the pursuit of a plan establishing a U.S. universal healthcare system was the
32nd president of the United States, Franklin Delano Roosevelt (commonly referred to as F.D.R)
(Buck, 2017). By 1933, when FDR first took office, the United States was still amidst the Great
Depression–during which the stock market crashed, causing poverty to sweep the nation (Buck,
2017). In an attempt to help bring the country out of the Great Depression, F.D.R worked to
establish various relief efforts (Buck, 2017). Specifically, F.D.R coined the term “New Deal”
through which he pushed for a series of programs and services which focused on relief, reform,
and reconstruction of the United States (Mukherjee, 2009). One of the most significant programs
authorized under the New Deal was the Social Security Act of 1935 (Hansan, 2012). Through the
enforcement of the Social Security bill, Roosevelt had initially planned to include disability,
retirement, old-age, and federally sponsored health insurance (universal healthcare) (Buck,
2017).
�HEALTHCARE
6
Unfortunately, FDR was unable to include universal healthcare within the Social
Security bill as many were not in favor of reforming healthcare at the time (Buck, 2017). More
specifically, the Grand Old Party (Republican party) and private medical lobbies such as
American Health Association created the false yet widely accepted beliefs of comprehensive
healthcare being a part of F.D.R's attempt at social conspiracy and government overreach (Buck,
2017). Therefore, F.D.R believed that the addition of universal healthcare to the Social Security
bill would be too controversial and ruin the prospects of the other programs (Zelizer, 2015). In
addition to receiving pushback, F.D.R also chose to refrain from including universal healthcare
within the Social Security bill due to matters of expediency as he believed that manually
documenting worker benefits for the entire country would be too daunting (Buck, 2017). By
removing universal healthcare from the Social Security bill, FDR chose to help workers receive
the other benefits (disability, retirement, and old-age), as fast as possible through a piecemeal
approach while hoping to enact universal healthcare later on (Buck, 2017). FDR did re-attempt
to continue working on expanding health security programs again in 1945, but he was unable to
complete his attempt as he passed away three months later (Buck, 2017).
F.D.R was not the only former U.S. president to engage in healthcare reform, as many
others pushed for the idea of establishing universal health insurance. Specifically, following
F.D.R, his successor Harry Truman—the 33rd president of the United States—was also driven
toward healthcare reform as he proposed the Fair Deal program in 1949 (Buck, 2017). Through
this program, Truman's goal was to expand, extend, and improve the Social Security program
(Buck,2017). The Fair Deal emphasized enforcing policies that were not included within the
New Deal, such as increasing the minimum wage, granting all Americans equal rights, and
enabling health insurance for all (Zelizer, 2015). In 1945, Truman introduced bills proposing a
�HEALTHCARE
7
national health program to Congress (Buck, 2017). Within Truman’s proposal, five major goals
were outlined, (1) addressing the lack of trained health professionals in every community, (2)
growing public health services, (3) increasing the funding for medical research and education,
and (4) reducing the cost of individual medical care, and (5) increasing attention to the loss of
income when individuals experience severe illness. Implementing this proposal would have been
a major turning point in the U.S. healthcare system as healthcare would have improved in
regards to quality, accessibility, and affordability.
Regrettably, like FDR, many who worked towards the establishment of universal
healthcare experienced major pushback from politicians, organizations, and many individuals in
society. By 1946, Truman came to understand why F.D.R had chosen to refrain from
successfully implementing a universal healthcare system, specifically due to controversy
(Zelizer, 2015). For Truman, political parties had a great effect on his inability to engage in
healthcare reform. Before 1946, Congress was controlled by Democrats, during which Truman’s
proposal for the national health program was meant to become a part of the Social Security
expansion (Harry S. Tuman Library & Museum). Unfortunately, by 1946, Congress became
Republican-led, and any progress in establishing Truman's bill was immediately shut down for a
variety of reasons (Buck, 2017). First, some argued that implementing such a bill would cause a
high increase in taxes, which was unfavorable for many individuals in society (Harry S. Truman
Library &Museum). Also, such proposals regarding expanding healthcare were viewed as
attempts at socialized medicine, which was, and remains to be, a highly controversial topic
within the United States (Mahler, 1953). According to Mahler (1953), during the 20th century,
there were two opinions regarding socialized medicine. One side of the debate believed that a
socialized medicine program would be a fundamental step toward the expansion and
�HEALTHCARE
8
improvement of medical care within the United States Whereas the other side of the debate felt
strong opposition to any federal interest or intervention regarding the medical problems of the
nation (Mahler, 1953). Moreover, Truman's attempt at establishing universal healthcare was also
denied due to being bolstered by the Cold War fears of Communism (Buck, 2017). More
specifically, post World War I, a substantial number of individuals became involved in a frenzy
of rooting out any Communism-related ideologies in American society (Goldfield 1993 & Achter
2022). This was especially because of the rise of McCarthyism in the 1950s when U.S. senator
Joseph McCarthy engaged in a series of investigations and hearings in an effort to expose alleged
communists infiltrating the U.S. government (Goldfield 1993 & Achter 2022). This antiCommunist hysteria negatively impacted Truman's National Health Insurance (NHI), proposal as
many important organizations such as the American Medical Association (AMA), and the
National Physician's Committee—which was a front committee for the AMA, played into these
fears (Goldfeild, 1993). Both the AMA and Physicians Committee engaged in efforts against the
NHI proposal (Goldfield, 1993). With the support of Congress, the AMA conducted the most
expensive lobbying effort during that time and the Physicians Committee created a position
paper opposing the NHI proposal (Zelizer, 2015). All of these efforts were successful as by 1950,
Truman's NHI proposal was dead (Zelizer, 2015). Truman considered the failure of the NHI
proposal as the greatest failure of his presidency (Harry S. Truman Library & Museum).
As this current research discussed, up until the late 1950s, national healthcare was
regarded as a losing cause (Zelizer, 2015). Yet, despite the past failed attempts for developing a
universal healthcare system in the United States, by 1957, the congressman and New Deal liberal
Aime Ford advocated for a smaller national health insurance program that would cover medical
costs for Americans over the age of sixty-five (Zelizer, 2015). The 65 and older U.S. population
�HEALTHCARE
9
was specifically targeted because (1) many of these individuals required twice as much medical
care than their younger counterparts, and (2) most could not afford the high costs of
hospitalization (Zelizer, 2015). This proposal, soon named Medicare, was intended to be
executed under the new Social Security administration and many democrats, including John F
Kennedy, were in support of Medicare (Cohen, 1985). Kennedy's program for older adults
included Medicare and was the basis of the Kennedy-Johnson Administration which supported
Medicare from 1960 until 1965 (Zelizer, 2015). Similar to others who advocated for national
health insurance programs in the past, Kennedy also received pushback from the AMA under the
claim of socialized medicine (Zelizer, 2015). To further increase opposition to Medicare, the
AMA created a political action committee that offered to provide campaign support to candidates
opposing the bill (Zelizer, 2015). Furthermore, the AMA's women auxiliary created Operation
Coffee Cup through which the wives of doctors would host the dangers of socialized medicine,
attempting to stop more Americans from supporting Medicare.
Following Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, the 36th president of the United States, played a
significant role in the establishment of Medicare and Medicaid (Cohen, 1985). Johnson became
president in 1963, during which he was determined to pass Medicare by convincing Congress to
pass a series of bills constituting a second New Deal (Zelizer, 2015). To do so, Johnson enlisted
Wilbur Cohen, one of the leading figures within the Social Security Administration to work
alongside Wilbur Millis—the Arkansas Democrat in the house of Representatives who was
against Medicare—to come up with a proposal for Medicare that would be accepted by the Ways
and Means Committee (which had jurisdiction over major programs such as Social Security and
other revenue related matters taxations and tariffs) (Zelizer, 2015). Together, Cohen and Mills
were able to draft the “three-layer cake” which included utilizing Social Security taxes to pay for
�HEALTHCARE
10
hospital insurance, covering physicians’ costs through a voluntary program, and Medicaid
(Cohen, 1985). This bill satisfied most as general tax money and premiums covered doctors’ bills
satisfying Republicans, and since the voluntary part of the program included private physicians,
the AMA could not accuse this bill as part of socialized medicine (Zelizer, 2015). The Ways and
Means Committee approved the bill on March 23rd, 1965, shortly followed by the official
signing of Medicare by President Johnson on July 30th, 1965 (Zelizer, 2015).
Following the signing of Medicare and Medicaid, over the next five decades, there was
no further progress towards establishing universal health care in the U.S. until the Affordable
Care Act (ACA) was passed in 2010 by the 44th U.S. president, Barack Obama (Obama, 2016).
Obama recognized the uninsured rate in the U.S had not significantly decreased by the 21st
century, especially since by 2008, more than one in seven Americans lacked health insurance
coverage (Obama, 2016). The purpose of the A.C.A was to improve the high cost of care, access
to health insurance and services, and the quality and efficiency of healthcare (Shaw et al., 2014).
The A.C.A was successful in temporarily reducing the number of uninsured by 20 million by
2016 (Tolbert & Orgera, 2020). However, the number of uninsured increased again by 2019,
emphasizing the inadequate development of the U.S. healthcare system within the United States.
Attitudes and the Misunderstandings Surrounding Mental Health
Attitudes Surrounding Mental Health
Within Western society, the lack of progress towards developing universal mental
healthcare has been impacted by the continued public attitudes of rejection and avoidance
surrounding mental health patients, as well as the misunderstanding of mental illnesses (Rabkin,
1974). Beginning with the modern era, those who were deemed as mad or insane were
institutionalized, leading to an increase in mortification and condemnation, but a decrease in the
�HEALTHCARE
11
accreditation of individuals with mental illnesses (Fabgera,1991). Such attitudes followed into
the 20th century as during the 1950s, mental health professionals struggled with identifying
mental illnesses through the model of illness which was prevalent amongst healthcare
professionals after World War II and used to identify other medical illnesses (Rabkin, 1974).
This inability to diagnose patients further increased the lack of public endorsement of mental
health ideology (Rabkin, 1974). To help better understand mental illnesses and reduce the
negative attitudes surrounding mental illnesses, the first and second editions of the Diagnostic
and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-I and DSM-II) were established post World
War II (APA). The DSM-I and DSM-II both contained a glossary of the diagnostic categories
and descriptions of mental illnesses which were the first to be clinically used (American
Psychiatric Association, n.d.). Yet despite this establishment, there still lacked a widespread
acceptance and proper understanding of mental illnesses(American Psychiatric Association,
n.d.). A contributing factor to the poor acceptance of mental health was the improper forms of
treatment which isolated the mentally ill away from the rest of society (Rabkin, 1974). As a
means of improving treatment, by 1963, President John F Kennedy advocated for a new era in
mental health services (Breakey, 1996). Specifically, through the passage of the Community
Mental Health Centers Construction Act, Kennedy worked towards the implementation of
community mental health centers which enabled those who were mentally ill– but did not require
confinement within hospitals– to become deinstitutionalized and return to their communities
while still having access to treatment services (Breakey, 1996). Later on, during the 1970s,
mental health reform continued to increase as psychiatry was established as a primary care
specialty since psychiatrists were often the only physicians who evaluated patients with serious
mental illnesses (Druss, 2002). However, anti-psychiatry attitudes remained throughout the
�HEALTHCARE
12
1960s and 1970s, as people regarded psychiatry as repressive and coercive, and overall more
damaging than beneficial for patients (Rössler, 2016). Many also continued to claim mental
illnesses as a myth (Rössler, 2016). Furthermore, the negative attitudes associated with mental
illnesses and mental services remain to be a present-day issue (Rössler,2016)
Misunderstandings of Mental Illnesses
Understanding how to adequately treat mental illnesses was a challenge that persisted
into the late 1900s. During the 1980s, the DSM-III was published and included explicit
diagnostic criteria and a complex diagnostic assessment system (American Psychiatric
Association, n.d.). However, the DSM-III was found to have many inconsistencies, resulting in
unclear diagnostic criteria which required the publication of the revised DSM-III-R in
1987(American Psychiatric Association, n.d.). Moreover, the atmosphere of treatment centers,
and the overall care for and management of patients, during and post institutionalization were
still in question (Sartorius, 1983). Many felt that those employed in mental institutions were not
benefitting the development of psychiatry or patient care, nor were they able to meet the needs of
patients beyond symptom relief, or post deinstitutionalization (Sartorius, 1983; Anthony, 1993).
More specifically, individuals with mental illnesses were recognized to be experiencing
significant functional limitations, disabilities, and handicaps. However, professionals were
unable to help most of these patients due to the little understanding surrounding treatment
measures (Anthony, 1993). As an attempt to improve treatment methods, the most
comprehensive mental health system of the 1980s–the Community Support System(CSS)—was
implemented by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) (Anthony, 1993). The CSS
defined how services should be provided for individuals with long-term psychiatric disabilities,
�HEALTHCARE
13
and attempted to lay the foundation for the new vision of mental health service delivery within
the 1990s (Anthony, 1993). Furthermore, by 1994, the DSM-IV was published as a more
comprehensive research-based medical model (American Psychiatric Association, n.d.). By
2013, the DSM-5 was published, followed by the publication of the DSM-5-TR in 2022 (Shorter,
2013). Despite the various developments within the U.S. mental healthcare system, by the early
21st century, based on a public health perspective, many mental illnesses remained undiagnosed
and undertreated (Druss,2002). This is because, although the establishment of such medical
models (the DSM) has evolved from a collection of statistical information, defining mental
disorders has been a challenge since the information can not be easily validated and is constantly
evolving (Shorter, 2013). Therefore, debates over what can and cannot be considered a mental
illness within the current DSM-5-TR are likely to continue to be present as new research
continues to be discovered (Shorter, 2013).
Funding for Mental Healthcare
Mental healthcare has continued to receive less funding than medical healthcare from
Congress due to the combination of negative attitudes surrounding mental health,
misunderstanding of mental illnesses, and the lack of integration between medical healthcare and
mental healthcare (Smoyak, 2000). Beginning in the 19th century (the 1840s-1860s), as
previously mentioned, most of society–including Congress –chose to ignore mental illnesses as
they were surrounded by attitudes of rejection and avoidance (Rabkin, 1974). One of the first
movements for establishing state hospitals for mental illness was started by a former teacher,
Dorothea Dix (Breaky, 1996). Dix had to spend years advocating for public mental health
systems since taxpayers and decision-makers did not believe that the mentally ill deserved better
treatment, therefore disfavoring the idea of providing funding for mental healthcare. Many
�HEALTHCARE
14
viewed treatment methods as too subjective and felt that there was not enough existing
information surrounding mental illnesses (Breaky, 1996). Although the government eventually
provided funding for the development of hospitals, it was not enough to maintain the quality of
treatment due to the high demands of staffing, equipment, and extended facilities (Breaky,
1996).
Concerning the misunderstanding of mental illnesses, during the 1940s-1950s, funding
for mental healthcare was sparse since third-party insurers were designated the role of providing
funding for medical care (Marmor & Gill, 1989). These insurers delegated funding by utilizing
the medical model of illness post World War II (Marmor &Gill, 1989). However, because mental
illnesses could not be identified through the medical model, mental healthcare received
insufficient funding —in comparison to medical healthcare— from third-party insurers (Marmor
& Gill, 1989). Fortunately, by 1946, Congress passed the National Mental Health Act (NIMH),
which included two major goals regarding funding for mental health services (Smoyak, 2000).
The first was concerning providing individual fellowships and institutional grants for the training
of mental health personnel, and the awarding of grants to states for two reasons. (1) For assisting
in the establishment of clinics and treatment centers, and (2) for the funding demonstration
projects addressing the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of neuropsychiatric disorders
(Smoyak, 2000). However, the NIMH did not include the usage of federal funds for institutional
care and treatment which could have potentially been useful in the progression toward
establishing universal mental healthcare within the U.S. (Smoyak, 2000).
Regarding the integration of mental healthcare with medical healthcare, during the early
1980s, the “Linkage” was a proposed program as a way to encourage mental health programs to
integrate with other health and social agencies (Breaky, 1996). However, poor organizational
�HEALTHCARE
15
relationships with general hospitals, as well as the growing emphasis placed on social models of
mental illness over the medical models of mental illness, and limited financial resources made
the integration between medical and mental health challenging (Druss, 2002). Moreover, during
the 1990s, the increasing costs for mental health services caused the growth of mental health
“carve-outs”, which provided mental health insurance benefits and treatments separate from
medical care, further delaying the integration of mental healthcare with medical healthcare
(Druss, 2002). More progress towards integration did occur during the 1990s however, as new
grants benefitted the growth of treatment for mental disorders within federally qualified health
centers (Druss, 2002).
Within the early 21st century, adults with mental illnesses (depending on the disorder),
were commonly viewed as less capable of making both financial and treatment-related decisions
in comparison to other individuals within society (Pescosolido et al., 1999). Later on, in the 21st
century, more progress was made towards establishing universal mental healthcare as the
understanding and attitudes regarding mental health improved (Druss, 2002). Specifically, the
funding for the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) of 2008 was a
monumental turning point in mental healthcare (Druss, 2002). MHPAEA helped reduce the
financial burden for patients by barring differential coverage limits such as higher cost-sharing,
hospitalization or separate visit maximums, and the unequal application of techniques for
managing care (Druss, 2002). Parity was extended to insurance plans regardless of whether they
offered coverage for behavioral health conditions, although most plans did offer coverage
(Druss, 2002). Additionally, more advances included the “Decade of the Brain” during the 1990s
when Mental Illness Awareness Week was established alongside an increase in national
recognition for brain research and public education (Walthall, 2020). As the U.S. continues to
�HEALTHCARE
16
increase initiatives for funding while also decreasing the negative attitudes and the
misunderstanding surrounding mental illness, universal mental healthcare could be a possibility
in the future of U.S. healthcare.
In sum, the absence of a universal mental healthcare system within the U.S. has been
affected by the lobbying against universal healthcare by politicians and organizations with
legislative influence, continued negative attitudes, and misunderstanding of the reality and
severity of mental illnesses. Moreover, as a result of the misunderstanding of mental illnesses in
combination with negative attitudes, the allocation of funding by Congress for mental health
treatments, in comparison to medical health, has suffered and resulted in a delay in the
establishment of universal healthcare within the U.S.
Chapter Two: Health Disparities: The Reasons South Asians Struggle With Care or
Treatment of Health Within The United States of America
For a society to be successful, the health and wellness of its individuals need to be
efficiently maintained. Unfortunately, although there have been various advancements in health
throughout time, not all countries—such as the United States of America, have progressed so that
all of its people have been benefited equally-- regarding health and wellness (Benson &
Koroshetz, 2022). Kronenfeld (2020) supports this by stating that to this day, there are many
marginalized groups of individuals within the U.S who not only have poorer experiences with
health but are also in substandard states of physical and mental health. Such individuals include
people of color, women, LGBTQ members, and the lower-working class (Kronenfeld, 2020). In
comparison, individuals who are considered to be more privileged such as white people, males,
heterosexuals, and those in higher socioeconomic standing are less likely to have such negative
experiences with their health and wellness (Kronenfeld, 2020). This is specifically due to what is
�HEALTHCARE
17
known as health disparities. Health disparities refer to differences within health shaped by
polices and are often experienced by disadvantaged social groups as mentioned above including
racial or ethnic minorities, the poor, and women (Bravemen, 2006). Historically, health
disparities (including within mental health) have been understood to persist because of various
demographic and socioeconomic factors, as mentioned above. Bravemen (2006) states that to
eliminate such disparities, many societies work toward implementing health equity, which can
establish equal opportunities of health for all. As previously mentioned, this has yet to occur
within the U.S as health disparities remain to be a current issue and became especially notable
during the pandemic. Shannon et al. (2022) affirms this as they convey disproportionate
statistics resulting from the outbreak of coronavirus including mortality rates between
marginalized groups and those more privileged therefore attesting the existence of health
disparities within the U.S. to be a present-day concern (Shannon et al., 2022).
Although addressing the issue of health disparities is beneficial for all of the populations
affected by them, this paper will solely focus on one marginalized group in particular, the South
Asian population within the U.S. –referring to individuals from Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, and
Bangladesh (Mukherjea et al., 2017). South Asian health–especially mental health, has
historically suffered as immigrants within the United States (Katz et al.,1997). Beliefs regarding
health and mental health (including stigmas), hailing from different types of cultures (collectivist
vs. individualist), or negative associations with health due to past experiences may be
contributing factors (Smith et al., 2021). Additionally, as South Asians within the U.S. remain
underserved, they are also understudied, therefore making this topic an important subject of
research as there is a clear need for more information on South Asian health (Ali et al.,
2020). As made evident by Kronenfeld (2020), health disparities are a topic for serious concern
�HEALTHCARE
18
as they place marginalized individuals —including South Asians, at a major disadvantage in
regard to access, treatment, and overall experience with health and mental health. As this paper is
intersectional review, the goal is to address the different positions held amongst individuals
within the U.S healthcare system—the disadvantaged and the privileged, to understand the
differing experiences between such differing positions. More specifically, as it reviews South
Asians and how health disparities affect their mental health, the main factors of focus include
immigration and mental health, and the causes and effects of health disparities (which will be
understood by focusing on affordability or accessibility, racialization, and experiences with
treatment).
Immigration and Mental Health
Although research has been done on the intersection between immigration and mental
health, there is little information surrounding how immigration has affected the mental health of
the South Asian population within the United States. The experience of migrating to a new
country is likely to come with challenges, including possibly harming mental health. For
example, culture conflicts and assimilation are two specific challenges which may arise.
Assimilation refers to the adjustments made by minority groups to adapt to the majority groups
within a society, whereas culture conflicts can arise amidst assimilation to said society (Rath,
2000). Karasz et al. (2019) discusses acculturative stress, which results from immigrant attempts
to incorporate the traits of their new country's culture with that of their own. This form of stress
not only aids the deterioration of mental health but it is also one that all immigrants are
susceptible to regardless of age or generation. The authors found that acculturative stress can
affect all generations including first generation (also referred to as 1.5) children as well as
foreign-born parents. Adjusting to a new culture can further act as a burden on mental health as
�HEALTHCARE
19
the issues which cause stress to does not necessarily only arise amongst interactions with fellow
foreigners. Specifically, inter-generational conflicts within immigrant homes have been found to
have a negative impact on mental health and be associated with higher levels of depression
(Karasz et al., 2019). Additionally, Karasz et al. (2019) also mention that for women who lived
in more traditional households, eating disorders were also more prevalent. Therefore, affirming
that immigrating to a new country can have a negative impact on both physical and mental health
as these women may struggle with eating due to challenges with culture conflicts and
assimilation. For example, these eating disorders may arise due to feeling as though their cultural
foods are outside of the cultural norms within their new societies, increasing their feelings of
being an outsider. Moreover, the prevalence of eating disorders may also be caused by struggles
with body image brought on by assimilation as these women may have an increased desire of
wanting to look like the majority of women within their society. In general, migration has the
possible effect of interacting with other social factors including unemployment or poverty, which
can also lead to negative impacts on mental health (Karasz et al., 2019). Based on the
information provided, immigration plays a role in acting as a detriment on mental health due to
assimilation, culture conflicts, and socioeconomic challenges.
Cultural beliefs also have a large impact on South Asian mental health, specifically about
seeking treatment. Social stigma relating to mental health, for example, is an especially
significant factor as research has found that South Asians heavily base their reluctance to seek
care on social stigma (Karasz et al., 2019). Karasz et al. (2019) include the example of a group of
South Asian caretakers who purposely chose not to consult healthcare professionals for the
treatment of their elder relatives because of the underlying reason of social stigma associated
with mental health. A cause for experiencing social stigma may be due to the differences in types
�HEALTHCARE
20
of cultures as mentioned earlier. Specifically, South Asian communities follow a collectivist
culture, meaning that there is a large emphasis on conformity, family cohesion, and cooperation
(Karasz et al., 2019). Additionally, collectivists often place the priorities of the group above
those of the individual. Therefore, individuals are less likely to seek out care–especially for
themselves if the ultimate purpose for doing so relates to a self-benefit rather than for their
community (Karasz et al., 2019). Karasz et al. (2019) suggest that another reason for choosing
not to seek care could be that they do not want to stray from cooperating or conforming with
their culture. However, this can be an issue for South Asians who have immigrated to places
such as America where a more individualist culture is the norm rather than a collectivist.
Furthermore, immigration can come with various challenges as mentioned earlier, and some of
those challenges may include shifts in family dynamics which can therefore alter the
maintenance of a collectivist culture after immigrating. The disruption of this norm can therefore
also lead to additional negative effects on the mental health for these individuals (Karasz et al.,
2019).
Causes and Effects of Health Disparities
Affordability or Accessibility
As previously noted, a common challenge for those who immigrate to the United States is
dealing with financial difficulties which can arise from a mixture of the other challenges such as
lack of literacy, proper assimilation, or even poor mental health statuses (Karasz et al., 2019).
Unfortunately, within the United States, individuals coming from lower socioeconomic
backgrounds are more likely to experience health disparities (Kronenfeld, 2020). Therefore, as
South Asians not only identify as people of color–who are already susceptible to health
disparities, the addition of financial burdens makes their likelihood of experiencing health
�HEALTHCARE
21
disparities even more so. Concerning socioeconomic status, one of the most prominent
challenges regarding health disparities is being able to access or afford proper care. In fact,
according to Tauler et al. (2018), within the United States, psychiatric conditions—which are
recognized as causes of significant disability, cost over $300 billion annually. Still, the majority
of the people who require care—regardless of how prevalent their conditions may be, lack access
to effective and high-quality care (Tauler et al., 2018). According to the authors, this is caused
by increased rates of uninsured individuals amongst racial-ethnic minority groups (Tauler et al.,
2018). This is a cause for concern as health insurance within the United States has become nearly
essential as its per capita health care costs are the highest globally, and it continues to increase—
alongside the number of uninsured people within the country (Hoffman &Paradise, 2008).
Hoffman and Paradise (2008) affirm this as statistics prove that by 2006, the amount of
uninsured people within the country increased by over one million annually on average. More
specifically, by 2006, the amount of people lacking coverage surpassed 46 million (Hoffman &
Paradise, 2008). Additionally, lack of insurance is also concerning because whether an individual
is insured or not is often reflective of their overall health. Specifically, people with lower income
---and consequentially poor or lack of health insurance, are more susceptible to having poor or
just fair health in comparison to those with higher income. This was especially noted during
recent spread of Covid-19 as research found that nearly 18.2 million racial and ethnic minority
groups –who were also considered to be more at-risk individuals of severe Covid-19 symptoms,
lacked health insurance and therefore experienced worse health outcomes during the pandemic
(Parolin & Lee, 2022). Parolin and Lee (2022) explain that this is partly because most people
who lack adequate health insurance are also generally less likely to seek out healthcare services
especially for seeming minor health issues or preventative care, in comparison to insured
�HEALTHCARE
22
individuals. This is a serious problem as people should be able to access care as soon as they
need it rather than having to wait until their conditions worsen.
Racialization
Racialization and experiences of discrimination are also leading factors in health
disparities. Due to racial inequality, people of color are statistically more likely to show poorer
states of health in comparison to their white counterparts (Kronenfeld, 2020). The study of
racialization focuses on immigrants of color, racial minorities, their offspring, and their
experiences with healthcare. According to these theorists, individuals who identify within the
groups listed prior have been found to have different experiences due to having to face
discrimination and racism towards their cultures, attitudes, and bodies—not only within the
healthcare system, but also within everyday life. (Kronenfeld, 2020). These different experiences
then shape their assimilation outcomes and racial statues which have a significant effect on their
social positioning. Therefore, according to this theory, racial health disparities are a result of
racialization and racial hierarchy within society (Kronenfeld, 2020). This especially pertains to
South Asians, as discrimination is found to be a significant factor in South Asian’s experiences
of migration related stress (Karasz et al., 2019). In fact, such experiences with racial
discrimination are associated with shaping the self-reported health statuses amongst Asian (East
and South) Americans. Results from this data supports the understanding that racial
discrimination significantly affects South Asian self-reported health statuses. In fact, as various
forms of discrimination increase—including overt, covert and structural, the probability of
reporting better health decreases (Gee et al., 2009). More specifically, overt discrimination refers
to acts of racial bias including hate crimes whereas Gee et al. (2009) describe overt
discrimination as the inclusion of implicit attitudes, and structural discrimination as acts of
�HEALTHCARE
23
segregation, racial ideologies, and institutional policies. However, Gee et al. (2009) note that acts
of overt discrimination are less prevalent and detrimental than the more mundane actions
experienced through covert and structural discrimination. According to the authors,
institutionalized discrimination--stemming from structural discrimination, is likely to be one of
the more fundamental causes of health disparities. Research supports this as for most Asians,
many experiences with mental health including mental health outcomes and utilizing mental
health treatment and preventative services were all reported to be negatively associated with
discrimination (Gee et al., 2009).
Experience With Treatment
Treatment of mental health and health, in general, may also be negatively affected by
health disparities for South Asians. As immigrants living in both the United States and United
Kingdom, research has found that the most prevalent mental health disorder within South Asian
communities is depression (Karasz et al., 2019). According to the authors, various factors such as
social isolation, poor physical health, financial difficulties, perceptions of illness, older age,
literacy, and gender roles contribute to this statistic (Karasz et al., 2019). Unfortunately, part of
the reason why depression remains prevalent in South Asian communities is because of improper
treatment. As mentioned by Karasz et al. (2019), South Asian patients who have sought out
primary care when presenting with psychological difficulties often leave such appointments
untreated and undiagnosed. This is often due to the unfortunate encouragement from some
psychologists or physicians who persuade such patients into believing that their symptoms are
effects of somatization, rather than the actual illness itself (depression) (Karasz et al., 2019). This
is not only an issue in regard to treatment but also for fighting stigma in relation to health
disparities. As mentioned earlier, many South Asians do not seek out treatment for their mental
�HEALTHCARE
24
health due to disparities. Therefore, continuation of poor experiences in healthcare settings is
likely to increase stigma and decrease the number of South Asians actively seeking treatment,
which then poses the possibility of deeper detriment to their overall health and wellbeing (Jaspal
& Lopes, 2021).
Overall, research shows that South Asians are at greater risk for poorer health and mental
health due to health disparities. Moreover, factors such as socioeconomic status, racialization,
social stigma, and poor treatment have a significant impact on the overall health experience for
these individuals. Preexisting mental health challenges may be related to living in the United
States, however, due to the challenges which arise from health disparities, it is likely that
improving their health will also be a challenge. This is an important issue that must be prioritized
in future research. Therefore, in order to help prevent and eliminate health disparities to achieve
the long-term goal of bettering the health of South Asians, more research needs to be done within
these populations.
Chapter Three: South Asian Migrant Health: Combating Health Disparities
Within the (U.S.), a rapidly growing population is the South Asian population
(Mukherjea et al., 2017). Unfortunately, for many of these individuals their states of health–
especially mental health– are often substandard because of health disparities (Ali et al., 2020).
More specifically, as a result of health disparities, problems such as lack of access to healthcare
(including mental healthcare), language barriers prohibiting proper treatment, and lack of
research regarding South Asian mental health– persist within the U.S. (Mukherjea et al., 2017).
These problems continue to harm South Asians as they create a detriment to their overall health
and wellness.
�HEALTHCARE
25
As health disparities pose a clear problem for those affected concerning accessing care
and effective treatment, the purpose of this chapter is to address the possible solutions for
eliminating health disparities in the U.S.-based South Asian community. With that said, to
progress the process of eliminating health disparities, this paper addresses three possible
solutions pertaining to three problems arising from health disparities within the U.S. South Asian
community. Areas of focus include solutions regarding improving the U.S. healthcare system in
relation to funding, methods for preventing or decreasing the language barriers in health care,
and finally, increasing research on South Asians and mental health. Overall, by utilizing these
solutions– and as a result reducing or eliminating the problem of health disparities– the health
and wellness of South Asians will likely improve significantly.
Possible Solutions for Health Disparities
Healthcare
In order to establish a society where all of its individuals have positive experiences with
and equal access to healthcare, the services for such care must be affordable. Unfortunately,
within the U.S., the current healthcare system is in fact the most expensive system globally,
making it difficult for all Americans to be covered for healthcare–especially for those more
affected by disparities such as South Asians (Jones & Kantarjian, 2019). The high cost of care is
a problem within the U.S. healthcare system as it enables insurance disparities and therefore
limits many individuals from accessing mental health treatment due to the inability of affording
mental health care. Researchers note that (1), a quarter of the U.S. population does not have
proper access to mental health care, and (2), one out of every four Americans has a mental
disorder yet two-thirds of that population lack treatment (Safran et al., 2011). Additionally,
because patients with mental health illnesses are twice as likely to be referred to a specialist than
�HEALTHCARE
26
most chronic conditions, many of those individuals are unable to be successfully treated as most
coverage plans do not extend to specialist care (Katon & Unützer, 2013). Research finds that
only 60% of individuals referred to a specialist follow through with the referral (Katon &
Unützer, 2013). The affordability or plans for coverage within the current U.S. healthcare system
requires modifications so that individuals can have better access to care.
Unlike the U.S., most major industrialized countries—such as China, Japan, Germany,
and France—provide their citizens with universal health care programs as they recognize access
to proper health care as a human right (Jones & Kantarjian, 2019). With that said, for the current
state of the U.S. healthcare system to progress towards resolving health disparities for South
Asians and their mental health, the optimal change would be to follow other nations and establish
a universal healthcare system–one which includes coverage of mental health care for all. To
establish such a system for universal care, a legislation-based solution of dedicating more
funding toward medical services would be tremendously beneficial to the U.S. healthcare
system. Specifically, by providing more funding, health care coverage can be further expanded
and allocated to various forms of medical care–including mental health specialties (Jones &
Kantarjian, 2019). This expansion can allow more individuals to completely fulfill their
treatment plans rather than halting treatment due to a lack of affordability (Katon & Unützer,
2013). Moreover, increasing funding can also benefit individuals by reversing the perverse
market incentives which are currently active within the U.S. healthcare system such as highcosting drugs, out-of-product expenses, and high deductibles (Jones & Kantarjian, 2019).
Furthermore, an increase in funding would also benefit the U.S. healthcare system through
important improvements such as coordination of care through better staffing which can decrease
burnout for healthcare workers, more access to services for prevention and early detection of
�HEALTHCARE
27
mental illnesses, and the reduction fiances (total costs for care and individual spending) (Jones &
Kantarjian, 2019). Overall, increasing funding for healthcare would benefit not only the South
Asian population, but all groups facing healthcare disparities as more funding could potentially
increase opportunities for better health services.
Language Barriers
In addition to affordability, cultural barriers within health care–specifically pertaining to
language barriers relating to mental health– are also common problems experienced through
health disparities. As previously mentioned by Safran et al. (2011), accessibility to mental health
services is a severe problem for many individuals. Language barriers in particular act as a
prominent challenge for many minority individuals—including South Asians— when attempting
to access healthcare. Research shows that for families who have limited English proficiency
(LEP), the experience of barriers when accessing physical and behavioral health care is increased
in comparison to those who are non-LEP (Herbst et al., 2015). Moreover, language and
immigration status are also some of the most prevalent causes of health disparities within the
U.S. healthcare system as both factors are associated with an increased risk of behavioral,
developmental, or social delays (Herbst et al., 2015). This barrier through language is an
important problem to address–and resolve– as it continues to contribute to health disparities
pertaining not only to access but also to quality and equity.
Similar to resolving the problem of funding for healthcare, a solution for language
barriers requires a change to be implemented through legislation. More specifically, through the
enactment of increasing employment of more health care professionals who are proficient in
languages other than English. According to Herbst et al. (2015), the continued issue of language
barriers within healthcare is due to the shortage of healthcare professionals able to communicate
�HEALTHCARE
28
in languages other than English. This can have a serious impact on patient care as research shows
that patients who are LEP experience overall poorer communication with their healthcare
providers and greater dissatisfaction due to poorer understanding of their treatment plans and
diagnoses (Herbst et al., 2015). Consequently, LEP patients are more frequently associated with
health disparities relating to shorter amounts of time spent with their health care providers and
experience less sensitivity from their provider concerning family values and customs (Herbst et
al., 2015). Therefore, by choosing to hire more multilingual individuals, more LEP patients
would have the ability to more effectively communicate with their providers and as a result, also
experience a better sense of overall care.
Research
As previously mentioned, the South Asian population within the United States continues
to grow rapidly (Ali et al., 2021). Unfortunately, South Asians remain underserved and
extremely understudied as there is a severe lack of research regarding South Asian health,
especially mental health within the United States (Mukherjea et al., 2018). Mukherjea et al.
(2018) confirm that a leading cause of the lack of research on South Asian mental health is the
lack of participation by most South Asians in research studies. Many South Asians report reasons
such as mistrust, demand for time, legal status, stigma, and lack of access to information, as to
why they choose not to participate in research (Mukherjea et al., 2018). These reasons are often
characterized by various concerns about providing informed consent, lacking financial resources
and/ or time, language barriers (especially for LEP individuals), and fear of judgment from
family members or surrounding community members (Mukherjea et al., 2018). Moreover, South
Asians must be encouraged to engage in more research since understanding and addressing the
�HEALTHCARE
29
disparities faced by South Asians in the U.S. can be difficult with the limited amount of
information that currently exists. (Mukherjea et al., 2018).
To be able to reduce and eliminate preventable disparities amongst South Asians within
the U.S., the simple solution would be to create more opportunities for research amongst this
population. However, as Mukherjea et al. (2018) assert, South Asians require more
encouragement. Therefore, a possible solution would be to increase the amount of South Asian
research representatives within such studies as it can reduce common negative associations
between research and South Asians such as mistrust and stigma. Mukherjea et al. (2018) state
that for the South Asians who do participate in research, the facilitators are often individuals of
cultural congruence, meaning they are individuals representing potential participants– in this
case referring to South Asians. This is beneficial as it creates a sense of familiarity between
researchers and participants, decreases challenges of language barriers, and also decreases
community or family-related altruism (Mukherjea et al., 2018). Furthermore, lower perception of
risks and increases in the likelihood of convenience for study times and locations are also seen in
culturally congruent relationships between researchers and participants (Mukherjea et al., 2018).
Moreover, implementing such a change within South Asian mental health research would
increase opportunities for identifying and establishing methods for the implementation,
development, and evaluation of the health interventions targeting the South Asian community
(Ali et al., 2021).
Overall, with the implementation of the solutions suggested within this research
(universal healthcare, multilingual healthcare workers, and culturally congruent researchers), the
health and wellness of South Asians will likely improve significantly. Specifically, these changes
will enable South Asians to have better access to health care, lower chances of experiencing
�HEALTHCARE
30
language barriers, and also have an increased amount of data regarding the U.S. South Asian
community and mental health– which can be used for specifically tailored and targeted
interventions for South Asian health disparities. Furthermore, although the population of focus
within this research is migrant South Asians within the U.S., the solutions proposed are likely
applicable to other U.S. based minority groups experiencing similar challenges with health
disparities.
Chapter Four: Reflection
Throughout my thesis paper, each chapter focused on topics pertaining to healthcare
within the United States(including mental healthcare). More specifically, chapter one focused on
the history of healthcare, chapter two discussed health disparities within the South Asian
population, and chapter three addressed the problems within the healthcare system that cause
health disparities as well as the possible solutions for such problems. By reviewing the history of
healthcare in chapter one, I was able to gain a better understanding of the development of the
U.S. healthcare system, and how it came to become the current state that it is today. Based on my
research, I found that the lobbying against the establishment of universal healthcare by
politicians and organizations with legislative influence, negative attitudes surrounding mental
health, the misunderstanding of mental illnesses, and poor funding by congress for mental
healthcare (as a result of the negative attitudes and misunderstanding of mental health), have all
resulted in the current lack of universal healthcare within the United States. Following this,
chapter two focused on one of the major consequences of lacking a universal healthcare system,
the result of health disparities. As later discussed in chapter three, universal healthcare has the
benefit of establishing health equity, which can be seen through increasing the quality and access
to healthcare for all populations (Bravemen, 2006). However, because the United States has yet
�Chapter 4 redacted to remove personal reflections and any identifying information.
�HEALTHCARE
33
References
Ali, S. H., DiClemente, R. J., & Parekh, N. (2021). Changing the landscape of South Asian migrant
health research by advancing second-generation immigrant health needs. Translational
Behavioral Medicine, 11(6), 1295–1297. https://doi.org/10.1093/tbm/ibaa084
American Psychiatric Association. DSM History.
https://www.psychiatry.org/psychiatrists/practice/dsm/history-of-the-dsm
Anthony, W. A. (1993). Recovery from mental illness: The guiding vision of the mental health service
system in the 1990s. Psychosocial Rehabilitation Journal, 16(4), 11.
https://doi.org/10.1037/h0095655
Benson, R. T., & Koroshetz, W. J. (2022). Health disparities: research that matters. Stroke, 53(3), 663–
669. https://doi.org/10.1161/STROKEAHA.121.035087
Bloom, D. E., Khoury, A., & Subbaraman, R. (2018). The promise and peril of universal health care.
Science (Washington DC), 361(6404).
Braveman, P. (2006). Health disparities and health equity: Concepts and measurement.
https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.publhealth.27.021405.102103
Breakey, W. R. (Ed.). (1996). Integrated mental health services: Modern community psychiatry. Oxford
University Press, USA.
Buck, S. (2017). Universal healthcare was almost part of the original Social Security act of 1935.
Timeline. https://timeline.com/social-security-universal-health-care-efe875bbda93
Cohen, W. J. (1985). Reflections on the enactment of Medicare and Medicaid. Health Care Financing
Review, Suppl, 3–11.
�HEALTHCARE
34
Druss, B. G., & Goldman, H. H. (2018). Integrating health and mental health services: A past and future
history. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 175 (12), 1199–1204.
Fabrega, H. (1991). The culture and history of psychiatric stigma in early modern and modern Western
societies: A review of recent literature. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 32(2), 97–119.
https://doi.org/10.1016/0010-440X(91)90002-T
Gee G.C., Ro A, Shariff-Marco S, Chae D, Gee, G. C., Ro, A., Shariff-Marco, S., & Chae, D. (2009).
Racial discrimination and health among Asian Americans: Evidence, assessment, and directions
for future research. Epidemiologic Reviews, 31, 130–151. https://doi.org/10.1093/epirev/mxp009
Goldfield, N. (1993). Truman and the medical profession: replay or lesson for the nineties. Physician
Executive, 19(2), 3–9.
Giritli-Nygren, K., & Olofsson, A. (2014). Intersectional approaches in health-risk research: A critical
review. Sociology Compass, 8(9), 1112–1126. https://doi.org/10.1111/soc4.12176
Hansan, J.E. (2012). The New Deal: Part II. https://socialwelfare.library.vcu.edu/eras/greatdepression/the-new-deal-part-ii/
Harry S. Truman Library & Museum. The Challenge of National Healthcare.
https://www.trumanlibrary.gov/education/presidential-inquiries/challenge-national-healthcare
Hermer, L. (2005). Alan Derickson, Health Security for All: Dreams of Universal Health Care in
America. Politics and the Life Sciences, 1, 89. https://doi.org/10.2990/14715457(2005)24[89:ADHSFA]2.0.CO;2
Herbst, R. B., Margolis, K. L., Millar, A. M., Muther, E. F., & Talmi, A. (2016). Lost in translation:
Identifying behavioral health disparities in pediatric primary care. Journal of Pediatric
Psychology, 41(4), 481–491. https://doi.org/10.1093/jpepsy/jsv079
�HEALTHCARE
35
Hoffman, C., & Paradise, J. (2008). Health insurance and access to health care in the United States.
Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1136, 149–160.
https://doi.org/10.1196/annals.1425.007
Jaspal, R., & Lopes, B. (2021). Discrimination and mental health outcomes in British Black and South
Asian people during the COVID-19 outbreak in the UK. Mental Health, Religion & Culture,
24(1), 80–96. https://doi.org/10.1080/13674676.2020.1871328
Jennie,J.,Kronenfeld. (2020). Race, Ethnicity, Gender and Other Social Characteristics As Factors in
Health and Health Care Disparities. Emerald Publishing Limited.
Jones, G., & Kantarjian, H. (2019). The many roads to universal health care in the USA. The Lancet
Oncology, 20(10), e601–e605. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1470-2045(19)30517-0
Karasz, A., Gany, F., Escobar, J., Flores, C., … Diwan, S. (2019). Mental health and stress among South
Asians. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, 21(Suppl 1), 7–14.
Katon, W. J., & Unützer, J. (2013). Health reform and the Affordable Care Act: The importance of
mental health treatment to achieving the triple aim. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 74(6),
533–537. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychores.2013.04.005
Katz, S. J., Kessler, R. C., Frank, R. G., Leaf, P., & Lin, E. (1997). Mental health care use, morbidity,
and socioeconomic status in the United States and Ontario. Inquiry, 34(1), 38–49.
https://www.jstor.org/stable/29772668
Lee-Tauler, S. Y., Eun, J., Corbett, D., & Collins, P. Y. (2018). A systematic review of interventions to
improve initiation of mental health care among racial-ethnic minority groups. Psychiatric
Services, 69(6), 628–647 https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.201700382
Mahler, I. (1953). Attitudes toward Socialized Medicine. Journal of Social Psychology, 38(2),
�HEALTHCARE
36
273–282. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224545.1953.9711461
Marmor, T. R., & Gill, K. (1990). The political and economic context of mental health care in the
United States. In I. M. Marks & R. A. Scott (Eds.), Mental health care delivery: Innovations,
impediments and implementation, 137–153. Cambridge University Press.
Mukherjee, A. (2009). "The "New Deal" for healthcare: reforms, risks, choices and outcomes",
International Journal of Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Marketing, Vol. 3 No. 3.
https://doi.org/10.1108/ijphm.2009.32403caa.001
National Alliance of Mental Illness. (2020). The evolution of the Mental Health Movement.
https://nami.org/Blogs/NAMI-Blog/June-2020/The-Evolution-of-the-Mental-Health-Movement
Obama, B. (2016). United States healthcare reform: progress to date and next steps. JAMA, 316(5), 525–
532.
Parcesepe, A. M., & Cabassa, L. J. (2013). Public stigma of mental illness in the United States: A
systematic literature review. Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health
Services Research, 40(5), 384–399. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10488-012-0430-z
Parolin, Z., & Lee, E. K. (2022). The role of poverty and racial discrimination in exacerbating the health
consequences of COVID-19. The Lancet Regional Health - Americas, 7.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lana.2021.100178
Rath, J. (2000, June). Editorial: Assimilation of immigrants in Amsterdam and New York: A case for
international comparative study. Netherlands Journal of Social Sciences, 36(2), 117–125.
Rabkin, J. (1974). Public attitudes toward mental illness: A review of the literature. Schizophrenia
Bulletin, 1(10), 9–33. https://doi.org/10.1093/schbul/1.10.9
Rössler, W. (2016). The stigma of mental disorders: A millennia-long history of social exclusion and
prejudices. EMBO Reports, 17(9), 1250–1253.
�HEALTHCARE
37
Safran, M. A., Mays Jr, R. A., Huang, L. N., McCuan, R., Pham, P. K., Fisher, S. K., McDuffie, K. Y.,
& Trachtenberg, A. (2009). Mental health disparities. American Journal of Public Health,
99(11), 1962–1966. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2009.167346
Sartorius, N. (1983). Mental health in the early 1980s: some perspectives. Bulletin of the World Health
Organization, 61(1), 1–6.
Shannon, J., Abraham, A., Bagwell Adams, G., & Hauer, M. (2022). Racial disparities for
COVID19 mortality in Georgia: spatial analysis by age based on excess deaths. Social Science &
Medicine, 292. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.114549
Shaw, F. E., Asomugha, C. N., Conway, P. H., & Rein, A. S. (2014). The Patient Protection and
Affordable Care Act: opportunities for prevention and public health. The Lancet, 384(9937), 7582. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(14)60259-2
Smith, J., Sulek, R., Abdullahi, I., Green, C. C., Bent, C. A., Dissanayake, C., & Hudry, K. (2021).
Comparison of mental health, well-being and parenting sense of competency among Australian
and South-East Asian parents of autistic children accessing early intervention in Australia.
Autism: The International Journal of Research and Practice, 25(6), 1784–1796.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/13623613211010006
Shorter, E. (2013). The history of DSM. In Making the DSM-5 (pp. 3-19). Springer, New York, NY.
Smoyak, S. A. (2000). The history, economics, and financing of mental health care. Part 2: The 20th
century. Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services, 38(10), 26–37.
Subica, A. M., & Link, B. G. (2022). Cultural trauma as a fundamental cause of health disparities. Social
Science & Medicine, 292, 114574. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.114574
Tolbert, J., Orgera, K., Singer, N., & Damico, A. (2019). Key facts about the uninsured population.
Kaiser Family Foundation.
�HEALTHCARE
38
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.114574
Zelizer, J. (2015). How Medicare Was Made. The New Yorker. https://www.newyorker.com/news/newsdesk/medicare-made
�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Senior Presentations Archive
Description
An account of the resource
This archive contains materials from Wagner’s annual ‘Senior Presentations.’ This event honors outstanding students from each discipline who completed their Senior Learning Community project with excellence. The work is representative of Wagner’s highest standards, and is exemplary of the diversity of subject matter, public-facing scholarship, and civic-minded professionalism our students have attained through their four years here. These students were specially invited to present their work in a formal setting, traditionally the day of Baccalaureate. Students are encouraged to present their work in a format appropriate for their discipline, and so, the presentations vary in their format. Some might be in the form of a short video, or paper abstracts, while others might be posters or music clips. We expect this archive to serve as a resource for generations to come. Congratulations to our Seniors!
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2017 -
Rights Holder
A person or organization owning or managing rights over the resource.
Wagner College, Staten Island, NY
Document
A resource containing textual data. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre text.
Date Digital
2022
Original Format
If the image is of an object, state the type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data
Thesis
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
2022_Psychology_Mayadunna - Jessica England
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Samantha Mayadunna
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
5/1/2022
Title
A name given to the resource
Healthcare and Healthcare Disparities Within the United States
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Drs. Laurence Nolan & Jessica England
Psychology
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
text
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
application/pdf
Extent
The size or duration of the resource.
37 pages
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
U.S. and international copyright laws may protect this work. It is provided by Wagner College for scholarly or research purposes only. Commercial use or distribution is not permitted without prior permission of the copyright holder.
Rights Holder
A person or organization owning or managing rights over the resource.
Wagner College, Staten Island, NY
Psychology
-
https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/1909/archive/files/9027a470ffa4e8bfd624845b1331a9be.pdf?Expires=1712793600&Signature=RLSXPU9JREGvbOKLa6%7EVhbe6UMaZuC4c-ns6R44TzPdERS0wcpWmBhw2Y4egauWDmLny9BMnmC9IErwH3JGU0TrOzfxunqsPPQJVsGhTApisKXTcEdrzc2nZLY2kVoT4HgASE4HwCxCGZ6vq4VowN%7EJ8VrCktdIuOjxlioolxu60lN754XHDFWBXf6-z1Pn%7ExQw3EIYLvSHGzhU0VpCv5XRX9kaTjr4shI7QgGUP6mMkVx21SJI1wz79s05t9wcZ6zG2h%7EpmFJnHDrAEdlV4QEYdzehXEmFGdbO3NSRennnV9dQd-pe3jM7SLJhD7XEnBZvYFwfNogJqCB5KdwGpVQ__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM
09d4d0b72b55ae8ce09104faa0e4a507
PDF Text
Text
1
Compensation affecting Work Ethic
Samantha Marquez
Senior Thesis
BU400 Thesis and Practicum
Nicolais School of Business
Wagner College
Fall 2022
Major: Business Administration Management
454 henry street roselle park NJ, 07204
908-377-7334
1
Notes ©Shani D. Carter, 1998-2022
�2
Abstract
Does Compensation Affect Employee’s Work Ethic?
Samantha Marquez (Business Administration)
This paper illuminates a plausible theory suggesting that compensation may affect the work
ethic of employees. In particular, it argues that meaningful work, growth opportunities, and motivation are more positively linked to job satisfaction and productivity than increased compensation. This paper uses relevant case studies, peer review articles, bar charts, and graphs to emphasize the hypothesized theory.
Introduction
Over the years, technology-based companies have become more popularized and have increased revenue for their employees. I will be specifically looking at companies such as Apple,
Microsoft, Amazon, and Google. I chose to research these companies and their employee satisfaction as I suspect them all to have very high revenue. This will allow me to compare a company’s employees median salaries to their employees’ job satisfaction.
Job satisfaction, employee satisfaction, or work satisfaction is a measure of workers' contentedness with their job, whether they like the job or individual aspects or facets of a job. This job
satisfaction can arise in employees from the nature of work or supervision that can lead to meaningful work, growth opportunities, and motivation. Job satisfaction can be measured in cognitive,
affective, and behavioral components. However, I find it interesting to learn about how employee
satisfaction is gained in both positive and negative ways.
In the current paper, I further explore the companies of Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, and
Google. I focus on the research and development of these companies’ employee satisfaction and
emphasize how employee satisfaction increases or decreases. I first begin this paper with a detailed description of theories, and peer review articles of my four variables; meaningful work,
2
Notes ©Shani D. Carter, 1998-2022
�3
growth opportunities, compensation, and motivation. Second I will explain how this relates to the
company’s revenue or benefits. Third and finally I examine exactly how much each company offers in pay and benefits compared to other companies and relate it to their employee’s overall job
satisfaction.
Included in the 17 goals of the United Nations, is the envisioning goal #3; Good Health and
Well-being, which relates significantly to my thesis. This sustainability goal correlates with this
paper because of employee work and life satisfaction. Job satisfaction was most strongly associated with mental/psychological problems, with the strongest relationships being found for burnout. One of the points made in the United Nations Targets was to substantially increase health
financing and the recruitment, development, training, and retention of the health workforce in developing countries, especially in the least developed countries and small island developing States
(United Nations, 2022). This can relate towards my thesis on employee satisfaction because having systems in place to help employees succeed and find value in their work can increase health
and wellbeing all around the company.
Literature review
Employee Counseling, Equity Theory, Research Opportunities, and Motivation
Equity Theory is the theory of motivation that suggests employee motivation is
driven by their sense of fairness or unfairness. This theory can be seen in motivation in the workplace for employees. For example, if employees are finding that they are not being treated fairly,
they will not be motivated to work hard or grow to their manager's expectations. Typically, employees do occasionally have many concerns about fairness in the workplace and how it applies
to them. (cf. Kulik, Cregan, Metz, & Brown, 2009; Santos, Mustafa, & Gwi, 2015, 2016). Frequently in these cases, employees will go to their HR manager to communicate about this issue,
especially if they feel dissatisfied from increased motivation. From a company’s point of view, it
3
Notes ©Shani D. Carter, 1998-2022
�4
is common that an employee’s satisfaction comes in large from their increasing motivation
(Kulik, Cregan, 2009). When applying equity theory to the workplace, it is important that an individual is able to create a balance between what they give to the organization (the job) compared to what they get in return (Brown, 2009). Equity theory can also be a model for measuring
how satisfied an employee is in their job. Employees often attempt to keep a balance between
how much they give to their employer and what they receive from their company in return (Adams, 2022). Enabling equity in terms of motivation and growth potential and compensation in
turn, allows job satisfaction to increase. Without equity, even the most diverse company will
have employees that do not feel satisfied in their jobs.
Motivation in the workforce
Motivation in the workplace along with the franchisee’s skills and knowledge can all influence the employee’s performance. Action plans are set in place to promote businesses to employers and employees however if there is a lack of motivation and skills of the potential, incoming can heavily affect the franchise. (Adams, 1965, p. 277). Going off of this, a lack of motivation and skills in the workplace can lead to employees not fulfilling their job requirements or not
having high employee satisfaction. As a result, the company will have low-performance rates as
employees will quit because of dissatisfaction, and low revenue because there is no employee
satisfaction ultimately resulting in poor customer satisfaction (Adams, 1965, p. 277).
The Effects of Motivational Messages on Job Satisfaction
During the Covid-19 pandemic, emergency nurses and healthcare workers had been
severly affected. They went to work everyday facing the hardships of death, getting sick, and not
being able to help due to their limited resources (Sonyaa, 2022). They had been subjected to
4
Notes ©Shani D. Carter, 1998-2022
�5
employee burnout. These nurses were showing negative psychological reactions such as stressrelated anxiety and depression; lower job satisfaction; and compassion fatigue owing to the increased workload. This demonstrates that nurses need physical, mental, and social support to reduce their psychological burden and enhance the response capacity of the health system
(SonyaGoktas , ElifGezginci, HilalKartal, 2022). Increased workload, longer working hours, isolation, etc. can all affect employees. Since this, these emergency nurses and health care workers
had been sent motivational messages to try and suppress some of these saddened thoughts. There
was a study put into place to investigate the effect of the motivational messages being sent. The
Job Satisfaction Scale, Compassion Fatigue Scale, and Communication Skills Scale were administered before and after the intervention (SonyaGoktas , ElifGezginci, HilalKartal, 2022). The results from this study found that emergency nurses receiving these motivational messages had increased job satisfaction and had improved communication skills while reducing compassion fatigue (SonyaGoktas , ElifGezginci, HilalKartal, 2022). For this reason, promoting and maintaining high motivation among all employees in different workforces are highly encouraged. Mental
Ledgers of the inputs and outcomes of their job
Employees create a mental ledger of the inputs and outcomes of their jobs based
on equity theory. They will then use this ledger to compare the ratio of their inputs and outputs to
other businesses and franchises. (Adams, 1965, p. 277). By employees taking advantage of this
knowledge of others having a better outcome than them, they will be forced to have a mental
challenge against this. They will proceed to ask themselves why are they not getting the same as
the rest of the employees. For example, inputs may include effort, performance, skills, education,
and experience; outcomes generally refer to pay, benefits, and promotions (cf. Kulik, Cregan,
Metz, & Brown, 2009; Santos, Mustafa, & Gwi, 2015, 2016).
5
Notes ©Shani D. Carter, 1998-2022
�6
If employees are happy and have high job satisfaction due to the inputs matching the outputs,
they are more likely to work well in their jobs and stay longer with a company. Business units
where employees score in the top half for employee engagement have a 50% higher success rate
on productivity outcomes, on average (Villanova, 2022).
Factors of workplace satisfaction are; respect, trust, security, and a healthy environment.
(Villanova, 2022). According to a report from Villanova, it found various reports from employees stated exactly why these 6 variables are more important than compensation as a whole. Employees rate the respectful treatment of all employees as the most important factor when it comes
to job satisfaction (Villanova, 2022). Employees also indicated that trust between themselves and
senior management was highly important, using a trust to fuel their job satisfaction. Next, employees have stated that organizations can provide a sense of security through honest communication and transparency about the company’s security. This includes the company’s health, employees’ health, and long-term viability (Villanova, 2022). Lastly, including a healthy environment in the workplace can create less stress, and more morale, harassment-free zone, and a discriminatory-free zone can create a healthy work environment for all employees; increasing more
employee satisfaction.
Effects of Compensation and Strategic Choices
The effect of strategic choices
According to the contingency theoretical framework, the elements that are considered
contingent would be those capable of moderating the effect of a particular organizational characteristic on its performance. Also, using strategic positioning with an organization's choice in their
work environment is based on the analysis of competitive markets. This will make up an organization operating environment whilst affecting strategic choices in the workplace.
The effect of Job Satisfaction
6
Notes ©Shani D. Carter, 1998-2022
�7
Employee participation and job satisfaction in SMEs: investigating strategic exploitation
and exploration as moderators.
Additionally, mainstream HRM studies from large organizations have been inclined to
treat participation as a single-faceted construct despite evidence showing otherwise e.g (Wajda
Wikhamn, Björn Remneland Wikhamn & Jonas Fasth, 2022). This unidimensional view of employee participation is arguably even more problematic in the SME context where the decisionmaking domains that employees can be involved in can be broad e.g.
The first purpose of this article was to investigate the relationship between employee participation as a multifaceted construct and job satisfaction in the SME context.
Second, the study investigates how these three employee participation forms relate to employee
job satisfaction (Wajda Wikhamn, Björn Remneland Wikhamn & Jonas Fasth, 2022).
The effects of meaningful work on employees’ organizational commitment
Work is highly important to many employees and employers. People frequently say that
they work to make a living however when people are retired they find themselves bored without
work. Humans can find personal significance through work (Jung, Yoon, 2015). Data was collected from a questionnaire given to employees of family-style restaurants and 5-star hotels in
South Korea with a total of 352 employees participating (Jung, Yoon, 2015). The results showed
that employee’s view of meaningful work at their job is something that can positively influence
their job engagement and organizational commitment. When looking further, employees said that
work interpersonal relations and economic orientation significantly affect employees’ job engagement whereas entitlement norms and expressive orientation did not. (Jung, Yoon, 2015).
Ultimately, as stated before, employees want their work to be meaningful to them (Sverko
and Vizek-Vidovic, 1995). Furthermore, Judi et al. (2010) observed that the meaning employees
placed on their job positively affected internal motive, satisfaction, and work effectiveness.
7
Notes ©Shani D. Carter, 1998-2022
�8
Akanbi and Iola (2013) observed that the meaning of work as part of job satisfaction was an important element in increasing engagement. Burger et al. (2013) It has been researched that those
who have gone and tried to learn something more in their job often were inspired by their work.
Thus, the meaning of work perceived by employees in organizations is indeed highly important
(Kamdron, 2005, Steger and Dik, 2009, Pratt and Ashforth, 2003, Rosso et al., 2010).
This also goes from if employees see value in their job. Although personal improvement in
job performance and achieving outcomes are important from the viewpoint of organizations, focusing on internal elements, such as the meaning of work is also important to improve the company moving forward. Therefore, this shows that motivation in the workplace is often viewed as
an influence on the meaning of work for employees on job engagement, organizational commitment, and value for the employee.
High relative compensation, and empowerment
Other processes in human resource management include high relative compensation and empowerment. All of these processes show how they all combine to prove industrylevel risk. High relative compensation within an organization can be associated with lower injury
rates as well. Compensation has always been a huge part of human resource management systems (Pfeffer, 1998). This along with competitive pay, incentive compensation and pay for performance are found within this topic. In a similar way pays fairness is an issue in many organizations among employees, it is also an issue in organizations where employees are paid above-market compensation and perceived as more than fair. (Werner, Kuiate, Noland, Francia, 2016).
As well as the rest of the practices, empowerment practices involve the methods and
procedures that enhance an employee’s opportunity to participate in decision-making. Thus this
may lead to increased employee satisfaction. (Seibert, Wang, & Courtright, 2011). As well as
this, it will also exercise employees’ ability to contribute and perform within a company,
8
Notes ©Shani D. Carter, 1998-2022
�9
increasing their motivation. It has been researched that enhancing autonomy and participation
will generally reduce injuries in the workplace.
High-Performance work systems for employee job satisfaction
Researching the mechanisms through which high performance affects job satisfaction can
help analyze employees. Since the outbreak of Covid-19, there has been high stress, wage cuts,
reductions in employment hours, layoffs, etc. which can all lead to employee burnout. (Collings
et al., 2021). HRM can provide employees with the necessary tools to face the new challenges
and demands stemming from the COVID-19 crisis, thus ensuring their well-being and ultimately
highlighting the fundamental role of human capital and management in organizational success
(Collings et al., 2021). Since the outbreak has subsided, the current work ethic of employees
would have to remain high-performance to keep motivation, improve employee skills, and participate in organizations.
This particular study highlights the importance of high-performance work systems (HPWs)
for hospitality firms (Adikaram et al., 2021). HPWSs directly affect employees’ job satisfaction
and indirectly improve job satisfaction by reducing burnout. As the satisfaction of employees is
important for their worth ethic in their organization, it shows high-performance work systems do
lead to high employee satisfaction and finding value in the job. This clearly and accurately describes motivation and growth opportunities with work environments that promote high performance.
Job Satisfaction and Promotions
In this article, it estimates the impact of promotions and promotion expectations on job satisfaction (Kosteas, 2022). It has been researched that having received a promotion in the past two
years within your workplace leads to increased job satisfaction from that employee. This even
applies if the employer is controlling the employee’s current wage and wage growth. Most
9
Notes ©Shani D. Carter, 1998-2022
�10
employees think that growth opportunity titles are as important as getting paid the same (Kosteas, 2022). Furthermore, workers who believe a promotion is possible in the next two years also
report higher job satisfaction. Additionally, past promotions have a lingering, but the fading impact on job satisfaction (Kosteas, 2022). De Souza finds that managers who received a promotion
are more satisfied with promotion opportunities and have greater promotion expectations for the
future. In total, the impact of a promotion is large relative to the effect of a pay increase; a promotion has a greater impact on job satisfaction than a 70 percent increase in the hourly wage
(Kosteas, 2022).
Longitudinal Effects of Pay Increase on Job Satisfaction
It has been commonly believed that pay increases within the workforce can increase job satisfaction for any employee. This study investigates the effects of pay increases to employees and
how their job satisfaction increases or decreases because of it. For this specific job, a total of 155
primary school teachers responded to a questionnaire tapping their overall job satisfaction over
four occasions. The results of the study showed that pay increases did not have a significant effect on teachers' job satisfaction (Sabry M., 2010). Something that was interesting about this article that stood out was that after their pay increase, teachers with high academic attainments were
significantly less satisfied with their teaching profession rather than teachers with very low academic attainments (Sabry M., 2010). This basically implied that a pay increase does not affect
their job satisfaction because they are doing what they enjoy as a profession rather than focusing
on the money and pay aspect of it. Along with this, after pay increase, male teachers were significantly more satisfied with their teaching profession than female teachers. Also, length of service
did not have a significant effect on teachers' job satisfaction either (Sabry M., 2010). This is another example of how pay does not affect job satisfaction rather motivation and value does.
10
Notes ©Shani D. Carter, 1998-2022
�11
IMPROVING EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE THROUGH ACHIEVEMENT-ORIENTED WORK MOTIVATION.
Within organizations, employees find some sort of motivation in different aspects. For
example, the higher level of competition in the industry can increase motivation in work ethic.
Although it may be competition, it is the company’s effort to respond well to their employees to
work through internal strategies for improving employee performance (Damarwulan, 2022).
Training and competence are found to be one of the factors that can improve employee performance (Mumtazah, 2022) In an effort to improve employee performance involving achievementoriented work motivation as an intervening variable the effect of training effectiveness and soft
skill competence on employee performance (Damarwulan, 2022).
For this specific article, samples were taken by 100 employees using a purposive random
sampling method. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was used to test the statistical significance of the path coefficients against the five (5) established hypotheses (Mumtazah, 2022) The
findings of the study indicate that the effectiveness of training and soft skill competencies have a
positive and significant influence on achievement-oriented work motivation (Damarwulan,
2022).
Hypotheses
H1: Meaningful work, growth opportunities, and motivation are more positively linked to
job satisfaction and productivity than increased compensation.
Job satisfaction is impacted by a variety of variables including meaningful work, growth opportunities, motivation, compensation, and life satisfaction. In today’s current view of employment, it can be commonly perceived or believed that compensation is linked to job satisfaction
and productivity in the workplace. However, I hypothesize that meaningful work, growth opportunities, and motivation are more positively linked to job satisfaction and productivity than increased compensation. By looking into high technological companies with high median pay, I
11
Notes ©Shani D. Carter, 1998-2022
�12
will conduct research on whether employees have high satisfaction based on their compensation
and benefits or for their value in the job itself.
Method
Subjects
The Subjects I will be looking at are various employees from companies I suspect to have
very high revenue. The companies I examined are; Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, and Google.
These companies are massive global companies that employ thousands of people. By looking at
these major companies I will hopefully be able to prove my hypothesis.
First, I looked into Apple because they have such a powerful brand and lofty stock valuation. For this reason, I was curious to know whether employees were happy working there and
why this may or may not be the case. Apple Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, United States. Apple is also the largest technology
company by revenue. The company’s annual revenue for 2022 was $394.328B, 7.79% more than
the prior year. They also have more than 1.2 billion customers and 164,000 employees. For this
reason, I chose to examine their employees to see the causing source of their employee satisfaction.
Next, I chose Microsoft to research. Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational
technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers,
and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond,
Washington, United States. I chose to look at Microsoft because it is a well-known and well-used
company. I believe Microsoft will offer comparable and interesting differences to Apple allowing me to collect valuable data for my hypothesis. Microsoft’s annual revenue in 2022 was
$203.075B with around 75 million customers and 221,000 employees. For this reason, I chose to
examine their employees to see the causing source of their employee satisfaction.
12
Notes ©Shani D. Carter, 1998-2022
�13
Third, researched Amazon as a different approach to a company. Amazon Inc. is an
American multinational technology company focusing on e-commerce, cloud computing, online
advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. It is one of the world's most valuable
brands. The annual revenue for Amazon for 2022 was $501.191B with a 9.66% increase year
over year. The company has over 230 million customers visiting its website and 1,468,000 employees working in its warehouses. By researching Amazon, I can look into their employees who
work more physically in a warehouse to understand their level of employee satisfaction.
Lastly, I chose to research google. Google LLC is an American multinational technology
company focusing on search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, computer
software, quantum computing, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and consumer electronics. It is
one of the world's most valuable brands due to its market dominance, data collection, and technological advantages in the area of artificial intelligence. I chose Google because it is something
we use every day regardless of what we need as students and researchers so I thought it would be
interesting to know if employees are satisfied working there. Google has an annual revenue of
257.637B with 4.3 customers using their search engine and only 139,995 employees functioning
it. I chose Google to examine as it is considered one of the Big Five American information technology companies, alongside Amazon, Apple, Meta, and Microsoft. By looking at google I can
compare vast differences in work environments between companies like Google (Website) and
Amazon (Warehouse).
Measures
The variables I will be looking at are meaningful work, growth opportunities, motivation,
compensation, and job satisfaction. However, this is only a correlation study, meaning there are
13
Notes ©Shani D. Carter, 1998-2022
�14
no independent or dependent variables. By looking at each variable I can learn how to compare
the differences and similarities.
For example, when examining meaningful work, I saw how employees view the work their
doing. Specifically, if employees find their work meaningful or having value. When employees
tend to have more meaningful work, their performance improves. This is because once they feel
as though they are helping something/someone or putting forth something for the greater good, it
helps their motivation to work towards it.
Next, for growth opportunities, I researched if employees found that working at their specific
company can increase their opportunities for raises or promotions in the future. Growth opportunities can be seen in many different ways. It can be seen as getting a raise, getting a higher position, professional growth, or even personal growth.
For motivation, I looked at how employees at their specific companies found jobs and motivation for working there. By this, I mean if employees did not have any urges or feelings to not
do their job or slack off. A key characteristic of motivation is that employees genuinely enjoy
their working experience.
For compensation, I researched each company individually and looked at the annual revenue
and median salary for their employees. By doing this, compared if a company with a high median salary increased in job satisfaction versus a company with a low median salary and low job
satisfaction.
For job satisfaction, I researched the employees at the companies I researched and saw how
high their job satisfaction was. By doing this, I could look more in-depth as to why one is higher
than the other.
14
Notes ©Shani D. Carter, 1998-2022
�15
By examining each variable, I was able to better understand if there is a possible relationship
between job satisfaction and meaningful work, growth opportunities, motivation, and compensation.
Table 1: Hypothesis, Variables, and Statistical Analysis
Variables
Hypotheses
Meaningful
Growth OpCompensa- Job Satis& Variable
work
portunities
Motivation
tion
faction
RelationStatistical
Hypothesis
(MW)
(GRO)
(M)
(C)
(JS)
ships
Tests
H1: Meaningful work,
growth opportunities,
and motivaCorrelaMW, GRO,+
tion are more
tion, bar
M = JS
positively
MW
GRO
M
C
JS
chats &
linked to job
percentile
C ≠ JS
satisfaction
differences
and productivity than increased compensation.
Adapted from: Rudestam, K.E. & Newton, R.R. (1992). Surviving Your Dissertation. Newbury Park, California: Sage
Publications, Inc. page 138.
15
Notes ©Shani D. Carter, 1998-2022
�16
Table 2: Detail About Variables
Variables
Meaningful
work
(MW)
Data
Instrument / Survey
Author / Publisher
Type of data
Workplace
Spirituality and
the Motivational Impact
of Meaningful
Work: An Experimental
Study.
Kendall, Mumphord; Journal
of Organizational Psychology
Growth Opportunities
(GRO)
Motivation
(M)
Growth Opportunity Assessment
Ben Franks
Founder,
Novel Wines
Compensation
(C)
Job Satisfaction
(JS)
LEADERSHIP
STYLES AND
EMPLOYEES’
MOTIVATION:
PERSPECTIVE
FROM AN
EMERGING
ECONOMY
The effect of
compensation
and work motivation on
employee loyalty
A Study Evaluating the Impact of Job
Satisfaction on
the Performance of It
Employees
Fiaz, Muhammad
Su, Qin
Ikram, Amir
Saqib, Aruba: he
Journal of Developing Areas.
Prasetyo, Davieri Elcid1
Ginting, Hawila Natalio1
Pay – Technium Social
Sciences Journal
Angayarkanni,
R.
Sathyavathi,
V. Special Education; 2022
Quantitative
Quantitative
Quantitative
Quantitative
Quantitative
Test Scores:
Test Scores:
Test Scores:
Test Scores:
Test Scores:
Range of scores
0 to 120
0 to 100
0 to 100
0 to 20
0 to 20
Adapted from: Rudestam, K.E. & Newton, R.R. (1992). Surviving Your Dissertation. Newbury Park, California:
Sage Publications, Inc. page 140.
16
Notes ©Shani D. Carter, 1998-2022
�17
Procedure
The first statistical procedure used was bar charts to display and compare data between the
companies and employee satisfaction using my 4 variables. By using bar charts, I was able to
show the distribution of data points and perform a comparison of metric values across different
subgroups of data. Bar charts also allowed me to show which groups were highest or most common, and how groups compare against each other.
I also used Pearson correlation coefficient (r) to determine whether my variables correlate between one another. Using this was helpful as it is the most common way of measuring a linear
correlation. In addition, calculated percentile differences to better express the difference between
the variables for each company I researched.
I retrieved my information and data via Wagner College’s Hormann Library Database, By
using this research, this database was useful in helping me locate the information needed to compare and contrast the variables and companies in question.
Results
Table 1
Contains data from employees of four global companies in 2022. The employees rated each area
out of 100. The areas are all related to job satisfaction and include, benefits and perks, meaningful work, growth potential, and median salary. A key aspect of the table is that Google has the
lowest median wage whilst being the highest in all other indicators of job satisfaction
17
Notes ©Shani D. Carter, 1998-2022
�18
Amazon
Apple
Google
Microsoft
Apple
Google
Microsoft
(N=2312)
(N=5537)
(N=3633)
N=9006
Benefits & Perks
77
79
86
84
Meaningful Work
74
73
79
77
Growth Potential
66
60
66
62
Median Salary
$180,145
$159,682
$134,386
$162,182
Job Satisfaction
43%
70%
86%
70%
Percentage difference
Amazon
Amazon
Amazon
Apple
Apple
Google
Apple
Google
Microsoft
Google
Microsoft
Microsoft
Benefits & Perks
-2.6
-11.7
-9.1
-8.9
-6.3
2.3
Meaningful Work
1.4
-6.8
-4.1
-8.2
-5.5
2.5
Growth Potential
9.1
0
6.1
-10.0
-3.3
6.1
Median Salary
11.4
25.4
10.0
15.8
-1.6
-20.7
Figure 1 Contains the median salaries of four global companies in 2022. Noticeably, the figure
shows that google has the lowest median salary whilst amazon has the highest.
18
Notes ©Shani D. Carter, 1998-2022
�19
Figure 2
Contains data on the meaningful work offered by four global companies in 2022. The data is
based on an employee scoring system out of 100. The figure indicates that Google employees
view their week as the most meaningful.
19
Notes ©Shani D. Carter, 1998-2022
�20
Figure 3
Contains data on the Benefits and Perks offered by four global companies in 2022. The data is
based on an employee scoring system out of 100. The figure indicates that Google and Microsoft
employees believed they are offered more benefits and perks than other companies.
Figure 4 Contains data on the Growth Potential offered by four global companies in 2022. The
data is based on an employee scoring system out of 100. The figure indicates that Google and
Amazon employees believed they are offered more promotional opportunities than other companies.
20
Notes ©Shani D. Carter, 1998-2022
�21
Figure 4 Contains data on the job satisfaction reported by the employees of four global companies in 2022. The data is based on the percentage of employees that are satisfied in their job. The
figure indicates that Google employees are extremely satisfied whilst less than 50% of Amazon
employees are satisfied.
Job Satisfaction
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Amazon
21
Apple
Google
Microsft
Notes ©Shani D. Carter, 1998-2022
�22
Discussion
H1: Meaningful work, growth opportunities, and motivation are more positively linked to
job satisfaction and productivity than increased compensation.
The results of this study suggested that the hypothesis was partially supported. In the introduction, I discussed how job satisfaction is impacted by a variety of variables. These variables
included; meaningful work, growth opportunities, and motivation, which I hypothesized to be
more positively correlated to job satisfaction and productivity than increased compensation. Due
to the generation, we currently reside in, it is commonly believed that compensation can either
negatively or positively impact an employee’s work ethic. Work ethic is considered the job satisfaction and productivity of employees, and it is commonly believed that higher-paying jobs are
highly correlated with high job satisfaction. However, I hypothesized that meaningful work,
growth opportunities, and motivation are more positively correlated to job satisfaction and
productivity than increased compensation. To support my hypothesis, I researched four major
tech companies, including; Google, Microsoft, Apple, and Amazon. Whilst looking at these companies, I spread my hypothesis into four variables; benefits and perks, meaningful work, growth
potential, and median salary to analyze information in a more cohesive and specific way. I chose
to use median salary because it indicates the most common salary in a company and is not impacted by extremely high or low outlier salaries. My data suggests that Google had a low median
salary with the highest job satisfaction while Amazon had a high median salary with low job satisfaction. After analyzing the data, it was evident that my hypothesis was partially supported by
some companies and not supported by others.
Upon researching Google, I collected data on the four variables in question to examine
exactly how employees relate the variables to work satisfaction. The data highlights that Google
22
Notes ©Shani D. Carter, 1998-2022
�23
employees report high scores for benefits and perks, meaningful work, and growth potential
however it had the lowest median salary of the four tech companies researched. When comparing
Google to Amazon, I found that Google employees rated their benefits and perks 11.7% higher
than employees at Amazon. Google employees also rated their meaningful work 6.7% higher.
86% of Google employees reported being satisfied in their job whilst only 43% of Amazon employees reported being satisfied in their job. Finally, Google's median salary is nearly $50,000
lower than Amazon’s. Therefore, when comparing the data collected from Google and Amazon
my hypothesis is supported as Amazon has a much higher median salary, but because Apple employees rate their benefits and perks and meaningful work higher, they ultimately have higher
job satisfaction. Thus, it is evident based on these findings that meaningful work, growth opportunities, and motivation are more positively linked to job satisfaction and productivity than increased compensation.
Apple was the next company I investigated. Similar to Google, I used the same four variables to examine exactly how employees feel about working there. The variables I used were
benefits and perks, meaningful work, growth potential, and median salary. The results indicated
that Apple scored relatively high in benefits and perks, meaningful work, and growth potential
whilst also having a high median salary. However, in comparison to Google, all three variables
were much lower. Apple employees rated their benefits and perks 8.9% lower than Google employees, meaningful work 8.2% lower than Google employees, and finally growth potential 10%
lower than Google employees. Furthermore, the median salary of Apple was nearly $25,000
higher than the median salary of Google. Finally, the job satisfaction of Apple employees was
16% lower than Google employees. These results support my hypothesis as they highlight that
23
Notes ©Shani D. Carter, 1998-2022
�24
job satisfaction has a positive correlation to benefits and perks, meaningful work, and growth potential whilst highlighting a negative correlation between median salary and job satisfaction.
Microsoft was the next company I analyzed. Again, I found that Microsoft had a similar
connection to Amazon and Google, and Apple and Google. To find this data, I used my four variables to examine exactly how employees feel about working there. The variables I used were
benefits and perks, meaningful work, growth potential, and median salary. The data indicated
that Microsoft employees reported relatively high scores for benefits and perks, meaningful
work, and growth potential whilst also having a high median salary. Moreover, Microsoft had the
closest scores when comparing the three variables to Google. When comparing Microsoft to Amazon, Microsoft employees rated their benefits and perks 9.1% higher and their meaningful work
4.1% higher. Furthermore, Microsoft employees’ median salary was 10% lower than Amazon
employees whilst Microsoft employees rated their job satisfaction 27% higher. Ultimately, these
results support my hypothesis as it is demonstrated that employees are more satisfied with benefits and perks, and meaningful work than the median salary. Therefore, the results suggest that
job satisfaction has a positive correlation to benefits and perks, meaningful work, and growth potential, whilst job satisfaction has a negative correlation to wage and compensation.
Amazon was the final company I collected data from. Similar to Google, I used my four
variables to examine the correlation to employee job satisfaction. The variables I used were benefits and perks, meaningful work, growth potential, and median salary. Unlike the other three
companies, the data collected from Amazon did not support my hypothesis. The results suggest
that overall Amazon employees scored benefits and perks, meaningful work, and growth potential relatively high whilst also having the highest median salary ($180,145). When comparing the
results. Between Amazon and Apple, it became clear that my hypothesis was not fully supported.
24
Notes ©Shani D. Carter, 1998-2022
�25
Amazon employees rated their meaningful work 1.4% higher than Apple employees and also
their growth potential 9.1% higher than Apple employees. Amazon employees also have an
11.4% increase in median salary compared to Apple employees. Going against my predictions
Amazon employees' job satisfaction was only 43% whilst Apple employees have a job satisfaction of 70%. The results comparing these two companies contradict my hypothesis as Amazon
scored higher in the variables, I suggested related to job satisfaction but scored much lower in
actual job satisfaction. There ultimately may be another variable outside of what my data looks at
that may suggest why Amazon employees' job satisfaction is so low. For example, due to Amazon employees scoring all the variables in the medium range it is possible that the larger compensation does not affect employees’ motivation enough to make them not work there but
enough to do a good or poor job.
After analyzing the data, and completing the research several limitations were noticed, as
my hypothesis was not fully supported. The first limitation is that there could have been other
subjects and a larger sample size that could have allowed me to analyze more data to support my
hypothesis. An example could be looking at smaller companies or companies that are in retail or
transportation instead of technology-based companies. There could have possibly been a difference in the variables I looked at with a larger sample size of companies. Another limitation of the
study was that I may not have looked at all the variables that correlate with job satisfaction and
this may be the reason that Apple employees rated their jobs as more satisfying than Amazon
employees despite scoring lower in the variables I measured. Future research should consider
these recommendations towards looking at if meaningful work, growth opportunities, and motivation are more positively linked to job satisfaction and productivity than increased compensation. This thesis and my findings could be applied to certain workforces to better understand
25
Notes ©Shani D. Carter, 1998-2022
�26
what increases employee satisfaction and with future research could be used to help attract and
retain employees.
Conclusion
General Conclusion
In conclusion, my research contained data that did and did not support my hypothesis. Based
on the data and prior literature there were instances were high compensation led to some level of
job satisfaction with some employees searching for jobs based on salary. While examing all four
companies, I found differences between all of the variables: benefits and perks, meaningful
work, growth potential, median salary, and job satisfaction. For instance, I found that Amazon
had the highest median salary; $180,145, while having the lowest job satisfaction; 43%. On the
other hand, I found that certain percentage differences found lower meaningful work and growth
potential than Amazon. This data highlights that salary is not the sole contributor of job satisfaction as my hypothesis predicted, however it appears that the issue is larger than just meaningful
work and growth potential increasing job satisfaction. Google was important in supporting my
hypothesis as each variable was highest for google compared to the other companies except for
salary, suggesting that there is more to job satisfaction than just a high salary.
Although personal improvement in job performance and achieving outcomes are important,
from the viewpoint of organizations; focusing on internal elements, such as the meaning of work
is also important to improve the company moving forward. Therefore, this shows that motivation
in the workplace is often viewed as an influence on the meaning of work for employees on job
engagement, organizational commitment, and value for the employee. Based on my study I can
infer that job satisfaction is more reliant on the company as a whole rather than the variables inbetween.
26
Notes ©Shani D. Carter, 1998-2022
�27
Implications for Practice
For further practice, companies like Apple, Google, and Microsoft should look at growth potential variables to increase job satisfaction. At the same time, Apple may need to look at meaningful work in their employee satisfaction. Overall, companies should be aware that salary is not
the only indicator of job satisfaction and that implementing a work environment that focuses on
an employee’s growth and well-being such as the google environment may help increase overall
employee job satisfaction.
Implications for Research
Future research should focus on expanding on the variables talked about in this study. Whilst
this study indicated that salary is not the best predictor of an employee’s job satisfaction, it was
clear that it is a multifaceted issue. Future research should aim to understand all the variables that
impact whether an employee is satisfied in their job and be more specific than just growth potential, meaningful work and benefits and perks. Future research should also expand into other business areas, not just technology companies that were looked at in this study. By diversifying the
sample future research will be able to gain a better understanding of what causes job satisfaction
across all workforces.
References
Amazon Human Resources Strategy: Free essay example. StudyCorgi.com. (n.d.). Retrieved October 28, 2022, from https://studycorgi.com/amazon-inc-s-human-resource-managementstrategies/
27
Notes ©Shani D. Carter, 1998-2022
�28
Hillel, O. (2018). Why Google is good at hr. HRZone. Retrieved October 28, 2022, from
https://www.hrzone.com/community/blogs/orhillel/why-google-is-good-at-hr
Junqueira, E., Dutra, E. V., Zanquetto Filho, H., & Gonzaga, R. P. (2016). The effect of strategic
choices and management control systems on organizational performance. Revista Contabilidade & Finanças, 27, 334-348. doi:https://doi.org/10.1590/1808-057x201601890
Turner, N., Barling, J., Dawson, J. F., Deng, C., Parker, S. K., Patterson, M. G., & Stride, C. B.
(2021). Human resource management practices and organizational injury rates. Journal of
safety research, 78, 69-79. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsr.2021.06.003
Wikimedia Foundation. (2022, July 22). Zoetis. Wikipedia. Retrieved October 28, 2022, from
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoetis
Yokoyama, M. H. (2016). How social network sites (SNS) have changed the employer–em
ployee relationship and what are the next challenges for human resource (HR)?. REGE-Revista de Gestão, 23(1), 2-9.doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rege.2015.11.001
Zoetis animal health - global animal health company. Zoetis. (n.d.). Retrieved October 28, 2022,
from https://www.zoetis.com/
Zolfagharian, M., & Naderi, I. (2019). Human resource management challenges facing franchise
businesses. Personnel Review. 49(1), 104-124. doi:https://doi.org/10.1108/PR-04-2018-0139
Jung, H. S., & Yoon, H. H. (2016). What does work meaning to hospitality employees? The effects of meaningful work on employees’ organizational commitment: The mediating role
28
Notes ©Shani D. Carter, 1998-2022
�29
of job engagement. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 53, 59-68.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2015.12.004
Dorta-Afonso, D., Romero-Domínguez, L., & Benítez-Núñez, C. (2023). It’s worth it! High performance work systems for employee job satisfaction: The mediational role of burnout. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 108, 103364.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2022.103364
EBSCOhost Research Platform: EBSCO. (n.d.). Retrieved December 5, 2022, from
https://www.ebsco.com/products/ebscohost-research-platform
Goktas, S., Gezginci, E., & Kartal, H. (2022). The effects of motivational messages sent to emer
gency nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic on job satisfaction, compassion fatigue,
and communication skills: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of emergency nursing, 48(5), 547-558. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jen.2022.06.001
29
Notes ©Shani D. Carter, 1998-2022
�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Senior Presentations Archive
Description
An account of the resource
This archive contains materials from Wagner’s annual ‘Senior Presentations.’ This event honors outstanding students from each discipline who completed their Senior Learning Community project with excellence. The work is representative of Wagner’s highest standards, and is exemplary of the diversity of subject matter, public-facing scholarship, and civic-minded professionalism our students have attained through their four years here. These students were specially invited to present their work in a formal setting, traditionally the day of Baccalaureate. Students are encouraged to present their work in a format appropriate for their discipline, and so, the presentations vary in their format. Some might be in the form of a short video, or paper abstracts, while others might be posters or music clips. We expect this archive to serve as a resource for generations to come. Congratulations to our Seniors!
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2017 -
Rights Holder
A person or organization owning or managing rights over the resource.
Wagner College, Staten Island, NY
Document
A resource containing textual data. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre text.
Date Digital
2023
Original Format
If the image is of an object, state the type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data
Thesis
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
2023_Business_Marquez
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Samantha Marquez
Title
A name given to the resource
Compensation affecting Work Ethic
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Shani Carter
Business
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
text
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
application/pdf
Extent
The size or duration of the resource.
29 pages
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
U.S. and international copyright laws may protect this work. It is provided by Wagner College for scholarly or research purposes only. Commercial use or distribution is not permitted without prior permission of the copyright holder.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1/1/2023
Rights Holder
A person or organization owning or managing rights over the resource.
Wagner College, Staten Island, NY
-
https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/1909/archive/files/38f85b92da7fed8c275c7f5775b70ab7.pdf?Expires=1712793600&Signature=H4B8irXSkfdvlu2AWNmKYAGW4Dh3P2wOI25XuEnJNVmbCXcoxZCOus17YhJPbpmpce5n8gPedHEzKVnMVtTZ7PuwmuxDsvywUM%7E7z%7ENLy9aaDB-72TwYeD8FnuuRK1J8KPHxI9AIYR0SVnnJ4gstMmtb2FYIAu-fCKOYHpOC1v8g8lYz1cl8YvA9H2%7EiV8Xhx4Er%7E021ArXNU2A6FOt7AwhhegbvElg4CIfj6Uv5TjAlp09XI7R9r97pE4xt%7EvWe4pvQdzRtm2OALMxQVQq%7EW-Me2HxBm2h%7EzKW8wOi5-tZPDISPcdW8H2h7xW7JAlZ6Z8PzLynv2jULWr6TiA9vHQ__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM
64f94e079ab00d913fd7e94abb833cf9
PDF Text
Text
Health Disparities Among the LGBTQ in Lower Manhattan
Stephanie Matishek WCSN, Samantha Falcone WCSN, Kylee Gambal WCSN
Wagner College Evelyn L. Spiro School of Nursing
Background
● Sexual orientation is a sensitive matter in many
societies, it clashes between religion, morality, and
culture in different parts of the world
● The LGBTQ community form a significant portion of
NYC, Lower Manhattan.
● The LGBTQ forms a vital component of NYC’s social,
cultural and ecominc fabric with a historical center for
the gay rights movement.
● Progressive changes around gender and sexual
identities with trials to derive names or views that are
acceptable to society and enhance the coexistence.
● This community is subjected to health disparities
related to societal, discrimination, denial of human and
civil rights.
● The urgent need to address inequalities is opportunity
to provide nursing student with training to increase the
provision of culturally competent care.
Community Assessment
● Manhattan has the highest population in NYC, with
up to 1.6 million people. Currently there is no data
on how many people in NYC identify as LGBTQ.
● LGBT Health and Human Services Network
performed a study with 515 people:
-7% had poor or fair health
-19% experienced prolonged mental health
problems
-5% without insurance coverage
-15% could not access necessary healthcare
● In another survey by Scott (2017), participants
identified public transport as a site for unequal
treatment, while 21% believed they missed job
opportunities or fired because of gender or sexual
orientation.
● Even though there are difficulties collecting and
documenting data it is apparent that the frequency
of discrimination and stigmization subjects the
LGBTQ community to mental health illness and
coniditons, including depression and suicidal
behanviors.
Problem
● The LGBTQ community experiences health
disparities linked to social stigma, discrimination,
and denial of human and civil rights due to:
○ Lack of knowledge about the community
○ Societal ignorance of their health needs
● 1 in 5 transgender people are denied health
services because of their sexual orientation.
● >55% of the LGBTQ population faces discrimination
while seeking healthcare services.
● Most transgender individuals either postpone or
avoid seeking healthcare services to prevent
discrimination despite the problem’s urgency. This
contributes significantly to the prevalence of chronic
diseases and fatalities.
● The disparity leads to increased psychiatric
disorders, suicide, and substance abuse.
● Minorities face increased vulnerability to diseases
like HIV/AIDS as well as socioeconomic exclusion.
● The prevention of specialization of healthcare
providers in LGBTQ health related issues amplifies
inadequate health coverage.
Conclusion
● Addressing the health disparities would result
in increased physical and mental well-being,
reduce the cost of health care, reduce
disease transmission and progression, and
increase the longevity of the LGBTQ
community.
● By training nursing students on the health
needs of LGBTQ, sex education and
applying Leininger's theory offers a positive
impact on caring for this community. This
training will help the nurses gain a deeper
understanding of the LGBTQ community and
will reduce the gap and disparities.
● Therefore, more research on how to support
the community by empowering healthcare
systems to adopt their culture.
Proposed Solution
● The best solution will be education across the
continuum on nursing health care. Training
nursing students, training hospital nurses, and
training public health nurses.
● The best solution to addressing health care needs
is training nursing students on increasing care that
is culturally competent.
● Training nursing students and staff on effective
management of the communities health.
● Nurses should receive 1- hour educational
intervention on LGBTQ health.
● Nursing curriculum should factor the need for sex
education to the LGBTQ community.
● Information for parents on creating social
supportive structures, to eliminate the risk of
shame, emotional trauma, discrimination, fear or
anxiety.
● Creating awareness to the public on the
importance of appreciating the community.
● Empowering the community to speak up,
especially in seeking healthcare.
References
1. (Level 5) Scott, M. S., (2017) Results of a Survey of LGBTQ New
Yorkers. New York City Comptroller.
https://comptroller.nyc.gov/reports/results-of-a-survey-of-lgbtqnew-yorkers/
2. (Level 2) Healthy People. (2020). Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and
Transgender Health. Office of Disease Prevention and Health
Promotion. https://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/topicsobjectives/topic/lesbian-gay-bisexual-and -transgender-health
3. (Level 2) Göçmen, İ., & Yılmaz, V. (2017). Exploring perceived
discrimination among LGBT individuals in Turkey in education,
employment, and health care: Results of an online survey. Journal of
Homosexuality, 64( 8), 1052-1068.
4. (Level 4) World Health Organization. (2015). Ending violence and
discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and
intersex people UN statement.
https://www.who.int/hiv/pub/msm/un-statement-lgbti/en/
5. (Level 5) National LGBT Alliance, 2020.
https://www.lgbtihealth.org.au/statistics/ National LGBTQ Task Force.
6. http://www.thetaskforce.org/static_html/downloads/resources_and_to
ols/ntds_report_ on_health.pdf
�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Senior Presentations Archive
Description
An account of the resource
This archive contains materials from Wagner’s annual ‘Senior Presentations.’ This event honors outstanding students from each discipline who completed their Senior Learning Community project with excellence. The work is representative of Wagner’s highest standards, and is exemplary of the diversity of subject matter, public-facing scholarship, and civic-minded professionalism our students have attained through their four years here. These students were specially invited to present their work in a formal setting, traditionally the day of Baccalaureate. Students are encouraged to present their work in a format appropriate for their discipline, and so, the presentations vary in their format. Some might be in the form of a short video, or paper abstracts, while others might be posters or music clips. We expect this archive to serve as a resource for generations to come. Congratulations to our Seniors!
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2017 -
Rights Holder
A person or organization owning or managing rights over the resource.
Wagner College, Staten Island, NY
Document
A resource containing textual data. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre text.
Original Format
If the image is of an object, state the type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data
Poster
Date Digital
2021
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
2021_Nursing_Falcone-Gambal-Matishek
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Samantha Falcone
Kylee Gambal
Stephanie Matishek
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
5/1/2021
Title
A name given to the resource
Health Disparities Among the LGBTQ in Lower Manhattan
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Doris Korona/Josephine Marcantonio
Evelyn L. Spiro School of Nursing
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
text
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
application/pdf
Extent
The size or duration of the resource.
1 page
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
U.S. and international copyright laws may protect this work. It is provided by Wagner College for scholarly or research purposes only. Commercial use or distribution is not permitted without prior permission of the copyright holder.
Rights Holder
A person or organization owning or managing rights over the resource.
Wagner College, Staten Island, NY
Nursing
-
https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/1909/archive/files/6542b87f362707ce1aa8b70dda13aa72.pdf?Expires=1712793600&Signature=FRpMVjt%7E%7Ealpws0SYlDl0oOB9aXtp6N5G-LRJEju7vQkUrrmxRHoLzEWGmUvDJZyJxH6HGbMIpfd4c7EwuoIhQLyGlkeB1SiRy7zLX6oQMR6SWOrX6682yLkgH7jVBRW49KJ0nJr0fT57L%7EXvmdHl6TkrLgyHWliaTbdCE6WogAum8mfmiCE3i0SamWnCvqx7KZVWI8Ay3kE9JOmu5w5K0jfKKXvIdar7onO3nL9nw0p0%7EElajI0S0TWpTN54gVwpkgokObycxtdSZV8oWyoXSq1lSxbsBRRN0mP6%7EnsCOVPSWHhvkjdj5Fqm7oQHDgw34GukbchFrCp6%7EWgPYSYkg__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM
4a7f46524de451bea98108642534122a
PDF Text
Text
Vaping/Electronic Cigarette Use Amongst
Staten Island Adolescence
Sabrina Frasca WC-SN, Caitlin Oddo WC-SN, & Jenna Saccomanno WC-SN
Wagner College, Evelyn L. Spiro School of Nursing
Introduction
•
“According to the Department of Health (DOH), vaping is more
common among youths than adults, with 17.3% of high school students
using e-cigarettes in 2017, and 6.7% of middle school students vaping
last year.” (1)
•
Since August 2019, the CDC, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA),
state and local health departments, and public health and clinical
stakeholders have been investigating a nationwide outbreak of ecigarette, or vaping product use-associated lung injury (EVALI). (2)
•
In March 2020, over 2,800 cases of EVALI, mostly involving people
under the age of 35. This number includes more than 50 cases and 3
deaths in New York City and more than 60 deaths nationwide. (3)
•
Problem in the Community
•
Will education reduce the use of vaping/ electronic
cigarettes amongst Staten Island adolescents?
• A major problem that is prevalent in the Staten Island
community is the E-cigarette, or vaping product useassociated lung injury among adolescents. The North Shore,
Staten Island Community District 1, called “St. George and
Stapleton,” includes Grymes Hill, Mariners Harbor, Port
Richmond, West Brighton, and Westerleigh, has the highest
rate of adult smokers in the entire city. (6)
• The JUUL, contains as much nicotine as a whole
pack of cigarettes. (1) Teen vaping rates have risen
sharply over 2019, resulting in about 25% of 12th
graders claiming that they have used vaping
products. (7)
• Symptoms of EVALI include:
Ø Stomach pain
Ø Coughing
Ø Fever, fatigue
Ø Shortness of breath
Ø Weight loss
Ø Chest pain
Ø Nausea, vomiting, & diarrhea
• E-cigarettes are easily accessible for middle school students
on Staten Island because store owners sell the product to the
students, despite New York State Law prohibiting products
from being sold to anyone under 21 years old. (6)
• If You Can’t Stop Smoking, Cancer Will is a
program that will revolve around educating
adolescent children about smoking dangers and
questioning their susceptibility to smoking.
Learning Objectives
• At the conclusion of this presentation, students will be
able to understand the health risk of vaping.
• At the end of the presentation, students will be more
hesitant to use their vapes.
• After the presentation, most adolescents will be open to
discussing the risks of vaping with their peers.
EVALI has impacted Staten Island adolescents in great numbers.
Community Assessment and Analysis
Proposed Solution
•
• Vitamin E acetate, an additive to THC- containing ecigarette, or vaping products, is strongly linked to
the EVALI outbreak as well. (8)
Studies have shown that portraying high risk outcomes
to a behavior greatly encourages cessation of said
behavior. (11)
•
This proposed solution is based on Icek Ajzen’s Theory
of Planned Behavior. This theory is used to predict and
explain human behavior based on social norms. (12)
• EVALI cases have been prevalent among adolescents and
have been commonly seen in young men and boys. In
September of 2019, patients aged between 10-19 had over
500 million hospitalized visits that were linked to vapingor e-cigarettes. (7)
• About 77% of these adolescents that had EVALI were
vaping THC products, which has been identified as a
possible cause to this illness. (7)
•
•
This community's race is made up of: (4)
Ø 74.3% Whites
Ø 10.2% African American
Ø 8.7% Asian
Ø 0.2% American Indian and Alaska Native
Ø 4.0% of other races.
•
The primary language spoken is 68.1% English. (4)
•
Employment rates grew by 13 percent since 2012, reaching a
record of 97,000 jobs in 2017. (5)
•
Staten Island predominately sees cases of chronic lower
respiratory disease, heart disease, cancers, stroke, and substance
abuse disorders.
Healthy Lungs
EVALI Lungs
As of January 7, 2020, 50% of EVALI patients who
reported using THC products, 78% reported
acquiring products from informal sources, such as
family, friends, dealers, online, or other sources. (9)
•
Staten Island’s population consists of 474,101 people: (4)
Ø 5.8% being under the age of 5
Ø 78.0% being 18 years and older
Ø 15.5% being 65 years and older
•
Since January 14, 2020, all 50 states including the
District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and
Puerto Rico had reported a total of 2,668
hospitalized patients to the CDC. (8)
• As of May 2020, The New York State Department of
Health announced that the Comprehensive Tobacco
Control Policy took effect. (10) This law prohibits
the sale of nicotine flavored vapor products, and the
second bans the sale of tobacco products and
nicotine flavored vapor products in pharmacies.
• Questions are asked to understand adolescent’s
susceptibility on vaping based on a scale of 1-7:
Ø I see many of my peers vaping
Ø Vaping is safe and not as dangerous as other
nicotine products
Ø I only vape in social settings
Ø I would vape if it was offered to me
Reference List
1. Knudson A. S.I. vaping crisis: Kids across grade levels using e-cigs [Internet]. silive. 2019 [cited 2021Mar23]. Available from:
https://www.silive.com/news/2019/09/vaping-crisis-on-staten-island-students-across-grade-levels-using-e-cigarettes.html Level V
2. Health, C. O. on S. and. (2020, February 25). Smoking and tobacco use; electronic cigarettes. Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/basic_information/e-cigarettes/severe-lung-disease.html Level V
3. E-cigarettes [Internet]. E-cigarettes - NYC Health. [cited 2021Mar23]. Available from: https://www1.nyc.gov/site/doh/health/health-topics/smoking-e-cigarettes.page
Level V
4. United States Census Bureau. (n.d.). Retrieved September 21, 2020, from
https://data.census.gov/cedsci/profile?q=Staten%20Island%20borough,%20Richmond%20County,%20New%20York&g=0600000US3608570915 Level V
5. DiNapoli, T.P., Bleiwas, K.B. An Economic Snapshot of Staten Island. (2018, September) Retrieved September 21, 2020,
from https://www.osc.state.ny.us/files/reports/osdc/pdf/report-7-2019.pdf Level V
6.North Shore health: Highest rate of smokers citywide. (2015, December 4). Silive. https://www.silive.com/news/2015/12/north_shore_health_highest_rat.html Level
IV
7. Corum J. Vaping Illness Tracker: 2,602 Cases and 59 Deaths [Internet]. The New York Times. The New York Times; 2020 [cited 2021Mar23]. Available from:
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/health/vaping-illness-tracker-evali.html Level III
8. Krishnasamy VP, Hallowell BD, Ko JY, Board A, Hartnett KP, Salvatore PP, et al. Update: Characteristics of a Nationwide Outbreak of E-cigarette, or Vaping,
Product Use–Associated Lung Injury — United States, August 2019–January 2020. MMWR Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. 2020;69(3):90–4. Level V
9. Ellington S, Salvatore PP, Ko J, Danielson M, Kim L, Cyrus A, et al. Update: Product, Substance-Use, and Demographic Characteristics of Hospitalized Patients in a
Nationwide Outbreak of E-cigarette, or Vaping, Product Use–Associated Lung Injury — United States, August 2019–January 2020. MMWR Morbidity and Mortality
Weekly Report. 2020;69(2):44–9. Level V
10. New york state department of health announces statewide ban of flavored nicotine vapor
products takes effect today. (n.d.). Retrieved September 21, 2020, from https://health.ny.gov/press/releases/2020/2020-05-18_fl_nicotine_vapor_products_ban.htm
Level V
11. Wong NCH, Cappella JN. Antismoking Threat and Efficacy Appeals: Effects on Smoking Cessation Intentions for Smokers with Low and High Readiness to Quit
[Internet]. Journal of applied communication research : JACR. U.S. National Library of Medicine; 2009 [cited 2021Mar23]. Available from:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2680609/#R5 Level I
12. Ajzen I. The theory of planned behavior: Frequently asked questions [Internet]. Wiley Online Library. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd; 2020 [cited 2021Mar23]. Available
from: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/hbe2.195 Level V
�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Senior Presentations Archive
Description
An account of the resource
This archive contains materials from Wagner’s annual ‘Senior Presentations.’ This event honors outstanding students from each discipline who completed their Senior Learning Community project with excellence. The work is representative of Wagner’s highest standards, and is exemplary of the diversity of subject matter, public-facing scholarship, and civic-minded professionalism our students have attained through their four years here. These students were specially invited to present their work in a formal setting, traditionally the day of Baccalaureate. Students are encouraged to present their work in a format appropriate for their discipline, and so, the presentations vary in their format. Some might be in the form of a short video, or paper abstracts, while others might be posters or music clips. We expect this archive to serve as a resource for generations to come. Congratulations to our Seniors!
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2017 -
Rights Holder
A person or organization owning or managing rights over the resource.
Wagner College, Staten Island, NY
Document
A resource containing textual data. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre text.
Original Format
If the image is of an object, state the type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data
Poster
Date Digital
2021
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
2021_Nursing_Frasca-Oddo-Saccomano
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Sabrina Frasca
Caitlyn Oddo
Jenna Saccomano
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
5/1/2021
Title
A name given to the resource
Vaping/Electronic Cigarette Use Amongst Staten Island Adolescence
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Lorrie DeSena/Tina Marie Petrizzo-Hughes
Evelyn L. Spiro School of Nursing
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
text
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
application/pdf
Extent
The size or duration of the resource.
1 page
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
U.S. and international copyright laws may protect this work. It is provided by Wagner College for scholarly or research purposes only. Commercial use or distribution is not permitted without prior permission of the copyright holder.
Rights Holder
A person or organization owning or managing rights over the resource.
Wagner College, Staten Island, NY
Nursing
-
https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/1909/archive/files/111e29a7d96cc76824798aee74e2ef53.pdf?Expires=1712793600&Signature=R6n%7E4Z4vvJoLNBD14A5zgHy8kxUqlqaVoNkTBS5Jn4GirRv85NN7EQMQ-xIwzR-tbMVPj57ub7kDaVYEzjqfJp6K0EuFSUctmSOSFvYia8zQC4W72ZNDdPalDT7dDsUmBQK8CVOlGwvscS-2B6V9QQlP02SgP9HCQNlGk5vifZ4Yv13p9NmD3V0hyTmpb6cBIAb5PYgsw8Alx4wpRSCCyICzaIA31X7C7FjC-wkq0CweB%7EtWsqIbltxH6aZqbTX1tRZPBV4nt5t0oGaDZQeD4WllbHG5aDkYE7enWLtmeanM-8iOCcM19n0LHreRCrbGFRU3V2cqupE3mLJnusSZnQ__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM
ffba923f15722ce71e117faeb018067f
PDF Text
Text
GRIEF COUNSELING, ITS HISTORY AND PRACTICE
Grief Counseling, its History and Practice
Ruth Sytsma
Department of Psychology
Wagner College
1
�GRIEF COUNSELING, ITS HISTORY AND PRACTICE
2
Abstract
The first to conceptualize grief as an internal intrapsychic conflict was Sigmund Freud. He
understood grief as a painful experience that needed resurgence to a better ego state.
Psychoanalysts following Freud developed grief studies to include children and attachment.
While others discovered the specific underlying emotions and grief work that must be resolved to
find new meaning in a life without their loved one. This paper reveals that stage models are
being rejected for their implication of universality and linear function. Present conceptualizations
of grief celebrate individuality, oscillation, reconstruction, and retaining a non-physical
attachment to the deceased. These concepts have evolved into practical applications in group
grief therapy. This paper focuses on children’s grief. Children are often forgotten mourners.
Children, despite their inexperience and language barrier experience grief identically to their
adult counterparts. But a child’s development inhibits their ability to understand and express
grief. To aid emotional expression in children counselors apply play, art, talk therapy in their
practice. Group therapy provides members a safe space to talk about their pain and a community
in which relates to their loss. Grief and grieving have been avoided in conversation and academia
alike. There are few programs that offer death and dying courses, even to licensed clinical
professionals in training. Lack of education has led to a misrepresentation and misunderstanding
of grief. The goal of therapy is not to overcome and get over the loss, but to help people find
peace and comfort in their new reality without their loved one.
Keywords: grief, ego, attachment, grief work, individuality, oscillation, reconstruction,
non-physical attachment, (child) development, mourner, play therapy, art therapy, talk therapy,
death and dying courses.
�GRIEF COUNSELING, ITS HISTORY AND PRACTICE
3
Chapter 1: Grief and Loss: The Evolution of Conceptualizing Grief and the Grieving
Process
To what degree have grief studies been influenced by early historic perspectives on
“grief”? There are many models that have attempted to capture the voluminous scope of the
grieving process. Before delving into its history, it is important to define the differences between
grief, bereavement, and mourning. Grief is the reaction to the perception of loss which comes in
a variety of emotional, cognitive, physiological, and physical symptoms (Nolen-Hoeksema &
Larson, 1999; Rando, 1993). Bereavement is “an objective state, a change in the network of
social relationships, which has been brought about by the departure of some person”
(Lindemann, 1976, p.204). In Mourning and Melancholia, Freud (1915/17) described mourning
as a conscious “reaction to the loss of a loved person” or something they love. Mourning is also
defined as the conscious and unconscious “processes related to the deceased, the self, and
external world” (Rando, 1993, p.24). It is imperative to those aiding mourners to understand that
grief follows loss (Bowlby,1980), and that grieving is a natural reaction (Lindemann, 1976).
Death is universal, no one can escape it. It is essential for caregivers, friends, and family to
understand the purpose of grief work to ultimately accept their beloved is not returning and aid
them in finding peace in this reality (Rando, 1993). There are several factors that affect the
expression of grief such as type of loss, relationship lost, and secondary losses (Nolen-Hoeksema
& Larson, 1999; Rando, 1993). And loss is unique to everyone (Doughty et al., 2011; Freud,
1915/17); therefore, coping strategies and models were created to combat and support those who
are grieving in pain from their loss. This chapter will compare historic literature on views of
grief, and stress and coping models to current views and see the influence the past has had on
transforming grief and grieving strategies today.
�GRIEF COUNSELING, ITS HISTORY AND PRACTICE
4
Freud was the first to conceptualize grief as an internal and integrated process in the
psyche (Freud. 1915/17; Gana, 2006). Originally topics of death and dying were exclusive to
philosophy, religion, and medicine (Klimczuk, 2017). Freud’s contribution to the psychoanalysis
of death and dying led psychologists, psychiatrists, and philosophers to continue exploring the
idea that grief as an internal process that would benefit from discovering methods to help resolve
the physical, emotional, and mental pain that accompany loss. Following Freud came
psychoanalysts, Melanie Klein, Edward John Bowlby, and Mary Ainsworth who analyzed grief
in children. They founded the object-relations theory (Klein, 1921) and attachment theory
(Bowlby, 1958) that determined attachment influences the intensity of reaction towards loss
(Ainsworth et al., 1978). After the psychoanalysts, came psychiatrists like Elisabeth Kübler-Ross
who applied observations in grieving clients and developed stage models that described a linear
path of emotion that clients tend to process in grief. Phase models, like Kübler-Ross’ 5 stage
model, were popular for further identifying the various emotions that coincide with grief but
were harshly criticized for alluding to universality of the grieving process (Metzger, 1979-80;
Servaty-Seib, 2004). This paper will reveal that present grief strategies are refocusing on early
historical concepts developed by psychoanalysts like Freud and Bowlby, rather than historical
grief models like Kübler-Ross’ stage model. More accepted grief strategies focus on the broad
concepts of personal connection and attachment that display the individuality of grief.
In his paper Mourning and Melancholia (1915/17) Freud psychoanalyzed the process of
death and dying. Freud believed that mourning was a painful internal process, and that
melancholia was the natural emotional reaction to mourning. He described mourning as a
“painful dejection, cessation of interest in the outside world, loss of the capacity to love, and
inhibition of all activity” (p.244). Freud conceptualized mourning as a libido attachment to a
�GRIEF COUNSELING, ITS HISTORY AND PRACTICE
5
loved one, and after they die, the libido must be removed; therefore, admits that mourning is
painful and reduces one’s self-reproach. In other words, one must move on. Follower of Freud,
Heikkinen (1979) described melancholia as an obstacle in processing grief, and therefore an
inhibitor of resolving grief. Freud (1915/17) said that once the memories, emotions, and
experiences tied to the loved one are severed, the process of mourning is done, and the person
continues life uninhibited. Freud further believed that with time, one would simply overcome the
loss. Heikkinen (1979) postulated the resolution of grief occurs when the intensity of grief has
declined. Like Freud, Heikkinen believed grief requires acceptance and letting go of the
deceased so that the survivor can build and sustain a new life without their dead loved one.
Heikkinen offered that “these experiences [melancholia and mourning] are not continuous but
may recur suddenly until the very end of the process” (p.46). Once they resolve their
melancholic state, the grief work such as, irritableness, helplessness, survivor guilt, grieving, etc.
will go away. The psychoanalysis of mourning provided by Freud (1915/17) opened avenues to
further explore the internal processes of death and dying.
Critics of Freud’s philosophy on mourning dispute that Freud’s claim is too simplistic
and lacks recognition of holding onto the memories of a loved one in a healthy way (Stroebe &
Schut, 1999). The deceased has a specific relationship and role in the life of a mourner. It is
important to find a way to detach from the identity of the lost; place them in a different role, a
deceased role, consequently enabling the mourner to continue the bond but in a realistic, healthy
manner (Stroebe & Schut, 1999). Today, techniques counselors suggest reveal that complete
detachment from the loved one, or libido, is unrealistic. They believe survivors should have a
continuous bond with their loved one (Bowlby, 1980; Kübler-Ross & Kessler, 1969/2005;
Servatey-Seib, 2004; Stroebe & Schut, 1999). Grief is not something someone overcomes; it is
�GRIEF COUNSELING, ITS HISTORY AND PRACTICE
6
something to learn to live with. Mourners must learn to accept, and live with, the physical
absence of their loved one. They will never forget the connection and attachment they had with
them. Later techniques and theories latch onto the idea of maintaining connections to the
deceased (Bowlby, 1980) and also believe that working through the emotions included in grief is
imperative to recovery (Stroebe & Schut, 1999). Recovery meaning the mourner has successfully
relocated the deceased from a living role in their life to a deceased one, the connection is still
there, but relocated.
Developments of Freud’s Theory
Grief work is “relocating the specific patterns which belonged to the shared life”
(Lindemann, 1976). When a person has died, the survivor must look to the past, compare the
sequence of life as it was when living together with their loved one and recondition those
sequences to fit a life without them (Lindemann, 1976). The survivor must take on the roles of
the deceased or share the roles with other people in their life. This is challenging, so one should
not grieve alone. Working through grief is best achieved through the help of others (Lindemann,
1976; Stroebe & Schut, 1999). Lindemann offered that having a social network of people to
redistribute the functions of the deceased, helps to make grief work more manageable and reach
acceptance. Grief work is the cognitive process addressing the emotional baggage relating to
loss; it is reminiscing events and memories of the deceased with the end goal of detachment
(Stroebe & Schut, 1999). Grief work addresses that there is individuality of emotions between
mourners and also offers a hopeful outcome when one accomplishes grief work. Lindemann
coins another term, resurrection, which is the “unconscious fusion, of some part of his [the
deceased’s] image with the self of the survivor” (Lindemann, 1976, p.200). This includes roles
that the deceased held in the household/income/work, that are additional work the survivors need
�GRIEF COUNSELING, ITS HISTORY AND PRACTICE
7
to undertake to resume life. Grief work includes resurrection, coming to terms with the loss, and
dealing with secondary losses. Secondary losses are environmental, physical, and emotional
loses caused due to the death of a loved one (Nolan-Hoeksema, 1999). Some examples for
children and adults are school grades dropping, going to a single income, moving to a new home;
downsizing, filling out paperwork for the death certificate and funeral arrangements, having to
take on the role of both parents in the household, etc. (Nolan-Hoeksema, 1999). Grief work is
originated by Freud in his paper Mourning and Melancholia. He thought that grief work was
something that needed to be accomplished in order to fully recover and regain enlightenment and
restore the ego (Freud, 1915/17). Grief work in Freud’s theory, is where the survivor is expected
to go through these hard tasks and emotions to avoid dwelling in their grief. Stroebe & Schut
(1999) criticize Freud’s concept of grief work, proposing the model is narrow minded because it
assumes that mourners should be able to quickly resurge a positive state of mind after their loved
one dies. In Stroebe and Schut’s dual process model they expand on Freud’s idea of grief work to
be more inclusive.
The dual process model, created by Stroebe and Schut (1999) “describes ways that people
come to terms with the loss of a close person” (p. 211). They developed Freud’s concept of grief
work and incorporated it with Bowlby’s concept of retaining attachment with their loved one
through oscillation. Oscillation is the most integral component in this model. Oscillation,
according to Stroebe and Schut (1999) is “the alteration between loss- and restoration-oriented
coping, the process of juxtaposition of confrontation and avoidance of different stressors
associated with bereavement” (p. 215). In other words, mourners will have periods where they
concentrate heavily on the loss, periods where they concentrate on secondary losses, and other
periods where they take a break from grieving (Worden, 2009). This model emphasizes that a
�GRIEF COUNSELING, ITS HISTORY AND PRACTICE
8
mourner goes through periods of grieving each stressor separately while also having a grace
period where no grief is experienced. Worden (2009) compares this model to taking doses.
Similar to taking pills, mourners can take doses of coping strategies depending on the severity of
pain they are experiencing. Stroebe and Schute (1999) call ‘taking a break’ voluntary
suppression or involuntary repression of expression. The dual process model addresses not one,
but two adaptive types of grief work. Stroebe and Schut’s (1999) introduces the interconnection
between loss-oriented stressors and restoration-oriented stressors. Where loss-oriented stressors
are associated with grief, feelings, and ruminations of the death. Restoration-oriented stressors
refer to secondary losses (Stroebe & Schut, 1999). Restoration- oriented stressors include
changing the identity of the world they previously lived in with their loved one to one where they
are physically independent from them (Worden, 2009). And oscillation between the stressors
acknowledges the individuality of mourning and consider environmental and personal factors
that affect the grief process. This model is useful for addressing differences in environmental and
personal factors such as culture, socioeconomic status, personal experience with death, etc.
(Sevaty-Seib, 2004). Additionally, it provides a layered effect of grieving, those grieving go back
and forth between stressors and periods of mourning when the emotions resurge. It is not a linear
process, but one dictated uniquely by the one grieving (Worden, 2009).
Another model branching off the idea of individualism is the constructivism method.
Constructivism focuses on the interpretations of an individual’s grief and the re-construction of
the individual’s experience after the death (Doughty et al., 2011), which is similar to Stroebe and
Schut’s (1999) restoration-orientation stressor. Neimeyer (1999) suggests that clients write
poetry, journals, letters, and other narrative strategies to express their personal grief to have a
physical and visual reference to express their emotions. Neimeyer (1999) saw counseling as a
�GRIEF COUNSELING, ITS HISTORY AND PRACTICE
9
way to reach into the mind of a client and find what they are struggling with in their grief.
Reconstruction is the key element in this grief method. “The reconstruction of a world of
meaning is the central process in grieving” (Neimeyer, 1999, p.65). A mourner must learn to
cope with the reality of their loved one being gone. Re-construction or adaptation to the reality of
death is critical to Niemeyer’s constructivist approach. Constructivism includes interpersonal
processes eliciting intimate and vulnerable meanings to the death of a loved one (Doughty et al.,
2011; Neimeyer, 1999). Re-construction allow mourners to create new traditions and reality that
memorialize their loved one, including them in a non-physical, healthy way.
Object-Relations Theory
Melanie Klein, a Freudian psychoanalyst, developed the object-relations theory which
focused on the development of the unconscious phantasy to the paranoid-schizoid position and
depressive position in children. Her theory focuses on the relationship between an infant and its
primary caregiver (Klein, 1935). It starts with the unconscious phantasy attached to their
mother’s breast, in which the infant’s primary focus is feeding and their anxiety or pleasure that
comes it (Klein, 1935). Klein suggested that the infant could distinguish between a “good
breast”, when they felt satisfied through feeding and the “bad breast”, when they were anxious or
dissatisfied. This distinction is the paranoid-schizoid period in a child’s development when the
infant mentally splits the “good” and “bad” breast apart (Klein, 1935). An infant’s anxiety arises
from hunger and frustration. Children compartmentalize their frustration onto the “bad breast”
whereas when they are content and well-fed, they relate this to the “good breast”. This splitting
occurs within the baby’s ego. Klein called this projective identification, where the infant projects
his/her negative feelings of anger and anxiety onto the “bad breast” (Klein, 1935). The final
position involved in Klein’s object-relations theory was the depressive position which occurs
�GRIEF COUNSELING, ITS HISTORY AND PRACTICE
10
when the baby is weaned. Instead of seeing the mother as two separate entities, good breast and
bad breast, the infant begins to see her as a whole and separated from himself/herself. This
causes a real grief and a sense of loss as he/she is no longer one with the mother but separated
from her.
In response to Freud’s “Mourning and Melancholia” Klein proposed the depressive
position was directly related to the mourning process later in life (Klein, 1940). She theorized
that the loss of a loved one reactivated the depressive position that infants go through (Klein,
1940). Just as an infant experiences separation and loss, the grieving person has lost a loved
object that they must reconcile with. Klein concluded that the focus should be on reinstating the
“good object” and “by rebuilding his inner world, which was disintegrated and in danger, that he
overcomes his grief, regains security and achieves true harmony and peace” (Klein, 1940, p.120).
Attachment Theory
Influenced by Klein and Kleinian theory, was psychoanalyst Edward John Bowlby. He
gleaned from Klein’s “good breast” and “bad breast” concept in her object relations theory from
The Psychoanalysis of Children (1932). Bowlby further developed the theory between the child
and its mother. He ignored Klein’s conflict between libidinal drives and focused on the external
word drives in children. The attachment theory designed by John Bowlby described the
emotional attachment between infants and small animals with their mothers (1958). In The
Nature of The Child’s Tie to its Mother written in 1958, Bowlby coined the term primary object
clinging in which a child clings to its mother in order to receive feelings of safety and comfort.
The need to feel safe is a strong drive towards attachment (Worden, 2009). Bowlby (1958),
views human attachment as a strong natural connection between a child and their mother. In
�GRIEF COUNSELING, ITS HISTORY AND PRACTICE
11
1969 Bowlby published the first volume: Attachment, in the trilogy Attachment and Loss where
he describes attachment behavior as “seeking and maintaining proximity to another individual”
(Bowlby, 1969, p.166). Children tend to cling to their maternal figure when they feel, alarmed,
scared, threatened (Bowlby, 1969), and the intensity of the attachment is dependent on factors
such as “pain, illness, and unhappiness” (p.172). The need for attachment is driven by the desire
of proximity with their primary caregiver (Bowlby, 1980; Doughty et al., 2011) and children
show this need through non-verbal physical external actions such as crying (Bowlby, 1969). In
1980 Bowlby published the third volume of this trilogy: Loss Sadness and Depression. This
volume focuses on child-mother separation and reactions thereafter. For a child whose parent
dies they completely lose their attachment figure physically. Grief and mourning sprout from
missing attachment (Bowlby, 1980; Bretherton, 1992). When experiencing loss, Bowlby (1980)
emphasizes the importance for children to find, explore, and retain a non-physical attachment to
their loved one. The concept of maintaining connection with their loved one beyond the years of
their death is central to the conceptualization of death and dying strategies (Bowlby, 1980;
Doughty et al., 2011; Stroebe & Schut, 1999, 2010)
Mary Ainsworth joined Bowlby’s team studying attachment in children. In her studies
Ainsworth and colleagues (1978, 2015) discovered three different styles of attachment: secure,
anxious-ambivalent insecure, and anxious-avoidant insecure. The attachment theory and type of
attachment with the deceased can more accurately assess a child’s grief reaction (Doughty et al.,
2011; Parkes, 2002; Servaty-Seib, 2004). Children who have anxious-ambivalent insecure
attachment are more likely to express symptoms aligning with chronic grief (Doughty et al.,
2011). In regard to grief counseling methods, the attachment theory’s main goal is to maintain a
non-physical attachment to the deceased (Bowlby, 1980; Sevaty-Seib, 2004). The grieving
�GRIEF COUNSELING, ITS HISTORY AND PRACTICE
12
process should result in reestablishing their relationship with their loved one (Bowlby, 1980).
Bowlby and Ainsworth provided insight for interpersonal counseling strategies (Servaty-Seib,
2004) and behaviors expressed during grief (Worden, 2009). “It provides a way for us to
conceptualize the tendency in human beings to create strong affectional bonds with others and a
way to understand the strong emotional reaction that occurs when those bonds are threatened or
broken” (Worden, 2009).
Stage Model
The Kübler-Ross’ stage model is the most remembered model for grief (Breen, 2010). In
her book On Grief and Grieving, Kübler-Ross compartmentalizes grief into five broad stages, 1)
denial 2) anger 3) bargaining 4) depression 5) acceptance. These stages provide a framework in
which the bereaved experience grief. Kübler-Ross’ model suggests that individuals go through
these stages in progression throughout their grief journey, starting with denial, in which a
mourner expresses disbelief, numbness and shock. They do not deny that their loved one is dead,
but they cannot fathom the reality they are in, so their natural bodily reaction is denial/numbness
to the overarching idea of their loved one being physically gone (Kübler-Ross & Kessler, 1969,
2005). The next step, anger, “affirms that you can feel, that you did love, and that you have lost”
(Kübler-Ross & Kessler, 1969, 2005). According to Kübler-Ross this is a vital step that is not to
be rushed because if a friend, counselor, etc. tries to rush this stage it is invalidating the person’s
emotions and does not allow them to grieve at their own speed (Kübler-Ross & Kessler, 1969,
2005). In the bargaining stage the survivor begins to blame themselves or others for the death of
their loved on, asking themselves, “what if and if only” questions (Kübler-Ross & Kessler, 1969,
2005). Following bargaining is depression, a stage in which life and daily tasks feel pointless.
Kübler-Ross offers that “depression is a way for nature to keep us protected by shutting down the
�GRIEF COUNSELING, ITS HISTORY AND PRACTICE
13
nervous system so that we can adapt to something we feel we cannot handle” (p.21). KüblerRoss states that all of these steps are necessary to work towards the process of healing with the
ultimate goal of recovery. Recovery is the stage in which the mourner accepts the reality of the
loss and is able to live in their new reality, one without their loved one. Unlike Freud (1915/17)
and Heikkinen (1979) but similar to Bowlby, the final stage of acceptance which “is a process
that we experience, not a final stage with an end point” (p.27).
Reflections on Kübler-Ross
In Pathological mourning and childhood mourning (1972) Bowlby proposed that clinical
conditions such as intense and persistent anger, changing roles and caring for others, and denial
are phases bereaved go through. These conditions are strikingly similar to the five stages of grief
in Elizabeth Kübler-Ross’ On Grief and Grieving (1969, 2005). Bowlby (1972) elaborates,
similarly to Kübler-Ross, that each variant, or phase/stage does not represent one’s whole
mourning process. The phases are often intertwined, or as Bowlby states, not mutually exclusive
(1972). Each stage of phasal models varies between clients and depends on their environmental
factors such as, brevity of loss, type of loss, experience with loss, etc. (Heikkinen, 1979; KüblerRoss & Kessler, 1969, 2005). Bowlby (1972) and Kübler-Ross (1969, 2005) also recognize the
difficulty of taking on the deceased’s role while mourning. When a loved one dies the people
surrounding them must fill the roles that they played. They not only have to mourn the
relationship but also take over their responsibilities. For example, when a father dies the oldest
sibling, or the mother must take on the “father” role for the family. The role can also be split
between family members or even friends, but either way role transitions is an immense
responsibility the survivors must undertake in addition to their grief. Bowlby and Kübler-Ross
also share similar perspectives of the phase/stage of denial in their mourning/grief models.
�GRIEF COUNSELING, ITS HISTORY AND PRACTICE
14
Bowlby (1972) addressed denial as a fantasy and split reality that could lead to clinical
syndromes. And Kübler-Ross identifies denial as refusing to believe that their loved one is dead.
Dwelling in grief can lead to psychopathological consequences (Stroebe & Schut, 1999).
Both Bowlby (1972) and Freud (1915/17) associated, in their own way, severe feelings of
melancholia and denial to mania or other conditions such as anxiety and depression. The
reactions to loss of a loved one differ from person to person due to the individuality of the
relationship they lost (Kübler-Ross & Kessler, 1969, 2005). Initial reactions to death is a hyperattachment which leads to the denial of reality (Altschul & Pollock [Forman], 1988). Forman
(1988) defines what Kübler-Ross says are stages, as defenses. Denial and fantasy being the first
defense, followed by introjection of part of the lost object, resistances to withdraw attachment,
and transference of neurosis. Denial is a coping mechanism for both adults and children to start
the process of freeing the ego and letting go of the attachment (Freud 1915/17; Altschul &
Pollock [Forman], 1988). Denial is viewed as a defense to preserve the attachment. This is where
historic psychoanalytic theories and psychiatric applied models differ. Kübler-Ross sees denial
as a normal reaction to grief, therefore grief is the cause for denial, rather than denial being a
precursor to mania.
Freud (1915/17) says that melancholia, the response to mourning, is an inhibiting
emotional response. Melancholy directly inhibits the ego. Freud’s views of melancholia align
with symptoms of depression: worthlessness, incapable of achievement, despicable, vilifies
themselves, deserving of punishment… heightened self-criticism (p.246) which can override the
ego and lead to suicide or mania. Stroebe and Schut (1999) believe that there are coping
strategies that prevent psychopathology. Kübler-Ross accepts that grief causes symptoms of
depression and anxiety, but unlike Stroebe and Schut, believes that her phase model could
�GRIEF COUNSELING, ITS HISTORY AND PRACTICE
15
mitigate diagnosing a client with depression. Kübler-Ross would first view the symptoms as
reactions to grief and use her model to help with grief and resolve their depression and grief.
Obviously, if the symptoms worsen or develop, Kübler-Ross would then see a need for further
action. One key element in phase/stage models is the belief that counseling is used to identify the
losses of their client (Heikkinen, 1979). Opposed to these models, are conservatism (Neimeyer,
1999), attachment theory (Bowlby, 1969), and the dual process model (Stroebe & Schut, 1999)
which acknowledge the individuality of the client, and offer more open ended, less restrictive
counseling strategies and coping models.
Although highly regarded for identifying the emotional progression expressed in clients,
stage models, such as Kübler-Ross’, were criticized for denying individuality of grief (Neimeyer,
1999; Stroebe & Schut, 1999). Stage models impose a rigid path for everyone to follow through
to reach acceptance. There is yet to be an all-encompassing theory utilized for grief. Existing
theories are criticized for their lack of capturing the complexity of an individual’s grief
experience. Today, counselors have a collective conceptualization of grief. They take ideas and
concepts from different models and use them in practice (Servaty-Seib, 2004). Although,
counselors do not accept the linear progression of stage models, they acknowledge the
underlying emotions observed in the model. This research has shown that strategies today are
reverting to traditional approaches to grief treatment (Servaty-Seib, 2004). They are focusing on
the individual, looking at their attachment (Ainsworth et al., 1978, 2015), past interpersonal
experience with death (Bowlby, 1969, 1980), stressors (Stroebe & Schut, 1999), and other
personal aspects that make everyone’s grief process unique to them. Grief therapy strategies
strive to help their clients find meaning in the reconstruction of their lives without their loved
one (Neimeyer, 1999,2001; Servaty-Seib, 2004).
�GRIEF COUNSELING, ITS HISTORY AND PRACTICE
16
Chapter 2: Grief Counseling: An Exploration of Individualized Experience in Group
Therapy
There is no universal definition of grief, therefore measuring grief is inconsistent among
counselors (Altmaier, 2011). Also, it is statistically shown certain individuals do not benefit from
grief therapy at all and hurt rather than help their grieving process (Doughty et al., 2011).
Additionally, feelings of grief are individualized to each person (Doughty et al., 2011). If this is
so, and each client expresses different emotions and attitudes towards the deceased and loved
one. Counselors are challenged to create an atmosphere where each client’s emotions are
adequately addressed without having someone feel singled out, isolated or excluded from the
conversation. That is, the complexity of grief complicates the ability to supply efficient and
effective conversations in group therapy. This exists even more significantly when the clients are
children (Crenshaw, 2005; Webb, 2011). Given that children seldom have long attention spans
(Goldman, 2004) and have difficulty expressing their feelings with words (Crenshaw, 2005)
counselors must employ a variety of grief processes, which, simultaneously voice truth into each
child’s life. Every child has a different relationship with their deceased loved one. One child may
feel relief that the person is dead and could feel guilty for feeling relieved; another may not have
enough memory to fully grieve the loss; still another could have been extremely attached to their
loved one. The possibilities of combinations of relationship, attachment, and emotion towards
the deceased are limitless. Currently, there is no single, universal model to address the variety of
grief exhibited by children. There are several models attempting to assure all varieties of grief
can be addressed. This paper will provide several strategies, activities, and coping mechanisms
that help make grief group therapy effective and efficient for pre-adolescent children.
Grief Counseling
�GRIEF COUNSELING, ITS HISTORY AND PRACTICE
17
Grief and loss encompass human experiences that everyone will endure throughout their
lifetime (Doughty et al., 2011). Yet, as Elizabeth Kübler-Ross and Kessler (2005) state, “our
grief is as individual as our lives” (p. 7). No two people identically experience grief. Like
snowflakes, each mourner has an intricate design of how they continue living without their loved
one. As such, there is no right or wrong way to grieve. Death is all around us, no one person can
escape it. Not even children can be protected from this painful experience. The challenge for
many adults is that children do not cognitively or emotionally process their grief as easily
(Crenshaw, 2005; Webb, 2011). This makes grief counseling a relatively new therapeutic
construct. Children, families, and adults attend sessions hoping to find closure and a way to
communicate across their different grief experiences. Counselors provide either individual
therapy, group therapy or a combination of the two to provide coping mechanisms; “tools” that
children and adults can put in their toolboxes as they experience their grief. These “tools” guide
clients toward stability in their new life without their loved one. This paper will additionally
focus on group therapy and the challenges counselors face with the complexity of grief. If each
child’s grief is unique, is it possible for group therapy to validate individual emotions while
maintain a connection with the group? Further, in addressing those individual emotions, do
counselors risk singling out or isolating group clients? This paper will explore the dynamic
strategies employed by counselors to create individualized experiences in a group therapeutic
setting.
Group Counseling for Grief
There is stigma around counseling (Prior, 2011). People fear being perceived as weak by
their peers or find their self-perception reduced because they are “unable” to hold the weight of
their emotional baggage. Especially in instances of grief, where the loss may not be visible to
�GRIEF COUNSELING, ITS HISTORY AND PRACTICE
18
society, there is a presumption that the emotions must be handled privately. When children are
involved, that presumption extends to their parents, who are perceived as responsible for helping
them through their grief (Bowlby, 1972). For this reason, many families do not seek counseling
for grief. Yet, counseling supplies a mourner with applications and an outside perspective that
allow them to gain access to their inner grief (Crenshaw, 2005). It is critical for mourners to
come into counseling with a positive outlook, seeing it as a productive aid to acceptance rather
than something that needs to be fixed or resolved (Altmaier, 2011). As quoted in Altmaier
(2011), Wampold states sessions are grossly misrepresented. Counseling is more than applying
techniques and resources to improve well-being. The belief that counseling will solve the
problem, inflates the probability of successful treatments provided in counseling which can lead
to impractical assurance of recovery (Altmaier, 2011). Counseling is not something that will
abate a situation; it is simply a counselor-client relationship; where the client feels understood,
valued, appreciated, and supported (Altmaier, 2011). For grieving children, entering a group can
be intimidating. Participants in therapy are expected to share a vulnerable and potentially painful
emotion to complete strangers. Some studies have found evidence that grief therapy may induce
more symptoms of grief after leaving therapy (Larson & Hoyt, 2007), while other studies find
group therapy to be the chosen treatment for people experiencing complicated grief (Grebin &
Vogel, 2007).
The first challenge for counselors is composing the group. Individuals may not be ready
for or the right fit for a group because of the type of relationship they lost and the type of loss
they experienced (Piper et al., 2007). Counselors attempt to put similar losses (i.e., spouses,
children, parents) into the same group, while also taking into consideration the type of loss (i.e.,
disenfranchised, natural causes, unanticipated, …). These are critical steps to ensure that each
�GRIEF COUNSELING, ITS HISTORY AND PRACTICE
19
group member feels safe, heard, and understood within the group. Meaningful relationships can
be created within the group which is a unique aspect of group therapy compared to individual
therapy (Grebin & Vogel, 2007). Warden (1991) and Rando (1993) emphasize the importance of
establishing new emotional ties with others and starting new relationships in order to help cope
with grief. Group therapy allows individuals to openly discuss their loss with others who have
experienced similar losses and provides that both socially and emotionally supports the client
(Grebin & Vogel, 2007). Group counseling supplies supportive therapy that allows members to
relate to one another and help each other improve their adaptation into the world they must
endure (Piper et al., 2007). Grebin and Vogel (2007) describe group therapy like this: the group
really becomes another support system outside of the home.
Within this client-supported group dynamic, there is a personal client-counselor
relationship as well. Productive growth in a client is dependent on a counselor’s personal
experience and the interpersonal relationship with the client (Altmaier, 2011). Clients must feel
supported, engaged, and safe in the environment the counselor creates. This includes, but is not
limited to warm, open, astute, and vulnerable conversations with the client facilitated by the
counselor (Altmaier, 2011). However, the facilitator’s role in the group is not to dictate the
events, but, rather, to guide conversation and provide activities to evoke the emotions that are
being suppressed (Altmaier, 2011). While many facilitators may have experienced personal
losses, they are not the ones experiencing the immediate loss of a loved one. The goal of the
facilitator is to relate to each griever’s emotions and connect with them while allowing the group
to freely discuss their pain.
Child Therapy for Grief
�GRIEF COUNSELING, ITS HISTORY AND PRACTICE
20
There are several ways children experience loss. They mourn the loss of relationships,
external objects (toys/baby blankets), skills, pets, etc. Regardless of the nature of the loss, a child
will experience grief (Goldman 2013). Grief is an overwhelming process which children find
hard to emotionally express and understand (Webb, 2011). When provided with the opportunity,
bereaved children express depression, anxiety (Ener & Ray, 2018; Goldman, 2004), feelings of
abandonment (Ener & Ray, 2018), less hope for their futures and low self-esteem (Ener & Ray,
2018; Goldman, 2004). However, a child’s understanding of the loss may vary with age (Webb,
2011). Hoeksema and Larson (1999) propose five components of loss understanding in children:
universality, irreversibility, non-functionality, causality, and noncorporeal continuation.
However, as Webb (2011) argues, most children do not fully understand these five concepts;
knowing these is a very mature thinking of death. According to the research of Hoeksema and
Larson (1999), Universality is the understanding, by children, that everything eventually dies.
Younger children, however, often believe they cannot die, nor anyone close to them (Hoeksema
& Larson, 1999). Irreversibility is the understanding that once something is dead, that the death
is permanent. There is no way to return to living once dead. Non-functionality is the idea that a
dead person can no longer complete physical activities. They cannot smell or feel etc. This
concept is harder for children to understand. It is recommended that parents and counselors focus
on relatable, short, concrete phrases such as: “Grandma cannot eat or taste an ice cream cone;
Grandma cannot throw a baseball; Grandma cannot hear you sing” when explaining death to
children. Causality represents the knowledge of how a person died. Noncorporeal continuation is
the belief that after someone dies there is a life after death to some capacity.
Despite these deep and varied grief experiences, children are not, commonly, seen as
mourners. Yet, studies show that children feel safer to express their emotions when they are
�GRIEF COUNSELING, ITS HISTORY AND PRACTICE
21
initially affirmed as a mourner (Goldman, 2004). This can be done by incorporating children into
rituals. Allowing children to attend funerals provides assurance that they are as recognized as a
mourner as the adults that are grieving (Goldman, 2004). Much of the difficulty is perceiving
children as mourners, centers around their inability to adequately express the emotions they are
feeling. Children’s lack of understanding loss and their limited emotional vocabulary, cause them
to shy away from using words to express their grief (Webb, 2011). This presents a unique set of
challenges for counselors working with grieving children. Play, art, and other creative therapies
allow children who seek grief therapy to relax and feel safe. During moments where a child is
occupied coloring or playing with figurines, their guard is down and they are more likely to
unconsciously reveal their inner emotions to a counselor when probed with questions (Crenshaw,
2005; Webb, 2011). Such child-friendly therapies offer outlets of emotional expression and
strategies to produce good coping mechanisms (Webb, 2011). These therapies are applied and
utilized by counselors to discover how much a child understands death (Webb, 2011). Children
grieve and they must feel validated for them to openly share their emotions. They must be
recognized and told the concrete truth about death.
Practical Application
Practices applied in child grief therapy typically consist of several creative activities.
Children’s short attention spans and limit death vocabulary to express their emotions, leave
counselors with limited information to gather how to help the child (Goldman, 2004). Studies
find that art and play therapy are effective strategies employed to have a child share their inner
thoughts (Lusenbrink, 2004; Webb, 2011). Because children, especially pre-adolescent children
have difficulty communicating their feelings clearly and have a small emotional tolerance of
grief, play therapy is a great way to express their emotions in a "language" they are comfortable
�GRIEF COUNSELING, ITS HISTORY AND PRACTICE
22
speaking. Children are capable of grieving through play, skits, and drawings (Webb, 2011). Play
therapy is a practice in which a counselor provides toys, such as blocks, dolls, animals, cars, and
other play materials for children to play out the death in their own creative way (Webb, 2011).
Therapists can ask the children direct questions about the death to hopefully able the child to
express their interpretation and understanding of their loved one’s death (Webb, 2011). The
dialogue expressed is the child unconsciously projecting their grief verbally and non-verbally
(Goldman, 2004).
Another common coping mechanism for a child that can be built through group therapy is
helping them nurture and maintain a relationship with their deceased loved one. This requires
cognitive awareness and upkeep of memories and action relating to the person they lost
(Goldman, 2004). Memory boxes can help children complete unanswered questions. Counselors
structure the activity to include questions such as "What is the most important thing they learned
from their loved one"; "what was life like before their loved one died"; "what is their funniest
memory”; "where they were when their loved one died"; "what was their first thought after they
died" (Goldman, 2004, p.181). These prompts help children expand their emotions and further
develop their understanding of grief (Goldman, 2004). They also provide a tangible connection
to the dead. Each object in the box has a specific memory or connection to their loved one
(Goldman, 2004). Art therapy, projective play and dream work are other common techniques
employed to target inner unconscious expression of grief (Goldman, 2004; Lusenbrink, 2004).
Interventions such as painting, memory work, letters, etc. are beneficial to children in
understanding their own grief while also providing a counselor with the progress of the
emotional grieving process in that child (Crenshaw, 2005; Goldman, 2004). There have been
many studies exploring interpretations of drawings that is outside the scope of this paper, but
�GRIEF COUNSELING, ITS HISTORY AND PRACTICE
23
these techniques are yet another outlet children can utilize to genuinely express themselves in
therapy.
Strategies of Inclusivity in Group Therapy
In general, employed strategies of grief counselors today are strikingly different from the
ones utilized even 10 years ago. Today, grief counselors are moving away from stage models and
towards cognitive and behavioral strategies (Doughty Horn et al., 2013). Stage and phase models
are criticized for ignoring the individuality of the mourner (Doughty et al., 2011). They imply
clients should go through and resolve each stage before they find resolution to their grief, eluding
the universality of grief (Doughty et al., 2011; Niemeyer, 1999). Today, grief strategies address
the complexity each client expresses and considers moderating factors of grief such as culture,
experience, and personality (Doughty et al., 2011). Recognizing the individuality of grief allows
counselors to tap into more behavioral and cognitive routes. These strategies are based on
attachment theory (Bowlby, 1969), the dual process model (Stroebe & Schut, 1999),
constructivism (Neimeyer, 1999), and adaptive grieving style (Martin and Doka, 2000) that
highlight individualism (Doughty et al., 2011). The emotional roller coaster of mourning
compromises one’s ability of expressing emotional, cognitive, and behavioral functions
(Altmaier, 2011). New models of grief also have one very important concept in common:
intimate client-counselor relationships.
Currently, counselors emphasize having open, honest, and genuine conversations with the
children. These conversations allow children to view their counselor as someone they can trust
with their deepest darkest emotions without feeling inferior or unheard and decreases anxiety
(Goldman, 2013). In addition to the individuality of every griever, the type of loss provides its
�GRIEF COUNSELING, ITS HISTORY AND PRACTICE
24
own unique stressors that individuals must overcome. Counselors must listen attentively;
considering all moderators that could potentially affect a client’s grief, and genuinely
acknowledging their emotions. These moderators can include: The structure of the group (open
versus closed, the length of group (time-limited versus long-term), the diversity of the people in
the group (gender and culture), and the type of loss experienced (traumatic, disenfranchised,
expected, unexpected etc.) (Grebin & Vogel, 2007; Nolen-Hoeksema & Larson, 1999). Types of
death include disenfranchised, expected, and unexpected (Nolen-Hoeksema & Larson, 1999) and
are identified as uncomplicated or complicated, and can vary how one grieves (Grebin & Vogel,
2007). Creating a safe environment, in spite of theses moderators, for a child to express their
grief, fears, anger, and any other emotion tied to their loss is imperative for any person involved
in a child’s griefwork (Goldman, 2013). Counselors need to acknowledge and validate their grief
and their feelings, these will be contrary and opposing to an adult’s reaction to loss, but it does
not make their feelings any less relevant (Goldman, 2013). Without trust between the child and
the counselor the techniques will not be successful (Crenshaw, 2005).
�GRIEF COUNSELING, ITS HISTORY AND PRACTICE
25
Chapter 3: Greif Education and Counseling
Talk therapy has been around for many years and is one of many successful practices for
those combating anxiety, depression, and other psychological disorders. Counselors are the paid
professionals people come to for guidance. Winokuer and Harris (2016) express counseling as
dynamic experience and personal relationship between the client and counselor. Counseling
guides people through their emotions and experiences and helps people practically apply
strategies and tools to improve their emotional and psychological state (Winokuer & Harris,
2016). Counseling is a broad practice that covers just about all psychological issues addressed in
the DSM-V. But what about grief? “Grief and loss are ubiquitous in the human experience”
(Doughty Horn et al., 2013, p.70) yet several studies reveal grief and loss curriculum are
overlooked in academia (Eckerd, 2009). The lack of training may lead to insufficient counseling
to grieving clients (Breen, 2010). This paper will reveal the underrepresentation of grief therapy
teaching, techniques, and in academia and offer solutions to help recognize grief as a nosology of
psychology.
Underrepresentation of Grief
Psychological Organizations
Grief was recently added to the DSM-V in 2013 and recognized by The World Health
Organization in their 11th edition, the ICD-11 (Boelen et al., 2018). These organizations have
made specifications for grief, such as Prolonged Greif Disorder (ICD-11) and Disturbed Greif,
and Complex Bereavement Disorder (DSM-V) under psychological stress disorders (Boelen et
al., 2018). Grief diagnoses, similar to stress and anxiety disorders, require clients to experience
pervasive emotional distress for at least 6 months after the death of their loved one, two
�GRIEF COUNSELING, ITS HISTORY AND PRACTICE
26
separation destress related symptoms, and one additional symptom related to grief (Boelen et al.,
2018). Recognition and education about grief will help society normalize grief (Eckerd, 2009).
Hopefully due to acknowledgement of grief in these major publications there will be more
applications of grief training in graduate programs for counselors, or even make a specialized
practice for grief therapy.
Academia
Evidence shows that counselors do not receive adequate training as they achieve their
graduate degrees (Ober et al., 2012). Death and loss curriculum is either excluded from
counselors’ coursework (Servaty-Seib, 2004) or not required for the degree (Ober et al., 2012).
“Fewer than 50% of graduate programs in clinical psychology even cover death-related topics”
(Eckerd, 2009, p.768). Grief is very complex and the path someone takes to relocate their
attachment to the deceased is dependent on many factors such as “age, family structure,
circumstances of bereavement, previous bereavements, concurrent stressors, relationship with the
deceased, previous crises, social support, and culture” (p. 289) that counselors are ignorant of if
they are untrained (Breen, 2010). Research shows that adequate training is positively related to
confidence in providing care for clients (Ober et al., 2012). But unfortunately, counselors either
receive little or no formal training in grief counseling strategies (Ober et al., 2012).
The closest training related to death and dying that is more available in academia is
curriculum on trauma therapy. Trauma therapy addresses intense emotions of fear and calamity
that coincide with a traumatic event such as a car accident or near-death experiences (Marzillier,
2014). Trauma therapists assess tactics to better understand a client’s vulnerabilities towards the
traumatic event in hopes the client reduces their levels of fear (Marzillier, 2014). But trauma is
�GRIEF COUNSELING, ITS HISTORY AND PRACTICE
27
not synonymous with grief, they are independent psychological experiences. Clients who’s loved
one died from a traumatic death or witnessed the death causing a traumatic experience, are sent
to trauma therapy before receiving grief therapy (C. Taverner, personal communication,
November 2, 2021). Overall, there is lack of access to the education necessary to know what it
takes to be a grief counselor (Breen, 2010). If there is evidence to show counselors are poorly
educated on grief, if at all, then how well can licensed counselors understand and treat grief?
Not all people who have experienced loss go to grief counselors. Many people go to
general licensed counselors (Breen, 2010; Ober et al., 2012). Breen (2010) in their study, hoping
to find how licensed counselors who are untrained in grief understand grief and how they apply
their understanding to their practice, found that counselors without training believe that grief is
bound within the limits of time and stages with the end goal of finding closure in which the client
can either be successful or unsuccessful. … This frame of mind is scarily close to the original
mind of Freud who believed in complete detachment from the deceased. While in Ober’s study
(2012), licensed professionals with no grief training, but had good awareness of death (from
personal experience) expressed confidence in their ability in grief therapy practices. The more
personal experience a person has the more confidence a counselor has in their competency with
grief clients. But Ober and colleagues (2012) also find that counselors with professional grief
training were most confident in their professional practice over those that did not receive
training. Personal familiarity is not synonymous with professional understanding. Counselors
who are trained in grief are aware of specific “theories of grief counseling, terms and definitions,
crisis intervention for grief, community-based psychoeducational grief-programming methods”
to reduce than those who are self-aware in their abilities (Ober et al., 2012, p.156-157). In order
to have optimal self-efficacy counselors should stay current and familiarize themselves with the
�GRIEF COUNSELING, ITS HISTORY AND PRACTICE
28
practices and models that are being utilized (Breen, 2010; Doughty Horn et al., 2013; Ober et al.,
2012).
Requirements to be a Grief Counselor
Counselors may not be exposed to death education because of lack of “lack of time to
source, read, and retain information” (Breen, 2010, p.292). It could be hard to keep up to date
with the latest models and techniques because of lack of resources to attain such information.
Those who did receive little grief education did not find their training useful (Breen, 2010). Lack
of recent knowledge can lead to misapplication of theories and coping mechanisms that can be
detrimental to a client’s conception and recovery from their grief (Ober et al., 2012). In Breen’s
study counselors were asked what grief models they were familiar with, and the most reported
model was Kübler-Ross. As chapter one points out, current grief practices are based on cognitive
and behavior strategies that focus on the individuality of grief and are moving away from stage
models (Doughty et al., 2011; Doughty Horn et al., 2013). Inadequate training can result in
underprepared counselors, misrepresentation of grief, and unsuccessful treatment of clients (Ober
et al., 2012).
Counselors must assess coping mechanisms to fit their client’s needs (Ober et al., 2012;
Worden, 2009). Addressing unresolved losses are different than assessing complete suicides and
disenfranchised deaths (Nolen-Hoeksema & Larson, 1999; Ober et al., 2012). Counselors must
also consider cultural influences. All these factors on top of demographics, secondary losses and
relationship lost, attribute to the appropriate strategies and medications to refer to clients (NolenHoeksema & Larson, 1999; Ober et al., 2012; Rando, 1993). It is imperative for death and dying
curriculum to be recognized in academics to better prepare counselors to address grief and loss.
�GRIEF COUNSELING, ITS HISTORY AND PRACTICE
29
Solution
Make Courses Available in Academia
One main reason people are not educated on death is because they fear death, therefore
avoid talking about it like it is the plague (Eckerd, 2009). This could be since death is still a
subject that no one knows how to talk about, and it is easier to avoid than to discuss awkwardly
(Eckerd, 2009). Education on death can combat these fears. Studies show that exposure to death
and dying curriculum will lead to 1) openness to talk about death and dying 2) clarity in personal
stance on death 3) reduced fear of death (Doughty Horn et al., 2013). The more people who are
educated on death the more comfortable, and less stressed they will be when coping with their
own grief (Doughty Horn et al., 2013; Eckerd, 2009). Education should not stop after the
classroom, because of the ever-changing strategies, counselors should continue to educate
themselves to improve their practice (Breen, 2010). And for licensed counselors that have not
received proper grief training should seek such training (Breen, 2010). It is also important to
include understanding of personal experiences of grief in grief training to reinforce a counselor’s
confidence and ability to help those who are grieving (Ober et al., 2012). As Ober and colleagues
(2012) found, people’s confidence in their work increases if they are aware of their own values
of death. Grief counselors “must be comfortable with their own losses, comfortable listening to
and talking [with children] about death” (Heath et al., 2008, p.261).
Application in Grief Counseling with Children
It is imperative that counselors understand how to communicate with children about
death. Children and adults grieve differently. The first interaction a counselor has with a child
will determine whether a child will open up and trust the counselor with their emotions (C.
Taverner, personal communication, November 2, 2021). Counselors must give accurate
�GRIEF COUNSELING, ITS HISTORY AND PRACTICE
30
information to children. Children do not understand metaphors they become more confused by
this terminology than benefit from someone trying to protect them (Silverman, 2000). Children
need to be told in concrete terms what happened to their loved one, not half-truths or avoiding
the subject altogether (Heath et al., 2008). Counselors must not be silent or avoid talking about
death with children because they do not believe they can handle or understand the pain. Children
are more aware of death than we believe (Silverman, 2000). If counselors demean the
understanding of children or try to protect the child from the “hard truth” the counselor is
blocking the trust and communication with the child (Heath et al., 2008).
Experience and exposure are also moderators in comfort with death (Doughty Horn et al.,
2013). Attending workshops, training sessions, classes have the potential to reduce anxiety
around death (Doughty Horn et al., 2013). Counselors must also understand that the moderators
that aid counselors to feel more confident in their grief counseling skills also applies to the
clients. Young children have little experience, and are not as educated in life, therefore would
need to be told basic concrete information about the death of their loved one (Heath et al., 2008;
Silverman, 2000). Compared to adolescents who have a better understanding of life, due to more
experience and development, they can be told and are able to understand more specific details of
the death (Heath et al., 2008; Silverman, 2000). There is a positive relationship between
experience and the ability to understand death (Doughty Horn et al., 2013; Heath et al., 2008;
Ober et al., 2012).
Conclusion
Death, dying and bereavement education should be taught early in undergraduate years to
combat challenges and universality of death that students will face (Eckerd, 2009). The sooner
�GRIEF COUNSELING, ITS HISTORY AND PRACTICE
31
one learns about death the more comfortable and prepared one is to face death. But because the
subject is still taboo to talk about in society it could be perceived as difficult to educate on
because the subject could resurface uncomfortable and vulnerable emotions (Eckerd, 2009). But
research shows that death and dying education develops the exact opposite feelings towards
death (Breen, 2010; Doughty Horn et al., 2013; Ober et al., 2012). The ultimate goal of grief
counseling is to “help the survivor adapt to the loss of a loved one and be able to adjust to a new
reality without him or her” (Worden, 2002, p.84) and to maintain the bond with the deceased
(Bowlby, 1969,1982; Stroebe & Schut, 1999; Worden, 2002). No matter who the counselor is, it
is important that they receive enough education to give them the sufficient knowledge to help
those in need.
�Chapter 4 redacted to remove personal reflections and any identifying information.
�GRIEF COUNSELING, ITS HISTORY AND PRACTICE
References
Ainsworth, M. D. S, Blehar, M. C., Waters, E., & Wall, S. N. (1978, 2015). Patterns of
attachment: A psychological study of the strange situation. Lawrence Erlbaum.
https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203758045
Altmaier, E. (2011). Best practices in counseling grief and loss: Finding benefit from trauma.
Journal of Mental Health Counseling, 33(1). 33-45.
https://doi.org/10.17744/mehc.33.1.tu9wx5w3t2145122
Boelen, P. A., et al. (2018). Evaluation of the factor structure, prevalence, and validity of
disturbed grief in DSM-5 and ICD-11. Journal of Affective Disorders, 240, 79-87.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2018.07.041
Bowlby, J. (1958) The nature of the child’s tie to his mother. International Journal of
Psychoanalysis, 39, 350-371.
Bowlby, J. (1963). Pathological mourning and childhood mourning. Journal of American
Psychoanalytic Association, 11(3), 500-541.
https://doi.org/10.1177/000306516301100303
Bowlby, J. (1969). Attachment and loss; Attachment (Vol. 1). Basic Books.
Bowlby, J. (1972). Pathological mourning and childhood mourning. Journal of American
Psychoanalytic Association, 11(3), 500-541.
https://doi.org/10.1177%2F000306516301100303
Bowlby, J. (1980). Attachment and loss; Loss Sadness and Depression (Vol. 3). Basic Books.
35
�GRIEF COUNSELING, ITS HISTORY AND PRACTICE
36
Breen, L. J. (2010). Professionals’ experiences of grief counseling: Implications for bridging the
gap between research and practice. Omega, 62(3), 285-303.
https://doi.org/10.2190/om.62.3.e
Crenshaw, D. (2005). Clinical tools to facilitate treatment of childhood traumatic grief. OMEGA,
51(3). 239-255. https://doi.org/10.2190%2F12MD-EPQX-47DY-KW0X
Doughty, E. A., Wissel, A., & Glorfield, C. (2011). Current trends in grief counseling. Ideas and
Research You Can Use, 1-10.
http://counselingoutfitters.com/vistas/vistas11/Article_94.pdf
Doughty Horn, E. A., Crews, J. A., & Harrawood, L. K. (2013). Grief and loss and education:
Recommendations for curricular inclusion. Counselor Education and Supervision, 52(1),
70-80. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1556-6978.2013.00029.x
Eckerd, L. M. (2009). Death and dying course offerings in psychology: A survey of nine
midwestern states. Death Studies, 33(8), 762-770,
https://doi.org/10.1080/07481180902961211
Ener, L., & Ray, D. C., (2018). Exploring characteristics of children presenting to counseling for
gief and loss. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 27. 860-871.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-017-0939-6
Forman, M. (1988). Two defenses against the work of mourning. In Altschul, S., & Pollock G.
H. Childhood bereavement and its aftermath. (pp.377-390). International University
Press.
Freud, S. (1914-1916). Mourning and melancholia. In James Strachey’s (Ed.). The standard
edition of the complete psychological works of Sigmund Freud: On the history of the
�GRIEF COUNSELING, ITS HISTORY AND PRACTICE
37
psycho-analytic movement papers on metapsychology and other works. The Hogarth
Press. 243-260.
Gana, N. (2006). The vicissitudes of melancholia in Freud and Joyce. James Joyce Quarterly,
44(1), 95-109.
Goldman, L. (2004). Counseling with children in contemporary society. Journal of Mental
Health Counseling, 26(2). 168-187.
https://doi.org/10.17744/mehc.26.2.ndpuqdeudfbb6e0l
Goldman, L. (2013). Children’s loss and grief. Life and loss: A guide to help grieving children
(pp. 1-21). Routledge.
Grebin, M., & Vogel, J. E. (2007). Bereavement group and their benefits. Journal of Creativity
in Mental Health, 2(1). 61-73. https://doi.org/10.1300/J456v02n01_06
Heath, M. A., Leavy, D., Hansen, K., Ryan, K., & Sonntag, A. G. (2008). Coping with grief:
Guidelines and resources for assisting children. Intervention in School and Clinic, 43(5),
259-269. https://doi.org/10.1177/1053431208314493
Heikkinen, C. A. (1979). Counseling for personal loss. Personal and Guidance Journal, 46-49.
Klein, M. (1935). The psychoanalysis of children. Grove Press.
Klein, M. (1940). Mourning and its relation to manic-depressive states. In Rita Frankiel’s (Ed.)
Essential papers on object loss. New York University Press. 95-122.Klimezuk, A., &
Kübler-Ross, E., & Kessler, D. (1969, 2005). On grief and grieving: Finding the meaning of
grief through the five stages of loss. Scribner.
�GRIEF COUNSELING, ITS HISTORY AND PRACTICE
38
Larson, D., & Hoyt, W. (2007). What has become of grief counseling? An evaluation of the
empirical foundations of the new pessimism. Professional Psychology: Research and
Practice, 38(4), 347-355. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/0735-7028.38.4.347
Lindemann, E. (1976). Grief and grief management: Some reflections. Journal of Pastoral Care,
30(3), 198-207.
Lusenbrink, V. B. (2004). Art therapy and the brain: An attempt to understand the underlying
processes of art expression in therapy. The American Art Therapy Association, 21(3),
125-135. https://doi.org/10.1080/07421656.2004.10129496
Martin, T. L., & Doka, K. J. (2000). Men don’t cry … women do: Transcending gender
stereotypes of grief. Brunner/Mazel.
Marzillier, J. (2014). The Trauma Therapies: Vol. First edition. OUP Oxford.
Metzger, A. M. (1979). A Q-methodological study of the Kübler-Ross stage theory. Omega: An
International journal for the Study of Dying, Death, Bereavement, Suicide, and other
Lethal behaviors, 10(4), 291.301.
Neimeyer, R. A. (1999). Strategies in grief therapy. Journal of Constructivist Psychology, 12,
65-85. https://doi.org/10.1080/107205399266226
Nolen-Hoeskema, S., & Larson, J. (1999). Coping with loss. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Ober, A. M., Granello, D. H., & Wheaton, J. E. (2012). Grief counseling: An investigation of
counselors’ training, experience, and competencies. Journal of Counseling and
Development, 90, 150-159. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1556-6676.2012.00020.x
Parkes, C. M. (2002). Grief: Lessons from the past, visions for the future. Death Studies, 26(5),
367-385. https://doi.org/10.1080/07481180290087366
�GRIEF COUNSELING, ITS HISTORY AND PRACTICE
39
Piper, W. E., Ogrodniczuk, J. S., Weideman, R., Joyce, & A. S., Rosie, J. S. (2007) Group
compositions and group therapy for complicated grief. Journal of Counseling and
Clinical Psychology, 75(1), 116-125. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-006X.75.1.116
Prior, S. (2011). Overcoming stigma: How young people position themselves as counseling
service users. Sociology of Health and Illness, 34(5), 697-713.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9566.2011.01430.x
Rando, T. A. (1993). The treatment of complicated mourning. Champaign, IL: Research Press.
Servaty-Seib, H. L. (2004). Connections between counseling theories and current theories of
grief and mourning. Journal of Health Counseling, 26(2), 125-145.
https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.17744/mehc.26.2.p9aukha7v8fqkc9g
Silverman, P. R. (2000). Never too young to know. Oxford University Press.
Stroebe, M., & Schute H. (1999). The dual process model of coping with bereavement: Rationale
and description. Death Studies, 23(3), 197-224.
https://doi.org/10.1080/074811899201046
Taverner, C. (2021, November 2). Supervisor Reflective Tutorial Interview. Wagner College
Webb, N. B. (2011). Play therapy for bereaved children: Adapting strategies to community,
school, and home, settings. School Psychology International, 32(2). 132-143.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0143034311400832
Winokuer, H. R. & Harris, D. L. (2016). Principles of Grief Counseling: Vol. Second edition.
Springer Publishing Company.
Worden, J. W. (2009). Grief counseling and grief therapy: A handbook for the mental health
practitioner (4th ed.). Springer Publishing Company.
�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Senior Presentations Archive
Description
An account of the resource
This archive contains materials from Wagner’s annual ‘Senior Presentations.’ This event honors outstanding students from each discipline who completed their Senior Learning Community project with excellence. The work is representative of Wagner’s highest standards, and is exemplary of the diversity of subject matter, public-facing scholarship, and civic-minded professionalism our students have attained through their four years here. These students were specially invited to present their work in a formal setting, traditionally the day of Baccalaureate. Students are encouraged to present their work in a format appropriate for their discipline, and so, the presentations vary in their format. Some might be in the form of a short video, or paper abstracts, while others might be posters or music clips. We expect this archive to serve as a resource for generations to come. Congratulations to our Seniors!
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2017 -
Rights Holder
A person or organization owning or managing rights over the resource.
Wagner College, Staten Island, NY
Document
A resource containing textual data. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre text.
Date Digital
2022
Original Format
If the image is of an object, state the type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data
Thesis
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
2022_Psychology_Sytsma
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Ruth Sytsma
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1/1/2022
Title
A name given to the resource
Grief Counseling, Its History and Practice
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Drs. Laurence Nolan & Jessica England
Psychology
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
text
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
application/pdf
Extent
The size or duration of the resource.
37 pages
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
U.S. and international copyright laws may protect this work. It is provided by Wagner College for scholarly or research purposes only. Commercial use or distribution is not permitted without prior permission of the copyright holder.
Rights Holder
A person or organization owning or managing rights over the resource.
Wagner College, Staten Island, NY
-
https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/1909/archive/files/71644939dd3872acb9592af676496a44.pdf?Expires=1712793600&Signature=EdIfGq6pxJANan3tBLPwHo030TJQ2o20c8BE35QniUum7Gii46SxJGlwfYcs-VEuhSp1Qcs5Oiway3xIAX2DvyHQRcppbKaLfGaDG9LcsW%7EFQkiyjQ6fkhU95z%7E6tG1n6mf5N-9hnzFHH5j5-Sakirb5zf2AhvgBSogwiPh3eCf3bcZdZuYVcYPdMdxGx%7EHDrKSk1AE4TfJFJuHOI2Qt1w7r92sQF6aN7%7EMzjRo8OT6HXISS45yV2c-6AM9MwzagfJpsto3vsRrnsEfDyxaWWe4RDi3Nt2oyY-SqY8qOM%7E25HVW3trYmBGEvVQW65edCWIwTyKrL7R3eKL9Ni5O%7EvQ__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM
9bbe85a45ae5d55cc54762420a79985b
PDF Text
Text
Part One: Introduction and Community in Need
The vector-borne illness caused by B. Burgdorferi, commonly known as
Lyme disease is causing flu-like symptoms and rashes that may progress
to cardiac, nervous and joint complications. Staten Island adults are at risk
of contracting Lyme. With thirty-five cases being reported in 2012, that
number has increased nearly four-fold to 123 cases in 2017. The increase
in incidence on Staten Island can be attributed to climate change but there
is a more prevalent factor influencing the contraction of Lyme Disease;
Deer. There are an estimated 2,000 deer on Staten Island, and they are
causing this public health risk.
Part Two: Community Assessment and Analysis
The population of Staten Island as of July 1st, 2018 is 476,179 people.
There are 166,150 households in Staten Island with 2.82 persons
averaging per household. 81% of Staten Island residents identify their own
health as “excellent,” “very good”, or “good” with an average life
expectancy is 80 years old. Lyme disease is the most common tick-borne
infection in New York City as well as the U.S. In the year 2000 there was
215 reported Lyme disease cases in NYC. In 2017, that number
skyrocketed to 1,083 cases. This increase can be attributed to the rise in
the deer population on Staten Island. However, Staten Island has a
plethora of resources to combat this issue. Health Care is the most
common industry on Staten Island (13.5%). There are 27,320 Health care
jobs on Staten Island with those jobs increasing at a rate of 13.6%. Of all
Staten Islanders, 93% are insured and have access to health care. (New
York City Department of Health, 2018) Staten Island also offers 15 public
libraries, 43 hospitals and clinics (urgent cares, diagnostic and treatment
centers, school-based health facilities). With this availability, people
infected with Lyme disease have satisfactory access to treatment and
education.
Part Three: Problem in the
Community
Lyme disease (Borrelia
burgdorferi), also known as Lyme
Borreliosis, is the most common
vector borne illness in the United
States. The disease is transmitted
by the deer tick. These ticks will
latch onto new hosts such as deer,
rodents and humans. The
incidence of increasing Lyme
disease can be attributed to the
change in climate and the
increasing deer population on SI.
Part Four: Proposed Solution
To combat the increasing rate of Lyme in SI, we as nursing
students can promote health and reduce disease by educating
our audience in the following points:
1) Deer Tick information (size, shape, where to find)
2) Disease process/transmission
3) Medications for Lyme Disease
4) Prevention and Tick removal
We implement this education into 5 minute videos using
YouTube. 4 episodes with own teaching points, questions and
answers will be available for the viewer
�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Senior Presentations Archive
Description
An account of the resource
This archive contains materials from Wagner’s annual ‘Senior Presentations.’ This event honors outstanding students from each discipline who completed their Senior Learning Community project with excellence. The work is representative of Wagner’s highest standards, and is exemplary of the diversity of subject matter, public-facing scholarship, and civic-minded professionalism our students have attained through their four years here. These students were specially invited to present their work in a formal setting, traditionally the day of Baccalaureate. Students are encouraged to present their work in a format appropriate for their discipline, and so, the presentations vary in their format. Some might be in the form of a short video, or paper abstracts, while others might be posters or music clips. We expect this archive to serve as a resource for generations to come. Congratulations to our Seniors!
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2017 -
Rights Holder
A person or organization owning or managing rights over the resource.
Wagner College, Staten Island, NY
Document
A resource containing textual data. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre text.
Date Digital
2020
Original Format
If the image is of an object, state the type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data
Poster
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
2020-nursing-Ruggiero Ruspantini
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Ruggiero, Joseph<br />Ruspantini, Robert
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
5/1/2020
Title
A name given to the resource
The Increasing Incidence of Lyme’s Disease: A Preventive Approach to Attenuate Infection Risk in Staten Island Adults
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Evelyn L. Spiro School of Nursing
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
text
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
application/pdf
Extent
The size or duration of the resource.
1 page
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
U.S. and international copyright laws may protect this work. It is provided by Wagner College for scholarly or research purposes only. Commercial use or distribution is not permitted without prior permission of the copyright holder.
Rights Holder
A person or organization owning or managing rights over the resource.
Wagner College, Staten Island, NY
Nursing