Research Team

Our Mission

We understand that judgments of responsiblity about the onset of an event have important consequences. These judgments of responsibility affect the dynamics of interpersonal relationships through their effect on anger and blame. Using a combination of laboratory and field work techniques, we investigate the impact of perceived judgments of responsibility for disease onset on person perception and behavioral response. With this understanding, our goal is to provide insight to the medical and lay communities that will benefit quality of life and the delivery of health care to individuals in need of medical attention.

Current Projects

The Effects of Judgments of Responsibility on Quality of Life in People With Diabetes

Our current projects investigate the impact of judgments of responsibility on interpersonal interactions and their influence on the quality of life of individuals with diabetes. We assess perceptions of responsibility for the onset of diabetes and investigate the impact of these judgments on interpersonal interactions with significant others, as well as members of the medical community. We also examine the controversy surrounding the attribution of causality for aggressive behavior in people with diabetes (American Diabetes Association).

Diabetes 46 Sample

The emphasis that is placed on personal responsibility for health in Healthy People 2010 necessitates a framework for understanding how psychosocial variables like personal responsibility for health, disease onset, and disease treatment may influence disease management. In this study we investigated whether a perception of personal responsibility for disease onset and self-blame might lead to better, or potentially worse, disease management for people with diabetes. An internet-based survey assessed perceived responsibility for disease onset, self-blame, anger, social support, and disease management in a sample of 46 individuals with diabetes. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling techniques and showed that as perceptions of responsibility for disease onset increased, so did trait anger. These increases in trait anger were associated with increases in self-blame and negative social support, along with the self-report of poorer disease management. These psychosocial variables accounted for 59% of the variance associated with self-reported disease management. These data are consistent with the model that perceptions of responsibility for disease onset and subsequent anger and self-blame may interfere with effective diabetes management. Interventions designed to improve the presence and perception of available social support, or designed to improve anger management or disease acceptance may offer additional mechanisms to improve diet, exercise, and blood glucose testing in individuals with diabetes.
 

Native American Sample

This  project surveyed a Native American sample of 119 participants using a paper and pencil version of our survey.

Latino/a sample for Diabetes survey

This project expanded from utilizing regional newspapers to testing the effectiveness of listserves in reaching a larger Latino/a population with diabetes. We are currently working through our data and looking to a new avenue of particpant pool. Stay tuned!

African-American and Asian-American population sample for Diabetes survey

We are currently in the design stages of looking for new outlets for recruiting both African-American and Asian-American individuals with diabetes. We are exploring arenas such as hospital clinics in minority areas as well as predominately minority-populated churches and events.

 

• Psychometric properties of internet and standard administration version of the Just World Scale
• The effect of mitigating circumstances, outcome magnitude, and individual differences in belief in a just world on judgments of responsibility, anger and blame
• Using reality TV as a context for studying the effect of outcome magnitude and mitigating circumstances on judgments of responsibility

Resources

Materials

Student Contact Information: These e-mails may be used to contact current research team members with questions about the team experience!

Sarah Levine-slevine1@ithaca.edu
"Diabetes is a real issue in our society, but one that is consistently ignored. It is time for this issue to be front and center in the media, in the classroom, and in the research settings."

Lindsey Calabrese-lcalabr2@ithaca.edu
"Ithaca is one of the only colleges in the country that has a three semester undergraduate research component. This is a fantastic opportunity that you cannot get anywhere else. On Professor DePalma's research team we have the added benefit of taking part in community service such as Diabetes walks, which offers a bonding and strengthening component for us as a whole.

Becky Zaremba
"Working with Professor DePalma is an unprecedented learning experience. It is fun and interesting all at the same time. Being on her team has given me skills that will last a lifetime."

 

TODAY'S FOCUS IS ON:

Bernard Weiner

His book: Judgments of Responsibility: A Foundation for a Theory of Social Conduct