The College of Humanities and Social Sciences recognizes the 68 graduates who received their doctoral degrees at George Mason University's Winter Graduation ceremony on December 16, 2021. Congratulations to all graduates!
Doctor of Philosophy in Communication
Deanne C. Canieso
Exploring Expectancy Violations and Emotions in Computer-Mediated Communication: A Mixed Method, Hybrid Approach to Content Analysis of Online Mental Health Messages
Advisor: Kevin B. Wright, PhD, Department of Communication
Kimberly S. Daniels
Male Body Talk: Investigating Fat Talk and Muscle Talk in a Romantic Context
Advisor: Gary L. Kreps, PhD, Department of Communication
Joseph Graf
The Effects of Uncivil and Skeptical Online Comments on News Credibility and Believability
Advisor: Samuel Robert Lichter, PhD, Department of Communication
Elmira Hamidi
Diabetes Be Dur, a Type 2 Diabetes Mobile Application for Iranian Nationals in the U.S.
Advisor: Gary L. Kreps, PhD, Department of Communication
Farah Latif
A Mixed Method Approach to Conceptualizing and Scale Development of Personal Reputations: A Multidimensional Approach Using Legitimacy, Social Evaluation, Parasocial Relationships, and Agency
Advisor: Gary L. Kreps, PhD, Department of Communication
Andie S. Malterud
Exploring Source Credibility and Message Theme Impacts: Developing E-Cigarette Health Message for College Students
Advisor: Kevin B. Wright, PhD, Department of Communication
Karin Nordin
Growing a Growth Mindset in the Introductory Course: Design, Pilot Testing, and Implementation of a Communication Mindset Intervention
Advisor: Melissa A. Broeckelman-Post, PhD, Department of Communication
Christian R. Seiter
The Death Message Processing Model: A Mixed Methods Evaluation of a Humor-Based Approach to Motivate Advance Care Planning
Advisor: Xiaoquan Zhao, PhD, Department of Communication
Kristin M. F. Timm
Sources and Frames in a Contested Framing Space: An Analysis of the U.S. Media Coverage of the Fourth National Climate Assessment
Advisor: Edward Wile Maibach, PhD, Department of Communication
Doctor of Arts in Community College Education
Qing Gao
Trust under Pressure: Sustaining International Partnership of Higher Education
Advisor: Joy Hughes, PhD, Higher Education Program
Doctor of Philosophy in Criminology, Law and Society
Amy Dezember
Examining Alford Pleas and the Presumption of Strong Evidence
Advisor: Allison D. Redlich, PhD, Department of Criminology, Law and Society
Jordan Kenyon
Bridging the Gap in Procedural Justice Knowledge for Corrections
Advisor: Danielle S. Rudes, PhD, Department of Criminology, Law and Society
Megan Stoltz
Police Decision-Making in Encounters with Persons with Mental Health Conditions: Content Analysis of Officers’ Narrative CIT Reports
Advisor: Sue-Ming Yang, PhD, Department of Criminology, Law and Society
Doctor of Philosophy in Cultural Studies
Aimee Anthony
Behind the Scenes: African American Women Filmmakers in Early Cinema, 1890s to 1940s
Advisor: Jessica Scarlata, PhD, Department of English
Doctor of Philosophy in Economics
Kendra Asher
The Esoteric Writing of David Hume
Advisor: Daniel B. Klein, PhD, Department of Economics
Joshua Bedi
Immigration and Entrepreneurship
Advisor: Bryan D. Kaplan, PhD, Department of Economics
Brian J. Bonis
Three Essays on the Federal Funds Market
Advisor: Carlos D. Ramirez, PhD, Department of Economics
David C. Coker
From Economics to Social Philosophy: The Foundations of John Rawls’s Contribution
Advisor: David M. Levy, PhD, Department of Economics
Alexander Craig
An Austrian Analysis of Social Capital
Advisor: Virgil Storr, PhD, Department of Economics
Christopher R. Fleming
Talking Points: G. Warren Nutter and the Role of Discussion in a Knightian Foreign Policy and Political Economy
Advisor: David M. Levy, PhD, Department of Economics
Nathan P. Goodman
Institutional Diversity and the Economics of Security
Advisor: Christopher Coyne, PhD, Department of Economics
Andrew G. Humphries
Three Essays on Developing Moral Judgment in Adam Smith and Alexis de Tocqueville
Advisor: Daniel B. Klein, PhD, Department of Economics
Clara E. Jace
Essays in the Economics of Religion and Family
Advisor: Peter J. Boettke, PhD, Department of Economics
Scott King
Political Economy and the Predatory State
Advisor: Peter T. Leeson, PhD, Department of Economics
John Kroencke
Three Essays in the History of Economics
Advisor: Peter J. Boettke, PhD, Department of Economics
Maggie Lehr
An Analysis of Trust and Trustworthiness within Political and Banking Institutions
Advisor: Kevin A. McCabe, PhD, Department of Economics
Edward Austin Middleton
The Problem of Sympathy-Seeking Projectors: Adam Smith’s Support of Usury Laws as Prudential Credit Rationing
Advisor: David M. Levy, PhD, Department of Economics
Stuart Paul
Consistency and Stability of Composite-Reliant Bank Failure Models Over Time
Advisor: Carlos D. Ramirez, PhD, Department of Economics
Nicholas R. Pusateri
Essays in Applied Macroeconomics
Advisor: Carlos D. Ramirez, PhD, Department of Economics
Louis Rouanet
Essays on the Political Economy of the French Revolution
Advisor: Peter T. Leeson, PhD, Department of Economics
Moumita Roy
Social Identity, Leadership, and Group Behavior: Theory and Experiments
Advisor: Daniel E. Houser, PhD, Department of Economics
Jian Song
Three Essays on Contest Theory and Experiments
Advisor: Daniel E. Houser, PhD, Department of Economics
John A. Vandivier
Three Essays on the Economics of Postsecondary Alternative Learning
Advisor: Bryan D. Caplan, PhD, Department of Economics
Jianxin Wang
Three Essays on Alcohol Economics
Advisor: Daniel E. Houser, PhD, Department of Economics
Kaitlyn Woltz
The Political Economy of Prisoner Voice and Collective Action in the U.S. Prison System
Advisor: Peter J. Boettke, PhD, Department of Economics
Doctor of Philosophy in History
Daniel Curry
De-evolution: Individual Property Rights, Communal Property Rights, and Mexican Land Grants in California and New Mexico, 1821–1925
Advisor: C. Joseph Genetin-Pilawa, PhD, Department of History and Art History
John R. Garnett
“Wheat Man’s Burden”: Wheat Rust, Trickle-Down Agricultural Economics, and the Origins of the Green Revolution in Mexico (1842–1970)
Advisor: Matthew B. Karush, PhD, Department of History and Art History
Richard Hardesty
Magic in “a Tragic City”: The Orioles and the Redevelopment of Baltimore, 1954–1992
Advisor: Zachary Schrag, PhD, Department of History and Art History
Jannelle Legg
“With Eloquent Fingers He Preached”: The Protestant Episcopal Mission to the Deaf
Advisor: Lincoln A. Mullen, PhD, Department of History and Art History
David McKenzie
Racing Ahead of Manifest Destiny: U.S. Migration, Citizenship, and Commercial Expansion in Mexico’s Interior, 1821–53
Advisor: Joan C. Bristol, PhD, Department of History and Art History
Jordan Patty
Transit, Labor, and the Transition to Public Ownership in Atlanta and Oakland
Advisor: Zachary Schrag, PhD, Department of History and Art History
Spencer Roberts
“Fortitude and Resolution”: Women of Niagara and the War of 1812
Advisor: Christopher H. Hamner, PhD, Department of History and Art History
Doctor of Philosophy in Linguistics
Omar Alkhonini
Underlying Representation and Acoustic Analyses of Two-Consonant Initial Clusters and Preceding Vowels in Najdi Arabic
Advisor: stvn h. weinberger, PhD, Department of English
Chiu-ching Tseng
An Investigation of Voice Onset Time and the Factors That Affect It in L1 and L2 Mandarin
Advisor: stvn h. weinberger, PhD, Department of English
Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology
Emily Alexoudis
The Relationship of Personality Traits and Non-Suicidal Self Injury to Aggression and Alcohol Use
Advisor: Sarah Fischer, PhD, Department of Psychology
Paul J. Beatty
“Oops, I Did it Again?”: Behavioral and Electrophysiological Indices of Error Processing Predict Adaptive Post-Error Compensations
Advisor: Craig McDonald, PhD, Department of Psychology
Martin Biskup
Social Support for Abusive Supervision: A Model of Resource Substitution for Abused Subordinates
Advisor: Seth Kaplan, PhD, Department of Psychology
Lydia Craig
Understanding Men’s Utilization of Paid Parental Leave: A Competing Identities Perspective
Advisor: Lauren E. Kuykendall, PhD, Department of Psychology
James Doorley
The Effects of Coping, Savoring, and Self-Compassion on Daily Psychological Resilience among College Athletes
Advisor: Robyn Mehlenbeck, PhD, Department of Psychology
Samantha Dubrow
Leadership Transitions in Teams
Advisor: Stephen Zaccaro, PhD, Department of Psychology
Jordan E. Greenburg
Investigating the “Gift of Time”: Predictors and Outcomes Associated with Delayed School Entry and Kindergarten Retention
Advisor: Adam Winsler, PhD, Department of Psychology
Stephanie Hargrove
Wellness Beyond Symptom Reduction: An Exploration of Black Woman-Centered Wellness for Survivors of Gender-Based Violence
Advisor: Lauren B. Cattaneo, PhD, Department of Psychology
Diane Lameira
The Role of Self-Compassion in the Relationships among Personality Traits, Health Behaviors, and Daily Mood
Advisor: Jerome Short, PhD, Department of Psychology
Jennifer Loya
Borderline Personality Disorder Symptoms and Substance Dependence Before and After Jail Incarceration
Advisor: June P. Tangney, PhD, Department of Psychology
Alex Moffett
Urban Intradistrict School Mobility and Its Association with Elementary School Academic Achievement
Advisor: Adam Winsler, PhD, Department of Psychology
Ali Momen
Robots Are Perceptually Dehumanized Due to Their Machine-Like Appearance and Machine-Like Nature
Advisor: Craig McDonald, PhD, Department of Psychology
Karin Pedemonte
The Effects of Young Blood Plasma Transfusions on Older hTau Mice Modeling Alzheimer’s Disease
Advisor: Jane M. Flinn, PhD, Department of Psychology
Courtney Ricciardi
Trajectories of Advanced Math Taking for Low-Income Students of Color in Middle and High School
Advisor: Adam Winsler, PhD, Department of Psychology
Ze Zhu
Clarifying the Construct of Supervisor Support for Recovery and Its Impacts on Employee Recovery Experiences
Advisor: Lauren E. Kuykendall, PhD, Department of Psychology
Doctor of Philosophy in Sociology
Abdullah Al-Nassar
Conversion to Islam and Impact on Racial Identity
Advisor: Lester R. Kurtz, PhD, Department of Sociology and Anthropology
Katie Matthew
Duty and Responsibility: Understanding Work-Family Conflict for Multigenerational Households
Advisor: Shannon N. Davis, PhD, Department of Sociology and Anthropology
Emily McDonald
Let Them Give: Philanthropic Infrastructure and Industry in the United States
Advisor: Shannon N. Davis, PhD, Department of Sociology and Anthropology
Carol Petty
Belonging in Refuge: Cultural Logics of Refugee Incorporation in Contemporary Germany
Advisor: Nancy W. Hanrahan, PhD, Department of Sociology and Anthropology
Stephanie Trapnell
Contesting Open Government: Discourse, Development, and Democracy
Advisor: John G. Dale, PhD, Department of Sociology and Anthropology
Doctor of Philosophy in Writing and Rhetoric
Norma Coto
Persuasion by Word of Foot: A Rhetorical-Ontological Inquiry into Barefoot Running as a Health Practice
Advisor: Heidi Y. Lawrence, PhD, Department of English
Sarah Johnson
Mortuus et Vivus: Uncovering Writing Instructors’ Negotiations of the Standard English Dilemma and Paradox in Their Writing Assessment Practices
Advisor: Michelle LaFrance, PhD, Department of English
Robyn Russo
Toward an Expansive Equity: Reimagining How Writing in Two-Year Colleges Can Facilitate a New Vision of Equity as a Practice
Advisor: Michelle LaFrance, PhD, Department of English
Ashley Yuckenberg
Ethical Implications of Communicating Risk in the Media: A Heuristic for Reporting on Crisis Events with a Focus on Mass School Shootings
Advisor: Douglas Eyman, PhD, Department of English
January 10, 2022
