The Influences Of Musical Training And Spectral Centroid On Perceptual Interactions Of Pitch And Timbre, Heather Daly

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

Perceptual interactions of pitch and timbre have frequently been observed, and the nature of these interactions differs between musicians and nonmusicians. Yet, few researchers have investigated which aspects of timbre or musical training contribute to such interactions. Recently, Becker and Hall (2014) demonstrated that the spectral centroid contributed to pitch-timbre interactions in missing-F0 experiments, particularly for nonmusicians. The present experiment investigated whether the centroid also accounted for previously observed interactions between pitch and timbre (see Pitt, 1994) in a Garner speeded classification task designed to evaluate the perceptual independence of dimensions. There were two sets of synthetic stimuli involving orthogonal …

Feedback Delivery Timing & Behavior Skills Training: Training University Students To Perform Dtt, Matthew Taylor

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

Behavior Skills Training (BST) has been a common, efficient, and successful training strategy for teaching individuals to perform discrete trial teaching (DTT) although there is not much established information about the separate effects of its training components. Research on modeling and feedback alone as well as within BST, however, suggest that they may be the most significant contributors towards producing behavior change along with the regular recommendation that feedback is best delivered immediately after the occurrence of target behavior for reinforcement. Yet studies that have employed feedback before the occurrence of target behavior have observed no adverse or detrimental effects …

The Effect Of In Vivo Coaching On Therapist Behavior Management Skills, Leslie E. Brittain

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

Autism Spectrum Disorders impacts one in every 68 children, costing the United States between $11.5 billion to $60.9 billion per year. Among the multiple impairments that Autism causes, behavioral deficits are at the forefront of the disability and require intensive interventions such as applied behavior analysis (ABA) in order to manage. If a direct and intensive intervention is not put into place, problem behaviors can impact the individual both socially and academically. Behavior technicians, parents, and classroom assistants can all be trained as therapists and can provide services under supervision that provide significant gains in a client’s behavioral functioning. Therapists …

Examining The Type I Error And Power Of 18 Common Post-Hoc Comparison Tests, Derek Sauder

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

Researchers utilizing either experimental or quasi-experimental research often want to compare group means. However, with more than two groups, comparing group means may result in an inflated Type I error rate, the probability of wrongly rejecting a null hypothesis. Researchers often employ analysis of variance (ANOVA) methodology to compare more than two group means. Post-hoc comparison procedures (PCPs) are utilized to indicate which group means differ following a significant ANOVA. SPSS provides 18 options for PCPs. The purpose of this study was to determine which PCP provides the best power while maintaining Type I error control when assumptions of ANOVA …

Sleep Deprivation And Voluntary Alcohol Consumption In Adult Rats, Charles M. Cowan Ii

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

Alcohol is a psychoactive drug with a large userbase among adults across the globe. However, alcohol use also reduces the quality of sleep in the user. Historically, research has focused on the effects of alcohol on sleep architecture, but recent research has started to examine the effects of sleep deprivation on alcohol consumption. This research examines the effects of sleep deprivation on voluntary alcohol consumption in adult rats. Twelve Sprague Dawley rats were given ad libitum access to food, alcohol (7% solution), and water for the duration of this study. Subjects were then placed into non-moving forced exercise wheels to …

Work-Family Conflict And Wellbeing Among Mothers In Higher Education, Brittany S. Bilodeau

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

Numerous studies and meta analyses have been published on work-family conflict, including its antecedents and outcomes. However, the current body of literature is dominated by research that focuses on the corporate context. As a result, there is an underrepresentation of women employed in the academy. An increasing number of scholars are addressing this gap in the literature by focusing on women employed in higher education. This research serves the purpose of supporting this growing area of research. Instructional faculty members at James Madison University, who self-identified as mothers, completed a survey to assess work-family conflict, its contributing factors, and outcomes. …

A Dissonance Intervention To Reduce Implicit Prejudice Against Arab Muslims, Cheryl Alyssa Welch

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

With constant media coverage of hostility in the Middle East, and given recent acts of domestic terrorism such as the attacks of September 11, 2001, it is reasonable to assume that prejudice against the Arab-Muslim population has been increasing in the United States (Moore, 2002). There are many active campaigns advocating for both acceptance and the reduction of various types of prejudice and discrimination in our society. However, the question is if these campaigns are actually successful in their goals. The current study sought to fill this gap by assessing a social intervention on its effectiveness in reducing prejudice towards …

Generalization Of Joint Attention: Using Parent Child Interaction Therapy To Program Social Skills In Children With Developmental Disorders, Thomas E. Rigg

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

Generalization of social behaviors is a vital component of human behavior. Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder often show symptomology that includes impairment in social behavior and failure to generalize behavior on the whole. Initiation of joint attention is a social behavior that can be understood as a behavior cusp and worthy of intervention to promote development. Parent-Child Interaction Therapy has been studied in recent years for its efficacy in treating some dimensions of Autism Spectrum Disorder in children and adolescence. The current study sought to explore the efficacy of Parent-Child Interaction Therapy in promoting the generalization of initiation of joint …

The Effects Of Virtual Coaching On Olympic Lift Performance, Julia M. Santos

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

Coaching in many forms, the most prevalent being in vivo coaching, helps to improve the performance of athletes across sports and exercise. The most natural next step in coaching is coaching through technology as opposed to in person; also known as virtual coaching. The present study examined the relative utility of two forms of virtual coaching on improving Olympic lift performance; video modeling and video feedback. A multiple baseline design across participants was used where one group of participants received the video modeling intervention first, then video feedback, then both, while the second group received the video feedback intervention first, …

The Effect Of Technology On Work-Life Balance: Women In Higher Education, Alexandra G. Hubbard

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

This study aimed to contribute to the literature on women, technology, and work-life balance (WLB). By identifying both instructional and non-instructional female employees at an institution of higher education, the study facilitated a comparison between the perceived levels of WLB and technology’s impact on the balance. A mixed methods survey was sent to all female employees to identify potential commonalities or differences between the groups. Questions inquired about employees’ experiences with, and outlooks on, WLB and information and communication technologies (ICTs). For the purpose of the study, ICTs included technologies such as email, accessed through computers, cell-phones or tablets. The …

Examining Latent Change Classes: An Application Of Factor Mixture Modeling To Change Scores, Thai Q. Ong

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

Although change scores are used in a variety of statistical methods (e.g., analysis of variance and regression), there is a lack of application of latent variable modeling methods to change scores. This thesis provides a detailed description of two latent variable modeling methods applied to change scores: factor analysis of change scores and change score factor mixture modeling. To illustrate advantages of these methods, both were applied to change score data from undergraduates. Students responded to sense of identity items during a university-wide assessment day on two occasions, once as incoming freshmen and again as second-semester sophomores. Change scores were …

Context Effects Of False Remember Responses In Older And Younger Adults, Casey M. Williamson

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

Although different theories attempt to explain the underlying mechanism of false remembers, none have been able to adequately describe this process. The current study aims to determine if a specific contextual detail (i.e., font color) can be tied to false remembers (i.e., false memory that contains contextual or perceptual details), and if there are age differences in this ability. Using the Deese, Roediger, McDermott (DRM) paradigm (Deese, 1959; Roediger & McDermott, 1995) and the contextual detail of font color, this study investigated if older and younger adults can tie a specific color to studied items and critical lures (non-presented semantic …

The Effect Of Anchoring Vignettes On Factor Structures: Student Effort As An Example, Carolyn A. Miesen

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

Anchoring vignettes are used as a methodological technique for removing differential interpretation of response categories (DIRC) from scores on subjective self-report measures (King, Murray, Slomon, & Tandon, 2004). This technique requires participants to read one or more short scenarios, or vignettes, designed to represent various levels of a construct. Vignette ratings are used as an indication of DIRC, which is a source of differential item functioning (DIF). Prior research primarily used indirect methods for evaluating vignette quality. In response, the present set of studies proposes using invariance testing as a more direct evaluation of how the use of anchoring vignettes …

An Examination Of The Psychometric Properties Of And Validity Evidence For The Alliant Intercultural Competency Scale, Elizabeth L. Smith

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

The alliant intercultural competency scale was developed by Henderson et al. (2015) to measure intercultural competence in students in higher education. Henderson et al. outlined five domains representative of an interculturally competent professional: knowledge, communication, attitudes, professional practice, and negotiated space. In the current study, the AICS was revised (AICS-R) and then evaluated using Benson’s (1998) framework for construct validity. Exploratory factor analysis results suggested a five-factor model strongly aligned with the five aforementioned domains; this provides support for the internal structure of the AICS-R. Scores from the AICS-R were correlated with external measures, and group differences in scores were …

Effect Of Distance Caregiver Coaching On Functional Skills Of A Child With Traumatic Brain Injury, Michelle R. Witt

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

Brain injury is a major public health concern affecting nearly 5 million Americans annually with a cost exceeding $60 billion in the United States. Acquired and traumatic brain injuries cause physical, cognitive and social deficits resulting in behavioral, affective, cognitive, and physical changes. Though the biomechanical injury may be the initial source of the behavioral changes, environmental factors frequently contribute to maintaining maladaptive behaviors. Behavioral and affective changes in the person with a brain injury are frequently cited as the most distressing issues for caregivers, and their need for education and training is well documented. Interactions between caregivers and persons …

Inter-Professional Collaboration: The Impact Of Serial Versus Merged Treatment On The Behavior Of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Robyn Starry

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

Interdisciplinary collaboration is an innovative, resourceful approach to healthcare intended to positively affect patient outcomes. The purpose of the present study was to determine the efficacy of the serial exposure to three treatments, Applied Behavior Analysis, Speech Language Pathology, and Occupational Therapy, in comparison with an exposure to a merge of these treatments on child outcomes. During the serial treatment phases of intervention, three licensed professionals implemented core techniques from their respective disciplines. During merged treatment phases, a graduate clinician combined and implemented techniques from all three fields: differential attention, request sequences, sensory exposure, verbal/tactile cueing for postural alignment/control and …

Using Systematic Instruction To Teach Science To Students With Severe Disabilities, Anna E. Greene

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

Science content is still a commonly over-looked academic content area for students with severe disabilities despite recent research. The purpose of this study was to show that students with severe disabilities can learn science content in a whole group setting when taught using applied behavior analytic principles, such as prompting and fading techniques. Four elementary-aged students with severe disabilities between 1^st and 5^th grade were taught science content using group lessons and effects were measured by a multiple baseline design across units. Participants were taught content from three different units: Energy, weather, and plants; the science content selected …

The Effects Of Chronic Partial Sleep Deprivation And Chronic Voluntary Alcohol Consumption On Δfos B Accumulation, Kristian Ponder

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

The present study explores the relation between sleep restriction and alcohol use and the neural substrates that result from chronic behaviors. Accumulation of the transcription factors ΔFosB is suggested as a possible outcome of chronic behaviors, such as addiction. Sleep is discussed as possible mediating factor in the relationship between ΔFosB and chronic alcohol consumption. There were four experimental groups in this study: Control (C), Sleep Deprivation only (SD), Alcohol Exposure only (AO), and both sleep deprivation and alcohol exposure (B). Levels of ΔFosB accumulation in the Nucleus Accumbens (NAc) revealed a significant main effect of sleep deprivation, but no …

Interteaching: Types Of Prep Guide Questions And Their Effect On Student Quiz Performance, Verena S. Bethke

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

Although previous research indicates that interteaching is an effective alternative to more traditional teaching approaches, not many component analyses of the method exist. For example, although researchers have shown that the prep guide component contributes to the effectiveness of interteaching, no research has directly examined how the content of the prep guides affects learning. The current lab-based study investigated whether having prep guides consisting of lower-level or higher-level questions impacted students’ subsequent quiz performance. We found no significant differences in quiz performance between the two conditions, but several extraneous factors may have impacted the results.

Are There Bad Wins And Good Losses? Outcome Effects In Sport, Richard Erik Inglis

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

Abstract

Outcomes have been shown to distort feeling states, performance evaluations, and subsequent performances. This retrospective distortion represents an outcome bias, a phenomenon that has been studied extensively in a wide array of disciplines and domains. However, despite their importance, the effects of outcomes have received little attention in the sport corpus. In an attempt to remedy this oversight, 60 participants with basketball experience were recruited to take part in a free throw shooting competition. Participants completed two rounds of 20 free throws. Following their first round, participants were randomly assigned to either a negative outcome (lose by one shot) …

Detecting Changes In Auditory Events, Rachael B. Peck

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

Change deafness is defined as the failure to detect the source of an above-threshold change in an auditory scene. A new paradigm recently demonstrated the phenomenon under analogous conditions to its visual counterpart, change blindness (Hall, Peck, Gaston, & Dickerson, 2015). This investigation examined the use of the paradigm through two experiments which involved the same four simultaneously presented events. Experiment 1 distributed events across a virtual 120º on the azimuth while the target event oscillated across a 60º space throughout each trial. Listeners were instructed to identify the target as soon as possible. Target rate of change was manipulated …

Myside Bias In Probabilistic Ethical Decision Making, Richard E. Hohn

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

This study examined the extent to which myside bias was observed in the context of ethical decision making. In judgment and decision making research the resistance of myside bias is described as a component of rational thinking. Thus, to some effect, this study aimed to examine the extent to which people act rationally when making ethical decisions. Measures of thinking dispositions (actively open-minded thinking and need for cognition) as well as measures of cognitive reflection and probabilistic knowledge were included in the study to examine their associations with myside bias in ethical decisions. Modest myside bias effects were observed between …

The Use Of Differential Reinforcement To Increase Participation/Engagement In Children With Autism In An Inclusion Setting, Kayla Gionti

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

Abstract

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) would gain more from instructional material if they increased their participation and engagement in general education classrooms. However, these children often grow dependent on prompts from teachers and paraprofessionals to participate. This can impede the children from participating independently in other settings and from engaging with the instructional material presented to them. The purpose of this study was to increase independent participation, while decreasing the prompt dependency of 3 children with ASD in a general education classroom. The use of differential reinforcement and prompt fading increased the hand raising behavior of all three …

Predicting Bystander Attitudes Using Rape Myth Acceptance And Adherence To The Commodity Model Of Sex, Kimberly J. Johnson

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

The high rate of sexual assault on college campuses has become a growing concern among college administrators. To combat the prevalence of sexual assault, colleges and universities have begun implementing mandatory bystander intervention training programs, which teach students to look for warning signs indicative of sexual assault and intervene before an assault occurs. Previous research has indicated that an individual’s endorsement of rape myths may play a role in whether or not that individual will intervene in a situation that may lead to sexual assault; however, little research has investigated from where beliefs in rape myths might stem. Sex educators …

Enhancing Psychology Majors’ Meta-Cognitive Understanding Of Desirable Workplace Skills Using A Short Discussion-Based In-Class Activity, Alena S. Gordienko

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

The skills psychology students possess that employers look for in job applicants include: reliability, integrity, work ethic, communication, technology, critical thinking, teamwork, and professionalism (Rodgers, 2012). I conducted a study to determine whether participating in a brief classroom activity would improve students’ ability to effectively describe their skills. Students were asked to write a cover letter before and after the activity. The activity included a discussion of four skills and student reflection on their experiences that demonstrated these skills. I hypothesized that overall letter-writing would improve, that students’ self-reported levels of preparedness to find a job would improve, that students …

International Distance Coaching Of Therapists To Improve Verbal Behavior By Children With Autism, Ana Barkaia

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

This study examined the effects of distance coaching on the mastery of therapists’ skills and the development of verbal behavior of children with autism. Three therapists and three children receiving early intervention services in the NGO Children of Georgia in the developing country of Georgia-Sakartvelo in Eastern Europe participated in this research. The therapists received distance coaching about the implementation of ABA therapy from Virginia. The intervention was recorded and coded by observers in Georgia-Sakartvelo and in Harrisonburg/Virginia,USA. The effects of distance coaching was investigated within a multiple baseline across participant.

Establishing Conditioned Reinforcers In Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Kristen Rollman

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

People with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) often demonstrate restricted, repetitive patterns of behaviors, interests, and activities, often involving preoccupations with one or more stereotyped and restricted patterns of interest and an inability to adjust to changes in daily routines and schedules. Academic achievement and skill acquisition present a challenge in children with ASD, often times due to a lack of reinforcer options resulting from these deficits. The current study examines the use of free-operant stimulus preference assessments, progressive-ratio schedule reinforcer analyses, and a Pavlovian conditioning procedure in order to evaluate the establishment of new reinforcers that may be used to …

Delay Discounting: Are Magnitude Effects Moderated By Domain Effects?, David A. Williams Jr.

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

Delay discounting is a phenomenon wherein a commodity loses its value as the delay to its receipt increases. It may be conceptualized as a measure of patience, or impatience. There are several aspects of a commodity that contribute to its loss in value, in addition to the delay to its receipt. Specifically, there are differential rates in delay discounting across commodity types (domain effects) and commodity amounts (magnitude effects). Interestingly, magnitude effects occur almost exclusively in relation to a particular commodity type: monetary rewards. The present study sought to isolate magnitude effects from a particular quality of monetary rewards: fungibility. …

Traumatic Experiences And Cognition: How Do Static And Dynamic Variables Contribute To Current Functioning?, Cathryn Richmond

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

Approximately 25% of children in the United States will witness or experience a traumatic event before age 4, and individuals with a history of trauma, particularly traumatic events in childhood, have a much higher likelihood of developing psychopathology in adulthood. Prior research indicates that the vast majority of individuals with a serious mental illness, particularly those in community mental health centers and psychiatric inpatient settings, have experienced at least one traumatic event in their lifetime. These individuals require special consideration in treatment planning, and a large range of neurodevelopmental and environmental factors must be taken into account when interpreting results …

The Effects Of Ordinal Data On Coefficient Alpha, Kathryn E. Pinder

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

Given coefficient alpha’s wide prevalence as a measure of internal reliability, it is important to know the conditions under which it is an appropriate estimate of reliability. The present paper explores alpha’s assumption of uncorrelated errors when used with ordinal data. Alpha overestimates true reliability when correlated errors are present. In this paper, I use a simulation study to recreate three mechanisms proposed to create correlated errors in ordinal data. The first mechanism, misclassification error, occurs when there are correlated measurement errors present in the data. The second mechanism, grouping error, occurs when there are not enough categories to represent …