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Flexibility In Parent-Child Interactions: The Application Of Dynamic Systems Methodology To Dyadic Processes In Children With Behaviour Problems, Vivien Lee

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Dynamic systems theory (DST) can provide a comprehensive account for how parent-child interactions evolve over time to produce stable patterns of interacting and can result in seemingly divergent trajectories. Recent methodological advances using state space grids (SSGs) have provided a graphical means to examine real-time dyadic processes, as well as measures of dyadic flexibility, or the ability to adapt emotional and behavioural responding in response to contextual demands. Higher levels of dyadic flexibility have been associated with improvements in child behaviour problems after treatment (Granic et al., 2007), while its converse, rigidity, has been associated with increases in behaviour …

Evaluating A Social Skills Training Protocol In A Private Setting: Outcomes And Issues, Judi Davis

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Society is dealing with a trend of aggressive and destructive behavior among children and adolescence. Children with social, emotional, and conduct problems are at high risk for academic failure, peer rejection, conduct disorder, school dropout, delinquency, and drug and alcohol problems (Webster-Stratton, Reid, & Stoollmiller, 2008). A high priority for the United States public health and crime prevention is the prevention of aggressive and delinquent behavior during childhood and adolescence (Taylor, Eddy, & Biglan 1999).

Social skills trainings aim to increase the performance of key social behaviors that are important for children to succeed in social situations. Solutions may be …

The Impact Of Friendship Closeness And Hegemonic Masculinity On Group Perpetrated Antigay Aggression, Adam D. Hudepohl

Psychology Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to empirically evaluate hypothesized risk factors for the perpetration of antigay aggression. Specifically, the independent and interactive effects of endorsement of hegemonic male role norms and peer group relational factors (i.e., closeness) were examined as individual and situational risk factors for antigay aggression, within the framework of the General Aggression Model (GAM). Dyads of friends were recruited for participation in the study. Participants completed questionnaires that included measures of hegemonic masculinity and friendship closeness. The dyads of friends then viewed a video depicting male-male intimacy and competed in the TAP together against a fictitious …

The Relationship Of Testosterone And 5-Ht To Aggressive, Self-Aggressive, And Antisocial Behavior In Men, Anne Winston Mcintyre

Master's Theses

Studies of humans show an inconsistent relationship between aggression and T, as well as between T and antisocial and self-aggressive behavior. Other biological variables, including cortisol and brain serotonin, have been implicated as having an effect on the regulation of antisocial and self-aggressive behavior. Researchers have suggested that inconsistencies in the T-aggression relation may be due to the presence of moderating variables. One theory posits that serotonin moderates the relation between T and aggression. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between T (as well as cortisol and 5-HT) and aggression-related constructs. A second purpose was to …

Videogames And Friendships: Contextual Factors That Influence The Willingness To Aggress Following The Playing Of A Violent Videogame, Jonathan Charles Edwin Rogers

Theses and Dissertations

Participants (N = 73) in the present research were assigned to play a violent videogame (Super Smash Brothers) with either a supportive or an ambivalent friend. Orthogonal to this manipulation, participants were assigned to play the game either competitively or cooperatively. Subsequent aggression toward their friend was assessed by measuring participants' competitive or cooperative behavior in a Prisoner's Dilemma game. Results revealed no differences in aggression as a function of friendship type or game strategy, although means were in predicted directions. The influence of context on exposure to violent media is discussed, as are issues of power and …

Identifying Component-Processes Of Executive Functioning That Serve As Risk Factors For Alcohol-Related Aggression, Aaron John Godlaski

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

The present investigation determined how different component-processes of executive functioning (EF) acted as risk factors for intoxicated aggression. Participants were 512 (246 men and 266 women) healthy social drinkers between 21 and 35 years of age. EF was measured using the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Functioning – Adult Version (BRIEF-A; Roth, Isquith, & Gioia, 2005) that assesses nine EF components. Following the consumption of either an alcohol or a placebo beverage, participants were tested on a modified version of the Taylor Aggression Paradigm (Taylor, 1967) in which mild electric shocks were received from, and administered to, a …

Construct Validity Of A Laboratory Aggression Paradigm: A Multitrait-Multimethod Approach, Joshua Parker Phillips

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

There continues to be doubt regarding the validity of laboratory aggression paradigms. This paper provides an investigation of the construct validity of one prominent aggression task, the Taylor Aggression Paradigm (TAP), within a Multitrait Multimethod Matrix (MTMM) methodology. Participants consisted of 151 male undergraduate psychology students with a median age of 19 years old (M=19.45, SD = 2.03). Participants completed self-report and behavioral measures of aggression, impulsivity, and pro-social behavior which were analyzed using a Correlated Trait – Correlated Method Confirmatory Factor Analysis model. Results supported the construct validity of the MTMM model and the TAP. This study …

Psychosocial Factors Associated With Bullying Typologies In A Mental Health Population Of Adolescents, Jamie M. Bolton

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Despite the well documented mental health consequences of bullying behavior, bullying has not been studied in a mental health population. This study has examined psychosocial factors (symptoms of internalizing disorders and cognitive style) in a population of adolescents admitted into a partial hospitalization program. Sixty-four participants completed five self-report measures. This study was not able to differentiate among bully typologies based on internalizing symptoms (PTSD and depression) or self-debasing cognitive style. Instead, a more relevant finding was that more than half of the sample had clinical levels of PTSD and depressive symptoms. Because this sample was more similar than it …

Developing A Word Fragment Completion Task For Measuring Trait Aggression, Steven Khazon

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this paper was to develop a test that uses the implicit processing style to assess aggression. This paper begins by reviewing current aggression theories and how aggression is assessed. Next it discusses the implicit and explicit processing styles and how scholars have used these methods of information processing to create psychological assessments. Afterwards, it presents a new indirect test of trait aggression that is based on the word fragment completion task and attempts to evaluate its validity in three experiments. In Study 1, psychometric methods are used to derive a 9-item trait aggression scale and initial support …

The Effects Of Apomorphine On Sexual Behavior And Aggression In Male Golden Hamsters, Molly Hyer

Master’s Theses

The general dopamine agonist apomorphine has been shown to have mostly facilitative effects on sexual behavior in rodents (Domingues & Hull, 2005; Bitran & Hull, 1987). A study looking at the effectsof apomorphine on sexual behavior in male golden hamsters observed that after systemic injections of apomorphine the males became aggressive towards the estrous females (Floody, unpublished). Studies on aggressive behavior have shown that apomorphine has facilitative effects on aggression in rodents (Nelson & Trainor, 2007; van Erp & Miczek, 2000; Ferrari, van Erp, Tornatzky, & Miczek, 2003). The studies presented here attempt to unravel the effects that apomorphine has …

When Does The Straw Break The Camel's Back?: Examination Of The Exclusion-Elicited Anti-Social Behavior Model, Douglas Phillip Cooper

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Being excluded should motivate pro-social behaviors. Yet, exclusion can incite aggressive and anti-social responses. Two studies were conducted to examine how frequent experiences of exclusion impact self-esteem, perceptions that exclusion is typical of social experiences, and anti-social behaviors. In Study 1, participants completed pre and post-measures of exclusion typicality and self-esteem and reported, over eight weeks, feelings of exclusion and state self-esteem. Results supported the hypotheses in that experiences feeling excluded have direct and indirect effects on state and trait self-esteem as well as on exclusion typicality. In Study 2, participants were exposed to an exclusion manipulation and subsequent aggressive …

Why Am I Left Out? : Interpretations Of Exclusion Affect Anti-Social And Pro-Social Behaviors, Amber Debono

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Two major inconsistencies in social exclusion research have left a gap in our understanding of how people perceive the exclusion experience. One discrepancy involves a meta-analysis that indicated exclusion usually causes negative emotions (most notably anger and sadness), whereas another meta-analysis determined there was no emotional impact from exclusion. Another inconsistency in exclusion literature is that whereas multitude of studies that indicate exclusion increases aggressive behavior, a few studies have suggested that exclusion increases pro-social behavior. Based on these mixed findings, I proposed that when excluded individuals perceive the excluders to dislike or disrespect them, these perceptions lead to different …

The Role Of Androstane Neurosteroids In Alcohol-Mediated Social Behavior, Jason J. Paris

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Androgenic steroids, such as testosterone, may influence the propensity for aggression in both people and animals. Some of testosterone's effects on aggression may be due, in part, to its metabolic products that are 5á-reduced and 3á-hydroxylated to form, 3á-androstanediol (3á-diol), which can also enhance aggression in mice. Notably, alcohol (EtOH) consumption facilitates aggression in people and animals, particularly among those predisposed to act aggressively. In rats, EtOH can increase 3á-diol in prefrontal cortex, which may facilitate aggression. The present work aimed to elucidate the role of 3á-diol for EtOH-enhanced aggression. We hypothesized that EtOH would enhance inter-male aggression, social dominance, …

Differential Reactions To Men's And Women's Counterproductive Work Behavior, Jason Donovan Way

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This purpose of this study was to examine the effect that employee gender might have on performance ratings. Specifically, it was thought that negative performance episodes, such as aggressive behavior, might have less of an effect on performance ratings for males compared to females because males have a stereotype of being more aggressive. Additional hypotheses examined how different types of negative performance affected perceptions that the employee was behaving according to their gender ideal, and whether people judged male and female aggressiveness differently. To this end, 134 undergraduate students participated in a 2 x 3 design experiment where they read …