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Environmental And Age Differences In The Formation Of Romantic Pairs And Self-Monitoring In Adolescents, Russell I. Oelheim

Dissertations and Theses

Mark Snyder (1974) in his Self-Monitoring (SM) construct proposed there were two ways in which people might be classified: high and low self-monitors. High SM individuals attend to environmental cues and respond to the expectations of a given situation, while low SM individuals respond to their feelings, inner states and personal values. This construct has been extensively researched with adults and children, but not with adolescents.

David Elkind (1979), in his Imaginary Audience (IA) construct, suggested that upon reaching puberty, teenagers become vitally aware of how they are perceived by others. Elkind maintained that girls in early adolescence were more …

Team Member Implicit Theories Of Team Development: Relationships With Team Member Behavior, Team Viability And Team Performance, Marilyn Ann Perkins

Doctoral Dissertations

This study examined the relationship of team effectiveness and members' implicit theories of team development. Implicit theories are individuals' preconceptions of the relative importance of team development variables associated with team effectiveness. Team development variables assessed in this study were communication, cohesion, norms, role clarity, conflict, and participation.

The first hypothesis predicted a direct relationship between implicit theories of team development and behavior. Hypothesis one also predicted this relationship would be enhanced by convergence of individual implicit theories with remaining team members' implicit theories. It was also hypothesized that there is a positive relationship between convergence of implicit theories among …

Sequences Of Fixed-Ratio Schedules Of Reinforcement: The Effect Of Ratio Size In The Second And Third Fixed-Ratio On Pigeons' Choice, Susan Goeters

Dissertations

The present study used a discrete-trials procedure to examine choice in pigeons presented with various three-component sequences of fixed-ratio schedules of reinforcement. An experimenter-controlled stimulus was correlated with each sequence and pigeons were presented with a specified number of forced-exposure and choice trials. Three phases were implemented in an effort to investigate the conditions under which fixed-ratios other than the first in a sequence of three affect choice. In Phase 1, pigeons were given a choice between a fixed-ratio X fixed-ratio 1 fixed-ratio 25 and a fixed-ratio X fixed-ratio 25 fixed-ratio 1 sequence of food delivery. Across conditions, X was …

Acquisition Of Conflict Management Skills With High School Adolescent Females, Leslie Skinner-Hughes

Dissertations

This study examined the effects of a conflict management training program on the performance levels of high school adolescent females. Twenty female adolescent students were randomly assigned in equal numbers to either an experimental or control group. The students in the experimental group participated in a one school-day training program in conflict management skills. The students in the control group participated in two hours of discussion on handling conflicts. Pre- and post-training performance was measured by videotape recordings, classroom behavior ratings, behavior checklist, and student records of referrals for discipline.

The results showed the following: (1) The videotapes revealed a …

A Comparison Of The Effects Of Two Individual Monetary Incentive Systems On Work Productivity: Piece-Work Pay Versus Base Pay Plus Incentives, Kirk L. Gillette

Masters Theses

This study compared the effectiveness of a piece-rate pay system in which 100% of the subject's pay was incentive-based with a base pay plus incentive system in which approximately 30% of the subject's pay was incentive-based. Two experiments were conducted. In each experiment, six subjects were exposed to both pay systems using a within-subject reversal design. Subjects participated in 6 to 9 three-hour sessions (Experiment 1) or 9 to 14 four-hour sessions (Experiment 2). Simulated bank checks with differing cash values were presented on a computer screen, and subjects entered the cash values using the computer keyboard. The dependent variable …

Effects Of Music As A Conditioned Stimulus And Progressive Muscle Relaxation In Reducing Anxiety, Marie Elaine Clarkson

Masters Theses

The primary purpose of this study was to determine whether music could become a conditioned stimulus for lowered muscle tension and/or reduced anxiety.

There were three groups: (1) the PMR group receiving PMR alone, (2) the MUS group receiving music alone, and (3) the PMRM group receiving PMR followed by music. After four training sessions, a posttest was conducted in which all of the groups were given five minutes to relax. The PMR group had silence, the MUS group had music and the PMRM group had music which had previously been heard after relaxation training. Tension and anxiety reduction were …

The Effect Of Acute Alcohol Intoxication On Memory Scan And Memory Span In Working Memory, Dawn M. Kugler

Theses and Dissertations

The efficiency of working memory processes has been studied by many researchers. Verbal ability and intoxication with ethanol are two hypothesized influences on the efficiency of working memory processes. This study looked at these factors across two measures, memory span tasks and memory scan tasks. This study also examined the extent to which verbal ability modulates the effect of alcohol on working memory performance.

Seventy-eight male subjects participated in the present study. Subjects who reported drinking at least two drinks on two separate occasions per week were invited to participate. Subjects were administered the WAIS-R Vocabulary subtest and categorized as …

Changes In The Midgut Of Female Amblyomma Americanum As A Result Of Feeding Upon Hosts Expressing Different Levels Of Acquired Anti-Tick Resistance, Mildred E. Voss-Mccowan

Theses and Dissertations

Previous studies have demostrated that host acquired resistance resulted in reduced numbers of engorged ticks, restricted engorgement, reduced numbers and viability of ova, longer duration of feeding, and in some instances, the death of the tick. It is currently not understood how ticks are adversely affected by feeding on hosts expressing acquired tick resistance.

Examination of the midgut and diverticulae of adult female Amblyomma americanum allowed to engorge on guinea pigs acquiring and expressing tick resistance revealed changes in the gut epithelium as well as in the cellular composition of the blood meal. Engorging females were removed from hosts at …

Time Of Day And Age Differences In The Components Of Working Memory, Maureen J. Winger

Theses and Dissertations

The present study examined the effects of time of day on short-term memory efficiency in older and younger adults. Forty-five young (18-35 years of age) and thirty-six older (over 60 years of age) adults were selected for participation. Subjects were tested individually at 0900 hrs, 1400 hrs or 2000 hrs. Two measures of memory scanning and three measures of memory span were employed. Memory scan measures required subjects to scan working memory for sets of 2, 3 or 4 digits or words. Memory span measures included digit span, word span, and sentence span. The digit and word span measures were …

The Relationship Of Gender And Marital Status To Depression And Personality And Demographic Variables Among The Well Elderly, Virginia C. Schwalm

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship of gender and marital status to depression and personality and demographic variables among the well elderly.

There were three research questions: (1) By gender, what is the relationship of the inventory scales scores and the demographic variables to the CES-D Depression Scale? (2) Are there significant gender differences on the inventory scales scores and on the demographic variables? (3) Is there a gender by marital status interaction on the CES-D Depression Scale scores and on the inventory scales scores?

Subjects were 214 females and 103 males ages 55 to over …

The Relationshiop Of Obsessive-Compulsive Characteristics To Impression Accuracy And Perceptions Of Self And Others, Jill M. Plevell-Omdahl

Theses and Dissertations

The identification of methodological and statistical difficulties in previous impression accuracy research has necessitated that the role of personality in impression accuracy be reinvestigated. The present research addressed: (1) the impact of obsessive-compulsive personality traits on impression accuracy; and (2) subject perceptions of actual self, ideal self, others, and others' perceptions of them.

This study utilized a 2 x 2 x 2 design. Independent variables included: (1) judge vs. observer status; (2) high vs. low obsessive-compulsive traits; and (3) first vs. second session. Dependent variables included subject ratings on the OSCARS (Versions 1-4), designed to measure the obsessive-compulsive tendencies in …

Music As Communication: A Rhetorical Perspective Based On Susanne Langer's Theory Of Aesthetic Symbolism, Deanna D. Sellnow

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation is to create a rhetorical perspective by which to understand and analyze music as aesthetic communication. Specifically, this study extends Susanne Langer's theory of aesthetic symbolism as it relates to music as a mode of communication. Once the rhetorical perspective for analyzing music as communication has been depicted, the perspective is operationalized to analyze music from two contemporary social movements in the United States. The music analyzed in this dissertation comes from the Neo-Nazi Skinhead movement and the New Age movement. By approaching music as aesthetic communication in this way, the reader is able to …

The Effects Of Individual Feedback And Group Feedback On The Nominal Group Technique, Monica Porter

Dissertations

The nominal group technique (NGT) was modified and implemented in an educational setting. Procedures included (a) targeting and voting on the most important issue, (b) generating a list of possible solutions and providing rationales, and (c) completing a final report as a group consensus.

The effects of individual feedback and group feedback on the NGT were examined. Group 1 received individual feedback followed by group feedback, and Group 2 received group feedback followed by individual feedback.

Twenty undergraduates served as subjects and participated in problem solving tasks in which individual feedback and group feedback were provided on the subjects' written …

Nurse Manager Role Stress, Rosemarie Mohn

Nursing Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of decision-making style, and right and left brain function on nurse manager role stress. Data were collected from 48 nurse managers employed at four acute care facilities along the Atlantic seaboard. A nonexperimental correlation descriptive design was utilized to determine if any positive or negative correlation existed between study variables and levels of stress. Findings suggested that nurse managers experienced moderate amounts of role stress, including role conflict and role ambiguity. One significant statistical correlation existed between role ambiguity and the decision making dimension of intuition. Recommendations for future research …

Organizational Development Through The Implementation Of Strategic Plans, Susan M. Eickhoff

Dissertations

Organizations today need effective and efficient total organizational change strategies in order to ensure both short- and long-term organizational health. As a result of an organization being a multi-dimensional entity, the ingredients for its change strategy must necessarily be representative of all its dimensions such as business management, information system, behavior analysis, behavioral systems analysis, total quality management and statistical process control techniques. Those ingredients of a comprehensive change strategy exist but have not been put together into a totally integrated package so far. In the present study, a fully-integrated organizational change strategy was systematically employed with the goal of …

The Effects Of Relaxation Plus Imaginal Flooding Versus Relaxation Only On Panic Attacks In Veterans With Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Jan E . Bachman

Dissertations

Many Vietnam veterans experience intrusive recollections of combat-related events in the form of nightmares and flashbacks, a primary symptom of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Imaginai flooding has shown some promise in reducing the frequency and intensity of these. Cognitive- behavioral therapies have also been used, but their effectiveness has not been studied. Experiment 1 attempted to determine whether a self-imposed version of imaginai flooding (called Self-Imaginai Flooding) could be used rather than the usual therapist-led procedure, and whether treatment effects could generalize from the treated to untreated intrusive memories. In a between groups design, with six Vietnam veteran subjects in …

The Blood-Oocyte Barrier: Morphological Evidence Implicating The Zona Pellucida, Allan D. Forsman

Theses and Dissertations

A developing oocyte is capable of synthesizing "non-self" proteins recognized as foreign by the maternal immune system. Since the oocyte may be perceived as foreign it must be protected from interaction with the immune system in order for it to mature to the point of ovulation. Oocytes that begin development but do not mature to the point of ovulation become atretic and are destroyed and phagocytized by the maternal system. This study proposes that the zona pellucida of the ovarian follicle is the barrier between the immune system and the oocyte. The suggestion is made that the oocyte may play …

An Examination Of Work Related Social Support In A Longitudinal Study Controlling For Negative Affectivity And Transient Mood, Brian J. O'Connell

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Current research on organizational stress suggests a relationship between stressors, and psychological and psychosomatic health outcomes. The strength of this relationship varies between 0.17 and 0.35. Research has also suggested that personal relationships may moderate these correlations. One such variable is thought to be social support. This study set out to examine the relationship between social support in the workplace and organizational stressors while at the same time controlling for variables that may obscure the true nature of the relationship. Taking measurements while still seniors in college (Time one) and shortly after they were employed (Time two) allowed this control …

Body-Image Attitudes And Perceptions Among African-Americans And Whites As A Function Of Socioeconomic Class, Christopher Eugene Huffine

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

While many facets of body image have been extensively researched, relatively few studies have examined racial and social class differences in body image. The present paper consists of two studies examining racial and class differences in body image among males and females. Study 1 utilized a national sample of respondents to a 1985 Psychology Today survey to examine racial (Black and White) and educational differences in body image among men and women. Study 2 utilized a smaller sample of Black subjects, half drawn from several Southeastern universities and the other half from non-academic locations in the Tidewater area of Virginia …

Dysfunctional Attitudes, Life Stress And Coping Processes, Deborah Desalliers

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

The findings of recent investigations earmarked chronic daily stressors as being highly related to stress levels. In addition, researchers are promoting a more integrative model of stress. The stress response is no longer thought of in strictly linear terms, i.e. an event causes stress. Rather, cognitive factors, existing within the human mind itself, strongly influence our coping processes and the chronic stress we experience.

Canonical correlation analysis was used to study how dysfunctional attitudes, a negative cognitive factor, were related to individuals' daily hassles and coping processes. An increase in dysfunctional attitudes was found to correspond to an increase in …

An Evaluation Of The Effects Of A Laboratory Learning Program On The Interpersonal Behavior Of Participants, Brett A. Bennink

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

The effects of the Oregon Leadership Development Program on the assertive and aggressive behaviors of participants were measured by the scales of .the Interpersonal Behavior Survey (IBS). The program, administered by Oregon Leadership Institute (OLI), uses an experientially oriented laboratory format which includes training group (T-group) participation, brief lectures, and various interpersonal and group exercises. The program seeks to increase the interpersonal effectiveness of participants. No previous formal evaluation has been done on the OLI program and prior laboratory learning studies have not examined assertive and aggressive behaviors as outcome variables. Participants included adults who were employed by a variety …

Temporal Contiguity As A Defining Feature Of The Terms Reinforcer And Discriminative Stimulus: A Survey Of Journal Editorial Staffs, Julie Ann Fillhard

Masters Theses

Behavior analysis is a science that requires a consistent set of terms to describe independent and dependent variables and the relations between them. However, a review of literature indicates that behavior analysis is plagued by terminological inconsistencies, even with such basic terms as reinforcer and discriminative stimulus.

In the present study, 193 journal editorial staff members were surveyed to determine the importance of temporal contiguity in defining the terms reinforcer and discriminative stimulus. Eighty-seven editors (45%) responded to the survey which described two hypothetical scenarios and contained a series of questions relevant to each.

The results of the study indicate …

Nonidentity Matching Training As A Supplement To The Audio-Visual Combination Test, Melissa Wilson

Masters Theses

The Audio-Visual Combination Test is an assessment tool developed by Kerr, Meyerson, and Flora (1977), and used by those working with developmentally disabled persons to assess learning-to-learn skills. The test measures motor, visual, and auditory discrimination learning.

The experimenter attempted to determine if there were an important step-visual nonidentity discrimination-between AVC subtests 4 and 5/6 of the test. Twelve developmentally disabled adults were tested with three different sets of tasks interposed between a revised subtest 4 and 5/6. Results showed that most subjects had greater difficulty with the visual nonidentity discrimination than with the auditory/visual discrimination, subtest 5/6. The results …

A Parent Training Program For Teaching Preschool Children Independent Self-Care Skills, Dalene Rooks Degraaf

Dissertations

Teaching children to be independent is a challenge for parents. Initially, parents directly prompt and consequate their children’s behavior. Later, the parents fade prompts and delay consequences expecting their children to use self-management skills and environmental cues to complete tasks. The purpose of this study was to observe some of the methods which parents use to teach their 4-year-old children independent self-care skills and test the effects of a parent training program. The program was designed to transfer stimulus control from the parent’s physical or verbal prompts to textual and picture prompts on a poster listing the morning self-care skills …

The Effects Of Goal Setting And Supervisory Feedback On Staff Performance In A Human Service Setting, Michael D. Mack

Masters Theses

Goal setting and supervisory feedback were examined to determine their relative effects on the performance of direct care staff. The performance of five staff from a day treatment program for developmentally disabled adults was measured. The specific performance measure of interest was staff implementation rates of daily training programs with clients. The results demonstrated that adding performance feedback to goal setting had minimal impact on staff performance. Yet, goal setting alone as an initial technique was effective in improving the performance of staff. Unfortunately, the long-term effects of goal setting alone may be less desirable than these initial data indicate. …

The Effects Of Daily And Weekly Supervisor Feedback On The Performance Of University Clerical Staff, Christopher Benjamin Turla

Masters Theses

This study evaluated the effectiveness of a feedback system developed to increase the productivity and job satisfaction of clerical staff in a university unit that admitted and audited students. Weekly and daily feedback were compared. Employees self-recorded the quantity and type of tasks completed throughout the study. In feedback condition 1, the supervisor delivered feedback once a week to two employees and everyday to three employees. In feedback condition 2, feedback frequencies were switched such that employees who first received weekly feedback received daily feedback, and employees who first received daily feedback received weekly feedback. Job satisfaction was measured before …

Effects Of Interactive And Linear Video On Patient Understanding Of Risks In Medical Procedures, Christopher P. Giuliano

Dissertations

Three methods of providing information relevant to informed consent where a vaginal birth after cesarean section was being considered were evaluated; (1) the traditional and common method (physician presentation), (2) Linear Video Tape (LVT), and (3) Interactive Video Disc (IVD). The traditional and common method of presenting information led to only limited acquisition of knowledge resulting in patients making less than fully-informed decisions. Both the linear video tape and the interactive video disc led to significantly greater understanding of the risks and benefits of the procedure than did the physician presentation. The interactive disc and the linear video tape were …

Ease Of Learning And The Emergence Of Equivalence Class Formation: A Comparison Of Topography-Based And Selection-Based Paradigms, Riad M. Wraikat

Dissertations

Michael (1985) identified two types of verbal behavior, topography-based (i.e., speaking or using sign language) and selection-based (i.e., symbol board). Sundberg & Sundberg (1990) and Wraikat (1991) compared these systems in terms of the ease of learning object naming (tact) and giving the correct sign or pointing to the correct symbol on hearing the object name (intraverbal). Sundberg & Sundberg (1990) also compared them for the spontaneous development of a new relation, identifying the object when hearing its name (stimulus class formation or equivalence). The results of both studies favored the topography-based system, but in each case some subjects were …

Effects Of Differential Force Requirements On Choice Behavior Under Concurrent-Chain Schedules, Randal D. Reynolds

Dissertations

Concurrent-chain research shows that choice behavior is sensitive to differential delays to reinforcement but apparently insensitive to differential response-requirement factors. To date, however, no studies have directly investigated the effects of differential force requirements on choice behavior under concurrent-chain schedules. This relationship will be the focus of the present study.

In Experiment 1 rats responded on conventional concurrent-chain schedules and were given a choice between different terminal-link force requirements. The force requirement on one terminal-link lever was 0.25 N while the force requirement on the other lever was varied from 0.25 N to 1.51 N across conditions. For comparative purposes, …

The Drama Of Alienation: An Interpersonal Examination Of Edward Albee's The Zoo Story And Sam Shepard's Buried Child, Lisa Arnold

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined alienation from an interpersonal communication perspective in order to find a connection between aspects of alienation and interpersonal communication.

Alienation occurs at two levels according to scholars in sociology and psychology. At the social level, one's culture influences behavior in interpersonal relations. At the psychological level, one's perception of self worth influences interpersonal relations. This study used Srole's five aspects of alienation (isolation, estrangement, powerlessness, unpredictability, and meaninglessness) to analyze interpersonal relationships between those alienated on both levels.

Two plays were chosen to exemplify how alienated people need close interpersonal communication. The Zoo Story, by Edward Albee …