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Attitudes Of Black Socioeconomic Classes In The Greater Kansas City Area Relative To Black Psychology, Patricia D. Polk

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

Four hundred and twenty-nine questionnaires developed by the investigator were distributed to Black white collar, blue collar, farm, and service workers in the Metropolitan Kansas City Area. The questionnaires, of which 383 were returned, were designed to determine whether the subjects perceived themselves as being different from the dominant society, to assess their attitudes about the need for a Black Psychology which concerns itself with the unique behavioral characteristics of Black Americans, and to see whether those assessments differed according to socioeconomic status.

The subjects who comprised the convenience sample were contacted through several agencies including the U.S. Department of …

Sex-Role Stereotyping In Ratings Of Mental Health By Undergraduates, John S. Sutton-Gamache

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

This study looked at the concept of positive mental health or self-actualization and the characteristics of which it is comprised. These characteristics were defined as those measured by the Personal Orientation Inventory (POI). This study also examined the possibility of these characteristics being sex-typed.

Undergraduate subjects were administered the POI with one of three instruction-types: to apply their answers to a mentally healthy man, a mentally healthy woman, or a mentally healthy person (sex unspecified). Experimental conditions consisted of male or female subject sex vs. instruction-type and analyses were performed which compared subject responses from one condition to another.

Results …

A Parametric Analysis Of Memory Retrieval In A Drug Dependent Learning Paradigm, James Kyle Timmons

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

State-Dependent learning (SDL) is the failure of learning to transfer from one drug state to another. State dependent learning was demonstrated and disrupted in an escape learning task. Male hooded rats were trained to escape shock in a modified T-maze. The rats were trained in either the drug (ethyl alcohol) state or the non-drug (water) state. The Transfer (T) group of rats were subjected to a 1 kHz tone during training and testing. The SDL groups were not. The results indicated that disruption of state dependent learning occurred in the T groups. That is, learning transferred across drug states. This …

The Subculture Of The Aging: An Empirical Test, William C. Lane

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

During the past twenty-five years the discipline of social gerontology has emerged as a major field of interest among sociologists. A number of theories concerning the social aspects of the aging process have been proposed, but few have been empirically tested.

The central concern of the present study was to conduct an empirical test of the subculture of the aging theory developed by Arnold M. Rose. The subculture of the aging theory proposed that there is a growing awareness among many older people that they are not merely members of a social category, but are members of a social group …

Sodium Phenobarbital In Prevention Of Electroconvulsive Shock-Induced Disruption Of Taste-Illness Association, Stuart W. Reynolds

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

Male Holtzman rats injected with a toxic solution of lithium chloride (US) 30 minutes after drinking saccharin flavored water (CS) learned to avoid that taste upon subsequent encounter. Electroconvulsive shock (ECS) interpolated temporarily between the pairing of a novel taste (CS) and an induced gustatory illness (US) prevents the taste from being associated with the illness (Kral, 1971). The purpose of the present experiment was to determine if sodium phenobarbital pretreatment would protect the association of taste with illness, against the normally interfering effects of ECS in the interpolated intervention paradigm. This question was investigated with a 2 (sodium phenobarbital …

The Effects Of Pictorial Stimuli On The Direction-Following Behavior Of Mentally Retarded Adolescents, Dennis J. Tucker

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

Two groups of retarded adolescents were presented sets of multiple verbal directions (imperative sentences). One group was exposed to pictures illustrating the objects and action of each direction in addition to the verbal directions. Subjects were required to carry out performances demanded by the directions. The direction-following behavior of the Verbal + Picture Group was found to be significantly superior to that of the Verbal Group. The groups did not differ significantly in sequencing their performances, i.e., carrying out the verbal directions in the order in which they were presented. Two possible explanations for the superior performance of the Verbal …

The Effects Of Emotionally Important Stimuli On Dissociated Learning In A Discrimination Paradigm, Stanley P. Scoville

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

Rats were trained to turn in one direction in a modified T-maze while in one drug state and in the opposite direction while in another drug state. Incorrect turns during training were punished with shock and for three of the transfer groups, shock was contiguously conditioned to a 10 KHz buzzer in the drug state and to a 1 KHz buzzer in the non-drug state. During no-shock testing, the dissociation subjects were tested for state-dependency while the transfer subjects were tested for transfer by reversing the buzzer previously associated with the particular drug state in training. The hypothesis, that the …

A Study Correlating Investment With Political, Religious, And Moral Attitudes, Robert K. Docherty

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

The study was to determine the correlation between a person's investment in society, as measured by economic factors, and a person's liberal attitudes about that society. The attitude areas used to measure liberal-conservative attitudes were political, religious, and moral.

The hypothesis stated that as investment increased, the scale of liberal attitudes in politics, religion, and morals would decrease. A significant negative correlation would support the hypothesis. A significant positive correlation indicated a reverse of the hypothesis, that is an increase in investment showed an increase in liberal attitudes.

Demographic factors controlled in this study were, sex, age, marital status and …

Contrast Effects : Incentive Value Of N-Lengths, F. Douglas Cummins

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

E.J. Capaldi has developed a sequential explanation of the partial reinforcement effect. The central assumption of this explanation is that non reinforced trials occasion a specific and distinctive internal stimulus and that this stimulus is progressively modified by successive non reinforcements.

In this experiment, forty, male albino Holtzman rats traversed a straight alley runway under different patterns of partial reinforcement. Group One received an N3-length, i.e., three successive non-reinforced trials followed by a reinforced trial. Group Two received an N1-length, i.e., one non-reinforced trial followed by a reinforced trial. Group Three received an N3-length for the first ten days of …

Effects Of Verbal Reinforcement On Children's Responses To Three Subtests Of The Wechsler Intelligence Scale For Children, James Thomas Russell Jr.

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of positive verbal reinforcement on the responses to three subtests of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children. The subtests were comprehension, similarities, and vocabulary. These three subtests were given to thirty children of the Geary County, Kansas, Unified School System, whose chronological age ranged from ten years, one month to ten years, eleven months. Their intelligence quotients ranged from ninety-five to one hundred and five.

The responses to the three subtests were analyzed statistically. The results indicated that positive verbal reinforcement did significantly change the amount of verbal production and …

Parameters Of Reward For Mongolian Gerbils (Meriones Unguiculatus), Charles E. Snow

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

This experimental investigation was designed to test which of four rewards would elicit the fastest and most consistent running speeds from Mongolian gerbils (Meriones unguiculatus). The four rewards were: Purina Lab Chow, .045 grams Noyes Precision Pellets, Sunflower seeds, and Hamster feed. Twenty-four male gerbils (90-120 days old) were randomly assigned to a deprivation group (D) and trained in a straight alley runway under a restricted ration deprivation schedule for 70 acquisition and 35 extinction trials. A second group of 24 subjects (non deprived group, ND) were similarly trained while on a free feed schedule.

Each group was further divided …

Examiner Influence With Children In The Draw A Person Test, Stephanie Syler

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

This study investigated the influence of the examiner on children administered Machover's Draw A Person Test. Forty third and fourth grade children from two elementary schools served as subjects. The administrators were college students.

The subjects were randomly divided into four groups of 5 at each school, so that each examiner administered the test twice, once at each school. Examiners were also randomly assigned to their groups.

It was hypothesized that children tend to use the administrator of the DAP as a model for their drawings. The statistical analysis of data, however, did not support the hypothesis.

During the course …

Effects Of Contingent Music On Performance Of Retarded Children In A Two-Choice Discrimination Task, Dieter H. Eberl

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

A 125-item, two-choice discrimination test was given to 14 institutionalized mentally retarded children who were subsequently matched on several relevant variables. After Test I was given, all subjects received a music-preference test, and according to their preference were placed in one of two experimental treatment groups. Experimental Group A received music as reinforcement, and Group B received M & M's. The results indicated that a reliable difference was found between the two groups with the music group showing a highly significant increase in performance over Test I and Group B.

The Modification Of A Specific Inappropriate Behavior By Using Visual Feedback, Stephen E. Jones

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

The study demonstrated the use of self-observation via video tape as a treatment technique. The specific behavior modified was the inappropriate sitting position of ten mildly and moderately retarded adolescent girls. A repeated measures design with two matched groups was used with the experimental group receiving visual feedback of their behavior and the control group a non related visual presentation. The subjects in both groups were observed individually while participating in dyadic discussions with the experimenter. The dependent variable was the number of seconds the subjects exhibited the inappropriate sitting position per 15 minute discussion period. During the baseline and …

Difference In Self-Esteem Between Two Religious Groups, Roland A. Havis

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

This study was a preliminary endeavor concerned with an investigation of self-esteem difference between fundamental religious groups and other religious groups in the Pittsburg, Kansas area for the year 1969.

On the basis of religious doctrines 161 volunteer church members were divided into two religious groups: fundamental religious groups and other religious groups. Of the 161 volunteers, 85 church members were classified as members of other religious groups and 76 church members were classified as members of fundamental religious groups. After numbering subjects in each classification, thirty subjects were chosen from each classification by the use of a table of …

A Comparison Of The Relative Reinforcement Value Of Response-Contingent Visual And Auditory Stimuli In A Multiple-Choice Learning Task With Institutionalized Retardates, William Robert Grimes

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this experiment was to determine if simple auditory and visual sensory stimuli were effective reinforcers with mentally retarded children and, if so whether one stimulus was superior to the other. In order to make this determination, a group of eighteen female patients between the ages of seventeen and twenty-seven, having IQ's ranging between 37 and 98, and classified as functioning in adaptive behavior level-III, were assigned by random sampling techniques to three equal groups to participate in a multiple-choice learning situation. The groups of subjects were exposed either to one of the two sensory stimuli (light flash …

The Effect Of Verbal Reinforcement On The Self-References Of Psychiatric Patients Who Are Characterized By A High Number Of Negative Self-References, Earl William Rakestraw Ii

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

The effect of positive verbal reinforcement on the verbal self-references of hospitalized psychiatric patients was studied. Eighteen patients, characterized by a high production rate of negative, verbal self-references, were matched on the following variables: age, length of hospitalization, medication, psychotherapy participation, intelligence quotient, sex, and adjustment score discrepancy obtained on a Q-sort test. After the subjects were given the pre-experimental Q-sorts and matched on the other variables, nine were randomly assigned to the experimental group and nine to the control group. All of the subjects were then administered six individual interviews in which they responded to 30 questions and statements …

A Comparative Study Of Flexibility Between Institutional And Community, Male, Adolescent Retardates, Casper Ferneti

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

This study was undertaken for the purpose of investigating the possibility of an appreciable difference in flexibility between institutional and community male, adolescent, retardates. The property of flexibility was chosen for investigation since the development of this attribute seems to be critical to occupational success in terms of satisfactory, inter-personal relationships. To begin with, an incidental sample was selected from the two Shawnee County special education classrooms in Topeka, Kansas. Matched for chronological age and verbal IQ, a second sample was chosen from the Parsons State Hospital and Training Center, Parsons, Kansas. A test was developed to measure spontaneous semantic …

Assessing Manifest Coping Behavior Of Mentally Retarded Institutionalized Males With An Observational Technique, Daryle I. Bass

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

It was the purpose of the present study to explore the feasibility of investigating naturally occurring behavior of mental retardates with an observational technique.

Twelve mentally retarded male subjects, ages sixteen to twenty one, with Adaptive Behavior levels of upper III, were observed for a total of four observational time blocks of fifteen minutes each. From the collected data 105 behavioral events were extracted, and sorted as to their appropriateness or inappropriateness in the behavioral setting. Each subject was assigned scores based on frequency counts of occurrence of appropriate and inappropriate behaviors manifested during his four observational time blocks. Rank …

A Comparison Of The Illinois Test Of Psycholinguistic Abilities And The Parsons Language Sample In Assessing The Linguistic Functioning Of Institutionalized Mentally Retarded Children, Ralph Donald Lee Horner

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to compare the Illinois Test of Psycholinguistic Abilities and the Parsons Language Sample in assessing the linguistic functioning of institutionalized mentally retarded children. A stratified sample of mentally retarded children was administered both the ITPA and PLS in counterbalanced order. The results were correlated through the Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient and the correlation matrix analyzed through a principle-components factor analysis. The ITPA, PLS comparison produced high correlation coefficients with the exception of the Intraverbal Gesture sub-test of the PLS. The factor analysis of the correlation matrix revealed one or more sub-tests had high loadings …

Errorless Establishment Of A Right-Left Discrimination In Retardates, Judith Marie Leblanc

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

This study was concerned with the task of determining necessary steps for establishing an errorless method of discrimination training in a right-left problem. It was designed to establish a terminal motor response of the S placing the "correct" hand on a blank stimulus board in response to an auditory stimulus of "Left" or "Right." To achieve this terminal response in a group of institutionalized retardates, stimuli of a previously learned color discrimination (pink and blue) were presented immediately following the corresponding auditory stimulus of "Left" or "Right" during each of the initial discrimination trials. To preclude or greatly diminish errors …

Acquisition And Extinction Of An Avoidance Response By Mildly Retarded Girls, Enrique E. Corte

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

This study investigated the effects of some of the variables operating on the acquisition and extinction of avoidance behavior by mildly retarded adolescent girls. The subjects observed were 20 patients of Parsons State Hospital and Training Center. All the subjects were 15 years of age or older and none of them had reached her twenty-first birthday at the time that the experiment was run. They had adaptive behavior levels of I, II or III.

The subjects were randomly assigned to one of two replications and to one of two experimental conditions (extinction and control). All the subjects were brought into …

Adaptive Behavior And The Proxemic Study Of A Small Group Of Severely Mentally Retarded Children, Roger D. Irwin

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

The study sought to develop a method for recording and analyzing some of the patterns of the proxemic behavior of a small group of retarded children. It further sought to determine whether or not there were reliably measurable proxemic group behavior and individual differences in the proxemic behavior of mentally retarded subjects who were not significantly different in behavior patterns measured by an adaptive behavior scale.

The four subjects used in this study were observed in a small rectangular room. A photographic record was made at two minute intervals of the positions of the subjects in the room. From this …

A Study Of The Relationship Between Applicants Scores On The Thurstone Test Of Mental Alertness And The Allport-Vernon-Lindzey Study Of Values And Subsequent Success As Psychiatric Aides, Billy B. Vivers

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

This is a study of the relationship between scores made by applicants on the Thurstone Test of Mental Alertness and the Allport-Vernon-Lindzey Study of Values and subsequent job success as Psychiatric Aides in the Parsons State Hospital and Training Center. During the period covered by the study, there was a total of 93 applicants tested. Of that number, 16 were hired as Psychiatric Aide Trainees. One of the Trainees failed to complete the 14 week training program. Of the 15 trainees who were promoted to the Aide position, one entered the armed forces.

When the TMA and the Study of …

The Concept Of Adaptive Behavior In An Institutional Setting, John C. Jones

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

The present study is an attempt to objectify the subjective concept of adaptive behavior and to show the effect of institutionalization upon adaptive behavior.

The development of an Adaptive Behavior Rating Sheet consisting of forty-five items is a major portion of this study.

The Adaptive Behavior Rating Sheet was administered to a sample of ninety patients who, at the time of administration, had been in the Parsons State Hospital and Training Center (PSH&TC) between one year six months and two years six months.

The raw scores were statistically reduced to comply with the five levels of adaptive behavior employed at …

A Comparison Of Reality And Functional Efficiency Items Of Thirteen, Fourteen, And Fifteen-Year-Old Junior High School Students On The Draw-A-Person Test, Sam Carter

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

This study was an attempt to help determine whether or not a modified Draw-A-Person test has possibilities for development into an adequate dual-purpose group screening device (intellectual and personality assessment) for psychologists working in educational, guidance, and clinical settings.

The modified DAP test used includes drawings of the same sex, opposite sex, and a self drawing. Scoring procedures are similar to Goodenough's method; however, some modifications were necessary as female drawings were scored frequently.

The Parsons, Kansas, Junior High School System, consisting of 615 seventh, eighth, and ninth grade students was used in this project. The students, with the exception …

A Normative Study Of Some Developmental Aspects Of The Human Figure Drawings Of Children, Bessie M. Whitehead

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

For many years there has been much interest in the use of human figure drawings as a projective technique for diagnostic use with the mentally ill. Psychiatric implications are attributed to practically every possible characteristic exhibited in the human figure, but until recently, little has been done toward establishing standards or norms describing objectively how various groups in the population actually perform when asked to draw a person. A clinician had no ruler by which to measure the performance of his client. He had no standard by which he could decide that the behavior exhibited was usual or abnormal for …

The Development Of A Multi-Dimensional Rating Scale For Measuring Psychopharmacological Effects On The Behavior Of Institutionalized Mentally Retarded Children, Ross A. Evans

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

The present study selected as its objective the development of a rating scale for use by psychologists wishing to measure psychopharmacologically-induced changes in the behavior of institutionalized mentally retarded children. The need for such a scale is evidenced by the recent interest these drugs have created in the field of mental retardation.

In constructing the rating scale, the investigator was guided by the neurophysiological theories of drug action and the findings of experimental and non-experimental empirical investigations. The specific content of the scale was procured primarily by: (1) circulating a questionnaire designed to elicit behavior descriptions of atypical mentally retarded …

Fingerpainting As A Psychodiagnostic Tool With Mentally Retarded Emotionally Disturbed Children, Beverly G. Knox

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

Finger painting indicates potential for consideration as a diagnostic tool in view of its particular plasticity and effectiveness with all ages, cultures and most handicaps. There is, however, confusion in the method of administration, the amount of structure to provide during the painting process, and the observational points significant in providing useful evaluative material. Those various methods include: (1) An extensive systematized checklist for observation in a highly structured setting; (2) a more permissive atmosphere with suggested significant characteristics inherent in the finger painting task which should be clinically observed, and (3) a more recently developed objective ratings scale for …

Diagnostic Limitations Of The Draw-A-Person Test With The Mentally Retarded, B. Theodore Blizzard

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

The historical survey in Goodenough's Measurement of Intelligence by Drawings reviews this area since 1885 and indicates a continued interest of investigators in many parts of the world in the drawings of children. A recurrent theme suggested in most of the published observations was that some characteristics of the drawings were subject to a developmental process and showed significant maturational changes. More recently, this general feeling has grown to include personality factors as a major aspect of drawing behavior to the point where current emphasis has now shifted from the formal aspects of scoring, necessary in the evaluation of intelligence, …