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The Effects Of Age & Education On Personality Consistency, Craig Sparks

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This study attempts to determine the influence of age and education on the consistency of one's responses to items on various personality inventories. It was hypothesized that with increased age and education, people develop more stable and coherent personality structures. This results in more internally consistent responses to the personality measures used in this study (e.g., the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale, the Dogmatism Scale, and the Private Self-Consciousness Scale). Alpha reliabilities showed that only three of the eight scales gave a positive relationship between age and internal consistency, while only two of the eight scales were supportive of a positive …

Birth-Order Complementarity And Marital Adjustment, Cornelia Vos

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

It was predicted that the level of complementarity of birth-order position is positively associated with marital adjustment. This hypothesis was developed from Adlerian (1959) theory about the effects of birth-order position on personality formation and from the Toman (1961) duplication theorem. The Spanier Dyadic Adjustment Scale (1976) was given to 327 married women. An analysis of variance revealed no significant differences between the various combinations of birth order (no data were available for the only-with-only combination due to insufficient number of subjects in this group). Correspondingly, level of complementarity of birth order was also found to be unassociated with marital …

An Investigation Into The Problem Of Validity Generalization & Situational Specificity For Nuclear Power Plant Operations, Jeffrey Hornsby

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The issues of situational specificity and validity generalization have shed new light on employment test validation in personnel psychology. Over the past six years Schmidt, Hunter and colleagues have accumulated an abundance of evidence supporting the use of validity generalization. The present study attempts to further investigate the issues of situational specificity and validity generalization for five nuclear power utilities using the CNS test battery. Using the Bayesian statistical procedure developed by Schmidt and Hunter (1977) the results indicated that neither the rejection of situational specificity or the inference of validity generalization was possible. However, further analyses indicated that the …

Ua35/11 Student Honors Research Bulletin, Wku Honors Program

WKU Archives Records

The WKU Student Honors Research Bulletin is dedicated to scholarly involvement and student research. These papers are representative of work done by students from throughout the university.

• Albin, Bettye. John Dryden's Criticism: The Neglected Link
• Allen, Christopher. Martial Reflections: Ancient Cultures and Their War-Gods
• Case, Laura. Climatic Preference
• Deller, Kathy. Regression Analysis: The Effects of Advertising, Price, Income and Import Sales on American-Made Auto Sales
• Downing, Elizabeth. Dorothy Leigh Sayers: Detective of Literary Theory in The Mind of the Maker
• Elder, Janice. A Retrospective Study on Discharge Planning and Primiparas at Breckinridge Memorial
• Flora, Joan. Narcissism and the Need for …

The Development Of A Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scale & Assessment Of Its Psychometric Parameters, Sharon Lachow

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

In keeping with increasing national demands on organizations to demonstrate effectiveness of mental health services for the chronically mentally ill (CMI) across the nation, Barren River Mental Health/Mental Retardation (BR MH/MR) undertook an assessment of programs which provide services to this population. This necessitated the employment of a client outcome measure to determine the effectiveness of these programs and services to the CMI's. After an extensive perusal of the instruments currently available, a decision was made to construct a new assessment instrument in a behaviorally anchored rating scale format to meet the unique needs of BR MH/MR. Prior to the …

Exploring Adaptive Behavior In Preschool Children, Elaine Michewicz

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Thr. purpose of this exploratory study was to investigate factors related to adaptive behavior or nonacademic behavior and the ability to function in everyday life situations. Preschool children and their mothers served as subjects for the investigation. The Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence (Wechsler, 1967), the Nowicki Strickland Internal-External Locus of Control Scale for Children (Nowicki and Strickland, 1973), and the Circles and Unusual Uses Tests (Torrance, 1966a) were administered to twenty-five kindergarten children. In conjunction, the Adaptive Behavior Inventory for Children from The System of Multicultural Pluralistic Assessment by Mercer and Lewis (1977), which is a structured …

Work Decrement And Facilitation Of Performance As A Function Of The Accuracy Of Mental Imagery, Maxwell Turner

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The purpose of this study is twofold: to determine the relationship between accuracy of the image and work decrement and to investigate the relationship between accuracy of the image and facilitation of performance. A total of 36 right-handed undergraduates were tested on the rotor pursuit operating at 45 rpm and asked to imagine themselves actually tracking the target with the stylus. During the imagery trials the subjects verbalized the word “top” each time their image made one complete revolution. Each subject engaged in a 9 30-sec imagery trials which were followed by either an 8-sec rest and then 9 30-sec …

The Development Of An Expressive Language Scoring System, Pamela Tamme

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This study was designed to develop an expressive language scoring system so that the creative quality of a person's written language could be quantified and measured. Sixty fifth -grade students, 31 males and 29 females, were given the opening line, i.e., story-starter, to a story and were asked to finish the stories. Each student received two story-starters concerning the same object ("content")-- either box, string or money--but were different in "context" (usual or unusual setting). Thus, a total of 120 stories were written, with 40 stories being from each content group. These stories were then rated according to their level …

The Effects Of Extraversion On Performance On The Wechsler Intelligence Scale For Children-Revised, Charles V. Kerekes

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

A sample population of 139 fifth grade students, ranging in age from nine years to twelve years eleven months, was drawn from a data pool created from test results collected from four elementary schools in a south central Kentucky municipality. Tests used in the study were the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children – Revised (WISC-R) and Cattell’s Children’s Personality Questionnaire (CPQ).

These data were examined to determine the relationship of extraversion to performance on a standardized intelligence test.

Correlations for the experimental variables and extraversion ranged from .12 to .51.

The results indicated that extraverts had higher Performance, Verbal and …

The Brigance K&1 Screen And Corresponding Teacher Ratings Of Students, Shanna Waddington

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The relationship between teacher ratings of kindergarten students and scores on the Brigance K&1 Screen was examined in order to obtain a measure of construct validity for the Brigance. A Kentucky sample and California sample were included in the study. Data was analyzed separately for each sample for purposes of regional comparison. Teacher’s ratings of students’ overall ability and ability across five skill dimensions (expressive language, receptive language, personal information, fine motor skills, and gross motor skills) were compared via a linear regression analysis. The results indicated that overall ratings of students by teachers are significant and reliable combinations of …

Construct Validity Of The Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory, Brian W. Johnson

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The purpose of this study was to add supportive evidence to the construct validity of the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory (SEI). The study was conducted using the Sabers-Whitney (1976) model which investigated (a) convergent validity, (b) discriminant validity, (c) sensitivity to change, (b) internal consistency, and (e) any other factors which may contribute evidence to be a measure’s construct validity.

The SEI Children’s Self Concept Scale (CSCS), and Children’s Social Desirability Scale (CSDS) were administered to all fifth grade students enrolled in an elementary school within a public school district in the northeastern United States. The self-concept assessments were conducted within …

Effects Of Task Complexity On Mental Imagery & Work Decrement, Mary George

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This study was conducted to determine the effects of task complexity on mental imagery and work decrement. A total of 180 right-handed undergraduates from Western Kentucky University were tested on the rotor pursuit apparatus. Task complexity was manipulated by eccentricity on the tracking target of the rotor pursuit (i.e., the more eccentric, the more complex). Three shapes of increasing eccentricity were used, and there were three practice conditions: rest, no-rest and control. Thus, nine treatment conditions existed. The rest group had a 5-min rest between practice and performance, the no-rest group went right from practice to performance without rest, and …

The Ability Of Selected Personality Variables To Distinguish Between Three Levels Of Principled Reasoning Scores On The Defining Issues Test, Gary Romich

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

A population sample consisting of 110 college students was placed into one of three principled reasoninig groups (low, medium, and high) based on individual P scores on the Defining Issues Test. Based on previous research, it was predicted that individuals low in principled reasoning would score high on measures of deference (conformity) and affiliation (social approval) and low on measures of autonomy, intraception (analytical ability), and abstractness. Those individuals in the high principled reasoning group would have opposite need structures. They should be low on measures of deference and affiliation and high on autonomy, intraception and abstractness in comparison to …

Degrees Of Self-Actualizing And Corresponding Levels Of Jealousy In College Students, Robert Paul

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

In order to examine the relationship between jealousy and overall level of self-actualizing, measures of these constructs obtained from four groups of college students, males presently in romantic relationships, males presently not in romantic relationships, females presently in romantic relationships and females not presently in romantic relationships, were compared. Scores obtained from the Inner-directed scale of the Personal Orientation Inventory, a measure of overall level of self-actualizing, and a seven-item jealousy scale were examined separately for each group via 2 by 2 analyses of variance (sex by romantic status) and linear regression analysis. Results of the 2 by 2 analyses …

The Effect Of Praise And Critical Feedback On The Task Performance Of Young Males Of Varying Levels Of Adaptive Behavior, Michael Reed

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The effect of evaluative feedback on the simple motor performance of young males of varying levels of adaptive behavior was examined. Subjects were 50 male Caucasians (6.0 to 8.5 years of age) randomly assigned to either a praise, criticism, or control condition. Subjects participated in a motor task twice (pretest, posttest). After the first trial of the task (pretest), subjects received either positive evaluative feedback (praise), negative evaluative feedback (criticism), or were asked for biographical information (neutral). The second trial of the task immediately followed feedback. The adaptive behavior level of each subject was determined in a subsequent interview with …

A Validity Study Of An Operational Pre-Hire Assessment Process For Professional, Managerial, Technical Personnel, John Galbraith

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Research concerning the validity of various procedures for assessing managerial potential is reviewed. It is found that several assessment techniques are valid for identifying and/or predicting potential and that a combination of techniques usually accounts for a significantly greater amount of criterion variance than does a single assessment procedure used alone. The lack of research concerning the use of multiplecomponent assessment techniques for the selection of individual job applicants for lower-level managerial positions is pointed out. The present study concerns itself with an operational individual assessment program designed to identify and select from among experienced job applicants those individuals exhibiting …

An Educational-Counseling Program On Public Law 94-142 For Parents Of School-Aged Educable Mentally Handicapped Children, Patricia Coakley

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The passage of Public Law 94-142, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975, mandates that parents of a handicapped child must be included in the educational planning and placement procedures for their child. The law requires (1) parent counseling and (2) parent participation in the planning of the child’s educational career. Yet almost six years after the passage of Public Law 94-142, the role of parent which emerges today appears to be one of passive involvement in the Individualized Educational Plan (IEP) process. The literature suggests this lack of active participation possibly stems from several sources: the parents’ …

Children's Anxiety Management Program: Its Effects On School Anxiety, Defensiveness & Self-Disparagement, Wayne Herner

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Anxiety and stress are factors which affect children's day to day functioning. It affects their psychological, physiological, and social functioning. This in turn causes children to do poorly in academics, have poor interpersonal relationships, acquire many fears and phobias, and develop many somatic complaints (e.g., muscle tension, speech disturbances, hypertension, etc.). Children who experience stress and who do not learn to cope with it effectively are likely to have problems as adults. Therefore, the Children's Anxiety Management Program (C.A.M.P.) was initiated to a group of 5th and 6th grade school children in Bowling Green, Kentucky. The purpose of the program …

An Investigation Into The Use Of Provisional Analysis As A Means To Increase The Use Of Program Evaluation Data, Jeffrey Quade

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

In recent years there has been an upsurge in the demand for program accountability. Program evaluation is often the prescribed procedure used to determine a program's effectivenss. During a program's evaluation, data on the program are gathered by program evaluators. However, in general, the evaluation data gathered are not used by program administrators. The purpose of the present investigation was to assess the impact of a procedure termed provisional analysis on increasing the use of evaluation data by program officials. Sixty-five volunteers from graduate courses in education and fifty-two volunteers from undergraduate educational psychology classes were randomly assigned to two …

Intertask Transfer Of Skill Acquisition & Work Decrement As A Function Of Degree Of Task Similarity Between Mental Practice Trials & Physical Performance, William White

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The focus of this study was on motor learning, or the human learning of movement. It is well documented that physical or mental practice of a motor skill followed by an adequate rest period can enhance subsequent performance of that skill. The literature shows that transfer of skill acquisition occurs as a function of the similarity of physical practice trials and the criterion task. In this study mental practice trials wele substituted for physical practice trials. It was hypothesized that the transfer of skill acquisition would also occur as a function of the similarity of mental practice trials and the …

A Comparison Of The Central & Peripheral Theories Of Work Decrement Through The Separation Of Stimulus & Response Components In The Mental Imagery Of A Motor Task, Bruce Jennings

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

A total of 180 introductory psychology students from Western Kentucky University were tested with their left hands on the rotary pursuit apparatus. Practice conditions consisted of the following: imagery of the rotor's light movements (stimulus component), imagery of pursuit-type arm movements (response component), imagery of both light movements and arm movements, imagery of the integrated task, and a no practice control group. Nine-minute rest periods were given to half of the subjects in each of these conditions. In addition to providing a better understanding of the processes underlying mental imagery through the breakdown of its components, differences between the stimulus …

Ua35/11 Student Honors Research Bulletin, Wku Honors Program

WKU Archives Records

The WKU Student Honors Research Bulletin is dedicated to scholarly involvement and student research. These papers are representative of work done by students from throughout the university.

• Condis, Rebecca. Reconstituted Families: Counseling Concepts and Application
• Miller, Brad. Does Congress Effectively Regulate the Ethics of its Members?
• Grizzle, Dennis. Electron Microscopy of Polytrichum Moss Spores
• Collins, Lynell. Transformational Effects on Cytoskeleton and Cell-Surface Antigens
• Hamilton, Joy. A Summary of Flaws in Thomas Hardy's Far From the Madding Crowd
• Martin, Lanna. Sadie F. Price: Artist, Botanist, Author and Naturalist
• Wood, Irene. The Imagery of Smoke, Fire and Ash: A Study of the …

Community-Based Programming For Emotional Disturbance In Children, Anna Borders

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Based upon local needs assessment data, review of the literature, and a survey of professionals in the field of children's services, a design for the development of a community- based diagnostic and treatment network for services to emotionally disturbed children was formulated. Addressing the needs of a seven-county area in Southern Kentucky, the program plan defines the processes and procedures for the implementation of regional diagnostic, educational support, and technical assistance services as the initial step toward the establishment of a regional day treatment and residential center providing the full spectrum of special services to the emotionally disturbed youth of …

Yet Another Look At Depth Of Processing, Marilyn Graves

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

A review of the depth of processing literature revealed that the major criticism of the approach was that no independent measure of depth of processing had teen used. The present study was designed to compare the effects of three standard depth of processing tasks to a free -association baseline --the baseline constitutes an independent measure of depth of processing. Structural, phonemic, and semantic tasks were manipulated in the study and subjects were given cues or prompters as an aid in recall. Cues were taken from a list of target words used by Bahrick (1969). Bahrick's norms constituted a free -association …

A Study Of The Validity Of Undergraduate Grade Point Average And Graduate Record Examination Scores As Predictors Of Success In The Selection Of Masters Level Graduate Students In Psychology, Margaret Tandy O'Connor

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The purpose of this study was to assess the validity of the undergraduate grade point average (UGPA), the grade point average during the last two years of undergraduate work (LTYR), the Graduate Record Examination Verbal plus Graduate Record Examination Quantitative scores (GREM), the Graduate Record Examination Analytical Test score (GREAN) and the Graduate Record Examination Advanced Psychology Test score (GREAD) as predictors of graduate grade point averages (GGPA) in the Master of Arts degree program in Psychology at Western Kentucky University. The validity of the Graduate Record Examination Quantitative score (GREQ) as a predictor of grades received in the two …

Relationships Among Intelligence, Piagetian Developmental, & Achievement Assessments In A Sample Of Disadvantaged Preschool Children, Mary Hill

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Much research has been conducted on the relationships among psychometric intelligence as measured by standard IQ tests, level of cognitive maturity as defined by Piaget, and school achievement. These types of assessment have been described as measuring separate but highly correlated aspects of cognitive functioning. Little research, however, has been reported concerning the interrelationships of these three types of measures for disadvantaged children, The Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence (WPPSI), a Piagetian Battery (PB), and three subtests of the Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT) were administered to 20 four year old children enrolled at a Parent-Child Center in …

The Investigation Of An Imagery Technique As A Screening Device For Reading Difficulties, Joseph Saxe

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

A form for assessing imagery ability based on behavioral criteria in response to an imaginary ball toss was developed and its utility as a screening device for reading difficulties was evaluated. The Imagery Assessment Form was administered to 167 kindergarten, second, fourth and sixth grade children. Grade and sex differences were compared and the imagery scores were correlated with standardized reading achievement scores. Significant mean score differences were found between kindergarteners and second graders only. Significant sex differences in imagery were observed across all grade groups. There was no sex by grade interaction. Positive significant correlations between imagery and reading …

Communication Apprehension As A Predictor Of Proxemic Establishment, Self-Esteem, & Dogmatism, Joseph Cardot Iii

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Based upon limited findings dealing with nonverbal behavior and personality traits as they relate to communication apprehension, the purpose of this study was to examine the relationship of communication apprehension with proxemic establishment, self-esteem, and dogmatism. The study analyzed these variables utilizing subjects who were statistically either high or low communication apprehensives. Interesting results were attained. An inverse relationship between apprehension and proxemic establishment was revealed, such that dyads containing low-low members established greater interpersonal distance than dyads containing high-low members who established greater interpersonal distance than dyads containing high-high members. Communication apprehension overrode the sex variable with relation to …

The Effect Of Intelligence Test Feedback Upon Self-Concept As Measured By The Epps, Gregory Heeter

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Previous research on the nature of the self-concept generally suggests that this particular construct is broad, stable, and not easily altered. Yet, current practice regarding the feedback of information concerning one's intelligence quotient remains restrictive and unresponsive to this evidence. Individuals are protected from the knowledge of their test results ostensibly to prevent harmful effects upon their self-images. The present study focused on the impact of learning one's assessed intelligence quotient upon needs taken from a measure of self-report. It was predicted that subjects who had received feedback accurately specifying their intelligence quotients and who had reported discrepancies between this …

Characteristics Of Mentor Relationships In Male And Female University Professors, Charlotte B. Miller

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Graduate school socialization and mentoring are based on adult development theory as articulated by Jung, Erickson, and Levinson. As adults mature, they go through several stages of detaching from family and learning how to live in the world. During this period (which encompasses undergraduate and graduate education), special relationships are often formed to help ease the transition to adulthood by providing advice and mentoring.

A mentor is a person who helps guide another person into a profession and contributes to his or her professional development. The mentor may serve as a professional role model and teacher, providing encouragement, direction, information, …