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Do The Stimulant Medications Improve Neuropsychological Performance Of College Students With Adhd?, Chunqiao Luo Jan 2010

Do The Stimulant Medications Improve Neuropsychological Performance Of College Students With Adhd?, Chunqiao Luo

LSU Master's Theses

Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a prevalent disorder estimated to affect 5% to 10% of school-aged children and approximately 4% of adults worldwide. The defining symptoms are hyperactivity, impulsivity and inattention, which are all acutely reduced by the stimulant medications, methylphenidate and amphetamine. Nevertheless, in spite of robust short-term efficacy, long-term follow-up studies fail to show drug effects on academic achievement of ADHD students. Because recent research indicates that the medications also do not normalize performance of ADHD patients on some neuropsychological tests, we thought this might shed some light on the causes of ADHD students’ academic underachievement. There is …


The Effect Of Task Difficulty On Preschoolers' Problem-Solving And Emotion-Regulation Strategy Use, Courtney Marie Snyder Jan 2010

The Effect Of Task Difficulty On Preschoolers' Problem-Solving And Emotion-Regulation Strategy Use, Courtney Marie Snyder

LSU Master's Theses

Although there has been a lot of research on problem-solving and emotion-regulation independently, little work has been done on how these constructs are related. The current investigation sought to explore differences in problem-solving, emotion-regulation, emotion-dysregulation and help-seeking based on task difficulty. Preschool children between 3-5 years of age participated in six frustration-inducing problem-solving tasks, three of which were possible (but difficult) and three of which were impossible for them to solve. Problem-solving, emotion-regulation, emotion-dysregulation, and help-seeking behaviors were coded for each task. I hypothesized that children’s behavior in each of these four areas would vary according to task difficulty, as …


Factors That Affect Sleep In Adults With Developmental Disability, Megan Sipes Jan 2010

Factors That Affect Sleep In Adults With Developmental Disability, Megan Sipes

LSU Master's Theses

Sleep problems are a common occurrence in the typically developing population. These problems are even more frequent in those with developmental disabilities; however, sleep disorders are often under diagnosed in this population in clinical populations. Currently, there is a lack of research that examines the rate of sleep problems in adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). The purpose of this study is to examine differences in the endorsements of sleep problems between three groups: 71 adults with Autistic Disorder (AD) and intellectual disability (ID), 71 adults with Pervasive Developmental Disorder-Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS) and ID, and 71 adults with ID …


The Interactions Between Sentence Complexity, Working Memory, And Additional Working Memory Load: An On-Line Measure, Christy Seidel Jan 2010

The Interactions Between Sentence Complexity, Working Memory, And Additional Working Memory Load: An On-Line Measure, Christy Seidel

LSU Master's Theses

This experiment takes an on-line look at syntactical complexity, external loads, and working memory, and how the three influence one another. Based on off-line data looking at the interactions between these three factors, we have discovered that syntactic complexity and span have main effects, while the effect of load is most interestingly seen in a three way interaction representing the hardest possible combination of factors. Through this new design, we were able to see whether the off-line results of sentence processing are replicated with an on-line measure. Our new off-line findings replicate past results, which show that working memory impacts …


Emotion Recognition In Schizotypy, Laura Brown Jan 2010

Emotion Recognition In Schizotypy, Laura Brown

LSU Master's Theses

Deficits in social cognition are repeatedly found in individuals with schizophrenia. Facial emotion recognition is a major aspect of social cognition in which individuals with schizophrenia show consistent deficits. However, many questions about these deficits remain unanswered including whether they occur in individuals with schizotypy—those at high risk for the disorder that do not manifest full pathology. Examining emotion recognition in schizotypy eliminates many of the confounds associated with schizophrenia research such as medication effects, chronic institutionalization, and generalized cognitive deficits, and allows for the examination of whether emotion recognition deficits reflect vulnerability to schizophrenia. Prior research in this population …


Development And Preliminary Validation Of The Adolescent Homework Inventory, Meghan Burns Geary Jan 2010

Development And Preliminary Validation Of The Adolescent Homework Inventory, Meghan Burns Geary

LSU Master's Theses

Homework is defined as work assigned to students by teachers that is to be completed outside of school hours (Cooper, 1989). Homework completion has been shown to have both positive and negative effects at school and home (Hoover-Dempsey, Battiato, Walker, Reed, DeJong, & Jones, 2001; Cooper, 1989; Cooper & Valentine, 2001). Given that homework will continue to be assigned, and that positive outcomes may be greater than negative outcomes, it is important to identify and address difficulties students face in homework completion. Measures are available to identify homework problems in elementary school students, but current measures available for middle and …


Attention Is Not Required To Maintain Feature Bindings In Visual Working Memory, Amanda Van Lamsweerde Jan 2010

Attention Is Not Required To Maintain Feature Bindings In Visual Working Memory, Amanda Van Lamsweerde

LSU Master's Theses

Attention plays an important role in the formation of accurate feature bindings. However, the role of attention in maintaining feature bindings is not as well established. Some research supports the theory that attention is needed to maintain feature bindings in visual working memory (VWM), while other research suggests that bindings remain intact after the withdrawal of attention. Experiment 1 of current study tested this hypothesis by replicating the findings that feature bindings are more difficult to remember than individual features in a whole report change detection task. Experiment 2 directly measured attention through eye tracking and manipulated whether a change …


An Examination Of Challenging Behaviors In Autistic Disorder Versus Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified: Significant Differences And Gender Effects, Alison M. Kozlowski Jan 2010

An Examination Of Challenging Behaviors In Autistic Disorder Versus Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified: Significant Differences And Gender Effects, Alison M. Kozlowski

LSU Master's Theses

Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) are well-known for engagement in challenging behaviors. Unfortunately, due to its absence as a criterion for diagnosis in the DSM-IV-TR, little attention has been paid to the endorsement rates of such behaviors. However, a recently developed measure to assist in the diagnosis of infants and toddlers with autism and PDD-NOS – the Baby and Infant Screen for Children with aUtIsm Traits (BISCUIT) – has included a section designated for just this reason. This study used the BISCUIT to assess for significant differences in the endorsement rates of challenging behaviors between infants and toddlers with …


Affective Dysfunction And Affective Interference In Schizotypy, Gina Marie Najolia Jan 2010

Affective Dysfunction And Affective Interference In Schizotypy, Gina Marie Najolia

LSU Master's Theses

Affective dysfunction is a core feature of schizophrenia spectrum disorders. Schizophrenic and schizotypal participants report higher levels of unpleasant and lower levels of pleasant trait affect than controls. In response to pleasant stimuli, though, participants often report similar levels of pleasant emotion to controls, but heightened unpleasant emotion, suggesting pleasant experiences may be affected by intrusive unpleasant emotion. An emotional Stroop task was used to examine the relationship between affective interference and trait affect in schizotypy. No significant differences were found between schizotypal participants and controls on e-Stroop performance, but schizotypal participants did self-report more unpleasant trait affect and less …


Effects Of Delays To Response Blocking When Used As Treatment For Problem Behavior Maintained By Automatic Reinforcement, Megan Leigh Kliebert Jan 2010

Effects Of Delays To Response Blocking When Used As Treatment For Problem Behavior Maintained By Automatic Reinforcement, Megan Leigh Kliebert

LSU Master's Theses

Response blocking and response interruption are common interventions for problem behavior maintained by automatic reinforcement in the treatment literature, but these interventions may be extremely challenging for caregivers to implement with fidelity (i.e., immediately blocking each instance). We evaluated the effects of challenges to the procedural integrity of response blocking and interruption procedures upon the maintenance of treatment effects for problem behavior maintained by automatic reinforcement for two young men by measuring aberrant behavior under several conditions including a baseline condition, an immediate response blocking or interruption condition, and delayed response blocking or interruption conditions (e.g., 3-s, 15-s, and 30-s …


Communication Deficits In Babies With Autism And Pervasive Developmental Disorder - Not Otherwise Specified (Pdd-Nos), Max Horovitz Jan 2010

Communication Deficits In Babies With Autism And Pervasive Developmental Disorder - Not Otherwise Specified (Pdd-Nos), Max Horovitz

LSU Master's Theses

Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) are characterized by pervasive impairments in communication, socialization, and repetitive behaviors or interests. While there is a growing interest in early ASDs, very few studies have looked at the nature of these impairments before age 3. In order to better strengthen early assessment and intervention for ASDs, more knowledge is needed in this area. The current studies aimed to determine if, and in what ways, communication impairments are present in infants and toddlers (17-37 months) diagnosed with autism and Pervasive Developmental Disorder – Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS). In the first study, infants with autism and PDD-NOS …


Autism Spectrum Disorders: Validation Of The Autism Spectrum Disorders - Problem Behavior For Children (Asd-Pbc), Relationship Between Age And Challenging Behaviors, Children And Adolescents With Autism Spectrum Disorders Compared To Typically Developing Controls On The Behavioral Assessment For Children, Second Edition (Basc-2), Sara Rebecca Mahan Jan 2010

Autism Spectrum Disorders: Validation Of The Autism Spectrum Disorders - Problem Behavior For Children (Asd-Pbc), Relationship Between Age And Challenging Behaviors, Children And Adolescents With Autism Spectrum Disorders Compared To Typically Developing Controls On The Behavioral Assessment For Children, Second Edition (Basc-2), Sara Rebecca Mahan

LSU Master's Theses

Researchers found that Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a predictor for challenging behaviors. Since challenging behaviors are obstacles for social development and learning, it is important to determine if and what challenging behaviors are exhibited and how to best treat them. The Autism Spectrum Disorder – Problem Behavior for Children (ASD-PBC) is an 18 item informant based questionnaire specifically designed to measure challenging behaviors in children with ASD. Convergent and discriminant validity against the Behavioral Assessment System for Children, Second Edition (BASC-2), demonstrated the preliminary validity for the ASD-PBC for use among children and adolescents with ASD. Study 2 examined …


A Treatment Components Analysis In Positive Peer Reporting For Socially Withdrawn Children, Jeffrey S. Chenier Jan 2010

A Treatment Components Analysis In Positive Peer Reporting For Socially Withdrawn Children, Jeffrey S. Chenier

LSU Master's Theses

Socially withdrawn children who do not receive intervention are at risk for struggling in their coursework and having trouble with future psychological adjustment. In spite of these facts, children who act out in the classroom have traditionally received much more attention from teachers and from researchers in the literature. In recent years, there have been many replications of Positive Peer Reporting (PPR) as a quick, effective, and accepted method to help these children overcome their withdrawn status. The extant literature supports the efficacy of PPR. However, there remain several important unanswered questions with regard to PPR. For example, do children …


The Relationship Among Self-Efficacy, Negative Self-Statements, And Social Anxiety In Children: A Mediation, Brittany Nicole Moree Jan 2010

The Relationship Among Self-Efficacy, Negative Self-Statements, And Social Anxiety In Children: A Mediation, Brittany Nicole Moree

LSU Master's Theses

Evidence suggests that general self-efficacy, one’s beliefs about his or her global abilities, and social self-efficacy, one’s beliefs in his or her ability to navigate social situations, are strongly connected to levels of social anxiety. Negative self-statements, also known as negative self-referent cognitions, have also been linked with levels of social anxiety. Although self-efficacy and negative self-statements have been shown to be important variables in the phenomenology and maintenance of social anxiety in children, they have yet to be examined in conjunction with one another. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between negative self-statements and selfefficacy …


A Comparison Of Public And Private Positive Peer Reporting In General Education Classrooms, Carolyn Barahona Jan 2010

A Comparison Of Public And Private Positive Peer Reporting In General Education Classrooms, Carolyn Barahona

LSU Master's Theses

Positive peer reporting (PPR) and Tootling have shown to be effective classwide interventions in decreasing maladaptive behavior and increasing positive interactions. In the current study, PPR was implemented as a classwide intervention by using an interdependent group contingency to determine if two variations of student praise reports affect classroom disruptive behavior. PPR uses public praise reports to decrease maladaptive behavior and increase prosocial interactions, while Tootling uses private praise reports on index cards to increase reports of prosocial interactions. This study compared students’ public praise reports to private praise reports of fellow students and evaluated how different praise types affect …