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Audiovisual Speech Perception: A Speech Production Approach, Michelle A. Jarick

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The purpose of these studies was to test the main assumptions outlined in the Motor Theory of speech perception that (1) speech perception is linked to speech production, (2) audiovisual integration of speech occurs automatically and after the motor commands are activated, and (3) we perceive the intended gestures, which are extracted by a specialized ‘phonetic module’ in the brain. In Experiment 1, we used a Stroop-like paradigm, where participants viewed and listened to a speaker producing speech syllables (/aba/ or /aga/) in three conditions: audio-only, visual-only, and audiovisual. Participants were asked to ignore irrelevant speech stimuli, and to identify …

Interviewing Children About A Repeated Event: Does Prior Practice In Describing A Specific Instance Of An Unrelated Repeated Event Improve The Amount And Quality Of Elicited Information?, Sonja P. Brubacher

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Five- to 6- and 7- to 8-year old (N=118) participated, in groups, in 4 sessions of the Laurier Activities over a 2-week period. The Laurier Activities centered around tasks such as listening to a story, completing a puzzle, mild physical exercise, relaxation, getting refreshed, and getting a surprise. Across sessions of these activities, instantiations of each task (e.g., the content of the story) were presented at different frequencies. Instantiations were fixed (the same every time), variable (changed every time), or “Hi/Lo” (the Hi frequency instantiation presented at 3 sessions, the Lo frequency instantiation presented at 1 session). …

Exploring The Impact Of The Media On The Arranged Marriage And Dowry System In Goa, India, Lisa Ann Hickman

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Indian women have been experiencing the arranged marriage and dowry system for centuries. The main objective of this study was to explore how television and cinematic programming impact tehse traditional and contextual issues. I used a phenomenological-hermeneutic research methodology, with a feminist pragmatist epistemology. I conducted a total of six personal inteviews with Hindu women from Goa, India. Three participants were married in the 1980s while the other three were married after 2000. Five themes emerged from the interviews that shed some light at the issues under exploration: a) media exposure betwen childhood and marriage; b) love vs. arranged marriage; …

'If You're The Alliance For Children And Youth, Where Are All The Children And Youth'?' How The Alliance For Children And Youth Of Waterloo Region Can Help Advance Youth Engagement, Shauna M. Fuller

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Youth engagement (the meaningful participation and sustained involvement of a young person in an activity outside of him or herself; CEYE, 2003), in particular with organizations that affect young people’s lives, has positive effects on both youth and organizations (Driscoll, 2002; Hart, 1992; Zeldin, McDaniel, Topitzes, & Calvert, 2000). Research on youth engagement has identified that successful and sustainable youth engagement requires a combination of local, interagency, and political level structures (Caputo, 2000). Waterloo Region (Ontario, Canada) has isolated pockets of youth engaged in decision-making; however, no regional youth engagement initiative exists at the interagency and political levels. Regional efforts …

Social Anxiety And Rumination: The Effects Of Alcohol, Susan Reed Battista

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Previous reserach has found a positive relationship between social anxiety and rumination. A positive relationship has also been found between social anxiety and alcohol use in clinical samples. The current study investigated how alcohol affected levels of rumination in socially anxious and non-socially anxious individuals. It was expected that consuming alcohol would decrease levels of rumination in socially anxious individuals. Eighty male participants were recuited (38 high in social anxiety and 42 low in social anxiety). Most participants were White (86%), students (78%), who ranged in age from 19 to 69 (M=22 years). Individuals were randomly assigned to …

Gender Differences In Reward Allocation Among Boys And Girls Who Receive Allowance, Sarah Clift

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Gender differences emerge at a very young age in children. Through socialization boys and girls are encouraged to adopt gender stereotypes. Among adults, salary is an area where there are consistent gender differences, with females typically asking for and receiving less than males. The present study examined differences in reward allocation (i.e., pay) among 91 boys and girls who receive an allowance or “pocket money” in grades one through four, to try to determine whether the differences noted among adults appear with first early pay experiences. Children were asked to complete a series of five tasks regarding gender stereotypes, occupations, …

Using Measures Of Print To Predict Reading Ability And Children At-Risk For Reading Disabilities In Spanish-Speaking Second Language Learners, Amy K. Grant

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Due to the changing nature of Canadian society, there has been a dramatic increase in the amount of literature focusing on second language reading acquisition. In this particular study, Spanish-speaking students learning English as a second language (L2) were compared to students who speak English as a first language (L1) on various measures of reading ability and specifically on measures of print exposure, which assess extracurricular reading. Past literature on print exposure has found that print exposure questionnaires serve as significant predictors of variance in reading comprehension, word reading, among other variables (e.g., Cunningham & Stanovich, 1993). The current study …

Capturing The Variability In A Person’S Social World: Individual Differences In Interpersonal Behavior Across And Within Interaction Partners, Alana Greco

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The current studies examined people’s (and, more peripherally, their perceptions of others’) interpersonal behavior using two different methodologies. This research utilizes the framework of Interpersonal Theory, which indicates that there are two orthogonal dimensions of interpersonal behavior—dominance and friendliness (Caron, 1969; Kiesler, 1983; Wiggins, 1982). People’s interpersonal behaviors were characterized by dimension scores for each interaction partner. In Study 1 a new, one-time measure was administered in the lab that assessed behaviors based on 45 specific interaction partners. In Study 2, a Palm Pilot was used to collect people’s interpersonal behaviors over multiple occasiosn of interactingwith the same interaction partners …

Understanding The Lived Experiences Of Jamiacan Immigrant Youth In Two Southern Ontario Cities, Kathleen M. Hogarth

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Research done with immigrant youth in Canada has been largely focused on educational outcomes. The experiences of Jamiacan immigrant youth in Canada have not been explored in great depth in the literature. Canadian statistics show however that Jamiacan immigrant youth account for the largest grouping of Caribbean immigrant youth in Canada. Other data sources point to the fact that Jamiacan youth are more likely to be criminalized and face added challenges in society because of racial stereotyping. The goal of this thesis therefore was to explore the experiences of Jamiacan immigrant youth in Kitchener and Toronto, Ontario through an investigation …

Assessing Phonology, Syntax & Working Memory Using Erp: Towards An Understanding Of The Underlying Cause Of Developmental Dyslexia, Courtney Patterson

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Event-related brain potentials (ERPs) were recorded from 20 children with dyslexia and controls matched on age, sex, nonverbal reasoning, and handedness (ages 8-12 years) as they listened to and read sentences that varied in syntactic complexity and the working memory load they induced [subject-subject (SS) and subject-object (SO) relative clause sentences]. In each modality, control children demonstrated amplitude differences between the brainwave potentials elicited to each sentence type. When listening, controls, and children with dyslexia did not differ in the N400 effect elicited in response to the relative verb of SO sentences, thus indicating auditory sentential processing occurred in a …

The Role Of Christian Faith In The Acculturation And Identity Development Of Chinese Immigrant Youth, Lynn Chyi-Ing Liao

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Immigration is a life-altering experience that significantly contributes a context for identity formation, a critical and salient task during the years of late adolescence and emerging adulthood. Religion as a influential factor in the lives of youth has often been overlooked and considering the transnational quality of Christianity, it may have an important role to play in the acculturation and identity development of immigrant youth.

In this qualitative study, I chose to interview Chinese immigrant youth aged 18-23, who are recent immigrants and self-identify as Christian. The central idea of this exploratory inquiry is that each individual interprets experiences of …

Planting The Seeds: The Experiences Of Community Psychology Graduates As Agents Of Systemic Social Change, Peggy Ann Weston

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Social change is a part of human existence, but other than charismatic individuals such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Gandhi, little has been published about the lived experience of social change agents. Time (era, passage of time, etc.) is often neglected as an important temporal factor of analysis in systemic social change (SSC) activities. The intent is to explore the experience of people working as SSC agents and discover what influences their work. A better understanding of this experience would contribute to more effective SSC work and perhaps address challenges facing change agents. The main research question, “What …

The Examination Of Fixed And Multi-Tier Source Monitoring Training With Children, Sean Curtis Cameron

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The current research consists of two studies examining children’s source monitoring training. As previous research (e.g., Thierry & Spence, 2002; Poole & Lindsay, 2002) on source monitoring training is somewhat inconsistent, this research examined two different types of source training with 3–8 year old children. In Study 1, 131 children across two age ranges (3–4 and 7–8 years) were given comparable source training to that completed by Thierry and Spence (2002). General results indicated that the training benefited 7–8 year olds at two delay times, but only benefited younger children that met the established criterion in training. In Study 2, …

The Role Of A Clergyperson Within An Assertive Case Management Outreach Team, Rachel Adrienne Lee Fayter

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Mental health consumer/survivors living in urban poverty are generally marginalized and devalued by society. To aid in the process of recovery they require a holistic form of treatment to meet their physical, emotional, psychological, and spiritual needs. The current exploratory study investigated the role of a pastor as part of a multidisciplinary team engaged in mental health outreach work and the impacts of this role for people experiencing urban homelessness. Multiple qualitative methods were used to collect data from different stakeholder groups. From multiple participant perspectives, the findings indicate that there are many unique spiritual, relational, and moral aspects of …

Embracing Life After Breast Cancer: Exploring The Holistic Health Of Survivors, Christine Yakiwchuk

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Health, from a holistic perspective, is more than physical well-being. The experience and treatment of breast cancer has an impact beyond physical health, with psychological, social, and spiritual factors playing a role in wellness. Physically, treatment such as surgery, radiation and chemotherapy often have disruptive side effects such as, fatigue, breast soreness, nausea, vomiting, hair loss and weight gain, as well as the possibility of losing one or both breasts (Mustain et al., 2002). Psychologically and emotionally, women may experience anxiety, depression, anger, guilt, fear and repression, psychological distress and persistent fears of recurrence (Glanz & Lerman, 1992). The goal …

Gaining From Loss: Meaning Making And Resolution In Emerging Adults' Low Point Narratives As Predicted By Identity Development And Perceptions Of Parenting In Adolescence, Tara M. Dumas

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Past research suggests that difficult life events can disrupt the expected flow of life, often necessitating increased cognitive effort and reflection to assimilate into the greater life story. In the present longitudinal study, 104 emerging adults (M=26 years) narrated stories about their most difficult life experience. The relationship was examined between certain characteristics of the participants’ low point narratives (depth of learning and coherent positive resolution) at age 26 with their identity development, feelings of support, and parent-child relationships from late adolescence (M=17) to emerging adulthood. Depth of learning refers to the extent to which participants extract more sophisticated forms …

Narrowed Interpersonal Worlds: Gender Differences In Affiliation-Focus And Dominance-Focus, Oshrat A. Hodara

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The purpose of this research is to investigate whether there are gender differences in the perceptions of affiliations of dominance behaviour over a large sample of social interactions. We were particularly interested in the variability of these perceptions and whether they differ in men’s and women’s perceptions of themselves and others. This research utilizes the framework of interpersonal theory, in which the two main features of people’s behaviour, affiliation and dominance, are proposed to be unrelated to each other and form a circumplex structure. In study 1, a subset of personality adjectives was selected, which demonstrated good circumplex structure. These …

Hemispheric Sensitivity To Thematic Role Information Derived From Active And Passive Verbs: An Event Related Brain Potentials Study, Christopher A. Schwint

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Recent research examining differences in the way the left (LH) and right (RH) hemispheres of the brain process language have used the visual half-field (VHF) paradigm to examine whether each hemisphere can independently process information from sentences. The current study expanded upon such work by using event related brain potential (ERP) measures to examine how the comprehension of thematic role knowledge, a process essential to successful sentence comprehension (MacDonald, Pearlmutter, & Seidenbeerg, 1994), is undertaken in each hemisphere. During language comprehension, agents (entities that initiate action in an event) depicted by nouns (e.g., cop) have been shown to be associated …

“Nous Sommes Tous Américains”: The Relationship Between Identification, Mortality Salience, And Responses To The “War On Terror”, Enoch S. Landau

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The present study sought to determine the conditions under which people were more or less likely to support restrictions on civil liberties in fighting the “War on Terror”. It was hypothesized that the more one identified with the victim of a terrorist attack, the higher their mortality salience (MS) would be, and the more likely they would be to support restricting civil liberties.

Study 1 piloted a questionnaire to measure MS. In Study 2, participants read a story about either a businessperson or a student who either went to the dentist for painful dental work, or perished in the attacks …