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The Role Of Personality Trait Inference In Performance Appraisal Ratings, Paul Kam Chan
The Role Of Personality Trait Inference In Performance Appraisal Ratings, Paul Kam Chan
Digitized Theses
This dissertation focuses on raters' implicit theories of personality and performance and their influence on performance ratings. The manner in which behavioural exemplars are perceived to be associated make up "implicit theories". Implicit theories or inferential networks are developed by individuals based upon their experiences and are applied towards the interpretation of current experiences.;The first study defines explicitly the network of personality and performance interrelationships perceived by senior personnel managers and senior accountant managers who routinely make performance appraisal ratings. This is achieved via a multidimensional scaling of similarity ratings performed upon 20 personality and 8 performance behaviours. Raters' implicit …
Differences In "Action Identification" Between Experienced And Novice Counsellors, Brynah Schneider
Differences In "Action Identification" Between Experienced And Novice Counsellors, Brynah Schneider
Digitized Theses
Vallacher and Wegner's (1985; 1987) theory of "Action Identification" was used as a conceptual basis for the empirical examination of possible differences in the understanding of therapeutic actions held by counsellors with different levels of experience. A series of Action Identification Questionnaires was developed and checked for construct validity and test-retest reliability prior to its use in the research reported. In the main study, eighty subjects (20 private practitioners, 32 faculty members, and 28 graduate students) completed the series of Action Identification Questionnaires by rating ten different identifications of seven commonly-employed therapeutic responses. As predicted, factor analyses revealed readily interpretable …
Necessity And Sufficiency In Conditional Reasoning, Valerie Anne Thompson
Necessity And Sufficiency In Conditional Reasoning, Valerie Anne Thompson
Digitized Theses
The purpose of this thesis was to contrast two current theories of conditional reasoning. Conditional reasoning entails drawing inferences about situations in which the occurrence of one event is conditional upon the occurrence of another event (e.g., if the car runs out of gas, then it will stall). According to pragmatic schema theory (Cheng and Holyoak, 1985) conditional reasoning is mediated by context-sensitive inference rules that specify the inferences that are pragmatic in a given situation; these rules differ from context to context. For example, the inferences that are thought to be pragmatic in causal situations (in which one event …
Physiological, Cognitive, And Behavioural Effects Of Assigned Performance Goals, Ian Robert Gellatly
Physiological, Cognitive, And Behavioural Effects Of Assigned Performance Goals, Ian Robert Gellatly
Digitized Theses
The general purpose of this research was to determine whether changes in physiological arousal could be induced in a goal-setting paradigm, and if so, were these changes associated with the cognitive and behavioural effects of assigned performance goals. Two laboratory experiments were conducted to examine the effect of different goal conditions on physiological (skin resistance level and heart rate) and self-report arousal, cognition (performance expectancy/self-efficacy, performance valence, perceived norm, and personal goal), and task performance. In the first experiment subjects performed a simple perceptual-speed task under one of three goal conditions and one of two feedback conditions. In accordance with …
Escalating Commitment To A Failing Course Of Action: The Effect Of Choice And Justification, D Ramona Bobocel
Escalating Commitment To A Failing Course Of Action: The Effect Of Choice And Justification, D Ramona Bobocel
Digitized Theses
Previous research suggests that decision-makers who are responsible for initiating a failing course of action are more likely to escalate their commitment to that action, compared to those who are not responsible for the initial choice. It is purported that responsibility for initiating a failing course of action induces the escalation of commitment through an underlying psychological process of self-justification. Two problems are evident in this research, however, that question the validity of this interpretation. First, the effect of responsibility has only been demonstrated using a role-playing research methodology. Second, responsibility for initiating the course of action (operationalized as choice) …
Psychophysical Studies Of Binocular Interactions In Humans, Laurie M. Wilcox
Psychophysical Studies Of Binocular Interactions In Humans, Laurie M. Wilcox
Digitized Theses
Psychophysical investigations of binocular interactions have shown that there are at least two binocular channels in the human visual system. In addition to an interocular channel that responds to input to either eye, there is evidence of a binocular channel that acts as a logical AND-gate. This second binocular mechanism will only respond to simultaneous stimulation of both eyes with similar images. Support for the existence of this 'AND' mechanism has been provided by adaptation (Wolfe & Held, 1981, 1982; Wilcox, Timney, & St. John, 1990), and detection experiments (Cohn & Lasley, 1976; Cogan, 1987).;In predicting the results of adaptation …
Stress Management As Prevention Of The Effects Of Stress: A Comparison Of Comprehensive Approaches, Lynn Marie Levy
Stress Management As Prevention Of The Effects Of Stress: A Comparison Of Comprehensive Approaches, Lynn Marie Levy
Digitized Theses
The present study was intended to be a methodologically sound test of the efficacy of three stress management interventions for the purpose of prevention. The long-term impact of several comprehensive stress management interventions was compared on the aspects of coping ability being targetted by the programs, stress, and the adverse effects of stress. Subjects were asymptomatic male business managers and supervisors. Effects of stress were measured by multiple outcomes including psychological and physical health, and work-related variables. Two intensive training programs, cognitive-behavioural coping skills training, and aerobic-exercise and fitness training, and a practically oriented brief-intervention educational program were compared. Methodological …
Using Elaborative Interrogation To Help Students Overcome Their Science Misconceptions, Vera Ella Woloshyn
Using Elaborative Interrogation To Help Students Overcome Their Science Misconceptions, Vera Ella Woloshyn
Digitized Theses
The experiments reported here investigated whether a question-answering strategy called elaborative-interrogation would facilitate children's acquisition of science facts. Of particular interest was whether the strategy would help students acquire facts that addressed their inaccurate beliefs, or what are otherwise known as misconceptions. Across two experiments, 140 students in grades 6 and 7 were asked to process individually presented statements. Half of these statements were consistent with their prior knowledge, whereas the remaining facts were inconsistent (i.e., subject to misconceptions). Half of the students in each grade were instructed to read the sentences aloud at a rate that allowed them to …
Psychological Well-Being: Personality And Social Role Perspectives, Kathryn Ann Dance
Psychological Well-Being: Personality And Social Role Perspectives, Kathryn Ann Dance
Digitized Theses
This thesis was concerned with an examination of psychological well-being, defined as consisting of negative affect, positive affect, and self-esteem. Two distinct approaches to well-being were identified (i.e. personality and social role). It was argued that well-being is likely determined by both personality and social role influences, and that these two areas might themselves be interrelated. Both cognitive and affective personality factors were included in this research (i.e. dysfunctional cognitions and affect intensity). Roles were examined at a general level (number of roles and their cognitive representation in terms of complexity) and at a specific level that included assessments of …
The Effects Of Self-Referencing In The Processing Of Linear Ordering Relations, Hsiao H. D'Ailly
The Effects Of Self-Referencing In The Processing Of Linear Ordering Relations, Hsiao H. D'Ailly
Digitized Theses
The purpose of the present research was to investigate the effects of self referencing in the processing of linear ordering relations in a task designed to simulate certain aspects of classroom mathematics instruction. In each of three experiments, undergraduate students enrolled in an introductory psychology course were asked to read a series of paragraphs each of which contained a 5-term linear ordering relation (e.g., {dollar}\rm A>B>C>D>E).{dollar} After this information was encoded, subjects were asked to make pair-wise comparisons of these 5 terms. Two major factors were tested: the inclusion of a "You" term (Self-Referencing) among the …
The Adjustment Of Salvadoran Refugees: Stressors, Resources And Well-Being, Marta Yolande Young
The Adjustment Of Salvadoran Refugees: Stressors, Resources And Well-Being, Marta Yolande Young
Digitized Theses
Despite an increased interest in refugees in the last decade, refugee research remains largely atheoretical with few attempts to integrate it with psychological theories and concepts. A first aim was to compare Recent Salvadoran refugees, Established Salvadoran refugees, Relocated Anglo-Canadians, and Established Anglo-Canadians on measures of psychological distress, quality of life and life satisfaction. A second aim was to compare the relative impact of life events and hassles on psychological symptoms in the above four groups. A third aim was to examine the buffering effects of social and personal resources on psychological health, quality of life and life and life …
Pictures, Words, And Synonymy: Representations And Processes, Terrence Charles Biggs
Pictures, Words, And Synonymy: Representations And Processes, Terrence Charles Biggs
Digitized Theses
A series of four experiments are presented which contrast the hypothesis that synonymy is semantically represented with the hypothesis that synonymy is lexically represented. They also stress the importance of task focal information in the interpretation of experimental results. Current mental models appear to operate with the implicit assumption that synonymy is represented semantically. The findings of Biggs and Marmurek (1983, 1990), that synonymous word-picture prime-target presentations produced greater naming facilitation than their repeated counterparts, run counter to the semantic representation hypothesis. The current investigations manipulated the type and degree of processing overlap between prime and target items by using …
Individuality In Health, Karen Lorraine Horner
Individuality In Health, Karen Lorraine Horner
Digitized Theses
Past research has related a variety of personality traits to environmental stressors, coping behavior, and health. In this thesis, the relation between various traits and the pathways through which they influence health were explored further. It was hypothesized that personality predicts susceptibility to stressors and mechanisms of coping that modify the cognitive and affective reactions that influence health.;Two hundred and forty-seven psychology students completed self-report questionnaires. Ego resilience, internal locus of control, hardiness, extraversion, and low neuroticism were found to load on a factor moderately related to health. Also loading on the factor were objective stressors, coping strategies, perceived stress, …
Cholinergic-Noradrenergic And Cholinergic-Serotonergic Interactions In Measures Of Working And Reference Memory Of The Rat, Peter Prior
Digitized Theses
These experiments concerned potential interactions of the cholinergic with the noradrenergic or serotonergic systems, in rat working and reference memory (WM & RM). In experiment 1a, 63 rats were trained to collect reinforcement from a radial maze, with eight of 16 arms consistently reinforced. Working errors (WEs) were re-entries into baited arms visited within a session; reference errors (REs) were visits to never-baited arms. The rats then participated in a dose-response study of scopolamine (scop). Correct entries decreased; WEs and REs increased concomitantly with dose. Cholinergic systems may not subserve WM specifically. Forty-one of these rats participated a year later …