Digital Commons Network^™

Comparison Of Attitudes Between Premaritally Pregnant Couples And Non-Premaritally Pregnant Couples, Ed Northam

Student Work

Clinical practitioners have indicated a concern for couples who have married because of pregnancy. Some would suggest that whatever relationship problems brought them in for counseling can often be traced back to unresolved feelings about the reason for marriage. These feelings and the marriage option following pregnancy frequently become the focus in marriage counseling. Often, when these feelings and attitudes remain unresolved, divorce or discontinuance of the relationship follows.

The Consensus Judgment Process In Job Evaluation: The Effect Of Sex Of Chairperson, Job Stereotype, And Job Level On Individual And Group Ratings, Margaret L. Durr

Student Work

Research concerning the role of the consensus judgment process in job evaluation has been minimal. In the present study, 80 male 80 female college students rated jobs individually using a point method of job evaluation. The subjects were then divided into groups of 4 and a chairperson was assigned. The effects of sex of rater, sex of chairperson, and job stereotype were assessed. The use of an averaging rule to predict consensus ratings, as well as the amount of disagreement among dimensions, were also explored. A third area of research concerned the leadership and power exhibited by the chairperson. Results …

An Attributional Analysis Of Goal Setting, Acceptance, And Performance Outcome On Supervisor's Evaluations, Janet J. Car

Student Work

Previous research investigated the effect of goal setting on supervisors' evaluations of employee performance and the causes attributed to that performance. The results demonstrated that attributions for performance were more a ffected by success versus failure in the assigned than in the participative or self-set condition . It was hypothesized that a possible exception to this relationship might occur when the goal was not accepted by the employee. This 3 x 2 x 2 factorial design investigated the impact of goal acceptance on ratings of task performance and attributions concerning that performance. The overriding determinant of attributions regarding the employee …

Nexus: Painting As A Link To A Primary Reality, Karen Sardisco

Theses

None provided.

The Effects Of Various Error Messages And Error Types On Program Debugging Time., David L. Dawson

Student Work

Using the Shneiderrnan model, programs were bugged with three classes of errors and then flagged with five classes of error messages both to test the the Shneiderman theory and to attempt to develop more useful messages for programmers. Forty subjects, all of whom passed a general selection quiz on the programming language BASIC, participated in the study. Each subject saw three versions of a BASIC statistics program listing, the versions represented the three different types of errors and all shared a common sort of error message. The error types strongly affected the time subjects required to find the bug in …

Statistical Models For Consumer Behaviour In India., Amita Majumder Dr.

Doctoral Theses

The present dissertation is about analysis of consumer behaviour ba sed on time-serios consumption data in the framework of a static complete demand system with special reference to India.On the methodological side, the the proposes two station demand systems. One of them is based on a modification of the Simple Non-additivo Model (SNAM) of Deaton (1976) - a generalisation of Stone's Linear Expenditure System (LES) - that overcomes the limitations of the LES ariaing from the additivity of its underfying direct preference structure. The other system is based on the Frice Independent Generalized Linearity (FIGL) of Maellbaucr (1975). Both the …

Development Of A Reliable And Valid Diagnostic Assessment Instrument For Migraine And Muscle-Contraction Headaches (Psychometrics, Classification)., Stanford Wayne Granberry

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

The reliability and validity of a headache questionnaire, designed as a diagnostic instrument, were investigated. The questionnaire was administered to 117 headache sufferers in individual interviews. Following a 2 week interval the same questionnaire was readministered to 66 of these subjects. All subjects were independently diagnosed by a board certified neurologist and an advanced graduate student in clinical psychology using an Ad Hoc Committee's (1962) criteria. The categories of headache investigated were: muscle-contraction headache (N = 38), combined headache (N = 28), classic migraine (N = 19) and common migraine (N = 32). A factor analysis of the questionnaire data …

Secondary Memory Functioning In Good And Poor Readers (Interference)., Elizabeth B. Williford

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

This research compared the short-term memory deficit and the verbal ability deficiency theories of reading disability by examining reaction time performance of good readers and inferior readers in both primary and secondary memory tasks, using a combination of the Sternberg memory scanning paradigm and the Brown-Peterson distractor tasks. One hundred ninety-two Louisiana State University students from the psychology and remedial reading departments were randomly assigned to one of eight experimental groups. Subjects received test material of either four or two item memory sets. The 48 test trials consisted of three trials from each of 16 different categories, with trials grouped …

The Effect Of Muscle Contraction Headache Chronicity On Frontal Emg (Psychophysiology, Tension Headache)., Eleanor Belle Callon

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

The hypothesis that frontal EMG levels measured by surface electrodes change as a function of the number of years of muscle contraction headache activity was tested. Three levels of muscle contraction headache chronicity ((GREATERTHEQ)20 years, (LESSTHEQ)10 years, and none) were examined under imagined stress and a quiz falsely presented as a measure of intelligence. The two stress conditions were counterbalanced across subjects. The three groups had 10 members each and were equivalent in age and subjects' ratings of the laboratory stressors. Psychophysiological recordings were done during a headache free period. An ANOVA indicated no group effect and no group x …

The Reliability Of Psychophysiological Assessment: A Comparative Analysis Of Two Mental And Two Physical Stressors (Test-Retest Reliability, Physiological Reactivity, Cold Pressor, Blood Pressure, Heart Rate)., Michael E. Faulstich

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

Extensive research has been conducted assessing psychophysiological reactivity to experimental stressors in various populations. However, there is a paucity of empirical investigations concerning the test-retest reliability of these experimental stressors. Establishment of the relative reliability of specific stressor procedures is important so that results can be compared over time and across studies. The purpose of this investigation was to compare test-retest reliability of two mental stressors (i.e. Quiz Electrocardiogram, mental arithmetic) and two physical stressors (i.e. cold pressor, isometric challenge). These stressors were presented in a counterbalanced fashion to forty-eight undergraduate and graduate students who returned two weeks later for …

Multimethod Assessment Of Childhood Depression: Evidence For Convergent And Discriminant Validity Across Developmental Levels., Kathleen Lynn Lemanek

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

The convergent and discriminant validity of three assessment methods were investigated in relation to the construct of childhood depression for a sample of elementary, intermediate, and secondary students. The three assessment methods of self-report, teacher, and peer rating scales were used to assess the response classes of depression, social withdrawal, social skills, and aggression. The self-report, teacher, and peer rating scales were subjected to a series of analyses to determine their psychometric properties. Test-retest and internal consistency reliabilities were generally acceptable, although the stability and item homogeneity of individual factors varied from the low-to-high range within each of the rating …

Stress Management And The Amelioration Of Type A Behavior In Cardiac Rehabilitation (Psychophysiology, Cardiovascular Reactivity)., Joseph Kemp Murphy

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

The effects of a stress management program upon the Type A behavior pattern were examined in a sample of patients with coronary heart disease who were enrolled in an on-going cardiac rehabilitation program. Based upon exhibition of Type A behavior (defined by the Structured Inverview), patients were randomly assigned to three experimental conditions: (a) behavioral stress management, (b) supportive (attention placebo control group), and (c) no treatment (waiting list control group). Patients receiving treatment attended 10 sessions of 1-1 1/2 hours duration, as well as pretreatment and posttreatment assessment sessions. Patients in the no treatment condition also completed the assessments. …

Adolescent Suicide And Life Stress, Problem Solving Ability, Suicide Intent, And Hopelessness., Sally Hill Stephenson

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

Adolescent suicide is a serious problem, yet psychological investigations are limited to delineating effective treatment for suicide attempters. Consideration of those variables which lead to suicide should be included in any effective treatment protocol. The purpose of the present study is to evaluate the degree of life stress, hopelessness, and problem solving ability in adolescents who have attempted or gestured suicide. Fifteen high school-aged adolescents who had attempted or gestured suicide and 15 high school-aged adolescents who were hospitalized for acute physical problems, were administered the Hopelessness Scale (Beck, Weissman, Lester, & Trexler, 1974), a modified version of the Life …

Detecting Malingering With The Mmpi And The Pst., Christine M. Turin

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to refine methods of detecting malingering of psychosis by forensic patients. The most effective measures of malingering to date were the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) F and F-K Indices. The literature, based on simulation research, was deficient in confirmatory work with true forensic malingerers. Further, the Projective Simulation Test (PST) had shown promise with simulators, but had not been used with malingerers. In this study, 50 prisoners volunteered from Hunt Correctional Institute, St. Gabriel, Louisiana, and were randomly assigned within reading groups to serve in Standard Instruction and Simulator groups, and 50 volunteers …

Cognitive Characteristics As Predictors Of Children's Understanding Of Safety And Accident Prevention (Reflection-Impulsivity, Causal Reasoning, Parent Style), Nina M. Coppens

Doctoral Dissertations

In the present study, children's level of causal reasoning and cognitive style were considered as possible predictors of their understanding of safety and accident prevention. Understanding of safety and accident prevention were operationalized as differentiation of safe and unsafe situations and specification of measures for preventing accidents, respectively. Individual interviews were conducted with 112 children, aged 3 through 8 years, currently enrolled in either a daycare or after-school program.

An accurate understanding of safety and accident prevention was related to an understanding of causal relations and to a reflective cognitive style. However, multiple regression analyses revealed that level of causal …

Judging Control: When Can We Expect Expectations To Predict Judgments? (Contingency, Contrast Effects), Susan E. Newman

Doctoral Dissertations

Two experiments were conducted to test the predictive validity of a model put forth by Alloy and Tabachnik (1984) to account for judgments of contingency. The authors contend that such judgments can be accounted for by determining the interaction of information contributed by "one's expectations" and by the objective "situation." It was argued here that those two components, independently or interactively, are not always sufficient to predict judgments; the same objective data may be judged differently in different contexts and sometimes contrarily to one's expectations. That is, contrast effects may occur. This argument was supported using two different paradigms. In …

A Rate Comparison Model Of Concurrent Schedule Performance, Douglas Stuart Lea

Doctoral Dissertations

A rate comparison model of concurrent schedule performance and foraging is proposed. The model is a molecular equalizing theory of matching, based on results from optimal foraging theory and corresponding data from behavioral ecology. It state that animals leave one concurrent alternative for another whenever their estimates of current local food rates fall below a criterion based on habitat-wide average rates. Linear operator rules are offered as among the most plausible rate estimation strategies. The model may be applicable to both schedule performance and foraging in patchy natural environments, even though differences between these situations may result in variations in …

Residence, Perceived Latitude Of Choice And Desired Control Among The Long-Livin, Steven R. Shank

Master's Theses

Perceived control, perceived choice, and residential setting are important factors which need to be addressed in research involving long-living. The focus of this study was to determine the relationships among thee variables. The search for an interaction between residential setting (either high or low constraining) and perceived choice and its effect on perceived control distinguishes this study from previous research.

Personality And Demographic Correlates Of Attitudes Towards Nuclear War And Nuclear Weapons., Michael. Rockowitz

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A measure of nuclear war/weapons attitudes was developed based on factor analyses of the responses of 563 American and Canadian college students to a pool of 118 nuclear war-/weapons-related items. The resulting 60-item measure, the Nuclear Weapons Orientation Measure (NWOM), composed of 11 separate attitudes scales, was administered along with personality and demographic variables to 273 American students. Females were found to differ from males in favoring unilateral reductions in nuclear weapons to a greater extent, viewing nuclear war as more likely, and viewing the potential consequences from nuclear war as less manageable. Among the findings applying for both sexes: …

A Construct Validation Study Of Early Memories., Sara. Bahar

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purposes of the study were to ascertain whether Early Memories could be scored along scales of Narcissism and Psychosexual Stages, and further whether these scores would correspond with scores on Narcissism and Psychosexual Stages obtained from the Thematic Apperception Test, thus lending support to the theoretical conceptualization that Early Memories are screen memories which can be examined as projective devices expressive of an individual's enduring character traits and prototypical dilemmas. In addition, this study examined whether specific kinds of narcissistic styles in individuals correspond with specific psychosexual stages; and with the number of psychosexual stages expressed; and with another …

Differences Between Alcoholic Drunk Drivers Who Abstain, Control Their Drinking Or Relapse After Treatment., Mitchell. Solomon

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The present study used univariate and multivariate data analyses to investigate the combination of variables that could be used to differentiate between and predict drinking habits of male alcoholics after treatment. Alcoholic subjects were Abstainers (N = 60), Controlled drinkers (N = 60) and Relapsed drinkers (N = 60). Forty variables were assessed including measures of demographics and social stability, problem drinking, treatment characteristics, and psychopathology. The ANOVA revealed that alcoholics who relapse after treatment had lower incomes, higher alcohol consumption, and higher Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test and Behavior Impairment Index scores than the controlled drinkers. Relapsed drinkers had more …

Rehabilitation Of Visual Functions In Patients With Postchiasmic Lesions Of The Visual Pathways And Cortices., Gary A. Burkhart

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Review of the studies on specific training for the remediation of visual field deficits and scotomata due to postchiasmic lesions of the visual system (Zihl & von Cramon, 1979c, 1982) reveals a need to systematically document the improvement of "everyday" tasks such as reading and other behaviours dependent on vision. This study evaluated the effects of light threshold training on visual field functioning, sensory thresholds, grip strength, reading, and tasks thought to evaluate "everyday" vision. Nine subjects were studied over 17 experimental sessions using single-case methods and elements of group methods. The results indicated that light threshold training improves light …

The Effects Of Feedback On Improving Safe Work Behaviors: A Component Analysis, Jeanine L. Williamson

Retrospective Theses and Dissertations

Decline in the growth rate of worker productivity as well as the failure of other types of organizational development strategies to improve productivity has resulted in considerable interest in strategies to change employee behavior. This situation has led to the rapid growth of organizational behavior modification (OBM) as an approach to organizational change. Performance feedback interventions have been used in numerous settings to improve work behaviors (Prue & Fairbanks, 1981). OBM has worked especially well in improving safe work behavior in the work place. However, when new approaches are used in dealing with human behavior, much systematic, thorough research must …

Response Transfer In Biofeedback Training., Lynn Pendarvis Clemow

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

The physiological effects and processes of biofeedback procedures are important issues in relaxation training. The purpose of this study was to assess the extent of cross-system generalization and the processes by which it may occur. Specifically, do different biofeedback tasks produce different patterns of response across systems and, are the physiological processes different for each biofeedback task, or are they similar processes in all tasks? Forty-eight volunteers participated in three one-hour sessions and randomly assigned to one of four groups as follows; (1) increase hand-temperature, (2) decrease frontalis-EMG, (3) decrease hand-temperature, and (4) control. Subjects received training as indicated in …

Symptoms In Relationship To Life Events (Stress, Social Supports, Life Experiences Survey, I-E Locus-Of-Control, Mmpi)., Karen Rinardo Speier

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

Although there is considerable evidence to support the contributions of life event stress to subsequent psychological and physical symptoms, the correlations reported between obtained stress scores and illness measurements have been low. This study was undertaken to improve prediction of physical and psychological complaints subsequent to life event stress by more comprehensive measurement of life event characteristics and by assessment of locus of control, social supports, and somatization as moderating variables in the life stress-illness process. An overview of psychosomatic medicine was given and the relevant life event research was reviewed. Fifty undergraduate students completed the experimental version of the …

Social Skills Assessment For Mainstreamed Handicapped Students: The Discriminative Efficiency Of The Teacher Ratings Of Social Skills (Tross)., Frederick Lee Black

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

Until recently no time-efficient teacher rating scale of social skills has been available. With the development of the Teacher Ratings of Social Skills (TROSS; Gresham & Elliott, 1984) this gap has possibly been filled. Preliminary research on the scale has shown it to possess adequate reliability and validity (Clark, Gresham, & Elliott, 1985). Little is known yet, however, regarding the possible utility of the scale in discriminating among school-aged children of differing handicapping conditions. The present study examined the discriminative efficiency of the TROSS with a sample of 250 school-age children from four different groups: (a) Behavior Disordered, (b) Learning …

Individual Differences And Their Relation To Social Structure In Domestic Cats., Rena Durr Mister

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

Two groups of domestic cats with established social structures were tested for their response to novel stimuli in a variety of test situations. Clearly observable individual differences in responses were seen which were consistent over a series of test sessions and remained stable despite regular environmental disruptions. Individual differences in behavioral response were found not to be related to object dominance (food competition) or social dominance (freedom of movement in social encounters) unlike similar studies with social animals. No relationship was found in either group between rank in object dominance and rank in social dominance. Significant correlations were demonstrated between …

An Attempt To Validate An Inventory From The Criteria Of Dsm-Iii., David Gilbert Perry

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

Criteria of DSM-III were used as source material for items in a psychopathology inventory series. The inventories provided DSM-III diagnoses by reproducing the DSM-III decision process through diagnostic keys. The personality disorders inventory (ADI) was chosen as initial research instrument. Forty-seven voluntary clients from two sites served as clinical subjects and 29 non-clinical volunteers, given special directions to avoid diagnosis, served as subjects for validity scales. Four clinical psychologists matched DSM-III criteria with ADI items in measurement of content validity. Results showed that the ADI was not a useful psychometric instrument in its present form. The ADI gave too many …

Organizational Characteristics Affecting Ratee Perceptions Of The Appraisal Process And Ratee Intentions To Change (Performance Appraisals)., Stephanie Jeanette Platz

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

To evaluate an expanded version of Ilgen, Fisher, and Taylor's (1979) model of feedback effectiveness, measures of organizational characteristics, ratee perceptions of the appraisal process, and ratee intentions to change were collected from paying and receiving tellers (n = 163) in three banking institutions. Regression analysis indicated that four organizational characteristics: (a) openness surrounding the appraisal process, (b) frequency of evaluation, (c) participation in the performance feedback session, and (d) quality of the rater-ratee relationship were significantly related to ratee satisfaction with the appraisal process which, in turn, influenced (a) ratee intentions to turnover and (b) ratee intentions to file …

Antecedents Of Compliance In Employee Assistance Programs: Telephone Vs. Face-To-Face Communications., Linda J. Brown

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Human service delivery systems provide recommendations and treatment for a wide gamut of personal problems. Employee Assistance Programs (EAP), sponsored by employers to assist their employees with a variety of personal problems, are among the most rapidly growing of such systems. One integral component of program effectiveness is compliance, that is, whether the recommended actions are accepted and implemented. Little research has been done on compliance within formal support systems, that is, within work settings in business and industrial organizations. EAP counselors kept records on 456 employees regarding their progress in different stages of the helping process. The employees were …