Digital Commons Network^™

Effectiveness Of A Homophobic Intervention Upon Graduate Counseling Students, Bryce Thull

Student Work

This study compared the homophobic attitudes of graduate level counseling students before and after a presentation exploring homophobia. The attitudinal scores of both the control and experimental groups were pre-tested and post-tested by the Index of Attitudes toward Homosexuals (IAH) and compared by an Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA). The outcome indicated that the IAH post-test scores of the experimental group receiving the homophobic intervention were significantly reduced (p < .001) compared to the IAH post-test scores of the control group that did not receive the intervention. The results demonstrate that a specific presentation about homophobia may be effective in reducing negative attitudes toward homosexuals.

On Lexical And Syntactic Processing Of Bangla Language By Computer., Probal Sengupta Dr.

Doctoral Theses

A distinctive intelligent trait of human beings is the ability to carry out meaningful communication through language. The communication may be direct as in spoken conversation or indirect as in written form, through the audio-visual media, etc. Linguistic ability in humans have fascinated scholars ever since man first learnt to use language. Linguistics, the branch of study involved in studying the nature of human linguistic communication, is perhaps as old as language itself. The invention of the computer added a new dimension to linguistics. Making the computer emu- late human linguistic behaviour was taken up as a challenge by computer …

An Examination And Investigation Of Selection Criteria For Counseling Trainees, Carol L. Frost

Student Work

This study investigated the extent to which various academic measures (MAT/GRE-v, undergraduate GPA, and ethnicity) and non-academic measures (MMPI-2 T scores, references, interview, and work experience) predict interpersonal characteristics and skills and intrapersonal functioning (counseling potential) in a graduate counseling program. Admission screening scores for 146 enrolled students were used to predict counseling potential measured by a thirteen item unifactor criterion developed from interviews with eleven expert faculty members. Multiple regression analyses demonstrated that the best predictors were ethnicity, MMPI-2 paranoia scale, references, and interview. Discriminant analyses failed to identify "problem students". The discussion focuses on the need for non-academic …

Perceived Fairness Of Organizational Drug Testing Policies: An Examination Of Voice And Consistency, Cheryl L. Hendrickson

Student Work

Increasingly, organizations are implementing drug testing programs as a means of reducing the high costs of drug use. Although employees' attitudes towards various policies have been examined, two issues have not been addressed. First, justice research indicates that individuals react favorably to procedures that allow them an opportunity to express their views and arguments (i.e., voice). However, this policy has not been examined within the drug testing context. Additionally, research has not examined reactions to policies that allow managers discretion in applying procedures in order to take extenuating circumstances into account. Reactions to these drug testing policies were assessed using …

The Relationship Between Alcohol Consumption & Academic Performance Among Full-Time Students In Residence At Midland Lutheran College, Bradford F. Lynch

Student Work

At the end of the 1992 spring semester, the full-time students residing on-campus at Midland Lutheran College in Fremont, Nebraska were asked to participate in a drug and alcohol survey to determine whether or not there was a relationship between alcohol consumption and academic performance.

Inhibition And Sentence Processing In Children With Learning Disabilities, Sherry Wilson

Student Work

In recent years, theorists have noted that developmental and individual differences may exist in the ability to suppress information that is irrelevant to a given task (e.g.,, Bjorklund & Harnishfeger, 1990; Dempster, 1992; Gernsbacher, 1988; Hasher & Zacks, 1988). The present study examined whether language/learning disabled (L/LD) children have greater difficulty than nondisabled (NLD) children suppressing irrelevant information during a sentence memory task.

A Correlational Study Of Hardiness, Health, And Burnout Among Teachers In The Sullivan County School System, Deborah F. Morelock

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationships among hardiness, health and burnout and to investigate the relationships of the subscales of hardiness to health and to the subscales of burnout among teachers in the Sullivan County School System. The Hardiness Test was used to measure hardiness and the Maslach Burnout Inventory Form Ed to measure burnout. Results of the Health Evaluation and Risk Test was reported on the Educators Demographic Data Survey. The study sample consisted of 501 teachers. A statistically significant relationship was revealed between hardiness and health; among the hardiness subscales, commitment accounted for the …

Personality Factors Associated With Negative Affect: Application Of The "Big Five" Taxonomy To Depression And Anxiety, Kent W. Anderson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to examine the patterns and discriminant utility of the five-factor model of personality ("Big Five," consisting of neuroticism, extraversion, openness to experience, agreeableness, and conscientiousness factors) with depressed and anxious outpatients.

One hundred two outpatients seeking services at a community mental health center in a small western community participated in the study. Subjects were 41 clients with a depressive disorder, 31 with an anxiety disorder, and 30 in a mixed clinical control group. Subjects completed the Neuroticism-Extraversion-Openness to Experience Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI).

Results indicate that both depressed and anxious clients score in the "very …

Using Subgoals As A Mechanism For Altering Perceptions Of Situational Control, Mastery, And Task-Related Stress, James E. Kieffer

Student Work

The empirical literature suggests that subgoals may have an effect upon feelings of task-related stress which is more intense than the effect of distal goals on this variable. First, subgoals my alter an individual's perception of the task in such a way that the task related goal is not seen as being so overwhelming. Second, there is an increased feedback mechanism associated with subgoals that may alter perceptions of situational mastery and control and in turn perceptions of situational stress. The effect of receiving more frequent feedback is dependent upon the valence of the feedback. Specifically, positive feedback leads to …

Evaluating The Effectiveness Of The Nova Training Model, Melody Moore-Richardson

Student Work

In this study the effectiveness of the Nova training model for training foster parents was examined. A pre-test and post-test was designed to assess change in attitudes and knowledge of parenting skills over a six session training program. Thirty foster parents were given a pre-test before training and a post-test upon completion of training. The data analysis showed that training increased significantly the knowledge of the trainees about foster parenting, but attitudes about foster parenting did not change significantly. The finding that training increased foster parenting knowledge needs to be viewed with some caution because other factors, which were not …

Teacher Behaviors And Their Effect On Student Behavior: An Inservice Project, Cindy K. Dracobly

All Graduate Projects

This project was developed as a means to provide meaningful inservice for school staff in the area of classroom management as it relates to student behavior. This project established inservice activities providing staff with simple strategies to develop a positive classroom climate and to foster effective management of the learning environment while minimizing off task and disruptive student behavior.

Estimation Of Premorbid Intelligence: A Combined Demographic And Psychometric Approach., Sandra Cook Friedberg

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

A combined demographic and present abilities approach to estimate premorbid intellectual functioning was developed and cross validated on unimpaired and closed head injured subjects. The non-clinical sample included 75 non-neurologically impaired individuals divided into two groups. The development sample (n = 50) was used to generate linear regression equations to estimate WAIS-R IQs from the estimated Barona IQ score (Barona, Reynolds, & Chastain, 1984) plus error score on the National Adult Reading Test (NART; Nelson, 1982). The cross-validation sample (n = 25) were individually matched to the clinical subjects on age, education, gender, and race variables. The clinical sample included …

Blood Pressure Reactivity And Emotion Among Borderline Hypertensives, Mild Hypertensives, Diabetic Hypertensives, And Normotensives., Alicia G. Pellegrin

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between emotion and blood pressure levels and variability for 80 Caucasian subjects between the ages of 30 and 65 matched on gender. The subjects were divided into four groups: normotensives, untreated borderline essential hypertensives, treated mild essential hypertensives, and Type II diabetic hypertensives. Subjects completed five psychological measures: the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI); State-Trait Anxiety Inventory-trait anxiety (STAI-Tanx); State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory-trait anger (STAXI-Tang); the ratio of anger-in to anger-out (STAXI-IO); and the Autonomic Nervous System Response Inventory (ANSRI). Subjects then recorded their home blood pressures seven times throughout the …

Structural Equation Modeling Analysis Of Risk Factors For The Development Of Eating Disorder Symptoms In Adolescents., Susan Elizabeth Barker

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

Risk factors which have been shown to influence the development of body dissatisfaction and eating disturbance in adolescents include depressed mood, low self-esteem, a history of teasing about physical appearance, social and parental pressure to be thin, pubertal timing, and actual body weight or body mass index. In the present study, an etiological model was proposed with these risk factors as predictors of the presence of eating disorder symptoms; this association was hypothesized to be mediated by dissatisfaction with body shape and weight. Structural equation modeling was used to test this theoretical model within a total sample of 345 adolescent …

Bombesin-Induced Hypothermia At Normal Ambient Temperatures: Contribution Of The Sympathetic Nervous System., John Christopher Barton

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

Bombesin is a tetradecapeptide first isolated from frog skin. This peptide has potent effects on core body temperature of rats when administered centrally. Bombesin-induced hypothermia at normal ambient temperatures appears to be dependent upon some pre-existent condition which may be related to nutritional status. Four experiments were conducted to examine if the pre-existing condition for bombesin-induced hypothermia at normal ambient temperatures is primarily related to modulation of sympathetic nervous system activation. Experiment I demonstrated that central bombesin resulted in hypothermia in rats tested at normal ambient temperatures under conditions of ad-libitum access to food only when injected peripherally with the …

Factors Affecting Intended Self-Referral To An Employee Assistance Program., Paul Richard Damiano

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

Using data from 256 subjects from three organizations which all had employee assistance programs (EAP), this study explored factors hypothesized to affect the likelihood for employees to self-refer to the EAP. Using both correlational data and a 2 x 2 x 2 x 5 repeated measures ANOVA, it was found that perceived confidentiality, reputation of the program, perceived problem seriousness, and type of problem (job, financial, health, psychological, or relationship) were significantly related to the intent to self-refer. There was also evidence that perceived controllability of the problem and a job performance decrement influenced the propensity to self-refer. An additional …

Macular Pigment In Monozygotic Twins, Billy Randall Hammond

Doctoral Dissertations

Differences in the optical density of macular pigment between ten pairs of identical twins were examined. Foveal and parafoveal sensitivities to lights of 460 and 530 nm were measured by heterochromatic flicker photometry in five separate sessions for the right eye of each twin. These two wavelengths represent the maximum and minimum absorbance for macular pigment. Taking the difference in log sensitivity to the 460 nm light for the fovea and parafovea, after normalizing with respect to 530 nm, yields a measurement of the optical density of macular pigment. Statistically significant differences in macular pigment density were found for five …

Patterns Of Peer Relations And Adjustment: A Longitudinal Follow-Up Study, Mary Louise Hennessy Blum

Doctoral Dissertations

The risk hypothesis proposes that problematic peer relations predict later maladjustment. Extensive research on the risk hypothesis provides evidence that the quality of peer relations is associated with adjustment. The purpose of this dissertation was to examine the associations, concurrently and across time, among three distinct levels of peer relations (dyadic friendship, small group interactions, and sociometric status) and two perspectives of social/behavioral adjustment as assessed by parents and children. The study showed further support for the risk hypothesis that low peer group acceptance in the classroom, low prosocial non-interactions in the small group, low warmth and high conflict in …

The Effects Of Thalamic, Frontal Cortical And Hippocampal Formation Lesions On A Delayed Nonmatching To Sample Task, Heather Leslie Young

Doctoral Dissertations

Two areas of the brain have been implicated in global amnesia: the medial temporal lobe and the midline diencephalon (Squire and Zola-Morgan; Victor, Adams, and Collins, 1989). A third area of the brain, the prefrontal cortex, has more recently been included as a memory related area (Fuster, 1989).

The purpose of the study reported here was to further examine the neurological basis of the delayed nonmatching to sample place cue task (DNMTS-PC) deficit by comparing lesions in each of the three major areas attributed to memory processes. Patterns of impairments on the DNMTS-PC were further understood by manipulating retention and …

The Rhetoric Of Realism: American Psychology And American Literature, 1860-1910, Sandra Webster

Doctoral Dissertations

The period following the end of the Civil War in America and extending to just after the turn of the century witnessed the emergence of an independent discipline of psychology as well as the emergence of a uniquely American literary tradition. Though these developments occurred independently and operated out of different traditions, they shared a common interest in the concept of "consciousness." The present study is a comparison of models of consciousness expressed in psychological and literary texts of two periods: The first period covers the emergence of literary realism and American philosophical psychology (1865-1885); the second period covers literary …

Children Experiencing Unemployment Stress: A Comparison Of Families With Stable And Unstable Employment Histories, Barbara Alice Wauchope

Doctoral Dissertations

This study investigates children's experiences of changes that occur in families when fathers lose their jobs, the children's interpretations and responses to those changes, and their resulting symptoms of stress. In the first part, school-aged children and their parents in fourteen two-parent families in northern New England were interviewed and completed instruments measuring the children's behavior and symptoms of stress. In the second part, adults from seventy-six additional families completed a self-administered questionnaire. In both parts, children in families were divided into two groups and compared: middle-class with older parents in which fathers had little or no history of losing …

Testing A Five Factor Model Of Visual-Spatial, Motor, And Psychomotor Functioning And A Three Factor Model Of Verbal Functioning In Learning-Disabled Children., Joanna Margaret. Hamilton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A series of three studies was conducted in order to continue investigations into the construct validity of a modified Halstead-Reitan Neuropsychological Battery (HRNB) in children. Factors of motor, psychomotor, visual-spatial, and language ability were investigated in two groups of learning-disabled children in order to determine: (1) their predictive validity; (2) the existence of a potential hierarchical arrangement of abilities within the motor and visual-spatial factors; and (3) the exact nature of the language factors. Results obtained from investigations of the predictive validity of the factors revealed that a combination of factors representing primary neuropsychological assets and deficits (as outlined in …

The Effects Of Concurrent Interference On The Storage And Retrieval Of New Material., Margaret Anne. Newson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the role of conscious and nonconscious processes in the storage and retrieval of new memories. A mathematical model of memory was employed which provides independent estimates of storage and retrieval efficiency, measured using a learning task. The learning task utilized a categorized or an uncategorized word list. A concurrent motor task was used to interfere with the amount of attention than could be devoted to the learning task. In general, storage estimates were higher for the categorized list than the uncategorized list, and retrieval estimates were higher for the uncategorized list …

The Utility Of Elaborative Interrogation For University Students Studying Expository Text In Preparation For Matching And Multiple-Choice Tests., Vicky Lynn. Martin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the present research was to investigate the efficacy of elaborative interrogation for the types of tasks university students confront. The utility of the technique was evaluated for university students studying a university-level text on Canadian physiography in preparation for matching and multiple-choice (MC) tests. Three types of processing were contrasted (elaborative interrogation versus imagery versus self-study). Text information was presented in one of two formats (individually-presented facts or text) (i.e., a 3 x 2 factorial design). Hypotheses concerning the pattern of findings were based on consideration of both the processing used by the students and the processing …

Hemispheric Function In Motor Skill Learning., Malcolm Maccoll Fairweather

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

Neuropsychological research examining hemispheric function has recently revealed important, and previously unrecognized, perceptual-motor processing advantages in the left and right hemispheres of the brain. This research has also highlighted verbal-motor disruption problems in the performance of motor skills that may be predictable given an understanding of hemispheric specialization and function. Applied research examining methodology to optimize brain functioning in the learning of motor skills has ignored this neuropsychological research. Instead, applied research interest has focussed upon an individual difference phenomenon known as hemisphericity, which affects approximately 25% of the population. An individual presenting hemisphericity appears biased toward a left or …

A Comparison Of Verbal And Nonverbal Relaxation Induction Techniques In Neurologically Impaired Rehabilitation Patients., Warren Turner Jackson Iii

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

This study compared the relaxation responses of neurologically impaired rehabilitation patients during verbal and nonverbal relaxation induction protocols. Seventy inpatients undergoing rehabilitation served as voluntary participants: (a) 20 patients with right-hemisphere brain dysfunction, (b) 20 patients with left-hemisphere dysfunction, and (c) a contrast group of 30 non-neurologically impaired orthopedic/medical patients. In the first phase of the study, all subjects underwent an evaluation that involved completion of screening instruments, self-report measures, and a brief neuropsychological test battery. In the second phase of the study, all subjects underwent two successive relaxation induction protocols: (a) verbal, and (b) nonverbal. Order of presentation was …

Development Of A Body Image Assessment Procedure For Children And Pre-Adolescents., Staci Veron Guidry

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

Eating disorders have been researched extensively among adult, and, more recently, among adolescent populations. Body image disturbance is included as a diagnostic criterion for anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, and has been postulated as a central characteristic of the eating disorders. Researchers have identified eating disorders among prepubertal children; therefore, there is a need for the development of reliable and valid measures of eating disorders and body image in children. In this investigation, a total of 257 children in grades 3 through 7 completed the Children's Eating Attitudes Test, Children's Depression Inventory, Piers-Harris Children's Self Concept Scale physical appearance and …

Explicit Memory Bias For Body-Related Stimuli In Eating Disorders., Shannon Buckles Sebastian

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

This investigation studied the presence of an explicit memory bias for emotional body related stimuli in patients diagnosed with an eating disorder. Explicit memory refers to the recall of stimuli previously presented. Explicit memory tasks are thought to reflect cognitive elaboration mechanisms. Research on depressed patients has found a bias for recalling negatively valenced information and/or a bias against recalling positively valenced information. This study sought to extend this type of memory bias research to eating disorder patients. Three groups were examined, a group of clinical eating disordered women (n = 30), a group of weight preoccupied non-eating disordered individuals …

Personality Characteristics In Patients With Chronic Fatigue Syndrome., Janette Marie. Collier

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Personality characteristics of 26 females and 7 males with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) were assessed using the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2). Participants were recruited through local physicians and support groups. The average MMPI-2 profiles obtained for males and females in this study were compared to the average MMPI-2 profiles established for male and female CFS subjects in other studies (Miller Iger, 1992) using t-tests to determine if they were comparable. In addition, the relationship between fatigue severity and personality characteristics as measured by the MMPI-2 was investigated using both correlational methods and t-tests. MMPI-2 scores of high and low …

Predicting Women's Breast Self-Examination Behaviour., Arlene D. Cox

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Breast self-examination (BSE) is an effective way to discover breast cancer early. Unfortunately only 14 to 40% of women perform BSE monthly. The Health Belief Model (HBM) presents seven factors considered to influence health behaviour. The Stage of change research focuses on the processes involved in changing a negative behaviour or acquiring a desired one. This study created an algorithm to classify each woman into one of five stages based on past performance and intent to perform BSE. The aim was to create a better method of predicting BSE behaviour, and current readiness to initiate monthly BSE, by combining health …