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Full-Text Articles in Education

Behavioral Momentum Theory: Equations And Applications, John A. Nevin, Timothy A. Shahan Jan 2011

Behavioral Momentum Theory: Equations And Applications, John A. Nevin, Timothy A. Shahan

Psychology Faculty Publications

Behavioral momentum theory provides a quantitative account of how reinforcers experienced within a discriminative stimulus context govern the persistence of behavior that occurs in that context. The theory suggests that all reinforcers obtained in the presence of a discriminative stimulus increase resistance to change, regardless of whether those reinforcers are contingent on the target behavior, are noncontingent, or are even contingent on an alternative behavior. In this paper, we describe the equations that constitute the theory and address their application to issues of particular importance in applied settings. The theory provides a framework within which to consider the effects of …


Misconstruals Or More? The Interactions Of Orbit Diagrams And Explanations Of The Seasons, Victor R. Lee Apr 2010

Misconstruals Or More? The Interactions Of Orbit Diagrams And Explanations Of The Seasons, Victor R. Lee

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

This paper examines a “misconstrual hypothesis” regarding diagrams of the Earth’s orbit around the sun and how middle school students explain the cause of the seasons. Drawing from 24 semi-structured interviews, I present qualitative analyses of students’ explanations of why temperatures vary in summer and winter and how those are influenced by the elliptical shape of perspective drawings of the Earth’s orbit, common to many science textbooks. The results of the analysis suggest that diagram interpretation does not necessarily follow what has been often predicted in the literature and that conceptualizations can shift quite rapidly as different diagram features are …


Discounting And Pathological Gambling, Nancy M. Petry, Gregory J. Madden Jan 2010

Discounting And Pathological Gambling, Nancy M. Petry, Gregory J. Madden

Psychology Faculty Publications

Pathological gambling is a disorder characterized by excessive gambling. It often occurs in conjunction with substance use disorders, and research is beginning to examine the association between these disorders, especially with regard to impulsivity and discounting. In this chapter, we initially review the diagnosis and prevalence rates of pathological gambling, including its comorbidity with substance use disorders. We then describe relations between personality measures of impulsivity and pathological gambling. Gamblers' patterns of choices on the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) and measures of delay and probability discounting are covered in depth, and we discuss the degree to which these choices are …


A Delay-Discounting Primer, Gregory J. Madden, Patrick S. Johnson Jan 2010

A Delay-Discounting Primer, Gregory J. Madden, Patrick S. Johnson

Psychology Faculty Publications

Given the importance of research findings and the potential of further research to aid in the prediction and control of impulsivity, the primary focus of this chapter (and this book) is on choice and the failure of future events to affect current decisions. In this primer chapter, we consider two types of impulsive choice: (a) preferring a smaller-sooner reward while forgoing a larger-later one and (b) preferring a larger-later aversive outcome over a smaller-sooner one. The first of these is exemplified by the toy-pilfering child with whom we opened this chapter. Taking the toy is immediately rewarded, but it is …


Parenting Practices Among First Generation Spanish-Speaking Latino Families: A Spanish Version Of The Alabama Parenting Questionnaire, Melissa R. Donovick, Melanie M. Domenech-Rodriguez Jan 2008

Parenting Practices Among First Generation Spanish-Speaking Latino Families: A Spanish Version Of The Alabama Parenting Questionnaire, Melissa R. Donovick, Melanie M. Domenech-Rodriguez

Psychology Faculty Publications

The present study examined the applicability of the Alabama Parenting Questionnaire to a Spanishspeaking Latino population. Results of the reliability and concurrent validity testing suggest that the Alabama Parenting Questionnaire may be a valuable tool for use with Spanish-speaking Latino families. The Alabama Parenting Questionnaire in Spanish assessed parenting practices among 50 first-generation Spanish-speaking Latino families of primarily Mexican origin with a child between 4 and 9 years of age (n = 96 parents, n = 50 children). Mothers and fathers completed questionnaires in Spanish to assess parent and child behaviors. Results show that over 80% of parents included in …


The Effect Of Supplemental Instruction On Timely Graduation, Tyler J. Bowles, Adam C. Mccoy, Scott Bates Jan 2008

The Effect Of Supplemental Instruction On Timely Graduation, Tyler J. Bowles, Adam C. Mccoy, Scott Bates

Psychology Faculty Publications

Supplemental Instruction (SI) is a national program designed to aid college student learning. Many researchers have noted that analysis of the impact of the SI program on student achievement is problematic as a result of the inherent self-selection bias. We apply a sufficiently sophisticated statistical technique that controls for the self-selection problem and test the effect of student SI attendance in freshmen level courses on graduation success. Our analysis suggests that SI attendance in freshmen level courses has a statistically significant influence on graduation success. Indeed, SI attendance, everything else held constant, increases the probability of timely graduation by approximately …


An Empirical Taxonomy Of Incarcerated Male Sexual Offenders Using Finite Mixture Modeling: Adult Victims, Jamison D. Fargo Jan 2008

An Empirical Taxonomy Of Incarcerated Male Sexual Offenders Using Finite Mixture Modeling: Adult Victims, Jamison D. Fargo

Psychology Faculty Publications

The sexual victimization of women remains an endemic social, criminal, and public health problem. Much research has sought to identify risk and protective factors related to the sexual victimization of women so that prevention and intervention strategies can be more informed and targeted. Modern criminology has recognized the heterogeneous nature of many criminal behaviors in terms of their etiology, offender-, offense-, and victim-related characteristics. Such an approach has been labeled criminal profiling or criminal investigative analysis and yields richer information about the nature of crime than reliance on aggregate statistics (Hazelwood & Burgess, 2001). Knight (1999, p. 304) stated that …


Supporting And Encouraging Behavioral Research Among Distance Education Students, Scott Bates, Melanie M. Domenech-Rodriguez, Michael J. Drysdale Oct 2007

Supporting And Encouraging Behavioral Research Among Distance Education Students, Scott Bates, Melanie M. Domenech-Rodriguez, Michael J. Drysdale

Psychology Faculty Publications

Colleges and universities are reaching new audiences and helping students complete degrees and programs of study through distance education departments and programs. Distance education attracts working professionals, employed students, and single parents (Johnson, et al., 2003), who may otherwise not be able to engage in a traditional academic setting. These individuals can now enroll in single courses or full undergraduate and graduate programs. Distance education departments offer courses and degrees through various modes of delivery, including: independent study, online (via course management applications such as Blackboard), interactive broadcast (via satellite), and Ed-NET courses (via internet/webcam).


To Pay Or Not To Pay?: Legal And Ethical Issues In International Students’ Participation In Research, Ana A. L. Baumann, Melanie M. Domenech-Rodriguez Apr 2007

To Pay Or Not To Pay?: Legal And Ethical Issues In International Students’ Participation In Research, Ana A. L. Baumann, Melanie M. Domenech-Rodriguez

Psychology Faculty Publications

Research methods are typically drafted carefully to ensure that the research question on hand can be answered. Sample selection is influenced by issues of feasibility. For example, in the case of researchers interested in cross-cultural research, the cost of traveling abroad and the practical matters involved in data collection in another country may make cross-cultural research impossible to conduct. Research with samples of recently immigrated persons in the ethnic, national, and/or cultural group of interest might present a viable and defensible alternative to examine crosscultural differences in the constructs of interest. Recently, however, the authors learned that there are major …


Invited Professor Column: Seek An Education While Pursuing A Degree, Scott Bates Jan 2007

Invited Professor Column: Seek An Education While Pursuing A Degree, Scott Bates

Psychology Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.


Methodological Challenges For Identifying And Coding Diverse Knowledge Elements In Interview Data, Victor R. Lee, Moshe Krakowski, Bruce Sherin, Megan Bang, Gregory Dam Jan 2006

Methodological Challenges For Identifying And Coding Diverse Knowledge Elements In Interview Data, Victor R. Lee, Moshe Krakowski, Bruce Sherin, Megan Bang, Gregory Dam

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

This paper, as part of a symposium on the analysis of clinical interview data and the development of a framework for analyzing students' intuitive science knowledge, identifies and discusses methodological challenges encountered when specifying the knowledge elements and resources are invoked dynamically during a clinical interview. Drawing from interviews with middle school students about the seasons and an analysis of knowledge in terms of 'nodes', two classes of problems are identified: those associated with identification of nodes and those associated with their application as codes to a transcript-based data corpus. We posit that these challenges are common ones associated with …


Reduced Risk Of Alzheimer's Disease In Users Of Antioxidant Vitamin Supplements: The Cache County Study, Peter P. Zandi, James C. Anthony, Ara S. Khachaturian, Stephanie V. Stone, Deborah Gustafson, Joann T. Tschanz, Maria C. Norton, John C. S. Breitner Jan 2004

Reduced Risk Of Alzheimer's Disease In Users Of Antioxidant Vitamin Supplements: The Cache County Study, Peter P. Zandi, James C. Anthony, Ara S. Khachaturian, Stephanie V. Stone, Deborah Gustafson, Joann T. Tschanz, Maria C. Norton, John C. S. Breitner

Psychology Faculty Publications

Background: Antioxidants may protect the aging brain against oxidative damage associated with pathological changes of Alzheimer disease (AD). Objective: To examine the relationship between antioxidant supplement use and risk of AD. Design: Cross-sectional and prospective study of dementia. Elderly (65 years or older) county residents were assessed in 1995 to 1997 for prevalent dementia and AD, and again in 1998 to 2000 for incident illness. Supplement use was ascertained at the first contact. Setting: Cache County, Utah. Participants: Among 4740 respondents (93%) with data sufficient to determine cognitive status at the initial assessment, we identified 200 prevalent cases of AD. …


The Incidence Of Mental And Behavioral Disturbances In Dementia: The Cache County Study, Martin Steinberg, Jeannie-Marie E. Sheppard, Joann T. Tschanz, Maria C. Norton, David C. Steffens, John C. S. Breitner, Constantine G.. Lyketsos Jan 2003

The Incidence Of Mental And Behavioral Disturbances In Dementia: The Cache County Study, Martin Steinberg, Jeannie-Marie E. Sheppard, Joann T. Tschanz, Maria C. Norton, David C. Steffens, John C. S. Breitner, Constantine G.. Lyketsos

Psychology Faculty Publications

A population-based prevalence sample of 355 residents of Cache County, Utah, who were diagnosed with dementia, was rated on the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI). Of the 355 residents, 119 had no neuropsychiatric symptoms at baseline and were, consequently, at risk for incident mental and behavioral disturbances. The NPI was readministered approximately 18 months later to 61 surviving participants. Sixty-nine percent developed at least one mental or behavioral symptom. Delusions were most common (28%), followed by apathy (21%), and aberrant motor behavior (21%). When this incidence rate of 69% was combined with a previously estimated prevalence rate of 61%, the cumulative 18-month …


Mental And Behavioral Disturbances In Dementia: Findings From The Cache County Study On Memory In Aging, Constantine G. Lyketsos, Martin Steinberg, Joann T. Tschanz, Maria C. Norton, David C. Steffens, John C. S. Breitner Jan 2000

Mental And Behavioral Disturbances In Dementia: Findings From The Cache County Study On Memory In Aging, Constantine G. Lyketsos, Martin Steinberg, Joann T. Tschanz, Maria C. Norton, David C. Steffens, John C. S. Breitner

Psychology Faculty Publications

OBJECTIVE: The authors report findings from a study of 5,092 community residents who constituted 90% of the elderly resident population of Cache County, Utah. METHOD: The 5,092 participants, who were 65 years old or older, were screened for dementia. Based on the results of this screen, 1,002 participants (329 with dementia and 673 without dementia) underwent comprehensive neuropsychiatric examinations and were rated on the Neuropsychiatric Inventory, a widely used method for ascertainment and classification of dementia-associated mental and behavioral disturbances. RESULTS: Of the 329 participants with dementia, 214 (65%) had Alzheimer’s disease, 62 (19%) had vascular dementia, and 53 (16%) …


Alcohol And Drug Consumption Among Students From Pachuca, Hidalgo, E. Guiot Rojas, C. Fleiz Bautista, M. E. Medina-Mora, M. A. Morón, Melanie M. Domenech-Rodriguez Jan 1999

Alcohol And Drug Consumption Among Students From Pachuca, Hidalgo, E. Guiot Rojas, C. Fleiz Bautista, M. E. Medina-Mora, M. A. Morón, Melanie M. Domenech-Rodriguez

Psychology Faculty Publications

OBJECTIVE. To determine the prevalence of alcohol and drug consumption and its relationship to sociodemographic variables, leisure activities, antisocial behavior, family norms and conflicts, among others. MATERIAL AND METHODS. Data derive from a representative survey of 1 929 students of junior high and high school, conducted in 1996 in the city of Pachuca, Hidalgo, Mexico. Of these, 44.9% were boys and 52.5% were girls; mean age was 14. A self-applied questionnaire, prepared by the WHO together with some countries, among them Mexico, was completed by the studied subjects, and included indicators of alcohol and drug consumption. RESULTS. Of the total …