Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Motivational Effects Of Non-Contingent Reinforcement In Children, Alexandra S. Leaskas

Departmental Honors Projects

Non-contingent reinforcement is random and non-informative feedback. Berglas and Jones (1978) first reported that non-contingent reinforcement leads to self-handicapping in adult males. Self-handicapping can be described as a premeditated adaptive behavior that protects against negative attributions to the self after failure. The purpose of this study is to explore whether or not the same effect will be found in children of both sexes. Participants (children in first and second grade) received contingent (informative) or non-contingent (non-informative) reinforcement while playing the children’s game “I Never Forget a Face.” Children were given the opportunity to self-handicap immediately after reinforcement. After the opportunity …

“The Autism Adventures Of Watson & Holmes”: Puppet Theatre To Improve Elementary Students’ Knowledge Of And Attitudes Toward Autism Spectrum Disorder, Sarah N. Simon

Departmental Honors Projects

The prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a growing concern in schools across the nation. More students with high functioning autism are being mainstreamed, and students on and off the spectrum are being exposed to a wider variety of behaviors and new opportunities for friendship in school. Many students who fall on the autism spectrum suffer from the stigmatizing attitudes of their peers, and this stigmatization often stems from a lack of early education about mental health. Puppetry has been proven to captivate young audiences while teaching important messages in an entertaining and relatable way. The purpose of this …

The Effects Of Familial Relationships And Sibling Sex Composition On Behavioral Adjustment In Middle Childhood, Elyse I. Pierce

Departmental Honors Projects

Differences in familial relationship qualities have been linked to children's adjustment during middle childhood (Bank, Burraston, & Snyder, 2004). Children with familial relationships characterized by positivity typically have fewer behavior problems than children with more negative familial relationships. However, less is known about how the parent-child and sibling relationships influence children's adjustment concurrently. In the present study, parent-child and sibling interactions were rated on positivity and negativity. Parental ratings of children's adjustment and relationship qualities were also examined. The presence of negativity in the parent-child and sibling relationships predicted poorer adjustment. Sibling negativity predicted additional variance above and beyond parental …

When Speech Isn't Free: Legal Barriers And Consequences Of Reporting Sexual Violence, Kevin M. Fleming

Departmental Honors Projects

Incidents of sexual violence continue to be a serious problem for society. Likewise, acts of sexual violence impose severe consequences for survivors. The consequences initially begin at the onset of the survivor’s journey to psychological recovery following the traumatic sexual assault. The consequences take on a unique set of characteristics when the survivor attempts to use the justice system to confront the perpetrator who committed the offense. These characteristics can transform an adversarial process into an isolated battle for the survivor. In the worst cases, the justice system empowers individuals who wish to silence survivors with free speech restrictions instead …

What Experience Can’T Tell: How To Show Reality In Young Adult Fiction, A Female Warrior’S Story, Jessica A. Walker

Departmental Honors Projects

Young adult literature is a medium that catapults our youth into fictional realms, gives them courage, and prepares them for realities of our world. As a female warrior, having served as a soldier in Afghanistan, I learned firsthand what a female warrior must be. While there are many YA novels written with women warriors as main characters, there’s a significant lack of female warrior representation that resembles our modern day military and the trials female warriors face in a primarily male-dominated field.

I have examined four authors who have tackled the issue of strong female warriors. While each author depicts …