Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Effects Of Task Structure And Group Target Monetary Incentives On Social Loafing, Nelson R. Eikenhout

Dissertations

Social loafing refers to the decrease in individual performance output that occurs when individuals perform a task in groups in which the output is pooled. Pooled output refers to the performance of all group members added together to get a total group output. Therefore, because all group members contribute to a single group outcome, individual performance output is obscured. This study examined the following questions. First, what are the effects of the method of pooling the output (additive vs. disjunctive) on individuals who work on a concurrent task in small groups? Second, what are the effects of group target based …

Examining The Behavioral And Physiological Components Of Communication Skills Training With Married Couples: Are Differential Effects Mediated By The Topic Discussed And Initial Level Of Marital Distress?, Tara L. Cornelius

Dissertations

The purpose of the present study was to experimentally examine the effects of the Speaker-Listener technique when the couple was instructed to either (a) discuss an issue within, or (b) outside the marriage, on couples’ initial and long-term levels of marital distress and satisfaction. This study was designed to examine Gottman, et al. (1998) hypothesis that the Speaker-Listener skills training technique may be effective and lead to improved levels of marital satisfaction when the couple is complaining about a third party, but complaining about each other may become divisive and weaken the marital relationship, and that such an effect would …

Using Protocol Analysis To Help Determine The Behavioral Function Of Conducting Safety Observations, Alicia M. Alvero

Dissertations

Recent research endeavors have demonstrated the existence of an observer effect . In other words, conducting safety observations increases the safetyperformance of the observer, and may result in safety-related verbalizations. The purpose of this study was to help determine whether observers make self-verbalizations regarding their safety performance and whether these reports are functionally related to safety performance. In order to answer these questions two experiments were conducted using both protocol analysis and the silent dog method. Protocol analysis is used by cognitive scientists to analyze thethoughts of a person as they perform a task, and the silent dog method allows …

Membership At Risk: Representation Of Disability In Popular Counselor Education Textbooks, Nancy A. Rosenau

Dissertations

Representations of disability in American culture are saturated with negative images and meanings. Pervasive negativity threatens full societal membership and its related benefits of a sense of belonging, connectedness, and inclusion, and a source of identity, social networks and empowerment for people with disabilities.

Disability pride is a resistant movement that seeks to denaturalize assumptions about the negative experience of disability. The multicultural turn in counseling recognizes that competent practice requires awareness of diverse groups in society. Disability as the largest minority group in the U.S. requires counselor awareness. This study examined the representation of disability in a sample of …

The Effects Of A Wilderness/Adventure Program On The Self-Concept, Locus Of Control Orientation, And Interpersonal Behavior Of Delinquent Adolescents, Timothy J. Zwart

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a 26-day therapeutic wilderness program for delinquent adolescent males on three conceptually distinct but closely related constructs: self-concept, locus of control orientation, and interpersonal behavior. Justification for the study was derived from the limitations of past wilderness/adventure research which suggested that there was a need for additional research on the effects of this type of alternative program for delinquent adolescents.

It was hypothesized that following participation in this program the youths would exhibit increased self-concept, more internal locus of control orientation, would express higher needs for inclusion and affection …

An Analysis Of The Effects Of A Low Glycemic Diet On The Antisocial Behavior Of Juvenile Offenders, James Edward Longhurst

Dissertations

The objective of this study was to determine if a low glycemic diet contributes to a reduction in the incidence of antisocial behavior among male juvenile offenders.

One hundred forty juvenile offenders at a residential treatment center were randomly divided into treatment and nontreatment groups. The treatment group ate from a diet which contained foods low in glycemic characteristics. There was no dietary alteration for the control group.

Three instruments were used to measure differences between groups in antisocial behavior following a 5-week experimental period. These instruments include: (1) the Unusual Incident Report--a systematic and objective observer report form, (2) …

Preventing The "All But Thesis" Phenomenon, Maria Emma Garcia

Dissertations

Twenty-three to 54% of the students who enter graduate programs never obtain their degrees. A high percentage of those students drop out after the completion of all the academic requirements except their master's theses or doctoral dissertations. The literature makes reference to the "all but thesis" (ABT) and the "all but dissertation" (ABD) phenomenon.

The present study involved the implementation of a research supervisory system designed to help students complete their theses and dissertations, therefore preventing the ABT and ABD problems. Twenty-nine graduate students in psychology formed the research supervisory group and 53 graduate students from several departments formed a …

A Behavioral Approach To The Establishment Of Nutritional Eating Habits In Young Children, Paul Joseph Smith Knight Ii

Dissertations

The present study attempted to delineate the effects of several variables on the development of nutritionally desirable food choices in preschool children. These included: (1) increasing the children's food knowledge through the use of the Nutrition Education Instructional System (NEIS), (2) increasing the children's verbal behavior about food selection prior to making food choices at lunch by requesting the children in a pre-lunch interview to say the rules learned through the NEIS, (3) increasing the children's verbal behavior following lunch by having them identify the foods chosen, and then requesting them to identify whether they had applied the rule, and …

Women’S Roles And Vulnerability To Depression, Monika Johanna Haussmann

Dissertations

In this study, social-psychological variables were explored in the etiology of depression in women. Depression was examined as a function of undesirable life events, occupational and marital roles, and four vulnerability variables: (a) high relational and low direct achieving style, (b) dominance of partner, (c) powerlessness, and (d) negative attitudes toward feminism. The purpose of the study was to examine whether women in varying occupational and marital status groups would differ in degree of depression, proposed vulnerability variables, and selected background variables. The relationship of vulnerability and background variables to depression was explored.

It was hypothesized that vulnerability variables and …

The Relationship Between Knowledge Of Teamwork, Satisfaction, And Perceived Performance Effectiveness Among Professional Human Service Teams, Sonya Monroe-Clay

Dissertations

This study investigated the relationship between knowledge of teamwork, performance, and satisfaction in members of human service teams. Team Knowledge was conceptualized as encompassing four critical areas: Personal-Interpersonal, Team Environment, Team Leadership, and Team Processing.

Research findings in the literature point to certain general benefits of the team model. Nevertheless, some teams are dysfunctional, which may be reflected in poor performance and low morale or satisfaction. Lack of knowledge about teamwork was identified as a possible contributor to such problems.

A major hypothesis of the present study was that there is a direct relationship between team knowledge and satisfaction, team …

An Analysis Of Primary Prevention In A State Mental Health System, Salvatore Cullari

Dissertations

This study analyzed ten primary prevention demonstration projects located in various counties of Michigan. While only two programs showed significant post intervention effects, the amount of data available for interpretation was insufficient to allow any general conclusions. Problems encountered in program implementation and evaluation were cited, and procedures that may reduce these difficulties were discussed. A theoretical model for primary prevention based on a systems approach was also presented.

Teaching Health-Related Behaviors To Young Children Through Social Skills Training, Mary Louise Stevens

Dissertations

Part I consisted of training four kindergarten subjects to make eye contact, assertive comments and assertive actions in reference to social and health-related situations. Training occurred on a one-to-one basis with an adult female and results were assessed with a multiple baseline design. Skill acquisition and maintenance were assessed by measuring ratio of eye contact to speech duration, assertive content and assertive actions on training scenes. Generalization of social skills was assessed by means of: (1) similar, but untrained scenes, (2) choice tests between products with and without sugar, (3) in vivo tests in the school and home environment, (4) …

The Effects Of Sex-Role Attitudes On Womens' Self-Actualization And Life Satisfaction, Mary Ann Vigilanti

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of sex-role attitudes on levels on self-actualization and satisfaction with life among a group of randomly selected women. This study also explored the relationships between occupational primacy as defined through paid employment and homemaker on overall life satisfaction, and employment commensurate with education/training and its relationship to self-actualization. This relationship between overall life satisfaction and measures of self-actualization was also investigated.

Data was collected from 264 women of which 236 responses were included for final hypotheses testing. All subjects were women 18 years and older who lived within the City …

The Relationship Between Selected Demographic Characteristics And Mental Health Board Members' Endorsement Of Community Mental Health Ideology, Kathryn S. Thiel

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Self-Concept And Reinforcement: Two Paths To Achievement For Black And White Elementary School Children, Kirby L. Throckmorton

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Effects Of Fear Appeal Communications And Communicators Upon Attitudes Alcohol Consumption, Robert D. Fritzen

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Deafness As An Identity In Relation To Future Educational And Occupational Plans Among Deaf High School Students, Robert Greg Emerton

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Current And Future Characterizations Of Self; A Theoretical Model For Analyzing The Sources And Functions Of Self-Conceptions, Robert Bilby

Dissertations

No abstract provided.