Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Temperamental Characteristics Of Sociometrically Identified Preschool Children, Melinda M. Toney

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This research investigates the relationship between temperament and sociometric status utilizing a sociometric picture technique and the Parent Temperament Questionnaire for Children 3-7 Years of Age, a measurement instrument from the New York Longitudinal Study. The study population consists of sixty-one preschool age children. In the final stage a discriminant function analysis was employed to determine if there was a relationship between the measures of temperament and sociometric status. Although no significant functions emerged, two functions approached significance. The results indicate that popular and amiable children score higher on adaptability and approachability than isolated and rejected children. Also, distractibility appeared …

Long-Term Residents' Perception Of The Effect Newcomers Are Having On Nonmetropolitan Utah Communities, Michael Carl Lindholm

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study compares the perceptions of long-term residents in rapidly and moderately growing nonmetropolitan communities regarding the effect of newcomers on the community. Data for the study came from a 1975 survey of 1,065 adults in seven Utah communities. Results show that a significantly larger proportion of long-term residents in rapidly growing communities than in moderately growing communities feel that newcomers are having a bad effect on the community.

The relationship between perceived effect of newcomers and various personal attributes are examined with rate of population growth as a control variable.

The attributes are: 1) length of residence, 2) age, …

Transportation Time In Utah Two-Parent/Two-Child Families, Georgia Hayes Hier

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Travel time used by the homemaker and spouse in 210 Utah families was analyzed according to the purpose of the travel, day of the week, geographic location, season of the year, age of children, educational level of homemaker and spouse, family income, and number of motor vehicles owned by the family for transportation purposes. A time diary was used to collect the data for a 2 day period. Two-parent/two-child families from Washington, Iron, and Salt Lake Counties in Utah comprised the sample.

Homemakers used approximately 49.39 minutes per day for travel and spouses used 63.38 minutes. Spouses used the largest …

Comparison Of The Standard And Computerized Versions Of The College Level Examination Program General Examination In English Composition, Alan L. Muhlestein

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to test whether the computer-administered College Level Examination Program (CLEP) General Examination in English Composition produced scores equivalent to those obtained from the traditional paper-and-pencil version. The CLEP examination and its adaptation for computer administration and the results of a pilot study are presented.

The subjects in this study were volunteers who took the CLEP English Composition Examination in order to earn college credit and were randomly assigned to either the computer-first or paper-and-pencil-first groups. Each subject took both forms of the examination with approximately one half of the subjects taking each version first. …

Ego Strengthening Hypnotic Suggestions Versus Specific Hypnotic Suggestions In The Treatment Of Obesity, Richard A. Hutchison

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A comparison was made of two types of hypnotic suggestions. Twenty seven subjects in two groups participated in eight weekly one-hour group hypnotic sessions. All subjects were given the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, the Tennessee Self-Concept Scale, and were weighed pre, post and at four month follow-up. Both types of hypnotic suggestions were equally effective in helping individuals lose weight. The average weight loss was 10 pounds at follow up. Both groups showed improvement on the personality tests. Those who received the ego-strengthening hypnotic suggestions showed more improvement and more long lasting improvement than did those who received the specific …

Autoshaping Infant Vocalizations, Alexander Mcnaughton Myers

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A series of five experiments was conducted to determine whether operant or respondent factors controlled the emission of a particular vocalization ("Q") by human infants 16 to 18 months old. Experiment 1 consisted of a pilot investigation of the effects of an autoshaping procedure on three infants' vocal behavior. All three subjects demonstrated increased emission of the target sound during the CR period. Experiments 2 through 4 attempted to replicate the findings of Experiment 1 under controlled conditions, and failed to do so. Experiment 5a presented infant subjects with a discrete-trial operant procedure (having the identical temporal parameters as the …

A Peer-Managed Self-Control Program For Reduction Of Alcohol Consumption In High School Students, Richard Allan Carpenter

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Three treatments designed to reduce the consumption of alcohol by native American high school students were assessed and compared. Self-referred and staff-referred clients were randomly assigned to three treatment groups: (1) alcohol education and a peer-assisted self-control procedure, (2) a peer-assisted self-control procedure, and (3) a self-monitoring only procedure. All three treatments were conducted by trained peer counselors for 14 weeks. The alcohol education and peer-assisted self-control and the peer-assisted self-control demonstrated reductions in peak blood alcohol concentration, frequency of drinking incidents, and alcohol consumption. The self-monitoring only group demonstrated changes only in frequency of drinking incidents. No significant differences …

Bidding Game Valuations Of Congestion Costs In Winter Sports Areas, Philip B. Halverson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

During the last three decades, there has been a significant growth in the outdoor recreation industry. In 1969, there were 17.6 million visits to national parks, and by 1978, that number had increased to 283.1 million (Gregory, 1972; U.S. Dept. of Commerce, 1979). Similarly, visits to national forests grew from 5 million in 1925 to over 147 million in 1965 (Clawson and Knetsch, 1966).

An Analysis Of The Production And Marketing Of Pineapples From The Soesdyke/Linden Land Development Project In Guyana, Cyril Kenrick Hunte

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to examine the production and marketing behavior of pineapple farmers in the Soesdyke/Linden Land Development Project in Guyana. A random sample was drawn from eight locations in the project and 51 personal interviews were conducted with pineapple farmers. Emphasis was placed on ascertaining the current levels and use of basic inputs in the production process as well as determining the profitability of pineapple production. The nature an extent of the infra-structure provided by government to the project were also examined. Attention was given to the work done on providing roads and transportation as well …

Optimal Exploitation Of Petroleum Resources Using The Average Reservoir Data For The Walton Canyon Reservoir In Summit County, Utah, Behrouz Helmi-Oskoui

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The main concern of this study is to obtain an optimal time path of crude oil and natural gas production by controlling the pressure at the bottom of any producing well in Walton Canyon Reservoir. To achieve this goal, the following objectives were obtained: (a) an estimation of the reservoir properties at different levels of the reservoir pressure; (b) an estimation of an optimal time path of joint production using the estimated reservoir properties and the expected prices and costs in the absence and presence of severance, state, and federal income taxes, and depletion of allowances; and (c) an analysis …

Socio-Demographic And Economic Factors Affecting Fertility In Rural And Urban Thailand, Pichit Pitaktepsombati

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The major purpose of this study is to measure the relationship between socio-demographic and economic factors and fertility of rural and urban women in Thailand, utilizing national level survey data collected in 1972 and 1973. Specifically, a regression model of fertility and socio-demographic and economic variables will be developed and analyzed. Also, a general comparison will be made between the results of the present study, based on the 1972 and 1973 surveys, with those from an earlier round of surveys conducted in 1969 and 1970.

Effects Of Preexposure To Shock On Autoshaping, Nancy L. Eldred

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The safety signal hypothesis suggests that during the absence of stimuli predicting impending shock, the organism is not fearful. The stimuli which predict the absence of shock are therefore called safety signals. The purpose of the present study was to investigate some critical properties of safety signals. Such stimuli in an avoidance or escape situation, according to the opponent process model, are expected to acquire hedonic value opposite to shock.

This study examined differences in conditioning variables between safety signals predicting different intensities of shock, and between safety signals present in procedures using predicted shock, and procedures using unpredicted shock. …

Locus Of Control: Effects On The Reported Gains Made In Assertion Training, Eugene Earl Campbell

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Forty-nine Cache Valley residents, between the ages of 18 and 45, who volunteered to participate in an assertion training class were assigned to one of seven groups. Subjects were administered pre- and posttests and a two month follow-up evaluation. Measures included Rotter's Internal-External Locus of Control Scale, the Rathus Assertive Scale, and the Berger Self-Acceptance Scale. The results obtained indicate that self-acceptance and assertiveness changed as a result of assertion training and that these changes were maintained at follow-up. No difference between internals and externals was observed as a result of semi-structured assertion training.

Metaphorical Interpretations Of The Neurotic Paradox, Mark J. Weaver

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This is a theoretical/philosophical paper which is intended to bring to the reader's attention an emerging literature and discussion which holds potentially productive consequences for the understanding of man. This thesis does not offer completed formulations or empirical groundings. The purpose is to create a basis for dialogue.

This paper will initially specify a current conflict in psychology around the different metaphors used to define the image of man. A theoretical/philosophical basis for viewing the process of generating models of man and his behavior as essentially "metaphorical" is then presented. A specific category of human behavior known as the neurotic …

The Effectiveness Of Electronic Games (Atari) Reinforcers For Increasing Appropriate Behavior In Handicapped Children, James M. Payant

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Ten subjects ranging from 9 to 16 years in age with IQ's ranging from 23 to 62 were randomly selected as contingent or noncontingent subjects for two experiments. Five subjects received contingent access to two electronic games for performance within a specified learning session, while five subjects received noncontingent access to the games. These experiments were designed to determine the effect on performance, attending, and compliance skills in the classroom, when contingent access to the electronic games was based on performance. The development of fine motor skills and/or eye-hand coordination skills as a result of game usage was examined. The …

Inter- And Intra-Sensory Modality Stimulus Scaling: A Method For The Determination Of The Relative Salience Of Stimuli In Poison-Based Aversion Learning By Pigeons, David L. Pounds

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

One of the most rapidly expanding areas of research in psychology has been poison-based aversion learning (PBAL). The PBAL paradigm typically involves: exposing an animal to a novel substance; inducing illness following ingestion of that substance; and then providing access to the substance at a later time. The initial reaction to the novel substance is generally to reduce consumption, a finding labeled neophobia. The reduction of substance intake on test day is called learned aversion.

Following demonstrations of cue-to-consequence specificity (i.e., the differential associability of some stimuli with certain consequences) in PBAL research with rats, recent research has focused on …

Biofeedback: A Possible Substitute For Smoking, Earl Eugene Griffith

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Numerous agencies have accumulated evidence since 1964 which implicates habitual cigarette smoking as a causal or facilitating factor in the development of many circulatory and respiratory diseases. This study sought to identify those psychological variables which possibly contribute to the maintenance of cigarette smoking and therefore, had two main purposes. First, this study investigated the individual and simultaneous physiological changes, i.e., Electroencephalography, Electromyography, Heart Rate, Blood Pressure and Skin Temperature that occurred during and immediately after the smoking of one cigarette. Second, the study investigated the hypothesis that smoking frequency would decrease when individuals were trained via biofeedback procedures to …

The Effect Of Item Format On Computation Subtest Scores Of Standardized Mathematics Achievement Tests, Larry Carcelli

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The effect on childrens' scores of different item formats used in standardized mathematics achievement tests was investigated. Second grade students were given a mathematics computation test using formats derived from five standardized achievement tests. Identical content was tested with each format. Differences in test scores between types of formats were statistically significant at p < .001 (F = 45.25). These results indicate that what a student appears to know is substantially influenced by the format of the particular test used in measuring achievement. These differences are not accounted for by the normative scaling of the different tests. Greater attention should be given to the effect of test item format in selecting and administering achievement tests.

Cause And Perceived Seriousness Of Deviant Behavior And Attribution Of Responsibility, Mary Kathryn Morris

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between differing stated causes of deviant behavior which is commonly labelled mental illness, and the perceived seriousness of these behaviors in determining judgments of the degree of responsibility attributed to described deviant individuals. This was accomplished by having subjects rate four different vignettes as to degree of perceived seriousness and degree of responsibility for behavior.

The subjects were 76 undergraduate students enrolled in either introductory psychology and/or introductory anthropology. The subjects were divided into four groups. Each group of 19 subjects received the same four vignettes. Each vignette gave a …

Marital Roles And Their Relationship To Marital Happiness And Self Concept, Gary L. Devries

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Marital roles have become a subject of major concern in recent years. Many critiques consider traditional marriage roles to be responsible for hindering appropriate social-emotional development of the wife, in particular, and also the husband. Past research in assessing the relationship between marital roles and the happiness and well-being of husbands and wives is limited in quantity and generally is inconclusive or controversial. This study was designed to clarify the relationship between marriage roles and two dependent variables, marital happiness and self concept.

The sample population consisted of 124 volunteer couples selected from the teaching staffs of eight school districts …

Retention And Attrition Factors Of Nonreturning Students At Utah State University, Amy L. Jordan

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to determine the factors which affected the decision of students not to return to Utah State University after completion of the previous quarter. The factors were determined by a mailed questionnaire which was a modification of the Withdrawing/Nonreturning Student Survey developed by American College Testing (ACT).

One hundred twenty-two former Utah State University students who had attended fall quarter, 1979 but failed to register for winter quarter were randomly chosen for the study. The students were asked to complete the questionnaire and return it to Utah State University. The return rate through the mail …

The Effects Of The Childbirth Process On The Attitudes And Behaviors Of New Fathers, Janice Ryser

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Attitudes of 74 first-time fathers were studied as they varied vi by childbirth preparation and participation. A 50-variable questionnaire was used to tap fathers' attitudes towards their marital relationship and partner, their infants, themselves as fathers, and the pregnancy/childbirth experience.

Fathers agreed on being elated with fatherhood, wanting tactile, verbal, and extended home contact with their infants, planning on a partnership in parenting, and seeing their marriage at a high point. They saw pregnancy as a time of stress and adjustment and felt father participation was important. Their attitudes varied most on wife's performance and their own helpfulness through labor …

The Effect Of Support Groups In Reducing Stresses During The Transition To Parenthood, Lynne Wilson Myers

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Forty-two couples expecting their first child volunteered to participate in a study of the transition to parenthood. Personal well-being, self-esteem, marital satisfaction, and parenting competence of the couples were assessed during pregnancy, and then again when babies were six weeks and fifteen weeks old. Parents were asked to report how much support they had received from their doctors, churches, family, and friends, and other sources, after their baby was born. Personal well-being and parenting competence increased for women after they became mothers. Personal well-being decreased and parenting competence increased for new fathers. Marital satisfaction decreased significantly after couples had their …

Objective Indices Of Disaster-Related Stress: The Mount St. Helens' Ashfall, Paul R. Adams

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

On May 18, 1980, the town of Othello, Washington was covered with volcanic ash from the Mount St. Helens eruption. Disaster research suggested that a natural disaster acted on impacted populations as a major stressor and could result in such stress-related symptoms/problems as anxiety, depression, alcohol abuse, family problems, etc. It was hypothesized that there would be an increase in the incidence of such symptoms/problems following the ashfall. Most previous research has relied on subjective accounts of victims, but data for this study came from selected objective indices such as mental health caseloads, welfare assistance grants, hospital admissions, police records, …

Psychosocial Maturity In 4-H And Non 4-H Youth, Robert Leon Young

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study was undertaken to add to the knowledge of the psychosocial effects of the 4-H program upon its members. The objectives were to determine if 4-H involvement is associated with the psychological and social maturation of adolescent members, and to investigate how several variables such as age, urban/rural residence, and S. E. S. may help explain this relationship or lack of relationship.

To accomplish these objectives 165 youths (103 4-H, 62 non 4-H) and one parent of each youth, responded to mail-out questionnaires, answering questions of biographical content, and items from the Psychosocial Maturity inventory. Responses were compiled and …

Time Spent In Home Care Tasks Related To Ownership And Uses Of Home Care Equipment, Jeena C. H. Nilson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The data for this research were taken from Utah's contribution to the regional research project "An Interstate Comparison of Urban/Rural Families' Time Use." Data were collected between May 1977 and August 1978 from 210 two-parent/ two-child families.

This thesis research studied the relationship between ownership and use of nine selected household appliances and time spent on the related housekeeping tasks for 208 of the families studied. Statistical analysis was done using t-tests for comparisons of time spent on the related task by owners and non-owners of each appliance. Analysis of variance was used to compare time spent on combined activities …

Touch And Gaze In Parent Infant Social Play, Lori A. Roggman

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Twenty first-born infants age three to five months, nine males and eleven females, were observed and videotaped for five minutes with each parent, in order to explore touch and gaze in free-play parent-infant interactions. Gazing behaviors of parents and infants and mutual gazing were measured in vivo; touching behaviors were measured from the videotapes of each dyad. For each behavior, four measures were taken: percent of total time, average rate per minute, mean duration of the behavior, and mean duration of the intervals between behaviors. The results show that, on the average, parent touch and gaze were typical of …

Lifestyle As A Determinant Of Participation Among Dispersed Forest Recreationists, John R. Butler

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study assesses the usefulness of lifestyle as a determinant of outdoor recreation behavior. Two objectives of the study are: (1) develop an operationalized concept of lifestyle that is based on theory, and (2) apply this concept in a model which uses lifestyle as a variable influencing recreation behavior.

The first objective was approached through an integrative review of the literature. Lifestyle was set in context of cultural theory. The basic postulate of the proposed theory of lifestyle is: If an individual's lifestyle is similar to that of another, certain social psychological processes are similar. Therefore, their patterns of needs, …