Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

A Time-Management Procedure For Helping Graduate Students Accomplish Academic Tasks, Yousef Abdulwahab Abuhmaidan

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of time-management and a task checklist on task completion, the amount of study time and students' grade point average (GPA). A package consisting of a time-management calendar and a task checklist was provided to five Jordanian students. A multiple-baseline across subjects design was used. Individual weekly meetings were conducted to assess the progress of the students on the use of the time-management calendar and task checklist. Students were asked to bring proof of accomplishments for the completed tasks. During the study the completion of tasks went from 64.6% to 92.2% …

The Deaccelerator: A Behavioral Application Of A Differentially Imposed Force Schedule To The Accelerator Pedal Of A Motor Vehicle To Control Unlawful Highway Vehicle Speed, Richard Schulman

Dissertations

The Deaccelerator is a behaviorally designed speed control device that utilizes punishment and reinforcement by way of a differentially imposed force schedule to the accelerator pedal of a motor vehicle when vehicle speed exceeds the preset speed. Specifically, increasing and decreasing accelerator pedal resistance is a negatively accelerated function of respective increases and decreases in vehicle speed as speed moves in excess of 1 mph beyond the preset speed. A lesser force schedule generates linear increases and decreases in accelerator pedal resistance as a function of respective increases and decreases in accelerator pedal depression once vehicle speed moves in excess …

The Incidence And Nature Of Dating Violence Among Never-Married Students At One Junior College, Nancy Cole Masterson

Dissertations

The subjects were a convenience sample of 151 never-married junior college students who completed the Violence Index Schedule (VIS).

Analysis of the VIS indicated that 30.5% of the subjects had been the victim of at least one incident of dating violence, and that the majority of those victims, 67%, reported receiving no injuries. Of those who were injured, bruises and welts were the most common form of injury. Significant differences were found in nonassaultive partner behaviors present in the relationships of the victims and nonvictims of dating violence, t = -10.55 (149), p < .001. Chi-square analyses of the Nonassaultive Index items revealed significant differences for 24 of the 25 nonassaultive characteristics. Partners of the victims displayed significantly more jealously, coercive anger, verbal abusiveness, and controlling behaviors than did the partners of nonvictims.

An analysis of the quantitative and qualitative …

A Comparison Of The Personal Values Of A Sample Of Unemployed American Males And A Normative Sample Of American Males As Measured By The Rokeach Value Survey, Timothy J. Howard

Dissertations

Problems of the unemployed and unemployment are evidenced in personal, social, and economic areas. The measurement of the personal values of unemployed American males may yield information that could be useful to individuals in the helping professions.

Seventy-seven unemployed Job Training Partnership Act male participants were administered the Rokeach Value Survey in their employability skills sessions. The Median Test was applied to compare the unemployed sample of American males and the Rokeach Value Survey normative sample of American males. The Kruskal-Wallis One-Way Analysis of Variance was calculated with several demographic characteristics of the unemployed American male sample (age, education, ethnicity, …

An Examination Of The Relationship Between Self-Esteem And The Ability Of The Family Of Origin To Promote Autonomy, Expression Of Feelings, And Trust Development In Adult Children Of Alcoholics, Paula Andrasi

Dissertations

Several theories have been proposed in the last 5 years suggesting that adult children of alcoholics (ACAs) comprise a unique population in need of specialized treatment services. The purpose of this study was to test two of the basic assumptions underlying the various theories. The first assumption considered was that ACAs have poorer self-esteem than adults who are not children of alcoholics (non-ACAs). The second assumption was that an alcoholic home is less facilitative in the promotion of trust development, autonomy, and expression of feeling than the nonalcoholic home. The researcher proposed that poor self-esteem in ACAs would be positively …

Loneliness And Graduate Students: A Descriptive Study, Mary Zirpoli

Dissertations

The major purposes of this study were to identify the lonely among graduate students, the types and degree of loneliness they experience, and the possible variables associated with graduate student loneliness. The Belcher Extended Loneliness Scale (BELS), and a second questionnaire about the causes of loneliness, were administered to 337 graduate students in 23 classes at Western Michigan University (WMU).

The BELS identified two types of loneliness that some graduate students experience as well as 104 significant differences which were found to relate mostly to an unspecified type of loneliness. The following variables were found to be very important in …

Curbing Noncontractual Absences In A Mental Health Setting Through The Application Of Contingent Rewards, Craig A. Crawford

Masters Theses

In this study, the effects of contingent rewards on attendance behavior of direct care staff in a psychiatric institution were investigated. The intervention consisted of a letter of commendation and an opportunity to win a lottery for the staff exhibiting perfect attendance for a two week pay period. A multiple baseline analysis of three units failed to show significant declines in absenteeism although there were areas of significant improvement.

An Ethnographic Study Of Punk Rock In Western Michigan: Identity In A Youth Subculture, Robert P. Pomeroy

Masters Theses

This thesis presents an ethnosemantic analysis of the punk rock subculture of western Michigan. Assertion of personal identity is demonstrated to be the underlying principle which organizes punk terminology for their music, cultural environment, and members of the subcultures. An analysis of punk song lyrics, visual style, and verbal style demonstrates that this assertion of identity is accomplished through opposition to the dominant American culture. Punk rock can then be understood as a subculture of cultural rebellion which allows its members to assert their individuality through violation of culturally accepted aesthetic values.

Analysis Of The Effects Of Goal And Feedback Specificity On Subsequent Task Performance, Gregory Mark Van Dahm

Masters Theses

The effects of goal and feedback specifically on subsequent task performance were examined to text the hypothesis that specific goals and feedback facilitate performance to a greater degree than general goals and feedback (Ilgen, Fisher, & Taylor, 1979). Ten subjects, in each of the four conditions, were assigned one of two levels of goal specificity and feedback specificity and were then required to perform a simple assembly and sorting task utilizing multiple size and color fasteners. No significance was discovered between correctly assembled and sorted products of the four groups although there was a general trend in the hypothesized direction. …

Use Of A Changeover Key To Train Serial Learning In The Pigeon, Rhoda Kay Yutzy-Ryan

Masters Theses

Three pigeons were presented with a serial learning task involving a sequence of three colors: yellow, green and red. The colors appeared on a lit key one at a time in random order. The pigeons were required to peck the colors in the correct order and to use a second lit key (the changeover key) to change the color when it was incorrect. The data show that the pigeons were able to learn the task and generalize to novel arrays at a high level of accuracy. This extends the findings on serial learning with pigeons to a type of sequence …

Increasing The Participation Rate For International Behaviorists At The Convention Of The Association For Behavior Analysis, Marsha Lee Benz

Masters Theses

This is a descriptive study that reviewed past participation of International behaviorists at the Association for Behavior Analysis (ABA) convention, to provide sore help to these presenters to improve the experience, and to disseminate behavioral information outside of the United States by trying to Increase International participation at the ABA convention.

These methods were used to Invite the behavioristsi (a) call for papers, (b) personalized invitations, and (c) poster invitations. Procedures used to improve the convention experience weret (a) an interest questionnaire, and (b) pre- and post-convention surveys.

Comparisons were made between the number of International presenters from years 1981 …

The Kalamazoo County Juvenile Home's Foster Shelter Care Unit: Toward An Evaluation, Michael John Underwood

Masters Theses

A formative evaluation of the Foster Shelter Care Unit was conducted in order to analyze the success/failure of the program during its firs t year of operation. Data on 77 cases were analyzed, and nine Independent variables and one dependent variable were bivariately tested 1n order to provide a theoretical explanation of the success/failure rate.

The evaluation was conducted 1n order to supply the Foster Shelter Care Unit with recommendations to enhance its success/ failure rate and to modify its existing policies.

The success rate for the unit was 48.1%, and it was found that the only significant association with …

An Investigation Of The Effects Of An Applied Behavior Management Program On Selected Measures Of Worker Performance In A Financial Institution, Daniel A. Schroeder

Masters Theses

Twenty CRT operators from an operations department at a financial institution were used to evaluate whether a behavior management program utilizing feedback and incentives would improve their work performance on real job tasks. In accordance with predictions, results revealed that the group performed significantly better (p<.05) under the behavior management program than they did during a baseline period. Behavior management was significantly effective for most, but not all, work areas. The program also produced some unexpected, but positive, side-effects.

Effects Of Cued Intertrial Intervals On Response Latency In Pigeons, Franklin Paul Whitley

Masters Theses

Six White Carneaux pigeons were exposed to fixed-ratio schedule components in a systematic replication of a study by Michael et al. (1981). Separation between median latencies for the two schedule components was demonstrated consistently, reproducing the general features of that research. In a subsequent manipulation, differential stimulus conditions were introduced into the intertrial intervals preceding onset of schedule components in an effort to enhance the likelihood that differential "waiting behaviors" would develop. Two subjects demonstrated a clear decrease in the magnitude of the latency splits following introduction of the cued ITI condition, while other subjects evidenced a similar but less …

Peyote And Peyotism, Brian P. Akers

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study is to provide a general comparative discussion of the native use of peyote, past and present.

Historic sources and ethnographic accounts are reviewed in light of relevant botanical, pharmacological, and ethnological considerations.

Performance Contracting As A Support System For Minority Graduate Students: A Feasibility Study, Monica Porter

Masters Theses

This study analyzed the feasibility of implementing a performance- contracting program for black graduate students so they could achieve or maintain a grade-point average of a 3.0 or above. Students attended weekly contracting meetings where academic tasks and deadlines were identified and task completion was monitored. The total number of tasks assigned per student for the entire study ranged from 12 to 44, with a mean of 32.6. Task completion ranged from 42% to 100%, with a mean of 68.4%. Nine of the ten students achieved a semester grade point average of 3.0 or above, although the present study did …

Detection Of Deception In The Laboratory As A Function Of Motivation And Set Size, Daniel Mark Tuckett

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to determine the validity of the polygraph in a controlled laboratory setting. The Guilty Knowledge Test (GKT) was the procedure employed in conjunction with the galvanic skin subjects over the two trial each. Overall the polygrapher was correct 44 times, out of 80 trials. This number of detections exceeded chance (p<.001) levels. The manipulation of subject motivation with a monetary reward increased detection rates significantly (p<.05) in comparison to those offered money. With each subject being tested over two trials, there appears to be a habituation effect as indicated by a decrease in detection from trial one to trial two. The relationship fell slightly short of significance at the (p< .05) level. In general the level of the subject motivation may play a major role in the detection of subjects who attempt deceit.

The Cultural Significance Of Religious Festivals Of Seville: Holy Week And The Romeria Of Rocio, Brent Metz

Honors Theses

This project began long before I traveled to Spain. With the guidance of Dr. Smith, I wrote preliminary questionnaires and learned research methods and interviewing techniques in the fall, 1985. He also assisted me in writing a research proposal for the Waldo-Sangren Scholarship, and this award made my trip to Spain possible. In addition, I collected books and other information from Western's Waldo Library and from professors and friends who had previously been in Spain. Although I later modified my questionnaires and changed my conception of religious festivals in Seville, my preparation last fall was critical in orienting myself to …

The Effects Of Instructions And Cue Controlled Relaxation Training On Cardiovascular Reactivity To Social Stressors, Patricia A. Fettes

Masters Theses

Cue controlled relaxation (CCR) training was compared to simple instructions to relax and control blood pressure on the basis of their effects on cardiovascular reactivity to role played social stressors. The CCR intervention consisted of training subjects to say a cue word ("calm") that had been previously paired with muscular relaxation responses, during presentation of stressors. The instructions intervention was associated with significant reductions in blood pressure reactivity, regardless of whether this condition preceded or followed the CCR condition. Factors that may relate to the relative ineffectiveness of CCR are discussed, as well as those that may have been responsible …

An Analysis Of Potential Adjunctive Behavior In Two Developmentally Disabled Subjects, Nancy K. Brhely

Masters Theses

Past research on adjunctive behavior in humans has generally not employed methods which are comparable to those included in studies of adjunctive behavior in nonhumans. Consequently, the results of these studies of adjunctive behavior in nonhumans. Consequently, the results of these studies are often difficult to interpret. The present study examined locomotor movement and salient self-stimulatory behaviors in two developmentally disabled students exposed to four fixed-interval (FI) schedules of food delivery (FI 16-, 60-, 120-, and 240-sec). Results of this study were analyzed according to whether the seven defining characteristics of the prototype of adjunctive behavior, polydipsia, were present. Locomotor …

The Effects Of Vocal Instructions And Sequence Of Conditions On The Acquisition And Maintenance Of Behavioral Chains, Charles L. Lowe

Dissertations

Five children, ages 5 to 6 1/2 years, were trained to learn and relearn four-link behavioral chains using conditioned reinforcement. Subjects were presented with a horizontal array of 12 chips in four equal groups. During Control Learning (CL) sessions, a new sequence of responses was learned through contingency shaping. The same sequence was presented later that day during a Control Relearning (CRL) session. Instruction on correct responses was provided during Instruction Learning (IL) sessions. The same sequence was presented without instruction during an Instruction Relearning (IRL) session later that day. Thus, new behavioral chains were acquired during CL and IL …

Perceptions Of American College Students About Arabs: The Role Of Mass Media And Personal Contact In The Formation Of Stereotypes, Mansour Owaid Aljeaid

Dissertations

American students, as well as people of other nations, form perceptions of others who differ from their own cultural, racial, and social groups. These mental pictures are "stereotypes."

The purpose of this study was to identify stereotypes that American students enrolled at Western Michigan University (WMU) had about Arabs and to determine if there were differences in these stereotypes when students were classified by race, sex, level of education, age, and sources of stereotypes. Twenty-five bipolar adjectives were organized as semantic differential scales to assess students' perceptions. The instrument was either mailed or hand delivered to a sample of 400 …

Successful Women: A Racial Comparison Of Variables Contributing To Socialization And Leadership Development, J. Baraka Love

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to identify variables that have contributed to the growth and development of successful women and to explore whether those variables were the same for Black and White women by comparing the perceptions and backgrounds of women who have reached top level positions in the fields of education, business, human services, and government.

Data were collected by questionnaires from 547 women respondents out of a sample of 1,500 identified in Who's Who in America (43rd ed., 1985) and Who's Who Among Black Americans (4th ed., 1985). The response rate was 38.4%; 298 (19.9%) were Black …

Perceived Barriers And Proposed Solutions For Employment Of The Handicapped: Attitudes Of Employers And Employment Agencies, Leonard Robert Mcconnell Ii

Dissertations

The intent of this research was to analyze the employment barriers and to identify possible policy strategies for the unique employment problems faced by persons with handicaps. The study surveyed barriers to employment and proposed employment solutions for the handicapped as perceived by private- and public-sector employers and employment agencies. The handicapped and six disability groups were compared with women, blacks, and Hispanics on the same barriers and solutions. It was hypothesized that: (1) the handicapped as a protected group faced more and different employment barriers than did women, blacks, or Hispanics, and therefore (2) the handicapped needed more and …

A Study Of The Relationship Between Marital Expectations And Satisfaction For First Married And Remarried Couples On Factors Extracted From Two Marital Adjustment Scales, Daniel K. Ehnis

Dissertations

The primary purpose of this study was to establish the construct validity of the Marital Comparison Level Index (MCLI), an instrument designed by Sabatelli (1984) to assess the degree to which married individuals' outcomes compare with their marital expectations. A subordinate goal was to examine the relationship between expectations and satisfaction in marriage.

To accomplish these goals, the factorial content of the MCLI was compared with the factor structure of the Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS), a well-validated measure of marital satisfaction. Responses of 170 married individuals on both scales were factor analyzed using a principal components analysis with varimax rotation …

The Relationship Between Learning Disabilities And Juvenile Delinquency In Macomb County Juvenile Court (1983-84), Rita M. Bologna

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the link between learning disabilities and juvenile delinquency in the Macomb County Juvenile Court System. Because of the presence of several key variables, it was believed that learning disabilities was a unique trait of the detained population.

The population consisted of 517 male and female detained and adjudicated delinquents that were admitted to the facility during the 1983-84 school year. Biographical and crime related data were gathered by hand searches of the legal file. The learning disabled or non-learning-disabled classification resulted from interpretation of the scores on the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test …

Auditory Stimulation-Induced Analgesia In Rats: Its Irreversibility By Naloxone, Ilsun Miranda White

Masters Theses

After receiving intermittent exposure to a tone (3000 Hz, 100 db, SPL), rats were tested on a hot plate for analgesia. Rats that received tone alone showed a higher average paw-lick latency than rats that received either naloxone or saline alone. This result indicates that the auditory stimulus used in this study can be considered a neurogenic stressor and may be added to the list of various noxious stimuli that prouces analgesic effects. Naloxone given to tone-treated subjects produced mean paw-lick latencies were comparable to control group latencies for the first two treatment sessions and to tone group latencies for …

Instructional Leadership: The Role Of The Director Of Library Services For The Grand Rapids, Michigan, Public School District, Judy A. Deruyter

Masters Theses

The purpose of this project was to familiarize the intern with the position of director of library services. A review of the district's media program enabled the intern to assist in the district's media program and work on the curriculum development changes that would be occurring during the duration of the internship.

The major results of the internship were a district handbook detailing policies and procedures for the media specialists and, using Appleworks (Lissner, 1983), a computer program was written for library management and utilization.

Important aspects of the project were curriculum work sessions and the resulting plans for implementing, …

An Historical Analysis Of Public Policy For The Care And Treatment Of People Who Are Mentally Retarded In Michigan, Kenneth O. Slater

Dissertations

This dissertation traces the historical development of Michigan's public policy associated with the residential care and treatment of mentally retarded people. Michigan laws and programs from 1830 through 1983 were studied after being compared to a national history. The central question was: What factors, over time, influenced public policy related to residential care and treatment of the mentally retarded?

Initially, care was the responsibility of families and friends of the mentally retarded. This responsibility shifted from townships to counties, then to the state during the nineteenth century. Until the late 1800s many mentally retarded people were housed on county poor …

Effects Of Seating Arrangement On Affective Meanings And Group Interaction In Healthy Senior Citizens, Judith Ann Boughton

Masters Theses

Occupational therapists state that environmental factors (seating arrangements) influence behavior. This ex post facto study examined the effect of peripheral versus central seating arrangement on interaction (verbalizing and looking), affect, and group climate in 41 healthy senior citizens. Nine men and 32 women aged 62 to 83 participated in two collage activities (creative and imitative) in either a parallel/nonsharing group or a project/ sharing group. Seating arrangement was added to an earlier study's independent variables (creative and imitative activities, and sharing and nonsharing groups). Dependent variables consisted of three factors of affective meaning from the Osgood Semantic Differential, evaluation, power, …