Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Perceptions Of The Honors Program, Andrea Price

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

The purpose of this project was to measure how aware the students and faculty of Utah State University are of the Honors Program and its offerings. Questionnaires were sent to a random selection of faculty, students, and Honors students.

The Reliance On The Four Major News Agencies For International News Reports In Taiwan, Denise Hsiu-Wen Li

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

The purpose of this case study is to figure out the reliance on the four major news agencies (AP, UPI, Reuters, and AFP) for international news reports in Taiwan, and CNA's, Taiwan's only regional news agency, role in supplying international news stories. Taiwan's three large circulation, general purpose newspapers -- United Daily News, China Times, and Central Daily News were selected and analyzed.

The study is based primarily on a content analysis of these three Chinese-language newspapers in terms of their coverage of international happenings and their news coverage.

The findings indicate that the control of international information by the …

Correlations Between Ego Identity Development And Career Development, Kenyon M. Watkins

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

There are numerous ways in which people choose their occupation. Some choose a career by simply asking their parents or friends for their opinion on what would be a good occupation. Others may talk to people in the occupation, or go to the library to gather information about occupations that are of interest. Because of the importance of the career choice to the individual's well-being and productivity in a career, some try a more organized approach. A career counselor, who can utilize tests to aid in the search process as well as provide information on occupations, can be a valuable …

The Needs And Concerns Of The Siblings Of The Deaf-Blind, Lori P. Rowan

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

The needs and concerns of the siblings of children who are deaf-blind were studied. Subjects included 12 siblings (eight males, four females) whose families are involved in the Utah Intervener Services Program.

Information was collected by conducting one-on-one interviews with the siblings. The Siblings' Perceptions of the Intervener Interview (SPII) and Taylor's Siblings' Problems Questionnaire were administered.

The results indicated that individual sibling's perspectives were unique, varying from positive to negative. As a group, the siblings made positive comments about the intervener and their life with their deaf-blind brother or sister.

Sunday Time Use Among Lds Adolescents, C. Lewis Williams

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to examine a sample of LDS (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) adolescents from 9th - 12th grade to analyze how they spend their time on a given Sunday. The intent of the paper was to determine if adolescent time use was influenced by such independent variable as gender, age, living arrangements, work, school, perceptions of their family, and what time of the day the youth attend Sunday meetings on a specific Sunday. A questionnaire was given to 272 students who attend released school time seminary at a particular high school in Utah. …

The Development Of Print Awareness In Four-Year-Old Children, Barbara Ann Bybee Glover

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Participants for this study were 56 four-year-old children and their parents. All children were enrolled or on a waiting list to be enrolled in a preschool program in the Cache Valley area. A parent questionnaire and environmental assessment were utilized to determine whether a) the physical environment, b) behaviors of parents, and c) birth order of children is related to development of print awareness as measured by a print awareness test.

A variety of statistical analyses was used to explore relationships among the above variables. Major findings suggest that the behaviors that reflect parents' attitudes regarding literacy are most important …

Encouraging Navajo Parents' Involvement In Their Children's Education, Wanda Benale

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The transition of Navajo Indian children from boarding schools to public schools has brought about the challenge of involving parents in their children's education. These people have previously been accustomed to having the education of their children left to the distant schools, with little opportunity for parental involvement. As a consequence, it is often difficult to get these parents to accept the schools' invitations to participate in conferences and other activities when parental involvement is important.

This study reviewed all of the reports that could be found of programs involving Indians and non-Indian parents in their children's education. These programs …

Assessing Depressive Symptoms In Adolescent Boys: Pre- Versus Postpubescent, Delinquent Versus Nondelinquent, David P. Defrancesco

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to compare depressive symptoms reported by boys who were either pre- or postpubescent and who were legally designated delinquent or had no legal histories. A self-report puberty scale and a semi-structured interview (the Child Assessment Schedule-CAS) were administered to 48 boys. Results were analyzed using analysis of variance (ANOVA). Significance levels between groups were examined with Duncan's range test. No significant differences were found between pre- and postpubescent boys for reporting depressive symptoms, but delinquent youths were found to report significantly more depressive symptoms than nondelinquent youths. The implications of these results are discussed …

A Comparison Of Two Self-Conception Disparity Methods As Operationalized Within An Adolescent Population, Diane Marie Stuart

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

It is posited that self-conception disparity is the amount of difference between an individual's ideal self-conception and his or her real self-conception. Such a postulation arises directly from the literature wherein the self-concept is conceptualized as a multitude of self-conceptions an individual has. During the evaluative phase (i.e., the comparison of the ideal self-conception against the real self-conception), an image (self-image) of one's self is evoked. This self-image is associated with an affective response referred to as self-esteem.

Two methods of computing self-conception disparity are compared and contrasted: (a) the often-used Subtraction-Absolute Value Method and (b) a ratio method based …

Use Of The Transactional Analysis Ego State Concept To Measure Client Change In Psychotherapy, Judith Emerson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Although transactional analysis (TA) theory has been used by psychotherapists since its introduction by Eric Berne in the 1960s, the ego state functioning constructs, a seminal part of the theory, have not been adequately validated. Previous research has focused on whether therapy using TA methodology works. This study tested the TA ego state constructs by measuring client change occurring during psychotherapy and comparing those changes with predictions from the TA theory.

Fifty-six subjects, who were clients at a university counseling center in the Rocky Mountain region of the United States, were tested before and after therapy using two standardized instruments, …

A Reliability Study On The Self-Report Behavioral Measure For Evaluating Therapeutic Outcome, Sharon B. Anderson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Statement of the Problem

Because the original reliability study using the Self-Report Behavioral Measure for Evaluating Therapeutic Outcomes (Behavioral Checklist) used college students as subjects, and since the target population for use with this instrument is a client population, there is a need for a reliability study using clients in treatment as subjects.

Objective

The objective of this study was to assess the reliability of the Behavioral Checklist using a client population. The secondary objective was to revise the Behavioral Checklist, if necessary, in order to meet the standards of reliability for testing instruments.

Methods and Procedure

Three reliability measures …

Mothers' Preferences Regarding Sex Education In The Home, Cynthia R. Christopherson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

There is a large amount of evidence suggesting a need to educate children concerning sexual issues. The extent of adolescent pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, and the spread of AIDS are all indicators of the lack of appropriate education. In view of these social concerns, along with the controversy concerning sex education taught in school, it would seem to be helpful if parents provided more adequate sex education. Parents are a primary source of sex education for their children, but many parents lack knowledge and feel inadequate in this role. Without appropriate sex education, children turn to other sources for answers …

The Effects Of An Adolescent Social Skills Training Program On Adolescent Sex Offenders, Roger B. Graves

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this research was to assess the efficacy of a 9-week social skills training (SST) program for improving the social competence of adolescent sex offenders. The study was conducted at an outpatient treatment center, Intermountain Sexual Abuse Treatment Center, in Salt Lake City, Utah. A pretest-posttest control group design was utilized and comparisons were made on a variety of self- and parent-report measures to examine treatment effects. The results indicate that the experimental group was able to acquire the specific SST behaviors to a far greater degree than expected by chance. However, evidence of increased social competence outside …

Family Relations Factors That Facilitate Or Inhibit Middle Adolescent Identity Development, Patricia Hyjer Dyk

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The formation of a sense of personal identity is a major task of adolescence. An adolescent's experimentation with roles is carried out in social interactions, the family being one important context for development. Research evidence suggests that the family's ability to tolerate individuality and maintain connectedness has implications for the process of identity formation.

The purpose of this study was to identify family relations factors that facilitate or inhibit patterns of identity development during middle adolescence (high school years). Self-report and observational data were obtained from 49 families with middle adolescents to tap behaviors conceptualized as enabling or constraining individuality …

Profiles And Trends In Catholic Interfaith Marriages In Utah, Deborah Brown Ascione

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to investigate the phenomenon of interfaith marriage. It is a comparative study using archival data. Utah Catholic interfaith marriage trends over 31 years were compared with three other Catholic dioceses in the United States similar in size or in other demographic characteristics. Results indicate that Utah is not atypical in its intermarriage patterns.

In addition, a micro-level analysis of Catholic interfaith marriages at three points in time was conducted for the Diocese of Salt Lake alone. Statistical analysis employed primarily measures of central tendency. Results indicate that Catholics intermarrying in Utah are older than …

Coping Strategies Of Dairy-Farm Husbands And Wives In Five Northern Utah Counties, Joel Phillip Brandley

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study is to provide a better understanding of the coping strategies used by dairy-farm couples. The independent variables of size of farm, where the respondents grew up, off-farm employment, age, amount of formal education, and debt-to-asset ratio of the farm are analyzed to determine their impact on the use of coping strategies by the dairy-farm husbands and wives.

A sample of 116 dairy farm-couples was drawn from five counties in Northern Utah. The farm husbands and wives were each interviewed separately using a structured questionnaire.

Due to the racial and religious composition of the sample and …

Enhancing Female Adolescent Identity Development Through Ideological Perspective-Taking Training: A Replication And Extension Study, Deborah Lynn Huston

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of ideological perspective-taking training on female identity development. The primary hypothesis of the study was that those subjects engaged in the training sessions would show advancement in identity development that exceeded that of normal adolescent development. Ninety-eight subjects were pretested for the study. Attrition due to elimination during prescreening and failure to complete the training phase of the study left 50 subjects. Participants were assigned to a treatment group, an engaged control group, or a maturational control group. Both the treatment and engaged control groups participated in two sessions a …

An Experimental Analysis Of Second-Order Conditioned Taste Aversion: Drug Pairing Facilitated Through Excitation Of Geotactic Behavior, John H. Gatling

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In two experiments, second-order conditioned taste aversion techniques were employed to develop aversions in rats, with a geotactic-excitation procedure as the independent variable. Periodic tilting of an experimental apparatus resulted in angular orientation changes of all subjects located within compartments of the chamber. The effect was excitation of geotactic behaviors, expressed as locomotor activity within the confines of these compartments.

In the first experiment, two groups of rats (n = 6) were exposed to experimental protocols which were identical with the exception of the independent variable. Three conditioning trials were presented, separated by five to seven days, within which …

The Relationship Between Raw Scores On The Kaufman Assessment Battery For Children And School Attendance For Sioux Children Ages 8-12, Mike Cummings

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A study was conducted to examine one aspect of construct validity for the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (K-ABC). Forty-eight Sioux children at five age levels (8 to 12.5) were used in this study. Relying on theories of child development, most tests of mental abilities have been constructed so that raw scores will increase with age. Pearson r correlation coefficients between age and raw scores were calculated across five age levels for this sample of Sioux children. The Simultaneous-, Sequential-, and Achievement-scale raw scores significantly correlate with age at the .05 level for a one-tailed test of significance. Number Recall …

Self-Consciousness And Body Image Issues Among College Females, Mary E. Doty

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study examined some of the procedures used in eating disorder research. Body size estimation procedures, in light of their similarity to procedures in social psychology, were used to create self-focus and self-consciousness conditions. If the procedures in the present study create self-consciousness effects, it is possible that the results of those studies have been affected by a heightened state of self-awareness. The present research also explored the relationships between self-consciousness, self-esteem, body esteem, body perception, and eating disorder proneness.

The research was conducted with a nonclinical sample from a university population, controlling for age and body development factors. Baseline …

The Effects Of Conditioned Reinforcers On Extinction When Delivered On Schedules Of Extinction, Linda L. Barnard

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of the present research was to examine extinction of responding with regard to the rapidity and thoroughness of the process when conditioned reinforcement was available on one of five schedules during extinction. Forty-five mixed-breed pigeons served as subjects with 15 in each of three experiments. Reinforcement training schedules were as follows: Experiment 1, continuous; Experiment 2, fixed ratio 15; Experiment 3, variable-interval one-minute. After training, subjects experienced one of five extinction procedures (here called schedules of extinction) which were as follows: traditional schedule without keylight did not provide conditioned reinforcement; traditional with keylight had the keylight on continuously …

The Development And Validation Of A System For The Knowledge-Based Tutoring Of Special Education Rules And Regulations, Mark S. Thornburg

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Research indicates that school officials fail to identify a relatively high proportion of school-aged children with behavioral or emotional handicaps. As a result, these children may not be receiving the special education services to which they are entitled. Multidisciplinary team members may be failing to identify these children because they lack understanding of special education rules and regulations. The purpose of this project was to combine the technologies of expert systems and mastery-based instruction to develop an inservice and preservice training program capable of producing mastery-level performance of the skills required to identify children with behavioral or emotional handicaps. Borg …

An Experimental Analysis Of Higher-Order Stimulus Control In Humans, Michael B. Gatch

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This dissertation explored sane effects of context on the development of stimulus classes and the transfer of stimulus functions to novel stimuli. The research was also intended to demonstrate the utility of current behavioral theories for prediction and control of contextual effects on class formation. In Experiment lA, contextual control of stimulus classes was established successfully in all six college-student subjects. Matching-to-sample training successfully transferred the function of the contextual stimuli to four novel stimuli, whim resulted in the formation of two three-member classes of contextual stimuli. The first portion of Experiment 1B replicated Experiment 1A with three additional subjects. …

Day-Specific Time Use By Underachieving Adolescents, Dorothy Jean Cassingham

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The data for this study were obtained in October 1989 through the use of a 128-item questionnaire given to students attending an alternative high school in Ogden, Utah. The Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale was included as part of the questionnaire. A total of 166 usable questionnaires were received from the students.

The objectives of this research were to determine if relationships between self-esteem, race, gender, and religion and time use could be detected in at-risk adolescents. The data collected indicate that self-esteem, religion, gender, and race have only slight significance upon the self-reported time use of the alternative high school student. …

Tourism Dependency And Its Correlation To Selected Socioeconomic Indicators In Utah, Diane S. Gooch

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This paper investigates the relationship between tourism and well being, or quality-of-life, within eighteen counties in Utah. To evaluate the relationship, comparisons of the counties' differing levels of tourism versus their levels of welfare are necessary. To make these comparisons, three basic steps were followed. First, a social ordering model was derived. The proposed social ordering model was based upon Maslow's theory of the hierarchy of human needs. By utilizing his theory, both economic and noneconomic indicators were identified, and a basis was provided upon which to judge the differing positions of well-being. Factor analysis was applied to this model …

Production And Inefficiency, Arunava Bhattacharyya

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The overall purpose of this three-part dissertation is to specify and estimate various components of inefficiency in the production and profit-generating processes. Flexibility in inefficiency-measurement techniques is introduced using stochastic functional forms to overcome the restrictions of the simplifying assumptions used in previous studies. In addition, the profit function approach is used to measure firm specific inefficiency and to view profit inefficiency in the multiple output context. Empirical application of each approach is also attempted. Application of the measurement of the inefficiency component in the first two essays is made using data taken from Indian agriculture. The multiple output model …

A National Survey Of Enterprise Budget Development And Use By The Extension Service, Douglas W. Eck

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This thesis investigates the development and use of viii agricultural enterprise budgets. An enterprise is a single crop or livestock commodity, and enterprise budgets are valuable management tools. They serve as the basic building blocks of complete farm planning.

Two separate surveys gathered information from the Extension Service concerning the use and development of enterprise budgets. Analysis of the survey results identified the most common methods used to create enterprise budgets as well as factors that contribute to their use.

A regression analysis was performed to determine the factors influencing the number of times county agents directly refer to published …

The Effects Of An Attribution-Based Parenting Program On Perceptions Of Parenting Behavior, H. Wallace Goddard

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Attribution theory has become increasingly prominent in social psychology in the last few decades. Insights from attribution theory were used to guide the development of a parenting program. The program was delivered to a group of mothers and fathers of middle-school children in a 5-week parenting program. Parents who volunteered for the program were randomly assigned to treatment and control (delayed treatment) conditions. The program emphasized the dangers of biases in perception and encouraged empathic communication. Parents were encouraged to discuss their own parenting dilemmas in the class. Handouts and reminders were used to help parents understand and remember the …

Visitor Characteristics And Attitudes Toward Policies In The Irish Wilderness Of Southern Missouri, Debra Lynn Bumpus

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Questionnaires which assessed attitudes toward wilderness policies and behavioral norms were distributed to individuals at the Irish Wilderness, in the surrounding communities, and to conservation groups. Questions were designed to describe general wilderness policies and also those policies specific to the Irish Wilderness. The Irish Wilderness, located in southeastern Missouri, was designated as a national wilderness area in 1984. Prior to this 1986 study, no previous studies had been conducted in the area to describe visitor characteristics and attitudes toward wilderness management policies. A comparison was also made between the attitudes of the Irish Wilderness visitor and of Pacific Northwest …

Cognitive And Attributional Correlates Of Depression: An Analysis Of The Redundancy Between Beck's Cognitive Triad And Seligman's Attributional Styles, Kent W. Anderson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to examine the degree vi of redundancy between two prominent cognitive theories of depression: Beck's cognitive triad and Seligrnan's attributional triad. Three hundred and eighteen subjects were recruited from nine different psychology courses at Utah State University and affiliated locations across the state. Subjects completed the Cognitive Triad Inventory (CTI), the Attributional Style Questionnaire (ASQ), and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI).

Results indicate that the three CTI subscales (self, world, and future) and the three ASQ subscales (internal, global, and stable) did not correlate sufficiently to merit integration across measures. However, factor analyses reduced …