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Full-Text Articles in Psychology

Training A New Trick Using No-Reward Markers: Effects On Dogs’ Performance And Stress Behaviors, Naomi Rotenberg Dec 2015

Training A New Trick Using No-Reward Markers: Effects On Dogs’ Performance And Stress Behaviors, Naomi Rotenberg

Theses and Dissertations

This study explored using no-reward markers (NRMs). Dogs were taught a novel trick. In the IG group dogs’ errors were ignored; in the NRM group they elicited a tone. Performance and stress were evaluated. IG dogs reached higher levels of performance, with no difference in the frequency of stress behaviors.


Functionally Distinct Pools Of Calcineurin Contribute To Depotentiation-Like Synaptic Changes In The Lateral Amygdala During Auditory Fear Extinction, Elena Kay Rotondo Dec 2015

Functionally Distinct Pools Of Calcineurin Contribute To Depotentiation-Like Synaptic Changes In The Lateral Amygdala During Auditory Fear Extinction, Elena Kay Rotondo

Theses and Dissertations

Until recently, auditory fear extinction was not thought to modify substrates involved in the storage of the original auditory fear memory. Evidence now suggests that extinction results in the reversal of the fear conditioning-induced potentiation of thalamic inputs to the lateral amygdala. However, little is known about the molecular mechanisms that support this depotentiation of synaptic strength. Here we present behavioral and molecular evidence in support of the contribution of two distinct pools of the protein phosphatase calcineurin to depotentiation-like changes in lateral amygdala AMPA receptor trafficking during auditory fear extinction. Calcineurin protein that exists prior to the onset of …


Effects Of Reinforcement Duration And Duration-Correlated Stimuli On Preference In Pigeons, Michael James Harman Dec 2015

Effects Of Reinforcement Duration And Duration-Correlated Stimuli On Preference In Pigeons, Michael James Harman

Theses and Dissertations

Pigeons were trained in a two-key, concurrent chains choice procedure with equal initial and terminal links. Across conditions, the durations of reinforcement in the terminal links were either equal (3-s vs 3-s) or unequal (3-s vs 6-s), and these durations were either uncued by hopper lights (both white) or cued (3-s: white; 6-s: colored). The pigeons’ choice responding leading to the longer duration of reinforcement was generally in the range of indifference with nondifferential hopper lights, but favored the longer duration with differential hopper lights. Taken together, the data suggest that differential hopper lights facilitated the discrimination of the longer …


Using Video Modeling To Teach Parents To Use The Natural Language Paradigm, Brittany Ann Leblanc Dec 2015

Using Video Modeling To Teach Parents To Use The Natural Language Paradigm, Brittany Ann Leblanc

Theses and Dissertations

There is paucity of research examining the use of video modeling to train parents to implement formats of early intervention such as Naturalistic Environmental Training (NET). The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the efficacy of video modeling to train parents to implement the Naturalistic Language Paradigm (NLP), a specific format of NET, with their children diagnosed with or suspected of having autism spectrum disorder. All three parents demonstrated accurate performance of the components of NLP with an adult confederate and met the mastery criterion in two or three video modeling sessions. We measured the parent’s accurate implementation …


Decreasing Bouts Of Prolonged Sitting Among Office Workers, Nicholas Green May 2015

Decreasing Bouts Of Prolonged Sitting Among Office Workers, Nicholas Green

Theses and Dissertations

Health care costs of preventable diseases such as cardiovascular disease, type II diabetes, and obesity are higher than ever, and indicate the need for behavioral interventions. Research has shown that individuals who sit for extended periods are at higher risk for these diseases. Moreover, the risks associated with sitting have been found to be independent of an individual’s physical activity. That is, longer durations of sitting per day are associated with higher levels of unwanted health risks, regardless of how often an individual exercises. There is a need to address this issue in today’s inactive workplace. Research indicates that office …


The Impact Of Relational Training Of Preferred Food And Non-Preferred Food To Arbitrary Symbols On Implicit Relational Tasks, Janelle Antoinette Allison May 2015

The Impact Of Relational Training Of Preferred Food And Non-Preferred Food To Arbitrary Symbols On Implicit Relational Tasks, Janelle Antoinette Allison

Theses and Dissertations

The Mixed-Trial Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure (MT-IRAP) is a tool for measuring implicit behavior (i.e., biases or beliefs the individual is unaware of or intends to conceal from the public) among individuals. The MT-IRAP is a modified version of the Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure (IRAP) and was designed to address limitations inherent to the IRAP’s design. The MT-IRAP was tested with adult participants across a series of five studies. Throughout each study, the MTIRAP assessed implicit behavior toward high-preferred foods, non-preferred foods, and arbitrary symbols. The experimenter administered the MT-IRAP before and after participant completion of a task designed to …


Comparing Fixed-Amount And Progressive-Amount Schedules Of Reinforcement For Tic Suppression, Matthew Richard Capriotti May 2015

Comparing Fixed-Amount And Progressive-Amount Schedules Of Reinforcement For Tic Suppression, Matthew Richard Capriotti

Theses and Dissertations

Chronic tic disorders (CTDs) involve motor and/or vocal tics that cause substantial distress and impairment. Existing behavioral interventions for CTDs have comparable efficacy to pharmacological treatments but still leave many individuals with significant tic symptoms and impairment. One approach to improving existing treatments involves conducting pre-clinical laboratory research to evaluate procedures that may be attractive candidates for applied treatment research. Reinforcing tic suppression via differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO) procedures produces decreases in tic frequency of ~80% in youth with CTDs; however, a more robust reduction may be needed to affect durable clinical change. The present study compared the …


Long-Term Effects Of Response Cards On Student Engagement And Academic Performance By Students With Disabilities, Deidra Nicole Shubert May 2015

Long-Term Effects Of Response Cards On Student Engagement And Academic Performance By Students With Disabilities, Deidra Nicole Shubert

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the effects of response cards on student engagement and academic performance during math instruction. Students in a middle school classroom for students with emotional and behavior disorders (EBD) received two different instructional conditions: (a) hand raising or (b) response cards. An experimental group was compared to a control group on three identical academic tests administered at various times throughout the school semester to evaluate long-term effects of response cards on academic performance. Analysis of the results indicated increases in student engagement when response cards were implemented when compared to sessions during which students used hand raising to …