Psychology Commons^™

Evaluation Of The Efficiency Of And Preference For Analog Versus Mand Training On The Acquisition Of Mands For Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Melissa L. King

Theses & Dissertations

The present study provides a systematic replication of the Jennett, Harris, and Delmolino (2008) study comparing discrete trial instruction (DTI) and mand training on the acquisition of mands for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). An adapted alternating treatment design was implemented across three participants. Independent mands, variation in requested items, and duration of sessions were assessed across conditions. Generalization probes were conducted to assess generalization across communication partners (e.g., novel research assistants), along with a maintenance probe one-week post-training. Furthermore, a concurrent-chains arrangement was implemented to assess participants’ preference for teaching strategies. All participants reached mastery criterion quickest with …

Reducing The Risk Of Suicide On An Inpatient Acute Behavioral Health Unit, Thomas I. Coleman Mr

Master's Projects and Capstones

Evidence suggest for those who have successfully committed suicide in the form of asphyxiation inside locked facilities are more than likely due to patient bathroom doors. The current unit consists of 30 inpatient medical-psychiatric beds serving the adult and geriatric populations. The goal is to ensure patient safety by removing patient bathroom doors and replacing them with breakaway shower curtains for those exhibiting direct signs and symptoms of suicidal ideations with a plan. The specific aim is to improve patient outcomes by decreasing the number of deaths or attempted suicides. With great results, this type of project has been implemented …

The Regional Study Of Sleep-Related Behaviors Of Nurse Anesthetists: Personal And Professional Implications: A Replication Study, Jarrod Fontenelle

Doctoral Projects

Universally, anesthesia providers are expected to be knowledgeable, astutely responding to clinical challenges while maintaining a prolonged vigilance for administration of safe anesthesia and critical care. A fatigued anesthetist is the consequence of cumulative acuity manifesting as decreased motor and cognitive powers. This results in patient harm, impaired judgement, late and inadequate responses to clinical changes, poor communications, and medical errors. With increased expectations and medical-legal claims, anesthesiologists work to provide efficient and timely services, but are rendered sleep deprived themselves. It is the right time to address the issue of the health of anesthesia providers and the profession. The …

Exploring Acceptance Of Using An Online Platform To Teach Parents Of Children With Autism Methods In Applied Behavior Analysis (Aba), Marwah S. Zagzoug

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Background and Purpose of the Study: A diagnosis of autism can lead to lifelong struggles for parents and children. These families face profound difficulties in coping with stress while seeking out early interventions and managing imperative service needs. Parents are increasingly turning to the internet for information, advice, and even formal training. Breakthroughs in technology have made the internet more accessible and more sophisticated. The involvement of parents in applying intervention strategies to help their autistic children has long been advocated as a useful approach. Enabling parents as interventionists provides renewed confidence and reduced stress for parents as well as …

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.

Feasibility Of A Peer Support Oriented Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Training Massive Open Online Course For Emotion Dysregulation, Rachel Gill

Senior Theses

Public interest in mental health care modernization has steadily gained momentum since ratifying The United States Health Care Affordability Act (U.S. Office of the Legislative Counsel, 2010). Furthermore, with 1 in every 1000 people seeking online support for mental health issues (DeAndrea & Anthony, 2013), research concerning the development of virtual mental health applications is critical to ensure science guides their innovation. To this end, this study explores the feasibility of a mental health intervention that unites the experiential, recovery-oriented, and self-determined values of mental health peer support (Kaufman et al., 2014) with dialectical behavior therapy skills training (DBT-ST) (Linehan, …

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 …

An Examination Of The Relationship Between Psychological Distress And Risky Sexual Behaviors Among A Treatment-Seeking Opioid-Dependent Population, Hayley M. Smith

USC Aiken Psychology Theses

Substance abusing populations are at an increased risk for disease transmission and have higher rates of psychological comorbidity compared to the general population (e.g., Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2012a; Chaudhury & Singh, 2009; Des Jarlais, Semaan, & Arasteh, 2011; Goodwin & Stein, 2013). Numerous studies have implicated the interaction of psychological distress and risky sexual behaviors in the increased risk of disease transmission, however, several studies have not found this association. It has been suggested that there may be curvilinear relationship between psychological distress and risky sexual behaviors but this theory has yet to be tested. The …

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

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 …

A Comparison Of Two Function-Based Interventions: Ncr Vs. Dro In A Preschool Classroom, Zachary C. Labrot

Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to determine the relative efficacy of non-contingent reinforcement (NCR) and differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO) after behavioral functions have been identified through indirect, descriptive, and experimental assessment. Participants included three preschool-age children in center-based classrooms (Head Start) in a southeastern school district. Functional assessment data were used to inform treatment procedures, which were examined with an alternating treatments design. This study examined (1) relative differences in the efficacy of NCR and DRO in decreasing problem behaviors in preschool children, (2) relative differences in the efficacy of NCR and DRO in increasing appropriate behavior, …

Evaluation Of A Training Program (Strap) Designed To Decrease Young Drivers Secondary Task Engagement In High Risk Scenarios, Akhilesh Krishnan

Masters Theses

Distracted driving involving secondary tasks is known to lead to an increased likelihood of being involved in motor vehicle crashes. Some secondary tasks are unnecessary and should never be performed. But other secondary tasks, e.g., operating the defroster, are critical to safe driving. Ideally, the driver should schedule when to perform the critical tasks such that the likelihood of a hazard materializing is relatively small during the performance of the secondary task. The current study evaluates a training program -- STRAP (Secondary Task Regulatory & Anticipatory Program) -- which is designed to make drivers aware of latent hazards …

Behavioral And Neural Mechanisms Of Impulsive Choice, Jesse Mcclure

Doctoral Dissertations

Impulsive choice is defined as the preference for a small immediate reward over a larger delayed reward. Individual variablity in impulsive choice correlates with many socially relevant behaviors. Although forms of impulsive choice have been studied in both behavioral ecology and psychology, the exchange of knowledge between these fields is just beginning. Drawing from both of these fields will improve our research methods allowing for a more detailed understanding of this complex behavior. Existing tasks to measure impulsive choice conflate the delay and quantity of the reward. To address this, I have drawn from foraging research to establish a method …

An Individualized Approach To Teach Greeting And Conversation Skills With Persons With Autism: Efficacy, Generalization, And Social Acceptability Outcomes, Stephanie A. Hood

Theses & Dissertations

Individuals with an autism spectrum disorder commonly exhibit deficits in social skills, which can lead to a lack of friendships (Howlin, 2003) and underemployment (Shattuck et al., 2012). We selected social skills based on a parent interview and a direct assessment of three individuals’ conversation and greeting deficits. We taught the conversation and greeting skills using behavioral skills training and within-session prompting. We assessed generalization of the conversation and greeting skills across unfamiliar conversation partners and maintenance over time. We obtained parent responses on the social acceptability of their child’s social skills. A multiple baseline design across behaviors was used …

A Comparison Of Measurement Systems To Score Sleep Disturbance For Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders, Aaron Lesser

Theses & Dissertations

Direct observation of children’s sleep disturbance in the home is critical to understanding child behavior while awake and determining qualitative features of the sleep environment, but obtaining these data from an in-home recorded video, second-by-second, is impractical in terms of scoring time because observers score when the child is asleep and awake. In Studies 1 and 2, we conducted an analog study to assess a motion-detection camera to determine whether it would be suitable to measure children’s sleep disturbance. In Study 3, we obtained in-home measures of sleep disturbance for three children with an autism spectrum disorder using a motion-detection, …

Behavior Analysis Program To Improve Habits Of Physical Activity, Eating, And Sleeping, Ivan Noe Martinez Salazar

Dissertations

An Internet-based five-week duration program to improve “health habits” using behavior analysis principles and eHealth technology was developed and evaluated. The “health habits” include recurring behaviors that impact health status such as eating, sleeping, and physical activity.

Ten adult participants were recruited online from Mexico. A multiple baseline design was used and participants were randomly assigned into two different groups (i.e., ABBAA and AABBA groups). Participants received online training using videos describing the characteristics of the program and its components. Each participant recorded selected health behaviors using a Microsoft Excel® tool designed specifically for this program’s goal achievements. Participants reported …

Learning To Learn And Naming Through Receptive And Expressive Identification, Kelli Perry

Dissertations

Poor or no language skills are typical of most preschool children with autism (American Psychological Association, 2013). Language can be divided into the two components of receptive, or listener, skills and expressive, or speaker, skills. Recommendations for sequencing language instruction vary across the different behavior-analytic instructional models (Lovaas, 1981; Barbara & Rasmussen, 2007; Sundberg & Partington, 1998; Sundberg, 2008). The current study sought to examine those recommendations using young children (three- to four-years-old) with limited vocal repertoires and to explore the acquisition of learning to learn (Harlow, 1949) and naming (Greer & Ross, 2007). This research (1) adds to the …

Wellness, Relaxation, Creativity: Development Of A Business Plan Igniting The Creative Journey Towards Self-Actualization, Julie A. Wolasz

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

This project explores the affective side of creativity and its involvement in personal growth towards self-actualization. The author proposes that the implementation of relaxation techniques and creative training methods in a specialized spa-like retreat setting could assist an individual in their goals towards reaching self-actualization and ultimately producing a more creative person. The finished product includes a business plan identifying a business that is dedicated to guiding individuals towards self-actualization through a creative journey utilizing relaxation techniques, mindfulness and creativity training.

The Effects Of Brand Familiarity On Perceived Risks, Attitudes, And Purchase Intentions Toward Intimate Apparel Brands: The Case Of Victoria’S Secret, Jennifer Lynn Rose

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to examine the effects of brand familiarity on reducing consumers’ perceived risks in intimate apparel shopping, which in turn influence consumers’ attitudes and purchase intentions toward intimate apparel brands. To predict relationships among perceptions of risk and consumer behaviors, the present study adopted the perceived risk theory (Cox, 1976) and a modified version of the theory of reasoned action (TRA; Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975).

An online survey was conducted by recruiting adult females through a large Mid-Southern university in the U.S. Reliable and valid measures from previous research were adopted and modified to assess …

Development And Preliminary Validation Of A Nonmedical Prescription Drug Motives Questionnaire, Lauren Ashleigh Milner

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The prevalence of nonmedical prescription drug (NMPD) use continues to increase among emerging adult populations; however, little is known about the motivations behind this use. The current study aimed to extend previous research by developing and validating the first known comprehensive NMPD motives measure. As such, the primary focus of the current study was to examine evidence for the reliability and validity of the NMPD Motives Questionnaire by assessing the factor structure, internal consistency, and construct validity of the motives scale. Participants were drawn from a larger study of college student substance use behaviors and attitudes (N = 1,427; Mage= …

Measuring Consumer Expectations Of Salesperson Unethicality: A Scale Development, Amiee Mellon

Marketing Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation addresses how and what ethical expectations (prior to conducting business) affect customer trust of the salesperson. In order to do so, this dissertation achieves two things. First, a scale for measuring the consumer’s expectations of salesperson unethicality (CESU) is systematically developed and validated based on the existing ethics literature and previously developed scales. Second, the scale’s properties and potential application are examined through hypothesis testing regarding the effects of (1) word of mouth on brand equity and consumer’s expectations of unethicality, and the effects of (2) brand equity and consumer’s expectations of unethicality on trust of the salesperson. …

Effects Of Early-Adolescent, Mid-Adolescent, Or Adult Stress On Morphine Conditioned Place Preference, Chloe Shields

Senior Theses

In light of previous work demonstrating that stress can increase subjective drug reward in adult rats, the present study investigated the influence of stress on morphine conditioned place preference (CPP) in early-adolescent, mid-adolescent, and adult male Sprague-Dawley rats. Subjects in each age group were assigned to either a no stress condition or a stress condition in which they were exposed to an unpredictable eight-day schedule of elevated platform and synthetic fox odor stressors. Place conditioning then evaluated subjective morphine reward in all animals. Using a biased procedure, subjects were assigned to receive morphine on the initially non-preferred side of the …

The Effects Of Schedule Density Of Reinforcement For Alternative Behavior On Resurgence, Kathryn M. Kestner

Dissertations

Resurgence is the reemergence of a previously extinguished response when an alternative response no longer produces reinforcement. Although returning to previously successful methods for obtaining reinforcement is likely advantageous, resurgence also occurs in the form of treatment relapse. An individual may return to problematic behavior (e.g., aggression, self-injury, drug use) when an alternative behavior (e.g., communication response, coping skill, social behavior, etc.) is no longer successful at producing a reinforcer. Behavior analysts rely on treatments based on differential reinforcement of alternative behavior, and resurgence has been demonstrated following changes to reinforcement schedules due to errors in treatment integrity or intentional …

An Analysis Of The Impact Of Emotional Literacy Instruction On At-Risk Students, Shannon H. Garcia

Dissertations

This study examined the impact of social-emotional literacy instruction for at-risk adolescents ages 13 to 18 at the high school level. Of particular interest is the impact of social-emotional literacy instruction on at-risk youth Grades 9-12 in secondary high schools’ 8-week-long social-emotional literacy class through Project AWARE, particularly in the areas of suspension, expulsion, attendance, connectivity, attitude toward school, resiliency, and relational aggression rates; the data were analyzed using archival data and teacher interview. Project AWARE, the social-emotional literacy intervention examined in this study, educates and provides mentorship for at-risk students, while also providing a group educational component on relationships …

Workplace Aggression: A Multi-Study Examination Of Work And Nonwork Consequences, Caitlin Ann Demsky

Dissertations and Theses

Workplace aggression has been associated with a number of detrimental employee and organizational outcomes, both at work and away from work. This dissertation includes three studies that expand our knowledge of the implications of workplace aggression in the work and nonwork domains. Further, this research illuminates the processes through which this relationship occurs by utilizing various sources of data from employees in a variety of contexts including universities, long term health care, and the USDA Forest Service. In Study 1, which was published in the Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, multi-source data are utilized to identify the indirect effects of …

Dynamic Job Satisfaction Shifts: Implications For Manager Behavior And Crossover To Employees, David Ellis Caughlin

Dissertations and Theses

In this dissertation, I investigated job satisfaction from a dynamic perspective. Specifically, I integrated the momentum model of job satisfaction with the affective shift model and crossover theory in an effort to move beyond traditional, static conceptions of job satisfaction and other constructs. Recent research and theoretical development has focused on the meaning of job satisfaction change for workers and how such change impacts their decisions to leave an organization. To extend this line of inquiry, I posited hypotheses pertaining to: (a) job satisfaction change with respect to positive work behavior (i.e., organizational citizenship behavior, family-supportive supervisor behavior); (b) the …

Delay And Probabilistic Discounting Of Alcoholic Beverages, Frank L. Galante

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Discounting tasks were used to determine the degree to which college undergraduates discounted delayed and probabilistic alcoholic beverages. Tasks were framed in terms of gains (i.e.,obtaining a hypothetical amount of alcohol) and losses (i.e., losing a hypothetical amount of alcohol). In all gain and loss conditions, discounting was evident and was generally well described by a hyperboloid function. Gains were discounted more steeply then losses. There were no correlations between the median delay gain discounting rates and the median delay loss discounting rates. Likewise, there were no correlations between the median probabilistic gain discounting rates and the median probabilistic loss …

The Effects Of In-Class Application Questions On Academic Behaviors, Julia Ricotta

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Interteaching is a behavioral method of teaching college co urses, where students take a more active approach to learning. The current study manipulated int erteaching preparation guides and studied the effects on exam scores, attendance, duration of discussion, and ratings of the discussions. Both groups received the same materials in di fferent formats. The control group completed full prep guides at home, which included factual an d application questions. The intervention group completed revised prep guides at home, whi ch included factual questions, and application questions in class. During discussions, the control group discussed answers to the full prep guides, …

International Distance Coaching Of Therapists To Improve Verbal Behavior By Children With Autism, Ana Barkaia

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

This study examined the effects of distance coaching on the mastery of therapists’ skills and the development of verbal behavior of children with autism. Three therapists and three children receiving early intervention services in the NGO Children of Georgia in the developing country of Georgia-Sakartvelo in Eastern Europe participated in this research. The therapists received distance coaching about the implementation of ABA therapy from Virginia. The intervention was recorded and coded by observers in Georgia-Sakartvelo and in Harrisonburg/Virginia,USA. The effects of distance coaching was investigated within a multiple baseline across participant.

A Detailed Analysis Of Coaching In Teacher-Child Interaction Training (Tcit), Krystal M. Studivant

Dissertations, 2014-2019

Teacher-Child Interaction Training (TCIT) is a school-based prevention program in which teachers are taught to use basic principles of behavior modification in the classroom to prevent and reduce problem behaviors in young children. A key aspect of the effectiveness of TCIT is the in-vivo coaching, which allows for immediate feedback during the natural flow of teaching activities with children. The purpose of the current study is two-fold: a) to support the research on the effectiveness of the DePaul TCIT method in preschool classrooms and b) to analyze the content and quality of coaching statements. The intervention was introduced sequentially within …