Psychology Commons^™

The Feasibility Of Assessing Infants’ Social Evaluations Using Within-Subject Repeated Measures In A Virtual Format, Samantha Crooks

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Foundational research on infant social evaluations (e.g., Hamlin et al., 2007; Hamlin et al., 2011; Hamlin & Wynn, 2011) has been cited over 2,500 times and infant researchers suggest these data show infants have an unlearned preference for prosocial others. However, several failed replications have been published, which might be attributable to the type of research methods used to investigate this question. A single measure of the dependent variable is ubiquitous among these studies; within-subject repeated measures are rarely used. In the current study, we adapted methods used by Hamlin and Wynn (2011) to a video-only format, due to COVID-19 …

Exploring The Need For Social Emotional Learning Programs: A New Model For Mental Health And Wellness, Karen Sarafian

Benerd College Student Articles

In their early years, children often experience a number of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) including verbal, physical, and sexual abuse; violence; neglect; poverty; and parental divorce, incarceration, and addiction (Bjrkenstam et al., 2017; Dube et al., 2001; Fuller-Thomson et al., 2014; Sarafian, 2018a). These ACEs place children at greater risk of developing academic and behavioral problems, as well as a number of mental health challenges in adolescence and adulthood (Chapman et al., 2007; Sarafian, 2018a). Committed to providing mental health education and services to those impacted by ACEs, a number of organizations are addressing ACE-related challenges within the context of …

Effects Of Extended Intervention Conditions On Levels Of Physical Activity Exhibited By Young Children, Ingunn Kristjansdottir Oveny

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Physical activity is an important health-related behavior, and The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that children engage in at least 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous-physical activity (MVPA) daily (CDC, 2015). However, worldwide, many children do not reach those requirements and health problems associated with physical inactivity are becoming more prevalent (CDC, 2015; World Health Organization [WHO], 2016). Recently, a few studies have conducted an intervention analysis to evaluate implications for function-based interventions to increase physical activity (Larson, Normand, Morley, & Miller, 2014; Zerger, Normand, Boga, & Patel, 2016). However, intervention analyses, indicate an overall decrease in levels of …

Evaluating Feedback During The Step It Up! Game To Increase Physical Activity Exhibited By Elementary School Students During Recess, Carla Burji

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Children who are physically inactive are more likely to suffer numerous health complications such as obesity, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes. The Good Behavior Game (GBG) has been identified as an effective method for decreasing inappropriate behaviors and increasing appropriate behaviors in a variety of settings; however, few studies have used the GBG to increase physical activity. Furthermore, no previous research has evaluated the effects of feedback while playing the GBG to increase physical activity. Some research suggests certain characteristics of feedback tend to produce consistent changes in behaviors such as providing feedback immediately and privately. The purpose of the current …

Teaching Friendship Making Skills To Emotionally Disturbed Children, Alison Stewart Agras

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Numerous studies have demonstrated the efficacy of teaching children appropriate social skill behavior. The present study investigated a coaching procedure to teach emotionally disturbed children appropriate social skills within the context: of fourteen arts and crafts sessions. Using a multiple baseline across groups design, two groups of four children received training. As a result of training, cooperation behavior showed a moderate change, while eye contact increased substantially for both groups. The behaviors of on task and communication changed only slightly. In addition, these changes generalized to different settings and were· maintained over time. However, praising, receiving praise, as well as …

Children's Responses To Medically Induced Discrete, Acute Pain, Brenda D. Ballard

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Three experiments were carried out with children in a private office on the measurement of distress caused by allergy treatment injections and on a behavioral technique to alleviate this treatment-induced distress. In Experiment 1 a rating scale to measure observable indices of distress with children receiving injections was developed and its construct validity and reliability determined. In Experiment 2, norms were derived for the sample of children studied and the nature of the expression of distress according to age and sex was examined. In Experiment 3 two treatments for alleviating the treatment-induced distress, (a) sensory information, and (b) systematic reinforcement …

The Influence Of Response Modality On Children's Imitation Of Helping And Coercive Behavior, Wallace Arthur Melcher

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

The present study examined the effects of adult, film mediated models on the prosocial behavior of school children. Also the effect of congruency and incongruency between the model's response and the response the children were asked to perform was investigated. Thirty third-grade students, 19 female and 11 male, were randomly assigned to three groups. The first group observed a short film of an adult model providing helping (positive) feedback to a young boy who was playing a marble maze game. The second group was treated identically to the first except that the model provided coercive (negative) feedback. The third group …

Comparison Of Behavior Changes Of Children In The Home And School Setting After Parents Receive Instruction In Behavior Modification, Beverly Ann Beavers

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

The mother of 1 grade school child and 2 sets of parents of 2 preschool children were trained in the home to use behavior modification techniques to reduce the undesirable behaviors of their children. Generalization from the home to the school setting was investigated. There was no support for or against changes in the homes generalizing to the classrooms. The mother of a 7-year-old girl with borderline intelligence used "time out" to curb the child's failure to follow instructions, tendency to be argumentative, and tendency to tantrum. The hyperactivity of a 41/2-year old girl was diminished. in part by changes …

Stimulus Selection Under Conditions Of Free Choice By Preschool Children At Baseline And After Adaptation, Andrea Lyn Shields

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

The experiments reported in the present paper may be characterized as belonging to the general area of motivation research referred to as stimulus selection behavior. Stimulus selection behavior includes curiosity, exploratory, and manipulatory activities. Generally, the research in the area attempts to determine the relation between changes in the stimulus and changes in the measures of approach behavior in the subject (s). In this research, approach behavior is apparently unrelated to organic need conditions. The experiments presented in this paper were designed to determine a preschool child's stimulus preference as he entered the experimental setting, and whether that preference could …

A Study Of Early Reasoning Skills In The Trainable Mentally Retarded : As Related To Piaget's Seriation Theory, Robert William Ginther

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

In terms of Piaget's theory of cognitive development and the relationship he attributes between reasoning and the development of classification and seriation skills, the following questions arise: can early reasoning ability be enhanced through training? If IQ tests are accepted as measures of intellectual function, do they then contain a significant number of seriation type questions? If so, will the seriation test be an accepted measure of intellectual function?

Mexican-American Children In The Process In Acculturation, Elizabeth Ford Stone O'Neill

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

The web of Mexican-American life is complex in its origins, its manifestations, and its degree of identification with or alienation from the dominant culture. A thesis of the length of this one can deal with all this complexity only in a superficial way. However, by a rather narrowly defined examination of a few children certain insights may be gained which could be used as a basis for generalization about other children of similar background, and perhaps even for some tentative generalizations about the problems of the Mexican-American community as a whole.

With this purpose in mind -- to inquire intensively …

Children's Reactions To One Hundred Thirty-Seven Visual Items, Robert James Tufts

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to present the responses of children to one hundred thirty-seven visual items developed under the direction of the present writer specifically for this purpose. The items are pen and ink sketches of situations, actions and objects which any child might find in his daily living or about which he might fantasy.

The subject matter of the items can be best be determined by direct reference to them as they are presented in Chapter III of this thesis. They represent many types of situations and objects with no intention of including or evaluating any specific …