Psychology Commons^™

In Search Of An Operational Definition Of Social Creativity, Constance J. O'Brien

Critical and Creative Thinking Capstones Collection

Having argued for the existence of social creativity as observed in daily life, I will proceed in chapters two through four with a selective review of the psychological literature on social cognition, empathy, and social intelligence to determine whether any of these concepts can adequately account for the behavior cited. I will proceed to identify the connections between these concepts and creativity. Examining the concepts, their relationships to each other, and the degree to which any of these concepts alone can account for imaginative social problem solving will demonstrate the need for a new [...]

A Review Of Communication On Psychological Gender: Actors, Behaviors And Context, J. Indvik, Mary A. Fitzpatrick

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Sex Differences In The Language Development Rates Of Two-Year Olds, Laurel A. Hickman

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine and compare the language development rate of male and female children, 24 to 30 months of age, during a three month time period.

The Effects Of Objective Self Awareness And Anxiety Upon Cartoon Humor Appreciation, Kathleen Marshall Bullock

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.

Toward A Behavioral Analysis Of Attentiveness As A Style Of Communication, Ray Alan Coker

Dissertations and Theses

Attentiveness, a variable of communication, primarily serves a stylistic function in the communicative process by providing behavioral evidence that an individual is actively involved in message reception. Past research suggests that while both verbal and nonverbal behaviors signal attentiveness, nonverbal cues are more closely associated with this construct. Among the many nonverbal behaviors of individuals in interactions, postural positions have been deemed highly indicative of attentiveness. At present however, most of the empirical evidence attesting to this notion has been established through the use of self-report measures. As a result of the felt need by this author to improve upon …

Psychometric Properties Of The Group Process Questionnaire, Lucia Igou Eakins

Dissertations and Theses

The Group Process Questionnaire (GPQ), a 55-item rating scale, was developed by Richard Wollert in 1981 to assess perceptions of the frequency of processes occurring in self-help groups (SHGs). The GPQ was first employed by Wollert, Eakins, and Dixon (Note 1) as the primary data collection instrument in an ongoing investigation of urban SHGs. This investigation is one of a small number of empirical studies which have attempted to specify the range of SHG activities. Due to the relatively recent emergence of SHGs as topics of research, and the unique obstacles to research presented by the independent character of these …

A Mass Media Campaign To Promote Divorce Adjustment, James C. Gardiner

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Introduction. This study produced and evaluated a mass media campaign designed to promote emotional adjustment to divorce.

Hypotheses. (a) Sending a promotional newsletter to divorced persons will increase their reported utilization of the campaign. (b) Divorced persons who report heavy utilization of the campaign will report greater emotional improvement than divorced persons who report light or no utilization of the campaign.

Method. A field experiment was conducted in rural northern Utah. The names of all recently (less than 12 months) divorced persons were obtained from the county clerk and randomly divided into an experimental group, who received a newsletter promoting …

Analogic Communication As A Method Of Facilitating Change, Patricia Ann Tennery-Williams

Masters Theses

This thesis focused on nonverbal communication and the ways in which it may be employed to facilitate change in the context of psychotherapy. The anthropological, psychological, and medical literature was reviewed, and an overview presented of the relevant research on nonverbal communication. Nonverbal communication forms a critical dimension in the overall communication in the psychotherapeutic interaction. The importance of the therapist’s recognition of nonverbal behaviors characteristic of particular personality structures as well as the functions of nonverbal messages was examined. The utilization of meaningful nonverbal behavior by the therapist can greatly facilitate the client's change into more healthy and constructive …

Toward A Measure Of Correspondence In Relational Perceptions In Marital Dyads, Deborah Anne Coker

Dissertations and Theses

In order to assess a component of communication in interpersonal relationships, an instrument was developed to determine the correspondence in relational perceptions between partners in a marital dyad. The current study focuses on the levels of awareness spouses exhibit regarding phenomenological perceptions of themselves, their partners and the status of their dyadic system.

Empathy, Communication Skills, And Group Cohesiveness: A Systematic Approach, Michael Hass

Education Faculty Articles and Research

"This article presents an approach to the teaching of interpersonal communication skills to children from 7-11 years of age, and should be of great interest to professionals in the fields of psychology, social work, education and people involved in training such persons."

Ua35/11 Student Honors Research Bulletin, Wku Honors Program

WKU Archives Records

The WKU Student Honors Research Bulletin is dedicated to scholarly involvement and student research. These papers are representative of work done by students from throughout the university.

• Condis, Rebecca. Reconstituted Families: Counseling Concepts and Application
• Miller, Brad. Does Congress Effectively Regulate the Ethics of its Members?
• Grizzle, Dennis. Electron Microscopy of Polytrichum Moss Spores
• Collins, Lynell. Transformational Effects on Cytoskeleton and Cell-Surface Antigens
• Hamilton, Joy. A Summary of Flaws in Thomas Hardy's Far From the Madding Crowd
• Martin, Lanna. Sadie F. Price: Artist, Botanist, Author and Naturalist
• Wood, Irene. The Imagery of Smoke, Fire and Ash: A Study of the …

Communication Apprehension As A Predictor Of Proxemic Establishment, Self-Esteem, & Dogmatism, Joseph Cardot Iii

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Based upon limited findings dealing with nonverbal behavior and personality traits as they relate to communication apprehension, the purpose of this study was to examine the relationship of communication apprehension with proxemic establishment, self-esteem, and dogmatism. The study analyzed these variables utilizing subjects who were statistically either high or low communication apprehensives. Interesting results were attained. An inverse relationship between apprehension and proxemic establishment was revealed, such that dyads containing low-low members established greater interpersonal distance than dyads containing high-low members who established greater interpersonal distance than dyads containing high-high members. Communication apprehension overrode the sex variable with relation to …

The Effect Of Leadership Predictions On Actual Leadership Emergence In Small Task Groups, Robert Anderson Jr.

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Research has shown that prior expectations of on individual's performance can have a significant effect on others behavior and attitudes toward that individual. This phenomenon was tested on the emergent leadership process with zero history groups. Male students in various social fraternities at a regional university were given a leadership test designed to measure their leadership abilities. The leadership tests were never scored, but the subjects were told that they were, and, one of the group members was reported as scoring exceptionally nigh. The group was then given one of two tasks to perform, and the emergent leadership process was …

Jack Mcduffie Papers, Zach S. Henderson Library Special Collections

Finding Aids

The collection consists of papers that describe the publication process of McDuffie's 1979 book, Walk out with Me. The materials span between 1975-1980 and include various drafts of the book, publishers' letters, review and stories in the Savannah Morning News.

Find this collection in the University Libraries' catalog.

The Motivation Of Self-Investment, Dan Nunley

Graduate Theses

A game of chance void of feedback was played by 36 adults to determine the motivational properties of various degrees of self-investment. The levels of self-investment were created by altering the extent to which subjects were involved in making one of the symbols used in the game. A practice trial was used to establish each subjects base score and a final trial to determine behavior changes induced by self-investment. The gains between trials yielded significant results (p<.01) due to subject participation in the experimental process.

A Study Of The Relationship Between Locus Of Control And The Use Of "I-Statements", Patricia Taglione

Masters Theses

Gestalt therapy theory considers speech to be a reflection of one's personality, and consequently psychological adjustment or maladjustment is expected to be manifested in one's speech habits (Levitsky & Perls, 1970; Passons, 1975). The use of personal pronouns is an indicator of the psychological distance taken from one's own feelings and actions. Healthy speech, or speech that is integrated with one's feelings and actions, involves the use of the first person singular when referring to self. Working with people to change speech patterns (changing "it-statements" and "you-statements" to "I-statements") may help an individual integrate his speech with his feelings and …

A Survey Of Sex Typing On Prime Time Television, Patricia Sue Henry

Masters Theses

According to former FCC Commissioner Nicholas Johnson, the average child will spend nearly 25,000 hours in front of a television before he or she is eighteen years old. With this fact in mind, I wondered what America's children learn from watching prime time television regarding sex-typing, or the characteristics which are considered appropriately masculine or feminine.

A review of related literature showed that critics in the early 70s pointed out that women portrayed on television were less numerous than men, less intelligent, brave, and adventuresome. In short, women were stereotyped as supportive underlings.

To find out if women fared any …

Videotape Feedback And Its Effects On Two Communicational Modalities, John Joseph Benda

Masters Theses

The present study was concerned with the applicability of various videotape feedback procedures on two communication modalities. The communication modalities studied dealt with the visual and auditory orientation of 80 college students.

The vast and, for the most part, positive findings associated with videotape feedback have fascinated therapists for the last couple of years. However, for the most part, videotape feedback has been used with individuals without taking into consideration the different ways these individuals communicate and/or learn. The purpose of the present experiment was to analyze the various aspects in which individuals communicate. Once their communicational modality was established …

Effects Of Distance And Sex On Verbal Productivity And Anxiety, Peter Lindsay Rogers

Masters Theses

The present study was designed to determine whether physical distance between male and female interviewees and a female interviewer affected verbal productivity and anxiety level when interviewees discussed academic, social, and personal topics. The interview was conceptualized as an information-gathering interview. Crucial variables in such interviews are client participation and information flow. Client verbal productivity appears to be directly related to these variables, and was used as one dependent variable to measure the impact of distance on interviewee verbal behavior. A self-report measure of anxiety, the Fear Thermometer was used as a second dependent variable.

The experimental distances used in …

The Effects Of Self-Concept Instruction As Part Of The Basic Speech Course, Gayle Lynn Davenport

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

The Body Language Of Self-Disclosure, Duane Connett

Masters Theses

A study was conducted to investigate the relationship of the Jourard Self-disclosure Inventory (JSDI) to 1) nonverbal behavior and 2) actual disclosure (validation of the JSDI) as measured by the number of words and speaking time. Latency was also involved. From 120 students completing the inventory 30 students scoring in the upper 30% (high-disclosers) and 30 from the lower 30% (low-disclosers) were chosen to participate in an interview. The interview consisted of 30 topics of varying intimacy about which Ss disclosed. The high-discloser group and low-discloser group were compared by a rating scale for “open” behaviors “closed” behaviors during the …

Predictive Correlates Of Adoption Behavior In A Social Context: A Multiple Discriminant Analysis, Robert Brady

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Working from a communication theory paradigm and from previous literature, the purpose of this study was to empirically examine significant receiver correlates which predict adoption behavior of Sigma Nu Fraternity on three campuses. Drawing from past research, the present study utilized a unique combination of social and communication variables as predictors of fraternity membership. A stepwise multiple discriminant analysis using five factors derived from the thirteen independent variables yielded a highly significant three factor discriminant function (p < .001) which explained 46.65 percent of the common variance in adoption/non-adoption behavior of Sigma Nu. The significant factors were labeled peer group behavior, parental economic support, and social attitudes. Based on intuitive interpretation features of the data, the researcher suspects that adopters are more socially oriented, have a wider variety o: friends, are less dependent on parental economic support, and exhibit higher scores on measures such as self-esteem, liberalism, conservatism, and the need for identification with groups.

Suburbocentrics Leave Behind Concerns For City, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"The column written by Jean Slaughter Doty for this page, "Love Suburbia or Leave It Alone," recently was beautiful. Mrs. Doty, author, housewife and mother in a Connecticut suburb, aptly described the problem of groth, both planned but more commonly unplanned, that has taken place in American suburbs and which has too often destroyed the advantages these places initially offered."

Verbal Communication Characteristics Of Couples At Principled, Conventional, Or Mixed Levels Of Moral Development, Barbara Bledsoe Keller

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.

The Impact Of College Speech Classes On Listening Skills Of Students., Candice Piazza

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of college speech classes upon developing improved listening skills. More specifically it sought to determine the extent to which the students who took Speech 100 or 111 have acquired listening skills.

There has been considerable theorizing concerning listening and auding [sic] with only a scattering of experimentation. According to existing data, listening would appear to be a complex human behavior that is only partially understood. There are, however definite listener functions, listening conditions and variables that affect listening. Aspects of attention are also important when considering the occurrence on unoccurrence …

A Study Into The Effects Of Knowledge Of Peer Group Evaluation Upon Self-Concept Change, Janice Marie Beyer

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

A Study On The Simultaneous Transmission Of Incongruent Information, Dennis Keith Smeltzer

Masters Theses

No abstract provided by author.

Personal Freedom And The Environment As Determinants Of Interpersonally Trusting Relationships According To The Views Of Martin Buber, Carl Rogers, Frederick Perls, B.F. Skinner, And Eric Berne, Mary Anna Tuma Mcadams

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Small group interaction, as observed and evaluated by five major spokesmen of the past decade, will be the focal point of this investigation. Martin Buber, Eric Berne, Carl Rogers, B. P. Skinner, and Frederick Perls will each be examined, compared, and contrasted in terms of their views concerning human freedom, the essence of man, and man's relationship to his environment. These ideas expressed by the authors will be reviewed in terms of the possibility and potential for interpersonal trust, the manner in which trust between individuals is initiated, and those variables considered most relevant for the emergence of trust. Each …

A Correlation Between Self-Actualization And Communications Behavior, Joseph Whitney Alexander

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

The planned, intensive group experience is the most rapidly spreading social invention of the century and, in the opinion of Carl Rogers, may be the most potent one. He recognizes such groups under varied labels such as T-groups, encounter groups, sensitivity training groups, and also as laboratories in human relations or as workshops in leadership, education, or counseling. Because of the emphasis on the fullest development of human potentials in most of these groups the theories and activities connected with them have come to be known as the Human Potential Movement.

The primary purpose of this investigation is to determine …

A Verbal Behavior Analysis Of Speech Patterns In Psychiatric Populations, Richard Lowell Steele

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.