Psychology Commons^™

Appeal And Vulnerability Patterns In Girl Victims Of Incest, Ruth Mausert-Mooney

Dissertations

This study compared certain personal characteristics and behaviors of sexually abused girls with those of matched controls. Experimental subjects were 49 girls, aged 6 to 16 years, who had been sexually abused by an older male family member. Fifty girls who had not experienced sexual abuse served as the comparison group, matched on the basis of age, race and socioeconomic status.

Demographic and psychological measures were completed by each research participant and her mother. Videotapes were made of an initial session in which each child met an unknown male tester.

This study hypothesized and affirmed that sexually abused girls appeared …

Effects Of Feedback Type And Signal Probability On Quality Inspection Accuracy, Matthew A. Mason

Dissertations

A computer simulation was developed to examine the effects of feedback type (immediate, delayed, or none) and signal probability (p = 0.05 or 0.12) on the accuracy of identifying signals (missing components), inspection response rate, and response sensitivity (d'). Subjects were randomly assigned to one of six experimental groups: (1) immediate feedback with a signal probability of 0.05 (1/0.05), (2) delayed feedback with a signal probability of 0.05 (D/0.05), (3) no feedback with a signal probability of 0.05 (N/0.05), (4) immediate feedback with a signal probability of 0.12 (1/0.12), (5) delayed feedback with a signal probability of …

Sequences Of Fixed-Ratio Schedules Of Reinforcement: The Effect Of Ratio Size In The Second And Third Fixed-Ratio On Pigeons' Choice, Susan Goeters

Dissertations

The present study used a discrete-trials procedure to examine choice in pigeons presented with various three-component sequences of fixed-ratio schedules of reinforcement. An experimenter-controlled stimulus was correlated with each sequence and pigeons were presented with a specified number of forced-exposure and choice trials. Three phases were implemented in an effort to investigate the conditions under which fixed-ratios other than the first in a sequence of three affect choice. In Phase 1, pigeons were given a choice between a fixed-ratio X fixed-ratio 1 fixed-ratio 25 and a fixed-ratio X fixed-ratio 25 fixed-ratio 1 sequence of food delivery. Across conditions, X was …

The Effects Of Relapse Prevention Training On Exercise Adherence, Sandra Beaty

Dissertations

Behavioral techniques have proven effective in the acquisition and maintenance of new behaviors. However, health related behaviors, such as exercise, pose a special problem for the field of behavior change in that they require long-term lifestyle changes. This study assessed the effectiveness of relapse prevention training on exercise adherence within the framework of a formal exercise program. There were 20 subjects in the experimental group and 20 subjects in the control group. Both groups met for three, one-hour sessions weekly for eight consecutive weeks. Exercise class attendance was recorded by the instructor. In addition, the Physical Activity Index (PAI, n.d., …

A Comparison Of The Effects Of A Linear And An Exponential Performance-Pay Function On Work Productivity, Shezeen Oah

Dissertations

This study examined how work productivity was affected by the way in which individual monetary incentives were related to performance. Two types of relationships, or performance-pay functions, were compared: a linear function in which a specific per piece incentive was provided for each piece completed in excess of a performance standard and an exponential function in which the amount of the per piece incentive accelerated as productivity increased. Forty college subjects were randomly assigned to one of the two pay conditions. Each subject participated in 15 forty-five minute sessions. Subjects performed a computerized work task that simulated the job of …

The Development Of A Personalized Computer Assisted School Psychology (Casp) System, Patricia Lou Steinert

Dissertations

The purpose of this project was to develop a model computer system to assist school psychologists in managing and manipulating data accumulated in the course of accomplishing their professional responsibilities. School psychologists have traditionally generated large amounts of data, but rarely have they looked across these data to obtain information and/or feedback about their own functioning relative to their professional role. The system described is intended as a model from which an individual psychologist might construct a system to meet individual needs. Data across students were accumulated in four broad areas: (1) personal effectiveness/accountability, (2) diagnosis, (3) local test norms, …

Self-Control In Mentally Retarded Adolescents: Choice As A Function Of Amount And Delay Of Reinforcement, Steven P. Ragotzy

Dissertations

Three severely mentally retarded adolescents were studied under discrete-trial procedures in which a choice was arranged between edible reinforcers that differed in magnitude and, in some conditions, delay. In the absence of delays, the larger reinforcer was consistently chosen. All subjects directed the majority of choice responses to the smaller reinforcer when the larger reinforcer was sufficiently delayed, although the value at which this occurred differed across subjects. Under conditions where the larger reinforcer initially was sufficiently delayed to result in preference for the smaller one, progressively increasing in 5-s increments the delay to both reinforcers increased percent trials with …

The Effects Of Spouse-Based Cognitive-Behavior Therapy On The Treatment Of Agoraphobia, Joan Woods

Dissertations

The purpose of this clinical research was to determine whether spouse-supported treatment of agoraphobia would result in greater improvement on measures of exposure and avoidance than would individual treatment or no treatment. It was hypothesized that Couples Treatment subjects would demonstrate a significantly greater change from pretest to posttest than would Individual Treatment subjects or No-Treatment Control subjects. The study further predicted that significant improvements would be demonstrated for both treated groups on the same outcome measures, pretest to posttest and from pretest to follow-up.

Total N was 10 subjects, all were agoraphobic, married, and female, with 4 in Couples …

Effects Of Terminal-Link Response Topography On Choice Behavior Under Concurrent-Chains Schedules, Stephen P. Starin

Dissertations

Previous research has indicated that both absolute response rate and choice behavior differs under concurrent chains requiring different terminal-link responses, even when the reinforcement schedules are nominally identical. To date, no studies have investigated responding under concurrent chains with unequal schedules and different topographies arranged in the terminal links. Moreover, although the delay-reduction hypothesis has been widely tested using concurrent chains in which the same response topography is required in all links, the generality of the delay-reduction hypothesis in describing performance when different terminal-link topographies are required has yet to be examined. The present study was designed to address both …

Self-Control: Effects Of Ratio Size, Intra-Delay Reinforcers, And Response Requirement, Elbert Q. Blakely Jr.

Dissertations

This study tested the following hypotheses: (a) The preference reversal phenomenon will be found when the delays to reinforcement are defined by fixed-ratio schedules, (b) The preference reversal phenomenon will be observed when intra-delay reinforcers are programmed, and (c) Imposing response requirements during the delay to reinforcement will affect preference for a larger delayed reinforcer over a smaller more immediate reinforcer. In Experiment 1, pigeons chose between two schedules, each a sequence of two fixed-ratio schedules. The second schedule of one sequence offered a small reinforcer and the second schedule of the alternative offered a larger reinforcer. The latter sequence …

Ratio Pausing And The Determination Of Discriminative Operant Latencies, Thomas M. Bell

Dissertations

The latency between discriminative stimulus onset and initiation of a corresponding ratio requirement (RR) was studied in pigeons using a two-key discrete-trial procedure with three-component multiple schedules. The two-key procedure allowed measurement of response-reinforcer relations on a "constant" key, and stimulus-reinforcer relations on a "stimulus" key. The first experiment showed regular between-session effects as equivalent fixed-ratio (FR) components were raised over several phases and then lowered. A direct relation was observed between latency and RR for each of ten subjects. Initial stimulus-key pecking showed several trends, the most prevalent being an inverse relation to RR.

Experiment 2 demonstrated within-session separations …

Differential Response Latencies Using Auditory Stimuli, Albert Edward Neal

Dissertations

Previous research has identified and isolated the elicited (autoshaped) control of pigeons' response latencies. The present research, using auditory frequencies as discriminative stimuli, was designed to eliminate the intrusion of this elicited control.

Two experiments are presented, both using a discrete-trial, two-component multiple schedule. In Experiment 1, in which a two-key arrangement was used, pigeons were required to peck a continuously-illuminated left key when one of two different frequencies, each correlated with a different amount of reinforcement, was presented behind the illuminated right key. In Experiment 2, in which a three-key arrangement was used, pigeons were required to peck either …

The Deaccelerator: A Behavioral Application Of A Differentially Imposed Force Schedule To The Accelerator Pedal Of A Motor Vehicle To Control Unlawful Highway Vehicle Speed, Richard Schulman

Dissertations

The Deaccelerator is a behaviorally designed speed control device that utilizes punishment and reinforcement by way of a differentially imposed force schedule to the accelerator pedal of a motor vehicle when vehicle speed exceeds the preset speed. Specifically, increasing and decreasing accelerator pedal resistance is a negatively accelerated function of respective increases and decreases in vehicle speed as speed moves in excess of 1 mph beyond the preset speed. A lesser force schedule generates linear increases and decreases in accelerator pedal resistance as a function of respective increases and decreases in accelerator pedal depression once vehicle speed moves in excess …

The Effects Of Vocal Instructions And Sequence Of Conditions On The Acquisition And Maintenance Of Behavioral Chains, Charles L. Lowe

Dissertations

Five children, ages 5 to 6 1/2 years, were trained to learn and relearn four-link behavioral chains using conditioned reinforcement. Subjects were presented with a horizontal array of 12 chips in four equal groups. During Control Learning (CL) sessions, a new sequence of responses was learned through contingency shaping. The same sequence was presented later that day during a Control Relearning (CRL) session. Instruction on correct responses was provided during Instruction Learning (IL) sessions. The same sequence was presented without instruction during an Instruction Relearning (IRL) session later that day. Thus, new behavioral chains were acquired during CL and IL …

The Effects Of Reward And Reinforcement On Intrinsic Interest, Alyce Muzette Dickinson

Dissertations

Under certain circumstances, rewarding individuals for performing a task that they enjoy may decrease their subsequent interest in that activity when rewards are no longer available. Decreased task interest is not, however, an inevitable outcome of reward and the subsequent termination of reward. This study investigated one variable that may influence whether task interest will increase or decrease following reward termination: the degree to which the reward is reinforcing. The study also examined how long post-reward performance changes persisted when they occurred.

A multiple-trial, within-subject comparison design was employed in which three reward phases were alternated with post-reward phases. Two …

Computer-Assisted Consultation: Problem-Identification, David B. Lennox

Dissertations

Three experiments were conducted to validate the effectiveness of Computer-Assisted Consultation (CAC)--a computer-based problem identification interviewing system for use in conducting school-based behavioral consultation. The specific goals of problem identification are to establish behavioral objectives and initial assessment characteristics. Experiment I functioned as a pilot which: (1) validated the need for problem identification, (2) demonstrated the general utility of CAC, and (3) provide a basis for program improvement. Experiment II provided a more rigorous analysis of CAC by comparing it with an actual problem identification interview. Two groups of three consultees each were exposed to one of two counter-balanced sequences …

The Delay-Reduction Hypothesis Of Evocative Effectiveness And Latency, James Bryant Nuzzo

Dissertations

Prior studies found that separations between latencies correlated with differential stimuli in a multiple discrete trial procedure were attenuated with increased intertrial interval durations. In this study six pigeons served as subjects in two groups. The procedure for one group was a multiple DRO-FR chain schedule (Ratio Delay group) while in the other group a multiple DRO - response-initiated delay interval chain schedule (Time Delay group) was used. Results of this study are consistent with the Delay-reduction hypothesis of evocative effectiveness which predicts that with increasing initial link durations relative terminal link evocative effectiveness would decrease. Specifically, relative terminal link …

Stimulus-Reinforcer And Response-Reinforcer Relationships In The Determination Of Response Latency, Bruce Edward Hesse

Dissertations

Response latency is measured from the onset of a stimulus to the onset of a response and is relevant to both respondent and operant control procedures. Previous research has shown response latency to be a sensitive operant dependent variable but the contribution of respondent influences was not known. The present experiment used pigeons, a two-key procedure and a two component FR schedule to study the respondent (stimulus-reinforcer) contributions to the determination of an ostensibly operant response latency. Stimuli associated with each FR component were displayed on one key (stimulus key) while responding for reinforcement was required on a second key …

Effects Of Tripelennamine And Pentazocine Alone And In Combination On Schedule-Controlled Performance, Deborah Lou Grossett

Dissertations

The effects of tripelennamine (3, 6, 12, 18, and 24 mg/kg) and pentazocine (5, 10, 20, 30, and 40 mg/kg), given alone and in selected combinations, were determined in rats performing under fixed-ratio 30 and interresponse-time-greater-than-15-second schedules of food delivery. When given alone, tripelennamine and pentazocine produced statistically significant decreases in responding under the fixed-ratio 30 schedule, but did not significantly affect responding under the interresponse-time-greater-than-15-second schedule. Each drug alone significantly decreased the number of reinforcers (food pellets) earned relative to control values under both schedules. The effects of the two drugs in combination were supra-additive. That is, the effects …

Effects Of Anticonvulsant Drugs On Learning And Memory, Mitchell Jon Picker

Dissertations

The effects of phenobarbital, clonazepam, valproic acid, phenytoin, and ethosuximide were examined in pigeons performing under repeated acquisition of response chains and delayed matching-to-sample procedures. In experiment I, clonazepam, valproic acid, ethosuximide, and phenytoin produced generally dose-dependent increases in rate of responding, while phenobarbital had little consistent effect on response rate across the dose range studied. Phenobarbital and clonazepam produced dose-dependent increases in error rates (i.e., learning impairment). Although valproic acid and phenytoin generally increased error rates relative to control values, this effect was not directly dose-dependent or consistent across subjects. In contrast to the other anticonvulsants examined, ethosuximide had …

The Effects Of Pentazocine And Tripelennamine On Analgesia And Locomotion, James Philip Cleary

Dissertations

The effects of pentazocine and tripelennamine, alone and in combination, were assessed on measures of analgesia (hot plate test) and locomotion (open field) in rats and mice. In Experiment 1, the combination of pentazocine and tripelennamine was found to produce analgesia at doses which were not analgesic when the drugs were given alone. This combination also reestablished analgesia in subjects made tolerant to pentazocine's effects. In Experiment 2, development of tolerance to the analgesic effects of pentazocine was delayed by addition of tripelennamine. In Experiment 3, locomotion was decreased by pentazocine at the highest dose. A similar reduction was produced …

The Behavioral And Resource Needs Assessment Of The Hispanic Community In Kalamazoo County, Roberto Flachier

Dissertations

This research was set out to assess in depth the behavioral and resource needs of the Hispanic Community in order to create a data base from which tactics of action could be developed and responsive and necessary services could be planned and initiated. Following are four of the basic assumptions that guided this research. One, Behavioral Health (BH) is directly related to the behavioral and resource base in areas necessary for living. Two, in order to plan responsive and necessary services, it is necessary to know the target community's behavioral and resource base and needs; e.g., in economics, employment, education, …

The Effects Of Fading And Rule-Stating On The Instructed Reacquisition Of A Five-Link Behavioral Chain, Okechukwu S. Ozuzu

Dissertations

Although instructions tend to generate rapid and near errorless responding during acquisition, this efficiency in performance is not necessarily maintained in reacquisition. The present study addressed this issue of performance maintenance by utilizing procedures designed to strengthen the control function of instruction stimuli.

Five 6 to 10 year-old children, two females and three males, were trained in the repeated acquisition of a behavioral chain using monetary reinforcement. The operanda for the five-component behavioral chain consisted of fifteen plastic discs displayed on an intelligence pad. For each session the subjects’ task was to leam or relearn a new sequential order by …

Response Rate, Latency, And Resistance To Change, Stephen Joseph Fath

Dissertations

Response rate has been criticized as an adequate measure of response strength on the basis that rate reflects the adventitious reinforcement of interresponse times. Nevin (1974, 1979) proposed relative resistance to change as an alternative measure. Nevin (1974) employed multiple-pacing schedules in which either high- or low-rate requirements were placed in tandem with either VI 1 min or VI 3 min schedules of reinforcement. The results suggested that low-rate responding may be more resistant to change when schedules are equated for reinforcement frequency. Fath and Malott (1979) replicated Nevin's experiment, but found no evidence that contingencies on response rate affect …

Pharmacological Effects On Aggression And Manual Responding Generated By Tail Shock In The Squirrel Monkey, Grace S. Emley

Dissertations

The response-independent, fixed-time delivery of electric tail shock in the squirrel monkey generated bites on a rubber hose immediately following shock delivery and manual responses on a lever immediately preceding shock. The procedure generated two temporally and topographically different responses in the single organism in a single experimental session. All responses were measured objectively via response manipulanda and recorded on cumulative recorders and counters. Nine pharmacological compounds were administered to the squirrel monkey after a stable baseline of bite and lever press responding had been established. Three stimulant compounds - d-amphetamine, caffeine, cocaine; three tranquilizer compounds - nicotine, chlordiazepoxide, chlorpromazine; …

An Analysis Of The Role Of Reinforcement Density In The Transfer Of Stimulus Control In A Receptive Discrimination Task, Jane Stewart Howard

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Cardiac Change To An Auditory Signal And Exploratory Behavior In Normal And Developmentally Delayed Infants, Sharon Bradley Johnson

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Effect Of Descriptive Information On Accuracy Of Interpersonal Perception, Sung Soo Park

Dissertations

No abstract provided.