Psychology Commons^™

The Role Of The Father In Child Development: A Review Of The Literature, J. Frank Popplewell, Anees A. Sheikh

Psychology Faculty Research and Publications

Traditionally, the role of the father in the psychological development of children has received relatively little attention. Recently, however, an increasing number of researchers have evinced considerable interest in this area. 'Much of the current interest...seems to have been intensified by the growing awareness of the prevalence of fatherless families and the social, economic, and psychological problems that such families encounter' (Biller, 1971, p. l). the present review brings together most of the available research in this field. The first and most substantial aspect to be discussed involves the role of the father in the sex-role development of children. Although …

Characteristics Of Parents Involved In A Parent Child Center-Head Start Program, Rebecca Selove

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

An exploratory study was conducted to provide information for the coordinators of the Parent Child Center and Head Start (PCC-HS) Program in Leitchfield, Kentucky. Staff concern for parent involvement led to a search for parent characteristics which correlate with amount of participation in program activities. Sixty-five families, which included 65 mothers, 47 fathers, and 121 children, constituted the study sample. Data were obtained from records maintained by the PCC-HS staff. Variables included number of hours volunteered, age and level of education of each parent, estimated family income, family size, mother's enrollment in PCC when pregnant, number of children in the …

An Exploration Of Change In Teacher Concerns Over Time, Sharla E. Hutchinson

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The purpose of this study was to reconsider the five factor structure of the Teach Concern Checklist (TCC) currently being utilized by the teacher Preparation Evaluation Program (TPEP) at Western Kentucky University. The problem was to replicate the three factor solution of the TCC proposed by George (1978) and to further explore the progression of teacher concerns with experience to lend support to the self-task-impact concern theory proposed by Fuller (1969)

Two hundred and sixty-five pre-service and in-service teacher participating in TPRP completed the TCC. These teachers represented the different experience levels of student. First, third and fifth year of …

An Examination Of Scholarly Perspective, Religiosity And Factors Which Lead To Religious Change, Paul Fehrmann

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

As a replication and expansion of work done by Alsdurf (1977), the relations between religiosity, commitment to scholarly openness and reasons for religious change were examined through a survey of 146 students attending a South-central university. A discussion of logical and empirical studies was presented to help clarify the theses under examination, and it was maintained that this study was primarily concerned with empirical relationships. A negative correlation was obtained between scholarly openness and religiosity for the total population studied, but the correlation was weak. In contrast to expectations, a significant negative correlation between scholarly openness and religiosity was not …

The Traditional Sex-Stereotype Of A Job As A Moderator Variable For The Directionality Of Sex Biases In Performance Evaluation, Bernard Bena

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Accurate and objective performance appraisals are absolutely necessary due to their utility in important personnel decisions such as promotion, demotion and training. This study examines the contaminating effects of sex bias on performance evaluations and it's relationship to the sex-stereotype of the job and levels of performance. Unlike previous studies, this study not only examines these effects at the extremes of performance, but at average levels as well. Also, unlike previous studies, the subjects empirically determined the sex-typed nature of the jobs and the levels of performance within those jobs rather than the experimenter having made a priori decisions. Hypothetical …

Predictors Of Course Grade In Undergraduate Psychology Courses, Susan Edwards

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Research has shown that some students benefit more from certain instructional modes than do others (Harper, 1973; Allen, Giat, and Cherney, 1974; Doty, 1967). A personalized system of instruction and the traditional lecture-discussion format were used as alternate modes of instruction in the present study. This study used locus of control and mode of instruction, along with mental ability, to increase predictability of course performance. Predictability was not increased by these variables. Results of a regression analysis showed that only a total of 11.6% of the variance in final course grades could be accounted for by the predictor variables (i.e. …

Perceptions Of The Magnitude And Diversity Of Social Support, George R. Goethals, Shelley Jean Allison, Marnie Frost

Jepson School of Leadership Studies articles, book chapters and other publications

Three studies were conducted to test the hypothesis that subjects would overestimate the proportion of their peers who shared their opinion on an issue and that they would perceive their own opinion group as consisting of people with a wider and more diverse range of values and outlooks than those holding different opinions. The first study was conducted following a period of intense debate about sexism on a college campus. Subjects estimated student opinion on issues related to sexism and indicated how diverse or similar they perceived supporters and nonsupporters of the women's movement to be. In a second study …

The Operational Effectiveness Of The Behavioral Expectations Scale & The Mixed Standard Scale: A Comparative Evaluation, Deborah Boniske

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Performance evaluations were obtained on firefighters in a large Midwestern City. The evaluations were conducted through utilization of two different scale types (The Behavioral Expectation Scale and The Mixed Standard Scale). These evaluations were obtained in order to test the hypotheses that the MSS was psychometrically superior to the BES in the reduction of halo and leniency error and that the MSS was also the better scale type in terms of producing higher interrater reliability. Leniency error (in both the absolute and comparative sense) was examined by conducting a series of T-tests. Halo error was investigated by a comparison of …

The Effect Of Incompetence In Self-Disclosure On Interpersonal Attraction, Richard A. Stevick

Psychology Educator Scholarship

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of the competence-incompetence variable as it relates to the discloser and to the message itself in the selfdisclosure transaction. The first question of interest was whether a negative feeling disclosure would result in greater attraction than would a negative behavior (failure) disclosure. The other main question of interest was whether a negative disclosure from a perceived competent source would result in increased attraction, while the same disclosure from a perceived incompetent source would result in decreased attraction.

The Effect Of Self-Knowledge Of Iq Score On Academic Self-Concept In College Students, Brian Piispanen

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This study was conducted to examine the effects of self-knowledge of IQ on the academic self-concept of college students. More specifically, the effects of confirmation or disconfirmation of one's expectation of IQ score were investigated. After predicting what their IQ scores would be, 93 undergraduates from Introduction to Psychology classes at Western Kentucky University were administered the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale (Form L-M). After the subjects were told their obtained IQ scores, they were given the Academic Choices Questionnaire (ACQ), an instrument specifically created for this study to measure academic self-concept. The experimental group was divided into four groups: 1) those …

Pupil Social-Stylistic Variability & The Teacher Perception Of Student Role Performance, Gail Stevens

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This study investigated tne effects of students' intelligence, locus of control, and creativity on teachers' perceptions of students. Sixty-three fourth graders and two teacners from a local school participated. :he Verbal Scale of the WISC-R, the Circles Test from the Torrance Tests of Creative fhinking, and the Nowicki-Strickland I-E Locus of Control Scale ior Children were administered to the subjects. The teachers were requested to complete the Teacher Perception of Student Role Performance Scale (TPSRP) on each child. This instrument yielded scores on three factors of student role-- Competence, Sociability, and Social Conformity. rultiple regressions were performed to determine the …

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 …

A Reexamination Of The Additivity Issue Of Extrinsic & Intrinsic Motivation, David Fransway

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The effects of extrinsic rewards upon an individual's intrinsic motivation were examine'.; in this paper. Initially, four tasks (computer, geometric, letter erasure, and verbal) which have been used in past studies were evaluated for their degree of intrinsic motivation. The two tasks with the highest level of intrinsic motivation (computer and verbal) as identified by significant differences on attitudinal measures of task satisfaction and competency were selected for the second experiment. Manipulation of the extrinsic rewards (contingent, noncontingent, and no-reward) provided a test of the additivity notion of extrinsic and intrinsic motivation. Results indicated by analysis of attitudinal measures that …

Head Start Four And Five Year Old Children’S Attitudes Toward School As They Are Related To Achievement, Eugene Smith

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The purpose of this study was to determine if there existed significant relationships between 4 and 5 year old children’s attitude toward school, their classroom teacher’s perception of their attitude toward school, length of time in school, sex, or a composite of these with their achievement on the Pre-School Attainment Record. A random sample of 55 Head Start children completed three instruments. The instruments used in this study were a revised Children’s Attitude Toward School Scale (CATSS-R), (Beere, 1970) The Pre-School Attainment Record (PAR), (Doll, 1966) and the Teachers Rating of Attitude of Children Toward School (TRACTS). The results of …

Drinking Among College Students & Personality Factors Related To Alcoholism, James Mills

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The relationship between the drinking patterns of college students and personality factors, which have previously been shown to different:late between alcoholic and non-alcoholic populations, was examined in this study. Subjects were categorized into six groups based on self-reports of the frequency and amount of alcohol consumption. The MacAndrew Alcoholism Scale and the 16PF personality test were administered to all subjects. Pearson Product-moment correlations were calculated to assess the relationship between levels of drinking and personality factors demonstrated by the subject population. It was found that the MacAndrew Alcoholism Scale score was significantly correlated with drinking level among young adults. This …

The Ontogeny And Organization Of Comfort Behavior In Adelie Penguins, Marc Bekoff, David G. Ainley, Anne Bekoff

Ethology Collection

No abstract provided.

The Influence Of A Diverse Relaxation Training Program Upon A Measure Of Anxiety, Julie A. Joseph

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Fourteen subjects from among the student and staff population complaining of anxiety, volunteered to participate in a relaxation training program. The subjects were referred by the University Counseling Center, the Office of Undergraduate Advisement, or responded to an article and advertisement published in the school newspaper. Assignment to control or experimental groups was based on date of response and availability for participation. The experimental group, which consisted of eight subjects, received training in deep muscle relaxation, electromyography, skin temperature, and concomitant biofeedback, and systematic desensitization over a three week period. The controls received no relaxation training. Both groups were administered …

Comments On The Article By R. E. Tournier “Alcoholics Anonymous As Treatment And As Ideology”, Donald W. Goodwin, Mark B. Sobell, Linda C. Sobell, William Madsen, Robert A. Moore, Chaim M. Rosenberg, Harold W. Demone Jr., Gerald D. Shulman

Faculty Articles

No abstract provided.

Stereotype Bias In Selection: A Process Approach, Donald V. Currie

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This investigation was to determine if an applicant’s sex and the job’s sex orientation stereotypes affected the evaluation of applicant information and subsequent selection decision outcomes. Interviewers (N=48) were asked to rate the employment suitability of 49 hypothetical applicants. The results indicated that an interaction of the applicant’s sex and job’s sex orientation had marginal affect on the importance weightings in two of the four applicant attribute factors, motivation/ability and personality/appearance. Applicants with equivalent qualifications did not receive comparable employment suitability ratings, Unfair job discrimination was demonstrated by these data. It was concluded that the applicant’s sex and the job’s …

Nutrition And Mental Development In Children, Patrice L. Engle, Marc Irwin, Robert E. Klein, Charles Yarbrough, John W. Townsend

Psychology and Child Development

No abstract provided.

Driving Records Of Persons Convicted Of Driving Under The Influence Of Alcohol, Stephen A. Maisto, Linda C. Sobell, Pau F. Zelhart, Gerard J. Connors, Terri Cooper

Faculty Articles

The average interval between convictions of driving under the influence decreases from 2 years between first and second convictions to 17, 11 and 8 months, respectively, between the second and third, the third and fourth and the fourth and fifth convictions.

Cognitive Effort And Memory, S. W. Tyler, Paula T. Hertel, M. C. Mccallum, H. C. Ellis

Psychology Faculty Research

We propose that the concept of cognitive effort in memory is both useful and important. Cognitive effort is defined as the engaged proportion of limited-capacity central processing. It·was hypothesized that this variable might have important memorial consequences and might also be a potential confounding factor in levels-of-processing paradigms. The first experiment tested this possibility using two types of incidental-learning tasks factorially combined with two degrees of effort. It was found that high effort led to better recall than low effort, but that level-of-processing effects were nonsignificant. A second experiment clearly demonstrated the feasibility of using performance on a secondary task …

Constructive Memory For Bizarre And Sensible Sentences, Paula T. Hertel, H. C. Ellis

Psychology Faculty Research

Sensible, interrelated sentences were presented with or without bizarre sentences that could be transformed to fit the context of the sensible sentences. Two experiments examined subjects' ability to recognize or recall both types of sentences, either immediately or after 2 weeks. Bizarre sentences were frequently recognized at immediate testing; they were generally unavailable at delayed recognition and were never recalled verbatim. In addition, results indicated that transformations of bizarre sentences were stored in memory but were not well incorporated within the structure for the sensible material. These findings are consistent with a constructive approach to memory. Finally, the results suggest …

Relationship Of Age And Hypertension To Neuropsychological Test Performance, Clyde A. Pentz Iii, Merrill F. Elias, W Gibson Wood, Norman A. Schultz, John Dineen

Maine-Syracuse Longitudinal Papers

Young adult (X- = 29) and middle aged (X- =50) hypertensive and normotensive subjects were compared with respect to seven neuropsychological test scores derived from tests on the Halstead-Reitan battery. Age main effects, with inferior performance for the middle aged subjects, were observed for the localization and time portions of the Tactile Performance Test (TPT) and for the Trail Making A test. The multivariate age effect was significant for the composite of seven scores. A multivariate blood pressure main effect was obtained and main effect blood pressure was significant for the category test; hypertensives made more errors than normotensives. A …

Young Children's Age Group Conceptions Of Social Relations: Social Functions And Social Objects, Carolyn P. Edwards, Michael Lewis

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Previous research has shown that by age 3-4, children classify the human world into age groups: babies, “little kids,” “big kids,” young adults (“mommies and daddies”), and old adults (“grandmothers and grandfathers”) (Edwards, 1984).. This study investigates young children’s concepts of age roles, that is, their expectations about what behavior makes most sense or is most appropriate for each age group. Study 1 was conducted at two daycare centers in the greater Princeton area, with 24 African-American and 24 European-American children aged 3.6 to 5.9 years. Each child was told a series of stories involving a set of doll-house …

The Curious Trial Of "The Durham Boy.", Anthony A. Walsh

Faculty and Staff - Articles & Papers

In 1834 Major Mitchell, a nine year old boy from Durham, Maine, was arrested and brought to trial for assault and battery on a schoolmate. His attorney, John Neal, offered an unusual defense which argued that due to an injury to Major’s phrenological faculty of “destructiveness” occurring in his infancy that he should not be held responsible for his crime. Although Major was found guilty and imprisoned, the defense was one of the earliest examples of what today would be called an insanity defense, a stratagem which strives to free a defendant of criminal responsibility due to mental defect or …

The Relationship Between The Motive To Avoid Success & Sex-Role Identification, James Moore Jr.

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

A review of the current literature on the motive to avoid success (Horner, 1972) reveals that no research has focused on now the motive to avoid success relates to masculinity and femininity when they are conceptualized in other than a bipolar dimension. me present study was designed to ascertain the extent to which the motive to avoid success relates to sex-role identifications. The hypotheses that a nigh motive to avoid success would occur with feminine sex -role identification and that masculine or androgynous sex -roles would be related to low or absent motive to avoid success scores were not supported. …