Psychology Commons^™

Causal Attributions For Teen Problem Drinking, Barbara J. Seatter

Dissertations and Theses

Teen problem-drinking is a pervasive problem in our society. Teens with drinking problems utilize treatment centers and then return to school attempting to stay sober. However, many return to affiliate with problem drinkers instead of with non-drinkers, and risk for relapse is high. One explanation may be that teens without drinking problems do not accept teen problem drinkers into their peer group due to negative reactions toward problem drinkers. One way to examine their attitudes is to examine differences between teen problem drinkers and non-drinkers regarding causal attributions. Attribution theory proposes that various attributions will elicit different emotional reactions and …

Effects Of Pro-Socialization Skills Training On Self-Efficacy In Correctional Institution Inmates, Daniel Edward Fry

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Prison inmates released to the community following incarceration often have difficulty adapting socially. Previous research indicates that prison treatment programs aimed at increasing cognitive and prosocial skills can improve ex-felon adaption and decrease recidivism. The current study explored the effects of an 8-week prison treatment program (Transitional Counseling Program [TCP]) designed to teach prosocial skills. This was expected to enhance Bandura's (1977, 1982, 1986) construct of self-efficacy (SE) within inmates. Self-efficacy enhancement was seen as a first step in a program of future research which may show a connection between higher inmate SE at release, improved post prison adaption, and …

A Comparison Of The Ways That Teachers, Parents And Preschool Children Classify Toys Into Gender Categories, Linda Schneider

Student Work

This study compared the ways that teachers, parents and children classified toys according to gender categories. Fifty-eight teachers and seventy-eight parents completed a toy survey in which they were to sort a list of 49 preschool classroom toys into gender categories. The six toys most often rated masculine and the six toys most often rated feminine by the teachers were used in a toy sorting task for preschool children. Seventy-four preschool children were asked to sort pictures of the twelve toys into gender categories.

One-way analyses of variance, t-tests, and Least Significant Difference multiple comparison procedures were used to examine …

American Violence: Where Does The Danger Really Come From?, Elizabeth Kandel-Englander

Bridgewater Review

No abstract provided.

The Effects Of Part-Training On Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Skill Acquisition And Retention, David William Hagedorn

Masters Theses

Many thousands of lives could be saved annually in America with the prompt and correct execution of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). The bystander is a vital resource in the basic treatment of an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. However, studies have demonstrated that not only is retention of these lifesaving CPR skills poor, but initial acquisition of the CPR skills during training may be inadequate. This paper reviews methods and tools for CPR training, discloses areas of retention loss, and proposes solutions to be explored with further empirical research. With critical skills like CPR, the urgency to better train lay people and medical …

The Relationships Among Competitiveness, Age And Ability In Distance Runners, Robert C. Eklund, Jeffrey J. Martin, Alan L. Smith

Kinesiology, Health and Sport Studies

The purpose of this study was to examine relationships suggested by general achievement motivation literature and the popular literature in sport using the Sport Orientation Questionnaire (SOQ). The current study examined if faster runners are more competitive than slower runners, if older athletes were less competitive than younger athletes, and if faster runners were more goal oriented than slower runners. Distance runners (n=80), ranging from 10 to 61 years old completed race packets containing a cover letter, consent forms, the SOQ and a demographic questionnaire. Runners averaged 32.9 years of age and reported levels of competitiveness and goal …

Tips, Volume 14, No. 4 & 5, 1994/1995, Wolf P. Wolfensberger

Training Institute Publication Series (TIPS)

• Poverty & the Poor

• The Gulf Between the Haves & Have-Nots

• Slavery

• The Gulf Between Rich & Poor Nations

• Homelessness

• Hobos, Drunk, Poverty & Homelessness Songs & Poetry

• The Wabash Cannon Ball

• Slave of the Bottle (Avoiding Institutions, Nelson, Sternberg & Brindley, 1982)

• The Beggars' Plea (Excerpt from "The Hyeway to the Spyttell Hous," Robert Copeland)

• Lines (Barbara Hamilton, Hospitality, April 1993)

• Crime & Punishment

• Judicial Killing

• Please Give Us a PC Break!

• The Jail & Prison Scene

• More Dangerous Than Extremely Dangerous

• The …

The Writing Response In Studies Of Topography-Based And Selection-Based Verbal Behavior, Osborn Cresson

Dissertations

The position taken in this paper is that the observable world is the only one needed in our analysis, that behavior is a reaction to the environments in which it occurs, and that language is more behavior that can be studied effectively as a dependent variable that varies as a function of independent variables manipulated by the experimenter.

Our goal was to study topography-based and selection-based verbal behavior with emphasis on the writing response and then to produce a report that would serve as a guide for other students of behavior and environment.

Sixteen undergraduate college students participated in 115 …

An Extension To The Avc Discrimination Test By The Addition Of One Level Above Avc Level Vi, Charles P. Butler

Dissertations

Kerr, Meyerson and Flora (1977) devised a series of six small learning tasks that could be used to assess developmentally disabled individuals on the typical tasks to be performed in a school setting or sheltered workshop and required very simple equipment. The tasks were imitation, position discrimination, visual discrimination, match-to sample, auditory discrimination and combined auditory visual discrimination. Davinc (1990) suggested that there may be transitional skills between AVC levels IV and V not found by Kerr et al. Davine (1990), Wilson (1991) and Buder (1992) devised a series of experimental tasks designed to test this notion. All used nonidentity …

The Relationship Between Codependency And Kohlberg's Stages Of Moral Development, David L. Arkesteyn

Dissertations

The phenomenon of codependency is currently under considerable scrutiny as to its actual meaning and whether the concept is biased against women, ignores normal psychological development, and is subject to the "Bamum effect". Codependent relationships are widely considered dysfunctional, yet normal psychological development may play a role in these relationships which is not dysfunctional. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between codependency and Kohlberg's stages of moral development It was proposed that codependency would be highly correlated with Kohlberg's interpersonal concordance orientation stage. The sample consisted of sixty adult subjects who were assessed as codependent Thirty-one …

Hiv Prevention And Heterosexual College Students: The Impact Of Video Instruction On The "Safer" Sexual Behaviors Of Sexually Active Men, Cheryl L. Knight

Dissertations

Despite increasing evidence of the heterosexual transmission of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) among young adults, research with college students has been primarily restricted to descriptions of the levels of risky behavior and the correlates of that behavior. To date, few experimentally validated HIV prevention programs have been reported. Furthermore, the existing experimental investigations have seldom based an intervention on a thorough analysis of the barriers to the practice of safer sex.

Experiment One surveyed 195 heterosexual college students to assess HIV risk factors, including sexual behavior, risk perception, knowledge and 10 barriers to the consistent practice of "safer" sex. …

Effects Of Caffeine Consumption On Cardiovascular Indices, Attention, Task Performance, And Memory Retention In Children, Suzanne L. Keller

Dissertations

Caffeine is one of the most commonly used drugs in the western world today. Average intake of caffeine in the United States has been estimated at greater than 200 mg daily per person. Although plagued by inconsistencies, and methodological problems, research suggests that this level of caffeine ingestion may have significant effects on cardiovascular functioning, and behavioral processes such as attention, cognitive processing, memory, and task performance.

Although children consume significant quantities of caffeine, very little research has been done on the effects of caffeine in children. The limited findings suggest that caffeine consumption may affect the cognitive and behavioral …

The Effects Of A Monetary Bonus And Penalty On The Performance Of A Simple Monitoring Task, Gordon Henry

Dissertations

The purpose of the present study was to compare the effects of three different pay systems on human monitoring performance. With increasing automation, monitoring tasks are becoming increasingly common, but methods of compensation that will promote good performance remain unexamined. Although hourly pay is typically used, data suggest that contingent pay may be more effective in motivating high levels of performance.

In the current study, six undergraduate students, four females and two males ranging in age from 19 to 21 years, performed a monitoring task analogous to one performed by a security guard. Specifically, subjects observed a television screen and …

The Effects Of Systems-Centered Versus Individual-Centered Training On The Analysis Of Organizational Problems, Jane E. Devries

Dissertations

This study analyzed the effects of systems-centered (S) training, individual centered (I) training, and no formal training (C) on the ability to identify organizational problems. Three groups of 10-14 undergraduates participated. Subjects completed a pre-test that required analysis of 10 one-page vignettes describing some type of organizational problem. Each participant rated the quality of the vignettes to assess the amount of critical information presented, and identified the organizational problem, the rationale for targeting the problem, and questions that should be asked of the management to obtain more information. Groups S and I received six hours of systems-centered training or individual …

An Experimental Analysis Of Instructional Technologies Applied To The Three Contingency Model Of Performance Management, Judith S . Devoe

Dissertations

This research had four goals: (1) to refine the theory of performance management based on rule-governed behavior and refine the three-contingency model of performance. management, (2) to develop a university-level programmed instruction unit to teach the three-contingency model of performance management, (3) to test for functional independence between response classes—using concept-discrimination and concept-exemplification, and (4) to test a common assumption of programmed instruction— the necessity for active responding (this assumption was tested with both concept-discrimination training and concept-exemplification training).

Participants included fifty-nine undergraduates enrolled in a behavior analysis course. They were randomly assigned to one of four groups: (1) the …

Changes In Hypnotizability As A Function Of Suggestion-Based Experimenter Manipulations, Marlin 0. Trulsen

Dissertations

Limited behavioral research exists on the subject of hypnosis. A behavioral perspective maintains that a "responding to hypnosis suggestion" class of behaviors exists for each individual. For individuals more readily responsive to hypnosis suggestion, this "responding to hypnosis suggestion" class of behaviors exists at greater strength due to a previous history which strengthened these behaviors. These individuals respond strongly to hypnosis suggestions and behave as "high hypnotizables". For others, the "responding to hypnosis suggestion" class of behaviors exists at weaker strength due to the absence of the necessary history. These less responsive individuals could directly benefit from the many medical, …

The Effects Of A Problem-Solving And Imagery-Based Suggestion On Analgesic Responding In Low, Medium, And High Hypnotizable Females, Gloria Haddad Taggett

Dissertations

This study assessed the effects of a problem-solving suggestion as compared with an imagery-based suggestion on analgesic responding in subjects scoring in the low, medium, and high ranges on scales of hypnotizability. Subjects were exposed at separate intervals to either an hypnotic suggestion patter containing specific imagery designed to enhance analgesic performance, or alternatively to a suggestion patter that provided only general problem-solving direction, but contained no specific imaginal guidance. Performance was assessed using two duration measures on a cold-pressor test. Specific measures included both the total time duration a subject held the target hand in cold water (tolerance) as …

The Effects Of Caffeine And Affective Imagery On Facial Emg In Women, Robert Francis Mirabella

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Research findings on the effects of caffeine on mood have been mixed. Some studies report that caffeine increases anxiety and alertness while others do not. The variability in outcome of caffeine studies may be due to the insensitivity of self-report measures. An alternative to self-report is facial EMG which may be superior to self-report since the degree of concordance between facial EMG and affective valence ratings is considerably higher than the degree of concordance between behavioral, self-report, and physiological measures. Typically, studies investigating the effects of caffeine on mood have tested caffeine's effects on idiosyncratic mood states which prevailed in …

Destructive Hostility: The Jeffrey Dahmer Case: A Psychiatric And Forensic Study Of A Serial Killer, Jeffrey Jentzen, George Palermo, L. Thomas Johnson, Khang-Cheng Ho, K. Alan Stormo, John Teggatz

School of Dentistry Faculty Research and Publications

We were involved as forensic experts in the case of the serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer. We discuss the scene and victim autopsy findings, with a brief consideration of the basic emotion of hostility. These findings support the thesis that at the basis of this serial killer's behavior were primary unconscious feelings of hate that he had channeled into a sadistic programmed destruction of 17 young men. The interview of the serial killer, the photographic scene documentation, and the autopsy findings stress the ambivalent homosexuality of the killer, his sexual sadism, his obsessive fetishism, and his possible cannibalism and necrophilia.

The Relationship Of Parental Conflict And Parent-Child Relationship To The Sense Of Coherence Of Young Adult Children Of Divorce, Bruce K. Retterath

Theses and Dissertations

Early investigations of children and adolescents of divorce focused on the short-term negative influence of divorce on children and adolescents from "broken homes." Divorce is still seen as an important mediator in children's development, but other variables dealing with the family dynamics have been shown to be significant factors in the response of children to parental divorce. Few studies have considered the long-term influences of parental conflict and the parent-child relationship on young adults, and no studies have examined their relationship with the development of sense of coherence (SOC).

This study investigated the long-term relationship of parents' marital status, parental …

What Makes Counseling Christian, Rodger K. Bufford

Faculty Publications - Doctor of Psychology (PsyD) Program

Over the last 25 years, Christian counseling has been defined in a number of ways. Definitions have focused on the context, content or intervention techniques, the motivations or goals of counseling, and counselor characteristics. Strengths and weaknesses of various approaches will be examined and a resolution proposed.

Gallistel’S The Organization Of Learning: This Is Not Creation Science, James Dougan

Scholarship

No abstract provided.

The Meaning Of Health And The Health Of Meaning, Barry Schwartz

Psychology Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

An Investigation Of Visual Attention In Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Gayla Cissell

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

What is known as Attention-deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) today has been known by other titles in the past such as minimal brain dysfunction and Hyperkinetic Reaction of Childhood. These label changes represented the change in knowledge and understanding of the disorder over time. Today, it is thought that a main component to the disorder is an attention deficit. The problem is that of yet, the cause of this deficit has not been identified. In an attempt to further understand this disorder, visual attention studies are being conducted. Following this lead, the Visual Attention Analyzer was used to investigate a link …

Gallistel’S The Organization Of Learning: This Is Not Creation Science, James Dougan

James Dougan

No abstract provided.

The Effect Of Familiarity Of Task And Choice On The Functional Performance Of Young And Old Adults, Anne E. Dickerson

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

An experiment was conducted to compare the functional performance of young and old adults on familiar and unfamiliar tasks under two conditions of perceived control. Specifically, the relation between age and motor and process skills was examined. The familiar tasks were simple cooking tasks, whereas the unfamiliar tasks were contrived, meaningless tasks developed for this study. Young and old did not differ in the ratings of the familiarity of the tasks, but results from two Age by Task by Choice ANOVAs demonstrated a significant age difference for motor and process skills under all conditions. For the process skill scale, there …

Guidelines For Observing Young Children In School, Margery B. Franklin

Child Development Institute Research and Resources

This brief guide is intended for students and teachers who are interested in learning the basics of observing children in their everyday surroundings. My review of works in the field led me to the conclusion that most books on the subject set out a list of requirements for “objective observation” that are daunting to all but the most devoted researcher and, in fact, can become a screen rather than a window between observer and observed. For this reason, I have attempted to provide a series of guidelines that should make the process of observation engaging rather than tedious, while yielding …

The Teamwork Components Model: An Analysis Using Structural Equation Modeling, Rebecca Rosenstein

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

As the world increases in complexity, teams have assumed greater importance in the work place as a method used by organizations to cope with global competition and technological progress. Thus, an understanding of team processes and outcomes has become critical to individuals who study and work in organizations. The purpose of this investigation was to undertake a construct validation study of a model of the processes that underlie teamwork. This investigation was accomplished in two parts. A first study was conducted in order to determine the construct validity of scales that were developed to measure the nine teamwork components: task …

An Approach For Representation Of Organizational Mental Models Using System Dynamics, Jörg-Peter Theissen

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The concept of mental models has received much attention within recent years, especially within the context of organizational learning. This research is based on and departs from the Organizational Learning Process as developed by Keating, Robinson, and Clemson (1994). That process, which is based on a verbal representation of mental models, does not call forth the kind of change that is desired in Organizational Learning. This research investigates if mental models can be represented in the form of system dynamics models and inquires if this representation is beneficial to the process of Organizational Learning.

The research was designed as a …

Psychosocial Determinants Of Age-Appropriate Immunizations Of Infants In Norfolk, Virginia, Hoda Youssef Atta

Health Services Research Dissertations

This study represents an investigation of psychosocial factors affecting age-appropriate immunizations of infants in Norfolk, Virginia. A household survey was conducted in Norfolk, Virginia, from 4/93-8/93, to assess immunization coverage of children 12-30 months of age. This survey included a total of 389 children in the target age range. A subset of 201 mothers were randomly selected and reinterviewed to assess their knowledge and attitudes and the relationships of these factors to age-appropriate immunizations at 12 months of age. Sixty-two percent of children were not age-appropriately immunized at 12 months of age. Almost all mothers (99%) considered vaccines to be …