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Full-Text Articles in Psychology
Felicidad Aplataná: How Dominican Migrants Living In The Nordic Countries Make Sense Of Their Happiness, Ivanna Lajara
Felicidad Aplataná: How Dominican Migrants Living In The Nordic Countries Make Sense Of Their Happiness, Ivanna Lajara
Dissertations
As globalization evolves and the number of migrants and cross-cultural interactions among world citizens increases, understanding various aspects of immigrants’ experiences, including their happiness and subjective well-being will become fundamental to organizations, governments, and societies. However, there are substantial cross-cultural differences in how people understand their happiness, make sense of experiences that influence happiness, and how large-scale social trends, such as globalization, relate to the individual migration perspectives (Uchida and Ogihara, 2012). Research affirms culture as a key factor influencing happiness (Ye et al., 2015) and living in a foreign country may not only impact one’s perspective on life, but …
Increasing Vocal Behavior And Establishing Echoic Stimulus Control In Children With Autism, Joseph Shane
Increasing Vocal Behavior And Establishing Echoic Stimulus Control In Children With Autism, Joseph Shane
Dissertations
Many children with autism fail to demonstrate vocal-verbal behavior, including echoic behavior, as early as their typically developing peers. Some also make very limited vocal sounds in general, remaining mostly mute aside from crying or engaging in stereotypy. Echoic behavior involves auditory discrimination and matching, and functions as a beneficial, if not necessary, prerequisite for many other vocal-verbal skills. The purpose of this study was to develop and implement an echoic training procedure for primarily non-vocal children who did not demonstrate auditory discrimination in baseline. The intervention consisted initially of sessions in which any vocal sounds were reinforced. Then differential …
Teaching Children Who Have Difficulty Mastering Auditory Discriminations, Sarah Lichtenberger
Teaching Children Who Have Difficulty Mastering Auditory Discriminations, Sarah Lichtenberger
Dissertations
Simple and conditional visual and auditory discrimination repertoires are critical components of many skills necessary for daily functioning, including communication, academic, and daily-living skills (Green, 2001). When auditory discrimination is not under instructional stimulus control, it can result in delayed acquisition of new skills and limit academic progress. The purpose of this study was to teach auditory discrimination to children with autism who had little to no progress on classroom procedures that required auditory discrimination, such as selecting an object from an array when given the name of the object as the direction. Auditory discrimination was taught starting with teaching …
An Evaluation Of Various Safmeds Procedures, Shawn Patrick Quigley
An Evaluation Of Various Safmeds Procedures, Shawn Patrick Quigley
Dissertations
Lindsley developed Say-All-Fast-Minute-Every-Day-Shuffled, or SAFMEDS, in the late 1970’s to enhance the typical use of flashcards (Graf & Auman, 2005). The acronym was developed specifically to guide the learner’s behavior when using flashcards. A review of SAFMEDS research indicates it has been utilized with children, college students and older adults with and without disabilities. The literature also indicates the SAFMEDS procedures used are not well documented or have multiple variations limiting practitioners’ ability to know what procedure to use and when. Furthermore, future SAFMEDS research is hampered by variations in the independent variable (i.e., SAFMEDS). The purpose of this study …
Evaluating The Effects Of A Job-Aid For Teaching Visual Inspection Skills To University Students, Candice M. Jostad
Evaluating The Effects Of A Job-Aid For Teaching Visual Inspection Skills To University Students, Candice M. Jostad
Dissertations
Visual inspection is the primary method of data analysis used in behavior analysis. Thus, it is important that behavior analysts have the skills necessary for accurate visual inspection. Research has shown that visual inspection can sometimes be unreliable, which has broad implications for the evaluation of treatment effects using this method. Traditional lectures have been shown to be ineffective in teaching visual inspection skills to a satisfactory level, although improvements in visual inspection have been accomplished using statistical methods and aids such as celeration lines superimposed on graphs. However, these methods are not effective when the aids are removed and …
Assessing The Effects Of A Rectangular Rapid-Flashing Beacon On Vehicle Speeds Along A Four-Lane Divided Highway, Michelle Van Wagner
Assessing The Effects Of A Rectangular Rapid-Flashing Beacon On Vehicle Speeds Along A Four-Lane Divided Highway, Michelle Van Wagner
Dissertations
In 2008, nearly 31% of vehicle fatalities were related to failure to adhere to safe vehicle speeds (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 2009). Two studies were conducted to evaluate the effects of a Rectangular Rapid-Flashing Beacon (RRFB) triggered by excessive speed on vehicle speed using a combined alternating treatments and reversal design. Experiment 1 assessed the RRFB's impact on speeds as compared to baseline conditions only. Experiment 2 compared the RRFB to two standard beacon configurations. Both experiments were conducted at the same site during approximately the same time period and both employed the same data collection methodology. The …
Trial And Error, Delayed Prompting, And Reinforcement Of Prompted Responses In Teaching Receptive Identification Of Pictures, Kristen Lynn Gaisford
Trial And Error, Delayed Prompting, And Reinforcement Of Prompted Responses In Teaching Receptive Identification Of Pictures, Kristen Lynn Gaisford
Dissertations
Three strategies to train receptive identification of pictures were compared: (a) trial and error, (b) delayed finger-point prompt followed by a reinforcer, and (c) delayed finger-point prompt followed by the spoken word, "good". These three strategies were compared using a multi-element design, assessing the performance of four children, ranging from two to four years of age, selected from a classroom that provides services to children with Early Childhood Developmental Delays (ECDD). Two children mastered the receptive identification of pictures at the same rate regardless of the strategy. For the remaining two participants, the rate of mastery was the same for …
Improving Reading Fluency And Comprehension In Elementary Students Using Read Naturally, Rebecca Arvans
Improving Reading Fluency And Comprehension In Elementary Students Using Read Naturally, Rebecca Arvans
Dissertations
Difficulty learning how to read is a risk factor for school failure, low grades, behavior problems, juvenile delinquency, truancy, unemployment, jail time, and substance abuse. Reading difficulties are common in the educational setting, afflicting anywhere from 20-40 percent of students. Read Naturally is a computer-based reading program which targets the third "big idea" (i.e„ accuracy and fluency with reading). The current study assessed the efficacy of the Read Naturally program in second through fourth grade elementary students in a public elementary school. Additionally, this study assessed whether improving reading abilities resulted in changes in classroom behavior problems or self-esteem. Eighty-two …
Comparing The Accuracy Of Performing Digital And Paper Checklists Using A Feedback Package During Normal Workload Conditions In Simulated Flight, William Gene Rantz
Comparing The Accuracy Of Performing Digital And Paper Checklists Using A Feedback Package During Normal Workload Conditions In Simulated Flight, William Gene Rantz
Dissertations
This study examined whether pilots completed airplane digital or paper checklists more accurately when they received post-flight graphic and verbal feedback. Participants were 6 college student pilots with instrument rating. The task consisted of flying flight patterns using a Frasca 241 Flight Training Device which emulates a Cirrus SR20 aircraft. The main dependent variable was the number of checklist items completed correctly per flight. An alternating treatment, multiple baseline design across pairs with reversal, was used. During baseline, the average percent of correctly completed items per flight varied considerably across participants, ranging from 13% to 57% for traditional paper checklists …
Disruptive Effects Of Aβ Oligomers To The Radial-Arm Maze Performance Of Rats, Kineta Lynn Morgan-Paisley
Disruptive Effects Of Aβ Oligomers To The Radial-Arm Maze Performance Of Rats, Kineta Lynn Morgan-Paisley
Dissertations
Converging lines of research have implicated a causal relationship between oligomers of amyloid-β and the cognitive impairments associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD); however, very few studies have provided direct experimental evidence of this relationship and none of those studies have used an established model of working memory. The present study used an established model of working memory, the radial-arm maze, to examine the effects of amyloid-β oligomers on the memory of two groups of rats. The experimental group received ICV injections of the culture media (CM) of Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cells transfected with a human mutation of APP containing …
The Effects Of Acute Nicotine Abstinence On Vigilance And Verbal Memory In Non-Diagnosed Smokers, David W. Ayer
The Effects Of Acute Nicotine Abstinence On Vigilance And Verbal Memory In Non-Diagnosed Smokers, David W. Ayer
Dissertations
Research has shown a differential prevalence of smoking in the schizophrenic population compared to other psychiatric and non-diagnosed populations. The three most commonly investigated reasons for this differential prevalence in schizophrenics are: the self-medication hypothesis, side effects hypothesis, and sociological hypothesis. The self-medication hypothesis which proposes that schizophrenics smoke at a higher rate to ameliorate cognitive deficits is the most substantiated by the research. Of current interest is the possible role of nicotine in improving performance on vigilance and verbal memory, the two areas shown to be most related to impaired social functioning in schizophrenics. It is difficult to make …
Audio Narration And Reading Ability In Programmed Instruction, Wendy Jaehnig
Audio Narration And Reading Ability In Programmed Instruction, Wendy Jaehnig
Dissertations
This study compared the effects of audio, textual, and audio-textual narration in a programmed instructional module on the performance of individuals with different reading abilities. One hundred eighty-four college students were randomly assigned to audio, textual, or audio-narration. Dependent variables were posttest score and instruction completion time. An ANCOVA was used to analyze the results, with ACT reading test scores as the covariate. No differences were found between the groups on posttest scores (p = .56) or completion time (p = .90), and there was no interaction between narration type and reading score for either dependent variable. Audio …
Investigating The Effects Of Real-Time Visual Feedback On Computer Workstation Posture, Sigurdur Oli Sigurdsson
Investigating The Effects Of Real-Time Visual Feedback On Computer Workstation Posture, Sigurdur Oli Sigurdsson
Dissertations
The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a package intervention that included discrimination training, real-time visual feedback, and self-monitoring on postural behavior at a computer workstation in a simulated office environment. A total of 21 participants were screened for participation, and eight of those participated throughout the study. A non-concurrent multiple baseline design across participants was used to assess the effects of the interventions across three postural variables. Following an information-only phase, participants were exposed to the intervention for the lowest stable postural variable. For most targeted postural variables, the intervention implemented in this study led …
Analysis Of Group Differences And Predictors Of Hooper Visual Organization Test Scores, Michael R. Devries
Analysis Of Group Differences And Predictors Of Hooper Visual Organization Test Scores, Michael R. Devries
Dissertations
The Hooper Visual Organization Test (VOT) is described in the manual as a screening instrument that measures the ability to organize visual stimuli (Hooper, 1983). The VOT is identified as being particularly sensitive to neurological impairment. Studies to determine the criterion and construct validity of the VOT have examined its usefulness in distinguishing between individuals with neurological impairment from those with other disorders. Few studies have included samples from normal, psychiatrically impaired, and neurologically impaired populations in determining the VOT's usefulness in identifying neurologically impaired individuals. Furthermore, as neuropsychology has moved away from the understanding of neurological impairment as a …
Social Anxiety: Attentional Bias In Reaction To Emotional Faces Before And After Participation In A College Level Public Speaking Course, Scott Walter Maieritsch
Social Anxiety: Attentional Bias In Reaction To Emotional Faces Before And After Participation In A College Level Public Speaking Course, Scott Walter Maieritsch
Dissertations
This study was designed to examine the effectiveness of a semester-long public speaking course in reducing the self-reported levels of communication anxiety and social anxiety among college students enrolled in such a course. The current study also sought to replicate and extend a recent line of research that has demonstrated that highly socially anxious individuals show an attentional bias away from emotional faces under conditions of social-evaluative threat. The current study extended this line of research by conducting the same reaction time procedure with participants in a pretest/post-test design. The project was designed to determine if groups (rating high vs. …