Psychology Commons^™

The Experimenter Bias Effect And Its Relation To Submission To Authority, Anat Rutenberg

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Scientific researchers are expected to control the “Experimenter” or “Rosenthal” effect, in which the experimenter’s (E’s) expectations somehow induce the experimental results. Some seventy studies dealing with experimenter bias effect (EBE), many of them recent, were critically reviewed. Contradictory results and failures to replicate were reported. The most plausible explanation involved the personality characteristics of, and the dominance relation between, E and S. Accordingly, the present study examined one personality trait which seems to underlie the EBE, namely, submission to authority.

To elicit EBE, students serving as Es administered Ss Rosenthal’s Photo Rating Test (RPRT), a series of photographed faces …

Meaning Formation, Gail F. Czukar

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

An attempt was made to demonstrate laboratory conditions in which experiential components of meaning (i.e. perceptual and emotional correlates of observable stimuli and responses) pattern to form a gestalt. Semantic differential scales were used to measure the meaning of simple visual figures in two phases of the experiment. The first phase consisted of a pre- and post-exposure measurement of meaning with an intervening exposure to a compound visual display. In the second phase, subjects were exposed to an altered visual display and then rated the stimuli again.

Results do not support the predictions that (1) the meaning of the central …

An Investigation Of Semantic Desensitization As A Therapy In The Treatment Of Snake Phobia, Linda Rose Brown

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The initial study of the present research was conducted to determine the effect of low versus high imagery stimulus words on the outcome of semantic desensitization as conducted by Hekmat and Vanian (1971). The overall lack of significant findings led to a more intense examination of the basic underlying assumptions of semantic desensitization. Study II was designed in an attempt to find a method which would successfully achieve meaning change while maintaining interest. A paired associate method was more powerful than the Hekmat procedure in producing meaning change. Study III compared the potency of the paired associate and Hekmat procedure …

Measures Of Approach And Avoidance In The Defence Style Of Spider Phobics, Gysbert Herman De Vink

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Phobic behaviour is traditionally described in terms of avoidance of the phobic object. Andrews (1966) contested this notion and formulated several postulates in which approach toward the phobic object as well as avoidance could be expected as the behavioural manifestation of the phobia. In the present research Andrews’ idea of approach is examined with behavioural and pencil and paper measures.

On the basis of Repression-Sensitization Scale (R-S) scores and their self-rated fear of spiders, 30 fearful repressors and 30 fearful sensitizers were obtained. These people were then tested with the Behavioral Avoidance Test designed by Lang and Lazovick (1963), a …

Supervisory Performance And Satisfaction In Relation To Supervisory Style Interactions At Adjacent Levels Of Management, Gary F. Hanke

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The present study examined, for a range of industrial management positions, the relationship of supervisory style patterns at adjacent managerial levels to supervisory performance and job satisfaction. It also investigated the utility of Fiedler’s Contingency Model for determining the supervisory style associated with optimal work group performance at the middle levels of industrial management. Supervisory style was viewed as the extent to which a supervisor’s job related behaviour was basically task-oriented or human relations-oriented. One hundred and twenty-four production supervisory staff representing six manufacturing companies and six organizational levels completed a multi-faceted questionnaire. Measurement devices included: three indices of supervisory …

Personality Factors And Operant Heart Rate Conditioning, Jerry M. Malkiewicz

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The present study was concerned with certain individual differences that relate to a subject’s ability to increase his heart rate on command when given appropriate external feedback. The main purpose was to extend to the operant conditioning paradigm Eysenck’s theory that introverts classically condition more readily than extraverts. A second purpose was to determine which personality factors—extraversion, anxiety, and ability to perceive autonomic responses—contribute to heart rate control in operant conditioning. The Eysenck Personality Inventory and the Autonomic Perception Questionnaire were administered to 46 undergraduate males who attempted to accelerate their heart rates, with visual proportional feedback provided, during 20, …

The Creation Of A Social Service Setting: A Description Of The History And Theoretical Considerations, Paul W. Davock

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Social service organizations are created continuously with little attention given to the process by which they come into existence. The existing literature on the creation of settings is examined, and the method of study of a particular study is described. The theories which were important to the leader in the creation of the setting are examined. The background information, the events leading to the opening, and the first six months of the setting’s existence are chronicled, detailing the major events, issues, and interactions within the setting, giving attention to major theoretical considerations. Major findings are related to existing theory.

Residential Care For The Mentally Retarded: A Systemic Analysis Of The Creation Of A Community Residence And How Its Development Was Viewed By Members Of The System, David G. Hallman

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The present study, placed in an historical context of care for the mentally retarded, examines the creation and development of a Community Residence for retarded adults. The Residence is described as a system of interrelating groups (the retarded adults, the director and staff, the parents, the Advisory Committee members) whose patterns of communication and interaction affect the nature of the program. The primary sources of data are the observations of the author who was a participant in the develop[ment of the facility and the results of a survey of each of the system’s groups. The survey results indicate some differences …

Dimensions Of Psychological Health For Retarded Adults In A Community Residence, Barbara Dianne Reid

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The Residents’ Needs Questionnaire was developed to measure attitudes concerning the needs of retarded adults for Physical Existence, Psychological Existence, Submissive Relating, Dominant Relating, Shared Relating, and Environmental Mastery. Two measures, identification of the need and perception of the extent to which the need was actualized, were obtained for each of forty items. The questionnaire was administered to staff, residents, parents, and Advisory Committee members of the David Fisher Residence in Erbsville, Ontario. Results indicated that residents’ needs are identified differently by the four different subject groups, and that residents, staff, and Committee members perceive discrepancies between identified needs and …

A Multivariate Analysis Of The Factors Affecting Treatment In A Child Guidance Centre, Brian Charles Regan

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Initially, all the children who had received treatment and been discharged from the West End Créche between 1962 and 1971 were selected for this study. These children were then sub-divided into groups according to where they had gone after discharge. This study considered only two of these groups, 32 children who went into the normal school system and 20 children who entered institutions after being discharged. Both groups were then examined with reference to a list of forty-two variables which provided information on the children’s background and the facilities of the treatment centre. An analysis of these variables demonstrated that …

Towards An Understanding Of Courage: An Exploratory Analysis Of Changing Definitional Conceptions, Gertrud Lavalley

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The present paper was an exploratory attempt at examining changing definitional conceptions of courage. Traditional conceptions were found to abound in popular definitions and confusion with respect to both the meaning and origin of courage. Unconscious conformity to societal norms, symbolic attachment to national roles, a learning theory analogue and the broad conception of S-R (stimulus-response) behaviour were examined as possible explanatory frameworks. An analysis of courage and survival clarified the relationship between courage and hope. An interdependent rather than independent relationship between the two concepts was postulated. The S-O-R (stimulus-organism-response) model was employed as a general explanatory framework for …

Exploratory Study Of Gossip In A Rural Community, Ruth Anne Laverty

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The purpose of this study was to investigate social psychological factors in the process of gossip. A second purpose was to determine whether gossip is a process distinct from rumor. An American community was the location of the study. The situations observed were behavioural settings which either the E or her assistant were permitted to attend without arousing suspicion. The 79 Ss studied were male and female adults and children who happened to be present in these behavioural settings. Conversations of all Ss were tape recorded as well as the gossip portions of conversations in other settings. The content of …

Racial Awareness, Preference And Self-Identification In Negro And Caucasian Early Elementary School Children (Grades Kindergarten, One And Three), Jean Marie Leforge

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Pictures of three identical faces differing only in skin colour were shown to 88 Negro and Caucasian subjects in grades kindergarten, one and three and questions about the pictures were asked. The procedure was designed to measure racial preference, awareness and self-identification and social awareness on the part of the subjects. Male subjects saw pictures of male faces and female subjects saw female faces. An experimental group of approximately one-half of the subjects saw a fourth picture face, which represented a novel stimulus and which was included to probe the reaction of the subjects to novelty.

In addition, a warm-up …

Influence Of Behaviour Setting And Interaction On Patterns Of Successful Aging, George D. Macdonald

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This study investigated the effects of behaviour setting and interaction on patterns of engagement and disengagement within a home for the aged. The purpose of the study was to illustrate that both patterns may be a function of situational and psychological factors and therefore should not be used as definitions of “successful aging.” Data were collected using an observational technique. Observations were made on five behaviour settings for a typical week. The results indicate that there is a relationship between patterns and the two factors specified. A similar finding was reported for staff patterns within the home. Implications of these …

Genetic And Ontogenetic Variation In Response To Scopolamine And D-Amphetamine In Three Strains Of Mice, Gary Remington

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Highly inbred mice of three strains (A/J, DBA/2J and C57BL/6J) were tested in an acitivity task at 14, 21, or 28 days of age. Ten minutes prior to testing, mice received treatment of either saline, scopolamine (0.1 or 1.0 mg/kg) or d-amphetamine (0.5, 1.0 or 5.0 mg/kg). At 14 days of age DBA mice exhibited higher levels of activity than either A or C57 mice. However, the increase in activity in C57 was such that at 21 and 28 days no difference was observed relative to DBA mice, and activity was higher than that of A mice. With respect to …

Behavioral Manifestations Of Women Who Have A Liberated Or Traditionalist View Toward Their Role In Contemporary Society, Shirley A. Clark

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The purpose of this study was two-fold. Part one was to develop an attitude questionnaire which could be used to discriminate between women with a traditionalist or liberated attitude toward toward their role in society. Part two was to choose Ss on the basis of their responses to the questionnaire and find behavioral manifestations of these attitudes. The assumption was made that the underlying difference between the two attitudes was the acceptance or rejection of male superiority.

Eight groups of female Ss, 4 traditionalist and 4 liberated, participated in a physiological experiment in which their systolic blood pressure responses following …

Hope: A General Meaning Analysis, Peter L. Lavalley

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Talk of hope and the future is in the air and very much a part of the world of twentieth-century man. At the same time there is the awareness that the actions of men today often belie the expression of their hopes for a better way of life. The resolution of this conflict is no simple matter, but may be assisted through a more complete understanding of the meaning of human hope. It may then be possible to translate that meaning into individual, social, and national realities. This paper will attend primarily to the former question—that of attaining a fuller …

Post-Exposural Eye Movements And Lateral Differences In Tachistoscopic Recognition, R. Cameron Mcrae

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Left-right differences in visual field accuracy obtained in studies of tachistoscopic recognition have been typically discussed in terms of a covert post exposure scanning process derived from the horizontal eye movements (EM) habitually used in reading. Further, some evidence exists that indicates the occurrence of EM concomitant with the recognition process. By monitoring EM during a representative recognition task, the present study attempted to establish the relation between overt EM elicited by the task, and response accuracy. Using a projection tachistoscope (duration 100 msec.), 8 female Ss were presented with a random trial series of 8-element letter, number, and symbol …

An Investigation Of Some Electrophysiological Concomitants Of Hallucinations, Ronald S. Golemba

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The present research was designed to determine if a single LSD experience produces a detectable change in the electrical potential of the brain, and if so, how long that change lasts, and to examine the changes in the electrical potential of the brain associated with chemogenic and hypnogenic hallucinations. Four studies were conducted measuring the electrical potential between the front and back of the head in monkeys and humans. The frontal potential was shown to shift negatively with the use of LSD-type psychedelics but not with marijuana compounds. LSD caused the potential in humans to shift into the range commonly …

An Investigation Of Three Aspects Of Cognitive Style In Young Children, Briar D. Gaudun

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the developmental concept of the process of differentiation as reflected in cognitive style with three and seven year old male and female Ss. The ideas underlying this study stemmed from the Witkin concept of an analytical versus a global cognitive style. The design, however, differed considerably from the studies of Witkin, Dyk, Faterson, Goodenough, and Karp (1962) by incorporating three aspects of psychological functioning which theoretically should be highly related, although they have never been investigated simultaneously. The three aspects of psychological functioning were perceptual articulation as measured by the Preschool …

An Assessment Of The Role Of Information Inherent In Positive And Aversive Social Reinforcement Employing A Finger Maze Task With Male And Female Subjects And Experimenters, Brian Westley Strutt

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Forty-eight male and 48 female grade 12 high school students were assigned in groups of 8 to a 2 (sex of S X 3 (treatment) X 2 (sex of E) factorial design experiment. Each S was presented with a finger maze task under one of three experimental treatments: censure-nothing with S being told “WRONG” for an incorrect response, nothing for a correct response; reward-nothing, with S being told “CORRECT” for a correct response, nothing for an incorrect response; nothing-nothing, with Ss being told nothing for either a correct or incorrect response. The task required that a binary decision be made …

Auditory-Visual And Temporal-Spatial Integration Ability Of Good And Poor Readers At Two Grade Levels, N.H. Stevens

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

An investigation was made into the relation between grade level, reading ability and performance on six different auditory-visual integration tasks. The subjects, 38 second grade and 38 fifth grade students selected on the basis of their scores on the Gates-MacGinitie Reading Test, were individually tested for ability to perform on the six tasks. The results showed a significant difference in ability to perform the integration tasks between the grade two and grade five subjects with the latter being better. A relation was found between reading level and certain of the integration tasks, with this relation varying between the two grades. …

Methodological, Modal, And Cross-Modal Studies Of Short Interval Judgements Of Duration, With Specific Reference To The Development Of A Model Of The Internal Clock, Michael J. Procyshyn

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

A series of experiments was carried out to investigate: (1) the effect of a background sound applied at either the input and/or the output stages on judgements of visual intervals made using the methods of verbal estimation, operative estimation, and reproduction; (2) the effect of lack of knowledge of the method of response during teh input stage of temporal information on the judgement made; (3) the effect of auditory visual cross-modal stimuli on reproductions of intervals; (4) the effect of lack of knowledge of the mode of response during the input of cross-modal temporal stimuli.

Analysis of the data revealed: …

Shock Intensity And Task Difficulty As Determiners Of Avoidance And Escape Learning In Rats, Arthur Louis

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Thirty-six naive female hooded rats were divided randomly into three groups and tested in an instrumental escape and avoidance learning situation involving three degrees of task difficulty. Each group was also randomly subdivided into four subgroups, each of which underwent a different shock intensity level. The purpose of this study was to test the Yorkes-Dodson law which states that (a) there is an optimal level of punishment intensity for any given task (or an inverted-U curve relating shock intensity and performance) and (b) this optimal intensity decreases as task difficulty increases. The results supported (a) but not (b).

The Effects Of Rehearsal And Mediation Under Two Temporal Conditions Of Stimulus-Response Presentation In Paired-Associate Learning With Normal And Retarded Children, Alan J. Finalyson

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The effects of two stimulus-response durations (2 and 5 seconds) on performance in a paired-associate learning (PAL) task was assessed. The 3 x 3 x 2 design also permitted a comparison of the effects of rehearsal, mediated interference and the differential performance of normals and non-institutionalized and institutionalized retardates (n = 30, mean age = 12.6). The retarded groups were further matched on I.Q. scores on three factors of the Adaptive Behavior Scales (ABS). The stimuli were conceptually related, black and white, line drawn pictures of common objects. The results were twofold: a facilitating effect for increased S-R duration which …

Concept Attainment Responses Of Incarcerated Delinquent Adolescents As A Function Of Differential Social Reinforcement, Haig Munro

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

In order to test the hypothesis that positive verbal reinforcement is aversive to incarcerated delinquents, one of two equated groups of fifteen males Ss received encouragement for correct responses made during a concept attainment task. It was predicted that reinforced Ss would achieve a significant mean increase in concept attainment errors during the period of social reinforcement. The reinforced Ss, however, made a significant mean reduction in errors. Differences within the reinforced group of Ss indicated that Ss who made reductions in errors were identified as introverted and low risks for recidivism; Ss who made increased errors during social reinforcement …

Job Satisfaction In Relation To General Satisfaction And Personality, Elias E. Mina

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The purpose of this study was to investigate the idea that the personal characteristics of the worker and his general attitude toward his environment influence his attitude about his job. 101 public school teachers were administered five questionnaires to measure: overall job satisfaction with a job, degree of intrinsic job satisfaction, general satisfaction, neuroticism, and 18 personality variables. Results suggested that job satisfaction had a positive relation to general satisfaction and a negative relation to maladjustment. Overall job satisfaction and intrinsic job satisfaction were not related to each other and each related to a different set of personality dimensions.

An Investigation Of The Influence Of Varying Lengths Of Rest Following Differential Amounts Of Practice On The Practice Effect In Tachistoscopic Word Recognition, John G. Platt

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

An experiment was carried out to investigate the influence of varying rest periods after three different amounts of practice on the practice effect in word recognition.

Analysis of the data revealed: (1) rest resulted in a sharp increment in recognition thresholds except at short rest intervals after a brief practice period, (2) the threshold scores immediately after rest were found to be an inverse function of the length of the rest period, and (3) larger threshold increments were observed following greater amounts of practice than after lesser amounts.

The results were discussed in terms of two interpretations of the practice …