Psychology Commons^™

The Effects Of Expertise And Information Relevance On Information Search Strategy., Jason Lebsack

Student Work

Differences between experts and novices have been the focus of a variety of studies throughout the psychological literature. In general, task outcome differences have been found between experts and novices, but further study is needed to understand the mechanism for explaining these outcome differences. This study investigated taskprocessing differences between experts and novices, specifically, the use of relevant and irrelevant information. Forty human resource professionals served as experts and 40 undergraduate students served as novices in this study. Participants made two hiring decisions. Using an information board format, participants examined eight attributes across six candidates for the job of museum …

Eeg Coherence And Amplitude Effects Of Rhythmic Auditory And Visual Stimulation With An Emphasis In Computational Methods, Jon Alan Frederick

Doctoral Dissertations

The photic driving response, the effect of a flashing light stimulus on the cortical EEG, has proven to be a sensistive neurometric that varies with differences in perception, mood, and physiological states. The diverse effects of photic stimulation have made commercially available "brainwave syncronizers" popular among consumers and even among some clinicians. It is common in the design of these devices to combine a rhythmic auditory stimulus with the visual stimulus. However, little if any experimental evidence supports the assumption that auditory stimulation enhances the photic driving effect. Therefore, this study compared the amplitude and coherence effects of three stimulation …

Physiological And Cognitive Factors In Asthma And Panic Disorder: Application Of The Cognitive And Dyspnensuffocation Fear Theories, Diana M. Dorhofer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Recently, the relationship of anxiety with asthma has been investigated in the psychological literature, revealing that individuals with asthma are more likely to develop panic disorder than are individuals without asthma (e.g., Carr, 1998). Two theories (dyspnedsuffocation fear theory and cognitive theory) have been used to explain how asthma symptoms are affected by panic attacks or panic disorder. The present study examines both theories, as well as a hypothesis developed by Carr (1 998) that suggests that the presence of panic disorder in individuals with asthma may lead to better lung functioning in response to stressful stimuli than for individuals …

Using Performance Analysis To Increase Staff Compliance With Acquisition Programs For Children With Autism, Scott Traynor

Masters Theses

Improvement in the rate of learning on acquisition programs for individuals diagnosed with autism often depends on the quality of instruction delivered by direct-care staff The present study evaluated the effectiveness of a performance analysis on targeting environmental variables that were maintaining less than optimal staff performance for a least-to-most prompting procedure used to teach a hand-washing task to preschool children diagnosed with autism. Direct observations of technician/child dyads were followed by informant interviews with technicians, supervisors, and other key staff members that pinpointed variables that were maintaining/hindering staff compliance with a prompting procedure designed to promote child acquisition of …

The Effects Of Inclusion On Learning-Disabled Students' Self-Esteem, Ruth Ann Cardoza

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This study was to determine whether Learning Disabled students who receive all their instruction in regular education would receive significantly higher self-esteem scores than students who receive services from special education resource. The instruments employed were the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory and the Pier-Harris Self-Concept Scale in order to determine any significant differences in self-esteem between the two groups. The sample consisted of 30 bilingual Mexican-American children ages 8–12. The subjects were from public schools in the southern region of Texas on the Mexico-Texas border. Data were analyzed through descriptive statistics, T-test, and two-way factorial analysis of variance with repeated measures. …

Personality Differences Of First-Year Law Students Using The Theory Of Mental Self-Government, Charles Angelo Licata

Masters Theses

Thinking styles are described as ones conscious attempt to develop an awareness of stimuli within the surrounding environment. They reflect on the way we perceive, interpret, and integrate information, as well as influence the quality of information we supply to others. At the same time, personality traits have become important factors in understanding the preferences people may feel towards their careers, lifestyles, and quality of life. Furthermore, Myers and Briggs (1984) linked personality to the way we perceive and think about the environment by developing a new model of personality and thinking, which was based on the research and theories …

A Comparison Of Intellectual Test Performance Across Native American And European American Children, Austin P. Keith

Theses and Dissertations

Differential scoring across Native American and European .American groups on the Wechsler Intelligence Scales for Children - Third Edition (WISC-IIi) was examined while controlling for Full Scale IQ and age. Comparisons were made across the groups on Verbal IQ and Performance IQ, individual subtests, individual subtest items and two composite index scores. Results indicated no significant scorino differences between the two groups on Performance IQ or, on the Perceptual Organization Index, Significant scoring differences were also not evident on the Coding, Picture Arrangement, Arithmetic, Block Design, Vocabulary-, Object Assembly and Comprehension subtests. Significant scoring differences were found across the groups …

The Analysis Of Selective Information Processing And Neuropsychological Functioning In Individuals At-Risk For Eating Disorders: The Use Of A Pictorial Adaptation To The Stroop Paradigm, Using Print Media Advertisements, Kristine L. Lokken

Theses and Dissertations

There is evidence that women with bulimic symptoms are characteristically impulsive and have difficulty inhibiting various behaviors. Neuropsychological profiles of women with bulimic symptoms show patterns of impulsivity, inefficient problem solving ability, and an inability to inhibit irrelevant information. Women with bulimic symptoms also express substantially greater acceptance and internalization of sociocultural mores of thinness, and are more vulnerable to negative influence from laboratory exposure to stimuli representing “thin ideal” stereotypes. The present study examined a possible common link between the characterological and neuropsychological features of women with bulimic symptoms and their susceptibility to negative influence from mass media representations …

A Study Of Native American Ged Graduates At Four Tribal Community Colleges In North Dakota, Karen Starr Gillis

Theses and Dissertations

This study focused on the General Educational Development (GED) graduates of four tribal colleges in North Dakota. The purpose was to provide answers to five research questions and to determine baseline data on Indian education in an area not fully studied. The study will assist in closing the gap between research already conducted with Hispanics and African American populations.

The study accumulated data on participants in GED programs at the four adult education and/or testing centers at the tribal colleges in North Dakota for the years 1990–1999. The participants were analyzed using a set of variables that was specific to …

A Study Of The Effect Of Group Family Play On Family Relations For Families With Children Considered At-Risk For Educational Failure, Carmen Colleen Baldus

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Refugee Experiences Of Trauma And Ptsd Effects On Psychological, Physical, And Financial Well-Being, Karen J. Cusack

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Comparison And Generalization Of Behavioral And Cognitive-Behavioral One-Session Exposure Treatments For Small Animal Phobias, Ellen I. Koch

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Involvement Of Females As Authors, Editors, And Participants In Journals Concerned With Mental Retardation And Related Topics, Cari L. Porter

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Effect Of Cultural Affiliations On Attitudes, Beliefs, And Reactions To The Fighting Sioux Nickname Issue Between Northern Plains American Indian And Majority Culture College Students, Angela Larocque

Theses and Dissertations

The main puqjo.sc of this study was to compare the effect of cultural affiliation on altitudes, beliefs, and reactions to the Fighting Sioux Nickname and logo issue for 60 Nonhem Plains American Indian college students and 61 non-Indian college students at the University of North Dakota. Subjects completed a demographic questionnaire and the University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux Nickname Attitudes, Beliefs, and Reactions (UNDFSNABR) survey. In addition, American Indian subjects completed the Nonhem Plains Bicuhuralism Inventory (NPBI), Using the Northern Plains Biculluralisin Inventory (NPBI) to identify cultural identification among American Indian participants, the hypotheses of the current study were;: …

Psychiatric Diagnosis And Inmate Profiles In A Metropolitan County Jail, Teg W. Mcbride

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

In recent years, there has been an increase in public and professional concern regarding the mentally ill offender in the criminal justice system. Several researchers have identified the need for further investigation of the mentally ill in correctional environments. This research was pai1 of a program evaluation in a large metropolitan county jail. Four main question were investigated: 1. Do inmates identified as mentally ill differ from the general jail population? 2. How consistent are the diagnoses of those identified as mentally in the correctional computer database (SWIS) compared to the diagnoses recorded in the medical records? 3. Is there …

Premarital Counseling And Divorce, Michael L. Davis

MALS Final Projects, 1995-2019

The concern over divorce in America has become more and more prominent in recent years. It is estimated that divorce costs society billions of dollars each year, in addition to the social costs it exacts on children and adults alike, such costs include a variety of public health problems including (but not limited to) suicide, teen pregnancy, and substance abuse.

This study reviews the relevant literature about marriage and divorce in the United States and presents research in the area of premarital counseling. Five couples were surveyed to obtain their opinions about premarital counseling and methodologies in divorce prevention. The …

The Moderating Role Of Trust On The Relationship Between Ingratiatory Communication Strategies And Interactional Fairness, Erik Drafsten

Student Work

Previous research has shown that when perceptions of both procedural justice and distributive justice are low, increasing perceptions of interactional fairness can serve to reduce negative consequences that an organization may face, including subtle forms of retaliation, or what are known as organizational retaliatory behaviors (ORB). In an organizational setting personal attempts to improve perceptions of interactional fairness, under conditions of low distributive and procedural justice, can take on ingratiatory-like qualities when the source attempting to boost these perceptions of interactional fairness uses flattery, expresses excessive empathy, or excessive sympathy. Research has shown that ingratiatory actions such as these become …

Living In Prison: Evaluating The Deprivation And Importation Models Of Inmate Adaptation, Lisa Danielle Velarde

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of the present study is to broaden knowledge in the area of adjustment to incarceration. Clemmer (1950) proposed that a process known as prisonization develops as inmates adjust to the arduous circumstance of incarceration. Previous research has compared two competing models of adaptation, known as importation and deprivation, as predictors of prisonization. Given that Clemmer (1950) originally hypothesized that prisonization serves as a method of adjusting to the prison environment, the present study explored the relationships among the importation model, the deprivation model, prisonization, and adjustment. In an attempt to take into consideration both person and environmental factors, …

The Impact Of Communication Medium And Outcome Severity On The Effectiveness Of Social Accounts, Peter D. Timmerman

Student Work

The present study was designed as a partial test of the model of social accounts by Folger and Cropanzano (1998). Organizational justice researchers have shown that social accounts are effective in reducing negative reactions and displacing blame from the decision-maker following a harmful decision. Using a 2 x 3 completely randomized design, the study examined the effects of outcome severity and media choice on four types of fairness perceptions, medium appropriateness, anger, and turnover intentions. A temporary pay cut scenario was used to manipulate two levels of outcome severity, and the company president provided an explanation of the pay cut …

Does Postformal Thinking Facilitate Recovery From Grief And Promote Well-Being During Bereavement In Widows?, Sharon Lee Sanders

Theses Digitization Project

Widows were assessed on four measures relating to recovery from bereavement: postformal thinking (measured as dialectical thinking), recovery from grief (measured as past feelings and present feelings), well-being (measured by three subscales: autonomy, environmental mastery, and positive relations with others), and age at time of participation. Eighty participants completed and returned questionnaires. It was hypothesized that age of the participant and the development of postformal thinking would predict higher scores on recovery from grief and well-being. Analysis was performed using a Structural Equation Model with a comparative fit index (CFI) of .98. Results showed that age and postformal thinking did …

Making Organizational Punishment Work: The Effects Of Social Accounts And Punishment Severity, Andrew L. Noon

Student Work

Punishment continues to be used by organizations as one method to eliminate unwanted employee behaviors. Bennett (1998) argued that managers must be aware of two aspects of the punishment situation: (a) the punishment intensity and (b) the negative consequences of the punishment. Previous research indicates that strong punishments are most effective at changing unwanted behaviors, but strong punishments are also more prone to producing negative attitudes in the punished individual. One way managers may be able to reduce the negative impact of punishment is by using explanations regarding the need for punishment. These explanations are called social accounts. Not all …

Interpersonal Forgiveness In Adolescent Friendships, Molly A. Wernli

Student Work

The purpose of the present study was to investigate interpersonal forgiveness in the context of adolescent friendships. The following factors were examined in relation to an adolescent’s forgiveness of a transgressing friend: a) religiosity, b) commitment, c) relationship closeness, d) empathy, e) apologies, and f) transgression severity. A total of 161 students (66 males, 95 females) from grades 7,9, and 11 (12- to 18-years of age) participated. Transgression severity was found to have the most influence on forgiveness, accounting for 70% of the variance. Adolescents were more forgiving after low-severity transgressions than high-severity transgressions. The presence of apology had a …

Characteristics And Qualities That Are Important To Middle School-Aged Students In Choosing Friends, Kristin R. Honaker-Carter

Student Work

This study investigates the characteristics that are important to middle school students when they choose their friends. The subjects for this research study are seventh, eighth, and ninth graders with ages ranging from 11-15 years old.

The population surveyed was limited to 47 middle-school aged children whose parents responded to a flyer posted in one of two college universities. The study design was a 14-question value survey using a Likert scale. The questions relate to the importance of various characteristics in choosing friends. The survey also included demographic questions pertaining to the subject’s gender, grade level, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and …

Response Expectancy And Experimenter Bias As Factors Affecting Hypnotic Responsiveness, K. Shannon Wilson

Doctoral Dissertations

This study examined the effect of subjects' expectations regarding their hypnotizability, and the effect of experimenter bias, on subsequent levels of hypnotic responsiveness. Ninety undergraduate psychology students, none of whom had previously been hypnotized, participated in the study. Subjects were divided into four groups (two groups of 30 and two groups of 15), in a two by two design. The two experimental groups received a manipulation (subtle alterations of lighting conditions in the experimental room in order to confirm suggestions given under hypnosis) designed to increase their level of expectations regarding their hypnotic performance. Their actual hypnotic responsiveness was then …

Affectional Orientation, Sex Roles, And Reasons For Living., Shana Valere Hamilton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to research gender, affectional/sexual orientation, and sex roles to determine how people respond to the Expanded Reasons for Living Scale by Linehan, Goodstein, Nielsen, and Chiles (1983). This study used the Bem Sex Role Inventory, short form (Bem, 1981) to assess androgynous and nonandrogynous people.

Results from the statistical analysis revealed that bisexuals had the lowest reasons for living score followed by gay men/lesbians, and then heterosexuals on the Total RFL, as well as on the Responsiblility to Family and Moral Objections subscales. On the Child-Related Concerns subscale heterosexuals had a higher RFL score …

Analysis Of Factors Involved In Ratings Of Treatment Acceptability For Trichotillomania, Amy J. Elliott

Dissertations

Based on the literature, trichotillomania (or chronic hair pulling) appears to be responsive to behavioral interventions, with habit reversal as the most promising intervention. Habit reversal has been shown effective with children and adults of varying levels of severity, but some have questioned the generality and acceptability of the procedure. Little is known about the acceptability of interventions for habit disorders. These two research studies were designed to answer questions regarding the acceptability of behavioral and pharmacological interventions for trichotillomania and to expand the conceptual knowledge of treatment acceptability.

Study 1 compared the acceptability of four interventions targeting trichotillomania. The …

Emotional Expression Management And Social Acceptance In Childhood: Ability, Strategy, And Gender., Gregory S. Young

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The present study was designed to examine the relationship between children's ability to manage emotional expressions and peer acceptance. Specifically, using a mild mood induction paradigm, children between the ages of 8- to 10-years were instructed to neutralize and dissemble genuinely negative emotions. Children's ability to effectively manage their negative emotional expressions was then examined with respect to gender differences and in relation to peer acceptance ratings. Results indicated that girls were significantly better than boys at substituting positive expressions for genuine negative ones, were marginally worse than boys at neutralizing negative expressions, and overall were significantly more expressively positive …

The Emergence Of The Capacity For Guilt In Preschoolers: The Role Of Personal Responsibility In Differentiating Shame From Guilt, Jamie L. Walter

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The present study examined the development of guilt and shame in preschool children, as well as individual differences related to the expression of these emotions. Sixty-one children in three age groups were videotaped in a mishap paradigm in which an experimentally manipulated doll's arm fell off during play. Children were randomly assigned to either an ambiguous or a personal responsibility condition. Videotapes were coded for behavioral (e.g., latency to repair, avoidance) and affective (e.g., joy, tensionlwony) reactions. Individual differences were assessed through parental reports using the My Child (Kochanska, DeVet, Goldman, Murray, & Putman, 1994) and teacher ratings using the …

A Model For Hiv/Aids Risk Behaviors Of Students In Armenia, Talin Babikian

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Without a cure in now its third decade, AIDS is a concern for both the medical and social science disciplines. Most at risk for a nationwide AIDS epidemic are developing countries, which often lack the necessary resources and knowledge to minimize the spread of the disease. There are an estimated 1500 HIV cases in Armenia, 81.5% of which occur in the 20-39 age group. Armenia’s current economic and political instability, increase in sexually transmitted infections (STI), prostitution, and injecting drug use, and the alarming incidence rates in neighboring countries amplify its risk for a national epidemic.

The goals of this …

Graphical Perception Of Nonlinear Trends: Discrimination And Extrapolation, Lisa A. Best

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation investigated several factors involved in the perception of nonlinear relationships in time series graphs. To model real-world data sets, the graphed data included different sample sizes and levels of variability, and represented different underlying trends. Graph format was also varied. The purpose of the experiments was to determine how these factors affect both trend discrimination and extrapolation accuracy, with the overall goal of determining what types of graphs are optimal in different situations. In Experiment 1, subjects viewed time series graphs on a computer screen and had to identify the type of trend that was present. Six trends …