Psychology Commons^™

There's No Place Like Home: The Empowering Potential Of The Midwifery Model Of Childbirth, Denise Catherine Squire

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The purposes of this study were to: 1) explore and describe the experience of the midwifery model of childbirth from the perspectives of midwives and mothers who had planned a homebirth; 2) determine the extent to which the experience of the midwifery model of childbirth evidences my values which have been influenced by feminist literature and literature on empowerment; and 3) make the information from this research available to midwives, families who have used the services of midwives, and the public in general. Four midwives and ten mothers who had planned a homebirth between January 1, 1990 and February 15, …

Youth Stress, Support, Coping Skills And Depression: Developing A Model For Primary Prevention In The High Schools, M. Jill Somerville

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This study examined the needs and resources of Galt Collegiate Institute and the City of Cambridge in order to develop a primary prevention program for adolescent stress, support, and coping skills. Two hundred and ten high school students (grade 9 to OAC) completed an adolescent experiences questionnaire including measures on daily hassles, social support, coping skills, depression, and affect. As well, ten individuals from the community completed an interview focusing on program ideas and available resources. Multiple regression analyses of the student data revealed that hassles were directly related to negative affect and depression, and coping skills were directly related …

A Cognitive Approach To Discharge Planning For Offenders, Frederick Wayne Morris

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The paper describes an application of cognitive psychological techniques to a program of discharge planning for offenders from a medium security Correctional Centre. It contains a review of alternative methods of discharge planning, outlines the development of cognitive treatment techniques, and explains the rationale for applying these techniques to incarcerated offenders. A quasi-experimental approach is utilized, comparing a group that experienced a combination of Interpersonal Cognitive Problem-Solving, an affective component, self-initiation and relapse prevention with no treatment comparison groups. A significant improvement was in the experiment group in their ability to solve problems as measured by the Means End Problem-Solving …

Qualitative Evaluation Of Processes And Outcomes Of A Home Visiting Program For Developmentally Handicapped Preschoolers And Their Families, Nancy Lapointe

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

A variety of programs reflecting a diverse array of philosophical approaches to early intervention for developmentally handicapped preschoolers have been developed over the past 30 years. Evaluations of these programs report that early intervention is effective for these children. Yet considerable controversy continues about the validity of most of these studies. A number of researchers have expressed the need for different methods of evaluation but to date few researchers have attempted to evaluate these programs with more appropriate methods or to examine aspects of the program other than child outcomes. This study assessed an early intervention program that involved home …

Public Attitudes Toward Street Kids And Their Families, Diane Elizabeth Garvin

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Public attitudes and perceptions largely determine how and to what extent a society and its communities deal with street kids and their families. It was the purpose of the present study to discover the knowledge, perceptions, and attitudes of the Kitchener-Waterloo public regarding street kids and their families. Directors from five local agencies assisted me throughout the process of this thesis. A telephone survey was conducted with a random sample of 128 residents from all geographic areas of Kitchener-Waterloo, using a structured questionnaire. The age range of this sample was from 16 to 93 years old. Males and females were …

Microgenetic Development In Preschoolers' Private Speech, Robert Muir Duncan

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Vygotsky’s theory of the development of children’s private (or egocentric) speech is discussed, and related empirical research is reviewed. A pilot study demonstrates the visibility of a microgenetic experimental approach to the problem of private speech. The research detailed herein consists of a three-session repeated-measures microgenetic experiment involving 40 five-year-old children, investigating questions which arise both from Vygotsky’s original work on private speech and from contemporary research. Participants in this study were videotaped while working on both paper-folding and story-sequencing tasks. Results showed greater quantities of private speech while participants worked on paper-folding tasks compared with story-sequencing tasks, on difficult …

Differential Outcome Expectancies Of Reinforcement And Nonreinforcement And Memory For Temporal And Nontemporal Stimuli, Mary Jo Ducharme

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The effects of differential outcome expectancies of food and no-food on memory for temporal and non-temporal stimuli were examined. Pigeons matched short (2s) and long (8s) sample durations to red and green comparison stimuli, and vertical and horizontal lines to vertical and horizontal lines. In Experiment 1, the Nondifferential Outcome group (NDO) received food or no-food on a random half of all trials. The Differential Outcome groups (DO) received food for correct responding to one temporal sample and one nontemporal sample, and no-food following the other samples. In the Differential Outcome-Short-Food group (DO-SF), the short sample stimulus was followed by …

Development Of A Measure Of Therapist Trustworthiness, Gregory M. Alberts

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Graduate and professional therapist training programs emphasize the acquisition of technical skills (Stevenson & Norcross, 1987) and deemphasize the promotion of interpersonal and relationship competencies (Lambert, 1989; Schiffman, 1987 ) . The content of such training programs and the procedures by which the competencies of prospective mental health practitioners are developed and evaluated have been critic ized because neither are based on an adequate fund of clinically relevant empirical knowledge (Ford, 1979; Garfield, 1977; Matarazzo, 1978; Ponterotto & Furlong, 1985; Scofield & Yoxtheimer, 1983).

Rational Choice: The Contrast Between Economics And Psychology, Vernon L. Smith

Economics Faculty Articles and Research

Rational Choice--the published record of a conference on economics and psychology--frames the issues as a contest between economic theory and the falsifying evidence from psychology. According to a third perspective, that of experimental economics, most standard theory provides a correct first approximation in predicting motivated behavior in laboratory experimental markets, but the theory is incomplete, particularly in articulating convergence processes in time and in ignoring decision cost. This view has roots in the work of Herbert Simon and Sidney Siegel, but it is not plainly represented in contemporary research in economic pyschology.

Dimensions Of Functional Social Support And Psychological Symptoms, Irvin Sam Schonfeld

Publications and Research

In the summer following graduation a sample of 125 female college graduates (mean age = 28) completed Cohen & Wills' ISEL (1985) which includes scales measuring four social support functions: belonging (social companionship), appraisal (availability of confidants), tangible (instrumental), and self-esteem support. In the summer and fall subject status on two outcome scales was ascertained: the Psychophysiologic Symptom Scale and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). Reliability of the difference scores suggested that the ISEL scales do not measure entirely different constructs and the ISEL Self-esteem Scale is operationally redundant with the Rosenberg Self-esteem scale and the CES-D. …

The Effects Of Training And Feedback Format On Reactions To In-Basket Feedback And On In-Basket Performance, Michael G. Fedorko

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to investigate the effects of training and feedback format on reactions to in-basket feedback and on in-basket performance. Performance was evaluated with a 2 (Training) x 3 (Feedback) x 2 (In-Basket) x 5 (Dimension) repeated measures factorial design. Reactions were evaluated with a 2 (Training) x 3 (Feedback) x 2 (Questionnaire) repeated measures factorial design. The Training factor was comprised of frame-of-reference training (designed to prepare the recipient to receive the feedback) and a control condition (a lecture on Mintzberg's managerial role classification system). The Feedback factor was comprised of written feedback, oral feedback, …

The Benefits Of Women's Education : Warming Up A Cold College Climate For Women Undergraduates, Shannon Riley

Honors Theses

The existence of sex discrimination in American college classrooms, and the harmful effects of such discrimination on women students have been well established. The present study sought to determine if exposure to women's education could aid students in overcoming some of these deleterious effects. Twenty-eight female introductory psychology students and eleven women's studies students read various pieces of research and discussed the readings in experimental sessions. The introductory psychology students in the control group were educated about various well documented gender differences, while the introductory psychology and women's studies students in the experimental groups learned about sex discrimination in college …

Happiness And Satisfaction : Subjective Well-Being In The Work Force, Lori J. Sohns

Honors Theses

Workers from seven southeastern companies (80 subjects) completed surveys consisting of demographic information and subjective well-being (SWB) indicators. Results indicate significantly lower life satisfaction in females than in males; income level and education do not show significant positive relationships with happiness, however, total household income does; and a statistically significant positive relationship between job satisfaction and general satisfaction were found and were strongest in males. Correlations between six of the SWB measures revealed highly significant correlations between five of the measures. A multiple regression analysis of satisfaction and happiness revealed several variables which were predictive of these constructs.

Mmpi Profiles Of Sexual Perpetrators, Steven G. Vaupel

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to compare MMPI scores of 60 men referred for assessment and/or counseling at community mental health facilities. No MMPI protocols were excluded due to elevated validity configurations (70T or above). Forty of the referrals were referred for suspected child sexual abuse. Twenty of the referrals admitted (Admitter) to sexually abusing a child at the time of referral and twenty did not admit (Nonadmitter) to sexually abusing a child when referred. A control group of the remaining twenty subjects were referred for various offenses, none of which included sexual offenses against children. Significant differences were …

A Comparison Of Personality Traits Of Female Interscholastic Athletes And Female Intercollegiate Athletes Involved In Basketball And Softball, Katheryn M. Myers

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to compare personality traits of female high school athletes to female collegiate athletes.

Eighty female athletes participated in the study. Forty-two of them competed at the high school level and thirty-eight participated at the college level. The high school subjects came from either Arcola, Casey/Westfield, or Charleston High School. The college athletes came from either Eastern Illinois University or Illinois State University. All athletes participated in either softball or basketball.

The Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire was administered to each of the subjects. Following Cattell's recommendations, raw scores were used for statistical analysis. Form A …

A Review Of The Literature On Self-Care Children: A Need For Empirical Studies, Stephanie L. Perry

Masters Theses

The term "self-care child'' refers to a young child who returns from school and remains at home unsupervised for an indefinite period until the parents arrive from work, or one who is alone before school in the mornings. In this paper, the emotional functioning, social functioning, and academic performance of self-care children were compared to adult-supervised children. Also, programs designed for self-care children were examined.

When examining the current literature on the self-care child regarding loneliness, anxiety and behavior problems, susceptibility to peer pressure, sexuality, social functioning, and academic performance, no significant differences were found between self-care and adult-supervised children. …

The Effects Of Job Characteristics And Task Decomposition On The Estimation Of The Dollar-Value Of Performance, Robert P. Delprino

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to investigate the influence of job characteristics and structuring aids on the accuracy and acceptance of managers' estimates of the standard deviation of job performance in dollars (i.e., SD_y). The job characteristics consisted of critical incidents of work behaviors and existing performance appraisal dimensions. The structuring aids consisted of full algorithm and partial algorithm procedures. In addition, a global estimation procedure was included in the design and served as a control condition. Participants were 96 nursing managers. Through the use of questionnaires, the managers provided dollar-value estimates of the value of low, …

The Effects Of Wellness Activity Choices On Urban Employees' Psychological Mood States And Job Satisfaction, Ruth Porter Holland

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

This ex-post-facto study was designed to examine the effects of varied levels of physical activity participation choices on employees' mood states and job satisfaction. A six (group) x two (sex) x three (times) ANCOVA method analyzed the relationship of three independent variables (group, sex and repeated exercise sessions) to ten dependent psychological measures (seven mood states and three job satisfaction components). Comparisons by group, sex, and time were made to determine whether four treatment groups of male and female employees who made choices to participate in varied levels of physical activity over an eight week period differed significantly from two …

Overall Laughing One And The Experiences, Anina Porter Adams

Institute for the Humanities Theses

A fictional play based on the study of writings by psychotherapist Carl Gustav Jung. The action is set in the imaginary realm of archetypes, amoral personified energies which appear in tales from diverse cultures. In this play the mythical characters move in an ordered, ritualistic manner. They are dependent upon a geometrically centered black box for the provision of human forms through which they experience "being." A female is the human form provided in this instance and she combines her own energy with that of the other characters though she is not conscious of this fact. The archetypal energies focus …

Psychosocial Developmental Levels Of Freshman Urban University Students With Learning Disabilities, Nancy Ann Wolthuis Olthoff

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

This research study addressed the question, "Is there a difference in psychosocial developmental levels, as defined by Arthur Chickering, between male and female traditional-aged urban university freshmen with and without learning disabilities?" Twenty students with learning disabilities, as diagnosed by independent practitioners who exhibited spelling disabilities on a writing sample placement test, were compared to two comparable groups of twenty students. One comparison group did not exhibit spelling disability. The second group while demonstrating spelling problems, did not have documentation of learning disabilities. The Student Developmental Task and Lifestyle Inventory, a measure of Arthur Chickering's theory of psychosocial development, was …

Health Science Information Management. An Approach To Improving Qa And Clinical Practice, J Williamson, E. Reerink, A Donabedian, C. Turner, Alan Christensen

Alan J. Christensen

To help quality assurance (QA) professionals and clinical practitioners keep up with advances in health care knowledge and technology, we describe a prototype Health Science Information Management (HSIM) publication. We conceptualize HSIM to include: (a) identification of unique science information needs; (b) rapid retrieval of valid needed information; and (c) use the information to improve health care benefits. To more adequately accomplish these functions, we suggest that five specific categories of information will be essential: (1) reports of recent advances in Science Information Management methods; (2) original reports of Science Information Syntheses (SISs) providing information immediately applicable for QA; (3) …

C. G. Jung In The Light Of Asian Psychology, Philip Novak

Philip Novak

Acute Effects Of Cocaine On Spontaneous And Discriminative Motor Functions: Relation To Route Of Administration, C. Lau, Abdulrazaq Imam, M. Fang, J. Falk

Abdulrazaq A. Imam

Rats administered cocaine i.p. and p.o. (7.5-30 mg/kg) showed dose-related increases in locomotor (LM) and small-movement activities, with LM rates decreasing over the 2-hr session, except at the largest i.p. dose, for which rates were greater in the 2nd hr. Lidocaine p.o. (15-30 mg/kg) did not increase activity. Relating the area under the curve measures for serum cocaine (concentration-time) and LM activity (LM activity-time) for 2 hr postadministration indicated that cocaine was about twice as potent i.p., compared to p.o., in increasing LM activity. Cocaine (i.p. and p.o.) produced dose-related decrements in both discriminative motor control performance and in task …

La Visión Satírica De Humberto Costantini: "De Dioses, Hombrecitos Y Policías", Adelaida López-Mejia

Adelaida López Mejía

No abstract provided.

Family System Issues Pertaining To Eating Disorders In Teens, Robin G. Gayle

Robin G. Gayle

A Functional Approach To Nonverbal Exchange, Miles Patterson

Miles Patterson

No abstract provided.

Solving Complex Problems: Exploration And Control Of Complex Systems, Joachim Funke

Joachim Funke