Psychology Commons^™

Racism More Than Private Belief, Aubrey Immelman

Psychology Faculty Publications

This letter to the editor of the St. John’s University student newspaper, The Record, points out that racism is multifaceted, constituting more than simply a personal belief. Racist attitudes comprise a cognitive component (stereotypes), an affective component (prejudice), and a behavioral component (discrimination).

Effects Of Cocaine On Fixed-Ratio Responding Of Rats: Modulation By Required Response Force, Malath Makhay

Masters Theses

The effects of acute cocaine administrations (5. 6 to 32 mg/kg) were determined in rats responding under a multiple fixed-ratio 15 fixed-ratio 15 schedule of food delivery. The minimum response effort required in one schedule component was 25 g, whereas in the other component it was 200 g. Cocaine produced generally dose-dependent decreases in rate of responding and increases in pre-ratio pause times under each component. There was, however, a significant interaction between force and drug dose, and the magnitude of drug effects were larger in the component requiring 200 g for lever operation. Although a number of other parameters …

Tips, Volume 13, No. 4 & 5, 1993/1994, Wolf P. Wolfensberger

Training Institute Publication Series (TIPS)

• Poverty

• Tautological Insight

• The Gulf Between the Haves & Have-Nots

• The Cold Within (author unknown)

• Homelessness

• Let Them Eat Voice Mail

• The Milk of Human Kindness

• More Ships of Fools

• Oh, What Will We Do With the Homeless When the Olympics Come to Town?

• "When the World Comes to Atlanta... (Homeless song)

• Hoboism

• If Dirt Were Dollars (Don Henley)

• Violence in Society

• The Jail & the Prison Scene

• Miscellaneous

• Sexual Abuse & Deathmaking in Prisons

• Solitary Confinement (Robert Walker)

• The Death Penalty …

The Assessment Of Political Personality: A Psychodiagnostically Relevant Conceptualization And Methodology, Aubrey Immelman

Psychology Faculty Publications

The purpose of this article is to narrow the conceptual and methodological gap between existing formulations in psychodiagnostic theory and current practice in political personality. It is suggested that accurate assessment of the personalities of high-level leaders can significantly improve the prediction of political outcomes but that this endeavor has been hampered by inadequate transposition from the source disciplines of personality theory and psychodiagnostics to the target discipline of contemporary political psychology. It is proposed that Theodore Millon’s personological model offers a viable integrative framework for the study of political personality. The present article explicates Millon’s model, specifies the relevance …

The Occurrence Of Alexithymia In Children And Adolescents With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Michael S. Routh

College of Arts & Sciences

Previous studies of the relationship between alexithymia and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have utilized samples of combat veterans with PTSD. However, children and adolescents who have experienced trauma and are diagnosed with PTSD exhibit similar or identical symptomology. The current study examined alexithymia in a sample of children and adolescents diagnosed with PTSD. It was hypothesized that the sample, when compared to non-PTSD and control samples, would reveal a significantly greater severity of alexithymia and PTSD. Although overall results were not consistent with previous research, trends of group means supported a relationship between alexithymia and PTSD. 1

The Effects Of Gender Of Juror And Gender Of Plaintiff On Outcomes Of Mock Medical Malpractice Lawsuites, Verity Anne Tubb

College of Arts & Sciences

The current study investigates the effect of the gender of the subject and the gender of the plaintiff on the outcome of a mock medical malpractice lawsuit. Thirty males and twenty-nine females read a transcript from a mock medical malpractice lawsuit, completed a verdict form and answered opinion and recognition questions. The gender of the subjects did not produce any significant results, showing that male subjects did not select significantly different verdicts when compared to female subjects. The gender of the plaintiff did show significant results. The subjects found for female plaintiffs more often than they did the male plaintiff. …

Parentally Perceived Family Environments Of Children Identified As Attention Deficit-Hyperactive, Tony D. Frazier

College of Arts & Sciences

Parental perceptions of the family social environment were investigated for the families of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder boys (ADHD) and those families without Attention Deficit Disorder boys (Non-ADHD). Mothers and fathers from forty-four intact families (20 Non-ADHD; 24 ADHD) independently completed the Family Environment Scale (Form Real and Form Ideal), a symptomology checklist, and a parent stress questionnaire. The Family Environment Scale (FES) was used to identify the factors that were unique to the family of the ADHD children. Following the identification of subscale factors, the relationship between the FES factors and the ratings of the child's symptoms were examined. …

Crime And Evil: Meta-Theory, Theory, And Praxis In Forensic Psychology, Eric David Kunkel

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

The prevalence of crime is a world-wide problem, and concomitantly, the fear of crime grips the public. Also, social scientists remain pessimistic about solutions: many acquiesce in the •nothing works" conclusion. The general populace views crime as both pathological (i.e., sick) and evil. Privately, social scientists may agree, but professionally they describe crime as nothing but an illness. This research establishes that such reductionism limits the explanatory power of forensic psychology and that ruling out the existence of evil a priori is unscientific. First, the philosophy of science underlying the study of crime is examined. The history of science, the …

A Comparative Study Of Christians To Wiccans And Pagans, L. Diane Curtis

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

Levels of affect were assessed in twenty-five Christian participants and twenty-four Wiccan and Pagan participants. Zucherman and Lubin's Multiple Affect Adjective Checklist-Revised (1985) was utilized to measure levels of anxiety, depression, hostility, sensation seeking and positive affect. It was hypothesized that Christians would rate higher in levels of anxiety, depression, and hostility. None of these hypotheses were supported, and there was no significant difference between Christian and Pagan levels of positive affect. There was however, a significant difference between the two groups in the area of sensation seeking- Pagan scores rating higher than did Christian scores. Possible explanations for this …

Identification Of Perfectionistic College Students, Susan A. Morgan

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to identify distinctive personality characteristics for perfectionistic college students. One hundred eighty-four graduate and undergraduate students enrolled in psychology and business courses were asked to participate by completing a measure of perfectionism and a personality test. The participants scores were arranged into groups based on their MPS subscale scores. Discriminant analyses revealed 3 separate clusters of variables which predicted perfectionism group membership with surprising accuracy.

Selected Demographic Variables As Predictors Of Moral Development Among George Fox College Students, Joe D. Wood

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

The theoretical basis of this research was based on Kohlberg's cognitive model of moral development. Rest's operationalization of principled moral reasoning, Davison's scale score, and Thoma's utilizer score were specifically examined. A predictive relationship between certain demographic variables and the principled moral reasoning and Davison's score have been identified in the research literature. The purpose of this study was to examine further this predictive relationship. The James D. Foster and Beth A. LaForce research project provided the archival data for this research. From the existing data, demographic variables were selected as predictors of moral development among incoming George Fox College …

Behavioral Effects Of Tyrosine During Sustained Wakefulness, D. L. Wiegmann, D. F. Neri, R. R. Stanny, S. A. Shappell, A. H. Mccardie, D. L. Mckay

Publications

The fatigue and cognitive performance deficits associated with sleep loss and stress, like that experienced during sustained flight operations and nighttime flying, have motivated the search for effective nonpharmacological countermeasures. The behavioral effects of the potential countermeasure tyrosine, an amino-acid precursor to dopamine and norepinephrine, were examined during an episode of continuous nighttime work involving one night's sleep loss. Volunteers performed nine iterations of a battery of cognitive and subjective tasks for approximately 13 h, beginning at 1930 and ending at 0820 the following morning. Subjects remained awake throughout the day on which the experiment began and were awake for …

The Effects Of Public Commitment And Group Feedback Of Curbside Recycling, Iser Guillermo Deleón

Masters Theses

Several methods for increasing recycling have been presented in the psychology literature. However, many rely on incentive systems that require individual response monitoring for differential delivery of consequences, thus rendering them prohibitively expensive on a community-wide scale. This study examined the effects of three community interventions which may circumvent this limitation: public commitment, group feedback, and a combination of both. The Commitment Only intervention produced no substantial increase in recycling when superimposed upon a curbside recycling baseline. The Feedback Only intervention and the Combined Intervention produced increases of 25.47% and 40.00%, respectively. A no-intervention Control Group decreased in amount recycled …

The Link Between Psychosocial Factors And Coronary Heart Disease: A Possible Neuroendocrine Mechanism, Sheila Wang

Dissertations

Coronary heart disease continues to be the leading cause of death in the affluent world. Despite identification of several risk factors for coronary heart disease (age, sex, lipoprotein profile, hypertension, diabetes, cigarette smoking, obesity), a significant amount of variability associated with the incidence of coronary heart disease cannot be explained solely on the basis of these risk factors. The contribution of psychosocial factors to the development of coronary heart disease (type A behavior, social isolation, traumatic events, unstable social conditions) continues to be a promising area of investigation. However, a biochemical pathway linking psychosocial factors to coronary heart disease remains …

The Maintenance Of Statistical Process Control (Spc) With Organizational Behavior Management (Obm) Techniques, Pollis Robertson

Dissertations

Many organizations have implemented statistical process control (SPC) programs in response to demands in the marketplace for high-quality products that are efficiently built. Many of these organizations have been unhappy with the difficulty of getting their statistical process (SPC) control programs started and the long-term economic success of these programs.

This study systematically investigated for two years various components of statistical process control programs and attempted to enhance economic effectiveness by buttressing SPC methods with Organizational Behavior Management (OBM) techniques. This study was conducted in a Gray Ductile Iron Foundry that employed 87 employees.

Positive results were observed when OBM …

The Efficacy Of Eye Movement Desensitization In The Treatment Of Trauma Related Imagery And Cognitions: A Partial Dismantling Procedure, George S. Renfrey

Dissertations

This study investigated the effects of eye movement desensitization (EMD) on post-traumatic sequelae, and attempted a partial dismantling of the procedure to determine the necessity of EMD's characteristic eye movements. Twenty-three persons participated in three groups: (1) those receiving standard EMD, (2) those receiving a variant of EMD in which eye movements were engendered through a light tracking task, and (3) those receiving a variant of EMD in which fixed visual attention replaced eye movements. All participants had experienced traumata as defined by the DSM-III-R and were having intrusive symptoms of PTSD at pre-treatment. All but two met full DSM-II-R …

An Examination Of Depression In A Subclinical Eating Disorder Female Population, Christine Hill-Melton

Dissertations

This study examined depression and disordered eating symptoms in a population at high risk for the development of eating disorders. The level and prevalence of depression were compared between three groups of women with increasing severity of eating disordered symptoms.

Female undergraduate college students enrolled in psychology courses at four small colleges and one mid-sized university in Michigan completed a Biographical Questionnaire, the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and an Eating Assessment Rating Scale (EARS). Participants were placed into one of three groups according to severity of disordered eating symptoms based on their responses on the EARS. The three groups were: …

What's In A Label? The Effects Of Substance Types And Labels On Treatment Considerations And Stigma, John A. Cunningham, Linda C. Sobell, Virginia M. Chow

Faculty Articles

Visitors (N = 579) to a science center read selected scenarios and evaluated the most likely outcome for a hypothetical substance abuser. Respondents were randomly assigned to one of six scenario conditions: a person with one of three different substance abuse problems (alcohol, tobacco, or cocaine) was crossed with two labels reflecting high or low substance dependence. Results indicated that: (1) cigarettes were viewed as a less serious substance abuse problem than were alcohol or cocaine (a person who smoked cigarettes was rated as more likely to recover from his problem, self-change was regarded as more appropriate and less stigma …

Session Duration And The Vi Response Function: With-In Session Prospective And Retrospective Efffects, James Dougan, Alfred Kuh, K. Vink

Scholarship

Two experiments examined the effects of session duration on responding during simple variable-interval schedules. In Experiment 1, rats were exposed to a series of simple variable-interval schedules differing in both session duration (10 min or 30 min) and scheduled reinforcement rate (7.5 s,15 s, 30 s, and 480 s). The functions relating response rate to reinforcement rate were predominantly monotonic for the short (10-min) sessions but were predominantly bitonic for the long (30-min) sessions, when data from the entire session were considered. Examination of responding within sessions suggested that differences in the whole-session data were produced by a combination of …

Session Duration And The Vi Response Function: With-In Session Prospective And Retrospective Efffects, James Dougan, Alfred Kuh, K. Vink

James Dougan

Two experiments examined the effects of session duration on responding during simple variable-interval schedules. In Experiment 1, rats were exposed to a series of simple variable-interval schedules differing in both session duration (10 min or 30 min) and scheduled reinforcement rate (7.5 s,15 s, 30 s, and 480 s). The functions relating response rate to reinforcement rate were predominantly monotonic for the short (10-min) sessions but were predominantly bitonic for the long (30-min) sessions, when data from the entire session were considered. Examination of responding within sessions suggested that differences in the whole-session data were produced by a combination of …

The Effects Of Exercise Over Time On Levels Of Anxiety And Self-Efficacy Among Women Undergraduates, Linda S. Noval

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Exercise has been shown to reduce anxiety. However, many people find exercise programs difficult to maintain. Researchers are now identifying factors associated with exercise adherence including selfefficacy. Teaching these skills to people may be important for the use of exercise as an intervention in reducing levels of anxiety. This study monitored levels of anxiety over time among women undergraduate students who were involved in four exercise conditions. The results suggest that while physical activity is associated with significantly higher levels of physical self-efficacy, it is not as closely associated with lower levels of trait anxiety.

Sexual Orientation, Attachment, And Adult Relationship Quality, Earl Calvin Riggins Iii

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Comparisons were made between 55 heterosexual males, 49 heterosexual females, 56 homosexual males, and 35 homosexual females on measures of attachment, relationship satisfaction and relationship success. Results indicated that adult homosexuals experience greater difficulty than adult heterosexuals in becoming close to others. Individuals endorsing the secure attachment style reported greater relationship satisfaction than individuals endorsing either of the two insecure attachment styles. In addition, females reported greater relationship satisfaction than males. Significantly more individuals endorsing the secure attachment style reported their mothers to have been warm/responsive; significantly more heterosexual males and females than homosexual females reported their mothers to have …

Effectiveness Of The Cognitive Interview In A Multiple-Testing Situation, Petra Brock

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The present study assessed the effectiveness of the Cognitive Interview (CI) in a multiple-testing situation. One-hundred and eighty-two undergraduate psychology students viewed a short film clip depicting an automobile accident. Subsequently, the subjects were interviewed twice using either the CI or standard interviewing technique. In both instances, subjects who received the CI recalled more accurate information (m=32.30 at Time 1 and m=30.51 at Time 2) than subjects who received the standard interview (m=18.14 at Time 1 and m=18.38 at Time 2). There was no effect of type of interview at Time 1 on amount recalled at Time 2. This research …

The Effects Of Perceived Work Schedule Flexibility, Number Of Hours Worked, And Type Of Work Schedule On Work-Family Conflict, Tenora Dianne Grigsby

Dissertations and Theses

The interaction effects of perceived work schedule flexibility (PWSF) and the number of hours worked on work-family conflict, and the interaction effects of PWSF and the type of work schedule on work-family conflict were investigated for employees of a regional bank headquartered in the Pacific Northwest. A 50% response rate was obtained from a survey questionnaire administered to 2,000 randomly selected employees.

Hierarchial multiple regression analyses conducted on 526 subjects revealed no significant interaction effects for PWSF and type of work schedule. The interaction effect for PWSF and number of hours worked was not tested due to a significant correlation …

Early Supplementary Feeding And Cognition: Effects Over Two Decades, Ernesto Pollitt, Kathleen S. Gorman, Patrice L. Engle, Reynaldo Martorell, Juan Rivera

Psychology and Child Development

The study reported in this Monograph of the effects of early supplementary feeding on cognition included two data collection periods: a longitudinal investigation spanning the years 1969-1977 and a cross-sectional follow- up carried out in 1988-1989. The study was conducted in four rural villages in Guatemala and compared the differential effects of exposure in child- hood (0-7 years) to an Atole supplement (11.5 g of protein; 163 kcal) or a Fresco supplement (59 kcal) on performance on a battery of psychoeducational and information-processing tests in adolescence and young adulthood (11-24 years). In this report, particular attention is given to a …

Individual Control Of Risk: Seat Belt Use, Subjective Norms And The Theory Of Reasoned Action, Juanita V. Field, Kenneth D. Boehm, Kevin M. Vincent, Jessica L. Sullivan

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)

When faced with a risk for which an inexpensive solution is available, individuals often choose the risk rather than the solution. Protection from certain kinds of risks, e.g., using seat belts or condoms or insulating against radon, is largely under personal control, but individuals often choose not to comply with behaviors which would reduce the risk. The Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) has been used to predict when individuals will comply. The authors attempted to validate aspects of the TRA by the use of scenarios. Factor analysis of their data supports the theory that intention is a major determinate of …

The Perceptual Weighting Of Speech-Related Acoustic Cues For 3 & 1/2-Year-Old Children Differs From That Of Adults: Results Using Natural And Synthetic Stimuli, Carol J. Manning

Student Work

Previous studies have found that children’s judgments of syllable-initial /s/ and / ∫ / are more related to the vocalic F2 transition and less related to the fricative-noise spectrum than are adults’ judgments [Nittrouer & Studdert- Kennedy, JSHR, 30 (1987); Nittrouer, J. Phon., 20 1992]. These results have been taken as evidence that young children organize linguistic input in units more closely approximating syllable size than phoneme size. Furthermore, such results have led to a model of speech development proposing that children’s weighting of the acoustic cues for phonemic categories changes as they gain linguistic experience, with a general shift …

Vocal Perception: Brain Event-Related Potentials In A Chimpanzee, Gary G. Berntson, Sarah T. Boysen, Michael W. Torello

Sentience Collection

We describe the first brain event-related potential (ERP) study of cognitive processes in the chimpanzee. In an extension of our studies on the ontogeny of vocal perception, ERP measures were obtained during the presentation of simple nonsignal stimuli as well as conspecific and human vocalizations. We initially confirmed findings from humans and monkeys of the appearance of a long-latency positivity in the ERP waveform to a rare stimulus in an oddball paradigm. This ERP component is reminiscent of the P3a reported in humans under similar (passive) experimental conditions. We further demonstrated that both conspecific and human vocal stimuli having affective …

The Effect Of The Cooper Wellness Program In Promoting Long- Term Lifestyle Behavior Changes, Ernesto P. S. Medina Jr.

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Most research on health behavior change programs examines their effectiveness in producing initial behavior changes, but fails to evaluate long-term maintenance of those changes. This study examined the effectiveness of the Cooper Wellness Program (CWP) in Dallas, Texas, in promoting maintenance of lifestyle behavior changes for one year or longer in the areas of diet, exercise, and stress management.

The CWP offers an intensive live-in lifestyle behavior modification program in four-, seven-, or 13-day formats. Data were collected from 223 individuals who attended the CWP between January, 1989, to February, 1992. The study addressed the following areas: 1) long-term maintenance …

Bipolar Control In Fixed Interfood Intervals, William L. Palya

Research, Publications & Creative Work

The ability of stimuli correlated with successive periods in a fixed interfood interval to support a response that produced or removed them was examined using pigeons. The degree to which those correlated stimuli elicited directed key pecks was also obtained. Stimuli early in the interval functioned as negative reinforcers, and stimuli late in the interval functioned as positive reinforcers. Stimuli correlated with successively later portions of the second half of the interval supported successively higher rates of elicited pecking and, with the exception of the final stimulus, supported successively higher rates of stimulus production. Stimuli in successively earlier portions of …