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 …

Understanding The Relationship Between Religiosity And Marriage: An Investigation Of The Immediate And Longitudinal Effect Of Religiosity On Newlywed Couples, Kieran T. Sullivan

Psychology

The association between religiosity and marital outcome has been repeatedly demonstrated. However, a complete understanding of this relationship is hindered by theoretical and methodological limitations. The purpose of the current study was to test three explanatory models by assessing two samples of newlywed couples. Findings indicate that religiosity is associated with attitudes toward divorce, commitment, and help-seeking attitudes cross-sectionally. Longitudinal effects, however, are most consistent with a moderating model, wherein religiosity has a positive impact on husbands, and wives' marital satisfaction for couples with less neurotic husbands, and a negative impact for couples with more neurotic husbands. Overall, the impact …

Social, Religious, And Personal Contributors To Prejudice, Robert Lundblad

Faculty Publications - Doctor of Psychology (PsyD) Program

Prejudicial beliefs and behaviors have been viewed from numerous perspectives. Four factors, religious attitudes, pride of in-group membership, traditional beliefs, and certain personality types, have individually been shown to be associated with prejudice. Some researchers have looked at a few of these factors together, but none have looked at all four together to examine potential relationships and their individual contribution to prejudicial thinking. This research is designed to investigate attitudes toward out-groups, sources of prejudice, and religious outlook. Four measures of religious attitudes, the Quest scale of the Religious Life Inventory (RLI), the Intrinsic and Extrinsic scales from the Religious …

The Evolution Of Animal Play, Emotions, And Social Morality: On Science, Theology, Spirituality, Personhood, And Love, Marc Bekoff

Attitudes Towards Animals Collection

My essay first takes me into the arena in which science, spirituality, and theology meet. I comment on the enterprise of science and how scientists could well benefit from reciprocal interactions with theologians and religious leaders. Next, I discuss the evolution of social morality and the ways in which various aspects of social play behavior relate to the notion of “behaving fairly.” The contributions of spiritual and religious perspectives are important in our coming to a fuller understanding of the evolution of morality. I go on to discuss animal emotions, the concept of personhood, and how our special relationships with …

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 …

A Longitudinal Investigation Of Information Processing And Cognitive Organization In Clinical Depression: Stability Of Schematic Interconnectedness., D J Dozois, K S Dobson

Psychology Publications

This study longitudinally investigated information processing and cognitive organization in clinical depression. The main hypothesis was that individuals whose depression had remitted would show a significant cognitive shift on information processing (e.g., deactivation of negative processing) but not on cognitive organizational tasks, Forty-five individuals with clinical depression completed 2 information processing and 2 cognitive organizational tasks at initial assessment. At 6-month follow-up, the sample (23 remitted, 22 stable depressed) was readministered the tasks. As expected, information processing shifted significantly in individuals who had improved symptomatically, whereas negative cognitive organizational indices remained stable. The implications of these results are discussed as …

I Know What You Know: Assumptions About Others' Knowledge And Their Effects On Message Construction, Ivy Yee-Man Lau, Chi-Yue Chiu, Ying-Yi Hong

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Current models of interpersonal communication assume that estimation of listener's knowledge is a basis for message formulation. By introducing methodological modifications to the Fussell and Krauss paradigm, the present study provides more definitive evidence for the use of knowledge estimation in message productions.

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. …

Helping At-Risk Students Add Up: Motivational Lessons For Students In High School Mathematics, Karen Beckner

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

No abstract provided.

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 …

Assessors' Use Of Personality Traits In Descriptions Of Assessment Centre Candidates: A Five-Factor Model Perspective, Filip Lievens, Filip De Fruyt, Karen Van Dam

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

In assessment centres assessors are typically taught to note down behavioural observations. However, previous studies have shown that about 20% of assessor notes contain trait descriptors. Instead of regarding these descriptors as errors, this study examines their position in a personality descriptive taxonomy (i.e. the AB5C taxonomy, see Hofstee, De Raad, & Goldberg, 1992) and relates them to employment recommendations. To this end, assessor notes of 403 assessees (214 men, 189 women; mean age 33 years) were scrutinized for personality descriptors. Results show that assessors, as a group, use descriptors referring to all five personality domains with a preference for …

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 …

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;: …

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 …

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

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Phonemic Awareness In Preschool Children In Relation To Reading Practices In The Home, Anna Hayes

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Research suggests that phonemic awareness predicts later reading achievement and that children from low-SES families are "at-risk" for failing to develop phonemic awareness. Before children enter school, they spend the majority of their time with their caregivers. Therefore, activities that take place in the home are of importance when looking at what fosters development. The present study focused on children participating in two Head Start programs and on their families as well. The parents were interviewed to learn about the home activities, and the children were given a phonemic awareness assessment. The study found that the majority of parents reported …

Temporal, Perspectives, Dispositional Styles, And Subjective Well-Being, Mary Naeger

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This study investigated the relationship between time perspective (TP) and the personality dispositions of optimism, pessimism, and realism with regard to their proposed influence on three measures that collectively assessed subjective well-being (SWB). The Depression-Happiness Scale (McGreal & Joseph, 1993) assessed happiness or the presence of positive affect and the absence of negative affect, the cognitiveaffective components of SWB. The Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) (Diener, Emmons, Larsen, & Griffin, 1985) provided the measurement of subjective life satisfaction, the essential final cognitive-judgmental component of SWB. The Life Orientation Scale-Revised (LOT-R) (Scheier, Carver, and Bridges, 1994) and a Reality Scale, composed …

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.

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.

Dimension And Exercise Variance In Assessment Center Scores: A Large-Scale Evaluation Of Multitrait-Multimethod Studies, Filip Lievens, James M. Conway

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

This study addresses 3 questions regarding assessment center construct validity: (a) Are assessment center ratings best thought of is reflecting dimension constructs (dimension model). exercises (exercise model). or a combination? (b) To what extent do dimensions or exercises account for variance? (c) Which design characteristics increase dimension variance? To this end, a large set of multitrait-multimethod studies (N = 34) were analyzed, showing that assessment center ratings were best represented (i.e., in terms of fit and admissible solutions) by a model with correlated dimensions and exercises specified a correlated uniquenesses. In this model, dimension variance equals exercise variance. Significantly more …

Electronic Versus Paper Surveys In An Upward Feedback Application: Are The Methods Equivalent?, Michael Yap

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This thesis represents the first known study to investigate the equivalency of paper vs. electronic survey data collection formats in an upward feedback application. Findings are similar to recent research utilizing employee opinion survey data. Format explained less than 1% of variance in managers' total scores over that of ratee and rater demographic variables.

The Effects Of Defendant Account On Damage Award Decisions, Tracey Renee Carpenter

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine whether the manner in which civil defendants account for their behavior influences compensatory and punitive damage awards. Jurors read three civil trial summaries, in which I manipulated injury severity (high vs. low), defendant reprehensibility (high vs. low), defendant status (individual vs. corporate), and account (concession, excuse, justification or refusal) in a factorial design. I also included four control groups in which the defendant stipulated liability. In all other conditions, participants read that a jury had found the defendant negligent. Only defendant reprehensibility influenced punitive awards. Both plaintiff injury and defendant reprehensibility influenced …

Exploring Therapy Process And Outcome In Interventions That Target At Risk Adolescents, Donette P. Archer

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to conduct a larger scale replication and extension study on the use of a Session Impact Measure the Session Evaluation Form. Ninety-one public high school students in Miami Florida were obtained through self or counselor referrals and placed in one or two of five counseling groups for one or two school semesters.

To investigate differences in therapy processes across counseling groups, participants were administered a Session Evaluation Form at the end of each therapy session. This assessed group members' perception of four therapy process domains, Group, Facilitator, Skills and Exploration Impacts. The pattern significant …

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 …

Cyclic Changes In Estradiol Regulate Synaptic Plasticity Through The Map Kinase Pathway, Ruifen Bi, Michael R. Foy, Rose-Marie Vouimba, Richard F. Thompson, Michel Baudry

Psychological Science Faculty Works

Hippocampal synaptic structure and function exhibit marked variations during the estrus cycle of female rats. Estradiol activates the mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase pathway in numerous cell types, and MAP kinase has been shown to play a critical role in the mechanisms underlying synaptic plasticity. Here, we report that endogenous estrogen produces a tonic phosphorylation/activation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase 2 (ERK2)/MAP kinase throughout the female rat brain and an increase in tyrosine phosphorylation of NR2 subunits of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors. Moreover, cyclic changes in estrogen levels during the estrus cycle of female rats are associated with corresponding changes in the levels …

Shared Scientific Thinking In Everyday Parent-Child Activity, Kevin Crowley, Maureen A. Callanan, Jennifer Jipson, Jodi Galco, Karen Topping, Jeff Shrager

Psychology and Child Development

Current accounts of the development of scientific reasoning focus on individual children's ability to coordinate the collection and evaluation of evidence with the creation of theories to explain the evidence. This observational study of parent–child interactions in a children's museum demonstrated that parents shape and support children's scientific thinking in everyday, nonobligatory activity. When children engaged an exhibit with parents, their exploration of evidence was observed to be longer, broader, and more focused on relevant comparisons than children who engaged the exhibit without their parents. Parents were observed to talk to children about how to select and encode appropriate evidence …