Psychology Commons^™

Humans Integrate Monetary And Liquid Incentives To Motivate Cognitive Task Performance, Debbie Yee

Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations

It is unequivocal that a wide variety of incentives can motivate behavior. However, few studies have explicitly examined whether and how different incentives are integrated in terms of their motivational influence. The current study examines the combined effects of monetary and liquid incentives on cognitive processing, and whether appetitive and aversive incentives have distinct influences. We introduce a novel task paradigm, in which participants perform cued task-switching for monetary rewards that vary parametrically across trials, with liquid incentives serving as post-trial performance feedback. Critically, the symbolic meaning of the liquid was held constant (indicating successful reward attainment), while liquid valence …

Incentive Contrast As A Relative Reward, Alexandra Schmidt

Honors Projects

This study examines the relationship between rapid relative reward comparisons and incentive contrast among rats (n=5). Animals were trained to lever-press in order to obtain access to a sucrose solution (concentration used: 1%, 10% or 20% in tap water). These rewards were placed outside an operant box which could be reached through a small hole displaying sessions with mixed comparisons (1v20%, 20v1%) or single sessions (1v1%, 10v10%, 20v20%) that rotated between two spouts containing the pre-randomized order of paired blocks; allowing for comparative analysis between two spouts/concentrations and blocks of responses. Throughout weekly testing each animal experienced a …

Dispositional Employability And The Relationship To Career Success: A Meta-Analysis, Alisha M. Jasmer

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This meta-analysis focuses on the willingness to work aspect of the RAW model of employability of Hogan et al. (2009), in relationship to career success. Willingness to work (W) can be defined as favorably disposed to work hard and take initiative at one’s job. The variables I used to structure the W are proactive personality, conscientiousness, work ethic, job involvement, adaptability, and ambition.

I used the Hunter and Schmidt method to analyze the data applying a random effects model. All calculations were conducted in Excel. The overall sample consisted of 100 effect sizes (r) derived from 41 studies. The total …

Social Networking Website Use And Eating Pathology: Relations, Moderators, And Motivation To Improve, Michelle S. St. Paul

Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Social networking website (SNW) use has been found to be associated with decreased body image or esteem and increased eating disorder (ED) symptoms. In turn, SNW use may also be associated with decreased motivation to improve body image (BI) and reduced self-efficacy in one’s ability to do so. However, the impact of SNW use on motivation or self-efficacy to improve BI has not yet been studied. Also, particular moderators of the relationships between SNW and eating pathology have not yet been evaluated. This study aimed to: 1) replicate past literature by examining the relation between SNW use and eating pathology, …

Motivation And Well-Being: A Test Of Self-Determination Theory Using A Person-Centered Approach, Chelsea A. Vaters

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Self-determination theory postulates that individuals can experience motivation in different ways and that these different types of motivation fall along a continuum from controlled to autonomous regulation. Recently, there have been challenges to the notion that an individual’s motivation can be categorized as falling at a particular point along the autonomy continuum. Researchers have begun to investigate the possibility that individuals can experience different types of motivation simultaneously. The current study used a person-centered approach to study motivation and also examined how the profiles detected related to well-being outcomes and adaptive student behaviours. Latent profile analyses of data from two …

Effects Of Altering Motivation In Pigeons Performing A Titrating-Delayed-Matching-To-Sample Task, Zachary J. Zimmermann

Masters Theses

In order to better understand the role motivating operations (MOs) serve in preceding and evoking behavior, it is useful to examine the effects of whether manipulating motivation can influence performance on tasks with known behavioral outcomes. It is well established that altered stimulus control is responsible for changes in responding on tasks of generalization and discrimination. Therefore, if stimulus control could be influenced by MOs, then perhaps stimulus discriminations could be improved by manipulating the relevant MO. To this end, the effects of altering motivation via food deprivation were examined in pigeons using a titrating-delayed-matching-to-sample task. Additional pharmacological variables (i.e., …

Psychosocial Motivators For Obstacle Course Racing: A Qualitative Case Study, Aracely Rodriguez

Master's Theses

This study explored the psychological and sociological motivations of adult female and male obstacle course racers. A qualitative case study approach was used to explore the views, experiences, and motivations of obstacle course racing (OCR) participants. Descriptive statistics and cross tabulation was used to interpret responses to the 297 online questionnaires. A content analysis approach was used to analyze the qualitative data gathered from three focus groups with a total of 20 obstacle course racers. Three theories formed the basis of the study: Self-Determination Theory (SDT), Achievement Goal Theory (AGT), and Social Leaning Theory (SLT). Overall, findings supported previous research …

Hiv-1 And Cocaine: Motivation And Synaptic Function, Sarah J. Bertrand

Theses and Dissertations

Molecular and behavioral assays were used to examine the effects of HIV-1 on synaptodendritic integrity, motivated behavior and the therapeutic potential of natural isoflavones in ameliorating both synaptodendritic injury in vitro and changes in motivation in vivo. The overarching hypothesis of the present dissertation is twofold: 1. HIV-1 causes a decrease in motivation for sucrose and cocaine and the change in motivational state is driven by compromised synaptic integrity as evaluated by F-actin and DAT function and, 2. Treatment with phytoestrogens will prevent synaptodendritic damage, normalize the internal motivational state of the HIV-1 Tg rat for sucrose and cocaine, and …

Extending An Irt Mixture Model To Detect Random Responders On Non-Cognitive Polytomously Scored Assessments, Mandalyn R. Swanson

Dissertations, 2014-2019

This study represents an attempt to distinguish two classes of examinees – random responders and valid responders – on non-cognitive assessments in low-stakes testing. The majority of existing literature regarding the detection of random responders in low-stakes settings exists in regard to cognitive tests that are dichotomously scored. However, evidence suggests that random responding occurs on non-cognitive assessments, and as with cognitive measures, the data derived from such measures are used to inform practice. Thus, a threat to test score validity exists if examinees’ response selections do not accurately reflect their underlying level on the construct being assessed. As with …

Contrasting Perceptions Of Motivation To Change: Clinicians And Substance Abuse Clients, Arthur Tabrizi

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Substance abuse persists as one of the most costly, prevalent, and damaging health problems in the United States. As of 2012, an estimated 22 million individuals, approximately 8.9 percent of the total population, were diagnosed with substance abuse or dependence disorder. Considering the significant number of clients served, successful national completion rates among individuals utilizing outpatient care remain markedly low. In the state of Nevada, where the present study is conducted, successful intensive outpatient treatment (IOP) completion rate remains at an alarmingly low 20.1 percent. Early dropout is a particular concern in that duration of participation in treatment has been …

Power To The People: A Comprehensive Look At Crowdsourcing Initiatives In Cultural Institutions, Danielle Pace

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Today, crowdsourcing has become an integrative approach to completing projects using the help of the general populous. These projects aid museum staff by processing large quantities of data, which otherwise could not be completed due to time and/or staff restraints. Through crowdsourcing, cultural institutions have the ability to outsource these tasks to volunteers, who can complete them at much faster rates. Although staff members are needed to validate and supervise these projects, crowdsourcing remains a useful tool in increasing public interactions and project efficiency.

This thesis presents a thorough outline of what crowdsourcing is, how it is being utilized, and …

College Students’ Alcohol Use And Related Problems: What Makes Religiousness A Protective Factor?, Corey Todd Brawner

Master's Theses

Excessive alcohol use has been recognized as a critical health hazard for college students, particularly for members of social fraternities and sororities. Religiousness and Spirituality (R/S) has received substantial support as a protective factor for alcohol use across many populations. The current study utilized a series of hierarchical regression models to delineate the protective influences of six R/S dimensions on alcohol consumption, harmful drinking patterns, and alcohol-related problems, as well as their moderating effect on the association between Greek membership and alcohol outcomes in a sample of 709 undergraduates from one Christian-affiliated institution and one public university. Public religious participation …

Motivation, Marital Quality, Maternal Gatekeeping, Breadwinning, And Father Identity: Models Of Biological Fathers’ And Stepfathers’ Involvement In Childcare, Jessica E. Ladage

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Compared to biological fathers, there is far less knowledge about stepfathers in reference to their involvement in childcare. As stepfathers continue to increase in number in the United States, it is important to understand the factors that influence a stepfather to be more or less involved in the care of their stepchildren. Few studies have examined both biological fathers and stepfathers together on multiple sets of parenting variables. Thus, the current study aims to compare biological fathers and stepfathers on a model of paternal involvement.

Participants were 306 biological fathers and 69 stepfathers. In order to participate, fathers had to …

Student Motivation: Teacher Perceptions, Beliefs And Practices, Teresa M. D'Elisa

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine teachers' beliefs, perceptions and practices related to student motivation. Two-hundred-and-six teachers from 13 states completed an on-line survey containing the Perception of Student Motivation questionnaire (PSM), Motivating Strategies Questionnaire (MSQ), and researcher-devised questions examining theoretical beliefs and practices. Results reveal that teachers consider motivation to be an important part of their teaching. Teachers' reporting feeling efficacious for diagnosing and intervening for student motivation and believing in the malleability of motivation was found to correlate with motivational strategy use. This finding was consistent with previous research. However, their endorsement of theoretical beliefs and …

Perceptions Of Leadership: Impact Of Leadership Style And Gender On Employee Motivation, Kristin Marquette Walker

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Researchers suggest that individuals in Corporate America have stereotypes about the ways in which men and women lead. They also have found that a leader's style and gender can impact employees' job satisfaction, performance, and engagement. However, researchers have provided little empirical evidence about the specific relationship of leadership style and gender on employee motivation. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the effects of leadership style, as measured by the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ), and a leader's gender on employee motivation, as measured by the Work Preference Inventory (WPI). Because it was assumed that small organizations would …

Motivating The Solicited And Unsolicited Sharing Of Tacit Knowledge Through The Process Of Externalization, Sheila Yvonne Sorensen

CCE Theses and Dissertations

While several U. S. firms have invested in Knowledge Management (KM) tools and software, it has become apparent that investments must be made in additional facets of KM, such as knowledge sharing (KS), thought by many researchers to be the most important component of KM. Of the two types of KS, explicit and tacit, the sharing of tacit knowledge has been shown to contribute the most to an organization’s performance. However, since tacit knowledge is difficult to both convey and acquire, this unshared tacit knowledge may ultimately harm an organization when, without the appropriate knowledge, individuals cannot effectively perform their …

The Relationship Between Personality Type And Exercise Motivation, Kayla Michelle Bowman

Online Theses and Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to provide further understanding of the complex nature of physical activity motivation. Specifically, the purpose of this study was to analyze personality type and internal/external autonomous regulation. Method: Subjects were college students age 18 years and older who attended the Fitness Five Project. Data collected from the Ten-Item Personality Inventory and the RM 4-FM: Motivation for Physical Activity Questionnaire were analyzed using a bivariate correlation. Results: Statistical analyses revealed the personality traits extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and emotional stability were positively associated with intrinsic motivation. Results showed the personality trait openness to experience was …

Relationally-Autonomous Reasons As A Predictor Of Collegiate Athletic Performance, Josef Max Katzman

Online Theses and Dissertations

The current proposed study examines a concept that has been looked at before but now using a new specific population. Previous research examined shows that reasons for motivation affect goal attainment and success. The current study is looking at how relational autonomous reasons for motivation play a role in goal attainment in athletes. Eastern Kentucky University athletes were administered a short questionnaire and their previous athletic performance was used as well. The two sets of data were then used to examine the relationship between the two variables. The results of the study showed a positive correlation between Relationally-Autonomous Reasons (RAR) …

Motivation, Mindfulness, And Metabolic Factors Predicting Adolescent Adherence And Attrition In A Multidisciplinary Weight Management Program, Stephen Trapp

Theses and Dissertations

Estimated rates of obesity are notably high in the United States and pose a significant public health concern. A number of deleterious physical and psychosocial conditions are associated with pediatric obesity and the cost of its treatment is considerable. Accordingly, the number of weight management treatments has increased to meet this growing public health challenge. Unfortunately, insufficient participation in weight management treatment, namely low adherence and high attrition, often impede the effectiveness of these programs. Although the barriers associated with inadequate adherence and elevated rates of attrition are documented, there is a dearth of research on the predictors of the …

Growth Potential In Relationships: A Promotion-Focus Perspective, Amanda E. Kohler, Justin Cavallo

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Relationship research has long emphasized the importance of felt security for interpersonal wellbeing, but has focused less on how opportunities for growth influence relationship well-being. The present research investigates whether people’s motivational states may influence the extent to which people value growth in their romantic relationships. Drawing on regulatory focus theory, which distinguishes between promotion (concerned with advancement) and prevention (concerned with security) self-regulatory orientations, it was hypothesized that promotion-focused individuals would be more satisfied with relationships that offered greater opportunity for growth than with those that offered greater opportunity for security. In three experimental studies, participants evaluated others’ (Study …

Gender, Instructional Method, And Graduate Social Science Students' Motivation And Learning Strategies, Mae Lynn Spahr

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The purpose of the current study was to learn how gender and learning method affect motivation and learning strategies in psychology, counseling, and social work graduate students. The variables of gender, learning method, motivation, and learning strategies are used by the self-regulation model to learning and the theory of independent learning to measure a student's academic success. Increasing the knowledge of these variables will be of interest to academic institutions and to the field of educational psychology because little is known about their interaction. The study's design was factorial quasi-experimental; it used a cross sectional survey consisting of a 2 …