Psychology Commons^™

The Role Of Learning In Olfactory Sensitivity, Monroe P. Friedman

Doctoral Dissertations

INTRODUCTION: In recent years the psychological literature has reflected an increasing interest in the role of learning in perception. On the theoretical level, this interest is expressed principally by the considerable attention given to two current attempts to account for perceptual learning (Gibson & Gibson, 1955a: Postman, 1955). On the empirical level, the problems of industry and the military have generated a multitude of investigations in this area. These problems range in diversity from the training of military personnel in the identification of aircraft to the training of tasters in the food industry.

The remainder of this chapter will be …

An Attempt To Demonstrate A Learned Drive Based On Saline Induced Thirst, David G. Born

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Partial Reinforcement And Generalization, Henry C. Rickard

Doctoral Dissertations

Introduction: The present investigation was designed to study the interaction of two experimentally established parameters of a habit; partial reinforcement and stimulus generalization. Studies concerning the effects of partial reinforcement have occupied a prominent place in the psychological literature since Skinner's (1938) first major treatment of schedules of reinforcement. Numerous stimulus generalization experiments have been reported since Pavlov's (1927) recognition of the generalization phenomenon. The present study explored the effects of applying the partial reinforcement parameter in conditioning and the stimulus generalization variable in extinction. More specifically, groups of human subjects were conditioned to a verbal response under different schedules …

Experiments In Conditioning Operant Verbal Behavior, Edwin O. Timmons

Doctoral Dissertations

In general, the writer's interests lie in the application of the principles of learning theory to the prediction and modification of gross human behavior. It is difficult to overemphasize the role of speech in the formation, shaping, and modification of an individual's behavior, and in the past few years a steadily growing body of investigators have been experimenting directly on speech, treating it as in uncontrollable, supra-human phenomenon. Those who experiment in the area called verbal behavior generally follow Skinner's (45) operant conditioning procedures which entail using the free speech of the S as the dependent variable and the verbal …

The Effect Of Stabilized And Nonstabilized Hunger Drive, Age, And Situation Complexity Upon Exploratory Behavior, Stanley Wechkin

Doctoral Dissertations

Summary: An experiment was conducted to ascertain the effects of nonstabilized food deprivation, stabilized food deprivation, runway complexity, and age on exploratory behavior of male albino rats both during and across five five-minute trials. Three levels of deprivation: zero, twenty-three, and forty-seven hours were used. The stabilization dimension included groups stabilized on the twenty-three hour schedule for zero and fourteen days prior to the beginning of the experiment. The two age groups were respectively about thirty-five and ninety days old at the beginning of the experiment. All groups were equally divided into simple and complex runway groups. The simple runway …

A Developmental Study Of Performance On The Hunter-Pascal Concept Formation Test, Ernest R. Larsen

Doctoral Dissertations

When psychology was closely allied to philosophy, it was defined as the study of "consciousness" or "mind." Its' methodology was investigating introspection, and by necessity, this limited any experimentation to the human species. In Europe, the initial research emphasis was on sensation and perception.

Although this philosophical orientation was questioned by a few investigators, this prevailing theoretical climate was irreversibly changes in America with the arrival and wide acceptance of Watson and his Behaviorism. Behavior then became the proper object of interest, and since all organisms behave, the object of study of psychology increased a thousand-fold.

In America, psychology's interest …

A Comparison Of The Revised Stanford-Binet Scale And The Terman-Mcnemar Test Of Mental Ability With Respect To The Prediction Of Scholastic Achievement, Sanford L. Mcdonald

Student Work

Although more than fifty years have passed since the Frenchmen Alfred Binet and Theophile Simon published the first effective intelligence test, psychological testing has evolved through many stages since that time. There are many different types of psychological tests now, with numerous methods of interpretation. However, through all of this evolution the basic purpose of the tests has remained the same— to measure Individual differences. Just as Binet and Simon's first intelligence test ". . . succeeded in differentiating between children of various age and grade levels and made possible the prediction of the child's progress in school, so psychological …

A Comparative Study Of The Experiential Characteristics Of A Group Of Alcoholic And Non-Alcoholic Subjects, Hugh C. Davis Jr.

Masters Theses

The problem in this investigation is a behavioral comparison of a group of alcoholics and non-alcoholics. The primary purpose of these comparisons is to generate hypotheses about covariate factors related to alcoholism and secondly to gain understanding about the etiology of the alcoholic process. Three steps were involved in carrying out these purposes: (1) defining alcoholism behaviorally, (2) ascertaining current functioning of the subjects, (3) ascertaining early learning experiences. Alcoholism is the dependent variable--criterion--of this investigation. A quantifiable behavioral drinking scale developed by Jenkins and Davis (15) yielded scores which defined the criterion. The U-T Deprivation Scale was used to …

A Photometric Method Of Studying The Control Of Handedness By The Cerebral Cortex Of The Rat, Donald K. Gucker

Psychology ETDs

This study is designed to compare the amount of light impedance occurring in the cortical areas controlling the preferred and non-preferred limb in the rat, in an attempt to relate optical density of structure to preferential handedness.

Electrical Desiccation As A Method For Marking Functional Cortical Areas, Kenneth R. Earp

Psychology ETDs

The present study is concerned specifically with whether a means can be found to make a mark at the point where handedness has been localized by electrical stimulation without producing changes in that area sufficient to alter its functioning.

The Professional Use Of Hypnosis: Some Legal And Ethical Implications, Reese Wells

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

This is a study of the legal and ethical aspects in the use of hypnosis. The need for the problem is posed by the great amount of lay interest in the performance of trance induction. Historically, hypnosis has been the subject of periods of rising and falling interest. Since World War II, when it came into extensive use for therapeutic purposes, interest in hypnosis has been on the upswing. The consequent publication of literature on the subject has kept interest at a high level.

In compiling information for this study the writer has turned to books, journals, abstracts, newspapers, magazines, …

The Relationship Between Experiential Variables And The Occurence Of Duodenal Ulcer, William W. Lothrop

Doctoral Dissertations

INTRODUCTION The research about to be reported is part of a larger research program with duodenal ulcer patients carried out at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia, under the direction of Drs. Gerald R. Pascal. and William O. Jenkins of the University of Tennessee Psychology Department. This research program has attempted to bring a systematic, behaviorally-oriented approach to the problem ot duodenal ulcer. The early work of Bergmann (3) has been followed by sufficient expermental research, notably that of Wolf and Wolff (28), Mittelmann and Wolff (16), Gantt (8) and Sawrey (24, 25), to make tentative the hypothesis that …

A Survey Of The Use Of Standardized Tests In The Junior High Schools Of Weber County, Ashlaug J. Jackson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations

It is evident from the literature reviewed that there is a need for better understanding and utilization of standardized test results. It seems that unless tests contribute to the learning process they are not justifiable. Merritt says the main objective of all endeavor is to promote learning. Ultimately, the worth of any activity carried on in the schools has to be judged by the contribution this activity makes toward the improvement of learning. Testing is no exception. In a broad sense, desirable learning has taken place when behavior has been changed in socially approved directions. Testing is justified only if …

The Sfa Economist Vol. 3 No. 2, Robert Maxwell, Judson White, A. C. Butler

SFA Economist, 1956-1960

No abstract provided.

The Effect Of Cue Change And Drive On A Running Response, Warren A. Young

Doctoral Dissertations

In studying the learned behavior of organisms, experimenters usually focus on some particular response and its relationship to systematically varied external stimuli and/or deprivations operations. Any given response can be considered to vary in three ways: It can be strengthened, it can be weakened, or it can be maintained at a more or less constant level. The strength (or weakness) of a response can be indexed in several ways. One can, for instance, measure the latency of the response, the amplitude of the response, the number of response elicitations to produce experimental extinction, the probability of response occurrence, the frequency …

The Relationship Between Experimental Variables And The Occurence Of Duodenal Ulcer, William W. Lothrop

Doctoral Dissertations

The research about to be reported is part of a larger research program with duodenal ulcer patients carried out at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia, under the direction of Drs. Gerald R. Pascal and William O. Jenkins of the University of Tennessee Psychology Department. This research program has attempted to bring a systematic, behaviorally-oriented approach to the problem of duodenal ulcer. The early work of Bergmann (3) has been followed by sufficient experimental research, notably that of Wolf and Wolff (28), Mittelmann and Wolff (16), Gantt (8) and Sawrey (24, 25), to make tentative the hypothesis that there …

Psychological Components In Chronic Urticaria, David L. Blumenthal

Graduate Thesis Collection

There has been wide recognition for a number of years that psychological components played a part in the etiology and treatment of some cases of chronic urticaria. Divergent opinion has been expressed regarding the importance of these components and their specific indentification. Most contentions in this area are supported by meager experimental evidence and the formulations are too often based on the superficial observation of a large number of cases or on the intensive study of the individual case.

The hypothesis of this research is that siqnificant psvchological components exist in patients with chronic urticaria and that these components are …

A Study Of Personality Characteristics And Effectiveness Of Job Performance Of Usaf Non-Commissioned Officers Instructing Basic Military Training, John R. Grotzinger

Student Work

Years of service in the Air Force has served to reveal the need for an increased awareness of the high cost of training personnel. While many factors are involved in this problem, one particularly important facet is the type and quality of leadership, instruction and supervision which basic trainees are s u b jected to in their initial period of adjustment to military life. This inchoate period of adjustment in the Armed Services is a particularly sensitive one for the individual.

The Use Of Prochlorperazine With Brain-Damaged Children, John Michael Mccauley

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

College Students As Volunteer Subjects, Robert W.F. Kelly

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

A Comparison Of Delinquent And Non-Delinquent Male Adolescents On The Strong Occupational Level Scale, Arnold Howard Evans

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

The problem with which this study by the Occupational Level scale of the Strong Vocational Interest Blank For Men exists between comparable groups of delinquent and non-delinquent male adolescents.

The Effect Of Promazine Hydrochloride On Anxiety As Measured By The Taylor Manifest Anxiety Scale, Vincent D. Pisani

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

A Study Of The Relation Between Deductive And Inductive Reasoning Ability And Adjustment In Adults, Mary Mcneil

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

A Preliminary Study Of Differences In Inductive Reasoning Ability Among Upper Division College Men, Valerio Ortolani

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

An Experimental Study Of The Relation Between Perception Of Self And Evaluation Of Another, Henry Joseph Lambin

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Predictive Value Of The Individual Kuhlmann-Anderson Subtests Regarding Reading Improvement, Carolyn M. Cabanski

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Comparative Study Of Three Intelligence Tests Administered To Deaf Children, Angela Lucille Chemazar

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

A Partial Validation Of The Manifest Hostility Scale, Thomas F. Grib

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

The Critical Flicker Frequency In Relation To The Muller-Lyer Illusion, Paul Martin

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

An Investigation Of The Relationship Between Skill In Deductive Reasoning And Adjustment And Between Skill In Problem Solving And Adjustment At Various Levels Of Education, Mary Rosaire Lucassen

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.