Experimental Analysis of Behavior Commons^™

Entitled To Be Served: Does Self-Checkout Make Customers Feel Less Rewarded?, Farhana Nusrat, Yanliu Huang

Association of Marketing Theory and Practice Proceedings 2021

The adoption of self-service technologies (SST) has been rising over the last few years, and among different SSTs, self-checkout systems are one of the most popular options. In this study, we examine how self-checkout service impacts customers’ shopping outcomes compared to regular checkout service. We propose that self-checkout (vs. regular checkout) systems, would make customers feel less rewarded and less satisfied with their purchases. We conducted four studies to test our hypotheses and showed that self-checkout (vs. regular checkout) service makes customers feel less rewarded, less satisfied with their shopping outcomes, and less likely to return to the store. We …

The Effects Of Escalated Cocaine Intake On Decision-Making Dynamics, Mcallister Stephens

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

Cocaine Use Disorder (CUD) is characterized partly by the use of cocaine at the expense of other alternatives, in other words, it is a decision-making pathology (Kalivas & Volkow, 2005). Concurrent choice tasks assess decision-making in a dynamic scenario that more closely resembles real life. Value-based decision-making is an important facet of understanding the addictive properties of drugs of abuse. In order to compare two value-based theories of addiction (habit theory and relative value theory), a concurrent choice task was run in tandem with an escalation procedure. First, animals were trained on a choice task until stable, then trained on …

Pharmacokinetics And Reward-Related Behaviors Of Ethanol In Male And Female Japanese Quail (Coturnix Japonica), Shannon Eaton

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

Ethanol is one of the most widely used and abused drugs. Problem use is associated with many different health problems and the economic burden is in the billions of dollars. Additionally, many people have difficulty controlling their ethanol consumption and about 5% of adults end up with an alcohol use disorder (AUD). Many people with an AUD often find themselves in a cycle of binge, remission, and relapse.

Following ethanol consumption ethanol enters the bloodstream from the small intestine where it gets distributed to peripheral tissues. Ethanol in the bloodstream is cleared from the system by the liver. The primary …

Corticostriatal Pathway Inactivation And Connections To Associative Learning With Nicotine Stimulus In Rats, Anna Kalinowski

Honors Theses and Capstones

The main concern of this study is looking into the neural mechanisms of associative learning with a nicotine stimulus. The goal of this study was to find out if inactivating the corticostriatal pathway through DREADDs (Designer Receptors Exclusively Activated by Designer Drugs) inhibited goal-tracking behavior in rats. In this experiment, rats underwent two surgeries. One was to inject DREADDs into the infralimbic cortex and the other in the dorsomedial caudate-putamen (dmCPu). Rats were initially trained on levers through water deprivation. Once they reached the criterion, they moved on to the self-administration phase. After the rats were trained in self-administration sessions …

Examining Antepartum Quit Attempts Using A Latent Factor Model Of A Hypothetical Cigarette Purchase Task, Carolyn Grace Evemy

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Previous research has validated the use of hypothetical purchase tasks to measure smoking demand among pregnant women. This study extends that research by (1) examining the factor loading pattern of a hypothetical cigarette purchase task (CPT) in a sample of pregnant women who smoke, and (2) comparing the ability of the latent factor solution to predict antepartum quit attempts relative to more conventional predictors. Participants were 665 pregnant women seeking enrollment in a smartphone-based smoking-cessation trial. Data were taken from an intake assessment that included the CPT, the Kirby delayed discounting task, sociodemographic and smoking-history questionnaires, and assessment of antepartum …

An Evaluation Of Wayfinding Abilities In Adolescent And Young Adult Males With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Yingying Yang, Weijia Li, Dan Huang, Wei He, Yanxi Zhang, Edward Merrill

Department of Psychology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Background

Wayfinding refers to traveling from place to place in the environment. Despite some research headway, it remains unclear whether individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) show strengths, weaknesses, or similarities in wayfinding compared with ability-matched typically developing (TD) controls.

Method

The current study tested 24 individuals with ASD, 24 mental-ability (MA) matched TD (MA-TD) controls, and 24 chronological-age (CA) matched TD (CA-TD) controls. Participants completed a route learning task and a survey learning task, both programmed in virtual environments, and a perspective taking task. Their parents completed questionnaires assessing their children’s everyday wayfinding activities and competence.

Results

Overall, CA-TD …

Understanding Racial Experiences And The Influence Of Family On Stress And Familism Attitudes, Jaqueline Miranda

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Sixty-five percent of undergraduates reported family as their most important in-group and 79% reported family as being in their top three in-groups (McConnell, 2019). Familial bonds are vital for racial ethnic minorities because of their unique experiences as minorities such as experienced racism, acculturative stress, and other forms of adversity. The current study examined the effects of a racially-based stress induction and imaginal exercise on state stress levels and familial attitudes, and the relationship between racial-ethnic socialization and racial battle fatigue including kinship social support as a moderator. The study used an experimental design, manipulating stress induction through a script …

Can Gratitude Interpretation Bias Modification Training Reduce The Effects Of Narcissism?, Kahle J. Elliott

EWU Masters Thesis Collection

The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of gratitude interpretation bias training in decreasing narcissism. This is important because of gratitude’s consistent ability to increase subjective well-being and improve relationships. Because narcissism has been shown to inhibit gratitude, decreasing narcissism by establishing gratitude interpretation biases may have a number of benefits. The effectiveness of these trainings in increasing positive emotions should be researched in terms of decreasing negative emotions, like those associated with narcissism. I found that the trainings significantly influenced participants’ interpretations of ambiguous benefit-related scenarios. However, the intervention did not significantly impact the other outcome …

Post-Bariatric Surgery Patients Fail To Exercise Consistently: Exploring The Potential Role Of Self-Compassion, Naomi Teeter

EWU Masters Thesis Collection

Many bariatric weight loss surgery patients do not exercise after surgery. One potential reason this population may not exercise is due to body image shame and low self-compassion, which can contribute to lower appreciation for one’s body. Adult participants from an international bariatric population sample (N = 805) and an Eastern Washington University undergraduate student sample (N = 104) completed a one-time online questionnaire that included measures of self-compassion, physical activity frequency, body appreciation, and body image shame. In the bariatric sample, self-compassion was indirectly associated with exercise frequency via body appreciation and body image shame. Additionally, at the highest …

The Role Of Acetylcholine In Attention And Lapses In Attention In Rats Using The Mode And Deviation From Mode Of Reaction Time Latency, Scott Lee Mitchell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is currently the neurodevelopmental disorder most commonly diagnosed in children in the United States, and one of the defining characteristics of ADHD is inattention. Inattention is marked by increased lapses in attention, and when assessed clinically, it has been highly correlated with reaction-time variability (RTV). Evidence from the human/clinical literature has shown an inherently higher RTV to be the primary quantitative indicator of an ADHD diagnosis. Reaction-time distributions are characterized by an asymmetrical rightward skew, and because of the prevalence of this presentation, it has been theorized that the distribution peak and skew represent separate phenomena, …

A Major Decision: Examining The Relationship Between Emotional Intelligence, Mindfulness, And Security In College Major, Anya Clare Swinchoski

Senior Projects Fall 2021

College is an important time for growth and self-discovery, as many prospective students have spent their entire childhood living at home with their parents and siblings. Choosing a major can be a daunting task, especially for those who have not given themselves the time and space to consider what academic and career areas interest them. The present study investigates whether emotional intelligence is associated with major identification and major satisfaction. Additionally, I investigated whether the “acting with awareness” subscale from the Five-Factor Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ) explains the relationship between trait emotional intelligence and major satisfaction as well as the extent …

Decipher The Effect Of Gamification In Harnessing Boredom And Improving Performance, Zhuoyi Zhao

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

My thesis investigates the effectiveness of gamification in harnessing boredom and improving performance in a repetitive work process. In video games, “loot” rewards are unpredictable, intermittent gains used to motivate players to repeat boring actions. In a 2 X 2 experiment, I examine how loot rewards in point form may impact 1) disengagement, which is an immediate outcome of boredom, and 2) performance in settings where the points have and do not have cash value, respectively. More specifically, I manipulate the level of point reward unpredictability (fixed versus loot) and whether point rewards have cash value (absent versus present).

In …

An Exploratory Scale Of Christian Privilege: The Development Of A Scale To Measure The Attitudinal Constituents Of Christian Privilege, Brier S. Gallihugh

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Research surrounding measures of privilege awareness commonly involve White privilege awareness. However, relatively few (i.e., Privilege and Oppression Inventory) look other forms of privilege (i.e., heterosexual, sexism, religion). As such, this study looked to create a more extensive scale that would assess Christian privilege awareness among Christian participants. Items were adapted from theoretically analogous White privilege scales in addition to literature on Christian privilege. Using a sample of 391 participants recruited from Facebook, Reddit, SONA and Twitter, an exploratory factor analysis was run on a 28-item scale. The analysis suggested that a final 21-item, two-factor solution was the best fit …

Examining How Adverse Childhood Experiences And The Underlying Processes Of Trait And State Impulsivity Influence Suicidal Behavior, Julia K. Duran

Master's Theses

ABSTRACT

Due to the effects of ACEs and impulsive behavior on mental and physical health, it is important to better understand the relationship between these two as well as how they both may influence choices, such as suicide. Numerous studies have identified impulsive behavior as a risk factor for suicide, however, recent research has identified several underlying independent processes that make up impulsivity. This study uses a broad assessment of trait and state impulsivity to gather a more discrete understanding of the underlying processes that contribute to impulsive behavior. The short version UPPS-P scale was used to measure negative urgency, …

Comparing Common Procedures Used To Manipulate Reinforcer Magnitude, Michael Steele Yencha

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Reinforcer magnitude is one of several parameters of reinforcement. In the present study, it referred to the quantitative value of the reinforcer in terms of duration of access to a finite supply of grain pellets. Pigeons responded on concurrent-chain schedules earning one of several reinforcer durations depending on response allocation and experimental conditions. Experiment 1 consisted of relatively long reinforcer durations available for completing one chain compared to relatively short durations available on the other. Response allocation in the initial link determined the reinforcer duration, but responses in the terminal link produced no change in the upcoming reinforcer. This arrangement …

An Analysis Of Coordinated Responding, Brian Katz

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Experimental analyses of coordinated responding (i.e., cooperation) have been derived from a procedure described by Skinner (1962) in which reinforcers were delivered to a pair of subjects (a dyad) if both responded within a short interval, thus satisfying a mutual-reinforcement contingency. Although it has been suggested that this contingency enhances rates of temporally coordinated responding, limitations of past experiments have raised questions concerning this conclusion. The present experiments assessed three of those limitations by holding the schedule of reinforcement (Experiment 1: fixed-ratio 1; Experiment 2; variable-interval 20 s) constant (1) across phases and (2) between dyad members, and (3) varying …

Effects Of Blended Integrity Failures On Reinforcement-Based Interventuions, Stephanie Hope Jones

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Reinforcement-based interventions reduce problematic behavior when implemented as designed. However, the effectiveness of these interventions may decrease when deviations from treatment protocols (i.e., treatment-integrity errors) occur. Treatment-integrity errors differentially impact reinforcement-based interventions based on multiple factors, including how frequently errors occur and the intervention type. Even nominally acceptable integrity values (e.g., 80%) may be detrimental depending on the intervention. To evaluate this possibility and directly compare the effectiveness of multiple reinforcement-based interventions, we conducted two within-subject evaluations using laboratory arrangements. For both experiments, we recruited four undergraduate students to participate in a computer task that involved clicking on moving circles …

A Translational Analysis Of Renewal Following Dro With Human Subjects, Kacey R. Finch

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Renewal is a type of behavioral relapse that is dependent on changes in contextual stimuli in the environment. The current study investigated ABA renewal of responding that had been previously reduced by a differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO) procedure. ABA renewal refers to the context associated with three phases of behavioral treatment; Context A is present during baseline, Context B is present during treatment, and the post-treatment context returns to Context A (i.e., renewal test). Undergraduate college students participated in a Zoom video call during which they responded by clicking the mouse on a rectangle in a computer program …

Effects Of Nonexamples On Concept Formation, Catherine Louise Williams

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Concept formation is affected by the examples and nonexamples provided during training, but the degree to which examples and nonexamples should differ is unknown. Two experiments compared concept formation when different kinds of nonexamples were used during training. Both experiments included a within-subject comparison of concept formation following three training conditions: a) nonexamples that were more similar to the examples, b) nonexamples that are less similar to the examples, and c) no nonexamples. Arbitrary concepts were trained in Experiment 1 and concepts akin to those that could be taught in a classroom were trained in Experiment 2. Before and after …

Effects Of Acute And Chronic Nicotine Administration On Choice Of Probabilistic Outcomes, Katya A. Nolder

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Risky choice can be operationally defined as the choice for a larger, uncertain reinforcer over a smaller, certain reinforcer. Research suggests smokers engage in more risky or maladaptive decisions when compared to nonsmokers. The relation between nicotine and risky choice could benefit from further investigation, since nicotine is the active substance of tobacco products that maintains tobacco addiction. Acute nicotine administration has shown to alter risky choice; however, since the everyday smoker uses nicotine repeatedly, more research on chronic administration is warranted and would allow for assessment of tolerance or sensitization of these effects. The present study investigated effects of …