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A Study Of A Token Economy Program Initiated At Oregon State Hospital, Helenjane R. Kudelko

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to evaluate a token economy program at Oregon State Hospital in terms of patients’ behavioral improvement during the first seventy days of the program. As the study progressed, it became apparent that a study of the problems involved in initiating this program would be significant. Thus an attempt has been made to evaluate both the patients’ behavioral improvement and the problems involved in setting up an effective token economy program.

Prior to the June 1, 1972 reorganization of the hospital, the county geographical unit system had been in effect for approximately eleven years. On …

The Role Of Anxiety And Arousal Attribution In Cheating, Richard A. Dienstbier

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Previous research indicated that anticipating arousal symptoms (rather than benign) from a placebo pill reduced inhibiting emotion in men, resulting in more cheating. The effect did not occur for women. Using 180 males, Study I tested whether the placebo effect was due to mere attention to arousal symptoms, or whether attribution to the pill was required. In the placebo- attribution condition the arousal placebo facilitated cheating (p < .02). The effect did not occur for symptom-attention controls who received no pill, and the conditions differed (p < .02).Study II tested whether women failed to respond to the placebo manipulation due to higher anxiety. Under one of four stress levels, each of 240 women received the benign or arousal placebo. More cheated with the arousal placebo only under low stress (p <.035), and stress conditions differed (p < .025). The interaction of attribution manipulations with the conflicting emotions of the cheating situation is discussed.

A Modified Belief Theory Of Prejudice Emphasizing The Mutual Causality Of Racial Prejudice And Anticipated Belief Differences, Richard A. Dienstbier

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

The belief theory of prejudice introduced by M. Rokeach stated that racial prejudice is the result of the anticipation of belief differences. The unidirectional causal relationship implied is criticized as oversimplified. Research, supporting the belief theory is examined, with conceptual and experimental deficiencies noted. A new formulation is proposed which emphasizes mutual causality between racial prejudice and anticipated belief differences. Two studies supporting that view are presented in which belief communications were presented as tape-recorded interviews or speeches, with the race and social class of the communicator first having been manipulated. The interrelationships between communicator’s race, specific communication topic, and …

A Comparative Study Of The Emotional Adjustment Of Dysphasia, Shirley J. Watson

All Master's Theses

To study emotional problems of dysphasia and the resultant effect on rate and extent of language recovery, two subjects (one male and one female) were interviewed. Interviews and data were also obtained from therapists and hospital records. The results showed that emotionality and some personality factors adversely affected language recovery. This would suggest the importance of alleviating stress immediately following the lesion, during the therapy period, and throughout the home situation.

Response Rate Controlled By Two Liquid Reinforcers In A Multiple Schedule, Randall Lee Morton

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations (1964–2006)

No abstract provided.

State-Dependent Learning As A Function Of The Temporal Relationship Between Noncontingent Footshock And Electroconvulsive Shock, T. Scott Shutt

All Master's Theses

Rats were given a noncontingent footshock followed at various intervals by electroconvulsive shock. Twentyfour hours later they were trained on a non-shock passive avoidance task and tested for retention 72 hours later. When the interval between NCFS and ECS was short the animals showed an amnesia which reduced as the interval was lengthened. An interval of .5 seconds produced the most pronounced amnesia and intervals greater than 10 seconds produced virtually no amnesia. The results were consistent with a state dependent retrieval failure hypothesis.

Sub-Aversive Response Contingent Foot Shock As A Positive Reinforcer, Robert Lea Fulwiler

All Master's Theses

Forty-eight rats were divided into 8 groups; four were maintained under normal conditions and the other four under sensory deprivation and tested at o, 3, 6, and 9 days after condition institution. The response was placing the head through a hole in the operant chamber and the stimulus (0, 1.2, 4, or 12 Vac) was contingent upon the response. Analysis ot variance disclosed significant differences (p<.01) between the deprived and the non-deprived groups at days 6 and 9; and a significant interaction between deprivation condition and time of test. No differences were shown between the stimulus intensities indicating that the stimulus did not have a reinforcing effect.

The Effects Of Cs Habituation And Duration Of The Directional Modification Of The Cardiac Response In The Guinea Pig (Cavia Procellus), Ray Charles Larson

All Master's Theses

The present experiment examined the effects of CS habituation and two different levels of CS duration (60 versus 6 sec) on the directional modification of the conditioned cardiac response in the guinea pig. The results indicated that the only reaction to the CS, regardless of prior habituation or CS duration, was a decelerative conditioned HR response. However, habituation to a CS prior to classical aversive conditioning was found to attenuate the magnitude of the bradycardia CR that developed. The bradycardia CR was discussed in terms of being a cardiac component of the orienting response.

Functional Relations Between Law And Psychiatry - A Study Of Characteristics Inherent In Professional Interaction, Saul W. Baernstein

Journal of Legal Education

No abstract provided.

"Romantic Love", Elaine Hatfield Walster

Special Collections: Oregon Public Speakers

No abstract provided.

Cheating As A Function Of The Labeling Of Natural Arousal, Richard A. Dienstbier, Pamela Osbourne Hunter

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

One hundred and five college freshmen were given one of two different side-effects lists associated with a placebo pill. In a “second” experiment, subjects experienced failure on a vocabulary test, supposedly predictive of college success, and received an opportunity to cheat on the test by changing answers. Although it was anticipated that all subjects who considered cheating would experience some arousal, it was predicted that those subjects told to expect drug-induced side effects related to sympathetic arousal would not label their experienced arousal as fear or guilt, and would cheat more than the subjects who anticipated benign side effects. Of …

The Effect Of Stimulus Element Redundancy On Speed Of Discrimination As A Function Of State And Process Limitation, John H. Flowers, W. R. Garner

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

The effect of spatially repeated stimulus elements on the speed of discrimination, measured in a sorting task, was determined under conditions of low stimulus visibility (state limitation) and high stimulus similarity (process limitation). A significant increase in speed of sorting stimuli was found when the stimuli were state limited but not when process limited, even though base speeds were the same in both cases. It is concluded that element redundancy will improve discrimination performance only when the need for the improvement is a state limitation.

Modification Of Deviant Behavior By Parents, Jeanne M. Gabourie

All Master's Theses

It is the purpose of this study (1) to determine if a child's deviant social behaviors can be effectively modified by his own parents; and (2) to determine if parents can be trained to use behavior modification techniques in the home.

Validation Of The Automated Readability Index For Use With Technical Materials, Leroy John Delionbach

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations (1964–2006)

No abstract provided.

Shock Intensity And Task Difficulty As Determiners Of Avoidance And Escape Learning In Rats, Arthur Louis

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Thirty-six naive female hooded rats were divided randomly into three groups and tested in an instrumental escape and avoidance learning situation involving three degrees of task difficulty. Each group was also randomly subdivided into four subgroups, each of which underwent a different shock intensity level. The purpose of this study was to test the Yorkes-Dodson law which states that (a) there is an optimal level of punishment intensity for any given task (or an inverted-U curve relating shock intensity and performance) and (b) this optimal intensity decreases as task difficulty increases. The results supported (a) but not (b).

Release From Proactive Inhibition As A Function Of Pleasantness And Unpleasantness Of Encoded Verbal Materials, Fulton Cooper

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations (1964–2006)

No abstract provided.

An Assessment Of The Role Of Information Inherent In Positive And Aversive Social Reinforcement Employing A Finger Maze Task With Male And Female Subjects And Experimenters, Brian Westley Strutt

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Forty-eight male and 48 female grade 12 high school students were assigned in groups of 8 to a 2 (sex of S X 3 (treatment) X 2 (sex of E) factorial design experiment. Each S was presented with a finger maze task under one of three experimental treatments: censure-nothing with S being told “WRONG” for an incorrect response, nothing for a correct response; reward-nothing, with S being told “CORRECT” for a correct response, nothing for an incorrect response; nothing-nothing, with Ss being told nothing for either a correct or incorrect response. The task required that a binary decision be made …

What Kind Of Psychiatry In Law School?, Michael Alfred Peszke M.D.

Journal of Legal Education

No abstract provided.

A Comparison Of Ecs And Drug Induced State-Dependent Learning, Mayse F. John

All Master's Theses

The purpose of the present experiment is twofold: (a) to determine if FS and ECS or just ECS can be used as an agent to produce "dissociated" learning in a multi-trial procedure, and (b) if shown, to determine the effectiveness of these agents relative to three different dosages of sodium pentobarbital preselected to produce no, moderate, and complete dissociation.

Positive And Negative Prejudice: Interactions Of Prejudice With Race And Social Desirability, Richard A. Dienstbier

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Two studies were conducted in order to investigate positive prejudice toward Negroes. By defining positive prejudice as favoritism toward Negro stimulus persons over white stimulus persons of identical personality descriptions, it was possible to compare patterns of Negro bias on a variety of measures. The results of Study I indicated that positive Negro prejudice was more likely when stimulus persons at the positive personality level were compared. The results of Study II indicated that dogmatism and rigidity and attitudes associated with authoritarian ism are negatively related to positive prejudice. Dimensions of formality of relationships and antisubordination of Negroes were useful …

Sequential Processing Deficits In Reading Retardation, Sara Gambrell Tarver

Master's Theses

Doehring (1968) hypothesized that a basic sequential processing deficit underlies specific reading disability. To investigate sequential processing deficits in reading retardation, four tasks involving the reproduction of stimuli in a particular sequence were administered to a group of retarded readers and a group of normal readers matched on age, sex, race, educational opportunity, sociocultural environment, and Non-Language IQ on the CTMM. The normal readers were significantly superior to the retarded readers on the four sequential processing tasks and on two other tests, vocabulary and rhyming. The two groups did not differ significantly on reversals discrimination, perceptual speed, or cumulative learning. …

The Effects Of Early Handling On Behavior In The Albino Rat, William Reed Tucker

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations (1964–2006)

No abstract provided.

Promethazine-Chlorpromazine Combination In The Treatment Of Unmanageable Psychotic Patients, Armando R. Favazza

Henry Ford Hospital Medical Journal

Administering a combination of promethazine and chlorpromazine to patients with a "galloping psychosis" has an antipsychotic and tranquilizing effect which calms them down to a more manageable and less aggressive state. The drugs are chemically similar; promethazine's actions are strongly potentiated in the combination, so large doses must be given under careful supervision. Case histories demonstrate successful short term management of acutely psychotic, aggressive patients who were a danger to themselves and others.

The Effect Of Verbal Reinforcement On The Self-References Of Psychiatric Patients Who Are Characterized By A High Number Of Negative Self-References, Earl William Rakestraw Ii

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

The effect of positive verbal reinforcement on the verbal self-references of hospitalized psychiatric patients was studied. Eighteen patients, characterized by a high production rate of negative, verbal self-references, were matched on the following variables: age, length of hospitalization, medication, psychotherapy participation, intelligence quotient, sex, and adjustment score discrepancy obtained on a Q-sort test. After the subjects were given the pre-experimental Q-sorts and matched on the other variables, nine were randomly assigned to the experimental group and nine to the control group. All of the subjects were then administered six individual interviews in which they responded to 30 questions and statements …

The Evolution Of A Law And Psychiatry Program, Harry R. Sachse, C. B. Scrignar M.D.

Journal of Legal Education

No abstract provided.

Can The Superior Learnability Of Meaningful And Pleasant Words Be Transferred To Nonsense Syllables?*, Albert Silverstein, Richard A. Dienstbier

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

The Ss in 2 experiments first learned a PA list of words as responses to nonsense syllables. In 1 condition the words differed in meaningfulness (M) and in the other condition the words differed in pleasantness (PL). Next, Ss learned a 2nd PA list of the same syllables as responses to numbers. High-M words were learned faster than low-M words, but did not transfer either this difference in learning or the difference in rated M to the syllables. Pleasant words were learned faster than indifferent words in one experiment (men’s) but not in the other (women’s). In neither experiment did …

Partial Reinforcement With A Small Number Of Acquisition Trials : The Effects Of Reward Technique, Samuel Joseph Thios

Master's Theses

There have been a number of investigators who have noted superior resistance to extinction of a runway locomotion response by rats which were trained under partial reinforcement schedules as compared with rats trained under continuous reinforcement schedules (e.g., Logan, Beier & Kincaid, 1956; Weinstock, 1954; Badia, 1965; McCoy & Marx, 1965; Black & Spence, 1965).

The present experiment, involving four acquisition trials and nine extinction trials, was designed to investigate the influence of reward technique in an experimental context which systematically examined the effects of thwarting and nonthwarting reward techniques.

Rated Pleasantness And Association Value Of 101 English Nouns, Albert Silverstein, Richard A. Dienstbier

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Ratings of pleasantness (PL) on a 7-point scale and of association value (a′) on a 5-point scale are reported for 101 two-syllable nouns. The ratings were obtained from two samples of 100 women each and two samples of 100 men each. Sizable differences were obtained between words on both scales. For women and men respectively, PL and a′ were correlated .570 and .585; PL and printed frequency were correlated .233 and .207; frequency and a′ were correlated .533 and .764. Women’s and men’s ratings correlated .973 for PL and .899 for a′.

An Evaluation Of The Effectiveness Of Moderator Variables Developed By Three Techniques, James Porter Tucker Jr.

Master's Theses

In a recent article, Hobert and Dunnette (1967) maintained that compared to the Absolute-difference and Algebraic-difference techniques Quadrant Analysis should yield the more effective moderators. Their assertion was based on the reasoning that more homogenous subgrouping should yield moderators with increased sensitivity to error. The present study was carried out as an empirical investigation of their assertions. Further, the design of the study permitted an investigation of moderator function.

The total sample (n=333) of male college students was randomly divided into a developmental sample and a cross-validation sample. Employing the aforementioned techniques a total of five moderator scales were developed …

Effects Of Winning And Losing On The Interaction Pattern Of Group Partners, Jarell F. Killian

Theses and Dissertations

Of special interest in the field of social psychology are the differences among groups in their functioning that distinguishes them from one another. Cartwright and Zander (1960) speak of this in pointing out that some groups work together with a great deal more success, satisfaction, and with a greater sense of togetherness than others. Some groups are racked with dissent, insouciance, and such a failure to meet goals and standards as to result in a slow death of inactivity. These differences persist even under basically identical circumstances. Concerning this point, Pepitone and Kleiner (1957, p. 192) state:

Everyday observations of …