Digital Commons Network^™

The Role Of Activity Level For Memory In The Elderly, Lori Ann Johnson

Theses Digitization Project

No abstract provided.

Language-Naive Chimpanzees (Pan Troglodytes) Judge Relations Between Relations In A Conceptual Matching-To-Sample Task, Roger K.R. Thompson, David L. Oden, Sarah T. Boysen

Sentience Collection

Three chimpanzees with a history of conditional and numeric token training spontaneously matched relations between relations under conditions of nondifferential reinforcement. Heretofore, this conceptual ability was demonstrated only in language-trained chimpanzees. The performance levels of the language-naive animals in this study, however, were equivalent to those of a 4th animal—Sarah—whose history included language training and analogical problem solving. There was no evidence that associative factors mediated successful performance in any of the animals. Prior claims of a profound disparity between language-trained and language-naive chimpanzees apparently can be attributed to prior experience with arbitrary tokens consistently associated with abstract relations and …

Bereavement Support Groups For Elementary School-Aged Children: The Impact On Grief Related Problematic Behaviors, Marlen Joyce Kellas, Lynette Christine Wheeler

Theses Digitization Project

No abstract provided.

Treasured Possessions And Their Relationship With Self-Identity Development In Adolescents, Vanda Midoly Yamaguchi

Theses Digitization Project

No abstract provided.

The Use Of Spatial Reference Cues And Primary Cue Strategies For Maze Running By The Desert Tortoise, Gopherus Agassizii, Michelle Lee Eliker

Theses Digitization Project

No abstract provided.

Understanding And Treating Selective Mutism In Children : A Guide For Counselors, Chelsea R. Carter

Graduate Research Papers

Selective mutism is a clinical disorder in which a child remains silent in chosen situations despite the ability for speech. Though there are cases of selective mutism in adults, the major population in which this disorder is diagnosed is in children. This paper will focus on these children who meet the criteria for a diagnosis of selective mutism.

There are three major theoretical schools of thought regarding selective mutism. The first deals with hostility and control; the second, anxiety and social phobia; and the third, family communication in regard to the onset and maintenance of this disorder. This paper explores …

Childhood Physical Or Sexual Abuse As A Possible Indicator Of Subsequent Adult Anxiety Disorders, Lynn Merry Cornwell

Graduate Research Papers

In recent years, there has been a growing acceptance that childhood physical and sexual abuse lead to higher rates of psychiatric morbidity in adulthood. Childhood abuse experiences have been reported to be highly prevalent among patients with anxiety disorders. Similarly, childhood incest victims have been found to suffer from a significantly higher rate of anxiety disorders in adulthood especially agoraphobia, than a non-victimized, matched comparison group. Epidemiology studies also support a relationship between childhood abuse and the subsequent development of anxiety disorders. Two separate community surveys found that childhood sexual victimization predicted the later onset of agoraphobia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and …

Global Precedence In Visual Search? Not So Fast: Evidence Instead For An Oblique Effect, Frank H. Durgin, Sarah E. Wolfe , '97

Psychology Faculty Works

The evidence from an earlier report of global precedence in visual search is reexamined, Two new experiments are reported. The results of the first experiment indicate that the confusability of oblique orientations (a class-2 oblique effect) rather than global precedence was responsible for the earlier results. The results of the second experiment show that the effect critically depends on the presence of heterogeneous distracters rather than on differences in raw processing speed for different spatial scales. The possible role of symmetry is discussed.

Existential Loneliness: The Other Side Of The Void, Richard Booth

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

No abstract provided.

Helping Children Cope With Grief And Death, Kim Noon

Presidential Scholars Theses (1990 – 2006)

Children need their parents, family, friends, teachers, doctors, and clergy to help them move through a death experience positively. Dr. Elizabeth Kubler-Ross (1983) says that family members who have been able to talk together and share their experiences with other family members, hospital staff, or with a compassionate clergy or friend , usually do much better than those who hold all of their feelings inside, pretending that life goes on as usual. Grief and fear, when allowed to be expressed and shared in childhood, can prevent much future heartache. It is so important for all of us to again learn …

Promoting The Inclusion Of Psychosocial Factors In Cardiac Rehabilitation, Dawn Elizabeth Newberg

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

The Roles Of Age And Frontal Lobe Damage In Prospective Memory, Sara J. Russell '97

Honors Projects

Recent evidence suggests that the frontal lobe plays an intimate role in the meditation of prospective memory (Shallice & Burgess, 1991; Cockburn, 1995). However, there is a paucity of studies linking damage to the frontal lobe to reduced efficacy of prospective memory. The present study attempts to examine three types of participants who differ in frontal lobe functioning and their relative levels of successful prospective memory. The participants consist of younger adults, older adults (55 and over) and individuals with frontal lobe damage determined by a CAT scan or MRI. All three groups will be given a computer-based general knowledge …

The Presence Of A Dog Increases Greetings: A Study In Social Intervention, Emily Dunlap, Lori Graham, April Burton, Chassity Roberts

Modern Psychological Studies

Pet dogs served many useful purposes, especially by provoking social interaction in the lives of their owners. The purpose of this study was to show that a person accompanied by a dog received more greetings from passersby than a person without a dog. This was a field study using a female confederate, a dog, and three observers. Subjects passing in front of the confederate were recorded as a greeter or a non-greeter. Results formulated by the Chi Square showed that when the confederate was with the dog, they were greeted significantly more than when they were not accompanied by the …

Interview: Cindi Katz. Creating Safe Space And The Materiality Of The Margins, Cindi Katz

Publications and Research

Cindi Katz, associate professor and chair of the environmental psychology program at the Graduate School of the City University of New York, visited the University of Kentucky in February of 1996 to deliver the keynote address at the 5 1/2 Annual Geography Graduate Student Conference. In her address, entitled "Power, Space and Terror: Social Reproduction and the Public Environment," Professor Katz discussed how changes jn urban built environments, particularly the privatization of urban public space, negatively affected New York City children. Privatization, she argued, not only serves a 'child hating' mentality prevalent in our society, but fosters, among other things, …

Animal Memory Processes For Number And Time: Pigeons, Methamphetamine, And The Internal Clock Model, James W. Coyle

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The mode-control model of counting and timing (Meek & Church, 1983) suggests that discriminations based on number and time may be controlled by the same internal clock mechanism. In Experiment 1, two groups of pigeons were initially trained to perform delayed symbolic matching-to-sample (DSMTS) at a 5s fixed baseline delay, with sample stimuli that consisted of sequences of flashing light. Testing was conducted with a range of delays (0, 2.5, 5, 7.5, and 10s). In the Number Group, control by number was established by varying the number of flashes while holding time constant. In the Time Group, control by time, …

A Qualitative, Participatory Study Of The Process Of Becoming An Advocate For Nonhuman Animals, Angela Kathleen Raithby

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This thesis begins with an overview of some published works concerning oppression, its alleviation and the interconnectedness of its various forms, as they relate to the diverse area which is loosely referred to as ‘animal rights’. In general terms, the ultimate goal of choosing to do this thesis in the area of animal rights is to further the defence of nonhuman animals. The purpose of this specific project is to document, compare, and contrast a range of examples of the process of changing relationships and becoming an advocate for other animals. These examples, the experiences and life stories of five …

Pink And Blue See Red Differently: Influences Of Gender, Gender Role And Gender Of The Target On Anger Experience And Expression, Darryl George Milovchevich

Theses : Honours

Anger is a commonly experienced emotion popularly thought to differ for men and women. However, because of definitional confusion and methodological limitations, there has been little useful empirical exploration of these differences. Current research findings on anger have, further, been limited by being based on non-random convenience samples of students and clinical populations. Research has produced inconclusive evidence for the effect of gender differences on measures of anger. Gender role identification has been identified as possible influencing factor. In the current study, the author drew a random sample from the general population of a small Australian city. Participants (n = …

The Relationship Between Parenting Style And Chilren's Anger, Aggressive Behavior, And Perception Of Intention, Patricia Bardina, Michelle Wilson

Modern Psychological Studies

This study examined the relationship between parenting style and preschoolers' perceptions of intention, their anger, and their aggressive behavior. Each child was told eight variations of the same story and then was asked to rate the characters' intentions and anger. The parents were given the Modified PARI (Emmerich, 1969) and the Child Behavior Checklist (Achenbach & Edelbrock, 1983) to measure parenting style and the child's aggressive behavior. A regression analysis resulted in a significant Beta score of .41 (p<. 02) between hostility rejection parenting style and the child's perception of intention. Previous research shows a relationship between perception of intention and anger or aggressive behavior (Rotenberg, 1985; Fine, 1980); thus, the results of this study suggest that perception of intention could serve as a mediator between hostile parenting and anger or aggressive behavior.

A Historical Review Of Disgust, Amanda Burlington, Chad Mcdaniel, David O. Wilson

Modern Psychological Studies

Although disgust was identified as a basic emotion 125 years ago (Darwin, 1965), no psychological theory has focused on disgust as a key concept. Although many prominent scientists such as Freud, Darwin, and Ma/son have addressed the topic of disgust in their research, none have focused solely on the causes and consequences of disgust. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the literature concerning disgust and to demonstrate how disgust is a meaningful concept worthy of major focus in psychological research, theories, and application.

Young Children's Talk At Play: Orientation To Self And Orientation To The Joint Exigencies Of Conversation, Paige K. Parker

Masters Theses

This study employed a conversation analytic approach to determine how children in naturally constructed play episodes use language as an object of play and how children in their naturally occurring talk display orientation to their own individual activities and others' social actions. The participants were thirty-nine kindergarten and first grade students at South Elementary School in Marshall, Illinois. The study is based upon fifteen hours of conversation collected during recess periods. Relevant segments from the corpus were transcribed according to an adapted version of Jefferson's Transcript Notation System (1984). The findings suggested that (1) the groups of children used language …

Envelope Perception By The Goldfish, Carassius Auratus, Michael F. Chronopoulos

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Attitudes Toward Aging Lesbians: An Exploratory Study, Karen E. Cunningham

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The purpose of this study was to examine the attitudes of midwestern college students toward older lesbians. It is hypothesized, due to the commonly held assumptions that older women are "asexual" and that the popular image of homosexuals is extremely negative, that the lesbian identity will go unrecognized by others outside of those to whom they have disclosed their sexual orientation. Variables considered in this study include: (a) knowledge of aging and (b) attitudes toward homosexuality. Two hundred and fifty midwestern college students completed questionnaires that assessed their attitudes toward lesbians, their knowledge of aging, and their attitudes toward aging …

The Effects Of Multiple Injections Of Ba(25-35) Into The Medial Septal Area On Spatial Learning In The Male Rat, James Bedrosian '97

Honors Projects

Accumulating evidence supports the hypothesis that beta-amyloid (PA) plays a role in the degeneration of cholinergic neurons in the basal forebrain. Degeneration of the basal forebrain cholinergic system, which is implicated in learning and memory function, is a characteristic of Alzheimer's disease. It has been previously reported that injections of PA(25-35) into the medial septal area (MSA) of rats produce a hypofunction of the cholinergic system and a decrease in ACh release in the hippocampus. Investigators report mixed results in the development of behavioral spatialleaming impairments following single injections of pA. Recent studies suggest that multiple injections or chronic administration …

Determination Of Chromatic And Luminance Channels In The Zebrafish Visual System Using An Increment Threshold Technique, Richard Hughes

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

It is well established that the primate visual system possesses anatomically separate chromatic and luminance channels; these pathways are responsible for the visual coding of color and brightness information, respectively. In lower vertebrates, such as the zebrafish (Danio rerio), there does not appear to be any anatomical separation of cell types mediating color and luminance information. However, several studies suggest that these vertebrates may be able to discriminate these attributes of a visual stimulus. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the zebrafish visual system possesses chromatic and luminance channels. In addition, the contribution of each cone photoreceptor …

Temporal Characteristics Of Zebrafish Cone Types And Their Role In Separate Visual Processing, Warren Patterson

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Chromatic and luminance information are processed separately by the visual systems of most higher vertebrates via anatomically separate pathways. Research on primates suggests that the luminance mechanism transmits information about stimulus luminance, movement, and flicker while chromatic mechanisms signal color and detailed information. In order to signal rapid movement, the luminance channel transmits information more rapidly than the chromatic mechanism. While some lower vertebrates such as the zebrafish (Danio rerio) do not demonstrate anatomical separation of processing, it is believed that separate processing is a basic requirement of vertebrate vision. The spectral sensitivity functions (relative sensitivity to different wavelengths of …

A Content Analysis Of Student's Perceptions Of Instructors, Bill C. Cassill

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

In his recent confirmatory factor analysis of the Instructional Development and Effectiveness Assessment rating instrument (IDEA), Marsh (1994) identified six factors matching those from his Students' Evaluation of Educational Quality (SEEQ) rating instrument. However, four of these factors, Enthusiasm, Interaction, Learning, and Organization, were found to be highly intercorrelated. Due to this, other researchers have questioned whether these four factors are really independent constructs as Marsh asserts. Because of the question of independent constructs, many researchers feel that a greater reliance should be placed on the use of global rating items instead of items designed to measure specific dimensions of …

The Mmpi-A: A Diagnostic Tool For Adhd Adolescents, Harry J. Marshall

Dissertations

This research investigated the utility of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-Adolescent (MMPI-A) as an instrument in the diagnosis of adolescents with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Subjects were 32 male and 12 female adolescents between the ages of 14 and 18 who presented for evaluation and/or treatment for ADHD in one of three privately operated mental health clinics in a large, industrial, midwestem state. Upon establishment of the diagnosis by a psychologist who specializes in the area of ADHD, the subjects were invited to participate in the study and complete the MMPI-A. A correlational research design was used which compared …

Environmental Attitudes And Behaviors: An Examination Of The Antecedents Of Behavior Among Air Force Members At Work, Mark S. Laudenslager

Theses and Dissertations

A questionnaire was randomly distributed to members of the United States Air Force at Wright Patterson AFB, OH, with 307 returned. The survey was designed to test the theory of planned behavior (TPB) model developed by Icek Ajzen, and the organizational theory of planned behavior (OTPB) model explored in this research effort. Validation and measurement of the TPB in relation to an organizational setting was accomplished, with the organizational theory of planned behavior (OTPB) developed. The behaviors and intentions individuals have towards recycling, energy conservation, and carpooling were examined, with the demographic variables of gender, age, and education also investigated. …

Investigating Behavioral Dynamics With A Fixed-Time Extinction Schedule And Linear Analysis, William L. Palya, Don Walter, Robert Kessel, Robert Lucke

Research, Publications & Creative Work

This paper describes the behavioral adaptation observed for 16 pigeons responding to a step transition in the reinforcement rate in a repeated-trial design. Within each trial, following exposure for a fixed period to a variable-interval schedule, there was an unsignaled change in the schedule to extinction. The step transition allowed an experimental test of the applicability of a linear analysis to steady-state dynamic behavior. The computations required for this test yielded, as an intermediate result, transfer functions for each of the 16 birds from 1 mHz to 256 mHz. The transfer functions obtained show greater responsiveness to lower frequencies (i.e., …

Interaction Of Ethanol And Insulin On Motor Activity And Hypoglycemia In Rats, Kristen E. Koontz

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The present study investigated the effects of ethanol on insulin-induced hypoglycemia in rats. Measurements were made on the interaction of insulin at a dose of 2 units/kilogram in combination with four ethanol doses on motor activity and on blood glucose levels. Nine rats were administered eight treatment conditions (insulin or no insulin; combined with ethanol dosage of either: 0, 300, 600, or 1000 mg/kg). In a counterbalanced sequence of treatments, the rats were injected with insulin and placed into activity detectors for 20 minutes. At this time their blood glucose was measured, they were injected with ethanol, and placed hack …