Digital Commons Network^™

Mmpi And Rorschach Findings Of Individuals Approved For Gender Reassignment Surgery, Gregory Ralph Caron

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Both clinical experience and empirical data from psychological tests present a picture of extreme clinical variation among those individuals who request gender reassignment surgery. Results of past empirical studies utilizing the MMPI and the Rorschach Test have tended to be equivocal regarding the level and nature of psychopathology associated with samples of gender dysphorics. These past studies are considered limited particularly in terms of methodological problems related to statistical power. This present study examined the nature and degree of psychopathology in a sample of candidates approved for gender reassignment surgery as reflected on their MMPI-2 clinical scale values and scores …

Archetype And Everything, B. Neville

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

No abstract provided.

Glucagon Produces Delayed Increase In Drinking-Associated Food Intake, Brian A. Carr, Paul J. Kulkowsky

Modern Psychological Studies

Glucagon is a pancreatic hormone and a brain-gut peptide thought to function as a short-term satiety signal in control of food intake. This study examined effects of glucagon injection on intake of alcohol, food, and water. Overnight water-deprived female and male Wistar rats (Ns = 10) were given access to 5% w/v ethanol and Purina chow. After adaptation to this schedule, rats received intraperitoneal (ip) injection of 0, 200, or 400 g/kg of glucagon, at 0 or 30 min prior to alcohol access. Food intake was significantly increased by glucagon at 30-60 min after either time of injection (0 or …

The Effect Of The Nmda Noncompetitive Antagonist Ketamine On Serial Learning In Rats, Brooks Snider, David M. Compton, Robert Foster

Modern Psychological Studies

Past research has demonstrated that Nmethyl- D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonists disrupt the acquisition of a variety of spatial and non-spatial tasks. In the present investigation, the effects of the NMDA antagonist, ketamine, were examined in a task with minimal spatial demands. Twenty-six male Long-Evans rats, approximately 5 months of age at the beginning of training, served as the subjects. Before training began, all rats were reduced to 85% of their free feeding weight and maintained with this 15% reduction throughout training. After injections of ketamine or saline, rats were trained to respond in a runway to a nonmonotonic serial pattern …

The Effects Of A Standardized Ginkgo Bilboa Extract On Learning In Aged And Young Rats, Scott Heldt

Modern Psychological Studies

The effects of chronic oral administration of a standardized Ginkgo biloba extract (GBE) on the performance of two classical memory tasks was investigated. Long-Evans rats, 3 and 16 months of age, received daily doses of diets with or without GBE (100 mg/kg) for a period of 6 weeks before testing and throughout the experiment. A 2 x 2 (Age x Treatment) ANOVA indicated that GBE treatment prevented learning on a radial maze task as measured by number of days to criterion, F(1, 28) = 5.73, p < .05. A 2 x 2 x 19 (Age x Treatment x Day) ANOVA was used to analyze the number of correct responses from Days 1 to 19. The results showed an interaction between Age and Treatment F(1, 28) = 6.34, p <. 05; namely young treated rats performed worse than other groups. Analysis of response frequency by a 2 x 2 (Age x Treatment) ANOVA revealed a significant interaction F(1, 28) = 4.41, p < .05, and a subsequent post hoc test indicated that the young treatment group responded notably more than the old groups. Measured performance on a one-way passive avoidance task indicated that neither treatment nor age had an effect. The results suggest that at the prescribed dose level and duration, GBE impairs performance on a radial maze task, particularly in young rats.

Verbal Learning And Memory In Adults With Mild, Moderate And Severe Closed Head Injury, Paula J. Bergloff

Theses and Dissertations

One of the most prevalent of cognitive dysfunctions associated with closed head injury is impaired_memory function. The current study examined qualitative and quantitative aspects of learning and memory to define the effects of mild head injury in comparison to moderate and severe head injury and a sample of normal controls.

Forty five survivors of severe (n=15), moderate (n=15) and mild (n=15) closed head injury were compared with age and education matched controls (n=15) on the California Verbal Learning Test (CVLT) and the Wechsler Memory Scale (WMS). On CVLT learning trials, head injured groups recalled less than controls, with the severely …

Things That Go Bump In The Night: An Examination Of Magical Thinking In Young Children, Elizabeth Easton

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Past research has shown that children as young as age 3 years are able to distinguish the difference between mental entities and real objects (Estes, Wellman, & Woolley, 1989). Yet, many children still display persistent fears of imaginary creatures, which they claim are not real. In the present study, a replication-extension of P. Harris, E. Brown, C. Marriott, S. Whittall, and S. Harmer (1991), the researcher examined children's perceptions of imaginary creatures through a brief interview. Children were asked to pretend there existed either a monster or a rabbit in one of two large boxes. Children were then left alone …

Development Of A Cross Generational Measure Of Altruism, Paul G. Schloemer

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

A self-report measure designed to assess altruism across the life span was developed and evaluated. Participants in the design phase of the study included 76 adults ages 18 to 25, 57 fifth grade students, and 65 second grade students. Participants in the confirmation phase of the study were 34 adults ages 18 to 25, 18 fifth grade students, and 14 second grade students. A positive significant correlation was found between the life span measure of altruism and a corroborative measure for the fifth graders. A significant correlation between life span. measure of altruism and a corroborative measure was not found …

The Relationship Among Self-Reported Aggression, Locus Of Control, Expectancy For Success, And Dream Content, Stephen James Mccullough

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

This study examined the relationship between elements of two dream content analysis systems, and between dream content variables and self-report measures. One hundred and five college students from two universities in Virginia completed the following self-report measures: Generalized Expectancy for Success Scale (Fibel & Hale, 1978), Internal Control Index (Duttweiler, 1984), Conflict Tactics Scale (Straus, 1979), Verbal Aggressiveness Scale (Infante & Wigley, 1986), and Brief Symptom Inventory (Derogatis & Spencer, 1982). They recorded any dreams they could remember over the subsequent three weeks in a dream journal. Only the data of participants who reported five or more dreams were included …

Factor Structure Of The Field Edition Of The Leiter International Performance Scale-Revised, Jon S. Bos

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

A series of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted for the field edition of the Leiter International Performance Scale-Revised (Leiter-R). The sample for the field edition of the Leiter-R was divided into 3 age groups (2-5, 6-11, 12-21 years old) for this series of analyses. Two factors were identified for the youngest age group (2-5 years), three factors were identified for the second age group (6-11 years old), and five factors were identified for the third age group (12-21 years old). These shifts in the factor structure of the test provide evidence for the age differentiation hypothesis. Implications for …

Mirror Use By African Grey Parrots (Psittacus Erithacus), Irene M. Pepperberg, Sean E. Garcia, Eric C. Jackson, Sharon Marconi

Sentience Collection

No abstract provided.

Examination Of Knowledge And Attitudes About Human Sexuality As Predictors Of Adolescent Sexual Behavior, Diane Waymire

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

This study investigated the variables influencing adolescent sexual behavior. Using cognitive learning theory, social learning theory, and social development as an organizing framework, factors influencing adolescent sexual behavior and the respondent's personal demographics were examined for their contribution to explaining adolescent decision-making about sexual activity.

A convenience sample of high school students from a Riverside county school district provided data for the study. Data was gathered by using a self-administered questionnaire. A total of 55 students from two of the three school sites within the district participated in the study during the winter quarter of 1995.

The findings of the …

The Hormones Of Pregnancy Alter Somal Size In The Medial Preoptic Area Of The Rat Brain, Lori A. Keyser

Master's Theses

Formerly non-responsive females will display maternal behavior (MB) following pregnancy and parturition. The behavioral alterations are believed to occur in response to hormonal changes that accompany pregnancy. The medical pre optic area (MPOA) regulates hormone-induced MB. The current study examined neuronal changes which might account for the modified behavior. Twenty adult female Sprague-Dawley rats were assigned a hormone condition: ovariectomized (OVX), ovariectomized/hormone-treated (P+E₂), intact diestrus (DI), or pregnant (PREG). Animals were killed, and their brains fixed in Golgi-Cox solution. Somata of the MPOA and related cortex were measured in each group using a Bioquant imaging system. Pregnant females …

Who's More Cruel, Johnny Or Jenny? Sex Differences In Adults' Perceptions Of Cruelty To Animals By Children, Teresa Michelle Thompson

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

As a symptom of Conduct Disorder, cruelty to animals (DSM IV, 1994) is often assessed via parental checklists (e.g., Child Behavior Checklist). However, little information exists on the criteria that adults use to make judgments of cruelty.

A Functionalist Approach To Emotions, Julien Guillaumot

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

There are at least two ways in which emotions can be conceptualized. The first, and most widespread, one is the cognitive approach which implies the presence of internal processes or psychological mechanisms. The cognitive approach says that emotions are the result of evolutionary processes. The second approach is behaviorological. It states that emotions are learned and are nothing more than behaviorological and physiological events. Both approaches, even if different, have an extremely important effect on our world because they may help make societal decisions and therefore manage our environment in a better way. As we will see, though, authorities do …

An Investigation Of The Construct Validity Of The Preschool And Kindergarten Behavior Scales, Clarice E. Jentzsch

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A relatively recent measure, the Preschool and Kindergarten Behavior Scales (PKBS), has been developed to measure both problem behavior and social competence in young children. The primary purpose of this study was to examine the construct validity of the PKBS through the application of several validation procedures. Results of the study support construct validity of the PKBS. In a discriminant analysis, the PKBS classified correctly 89.36% of the 94 subjects. A secondary purpose of this study was to examine social-emotional behavior differences between kindergarten students who were divided into different behavioral status groups based on a teacher nomination procedure: a …

The Efficacy Of Massed Versus Distributed Practice As A Function Of Desired Learning Outcomes And Grade Level Of The Student, Vanessa D. Moss

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The study examined the extent to which type-of-practice strategies (massed or distributed) had an effect on learning a verbal information (reading) or intellectual skill (math) task for second- and fourth-grade students. One hundred and ninety students from eight second- and fourth-grade classrooms participated in the study. Classrooms were randomly assigned to the two practice conditions and all students participated in a 9-week integrated learning system (ILS) intervention.

The present study found that intellectual skill tasks are learned slightly more effectively in a massed than distributed practice mode, though the difference was not statistically significant. Students also learned verbal information tasks …

Indicating Acts During Counting By A Chimpanzee (Pan Troglodytes), Sarah T. Boysen, Gary G. Berntson, Traci A. Shreyer, Michelle B. Hannan

Sentience Collection

A chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) experienced in counting arrays of 0-7 items and trained for comprehension of number symbols, spontaneously displayed a variety of indicating acts (e.g., pointing, touching, and rearranging items) during counting. Twenty-five sessions were videotaped, and all trials were evaluated for the relations among number of items presented, number of indicating acts displayed, and the Arabic number selected to represent the array. Significant correlations included the relations between number of items and the cardinal number selected by the animal, between the number of items and indicating acts displayed by the chimpanzee, and between the number of indicating acts …

Analyzing Correlations Of Three Types In Selected Lines Of Drosophila Melanogaster That Have Evolved Stable Extreme Geotactic Performance, Scott F. Stoltenberg, Jerry Hirsch, Stewart H. Berlocher

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

The behavior-genetic analysis of Drosophila melanogaster with geotactic performance as the phenotype is an ideal model system with which to investigate the complex relations between heredity and behavior. As part of a long-term, 38-year study, we report 4 experiments that identify and analyze trait correlations in the selected high- and low-geotaxis lines. We performed F₂ correlational analyses and backcrosses to examine 3 types of correlations: (a) genotype-genotype (alcohol dehydrogenase [Adh]-amylase [Amy]), (b) genotype-phenotype (Adh and Amy-geotaxis), and (c) phenotype-phenotype (mate preference–geotaxis). Only the Adh-geotaxis correlation survived meiosis and reappeared in the F …

Evaluation Of An Echo-Mobility Program For Young Blind People, Charles Daniel Kish

Theses Digitization Project

No abstract provided.

Contributing Factors Of Aggression In Elementary School Age Boys, Annmarie Mikles

Theses Digitization Project

No abstract provided.

Attribution In Context: Acquisition And Blocking Of Invariance Seeking Action, Paula L. Johnston-Morgan

Theses Digitization Project

No abstract provided.

The Costs Of Eating: A Behavioral Economic Analysis Of Food Refusal., Mary Louise Kerwin, W H Ahearn, P S Eicher, D M Burd

College of Science & Mathematics Departmental Research

Behavioral economic concepts were applied to the analysis and treatment of pediatric feeding disorders in a clinical setting. In Experiment 1, children who chronically refused food were presented with varying amounts of food on a spoon (empty, dipped, quarter, half, and level). Each child exhibited a different but orderly demand function of response (acceptance, expulsion, and mouth clean) by cost (increasing spoon volume) for a constant pay-off of toys and social interaction. In Experiment 2, physical guidance or nonremoval of the spoon for food refusal was initiated at the smallest spoon volume with low levels of acceptance, and was subsequently …

Science, Values And Animal Welfare: Exploring The ‘Inextricable Connection’, D. Fraser

Animal Welfare Collection

In conceptualizing animal welfare, it is useful to distinguish among three types of concepts. 'Type l' are single, measurable attributes. 'Type 2' are single attributes that cannot be measured directly but can be estimated by correctly combining various contributing attributes. 'Type 3' are concepts involving multiple attributes which are grouped together because they serve some common function, and whose relative importance cannot be established in an entirely objective way. Individuals who treat animal welfare as a type 1 concept may propose single, objective measures of welfare, such as longevity or levels of stress-related hormones; however, this approach rests on judgements, …

Comprehension Of Cause-Effect Relations In A Tool-Using Task By Chimpanzees (Pan Troglodytes), Luca Limongelli, Sarah T. Boysen, Elisabetta Visalberghi

Sentience Collection

Five chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) were tested to assess their understanding of causality in a tool task. The task consisted of a transparent tube with a trap-hole drilled in its middle. A reward was randomly placed on either side of the hole. Depending on which side the chimpanzee inserted the stick into, the candy was either pushed out of the tube or into the trap. In Experiment 1, the success rate of 2 chimpanzees rose highly above chance, but that of the other subjects did not. Results show that the 2 successful chimpanzees selected the correct side for insertion beforehand. Experiment …

Responses To Quantity: Perceptual Versus Cognitive Mechanisms In Chimpanzees (Pan Troglodytes), Sarah T. Boysen, Gary G. Berntson

Sentience Collection

Two chimpanzees were trained to select among 2 different amounts of candy (1-6 items). The task was designed so that selection of either array by the active (selector) chimpanzee resulted in that array being given to the passive (observer) animal, with the remaining (nonselected) array going to the selector. Neither animal was able to select consistently the smaller array, which would reap the larger reward. Rather, both animals preferentially selected the larger array, thereby receiving the smaller number of reinforcers. When Arabic numerals were substituted for the food arrays, however, the selector animal evidenced more optimal performance, immediately selecting the …

Play Signals As Punctuation: The Structure Of Social Play In Canids, Marc Bekoff

Ethology Collection

Actions called play signals have evolved in many species in which social play has been observed. Despite there being only few empirical demonstrations, it generally is accepted that play signals are important in the initiation ("I want to play") and maintenance ("I still want to play") of ongoing social play. In this study I consider whether a specific and highly stereotyped signal, the bow, is used to maintain social play in adult and infant domestic dogs, infant wolves, and infant coyotes.

To answer this question the temporal placement of bows relative to actions that are also used in other contexts …

Vigilance, Flock Size, And Flock Geometry: Information Gathering By Western Evening Grosbeaks (Aves, Fringillidae), Marc Bekoff

Ethology Collection

Vigilance (scanning) and other behavior patterns were studied in free-ranging Evening Grosbeaks (Coccothraustes vespertinus) at feeders to assess how flock size and flock geometry influenced the behavior of individual birds. The present results indicate that the way in which individual grosbeaks are positioned with respect to one another effects many aspects of their behavior, especially when a flock contains four or more birds. Birds in a linear array who have difficulty seeing one another, when compared to individuals organized in a circle who can easily see one another, are (1) more vigilant, (2) change their head and body positions more …

Calling By Domestic Piglets: Reliable Signals Of Need?, Daniel M. Weary, David Fraser

Communication Skills Collection

Two manipulations were performed on domestic piglets to determine whether differences in calling during periods of separation from the mother can indicate differences in need. In both cases, the aim was to manipulate the piglet's need for the sow's attention. In the first manipulation a 'thriving' piglet (i.e. the piglet with the heaviest weight and most rapid weight gain) and a 'non-thriving' one (lightest and slowest weight gain) were selected from each of 15 litters. The two piglets were removed from the sow and litter and recorded for 13 min in separate isolated enclosures. For the second manipulation, two piglets …

Application Of The Relational Model Of Therapy In Cross Cultural Counseling With Children, Nancy L. Wolfe

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this study was to examine the origins of the Multicultural Relational Model of therapy and demonstrate the application of this model in the clinical setting. Subjects were two ethnic minority children, a Hispanic boy, age nine, and a mixed-race boy, age 10, who was adopted by an African American family.