Digital Commons Network^™

Using Direct Instruction To Teach Compliance To Seriously Noncompliant Students, Hans M. Michielsen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This research study investigated the effectiveness of a direct instruction program (Treatment 2) for increasing compliance with teachers' instructions in students for whom manipulation of conventional antecedent stimuli and consequences (Treatment 1) had not resulted in adequate compliance. Five students participated in this study. A multiple baseline design across participants was used to evaluate treatment effectiveness. Introduction of Treatment 2 was followed by an increase in compliance by all five participants. The relationship between compliance and other appropriate classroom behaviors, as well as the relationship between compliance and qualitatively good and qualitatively poor instructions, was also investigated. Those relationships were …

Comparing The Perceptions Of Family And Parenting Between Juvenile Sexual Offenders And Juveniles With No History Of Sexual Offending, Iva W. Trottier

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Juvenile sexual offenders and a matched sample of nonoffending youth were compared on the Family Environment Scale (FES), the Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scales (FACES ill), the Adult Adolescent Parent Inventory (AAPI), and a biographical inventory. The purpose was to determine whether or not juvenile sexual offenders and nonoffenders would prove to have different perceptions of family characteristics and whether the biographical inventory could distinguish between the two groups. "The sample consisted of 95 participants (46 offenders, 49 nonoffenders) in the northern Utah area. The offending population were in outpatient treatment for their sexual offending.

When the participants were …

Ethical Beliefs And Practices: Do Psychologists Differ From Other Health-Care Professionals, Gary Percival

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Ethical codes and principles, and laws govern the behavior of health-care professionals. Yet, the impact that ethical codes and laws have on the actual moral behaviors of health-care professionals is relatively unknown. A survey on the ethical beliefs and practices of health-care professionals was sent to the United States membership of the Association for Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback. AAPB's heterogeneous membership offers a unique opportunity to compare the ethical beliefs and behaviors of professionals across various health-care professions, educational levels, licensure and certification statuses, age, years in practice, and gender. The survey examined the respondents' ethical beliefs and practices in …

Immunophenotyping Of Lymphoid Cells In Autism, L. Jeanne Yonk

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Research into the cause of autism continues without any clear-cut answers. However, recent studies suggest that abnormalities of the immune system are associated with this disorder and autism results from failure of the immune system to regulate itself. Proper immune regulation requires that the host have the appropriate number and percentage of each population of lymphocytes and monocytes. These populations can be distinguished from one another with monoclonal antibodies that react with unique protein structures on the cell surface designated as the "cluster of differentiation" (CD) antigens.

This investigation studied the possibility that the immune abnormalities seen in autism are …

Understanding Craving For Cigarettes: A Multidimensional Assessment Approach, H. Katherine O'Neill

Theses and Dissertations

Cigarette smoking is a serious health hazard affecting a sizeable proportion of the adult population. The addictive nature of cigarettes has been blamed for the difficulty smokers experience in achieving and maintaining abstinence. Cigarette cravings are frequently cited as a factor contributing to relapse. Addiction theories proposed independently by Wikler, Siegel, and Solomon view cravings as classically conditioned responses to internal or external cues. These responses are presumably multidimensional, having cognitive, emotional, and physiological manifestations.

The current study examined cigarette cravings under controlled laboratory conditions. Forty-six male and female undergraduates served as participants. Stimuli commonly associated with smoking relapse were …

Spark Without Flame: The German Library Of Information A Nazi Propaganda Agency In The United States, 1936-1941, Craig S. Olson

Theses and Dissertations

Most studies of Nazi propaganda have focused on main events inside Germany. This thesis proposes to examine German efforts in the United States in the years before American entry into the Second World War. This will be done by examining one Nazi agency: the German Library of Information which operated out of New York City from 1936 to 1941.

The first chapter explores the formation of the German Library of Information and its goals. The question of whether it as controlled by the Foreign Office or the Propaganda Ministry is also discussed.

The second chapter cover the association between the …

A Study Of General Education Curricula In Selected Small Colleges, Lavonne Fay Larson

Theses and Dissertations

Given the distinctiveness of small colleges, the primary purpose of this study was to gain a more complete understanding of general education curricula of selected small colleges in terms of the colleges' stated goals, their process of developing and modifying, and the stucture and content of their present general education curricula. A second purpose was to propose a model for developing general education curricula.

Three research methods were employed: a review of related literature, an analysis of written institutional documents, and campus interviews. Two groups of small colleges, with enrollments of less than 2000, participated. Data from the first group …

Attitudes Toward Animal Research Among Contemporary Psychologists, Carla A. Huskey

Opportunities for Undergraduate Research Experience Program (OURE)

The present research examined the attitudes of a national sample of contemporary professional psychologists concerning the use of animals in research. A survey was developed similar to that used by Gallup and Beckstead (1988). Additionally, psychologists were asked about their agreement with the two fundamental philosophical positions outlined by Herzog (1990): the principle of equality and the principle of specific rights.

Social Psychology And The Stimulation Of Recycling Behaviors: The Block Leader Approach, Shawn M. Burn

Psychology and Child Development

Recycling has been touted as an important part of the solution to solid waste problems, yet most citizens still do not recycle, even when recycling is made easy by curbside pickups. This field experiment was designed to increase participation in a city-sponsored curbside recycling program. Citizens who consistently recycled with the city program were approached and asked to be "recycling block leaders." Those who agreed were instructed to give approximately 10 nonrecycling neighbors a persuasive communication advocating recycling and special recycling bags. A second treatment group (of nonrecycling households) had bags and the communication left at their door. Results indicated …

The Effects Of A Performance-Based Lottery System On Accident Reduction In The Kalamazoo Office Of The United States Postal Service, Dale F. Polley

Masters Theses

The effects of a performance-based lottery system on the accident rates of mail carriers were examined. Two hundred and eight mail carriers in five United States Postal Service facilities participated. The experimental design consisted of a multiple-baseline with reversal. In addition, the accident rates for the intervention period were compared to the accident rates for the same period of time during the preceding two years.

A Safety Bingo game served as the lottery system. If an accident did not occur in a work unit during the day, a bingo number was drawn. The bingo game continued until either a bingo …

A Comparative Analysis Of Nurse Leaders' Degree Of Transformational Leadership And Staff Nurse Job Satisfaction, Kathie Sawyer Weatherly

Ellmer School of Nursing Theses & Dissertations

The intensified pressure for change in nursing organizations has presented nurse leaders with opportunities to transform bureaucratic settings into professional practice environments. Transformational leadership has been identified as supporting the changing values of staff nurses and promoting job satisfaction. The purpose of this study was to explore nurse leaders' degree of transformational leadership and the relationship between transformational leadership and staff nurse job satisfaction. Quantitative analysis, using an independent t-test, indicated a significant difference between nurse leaders' and staff nurses' perception of the nurse leaders' degree of transformational leadership. Pearson correlation analysis indicated a significant relationship between transformational leadership and …

Psychophysiological And Personality Correlates Of Repression And Sensitization, John Patrick Kline

Student Work

This study assessed relationships among indices of modulation of stimulus intensity by the autonomic and central nervous systems, perceptual defense, and repressive coping. Subjects were twenty female and nine male paid volunteers between the ages of 19 and 38. Perceptual defense, defined as the difference in recognition thresholds for unpleasant versus pleasant words, was assessed with a tachistoscopic masking paradigm. Auditory evoked potentials (AEPs) were obtained in an augmentation reduction paradigm that evaluated cortical responses to discrete tones of varying intensity. Cardiac responses to these same tones were also obtained. Amplitude/intensity slopes were determined for P2 amplitudes obtained from the …

Touch Avoidance And Eating Disorders: A Relational Study, Christine L. North

Student Work

This relational study had therapists from an eating disorder program distribute a touch avoidance questionnaire to patients currently in treatment for an eating disorder. This study looked at touch avoidance among three groups: subjects with an eating disorder and non-sexual abuse background, subjects with an eating disorder and sexual abuse background, and a control group. The questionnaire consisted of the 20 question Same-Sex Touching Scale (SSTS) (Larsen & LeRoux, 1984) and the Touch Avoidance Measure (TAM) (Andersen & Leibowitz, 1978). T-tests revealed a significant value of -2.19 on the TAM between eating disorder and eating disorder/sexual abuse, a score of …

The Effect Of Fear Of Success And Perceived Task Difficulty On Cognitive Performance, David Eugene Elkins

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

This study investigated the relationship of fear of success (FOS) and perceptions of task difficulty, their interactive effect on anagram and matrix-task performance and possible gender differences on these variables. A total of 226 students, 83 males and 143 females, participated in the study. FOS was measured by the administration of Zuckerman and Allison's (1976) Fear of Success Scale. Perceptions of task difficulty were manipulated by use of falsified normative data. Subjects therefore believed the upcoming task was either easy or difficult or the subjects were employed as controls. An anagram task and 12 items selected from Raven's Standard Progressive …

The Role Of Priming In The Rating Process: An Investigation Of Priming Effects In A Simulated Assessment Center, Rebecca Regan Keever

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Through interactions with others in the assessment center, an assessor may be exposed to potentially biasing information (priming). Research from other fields indicates that raters will use this prior information in making judgments. This study examined priming in a simulated assessment center, using a 2 (primed or unprimed) by 2 (trained or untrained) by 2 (prestige-relevant or relevant-only source of information) within-subjects design. A total of 136 participants observed and rated the behavior of three candidates. Primes describing behaviors engaged in by each candidate were presented before participants observed them. All information was presented by either a professor or a …

Operator Strategies Under Varying Conditions Of Workload, Ruth Justine Arnegard

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The present study attempted to operationally define and measure strategic behavior in a complex multiple task environment. The Multi-Attribute Task battery was developed to simulate various aspects of flight and consisted of an auditory communication task, monitoring tasks, a tracking task, a resource management task which allowed a wide range of responding patterns, and a scheduling window which allowed operators to predict changes in workload. This battery was validated for its sensitivity to strategic behavior and baseline measures for each individual task were collected.

Twenty-four undergraduate and graduate students then performed the battery for four 64-minute sessions which took place …

A Computer Simulation Of Braitenberg Vehicles, Eric B. Werkowitz

Theses and Dissertations

In his treatise, Vehicles: Experiments in Synthetic Psychology, Valentino Braitenberg used simple, autonomous vehicle designs to illustrate the principles behind animal nervous system organization and operation. The goal of this effort was to produce a computer program to allow a researcher to experiment with these concepts and to analyze their performance using methods employed by experimental psychologists. The resulting program allows the user to design vehicles that respond to changes in their environments and that have the ability to adapt their behavior, using a learning algorithm developed by Teuvo Kohonen. The vehicle designer is free to select sensor attributes, …

Exercise Preference And Social Identity, Misty Sherman

Theses Digitization Project

No abstract provided.

Childhood Maltreatment, Adult Attachment, And Emotional Adjustment, Cynthia Suzanne Nicholson

Theses Digitization Project

Possible relationships between early mistreatment, adult attachment security (Interpersonal functioning), and apprehension and melancholy.

What, If Anything, Are Adult Children Of Alcoholics?, Roxanna Alcaraz

Theses Digitization Project

No abstract provided.

The Self-Esteem Of Chronically Ill Adolescents, Nancy Berman Lees

Theses Digitization Project

No abstract provided.

A Curriculum For Dealing With Anger As An Emotion In The First-Grade Classroom, Marlene B. Cafferky

Theses Digitization Project

No abstract provided.

The Influence Of Family Environment On Psychological Separation In Late Adolescence, Steve Bo

Theses Digitization Project

Family social environment -- Late adolescent females -- Psychological Separation Inventory -- Family Environmental Scale -- Cohesion and expressiveness -- Conflictual independence.

Teaching Nonsexist Language To College Students, Mark R. Mcminn, Pamela K. Troyer, Laurel E. Hannum, James D. Foster

Faculty Publications - Doctor of Psychology (PsyD) Program

Although psychologists have noted the importance of avoiding sexist language because of its potential role in transmitting sexism, little attention has been given to methods of teaching students of psychology to use nonsexist language. Two experiments were conducted to measure the effectiveness of teaching general Psychology students to use nonsexist language. In a pilot study (Experiment 1), undergraduates were exposed to a 20-minute lecture either on use of nonsexist language (experimental group) or on an unrelated topic (control group). No changes in use of sexist language in short essay responses were noted on the posttest or in a 2-week follow-up. …

Ua35/11 Student Honors Research Bulletin, Wku Honors Program

WKU Administration Documents

The WKU Student Honors Research Bulletin is dedicated to scholarly involvement and student research. These papers are representative of work done by students from throughout the university.

• Alkolibi, Fahad. Bowling Green Urban Heat Island
• Chattin, John. John Grimes' Abandoning of Religion in James Baldwin's Go Tell It on the Mountain
• Clark, Michelle. Abortion and the Moral Status of the Fetus
• Garrett, Kristy. The Making of a Serial Killer
• Lilley, Elizabeth. Is Environmental Recovery Possible in Prince William Sound Following the Alaskan Oil Spill?
• McMurtry, Brian. Biblical Imagery and Symbols in El Arbol De Oro
• Metzger, Kim. The Rise and Fall …

Cognitive Distortions And Loneliness: Does Changing Negative Thoughts Affect Loneliness?, James Anthony Keyes

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Selection Bias Against The Employment Of Obese Adults, Regina. Pingitore

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Religious Values, Sexist Language, And Perceptions Of A Therapist, Mark R. Mcminn

Faculty Publications - Doctor of Psychology (PsyD) Program

This study investigated the effects of emphasizing religious values above clinical skills and the effects of sexist language on therapist perception. One hundred fifteen adults in a continuing education program completed a questionnaire after reading one of four possible quotes allegedly from a psychotherapist. Those quotes emphasizing religious values over clinical skills produced higher ratings of likability, trustworthiness, and approachability in the therapist. However, there was an interaction effect with those who were nonreligious preferring the therapist who valued clinical ski lls above religious values. No significant effects were found between groups reading quotes with and without sexist language. Implications …

A Review Of The Literature On Self-Care Children: A Need For Empirical Studies, Stephanie L. Perry

Masters Theses

The term "self-care child'' refers to a young child who returns from school and remains at home unsupervised for an indefinite period until the parents arrive from work, or one who is alone before school in the mornings. In this paper, the emotional functioning, social functioning, and academic performance of self-care children were compared to adult-supervised children. Also, programs designed for self-care children were examined.

When examining the current literature on the self-care child regarding loneliness, anxiety and behavior problems, susceptibility to peer pressure, sexuality, social functioning, and academic performance, no significant differences were found between self-care and adult-supervised children. …

History Of Psychology, David E. Leary

Psychology Faculty Publications

Given the expansion and maturation of the field over the past three decades and its continued - and perhaps increased - relevance to the teaching of undergraduates and graduates, it is reasonable for the Annual Review of Psychology to offer its first review on the history and historiography of psychology [except for an earlier historical chapter by Mueller (1979)]. The treatment of the topic, which we hope will be particularly useful to teachers and students of the history of psychology, is rather straightforward. After a discussion of authors and texts on the general history of psychology, we highlight some of …