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Empowerment Versus Dependency Of Parents With Children In Special Education, Wendy J. Fisher

Masters Theses

This study attempted to determine whether parents of children receiving special education services are being empowered by the present special education system or growing dependent on it. A survey was constructed based upon the three criteria deemed necessary by social policy analyst Charles Murray to yield empowerment. The survey was administered by phone to 50 parents of children receiving special education services. Results indicated that primary source of income and expression of participation do not have an impact on degree of empowerment as measured by the Empowerment/Dependency Survey. Severity of handicap did not predict whether or not parents desired additional …

Gender Differences In Cognitive Ability Of Children With Hearing Impairment On The Wechsler Intelligence Scale For Children-3rd Edition, Damian D. Jones

Masters Theses

This research thesis investigates possible gender differences of deaf children on the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (3rd ed.). The Illinois School for the Deaf (ISD) in Jacksonville, Illinois collated the standard scores of the five standard WISC-III Performance scale subtests and the Performance IQ of 25 students attending ISD. To examine gender differences on the Performance scale subtests and the Performance IQ's, a series of oneway-analyses of variance was calculated. No significant differences were noted on any comparison. A hypothesis that gender differences would occur was not confirmed. The results are discussed with respect to the intellectual assessment of …

Prediction Of Wisc-Iii Scores From The Iowa Tests Of Basic Skills And The Cognitive Abilities Test In Order To Predict Premorbid Cognitive Functioning In Children With Traumatic Brain Injury, Kent A. Riley

Masters Theses

The present study examined the relationship of the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills, Form J (ITBS-J) and the Cognitive Abilities Test, Form 4 (CogAT-4) with the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Third Edition (WISC-III) in order to establish a better method for predicting premorbid intellectual functioning in children with Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) aged 6 through 11 years. The subjects included 73 children in grades one through six from four elementary schools within a rural city in southeastern Illinois. The results of the study supported all six hypotheses: The CogAT-4 and ITBS-J significantly predicted the variability observed in WISC-III scores; …

Error Recognition In Calculus Problems: What Characterizes Expertise?, Alisha M. Crawley '95

Honors Projects

Previous research in the area of expert-novice comparisons of mathematical problem solving has focused on the differences in categorization of and performance on math problems. These studies have led to the conclusion that while solving or categorizing problems, experts focus on deep processing and novices focus on surface structure. Other research dealing with true/false multiplication equations has shown that adults (considered experts in multiplication) can reject false answers before processing the equation. This study attempts to extend these findings by looking at the differences between experts and novices in the recognition of errors in true/false calculus verification expressions. The participants …

Visual Attention Differences Across The Lifespan: A Study Of Inhibition, Emily H. Cointin '95

Honors Projects

In 1980, Treisman and Gelade proposed a two stage process of attention. According to the Feature Integration Theory, information is first processed automatically through feature extraction while integration of these features occurs later. Feature extraction is a parallel process and therefore automatic while feature integration is a serial process and thus requires attention. Because of the attentional nature of Treisman's theory, it has often been used as a paradigm for studies on attention and inhibition. The theory has also been used to highlight differences in cognitive abilities at various levels of development. In particular, it has been used to demonstrate …

Long-Term Effectiveness Of Combined Alprazolam And Cognitive-Behavioral Therapies In Panic Disorder, Steven M. Bond '95

Honors Projects

Benzodiazepines, particularly alprazolam, have been shown to be effective in the acute treatment of panic disorders. Difficult withdrawl and high relapse rates after successful discontinuation continue to be problems with this class of medication. Recent studies instituting cognitive-behavioral therapy as a treatment supplement to alprazolam taper have shown promising results out to one year follow-up. The present study investigated whether that combined treatment results in long-term improvement.

Predictors Of Relapse And Long-Term Recovery, Leann Westerhold '95

Honors Projects

Previous studies on panic disorfer (Bruce et al., 1995) have examined predictors of relapse on a short-term basis. This study investigated predictors of relapse and long-term recovery in panic disorder treated with alprazolam or alprazolam plus cognitive behavior therapy (CBT). Relapse was defined as return to medication or other treatment after discontinuation. Logistic regression analysis tested five variables derived from different conceptualizations of panic disorder etiology and treatment to determine if any predictors of relapse versus long-term recovery could be found. Only the change in Anxiety Sensitivity Index score from baseline to posttaper was found to be significant(p < 0.05, B= 0.22, df=1, R=0.25). this univariate model correctly classified 73 percent of patient outcomes at a two to four year followup. this finding suggests that a focus on cognitive change during treatment may help prevent relapse. Future research should include controlled studies to isolate the mechanism of cognitive change.

Differences In Attitudes About Amphetamine Held By Adolescents Who Do And Do Not Intend To Use The Drug, K. Davies

Theses : Honours

An SEU measure was constructed to test the relationships between adolescents' combined expectations and values of possible outcomes of amphetamine use and intention to use the drug. The structure of the measure was then examined using Principal Components Analysis. Two orthogonal subscales were identified representing desires for the positive outcomes and fears of negative outcomes. Tukey's HSD analysis of pairwise means indicated that the two subscales were differentially effective in distinguishing participants with high, moderate and low levels of intention to use amphetamine. Participants with high levels of intention differed significantly from participants with low or moderate intention in their …

Development And Evaluation Of The Cardiac Exercise Health Belief Scale, Virginia R. Mcginn

Masters Theses

The purpose of the study was to develop and evaluate the Cardiac Exercise Health Belief Scale (CEHBS) which is based on the Health Belief Model. The CEHBS focuses on the concepts of benefits and barriers. Ninety post cardiac event subjects, 69 males and 21 females, were recruited from two Michigan hospitals during their hospital stay. The CEHBS was mailed to subjects six to eight weeks following discharge.; Cronbach alpha for the CEHBS benefits subscale was.90 and for the barriers subscale was.84. Content validity was established by expert review. During factor analysis all items did load on factors related to the …

A Study Of The Relationship Between Personality Preference And Vehicle Type, Nathan Eric Lundin

Theses

Tile researcher examined the association between personality type and primary vehicle driven. The Myers-Briggs Type_lndicator (MBTI) short form was administered to 59 participants. On a questionnaire, respondents chose one of eight vehicle body types. The personality functions of extroversion/ introversion, sensing/intuition, thinking/feeling, and judging/perceiviJ1g were compared within the groups of vehicle type through chi-square analysis - Goodman & Kruskal's tau. No measurable relationships were found at .05 significance.

Perceptions Of Control And Satisfaction With Hospital Birth Experiences For First-Time Mothers, Clelia Tedeschi

Theses : Honours

Satisfaction with childbirth is associated with women's future emotional wellbeing. This study examined whether first- time mother's antenatal expectations, postnatal evaluations of control during labour and delivery, and the discrepancy between expectations and evaluations were significant predictors of women's satisfaction with their childbirth experiences. The effect of medical interventions (e.g., obstetrical interventions and pain relief medication) on women's perceptions of control and satisfaction was also examined. The purposive sample of eighty first-time mothers, mean age 26 years (excluding women who had caesareans) delivered at the public hospital where they attended antenatal classes. During their fourth antenatal class women completed a …

Beliefs About The Prevalence Of Dissociative Identity Disorder, Sexual Abuse, And Ritual Abuse Among Religious And Nonreligious Therapists, Mark R. Mcminn, Nathaniel G. Wade

Faculty Publications - Doctor of Psychology (PsyD) Program

Four hundred ninety-seven Christian therapists and 100 membe.rs of the American Psychological Association returned questionnaires indicating the prevalence of dissociative identity disorder (DID) . sexual abuse, and ritual abuse in their clinical practices. There was a low rate of diagnosing DID and ritual abuse among all respondents. Christian pSychologists were slightly more likely to diagnose ritual abuse than other psychologists, but they were no more likely to diagnose DID or sexual abuse. No differences were observed in diagnosing ritual abuse or DID between Christian psychologists, other licensed Christian therapists, non licensed Christian therapists, and lay counselors. Licensed Christian therapists who …

Integrating Low- And High-Level Skills In Instructional Protocols For Writing Disabilities, Virginia W. Berninger, Robert D. Abbott, Diane Whitaker, Leihua Sylvester, Susan B. Nolen

Faculty Publications - Doctor of Psychology (PsyD) Program

Twenty-four children with writing problems were given instruction in handwriting automaticity, spelling strategies, and the composing process (plan, write, review, revise) in 14 one-hour individual tutorials during the summer between third and fourth grade. Half the children (8 boys, 4 girls) received extra practice in composing, while half the children (8 boys, 4 girls) received special training in orthographic and phonological coding. Hierarchical linear modeling of growth curves was used to compare the treatment groups to a non-contact control group (10 boys, 5 girls) on a standard battery at pretest, midtest, posttest, and the two treatment groups with each other …

The Effect Of Self-Care Information On Intentions To Engage In Preventive Health Behaviors Of Healthy And Ill College Students, Barbara Jane Houle

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The purpose of the present study was to investigate whether health condition affects the impact self-care information has on intentions to engage in preventive health behaviors. The concept of creating a "teachable moment" toward selfcare information based on health condition was also investigated. The theoretical model used in the study was the Health Belief Model (HBM). Participants (N = 202) were recruited from a health center at a midwestern university. The intervention used in the study was a self-care booklet. Participants were randomly assigned to either receive an envelope containing survey materials plus a self-care booklet and information sheet (n …

The Search For A Natural Rate Of Price Inflation: Us 1948-1995, Stephen J. Guastello

Psychology Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

The Bilateral Field Advantage On Verbal And Nonverbal Matching Tasks, Jennifer Reyburn

Modern Psychological Studies

Three experiments examined the bilateral field advantage (BFA) on both verbal and nonverbal matching tasks. The goal of the experiments was to determine which conditions would maximize the size and reliability of the BFA, and thus enhance its value as a possible diagnostic tool to assess callosal dysfunction. In Experiment 1, 27 right-handed college students performed two matching tasks (order of tasks varied across subjects; dots-letters, letters-dots, or letter and dot trials randomly interleaved). Results revealed a verbal BFA in all task order conditions (p<.01), but a significant nonverbal BFA only in the interleaved condition (p<.01). Experiments 2 and 3 reproduced the interleaved condition with different parameters. In both experiments the verbal BFA was significant (p<.01), but nonverbal BFA was significant only when four-dot patterns were used (p<.05). Results suggest the interleaved presentation of verbal and nonverbal stimuli is a reliable method of measuring the BFA.

Pluralistic Ignorance Concerning Alcohol Usage Among Recent High School Graduates, Jill S. Braddock, Tonia R. Wolf

Modern Psychological Studies

Recent high school graduates in a midwestern community estimated their classmates' attitudes toward alcohol use in contrast to their own positions. Attitudes were assessed on three levels: subjective comfort with others' drinking, approval of peer drinking and actual drinking practices. Pluralistic ignorance was found to be a significant factor at all three levels, p < .0005. Respondents reported that they were less comfortable, less approving, and drank less than close friends, lesser still than friends, and far less than peers. These findings provide support for "normative education" prevention programs that attempt to correct erroneous perceptions about alcohol use and abuse.

An Overview Of Parallel Distributed Processing, Jonathan P. Heyl

Modern Psychological Studies

Parallel Distributed Processing (PDP), or Connectionism, is a frontier cognitive theory that is currently garnering considerable attention from a variety of fields. Briefly summarized herein are the theoretical foundations of the theory, the key elements observed in creating simulation computer programs, examples of its applications, and some comparisons with other models of cognition. A majority of the information is culled from Rumelhart and McClelland's (1986) two volume introduction to the theory, while some concerns from the field and the theorists' accompanying responses are taken from a 1990 article by Hanson and Burr.

Spontaneous Alternating Behavior, Attention, And Exploration: The Effects Of Colchicine Lesions In The Rat Hippocaompal Formation, David E. Wagoner Jr., Zhenique M. Israelian

Modern Psychological Studies

This study investigated perseverative behavior, attention, and exploratory behaviors via discrete lesions of the rat hippocampal formation. It was hypothesized that lesions which interrupted input to the hippocampus and output to cortical and subcortical regions would induce these behaviors. Forty-four male Long-Evan rats were randomly divided into four treatment groups: cerebral spinal fluid, and three colchicine lesioned groups, 10-COL, 15-COL, and 25-COL. The animals were compared based upon performance in a standard Tmaze to test perseveration. Behaviors were also observed in an activity chamber to measure locomotion, attention, and exploration. Animals in the 25-COL group demonstrated a significant increase in …

Comparing Traditional Statistical Models With Neural Network Models: The Case Of The Relation Of Human Performance Factors To The Outcomes Of Military Combat, William Oliver Hedgepeth

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Statistics and neural networks are analytical methods used to learn about observed experience. Both the statistician and neural network researcher develop and analyze data sets, draw relevant conclusions, and validate the conclusions. They also share in the challenge of creating accurate predictions of future events with noisy data.

Both analytical methods are investigated. This is accomplished by examining the veridicality of both with real system data. The real system used in this project is a database of 400 years of historical military combat. The relationships among the variables represented in this database are recognized as being hypercomplex and nonlinear.

The …

An Experimental Analysis Of Instructional Technologies Applied To The Three Contingency Model Of Performance Management, Judith S . Devoe

Dissertations

This research had four goals: (1) to refine the theory of performance management based on rule-governed behavior and refine the three-contingency model of performance. management, (2) to develop a university-level programmed instruction unit to teach the three-contingency model of performance management, (3) to test for functional independence between response classes—using concept-discrimination and concept-exemplification, and (4) to test a common assumption of programmed instruction— the necessity for active responding (this assumption was tested with both concept-discrimination training and concept-exemplification training).

Participants included fifty-nine undergraduates enrolled in a behavior analysis course. They were randomly assigned to one of four groups: (1) the …

American Violence: Where Does The Danger Really Come From?, Elizabeth Kandel-Englander

Bridgewater Review

No abstract provided.

Effects Of Pro-Socialization Skills Training On Self-Efficacy In Correctional Institution Inmates, Daniel Edward Fry

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Prison inmates released to the community following incarceration often have difficulty adapting socially. Previous research indicates that prison treatment programs aimed at increasing cognitive and prosocial skills can improve ex-felon adaption and decrease recidivism. The current study explored the effects of an 8-week prison treatment program (Transitional Counseling Program [TCP]) designed to teach prosocial skills. This was expected to enhance Bandura's (1977, 1982, 1986) construct of self-efficacy (SE) within inmates. Self-efficacy enhancement was seen as a first step in a program of future research which may show a connection between higher inmate SE at release, improved post prison adaption, and …

An Extension To The Avc Discrimination Test By The Addition Of One Level Above Avc Level Vi, Charles P. Butler

Dissertations

Kerr, Meyerson and Flora (1977) devised a series of six small learning tasks that could be used to assess developmentally disabled individuals on the typical tasks to be performed in a school setting or sheltered workshop and required very simple equipment. The tasks were imitation, position discrimination, visual discrimination, match-to sample, auditory discrimination and combined auditory visual discrimination. Davinc (1990) suggested that there may be transitional skills between AVC levels IV and V not found by Kerr et al. Davine (1990), Wilson (1991) and Buder (1992) devised a series of experimental tasks designed to test this notion. All used nonidentity …

The Effects Of A Monetary Bonus And Penalty On The Performance Of A Simple Monitoring Task, Gordon Henry

Dissertations

The purpose of the present study was to compare the effects of three different pay systems on human monitoring performance. With increasing automation, monitoring tasks are becoming increasingly common, but methods of compensation that will promote good performance remain unexamined. Although hourly pay is typically used, data suggest that contingent pay may be more effective in motivating high levels of performance.

In the current study, six undergraduate students, four females and two males ranging in age from 19 to 21 years, performed a monitoring task analogous to one performed by a security guard. Specifically, subjects observed a television screen and …

The Effects Of Systems-Centered Versus Individual-Centered Training On The Analysis Of Organizational Problems, Jane E. Devries

Dissertations

This study analyzed the effects of systems-centered (S) training, individual centered (I) training, and no formal training (C) on the ability to identify organizational problems. Three groups of 10-14 undergraduates participated. Subjects completed a pre-test that required analysis of 10 one-page vignettes describing some type of organizational problem. Each participant rated the quality of the vignettes to assess the amount of critical information presented, and identified the organizational problem, the rationale for targeting the problem, and questions that should be asked of the management to obtain more information. Groups S and I received six hours of systems-centered training or individual …

The Writing Response In Studies Of Topography-Based And Selection-Based Verbal Behavior, Osborn Cresson

Dissertations

The position taken in this paper is that the observable world is the only one needed in our analysis, that behavior is a reaction to the environments in which it occurs, and that language is more behavior that can be studied effectively as a dependent variable that varies as a function of independent variables manipulated by the experimenter.

Our goal was to study topography-based and selection-based verbal behavior with emphasis on the writing response and then to produce a report that would serve as a guide for other students of behavior and environment.

Sixteen undergraduate college students participated in 115 …

The Effects Of A Problem-Solving And Imagery-Based Suggestion On Analgesic Responding In Low, Medium, And High Hypnotizable Females, Gloria Haddad Taggett

Dissertations

This study assessed the effects of a problem-solving suggestion as compared with an imagery-based suggestion on analgesic responding in subjects scoring in the low, medium, and high ranges on scales of hypnotizability. Subjects were exposed at separate intervals to either an hypnotic suggestion patter containing specific imagery designed to enhance analgesic performance, or alternatively to a suggestion patter that provided only general problem-solving direction, but contained no specific imaginal guidance. Performance was assessed using two duration measures on a cold-pressor test. Specific measures included both the total time duration a subject held the target hand in cold water (tolerance) as …

Hiv Prevention And Heterosexual College Students: The Impact Of Video Instruction On The "Safer" Sexual Behaviors Of Sexually Active Men, Cheryl L. Knight

Dissertations

Despite increasing evidence of the heterosexual transmission of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) among young adults, research with college students has been primarily restricted to descriptions of the levels of risky behavior and the correlates of that behavior. To date, few experimentally validated HIV prevention programs have been reported. Furthermore, the existing experimental investigations have seldom based an intervention on a thorough analysis of the barriers to the practice of safer sex.

Experiment One surveyed 195 heterosexual college students to assess HIV risk factors, including sexual behavior, risk perception, knowledge and 10 barriers to the consistent practice of "safer" sex. …

Effects Of Caffeine Consumption On Cardiovascular Indices, Attention, Task Performance, And Memory Retention In Children, Suzanne L. Keller

Dissertations

Caffeine is one of the most commonly used drugs in the western world today. Average intake of caffeine in the United States has been estimated at greater than 200 mg daily per person. Although plagued by inconsistencies, and methodological problems, research suggests that this level of caffeine ingestion may have significant effects on cardiovascular functioning, and behavioral processes such as attention, cognitive processing, memory, and task performance.

Although children consume significant quantities of caffeine, very little research has been done on the effects of caffeine in children. The limited findings suggest that caffeine consumption may affect the cognitive and behavioral …