Digital Commons Network^™

Predictors Of Young Women's Attitudes Toward Sexual Health Practices, Alison G. Dougall

Theses : Honours

The present study examined whether cognitive (beliefs), affective (emotions) and I or behavioural processes predicted young women's attitudes towards their sexual health practices. For pragmatic reasons, safer sex promotion has largely relied on the provision of factual information to promote behaviour change. Although the importance of emotional and behavioural influences has been indicated, these elements have not traditionally been included in sexual health interventions. In order to examine this issue, Zanna and Rempel's (1988) tripartite model of attitude formation was used. A convenience sample of female participants (N=98) aged 18 to 29 years was asked to rate their attitudes towards …

Center For Psychological Studies Master's Programs, Nova Southeastern University

College of Psychological Services / College of Psychology Postgraduate Student and Course Catalogs

No abstract provided.

Center For Psychological Studies Specialist Program School Psychology, Nova Southeastern University

College of Psychological Services / College of Psychology Postgraduate Student and Course Catalogs

No abstract provided.

Factors Influencing Teachers' Decisions To Refer Students For Special Education Evaluation, Amanda R. Perry

Masters Theses

This study examined the factors that influence teachers to refer students for psycho-educational evaluation. Fifty seven teachers from Midwest and Southwest suburban and rural school districts completed a questionnaire designed to gather information about the factors teachers consider when referring students for evaluation, as well as their opinion of the etiology of Learning Disability and their preferences for services. Results indicated that the most influential factors in participants' referral decisions were low achievement and behavioral problems. The majority of teachers agreed that eligibility decisions should be based on the child's needs. However, there was no agreement that an ability-achievement discrepancy …

Predictive Validity Of Measures Of Phonological Awareness On First Grade Reading Achievement, Jennifer Hervey

Masters Theses

The purposes of this study were to evaluate the degree to which three measures of phonological awareness (Test of Phonological Awareness (TOPA), Torgesen & Bryant, 1994; Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS), Kaminski & Good, 1996; Read America Diagnostic Tests, McGuinness & McGuinness, 1998) correlate with each other and with selected measures of reading skills (Brigance Diagnostic Inventory of Basic Skills, Brigance, 1976, 1977; Woodcock Diagnostic Reading Battery (WDRB), Woodcock, 1997). The study also evaluated which of the measures of phonological awareness best predicts reading skills in a first grade population. The current study is an extension of …

Making Friends To Last A Lifetime: An Ethnographic Study Of Parasocial Relationships And Soap Opera Characters, Emmalee Elizabeth Haight Pryor

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to build theory about parasocial relationships and to examine what affect, if any, religion had on parasocial relationships. Using qualitative methods, the researcher watched the show three times with five women followed by an in-depth interview. The women chosen were LDS stay-at-home moms who had watched a soap opera for at least a year.
From this data came several surprising findings about religion and soap opera viewing. The women said they did not feel guilty about the content of the shows, rather the time required to watch. This guilt was alleviated by structuring their …

Study Of The Efficacy Of A Christian-Based Inpatient Hospital For Treating Eating Disorders, Depression, And Spiritual Distress, Robert Alan Darden

Dissertations

Problem . Outcome studies continue to indicate that a substantial proportion of individuals with eating disorders have a dangerously limited response to treatment. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine if a Christian cognitive-behavioral-based inpatient hospital that specializes in eating disorders was an effective program for treating eating disorders. Next, this study sought to determine if this inpatient hospital was effective in treating both depression and spiritual distress. Finally, this study examined the relationship between depression and spiritual distress with treatment outcome.

Method . Five hundred and eighty-two patients were admitted to an inpatient hospital between July 1, …

Cultural Identity And Diaspora In Selected Works By K.S. Maniam, R.M Theyuanboo

Student Works (2000-2009)

The majority of young male Singaporeans and permanent residents who reach the age of 18 to 21 years are conscripted for about two and half years to serve National Service in the Singapore Armed Forces. A review of research literature indicates that the transition from civilian to military life may be stressful for some, particularly during the first 10 weeks of Basic Military Training. The objectives of this study were to find out the factors that were related to the ability to cope with Basic Military Training, both in terms of psychological well being as well as in physical performance. …

Cultural Scripts Of Parental Intervention In Conflict, Kristina L. Mcdonald '02

Honors Projects

Parents frequently intervene in the conflicts that children experience with other peers. The work of Ross, Hastings and their colleagues has alerted researchers to the possibility that parents engage in such intervention in part to teach children lessons. Ross and her colleagues have focused on the role of such intervention for teaching children rules about possession and property rights. Whereas property rights might be particularly salient in cultures such as the European-American subgroups in the U.S. that emphasize individualism and market forces, this might be less salient in other cultures. Many of the cultural groups in Indonesia emphasize collectivism, social …

Concurrent Activation Of High- And Low-Level Production Processes In Written Composition, Thierry Olive, Ronald Thomas Kellogg

Psychological Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

Writing a text requires the coordination of multiple high-level composition processes in working memory, including planning, language generation, and reviewing, in addition to low-level motor transcription. Here, interference in reaction time (RT) for detecting auditory probes was used to measure the attentional demands of (1) copying in longhand a prepared text (transcription), (2) composing a text and pausing handwriting for longer than 250 msec (composition), and (3) composing and currently handwriting (transcription + composition). Greater interference in the transcription + composition condition than in the transcription condition implies that high-level processes are activated concurrently with motor execution, resulting in higher …

Suggestions Regarding Cross-Cultural Environment As Context For Aging And Human Development In Non-Western Cultures, Frank E. Eyetsemitan

Arts & Sciences Faculty Publications

An individual's aging and human development always occur within a particular cultural context, but given the dominance of Western culture, the environment of non-Western societies is cross-cultural - it includes not only a non-Western dimension, but also Global and Western dimensions. The Western dimension is made up of those characteristics associated with Western societies, which are now found in non-Western societies, for example, Western education, healthcare services, and industrialization. The non-Western dimension, on the other hand, is made up of those attributes that are indigenous to the people, e.g., traditional healing. The Global dimension is characterized by standards that all …

Changing Adolescents' Attitudes About Relational And Physical Aggression: An Early Evaluation Of A School-Based Intervention, Leihua Edstrom, Karin S. Frey, Kathy Beland

Faculty Publications - Doctor of Psychology (PsyD) Program

A pilot study evaluating the Second Step, Middle School/Junior High®program was conducted to determine its effect on students’ attitudes regarding aggression and perceived difficulty of performing social skills. Sixth-through eighth-grade students (N = 714) were surveyed before and after the pro-gram was implemented by teachers in intervention classrooms. Second Step students were taught curricular modules corresponding to their year in middle/junior high school. Program effects were tested using a repeated measures design. Relative to nonparticipants, Second Step students in their second year of school de-creased in their overall endorsement of aggression and perceived difficulty of per-forming social skills. Program effects …

Aspects Of Cognition In Human Mate Selection, Michael J. Stasio

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Evolutionary perspectives on human mating have provided testable hypotheses regarding what qualities people desire in their mates and why they want them. One study was conducted to replicate previous findings in mate preference using a more sophisticated paired comparison methodology to develop scales. Paired comparison scaling generally replicated gender differences in mate preferences consistent with evolutionary predictions. Further, decision-making reaction time (ms) suggested the presence of an underlying psychological continuum of selection criteria. A series of studies were then conducted applying the information processing approach (IPA) to investigate attention and knowledge organization in mate preference. The dot-probe paradigm was used …

Attachment Object Effects On Children's Anxiety During School-Related Transitions, Lauriann M. Jones

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Because a child's first day of school can be anxiety provoking, familiar soothing inanimate objects, such as blankets, might help to minimize discomfort related to this novel situation. The current study examined the anxiety level of twenty-six one- to four-year-old children and their mothers at three times 1) before the first day of school, 2) during separation from their mother on the first day of school, and 3) after home from their first day of school. Maternal report was used to assess child and mother anxiety levels (Likert scale 0- 10) and child level of attachment to a familiar inanimate …

On The Evolution Of Depression, Mike W. Martin

Philosophy Faculty Articles and Research

In "Depression as a Mind-Body Problem," Walter Glannon outlines a psychosocial-physiological explanation of depression as a psychological response to chronic stress—today, especially social stress—in which cortisol imbalances disrupt neurotransmitters. Accordingly, treatment for depression should combine psychopharmacology and psychotherapy—a valuable reminder in light of the current restrictions on funding for health care (Hobson and Leonard 2001). My comments focus, however, on Glannon's objections to evolutionary theorists who explain our capacity for depression as adaptive to the natural and social environment. His objections are implausible because he fails to distinguish depression as a mood and a disorder.

Spinnen-Angst-Fragebogen (Saf) Validierung Der Deutschen Version Des "Fear Of Spiders Questionnaire" (Fsq)., Patrick Pössel, Martin Hautzinger

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

Bislang fehlte im deutschen Sprachraum ein Instrument, das erlaubt, differenzierte Daten zum Thema Spinnenphobie zu erheben. Aus diesem Grund wurde der „Fear of Spiders Questionnaire“ (FSQ) von Szymanski und O´Donohue (1995) als ein Screening-Instrument für solche Zwecke übersetzt. Die interne Konsistenz beträgt für den "Spinnen-Angst-Fragebogen" (SAF) r = .94, und die Retest-Reliabilität über einen Monat ist r = .75. Bei der Faktorenanalyse zeigten sich die Faktoren "Vermeidungs- und Hilfesuchverhalten" und "Furcht vor Verletzung" (aufgeklärte Varianz 58.9 % und 8.6 %). Diese Faktorenstruktur ist weitgehend identisch mit der für die englischsprachige Version. Erwartungsgemäß traten hohe Korrelationen mit dem "Spider-Phobia-Questionnaire" (SPQ), geringere …

Identifying And Building On Strengths Of Children With Serious Emotional Disturbances, Michael Orval Taylor

Dissertations and Theses

The aim of this study is to explore strengths assessments and the participation of parents in assessment of strengths and functioning of their children challenged by serious emotional disorders. The children in this study have a high level of exposure to mental illness, domestic violence and substance abuse in their biological families. These children are living with family members or foster families in the community, with the majority at continuing risk of placement outside of their homes and communities due to serious emotional and behavioral problems.

The research questions investigated are the concordance of families and professionals in assessment of …

An Analysis Of The Effects Of Contingent Delivery Of Tasks With Different Difficulty And Noncontingent Delivery Of Tasks With Different Preference, Ernest Whitmarsh

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This investigation examined instructional strategies derived from the Premack principle and task interspersal strategies for four students with moderate to severe developmental disabilities. In both studies, baseline consisted of massed instruction of thirty trials. During study one, students were given contingent access to preferred easy tasks for correct responding in one condition. In the second condition, students were given contingent access to preferred difficult tasks for correct responding. During study two, students were given noncontingent access to preferred easy tasks for correct responding in one condition. In the second condition, students were given noncontingent access to nonpreferred easy tasks for …

Urban Youth Reimagine Trauma: Making Meaning Of Experiences With Chronic Community Violence Through The Arts, Stephanie Urso Spina

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The impact of participation in the "Creating Original Opera" (COO) program was investigated among two consecutive (1999 and 2000) cohorts of eighth grade inner-city students living in a context of chronic community violence. Four research questions were posed: (1) What are these students' experiences of violence? (2) What strategies, if any, do they employ to cope with violent events? (3) What, if any, of the above change over the duration of the project? (4) How might those changes relate (or not) to participation in the opera program?

Data collection included a series of three semi-structured interviews with randomly chosen students …

Vigilance Or Tolerance?: Ambivalence And Attitude Accessibility In Response To Terrorist Threats, Julie Tison

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This research explored the cognitive processes underlying the Response Amplification Effect (RAE), which is ambivalent people's tendency to judge the object of their ambivalence (typically, a stigmatized other) more extremely than a comparable control target. Being in a state of ambivalence is known to be uncomfortable. This discomfort may be dealt with by implementing changes in the accessibility level of attitudinal elements. It is suggested that cognitions compatible with the side of the ambivalence made salient by the current situation will be super-activated and that incompatible elements will be sub-activated, thus leading to amplified reactions congruent with the current context. …

Helping At-Risk Students Add Up: Motivational Lessons For Students In High School Mathematics, Karen Beckner

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

No abstract provided.

Value For Diversity: An Investigation Of Diversity Climate, Job Satisfaction, Organizational Commitment, And Intent To Leave, Quionna Caldwell

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

This research examined the relationships of diversity climate via organizational fairness and organizational inclusion (Mor Barak et al., 1998) and job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and intent to leave. Further, personal value for diversity was investigated as a moderator of those relationships. The participants included 202 African American women affiliated with a national sorority. The mean age and years of experience was 29.62 and 4.33, respectively. Data were collected electronically using an Internet site hosting the survey questions. The present study provides evidence that diversity climate positively affects job satisfaction and affective commitment, and negatively affects intent to leave. In addition, …

Understanding The Relationship Between Religiosity And Marriage: An Investigation Of The Immediate And Longitudinal Effect Of Religiosity On Newlywed Couples, Kieran T. Sullivan

Psychology

The association between religiosity and marital outcome has been repeatedly demonstrated. However, a complete understanding of this relationship is hindered by theoretical and methodological limitations. The purpose of the current study was to test three explanatory models by assessing two samples of newlywed couples. Findings indicate that religiosity is associated with attitudes toward divorce, commitment, and help-seeking attitudes cross-sectionally. Longitudinal effects, however, are most consistent with a moderating model, wherein religiosity has a positive impact on husbands, and wives' marital satisfaction for couples with less neurotic husbands, and a negative impact for couples with more neurotic husbands. Overall, the impact …

Refugee Experiences Of Trauma And Ptsd Effects On Psychological, Physical, And Financial Well-Being, Karen J. Cusack

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Dimension And Exercise Variance In Assessment Center Scores: A Large-Scale Evaluation Of Multitrait-Multimethod Studies, Filip Lievens, James M. Conway

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

This study addresses 3 questions regarding assessment center construct validity: (a) Are assessment center ratings best thought of is reflecting dimension constructs (dimension model). exercises (exercise model). or a combination? (b) To what extent do dimensions or exercises account for variance? (c) Which design characteristics increase dimension variance? To this end, a large set of multitrait-multimethod studies (N = 34) were analyzed, showing that assessment center ratings were best represented (i.e., in terms of fit and admissible solutions) by a model with correlated dimensions and exercises specified a correlated uniquenesses. In this model, dimension variance equals exercise variance. Significantly more …

The Effects Of Inclusion On Learning-Disabled Students' Self-Esteem, Ruth Ann Cardoza

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This study was to determine whether Learning Disabled students who receive all their instruction in regular education would receive significantly higher self-esteem scores than students who receive services from special education resource. The instruments employed were the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory and the Pier-Harris Self-Concept Scale in order to determine any significant differences in self-esteem between the two groups. The sample consisted of 30 bilingual Mexican-American children ages 8–12. The subjects were from public schools in the southern region of Texas on the Mexico-Texas border. Data were analyzed through descriptive statistics, T-test, and two-way factorial analysis of variance with repeated measures. …

Assessors' Use Of Personality Traits In Descriptions Of Assessment Centre Candidates: A Five-Factor Model Perspective, Filip Lievens, Filip De Fruyt, Karen Van Dam

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

In assessment centres assessors are typically taught to note down behavioural observations. However, previous studies have shown that about 20% of assessor notes contain trait descriptors. Instead of regarding these descriptors as errors, this study examines their position in a personality descriptive taxonomy (i.e. the AB5C taxonomy, see Hofstee, De Raad, & Goldberg, 1992) and relates them to employment recommendations. To this end, assessor notes of 403 assessees (214 men, 189 women; mean age 33 years) were scrutinized for personality descriptors. Results show that assessors, as a group, use descriptors referring to all five personality domains with a preference for …

I Know What You Know: Assumptions About Others' Knowledge And Their Effects On Message Construction, Ivy Yee-Man Lau, Chi-Yue Chiu, Ying-Yi Hong

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Current models of interpersonal communication assume that estimation of listener's knowledge is a basis for message formulation. By introducing methodological modifications to the Fussell and Krauss paradigm, the present study provides more definitive evidence for the use of knowledge estimation in message productions.

The Effect Of Cultural Affiliations On Attitudes, Beliefs, And Reactions To The Fighting Sioux Nickname Issue Between Northern Plains American Indian And Majority Culture College Students, Angela Larocque

Theses and Dissertations

The main puqjo.sc of this study was to compare the effect of cultural affiliation on altitudes, beliefs, and reactions to the Fighting Sioux Nickname and logo issue for 60 Nonhem Plains American Indian college students and 61 non-Indian college students at the University of North Dakota. Subjects completed a demographic questionnaire and the University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux Nickname Attitudes, Beliefs, and Reactions (UNDFSNABR) survey. In addition, American Indian subjects completed the Nonhem Plains Bicuhuralism Inventory (NPBI), Using the Northern Plains Biculluralisin Inventory (NPBI) to identify cultural identification among American Indian participants, the hypotheses of the current study were;: …

A Study Of Native American Ged Graduates At Four Tribal Community Colleges In North Dakota, Karen Starr Gillis

Theses and Dissertations

This study focused on the General Educational Development (GED) graduates of four tribal colleges in North Dakota. The purpose was to provide answers to five research questions and to determine baseline data on Indian education in an area not fully studied. The study will assist in closing the gap between research already conducted with Hispanics and African American populations.

The study accumulated data on participants in GED programs at the four adult education and/or testing centers at the tribal colleges in North Dakota for the years 1990–1999. The participants were analyzed using a set of variables that was specific to …