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Attitudes Toward Old People And Beliefs About Aging: A Generational Study, Julie Ann Miles

Theses Digitization Project

Attitudes toward the elderly were examined in three generations through analysis of media use, gender, contact with elderly, age, factual knowledge about aging, and parental influence on attitude formation. The results revealed that age, factual knowledge, perceived ageism in mass media and parental influence were significantly related to attitude toward the elderly.

Graduate Training In Geropsychology Among Licensed Psychologists In Illinois, Steven J. Johnston

Masters Theses

Recently, it has been suggested that several factors will likely lead to an increase in the number of elderly Americans in need of psychological services. In June, 1981, the Older Boulder Conference addressed the need to implement graduate level training of psychologists to serve elderly clients. It was found that after the Conference: 1) more graduate courses on geropsychology were taken by psychologists during their graduate training; 2) most psychologists either had no or 75% or more elderly clients; and 3) psychologists were more likely to have sought out post graduate continuing education in geropsychology yet they were less likely …

Assessment Of Attitudes Towards The Elderly Using The Senior Apperception Technique And The Aging Semantic Differential, Richard D. Yao

Masters Theses

Responses to the Senior Apperception Technique, SAT, a projective technique featuring drawings of elderly people, have been little investigated. In this study a subset of SAT cards were administered to college undergraduates in a group setting and responses were scored on the dimensions of general emotional tone and outcome. The Aging Semantic Differential was also administered. Two hypotheses were generated based on the literature: 1) that males would tend to have a more negative attitude towards the elderly than do females and 2) responses to the SAT would generally have a negative emotional tone as well as negative outcomes. Neither …

Using The Iowa Screening Battery For Mental Decline As A Predictor Of Functional Impairment, Laura L. Chapman '95

Honors Projects

Dementia is said to occur in at least 20% of the population aged 85 and older and is rising to almost epidemic proportions as the average age of the population in the United States continues to increase. Characteristically, dementia is manifested through memory impairment. These memory deficits along with other cognitive deficits render the individual at least somewhat disabled in social and occupational functioning. While there are many neuropsychological batteries which measure cognitive abilities and functional impairment, there has been no thorough consideration of how a cognitive screening battery might predict an individual's functional status. This study examined the Iowa …

Examining The Role Of Agitation And Aggression In Perceived Caregiver Burden, Anthony R. Peterson '95

Honors Projects

Recent research efforts in the area of dementia have revealed that the affected patients are not the only people that are impacted by this disorder. There are hidden victims that, more often than not, go unnoticed. These people are the caregivers, often family members, of a dementia patient. More and more attention is being focused on caregiver burden because it has been found that caring for a dementia patient can lead to medical and psychological problems in the caregiver. The purpose of this study was to determine if a positive correlation exists between the caregivers perceived burden and the patient's …

A Possible Age-Related Neurological Mechanism In The Formation Of Problem-Solving Set, Catherine J. Blair '95

Honors Projects

Problem-solving set is the ability to focus on one successful solution and to screen out other (non) successful solutions. One problem-solving set study by Ransopher and Thompson (1991) showed no main effect or marked difference of responses with age. However, these results are not surprising because the research design perhaps facilitated responses. Two outcomes were thought possible for this particular study. The inhibition-deficit view (Hasher and Zachs, 1988) suggests that older people may be less susceptible to the effects of problem-solving set because they would be less likely to be focused on just one solution set. Dempster (1992) suggests that …

Center For Psychological Studies 1995-1996 Catalog, Nova Southeastern University

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

No abstract provided.

Gratification Changes Among Country Music Radio Listeners, Larry E. Oathout

Masters Theses

Several past studies explore the gratifications received by mass media users. However, no former research focuses on radio as a single medium and investigates how gratifications change over a person's lifespan. This study utilized an altered version of Elliott and Quattlebaum's (1979) ten media gratification list and questioned a 14 to 60 year old sample group about the gratifications they receive from country music radio. The researcher selected country music because it is the most popular radio format today and because it provided the wide age parameters needed for the study. Two hundred and thirty-nine users of an Internet country …

Elderly Hispanics In The United States: Their Use And Non-Use Of Social Services, Paulina X. Ruf

Masters Theses

The Commonwealth Fund Commission on Elderly people Living Alone (1988), conducted the National Survey of Hispanic Elderly, 1988. Using data from this survey, the present descriptive work, examines the use and non-use of selected social services by general demographic characteristics of the elderly Hispanic sample. In addition, general characteristics of this sample are discussed. A summary of the findings and recommendations for future research conclude this thesis.

The findings indicate that although the elderly Hispanics in the United States reported needing the selected social services used in this thesis, many of them reported not using these services. Additionally, as the …

Dementia Caregivers: Educational Intervention And Coping Styles, Joan Dolores Ladderbush

Theses Digitization Project

Caregivers of dementia patients who were referred to a community-based comprehensive assessment program for demented and/or chronically ill older adults by physicians or community agencies were studied for this thesis.

Perceived Caregiver Burden As A Function Of Differential Coping Strategies, Kevin Scott Olin

Theses Digitization Project

No abstract provided.

The Association Between Mood States And Physical Activity In Postmenopausal Obese, Sedentary Women, Robert Albert Carels, Bonnie Berger, Lynn Darby

Psychology Faculty Publications

Mood states influence evaluative judgments that can affect the decision to exercise or to continue to exercise.

Developmental Factors In Visual Search: The Inhibition Deficit Hypothesis In A Feature-Integration Task, Stacy M. Forbes '94

Honors Projects

One of the most robust findings in cognitive functioning is that the elderly are more easily distracted by irrelevant information. This inhibition-deficit hypothesis may be useful in explaining older adults' deficits in visual search tasks. Treisman's Feature Integration Theory suggests that there are two ways to visually process information: parallel processing, an automatic process that does not require directed attention, and serial processing, which does. This study provides evidence for the role of inhibitory processes (and therefore frontal lobe involvement) in serial, but not parallel search. Six and ten year old children, undergraduate students, and elderly subjects participated in the …

Age Declines In Memory Self-Efficacy: General Or Limited To Particular Tasks And Measure?, Robin Lea West, Jane M. Berry

Psychology Faculty Publications

The potential for lifelong learning has been demonstrated clearly in research on problem solving, prose recall, and other measures of mental skill (Reese & Puckett, 1993; Sinnott, 1989). However, there are factors that may serve as barriers to lifelong learning for older adults (see Arenberg, chapter 23 in this volume). Among others, these factors include age changes in attentional or memory capacity (e.g., Salthouse, 1991), declines in memory self-confidence or change in memory beliefs (e.g., Berry, West & Dennehy, 1989), and reduced opportunities for education and training (e.g., Rebok & Offermann, 1983). This chapter focuses on self-report or subjective beliefs …

Center For Psychological Studies Catalog 1994-1995, Nova Southeastern University

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

No abstract provided.

Attitudes Toward Counseling: A Study Of The Older Adult Population, Judith Reiter Tarkington

Theses

This study investigates the attitudes of older adults toward counseling and professional psychological help, a topic of growing importance as populations age and mental health needs evolve. Using the Attitudes Toward Seeking Professional Psychological Help (ASPPH) scale, the research examined responses from 43 community-dwelling participants aged 51 to 84. The sample included 23 women and 20 men, with varying levels of previous counseling experience. The study sought to determine whether older adults generally hold favorable or unfavorable views of counseling and whether factors such as gender or prior counseling experience significantly affect these attitudes.

Results revealed that the group as …

Ageism And Intergenerational Programs: An Examination Of Children's Motives For A Latch-Key Call In Program, Elizabeth Nebeker Szendre

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Center For Psychological Studies 1993-1994 Catalog, Nova University

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

No abstract provided.

An Introduction To The Five-Factor Model And Its Applications, Robert R. Mccrae, Oliver P. John

United States Public Health Resources

The five-factor model of personality is a hierarchical organization of personality traits in terms of five basic dimensions: Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Neuroticism, and Openness to Experience. Research using both natural language adjectives and theoretically based personality questionnaires supports the comprehensiveness of the model and its applicability across observers and cultures. This article summarizes the history of the model and its supporting evidence; discusses conceptions of the nature of the factors; and outlines an agenda for theorizing about the origins and operation of the factors. We argue that the model should prove useful both for individual assessment and for the elucidation …

Center For Psychological Studies 1992-1993 Catalog, Nova University

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

No abstract provided.

The Effect Of Victim Bias On Length Of Defendant Sentencing, Joanne Economou

Modern Psychological Studies

This research examined the effects of victim bias on the determination of the length of prison sentence given to perpetrators convicted of assault and battery. Three victim characteristics (gender, race, and sexual orientation) were targeted to determine whether they would evoke discrimination in sentencing. Forty subjects were asked to read nine brief crime scenarios and impose prison sentences on the convicted perpetrators of each of the crimes. Three target scenarios were intermixed within the nine crime scenarios. They depicted the crimes of assault and battery of a victim who was either black or white or homosexual. The targeted scenarios were …

The Relationship Of Gender And Marital Status To Depression And Personality And Demographic Variables Among The Well Elderly, Virginia C. Schwalm

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship of gender and marital status to depression and personality and demographic variables among the well elderly.

There were three research questions: (1) By gender, what is the relationship of the inventory scales scores and the demographic variables to the CES-D Depression Scale? (2) Are there significant gender differences on the inventory scales scores and on the demographic variables? (3) Is there a gender by marital status interaction on the CES-D Depression Scale scores and on the inventory scales scores?

Subjects were 214 females and 103 males ages 55 to over …

Center For Psychological Studies 1991-1992 Bulletin, Nova University

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

No abstract provided.

Perceptual And Cognitive Abnormality Model Of Hypochondriasis: Psychological Correlates Of Amplification And Misinterpretation, James R. Craft

Theses and Dissertations

Hypochondriasis is a disorder that may affect ten percent of all individuals seeking medical care. This places a great burden on the health care resources that are currently available. Unfortunately, very few of these individuals come to the attention of mental health professionals.

Various models have attempted to conceptualize hypochondriasis. These include the psychiatric model, the psychodynamic model, the social learning and the perceptual or cognitive abnormality model.

The perceptual or cognitive abnormality model suggests that individuals who are hypochondriacal misinterpret and/or amplify normal bodily sensations. These processes lead the individuals to believe they are suffering from a serious disease. …

Vol. 13 No. 3 (1990): Pacific Studies Full Issue, The Jonathan Nāpela Center For Hawaiian And Pacific Islands Studies

Pacific Studies

Pacific Studies is published two times a year by The Jonathan Nāpela Center for Hawaiian and Pacific Studies, Brigham Young University Hawai‘i #1979, 55–220 Kulanui Street, Lāʻie, Hawai‘i 96762, but responsibility for opinions expressed in the articles rests with the authors alone. Subscription rate is US$40.00 yearly, payable to The Jonathan Nāpela Center for Hawaiian and Pacific Studies. The Jonathan Nāpela Center for Hawaiian and Pacific Studies (formerly The Pacific Institute) is an organization funded by Brigham Young University Hawai‘i. The Center assists the University in meeting its cultural and educational goals by undertaking a program of teaching, research, and …

Interpreting The Personal Orientation Inventory Through The Five-Factor Model, Diane Donald Anderson

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

This study was designed to determine how the Personal Orientation Inventory (POI; Shostrom, 1974) relates to the Five-Factor Model of Personality. Four self-report personality instruments were employed; the Personal Orientation Inventory, the Comrey Personality Scales (CPS; Comrey, 1970), the NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI; Costa & NcCrae, 1988), and the Five-Factor Nodel Adjective Factors (AF,", Costa & NcCrae, 1985b). Data were collected from 128 psychology students aged 18 to 30 years. Scores for the Five Factors were obtained by factor analysis combining responses from the CPS, the NEO-FFI, and the AF. Pearson product-moment intercorrelations were then computed for the Five Factors …

Elder Volunteerism: Minnesota's Silver Lining, Gerald A. Bloedow, Ralph H. Brown

Journal of the Minnesota Academy of Science

No abstract provided.

A Study Of The Relationship Between Improvement In Physical Status And Self-Esteem In Geriatric Patients, Kate A. Hayner

Masters Theses

The improvement in physical abilities in the geriatric population after occupational therapy was investigated to determine whether self-esteem would also improve. Fifteen subjects from three different nursing homes were measured. All of the subjects were referred to occupational therapy by their physician.

Treatment was implemented by trained rehabilitation aides after an occupational therapist assessed each subject and determined the need for therapy. Measurable goals were set for each subject to improve dysfunctional areas and reviewed with each resident and rehabilitation aide responsible for implementing the treatment program.

Types of treatment consisted of active and passive range of motion, strengthening, retrograde …

Center For Psychological Studies 1990-1991, Nova University

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

No abstract provided.

Age And Experience Effects In Spatial Visualization, Timothy A. Salthouse, Renee L. Babcock, Eric Skovronek, Debora R. D. Mitchell, Roni Reiter-Palmon

Psychology Faculty Publications

Three studies were conducted to investigate effects related to age and experience on measures of spatial visualization ability. All research participants were college-educated men; those in the experienced group were practicing or recently retired architects. The major results of the studies were (a) that increased age was found to be associated with lower levels of performance on several tests of spatial visualization and (b) that this was true both for unselected adults and for adults with extensive spatial visualization experience. These findings seem to suggest that age-related effects in some aspects of cognitive functioning may be independent of experiential influences. …