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An Analysis Of Generalization In A Parent Training Program From A Laboratory To Home Setting, Carol Mindell

Student Work

A mother was trained in a structured laboratory setting, through written and verbal instructions and daily verbal feedback, to modify specific components of her attention to her 4-yr-old daughter’s behavior during an instruct ion-following task. Examinations were made of the effectiveness of parent training in changing the mother’s behavior in the structured laboratory setting, as well as the extent of generalized change in mother’s responses in three other settings in which no training was conducted: 1) a similar structured period in the home, 2) a dissimilar unstructured period in the laboratory, and 3) a-dissimlar unstructured period in the home. The …

Effects Of Simulator Training On The Acquisition And Generalization Of Pedestrian Skills In Retarded Persons, Terry J. Page

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Response Preferences To Affirmative Action Statements In Job Advertisements, Milo Anthony Masura

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Effects Of Selective Pretraining On The Acquisition Of Matching-To-Sample Behavior In Pigeons, Richard G. Marriott

Psychology ETDs

The rapidity of acquisition of matching-to-sample behavior has repeatedly been shown to be related directly to the stimulus dimension from which the matching stimuli are selected. In short, pigeons acquire matching with color stimuli much more rapidly than matching with geometric form stimuli. Recent attempts to explain this finding have suggested that the discriminability of the sample stimulus from other sample stimuli is an important variable contributing to this effect. In addition, it has been suggested that relative acquisition rates of matching-to-sample behavior can be predicted from acquisition rates of simple discrimination tasks. The present series of experiments were designed …

Response-Reinforcer And Stimulus-Reinforcer Variables In The Elimination Of Behavior, Philip Dan Bruce

Psychology ETDs

The differential-reinforcement-of-other-behavior procedure (DRO) was investigated in the context of discrete trials to determine the extent to which it would reduce the key pecking of pigeons. The DRO procedure was compared to discrete-trials omission (DTO), discrete-trials extinction (DTE), an extinction procedure in which a response reset the trial period (REE), and a positive response-contingency control group (RCR). At the end of the response-elimination phase, all groups were exposed to response-independent reinforcement to assess the durability of the response-elimination procedures. Two measures, mean relative response rate and percentage of trials containing a peck, were used to assess performance.

All response-elimination procedures …

Homosexuality Among Women: Historical And Current Views In Psychology, Craig Bracy

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this review is to evaluate the methodology of past and present research with female homosexuals and then to summarize the current state of knowledge in psychology and psychiatry. The data presented in this review have been derived predominantly from material abstracted in the Medicus Index (1900-1976) and Psychology Abstracts (1927-1976).

This reviewer has established specific criteria by which all studies throughout this literature review will be examined. These are: sample size, sampling of experimental control groups, variable controlled (age, education, etc), how sexual orientation was determined, and tests and questionnaires employed, their reliability, validity, administration, and interpretation. …

Stimulus Intensity And Probability Of Stimulus Change As Determinants Of Simple Reaction Time, Robert T. Nullmeyer

Psychology ETDs

Many reaction time investigators have shown that as stimulus intensities increase response latencies decrease. In addition, Spiess (1971) demonstrated that the presentation of knowledge concerning the nature of the upcoming stimulus prior to its onset (preknowledge) could result in decreased reaction times. Spiess concluded that this preknowledge effect was interpretable within the framework of Grice's variable criterion model. Grice's model assumes that a response would occur when information concerning the onset of a stimulus reached a required level or criterion. The rate at which this information accumulates is determined by the intensity of the stimulus with stronger stimuli resulting in …

The Functional Significance Of Imagery In The Learning And Memory Of The Educable Mentally Retarded, Doris C. Sahd

Psychology ETDs

This research examined imagery effects in the learning and long-term retention of educable mentally retarded subjects. Between-subject factors included the level of stimulus imagery (low imagery versus high imagery), instructional procedure (standard paired-associate instruction versus imagery instruction), and length of retention interval (immediate, one week, and two weeks). Materials used were two lists of paired-associate nouns, selected so that meaningfulness was held constant while imagery was varied. Imagery was low for the stimulus terms of one list and high for the stimulus terms of the other list. Subjects were 120 non-institutionalized educable mentally retarded children (mean MA of 9.19) from …

Cognitive Construct Systems, Sociometric Choices, And Interpersonal Attraction, Roland Dougherty

Graduate Theses

An abstract is not provided.

A Study Of The Relationship Between Failure To Be Promoted And Self-Concept Of Ninth Grade Students, Joan C. Cobb

Graduate Theses

No abstract is provided.

A Hands-On Museum For Children, Stephanie Townsend

Graduate Theses

This paper concerns itself with the preparation for the development of a children's hands-on museum. Included is a definition of such a museum, a rationale for this type of museum, organizational considerations of a community museum, four exhibits intended to stimulate and guide children's cognitive processes, and a brief summation. The rationale for this children's museum is derived primarily from Piaget's theory of cognitive developmental psychology. Thus, the exhibits are exemplars of Piagetian curriculum. The organization section emphasizes Guthe's philosophy concerning museum organization.

An Investigation Of The Effects Of Group Listening Skills On The Frequency Of Questions Asked By Students, Margaret J. Crook

Graduate Theses

No abstract was provided.

The Effects Of Facial Characteristics & Attitudes Upon Initial Interpersonal Attraction, Henry Ackerman

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Two groups of males were utilized to examine the causal effect of facial characteristics and attitudes upon initial interpersonal attraction. The two groups were given a booklet in which photographs and attitude statements were paired in various combinations. One group of males was given the booklet with photographs of females non-randomly assigned; while the other group of males was given the booklet with photographs of females randomly assigned. The major finding of the Present study was that facial characteristics were more causal in predicting initial interpersonal attraction than were attitudes. A colateral finding was that the attitude statements had in …

The Validity Generalization & Extension Of The Revised Iptis, William Hanshaw

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The basic theoretical concepts of Rational-Emotive and Rational-Behavior Therapy were discussed along with a psychometric study of an inventory measuring irrational tendencies. The revised Irrational Personality Traits Inventory Scale (IPTIS), an inventory reported to measure how an individual thinks, feels, and acts, was investigated as to the soundness of its psychometric characteristics. More specifically, the purpose of this study was to: (a) determine the reliability of the revised IPTIS with a new sample from an older population, i.e., college students, (b) assess its concurrent validity with a measure of neuroticism, and (c) evaluate the possible effects of a socially desirable …

An Investigation Of Strategies To Reduce Structure Rule Coding Errors In Vroom & Yetton's Normative Model Of Leadership, Stephen Herbert

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Four versions of the structure rule and two levels of training were investigated in an attempt to eliminate structure rule coding errors in Vroom and Yetton's (1973) Normative model of leadership. One hundred and sixty volunteer general psychology students received either thirty or ninety minutes of training on the Normative model and then responded to fifteen hypothetical situational problems. A 2 X 4 analysis of variance failed to reveal any significant effects. Neither the training nor structure rule effect was found to be significant. There was also no interaction between training and structure rule. Therefore, the various formats of the …

Student Psychological Variables & The Relationship Of Student Perception Of Teachers, Karen Wolfe

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

A set of six student psychological variables-- internal locus of control for positive and negative events as assessed by the Intellectual Achievement Responsibility Questionnaire; self esteem as assessed by the Self Esteem Inventory; and level of regard, empathetic understanding, unconditionality of regard and congruence as assessed by the Relationship Inventory--were correlated with a set of four student perception of teacher variables--interactional competence, rapport, unreasonable negativity and fosterance of self esteem as assessed by the Student Evaluation of Teacher II--to determine the relationship between the student psychological variables and the manner in which students evaluate their teachers. …

Prediction Of Self-Actualization In Male Participants In A Group Conducted By Female Leaders, Diane R. Follingstad, Peter R. Kilmann, Elizabeth A. Robinson

CRVAW Faculty Journal Articles

No abstract provided.

Effect Of Massed And Disturbed Practice On Reading Comprehension For High And Low Anxious College Students, Robert C. Kanoy

Master's Theses

Thirty-si x mal e and femal e col lege students selected from a data bank of 335 students were ested for readi ng comprehensi on. Students were of average schol asti c apti tude wi th ei ther an extreme hi gh or extreme l ow score on the TMAS. The learni ng task , whi ch served as the test for readi ng comprehensi on, was presented to each student under ei ther massed or di stri buted practi ce at a control led rate of speed. The number of correct responses to a multiple choice test served as …

Developmental Aspects Of Nonverbal Communication, Richard Norris

Student Work

Developmental differences in encoding and decoding abilities were investigated in this study with subjects ranging from 5 years to 88 years of age. The 94 white, middle-class males and females were placed into five age groups. Subjects were asked to encode each of six emotional expressions, after which they were presented with three decoding tasks. The video tape mode required subjects to decode the same six common nonverbal expressions of emotion (i.e., anger, surprise, fear, happiness, sadness, disgust). A second decoding task consisted of four expressions (anger, fear, sadness, happiness) which were schematically depicted. Subjects' decoding of affect in a …

Effects Of Physical Attractiveness And Warmth On The Perception Of Deviant Behavior, Midge Wilson

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The impressions formed by male and female subjects of a female target were investigated as a function of her physical attractiveness, warmth, and behavior. Experimental sessions consisted of subjects viewing a videotape depicting one of the factorial conditions, and then responding to an impression questionnaire. Multivariate analysis revealed, as predicted, that subjects' trait ratings of the target were significantly more positive when she was attractive compared to unattractive, warm compared to cold, and behaved neutrally compared to deviantly. No effect on the subjects' degree of confidence in their ratings was observed. Two causal attribution measures were obtained: responses of subjects …

Situational Determinants Of A Crying Response: Their Interrelations With Cognitive Structure And Level Of Sex-Role Identification, Richard Paul Votta

Student Work

An attempt was made to assess the relationships between an individual's level of sex-role identification, degree of cognitive complexity or simplicity, and reported crying behavior. One hundred sixty six students from an introductory sociology class at the University of Nebraska at Omaha were administered three scales: the Bern Sex Role Inventory to assess their level of sex-role identification; the Millimet Rep Test (Version 1) to assess the degree of cognitive complexity, and the Votta Crying Scale-an instrument devised by the author to measure an individual's propensity to crying and the four major types of situations that will elicit the behavior. …

The Role Of Serotonin Depletion On The Behavioral Effects Of Ethyl Alcohol, Linda J. Ward

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

In the first experiment of this study p-Chloroamphetamine (PCA), a serotonin depletor, was given to experimental rats at least two days prior to aversive Pavlovian conditioning. Rats were subjected to aversive conditioning while drugged with ethyl alcohol (ethanol) and were tested for memory of the aversive stimuli later in the non-drugged state. Utilizing the auditory conditioned stimulus, ethanol-treated rats - PCA treated and nontreated combined - exhibited significantly less conditioned suppression of drinking than did saline controls. A priori comparisons demonstrated that PCA treated rats• ethanol-produced dissociation was greater than nontreated controls. Experiment two compared PCA treated and nontreated rats' …

A Multidimensional Scaling Analysis Of Sex Guilt, Kevin E. O'Grady

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Sixty males and 60 females, divided at the median of their scores on the sex guilt subscale of the Mosher Forced Choice Guilt Inventory, made all possible comparisons between 15 stimulus cues. The cues were descriptions of individuals written to reflect characteristics felt to be important to the concept of sex guilt. Ratings of dissimilarity were analyzed by INDSCAL, and an unfolding method, both of which are multidimensional scaling techniques. Results indicated that high sex guilt individuals perceived a greater degree of dissimilarity between the stimulus "individuals" than did low sex guilt subjects. Furthermore, although the dimensions along which high …

Effects Of Hypothesizing On Concept Learning, Barbara Blinn Bryant

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of hypothesizing on concept learning. Such effects may depend upon task requirements. A 3 X 2 X 2 factorial design was used to assess the variables of time of hypothesizing (early in the task, late in the task, or no hypothesizing), rule type (conjunctive or conditional), and amount of information in the instructions (low amount as defined by a complete learning task or high amount as defined by an attribute identification task). The conjunctive rule was solved significantly more quickly than the conditional rule and attribute identification was solved significantly …

Sex-Role Stereotyping In Ratings Of Mental Health By Undergraduates, John S. Sutton-Gamache

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

This study looked at the concept of positive mental health or self-actualization and the characteristics of which it is comprised. These characteristics were defined as those measured by the Personal Orientation Inventory (POI). This study also examined the possibility of these characteristics being sex-typed.

Undergraduate subjects were administered the POI with one of three instruction-types: to apply their answers to a mentally healthy man, a mentally healthy woman, or a mentally healthy person (sex unspecified). Experimental conditions consisted of male or female subject sex vs. instruction-type and analyses were performed which compared subject responses from one condition to another.

Results …

Attitudes Of Black Socioeconomic Classes In The Greater Kansas City Area Relative To Black Psychology, Patricia D. Polk

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

Four hundred and twenty-nine questionnaires developed by the investigator were distributed to Black white collar, blue collar, farm, and service workers in the Metropolitan Kansas City Area. The questionnaires, of which 383 were returned, were designed to determine whether the subjects perceived themselves as being different from the dominant society, to assess their attitudes about the need for a Black Psychology which concerns itself with the unique behavioral characteristics of Black Americans, and to see whether those assessments differed according to socioeconomic status.

The subjects who comprised the convenience sample were contacted through several agencies including the U.S. Department of …

The Effects Of Bogus Amounts Of Perceived Success On Achieving A Desired Physiological State, Randall Brian Hicks

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

Thirty incarcerated juveniles underwent thermometric bio-feedback training. The subjects were divided into three groups; (1) Inflated, in which information was doubled, (2) Actual, in which no alterations were made, and (3) Deflated, in which information was half of the true temperature rise. No significant difference was found among these groups. A self-report rating on various attitudes, primarily success feelings ; were correlated with achievement. The only factor statistically significant was an indication of locus of control. Cognitive potentialities are discussed as well as emotion.

The Effects Of Vicarious Response Contingencies And A Retarded Versus A Nonretarded Model On The Imitative Learning Of Retarded And Nonretarded Children, Charlene Dee Edwards

Psychology ETDs

The imitative learning of retarded and nonretarded children was compared using a retarded and a nonretarded model and three vicarious response contingency conditions. Forty-seven retarded and 44 nonretarded subjects viewed a televised presentation of a model performing seven discrete behaviors to open a cabinet. Half of each group of children saw a retarded model and the other half of each group saw a nonretarded model.

One-third of the subjects in each of the four resulting groups viewed a film in which the model was punished immediately following the behavior sequence, one-third viewed a film in which the model was reinforced, …

Knowledge & Attitudes Of Mental Health Professionals On Issues & Laws Regarding Involuntary Hospitalization In Kentucky, Gary Giamartino

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Involuntary psychiatric hospitalization in the Commonwealth of Kentucky has become a salient issue based, in part, on two recent court rulings and a call for legislative reform of the laws governing this procedure. The role cc the mental health professional, who may be directly or indirectly involved in the hospitalization process, requires knowledge and sensitivity of these laws and related legal issues.

One hundred and five Kentucky mental health professionals, including physicians, psychologists, and social workers, responded to a questionnaire designed to assess their knowledge and attitudes on seven selected laws and legal issues regarding involuntary hospitalization in Kentucky.

The …

Relationships Between Mother Interaction Styles, Mothers' Estimates Of Their Infants' Level Of Development, & Infant Development, James Dunbar

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Relationships between mothers' estimates of their infants' level of development, the amount mothers vocalize and model to their infants, and their infants' actual level of mental and motor development were explored using infants between twelve and thirty months of age. The data were analyzed by separate Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficients between all variables. A significant correlation was obtained between mothers' estimates of their infants' level of mental and motor development and the infants' obtained level of mental and motor development as measured by a standardized test. It was also discovered that as the age of the infants increased, their …