Digital Commons Network^™

False Physiological Feedback And Acceptance Of A High Fear Message, Michael T. Gray

All Master's Theses

This paper presents an attempt to differentiate between the drive reduction and parallel response theories as explanations of results obtained in fear communication research.

Forty-eight subjects were divided into four equal groups and while listening to a high fear message, three groups received false GSR feedback. The fourth group (control) received no feedback. The results failed to differentiate between the two theoretical models and also failed to support findings of an earlier study which used similar feedback techniques.

It was concluded that further research using false feedback techniques needs to be done.

A Comparison Of Verbal And Geometric Stimuli In Concept Learning, Robert William Greenway

All Master's Theses

Subjects classified stimulus patterns into positive or negative instances of the concept according to either an attribute identification (AI) problem or a rule learning (RL) problem. Four types of stimulus materials were used: verbal stimuli (V), geometric stimuli (G), or two combinations of these modes, verbal geometric (VG) or verbal colored (VC). The only main effects that were significant were the Type of rule and Type of problem. Some interactions were obtained between these factors and the stimulus mode employed.

Solution Shift Performance Of Low Functioning Children, Kathleen L. Levell

All Master's Theses

Retarded children of two intellectual levels were assigned to reversal (R) or nonreversal (NR) shifts in a concept learning task. High children had previous practice with the stimulus attributes while the low children did not. The effects of overtraining on the original problem led to more rapid R solutions for both groups while overtraining prior to the NR shift yielded equal levels of performance for both groups of children.

Results were interpreted within the framework of mediation theory.

The Role Of Stimulus And Label Familiarity In Concept Learning, David W. Philips

All Master's Theses

Performance on a concept learning task was investigated by employing familiar and unfamiliar stimulus patterns, three pretraining conditions, and two conceptual rules. Subjects were given either observation or preliminary paired associate practice in labeling shapes with meaningful or nonsense labels and were then required to solve a concept learning task to criterion. It was found that tasks involving familiar stimuli were learned more rapidly than those involving unfamiliar stimuli, and that meaningful verbal pretraining for unfamiliar stimuli resulted in more rapid learning than observation or nonsense label pretraining.

Interanimal Transfer Of A Learned Response Tendency With Control For Autonomic Arousal, Landgrave Thomas Smith

All Master's Theses

In three experiments using 180 rats, extracts of brain protein were used for interanimal transfer of an avoidance response from donors to recipients. In the first experiment it was found that avoidance learning in donors produced a response transfer, but autonomic arousal did not. The second experiment confirmed these results, and demonstrated a response transfer after a single donor training trial. The third experiment confirmed the results of the first two, and the recipient response strength showed evidence of extinction and spontaneous recovery.

The Course Of Amnesia Up To Twenty-Four Hours After Non-Contingent Treatment As A Function Of The Footshock-Electroconvulsive Shock Interval, Thomas C. Whitaker

All Master's Theses

This study tested specific predictions of the state-dependency hypothesis concerning the effects of footshock (FS)-electroconvulsive shock (ECS) treatment interaction on memory storage. Rats were trained in a water "T" maze to turn either left or right. Twenty-four hours later they received FS-ECS treatment. The FS-ECS intervals were .5 sec., 10 sec., 30 sec., and sham (no FS-ECS). Testing took place either 1, 6, 12, 18, or 24 hr. after treatment. Results indicated trends, but no significant evidence of the amnesia gradient being related to the FS-ECS interval.

Intradimensional Variability With Numbers And Alphabetical Letters In Conceptual Rules, Thomas Henry Clayton

All Master's Theses

Subjects were assigned to bidimensional rule problems that contained either 5, 10, or 15 levels of intradimensional variability. The stimuli consisted of numbers and alphabetical letters. There were no performance differences by either males or females when the number of levels within each rule was increased. There was a significant difference in performance among the three rules (disjunctive, conditional, and biconditional), however, the conditional was more difficult than the biconditional which is inconsistent with earlier research.

Self-Disclosure, A Residence College / Community College Comparison, Sherilyn Wood

All Master's Theses

This study compared the self-disclosures of eighty freshmen and sophomore students at a Residence and Community College. Subsamples of twenty females and twenty males from each college were drawn for the study of differences in self-disclosures associated with sex, aspects of self, college preference and selected "target" persons.

Significant differences were found in the type of information disclosed to "target" persons. Female subjects were found to disclose information which differs in amount and type from that disclosed by males.

Failure To Find A Memory Gradient In A State Dependency Paradigm, James Harold Thomson

All Master's Theses

Rats were trained in a passive avoidance task. Twenty-four hours later they were given a noncontingent footshock (FS) followed by electroconvulsive shock (ECS). ECS followed FS by different intervals ranging from .5 to 300 seconds in different groups. Subjects were tested 24 and 96 hours after the FS-ECS treatments for retention of the avoidance response. There were no statistical differences between the groups. This finding could not be taken as evidence that FS-ECS failed to produce amnesia since no evidence of passive avoidance conditioning in trained subjects not receiving FS-ECS.

The Effect Of A Learning Skills Course Including Group Counseling On Low Achievers In The Community College, Paul E. Borg

All Master's Theses

A Learning Skills course consisting of study skills, goal direction, and self-understanding was tested among volunteer community college low achievers. Treatment integrated didactic, group discussion, and affective experiences in 18 hour-long sessions. Nineteen subjects received treatment; 25 subjects formed a matched control group; and 41 non-volunteers formed two additional control groups. An apparent trend toward GPA improvement was noted for all groups, but all measurements on GPA and a study survey were non-significant.

The Effects Of Truth Table Pretraining And Intradimensional Variability On Rule Learning And Attribute Identification Tasks, Eric S. Gebelein

All Master's Theses

Ss were required to sort geometrical patterns into positive or negative instances. According to (a) an attribute identification problem (wherein one of three conceptual rules was given: Disjunctive, Conditional, or Biconditional) or (b) Rule learning problem (wherein the two relevant attributes were given: either yellow, triangle or blue, circle). Intradimensional variability for each condition was either five, seven, or nine levels. The Rule effect was the only significant source of variance even though performance did worsen as intradimensional variability was increased.

A Case Study Of The Relationship Between Role-Taking Skills And Intellectual Development, Linda Suzanne Green

All Master's Theses

A series of thirteen role-taking and cognitive development tasks, taken from research done on Piaget's developmental theories, were presented to ascertain the relationship between refined role-taking skills and the level of intellectual development demonstrated by a child in Piaget's pre-operational phase (two to seven years).

The results indicated that a child in this age range is not able to remove himself from his egocentric position and utilize the concepts of decentering and reversibility in constructing a meaningful message. This would indicate a lack of role-taking skill refinement.

It was concluded that the use of this type of task series would …

Children's Response Speed As A Function Of Omission And Delay Of A Customary Reward, Anees A. Sheikh, Donald C. Cook

Psychology Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

An Investigation Of Some Electrophysiological Concomitants Of Hallucinations, Ronald S. Golemba

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The present research was designed to determine if a single LSD experience produces a detectable change in the electrical potential of the brain, and if so, how long that change lasts, and to examine the changes in the electrical potential of the brain associated with chemogenic and hypnogenic hallucinations. Four studies were conducted measuring the electrical potential between the front and back of the head in monkeys and humans. The frontal potential was shown to shift negatively with the use of LSD-type psychedelics but not with marijuana compounds. LSD caused the potential in humans to shift into the range commonly …

Post-Exposural Eye Movements And Lateral Differences In Tachistoscopic Recognition, R. Cameron Mcrae

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Left-right differences in visual field accuracy obtained in studies of tachistoscopic recognition have been typically discussed in terms of a covert post exposure scanning process derived from the horizontal eye movements (EM) habitually used in reading. Further, some evidence exists that indicates the occurrence of EM concomitant with the recognition process. By monitoring EM during a representative recognition task, the present study attempted to establish the relation between overt EM elicited by the task, and response accuracy. Using a projection tachistoscope (duration 100 msec.), 8 female Ss were presented with a random trial series of 8-element letter, number, and symbol …

Effect Of D-Amphetamine, Guanethidine, Disulfiram, And Stress On Gastric Ulceration In The Rat, Thomas M. Beall

Theses and Dissertations

Albino rats were injected with various doses of d-amphetamine (.02 mg/kg- 9 mg/kg) and subjected to 4 hours restraint in a cold (+5 degrees C) environment. Differential effects on ulceration were observed as a function ot the d-amphetamine dose level. Pretreatment with a .50 mg/kg injection of d-amphetamine significantly inhibited ulceration over that of saline injected, control animals, while a 9 mg/kg dose injection of the drug significantly facilitated it. Such results were explained in terms of a model interaction between sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system activity, and the effect that such activity has on gastric conditions conducive to ulceration. …

The Effects Of Verbal Reinforcement On Three Subtests Of The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, Michael C. Klinnert

Masters Theses

A verbal conditioning study was conducted in order to assess the effect of positive verbal reinforcement on the examinees' verbalization output and/or the individual scaled scores of the Vocabulary, Comprehension, and Similarities subtests of the WAIS. Twenty-seven female volunteer Ss were assigned to either a contingent reinforcement group, a random reinforcement group, or a non-reinforcement control group. A mixed design A.O.V. revealed no significant differences between treatment groups on the individual scaled scores of the subtests. An analysis of covariance for the composite of the three subtests scaled scores was also nonsignificant. A mixed design A.O.V. for the amount of …

The Social History Questionnaire As Related To Length Of Stay In Psychotherapy, David P. Jachim

Masters Theses

A serious problem encountered in clinical practice concerns the large proportion of clients who begin therapy but for various reasons terminate treatment after only a few interviews and without the consent of the therapist. Representative studies by Kurland (1956), Haddock and Mensch (1957), and Rosenthal and Frank (1958) have emphasized the severity of this problem by indicating that most mental health clinics face the possibility of losing half of their therapy clients prematurely.

This problem necessitates some objective means for identifying potential terminators and remainers prior to their entering therapy. Such a technique would permit a more efficient utilization of …

Voluntary Control Of Gsr Using Continuous Visual Display And Simultaneous Changes In Other Autonomic Functions, Laurence E. Boyce

Masters Theses

Using 28 male undergraduate university students provided with continuous oscilloscope display of basal skin resistance, this study investigated voluntary control of the GSR and concurrent changes in respiration. It was found, given feedback, subjects could voluntarily raise or lower their GSR. Subjects instructed to increase their GSR (N-14) could do so within the first trial session. However, subjects instructed to decrease their GSR (N-14) required additional practice. With less than 20 minutes of practice all subjects were able to reach a criterion of 2,500 ohms change from their basal level. Subjects increasing their GSR were found to have a significant …

Validation Of A Measure Of Aggression, Jack Edward Shook

Masters Theses

The study attempted to validate a questionnaire as a method of measuring aggression resulting from frustration. The method consisted of correlating aggression measured by the questionnaire with aggression produced by an actual frustrating situation. An insult-failure technique was used to produce the frustration during the administration of a bogus aptitude test. Evaluation of the experimenter was the direct expression and measurement of aggression. A control group was used to insure validity of the frustration technique. Eighty six students participated in the study. The correlation was significant for males. The correlation was not significant for females. Males were not more aggressive …

Impulsivity And Intelligence In Young Children, Allan Norbert Kaczala

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

A Factor Analytic Study Of Anxiety Inducing Situations, Anthony Paul Gillette

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Relational Judgments As A Function Of "Objective Reality," General Attitudinal Structures, And Trait Content As Represented By A Structural And Discriminal Model For Determining Judgmental Tendencies, David J. Marx

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Perception And Awareness Of Manipulative Intent, Joseph P. Reser

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Relationship Between Level Of Contractual Behavior And Subjects' Evaluation Of Their Experience In A Contract Sensitivity Group, Harvey Hilbert Honig

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

A Comparison Of Clinical Versus Statistical Judgment Of Asocial Psychopathy, Ernest John Lenz

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Consequences Of Commitment And The Relevance Of Cognitively Bonded Values On Initial Attitude And Resistance To Attitude Change, Kenneth A. Marciniak

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Effect Of Masker Duration On The Detectability Of Pulsed Diotic And Dichotic Tonal Signals, Theodore H. Miller

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Attitude Change As A Function Of Media Presentation: An Inquiry Into The Effects Of Source Monitoring, Thomas Arthur Watkins

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Nonverbal Coding In Deaf Children, William Joseph White

Dissertations

No abstract provided.