Digital Commons Network^™

Effect Of Spatial Titration On Task Performance, Lawrence M. Glowacki

Masters Theses

A spatial titration method was used with a reinforcement schedule to determine task-reinforcement area separation most preferred and effective in producing high task performance. Two third-grade boys were given task contingent reinforcement where the task was solving arithmetic problems. Following shaping to stable response rates, the titration operation was introduced. Errors decreased the task-reinforcement area distance while correct responses increased the distance. With the introduction of Titration Phase 1, both subjects' incorrect responses produced a zero task-reinforcement area separation. In Titration Phase 2, both subjects were started at the opposite extreme of the reinforcement continuum. Repeated errors produced a zero …

The Existence Of Ambivalence Among Students: A Question Concerning Alienation, Stephen M. Puckett

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Changes In Scholastic Achievement And Intelligence Of Indian Children Enrolled In A Foster Placement Program, Linda Ouida Willson

Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the long-term effects of the Indian Placement Program on the enrolled students' scholastic achievement as measured by standardized tests given in the schools. It also examines intelligence test scores and changes in them during years in the Program. The following effects on achievement were also examined: sex, age and grade at initial placement, and the child's adjustment as measured by number of foster homes in which he had been placed.

Food Choice Preferences And Delay Of Reward In Obese And Normal Weight Children, Mitzi M. Rochester

All Master's Theses

Thirty-seven obese and thirty-six normal weight children, ages eight to eleven, of both sexes were tested to determine if the cue prominence theory of obesity would be supported early in life. Ss chose a candy bar as a reward for a task from one of three bowls, containing either large bars in plain brown wrappers, small bars in brightly colored wrappers, or small bars in plain brown wrappers. Obese and normals did not differ in their choices: 67% of the obese and 80% of the non-obese children chose the large candy bars in plain wrappers. However, obese Ss chose significantly …

Self Persuasion As A Function Of True And False Confession, Barry A. Stevens

All Master's Theses

Colored slides were established as the discriminative stimuli for "truth" and "lying." Experimental subjects were commanded to emit both positive and negative statements in the presence of these stimuli concerning previously established neutral picture-slides. Subsequently, the real opinion of each subject was recorded. The hypothesis that those statements made in the presence of discriminative stimuli would effect judgments was not supported. The only significant main effect was that of the command variable. Suggestions for further study were given.

Choice Shifts As A Function Of Confidence In The Communicator And Risk Level Of Message, Gerald James Smith

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Perceptions Of Personality From Speech: Effects Of Manipulations Of Acoustical Parameters, Bruce L. Brown, William J. Strong, Alvin C. Rencher

Faculty Publications

A speech analysis-synthesis system was used to manipulate variance of fundamental frequency and a mechanical rate changer was used to manipulate speech rate. The synthesized and altered voices were tested for realism. Synthesized voices were mistaken for normal 50% to 58% of the time and rate-changed voices were mistaken for normal 78% of the time. Additional studies were conducted to test the effects of these acoustical manipulations on the adjective ratings judges made of speakers. Variance of intonation was increased and decreased by 50% for eight speakers. There was a significantrend for increased intonation to cause voices to be rated …

Hope: A General Meaning Analysis, Peter L. Lavalley

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Talk of hope and the future is in the air and very much a part of the world of twentieth-century man. At the same time there is the awareness that the actions of men today often belie the expression of their hopes for a better way of life. The resolution of this conflict is no simple matter, but may be assisted through a more complete understanding of the meaning of human hope. It may then be possible to translate that meaning into individual, social, and national realities. This paper will attend primarily to the former question—that of attaining a fuller …

Fifty‐Four Voices From Two: The Effects Of Simultaneous Manipulations Of Rate, Mean Fundamental Frequency, And Variance Of Fundamental Frequency On Ratings Of Personality From Speech, Bruce L. Brown, William J. Strong, Alvin C. Rencher

Faculty Publications

Utterances of two adults males were analyzed and synthesized by a fast Fourier Transforms method. Each of the two voices was synthesized in each of the twenty‐seven combinations of three levels each of rate, mean FØ, and variance of FØ (a total of fifty‐four “voices” generated from two). The effects of the rate, mean FØ, and variance of FØ manipulations, the interactive effects of rate and variance of FØ, and the effects due to speaker were all statistically significant predictors of personality ratings given the voices. They accounted for 86%, 4%, 3%, 2%, and I% of the …

The Effects Of Blindness On Tactile And Auditory Perception In Rats, James Malcolm Claiborn

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Folklore has long held that blind people gain, relative to normal people, in their sensitivity to other sensory modalities. Although supported only by equivocal evidence, this position probably first appeared in mythology in early Greek literature. Oedipus Rex was attributed greater awareness of people’s nature after this blindness. It is still a prevalent myth in contemporary American culture, to the extent that it appears in “Little Orphan Annie.” Experimental attempts at verification of this point began several years ago, but it remains a controversial issue. Literature on the topic can be divided up into several content areas: the relevance of …

Auditory Attentional Deficit In Schizophrenia, Esther Ann Gimpel

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Differences in auditory detection performance between schizophrenics and normals were examined in terms of the attentional processes involved. Each of 40 ~s (20 schizophrenics categorized along the dimensions of paranoia, premorbidity, and acuteness; and 20 hospital technical staff) were presented with 30 50-trial blocks of a tone detection task using 6 auditory ensembles consisting of 2 tones apiece separated by varying . ,. frequency bands. Tones were masked by white noise and presented in a free-running trial manner. The commonly found decrement in detection performance with normal subjects as the tones in the ensembles become more widely separated was replicated. …

The Relationship Between Linguistic Behavior And Diagnostic Classifications In The Language Processing Systems Of Bilingual Schizophrenics, Lee Sue Curry

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Both of these theoretical positions - the linguistics and the behavioristic - are introduced here as parallel structures within which a study of language can proceed. As this study is developed, each strand is evident to some extent, with a synthesis of the two evolving in a psycholinguistic model which characterizes actual language use. This model, with the addiction of a bilingual dimension, is then discussed in light of schizophrenic language deviations.

A Follow-Up Attitudinal Study Of Selected Groups In The City Of The Dalles Toward The Community Attention Home, Landon Gilstrap, Joyce Larson, Janice Page

Dissertations and Theses

Prior to the opening of the Attention Home in August of 1971, a survey was conducted by David Clitheroe and Garrett Long to determine what specific attitudes local groups in the community had about the Attention Home. Their study represented the first part of a two part study. It established the baseline data on the community attitudes toward the Attention Home prior to the opening of the home. These attitudes will be compared with the attitudes after one year's operation of the home in order to assess what attitudinal changes, if any, have taken place between the first and second …

Changes In Personality Traits And Identification In Adolescent Female State School Residents, As A Function Of Length Of Residence, Mary L. Thompson

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of a significant exposure (six months) to a State School environment on selected personality traits and identity factors of adolescent girls. A second objective was to ascertain whether greater change takes place early in the period of residency (three months) or in a later stage. A third aim was to determine whether there is a significant difference in the degree of change between girls showing fewer pathological signs and healthier identity than those who show a greater number of such signs and a stronger delinquent identification.

The Identification Of Potential Predictors Of Collegiate Success Of Black Students Enrolled In A Program For Disadvantaged Minorities, As Measured By Six Separate Success Criteria, Kerry Alan Bunker

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

The Effects Of Reading A Report Of Racial Conflict And Non Racial Conflict On Baseline Hostility Levels, Michael D. Mcclenic

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Imitation: Some Theoretical Issues, Charles Richard Spates

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Job Attitude, Motivation, Personality Traits And Perceived Deficiencies In Need Fulfillment As A Function Of Job Level, Jeff Trullinger

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

A study of 958 managers is reported which investigates, by questionnaire, differences in perceived deficiencies in need fulfillment at all levels of management in both large and small organizations. It further gives attention to the relative importance of 13 personality traits for success in their management position, and examines whether motivational commonality exists among various job conditions at all levels of management. Results indicate: (a) all levels of management tend to be similar in the relative ranks they give to the importance of needs regardless of size of organization, (b) self-actualization and autonomy needs seem to be most important by …

Remembering The Functional Sentence, Donald J. Polzella

Psychology Faculty Publications

This report reviews the psychological and psycholinguistic literature from the last decade that deals with memory for sentences. It is concluded the the encoded representation of a sentence reflects both syntactic and semantic content, with the semantic content being far less transient.

Assessing Some Side Effects Of A Contingency Management Program, Charles M. Atkinson

All Master's Theses

This study applied a contingency management program to a single behavior while measuring multiple behaviors. Reinforcement was made contingent upon increased addition rate. The experimental group made significantly greater gains in addition rate. There was no significant difference in the gains made in subtraction rate, reading rate, reading comprehension, or classroom behavior. The study was limited by a small sample, six week time span, and the use of mentally retarded subjects to assess side effects of reinforcing an academic behavior.

A Critical Examination Of Korman's Self-Esteem Motivation Theory, Dierdra E. Bowditch

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

A Contingency Management Program For The Treatment Of Overweight, Giuliana Guerci

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

The Effects Of A Programmed Sex Education Course On Institutionalized Mental Patients, Alan G. Zukerman

Masters Theses

There is an apparent need for sex education programs targeted to young institutionalized mental patients. A sex education course was developed that could be easily disseminate and have potential general applications and utility in institutional settings. Data were taken on the effectiveness of the course, its effects on sexual and sex-related values of the subjects, its influence on selfratings of behavior, and evaluative responses of the subjects to the course itself. A pretest-posttest experimental design was used with a control group included. The results showed that factual knowledge in sexual areas was significantly increased by the course. Experimental subjects' values …

Effects Of Manipulating Enforced Attention And Reinforcement For Correctness On The Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test Performances Of Kindergarten Children, Galen James Alessi

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Current And Future Characterizations Of Self; A Theoretical Model For Analyzing The Sources And Functions Of Self-Conceptions, Robert Bilby

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Risky Shift Among Friends And In Arbitrarily Formed Groups, Bryan Crow

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Michael Wallach and Nathan Kogan (1959) devised the Choice Dilemmas Questionnaire (Appendix A) for scaling the propensity of individuals to take risks. The Choice Dilemmas Questionnaire (CDQ) requires the respondent to indicate the lowest probability of success he would accept before he would advise the central figure in each of 12 hypothetical decision situations to choose the riskier--but more attractive--of two options. Accepting slimmer chances of success (higher risks of failure) yields a iowei (riskier) seoi-e. The t>core on a given item can range from a risky low of one chance in ten to a conservative high--in most experiments--of …

One-Trial Versus Incremental Learning : A Re-Evaluation Employing Signal Detection Theory, James William Hyams

Master's Theses

The purpose of the present study was to lend support to either the one-trial or incremental theory of learning by examining the probability of correct responses as a function of prior stimulus exposure. Signal detection theory was employed as the method of analysis. Two experiments tested the theories in a verbal learning task and a psychomotor task. On each of three trials a list of 6 AB pairs or 6 AB distances was presented once, then one of these 6 pairs or distances was tested for recognition. On the recognition test either AB (a previously viewed pair or distance) or …

Simulation Of Brain Damage On Bender-Gestalt Test By College Subjects, Arnold Rahn Bruhn

Dissertations and Theses

It is a frequent occurrence in accident cases involving alleged brain injury and attendant damage suits, for the defendant's attorney to charge the plaintiff in the case with malingering. At some time in the court proceedings it i.s also common that the plaintiff's psychologist will testify to the court that his client's brain damage is genuine, not feigned. but heretofore, clinicians have been able to speak to the court only from their own background of clinical experience, and clinicians have been known to disagree. They have not been able to refer to a body of research that has addressed itself …

The Behavior Of Coalitions As Interorganizational Structures: An Exploratory Study Using A Grounded Theory Approach, Elaine Marie Rothrock

Dissertations and Theses

This study is one of four exploratory studies concerned with coalitions of organizations that are formed to plan and develop social welfare programs within the local community. Although each study was conducted independently, taken together their major purpose was to develop some insights and knowledge into the behavior of organizations and the ways in which they interact as they work together to develop community programs. They are, then, exploratory studies of inter-organizational behavior.

Each of the studies had a different focus. One study attempted to identify the present areas of agreement and disagreement regarding inter-organization behavior by systematically reviewing the …

Diagnostic Congruence: A Study On Presentation Of Clinical Information To Parents And Recall, Miriam Rae Maier

Dissertations and Theses

The present study was an investigation of recall following presentation of diagnostic information. The setting was the Crippled Children's Division of the University of Oregon Medical School.

The purpose of the study was to test the hypothesis that one session conferencing imparting diagnostic information to parents of handicapped children reduces recall. Additionally, it was hypothesized that multi-discipline conferencing is related to greater diagnostic recall than single discipline conferencing. The sample was made up of 20 parent units whose children were evaluated at the Crippled Children's Division for suspected Cerebral Palsy and/or Mental Retardation. There were ten families from the Cerebral …