Digital Commons Network^™

The Effects Of Bilateral Injections Of Neuropeptide K Into The Medial Preoptic Area On Male Rat Copulatory Behavior, Peter Malen '91

Honors Projects

The first mammalian neuropeptide to be characterized was substance P (sP) , and it is now recognized that sP is a member of a structurally related family of peptides, the tachykinins. Extensive studies have demonstrated. that sP and some related tachykinin peptides play key roles as neurotransmitters and neuromodulators. The synthesis of different members of the tachykinin family is in part due to the modifications' of three sP-encoding preprotachykinin (PPT) mRNA's that are derived from a single sP gene. At least four tachykinin peptides can be synthesized as a result of these differential modifications including sP, neurokinin A, neuropeptide and …

Intracerebral Injections Of Substance P Fragments (5-11) And (1-7) Into The Dorsal Midbrain Central Gray Have No Effects On Lordosis Behavior In The Female Rat, Jodi K. Block '91

Honors Projects

Substance P (sP), a neuroactive peptide, has now been implicated in a wide range of behaviors. One in particular is female rat sexual behavior. Recently, it has been shown that bilateral injections of sP into the dorsal midbrain central gray (dMCG) of estrogen-primed female rats facilitate sexual behavior (lordosis). Uncertainty remains, however, concerning the mode of action of synaptically released sP. Indeed, most of our understanding of sP activity has revealed that its full structural sequence is not needed for biological activity. This has led to speculation that sP may be processed into one or more types of fragments before …

Effect Of Straw On The Behaviour Of Growing Pigs, David Fraser, P. A. Phillips, B. K. Thompson, T. Tennessen

Social Behavior Collection

The effects of straw on the behaviour of young growing pigs were studied in two experiments. In Experiment 1, group of three pigs, aged about 7 weeks, were housed in raised decks with or without straw bedding. Time-lapse video recording showed no major differences between treatments in the amount or daily pattern of overall activity and feeding. Detailed observations showed that bedding reduced the incidence of rooting and chewing on pen-mates, but had little effect on other social activities such as mounting and aggressive biting. Experiment 2 compared groups of eight growing pigs aged about 10 weeks, housed in floor …

The Effects Of Self-Esteem, Performance Feedback, And Behavioral Verifiability On Self-Serving Biases, Diana C. Slatopolsky

Master's Theses

The present study examined the psychological processes underlying the self-serving bjas, the tendency to portray one's own qualities as more favorable then those of others. Subjects were asked to predict future success on a behavioral task for themselves and for the average student at their university after receiving performance feedback on the same task. It was proposed that self-enhancing predictions would be moderated by subject's self-esteem (high or low), the verifiability of task performance (high or low), and performance feedback (success or failure). The results revealed that subjects with high self-esteem displayed a self-serving bias regardless of performance verifiability or …

Cognitive Functioning Of Male Adult Children Of Alcoholics And Control Subjects While Under The Influence Of Acute Alcohol Intoxication, Bette Bakke

Theses and Dissertations

Previous research has suggested that adult children of alcoholics (ACAs) are at increased risk for the development of alcoholism. Differences between ACA and control subjects have been reported for a range of cognitive, affective and behavioral measures in addition to certain components of the auditory evoked potential, supporting speculation that biological or psychological markers exist as predictors of future alcoholism. The present study examined 20 males ACA and 20 male control subjects under either placebo or alcohol experimental conditions using cognitive measures (Digit Span, Trail Making, Digit Symbol) at baseline, peak and descent phase of the session that have been …

Immunophenotyping Of Lymphoid Cells In Autism, L. Jeanne Yonk

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Research into the cause of autism continues without any clear-cut answers. However, recent studies suggest that abnormalities of the immune system are associated with this disorder and autism results from failure of the immune system to regulate itself. Proper immune regulation requires that the host have the appropriate number and percentage of each population of lymphocytes and monocytes. These populations can be distinguished from one another with monoclonal antibodies that react with unique protein structures on the cell surface designated as the "cluster of differentiation" (CD) antigens.

This investigation studied the possibility that the immune abnormalities seen in autism are …

Predictors Of Change For Parents Who Perceive Improvement In Their Family Functioning Following A Parent-Training Program, Linda Gayle Moore

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of the present study was to determine if perceptions of improved family functioning following a behavioral parenting program could be predicted by educational background, income, and pretest knowledge of behavioral principles. Subjects for the study were parents of elementary-school-aged children who volunteered for the parenting classes. Parents who perceived their families as dysfunctional, as measured by the pretest FACES II, were selected as subjects for the study. Parents whose perceptions of their families improved after the parenting class were then compared with parents who did not perceive improvement in their families on the predictor variables.

The results demonstrated …

Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder And Undifferentiated-Attention Deficit Disorder: Differences In Cognitive And Affective Characteristics And Responses To Stimulant Medication, Richard Alan Campbell

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The cognitive and affective characteristics and responses to stimulant medication of children who were diagnosed as having attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (AD-HD) or undifferentiated-attention deficit disorder (UADD) were investigated using a pretest-posttest experimental design. Nineteen AD-HD and 17 UADD children were compared using unpaired t-tests, prior to initiation of stimulant medication, on measures of intellectual functioning, impulsivity, problem behavior, and self-reported depression and self-esteem. Children from both the AD-HD (n = 12) and UADD (n = 12) groups were then compared before and after a 3-month trial of stimulant medication on measures of impulsivity, problem behavior, and self-reported depression …

Psychophysiological And Personality Correlates Of Repression And Sensitization, John Patrick Kline

Student Work

This study assessed relationships among indices of modulation of stimulus intensity by the autonomic and central nervous systems, perceptual defense, and repressive coping. Subjects were twenty female and nine male paid volunteers between the ages of 19 and 38. Perceptual defense, defined as the difference in recognition thresholds for unpleasant versus pleasant words, was assessed with a tachistoscopic masking paradigm. Auditory evoked potentials (AEPs) were obtained in an augmentation reduction paradigm that evaluated cortical responses to discrete tones of varying intensity. Cardiac responses to these same tones were also obtained. Amplitude/intensity slopes were determined for P2 amplitudes obtained from the …

Touch Avoidance And Eating Disorders: A Relational Study, Christine L. North

Student Work

This relational study had therapists from an eating disorder program distribute a touch avoidance questionnaire to patients currently in treatment for an eating disorder. This study looked at touch avoidance among three groups: subjects with an eating disorder and non-sexual abuse background, subjects with an eating disorder and sexual abuse background, and a control group. The questionnaire consisted of the 20 question Same-Sex Touching Scale (SSTS) (Larsen & LeRoux, 1984) and the Touch Avoidance Measure (TAM) (Andersen & Leibowitz, 1978). T-tests revealed a significant value of -2.19 on the TAM between eating disorder and eating disorder/sexual abuse, a score of …

Choice By Rats For Enriched Versus Standard Home Cages Plastic Pipes, Wood Platforms, Wood Chips, And Paper Towels As Enrichment Items, Anita Lynn Bradshaw

Dissertations

The purpose of the present study was to determine whether simple additions to the home cages of rats made those cages preferable to standard housing arrangements. Results indicated that the majority of rats preferred cages with wood platforms, wood chips, and paper towels to otherwise identical cages without these items. Wood chips were not, however, practical with the cages used in the present study. Plastic pipes caused no problems but were not preferred by the majority of individual animals. Both wood platforms and paper towels created no problems and appeared to be useful as enrichment items. The latter were preferred …

A Computer Simulation Of Braitenberg Vehicles, Eric B. Werkowitz

Theses and Dissertations

In his treatise, Vehicles: Experiments in Synthetic Psychology, Valentino Braitenberg used simple, autonomous vehicle designs to illustrate the principles behind animal nervous system organization and operation. The goal of this effort was to produce a computer program to allow a researcher to experiment with these concepts and to analyze their performance using methods employed by experimental psychologists. The resulting program allows the user to design vehicles that respond to changes in their environments and that have the ability to adapt their behavior, using a learning algorithm developed by Teuvo Kohonen. The vehicle designer is free to select sensor attributes, …

Childhood Maltreatment, Adult Attachment, And Emotional Adjustment, Cynthia Suzanne Nicholson

Theses Digitization Project

Possible relationships between early mistreatment, adult attachment security (Interpersonal functioning), and apprehension and melancholy.

The Self-Esteem Of Chronically Ill Adolescents, Nancy Berman Lees

Theses Digitization Project

No abstract provided.

Moral Orientation And Decision-Making: Ethnic And Gender Differences, Janice Lee Rank

Theses Digitization Project

No abstract provided.

A Study Of The Personality Types Of Presidential Scholars At The University Of Northern Iowa, Jennifer C. Miller

Presidential Scholars Theses (1990 – 2006)

As a Presidential Scholar, became interested in how those people who were awaded the scholarship differed in their personality types from those equally intelligent and involved people who did not. Thus, I decided to compare the personality types of the University of Northern Iowa Presidential Scholars to those members of Omicron Delta Kappa, which is the highest academic honorary society on campus. I chose to compare Presidential Scholars to ODK members because the ODK society emphasizes many of the same qualities as the Presidential Scholars Program: academics, leadership, and service. To become a member of ODK, a student must have …

Mmpi Profiles Of Sexual Perpetrators, Steven G. Vaupel

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to compare MMPI scores of 60 men referred for assessment and/or counseling at community mental health facilities. No MMPI protocols were excluded due to elevated validity configurations (70T or above). Forty of the referrals were referred for suspected child sexual abuse. Twenty of the referrals admitted (Admitter) to sexually abusing a child at the time of referral and twenty did not admit (Nonadmitter) to sexually abusing a child when referred. A control group of the remaining twenty subjects were referred for various offenses, none of which included sexual offenses against children. Significant differences were …

A Relationship Between Birth-Order Position And The Incidence Of Eating Disorders, Mary Weber

Theses

Eating disorders, bulimia, anorexia, and compulsive eating are a rising concern for the female population as they currently affect women in almost epidemic proportions. Research has enabled us to categorize like-characteristics among those clients who are affected as well as, to develop with some consistency, portraits of the family systems in which these patients develop their symptoms.

A key factor in the family structure is the role that each sibling assumes, which is often directly influenced by the ordinal position of their birth in relationship to their siblings. Research has also identified a categorical profile of characteristics associated with each …

The Family Dance Model: A Definition And Comparison With The Beavers, Olson, And Mcmaster Models Of Family Functioning, Lyle V. Turnage

Theses

This study explored the hypothesis that married couples have ways of relating to each other which are peculiar to their relationship; and that other couples operate under the same or similar patterns of relating.

"Patterns in family relationships are often referred to as dances." (Lerner, 1990). Dances are determined by the music played, the manner of dress or costume, physical movements, and the tempo or beat (Chujoy & Manchester, 1967). Family dances are also recognized by physical interactions or movements, appearance or dress, and the beat of family messages. The family dance model will use names of dances such as …

School Of Social And Systemic Studies 1991-1992, Nova University

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

No abstract provided.

History Of Psychology, David E. Leary

Psychology Faculty Publications

Given the expansion and maturation of the field over the past three decades and its continued - and perhaps increased - relevance to the teaching of undergraduates and graduates, it is reasonable for the Annual Review of Psychology to offer its first review on the history and historiography of psychology [except for an earlier historical chapter by Mueller (1979)]. The treatment of the topic, which we hope will be particularly useful to teachers and students of the history of psychology, is rather straightforward. After a discussion of authors and texts on the general history of psychology, we highlight some of …

Family Systems And Young Children With Behavior Problems, Trina L. Turner

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

The Relationship Of Temperamental And Representational Personality Dimensions To Each Other And To Subjective Life Satisfaction, Stephen M. Gedo

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Diagnostic And Onset Of Symptomatology Predictors Of Adolescent Hospitalization Patterns, Mary Gonzalez Jaworski

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Relationship Between Infant Temperament And Maternal Stress Level In Day Care And Home Care Children, Mario B. Natta

Master's Theses

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. …

Effects Of Race And Socio-Economic Status On Children’S Food Preferences, Reginald M. Chandler

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the effects of race and socio-economic status on children's food preferences. Twenty-four obese and 43 non-obese young children (mean age 5.3 years) looked at an array of pictures of food and selected the pictures of items with which he/she would like to make a lunch. The mothers of the children were escorted into the room after the children had left the room and were instructed to modify, if they wish, their child's food selections. The mothers were also told that the modification of their child's selections should reflect a lunch they …

Myers-Briggs Personality Types In Chronic Pain Patients, Linda S. Mckee-Mcalpin

Student Work

This study uses the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator to examine the possibility that there are personality types that are more likely to cope maladaptively, and experience the syndrome of chronic pain, when they are faced with an injury or pain which results in unexpected life changes.

The Chronic Pain sample in this study scored significantly higher than a Normal sample in their preference for Introversion, Sensing and Judging and were significantly more likely to be the personality types ISFJ or ISTJ.

This study also examines the relationship between MMPI depression scores and Myers-Briggs Introversion scores and the results tend to confirm …

Picture Viewing As A Test Of Attention To Food And Body Image Cues In Restrained Versus Nonrestrained Eaters, Sally Rose Brinza

Theses and Dissertations

Restrained eaters, those who chronically and severely restrict food intake in order to lose weight, are thought to exhibit thoughts and behaviors similar to those seen in semi-starved and eating disordered (bulimic and anorexic) individuals. A paradoxical tendency to overeat once food restraint is disinhibited has been noted in restrainers. Food and body weight preoccupation and hyperresponsiveness to external food cues have been hypothesized to occur in restrained individuals; however the literature reports conflicting results and these factors have not been thoroughly investigated. Cognitive factors which differentiate restrained eaters from nonrestrained eaters may affect information processing.

The purpose of this …

Within-Subject And Between-Subjects Evaluation Of The Effects Of Hallucinogenic Drugs In Pigeons Responding Under Two Variations Of A Fixed-Consecutive-Number Schedule, Rodney D. Clark

Dissertations

The purpose of the present study was twofold: To determine the effects of LSD (0.03 - 1.0 mg/kg), mescaline (0.3 - 5.6 mg/kg), and DMT (0.3 - 3.0 mg/kg) on the performance of pigeons under two variants on an FCN schedule and to determine whether these effects differed substantially as a result of experimental design (i.e., within subject or between-subjects). Under this schedule, food was delivered whenever subjects responded between eight and 12 times on one response key (work key), then responded once on a second key (reinforcement key). Under one version, (FCN-S^D), an external discriminative stimulus was correlated with …