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Therapist Warmth As A Factor In Automated Relaxation Training, Kenneth Dittmar

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Automated relaxation training was administered by two therapists, each using a warm and cold voice. A self relaxation group which heard the warm or cold voice but no relaxation instructions were used as a control (a 2 X 2 X 2 factorial design: therapist I - therapist II; warm — cold; relaxation instructions — self relaxation). The effectiveness of the procedures was measured by reduction in physiological level of arousal (EKG and EMG) and self report. No physiological differences were found. The self report measure was significantly reduced for the groups who heard the warm voice.

About Us...: A Primer In Psychology For Junior High School, Kay Lyou

Student Scholarship

Unavailable.

The Effects Of A Sympathiomimetric Stressor On The Protestant Ethic Effect In Rats, Peter Mirabelle

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

In an experiment which investigated the effects of stress on the Protestant Ethic Effect (PEE) 12 Wistar rats were trained for 20 days to barpress for their total water intake. Following training the rats were divided into two groups and were allowed to choose between barpressing for a 10% sucrose solution and consuming a freely available sucrose solution under either stress or nonstress conditions. Stress was defined as a .01 cc per 36g body weight injection of norepinephrine. The stress and nonstress conditions were counterbalanced during the choice session. Regardless of stress order both groups preferred the free over the …

Development Of The God Concept In Children: An Exploratory Study, Dennis Feeley

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

A study was designed to explore the developmental relationship between early childhood concepts of parent and more adult concepts of God. It attempted to identify the age at which absolute attributes such as omnipotence and ubiquity are taken away from parents and assigned to God. Based on both the theories of Freud and Piaget it was predicted that the transition will occur between the ages of four and eight. Forty children were administered an interview questionnaire and two short stories all of which depicted an attribute or characteristic which is traditionally viewed as being associated with God. Both techniques were …

A Three Step Strategy For Training A Beginning Teacher To Use Positive Social Reinforcement In The Classroom, Robert D. Morris

Master's Theses

The purpose of the study was to measure the effectiveness of a three-step strategy designed to modify a classroom teacher's consequating behavior. In Step 1, a group contingency game was introduced into the classroom to reduce talk-outs and out-of-seats. In Step 2, the game was supplemented by observer instructions and feedback to the teacher concerning her consequating behavior. The purpose of the feedback was to increase teacher approval for appropriate behavior and to decrease teacher disapproval for inappropriate behavior. In Step 3, the group contingency game was removed but the teacher continued to receive feedback on her consequating behavior. Therefore, …

Reduction Of Self-Injurious Behaviors In Retardates Using A Spray Mist, Michael F. Dorsey

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Effect Of Descriptive Information On Accuracy Of Interpersonal Perception, Sung Soo Park

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Effects Of Maternal Deprivation And Social Isolation On Later Social Dominance In The Albino Rat, Richard P. Banning

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Stimulus Properties Of Population Density, Robert Alan Schauerhamer

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

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.

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. …

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. …

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, …

The Impact Of Boys’ Club Membership And Participation Upon Self-Reported Delinquent Behavior, Charles Vaught

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This study empirically tested the responses of sixty-one Boys’ Club members to a questionnaire which contained the Nye-Short delinquency scale. Frequency of self-reported delinquent behavior was compared for the youngsters both before and after having joined the Boys’ Club. It was found that the various aspects of Club membership and participation had minimal effect upon the members’ delinquent behavior.

Relationships Between The Fear Of Appearing Incompetent, Self-Estimated Iq, Obtained Iq And Gpa, Cheryl Bateman

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The present study deals with the fear of appearing incompetent as delineated by White, Goffman and Adler. The fear of appearing incompetent is an aspect of competence that may threaten self-esteem. The fear of appearing incompetent can purportedly be measured by the Fear of Appearing Incompetent Scale (FAIS).

It was found that the fear of appearing incompetent correlated positively with self-estimated IQ, but correlated negatively with obtained IQ. The fear of appearing incompetent had no significant relationship to GPA. The fear of appearing incompetent in participants who over-estimated their IQs did not differ significantly from the fear of appearing incompetent …

Organizational & Demographic Correlates Of Faculty Job Satisfaction & Morale, Daniel Sauer

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Two measures or faculty lob satisfaction and one measure of denartmental morale were correlated with faculty perceptions of leadership style, faculty participation in departmental decision makinr, and faculty personal and demographic variables. Three dimensions of faculty satisfaction emerged: Supervision and Morale, Work and Colleagues, and Hewards and Growth. The two dimensions of department nead leadership style whicn emerged were Consiaeration and Rigid. Faculty satisfaction with Supervision and Morale was positively correlated with the Consideration leadership style and negatively correlated with the Rigid leadership style. Increased faculty participation was desired in promotion, tenure and salary decisions. Generally, participation in departmental decision …

Religious Affiliation, Authoritarianism, And Dogmatism Of College Students, Heber M. Sharp

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship of religious affiliation to the authoritarianism and open-closed mindedness of students at two institutions of higher learning, controlling for sex, reported church attendance, state in which the person reported residence as a child, and city size of reported childhood residency.

The sample for this study was selected from junior and senior students at Utah State University (n=1,409) and Weber State College (n=837). The subjects for whom data were analyzed indicated affiliation with the following religious groups: Agnostic, Baptist, Catholic, Christian, Episcopalian, Jewish, Lutheran, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, …

Auditory Or Visual Perception : Which Is The Better Predictor Of Reading Comprehension, Thomas Spencer Chalkley Jr.

Master's Theses

All first and third graders from a surburban public school were administered the Kerby Learning Modalities Test (KLMT) and the Metropolitan Achievement Test Battery (MAT). The relationship between the MAT reading compre­ hension subtest percentile scores, the KLMT overall visual percentile scores, and the KLMT overall auditory percentile scores were explored through the use of Regression Analysis and other correlational techniques. The various correlations were used in several prediction models. There was no significant difference (p> .01) between the .full model predicting Reading Comprehension (RC) with Auditory (A) and Visual (V) and the restricted model predicting RC with A; however …

The Effects Of Live Modeling And Specificity Of Verbal Reinforcement On The Modification Of Classroom Behavior, James Joseph Fox Iii

Master's Theses

This study attempted to increase the frequency of student on-task behavior in two. third grade classrooms. using live modeling and vicarious reinforcement. In a multiple baseline-counterbalanced treatments design two classrooms of students were exposed to live, peer modeling displays of on-task behavior. In one class­ room the teacher praised the model, using behaviorally specific praise while the second classroom teacher used non-specific praise. Praise conditions were later reversed. It was hypothesized that after exposure to the modeling display s a) the frequency of on-task behavior would be increased over baseline levels to a pre-determined treatment outcome , b) behaviorally specific …

The Use Of Territory As A Natural Reinforcer In The Modification Of Academic Performance And Disruptive Classroom Behaviors, Sherwin Lynnwood Davis

Master's Theses

Emphasis is currently being placed upon the use of low-cost, naturally occurring reinforcers in classroom behavior modification programs. The effectiveness of students'territorial space as a natural reinforcer for social and academic classroom behaviors was investigated. Using the multiple baseline technique, student access to territorial space was systematically manipulated in an attempt to decelerate out-of-seat behaviors and to increase the percentage of assignments completed and graded either satisfactory or excellent. Student vocalization was also monitored; it was predicted that increases in desired academic behaviors would produce reciprocal decreases in vocalization. Finally, a fading procedure was utilized to remove gross territorial markings …

Does The "Draw-A-Male-And-A-Female" Test Show Male-Female Relationship?, Paul Charles Hatch

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The present study investigated the "Draw-A-Male-And-A-Female" test to find if this variation of the "Draw-A-Person" test was a valid measure of male-female relationship variables, i.e., compatibility, happiness, warmth, and interpersonal anxiety and conflict. Two groups varying with respect to relationship (married group vs divorced group) were tested. A high school group was also tested. Three psychologists rated the drawings into a positive or a negative relationship group. If the male and female figures in the drawing had the appearance of warmth or pleasantness between each other, seemed compatible, and looked free from interpersonal anxiety or conflict, the picture was placed …

The Development And Validation Of A Life-Change Checklist For Juvenile Delinquents, Paul G. Kulcsar

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A method generated by psychophysics has been used to develop a Checklist consisting of 58 life-events that require varying degrees of readjustment on the part of adolescents experiencing them.

A very high degree of concordance was found to exist among psychologists, social workers and probation officers with regard to the relative value of life-change required by those events.

Information about the occurrence of the amount of life-change was subsequently gathered from a sample of 334 juvenile delinquents and 104 nondelinquents by administering the Checklist. A measure of the degree of severity of delinquency was also obtained for each delinquent subject. …

The Development Of A Composite Criminal Suicide Attempt Scale, Norman Salzberg

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study was designed to understand and identify prison male inmates who had attempted suicide in their history prior to their incarceration. The objectives were (1) the comparison of inmates who had indicated that they had attempted suicide in their past, referred to as "suicide attempt inmates," with inmates who had not, referred to as "non-suicide attempt inmates," on 33 behavioral and personal variables; (2) The development of a suicide attempt scale by means of an item analysis on the responses of suicide attempt and non-suicide inmates to the items of the Bipolar Psychological Inventory (BPI). This scale was named …