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Effect Of Ondansetron And Delta(9)-Tetrahydrocannabinol On The Establishment Of Lithium-Induced Conditioned Taste Avoidance In The House Musk Shrew (Suncus Murinus), Magdalena Kwiatkowska

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Recent evidence suggests that toxin-induced taste avoidance in the non-emetic rat is not mediated by conditioned sickness. In contrast, it appears that toxin-induced taste avoidance in an emetic species is mediated by conditioned sickness. The present experiments evaluated the potential of the anti-emetic agents, ondansetron [OND; a serotonin receptor (5-HT3) antagonist] and Delta(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol [THC; a cannabinoid (CB 1) agonist] to interfere with lithium chloride (LiCl)-induced taste avoidance in the house musk shrew (Suncus murinus). In Experiment 1, shrews were pretreated with OND (1.5 mg/kg) or saline 30 min prior to drinking 0.1% saccharin solution then they were injected with LiCl …

Event Knowledge And The Subjective Temporal Distance Of Past Events, Travis Mcteer

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Three studies investigated a proposed relation between memory quality for past events and the subjective temporal distance of those events. The findings support the hypothesis that those events that are remembered more vividly and in greater detail tend to feel closer than more poorly remembered events. Studies 1 and 2 establish a correlational link between memory quality and subjective distance. Study 3 uses an experimental design to demonstrate that an individual's memory quality for a past event can affect his/her rating of the subjective distance of that event. The results are discussed in terms of the associations between feelings of …

Story Telling: A Narrative Based Evaluation Of Supported Housing For Consumers At Waterloo Regional Homes For Mental Health, Inc., Sarah L. Peddle

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

A qualitative, narrative approach was used to evaluate a supported housing program for formerly homeless people with serious mental health problems. The housing organization hosting the research is currently providing supported-living, single-occupancy apartments funded under the Phase II Mental Health Homelessness Initiative by the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care. The study was designed to gather the stories of those who have been recently homeless or at risk for homelessness, have a serious mental illness, and have been housed within the past year in this housing, as well as to provide an evaluation of the effectiveness of supported housing …

Übersetzungs- Und Validierung Der Deutschen Version Des "Teenage Inventory Of Social Skills" (Tiss-D) [Translation And Validation Of The German "Teenage Inventory Of Social Skills" (Tiss-G)]., Patrick Pössel, Bettina Häußer

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

Fragestellung: Eine Reihe von Studien konnte die enge Verbindung zwischen geringer sozialen Kompetenz und psychischen Störungen bei Jugendlichen aufzeigen (z. B. Rudolph & Clark, 2001). Methode: Um das soziale Verhalten von Jugendlichen untereinander erfassen zu können, wurde das „Teenage Inventory of Social Skills“ (TISS) von Inderbitzen & Foster (1992) übersetzt und validiert. Ergebnisse: Die faktorenanalytisch ermittelten Skalen „positives Verhalten“ und „negatives Verhalten“ haben eine Interne Konsistenz von  = .86 und .85. Die Retest-Reliabilität über 13 – 18 Tage beträgt für beide Skalen r = .89. Während sich kein Zusammenhang der Skala „positives Verhalten“ mit den Syndromskalen des „Youth Self-Report“ …

Generalizing Disability, Michael Ashley Stein

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Role Of Dopamine In Motivational And Receptive Aspects Of Female Mouse Sexual Behavior, Amber Bradshaw Hodges

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

A pacing paradigm investigated the modulatory role of monoamines in the mesolimbic dopamine system on copulatory behavior in female mice. Specifically whether there is a distinction between the neural regulatory mechanisms of pacing behavior and receptive behavior was determined. Pacing measures motivational and rewarding components of copulation by the female's contacts and withdrawals from the male, while receptivity is the willingness to engage in copulations and is measured by the number of sexual stimulations received. A pacing paradigm was established and female mice were observed to pace in a similar manner, but at a lesser rate, than female rats.

Dopamine …

Fmri Of Healthy Older Adults During Stroop Interference, Scott Aaron Langenecker, Kristy A. Nielson, Stephen M. Rao

Psychology Faculty Research and Publications

The Stroop interference effect, caused by difficulty inhibiting overlearned word reading, is often more pronounced in older adults. This has been proposed to be due to declines in inhibitory control and frontal lobe functions with aging. Initial neuroimaging studies of inhibitory control show that older adults have enhanced activation in multiple frontal areas, particularly in inferior frontal gyrus, indicative of recruitment to aid with performance of the task. The current study compared 13 younger and 13 older adults, all healthy and well educated, who completed a Stroop test during functional magnetic resonance imaging. Younger adults were more accurate across conditions, …

Comparability Of Functional Mri Response In Young And Old During Inhibition, Kristy A. Nielson, Scott Aaron Langenecker, Thomas J. Ross, Hugh Garavan, Stephen M. Rao, Elliot Stein

Psychology Faculty Research and Publications

When using fMRI to study age-related cognitive changes, it is important to establish the integrity of the hemodynamic response because, potentially, it can be affected by age and disease. However, there have been few attempts to document such integrity and no attempts using higher cognitive rather than perceptual or motor tasks. We used fMRI with 28 healthy young and older adults on an inhibitory control task. Although older and young adults differed in task performance and activation patterns, they had comparable hemodynamic responses. We conclude that activation during cognitive inhibition, which was predominantly increased in elders, was not due to …

Psychological And Neuropsychological Correlates Of Postconcussional Disorder, Joy Helena Wymer

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Chronic symptoms of Postconcussional Disorder (PCD) occur in a significant minority of mild brain injury patients. The latest research suggests an interactionistic perspective as the most logical and empirically supported pathogenesis for the development and maintenance of PCD. The interactionistic perspective implicates organic factors in the development of acute symptoms of PCD, and psychological factors in the maintenance of chronic symptoms. Possible psychological factors relevant in the maintenance of PCD symptoms include a grief response, a coping hypothesis, and the development of dysfunctional coping loops. Providing support for a psychological etiology of symptom maintenance is research indicating reduction of chronic …

The Effects Of Memory Knowledge On Attributions Of Forgetfulness In Younger And Older Adults, Susan K. J. Brigman

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This study examined the relationship between memory knowledge and peoples' perceptions of forgetful younger and older adults in two ways. First, using an experimental approach, younger and older research participants were assigned to one of three information conditions: control (received no information about memory and aging), grandparent (received information about grandparent-grandchild relationships), and memory aging (received information about normative age-related changes in memory functioning in later adulthood). One week later, participants read six vignettes describing fictitious persons experiencing everyday instances of forgetting who were either younger (23-35 years of age) or older (63-75 years of age). Following Erber, Szuchman, and …

The Effect Of Observational Method And Task Complexity On Neuropsychological Test Performance, Linda S. Lindman

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Neuropsychologists are often called upon to conduct psychological examination in the presence of an observer in litigation cases despite research clearly demonstrating altered performance on neuropsychological tests under such conditions. Past research into the social facilitation effect suggests attentional conflict (Baron, 1986; Manstead & Semin, 1980) and increased anxiety (Guerin & Innes, 1982; Guerin, 1983) when observers are present and cannot be monitored. However, this research has found conflicting results depending upon the complexity of tasks and differences in observation condition. Meta analyses point to task complexity (Bond & Titus, 1983) and evaluation apprehension (Guerin, 1986) as important moderators of …

Examining The Relationships Between Motivational Traits And Counterproductive Work Behaviors, Kajal Rushikesh Mehta

LSU Master's Theses

This study examined the relationships between motivational traits and counterproductive work behaviors. Little evidence exists supporting a link between individual differences and counterproductive work behaviors in previous literature. This study tested for a link between individual differences in motivation and workplace deviance by using broad operationalizations of both constructs. In addition, the investigation controlled for the effects of situational factors on counterproductive work behaviors providing a stronger test of the role of dispositional motivation. In general, this study set out to show that both approach and avoidance motivation tendencies are related to counterproductive work behaviors, as well as organizational citizenship …

The Effects Of Reinforcement Magnitude On Functional Analysis Outcomes, Valerie Marie Volkert

LSU Master's Theses

The functional analysis methodology developed by Iwata, Dorsey, Slifer, Bauman, and Richman (1982/1994) has been successfully used to identify the variables that maintain the problem behavior of individuals with developmental disabilities. However, in some cases, the results of functional analysis may be inconclusive. Altering parameters of reinforcement, such as the schedule, the quality, or magnitude of the reinforcer, may increase the likelihood of obtaining clear functional analysis results. Few studies have evaluated the effects of reinforcement magnitude on problem behavior even though basic findings indicate that this parameter may alter functional analysis outcomes. In fact, reinforcement magnitude has varied widely …

Effects Of Family Violence And Parental Psychopathology On The Psychological Outcome Of Urban Adolescents Exposed To Community Violence, Shannon Self-Brown

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Previous research has documented an association between adolescents’ exposure to community violence and a range of mental health problems. However, some violence-exposed youth maintain high levels of adaptive behavior and exhibit good psychological functioning. Thus, it appears that protective and/or risk factors are involved in the community violence-psychological outcome relation, which mitigate the conditions under which community violence exposure leads to adverse adolescent outcome. According to the ecological transactional model, protective and/or risk factors may exist within the family that influence adolescent outcome in response to community violence exposure. The purpose of this study was to delineate the relations among …

Analysis Of Factors That Affect Responding In A Two-Response Chain In Children With Developmental Disabilities, Stephanie Ann Contrucci Kuhn

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Behaviors that are appropriate, inappropriate, or a combination of both can be linked together in a behavior chain. When the contingencies for one response change (e.g., reinforcement is withheld for the last response in the chain; the last response is reinforced even if it occurs without the other responses in the chain) or the environmental conditions change (e.g., access to the reinforcer is available independent of responding), the other responses in the chain may be affected. Little is known about these types of effects on behavior chains. Several operant processes may disrupt behavior chains. The purpose of this study was …

Cost Effective And Sequential Methods For Teaching Educational Paraprofessionals To Implement Behavior Management Strategies In Preschool Classrooms, Natalie Jan Slider

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This study examined the efficacy of cost effective and sequential training methods for teaching educational paraprofessionals to implement behavior management strategies in preschool classrooms. Investigation of the effects of increasingly complex and time consuming methods of training on both paraprofessional and student behaviors were evaluated. Training methods employed included written take-home manuals and summary cards, modeling videotapes, and performance feedback. Training materials included three behavior management strategies (e.g., instruction-giving, praise, and time out) that have shown to have extensive support in the empirical literature (Brophy, 1981; Budd, Riner, & Brockman, 1983; Flanagan, Adams, & Forehand, 1979; O’Dell, Krug, Patterson, & …

A Cross-Sectional Study Comparing The Psychosocial Correlates For Overconcern With Body Size And Shape In Men And Women, Amy Elaine Rzeznikiewicz

LSU Master's Theses

The purposes of this cross-sectional study were two-fold. The primary aim of this study was to test whether the Muscle Appearance Satisfaction Scale (MASS), a recently developed, reliable, and valid measure of muscle dysmorphia symptoms, measures a parallel phenomenon in men that the Body Shape Questionnaire (BSQ) does in women, i.e., overconcern with body size and shape. To test this aim, psychosocial correlates for overconcern with body size and shape in women were tested to be the same psychosocial correlates for a measure of muscle dysmorphia in men. The psychosocial variables included in this model were body dissatisfaction, negative affect, …

Reliability And Concordance Of The Childhood Autism Rating Scale And Dsm-Iv In Adults With Severe And Profound Mental Retardation, Noha Farrah Minshawi

LSU Master's Theses

Researchers and clinicians have long treated autism as though it were a disorder that only affected children. As a result, little literature is available on the diagnosis, assessment, and treatment of adults with autism. One of the first issues to address in this population is diagnosis. While several rating scales and diagnostic systems exist for surveying autistic behavior in children, researchers have not demonstrated the reliability of these scales for adults. The present study focused on two commonly used instruments, the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV). In the …

The Effects Of Internal And External Context Reinstatement On Source Memory, Jeffrey Joseph Starns

LSU Master's Theses

Memory for attended aspects of an encoded event (item memory) is facilitated when features of the encoding context are reinstated at test, indicating that item and context features are bound together in memory traces (Smith, 1979). The present study investigated whether reinstated contextual features similarly enhance memory for other contextual details of an event (source memory). Participants studied words that appeared on either the top or bottom of the computer screen in either a large or small font size. Following the study phase, participants completed a recognition/source test in which they had to indicate the location in which they studied …

The Impact Of Brief Intervention On Adherence To Medication Regimen Of Low-Income Adults With Type 2 Diabetes, Kathleen E. Kendra

LSU Master's Theses

Patient nonadherence with medication regimen is a common problem facing health care providers treating adult patients with Type 2 diabetes. Poor glycemic control, diabetes related complications, and increased utilization and health care costs are among the outcomes of poor compliance with medical regimen. Prior research indicates moderate success with several techniques to improve medication adherence when used alone. However, the literature suggests a need for an intervention providing a multi-component technique, implementing self-motivating skills and follow-up prompts. Using a 15- minute single exposure intervention, the current study attempted to combine these two procedures (brief intervention including motivational interviewing with follow-up …

A Stage Targeted Physical Activity Intervention Among A Predominantly African American Low Income Medical Population, Dorothy Whitehead

LSU Master's Theses

Despite the numerous health benefits, there is a high prevalence of physical inactivity and associated chronic diseases in the U.S., particularly among low income African Americans. Past studies indicate that mailed, stage-matched physical activity promotion materials are effective, low cost, and show potential for reaching hard to reach groups. However, this has not been examined in a low-income African American population. The current study utilized a low-cost, mailed intervention to promote physical activity among a low income African American primary care population (N=207). The sample was predominantly female (82.6%), African American (69.1%), and overweight (81.3%). At baseline, all participants completed …

Commitment To Displaying Positive Emotions At Work: An Examination Of Individual And Situational Antecedents, Meredith H. Croyle

LSU Master's Theses

Studies show that employee emotional displays impact customer behaviors and attitudes (Grandey, Fisk, Mattila, & Sideman, 2002; Pugh, 2001; Tsai, 2001). However, the factors influencing employees' emotional displays have not received much attention. More specifically, research suggests a need to more fully understand the motivational processes underlying employees' emotional displays, particularly in customer service where positive emotional displays are related to customer behaviors and sales performance (Brown & Sulzer-Azaroff, 1994; Diefendorff & Gosserand, in press; Grandey, Fisk, Matilla, & Sideman, 2002; Pugh, 2001; Tsai, 2001). To this end, this investigation examined an expectancy theory model of commitment to positive emotional …

Escalation Bias In Group Decision-Making, Molly Joann Russ

LSU Master's Theses

The present study extended the literature on escalation bias to group decision-making in the context of performance appraisal. Escalation theory states that persons responsible for a hiring decision will provide higher evaluation ratings of that employee than those persons not responsible for the decision. This study compared the performance evaluation decisions of supervisors, individual team members, and teams in order to ascertain differences in escalation behaviors based on rater perspective and whether the rater was responsible for hiring the employee or not. Support for the hypotheses varied depending on the employment decision being made and the perspective of the decision-maker. …

Attribution Processes In Mother-Adolescent Conflict, Ann Elisabeth Wingate

LSU Master's Theses

The present study aimed to determine whether negative mother and adolescent attributions about one another are associated with increased conflict levels in a heterogeneous sample, examine the possible differential predictive power of certain negative attribution types for different groups within the sample, determine whether level of negative attribution, SES, or daily stress level are significant predictors of conflict, and examine the potential mediating role of negative attributions in the relationship between SES and conflict level, as well as the relationship between and daily stress and conflict level. One hundred forty-five mother-adolescent dyads from various racial and SES backgrounds of a …

Identifying Students At Risk For Academic Failure: The Application Of A Prereferral Screening Model Including Responsiveness To Intervention, Susan Lockhart Gatti

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Increasing demands are continually placed on our education system to improve the educational outcomes of all children. To provide the best services to our children, appropriate screening, assessments, and intervention services need to be implemented within the school setting. The current study evaluated the relationship of a screening procedure (Screening to Enhance Educational Performance, STEEP; Witt, 1996) using curriculum-based measurement (CBM) and compared the results of the screening procedure to other commonly used problem nomination procedures for second, third, and fourth graders. The data were obtained from archival sources that resulted from a service and training project conducted jointly by …

The Relation Between Knowledge Of Adhd And Treatment Acceptability In A Multi-Disciplinary Pediatric Clinic, Rebecca Owen Currier

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Behavior modification and medication have been proven to be the most effective interventions for children with ADHD. For these treatments to be effective, utilization of mental health care services as well as compliance with treatment recommendations is necessary. There has been shown lower care utilization among minorities for the treatment of behavioral disorders. In addition, lack of adherence among these populations to ADHD treatment is not explained by SES, parenting stress, or family coping. An alternative explanation may be parental knowledge of ADHD and opinions of commonly used treatments. The present investigation examined the effect of a brief knowledge intervention …

Utility Of The Implementation Of Programmatic Systems To Reduce And Eliminate Restraint Use For The Treatment Of Problem Behaviors With Individuals With Mental Retardation, Yemonja Smalls

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Persons with mental retardation continue to remain one of society’s most vulnerable groups as the number of individuals served increases and non-proportional resources are allotted to take of their needs. With results of national investigations indicating widespread indiscriminate abuse of restraints and overmedication to manage dangerous behaviors, federal mandates have been initiated to ensure ethical, safe and clinically sound use of these techniques. This study addressed the implementation of systemic changes that included a restraint education program and policy changes, careful monitoring and review of restraint and behavioral programming by oversight review bodies, and intense training of preventative and de-escalation …

The Relationship Between Social Behavior And Mealtime Behavior Problems In Individuals With Severe And Profound Mental Retardation, David E. Kuhn

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

One of the defining features of mental retardation is a problem in adaptive functioning. An area of adaptive skills commonly deficient in this population is social functioning, often characterized as behaviors that provide individuals with the means to interact effectively and appropriately with others. Researchers in this area have generally focused on improving appropriate social behavior and/or decreasing behavioral excesses that interfere with social interactions. Few studies have examined the effects of improving social behavior on collateral behaviors. The current study examined the relationship between social behavior and feeding and mealtime problem behavior in individuals with mental retardation. Individuals across …

Cognitive Processes Involved In The Onset And Course Of Postnatal Distress From The Antenatal Period To Six Months Postpartum: New Findings, And Implications For Future Research, Anne Pratt

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Although studies have explored the epidemiology of Postnatal Depression (PND) and other mood disorders occurring in the postnatal period, there is some evidence to support the argument that there may be different subsets of women suffering from low mood, around the time of childbirth (Warner, Appleby, Whitton, & Faragher, 1997). Some new mothers may be responding to the inherent, but often understated, stressors of the childbirth experience itself and the period that follows it, linked to dysfunctional maternal attitudes. Others may have pre-existing dysfunctional cognitions before the birth arising from other factors, and therefore already be vulnerable to a mood …

Preventing Depressive Symptomatology In Children Aged Eight To Eleven Years : Application Of The Positive Thinking Program, Parma Barbaro

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Recent research has demonstrated that exposure to prevention programs can decrease the incidence of depressive symptomatology in children. Universal prevention programs for children younger than 10 years of age are scarce. The current study examined the effectiveness of an eight week cognitive-behavioural prevention program in decreasing depressive symptoms and anxiety and, promoting a more optimistic explanatory style in children aged 8 to 11 years. Effectiveness of the program for children with initially low or high scores based on the pre-intervention median score of the Children's Depression Inventory (CDI; Kovacs, 1992) scores was also examined. Children were matched on grade and …