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

Student Scholarship

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The Relationships Between Maternal Locus Of Control, Maternal Iq & Infant Development, Vernon Westrich

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

A group of mothers and their infants enrolled in a rural child development center served as the subjects for this study. This investigation was designed to study the relationships between maternal locus of control, maternal IQ and their effects upon an infant's rate of mental and motor development.

Locus of control was measured by a newly developed I-E scale designed for use with populations of low reading levels and low intelligence levels. The mother's IQ was measured with the PPVT, an instrument that yields passive, verbal intelligence scores. An infant's level of development was assessed with the Bayley Scales of …

The Influence Of Multiple Variables On The Protestant Ethic Effect, Gloria Rice

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Research has shown that under certain conditions an organism will prefer to work for a reward rather than freeload for the identical reward. Length of barpress training, type of reinforcer, and strain of rat have all been shown to affect work behavior. Six Wistar and six Max Hooded rats were assigned to one of three treatment conditions. They earned either a water or a sucrose reinforcer for 5, 7, or 10 days. The rats were given two days of barpress shaping. Following barpress shaping, they completed 5, 7, or 10 days of barpress training. Training was followed by three days …

The Relationship Of Age & Marital Status To Affiliative Imagery & Fear Of Success In Women, Brenda Francis

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Horner postulated the existence of an avoidance motive called the motive to avoid success and suggested that many women experience anxiety about achieving success because they expect negative consequences as a result of succeeding. Horner's fear of success concept has been widely cited as an explanation for the lack of stability and predictability in research on female achievement motivation. Recent research by Tomlinson-Keasey has demonstrated much lower fear of success in older, married college women than in a younger, single group. This finding was attributed to the age difference between the married and single groups, but more specifically to role …

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 …

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 …

Effects Of Simulator Training On The Acquisition And Generalization Of Pedestrian Skills In Retarded Persons, Terry J. Page

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

The Outsider Conceptual Definition And Linkages To Several Psychological Theories, Thomas R. Holmes

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

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, …

Retention As A Function Of Transfer Paradign And Introversion-Extroversion, Glenna F. Hasslacher

Master's Theses

In an effort to investigate the effects of personality on paired-associate learning, sixty students from the Univer­ sity of Richmond were separated into three groups of extro­ vert, control, and introvert, on the basis of the Eysenck Personality Inventory (EPI). Five Ss from each group were randomly assigned to four paired-associate learning conditions (A-Br, A-C, C-B, C-D) and required to learn an A-B and a second paired-associate learning list to a criterion of one perfect score. Subjects were required to return to the lab after 24 hours for a retention test of both the second list and the original A-B …

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

Masters Theses

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.

Response Preferences To Affirmative Action Statements In Job Advertisements, Milo Anthony Masura

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Behavioral Treatment Of Alcoholism: An Avaluative Review, Kenneth Francis Foti

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Stimulus Properties Of Population Density, Robert Alan Schauerhamer

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

A Survey Of Apa Members' Attitudes Concerning Dual Relationships, Gary P. Sazama

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

The American Psychological Association (APA) has constructed the Ethical Standards of Psychologists to serve as a guideline for the therapeutic behavior of its members. Collective literary opinion suggests that a code of ethics be constructed from the attitudes and values of the associations members and the attitudes and values of the society in which these individuals practice.

The purpose of this study was twofold. First, it attempted to determine the attitudes of APA members concerning Section 6a of the 7th Draft of the Ethical Standards of Psychologists which deals with the practice of dual relationships. Second, this study attempted to …

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 …

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

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Effects Of Selective Pretraining On The Acquisition Of Matching-To-Sample Behavior In Pigeons, Richard G. Marriott

Psychology ETDs

The rapidity of acquisition of matching-to-sample behavior has repeatedly been shown to be related directly to the stimulus dimension from which the matching stimuli are selected. In short, pigeons acquire matching with color stimuli much more rapidly than matching with geometric form stimuli. Recent attempts to explain this finding have suggested that the discriminability of the sample stimulus from other sample stimuli is an important variable contributing to this effect. In addition, it has been suggested that relative acquisition rates of matching-to-sample behavior can be predicted from acquisition rates of simple discrimination tasks. The present series of experiments were designed …

Response-Reinforcer And Stimulus-Reinforcer Variables In The Elimination Of Behavior, Philip Dan Bruce

Psychology ETDs

The differential-reinforcement-of-other-behavior procedure (DRO) was investigated in the context of discrete trials to determine the extent to which it would reduce the key pecking of pigeons. The DRO procedure was compared to discrete-trials omission (DTO), discrete-trials extinction (DTE), an extinction procedure in which a response reset the trial period (REE), and a positive response-contingency control group (RCR). At the end of the response-elimination phase, all groups were exposed to response-independent reinforcement to assess the durability of the response-elimination procedures. Two measures, mean relative response rate and percentage of trials containing a peck, were used to assess performance.

All response-elimination procedures …

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. …

Stimulus Intensity And Probability Of Stimulus Change As Determinants Of Simple Reaction Time, Robert T. Nullmeyer

Psychology ETDs

Many reaction time investigators have shown that as stimulus intensities increase response latencies decrease. In addition, Spiess (1971) demonstrated that the presentation of knowledge concerning the nature of the upcoming stimulus prior to its onset (preknowledge) could result in decreased reaction times. Spiess concluded that this preknowledge effect was interpretable within the framework of Grice's variable criterion model. Grice's model assumes that a response would occur when information concerning the onset of a stimulus reached a required level or criterion. The rate at which this information accumulates is determined by the intensity of the stimulus with stronger stimuli resulting in …

The Functional Significance Of Imagery In The Learning And Memory Of The Educable Mentally Retarded, Doris C. Sahd

Psychology ETDs

This research examined imagery effects in the learning and long-term retention of educable mentally retarded subjects. Between-subject factors included the level of stimulus imagery (low imagery versus high imagery), instructional procedure (standard paired-associate instruction versus imagery instruction), and length of retention interval (immediate, one week, and two weeks). Materials used were two lists of paired-associate nouns, selected so that meaningfulness was held constant while imagery was varied. Imagery was low for the stimulus terms of one list and high for the stimulus terms of the other list. Subjects were 120 non-institutionalized educable mentally retarded children (mean MA of 9.19) from …

Cognitive Construct Systems, Sociometric Choices, And Interpersonal Attraction, Roland Dougherty

Graduate Theses

An abstract is not provided.

A Study Of The Relationship Between Failure To Be Promoted And Self-Concept Of Ninth Grade Students, Joan C. Cobb

Graduate Theses

No abstract is provided.

A Hands-On Museum For Children, Stephanie Townsend

Graduate Theses

This paper concerns itself with the preparation for the development of a children's hands-on museum. Included is a definition of such a museum, a rationale for this type of museum, organizational considerations of a community museum, four exhibits intended to stimulate and guide children's cognitive processes, and a brief summation. The rationale for this children's museum is derived primarily from Piaget's theory of cognitive developmental psychology. Thus, the exhibits are exemplars of Piagetian curriculum. The organization section emphasizes Guthe's philosophy concerning museum organization.

An Investigation Of The Effects Of Group Listening Skills On The Frequency Of Questions Asked By Students, Margaret J. Crook

Graduate Theses

No abstract was provided.

The Effects Of Facial Characteristics & Attitudes Upon Initial Interpersonal Attraction, Henry Ackerman

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Two groups of males were utilized to examine the causal effect of facial characteristics and attitudes upon initial interpersonal attraction. The two groups were given a booklet in which photographs and attitude statements were paired in various combinations. One group of males was given the booklet with photographs of females non-randomly assigned; while the other group of males was given the booklet with photographs of females randomly assigned. The major finding of the Present study was that facial characteristics were more causal in predicting initial interpersonal attraction than were attitudes. A colateral finding was that the attitude statements had in …

The Validity Generalization & Extension Of The Revised Iptis, William Hanshaw

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The basic theoretical concepts of Rational-Emotive and Rational-Behavior Therapy were discussed along with a psychometric study of an inventory measuring irrational tendencies. The revised Irrational Personality Traits Inventory Scale (IPTIS), an inventory reported to measure how an individual thinks, feels, and acts, was investigated as to the soundness of its psychometric characteristics. More specifically, the purpose of this study was to: (a) determine the reliability of the revised IPTIS with a new sample from an older population, i.e., college students, (b) assess its concurrent validity with a measure of neuroticism, and (c) evaluate the possible effects of a socially desirable …