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The Effects Of Direction Of Grouping, Type Of Stimuli, And Class Level On Cognitive Equivalence Transformations, Christopher A. Joseph

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The major purpose of this investigation was to study the structure, attributes, and supplemental aspects of equivalence classifying of words and pictures made by sixth graders, freshmen college students and junior and senior college students . A particular point of interest was whether or not increasing or decreasing the size of the groups results in different types of equivalence classifying. Other minor goals were to determine the effects of direction of grouping, type of stimuli, and class level on unique reasons produced and recall of stimuli.

The results of the study support the thesis that there is a cognitive developmental …

Identity: A Study Of Existential Vs. Social Anchorage, Paul J. Seymour

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to assess the identity anchorage of persons in different societal positions.

Four experimental groups were chosen to represent different societal positions, namely, students, musicians, management personnel, and nonmanagement personnel. There were 93 subjects involved in these four groups. Each subject was presented with an adapted version of the Twenty Statements Test and a questionnaire to obtain biographical data. The statements made on the Twenty Statements Test were then placed into one of the following categories: physical characteristics; social roles and institutions; characteristic ways of acting, feeling or responding in social interaction; and, broad nondifferentiating …

A Comparison Of Two Methods Of Teaching A Remedial Mathematics Course At The Community College, James C. Olsen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Problem

This study was concerned with the effectiveness of two different programs for teaching remedial mathematics to community college students. An individualized instruction program, making use of independent study and the small group setting, was compared with the traditional lecture-textbook instruction program to determine if there existed significant differences in (a) the rate of attrition, and (b) mathematics performance. A secondary objective was to determine if significant differences existed between students enrolled in remedial mathematics classes at 9 AM and those enrolled at 12 Noon.

Method

The target population consisted of all students in fourteen community colleges in the Los …

The Validity Of Awarding Credit By Examination In English Composition, Mark Guymon Christensen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study investigated the validity of excusing students from composition courses based upon an objective examination.

Utah State University (USU) students who had taken freshman composition courses during the 1970-71 school year when these courses were required of all entering freshman students were divided into two groups: one group was composed of those who had received an "A" or "B" for three freshman composition courses, while the other group had received a- "C" or "D" for the same courses. USU students who had been excused from taking freshman composition courses based on the CLEP General Examination in English Composition (CLEP) …

Group Treatment Of Insomnia In Psychiatric Patients Through Relaxation Training, Richard Robert Weber

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The present study investigated the effects of progressive relaxation training using an abridged form of Jacobson's (1938) relaxation exercises on the mean number of nocturnal sleep disturbances in a group of psychiatric inpatients. Nocturnal time-sampling observations were made during a 14 day base line to select Ss who averaged 1.5 sleep disturbances per night. Six women, ranging in age from 23 to 56 years, were classified as problem sleepers and were moved to a common bedroom, where a second 16 day base line was taken to control for changes in the nocturnal environment. After a brief introduction and demonstration, …

The Effects Of Teaching Methods, Experimental Procedures, Grading, And Exam Frequency On The Academic Performance Of Students In Higher Education, Paul William Robinson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to demonstrate a new approach in the analysis of teaching procedures, and show the importance of certain variates on the academic performance of college students.

Objectives

The objectives of this study were threefold:

1. To determine whether an ABA approach (definition on page 19) can be used effectively to identify relevant variables influencing college student's academic performance.

2. To determine the influence of grading and exam frequency on achievement in college.

3. To compare the effectiveness of a lectureless go-at-your-own-pace teaching procedure and lecture procedures on student performance as measured on a final exam and a six …

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Freshman Orientation And Career Articulation With A Rational Value Decision-Making Model, Bud W. Stephenson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The role identity of the college and university counseling center has been in a state of evolution for the past few years and a reconceptualized role for the college and university counselor is beginning to emerge. This evolution is the result of rapid change taking place within society and in higher education. In recent research such authors as Morrill and Oetting (1970) have noted that the programs of counseling centers in the colleges and universities are not changing along with the rest of the college environment today and programs are thus becoming more and more outdated and irrelevant. Along with …

A Correlation Study Between The Shipley-Hartford Test Of Mental Maturity And The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, Richard Roy Speechly

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) has been v recognized as a helpful tool to the psychologist in identifying abnormal characteristics (Leverenz, 1956; Modlin, 1956; Hathaway and Mckinley, 1967; Hock, 1970). Likewise the Shipley-Institute of Living Scale for Measuring Intellectual Impairment (S-H) has also been recognized as a helpful tool in identifying emotional impairment (Pollack, 1942; Halstead, 1943; Fleming, 1943; Wright, 1946; Garfield and Fey, 1948; Lewinsohn, 1963) . Despite the research which suggests both tests are capable of helpful diagnosis in the general area of psychological impairment (Welch, 1956; Lewinsohn, 1963), little if any work has been done examining …

Task Persistence In Early Childhood Education, Thomas Richard Stephenson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study was designed to discover developmental trends in task persistence (TP). It was hoped that the results would suggest when and for what groups a task persistence (TP) curriculum is crucial.

To study this development a sample of two, four, and six year old children were given a "work" task. The task required 120 subjects (Ss) to sort and fold 33 items of clothing and linen. After the task instructions and demonstration, the experimenter did not intervene with reinforcers or further directions.

The dependent variables investigated were time spent on the task, time spent away from the task, and …

Non-Contingent Reinforcement In A Counseling Like Situation, Robert B. Shelton Jr.

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to determine if a variable, non-contingent reinforcement, could account for a significant amount of the effect of psychotherapy. A sample of ninety subjects was drawn from basic psychology classes and randomly assigned to six groups in a variation of the Soloman 4-group design. The treatment groups were connected to sham GSR equipment and told that when a light flashed they had made an anxiety reducing statement and were becoming more mentally healthy. The subjects were given three by five cards upon which were typed positive-negative adjective pairs and told to use the cards as …

An Analysis Of The Effects Of Delay Of Reinforcement And Momentary Probabilities Of Reinforcement On Interval Schedule Performance, Charles A. Lund

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In two experiments pigeons were exposed to VI and FI schedules and schedules approximating both VI and FI schedules. In experiment I, the probabilities of the VI and FI components in a Mixed FI VI schedule were manipulated to create schedule contingencies approximating simple VI or FI. In experiment II, the minimum and maximum inter-reinforcement intervals were manipulated to create schedule contingencies approximating simple VI or FI. The major finding of both of these experiments was that maximal control by the dimension of time occurred as FI contingencies were approximated. Control by any one temporal value in experiment I depended …

The Relationship Of Scoring Above Or Below The 75th Percentile On The Kuder Preference Record To General Aptitude, Vocational Attitudes And Occupational Values, Terry Joseph Orme

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study was designed to investigate the relationship of general aptitude, vocational attitudes, and occupational values to scoring above or below the 75th percentile on the Kuder Preference Record by ninth grade students in rural southwestern Utah and southeastern Idaho.

The sample consisted of a group of 248 students who participated in Project Mace. The students were divided into two groups according to their Kuder percentile scores. The G scale of the General Aptitude Test Battery, the Vocational Development Inventory, and the Occupational Values Inventory were also administered to the subjects. The data were analyzed by a simple correlation matrix …

Effects Of Manipulating Fr Size And Reinforcement Magnitude In Multiple Fr Schedules, Dean P. Inman

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Animals performing on simple fixed-ratio (FR) schedules typically pause after reinforcement delivery. The present study demonstrated systematic control of pause length in multiple fixed ratio schedules by manipulating FR size and reinforcement magnitude. In Experiment I, two adult male rabbits were stabilized on an alternating, two component, multiple FR 10 FR 10 schedule. Different colored lights were correlated with both FR components. Stability was determined and mean pause lengths were calculated as one FR component was increased in size until the schedule was FR 10 FR 50. Pausing was longer before the large FR component and was positively correlated with …

Prediction And Assessment Of Liked And Non-Liked Teachers As Rated By Various Student Groups, Nancy Ladee Fleming

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study was designed to: (1) determine whether the test scores on the CPI and Teacher Inventory serve as predictors of "liked" and "non-liked" teachers, and (2) determine whether various student groups (minority, Anglo, disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged) rate "liked" and "non-liked" teachers differently on each of the three variables of the Teacher Inventory.

Ninety-two sophomore students, representing race and economic factors rated the 37 teachers of required sophomore subject matter classes on a Like-Dislike Scale and the Teacher Inventory. Two lists were thus generated: (1) teachers to whom various students rated as "liked" teachers, and (2) teachers to whom various …

The Effects Of Mobile Assisted Career Exploration On The Career Development Of Rural Ninth Grade Students, Robert Eldred Charlton

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Problem. This study investigated whether or not a structured career development program, using a mobile guidance unit and operating on a limited time schedule, could provide a feasible means for facilitating the career development of ninth grade students in the rural school setting.

Project MACE. MACE stands for "Mobile Assisted Career Exploration." Project MACE was a study developed by the research office of the Utah State Board of Education and conducted by Utah State University. The study used ninth grade students in sixteen selected rural Utah high schools and in two rural …

The Fixed-Interval Presentation Of A Small Fixed Ratio, Larry Allen Alferink

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In mixed fixed-ratio schedules, reinforcement is delivered according to two or more fixed-ratio components, which may be programmed in simple alternation or according to a random sequence. If the components simply alternate, the behavior is similar to that obtained in a multiple schedule. Pauses are long before long fixed ratios and short before short fixed ratios. If a random sequence is used, responding is characterized by short pauses after reinforcement independent of the size of the ratio and primes occur at the beginning of many of the fixed ratios. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the possibility …

Personality Correlates Of Interpersonal Perception In A Residential Treatment Center For Adolescent Girls, Raymond Paul Micciche, Terrell Lynn Eheler

Dissertations and Theses

While men do indeed construct self-validating and often peculiar interpretations of the realities of their world the simple fact that these views become consensually shared doctrines of experience does not protect them from the revisionism of historical scrutiny. These perceptions of the world become retrospectively altered as developing bodies of knowledge reject them as being clearly deceptive or anachronistic. The concept of psychopathology, distinguished historically under many rubrics, has not been immune to these same processes of modification, nor has it ever been free of the diverse irrationalities which men of all ages have constructed to explain the etiology and …

The Supreme Organ Of The Mind's Self-Ordering Growth, T. Y. Booth

Faculty Honor Lectures

As is true of other organs, when language is functioning well, we pay little or no attention to it or its complexities. Part of the difficulty, in fact, of doing justice to the problems of expression and interpretation that Richards asks us to deal with is that routine language experience occurs so effortlessly, so unconcernedly, so second-natured naturally, that when we do run into difficulties we do not always recognize them as difficulties of our developing language. Or, what can be even worse, we think of the language difficulties as if they were separable, as if the thought would be …

Conditioned Suppression In Humans As A Function Of Task Complexity, Henry H. James

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

An Exploration Of Numerous Customer Characteristics Associated With Impulse Purchasing Behavior, Ira J. Jager

Masters Theses

Introduction

The term "impulse buying behavior" evokes different connotations to different researchers. It is for this reason that it is difficult to formulate a universal definition for all research in the field. Engel, Kollat, and Blackwell (1968) list some of the definitions given to impulse purchasing by those who have done research in this field:

(1) "An impulse purchase is an unplanned spur of the moment decision to purchase a product."

(2) "An impulse purchase is a logical and efficient way of making purchase decisions since by waiting until one is in the store to finalize purchase intentions, a more …

Operant And Classical Conditioning Of Single Units In Area 18a Of The Rat’S Cortex, Francis E. Butler

Masters Theses

The effect of the previous history of a single unit on its present firing pattern was studied using classical and operant conditioning. The units were in area 18a of the rat's cortex. It was found that there are polymodal units in that area. The firing pattern can be changed using classical conditioning. The rate of firing can be increased one standard deviation above the mean rate by reinforcing with brain stimulation. The rate can also be changed one standard deviation below the mean rate. This occurs when the trials come at a fixed time and when the trials come at …

The Effects Of Types Of Music On Worker Productivity In A Sheltered Workshop, Wayne D. Veneklasen

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

The Use Of Multiple Auditory Cues In A Visual Search Task, Howard C. Silver

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

The Shaping Of Verbal Imitation And Multiple Effects Of Aversive Schedules For Controlling Inattention In An Infant, Leta Hunt Secker

Masters Theses

A six-month-old infant was conditioned to imitate four verbal cues presented by an adult experimenter by using food as a reinforcer. Aversive schedules (escape-avoidance of, or punishment with a loud buzzer) were then introduced to suppress inattentive behavior. Inattention defined as looking away from the investigator, crying, rate of vocalizations, and accuracy of imitations were measured. Three conclusions of the experiment were: 1) verbal imitation can be shaped and maintained through positive reinforcement; 2) the use of aversive schedules is not necessarily beneficial for the performance of the imitative task, or for the general well-being of the child.

Schedule Effects On Individual And Paired Escape Behavior Of Albino Rats, Anton P. Colasacco

Masters Theses

In Experiment I, the effects of low fixed ratios on individual escape behavior of rats was studied. When FR sessions were compared to CRF sessions, measures related to shock delivery showed highest percentage increases, especially at FR-5.

Animals were then paired. Two schedules were analyzed as alternatives to individual escape. In Experiment II, shock was terminated when a specified FR was completed, either by the responses of one animal or by the total responses of both animals. Escape as a function of both animals responding was not maintained. In Experiment III, shock was terminated individually as before, or when both …

Personal Space As A Function Of Repression-Sensitization, Sensation-Seeking And The Stigmatized Characteristics Of A Target Person, Howard M. Johnson

Student Work

The concept of personal space has been an unregarded sociological and psychological dimension. Probably the work of animal ethologists has done more to generate interest in spacing and territoriality than any other group of behavioral investigators. The characteristics of individual space in animals has been studied by Hediger (1950, 1955, 1961). From Hediger 's import ant work, research in the area of personal space in humans has evolved.

An Analysis Of Differentiating Personality Factors Between Incarcerated Heroin Addicts And Non-Addicts, Richard Whitely Davis

Master's Theses

The present study was designed to determine if long-term heroin addicts could be differentiated from short-term users and non-users of heroin on a personality inventory and by comparing their worlt histories and interpersonal relationships . Subjects were incarcerated felons at the Virginia State Penitentiary for men, and the data was collected while the men were still in the institution's Receiving Cell. First it was hyr)othesized that four factors (C, L, M, and O) from Cattell's 16 P. F. Questionnaire would be critical in discriminating addicts from non-addicts. When compared, the addict profiles and non-addict profiles did not differ significantly …

Cue Relevance As A Continuum, David A. Governski

Psychology ETDs

The primary purpose of this experiment was to demonstrate how different percentages of reinforcement can result in differential amounts of stimulus control. The initial conditions were designed to see if organisms could distinguish between different reinforcement percentages of different stimuli, even though these stimuli always appeared in compound and never in isolation. In Condition I, four stimuli were used with the following absolute reinforcement percentages: 75, 75, 50, and 0, corresponding to three different tones and a light. Results showed that the light had become a conditioned inhibitor but that no difference in stimulus control was obtained between the 75% …

A Program Of School Social Work, Phyllis Marie Jaszkowiak

Dissertations and Theses

School social work is in a state of flux. Traditional casework services in the schools, as the only function of the school social worker, is becoming less viable.

The study of Assumption school and area points out some problem areas, as well as strengths. In view of these problems and strengths, a broadened school social work program is discussed. The program centers around prevention, treatment, and research. A basic principle upon which all is based is a team approach of social work, school, and community. The discussion leads to the community school concept, which is currently seen as one of …

"America: Possibilities For Transformation", Robert Jay Lifton, Portland State University

Special Collections: Oregon Public Speakers

No abstract provided.