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Generalization Of A Relational Discrimination, John G. Svinicki

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Cue Conflict And Apparent Visual Movement, Michael Gerard Walraven

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

The Effect Of Modification Of Hyperactive-Aggressive Behavior On Oral Expressive Language Behavior, Betty Susan Dowdell

All Master's Theses

The question the study sought to answer was: Will the affect of modification of hyperactive-aggressive behavior effect a change in the oral expressive language behavior of the children?

An Experimental Analysis Of Superstitious Behavior In College Males, Nancy Alice Metzler

All Master's Theses

The possibility that superstitious responses would occur when aversive stimulation was randomly presented was investigated. There were three groups of 20 male introductory psychology students each. The Shock Group (SG) was given 45 unavoidable shocks. The Reinforcement Shock Group {RSG) was given 100 positive reinforcements and then 45 unavoidable shocks. The Reinforcement Punishment Group received 100 positive reinforcements and then 45 response contingent shocks and served to test the effectiveness of the shock as a punishing stimulus. Superstitious responses seemed to occur, but Ss of SG showed response patterns typical of punishment, while Ss of RSG showed increases in rates …

The Rate Of Processing Visual Information Within The Human Organism, Thomas E. Wilkins

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Need-For-Approval, Locus Of Reinforcement, And Peer Presence Effects In Goal-Setting, Barbara Jean Hicks

Student Work

Recent studies, focusing on defensive qualities of approval-oriented individuals, have shown that persons high in need-for-approval are avoidant and defensive in self- and socially-evaluative situations. Most of these studies have investigated behavior in situations where social implications are fairly explicit. There is evidence, however, that some individuals respond to implicitly held cultural norms in an experimental situation.

The Value Of Mixed Fixed-Interval Schedules With And Without Informative Stimuli, Phillip B. Wootton

Psychology ETDs

A number of observing response experiments indicate animals prefer informative over noninformative response alternatives. This preference is exhibited even though there is no objective difference in reward conditions to favor one alternative over the other. In the present experiment, an equivalent mixture of short and long fixed-interval schedules was programmed in informative and noninformative response alternatives. The present approach sought to determine whether preference for the informative alternative could be rationalized from an estimation of the relative values of the fixed-interval schedules and mixtures. In conjunction with this purpose, preferences were evaluated over a broad range of short and long …

Effects Of Stimulus Codability And Duration Of Stimulus Exposure On Recognition Memory For Random Shapes, Terry Clyde Daniel

Psychology ETDs

An experiment was conducted investigating the role of distinctive verbal labels and scaled stimulus codability on the temporal course of recognition memory for complex random shapes. Three between-S variables, delay interval, pretraining type, and stimulus codability, were combined with one within-S variable, stimulus exposure duration, into a 3x2x2x(2) factorial design. Subjects were given observation or relevant verbal label pretraining with either high or low codability stimuli and were subsequently tested on a five-stimulus forced-choice recognition task either immediately, 15 minutes, or 1 week after training. All subjects saw one half of the stimuli for their condition for 6.0 seconds on …

Role Of Observing Responses In Perceptual Learning, Dieter W. Jahns

Psychology ETDs

The experiment was designed to test the hypothesis that the distributions of observing responses made within a stimulus differ during tactual stimulus predifferentiation training as a function of the labeling task used and that subsequent perceptual performance can be related to correlated differential practice with the stimuli during predifferentiation, as exhibited by differences in observing-response distributions during the earlier task. One hundred twenty Ss were given a multiple-shape recognition test subsequent to one of 12 experimental conditions: 2, 4, or 8 trials of either observation or equivalence stimulus-predifferentiation training under one of two conditions of observing-response freedom. The results indicated …

Conditioned Response Sub-Class Variability., David Perkins

Psychology ETDs

In order to test the hypothesis that resistance to extinction is directly related to the amount of response sub-class variability reinforced during acquisition, the number of different response subclasses reinforced during acquisition was directly controlled and subsequently related to resistance to extinction. A response subclass was defined as a response to one of eight key locations on a horizontally oriented response strip which was presumed to represent a topographical response continuum.

Seven groups of 3 pigeons each were first trained to peck the transilluminated response strip for 3-sec. access to grain reinforcement. Each group received a total of 752 reinforcements …

Hippocampal Eeg Correlates Of Behavior, Thomas Leroy Bennett Jr.

Psychology ETDs

Implications that the hippocampus plays a major role in mediating behavior have been described by animal lesion and human clinical studies. The exact function of this structure is, however, in dispute. This is particularly true with regard to orienting, learning and decision making as reflected by electrical activity (theta) recorded from this structure. Contrary evidence concerning these functions has been obtained by Grastyán, Adey and their associates. In the present research, three task variables which may have accounted for their different findings were examined. These methodological variations included the modality of the stimuli presented to the animal, the presence of …

Interest As A Factor In Vocational Choice, Leland J. Smith

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

As the complexities of modern life increase, greater caution has to be exercised in the selection of an appropriate vocational choice. Norris, Zeran and Hatch (1960, p. 5) state, "The dramatic changes which have taken place in the world during the past twenty-five years have created new demands on the training programs which furnish the skilled leaders in all vocational pursuits." The foregoing statement certainly points out the vocational implications of our changing society. Mortensen and Schmuller (1951, p. 199) report, "The entire area of interests is today receiving added emphasis." The study of interest continues to occupy an important …

Organizing For Guidance In The Willcox Elementary Schools, Agnes M. Briggs

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

The director of Guidance in the Arizona State Department of Public Instruction realizing the great need for more experimental programs, proposed that part of the [National Defense Education Act of 1958] monies in Arizona be used for the purpose of developing pilot projects in the elementary schools. Schools that had expressed interest in a possible elementary guidance project were contacted and invited to write a proposal with the assistance of the State Department. Forty districts submitted plans for elementary guidance programs. Of these, ten were selected on the basis of the nature of the proposed program, the geographic location of …

Learning Theory As Applied To The Counseling Process, Melvin H. Larsen

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

The literature contains much about learning. But, what do we mean by learning?

Learning is the process by which an activity originates or is changed through reacting to an encountered situation, provided that the characteristics of the change in activity cannot be explained on the basis of native response tendencies, maturation, or temporary states of the organism (e.g., fatigue, drugs, etc.). (Hilgard, 1966, p. 2)

Effective counseling requires that the client learn. Even though client learning is essential to effective counseling, relatively little has been done to relate learning theory to the counseling process. Significant work in this direction has …

The Effects Of Confirmation And Disconfirmation Of The Self-Concept On Task Performance Under Two Test Conditions, Richard Craig Steele

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

A Study Of The Self-Concept Attitudes Of Incarcerated And Nonincarcerated Male Adolescents, Joseph Petty

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Three general comparisons were made in the present study: (1) Four groups of subjects were compared with one-another on the four Bills' Index of Adjustment and Values variables. The variables included: (a) Self-concept (perception of self), (b) self-acceptance (feelings about perception of self), (c) ideal-self (aspired self), and (d) the discrepancy score between self-concept and ideal-self. The four main groups consisted of: (a) Nonincarcerated nondelinquents (adolescents, in public school, without a police record), (b) nonincarcerated delinquents (with police record), (c) incarcerated adolescents attending the institutional academic school, (d) incarcerated adolescents not attending the institutional academic school. (2) The two incarcerated …

The Effects Of Paternal Absence On Male Children, Martha H. Rigby

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

The society in which our children are living and growing today is complicated by strife and conflict both internally and externally . It is a time when statisticians are telling us that 481 out of 1,000 marriages, or nearly one out of every four, will end in divorce; many others will end in separations not legally terminated (Bureau of Census, 1966). Many families are also separated because of the military action which at present is keeping 500,000 men at war in a country many thousands of miles from their families. During the year 1967 over nine thousand of this number …

The Effect Of Color Training On The Perception Of The Color Of Geometric Forms, Larry John Ivey

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Effects Of Discriminated Stimuli On Temporal Responding In A Free-Operant Discriminated Avoidance Procedure, Darrel Elmer Bostow

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Variations On Piaget's Pre-Number Development Tests Used As Learning Experiences, Hyrum E. Richards

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The effects of learning upon the rate of conservation attainment and its transference to other areas of performance were studied using 17 mentally retarded subjects.

Subjects found to be non-conservers on pretests were taught conservation and correspondence using a variety of tasks modeled from Piaget's experiments. They were also pretested on the WISC Information and Picture Arrangement Sub-tests and a number concept test. Following the learning experiences, the subjects were posttested using the same measures used for pretesting with the exception of the number test where an alternate form was used.

Significant correlations were found between the conservation pretest scores …

Remedial Reading: Evaluation Of A Reading-And-Study Course With Implications For A College Reading Center, Antoine T. Powell

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The main purpose of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the method of teaching a "How to Study" class in helping students more adequately meet their reading needs.

Research was conducted to test the reading gains made by students in the program with respect to ability and group size. The results indicate that group size had the greatest effect as to changes in reading behavior.

Instruction was based on diagnosing student needs. It was shown that a significant number of students who decreased in rate of reading, increased in comprehension. The same diagnostic principle was observed for those …

The Use Of Mental Imagery Among Young Children In The Acquisition Of Piaget's Principles Of Conservation, Richard C. Sweetland

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study attempted to discover some parameters in terms of mental age at which young children, ages five through eight, begin to utilize effectively their mental imagery in the learning process. Using Piaget's principles of conservation as a learning task, subjects were taught in one of two groups: Group one was instructed in conservation concepts by use of concrete example, in which case they were allowed to see, handle and manipulate materials as they underwent transformations. Group two received identical instruction but were called upon to use their mental imagery to visualize the materials undergoing transformations.

Based upon the administration …

Child's Perception Of Parental Attitude And Its Relationship To Academic Achievement And Problem Awareness, Mohammed K. Fazel

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study was aimed at finding relationships between the triad of academic achievement, child's perception of parental attitude, and his problem awareness. The study was designed with reference to three postulates of phenomenological psychology. (a) The perceptual field of an individual at any moment determines his behavior of the moment. (b) The term phenomenal self is formed by the individual's interaction with others. (c) The basic need of the organism is the maintenance and actualization of the self.

A survey of the literature tended to support the thesis that there was a positive relationship between educational achievement and parental acceptance. …

The Relationship Of Occupational Choice To Ego Identity And Self-Concepts, Norman D. Bell

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study attempted to investigate the relationship of occupational choice to ego identity achievement, to self-concept, and to academic achievement, as these are related to Eric Erikson's contention that is adolescents' inability to settle on an occupational choice which disturbs them and results in a sense of identity diffusion (lack of solidified ideas of self, goals for life, and a need to seek external supports).

The sample consisted of 320 senior high school boys in the tenth, eleventh, and twelfth grades.

Variables considered included: level of vocational commitment; ego identity; self-regard, i.e., self-concept, self-acceptance, ideal self and adjustment (sum of …

The Validity And Use Of Wechsler Pre-School And Primary Scale Of Intelligence In Predicting School Achievement, Sam Campanella

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the Wechsler Pre-School and Primary Scale of Intelligence for use in predicting school achievement. The Wechsler Pre-School and Primary Scale of Intelligence was administered to 22 children enrolled in the Operation Head Start Program in Logan, Utah. The Wide Range Achievement Test was administered five months later to the same 22 children. The scores on the Wechsler Pre-School and Primary Scale of Intelligence were correlated to the scores on the Wide Range Achievement Test.

On the basis of the .53 correlation between the Wechsler Pre-School and Primary Scale of Intelligence Full …

Predicting Success In Shorthand I, Meredith Cragun Bell

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to find the best predictors and best combination of predictors of shorthand success. Those used were the Educational Research Corporation Stenographic Aptitude Test and its subtests, I.Q. scores, a Self-Success Rating, and the Digit Symbol subtest taken from the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale.

Students enrolled in Shorthand I at Sky View High School were the subjects used in this study.

The criteria of shorthand success were the final dictation speed and the final grade.

The best single predictor of shorthand dictation speed was the total E.R.C. Stenographic Aptitude Test. The best combination of predictors …

Development And Control Of Licking Behavior In The Guinea Pig (Cavia Porcellus), Jack R. Alvord

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Four non-licking guinea pigs were reinforced with water for successive approximations to licking an operandum feeder. Once all subjects had obtained their total liquid intake for a three-week period by licking, an optimum deprivation schedule was determined.

Fixed ratio and variable interval schedules were found to affect licking behavior of the guinea pig in a similar way as with the rat, mean lick rate of guinea pigs being slightly lower than that of the rat. Precise control over the onset and offset of licking was demonstrated through discrimination training.

The Relationship Between Activity Delay And Freshman Academic Achievement, Richard R. Carlson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to determine if a relationship existed between arrival time in coming to take the ACT test and academic achievement.

The individuals who met the general criteria were used in this study numbered 129; 46 of these met the additional criteria of arriving early and they composed the early group.

The early and late groups were compared on ACT composite score and cumulative grade point average.

Significant differences between the means could not be found, by analysis of variance; between the early and late groups using either ACT composite score or cumulative grade point average.

Student Achievement Effort As Related To Achievement And Self Concept, Michael Lynn Maughan

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study was designed to investigate more completely the variable of achievement effort (effort in school) as related to self rating, teacher rating, student self concept, actual achievement, and sex differences.

A group of 198 sixth grade students were used as the experimental subjects. Five sets of data were obtained on the students: (a) students' self ratings on an achievement effort rating scale, (b) teachers' ratings of their students on the same achievement effort rating scale, (c) students' scores on a self concept scale, (d) students' performances on an achievement test, and (e) students' performances on an intelligence test. Partial …

Differential Hawthorne Effect By Cueing, Sex, And Relevance, Richard Carl Harris

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study attempted to create experimentally the Hawthorne effect in a freshman general psychology class at Utah State University during tall quarter of 1967. It also attempted to discover the differential effect of cueing, sex, and relevance on the experimental creation of the Hawthorne effect as measured by six general psychology criterion tests.

The design of this study included a control group and three experimental groups.

The following five hypotheses were postulated:

1. The experimental groups will show greater influence from the Hawthorne effect than the control group.

2. Within the three experimental groups there will be an increasing Hawthorne effect with …

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