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Predicting Improvement In Psychiatric Patients: A Longitudinal Examination Of Personal And Environmental Factors, Susan M. Ruscher Jan 1993

Predicting Improvement In Psychiatric Patients: A Longitudinal Examination Of Personal And Environmental Factors, Susan M. Ruscher

Digitized Theses

The present study was designed to assess the six-month effects of stress, self-esteem, social competence, coping, social, and family support on the level of functioning and recovery status of 41 depressed and 43 nondepressed psychiatric inpatients. Diagnostic evaluations and level of functioning were based on DSM-III-R (A.P.A., 1987) criteria using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R - Patient Version (SCID-P; Spitzer, Williams, Gibbon, & First, 1989). Patients were interviewed and completed self-report questionnaires assessing each of the psychosocial variables at three different times: shortly after hospital admission (Time 1), one (Time 2), and six months after discharge (Time 3).;At Time …

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Judgments Of Resource Distributions: The Role Of Long-Term Outcomes, Carolyn L. Hafer Jan 1993

Judgments Of Resource Distributions: The Role Of Long-Term Outcomes, Carolyn L. Hafer

Digitized Theses

Equity theory (Adams, 1965; Walster, Berscheid, & Walster, 1976) proposes that people will perceive a distribution of resources as fair when each person in the relationship receives outcomes in proportion to his/her contributions. While equity appears to be a very important determinant of perceived fairness, inequitable distributions may also be judged fair (Deutsch, 1985). For this dissertation, it was hypothesized that many apparently inequitable distributions are seen as fair because the relationship is expected to be equitable eventually. In such a case, equity is still the underlying principle of distributive fairness, though, on the surface, people appear to be defining …

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The Classification Of The Schizophrenias According To Symptomatology: A Two-Factor Model, Ian R. Nicholson Jan 1993

The Classification Of The Schizophrenias According To Symptomatology: A Two-Factor Model, Ian R. Nicholson

Digitized Theses

The purpose of this investigation was to examine a proposed two-factor model of schizophrenic symptomatology (Nicholson & Neufeld, in press). To achieve this aim, a semi-structured interview was administered to one hundred schizophrenic patients and a series of symptomatology scales were rated. Preliminary analysis indicated that these ratings were consistent with previous research in schizophrenia.;The item-level data from the scales was clustered to reduce redundancies in the large amount of data (95 schizophrenia variables) and 26 symptom clusters resulted. These symptom clusters were then rated and subsequently placed into four schizophrenia variable groups (paranoid, nonparanoid, positive, and negative). The four …

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Executive Support System Impact Viewed From A Learning Perspective, Betty Mary Vandenbosch Jan 1993

Executive Support System Impact Viewed From A Learning Perspective, Betty Mary Vandenbosch

Digitized Theses

Although learning has been associated with information technology, a theory of how technology, learning and organizational performance are related has never been developed. This dissertation employs a cognitive learning perspective to investigate the impact that executive support systems (ESS) have on organizations by proposing and testing a model of the relationships among these constructs.;The model describes the process by which ESS lead to learning and increased organizational performance. It proposes two types of learning: mental model maintenance in which new information fits into existing mental models and confirms them; and mental model building in which mental models are changed to …

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Behavioral, Electrophysiological, And Neuroanatomical Plasticity In The Rat, As A Result Of Complex Environment Housing, Eric Lynn Hargreaves Jan 1993

Behavioral, Electrophysiological, And Neuroanatomical Plasticity In The Rat, As A Result Of Complex Environment Housing, Eric Lynn Hargreaves

Digitized Theses

Long-term potentiation (LTP) is an electrophysiological phenomenon of neuroplasticity, whereby synaptic transmission of specific brain pathways become enhanced, or potentiated, after the delivery of a series of brief, high-frequency electrical trains. The increase in synaptic efficacy is of substantial duration, and therefore LTP has been likened to the theoretical reverberatory circuit that lead to permanent memory traces, as originally hypothesized by Hebb (1949). To further examine the direct relations between LTP and learning this thesis focused on the paradigm of complex environments, which have been shown to enhance learning, neocortical thickness, and hippocampal evoked potentials. It was decided to examine …

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Cognitive Profiles Of Psychological Maladjustment, Henny Alice Westra Jan 1993

Cognitive Profiles Of Psychological Maladjustment, Henny Alice Westra

Digitized Theses

A review of the literature investigating various cognitive constructs across different maladjustment patterns indicated that, despite numerous cognitive similarities, the content domains to which cognitive processes apply may be one potentially important feature distinguishing various forms of psychological maladjustment. This proposal was empirically tested in a pilot study, in which irrational belief profiles were examined concurrently across four maladjustment patterns: depression, anxiety, the Type A behaviour pattern, and bulimia. Correlational data gathered from 63 introductory psychology students yielded data consistent with content specificity proposals.;Using a university undergraduate population, content specificity proposals were comprehensively investigated across four cognitive components: irrational beliefs, …

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The Sexual Media: The Role Of Individual Differences, Anthony Francis Bogaert Jan 1993

The Sexual Media: The Role Of Individual Differences, Anthony Francis Bogaert

Digitized Theses

In two studies, an individual difference approach to understanding sexual media effects was pursued. In Study I, personality (e.g., intelligence, aggression) and individual difference (e.g., prior sexual experience) factors were assessed in a sample of undergraduate males. These males also indicated their preference for various forms of sexual media, including sexual stimuli with aggressive and nonaggressive content. As expected, individual differences were predictive of preferences for different sexual stimuli, with, for example, males lower in intelligence and higher in aggression preferring aggressive sexual stimuli. In Study II, similar personality constructs and individual differences, together with salivary testosterone (T), were assessed …

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Finsting Multiple Places In The Visual Field: Evidence For Simultaneous Facilitation, Jacquelyn Ann Burkell Jan 1993

Finsting Multiple Places In The Visual Field: Evidence For Simultaneous Facilitation, Jacquelyn Ann Burkell

Digitized Theses

Indexing of multiple locations in a visual display was examined in the context of a selective search task. Subjects searched for a conjunctively defined target among subsets of display items randomly distributed throughout the display, identified only by their abrupt onset relative to other items in the display. Experiment 1 indicates that search is faster when observers search selectively over a subset of three display items (among a total of fifteen) indicated as potential target positions. Moreover, this result cannot be due to selective attention to one of the indicated items only, because search times are influenced by characteristics of …

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Child Sexual Abuse And The Mother-Daughter Relationship: Moderating Effects, Patricia Anne Bourdeau Jan 1993

Child Sexual Abuse And The Mother-Daughter Relationship: Moderating Effects, Patricia Anne Bourdeau

Digitized Theses

The enormous variability of negative effects putatively resulting from childhood sexual abuse has prompted researchers to consider situational and environmental factors that may contribute to differential outcome. Because the clinical literature has traditionally focused on sexual abuse of female children, the relationship with nonoffending mothers is thought to play a crucial role in recovery. However, empirical evidence is sparse.;The present study investigated the moderating effects of mother-related variables in relation to features of child sexual abuse and subsequent maladjustment. Child adjustment was assessed by standardized measures, both parent- and child-report. Information about mothers' histories of childhood sexual abuse was obtained …

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Polysemy Effects: Evidence For Dual Access Routes To Word Meanings, Yasushi Hino Jan 1993

Polysemy Effects: Evidence For Dual Access Routes To Word Meanings, Yasushi Hino

Digitized Theses

The effects of polysemy (number of meanings) and word frequency were examined in lexical decision and naming tasks. Polysemy effects were observed in both tasks. In the lexical decision task, polysemy was additive with frequency. Polysemy effects appeared for both high and low frequency words. In the naming task, however, polysemy effects interacted with frequency, with polysemy effects being limited to low frequency words. When degraded stimuli were used in both tasks, the interaction appeared not only in naming but also in lexical decision. When pronounceable nonwords were replaced by pseudohomophones in lexical decision tasks, however, polysemy was once again …

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The Functional Basis Of Counterfactual Thinking, Neal Joseph Roese Jan 1993

The Functional Basis Of Counterfactual Thinking, Neal Joseph Roese

Digitized Theses

The functional role of counterfactual thoughts ("might have been" reconstructions of the past) was explored in three laboratory experiments. Specifically, counterfactual thoughts were posited to serve two possible functions: an affective function (feeling better) and a preparative function (preparing for the future via avoiding the recurrence of negative events). It is argued that counterfactuals as a generic class of cognitions generally serve these two functions, but that specific types of counterfactuals may in particular do so. Two dimensions are described alone which counterfactuals may be classified: direction (upward vs downward) and structure (additive vs subtractive). Upward counterfactuals focus on an …

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Pain And Adjustment In Hemophilia, Shara Lee Highgate Jan 1993

Pain And Adjustment In Hemophilia, Shara Lee Highgate

Digitized Theses

This study examined psychological factors associated with coping and adjustment in hemophilia, a chronic condition characterized by recurrent pain.;Mild (n = 23) and severe (n = 26) hemophiliacs were compared with rheumatoid arthritic (n = 22) patients and pain-free controls (n = 30) on personality, health beliefs, perceived social support, and experimental pain perception. Pain history, pain coping strategies and disability were compared among medical groups. Hemophiliacs' psychological functioning was within normal limits. Hemophiliacs and arthritics made similar attributions about health control from powerful others, despite hemophiliacs' stronger internality. Medical groups reported greater family support than did controls, but did …

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Dressing Old Wounds: Excuse-Validation And Other Forms Of Social Support, Kathy Denton Jan 1992

Dressing Old Wounds: Excuse-Validation And Other Forms Of Social Support, Kathy Denton

Digitized Theses

Two studies were conducted to examine the use and effectiveness of excuse-validation and other forms of social support in reducing negative affect and attributions of responsibility associated with real life negative events. Excuse-validation involves a verbal or non-verbal, positive response (e.g., "I agree") to an excuse (e.g., "The exam was unfair"). Conversations about a negative experience held by preadolescent, adolescent, or adult subjects and one of their friends (Study 1) or between adult subjects and a supportive stranger (Study 2) were video-taped and coded for the frequency of several types of supportive behavior. Affect and attribution questionnaires were administered prior …

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A Critical Examination Of Connectionist Cognitive Architectures, Marin S. Marinov Jan 1992

A Critical Examination Of Connectionist Cognitive Architectures, Marin S. Marinov

Digitized Theses

The dissertation represents a critical evaluation of the major connectionist theories of human cognitive architecture. The central connectionist thesis that artificial neural networks (ANNs) can serve as finitary models of human cognizers is examined and rejected. Connectionist theories, in contrast to the classical symbol-processing theories of cognitive architecture, cannot explain the productivity and systematicity of mental states. The reason for this is that ANN-based cognitive architectures cannot maintain representational states with compositional structure. Chapter One analyzes the implementational connectionism's solution to the problem of compositionality. It is shown that neither the theory of weak nor of strong compositionality can solve …

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Teacher And Student Variables Affecting Second Language Learning, Linda Lysynchuk Jan 1992

Teacher And Student Variables Affecting Second Language Learning, Linda Lysynchuk

Digitized Theses

This research investigated factors believed to be involved in second language learning of Grade 6 students. Twelve Grade 6 French teachers and their students were studied. Students completed questionnaires assessing their language attitudes, motivation, self-perceptions of using French, and their use of French outside the classroom. These questionnaires were completed in the fall and then again in the spring. Students were also given a measure of language aptitude and a French listening achievement test in the fall, and measures of listening, speaking, reading, and writing achievement in the spring. In addition, questionnaires were administered to the teachers assessing their attitude …

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The Presence Of Jean-Jacques Rousseau In The Work Of Percy Bysshe Shelley, Monika H. Lee Jan 1992

The Presence Of Jean-Jacques Rousseau In The Work Of Percy Bysshe Shelley, Monika H. Lee

Digitized Theses

This dissertation, "The Presence of Jean-Jacques Rousseau In the Work of Percy Bysshe Shelley," is an inquiry into the important but previously unexamined literary relationship of Shelley and Rousseau, as it presents itself historically, intertextually and in relation to language theory. The initial chapter argues for Shelley's awareness of the legendary Rousseau through his works and also through Rousseau's influence on William Godwin, Mary Wollstonecraft and Mary Shelley. A literary historical context is established as a background against which a much more complicated series of representations of Rousseau in Shelley's poetry is set. The simplistic configurations in Shelley's England of …

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Voices Of The "Concerned Middle": The Short Stories Of Six Canadian Women Writers, Laurie Ann Kruk Jan 1992

Voices Of The "Concerned Middle": The Short Stories Of Six Canadian Women Writers, Laurie Ann Kruk

Digitized Theses

My thesis, feminist in approach, examines voices of the "concerned middle" through the "female fictions" of six contemporary inheritors of the realist tradition in Canadian literature. With their short stories, Edna Alford, Sandra Birdsell, Joan Clark, Elisabeth Harvor, Carol Shields and Janette Turner Hospital continue the exploration of women's experience in patriarchal society initiated by Margaret Atwood, Margaret Laurence, Alice Munro and Mavis Gallant. Distinctive in their differences, they nevertheless share a "caring" perspective on relationships and a "caring" critique of many aspects of society. And in their attack on patriarchal society's "compartmentalization" of people, ideas and language, these women …

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A Social Psychological Analysis Of Remarriage, Zheng Wu Jan 1992

A Social Psychological Analysis Of Remarriage, Zheng Wu

Digitized Theses

This study examines the transition from marital dissolution to remarriage and how it differs by various social groups. Based on social exchange theory and other theoretical formulations, a social psychological model of remarriage is advanced. The model is organized around four key constructs: the desirability of remarriage, the eligibility for remarriage, barriers to remarry, and marriage market constraints. It is argued that the probability of remarriage rises and the tempo accelerates where remarriage is viewed as being desirable and barriers minimum, and where marriage candidates are eligible (attractive) and confront a large pool of available marriage partners. Cross-sectional data from …

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The Development Of The Canadian Army Officer Corps, 1939-1945, Geoffrey W. Hayes Jan 1992

The Development Of The Canadian Army Officer Corps, 1939-1945, Geoffrey W. Hayes

Digitized Theses

This study, based largely on records held at the National Archives of Canada and the Directorate of History, Department of National Defence, examines the basic assumptions by which the English-speaking male officer was selected for the King's Commission during the Second World War. It argues that such assumptions embodied a conception of the officer as a "military manager," one who, in Morris Janowitz's conception is "concerned with the scientific and rational conduct of war.";It was in the First World War that a Canadian military manager first supplanted Sir Sam Hughes' ill-founded conceptions with a greater administrative and tactical efficiency. But …

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The Effect Of Expectancy Of Analgesic Efficacy On Analgesic Effectiveness For Experimental And Clinical Pain, Manon Houle Jan 1992

The Effect Of Expectancy Of Analgesic Efficacy On Analgesic Effectiveness For Experimental And Clinical Pain, Manon Houle

Digitized Theses

The study evaluated the effects of expectation of analgesic efficacy on subsequent analgesic effectiveness for experimental and clinical pain. The experimental pain consisted of noxious heat pulses (45-51 C) delivered to the inside of the forearm. After providing baseline visual analogue scale ratings (VAS) of the sensory intensity and the unpleasantness of the heat pulses, sixty subjects were divided into two groups--a hi-expectancy group, made to expect a potent analgesic and a lo-expectancy group, made to expect an ineffective drug. In either case, half of each group received a potent analgesic while the other half received a placebo. Forty-five minutes …

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Anxiety And Language Learning From A Stages Of Processing Perspective, Peter D. Macintyre Jan 1992

Anxiety And Language Learning From A Stages Of Processing Perspective, Peter D. Macintyre

Digitized Theses

Language anxiety is the apprehension experienced when students are confronted with a situation involving use of limited second language skills. Previous studies have shown that anxiety specific to language learning situations is negatively associated with measures of second language achievement.;The three studies that make up this dissertation are concerned with providing answers to two main issues that have been raised in the literature on language anxiety. The first concerns the relation of language anxiety to various indices of attitudes and motivation that have been implicated in second language learning. The results of Study 1 support the conclusion that language anxiety …

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Life Stress, Appraisals Of Diabetes, Coping And Long Term Blood Glucose Control In Adults With Insulin-Dependent Diabetes Mellitus: A Twelve Week Study, Owen Jon Garrett Jan 1992

Life Stress, Appraisals Of Diabetes, Coping And Long Term Blood Glucose Control In Adults With Insulin-Dependent Diabetes Mellitus: A Twelve Week Study, Owen Jon Garrett

Digitized Theses

Although there is a general consensus in the literature of a relationship between stress and blood glucose control in individuals with insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM), the extent and nature of this relationship is not well understood. The present study addressed several questions and hypotheses regarding proposed relationships between life stress, long term blood glucose control, coping with diabetic problems and cognitive appraisals of diabetes in persons with IDDM. A longitudinal, prospective research design was used in which fifty-seven persons were followed over two consecutive six week periods. A composite measure of life stress was developed and interrelationships among appraisals …

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Visuomotor Mechanisms In The Control Of Human Prehension, Lorna S. Jakobson Jan 1992

Visuomotor Mechanisms In The Control Of Human Prehension, Lorna S. Jakobson

Digitized Theses

This thesis was designed to test the validity of several recent claims concerning the nature of the visuomotor mechanisms involved in the control of human prehension. The first goal of this research was to test the theory that the reaching and grasping components of a prehensile act are generated through two independent visuomotor channels: one which extracts object location information to control the reaching limb, and another which computes intrinsic object characteristics to determine appropriate hand shaping and guide object recognition (Jeannerod, 1984; Jeannerod & Decety, 1990). This proposal received little support. Thus, it was found that the control mechanisms …

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Self-Report Differences Across Adolescent Family Structures: Stepfamilies Versus Intact Families, Pierre Jeff St Jan 1992

Self-Report Differences Across Adolescent Family Structures: Stepfamilies Versus Intact Families, Pierre Jeff St

Digitized Theses

The present investigation attempted to: (1) increase understanding of stepfamily versus nuclear family normative self-report; (2) predict stepfamily member self-report of family functioning in the first year of remarriage on the basis of contextual, individual, dyadic, and family characteristics and ideals at the time of family formation; and (3) examine the predictive utility of perceived versus actual family member discrepancy scores.;Members of 25 well-functioning, newly formed stepfamilies and 26 demographically similar first marriage families with children between the ages of 12 to 16 were asked to rate family, dyadic, and individual functioning on standardized questionnaires. The Family Adaptability and Cohesion …

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Measurement Of Beliefs About Consciousness And Reality, Imants Barušs, Robert J. Moore Jan 1992

Measurement Of Beliefs About Consciousness And Reality, Imants Barušs, Robert J. Moore

Psychology

No abstract provided.

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Methodological Notes On The Study Of Political Culture, Paul Nesbitt-Larking Jan 1992

Methodological Notes On The Study Of Political Culture, Paul Nesbitt-Larking

Data and Test Instruments

Defining political cultures as those discursive practices associated with the power-related facets of evolving human relations and social movements, the paper presents some methodological principles, inspired by the structurationist approach, to overcome existing impasses in political culture research. In general, it is argued that empirical research in political culture must integrate theoretical, ethical, and practical concerns. More specifically, the case is made for greater depth in the treatment of the individual and consciousness in the process of cultural production, for an extension of empirical investigations beyond the legal-institutional aspects of politics, for a more thorough exploration of the relationship between …

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The Adjustment Of Salvadoran Refugees: Stressors, Resources And Well-Being, Marta Yolande Young Jan 1991

The Adjustment Of Salvadoran Refugees: Stressors, Resources And Well-Being, Marta Yolande Young

Digitized Theses

Despite an increased interest in refugees in the last decade, refugee research remains largely atheoretical with few attempts to integrate it with psychological theories and concepts. A first aim was to compare Recent Salvadoran refugees, Established Salvadoran refugees, Relocated Anglo-Canadians, and Established Anglo-Canadians on measures of psychological distress, quality of life and life satisfaction. A second aim was to compare the relative impact of life events and hassles on psychological symptoms in the above four groups. A third aim was to examine the buffering effects of social and personal resources on psychological health, quality of life and life and life …

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Cholinergic-Noradrenergic And Cholinergic-Serotonergic Interactions In Measures Of Working And Reference Memory Of The Rat, Peter Prior Jan 1991

Cholinergic-Noradrenergic And Cholinergic-Serotonergic Interactions In Measures Of Working And Reference Memory Of The Rat, Peter Prior

Digitized Theses

These experiments concerned potential interactions of the cholinergic with the noradrenergic or serotonergic systems, in rat working and reference memory (WM & RM). In experiment 1a, 63 rats were trained to collect reinforcement from a radial maze, with eight of 16 arms consistently reinforced. Working errors (WEs) were re-entries into baited arms visited within a session; reference errors (REs) were visits to never-baited arms. The rats then participated in a dose-response study of scopolamine (scop). Correct entries decreased; WEs and REs increased concomitantly with dose. Cholinergic systems may not subserve WM specifically. Forty-one of these rats participated a year later …

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Escalating Commitment To A Failing Course Of Action: The Effect Of Choice And Justification, D Ramona Bobocel Jan 1991

Escalating Commitment To A Failing Course Of Action: The Effect Of Choice And Justification, D Ramona Bobocel

Digitized Theses

Previous research suggests that decision-makers who are responsible for initiating a failing course of action are more likely to escalate their commitment to that action, compared to those who are not responsible for the initial choice. It is purported that responsibility for initiating a failing course of action induces the escalation of commitment through an underlying psychological process of self-justification. Two problems are evident in this research, however, that question the validity of this interpretation. First, the effect of responsibility has only been demonstrated using a role-playing research methodology. Second, responsibility for initiating the course of action (operationalized as choice) …

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Psychophysical Studies Of Binocular Interactions In Humans, Laurie M. Wilcox Jan 1991

Psychophysical Studies Of Binocular Interactions In Humans, Laurie M. Wilcox

Digitized Theses

Psychophysical investigations of binocular interactions have shown that there are at least two binocular channels in the human visual system. In addition to an interocular channel that responds to input to either eye, there is evidence of a binocular channel that acts as a logical AND-gate. This second binocular mechanism will only respond to simultaneous stimulation of both eyes with similar images. Support for the existence of this 'AND' mechanism has been provided by adaptation (Wolfe & Held, 1981, 1982; Wilcox, Timney, & St. John, 1990), and detection experiments (Cohn & Lasley, 1976; Cogan, 1987).;In predicting the results of adaptation …

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