Digital Commons Network^™

The Role Of Syllables In Reading English Multisyllabic Words, Daniel Trinh

Digitized Theses

The goal of the current study was to investigate whether readers recover phonological syllables when reading in English, and specifically, whether syllable effects are more likely to occur when readers process words that have clear syllable boundaries than those that do not have clear syllable boundaries. A syllable congruency paradigm was used in which disyllabic words were presented in two colours that either matched (congruent) or mismatched (incongruent) the syllable boundary. Behavioural data from naming and lexical decision found no evidence of syllable congruency effects. In an event-related potential experiment, syllable congruency effects were found for words with clear marking …

The Relationships Among Imagery Use, Self-Efficacy, And Adherence In Athletic Injury Rehabilitation, Natascha N. Wesch

Digitized Theses

The general purpose of this dissertation was to examine the relationships between imagery use and self-efficacy in injured athletes. Study 1 examined (i) how imagery, self-efficacy, and rehabilitation adherence varied over an 8-week rehabilitation program, and (ii) how the relationships among these variables changed over the course of rehabilitation. The purposes of Study 2 were to (i) develop and test the factor validity of the Injury Rehabilitation Imagery Questionnaire (IRIQ), and (ii) further examine the relationships between imagery use and self-efficacy using this new instrument. The purpose of Study 3 was to improve the psychological state of patients about to …

The Effect Of Regulatory Fit On The Learning Of Nonlinearly Separable Categories, Ruby T.D. Nadler

Digitized Theses

The regulatory fit-cognitive flexibility hypothesis posits that being in a state of regulatory fit increases cognitive flexibility and that this flexibility is advantageous for category learning when flexibility helps subjects to find a rule. This hypothesis was explored using a nonlinearly separable category set. A promotion (sensitivity to gains) or a prevention focus (sensitivity to losses) was induced; subjects performed the task with either a gains or losses reward structure, creating two conditions of regulatory fit (promotion/gain, prevention/loss) and two conditions of regulatory mismatch (promotion/loss, prevention/gain). It was predicted that subjects in the fit conditions would show more accurate performance …

The Effects Of Expertise On Physicians' Use Of Goal-Oriented Categories, Sarah Lynn Lesowski Devantier

Digitized Theses

While medical diagnostic reasoning has been highly studied, there has been little inquiry into how doctors think and reason about patient management. Patient management involves treating patients in the context of their daily lives. This study investigates expert-novice differences in the saliency of deep and surface features related to both patient diagnosis and patient management. Experts (endocrinologists), intermediates (medical residents), novices (medical clerks), clinical nurses, and certified diabetes educators completed a series of 10 forced- choice triads. Overall, experts and intermediates were more likely to choose deep feature matches than novices were: novices nearly always chose surface feature matches. Diabetes …

Uncertainty Regulation, Motivation, And Daily Life Events Across Cultures, Yang Ye

Digitized Theses

The purpose of the present study is to examine in both achievement and social domains how motives predict daily life experiences and how the associations between motives and daily experiences are moderated by uncertainty orientation and country. Participants in China and Canada first participated in a mass-testing session in which their uncertainty orientation, affiliation-related motives, and achievement-related motives were assessed. Then subjects participated in a 2-week daily study session in which they made daily reports of life events. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to predict daily social/achievement events (in level-1) with the individual differences of uncertainty orientation, affiliation/achievement-related motives, and …

Why Didn’T They Help? The Effects Of Perceived Relationships And High Costs On Observer Intervention In Incidents Of Workplace Aggression, Olusore A. Taylor

Digitized Theses

Workplace aggression refers to behaviors with the intent to harm others at work (Neuman & Baron, 1998). A key problem in organizations is that these behaviors are often not reported by victims, perpetrators or observers (e.g., Daldt, 1981). The current research is concerned with the role that observers play in reducing workplace aggression. Drawing from the literature on bystander intervention, I propose that observers may remain passive if the cost of intervening is high and/or if they perceive a close harasser-victim relationship. Furthermore, the harm an observer believes a victim has suffered may mediate these effects. Using two vignette studies, …

White Matter Microstructure Underlying Mathematical Abilities, Lucia Van Eimeren

Digitized Theses

No abstract provided.

The Influence Of Ideal Standards On Explanation Processes In Close Relationships, Harris Rubin

Digitized Theses

Three studies guided by the Ideal Standards Model (ISM; J. A. Simpson, G. J. O. Fletcher, & L. Campbell, 2001) and attribution theory investigated how discrepancies between partner ideals and partner perceptions relate to how negative behaviors are explained in close relationships. Results from 193 participants split across 2 correlational studies (Studies 1A and 1B) revealed that across partner committed and self committed behaviors, larger ideal discrepancies were associated with a consistent pattern of agreement in how negative relationship events were explained. Discrepancies on the warmth/trustworthiness ideal dimension were related to expectations for negative behavior commission and explanation based on …

The Effect Of Frequency Compression Signal Processing On Perceived Sound Quality Ratings In Normal Hearing And Hearing Impaired Subjects, Andreas S.W. Seelisch

Digitized Theses

Hearing loss is common in today’s society, it is estimated that 1 in 10 Canadians has hearing loss with estimates rising to 8 in 10 for geriatric populations. Hearing loss is known to have dramatic effects on the individuals that extend well beyond communicative issues. Psychological consequences range from depression exhaustion. Children suffer additional problems such as failure to acquire language and poor academic performance. While hearing aids remain the primary avenue by which hearing loss is treated, numerous individuals with hearing loss in the high frequencies get very little benefit from conventional amplification due to biological and technological limitations. …

Tests Of Spatial Memory In Domestic Dogs (Canisfamiliciris) Using A Radial Maze, Krista Macpherson

Digitized Theses

While the social cognitive abilities of the domestic dog (Canisfamiliaris) have received increasing amounts of attention in psychological research over the past 10 years, other aspects of cognition in domestic dogs have remained relatively unexplored. The present studies were designed to determine the spatial memory abilities of domestic dogs. This was accomplished through the use of an 8-arm radiai maze. While radiai mazes are well known in studies of spatial memory in rats and pigeons, obvious size constraints have typically limited its use to small animals. A large maze (4.6 meters in diameter) was constructed for use with dogs. When …

The Effect Of Frequency Compression Signal Processing On Perceived Sound Quality Ratings In Normal Hearing And Hearing Impaired Subjects, Andreas S.W. Seelisch

Digitized Theses

Hearing loss is common in today’s society, it is estimated that 1 in 10 Canadians has hearing loss with estimates rising to 8 in 10 for geriatric populations. Hearing loss is known to have dramatic effects on the individuals that extend well beyond communicative issues. Psychological consequences range from depression exhaustion. Children suffer additional problems such as failure to acquire language and poor academic performance. While hearing aids remain the primary avenue by which hearing loss is treated, numerous individuals with hearing loss in the high frequencies get very little benefit from conventional amplification due to biological and technological limitations. …

Creating A Sense Of Community In The Classroom Environment: An Investigation Into Collaborative Learning Among Grade 12 Students, Omadat Persaud

Digitized Theses

Although collaborative group-work has become an integral part of the learning process,

students often demonstrate and express their unwillingness to participate. This study utilized an action research design to explore the reasons for such responses by examining how a small group of grade 12 students experience collaborative learning. Participants established guidelines for the collaborative learning process, researched and constructed information on global issues, and negotiated possible solutions for such issues. They simultaneously volunteered their reflections through confidential interviews and a questionnaire on their experiences in collaborative learning throughout their schooling. While acknowledging the numerous benefits they had with collaborative learning, …

Surface- And Deep- Level Heterogeneity In Teams: Exploring The Moderators Of Contact Time And Self-Monitoring, Joy D. Klammer

Digitized Theses

The main purpose of this research was to investigate the impact of two moderators - time in contact with one’s group members, and self-monitoring -- on the relation between heterogeneity and various group- and individual-level outcomes. Specifically, the outcomes of interest at the group level include group performance and team viability, and at the individual level include organizational citizenship behaviour (directed toward both the individual and the organization). Based on the findings of Harrison, Price, and Bell (1998), diversity and dissimilarity in both surface- (gender, ethnicity, first language) and deep-level (goal orientation dimensions) variables were hypothesized to be negatively related …

Sellars, Scientific Realism, And The Philosophy Of Mind, Jeremy S. Macbean

Digitized Theses

My thesis is an analysis and application of Wilfrid Sellars’ philosophy of science. Twenty years after his death, his philosophical significance remains only partly understood. This is acutely true in the philosophy of mind, where Sellars’ proposals have directly shaped the contemporary problem space. I will show how the competing views of Paul Churchland, Daniel Dennett, and Jerry Fodor all find their conceptual and historical roots in Sellars’ work. Sellars is the source and watershed for their various conceptions of mind in the world. First, they all share a commitment to scientific realism (SR). The ways that the doctrine of …

School-Based Victimization: Developmental Trajectory & Sex Differences In Self Reported Victimization Rates, Nilusha Liyanage

Digitized Theses

Research into children’s mental health has developed a focus on childhood aggression, bullying, and victimization. Previous research of school-based aggression has identified sex differences in the experience of bullying and victimization in relation to the type of bullying in question. The present study examined sex and developmental differences in the experience of victimization through verbal, physical, social, sexual, and cyber bullying. Participants of this study were 43 741 students in grades 4 through 12 who completed the Safe Schools Survey through the Thames Valley District School Board in London, Ontario. Results indicated that male students are most likely to be …

Relationship Among Engagement In Health Promoting Behaviours, Perceptions Of Health Related Quality Of Life, And Personality, Stacy L.M. Miller

Digitized Theses

This study examined health promoting behaviours in healthy, normal functioning adults to investigate the relationships among engagement in health promoting behaviours, perceptions of health-related quality of life, and personality. Three tests were used, including a 20-item Mini-International Personality Item Pool (Mini-IPIP), 26-item World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL) measure, and an 81-item measure of Health Promoting Behaviours (HPB). Results based on 50 graduate students indicate that the HPB measure has good internal consistency for the full scale (Cronbach’s alpha = .884) and acceptable consistency for individual subscales. Correlations between HPB and WHOQOL subscales ranged from .052 to .821; correlations …

Enhanced Detection Of Visual Targets On The Hand And Familiar Tools, Kai-Ling Kao

Digitized Theses

Bimodal visuotactile neurons respond to both visual and tactile stimuli presented near the hands, arms, and face. The recruitment of bimodal cells centred on the hand may account for findings of enhanced visual processing of stimuli presented on or near thehand. Thisstudyinvestigatedwhetherornotthisfacilitatoryeffectdiffersbetween the two sides of the hand with respect to speeded detection of visual stimuli and whether ornotdetectiononnon-bodypartsisimprovedwithtraining. Participantsperformeda speeded visual detection task to targets presented on either side of their own hand, a fake hand and a tool. Also, they were trained to use either the fake hand or the tool. The

results showed that participants initially responded …

Exploring The Implications Of Humour In Mother-Infant Play Interactions, David J. Podnar

Digitized Theses

Despite popular beliefs that parents should use humour to make their infants laugh to

enhance infant mental health and social development, these associations have never been empirically investigated. An observational study was designed to investigate how humour in mother-infant play interactions might affect their attachment relationship. Results indicated that laughter-eliciting play activities were negatively related to infant emotional security and increases the probability of mothers engaging in disruptive frightening behaviours. However, when laughter eliciting behaviours were performed by mothers in a sensitive manner, they appeared to provide a protective effect in preventing playfully threatening games (i.e., “I’m going to get …

Integrating Conceptual Knowledge Within And Across Representational Modalities, Christopher P. Mcnorgan

Digitized Theses

Research suggests that concepts are distributed across brain regions specialized for processing information from different sensorimotor modalities. Multimodal semantic models fall into one of two broad classes differentiated by the assumed hierarchy of convergence zones over which information is integrated. In shallow models, communication within- and between-modality is accomplished using either direct connectivity, or a central semantic hub. In deep models, modalities are connected by cascading integration sites with successively wider receptive fields. Four studies provide the first direct test of these models using speeded behavioural tasks involving feature inference and pattern completion. Shallow models predict no within- versus cross-modal …

Parental Childrearing Attitudes And Their Relations With Social, School, And Psychological Adjustment In Urban And Rural-Migrant Chinese Children, Jia Chen

Digitized Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine parenting attitudes and their relations with social, school, and psychological adjustment in Chinese urban and rural-migrant children. A sample of 162 urban children and 221 rural-migrant children from grade 3 to grade 6 and their parents participated in the study. Data on children’s social, school, and psychological adjustment were collected from multiple sources. Information concerning paternal and maternal childrearing attitudes was obtained from parents’ self-reports. It was found that urban parents reported higher parental warmth and encouragement of independence and lower parental power assertion than rural-migrant parents, after controlling for family income …

Living Mindfully: A Phenomenological Inquiry Into The Experience Of Mindfulness Meditation, Kristine Elizabeth Finch

Digitized Theses

A phenomenological psychological methodology was used to investigate the lived

experience of mindfulness meditation. Participants included ten individuals with varying degrees of meditation experience. Through semi-structured interviews, utilized to obtain descriptions of mindfulness as close to participant reality as possible, five themes emerged: motivation towards health, a new way of being, enhanced work life, the struggle with self discipline, and practice evolution. While changes reported by the participants lend credence to previous efficacy research, illustrations of participant motivation to practice, the concept of practice evolution and challenges associated with practicing provide experiences of mindfulness previously under explored. Implications for the …

Is There A Boundary To Morality Or Justice? A Deservingness Perspective On Donations To Charity, Paul J. Conway

Digitized Theses

For years social psychologists have examined factors that influence the likelihood that

people will help others. Recently, theorists in two separate streams of thought have independently proposed that psychological boundaries are an important determinant of helping behaviour. According to boundary models of helping, people help others when they consider morality and/or justice to be applicable—but the application of morality (Reed & Aquino, 2003) and/or justice (Opotow, 1990) is constrained by a psychological boundary. Others who fall outside this boundary do not receive help because morality and/or justice arc not perceived to apply to them. Critics of boundary models (e.g. Hafer …

Integrating Conceptual Knowledge Within And Across Representational Modalities, Christopher P. Mcnorgan

Digitized Theses

Research suggests that concepts are distributed across brain regions specialized for processing information from different sensorimotor modalities. Multimodal semantic models fall into one of two broad classes differentiated by the assumed hierarchy of convergence zones over which information is integrated. In shallow models, communication within- and between-modality is accomplished using either direct connectivity, or a central semantic hub. In deep models, modalities are connected by cascading integration sites with successively wider receptive fields. Four studies provide the first direct test of these models using speeded behavioural tasks involving feature inference and pattern completion. Shallow models predict no within- versus cross-modal …

Childhood Predictors Of Adult Criminality: A Meta-Analysis Drawn From The Prospective Longitudinal Literature, Alan W. Leschied Dr., Debbie Chiodo, Elizabeth Nowicki, Susan Rodger

Education Publications

Sufficient research now exists in the psychology of criminal conduct literature to address the long-term impact of early childhood and adolescent experiences on later adult outcomes. In the present meta-analysis, selected studies were prospective and longitudinal, tracking a variety of early childhood and family factors that could potentially predict later involvement in the adult criminal justice system. Thirty-eight studies met the selection criteria. Major findings indicate that dynamic versus static predictors are related to later adult criminal justice involvement. The older the child was at the time the predictor was measured, the stronger was the relationship to adult offending. Within …

Beliefs About Consciousness And Reality: Clarification Of The Confusion Concerning Consciousness, Imants Barušs

Psychology

There is considerable confusion surrounding the notion of consciousness. This confusion can be partially resolved by clarifying the referents of the word 'consciousness'. Doing so, however, reveals a more insidious problem, namely, the role played by personal beliefs in understanding consciousness. In particular, as revealed by a comprehensive survey, such beliefs range along a material- transcendent dimension, with the choice of notions of consciousness corresponding to materialist, conservatively transcendent, or extraordinarily transcendent positions. Further empirical research has revealed that those with more transcendent beliefs tend to have a more rational and curious approach to the world than those with more …

Affirmation And Engagement: Continuing The Dialogue, Paul Nesbitt-Larking

Data and Test Instruments

No abstract provided.

Dissolving The Diaspora: Dialogical Practice In The Development Of Deep Multiculturalism, Paul Nesbitt-Larking

Data and Test Instruments

This article is an exposition of deep or critical multiculturalism that is grounded in a mutually respectful dialogue. Such multiculturalism names historical oppressions, recognizes the structural causes of injustice and inequality, and is profoundly open to cultural critique, challenge and change. In order to promote such a multicultural practice, the article makes the case for a dialogical politics of deep and mutual respect in which ethno‐religious sensibilities are validated and welcomed in their rich diversity. In doing so, the article draws upon the authorʼs empirical research on the Muslim minority in contemporary Canada.

Letting Go: Mindfulness And Negative Automatic Thinking, Paul A. Frewen, Elspeth M. Evans, Nicholas Maraj, David J. A. Dozois

Psychology Publications

Cognitive theorists describe mindfulness as a form of attention-awareness in which thoughts can be observed in non-judging, de-centered, and non-attached ways. However, empirical research has not examined associations between mindfulness and responses to negative automatic thoughts, such as the ability to let go of negative cognition. In the first study reported in this article, measures of dispositional mindfulness were negatively correlated with negative thought frequency and perceptions of the ability to let go of negative thoughts in an unselected student sample. In the second study reported, these associations were replicated in a treatment-seeking student sample, where participation in a mindfulness …

Aboriginal And Non—Aboriginal Australia: The Dilemma Of Apologies, Forgiveness, And Reconciliation, David Mellor, Di Bretherton, Lucy Firth

Aboriginal Policy Research Consortium International (APRCi)

This article presents a qualitative study of the indigenous Australian perspective on reconciliation with nonindigenous Australia, with a focus on the role of an apology for the oppression and violence perpetrated by nonindigenous Australians, and for- giveness on the part of indigenous Australians. A brief historical analysis of the rela- tionship between Aborigines and waves of settlers is presented to demonstrate the ex- tent of the wrong that was perpetrated against Aborigines and the need for social as well as practical reconciliation in the current context. It is argued that negotiated for- giveness is a concept that is pertinent to …

Disorganized Attachment In Adolescent Mother-Infant Dyads: Its Nature, Origins, And Developmental Consequences, Greg Moran, David Pederson

Psychology Presentations

No abstract provided.