Digital Commons Network^™

Utah School Counselors: Present Status, Linda J. Kuwana

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study presented data gathered from Utah school counselors about demographic information, counseling and guidance programs in Utah, certification requirements, future personnel needs, quality and appropriateness of training programs, philosophy of public schools, and needs and/or concerns. A questionnaire was used to collect data from 450 school counselors employed in the State of Utah. Utah school counselors were found to be primarily Caucasians over the age of 36 years. The majority of counselors in Utah were employed in secondary schools. Caseloads for secondary school counselors ranged from 300 to 600 students per counselor, and caseloads for elementary school counselors ranged …

Using Direct Instruction To Teach Compliance To Seriously Noncompliant Students, Hans M. Michielsen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This research study investigated the effectiveness of a direct instruction program (Treatment 2) for increasing compliance with teachers' instructions in students for whom manipulation of conventional antecedent stimuli and consequences (Treatment 1) had not resulted in adequate compliance. Five students participated in this study. A multiple baseline design across participants was used to evaluate treatment effectiveness. Introduction of Treatment 2 was followed by an increase in compliance by all five participants. The relationship between compliance and other appropriate classroom behaviors, as well as the relationship between compliance and qualitatively good and qualitatively poor instructions, was also investigated. Those relationships were …

The Development Of An Instrument For The Assessment Of Obesity-Related Cognitions, David E. Christian

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This dissertation involved the design and validation of the Obesity Cognitions Inventory (OCI) which was intended to quantify cognitions associated with obesity. An initial pool of 117 items was refined through expert ratings, a pilot test involving 59 subjects, and a major test and validation using 217 subjects.

The resulting 56-item instrument contains scales measuring five types of cognitions: Personal Control, Dietary Restraint, Cost-Benefit Beliefs, Health Knowledge, and Self-Concept. Test-retest reliabilities for these scales range from .69 to .83 and Cronbach alphas range from .57 to .82. Concurrent criterion validity of the OCI was assessed through two methods (a) correlations …

Comparing The Perceptions Of Family And Parenting Between Juvenile Sexual Offenders And Juveniles With No History Of Sexual Offending, Iva W. Trottier

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Juvenile sexual offenders and a matched sample of nonoffending youth were compared on the Family Environment Scale (FES), the Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scales (FACES ill), the Adult Adolescent Parent Inventory (AAPI), and a biographical inventory. The purpose was to determine whether or not juvenile sexual offenders and nonoffenders would prove to have different perceptions of family characteristics and whether the biographical inventory could distinguish between the two groups. "The sample consisted of 95 participants (46 offenders, 49 nonoffenders) in the northern Utah area. The offending population were in outpatient treatment for their sexual offending.

When the participants were …

Ethical Beliefs And Practices: Do Psychologists Differ From Other Health-Care Professionals, Gary Percival

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Ethical codes and principles, and laws govern the behavior of health-care professionals. Yet, the impact that ethical codes and laws have on the actual moral behaviors of health-care professionals is relatively unknown. A survey on the ethical beliefs and practices of health-care professionals was sent to the United States membership of the Association for Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback. AAPB's heterogeneous membership offers a unique opportunity to compare the ethical beliefs and behaviors of professionals across various health-care professions, educational levels, licensure and certification statuses, age, years in practice, and gender. The survey examined the respondents' ethical beliefs and practices in …

Immunophenotyping Of Lymphoid Cells In Autism, L. Jeanne Yonk

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Research into the cause of autism continues without any clear-cut answers. However, recent studies suggest that abnormalities of the immune system are associated with this disorder and autism results from failure of the immune system to regulate itself. Proper immune regulation requires that the host have the appropriate number and percentage of each population of lymphocytes and monocytes. These populations can be distinguished from one another with monoclonal antibodies that react with unique protein structures on the cell surface designated as the "cluster of differentiation" (CD) antigens.

This investigation studied the possibility that the immune abnormalities seen in autism are …

Hazard Perception And Preparation By Cross-Country Skiers In Utah, Kevin J. Kobe

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This thesis examined how cross-country skiers perceive and prepare for winter hazards. A self-completion questionnaire was administered to cross-country skiers in northern Utah. The questions on the questionnaire were designed to explore the relationships that affect how skiers perceive and prepare for winter hazards. Additionally, the situation where skiers put themselves at risk due to lack of information as opposed to skiers placing themselves at risk through the desire to confront nature's dangers was explored. Variables that were contained in these relationships were correlated and the degree of correlation was measured.

Those that sought information on the day surveyed were …

Children's Determination Of Gender Appropriateness Of Clothing, Malihe Attaran

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to investigate gender distinctions made by children based on clothing styles in order to better understand gender-role development. Four objectives were addressed: (a) Do children, regardless of sex, differ in their determination of the gender appropriateness of clothing options? (b) Are there gender differences between children in determining the gender appropriateness of these clothing options? (c) In what ways does children's awareness of gender stereotypes relate to their determination of the gender appropriateness of clothing? and (d) How do children's sex and their determination of the gender appropriateness of clothing interact with their awareness …

Instructional Logistics And Chunque-Based Learning Systems, Ian A. Mcarthur

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Existing instructional design and curriculum design strategy components were synthesized to provide a comprehensive set of design models for the development of learning systems. The term instructional logistics was coined to define the management of student progress through a series of customized learning experiences. Strategies were developed for the design of student-centered learning systems by partitioning a curriculum into meaningful and manageable pieces (called chunques) and by manipulating those pieces to create personalized and individualized paths through a series of self-contained learning experiences. Strategies were developed to organize a collection of chunques into a path based on initial simplified mental …

The Effects Of Conditioned Reinforcers On Extinction When Delivered On Schedules Of Extinction, Linda L. Barnard

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of the present research was to examine extinction of responding with regard to the rapidity and thoroughness of the process when conditioned reinforcement was available on one of five schedules during extinction. Forty-five mixed-breed pigeons served as subjects with 15 in each of three experiments. Reinforcement training schedules were as follows: Experiment 1, continuous; Experiment 2, fixed ratio 15; Experiment 3, variable-interval one-minute. After training, subjects experienced one of five extinction procedures (here called schedules of extinction) which were as follows: traditional schedule without keylight did not provide conditioned reinforcement; traditional with keylight had the keylight on continuously …

Time Use And Attitudes Among Siblings: A Comparison In Families Of Children With And Without Down Syndrome, Glenna C. Boyce

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Time use, attitudes, and perceptions of 120 siblings, aged 10 to 17, of children with and without Down syndrome were compared. Time use was compared in 10 composite and 14 focused categories. Overall, the findings evidenced marked similarities between groups in time use. Siblings of children in both groups spent similar amounts of time performing household duties, shopping, sleeping, eating, playing, participating in sports, and watching TV. The siblings of children with Down syndrome did differ from the comparison group in their school attendance. They also spent less time in social activities and more time in child care and working …

An Experimental Analysis Of Higher-Order Stimulus Control In Humans, Michael B. Gatch

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This dissertation explored sane effects of context on the development of stimulus classes and the transfer of stimulus functions to novel stimuli. The research was also intended to demonstrate the utility of current behavioral theories for prediction and control of contextual effects on class formation. In Experiment lA, contextual control of stimulus classes was established successfully in all six college-student subjects. Matching-to-sample training successfully transferred the function of the contextual stimuli to four novel stimuli, whim resulted in the formation of two three-member classes of contextual stimuli. The first portion of Experiment 1B replicated Experiment 1A with three additional subjects. …

The Relationship Between Raw Scores On The Kaufman Assessment Battery For Children And School Attendance For Sioux Children Ages 8-12, Mike Cummings

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A study was conducted to examine one aspect of construct validity for the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (K-ABC). Forty-eight Sioux children at five age levels (8 to 12.5) were used in this study. Relying on theories of child development, most tests of mental abilities have been constructed so that raw scores will increase with age. Pearson r correlation coefficients between age and raw scores were calculated across five age levels for this sample of Sioux children. The Simultaneous-, Sequential-, and Achievement-scale raw scores significantly correlate with age at the .05 level for a one-tailed test of significance. Number Recall …

The Effect Of Seasonal Cattle Grazing On California Bighorn Sheep Habitat Use, Melanie J. Steinkamp

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The effect of seasonal cattle grazing on a newly reintroduced population of California bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis californiana) in Big Cottonwood Canyon, Idaho, was studied. The hypothesis that bighorn sheep avoid cattle was tested. The issue of avoidance between bighorn sheep and livestock is arguable. Some studies have found that bighorn sheep avoid cattle while others have found no response of bighorn sheep to cattle.

Evidence was found to document the avoidance of cattle by bighorn sheep. The size of the bighorn's home range and core area decreased with the movement of cattle into areas of high bighorn …

The Effects Of An Attribution-Based Parenting Program On Perceptions Of Parenting Behavior, H. Wallace Goddard

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Attribution theory has become increasingly prominent in social psychology in the last few decades. Insights from attribution theory were used to guide the development of a parenting program. The program was delivered to a group of mothers and fathers of middle-school children in a 5-week parenting program. Parents who volunteered for the program were randomly assigned to treatment and control (delayed treatment) conditions. The program emphasized the dangers of biases in perception and encouraged empathic communication. Parents were encouraged to discuss their own parenting dilemmas in the class. Handouts and reminders were used to help parents understand and remember the …

The Effects Of An Adolescent Social Skills Training Program On Adolescent Sex Offenders, Roger B. Graves

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this research was to assess the efficacy of a 9-week social skills training (SST) program for improving the social competence of adolescent sex offenders. The study was conducted at an outpatient treatment center, Intermountain Sexual Abuse Treatment Center, in Salt Lake City, Utah. A pretest-posttest control group design was utilized and comparisons were made on a variety of self- and parent-report measures to examine treatment effects. The results indicate that the experimental group was able to acquire the specific SST behaviors to a far greater degree than expected by chance. However, evidence of increased social competence outside …

Mothers' Preferences Regarding Sex Education In The Home, Cynthia R. Christopherson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

There is a large amount of evidence suggesting a need to educate children concerning sexual issues. The extent of adolescent pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, and the spread of AIDS are all indicators of the lack of appropriate education. In view of these social concerns, along with the controversy concerning sex education taught in school, it would seem to be helpful if parents provided more adequate sex education. Parents are a primary source of sex education for their children, but many parents lack knowledge and feel inadequate in this role. Without appropriate sex education, children turn to other sources for answers …

Family Relations Factors That Facilitate Or Inhibit Middle Adolescent Identity Development, Patricia Hyjer Dyk

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The formation of a sense of personal identity is a major task of adolescence. An adolescent's experimentation with roles is carried out in social interactions, the family being one important context for development. Research evidence suggests that the family's ability to tolerate individuality and maintain connectedness has implications for the process of identity formation.

The purpose of this study was to identify family relations factors that facilitate or inhibit patterns of identity development during middle adolescence (high school years). Self-report and observational data were obtained from 49 families with middle adolescents to tap behaviors conceptualized as enabling or constraining individuality …

A Comparison Of Two Self-Conception Disparity Methods As Operationalized Within An Adolescent Population, Diane Marie Stuart

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

It is posited that self-conception disparity is the amount of difference between an individual's ideal self-conception and his or her real self-conception. Such a postulation arises directly from the literature wherein the self-concept is conceptualized as a multitude of self-conceptions an individual has. During the evaluative phase (i.e., the comparison of the ideal self-conception against the real self-conception), an image (self-image) of one's self is evoked. This self-image is associated with an affective response referred to as self-esteem.

Two methods of computing self-conception disparity are compared and contrasted: (a) the often-used Subtraction-Absolute Value Method and (b) a ratio method based …

Tourism Dependency And Its Correlation To Selected Socioeconomic Indicators In Utah, Diane S. Gooch

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This paper investigates the relationship between tourism and well being, or quality-of-life, within eighteen counties in Utah. To evaluate the relationship, comparisons of the counties' differing levels of tourism versus their levels of welfare are necessary. To make these comparisons, three basic steps were followed. First, a social ordering model was derived. The proposed social ordering model was based upon Maslow's theory of the hierarchy of human needs. By utilizing his theory, both economic and noneconomic indicators were identified, and a basis was provided upon which to judge the differing positions of well-being. Factor analysis was applied to this model …

National Survey Of Degreed Mental Health Workers Providing Services To American Indian Populations: Identification Of Preferred Theoretical Orientations And Treatment Modalities, Michelle M. Tangimana

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Previous surveys of mental health professionals regarding theoretical orientation and the use of various treatment modalities provided valuable information concerning the nature of mental health delivery but primarily focused on professionals providing services to dominant-culture clientele. The present study focused on those degreed workers whose primary clientele were American Indian. Questionnaires were returned by 140 mental health workers who are American Psychological Association (APA) members of American Indian descent, members of the Society of Indian Psychologists (SIP), employees of the Indian Health Service (IHS), and graduate psychology students. Questionnaire responses were analyzed in terms of orientation and treatment modality for …

Assessing Depressive Symptoms In Adolescent Boys: Pre- Versus Postpubescent, Delinquent Versus Nondelinquent, David P. Defrancesco

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to compare depressive symptoms reported by boys who were either pre- or postpubescent and who were legally designated delinquent or had no legal histories. A self-report puberty scale and a semi-structured interview (the Child Assessment Schedule-CAS) were administered to 48 boys. Results were analyzed using analysis of variance (ANOVA). Significance levels between groups were examined with Duncan's range test. No significant differences were found between pre- and postpubescent boys for reporting depressive symptoms, but delinquent youths were found to report significantly more depressive symptoms than nondelinquent youths. The implications of these results are discussed …

An Experimental Analysis Of Second-Order Conditioned Taste Aversion: Drug Pairing Facilitated Through Excitation Of Geotactic Behavior, John H. Gatling

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In two experiments, second-order conditioned taste aversion techniques were employed to develop aversions in rats, with a geotactic-excitation procedure as the independent variable. Periodic tilting of an experimental apparatus resulted in angular orientation changes of all subjects located within compartments of the chamber. The effect was excitation of geotactic behaviors, expressed as locomotor activity within the confines of these compartments.

In the first experiment, two groups of rats (n = 6) were exposed to experimental protocols which were identical with the exception of the independent variable. Three conditioning trials were presented, separated by five to seven days, within which …

The Development And Validation Of A System For The Knowledge-Based Tutoring Of Special Education Rules And Regulations, Mark S. Thornburg

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Research indicates that school officials fail to identify a relatively high proportion of school-aged children with behavioral or emotional handicaps. As a result, these children may not be receiving the special education services to which they are entitled. Multidisciplinary team members may be failing to identify these children because they lack understanding of special education rules and regulations. The purpose of this project was to combine the technologies of expert systems and mastery-based instruction to develop an inservice and preservice training program capable of producing mastery-level performance of the skills required to identify children with behavioral or emotional handicaps. Borg …

The Examination Of Variables That Influence Response Rates To Mailed Questionnaires, Anuradha Parthasarathy

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The intent of this research was to examine variables that might influence the response rates to mailed questionnaires. The variables examined were the socioeconomic statuses of the subjects, the time of payment of a monetary incentive, and the amount of payment. Subjects were 375 residents of Cache County, Utah, selected from three levels of socioeconomic status. The subjects were selected on the basis of information they provided about their income and education levels during a telephone interview. Subjects within each level of socioeconomic status were further divided into four treatment groups and one control group. All groups were mailed the …

Use Of The Transactional Analysis Ego State Concept To Measure Client Change In Psychotherapy, Judith Emerson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Although transactional analysis (TA) theory has been used by psychotherapists since its introduction by Eric Berne in the 1960s, the ego state functioning constructs, a seminal part of the theory, have not been adequately validated. Previous research has focused on whether therapy using TA methodology works. This study tested the TA ego state constructs by measuring client change occurring during psychotherapy and comparing those changes with predictions from the TA theory.

Fifty-six subjects, who were clients at a university counseling center in the Rocky Mountain region of the United States, were tested before and after therapy using two standardized instruments, …

Visitor Characteristics And Attitudes Toward Policies In The Irish Wilderness Of Southern Missouri, Debra Lynn Bumpus

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Questionnaires which assessed attitudes toward wilderness policies and behavioral norms were distributed to individuals at the Irish Wilderness, in the surrounding communities, and to conservation groups. Questions were designed to describe general wilderness policies and also those policies specific to the Irish Wilderness. The Irish Wilderness, located in southeastern Missouri, was designated as a national wilderness area in 1984. Prior to this 1986 study, no previous studies had been conducted in the area to describe visitor characteristics and attitudes toward wilderness management policies. A comparison was also made between the attitudes of the Irish Wilderness visitor and of Pacific Northwest …

The Effects Of Mild Hearing Loss On Academic Performance Among Elementary School Age Children, Donna White Massine

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Research endeavoring to determine the effect of a mild sensorineural hearing-impairment on academic performance has resulted in conflicting conclusions. To date, there has been limited research on the educational implications of a mild hearing loss in the elementary grades but very few studies have utilized a normal-hearing control group to compare with the hearing-impaired and none have examined whether a relationship exists beyond sixth grade. This study measured the academic performance of mildly hearing-impaired children by comparing them with their normal-hearing counterparts. The achievement scores of the Iowa Test of Basic Skills from twelve pairs of children in the 5th …

A Reliability Study On The Self-Report Behavioral Measure For Evaluating Therapeutic Outcome, Sharon B. Anderson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Statement of the Problem

Because the original reliability study using the Self-Report Behavioral Measure for Evaluating Therapeutic Outcomes (Behavioral Checklist) used college students as subjects, and since the target population for use with this instrument is a client population, there is a need for a reliability study using clients in treatment as subjects.

Objective

The objective of this study was to assess the reliability of the Behavioral Checklist using a client population. The secondary objective was to revise the Behavioral Checklist, if necessary, in order to meet the standards of reliability for testing instruments.

Methods and Procedure

Three reliability measures …

Cognitive And Attributional Correlates Of Depression: An Analysis Of The Redundancy Between Beck's Cognitive Triad And Seligman's Attributional Styles, Kent W. Anderson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to examine the degree vi of redundancy between two prominent cognitive theories of depression: Beck's cognitive triad and Seligrnan's attributional triad. Three hundred and eighteen subjects were recruited from nine different psychology courses at Utah State University and affiliated locations across the state. Subjects completed the Cognitive Triad Inventory (CTI), the Attributional Style Questionnaire (ASQ), and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI).

Results indicate that the three CTI subscales (self, world, and future) and the three ASQ subscales (internal, global, and stable) did not correlate sufficiently to merit integration across measures. However, factor analyses reduced …