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Habit Reversal Treatment Of Bulimia Nervosa, Ken Small

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Although several writers have emphasized the habit-like characteristics of bulimia nervosa, no study has investigated the extent to which bulimia responds to treatment specifically for habit disorders. Habit reversal is a general treatment plan which teaches individuals to regain lost awareness of all aspects of a habit. The habit is then interrupted at the earliest movement in the chain by a physically competing response. Habit reversal (Azrin & Nunn, 1973) has been effective in treating other habits (e.g., stuttering, tics, bruxism). In the present study, habit reversal was adapted for the treatment of bulimia.

In response to newspaper advertisements, ten …

A Comparison Of Traditional Preschool And Computer Play From A Social/Cognitive Perspective, Jeanne M. Hoover

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Twenty females and twenty-three males from the Utah State University Children's House participated in this study which compared traditional preschool play with computer play. The Parten/Smilansky nested social/cognitive play hierarchy was used. Sociometric and cognitive assessments were incorporated in order to more clearly define behaviors. Five types of play were observed: computer, art, locks, manipulative toys, and the dramatic area.

No gender differences were found in terms of the amount of time or type of play at the computer. However, sociometric status did influence computer play. Children who engaged in more positive social interactions used the computer constructively, while those …

Prefood And Preshock Stimulus Effects On Fixed-Interval And Fixed-Ratio Responding, Patrick M. Ghezzi

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Two experiments were designed to study with rats the effects of a preshock stimulus (Experiment I) and a prefood stimulus (Experiment II) on lever pressing maintained by a multiple fixed-ratio 100 fixed-interval 90 s schedule of food reinforcement. The purpose was to determine if the effects of these stimuli, identified as Pavlovian Css, were related to where within each component's schedule they occurred; early in a ratio interval, or late in a ratio or interval.

Experiment I indicated that when the CS was presented early in a ratio or interval, or late in an interval, nearly equivalent suppression occurred for …

A Comparison Of Evaluation Models For Handicap Intervention In A Head Start Program, Carin Niebuhr

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Model A and Model C Title I evaluation options were compared by using both options to measure the effectiveness of handicap intervention in a Head Start program. Two hundred three children in Jackson County (Oregon) were pretested with the Developmental Indicators of Learning Test (DIAL), the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT), the Visual-Motor Integration Scale (VMI), and the Carrow Elicited Language Inventory (CELI). The 43 children who scored below the predetermined cut-off level were placed in a six-month intervention program. One hundred forty-nine children remaining in the Head Start program in May were posttested with the same tests. Model …

The Effects Of Prosocial And Aggressive Videogames On Children's Donating And Helping, John H. Chambers

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this research was to investigate the effects of prosocial videogames, played both singly and cooperatively, and aggressive videogames, played both singly and competitively, on children's prosocial behavior. Eighty boys and 80 girls, half third and fourth graders, and half seventh and eighth graders, were randomly assigned to one of five conditions. In a control condition, children answered questions about videogame experience and enjoyment. In two of the treatment conditions, children played a videogame with prosocial content (a human-like fantasy character rescuing another from danger); half of the children played this game singly, while the other half played …

Handicapped Tutors And Tutees: A Meta-Analysis Of Critical Variables, Stephen Blaine Cook

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Tutoring has been used as an instructional method for many years. Reviewers have made narrative conclusions that tutoring has many academic, social, and emotional benefits for the tutor and tutee.

This study applied meta-analysis techniques to studies in which learning disabled, behaviorally disordered, or intellectually handicapped elementary and secondary school students were used to tutor academic content material to handicapped tutees. It was found that the experimental subjects made greater gains on the academic material than the control groups. Gains on social/emotional measures were minimal. Various research design and tutoring intervention characteristics were examined for their influence on tutor and …

A Comparison Of Eight Selected Sports Bras: Biomechanical Support, Overall Comfort Ratings And Overall Support Ratings, Lajean R. Lawson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this paper was to evaluate eight currently marketed sports bras for differences in control of vertical displacement of the breast, overall comfort scores, and overall support scores for A, B, C and D cup sizes. An additional goal was to determine and compare differences in the vertical displacement of the nude breast among the four cup size groups. To determine differences in vertical displacement, subjects were filmed while jogging on a treadmill, and film data were analyzed frame by frame. To determine differences in overall comfort and support ratings, subjects tested each of the eight bra styles …

The Use Of Social Science By The United States Supreme Court In Cases Raising Husband-Wife And Parent-Child Legal Issues, James R. Tanner

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This research provides a descriptive study of the use of social science research contained in reported decisions of the United States Supreme Court. The cases were selected from case abstracts contained in two U.S. Supreme Court digests. The author relied on the court reporter's arrangement of abstracts of case decisions (sorted by substantive areas of the law) to identify relevant cases presenting issues of parent -child and husband-wife relations.

The following substantive areas were initially selected using this method: abortion, adultery and fornication, adoption, immigration, exclusion and deportation, bigamy, bastards, dower, death, domicil, divorce and separation, guardian and ward, homestead, …

Energy Analysis Of Flat Water Recreation: An Economic Assessment, Craig Leon Howell

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Energy analysts believe that traditional economics and energy markets undervalue the only absolutely limited resource, energy. They have produced methods to supplement or supercede economics.

However, theoretical underpinnings of these methods include an energy theory of value which is shown to be too narrow to support workable economic models or numeraires. Sample rankings of recreational values on four Utah reservoirs, using energy analysis and economic methods, show that the two methods yield opposite rankings.

Adjusting To Academic And Social Life At Utah State University: A Series Of Video Program Scripts For Chinese Students From Taiwan, The Republic Of China, Lu Chiang

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study is to identify the major problems and solutions for Chinese students in their adjustment to academic and social life at Utah State University. The author intended to give Chinese students an orientation through a series of five video scripts which could be later produced into a series of five video programs.

The adjustment problems of Chinese students were determined by reviewing related literature and by surveying 50 Chinese students at Utah State University. The solutions to those problems were determined by interviewing 10 professors and faculty members on the campus of Utah State University.

According …

Parent-Child Interaction Variables Related To The Moral Reasoning Of High School Senior Males, Bruce R. Johns

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of the study was to examine the relationship of parent-child interaction variables to moral reasoning and to identify those variables that best predict moral reasoning.

Subjects were 51 high school senior males and their parents from intact families. Parents and sons completed separate questionnaires designed to measure the following variables: moral reasoning, induction, power-assertion, love-withdrawal, authoritarian attitudes, intrusiveness, support, communication, socio-economic status and academic achievement. The instruments used to measure these variables were the Defining Issues Test, Parent-Child Relationship II Questionnaire, Child-Rearing Questionnaire, Child-Rearing Practices Report, Traditional Family Ideology Scale, the Two Factor …

Adolescent Egocentrism And Its Relationship To Parenting Styles And The Development Of Formal Operational Thought, Theo A. Riley

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A predicted association between family relations and cognitive development and the emergence of adolescent egocentrism was explored in this study. A sample of seventh grade boys (n=131) and girls (n=120) completed Elkind and Bowen's Imaginary Audience Scale (a measure of egocentrism) and selected items from Heilbrun's Parent-Child Interaction Rating Scale and Schaefer's Parent-Behavior Inventory. A modified version of Lawson's Classroom Test of Formal Operations was used to measure cognitive development. Contrary to a theoretical based hypothesis a negative rather than positive relationship was found between level of formal operational thought egocentrism. For parenting style, perceived rejection/control …

Eeg And Evoked Potential Measured Of Age And Sex Differences In Central Nervous System Processing, Judith Ann La Marche

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Age and gender differences in CNS information processing were investigated with EEG measures of power spectral analysis and cortical coupling, and evoked potential measures of brainstem auditory evoked potentials (BAEPs), visual evoked potentials (VEPs), pattern reversal evoked potentials (PREPs), and P300 evoked potentials. Eighty normal volunteers comprised four subgroups of 20 subjects: young females and young males (25-35 years); old females and old males (55-70 years).

Trends were generally consistent across evoked potential measures: women and young people produced faster latency responses; females and oldsters produced larger amplitude responses. Old age was associated with reduced variability of electrophysiological responding across …

A Look At Some Grandfather Intergenerational Relationships As Perceived By Their Adult Children, Leonard E. Stout

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to investigate the quality of grandfather's relationships with his adult child and their oldest child. A questionnaire was used to obtain demographic data, determine some personality and interaction patterns that can be observed as the male adult develops in the parent and grandparent roles, and examine how specific variables affect grandfather relationships and behavior. Data were gathered from 165 Utah State University students and their spouses, of which over 75% belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The results support good intergenerational relationships. Proximity of grandfather and extended family members was …

When The Children Are Gone: Changes In Mental Health And Marital Relations During The Transition To Postparenthood, Kenneth Holland Cannon

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A longitudinal research design was used to determine if parents' personal well-being or marital relations changed after the launching of the youngest child and what variales might affect these potential changes.

Eighty-nine parents whose youngest child was a senior at Logan High School or Sky View High School responded to mail-out questionnaires, assessing parents general well-being, marital relations, marital companionship, personal stress, quality of parenting experiences and degree of parent-child conflict. Approximately one year later, a second questionnaire was sent and twenty-three of the parents who responded had launched their youngest child.

One of the most striking aspects of the …

Resource Acquisition In The Presence Of A Novel Stimulus By Coyotes Of Different Social Rank, Warren E. Johnson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study investigated the acquisition of food by hand-reared coyotes, Canis latrans, of different social rank in a familiar area with and without novel objects (safe and potentially unsafe conditions). The first objective was to test the hypothesis that dominant animals are more hesitant than subordinates in approaching food in the presence of a novel stimulus. The results were that dominant pups usually were the first to feed in the absence of novel stimulus, and subordinate pups were the first to feed when novel objects were present. The second objective was to see if the behavior of subordinates in …

The Effects Of A Commons Simulation And Fines On A Generalization Test, William Boyle

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The present study investigated the effect of a commons simulation and fines on a generalization test that incorporated several features important in the real world. Two hundred and seventy-five volunteer college students in groups of seven participated in this study. Approximately one-half received exposure to the commons simulation and one-half did not. One-half of the groups in each treatment level received two posttests with a fine option available and the other one-half received two posttests without this option. The two posttests differed in that one was played with a large unknown referent group and the other was played with the …

Adolescent Identity Status In Current Familial Relationships During Separation, Eugene E. Campbell

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

College students were assessed as to ego identity status and perceptions of their relationships with parents during their first year away from home. Each parent was also asked to rate the relationship. There was general agreement between parents and adolescents although the data indicate that mothers and adolescents share a more similar view of their relationship than did the fathers and adolescents.

The hypothesis that females would report more affection and communication with their parents than would males was partially supported. Daughters were more communicative with their mothers and were more affectionate toward both parents than were sons.

Several proposed …

A Follow-Up Study Of The Edith Bowen Gifted Program, Richard Alan Campbell

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Former participants of an elementary-level gifted program were followed into junior high to determine the impact of the gifted program on their academic achievement and extracurricular participation. Parent and student perceptions of the gifted program were also determined. Academic achievement was measured by the variables grades in specific academic subjects, grade point averages, and achievement test scores. Extracurricular participation patterns were determined by response to a questionnaire on extracurricular activities. Intellectually-gifted former participants were compared on academic achievement and extracurricular participation to a comparable group of students who did not participate in any gifted program. No significant differences were found …

The Effects Of Pregnancy On Behavioral Interdependence In Premarital Relationships, Joan V. Wareham

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to compare couples who experienced a pregnancy early in their courtship, late in their courtship, or not pregnant at all on their development of behavioral interdependence across three levels of involvement; regularly dating, a couple, and committed to marriage, and into marriage. Data were collected by means of a semi-structured interview schedule which permitted couples to retrospectively graph their courtship from the first time they met until marriage. Partners divided their courtship into the three levels of involvement and then completed questionnaires which ascertained the activities they performed and with whom they performed them …

Accounting For Behavioral Contrast: Recent Interpretations, Ronald L. Snyder

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Behavioral contrast has been interpreted as a function of either (1) the reduction of frequency of reinforcement in one component of a multiple schedule or (2) the suppression of responses in one component regardless of reinforcement frequency.

These explanations are discussed in terms of their adequacy in accounting for several recent experimental results. Two alternative explanations are considered.

First, contrast is interpreted as a function of the relative summation of excitatory and inhibitory effects of stimuli.

Second, contrast is discussed as a possible function of a switch from a response-reinforcer contingency to a stimulus-reinforcer contingency as seen in auto-pecking. Both …

The Relationship Between Ego Identity Status, Conformity Behavior, And Personality In College Students, John Harold Ryan

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The relationship between conformity behavior and the four identity statuses as operationalized by Marcia was studied in 80 college students. Also, various personality characteristics were studied relative to their discernability by identity status and their relationship to conformity behavior. As sex difference was a major consideration in the study, the sample was divided into 40 males and 40 females ranging in age from 18 to 25 years. Statistical analysis indicated there were no significant differences between identity statuses relative to conformity for either males or females. In addition, very few personality characteristics were indicative of conformity for either sex. However, …

Relationships Between Psychogenic Needs And Theoretical Frameworks Of Psychotherapists, Dennis E. Ahern

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Each psychotherapist has a personal theoretical framework, that is, a set of assumptions on which his or her psychotherapy is based. It appears from the published writings and opinions of therapists that therapists generally concur that a major factor in the formation of an individual therapist's theoretical framework is the therapist's personality. This study was designed to address this issue by examining the relationship between the psychogenic needs and theoretical framework of the therapist.

From an accessible population of 178, responses were obtained from 153 therapist participants (108 males and 45 females) from five Utah training programs and three experience …

The Development Of S+ And S- Rules In Matching-To-Sample By Pigeons Through Prior Autoshaping, Mark S. Innocenti

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to develop behavior by the pigeon illustrative of S+ and S- rules and to examine if behavior consistent with a concept rule interpretation developed. In order to examine this possibility six groups of pigeons (N=31) were provided different histories of autoshaping. Histories involved the identity of the color of the lighted center key and one side key of three horizontally mounted pigeon keys. Center key onset was followed three seconds later by onset of either outer key. Outer key onset was followed six seconds later by food presentation (explicitly paired) or 45 seconds later, …

Social Interaction: The Relationship Between Facial Attractiveness And Verbal Influence Style, Laurie Jean Lee

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to determine if male and female communicators utilize different styles of persuasion with an attractive versus an unattractive female target. Forty undergraduate students were asked to persuade a female confederate in either an attractive condition or an unattractive condition to eat M&M's. Perceptions of attractiveness and personality assessments were checked by a post-experimental questionnaire. Influence attempts were rated and categorized by the use of the Social Interaction Scoring System. Individual responses were then factor analyzed to identify profiles of persuasive communication. These behavioral profiles were then statistically compared across experimental conditions by analyses of …

Stages Of Contemplative Mysticism: A Description And Taxonomy, Kenneth Burton Kaisch

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to describe and classify the stages of contemplative mystical development in the major world religions. To accomplish this task, a sample of five major world religions was chosen from the total population. From each religion, a contemplative author who was regarded as an authority by the members of that religion was chosen. The major work of each author was described in order to make explicit his/her conceptualization of the stages of contemplative development. These conceptualizations were then compared together, resulting in two models of contemplative development. The first model was composed of those stages …

Jacobsonian Versus Autogenic Relaxation Training: Interactions With Locus Of Control, Mark J. Weaver

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the thesis that matching locus of control with type of relaxation training enhances physiological self-control. This was accomplished by comparing the effectiveness of a somatic and a cognitive relaxation method for internal and external locus of control subjects. It was hypothesized that the two techniques vary in degree of cue salience, and that the attentional strategy of internals would interact with the cognitive approach while externals would respond better to the somatic approach.

Subjects were 80 volunteers from stressful occupations who scored high on the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory A-trait scale. Forty internals …

The Effects Of Neutral And Sex-Specific Terminology On Sex Stereotyping, Natalie J. Malovich

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A study was conducted to examine the effects of neutral and sex-specific terminology on sex stereotyping in regard to two primary questions: 1) whether or not the use of sex-neutral terminology alters subjects ' associations to particular words, and 2) whether, in the absence of gender identification, subjects make traditional sex-role assumptions about neutral terms. A third questions examined potential differences in male and female subjects' responses to neutral and sex-specific terminology.

Using a semantic differential technique, 40 male and 40 female volunteer subjects described a number of occupations and roles identified by sex-specific or sex-unspecified labels. Descriptions of those …

Effects Of Physical And Emotional Stress, Catecholamines And Naloxone On Hdl And Ldl Cholesterol Levels In Rats And Man, Andrew G. Goliszek

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A series of investigations were undertaken to determine whether physical or emotional stress, catecholamines or naloxone (B-endorphon blocker) would increase serum total cholesterol and LDL and HDL levels. Physical stress given daily over a period of time caused a steady increase in serum total cholesterol and LDL without a significantly altering high density lipoproteins (HDL) or serum triglycerides. Daily injections of epinerphrine in oil caused an increase in both serum total cholesterol and LDL levels while daily injections of norepinephrine did not. Reversal of the treatments caused a reversed response in both groups of rats. Similar increases in both total …

Factors Related To The Migration Preferences Of Utah's 1980 High School Seniors, A. John Lacognata

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study examines the personal migration preferences of Utah high school seniors in 1980 and their relationship to perceived parental preferences, family status, length of residence, religion, sex, and type of residence. A focal area of the thesis is an examination of the consistency between personal preferences and preferences of parents as perceived by the youth. The primary data used for this study came from a sample survey of 1980 high school seniors who were selected using a stratified sampling technique. Cross-tabulations were used with chi square to test for significance of association.

The results of this study suggest that …