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A Validation Of The Family Of Origin Scale Using Alcoholic And Mental Health Patients, Arthur J. Fedor

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to add to the knowledge of family of origin assessment by demonstrating the utility of the Family of Origin Scale (FOS; Hovestadt, Anderson, Piercy, Cochran, & Fine, 1985) as a posttreatment measure of change with clinical samples. In this context, a second feature of the study was a further validation of the FOS.

Eighty-one clinical subjects in inpatient alcoholism treatment centers and outpatient mental health clinics were administered the FOS prior to treatment and again following treatment. Although the pretest-posttest model of the study was a quasi-experimental design, the focus was on the FOS's …

Psychological Correlates Of Sinus Headache, Stanley R. Carlock

Dissertations

This study comprised a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover trial for evaluating the pharmacological efficacy of ibuprofen when given in combination with pseudoephedrine on an outpatient basis to 52 patients diagnosed with sinus headache. The patients were administered a psychological test battery consisting of the California Psychological Inventory (CPI) (Gough, 1948), the Millon Behavioral Health Inventory (MBHI) (Millon, Green, & Meagher, 1979), and the Profile of Mood States (POMS) questionnaire (Nowlis & Green, 1957) to evaluate the possibility that specific psychological and personality characteristics might differentiate these patients from individuals on whom the psychological test instruments were normed. Additionally, the probability …

Ease Of Learning And The Emergence Of Equivalence Class Formation: A Comparison Of Topography-Based And Selection-Based Paradigms, Riad M. Wraikat

Dissertations

Michael (1985) identified two types of verbal behavior, topography-based (i.e., speaking or using sign language) and selection-based (i.e., symbol board). Sundberg & Sundberg (1990) and Wraikat (1991) compared these systems in terms of the ease of learning object naming (tact) and giving the correct sign or pointing to the correct symbol on hearing the object name (intraverbal). Sundberg & Sundberg (1990) also compared them for the spontaneous development of a new relation, identifying the object when hearing its name (stimulus class formation or equivalence). The results of both studies favored the topography-based system, but in each case some subjects were …

Effects Of Differential Force Requirements On Choice Behavior Under Concurrent-Chain Schedules, Randal D. Reynolds

Dissertations

Concurrent-chain research shows that choice behavior is sensitive to differential delays to reinforcement but apparently insensitive to differential response-requirement factors. To date, however, no studies have directly investigated the effects of differential force requirements on choice behavior under concurrent-chain schedules. This relationship will be the focus of the present study.

In Experiment 1 rats responded on conventional concurrent-chain schedules and were given a choice between different terminal-link force requirements. The force requirement on one terminal-link lever was 0.25 N while the force requirement on the other lever was varied from 0.25 N to 1.51 N across conditions. For comparative purposes, …

Denominational Rituals As Influencers Of Grief Adjustment, Suzanne Jean Martz Webb

Dissertations

This study identified rituals and traditions that are used by some mainline Christian denominations for grieving parishioners. Determining if there are differences between denominations in either the adjustment widows make during grief or the funeral rituals in which they participated at the death of their husbands was the initial research question. The second research question was whether the degree of ritual used by members of denominations impacts adjustment during grief.

Three denominations of Christianity--the Roman Catholic church, the United Methodist church, and the Reformed Church in America--were chosen to study this issue. The three have some of the same informal …

The Impact Of An Integrated Study Skills Program On University Of La Verne Adult Undergraduates At Vandenberg Air Force Base And Naval Air Station North Island, Pamela Priest Edd

Dissertations

The Problem: There have been a number of recent attempts to provide unique educational opportunities in learning strategies and study skills for adult students. A difficulty in removing the student from the classroom to provide this specialized training is that many students are unable to transfer the acquired skills back into a variety of different contexts. A second problem is removing faculty from the ongoing class and educating them in workshops that address learning strategies and study skills. Many faculty find it difficult to incorporate these skills while meeting the demands of fulfilling course content objectives. The Research: The purpose …

Contrived Versus Natural Reinforcers In The Acquisition Of A Verbal Repertoire By Adult Learners, Lisa Ann Leblanc

Dissertations

Previous research suggests that by making classroom contingencies for verbal responding more like those in the natural environment, i.e., by using motivative variables to evoke verbal responses which are followed by specific actions on the part of listeners, verbal repertoires can be taught more effectively to children and language impaired individuals. The present study examines the role of specific versus generalized conditioned reinforcement following adult students' question-asking on the acquisition of a verbal repertoire in a classroom setting and on the generalization of this repertoire to a more natural verbal environment.

Subjects were 32 university students in two American Sign …

The Training Of Initial Behavioral Assessment Interview Skills, Mark J. Hirsch

Dissertations

Two manuals were used to train behavioral assessment interview skills. The first manual outlined eleven initial responses the therapist must make to determine the controlling variables related to a client’s problem. The second manual outlined strategies for dealing with evasive or nonappropriate responses made by a client. Subjects were graduate students from the psychology department of Western Michigan University who had no experience in conducting assessment interviews. Six subjects participated. Simulated therapy sessions between subjects acting as therapists and confederates acting as clients were conducted. Scripts were utilized to standardize confederate responses. Each session dealt with a clinical concern amenable …

Effects Of Training Method On Inspector Accuracy In A Simulated Quality Control Task, Cathy L. Thorne

Dissertations

This study compared the effects of three training programs on inspector accuracy. The inspection task required 38 subjects to detect errors in geometric figures. All three training programs provided the same written descriptions of correct and incorrect figures, and all three training programs provided examples of correct figures. What differed among the programs was the type of incorrect figures. Individuals assigned to the Correct Sample Only Group were not shown any incorrect figures. Individuals assigned to the Critical Differences Group were shown incorrect figures which contained only one error at a time. Individuals assigned to the Multiple Differences Group were …

A Classroom Meeting Model For Teacher Use In Classroom Management, Gerald L. Lecureux

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to develop, validate, and field test a classroom meeting model to aid in classroom management. In the review of literature, six common beliefs were found. Four classroom management models were discussed in relationship to each belief and a classroom meeting model was then developed. Control Theory (Glasser, 1984) was selected as a psychological base.

The Classroom Meeting Model may be illustrated as an equilateral triangle. The angles represent three types of classroom meetings: relationship development, rule and consequence determination, and problem solving. Along the sides, elements of the meetings are represented: basic needs, components …

A Study Of Leadership: A Qualitative Case Study Of Intended Changes Within The County Government Of San Diego, Shelia Quinlan Williams Edd

Dissertations

This research addresses the nature of leadership. Reflecting a sound theoretical base, the researcher studied the people involved in a complex change process, and listened to their perceptions about change and leadership. The study goes beyond the idea of the individual leader into the notion of a leadership relationship. It is a study of the persons who were active in the relationship, a study of their behaviors and language as they changed how the county government served the public. One of the primary purposes of the study is to demonstrate how these insights regarding change and the nature of leadership …

Managing Patient Care: A Substantive Theory Of Clinical Decision Making In Home Health Care Nursing, Felicitas A. Dela Cruz Dnsc, Ma, Rn

Dissertations

This study investigates the phenomenon of clinical decision making, deriving a grounded substantive theory to explain how home health care nurses make patient care decisions. Despite the continuing shift of health care from acute care settings to the patient's home, little is known about home health care nurses' clinical decision making processes and the factors influencing them. The study employs a field research design using grounded theory based on symbolic interactionism. Data collection at two Visiting Nurse Associations includes participant observation and open-ended interviews of 21 nurses, and document analysis of patients' records and home care nursing practice policies. The …

A Study Of Dual Relationships In Small College Counseling Centers, Terry W. Darling

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to address the following questions; What are the attitudes and practices of counselors in small college counseling centers regarding dual relationships? What are the counselor characteristics that appear to affect counselors' attitudes and practices? How do the attitudes and practices of counselors in small colleges compare to other professionals' attitudes and practices?

A nationwide, random sample of 300 small college counselors was surveyed. Half of the sample received a Counseling Practices Survey: Ethics, which sought information about the respondents' attitudes regarding 17 nonsexual and sexual dual relationship behaviors. The other half of the sample …

A Comparison Of Three Procedures For The Establishment Of A Novel Response With Delayed Reinforcement, Jayson W. Wilkenfield

Dissertations

The purpose of the present study was to compare three procedures for examining the degree to which delayed response-dependent presentations of food would result in the acquisition of lever-pressing in rats. Although there is an abundance of research examining the maintenance of behavior with delayed reinforcement, few studies have investigated reinforcement delays in the acquisition of new discrete behaviors. Historically two different procedures have been employed in the study of delayed reinforcement. In a nonresetting delay procedure a response sets up the delivery of a reinforcer to occur after t seconds, and responses that may occur during the delay interval …

Private Versus Public Operation: A Comparison Of Two Juvenile Restitution Programs, Sudipta Roy

Dissertations

The present research focuses on the effectiveness of two restitution programs for juvenile offenders, one in Elkhart County, Indiana, and the other in Kalamazoo County, Michigan. Effectiveness refers to the impact of the two restitution programs on offender restitution to their victims and on offender recidivism. The two programs are a Victim Offender Reconciliation Project (VORP) in Elkhart County and a non-VORP restitution program administered by the Juvenile Probate Court in Kalamazoo County. The VORP is operated by a private agency--the Center for Community Justice, while the Kalamazoo program is publicly operated. This study focuses on the impact of the …

A Comparative Study Of Intrinsic And Extrinsic Work Values And Career Maturity For Minority College Students, Marvin Hall

Dissertations

This study was conducted to investigate comparisons of intrinsic and extrinsic work values and career maturity for minority college students. Results of this study may enhance efforts to provide more effective career development programs for minority college students. The investigation compared participants in a personal and academic support services program (PASSP) by sex, and PASSP and non-PASSP participants by groups. The PASSP which consisted of business majors was based upon expectations and self-efficacy of the success of program participants.

The study consisted of forty participants, 20 females and 20 males. The volunteers included 10 males and 10 females who were …

Choice By Rats For Enriched Versus Standard Home Cages Plastic Pipes, Wood Platforms, Wood Chips, And Paper Towels As Enrichment Items, Anita Lynn Bradshaw

Dissertations

The purpose of the present study was to determine whether simple additions to the home cages of rats made those cages preferable to standard housing arrangements. Results indicated that the majority of rats preferred cages with wood platforms, wood chips, and paper towels to otherwise identical cages without these items. Wood chips were not, however, practical with the cages used in the present study. Plastic pipes caused no problems but were not preferred by the majority of individual animals. Both wood platforms and paper towels created no problems and appeared to be useful as enrichment items. The latter were preferred …

Faculty Satisfaction With Their Position Functions Of Teaching, Research, And Service Across Venezuelan Teacher Colleges, Ana Gil-Garcia Serafin

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was (a) to investigate the interrelations of faculty satisfaction with the functions of teaching with research and service, and research with service across Venezuelan teacher colleges, and (b) to determine if there were significant differences between faculty satisfaction with their position functions relative to teaching, research, and service across teacher college campuses of Venezuela. Randomly selected full-time faculty members from the Universidad Pedagogica Experimental Libertador, composed of seven branches, were the sample (N^ = 234). The satisfaction of faculty regarding teaching, research, and service were compared across different capital city, state capital city, and rural …

The Academic Coordinator Of Clinical Education In Physical Therapist Educational Programs, Norene Clouten

Dissertations

In physical therapist educational programs the faculty member responsible for the clinical education portion of the curriculum is the Academic Coordinator of Clinical Education (ACCE). The factors that attract individuals to the career of ACCE and that influence them either to leave or remain in the position are of interest and concern to those planning for the future of the profession. The purpose of this study is to gather information about the career of the ACCE. The study was designed to determine the: (a) Personal characteristics and occupational status of ACCEs, (b) preparations made for the career of ACCE, (c) …

The Impact Of A Realistic Training Preview On Subsequent Transfer Of Training, Duangkaew Ungsrithong

Dissertations

The issue of transfer of training and its problems have been studied by a number of researchers and practitioners in training and development. Many of these (Broad, 1982; Huczynski & Lewis, 1980; Leifer & Newstrom, 1980) have reported that pre-training information enhances trainee learning and transfer. Many questions remain, however, as to what types of pre-training information might impact on learning and subsequent transfer of learning.

The primary objective of the present study was to investigate the impact of two different types of training “preview” on subjects: (a) reactions to training, (b) acquisition of knowledge (learning), and (c) transfer of …

Activity Between Supervisors And Supervisees Outside Of Their Supervisory Sessions, Paul R. Ginter

Dissertations

The present study explores non-sexual activities between supervisors and supervisees outside the context of psychotherapy supervision. The two general questions posed in this study are (1) what is the nature of non-sexual activity between supervisors and supervisees outside of supervision, and (2 ) what is the perceived impact (if any) on the supervision process?

Questionnaires were distributed to matched pairs of supervisory dyads at APA-approved predoctoral internship sites. The two types of internships included in the study were counseling centers at universities, and psychiatric hospitals. Sixty-six supervisory dyads were included in the analysis, selected from 152 returned questionnaires. The respondents …

Elders Caring For Elders: Risk Of Abuse And Neglect?, Marjorie F. Bendik Dnsc, Msn, Rn

Dissertations

This study was designed to examine the phenomena of mood disturbance and associated potential to abuse in an elderly caregiver population. The data from which the results were obtained came from structured interviews, using quantitative measures, with 110 men and women caregivers aged 55 and over, living at home and caring for another physically or mentally ill elder (usually a spouse or other relative) who was living with them. A causal model was developed to examine the effects of locus of control, social support, physical health, stress perception, and coping efficacy on total mood disturbance and potential to abuse. Standardized …

Factors Related To Self-Care Agency And Self-Care Practices Of Obese Adolescents, Kathy Shadle James Dnsc, Msn, Rn

Dissertations

Identification of factors that influence obese adolescents' health behaviors is necessary if obese adolescents are to benefit from therapeutic interventions. The purpose of this descriptive-correlational study was to identify the relationships between selected basic conditioning factors (BCFs)--perceived health status (PHS), perceived self-efficacy (PSE), family satisfaction (FS), and life events (LE)--and the self-care agency (SCA) and self-care practices (SCP) among obese adolescents. The relative predictive strength of each BCF in relation to the outcome variables was also explored. Orem's self-care theory provided the conceptual framework for this study. The convenience sample of 100 obese adolescents included campers from two southern California …

A Model Of Organizational Commitment In Staff Nurses, Donna Burgener Adams Dnsc

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to describe and explain the impact of work stress, sex role organization, and organizational tenure on self-esteem and work satisfaction, and ultimately, on the organizational commitment of registered nurses. An eclectic framework was utilized which incorporated organizational and personal variables. The correlational design resulted in a temporally ordered causal recursive model with linkages supported by a literature review. Past research has demonstrated less organizationally committed nurses more prone to leave their positions, and high turnover is detrimental to patient care as well as costly to the health care system. The sample consisted of 143 …

Factors Related To Body Image Appraisal Associated With Receiving Treatment For A Malignant Brain Tumor, Ruth Ann Mulnard Dnsc

Dissertations

Within a stress-coping-adaptation framework, a path analytic model was hypothesized to explain the interrelationships among the variables of gender, age, duration of illness, steroid dosage, social support, perceived health status limitations, and coping skills, and their subsequent effect on body image appraisal in the population of subjects undergoing treatment for a malignant brain tumor. The many potential changes in physical appearance and functional abilities, including the loss of hair, the onset of Cushing's syndrome and varied physical disabilities, may cause devastating alterations in body image, requiring tremendous coping skills for adaptation in these individuals. One hundred and ten subjects were …

The Moral Reasoning Of Nurse Practitioners, Diane C. Viens Dnsc, Ms, Fnp, Rnc

Dissertations

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to identify the moral dilemmas experienced by nurse practitioners in their clinical practice and to describe the essential features of moral reasoning utilized by the nurse practitioners to resolve the moral dilemma. The participants in the study were ten female volunteers who were currently employed as NPs in a variety of settings. Unstructured interviews were conducted with the participants and the qualitative data was analyzed using a nine step process. Five essential features of moral reasoning emerged through the process of data analysis: values, elements in the contextual framework for moral reasoning, influencing …

The Effect Of Sexual Harassment On Female Naval Officers: A Phenomenological Study, Kathleen Anne Krohne Edd

Dissertations

Sexual harassment has grown to epidemic proportions since being documented as a workplace problem. Court cases are rising along with costs to organizations from litigation, turnover, absenteeism and stress-related medical claims. Courts are continually refining the legal definition of sexual harassment, resulting in a steady expansion of employers' liability. Perceptions of men and women regarding what constitutes sexual harassment differ markedly as do their responses to sexually oriented behaviors at work. Development of a formula for effectively preventing sexual harassment is, therefore, a complex and perplexing exercise. Two of three women serving in the military report that they have been …

Profile Of A Transformational Leader: A Sacred Mission, Karen Louise Skalbeck Edd

Dissertations

There is widespread concern about the standards of our schools today. The colossal wave of educational reform, political rhetoric and hysteria created an avalanche of legislative debates and a proliferation of literary documents questioning the role of principals. The effective schools research highlighted the important role principals have as instructional leaders. The purpose of this study was to examine how transformational leadership, leadership as a process, and the critical aspects of leadership worked to revive and transform an inner city high school. Specific focus centered on the administrator of the school examining the leadership process within the context of where …

The Leadership Process And Its Effects On Self-Managed Work Groups In American Manufacturing Companies, Stephen R. Wirkus Edd

Dissertations

Over the past 75 years, leadership has become a widely studied phenomenon, with many theories and models offered to assist the layman to become an effective leader. Most of these theories have been based on management models, that is, models that adapt management behaviors and goals into what the authors call leadership. These theories fall into several categories: great man, trait, contingency and situational among others. While these theories have provided practitioners some valid ideas on how to improve their managerial effectiveness, they have done little in the way of expanding the knowledge of the process of leadership. This study …

Memory Change And Cognitive Function Among The Elderly, Janet L. Conant Edd

Dissertations

The Problem: The deleterious effects of aging on various cognitive abilities are widely recognized, yet little is known regarding what constitutes "normal" memory test performance in individuals over the age of 74. In this study, forgetting rates for verbal and nonverbal material from the Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised (WMS-R) were examined in groups of older healthy individuals aged 50-74 and 75-95. Despite equivalent scores on measures of global cognitive status and attention/concentration, the older group demonstrated significantly poorer performance on the Delayed Memory Index. Preliminary normative data for normal elderly subjects on the WMS-R are presented, and the need for appropriate …