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The Influence Of Perceptual Styles On The Accuracy With Which Subjects Correctly Locate States On The United States Map, Linda Sander

Honors Theses

Using 93 Southern Illinois University students I demonstrated that the perceptual style which a student uses in his learning process has an affect on the accuracy with which he/she locates states on a United States map. Two perceptual styles were looked at: Global and analytic. The influence of other factors, such as sex, country of grade school education, and emotional involvement with states, were also taken into consideration. A significant relationship was found between the variables of perceptual style and number of states missed on the United States map. State preferences was also an issue examined in this study, and …

Effects Of Hippocampal Inactivation On The Performance Of A Three-Dimensional Object Discrimination Task By Environmentally Enriched Rats, Christopher T. Jones

Honors Theses

This study was an attempt to show that enriched rats can learn a three dimensional object visual discrimination DMTS and DNMTS task. The task utilized toys from the EC for sample objects on an alternating arm Y-maze. Any subjects which were successful in learning the task were to then be tested as to the effects of reversible inactivation of the hippocampus on the performance of these tasks.

Self Complexity As A Buffer For Stress And Somatic Complaints, Jennifer Leigh Jett

Honors Theses

Through addressing potential problematic life events and their connection with self knowledge, the current research sought to examine whether complex cognitive representation acted as a buffer in situations of major and minor life events in relation to psychosomatic illness.

Positive Distinctiveness And Intergroup Discrimination Between Intercollegiate Athletes And Nonathletes, Jean H. Pace

Honors Theses

Past research has shown that individuals seek to establish a positively valued distinctiveness between their own group (ingroup) and other groups (outgroups) to maintain and enhance their self-esteem (Turner, 1981). The purpose of this study was to explore this issue further using intercollegiate student athletes and nonathletes as subjects. Ten athletes and ten nonathletes each generated lists of personality traits that they believed athletes and nonathletes possess. A different group of athletes and nonathletes (N=68) then rated the social desirability of these traits. The results revealed that each group attempted to differentiate itself positively from the other. Athletes and nonathletes …

Role Satisfaction In Working Mothers : A Comparison Of Occupational Status, Mary G. O'Donnell

Honors Theses

The effects of employment on a working mother's overall role satisfaction was examined as a function of occupational status (professional, middle management, working class). Sixty women of differing employment levels were given a questionnaire of items concerning their experiences as working mothers. Professional women were found to be at an advantage. They possesed significantly higher levels of work orientation and job satisfaction than both middle management and working class women, and higher levels of family satisfaction than working class women. Professional women were also slightly more satisfied with their roles, but this effect was not significant. A stepwise multiple regression …

Prediction Of Reading Pesticide Warnings And Consumer Purchasing Intentions, Kathryn Anne Ponsi

Honors Theses

Correlates of reading and noticing warnings on consumer products and of consumers' purchasing intentions were examined using ratings of 26 household pest-control products. Seventy college undergraduates were asked to respond to a 19-item questionnaire assessing subjects' perceptions of each product's packaging, labeling, and warning characteristics. Additional data was collected by coding the products for several packaging and warning characteristics, and product effectiveness. The results showed that the products perceived as more hazardous, potent, likely to cause injury, and difficult to use contained warnings that subjects reported they would more likely notice and read. A different cluster of variables were predictive …

Activation Of Social Heuristics In Social Decision Making Tasks As A Function Of Leadership Role Assignment, Amber B. Keating

Honors Theses

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of assigning leadership roles implying varying degrees of social responsibility along with examining lay peoples' perceptions of these roles. Using 105 subjects, a 3 (leadership role) x 2 (resource type) design was used to examine how leaders make decisions about sharing resources in groups. First, 41 subjects rated the perceived degree of social responsibility for each of the 32 roles. In the next phase, another 64 subjects were assigned one of three leadership roles (supervisor, guide, or leader) and were asked to take that type of leader's deserved amount of …

Family Environments And The Development And Course Of Anorexia Nervosa, Amy E. Hewett

Honors Theses

Preoccupation with physical appearance is a hallmark of adolescence, and distorted body images are common among teenage women in developed countries around the world. Obviously alI of these adolescents are not contracting eating disorders, and a distorted body image, although necessary, is not sufficient to induce anorexia. The mitigating factor appears to be family relations and environments. Previous research has noted unusual relationships among family members of anorexic girls. The present study contends that familial factors and environments powerfully direct both the move toward and the recovery from anorexia nervosa. It is hypothesized that high scores on the Family Environment …

Initial Dyadic Peer Interaction Of Adhd And Normal Children, Julie A. Hubbard

Honors Theses

The present study assesses the nature of the behavior of ADHD children in an initial social encounter with a peer. Eight pairs each of previously unacquainted ADHD/normal and normal/normal children were videotaped as they interacted in a free-play setting for 30 minutes. All ADHD subjects were currently receiving psychostimulant medication. As compared to the normal/normal dyads, the ADHD/normal dyads engaged in more solitary play as well as less associative play. The ADHD/normal dyads also had a greater latency to reach rule-governed associative play and engaged in less affective verbalization than the normal/normal dyads. Sequential analyses revealed that the normal/normal dyads, …

The Effects Of Caffeine On Operant Behavior In The Mongolian Gerbil, Stephanie L. Myers

Honors Theses

The present study looks at the effects of stomach loads of caffeine on operant behavior in Mongolian gerbils (Meriones unguiculatus). Four male and four female gerbils were trained to a fixed interval schedule of 30 seconds with Noyes 4.5 mg rodent pellets used for reinforcement. A data collection and analysis package for Apple computers was used to measure the post-reinforcement response frequencies and number of reinforcements. Data was collected using a baseline of saline stomach loads of 1% of body weight, and then stomach loads of ascending concentrations caffeine mixed with saline (10, 20, 40, 60 mg/kg) with two to …

The Correlation Between The Motive To Achieve And The Motive To Affiliate In College Women, Lisa Salladin

Honors Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine the correlation between the motives to achieve and to affiliate in college senior women and to compare that correlation earlier findings that consistently produced a significant negative relationship. It has been suggested in the 1970's that for women achievement and affiliation were be_coming less adversarial and approaching a more balanced coexistence. These motivations were measured by the frequently utilized Edward's Personal Preference Schedule in an effort to help strengthen the comparability of the present results with those previous findings. Interviews were conducted in an effort to shed light on whether these women …

The Experiences Of First Generation, Working-Class Women Students: A Qualitative Study, Alice Denise Danford

Honors Theses

This study is two-fold in purpose: (1) to express the need for scholarly research on working-class women students, both white and of color, and (2) relate the experiences of eight first generation, predominantly white, working-class women students.

Effects Of Disability Status Of Test Administrator On Attitudes Towards Disabled Person Scores, Paul T. Hanson

Honors Theses

The effect of test administrator disability status was examined in relation to a standardized scale which measures attitudes towards disabled persons. Conducting the study on two different dates with a total of 88 subjects it was found that filling out the attitude scale in a group with either: a visually impaired; Quadriplegic using a wheelchair; or able-bodied administrator did not result in a significant difference in recorded attitudes. There was, however, an interesting finding in that there was a wide variance of scores within each group. This encourages further data analysis.

A Fair Hanging: Ethics In Editorial Cartooning, Allison Anderson

Honors Theses

More than any other type of journalist, the editorial cartoonist is free to say what he thinks in a very pointed way, but this freedom has to be balanced against other values.

Irish-American Fiction And The Ethnic Identity Of Irish-Americans, Mary Carty

Honors Theses

As the largest immigrant group in the history of the United States, the Irish have had a tremendous impact on American society. Politically, the Irish flooded city government offices, eventually working up to the nation's highest office. Economically, they swelled the ranks of the labor market that was so crucial to America's growing industry. Religiously, they took over the leadership and strengthened the establishment of the Roman Catholic church in America, bringing to it their own parochial brand of Irish Catholicism. The Irish also influenced American culture with their successes in literature and the arts, and with their widespread emphasis …

A Relationship Between Auditory Evoked Responses To Speech Sounds Recorded At Birth And Vocabulary Size As Measured By The Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test Administered At Three Years Of Age, Lynnette L. Harris

Honors Theses

The role of biological components as related to language processes has received increased attention in recent years. Evidence from a variety of different methodologies has indicated the presence of early hemisphere differences in young infants. Yet the relationship between such early differences and later language development has remained unclear although several recent reports suggest a marked relationship between the two. The present paper examined the relationship between such lateralized responses in young infants and performance on the Peabody Picture Vocabulary test at three years of age.

The Influence Of Gender Schema On The Perception Of Advertising, Kim Seitz

Honors Theses

Schemas are used to organize knowledge about a stimulus or concept. They help to show what information should be notice or ignored, interpret between long-term memory and the current stimulus, and aid in efficiently storing information. Individuals' responses to decisions are guided by schemas. The process of eleviating cognitive dissonance between reality and existing schemas serves as their motivation (Ruble & Stangor, 1986).

Outcome-Biased Correspondent Inferences And Choice Behavior In Social Dilemmas : "Acting On Inference", Shannon J. Pratt

Honors Theses

An experiment employing 38 intro-psychology students was performed in order to a) observe the outcome-biased correspondent inference, b) investigate whether this inference may be manifested in social dilemma behavior, and c) investigate the role of social values in reactions to feedback, investment behaviors, and sensitivity to the correspondent inference. The experiment consisted of two parts. The first part categorized subjects as either cooperators or defectors using the Ring Measure of Social Values. In the second part, subjects completed a booklet with the aid of taped instructions. The booklet contained a questionnaire, a bogus scenario, and three investment situations. Results showed …

Jealousy : An Investigation Of Attribution, Margaret L. Offerdahl

Honors Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine the determinants of jealousy in different situations. Specifically, the research extended a study which identified five major categories of jealousy: romantic jealousy, jealousy of others' social acceptance, jealousy of others' undeserved accomplishments, jealousy of others' traits, and jealousy of others' happiness (Baldwin, 1988).

The investigation utilized a questionnaire narrating one scenario for each of the five jealousy provoking situations. Subjects rated the appropriateness of the jealous response in each situation on a scale from 1 to 7 and generated perceived causes for each jealous response. An analysis of variance of the appropriateness …

The Development Of The Child And Adolescent Coping Inventory, Laura K. Mcgraw

Honors Theses

The development of the Child and Adolescent Coping Inventory (Cobb, Gwanter, & Newcomb, 1987) is described and reliability and validity statistics are reported. The inventory consists of a parent form and a child form. The parent form contains 91 descriptions of children's behaviors when faced with difficulties. The child form is in interview format and asks children to describe seven positive and negative events and their reactions to them.The Inventory in both forms is capable of obtaining both observable and subjective reactions of children to stress. Reliability and validity is stronger for the child form. Suggestions are made for possible …

Warning Compliance : Behavioral Effects Of Cost And Consensus, Nancy A. Mckenna

Honors Theses

The behavioral effects of cost and consensus on warning compliance were examined. Cost was defined as the amount of effort expended to perform the instructed behavior, while consensus was defined as whether the presence of another person who complies or fails to comply affects the rate of compliance of another. Subjects performed a chemistry laboratory task during which, they read a warning directing them to wear a safety mask and gloves. The frequency of the subjects' compliance was recorded. The results show reduced compliance when the cost was high. The results also show that the behavior of just one other …

A Study Of The Self In The Red And The Black And The Confessions Of Felix Krull, Confidence Man, Roberta Mowery

Honors Theses

Although there are many reasons for reading and writing literature, perhaps the most compelling one is to gain knowledge of and access to the self. One of the most interesting aspects in the literary study of the self involves the individual's perception of his public and private self. This differentiation between the public an dprivate persona is developed in dept in Stendhal's The Red and the Black and Thomas Mann's The Confessions of Felix Krull, Confidence Man. The protagonists of these two works lead lives of duplicity and hypocrisy, each submerging his private personality in order to get ahead in …

An Exploratory Analysis On The Situational Determinants Of Jealousy, Renee Jean Baldwin

Honors Theses

The purpose of this study is to transcend the trait and affective boundaries in order to account for the situational and cognitive variables which provoke the responses elicited by jealous emotion. The focus of the study is comprised of two major objectives: (1). To discover and define the structural dimensions associated with people's conceptions of jealous situations and (2) to deter mine whether there are gender differences in the interpretation and conceptualization of jealous emotion. Thirty-one undergraduate psychology students participated in the study. A cluster analysis was performed on the co-occurrence of situations. Five major categories of the situational determinants …

Power And The Social Order: Sex Role Stereotyping In Children's Television, Christine Burke

Honors Theses

The aim of this study is to offer an assessment of the common themes in feminist, Lacanian psychoanalytic and deconstructionist theory. It will then discuss the degree to which these three discourses allow us to grasp the implications of the political socialization which occurs through television programming directed primarily at children.

There are points of commonality and discordance between these approaches. My aim will not be to make the argument that one approach is best, nor to arrive at a final synthesis. Rather, I construe these theoretical approaches as different lenses through which we can apprehend and evaluate the messages …

Doubletake : The Obsessions Of Sylvia Plath, Brian Connors

Honors Theses

For twenty five years, analyses of the link between Sylvia Plath's life and writings have too often focused on selected rebellious incidents and a handful of poems written in the last six months of her llfe. These shallow and often sensational literary autopsies reach seemingly pre-determined conclusions about Plath and usually blame Plath's mother, her husband, and male-dominated 1940s and 1950s America for the vitriolic tone of her writings and for her suicide at age thirty. Unfortunately, oversimplification is the rule in Plath studies. Examinations of Plath are particularly hazardous because such an enormous amount of her work was autobiographical …

From Allies To Enemies, Robin J. Cowan

Honors Theses

R.G. Collingwood concludes his book, The Idea of History, with a powerful statement. He says, "We ought by now to realize that no kindly law of nature will save us from the fruits of our ignorance." Collingwood argues that the only way to overcome ignorance is to have a solid understanding based on historical thought. The job of the historian is to search through existing evidence and the theories of other authorities and to present what she believes is the historical truth.

After reading Collingwood and always having had a strong interest in the Cold War, I was inspired to …

Mathematics Education In The Soviet Union And In Tennessee, Penny B. Pierce

Honors Theses

This thesis will examine mathematics education in the Soviet Union and compare it to that in Tennessee. It will be composed of three main sections, the first being a brief history of mathematics education in the Soviet Union and in Tennessee. It is necessary to study the history of changes in the respective systems to realize why the mathematics curriculum is the way it is today. A study of the curriculum will then be the second section. The third section will consider teacher training in the Soviet Union and in Tennessee. This area is included because of its obvious relevance …

Rise To Power Of Senator Joseph R. Mccarthy: Reflections Of The Cold War Mccarthy Era In American Film, Scott Lainer

Honors Theses

The common bond between much of the film industry and Joseph McCarthy was insecurity and the drive for national approval. If one grasps the specific characteristics of McCarthy the man, and the methods of these politically "inspired" movies, we can to better place the period into context and acknowledge the fact that, if the citizenry is not aware, and is again caught by an ever-building wave of trickle down sentiment, the 1950s might not prove to be an isolated period in American history. Insecurity was not a fifties novelty. It still exists, and could potentially escalate anti-Communist policy and sentiment …

Personal Growth Group Design: Leadership Training Group For Parish R.C.I.A. Processes, Rita M. Araoz

Honors Theses

The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults is a long-term process--usually nine months, but sometimes up to two years--in which men and women become members of the Roman Catholic Church. Often they are converting from other faiths or denominational backgrounds, but this is not always the case. R.C.I.A. culminates in the Sacrament of Baptism or Reception into Full Communion at the Easter Vigil Mass, but this is not the end. It is only the beginning of new life within the Catholic Christian community. The purpose of this group is to train non-professional individuals to become effective group leaders of R.C.I.A. …

Zora Neale Hurston And The Emergence Of Self, Cheryl Y. Williams

Honors Theses

Abraham Maslow in his work From The Farther Reaches of Human Nature made the statement:

Every human being has (two) sets of forces within him. One set clings to safety and defensiveness out of fear, tending to regress backward, hanging to the past, afraid to grow... afraid of independence, freedom and separateness. The other set of forces impels him forward toward wholeness of Self and uniqueness of Self, toward full functioning of all his capacities, toward confidence in the face of the external world at the same time that he can accept his deepest, real, unconscious Self (45-6).

What makes …