Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Applying The Matching Law In A Sheltered Workshop, Kristin Elizabeth Skousgard

Masters Theses

This study assessed the validity of the matching law in an applied setting. It manipulated extraneous reinforcement and measured the rate of rocking in a 24-year-old developmentally disabled man. The resulting data were compared to that predicted by the matching law.

The results were important in three ways: (1) extraneous reinforcement systematically affected rocking in an applied setting in the manner predicted by the matching law, (2) a clinically undesirable behavior decreased in frequency, and (3) this decrease occurred in the absence of direct intervention on the target behavior. Thus, to a slight degree, scientific, practical and humanitarian goals were …

Death Preparation: The Construct And A Proposed Predictor Of Death And Death Anxiety, Robert A. Papazian

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In previous studies, death preparation has often been narrowly defined as involving formal and informal educational opportunities (e.g., Bailey, 1976; Miles, 1980; Watts, 1977). In the present study this construct was defined as the quantity (aggregate) and quality (resolution) of experiences, cognitions, and affective processes in response to anticipatory, perceived, analog, and actual loss. A 132 item questionnaire was developed to assess experiential, cognitive, and affective preparation. Quantitative measures of exposure to death-related events as well as the qualitative measure of subjective adjustment to potential loss were evaluated. Reliability and validity for the construct were established and its relationship with …

The Relationships Of Body-Image Attitudes To Sexual Functioning And Experiences In A Normal College Population, Jill D. Hangen

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

This study examined the relationships of body-image attitudes and sexual attitudes, experiences, and functioning in a college population. Sixty-five males and 120 females completed a variety of established self-report measures assessing the constructs under study, as well as two new measures developed in this study. The new measures included (1) The Sexual Experiences and Problems Survey for self-assessment of difficulties in sexual functioning, and (2) The Body Exposure in Sexual Activities Questionnaire to measure self-consciousness and avoidance of body exposure in sexual contexts. Analyses were performed in the data of those predominantly heterosexual subjects who reported a history of sexual …

Hana ‘Ino: Child Maltreatment In A Hawaiian-American Community, Jill E. Korbin

Pacific Studies

No abstract provided.

Beaten Wife, Suicidal Woman: Domestic Violence In Kaliai, West New Britain, Dorothy Ayers Counts

Pacific Studies

No abstract provided.

Vocal Recognition Of Pups By Mother Mexican Free-Tailed Bats, Tadarida Brasiliensis Mexicana, Jonathan P. Balcombe

Sentience Collection

The ability of Mexican free-tailed bat mothers and pups to recognize vocalizations of their presumptive kin (pup isolation calls and mother echolocation calls, respectively) was tested using playbacks of recorded calls. Captive individuals were presented with calls of two bats, one presumptive kin and the other a stranger, from opposite sides of a circular wire arena. Response was determined by amount of time spent on each side of the arena, time spent in contact with a cloth bat model in front of each speaker, and number of separate contacts with each model. For the latter two measures, mothers showed a …

An Explanatory Study Of Maternal Stress And Coping With A Cystic Fibrosis Child, Leslie G. Potter

Ellmer School of Nursing Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the concept of coping with a cystic fibrosis (CF) child and to define coping strategies from the perspective of the mother. The research design was based upon a phenomenological approach with analysis of transcribed, semi-structured interviews with mothers of CF children. A purposive sample of eight mothers with CF children were interviewed to explore the maternal CF experience. Each interview was tape recorded and followed up with a phone call to allow the mothers to add additional information, if so desired. Data analysis consisted of reviewing each typed, verbatim transcript to categorize …

The Relationship Between Occupational Choice And Perceptions Of Professional Nursing Functions And Characteristics, Ellis Quinn Youngkin

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Management

This study identifies the occupational interests and predominant vocational personality types of freshmen students (undeclared majors, nursing majors, and non-nursing majors), explores perceptions about selected professional nursing functions and characteristics among the students, and examines perceptual differences between groups (majors).

A non-experimental ex post facto design is used to analyze data from 312 students in a large urban university. Descriptive and inferential statistics are applied in data analysis. The following findings support the hypotheses: (1) Nursing continues to attract the traditional student who has Holland's Social vocational personality type as measured by the Self-Directed Search, although many Social types are …

Parallel Process: An Empirical Investigation, Thomas E. Pollack

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of the present study was to conduct an empirical investigation of parallel process. The study used a cross-sectional design in which 30 therapy relationships and the corresponding supervision relationships were studied. The therapist assessed the behavior manifested by the patient during a targeted therapy session. Following the subsequent supervision session, the supervisor assessed the behavior manifested by the supervisee during the supervision session. In addition, each of the triad participants (patient, therapist, supervisor) rated the level of anxiety they experienced during the targeted therapy and supervision sessions. Measures of interpersonal style for each of the subjects were also …

The Effects Of Decreased Uncertainty And Telescopic Versus Full Field Training On The Useful Field Of View, Lauren M. Jackson

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The “Useful Field of View” (UFOV) is the entire area in which information can be gathered without moving the eyes or head (Ball, Beard, Roenker, Miller & Griggs, 1998). Previous research has demonstrated that the UFOV shrinks with age (Scialfa, Kline & Lyman, 1987; Plude & Doussard-Roosevelt, 1987: Ball et al., 1988). With decrement in the UFOV, everyday activities, such as driving and walking can be limited. If the area in which information is received is smaller, then objects seem to appear suddenly and here is little time to react to them. One example of an everyday activity that would …

Ua35/11 Student Honors Research Bulletin, Wku Honors Program

WKU Administration Documents

The WKU Student Honors Research Bulletin is dedicated to scholarly involvement and student research. These papers are representative of work done by students from throughout the university.

• Basham, Penny. The Ritalin Controversy: Hyperactive Children and Medication
• Buote, Kim. The Transmission of Negative Feedback: Obstacles, Effects and Suggestions
• Cowan, James. The 1988 Presidential Primaries: Search for Bandwagons
• Durfey, Suzanne. AIDS: Nutrition and Its Implications
• Felty, Jeff. Gay and Lesbian Couples
• Gilliland, Linda. Muffins and Aspartame or Sucrose
• Graham, Ken. Sudden Infant Death Syndrome
• Grubbs, Morris. Conflicts and Synthesis in Robert Penn Warren's Blackberry Winter
• Medeiros, Lynne. Problems of Democratic Republicism in …

Obesity: A Biobehavioral Point Of View, M. Katahn, Mark R. Mcminn

Faculty Publications - Doctor of Psychology (PsyD) Program

Excerpt: "If you ask an overweight person, “Why are you fat?’, you will, almost invariably, get the answer, “Because 1 eat too much.” You will get this answer in spite of the fact that of thirteen studies, six find no significant differences in the caloric intake of obese versus nonobese subjects, five report that the obese eat significantly less than the nonobese, and only two report that they eat significantly more."

The Relationship Between Needs And Interpersonal Problems Of Women In Four Interpersonal Categories, Valarie Elaine Sikes-Nova

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

This study empirically assessed the relationship between needs structure and interpersonal presentation in women. Proposed indices for selective attention were assessed as to their ability to detect pathology. The relationship between interpersonal presentation and interpersonal problems were also studied. The measures used were The Picture Identification Test (Chambers, 1976), The Interpersonal Adjective Scales-Revised (Wiggins, 1985), The Inventory for Interpersonal Problems (Horowitz, 1986), and The Marlowe-Crowne Social-Desirability Scale (1964).

Subjects were assigned to one of four interpersonal categories (Friendly-Dominant, Friendly-Submissive, Hostile-Dominant, Hostile-Submissive) on the basis of their self-reported IAS-R and one category on the basis of their counselor-reported IAS-R scores. Subjects …

A Study Of The Relationship Between Improvement In Physical Status And Self-Esteem In Geriatric Patients, Kate A. Hayner

Masters Theses

The improvement in physical abilities in the geriatric population after occupational therapy was investigated to determine whether self-esteem would also improve. Fifteen subjects from three different nursing homes were measured. All of the subjects were referred to occupational therapy by their physician.

Treatment was implemented by trained rehabilitation aides after an occupational therapist assessed each subject and determined the need for therapy. Measurable goals were set for each subject to improve dysfunctional areas and reviewed with each resident and rehabilitation aide responsible for implementing the treatment program.

Types of treatment consisted of active and passive range of motion, strengthening, retrograde …

An Obsessive-Compulsive View Of Obesity And Its Treatment, Raymond Mount, Fugen Neziroglu, Christina J. Taylor

Psychology Faculty Publications

It was hypothesized that some obese individuals who are obsessed with food and who eat compulsively may not respond to the stimulus control techniques widely used in treating obesity. Sixty-eight participants were ad- ministered a measure of obsessive tendencies and randomly assigned to three treatment modalities: (a) Exposure and response prevention; (b) Stimulus control; (c) Control. Results indicated that participants who scored high on the Eating Obsessive Compulsive questionnaire (EOC) maintained weight loss significantly better with exposure and response prevention (ERP) training than did either the stimulus control or the control group. It was concluded that for the obsessive-compulsive eater, …

Misfit Between Motivational Style And Type Of Job Demand As A Factor In Developing Occupational Stress, Arlene Gray Blix

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Occupational stress is costly in terms of human suffering and impaired organizational effectiveness. Occupational stress involves the interface between the individual worker and the work environment. The purpose of the study was to analyze the fit between motivational style and the type of job demands as a contributing factor in developing occupational stress symptoms. A literature review of occupational stress models was conducted. The six models compared and contrasted included the Person-Environment fit model (French, Rodgers, & Cobb, 1974), Integrative Transactional Model (Schuler, 1982), Organizational Stress Models (Ivancevich & Matteson, 1987; Parker & DeCotiis, 1983), Facet Analysis Model (Beehr & …

Religious Commitment As A Predictor Of Health Behavior And Health Status In A Selected Population, Donald George King

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Religious beliefs and behaviors are multidimensional and they profoundly determine the ways we respond to health and illness, suffering and death. Researchers have designed numerous scales to measure different dimensions of religious commitment, beliefs and behaviors. A thorough review of the literature has shown general relationships between religion and health, but no researcher has developed an instrument measuring dimensions of religious commitment specifically relevant to health behaviors.

In this study, scale items were developed to measure three dimensions of religious beliefs thought by Kenneth Vaux (1976) to be related to health behavior--purity of life, peace in existence, and belief in …

Self-Esteem And Perceived Barriers To And Benefits Of Exercise Among Physically Active And Non-Physically Active College Students, Barbara Brown Bonheur

Ellmer School of Nursing Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine differences in self-esteem, perceived benefits of and perceived barriers to exercise between exercisers and non-exercisers and to determine if relationships existed between self-esteem, perceived benefits of exercise and perceived barriers to exercise, that could explain participation in regular aerobic exercise. A sample of 105 university students completed four questionnaires. The level of social desirability present in participant responses was also measured. Five hypotheses were tested. Utilizing t-tests, a significant difference was found between exercisers and non-exercisers on self-esteem, perceived benefits of exercise, and perceived barriers to exercise. The three variables (self-esteem, …

A Social Exchange Approach To Explaining Satisfaction With Therapy, Brenda B. Counts

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The present study examined the effect of Reward, Cost, Comparison Level, Comparison Level of Alternative, and Investment on Satisfaction and Commitment in therapy from the perspective of social exchange theory and the investment model. Relationship variables were assessed by 114 subjects for the beginning of therapy, the first few sessions: middle of therapy, when therapy was clearly underway and issues were being dealt with; and the end or last few sessions. Results confirmed that Satisfaction and Commitment were significantly predicted by greater Reward, lower Cost, and Comparison Level. Investment was consistently positively related to Commitment and not to Satisfaction. However, …

Effects Of Age On Motor Preparation And Restructuring, Paul Amrhein, Noreen Goggin, George Stelmach

Department of Psychology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Age-related decrements in motor plan restructuring were investigated. In this experiment, older and younger adults performed a discrete aiming task that involved responses that were precued and responses that were modified at the time of an imperative signal. On 75% of the trials, the precue specified the response-stimulus (valid trials) with respect to the movement parameters of the arm (left or right) and direction (toward or away). On the remaining 25% of the trials, the response-stimulus was different from the precue (invalid trials) in that the subject was required to modify a planned movement by changing the arm to be …

Ua35/11 Student Honors Research Bulletin, Wku Honors Program

WKU Administration Documents

The WKU Student Honors Research Bulletin is dedicated to scholarly involvement and student research. These papers are representative of work done by students from throughout the university.

• Coates, Alan. Management's Attitude Toward Collective Bargaining
• Frew, Becky. The Effects of Personality Type and Social Support on Instances of Job Stress
• Green, Laura. Earth Sheltered Housing
• Gregory, Vicky. Fraud and Abuse by Medical Providers in Medicare and Medicaid
• Hignite, Susan. Japanese Students in Kentucky Classrooms
• Hodum, Martha. The Mathematically Gifted Child
• Jones, Rodney. Superman to Censorship: America's Romance with the Comic Book
• Marrs, Shawn. Romanticism and Unromanticism in Sir Gawain and the …

Predictors Of Absenteeism Among Hospital Nurses: An Examination Of Blau Amd Boal's Model Of Absenteeism Behavior, Keith Edward Gers

Theses Digitization Project

No abstract provided.

Neurological Soft Signs And School Achievement: The Mediating Effects Of Sustained Attention, Irvin Sam Schonfeld, David Shaffer, Joseph E. Barmack

Publications and Research

Citation:

Schonfeld, I. S., Shaffer, D., & Barmack, J.E. (1989). Neurological soft signs and school achievement: The mediating effects of sustained attention. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 17, 575-596. doi:10.1007/BF00917723

The Psychological Effects Of Exercise, Judith Rodin, Thomas G. Plante

Psychology

Thousands of businesses in the United States have implemented programs to promote physical fitness among their employees (Falkenberg, 1987). The programs range from company-paid memberships at private health and fitness clubs to complete work site fitness facilities. These programs have been developed not only to improve and maintain employee health but also to promote psychological well-being and productivity and to reduce absenteeism, insurance claims, and stress. Recent research focusing on the use of employee fitness programs to improve work-related behaviors suggests that these programs may improve absenteeism, job satisfaction, tenure. and health care costs, especially among female employees (Baun, Bernacki, …

Toward Predicting Completion Of Substance Abuse Treatment, Rebecca Lee Bragg

Dissertations and Theses

This investigation attempts to identify factors which influence whether or not someone is likely to drop out of a chemical dependency treatment program. Dropping out is defined as someone who leaves treatment against medical advice.

The subjects were patients from a private, non-profit, medically based, residential program. Nine demographic characteristics were abstracted from the charts on file for the patients at the treatment center. Two groups of 45 patients each were selected from the inpatient population. One group, the Completed Treatment group, comprised patients who had completed the 28 day program. The second group, the AMA Discharge group, comprised patients …

Normative Data On The Auditory Memory Test Battery For Ages 9 Through 13 Years, Elisabeth Y. Carter

Dissertations and Theses

Auditory short-term memory (STM) is important for speech and language development and for learning new information presented auditorily. Research has shown that auditory STM ability is of a developmental nature in the 5 through 8 year age range for a variety of auditory stimuli. Many tests and subtests are available to measure auditory STM ability, however one test, the Auditory Memory Test Battery (AMTB) measures auditory memory span and memory for sequence for 5 types of stimuli.

The purpose of this study was to collect normative data on the AMTB scores of normal 9 through 13 year old students and …

Predictors Of Depression In American Indian Adolescents, Quang Duong-Tran

Dissertations and Theses

Discriminant analysis was conducted to examine the empirical use of psychosocial variables and stressful life events scales in classifying depressed and non-depressed American Indian adolescents using a standardized criterion measure. Subjects attending a Bureau of Indian Affair boarding school were administered a mental health screening survey and were interviewed within four weeks using the Diagnostic Interview Schedule f or Children-Revised (DISC-R). Three models of discriminant analysis were used to determine the overall and incremental variance contributed by the stressful life events scales and the related psychosocial variables (i.e., gender, perceived social support from family and from friends, self-esteem, and depressive …

The Psychological Needs Of Sex Offenders Of Children As Measured By The Personality Research Form, Shirley Anne Miller

Dissertations

Major contributors in the field of child sexual abuse have agreed that sex offenders who sexually abuse children are not primarily motivated by sexual desire and have proposed that the simultaneous satisfaction of a number of psychological needs is the prominent motivation of sex offenders of children. Few attempts have been made to empirically validate the clinical and theoretical impressions regarding the psychological needs of this group using psychological measures designed to assess needs or motives.

The purpose of this study was to investigate to what extent the assumptions about the psychological needs of sex offenders of children would be …

Introducing The Living With Illness Group: A Specialized Treatment For Patients With Chronic Schizophrenic Conditions, Thomas G. Plante, Stephanie L. Pinder, David Howe

Psychology

This paper introduces a specialized psychotherapy/psychoeducational group treatment for patients with chronic psychotic symptoms who receive only partial benefit from psychotropic medications, psychotherapy, and milieu/activities therapy. The goal of the group is to assist patients to accurately identify the feelings, thoughts, and behaviors that are dysfunctional symptoms of their disability and then use the functional aspects of their brain as well as learned coping strategies to compensate for their disability. The group format, philosophy, procedures, and typical topics of discussion are detailed.

A Review Of Surveys Of Professional Practice In Psychology Since 1961: Trends And Future Challenges, Geoffrey E. Buck

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Psychology has enjoyed tremendous growth and increasing professionalization in the years following WWII, with the major thrust of this growth being in professional practice. This period has also witnessed a rapid transformation in the educational and sociopolitical underpinnings of professional training and practice. Many authors have studied the growth of practice by periodically surveying practitioners and commenting on a wide variety of demographic, professional and practice-related characteristics. This paper reviews these surveys, noting trends in the characteristics of the human resource pool and the factors both within and external to the profession that have contributed to the shape of those …