Psychiatry and Psychology Commons^™

Sexual And Religious Identity Development Among Adolescent And Emerging Adult Sexual Minorities, Angie L. Dahl

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

As the majority of Americans identify with a religious affiliation, the religious context is an important backdrop upon which identity development occurs. For lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, and allied (LGBTQA) youths, the process of development may be complicated in a religious context due to denominational positions on same-sex sexuality. While recent researchers highlighted the importance of contextual influences on LGBTQA developmental processes, few studies have examined LGBTQA sexual and religious identity development. The goal of the current study was to gain a better understanding and appreciation of LGBTQA adolescent and young adult experiences of religious and sexual identity …

Acceptance And Commitment Therapy For The Treatment Of Compulsive Pornography Use: A Randomized Clinical Trial, Jesse M. Crosby

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Compulsive pornography use (CPU) is generally defined by the inability to control the use of pornography and the resulting negative effects on quality of life or general functioning including damaged relationships, loss of productivity, impaired performance at work or school, job loss, financial expenses, guilt/shame, and personal distress. Statistics indicate that CPU may be as common as other psychological disorders and that the effects of the behavior can be just as severe. It is estimated that 1.5% to 3% of the adult population of the United States meets the criteria for compulsive pornography use. A review of the literature found …

The Impact Of Study Skills Courses On Academic Self-Efficacy In College Students, Brenna M. Wernersbach

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Colleges across the nation are increasingly interested in improving retention of students. Many universities have begun offering workshops and courses targeted at improving study skills in academically underprepared students with the goal of helping students succeed in higher education and continue enrollment. The impact of such courses on study skills themselves has been supported, but prior research has not examined the courses impact on students' beliefs about their ability to succeed in college–that is, their levels of academic self-efficacy. This study examined pre- and post-test levels of academic self-efficacy in college students enrolled in a study skills course in comparison …

Relationship Between Cognitive Reserve And Rate Of Decline In Alzheimer’S Disease: A Population Study, Katherine Treiber

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

According to the theory of cognitive reserve, cognitively enriching aspects of life experience (e.g., education, occupation, and leisure activity) foster the development of more efficient neural networks and cognitive strategies, enabling individuals to cope more effectively with the pathology of dementia. Using extant data from a population-based study, we examined: (1) the effect of reserve accrued through middle life on course of neuropsychological decline; and (2) the role of ongoing engagement in mentally stimulating leisure activities in rate of general cognitive and functional deterioration.

In linear mixed models, level of occupational attainment did not affect rate of cognitive or functional …

Does Empathic Accuracy Mediate The Relationships Between Individual Psychological Characteristics And Adolescent Romantic Relationship Functioning?, Charles George Bentley

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study investigated empathic accuracy in adolescent romantic relationships. The project examined the relationships between psychological characteristics and relationship outcomes (i.e., satisfaction and aggression) to determine if the relationships were mediated by empathic accuracy. Participants were 92 heterosexual couples aged 14-18 years old who lived in rural areas in Utah and Arizona. Couple members completed surveys assessing attitudes and behaviors in their relationships and a video-recall procedure in which partners rated their own and their partner's behaviors during problem-solving discussion.

Empathic accuracy was generally not related to psychological characteristics or outcomes. It became apparent that there were limitations with the …

Cognitive Inference And Resulting Behaviors In Response To Ambiguous Threat In The Coyote, Canis Latrans, Sarah Shawnee Dawson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

While antipredator strategies have been a focus of behavioral research for decades, scientists generally study the responses of prey toward overt, explicit threat. However, risk can also be significant when a threat is covert, such as when an ambush predator may be nearby or a secondary threat remains after a predator's departure. Little is known about the mechanism that prey use to assess risk in a predator's absence. Tests were conducted to determine the manner in which coyotes respond to these ambiguous threats. Specifically, I tested whether coyotes respond to prior anthropogenic activity that has occurred near their only food …

Impact Of Acceptance And Commitment Therapy Versus Education On Stigma Toward People With Psychological Disorders, Akihiko Masuda, Steven C. Hayes, Lindsay B. Fletcher, Paul J. Seignourel, Kara Bunting, Scott A. Herbst, Michael P. Twohig, Jason Lillis

Psychology Faculty Publications

Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) has previously been shown to alter stigmatizing attitudes and to be relatively useful for psychologically inflexible participants. The present study is the first to bring those two findings together by comparing ACT to an education intervention for reducing stigma toward people with psychological disorders, and examining whether results differ for psychologically inflexible versus flexible individuals. A sample of college students (N=95) was randomly assigned to a 2¹/₂ h ACT or educational workshop. Measures were taken before and after the workshop and at a 1-month follow-up. ACT reduced mental health stigma …

A Preliminary Investigation Of Acceptance And Commitment Therapy As A Treatment For Chronic Skin Picking, Michael P. Twohig, Steven C. Hayes, Akihiko Masuda

Psychology Faculty Publications

The effectiveness of a deliberately limited version of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) for chronic skin picking was evaluated in a pair of multiple baseline across participants designs. Self-monitoring of skin picking showed that four of the five participants reached near zero levels of picking by post-treatment, but these gains were not fully maintained for three of the four participants at follow-up. The findings of the self-reported skin picking were generally corroborated by ratings of photographs of the damaged areas and by ratings on a validated measure of skin picking severity. All participants rated the intervention as socially acceptable, and …

Cognitive Defusion And Self-Relevant Negative Thoughts: Examining The Impact Of A Ninety Year Old Technique, Akihiko Masuda, Steven C. Hayes, Casey F. Sackett, Michael P. Twohig

Psychology Faculty Publications

Cognitive defusion techniques are designed to reduce the functions of thoughts by altering the context in which they occur, rather than the attempting to alter the form, frequency, or situational sensitivity of the thoughts themselves. Applied technologies designed to produce cognitive defusion seem to lead to reductions in the believability of negative thoughts, but defusion techniques are generally only parts of complex packages and the role of defusion techniques per se is note yet known. The present study examined the impact of a cognitive defusion technique first described by Titchener nearly 90 years ago: rapidly repeating a single word. In …

Childhood Choice Making Patterns As A Function Of Contingency Shaping Versus Instructional Control, Nathan Atkin Call

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

The term contingency shaped refers to any response class governed by its direct consequences (Catania, 1973). In a theoretical paper on problem solving Skinner (1966) discriminated between contingency shaped and rule-governed behavior by stating that no matter how similar in form they may appear each have independent controlling variables and functional properties. In a later analysis (Skinner, 1974) he elaborated on rule-governed behavior by pointing out that one distinct form of rule-governed behavior is instruction following. An instructional episode, however, consists of more than any verbal or non-verbal statement of contingencies, but includes the consequences in question as well (Cerutti, …

Treatment Of Nocturnal Enuresis In Four Male Adolescent Sex Offenders, Deloy Herman Johnson

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Over the three months of this study, the subjects were detained 24 hours per day, every day at a residential center for sex offenders. Of the four subjects, three received medications for nocturnal enuresis while the other one received medication for hyperactive behavior. The time interval between nocturnal events increased for the recipients of sensitivity training. This study was a three-month study without follow up. The increased interval may be explained by two other confounds that were not measured: 1) the clients who had the longer intervals at the end of the study were also on medication, which possibly contributed …

The Relationship Among The Contributing Factors To Anorexia Nervosa, Stephanie S. Plunkett, David Stein

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Anorexia nervosa is now being viewed as a multidimensional disorder in terms of predisposing factors such as genetics, biology, and environment. Results from twin studies suggest that part of a susceptibility to AN may lie in genetic factors (Holland et al., 1984, 1988; Treasure and Holland, 1991). However, the nature of a genetic contribution, if any, remains unclear. Neurochemical alterations have been found to be associated with AN, but it is difficult to assess what role these neurochemical changes play in the etiology of the disorder since they may precipitate, accompany, or follow weight loss (Fava et al., 1989). Abnormal …

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 …

Evaluation Of The Perceived Usefulness And Effectiveness Of Psychoeducational Testing Reports At Intermountain Intertribal School, Marvin Bryce Fifield

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

By law and according to conventional practice. individual psychoeducational testing is an essential part of the identification and placement process of handicapped students. However, evidence reported in the literature suggests that testing results, especially in the form of testing reports, are rarely fully utilized.

This study was conducted at Intermountain Intertribal School at Brigham City, Utah and demonstrated a method of collecting objective data about the use of psychoeducational testing reports as well as the opinions and suggestions of staff members who used them. More specifically, this study documented:

1. Who the primary users of testing reports were and for …

An Investigation Of The Influence Of Cooperating Teachers On The Educational Goal Ranking Behavior Of Student Teachers, Susan Myrna Jones

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of the study was to identify the effects of the influence of cooperating teachers on how student teachers prioritize particular goals of education. This was accomplished by administering a predetermined list of eighteen educational goals to a group of student teachers prior and subsequent to their quarter-long student teaching experience, and to their respective cooperating teachers during their student teaching quarter. The list enabled the teacher groups to rank the goals in order of priority. In this way the cooperating teachers' goal rankings were compared to both the student teachers' pre and post student teaching goal rankings.

Twenty-three …

The Effects Of Restraint On Hallucinatory Behavior Under Conditions Of Perceptual Deprivation, David G. Gibson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to determine if physical restraint is a major factor in the elicitation of the hallucination phenomena associated with perceptual (or sensory) deprivation studies. Experimental subjects were exposed to three one-hour sessions of perceptual deprivation one week apart, with physical restraint being used during the second session. A group of control subjects was used to determine the effects of three unrestrained sessions of perceptual deprivation.

No significant differences were found between sessions for the experimental group in terms of number of reports or the cumulative duration of the reports. There was also no difference found …

The Relative Effectiveness Of Audio-Taped Relaxation And Live-Therapist Presented Relaxation In Terms Of Physiological Parameters, Cris M. Quayle

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In order to assess the relative efficacy of audio-taped relaxation as compared to live-therapist induced relaxation, 80 volunteer subjects were randomly assigned to one of the following eight groups: (1) live-therapist (male) contingent, (2) live-therapist (male) non-contingent, (3) taped contingent (male), (4) taped non-contingent (male), (5) live-therapist (female) contingent, (6) live-therapist (female) non-contingent, (7) taped (female) contingent, and (8) taped (female) non-contingent. The subjects were exposed to treatment conditions for five sessions during which they received a relaxation sequence via either a live-therapist or audio-taped format in a contingent or non-contingent (subject controlled pace or non-subject controlled pace, respectively) progression. …

The Effects Of A Structured Group Approach On Anxiety In Junior High Youth: A Technique For Paraprofessionals, Lawrence R. Ballering

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The effect of a structured group approach on anxiety, using paraprofessionals, was investigated. The variables of setting (junior high school and youth rehabilitation center) and time (pre-post₁ -posttest₂) were also manipulated. Besides anxiety, four other variables were measured. Self-concept and anxiety were measured using the Piers-Harris Children's Self Concept Scale; peer rejection and peer acceptance were measured using the Peer Perception Questionnaire; teacher rating of student classroom behavior was measured using the Student Behavior: Teacher Rating Form.

Sixteen subjects who had been screened with the pretest were randomly assigned to either treatment or control conditions …

The Effects Of Counselor Age, Sex And Attire On Client Preferences For Counselors, Alan Leonard Zohner

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to determine the preferences, if any, subjects have for counselors based on counselor characteristics of age, sex and attire. Photographs were taken of persons of differing ages (old, middle-age, young), sex (male, female) and attire (formal, casual, grub). One-hundred and five college and noncollege adults were shown the photographs, asked to perceive the photographs as being those of counselors, and asked to rank their preferences for the persons depicted as counselors using a modified Q sort methodology. To determine whether the subjects had actually perceived the photographs as representing counselors and, therefore, discriminated among …

The Effect Of Family Sculpting On Perceptual Agreement Among Family Members, John Bruce Jessen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of family sculpting on perceptual agreement among family members.

Thirty families, each consisting of a father, a mother, and a child twelve years old or older, from areas of northern Utah and eastern Idaho participated in the study. The following instruments were administered to all individuals: a biographical questionnaire containing items regarding age, sex, occupation, education, number of years married for parents, and birth order position for children; the Interpersonal Check List in which each family was to describe him/herself and the other members of the family; the Family …

The Effectiveness Of A Comprehensive Peer Counseling Program On Academic Adjustment, Bevan Todd Graybill

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a peer counseling program in improving undergraduate students' academic adjustment. Six upperclassmen were carefully selected and systematically trained in the use of a study skills instruction program and certain supportive, therapeutic techniques. These six served as peer counselors. The peer counseling program provided individualized study skills instruction, informal personal/motivational counseling, and general educational information and advising for volunteer students in academic difficulty.

Twenty-one volunteer students each completed a minimum of four sessions with a peer counselor. The first objective of the study was to determine if the students who …

Act Score Declines: Looking For The Source, Thomas Edward Atkin

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

During the last 15 years there has been a well documented decline in achievement test scores. Declines have been documented on both the American College Testing Program (ACT) and the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT). An increased interest in t he score declines and their possible explanations has also taken place in the last 10 years. The explanation for the declines fit under four main headings: (1) problems with the tests, (2) changes in the testing population, (3) changes in society, and (4) changes in the schools. The purpose of this study was to begin with the test itself and check …

The Use Of Symbolic Modeling On Generalized Imitation In Children, Emmett G. Anderson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Ten experimentally naive children between the ages of six and eight served in three generalized imitation experiments using symbolic models. Subjects were presented videotaped behaviors to imitate via closed circuit television, and their responses were mechanically defined, recorded, and reinforced in an effort to control social influences from the presence of the experimenter. In Experiment 1, imitation of three behaviors was reinforced and imitation of a fourth behavior was never reinforced for four subjects. Two other subjects received noncontingent reinforcement. The following independent variables were tested: (1) the presence and absence of an experimenter, (2) instructions to "Do that," and …

Factors Related To First Year College Success In A Selected Group Of Scholarship Recipients, Laverl C. Giles

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The idea of a scholarship program is almost as old as the oldest institution of higher learning. The universality of such a program is almost completely comprehensive throughout the world. Although the purpose of scholarship programs has varied as much as each of the institutions varies, in most of the situations the programs have been well acclaimed. The success of these programs in terms of the student has often been tested or at least scrutinized. This type of study has been attempted several times. However, both Harris (11) and Endler (7), in reviewing the literature from 1931 to 1959, report …

The Relationship Between Personality As Measured By The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory And Interest As Measured By The Kuder Preference Record, Robert Glen Knudsen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Counselors frequently use batteries of psychological tests in helping students to select appropriate educational and occupational choices. The task of interpreting scores on a battery of tests to students is not at any time a simple undertaking. The trend toward emphasis on the importance of the relationship among the various scores in a battery of tests, has further complicated test interpretation.

Vocational choice theories suggest an interrelationship between vocational interests and personality characteristics. They further suggest that different educational majors and occupations require different types of vocational interest and personality characteristics. Two tests, The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (hereafter referred …

Prediction Of Academic Success In The College Of Forestry, Ronald Skeen Peterson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The College of Forest, Range and Wildlife Management (hereafter referred to as the College of Forestry) at Utah State University has been concerned for some time with the problem of selecting from the applicants to their school the ones whom they think will be able to complete the requirements for graduation. The large number of freshman students placed on probation at the end of the fall quarter and of succeeding quarters each year fives some idea of the magnitude of the problem. It is not unusual for 40 or 50 percent of the entering freshmen to be in this category.

Interest Patterns For Four Occupations: Kuder Preference Record, Barbara Swensen Baer

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The problems of personnel placement and vocational choice at some time concern nearly everyone, as the employer or as the employee. Many people drift into their occupations, others shift from one wrong choice to another, while a large number are defeated by the struggle for success in an occupation for which they are not fitted. The mere placement of a worker on a job does not guarantee job success or interest in that job. In many cases no consideration is made of interests, general abilities, or special aptitudes, and even with a perfect diagnosis of these factors vocational choice still …