Behavior and Behavior Mechanisms Commons^™

The Electrophysiological And Neuropsychological Organization Of Long Term Memory, Richard J. Addante

Psychology Faculty Publications

The electrophysiological correlates of recognition memory retrieval were examined in order to identify the neural conditions that precede accurate memory retrieval, characterize the processes that contribute to high and low confidence memory responses, and determine which memory processes are impaired after brain injury. Human electroencephalogram (EEG) was recorded during recognition confidence and source memory judgments in three experiments. In Experiment 1, mid-frontal pre-stimulus theta oscillations were found to precede the stimulus presentation of items that were successfully recollected, but they were not found to be predictive of item familiarity. Moreover, during stimulus presentation, recollection was associated with an increase in …

Pathological Personality Traits Among Patients With Absent, Current, And Remitted Substance Use Disorders, Christopher J. Hopwood, Leslie C. Morey, Andrew E. Skodol, Charles A. Sanislow, Carlos M. Grilo, Emily B. Ansell, Thomas H. Mcglashan, John C. Markowitz, Anthony Pinto, Shirley Yen, M. Tracie Shea, John G. Gunderson, Mary C. Zanarini, Robert L. Stout

Charles A. Sanislow, Ph.D.

Personality traits may provide underlying risk factors for and/or sequelae to substance use disorders (SUDs). In this study Schedule for Nonadaptive and Adaptive Personality (SNAP) traits were compared in a clinical sample (N=704, age 18–45) with current, past, or no historical alcohol or non-alcohol substance use disorders (AUD and NASUD) as assessed by DSM-IV semi-structured interview. Results corroborated previous research in showing associations of negative temperament and disinhibition to SUD, highlighting the importance of these traits for indicating substance use proclivity or the chronic effects of substance use. Certain traits (manipulativeness, self-harm, disinhibition, and impulsivity for AUD, and disinhibition and …

Ten-Year Course Of Borderline Personality Disorder: Psychopathology And Function From The Collaborative Longitudinal Personality Study, John G. Gunderson, Robert L. Stout, Thomas H. Mcglashan, M. Tracie Shea, Leslie C. Morey, Carlos M. Grilo, Mary C. Zanarini, Shirley Yen, John C. Markowitz, Charles A. Sanislow, Emily B. Ansell, Anthony Pinto, Andrew E. Skodol

Charles A. Sanislow, Ph.D.

Context: Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is traditionally considered chronic and intractable.

Objective: To compare the course of BPD’s psychopathology and social function with that of other personality disorders and with major depressive disorder (MDD) over 10 years. Design: A collaborative study of treatment-seeking, 18- to 45-year-old patients followed up with standardized, reliable, and repeated measures of diagnostic remission and relapse and of both global social functioning and subtypes of social functioning.

Setting: Nineteen clinical settings (hospital and outpatient) in 4 northeastern US cities.

Participants: Three study groups, including 175 patients with BPD, 312 with cluster C personality disorders, and 95 …

Can Personality Disorder Experts Recognize Dsm-Iv Personality Disorders From Five-Factor Model Descriptions Of Patient Cases?, Benjamin M. Rottman, Nancy S. Kim, Woo-Kyoung Ahn, Charles A. Sanislow

Charles A. Sanislow, Ph.D.

Background: Dimensional models of personality are under consideration for integration into the next Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), but the clinical utility of such models is unclear.

Objective: To test the ability of clinical researchers who specialize in personality disorders to diagnose personality disorders using dimensional assessments and to compare those researchers’ ratings of clinical utility for a dimensional system versus for the DSM-IV.

Method: A sample of 73 researchers who had each published at least 3 (median = 15) articles on personal- ity disorders participated between December 2008 and January 2009. The Five-Factor Model (FFM), one …

Attachment, Parentally Bereaved Adolescents, And High School Outcomes In A Large Inner-City High School, Silvana Amar

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

U.S. and world communities face the challenges of understanding how children grieve and of giving them sufficient social and educational support. Inner-city minority adolescents have not been represented well in the bereavement and attachment literature. The purpose of the quantitative study was to use the attachment theory to understand the impact of parental bereavement on these adolescents. Data were collected using the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI), the Piers-Harris Children's Self- Concept Scale (2nd ed.), and school records. MANOVAs were used to analyze the influence of attachment organization, bereavement status, and gender on self-concept and academic and behavioral functioning in school. …

Effect Of Stress, Emotional Lability And Depression On The Development Of Pregnancy Complications, Servitje, Estibalitz Laresgoiti Servitje

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Chronic stress and other emotional factors may have relevant impacts on pregnancy outcomes because they are related to neuroendocrine changes that lead to alterations in immunomodulation during pregnancy. In this quantitative prospective cross-sectional study, the relationship of emotional lability, depression, and stress during pregnancy and the development of preterm labor, preeclampsia, placental abruption, and low birth weight for gestational age babies was examined. Additionally, social support scores were compared to levels of stress/anxiety, depression, and emotional lability in pregnant women. Two hundred and forty two pregnant women who received prenatal services at the National Institute of Perinatology in Mexico City …

Exploration Of The Project Management Practitioner's Emotional Intelligence Competencies, Linda A. Hooper

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The success rate of information technology projects is on a downward trend, with reported losses in the billions of dollars. Recent studies indicate a 50--56% project success rate based on quality, budget, and on-time criteria. Building upon the conceptual framework of the emotional intelligence and knowledge management theories, the purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore how project management practitioners apply self- and cultural-awareness competencies to affect project outcomes. Using a purposeful sampling method, 24 experienced U.S.-based project management practitioners participated in a web-based questionnaire. Following Giorgi's data reduction process resulted in numeric data coding. Thematic analysis revealed themes …

Implementing Core Values In The High-Tech Industry, Arthur J. Smith

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Previous research has indicated that the path-goal theory is an effective way to study leadership behavior; however, a gap exists in the literature with respect to its achievement-oriented and participative leadership dimensions in high-tech organizations. In this quantitative study, the effects of a core values intervention on the four leadership dimensions of House's path-goal theory were evaluated at a semiconductor manufacturer with a focus on the differences between supervisors and non-supervisory personnel. Data were gathered from the validated, company-developed Corporate Culture Survey that was administered pre and post intervention. Data were also gathered from a categorization task that sorted the …

Roles Of Internal Locus Of Control And Self-Efficacy On Managing Job Stressors And Ryff's Six Scales Of Psychological Well-Being, William A. Howatt

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The purpose of this study was to investigate the roles internal locus of control and self-efficacy play in moderating how employees manage their perceived work stress and positively engage in the behaviors that facilitate autonomy, environmental mastery, personal growth, self-acceptance, positive relations with others, and purpose in life. Investigators have documented the relationship between perceived workplace stress and strain and showed that how employees cope with perceived stress influences their psychological and physical health. However, there is less information available about the relationship between how employees cope with perceived workplace stress and engage in behaviors that facilitate their psychological well-being. …

The Impact Of Personalization-Based Tailored Instructional Communications On College Student Persistence, Nichole Gibbs

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The low graduation rate of degree-seeking students at public community colleges is an important crisis facing communities across the United States. College satisfaction and withdrawal cognitions in students have been identified as key factors in college persistence by researchers. However, a review of the literature revealed no study in which a college-persistence intervention based on the personalization principle theory or using tailored messages has been conducted. The purpose of this study was to test the effectiveness of a college-persistence intervention, based on the personalization principle theory and Mashburn's theory, for students at a community college. This study used between-groups experimental …

The Relationship Between Emotional Intelligence And Literacy Achievement Of Secondary Students, David P. Jones

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Proficiency in language arts and communication skills is essential to success in the global workforce. Most states assess students in language arts literacy (LAL) through standardized tests that assess a student's ability to read, interpret literature, and write expressively. Although educational reformers strive to improve the foundations that prepare students in literacy, reforms have not fully incorporated the theory of emotional intelligence (EI), which explains a student's ability to use, understand, perceive, and manage their emotions in order to think critically, make decisions, and solve problems. Although it is not known whether EI directly correlates to literacy, emotional skills are …

The Impact Of Company Grade Officer Self-Sacrificial Behavior On Subordinate Assessments Of Leader Charisma, Danjel Bout

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Newly commissioned officers in the U.S. Army are taught to lead their soldiers from the front and to voluntarily make personal sacrifices in the service of the nation. Although this facet of military culture is seen as critical to the integrity of the force, there are few research studies describing the impact of leader self-sacrifice in the U.S. Army. Research evolving from the transformational leadership literature indicates that civilian leaders who engage in self-sacrificial behavior are viewed as more charismatic than their counterparts and that this perception is particularly pronounced in crisis situations. The current study extended this research to …

Middle School Teachers' Perceptions Of Barriers Of Managing Student Behavior, Winifred Nicole Whitlock

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Despite training and support, many middle school teachers struggle to create, implement, and enforce research-based strategies to manage students' behaviors. The purpose of this case study was to examine teachers' perceptions about the barriers of managing student behavior. The research questions investigated 9 teachers' perceived barriers of managing student behavior at one middle school and the observed actions of these teachers' reactions to student behavior. Each participant was asked to participate in a 45-minute semistructured interview to examine their perceived barriers of managing student behavior and the strategies they use to manage student behavior relative to McGregor's theories X and …

Self-Hypnosis And Volitional Control Of Finger Temperature Among Adults, Joseph Swope

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Raynaud's disease is a condition in which circulation to the hands becomes restricted, causing an uncomfortable sense of cold and occasionally injury. The cause of Raynaud's disease is unknown. Earlier studies have shown that hetero-hypnosis is effective in the treatment of Raynaud's disease. Cost and access to providers limit such a treatment's availability. Theories of hypnosis suggest that self-hypnosis underlies all hypnotic processes. This study examined the utility of self-hypnosis and focused attention on the volitional control of hand temperature. Forty-three adult participants ranging in age from 19 to 77 years with no hypnosis experience were randomly divided into 2 …

Knowledge Sharing And Competitiveness Of Professional Service Firms: A Case Study, Albert P. Cruz

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The problem addressed in this study is that little action is taken to create the social aspects and social value of knowledge-sharing culture within organizations. There is a need for increased understanding of the behavioral side of knowledge management. The purpose of this study was to focus on knowledge sharing from a behavioral perspective. Knowledge management is defined as the accumulation, protection, and leverage of knowledge. This research study investigated the relationship between knowledge sharing and competitiveness and approached the field of knowledge management from the organizational, cultural, and behavioral perspectives. The research questions examined how knowledge workers described the …

Spirituality And Depression In Parents With Children In Oncology Or Hematology Treatment, Kurt D. Soell

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The psychological burden of cancer treatment affects not only child patients but also their parents. There is extensive literature on the positive influence of spirituality on the cancer patient. But there is a gap in the literature on the potential healing influence of spirituality on the parent of the cancer or hematology patient. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between spirituality and parents' levels of depression and anxiety during their child's hematological or oncology treatment. Using the transtheoretical model of change, a purposive sample of 48 parents of children undergoing cancer or hematology treatment completed a …

Evaluation Of Bureau Practice For Illegal Drugs Use Among Teens, Sharon D. Heard

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The Bureau of Substance Abuse Treatment Recovery and Prevention, which oversees drug intervention services for Detroit residents, has found the city's illegal drug use among teens to mirror national rates. Illegal drug use is associated with addiction, major health problems, and stigma. Incorporating evidence-based screening during all teen health care visits would decrease missed opportunities to identify at-risk behaviors, the number of teens that do not receive intervention, and the stigma associated with screening. The purpose of this project was to develop evidence-based policy and practice guidelines for teen screening services for illegal drug use. The Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) model was …

The Relationship Between Depression And Cognitive Deterioration In Older Adults, Rakesh Chand

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The population structure of the United States is changing; the older age group is increasing in size relative to the younger generation. The trend is expected to continue, especially starting in 2020, when the baby boomer population---estimated at 80 million---will be reaching their 65 th birthday, a time associated with increasing health complications, including depression and dementia. The study employed a holistic paradigm as the conceptual framework to examine the association between depression and dementia in older adults, and generated a grounded theory to illuminate the relationship between depression and dementia. This theory was then used to assess the efficacy …

Discrete Trial Instruction: Comparing The Abbreviated Performance Feedback And Lecture Test Models, Tammy J. Dobbs

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Growing media attention and a high diagnosis rate of autism places significant demand on the service industry to provide qualified staff to work with individuals who have autism. Discrete trial instruction (DTI) is one of the most sought-after treatment approaches for those individuals. However, there is a gap in research regarding the efficacy of training methods for those who train direct staff to implement DTI. This quantitative study used an applied behavior analysis basis, deriving from foundations of behavior theory, to compare the abbreviated feedback form (AFF) to the lecture test model (LTM) to understand which will improve direct staff's …

Serotonin Transporter (5-Httlpr) Genotype And Childhood Trauma Are Associated With Individual Differences In Decision Making, Scott Stoltenberg

Scott F. Stoltenberg

The factors that influence individual differences in decision making are not yet fully characterized, but convergent evidence is accumulating that implicates serotonin (5-HT) system function. Therefore, both genes and environments that influence serotonin function are good candidates for association with risky decision making. In the present study we examined associations between common polymorphisms in the serotonin transporter gene (SLC6A4; 5-HTTLPR and rs25531), the experience of childhood trauma and decision making on the Iowa gambling task (IGT) in 391 (64.5% female) healthy Caucasian adults. Homozygosity for the 5-HTTLPR L allele was associated with riskier decision making in the first block of …