Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

What's In A Label? The Effects Of Substance Types And Labels On Treatment Considerations And Stigma, John A. Cunningham, Linda C. Sobell, Virginia M. Chow

Faculty Articles

Visitors (N = 579) to a science center read selected scenarios and evaluated the most likely outcome for a hypothetical substance abuser. Respondents were randomly assigned to one of six scenario conditions: a person with one of three different substance abuse problems (alcohol, tobacco, or cocaine) was crossed with two labels reflecting high or low substance dependence. Results indicated that: (1) cigarettes were viewed as a less serious substance abuse problem than were alcohol or cocaine (a person who smoked cigarettes was rated as more likely to recover from his problem, self-change was regarded as more appropriate and less stigma …

Session Duration And The Vi Response Function: With-In Session Prospective And Retrospective Efffects, James Dougan, Alfred Kuh, K. Vink

Scholarship

Two experiments examined the effects of session duration on responding during simple variable-interval schedules. In Experiment 1, rats were exposed to a series of simple variable-interval schedules differing in both session duration (10 min or 30 min) and scheduled reinforcement rate (7.5 s,15 s, 30 s, and 480 s). The functions relating response rate to reinforcement rate were predominantly monotonic for the short (10-min) sessions but were predominantly bitonic for the long (30-min) sessions, when data from the entire session were considered. Examination of responding within sessions suggested that differences in the whole-session data were produced by a combination of …

The Effects Of Exercise Over Time On Levels Of Anxiety And Self-Efficacy Among Women Undergraduates, Linda S. Noval

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Exercise has been shown to reduce anxiety. However, many people find exercise programs difficult to maintain. Researchers are now identifying factors associated with exercise adherence including selfefficacy. Teaching these skills to people may be important for the use of exercise as an intervention in reducing levels of anxiety. This study monitored levels of anxiety over time among women undergraduate students who were involved in four exercise conditions. The results suggest that while physical activity is associated with significantly higher levels of physical self-efficacy, it is not as closely associated with lower levels of trait anxiety.

Computer-Based Procedural Performance As A Function Of Window Size And Format Type, Christina Ann Dipalo

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The present experiment examined the effect of three levels of format (flowchart, menu, and extended text), two levels of window size (6-line and lg-line), two levels of procedural plan (Plan A and Plan B), and two levels of gender (male and female) on task completion speed and performance accuracy. A computer-based procedure display task was employed to measure subject performance on three dependent variables; the overall task completion time, the decision time between steps, and the performance accuracy on steps executed. Plans A and B were examined for equal cognitive complexity using a logical analysis prior to the start of …

Sexual Orientation, Attachment, And Adult Relationship Quality, Earl Calvin Riggins Iii

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Comparisons were made between 55 heterosexual males, 49 heterosexual females, 56 homosexual males, and 35 homosexual females on measures of attachment, relationship satisfaction and relationship success. Results indicated that adult homosexuals experience greater difficulty than adult heterosexuals in becoming close to others. Individuals endorsing the secure attachment style reported greater relationship satisfaction than individuals endorsing either of the two insecure attachment styles. In addition, females reported greater relationship satisfaction than males. Significantly more individuals endorsing the secure attachment style reported their mothers to have been warm/responsive; significantly more heterosexual males and females than homosexual females reported their mothers to have …

Maternal Perceptions Of The Social Development And Behavior Of Asthmatic Children, Chelley A. Merrell

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

To assess the effects of asthma on the social development and behavior of asthmatic children, 60 mothers of 6- to 13-year-old children (30 mothers of asthmatics, 30 mothers of non-asthmatics) completed the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL: Achenbach & Edelbrock, 1986) and were administered the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale (Vineland: Sparrow, Balla, & Cicchetti, 1984). It was hypothesized that asthmatic children would lag behind non-asthmatic peers in social development, defined as the development of age-appropriate behaviors (i.e., communication, daily living skills, and socialization). In addition, it was hypothesized that asthmatic children would exhibit more internalizing behaviors than non-asthmatic children. There were …

The Effects Of Perceived Work Schedule Flexibility, Number Of Hours Worked, And Type Of Work Schedule On Work-Family Conflict, Tenora Dianne Grigsby

Dissertations and Theses

The interaction effects of perceived work schedule flexibility (PWSF) and the number of hours worked on work-family conflict, and the interaction effects of PWSF and the type of work schedule on work-family conflict were investigated for employees of a regional bank headquartered in the Pacific Northwest. A 50% response rate was obtained from a survey questionnaire administered to 2,000 randomly selected employees.

Hierarchial multiple regression analyses conducted on 526 subjects revealed no significant interaction effects for PWSF and type of work schedule. The interaction effect for PWSF and number of hours worked was not tested due to a significant correlation …

Individual Control Of Risk: Seat Belt Use, Subjective Norms And The Theory Of Reasoned Action, Juanita V. Field, Kenneth D. Boehm, Kevin M. Vincent, Jessica L. Sullivan

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)

When faced with a risk for which an inexpensive solution is available, individuals often choose the risk rather than the solution. Protection from certain kinds of risks, e.g., using seat belts or condoms or insulating against radon, is largely under personal control, but individuals often choose not to comply with behaviors which would reduce the risk. The Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) has been used to predict when individuals will comply. The authors attempted to validate aspects of the TRA by the use of scenarios. Factor analysis of their data supports the theory that intention is a major determinate of …

Vocal Perception: Brain Event-Related Potentials In A Chimpanzee, Gary G. Berntson, Sarah T. Boysen, Michael W. Torello

Sentience Collection

We describe the first brain event-related potential (ERP) study of cognitive processes in the chimpanzee. In an extension of our studies on the ontogeny of vocal perception, ERP measures were obtained during the presentation of simple nonsignal stimuli as well as conspecific and human vocalizations. We initially confirmed findings from humans and monkeys of the appearance of a long-latency positivity in the ERP waveform to a rare stimulus in an oddball paradigm. This ERP component is reminiscent of the P3a reported in humans under similar (passive) experimental conditions. We further demonstrated that both conspecific and human vocal stimuli having affective …

Early Supplementary Feeding And Cognition: Effects Over Two Decades, Ernesto Pollitt, Kathleen S. Gorman, Patrice L. Engle, Reynaldo Martorell, Juan Rivera

Psychology and Child Development

The study reported in this Monograph of the effects of early supplementary feeding on cognition included two data collection periods: a longitudinal investigation spanning the years 1969-1977 and a cross-sectional follow- up carried out in 1988-1989. The study was conducted in four rural villages in Guatemala and compared the differential effects of exposure in child- hood (0-7 years) to an Atole supplement (11.5 g of protein; 163 kcal) or a Fresco supplement (59 kcal) on performance on a battery of psychoeducational and information-processing tests in adolescence and young adulthood (11-24 years). In this report, particular attention is given to a …

Death And Dying In The Tibetan Buddhist Tradition, Margaret Coberly, S. I. Shapiro

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

No abstract provided.

The Near-Death Experience And The Tibetan Buddhist View Of Death: A Comparison, Margaret Coberly, S. I. Shapiro

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

No abstract provided.

Assessment Of The Effectiveness Of The United States Air Force And Selected Unit Vision Statements, Joseph N. Gomes, Quinn A. Gummel

Theses and Dissertations

This study assessed the Air Force and subordinate unit vision statements to determine how effectively current Air Force efforts provide vision for Air Force personnel. There were two main parts to the research: a literature review, and a field study of various Air Force units to assess the effectiveness of the Air Force visioning process. A review of the literature revealed the definition, and role, of vision statements, and identified five essential elements for effective vision statements. The elements of effective vision statements were found to be: a clear image of a future end state; a realistic and attainable goal; …

A Test Of The Theory Of Reasoned Action At The Group Level Of Analysis, Thomas A. Fitch, Edward A. Mccarty

Theses and Dissertations

A vast array of studies exist which have sought to explore the relationships between behavioral intentions, job satisfaction, turnover and performance at the individual level of analysis. Recent efforts to move to the group level of analysis have shown some promise, but few exist. The crux of the issue under consideration here was whether or not there was utility in treating attitude-intention-behavior linkages as group level phenomena. Both Schneider (1987) and George (1990' contend that, while individual analysis cannot be discounted as a means of understanding behavior, there is also value in examining group-level phenomena. The purpose of this study …

A Longitudinal Study Of The Effects Of Organizational Change To Integrated Product Teams (Ipts) On Employee Attitudes, Joseph A. Paul, Roger D. Stull

Theses and Dissertations

This study examines what effect an organizational change to Integrated Product Teams (IPTs) within a System Program Office (SPO) has on employ attitudes. Chapter One of this study presents the general research problem/issue, pertinent background information, definitions of important terms, investigative questions, limitations of the research, and a general overview of the thesis. Chapter Two describes the IPT (matrix) organizational environment, presents literature establishing the relationship between individual attitudes, motivation, performance, and explores the relationship between IPTs and employee attitudes. Chapter Three presents the methodology used to analyze the SPO's survey data collected before and after implementation of IPTs. Finally, …

A Study Of Usn Aircrew Attitudes Regarding Technology's Ability To Replace The Naval Flight Officer On Typical Combat Missions Carrier Based Aircraft Are Tasked To Perform, Robert E. Britt, William J. Cain

Theses and Dissertations

This study analyzed survey responses of 290 Navy pilots and Naval flight officers (NFOs) regarding their perceptions of technology's ability to replace the NFO in typical combat missions carrier-based aircraft are tasked to perform. The study is a follow-on to a similar USAF effort conducted with pilots. The objective of this study is to provide operator input to the critical crew complement issue. These missions vary significantly in complexity and in demands placed on the aircrew. The survey instrument and analysis methods were designed to detect and evaluate these differences. The USAF study concluded that-the perception of a requirement for …

Why Altruism Is Impossible...And Ubiquitous, Barry Schwartz

Psychology Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

The Effect Of The Cooper Wellness Program In Promoting Long- Term Lifestyle Behavior Changes, Ernesto P. S. Medina Jr.

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Most research on health behavior change programs examines their effectiveness in producing initial behavior changes, but fails to evaluate long-term maintenance of those changes. This study examined the effectiveness of the Cooper Wellness Program (CWP) in Dallas, Texas, in promoting maintenance of lifestyle behavior changes for one year or longer in the areas of diet, exercise, and stress management.

The CWP offers an intensive live-in lifestyle behavior modification program in four-, seven-, or 13-day formats. Data were collected from 223 individuals who attended the CWP between January, 1989, to February, 1992. The study addressed the following areas: 1) long-term maintenance …

The Impact Of Goal Setting And Empowerment On Governmental Matrix Organizations, Stephen R. Corey, Patricea W. Hogan

Theses and Dissertations

The matrix management concept is currently in use by many DoD organizations. Theories of goal setting and empowerment seem to align with some of the responsibilities assumed by matrix project managers. The research problem was to determine whether will-functioning government matrix organizations owe their effectiveness to a project-oriented matrix organization structure, or to good goal setting and empowerment practices by managers. Interviews were conducted at three SPOs at WPAFB and at DLA's DESC and DCSC. Qualitative analysis, including dendrograms and matrix displays were utilized. Conclusions include the following points: Goal Setting is not prominent, but may not be critical in …

A Comparison Of Users' And Providers' Perceptions Of Critical Spacelift Vehicle Characteristics And Capabilities, Dawson S. Oslund, Mark M. Shafer

Theses and Dissertations

This study compares spacelift vehicle users' and providers' perceptions of critical spacelift vehicle characteristics and capabilities. The researchers conducted a mail survey of military, commercial, and civil spacelift vehicle users and providers to determine a criticality rating for each of the 22 characteristics and capabilities identified through a literature review. Primary results of the study indicate: (1) the three most critical characteristics and capabilities are reliability, launch cost, and resilience; (2) the three least critical characteristics and capabilities are man-rateable, reusability, and gross lift-off weight; (3) only launch cost has a significantly different mean 'criticality rating among spacelift vehicle users …

Computer Simulation Study Of The Joint Deployment Of The 23rd Wing And 82nd Airborne Division From Pope Air Force Base, John B. Prechtel, Mark S. Wingreen

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis produced a model of the Army airdrop segment of the Pope AFB deployment system. The original intent was to model the entire system and simulate the simultaneous deployment of the 23rd Wing and 82nd Airborne Division; however, time constraints and incomplete data forced a reduction in scope. The study provides an excellent foundation for further research into the use of simulation to develop a generalized deployment sizing model. The airdrop segment of the system was modeled using the researcher's personal observations of the system, the expertise of personnel who work within the system, and documentation of the problems …

The Perceptual Weighting Of Speech-Related Acoustic Cues For 3 & 1/2-Year-Old Children Differs From That Of Adults: Results Using Natural And Synthetic Stimuli, Carol J. Manning

Student Work

Previous studies have found that children’s judgments of syllable-initial /s/ and / ∫ / are more related to the vocalic F2 transition and less related to the fricative-noise spectrum than are adults’ judgments [Nittrouer & Studdert- Kennedy, JSHR, 30 (1987); Nittrouer, J. Phon., 20 1992]. These results have been taken as evidence that young children organize linguistic input in units more closely approximating syllable size than phoneme size. Furthermore, such results have led to a model of speech development proposing that children’s weighting of the acoustic cues for phonemic categories changes as they gain linguistic experience, with a general shift …

Bipolar Control In Fixed Interfood Intervals, William L. Palya

Research, Publications & Creative Work

The ability of stimuli correlated with successive periods in a fixed interfood interval to support a response that produced or removed them was examined using pigeons. The degree to which those correlated stimuli elicited directed key pecks was also obtained. Stimuli early in the interval functioned as negative reinforcers, and stimuli late in the interval functioned as positive reinforcers. Stimuli correlated with successively later portions of the second half of the interval supported successively higher rates of elicited pecking and, with the exception of the final stimulus, supported successively higher rates of stimulus production. Stimuli in successively earlier portions of …

Determinants Of Elite Athletes' Commitment To Sport: Examination Of The Sport Commitment Model In The Professional Sport Domain, Tammy Kay Hall

Dissertations and Theses

This study examined the applicability of the Sport Commitment Model for a group of elite, professional athletes. The model proposes that an athlete's commitment will increase as sport enjoyment, personal investments, social constraints, and involvement opportunities increase and will decrease with an increase in involvement opportunities. The influence of identification as an athlete, a determinant of commitment not included in the original model, was also examined. One hundred and eighty three professional football players from the Canadian Football League (CFL) (n = 121) and National Football League (NFL) (n = 69) participated in the study. Each subject completed …

Predicting Aggression Among Inpatient Adolescent Males With Mmpi Scales, Kent Hughes

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

The purpose of this study was to develop a linear model of predicting aggression in inpatient adolescent males using selected MMPI clinical and special scales. The definition of aggression was measured by the number of seclusion and restraint interventions necessitated by each participant. Hospital records of 186 patients over a three year period were reviewed for MMPI data and seclusion and restraint information. Multiple regression analysis was utilized to analyze the data. A predictive equation was established including the MMPI Scale 8(Sc) in predicting number of restraint interventions. Although this equation was statistically significant at the .01 level, it was …

The Relation Of Anchoring And Choice To Memory Self-Efficacy And Performance In Older Adults, Renee Annette Baldi

Master's Theses

The major purposes of this study were 1) to examine the effects of self-efficacy on task choice, effort and performance on a memory task, and 2) to examine the effect of sequence anchoring on self-efficacy judgments. Forty-two older adults (25 women and 17 men) completed the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS), a memory complaints questionnaire (MCQ) , a self-efficacy questionnaire (SEQ), and two memory recall tasks. Subjects received an SEQ that had either a descending anchor (i.e., SEQ began with most difficult task) or an ascending anchor (i.e., SEQ began with easiest task). Also, subjects were either given a choice of …

Effects Of Checklists And Feedback On Interviewer Documentation Errors, Ann Lynn Linklater

Masters Theses

A multiple baseline design was used to compare the effectiveness of checklists and feedback to improve marketing research telephone interview documentation. Three measures based on the combined errors of four interviewers were obtained: (1) errors per completed interview, (2) errors per interview with errors, and (3) most frequently occurring error in each of three error groups. The effects of three additional factors believed to affect interviewer performance were also investigated: (1) marketing research project, (2) complexity of the interview, and (3) lead worker responsible for editing completed interviews.

Only slight, mostly positive changes were visually evident across the dependent measures. …

Gender Differences Among Resilient Children, Cameron Gilbert

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

While the concept of resiliency is beginning to be addressed in the literature, little is known about gender differences among resilient children. The purpose of this study was to identify familial and environmental variables which would predict gender among resilient children. This study investigated gender differences between resilient boys and girls on the following variables: parental attitude toward education, educational level of the father, educational level of the mother, familial drug or alcohol use/abuse, incidence of physical and/or sexual abuse, and extracurricular activities. These variables were selected for study because of the importance of investigating factors in the family environment …

Relationships Between Student Motivation Training & Motivation, Achievement, Attendance & Classroom Behavior, Kelly Davis

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The purpose of the present study was to replicate a student motivation training program (Hughes, 1990) and extend the investigation by including the relationships between student motivation training and achievement, attendance, and classroom behavior. Participants were all 4th- and 5th -grade students from two elementary schools. A separate -sample, pretest-posttest control group design was used. The study addressed eight questions regarding the effects of student motivation training. Results indicated that student motivation, teacher perceptions of student motivation, and the number of motivational idea units on two of three writing samples were enhanced as a result of the training program. No …

Validation Of A Portuguese Form Of Templer's Death Anxiety Scale, James M. Donovan

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

To translate Templer's Death Anxiety Scale into the Brazilian Portuguese Escala de Ansiedade de Morte, linguistic validity was first established by back-translation and calculating bilingual split-half reliability coefficients. Even-numbered items achieved a minimally adequate .59, while the odd-numbered items attained a satisfactory .91. The internal consistency of the Escala (.77) matches that found for the original scale. The construct validity was tested by replicating the interactions of the English form with (1) the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, (2) the Purpose-in-Life Test, and (3) Levenson's measure of locus of control. The Escala performed as expected, save for some difficulty with the locus …