Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Cardio-Vascular Conditioning In Pre-School Children, Patricia Anne Cole

Masters Theses

The effects of a changing criteria token economy system and a self-recording procedure on the duration and accuracy of pre-school children's distance running behavior are examined. In the first study, the use of tokens contingent on gradually longer duration of running times increased the length of time children would run, to twelve minutes, a clinically significant duration. In the second study, the use of package intervention that included a self-recording device and contingent tokens increased the accuracy with which preschoolers followed directions to run a specified number of laps. Tokens alone also increased the accuracy of lap running, but not …

The Effects Of Contingent Shock On Cigarette Smoking Behavior: An Attempt To Replicate, Marianne M. Narick

Masters Theses

This experiment attempted to replicate previously reported research (DeRicco, Brigham, and Garlington, 1977) which demonstrated smoking suppression using contingent shock. A multiple-baseline across subjects design was employed to assess experimental control. A heterogeneous group of five males and two females ranging in age from 19 to 61 years, participated in the experiment. Subjects attended 30 minute treatment sessions conducted 5 days per week, Monday thru Friday, where 25 shocks were delivered on an unpredictable, variable interval schedule contingent upon the subject lighting a cigarette, holding a burning cigarette and/or smoking a cigarette. Treatment continued for a minimum of 3 weeks …

The Effects Of Pre And Post-Performance Review Goal Setting On Subsequent Job Performance In A Human Services Setting, Christie L. Kleinhuizen

Masters Theses

Researchers investigating the effects, of performance appraisals and. goal setting techniques have focused on laboratory (rather than field) settings and/or have relied on self-report or anecdotal data to draw their conclusions. The major objectives of the present study were to examine the effects of 1) goal setting on actual job performance in a community organizational setting and 2) performance appraisals on both subsequent job performance and goals set. Two male and two female counselors in a residential treatment center served as subjects in the study which utilized a multiple baseline design. The performance of l8 repetitive administrative/custodial tasks were measured …

The Effects Of Three Instructional Strategies On The Food Group Labeling Responses In Preschool Children, Jon Jeffery Boes

Masters Theses

This study compared three Direct Instruction procedures for teaching the labeling of food in terms of the five basic food groups (fruits, vegetables, meats, grains, and dairy products). Eighteen preschoolers served as subjects. They were randomly assigned to three experimental groups and a control group. The experimental group was assigned to one of the following instructional procedures: (1) Generative I, (2) Generative II, (3) Generative III. The sets of exercises in the procedures were taught as one track in a Direct Instruction program designed to teach nutrition knowledge. All other exercises in the program were identical for the three experimental …

A Study Of The Differences In And The Interrelationships Between Self-Concept, Personality Constructs, Irrationality And Social Anxiety In Two Different Populations Of Alcoholics, David D. Smith

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine the difference in self-concept, physical self-concept, personality constructs, irrationality and social anxiety in two populations of alcoholics differing in length of sobriety. The interrelationships between the aforementioned variables were also examined. Multivariate analysis of individual test means was unable to demonstrate a difference between groups. Discriminative analysis found Identity and Physical Self subscales from the Tennessee Self Concept Scale were able to discriminate between groups. The Hysteria scale from the MMPI was found to have discriminative value. Scales from the Irrational Belief Test, Body Characteristic Scale, and the social anxiety tests were …

The Use Of Twilight Training In The Treatment Of Cigarette Smoking Behavior, John Joseph Seltenreich

Masters Theses

This study involved the application of a relatively new biofeedback training procedure known as twilight training to the treatment of cigarette smoking behavior. Twilight training is the facilitation of a state of low arousal, whereupon audio material designed to affect the health of the subject is presented. Two subjects received training, and the results showed no change in their frequency of smoking and no ability to enhance the twilight state with training. Although the amount of training received differed between the two subjects, there were no differences noted between them. Possible reasons for present results and probable changes for future …

On The Effects Of Mixed Fi-Dro And Mixed Ri-Rdro Schedules On Rats' Lever Pressing, Marcelo Jose Villareal

Masters Theses

Rats' lever pressing was studied in two experiments involving mixed schedules with equivalent interval and differential-reinforcementof- other-behavior components. It was observed that temporal stimuli controlled latency times when fixed temporal criteria were used, that this control weakened as temporal criteria were increased from 3 to 7 to 15 seconds, and that it was usually weak regarding interresponse times. The mean number of lever presses per trial was likely to increase in the process, although ulterior decreases were apparent for two of the seven subjects. When random temporal criteria (approximately averaging 8 seconds) replaced fixed ones, the response rate increased. Rapid …

Design Optimization Of Slider-Crank Mechanisms Subject To Coulomb Bearing Friction, Anthony J. Pascuzzi

Theses and Dissertations

Optimization techniques are applied to the design of slider-crank mechanisms operating as single acting compressors subject to Coulomb bear ing friction. The dynamic force analysis is performed by the solution of a set of nonlinear equations in dimensionless form. The optimization re sults presented are for various cases of inertia, friction, and external loading.

The optimization procedure developed minimizes a weighted sum of the input work and bearing shear stress by adjusting the mechanism's dimensions. The independent dimensions that are varied are the connecting rod length, the offset, and the three bearing radii. The results of the optimization are different …

An Exploration Of The Relationship Among Rhetorical Sensitivity, Communication Apprehension, And Nonverbal Decoding Ability, Mary Aileen Palanca

Masters Theses

This study explored the potential relationship which might exist among rhetorical sensitivity, communication apprehension, and nonverbal decoding ability. Three measuring instruments, the Rhetorical Sensitivity Scale, the Personal Report of Communication Apprehension, and the Profile of Nonverbal Sensitivity, were administered to 109 participants, 68 females and 41 males. Gender and age were examined to see what effect they might have on the potential relationship. No relationship was found among rhetorical sensitivity, communication apprehension, and nonverbal decoding ability. In addition, no relationship was found between gender and the three variables or between age and the three variables. However, it is important to …

A Behaviorally-Based Graduate Practicum Program In Applied Behavior Analysis, James Harper Kaye

Dissertations

Although practica are often required of psychology students at various points during their graduate training, seldom are any resulting skills described and validated. Faculty are occasionally involved in campus-based clinics which serve some practicum students; however, when practica are based off-campus, faculty are seldom directly involved. As a result, practica are frequently uncoordinated, duplicative, and non-specific in terms of their practicum student training procedures.

Although there have been some attempts reported to systematize and coordinate either off-campus or on-campus practica, no such effort has been previously reported in relation to multiple complex organizations, both on-campus and off-campus.

In the present …

Sex Differential Responding In Preschool Teachers: A Foundation For A Functional Analysis, Joanne Kimak

Masters Theses

This observational study investigated whether there was consistent sex differential treatment of children by preschool teachers. It measured the antecedents and consequences of responses made by children to certain problematic situations often present in free-play situations. The subjects were five paraprofessional teachers in a university affiliated preschool. In five classrooms, observers recorded the occurrence of aggression, accident, and object problems, the Various children's responses to these problems, and the teacher response to the children. The data were analyzed to determine if the teachers were responding differentially on the basis of the sex of the child and if there were sex …

The Effect Of Self-Help Support Groups On Self Esteem And Blood Glucose In Young Insulin-Dependent Diabetics, Linda L. Woertz

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Successful adaptation to diabetes is probably a function of many factors: the stress involved, the rewards, the motivation of the individual, and the self concept. The more optimal the self concept the more optimal the behavior may be. By helping the patient shape a positive self concept, a base can be built for blood glucose control (Bruhn, 1977, pp. 93-97). One method of improving self concept or self esteem may be through the development of self-help support groups for diabetics.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of self-help support group intervention on the levels of self …

The Effects Of Pentazocine And Tripelennamine On Analgesia And Locomotion, James Philip Cleary

Dissertations

The effects of pentazocine and tripelennamine, alone and in combination, were assessed on measures of analgesia (hot plate test) and locomotion (open field) in rats and mice. In Experiment 1, the combination of pentazocine and tripelennamine was found to produce analgesia at doses which were not analgesic when the drugs were given alone. This combination also reestablished analgesia in subjects made tolerant to pentazocine's effects. In Experiment 2, development of tolerance to the analgesic effects of pentazocine was delayed by addition of tripelennamine. In Experiment 3, locomotion was decreased by pentazocine at the highest dose. A similar reduction was produced …

The Use Of Bonus Pay To Produce Cost Effective Behavior Change In The Direct Care Staff Of A Residential Mental Health Program, William F. Uhlman

Dissertations

The literature on the design of mental health service systems and techniques to generate performance in the workplace was reviewed and synthesised to create guidelines for developing cost effective behavior change in mental health systems. The present study was an examination of the cost effective application of monetary bonuses to the completion of training objectives by professional and paraprofessional staff in a residential service setting. Training objectives consisted of the teaching of specific survival skills to adult mentally retarded clients that were designed to enable clients to move to more independent settings.

Two experiments were performed. Experiment 1 examined the …

Hemisphere Side Of Damage And Encoding Capacity, Margaret Ellen Davis

Dissertations and Theses

This study was designed to examine whether normal information processing does engage both hemispheres of the brain regardless of sensory channel (i.e., auditory or visual), and whether an opportunity for dual encoding (verbal and visual) was advantageous for patients with unilateral brain damage. It compared memory for verbal material presented in the visual and auditory modalities among three groups: right hemisphere brain damaged stroke patients (RBD), left hemisphere brain damaged stroke patients (LBD), and neurologically intact control subjects.

Only control and LBD subjects benefited from the visual presentation compared with auditory. Controls did generally better on both modes than either …

The Effects Of Extraversion On Performance On The Wechsler Intelligence Scale For Children-Revised, Charles V. Kerekes

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

A sample population of 139 fifth grade students, ranging in age from nine years to twelve years eleven months, was drawn from a data pool created from test results collected from four elementary schools in a south central Kentucky municipality. Tests used in the study were the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children – Revised (WISC-R) and Cattell’s Children’s Personality Questionnaire (CPQ).

These data were examined to determine the relationship of extraversion to performance on a standardized intelligence test.

Correlations for the experimental variables and extraversion ranged from .12 to .51.

The results indicated that extraverts had higher Performance, Verbal and …

The Brigance K&1 Screen And Corresponding Teacher Ratings Of Students, Shanna Waddington

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The relationship between teacher ratings of kindergarten students and scores on the Brigance K&1 Screen was examined in order to obtain a measure of construct validity for the Brigance. A Kentucky sample and California sample were included in the study. Data was analyzed separately for each sample for purposes of regional comparison. Teacher’s ratings of students’ overall ability and ability across five skill dimensions (expressive language, receptive language, personal information, fine motor skills, and gross motor skills) were compared via a linear regression analysis. The results indicated that overall ratings of students by teachers are significant and reliable combinations of …

A Comparison Of Clinical And Mechanical Combination Of Assessment Center Data, Patrick J. Gilbert

Retrospective Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Comparability Of Blind And Sighted Subject Test Scores As Affected By Mode Of Test Presentation, Gary A. Meiseles

Retrospective Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Optimal Versus Suboptimal Decision-Making Models: Determination Of Aviator Task Proficiency, Melgarejo Betty Pereya

Retrospective Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Perceptions Of Female Middle-Level Managers Concerning Their Pay And The Pay Of Their Superiors, Their Subordinates And Their Co-Workers, Karen S. Childs

Retrospective Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Causal Modeling Of Organizational Commitment, Karin E. Klenke-Hamel

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

This research was designed to develop a model of organizational commitment by establishing a causal network among three individual characteristics--tenure, work motivation, and job satisfaction--two organizational/structural variables--decentralization and formalization,--and two job facets--the job characteristic model and job stress--as determinants of commitment.

The proposed model was tested on male and female samples represented by five occupational groups ranging from blue collar to professional workers. Successive iterations of a path analytic technique indicated that across the five occupational categories, job satisfaction was the single most important determinant of organizational commitment. However, if the facets of job satisfaction were examined more closely, important …

An Analysis Of The Relationships Between Environmental Stimuli Personality Variables And Levels Of Burnout In Intensive Care Nurses, Catherine Via Cauthorne

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The syndrome of burnout is characterized by the development of negative self-perceptions and behaviors designed to protect oneself from emotional distress in a worker as a result of painful emotional stress generated by interactions between psychological demands from the work environment, personality needs of the worker, and the worker's self-perceived difficulty in meeting these demands and needs. The contributions of both environmental characteristics and personality traits to burnout levels were examined in a group of 45 intensive care nurses. Tests used included the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire, a data questionnaire, the Survey of Organizations, and the Maslach Burnout …

The Relationship Between Job Characteristics And Job Satisfaction For Engineers And Engineering Students, Sherry L. Hoy

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

A modified version of Hackman Lawler's job characteristics model was used to investigate the relationships between pre-employment perceptions of job characteristics and expectations tor job satisfaction in a sample of 111 engineering students. In lieu of a longitudinal designs a sample of 86 professional engineers were accessed as a comparison group. The independent variables included in the study were: (a) the six job characteristics in the Job Characteristics Inventory (variety autonomy task identity, feedback dealing with others and friendship opportunities) (b) three measures of job satisfaction from the short-form of the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (general, intrinsic and extrinsic) and (c) …

The Effects Of Naloxone And Interstimulation Interval On Post-Ictal Depression In Kindled Seizures, Michael Frederick Jarvis

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Three experiments were conducted to investigate the effects of naloxone hydrochloride on the seizure parameters (after discharge and motor seizure thresholds and durations) and post-ictal depression in kindled seizures. In Experiment 1, eight male hooded rats were exposed to four naloxone doses {2, 5, 10 mg/kg and a saline control) during a threshold testing procedure. In this factorial design, naloxone was found to have no effect on either the basic seizure parameters or post-ictal depression. Experiment 2 examined the effects of both naloxone dosage and inter­ stimulation interval (ISI) on kindled seizures. Eight male hooded rats were exposed to factorial …

The Wechsler Intelligence Scale For Children-Revised And The Woodcock-Johnson Tests Of Cognitive Ability: Performance Comparisons Of Elementary Students Being Referred For Special Education Services, Priscilla Mazza Hardiman

STEMPS Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to compare the performance of students being referred for special education services on the Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Cognitive Ability (WJTCA), Part One from the Woodcock-Johnson Psycho­ Educational Battery and the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R). A sample of 54 elementary students in grades one through six was randomly selected from a referral population for special education identification and services. The subjects were administered all subtests in the Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Cognitive Ability and the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children­ Revised within a three month period of time. The results indicated a significant relationship …

An Attributional Analysis Of The Expectancy Component Of Motivation Theory, John Edward Mathieu

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Many modern work motivation theories are based at least in part on individuals’ subjective expectancies regarding successful job performance. However, the antecedent conditions and developmental process inherent in these formulations have yet to be specifies clearly. The present study utilizes the components of Social Learning Theory and Attribution Theory to examine these conditions in a laboratory setting. Experimental and correlational techniques were used to explore the relative contributions of both state and trait variables on causal attributions. Differences among causal attributions rated on relevance versus quantity were illustrated. Additionally, the underlying processes relating causal attributions, affective responses and future expectancy …

Burnout Among Elementary And Secondary Special Education Teachers In Self-Contained And Resource Classrooms, Pamela Knox Jones

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The goals of the present study were threefold: (1) to determine if there is a difference in the degree of reported burnout between elementary and secondary special education teachers, (2) to determine if there is a difference in the degree of reported burnout between self-contained and resource special education teachers, and (3) to identify the characteristics inherent in the role of special education teachers that best predict the presence of burnout. Ninety-three subjects from three school systems responded to a 16-item Likert scale describing potential correlates of

burnout, the Maslach Burnout Inventory, and a demographic data sheet. Type of class, …

Examination Of The Self-Starvation Phenomenon, Elizabeth Woodard Pitts

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Rats on restricted feeding schedules are able to maintain a stable body weight by reducing activity output. It has been found, however, that if rats on restricted feeding schedules are given access to activity wheels, activity increases and food intake decreases which results in severe gastric ulceration and death. The present study re-examined results which suggested food palabability (wet versus dry chow) was a significant factor in self-starvation. In addition, all prior research examining the self-starvation phenomenon (with only one exception using hamsters) fed nocturnal rodents during the normally non-active light portion of their daily cycle. The results indicated that …

The Effects Of Rater-Ratee Discrepancies And Interview Processes On Appraisal Effectiveness, Scott I. Tannenbaum

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Forty-two performance appraisal interviews, at two urban hospitals, were examined to assess the relative effects of rater-ratee discrepancies and interview processes on appraisal effectiveness. This study attempted to improve on the methodology of previous research by: using multi-item scales, incorporating hierarchical regression analyses, and requesting completion of post-interview questionnaires within 24 hours of the interview. Discrepancy between self-ratings and supervisor's initial evaluations were collected prior to the interview. In addition, nurses' perceptions of the interview processes and appraisal effectiveness were measured via a post-interview questionnaire. It was found that discrepancies affected subsequent interview processes, which in turn were related to …