Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Frequency Judgments For The Wording And Meaning Of Sentences, Christopher Gude

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Beyond The Best Interests Of The Child, Joanna B. Strauss, Peter Strauss

Faculty Scholarship

Identifying just principles for minimizing and resolving disputes over child custody remains one of the law's knots. King Solomon's renowned gambit for resolving the claims of two women to a newborn child was in fact the easy case: only one of the two contenders had a just claim; only one of the two contenders was prepared to be responsible; and in that first of reported cases, the judge had the advantage of surprise. Yet where each potential custodian has a claim, where each is equally prepared (or unprepared) to sacrifice his interests for the child, and where the rules of …

Residential Care For The Mentally Retarded: A Systemic Analysis Of The Creation Of A Community Residence And How Its Development Was Viewed By Members Of The System, David G. Hallman

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The present study, placed in an historical context of care for the mentally retarded, examines the creation and development of a Community Residence for retarded adults. The Residence is described as a system of interrelating groups (the retarded adults, the director and staff, the parents, the Advisory Committee members) whose patterns of communication and interaction affect the nature of the program. The primary sources of data are the observations of the author who was a participant in the develop[ment of the facility and the results of a survey of each of the system’s groups. The survey results indicate some differences …

Towards An Understanding Of Courage: An Exploratory Analysis Of Changing Definitional Conceptions, Gertrud Lavalley

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The present paper was an exploratory attempt at examining changing definitional conceptions of courage. Traditional conceptions were found to abound in popular definitions and confusion with respect to both the meaning and origin of courage. Unconscious conformity to societal norms, symbolic attachment to national roles, a learning theory analogue and the broad conception of S-R (stimulus-response) behaviour were examined as possible explanatory frameworks. An analysis of courage and survival clarified the relationship between courage and hope. An interdependent rather than independent relationship between the two concepts was postulated. The S-O-R (stimulus-organism-response) model was employed as a general explanatory framework for …

Development Of The Self Concept In Black And White Children, Jeanne F. Beglis, Anees A. Sheikh

Psychology Faculty Research and Publications

The impact of the recent "black nationalism" movement, as manifested in such phenomena as the emphasis on "black is beautiful," the appearance of many more Blacks on television and in advertising, and heightened racial tension, is undoubtedly having a considerable effect upon this generation of black children. It could be predicted that the self-concepts of these children are being affected by this new social climate, and perhaps there is an increasing emphasis on racial pride in their self-perceptions.

This study, a comparison of the self-concept of Negro and white children, attempted to control the socio-economic level, a factor which has …

The Creation Of A Social Service Setting: A Description Of The History And Theoretical Considerations, Paul W. Davock

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Social service organizations are created continuously with little attention given to the process by which they come into existence. The existing literature on the creation of settings is examined, and the method of study of a particular study is described. The theories which were important to the leader in the creation of the setting are examined. The background information, the events leading to the opening, and the first six months of the setting’s existence are chronicled, detailing the major events, issues, and interactions within the setting, giving attention to major theoretical considerations. Major findings are related to existing theory.

Influence Of Behaviour Setting And Interaction On Patterns Of Successful Aging, George D. Macdonald

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This study investigated the effects of behaviour setting and interaction on patterns of engagement and disengagement within a home for the aged. The purpose of the study was to illustrate that both patterns may be a function of situational and psychological factors and therefore should not be used as definitions of “successful aging.” Data were collected using an observational technique. Observations were made on five behaviour settings for a typical week. The results indicate that there is a relationship between patterns and the two factors specified. A similar finding was reported for staff patterns within the home. Implications of these …

Genetic And Ontogenetic Variation In Response To Scopolamine And D-Amphetamine In Three Strains Of Mice, Gary Remington

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Highly inbred mice of three strains (A/J, DBA/2J and C57BL/6J) were tested in an acitivity task at 14, 21, or 28 days of age. Ten minutes prior to testing, mice received treatment of either saline, scopolamine (0.1 or 1.0 mg/kg) or d-amphetamine (0.5, 1.0 or 5.0 mg/kg). At 14 days of age DBA mice exhibited higher levels of activity than either A or C57 mice. However, the increase in activity in C57 was such that at 21 and 28 days no difference was observed relative to DBA mice, and activity was higher than that of A mice. With respect to …

The Children's Schedule Of Recent Experiences As A Predictive Test Of Behavior Problems Of Children Entering First Grade, Alcie Anne Griffith

Dissertations and Theses

The thesis provides a survey inquiring about recent life events in children to determine predictive behavior for first grade. It is based on the Social Readjustment Rating Scale.

Personality Characteristics, Work Practices, And Error Rates Among Welfare Assistance Workers At East Multnomah County Public Welfare Branch, Roy Dale Beams, Mike David Gotesmen, Howard Wayne Knytych

Dissertations and Theses

The research project herein contained was an outgrowth of concern associated with performance levels placed upon Welfare Assistance Workers (WAW’s). The Oregon State Public Welfare Division has become increasingly concerned with accuracy rates among branch offices throughout the system. It was the impression of the research group that WAW’s see this increased concern as combined pressure to reduce error rates and demand for a broader diversity of skills.

The primary purpose of this study was to explore ways of clarifying individual characteristics and work habits and their relationship to error rates in the WAW’s in the East Multnomah County Branch …

Exploratory Study Of Gossip In A Rural Community, Ruth Anne Laverty

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The purpose of this study was to investigate social psychological factors in the process of gossip. A second purpose was to determine whether gossip is a process distinct from rumor. An American community was the location of the study. The situations observed were behavioural settings which either the E or her assistant were permitted to attend without arousing suspicion. The 79 Ss studied were male and female adults and children who happened to be present in these behavioural settings. Conversations of all Ss were tape recorded as well as the gossip portions of conversations in other settings. The content of …

Racial Awareness, Preference And Self-Identification In Negro And Caucasian Early Elementary School Children (Grades Kindergarten, One And Three), Jean Marie Leforge

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Pictures of three identical faces differing only in skin colour were shown to 88 Negro and Caucasian subjects in grades kindergarten, one and three and questions about the pictures were asked. The procedure was designed to measure racial preference, awareness and self-identification and social awareness on the part of the subjects. Male subjects saw pictures of male faces and female subjects saw female faces. An experimental group of approximately one-half of the subjects saw a fourth picture face, which represented a novel stimulus and which was included to probe the reaction of the subjects to novelty.

In addition, a warm-up …

Dimensions Of Psychological Health For Retarded Adults In A Community Residence, Barbara Dianne Reid

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The Residents’ Needs Questionnaire was developed to measure attitudes concerning the needs of retarded adults for Physical Existence, Psychological Existence, Submissive Relating, Dominant Relating, Shared Relating, and Environmental Mastery. Two measures, identification of the need and perception of the extent to which the need was actualized, were obtained for each of forty items. The questionnaire was administered to staff, residents, parents, and Advisory Committee members of the David Fisher Residence in Erbsville, Ontario. Results indicated that residents’ needs are identified differently by the four different subject groups, and that residents, staff, and Committee members perceive discrepancies between identified needs and …

A Multivariate Analysis Of The Factors Affecting Treatment In A Child Guidance Centre, Brian Charles Regan

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Initially, all the children who had received treatment and been discharged from the West End Créche between 1962 and 1971 were selected for this study. These children were then sub-divided into groups according to where they had gone after discharge. This study considered only two of these groups, 32 children who went into the normal school system and 20 children who entered institutions after being discharged. Both groups were then examined with reference to a list of forty-two variables which provided information on the children’s background and the facilities of the treatment centre. An analysis of these variables demonstrated that …

The Department Of Family Services, Court Of Domestic Relations, Portland, Oregon : A Report Of Its History, Function, And Future, George Brune, John Hart, Sandra Smith

Dissertations and Theses

The study begins with a look at the sociological foundations underlying the Department of Family Services and the social institutions of law and marriage and the family. In order to present the working operation of the agency there are chapters dealing with custody and visitation and marriage and family counseling. This work is defined, and the methods involved are explained and illustrated. An historical overview of the agency with regard to personal, policy and orientation is presented.

Alcohol Effects On Specific And Environmental Fear, Lawrence L. Dickerson

Psychology ETDs

In any aversive conditioning procedure, when an aversive stimulus is paired with a nominal CS, it is inevitable that other stimuli present in the conditioning environment should also become aversive. Although the conditioning of fear to the environment has seldom been studied explicitly, there are reasons to believe that certain parameters affect specific fear and environmental fear quite differently. Ethyl alcohol, in particular, may produce dissimilar effects on the two fears. If so, these differences would help to explain certain inconsistent findings reported with alcohol.

A conditioned suppression procedure was used to test the hypothesis that alcohol differentially affects specific …

A Reexamination Of The Effects Of Prismatic Displacement On Pointing Straight Ahead, Anastasia Houndoumadi

Dissertations and Theses

A fully counterbalanced extension of the Bauer and Efstathiou (1965) study involved exposing 11 Ss to lateral prismatic displacement for five minutes and measuring their adaptation to it. The difference between pointings at a target taken before and after prismatic exposure constitutes an adaptive shift.

The Relationships Of Sociometric Status And Personality Factors Among Sixth Grade Children, Mike Fischer

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Historically, social interaction has played a central role in the development of personality constructs. How one sees himself, how others perceive him, and how these variables interact have played a core role in many theoretical systems.

If the theoretical assumptions underlying the relationships between personality development and social interaction are true, then significant relationships should exist between sociometric measures of personality. This was the rationale surrounding the development of this study.

Work, Self, Family, And Life Opinions Of Injured Workers Rehabilitated By Two Different Strategies, Paul A. Pearson

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

The Effects Of Dental Hygiene Information And Consequation On Plaque Control, Janel R. Walker

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

A Systematic Analysis Of Between And Within Grader Variability As Affected By Answer Key Condition, Grader Experience, And Test Set Assigned, Leonard Eugene Swistak

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

A Comparative Analysis Of A Patient Trainer Versus A Student Trainer As Therapeutic Agents In Occupational Therapy Setting, Elahe Karimi

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Peer Recording And Its Effects On Observer Behavior, Ronald J. Gumm

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

An Analysis Of Behavioral Contrast In A Concurrent Schedule Using Qualitatively Different Reinforcers, Richard J. Lodge

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

A Q-Sort Historical Analysis Or The Learning Theories Of Clark L. Hull And B. F. Skinner, Keith V. Syrja

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

The Effects Of Changes In Response-Independent Pay Upon Human Masseter Emg, Tullio J. Proni

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Schedule Induced Polydipsia, A Study Of The Contrast Effect On A Multiple Fixed Time Schedule Of Food Delivery, Arlyne J. Gutmann

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

The Changing Role Of The Priest From Facilitator Of Escape Responding To Mediator Of Positive Reinforcement, Robert J. Crackel

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Behavioral Contrast After Errorless Discrimination Learning As A Function Of Non-Contingent Shock, James H. Kaye

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Personality Correlates Of Reticent And Nonreticent High School Students, Nancy Adele Mohrlock

Student Work

The development of communication skills is vital to socialization in the classroom and to personality development. Petty and Starkey (1966) suggest that language is the greatest force for socialization that exists and at the same time is the most potent single factor in the development of individuality. Rosenberg and Coopersmith (1965, 1967) showed that a person's verbal behavior will influence others ’ attitudes toward him, while Mead (1934) indicated that an individual’s behavior is affected by the kind of image that he has of himself. This image comes largely from the individual's perceptions of o thers’ attitudes toward himself until …