Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Biological Correlates Of Same Sex Erotic Fantasy And Date Of Birth: An Empirical Study Of 2d:4d Ratios, Rachel Lloyd

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

Based on extensive psychological and embryological research, neurohormonal theory proposes that males and females develop in sexually dimorphic patterns, in large part, because of differential androgen exposure during prenatal development (Kimmel & Weiner, 1995). Likewise, the theory suggests that variations in sexual orientation are also related to differential androgen exposure in prenatal life (Robinson & Manning, 2000). This study examined the ratio of the length of the second finger (2'1 digit) relative to the fourth finger (4th digit), also referred to as 2D:4D, and its relationship to same-sex erotic fantasy. These ratios are sexually dimorphic and are a presumed correlate …

College Adjustment And The Shy Student, Jessie Abudu

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

The study was conducted to examine the correlation between shyness and college adjustment. To make the determination, the Revised Cheek and Buss Shyness Scale (RCBS) (1981) was used to identify shyness, while the Student Adaptation to College Questionnaire (SACQ) (Baker and Siryk, 1989) was utilized in assessing college adjustment. While the shyness scale assessed shyness as a single construct, the college adaptation scale assessed college adjustment in terms of academic adjustment, social adjustment, personal-emotional adjustment, and college attachment. The data of 90 students in a general psychology class in a Mid-Western college with a total student population of approximately 6,800 …

The Relationship Between The Mmpi-2'S Rc3 Cynicism Scale And Social Support, Blake K. Webster

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

The current study examined the MMPI-2's Restructured Clinical Scale 3 (RC3) measuring cynicism from the Tellegen et al. (2003) Restructured Clinical Scales project. While RC3 has shown adequate reliability coefficients, research investigating RC3 has questioned its validity and descriptive abilities. Research suggests that adequate criterion has not been established for the scale. RC3 in this study was correlated with three types of social support: Proactive Coping, Instrumental Support Seeking, and Emotional Support Seeking. Based on a review of the literature of cynicism and social support, it was hypothesized that a negative relationship would exist between the two constructs. The study …

Family Environment As A Contributor To Locus Of Control In Children And Adolescents, Christopher Michael Delap

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of the current study is to examine the relationship between family environment and locus of control among children and adolescents. The data examined consisted of 52 participants who were from a larger study that was comprised of 265 participants in a school setting. The measures used for this study were the Family Environment Scale (FES) and the Multidimensional Measure of Children's Perceptions of Control (MMCPC). An independent groups t test was used to examine whether there were significant differences in scores on the relationship and growth domains on the FES between internal, external, or unknown locus of control …

Is Negative Thinking Related To Low Self-Esteem And Depression In Low-Income Single Mothers In Labette County, Kansas?, Linda L. Forbes

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this descriptive, cor-relational research study was to determine if negative thinking was related to low-self esteem and depression in low-income single mothers in Labette County, Kansas. Targeting the symptom of negative thinking, might break the link of low self-esteem with depressive symptoms in low-income single mothers. The results can be improved mental health of the mother and improved physical and mental health of her children (Peden, Rayens, Hall, & Bebe, 2000; Peden, Rayens, Hall, and Grant, 2004).

Data for this research study was collected from December, 2005 to February, 2006 from a convenience sample of 55 single …

Compromise Theory : Values, Desires, And Social Structure, Jeremy Stone Briggs

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

This thesis is an empirical analysis of a developing criminology theory. The purpose of the data analysis was to, in the theoretical framework of Compromise Theory, examine the connection between micro-level structural conditions (i.e. immediate situational conditions) and individuals' values, attitudes, and beliefs. Compromise Theory assumes that individuals are motivated primarily by their interests and desires and that belief systems and values are among the many long-term interests an individual holds. Compromise Theory proposes that in order to reach a decision of action, an individual will compromise their values and beliefs in varying degrees according to the circumstances and demands …

Objectivity And International News : Newsweek And Time News Reports On The 1989 Chinese Student Movement, Jin Yang

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

A central question in mass media research concerns whether the American press observes the journalistic norm of objectivity or not. Some scholars believe that the American press covers international news from the American perspective. They also propose that the American press is dominated by such American ideologies as ethnocentrism, individualism, anticommunism and free market economic principles. But there are other scholars who argue that the American press holds a detached and objective manner toward international affairs. This study attempts to apply W. L. Bennett's theory of political symbolism to approach the issue of objectivity. A content analysis is designed to …

Shyness And Social Discomfort As Measured By The Mmpi-2, Lori Hebel

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to provide additional validity information for the Social Introversion Scale (Si), the Social Introversion Sub-scales (Si 1, Si 2 and Si 3), the Social Discomfort Content Scale (SOD) and the component scales (SOD 1 and SOD 2) of the MMPI-2. Previous research has focused on comparing the MMPI-2 with other self-report measures. The present study attempted to determine how well the MMPI-2 predicted behavioral observations of shyness and anxiety and self-reported discomfort in social situations. 88 participants took the MMPI-2 and then participated in a group activity. Observer and self-ratings of this activity were …

The Relationship Between Intelligence And Perceptual Motor Performance In Fourth Grade Students, Jaima Andrea Knox

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of the present study was to determine the relationship between intelligence and perceptual motor performance in fourth grade students. An intact fourth grade class consisting of ten males and ten females was administered tests reflecting their intelligence and perceptual motor performance levels.

The Effect Of A Nation's Culture On Its Press Coverage Of Earthquakes, Carolyn Divya Punitha

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

This study sought to examine the differences in coverage of earthquakes as a class of international news, by The New York Times and The TImes of India. The purpose was to determine if there was a correlation between the cultures of the United States and India, and their press treatment of the earthquakes at Los Angeles, U.S.A, (January, 1994), Maharashtra, India (September, 1993) and Erzincan, Turkey (March, 1992) by the two papers. The impact of certain other variables : the position of the U.S., India and of Turkey on the development continuum, the GDP, and the world trade figures …

A Study Of The Attitudes Of Psu Students Toward Capital Punishment, Charles L. Hunsaker

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the attitudes Pittsburg State University students held toward the debatable and controversial topic of capital punishment. A total of 154 Pittsburg State University students were selected from eight different classrooms on campus to take part in this study. Each student was requested to fill out a questionnaire which was distributed in each class.

Results of the study showed that the majority or 77 percent of Pittsburg State University students approved of the death penalty. The students who disapproved totaled 22 or 14 percent of the total population of 154. There were 14 …

A Comparative Study Of Christians To Wiccans And Pagans, L. Diane Curtis

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

Levels of affect were assessed in twenty-five Christian participants and twenty-four Wiccan and Pagan participants. Zucherman and Lubin's Multiple Affect Adjective Checklist-Revised (1985) was utilized to measure levels of anxiety, depression, hostility, sensation seeking and positive affect. It was hypothesized that Christians would rate higher in levels of anxiety, depression, and hostility. None of these hypotheses were supported, and there was no significant difference between Christian and Pagan levels of positive affect. There was however, a significant difference between the two groups in the area of sensation seeking- Pagan scores rating higher than did Christian scores. Possible explanations for this …

Identification Of Perfectionistic College Students, Susan A. Morgan

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to identify distinctive personality characteristics for perfectionistic college students. One hundred eighty-four graduate and undergraduate students enrolled in psychology and business courses were asked to participate by completing a measure of perfectionism and a personality test. The participants scores were arranged into groups based on their MPS subscale scores. Discriminant analyses revealed 3 separate clusters of variables which predicted perfectionism group membership with surprising accuracy.

A Comparison Of Unidimensional And Multidimensional Locus Of Control Scales For The Measurement Of The Effects Of Self-Regulation Training, Alan Joseph Paduano

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

Comprehensive training in self regulation (SR) (including biofeedback training, relaxation techniques, and cognitive therapy principles) has been proposed as a means of affecting change in individual locus of control (LOC) orientation. The current study directly compared a uni-dimensional LOC scale (Ratter, 1966) with a multidimensional LOC scale (Levenson, 1973) in the ability to detect changes in the LOC orientation. Other effects of SR training were measured by the State-Trait Anxiety Scale (STAY) and the Irrational Beliefs Test (IBT). Nineteen participants in a biofeedback/stress reduction class completed a course in SR training. The pre-test/post-test results were compared with those of a …

Chain Ownership And Homogeneity Of Kansas Newspaper Editorial Pages, Brent Bates

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

Since individuals and companies began buying independent newspapers and forming newspaper groups or chains, critics have feared the actions would have negative effects on the industry and on the nation. They feared homogeneity of content and, therefore, a reduction in the diversity of ideas. This study, a content analysis of five newspapers from the Harris Newspaper Group, a small chain based in Kansas, and one non Harris owned control newspaper, examined whether homogeneity existed on the editorial pages of Harris newspapers. Specifically, it looked at whether group newspapers published the same syndicated columnists and same syndicated columns, and whether the …

The Effect Of Locus Of Control On The Procrastination Behavior Of College Students, Eileen Debra Rudnick

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship between locus of control and the Procrastination behavior of individuals in an academic setting. Investigated in this study was the relationship between the two aspects of procrastination, the delaying of a task and the psychological distress that results from that behavior, and locus of controls in terms of an internal or external generalized belief.

The Adult Nowicki - Duke Locus of Control scale and the Procrastination Assessment scale - Students were given to 267 undergraduate students between the ages of 17 and 48 at Pittsburg State University. The data …

Agenda-Setting And International News: New York Times Editorials On The 1989 Chinese Student Demonstration In Tainanmen [Sic] Square, Yung-Yi Tang

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

This study attempted to explore a new dimension of the agenda-setting theory by examining the positions of the New York Times and the Bush Administration with regards to China policy in 1989. Content-analysis was applied to the New York Times editorials and the weekly compilation of Presidential Documents. Results of the content-analysis indicated that, regarding China policy during 1989, the New York Times had a negative perception towards China and Chinese policies in general, also the New York Times expressed neutral or no attitude towards the Bush Administration's China policy most of the time. However, when the New York Times …

Intelligence Quotient Vs Brain Ability : A Correlational Study Of The Brain's Perceptual Ability Through Three Different Sensory Modalities And Intelligence Quotient, Harold A. Wynn

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate how an individual's ability to perceive various stimuli through the auditory, olfactory, and tactile sensory systems correlates with his/her ability to perform on the Wechsler standard intelligence test.

A Study Of The Efficacy Of Two Educational Methods In The Reduction Of Computer Fear, Scott M. Gordon

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the effcacy of two different educational methods in the reduction of computer fear. One of the methods focused on the effectiveness of a quasi-hypnotic session in the reduction of computer fear. An open-ended sentence completion questionnaire was given to 46 employees of Pittsburg State University in conjunction with an in-service training seminar on computers. The data were analyzed according to Wilcoxon Matched Pairs Signed Ranks tests and Spearman Rho correlations. Results of this study indicate that an educational presentation is not as effective as an educational presentation paired with relaxation training in …

A Comparison Of Mmpi Scores Of Graduating High School Seniors And Their Parents, Nanette Martin

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to compare the MMPI scores of graduating high school seniors and their parents. The Minnesota Multi-phasic Personality Inventory was administered to one hundred and twenty subjects (forty students and eighty parents). The students were enrolled in five public schools and three private schools in Southwest Missouri, Central Missouri and Northeast Oklahoma. The volunteer subjects were selected using random sampling procedures. The data were collected during March and April, 1983.

The MMPI protocols were hand-scored for three Validity Scales (L, F, K), ten Clinical Scales (Hs, D, Hy, Pd, Mf, Pa, Pt, Sc, Ma, Si) …

Modification Of Affective State - Dependent Learning, Lois E. Griffin

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

Two experiments using male and female college students tested the hypotheses that state-dependent learning (SDL) would be demonstrated by manipulating affective states and that presentation of a discriminative stimulus (SD) would modify SDL so as to significantly increase the amount of transfer between affective states. Subjects were instructed to imagine feeling "angry" and "relaxed". Anger was defined as an increase in heart rate of 10 beats per minute above baseline and relaxation was defined as a decrease in heart rate of 10 beats per minute below baseline. Subjects learned word lists in both anger and relaxation conditions and were tested …

Aggression: An Organismic Variable Influencing Perception Of Horizontal-Vertical Lines, Thomas C. Dunn

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

Most people when viewing horizontal-vertical lines of equal length, judge the vertical line as longer than the horizontal line. The relationship R = f(S) has been extensively studied in an attempt to explain the horizontal-vertical illusion (HVI). An adequate explanation has not been proposed, The present study approached the phenomenon of the illusion with the relationship R = f(0). The problem was to determine if aggressiveness was a significant factor in judgments of the HVI. The Edwards Personal Preference Schedule (EPPS) was used to define and measure aggression in forty students at Missouri Southern State College, Joplin, Missouri. The hypothesis …

The Disruption Of State-Dependency By An Emotionally Important Conditioned Stimulus Paired With Food Reward And Food Seeking Responses, Darcy L. Parks

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

The Purpose was to determine if a 1KHZ tone, could disrupt state dependency in a T-meme when the tone was Paired with feeding and good seeking response on training trials and later presented on testing trials while subjects were in the drug(T) state opposite of the training state. The 64, 80 day old, male hooded rats were trained to an 18/20 criterion while either in D state, produced by 45 mg/kg interparitonal injections of chlordiazepoxide hydro chloride (Librium) or, the non drug(WD) state, produced by sterile water. Beginning with the opposite of the training D state, D and WD states …

Rokeach's Two-Attitude Theory Of Behavior: An Evaluation And Empirical Test, Wayne A. White

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

When Social scientists first became interested in the concept of attitude it was assumed that attitudes were related to human social behavior. Most early definitions of the attitude concept reflected an assumption that attitudes are a precursor of behavior. This assumption was brought into question during the 1930's by research findings that indicated a lack of correspondence between attitudes and behavior. Numerous research strategies developed since that time have generally failed to produce strong support for the assumed relationship between attitudes and behavior.

A Study Of Factor B Of The Early School Personality Questionnaire(Espq) As A Valid Measure Of General Mental Ability, Claude S. Iles

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

This study investigated the validity of the general ability factor, Factor B of the Early School Personality Questionnaire(ESPQ), in two ways. First, validity coefficients for Factor B were obtained by computing product-moment correlation coefficients between the ESPQ Factor B raw scores of 40 developmentally disabled subjects and their raw scores on the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R). Second, the Kruskal-Wallis rank sums test and a distribution-free multiple comparisons test were employed to determine if there were significant differences among the mean ESPQ Factor B raw scores of subjects designated as mentally retarded, learning disabled, or normal. Specifically, it was …

A Survey Of Apa Members' Attitudes Concerning Dual Relationships, Gary P. Sazama

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

The American Psychological Association (APA) has constructed the Ethical Standards of Psychologists to serve as a guideline for the therapeutic behavior of its members. Collective literary opinion suggests that a code of ethics be constructed from the attitudes and values of the associations members and the attitudes and values of the society in which these individuals practice.

The purpose of this study was twofold. First, it attempted to determine the attitudes of APA members concerning Section 6a of the 7th Draft of the Ethical Standards of Psychologists which deals with the practice of dual relationships. Second, this study attempted to …

Attitudes Of Black Socioeconomic Classes In The Greater Kansas City Area Relative To Black Psychology, Patricia D. Polk

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

Four hundred and twenty-nine questionnaires developed by the investigator were distributed to Black white collar, blue collar, farm, and service workers in the Metropolitan Kansas City Area. The questionnaires, of which 383 were returned, were designed to determine whether the subjects perceived themselves as being different from the dominant society, to assess their attitudes about the need for a Black Psychology which concerns itself with the unique behavioral characteristics of Black Americans, and to see whether those assessments differed according to socioeconomic status.

The subjects who comprised the convenience sample were contacted through several agencies including the U.S. Department of …

The Effects Of Bogus Amounts Of Perceived Success On Achieving A Desired Physiological State, Randall Brian Hicks

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

Thirty incarcerated juveniles underwent thermometric bio-feedback training. The subjects were divided into three groups; (1) Inflated, in which information was doubled, (2) Actual, in which no alterations were made, and (3) Deflated, in which information was half of the true temperature rise. No significant difference was found among these groups. A self-report rating on various attitudes, primarily success feelings ; were correlated with achievement. The only factor statistically significant was an indication of locus of control. Cognitive potentialities are discussed as well as emotion.

Sex-Role Stereotyping In Ratings Of Mental Health By Undergraduates, John S. Sutton-Gamache

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

This study looked at the concept of positive mental health or self-actualization and the characteristics of which it is comprised. These characteristics were defined as those measured by the Personal Orientation Inventory (POI). This study also examined the possibility of these characteristics being sex-typed.

Undergraduate subjects were administered the POI with one of three instruction-types: to apply their answers to a mentally healthy man, a mentally healthy woman, or a mentally healthy person (sex unspecified). Experimental conditions consisted of male or female subject sex vs. instruction-type and analyses were performed which compared subject responses from one condition to another.

Results …

A Parametric Analysis Of Memory Retrieval In A Drug Dependent Learning Paradigm, James Kyle Timmons

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

State-Dependent learning (SDL) is the failure of learning to transfer from one drug state to another. State dependent learning was demonstrated and disrupted in an escape learning task. Male hooded rats were trained to escape shock in a modified T-maze. The rats were trained in either the drug (ethyl alcohol) state or the non-drug (water) state. The Transfer (T) group of rats were subjected to a 1 kHz tone during training and testing. The SDL groups were not. The results indicated that disruption of state dependent learning occurred in the T groups. That is, learning transferred across drug states. This …