Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Relationship Between Goal Attainment And Self Concept For Assertive Training Groups, Lori Peterson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The objective of this research was to investigate the relationship between self-concept and goal attainment for assertive training groups. To determine if self-concept is related to the extent to which one's goals are attained was of major interest. Another purpose was to determine if self-concept measures increase as a result of participation in group assertive training.

Subjects were 67 volunteers, students from Utah State University, and Cache Valley, Utah, community members.

Subjects were administered as pretests and posttests the Tennessee Self Concept Scale and the Goal Attainment Scaling procedures including the Behavioral Monitoring Progress Record.

Three groups were formed: 1) …

The Effect Of Inescapable Shock On Competitive Dominance In Rats, Pamela A. Cheney

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Experimental examination of the generality of learned helplessness has previously been confined to treatment and tests employing aversive motivators, such as electric shock. In the present study, rats were used to evaluate the effect of inescapable shock on their performance in a water test of competitive dominance which employs no aversive motivator. The subjects were paired and pre-tested for competitive dominance. In the experimental groups one member of each pair was treated with inescapable shock and the pairs were then post-tested for competitive dominance either 48, 72, or 168 hours after treatment. The control subjects were pre- and post-tested with …

An Assessment Of The Self-Actualizing Education Program, Kathleen Pope

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Elementary school teachers enrolled in the Self-Actualizing Education training course were tested prior to and following the ten-week in-service course to measure to what extent teachers improved interpersonal communication skills in discussions with students. Teachers' positive responses (e.g., listening, owning personal feelings, offering choices to students), teachers' negative responses (e.g., judging, lecturing, rescuing), teacher talk vs. student talk, and the frequency of student misbehaviors were considered. Audio tape recordings were made of teachers as they dealt with student problems in a group discussion and in an individual discussion. Also, student misbehaviors were recorded during a 15-minute observation time.

The data …

Money Saving By Children: The Effects Of Interest And Instructions, James Thomas Northrop

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In two experiments, groups of children received interest money contingent upon their savings; yoked control subjects received identical interest irrespective of their savings. In the first experiment, interest was paid every 3 days by parents for the average savings of the period. In Experiment II, interest was paid on a daily basis and control subjects received instructions concerning the lack of a relationship between interest and their savings.

In both experiments savings and magnitude of expenditures increased systematically across the research phases for contingent and non-contingent interest subjects alike. Neither interest nor subject wealth was found to relate to subject …

The Effects Of Assertiveness Training On Marital Adjustment, Valerie H. Mead

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of assertive training on the marital adjustment of those participating. It was of particular interest to identify the effects of training wives only as compared to training couples jointly in assertiveness.

There were a total of 56 subjects sampled for this study, constituting 28 marriages, all investigated for marital adjustment. All of the subjects were volunteers and were obtained through the Women's Center at Utah State University. The subjects were placed in one of two treatment conditions depending upon the condition for which they volunteered. The wives only treatment condition …

Variables Associated With Fluctuations In Response Time On The Rorschach Test, Dean L. Gregg

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A sample of 61 subjects from an introductory psychology class was administered a battery of psychological tests, among them the Rorschach and the MMPI.

The purpose was to determine the behavioral correlates, if any, of the two Rorschach variables, Mean Reaction Time, and Fluctuation in Time of First Response. This was accomplished by using multivariate statistical techniques, i.e. a factor analysis followed by a stepwise multiple regression.

The results were ambiguous. While not statistically significant, they suggest that the MMPI variables of Social Introversion and Psychopathic Deviant are more closely related to the two dependent variables than previous literature would …

Factors Affecting The Conditioned Reinforcing Strength Of Stimuli In Differential Reinforcement Of Other Behavior And Fixed-Time Schedules, Alexander M. Myers

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Two experiments were conducted in an attempt to provide a direct, response-independent test of the delay-reduction hypothesis of conditioned reinforcement. In both experiments, pigeons made observing responses, by pressing a treadle, for stimuli associated with the schedule component in effect. The consequences of an observing response were varied; an observing response produced: a) either the stimulus associated with the shorter component or the stimulus associated with the longer component depending on the schedule component in effect; b) the stimulus associated with the short component only; c) the stimulus associated with the long component only; or, d) neigher stimulus (no consequence). …

The Modification Of Emotionally Disturbed Behavior Through Teacher And Peer Training, Daniel James Kaeck

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of the present investigation was to develop and field test a practical program for the mainstreaming of behaviorally disturbed childred into regular fifth-grade classrooms. The 10-day training program emphasized the training of both teachers and peers as therapeutic agents. It focused upon the teachers' behaviors in terms of establishing classroom rules, praising and ignoring, minimizing reprimands, individualizing instruction, and providing naturally-occurring reinforcers to the children. The program enlisted the aid of the peers in terms of utilizing them as tutors, models, and as reinforcing agents or therapists. The children were taught to self-monitor their attention to appropriate and …

The Role Of Relaxation And Systematic Desensitization In The Efficacy Of Assertiveness Training, Larry J. Carlson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study is to clarify the role of anxiety management techniques (cue-controlled relaxation, systematic desensitization) as components of an assertiveness training program.

Volunteers from Utah State University and the surrounding community were randomly assigned to one of three treatment groups and a control group which were used in a pre-post change comparison design. Treatment groups consisted of: (1) cue-controlled relaxation plus assertiveness training, (2) systematic desensitization plus assertiveness training, and (3) assertiveness training extended. The control group was a delayed treatment control. All subjects were administered pre-tests with the following instruments: two self report inventories (the College …

A Study Of Variables Which Are Associated With Successful And Unsuccessful Furloughed Prison Inmates, Sharon Goodwill

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Two types of variables which might be differentially associated with the performances of prison inmates while on furloughs were studied. They were, 1) demographic data in the central files of inmates known to have been successful or unsuccessful on furlough, and 2) personality test data taken on groups of inmates who could be expected to be either successful or unsuccessful on furlough, given the demographic data in the central files which is found to discriminate between the two groups.

Demographic data was gathered from the files of adult male felons housed in correctional institutions in the following states: Virginia, Pennsylvania, …

Generalization Characteristics Of Form Diversity And Novel Form Production Among Preschool Children, Craig B. Boswell

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The blockbuilding, Lego construction, pen drawing, and painting of four preschool children were analyzed in terms of the construction of form diversity and new form production. Social descriptive reinforcement, contingent on the production of any form not previously constructed within the current session and overt modeling of forms never seen produced during the study, increased form diversity scores per session and new form production (forms never seen before in the child's total prior sequence of blockbuilding sessions).

The results indicated that after training, form diversity scores generalized to topographically similar and dissimilar media of expression. New form production generalized to …

Eight To Twelve Hertz Occipital Eeg Training With Moderate And Severely Retarded Epileptic Individuals, Eric H. Rudrud

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A number of studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of EEG biofeedback procedures in reducing seizure activity in patients who have not achieved remission through drug therapy. However, results indicate a lack of correlation between changes in seizure activity and the EEG parameters trained. Recent research has suggested that occipital alpha activity may be modified indirectly as a function of the EEG biofeedback training procedures. The present study sought to determine the effects of directly conditioning occipital alpha on seizure activity.

Three retarded epileptic individuals, who had not achieved complete remission from seizures through drug therapy, were provided with 8-12 Hz …

Effects Of Reinforcement On Intelligence Test Behavior As A Function Of Test Administered And Sex Of Subject, Richard D. Baer

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Conflicting data have been reported concerning the effects of reinforcement procedures on the intelligence test-taking behavior of normal children. Additionally, no adequately designed study to date has examined the possibility that sex may be a variable in determining childrens' response to intelligence tests administered under reinforcement conditions. The present study was designed to determine if the scores of children administered two tests, the Wechsler Intelligence vi Scale for Children (WISC) and the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT), would be differentially affected by reinforcement procedures incorporated into the administration procedures. Additionally, it was designed to determine if sex of the children …

Credit Cards: Average Monthly Unpaid Balance As Related To Certain Socio-Economic Factors, Marsha Gaye Maughan Cooper

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to determine the degree of relationship between selected socio-economic factors and the average monthly unpaid credit card balance subject to a finance charge. The socio-economic factors chosen were: 1) family and per capita income; 2) education of husband; 3) education of wife; 4) gainful employment of wife; 5) amount of savings; and 6) number of children.

The sample consisted of 80 couples, married in the year 1971, currently residing in the Logan, Utah, area.

A questionnaire was used to measure the six variables. The statistical tests used were the chi square and the gamma …

A Comparison By Sex, Age, And Marital Status Of The Needs And Educational Goals Of Students In A Community College, Susan Carol Bracken

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to investigate the possible differences in needs and educational goals of community college students based on their sex, age, and marital status, particularly between older women students and other student groups. Information was gathered from the college application forms of all day students enrolled in any class during the fall of 1976 at Southwestern Community College. The total number was 6,854, 51% were men, with a mean age of 27.9; and 49% were women with a mean age of 25.2. Thirty-one percent were married.

The specific questions under study were:

1. Would there be …

Participation In Family Decision Making By Korean Home Managers, Hyo-Sook Hwang

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to determine the degree of participation in family decision making among Korean home managers residing in Salt Lake City, Utah, with respect to selected variables, such as the length of stay in the United States, the husband's nationality, the husband's occupational status, the levels of education of both husband and wife, the difference in education between husband and wife, the wife's employment status, and the stage in the family life cycle. A questionnaire was constructed and administered by telephone interview to 72 Korean home managers in Salt Lake City.

On the whole, the pattern …

Import Demand For Wheat: Japanese And Selected Eec Markets, Enayatollah Fakhrai

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The growing importance of trade internationally as well as for the United States (U.S.) spawned a body of literature concerning import demand, export supply, and trade balance. Most of the empirical work to date has employed estimates of commodity import demand functions derived from traditional linear and log-linear functional forms. These specifications of import demand impose separability restrictions on the consumer's choice between domestic and foreign goods, in addition to confining import demand elasticities to constant values. The policy recommendations made on the basis of the import demand elasticities derived from these traditional models may be misleading. In this study, …

The Impact Of The Act Automated Admissions System As Perceived By The High School Counselors In Utah, James Rodney Clark

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The ACT automated admissions system was adopted by the Colleges and Universities in the Utah system of higher education in 1974. The automated admission system was conceived at a time when College enrollment all over the United States was decreasing, and thus was viewed by its proponents as a positive step in alleviating some of the articulation problems between post secondary institutions, high school counselors and prospective students.

Educators who developed the program felt that it would be an advantage to prospective students by providing an admissions decision shortly after the ACT was taken. Automated admissions appears to be an …

The Reorganizational Problem Of The School Districts In Cache Valley, David P. Phippen Sr.

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Some years ago, in 1972 to be exact, I was a student senator at Sky View High School. Every once in a while we would be called together to discuss issues that affected our school. One particular session dealt with school population. Six years ago we were experiencing a lot of overcrowding in the school auditorium. The authorities at that time were concerned, and were asking our opinions, as student leaders, on the issue.

During that meeting, we learned that the school district owned land above Hyrum, and eventually a high school for the south end of the valley was …

The Effect Of Electromyogram Training On Test Anxiety And Academic Achievement, Donald Maurice Whitley Ii

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The focus of this study was to explore the effects of training with Electromyogram (EMG) feedback relaxation on test anxiety and academic achievement.

Subjects were 60 students from an Introductory Psychology Class who scored highest on the Suinn Test Anxiety Behavior Scale (STABS).

Subjects were divided into three groups: (1) EMG training, (2) Attention, and (3) Control. Treatment was 12 sessions over a six-week period.

A pretest and posttest of the STABS was used as a measure of anxiety with the measure of academic achievement being the first and fourth tests in the Psychology class. Analysis of covariance was used …

A Comparative Study Of Mmpi Variables And Their Relationship To Successful Alcoholic Rehabilitation, Verl G. Prestwich

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study was designed to determine whether the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory could successfully predict the outcome of rehabilitative treatment given 84 racially mixed male alcoholics having a mean age of 42.2 years who were admitted to the Wyoming State Hospital between September 1, 1965, and September 1, 1966. The subjects were given the MMPI before receiving 16 weeks of treatment consisting of education, group and individual psychotherapy, alcoholics anonymous, routine "ward treatment," disulfiram (antibuse), special ward unit, and special program without ward. After their release from hospital, the subjects were evaluated yearly for five years by relatives, employers, and …

The Self-Recording Of Weight And Bites In The Treatment Of Obesity, Cris Quayle

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The effects of self-recording bites and weight on subsequent weight was assessed utilizing a single-subject design. Subjects were exposed to a similar sequence of conditions which included: (1) weekly weigh-ins, (2) self-recording daily weights, (3) a control for observation, (4) self-recording bites, and finally (5) a reversal condition in which subjects stopped recording bites but continued recording weights and meeting for weekly weigh-ins. No significant weight reductions occurred in conjunction with weekly weigh-ins, self-recording daily weights, or the control for observation. Five of the six subjects lost more than 2 pounds while recording bites along with monitoring daily weights and …

The Feasibility Of A Computer-Based Library Reference Interview, Stephen C. Weiss

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

The feasibility of a computer-based library reference interview is forecasted through an analysis of the literature concerned with primary aspects of the library reference interview, concept formation, computer concept formation, computerization of reference service and the future of reference service. The state of the art is discussed in light of specific computer programs currently available for the automation of library reference service. Factors supporting and limiting the automation of library reference service are presented. Conclusions and recommendations are made for the realization of a computer-based library reference interview.

Evaluation Of The Home Management House Residency By Former Students, Joy Wadley Erekson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The usefulness of the home management house residence course at Utah State University as perceived by former students was studied.

The sample consisted of 112 students, residents of the home management house between 1967 and 1975.

The instruments used were: a background questionnaire and a management skill usefulness scale. The statistical tests used were the t test and analysis of variance.

The course was rated as being very useful, both personally and professionally by the graduates. It was found that the three variables being tested (professional employment, grade earned from the course and graduate resident advisor) did not make significant …

Decision Making In Two Types Of Working Families, Nancy Ann Bueche

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to investigate actual decision making in two types of families in which both spouses worked and their perceptions of decision making responsibility in the ideal family. The two family types were composed of (1) Professional wives with professional husbands; and (2) nonprofessional wives with nonprofessional husbands.

Questionnaires were completed by 34 professional couples and 63 nonprofessional couples who resided in Flint, Michigan during the fall of 1976. Factor analyses were completed on the husbands' and wives' self reported responses to questions concerning who should make decisions in the ideal family and who actually mode …

The Micro-Characteristics Of Adult-Neonate Social Interaction, Ann Marie Berghout-Austin

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In order to dissect social behaviors into their smallest components, five interactions, each involving one neonate and one adult, were video taped and kinescoped into 16mm black and white film exposed at 24 frames per second. The film was analyzed frame by frame and all starts, stops, and changes in direction of movements were scored. Adult movement durations were significantly shorter during vocalization and longer during nonvocalization. Each infant and adult body part had its own characteristic movement rate. Almost two-thirds of the dyadic movements were interactionally synchronous and most of the synchronization occurred during vocalization. It is suggested that …

A Multi-Year Analysis Of Irrigation Practices Affecting Salt Outflow: A Case Study In Uintah Basin, Joel R. Cannon

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Colorado River is subject to a salinity problem which affects the downstream user. It has been suggested that approximately 40% of the salinity in the Colorado River results from irrigation return flow. The evapotranspiration process extracts nearly pure water for plant use leaving behind soluable salts which may become part of the return flow. These salts adversely affect the crop yield for the downstream user.

Farmers' contributions to the irrigation return flow have been criticized. With the criticisms have been many suggestions on salinity control, including restriction of salt outflow at the farm level through either voluntary or mandatory …

Interpretations And Implementations Of Compulsory Free Enterprise Education In Utah Public High Schools, Marsha M. Campbell

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Utah legislature passed Senate Bill 203 in 1975, requiring all public secondary schools to offer instruction on the essentials and benefits of free enterprise. The problem is that no evaluation has been made to determine if the specific requirement is being fulfilled. The purpose of this study is to determine interpretations and implementations of Senate Bill 203. Questions in four areas were studied.

1. Administrators: (a) how did administrators of the districts interpret the guidelines, (b) how did the administrators decide upon the approach followed, (c) how did the administrators justify the approach followed, (d) what instructional materials did …

A Proposal That The City Manager Form Of Government Be Adopted In Logan, Utah, Serge N. Benson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Logan, Utah has a number of organizational and procedural problems, as do many other American cities. This study was initiated with the hope that some system could be ascertained that would solve or alleviate most of these problems.

The history and development of the City Manager Plan of Government was researched thoroughly and a number of cities with the plan in operation in whole, or in part, were studied.

The conclusion was that Logan, Utah would substantially improve the efficiency of its operations as a whole if it adopted the City Manager Plan. This thesis is of the advocacy type, …

Chemical Quality Variation In A Small Mountain Watershed, David C. White

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to quantify the chemical nature of the Chicken Creek waters, and to investigate the variability and causes of that observed chemistry. The three objectives of the study were: 1) inventory the chemistry of the water produced by the subject watersheds, 2) determine chemical budgets for the watersheds, and 3) identify the sources of the primary chemical components.

Chemical surveys were made: 1) on the stream exiting from each gaged watershed, 2) at various points within the West Branch drainage network, 3) of the atmospheric inputs (rain, snow, and dust), 4) of the soil solution, …