Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Direct Training Of Teachers In The Use Of Praise: Implementation And Generalization, Linda-Mai Thanh Nguyen

Dissertations

Praise has been shown to be an effective intervention for decreasing problem behaviors in the classroom when there is a hypothesized attention function. Unfortunately, studies have shown that teachers generally provide low rates of praise even after didactic instruction. Praise training consisting of didactic and direct training have been used to increase praise rates but few studies have examined the individual components within praise training to determine if didactic training is necessary. Additionally, while some studies have examined the maintenance of praise rate following praise training, few studies have focused on the generalization of praise towards other students. This study …

Pedagogical Approaches To Multicultural Education Within Teacher Preparation Programs, Mark Steven Barajas

Dissertations

Despite national standards established in 1979, U.S. teacher preparation programs have struggled to incorporate comprehensive, multicultural teacher education into existing curriculum (Sleeter, 2008). The weakness of multicultural training in most teacher preparation programs is theorized as a major contributor to the persistent achievement gap between students of color and White students (Ferguson, 2003). Furthermore, literature indicates White teachers frequently hold lower expectations for racial and ethnic minority students compared to White students and these lowered expectations often manifest as lower academic achievement (McKown & Weinstein, 2007).

This study provides empirical data regarding multicultural education within teacher preparation programs. Individual course …

Behavior Analysis Program To Improve Habits Of Physical Activity, Eating, And Sleeping, Ivan Noe Martinez Salazar

Dissertations

An Internet-based five-week duration program to improve “health habits” using behavior analysis principles and eHealth technology was developed and evaluated. The “health habits” include recurring behaviors that impact health status such as eating, sleeping, and physical activity.

Ten adult participants were recruited online from Mexico. A multiple baseline design was used and participants were randomly assigned into two different groups (i.e., ABBAA and AABBA groups). Participants received online training using videos describing the characteristics of the program and its components. Each participant recorded selected health behaviors using a Microsoft Excel® tool designed specifically for this program’s goal achievements. Participants reported …

An Examination Of Several Variables Influencing The Efficacy Of The Gateway In Street Sign Configuration On Motorist Yielding Behavior, Miles Bennett

Dissertations

This study contains five different experiments that examine the effects of several variables influencing the effectiveness of the In-Street sign and various In-Street sign configurations. Experiment 1 and 2 compared the effects of the Gateway configuration using R1-6 signs to blank fluorescent yellow-green signs arranged in the Gateway configuration on motorist yielding to pedestrians in crosswalks. The results showed that the blank signs produced an increase in yielding from 7% to 33%, while the addition of the message and symbols to the sign increased yielding to 78%. Experiment 1, 2, and 4 examined the effects of different configurations of the …

Saliva Cotinine As A Measure Of Abstinence In A Lottery-Based Contingency Management Treatment For Smoking Cessation, Catherine M. Gayman

Dissertations

Contingency management decreases smoking by delivering monetary incentives contingent upon objective verification of abstinence. The present study investigated the effectiveness of monitoring saliva cotinine twice weekly in a contingency-management treatment for cigarette smoking using a cash prize-based payment system. Participants were randomly assigned to either a contingent reinforcement group or a non-contingent reinforcement group. The study began with five consecutive Baseline days during which participants smoked as usual, and was followed by four consecutive Shaping days, during which participants were asked to gradually decrease smoking. During the subsequent three-week Abstinence phase, participants submitted saliva cotinine and breath carbon monoxide samples …

Assessing The Interpersonal Effectiveness Of The Dear-Man Skill Using A Social Psychology Paradigm, Matthew T. Jameson

Dissertations

For more than 50 years, social psychology has investigated persuasion techniques intended to facilitate influencing the behavior of others. This body of research has identified a variety of effective techniques and principles (see Cialdini, 2007). Over roughly the same period, clinical psychologists developed interventions targeting assertiveness, the ability to influence others in socially appropriate ways (see Long, Long, & Whitson, 2009) and the related construct “interpersonal effectiveness,” the ability to influence others without harming relationships or self-respect (Linehan, 2015, pp. 231-237). A literature review conducted by the author was unable to identify linkages between these two related areas of inquiry. …

Evaluating Sexual Assault Prevention Training Programs For College Women, Eliza S. Mcmanus

Dissertations

Sexual victimization is a frequent and concerning problem for college women. It is estimated that college women are three times more likely to experience sexual assault than women in the general population. Additionally, women with a history of unwanted sexual experiences are at greater risk for future sexual victimization than women without such histories. For these reasons, the examination of college-based sexual assault prevention programs is important given the high rates of unwanted sexual experiences and subsequent negative mental health consequences. Furthermore, the lack of effective skills-based sexual assault prevention programs on college campuses is an important issue to address. …

Learning To Learn And Naming Through Receptive And Expressive Identification, Kelli Perry

Dissertations

Poor or no language skills are typical of most preschool children with autism (American Psychological Association, 2013). Language can be divided into the two components of receptive, or listener, skills and expressive, or speaker, skills. Recommendations for sequencing language instruction vary across the different behavior-analytic instructional models (Lovaas, 1981; Barbara & Rasmussen, 2007; Sundberg & Partington, 1998; Sundberg, 2008). The current study sought to examine those recommendations using young children (three- to four-years-old) with limited vocal repertoires and to explore the acquisition of learning to learn (Harlow, 1949) and naming (Greer & Ross, 2007). This research (1) adds to the …

Impact Of Athletic Identity And Emotional Competence On Athletes’ Attitudes Toward Seeking Professional Psychological Help, Garett V. Weatherhead

Dissertations

Athletes have been found to have more negative attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help than non-athletes (Watson, 2005) despite experiencing comparable amounts of mental illness (Markser, 2011). The purpose of the present study was to examine factors that are associated with athletes’ help-seeking attitudes, including athletic identity and emotional competence. A sample of 144 college student-athletes from a small, private Midwestern college in the United States participated in the study. The athletes competed at the NCAA Division III level. Participants were asked to complete the following measures: Athletic Identity Measurement Scale (Brewer, Van Raalte, & Linder, 1993), Attitudes Toward Seeking …

Evaluation Of An Abbreviated Parent-Child Interaction Therapy Intervention In A Pediatric Primary Care Setting, Colleen C. Cullinan

Dissertations

Pediatric primary care providers encounter a substantial number of behavioral health concerns during routine visits. These providers are in a unique position to screen for and identify psychosocial difficulties, offer anticipatory guidance, and provide brief mental health interventions to families. Unfortunately, many pediatricians face barriers in screening for behavioral problems and providing appropriate interventions, particularly regarding externalizing behavior problems. Providing integrated behavioral health services in the primary care setting can reduce barriers to treatment, the stigma associated with mental health settings, and the cost of services (Berkout & Gross, 2013). There is increasing interest in adapting parent training programs for …

The Impact Of Childhood Sexual Abuse: A Qualitative Analysis Of Healthy `Couples’ Perceptions, Brian C. Doane

Dissertations

Childhood sexual abuse (CSA) is a problem affecting millions of individuals, with a prevalence rate of 28% to 30% for women (Cobia, Sobansky, & Ingram, 2004) and 14% for men (Breire & Elliott, 2003). Because of the psychological trauma associated with CSA and the potential impact on the survivor’s sexuality, a couple’s relationship satisfaction may be reduced and survivors may experience difficulty in maintaining healthy intimate relationships. How CSA impacts an individual has been studied extensively, but its effect on committed couple relationships has received much less attention in the literature. Additionally, very few studies have incorporated the non-abused partner’s …

Medication Non-Adherence In Community Dwelling Older Adults With Dementia: An Educational Intervention For Family Caregivers, Nika Renee George

Dissertations

Older adults with neurocognitive disorders are at high risk for medication non-adherence, while being vulnerable to great injury from regimen deviations. Informal caregivers often aid in healthcare management for these individuals. The current study compared the efficacy of two online health education interventions designed to increase caregiver health related knowledge for use with care recipients. Women (N=35) assisting a cognitively impaired older person with medications were randomly assigned to one of two online health education conditions (1) written materials and narrative vignettes depicting actors encountering common medication challenges or (2) written materials and didactic video clips of information from medical …

A Nation Divided: Assessing The Regional Effects Of Institutions, Social Capital, And Civic Culture On Tax Morale In Italy, John William D'Attoma

Dissertations

Using the 2004 Bank of Italy Survey of Household Wealth and Income, I undertake a comparative study assessing the regional effects of social capital and political culture on tax morale in Italy. I demonstrate that Southern Italy is significantly different than Northern Italy with regards to tax morale, and that social capital and civic culture positively affect tax morale. To compliment the Bank of Italy survey, I use controlled laboratory tax compliance experiments and a Social Value Orientation task to test if Southern Italians are consistently different than Northern Italians with regards to their tax compliance even when presented with …

Hometown Influence: The Impact Of Geography On Statewide Candidate Emergence And Success, Cassie A. Myers

Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to explore whether statewide geography influences a candidate’s electoral position. More specifically, what role does geography play in candidate emergence and success on the statewide level? Conventional wisdom holds that geography does matter in candidate emergence and success. Beyond the anecdotal, however, there has been little research in this area. I theorize that general attitudes about rural identity and, conversely, urbanity affect electoral outcomes based upon the population composition of the state. To explore these questions, I created a typology characterizing states as rural or urban, based upon an index capturing rural cultural and …

Decision Making And Association In Hoarding, Brianna Dora Mann

Dissertations

Hoarding is a serious and debilitating disorder that has a chronic course, is difficult to treat, and has a high treatment dropout rate. The most notable feature of hoarding is excessive clutter, which is driven by excessive acquiring of objects and difficulty discarding them. Two little researched factors that appear to be particularly central in contributing to acquiring and difficulty discarding are decision-making deficits and association. This study examined decision making and association, using self-report measures, a computerized decision-making task, and an association task, in a sample of 62 participants, consisting of 39 hoarders and 23 non-hoarding controls. These individuals …

Neural Correlates Of Rumination In Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Before And After Cognitive Processing Therapy, Katherine Ruth Buchholz

Dissertations

The utilization of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) techniques to examine biomarkers and neural activity patterns related to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has provided a way to investigate mechanisms that underlie the development, maintenance, and recovery from PTSD. Studying the neural correlates of individual differences related to transdiagnostic factors has the potential to provide clinically relevant information beyond that of diagnostic categories. Rumination is one such factor. Rumination, defined as repetitive, negative, self-focused thinking is considered to be a transdiagnostic factor that is associated with depression, anxiety, and PTSD. In individuals with PTSD, rumination serves as a cognitive avoidance factor …

Talk And Deterrence In Drug Markets, Timothy Dickinson

Dissertations

Despite a wealth of conceptual and empirical examinations, key processes occurring during each of the primary stages of deterrence remain poorly specified. Little is known about how potential offenders form their perceptions of rules or threats, and the relationship between these perceptions and fear has only received moderate attention. In addition, many questions remain regarding how offenders eliminate or reshape punishments after violating rules. In this dissertation I examine how various forms of talk shape these processes. More specifically, I investigate how gossip influences offenders’ perceptions of rules or threats, how humor and threats and promises moderate the fear stemming …

Affectivity, Brain Structure And Function, And Treatment Outcomes In Cognitive Processing Therapy For Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Wilson James Brown

Dissertations

Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) has been empirically validated as an efficacious treatment for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) (Resick, Nishith, Weaver, Astin, & Feuer, 2002; Cloitre, 2009). However, a deficiency of affect regulation skills may act as a barrier to the successful implementation of CPT in some cases, as CPT does not contain a module that directly addresses affectivity. The current study examined the relationship between affectivity and CPT by utilizing neuroimaging methodology to assess brain regions consistent with an affect regulation model of PTSD. Thirty-eight female interpersonal trauma survivors with PTSD received CPT, participating in assessment and scanning sessions at …

Simplifying The Complexity Of Supplementary Pensions: Suggestions For Member-Centred Reforms, Mary Broderick

Dissertations

Pension coverage among workers in Ireland is low with only an estimated 41.3% of private sector workers contributing to a supplementary pension. In addition, the system for workplace pensions is considered by many to be unnecessarily complex and beyond the understanding of many workers, without additional advice.

This research aims to look at some areas of pensions that are particularly complex, from a members point of view, and to make suggestions as to how the system could be more member-centred. The research will look specifically at three areas; State support given for pension saving, the structure of pension provision and …

Alignment Of Mission Statements With Hiring And Evaluation Processes Of Faculty At Higher Education Institutions Approved By The Academic Quality Improvement Program (Aqip), Nancy M. Foster

Dissertations

In 1999 when the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association created the Academic Quality Improvement Program (AQIP) path for accreditation, they instituted a new format for the documentation of evidence of meeting accreditation criterion called a Systems Portfolio. This study involved the analysis of the Systems Portfolios from 36 institutions to check for alignment of their mission statements, and stated faculty hiring and evaluation processes. Each Systems Portfolio was analyzed for themes found in previous research on mission statements and documentation of the processes for hiring and evaluation of faculty. Additionally, institutions from three Carnegie Classifications were compared …

Structural Controls On The Distribution Of Groundwater In Southern Sinai, Egypt: Constraints From Geophysical And Remote Sensing Observations, Lamees Mohamed

Dissertations

An integrated (Very Low Frequency [VLF] electromagnetic, magnetic, remote sensing, field, and Geographic Information System [GIS]) study was conducted over the basement complex in Southern Sinai (Feiran watershed) for a better understanding of the structural controls on the groundwater flow. The increase in satellite-based radar backscattering values following a large precipitation event (date: 17, 18 Jan 2010; amount: 34 mm) was used to identify water-bearing features, here interpreted as preferred pathways for surface water infiltration. Findings include: (1) The distribution of the water bearing features (conductive features) correspond to that of fractures, faults, shear zones, dike swarms, and wadi networks; …

National Quality Awards In Healthcare And Actual Quality In U.S. Hospitals, Beth M. Beaudin-Seiler

Dissertations

This study examined performance outcome data from the Medicare Compare Hospital database for differences in performance between national award-winning hospitals and non-national award-winning hospitals. Specific variables examined were related to clinical care and were identified in literature as well as professional medical associations and societies as being quality indicators. National award-winning hospitals were defined as those having received the Malcolm Baldrige Quality Award in Healthcare or the Healthgrades Distinguished Hospital for Clinical Excellence. The characteristics of highly reliable organizations were also used to align the indicators of excellence for Malcolm Baldrige and Healthgrades recipients. Finally, a closer examination of data …

Psychological And Social Variables Impacting Young Adults Caring For Severely Mentally Ill Mothers, Courtney Gale Deloney

Dissertations

This dissertation study examined the psychological and social functioning of young adults who care for their severely mentally ill mothers; in doing so this study examined the independent variables coping style, perceived stress, quality of life, and resilience. The dependent variables considered were race, socioeconomic status, support group participation, and living in the same household as one’s mother. Young adulthood was examined as a distinct period of human development. The policy of deinstitutionalization led many families to become caregivers for their severely mentally ill relatives. While some knowledge on this exists, little is known about the experiences of young adult …

Three Essays On Capital Regulations And Shadow Banking, Diny Ghuzini

Dissertations

The shadow banking sector is a sector that is comprised of financial intermediaries that do not have access to central bank funds and performs their activities outside the regular banking system. This sector had been rapidly growing in most developed economies. This dissertation focuses on the behavioral difference and interaction of the traditional and shadow banking sectors as displayed by the relative asset position of both sectors, their risk-taking positions, and their business-cycles properties.

The first essay examines the impact of minimum capital requirements on the share of shadow to total banking assets. Previous literature has argued that increased regulation …

The Effects Of Schedule Density Of Reinforcement For Alternative Behavior On Resurgence, Kathryn M. Kestner

Dissertations

Resurgence is the reemergence of a previously extinguished response when an alternative response no longer produces reinforcement. Although returning to previously successful methods for obtaining reinforcement is likely advantageous, resurgence also occurs in the form of treatment relapse. An individual may return to problematic behavior (e.g., aggression, self-injury, drug use) when an alternative behavior (e.g., communication response, coping skill, social behavior, etc.) is no longer successful at producing a reinforcer. Behavior analysts rely on treatments based on differential reinforcement of alternative behavior, and resurgence has been demonstrated following changes to reinforcement schedules due to errors in treatment integrity or intentional …

Functional Analytic Psychotherapy Compared To Watchful Waiting For Enhancing Social Connectedness: A Randomized Clinical Trial With A Diagnosed Sample, Daniel W. M. Maitland

Dissertations

The efficacy of Functional Analytic Psychotherapy (FAP) has not yet been show in randomized controlled trials in any population. The current study utilized a stratified randomization technique conducted by a computer system to assign twenty-three college students recruited for difficulties in interpersonal functioning who scored one standard deviation below the norm on the Fear of Intimacy Scale and met diagnostic criteria via independent assessment for Major Depressive Disorder, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Social Anxiety Disorder, Avoidant Personality Disorder, or Dependent Personality Disorder to either a FAP condition or a Watchful Waiting Condition to assess the conditions ability to increase social relating …

Citizenship, Politics And Process: A Cross National Study Of Citizenship Regimes, Marisha Lina Lecea

Dissertations

Citizenship policy is important for democracies and for the people who live in them. Citizenship status is important for the individual enjoyment of social, political and human rights, and restricting access to citizenship can hamper a state’s enjoyment of legitimacy and stability. Across democracies, citizenship policies range from no allowance for dual nationality and very onerous naturalization policies, to acceptance of dual nationality and non-capricious paths to naturalization. The question of this dissertation is what accounts for the variation in citizenship regimes across democracies?

I argue that it is domestic politics through party in power, judicial review and strength of …

Tongues Untied Truth Revealed: Body Image, Social Media, Identity Development, And Meaning-Making In Overweight And Obese Black Gay Msm, Amari Ja-Lynn Enam

Dissertations

This phenomenological study explored the meanings attributed to internalized messages about body image within the context of identity development from the perspectives of overweight/obese men of African descent (OMAD) among a group of 6 men who have sex with men (MSM). I was interested in those messages that have been incorporated, adopted, or integrated into OMAD-MSM’s sense of self. Informants shared body image-related experiences from interactions with family, friends, dating/sex partners, and the media/social media.

Academic literature has explained identity development processes among African Americans through various lenses but research has not adequately explored the convergence of multiply oppressed social …

An Analysis Of The Impact Of Emotional Literacy Instruction On At-Risk Students, Shannon H. Garcia

Dissertations

This study examined the impact of social-emotional literacy instruction for at-risk adolescents ages 13 to 18 at the high school level. Of particular interest is the impact of social-emotional literacy instruction on at-risk youth Grades 9-12 in secondary high schools’ 8-week-long social-emotional literacy class through Project AWARE, particularly in the areas of suspension, expulsion, attendance, connectivity, attitude toward school, resiliency, and relational aggression rates; the data were analyzed using archival data and teacher interview. Project AWARE, the social-emotional literacy intervention examined in this study, educates and provides mentorship for at-risk students, while also providing a group educational component on relationships …

Functional Analysis Of Gambling, Mack S. Costello

Dissertations

Given high rates of gambling and the growing population of disordered gamblers, there is a need to develop assessment strategies with improved treatment validity. More specifically, assessment strategies are needed that identify the controlling variables for disordered gambling and, thus, provide guidance in the selection of treatment and prevention strategies. This study sought to develop a functional analysis for gambling by utilizing a simulated gambling environment in which contextual variables hypothesized to be causally linked to disordered gambling could be systematically manipulated. Seven experienced gamblers participated in the multi-element, single-subject experimental study. Participants who endorsed at least some problems from …