Psychology Commons^™

The Relationship Of Leadership Effectiveness To L.P.C For University Department Chairmen, Carter W. Brown

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

For most of recorded history leadership ability has been considered a simple variable linearly related to the effectiveness of a team of workers. Everyone possessed it to some degree. When a king or corporate president had a task to be accomplished, all he needed to do to maximize the probability of the task being completed vas to locate the individual with the greatest leadership skill available. For centuries man has tried to quantify this variable so that identification of good leaders could be achieved more accurately. After years of futile attempts at quantification, leadership theorists began in the early 1900's …

Positive Conditioned Supperssion: A Replication And Extension, Julia C. Curtin

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

The Effectiveness Of Environmental Control In Modifying Problem Behaviors In Mother-Child Interaction, Thomas Whalen Hamilton

Dissertations and Theses

An experiment was designed to test the effectiveness of using standard laboratory environments in producing a broad class of problem behaviors which defined Mother-Child (M-C) interaction difficulties. The effects of four environments, free-time (X), child's game and rules (B), mother's game and rules (C), and clean-up (Z), on the frequency of eight criteria behaviors were tested on 12 M-C pairs over three days of baseline data collection. It was predicted that the frequency of problem behaviors would decrease as a function of environment (X) and increase as a function of environments (B), (C), and (Z). A two factor …

Behavioral Changes Due To Overpopulation In Mice, James Robert Hammock

Dissertations and Theses

Previous research has found that if a population were allowed to exceed a comfortable density level, then many catastrophic events occurred such as increased mortality among the young, cannibalism, homosexuality, and lack of maternal functions. The most influential researcher in this area is Calhoun (1962), after whose experimental design a pilot study was fashioned to replicate his results. The results of this pilot study inspired a more detailed research project of which this thesis is an account.

Forty-eight albino mice of the Swiss Webster strain were divided into three groups of sixteen each. Each group consisted of ten females and …

The Effects Of A Behavior Modification Program On The Self Concepts Of Children In Special Education, Barbara M. Scott

All Master's Theses

The purpose of this study is to determine whether using a behavior modification approach to teaching children will help to raise a child's self concept.

An Interactional Approach To Weight Reduction, Carole T. Gygi

Dissertations and Theses

A treatment program was designed to enable subjects to lose weight through the use of self-confrontation as described in Saslow (1969), and the use of the General Relationship Improvement of the Human Development Institute (HDI), Berlin and Wyckoff (1964).

Self-confrontation is a programmed rehearsal of a specific problem by one person alone, for a five-minute period. The rehearsal, or self-confrontation is to be as vivid as possible, intellectually, emotionally, visually and physically.

The General Relationship Improvement Program is a 10-week text, worked in pairs, which is aimed at better intrapsychic and interpersonal communication and understanding.

Four matched groups were used …

A Comparison Of Hyper-Reactivity And Activity In Rats With Lesions Of The Septal Area And The Olfactory Lobes, Roger Clark Marshall

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

A thesis presented to the faculty of the Graduate School at Morehead State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts by Roger Clark Marshall on April 1,1971.

Modification Of Deviant Behavior By Parents, Jeanne M. Gabourie

All Master's Theses

It is the purpose of this study (1) to determine if a child's deviant social behaviors can be effectively modified by his own parents; and (2) to determine if parents can be trained to use behavior modification techniques in the home.

Schedule Interactions And Stimulus Control, Andrew Louis Homer

Dissertations and Theses

Four types of schedule interactions have been defined: positive contrast, negative contrast, positive induction, and negative induction. Most work has centered on the necessary conditions for positive contrast. One position states that a reduction in reinforcement frequency is necessary; the other view states that a reduction in response rate is necessary. Neither view can account for the occurrence of induction. The present experiment tests the hypothesis that stimulus control effects the occurrence of either contrast or induction. Three pigeons were trained to respond for primary reinforcement (strong stimulus control condition), and three pigeons were trained to respond for conditioned reinforcement …

The Use Of Selected Films And Film Discussions In Modifying Social Distance In Elementary School Children, Stanton C. Baker

All Master's Theses

When conflicts involving interpersonal relationships arise within the school setting, it would appear appropriate to attempt to cope with these conflicts within the framework of the school; particularly the classroom. Many methods of modifying behavior through group procedures have been attempted with varying degrees of success. It was the purpose of this study to investigate the effectiveness of one such method; a fiIm-discussion technique. This program was developed to modify behaviors, attitudes and/or perceptions which interfere with the development of constructive interpersonal relationships within an elementary classroom.

Action-Oriented Group Therapy For Lower-Socio-Economic-Status Clients, Joan C. Peters

Dissertations and Theses

An attempt is made to present a model of group therapy for Lower-Socio-Economic-Status (LSES) clients. The theoretical issues include a definition of traditional group therapy along with a brief description of the more recent sensitivity training approaches. A rationale for combining these two different group approaches is presented to form the model for action-oriented group therapy (ACT groups) which utilizes both the traditional approach and action techniques of the sensitivity group. It is proposed that this hybrid, the AOT group, is more appropriate for treating the LSES client. The needs and expectations of the LSES client are discussed. The goals …

The Effect Of Perceptual-Motor Training On Maladaptive Behaviors Of Emotionally Disturbed Children, Julia Frances Hall

Dissertations and Theses

Twenty emotionally disturbed children between the ages of six and twelve from three agencies providing special treatment for behavioral or emotional problems were the subjects for this study. The subjects were divided into two major diagnostic categories, withdrawn and acing out, and then matched in pairs by age and diagnosis. One half of each pair was randomly assigned to the experimental condition and the remaining halves were assigned to the control condition. Both the experimental and control groups contained five withdrawn and five acting out subjects. Four experimenters were used, and each experimenter worked with two or four experimental children …

The Effect Of Time Of Day On Approach-Avoidance Conflict Behavior, Orris Eugene Frazier

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Psychology in the Graduate School of Morehead State University by Orris Eugene Frazier on May 22, 1970.

Effect Of Self-Concept Upon Performance Following Failure Stress, Daniel Stern

Master's Theses

Jahoda (1958) has summarized the thinking, which has been done about a group of behaviors jointly labeled "positive mental health." After reviewing the conceptualizations of both phenomenologically and analytically oriented writers, Jahoda distilled six classes of responses, which have been listed as representative of mental health. These general classes of responses includes (1) positive self-attitudes, (2) self-actualizing behavior, (J) integrative behavior, (4) autonomous behavior, (5) accurate perceptual behavior, (6) behavior by which the subject obtains mastery over his environment. Of the six response classes listed, two were chosen for the present study. Specifically, the relationship between the general categories of …

Conditioned Helplessness And Human Escape Behavior, Robert E. Gabbard Jr.

All Master's Theses

The present study was undertaken to determine, first, whether or not "helplessness" can be conditioned in human subjects, and, secondly, the amount of behavioral variability that can be accounted for in terms of locus of control as measured by Rotter's Internal-External control scale (I-E scale).

Behavioral Modification Of Trainable Mentally Retarded Children, Cheryl Mayo Frair

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In Experiment I, contingency management was employed with five non-institutionalized trainable retardates (mean MA=4.l, CA=9.9, and language age=2.6) in a classroom situation. Empirically determined high probability behaviors were displayed as colored cartoon figures in a reinforcement menu. Tasks from the Peabody Language Development Kit defined the behavior strengthened during 15 one-hour sessions. A quantity of low probability task behavior had to occur in order for subjects to emit 4 minutes of high probability reinforcing activity. Through contingency management, amount of task per reinforcement was shaped from a low ratio to a high ratio. Significant gains in language age (p

In …

Verbal Conditioning With Vicarious Reinforcement As Related To Peer Attitudes In Grade-School Children, Margaret Mccutcheon Lauterbach

All Master's Theses

The purpose of the present study was to determine the effects of peer attitudes toward performers in a verbal conditioning experiment using vicarious reinforcement, and to determine whether birth order or need for social approval had any effect on conditioning. Fifth grade and sixth grade students served as subjects, with performers (those to be directly reinforced) from the same grades as the observers.

A Survey Of The Breakfast And Snack Habits Of Adventist And Non-Adventist Adolescents, Consuelo A. Bustista

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

A study was undertaken to survey by questionnaire and interview methods the breakfast and snack habits of Adventist and non-Adventist adolescents. The purposes of the study were: (I) to find out if there is any difference in the practices of Adventist and non-Adventist teenagers, and (2) to determine their attitudes toward snacking and omission of breakfast.

Results of the questionnaire were coded, punched onto IBM cards, and fed into computing machines for item and statistical analysis. Chi-square test analyses were done on denominational classification against some questions of interest to show any significant differences between Adventist and non-Adventist students' responses. …

An Investigation Of Personality Differences Between Smokers And Nonsmokers And The Reduction Of Dissonance, John B. Wolf Iii

Master's Theses

This thesis wil deal with alternative methods of cognitive dissonance. Primarily, the concern will be with the relationship between personality characteristics and methods of reduction. The question of personality related preferences for dissonance reduction may be studied by comparing individuals with similar personality characteristics.

Meaningfulness And Similarity As Determinants Of Verbal Retention, Walter S. Heins

All Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to ascertain the relationships and interaction between two factors--meaningfulness (m) and similarity (s) as these factors affect the retention and recall of high and low m consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) trigrams.

The Effect Of Continuous – And Partial Reinforcement On The Choice Behavior Of Rats, Philip S. Hall

All Master's Theses

The research presented in this paper is primarily concerned with the difficulties imposed on the Hull-Spence learning theory by the effects of partial reinforcement on response acquisition.

Operantly Conditioning A Boy’S Classroom Behavior, Daniel Lee Mcivor

All Master's Theses

It was hypothesized that (a) if attending and correct responses were followed by approving attention from the staff, then the rates of attending and giving correct responses would significantly increase; (b) if yelling, rocking, and hitting were immediately followed by a command to stop, or by placement in a time-out room, then the rates of those behaviors would significantly decrease; and (c) if the above conditioning procedures were dropped, then the rates of all behaviors under study would return toward their operant levels.

Suggestibility And Its Relationship To Instructional Set In Serial Learning, Richard Walter Giroux

All Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to attempt to determine the influence of two variables, suggestibility and instructional set, upon the individual's performance in a serial learning task. The attempt was made to find whether it is the instructional set that affects the outcome of a serial learning task or whether it is suggestibility that is the primary variable. The approach to this problem was based upon past studies in three different areas of psychological research. These were the areas of set, serial learning, and suggestibility.

The Relative Effect Of Time Of Reinforcement And Pre-Reinforcement Activity On The Learning Of Meaningful Verbal Material, Daisuke Bill Nakashima

All Master's Theses

The present study was designed to compare the relative effects on learning and retention of (1) time of reinforcement, (2) pre-reinforcement activity, and (3) the interaction of the temporal interval and activity. The hoped-for criterion was the retention of six principles.

The Effectiveness Of The Presentation And Removal Of Money As Reward And Punishment In A Paired-Associate-Constant Order Learning Task, John B. Baughman

All Master's Theses

This type of research is believed to be important because of the implications it would seem to have for educational techniques. For example, a program could be instituted at the high school level whereby students would be rewarded with money for maintaining a certain academic standard but punished by the removal of a portion of this money for dropping below that standard. This technique might, in addition to facilitating their learning, act as a motivator in keeping them in school since many students drop out in order to make some money.

The Effect Of Electroconvulsive Shock Following One-Trial Avoidance Learning In The Rat, Richard H. Lovely

All Master's Theses

It is hypothesized that (1) If rats are given electroconvulsive shock, following a footshock to condition an avoidance response, they will display initial retrograde amnesia and that this amnesia will diminish over time as manifested by recovery of the avoidance response; (2) This recovery is not a pure function of time but involves re-exposure to the original learning situation.

Conservatism In A Bayesian Probability Situation As A Function Of The Sex Of The Subject, Paul Frederick Miller

All Master's Theses

The present study was designed to examine whether the conservatism present in a Bayesian probability situation could be partially attributable to the sex of the subjects performing the task. The experimental design required that the subjects estimate the probabilities of occurrence of two independent events. They were then given an opportunity to revise their estimates as additional information was experimentally introduced into the situation. These estimates were compared to estimates calculated from Bayes’ theorem.

The Effect Of Overlearning And The Associative Value Of The Stimuli Upon Reversal Learning, Ralph Daniel Marken

All Master's Theses

In this experiment the relevance of the associative value of the stimuli in an overlearning reversal task will be examined as well as the persistence to respond to the former positive stimulus after reversal. That is, (1) Does the associative value of the stimuli have an effect upon the occurrence of the ORE, and (2) Do human Ss who have received overlearning tend to respond to the former positive stimulus upon reversal for more trials than do subjects receiving no overlearning as has been found for animals?

The Relative Efficiency Of Auditory (Social) Reinforcement Vs. Food Reinforcement With The Squirrel Monkey (Saimiri Sciureus) In An Operant Situation, David R. Mcmurray

All Master's Theses

Research using non-deprivation and sensory or food reinforcement has received little attention to the present time. It is possible that, at least in the laboratory, sensory reinforcement under non- deprived conditions may be a much more economical and efficient reinforcer than food reinforcement under deprived conditions, which is traditionally used.

Delayed Auditory Feedback And Retention Testing Time, Wayne K. Miller

All Master's Theses

There have been many studies exploring variables that contribute to the appearance of the phenomenon, but strikingly few studies attempting to relate DAF to learning. Since sensory feed back is very important to behavior and especially learning, it would seem that the DAF phenomenon could yield some significant information for learning.