Psychology Commons^™

Linguistic Surface Structure In Family Interaction, Thomas D. Macroy

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this dissertation was to determine the usefulness of the linguistic processes of Distortion, Deletion, Generalization, and Semantic Ill-Formedness as constructs which differentiate the verbal communication of families who express dissatisfaction with their current intrafamilial relationships from families expressing satisfaction with their current relationships. Specifically, it was hypothesized that dissatisfied families would use these linguistic structures to a greater extent in their interaction than would satisfied families.

Thirty-one family triads (father, mother, and child) were obtained by asking families randomly selected from the local high school student directory to participate. The families were given a Revealed Differences questionnaire …

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 …

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 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 …

Three Ordered Sets Of Factors And Their Relationship To Act Scores, Thomas J. Russo

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

There has been in recent years a marked decline in college entrance examination test scores. Declines have been documented both on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) and the American College Testing Program (ACT). In turn there has been an increasing interest concerning the test score declines as well as possible sources of influence on test scores. These sources or factors seem to be functions of three main "contexts." These contexts are: (a) school-related factors, (b) student-related factors and (c) family-structure related factors. It was of interest to attempt to explain the relative association of each variable to composite ACT scores …

Transfer Of Stimulus Control By Temporal Fading, David Allan Steele

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The present study was designed to analyze the transfer of stimulus control in temporal fading procedures. Several aspects of temporal fading procedures were manipulated including sources of inhibitory stimulus control, delays of reinforcement, and rates of increase in the temporal parameter of a fading procedure. In Experiment I, previous research producing transfer of stimulus control in a temporal fading procedure was directly replicated and controls were implemented for the operation of inhibition. The results showed that inhibitory stimulus control is not necessary in order to produce a transfer as participants with neutral stimulus backgrounds also transferred from one dimension to …

The Development Of Inventory Items To Measure Response Differences Of Delinquent And Nondelinquent Youths, Lionn Dean Kirk

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study was designed to refine and validate a 160-item self-report instrument which drew its items from personality theories and from clinical practice related to delinquency. The aim was to estimate the usefulness of items descriptive of delinquent behavior by testing their reliability and discriminative power.

There were two objectives. First: to test a set of items for their power to discriminate delinquent from non-delinquent responses which referred to delinquent and nondelinquent behavior. Second, to validate the power of the selected set of items to discriminate delinquent from non-delinquent youths in a second mixed group. Both objectives were realized in …

Teacher Attention As A Controlling Influence Of Student Classroom Behavior, Lagrande E. Smith

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this thesis was to assess the influence of the teachers' classroom behavior on students' classroom behavior. Three hypotheses were made as the teacher systematically increases positive responses and decreases negative responses in the classroom, 1) the total time spent with the misbehaving student will decrease, 2) student non-attentive behavior will decrease and student attentive behavior will increase, and 3) there will be an inverse relationship between teacher negative responses and student attentive behavior.

Student subjects were selected randomly from a previously selected group of misbehaving students; teacher subjects were 12 volunteers from a Junior High School who …

The Development, Durability, And Generalizability Of Sharing In Preschool Children, Edward James Barton

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to investigate three different programs designed to increase verbal and physical sharing and to determine the generalizability and durability of the behaviors that were trained. Eight groups of four preschool children, balanced for sex, were observed for 16 minutes daily during a free play period in their preschool classroom. After eight days of baseline, 24 children received one of three types of training for eight sessions. Eight children were taught to verbally share, eight to physically share, and eight to both verbally and physically share. All of these children received a treatment package composed …

The Effects Of Group Therapy On Values And Behavioral Adjustment Of Chronic Hospitalized Patients, Rahmatola Simnegar

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The present study investigated (a) the effects of group therapy ix on values and behavioral adjustment of hospitalized psychiatric patients, and (b) differential effects of directive versus non-directive group therapy in effecting desired therapy outcomes. Thirty subjects selected from among patients at Wyoming State Hospital were matched on age and sex and then randomly assigned to two experimental groups and one control group. Experimental group I received directive group therapy, experimental group II received non-directive group therapy and the control group participated in recreational activities. Both experimental groups and the control group participated in 12 weekly sessions, which were structured …

The Effects Of Age And Socio-Economic Status On The Diagnosis And Educational Treatment Of Mildly Handicapping Conditions Of School Children, John W. Kelsey

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Biasing effects in labeling and recommendations for educational services when factors of socio-economic status and age are manipulated were studied using 50 certified school psychologists in Utah. Subjects received case report information about IQ, behavior and achievement which described a school child in need of services within one of four conditions, Age 7 Socioeconomic status (SES) High, Age 7 SES Low, Age 13 SES High, and Age 13 SES Low. Other potentially biasing variables such as ethnic background, and sex were held constant. No evidence of bias could be found when dependent measures of labeling, recommendations for educational services, and …

Does The "Draw-A-Male-And-A-Female" Test Show Male-Female Relationship?, Paul Charles Hatch

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The present study investigated the "Draw-A-Male-And-A-Female" test to find if this variation of the "Draw-A-Person" test was a valid measure of male-female relationship variables, i.e., compatibility, happiness, warmth, and interpersonal anxiety and conflict. Two groups varying with respect to relationship (married group vs divorced group) were tested. A high school group was also tested. Three psychologists rated the drawings into a positive or a negative relationship group. If the male and female figures in the drawing had the appearance of warmth or pleasantness between each other, seemed compatible, and looked free from interpersonal anxiety or conflict, the picture was placed …

The Effectiveness Of Training For Empathy In Pre-Service Teacher Education, John Bruce Jessen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The specific objective of this research was to determine the effectiveness of training on understanding empathy in the teacher training process.

Subjects were Utah State University students enrolled in Elementary Education during winter quarter 1976. The experimental group was composed of 34 subjects and the control group of 27 subjects.

Both groups were administered a pretest. The experimental group then received the treatment which consisted of a training program designed to help them to be able to (1) define, (2) recognize instances of, and (3) to emit empathic behavior. At the conclusion of the training program both the experimental and …

The Identification Of Characteristics Of The Hyperactive Child Through Objective Evaluation, Joan Elaine Owen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

For many years adults have been concerned about the hyperactive child, who acts out in a boisterous manner, who is perhaps too physically stimulated and who is often perceived as not meeting adult expectations. It seems important to identify the characteristics of the hyperactive child in an objective and understandable manner so that parents, teachers, medical doctors, and mental health practitioners can determine more adequate prescriptive treatment programs.

The purpose of this study was to adjudge whether children referred for psychoeducational evaluation by pediatricians as hyperactive exhibit behavioral characteristics which, when evaluated by standardized tests, are significantly different from those …

The Use Of The Delphi Technique To Effect Decisions Concerning The College Level Examination Program By Higher Education Representatives, Terry Joseph Orme

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study investigated the use of the Delphi technique in educational decision making.

Utah State institutions of higher education employ the College Level Examination Program (CLEP) to award credit in lieu of course work. However, since no uniform policies existed among them, 145 persons were selected on a representative basis to recommend a norming group to use for performance comparisons, the standard by which to judge CLEP performance, and the levels for maximum and minimum credit.

The Delphi technique, which employs a round-by-round questionnaire with feedback procedure, was used for six rounds to obtain sufficient consensus on the three aforementioned …

Probability Learning In Prey Selection With A Great Horned Owl And A Red-Tailed Hawk, Deborah L. Mueller

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to examine the hunting strategies of birds of prey in a probability learning situation. One great horned owl and one red-tailed hawk served as subjects. Three boxes and associated perches, each representing different potential prey areas, were placed in a room adjacent to the birds' regular housing and served as test apparatus. One box were required to land on a perch in order to gain access to the associated box and to the potential prey. A discrete-trial, self-correction procedure was used. In Experiment I, Box 1 was loaded with a live laboratory mouse on …