Psychology Commons^™

Differential Hawthorne Effect By Cueing, Sex, And Relevance, Richard Carl Harris

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study attempted to create experimentally the Hawthorne effect in a freshman general psychology class at Utah State University during tall quarter of 1967. It also attempted to discover the differential effect of cueing, sex, and relevance on the experimental creation of the Hawthorne effect as measured by six general psychology criterion tests.

The design of this study included a control group and three experimental groups.

The following five hypotheses were postulated:

1. The experimental groups will show greater influence from the Hawthorne effect than the control group.

2. Within the three experimental groups there will be an increasing Hawthorne effect with …

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The Relationship Between Grade Point Averages Of The Henmon-Nelson Test Of Mental Ability And The American College Test, Eda Alene Hansen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Grading within a single school was studied by comparing the grades with the policy of grading recommended by the high school, and the relationship between the grades and two tests administered by the school.

Six hundred fifty-five graduates from the 1964, 1965 and 1966 graduating classes made up the sample. The grades used were those received during their three years in high school. The tests were the Henmon-Nelson Test of Mental Ability administered in the tenth grade and the American College Test which was taken in the twelfth grade. The Pearson r Correlation Coefficient was used to make the correlations. …

A Follow-Up Study Of Mound Fort Junior High's Ninth Grade Class Of 1962-63, Helen Heaps

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The intent of this study was to follow up the students of Mound Fort Junior High School's ninth grade class of 1962-63 in order to secure information and facts about members of that class and to answer the following questions: (1) What has happened to the students educationally? (2) What has happened to the students vocationally? (3) How many students have served or are presently serving the armed forces? (4) What is the marital status of each student? (5) How did the high school graduate compare with the dropout in test scores, grade point average, attendance, awareness of counseling services, …

A Study Of Life Crisis Magnitude Of Psychiatric Patients And A Non-Therapy Group, Helen B. Morris

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A group of hospitalized psychiatric patients and a randomly selected non-therapy group responded to the Schedule of Recent Experiences questionniare. In order to determine the magnitude of life change events for the two groups, Life Change Unit totals were derived for the years 1966 and 1967.

To test the hypothesis that patients in psychiatric treatment have experienced a quantitatively significant greater amount of life change than a group of non-therapy subjects, an analysis of variance was used to determine whether there were significant differences between the scores for the two groups.

For the year 1966, no significant difference was found …

The Relationship Of The Wechsler Preschool And Primary Scale Of Intelligence (Wppsi) To The Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale, Duane Reeder

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Correlational comparisons were made between the Stanford-Binet, Form L-M, and the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence using children enrolled in a Head-Start program. The study was concerned with three hypotheses:

1.The correlations found between the I.Q. scores obtained on the WPPSI full scale, verbal, and performance scales and those obtained on the Stanford-Binet using Head-Start children as subjects would be significant at the .01 level.

2. The correlation between the WPPSI and the Stanford-Binet utilizing Head-Start children would not be significantly different from the correlation reported by Wechsler in the WPPSI manual.

3. Scores on the WPPSI verbal …

A Comparison Of Mednick's Remote Associates Test And Pettigrew's Category-Width Test, John W. Sesney

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The present study was designed to examine the relationship between Mednick's Remote Associates Test and Pettigrew's Category-Width Test. The sample was made up of 36 educational psychology students enrolled in the Utah State Summer School.

The correlation for males and females was made independently. Although the males showed a higher correlation between the two tests than did the females (males, .296 and females, .058), the correlations were not statistically significant.

No full explanation was given for the lack of correlation between the category-width scores and the RAT scores except for the qualification that the RAT may be measuring a different …

The Effects Of A Programed Text Of Contingency Management Procedures On The Ability Of Teachers To Write Behavioral Prescriptions, Lanny E. Morreau

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

An informational source where teachers and teacher-candidates could gain a functional knowledge of contingency management techniques had not been developed. A programed text was written to provide this source. Five teachers and teacher-candidates were exposed to the text for a period of three days. As a result of this exposure, learning gains, significant at the 0.01 level, were found in the students' abilities (a) to write behavioral prescriptions and (b) to write the principles of contingency management when presented with open-ended questions pertaining to these principles.

The Open-Closed Cognitive Dimension And Divergent-Convergent Abilities, Michael J. Uhes

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The relationship between level of dogmatism and divergent-convergent abilities was investigated in a sample of high school subjects.

Rokeach's Dogmatism Scale, Form E, and tests of divergent and convergent ability were administered to all subjects. On the basis of their performance on the Dogmatism Scale, three experimental groups were formed: high, medium, and low dogmatics.

An analysis of the data showed dogmatism to be negatively correlated with originality, flexibility, composite divergent and composite convergent scores. Fluency was the only ability not negatively correlated with dogmatism. High dogmatic subjects performed convergent operations better than they performed divergent operations, while low dogmatic …

Personality Differences And Atypical Vocational Choices By Women, Vicky D. Burgess

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to examine and compare some of the personality characteristics of junior high school students as they related to the students' later vocational choices. More specifically selected personality characteristics observed in girls who later made typical or atypical vocational selection were compared. Both typical and atypical girls were also compared to boys on these selected personality characteristics.

Tests used in this study to measure cognitive need and flexibility were Anderson Self-Reporting Need Achievement Questionnaire, Berlak School Work Habit Questionnaire and Resnick Self-Reporting Need Cognition Questionnaire. Tests used to measure social attitudes and ideology were "Have"--"Have …

Variations On Piaget's Pre-Number Development Tests Used As Learning Experiences, Hyrum E. Richards

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The effects of learning upon the rate of conservation attainment and its transference to other areas of performance were studied using 17 mentally retarded subjects.

Subjects found to be non-conservers on pretests were taught conservation and correspondence using a variety of tasks modeled from Piaget's experiments. They were also pretested on the WISC Information and Picture Arrangement Sub-tests and a number concept test. Following the learning experiences, the subjects were posttested using the same measures used for pretesting with the exception of the number test where an alternate form was used.

Significant correlations were found between the conservation pretest scores …

Remedial Reading: Evaluation Of A Reading-And-Study Course With Implications For A College Reading Center, Antoine T. Powell

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The main purpose of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the method of teaching a "How to Study" class in helping students more adequately meet their reading needs.

Research was conducted to test the reading gains made by students in the program with respect to ability and group size. The results indicate that group size had the greatest effect as to changes in reading behavior.

Instruction was based on diagnosing student needs. It was shown that a significant number of students who decreased in rate of reading, increased in comprehension. The same diagnostic principle was observed for those …

The Use Of Mental Imagery Among Young Children In The Acquisition Of Piaget's Principles Of Conservation, Richard C. Sweetland

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study attempted to discover some parameters in terms of mental age at which young children, ages five through eight, begin to utilize effectively their mental imagery in the learning process. Using Piaget's principles of conservation as a learning task, subjects were taught in one of two groups: Group one was instructed in conservation concepts by use of concrete example, in which case they were allowed to see, handle and manipulate materials as they underwent transformations. Group two received identical instruction but were called upon to use their mental imagery to visualize the materials undergoing transformations.

Based upon the administration …

Child's Perception Of Parental Attitude And Its Relationship To Academic Achievement And Problem Awareness, Mohammed K. Fazel

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study was aimed at finding relationships between the triad of academic achievement, child's perception of parental attitude, and his problem awareness. The study was designed with reference to three postulates of phenomenological psychology. (a) The perceptual field of an individual at any moment determines his behavior of the moment. (b) The term phenomenal self is formed by the individual's interaction with others. (c) The basic need of the organism is the maintenance and actualization of the self.

A survey of the literature tended to support the thesis that there was a positive relationship between educational achievement and parental acceptance. …

The Relationship Of Occupational Choice To Ego Identity And Self-Concepts, Norman D. Bell

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study attempted to investigate the relationship of occupational choice to ego identity achievement, to self-concept, and to academic achievement, as these are related to Eric Erikson's contention that is adolescents' inability to settle on an occupational choice which disturbs them and results in a sense of identity diffusion (lack of solidified ideas of self, goals for life, and a need to seek external supports).

The sample consisted of 320 senior high school boys in the tenth, eleventh, and twelfth grades.

Variables considered included: level of vocational commitment; ego identity; self-regard, i.e., self-concept, self-acceptance, ideal self and adjustment (sum of …

The Validity And Use Of Wechsler Pre-School And Primary Scale Of Intelligence In Predicting School Achievement, Sam Campanella

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the Wechsler Pre-School and Primary Scale of Intelligence for use in predicting school achievement. The Wechsler Pre-School and Primary Scale of Intelligence was administered to 22 children enrolled in the Operation Head Start Program in Logan, Utah. The Wide Range Achievement Test was administered five months later to the same 22 children. The scores on the Wechsler Pre-School and Primary Scale of Intelligence were correlated to the scores on the Wide Range Achievement Test.

On the basis of the .53 correlation between the Wechsler Pre-School and Primary Scale of Intelligence Full …

A Study Of The Self-Concept Attitudes Of Incarcerated And Nonincarcerated Male Adolescents, Joseph Petty

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Three general comparisons were made in the present study: (1) Four groups of subjects were compared with one-another on the four Bills' Index of Adjustment and Values variables. The variables included: (a) Self-concept (perception of self), (b) self-acceptance (feelings about perception of self), (c) ideal-self (aspired self), and (d) the discrepancy score between self-concept and ideal-self. The four main groups consisted of: (a) Nonincarcerated nondelinquents (adolescents, in public school, without a police record), (b) nonincarcerated delinquents (with police record), (c) incarcerated adolescents attending the institutional academic school, (d) incarcerated adolescents not attending the institutional academic school. (2) The two incarcerated …

A Method For Quantifying The Effects Of Apomorphine Upon The Gnawing Syndrome Of The Rat, Paul Robinson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Various methods were tried in an attempt to obtain a technique for quantifying the gnawing effects of apomorphine on rats. A technique using a restraining tube was developed.

Under a 2 milligram per kilogram intraperitoneal injection of apomorphine, four female Long Evans hooded rats were placed on continuous and fixed reinforcement schedules using a gnawable pine block. Subjects would learn to turn their heads away from the gnawable object in order to obtain 15 seconds of gnawing time. The rate of response increased from less than one response in 5 minutes to over 3 responses per minute in 10 one-half …

The Effects Of Response Set On The Structured-Objective Rorschach Test, Richard Y. Moody

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The normal forced-choice Structured-Objective Rorschach Test (SORT) and a modified free-choice SORT were administered to sixty high school students to determine the effects of response set (e.g. social desirability). The results were inconclusive. The following trends, however, were observed: (1) The free-choice modification was more resistant to response set distortion than the normal forced-choice SORT. (2) The free-choice administration showed greater flexibility in enhancement and resistance to social desirability. (3) There was little sex difference in factor scores with respect to choice administration. Females, however, gave more responses than males on the free-choice SORT.

Internal Versus External Control Of Reinforcement As A Variant Of Concern For The Teacher And Counselor, Neldon Devere Kingston

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Rotter's (1954, 1960, 1964) social learning theory suggests that a reinforcement acts to strengthen an expectancy. These expectancies may differ from situation to situation; however, it is postulated (Rotter, 1960) that they bear a direct relationship to the potential occurrence of a behavior. Furthermore,

"...it is presumed that the relationship between goal preference (reinforcement value) and behavior can be determined only by introducing the concept of the individual's expectancy, on the basis of past history, that the given behavior will actually lead to a satisfying outcome rather than to punishment, failure, or, more generally, to negative reinforcement." (Rotter, 1960, p. …

Relationship Between Self-Concept Discrepancies And The Expression Of Need Achievement In Children, Ian Griggs

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The present study was designed to test the hypothesis that a significant relationship exists between self-concept discrepancies and expressed need for achievement.

A self-concept discrepancy score was obtained and a low and high discrepancy group was isolated.

Expressed need for achievement was measured by the use of the Thematic Apperception Test and scored according to the Atkinson method.

Mean comparisons of need achievement scores of subjects whose discrepancies between actual and ideal self-concept were in the upper or lower one-third of the distribution were found not to be significant at the 5 percent level of confidence.

Control Of Behavior Through Reinforcement Menus, Gary Lyndle Holt

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Reinforcement menus were used to change response probabilities while maintaining control over two ''trainable," female, mentally retarded children.

An empirically determined reinforcement menu representing high probability behaviors, five for S₁ and four for S₂, was used in a contingency management system. Instructions were given concerning the contingencies for obtaining reinforcement. Subjects were allowed the opportunity to engage in a high probability behavior only after successful completion of fixed units of reading or arithmetic tasks. After stable performance was established, four additional menus were prepared to approximate in increasing degree, low probability behavior. Measurements were taken of task …

Variation In The Order Of Presentation Of Cues As One Variable In Concept Organization, John E. Genasci

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In the experiment, with forty-eight students as subjects, a series of nonsense syllables (DAX, MEF, TOV, VIC, YOP, ZIP, and ZIL) were to be associated with four geometric figures. The task was so arranged that Zip applied to all figures, Dax and Vic to subsets of two figures each, and the remaining were individual labels. In each of three experiments there was an experimental group that received pre-response cueing by means of an analogy which involved hierarchic concepts in the same general form, i. e ., animal, wild, tame, and individual names.

The results suggest that the order and timing …

A Comparison Of Intellectually Normal Children, Mentally Retarded Adolescents, And Mentally Retarded Adults On A Three Dimensional Concept Formation Sorting Task, James C. Kamprud

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purposes of this study were: (1) to compare nine groups of subjects composed of intellectually normal children, mentally retarded adolescents, and mentally retarded adults on a three dimensional concept formation task; (2) to determine the effects of discrimination training on the sortings of the nine groups on the experimental task.

The 207 subjects of this study were divided into nine groups. Seven of the groups, consisting of high average and low average grade 3, superior high average, and low average grade 6, and high and low adolescent retardates were chosen on the bases of school grade level (3, 6, …

A Study Of The Relationship Between Anxiety, Manifest Needs, And Creativity In Upward Bound Students, Neal A. Davidson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Previous investigators have indicated that low socio-economic students have difficulty experiencing success on tests heavily loaded with verbal material. Differences in personality characteristics between students of high and low creativity have also been found. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the influence of manifest needs and anxiety on creative thinking.

The Taylor Manifest Anxiety Scale, which determines anxiety level, the Edwards Personal Preference Schedule, which measures manifest needs, and the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking, which provides an index of creativity were administered to Spanish-American, Anglo-American, Negro, and Navaho high school students, who constituted the 1967 Upward …

A Comparison Of Two Non-Verbal Intelligence Tests As Predictors Of Academic Success Of Navajo Students, Stanford S. Larson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study was a search for a valid and reliable tool for the measurement and appraisal of the Navajo student at Intermountain School whose cultural and bilingual background make many highly verbal tests untrustworthy. The two tests chosen for the study were the Chicago Non-verbal Examination and the Cattell Institute for Personality and Ability Testing Culture Free Test. It was assumed that these tests would call attention to students who had good intellectual ability but were below standard in reading and verbal development and had been overlooked because of their lack of verbal fluency.

The two tests were administered to …

An Experiment To Determine If Teacher Preparation In A Small High School Can Be Reduced By Alternating Class Scheduling, John Carl Tuft

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to determine if by alternating certain classes biennially the number of different teaching preparations could be reduced thus decreasing the teachers' load. The study also attempted to ascertain the effect this type of scheduling had upon the attitudes of teachers and students toward these classes. A further attempt was made to determine if mixing students from two grade levels resulted in the younger student being penalized with respect to his cumulative grade point average.

The significant conclusions that can be drawn from the results follow:

Teachers, generally, thought well of the project and desires …

Guarded And Unguarded Responses To Sentence Completion Tests Among Normal Adolescents And Juvenile Delinquents, Mohammed K. Fazel

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study was designed to test the responses of a group of juvenile delinquests and a group of normal adolescents to a sentence completion test. The test used was a modified form of Sack's Sentence Completion test in two forms--form A, first person stems and form B, third person stems. The hypothesis to be tested were (1) people project more in the third person, (2) the normal projects more, and (3) there would be no difference in projection on neutral items. The results bear out the three hypothesis. The sex scale, however, was an exception. This may be due to …

The Relationship Of Delinquent Types In An Industrial School Setting To Personality-Motivation Profiles, Lester A. Carlson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The author serves as Director of Education of the Utah State Industrial School, a school charged with the responsibility for the custody and treatment of delinquents committed to its care from the juvenile courts of the state. For many years he has been concerned about the personality structure of the children committed to the care of the Industrial School. He became particularly interested in the possibility that there is a definable relationship between types of delinquent acts and personality-motivation profiles. Further motivation was given to this interest when he received an answer to some correspondence from a colleague of Dr. …

A Study Of The Function Of Visual Imagery, Type Of Mediator, And Associative Frequency In Induced Mediation Paradigms, Ted Christiansen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Bugelski and Sharlock (1952) credit McGeoch with saying that although the concept of mediation was an old one, it had generated more discussion than experimentation. Bugelski and Sharlock in commenting on McGeoch's statements had this to say, "The concept of mediation is of great potential value for the psychological analysis of learning, thinking, and insight." (Bugelski and Sharlock, 1952, p. 334) The views of Bugelski and Sharlock represent the current thinking in verbal learning circles relevant to the importance of mediation in symbolic forms of behavior. The experimental emphasis, at the present time, is upon the conditions underlying the process. …

Suggestibility Of Placebo Reactors And Non-Reactors In The Autokinetic Situation, Lee Glenn Mason

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The phenomenon of not relying solely up on one's own judgment and of distorting one's perception toward a perceived social norm has been observed to take place with a rather large percentage of subjects participating in a number of research projects. Both Asch and Sherif have done extensive work showing this distortion of perception when an individual is placed in a group setting and finds himself in a contradictory position between his own perception and that of the other group members.