Psychology Commons^™

Community-Based Programming For Emotional Disturbance In Children, Anna Borders

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Based upon local needs assessment data, review of the literature, and a survey of professionals in the field of children's services, a design for the development of a community- based diagnostic and treatment network for services to emotionally disturbed children was formulated. Addressing the needs of a seven-county area in Southern Kentucky, the program plan defines the processes and procedures for the implementation of regional diagnostic, educational support, and technical assistance services as the initial step toward the establishment of a regional day treatment and residential center providing the full spectrum of special services to the emotionally disturbed youth of …

Ua35/11 Student Honors Research Bulletin, Wku Honors Program

WKU Administration Documents

The WKU Student Honors Research Bulletin is dedicated to scholarly involvement and student research. These papers are representative of work done by students from throughout the university.

• Condis, Rebecca. Reconstituted Families: Counseling Concepts and Application
• Miller, Brad. Does Congress Effectively Regulate the Ethics of its Members?
• Grizzle, Dennis. Electron Microscopy of Polytrichum Moss Spores
• Collins, Lynell. Transformational Effects on Cytoskeleton and Cell-Surface Antigens
• Hamilton, Joy. A Summary of Flaws in Thomas Hardy's Far From the Madding Crowd
• Martin, Lanna. Sadie F. Price: Artist, Botanist, Author and Naturalist
• Wood, Irene. The Imagery of Smoke, Fire and Ash: A Study of the …

Relationships Among Intelligence, Piagetian Developmental, & Achievement Assessments In A Sample Of Disadvantaged Preschool Children, Mary Hill

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Much research has been conducted on the relationships among psychometric intelligence as measured by standard IQ tests, level of cognitive maturity as defined by Piaget, and school achievement. These types of assessment have been described as measuring separate but highly correlated aspects of cognitive functioning. Little research, however, has been reported concerning the interrelationships of these three types of measures for disadvantaged children, The Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence (WPPSI), a Piagetian Battery (PB), and three subtests of the Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT) were administered to 20 four year old children enrolled at a Parent-Child Center in …

A Study Of The Validity Of Undergraduate Grade Point Average And Graduate Record Examination Scores As Predictors Of Success In The Selection Of Masters Level Graduate Students In Psychology, Margaret Tandy O'Connor

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The purpose of this study was to assess the validity of the undergraduate grade point average (UGPA), the grade point average during the last two years of undergraduate work (LTYR), the Graduate Record Examination Verbal plus Graduate Record Examination Quantitative scores (GREM), the Graduate Record Examination Analytical Test score (GREAN) and the Graduate Record Examination Advanced Psychology Test score (GREAD) as predictors of graduate grade point averages (GGPA) in the Master of Arts degree program in Psychology at Western Kentucky University. The validity of the Graduate Record Examination Quantitative score (GREQ) as a predictor of grades received in the two …

Yet Another Look At Depth Of Processing, Marilyn Graves

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

A review of the depth of processing literature revealed that the major criticism of the approach was that no independent measure of depth of processing had teen used. The present study was designed to compare the effects of three standard depth of processing tasks to a free -association baseline --the baseline constitutes an independent measure of depth of processing. Structural, phonemic, and semantic tasks were manipulated in the study and subjects were given cues or prompters as an aid in recall. Cues were taken from a list of target words used by Bahrick (1969). Bahrick's norms constituted a free -association …

The Investigation Of An Imagery Technique As A Screening Device For Reading Difficulties, Joseph Saxe

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

A form for assessing imagery ability based on behavioral criteria in response to an imaginary ball toss was developed and its utility as a screening device for reading difficulties was evaluated. The Imagery Assessment Form was administered to 167 kindergarten, second, fourth and sixth grade children. Grade and sex differences were compared and the imagery scores were correlated with standardized reading achievement scores. Significant mean score differences were found between kindergarteners and second graders only. Significant sex differences in imagery were observed across all grade groups. There was no sex by grade interaction. Positive significant correlations between imagery and reading …

Communication Apprehension As A Predictor Of Proxemic Establishment, Self-Esteem, & Dogmatism, Joseph Cardot Iii

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Based upon limited findings dealing with nonverbal behavior and personality traits as they relate to communication apprehension, the purpose of this study was to examine the relationship of communication apprehension with proxemic establishment, self-esteem, and dogmatism. The study analyzed these variables utilizing subjects who were statistically either high or low communication apprehensives. Interesting results were attained. An inverse relationship between apprehension and proxemic establishment was revealed, such that dyads containing low-low members established greater interpersonal distance than dyads containing high-low members who established greater interpersonal distance than dyads containing high-high members. Communication apprehension overrode the sex variable with relation to …

The Effect Of Intelligence Test Feedback Upon Self-Concept As Measured By The Epps, Gregory Heeter

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Previous research on the nature of the self-concept generally suggests that this particular construct is broad, stable, and not easily altered. Yet, current practice regarding the feedback of information concerning one's intelligence quotient remains restrictive and unresponsive to this evidence. Individuals are protected from the knowledge of their test results ostensibly to prevent harmful effects upon their self-images. The present study focused on the impact of learning one's assessed intelligence quotient upon needs taken from a measure of self-report. It was predicted that subjects who had received feedback accurately specifying their intelligence quotients and who had reported discrepancies between this …

Characteristics Of Mentor Relationships In Male And Female University Professors, Charlotte B. Miller

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Graduate school socialization and mentoring are based on adult development theory as articulated by Jung, Erickson, and Levinson. As adults mature, they go through several stages of detaching from family and learning how to live in the world. During this period (which encompasses undergraduate and graduate education), special relationships are often formed to help ease the transition to adulthood by providing advice and mentoring.

A mentor is a person who helps guide another person into a profession and contributes to his or her professional development. The mentor may serve as a professional role model and teacher, providing encouragement, direction, information, …

Affective Responsivity To Varying Modes Of Police Dress, William Taylor

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

During the social turmoil of the 1960's, the expression of anti-establishment attitudes and the consequent rebellion against authority brought law enforcement agencies across the United States into frequent and often violent confrontation with citizens. Responding to what was perceived as a negative image of police, law enforcement agencies began to change their traditional uniform to a "soft-look" civiliantype blazer uniform. The movement to change the uniform was based on the assumption--which had not been empirically examined--that the traditional uniform with its official insignia and other accouterments overwhelmed citizens and engendered a wide range of negative reactions and that removal of …

Ua35/11 Student Honors Bulletin, Wku Honors Program

WKU Administration Documents

Student research papers chosen by each college as best of the academic year.

• Bolte, William. Use of Government Documents in Small and Medium-Sized Libraries and Future Utilization Prospects
• Brevit, Valery. Development of the Concepts of Infinity
• Cook, Ken. KIM-1 Calculator Interface
• Irwin, Tom. Status Preservation in Three Characteristic Radical Right Groups
• Logan, Ben. Jungian Psychoanalysis of the Petrarchan Lover
• Moore, James Jr. Communication Problems and the Families of Schizophrenics
• Nash, Jeffrey. St. Luke as Historian
• Porto, Eugenia. In Defense of Camus
• Roberson, Philip. The Religious Thought of Rabindranath Tagore
• Wood, Irene. The Them of Incest in Dickens' Hard Times

Adult Sex-Role Self-Concept As A Function Of Age & Marital Status, Linda Rogers

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Literature on adult sex-roles and androgyny, the stages of adult personality development, and the effect of marital status on personality and sex-roles was reviewed. Since no research had been reported previously using the Bern Sex Role Inventory to measure differences in adult sex-roles related to age and life-situation, the present study was undertaken. The Bern Sex Role Inventory was administered to 69 men and 137 women who were enrolled in upper level education and psychology courses at Western Kentucky University. The subjects were classified into three age groups and two life-situations related to marital status. The results provided no support …

An Examination Of Scholarly Perspective, Religiosity And Factors Which Lead To Religious Change, Paul Fehrmann

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

As a replication and expansion of work done by Alsdurf (1977), the relations between religiosity, commitment to scholarly openness and reasons for religious change were examined through a survey of 146 students attending a South-central university. A discussion of logical and empirical studies was presented to help clarify the theses under examination, and it was maintained that this study was primarily concerned with empirical relationships. A negative correlation was obtained between scholarly openness and religiosity for the total population studied, but the correlation was weak. In contrast to expectations, a significant negative correlation between scholarly openness and religiosity was not …

An Exploration Of Change In Teacher Concerns Over Time, Sharla E. Hutchinson

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The purpose of this study was to reconsider the five factor structure of the Teach Concern Checklist (TCC) currently being utilized by the teacher Preparation Evaluation Program (TPEP) at Western Kentucky University. The problem was to replicate the three factor solution of the TCC proposed by George (1978) and to further explore the progression of teacher concerns with experience to lend support to the self-task-impact concern theory proposed by Fuller (1969)

Two hundred and sixty-five pre-service and in-service teacher participating in TPRP completed the TCC. These teachers represented the different experience levels of student. First, third and fifth year of …

The Traditional Sex-Stereotype Of A Job As A Moderator Variable For The Directionality Of Sex Biases In Performance Evaluation, Bernard Bena

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Accurate and objective performance appraisals are absolutely necessary due to their utility in important personnel decisions such as promotion, demotion and training. This study examines the contaminating effects of sex bias on performance evaluations and it's relationship to the sex-stereotype of the job and levels of performance. Unlike previous studies, this study not only examines these effects at the extremes of performance, but at average levels as well. Also, unlike previous studies, the subjects empirically determined the sex-typed nature of the jobs and the levels of performance within those jobs rather than the experimenter having made a priori decisions. Hypothetical …

Characteristics Of Parents Involved In A Parent Child Center-Head Start Program, Rebecca Selove

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

An exploratory study was conducted to provide information for the coordinators of the Parent Child Center and Head Start (PCC-HS) Program in Leitchfield, Kentucky. Staff concern for parent involvement led to a search for parent characteristics which correlate with amount of participation in program activities. Sixty-five families, which included 65 mothers, 47 fathers, and 121 children, constituted the study sample. Data were obtained from records maintained by the PCC-HS staff. Variables included number of hours volunteered, age and level of education of each parent, estimated family income, family size, mother's enrollment in PCC when pregnant, number of children in the …

Predictors Of Course Grade In Undergraduate Psychology Courses, Susan Edwards

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Research has shown that some students benefit more from certain instructional modes than do others (Harper, 1973; Allen, Giat, and Cherney, 1974; Doty, 1967). A personalized system of instruction and the traditional lecture-discussion format were used as alternate modes of instruction in the present study. This study used locus of control and mode of instruction, along with mental ability, to increase predictability of course performance. Predictability was not increased by these variables. Results of a regression analysis showed that only a total of 11.6% of the variance in final course grades could be accounted for by the predictor variables (i.e. …

The Operational Effectiveness Of The Behavioral Expectations Scale & The Mixed Standard Scale: A Comparative Evaluation, Deborah Boniske

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Performance evaluations were obtained on firefighters in a large Midwestern City. The evaluations were conducted through utilization of two different scale types (The Behavioral Expectation Scale and The Mixed Standard Scale). These evaluations were obtained in order to test the hypotheses that the MSS was psychometrically superior to the BES in the reduction of halo and leniency error and that the MSS was also the better scale type in terms of producing higher interrater reliability. Leniency error (in both the absolute and comparative sense) was examined by conducting a series of T-tests. Halo error was investigated by a comparison of …

Pupil Social-Stylistic Variability & The Teacher Perception Of Student Role Performance, Gail Stevens

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This study investigated tne effects of students' intelligence, locus of control, and creativity on teachers' perceptions of students. Sixty-three fourth graders and two teacners from a local school participated. :he Verbal Scale of the WISC-R, the Circles Test from the Torrance Tests of Creative fhinking, and the Nowicki-Strickland I-E Locus of Control Scale ior Children were administered to the subjects. The teachers were requested to complete the Teacher Perception of Student Role Performance Scale (TPSRP) on each child. This instrument yielded scores on three factors of student role-- Competence, Sociability, and Social Conformity. rultiple regressions were performed to determine the …

The Effect Of Self-Knowledge Of Iq Score On Academic Self-Concept In College Students, Brian Piispanen

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This study was conducted to examine the effects of self-knowledge of IQ on the academic self-concept of college students. More specifically, the effects of confirmation or disconfirmation of one's expectation of IQ score were investigated. After predicting what their IQ scores would be, 93 undergraduates from Introduction to Psychology classes at Western Kentucky University were administered the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale (Form L-M). After the subjects were told their obtained IQ scores, they were given the Academic Choices Questionnaire (ACQ), an instrument specifically created for this study to measure academic self-concept. The experimental group was divided into four groups: 1) those …

Head Start Four And Five Year Old Children’S Attitudes Toward School As They Are Related To Achievement, Eugene Smith

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The purpose of this study was to determine if there existed significant relationships between 4 and 5 year old children’s attitude toward school, their classroom teacher’s perception of their attitude toward school, length of time in school, sex, or a composite of these with their achievement on the Pre-School Attainment Record. A random sample of 55 Head Start children completed three instruments. The instruments used in this study were a revised Children’s Attitude Toward School Scale (CATSS-R), (Beere, 1970) The Pre-School Attainment Record (PAR), (Doll, 1966) and the Teachers Rating of Attitude of Children Toward School (TRACTS). The results of …

The Effect Of Leadership Predictions On Actual Leadership Emergence In Small Task Groups, Robert Anderson Jr.

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Research has shown that prior expectations of on individual's performance can have a significant effect on others behavior and attitudes toward that individual. This phenomenon was tested on the emergent leadership process with zero history groups. Male students in various social fraternities at a regional university were given a leadership test designed to measure their leadership abilities. The leadership tests were never scored, but the subjects were told that they were, and, one of the group members was reported as scoring exceptionally nigh. The group was then given one of two tasks to perform, and the emergent leadership process was …

A Reexamination Of The Additivity Issue Of Extrinsic & Intrinsic Motivation, David Fransway

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The effects of extrinsic rewards upon an individual's intrinsic motivation were examine'.; in this paper. Initially, four tasks (computer, geometric, letter erasure, and verbal) which have been used in past studies were evaluated for their degree of intrinsic motivation. The two tasks with the highest level of intrinsic motivation (computer and verbal) as identified by significant differences on attitudinal measures of task satisfaction and competency were selected for the second experiment. Manipulation of the extrinsic rewards (contingent, noncontingent, and no-reward) provided a test of the additivity notion of extrinsic and intrinsic motivation. Results indicated by analysis of attitudinal measures that …

Drinking Among College Students & Personality Factors Related To Alcoholism, James Mills

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The relationship between the drinking patterns of college students and personality factors, which have previously been shown to different:late between alcoholic and non-alcoholic populations, was examined in this study. Subjects were categorized into six groups based on self-reports of the frequency and amount of alcohol consumption. The MacAndrew Alcoholism Scale and the 16PF personality test were administered to all subjects. Pearson Product-moment correlations were calculated to assess the relationship between levels of drinking and personality factors demonstrated by the subject population. It was found that the MacAndrew Alcoholism Scale score was significantly correlated with drinking level among young adults. This …

The Influence Of A Diverse Relaxation Training Program Upon A Measure Of Anxiety, Julie A. Joseph

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Fourteen subjects from among the student and staff population complaining of anxiety, volunteered to participate in a relaxation training program. The subjects were referred by the University Counseling Center, the Office of Undergraduate Advisement, or responded to an article and advertisement published in the school newspaper. Assignment to control or experimental groups was based on date of response and availability for participation. The experimental group, which consisted of eight subjects, received training in deep muscle relaxation, electromyography, skin temperature, and concomitant biofeedback, and systematic desensitization over a three week period. The controls received no relaxation training. Both groups were administered …

Stereotype Bias In Selection: A Process Approach, Donald V. Currie

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This investigation was to determine if an applicant’s sex and the job’s sex orientation stereotypes affected the evaluation of applicant information and subsequent selection decision outcomes. Interviewers (N=48) were asked to rate the employment suitability of 49 hypothetical applicants. The results indicated that an interaction of the applicant’s sex and job’s sex orientation had marginal affect on the importance weightings in two of the four applicant attribute factors, motivation/ability and personality/appearance. Applicants with equivalent qualifications did not receive comparable employment suitability ratings, Unfair job discrimination was demonstrated by these data. It was concluded that the applicant’s sex and the job’s …

The Relationship Between The Motive To Avoid Success & Sex-Role Identification, James Moore Jr.

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

A review of the current literature on the motive to avoid success (Horner, 1972) reveals that no research has focused on now the motive to avoid success relates to masculinity and femininity when they are conceptualized in other than a bipolar dimension. me present study was designed to ascertain the extent to which the motive to avoid success relates to sex-role identifications. The hypotheses that a nigh motive to avoid success would occur with feminine sex -role identification and that masculine or androgynous sex -roles would be related to low or absent motive to avoid success scores were not supported. …

Psychological Androgyny & Gender Attribution To Hypothetical Persons, Deanna Mader

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Previous research concerning sex-role stereotyping, psychological androgyny, and mental health as it relates both to sex-role stereotyping and androgyny was reviewed. The literature indicated the need for a reevaluation of mental health standards with regard to sex-role stereotypes. The present study attempted to approach this need by examining the relationship between psychological androgyny and attitudes toward sex-role stereotyping. It was hypothesized that androgynous individuals would be more likely than other individuals to state that a hypothetical person possessing a specific set of traits could be either male or female. IL was anticipated that this would be true regardless of the …

Comparison Of The Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test And The Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale In School Age Children, Stephen Skiles

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The correlate relationships and directionality and magnitude of mean differences between MAs and IQs of the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test and Revised Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale (both 1960 and 1972 norms) were investigated in a sample of 225 school age children. It was found that MAs of two instruments were more highly correlated than the IQs. For the total sample, no significant differences were found between mean MAs of the two instruments. The correlation between PPVT and the 1960 Revised Stanford-Binet IQs and the correlation between PPVT and 1972 Revised Stanford-Binet IQs were found to be identical. The PPVT was found …

Authoritarianism & Preference For Directive Or Non-Directive Therapy, Philip Henry

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The California F Scale differentiated groups of low-, moderate-, and high-authoritarian undergraduate students who participated in a study of subject preference for either a directive or non-directive therapy. The subjects read specially prepared descriptions (directive) and Client-centered were asked their preference for of Rational Emotive Therapy Therapy (non-directive) and a therapy. their perceptions on and consideration for therapist behavior human motivation. therapy. A factor They also gave 14 dimensions of and style and therapy assumptions about All three groups chose client-centered analysis of the 14 perception scores yielded two factors: a hale "good-guy"-similarity - competent factor and a directive-evaluative factor. …