Psychology Commons^™

Here Today, Gone Tomorrow: Understanding Freshman Attrition Using Person-Environment Fit Theory, Jennifer Howard Brockway

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Woman Abuse: Psychologists' Attributions, Expectations, And Treatment Recommendations, Mary L. Wandrei

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Early Heterosexual Risk Among Urban African American Preadolescents: A Developmental Perspective, Gregory Louis Greenwood

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Effects Of An Information/Counseling Session And Partner Participation In Treadmill Testing On Sexual Functioning Following Myocardial Infarction, Betty J. Fisher

Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to assess the effects of an intervention designed to reduce patient and partner anxiety regarding the resumption of sexual activities following myocardial infarction (MI). A multiple baseline across subjects design was employed.

Participants completed self-report measures o f sexual functioning, knowledge of psychological and physical sequelae to MI, depression and anxiety on a weekly basis for at least 3 weeks (to a maximum of 12 weeks) prior to participating in treadmill testing, and attending the information/counseling session. Couples also completed these assessments for a 4-week period following the intervention.

Six heterosexual couples in which …

Worker Productivity As A Function Of The Percentage Of Monetary Incentives To Base Pay, Carol J. Frisch

Dissertations

Several studies have shown that individuals working under pay conditions with monetary incentives have higher levels of productivity than individuals working for non-incentive pay, such as hourly wages (Abernathy, Duffy, & O’Brien, 1982; Dierks & McNally, 1987; Farr, 1976; Gaetani, Hoxeng, & Austin, 1986; George & Hopkins, 1989; London & Oldham, 1977; Orpen, 1982; Nebeker & Neuberger, 1985; Terborg & Miller, 1978; Yukl, Wexley, & Seymore, 1972). It has also been noted that a minimum of 30% incentive is generally accepted as necessary to affect (employee) motivation (Fein, 1970), and increasing incentives above this level will not result in appreciable …

The Mmpi-A: A Diagnostic Tool For Adhd Adolescents, Harry J. Marshall

Dissertations

This research investigated the utility of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-Adolescent (MMPI-A) as an instrument in the diagnosis of adolescents with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Subjects were 32 male and 12 female adolescents between the ages of 14 and 18 who presented for evaluation and/or treatment for ADHD in one of three privately operated mental health clinics in a large, industrial, midwestem state. Upon establishment of the diagnosis by a psychologist who specializes in the area of ADHD, the subjects were invited to participate in the study and complete the MMPI-A. A correlational research design was used which compared …

Fluency Training On Quantitative Skills Tested By The Graduate Record Examination, Pamela L. Vunovich

Dissertations

This research consisted of an evaluation of a Graduate Record Examination (GRE) preparation course and two ancillary studies. Eighteen students enrolled in one of three courses (spring, summer, or fall) during which they spent approximately 140 hours preparing for the GRE using self-instructional texts and supplementary materials. Two sets of fluency practice drills with both accuracy and speed criteria were developed to improve students' performance on the quantitative portion of the GRE. The first set of four drills used in the spring and summer courses covered basic skills (basic math, fractions, decimals, and percentages). The second set of 42 drills, …

The Association Of Five Therapist Characteristics With Therapists' Suspicion Of Childhood Sexual Abuse In Adult Client Cases, Sherri I. Terrell

Dissertations

One hundred and twenty-five doctoral level psychologists interning at university counseling centers throughout North America were surveyed to explore the association of therapists' suspicion of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) in adult client cases with five therapist characteristics: (a) gender; (b) having or not having had personal therapy; (c) having or not having professional experience with three or more clients who are survivors of CSA; (d) having or not having a close friend, family member, or significant other who is a survivor of CSA; and (e) being or not being a survivor of CSA.

Information was collected on interns' demographics and …

Eye Movement Desensitization And Reprocessing Treatment Of Communication Anxiety: A Closer Look, Teresa Foley

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to replicate the results of previous research with respect to EMD/R (eye movement desensitization and reprocessing) and of this researcher’s investigation of EMD/R treatment of public-speaking anxiety (Foley & Spates, 1995). The present study, however, included components to permit more extensive analysis of the elements of treatment that contribute to therapeutic effectiveness. The study investigated the contribution of assessment speeches to treatment effectiveness by using a two factor design in which one factor featured a condition of pre-treatment/post-treatment speeches vs. a condition of post-treatment speeches only. The other factor featured two treatment conditions, permitting …

A Qualitative Exploration Of Women Survivors’ Disclosure Of Childhood Sexual Abuse, Joanne Dodgson

Dissertations

In clinical literature regarding adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse, disclosure of abuse is considered a vital aspect of healing (Courtois,1988; Herman, 1992). Despite the apparent significance of disclosure, few studies have been conducted to investigate this process. Integrating feminist and qualitative research perspectives, I sought to explore disclosure through the stories, language, and perspectives of women survivors. I was interested in learning about the following issues: (a) the ways in which survivors' disclosure unfolded, (b) the ways in which survivors understood and made meaning of their disclosures, and (c) the ways in which survivors' lives changed through the process …

Measuring Changes In Spontaneous Play Behavior In Preschoolers With Autism Associated With A Receptive Language Intervention, Jori Reijonen

Dissertations

Children diagnosed with Autistic Disorder have well documented deficits in the development of pretend play. When it occurs, spontaneous pretend play differs from play seen in other children in frequency, duration, and quality. The present study examined the effects of teaching preschoolers with Autism to follow one-part directions to play during discrete trial receptive language training sessions on spontaneous play skills.

Receptive language tasks were designed to teach simple pretend play skills (e.g., "Feed the doll with a spoon"). Spontaneous play was continuously sampled during free play sessions in the clinic and in the child's home before these receptive tasks …

The Effects Of Wraparound Services On The Adjustment Of Four Severely Emotionally Disturbed Youth: A Controlled Multiple Baseline Study, Michael J. Myaard

Dissertations

This naturalistic study employed a controlled multiple baseline design (Baer, Wolf & Risley, 1968; Poling, 1995) across subjects and behaviors to examine the effects of wraparound services on the adjustment of four Severely Emotionally Disturbed teenagers at risk o f long term residential placement. Subjects were selected on a clinical trials basis upon referral into a public sector interagency service system within a small rural county. The Vermont System For Tracking Client Progress served as the primary dependent measure and was sampled daily for one year, the Child and Adolescent Functional Assessment Scale and detailed financial data were also sampled. …

Culture-Specific Hiv/Std Prevention Programming For Lesbian And Bisexual Women, Kathleen M. Morrow

Dissertations

HIV/AIDS prevention research continues to target populations in which AIDS is already responsible for a significant number of deaths. Since an AIDS diagnosis often indicates the transmission of HIV several years earlier, targeting groups currently manifesting AIDS neglects those groups which may be at risk for transmission of HIV today. Among the lowest incidence in known cases of AIDS are women who have sex with women. Despite a preponderance of biomedical research which implicates vaginal secretions and blood products as vehicles in HIV transmission, there remains only a minimal effort to educate these w om en regarding their risk of …

Comparison Of Selection-Based Vs. Topography-Based Verbal Behavior, William F. Potter

Dissertations

Michael (1985) distinguished between selection-based and topography-based verbal behavior. Some researchers have started to examine this distinction, as does this research. This study examined the contribution that response-produced kinesthetic stimulation has on the acquisition of conditional discriminations and equivalence relations by college students. To accomplish this, a special computerized nonidentity matching-to-sample task (a selection-based task) was created, which arranged for each participant to perform under two conditions. The first condition arranged for participants to make a stereotypical response to each choice stimulus selected. The second condition arranged for a unique response to be made to each choice selected. The number …

The Relationships Among Expectancy, Hypnotizability, And Treatment Outcome Associated With Eye Movement Desensitization In The Treatment Of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Lisa Kimberly Largo-Marsh

Dissertations

A pre-test, post-test comparison group design was utilized to assess the effectiveness of two interventions on symptoms associated with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Subjects were randomly assigned to one of two treatments: Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) or structured writing sessions. A standardized diagnostic interview was used to screen subjects and provide diagnosis and symptom profile at intake and one-month follow-up. Standardized self-report measures were used to assess treatment outcomes. Repeated measures ANOVA revealed no significant differences between the two treatments. Both treatments were effective in significantly reducing post-traumatic symptoms at post-test and follow-up, although slightly different patterns were evident. …

An Analysis Of The Auditory-Verbal And Visual-Figural Learning And Memory Patterns Of College Students With Learning Disabilities, Robert K. Eckert

Dissertations

The validity of the California Verbal Learning Test (CVLT) has been established with most clinical neuropsychological populations; however, no published work in the area of CVLT performance in adults with learning disabilities (LD) exists, despite the authors' assertion that the test is a useful psychometric measure for this population (Delis, Kramer, Kaplan, & Ober, 1987). Likewise, the validity of a recently restandardized test of visual-figural learning, the Rey Visual Design Learning Test (RVDLT; Spreen & Strauss, 1991), has yet to be investigated in LD populations. Motor deficiencies have been associated with LD in children, but little evidence exists to extend …

The Discriminative Stimulus Properties Of Morphine And U-50,488h In A Three-Key Assay: A Mu And Kappa Opioid Discrimination In The Pigeon, Malath Makhay

Dissertations

Opiate drugs have been classified in two-choice assays according to their ability to produce generalization in animals to the prototypicix opiate, morphine, versus vehicle, or to the k opioid, U -50,488H versus vehicle injections (Picker & Dykstra, 1987). A three-choice discrimination procedure, in which subjects discriminate among morphine, U -50,488H , and vehicle injections, might afford a greater degree of precision in characterizing the subjective effects of opioids. The feasibility of such a procedure was demonstrated in the present study, in which five pigeons were trained to discriminate among injections of 5 .6 m g/kg morphinel 5 .6 m g/kg …

Perinatal Loss: An Exposure Based Approach To Alleviating Feelings Of Grief In Bereaved Parents, Michele Lee Rosa

Dissertations

The efficacy of exposing bereaved parents to stimuli associated with their deceased child as a means of alleviating their grief reaction was explored. Three parents who had suffered a perinatal loss participated. Pre, post, and follow-up measures of depression, hopelessness, anxiety, marital functioning, daily stress, psychopathology, bereavement and grief were gathered.

Results showed clinically significant improvement for two of the three subjects on measures of depression and psychopathology. All subjects showed improved marital functioning. Negative change was seen on a measure of hopelessness for two of the three subjects. The treatment effects for symptoms of stress, anxiety, bereavement and grief …

Effects Of D-Amphetamine On Free-Operant Response Acquisition With Immediate And Delayed Reinforcement, Mark G. Lesage

Dissertations

The present study examined in 8-hour sessions the effects of d-amphetamine (1.0, 5.6, and 10 mg/kg) on the acquisition of lever-press responding by rats exposed to procedures in which water delivery was delayed by 0, 8, or 16 seconds relative to the response that produced it. Although neither shaping nor autoshaping occurred, substantial levels of operative-lever responding developed whenever responses produced water. Rats that did not receive water and yoked-control rats that received response-independent water emitted relatively few responses.

The lowest dose (1.0 mg/kg) of d-amphetamine either had no effect on or enhanced rates of operative-lever pressing, whereas …

The Relationship Between Dissociation And Object-Relations Impairment In Adult Female Incest Survivor Clients With And Without Personality Splitting, Linda Jean Stuppy

Dissertations

Problem. Childhood incest appears to play a role in the formation of Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) (formerly Multiple Personality Disorder). This study investigated whether a relationship exists between dissociation and object-relations impairment in incest survivors and whether DID incest survivors have higher levels of these characteristics than non-DID incest survivors.

Method. The Dissociative Experience Scale, Bell Object Relations Reality Testing Inventory and Childhood Maltreatment Interview Schedule-Short Form were completed by a sample of 60 adult female incest survivor clients. 29 who met the diagnosis for DID and 31 who did not.

The Results. All three hypotheses were supported …

The Relationship Between Child Sexual Abuse And Hypoactive Sexualdesire Disorder In Adult Women: An Investigation Of Contributory Factors And Treatment Outcomes, David B. Sarwer

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Relationship Of Student Retention To Teacher/Student Personality Types At Summit Christian College, C. Joseph Martin

Dissertations

For the past 3 decades, retention studies have emerged as being of significant importance to the smaller colleges and universities, especially the private colleges and universities, including Summit Christian College. With the decline in the high-school population, which was predicted to occur in the mid-70s, retention was going to be of even more importance to the smaller educational institutions. All of this pointed toward a time when colleges would have to compete for the high-school graduate in a more aggressive manner. It was possible that unless new ways of coping with the drop-out rate were initiated, a number of smaller …

The Kinetic Family Drawing As A Measure Of Minuchin's Structural Family Concepts Among Hispanic American Families With Substance-Abusing And Nonsubstance-Abusing Adolescents, José Osorio-Braña

Dissertations

Problem. There is a need for validation of new cultural-sensitive tests for assessing the Hispanic population in the United States that will take into account their cultural competence in the psychological evaluation practice. The purpose of this study was to explore the suitability of the Kinetic Family Drawings as a measure of Minuchin's Structural Family Theory among Hispanic American families with substance-abusing and nonsubstance-abusing adolescents.

Method. The Kinetic Family Drawing (KFD), the Structural Family Interaction Scale-Revised (SFIS-R), and the Family Adaptability and Cohesion Scales (FACES II) were administered to 141 families, 74 with an adolescent with substance-abusing problems and 67 …

A Case Study Comparison Of Brief Group Treatment And Brief Individual Treatment In The Modification Of Denial Among Child Sexual Abusers, John F. Ulrich

Dissertations

Problem Statement. O'Donohue and Letourneau (1993) demonstrated success in modifying denial among child sexual abusers with brief group treatment when probable incarceration existed for subjects who did not admit. This current study replicated and enhanced their treatment model while omitting the adverse legal consequences for subjects remaining in denial. Brief individual therapy was used as a comparison treatment condition. Factors theoretically contributing to denial were explored.

Methodology. Ten subjects were evaluated as individual case studies in two non-randomly assigned treatment conditions. Five subjects received nine group therapy sessions and five received nine individual therapy sessions. Subjects were selected from …

Moral Orientation, Ego Maturity, And Religious Commitment : An Exploratory Study From A Developmental Perspective, Penelope Anne Webster

Dissertations

Problem. Although moral development research has focused extensively on Kohlberg's moral judgment theory and Gilligan's considerations of moral orientation, little has directly addressed the issue of integration of the voices of care and justice. This study proposed that, with maturation, a more integrated moral orientation would guide moral decision making. Integration and the impact of age, gender, ego maturity, and religious commitment were examined from a developmental perspective.

Method. A cross-sectional design was employed, with adults from two age cohorts (25-35 and 50-65). A semi-structured interview (Brown, Debold, Tappan, & Gilligan, 1991) was used to collect data. Each individual …

The Cognitive Appraisals And Coping Strategies Of Male Adolescent Inpatients, Kathleen Burroughs

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Adolecents' Daily Experience Of Parenting Styles And Alcohol Use, John Philbin

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Mandatory Child Abuse Reporting: Factors Impacting The Therapeutic Relationship, Cheryl L. Brosig

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No abstract provided.

Addressing Religious Issues In Counseling: The Perceptions Of African American Church Members Of Counselor Effectiveness, Rhonda Janice Perry

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Psychological Autopsy Study Of Completed Suicide: An Experimental Test Of The Impact Of Knowledge Of The Suicide Upon Informants' Reports Of Psychopathology In The Victim, Sharon L. Telcser

Dissertations

No abstract provided.