Psychology Commons^™

Applied Relaxation Training In The Treatment Of Genital Herpes, Kent A. Koehn

Dissertations

Four individuals with frequent recurrences of genital herpes simplex virus (HSV) were trained in Applied Relaxation (AR). Participants included in the research were all women, had been diagnosed with herpes at least one year prior to the study, experienced 6 or more outbreaks annually, and were not taking antiviral medications.

The experiment employed a multiple baseline across subjects design with individual baselines of 11, 13, 17, and 21 weeks. Participants maintained daily diary recordings of the frequency, duration, and severity of their herpes activity from baseline until a minimum of three months post-treatment.

Treatment consisted of 10 individual AR sessions. …

Improving Service Quality Through Self-Monitoring, John Patrick Mcdonough Iii

Dissertations

A multiple-baseline across-restaurants design was used to assess the effectiveness of a quality guarantee (performance checklist) on the quality of food served at two carryout pizza restaurants in a Midwestern city of approximately 100,000 people. The research consisted of having the quality of food monitored by research assistants who served as mystery shoppers trained in the quality standards of the restaurants. Quality was monitored during baseline, when normal operating procedures were in effect at the restaurant, and during intervention, when employees who delivered food to customers were required to sign a quality guarantee. In one intervention phase, employees checked off …

Perceived Parental Care And Protection As Correlates Of Chronic Pain In Adults, Daniel L. Walberer

Dissertations

This research was undertaken to explore the significance of care and protection as correlates related to the experience of chronic pain in adults. Chronic pain may affect as many as ten percent of the American population and cost up to a billion dollars a year in treatment costs. It was hypothesized that certain parenting styles are related to the experience of chronic pain in adults.

Thirty male and female patients referred to The Center for Health Psychology and Medicine in Kalamazoo, Michigan who were diagnosed as experiencing chronic pain by a referring physician participated in this study. Each participant underwent …

The Effect Of Associative Distance On The Formation Of Transitive Relations, Robert G. Brown Jr.

Dissertations

Three children, aged eight to eleven years, were taught a series of conditional discriminations using two classes of 26 abstract visual stimuli. The conditional relations were ordered such that the correct comparison stimuli of one relation served as the sample stimuli for the next relation. This allowed for the formation of a series of derived relations (both transitive and equivalence) that differed in terms of the number of intervening nodes. At regular intervals, the subjects' performances on the different transitive relations were tested using unreinforced probe trials.

All three subjects made virtually no errors on transitive relations containing up to …

Motivational Effects On A Psychometric Measure Of Prefrontal Brain Functioning In Patients With Chronic Schizophrenia And Related Disorders, Paul C. Smith

Dissertations

This study compared multiple sequential performances on a computerized version of the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (Grant & Berg, 1948; Harris, 1986) by adult men receiving institutional inpatient treatment for chronic schizophrenia and related disorders. Participants were exposed to differential test conditions of minimal post-session non-contingent token reinforcement (baseline phases) and enhanced intra-session performance-contingent token reinforcement (experimental phase). Each major participant resided at the same continuing treatment unit at Kalamazoo Regional Psychiatric Hospital receiving similar social therapies but idiosyncratic psychotropic medication regimens, changes in which were tracked in relation to test performances. A simple single-subject reversal design was employed with …

Effects Of Feedback Type And Signal Probability On Quality Inspection Accuracy, Matthew A. Mason

Dissertations

A computer simulation was developed to examine the effects of feedback type (immediate, delayed, or none) and signal probability (p = 0.05 or 0.12) on the accuracy of identifying signals (missing components), inspection response rate, and response sensitivity (d'). Subjects were randomly assigned to one of six experimental groups: (1) immediate feedback with a signal probability of 0.05 (1/0.05), (2) delayed feedback with a signal probability of 0.05 (D/0.05), (3) no feedback with a signal probability of 0.05 (N/0.05), (4) immediate feedback with a signal probability of 0.12 (1/0.12), (5) delayed feedback with a signal probability of …

Appeal And Vulnerability Patterns In Girl Victims Of Incest, Ruth Mausert-Mooney

Dissertations

This study compared certain personal characteristics and behaviors of sexually abused girls with those of matched controls. Experimental subjects were 49 girls, aged 6 to 16 years, who had been sexually abused by an older male family member. Fifty girls who had not experienced sexual abuse served as the comparison group, matched on the basis of age, race and socioeconomic status.

Demographic and psychological measures were completed by each research participant and her mother. Videotapes were made of an initial session in which each child met an unknown male tester.

This study hypothesized and affirmed that sexually abused girls appeared …

The Impact Of A Stress Management Training Program On Symptoms Of Fibromyalgia, Robert J. Sheppard

Dissertations

Fibromyalgia is a noninflammatory rheumatic disorder characterized by musculoskeletal pain, nonrestorative sleep, and mood disturbance. Emotional stress is frequently reported as a factor that exacerbates symptoms. This study was designed to assess the impact of stress management training on perceived stress and fibromyalgia symptoms. Four female subjects with fibromyalgia participated on an individual basis in a 10 week stress management training program, which was administered in the fixed sequence of training in self-monitoring, relaxation, cognitive behavioral skills, and assertion. The effects of the training on self-report measures of perceived stress, pain, functional disability, sleep disruption, daytime fatigue, and depression were …

Job Aids, Feedback, And The Teaching Of Verbal-Reasoning, Angela Williams Campbell

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was twofold: (1) to test the effects of a job aid and feedback on learning to solve directional verbal-reasoning problems, and (2) to examine whether students’ skills transferred to similar problems following the removal of both the job aid and feedback. Some previous researchers who studied problem solving utilized the think-aloud technique and used solutions generated by expert problem solvers. The think-aloud technique, although perhaps a good one, is not practical in the classroom. In the main study, a job aid was incorporated within the problem so students would be able to use guidance toward …

A Comparison Of Blood Volume Pulse And False Biofeedback In The Treatment Of Migraine, Paul Greilick

Dissertations

The efficacy of temporal artery blood volume pulse (BVP) biofeedback in the treatment of migraine was investigated. After four pre-treatment baseline psycho-physiological monitoring sessions, 8 migrainuers were randomly assigned to undergo 12 sessions of either BVP biofeedback or a placebo procedure (false feedback). Both treatments resulted in clinically significant and statistically equivalent reductions in headache activity and medication intake. Subjects exhibited substantial within-session decreases in BVP amplitude during pre-treatment baseline sessions and during false feedback, and the introduction of BVP biofeedback failed to increase the magnitude or the rate of BVP amplitude reductions. All subjects failed to show evidence of …

A Comparison Of Four Methods To Teach Complex Verbal Concepts Using A Computer-Assisted Instruction Program, John Byron Connors

Dissertations

This study compared four instructional programs which taught terminology in behavioral psychology using computer-assisted instruction (CAD with college students. The independent variable was the type of instruction presented by one of four CAI programs: (a) Rules Only, (b) Rules Plus Positive Examples, (c) Rules Plus Negative Examples, and (d) Rules Plus Positive and Negative Examples. The dependent variables were the: (a) pretest scores, (b) posttest scores, (c) 1-week delayed posttest scores, and (d) preference questionnaire scores. Using the pretest as a covariate, results approached significance (p=.07) on posttest scores only for the Rules Only and Rules Plus Positive Examples over …

A Proposed Paradigm Of Personality As Explored Through The Relationship Between Moral Reasoning And Cognitive Flexibility, Karen I. Madgwick

Dissertations

Problem. Personality, a construct representing the dynamic integration of the individual, remains complicated, both in theory and in research. The purpose of this study was to explore a conceptual paradigm of personality through the relationship between cognitive flexibility and moral reasoning. Researchers had not looked at the relationship between cognitive flexibility, as measured by the Stroop Color and Word Test, and moral reasoning, as measured by the Defining Issues Test (DIT). This study focused on the relationship between cognitive flexibility and moral reasoning. It looked for more than an understanding of the relationship, however, thus affording beginning research in the …

Stressors That Affect Psychotherapists' Therapeutic Functioning, Donald E. Wallace

Dissertations

Problem. The purpose of this study was to look at the stressors psychotherapists experience in their work to determine those that are positive and those that are negative. In addition, this study looked at stressors viewed as positive and negative by several subgroups of psychotherapists based on personality characteristics, gender, age, educational training, level of experience, preferred therapeutic school, and marital status.

Method. The Stressors Check List. Mvers-Briaas Type Indicator. and a demographic sheet were given to a sample of 244 psychotherapists employed at 12 comprehensive mental health centers in the State of Indiana. Statistical analyses included t-tests, one-way …

A Correlational-Developmental Study Of Sexual Symbols, Actions, And Themes In Children's Kinetic Family And Human Figure Drawings, Peggy Joan Rodgers

Dissertations

Problem. Sexual characteristics normally included in children's drawings need to be identified. This study sought to gain definitive information regarding the relationship between (1) child's age, (2) child's sex, (3) media exposure, and (4) sexual characteristics included in Human Figure Drawings (HFD) and Kinetic Family Drawings (KFD).

Method. The HFD, the KFD, and an interview schedule concerning exposure to various media were administered to 560 non-clinic and 81 clinic children, ages 6-18. Sexual characteristics in children's drawings and the amount and type of media the children had experienced were analyzed qualitatively and by Chi-square and Discriminant Analysis. Significance was set …

Cognitive Evaluations Using Human Figure Drawings: An Empirical Investigation Of Two Methods, Steven C. Abell

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Relationship Between Family Environment And Late Adolescent Personality As Reflected In Gender-Role Socialization, Steve Macuk

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Factors Related To Multiple Role Adjustment In Mexican American Working Women, Mary Ann H. Garcia

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Factors Related To Patient Report Of Cognitive Difficulties Following Head Injury, Gene E. Alexander

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Lateralization Of Asynchronous Stimuli, Mark A. Stellmack

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Kinetic Family Drawings Of Chinese-American Children, Verna Nga-Fun Chuah

Dissertations

Problem. America is a country enriched with a diversity of cultural backgrounds. Information on Chinese-American children and their families is limited even though the Chinese are one of the main minority groups in America and increasingly more Chinese are migrating here. This study sought to use the Kinetic Family Drawing (KFD) as a tool to gain information about how Chinese-American children perceive themselves and their family relationships.

Method. The KFD was administered to 146 Chinese-Americans from three schools in Northern California: one in Oakland Chinatown, one in San Francisco Chinatown, and one private suburban San Francisco school. The 71 Caucasian-American …

The Relationship Between Attitudes Toward Women, Rape Myth Acceptance, And Sexual Coercive Experiences Of Male And Female Students At Religious And Public Colleges, Lennard Allan Jorgensen

Dissertations

Problem. The purpose of this study was to find the prevalence of sexual coercion and to explore relationships between sexual coercion, attitudes toward women, and rape myth acceptance of men and women on Seventh-day Adventist and public college campuses.

Method. Three scales furnished scores for sexual coercive experiences, attitudes toward women, and rape myth acceptance. Multiple- and step-wise regression analyses were used to discover relationships between attitudes toward women, rape myth acceptance, and religious affiliation, college affiliation and sexual coercion. One-way analysis of variance was used to analyze the influence of age, religious affiliation, college affiliation, religion, type of coercion, …

Reconsidering Psycholinguistics' Project : Language As Praxis In Lacan And Kristeva, Suzanne Barnard

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Emotional Autonomy In Adolescence: The Significance Of Gender, Family Structure, Family Cohesion, Parenting Style, And Culture, Teresa Fuhrman

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Relationship Of Self Esteem And Personal Problems To The Academic Success Of Adult Juniors And Seniors At And Upper Division, Commuter University, Peggy G. Woodard

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Acquisition Of Conflict Management Skills With High School Adolescent Females, Leslie Skinner-Hughes

Dissertations

This study examined the effects of a conflict management training program on the performance levels of high school adolescent females. Twenty female adolescent students were randomly assigned in equal numbers to either an experimental or control group. The students in the experimental group participated in a one school-day training program in conflict management skills. The students in the control group participated in two hours of discussion on handling conflicts. Pre- and post-training performance was measured by videotape recordings, classroom behavior ratings, behavior checklist, and student records of referrals for discipline.

The results showed the following: (1) The videotapes revealed a …

Sequences Of Fixed-Ratio Schedules Of Reinforcement: The Effect Of Ratio Size In The Second And Third Fixed-Ratio On Pigeons' Choice, Susan Goeters

Dissertations

The present study used a discrete-trials procedure to examine choice in pigeons presented with various three-component sequences of fixed-ratio schedules of reinforcement. An experimenter-controlled stimulus was correlated with each sequence and pigeons were presented with a specified number of forced-exposure and choice trials. Three phases were implemented in an effort to investigate the conditions under which fixed-ratios other than the first in a sequence of three affect choice. In Phase 1, pigeons were given a choice between a fixed-ratio X fixed-ratio 1 fixed-ratio 25 and a fixed-ratio X fixed-ratio 25 fixed-ratio 1 sequence of food delivery. Across conditions, X was …

Organizational Development Through The Implementation Of Strategic Plans, Susan M. Eickhoff

Dissertations

Organizations today need effective and efficient total organizational change strategies in order to ensure both short- and long-term organizational health. As a result of an organization being a multi-dimensional entity, the ingredients for its change strategy must necessarily be representative of all its dimensions such as business management, information system, behavior analysis, behavioral systems analysis, total quality management and statistical process control techniques. Those ingredients of a comprehensive change strategy exist but have not been put together into a totally integrated package so far. In the present study, a fully-integrated organizational change strategy was systematically employed with the goal of …

The Effects Of Individual Feedback And Group Feedback On The Nominal Group Technique, Monica Porter

Dissertations

The nominal group technique (NGT) was modified and implemented in an educational setting. Procedures included (a) targeting and voting on the most important issue, (b) generating a list of possible solutions and providing rationales, and (c) completing a final report as a group consensus.

The effects of individual feedback and group feedback on the NGT were examined. Group 1 received individual feedback followed by group feedback, and Group 2 received group feedback followed by individual feedback.

Twenty undergraduates served as subjects and participated in problem solving tasks in which individual feedback and group feedback were provided on the subjects' written …

The Effects Of Relaxation Plus Imaginal Flooding Versus Relaxation Only On Panic Attacks In Veterans With Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Jan E . Bachman

Dissertations

Many Vietnam veterans experience intrusive recollections of combat-related events in the form of nightmares and flashbacks, a primary symptom of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Imaginai flooding has shown some promise in reducing the frequency and intensity of these. Cognitive- behavioral therapies have also been used, but their effectiveness has not been studied. Experiment 1 attempted to determine whether a self-imposed version of imaginai flooding (called Self-Imaginai Flooding) could be used rather than the usual therapist-led procedure, and whether treatment effects could generalize from the treated to untreated intrusive memories. In a between groups design, with six Vietnam veteran subjects in …

A Parent Training Program For Teaching Preschool Children Independent Self-Care Skills, Dalene Rooks Degraaf

Dissertations

Teaching children to be independent is a challenge for parents. Initially, parents directly prompt and consequate their children’s behavior. Later, the parents fade prompts and delay consequences expecting their children to use self-management skills and environmental cues to complete tasks. The purpose of this study was to observe some of the methods which parents use to teach their 4-year-old children independent self-care skills and test the effects of a parent training program. The program was designed to transfer stimulus control from the parent’s physical or verbal prompts to textual and picture prompts on a poster listing the morning self-care skills …