Psychology Commons^™

Obesity : Two Behavioral Approaches To Weight Reduction, Albert Blake Davidson

Dissertations and Theses

Much of the research on obesity has been designed to explore its relationship to the behavior of overeating. Although a number of physiological, societal, cultural and family background variables have been detailed, researchers have sought an approach that does not rely heavily on these considerations. Most weight reduction programs fail to recognize and concentrate on empirically demonstrated differences between obese and normal subjects. Researchers have shown that obese subjects seem to be more sensitive to external than internal stimuli. A behavioral approach to weight reduction that emphasizes and uses these external stimuli was hypothesized to be the treatment of choice. …

An Analysis Of The Effects Of Individual Counseling And Group Process Techniques Upon The Behavior Of Children In A Juvenile Detention Facility, Robert Arthur Struble

Dissertations and Theses

A three month project was designed to study the effects of individual counseling combined with group process techniques upon the behavior of children in a short term detentional facility. The length of stay was also a primary variable. In the study of this behavior.

The behavior of 282 males, 14 to 17 years of age, whom had been to the juvenile detention facility in Portland, Oregon, was analyzed via three separate instruments. The Behavior Activity Inventory was utilized to obtain daily observations concerning four separate areas of interest. An attitudinal rating scale was devised to obtain the staff’s assessment as …

Self And Ideal-Self Concepts In A Prison Population: (1) Self And Ideal-Self Patterns Of Violent And Non-Violent Offenders, (2) Self And Ideal-Self Concepts In Relation To Time Served Within A Prison, Alison Prince Berman, James W. Kushmuk

Dissertations and Theses

Two interrelated studies explored the self and ideal-self patterns, two important components of the total personality, of a male prison population using the Interpersonal Adjective Checklist (ICL). Both studies used the same prison subjects (n=38), who were divided equally between violent and non-violent offenders. Study I also used a normative sample (n=38) of male students. All subjects filled out two ICL forms, one with self and one with ideal-self instructions. Study I investigated the ICL patterns of the prisoners in terms of type of crime (violent vs. non-violent) and also compared the ICL scores of the prisoners (violent and non-violent) …

An Exploration Of The Feelings And Attitudes Of Women Separated From Their Children Due To Incarceration, Dorothy Lundberg, Ann Sheekley, Therese Voelker

Dissertations and Theses

Although significant research has shed light on what happens to children when they are removed from their parents, few studies have explored the effects on parents undergoing separation from their children. Discussions tend to be confined to separate dimensions exploring child's needs on one side and parental obligations on the other. Much of the planning and prolonged care provided for children in placement reflects a traditional child-centered focus. This has led to a lack of attention to parental needs, and a gross ignorance about their lives, feelings and aspirations.

When women are involuntarily separated from their children through incarceration, a …

A Preliminary Evaluation Of The Independent Living Subsidy Program In The Model Cities Area, W. Patrick Frawley, Mary Goodwin Gossart

Dissertations and Theses

This is a descriptive and analytical study of the twelve adolescents who have participated in the Independent Living Subsidy Program (ILSP) in the Model Cities area of Portland. It is an assessment of the program’s impact on the adolescents in working toward the goals of independence and self-sufficiency.

The concept of a program which would subsidize out-of-home care for certain adolescents in living facilities of their own, with a measure of independence, was conceived by a caseworker at the Children’s Services Division (CSD) and an administrator of a children’s residential care facility.

A Study Of Runaways From Six Residential Treatment Agencies, Loris Colbath, Carolyn Krugel Graf, Carol Mckinnon, Jean Newcomb

Dissertations and Theses

The purposes of this study were: (1) to examine a select sample of both runaways and nonrunaways at six Oregon residential treatment facilities; (2) to determine the amount and type of preplacement visitation and counseling done within these agencies; (3) to determine the effect preplacement visitation and counseling has upon the studied sample of runaways and nonrunaways in decreasing or controlling the number of runs from the agencies involved; and (4) to determine significant characteristics between runaway and nonrunaway populations.

Testing materials included a two-part questionnaire, part of which was developed with girls from one of the participating agencies.

Running, …

Recent Role Changes Made By Women And The Effect These Changes Have Had On Marital Adjustment, Nancy L. Scolar

Dissertations and Theses

Sex Roles, A History. From Insects to humans, gender is associated with specific behavior. Below the mammals there are sex differences in dominance that are correlated with androgen function on the inside, and with certain types of stimulation on the outside. In higher forms, the increasing complexity of brain development means increasing capacity for modification through experience and learned modes of adaptation to the environment.

By the time the primate level is reached, social influences have become so intricate and compelling as to clearly foreshadow culture.

According to Elizabeth Janeway in her article Reflections on the History of Women, in …

A Study Of The Relationship Between Self-Concept, Public Image, And Consensus Rorschach Performance, Dale Sherman Walhood

Dissertations and Theses

Four measures of dominance were taken on college roommate pairs. Three of the measures were derived from Leary’s interpersonal system for diagnosing personality. The fourth measure was derived from the consensus approach to Rorschach administration. Dominance scores for self-concept, public image, predicated image (a new measure in which a person attempts to predict how a significant other sees him) and consensus Rorschach performance were computed. Predicted image correlated higher with self-concept than public image as predicted. Results suggest that dominance as measured by the Rorschach is related to both public image and self-concept. Submissive members appear to understand the structure …

Structure Vs. Meaning In Subliminal Perception, Margaret Anne Callan Hoisington

Dissertations and Theses

Subliminal perception is defined as a process whereby a subject reports no awareness of a visual stimulus, and yet his/her verbal behavior, subjectively experienced as “guesses”, is influenced by the stimulation. Various studies have found evidence for and against subliminal perception using discrimination tasks and subjective judgments. Explanations of subliminal perception include the partial cue hypothesis, the theory of perception of structural differences, and the theory that responses to subliminal stimuli are of a semantic nature.

This study was conducted to determine whether subliminal perception involves a discrimination of structural characteristics or a discrimination of the semantic quality of words …

Shaping Of Marital Interaction: A Clinical-Research Approach, Cynthia Luders Clay

Dissertations and Theses

In the last ten years, a number of behavioral approaches to marital therapy have been developed and applied to married couples. Intervention techniques have included selective reinforcement, extinction, modeling, aversive consequences, and contingency contracting. The present study investigated the use of the bug-in-the-ear (BITE) instrument as an aid in shaping marital interaction. The BITE has been applied in several child behavior modification programs, but no applications in marital therapy have been reported.

The use of the BITE has been demonstrated and is considered clinically feasible. Since the N of this study was small and since the raters evaluating progress were …

A Study Of The Relationship Between Overt Behavior And: I) Tat Fantasy Aggression And The Stimulus Properties Of Selected Tat Cards, Ii) Self-Report Measures Of Aggression And Guilt, Iii) Tat Fantasy Aggression, Self-Report Measures And Personal Data, Christine Ruth Bauman, David James Leitner

Dissertations and Theses

Past research has shown that there are many factors that influence projective test responses. This is especially true of the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT). Certain variables that have been found to influence the TAT response were studied in this experiment. These variables included the subjects’ scores on purported measures of the personality trait of aggression, and various parameters of the TAT cards themselves.

This experiment included three studies which investigated the relationship between test measures of aggression and aggressive behavior. The three studies were conducted concurrently using the same subject population: forty-two male inmates at the Oregon State Penitentiary. They …

Pretesting A Questionnaire At The Solo Center On The Impact Of Divorce On Children And Parents, Shirley Anne Paetzhold

Dissertations and Theses

This study was concerned with the impact of divorce on parents and children. The writer spent a minimum of sixteen hours per week from September, 1974 to May, 1975 in field work at the Solo Center, as part of the requirements for a Master’s Degree in Social Work at Portland State University. Multiple areas of interest for research at the Center narrowed to a focus on the closely interwoven problems of child custody, child support, and visitation.

Maturity Of Adolescent Unwed Mothers, Sarah L. Claiborne

Dissertations and Theses

Adolescence traditionally has been recognized and accepted as a period of exploration of an occasional rebellion against the adult world. Explorations are viewed by behavioral scientists as a quest for identity expansion, and as such, a necessary phase for attaining maturity. Several tasks have been identified which each adolescent must complete if he is to reach maturity. For the present these tasks can be summarized as character formation, attainment of sexual identity, establishment of mature relationships and emancipation from parental control.

Society's attitude towards the rebellion and exploitation of youth is mixed. This confusion seems related to a general breakdown …

An Investigation Of Possible Relationships Between Sex-Role Orientation, The Motive To Avoid Success And The Inhibition Of Aggression In Women, Joan Dayger Behn, Barbara Mcduffee Mecca

Dissertations and Theses

In this study, it was proposed that the extent to which an individual accepts the collection of attitudes, mannerisms, and abilities the culture endorses as being feminine or masculine (which we are referring to as sex-role orientation) is related to the appearance of inhibiting fears of social rejection and uneasiness about one’s femininity (which we refer to as the need or motive to avoid success). We further hypothesized that women interested in achievement, being less strongly sex-typed, would feel deviant and exposed as women and would be likely to place a premium on the maintenance of other feminine attributes.

Ever …

The Correlation Between Specific Curiosity And Intelligence In Adults, Charles R. Schwenk

Dissertations and Theses

Previous studies done on the correlation between specific curiosity and intelligence have been inconclusive. In the present study, a test of state specific curiosity and a test of intelligence were administered to 76 Ss from two introductory psychology courses. Three hypotheses were tested. These were, (a) that a significant specific curiosity-intelligence correlation would exist, (b) that the specific curiosity-verbal subscale correlation would be higher than the specific curiosity-abstraction sub-scale correlation, and (c) that there would be a sex difference in the specific curiosity-intelligence correlations. The data did not support hypothesis (a) or (b). However, they did support hypothesis (c). …

Impact Of College Speech Classes On Listening Skills Of Students, Candice Piazza

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of college speech classes upon developing improved listening skills. More specifically it sought to determine the extent to which the students who took Speech 100 or 111 have acquired listening skills.

There has been considerable theorizing concerning listening and auding with only a scattering of experimentation. According to existing data, listening would appear to be a complex human behavior that is only partially understood. There are, however definite listener functions, listening conditions and variables that affect listening. Aspects of attention are also important when considering the occurrence or unoccurrence of …

A Study Of The Relationship Between Attitudes Toward Woman's Roles And Career Choices Of Women Graduate Students, Barbara Backstrand

Dissertations and Theses

The purposes of the present study were to explore how American college women view their roles and whether or not women who choose not-traditional-for-women (NTW) careers have more or less social support from significant others for that choice than women who choose traditional-for-women (TW) careers. A related question asked whether aspects of a woman's personal history predict her role attitudes and behavior as an adult.

The Children's Schedule Of Recent Experiences As A Predictive Test Of Behavior Problems Of Children Entering First Grade, Alcie Anne Griffith

Dissertations and Theses

The thesis provides a survey inquiring about recent life events in children to determine predictive behavior for first grade. It is based on the Social Readjustment Rating Scale.

Personality Characteristics, Work Practices, And Error Rates Among Welfare Assistance Workers At East Multnomah County Public Welfare Branch, Roy Dale Beams, Mike David Gotesmen, Howard Wayne Knytych

Dissertations and Theses

The research project herein contained was an outgrowth of concern associated with performance levels placed upon Welfare Assistance Workers (WAW’s). The Oregon State Public Welfare Division has become increasingly concerned with accuracy rates among branch offices throughout the system. It was the impression of the research group that WAW’s see this increased concern as combined pressure to reduce error rates and demand for a broader diversity of skills.

The primary purpose of this study was to explore ways of clarifying individual characteristics and work habits and their relationship to error rates in the WAW’s in the East Multnomah County Branch …

The Department Of Family Services, Court Of Domestic Relations, Portland, Oregon : A Report Of Its History, Function, And Future, George Brune, John Hart, Sandra Smith

Dissertations and Theses

The study begins with a look at the sociological foundations underlying the Department of Family Services and the social institutions of law and marriage and the family. In order to present the working operation of the agency there are chapters dealing with custody and visitation and marriage and family counseling. This work is defined, and the methods involved are explained and illustrated. An historical overview of the agency with regard to personal, policy and orientation is presented.

A Reexamination Of The Effects Of Prismatic Displacement On Pointing Straight Ahead, Anastasia Houndoumadi

Dissertations and Theses

A fully counterbalanced extension of the Bauer and Efstathiou (1965) study involved exposing 11 Ss to lateral prismatic displacement for five minutes and measuring their adaptation to it. The difference between pointings at a target taken before and after prismatic exposure constitutes an adaptive shift.

Differences Between Supervisor And High And Low-Rated Employees' Perceptions Of Job Performance Ratings And Importance Of Job Factors, Harvey Edward Mcgowan

Dissertations and Theses

This study was an attempt to gain insight into differing conceptions of job performance and job performance factors held by supervisors, employees in general, and of employees rated high and low on overall job performance by their supervisors. The discrepancy in the perceptions of job performance is an element in a general pattern of a well-documented discrepancy in the perception of subordinates' wants, needs and desires by superiors.

To assess employees' perceptions about their own job performance, self-ratings were taken, along with estimate ratings of how employees thought their supervisors would rate them. A graphic rating scale was used, Format …

A Theory Of The Creativity-Intelligence Interaction: An Environmental Suppressor Variable, Lynda L. Mcdonald

Dissertations and Theses

In a commonly held view, creativity and intelligence interact in a mutually enhancing way. Their interaction, however is assumed to be slight and relatively unimportant, and to find its ceiling at a certain IQ level. Beyond this IQ ceiling, no interaction is believed to occur, and the two variables are assumed to be independent. It is suggested that this view and those theorists who hold it do little to explain the reason for the ceiling effect.

An attempt is made to devise a theoretical system which accounts for a explains the ceiling effect, as well as providing new ground for …

Between Words And Actions: The Problem Of Motivation In Symbolic Interactionism, Robert Scott Broadhead

Dissertations and Theses

The development of a theory of motivation in symbolic interactionism is traced, with particular reference to the work of G.H. Mead, Kenneth Burke, C.W. Mills, Nelson Foote, and Ernest Becker. Specific attention is focused on comparing the original theoretical assumptions of particularly Mead and Burke to the varying formulations of the problems of motivation that were later developed by symbolic interactionists. Specifically, it is argued that, primarily due to Burke's analysis, the traditional practice of deterministically explaining human action as being the result of variously imagined motives "in" people is, in fact, no explanation at all but simply a variety …

Personality Correlates Of Interpersonal Perception In A Residential Treatment Center For Adolescent Girls, Raymond Paul Micciche, Terrell Lynn Eheler

Dissertations and Theses

While men do indeed construct self-validating and often peculiar interpretations of the realities of their world the simple fact that these views become consensually shared doctrines of experience does not protect them from the revisionism of historical scrutiny. These perceptions of the world become retrospectively altered as developing bodies of knowledge reject them as being clearly deceptive or anachronistic. The concept of psychopathology, distinguished historically under many rubrics, has not been immune to these same processes of modification, nor has it ever been free of the diverse irrationalities which men of all ages have constructed to explain the etiology and …

A Cross-Class Survey Of Synaesthesia In High School Students And Its Biocultural Implications, Ina Jane Wundram

Dissertations and Theses

It has been suggested in the literature that Synaesthesia, as an expression of syncretic thought, would be more common in non-Western than in Western cultures. Given the lack of availability of widely divergent cultural groups and the general lack of knowledge about the phenomenon, it was decided to study the possibility that synaesthesia in our society might be related to socio-economic class. A group of high school students from a broad range of socio-economic backgrounds was studied, and the results suggest that the occurrence of synaesthesia is not related to class. In addition, it was found that 50% of the …

A Program Of School Social Work, Phyllis Marie Jaszkowiak

Dissertations and Theses

School social work is in a state of flux. Traditional casework services in the schools, as the only function of the school social worker, is becoming less viable.

The study of Assumption school and area points out some problem areas, as well as strengths. In view of these problems and strengths, a broadened school social work program is discussed. The program centers around prevention, treatment, and research. A basic principle upon which all is based is a team approach of social work, school, and community. The discussion leads to the community school concept, which is currently seen as one of …

Changes In Personality Traits And Identification In Adolescent Female State School Residents, As A Function Of Length Of Residence, Mary L. Thompson

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of a significant exposure (six months) to a State School environment on selected personality traits and identity factors of adolescent girls. A second objective was to ascertain whether greater change takes place early in the period of residency (three months) or in a later stage. A third aim was to determine whether there is a significant difference in the degree of change between girls showing fewer pathological signs and healthier identity than those who show a greater number of such signs and a stronger delinquent identification.

A Follow-Up Attitudinal Study Of Selected Groups In The City Of The Dalles Toward The Community Attention Home, Landon Gilstrap, Joyce Larson, Janice Page

Dissertations and Theses

Prior to the opening of the Attention Home in August of 1971, a survey was conducted by David Clitheroe and Garrett Long to determine what specific attitudes local groups in the community had about the Attention Home. Their study represented the first part of a two part study. It established the baseline data on the community attitudes toward the Attention Home prior to the opening of the home. These attitudes will be compared with the attitudes after one year's operation of the home in order to assess what attitudinal changes, if any, have taken place between the first and second …

A Descriptive Follow-Up Study Of 21 Children From Parry Center, Paul Duke

Dissertations and Theses

The age-old question persists: Does an agency operated treatment program contribute significantly to a child’s personal development and adjustment following release from the institution? Since it is the agency's responsibility to weigh the needs of the disturbed child and provide appropriate services according to those needs, their basic question--whether residential treatment or another mode of treatment is more effective--remains unanswered and, in many instances, uncontested. If residential child care benefits the disturbed child, which characteristics of that agency are conducive to the improvement of the child's behavior and re-adaption? The following study will attempt to isolate such characteristics. We will …