Psychology Commons^™

Color Perception In Golden Mantled Ground Squirrels, Robert F. Cooley

Dissertations and Theses

Squirrels appear to be unique among sub-primate mammals in being able to see at least some colors. A readily available Oregon squirrel species, golden mantled ground squirrels (Citellus lateralis), which has not previously been tested under laboratory conditions for color vision, was subjected to color discrimination testing in a Skinner box. On the basis of recent physiological tests of color reception capacity and behavioral tests of color discrimination response in closely related species, it was predicted that this species should be able to discriminate blue, green and possibly yellow, but not red. Three experiments were conducted. The first, a pilot …

Social Desirability And The Interpersonal Check List, Deborah Jean Wheeler

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study is to investigate whether number of responses is related to the social desirability and intensity of the test items. 61 Ss were administered the Interpersonal Check List and the Marlowe Crowne Social Desirability Scale. From the Interpersonal Check List number of responses, average item intensity and average item social desirability were calculated. Average item social desirability was calculated from individual item social desirability values obtained from ratings by another, similar S group. The results showed that number of responses is negatively correlated with average item social desirability and positively correlated with average item intensity, as …

Interpolated Activity Effects In Distributed Practice, Ramond King Stout

Dissertations and Theses

The purposes of this study were to evaluate the effect of different rest interval activities in distributed practice (DP) upon the rate of learning a PA task, to evaluate the effectiveness of different rest interval activities in controlling rehearsal, and to investigate the role of rehearsal in DP performance.

Three experiments compared three different pairs of rest interval activities. One pair of activities, color naming (CN) and sequential addition (SA), was machine paced (MPA). A second pair, cartoon reading (CR) and symbol cancellation (SC), was self-paced (SPA). The third pair required no formal activity (NFA), Ss were instructed to rehearse …

Reminiscence, Disengagement, And Morale In Old Age, Barbara Brown Hardy

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to test two hypotheses concerning reminiscence in old age. Reminiscence has been found to be an adaptive mechanism relating to freedom from clinical depression and to a reduced discrepancy between present and past self-concepts in the face of an experimental social threat (Mc Mahon and Rhudick, 1964; Lewis, 1971). Disengagement theory (Cumming and Henry, 1961) proposes that reminiscence is adaptive because it is a defense mechanism which protects the individual from decreasing physical capacities and lack of reinforcement from society.

Simulation Of Brain Damage On Bender-Gestalt Test By College Subjects, Arnold Rahn Bruhn

Dissertations and Theses

It is a frequent occurrence in accident cases involving alleged brain injury and attendant damage suits, for the defendant's attorney to charge the plaintiff in the case with malingering. At some time in the court proceedings it i.s also common that the plaintiff's psychologist will testify to the court that his client's brain damage is genuine, not feigned. but heretofore, clinicians have been able to speak to the court only from their own background of clinical experience, and clinicians have been known to disagree. They have not been able to refer to a body of research that has addressed itself …

The Behavior Of Coalitions As Interorganizational Structures: An Exploratory Study Using A Grounded Theory Approach, Elaine Marie Rothrock

Dissertations and Theses

This study is one of four exploratory studies concerned with coalitions of organizations that are formed to plan and develop social welfare programs within the local community. Although each study was conducted independently, taken together their major purpose was to develop some insights and knowledge into the behavior of organizations and the ways in which they interact as they work together to develop community programs. They are, then, exploratory studies of inter-organizational behavior.

Each of the studies had a different focus. One study attempted to identify the present areas of agreement and disagreement regarding inter-organization behavior by systematically reviewing the …

Auditory And Visual Sensory Stores: A Recognition Task, James Barr Richardson

Dissertations and Theses

A probe-stimulus recognition technique was used to test hypothesized differences in visual and auditory sensory memory storage. Lists of alphabetical letters were presented visually or auditorially, each followed by a visual or auditory probe. Performance on the auditory lists was predicted to be better than on the visual lists. Moreover, auditory lists followed by a visual probe (AV) were expected to show a decrement in performance in comparison to auditory list-auditory probe tasks (AA). Visual lists followed by an auditory probe (VA) were likewise expected to result in a decrement in performance in comparison to visual list-visual probe tasks (VV). …

Diagnostic Congruence: A Study On Presentation Of Clinical Information To Parents And Recall, Miriam Rae Maier

Dissertations and Theses

The present study was an investigation of recall following presentation of diagnostic information. The setting was the Crippled Children's Division of the University of Oregon Medical School.

The purpose of the study was to test the hypothesis that one session conferencing imparting diagnostic information to parents of handicapped children reduces recall. Additionally, it was hypothesized that multi-discipline conferencing is related to greater diagnostic recall than single discipline conferencing. The sample was made up of 20 parent units whose children were evaluated at the Crippled Children's Division for suspected Cerebral Palsy and/or Mental Retardation. There were ten families from the Cerebral …

Degree Of Depression In Women Preceding Abortion At The University Of Oregon Medical School, William M. Nathe, Ike R. Lacefield

Dissertations and Theses

This evaluation was undertaken because of an interest by the authors in the abortion program at the Medical School. Interest in the emotional status of patients receiving abortions was aroused while working in a field placement at the Medical School through the Portland State University School of Social Work.

With the consent and assistance of the Obstetrics-Gynecology Department and the Director of Social Services, this study was initiated with the hope that it would be a step toward providing an over-all and continuing assessment of information about the women receiving abortions. The researchers' particular area of interest concerned the characteristics …

A Review Of "Longitudinal Study" In Developmental Psychology, Emily H. Finley

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this library research thesis is to review the "longitudinal study" in terms of problems and present use. A preliminary search of the literature on longitudinal method revealed problems centering around two areas: (1) definition of "longitudinal study" and (2) practical problems of method itself. The purpose of this thesis then is to explore through a search of books and journals the following questions:

1. How can “longitudinal study” be defined?

2. What problems are inherent in the study of the same individuals over time and how can these problems be solved?

A third question which emerges from …

Ames Trapezoid Illusion: A New Model, Daniel Robert Kelly

Dissertations and Theses

Current explanations for the Ames Trapezoid Illusion are based upon the the absence of cues: the illusion is said to occur at chance. A review of recent literature showed that: (a) the illusion varies in frequency as a function of target shape (b) that the dominant cue to reduce the frequency of the illusion is the variant in retinal height. Based upon the dominance of this cue a new model was presented. Following this model it was hypothesized that observers viewing partial rotation when the target produces the greatest difference in the retinal height of the ends would determine the …

The Effectiveness Of Environmental Control In Modifying Problem Behaviors In Mother-Child Interaction, Thomas Whalen Hamilton

Dissertations and Theses

An experiment was designed to test the effectiveness of using standard laboratory environments in producing a broad class of problem behaviors which defined Mother-Child (M-C) interaction difficulties. The effects of four environments, free-time (X), child's game and rules (B), mother's game and rules (C), and clean-up (Z), on the frequency of eight criteria behaviors were tested on 12 M-C pairs over three days of baseline data collection. It was predicted that the frequency of problem behaviors would decrease as a function of environment (X) and increase as a function of environments (B), (C), and (Z). A two factor …

Behavioral Changes Due To Overpopulation In Mice, James Robert Hammock

Dissertations and Theses

Previous research has found that if a population were allowed to exceed a comfortable density level, then many catastrophic events occurred such as increased mortality among the young, cannibalism, homosexuality, and lack of maternal functions. The most influential researcher in this area is Calhoun (1962), after whose experimental design a pilot study was fashioned to replicate his results. The results of this pilot study inspired a more detailed research project of which this thesis is an account.

Forty-eight albino mice of the Swiss Webster strain were divided into three groups of sixteen each. Each group consisted of ten females and …

The Effects Of Marihuana Extract Distillate On Eating Behavior Of Rats, Terrie Wetle

Dissertations and Theses

Since hunger drive is often used as a motivating factor in animal learning experimentation, it was decided to determine the effects of marihuana extract distillate on the eating behavior of rats. Carlini and Kramer (1965) found marihuana extract injections to have a faciliatory effect upon maze performance. They suggested that facilitation could have resulted from and increase in hunger drive. However, if the dosage level is high, this effect may last for a short time and be followed by a disinterest in food. Scheckel et al. (1968) report that some monkeys, at very high dosage levels of tetrahydrocannabinol starved to …

The Effect Of Labeling Disfluencies As 'Stuttering' And Contingent And Yoked "Wrong" On The Disfluencies Of Normal Speakers, Dennis Ray Staines

Dissertations and Theses

A labeling variable suggested by Wendell Johnson's "diagnosogenic" theory of the onset of stuttering was included in this study of the disfluencies of normal speaking college students in order to explore further the hypothetical relationship between normal disfluency and the onset of stuttering. A total of 60 Ss were randomly assigned to the following groups, each containing 10 Ss: I. Labeling Chastisement plus Contingent "wrong;" II. Labeling Chastisement plus Yoked (non-contingent) "wrong;" III. Labeling Chastisement - No "wrong;" IV. No Labeling Chastisement Contingent "wrong;" V. No Labeling Chastisement - Yoked "wrong;" VI. No Labeling Chastisement - No "wrong" …

An Interactional Approach To Weight Reduction, Carole T. Gygi

Dissertations and Theses

A treatment program was designed to enable subjects to lose weight through the use of self-confrontation as described in Saslow (1969), and the use of the General Relationship Improvement of the Human Development Institute (HDI), Berlin and Wyckoff (1964).

Self-confrontation is a programmed rehearsal of a specific problem by one person alone, for a five-minute period. The rehearsal, or self-confrontation is to be as vivid as possible, intellectually, emotionally, visually and physically.

The General Relationship Improvement Program is a 10-week text, worked in pairs, which is aimed at better intrapsychic and interpersonal communication and understanding.

Four matched groups were used …

An Attempt To Find Predictor Variables Which Will Discriminate Between Those Patients Who Seek Aftercare Treatment And Those Who Do Not Seek Aftercare Treatment Upon Discharge From A Psychiatric Ward, Nena V. Johnstone, William D. Lynch, Philip M. Baldwin, John C. Kemp

Dissertations and Theses

This is an exploratory follow-up study of the clientele of the Psychiatric Crisis Unit, a short-term, crisis-oriented inpatient psychiatric ward. The main objective of the research was to test the following null hypothesis: there are no significant differences between those individuals who attempt to gain aftercare treatment as opposed to those individuals who do not following discharge from the Crisis Unit.

A sample of fifty-one voluntary patients who consented to participate in the study was used in testing this hypothesis. Each subject completed the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (M.M.P.I.) and a sociological questionnaire while in the Crisis Unit, and a …

Anxiety Level Of Graduate Students In Social Work, Sophia Kouidou-Giles, George Albert Mckee

Dissertations and Theses

This study was designed to determine (1) the trend of anxiety level of social work students, term by term, over the academic year; (2) the cyclical trend of anxiety level of social work students within each term and (3) the effects of age and sex on level of anxiety among social work students.

Anxiety was measured with the IPAT - 8 Parallel Form Anxiety Battery. This test was administered to twenty randomly selected first year students in the School of Social Work during the 1969-1970 academic year at Portland State University. Data was collected from six test administrations which …

Continuance Vs. Discontinuance In Family Counseling, Katherine Anderson, Alice Dudley, Mayetta Rocks

Dissertations and Theses

The study was designed to examine the social workers' and clients' perceptions of change in the treatment process; specifically to examine the question of why clients discontinue service prior to planful termination. Also, the authors attempted to assess the client's perception of gain and the worker's assessment of gain.

Schedule Interactions And Stimulus Control, Andrew Louis Homer

Dissertations and Theses

Four types of schedule interactions have been defined: positive contrast, negative contrast, positive induction, and negative induction. Most work has centered on the necessary conditions for positive contrast. One position states that a reduction in reinforcement frequency is necessary; the other view states that a reduction in response rate is necessary. Neither view can account for the occurrence of induction. The present experiment tests the hypothesis that stimulus control effects the occurrence of either contrast or induction. Three pigeons were trained to respond for primary reinforcement (strong stimulus control condition), and three pigeons were trained to respond for conditioned reinforcement …

Post-Divorce Visitation Of Minor Children; Development Of A Questionnaire, Viola Cotter, Lorraine Goldenberg, Terry Mcgill

Dissertations and Theses

The present descriptive study was broadly concerned about divorces which have an impact on minor children. It was intended to build on the previous research of Griffith, Hack, Murphy, Wieman, Williams, Van Lydegraf & Glaudin (1970) in describing the relationships between parents and children after divorce. It was the objective of the present research team to come closer to the goal of selecting a representative sample of divorced parents than was possible previously. Moreover, an attempt was made to develop a highly structured questionnaire and interview schedule growing out of the earlier experience with semi-structured interviews. Data to be collected …

Action-Oriented Group Therapy For Lower-Socio-Economic-Status Clients, Joan C. Peters

Dissertations and Theses

An attempt is made to present a model of group therapy for Lower-Socio-Economic-Status (LSES) clients. The theoretical issues include a definition of traditional group therapy along with a brief description of the more recent sensitivity training approaches. A rationale for combining these two different group approaches is presented to form the model for action-oriented group therapy (ACT groups) which utilizes both the traditional approach and action techniques of the sensitivity group. It is proposed that this hybrid, the AOT group, is more appropriate for treating the LSES client. The needs and expectations of the LSES client are discussed. The goals …

The Effect Of Perceptual-Motor Training On Maladaptive Behaviors Of Emotionally Disturbed Children, Julia Frances Hall

Dissertations and Theses

Twenty emotionally disturbed children between the ages of six and twelve from three agencies providing special treatment for behavioral or emotional problems were the subjects for this study. The subjects were divided into two major diagnostic categories, withdrawn and acing out, and then matched in pairs by age and diagnosis. One half of each pair was randomly assigned to the experimental condition and the remaining halves were assigned to the control condition. Both the experimental and control groups contained five withdrawn and five acting out subjects. Four experimenters were used, and each experimenter worked with two or four experimental children …