Psychology Commons^™

A Behavioral Analysis Of Ethical Systems, Glen R. Peterson

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Improving Customer Service In A Large Department Store Through The Use Of Training And Feedback, Mark G. Brown

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to increase the frequency of four specific customer-service behaviors in three full-time department store salespeople. Each related to the steps involved in a sales transaction, the behaviors recorded were: approaching and greeting customers, being courteous, and appropriately closing the sale. These four responses were defined as exceptional customer service behaviors. A training program had only a slight impact on improving service, but feedback produced a substantial improvement in the frequency of all four targeted customer-service behaviors Removal of feedback produced a small decline in performance; but the percentage of exceptional customer-service behaviors increased to …

Reinforcement Psychology And The Market Environment, Richard P. Eastman

Masters Theses

A functional analysis of behavior requires a monopoly of controlling variables. Where contingency-control is mutual, i.e., where there is mutual shaping of shaping, functional analysis of contingency control is impossible. Weingarten and Mechner's notion of 'dependent-contingency* analysis restores some sense here, but not enough to salvage grandiose schemes for monopolistically controlled experimental cultures.

Utopian behaviorists do not realize the scope of functions performed by markets in the human environment. Prediction and control of a dependent-variable culture requires prior elimination of entrepreneurship, (black) markets, and the far-reaching division of labor that is provided only by market coordination. Under such a system, …

A Behavioral System For Supervising Undergraduate Research, Gary D. Gant

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Habituation And Sensitization Induced By Aggression, Diane Joy Redalia

Masters Theses

Four complex unlearned behaviors (locomotion, grooming, sensory scanning and pausing) induced by electric shock presented every 210" were studied in the presence and absence of an opportunity to attack an aggression target. Three male Wistar rats, approx. 12 mo. old, were observed for 84 hours of the shock presentation schedule. An observer used a modified IMSAI 8048 control computer to record the frequency and duration of locomotion, sensory scanning, grooming and pausing; the computer also controlled shock delivery. The validity of response definitions were asessed by the correlation between the simultaneous observations of the behaviors. Interobserver correlations for all behaviors …

The Effects Of The Opportunity To Engage In Self-Stimulatory Behavior On Task Responding In Retarded Children, Paula Shilton

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

The Construction And Validation Of A Death Anxiety Scale, Mark Lane Whipple

Masters Theses

Death anxiety has been previously investigated by many means including questionnaires and physiological and behavioral measures. Prior research indicated that paper and pencil scales of death anxiety correlated with physiological measures of anxiety. The present study was an attempt to construct and validate a large paper and pencil scale to measure death anxiety by using physiological measures of anxiety as external validation criteria. Sixty-six white female students were randomly selected from a pool of 80 volunteers obtained from introductory Psychology classes at Eastern Illinois University.

The physiological measure, changes in Galvanic Skin Response upon the presentation of 10 death-related and …

The Relationship Of Lateral Eye Movements To Field-Dependence-Independence And Verbal And Performance Skills, Linda J. Stennett-Mason

Masters Theses

Lateral eye movements and handedness as indexes of hemisphere asymmetry were compared to field-dependence-independence, as measured by Rod-and-Frame Test errors, and to Wechsler Verbal and Performance IQs. Consistent with previous research, the hypotheses predicted that persons with inconsistent lateral eye movements (ambilaterality) would have greater Rod-and-Frame errors (field-dependence) and lower Wechsler Verbal and Performance IQs.

Subjects were 41 male undergraduates who were grouped according to their lateral eye movements in response to 20 reflective questions consisting of ten verbal (left-hemisphere) and ten spatial (right-hemisphere) questions. The response scoring resulted in 12 subjects with 70% or more lateral eye movements to …

Androgyny And Occupational Choice, Ruth Carol Ellerbusch

Masters Theses

Sex-role orientation was investigated in terms of how it related to occupational choice. Sex-role orientation was defined in the following manner: one was either androgynous, masculine, feminine or indeterminate (Bern, 1974). Androgyny is a term used to describe individuals who are flexible in their sex-role orientation, individuals who are capable of being both instrumental and expressive, assertive and yielding, independent and dependent. Masculinity is associated with an instrumental orientation, a concern for oneself and getting the job done and a fondness for what man can make. Femininity is associated with an expressive communal orientation, an affective concern for the welfare …

Themes Elicited By The Senior Apperception Test In Institutionalized Older Adults, Nancy A. Stock

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to investigate the major themes elicited by the 16 stimulus cards of the Senior Apperception Test (SAT) (Bellak, 1975). The SAT was administered to 40 institutionalized male and female volunteers from seven nursing homes in the central Illinois region. They ranged in age from 61 to 97 years of age. There were 20 females (mean age = 78.6 years, S.D. = 8.3 years) and 20 males (mean age = 78.l years, S.D. = 10.4 years). All subjects were initially given a brief organic screening device to rule out those subjects with severe or moderate …

Self Disclosure Among The Chinese And American College Students, Mau-Sun Hua

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

A Study Of Basic Characteristics Of "The Man Of Tao" Of Lao Tzu And "Self-Actualizing People" Of Maslow, Kuang-Fu Chang

Masters Theses

This thesis serves two purposes: One, it reveals the influences of Taoist philosophy on Maslow's humanistic psychology which has become the third force in the field of psychology; secondly it lets all those who have regarded Chinese classics as nothing but a bundle of obsolete stuffs know that an archaic well still has fresh water to be drawn out to use.

In Tao Te Ching, or Lao Tzu the book, the man of Tao and innocent child are highly praised by Lao Tzu and may be referred to as ideal characters of his mind. Metaphysically, Tao is the Way, the …

Test-Retest Reliability Of The Hand Test With The Institutionalized Elderly, Thomas J. Lundquist

Masters Theses

The Hand Test (Wagner, 1962) was administered to 50 institutionalized elderly subjects. There were 36 female and 14 male subjects with a mean age of 76.94 years and a standard deviation of 10.48 years. A list of possible subjects was initially obtained from the activity directors at each nursing home. They were instructed to list the individuals which were "alert" and would be cooperative. The subjects were given a brief organic screening device to eliminate those subjects of severe or moderate mental impairment. Those subjects which missed two or less questions were then administered the Hand Test. Following approximately a …

A Comparison Of Stimulus Control Procedures And Progressive Relaxation In The Treatment Of Insomnia, Mark L. Balen

Masters Theses

Behavioral treatments for insomnia have seen increasing use in recent years due to the inefficacy of pharmacological treatments. Behavioral treatments utilized have included progressive relaxation training, systematic desensitization, stimulus control procedures, biofeedback, autogenic training, paradoxical instructions, and several miscellaneous procedures. Research has shown all of these treatments to be effective, although there have been methodological flaws in many of the studies. Stimulus control procedures have never been compared to progressive relaxation in the treatment of insomnia.

In the present study six insomniacs with a mean latency to sleep onset of at least 30 minutes were used to compare stimulus contol …

Relationship Of Locus Of Control And Other Personality Characteristics In Enuretics, Judy Louise Bowlby

Masters Theses

Past research concerning the personality construct of enuretic children has demonstrated conflicting results. During recent years, the concept of internal versus external locus of control has been used in extensive research dealing with personality and behavioral characteristics of various populations. However, there had not been a study involving locus of control among enuretics. One purpose of the present study was to identify locus of control and other personality and behavioral characteristics among both enuretic and "normal" (non-enuretic) children and their mothers. Another objective was to determine valuable predictors for locus of control in enuretics, locus of control in mothers of …

Acquisition Of Problem-Solving Behavior Via Precurrent Training, Diane E. Nelles

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Self-Esteem And Goal Difficulty As Influences On Task Performance And Task Satisfaction, John W. Johnson

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

A Conceptual Analysis Of Radical Behaviorist Epistemology, Marcia L. Bennett

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

A Descriptive Study Of Parish Clergy And Their Counseling Practices, Gregory J. Ludlow

Masters Theses

First paragraph:

It has been the function of societies throughout history to provide comfort and support for it's troubled members. In the past, this function was performed by the society's religious institutions.Today, as in the past, people who want solutions.to the problems they experience, or who want to gain pathways to possible solutions, look to their religion, their church organization, their clergyman, to their God. The clergymen of a community are apt to be the first professionals of that community to be consulted when the need for help is felt.

Conditioned Reinforcement: An Attempt To Replicate The Thomas Procedure With Children, Michael B. Oberlin

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Negative Behavioral Contrast As A Function Of Response Effort, Nile Elliott Warner

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

A Comparison Of Choice Procedures: Positive Reinforcement, Michael Joseph Boivin

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

An Analysis Of The Generalization Of Multiple-Word Response Forms Across Stimulus Conditions, James E. Nofziger

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Comparison Of Work Samples And A Psychological Test In A Vocational Evaluation Program, Charles Dircken

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

A Comparison Of Choice Procedures: Negative Reinforcement, Raul Rene De La Garza Cano

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

A Comparison Of Total Communication And Traditional Speech Training Methods With Hearing Noncommunicating, Severely Mentally Retarded Individuals, Michael E. Wells

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

The Exploration And Exposition Of Factors Related To Lunar Influence On Suicides, Suicide Calls And Crisis Calls, Scott Gene Cook

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Color Preference As A Function Of Personality, Robert J. Russell

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

A Behavior And Cost Analysis Of Two Remediation Procedures, Theodore D. Apking

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Effects Of Differential Temporal Onset Of Auditory And Visual Conditional Stimuli Upon Consummatory Licking Behavior Of Rats In A Discriminative Punishment Situation, Nelia Masiques

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.