Psychology Commons^™

Training Parents In Consequence Delivery And To Initiate School Communication Using An Electronic Home-Based Reinforcement Program To Modify Students' Classroom Behaviors, Kashunda Lynn Williams

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Existing research has shown that when parents and teachers work together, everyone benefits; students tend to earn higher grades, perform better on tests, attend school more regularly, have better behavior, and show more positive attitudes toward themselves and toward school (Canter, 2004). This study builds upon these findings by examining the effects of parent training and a parent implemented intervention (parent initiated home-school note via email) on students’ maladaptive classroom behavior and teachers’ ratings on Achenbach’s Teacher Report Form and Conner’s Ratings Scales. In addition, the effects of emailing parental performance feedback on parents’ adherence to intervention procedures (parent initiated …

The Rate Of Decline Of Social Skills Across Dementing And Non-Dementing Individuals With Intellectual Disabilities: A Longitudinal Study, Julia D. Lott

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This study sought to establish rate of decline of adaptive skills in a population of individuals with intellectual disability (ID) and dementia compared to similar persons without dementia, as well as examining the variability of positive and negative social behaviors across diagnostic classes. Among the general population, differential rates of functional decline have been established for normal aging and dementia. This knowledge assists in making differential diagnoses of dementia, establishing prognosis, and long-term planning. For this study, participants in each group were individually matched for age, gender, Down’s syndrome status, and level of ID. Participants in the matched control group …

How Cue-Dependent Is Memory?: Internal Reinstatement And Cueing Effects In Recognition And Source Memory, Jeffrey Joseph Starns

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This study explored the role of internal context reinstatement in masking the effects of external context cues on recognition and source memory. Participants studied words paired with pictures of male and female faces. Following the study phase, participants completed either a source test in which they decided whether each test word was studied with a male or female face (Experiments 1, 3, and 4) or a recognition test in which they decided whether each test word appeared in the study phase (Experiment 2). On selected trials, a studied face was reinstated at test to serve as a cue for the …

Digital Extensions And Performed Players: A Theoretical Model For The Video/Computer Game, Ben Fisler

Reconstruction: Studies in Contemporary Culture

Despite over twenty years of studies, scholars have yet to identify a productive theoretical model for the video game that does not depend on a fragmentary understanding of its form. Following Pierre Bourdieu's contention that the purpose of criticism is to understand cultural products as distinct scientific objects, and Marshall McLuhan's theory that the message and formative power of media are the media themselves, this study attempts to generate a foundational critical understanding of the video game. Building on the most lucrative intrinsic (such as David Myer's 1991 Computer Game Semiotics) and extrinsic (such as Jeffrey Goldstein's 1998 Immortal …

Understanding The Nature Of Surgical Excellence Using A Competency Modeling Approach, Hope S. Hanner-Bailey

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Currently, a thorough description of the knowledge, skills, abilities, and other personal characteristics (KSAOs) that distinguish an exceptional surgeon does not exist. This knowledge is pertinent to the development of selection, training, and performance assessment methods that can be used to develop high performing surgeons. Expert surgeons from around the country were recruited to participate in an interview to discuss the KSAOs (i.e., the competencies) needed to be exceptional in the field. A smaller number of novice surgeons were also interviewed. The expert interview data were distilled into a competency model that consists of ten competencies and patterns within the …

Providing Appropriate Social Interventions For Preschool-Age Children With Mild Autism Spectrum Disorders, Angela M. Riesberg

Graduate Research Papers

This paper provides a variety of appropriate social interventions to use with preschool-age children with mild Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Regardless of his or her diagnostic label, each individual child requires an individualized approach to treatment. Typically, multiple interventions are necessary for a successful program.

The questions this project will address include: (a) What are some possible social interventions to use with preschool-age children who have mild autism spectrum disorders, (b) what research supports current successful social interventions, ( c) which social interventions could provide the most benefits and success, and (d) how can inclusion and interacting with typically developing …

Training Wayfinding: Natural Movement In Mixed Reality, Ruthann Savage

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Army needs a distributed training environment that can be accessed whenever and wherever required for training and mission rehearsal. This paper describes an exploratory experiment designed to investigate the effectiveness of a prototype of such a system in training a navigation task. A wearable computer, acoustic tracking system, and see-through head mounted display (HMD) were used to wirelessly track users' head position and orientation while presenting a graphic representation of their virtual surroundings, through which the user walked using natural movement. As previous studies have shown that virtual environments can be used to train navigation, the ability to add …

Investigating The Mechanisms That Drive Implicit Coordination In Teams, Raegan Hoeft

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to empirically test the oft-noted hypothesis that shared mental models lead to implicit coordination. Specifically, this dissertation investigated the underlying mechanisms of implicit coordination and how different aspects of shared mental models affect the process. The research questions tested in this study were (a)how perceptions of sharedness affect the initiation of implicit coordination, (b) how actual levels of sharedness affect the process of implicit coordination, and (c) how quality of task mental models affects successful implicit coordination. Sixty same-gender, two-person teams engaged in a complex military reconnaissance planning task in which the team members …

Immediate Versus Delayed Feedback In Simulation Based Training: Matching Feedback Delivery Timing To The Cognitive Demands Of Th, Amy Bolton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Optimal delivery of instruction is both critical and challenging in dynamic, scenario-based training (SBT) computer simulations such as those used by the military. Tasks that human instructors must perform during these sorts of simulated training exercises can impose a heavy burden on them. Partially due to advances in the state-of-the-art in training technology and partially due to the military's desire to reduce the number of personnel required, it may be possible to support functions that overburdened instructors perform by automating much of the SBT process in a computer simulation. Unfortunately though, after more than 50 years of literature documenting research …

Initial Testing Of The Continuous Employee Development Model: Outcome Expectations And Work-Related Implicit Theory, Christina Garofano

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Understanding and promoting lifelong learning in employees is important for employees' future marketability (Robinson & Rousseau, 1994) and for creating learning organizations (Senge, 1990). To further this understanding, components of a model of the motivation to engage in continuous employee development (Garofano & Salas, 2005) were tested. New scales were created for work-related implicit theory and outcome expectations and the validity of these scales and these variables in the model were investigated. Alternate models were also contrasted with the Garofano and Salas model (2005). The study used self-report surveys administered to staff and faculty recruited from training classes in higher …

A Comparison Of Ordinary Least Squares, Weighted Least Squares, And Other Procedures When Testing For The Equality Of Regression, Patrick J. Rosopa

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

When testing for the equality of regression slopes based on ordinary least squares (OLS) estimation, extant research has shown that the standard F performs poorly when the critical assumption of homoscedasticity is violated, resulting in increased Type I error rates and reduced statistical power (Box, 1954; DeShon & Alexander, 1996; Wilcox, 1997). Overton (2001) recommended weighted least squares estimation, demonstrating that it outperformed OLS and performed comparably to various statistical approximations. However, Overton's method was limited to two groups. In this study, a generalization of Overton's method is described. Then, using a Monte Carlo simulation, its performance was compared to …

The Construct Validity Of A Situational Judgment Test In A Maximum Performance Context, Kevin Stagl

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A Predictor Response Process model (see Ployhart, 2006) and research findings were leveraged to formulate research questions about, and generate construct validity evidence for, a new situational judgment test (SJT) designed to measure declarative and strategic knowledge. The first question asked if SJT response instructions (i.e., 'Should Do', 'Would Do') moderated the validity of an SJT in a maximum performance context. The second question asked what the upper-bound criterion-related validity coefficient is for SJTs in talent selection contexts in which typical performance is the criterion of interest. The third question asked whether the SJT used in the present study was …

Proximity In Context: An Empirically Grounded Computational Model Of Proximity For Processing Topological Spatial Expression., John D. Kelleher, Geert-Jan Kruijff, Fintan Costello

Conference papers

The paper presents a new model for context-dependent interpretation of linguistic expressions about spatial proximity between objects in a natural scene. The paper discusses novel psycholinguistic experimental data that tests and verifies the model. The model has been implemented, and enables a conversational robot to identify objects in a scene through topological spatial relations (e.g. ''X near Y''). The model can help motivate the choice between topological and projective prepositions.

Invitation To The Table Conversation: A Few Diverse Perspectives On Integration, Natalia Yangarber-Hicks, Charles Behensky, Sally Schwer, Kelly Schimmel Flanagan, Nicholas J.S. Gibson, Mitchell W. Hicks, Cynthia Neal Kimball, Jenny H. Pak, Thomas G. Plante, Steven L. Porter

Psychology

This article represents an invitation to the "integration table" to several previously underrepresented perspectives within Christian psychology. The Judeo-Christian tradition and current views on scholarship and Christian faith compel us to extend hospitality to minority voices within integration, thereby enriching and challenging existing paradigms in the field. Contributors to this article, spanning areas of cultural, disciplinary, and theological diversity, provide suggestions for how their distinct voices can enhance future integrative efforts.

Reducing Heavy Drinking In College Males With The Decisional Balance: Analyzing An Element Of Motivational Interviewing, Joseph W. Labrie, Eric R. Pedersen, Mitch Earleywine, Hutson Olsen

Heads Up!

The decisional balance, a brief detailing of the advantages and disadvantages of behavior change, serves as a key component to interventions in Motivational Interviewing. The impact of this component alone is not well understood. Forty-seven men completed a Timeline Followback interview assessing alcohol consumption and unsafe sexual practices. They then completed a decisional balance, listing the Pros and Cons of decreasing their drinking, but not one for safer sex. One-month follow-up data showed that they had statistically significant and clinically meaningful increases in their motivation to alter drinking and decreases in the number of drinks that they intended to drink, …

Comparing Electronic-Keypad Responses To Paper-And-Pencil Questionnaires In Group Assessments Of Alcohol Consumption And Related Attitudes, Joseph W. Labrie, Mitch Earleywine, Toby Lamb, Kristin Shelesky

Heads Up!

Electronic versions of questionnaires have the potential to improve research and interventions in the addictions. Administering questionnaires electronically to groups, however, has proven difficult without a multitude of computers, but gathering data electronically from a group could make for easy assessment and quick feedback. Using a sample of 107 college students, we examined the validity of wireless keypad survey responses by comparing them to traditional paper-and-pencil questionnaires. The two formats led to almost identical responses that did not differ significantly from each other (all effect sizes less than g =.15) and high correlations between formats. The wireless, handheld keypad procedure …

Coping Processes Of Couples Experiencing Infertility, Brennan Peterson, Christopher R. Newton, Karen H. Rosen, Robert S. Shulman

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

This study explored the coping processes of couples experiencing infertility. Participants included 420 couples referred for advanced reproductive treatments. Couples were divided into groups based on the frequency of their use of eight coping strategies. Findings suggest that coping processes, which are beneficial to individuals, may be problematic for one's partner. Couples where men used high amounts of distancing, while their partner used low amounts of distancing, reported higher levels of distress when compared to couples in the other groups. Conversely, couples with women who used high amounts of self-controlling coping, when paired with men who used low amounts of …

The Moderating Effect Of Judge’S Instructions On Victim Impact Testimony In Capital Cases, Judith Platania, Garrett Berman

Arts & Sciences Faculty Publications

In this study, we addressed whether victim impact instructions served as a legal safeguard in a capital case involving victim impact testimony. We hypothesized that specific victim impact instructions would moderate the relation between victim impact testimony and death penalty recommendations. One hundred sixty-six participants viewed a simulated videotaped trial in which a victim impact statement was delivered in different emotional conditions. Judge’s instructions were varied as either general instructions or with the addition of specific victim impact instructions. Participant-jurors who heard specific victim impact instructions were less likely to recommend death compared to participants who heard general jury instructions. …

Implicit Theories Go Applied: Conception Of Ability At Work, Charles N. Thompson

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Implicit theories have been extensively studied in educational psychology (e.g. Dweck, 1999; Dweck & Leggett, 1988). Implicit theories have been related to goal orientation, response to failure, attributional style and perception of effort. With a few exceptions (e.g. Heslin, Latham, & VandeWalle, 2005; Martocchio, 1994) the potential applicability of this research to industrial/organizational psychology has been largely ignored. The current study proposed a measure specifically designed to measure implicit theories about work, assessed its relationship to other implicit theory measures, and explored potential relationships with work domain antecedents. Scales assessing conception of ability at work, goal focus, perception of effort, …

Active Regulation Of Speed During A Simulated Low-Altitude Flight Task: Altitude Matters!, April M. Bennett

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

This study examined active regulation of speed during a low-altitude flight task as a function of global optical flow rate, speed, and the presence or absence of a concurrent altitude disturbance. The results showed that altitude clearly had an impact on speed control; specifically, control of speed was much more difficult when altitude disturbances were present. Even in the no altitude disturbance conditions, performance tended to be best at lower altitudes. Consistent with previous research, the results suggest that speed and altitude changes have additive effects on speed judgments. This is inconsistent with the simple global optical flow rate hypothesis …

Interactive Effects Of Feedback Type And Feedback Propensities On Task Performance, Kristin M. Delgado

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the present study was to examine the effects of feedback types (i.e., outcome, process, and task feedback), feedback propensities, and their interactions on task performance in an attempt to determine, first, which types of feedback produced better task performance and, second, how feedback propensities influenced relationships between feedback type and performance. Process feedback and task feedback were expected to interact in their effects on task performance. In addition, I predicted that external feedback propensity would moderate the effects of process feedback on performance and initial task performance would moderate the effects of internal feedback propensity on task …

The Hippocampus Supports Both The Recollection And The Familiarity Components Of Recognition Memory, Peter E. Wais, John T. Wixted, Ramona O. Hopkins, Larry R. Squire

Faculty Publications

The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) has been used to investigate the component processes of recognition memory. Some studies with this technique have been taken to indicate that the hippocampus selectively supports the process of recollection, whereas adjacent cortex in the parahippocampal gyrus supports the process of familiarity. We analyzed ROC data from young adults, memory-impaired patients with limited hippocampal lesions, and age-matched controls. The shape of the ROC changed in similar ways from asymmetric to symmetric, as a function of the strength of memory (strong to weak) in both the young adults and the patients. Moreover, once overall memory strength …

Maze Learning And Recall In Weakly Electric Fish, Mormyrus Rume Proboscirostris Boulenger 1898 (Teleostei, Mormyridae): Sensory Bases, Alice G. Walton

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Animals use navigational strategies ranging from taxes, landmark and compass orientation, and path integration to cognitive maps. The debate concerning the use of mapping strategies, or less complex mechanisms such path integration, landmark orientation, or dead reckoning is far from settled. Nocturnal weakly electric fish (family Mormyridae) leave their daytime hiding places at night to forage for food and return at dawn. Thus, these fish provide an excellent model to explore their navigational strategies.

The present studies explore these strategies using a novel paradigm: after learning to swim through a maze (acquisition), the maze barriers are removed and the fish …

The Technical Fix Or The Systemic Solution For Urban Water Quality? A Case Study Of Grassroots Activism On Behalf Of New York City's Drinking Water, Mirele B. Goldsmith

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This case study examines the activities of the Croton Watershed Clean Water Coalition from 1996 until 2004. The Coalition opposed construction of a filtration plant for the Croton water supply. The study traces the Coalition’s campaign against filtration, which took place in the context of the widely heralded New York City Watershed Memorandum of Agreement (1997). Although the Agreement permitted New York City to avoid filtration for its Catskill and Delaware water supplies, plans were laid for filtration of the Croton supply.

My study is informed by political ecology which provides a framework for understanding politics, practices and contradictions involved …

The Relationship Between Sexual Behavior And Relational Aggression In College Students, Hiliary Baethke

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Although the study of relational aggression has been the subject of more research since Crick and Grotpeter (1995) first defined the term, the impact of this form of aggression on college students is still an area that requires more study. Relational aggression is defined as "harming others through purposeful manipulation and damage of their peer relationships" (Crick & Grotpeter, 1995). Current research on relational aggression has established that women are more likely to engage in relational aggression then men (Crick, Bigbee, & Howes, 1996). While research has typically focused on the impact of relational aggression on friendship groups, the impact …

Coping Strategies And Personality In Schizophrenia: Can These Two Factors Influence Relapse Rates And Quality Of Life?, Amanda Collins

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Many schizophrenia patients never fully recover from their illness, despite being relatively stable. Therefore, research is beginning to go beyond symptom treatment and focus on patients' quality of life. Coping strategies and personality are two factors that may influence quality of life. This study investigated the effects of specific coping strategies and personality on the outcome of schizophrenia as measured by psychiatric symptoms, quality of life, and relapse rates. Results showed that symptomatology was associated with coping strategies that entailed creating a plan of action, while relapse rates were negatively associated with coping strategies that entailed mental and behavioral distraction. …

Museum Visitors’ Understanding Of Evolution, Amy N. Spiegel, E. Margaret Evans, Wendy Gram, Judy Diamond

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

In spite of overwhelming scientific evidence supporting evolution, a large percentage of the Ameri-can public does not understand or accept the fundamental principles of evolutionary theory. Museums have an important role in educating children and adults about evolution. This paper reviews recent museum visitor studies, which suggest that while visitors are interested in learning about and less likely to reject evolution than the general public, they tend to have a limited understanding of evolutionary concepts. A new conceptual framework, based on developmental research, indicates that visitors reason about evolution differently depending on the type of organism they are considering, applying …

Incorporating Social Anxiety Into A Model Of College Problem Drinking: Replication And Extension, Lindsay S. Ham, Debra A. Hope

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Although research has found an association between social anxiety and alcohol use in noncollege samples, results have been mixed for college samples. College students face many novel social situations in which they may drink to reduce social anxiety. In the current study, the authors tested a model of college problem drinking, incorporating social anxiety and related psychosocial variables among 228 undergraduate volunteers. According to structural equation modeling (SEM) results, social anxiety was unrelated to alcohol use and was negatively related to drinking consequences. Perceived drinking norms mediated the social anxiety–alcohol use relation and was the variable most strongly associated with …

Developmental Needs Of Adolescents And Media, Laura M. Padilla-Walker

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Adolescence is marked by a number of physical, cognitive, and social changes that interact to create a number of developmental needs specific to this age group. As adolescents seek to define themselves independently of their parents, they often turn to media as sources of self-socialization and of messages about their identity in terms of gender, sexuality, and ethnicity. Although parents and peers remain influential during this transition, this entry focuses on adolescents’ use of media to navigate developmental changes and cope with the daily difficulties of being teenagers, and on the role of media in shaping adolescents’ development of identity …

Life-Course Socioeconomic Position And Hypertension In African American Men: The Pitt County Study, Sherman A. James, John Van Hoewyk, Robert F. Belli, David S. Strogatz, David R. Williams, Trevillore E. Raghunathan

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Objectives. We investigated the odds of hypertension for Black men in relationship to their socioeconomic position (SEP) in both childhood and adulthood.

Methods. On the basis of their parents’ occupation, we classified 379 men in the Pitt County (North Carolina) Study into low and high childhood SEP. The men’s own education, occupation, employment status, and home ownership status were used to classify them into low and high adulthood SEP. Four life-course SEP categories resulted: low childhood/low adulthood, low childhood/high adulthood, high childhood/low adulthood, and high childhood/high adulthood.

Results. Low childhood SEP was associated with a 60% greater …