Psychology Commons^™

The Effects Of Life Stress And Risk-Taking Style On Risk Perception And Driver Performance, Christine B. Philput

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

This study examined the effects of risk-taking style, stress level, and highway environment on driver performance. In Phase I, 50 subjects were assessed for risk-taking style and stress level. In Phase II, the same subjects were presented with slides of traffic situations that varied in terms of risk of accident. This was a paired comparison task in which they rank-ordered ten highway sites, producing a measure of subjective risk. No significant relationships were identified between these subjective risk judgments and objective data regarding those sites (accidents and fatalities), though this is most likely due to problems with the slide presentation. …

Reducing Stress Of Inservice Teachers, Jeffrey R. Curley

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A prototype treatment developed to significantly reduce symptoms of stress among inservice teachers was tested in this experiment. Thirty participants selected for high stress levels were randomly assigned to treatment and control groups. They were assessed on environmental, personality, and emotional variables, using self-report and expert-judge measures, both pre- and posttreatment. The experimental treatment was holistic, incorporating all processes previously found to be related to reducing teacher stress. At posttreatment, the treatment group averaged 1.02 standard deviations lower on the stress measures than the control group. Significant differences in the posttest means, favoring the experimental group, were found for 23 …

Relieving Strain In Informal Caregivers Of The Elderly, Roberta Louise Babbage

Theses Digitization Project

No abstract provided.

Development And Testing Of The Stress Adaptation Scale For Parents With Chronically Ill Children (Sasp), Carolyn M. Rutledge

Ellmer School of Nursing Theses & Dissertations

This research study consisted of four phases used to develop and test the Stress Adaptation Scale for Parents with Chronically Ill Children (ASP). The first phase dealt with developing the items on the SASP from a review of the literature and the researcher's professional experience. The SASP was then divided into the six categories of health care, social, personal, familial, financial, and spiritual. In phase II, content validity was evaluated by a panel of experts. In phase III, stability over time and face validity was demonstrated using 26 parents of chronically ill children. The SASP achieved a Pearson's r=.85 with …

A Controlled Evaluation Of Devotional Meditation And Progressive Muscle Relaxation, Charles R. Carlson, Panayiota E. Bacaseta, Dexter A. Simanton

CRVAW Faculty Journal Articles

The present study was conducted to determine the effects of devotional meditation (DM), defined as a period of prayer and quiet reading and pondering of biblical material, on physiological and psychological variables related to stress. It was hypothesized that religious persons engaging in DM experience physiological and psychological changes similar to those reported for persons using progressive relaxation (PR) exercises. Thirty-six participants, equally divided by sex into 3 groups: DM, PR, and a Wait List Control, underwent extensive psychophysiological assessment prior to and following a systematic introductio to either DM or PR. The hypothesis that DM could generate positive physiological …

Sense Of Humor And Social Anxiety, James E. Fischer

Retrospective Theses and Dissertations

In utilizing humorous intervention within the psychotherapeutic milieu, researchers have indicated that there is a relationship between an individual's sense of humor and stressful emotions, specifically anxiety. However, the nature of this relationship is uncertain. While some scientists propose a direct relationship between humor and anxiety, others hypothesize an inverse relationship. This study was designed to investigate this relationship, hypothesizing that the greater an individual's sense of humor, the more likely the individual would experience anxiety in social situations. The subjects were 143 male and female undergraduates. These volunteers were administered the Situational Humor Response Questionnaire (SHRQ) and the Interaction …

The Effectiveness Of Three Modes Of Conversation On Coping With Stress In Same Sex Friendship Dyads, Robert Sal Costanza

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

To induce stress, pairs of friends, serving as subjects, were told they would be moving a spider through a maze. In three experimental conditions the friends were allowed to talk with one another prior to interacting with the spider; in the fourth condition the subjects waited alone. The conversations were structured so that the differential effects of problem-solving, emotion-based, or situationally unrelated discussion between friends could be observed on measures of negative mood state and behavioral fear. Subjects in the emotion-based condition generally experienced the greatest amounts of negative mood and fear. Problem-solving and unrelated discussions resulted in lower levels …

The Effects Of Environmental Stress On Financial Planning For Retirement, Gerald Lee Gamache

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

During the past several decades vast changes have occurred in the labor market. Unusually high unemployment rates, changes in labor force composition and the migration of workers to new industries, are typical topics of concern. This study deals with the development of a model to explain the consequences of environmental stress and psychological strain on retirement financial planning behaviors, an area of investigation which has received little or no attention in the literature, but in which as much importance portends as the traditional topics of concern. Several measures of environmental stress, psychological strain and measures of coping behaviors are developed …

The Electrocortical Correlates Of Fluctuating States Of Attention During Vigilance Tasks, Stephen G. Cunningham

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

This study investigated the electrocortical correlates of attention. Sixteen subjects (seven females, nine males) engaged in a forty-minute target-detection vigilance task. In addition to the demands of the vigilance task, the subjects were asked to press a button during the vigilance task if they had experienced task-unrelated thoughts (TUTs) or daydreams. Continuous electroencephalograms (EEG) were recorded from the subjects during the entire task. During the vigilance task, task-irrelevant tones were presented every 2-4 seconds. Event-related potentials (ERPs) elicited by these tones were generated.

The task was divided into four ten-minute periods. The analysis of the performance data indicated performance decrements …

Plasma Catecholamine And Ascorbic Acid Levels In Smokers And Nonsmokers As A Function Of Stress, Audrey A. Wickiser

Student Work

Research on the relationship between the role of stress and blood catecholamine levels began in the early 60's. Studies since that time have shown that both physical and psychological stressors can cause an increase in the circulating levels of catecholamines. Epinephrine and norepinephrine are the catecholamines most implicated as being affected by stress. The results have not been clear as to whether the two catecholamines respond differentially to physical and psychological stress. Epinephrine secretion appears to increase in response to anxiety while norepinephrine may be related to aggression.

Stress Appraisals And Performance In An Academic Setting, Michele Terranova

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Stressful appraisals and performance were measured in an achievement-oriented setting. The coping disposition of sensitization, locus of control, and specific attribution for control were expected to influence both the stress appraisal process and the outcome of performance. Assessment of students' subjective stress levels, personality variables, and attributions for control were obtained at the beginning of a difficult class required for a major in psychology. Those students perceiving that the outcome of the course would depend on their ability and effort displayed significantly less subjective stress. Performance measures, as indicated by a grade on a paper with the students' grade point …

Stress: What Is It And How Can It Be Quantified?, T. H. Friend

Sentience Collection

An animal may be considered to be in a state of stress if abnormal behavior or extreme adjustments in its behavior or physiology are necessary in order to cope with adverse aspects of its environment. Methods used to determine if an animal is stressed can be either behavioral or physiological. Behavioral methods may be highly erroneous due to their subjective nature since alterations in behavior do not necessarily prove that an animal is stressed. There is no single measure of stress that can be used in all situations at this time. Every measure must be critically evaluated to ensure that …

The Effects Of Progressive Relaxation Training And Biofeedback-Assisted Relaxation Training On Control Of Stress Arousal, Barbara S. Lindley

Retrospective Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Anxiety And Fear In Personality Structure, Robert Robert Mickelson

Graduate Student Research Papers

The problem to be studied is the effect of anxiety and fear on the personality. Concern with this problem stems from the fact that on many occasions anxiety and fear blocks a person's free approach to experience and often anxiety and fear prevent one from building sound interpersonal and intergroup relations.

Analysis Of Stresses In A Three Span Continuous Concrete Beam Bridge, G K. Leptien

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

While still attempting to decide on a topic for a thesis study, the author was asked, "How far from the up- ports of a continuous-bean reinforced-concrete bridge should the reinforcing for negative moment extend into the spany." It was a simple question, and the reason for it being asked was that a particular structure, the one shown in the frontispiece, had developed transverse cracks in the surface of the deck structure a distance of three and a half feet from the center of both interior supports. (See the plan view in figure 6, Appendix.) The cracks were by no means …