Applied Behavior Analysis Commons^™

The Comparison Of Selection-Based And Topography-Based Verbal Behavior Across Populations, Carl T. Sundberg

Dissertations

Michael (1985) distinguished between selection-based (SB) and topography-based (TB) verbal behavior. Several studies comparing the ease of learning the two systems have shown conflicting results. The data indicate that subjects with fewer lower verbal skills have done better with TB systems (subjects with developmental disabilities in studies by Hodges & Schwethelm, 1984; Sundberg & Sundberg, 1990; Weirmanski, 1984; Wraikat, 1991; Wraikat, Sundberg, & Michael, 1991; and the bottom half of subjects in Cresson, 1994). The higher functioning subjects have done better (or have not shown a difference) with SB systems. (Bristow & Fristoe, 1984; Stratton , 1992; Tan, Bredin, Poison, …

Preparation For The Gre, Corina Groeger

Dissertations

The present research consisted of two empirical studies and a literature review. The first study was a systematic replication of the studies by Miller, Goodyear-Orwart, and Malott (1996) and Vunovich and Malott (1997). Fourteen undergraduate students and one graduate student participated in four intensive, extensive, structured Graduate Record Examination (GRE) preparation courses that met for seven weeks and lasted between 99 and 140 hours. The courses offered a monetary reward for students who met a minimum of 92% for attendance and participation during the course. The results of this study showed statistically significant mean improvements of 145 points for the …

The Effect Of Rate Vs. Number Of Emissions Of An Operant Behavior On Behavior Probability, Michael D. Makepeace

Dissertations

The present study compared three conditions in the training of a set of operant responses on later probability of behavior that represented a generalization or co-adduction of the behavior emitted in training. In two of the conditions, the numbers of emissions of target responses were exactly equal; in a third condition, the number of emissions of target responses was a lesser quantity. The two conditions with an equal number of emissions of target responses were distinguished by the rate of responses yielded by contingencies surrounding training in each condition. In one of these conditions, subjects responded at a relatively low …

Differential Effects Of Individual And Group Pay Contingencies On Individual Performance, Judith A. Honeywell-Johnson

Dissertations

Individual productivity of high performers was compared under an individual monetary incentive system and a 10-member group monetary incentive system. Subjects were 4 college students, each assigned to a simulated 10-person group. Subjects individually performed four computerized work tasks (SYNWORK) simultaneously, and the total number of points earned on the tasks was the main dependent variable. A within-subject reversal design was used, with hourly pay (A), individual (B) and group (C) monetary incentives implemented in an ABCB pattern. Subjects, when working under the group incentive pay condition, were told that the number of points they earned during each session would …

The Association Of Five Therapist Characteristics With Therapists' Suspicion Of Childhood Sexual Abuse In Adult Client Cases, Sherri I. Terrell

Dissertations

One hundred and twenty-five doctoral level psychologists interning at university counseling centers throughout North America were surveyed to explore the association of therapists' suspicion of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) in adult client cases with five therapist characteristics: (a) gender; (b) having or not having had personal therapy; (c) having or not having professional experience with three or more clients who are survivors of CSA; (d) having or not having a close friend, family member, or significant other who is a survivor of CSA; and (e) being or not being a survivor of CSA.

Information was collected on interns' demographics and …

Evaluation Of A Computer Simulation To Assess Subject Preference For Different Types Of Incentive Pay: Part Two, Stephen Mark Sundby

Dissertations

This study further investigated the use of a computer simulation to assess subject preference for different types of pay systems. Subjects were eight undergraduates recruited from psychology classes at Western Michigan University. The dependent variable was the subjects’ choice of pay system, either simulated hourly pay or base pay plus incentive. Simulated work performance was determined by the computer with 0.50 probability of low or high performance. For Experiment 1, the independent variable was the maximum amount of simulated pay that subjects could earn under each pay type. For Experiments 2 and 3, the independent variable was the percentage of …

Autocorrelation In Single-Subject Data: A Meta-Analytic View, Laura L. Methot

Dissertations

Recent work by Huitema and McKean (1991, 1994a, 1994b, 1994c, in press) has shown that the most frequently used statistical methods for performing conventional time-series analyses lead to gross distortions of results when these approaches are applied in the context of the typical behavioral research study. Most of these problems could be avoided if researchers were aware that the time-series methods recommended in many areas are not generally needed. The appropriate evidence regarding the need for complex time-series methods requires a meta-analysis of the autocorrelation present in behavioral studies. The project involved: (a) sampling several hundred research articles published in …

Students Against Driving Drunk (Sadd): Testing The Organization's Effects On Students' Behavior And Attitudes Toward Alcohol Use, William Post Jr.

Masters Theses

This research examines the influence of Students Against Driving Drunk (SADD) chapters on the reported behavior and attitudes towards alcohol use of 8th, 10th, and 12th grade students in 208 public school districts in Michigan. This research is conducted at the intersection of social movement theory coupled with self-help group issues; theoretical approaches to explaining adolescent alcohol use; and SADD's etiological assumptions about adolescent alcohol use as derived from the organization's activities. These lead to comparing two types of SADD chapters (active and inactive) to school districts without SADD chapters, using students' (N=92,257) responses to the Michigan Alcohol and Other …

Lesbian Identity Development And Career Experiences, Mary Jo Thiel

Dissertations

This study used a qualitative research design to explore the experiences of lesbian women with respect to identity development and career issues.

Using the Stage Allocation Measure (SAM) (Cass, 1984), twenty lesbian women who were in the Synthesis Stage (Stage 6) of identity development were identified. In face-to-face, one and a half to two hour interviews, using a semi-structured interview guide developed by the researcher, respondents were asked open-ended questions about their coming out process and their career development .

Interviews were tape recorded and transcribed and the transcripts were analyzed using grounded theory coding techniques. Themes and patterns were …

Nutrition, Fitness, Stress And Genital Herpes Recurrences, Carman E. Stark

Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to extend the existing literature by assessing the relationship between several factors separately and combined, nutrition, fitness and stress, and herpes recurrence rates. It was hypothesized that the results from this study would indicate an inverse correlation between nutrition, fitness, and genital herpes recurrence rates and a positive correlation between stress and genital herpes. Each participant was asked to complete and return (a) two Computerized Nutrition Assessment Forms that provide a health history profile and a record of food choices and portions over two, three-day periods; (b) The Hassle Scale that provides a weekly …

Effects Of Cocaine On Fixed-Ratio Responding Of Rats: Modulation By Required Response Force, Malath Makhay

Masters Theses

The effects of acute cocaine administrations (5. 6 to 32 mg/kg) were determined in rats responding under a multiple fixed-ratio 15 fixed-ratio 15 schedule of food delivery. The minimum response effort required in one schedule component was 25 g, whereas in the other component it was 200 g. Cocaine produced generally dose-dependent decreases in rate of responding and increases in pre-ratio pause times under each component. There was, however, a significant interaction between force and drug dose, and the magnitude of drug effects were larger in the component requiring 200 g for lever operation. Although a number of other parameters …

The Maintenance Of Statistical Process Control (Spc) With Organizational Behavior Management (Obm) Techniques, Pollis Robertson

Dissertations

Many organizations have implemented statistical process control (SPC) programs in response to demands in the marketplace for high-quality products that are efficiently built. Many of these organizations have been unhappy with the difficulty of getting their statistical process (SPC) control programs started and the long-term economic success of these programs.

This study systematically investigated for two years various components of statistical process control programs and attempted to enhance economic effectiveness by buttressing SPC methods with Organizational Behavior Management (OBM) techniques. This study was conducted in a Gray Ductile Iron Foundry that employed 87 employees.

Positive results were observed when OBM …

An Examination Of Depression In A Subclinical Eating Disorder Female Population, Christine Hill-Melton

Dissertations

This study examined depression and disordered eating symptoms in a population at high risk for the development of eating disorders. The level and prevalence of depression were compared between three groups of women with increasing severity of eating disordered symptoms.

Female undergraduate college students enrolled in psychology courses at four small colleges and one mid-sized university in Michigan completed a Biographical Questionnaire, the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and an Eating Assessment Rating Scale (EARS). Participants were placed into one of three groups according to severity of disordered eating symptoms based on their responses on the EARS. The three groups were: …

The Effects Of A Monetary Incentive System On The Performance Of Rolloff Truck Drivers, Jeanne Marie Lameie

Dissertations

Studies have shown that individuals working under individual monetary incentive conditions perform at higher rates than those working under an hourly pay condition (Farr, 1976; Frisch & Dickinson, 1990; Gaetani, Hoxeng, & Austin, 1985; George & Hopkins, 1989; London & Oldham, 1977; Nebeker & Neuberger, 1985; Orphen, 1982; Terborg & Miller, 1978; Yukl, Wexley, & Seymore, 1972). Although these studies indicate that incentive pay improves productivity, the results of two laboratory studies suggest that the portion of pay that is tied to performance is not important (Frisch & Dickinson, 1990; Gillette, 1991). In other words, once pay is linked to …

The Use Of Nonhuman Subjects In Behavior Analysis: A Review Of Jeab Studies, Dylan David Schmorrow

Dissertations

This study examined the use of nonhuman subjects in the Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, and the level of invasiveness of those studies. The invasiveness level of each study was determined according to the Shapiro and Field (1987) invasiveness rating scale. All studies published from 1958 through 1992 were considered. In addition to rating the individual studies with the invasiveness scale, data were collected concerning the species of the subjects and their number, whether anaesthesia, analgesia, drugs or toxic agents were used, whether surgery took place, levels of deprivation, and if the subjects died.

The findings from this …

Effects Of Familiarity With A Sample-Stimulus In Selection-Based Learning Of Verbal Behavior, Robert J. Wallander

Masters Theses

Selection-based verbal behavior involves indicating a stimulus in some way from a set of stimuli. Twenty undergraduates served as subjects in this study of familiarity with a sample stimulus in a selection-based paradigm. The study utilized twenty Japanese Kanji characters as the comparison stimuli to be selected. Half the subjects were presented English names of animals as sample stimuli and the other half of the subjects were presented Japanese Katakana symbols (which appear as little more than nonsense figures) as sample stimuli.

T-tests were performed on the average number of twenty-trial blocks needed to meet criterion (two consecutive blocks without …

Self-Control And Choice In Children: Effects Of Food Magnitude And Reinforcer Delay, Ellen Lee Sharenow

Dissertations

The present research was designed to replicate and extend earlier studies with humans and nonhumans in the area of self-control. A discrete trial, within-subject experimental design over multiple sessions, with food as the reinforcer, was used. Instructions did not describe contingencies of reinforcement Subjects were preschool age children, a population that questionably possess the verbal repertoire capable of generating sophisticated tacting, or mediating behavior during long delays. Four experiments consisted of fixed-ratio, concurrent chain schedules with initial and terminal links. Initial links were forced trials, terminal links, choice trials. In Experiment I, the effects of differences in magnitude while holding …

Detection Of Sexual Cues: An Assessment Of Nonaggressive And Sexually Coercive College Males, Rita Kenyon-Jump

Dissertations

Seventy-four nonaggressive and 78 sexually coercive college males, as determined by the Sexual Experiences Survey (Koss & Oros, 1982) and ranging in age from 18-25 years, participated in a study designed to assess their ability to detect specific behavioral cues of female partners’ unwillingness to engage in kissing, genital fondling, and sexual intercourse. Contrary to prediction, a 2 (nonaggression and sexual coercion) X 3 (kissing, fondling, and intercourse) analysis of variance revealed no statistically significant difference between the nonaggressive and sexually coercive males in their ability to detect cues of female unwillingness to engage in kissing, genital fondling, and sexual …

Neuropsychological Effects Of Short-Term Abstinence In Adolescent Alcoholics, Asiah Mayang

Dissertations

The Michigan Neuropsychological Battery (Smith, 1975) was administered to 14 to 17-year-old alcoholics from an inpatient and outpatient substance abuse treatment center within 7 days of their last drink, and again after 28-33 days of abstinence (a = 26). Comparisons were made between this group and an adolescent alcoholic group who did not abstain and was not receiving treatment for their alcohol abuse (n = 15). The non-abstaining group was also given the same test battery twice. Results indicated that subjects who abstained from drinking (experimental group) performed better than subjects who did not abstain (control group) on measures of …

Improving Service Quality Through Self-Monitoring, John Patrick Mcdonough Iii

Dissertations

A multiple-baseline across-restaurants design was used to assess the effectiveness of a quality guarantee (performance checklist) on the quality of food served at two carryout pizza restaurants in a Midwestern city of approximately 100,000 people. The research consisted of having the quality of food monitored by research assistants who served as mystery shoppers trained in the quality standards of the restaurants. Quality was monitored during baseline, when normal operating procedures were in effect at the restaurant, and during intervention, when employees who delivered food to customers were required to sign a quality guarantee. In one intervention phase, employees checked off …

The Effects Of Relaxation Plus Imaginal Flooding Versus Relaxation Only On Panic Attacks In Veterans With Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Jan E . Bachman

Dissertations

Many Vietnam veterans experience intrusive recollections of combat-related events in the form of nightmares and flashbacks, a primary symptom of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Imaginai flooding has shown some promise in reducing the frequency and intensity of these. Cognitive- behavioral therapies have also been used, but their effectiveness has not been studied. Experiment 1 attempted to determine whether a self-imposed version of imaginai flooding (called Self-Imaginai Flooding) could be used rather than the usual therapist-led procedure, and whether treatment effects could generalize from the treated to untreated intrusive memories. In a between groups design, with six Vietnam veteran subjects in …

The Effects Of A Performance-Based Lottery System On Accident Reduction In The Kalamazoo Office Of The United States Postal Service, Dale F. Polley

Masters Theses

The effects of a performance-based lottery system on the accident rates of mail carriers were examined. Two hundred and eight mail carriers in five United States Postal Service facilities participated. The experimental design consisted of a multiple-baseline with reversal. In addition, the accident rates for the intervention period were compared to the accident rates for the same period of time during the preceding two years.

A Safety Bingo game served as the lottery system. If an accident did not occur in a work unit during the day, a bingo number was drawn. The bingo game continued until either a bingo …

The Effectiveness Of Three Study Aids As Measured By Immediate Examinations And Delayed Examinations, Yousef Abdulwahab Abuhmaidan

Dissertations

Two experiments were performed to examine the effectiveness of three study aids: (1) information maps, (2) behavioral objectives, and (3) the students' own strategies in reorganizing written material. A training workshop was given prior to the first experiment to teach the students appropriate skills to use to read research articles (e.g., generating and answering questions, filling out and generating information maps). Eighteen undergraduate students participated in the study. In the first experiment, students were randomly assigned to three groups. The researcher provided students with a research article every week for three weeks, together with either an information map, a set …

The Effectiveness Of Correspondence Training In Controlling Aggressive Behavior Between Children In Play Settings, Naiel Albkower

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of say/do correspondence training in controlling aggressive behavior between children in play settings. Two experiments assessed the effects of children's verbal statements, to play in a friendly manner with others, on the incidence of aggressive behavior during actual play. The results of the first experiment indicated that, in most instances, the number of aggressive incidents decreased as a result of the correspondence training in all subjects except one where the effects of treatment are not clear.

In the second experiment, the incidents of aggressive behavior decreased during the intervention to …

An Integrative Model Of Marital Therapy Based On The Psychoanalytic Behavioral And Systems Approaches, Dennis L. Mulder

Dissertations

The Integrative Model of marital therapy is a synthesis of the theoretical constructs of the psychoanalytic, behavioral and systems approaches. Relevant literature of the selected approaches is reviewed. The concepts of marriage, marital conflict and marital therapy of each approach are described. The Integrative Model is based on three assumptions and six propositions. The Integrative Model attempts to interpret the intrapsychic dynamics of intimate relationships in a data language suitable for empirical study. It attempts to define the relationship between internal and external determinants of behavior. It proposes a method of intervention consistent with the cognitive/behavioral conceptual model and procedures …

The Behavioral And Resource Needs Assessment Of The Hispanic Community In Kalamazoo County, Roberto Flachier

Dissertations

This research was set out to assess in depth the behavioral and resource needs of the Hispanic Community in order to create a data base from which tactics of action could be developed and responsive and necessary services could be planned and initiated. Following are four of the basic assumptions that guided this research. One, Behavioral Health (BH) is directly related to the behavioral and resource base in areas necessary for living. Two, in order to plan responsive and necessary services, it is necessary to know the target community's behavioral and resource base and needs; e.g., in economics, employment, education, …

The Projective Expression Of Need For Achievement In Women, Robert S. Gibson

Masters Theses

Introduction

Psychologists generally assume that the motive to achieve is one of the major determinants to striving to succeed. A theoretically consistent body of data exists which enables one to predict achievement behavior as a function of the strength of the achievement motive, when it applies to men (Atkinson, 1958; Bardwick, 1971; McClelland, Atkinson, Clark, & Lowell, 1953). However, when one attempts to find psychological data to predict achievement behavior in women, there is difficulty.

The few comparable studies of achievement motivation in females that have been made are neither consistent with the findings for males, not even consistent with …

The Effects Of Instructions With And Without Contingencies On Parent’S Attending Behavior, Betty Lou Fry

Masters Theses

Mother attending to appropriate child behavior and accompaning changes in appropriate child behavior were measured to assess the effects of various instructional conditions. Several appropriate behaviors for a group of child subjects were measured con currently under various stimulus conditions using interval recording procedures. A multiple baseline design was used with instructional conditions of (a) no instructions to mother, (b) instructions to mother to attend to all appropriate behaviors and only to appropriate behaviors, (c) instructions to mother to attend to specific behaviors as defined by one-word definitions, (d) instructions to mother to attend to the same specific behaviors as …

Positive Conditioned Supperssion: A Replication And Extension, Julia C. Curtin

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Supervisory Attitude Change Through Reward Of Verbal Behavior, Gary A. Howitt

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.