Experimental Analysis of Behavior Commons^™

Trait Sadism In Bdsm Practitioners And Non-Practitioners, Marley Russell

Psychology ETDs

Sadism is an elusive construct within psychology. Multiple types are studied without clear psychometric or theoretical distinctions, and operationalizations of these respective sub-constructs lack validity. This study explores the empirical distinction between two sadism types: consensual sexual sadism (i.e. in the context of BDSM) and trait sadism. Trait sadism is widely synonymized with “everyday sadism”, but here conceptualized as a higher-order construct encompassing both everyday and a novel “prosocial sadism”. I develop and pilot the BDSM Identities and Behaviors (BIB) checklist in a sample of BDSM practitioners. I then compare those practitioners to non-practitioners on trait sadism and dark triad …

Effects Of A Psychological Stressor On Methamphetamine Seeking In Rats., Kayla B. Cox

Psychology ETDs

Although methamphetamine abuse and fatality rates are on the rise in the United States, there are currently no FDA approved drugs to treat methamphetamine use disorder (MUD). To better understand factors contributing to addiction, researchers have designed various rodent models of stress including the use of footshock, social defeat and maternal separation, however, these models involve physical or early life stress exposure and thus are less translatable to human psychological stress. The present study implemented predatory odors as a model of psychological stress and examined whether chronic exposure to these stressors enhanced subsequent vulnerability to a subthreshold dose of methamphetamine. …

Moderate Prenatal Ethanol Exposure, Sex, And Housing Modify Spatial Navigation Behavior And Hippocampal Cell Firing In Adult Rodents, Christy Magcalas

Psychology ETDs

Prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) is associated with structural and physiological changes that impact the central nervous system and can result in persistent negative consequences in a broad spectrum of cognitive and behavioral domains including deficits in spatial learning and memory and behavioral flexibility. The current study focuses on examining the behavioral and mechanistic consequences of PAE, sex and housing. Rats were tested in the Morris Water Task where they were trained to navigate to a goal location and tested in a pool shift manipulation. There were no significant differences between PAE treatment, sex, or housing groups during training, but there …

Treatment Intervention For Social Functioning And Social Cognition In Adults With Autism Spectrum Disorder (Asd): Utilizing Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (Tdcs) At The Right Temporoparietal Junction (Rtpj), Joan Esse Wilson

Linguistics ETDs

Social deficits are a key diagnostic feature for autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) may be a promising treatment modality to enhance interventions that are currently extremely time- and labor-intensive. This three-article dissertation investigates tDCS applied over the right temporoparietal junction (rTPJ) paired with social functioning and social cognition interventions with adults with ASD, examining measures of social functioning, verbal fluency, social skills, empathy, and facial emotion recognition and processing. Results of these studies show significant differences in performance on several measures after receipt of verum, anodal tDCS over the rTPJ. Theoretical implications are examined within a …

The Relationships Between Brain Function, Brain Structure, And Behavior In Children With Fetal Alcohol Speectrum Disorder, John Pinner

Psychology ETDs

Prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE), the leading cause of childhood developmental disability, has long-lasting effects extending throughout the lifespan. The teratogenic effects of PAE, not always physically discernable, may corrupt brain structure resulting in neural dysfunction. These aberrant effects often result in executive functioning deficits, associated with social and academic difficulties, which hinder typical development. As maternal alcohol use during pregnancy is heavily stigmatized, children without physical dysmorphology often go unreported and untreated; resulting in increased deficiencies compared to those more severely affected who receive early life interventions. This phenomenon requires the discovery of neurophysiological makers of PAE in order to …

An Analysis Of Certain Responses To A Color Association Test, Norbett Lawrence Mintz

Psychology ETDs

The study to be presented in this thesis is a direct outgrowth of four years of work by the writer and his associates. Because none of the previous studies has been published and no statement of the over-all purpose of this study exists, it was deemed advisable to review the entire background of the present investigation. Therefore, the thesis has been divided into two parts.

Part One Shall: (1) demonstrate that the color association test resulted from a combination of color matching technique and the word association method; (2) present the purpose for which the test was developed; (3) review …

An Investigation Concerning The Incidence Of Compulsitivity Among College Students, Reid I. Martin

Psychology ETDs

It is the purpose of the study to evaluate the following hypothesis: There exists among students now in college a certain incidence of compulsitivity as indicated by an experimentally devised ratios of compulsion neurosis to hysteria*; this incidence is greater among those now in college than those not in college.

It is also a purpose of this study to contribute experimental evidence to the frequently reported observation that compulsion neurosis occurs more frequently in men than women.

*The terms "compulsion neurosis" and "hysteria" are used loosely in this thesis, not to mean neurosis per se, but neurotic trends in …

A Study Of Reaction To Frustration In Stutterers, Leroi Madison

Speech and Hearing Sciences ETDs

It was the purpose of this study to compare the responses of a group of stutterers on the Rosenzweig Picture-Frustration Study with the norms established for that study to determine whether, as a group, they show any significant differences in (1) the direction of aggression, and (2) the type of reaction to frustration.

Possible Factors Influencing Music Preference, Isabella M. Pinto

Psychology ETDs

The purpose of this study is to determine factors influencing musical preference. The most important factor related to preference for classical music is thought by some to be the cultural background of the listener. According to Lazersfeld, "there is probably no question so sensitive to socialize differences as listening to serious music." This is consistent with the opinion of musicians and music critics who state that discriminating musical taste is a result of frequent listening to good music.

Re-Education Of Handedness In The Rat Following Cerebral Injuries, David Roland Mcgiboney Jr.

Psychology ETDs

Answers to the following questions were sought in this study:

1. Although the loci of lesion will usually involve a single general area of the frontal lobe, will there be any noticeable difference between the amount of recovery or re-education with the variations in the loci within the general area?

2. Is mass of destruction significant with regard to re-educability of handedness?

3. Is there a difference in re-educability between animals with lesions involving the cortex only and animals which have both cortical and subcortical destructions?

4. Are there significant differences in the recovery of young adult versus older adult …

A Study Of Japanese International Short Wave Radio Propaganda, Leonard A. Smoll

Psychology ETDs

This study of Japanese war-time propaganda, beamed toward the United States and disseminated by the medium of international short wave radio, was inspired by these considerations. War-time restrictions on the press, local broadcasting, and landline facilities close the channels to which Japan could get the desired propaganda material into a neutral country, she would have no assurance that the material would reach the ultimate objective in unadulterated form. These obvious barriers to Japan's propaganda machine raise the question: Is there any channel or communication through which Japan may direct biased information straight to the recipient, and delivered uncensored? The answer …