Experimental Analysis of Behavior Commons^™

Changes In Hypnotizability As A Function Of Suggestion-Based Experimenter Manipulations, Marlin 0. Trulsen

Dissertations

Limited behavioral research exists on the subject of hypnosis. A behavioral perspective maintains that a "responding to hypnosis suggestion" class of behaviors exists for each individual. For individuals more readily responsive to hypnosis suggestion, this "responding to hypnosis suggestion" class of behaviors exists at greater strength due to a previous history which strengthened these behaviors. These individuals respond strongly to hypnosis suggestions and behave as "high hypnotizables". For others, the "responding to hypnosis suggestion" class of behaviors exists at weaker strength due to the absence of the necessary history. These less responsive individuals could directly benefit from the many medical, …

Effects Of Caffeine Consumption On Cardiovascular Indices, Attention, Task Performance, And Memory Retention In Children, Suzanne L. Keller

Dissertations

Caffeine is one of the most commonly used drugs in the western world today. Average intake of caffeine in the United States has been estimated at greater than 200 mg daily per person. Although plagued by inconsistencies, and methodological problems, research suggests that this level of caffeine ingestion may have significant effects on cardiovascular functioning, and behavioral processes such as attention, cognitive processing, memory, and task performance.

Although children consume significant quantities of caffeine, very little research has been done on the effects of caffeine in children. The limited findings suggest that caffeine consumption may affect the cognitive and behavioral …

The Effects Of A Problem-Solving And Imagery-Based Suggestion On Analgesic Responding In Low, Medium, And High Hypnotizable Females, Gloria Haddad Taggett

Dissertations

This study assessed the effects of a problem-solving suggestion as compared with an imagery-based suggestion on analgesic responding in subjects scoring in the low, medium, and high ranges on scales of hypnotizability. Subjects were exposed at separate intervals to either an hypnotic suggestion patter containing specific imagery designed to enhance analgesic performance, or alternatively to a suggestion patter that provided only general problem-solving direction, but contained no specific imaginal guidance. Performance was assessed using two duration measures on a cold-pressor test. Specific measures included both the total time duration a subject held the target hand in cold water (tolerance) as …

The Effects Of Sensory Integrative Therapy And Functional Communication Training On Stereotypic Behavior, Thomas M. Starzynski

Masters Theses

Three developmentally delayed individuals who exhibited self-stimulatory behaviors were exposed to sensory-integrative therapy. Prior to treatment, a Motivation Assessment Scale was completed and a functional analysis baseline was conducted to identify the maintaining variables of the self-stimulatory behavior. Each subject displayed a pattern of responding suggesting that stereotypic behaviors were maintained by automatic reinforcement. Results show that sensory-integrative therapy had no effect on self-stimulatory behaviors. The stereotypic behaviors of Subject 1 and Subject 2 were later reduced when functional communication plus response interruption was applied. The self-stimulatory behavior of Subject 3 was not affected by the implementation of functional communication …

Identifying Chaos In Human Interactive Decision-Making, Susan E. Rhoads

Honors Theses

Human subjects played two computer versions of the Prisoner's Dilemma (Poundstone, 1992). By varying the payoff scales and instructions, one version of the game encouraged competition whereas the other encouraged cooperation. The data were entered into a computer program capable of generating a Sierpinski carpet with strings of random variables. The completion percentage of the resulting carpets indicated the degree to which the game-specific interactions approached chaos. The Sierpinski carpets resulting from the cooperation games showed significantly higher completion percentages than the carpets resulting from the competition games. Because chaotic behavior is unpredictable in the stream of its occurrence, research …