Experimental Analysis of Behavior Commons^™

Differences In Perceptual And Subjective Body Image Between Weight Cycling And Noncycling Graduate Students, Karen Casebeer

Dissertations

This research began as an exploratory investigation into body image differences between individuals who were weight cyclers and those who were noncyclers. Participants were fem ale and m ale graduate students (n= 444) who completed the Multidimensional Body-Self Relations Questionnaire (Cash, 1990a), the Contour Drawing Rating Scale (M.A. Thompson & Gray, 1995), and the Weight History Questionnaire (W H Q ), a researcher developed self-report survey of weight, dieting, and demographic information. Data gathered from the WHQ were used to identify pairs of individuals who were matched on cycling status, gender, age, and body mass index. Fifteen such pairs were …

An Assessment Of Generalization Across Settings Of A Parenting Strategies Program For Adhd Children, Barbara M. Todd-Nelson

Dissertations

When collapsed across gender and subject pools, Attention-Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) affects three to five percent of school-aged children (DSMIV, 1994). Intervening upon environmental contingencies for ADHD-diagnosed children is one of the least intrusive forms of treatment and is often very effective (Atkeson & Forehand, 1978; Forehand & King, 1977; Barkley, 1986; Webster-Stratton, 1993). As noted by many researchers (Allen, Tamowski, Simonian, Elliott & Drabman, 1991; Drabman, Hammer, & Rosenbaum,1979; Stokes & Osnes, 1989), it is necessary to assess generalization of treatment effects across the behavior therapy literature. Few have examined generalization from the home setting to the classroom. Since …

Programmed Instruction: Within-Subject Analysis Of Four Types Of Instructional Material, Matthew L. Miller

Dissertations

Skinner (1958) expressed the need for an increase in the effectiveness and efficiency of education. In particular, he suggested that programmed instruction could provide such efficiency. The present study used a within-subject design to compare the effects of four types of instructional materials: those requiring overt construction responses, overt discrimination responses, covert reading of text with highlighted key words, and covert reading of standard text. The material requiring overt responding produced greater learning than did the covert reading materials, with or without highlighting. There was no difference found between the two types of overt responding; nor were there differences between …

Effects Of Linear And Non-Linear Incentive Pay Systems With Individual And Group Payouts On The Social Psychology Phenomenon Of Social Loafing, Delores A. Tinley Smoot

Dissertations

The purpose of the present study was twofold. First, the experiment investigated the occurrence of social loafing behavior when individuals are engaged in a production task. Social loafing is defined as a decrement in individual performance when working co-actively with a group. Second, the experiment compared the effectiveness of three incentive pay systems (linear, positively and negatively accelerating) in eliminating social loafing behavior and in generating performance levels higher than those generated by a flat or hourly pay system.

Sixteen undergraduate students, all female, participated in twenty-five 15- minute work sessions in which they made widgets from pop beads. Subjects …

Human Impulsivity: Effects Of Reinforcement Procedure, Catherine A. Karas

Dissertations

In this study, positive and negative reinforcement procedures were directly compared across subjects to determine whether more impulsive responding would occur with one reinforcement procedure when compared to the other, under a discrete-trial choice procedure. For both reinforcement procedures, taped music served as the reinforcer. For the positive reinforcer, subjects brought in their own music, from which tapes were made for use in the study. Subjects then ranked the tapes according to their preferences. For the negative reinforcers, the investigators made tapes of various types of music, and all subjects ranked their preferences for these tapes. Subjects were then presented …

The Efficacy Of Pediatric Pain Management Techniques For Infants During Inoculation Procedures, Kimberly K. Wisdorf-Houtkooper

Dissertations

In this study four different pre-immunization interventions were compared with respect to their effects on modifying arousal level before an immunization and their effects on the level and duration of distress after the immunization. In addition, the study evaluated whether the infants’ pre-inoculation behavioral state affected their response to a painful stimulus. Data consisting of facial expression, presence or absence of cry, cry duration, and behavioral state were collected prior to, during, and after the inoculation. Forty-two subjects were randomly assigned to one of four soothing conditions. These included: rocking, swaddling, sucking on a pacifier, and a control group.

An …

Effects Of Alternative Activities On Productivity Under Different Percentages Of Incentive Pay, Grainne A. Matthews

Dissertations

This study examined whether low percentages of incentive pay would be as effective as high percentages in maintaining work performance in the presence of competitive alternative activities. Incentives may increase performance primarily by decreasing time spent performing alternative activities. Although the link between performance and pay is tighter when the percentage of incentive pay is higher, laboratory studies have not found the expected difference. It is possible that previous simulations of work settings have not offered realistic competing contingencies. This study used a computer simulation of a quality inspection task and provided computer games as alternative activities to participants who …

Do Reinforcer Surveys Enhance A Brief Parenting Skills Program For Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disordered Children?, Maria A. Channell

Dissertations

Several clinical researchers have documented the benefits of evaluating reinforcer preference prior to the implementation of behavioral parent training programs. However, this has not been specifically tested with Attention- Deficit/Hyperactivity Disordered (ADHD) population in relation to parent training. This between groups study investigated whether systematically altering parent delivered reinforcers to match children’s preferred reinforcers would result in an even greater increased compliance and decreased noncompliance.

One group received a brief (4-6 session) parenting program based on Patterson’s (1974) model. A second group received the same program with an added component wherein the child completed a reinforcer survey prior to the …

Re-Evaluating The Major Stressors Of Policing, James Walter Carter Ii

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

In this study, a sample of 37 officers employed with the Huntington Police Department, a medium-sized Appalachian police department, were sampled about the stressfulness and frequency of selected items from Sewell’s Life Events Scale. From the responses to the survey items, a scale was created to assess the combined effects of frequency and stressfulness. Respondents were also asked to indicate what percentage of their total accumulated job-related stress was generated by each of Barker and Carter’s generic stressors of policing. Several group differences were found. A ranking of stressors was developed for the frequency, stress, the combined scales and compared …

A Study Of Self-Esteem Comparing Special Education With Regular Education Students During The Middle School Years, Debra A. Davis

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The purpose of this study was to compare differences in levels of self-esteem between special education students and a control group of normal students. One hundred sixty-two fifth- through eighth-grade students from Doddridge County Middle School, West Union, West Virginia, were assessed by teachers using the Self-Esteem Index. The students were initially divided into two groups according to their placement in the regular or the special education programs. There was a total of 81 students in each of the groups. The configuration of each group was as follows: 24 learning-disability students, 14 behavior-disorder students, 16 gifted students, nine speech/language-disorder students, …

The Gordon Personal Profile-Inventory As A Selection Instrument, Patrick Y. Fisher

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The present study was designed to investigate the effectiveness of the Gordon Personal Profile Inventory (GPP-I) selection instrument in predicting success of applicants at a behavioral health center. Case managers (N = 47; 15 = males, 32 = females) served as subjects and completed the GPP-I. Each subject had a total of nine personality scale scores. The scales were Ascendancy, Responsibility, Emotional Stability, Sociability, Cautiousness, Original Thinking, Personal Relations, Vigor, and Self-Esteem. Each scale score was converted into a percentile score and correlated with the subject’s most recent performance evaluation score. Based upon results of correlation and regression analyses it …

Religion And Coping With Chronic Illness: A Comparison Of Rural And Urban Communities, Christina Mullins

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

This study compared 45 rural and urban families in their use of religion as a means of coping with the stress of a chronically ill child. Parents reported no differences between their actual use of religion as a means of coping. However, urban families were more likely to believe they should turn to their clergy for emotional support.