Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Transitivity In The Choice Behavior Of Rats, Richard Duus

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study investigated the unidimensional assumption underlying choice behavior by examining the transitivity properties of rats' choice behavior. In Experiment 1, two variables of reinforcement, amount and delay, were manipulated simultaneously in a two lever choice situation. The conditions of strong transitivity were not present in either reponse count or indifference-measured choice behavior, indicating that choice behavior was not distributed along a single dimension with ratio scale characteristics. Moderate transitivity conditions were characteristic of both response and indifference- measured choice which was consistent with a single dimension possessing interval scale characteristics. In Experiment 2, only one reinforcement variable, amount, was …

Marital Satisfaction As It Related To Agreement On Money Matters And Money Management Competence Among Utah State University Married Students, Carol S. Young

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between marital satisfaction, agreement on money matters, and money management competence among married couples at Utah State University . A sample of 43 student couples responded to a written questionnaire designed to measure the three variables. On all three variables measured, high scores indicated that both spouses rated themselves high on marital satisfaction, agreement on money matters, and money management competence. A positive relationships was found to exist between the four correlations, the strongest for both partners being marital satisfaction with agreement on money matters. The correlation, marital satisfaction …

Nocturnal Emissions: A Comparative Study Of Male Experiences And Reactions, Barbara Shively Mathews

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This exploratory study examined the differences between males who have and males who have not experienced nocturnal emissions. There were 104 males between the ages of 18 to 41 who participated by completing a sexuality pretest and a nocturnal emissions questionnaire. The respondents' information and education about sexuality, reactions to nocturnal emission ejaculation or the lack of ejaculation, dream frequency levels of nocturnal emissions, and the effect of other sexual outlets upon the frequency of nocturnal emissions were assessed. Results revealed that in this sample the males who did not experience nocturnal emissions had received less sexual information than males …

The Effects Of Stochastic Water Availability On Water Allocations In Utah, Gustavo A. Martinez Gerstl

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A methodology to estimate stochastic surface water flows was developed and applied to a case study area using chance constrained programming model. The results were analyzed as to the effects on different areas of production in Utah.

The Social Transmission Of Attractiveness Stereotypes: An Investigation Of Parental Expectations Of Children's Behavior, Marianne White Hicken

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Eighty-six children from the Utah State University Child Development Laboratories and Hillcrest Elementary School and their parents participated in the study.

The study focused on the use of attractiveness stereotyping used by children across four age groups. The study also analyzed the social transmission of attractiveness stereotypes from parents to their children.

The study included two parts: 1) a play-preference measure, and 2) a social attribution measure. The stimuli were sketches of twelve children, six toys and six girls. The sketches of children included attractive, unattractive, mesomorphic, endomorphic, handicapped and non-handicapped children. In the study we found that parents and …

Diagnostic Considerations In The Identification Of The Hyperactive Child, Barbara Jagoda Draheim

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

The hyperactive disorder of childhood and the enumeration of its features were described in two papers published in the mid-1950's, by Laufer and his colleagues (Laufer, 1957; Laufer, Denhoff & Solomons, 1956). It was a list that has since become familiar; short attention span, impulsivity, irritability, low frustration tolerance, poor academic achievement, and visual-motor difficulties. Like many who have since searched for definers of the syndrome, Laufer and his colleagues remarked upon the perplexing variability displayed by these children, and they noted that no single symptom could be considered diagnostic. They described the development of "secondary psychological difficulties" due to …

Single...Chance Or Choice, Karen Robinson

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

"It is said to be the largest unrecognized minority group in America, but it has no lobbying efforts, central organization or focus. The group is singles - divorced, widowed or never married - and there is an estimated l 190,000 of them in Kansas City Area." One out of every three adults in the United States is single. That is 43 million. Yet in spite of their great numbers, single people find that social pressures still call for "settling down" and raising a family.

Comparison Of The Standard And Computerized Versions Of The College Level Examination Program General Examination In English Composition, Alan L. Muhlestein

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to test whether the computer-administered College Level Examination Program (CLEP) General Examination in English Composition produced scores equivalent to those obtained from the traditional paper-and-pencil version. The CLEP examination and its adaptation for computer administration and the results of a pilot study are presented.

The subjects in this study were volunteers who took the CLEP English Composition Examination in order to earn college credit and were randomly assigned to either the computer-first or paper-and-pencil-first groups. Each subject took both forms of the examination with approximately one half of the subjects taking each version first. …

The Effect Of Item Format On Computation Subtest Scores Of Standardized Mathematics Achievement Tests, Larry Carcelli

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The effect on childrens' scores of different item formats used in standardized mathematics achievement tests was investigated. Second grade students were given a mathematics computation test using formats derived from five standardized achievement tests. Identical content was tested with each format. Differences in test scores between types of formats were statistically significant at p < .001 (F = 45.25). These results indicate that what a student appears to know is substantially influenced by the format of the particular test used in measuring achievement. These differences are not accounted for by the normative scaling of the different tests. Greater attention should be given to the effect of test item format in selecting and administering achievement tests.

Marital Roles And Their Relationship To Marital Happiness And Self Concept, Gary L. Devries

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Marital roles have become a subject of major concern in recent years. Many critiques consider traditional marriage roles to be responsible for hindering appropriate social-emotional development of the wife, in particular, and also the husband. Past research in assessing the relationship between marital roles and the happiness and well-being of husbands and wives is limited in quantity and generally is inconclusive or controversial. This study was designed to clarify the relationship between marriage roles and two dependent variables, marital happiness and self concept.

The sample population consisted of 124 volunteer couples selected from the teaching staffs of eight school districts …

Optimal Exploitation Of Petroleum Resources Using The Average Reservoir Data For The Walton Canyon Reservoir In Summit County, Utah, Behrouz Helmi-Oskoui

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The main concern of this study is to obtain an optimal time path of crude oil and natural gas production by controlling the pressure at the bottom of any producing well in Walton Canyon Reservoir. To achieve this goal, the following objectives were obtained: (a) an estimation of the reservoir properties at different levels of the reservoir pressure; (b) an estimation of an optimal time path of joint production using the estimated reservoir properties and the expected prices and costs in the absence and presence of severance, state, and federal income taxes, and depletion of allowances; and (c) an analysis …

Long-Term Residents' Perception Of The Effect Newcomers Are Having On Nonmetropolitan Utah Communities, Michael Carl Lindholm

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study compares the perceptions of long-term residents in rapidly and moderately growing nonmetropolitan communities regarding the effect of newcomers on the community. Data for the study came from a 1975 survey of 1,065 adults in seven Utah communities. Results show that a significantly larger proportion of long-term residents in rapidly growing communities than in moderately growing communities feel that newcomers are having a bad effect on the community.

The relationship between perceived effect of newcomers and various personal attributes are examined with rate of population growth as a control variable.

The attributes are: 1) length of residence, 2) age, …

Time Spent In Home Care Tasks Related To Ownership And Uses Of Home Care Equipment, Jeena C. H. Nilson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The data for this research were taken from Utah's contribution to the regional research project "An Interstate Comparison of Urban/Rural Families' Time Use." Data were collected between May 1977 and August 1978 from 210 two-parent/ two-child families.

This thesis research studied the relationship between ownership and use of nine selected household appliances and time spent on the related housekeeping tasks for 208 of the families studied. Statistical analysis was done using t-tests for comparisons of time spent on the related task by owners and non-owners of each appliance. Analysis of variance was used to compare time spent on combined activities …

Transportation Time In Utah Two-Parent/Two-Child Families, Georgia Hayes Hier

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Travel time used by the homemaker and spouse in 210 Utah families was analyzed according to the purpose of the travel, day of the week, geographic location, season of the year, age of children, educational level of homemaker and spouse, family income, and number of motor vehicles owned by the family for transportation purposes. A time diary was used to collect the data for a 2 day period. Two-parent/two-child families from Washington, Iron, and Salt Lake Counties in Utah comprised the sample.

Homemakers used approximately 49.39 minutes per day for travel and spouses used 63.38 minutes. Spouses used the largest …

Locus Of Control: Effects On The Reported Gains Made In Assertion Training, Eugene Earl Campbell

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Forty-nine Cache Valley residents, between the ages of 18 and 45, who volunteered to participate in an assertion training class were assigned to one of seven groups. Subjects were administered pre- and posttests and a two month follow-up evaluation. Measures included Rotter's Internal-External Locus of Control Scale, the Rathus Assertive Scale, and the Berger Self-Acceptance Scale. The results obtained indicate that self-acceptance and assertiveness changed as a result of assertion training and that these changes were maintained at follow-up. No difference between internals and externals was observed as a result of semi-structured assertion training.

The Effect Of Support Groups In Reducing Stresses During The Transition To Parenthood, Lynne Wilson Myers

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Forty-two couples expecting their first child volunteered to participate in a study of the transition to parenthood. Personal well-being, self-esteem, marital satisfaction, and parenting competence of the couples were assessed during pregnancy, and then again when babies were six weeks and fifteen weeks old. Parents were asked to report how much support they had received from their doctors, churches, family, and friends, and other sources, after their baby was born. Personal well-being and parenting competence increased for women after they became mothers. Personal well-being decreased and parenting competence increased for new fathers. Marital satisfaction decreased significantly after couples had their …

Effects Of Preexposure To Shock On Autoshaping, Nancy L. Eldred

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The safety signal hypothesis suggests that during the absence of stimuli predicting impending shock, the organism is not fearful. The stimuli which predict the absence of shock are therefore called safety signals. The purpose of the present study was to investigate some critical properties of safety signals. Such stimuli in an avoidance or escape situation, according to the opponent process model, are expected to acquire hedonic value opposite to shock.

This study examined differences in conditioning variables between safety signals predicting different intensities of shock, and between safety signals present in procedures using predicted shock, and procedures using unpredicted shock. …

Metaphorical Interpretations Of The Neurotic Paradox, Mark J. Weaver

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This is a theoretical/philosophical paper which is intended to bring to the reader's attention an emerging literature and discussion which holds potentially productive consequences for the understanding of man. This thesis does not offer completed formulations or empirical groundings. The purpose is to create a basis for dialogue.

This paper will initially specify a current conflict in psychology around the different metaphors used to define the image of man. A theoretical/philosophical basis for viewing the process of generating models of man and his behavior as essentially "metaphorical" is then presented. A specific category of human behavior known as the neurotic …

The Effectiveness Of Electronic Games (Atari) Reinforcers For Increasing Appropriate Behavior In Handicapped Children, James M. Payant

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Ten subjects ranging from 9 to 16 years in age with IQ's ranging from 23 to 62 were randomly selected as contingent or noncontingent subjects for two experiments. Five subjects received contingent access to two electronic games for performance within a specified learning session, while five subjects received noncontingent access to the games. These experiments were designed to determine the effect on performance, attending, and compliance skills in the classroom, when contingent access to the electronic games was based on performance. The development of fine motor skills and/or eye-hand coordination skills as a result of game usage was examined. The …

Inter- And Intra-Sensory Modality Stimulus Scaling: A Method For The Determination Of The Relative Salience Of Stimuli In Poison-Based Aversion Learning By Pigeons, David L. Pounds

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

One of the most rapidly expanding areas of research in psychology has been poison-based aversion learning (PBAL). The PBAL paradigm typically involves: exposing an animal to a novel substance; inducing illness following ingestion of that substance; and then providing access to the substance at a later time. The initial reaction to the novel substance is generally to reduce consumption, a finding labeled neophobia. The reduction of substance intake on test day is called learned aversion.

Following demonstrations of cue-to-consequence specificity (i.e., the differential associability of some stimuli with certain consequences) in PBAL research with rats, recent research has focused on …

Biofeedback: A Possible Substitute For Smoking, Earl Eugene Griffith

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Numerous agencies have accumulated evidence since 1964 which implicates habitual cigarette smoking as a causal or facilitating factor in the development of many circulatory and respiratory diseases. This study sought to identify those psychological variables which possibly contribute to the maintenance of cigarette smoking and therefore, had two main purposes. First, this study investigated the individual and simultaneous physiological changes, i.e., Electroencephalography, Electromyography, Heart Rate, Blood Pressure and Skin Temperature that occurred during and immediately after the smoking of one cigarette. Second, the study investigated the hypothesis that smoking frequency would decrease when individuals were trained via biofeedback procedures to …

Autoshaping Infant Vocalizations, Alexander Mcnaughton Myers

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A series of five experiments was conducted to determine whether operant or respondent factors controlled the emission of a particular vocalization ("Q") by human infants 16 to 18 months old. Experiment 1 consisted of a pilot investigation of the effects of an autoshaping procedure on three infants' vocal behavior. All three subjects demonstrated increased emission of the target sound during the CR period. Experiments 2 through 4 attempted to replicate the findings of Experiment 1 under controlled conditions, and failed to do so. Experiment 5a presented infant subjects with a discrete-trial operant procedure (having the identical temporal parameters as the …

Cause And Perceived Seriousness Of Deviant Behavior And Attribution Of Responsibility, Mary Kathryn Morris

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between differing stated causes of deviant behavior which is commonly labelled mental illness, and the perceived seriousness of these behaviors in determining judgments of the degree of responsibility attributed to described deviant individuals. This was accomplished by having subjects rate four different vignettes as to degree of perceived seriousness and degree of responsibility for behavior.

The subjects were 76 undergraduate students enrolled in either introductory psychology and/or introductory anthropology. The subjects were divided into four groups. Each group of 19 subjects received the same four vignettes. Each vignette gave a …

A Peer-Managed Self-Control Program For Reduction Of Alcohol Consumption In High School Students, Richard Allan Carpenter

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Three treatments designed to reduce the consumption of alcohol by native American high school students were assessed and compared. Self-referred and staff-referred clients were randomly assigned to three treatment groups: (1) alcohol education and a peer-assisted self-control procedure, (2) a peer-assisted self-control procedure, and (3) a self-monitoring only procedure. All three treatments were conducted by trained peer counselors for 14 weeks. The alcohol education and peer-assisted self-control and the peer-assisted self-control demonstrated reductions in peak blood alcohol concentration, frequency of drinking incidents, and alcohol consumption. The self-monitoring only group demonstrated changes only in frequency of drinking incidents. No significant differences …

Ego Strengthening Hypnotic Suggestions Versus Specific Hypnotic Suggestions In The Treatment Of Obesity, Richard A. Hutchison

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A comparison was made of two types of hypnotic suggestions. Twenty seven subjects in two groups participated in eight weekly one-hour group hypnotic sessions. All subjects were given the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, the Tennessee Self-Concept Scale, and were weighed pre, post and at four month follow-up. Both types of hypnotic suggestions were equally effective in helping individuals lose weight. The average weight loss was 10 pounds at follow up. Both groups showed improvement on the personality tests. Those who received the ego-strengthening hypnotic suggestions showed more improvement and more long lasting improvement than did those who received the specific …

Retention And Attrition Factors Of Nonreturning Students At Utah State University, Amy L. Jordan

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to determine the factors which affected the decision of students not to return to Utah State University after completion of the previous quarter. The factors were determined by a mailed questionnaire which was a modification of the Withdrawing/Nonreturning Student Survey developed by American College Testing (ACT).

One hundred twenty-two former Utah State University students who had attended fall quarter, 1979 but failed to register for winter quarter were randomly chosen for the study. The students were asked to complete the questionnaire and return it to Utah State University. The return rate through the mail …

Touch And Gaze In Parent Infant Social Play, Lori A. Roggman

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Twenty first-born infants age three to five months, nine males and eleven females, were observed and videotaped for five minutes with each parent, in order to explore touch and gaze in free-play parent-infant interactions. Gazing behaviors of parents and infants and mutual gazing were measured in vivo; touching behaviors were measured from the videotapes of each dyad. For each behavior, four measures were taken: percent of total time, average rate per minute, mean duration of the behavior, and mean duration of the intervals between behaviors. The results show that, on the average, parent touch and gaze were typical of …

The Effects Of The Childbirth Process On The Attitudes And Behaviors Of New Fathers, Janice Ryser

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Attitudes of 74 first-time fathers were studied as they varied vi by childbirth preparation and participation. A 50-variable questionnaire was used to tap fathers' attitudes towards their marital relationship and partner, their infants, themselves as fathers, and the pregnancy/childbirth experience.

Fathers agreed on being elated with fatherhood, wanting tactile, verbal, and extended home contact with their infants, planning on a partnership in parenting, and seeing their marriage at a high point. They saw pregnancy as a time of stress and adjustment and felt father participation was important. Their attitudes varied most on wife's performance and their own helpfulness through labor …

Objective Indices Of Disaster-Related Stress: The Mount St. Helens' Ashfall, Paul R. Adams

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

On May 18, 1980, the town of Othello, Washington was covered with volcanic ash from the Mount St. Helens eruption. Disaster research suggested that a natural disaster acted on impacted populations as a major stressor and could result in such stress-related symptoms/problems as anxiety, depression, alcohol abuse, family problems, etc. It was hypothesized that there would be an increase in the incidence of such symptoms/problems following the ashfall. Most previous research has relied on subjective accounts of victims, but data for this study came from selected objective indices such as mental health caseloads, welfare assistance grants, hospital admissions, police records, …

Temperamental Characteristics Of Sociometrically Identified Preschool Children, Melinda M. Toney

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This research investigates the relationship between temperament and sociometric status utilizing a sociometric picture technique and the Parent Temperament Questionnaire for Children 3-7 Years of Age, a measurement instrument from the New York Longitudinal Study. The study population consists of sixty-one preschool age children. In the final stage a discriminant function analysis was employed to determine if there was a relationship between the measures of temperament and sociometric status. Although no significant functions emerged, two functions approached significance. The results indicate that popular and amiable children score higher on adaptability and approachability than isolated and rejected children. Also, distractibility appeared …