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Treatment of Acne Vulgaris by Biofeedback-Assisted Cue-Controlled Relaxation and Guided Cognitive Imagery (open access)

Treatment of Acne Vulgaris by Biofeedback-Assisted Cue-Controlled Relaxation and Guided Cognitive Imagery

The primary purpose of the present study is to demonstrate that acne vulgaris can be reduced by psychological treatment. A cognitive-behavioral adjunctive intervention involving biofeedback-assisted relaxation and cognitive imagery procedures for the treatment of acne vulgaris was investigated in this study with 30 patients, already receiving traditional dermatological treatment, as participants. A three-group design was used which consisted of a treatment (relaxation-imagery), a rational behavior group therapy attention-comparison, and a medical intervention control (medication and lesion extraction) group.
Date: May 1981
Creator: Brown, Barry W.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Contingency Contracting Effects on Psychotherapy Attendance and Termination at Two Community Mental Health Centers (open access)

Contingency Contracting Effects on Psychotherapy Attendance and Termination at Two Community Mental Health Centers

Contingency management has been utilized to improve treatment compliance and attendance in a medical setting. A related question involves the effect of contingency management on attendance in outpatient psychotherapy. Sixty-nine individuals ranging in age from 8 to 50 years agreed to participate in such a study. These individuals agreed to sign a contract specifying consequation for failure to notify the centers 24 hours in advance of an impending absence. Data on attendance and notification of impending absences were collected weekly for five sessions. After five sessions, dropouts and remainers were interviewed and the course of treatment was discussed. For the purpose of this study, a "dropout" occurred whenever an individual terminated therapy by missing an appointment and not rescheduling, or whenever an individual missed three consecutive appointments.
Date: May 1981
Creator: Adams, Joe B. (Joe Bayless), 1949-
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Effectiveness of Skin Temperature Biofeedback with versus without Cue-Controlled Training (open access)

The Effectiveness of Skin Temperature Biofeedback with versus without Cue-Controlled Training

This study compared biofeedback assisted cue-controlled skin temperature training with skin temperature biofeedback training in subjects attempting to raise the digital skin temperature of their dominant hand. In addition to classification according to training, the subjects were also divided into two diagnostic groups. One group was composed of subjects with cold hands and Raynaud's disease while the other group consisted of nonRaynaud's disease cold handed subjects. The treatment and diagnostic groups were compared along the dimensions of amount of posttreatment digital skin temperature change and degree of generalization of digital skin temperature control to a cold room challenge task.
Date: August 1981
Creator: Goldman, Mark Paul
System: The UNT Digital Library
Influence of Caffeine on EMG, Self-Rating, and Behavioral Observation Indices of Progressive Relaxation Training (open access)

Influence of Caffeine on EMG, Self-Rating, and Behavioral Observation Indices of Progressive Relaxation Training

This study was designed to investigate the inhibiting effect that caffeine may have in inducing deeper states of relaxation. The degree of relaxation was assessed by physiological measures, self-ratings, and behavioral observations of relaxation behavior.
Date: August 1981
Creator: Floyd, William T.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Behavioral Treatment of Essential Hypertension: A Comparison of Cognitive Behavior and Multi-Element Self-Regulation Therapies (open access)

Behavioral Treatment of Essential Hypertension: A Comparison of Cognitive Behavior and Multi-Element Self-Regulation Therapies

Self-monitoring, lowered arousal training (i.e., biofeedback and relaxation training) and maintenance follow-up appeared to contribute to effective treatment of hypertension. Cognitive therapy, while effective in treatment of some stress-related disorders, has not been studied as a specific treatment component for hypertension. The present study explored the use of cognitive therapy as a treatment variable to reduce blood pressure in hypertensive persons. The effectiveness of a multi-element treatment including cognitive therapy, blood-pressure biofeedback, and relaxation training was also assessed. Self-monitoring and maintenance training were included as a part of each treatment process.
Date: May 1981
Creator: Cunningham, Diana Pinson
System: The UNT Digital Library
Police Attitudes Toward Rape (open access)

Police Attitudes Toward Rape

Research has demonstrated that the general public accepts many rape myths and that rape attitudes are strongly connected to other deeply held and pervasive attitudes. However, it has not been clear whether police officers reflected similar attitudes. This research attempted to ascertain if police share the same antecedents of rape myth acceptance as the general public. Using officers from two police departments, it was demonstrated that attidudes regarding sex role stereotyping, sexual conservatism, acceptance of interpersonal violence, and adversarial sexual beliefs were significantly correlated with acceptance of rape myths. However, police were more pro-victim (p < .01) in their attitudes as compared to the general public. Officers who received specialized rape-related training were not significantly different in rape attitudes from those officers who had not received training.
Date: August 1981
Creator: Best, Connie Lee
System: The UNT Digital Library
Validity Scale Elevation in Factor Analysis of the MMPI-168 (open access)

Validity Scale Elevation in Factor Analysis of the MMPI-168

In a statistical comparison of orthogonal normalized varimax factor analytic solutions for the MMPI-168 including and excluding invalid protocols of psychiatric inpatients, at least one factor reflection was observed. Factors identified were Psychotic Distortion (Absence of Distress), Somaticism, Depression, Extroversion, Masculinity-Femininity, and Low Morale. Factors obtained, and representative clinical scales, were consistent with those obtained by others in investigations of both abbreviated and standard MMPI forms. Statistical comparison of factors identified by the two analyses indicated congruence. Possible sources of factor distortion were discussed.
Date: May 1981
Creator: McGraw, Richard Michael
System: The UNT Digital Library
Operant Conditioning of the Tongue Flicker Response of Snakes (open access)

Operant Conditioning of the Tongue Flicker Response of Snakes

Sixteen Nerodia rhombifera were used in each of two experiments investigating operant conditioning of the tongue flicker response. A yoked pair design was utilized throughout phases of baseline, continuous reinforcement, partial reinforcement, and extinction. During partial reinforcement, one-half of the experimental animals were reinforced FR-4 and the other half were reinforced continuously. Control subjects were treated as were their experimental partners, with the exception of noncontingent reinforcement. Statistical comparisons between means for groups during the CRF phase, partial reinforcement phase, and extinction phase were nonsignificant. However, because some snakes in the experimental groups appeared to show increases in response rate during CRF and FR conditions, the possibility exists that modification of task parameters will produce positive results in future research.
Date: May 1981
Creator: Ward, Rocky
System: The UNT Digital Library
Skin Pigmentation Influencing Perception of Mexican-Americans (open access)

Skin Pigmentation Influencing Perception of Mexican-Americans

Subjects were 101 Mexican-American adults (53 females, 48 males), age range 17-72, and most often were in the blue-collar job level. Instructions were that (a) 18 pairs of slides would be shown; (b) each slide would be projected for 15 seconds; (c) each of the two models was to be judged on intelligence, attractiveness, friendliness, happiness, and success; and (d) the rating scale would be marked corresponding to the left or right slide. Results indicated the lighter-skinned models were judged more favorably than the darker ones on all five dimensions. To the extent this study sheds light on an important cultural value, it is hoped the treatment of Mexican-Americans in therapy will be facilitated and improved.
Date: May 1981
Creator: Diaz, Petra Alvarez
System: The UNT Digital Library
Development of a Machine Transcription Work Sample Test for Secretarial Selection (open access)

Development of a Machine Transcription Work Sample Test for Secretarial Selection

The study described the development of a standardized, normed, content-valid machine transcription test which could be used to evaluate the ability of secretarial applicants to type a mailable copy of a business letter from a dictated tape recording. The test was based on a thorough job analysis and was pretested using a pilot study with job incumbents to confirm its feasibility. Normative data were developed from 50 job applicants. Interrater reliability was statistically significant (r = .85, p <..05). The test was adopted for use at the headquarters office of a major oil and gas producing company.
Date: August 1981
Creator: Kaye, Deborah Frances
System: The UNT Digital Library
Effects of Interviewer's Impersonal and Personal Self-Disclosures on Somatic Symptom Verbalizations of Psychiatric Outpatients (open access)

Effects of Interviewer's Impersonal and Personal Self-Disclosures on Somatic Symptom Verbalizations of Psychiatric Outpatients

A literature review indicated that psychopathological symptomology must be considered within the social context of the patient. Recent research has suggested that the psychopathological symptoms of the psychotic patient function on a covert level of communication as a strategy to control the threat of interpersonal intimacy. The present investigation similarly examined the interpersonal function of another class of patient symptomology, somatic symptoms. It was hypothesized that somatic symptom verbalizations of psychiatric outpatients also can serve as covert messages to avoid the risk of interpersonal intimacy. Results indicated that only the high-somatic-symptom patients significantly increased their symptom verbalizations in response to demand. When the interviewer modeled impersonal self-disclosures, both groups showed a low rate of somatic verbalizations. The groups did not differ. When the interviewer modeled personal self-disclosures, both patient groups significantly increased their psychological symptom verbalizations compared to their counterparts in the impersonal condition. In addition, low somatic symptom patients under the demand for personal disclosure showed significantly less avoidance behavior than any other group. No differences were found among the experimental groups in terms of self-disclosure level. The results clearly lend support to Haley's (1963) intimacy-avoidance corollary; that is, symptoms of non-psychotic patients function as covert messages that avoid …
Date: August 1981
Creator: Skenderian, Daniel
System: The UNT Digital Library
Development and Evaluation of a Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scale as a Measure of Secretarial and Clerical Performance (open access)

Development and Evaluation of a Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scale as a Measure of Secretarial and Clerical Performance

Empirical findings on Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scales (BARS) have been mixed, despite early researchers' claims that BARS were superior to trait ratings and in reliability and resistance to leniency, central tendency, and halo. The study presented compared a BARS format to an independently derived trait scale as measures of secretarial and clerical performance. Though the BARS showed slightly inflated mean ratings, the instruments showed nearly identical variability. Neither demonstrated sufficient resistance to halo. Thus, despite their intuitive appeal and the rigors involved in format development, it did not appear in this instance that BARS were an efficient and psychometrically superior alternative to the traditional trait rating format.
Date: August 1981
Creator: O'Connor, Suzan
System: The UNT Digital Library
A Rational-Emotive Therapy Approach to Romantic Jealousy (open access)

A Rational-Emotive Therapy Approach to Romantic Jealousy

Rational-emotive therapy was proposed as a therapeutic treatment approach to romantic jealousy. It was hypothesized that rational-emotive therapy would be significantly more effective than an attention placebo group in the reduction of romantic jealousy with undergraduate single female subjects. It was also hypothesized that reductions in romantic jealousy would be sustained to a significantly greater extent in the rational-emotive therapy group rather than the attention placebo group on a follow-up evaluation after a 2-month period. Advertisements soliciting single females who were romantically jealous and who felt that this was a problem in their love relationships yielded 18 female subjects from the North Texas State University campus. The pre-treatment, post-treatment, and follow-up assessments consisted of two self-report questionnaires. The pre- and post-treatment also included a physiological measurement (heart rate) while the subject was imagining a jealousy scene. Both of the self-report questionnaires (Sexual Jealousy, Irrational Beliefs) were given to a significant other (such as a boyfriend or lover). Results support the hypothesis that rational-emotive therapy is more effective than an equally credible placebo in the reduction of female romantic jealousy.
Date: December 1981
Creator: Marshall, Melissa
System: The UNT Digital Library
Concurrent Validation of the Computer Programmer Aptitude Battery (open access)

Concurrent Validation of the Computer Programmer Aptitude Battery

Subjects were 34 computer programmers employed in a major computerized tax processing company. Scores in the Computer Programmer Aptitude Battery (CPAB) and ratings of each programmer's job performance by his immediate supervisor were obtained. The purpose of the study was to validate a selection test. The relationship between the aptitude battery and performance evaluations was examined to evaluate the test's ability in predicting programming performance. Statistical treatment of data included Pearson product-moment correlations and a multiple linear regression analysis. The total test scores and several of the subtests were found to be significantly correlated with performance.
Date: August 1981
Creator: Edwards, Dorsey W. (Dorsey Williams)
System: The UNT Digital Library
Factor Analysis of an Employee Attitude Survey (open access)

Factor Analysis of an Employee Attitude Survey

A 75-item, Likert-type employee attitude survey was completed by a sample of 670 hourly and salaried employees of a Southwestern company engaged in computerized tax-form processing. The survey contained items relating to attitude dimensions roughly analogous to those subsumed under the two-factor theory of job satisfaction as defined in the relevant literature. Factor analysis, using the principle axes solution, followed by both orthogonal (varimax) and oblique (direct oblimin) rotations was performed. The oblique rotation derived 11 factors which accounted for 87.3% of the common variance. These lent statistical support to 10 of 16 a priori, hypothesized attitudinal dimensions. The six remaining hypothesized dimensions were not empirically supported.
Date: August 1981
Creator: Scivetti, Frank A.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Changes in Racial Attitudes as a Function of Personality Characteristics and Exposure to a Competent Black (open access)

Changes in Racial Attitudes as a Function of Personality Characteristics and Exposure to a Competent Black

The present study examined whether a relationship exists between level of rigidity and prejudicial attitudes and whether prejudiced attitudes could be modified as a function of exposure to a competent black model. It was predicted that individuals with a high level of rigidity would display more racial prejudice than low-rigid individuals and that individuals with a low level of rigidity would demonstrate less prejudice than high-rigid individuals after exposure to a competent model. After exposure to a competent model, a significant main effect for rigidity was found which indicated that low-rigid individuals became less prejudiced than high-rigid individuals,
Date: December 1981
Creator: Myers, Emilie J. (Emilie Joyner)
System: The UNT Digital Library
Predictive Validation of a Computer Programmer Selection Test (open access)

Predictive Validation of a Computer Programmer Selection Test

Subjects were 32 computer programmers employed in a large computerized tax-processing company in the Southwest. Ratings of each programmer's job performance by his/her immediate supervisor and scores on the Aptitude Test for Programmer Personnel (ATPP) were obtained. Relationships between test scores and criteria were examined to identify significant (p < .05) correlations. Statistical treatment of data included zero-order Pearson product-moment correlation, multiple linear regression, and first-order semi-partial correlation analyses. Results indicated that the ATPP did not successfully predict (2 >.05) the rated performance of the programmers.
Date: August 1981
Creator: Duvall, Sherman K.
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Effects of a Natural Disaster on Academic Abilities and Social Behavior of School Children (open access)

The Effects of a Natural Disaster on Academic Abilities and Social Behavior of School Children

Although most research has focused on adults, studies indicate that children also experience detrimental psychological effects as the result of natural disasters. The purpose of the present study was to determine if the tornado which struck Wichita Falls,, Texas, on April 10, 1979, had any negative effects on the academic performance or social behavior of school children. Three groups of students were studied: (a) victims of the tornado who suffered a significant loss, (b) observers of the disaster who did not suffer a significant loss, and (c) newcomers who arrived after the disaster. Achievement test scores, grades, and attendance over a 4-year period were studied. The overall results do not indicate significant differences among the three groups.
Date: December 1981
Creator: Little, Brenda Stephens
System: The UNT Digital Library
Brain Dysfunction Indication on the Bender-Gestalt Test: a Validation of the Embree/Butler Scoring System (open access)

Brain Dysfunction Indication on the Bender-Gestalt Test: a Validation of the Embree/Butler Scoring System

The Embree/Butler scoring system served as criterion for ascertaining brain dysfunction on the protocols of 100 subjects--50 had been diagnosed by health professionals as having brain dysfunction, and 50 had been diagnosed as having no brain dysfunction. In comparing the hospital's diagnoses with those of the Embree/Butler method, the data strongly supported the hypothesis that the Embree/Butler scoring system did effectively discriminate (chi square of 77.99 < .01) between those with organic brain syndrome (or cerebral dysfunction) and those with psychiatric classification. A point-biserial correlation was used to distinguish the relationship between diagnosis and the score. A cutoff score of above 14 produced the least false-negative or false-positive evaluations.
Date: December 1981
Creator: Henderson, J. Louise
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Interpersonal Communication Inventory: a Measure of Social Skills (open access)

The Interpersonal Communication Inventory: a Measure of Social Skills

The Interpersonal Communication Inventory, a self-report instrument for assessing social skills, was given to undergraduate college students to determine its reliability. Following this administration, other small groups of undergraduates were asked to complete an attraction scale, the Interpersonal Communication Inventory, an assertiveness scale, and a sociometric questionnaire. Results confirmed the Inventory as a reliable instrument, but a stepwise multiple linear regression did not support the hypothesis that the Inventory was a useful predictor of sociometric choice. In addition, Pearson product moment correlations between the Inventory and an assertiveness scale did not confirm the prediction that the two instruments would measure behaviors from different response classes. Definite conclusions could not be stated due to lack of validity data for the Inventory and possible confounding variables.
Date: December 1981
Creator: Armstrong, Betty K.
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Personality Pattern of Hyperactive Boys: Adjustments in Internality, Self-Esteem, and Anxiety (open access)

The Personality Pattern of Hyperactive Boys: Adjustments in Internality, Self-Esteem, and Anxiety

During the past 80 years, similar descriptions of a hyperactive behavior pattern in children have appeared in medical, educational, and psychological literature. Hyperactivity has been conceptualized as a character disorder, an organic disorder, and, most recently, as a behavior disorder. In this study, hyperactivity was explained in interactional terms, using Rotter's social learning theory of personality. Little consideration has been given in research to the influence of an abnormally high activity level upon personality development during childhood. The purpose of this study was to investigate the general influence of negative interactions associated with hyperactivity upon the organization of four personality constructs: locus of control, self-esteem, trait anxiety, and state anxiety.
Date: December 1981
Creator: Bolton, Ronald Eugene
System: The UNT Digital Library
Congruence Effects Treatment Technique-Outcome Measure Interaction (open access)

Congruence Effects Treatment Technique-Outcome Measure Interaction

It was hypothesized that effect size in therapy outcome research would correlate positively with congruence effects. Congruence was defined as the degree to which what had been practiced in treatment was scored as improvement when outcome was measured. Additionally, it was hypothesized that correcting effect sizes for estimated nongeneralizable change attributable to congruence (i.e., representativeness reduction) would significantly reduce the average magnitude of effect.
Date: August 1981
Creator: Jacobs, John A.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Personal and Supplied Constructs: A Study of Meaningfulness, Cognitive Organization, Neuroticism, and Sex Roles (open access)

Personal and Supplied Constructs: A Study of Meaningfulness, Cognitive Organization, Neuroticism, and Sex Roles

George Kelly has stated that persons place interpretations, or constructs, on what they perceive. Past research has indicated that subjects more meaningfully apply their own personal constructs to persons and situations than constructs supplied from other sources. This study attempted to confirm previous findings. Sixty-three university students used their own personal constructs, elicited from the Role Construct Repertory Test, and supplied instrumental-expressive role constructs to interpret and rate 12 actors portraying instrumental and expressive behaviors in six videotaped scenes. The purpose of this study is to compare the meaningfulness to subjects of stereotypic terms in a sex-role inventory to the meaningfulness of the subjects' own personal constructs when interpreting typical masculine- and feminine-typed behavior.
Date: December 1981
Creator: Zervopoulos, John Anthony
System: The UNT Digital Library
Cognitive Complexity, Perspective Taking, and Moral Reasoning in Depression (open access)

Cognitive Complexity, Perspective Taking, and Moral Reasoning in Depression

The relationships of cognitive complexity, social perspective taking, and moral reasoning have been primarily examined in children or juveniles. Little work has been done to study their relationships in the late adolescent and young adult college student population. Additionally, the research to date has only examined relationships among pairs of these constructs. There has been no attempt to assess the combined relationship of cognitive complexity and role-taking skills to moral reasoning at any developmental level. Therefore, there are two purposes in this study. First, to test the theory of ego function regression in depression on cognitive developmental concepts related to interpersonal functioning. Second, the study will determine the individual as well as combined relationships of cognitive complexity and social perspective taking to moral judgment in a late adolescent to young adult college student population.
Date: August 1981
Creator: Jackson, Daniel Wayne
System: The UNT Digital Library