Previous research has suggested that adult attachment disturbance is related to maladaptic interaction patterns and personality disorder constructs. Specifically, research indicates that those with attachment disturbance are significantly more likely to meet criteria for a number of personality disorders, including borderline personality disorder, narcissistic personality disorder, and antisocial personality disorder. The purpose of this study was to investigate the associations between adult attachment and the new dimensional model of personality disorders scheduled to be released in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Health Diosrders (5th ed.) in spring 2013. Participants completed the Schedule for Adaptive and Nonadaptive Personality (SNAP) to measure dimensional personality functioning and the Experiences in Close Relationships (ECR-R) and the Attachment Prototypes to measure adult attachment patterns. Additionally, select scales from the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI) and the Five Factor Model (FFM) will be utilized as secondary measures of personality patterns. The results suggest strong associations between adult attachment orientations and specific maladaptive personality characteristics.

Malingered posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) poses a formidable clinical challenge in personal injury and disability cases because of the apparent ease in feigning PTSD and the supposed link (proximate cause) to the claimed damages. The effective assessment of feigned PTSD is particularly challenging because this diagnosis is both easier to fake than other Axis I disorders and more difficult to detect. As an additional confound, some patients with genuine PTSD produce highly variable, elevated profiles on multiscale inventories that are difficult to distinguish from feigned PTSD. The current study examined whether the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI) can effectively differentiate between genuine and feigned PTSD in 109 inpatients from a trauma unit. The two most effective scales were the MAL and the NDS scales. As a primary focus, the current study was the first empirical investigation of Resnick's model of malingered PTSD that is comprised of three subtypes: pure malingering (pure-M), partial malingering (partial-M), and false imputation (false-I). The primary goal was to evaluate whether each feigning group was able to (a) effectively simulate PTSD symptoms and diagnoses and (b) avoid being classified as feigning. The partial-M group proved to be the best feigning group in achieving these two goals. Furthermore, …

The purpose of this study was to understand the experiences and expectations of community college students attending Temple College and Central Texas College regarding what they may expect as part of the vertical transfer process in order to improve the likelihood of their persistence to graduation at Texas A&M University-Central Texas (TAMUCT). The target population was approximately 700 students enrolled in two feeder Texas community colleges who had expressed intent to transfer to TAMUCT. The response rate was 19%, and 136 useable surveys were used for analysis. The sample was 74% female, 45% White with the majority minority. To assess the relationships between community college experiences and transfer expectation variables, correlations and logistic regression were used. No linear relationships were found regarding gender, age, ethnicity, highest level of parents' education, the aspirational variables of highest academic degree intend to obtain at any college or university and at TAMUCT, and the feeder community college attended and the two scales. A statistically significant relationship was found between parental income level and reported community college experiences (F(4, 79) = 2.612, p = .042) and vertical transfer expectations (F(4, 52) = 3.318, p = .017). Community college students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds may utilize …

Many taxing authorities, including those in the United States (U.S.), rely on voluntary tax compliance and continually search for ways to increase tax revenues. Most of these methods are costly and labor intensive, such as audits and penalties for noncompliance. Prior tax compliance research has heavily investigated the influence that economic factors, such as tax rates and penalties, have on individual compliance intentions. However, economic models fail to fully predict individual tax compliance. Psychology literature suggests that social factors may also play an important role in individual tax compliance decisions. The purpose of this study is to examine the influence that social and psychological factors have on individuals' tax compliance intentions. Specifically, a model of taxpayer compliance is hypothesized that suggests that norms, perceived fairness of the tax system, and trust in government have a significant influence on compliance intentions. Results of a survey of 217 U.S. taxpayers found support for the influence of social factors on tax compliance. This research concludes that social norms have an indirect influence on compliance intentions through internalization as personal norms. Specifically, as the strength of social norms in favor of tax compliance increase, personal norms of tax compliance also increase, and this leads …

Values and valuing behavior have many conceptualizations. Despite how they are defined, values have a significant impact on behavior and are idiosyncratic in nature. The present study reviewed values research and sought to explore values identification and successful valued living among an archived sample of university students. Specifically, in a convenience sample of 282 undergraduate students, variables that affect values identification and behavior such as ethnicity, gender, psychological distress, and psychological flexibility were identified. Results indicated that university students identified with more than one valued living domain (as measured by the PVQ) and that contextual factors such as ethnicity, gender, age, and religiosity/spirituality were associated with specific values endorsed. Furthermore, psychological distress, including depression and anxiety (as measured by the DASS) was negatively correlated with values purity – the extent to which values are freely chosen. Finally, psychological flexibility (low experiential avoidance as measured by the AAQ-2), predicted values purity and successful living in accordance with identified values, and the relationship between these two variables was mediated by psychological flexibility.

Since the 1960s, several gifted Korean composers, including perhaps most notably Young Jo Lee (b. 1943), have been internationally acclaimed for their work. In Western countries, however, there has been a scarcity of academic studies examining the artistry of the music of these Korean composers. Nonetheless, as one of today's most recognized composers in Korea, Young Jo Lee has been invited to numerous international concerts, conferences, and festivals where his works have been played and discussed. A salient feature of his compositions is the fusion of Korean traditional music and the elements of Western compositions, such as in, for one distinctive example, his piano composition, Piano Honza Nori. This musical study describes and analyzes how Lee integrates Korean traditional elements with Western musical ideas in Piano Honza Nori. Results of this study will contribute to the limited literature on the analysis of contemporary piano composition that integrates Korean traditional elements.

To date there is no comprehensive understanding of what leadership is, nor is there an agreement among different theorists on what a good or effective leader should be. The purpose of this dissertation is to examine the theoretical and empirical similarities and differences of two styles of leadership – transformational and authentic leadership. Follower outcomes, as well as, the effects of trust and psychological capital within these paradigms are of particular interest. Although theoretical differences are proposed for the leadership style, the extent of overlap suggests the need to more closely examine each theory. Pilot studies were created to validate original scenarios created for the study as well as to examine the validity and reliability of new measurement instruments. The dissertation is designed to determine whether the relationships between authentic leadership and a variety of follower outcomes including performance, affective commitment, satisfaction, trust, and organizational citizenship behavior are similar to those between transformational leadership and these outcomes. In addition, variables more unique to authentic leadership research including psychological capital and follower well-being were examined within both paradigms to determine whether their relationships are similar to each type of leadership style. An experimental study using Qualtrics was used to collect the …

A novel class of semi-conducting ortho-carborane (B10C2H12) based polymer films with enhanced electronic and chemical properties has been developed. The novel films are formed from electron-beam cross-linking of condensed B10C2H12 and B10C2H12 co-condensed with aromatic linking units (Y) (Y=1,4-diaminobenzene (DAB), benzene (BNZ) and pyridine (PY)) at 110 K. The bonding and electronic properties of the novel films were investigated using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), UV photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS) and Mulliken charge analysis using density functional theory (DFT). These films exhibit site-specific cross-linking with bonding, in the pure B10C2HX films, occurring at B sites non-adjacent to C in the B10C2H12 icosahedra. The B10C2H12:Y films exhibit the same phenomena, with cross-linking that creates bonds primarily between B sites non-adjacent to C in the B10C2H12 icosahedra to C sites in the Y linking units. These novel B10C2HX: Y linked films exhibit significantly different electron structure when compared to pure B10C2HX films as seen in the UPS spectra. The valence band maxima (VBM) shift from - 4.3 eV below the Fermi level for pure B10C2HX to -2.6, -2.2, and -1.7 for B10C2HX:BNZ, B10C2HX:PY, and B10C2HX:DAB, respectively. The top of the valence band is composed of states derived primarily from the Y linking units, suggesting …

Hidas composed more than 135 compositions. Of these 135 compositions 67 feature the trumpet, horn, trombone, euphonium, and tuba in a solo setting, a homogenous chamber setting, or a heterogeneous chamber setting. The first section of this project presents the significance of the topic, state of research, and methodology. Chapter one provides a narrative detailing the collaboration of Hidas with Gusztáv Höna and László Szabó, Sr. Chapter two provides a brief description of characteristics found in Hidas' compositions. Appendix A and B provides a survey of the 67 works for brass instruments that Hidas composed. Included in this survey is information pertaining to the title, editor, publisher and date of publication, total measures, duration, ranges, degree of difficulty, clefs, special effects/techniques, instrumentation, dedications, analytical information, general comments, recordings, and rental details.

Despite Bartók's lasting international fame, some of his works remain unjustly lesser-known. One of the pieces that still resides in relative obscurity is his Violin Concerto No.1—a gem of the violin repertoire that must be brought to the broader public's attention. The fact that the concerto was hidden definitely contributed to its little–known status at first. However, the most important cause for the lack of enthusiasm to tackle this terrific work lies in the unorthodox demands it puts on the violinist. The purpose of this paper is to provide musical and technical suggestions based on Bartók's performing style and on his requirements for performer, which will help to create a more persuasive interpretation of the piece. The guide covers the questions of character, articulation, dynamics, and other performance aspects, and also provides practical suggestions, such as fingerings and bowings. It is hoped that this study will help violin performers to gain additional knowledge and insight into this composition and encourage more frequent performances of it.

Korean composer Isang Yun (1917-1995) was one of the few successful Asian avant-garde composers to blend philosophical elements from East Asia with Western techniques such as the twelve-tone method, Hauptton, Hauptklang, and Umspielung. In addition to the integration of Western and Eastern influences, a significant feature of Yun´s compositional language, found throughout his oeuvre, is the application of East Asian philosophical tenets into his works. The purpose of this dissertation is to develop a greater understanding of Isang Yun's life and music, more specifically the Quartett für Horn, Trompete, Posaune und Klavier. The dissertation is divided into five chapters. The first chapter of the dissertation presents introductory data, including the purpose and significance of the study. The second chapter provides pertinent biographical facts about Isang Yun and his works, obtained through research of authoritative books, journal articles, and interviews. The third chapter offers references to traditional Korean brass instruments in terms of their historical background, structure, and timbre. In addition, it also focuses on the processes by which Yun incorporated the compositional techniques of Hauptton, Hauptklang, and Umspielung to the work and their relation to Tao philosophy. The fourth chapter consists of an analytical and stylistic study of the Quartett; …

Let G be a Lie group acting on a homogeneous space G/K. The center of the universal enveloping algebra of the Lie algebra of G maps homomorphically into the center of the algebra of differential operators on G/K invariant under the action of G. In the case that G is a Jacobi Lie group of rank 2, we prove that this homomorphism is surjective and hence that the center of the invariant differential operator algebra is the image of the center of the universal enveloping algebra. This is an extension of work of Bringmann, Conley, and Richter in the rank 1case.

In 2012, the CIA World Fact Book showed that the service sector contributed about 76.6% and 51.4% of the 2010 gross national product of both the United States and Ghana, respectively. Research in the services area shows that a firm's success in today's competitive business environment is dependent upon its ability to deliver superior service quality. However, these studies have yet to address factors that influence customers to remain committed to a mass service in economically diverse countries. In addition, there is little research on established service quality measures pertaining to the mass service domain. This dissertation applies Rusbult's investment model of relationship commitment and examines its psychological impact on the commitment level of a customer towards a service in two economically diverse countries. In addition, service quality is conceptualized as a hierarchical construct in the mass service (banking) and specific dimensions are developed on which customers assess their quality evaluations. Using, PLS path modeling, a structural equation modeling approach to data analysis, service quality as a hierarchical third-order construct was found to have three primary dimensions and six sub-dimensions. The results also established that a country's national economy has a moderating effect on the relationship between service quality and …

Arvo Pärt's Concerto Piccolo über B-A-C-H for trumpet, strings, harpsichord, and piano is a brief yet challenging work in the trumpet repertoire. A carefully articulated performance guide is necessary to aid trumpeters in overcoming the numerous musical challenges presented in this piece. Currently, there is no resource that helps in solving performance choices and difficulties in this work. This first section of this document provides historical and contextual information on Arvo Pärt, his compositional output during his experimental period, and subsequently, Concerto Piccolo. The second section includes a performance analysis of the work, while the third gives trumpet players pedagogical suggestions and practical exercises for proper preparation of Concerto Piccolo. This guide presents performers with relevant background, analytical, and pedagogical information required for an informed and high-level performance.

For response styles, malingering describes the deliberate production of feigned symptoms by persons seeking external gain such as financial compensation, exemption from duty, or leniency from the criminal justice system. In contradistinction, defensiveness occurs when patients attempt to downplay their symptoms of psychological impairment. Both of the aforementioned response styles can markedly affect the accuracy of diagnosis, especially on self-reports, such as multiscale inventories. As an important oversight, no studies have been conducted to examine the effect of culturally specific response styles on profile validity and the classification of malingering among Hispanic American clinical populations. The current study investigated whether the Spanish Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI) effectively distinguished between Spanish-speaking outpatient groups randomly assigned to honest, feigning, and defensive experimental conditions. In examining the results, PAI malingering indicators utilizing Rare Symptoms strategies (NIM and MAL) demonstrated moderate to large effect sizes. For defensiveness, Spanish PAI indicators also demonstrated moderate to very large effect sizes (M d = 1.27; range from 0.94 to 1.68). Regarding psychometric properties, Spanish PAI validity scales, provide adequate to good data on reliability and discriminant validity. Clinical utility of the Spanish PAI increases as different cut scores are employed.

This study examined associations among romantic attachment anxiety and avoidance, positive and negative religious coping, and marital adjustment in a community sample of 81 heterosexual couples. Both spouses completed the Experiences in Close Relationships Scale (ECR), a brief measure of religious coping (Brief RCOPE), the Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS), and a demographic questionnaire as part of a larger study. Multilevel modeling (MLM) for the actor-partner interdependence model (APIM) was used. Attachment avoidance was inversely related to positive religious coping. In contrast, attachment anxiety was directly related to negative religious coping. Positive religious coping buffered the relationship between attachment avoidance and marital adjustment. In contrast, attachment anxiety was detrimental to marital adjustment regardless of positive religious coping, and positive religious coping was related to higher marital adjustment only in the context of low attachment anxiety. Surprisingly, the spouse's attachment anxiety was inversely related to the respondent's marital adjustment only when the respondent reported low levels of negative religious coping, whereas in the context of high negative religious coping, the partner's attachment anxiety was related to higher marital adjustment. Results support using attachment theory to conceptualize religious coping and the consideration of both attachment and religious coping constructs in counseling.

Human behaviors and social norms are transferred to the Internet in complex and divergent ways. The term online disinhibition has been coined to describe situations when Internet users seem to behave more openly and unrestrained online, often acting in ways they would not dare to act in the face-to-face world. According to Suler, there is a need for future research to "focus on which people, under what circumstances, are more predisposed to the various elements of online disinhibition." With this in mind, this descriptive study sought to determine whether or not people are more true to their authentic psychological identities (i.e., genders) during online interaction or create completely new identities because of the more permissive social norms created by cyberspace. Through video recorded face-to-face discussions, reflective online discussions, open-ended online surveys, and semi-structured interviews, qualitative data was collected for analysis. The results and findings demonstrated that some personality traits are magnified during online interaction, but individuals ultimately stay true to their established gender roles.

Resilience is the ability to survive and persevere during difficult times. Resilient people also thrive after overcoming adversity. Adolescents have many developmental tasks to overcome in their quest to becoming adults. Difficulty with these tasks can lead to academic and personal failures. Adolescents with low resilience often struggle with low self-esteem. If students are identified early as having lower levels of resilience, professional school counselors have an opportunity to provide resilience-enhancing activities. Prior to middle school, students are assigned all of their classes. During middle school, students begin to select their elective courses which may be representative of their interests and current emotional status. By looking at students' elective courses, I looked for patterns of resilience that may help professional school counselors proactively identify students in need of additional guidance in order to be academically successful. This study utilized a convenience sample of middle school students enrolled in the 8th grade (N = 190) of a large suburban school district located in the southwest United States to measure levels of resilience and elective course enrollment. Gender of the participants was 107 females and 83 males. The students reported their ethnicity as 5.8% African American/Black, 11.1% Asian, 12.6% Hispanic, 1.1% Native …

The current study investigated the process of change underlying two different evidence-based treatments that yield similar outcome effectiveness in the treatment of depression: Cognitive Therapy (CT) and Interpersonal Therapy (IPT). The phase model of psychotherapeutic change (Howard et al., 1993) change is used to provide both a theoretical and practical framework in which to assess different patterns of change across the treatment modalities. The phase model posits that recovery from distress occurs in three sequential stages: remoralization, remediation and rehabilitation. CT can be conceptualized as a treatment in which the primary focus is on the treatment of symptoms (remediation), whereas IPT can typically be conceptualized as focusing on interpersonal conflicts and functioning (rehabilitation). The study utilized the TDCRP dataset (Elkin et al., 1985). Survival analysis indicated no significant difference in terms of onset or pattern of improvement across treatment orientations. Chi square analyses indicated individuals treated with IPT spend significantly more time engaged in rehabilitation compared to their CT counterparts. Taken together, these findings represent evidence that the process of therapeutic change is similar, if not virtually identical, across therapeutic orientation. The analyses also indicate that the phases of therapy may not necessarily be mutually exclusive and sequential, but may …

Research evidence is suggestive of a strength model of self-control, also known as ego depletion, in social psychological literature. Engaging in an initial task of self-control depletes a limited resource, resulting in less self-control on a subsequent, unrelated task. The strength model of self-control has been applied to many practical, everyday situations, such as eating behaviors among dieters. Newer studies suggest that blood glucose is the resource consumed during acts of self-control. Consuming glucose seems to "replete" individuals who have been depleted, improving performance and self-control. The current study aimed to examine the effects of ego-depletion on restrained eaters. The hypothesis was that restrained eaters who were depleted by a task of self-control would exhibit more disinhibition on a taste-test task than would restrained eaters who were not depleted. However, if the participants were given glucose following the depletion task, then their self-control would be "repleted" and they would exhibit similar control to that of the non-depleted participants. Contrary to expectations there were no differences between the groups in terms of total amount of cookies consumed. These results are inconsistent with a glucose model of self-control. Suggestions for future research and implications of the findings are discussed.

This study examines middle school students' perceptions of a future career in a science, math, engineering, or technology (STEM) career field. Gender, grade, predispositions to STEM contents, and learner dispositions are examined for changing perceptions and development in career-related choice behavior. Student perceptions as measured by validated measurement instruments are analyzed pre and post participation in a STEM intervention energy-monitoring program that was offered in several U.S. middle schools during the 2009-2010, 2010-2011 school years. A multiple linear regression (MLR) model, developed by incorporating predictors identified by an examination of the literature and a hypothesis-generating pilot study for prediction of STEM career interest, is introduced. Theories on the career choice development process from authors such as Ginzberg, Eccles, and Lent are examined as the basis for recognition of career concept development among students. Multiple linear regression statistics, correlation analysis, and analyses of means are used to examine student data from two separate program years. Study research questions focus on predictive ability, RSQ, of MLR models by gender/grade, and significance of model predictors in order to determine the most significant predictors of STEM career interest, and changes in students' perceptions pre and post program participation. Analysis revealed increases in the perceptions …

This study provides a qualitative interpretation of the work done by central office administrators in a school district in Texas as they supported and built capacity for the professional learning community (PLC) process over a five year time period. Literature by PLC scholars, especially R. DuFour, R.B. DuFour, Eaker, Hord, Hipp, Huffman, and Olivier, informed development of the study. In a school district of 19,000 students and 2,000 staff members, ten central office administrators were interviewed to gain their perceptions of their roles in the PLC process. Interviews were analyzed through the processes of initial, focused, and theoretical coding. Documents were examined and used as supplemental sources of data to corroborate the perspectives provided. Findings revealed the story of central office administrators who worked interdependently to support and build capacity in the implementation and sustainment of the PLC process. A thick description of the work based on their perceptions offers actions and behaviors of administrators specific to their roles and practices and protocols developed to hold the work together. A grounded theory was developed with regard to central office administrators' support and capacity-building for the PLC process. From the administrators' perceptions, six theoretical categories relating to central office support and …

The primary purpose of this study was to confirm the four-factor structure of the 30-item Adlerian Personality Priority Assessment (APPA) using a split-sample cross-validation confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The APPA is an assessment, grounded in Adlerian theory, used to conceptualize clients based on the four personality priorities most commonly used in the Adlerian literature: superiority, pleasing, control, and comfort. The secondary purpose of this study was to provide evidence for discriminant validity, examine predictive qualities of demographics, and explore the prevalence of the four priorities across demographics. For the cross validation CFA, I randomly divided the sample, 1210 undergraduates, at a large public research university (53% Caucasian, 13.1% Hispanic/Latino(a), 21.4% African American, 5.4% American Indian, and 5.8% biracial; mean age =19.8; 58.9% females), into two equal subsamples. I used Subsample 1 (n = 605) to conduct the initial CFA. I held out Subsample 2 (n = 605) to test any possible model changes resulting from Subsample 1 results and to provide further confirmation of the APPA's construct validity. Findings from the split-sample cross-validation CFA confirmed the four-factor structure of the APPA and provided support for the factorial/structure validity of the APPA's scores. Results also present initial evidence of discriminant validity …

The human brain is considered to be the most complex and powerful information-processing device in the known universe. The fundamental concepts behind the physics of complex systems motivate scientists to investigate the human brain as a collective property emerging from the interaction of thousand agents. In this dissertation, I investigate the emergence of cooperation-induced properties in a system of interacting units. I demonstrate that the neural network of my research generates a series of properties such as avalanche distribution in size and duration coinciding with the experimental results on neural networks both in vivo and in vitro. Focusing attention on temporal complexity and fractal index of the system, I discuss how to define an order parameter and phase transition. Criticality is assumed to correspond to the emergence of temporal complexity, interpreted as a manifestation of non-Poisson renewal dynamics. In addition, I study the transmission of information between two networks to confirm the criticality and discuss how the network topology changes over time in the light of Hebbian learning.