Psychology Theses and Dissertations
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Item A Comparative Study of Certain Personality Characteristics of College Women Participating in Basketball and Modern Dance(1965) Bird, Anne Marie; Johnson, Warren R.; Health Education; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, MD)Twenty-five college women attending the University of Maryland during the spring semester of 1963 were studied in an effort to determine whether or not there were any identifiable personality characteristics among those (14) who chose to participate in basketball, as compared to those (13) who chose to participate in modern dance. The subjects used in this study voluntarily chose the activity in which they participated. The California Psychological Inventory was used to evaluate the personality characteristics of the subjects. Analysis of the data showed that the basketball group scored significantly higher, at the 5 percent level of confidence, on the community scale. The modern dance group scored significantly higher, at the 5 percent level of confidence, on the scales measuring flexibility and femininity. A comparison of the group means for all other scales proved insignificant at the 5 percent level of confidence.Item Reactions to a Request for a Benefit in Communal and Exchange Relationships(1977) Clark, Margaret Snydor; Mills, Judson R.; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, MD)Based on a distinction between communal relationships, in which benefits are given in response to the needs of the other, and exchange relationships, in which benefits are given with the expectation of receiving comparable benefits in return, the following hypotheses were proposed: 1) If a person has been aided by another, that other will be liked more when he requests a benefit than when he does not request a benefit, if the person expects an exchange relationship with the other. 2) If a person has been aided by another» that other will be liked more when he does not request a benefit than when he does request a benefit, if the person expects a communal relationship with the other. 3) If a person has not been aided by another, that other will be liked more when he does not request a benefit than when he does request a benefit, if the person expects an exchange relationship with the other. 4) If a person has not been aided by another, that other will be liked more when he requests a benefit than when he does not request a benefit, if the person expects a communal relationship with the other. Under the guise of a study of performance, female college students worked on a vocabulary task while a television monitor showed another female working on a similar task in another room. In order to manipulate the expectation of an exchange or a communal relationship, some of the subjects were told that the other was married, had a child, lived far from the university and that she and the subject would be discussing differences in interests in the second study (Exchange condition). Other subjects were told that the other was new at the university, did not know many people and that she and the subject would be discussing common interests in a second study (Communal condition). The other female finished the task, received one point and gave the subject aid on her task or did not give aid. The other female then requested a point from the subject or did not request a point. Finally, the subject's liking for the other and her expectations concerning the future discussion with the other were assessed. In general the results for the measure of liking provide evidence for the distinction between communal and exchange relationships. In support of the first hypothesis it was found that the other female was liked more in the Exchange-aid-request condition than in the Exchange-aid- no request condition. In support of the second hypothesis it was found that the other female was liked more in the Communal-aid-no request condition than in the Communal-aid-request condition. In support of the third hypothesis it was found that the other female was liked more in the Exchange-no aid-no request condition than in the Exchange-no aidrequest condition. The fourth hypothesis was not supported; there was no difference in liking for the other female in the Communal-no aid-request condition and in the Communal-no aid-no request condition. As would be expected from the distinction between communal and exchange relationships, liking was greater in the Exchange-aid-request condition than in the Exchange-no aid-request condition, marginally less in the Communal aid- request condition than in the Communal-no aid-request condition and less in the Exchange-aid-no request condition than in the Exchange-no aid-no request condition. The results for the measure of pleasantness of the future discussion with the other were also consistent with the distinction between communal and exchange relationships. The results on the liking measure demonstrate that equity principles, which have been useful in understanding a number of different social relationships, do not apply to all relationships.Item Social Comparison Threat and Interpersonal Attraction(1978) Gould, Robert J.; Sigall, Harold; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md)The self-esteem of 80 male subjects was temporarily either raised or lowered by giving them false feedback on an alleged personality test. Subsequently, subjects were led to believe that their attractiveness to a physically attractive female student would be compared with that of a male stimulus person. The perceived ability of the male stimulus person to be attractive to females was varied and subjects were given an opportunity to indicate their liking for the male target either before learning the outcome of the female's comparative evaluation or after learning that the female had indicated a preference for the stimulus person. From an analysis of self-esteem threat based on Festinger's theory of social comparison processes (1954), a three way interaction was predicted. Under conditions where subjects had received negative comparison feedback it was predicted that low self-esteem subjects would indicate greater liking for the stimulus person than high self-esteem subjects, regardless of the stimulus person's perceived ability. In contrast, under conditions where comparative evaluation feedback was anticipated, it was predicted that low self-esteem, relative to high self-esteem, subjects, would indicate greater liking for the target perceived to have high ability, but would indicate less liking for the stimulus person perceived to have low ability. The results supported these predictions and are discussed in with respect to furthering our understanding the self-esteem construct and the process of self-esteem maintenance, and the extension of the applicability of social comparison principles.Item Modelling of Heuristic Evaluation Strategies in Game Playing: Linear and Configural Effects in Othello(1981) Phillips, Robert Vernon III; Norman, Kent L.; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md)Psychological research on problem solving began with Thorndike's work on trial and error learning with cats, dogs, and monkeys. Kohler later initiated research with apes which convinced him that problems could be solved with insight. Through the 1940's, the study of human problem solving focused on general principles (following the Gestalt tradition) and S-R mechanisms to explain how people solve problems. The advent of computer technology in the 1950's spurred research in artificial intelligence, game playing, and problem solving. Formal definitions of problems outlined the components of a constituting the problem representation. This provided a framework for computer scientists to mechanize problem Solving with algorithms of search. Computer scientists met with success in developing programs to work on well-defined problems, such as games and puzzles, where the components of the problem representation are easily stated. Once the representation is adopted, solution is a matter of search. It has been shown that the efficiency of mechanized search is aided by the use of a ''heuristic evaluation function" (Nilsson, 1971), which has a form similar to psychological models applied in research on human decision making and judgment (Slovic and Lichtenstein, 1972). Samuel (1959), used a regression model of human judgment based on the knowledge of skilled checkers players in order to produce a heuristic evaluation function for a checkers playing program. Another model which can also be used to provide a heuristic evaluation function is based on Anderson's (1962) technique of functional measurement. This approach allows estimation of subjective scale values for the levels of information components relevant to playing a game. In contrast to these linear models, Edgell (1978) has argued that people can utilize configural information when making judgments, an issue which has been avoided by most decision modelling research. Samuel (1967) showed that use of configural infermation by a heuristic evaluation function can augment the skill of a checkers playing program, but the question of whether human players use such information was not researched. This paper reports one pilot experiment and two other experiments which were conducted to investigate whether people do use configural information when evaluating alternative moves in a game situation. The effects of game experience, learning, and training on use of configural information were examined. In addition, the research was conducted in a game playing situation in order to address the issue of ecological validity (Neisser, 1976) in psychological research. As Newell and Simon (1972) have argued, a good psychological theory of how a good chess player plays chess should play good chess.Item Social Reinforcement and Diurnal Rhythms in Baboons(1966) Thach, John S. Jr; Gollub, Lewis R.; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md)The frequency with which one monkey opened a door for two minutes of visual and physical contact with another monkey was examined as a function of several experimental procedures. In the first series of manipulations removal of the second monkey allowed a comparison between the effects of the social reinforcing object and the effects of the non-social stimuli incidental to delivery of the social reinforcer. During daily four-hour sessions, reinforcement rates (number of door openings/unit time) with a monkey in the adjacent cage averaged several times those when no monkey was in the adjacent cage. Removal of the second monkey did not significantly affect rates of food and water reinforcement, but removal of food and water contingencies did increase rates of door opening to an empty cage. Idiosyncratic factors contributed to above-zero rates when the cage was empty. For example, one subject's empty-cage rates were halved, and his amount of stereotyped rocking nearly stopped, by a wall placed next to the door. The existence of pertinent variables peculiar to the individual subject and to the particular apparatus directs attention to the necessity of control procedures. In the second set of conditions two baboons lived in the cages 24 hours a day and were under continuous illumination, as they had been for several months. During a short initial period when either monkey could open the door, and in a second longer period when only one could open the door, the monkeys had a very regular day length of approximately 14 hours, which remained synchronous with clock time. The experiment did not identify the pertinent elements entraining the monkeys' activities. This persisting alignment with clock time under reasonably stable conditions suggests that the entraining environmental stimuli were more subtle than those demonstrated in the literature. The monkeys also revealed a distinctive patterning of frequency of social contact as a function of time of day. The distribution had a midmorning peak, a midday low, and a minor afternoon peak, the same pattern recently documented as occurring in troops of wild baboons. This pattern was only barely noticeable in distributions from individual days, and became significant only when averaged across days. To a lesser degree, similar patterns were evident in distributions of food and water reinforcement rates. In the final set of procedures two levels of food deprivation, two levels of social deprivation, and two times of day were produced by alternating the subjects in morning and afternoon sessions, by conducting only morning or only afternoon sessions, and by pre-feeding and "pre-socializing" in a sequence designed to contrast the effect of one condition against another. Regardless of deprivation of social or other reinforcers, the subjects displayed a higher rate of social reinforcement in the mornings than in the afternoons. An early morning "pre-socializing" session slightly lowered the usual morning rate of social reinforcement, but preceding an afternoon session with a morning session, an early morning and a morning session, or by no session since the previous afternoon, had no effect on the afternoon social reinforcement rates. Independence of social reinforcement rates from variations in food deprivation, and low frequencies of eating with the door open implied that the presence of food did not appreciably affect rates of social reinforcement. These studies established social reinforcement under controlled laboratory conditions as a strong reinforcer capable of maintaining behavior over long periods of time, and elucidated a pertinent variable in social reinforcement, that of diurnal rhythms.Item Cuban Latin Americans: Psychosocial Correlates of Cultural Adjustment(1988) Sinclair, Elsa A. Rivera; Magoon, Thomas M.; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md)The process of adjustment to a new culture-acculturation-- is considered a crucial factor contributing to variations of psychological distress and anxiety among immigrant groups. It is believed that a person's level of distress during the cultural adaptation process is a reflection of the interconnection of the psychological and sociocultural processes of personality functioning. Behavioral scientists' accounts of the psychological effects experienced by Latin Americans during the cultural adjustment process point to maladjustment rather than to the positive aspects of this cultural phenomenon. To a lesser degree the literature reveals that acculturation may have a wholesome effect for some individuals in the long run. Some evidence, however, suggests that biculturalism may be a healthy approach to cultural adjustment. The present study investigated the psychosocial correlates of biculturalism. Two-hundred and fifty four male and female Cuban participants ranging from 18-90 years of age, living in metropolitan Washington, o.c., were administered self-report questionnaires. This field study examined the role played in biculturalism (Bicultural Involvement Questionnaire, BIQ) by age, length of time in the United States, and gender of the participants. The role played by presence of a support group, educational level, income level, ethnic identification, and use of mental health facilities was also explored. The criterion for level of adjustment was the participants' anxiety scores (State Anxiety Scale, SAS). The investigation's assumption is that biculturalism is related to relatively low anxiety levels. A hierarchical Multiple Regression Analysis revealed that (a) biculturalism and anxiety are related to the length of time the Cuban participant has been in the United States, (b) biculturalism is associated with the person's age, (c) there is a significant and positive linear relationship between BIQ scores and SAS scores. This means that if a person continues to remain monoculturally Cuban while living in a bicultural community, his/her levels of anxiety will be high. This tested the psychosocial model of adjustment. However, the test for the curvilinear relationship was not significant, and (d) the presence of support group networks, educational level, family income and ethnic identification are significantly associated with the process of biculturalism.Item PREDISPOSING FACTORS IN PEDOPHILIA(1989) Gordon, Susan; Spokane, Arnold; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md)This was an exploratory study about the etiology of pedophilia which examined the biological, psychological, and social background variables that may predispose men to a paraphilic sexual orientation. The biological variables included were chromosomal and hormonal irregularities. The psychological variables were introversion, depression, moralistic attitudes, and aggression (MMPI scales). The social background variables were childhood losses, relationship with parents, childhood sexual victimization, familial pedophilia, incest, and violence. Data on these variables were collected from a retrospective chart review of former male patients at Johns Hopkins sexual Disorders Clinic. The patients represented six different paraphilic (sexually deviant) diagnostic categories: (a) Homosexual pedophiles (b) Heterosexual pedophiles (c) Bisexual pedophiles (d) Exhibitionists (e) sexual sadists (f) Atypical paraphiliacs. Results of a stepwise discriminant analysis indicated that there were significant demographic, biological, and social differences among these six paraphilic groups. There were also significant differences between the major groupings of pedophiles (homosexual, heterosexual and bisexual pedophiles) and non-pedophiles (exhibitionists, sadists and the atypical group). Demographically, the diagnostic groups differed with respect to age, birth order, marital status, number of children, occupation and education. Biologically, the paraphilic groups had different testosterone levels. Psychologically, the paraphilic groups did not differ. Because only 14 of the 211 subjects had been given the MMPI, however, results of the analysis of psychological variables must be interpreted cautiously. Socially, the paraphilic groups' differences included experience of childhood loss, age of first sexual involvement, use of violence, and incestuous involvement. Two path analyses were conducted to test models of correlational relationships among the variables. The path analyses were conducted first with, and second without, the HMPI scores. Results indicated that two path coefficients were significant: (a) social circumstances, and particularly having a pedophile relative, was related to childhood sexual involvement with an adult, F(4,118)=6.54, p<.001; (b) incestuous involvement with a child was related to sexual orientation, F(1,203) = 11.19, p<.001. It is concluded that although generalizations about pedophiles as a single group cannot be made, a biological predisposition (hormonal irregularities) may interact with childhood familial relationships (father-son) in the development of paraphilias. This study's limitations, suggestions for future research, theoretical and practical implications are presented.Item Expectations for Organizational Combinations(1985) Rentsch, Joan; Schneider, Benjamin; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md)This study is an attempt to learn more about the expectations that people hold for organizational combinations (mergers and acquisitions). A measure of organizational combination expectations was developed to test hypotheses regarding the power, autonomy, identity, job security, and morale expectations that people hold for combinations. It was hypothesized that one's expectations would depend on the individual's perspective in the combination, that is, whether one is in an acquired, merged, or acquiring organization. Expectations were also hypothesized to differ depending on the motive for the combination (e.g. organizational survival or organizational growth). It was expected that perspective would also influence perceived uncertainty. The relationship between perceived uncertainty and motive, and the influence of perspective, and motive on expected satisfaction were also explored. 252 MRA students were presented with scenarios of combinations in which perspective and motive were manipulated. They then responded to the survey of combination expectations, a measure of perceived uncertainty and a satisfaction scale. Results indicated that motive and perspective did have significant effects on expectations, but they did not influence expected satisfaction. The influence of perspective on uncertainty was not significant. Uncertainty was influenced by motive, such that there was less uncertainty when growth was the motive than when survival was the motive. Exploratory analysis indicated that expectations are better predictors of expected satisfaction than is uncertainty, Implications of the results and the limitations of the study are discussed.Item Negotiation Behavior by Elected and Appointed Representatives Serving as Group Leaders or Spokesmen under Different Cooperative Group Expectations(1972) Boyd, Norman Kent; Anderson, Nancy S.; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md)A common assumption is that the group representative is under pressure to remain loyal to his constituency while bargaining for its interests. The present investigation tested 3 factors thought to determine the extent of the representative's group loyalty for their effects upon his negotiation behavior. Two of these factors were associated with a component of representation called the representative's group leadership status. Predictions regarding these factors were based upon the notion that a group may not be inclined to sanction the behavior of all individuals who might serve as representative to the same degree. It was suggested that group members variously allow their representative to compromise the group's established position and yet consider him a loyal member of the group as a positive function of the status they accord him as a leader. It follows that the higher the representative perceives his leadership status the more willing he should be to yield from the group's position without fear of censure. The first factor thought to affect the representative’s group loyalty by influencing his perceived leadership status was his source of authority in becoming group representative. It was predicted that the process of election would elicit greater perceived status and thus greater yielding behavior than would the procedure of appointment. The second factor was whether the representative served as group leader or spokesman. The group leader was viewed as an individual who performs all group leadership functions, including that of negotiating for the group, while the spokesman was described as a person who acts only as the group's representative, It was predicted that group leaders serving as representatives would yield more than spokesmen due to their perceptions of relatively high leadership status. The third factor tested was the cooperative expectations of group members. Group expectations for the representative to cooperate with opposing negotiators were assumed inversely related to the group's announced positional commitment. Accordingly, it was predicted that evidence of weak, as opposed to strong, group commitment would result in more compromising behavior by decreasing the pressure upon the representative to demonstrate his loyalty to the group. The experimental simulation initially required each of 80 Ss to participate with 4 confederates in a prenegotiation discussion of a human relations issue. Following the establishment of a group position, half of the Ss were selected to be group leaders for the purpose of guiding the group's formulation of supporting arguments. A confederate was chosen as group leader in the other groups. After the argument formulation equal numbers of Ss were elected and appointed as representatives and informed of either high or low group commitment. Willingness to compromise the group position was measured following negotiations with a confederate representative. The results supported the prediction that elected representatives would yield more than those who had been appointed. The effect of the representative's source of authority was attributed to variable perceptions of leadership status. Conclusive findings regarding the effects of the other two factors were not obtained. The results were discussed as demonstrating the importance of isolating the representational components responsible for differential loyalty behavior by negotiating representatives.Item The Relative Effects of General versus Descriptive Praise on a Card Sorting Task(1976) Scheer, Robert Ryan; Pumroy, Donald K.; Psychology; Education; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md)It has frequently been postulated that descriptive praise, which labels the behavior being praised, is superior to general praise, which delivers an accolade without specifying the behavior being praised. Research investigating this postulate is meager. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether in fact descriptive praise is superior to general praise. Fifty fifth- and sixth-grade students from the Lida Lee Tall Center in Towson, Maryland were randomly selected to serve as subjects. Twelve boys and eight girls were randomly assigned to each of two praise conditions (i.e. descriptive praise and general praise) and six boys and four girls were randomly assigned to a control condition. Subjects were seen individually and pretested to ensure they could perform the experimental task. The assigned task was to sort 108 cards by one of three possible sorting methods. The first 54 card sorts served as a baseline to determine the preferred sorting method for each subject. During the final 54 card sorts, subjects in the two praise conditions received either general praise (e.g. "Great") or descriptive praise (e.g. "Great. I like the way you are sorting by shape") on a FR3 schedule for sorting cards by a randomly selected sorting method. Baseline data were collected for the entire 108 card sorts in the control condition. Multivariate analyses of variance were carried out on the extent to which the three groups changed their sorting method from their baseline method and on the extent to which the two praise groups sorted by the method they were reinforced for. The results indicated that the descriptive praise group performed significantly better than both the general praise and control groups. No significant difference emerged between the general praise and control groups. The male and female subjects did not significantly differ in their response to the two praise conditions. These results support the position that descriptive praise is more effective than general praise. It was suggested that the labeling of the behavior being reinforced in descriptive praise increased the informative value of the reinforcer thereby giving subjects in this condition an advantage over the subjects receiving general praise who had to, in effect, guess what response on their part elicited the praise.