identifier: Rowe, W. Gordon <https://research.library.mun.ca/view/creator_az/Rowe=3AW=2E_Gordon=3A=3A.html>   (1977) Frequency judgements of sounds and words.  Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

abstract: Familar sounds and their spoken names were compared in a frequency judgement paradigm. In Experiment 1, subjects heard a long list of either sounds or words with individual items occurring 0, 1, 2, 4, or 6 times followed by an unexpected frequency judgement test. Sounds did not differ from words on mean judged frequency but did display lower within-subject variability than words as well as superior frequency judgement accuracy. It was suggested that the differences found may reflect differential processing within  speech and nonspeech auditory memory systems. In Experiment 2, subjects heard a single list containing both sounds and their spoken names but were unexpectedly tested on only sounds or words. In the sounds list, individual sounds occurred 0, 2, 4, or 6 times while their spoken names occurred once for one half and 6 times for the other half of the sounds at each level of presented frequency. Similarly, the worlds were presented 0, 2, 4, or 6 times while their corresponding sounds occurred 1 or 6 times. The presence of words in the sounds list and sounds in the word list caused subjects to give inflated estimates of the number of times the sounds or words had actually occurred. As hypothesized,  this distortion in judged frequency was greater for words than for sounds. This latter result was interpreted in terms  of an extension to the auditory modality of Paivio's (197l) dual-çoding framework, stressing the existence of dual verbal and nonverbal (imaginal) auditory processing systems for sounds and words.


identifier: Bouzane, Genevieve A. <https://research.library.mun.ca/view/creator_az/Bouzane=3AGenevieve_A=2E=3A=3A.html>   (1983) Minimization of anorexia in cancer patients receiving abdominal radiotherapy.  Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

type: Thesis NonPeerReviewed

format: application/pdf application/pdf

abstract: The primary concern of this paper was with the anorexia (loss of appetite) in cancer patients receiving abdominal radiotherapy. It was felt that this anorexia, and the associated weight loss, were partly due to conditioned food aversions resulting from the radiation treatment. Experimental patients were told not to eat breakfast (the meal prior to irradiation) to avoid the development of conditioned food aversions. These patients were expected to lose less weight than control patients who were not given specific instructions regarding food intake prior to morning  irradiation. A food preference questionnaire was administered at the beginning of treatment and at two weeks post treatment. No significant differences were found between experimental and control patients on either the food                                                preference measure or on amount of weight loss at two weeks after treatment. There is no substantial diminution of anorexia to be obtained from not eating breakfast prior to X-irradiation treatment.


identifier: Dalziel, Heather A. <https://research.library.mun.ca/view/creator_az/Dalziel=3AHeather_A=2E=3A=3A.html>   (1989) A comparison of two intervention strategies for improving the social status of learning disabled elementary school children.  Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

abstract: Twelve socially rejected learning disabled children, aged 8-12 years, participated in a 6-week training programme involving either referential communication or interpersonal problem-solving. The effects of these interventions were compared with those of an attention control group using measures of interpersonal problem-solving, referential communication, social self-concept, and social status at pretreatment, post-treatment, and 2-month follow- up. It was predicted that children trained in referential communication  or interpersonal problem-solving skills would show improvement specific to the trained task and that this would  in turn lead to improvements in social status and social self-concept. The findings indicated that all groups showed improvement on both speaker and listener referential communication tasks but not on interpersonal problem-solving  measures. This improvement, however, was not found to be positively correlated with improvements on the social status  or social self-concept measures. It was concluded that the training programmes were no more effective than the attention control group for improving learning disabled children's performance on measures of referential communication, interpersonal problem-solving, social self-concept, and social status.


identifier: Murray, Patricia Ann <https://research.library.mun.ca/view/creator_az/Murray=3APatricia_Ann=3A=3A.html>   (1987) A longitudinal study of the contribution of dental experience to dental anxiety in children between the ages of nine and twelve.  Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

abstract: Previous research has indicated that there are several factors contributing to the development of dental anxiety in  children. These include child characteristics, environmental  influences and elements associated with the dental situation. One area which has not received adequate attention is the influence of dental experience on the dental anxiety reported by pre-adolescents. To examine this relationship more fully, a two part investigation was carried out on a group of school children, distributed equally by sex and presently 12 years of age. Part one, the longitudinal component of the study, assessed the dental anxiety of these children at the ages of 9 and 12 years, with Corah's Dental Anxiety Scale (DAS). Part two involved recording the dental treatment occurring during the intervening three years. This experience was quantified and qualified as follows: total number of dentists, planned visits and emergency visits, regular versus irregular attendance, check-up only versus restoration work and total number of injections, extractions and fillings. Additional factors also demonstrated to be relevant to the etiology of dental anxiety and included in this investigation are, prediction of good behaviour at the dentist, view of peers' attitudes towards going to the dentist, general fearfulness and SES. Results indicated that overall, there was a significant increase in dental anxiety between the ages of 9  and 12 years. Males and females responded differently with females displaying an increase in dental anxiety while males  displayed a slight decrease. Dental experience was not a great predictor of this anxiety. The strongest predictor, for both males and females, was the medical fears factor of the Fear Survey Schedule for Children-Revised (FSSC-R), which was used to measure general fearfulness. Implications of these results and suggestions for future research are presented.


identifier: Snow, Dean Douglas <https://research.library.mun.ca/view/creator_az/Snow=3ADean_Douglas=3A=3A.html>   (1988) Effects of self-instructional training on vigilance in hyperactive children.  Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

abstract: The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the impact of a brief cognitive-behavioural intervention on vigilance performance in hyperactive children. Douglas (1980) has argued that the primary deficit of hyperactive children is in their ability to sustain attention. Although a number of studies in recent years have demonstrated that cognitive-behavioural interventions have a positive impact on social and academic behaviours, there is little evidence to suggest  that the interventions produce effects on more basic cognitive functions, such as sustained attention. Using a multiple-baseline design, five subjects were assessed with a  continuous performance task (C.P.T.) under baseline and intervention conditions. The intervention was based on the model of cognitive-behaviour therapy developed by Meichenbaum and Goodman (1971), and was aimed at assisting the subjects to more effectively attend to the continuous performance task. No significant changes in vigilance performance were observed, suggesting that the cognitive-behavioural intervention had no effect on the ability of the  subjects to sustain attention. However, the failure of the changes in vigilance performance, in the intervention condition, to reach significance may be related to flaws in the design of the present experiment. It is suggested that future studies of the link between cognitive-behavioural interventions and vigilance utilize experimental designs including group comparisons. Studies designed to assess the impact of a cognitive-behavioural treatment on hyperactive children might also include a measure of vigilance.


identifier: Noseworthy, Lise Anne <https://research.library.mun.ca/view/creator_az/Noseworthy=3ALise_Anne=3A=3A.html>   (1988) Mothers' expectations for the futures of their mentally handicapped children.  Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

abstract: Twenty-eight mothers of 29 school-aged, mentally handicapped  children were interviewed at home during the summer of 1987 to determine what expectations they held for the futures of their children and to determine what factors influenced these expectations. -- Data analysis showed that all mothers  had developed expectations for the futures of their children  in virtually all areas examined. It appears that the development of these expectations is very much influenced by the mothers' estimations of the childrens' degree of handicapping condition. Further analysis revealed that mothers', perceptions of their childrens' abilities is influenced by mothers' perceptions of their childrens' overall development. No particular developmental factor, i.e., language development, fine motor skills, mobility, etc. could be identified as contributing to mothers perceptions of their childrens abilities. Factors previously thought to influence the development of maternal expectations, i.e., family or professional support and socioeconomic status of the families had little effect in this study. All results described in this study were done so  with caution in light of the small sample size (n = 28).


identifier: Lacey, Beth <https://research.library.mun.ca/view/creator_az/Lacey=3ABeth=3A=3A.html>   (1982) Myths about battered women : a just world explanation.  Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

abstract: People appear to believe that battered women are low income, masochistic women with no desire to leave their husbands, while research in the area indicates that these beliefs are largely untrue. An explanation for these incorrect beliefs may be found in Lerner’s Just World Hypothesis (1965). -- To test the application of this hypothesis to battered women, 234 subjects were each given a case study of a battered woman. The independent variables were Responsibility (High, Low and Undetermined) for the battering and Severity (More and less). Case studies of three separate women were crossed with each of these conditions for a total of 18 cases. The dependent variables were 10 bipolar adjectives weighted for likability. -- It was predicted that women in the Low Responsibility condition would be more negatively evaluated than women in the High Responsibility condition. This prediction was supported. As well, it was predicted that the more severe the harm, the more responsible the woman would be rated. While this prediction was not supported, it was found that for the More Severe harm condition, the husband was attributed more responsibility. Reasons are discussed.


identifier: Hearn, Richard Simon Fairfax <https://research.library.mun.ca/view/creator_az/Hearn=3ARichard_Simon_Fairfax=3A=3A.html>   (1986) Neuropsychological deficits as a function of the heart-lung machine used in open-heart surgery: two lungs compared.  Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

abstract: Psychiatric and neurological symptoms, as well as neuropsychological test decrements, frequently occur after open-heart operations, and are seen much more commonly than after other types of surgery. A working hypothesis is that microbubbles of air escape from the heart-lung machine and enter the patient's bloodstream. These microbubbles, it is hypothesized, proceed to blood vessels in the brain, there causing blockages and then mental disturbances. 'Lungs' have  accordingly been designed to minimize release of microbubbles. In the present study, two differently designed 'lungs' were compared with regard to patients' postoperative  performances on eight neuropsychological tests. One of these, the membrane, is a newer model of more sophisticated technical design than the other, the bubbler. -- Forty-one coronary bypass patients were divided into two groups matched for age, sex, education, and scores on the WAIS-R Vocabulary and the Conceptual Levels Analogy Tests. Testing took place one week preoperatively and at one and six weeks postoperatively. Multiple Analyses of Variance were performed on raw scores and on residuals remaining when effects of covariates were removed. Covariates comprised the  matching variables, State and Trait Anxiety, Beck Depression, time on the heart-lung machine and total length of intraoperative periods of low blood pressure. -- Postoperatively, the bubbler group scored significantly higher on two measures of new learning derived from the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test. The measures of new learning were the only ones to indicate robust group differences. These findings confirm those of some earlier authors in pinpointing new learning as a sensitive index of postsurgical organic impairment. They also suggest that the bubbler, though of less sophisticated design than the membrane oxygenator, is the safer of the two devices when used with an appropriate filter.


identifier: Stone, Susan C. <https://research.library.mun.ca/view/creator_az/Stone=3ASusan_C=2E=3A=3A.html>   (1995) Longitudinal causal analysis of subjective well-being and its major correlates : a modified top-down formulation.  Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

abstract: Data from a four-year longitudinal study of 407 adults across the lifespan were used to examine the causal pathways  between the higher-order subjective well-being construct and  its primary lower-order correlates. Correlates included six life domain satisfactions, three personal dispositions, and two measures of general stress. -- A series of partial and multiple regression analyses were used to assess the presence and direction of causal linkages between variables in a "top-down" propensity model of subjective well-being. Results did not consistently support "bottom-up" or "top-down" effects. They did indicate modification of the proposed "top-down" formulation to include direct links from  personal dispositions to life domain satisfactions. -- Given  the lack of consistent findings in the literature and in the  present data set, the possible existence of bidirectional links between subjective well-being and domain satisfactions  was discussed.


identifier: Dornan, Brenda Mary <https://research.library.mun.ca/view/creator_az/Dornan=3ABrenda_Mary=3A=3A.html>   (1987) Predictors of longevity in an elderly institutionalized population.  Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

abstract: A number of salient predictors of longevity, other than age and gender, have emerged from research on samples of elderly community dwellers.  In particular, high levels of cognitive function, high socioeconomic status, high self-health ratings and activity levels, and low incidence of lifestress all predict longevity in this population.  In contrast to the abundant research on predictors of longevity in elderly community dwellers, there is a paucity of research on predictors of longevity in the elderly institutionalized.  This is problematic, as findings on community- dwelling elderly may not generalize to other samples of elderly, such as elderly institution dwellers.  Volunteer samples of elderly from longitudinal studies have been shown to differ even from other community dwellers in cognitive function and socioeconomic status (higher for volunteers). -- Therefore, a non-demented institutionalized elderly sample from all major institutions in Newfoundland was retrospectively examined on two measurement occasions, within 12 months of each other.  One hundred and fifty-six subjects between the ages of 65 and 95 years were available at first measurement (Wave One), and 122 of the same subjects were alive and agreed to be retested on a second occasion 12 months later (Wave Two).  Dimensions of health, personality, quality of life and lifestress were measured, and relevant demographic data were analysed.  Time-to-death (i.e. time from initial measurement until subject's death) was used to classify all subjects.  Three comparisons of data were made:  1) retestees were compared to non-retestees (i.e., subjects who were alive at retest but were not retested), 2) the full sample was compared on the basis of time-to-death, and 3) the retestees alone were compared on the basis of time-to-death.  Analyses of Variance were computed for all comparisons. -- Several predictors of longevity emerged from this study:  retestee status (i.e. being retested), higher activity levels and higher lifestress were the main predictors of longevity in the institutionalized sample.  Fewer years of education were also related to death, for the group surviving between three and six years after initial testing.  Findings were compared to previous research findings, and suggestions for future research were made.


identifier: Hines, Anne Louise <https://research.library.mun.ca/view/creator_az/Hines=3AAnne_Louise=3A=3A.html>   (1981) Parental participation in behavior therapy for adolescent obesity.  Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

abstract: Obesity is a common problem among adolescents.  Traditional treatment methods have not produced longterm weight losses.  Behavior therapy has been found to produce more easily maintainable weight losses as it requires the client to make permanent changes in weight related behaviors.  The inclusion of a parent in many types of therapies has been found to augment treatment results.  Recently a behavior therapy parent group has been found to facilitate adolescent weight loss. -- The present study was designed to determine whether parent involvement in an adolescent weight loss program through a bibliotherapy format would aid in weight reduction.  Twenty-one subjects were recruited through newspaper and radio announcements.  All subjects were at least 20% overweight, were not involved in other weight loss programs and had a parent willing to attend weekly meetings.  Subjects were randomly assigned to one of the following treatments:  behavior therapy with or without bibliotherapy parent involvement or a nutrition control condition.  Treatment was conducted over an eight week period.  Follow-up assessments were held one and two months posttreatment.  The behavior therapy programs followed the standard guidelines and did not give a specific diet list.  The nutrition control group followed Canada's Food Guide. -- Repeated measures analyses of variance of pounds lost revealed no significant effects for group membership (F<1; df=2/15), time (F=1.07; df=3/45) or the interaction (F<1; df=6/45).  Nor were significant effects found in changes in percent overweight for groups (F<1; df=2/15), time (F=1.35; df=3/45) or the interaction (F<1; df=6/45).  Examination of posttreatment group means revealed that the average weight changes of the child alone behavior therapy group and the nutrition control group were highly similar.  These groups were combined to form a control group against which the results of the parent group were compared.  One-way analyses of variance on percent overweight change revealed significant between group differences at posttreatment (F=4.56; df=1/16; p<.05) and follow-up II (F=6.07; df=1/16; p<.10).  Group differences aproached significance at follow-up I (F=4.33; df=1/15; p<.10). -- It was concluded that behavioral principles can be effectively conveyed to parents in a bibliotherapy format and that this type of parent involvement facilitates weight loss.  The validity of the prediction that a child alone behavior therapy condition would lose more weight than a nonspecific control group was questioned.


identifier: Jackman, Susan N. <https://research.library.mun.ca/view/creator_az/Jackman=3ASusan_N=2E=3A=3A.html>   (1982) The cognitive treatment of agoraphobia.  Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

title: The cognitive treatment of agoraphobia

abstract: The present study assessed the efficacy of cognitive therapy in treating agoraphobics.  Subjects were nine community residents who responded to newspaper advertisements announcing a treatment program for agoraphobia, and who met specified screening criteria.  They were randomly assigned to one of three treatment groups, which differed only in the length of time subjects waited for treatment. -- Subjects completed the Multiple Affect Adjective Checklist (Zuckerman and Lubin, 1965) daily, and rated peak anxiety levels on a 0-10 point scale at 3-hour intervals throughout the day.  Subjects also kept diaries of time away from home.  All daily measures were kept through a baseline phase of 3, 6, or 9 weeks, a 6-week treatment phase, and a 3-week follow-up phase.  Assessments were also made at pre- and posttreatment, and at follow-ups of 3 weeks and 2 months.  They were carried out by the therapist (Watson and Marks’, 1971, phobic anxiety and avoidance scales), by an independent assessor (Watson and Marks', 1971, phobic anxiety and avoidance scales), and by the subjects (Watson and Marks’, 1971, phobic anxiety and avoidance scales; State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Spielberger and Lushene, 1970). -- All measures of anxiety showed significant reductions following treatment, and improvement was maintained into the follow-up period.  Time out of the house, analyzed in terms of the hours away from home and the number of journeys made increased significantly, and ratings of phobic avoidance showed a significant reduction. -- It was concluded that cognitive therapy is effective in the treatment of some agoraphobics, and that this finding does not support the hypothesis that systematic practice in entering feared situations is essential for the treatment of agoraphobia.


identifier: Wishart, H. (Heather Ann) <https://research.library.mun.ca/view/creator_az/Wishart=3AH=2E_=28Heather_Ann=29=3A=3A.html>   (1988) Identification of facial expressions by epileptic and non-neurological subjects.  Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

abstract: The first goal of this thesis was to determine whether previous findings regarding facial expression processing among non-neurological subjects could be replicated with a modified experimental set-up.  The second goal was to determine if there were any difficulties on the task unique to epileptics, subgroups of epileptics, or chronically ill patients. -- Epileptics, chronic illness control subjects (diabetics) and non-patient control subjects identified facial expressions, and their accuracy and latency were measured.  Expressions were presented for 150 ms to one visual hemifield at a time.  The presentation format was designed to detect the subjects style of processing, that is whether or not they processed the emotional expressions independently of the non-emotional facial characteristics.  Subjects were tested following both neutral instructions and instructions intended to provoke anxiety. -- Previous related findings with non-neurological subjects were replicated in part with the present experimental set-up.  A tendency toward a right hemisphere (left visual field) superiority emerged independently of potential interacting factors such as expression valence, subject gender and group.  The expressions, in order of decreasing accuracy, were surprised, happy, sad and fearful.  In order of increasing latency they were happy, surprised and sad.  It was impossible to analyse latency data for fearful expressions.  Non-neurological subjects appeared to use both independent and dependent styles of processing the expression with respect to the face dimension. -- There were not enough epileptics with well-defined foci to form subgroups based on lateralization and nature of the focus.  Thus epileptics were subclassified according to seizure type (complex partial versus primary generalized) and according to whether they scored like a comparison group of psychiatric patients (PSY) or of non-psychiatric subjects (NonPSY) on the Personal Behavior Inventory.  Groups differed in age and years of education so the effect of these variables was removed using analysis of covariance.  No abnormalities in hemispheric asymmetry, accuracy, latency or style (e.g. independence versus dependence) of expression identification could be attributed to epileptics, epileptic subgroups or chronically ill people.  However the groups appeared to react differently to the anxiety induction.  Non-patients, diabetics and NonPSY epileptics maintained or improved their accuracy of identifying happy expressions, whereas PSY epileptics' accuracy decreased.  No differences between seizure type subgroups emerged.  Thus it may be more useful to group epileptics according to Personal Behavior Inventory scores than according to seizure type when trying to isolate those vulnerable to the effects of anxiety on the processing of facial affect information.


identifier: Taylor, Joy Hartley <https://research.library.mun.ca/view/creator_az/Taylor=3AJoy_Hartley=3A=3A.html>   (1977) Improved reading by home token economy and its effect on behavior.  Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

abstract: The aim of the present research was to investigate whether a specific treatment would raise the reading level of grade four children who were within the average range of intelligence and who were reading at least a year or more behind their grade level.  The main experimental procedure was that of a token economy administered by parents reinforcing correct reading responses, with money as a back-up reinforcer, for a duration of three months.  In addition to the regular no-treatment control group, effects due to the contingent nature of the reinforcement were isolated by using an "attention control" group who received noncontingent reinforcement for participation in the experiment.  The same instructional materials were used for both treatment groups.  In addition to the two experimental groups, there was a no-treatment "waiting list" control group.  The 46 children who met the necessary criteria for inclusion in the investigation were matched in threes on the two main reading measures (The Wide Range Achievement Test and 100 word sample from the SRA Lab) and on WISC-R intelligence scores.  Then each one of the three was randomly assigned to one of the three treatment groups.  Pre- and post-treatment measures were taken on the two previously mentioned reading tests, and a third measure was the number of errors made in reading a paragraph.  At the same time, by taking pre- and post-treatment behavioral measures, the present research sought to determine whether a change in general behavior either at school or at home accompanied treatment of the reading deficiency.  Of the original 46 subjects selected for this research, seven did not complete the three-month program, and were not included in the results.  There were no significant differences between the three groups in the pre-treatment means on either of the reading measures, the WISC-R or either of the behavioral measures.  To assess behavioral changes, three questionnaires were used: a Children's Behavior Questionnaire for completion by teachers, a C.B.Q. for completion by parents, and Sarason’s Test Anxiety Scale for Children. -- The analysis of variance performed on change scores for the WRAT showed a significant overall effect (p < .05).  A Scheffe procedure showed the Contingent Reinforcement group to be significantly different from the Attention group (p < .10) and from the Control group (p < .05).  There were no significant differences between Attention and Control groups.  On the 100 random words, the mean number of words increase was not significantly different between the Contingent Reinforcement and Attention groups; however, the mean for each of these treatment groups was significantly different from the Control group mean (p < .01).  The analysis of variance on the mean decrease in errors for the paragraph reading showed that there were no significant differences across the groups.  Pre- to post-treatment change as shown on the Teachers’ and on the Parents’ Questionnaire was not significant; neither was change on the Anxiety Questionnaire.


identifier: Boulos, Donna Marie <https://research.library.mun.ca/view/creator_az/Boulos=3ADonna_Marie=3A=3A.html>   (1986) Single-trial treatment of anxiety as a function of the interaction between relaxation procedures and personal response modes.  Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

abstract: This study examines the importance of matching individual response modes and treatment modes in relieving anxiety.  Fifty-five university students high on trait anxiety were categorized as expressing anxiety primarily through somatic symptoms, cognitive concerns, or in a mixed fashion.  Half the subjects in each group were given single-session training in modified progressive muscle relaxation, and the other half received single-session training in guided imagery.  Pre-post session state anxiety and pulse-rate measures were taken for all subjects.  Other post-session measures included subjects’ ratings of their level of absorption during the session and their perceived expectations of treatment effectiveness.  The results did not indicate a significant difference between matched and unmatched groups, although all groups became significantly less anxious as a result of training.  Because other studies have found matching of anxiety mode and treatment method to be important, it is conjectured that the absence of a matching effect in this study was the result of employing only a single session, or of the characteristics of the subject sample, or possibly of overlapping effects between relaxation methods.  Further research directions to clarify these issues were discussed.


identifier: Maccarone, Alan David <https://research.library.mun.ca/view/creator_az/Maccarone=3AAlan_David=3A=3A.html>   (1981) Some aspects of feeding and foraging behaviour of three corvids in Newfoundland.  Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

abstract: Research began with a study of nest predation by a pair of Common Ravens in a colony of cliff-nesting kittiwakes during summer, 1979.  Patrols by single ravens were twice as successful as when both birds hunted together.  Kittiwake anti-predator defense was important in reducing predation.  Results of a cost/benefit analysis suggest that the ravens obtained sufficient prey to meet daily energy requirements. -- A series of feeding and foraging experiments, designed to test several basic assumptions of Optimal Foraging Theory, was carried out between September 1979 and June 1980, using freeliving Gray Jays and Common Crows and artificial prey populations.  Both species became more discriminating in bait selection when relative and absolute abundances of profitable baits were increased.  When populations of artificial baits consisted of two and three different types, jays differentially selected bait types on the basis of net energy value.  Individuals differed in food preference and foraging efficiency.  The possible influences of social status and prior experience are discussed. -- Three experiments were designed to induce switching of prey preferences among the jays by decreasing the profitability of a preferred food.  Manipulations that produced increases in handling, search, and recognition times caused the jays to switch to an alternate bait, but they were reluctant to take a second alternate that was low in net energy value.  Many of these data support current models of Optimal Foraging Theory. -- In a final experiment, a Great Horned Owl decoy was used to disrupt the feeding behaviour of a family of Gray Jays.  Differences were found between juveniles and adults in anti-predator behaviour and food preference, juveniles being less cautious in the presence of the decoy and less discriminating in bait preference.  Possible reasons for these differences are discussed.


identifier: Pitocchelli, Jay <https://research.library.mun.ca/view/creator_az/Pitocchelli=3AJay=3A=3A.html>   (1981) Song dialects, and vocal development of Savannah sparrows (Passerculus sandwichensis labradorius, Howe) breeding in Newfoundland and the St. Pierre et Miquelon islands.  Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

abstract: Dialect differences were found in primary song of male Savannah Sparrows (P. s., labradorius) from 10 different breeding localities in Newfoundland and the St. Pierre et Miquelon Islands.  Sonograph analysis reproduced note types comprising primary song which were entered into a cluster analysis to determine similarity in song amongst different breeding localities.  Sonographs of vocalizations from nestlings and fledglings reveal that some note types comprising primary song and male aggressive notes develop from contact and begging notes of juvenile birds.  Homology of breeding display and accompanying flight song of male Savannah Sparrows within the Emberizinae are also discussed.


identifier: Miceli, Mario <https://research.library.mun.ca/view/creator_az/Miceli=3AMario=3A=3A.html>   (1981) Reproductive and regulatory behaviours in the female hamster following transections of the lateral connections of the medial preoptic area-medial anterior hypothalamic continuum.  Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

abstract: Parasagittal knife cuts with a varied mediolateral position were placed along the medial preoptic area-medial anterior hypothalamic continuum (MPOA-MAH) in female hamsters.  Near lateral (NL) knife cuts severed mediolateral connections between the MPOA-MAH and the medial forebrain bundle (MFB) while far lateral cuts (FL) were placed more laterally, sparing MPOA-MAH - MFB connections.  Across the knife cut condition, hamsters were either allowed to construct and maintain a food hoard or given daily food rations.  Prior to, and after surgery, animals were tested for male-soliciting ultrasonic vocalizations and maternal behaviours.  Both NL and FL cuts reduced rates of ultrasonic calling.  These cuts also converted into cannibals those animals which previously behaved maternally towards foster pups in preoperative virgin maternal tests.  These cuts were less effective in this respect if the hamsters were allowed to hoard.  These same animals were then mated and later tested for maternal behaviour with their own young.  The results of the behavioural testing early in the postpartum period revealed no differences among the experimental groups in various maternal behaviours.  Throughout lactation, however, the majority of NL and FL hamsters given daily food rations progressively cannibalized their entire litters.  NL and FL counterparts with the hoarding opportunity, on the other hand, cannibalized fewer pups and reared healthy, moderate-sized litters that were smaller than those of appropriate surgical controls.  This is the first study to demonstrate that rodents with (NL) hypothalamic cuts which ordinarily disrupt maternal behaviours, will, under appropriate testing conditions, rear litters.  In view of this finding, the nature of the maternal deficit following hypothalamic cuts is discussed.  That FL cuts were just as effective as NL cuts in reducing ultrasonic calling and disrupting maternal processes suggests that mediolateral connections of the MPOA-MAH, other than with the MFB, are important for these behaviours.  Possible amygdalar-hypothalamic pathways mediating these behaviours are discussed.  The effects of the knife cuts and hoarding condition on body weight and other regulatory behaviours are also evaluated.


identifier: Cottrell, Paul Keith <https://research.library.mun.ca/view/creator_az/Cottrell=3APaul_Keith=3A=3A.html>   (1985) Reproductive behaviour and polyandry in a small insular population of spotted sandpipers in Newfoundland.  Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

abstract: A small insular population of nesting Spotted Sandpipers (Actitis macularia), estimated at 38-45 individuals, was studied during the summers of 1979 and 1980.  Daily observations were wade from late May when birds first arrived through mid-July when most eggs had hatched.  Some individuals were colour banded or otherwise marked.  During the two seasons 31 nests were located and histories resulting from daily observations at these nests are summarized.  Contrary to reports of some researchers (e.g. Oring & Knudson 1972), perceived size differences and plumage markings in this population did not allow reliable determination of sex in the field.  Extensive observations were made at nests where one or both individuals were marked to determine whether one or both pair members participated in clutch and brood tending activities.  Marked individuals were also followed when off the nest to assess use of feeding areas.  Of 14 marked females, two were known to mate with multiple males and some details of these relationships are presented.  Aggression was rare and seemed to occur primarily in situations where existing pair relationships were challenged or in instances of mate defense.  Territorial behaviour by males and females was not apparent and overlapping feeding areas were observed.  Theoretical arguments which suggest selective pressures for incubation and brood tending by one member of a breeding pair are reviewed and their relevance to the Spotted Sandpiper mating system are discussed.


identifier: Johnson, Wavey Diane <https://research.library.mun.ca/view/creator_az/Johnson=3AWavey_Diane=3A=3A.html>   (1985) The effect of exercise intensity and level of physical fitness on state anxiety scores of young adult males immediately following exercise and after a delay.  Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

abstract: To assess the effects of exercise intensity and fitness level on state anxiety scores after exercise one hundred and fourteen male volunteers participated in a controlled experiment.  All subjects exercised on a bicycle ergometer the control group at an unstressed heart rate and the three experimental groups at 100, 120, and 140 bpm, respectively.  Subjects were randomly assigned to groups.  Measurements of state anxiety level were made prior to, immediately following and at twelve minutes after exercise.  Subjects' levels of fitness and trait anxiety also were assessed.  Analysis of covariance revealed a significant effect of exercise intensity at twelve minutes after exercise.  Analysis using Dunnett's test showed that this difference resulted from a significant reduction in anxiety level for those who exercised at 140 bpm.  Those who exercised at 100 and 120 bpm did not differ from the control group.  The conclusion is that moderate exercise, assigned on an individual basis in terms of heart rate is an effective means of alleviating anxiety.


identifier: Heath, Olga Jean <https://research.library.mun.ca/view/creator_az/Heath=3AOlga_Jean=3A=3A.html>   (1979) The effect of including a significant other in behavioral treatment of obesity.  Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

abstract: The effectiveness of including a Significant Other person was evaluated for group treatment of obesity.  The first 22 clients were randomly assigned to two treatment groups, the last eight clients comprised a waiting-list Control group.  For the Significant Other treatment group clients attended the eight weekly meetings with their partners who were instructed to participate actively, were trained in reinforcement techniques and advised on ways to assist the weight-reducing partner.  The Alone treatment group followed the same program except that their partners did not attend group meetings.  The waiting-list clients were offered the treatment program at the six-month follow-up point.  The treatment program followed was Stuart's three-pronged approach” to weight loss.  Dependent measures were weight lost, percentage overweight lost and change in skinfold measure.  Measures were taken at pre-treatment, at the end of treatment, and at follow-ups six and ten months after the termination of treatment.  The treatment groups lost more weight than the Control clients.  There was no support for the hypothesis that inclusion of a Significant Other facilitates treatment of obesity.  These findings are discussed with reference to observations about group and marital interactions.


identifier: MacDonald, Edward Hugh <https://research.library.mun.ca/view/creator_az/MacDonald=3AEdward_Hugh=3A=3A.html>   (1982) The effect of induced movement and the Roelofs phenomenon on human localization.  Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

abstract: Induced movement is the perceived movement of a stationary object in the direction opposite to that of an objectively moving background.  Six experiments were conducted to determine if the induction effect could be explained strictly in terms of the object-relative movement between the visual target and its background, or whether the moving background changes the egocentric coordinates of the observer such that the perceived target motion arises from the change in its position relative to the shifting egocentric or subject-relative axes.  Subjects pointed to a target light located in their objective median plane (1) in the absence of any other stimulus in the visual field, (2) in the presence of an offset stationary fluorescent frame, (3) while the frame was moving leftward or rightward, and (4) after exposure to identical frame motion occurring immediately prior to the onset of the target light.  The results showed that pointing errors with respect to the control readings were smallest with the stationary frame, somewhat larger after frame motion in the absence of the light, and largest during frame motion in the presence of the light (induced motion).  In the induced movement condition, the direction of motion affected both the direction and size of subsequent pointing errors.  In contrast, the stationary frame in the presence of the light or frame motion in the absence of the light affected the size but not the direction of subsequent errors.  It is argued that both subject-relative and object-relative factors are involved in the perception of induced movement and an alternative interpretation is suggested which incorporates both of these elements.  Finally, an argument is made for the importance of stimulus size as a parameter in induced movement.


identifier: Walther, Barnabas Joseph <https://research.library.mun.ca/view/creator_az/Walther=3ABarnabas_Joseph=3A=3A.html>   (1981) The effect of knowledge of missing an experimental treatment on behaviour.  Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

abstract: The research examined how individuals react when they know they are missing an experimental treatment as a function of assignment to a control group and considered whether these reactions could produce treatment effects.  There were three experimental conditions.  Subjects in one condition were informed that they were a control group and unlike the experimental group would not receive extra money for doing well on experimental tasks.  Subjects in a second condition were informed that they were in a control group and unlike the experimental group would not receive electric shocks for poor performance on experimental tasks.  In the third condition subjects were given no information concerning the existence of any other condition.  Dependent measures included task performance and measures of attitudes toward the experiment.  Subjects who believed they were missing a positive treatment tended to be less careful, make more errors, and do less work than subjects unaware of any other condition.  Subjects who believed they were missing a negative treatment tended to be more careful, make fewer errors, and do more work than individuals unaware of any other condition.  Apparently, knowledge of missing either a positive or negative experimental treatment does affect behaviour.  There were no differences in attitude towards the experiment as a function of experimental condition.  These significant differences in task performance were discussed in terms of various social psychological theories, the evaluation of social programs, and Campbell's suggestion of "informed randomization”.


identifier: Russell, Mark <https://research.library.mun.ca/view/creator_az/Russell=3AMark=3A=3A.html>   (1987) The effect of two levels of parental involvement on weight loss of adolescents participating in a behavioral program.  Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

abstract: The present study was designed to determine whether increased parental participation in their teenager's weight loss program would result in greater changes in obesity measures and in maintenance of these changes.  Two levels of parental involvement were used, with the Experimental group attending weekly meetings and receiving a parent manual, and the Control group receiving the same manual and a weekly telephone call. -- Seventeen adolescents between the ages of 12 and 17 were recruited through advertisements, public service announcements, and through referral by a psychologist and a dietician at the Janeway Child Health Centre.  Subjects were required to be at least 20% overweight, have a parent willing to attend weekly meetings, and to show sufficient motivation.  Subjects were then randomly assigned to either the Experimental or the Control groups. -- All participants took part in a 20 week behavioral weight loss program which included nutrition education and exercise components.  At the conclusion of the program and at the three month follow-up, there were no differences found as a result of group membership on the Body Mass Index; skinfold measures, or on Body-Esteem.  The expected changes as a result of the program (regardless of group) were also not found at termination or at follow-up.  A significant increase in body-esteem was found for the subjects regardless of group membership.  A significant decrease in Body Mass Index measures was found in a comparison of initial measures and Week Eight measures. -- Reasons for the lack of overall loss of obesity were discussed, with emphasis on why the significant BMI losses for the group as a whole which were found at Week Eight were not present at termination or at follow-up.  Possible reasons include loss of motivation during the Christmas break, or more plausibly, the failure of the program to continue the initial motivation after the break.  A possible solution is to present the material in a manner which would be more interesting for this age group. -- The lack of parental attendance at weekly meetings was also discussed, as were methods which might be used to overcome the apparent lack of motivation by parents.  Suggestions included contingency contracting for parental attendance and the use of techniques to make the material presented more interesting.


identifier: Bennett, Donna Michelle <https://research.library.mun.ca/view/creator_az/Bennett=3ADonna_Michelle=3A=3A.html>   (1995) The effectiveness of a short-term interpersonal problem-solving program for aggressive preschool children with low acceptance among peers.  Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

abstract: The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a short-term interpersonal problem-solving program for preschool children who are perceived by teachers as aggressive and have low social acceptance among their peers.  Thirty-four preschool children identified as rejected (5 females, 11 males) or average (10 females, 8 males) based on ratings of peer acceptance and teacher ratings of behavior in the preschool setting were assigned to either treatment or attention control groups.  Results indicated that children in the treatment group demonstrated significant improvement in problem-solving skills following 13 training sessions and gains were maintained at a 4 week follow-up.  Children in the treatment group also showed a significant decrease in aggressive behavior at follow-up.  Training was not found to be differentially effective for rejected and average children.  There were no significant changes in ratings of peer acceptance.  The implications of these findings and suggestions for future research are discussed.


identifier: Nathanson, S. Garth <https://research.library.mun.ca/view/creator_az/Nathanson=3AS=2E_Garth=3A=3A.html>   (1981) The effects of a social skills training program on aggressive behaviour with institutionalized juvenile delinquents.  Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

abstract: Situation-specific behavioural deficits have been found to account for at least some of the aggressive behaviours displayed by juvenile delinquents.  The present investigation undertook to evaluate the effectiveness of a social skills training package in achieving a reduction in delinquents’ aggressive behaviours.  Such a training program offers one procedure through which appropriate responding in social situations can be taught.  Previous research had suggested that aggressive behaviour was a relevant target behaviour for this population. -- Twenty-four students from a residential training center for juvenile delinquents served as subjects for this investigation.  They ranged in age from 14-16 years (mean=15.2).  The sex distribution of the subjects reflected their respective proportions in the center's population. -- Three measures of verbal and physical aggression were employed to assess the efficacy of the training program:  (a) the frequency of fines and warnings issued by the staff members for verbal and physical aggressiveness,  (b) in vivo observations of aggressive behaviour during a free-time period, and (c) ratings of social skills in response to provocative situations presented on audiotape. -- The students were divided into a treatment group and a control group equated in terms of sex-distribution and pre-treatment level of aggression. -- The students in the training group met weekly for eight weeks.  During these meetings, the concepts of assertion, aggression and non-assertion were first introduced.  A variety of skills for assertively responding to provocations were applied to job interviews and interpersonal problem situations identified by the students.  The social skills training included modelling, rehearsal and feedback, coaching, and homework assignments. -- The students in the control group were given no treatment in addition to the normal program of the institution. -- On all the measures of aggressiveness collected, the training group did not differ significantly from the control group at either the pre-treatment or the post-treatment assessments.  Furthermore, the behaviour of the training group did not change significantly over the course of the investigation. -- These results indicate that the social skills training package, as presently applied, was not successful in altering the amount of aggressive behaviour displayed by the students. -- Difficulties in obtaining accurate data on the students' aggressive behaviour and their implications for conclusions from the study are discussed.


identifier: Freeman, Donald Cecil <https://research.library.mun.ca/view/creator_az/Freeman=3ADonald_Cecil=3A=3A.html>   (1978) The effects of ego threat, physical threat and ego-physical threat on state anxiety.  Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

abstract: The main purpose of the present study was to investigate the effects of ego threat, physical threat, and the combination of ego and physical threat on state anxiety (A-State) arousal for persons who differ in trait anxiety (A-Trait).  Subjects were categorized as low or high A-Trait on the basis of extreme scores on the State-Trait, Anxiety Inventory - Trait Scale.  The measure of A-State was the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory - State Scale.  Differential instructions were used to produce ego threat, physical threat, ego-physical threat and no threat (Control) conditions. -- The experimental procedure consisted of a Rest Period, a Performance Period in which a memory task was administered, a Feedback Period, a Test Period in which the memory task was readministered and a second Feedback Period.  Upon completion of the Performance Period, subjects were randomly assigned to the experimental conditions.  A-State measures were obtained after the Rest Period and the second Feedback Period. -- On the basis of Spielberger's (1972b) Trait State Anxiety Theory, it was hypothesized that high and low A-Trait subjects would manifest increases in A-State in response to the ego and physical threats.  It was also expected that in-creases in A-State as a function of ego threat would be greater for high A-Trait than low A-Trait individuals, but no differentiation as a function of physical threat would occur. -- In all experimental conditions, scores increased from the Rest to the Test Period.  These increases were significantly greater in the ego and physical threat inducing conditions than in the no threat (Control) condition. -- Expectations that High and Low A-Trait subjects would manifest differential responses in A-State as a function of ego threat but not physical threat were only partly met.  While High A-Trait subjects responded with significantly greater increases in A-State in all conditions having a direct ego threat arising from failure feedback, in the one condition which consisted of anticipation or potential for ego threat (shame) tied to the physical threat, there was no significant difference between the groups in A-State response.  Also, unexpectedly, differential A-State responses for the High and Low A-Trait subjects were found in the condition consisting of only physical threat. -- Several explanations for the results of the present study were suggested and recommendations for future research were made.


identifier: Coombs, Adrian Desmond <https://research.library.mun.ca/view/creator_az/Coombs=3AAdrian_Desmond=3A=3A.html>   (1985) The effects of relaxation therapy on hypertension.  Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

abstract: In this study the effects of relaxation therapy on the control of hypertension were examined.  From each of four rural clinical settings 10 hypertensive subjects, age 24 to 55 years, total of 18 males and 22 females, were assigned to the following conditions:  (1) No-treatment control; (2) Relaxation; (3) Education; and (4) Education Plus Relaxation.  In the Relaxation condition the subjects received four 45-minute sessions of group relaxation while the Education condition received four 20-minute education sessions consisting of a slide-and-tape presentation and a 20-minute group discussion.  The Education Plus Relaxation condition combined the procedures of the Relaxation and the Education conditions.  For all conditions the subjects' blood pressure measures were taken on four occasions, at a pretreatment session, after the final treatment session, and during the 2-week and 4-week follow-up sessions.  A 3-way analysis of variance (Conditions x Sessions x Pressures) was performed with the subjects nested under the four conditions. -- A significant Sessions effect, a significant Sessions x Conditions interaction, and a significant Session x Pressures interaction were found.  Although this was not the main intention of this study it did make methodological contributions by demonstrating the weakness of the single group design on which other studies in this area have frequently relied.  In the future much more attention must be paid to a careful and standardized methodology.


identifier: Marche, Tammy Ann <https://research.library.mun.ca/view/creator_az/Marche=3ATammy_Ann=3A=3A.html>   (1988) The developmental and gender related use of listener responsiveness and interruption behavior.  Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

abstract: The developmental and gender related use of two conversational techniques, listener responsiveness and interruption, were investigated in three age groups (grades 4, 9 and college).  In addition, the influences of dominance tendencies and sex-role orientation of individuals and their partners on each of these techniques were also explored.  Twenty-minute structured dyadic conversations of 90 dyads (30 male, 30 female, and 30 mixed sex) were scored for nine types of back channel cues and four types of interruption.  The analyses revealed the developmental findings to be: (1) the number of back channels gradually increased with age, although even young children produced frequent back channels; and (2) the three age groups used interruptions to similar degrees.  The sex difference findings included: (1) female-female dyads were the most responsive dyad combination; females were as responsive to females as they were to male's, whereas males were slightly more responsive to males than females; and females were also somewhat more responsive than males in male-female interactions; and (2) the three dyad types used interruptions to similar degrees; males interrupted males as much as they did females; however, females interrupted females more than they did males; and females and males interrupted one another to similar degrees in crossed-sexed interaction.  Overall, it was generally the older (grade 9 and college) female-female groups which produced the greatest amount of both back channels and interruptions.  The analyses on the personality variables revealed that: (1) an individual's level of dominance did not predict back channel behavior, and predicted only some instances of interruption behavior, and (2) while subjects' masculinity and femininity did not account for a large portion of back channel behavior, when it did, femininity predicted frequent use, while masculinity predicted infrequent use; and whereas sex-role did not predict interruption behavior for those interruptions which were positively correlated with dominance, it did for those which were negatively related to dominance. -- Back Channel; Interruption; Developmental Differences; Gender Differences; Dominance; Sex-Role.


identifier: Tucker, R. Wayne (Robert Wayne) <https://research.library.mun.ca/view/creator_az/Tucker=3AR=2E_Wayne_=28Robert_Wayne=29=3A=3A.html>   (1995) The dimensions underlying perceived sexual atttitudes.  Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

abstract: The perceptual process of implicit attitude theories was investigated by way of a dimensional perspective.  Button, Grant, Hannah, & Ross (1993) suggest that perceived attitudes are two-dimensional, the two largely orthogonal dimensions being Liberal-Conservative and Traditional-Radical.  The present study examined perceptions of others' sexual attitudes.  Phase 1 investigated the dimensions of perceived sexual attitudes; Phase 2 focused on the identification of the most appropriate labels for the dimensional solution observed in the first Phase.  In Phase 1, 25 females and 25 males in each of two data sets judged the similarity of pairs of attitude statements by indicating whether they thought a person who agreed with one statement, would also agree with the other.  A multidimensional structural analysis indicated a clear elbow in the stress values and suggested that for both data sets a two-dimensional solution provided the best fit.  In Phase 2, 30 males and 30 females for each of data sets A and B rated (on four different scales) hypothetical individuals who agreed with a series of attitude statements (same statements as in Phase 1).  Multiple regression analyses identified Liberal-Conservative as the most suitable label for Dimension 1.  For Dimension 2, both Traditional-Radical and Warm-Cold proved to be acceptable labels as reflected by the amount of variability accounted for, but the Traditional-Radical label was recommended as the best based on past validations of this label.  The results were interpreted as consistent with a two-dimensional structure underlying implicit attitude theories.  The results were also discussed in relation to other models, as well as in terms of their application to the issue of sexual intimacy.


identifier: Richthofen, Carmen Lutetia von <https://research.library.mun.ca/view/creator_az/Richthofen=3ACarmen_Lutetia_von=3A=3A.html>   (1977) The effect of cerebral electrotherapy on patients with anxiety neurosis.  Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

abstract: The efficacy of cerebral electrotherapy in relieving the symptoms of anxiety neurosis was investigated in ten subjects with this condition.  A blind cross-over experimental design, in which subjects received five consecutive days of active and five days of placebo treatment was employed, the order being counterbalanced.  The subjects' experience of cutaneous sensation was identical for both treatment conditions.  Anxiety levels were measured pre- and post-treatment using daily physiological and psychological measures.  Weekly psychological measures, some of which were double-blind, were also obtained before and after each type of treatment as well as on one-week and one-month follow-up days.  The results showed a statistically significant overall treatment effect, but no differences between active and placebo treatment.  There was a post hoc finding of a significant correlation between response to the overall treatment procedure and high levels of extraversion as measured by the Eysenck Personality Inventory (EPI).  The implications of these findings are that the therapeutic effectiveness of CET is attributable to the non-specific or placebo components of the treatment procedure and not to the direct effect of the electrical current on the brain.  Furthermore, the personality dimensions of the EPI may be useful in predicting the degree of response to non-specific components inherent in the CET treatment procedure.


identifier: Keating, John Kevin <https://research.library.mun.ca/view/creator_az/Keating=3AJohn_Kevin=3A=3A.html>   (1977) Visual processing of multielement arrays and the selective masking function.  Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

abstract: If a visually presented array of alphanumeric material is followed by a patterned masking stimulus the perception of the items at the ends of the display will be unaffected, while those in the centre of the array will be masked substantially.  Termed selective masking, this phenomenon has been extensively investigated, largely as a technique to make inferences about the nature of visual information processing. -- The results of numerous studies on the selective masking phenomenon indicate that the items at the ends of a row are processed first and thus escape the effect of a temporally following mask.  There has been some uncertainty about the order of processing after the end items have been processed.  Experiment I investigated this processing order by systematically varying the interval between the offset of the letter arrays and the onset of the masking stimulus.  The results indicated that the ends of the row are indeed processed first and that subsequent serial processing is in general from both ends towards the middle. -- It has also been shown that this ends-middle processing order can be altered if the observer is given sufficient information to direct his attention to a single item in the display.  When a spatial cue is presented for one of the items at stimulus onset or when the subject is instructed to report an item which differs in category from the background items, the subject attends to a single item and therefore does not process the array with an ends-first approach.  The second experiment investigated the extent and nature of the processing strategy which observers use when presented with an array containing six letters and one digit.  In addition, the effect of a categorically incongruous item on the processing of background items was studied.  The results show that observers do not selectively process the incongruous item when digit report is required on only a small portion of the trials.  The data also indicate that the processing of the odd item and the background items occurs at the same time, i.e. in parallel, but that the overriding serial, ends-first processing strategy common to encoding a multielement array is still employed.


identifier: Acton, George William Bryan <https://research.library.mun.ca/view/creator_az/Acton=3AGeorge_William_Bryan=3A=3A.html>   (1989) Processing of visual and phonological word characteristics in good, poor and unexpected spellers.  Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

abstract: A number of studies have investigated the ability to process visual and phonological information in good readers who spell well (good spellers), poor readers who spell poorly (poor spellers) and good readers who spell poorly (unexpected spellers).  The focus of this research has been to associate a particular pattern of reading and spelling ability with a specific pattern of information processing deficits.  Methodological concerns regarding subject age and possible confounding of visual and phonological processing routes, particularly for reading, suggest that little confidence can be had in the interpretation of past research.  The present study employed university students and a promising new design (Van Orden, 1987) to further examine visual and phonological processing in reading.  Three patterns of visual and phonological processing were identified, each associated with one of the three comparison groups.  Patterns identified in reading were also found to closely resemble those found for reader/speller groups when spelling.


identifier: Norris, Dena Lynn <https://research.library.mun.ca/view/creator_az/Norris=3ADena_Lynn=3A=3A.html>   (1976) The effect of varying CS exposure duration on paradoxical enhancement of a conditioned response.  Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

abstract: The present study investigated the phenomenon that under certain conditions the presentation of the conditioned stimulus (CS) alone leads to enhancement of the conditioned response (CR) rather than to extinction of the CR.  It was further hypothesized that the personality dimensions of neuroticism and introversion were related to enhancement in that those persons high on these dimensions would tend to exhibit enhancement more than persons low on those dimensions. -- Thirty-four male subjects were used, there being eight subjects per group in two groups, and nine subjects per group in the remaining two groups.  Three groups received CS (slide presentation)-UCS (a loud burst of white noise) pairings on a 76 per cent irregular reinforcement pattern.  The groups differed by the duration of the CS-alone exposure each received one minute after conditioning--either 2, 60 or 300 seconds.  The fourth group served as a control and received non-contingent CS and UCS presentations.  At two extinction sessions held one and two weeks after conditioning the CR strength (magnitude and latency of the GSR and change in rate of Finger Pulse) was measured.  The results showed:  (a) that the experimental groups exhibited CR’s on unreinforced CS presentations in the conditioning session with significantly higher SSR magnitudes than the control group (p < .05); (b) that there was no evidence for enhancement since neither of the groups were responding differently on GSR magnitude in the first extinction session (p > .05) nor were they responding differently on change in rate of Finger Pulse (p > .05); (c) significant main effects were found for Sessions and Trials and an interaction effect was found for Sessions x Trials on magnitude of the GSR (p < .05); (d) significant main effects were also found for Sessions x Trials on latency of the GSR (p < .01).  These results reflect the well-known extinction effect rather than the desired enhancement effect.  Possible explanations of why this study failed to find evidence of enhancement are proposed along with some suggestions for future research.


identifier: Rolfe, Paula C. <https://research.library.mun.ca/view/creator_az/Rolfe=3APaula_C=2E=3A=3A.html>   (1989) The neuroexcitant effects of aspartame: an investigation using kindling.  Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

abstract: A great deal of controversial evidence has arisen regarding the artificial sweetener Aspartame (NutraSweet).  This dipeptide is composed of two amino acids that have been shown to have detrimental effects on brain/behavior function (Olney and Ho, 1970; Nyhan, 1984; Wurtman, 1983B).  Aspartame ingestion causes a significant increase in brain phenylalanine and tyrosine, and a decrease in brain tryptophan (Wurtman, 1983), which may change brain excitability (Racine and Coscina, 1979; Cadell, Harlow and Waisman, 1962).  The purpose of the present study was to determine if aspartame consumption for a one week period changed brain excitability by reducing after-discharge thresholds as measured by the kindling technique.  Animals were stereotactically implanted with one bipolar electrode in Area CA3 of the Hippocampus.  After-discharges were obtained for all animals (Day 0).  The groups were: Group 0, animals that consumed water, Group 200, animals that consumed 200mg/kg of aspartame in water, and Group 800, animals that consumed 800mg/kg of aspartame, in water.  After-discharge thresholds were obtained on Days 1 and 7 of liquid consumption.  The mass kindling procedure began on the day following the end of the period of aspartame consumption.  All animals were stimulated two or three times a day with the inter-stimulus interval being at least four hours.  This was continued until three Stage-5 seizures were obtained.  A generalized seizure triggering threshold (GST) was then obtained.  The results show that there were no significant differences between food consumption, liquid consumption, weight gain or after-discharge thresholds between the groups.  After-discharge thresholds were significantly different over days.  A Newman-Kuels analysis comparing after-discharge thresholds for days showed Day0 > Day 1 > Day 7, and the ADT for Day 7 > GST.  This was an expected finding since after-discharge thresholds do decrease with repeated stimulations (Racine, 1972A).  However, brain excitability is not altered by aspartame consumption using the procedure employed in this study, nor was there any difference found in brain amino acid levels.  Future studies should include a more detailed analysis on long-term aspartame consumption. -- Key Words: Aspartame (APM); Kindling; Epilepsy; Phenylalanine (PHE); Aspartic Acid (ASP); Tyrosine (TYR); Tryptophan (TRP); Serotonin (5-HT); After-discharge Threshold (ADT); After-discharge (AD); Generalized Triggering Seizure Threshold (GST); Glutamate (GLU); Seizure.


identifier: Michael, Stephanie J. <https://research.library.mun.ca/view/creator_az/Michael=3AStephanie_J=2E=3A=3A.html>   (1986) The effects of short-term memory training on children who exhibit mathematics learning disabilities and short-term memory retention problems.  Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

abstract: Children who perform poorly on mathematical tasks also tend to do poorly on both auditory and visual short-term memory tasks.  The purpose of this study was to compare the relative effectiveness of an intervention package consisting of short-term memory strategy instruction and standard math practice with an intervention package consisting of standard math practice alone.  Children who received the combined math and memory instruction were predicted to perform better on subsequent math tasks than those who received only math instruction.  Fourteen children (mean age == 10.93 years) of average intelligence, who performed below average on several math and memory tests were randomly assigned to one of two conditions.  A control group received math instruction consisting of practical application of the four basic math operations.  The experimental group received short-term memory instruction and training in addition to the math practice.  Treatment for both groups consisted of six one-hour sessions, spread over the course of two weeks.  All children were assessed pre- and post-treatment.  Assessment involved both visual and auditory math and memory testing.  The experimental group improved significantly from pre- to post-assessment on both math and memory tasks.  The math only group did not.  For children performing poorly on math and memory tasks, these results strongly demonstrate the effectiveness of a combined math and memory training program.


identifier: Dingley, H. Louis (Harry Louis) <https://research.library.mun.ca/view/creator_az/Dingley=3AH=2E_Louis_=28Harry_Louis=29=3A=3A.html>   (1983) The effects of solution feedback, strategy efficiency, and interruption of problem solving activity on einstellung.  Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

abstract: The present study was designed to investigate the effects of solution feedback and interrupting problem solving activity on breaking set.  Individual differences analyses indicated that subjects who used an efficient problem solving strategy were likey to break set.  Twelve concept attainment problems were given to an equal number of male and female university students.  The solution to Problems 1 to 5 (the preliminary problems) was specified by a conjunctive rule, while the solution to the last seven problems (the critical problems) was specified by a single attribute rule.  Each problem consisted of five blank trial sequences that began with the presentation of a positive example followed by five response probes.  Subjects were informed at the end of a blank trial sequence whether their responses to the five probes were correct or that one or more were incorrect.  Half of the subjects were told the solution at the end of each problem (complete feedback), while the rest of the subjects were told the solution following the first three problems only (partial feedback).  Subjects worked continuously through all problems, or at the end of Problem 6 received a 15 minute interruption filled with a task either related or unrelated to the concept attainment problems.  From exposure to solution feedback, all subjects developed a set to sample conjunctive hypotheses by Problem 3.  Partial feedback subjects continued to sample conjunctive hypotheses up to the end of Problem 12, while complete feedback subjects broke the conjunctive set by Problem 8.  The interruptions had marginal and inconsistent effects on set breaking which were apparently superseded by problem solving efficiency.  Subjects were classified as efficient or inefficient problem solvers based on their ability to solve the preliminary problems.  Efficient problem solvers broke set faster than inefficient problem solvers, whether or not solution feedback was provided.  Einstellung was suggested to be related to strategy efficiency which determines the rate of exhaustion of the conjunctive hypothesis domain.


identifier: Gaulton, Edgar Joseph <https://research.library.mun.ca/view/creator_az/Gaulton=3AEdgar_Joseph=3A=3A.html>   (1979) The effects of two kinds of feedback on staff's task completion in a token economy program.  Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

abstract: This study investigated the effects of two kinds of performance feedback on ward staff's completion of assigned tasks in a token economy program.  Subjects were 14 Psychiatric Nursing Assistants employed on a ward of 39 residents, 24 of whom were participants in the program.  The assigned tasks were observing and recording resident performance on dining behaviour, physical appearance, room care, and recreational activities.  The dependent measure was staff completion of tasks, computed daily.  Its determination was based on Assistants’ recordings on the designated program forms.  Two completion scores were determined, the 'Percentage Observations Completion’ and the ‘Percentage Jobs Completion.’  Reliability of using data on the forms was assessed by checks made surreptitiously by the ward Social Worker and Program Co-ordinator.  Twenty-three percent of the assigned tasks were checked in this way, with an agreement of 99%.  Percentage agreement with Assistants' recorded observations of residents' behaviours was 83%.  A withdrawal design was employed in which baseline (A) and two feedback conditions (B and C) were presented in an A B A B A C A C A sequence.  During B conditions the Co-ordinator posted information containing the combined completion scores for staff on the nursing station bulletin board.  During C conditions the Co-ordinator posted the performance scores of the residents on the target behaviours.  Feedback conditions were 16 days long, and the baseline and withdrawal conditions were 20 days each. -- Results showed that Assistants’ completion of assigned tasks increased in the four experimental phases (two kinds of feedback) relative to baseline and withdrawal phases.  The differences were sufficient to support the conclusion that both kinds of feedback produced increases in completion rate.  Details of the results are reported.  Interpretations of the findings and the functions of performance feedback are discussed.  Implications of this research, particularly a practical consideration of feedback as a staff management strategy, are discussed and suggestions for future research are made.


identifier: Dawe, Gary F. <https://research.library.mun.ca/view/creator_az/Dawe=3AGary_F=2E=3A=3A.html>   (1986) The efficacy of covert modeling / covert rehearsal in the treatment of social anxiety.  Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

abstract: Five subjects referred to the Memorial Psychology clinic were treated for social anxiety using a covert modeling / covert rehearsal package tailored to their individual problems.  A multiple-baseline-across-tasks design was used to investigate treatment effectiveness.  Self-report questionnaires were also given to subjects at initial assessment, at post-intervention, and at a follow-up period.  Four of the subjects estimated their self-efficacy for the completion of the tasks before, during, and after intervention.  Two of the subjects were also assessed using a behavioral role-play test.  Results indicate that for subjects one, two, and three subjective ratings of social discomfort decreased only when treatment was initiated for a particular task.  Data from subjects four and five partially support the hypothesis.  Dramatic improvements were seen in the self-report questionnaires after intervention for subjects one, two, and four.  These improvements were maintained at follow-up.  Self-efficacy measures indicated that subjects also increased their confidence levels from pre to post-intervention.  Results from the role-play test show increases in global ratings of social competency from pre to post-intervention.  Overall results, clinical implications, and future research directions are discussed.


identifier: Mackay, Wendy <https://research.library.mun.ca/view/creator_az/Mackay=3AWendy=3A=3A.html>   (1984) The evaluation of agoraphobic patients' responses to a self-paced exposure programme emphasizing cognitive skills as opposed to one emphasizing relaxation training.  Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

abstract: Evaluation of behavioural treatments of agoraphobic clients has mainly focussed on the efficacy of the method used.  Client characteristics, however, have been largely ignored in spite of the fact that it is widely acknowledged that clients show their anxiety in different ways.  The present study is an attempt to match clients’ typical mode of anxiety responding with appropriate treatment.  The sample included 14 agoraphobics (11 women and 3 men) who presented themselves for treatment to a Department of Psychology Teaching Clinic.  The client's typical mode of responding was assessed using the Lehrer and Woolfolk Symptom Questionnaire (1982).  On the basis of their scores on this questionnaire they were divided into cognitive responders and non-cognitive responders.  A self-paced group treatment programme was varied to include either cognitive training or relaxation training keeping exposure and the giving of psychological explanations for agoraphobia as a constant.  Half of the clients were matched for mode of responding to treatment while the other half were not.  The group was run over 5 weeks, on a weekly basis, by two therapists.  Only one client dropped out of the programme and the evaluation of the efficacy of matched versus not matched for mode of responding was tested at 5 weeks, 12 weeks and 6 months.  The results showed that the matched group improved more than the unmatched group.  However, the results were not entirely due to matching since the cognitive subjects, whether matched or unmatched, improved more than the non-cognitive subjects.


identifier: Carre, Geoffrey Philip <https://research.library.mun.ca/view/creator_az/Carre=3AGeoffrey_Philip=3A=3A.html>   (1985) The role of norepinephrine in amygdaloid kindling : effects of DSP-4 induced depletion and intracerebroventricular norepinephrine induced repletion.  Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

abstract: The role of norepinephrine in the development of amygdaloid kindling in rats was investigated.  In the first experiment, pretreatment with the noradrenergic neurotoxin, DSP-4 (63 mg/kg, ip), whose action is reportedly specific to locus coeruleus neurons,  markedly accelerated the rate of kindling.  DSP-4 treated animals and saline controls required 3.8 and 7.5 after-discharges (ADs) to kindle respectively.  Furthermore, DSP-4 treatment lengthened the latency of the onset to clonus during the first stage 5 seizure.  Norepinephrine levels measured in the telencephalon were lowered  by 45% with DSP-4 treatment, whereas dopamine and 5-hydroxytryptamine levels were unaffected. -- In an attempt to test the hypothesis that a tonic presence of norepinephrine serves to inhibit kindling development, rats were treated with DSP-4, and chronically infused (icv) with either norepinephrine (5 ug/.5 ul/hr), or the vehicle, via an osmotic minipump.  Telencephalic norepinephrine levels were not raised by the infusion of norepinephrine, and consequently there were no significant differences between the two groups on kindling development.  Both infusion groups were combined and compared to those groups in experiment 1.  The infused groups had lower norepinephrine levels and kindled faster than the saline group, indicating again that DSP-4 treatment accelerates kindling. -- The third experiment represents a second attempt at ascertaining the effects of norepinephrine repletion following DSP-4 treatment on kindling development.  Three groups were given DSP-4 treatment and 1 group saline.  One DSP-4 group received chronic ventricular infusion of norepinephrine (10 ug/.5 ul/hr -double that in experiment 2) and another the vehicle alone.  Once again the infusion of norepinephrine failed to raise norepinephrine levels above the vehicle control; however the infused groups had norepinephrine levels equivalent to the saline (non-infused) control.  Despite a marked amount of within group variance, the DSP-4 alone group had a significant reduction of norepinephrine, and all three DSP-4 treated groups kindled significantly faster than the saline group.  These results imply that: 1) initial abnormalities induced by DSP-4 were reversed during kindling, 2) the cannulation and/or vehicle infusion procedure itself accelerates kindling, or 3) norepinephrine depletion may not be necessary for kindling acceleration induced by DSP-4 treatment. -- In conclusion, this study demonstrates that administration of  the noradrenergic neurotoxin  DSP-4 consistently accelerates kindling.  The methods employed, however, failed to indicate whether this depletion-induced acceleration could be reversed by norepinephrine repletion.


identifier: Godsell, Edward Joseph <https://research.library.mun.ca/view/creator_az/Godsell=3AEdward_Joseph=3A=3A.html>   (1973) Value changes among St. John's police force.  Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

abstract: The theoretical background for this study was drawn from two areas.  Rokeach's theory of values and Stebbins's theory of the definition of the situation. -- The samples were drawn from among the rank and file members of the St. John's Police Force.  One sample group consisted of 113 of these constables while the other consisted of 13 constables who had undergone one year of a university police training program.  Using the Rokeachean framework two hypotheses were investigated:  1) that the occupation of policemen is a significant socializer of police personnel as reflected by changes in value patterns; 2) that policemen who are enrolled in the university police training program demonstrate significantly different value patterns when compared with the non-university trained group.  The findings indicate that the occupation of policeman is not a significant socializer of police personnel since there are no significant differences in the value patterns of policemen regardless of the number of years of service, also there are no significant differences in the value patterns of non-university and university trained policemen and that policemen enrolled in the university training program do not demonstrate significantly different value patterns when compared with their non-university trained counterparts.  Drawing on the theoretical and empirical work of Stebbins and others it was concluded that further research in the measurement of police values is necessary before an adequate explanation of value orientation using the Rokeachean theoretical perspective is generated.


identifier: Tribbe, Patrick D. <https://research.library.mun.ca/view/creator_az/Tribbe=3APatrick_D=2E=3A=3A.html>   (1978) Value for honesty as a function of Machiavellianism and participation in a dishonest act.  Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

abstract: The present study determined high and low Machiavellians ranking of the value Honesty on Rokeach's Value Survey.  Secondly, the study investigated how these rankings are affected by the subject’s participation in a dishonest act.  Eight groups of ten subjects were tested in a 2x2x2 factorial design employing two levels of Machiavellianism, two levels of justification for cheating, and cheating, non-cheating groups.  In initial ranking of the value Honesty, high Machiavellians appear to place a lesser importance on the value of Honesty when compared to low Machiavellians.  Secondly, justification and cheating behavior interact to affect the subject's ranking of the value Honesty.


identifier: Davis, Michael Benjamin <https://research.library.mun.ca/view/creator_az/Davis=3AMichael_Benjamin=3A=3A.html>   (1984) The terrestrial behavior of the harbour seal, Phoca vitulina concolor, at Miquelon.  Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

abstract: A breeding colony of harbour seals (Phoca vitulina concolor) was studied from close range at Miquelon.  Quantitative records were kept of the manner in which the herds settled onto sand flats exposed at low tide.  The pattern with which various sexes and age classes assembled on the beach, their site fidelity, the role of agonistic behavior and play, the impact of human and natural disturbances and the manner in which the seals returned to sea were compared over segments of the breeding and moulting seasons.  Contrary to some earlier beliefs that these seals are merely loosely gregarious, the results suggested that they are organized socially, though in a simpler fashion than those pinnipeds which copulate on land.


identifier: Scales, Nicola Jane <https://research.library.mun.ca/view/creator_az/Scales=3ANicola_Jane=3A=3A.html>   (1991) A study of children's dieting concern.  Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

title: A study of children's dieting concern

abstract: The dieting concern of elementary school children was examined in order to determine whether a developmental pattern was present.  One hundred and forty-six (84 girls, 62 boys) schoolchildren in grades kindergarten, 2, 4 and 6 were individually interviewed using a structured interview which consisted of questions about figure size preference and dieting behaviour.  Following the interview, height and weight measures were taken on each subject using a tape measure and mechanical weight scale.  Multivariate and descriptive analyses were performed on the data.  Results of the study revealed no grade or sex differences in dieting concern.  These results indicate that dieting concern is present in children.


identifier: Ning, Lana (Mary Lana) <https://research.library.mun.ca/view/creator_az/Ning=3ALana_=28Mary_Lana=29=3A=3A.html>   (1990) A comparison of massed and spaced exposure in the treatment of clients presenting with disproportionate dental anxiety.  Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

abstract: This study examined the differential effects of varying intersession interval in a sample of clients presenting with disproportionate dental anxiety.  Twelve volunteer clients, consisting of nine females and three males, were randomly assigned to one of two treatment groups:  (a) once weekly sessions for four weeks (spaced); (b) twice weekly sessions for two weeks (massed).  The treatment was identical for both groups except for the interval between treatment sessions.  The behavioural treatment programme was comprised of imaginal exposure and anxiety management techniques.  Outcome was measured by three subjective self-report questionnaires and two behavioural measures.  Two hypotheses were tested:  (1) that a massed treatment programme would be superior to a spaced programme; (2) that there would be a predictable pattern between response channels occurring between beginning and end of treatment.  Results indicated that although all subjects reduced their anxiety enough to attend a dental appointment, there was not sufficient evidence to support the superiority of one programme over the other.  In addition, the second hypothesis was only partially confirmed.  Significant group differences were found only at the end of the treatment programme but not at follow-up.  The massed group demonstrated lower scores in a more concordant manner over all dental situations as compared to those scores obtained by the spaced group.


identifier: Dodsworth, Pamela Rose <https://research.library.mun.ca/view/creator_az/Dodsworth=3APamela_Rose=3A=3A.html>   (1990) A longitudinal analysis of young children's use of cohesion in oral narratives.  Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

abstract: The early development of nine cohesive devices (pronominal reference, demonstrative reference, comparative reference, clausal ellipsis, verbal ellipsis, nominal ellipsis, substitution, conjunction and lexical cohesion) was examined  in an 18 month longitudinal study of narratives in 10 children from approximately age 2 to 3 1/2 years. The types of noun errors made in their narratives were also explored. The study shows that the total number of cohesive ties used increased with both increasing age and mean length of utterance (MLU). The children showed an increase in the use of pronominal reference and conjunctions as they matured and  a decrease in verbal and clausal ellipsis. Furthermore, specific cohesive devices were acquired at different times with substitution the last to appear, preceded by comparative reference and nominal ellipsis at a lower MLU. The remaining six cohesive devices were present in the earliest speech samples elicited. The total number of noun and pronoun errors declined with increasing age and MLU. Specifically, inferable and non-inferable omissions declined  over time. However, it was found that when children introduced new nouns and pronouns into their narratives, approximately one out of five remained ambiguous throughout the course of the study. In general, the children's stories become more comprehensible as the children mature because their use of cohesion improves and error production declines. However, they still have difficulty in properly introducing new nouns into their narratives at 3 1/2 years of age.


identifier: Riteff, Glenda M. <https://research.library.mun.ca/view/creator_az/Riteff=3AGlenda_M=2E=3A=3A.html>   (1989) A report of a counselling internship conducted at the Counselling Centre, Memorial University of Newfoundland.  Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

abstract: This report describes an internship completed at the Counselling Centre, Memorial University, May 9 - August 5, 1988. It includes a comprehensive report of the goals and professional activities of the intern during the internship period. In addition, it presents a detailed discussion of an  evaluation study conducted during that period. -- Chapter I provides the rationale for the internship, a description of the setting, goals of the internship and it describes supervision and evaluation of the intern. Chapter II gives a  comprehensive report of the intern's professional activities  according to the goals outlined in an internship proposal submitted to the Department of Educational Psychology, Memorial University, April, 1988. Chapter III presents the systematic study which consisted of a set of evaluative procedures designed to provide a detailed analysis of the intern's counselling. This study has been successful in advancing the intern's ability to describe, to understand, and to evaluate her counselling behaviour. Chapter IV concludes the report with a set of recommendations.


identifier: Mercer, Michele E. <https://research.library.mun.ca/view/creator_az/Mercer=3AMichele_E=2E=3A=3A.html>   (1989) A new procedure designed to assess contrast and color vision in young infants.  Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

abstract: An enduring practical problem in studying human visual development is to obtain enough data to evaluate the vision of individual infants. With this problem in mind, we have produced a new test of basic color vision using Munsell Hues  and a method patterned after the Teller Acuity Cards (TAC). -- In our procedure, we first evaluate an infant's sensitivity to luminance contrast. The baby is shown large gray cards (21.5 x 56 cm) that have a 7.5 x 12 cm gray "standard" patch of the same luminance on the left or the right side, and a gray "test" patch of different luminance on the other side. Like the TAC procedure, a "blind" observer attempts to correctly judge the location of the test patch. The procedure continues until the smallest detectable luminance increment and decrement is determined. Next, we test the infant with chromatic test patches. To eliminate brightness cues, the relative luminance of the chromatic patch and the gray background is varied systematically (Teller & Bornstein, 1987) in equiluminant steps over a wide range (about 1 log unit) centered around an adult brightness match. The step size (thus, the number of cards needed for each chromatic test) is determined by the subject's sensitivity to contrast in the first phase. -- We used the Color/Contrast Cards to test 70 2- and 3 month-olds with four broad-band chromatic stimuli, namely a red (dominant wavelength = 660 nm), a (580 nm) yellow, a (520 nm) green, and a (475 nm) blue. In approximately 20 minutes,  83% of 2-month-olds and 87.5% of 3-month-olds completed the contrast phase and at least one of the four chromatic stimuli, and of these, 37% of 2-month-olds and 34% of 3-month-olds completed all four chromatic stimuli. Both groups  of infants were significantly better at detecting luminance decrements than increments. 3-month-olds discriminated all four chromatic stimuli from gray. In contrast, 2-month-olds discriminated the red and blue from gray but failed to discriminate the yellow and green from gray at relative luminances close to the adult brightness match. Reasons for 2-month-olds' "failures" are discussed in detail. -- In general, the procedure was successful. Over a relatively short period, we could test an infant's sensitivity to luminance contrast, her/his chromatic-achromatic discriminations, and the relative luminances at which the infant "fails" to make these discriminations. In future, the  Color/Contrast Cards should prove to be clinically useful for screening younger infants and handicapped children, as well as experimentally useful in providing information about  the development of color vision and its underlying mechanisms.


identifier: Penney, Trevor B. <https://research.library.mun.ca/view/creator_az/Penney=3ATrevor_B=2E=3A=3A.html>   (1993) Behavioral and pharmacological modification of attentional processes involved in peak-interval timing.  Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

abstract: The involvement of attentional processes in interval timing was investigated, both behaviorally and pharmacologically, in rats trained on 10-sec and 30-sec peak-interval timing procedures. Three behavioral procedures were used: standard peak-interval, prior-entry, and prior-entry reversal. Brain levels of norepinephrine were manipulated using the α₂-agonist clonidine (0.025 mg/kg i.p.) and the α₂-antagonist idazoxan (2 mg/kg i.p.). In the prior-entry procedure a cue of the same modality as the signal to be timed preceded signal presentation, in the prior-entry reversal procedure the cue was of a different modality from the signal to be timed, and in the standard peak-interval procedure a cue was  not presented. Relative to the peak-interval procedure the rats showed a horizontal rightward shift in their peak functions for the prior-entry reversal procedure. The α₂-agonist clonidine caused a rightward shift in peak functions  for all behavioral procedures. The α₂-antagonist idazoxan also caused an unexpected horizontal rightward shift in peak  functions. These horizontal shifts may be interpreted within  the framework of an increase (rightward shift) in the latency to start the internal clock that is influenced both by the attentional demands of the task and the effective level of brain norepinephrine. The presentation of a cue directs the rat's attention toward a particular signal modality. If the cue directs attention to a different modality from the subsequently presented timing signal the rat takes longer to notice the signal. The effect of clonidine administration implicates the noradrenergic system  in the attentional aspect of interval timing and also provides further support for the role of norepinephrine in general attentional processing.