Stress inoculation training has been suggested as a viable approach to the treatment of such stress-related behaviors as self reported distress, physiological arousal, and behavioral avoidance. Previous research has concluded that training in coping skills constitutes the"active ingredient" of the treatment package, while education about the nature and effects of stress is not sufficient to produce behavior change. The data-base supporting these conclusions however, is composed primarily of experimental results with analogue or non clinical populations. The present study was designed to compare the relative effectiveness of stress inoculation training and stress education in reducing stress related behaviors in a population confronting a personally relevant stressor. The study utilized a four group repeated measures design which included two treatment groups composed of subjects who were fearful of dental procedures (stress inoculation and stress education) and two control groups. The high fear no treatment control group was also composed of subjects who were fearful of dental procedures but were unable to participate in treatment because of scheduling difficulties. The low fear validation.control subjects were included in order to validate the dependent measures utilized in the study with respect to their ability to discriminate high fear from low fear individuals. Subjects were 13 adult males and 19 adult females. All high fear subjects were either self-referred, referred by their personal dentists, or identified as fearful of dental procedures by their responses to the Dental Anxiety Scale, using a score of one standard deviation above the mean as the criterion for inclusion. Low fear subjects all scored at least one standard deviation below the mean of the same scale. Analysis of covariance, using pre-treatment scores as the covariate, indicated that stress inoculation subjects differed from high fear controls at treatment on the variables of trait anxiety, overall rating of fear of dentistry, number of negative self-statements. the anticipation factor of the Dental Fear Survey, and the behavioral avoidance test. Stress education subjects did not differ from high fear controls on any measure at post treatment. Analysis of covariance aJso indicated however, that there were no significant differences between stress inoculation training and stress education at posttreatment. Because of the regression model's poor fit in the analysis of covariance for the plasma cortisol values (R-square=.12) a repeated measures analysis of variance was utilized for that variable. Results indicated that both stress inoculation and stress education subjects showed significant reductions in plasma cortisol values from pre treatment to post treatment assessment. A small and statistically insignificant reduction was observed for high fear no treatment control subjects. A 10-month follow-up revealed that 100 percent of both the stress inoculation and stress education subjects had seen a dentist whereas only 60 percent of the high fear control subjects had made and kept a dental appointment. Results are discussed in terms of the relative efficacy of the two treatment procedures for use with fearful dental patients and findings are related to predictions generated by Bandura's theory of self-efficacy. / Ph. D.

While the learned helplessness effect has been reliably found in dogs and other species (e.g., cats, mice, fish, and humans), it has been somewhat difficult to obtain in rats. In addition, it has been demonstrated that electroconvulsive shock (ECS) reverses learned helplessness in dogs, but ECS induced reversal has not been demonstrated in the rat. Thus, the purpose of this dissertation was twofold: (1) to determine if the learned helplessness effect could be reliably demonstrated in rats; and (2) if so, will a single ECS attenuate this phenomenon. If it could be shown that ECS attenuates helplessness, then two purposes would be served: (a) it would extend the generality of learned helplessness theory by indicating additional parallels between dog helplessness and rat helplessness; and (b) it would expand the parallels between learned helplessness and human depression, thereby increasing the validity of the learned helplessness model of depression. In Experiment 1, rats were randomly assigned to one of three groups: escape, yoked-inescapable, and no shock control. Each rat in the escape group received 80 trials of unsignaled escapable shock. The escape group rats were required to perform a progressive fixed-ratio bar press to escape shock. The yoked-inescapable group received exactly the same intensity, frequency, and duration of shock its escape partner received; but no response would escape shock. The no-shock control group received only pre-exposure to the training apparatus. The following day all rats were tested on a FR-2 shuttlebox escape/avoidance task. After test, half the rats in each group were given a single ECS and then were retested 24 hours later in the shuttlebox. The learned helplessness effect was clearly demonstrated during the test phase. In addition, a single ECS attenuated the learned helplessness effect in rats. In Experiment 2 rats were given training exactly as described in Experiment 1. Following training, one-third of the rats in the escape and yoked-inescapable groups were given a single ECS immediately, one-third were given a single ECS 23.5 hours later, and one-third received no treatment. In the no-shock control group one-third of the rats were given a single ECS 24 hours prior to test, one-third of the rats were given ECS 30 minutes prior to test, and one-third of the rats were not given ECS. Then, all rats were tested 24 hours following training. The test session was identical to the test session in Experiment 1. The learned helplessness effect was clearly demonstrated during test in the NO-ECS condition. In addition, it was demonstrated that ECS attenuates or reverses learned helplessness training when given immediately following training. Delayed ECS also reverses helplessness, but less dramatically than immediate ECS. In both experiments the criteria which characterize learned helplessness were matched: (1) Failure to initiate the escape response in the presence of shock; (2) failure to maintain escape behavior even after occasional escape response occur; and (3) that conditions 1 and 2 above are a result of inescapability and not a result of shock per se. In addition, since ECS attenuates helplessness, the generality of helplessness theory was extended to rats, and the validity of learned helplessness model of depression was strengthened. / Doctor of Philosophy

The present study examined the relationship between psychophysiological disorders with easily perceived symptoms and learning experiences. One-hundred-fifty-one college undergraduates were given self-report questionnaires assessing presence or absence of childhood and current high-perception disorders, childhood and current learning experiences, family prevalence of disorders, illness behavior, childhood and current stress, childhood family factors, depression, and anxiety. Multivariate F tests showed that subjects who reported a current high-perception disorder reported more reinforcement for mild illnesses in childhood than did subjects who reported no current disorder (F(2,65) = 4.79, p = .011). with a significant univariate F test with positive reinforcement as the dependent variable (F(l,66) = 4.27; p = .042). Support was not provided for the hypothesis that people who reported having a childhood high-perception disorder were reinforced for mild illness more in childhood than those reporting no childhood disorder. Family prevalence analysis showed that people who reported a current disorder were more likely to have a parent with a high-perception disorder than were people who reported no current disorder (chi-square = 5.80, df = l, p= .016). Analysis of environmental and person variables showed that people who reported a current disorder scored higher on depression (t = 2.5, p = .013) and state and trait anxiety than people who reported no disorder (t = 2.57, p = .013 and t = 3.0, p = .004, respectively). Implications of these findings and future directions are discussed. / M.S.

A pledge card program designed to motivate safety belt use was implemented at a Baptist church in Blacksburg, Virginia. The intervention consisted of an educational insert and pledge card which were included in church bulletins on one Sunday morning. The insert described the risk of injury on highways and added a prompt for parents to provide positive role models for their children by wearing safety belts. The pledge card included a statement that signers would buckle their safety belts for four weeks when traveling. Data were collected at predetermined time periods on Sunday mornings between January 29 and May 20, 1984. The study consisted of five phases: Unannounced Baseline, Announced Baseline, Pledge Period, Follow-Up, and Long-Term Follow-Up. Ten percent of 441 individuals attending church when the pledge cards were distributed signed and returned a pledge card. Results revealed that shoulder belt use of pledge card signers increased significantly after signing the pledge cards, while shoulder belt use of non-signers did not significantly increase. In addition, shoulder belt usage of females was significantly higher than shoulder belt usage of males following the announcement of the research and throughout the remainder of the study. Evidence of participant reactivity is also presented. Suggestions are made for mitigating reactivity, for achieving greater impact on males, and for motivating more males and females to sign pledge cards. / Master of Science

Findings of higher incidence of depression among females have spurred research examining differences in the etiology and maintenance of male and female depression. A variety of differences have been identified including behavioral, cognitive, and environmental responses. Recently, increasing attention has been directed toward the importance of social interactional factors in depression. However, this research has been contradictory and inconclusive. The purposes of the current investigation were to further explore social interactional factors using face-to-face interactions between depressed and nondepressed individuals and to explore the applicability of a social interactional model to observed differences in male and female depression. Depressed and nondepressed subjects were assigned to interact with same or opposite sex partners. The twenty minute interactions were videotaped and scored by a behavioral coding system. Subjects completed questionnaires concerning perceptions of their partner and the interaction. Results indicated that depressed and nondepressed subjects behaved similarly during the interactions. However, depression was associated with fewer initiations and more somatic complaints. Depressed subjects reported improved mood following interactions. No differences were found between males' and females' self-report of depression. However, males reported greater negative affect before and after interactions. Partner impressions differed based upon group placement. Females interacting with females were viewed most positively while males interacting with males were viewed most negatively. Sex, and not depression status, appeared to account for these differences. Implications are discussed in terms of support for behavioral and cognitive theories and alterations of the social interactional model. / M.S.

The present study tested Abramson, Seligman, and Teasdale's (1978) reformulation of the learned helplessness hypothesis. Specifically, the study employed a laboratory paradigm to investigate: (a) whether attributions about uncontrollable events mediate subsequent deficits, particularly self-esteem loss; and (b) if lower socio-economic class individuals are more susceptible to helplessness following uncontrollability than are middle class individuals, All subjects were Black female college students, 25 from the lower class and 25 from the middle class. These subjects were randomly assigned to one of five experimental conditions: internal attribution provided for failure to a concept-identification task, external attribution provided for failure, no attribution provided for failure, no attribution provided for success, and no pretreatment task. All subjects were then tested for performance deficits on an anagram-solving task. Additional dependent variables included mood change, self-esteem change, and persistence at Rubick's Cube. A two-way analysis of variance using the factors social class and experimental condition revealed few differences across groups on any of the measures. Possible reasons for the failure to obtain differences were discussed. / Master of Science

Equivocal results for imagery as a beneficial adjunct to performance may be due to diverse methodologies as well as a lack of clarity about the relationship between imagery ability and imagery perspective. This study used a randomized group design with repeated measures to evaluate the effect of imagery content and perspective on strength. Subjects were 44 women, ages 19 to 34, classified as beginning weight lifters. All were pre-tested on imagery ability and knee joint strength. Subjects were randomly assigned to one of three training conditions: (1) an internal imagery perspective; (2) an external imagery perspective, and (3) no imagery training. Training was conducted twice per week for eight weeks. Subjects were also asked to work out a third time. The dependent measure to assess strength at the beginning, middle, and end of the eight-weeks was the Cybex II dynamometer. The dependent measure to assess imagery vividness was the Betts questionnaire Upon Mental Imagery. Imagery perspective was measured by the Imagination Exercise. Results of a two-way analysis of variance with repeated measures using Cybex II found significant strength differences for: (1) all groups and (2) the internal imagery group. A significant linear trend was also found between groups. Additionally, a two-way analysis of variance with repeated measures, using imagery ratings found significant improvement in kinesthetic vividness for all groups. This investigation is the first experimental study using beginning athletes to demonstrate significant performance effects using mental training above and beyond significant effects due to physical training. / Master of Science

The present research examined whether the attributions a supervisor makes in response to subordinate absenteeism are influenced by a subordinate's prior absence history, the nature of the subordinate's excuse, and the outcomes of the absence episode. In addition, this study investigated the effects these absence variables have on supervisors' selection of both appropriate absence labels (excused vs. unexcused), and the type of disciplinary action taken. 160 psychology students and 85 MBA candidates from a large Southeastern university were given a scenario describing a hypothetical absence episode, and completed a questionnaire pertaining to the dependent measures above. Results of multivariate analyses of variance conducted on measures of attributions, absence labels, and disciplinary actions supported the hypotheses that (a) prior absence histories based on a high frequency of absences and subordinate excuses for absences due to visiting friends will result in more internal attributions, unexcused absence labels, and more severe forms of disciplinary action taken by the supervisor; while (b) prior absence histories based on a low frequency of absences and subordinate excuses due to a child's accident will result in external attributions, excused absence labels, and less severe forms of disciplinary action. The consequences of absenteeism did not have an effect on subjects' attributions, and only marginally influenced subjects' absence labels and sanction decisions. Results of regression analyses also supported the hypotheses that the type of attribution a supervisor makes will directly influence the chosen absence label, and the absence label will, in turn, influence the type of disciplinary action taken. Implications of the study's findings for future absence research are discussed. / M.S.

The aims of the present study were twofold: (1) to determine the effectiveness of various map formats in presenting mass transit information; and (2) to assess subjects’ internal representation of spatial features of the environment. It was hypothesized that bus route selection would be a function of both the amount of detail and the road structure presented in maps and that the effect of detail and road structure would depend upon the familiarity of the mapped area. A 2 X 2 X 2 (Familiarity x Detail x Road Structure) factorial design was employed in the experiment. The familiarity factor was manipulated by mapping a familiar area (Blacksburg, Virginia) and an unfamiliar area (an altered section of London, England). Detail was manipulated by including or not including roads and landmarks on the maps. Road Structure was manipulated by presenting roads in either a veridical or a simplified manner. Performance on a map reading task was used to assess the effects of the independent variables. Fourty undergraduate subjects were required to first locate two intersections on a bus route map and second, to determine a bus route between the two intersections. Five dependent measures of map reading ability were obtained. Results indicated that, for both familiar and unfamiliar areas, a veridical road structure yielded less errors and faster times for determining a bus route than did a simplified road structure, and that detail lengthened the time to perform the task. / Master of Science

Observing another child receive reinforcement has been shown by past researchers to produce two different types of effects: 1) facilitative, or 2) debilitative when children coact in a more competitive situation. Since Type A children have been found to engage in more comparison processes and are more competitive, the purpose of the present study was to empirically determine if Type A and Type B children's responses would differ in situations where they coacted with an intermediate status child who received or did not receive reinforcement. Fourth grade children were designated as Type A, Type B, or intermediate status by their teachers via the Matthews Youth Test for Health. Performance, affective behaviors, and written and verbal self-reports about the experimental situation were the dependent measures. Generally, it was found that reinforcement had non-specific facilitative effects on the performance of a dyad, and a mild facilitative effect for vicarious reinforcement was observed. Observing reinforcement was found to negatively effect children's enjoyment of the task, however. Type A children did not respond differentially than Type B children to observing versus not observing another child receive reinforcement, although Type A children's performances were more variable than Type B children's regardless of the situation. These results are discussed in terms of their implications for understanding vicarious reinforcement processes, and Type A behavior in children. / Master of Science