No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects crisis counseling had upon inmate's attitudes, who were granted or denied parole, as measured by a specifically designed semantic differential scale, immediately following their appearance before the May 1970 Indiana State Parole Board.Subjects for the study were one hundred and two inmates at the Indiana Reformatory located in Pendleton, Indiana. They were selected on the basis of two primary criteria: eligibility for a hearing before the Parole Board and a willingness to participate in the research project.The six semantic differential scale concepts used in the study were unanimously agreed upon by representatives of the Indiana State Department of Corrections-Treatment Division, the Superintendent of the Reformatory, and the Reformatory Psychologist. The following six concepts were determined to be the most significant affecting the treatment and rehabilitation process of inmates: (1) myself, (2) other inmates, (3) reformatory staff, (4) parole board members, (5) parole process, and (6) the reformatory.The semantic differential, constructed as prescribed by Osgood, et al., (1957, pp. 77-81), was used to measure the attitudes of the inmate subjects toward the six identified concepts.The subjects in the two experimental groups, those granted and denied parole, participated in a thirty minute crisis counseling session with a male doctoral intern from Ball State University after appearing before the parole board. The control groups, those granted and denied parole appeared before the board, but did not receive crisis counseling.The semantic differential scale was given forty-eight hours prior to the inmates' meeting the parole board, and within one hour after meeting the parole board and undergoing crisis counseling depending upon group assignment. All pre- and posttests were administered by qualified psychometrists. Effort was made to avoid identifying anyone who participated in the study. As soon as the process of completing the instruments was completed, they were carefully analyzed.Analysis of the data indicated that the inmates who experienced crisis counseling, when compared to the control group who received no crisis counseling, made no significant positive gains in their attitude toward the six selected concepts. Therefore, it was concluded that thirty minutes of crisis counseling had a limited effect upon attitudes of inmates who participated in the counseling sessions.Although some of the regression of the scores may be accounted for by error in the measuring instrument, it is possible that the general reformatory environment or climate had some negative effects on the attitudes of the confined men. It is also possible that meeting the parole board would produce either positive or negative effects that might override the short session crisis counseling.A multiple linear regression analysis was computed to determine the significance of the relationship between the semantic differential scores and the action taken by the parole board. o significant regression appeared.To determine if attitudes changed between the pre-and posttest measures as a result of being granted or denied parole, an analysis of variance was performed. The analysis of variance indicated that for the inmates denied parole their attitudes remained relatively stable. Significant improvement was shown for those inmates granted parole.To determine if crisis counseling had an effect on the attitudes of inmates after meeting the parole board, an analysis of covariance was computed statistically controlling for pretest responses. No significant differences were found between the crisis counseling and no crisis counseling groups. However, attitudes significantly improved for those inmates granted parole.The results and many questions stimulated by this investigation indicated many areas that might warrant further research.

The effectiveness of imagery utilizing counterconditioning in the modification of attitudes toward elderly persons was explored. Ss were 162 introductory psychology students. Ss were divided into five groups with one group serving as a no-treatment control. The remaining four groups were instructed to imagine one of four types of scenes: I) reinforcing imagery scene with subjects instructed to picture themselves as the old man, 2) reinforcing imagery scene only, 3) neutral imagery scene with subjects instructed to picture themselves as the old man, 4) neutral imagery scene only.The criterion measure was post-test scores on an attitude questionnaire. An analysis of covariance treatment effects when the effects of the pre-test were held constant. No significant correlations were found between number of times Ss reported practicing the scenes and difference scores from pre-test to post-test. No support was given to the counterconditioning hypothesis of attitude change.

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. / NPSAT1 is a gravity-gradient friendly, prolate body designed to fly at 600 Å 40 km inclined to 34.5 degrees. The satellite uses a magnetic 3-axis active attitude control system (ACS) using magnetic torque rods that interact with the Earth's magnetic field. This thesis accomplishes three goals. The first objective was to verify and to validate the magnetic attitude control system program and model developed by Leonard. The verification and validation process was completed in two steps. The first step accomplished an independent modeling of the Earth's magnetic field using MATLAB. The second step completed a verification via inspection of Leonard's ACS SIMULINK model. The verification confirmed that Leonard's modular sub-components of the disturbance torques, the quaternion vectors, the Euler angles, the spacecraft kinematics and dynamics, and the ACS control laws conformed to current ACS empirical theory. The second goal was to establish a laboratory used to demonstrate the ACS robustness and ability to perform as designed. The laboratory was created to house an air-bearing platform that simulates NPSAT1 characteristics. The third goal was to perform hardware-in-the-loop experiments with the NPSAT1 ACS software and model. Hardwarein- the-loop tests were performed to the magnetic torque rods, torque rod driver circuit board, micro-controller computer, and control interfaces. Specifically, solenoid current tests, magnetic field determination tests, and digital-to-analog conversion tests were completed. / Lieutenant Commander, United States Navy

The aim of this study was to develop a Management Error Orientation Questionnaire (MEOQ) to be used as an instrument to measure the attitude of management towards errors in the workplace. The sample comprised of 232 managers from a variety of business sectors. A factor analysis on 59 items yielded three factors and these factors were interpreted as the attitude of dealing with errors, the risk of errors and error strain. The three factors were subjected to an item analysis and yielded acceptable levels of reliability. A discussion of the areas that were researched, namely errors and attitudes, provide the context in which the research should be viewed. The discussion of the methods which were employed, was followed by a critical and in depth discussion of the results that were obtained. The dissertation recommends that the Management Error Orientation Questionnaire could be used as an instrument to measure the attitudes of managers towards errors (with specific emphasis in the manufacturing sector). The MEOQ has a number of practical applications in the human resource management science. The study can be extended to ensure that the same questionnaire can be used in other business sectors. The findings of this study are valuable because of the lack of previous research on error orientation at managerial level. / Prof. CJH Blignaut

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It is commonly assumed that the more an object facilitates attainment of important goals, the more it is liked. Dissonance theory yields an opposite prediction. A two process conception of the relation between reward and attitude which reconciles these views is presented. A V-curve relation between reward magnitude and liking for activity instrumental to reward attainment is hypothesized. At the point where the relative number of dissonant cognitions is psychologically insignificant or zero, a direct satisfaction process supplants the dissonance process. The slope of the reward-attitude curve shifts from negative to positive at this transition point. In an experiment designed to test this hypothesis students were offered 2, 4, or 3 experimental credit points for committing themselves to three hours of work at a highly repetitious task. Experimental credit points contribute to students' final course grades and are therefore highly valued by subjects. The instructions were varied such that both the task and the subject’s part in the experiment were placed in either a neutral or a negative light (Neutral or Negative Instructions conditions). Regardless of the Instructions used, 8 Credit groups expressed greater liking for the activity and more pleasure with participating than 4 Credit groups. Contrary to expectation. Affect scores for 2 Credit Neutral subjects were similar to those of 4 Credit Neutral subjects and significantly lower than those of 8 Credit Neutral subjects. Several possible explanations of the lack of difference between 2 and 4 Credit Neutral groups are discussed. It is suggested that the reward-attitude function is U-shaped rather than V-shaped and that these two groups both He in a relatively flat region of the curve in which dissonance and direct satisfaction effects operate simultaneously to increase attitudinal positivity. Though Negative Instructions (administered to one 4 Credit and one 8 Credit group) were expected to produce an inverse relation between reward and liking, they simply resulted in a uniform drop in Affect Scale scores. The Instructions variable had no impact on Desired Frequency of Rest Period, a less direct index of attitude. For the reward manipulation an opposite trend occurred. Varying the number of credit points had a relatively stronger effect on Desired Frequency of Rest scores and a relatively weaker (though still significant) effect on the Affect Scales. This result suggests that the Instructions variable actually failed to alter activity attractiveness. The effects of Negative Instructions on Affect Scale ratings could have been produced either by subjects* tendency to conform to the experimenter's apparent expectations or by the decrease of inter-personal situational restraints against public expression of dislike for the experiment in the experimenter's presence. Neither acceptance nor rejection of the general two-process hypothesis of attitude formation is warranted by these data. Nevertheless, the experiment clearly demonstrates that reward magnitude and attitudes toward activities instrumental in securing the regard are positively related under certain conditions, a finding which suggests an important restriction on the generality of Festinger’s dissonance theory. / This thesis was digitized as part of a project begun in 2014 to increase the number of Duke psychology theses available online. The digitization project was spearheaded by Ciara Healy.

The purpose of this study has been to research how ICT is used in a selection of both Swedish and English preschools and what the pedagogues attitude towards the use of ICT is like. The framing of the study is based on the following questions; How to use ICT in preschool? Seen ICT as a limitation or as a support in the preschool? What image have the educators of their own digital competence? The study was performed through a survey where the questions were phrased so that the pedagogues would answer based on themselves and their opinion/reaction to ICT in their work. The study shows that the pedagogues have a positive attitude towards using ICT along with the kids and by themselves as aid in their work. The pedagogues’ opinions affect the use of ICT but all pedagogues are aware of the curriculum and the goals that are listed there.