Previous research has found that if a population were allowed to exceed a comfortable density level, then many catastrophic events occurred such as increased mortality among the young, cannibalism, homosexuality, and lack of maternal functions. The most influential researcher in this area is Calhoun (1962), after whose experimental design a pilot study was fashioned to replicate his results. The results of this pilot study inspired a more detailed research project of which this thesis is an account. Forty-eight albino mice of the Swiss Webster strain were divided into three groups of sixteen each. Each group consisted of ten females and six males chosen randomly; two groups were to serve as experimental groups and the other group as the control. The experimental groups were placed into apparatus 15 5/8” x 20 1/2"x 8" and the control group in an apparatus 47 7/8" x 61 1/2" x 8". The three groups were allowed to multiply freely with nesting material, food and water provided proportionately as their numbers grew. The experimental groups were allowed to overpopuate while the control group was not. There were six behavior variables noted as the experiment proceeded: (1) grooming, (2) homosexuality, (3) nest building, (4) retrieving of young, (5) fighting, and (6) mortality of the young. It was predicted that grooming, nest building, and retrieving of the young would decrease in frequency as the population increased, while fighting, homosexuality and mortality of the young would increase with the rising population density. The experiment was conducted for six months and fourteen days. The result of this experiment was a total lack of overpopulation. The two experimental groups never weaned any pups though they produced many, and the control group grew to the comfortable limits of its apparatus and then ceased weaning any further pups. In an effort to ascertain the reasons for these results, one of the experimental groups was artificially reduced in number; whereupon it promptly weaned forty-one percent of its first litter, thirty percent of its second, and none of its third. At the time of its first weaning, this group was technically overpopulated. In conclusion a hypothesis is proposed to explain the results. It is felt that each population has an innate knowledge of its comfortable limits with regard to density and will maintain this crucial density level if necessary. The group's ability to control its popu1ation is directly related to a time factor in that if a population were allowed to approach its crucial density level gradually it would not exceed it; however if there were little or no approach time, then this level would be exceeded.

An experiment was designed to test the effectiveness of using standard laboratory environments in producing a broad class of problem behaviors which defined Mother-Child (M-C) interaction difficulties. The effects of four environments, free-time (X), child's game and rules (B), mother's game and rules (C), and clean-up (Z), on the frequency of eight criteria behaviors were tested on 12 M-C pairs over three days of baseline data collection. It was predicted that the frequency of problem behaviors would decrease as a function of environment (X) and increase as a function of environments (B), (C), and (Z). A two factor repeated measures design was used for the baseline data analyses. Analysis of the data confirmed the experimental predictions. It was concluded that the use of standard laboratory environments was effective in increasing the frequency of problem behaviors which define M-C interaction difficulties. These conclusions were discussed in view of the contribution made by the use of' environmental control in the application of behavior modification techniques to M-C interaction difficulties.

An attempt is made to present a model of group therapy for Lower-Socio-Economic-Status (LSES) clients. The theoretical issues include a definition of traditional group therapy along with a brief description of the more recent sensitivity training approaches. A rationale for combining these two different group approaches is presented to form the model for action-oriented group therapy (ACT groups) which utilizes both the traditional approach and action techniques of the sensitivity group. It is proposed that this hybrid, the AOT group, is more appropriate for treating the LSES client. The needs and expectations of the LSES client are discussed. The goals of the ACT group are to increase coping ability through increased awareness of self and others, and finding alternative behaviors to problems. A methodology tor AOT groups is presented and includes planned action techniques which are used in combination with discussion. The methodology of ACT is described in detail from the initial planning stages to the three major phases of treatment, i.e. beginning, middle, and termination. The specific techniques are listed and described along with a rating scale for the leader to evaluate techniques. Specific ideas for research are suggested.

In this study, it was proposed that the extent to which an individual accepts the collection of attitudes, mannerisms, and abilities the culture endorses as being feminine or masculine (which we are referring to as sex-role orientation) is related to the appearance of inhibiting fears of social rejection and uneasiness about one’s femininity (which we refer to as the need or motive to avoid success). We further hypothesized that women interested in achievement, being less strongly sex-typed, would feel deviant and exposed as women and would be likely to place a premium on the maintenance of other feminine attributes. Ever since Freud’s time, the suppression of aggression has been identified as the very essence of femininity. This pinpointing of aggression as a particularly differentiating quality between male and female has been maintained by some to the present. We proposed that this particularly feminine quality (which we refer to as fear of aggression) would appear more strongly in masculinely-oriented women. Horner proposed in her original study that the motive to Avoid Success is a psychological barrier to achievement in women. When aroused, the motive to avoid success is a most effective suppressant of performance in a competitive situation (especially if the competitor is masculine). This finding raised the suspicion in our minds that it might be the aggressive qualities inherent in competition that makes it seem especially incompatible with femininity. The aggressiveness of competition, of course, resides in the implicit set to defeat another person, to overpower an adversary, and to gain the psychological advantage. In order to obtain a high grade or graduate with distinction or secure the best job, you must defeat a peer. We hypothesized finally, that not only would fear of aggression and Motive to Avoid Success (M-S) each be related to sex-role orientation, but that these two inhibitors would be positively correlated with each other. Our Ss were 173 white college women from introductory psychology classes at Portland state University. To test our hypotheses that inhibition of aggression and Motive to Avoid Success would each be related to an individual's sex-role orientation, we used the following measures: The Gough femininity-masculinity scale and Franck Drawing Completion test to assess manifest and latent levels of M-F respectively; Horner's thematic cues to elicit Motive to Avoid Success; and a tachistoscopically-presented series of visual stimuli to assess the Ss tendency to inhibit aggression. Results indicated that fear of aggression is related to sex-role orientation in the expected direction, i.e., more masculinely-oriented women appear more likely to suppress aggression. The M-S was also related to a particular constellation of sex-role orientations but not the expected set. Unlike the fear of aggression, high M-S was related primarily to those individuals who held masculine orientations at the manifest level only. Considering that both M-S and fear of aggression were related to masculine orientations in women, it was puzzling that these two measures were negatively correlated.

The purpose of the present investigation was to examine aspects of assessment of the Type A behavior pattern, goal-setting behaviors displayed by Type A and B children, and parents' goal-setting behaviors toward their offspring.

The purpose of this study was to examine the relation between stimulus equivalence (briefly, networks of relations among stimuli) and the extension of stimulus function (briefly, spread of effect across network) more closely than has been possible before. The traditional view of this relation suggests that equivalence classes mediate the extension of stimulus function and are, therefore, necessary for any extension to occur. This study used a preparation in which the conditional discriminations required for the development of equivalence classes and the simple discriminations required for the extension of function were trained or tested simultaneously. Results suggest that equivalence are not necessary for the extension of stimulus function though they may be sufficient.

The intent of this study was to examine the effectiveness of behavioral self-management for mid-level managers in a variety of organizational settings. Behavioral self-management combines some of the current techniques found in behavioral psychology and management research. The present approach uses behavioral self-control and certain aspects of time management in a four-term contingency analysis (SOBC) to systematically control work-related problems that result in less than optimal performance. Eight individuals who occupied middle-management positions participated in the study. The behavioral self-management approach was used to successfully manage a total of about 20 out of 23 target behaviors associated with on-the-job performance. Each manager selected, modified, and evaluated each of their chosen problem events. Seven participants worked on three target behaviors each and one participant worked on two. Results were highly favorable, indicating that the approach can be successfully used by middle-managers in various settings to increase the effectiveness of their own performance. It was concluded that the possibility of success with several types of work-related problems is high, provided the manager is committed to following the program and that the problems have been adequately identified. An exit interview revealed that seven of the eight managers were convinced of the program's effectiveness and usefulness in managing the target behaviors. Ratings of each manager's graphed results were made by nine individuals who were knowledgeable in the techniques of behavior analysis. Their ratings, which were very similar to the exit interview results, suggest a medium to considerable amount of behavior change on almost all target behaviors.

No description available.

No description available.

This paper describes the development of a brief self-report screening measure of adherence to social distancing and self-protective behaviors in pandemic situations. It provides initial statistical evaluations of correlations between social distancing behaviors and two trait measures (social desirability and trait empathy). Items measures were designed to quantify behaviors recommended by the CDC as primary strategies to prevent and reduce the spread of the COVID-19 infection. An item pool of 29 questions was generated with the aim of estimating the frequency of specific behaviors and were written to avoid confounding the description of behavioral actions with evaluative judgements. Responses were collected from 401 young adults using an anonymous online survey. An Exploratory Factor Analysis was conducted with the purpose of item reduction and subscale development. A 14-item Social Distance Scale (SDS) emerged, consisting of 4-subscales: Isolation from Community (IC), Work from Home (WH), Family Contact (FC), and Protective Behaviors (PB). The initial psychometric evaluation of the scales indicated adequate internal consistency and test-retest reliability. The Social Distance Scale is a promising new instrument which may be applied at the population or individual level. It may be used in conjunction with COVID-19 testing to measure interactions between social distancing factors and transmission. In addition, a reliable screening measure has utility for health service providers to assess patient risk and to provide education/counseling. A secondary purpose of this research was to examine the relationship between trait empathy and social distancing. A MANCOVA was performed using the four subscales of the SDS v.1 with Empathy Group and Gender Group as fixed factors and the Socially Desirable Response Set (SDRS-5) as a covariate. The SDRS-5 was found to be a significant covariate for both the IC and PB subscales of the SDS v.1 , where higher levels of socially desirable responding lead to higher scores on IC and PB. It was hypothesized that participants high in self-reported trait empathy would demonstrate higher levels of social distancing. Indeed it was found that a significant main effect for Empathy Group emerged, where Empathy Group was significantly related to IC, WH, and PB. In line with expectations, participants in the High Empathy Group scored higher on these three dimensions of social distancing than those in the Low Empathy Group. A significant main effect for Gender Group was obtained for PB. Women were found to be significantly more likely to engage in protective behaviors such as hand washing, mask wearing, and maintaining 6 feet of distance than men.