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The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of simple versus complex music on joint attention of children with ASD. Thirty children with a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) participated in this study, 15 with a diagnosis of Severe ASD and 15 with a diagnosis of Mild/Moderate ASD. Each participant took part in six, 10-minute individual music conditions over a three-week period, each designed to elicit responses to joint attention. The two music conditions, Simple Music versus Complex Music, were differentiated by the level of complexity in the melody, harmony, rhythm, and accompaniment. One half of the participants received three sessions of the Simple Music Condition the first week followed by a week of no treatment, followed by three sessions of the Complex Music Condition the next week. One half of the participants received three sessions of the Complex music condition the first week, followed by a week of no treatment, followed by three sessions of the Simple Music Condition the next week. The dependent variable of responding to a bid for joint attention (RJA) was analyzed in a mixed design ANOVA. Results indicated no statistically significant difference between functioning groups, controlling for music modality, F (1, 28) = 2.135, p = 0.155. Therefore, no main effect emerged for functioning level on RJA scores. Results also indicated no statistically significant difference between the simple and complex RJA scores, controlling for functioning level, F (1, 28) = 0.330, p = 0.570. Therefore, no main effect emerged for music modality on RJA scores. Results indicated a statistically significant interaction between music modality and functioning level, F (1, 28) = 20.089, p < 0.01. Therefore, the effect of simple versus complex music was dependent on functioning level. Specifically, the Simple Music Condition was more effective in eliciting RJA for children diagnosed with Severe ASD, whereas the Complex Music Condition was more effective in eliciting RJA for children diagnosed with Mild/Moderate ASD. The results of this study will inform the development of specific and effective therapeutic protocols for increasing joint attention behaviors in both children diagnosed with Severe ASD and children diagnosed with Mild/Moderate ASD.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between physical exertion and mental performance and then to interpret this information in terms of arousal theories. More specifically, this study has attempted to determine the effect that physical exertion has upon mental performance and to determine what, if any, is the nature of this relationship between physical exertion and mental performance. Varying degrees of physical exertion were induced, by bicycle ergometer riding at a rate of fifty revolutions per minute with a resistance of four kilograms. Treatment conditions of 0, 2, 4, 6, and 8 minutes of riding were randomly assigned to each of five consecutive days. On completion of each daily exercise bout the subject performed a task designed to measure mental performance. This task required the subject to listen to a list of random numbers, prerecorded at one second intervals, with the objective of detecting a sequence of digits which occurred in the order "odd number - even number - odd number", and to respond by saying "yes" before the next digit was presented. The test consisted of 150 digits and the score was the number of series correctly identified out of a maximum of twenty-eight. Twenty male students residing in campus dormitories volunteered as subjects. The results, although not significant in terms of the effect of the physical exertion conditions, did tend to indicate that physical exertion had a positive effect upon mental performance. Further investigation of the results led to the conclusion that the effect of physical exertion upon mental performance cannot always be described by a simple inverted U relationship. / Education, Faculty of / Curriculum and Pedagogy (EDCP), Department of / Graduate

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Digitized by Kansas Correctional Industries

The purpose of this study was to make an assessment of the probable effects of extraneous stimulation on both cognitive achievement or learning, and emotional reactions and autonomic arousals of students. While the focus of interest was upon possible disruptive effects, the kinds of measurements projected would make it possible to observe some effects of either kind, disruptive or facilitative.

Digitized by Kansas Correctional Industries

Female sexual arousal refers to one’s feelings of sexual excitement and pleasure and has both physiological (i.e., objective) and psychological (i.e., subjective) components. It is an important, yet difficult phenomenon to investigate. As a result, many instruments have been used in an attempt to accurately measure female arousal; however, there are problems associated with each. Furthermore, the relationship between the subjective and physiological indicators of sexual arousal appears to be influenced by the instrument used to measure physiological sexual arousal. Specifically, instruments measuring physiological arousal internally (i.e., vaginal photoplethysmography) typically yield lower correlations between measures of physiological and subjective sexual arousal than instruments examining the external genitals (i.e., labial thermistor, thermal imager), which indirectly measure blood flow. Alternatively, laser Doppler imaging (LDI) is a direct measure of external genital blood flow but has only been used in one previous study that did not assess the relationship between physiological and subjective sexual arousal. The aims of the current study were to investigate the usefulness of LDI for assessing genital blood flow in women in response to erotic visual stimuli, and to explore the relationship between physiological and subjective indicators of sexual arousal. In addition, the role of psychosocial variables in predicting physiological and subjective sexual arousal was also examined. Eighty sexually healthy women completed a psychosocial interview and questionnaires. Participants also watched three 15-minute films during LDI scanning: two nature films (measuring acclimatization and baseline blood flow levels) and one randomly assigned experimental film (erotic, anxiety, humor, or neutral). They were asked to rate their level of subjective sexual arousal throughout and following the third film. Results indicated that LDI was able to differentiate the erotic condition from the three non-erotic conditions, and that physiological and subjective sexual arousal were significantly correlated. Although the psychosocial variables did not significantly predict either component of sexual arousal, specific variables moderated the association. Psychological, sexual, and social variables, along with genital sensations, played significant roles in the relationship between subjective and physiological sexual arousal. These findings suggest that LDI is a useful instrument for measuring female sexual arousal, and that sexual arousal is a complex process that requires further empirical investigation. / Thesis (Ph.D, Psychology) -- Queen's University, 2009-08-27 10:09:26.355

Research has found that men’s sexual response demonstrates specificity; men’s genital sexual arousal patterns to sexual stimuli match their stated sexual orientation. Heterosexual women’s genital responses are nonspecific in that they show sexual responses to both their preferred and non-preferred gender (Chivers, 2010). It is unclear why women show this pattern; however, examining the specific stimulus features associated with sexual arousal in women may provide clarification. Prepotent sexual features, that is, stimuli that involuntarily elicit nervous system activity (cf. Lang, Rice & Sternbach, 1972), may be associated with an automatic sexual response (Blader & Marshall, 1989; Chivers, 2005; Ponseti et al., 2006; Van Lunsen & Laan, 2004). It is possible that heterosexual women show genital responses to both preferred and non-preferred stimuli because prepotent sexual features are present in both male and female sexual stimuli. In order to better understand women’s nonspecific genital response, we examined whether stimulus prepotency was associated with nonspecific sexual response in heterosexual women. We assessed 36 heterosexual women’s genital and subjective arousal to slideshows of male and female prepotent stimuli (erect penises and aroused vulvas), non-prepotent stimuli (flaccid penises and female pubic triangles), and neutral stimuli (images of clothed men and women engaged in nonsexual activities). Counter to prediction, women demonstrated category-specific genital and subjective sexual responses, such that sexual arousal was significantly higher to prepotent male stimuli (images of erect penises) versus prepotent female stimuli; genital responses were nonspecific to non-prepotent and neutral stimuli. Results are discussed in terms of the sexual competency of stimuli and the Information Processing Model of Sexual Response. / Thesis (Master, Psychology) -- Queen's University, 2011-09-29 10:36:22.441

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