Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Florida, 1982. / Description based on print version record. Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 135-139).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1985. / Typescript. Vita. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 222-249).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Notre Dame, 2009. / Thesis directed by David A. Smith for the Department of Psychology. "July 2009." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 75-81).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2005. / Supervisors: Charles J. Holahan and Michael J. Telch. Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Research paper (M.A.) -- Cardinal Stritch College -- Milwaukee, 1969. / A research paper submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Education (Education of Mentally Handicapped). Includes bibliographical references (p. 72-86).

The current set of three proposed experiments focused on integrating neurological and behavioral levels of analysis in the context of pathological gambling. A thoroughgoing analysis on previous gambling research was explored and discussed in the first four chapters. Specifically, this analysis outlines: similarities between pathological gambling and other substance addictions, new technological advances (i.e. functional magnetic resonance imaging), verbal behavior in general and its role in pathological gambling specifically, and treatment assessments and interventions. Three experiments were then developed and designed based on the outcomes suggested by the literature review. Experiment I determined the effectiveness of the Gambling Functional Assessment (GFA; Dixon & Johnson, 2007) as a clinically relevant gambling assessment tool. Experiment II also investigated neurological differences between pathological gamblers. Similar to other behavioral and substance addictions, limbic and cortical brain systems are activated during gambling related tasks and activities. However, as gambling pathology increases, brain activation in these regions have been reported to decrease, and it is unclear how pathological gamblers brain activation patterns differ across function maintaining gambling (i.e. attention, escape, sensory, and tangible maintaining functions). Therefore, Experiment II built upon the findings of Experiment I by contrasting brain activation images from the two highest maintaining functions of play, as indicated by the GFA. Concomitantly, Experiment III assessed function based assessment and treatment of pathological gamblers, by comparing brief 30 min exposure to function based or non- function based Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for gamblers. Results from both studies suggested differences in brain activation patterns, yet similarities across subjective closeness to win ratings of the slot machine. Furthermore, brain activation patterns did not change following function based therapy, while subjective ratings in the function based treatment group decreased. Implications for brain-behavior relationships both in a gambling context and in relation to behavior therapy will be discussed.

D.Litt. et Phil. / The aim of this study was to evaluate a feasible rating scale to measure the adherence of therapists carrying out Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) clients. Adherence referred to therapists carrying out DBT and how frequently and thoroughly they executed the specific targets and strategies of the therapy, which included taking the context into account. DBT is very specific in its treatment targets and in their hierarchical order of importance. The 97 item adherence scale was rated on a 7 point (0-6) scale. Some 86 items, that corresponded with the therapist ethological scale, were selected and then compared to the therapist and client ethological scales from an earlier study. These ethogram scales were process coding instruments which rated minute-by-minute, the frequency of specific categories of client and therapist verbal behaviors. The adherence scale was further compared to client self-report diary card measures. The diary card measures were also compared to the therapist and client ethological scales. Randomly selected client-therapist dyads (N = 10) were used, meeting criteria for BPD. All clients were women and between the ages of 18-45. The clients were seen by a total of 7 DBT trained therapists. Random sessions (N = 6) were selected from the first 16 sessions for each clienttherapist dyad. Some 60 sessions were chosen. 57 tapes were coded as 3 were too inaudible to code. Results indicated that the adherence rating of the respective therapist increased as the negative behaviors of the client increased (p < 0.05). Conversely, the greater the client's positive behavior on the ethological scale, the lower the DBT adherence rating of the therapist (p < 0.05). The problem solving category on both the adherence and therapist ethological scale covaried significantly (p < 0.02). Other therapist strategies (i.e., reciprocal, irreverence, primary targets 1-4, contingencies and validation) between the two scales were not significantly correlated. A test of the validity of the adherence scale to measure DBT fidelity draws its strongest support from two findings: 1) that when a client portrayed positive behaviors the therapist needed not to follow the primary targets so closely, resulting in a decrease in the adherence rating; and 2) the greater the negative behaviors of the client, the more stringently the therapist focused upon the primary targets and a wider array of strategies, which led to an overall increase in the adherence rating. The results of this study confirmed that a rating scale of therapist adherence is possible even with a flexible therapy such as DBT. Further, that minute-by-minute ethological ratings may serve to validate a more holistic adherence scale as tested here. Finally, recommendations are discussed for the further improvement and enhancement of the DBT adherence scale when used as a tool for rating DBT's treatment fidelity.

Preventive dental programs designed to reduce the incidence of gingivitis and periodontal disease have met with only limited success. The advent of behavioural technology offered a possible application to this problem. The present study examined the effects of two behavioural techniques, the Premack Principle and self-monitoring, on the maintenance of preventive dental health behaviour. Experiment 1 attempted to determine the validity of the Premack Principle using both toothbrushing and flossing as instrumental and contingent responses. Twelve female students of a dental assisting instructional program were exposed to various baseline and contingency conditions of brushing and flossing, daily for 11 weeks, according to a single-subject reversal design. When access to the contingent response was prevented, six of the twelve subjects showed a reliable increase in instrumental responding. Compared to baseline performance, six of seven subjects and four of twelve subjects evidenced reinforcement effects due to a contingency which allowed unlimited and. limited access, respectively, to the contingent response. However, increases in instrumental responding observed during these conditions failed to surpass those observed when access to contingent responding was prevented, in all but three subjects. These results would suggest that many observed increases in instrumental responding which are often cited as evidence supporting the Premack Principle may be due in fact simply to the unavailability of the contingent response. Additional theoretical implications of these findings were discussed. Experiment 2 factorially compared two levels of the Premack Principle (contingency vs. no contingency between flossing and brushing) with three levels of self-monitoring (no SM, SM-frequency, and SM-frequency plus evaluation). Ninety first and second year university student volunteers were assigned to one of six treatment groups. Instruction in brushing and flossing technique as well as application of the appropriate experimental manipulation was provided in two instructional sessions. Subjects' oral hygiene was assessed according to a gingival index and a plaque index before, one month following, and seven months following instruction.. Repeated measures analysis of variance revealed only a significant Assessment effect. All treatment groups showed an equivalent large degree of improvement in oral hygiene from pre- to one month postinstruction. Improved plaque scores were maintained over the six-month follow-up period; gingival scores, however, were not. A no-treatment control group differed from the six treatment groups only at the one-month postinstructional assessment. These results show.that instructions to implement a contingency between flossing and brushing, and different levels of self-monitoring, failed to augment the short-term gains in oral hygiene produced by instruction in brushing and flossing technique per se. None of the experimental components differentially contributed to maintenance. A third and final experiment examined the effect of the Premack Principle on the maintenance of.effective brushing and flossing within a private dental clinic. Thirty dental patients were alternately assigned to an experimental Premack Principle group or a control group. Subjects of both groups received two sessions of individualized instruction in oral hygiene techniques. Repeated measures analysis of variance showed only a significant Assessment effect, from pre-to three months postinstruction, only for plaque, but not gingival, scores. Instructions to impose a contingency between flossing and brushing failed to produce an effect. The results of this study demonstrated that neither self-monitoring nor instructions to impose a contingency between flossing and brushing contributed to the maintenance of effective oral hygiene behaviour. Self-management programs must become more concerned with the issue of maintenance, particularly following cessation of experimental or therapeutic contact. Implications for maintenance strategies were discussed. / Arts, Faculty of / Psychology, Department of / Graduate

Two studies were performed to provide insight into the causes and effects of client noncompliance to behavioral treatments. An Analogue Study was performed in which undergraduate participants were taught about progressive muscle relaxation. Participants were randomly assigned to either a directive condition (which placed an emphasis on describing relaxation as an expert would) or a supportive condition (which emphasized incorporating relaxation into the person's daily life). Results indicated that participants in the supportive condition reported higher levels of enjoyment, satisfaction, and homework compliance than participants in the directive condition, but did not display significantly different levels of intrasession noncompliance. As well, a Clinical Study served as a naturalistic study involving six therapist-mother pairs where the mother was presenting with parenting difficulty and worked with the therapist during six sessions of behavioral parent training. This study surprisingly found that mothers were more likely to show noncompliance immediately following therapist supportive behavior than after directive behavior, but that overall levels of directive behavior resulted in less homework completion, and that overall levels of supportive therapist behavior corresponded with higher client satisfaction and lower overall levels of intra-session noncompliance. As well, therapists were more likely to respond to client noncompliance with supportive rather than directive behavior. Reconciliation of these results with previous research was discussed, along with limitations to these studies and potential areas for future research. / Arts, Faculty of / Psychology, Department of / Graduate

The present investigation was conducted to evaluate the hypothesis that in the context of assertion training, client anxiety will interact with treatment modality in such a fashion that high anxiety individuals will benefit more from a cognitively oriented treatment than traditional skills training procedures, whereas low anxiety individuals will obtain equivalent therapeutic gain from the two treatment approaches. Twenty-eight male and female college undergraduates seeking assertion training were dichotimized into low and high anxiety categories on the basis of the discomfort scale of Gambrill and Richey's Assertion Inventory. Subjects within both categories were then randomly assigned to two treatment conditions: behavioural skills training (ST), and cognitive behaviour modification (CBM). The ST condition included components of instruction, modelling, social feedback, and behavioural rehearsal. The CBM procedure was derived originally from the self-instructional training procedure employed by Meichenbaum in the treatment of test anxiety. It included components of didactic presentation, training in the discrimination and systematic observation of self-statements, training in the modification of maladaptive cognitive processes, and the implementation of cognitive coping strategies and task-relevant self-statements. Both treatment conditions were run in a group format and consisted of six, two hour sessions. All subjects were assessed prior to and after treatment on self-report and behavioural measures of assertion and anxiety. Experimental support was obtained for a modified version of the original hypothesis. While high anxiety subjects tended to benefit more from CBM than from ST in the phenomenal realm, this trend was reversed on the behavioural measures where ST was more effective. Results of the study are explained in terms of a theoretical analysis of the nature of anxiety, and implications for future treatment programmes are discussed. / Arts, Faculty of / Psychology, Department of / Graduate