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Putrescine is a polyamine with multiple roles in cellular metabolism. It is also a minor precursor of the inhibitory neurotransmitter, gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA). Conversion of systemically administered putrescine to GABA in rat neural tissues has been reported. In this thesis, three experiments were conducted to characterize changes in rat behavior after putrescine administration, and determine if any effects resembled known GABAergic behaviors. Experiments l and 2 investigated the behavioral consequences of oral and intraperitoneal putrescine treatment. Male adult rats were given either saline or putrescine doses and tested with seven procedures which evaluated motor behavior, sensory reactivity, body temperature, and other behaviors. Results showed that putrescine-treated subjects exhibited significant changes in behavior compared to saline controls, and that certain effects resembled behaviors related to the function of GABA and/or other neurochemicals. Experiment 3 investigated the modifying effects of putrescine treatment on behavior induced by a dopamine agonist, apomorphine, and were compared to effects produced by a GABA agonist, muscimol. Male adult rats were given either saline, putrescine, or muscimol, and later treated with saline or apomorphine. Locomotor and specific activities were time sampled for 45 minutes. Results indicated that putrescine and muscimol had similar interactions with apomorphine in modifying sniffing stereotypies. From the behavioral evidence obtained in this thesis, it was suggested that systemic putrescine administration may indirectly influence behavior in the rat via GABAergic mechanisms. The results were interpreted as preliminary support for a significant neuropharamacological role of putrescine in the mammalian central nervous system. / Master of Science

Thesis (MA (Psychology))--University of Stellenbosch, 2005. / The first objective of the present study was to determine whether the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) could predict dietary and fluid adherence among in-centre hemodialysis patients attending government hospitals in the Western Cape.

This paper puts forth a radical behaviorist approach to legal theory according to which law is a set of behavioral contingencies which control the behavior of individuals according to politically defined goals. Based on the proposition that modern legal systems, because of their inherent contingency and chronic mutability, are irremediably instrumental to politically defined social goals, and on the radical behaviorist fundamental assumption that a science of human behavior is possible, the paper develops what can be called a radical behaviorist perspective on social systems theory. According to this perspective, a social system is neither a collection of individuals nor of individual acts, but a class of interconnected behavioral patterns or cultural practices conditioned and maintained through the same generalized reinforcer, which, in the case of law, is the dichotomy between legal versus illegal. To construct this radical behaviorist perspective on social systems theory, the paper relies on three major theoretical foundations. The first one is a criticism of Skinner’s concept of verbal behavior according to which instead of a special kind of behavior, it is defined as nothing but the human species-specific operant control of the vocal musculature by social reinforcement contingencies. The second one is to propose a more functional alternative to Skinner’s concept of human social behavior as that kind of operant behavior which is conditioned and maintained by other people’s behavior. The third one is a dialogue between radical behaviorism and Luhmann’s social systems theory, whose main purpose is to provide radical behaviorism with a more sophisticated description of modern society which, despite several differences, is also radically anti-individualistic and evolutionary. The final part of the paper is a detailed discussion of how law controls human behavior.

The conditional control of equivalence has received much attention in the analysis of verbal behavior. While previous research identified conditional control of relational responding and conditional control of equivalence class formation, this study investigated the possibility of conditional control of members of an equivalence class. Following baseline conditional discrimination training and equivalence testing, subjects were taught to select a particular member in the presence of a Green background screen and another member in the presence of a Red background screen.

To prevent a partner's infidelity and relationship defection, men perform mate retention behaviors. Some of these mate retention behaviors are high-risk because they decrease the likelihood of infidelity while potentially increasing the likelihood of relationship defection. Although previous research has indicated that mate value may be related to mate retention generally, research has not addressed these cost-inflicting mate retention behaviors specifically. The current research examines the relationship between men's and women's mate values and men's use of partner-directed insults - a specific type of cost-inflicting mate retention behavior. The results from a sample of 158 women indicate that although men's and women's mate values predict men's partner-directed insults, men's mate value is a better predictor than is women's mate value. Women who report that their partners have lower mate value also report that their partners insult them more frequently than women who report that their partners have higher mate value. / by Emily J. Miner. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2009. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2009. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

The purpose of this quantitative research study was to compare Chinese and American students’ inclined level of critical thinking using the California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory (CCTDI) (Insight Assessment, 2013). The literature of Paul and Elder (1996, 2000, 2005, 2010), Facione and Facione (1992, 1996) and Brookfield (2005, 2010, 2013) and the conceptual framework in this study provided the foundation for the main research question of whether there are differences between Chinese and American students’ scores on the seven individual scales and their total score on the CCTDI. The Sample included 41 Chinese and 50 American undergraduate and graduate students at Florida Atlantic University, a regional research university located in southeast Florida. Independent t-tests concluded that there were no differences between the 41 Chinese students and the 50 American students regarding their critical thinking dispositions on each of seven scales on the CCTDI. A factorial analysis of variance measured moderator questions to determine whether there was a difference between Chinese and American students’ CCTDI scores based on student gender, discipline of study, undergraduate or graduate status, or enrollment as an undergraduate within the United States. There were significant differences between the critical thinking dispositions of Chinese and American undergraduate and graduate students when comparing the scale of open mindedness and gender. There were also significant differences for the scale of confidence in reasoning and discipline. For the remaining questions, there were no significant differences. A Pearson’s correlation determined that there was no relationship between the length of time students had been in the United States and their scores on the CCTDI. Educational implications include that when problem-solving skills are developed in the college setting, critical thinking can be cultivated to help prepare students for work in future employment settings. Social implications include the use of critical thinking when faced with decision making in adults’ lives, as well as in their daily work. This study may be the foundation for future studies. Finally, educators may find the CCTDI helpful in positioning students’ critical thinking dispositions prior to learning or training activities. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2014. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Abstract not available

Thesis (M.S. in Defense Analysis)--Naval Postgraduate School, December 2001. / Thesis advisor(s): Anna Simons, Gordon H. McCormick. Graduation date for Louis M. McCray: March 2002. Includes bibliographical references (p. 89). Also available online.