Thesis (Ph. D.)--Carleton University, 1996. / Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Florida State University, 2005. / Advisor: Dr. Ellen S. Berler, Florida State University, College of Arts and Sciences, Dept. of Psychology. Title and description from dissertation home page (viewed Sept. 19, 2005). Document formatted into pages; contains viii, 48 pages. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2005. / The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file viewed on (July 19, 2006) Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--School of Education. University of Missouri--Kansas City, 2004. / "A dissertation in counseling psychology." Advisor: Alan G. Glaros. Typescript. Vita. Title from "catalog record" of the print edition Description based on contents viewed May 30, 2006. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 172-177 ). Online version of the print edition.

Thesis (M.A.)--York University, 2005. Graduate Programme in Psychology. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 73-81). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url%5Fver=Z39.88-2004&res%5Fdat=xri:pqdiss &rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:MR11905

Thesis (PH.D.) -- Syracuse University, 2006 / "Publication number AAT 3242504."

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, San Diego, 2007. / Title from first page of PDF file (viewed March 23, 2007). Available via ProQuest Digital Dissertations. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 84-99).

M.A. (Psychology) / This investigation is aimed at enhancing the degree of behavioural compliance in individual clients through the utilization of cognitive dissonance as an adjunct to a behavioural prescription. The literature on behaviour therapy holds that behavioural prescription is accepted in its own right as an effective procedure for inducing behavioural compliance. At the same time it is evident that in certain situations behavioural prescription alone is not effective in inducing behavioural compliance. The reason for this is given as the tendency for certain individuals to respond to a behavioural prescription with defiance, or to use reactance. Such a tendency is known as the reactance-potential of the individual. Several variables have been linked in the literature to reactance-potential, for example, locus of control. This variable has the potential to be used to predict reactance-potential, and thus the likelihood of an individual responding to a behavioural prescription with reactance. Reactance is seen as a process that can be utilized in the therapeutic relationship in the service of change. Cognitive dissonance theory allows for the utilization of reactance in the psychotherapeutic context so that the response to cognitive dissonance induction is behavioural compliance. The experimental hypothesis was based on the theory that cognitive dissonance induction would direct the individual "s reactance towards the reduction of the state of cognitive dissonance that was induced. The goal of the therapeutic intervention was an increased degree of behavioural compliance in the experimental group that received cognitive dissonance induction. Therapeutic instructions were applied to two groups. The control group...

This dissertation constitutes an initial inquiry into the experience of psychological epiphany. In this investigation, the epiphanic experience is conceptualized as one of sudden, discontinuous change, leading to profound, positive, and enduring transformation through the reconfiguration of an individual's most deeply held beliefs about self and world. To explore the nature of the epiphanic experience, a qualitative, empirical inquiry was undertaken to determine its fundamental features. Though the generalizability of the findings is limited by the small sample size (five individuals were interviewed indepth), the study revealed a number of characteristic features. The experience was found to be affectively intense, egosyntonic, and profoundly liberating. The experience of epiphany among the participants studied occurred primarily during adolescence or early adulthood, was preceded by a period of internal conflict during which feelings of alienation, anxiety and depression were common, and followed by a period of productive activity and heightened energy. Given the lack of a theoretical framework within which such experiences of discontinuous psychological change could be investigated, two theoretical perspectives originating outside psychology were explored for their applicability. The first, general systems theory, provided a distinction between changes that occur within a system, versus changes to the system as a whole. Systems theory was therefore found to be useful in addressing the impact of epiphanic experiences as experiences which seem to effect changes to an individual's system of world assumptions. However chaos theory, because it offers a way of distinguishing between different kinds of discontinuous change, was found to provide an even more comprehensive metatheoretical framework within which epiphanies could be conceptualized. Chaos theory holds that significant structural changes to a system which are highly adaptive, often follow from periods of turbulence and seemingly random behavior. Though clinical psychology generally encourages the view that chaos is negative, the findings of the present study suggest that a period of seeming psychological chaos must be carefully evaluated by the clinician as it may be a prelude to important and enduring positive change in an individual's most basic world assumptions.

The influence of trauma on neuroendocrine functions and related problems with declarative memory (short term verbal memory) has been documented in several studies focused on adult survivors of trauma. However, the impact of trauma on neuroendocrine and cognitive development of children and adolescents has not yet been explored. Declarative memory functioning, cortisol reactivity and psychological symptoms were examined in nineteen adolescent female survivors (nine depressed and ten non-depressed) of emotional, physical, and sexual abuse and compared to eleven non-abused controls. Salivary cortisol measurements (initial baseline assessment, assessment after an emotionally challenging task, followed by second baseline one week later) were used to assess cortisol reactivity. The relationship between patterns of cortisol reactivity and declarative memory functioning was examined, as assessed by scores on selected subtests of the California Verbal Learning Tests. Similarly, the relationship between patterns of cortisol reactivity and psychological symptoms, as reported on the Trauma Symptom Checklist for Children, was also assessed. Results indicated the presence of different patterns of cortisol reactivity during a challenging task for the girt survivors of chronic trauma (depressed and non-depressed) as compared to controls. The abused girls most frequently exhibited increased cortisol release from the initial baseline to the subsequent measurement times, whereas cortisol levels generally decreased in the control group. Furthermore, in girl survivors of chronic trauma, the larger increases in cortisol release were related to lower declarative memory scores and to more symptoms of dissociation, depression, posttraumatic stress, anger, and anxiety. Although the subject sample was small, the results supported the existence of a link between exposure to trauma, adrenocortical reactivity, and to a lesser extent, declarative memory functioning. Similar results have been widely documented in adults with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. These findings have implications in terms of understanding of neurobiological development of trauma survivors. Indeed, neurohormonal alterations (changes in cortisol reactivity) influence response to stress, emotional regulation, and behavioral adjustment. Therefore, understanding of the relationship of cortisol reactivity with cognitive and emotional symptoms in young trauma survivors will enhance the identification of at-risk individuals and will help in preventing the development of long lasting deficits in emotional and behavioral functioning.