The purpose of this study is to clarify and accurately describe the interactive effects of several amounts of reward and delay on acquisition and extinction or rats in a straight runway. A factorial study involving several levels of reward and delay is presented to further describe and possibly predict what effects these independent variables have on learning curves. The major purpose of this paper, then, is to determine the interactive effects of delay and magnitude of reward, and to present the results in a clarifying and informative manner.

For many years psychologists have been interested in studying methods by which it is possible to assess the presence and strengths of needs (drives) within the human being. In particular, is has long been felt that the needs of an individual are expressed in his daydreams or fantasies. The purpose of the present study was, then, to investigate empirically the relationship between reported daydreaming behavior and manifest needs.

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published_or_final_version / Psychology / Master / Master of Philosophy

The present investigation evaluated sport-related motivational climates by assessing personal and perceived parental goal orientations and perceived parental pressure in children and adolescents. Data were collected from 202 middle-class, racially diverse students, including 43 male and 50 female children aged 12 or below (M age = 10.6) and 51 male and 58 female adolescents aged 13 or above (M age = 14.7), who had participated in a variety of organized sports, and were enrolled in elementary, middle, and high schools of the Dallas (TX) Independent School District. Measures included personal and parental projected versions (mother's and father's) of the Task and Ego Orientation in Sport Questionnaire (TEOSQ), the Sport Parental Pressure Scale (mother's and father's versions), and a background assessment.

The purpose of this study was to expand on the definition of the means efficacy construct and its relationship to task-specific self-efficacy. The current research has three studies: assesssing quality means efficacy from a self-report method, study two assessing quality means efficacy from a self-report method, and study three comparing quality and quantity means efficacy to determine which would be a better predictor of confidence in various tasks.

Thesis PlanB (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Stout, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Placebo has been found to be an important component of treatments including psychological and pharmacological treatment of depression, transplant surgery for Parkinson’s, acupuncture, smoking cessation interventions, and analgesic treatment of pain. Although the placebo effect has been observed across a wide range of disciplines, the effect sizes vary widely and it is not well understood how placebo effects are produced. The current study draws upon research in perception and motivation to propose a more comprehensive model of the placebo effect. Specifically, the model proposes that more motivated persons pay greater attention to bodily sensations and other stimuli, which are then interpreted according to expectations, producing a placebo response. In the current study, both motivation and outcome expectancy were manipulated, creating a 2x2 study design. College students (N=152) were asked to evaluate a series of placebo pheromone substances (slightly scented water) and attention/task diligence was assessed as the amount of time spent on the rating task and the number of evaluations made. The placebo response was assessed as the attractiveness rating of the chosen sample and the variability in ratings, with greater variability and higher attractiveness ratings indicating greater placebo response. It was predicted that those in the high motivation group would have greater diligence on the rating task, which would, in turn, lead to greater placebo response. It was further predicted that there would be a main effect for expectancy on placebo response. Consistent with hypothesized effects, more highly motivated students had greater placebo responses, and the relationship was mediated by task diligence. Thus, as students spent greater time on the evaluation task, they found the scent of their chosen sample to be more pleasing and perceived greater differences among samples. No effect was found for expectancy. These findings are important because they suggest possible mechanisms for maximizing treatment effects in medical and psychological settings, where factors such as nonspecific treatment effects and placebo are believed to influence outcomes. Future research should seek to further clarify the relationship of expectancy and motivation to placebo outcomes by examining mediating factors such as attention and carefully manipulating both variables to ensure maximum effects.