In this study, an Implicit Association Test (IAT) was created to measure individuals attitudes towards seeking psychological help. The IAT was administered prior to the Beliefs About Psychological Services scale (BAPS; Ægisdóttir & Gerstein, 2009) to examine the relationship between the implicit and explicit measures of attitudes toward seeking psychological help. It was theorized that the implicit measure would be less affected by social desirability and unconscious attitudes than the explicit measure. Standardizing revealed that IAT scores reflected less belief in the expertness of psychology professionals than did BAPS scores. However, participants reported greater intent to seek psychological help on the BAPS compared to the IAT. BAPS scores reflected higher stigma towards psychological services compared to the IAT. Correlations between the implicit and explicit measure were moderate for stigma and perceived expertness of psychology professionals but low for intent to seek psychological help. / Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services

This study examined the relationship between the attitudes of counselors toward gays and lesbians and their ratings of this population, as compared to the heterosexual population, in terms of mental health. Participants (N=92) were masters and doctoral level graduate students at a midsized midwestern university. Counselors who were more prejudiced toward gay and lesbian targets rated them as less mentally healthy than heterosexual targets. Counselors who were less homophobic did not differ significantly from more homophobic participants in terms of their ratings of mental health. The implications and limitations of these findings are discussed, and future avenues of research are suggested. / Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services

This study examined the effect of diagnostic label (schizophrenia, depression, diabetes, or amateur) on perceptions of an artist as measured by social distance, perceptions of aggressiveness, artwork favorability, and monetary value (of artwork). Previous contact with a person hospitalized for mental illness was assessed to determine its moderating effects. Participants were 165 undergraduate students (118 female, 47 male). Results found a significant main effect for label on perceptions of aggressiveness, but not on social distance, artwork favorability, or monetary value. Although artwork was evaluated favorably regardless of label, the label of schizophrenia increased perceptions of aggressiveness, but showed suggestive effects on social distance and artwork favorability. The overall findings suggest a complex relationship between the label of mental illness, previous contact, and the relative sensitivity of perceptions of aggressiveness and social distance to these effects. / Department of Psychological Science

There is no abstract available for this thesis. / Department of Journalism

Three-hundred eight students from the Introductory Psychology participant pool at Ball State University took part in a preliminary investigation of heterosexuals' attitudes toward bisexuality. The study found that heterosexual men and women expressed more positive responses toward heterosexuals than toward lesbian, gay male, and bisexual individuals, but did not distinguish between homosexual and bisexual persons. Sex differences were found for acceptance of lesbians, gay men, and bisexual men and women but not for affective responses to these individuals. More specifically, male and female participants' affective responses to homosexual and bisexual target individuals were similar; however, on questions pertaining to acceptance, female participants rated all persons similarly whereas male participants rated heterosexual men more favorably than homosexual or bisexual men. It was also found that beliefs about bisexuality as a real orientation or as homosexual denial were in fact related to participants' responses to the bisexual target individual, whereas beliefs that bisexuality is a transitional or transitory orientation were not. / Department of Psychological Science

The purposes of this study were to determine if the following factors pertaining to elementary school principals; amount of undergraduate/graduate training in special education, previous experience with disabled students, and professional development training, had a relationship to their attitudes regarding the education of students with disabilities in the regular classroom. The study also sought to determine if differences existed between principals' attitudes toward the inclusion of different categories of disabled students into the regular classroom.The population of the study consisted of 230 randomly selected elementary school principals. Principals selected for the study were sent the data-collection instrument, The Building Administrator Survey, which was developed by the researcher. The survey instrument consisted of demographic questions which addressed the study's independent variables and 12 statements which were designed to ascertain the study's dependent variable, attitude toward the education disabled students in the regular classroom. Respondents were asked to rate each statement on a five-point Likerttype scale reflecting perceived attitudes toward each of five different categories of disability: emotional handicap, learning disability, mild mental handicap, moderate mental handicap, and severe mental handicap. A multivariate analysis of variance procedure was used to determine the of significance of relationships between the study's independent variables and principals' attitudes toward inclusion. A post hoc procedure was used to identify significant differences in principals' attitudes toward inclusionary practices relative to the study's five categories of disabled students.The following conclusions were drawn from the findings of the study:1. There is a statistically significant relationship between attitudes toward the inclusion of different categories of disabled students. Attitudes toward inclusion become less positive as the level of student disability increases.2. Principals receiving minimal amounts of professional development training tend to have more negative attitudes toward inclusion than principals receiving more extensive training.3. There is not a statistically significant relationship between principals' attitudes toward inclusion and the type of professional development training they have received, the amount of professional training in special education they have received, or their previous experience with students with disabilities in teaching and administrative settings. / Department of Educational Leadership

The SALAMANCA Statement (UNESCO, 1994), and the Namibian constitution (1990) commit the government to offering education to children with disabilities. The primary focus of this study was to examine the attitudes of the population of primary school principals' with regard to the inclusive education practice of placing and educating students with disabilities in the regular classrooms. In addition, the researcher sought to ascertain principals' perceived barriers and needs with regard to facilitating and implementing inclusive education practices. The survey instruments used to collect data consisted of: a) demographic section, b) Attitude Toward Inclusive Education Scale, c) Opinions Relative to the Integration of Students with Disabilities scale, and d) openended questions. The results suggest that Namibian primary school principals hold positive attitudes toward students with disabilities in general, though they have preferences of the type of disabilities to be accommodated in the regular classrooms. Students with social difficulties were more favored for inclusion than students with sensory and physical disabilities. Principals favored inclusion of students with behavioral challenges slightly more than students with academic difficulties. Principals' perceptions were that inclusive education has potential benefits for students with and without disabilities and that it presents opportunity for academic growth for students with disabilities. Yet, special school or classroom placement was perceived as the most stable environment for educating students with disabilities, especially when considering their social and emotional development. Furthermore, principals were of the opinion that due to pre-service training, which did not include courses on special education and disabilities, educators lack the needed knowledge, skills, and abilities to educate thesestudents, hence the need for comprehensive in-service. In addition to lack of training in special education as a major barrier, other reported barriers were lack of proper educational facilities and equipment, lack of parent involvement and students' characteristics. The multivariate analysis revealed that younger school principals held more favorable attitudes toward placement of students with disabilities in the regular classrooms. Principals with graduate degrees and BA/BS perceived themselves as not having the ability to educate these students in comparison to those with lesser qualifications. The demographic variables of years of experience as a principal and teaching location had no significant effect on the attitudes of principals with regard to placement or educating students with disabilities in the regular classrooms. / Department of Special Education

Research has shown that both males and females agree that child-support payments should be consistent. However, census bureau data has indicated that nonpayment of child support is a significant problem in the United States. This study investigated the ways in which females make sense of the phenomenon of child support nonpayment via the construction of personal narratives.Ten adult females were interviewed to obtain stories of child-support nonpayment. The interviews were recorded and transcribed and discrete narratives were isolated for analysis. The constant comparative method was used to compare and contrast the data in order to discover the themes inherent to the process of sense-making through the construction of personal narratives.The analysis revealed three categories of narratives of child-support nonpayment: Action, Coping, and Prescriptive. The findings suggested that each of the categories revealed salient dimensions (i.e., themes) inherent to those categories. Furthermore, these themes were utilized to assign meaning to, and hence make sense of, the experience of child-support nonpayment. / Department of Speech Communication

The purpose of this study was to determine the overall effectiveness of and the level of engagement in performance assessment processes by Indiana school boards in relation to the Indiana School Board's Associations (ISBA) Code of Ethics as perceived by school administrators. Additionally, there were four objectives: (a) to determine what extent Indiana school boards engage in a process of formal evaluation of their own performance and effectiveness; (b) to determine if there is a difference in perceived compliance to the ISBA Code of Ethics for school boards who engage in school board performance evaluation compared to those school boards who do not; (c) to determine if there is a relationship between the educational background of school board members and school boards performing their duties according to the ISBA Code of Ethics; and (d) to determine the overall perceptions of Indiana school superintendents and randomly selected elementary and secondary principals as to whether school board performance is currently in accordance with the ISBA Code of Ethics. Research questions and hypotheses were developed to determine school superintendents' and randomly selected elementary and secondary school principals' perceptions and possible differences and/or relationships.A descriptive survey research procedure was used in this study, which sought information regarding the professional activities of each participant's school board in comparison to the ISBA Code of Ethics. The questionnaire was constructed in order to answer four research questions and three null hypotheses.The findings indicated: (1) 32.5% of Indiana school boards evaluate their own performance and effectiveness; (2) 67.5% of Indiana school boards do not evaluate their own performance and effectiveness; (3) school boards that engage in performance evaluation processes tend to adhere more strongly to the ISBA Code of Ethics in comparison with those school boards that do not engage in performance evaluation; (4) there was no relationship between the educational background of school board members and school board performance in accordance with the ISBA Code of Ethics; and (5) there did appear to be a significant difference between how superintendents and principals perceive school board performance when compared to the ISBA Code of Ethics. / Department of Educational Leadership

There has been a great deal of research concerning the prevalence of date rape that occurs on college campuses around the country. Researchers also have investigated whether or not prevention programs are effective in lowering the incidence of date rape on campuses. While there have been numerous investigations done on prevention programs, few have implemented follow-up measures, and none have investigated if exposing participants to more than one program is more effective than just participating in one program. The purpose of this study was to determine if a prevention program that implements a three-session program is more effective than one that implements a one-session program. In addition, changes in attitudes were measured at four weeks follow-up, to determine if changes are permanent or not.Nine undergraduate counseling psychology classes consisting of 79 males and 156 females were randomly assigned (according to class) to a three-session, onesession, or control group. Each group completed a series of attitude scales at pre-test, post-test, and at four weeks follow-up.Results indicated that males in the three-session group displayed attitude changes in the desired direction at posttest, but rebound effects occurred according to their follow-up scores. Males in the three-session group had even less desirable scores at follow-up than they did at pretest. Males in the one-session group displayed similar trends, but not as severe as their counterparts. Females did not show similar trends, as their attitudes were already more desirable then the males at pre-test. At any time, females had more desirable overall scores than did males. Students who participated in the one-session program indicated that they would be more willing to help prevent date rape (i.e., by volunteering to present prevention programs) than those in the three-session program. Openended questions that addressed what the students liked about the program were asked, as well as what suggestions they had to improve the program. Overall, students in the onesession program reported more satisfaction than those in the three-session program. Limitations as well as suggestions for further research in this area were discussed. Further investigation is needed to examine what kinds of prevention programs will be most beneficial in changing men's attitudes in the desired direction. / Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services