Ten experimentally naive children between the ages of six and eight served in three generalized imitation experiments using symbolic models. Subjects were presented videotaped behaviors to imitate via closed circuit television, and their responses were mechanically defined, recorded, and reinforced in an effort to control social influences from the presence of the experimenter. In Experiment 1, imitation of three behaviors was reinforced and imitation of a fourth behavior was never reinforced for four subjects. Two other subjects received noncontingent reinforcement. The following independent variables were tested: (1) the presence and absence of an experimenter, (2) instructions to "Do that," and (3) contingent and noncontingent reinforcement. Results of Experiment 1 demonstrated the apparatus could be used to produce and maintain generalized imitation, even in the absence of the experimenter, so long as differential reinforcement was available. ''Do that'' instructions were not necessary, and the presence of the experimenter served to maintain imitation when contingent reinforcement was not available. In Experiment 2, four subjects produced generalized imitation in the absence of both a n experimenter and any instructions with two reinforced and two nonreinforced imitations. Using the same four subjects in Experiment 3, congruent, incongruent, and "Do what you want" instructions given before sessions demonstrated that instructions could override the effect of reinforcers or produce differential responding in most subjects. When given a choice to imitate or not imitate, subjects continued generalized imitation. The data tend to support the theory that imitation is itself a response class, and the effect of instructions is to divide that response class into a class of imitated responses and a class of instruction-following responses. The influence of instructions, even in the absence of an adult experimenter, was obvious.

In order to assess the relative efficacy of audio-taped relaxation as compared to live-therapist induced relaxation, 80 volunteer subjects were randomly assigned to one of the following eight groups: (1) live-therapist (male) contingent, (2) live-therapist (male) non-contingent, (3) taped contingent (male), (4) taped non-contingent (male), (5) live-therapist (female) contingent, (6) live-therapist (female) non-contingent, (7) taped (female) contingent, and (8) taped (female) non-contingent. The subjects were exposed to treatment conditions for five sessions during which they received a relaxation sequence via either a live-therapist or audio-taped format in a contingent or non-contingent (subject controlled pace or non-subject controlled pace, respectively) progression. The subjects were monitored with an EMG and Skin Temperature device for 10 minutes following the relaxation sequence. Following the relaxation sequence, each subject was administered a subjective relaxation scale. The first session data were compared to the last session data via a 4 way ANOVA at a .05 alpha level. The analysis of variance indicated that all groups on all of the dependent variables became more relaxed (EMG reduction and skin temperature increase) from pre to post period monitorings. On the variables of EMG and skin temperature, the live-therapist and contingent progression groups produced greater relaxation than did the taped and non-contingent groups. The combination of live-therapist and contingent progression proved to be the most effective in reducing EMG and increasing peripheral skin temperature. (Both indications of relaxation.) All the treatment groups responded similarly on verbal report with the live-therapist contingent and taped-therapist non-contingent groups decreasing most on the verbally reported subjective scale. Implications for the use of live and taped-therapist presentations along with contingent progression formats were discussed.

The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of family sculpting on perceptual agreement among family members. Thirty families, each consisting of a father, a mother, and a child twelve years old or older, from areas of northern Utah and eastern Idaho participated in the study. The following instruments were administered to all individuals: a biographical questionnaire containing items regarding age, sex, occupation, education, number of years married for parents, and birth order position for children; the Interpersonal Check List in which each family was to describe him/herself and the other members of the family; the Family Life Questionnaire which measures satisfaction in the family; and, finally, the experimental group was also administered the Subjective Check List which is a self report measure of the subject's experience with the experimental treatment. Three hypotheses were made regarding the effect that family sculpting would have on perceptual agreement among family members in the experimental groups: There would be no significant difference between experimental and control groups in terms of perceptual agreement among family members after family sculpting as measured by the Interpersonal Check List. There would be no significant difference between the low-satisfaction experimental qroup and the control group in terms of perceptual agreement among family members after family sculpting as measured by the Interpersonal Check List. There would be no significant difference between the high-satisfaction experimental group and the control group in terms of perceptual agreement among family members after family sculpting as measured by the Interpersonal Check List. To test the hypotheses, analyses of covariance were computed for pre and posttest scores on all eight scales of the Interpersonal Check List, and on the Family Life Questionnaire. It was found that when the pretest means were held constant there was a difference on posttest means between .the group which received family sculpting and the group that did not, on five of the twenty-four analyses. As a result of these findings all three hypotheses were rejected. However, notwithstanding a difference did exist, an examination of the unadjusted and adjusted means showed paradoxical results in that the level of perceptual agreement for the group which received family sculpting increased in three instances and decreased in two instances. Thus, it was determined that family sculpting may have facilitated changes in the perceptions of family members, however, it was not found to be effective in increasing perceptual agreement among family members . Further consideration would suggest that, in terms of a therapeutic approach, these possible changes in perception may be of value in breaking down maladaptive family communication patterns and establishing more adaptive ones.

A review was made of research concerning medical students, nursing students, physicians and nurses with special focus on the physician-nurse relationship. Research was carried out to investigate medical and nursing students' concepts of self, ideal self (as physician/nurse), typical work partner and ideal work partner.

The focus of this thesis was around two questions: "Do mediators commonly share a personality typology?" and "Does personality type affect mediators' perceptions of disputants' goals?" The findings of this study have several implications for conflict management and its practitioners. For instance, consideration of one's own personality type can lead to deeper understanding of one's own biases and help develop mediator neutrality. Studies about mediation practitioners can also provide information about this under-represented group for use in career counseling, as well as in public education. This research suggests that 71% of this group of mediators shared preferences in both the intuition and feeling dimensions, and 42% shared the three dimensions of intuition, feeling and perceiving. According to MBTI literature, individuals who favor intuition tend to focus on relationships and look at the big picture and the connection between the facts. Individuals who prefer to use feeling in decision-making tend to be sympathetic, compassionate, and people-focused. Individuals who prefer to use perceiving tend to be spontaneous and enjoy trusting their resourcefulness in adapting to the demands of a situation. This study also investigated potential personality affects on mediators’ perceptions of disputants' conflict goals. Personality dimensions, mediator experience, and scenario outcomes were assessed and a statistically significant relationship was found between the intuition dimension and relational goals in one of the four scenarios. Some significant relationships were also found in another of the four scenarios between mediator experience and preferred scenario outcome. The study group was a small interagency group of workplace mediators called Shared Neutrals, who mediate disputes in Oregon and Washington. The design of the study was different from past studies in its use of contextual conflict scenarios; in the form of an author-developed questionnaire; similar to those used in the medical field to test clinician responses. The study was limited by the restriction of range of the group, by the subjectivity of the author-developed questionnaire, and by the statistical limitations of the MBTI. Some suggestions are made for future studies, including consideration of factors such as type of training, gender, group dynamics and socialization.

The current study sought to extend previous research on conditional compensatory responses and illicit drugs to smoking and respondent conditioning by exposing ten adult smokers and nonsmokers to smoking and non-smoking related imagery. Pre- and post-slide show carbon monoxide (CO) levels were taken as the main measure of compensatory actions. As supplementary measures, heart rate and blood pressure readings were also obtained. Results demonstrated that the measures of CO obtained from smokers were lower following a visual presentation of smoking related images as compared to a presentation of non-smoking related images. This drop in CO levels was not evident (a) in nonsmoking participants, nor (b) in two control subjects whom provided extended CO measures in the absence of visual imagery. These data suggest the continued investigation of respondent aspects in smoking behavior is necessary in order to obtain a global picture of the physiological aspects of smoking behavior.

This study used an alternating-treatment design to determine the most effective treatment for noncompliance in five children (ages 2–5 years) and to train caregivers to implement the treatment during a 120-min outpatient meeting. Three treatments were assessed: high-probability instruction sequence, three-step guided compliance, and an eye contact procedure. The sessions took place in a university clinic and the parents acted as therapists during assessment and treatment. Generalization probes were conducted in the children's homes to further assess the effectiveness of the prescribed treatment and to evaluate the level of treatment integrity evidenced by the parents. An increase in compliance was observed during the generalization probe sessions for four of the five children. Four families implemented the prescribed treatment with at least 80% integrity after leaving the clinic, and all families reported being satisfied with the prescribed treatment.

Although the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend that children engage in 60 min of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) every day of the week (CDC, 2010), current estimates suggest that most children do not (Troiano et al., 2008). Inadequate physical activity increases the risks related to a number of health problems in children (Reilly & Kelly, 2011), however, these risks are mitigated, at least in part, by increasing activity to levels correlated with health benefits (Ross et al., 2000). The functional analysis methodology proposed by Iwata et al. (1982/1994) provides an efficient and effective way to identify functional relationships, and lends itself to investigating the variables responsible for increased levels of MVPA. In the current study, the functional analysis methodology was used to assess relationships between MVPA and environmental events (i.e., Attention, Interactive Play, Alone, and Escape), which were alternated with a control condition in a multielement design. Results of the current study indicated that all four participants were most active in the Interactive Play condition and the percentage of MVPA varied across test and control conditions. In addition, the frequency and duration of bouts of MVPA was greatest in the Interactive Play condition. The current study presents a methodology for identifying environmental contingencies that support increased levels of MVPA in young children, and holds great promise for improving our understanding of the variables related to physical activity so that effective interventions can be designed to improve children's health and wellbeing.

To date, no prior research has examined the combined roles of childhood family adversity and pubertal timing in longitudinal pathways to depressive symptomatology in adulthood. The present study was conducted with 225 men and 225 women to explore the unique and combined roles of childhood family adversity and pubertal timing on depressive symptoms in a community sample of married adults. Results for both men and women indicated significant main effects of a cumulatively risky family environment on depressive symptoms, as well as main effects of families with higher levels of abuse and neglect, chaos and disorganization, and interpersonal family conflict. A significant moderating relation was found for women with earlier pubertal timing and higher levels of childhood interpersonal family conflict on greater levels of depressive symptoms in adulthood. No other significant relations were determined in other moderation and mediational analyses. This project furthers our understanding of how the combined roles of pubertal timing and childhood family experiences can clarify the developmental, evolutionary, and clinical theories that link childhood and adolescent experiences to depression in adulthood. Specifically, childhood home environments defined by frequent interpersonal conflict (quarreling, arguing, and shouting), combined with early pubertal development, may play an important role in predicating depressive symptomatology among adult women.

The clinical relevance of patients’ psychotherapy outcome expectations has been substantiated by a fairly robust correlational literature. Furthermore, as a related yet distinct construct, patients’ treatment credibility beliefs have also been associated with positive treatment outcomes. Addressing several methodological limitations of past research, the current study examined the influence on early adaptive process (patient-psychotherapist alliance quality) and early treatment outcome (patient distress level) of patients’ outcome expectations and credibility beliefs, measured both statically and dynamically with a psychometrically sound self-report instrument. Patients were 110 adult outpatients receiving naturalistically delivered psychotherapy in a community mental health training clinic. The primary research questions were tested with a series of hierarchical multiple regression models, which revealed: (a) An increase in patients’ initial outcome expectations (from baseline to post-session 1) was positively associated with patient rated alliance quality at session 7 (B = 1.28, p < .05), and (b) early (post-session 1) outcome expectations (B = 1.13, p < .05) and credibility beliefs (B = .83, p < .05) significantly predicted patient rated early alliance. The findings further underscore the clinical importance of patients’ treatment beliefs, and they are discussed with respect to their empirical and clinical implications.