This study was conducted to determine whether or not a significant difference exists in pregnant women among those receiving therapeutic touch, mock therapeutic touch, or no touch on measurements of anxiety and well-being. Thirty third trimester primigravida subjects were tested pre- and postintervention using the State-Anxiety Inventory and a Well-Being Visual Analog; heart and respiratory rates were monitored before, during, and after the treatment. No significant differences were found using analysis of covariance with the pre-test scores as the covariate. The findings indicate that therapeutic touch may not be useful in reducing state anxiety or enhancing subjective well-being in pregnancy. Study limitations include a small sample size, use of an instrument without established reliability and validity, and a study environment that may have increased anxiety.

No description available.

Use of the term "ritual" in PsycLit from 1975-1995 was examined through an archival study. Abstracts identified as including any form of the term were coded for valence, target population, study type, and differential area of interest. Valence was predominantly positive, consistent across time, with a growing negative trend. Interest in ritual has increased. Key elements of adaptive ritual were identified as recurrence across time, shared symbolism and volitional participation. A Dynamic Process of Ritual is proposed which includes the individual, society, and chaos in a fluctuating relationship, all operating within an additional dimension of a continuum of ritualization in which the individual's position is determined by personal and societal complexity and individual response to crisis.

The primary aim of the present study was to compare mothers' reactions to obstetrical interventions and procedures and obstetricians' perceptions of these. The sample population consisted of one hundred and forty seven white, married, English-speaking mothers and a group of fifty three obstetricians practising in trie Johannesburg area. Questionnaires, developed for both groups, were administered postally to obstetricians and in hospital within the first post-partum week to mothers. Perceptions of interventions occurring in the ante-natal period and during the three stages of labour were explored. Reactions to psycho-social and hospital procedures were also obtained. Median and modal ratings of these events were calculated for both samples. The data were analysed using the Median test to compare the groups and Fisher's exact probability test to determine significant differences. Using a significance level of one per cent, several significant findings emerged. Results suggested that, in general, obstetricians rated mothers' experiences more negatively than did the mothers themselves, These findings were discussed in the light of available research and literature in the area

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Arts, University of the Witwatersrand, infulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. NOVEMBER, 1987 / The present study is set within the broad area of adult development and functioning. It is primarily located within the developmental theory of Erik Brikson, who described development, not only frem the perspective of the growing child, hut with the understanding ox the continuity of development over the entire life cycle (1878). As this represents m area of relatively recent concern, there are many gaps in the literature. A cognitive map in the fom of a hypothetical construct ten&ad the- Transitional Space was described and developed in this woi-k, to facilitate tha undetstartiing of both, individual and cduyle development and functioning. This hypothetical construct was based on Winnicott's (1971) original notion of transitional phenomena, which he located as being between inner and outer reality. The Transitional space may be briefly described as that part of the inner world that is projected outwards, and both reflects the internal frame of reference through which the perception of the world is filtered, as well as those aspects of hidden inner reality that are perceived by others as being "me". The Transitional Space comprises three aspects, namely: boundary quality, content, and size. Boundary quality of the Transitional Space reflects the ability of the individual for intimate contact, and id described in terms of the parameters of flexibility and permeability. The content of the Transitional -pace is described as that aspect that is concerned with ego identity (Erikson 1968). Finally, the aspect of the size of the Transitional space isNa reflection of progression along the continuum of ego development as operationalizud by Loevinyer et al (1970):. ” " ' As it has been found that systems are most accessible to observation and study during periods of change, it was decided to locate the study at a point of developmental change or crisis. The period selected for investigation was the tisite around the birth of the first child, and thus the transition to parenthood. In response to evidence of a need in the literature, a model was derived to both describe and explain the changes over this period. The model of change was based on the findings of. Janis (1958), in terms of preparation for change, and regression in the face of stress, as well as the theory of "romantic solutions" to transitional periods (Becker, 1973) and the cyclicity of the romantic experience (Livingston, 1980). The model was integrated with tije sociological model of LaRossa and laRossa (1981), to form a more canprehensive description and explanation of the process of the ■ transition to parenthood. ; The first aim in the study was to describe and predict adult and couple functioning on the basis of the model of thi Transitional Space, with special reference to the changepoint of the transition to

by Lu Li-Na. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 37-39). / ABSTRACT --- p.ii / TABLE OF CONTENTS --- p.iii / LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS --- p.v / LIST OF TABLES --- p.vi / CHAPTERS / Chapter I. --- INTRODUCTION --- p.1 / Chapter 1.0 --- Overview --- p.1 / Chapter 1.1 --- Introduction --- p.1 / Chapter 1.2 --- Research Objective --- p.2 / Chapter 1.3 --- Outline of this Study --- p.3 / Chapter II. --- LITERATURE REVIEW AND MODEL DEVELOPMENT --- p.4 / Chapter 2.0 --- Overview --- p.4 / Chapter 2.1 --- Previous Research --- p.4 / Chapter 2.2 --- Conceptual Framework --- p.6 / Chapter 2.3 --- Conceptual Model --- p.8 / Chapter 2.4 --- Hypotheses --- p.10 / Chapter 2.4.1 --- The Effect of Attitude toward Gift Receiving on Intention to Reciprocate --- p.10 / Chapter 2.4.2 --- "The Effects of Closeness, Usefulness, and Occasion on Attitude toward Gift Receiving" --- p.11 / Chapter 2.4.3 --- The Effect of Positive Feelings on Attitude toward Gift Receiving --- p.12 / Chapter III. --- METHODOLOGY --- p.14 / Chapter 3.0 --- Overview --- p.14 / Chapter 3.1 --- Research Design --- p.14 / Chapter 3.2 --- The Sample and the Sampling Procedures --- p.15 / Chapter 3.3 --- Data Collection Procedures --- p.15 / Chapter 3.4 --- Manipulations --- p.16 / Chapter 3.5 --- Operationalization of Constructs --- p.18 / Chapter 3.6 --- Data Analysis --- p.19 / Chapter 3.6.1 --- Manipulation Check --- p.19 / Chapter 3.6.2 --- Structural Equation Modeling --- p.20 / Chapter 3.7 --- Research Activities --- p.21 / Chapter 3.7.1 --- In-Depth Personal Interviews --- p.21 / Chapter 3.7.1.1 --- Objective of In-Depth Personal Interviews --- p.21 / Chapter 3.7.1.2 --- Method of In-Depth Personal Interviews --- p.22 / Chapter 3.7.1.3 --- Results of In-Depth Personal Interviews --- p.22 / Chapter 3.7.2 --- Preliminary Survey on Useful Gifts --- p.23 / Chapter 3.7.2.1 --- Objective of Preliminary Survey on Useful Gifts --- p.23 / Chapter 3.7.2.2 --- Method of Preliminary Survey on Useful Gifts --- p.23 / Chapter 3.7.2.3 --- Results of Preliminary Survey on Useful Gifts --- p.24 / Chapter 3.8 --- Pretest --- p.24 / Chapter IV. --- FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS --- p.26 / Chapter 4.0 --- Overview --- p.26 / Chapter 4.1 --- Manipulation Check --- p.26 / Chapter 4.2 --- Structural Equation Modeling Results --- p.27 / Chapter 4.4.1 --- Measurement Model Results --- p.27 / Chapter 4.4.2 --- Structural Model Results --- p.30 / Chapter V. --- CONCLUSIONS --- p.33 / Chapter 5.0 --- Overview --- p.33 / Chapter 5.1 --- Discussion --- p.33 / Chapter 5.2 --- Managerial Implications --- p.34 / Chapter 5.3 --- Limitations --- p.35 / Chapter 5.4 --- Future Research Directions --- p.36 / REFERENCE --- p.37 / Books --- p.37 / Periodicals --- p.38 / APPENDIX --- p.40 / Chapter 1. --- Scenarios --- p.40 / Chapter 2. --- Questionnaire Outline --- p.45 / Chapter 3. --- Personal Interviews Script for Gift Receiving --- p.46 / Chapter 4. --- Preliminary Survey on Useful Gifts --- p.77

Distal radius fracture is a common injury. The majority of people recover well but a proportion have ongoing pain, stiffness, deformity and functional limitation. Associations between these outcomes, injury characteristics and treatment methods are inconsistent, for example a deformed wrist is not always painful, stiff and functionally limiting. The psychological response to fracture and the role that psychological factors play in recovery are complex and poorly understood. Identification and treatment of those psychological factors that might influence disability and symptom intensity could improve outcomes in this large group of patients. The aim of this thesis is to explore the influence of psychological factors on outcome following fracture of the distal radius. To investigate these relationships further a literature review was carried out looking at the association between psychological factors and outcomes in distal radius fracture patients. Prospective studies were then performed in order to identify associations between demographic factors, injury severity, treatment and psychosocial factors and symptom intensity and disability after fracture and to identify predictors of psychological response to injury. A prospective randomised controlled trail (RCT) was then carried out to compare the impact of an additional psychological workbook intervention versus an information workbook in the otherwise routine management of distal radius fracture. The literature review identified evidence to support the association between psychological factors and outcome after acute injury in general but limited evidence specifically pertaining to distal radius fracture. The first prospective study of 216 patients found psychosocial factors to be more strongly associated with disability (Disability of Arm Shoulder and Hand score, DASH) and pain intensity after distal radius fracture than any injury or treatment factor. The second prospective study of 153 patients found that psychological traits are relatively stable in this cohort and that no demographic, injury or treatment factors were associated with the small changes in psychological scores up to 10 weeks following injury. The RCT demonstrated that use of a psychological workbook did not significantly improve disability six weeks after injury compared to an information workbook in a cohort of patients with distal radius fracture (DASH 38 vs 35, p = 0.949). The importance of psychosocial factors in recovery from distal radius fracture has been demonstrated. Following this injury, psychological factors remain stable over time or fluctuate to a small degree with distinct trends. In cohorts with stable psychological responses to fracture, the individual psychological response cannot be reliably predicted by demographic, injury or treatment factors. Use of a psychological workbook intervention does not improve outcomes in patients with a good initial psychological response to injury. Future work should investigate less psychologically stable and well adapted cohorts, establish how best to identify patients at risk of poor outcome and whether, indeed, these specific groups are amenable to treatment and if so what form this intervention should take. It should address limitations identified in this work, primarily, reduce questionnaire fatigue with more focused psychological questionnaires. Ultimately, it should work towards creating a structure where patients can be screened with a recognised psychological scoring system at initial presentation to fracture clinic and allow a sub-group of psychologically mal-adpted patients to be referred on to a dedicated psychology service, that would work to optimise the psychological conditions for recovery.

Psychological closure is the feeling that a life experience is complete and a part of the past (Beike, Adams, and Wirth-Beaumont 2007). While research on psychological closure primarily deals with traumatic or highly aversive life experiences, psychological closure is frequently experienced and sought after in more typical consumption settings. My dissertation extends our current knowledge about the role of psychological closure by exploring emotional, cognitive, perceptual, and behavioral implications of psychological closure across a broad range of consumer experiences. The first essay aims to demonstrate that closure makes events seem distant in time and probability through emotion. It also explores resulting consumer decisions such as warranty purchase intentions. The second essay proposes and tests how psychological closure of a consumer learning experience can lead to an abstract representation of that learning experience, and consequently a heightened sense of subjective knowledge. / text

published_or_final_version / Psychology / Master / Master of Philosophy

Previous bilingual studies showed reduced hemispheric asymmetry in visual tasks such as face perception in bilinguals compared with monolinguals, which suggested that hemispheric asymmetry in visual tasks could be modulated by experience in reading one or two languages. Here I examined whether differences in hemispheric asymmetry in visual tasks can also be observed in bilinguals who have different language backgrounds. I compared the behavior of three language groups: (1) English monolinguals, who acquire only one alphabetic language, (2) European-English bilinguals, who know two alphabetic languages, and (3) Chinese-English bilinguals, who master an alphabetic language and a logographic language; in three tachistoscopic tasks: (1) English word sequential matching task, (2) Intact-altered face judgment task, and (3) face sequential matching task. The results showed that European-English bilinguals had a stronger right visual field (RVF)/ left hemispheric (LH) advantage in the English word sequential matching task than English monolinguals and Chinese-English bilinguals, suggesting that different language learning experiences can influence how visual words are processed in the brain. However, the results showed no group difference between the left visual field (LVF)/ right hemisphere (RH) advantage in the intact-altered face judgment task and the face sequential matching task. These results suggested a modulation of language experience on visual word processing but not on face processing. In addition, I showed that the hemispheric asymmetry in visual word processing could be accounted for by a computational model that implements a theory of hemispheric asymmetry in perception (i.e. the Double Filtering by Frequency theory, Ivry & Robertson, 1998); the modeling data suggested that this lateralization difference in visual word processing may be due to both the difference in participants’ vocabulary size and the difference in word-to-sound mapping between alphabetic and logographic languages. / published_or_final_version / Psychology / Master / Master of Philosophy