The present study investigated the influence of cognitive training providing information about learning disabilities on two measures of achievement-related behaviors: the self-concept and comprehension of learning disabilities for five adjudicated learning-disabled adolescent delinquents. The subjects were four male African Americans and one Spanish American male ages thirteen through sixteen, who were incarcerated in a Department of Youth Services secure facility in Western Massachusetts. The study used a single-subject A B A design, and training was provided individually to subjects over the course of ten daily sessions. The training was based upon a text (Student Response booklet) developed by the experimenter. The subjects' task persistence was measured using daily observation in mathematics classes. Subject productivity was measured using a daily tally of the number of math problems attempted. Measures of the subjects' self-concept were obtained using a pre/posttest measure of the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory; measures of knowledge of learning disabilities were obtained using Pre/posttest measures of the Kernan Learning Disabilities Inventory. Results revealed treatment effects for all subjects on measures of knowledge of learning disabilities. Four subjects showed treatment effects on School and Academic subscale measures of self-concept. One subject showed a significant treatment effect on measures of subject productivity. No significant treatment effect was obtained for measures of task persistence.

Four different tasks were used to investigate if readers reinstate information which is no longer in focus when it is needed to resolve a break in causal coherence. In five experiments an inference condition was included in which passages contained a causal coherence break which could be resolved by reinstating a backgrounded concept. In Experiment 1, the results of a recognition task provided evidence that readers were able to integrate the targeted cause more easily with the inference version than the control version of the passage, either because of processes occurring while reading or at the time of test. In Experiments 2 and 3, the results of a word naming task provided evidence that the backgrounded cause was reactivated during reading in the inference condition after encountering the coherence break. In Experiment 4, the results of a reading time measure suggested that readers did not only reactivate a single concept, but used this concept to form a new proposition which acted as a cause for the action in the focal sentence. The causal link was maintained in working memory. According to the results of the recall test in the final experiment, the causal link was also included in the long-term memory text representation. The results were interpreted as support for a fast, direct access, "resonance" process rather than a slow, deliberate search.

Societies undergoing drastic transformation are often inundated with intergroup strife, particularly, when the transformation is accompanied by drastic shifts in groups' status (e.g., Bettlehem & Janowitz, 1964). The present dissertation project aimed to begin understanding the effects of such changes in group status on intergroup outcomes, and to identify psychological processes that may underlie these effects. To achieve these goals, two studies examined perceived dimensions of status change (magnitude, direction, and speed) in relation to outgroup-specific outcomes (unity and threat) and general diversity-related outcomes (attitudes toward equity, openness to diversity, and ethnocentrism). Study 1 was conducted with university students in Ukraine, and revealed that, although dimensions of status change did not predict general diversity-related outcomes, direction and speed interacted in predicting outgroup-specific outcomes among participants who perceived small status change; for these participants, perceptions of faster gains were associated with less unity and more threat. Study 2, conducted with an older and more diverse sample of Ukrainian citizens, replicated these patterns, but also found significant relationships between dimensions of status change and general diversity-related outcomes. Specifically, in addition to predicting less unity and more threat, perceptions of fast small gains also predicted less positive attitudes toward equity, less openness to diversity, and more ethnocentrism. Study 2 also tested threat and relative deprivation as psychological processes that may help explain these relationships. When threat and relative deprivation were included as mediators, fast small gains no longer negatively predicted intergroup outcomes; in fact, in the mediated model, faster gains, both small and large, were associated with more unity, more positive attitudes toward equity, more openness to diversity, and less ethnocentrism. The implications of these findings and avenues for future research are discussed.

Three experiments explored the way in which different framings of multiculturalism influence White American perceivers' attitudes towards ethnic minorities and inclusion of them in the national group. Results showed that while participants always preferred Whites to ethnic minorities, the difference in liking was largest when multiculturalism was described as permanent and Whites were present (vs. absent) in that description. In contrast, differences in liking did not vary by the role of Whites when multiculturalism was described as temporary (Studies 1 and 2). Second, Whites were always seen as more American than ethnic minorities, but particularly when Whites were present (vs. absent) in the description of multiculturalism regardless of the temporal framing (Studies 1 and 2). Third, participants experienced a greater need to affirm the White status quo when multiculturalism was described as permanent and Whites were present (vs. absent) in the description (Study 2). Finally, bias against ethnic minorities was greatest when the description of multiculturalism affirmed the primacy of White heritage in the definition of the nation. Overall findings suggest that not explicitly including the majority group in multiculturalism may lead to better relations between them and minority groups.

This dissertation examines auditory language processing with two emphases: the steps in the processing of an auditory input which identify those characteristics which enable the listener to match the incoming signal to a lexical item, and the morphological and phonological form of lexical entries. Evidence is presented to support the Morphological Parsing Hypothesis, a proposal that inflectional morphemes are recognized prelexically. Moreover, it is shown that the analysis into stem and inflectional affix is evaluated for phonological well-formedness prior to a lexical search for the hypothesized stem (the Prelexical Phonological Checking Hypothesis). Results from an experiment using German surface homophones (with final obstruent devoicing) strengthen the claim of Lahiri & Marslen-Wilson (1991) that lexical entries are stored in the form of underlying phonological representations. Suggestive evidence that lexical entries may be composed of radically underspecified featural representations leads to the proposal of the Specified Feature Priority Hypothesis, a means by which listeners may attend to those portions of the acoustic/phonetic input which provide cues to the underlyingly specified phonological features of the language.

<p> Clinical utility has been offered by numerous researchers as a criterion for understanding the value of diagnostic constructs, but it does not yet have a standard operational definition or recommended forms of measurement. The construct has significant overlap with diagnostic validity and it is possible that sub-domains of clinical utility may emerge that would contribute to development of a scale which could assess for improvements and degradations following nosological revisions, and also provide opportunity for cross-analysis with alternative systems of mental health diagnosis. Therefore, the present study collected survey data from psychologists about the clinical utility of the <i>DSM-5,</i> using online data collection and quantitative methods. Seven questions of clinical utility were rated using a 5 point likert scale for each of the <i>DSM-5</i>'s diagnostic categories and for the <i>DSM-5</i> as an overall nosology. Descriptive data, internal consistency and inter-item correlations were analyzed so that results could help address research questions posed about the clinical utility of the <i> DSM-5</i>'s diagnostic categories, the merits of <i>DSM-5</i> when compared to <i>DSM-IV,</i> and additional recommendations regarding optimal measurement of the clinical utility of diagnostic constructs.</p>

<p> The current study was conducted to examine the relationship between personal, internal variables, and various measures of video game ratings. Individual differences equated in the present study included trait aggression, video game preferences, sex, and gender identity. These measures were experimentally manipulated to evaluate various game ratings including ratings of violence, enjoyment, and age recommendations. Comparisons of ratings were made across E10+, T, and M rated video game conditions. Participants completed a demographic profile, the Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire, the Bem Sex-Role Inventory, and a video game questionnaire, which was administered after viewing video game clips. Correlational analyses revealed that trait aggression was not significantly related to video game ratings. However, video game preference was correlated with higher enjoyment ratings in all game conditions and lower violence and age recommendation ratings in the M game condition. The results further revealed that sex was a significant factor for enjoyment and age recommendation ratings, but not ratings of violence in the offered video games. Regarding gender identity differences, masculinity was found to be correlated with higher violence ratings for the violent video game conditions; femininity was correlated with lower enjoyment ratings and higher age ratings in the most violent game condition. Implications for the ESRB video game ratings process and media portrayal of violent video game players are discussed in the context of the present study.</p>

<p> The purpose of this project was to write a grant proposal to identify resource materials that can be used in whole or adapted for a series of workshops for K&ndash;6 school social workers and their colleagues (teachers, counselors, and support staff) aimed at enhancing their knowledge and skills in child abuse and trauma prevention and intervention. The potential host agency will be Dr. Albert Schweitzer Elementary, a school in Anaheim, California. The grant writer developed the project after an extensive review of the literature available on child abuse and trauma. The project seeks to provide social workers and their colleagues with the skills and knowledge needed to aid in the prevention and treatment of child abuse and trauma. The Weingart Foundation was chosen as the potential funding source for this project. The actual funding and submission of this grant proposal was not a requirement for successful completion of this project.</p>

<p> The purpose of this study was to explore the evolution of the self in the context of becoming a psychotherapist. The subjective experiences of neophyte psychotherapists in their development toward the establishment of an integrated therapist identity were examined. Furthermore, the participants&rsquo; unique experiences of transformative change during their initial clinical encounters were analyzed for the purpose of addressing how the trainee moves through the variously proposed models of therapist identity development. Interpretive phenomenological analysis provided the ability to analyze the detailed recall of 6 participants&rsquo; subjective experiences via an open-ended, semistructured interview. First encounters with new patients, learning to manage the emotional interplay with patients, gaining confidence and self-awareness, presenting authentically with patients, personal upbringing, and the experience of a shift in their identity as a psychotherapist remained the generalized areas of focus. The reported anxieties related to the need to be a savior paralleling familial roles with possible failure. The movement through this coincided with a shift in what it means to be a therapist along with an increased sense of self-awareness, giving way to the possibility of presenting authentically with patients. Personal virtues acting as insulators in the face of overwhelming anxiety were seen as contributors to moving toward an integration of personal and professional identities. Finally, the implications of the findings and the impact of the insights gained were examined in regard to optimizing training and supervision of neophyte psychotherapists in an effort to increase quality of services provided.</p>

<p> Using a phenomenological hermeneutic embodied methodology, this study investigates the phenomenon of chronic illness as it is experienced internally. Through a focusing meditation and an embodied art directive, the stage is set to explore the phenomenon. Using a semi-structured protocol, participants were interviewed two times over a four-month period, and asked to identify how their internal experiences informed the management of their illness. Participants were also asked how this body-based information converged with medical prescriptions from primary care providers. Qualitative data were analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). Participants took part as co-researchers in the coding process and two peer debriefers were engaged in a discursive analysis tracing themes across narratives to develop codes organized under three superordinate categories with ten corresponding subordinate headings. Three primary findings were clustered under the superordinates: 1.0 My body has a place at the table now, 2.0 My body as it relates to medicine, 3.0 Looking forward, looking back: making meaning from this body&rsquo;s history. Results indicate that participants used their bodies&rsquo; signs by recognizing the language that the body communicates, then processing the impact and making decisions about how to proceed. Secondly, participants described a time when their bodies conflicted with medical advice and the reality of what they were physically experiencing was so compelling they were obliged to go with the strong physical evidence that was expressed by their bodies. A third finding from this investigation is that individuals can have highly developed ideas about the origins of their illnesses and these ideas might play a pivotal role in their healing process.</p>