published_or_final_version / abstract / Clinical Psychology / Master / Master of Social Sciences

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Thesis (M.A.)--Rowan University, 2008. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references.

M.A. (Psychology) / One of the oldest problems in psychology, dating back to Galton in the 19th century, is the phenomenon of observed variations in intellectual performance. According to Messick (1973) over half a century of empirical research has uncovered a vast array of dimensions relating to aspects of cognitive functioning. buring this period intellectual giftedness was not the prime objective of theorists, with little attention being paid to this aspect of intellectual functioning. Research into intellectual giftedness is furthermore widely diversified with regard ~o conceptual definitions and methodology (Anastasi, 1965). In South Africa the emphasis has been placed on studies conducted at secondary school level (Coetzee, 19751 Duminy, 1960, Roos, 1983). As a result the cognitive and personality structure of the gifted adult is incomplete regarding theoretical and empirical aspects. The primary objective of the present study was to ascertain whether the cognitive and personality structure of intellectually gifted students differed from the cognitive and personality structure of intellectually average students. In order to investigate the problem a random sample was drawn of registered students (both past and present) at the Rand Afrikaans University. These students were allocated to one of five categories according to their score (I.Q) on the New South Africa.n Group Test of Intelligence •

Although epidemiological data show that Asians are less often diagnosed with social phobia than are North Americans, North American studies show that Asians self-report higher levels of social anxiety than their European heritage counterparts. The present study examined this apparent discrepancy in an undergraduate sample of: a) students of Chinese heritage born in Hong Kong or Taiwan (N= 65), b) Canadian-born students of Chinese heritage (N= 51), and c) Canadianborn students of European heritage (N= 62). Participants completed a questionnaire battery as well as a face-to-face interview that assessed levels of social anxiety and impairment. Results showed that foreign-born Chinese participants reported significantly greater social anxiety and impairment than students of European heritage in both the questionnaire and interview format. The same general pattern was found among participants who had clinically severe levels of social anxiety.

Graduate student couples were surveyed to determine what effects their sex, graduate status, or level of marital satisfaction had on their attributions of stability, controllability, and locus of causality. There were 242 participants. Of the total, 93 couples returned questionnaires. An additional 56 individuals returned questionnaires without their spouses. The Dyadic Adjustment Scale was utilized to determine each participant's level of marital satisfaction, and the Causal Dimension Scale was used to measure their attributions about their marital satisfaction. Two research designs were developed to organize the data for analysis. The first ANOVA focused on couple dyads, while the second included all participants who returned questionnaires.In the analysis for design one, there was no support for the first hypothesis which stated that graduate students compared to non-graduate students will differ in the type of attributions they report. Support was found, however, for the second hypothesis which stated that satisfied and dissatisfied couples will differ in the type of attributions they report. Partial support was also discovered for the third hypothesis which stated that husbands will differ from wives in the locus of causality, stability, and controllability of their attributions. A significant effect was found for only the attributions of stability and controllability. There was no effect found for locus of causality. Husbands whose wives were satisfied reported more stable and more controllable attributions for their satisfaction than did husbands who were dissatisfied regardless of their wives' level of satisfaction. Wives who were satisfied and married to satisfied husbands along with dissatisfied wives married to satisfied husbands reported more controllable attributions than did wives who were married to dissatisfied husbands. Also, wives who were satisfied and married to either satisfied or dissatisfied husbands made more stable attributions than dissatisfied wives married to dissatisfied husbands.In design two, an ANOVA was conducted to investigate the following hypotheses: (4) Males will vary from females in locus, stability, and controllability attributions; (5) Satisfied and dissatisfied spouses will differ in locus, stability, and controllability attributions; and (6) Graduate students as compared to non-graduate students will differ in locus, stability, and controllability attributions.No support was obtained for the fourth hypothesis. Results did confirm, however, the fifth hypothesis. Satisfied individuals made more stable, controllable, and internal attributions about their marital satisfaction than did dissatisfied individuals. Also, partial support was found for the sixth hypothesis but only for the attribution of locus of causality. Male graduate students as compared to female graduate students made more internal attributions. Additionally, male non-graduate students made more internal attributions as compared to female graduate students.All of these results are discussed in relation to previous research on marital satisfaction and causal attributions. Implications for counseling graduate student couples are also mentioned as are methodological limitations of the current project. / Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services

This study examined the effects of a stress inoculation training program on self-reported Type A behaviour pattern (TABP) and irrational beliefs in a sample of female medical, dental, and graduate students. Thirteen female medical students from the first, second, and third years of medical school, one female dental student from the first year of dental school, and 16 female graduate student volunteers were assigned to a 6-week stress inoculation group (SI; n = 14) or a 4-hour brief treatment group (BT; n = 16) in a repeated measures (pre, post, 11-week follow-up) quasi-experimental design. Participants completed the Rational Behavior Inventory, the Irrational Beliefs Test, the Type A Irrational Beliefs Test, and the Framingham Type A Scale (modified) in order to assess treatment effects. Price's (1982) cognitive social learning model proposes that TABP is elicited and maintained, in part, by specific beliefs and the fears and anxieties that they engender. Following this model, it was hypothesized that self-reported TABP, irrational beliefs, and Type A irrational beliefs would significantly decrease, and rational behaviour, or general rational thinking, would significantly increase, from pre- to post-test and these changes would be maintained at 11-week follow-up in the SI group, compared with the BT group. Repeated measures MANOVAs with pre-planned contrasts indicated that SI was effective in significantly reducing TABP from pre-to post-test. Both SI and BT were effective in significantly decreasing irrational beliefs and Type A irrational beliefs, as well as significantly increasing rational behaviour, or general rational thinking, from pre to post-test. These changes were maintained at follow-up and provide further insight into the relationship between TABP and irrational beliefs. This study provides partial support for Price's model and implicates the use of stress inoculation training in the treatment of TABP in female medical, dental, and graduate students. Implications of these findings and suggestions for future research are discussed. / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate