Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1955. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M. Div.)--International School of Theology, 1984. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 31-32).

Thesis (M. Div.)--International School of Theology, 1984. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 31-32).

[No abstract submitted] / Education, Faculty of / Graduate

(no abstract available) / Arts, Faculty of / Philosophy, Department of / Graduate

No description available.

No description available.

Current research proposes that rumination, perseverating on thoughts about one's feelings and problems, predicts the severity, likelihood, and duration of depression (Nolen-Hoeksema, 2000; Spasojevic & Alloy, 2001). One factor that might affect rumination outcomes is the level of abstraction one adopts when thinking about negative experiences. A growing body of research demonstrates that adopting a non-abstract, concrete perspective (e.g., focusing on specific details and sensations) reduces rumination (e.g., Watkins, Baeyens, & Read, 2009). Additionally, some empirical evidence suggests that abstract thinking (e.g., focusing on values, meaning, and general concepts) increases rumination when focusing on negative content (e.g., Watkins, 2004). In contrast, other experimental studies suggest that there are types of abstract processing that reduce rumination (Kross & Ayduk 2008; Rude, Mazzetti, Pal, & Stauble, 2011). This study built on the research supporting positive effects of abstract processing. The primary aim of this study was to determine if there are types of abstract processing that, when used in conjunction with concrete processing, can reduce rumination and can do so to a greater extent than concrete processing alone. Participants were asked to examine negative experiences that were particularly bothersome and write about them from one of three perspectives: a) a mixed condition that encouraged participants to explore their abstract values and connect them to concrete thoughts and actions; b) a concrete condition that encouraged thinking only about concrete thoughts and actions; and c) a control condition that directed participants to write about their daily routines. A sample of 252 college students completed measures of rumination, OGM, and depression at pre-intervention, post-intervention, and a two week follow-up. Results indicated that the treatment effects significantly interacted with initial depression, such that participants who had high initial levels of depression had significantly lower rumination and depression in the mixed and concrete conditions compared to the control condition following the intervention. Findings suggest that treatment differences in depression were meditated by changes in rumination. The limitations and implications of the results are discussed in the context of the current literature. / text

No description available.

This is a multiple-case study about 16 university students’ (hereafter called participants) learning experience of “six-step reframing” in Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) and an exploration about whether the practice of such reframing (hereafter called the Practice) could be used to enhance the participants’ Type I thinking styles. Each participant was treated as a case on his/her own. The researcher met each voluntary participant individually on three occasions. First, each participant was given a pre-test of thinking styles, a NLP workshop, the first NLP “six-step reframing” practice, a first post-test of thinking styles and a first follow-up interview. One week later, the participant was given a second NLP “six-step reframing” practice, a second post test of thinking styles and a second follow-up interview. One month later, the participant was given a delayed final post test of thinking styles and in-depth interview for review of their experience and validation of the observations and measurements made in the entire process. All measurement results and practice and interview transcripts were analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively according to the nature of the data. Results indicated that all participants felt positively towards the experience of the Practice. Through the Practice, they were able to identify their own limiting beliefs in learning and discover some new learning methods to overcome the problems. Furthermore, a desirable increase in Type I thinking styles was observed for most of the participants after the Practice. 8 of the participants showed marked increase (with effect size≥0.8) and 3 showed slight increase (with effect size <0.8). For the remaining 5 participants, 2 of them showed marked decrease (with effect size≥0.8) and 3 showed slight decrease (with effect size <0.8). Case-by-case analysis indicated the marked increase in Type I thinking styles could reasonably be explained by certain characteristics of the methods that the participants discovered in solving their problems, as well as characteristics of the processes they experienced in the Practice, such as the internal dialogue among different sensing “parts” within their awareness and the stimulation of multiple perspective perceptions in generating new insights to overcome their limiting beliefs, which share a lot of commonality with the characteristics of Type I thinking styles. In the 2 cases of marked decrease in Type I thinking style, interfering factors like fear and illness were identified. Based on the results, the researcher argues that in order that the problem solving experience can lead to desirable changes in the participants’ preferred ways of thinking, affective aspects of the experience is also highly important. Salient features in the Practice such as “generation of positive affection”, “provision of serene environment”, “autonomy to choose freely”, “reflection upon past life experiences” and “ownership of the self-identified problems” might have contributed to explain why the Practice was effective to most participants in this research in enhancing their Type I thinking style but similar success had not been observed so far in other intervention studies using problem solving tasks. The thesis also discussed the limitations of the study and implications for further education and psychological research. / published_or_final_version / Education / Doctoral / Doctor of Education