published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / Educational Psychology / Master / Master of Social Sciences

published_or_final_version / Social Sciences / Master / Master of Philosophy

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This study was concerned with the perceptions of the members of a college wrestling team which was oganized and operated according to a theory of personal processes. The setting of the study is Pima Community College, Tucson, Arizona. A personal processes theory was derived from the literature of democratic processes as one of two frames of reference. This frame of reference was used to organize the dissertation, develop the questionnaire, and present the data. It included the following categories: (1) contact; (2) consult; (3) find; (4) share; and (5) accompany. A perceptual psychology theory was also derived from the literature as the second frame of reference. This frame of reference was used for the purpose of analyzing the data. It included the following categories: (1) perceptual field; (2) perceptions; (3) needs; (4) self-perceptions; and (5) behavior. Each category of the personal processes theory was organized and presented as follows: (1) a statement concerning the category under examination; (2) certain category related questionnaire statements displaying composite quantitative findings; (3) representative respondents' comments to each questionnaire statement; and (4) an examination of respondents' comments employing the perceptual framework. According to the theory of personal processes used in this investigation: (1) contact is the very beginning of person-to-person relationships; (2) consult is the next step in contact. It constitutes the efforts of one person to learn about another through dialogue; (3) find is the possible outcome of contact and consult. It suggests the discovery of some of the other person's needs, interests, concerns, aspirations, etc.; (4) share is the culmination of the contact, consult, and find categories. It constitutes that stage of the process where the involved persons exchange ideas regarding the identified needs, interests, concerns, aspirations, etc.; and (5) accompany is the final action phase of the process. In this stage, the involved persons actually do things together in pursuing the identified interests of the person. The theory of personal processes utilized by the wrestling coaches at Pima Community College was found to be highly regarded by most of the respondents. Although certain respondents commented that they were at first reluctant to accept this approach, the majority of the team members had little or no difficulties in adjusting to it. They felt that it served their needs, interests, and feelings more nearly than their previous wrestling experiences. The respondents commented that they perceived the opportunity to participate in the decision-making process and the warm, friendly, and supportive atmosphere created by the coaches as major factors in their respective decisions to attend Pima Community College and wrestle. For the wrestling coach who desires to employ an alternative to the coach-centered, traditional approach to coaching, the use of the theory of personal processes is recommended. It is immediately applicable to the following concerns of wrestling team members and their coaches: (1) recruiting; (2) financial aid; (3) housing; (4) enrolling in school; and (5) the acquisition of wrestling skills.

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The objectives of this research program were to provide evidence of the distinction between global and specific relational models and to assess their relative contributions in the experience of significant life events and daily social interactions. Relationship-specific models were operationalized in two ways: in terms of significant role relationships and in terms of salience (i.e., frequency of interactions). The association between global relational models and specific models, selected on the basis of the other's role (Study 1) or salience (Study 2), was examined. Results indicate that these constructs were correlated, but not redundant. / Moderate stabitily of global and specific models was found over 4 months. Analyses examining the extent to which change in this network of models operated through top-down or bottom-up processes suggested that change occurred mainly as a bottom-up process. Models of self and other for established relationships were generalized to the global models, but the global models did not contribute much to shaping changes in specific models. / Adjustment to two different life events was examined to distinguish between the contributions of global and distinct relationship-specific models in the experience of events eliciting different relational needs. Adjustment to university, anticipated to induce secure base needs, was in part explained by the global model of self and also by the model of other for father. In contrast, adjustment to a romantic breakup, expected to arouse safe haven needs, was associated with the model of self with a close friend, but not parental or global models. / Finally, global and specific models of self and other contributed to explaining the experience of daily interactions within relationships. Relationship-specific models of other were most strongly associated with the quality and intimacy of interactions. The global model of other made modest, but significant additional contributions to explain these ratings. The global model of self moderated the association between specific models of self and ratings of interactions to explain a significant, yet small proportion of the variance. In sum, this research demonstrated that attachment or relational models can be considered both global and specific representational structures, reflecting relational as well as individual differences.