Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2002. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 86-95). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 1988. / Also available in print.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2005. / Available online via OhioLINK's ETD Center; full text release delayed at author's request until 2006 Aug 15.

Thesis (M.A.)--Ohio University, March, 2007. / Title from PDF t.p. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Western Conservative Baptist Seminary, 1986. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 130-137).

AN ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS OF CHARLES ALAN PAYNE II, for the Masters of Arts degree in Criminology and Criminal Justice, presented on April 29, 2016, at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. TITLE: DOES SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY PREDICT DELINQUNECY DIFFERENTLY ACROSS URBAN, RURAL, AND SUBURBAN AREAS? MAJOR PROFESSOR: Dr. GEORGE BURRUSS The purpose of this study is to examine whether social learning theory predicts delinquency differently across urban, rural, and suburban areas. The lack of research in this area is problematic because while there are known differences between urban, rural, and suburban offending patterns, there is a lack of evidence to suggest why these patterns occur. The results of the study show that differential association, definitions, and differential reinforcement were significant across all three geographic locations. However, when analyzed by geographic location, differential reinforcement was only significant in suburban areas. In fact, differential reinforcement was the strongest predictor of delinquency in suburban areas, when differential association was the strongest in urban and rural.

Culture is a hugely important process in the evolution of humans and many non-human animals. Through the formation of long lasting traditions, culture provides an extragenetic inheritance mechanism that can facilitate rapid behavioural adaptation to novel environments. This can ultimately alter the selection pressures acting on different phenotypes including those that underlie cultural transmission itself, i.e. the mechanisms of social learning. Understanding culture poses many challenges for researchers due to the complex nature of interacting biological processes at multiple organisational and temporal scales. In this thesis I investigate some of these complexities through the integration of different theoretical and statistical modelling approaches, and argue that rich models are particularly important for the study of culture. In chapters 3 & 4 I use an evolutionary agent-based model to study the functional value and cultural significance of strategically copying from other individuals based on particular cues, such as age or payoff. I find that a bias to copy the successful can provide substantial adaptive advantages, potentially outweighing other strategic considerations such as when to engage in social learning. I also demonstrate that the strength of selection on social learning strategies is closely linked to the cultural diversity within a population. In chapters 5 & 6 I study the mechanisms of learning and how social influences can impact decision making. In chapter 5 I model the behaviour of nursery children and chimpanzee groups when solving a complex task and identify clear species differences in the importance of different forms of learning on decision making. Finally, in chapter 6 I use an agent-based model to examine the influence of population structure on the spread of novel behaviour. I demonstrate that, contrary to infectious disease type models, when learning occurs through operant conditioning, highly clustered network structures promote cultural transmission rather than hinder it.

I study information dissemination and opinion formation in a framework of evolving social networks. Individuals take weighted averages repeatedly to update their opinions. They also update their assessments on others' opinions, represented by an influence weight matrix. It is proven that both opinions and the influence weights are convergent. In the steady state, consensus is reached where all individuals hold the same opinion. Convergence occurs with an extended model as well, which indicates the tremendous influential power possessed by a minority group. Then I impose a dual network structure, where individuals not only collect information, but also use the information to play a coordination game with a selected group of opponents that one is connected with. All individuals update their strategies based on a naive learning process within a separate influence network in which information is disseminated. The selection of opponents also gets updated over time. I calculate the critical values of costs associated with connections for different network structures and strategies to occur in the steady state. Finally, I investigate the outcomes of social learning under various exogenous network structures. Individuals use an algorithm that takes into account both proximity of opinions and impact of neighbors. Results also show consensus, with convergence speed correlated with the network structure. In addition, an endogenous network formation in two stages that utilizes network and distance between agents' opinions is proposed. The resulting networks show power-law patterns in degree distribution. / Ph. D.

This study explored the math attitudes of gifted students in grades three, four, five, and six participating in an accelerated math program with a focus on gifted girls in the elementary grades. Eight of the nine domains of the Fennema-Sherman Mathematics Attitudes Scale (MAS) were used to survey the math attitudes of 267 gifted boys and girls, in grades three through six. The domains explored the math attitudes of students within the following areas; attitude towards success, mother's attitude, father's attitude, anxiety, motivation, usefulness, teacher's attitude, and confidence. This study includes research involving gifted education; math attitudes, and educational applications of Bandura's social learning theory. Survey responses were used to compile descriptive and inferential statistics. Using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) and a predetermined alpha level of .05, a multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) compared the groups within the domain clusters. Data analysis yielded two significant main effects in anxiety (.002) and motivation (.008). Anxiety emerged as the most significant finding of the study. Girls revealed more negative math attitudes compared to the boys at all grade levels. Interaction in motivation between fourth and sixth grade and fifth and sixth grade were significant at the.05 level. The results of this study may be used as a vehicle or catalyst for the implementation of a school or district wide training program for teachers of gifted students. These results could be used to spawn discussions with guidance counselors and others investigating the emotional and academic implications of accelerated math programs. / Ed. D.

A network-based method is developed for analyzing use in stone tool assemblages, where 'use' denotes the tasks for which chipped edges are suitable. Modeling chipped edges as nodes, use-wear and retouch as edge traversals, use-life trajectories of chipped edges as inter-connecting paths, and `tools' as subnetworks over which design tolerances are maintained on edge morphology, the method is an attempt to improve on existing models, allowing for complex, continuous change and multiple uses throughout a chipped edge's use-life. Avoiding analogy-based categories, the method is designed to highlight rather than obscure the possibilities for use and multi-use. Potential for integration into social-learning based models of cultural evolution is considered. The metric is employed to address the widely noted paucity of lithics in Late Prehistoric contexts of the southeastern U.S. Specifically, the Lyon's Bluff site (22OK520, Oktibbeha County, Mississippi) is shown to exhibit substantial use-capacity, suggesting that paucity does not imply divestment.