Browsing by Author "Patricia Collins, Committee Member"

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    Functional Behavioral Assessment in Consultation: A Comparsion of Verbal Communication Patterns
    (2009-12-04) Franks, Athena Elaine; William P. Erchul, Committee Chair; Ann Schulte, Committee Member; Patricia Collins, Committee Member
    Verbal communication allows individuals to share information during consultation. Although there have been several studies investigating verbal communication patterns in traditional behavioral consultation, there have been very few investigating verbal behavior in its newer variants. Thus, the purpose of this study was to document and compare consultants’ message control and relevant content used in two types of school-based behavioral consultation. The first type of consultation was considered a traditional behavioral/ “consultation as usual†model. The second type was behavioral consultation with an added functional behavioral assessment (FBA) component, which involves a comprehensive method of assessing a client’s behavior through closely examining antecedents and consequences of the behavior (DuPaul et al., 2006; Jitendra et al., 2007). Verbal communication patterns in 16 Problem Identification Interviews were coded using the Consultation Analysis Record (Bergan & Tombari, 1975). Two hypotheses were posed: (a) consultants in the consultation condition with FBA would use greater message control than those consultants in the traditional behavioral consultation condition, and (b) consultants in the FBA condition would discuss more behaviorally-related topics than consultants in the traditional condition. Findings revealed that consultants did not use more message control in the FBA condition than in the traditional consultation condition. In fact, there was an indication that more control was used in the “consultation as usual†condition. Thus, the first hypothesis was not supported. However, as expected, findings indicated that consultants do cover more behavioral-related topics in the consultation condition with FBA. Future research considerations and limitations were discussed. Implications were provided, but are limited due to the small n, exploratory nature of the study.
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    Links Between Violence and Conflict in the Family of Origin and Conflict Resolution Strategies of Emerging Adults: An Examination of Gender Differences
    (2006-05-08) Ahern, Lisa Senatore; Mary Haskett, Committee Chair; William Erchul, Committee Member; Patricia Collins, Committee Member; Ann Schulte, Committee Member
    The purpose of the present study was to examine the relation between family violence history and conflict resolution strategies among emerging adults (ages 18-19), a group largely overlooked in the research. Undergraduates (N = 249) completed self-report questionnaires regarding conflict strategies witnessed and experienced in the home during their adolescence and regarding the likelihood of using certain conflict resolution strategies with a romantic partner in response to hypothetical vignettes. Results indicated that family violence history did not predict conflict resolution strategies for the full sample. However, for a subsample of participants who had experienced physical aggression in the home, experiencing that aggression predicted later use of hostile strategies with a romantic partner. Witnessing aggression predicted later hostile strategy use for men, but not women. For both the full and subsamples, witnessing and experiencing reasoning in the home predicted later use of prosocial strategies.
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    Relations Between Isolated Writing Skills, Executive Functions, Working Memory, and College Students' Production of Connected Text
    (2005-09-07) Mercer, Jacquelyn Gore; Susan Osborne, Committee Member; Ann Schulte, Committee Chair; Lynne Baker-Ward, Committee Member; Patricia Collins, Committee Member; William Erchul, Committee Member
    The purpose of this study was to explore potential relations between isolated writing skills, executive functions, working memory, and connected text production. The goal was to integrate concepts and measures from diverse perspectives to examine these relationships. Sixty-three students enrolled in introductory psychology completed a battery of measures, and relationships among measures were examined to test hypothesized relationships. Isolated writing skills, executive functions, and working memory measures predicted scores on a measure of unsupported production of connected text and accounted for 15 percent of the variance in scores on the connected text production measure. The contribution of executive function to written expression did not differ significantly from zero, and the manipulation designed to examine the role of executive function in written expression by reducing the organizational demands of the writing task did not have its predicted effect. Post hoc analyses suggested that flaws in the study's design may have accounted for the failure to find support for two of the three original hypotheses. Other possible interpretations for the findings and implications for future research and school psychology practice were discussed.
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    The Relationship Among Behavior, Social Cognition, and Peer Acceptance in School-Identified Children with Learning Disabilities
    (2007-12-07) Andreassi, Cristina Lynne; William Erchul, Committee Member; Ann Schulte, Committee Chair; Patricia Collins, Committee Member; Mary Haskett, Committee Member
    This study examined the relationships among social cognition, externalizing behavior, and social acceptance in children with and without learning disabilities. It was hypothesized that social-cognitive accuracy and externalizing behavior would mediate differences observed in social acceptance between children with and without learning disabilities. School-identified children with learning disabilities (N = 55) in grades 3 through 5 were compared to their non-identified peers (N= 631) in terms of social acceptance. Social acceptance was determined using peer nominations of liked most and liked least, which were converted into an overall social preference score for each child. When it was determined that children's learning disability status accounted for a small but significant portion of the variance in children's social acceptance (1.3%), mediation tests were conducted to determine if externalizing behavior or social cognitive accuracy functioned as mediators in the observed relationship. Externalizing behavior was assessed through teacher report on the Child Behavior Checklist. Social-cognitive accuracy was determined by calculating the extent to which individual children's reports of peer groups in their classrooms matched the social groups derived through Social Cognitive Mapping. The results indicated that externalizing behavior partially mediated the relationship between learning disabilities and social acceptance. No evidence was found that social-cognitive accuracy functioned as a mediator. Limitations, implications for improving children's social functioning, and future research on the social functioning, behavior, and social cognition of children with learning disabilities were discussed in light of these findings.
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    Understanding the Relations Among Students' Beliefs about Intelligence, Academic Goals, Study Behavior, and Achievement in the Context of a College Course: A Test of Predictions from Dweck's Academic Motivation Model.
    (2010-10-29) Miller, Joylynn Tenee; Ann Schulte, Committee Chair; Mary Haskett, Committee Member; Patricia Collins, Committee Member; Craig Brookins, Committee Member