Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences - Theses
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ItemPersonal attributes in inter-personal contexts: statistical models for individual characteristics and social relationships( 1998-07)The thesis develops models for social phenomena based on two primitive concepts: individual and relation. The models - based on the p* class of models for social networks - are designed to examine the inter-dependence of individual characteristics together with the social relations that exist among those individuals. The goal of constructing such models is to extend the capacity to develop rich descriptions of social processes. Relations among individuals are represented by a network or networks of interpersonal ties. The first part of the thesis describes models solely for such sets of relational ties. Techniques to represent data dependencies, approaches to model interpretation, and methods for valued attribute and relational data, are developed. (For complete abstract open document)
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ItemThe effectiveness of three treatment regimens used in the management of neonatal abstinence syndrome( 1995-09)This study proposed a multifactorial model of development to understand the development of infants during their first 12 months of life who had been born to chemically dependent women. The impact of maternal chemical dependency on pregnancy outcome, factors associated with severity of neonatal abstinence syndrome and effectiveness of three treatments used in the management of neonatal abstinence syndrome was studied in 271 mother-infant pairs, who were managed by the Chemical Dependency Unit, Royal Women’s Hospital, Melbourne between April 1991 and May 1994. The chemically dependent mothers and their infants were grouped on the basis of their primary drug of abuse: viz methadone, heroin, non-opioid and codeine groups. Fifty two infants born to drug-free mothers were recruited from a routine antenatal clinic of the same hospital to serve as a control group. The controls were matched for maternal age, marital status, race socioeconomic status, educational level, alcohol and tobacco consumption. Patterns of maternal drug use were determined by reports from methadone treatment programs, drug rehabilitation centres, medical records, personal interviews and urine toxicologic assays performed on mothers during pregnancy and on their infants during the first 48 hours of life. Urine was assayed for metabolites of methadone, amphetamines, barbiturates, cocaine, opiates, cannabis and benzodiazepines. There were 180 heroin-dependent, one morphine-dependent and one pethidine-dependent pregnant women enrolled in methadone maintenance programs. The methadone group consisted of these 182 methadone-maintained women and their offspring. Thirty five heroin-dependent women and their offspring formed the heroin group. The non-opioid group consisted of 46 chemically dependent women who used multiple drugs but not opioid drugs during their pregnancy and their offspring. There were eight mother-infant pairs in the codeine group. The mothers in this group primarily abused medication containing codeine in pregnancy. (For complete abstract open document)
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ItemLinguistic politeness in middle childhood: its social functions, and relationships to behaviour and development( 1997-07)This research compared Brown and Levinson’s “face saving” account of linguistic politeness with the everyday or social normative account in the context of children’s requesting skills. The research also explored the relationship between children’s politeness skills and their behavioural adjustment. The subjects comprised four groups of ten-and-a-half year old children: a comparison group without behaviour problems, a hostile-aggressive group; an anxious-fearful group; and a comorbid group. All the children were selected from the Australian Temperament Project subject population based on parents’ ratings of the children on the hostile-aggressive and anxious-fearful subscales of the Rutter Child Behaviour Questionnaire. Study 1 found that all the groups of children discriminated between others on the power and distance dimensions in ways consistent with social norms, e.g. adults are judged as more powerful than children. Study 1 also showed that the hostile-aggressive and comorbid groups were significantly less likely to discriminate between others on these dimensions compared to the comparison group. Study 2 showed that for all the children studied politeness as a normative way of speaking was marked by use of please whereas face saving politeness was marked by the use of question directives and hints compared to other request forms. Further, Study 2 showed that there were no differences between children with and without behaviour problems in their use of please to mark different ways of asking.
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ItemMultiple loss: a phenomenology of attachment and its felt absence in fostered children( 1997)This thesis addresses two questions. The first concerns the shape of contemporary attachment theory and the place for a phenomenological approach to research in this field. The second applies this idea to the study of attachment disruption as experienced in childhood, specifically exploring the lived world of attachment and its absence for six multiply fostered children. Phenomenological psychology is concerned with explicating and describing the fullness of human experience, as lived in its immediacy, prior to theory or reflection. This thesis originated in the regret that while this kind of understanding once existed in John Bowlby’s early writings, it has since been “worn smooth with use” by the experimental frame in which attachment has predominantly come to be examined. Chapter 1 looks at the phenomenological insights apparent in Bowlby’s writings, before tracing the movement away from these roots by the contemporary attachment field through its ongoing adherence to the experimental paradigm and concern with typology. From this base, the review of literature shows that the foster care and adoption fields have tended to use attachment theory for its ability to explain and predict behaviour. As a consequence, the field has yielded very little knowledge about the inner world of attachment, particularly as experienced by children who have endured multiple disruptions and losses in caregiving. Chapters 2 and 3 layout the origins of the phenomenological method and its application within the present research. Findings from the analyses of interviews and drawings are presented in the form of phenomenological depth descriptions in Chapter 4. Here, the Individual and General Structures layout the psychological predicates for the experiences of “feeling attached” and of “not feeling attached”. The interface of attachment as lived by these children and attachment as theorised is then explored in the final chapter.
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ItemParaphilias: a developmental approach to psychopathology( 1998)It is proposed that developmental psychopathology provides a theoretical framework for advancing our understanding of paraphilias. This study involved a group of 63 community-based sex offenders, and 33 non-violent, non-sex, non-drug related offenders; the 63 sex offenders were further classified into the four subgroups of pedophilia, exhibitionism, rape, and multiple paraphilia. These groups overlapped in membership because of co-occurring paraphilic diagnoses. The present investigation set out to identify: a) the general, common, and specific developmental risk factors for paraphilias; b) the general, common and specific psychopathological features of paraphilias; and c) the relationships between the developmental risk factors and psychopathological features. The current results showed that: a) Childhood Emotional Abuse and Family Dysfunction, Childhood Sexual Abuse, and Childhood Behaviour Problems were general developmental risk factors for paraphilias; and b) Anger and Hostility, and Sexual Maladjustment and Heterosocial Skills Deficit were general psychopathological features of paraphilias. In order to overcome the methodological problem associated with analyses of co-occurring paraphilic diagnoses, a special analytic procedure was put in place, and this procedure involved systematic comparisons of the results of logistic regression analyses. The outcome of this procedure indicated that: a} Childhood Emotional Abuse and Family Dysfunction was a common developmental risk factor for the various types of paraphilias; b) Childhood Sexual Abuse was a specific developmental risk factor for pedophilia; c) Anger and Hostility was a common psychopathological feature for the various types of paraphilias; d) Sexual Maladjustment and Heterosocial Skills Deficit was a specific psychopathological feature of pedophilia; and e) Anger and Hostility was also a specific psychopathological feature of multiple paraphilia (suggesting a high level of Anger and Hostility for multiple paraphilia). No specific developmental risk factors were identified for exhibitionism, rape, or multiple paraphilia; nor was any specific psychopathological feature found for exhibitionism, or rape. Analyses at the variable level also demonstrated some interesting findings for the various types of paraphilias in terms of anger, anger expression, insecure attachment styles, heterosocial and sexual adjustment. The results of this study are discussed in relation to a developmental psychopathology perspective for paraphilias and other models of sexual offending.
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ItemEarly neuropsychological change in possible dementia of the Alzheimer type( 1996)Early detection of dementia of the Alzheimer type (DAT) is vital in understanding the natural course of the disease, which in turn guides the development of potential pharmacological treatment and management strategies. However, early detection of DAT has traditionally proved difficult. The study described in this thesis comprehensively examined neuropsychological function over a 24 month period in patients with early dementia, using as comparison groups individuals with isolated memory complaints (questionable dementia, QD), and normal controls. The neuropsychological battery utilised included standard measures of cognition, such as the WAIS-R and WMS-R, and experimentally-derived computerised tests of memory. The same pattern of neuropsychological change was exhibited by patients with early DAT and by QD subjects who later fulfilled standard criteria for the disease. In both groups pronounced impairment of recent memory preceded deficits in language and visuospatial function. The progression of cognitive deterioration observed in DAT is likely to reflect the spread of neuropathology throughout the cortex. In view of these findings, the selection of appropriate neuropsychological measures for the detection and staging of early DAT is discussed. One computerised measure, the paired associate learning test, was found to be particularly efficacious in the prediction and early detection of DAT. The QD group performed at a similar level to normal controls when first assessed using the paired associate learning subtest. However, over the course of the study, 43% of the QD subjects exhibited significant deterioration in scores on this measure. All subjects who deteriorated on the computerised paired associate learning task met standard criteria for DAT at the conclusion of the study. Diagnosis of probable DAT was not predicted by any other demographic or psychometric variable. These findings are discussed in terms of the special sensitivity of the associate learning paradigm to the neuropathology of Alzheimer's disease.
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ItemSelf-discrepancy and emotion in the workplace: ban exploration of the place of the other in self-discrepancy theory( 1997)According to Self-Discrepancy Theory (SDT; Higgins, 1987), self-perceptions measured in a specified manner are associated with specific kinds of emotional vulnerability. The theory predicts that discrepancies between the self-concept (actual self) and two kinds of personally-relevant standards (ideal and ought self-guides) are associated, respectively, with dejection-related and agitation-related emotions. This thesis places SDT in a workplace context, attempting to integrate aspects of the theory with models of emotion proposed by Russell (1980) and Dahl (1979). According to SDT, the type of emotional experience associated with individuals’ beliefs about themselves depends in part on whether the individual takes her or his own standpoint or that of a significant other. The major focus of this thesis is on self-discrepancies involving the Other standpoint, or interpersonal self-discrepancies. It is argued that, while SDT provides a conceptually balanced set of predictions regarding self-discrepancies from the Own standpoint, predictions regarding the link between interpersonal self-discrepancies and emotions are less theoretically coherent. The goal of this thesis is to formulate a model of interpersonal self-discrepancies and emotions. A major argument is that such a model may require that interpersonal emotions be assessed. To this end, a new measure of emotions is developed, based on Dahl's (1979) distinction between me (intrapsychic) and it (object-directed) emotions. It is further argued that a model of interpersonal self-discrepancies may require an expansion of the Other standpoint, to represent the variety of others which influence the self. A multifaceted Other standpoint is explored in three ways: contrasting personal with institutional significance; examining sex effects; and contrasting the relational modes of Fiske's (1991) social relations theory. Using data from three Australian samples, organized in terms of six studies, links between emotions and self-discrepancies involving different types of Other standpoints are examined with respect to actual:ideal (AI), actual:ought (AO), and actual-own:actual-other (AA) discrepancies. The predictions of SDT include the idea that AI self-discrepancies, involving the perceived failure to meet aspirations, are associated with the low-arousal negative emotion, dejection, and that AO self-discrepancies, involving the perceived failure to meet one's obligations, are associated with the high-arousal negative emotion, agitation. Through exploration of AA discrepancies, the self-discrepancy model is expanded to include the notion of self-verification (Swann, 1983). In particular, it is suggested that routine and crisis self-verification strategies are connected, respectively, with low-arousal and high-arousal emotions. The empirical studies focus on workplace-specific self-discrepancies and emotions. They show that actual:self-guide discrepancies involving the Other standpoint are associated with emotion when the other is the work supervisor. In addition, type of other moderates the link between AA self-discrepancies and emotion. Only when a relationship is close (communal) or hierarchical (authority-based) is the link between AA discrepancies and emotion evident. These findings are used to construct a model of interpersonal self-discrepancies as they relate to the workplace. The applicability of SDT to the workplace is then explored by testing a mediational hypothesis, that self-discrepancies influence job satisfaction through experienced emotion. Support for this hypothesis across a range of self-discrepancy types demonstrates the importance of SDT in accounting for job satisfaction. It is concluded that an interpersonal perspective on self-discrepancy and emotion is pertinent in the workplace.
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ItemMeasuring attention in sport( 1997)Concentration, or attentional functioning, is an integral aspect of successful sporting performance yet there is not commensurate research into attention in sport. To assist in promoting research and to provide an instrument for applied purposes, a self-report questionnaire measuring attentional tendencies in sport was developed. To lay the ground work, a comprehensive review of the Test of Attentional and Interpersonal Style (TAIS - Nideffer, 1976; the major instrument used to assess attentional style in sport) was conducted. The clear conclusion was that the TAIS generally lacks external validity. A study examining the internal validity of the TAIS using two samples of21 0 psychology students in a cross-validation design failed to support the TAIS measurement model. A number of items failed to load satisfactorily (<0.30) in a Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA). The most damaging outcome was that 44% of items correlated better with a non-target subscale, indicating poor discriminant validity. Using the same samples, the TAIS was restructured in a cross-validation design producing a three factor model measuring broad attention, narrow attention, and poor focus, which proved to be the 'best' model. The possibility of measuring at least three aspects of attention provided the stimulus for the new test. The new test (Attention and Concentration Tendencies Survey - ACTS) was designed to measure nine dimensions: broad and narrow attention, alertness, flexibility, task-relevant attention, internal and external attention, distractibility, and flow concentration. Two hundred and eighty-six items designed specifically for sport were written to assess these dimensions. The new test went through successive stages of refinement involving content, structural, and external validation. To provide content validation, seven experts in Sport Psychology independently made item-scale ratings that were converted to factor scores indicating each item's relationship with each dimension. These factor scores were then used to develop "core" scales (i.e., the best 15 items on each scale). Empirical validation was then conducted to develop the scales based on these nine' core' scales. Data from an initial sample of university athletes (n= 100) was used to add items to the "core" scales where there was a sufficient relationship with the target 'core' scale, and demonstrated discriminant validity. These provisional scales (1=210) were cross-validated on a second sample of university athletes (n=50), resulting in an insufficient number of items representing the narrow attention and flow concentration scales. The narrow attention scale items were combined with task-relevant attention items and the flow concentration items were re-distributed to other scales. This reassignment was conducted on the initial sample of 100 and cross-validated in the second sample. After this reiteration, 110 items remained representing seven scales. Further refinement, based on the combined samples (n=150) reduced the test to 90 items. A study using two samples of university athletes (n1=72 & 112=74) indicated no problems with social desirability. The final stage of test development cross-validated the measurement model using a large sample of333 athletes of which approximately 50% were 'high' or 'elite' - standard athletes. The test was refined to 73 items representing seven scales (broad attention, narrow attention, flexibility, alertness, internal distraction, external distraction, and distractibility). The CFA overall goodness of fit statistics were only moderate (e.g., CFI=O.66). However, this fit was superior to one and two-factor models. Parameter fit was very good and reliabilities were excellent (0.87-0.94). Despite the high discriminant validity of the parameters, some high latent interscale correlations (0.60-0.72) were evident. It was argued that the test represented a good fit given the size of the model (i=73) and other supporting evidence. Higher-order models were examined and although they were not the 'best' fitting models, they did suggest some dimensions may be higher-order aspects of attentional functioning, namely, alertness and flexible attention. Preliminary external validation of the test with competitive trait anxiety, attentional style, sporting standard, and social desirability revealed some evidence for convergent and discriminant validity.
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ItemThe occupational aspirations of Singaporean students : circumscription and compromise( 1994)This study examined Gottfredson's (1981) circumscription-compromise theory in relation to the occupational aspirations of Secondary Four (10th-grade) students in Singapore. In circumscription, individuals first eliminate occupations that are unacceptable to them on the basis of occupational sextype and prestige. The result would be a "zone of acceptable alternatives" (ZOAA), within which people explore occupations of acceptable sextype and prestige, and would specify the most job-self compatible options to be their occupational aspirations. These range from the ideal (most desired job)' to the realistic (expected job) to what is just acceptable (tolerable job), depending on reality factors that may require individuals to adjust their aspirations in this manner. This is the notion of compromise that is investigated in the study. Circumscription and compromise were examined in relation to students' gender, career self-efficacy, and socio-educational background. Two hierarchical regression models -- the circumscription and occupational aspirations models -- were also formulated to predict the occupational preferences of students. A total of 1695 Secondary Four students (863 males and 832 females) responded to the Student Occupational Aspirations Questionnaire (SOAQ) with the aid of a JOB LIST. Students nominated a Rejected, Ideal, Expected and Tolerable Job representing their circumscription/rejection-preference decisions (a ZOAA). Students' perceptions of these occupations in terms of job sextype, job status, career self-efficacy, reality constraints, and reasons for circumscription-compromise were examined. Criterion measures were also included to define job sextype and job status. The main findings of the study generally supported Gottfredson's (1981) theory in the Singapore context. In the results, construct validity of circumscription and the zone of acceptable alternatives was established. Students rejected unacceptable occupations on the basis of inappropriate occupational sextype, unacceptable level of occupational status, and lower career self~efficacy expectations. Educational and social-psychological constraints were perceived as the main circumscription reasons. In contrast, job status of occupational aspirations was significantly different from that of rejected occupations. Job sextype of occupational aspirations was also perceived to be more gender-appropriate than that of rejected occupations. Males generally preferred male-dominated and sex-neutral jobs, while females preferred sex-neutral occupations when given the freedom to choose. Females were more willing to choose cross-gender occupations than the males. Students also compromised job sextype and job status when aspirations were compromised. In making job sextype compromises, females reverted to choosing female dominated occupations, while males tended to maintain their sextype preferences. In terms of job status compromise, gender differences, and that due to specific socio-educational factors (expressing academic ability) were also found. In general, fewer status compromises were made between the ideal and expected job, than between the expected and tolerable job. For the models predicting occupational preferences, career self-efficacy showed the greatest influence in the rejection decisions of students. Educational constraints better predicted circumscription of higher status occupations, while social-psychological constraints better explained the circumscription of lower status occupations. Socioeconomic status and the factors expressing students' academic ability were the best predictors of job status of occupational aspirations. Both models tended to predict females' occupational preferences better than the males', especially when criterion measures were used. The results of the whole study were discussed in terms of their implications for career counselling and for future research.