Date of Award

4-2006

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

Dr. John Austin

Second Advisor

Dr. Mark Alavosius

Third Advisor

Dr. Alyce Dickinson

Fourth Advisor

Dr. Keith Ruckstuhl

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a package intervention that included discrimination training, real-time visual feedback, and self-monitoring on postural behavior at a computer workstation in a simulated office environment. A total of 21 participants were screened for participation, and eight of those participated throughout the study. A non-concurrent multiple baseline design across participants was used to assess the effects of the interventions across three postural variables. Following an information-only phase, participants were exposed to the intervention for the lowest stable postural variable. For most targeted postural variables, the intervention implemented in this study led to substantial improvements in safety behavior. A reversal to information-only for two participants did not lead to decreases in safety. A statistically significant correlation (r = .79; p > .001) was observed between self-monitoring accuracy and safety levels. Furthermore, an additional analysis revealed that occurrences of self-monitoring resulted in more frequent improvements in posture in the interval following monitors than would be expected by chance alone. The possible behavioral functions responsible for these performance improvements are discussed. Reproduced with

Access Setting

Dissertation-Open Access

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