Possessive pronouns: Why are plurals harder?

Twenty-four children between the ages of 2 1/2 and 5 years were given paint boxes such that they either shared one box between two or owned one box each. They were then asked to point to the boxes as specified by possessive pronouns: either plural possessive pronouns or pairs of singular possessive pronouns. The use of plural possessive pronouns adversely affected performance in all groups, but the type of ownership of the paint boxes did not. The results also suggest that the third-person pronouns cause fewest problems for children while second-person pronouns cause most. The findings are discussed in terms of the order of acquisition of plural pronouns, and the reasons that plural pronouns should cause more problems than singular possessive pronouns.     

The insanity sentence: Oregon's psychiatric security review board

In response to the dilemma of management of mentally ill persons who commit crimes, Oregon has created the Psychiatric Security Review Board (PSRB) to administrate the supervision and treatment of insanity acquittees. This paper presents an overview of the PSRB structure and examines the quasi-criminal justice features of Oregon's Insanity Sentence. The primary goal of the PSRB is the protection of societý. The maximum sentence, had the individual been found guilty, becomes the PSRB's jurisdictional period for that former defendant. A review of the administrative rules for conditional release and revocation of release that the PSRB is now in the process of adopting are described. The authors conclude that the PSRB is a promising approach which offers better community protection and better treatment for mentally ill offenders (NGRIs) than does the present prison parole system.     

Promoting safety belt use among state employees: the effects of prompting and a stimulus-control intervention.

This study assessed the effects of dashboard stickers and signature sheets on safety belt use among occupants of state-owned vehicles in three Florida agencies. The stickers and signature sheets contained information regarding a regulation requiring safety belt use and a consequence of a 25% reduction in benefits for noncompliance if the driver were to become involved in an accident. Safety belt use significantly increased during the intervention phase in all three agencies and maintained variable but high levels for 5 months. In Agency 1 and Agency 2 (stickers plus signature sheets) safety belt use increased from averages of 10.8% and 9.4% during baseline to 57.4% and 47.0%, respectively, during intervention. In Agency 3 (stickers only) the rates of safety belt use averaged 9.7% during baseline and 38.0% during intervention. Some increases in private vehicle use were observed. A substantial reduction in workers'' compensation claim costs was shown for the target agencies with some reductions also shown in the nontarget agencies.     

Concurrent validation of Hutt's Bender Gestalt screening method for schizophrenia, depression, and brain damage

The effectiveness of Hutt's Bender Gestalt scoring system in screening for schizophrenia, depression, and brain damage was investigated in a sample of mixed, psychiatric inpatients. Fifteen patients represented each diagnostic category. After an examination of each patient's Bender Gestalt protocol according to Hutt's criteria, it was found that the true positive and true negative success rates of the screening procedures for depression and brain damage were significantly higher than corresponding base rates. The Lacks Bender Gestalt screening method for brain damage was no more successful than the Hutt method in identifying true positives and true negatives. With the brain-damaged patients excluded, Hutt's screening procedures for both depression and schizophrenia resulted in significantly high rates of successful identification of true positives and true negatives. Moreover, these rates did not significantly differ from those determined by patients' Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) T scores on corresponding scales.     

Inferential theory for partially disattenuated correlation coefficients

Four measurement designs are presented for use with correlation coefficients corrected, in one variable, for attenuation due to unreliability—coefficients that we term partially disattenuated correlation coefficients. Asymptotic expressions are derived for the variances and covariances of the estimates accompanying each design. Empirical simulation results that bear on the preceding mathematical developments are then presented. In addition to providing insights into the distributions of the estimates, the empirical results demonstrate satisfactory Type I error control for typical inferential applications. Power is shown to be equal to or greater than that of corresponding product-moment correlations in three of the four designs. Implications for practice are discussed.Support for the research reported in this article was provided by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. The authors acknowledge with thanks the contributions of Nancy E. Heckman to some of the theoretical aspects of the study.     

Job and home attitudes of undergraduate women and their mothers

Seventy-seven undergraduate women and their mothers participated in a study of job/home attitudes. All subjects rated 10 conflict elements and 8 conflict types: mothers also rated the conflict elements and types retrospectively, as young adults, and responded to related open-ended questions. Cohort effects were stronger than historical period or stage-of-life effects. Mothers' current and retrospective responses both indicated significantly more interest, confidence, and perceived external support for home-related than job-related activities, whereas daughters' responses reflected approximately equal interest, confidence, and support for home- and job-related activities.