Evaluation in constitutional law: An application to the first amendment

This article argues that program evaluation data may be useful to the courts when they are deciding First Amendment constitutional law disputes. Specifically, we focus on how program evaluation data, quantitative and qualitative, may be dispositive in dealing with two types of First Amendment cases—pornography and commercial speech. The different evaluative approaches that are warranted with each type of case are compared and contrasted. The different possible legal routes that program evaluation data may take to influence the outcome of constitutional law disputes determines the empirical type of approach to be utilized. Where pornography cases lend themselves more to social science data being used in trials, cases of commercial speech are more likely to use data at the appellate level. Social scientists interested in conducting legally relevant research should structure their research accordingly.     

Antecedents of employees' mental health—The role of career and work satisfaction

It was hypothesized that individual and situational variables, as a whole, will show stronger relationships with work-related attitudes than with mental health indices. Work-related attitudes, on the other hand, were expected to contribute more strongly to mental health than the individual and situational variables. Results obtained from two groups of staff professionals and retail store managers, using primarily questionnaire data, supported these hypotheses. Career and work satisfaction emerged as the strongest contributors to mental health. Situational variables such as job characteristics, supervisory style, and pay related more strongly to the attitudinal variables than to mental health. This pattern suggests that career and work satisfaction may serve as intervening variables in the relationship between situational variables and mental health.     

Headache and sensation seeking

According to the cognitive theory of sensation seeking, headache sufferers were predicted to score lower than controls on Zuckerman's Sensation Seeking Scale. 26 subjects who experienced chronic headaches scored significantly lower than a group of 26 controls. The relationships between the Sensation Seeking Scale and a number of personality tests are described. Replication of the findings on this scale with headache patients is encouraged as well as exploration of other personality dimensions which show significant relations with sensation seeking.     

Differential effectiveness of two classification procedures on the Bem Sex Role Inventory

Two procedures-a simple median split and a difference/median split method-were used to classify 102 male and 129 female college students into masculine, feminine, androgynous, and undifferentiated sex role orientations on the basis of their Bern Sex Role Inventory scores. Differences in classification occurred among nearly one-third of the subjects, and as expected, the difference/median split procedure was more successful in predicting sex-role ideology. Using this procedure, masculine-typed females were found to be most profeminist in their attitudes, while low masculinity females were most conservative. No significant differences were obtained for the male groups using either procedure. Future research with the BSRI and related sex-role measures should employ similar comparisons to determine the relative validity of the two procedures.     

Perceived numerosity as a function of item size

In a sample of 48 subjects, there was a significant inverse relation between item size and estimation of numerosity. This result was shown to be consistent with Gestalt theory. According to this approach, the components of good figures appear more numerous, and smaller items produce better figures.     

Measurement of visual cluster

The cluster continuum is described, along with how to measure degree of cluster and how to generate stimuli that vary along the continuum. Five experiments were performed on cluster discrimination and rating, numerosity estimation, pattern discriminability, and random generation. Difference thresholds were obtained for discrimination between random and clustered patterns, and ratings exhibited a power function with respect to cluster values of the stimuli. Numerosity estimates decreased with increasing degree of cluster, and random patterns were easier to discriminate than clustered ones. When subjects were asked to arrange items so that they appeared random, they erred on the side of regularity. The cluster continuum was discussed in relation to the distribution of living organisms and to the ecological approach of Gibson. The cluster metric was compared with the measures used in the study of response organization in free recall.     

Is the matching familiar figures test a measure of cognitive style? A warning for users

A probabilistic model of reflection-impulsivity as measured by the Matching Familiar Figures Test (MFFT) is presented and tested on 77 fourth graders. In testing the model two groups emerged, a random response group (n = 22) and a cognitive response group (n = 55), who use the evaluation process. Correlations among latencies, total errors, initial errors, school-scores, and IQs were compared for our total sample and the two groups. The correlation of MFFT latencies and errors disappeared for the random-response group and new correlations with errors appeared while the cognitive response group kept a statistically significant correlation of latencies with errors and no other error correlation was shown. This last group was classified by Kagan's median-split procedure showing that most reflective subjects kept their classification. Preliminary results suggest a reinterpretation of reflection-impulsivity literature, especially as related to the impulsive style.     

The differential relationship between attribution and depression for male and female college students

This study tested for the presence of a differential relationship between attribution and depression for male and female college students. Results yielded no significant differences within male or female positive or negative internality, stability, globality, or composite attribution scores. However, a significant correlation was found between Attributional Style Questionnaire composite negative and Beck Depression Inventory scores for males, but not for females.