Based on a study of 120 United States households, two methodological issues underlying research concerning family role and authority are examined: incongruency in husband-wife responses and coherence of authority patterns across a range of family decisions and tasks. Question ambiguity is a major source of incongruity in husband-wife response.…

This paper describes a two-stage sampling design for obtaining probability samples of the elderly and other specialized populations. Results indicate elderly individuals will respond, use of the design does not appear to increase sample bias, and the method is extremely inexpensive. (Author)

The paper describes instruments for determining preferences of consumers for selected product characteristics associated with furniture choices--specifically style, color, color scheme, texture, and materials--and the procedures for administration of those instruments. Results are based on a random sampling of public housing residents. (Author/MW)

This study investigates the reactive effects of observers on interactions between teachers (undergraduates and mothers) and toddlers in a preventive educational program. Findings indicate that the presence of an observer differentially affects interactional patterns in the home. More specifically, undergraduates and toddlers are relatively…

One threat to the internal validity of coached-client analogue research provided a stimulus for this study of verification of experimental control of role performance. The study contrasts the judgments regarding one client's role performances which are made by both trained and untrained observers. The conclusion is that trained observers yield…

The process of assertive behavior change of college women who received assertion training (AT) and cognitive restructuring was examined to assess the relative effects of different durations of exposure to cognitive restructuring. Undergraduate and graduate women students (N=27) at a state university volunteered and were screened for AT groups.…

This paper presents a research method derived from the functional analysis of behavior currently common among operant behavior therapists. Naturalistic observation, the method used, encompasses behavioral-level description of events, systematic observation and recording by means of codes, assessment of inter-judge reliability, as well as targeting…

Utilizing research conducted on nostalgia, this paper shows how a phenomenological approach assists in understanding behavior, experience and expression. Moreover, a clearer understanding of them aids one's research with and comprehension of nostalgia. Human action can be studied from the experiential, behavioral and expressive perspectives. These…

A research project of environmental learning in children is discussed. Most of the studies conducted during the research involved observation of children aged 3-12, in mapping and free environmental behavior, and in curricular experiments using perceptual surrogates for map-learning and macro-environmental conceptualization in the lower elementary…