Questions the assumption that administrative behavior can be changed from one pattern to a more effective one by a simple transition from one style to another. Argues that the administrator is subject to a wide range of personal, behavioral, environmental, and task constraints over which he has little or no control. (Author/WM)

The explanatory cornerstone of most currently viable social theories is a strict cost-gain assumption. The clearest formal explication of this view is contained in subjective expected utility models (SEU), in which individuals are assumed to scale their subjective likelihood estimates of decisional consequences and the personalistic worth or…

The relative power of cooperative and trusting patterns of behavior versus those of exploitation and distrust in affecting the results of group decision-making processes was investigated. The outcome of a study using the Prisoner's Dilemma Game seems to suggest the disproportionate influence of competitive people in these settings. (Author)

This study described the development of occupational decision processes over the high school years. The key processes in occupational decision development for both sexes appeared to be an information search strategy and an elaborate rationale. Both processes increased in complexity and contributed to confident feelings about occupational choices…

This is a study of decision-making patterns among urban community-living older adults. Focus is on the utilization of resources by the elderly. The sample consists of 410 respondents who were interviewed twice. The results show that action-taking related to a significant life event is the most important predictor of well-being. Significant…

Risk-taking attitudes and behaviors among young and elderly adults were investigated. Elderly subjects, from both a nursing home and the community, and college students responded to choice dilemmas involving aged central characters. Each subject responded twice, once under "self" instructions, and once as the "average elderly person" would…

This report examines the use of leisure time in North America. Some conclusions are as follows. Situational factors of association, frequency, location, and scheduling were found more highly correlated with the kinds of leisure chosen by adults than either census-data or immediate community variables. The type of activity is one significant…

This paper describes a test which attempts to measure a group of personality traits by analyzing the actual behavior of the participant in a computer-simulated game. ECHO evolved from an extension and computerization of Horstein and Deutsch's allocation game. The computerized version of ECHO requires subjects to make decisions about the allocation…

This research project examines mobility, satisfaction and power relations in black middle class families. The variables discussed are: (1) mobility patterns over three generations; (2) family structure; (3) the kinship help network; (4) decision-making patterns in the family; and (5) the level of satisfaction with their present family situation.…

Ninety college students were randomly assigned to be high or low-power and interacted with another who consistently cooperated, consistently competed, or alternately cooperated and competed. Low-power persons were hypothesized to be motivated to take another's cognitive perspective in order to reduce their uncertainty and to help them decide how…