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Effective conservation requires an understanding of the genetic interactions among populations and individuals of a species, particularly those with fragmented, isolated distributions. Alnus maritima (seaside alder) is a rare tree species with an extremely fragmented distribution of highly isolated populations in the Delmarva Peninsula, Georgia, and Oklahoma. We conducted a mating system study to estimate the outcrossing rate, inbreeding coefficient, biparental inbreeding rate, and correlation of paternity in progeny from a Georgia and an Oklahoma population to investigate the effects of isolation on the A. maritima mating system. Data from nine microsatellite loci showed similarly high multilocus outcrossing rates in both populations (tm = 0.94). Individual tree outcrossing rates were also high (tm = 0.873–1.047). There was no significant biparental inbreeding in either population, but there was significantly higher correlated paternity in the Oklahoma population. Results showed the high out...

Small, isolated populations are prone to genetic drift and high levels of inbreeding that can threaten their long-term survival. Alnus maritima persists exclusively in three groups of small, highly disjunct, regional populations in the Delmarva Peninsula, Georgia, and Oklahoma. Trees in the three regions are recognized as separate subspecies. Microsatellite markers were used to measure fine-scale population genetic diversity and structure (1) within and among regions and (2) within and among populations in each region. Compared to a previous study utilizing allozymes, microsatellite data show higher levels of variation, lower levels of inbreeding, but similar levels of genetic differentiation among regions. Significant genetic differentiation was detected among regions and among distinct populations within regions. Genetic differentiation was significantly correlated with geographic distance among regional populations, but not among populations within regions. Populations, therefore, likely represent fragments of formerly extensive networks of populations that have decayed and retracted due to competition with other species better adapted to the shadier habitats of late-succession environments. The unique genetic features of populations within different regions should be considered as part of future conservation efforts.

Using a 2 × 2 analysis of variance design, effects of dogmatism and field dependence on subjects' awareness of demand characteristics in a verbal operant conditioning experiment were investigated. From 103 introductory psychology students who participated in a replication of an earlier verbal conditioning experiment, 92 were randomly selected for final study. It was found that only subjects aware of the purpose of the conditioning study appeared to “condition”. Subject awareness was assessed by a series of converging questions which were independently content analyzed by two judges and coded to yield a total awareness score. Based on earlier research it was expected that dogmatism and field dependence would interact to affect levels of awareness. The two-way interaction was statistically significant (p < .05) as predicted. The results were discussed in terms of speculations regarding the modes of perceptual functioning involved in perceiving demand cues.

Summary In a conventional impression formation paradigm, five sets of descriptions of an anonymous person were developed with use of adjectives selected from positive and negative extremes of Anderson's list of personality trait words. Effects of sex of S, proportions of the descriptions that were consistent, and valence (positive or negative evaluative sign) of the words listed by Ss were studied in a 2 × 4 × 2 factorial design using 176 Ss (88 of each sex). Following the descriptions and a brief interpolated activity, Ss were asked to recall the exact descriptive words included in the original description. Both words correctly recalled and words listed, independent of correctness, were employed as dependent measures. Predictions of a positivity bias for words listed (i. e., more positive adjectives listed than negative) were supported for the measure not requiring correct recall (p < .01). Also not considering word correctness, females produced more positive or fewer negative adjectives than males (p < ...

Summary The components of cartoon humor were analyzed in order to determine the effects of caption, picture, and interaction between caption and picture of the humor rating of the whole cartoon. Twenty-one male and female college students rated a set of 51 cartoons, presented either complete, or with picture or caption missing. It was found that the humor of the cartoon picture was positively related to the humor rating of the entire cartoon, and this effect was particularly true for highly humorous cartoons. The multiplicative interaction between picture and caption was highly correlated with humor ratings for funny cartoons, but not for less funny cartoons. This finding is taken as providing support for an incongruity notion of cartoon structure.

Summary.-The present study, conducted just prior to the 1973 U. S. Supreme Court decision on abortion, focused on effects of personality characteristics and one healch-profession choice (student nursing vs a liberal am major) upon attitudes towad abortion. Ss were 96 students from an introductory psychology class, 49 student nurses, and 46 liberal arts maiors. It was predicted that student nurses would be more negative toward legalizing abortion than would liberal arts majors. Results supported this prediction (p < .025). Personality characteristics were assessed by the 16 PF (Cattell, Eber, & Tatsuoka, 1970) and were analyzed to yield four second-order factors: anxiety vs adjustment, extraversion vs introversion, subduedness vs independence, and tenderminded emotionality vs alert poise. Anxiery, introversion, subduedness, and tendermindedness were all expected to predispose Ss to be more against abortion than the other halves of these dichotomies. Predictions were supported (ps from .05 to ,025) for all but anxiety. The 1973 U. S. Supreme Courc decision setting aside restrictive stace abortion laws undoubtedly will not represent the end point for this topic, and both intensely held public attitudes and professional concern in the behavioral sciences preceded the decision and continue. Previous research has concentrated on the relation of ind:vidual attitudes and behavior to the issue of abortion; however, none of these studies directly related the person's attitudes toward abortion to personality characteristics. The present study explored chis relation. Early effects of changes in abortion laws were studied by Char and McDermoct (1972) following the legalization of abortion in Hawaii in 1970. They briefly ueated and studied groups of nurses required by their jobs to assist with abortions and who, as a result, were described by the researchers as suffering acute identity crises regarding their nursing roles. Balakrishnan, Ross, Allingham, and Kantner ( 1972 ) , concerned with broad scale explanatory variables, sampled attitudes of over 1600 Canadian women and related individual attitudes to nine demographic variables. Religion, relative frequency of church attendance, and husband's income were the best predictors of these women's attitudes toward abortion. On the other hand, Kane, Lachenbruch, Lipton, Morris, and Baram (1973) compared college girls seeking abortions with a nonpregnant control group and concluded that motivational factors, such as guilt over contraceptive use and impulsivity, may have predisposed many of the pregnant group to become pregnant. Such findings suggest the impact of individual personality characteristics on the issue of abortion. The fact that Balakrishnan, er al. employed nine broad demographic characteristics to explain

185 Ss rated two issues on 16 semantic differential potency scales. Ss were classified for or against the issues on the basis of their responses to two unmarked 9-cm lines descriptively labeled at the end points. Semantic differential data from the four resulting classes were factor analyzed using principal components solutions with varimax rotations. Previous research (Jones, 1969) suggested that these scales might fractionate into several components of variance and that the structure would vary depending on attitudinal valence (for-against the issue). Descriptive comparisons and comparisons employing Tucker's coefficient of congruence (Harman, 1967) supported the hypothesis of dissimilar fractionation.

153 Ss responded to the Sherif-Hovland instruments for 2 issues. Ss then rated their statements judged most acceptable (MA) and most objectionable (MO) on 18 semantic differential scales. Separate factor analyses of the semantic differential scales were run, collapsing across both issues. The patterns of percentages of variance indicated that the 2 semantic structures were probably not identical. Tests of significance were performed for 2 single scales and for factor scores (8) for the first 2 components (evaluation and potency) extracted in the factor analyses. The issues were tested separately, comparing Ss' ratings of their MAs and MOs. The tests were significant and showed that MA was rated “better,” more important, and more acceptable (a check on validity of Ss' responses) than MO; however, MO was judged more potent than MA. It was concluded that the 2 positions, MA and MO, are probably not simply antithetical.

In an attitude study 158 Ss' perceptions of demand characteristics were investigated in relation to treatment condition and dogmatism (Rokeach, 1960). Ss receiving the experimental treatment were expected to show greater awareness of E's purpose than control Ss because of less confusing cues for the former Ss. Dogmatism was expected to be either negatively related to accurate perception of demand cues or unrelated to such awareness. Analysis of responses to a five-question awareness scale was performed by a 3 by 2 analysis of variance using the method of unweighted means (Winer, 1962). Experimental Ss showed significantly more accurate perceptions of demand cues ( p < .01) than control Ss, but dogmatism had no significant effects. Tentative interpretations of these data were provided in terms of the phenomena of perceptual synthesis and perceptual analysis (Levy & Rokeach, 1960), and suggestions for further research were given.

In a pretest-posttest control group design (Campbell & Stanley, 1963) with 2 experimental samples and a treated control sample, 132 Ss responded twice to a Sherif-Hovland instrument (Sherif & Hovland, 1961). The intervening treatments written by E appeared to be Xeroxed copies of newspaper articles: 1 represented primarily the evaluative (E) dimension of meaning (Osgood, Suci, & Tannenbaum, 1957); 1 was a fusion of potency (P) and activity (A), i.e., dynamism (D). A control (C) article was irrelevant to the experimental issue, viz., censorship of movies. Posttest-pretest change scores were compared for the 3 samples by 15 t tests for independent samples (Walker & Lev, 1953). E and D were not significantly different because both changed on the 5 Sherif-Hovland measures in the same directions. Compared with C, however, E was quite effective; 4 of the 5 measures changed significantly; comparisons of D and C indicated that 2 of the 5 measures changed significantly. For this issue E was more effective than D, although more research is needed to clarify the effects of dimensions of meaning of communications on attitude change.