According to Suls' (1972) incongruity model for the appreciation of jokes, humor with which recipients are familiar should not be perceived as funny because the ending is predictable. Suls (1975) later proposed that familiar humor is appreciated because of the sense of competence derived from adequately remembering the joke. This study examined Suls' theories by having subjects rate jokes on two occasions and supply their punch lines on the second occasion. Statistical significance was determined through the use of the t test for correlated means. Jokes for which punch lines were recalled were perceived as significantly less funny than on the first occasion. The results did not support predictions made from Suls' competence theory but did support those derived from Suls' incongruity model.

Ward environment as assessed by the Ward Atmosphere Scale was the focus of this exploratory study. The Ward Atmosphere scores of 110 patients hospitalized on two units for acute psychiatric care in a state hospital were analyzed for determining differences along the dimensions of population factors, sex and program change. Significant differences in attitude were obtained on certain of the ten scales for each of the three comparisons. The premise of ward atmosphere being a global entity as implied in the literature was not upheld in this population. Sex differences were noted and introduction of an individualized patient management program evoked significant changes in opinions concerning ward atmosphere. A number of interpretations for these results were offered and implication for future research was suggested.

To supplement college introductory statistics instruction, an interactive drill system was developed and implemented on a Hewlett- Packard 2000 timesharing computer. Unlimited practice in basic procedures and algorithms was provided over 38 topics including Chi-square, correlational methods, and one-way analysis of variance. Validation of intermediate computational steps was provided, and more difficult or remedial problems sets were made available. Optional files recorded performance data. Four support programs initialized performance files and generated summary reports. Extensive documentation and a library of reusable subroutines were designed to assist future authors to expand the system. The drill and practice system was made generally available to all university departments and students.