Women and men in general psychology classes were surveyed about their interest in signing up for psychological research. The topics in the survey previously had been judged as masculine, feminine, or neutral Women had a greater preference for feminine topics than did men, while men had a greater preference for masculine topics than did women. Thus, it is possible that men and women are volunteering differentially for gender-stereotyped research topics. Implications of this potential sample bias for the study of sex differences are discussed.

Regarding the Virginia Blues court action ("Brief of APA," November 1980; Kiesler & Pallak, November 1980), I have this comment: Since the majority of physical complaints which patients bring to physicians have origins in psychological stress, and since most physicians do not have competence in helping patients cope with such stress, it could be argued that physicians should not be allowed to receive third-party payments unless supervised by someone with expertise in behavioral medicine. At this time, most of those working in the stress aspects of behavioral medicine are psychologists.

The situational factors associated with youthful driving while intoxicated (DWI) and riding with an impaired driver (RWID) are examined. Data were collected from separate samples of youth who had driven while impaired by alcohol and who had ridden with an alcohol-impaired driver. The purpose of the study was to determine whether there are consistent situational factors associated with DWI and RWID among youth, and to ascertain whether the situational factors vary as a function of demographic variables. The results indicate that DWI and RWID are largely a function of the role alcohol plays in the youth culture. When situationally determined, DWI and RWID appear to be controlled by a perceived need to get home or to get a passenger home. The implications of these results for future prevention program planning are discussed.

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