The past decade has seen an accumulation of evidence that TV viewing influences beliefs about social reality, particularly in areas related to violence. Detailed content analyses of the portrayal of aggression on North American television were conducted in an attempt to document some of the symbolic messages in television content and the extent to which those messages vary according to program category. The TV sample analyzed consisted of 109 programs (81 hours) chosen on the basis of audience viewing figures; 76% were produced in the U.S.A. and 22% in Canada. An average of 9 acts of physical aggression and 7.8 acts of verbal aggression per program hour were observed, but both type and rate of aggression varied by program category. Other methods of conflict resolution occurred rarely, and few witnesses sought alternatives to aggression. Less than 2% of the aggression observed was accidental, and most (69%) was incidental to the plot. Aggression, especially verbal abuse, was often portrayed as humorous, and there was little evidence of consequences. Some differences between Canadian and U.S. programming were noted. The possibility of using schema theory to understand the role of television in the development of beliefs about social reality is explored.

Questionnaires designed to investigate some factors that may be related to women's participation in psychology were returned by 129 male and 102 female Anglophone CPA members and by 60 male and 87 female Anglophone graduate students in Canadian psychology departments. The data

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In three experiments, subjects chosen from the Toronto phone book were sent questionnaires with one of four different sets of instructions. Half of the instructions were "normal" requests to fill out the questionnaire. Half were designed in an attempt to put added pressure on the subjects to comply (and consequently reduce their.perceived freedom). Half of the subjects in each of these conditions received money along with the request; the other half received no money. In all three experiments, money included with the request significantly increased rates of return. The "pressure" instructions had no significant over-all effect However, in the third experiment, where 20# was included (instead of 101 as in the first two) and where the instructions in the increased-pressure conditions were most severe, significantly more subjects returned the money and the blank questionnaire than in any other condition.According to reactance theory , when a person feels that his freedom has been eliminated, a motivational state is aroused which is directed to the re-establishment of that freedom. According to the theory, when an individual is urged to comply his freedom is threatened. The more pressure used, the more the individual may feel threatened, and the more reactance will be aroused. The theory has been tested in a number of different situations involving social influence (