The present study hypothesized that (1) perception of the built environment is organized around a prototype, the notion extensively studied by Rosch and others, and, (2) judgement of attractiveness of the built environment is influenced by that structure. 37 subjects rated prototypicality of 51 slides of houses and an independent sample of 33 subjects rated attractiveness of the same slide set. Results showed that people perceived some residential houses as more prototypical than others. Also a significant correlation between prototype rating and attractiveness rating was found. People found the high level prototypicality most attractive, as opposed to the low prototypicality stimuli. It was also found that the residential prototype could be identified by physical features.

The Ethnic Mental Illness (EMI) Scale, a questionnaire to discriminate European and Hispanic attitudes toward mental illness, was developed. Fifty-one college students of Hispanic ethnicity and 194 college students of European ethnicity completed a 150 item questionnaire measuring attitudes toward mental illness. A cross-validation sample of 50 Hispanic students and 194 European students ethnicity yielded 15 items that reliably differentiated the two groups. Based upon content, the 15 items were grouped into six categories: hopefulness, trust, biological aspects of mental illness, childhood origins, finances, and sex differences. Items which did not discriminate Hispanics and Europeans are described, as these items are possible indicators of common attitudes toward mental illness. A group of 66 Asian students also participated in the study. The items which differentiate Asians from Hispanics and Europeans are described. These items were not cross-validated.

Omission errors made by 186 older adults were compared to those of 96 younger adults on a nonverbal delayed recall task, the Wechsler Memory Scale - Revised Visual Reproduction II subtest (WMS - R VR 2, Wechsler, 1987). Older subjects failed to reproduce both figures A and B significantly more often than younger subjects, with the greatest between--group variance occurring on figure A. The results suggest that age-related declines in nonverbal memory and delayed recall may have contributed to this pattern of performance. Furthermore, inattention and retroactive interference effects may have also been particularly relevant. Suggestions are made for subsequent research to rule out order effects by reordering the presentation of VR2 subtest stimuli and employing other measures of visual memory, visuoconstructive performance, and interference. Further understanding of older adults' performance on the WMS - R Visual Reproduction subtest would prove valuable, since it is used extensively in a variety of research and clinical settings.