Doctoral Dissertation Research: Preventive Law Through Plain Language: Testing a Pyscholegal Audience Based Evaluation of Contract Perception and Comprehension

标准化格式的合同在大多数现代合同交易中使用，并已成为当代商业不可缺少的一部分。很多时候，这些合同的含义对公众来说是不清楚的，因为它们是用神秘的语言写成的，律师和非律师都很难破译。本研究采用两阶段的实证过程来研究平实语言条款。定性和定量方法同时使用。第一阶段通过焦点小组法探讨律师和外行双方的合同图式。利用第一阶段得出的图式，将制定一些问题，以衡量通俗语言法规的规定对理解、对可执行性和公平性的看法以及对起草方的归因的影响。一项真正的实验将以232名成年人为样本来测试这些影响。本研究将为图式理论提供信息，并将现有的司法指示明确性研究扩展到契约领域。标准化形式的合同在现代合同交易中占绝大多数，已成为当代商业不可缺少的一部分。很多时候，这些合同的含义对公众来说是不清楚的，因为它们是用神秘的语言写成的，律师和非律师都很难破译。本研究采用两阶段的实证过程来研究平实语言条款。定性和定量方法同时使用。第一阶段通过焦点小组法探讨律师和外行双方的合同图式。利用第一阶段得出的图式，将制定一些问题，以衡量通俗语言法规的规定对理解、对可执行性和公平性的看法以及对起草方的归因的影响。一项真正的实验将以232名成年人为样本来测试这些影响。本研究将为图式理论提供理论基础，并将现有的司法指示明确性研究扩展到契约领域。＊＊＊

Penrod 9618365 Standardized form contracts are used in the majority of modern contractual transactions and have become an indispensable part of contemporary commerce. Many times the meaning of these contracts is unclear to the public because they are written in arcane language that is difficult for lawyers and non-lawyers to decipher. This research uses a two-stage empirical process to study plain language provisions .Both qualitative and quantitative methods are used. The first stage explores contract schema of both lawyers and laypersons elicited via focus group methods. Using the schema elicited in the first stage, questions will be developed to measure the effects of provisions of plain language statutes on comprehension, perceptions of enforceability and fairness, and attributions toward the drafting parties. A true experiment will test these effects with a sample of 232 adults. This research will inform schema theory and extend the existing research on clarity of judicial instruction to the domain of contracts. %%% Standardized form contracts are used in the majority of modern contractual transactions and have become an indispensable part of contemporary commerce. Many times the meaning of these contracts is unclear to the public because they are written in arcane language that is difficult for lawyers and non-lawyers to decipher. This research uses a two-stage empirical process to study plain language provisions .Both qualitative and quantitative methods are used. The first stage explores contract schema of both lawyers and laypersons elicited via focus group methods. Using the schema elicited in the first stage, questions will be developed to measure the effects of provisions of plain language statutes on comprehension, perceptions of enforceability and fairness, and attributions toward the drafting parties. A true experiment will test these effects with a sample of 232 adults. This research will inform schema theory and extend the existing research on clarity of judi cial instruction to the domain of contracts. ***