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The La Grange linear similarity transformation (completing the square) can be used to remove all cross-product terms from a quadratic form. It is shown that the La Grange transformation may be found conveniently by adapting the well-known Gauss elimination procedure for solving linear equations. A simple algorithm for finding the inverse transformation is given. This diagonalization scheme takes much less effort than finding the characteristic roots and vectors. It produces important simplifications in quadratic programming, statistics, and optimization problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explores the condition that happens to the desirability of two choice alternatives when one of them is eliminated by a second person. The increase in desirability for an eliminated choice alternative should also occur when the elimination is carried out by another person rather than simply by impersonal events. According to a theory, when a person feels he is free to engage in a given behavior if he wants to, elimination of that freedom will amuse "psychological reactance" in him. Psychological reactance is defined as a motivational state directed toward the re-establishment of the eliminated freedom. In a choice situation in which a person can select any one of several alternatives, the individual may be conceived as having the freedom "to have" each alternative prior to his making a selection. When there are only two choice alternatives, unlike the case in which there are several, the elimination of one of them practically eliminates all freedom in the situation. For not only is one alternative made unavailable but the only remaining behavioral possibility is to select the other alternative.

This article examines the impact of merger upon the performance of merging banks in the Fourth Federal Reserve District during the 1960-65 period. The analysis is based on a comparison of the performance of merging banks with that of a sample of nonmerging banks. Bank mergers, in particular, produced significant changes in both national and local banking markets with the absorption of nearly 900 commercial banks in the nation between 1960 and 1965. Bank mergers were especially important in the Fourth Federal Reserve District, where 121 banks were absorbed during the 1960-65 period and, as a consequence, the number of banks in the district declined by more than 10 percent. This study employs a before-and-after method of analysis to assess the impact of merger on selected performance variables. Changes in performance, however, might also reflect performance changes over time by all commercial banks. To eliminate this source of variation, a nonmerging bank of the same general asset size and geographical location was selected for each merging bank.