Appraising the threat of illness: A mental representational approach.

Evaluated a mental model illustrating elements that people consider when evaluating the threat represented by a sign of possible illness. 72 undergraduates were told that they tested positively or negatively for a fictitious risk factor for a disease. Ss were told or not told about a preventive treatment for the disease. Results indicate that Ss testing positively for the risk factor, especially Ss uninformed about its treatment, minimized the threat (e.g., by increasing their estimates of the false-positive rate of the test). Applications of the model to actual illness threats and the relation between threat-related judgments and health-related behavior are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Moderated multiple regression for interactions involving categorical variables: A statistical control for heterogeneous variance across two groups.

Moderated multiple regression (MMR) arguably is the most popular statistical technique for investigating regression slope differences (interactions) across groups (e.g., aptitude–treatment interactions in training and differential test score–job performance prediction in selection testing). However, heterogeneous error variances can greatly bias the typical MMR analysis, and the conditions that cause heterogeneity are not uncommon. Statistical corrections that have been developed require special calculations and are not conducive to follow-up analyses that describe an interaction effect in depth. A weighted least squares (WLS) approach is recommended for 2-group studies. For 2-group studies, WLS is statistically accurate, is readily executed through popular software packages (e.g., SAS Institute, 1999; SPSS, 1999), and allows follow-up tests. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personal hypothesis testing: The role of consistency and self-schema.

We report the results of two experiments that examined the way individuals test hypotheses about themselves. Both experiments were based on the work of Snyder (e.g., Snyder, 1981; Snyder & Skrypnek, 1981), which suggests that individuals have a confirmatory bias when testing hypotheses about others and about themselves. In Experiment 1, we examined the extent to which this bias toward confirmation persists when a negative (e.g., depression) or nonconsistent (not consistent with the individual's evaluation of him- or herself) personal hypothesis is tested. Results suggest that the negative or positive nature of a personal hypothesis does not directly influence the way individuals test their hypothesis. However, the way individuals tested personal hypotheses was influenced by hypothesis consistency. In Experiment 2, we examined the relation of a cognitive schematic variable (i.e., vulnerability for depression) and hypothesis testing. Results suggest that vulnerability is related to the way individuals test a personal hypothesis about depression. Vulnerable, low-depression participants were confirmatory when testing a depression hypothesis, whereas nonvulnerable, low-depression participants were disconfirmatory. We discuss implications for counseling and future directions for research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Encoding dimensions in memory: Developmental similarities at two grade levels.

Studied 192 middle-class 2nd graders and 192 middle-class 6th graders to test the hypothesis that for young children certain dimensions (e.g., the acoustic) are more likely to be the dominant attributes of a memory than are other dimensions (e.g., the semantic). Data do not replicate the findings of other developmental studies with similar-aged children. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cue strength as a moderator of the testing effect: The benefits of elaborative retrieval.

The current study explored the elaborative retrieval hypothesis as an explanation for the testing effect: the tendency for a memory test to enhance retention more than restudying. In particular, the retrieval process during testing may activate elaborative information related to the target response, thereby increasing the chances that activation of any of this information will facilitate later retrieval of the target. In a test of this view, participants learned cue–target pairs, which were strongly associated (e.g., Toast: Bread) or weakly associated (e.g., Basket: Bread), through either a cued recall test (Toast: _____) or a restudy opportunity (Toast: Bread). A final test requiring free recall of the targets revealed that tested items were retained better than restudied items, and although strong cues facilitated recall of tested items initially, items recalled from weak cues were retained better over time, such that this advantage was eliminated or reversed at the time of the final test. Restudied items were retained at similar rates on the final test regardless of the strength of the cue–target relationship. These results indicate that the activation of elaborative information—which would occur to a greater extent during testing than restudying—may be one mechanism that underlies the testing effect. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Invariance in measurement and prediction: Their relationship in the single-factor case.

Two forms of bias in psychological measurement are often distinguished. Predictive bias concerns systematic inaccuracies in predictions based on a test. Measurement bias concerns systematic inaccuracies in the information provided by a test about the latent variable or variables to be measured. Although both forms of bias are important, their relationship has not been clearly described in the literature. Their relationship is here described under a single-factor model for the predictor battery and the criterion. Several theorems establish the general inconsistency between factorial invariance and slope invariance (i.e., invariance of regression slopes). Predictor-criterion sets that are factorially invariant are not slope invariant under realistic conditions. The implications of this inconsistency for research on Spearman's "g" in employment testing, and for the general study of test bias, are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Tests enhance the transfer of learning.

Numerous learning studies have shown that if the period of time devoted to studying information (e.g., casa-house) includes at least 1 test (casa-?), performance on a final test is improved—a finding known as the testing effect. In most of these studies, however, the final test is identical to the initial test. If the final test requires a novel demonstration of learning (i.e., transfer), prior studies suggest that a greater degree of transfer reduces the size of the testing effect. The authors tested this conjecture. In 2 experiments, 4th- or 5th-grade students learned to assign regions or cities to map locations and returned 1 day later for 2 kinds of final tests. One final test required exactly the same task seen during the learning session, and the other final test consisted of novel, more challenging questions. In both experiments, testing effects were found for both kinds of final tests, and the testing effect was no smaller, and actually slightly larger, for the final test requiring transfer. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Are independent probes truly independent?

The independent cue technique has been developed to test traditional interference theories against inhibition theories of forgetting. In the present study, the authors tested the critical criterion for the independence of independent cues: Studied cues not presented during test (and unrelated to test cues) should not contribute to the retrieval process. Participants first studied a subset of cues (e.g., rope) that were subsequently studied together with a target in a 2nd study phase (e.g., rope–sailing, sunflower–yellow). In the test phase, an extralist category cue (e.g., sports, color) was presented, and participants were instructed to recall an item from the study list that was a member of the category (e.g., sailing, yellow). The experiments showed that previous study of the paired-associate word (e.g., rope) enhanced category cued recall even though this word was not presented at test. This experimental demonstration of covert cuing has important implications for the effectiveness of the independent cue technique. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Detecting, measuring, and testing dyadic patterns in the actor–partner interdependence model.

Family researchers have used the actor–partner interdependence model (APIM) to study romantic couples, parent–child dyads, and siblings. We discuss a new method to detect, measure, and test different theoretically important patterns in the APIM: equal actor and partner effect (couple pattern); same size, but different signs of actor and partner effects (contrast pattern); and zero partner effects (actor-only pattern). To measure these different patterns, as well as others, we propose the estimation of the parameter k, which equals the partner effect divided by the actor effect. For both indistinguishable dyad members (e.g., twins) and distinguishable dyad members (e.g., heterosexual couples), we propose strategies for estimating and testing different models. We illustrate our new approach with four data sets. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The entry point of face recognition: Evidence for face expertise.

Previous studies have shown that experts (e.g., birdwatchers) are as fast to recognize objects at subordinate levels of abstraction (e.g., robin) as they are to recognize the same object at the basic level (e.g., bird). As a test of face expertise, the current study found that adults identify faces more frequently (Experiment 1) and as quickly (Experiment 2) at the subordinate level (e.g., Bill Clinton) as at the basic level (e.g., human). Whereas brief presentation (75 ms) impaired subordinate-level recognition of nonface objects, it did not impair the subordinate level recognition of faces (Experiment 3). Finally, in an identity-matching task, subordinate-level primes facilitated the matching responses of faces but not nonface objects (Experiment 4). Collectively, these results indicate that face expertise, like expert object expertise, promotes a downward shift in recognition to more subordinate levels of abstraction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The body of the BOSS: Subsyllabic units in the lexical processing of polysyllabic words.

The body of a monosyllabic word (i.e., its vowel plus terminal consonants) has been shown to be an important unit in lexical processing (e.g., the EAD of HEAD). This article attempts to define what the body of a polysyllabic word might be, suggesting that it is the body of the 1st orthographically defined syllable of the word (the body of its basic orthographic syllable structure [BOSS], or BOB, e.g., the EAD of MEADOW). Three experiments, testing 60, 96, and 45 university students, respectively, demonstrated that the pronunciation of a nonword is influenced by the pronunciation of the BOB of a preceding word, but not by the pronunciation of its vowel alone or its 1st phonologically defined syllable. The results of the 3 studies are interpreted as supporting the idea that the BOB is an important unit of lexical processing. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Assessment of behavioral chaos with a focus on transitions in depression.

This article is the second of three in a special section on chaos theory and psychological assessment. The purpose of this article is to address implications for the measurement of some unstable, transitional human behaviors. One early hallmark of behavioral assessment is the idiographic measurement of temporal, causal, and target factors (e.g., M. R. Goldfried & R. N. Kent, 1972). This is the same basic measurement approach used in chaos theory testing. In addition, behavioral theories have posited nonlinear relations among variables (e.g., J. D. Cone, 1981). However, theory testing often involves investigation of linear relations among episodic and averaged indexes of the variables (e.g., M. J. Marr, 1989). The study of unstable behaviors and chaotic transitions could revive the use of unaveraged single-subject, time series measurement approaches. A rationale for a subtype of chaotic depression (e.g., L. Glass & M. C. Mackey, 1988) and its measurement is offered. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Revival of test bias research in preemployment testing.

We developed a new analytic proof and conducted Monte Carlo simulations to assess the effects of methodological and statistical artifacts on the relative accuracy of intercept- and slope-based test bias assessment. The main simulation design included 3,185,000 unique combinations of a wide range of values for true intercept- and slope-based test bias, total sample size, proportion of minority group sample size to total sample size, predictor (i.e., preemployment test scores) and criterion (i.e., job performance) reliability, predictor range restriction, correlation between predictor scores and the dummy-coded grouping variable (e.g., ethnicity), and mean difference between predictor scores across groups. Results based on 15 billion 925 million individual samples of scores and more than 8 trillion 662 million individual scores raise questions about the established conclusion that test bias in preemployment testing is nonexistent and, if it exists, it only occurs regarding intercept-based differences that favor minority group members. Because of the prominence of test fairness in the popular media, legislation, and litigation, our results point to the need to revive test bias research in preemployment testing. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Semantic, phonological, and mediated priming in reading and lexical decisions.

Four experiments were conducted to investigate whether semantic activation of a concept spreads to phonologically and graphemically related concepts. In lexical decision or self-paced reading tasks, subjects responded to pairs of words that were semantically related (e.g., light–lamp), that rhymed (e.g., lamp–lamp), or that combined both of these relations through a mediating word (e.g., light–lamp). In one version of each task, test lists contained word–word pairs (e.g., light–lamp) as well as nonword–word (e.g., pown–table) and word–nonword pairs (e.g., month–poad); in another version, test lists contained only word–word pairs. The lexical decision and self-paced reading tasks were facilitated by semantic and rhyming relations regardless of the presence or absence of nonwords on the test lists. The effect of the mediated relation, however, depended on the presence of nonwords among the stimuli. When only words were included, there was no effect of the mediated relation, but when nonwords were included, lexical decision and self-paced reading responses were inhibited by the mediated relation. These inhibitory effects are attributed to processes occurring after lexical access, and the relative advantages of the self-paced reading task are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

School psychology in preschool settings: A review of training and practice issues.

Explores facets of preschool psychological services that potentially pose problems for skill-oriented training and traditional practices (e.g., screening, individual assessment, curricula). It is suggested that techniques that stem from the most promising constructs in applied developmental psychology lead to dilemmas in training because of the necessity for time-consuming informal, or ad hoc, procedures. A review and a conceptual analysis of training and practice issues for preschool psychological services are offered. (27 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Phonological activation of category coordinates during speech planning is observable in children but not in adults: Evidence for cascaded processing.

There is a long-standing debate in the area of speech production on the question of whether only words selected for articulation are phonologically activated (as maintained by serial-discrete models) or whether this is also true for their semantic competitors (as maintained by forward-cascading and interactive models). Past research has addressed this issue by testing whether retrieval of a target word (e.g., cat) affects--or is affected by--the processing of a word that is phonologically related to a semantic category coordinate of the target (e.g., doll, related to dog) and has consistently failed to obtain such mediated effects in adult speakers. The authors present a series of experiments demonstrating that mediated effects are present in children (around age 7) and diminish with increasing age. This observation provides further evidence for cascaded models of lexical retrieval. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Defense of tests prevents objective consideration of validity and fairness.

In defending tests of cognitive abilities, knowledge, or skills (CAKS) from the skepticism of their “family members, friends, and neighbors” and aiding psychologists forced to defend tests from “myth and hearsay” in their own skeptical social networks (p. 215), Sackett, Borneman, and Connelly (see record 2008-05553-001) focused on evaluating validity coefficients, racial or gender group differences, and fair assessment research. In doing so, they concluded that CAKS tests generally yield valid and fair test scores for their intended purposes, but because the authors did not adequately attend to (a) research design issues (e.g., inclusion of independent or predictor variables [IPV] and dependent variables or criteria), (b) statistical assumptions underlying interpretation of their analyses (e.g., bivariate normality of distributions of test scores and criteria), and (c) conceptual concerns (e.g., whether racial categories should be used as explanatory constructs), alternative conclusions about CAKS test score validity and fairness are plausible. Although all of the foregoing areas of concern are germane to each of the assertions addressed by Sackett et al. (2008), the focus here is on Assertions 6 through 8 (p. 216; hereinafter called the fairness assertions [FA]) because making accurate inferences about fairness requires measurement experts to engage in a paradigmatic shift where sociodemographic groups (e.g., Blacks, Latinos/Latinas) are concerned, whereas, for the most part, addressing the other assertions merely requires a reminder of which standard psychometric principles have not been followed (American Educational Research Association [AERA], American Psychological Association [APA], & National Council on Measurement in Education [NCME], 1999). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Peak shift: A review.

Reviews the peak-shift literature in relation to operant and classical conditioning procedures, errorless discrimination training, and physiological studies. Results indicate that peak shift is a reliable behavioral phenomenon affected by stimulus dimension, positive-negative stimulus separation, training procedure, and testing procedure. There are many concepts (e.g., inhibition and excitation), behavioral phenomena (e.g., behavioral contrast and negative peak shift), and experimental procedures (e.g., reinforcement density-frequency, successive training, and simultaneous training) interwoven throughout the peak-shift literature. Many questions have been raised regarding these aspects of peak shift yet few questions have been answered to date. (96 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On McClelland's "Testing for competence…"

D. C. McClelland's (see record 1973-22126-001) article on intelligence testing fails to point out that (1) grades might affect the achievement of the credentials that open doors to higher level jobs and (2) some selective processes have already occurred by the time people reach a given level (e.g., college graduate). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)