The Ames window illusion: Perception of illusory motion by human infants.

The sensitivity of human infants, 5?-9 months of age, to the illusory oscillation of the Ames window was assessed in three experiments that employed some variant of the habituation–dishabituation and forced-choice preferential looking paradigms. In Experiment 1, three groups—5?, 7?, and 9 months of age—were given a visual choice between rotating rectangular and Ames windows after exposure to a rotating circular form. The two older groups preferred the Ames window. The results of Experiment 2 showed that this preference is not based on structural differences between the two windows. In Experiment 3, familiarization with an Ames window produced a preference for rotary motion while familiarization with a rectangular window produced a preference for oscillatory motion. These results suggest that sensitivity to the illusion emerges around 7? months of age, an outcome consistent with the emergence, at this time, of sensitivity to pictorial cues to depth. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The reliability, validity, and design of the Defining Issues Test.

Administered the Defining Issues Test (J. R. Rest, 1974, 1975) to 365 Ss in 3 age groups: junior high, high school, and college. Each scale score discriminated significantly among age groups, as did the Principled Reasoning (P) score. The validity of the P-score with respect to age group was estimated to be .48, and its reliability was estimated to be .70. The design of the test is criticized on the grounds that (a) some stages have many more items associated with them than do other stages (hence, scale scores are not comparable with one another); (b) different dilemmas have different numbers of items from a given stage; (c) there is a significant order artifact for Stage 3 and Stage 4 items; and (d) this order effect interacts with age. Finally, there was evidence in 3 of 6 dilemmas that an S's decision was correlated with his stage of reasoning. It is suggested that the relation of stage to age could be clarified if the design of the test were changed to eliminate the possible effects of decision. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Development of a more reliable version of the Matching Familiar Figures Test.

Because of the inadequate reliability of Matching Familiar Figures Test (MFFT) error scores, a longer, more reliable version was developed. As a result of item analysis of 30 MFFT-type items, 20 were selected on the basis of item—total error correlations and ability to discriminate reflective from impulsive 11-yr-old boys. Two subsequent studies with Ss of similar ages showed that split-half correlations for the new 20-item MFFT over 2 wks were .91 for latency and .89 for errors, while test–retest correlations over 5 wks were .85 and .77 for latency and errors, respectively. These results plus those of a further study with 7- and 9-yr-old boys and girls suggest that the new test (the MFF20) is suitable for use with children in the age range 7–21 yrs. (11 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The organization of student performance in American schools: Discipline, motivation, verbal learning, nonverbal learning.

Standardized measures of cognitive ability, academic achievement, classroom learning behavior, and school social-emotional adjustment were administered for a nationally representative sample of 1,268 students aged 6–17 years. Exploratory and confirmatory latent structure analyses revealed 4 distinct and reliable student performance factors (Disciplined Behavior, Motivation, Verbal Learning, Nonverbal Learning) that were generalizable to age, sex, and ethnic subgroups within the national sample. The performance factors showed substantial and consistent relationships to independent measure of school achievement (grades, test scores) and to observations of problem behavior. Differential patterns for age, sex, and ethnic groups were discovered, including female superiority for disciplined behavior, verbal learning, and motivation, and male superiority for nonverbal learning, with unique pattern variations for some ethnic minority students. Theoretical implications are explored. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Ethnic differences on the Bender-Gestalt: Relative effects of measured intelligence.

223 Black, 203 Hispanic, and 226 White 5–11 yr olds were administered the Bender Visual Motor Gestalt Test (BVMG) and either the WPPSI or WISC—R to investigate ethnic differences on the BVMG and to clarify the effects of intelligence on BVMG performance. ANOVA indicated that there were significant differences among ethnic groups on BVMG performance for 4 age groups (6, 9, 10, and 11 yrs) and for the total sample. In general, Blacks made more errors than did the other ethnic groups, and their scores produced the lowest correlation coefficient with age. Data were reanalyzed using the Full Scale, Verbal, and Performance IQs as covariates. These analyses indicated that IQ was a significant factor for each age group and either eliminated or decreased the significance of the main effect (ethnicity). Implications for test interpretation and limitations are discussed. (13 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reliable component analysis of the Stanford–Binet: Fourth edition for 2- to 6-year-olds.

Reliable component analysis (RCA) was conducted on the Stanford-Binet: Fourth Edition subtests for 2 to 6-year-olds using the standardization sample. Scores were derived through RCA to assess the Verbal Comprehension and Non-Verbal Reasoning factors suggested for children in this age range. The scores derived through RCA had greater discriminant validity than did equally weighted scores, whose high intercorrelations preclude effective discrimination or incremental validity. The difference scores derived through RCA were compared with equally weighted difference scores in terms of reliability and three types of standard error. Differences between RCA scores were more reliable than were equally weighted differences. The more reliable differences resulted in more precise confidence intervals and more powerful significance tests. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A hierarchical approach to inferences concerning interobserver agreement for multinomial data

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the interobserver and intraobserver reliability of assessments of impairments and disabilities. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: One physical therapist's assessments were examined for intraobserver reliability. Judgments of two pairs of therapists were used to examine interobserver reliability. Reliability was assessed by Cohen's kappa. RESULTS: Of the 42 impairments and disabilities assessed by the physical therapist in the intraobserver reliability study, kappa values could be calculated for 33 items. For 31 items (94%), kappa values ranged from .40 to .91, and 2 items (6%) had kappa values of less than .40. To determine interobserver reliability, 37 items were assessed in one practice. Kappa values could be calculated for 34 items, with 30 items (88%) having kappa values ranging from .41 to .80 and 4 items (12%) showing "poor" agreement. In the second practice, 47 items were assessed for interobserver reliability. Kappa values could be calculated for 40 items, with 11 items (27.5%) having kappa values ranging from .41 to .84. Poor agreement was shown for the remaining 29 items (72.5%). CONCLUSION AND DISCUSSION: Assessments of impairments and disabilities are potentially reliable. The differences between practices of the interobserver reliability study can be explained by the fact that one of the therapists did not receive training in the use of the assessment form. More generalizable conclusions will require further study with more subjects and therapists.     

Priming by numb3r5 does not involve top-down feedback.

Using the same–different task, Perea, Du?abeitia, Pollatsek, and Carreiras (2009) showed that digits resembling letters (“leet digits”; e.g., 1 = I, 4 = A) primed pseudoword strings (e.g., V35Z3D–VESZED), but letters resembling digits (“leet letters”) did not prime digit strings (e.g., 9ES7E2–935732), and suggested that this is due to top-down feedback available for letter, but not digit, strings. Here we show that (a) single letters show as much leet priming as 3-letter words (Experiment 1); (b) leet priming is equally robust for digit strings and pseudowords when the string is 4 items long but not when 6 items long (Experiment 2); and (c) with 6-item strings, orthotactically illegal letter strings (e.g., OIAUEQ) behave just like digit strings (Experiment 3). These results indicate that the asymmetry in leet priming is not due to top-down feedback available selectively for letter strings. We offer an alternative explanation based on the Bayesian reader account of masked priming proposed by Norris and Kinoshita (2008), and the role played by the orthotactic knowledge used to extend the functional capacity of visual working memory involved in performing the same–different task. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Increasing native English vocabulary recognition through Spanish immersion: Cognate transfer from foreign to first language.

Effects of Spanish immersion on children's native English vocabulary were studied. Matched on grade, sex, and verbal scores on a 4th-grade Cognitive Abilities Test (CAT), 30 5th- and 6th-grade immersion students and 30 English monolinguals did 60 consecutive Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT) items. They also did a 20-item Spanish–English Cognate Test (SECT), similar to PPVT, on recognizing low-frequency English words with high-frequency Spanish cognates. The CAT and conventionally scored PPVT revealed comparable verbal ability between groups, but on 60 consecutive PPVT items, immersion did better than control (p?=?.002) because of cognates. On SECT, immersion significantly outperformed control (p?     

Developmental differences in responses to a television character's appearance and behavior.

In a 2?×?2?×?3 design, 52 3–5 yr olds, 58 6–7 yr olds, and 59 9–10 yr olds viewed a videotape in which a female protagonist's appearance (attractive, ugly) was factorially varied with her behavior (kind, cruel). Perceptions of the protagonist and predictions of the story's outcome were assessed. Based on theoretical and empirical evidence of a developmental decrease in perceptual dependence, the influence of the woman's appearance was expected to decrease with age, and the influence of her behavior was expected to increase with age. These expectations were confirmed. A 2nd study was conducted with 40 4–5 yr olds, 41 6–7 yr olds, and 34 9–21 yr olds to rule out the alternative explanation that younger children possess stronger physical appearance stereotypes than do older children. In this study, Ss did not have information about the woman's behavior. It was found that Ss at all 3 age levels demonstrated appearance stereotyping. (36 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Generalizability of a checklist for assessment of psychopathy.

Suggests that there are problems associated with assessments of psychopathy in prison populations that use self-report inventories and global diagnostic procedures. In response to these problems, the authors developed a behavioral checklist for psychopathy. The psychometric qualities of the checklist were evaluated using generalizability theory and classical test score indices of reliability. In each of 5 yrs, 2 raters (usually different each year) rated prison inmates (N?=?301; mean age 26.9 yrs) on 22 items. The generalizability coefficients were .85, .86, and .89 for the years 1977–1981, respectively. The generalizability coefficient for a test–retest study was .89. Classical indices of reliability (alpha coefficients and inter- and intrarater reliability) ranged from .82 to .93. Results indicate that the checklist is a highly reliable and generalizable instrument when used with prison populations. It is highly correlated with global ratings of psychopathy and criteria from the DSM-III for antisocial personality disorder. (14 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Utility of WAIS–R seven-subtest short form as applied to the standardization sample.

Summary scores from the full Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale—Revised (WAIS–R; D. Wechsler, 1981) and the 7-subtest abbreviated form of the WAIS–R were examined across age and education levels in the standardization sample. Full scale IQ (FSIQ) scores demonstrated the highest comparability between forms, followed by verbal IQ (VIQ) and then performance IQ (PIQ) scores. In comparison with FSIQ and VIQ, correlations between the test versions were consistently lower for PIQ. Lower reliability was found among education groups and tests that included subtests that demonstrated greater variability. Age grouping did not impact the alternative forms reliability. The findings support the use of the 7-subtest short form of the WAIS–R primarily for VIQ and FSIQ summary scores with the additional caution that results from abbreviated scores result in reduced reliability and a larger standard error of measure. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Situational approach to the assessment of social competence in children.

Generated and evaluated a taxonomy of the situations and tasks most likely to lead deviant children to experience social difficulties. In Study 1, elementary school teachers and clinicians were asked to notice such situations as they occurred. The outcome was a 44-item taxonomy of problematic social situations for children. This survey was administered to teachers of 45 socially rejected children (79% male) from Grades 3–5 and 39 adaptive children of the opposite sociometric criteria who were matched by sex and age to the rejected Ss. The survey was found to have high internal consistency and high test–retest reliability. Six situation types emerged as factors in analyses: Peer Group Entry, Response to Peer Provocations, Response to Failure, Response to Success, Social Expectations, and Teacher Expectations. Teachers rated the rejected group as having more problems than the adaptive group in each situation, but particularly in Response to Peer Provocations and Teacher Expectations. In Study 2, 15 items within the 6 factors were presented in a hypothetical format to 39 clinic-referred rejected aggressive children (77% males) from Grades 3–5 and 34 adaptive children selected by opposite criteria and matched by sex and age to the rejected aggressive Ss, who were asked to role play their responses. The items, in particular the provocation items, again differentiated the 2 groups. Sex and age differences were also found. The usefulness of this taxonomy in a 3-step model of clinical assessment is proposed. (28 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Validation of depression and anxiety measures in White and Black youths: Multitrait–multimethod analyses.

The authors obtained yearly self-report, peer nomination, and teacher rating assessments of depression symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and social acceptance on 2 cohorts of African American (ns?=?139 and 184) and Caucasian school children (ns?=?328 and 339), yielding a total of 6 waves of data between 3rd and 8th grade. Confirmatory factor analyses revealed that the measures manifested significant convergent and discriminant validity in both groups. Multigroup analyses further demonstrated that the measures were equally valid across ethnic groups. Peer nomination measures of depression and anxiety symptoms were biased, however, leading to the underestimation of psychopathology in African American children and adolescents. Allowing for this bias, the authors discovered that African American children evinced more signs of depression and anxiety in Grades 3, 4, and 5 than did Caucasian children. Such differences were not significant in Grades 6, 7, and 8. No ethnic group differences emerged on the social acceptance dimension. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Age-related changes in D2 receptor binding with iodine-123-iodobenzofuran SPECT

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of age on D2 receptor binding with 123I-iodobenzofuran (IBF) SPECT. METHODS: Subjects were 40 healthy volunteers (age 19-83 yr), including 6 who had test/retest studies. Scans were acquired with a triple-head SPECT camera 3 hr postinjection of IBF (300 MBq). Striatal regions (caudate and putamen) were defined by two different region-of-interest (ROI) sets consisting of large volumes [(CLVs), 2.2 and 6.6 m] and small volumes [(SVs), 0.6 and 1.3 ml]. D2 binding (Rv=V3/V2) was quantified using our previously proposed multilinear regression technique. Effects of age on D2 binding were evaluated by fitting linear, exponential and logarithmic models. RESULTS: The mean Rvs were 26% lower than LV for both putamen and caudate than the corresponding values from the SV due to the partial-volume effect. Although the identifiability of Rv using SV deteriorated slightly, the test/retest reproducibility of Rv measurements was equally excellent for LV and SV. The mean Rvs were 11% higher for putamen compared with those for caudate. D2 binding declined significantly with age (p < 10(-5)) for all three models. The nonlinear models were slightly superior to the linear model in describing the relationship between Rv and age. In these models, D2 binding declined with age, equally for caudate and putamen at 7%-13% per decade; the decline was progressively smaller with age. CONCLUSION: IBF SPECT permitted reliable measurements of D2 binding in the caudate or putamen separately using small ROI volumes that significantly improved the quantitation loss from the partial-volume effect. Our results agreed with previous PET and postmortem findings of D2 binding losses with age. However, these age effects may be nonlinear. Age-related changes in D2 binding must be taken into consideration in clinical IBF SPECT investigations.     

Factors that influence the temporal stability of personality by questionnaire.

Analyzed test–retest reliability data gathered from 106 sources (89 independent samples), using a multiple-regression method in an attempt to estimate the effects of several factors on questionnaire stability. We examined 8 self-report inventories: the High School Personality Questionnaire, the 16PF, the MMPI, the Myers–Briggs Type Indicator, the CPI, the Guilford–Zimmerman Temperament Survey, the EPPS, and the OPI. Samples ranged in size and encompassed a wide range of Ss divergent on status and age. We found S's age and status, number of test items, test interitem correlation, and test–retest interval to be significant predictors of reliability. Variables representing general adjustment were found to be less predictable than extraversion variables, and short-term reliability was more predictable than long-term reliability. S's sex and specific questionnaires were not found to have a significant effect on reliability. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Item equivalence across scales: The WPPSI—R and WISC-III.

The publication of 2 Wechsler scales with multiple overlapping items, the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence—Revised (WPPSI—R) and Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-III (WISC-III), provided an opportunity to cross-validate items. Test–age equivalents corresponding to cumulative item raw scores were extracted from the manuals or estimated with ratio scores (and checked against regression-based values). WPPSI—R test–age equivalents correlated highly with WISC-III test–age equivalents (r?=?.88 for the 23 overlapping items), and there were few noteworthy discrepancies. These data demonstrate the validity of the WPPSI—R and WISC-III beyond the level of subtests and IQs and to the level of item makeup. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Short- and long-term components of working memory in the rat.

In Experiment 1 of this report, we examined the neuropharmacological nature of short-term working memory of rats trained to retrieve food from all arms of a 12-arm radial maze. Delay intervals of varying length were placed between Choices 6 and 7. Lanthanum (LaCl?) and glutamate (GLU) injected bilaterally into the hippocampus effectively impaired retention over short delay intervals, which suggests a possible role for calcium and/or potassium and for glutamate in working memory. However, another equally likely explanation for the amnesic effects of LaCl? and GLU is that these drugs impaired reference memory. To test more directly the hypothesis that LaCl?, GLU, or ANI might differentially affect working and reference memory, we tested the effects of these drugs on performance of rats trained to retrieve food from only 8 arms of the 12-arm maze in Experiment 2. The remaining 4 arms were never baited, in order to test reference memory function. We predicted that rats would make errors only in baited arms (i.e., errors of working memory). Instead, results of Experiment 2 showed that LaCl?, GLU, or ANI injection produced errors in unbaited arms even before a 120-min delay. If rats were injected with LaCl? or GLU, baited-arm errors were observed only after the delay period. No impairment of performance on baited arms were observed after injection of ANI. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Gender differences in disability and lifestyle among community-dwelling elderly stroke patients in Kitakyushu, Japan

OBJECTIVE: To examine whether there were differences in lifestyle and performance of activities of daily living (ADL) between men and women in a population of elderly stroke patients. DESIGN: Case-comparison study. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Sixty-eight men and 34 women who were elderly stroke patients living in the community with a spouse or family members were evaluated with the self-rating Barthel Index (SRBI), Frenchay Activities Index (FAI), Stroke Impairment Assessment Set (SIAS), Functional Independence Measure (FIM), and a pedometer for physical activity. Control subjects, 30 men and 30 women, were assessed with the FAI. RESULTS: Among the stroke subjects, there were no significant differences in age, SRBI, motor score of the SIAS, or physical activity between men and women; however, men had significantly lower values than did women for three FIM items and the total FIM score and for 6 FAI items and the total FAI score. Among control subjects, men had significantly lower values than did women for 7 FAI items and the total FAI score (Tukey's test, p < .05). CONCLUSION: Among elderly stroke patients, men received more support from family members in ADL performance and had less active lifestyles than did women, possibly because of cultural gender roles.     

Test–retest reliability of the lifetime items on the Addiction Severity Index.

Longer interval (M =50.6, SD =13.1 days) test–retest reliability of the lifetime items on the Addiction Severity Index (ASI), a semistructured interview, was evaluated in 108 alcohol and/or cocaine dependent patients. They were administered the ASI at admission to an intensive outpatient rehabilitation treatment program and again after completion of this intervention and randomization into an aftercare study. Results demonstrated good to excellent reliability for participants' reports for most lifetime items in the medical, employment, drug, alcohol, and legal problem areas. Two of the ASI areas, family/social and psychiatric, had numerous items that did not achieve acceptable levels of reliability. Within these two problem areas, the more subjective and less operationally defined constructs had the poorest reliability. This study, in general, supports the longer interval test–retest reliability of the ASI lifetime items as well as the notion that alcohol and cocaine dependent patients under certain conditions can and do reliably report personal information. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)