Computerizing the Mental Rotations Test: Are gender differences maintained?

A computerized version of the Revised Mental Rotations Test using touch-screen technology was tested and compared with the paper-and-pencil version. One hundred ninety-two participants--133 women and 59 men--took the paper-and-pencil version; 91 participants--47 women and 44 men--took the touch-screen version. Standard scores x test half and the entire test, proportion of errors x type, and proportion correct x alternative type were calculated. The expected gender differences occurred in standard scores and proportion correct x alternative type for both test versions. Men performed better than women in all instances, but gender difference effect sizes (measured by Cohen's d) were reduced from large for the paper-and-pencil version to medium for the computerized version. Scores declined at least nominally from the first to the second half of both versions, and significantly for women taking the paper-and-pencil version.     

The Short-Term Memory of Profoundly Deaf People for Words,Signs, and Abstract Spatial Stimuli

The short-term memory (STM) of 25 deaf and 20 hearing adults fluent in Australian Sign Language (Auslan) was tested using both free- and serial-recall versions of three tasks. On two tasks, where stimuli were presented as either written words or Auslan signs, hearing subjects performed significantly better than deaf subjects. This difference was attributed to the facility of the hearing subjects in translating these two classes of language-based stimuli into phonological codes, which have a preferred status in STM. On the third, language-free task, which was an adaptation of the Corsi Blocks test, the deaf and hearing subjects performed at comparable levels, indicating that differences in their STM became evident only with the introduction of language-based factors. Analyses restricted to the deaf subjects showed that performances on the language-based STM tasks correlated positively with scores on a reading comprehension test. Also, deaf subjects who reported an oral education outperformed their counterparts, who reported a total communication (oral plus signed English) education on the language-based STM tasks. Thus, for this diverse adult deaf sample, proficiency in STM for language-based material, skill in reading, and report of an oral rather than total communication education appear to covary.     

Accuracy and speed of orthographic processing in persons with developmental dyslexia

A group of 39 persons (20 male and 19 female, 11.0 to 32.5 yr.) with developmental dyslexia and 42 controls (21 male and 21 female, 11.2 to 32.3 years) were compared on computerized tests of sight word reading, nonword decoding, and spelling recognition. The subjects with developmental dyslexia performed significantly slower and less accurately than controls on all tasks. Further, the effect size of the group differences was larger for the older group. Within-group analyses showed a significant difference by age group on accuracy. Only the control group showed a significant age difference between groups on response time. Mean accuracy and response times for the reading-disabled subjects resembled shifted versions of the control group means. These results agree with previous reports that phonological deficits persist for reading-disabled adults and suggest a test of whether the discrepancy between reading-disabled and typically achieving readers may actually increase across age groups.     

Development of an automated performance test system for environmental and behavioral toxicology studies

In developing a menu of computerized performance tests for repeated-measures applications the metric properties of selected tests have been examined. Factors of chief concern have been stability and reliability, as well as the practical issue of the length of time it takes to achieve high levels of both. In this study, these factors, as well as predictive validity, are examined. 25 subjects were tested repeatedly (10 sessions) with 11 tests previously identified as "good" candidates for repeated-measures research in paper-and-pencil (marker test) versions. The 11 tests were administered concurrently in their traditional paper-and-pencil modes and newly implemented microcomputer-based versions, along with the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS). Nine of the 11 microcomputer-based tests achieved stability. Reliabilities were generally high, with r greater than or equal to .77 for 3 min. of testing. Cross-correlations of microbased tests with traditional paper-and-pencil versions suggest equivalency between the test constructs in the different media. Correlations between six of the microbased subtests and the WAIS identified common variance, and these might comprise an efficient short (6 min.) battery of tests.     

L'avenir de l'approche par élaboration de règles

The goal of this study is the elaboration of a computerized diagnostic instrument based on Siegler's rule-assessment approach for assessing the acquisition of the probability quantification scheme in subjects aged 6–18 years. Three versions of the test were used. Version 1 was Siegler's original version (four types of problems and four rules). In version 2 five new rules were added; version 3 contained the five new rules plus eleven types of problems. Results show that version 1 allows the classification of only 50% of subjects; version 2, 60%; and version 3, 70%. Despite improved versions, some weaknesses remain, the most important one being that it is still impossible to evaluate intra-individual variability. Aware of these limits, Siegler has reassigned his model to a local model of problem solving, and suggests a developmental model of information processing inspired by a Darwinian model of variation and strategy selection. The authors hypothesize that computer engineering could not only reaffirm the general status of the rule-assessment approach, but could also allow consideration of intra-individual variability.     

Fragmenting pictures on the apple macintosh computer for experimental and clinical applications

A set of procedures implemented in Microsoft BASIC is described that creates fragmented versions of pictures scanned into the Apple Macintosh, stores them as resource files, and presents them in a computerized perceptual memory test. A total of 150 pictures were selected from the Snodgrass and Vanderwart (1980) set for fragmentation. The perceptual memory test provides for five forms of 30 pictures each, divided into two sets of 15 that serve alternately as the training or old set and the new set. A training set of 15 pictures is presented for identification during the first (training) phase of the test. The second (test) phase presents the training pictures again, randomly mixed with 15 new pictures for identification. The performance of 100 subjects on the memory test is presented, along with results for each form. Overall, subjects showed improvement on the task with practice (skill learning), indexed by a decrease in thresholds from the training set to the new set. Subjects also showed large savings for the repeated pictures (perceptual learning), indexed by a decrease in thresholds from the new to the old set.     

Computerized assessment of verbal skill

This paper describes a computerized diagnostic test for the assessment of basic literacy skills in Dutch. Central in this test is a skill labeledword image, referring to the subject's implicit knowledge of orthographic structure. Test norms were obtained in a group of reference subjects. The most notable trend found in the standardization study was that the development of word image performance showed a nonlinear, U-shaped trend. Two case studies are reported. A supplementary validation study, based on test data collected from standard reference groups of normal and poor readers, demonstrated that word image performance is significantly related to between-group differences.     

IGT-Open: An open-source,computerized version of the Iowa Gambling Task

The Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) is commonly used to understand the processes involved in decision-making. Though the task was originally run without a computer, using a computerized version of the task has become typical. These computerized versions of the IGT are useful, because they can make the task more standardized across studies and allow for the task to be used in environments where a physical version of the task may be difficult or impossible to use (e.g., while collecting brain imaging data). Though these computerized versions of the IGT have been useful for experimentation, having multiple software implementations of the task could present reliability issues. We present an open-source software version of the Iowa Gambling Task (called IGT-Open) that allows for millisecond visual presentation accuracy and is freely available to be used and modified. This software has been used to collect data from human subjects and also has been used to run model-based simulations with computational process models developed to run in the ACT-R architecture.     

The Measurement of Verbal Working Memory Capacity and Its Relation to Reading Comprehension

Ninety-four subjects were tested on the Daneman and Carpenter (1980) reading span task, four versions of a related sentence span task in which reaction times and accuracy on sentence processing were measured along with sentence-final word recall, two number generation tasks designed to test working memory, digit span, and two shape-generation tasks designed to measure visual-spatial working memory. Forty-four subjects were retested on a subset of these measures at a 3-month interval. All subjects were tested on standard vocabulary and reading tests. Correlational analyses showed better internal consistency and test-retest reliability of the sentence span tasks than of the Daneman-Carpenter reading span task. Factor analysis showed no factor that could be related to a central verbal working memory; rotated factors suggested groupings of tests into factors that correspond to digitrelated tasks, spatial tasks, sentence processing in sentence span tasks, and recall in sentence span tasks. Correlational analyses and regression analyses showed that the sentence processing component of the sentence span tasks was the best predictor of performance on the reading test, with a small independent contribution of the recall component. The results suggest that sentence span tasks are unreliable unless measurements are made of both their sentence processing and recall components, and that the predictive value of these tasks for reading comprehension abilities lies in the overlap of operations rather than in limitations in verbal working memory that apply to both.     

Comparability of computerized adaptive and conventional testing with the MMPI-2

A computerized adaptive version and the standard version of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) were administered 1 week apart to a sample of 155 college students to assess the comparability of the two versions. The countdown method was used to adaptively administer Scales L, F, the I0 clinical scales, and the 15 new content scales. Profiles across administration modalities show a high degree of similarity, providing evidence for the comparability of computerized adaptive and conventional testing with the MMPI-2. Substantial item savings were found with the adaptive version. Future directions in the study of adaptive testing with the MMPI-2 are discussed.     

Public Self-Awareness and Success-Failure Feedback as Disinhibitors of Restrained Eating

This study investigated the role of public self-awareness and distress in disinhibiting eating. Ninety-six women who were classified as restrained or unrestrained eaters completed a computerized social perception test during which public self-awareness (low vs. high) and type of feedback (success vs. failure) were manipulated. Following the test, restrained subjects ate more than did unrestrained subjects. When public self-awareness was low, subjects who received failure feedback consumed more than those who were exposed to success feedback. An opposite pattern occurred in the high-self-awareness condition. A post hoc examination revealed that restrained subjects exhibited more regulated eating behavior when exposed to a combination of disinhibitors, whereas each disinhibitor taken separately was associated with increased consumption. Results were interpreted in terms of the self-awareness reduction model of eating.     

Conceptual dependency as the language of thought

Roger Schank's research in AI takes seriously the ideas that understanding natural language involves mapping its expressions into an internal representation scheme and that these internal representations have a syntax appropriate for computational operations. It therefore falls within the computational approach to the study of mind. This paper discusses certain aspects of Schank's approach in order to assess its potential adequacy as a (partial) model of cognition. This version of the Language of Thought hypothesis encounters some of the same difficulties that arise for Fodor's account.An ancestor of this paper was written while I was on sabbatical leave from the University of Michigan, Flint, during which time I held a fellowship in the Computer Science Department of Wright State University. Revisions were made while I held a Visiting Lectureship at the University of Waikato. I am grateful to these three institutions for their support, and to James H. Fetzer, David Hemmendinger, and Edwin Hung for helpful comments on earlier versions.     

The Development of New Tests of Source Memory and a New Approach to the Testing of Equivalence of Parallel Versions

The principal aim of this study was to develop tests of source memory in both the verbal and visuo-spatial domains, which would be brief and easy to use in clinical and population settings. Source memory, that is, memory for context or attributes, is very vulnerable to the effects of ageing and to the early stages of dementia. Because longitudinal studies of cognitive function, including clinical trials, involve repeat testing, practice effects may hamper interpretation when identical tests are administered on each occasion. Accordingly, we developed parallel versions of each of the source memory tests. Rather than assuming equivalence by design, we tested the parallel versions to determine whether they were in fact equivalent in difficulty. We also explored the use of different analytic approaches to establishing equivalence. We report the results of a study in which we compared within- and between-subject performance on three parallel versions of visuo-spatial and verbal source memory tests, as well as three parallel versions of standard tests of episodic memory (word list recall) and executive function (letter fluency, category fluency, ideational fluency) in a sample of healthy elderly volunteers. Participants were tested on three occasions separated by 1 week, and test versions were counterbalanced across test sessions. We also examined performance in a group of participants tested on one occasion only, with test versions being allocated at random. We found that for a number of tests, versions which were designed to be parallel, failed to produce equivalent performance in our sample. We show how the results of this study may be of general use to researchers wishing to select particular versions of the tests in our battery. We also urge researchers to be cautious when using parallel versions of other tests. The careful matching or random allocation of items to parallel versions of a test is no guarantee that performance on the different versions will be equivalent.     

Equivalence of computerized and conventional versions of the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II)

This study examined the equivalence of the conventional and computerized versions of the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), taking into account that computer aver-sion may negatively impact computer-administered BDI-II scores by elevating them. Participants were 180 psychology undergraduate students from a medium-sized midwestern university. Participants were divided into four experimental groups. Each group was administered the BDI-II twice in various combinations (conventional only, computerized only, conventional and computerized and vice versa). All participants completed measures of computer aversion and computer experience. Participants who received both versions of the BDI-II were also asked to specify their preference for method of administration. Independent samples t-test results indicated that the com-puterized and paper-and-pencil versions of the BDI-II may be considered equivalent in terms of measurement validity. Implications for future research are discussed. Portions of this article were presented at the 1999 meetings of the American Psychological Association, Boston. The authors thank Dr. Michael Granaas for statistical assistance with the Latin Squares analysis.     

The reliability of nocturnal vaginal blood flow

Fourteen subjects participated in a sleep study designed to document the reliability of measurements of REM-related vaginal blood-flow changes. Several standard sleep parameters were also examined for comparison with vaginal measures. The most reliable vaginal measure was the maximal change in disengorgement for a given REM period averaged across a night of REM periods. The reliability of this measure compared favorably with that of a highly reliable computerized measure of REM density. It is suggested that nocturnal vaginal blood-flow measures have sufficient reliability to be useful in the differential diagnosis of organic and psychogenic sexual dysfunction.This study was supported in part by a training grant to the Department of Clinical Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville (USPHS532DE07133-02), and a grant from the NIH (USPHSCA26364R073241-29) to the second author.     

Equivalence of computerized and conventional versions of the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II)

This study examined the equivalence of the conventional and computerized versions of the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), taking into account that computer aver-sion may negatively impact computer-administered BDI-II scores by elevating them. Participants were 180 psychology undergraduate students from a medium-sized midwestern university. Participants were divided into four experimental groups. Each group was administered the BDI-II twice in various combinations (conventional only, computerized only, conventional and computerized and vice versa). All participants completed measures of computer aversion and computer experience. Participants who received both versions of the BDI-II were also asked to specify their preference for method of administration. Independent samples t-test results indicated that the com-puterized and paper-and-pencil versions of the BDI-II may be considered equivalent in terms of measurement validity. Implications for future research are discussed. Portions of this article were presented at the 1999 meetings of the American Psychological Association, Boston. The authors thank Dr. Michael Granaas for statistical assistance with the Latin Squares analysis.     

The fate of old memories

A questionnaire relating to past events, and a well-known faces recognition test, were devised to provide an objective and quantitative assessment of recent and remote memories. Normal subjects aged from 40 to 89 were tested on recall and recognition versions of each test. It was found that performance declined with increasing age for all time periods sampled. No evidence was obtained to support the widely held belief that memory is inversely related to the remoteness of event in older subjects.     

Logical knowledge and cue redundancy in deductive reasoning

This study clarified the basis of Hoch and Tschirgi's (1983) finding of good performance on abstract deductive reasoning problems based on Wason's (1966) four-card selection task. Different versions of the problem were developed through the addition of cues about antecedent-consequent relations redundant with the logical structure of the task. In all versions of the task, abstract symbols were used, and subjects were asked to test the truth or falsity of an implication rule. Twenty-five subjects from each of three education levels (high school, bachelor's, and master's) solved one of four versions of the task. Forty-eight percent of the master's subjects solved the original abstract version of the task compared to less than 10% of the high school and bachelor's subjects. When the problems contained redundant cues, performance improved dramatically, most notably in the bachelor's subjects. Reasoning performance seemed to be a function of both the general inferential abilities that subjects brought to the task and the redundant cues conveyed through problem content. Many of the master's subjects had adequate logical knowledge to solve the problems without the addition of redundant cues, though performance did increase when such cues were present. In contrast, high school subjects appeared to have so little understanding of the logical structure of conditionals that cue redundancy improved performance only slightly.     

Color diagnosticity in object recognition

Does color influence object recognition? In the present study, the degree to which an object was associated with a specific color was referred to ascolor diagnosticity. Using a feature listing and typicality measure, objects were identified as either high in color diagnosticity or low in color diagnosticity. According to the color diagnosticity hypothesis, color should more strongly influence the recognition of high color diagnostic (HCD) objects (e.g., a banana) than the recognition of low color diagnostic (LCD) objects (e.g., a lamp). This prediction was supported by results from classification, naming, and verification experiments, in which subjects were faster to identify color versions of HCD objects than they were to identify achromatic versions and incongruent color versions. In contrast, subjects were no faster to identify color versions of LCD objects than they were to identify achromatic and incongruent color versions. Moreover, when shape information was degraded but color information preserved, subjects were less impaired in their recognition of degraded HCD objects than of degraded LCD objects, relative to their nondegraded versions. Collectively, these results suggest that color plays a role in the recognition of HCD objects.     

Effects of Changed Item Order: A cautionary note to practitioners on jumping to computerized adaptive testing for personality assessment

This study aims to investigate the effects of item order used with computerized adaptive testing (CAT) in the domain of personality assessment. Based on items from the German version of the Eysenck Personality Profiler, four test versions were designed from seven scales and presented to four experimental groups (n=362). One conventional and three adaptive versions were created, each beginning with items representing either medium or extreme trait levels. Results showed significant differences in average gained person parameters for three out of seven scales between the adaptive versions, as well as differences in average reaction times for answering the items. Results indicated context effects as a problem for using CAT to measure personality.