On the use of multilevel modeling as an alternative to items analysis in psycholinguistic research

The use of multilevel modeling is presented as an alternative to separate item and subject ANOVAs (F1 x F2) in psycholinguistic research. Multilevel modeling is commonly utilized to model variability arising from the nesting of lower level observations within higher level units (e.g., students within schools, repeated measures within individuals). However, multilevel models can also be used when two random factors are crossed at the same level, rather than nested. The current work illustrates the use of the multilevel model for crossed random effects within the context of a psycholinguistic experimental study, in which both subjects and items are modeled as random effects within the same analysis, thus avoiding some of the problems plaguing current approaches.     

Self-control progressive relaxation training as an alternative nonpharmacological treatment for essential hypertension: therapeutic effects in the natural environment.

Two clients with 3 and 5$\text{1}\text{2}$ yr history of essential hypertension were successfully treated using self-control progressive relaxation training (PRT). Blood pressure was self-recorded twice daily in the natural environment by each client. The natural environment blood pressures of both clients declined during treatment and stabilized within the normotensive range. Blood pressure reductions were maintained at six months follow-up for one client and two months for the other.     

Internet research: an opportunity to revisit classic ethical problems in behavioral research

The Internet offers many new opportunities for behavioral researchers to conduct quantitative and qualitative research. Although the ethical guidelines of the American Psychological Association generalize, in part, to research conducted through the Internet, several matters related to Internet research require further analysis. This article reviews several fundamental ethical issues related to Internet research, namely the preservation of privacy, the issuance of informed consent, the use of deception and false feedback, and research methods. In essence, the Internet offers unique challenges to behavioral researchers. Among these are the need to better define the distinction between private and public behavior performed through the Internet, ensure mechanisms for obtaining valid informed consent from participants and performing debriefing exercises, and verify the validity of data collected through the Internet.     

Comparative judgments as an alternative to ratings: identifying the scale origin

Although comparative judgment methods have a number of distinct advantages over ratings, they share one common problem: On the basis of comparative judgments, it is not possible to recover the origin of item evaluations. One item may be judged more positively than another, but this result does not allow any conclusions about whether either of the items are attractive or unattractive. This article discusses the implications of this limitation for the interpretation of individual differences in comparative judgments. It also presents 3 different methods that may allow determination of the scale origin using a nested model comparison approach. An application illustrates the proposed approach as well as the benefits of determining the scale origin in understanding value judgments.     

Natural experiments and the educational context: The environment and effects of an alternative inner-city public school on adolescents

The 1-year impact of attending a public alternative high school on two cohorts of adolescents who gained entrance to the school through a lottery was studied. Adolescents who had applied to the school but were not selected in the lottery served as a control group. The nature of the alternative high school environment is described, and the outcome of this natural experiment defined in terms of reactions to school, attitude change, and student achievement. In general, the alternative school positively affected student satisfaction with a variety of aspects of school life and induced some positive change in interracial attitudes while not harming student achievement. Race effects were found in the areas of achievement and interracial attitudes. Implications for the study of natural experiments in general and the specific data in particular are drawn.     

Verbal short-term memory as an articulatory system: Evidence from an alternative paradigm

In a series of seven experiments, the role of articulatory rehearsal in verbal short-term memory was examined via a shadowing-plus-recall paradigm. In this paradigm, subjects shadowed a word target presented closely after an auditory memory list before they recalled the list. The phonological relationship between the shadowing target and the final item on the memory list was manipulated. Experiments 1 and 2 demonstrated that targets sounding similar to the list-final memory item generally took longer to shadow than unrelated targets. This inhibitory effect of phonological relatedness was more pronounced with tense- than lax-vowel pseudoword recall lists. The interaction between vowel tenseness and phonological relatedness was replicated in Experiment 3 using shorter lists of real words. In Experiment 4, concurrent articulation was applied during list learning to block rehearsal; consequently, neither the phonological relatedness effect nor its interaction with vowel tenseness emerged. Experiments 5 and 6 manipulated the occurrence frequencies and lexicality of the recall items, respectively, instead of vowel tenseness. Unlike vowel tenseness, these non-articulatory memory factors failed to interact with the phonological relatedness effect. Experiment 7 orthogonally manipulated the vowel tenseness and frequencies of the recall items; slowing in shadowing times due to phonological relatedness was modulated by vowel tenseness but not frequency. Taken together, these results suggest that under the present paradigm, the modifying effect of vowel tenseness on the magnitude of slowing in shadowing due to phonological relatedness is indicative of a prominent articulatory component in verbal short-term retention. The shadowing-plus-recall approach avoids confounding overt recall into internal memory processing, which is an inherent problem of the traditional immediate serial recall and span tasks.     

Empirical evaluation of virtual environment technology as an experimental tool in developmental spatial cognition research

The study compared developmental aspects of spatial knowledge acquisition in a real and a virtual large-scale environment according to the classical study of Cohen and Schuepfer (1980 Cohen, R. and Schuepfer, T. 1980. The representation of landmarks and routes. Child Development, 51: 1065–1071. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) with 40 younger children (7–8 years old), 40 older children (11–12 years old), and 40 adults. All participants learned the correct route through a maze, recalled the inherent landmarks, and drew a map of the maze. The results revealed equivalent age effects for these tasks in the real and the virtual world. In both conditions younger children needed more trials to learn the route and showed less configurational knowledge than older children and adults. Age group performance on landmark recollection did not differ in either the virtual or the real world maze. Except for the map drawing task performance was always worse in the virtual world condition. Because the developmental process was comparable in real and virtual environments, the results support the use of virtual environments for the research on developmental aspects of spatial knowledge.     

Using on-line and CD-ROM database archives as an adjunct to teaching survey research methods

Many undergraduate courses in research methods include a section on surveys. A number of practical issues can interfere with the design and implementation of student survey research and often preclude the completion of well-designed survey studies. This paper examines the use of on-line and CD-ROM databases as an alternative to student-designed survey instruments. Problems faced by student survey researchers can often be addressed by the use of such databases, rather than by “live” surveys. Data from experimental research collected on line are also available and downloadable for analysis, providing even greater flexibility for analysis. Advantages and problems of using archival databases in the teaching of survey research are considered. A brief list of databases that may be suitable for student research is provided, and a list of URLs, including where and how to obtain archives, is given.     

Validating Internet research: A test of the psychometric equivalence of Internet and in-person samples

This study evaluated the psychometric equivalency of Web-based research. The Sexual Boredom Scale was presented via the World-Wide Web along with five additional scales used to validate it. A subset of 533 participants that matched a previously published sample (Watt & Ewing, 1996) on age, gender, and race was identified. An 8 × 8 correlation matrix from the matched Internet sample was compared via structural equation modeling with a similar 8 × 8 correlation matrix from the previously published study. The Internet and previously published samples were psychometrically equivalent. Co-efficient alpha values calculated on the matched Internet sample yielded reliability coefficients almost identical to those for the previously published sample. Factors such as computer administration and uncontrollable administration settings did not appear to affect the results. Demographic data indicated an overrepresentation of males by about 6% and Caucasians by about 13% relative to the U.S. Census (2000). A total of 2,230 participants were obtained in about 8 months without remuneration. These results suggest that data collection on the Web is (1) reliable, (2) valid, (3) reasonably representative, (4) cost effective, and (5) efficient.     

Internet research: Self-monitoring and judgments of attractiveness

Two studies examined the relationship between self-monitoring and factors influencing romantic attraction to others. In Study 1, participants completed an Internet-mediated version of the Self-Monitoring Scale (Gangestad & Snyder, 1985) and indicated which of two people (one physically attractive, one with a more desirable personality) they found most attractive. Results matched previous findings (Snyder, Berscheid, & Glick, 1985), but the effect was smaller. Study 2, a paper-and-pencil replication of Study 1, examined whether the weaker effect was due to Internet mediation and found no differences in the choices made by high and low self-monitors. Results suggested that while determinants of attraction may vary for different populations, Internet research methods can tap the same phenomena as traditional laboratory studies.     

The use of deep and surface learning strategies among students learning English as a foreign language in an Internet environment

Background. The learning context is learning English in an Internet environment. The examination of this learning process was based on the Biggs and Moore's teaching‐learning model ( Biggs & Moore, 1993 ). Aim. The research aims to explore the use of the deep and surface strategies in an Internet environment among EFL students who come from different socio‐economic backgrounds. The results of the research may add an additional level to the understanding of students' functioning in the Internet environment. Sample. One hundred fourty‐eight Israeli junior and high school students participated in this research. Methods. The methodology was based on special computer software: Screen Cam, which recorded the students' learning process. In addition, expert judges completed a questionnaire which examined and categorized the students' learning strategies. Results. The research findings show a clear preference of participants from all socio‐economic backgrounds towards the surface learning strategy. The findings also showed that students from the medium to high socio‐economic background used both learning strategies more frequently than low socio‐economic students. Conclusions. The results reflect the habits that students acquire during their adjustment process throughout their education careers. A brief encounter with the Internet learning environment apparently cannot change norms or habits, which were acquired in the non‐Internet learning environment.