Career Development Concepts: Significance and Utility

Trustees of four appropriate professional associations determined the relative value of significant career-development concepts from a preselected list. Comparisons among the trustee groups are made, composite data are reported, suggestions for using the rank-ordered concepts in research as an external criterion are provided, and ideas for incorporating the concepts as topics for group guidance classes are given.     

内隐追随理论:概念、测量、前因及后果

内隐追随理论,是个体心目中既存的关于追随者的特质和行为的认知结构或图式,是当前组织行为研究领域中的一个新兴的概念。内隐追随理论与X-Y理论、内隐绩效理论等既有区别又有联系。内隐追随理论研究的理论基础主要可归纳为认知分类模型、信息加工模型及联结主义网络模型等。现有研究还对内隐追随理论的测量、前因变量和后果变量等进行了初步的探讨。未来研究中,可能会注重开发更有效的测验工具,深入探索影响内隐追随理论形成的因素,采用多种方法进一步澄清变量间的因果联系,以及加强内隐追随理论的本土化研究等。     

The Development of Children's Concepts of Hardness

This study was conducted for three purposes. First, we assessed the development of children's concepts of hardness as an intensive physical quantity. We hypothesized a U-shaped behavioral growth curve for children's judgments on tasks measuring intensive physical quantity, but the hypothesis was not confirmed. The justifications accompanying correct and incorrect judgments for hardness were similar to those where U-shaped behavioral growth was found for other intensive physical quantities (temperature and sweetness). The second purpose was to determine how children solve seriation and transitivity tasks where hardness was the content. More older than younger children solved these tasks, and the transitivity task was correctly solved after the seriation task was correctly solved. One pattern of solutions for transitivity and intensive physical quantity allowed for differentiation between younger and older children who solved the intensivity tasks correctly. The third purpose was to determine whether children think that objects' hardnesses are labile (i.e., hard objects can become soft and vice versa) by simply adding more of that substance. More younger than older children thought that this was true     

Kinesthetic Cues in the Development of Time Concepts

The intent of this study was to document general behavioral correlates of cognitive impulsivity. Fourth-grade children were individually administered the Matching Familiar Figures (MFF) test, and the resulting measures (latency and errors) were correlated with a group administered scale of impulsivity, the Impulsivity Scale for Children (ISC) and eight teacher ratings evaluating the child on a series of different behaviors. No relationships existed between MFF measures and the ISC; and only one teacher rating correlated significantly with either MFF variable. This teacher rating (tendency to respond) was found to be the only discriminating teacher rating, and the high correlation between it and the MFF latency was explained because of the high task similarity between MFF requirements and the behaviors rated on “tendency to respond.” Cognitive impulsivity was not predicted by classroom behavior, implying that an individual's preferred conceptual tempo is not a part of a global impulsive behavior pattern but rather a relatively independent dimension of cognitive style. The questionable validity of the ISC was discussed for children of this age group, as was the significant correlation between Primary Mental Abilities (PMA) scores and the ISC scores.     

The Role of Bayesian Concepts in Test Development and Test Interpretation

Column Editor's Note. Among Robert L. Thorndike's many contributions is his use of Bayesian thinking in test construction and his dissemination of information about Bayesian concepts. Thorndike's ability to render complex technical material comprehensible to nonspecialists prompted your editor to invite him to develop a series of three articles. In the first, readers are introduced to central tenets of Bayesian reasoning and are led to appreciate that it is not an esoteric approach reserved for specialists; rather, it is closely related to common sense. In the second article, to appear in next month's issue, Thorndike sketches some Bayesian approaches to test development. In the final installment, which will appear in November, Thondike illustrates how Bayesian thinking can and should be used to interpret test scores. When we interpret a score, we usually have prior test or nontest information about the examinee. “We should neither ignore nor overvalue this prior information but should skillfully use it to govern our interpretation of the new data. It is hoped that this trilogy will not only provide some interpretive skill but will also enhance commonsense thinking in a wide variety of professional and personal applications.—Gerald S. Hanna     

Development of Time Concepts: Differentiating Clock and Calendar from Apparent Durations

To investigate the role of perception and stress on time concepts, the real-time and apparent durations of common events varying in length from 30 s to 4 years were rated by kindergarten through 12th-grade pupils, college students, professors, and stress-impaired adults (N = 1,788). The events were pleasant, neutral or unpleasant; either directly perceptible and of specific duration or perceptually vague; and happened either to oneself or to someone else. Second graders differentiated apparent from real-time durations and, therefore, already had an abstract concept of time. As predicted from differentiation theory (Gibson, E. J., 1969; Gibson, J. J., 1966, 1983), longer durations were acquired later than shorter ones; perceptually-vague durations were acquired later than clearly perceptible ones of similar length; and, as Neisser (1976) also suggested, stress did not lead to regression, nor did the personal-impersonal dimension make a difference during childhood.     

Development of a Self-Theory and Measurement Scale

In this study, we examined a theoretical model of self-development and a scale to measure 12 aspects of the self. The theory, called developmental self-theory, proposes a hierarchical arrangement of dimensions of the self. The 12 scales are collectively called the Omnibus Self-Test and measure Self-Esteem, Positive Self-Regard, Moral Self-Concept, Self-Confidence, Self-Reliance, Self-Control, Selfishness, Self-Disclosure, Self-as-Agent, Self-Critical, Self-Identity, and Self-Reflection. Preliminary data on the reliability and validity of the Omnibus Self-Test is reported along with intercorrelations among the scales.     

Collaborative Measurement Development as a Tool in CBPR: Measurement Development and Adaptation within the Cultures of Communities

This paper describes the processes we engaged into develop a measurement protocol used to assess the outcomes in a community based suicide and alcohol abuse prevention project with two Alaska Native communities. While the literature on community-based participatory research (CBPR) is substantial regarding the importance of collaborations, few studies have reported on this collaboration in the process of developing measures to assess CBPR projects. We first tell a story of the processes around the standard issues of doing cross-cultural work on measurement development related to areas of equivalence. A second story is provided that highlights how community differences within the same cultural group can affect both the process and content of culturally relevant measurement selection, adaptation, and development.     

儿童道德概念垂直空间隐喻的认知发展

本研究考察了不同年龄阶段儿童道德概念垂直空间隐喻的认知发展。实验1采用图片迫选法,要求学前儿童将道德人物图片和不道德人物图片分别放到垂直空间的上方或下方;实验2采用词汇迫选法,要求学龄儿童将道德词和不道德词分别放到垂直空间的上方或下方。结果发现,儿童均倾向于把道德材料放到上方而把不道德材料放到下方;而且这种趋势随着年龄增长愈发明显。研究结果证明幼儿阶段已开始出现“道德是上,不道德是下”的空间隐喻,其发展规律为：4~5 岁初步形成,7~9 岁基本形成,11~13 岁已接近成人水平。     

Concepts of Intraindividual Variability and Change: Impressions of Cattell's Influence on Lifespan Development Psychology

Raymond B. Cattell is not generally perceived to be a developmental psychologist. However, his lengthy, highly systematic research program produced many conceptual, methodological, measurement, and data analysis tools for identifying and studying interindividual differences and similarities in intraindividual change patterns. Such issues and methods are among the key elements of the foundation on which the lifespan orientation to the study of development rests. Therefore, one can see evidence of the integration of many of Cattell's contributions into the conduct of lifespan development research. In addition to conceptual and methodological innovations, Cattell's substantive contributions, including personality and ability concepts and their accompanying, age-graded measurement devices, are also utilized to varying degrees by developmentalists. How valuable for developmental research have Cattell's contributions been? The evidence sifted indicates that Cattell has not had a notable direct impact on traditional developmental research and theorizing, in part because he has not systematically invested his own efforts in the study of developmental phenomena and issues per se. At a more general level, however, and particularly in relation to the lifespan orientation to the study of development, Cattell's multivariate correlational research program is indeed helping to shape current direction and practice.     

青少年测量估计能力的发展状况及相关因素

测量估计(简称估测)是上世纪七十年代数学认知领域兴起的研究热点之一。采用自编的测验任务对747名青少年估测能力的发展状况及相关因素进行了考察。其中测验任务包括长度和面积估测两种类型,并且每种类型都采用了图形和实物两种题目形式。被试平均年龄为17.11岁。结果发现青少年的估测能力的发展表现出如下特点:(1)青少年的总体估测能力普遍较低;(2)青少年的估测能力在初中阶段会显著提高,但之后的发展相对缓慢;(3)青少年的估测成绩易受任务类型和题目形式的影响。对长度任务的估测成绩好于对面积的估测;对图形题目的估测成绩好于对实际物体的估测;(4)青少年的估测能力不存在明显性别差异。     

Concepts and Epistemic Individuation

Christopher Peacocke has presented an original version of the perennial philosophical thesis that we can gain substantive metaphysical and epistemological insight from an analysis of our concepts. Peacocke's innovation is to look at how concepts are individuated by their possession conditions, which he believes can be specified in terms of conditions in which certain propositions containing those concepts are accepted. The ability to provide such insight is one of Peacocke's major arguments for his theory of concepts. I will critically examine this "fruitfulness" argument by looking at one philosophical problem Peacocke uses his theory to solve and treats in depth.
Peacocke (1999, 2001) defines what he calls the "Integration Challenge." The challenge is to integrate our metaphysics with our epistemology by showing that they are mutually acceptable. Peacocke's key conclusion is that the Integration Challenge can be met for "epistemically individuated concepts."A good theory of content, he believes, will close the apparent gap between an account of truth for any given subject matter and an overall account of knowledge. I shall argue that there are no epistemically individuated concepts, and shall critically analyze Peacocke's arguments for their existence. I will suggest more generally that the possession conditions of concepts and their principles of individuation shed little light on the epistemology or metaphysics of things other than concepts. My broader goal is to shed light on what concepts are by showing that they are more fundamental than the sorts of cognitive and epistemic factors a leading theory uses to define them.¹     

儿童早期测量能力的发展

测量能力是儿童早期数学认知能力的一个重要方面,其中直接比较和非标准测量能力作为儿童早期测量能力发展的主要形式,在一定程度上代表着儿童早期测量能力的发展。本研究对92名3岁儿童的测量能力进行了为期一年的追踪研究,结果发现:(1)在3~4岁期间,儿童直接比较测量能力和非标准测量能力均得到显著发展,但直接比较测量能力的水平提高得更快;(2)儿童直接比较测量能力的年龄主效应、任务主效应以及年龄和任务的交互效应显著;(3)儿童非标准测量能力的年龄主效应和任务主效应均达到显著水平,非标准测量单位应用能力的水平显著高于非标准测量单位形成能力的水平。     

Concepts and conceptual structure

Research and theory on categorization and conceptual structure have recently undergone two major shifts. The first shift is from the assumption that concepts have defining properties (the classical view) to the idea that concept representations may be based on properties that are only characteristic or typical of category examples (the probabilistic view). Both the probabilistic view and the classical view assume that categorization is driven by similarity relations. A major problem with describing category structure in terms of similarity is that the notion of similarity is too unconstrained to give an account of conceptual coherence. The second major shift is from the idea that concepts are organized by similarity to the idea that concepts are organized around theories. In this article, the evidence and rationale associated with these shifts are described, and one means of integrating similarity-based and theory-driven categorization is outlined.