ATTENTIONAL FLEXIBILITY AND PERSEVERATION: DEVELOPMENTAL ASPECTS IN YOUNG CHILDREN

Whereas a growing interest in the development of attentional flexibility (AF) and in perseverative behavior, being one marker of this component, exists in neuropsychological studies and in the domain of developmental psychopathology (e.g., PKU, infantile schizophrenia, autism and Parkinson's disease) (Pennington &; Ozonoff, 1996 Pennington, B. and Ozonoff, S. 1996. Executive functions and developmental psychopathology. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 37: 51–88. [PUBMED][INFOTRIEVE][CSA][Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]; Stahl &; Pry, 2002 Stahl, L. and Pry, R. 2002. Joint attention and set-shifting in young children with autism. Autism, 6(4): 383–396. [PUBMED][INFOTRIEVE][CROSSREF][Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), only a few studies have concerned themselves with this subject in normal children. It is thus of interest to add more empirical data to the existing literature in this domain. Therefore, the aim of our study was to explore the development of AF and of perseverative errors in young preschool children with normal development, aged 1.5 to 6 years. Using set-shifting tasks of increasing difficulty level, three age groups were compared with respect to their AF skills.Results show a developmental factor underlying AF, with different levels of this form becoming more and more complex with age, ranging from a rudimentary visual form to a complex representational form of flexibility. Overall, few perseverative errors occurred and they decreased with age. Results are discussed from a developmental and neuropsychological perspective.     

Lexicality and Stimulus Length Effects in Italian Dyslexics: Role of the Overadditivity Effect

The effect of lexicality and stimulus length was studied in 32 third- and fourth-grade Italian dyslexics and in 86 age-matched controls. A visual lexical decision task was used. As proposed by Faust et al. (1999) Faust, M. E., Balota, D. A., Spieler, D. H. and Ferraro, F. R. 1999. Individual differences in information-processing rate and amount: Implications for group differences in response latency. Psychological Bulletin, 125: 777–799. [INFOTRIEVE][CROSSREF][CSA][Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar], the results were analyzed in terms of raw reaction time (RT) data and using the z-score transformation to control for the presence of overadditivity effects. In terms of RTs, dyslexics showed a larger difference between words and nonwords (lexicality effect) and between short and long stimuli (length effect) than proficient readers. When data were transformed into z scores, only the group by length interaction remained significant while that with lexicality vanished. This pattern indicates that stimulus length has a specific role in Italian dyslexics’ reading deficit; in contrast, slowness in responding to nonwords was not specific but was interpreted as one aspect of dyslexics’ general inability to deal with alphabetical material (overadditivity effect).     

Double Decomposition of Level-1 Variables in Multilevel Models: An Analysis of the Flynn Effect in the NSLY Data

This paper introduces an extension of cluster mean centering (also called group mean centering) for multilevel models, which we call “double decomposition (DD).” This centering method separates between-level variance, as in cluster mean centering, but also decomposes within-level variance of the same variable. This process retains the benefits of cluster mean centering but allows for context variables derived from lower level variables, other than the cluster mean, to be incorporated into the model. A brief simulation study is presented, demonstrating the potential advantage (or even necessity) for DD in certain circumstances. Several applications to multilevel analysis are discussed. Finally, an empirical demonstration examining the Flynn effect (Flynn, 1987 Flynn, J. R. (1987). Massive IQ gains in 14 nations: What IQ tests really measure. Psychological Bulletin, 101(2), 171. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0090408.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), our motivating example, is presented. The use of DD in the analysis provides a novel method to narrow the field of plausible causal hypotheses regarding the Flynn effect, in line with suggestions by a number of researchers (Mingroni, 2014 Mingroni, M. A. (2014). Future efforts in Flynn effect research: Balancing reductionism with holism. Journal of Intelligence, 2(4), 122. https://doi.org/10.3390/jintelligence2040122.[Crossref] , [Google Scholar]; Rodgers, 2015 Rodgers, J. L. (2015). Methodological issues associated with studying the Flynn effect: Exploratory and confirmatory efforts in the past, present, and future. Journal of Intelligence, 3(4), 111. https://doi.org/10.3390/jintelligence3040111. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar]).     

Emotion,gender, and gender typical identity in autobiographical memory

Gender differences in the emotional intensity and content of autobiographical memory (AM) are inconsistent across studies, and may be influenced as much by gender identity as by categorical gender. To explore this question, data were collected from 196 participants (age 18–40), split evenly between men and women. Participants narrated four memories, a neutral event, high point event, low point event, and self-defining memory, completed ratings of emotional intensity for each event, and completed four measures of gender typical identity. For self-reported emotional intensity, gender differences in AM were mediated by identification with stereotypical feminine gender norms. For narrative use of affect terms, both gender and gender typical identity predicted affective expression. The results confirm contextual models of gender identity (e.g., Diamond, 2012 Diamond, L. M. (2012). The desire disorder in research on sexual orientation in women: Contributions of dynamical systems theory. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 41, 73–83. doi: 10.1007/s10508-012-9909-7[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]. The desire disorder in research on sexual orientation in women: Contributions of dynamical systems theory. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 41, 73–83) and underscore the dynamic interplay between gender and gender identity in the emotional expression of autobiographical memories.     

The Factor Structure of the CVLT-C in Pediatric Epilepsy

The current study used archival data to evaluate the fit of six latent variable models, originally generated by Donders (1999) Donders. 1999. Structural analysis of the California Verbal Learning Test—Children's Version in the standardization sample. Developmental Neuropsychology, 15(3): 395–406. [CSA][Taylor &; Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar], for the California Verbal Learning Test-Children's Version (CVLT-C; Delis, Kramer, Kaplan, &; Ober, 1994 Delis, D. C., Kramer, J. H., Kaplan, E. and Ober, B. A. 1994. California Verbal Learning Test—Children's Version, San Antonio, TX: Psychological Corporation.  [Google Scholar]) in a large (N = 289) sample of pediatric epilepsy cases presenting at three tertiary treatment centers. Using confirmatory factor analysis, we found that a model including factors of Attention Span, Learning Efficiency, Free Delayed Recall, Cued Delayed Recall, and Inaccurate Recall demonstrated the best relative fit for our data. These findings are consistent with those reported by Donders (1999) Donders. 1999. Structural analysis of the California Verbal Learning Test—Children's Version in the standardization sample. Developmental Neuropsychology, 15(3): 395–406. [CSA][Taylor &; Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar] in his reanalysis of the CVLT-C standardization sample data, supporting the validity of this factorial model in pediatric epilepsy populations.     

The exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses of two subjective career success instruments

This study investigated the psychometric properties of two subjective career success instruments within the South African context: Perceived Career Success (PCSS: Gattiker &; Larwood, 1986 Gattiker, U. E., &; Larwood, L. (1986). Subjective career success: A study of managers and support personnel. Journal of Business and Psychology, 1(2), 78–94. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF01018805[Crossref] , [Google Scholar]) and Life Success Measures Scale (LSMS: Parker &; Chusmir, 1992 Parker, B., &; Chusmir, L. H. (1992). Development and validation of a life-success measures scale. Psychological Reports, 70(2), 627–637. http://dx.doi.org/10.2466/pr0.1992.70.2.627[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). Data were collected via a convenient sample of 708 South African Police Services (SAPS) personnel (females = 36.8%; Sotho language = 62.50%). Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was conducted on both instruments, followed by confirmatory factor analyses (CFA). Both instruments showed acceptable construct validity and reliability of scores.     

An Introduction to Kristof’s Theorem for Solving Least-Square Optimization Problems Without Calculus

Kristof’s Theorem (Kristof, 1970 Kristof, W. (1970). A theorem on the trace of certain matrix products and some applications. Journal of Mathematical Psychology, 7(3), 515–530. https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-2496(70)90037-4[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) describes a matrix trace inequality that can be used to solve a wide-class of least-square optimization problems without calculus. Considering its generality, it is surprising that Kristof’s Theorem is rarely used in statistics and psychometric applications. The underutilization of this method likely stems, in part, from the mathematical complexity of Kristof’s (1964 Kristof, W. (1964). Die beste orthogonale Transformation zur gegenseitigen Uberfiihrung zweier Faktorenmatrizen. Diagnostica, 10, 87–90. [Google Scholar], 1970 Kristof, W. (1970). A theorem on the trace of certain matrix products and some applications. Journal of Mathematical Psychology, 7(3), 515–530. https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-2496(70)90037-4[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) writings. In this article, I describe the underlying logic of Kristof’s Theorem in simple terms by reviewing four key mathematical ideas that are used in the theorem’s proof. I then show how Kristof’s Theorem can be used to provide novel derivations to two cognate models from statistics and psychometrics. This tutorial includes a glossary of technical terms and an online supplement with R (R Core Team, 2017 R Core Team (2017). R: A language and environment for statistical computing. Vienna, Austria: R Foundation for Statistical Computing. Retrieved from https://www.R-project.org/ [Google Scholar]) code to perform the calculations described in the text.     

Considering too few alternatives: The mental model theory of extensional reasoning

When solving a simple probabilistic problem, people tend to build an incomplete mental representation. We observe this pattern in responses to probabilistic problems over a set of premises using the conjunction, disjunction, and conditional propositional connectives. The mental model theory of extensional reasoning explains this bias towards underestimating the number of possibilities: In reckoning with different interpretations of the premises (logical rules, mental model theoretical, and, specific to conditional premises, conjunction and biconditional interpretation) the mental model theory accounts for the majority of observations. Different interpretations of a premise result in a build-up of mental models that are often incomplete. These mental models are processed using either an extensional strategy relying on proportions amongst models, or a conflict monitoring strategy. The consequence of considering too few possibilities is an erroneous probability estimate akin to that faced by decision makers who fail to generate and consider all alternatives, a characteristic of bounded rationality. We compare our results to the results published by Johnson-Laird, Legrenzi, Girotto, Legrenzi, and Caverni [Johnson-Laird, P., Legrenzi, P., Girotto, V., Legrenzi, M., &; Caverni, J. (1999 Johnson-Laird, P., Legrenzi, P., Girotto, V., Legrenzi, M., &; Caverni, J. (1999). Naive probability: A mental model theory of extensional reasoning. Psychological Review, 106, 62–88. doi:10.1037/0033-295X.106.1.62[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). Naive probability: A mental model theory of extensional reasoning. Psychological Review, 106 Johnson-Laird, P., Legrenzi, P., Girotto, V., Legrenzi, M., &; Caverni, J. (1999). Naive probability: A mental model theory of extensional reasoning. Psychological Review, 106, 62–88. doi:10.1037/0033-295X.106.1.62[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar], 62 Johnson-Laird, P., Legrenzi, P., Girotto, V., Legrenzi, M., &; Caverni, J. (1999). Naive probability: A mental model theory of extensional reasoning. Psychological Review, 106, 62–88. doi:10.1037/0033-295X.106.1.62[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]–88 Johnson-Laird, P., Legrenzi, P., Girotto, V., Legrenzi, M., &; Caverni, J. (1999). Naive probability: A mental model theory of extensional reasoning. Psychological Review, 106, 62–88. doi:10.1037/0033-295X.106.1.62[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]. doi:10 Johnson-Laird, P., Legrenzi, P., Girotto, V., Legrenzi, M., &; Caverni, J. (1999). Naive probability: A mental model theory of extensional reasoning. Psychological Review, 106, 62–88. doi:10.1037/0033-295X.106.1.62[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar].1037 Johnson-Laird, P., Legrenzi, P., Girotto, V., Legrenzi, M., &; Caverni, J. (1999). Naive probability: A mental model theory of extensional reasoning. Psychological Review, 106, 62–88. doi:10.1037/0033-295X.106.1.62[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]/0033 Johnson-Laird, P., Legrenzi, P., Girotto, V., Legrenzi, M., &; Caverni, J. (1999). Naive probability: A mental model theory of extensional reasoning. Psychological Review, 106, 62–88. doi:10.1037/0033-295X.106.1.62[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]-295X Johnson-Laird, P., Legrenzi, P., Girotto, V., Legrenzi, M., &; Caverni, J. (1999). Naive probability: A mental model theory of extensional reasoning. Psychological Review, 106, 62–88. doi:10.1037/0033-295X.106.1.62[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar].106 Johnson-Laird, P., Legrenzi, P., Girotto, V., Legrenzi, M., &; Caverni, J. (1999). Naive probability: A mental model theory of extensional reasoning. Psychological Review, 106, 62–88. doi:10.1037/0033-295X.106.1.62[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar].1 Johnson-Laird, P., Legrenzi, P., Girotto, V., Legrenzi, M., &; Caverni, J. (1999). Naive probability: A mental model theory of extensional reasoning. Psychological Review, 106, 62–88. doi:10.1037/0033-295X.106.1.62[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar].62 Johnson-Laird, P., Legrenzi, P., Girotto, V., Legrenzi, M., &; Caverni, J. (1999). Naive probability: A mental model theory of extensional reasoning. Psychological Review, 106, 62–88. doi:10.1037/0033-295X.106.1.62[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]], and we observe lower performance levels than those in the original article.     

Tactile Ranschburg effects: facilitation and inhibitory repetition effects analogous to verbal memory

The present paper examines the effect of within-sequence item repetitions in tactile order memory. Employing an immediate serial recall procedure, participants reconstructed a six-item sequence tapped upon their fingers by moving those fingers in the order of original stimulation. In Experiment 1a, within-sequence repetition of an item separated by two-intervening items resulted in a significant reduction in recall accuracy for that repeated item (i.e., the Ranschburg effect). In Experiment 1b, within-sequence repetition of an adjacent item resulted in significant recall facilitation for that repeated item. These effects mirror those reported for verbal stimuli (e.g., Henson, 1998a Henson, R. N. A. (1998a). Item repetition in short-term memory: Ranschburg repeated. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 24(5), 1162–1181. doi:doi.org/10.1037/0278-7393.24.5.1162[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]. Item repetition in short-term memory: Ranschburg repeated. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 24(5), 1162–1181. doi:doi.org/10.1037/0278-7393.24.5.1162). These data are the first to demonstrate the Ranschburg effect with non-verbal stimuli and suggest further cross-modal similarities in order memory.     

Valedictory

Contingentism, generally contrasted with law necessitarianism, is the view that the laws of nature are contingent. It is often coupled with the claim that their contingency is knowable a priori. This paper considers Bird's [2001 Bird, Alexander 2001. Necessarily, Salt Dissolves In Water, Analysis 61/4: 267–74.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar], 2002 Bird, Alexander 2002. On Whether Some Laws Are Necessary, Analysis 62/3: 257–70.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar], 2005 Bird, Alexander 2005. Unexpected A Posteriori Necessary Laws of Nature, Australasian Journal of Philosophy 83/4: 533–48.[Taylor &; Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar], 2007 Bird, Alexander 2007. Nature's Metaphysics: Laws and Properties, Oxford: Clarendon Press.[Crossref] , [Google Scholar]] arguments for the thesis that, necessarily, salt dissolves in water; and it defends his view against Beebee's [2001] and Psillos's [2002 Psillos, Stathis 2002. Salt Does Dissolve In Water, But Not Necessarily, Analysis 62/3: 255–7.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]] contingentist objections. A new contingentist objection is offered and several reasons for scepticism about its success are raised. It is concluded that certain higher-level laws describing the behaviours of molecular compounds may be necessary due to their dependence on underlying physical laws, and that the modal status of laws of nature cannot be determined a priori, as the structural features of the substances and properties they govern must first be investigated.     

Calibrated Bayes Factors Should Not Be Used: A Reply to Hoijtink,van Kooten,and Hulsker

Hoijtink, Kooten, and Hulsker (2016 Hoijtink, H., van Kooten, P., &; Hulsker, K. (2016). Why Bayesian psychologists should change the way they use the Bayes factor. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 51, 1--9. doi: 10.1080/00273171.2014.969364.[Taylor &; Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) present a method for choosing the prior distribution for an analysis with Bayes factor that is based on controlling error rates, which they advocate as an alternative to our more subjective methods (Morey &; Rouder, 2014 Morey, R.D., &; Rouder, J.N. (2014). Bayesfactor: Computation of Bayes factors for common designs. R package version 0.9.9. Retrieved from http://CRAN.R-project.org/package=BayesFactor [Google Scholar]; Rouder, Speckman, Sun, Morey, &; Iverson, 2009 Rouder, J.N., Speckman, P.L., Sun, D., Morey, R.D., &; Iverson, G. (2009). Bayesian t-tests for accepting and rejecting the null hypothesis. Psychonomic Bulletin and Review, 16, 225–237. doi: 10.3758/PBR.16.2.225[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]; Wagenmakers, Wetzels, Borsboom, &; van der Maas, 2011 Wagenmakers, E.-J., Wetzels, R., Borsboom, D., &; van der Maas, H. (2011). Why psychologists must change the way they analyze their data: The case of psi. A comment on Bem (2011). Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 100, 426–432. doi: 10.1037/a0022790[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). We show that the method they advocate amounts to a simple significance test, and that the resulting Bayes factors are not interpretable. Additionally, their method fails in common circumstances, and has the potential to yield arbitrarily high Type II error rates. After critiquing their method, we outline the position on subjectivity that underlies our advocacy of Bayes factors.     

Using the TAT to Assess the Relation Between Gender Identity and the Use of Defense Mechanisms

The purpose of this study is to explore whether 2 different dimensions of personality, when assessed at an implicit level with the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT; Murray, 1943 Murray, H. A. (1943). Thematic Apperception Test manual. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. [Google Scholar]) will show a theoretically meaningful coherence not demonstrated when 1 is assessed at an implicit level and the other at an explicit level. Gender identity and defense mechanisms were assessed implicitly using the TAT. Gender identity was compared with a self-report measure of gender-related attributes assessed at the explicit level. The results showed a theoretically meaningful coherence when different dispositions were assessed at the same level, but a lack of agreement when similar dispositions were assessed at different levels. The study is based on a secondary analysis of data from 2 previously published papers (Cramer, 1998 Cramer, P. (1998). Threat to gender representation: Identity and identification. Journal of Personality, 66, 335–354.[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]; Cramer &; Westergren, 1999 Cramer, P., &; Hogan, K. (1975). Sex differences in verbal and play fantasy. Developmental Psychology, 11, 145–154.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]).     

Immediate Psychological Impact of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: Symptoms of PTSD and Coping Skills

Five hundred eighty-eight participants completed the Short Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Rating Interview (SPRINT; Connor &; Davidson, 2001 Connor, K. and Davidson, J. 2001. SPRINT: A brief global assessment of post-traumatic stress disorder. International Clinical Psychopharmacology, 16(5): 279–284. [Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) and the Brief COPE (Carver, 1997 Carver, C. S. 1997. You want to measure coping but your protocol's too long: Consider the Brief COPE. International Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 4(1): 92–100. [Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) to determine the psychological impacts and coping styles of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill on Gulf Coast residents. Participants were divided into at-risk and nonrisk groups based on their occupations. Results indicated that 28% of the respondents scored above the SPRINT cutoff score, indicating significant levels of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. Furthermore, the Brief COPE results revealed that the at-risk group showed a negative correlation between active coping and the level of PTSD-related symptoms. The at-risk respondents also showed negative correlations of PTSD-related symptoms with coping strategies such as acceptance, planning, positive reframing, humor, and religion. Future research directions are also discussed.     

A Polytomous Model of Cognitive Diagnostic Assessment for Graded Data

Pursuing the line of the difference models in IRT (Thissen &; Steinberg, 1986 Thissen, D., &; Steinberg, L. (1986). A taxonomy of item response models. Psychometrika, 51:567–577. doi:10.1007/BF02295596.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), this article proposed a new cognitive diagnostic model for graded/polytomous data based on the deterministic input, noisy, and gate (Haertel, 1989 Haertel, E. H. (1989). Using restricted latent class models to map the skill structure of achievement items. Journal of Educational Measurement, 26, 333–352. doi:10.1111/j.1745-3984.1989.tb00336.x.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]; Junker &; Sijtsma, 2001 Junker, B. W., &; Sijtsma, K. (2001). Cognitive assessment models with few assumptions, and connections with nonparametric item response theory. Applied Psychological Measurement, 25, 258–272. doi:10.1177/01466210122032064.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), which is named the DINA model for graded data (DINA-GD). We investigated the performance of a full Bayesian estimation of the proposed model. In the simulation, the classification accuracy and item recovery for the DINA-GD model were investigated. The results indicated that the proposed model had acceptable examinees' correct attribute classification rate and item parameter recovery. In addition, a real-data example was used to illustrate the application of this new model with the graded data or polytomously scored items.     

Processing of musical structure by high-functioning adolescents with autism spectrum disorders

Enhanced pitch perception and memory have been cited as evidence of a local processing bias in autism spectrum disorders (ASD). This bias is argued to account for enhanced perceptual functioning (Mottron &; Burack, 2001 Mottron, L. and Burack, J. A. 2001. “Enhanced perceptual functioning in the development of autism”. In The development of autism: Perspectives from theory to research, Edited by: Burack, J. A., Charman, T., Yirmiya, N. and Zelazo, P. R. 131–147. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.  [Google Scholar]; Mottron, Dawson, Soulières, Hubert, &; Burack, 2006 Mottron, L., Dawson, M., Soulières, I., Hubert, B. and Burack, J. 2006. Enhanced perceptual functioning in autism: An update, and eight principles of autistic perception. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 36(1): 27–43. doi:10.1007/s10803-005-0040-7[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) and central coherence theories of ASD (Frith, 1989 Frith, U. 1989. Autism: Explaining the enigma, Oxford: United Kingdom: Blackwell.  [Google Scholar]; Happé &; Frith, 2006 Happé, F. and Frith, U. 2006. The weak coherence account: Detail-focused cognitive style in autism spectrum disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 36(1): 5–25. doi:10.1007/s10803-005-0039-0[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). A local processing bias confers a different cognitive style to individuals with ASD (Happé, 1999 Happé, F. 1999. Autism: Cognitive deficit or cognitive style?. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 3(6): 216–222. doi:10.1016/S1364-6613(99)01318-2[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), which accounts in part for their good visuospatial and visuoconstructive skills. Here, we present analogues in the auditory domain, audiotemporal or audioconstructive processing, which we assess using a novel experimental task: a musical puzzle. This task evaluates the ability of individuals with ASD to process temporal sequences of musical events as well as various elements of musical structure and thus indexes their ability to employ a global processing style. Musical structures created and replicated by children and adolescents with ASD (10–19 years old) and typically developing children and adolescents (7–17 years old) were found to be similar in global coherence. Presenting a musical template for reference increased accuracy equally for both groups, with performance associated to performance IQ and short-term auditory memory. The overall pattern of performance was similar for both groups; some puzzles were easier than others and this was the case for both groups. Task performance was further found to be correlated with the ability to perceive musical emotions, more so for typically developing participants. Findings are discussed in light of the empathizing-systemizing theory of ASD (Baron-Cohen, 2009 Baron-Cohen, S. 2009. Autism: The Empathizing-Systemizing (E-S) Theory. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1156: 68–80. doi:10.1111/j.1749-6632.2009.04467.x[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) and the importance of describing the strengths of individuals with ASD (Happé, 1999 Happé, F. 1999. Autism: Cognitive deficit or cognitive style?. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 3(6): 216–222. doi:10.1016/S1364-6613(99)01318-2[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]; Heaton, 2009 Heaton, P. 2009. Assessing musical skills in autistic children who are not savants. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society Biological Sciences, 364: 1443–1447. doi:10.1098/rstb.2008.0327[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]).     

Characterization of Children's Decision Making: Sensitivity to Punishment Frequency,Not Task Complexity

On a gambling task that models real-life decision making, children between ages 7 and 12 perform like patients with bilateral lesions of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC), opting for choices that yield high immediate gains in spite of higher future losses (Crone &; Van der Molen, 2004 Crone, E. A. and Van der Molen, M. W. 2004. Developmental changes in decision-making: Performance on a gambling task previously shown to rely on ventromedial prefrontal cortex. Developmental Neuropsychology, 25(3): 251–279. [PUBMED][INFOTRIEVE][CROSSREF][Taylor &; Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). The current study set out to characterize developmental changes in decision making by varying task complexity and punishment frequency. Three age groups (7–9 years, 10–12 years, 13–15 years) performed two versions of a computerized variant of the original Iowa gambling task. Task complexity was manipulated by varying the number of choices participants could make. Punishment frequency was manipulated by varying the frequency of delayed punishment. Results showed a developmental increase in the sensitivity to future consequences, which was present only when the punishment was presented infrequently. These results could not be explained by differential sensitivity to task complexity, hypersensitivity to reward, or failure to switch response set after receiving punishment. There was a general pattern of boys outperforming girls by making more advantageous choices over the course of the task. In conclusion, 7–12-year-old children—like VMPFC patients—appear myopic about the future except when the potential for future punishment is high.     

Default Bayes Factors for Model Selection in Regression

In this article, we present a Bayes factor solution for inference in multiple regression. Bayes factors are principled measures of the relative evidence from data for various models or positions, including models that embed null hypotheses. In this regard, they may be used to state positive evidence for a lack of an effect, which is not possible in conventional significance testing. One obstacle to the adoption of Bayes factor in psychological science is a lack of guidance and software. Recently, Liang, Paulo, Molina, Clyde, and Berger (2008) Liang, F., Paulo, R., Molina, G., Clyde, M. A. and Berger, J. O. 2008. Mixtures of g-priors for {B}ayesian variable selection. Journal of the American Statistical Association, 103: 410–423. Retrieved from http://pubs.amstat.org/doi/pdf/10.1198/016214507000001337[Taylor &; Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar] developed computationally attractive default Bayes factors for multiple regression designs. We provide a web applet for convenient computation and guidance and context for use of these priors. We discuss the interpretation and advantages of the advocated Bayes factor evidence measures.     

Retrospective Accounts of Violent Events by Gun Offenders

Mills (1940 Mills , C. Wright . 1940 . “ Situated Actions and Vocabularies of Motive. ” American Sociological Review 5 ( 6 ): 904 – 913 . [CSA] [CROSSREF] [Crossref] , [Google Scholar]) argues that there is a sharp distinction between “causes” and “explanations” or “accounts.” In this study we employ Scott and Lyman's (1968 Scott , Marvin B. and Stanford M. , Lyman 1968 . “ Accounts. ” American Sociological Review 33 ( 1 ): 46 – 61 . [INFOTRIEVE] [CSA] [CROSSREF] [Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) classic formulation of accounts to examine the narrative explanations gun offenders provide for engaging in their violent acts. These narrative accounts illustrate how inmates attempt to preserve a conventional sense of self. Our observations are drawn from in-depth interviews with a random sample of Colorado inmates convicted of gun-related violent crimes. We find that inmates provide accounts in the form of justifications and excuses. Appeals to defeasibility (excuse) and denial of victim (justification) are the most common types of accounts inmates use to explain their violent behavior. We also find that inmates who report that their victim deserved the injury rarely offer additional accounts for their violence. In contrast, inmates who claim that their violent behavior was beyond their control tend to offer additional accounts in the form of justifications and excuses.     

Extending a Multilab Preregistered Replication of the Ego-Depletion Effect to a Research Program

We reanalyze the recent multilab preregistered study on ego-depletion by Hagger and Chatzisarantis (2016 Hagger, M. S., &; Chatzisarantis, N. L. D. (2016). A multilab preregistered replication of the ego-depletion effect. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 11, 546–573. doi:10.1177/1745691616652873[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) as if their data were obtained under the research program-strategy (Witte &; Zenker, 2016a Witte, E. H., &; Zenker, F. (2016a). Beyond schools—Reply to Marsman, Ly, and Wagenmakers. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 38, 313–317. doi:10.1080/01973533.2016.1227710[Taylor &; Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar], 2016b Witte, E. H., &; Zenker, F. (2016b). Reconstructing recent work on macro-social stress as a research program. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 38, 301–307. doi:10.1080/01973533.2016.1207077[Taylor &; Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). This strengthens Hagger and Chatzisarantis’s (2016 Hagger, M. S., &; Chatzisarantis, N. L. D. (2016). A multilab preregistered replication of the ego-depletion effect. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 11, 546–573. doi:10.1177/1745691616652873[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) main conclusion, because our reanalysis more directly corroborates the absence of a medium-sized, or a small-sized, ego-depletion effect (d?=?.50 under α?=?β?=?.05; d?=?.20 under α?=?β?=?.01). We explain how a smaller ego-depletion effect of d?=?.04 can be tested under similar conditions, having determined this value by maximum likelihood estimation, and compare the research program-strategy to a standard meta-analytic integration.