The Effect of Attributional Retraining on Mastery and Performance Motivation Among First-Year College Students

Motivation can be undermined among first-year college students as they face a multitude of unanticipated challenges during the transition from high school to college (Compas, Wagner, Slavin, &; Vannatta, 1986 Compas , B. E. , Wagner , B. M. , Slavin , L. A. , &; Vannatta , K. ( 1986 ). A prospective study of life events, social support, and psychological symptomatology during the transition from high school to college . American Journal of Community Psychology , 14 , 241 – 257 .[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]; Perry, Hall, &; Ruthig, 2005 Perry , R. P. , Hall , N. C. , &; Ruthig , J. C. ( 2005 ). Perceived (academic) control and scholastic attainment in higher education . In J. Smart (Ed.), Higher education: Handbook of theory and research ( Vol. 20 , pp. 363 – 436 ). New York : Springer .[Crossref] , [Google Scholar]). As a consequence, approximately 27% of first-year students do not return for the second year of college (Feldman, 2005 Feldman , R. S. ( 2005 ). Improving the first year of college: Research and practice . Mahwah , NJ : Erlbaum . [Google Scholar]). First-year college students (N = 336) participated in a study to examine the efficacy of an Attributional Retraining (AR) treatment designed to increase motivation and enhance academic achievement. Employing a pre–post study design spanning an academic year, we examined the impact of AR on student motivation as operationalized in terms of mastery and performance goals. Findings indicated that AR increased mastery motivation but did not affect performance motivation. Findings also demonstrated that mastery motivation mediated the relationship between AR and grade point average, suggesting that mastery motivation is a key mechanism of AR. Findings are discussed in terms of conceptual contributions to both the AR and achievement motivation literatures, and practical implications are outlined.     

Implicit and Explicit Sexual Motives as Related,But Distinct Characteristics

A measure of implicit sexual motives—the implicit AMORE—was constructed employing the Affect Misattribution Procedure (Payne, Cheng, Govorun, &; Stewart, 2005 Payne, B. K., Cheng, C. M., Govorun, O., &; Stewart, B. D. (2005). An inkblot for attitudes: Affect misattribution as implcit measurement. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 89, 277–293. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.89.3.277[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). Subscales paralleled the 8 dimensions identified previously by the self-report measure of sexual motives, the explicit AMORE (Hill &; Preston, 1996 Hill, C. A., &; Preston, L. K. (1996). Individual differences in the experience of sexual motivation: Theory and measurement of dispositional sexual motives. Journal of Sex Research, 33, 27–45. doi:10.1080/00224499609551812[Taylor &; Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). Confirmatory factor analyses supported the proposed 8-factor model in slightly revised form, which was confirmed based on a second independent set of participants. Consistent with hypotheses, the implicit scales correlated with nonconscious erotica-viewing behavior for women in a laboratory setting. In contrast to explicit scales, implicit scales were unrelated to self-report ratings of likely sexual behavior. Finally, self-reports of aspects of sexual behavior were generally associated with the measures of implicit motives independently of corresponding explicit motives for both women and men. The results support the conception of implicit sexual motives as related, but distinct from explicit sexual motives.     

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.     

Implicit Coping Responses to Racism Predict African Americans' Level of Psychological Distress

African Americans report experiencing discrimination on a frequent basis, and these experiences have been linked to psychological distress. Coping responses to racism have been suggested to mediate the relationship between discrimination and distress. This study introduces the first measure of African Americans' implicit emotional and coping responses to racism and examines the measure's ability to predict psychological distress. The Go/No-Go Association Task (Nosek &; Banaji, 2001 Nosek , B. A. , &; Banaji , M R. ( 2001 ). The go/no-go association task . Social Cognition , 19 , 625 – 664 .[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) was adapted to assess African Americans' implicit association of racial prejudice with each of four coping and two emotional responses. Anxiety and general psychological distress were assessed with the Brief Symptom Inventory. Greater implicit association between prejudice and “seeking support” was found to predict lower anxiety and general distress, demonstrating the potential utility of implicit measures in assessing coping responses to racism and their consequences.     

Predictors of Self-Reported Prospective and Retrospective Memory in a Population-Based Sample of Older Adults

In this article, the authors examined predictors of self-reported everyday memory failures using the Prospective and Retrospective Questionnaire (PRMQ; Smith, Della Sala, Logie, &; Maylor, 2000 Smith, G. V., Della Sala, S., Logie, R. H. and Maylor, E. A. M. 2000. Prospective and retrospective memory in normal ageing and dementia: A questionnaire study. Memory, 8: 311–321. [Taylor &; Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) in a population-based sample of older adults (age range = 60–90 years; N = 250). The results showed that a higher frequency of reported failures was associated with lower scores on the personality dimension of self-directedness as assessed by the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI; Cloninger, Dragan, Svrakic, &; Przybeck, 1993 Cloninger, R. C., Dragan, M. S., Svrakic, D. M. and Przybeck, T. R. 1993. A psychobiological model of temperament and character. Archives of General Psychiatry, 50: 975–990. [Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) and more depressive symptoms on the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D; Radloff, 1977 Radloff, L. S. 1977. The CES-D scale: A self-report depression scale for research in the general population. Applied Psychological Measurement, 1: 385–401. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). However, PRMQ scores showed no relationships with objective memory ability, as reflected by a series of retrospective memory measures and a measure of prospective memory. Neither were the PRMQ scales associated with general cognitive functioning as assessed by the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE; Folstein, Folstein, &; McHugh, 1977). Taken together, the results indicate that within the older population, self-reported memory as assessed by the PRMQ may reflect mood-state and personality factors rather than individual differences in memory and cognitive ability.     

Matching Methods for Selection of Participants for Follow-Up

This work examines ways to make the best use of limited resources when selecting individuals to follow up in a longitudinal study estimating causal effects. In the setting under consideration, covariate information is available for all individuals but outcomes have not yet been collected and may be expensive to gather, and thus only a subset of the comparison participants are followed. Expressions in Rubin and Thomas (1996) Rubin, D. B. and Thomas, N. 1996. Matching using estimated propensity scores, relating theory to practice.. Biometrics, 52: 249–264. [Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar] show the benefits that can be obtained, in terms of reduced bias and variance of the estimated treatment effect, of selecting comparison individuals well matched to those in the treated group compared with a random sample of comparison individuals. We primarily consider nonexperimental settings but also consider implications for randomized trials. The methods are illustrated using data from the Johns Hopkins University Baltimore Prevention Program, which included data collection from age 6 to young adulthood of participants in an evaluation of 2 early elementary-school-based universal prevention programs.     

Mind Perception and Individual Differences: A Replication and Extension

Mind perception involves attributing higher functional abilities to others (e.g., saying a dog feels pain). The relationships between mind perception and psychopathology—autism, psychopathy, and schizotypy—have been revealed by K. Gray, Jenkins, Heberlein, and Wegner (2011 Gray, K., Jenkins, A. C., Heberlein, A. S., &; Wegner, D. M. (2011). Distortions of mind perception in psychopathology. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 108, 477–479. doi:10.1073/pnas.1015493108[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]); however, mind perception has yet to be correlated with personality. Participants (N = 180) completed measures of personality, psychopathology, and mind perception. The psychopathology results were consistent with Gray et al. (2011 Gray, K., Jenkins, A. C., Heberlein, A. S., &; Wegner, D. M. (2011). Distortions of mind perception in psychopathology. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 108, 477–479. doi:10.1073/pnas.1015493108[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). The Big Five captured mind perception virtually as much as the three psychopathologies captured mind perception. Mind perception is not solely relevant to psychopathology; it is also relevant to everyday personality.     

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.     

Sample Sizes for Two-Group Second-Order Latent Growth Curve Models

Second-order latent growth curve models (S. C. Duncan &; Duncan, 1996 Duncan, S. C. and Duncan, T. E. 1996. A multivariate growth curve analysis of adolescent substance use.. Structural Equation Modeling, 3: 323–347. [Taylor &; Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]; McArdle, 1988 McArdle, J. J. 1988. “Dynamic but structural equation modeling of repeated measures data.”. In Handbook of multivariate experimental psychology, , 2nd ed. Edited by: Cattell, R. B. and Nesselroade, J. 564–614. New York: Plenum.. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar]) can be used to study group differences in change in latent constructs. We give exact formulas for the covariance matrix of the parameter estimates and an algebraic expression for the estimation of slope differences. Formulas for calculations of the required sample size are presented, illustrated, and discussed. They are checked by Monte Carlo simulations in Mplus and also by Satorra and Saris's (1985) Satorra, A. and Saris, W. E. 1985. The power of the likelihood ratio test in covariance structure analysis.. Psychometrika, 50: 83–90. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar] power approximation techniques for small and medium effect sizes (Cohen, 1988 Cohen, J. 1988. Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum..  [Google Scholar]). Results are similar across methods. Not surprisingly, sample sizes decrease with effect sizes, indicator reliabilities, number of indicators, frequency of observation, and duration of study. The relative importance of these factors is also discussed, alone and in combination. The use of the sample size formula is illustrated using a modification of empirical results from Stoel, Peetsma, and Roeleveld (2003) Stoel, R. D., Peetsma, T. T. and Roeleveld, J. 2003. Relations between the development of school investment, self-confidence, and language achievement in elementary education: A multivariate latent growth curve approach.. Learning and Individual Differences, 13: 313–333. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar].     

The Effect of the Accountability Variables of Responsibility,Openness, and Answerability on Authentic Leadership

One salient aspect of authentic leadership is the possibility that it can be developed (Walumbwa, Avolio, Gardner, Wernsing, &; Peterson, 2008 Walumbwa, F. O., Avolio, B. J., Gardner, W. L., Wernsing, T. S., &; Peterson, S. J. (2008). Authentic leadership: Development and validation of a theory-based measure. Journal of Management, 34(1), 89–126. doi:10.1177/0149206307308913[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). However, the relative paucity of research on authentic leadership as a dependent variable needs to be addressed. The purpose of this cross-sectional quantitative study is to examine the three factors of accountability: (a) responsibility, (b) openness, and (c) answerability (Wood &; Winston, 2007 Wood, J. A., &; Winston, B. E. (2007). Development of three scales to measure leader accountability. Leadership &; Organization Development Journal, 28(2), 167–185. doi:10.1108/01437730710726859[Crossref] , [Google Scholar]) as antecedents to authentic leadership. Using survey results from a sample of full-time employees at six faith-based institutions of higher education in the United States, a predictive relationship was investigated through hierarchical regression analysis. The results indicated that the variables of responsibility, openness, and answerability predict the perception of authentic leadership.     

On the Model-Based Bootstrap With Missing Data: Obtaining a P-Value for a Test of Exact Fit

Evaluating the fit of a structural equation model via bootstrap requires a transformation of the data so that the null hypothesis holds exactly in the sample. For complete data, such a transformation was proposed by Beran and Srivastava (1985) Beran, R. and Srivastava, M. S. 1985. Bootstrap tests and confidence regions for functions of a covariance matrix. The Annals of Statistics, 13: 95–115. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar] for general covariance structure models and applied to structural equation modeling by Bollen and Stine (1992) Bollen, K. A. and Stine, R. A. 1992. Bootstrapping goodness-of-fit measures in structural equation models. Sociological Methods and Research, 21: 205–229. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]. An extension of this transformation to missing data was presented by Enders (2002) Enders, C. K. 2002. Applying the Bollen-Stine bootstrap for goodness-of-fit measures to structural equation models with missing data. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 37: 359–377. [Taylor &; Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar], but it is an approximate and not an exact solution, with the degree of approximation unknown. In this article, we provide several approaches to obtaining an exact solution. First, an explicit solution for the special case when the sample covariance matrix within each missing data pattern is invertible is given. Second, 2 iterative algorithms are described for obtaining an exact solution in the general case. We evaluate the rejection rates of the bootstrapped likelihood ratio statistic obtained via the new procedures in a Monte Carlo study. Our main finding is that model-based bootstrap with incomplete data performs quite well across a variety of distributional conditions, missing data mechanisms, and proportions of missing data. We illustrate our new procedures using empirical data on 26 cognitive ability measures in junior high students, published in Holzinger and Swineford (1939) Holzinger, K. J. and Swineford, F. 1939. A study in factor analysis: The stability of a bi-factor solution. Supplementary Educational Monographs, 48: 1–91.  [Google Scholar].     

Sustaining Primary Control Striving for Achievement Goals During Challenging Developmental Transitions: The Role of Secondary Control Strategies

Developmental transitions are imbued with ubiquitous uncertainties that undermine goal striving in many otherwise committed individuals. Our seven-month study examined whether cognitive selective secondary control strategies (motivation-focused thinking) facilitate the enactment of achievement goals among young adults experiencing the landmark school to university transition. Sequential regression analyses demonstrated that (a) achievement goals predicted selective secondary control, (b) selective secondary control predicted behavioral selective primary control striving, and (c) selective primary control predicted final course grades. Findings support Heckhausen et al.'s (2010 Heckhausen , J. , Wrosch , C. , &; Schulz , R. ( 2010 ). A motivational theory of life-span development . Psychological Review , 117 , 32 – 60 .[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) proposition that selective secondary control bolsters selective primary control striving and enables goal attainment during difficult transitions.     

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.     

Gender Clues and Cues: Online Interactions as Windows into Lay Theories about Men and Women

Based on the hierarchical model of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation (Vallerand, 1997 Vallerand , R. J. , Fortier , M. S. , &; Guay , F. ( 1997 ). Self-determination and persistence in a real-life setting: Toward a motivational model of high-school drop out . Journal of Personality and Social Psychology , 72 , 1161 – 1176 .[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), the purpose of the present research was to propose and test a model that posits that individuals’ perceptions of autonomy support from their supervisor in an activity (e.g., coach, teacher) and their global autonomous motivation jointly promote their autonomous (contextual) motivation toward the activity. In turn, contextual autonomous motivation positively predicts interest in the activity, whereas it negatively predicts intentions to drop out of the activity. In Study 1, the model was tested with a sample of 206 competitive athletes registered in the French Skiing Federation. In Study 2, a short longitudinal design was used, and the sample was composed of 206 French high school students (128 female, 78 male). Results from structural equation modeling analyses supported the hypothesized model. These results provided support for the hierarchical model of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation (Vallerand, 1997 Vallerand , R. J. ( 1997 ). Toward a hierarchical model of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation . In M. P. Zanna (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology (pp. 271 – 360 ). New York , NY : Academic Press .[Crossref] , [Google Scholar]). The implications of the findings and future research avenues are discussed in light of the hierarchical model and self-determination theory.     

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]).     

Development of Mathematical Knowledge in Young Children: Attentional Skill and the Use of Inversion

The principle of inversion, that a + b ? b must equal a, is a fundamental property of arithmetic, but many children fail to apply it in symbolic contexts through 10 years of age. We explore three hypotheses relating to the use of inversion that stem from a model proposed by Siegler and Araya (2005 Siegler , R. S. , &; Araya , R. ( 2005 ). A computational model of conscious and unconscious strategy discovery . In R. V. Kail (Ed.), Advances in child development and behavior (pp. 1 – 42 ). New York , NY : Elsevier .[Crossref] , [Google Scholar]). Hypothesis 1 is that greater calculational skill is related to greater use of inversion. Hypothesis 2 is that greater attentional skill is related to greater use of inversion. Hypothesis 3 is that the relation between attentional skill and the use of inversion is particularly strong among children with high skill in calculation. We found suggestive evidence for Hypothesis 2 and clear evidence for Hypothesis 3, indicating that for children who are strong at calculation, attentional flexibility is related to use of inversion.     

Commentary: Mediation Analysis,Causal Process,and Cross-Sectional Data

Maxwell, Cole, and Mitchell (2011) extended the work of Maxwell and Cole (2007) Maxwell, S. E. and Cole, D. A. 2007. Bias in cross-sectional analyses of longitudinal mediation. Psychological Methods, 12: 23–44. [Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar], which raised important questions about whether mediation analyses based on cross-sectional data can shed light on longitudinal mediation process. The latest article considers longitudinal processes that can only be partially explained by an intervening variable, and Maxwell et al. showed that the same general conclusions are obtained, namely that analyses of cross-sectional data will not reveal the longitudinal mediation process. While applauding the advances of the target article, this comment encourages the detailed exploration of alternate causal models in psychology beyond the autoregressive model considered by Maxwell et al. When inferences based on cross-sectional analyses are compared to alternate models, different patterns of bias are likely to be observed. I illustrate how different models of the causal process can be derived using examples from research on psychopathology.     

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).     

Executive function and memory in children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder

A complex relation exists between memory and executive functioning (EF), particularly when learning and recalling multifaceted or extensive information (Moscovitch &; Winocur, 2002 Moscovitch, M. and Winocur, G. 2002. “The frontal cortex and working with memory”. In Principles of frontal lobe functioning, Edited by: Stuss, D. T. and Knight, R. T. 188–209. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.  [Google Scholar]). A common instrument for evaluating this relationship is the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure (ROCF; Rey, 1941 Rey, A. 1941. L'examen psychologique dans le cas d'encephalopathie traumatique [Psychological examination of traumatic encephalopathy]. Archives de Psychologie, 28: 286–340.  [Google Scholar]; Osterrieth, 1944 Osterrieth, P. A. 1944. Le test de copie d'une figure complexe: Contribution à l’étude de la perception et de la mémoire [The test of copying a complex figure: A contribution to the study of perception and memory]. Archives de Psychologie, 30: 286–350.  [Google Scholar]). The ROCF has proved particularly useful in pediatric research; however, little research has been conducted among children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD).

Seventy children (35 FASD, 35 control), aged 6 to 12 years, were tested using the ROCF. All participants with FASD had received a diagnosis according to the Canadian guidelines for FASD (Chudley et al., 2005 Chudley, A. E., Conry, J., Cook, J. L., Loock, C., Rosales, T. and LeBlanc, N. 2005. Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder: Canadian guidelines for diagnosis. The Canadian Medical Association Journal, 172: 1–21. [Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) using the 4-digit diagnostic code (Astley, 2004 Astley, S. J. 2004. Diagnostic guide for fetal alcohol spectrum disorders: The 4-digit diagnostic code, 3rd, Seattle, WA: University of Washington.  [Google Scholar]). Significant group differences were revealed with children with FASD demonstrating substantial difficulties in organization, accuracy, and memory. Among children with FASD, a distinctive profile emerged, lending support to the argument that children with FASD experience deficits in EF and memory throughout their development. Information from the present study will not only help to improve understanding of functioning in this population but also provide insight into how to deal with EF and memory deficits in terms of testing, treatment, and intervention.