Psychometric properties of the French version of the Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy Scale (TSES-12f)

IntroductionSelf-efficacy appears to be an important resource for teachers assessed by the Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy Scale (TSES; Tschannen-Moran & Woolfolk Hoy, 2001).ObjectiveThe current study aims to explore psychometric properties the TSES short form translated into French, taking account of teachers’ experience with special needs students.MethodA sample of 283 primary and secondary teachers completed the scale.ResultsResults of confirmatory factor analyses confirm the tridimensional structure of the scale, which shows satisfactory psychometric properties.ConclusionThe usefulness of this scale is discussed considering the context of inclusive education reforms, as well as the potential protective effect of self-efficacy for teachers.     

Development of intuitive rules: Evaluating the application of the dual-system framework to understanding children’s intuitive reasoning

Theories of adult reasoning propose that reasoning consists of two functionally distinct systems that operate under entirely different mechanisms. This theoretical framework has been used to account for a wide range of phenomena, which now encompasses developmental research on reasoning and problem solving. We begin this review by contrasting three main dual-system theories of adult reasoning (Evans & Over, 1996; Sloman, 1996; Stanovich & West, 2000) with a well-established developmental account that also incorporates a dual-system framework (Brainerd & Reyna, 2001). We use developmental studies of the formation and application of intuitive rules in science and mathematics to evaluate the claims that these theories make. Overall, the evidence reviewed suggests that what is crucial to understanding how children reason is the saliency of the features that are presented within a task. By highlighting the importance of saliency as a way of understanding reasoning, we aim to provide clarity concerning the benefits and limitations of adopting a dual-system framework to account for evidence from developmental studies of intuitive reasoning.     

Diamond-winged variants of the Müller-Lyer figure: A test of Virsu’s (1971) centroid theory

Diamond-winged variants of the Müller-Lyer figure were used to test predictions of Virsu’s (1971) theory of the Müller-Lyer illusion based on efferent readiness for eye movements toward the figure’s center of gravity, A Müller-Lyer figure with diamond-shaped wings resulted in a greater center-of-gravity distance than the corresponding, conventional Müller-Lyer figure, but fin length and the rest of the figure remained constant; in Virsu’s study, fin length and center-of-gravity distance covaried. Results were consistent with Virsu’s data when we used the stimulus conditions that he reported. Results from a wider range of stimuli challenge Virsu’s theory, and thus are consistent with the conclusions of Brigell, Uhlarik, and Goldhorn (1977).     

Psychometric properties of the Escala de Autoeficacia para el Afrontamiento del Estrés (EAEAE)

This paper presents the theoretical construct of and an instrument for its assessment, the Escala de Autoeficacia para el Afrontamiento del Estrés (EAEAE; in English, Coping with Stress Self-Efficacy Scale), as well as the results obtained concerning its psychometric properties from an adult population. 812 individuals, aged 18 to 64 years old ( M = 26.46, SD = 9.93, 62.6% females and 37.4% males), recruited from various contexts, participated in this study. Participants completed the EAEAE along with other measures of constructs theoretically related to this specific self-efficacy. The EAEAE shows appropriate reliability in its complete form as well as in its two subscales of Efficacy Expectations and Outcome Expectations, and adequate factorial construct validity (which reveals the bi-dimensionality of the instrument), and convergent validity with the remaining measures. The characteristics of brevity and ease of application of the scale, in addition to its adequate psychometric properties, indicate that the EAEAE is an appropriate tool to assess and investigate coping with stress self-efficacy in research as well as clinical settings.     

Psychometric Properties of the O’Kelly Women’s Belief Scales

Wolfe and Naimark (Using rational-emotive therapy effectively. Plenum, New York, 265–301, 1991) claim that women, through sex-role stereotyping, may develop sex-role beliefs that are not helpful. However, there is a dearth of research in this area with one of the major problems being the lack of an instrument to measure such sex-role beliefs. To date the Bem Sex Role Inventory has been the main instrument used to measure gender schema. As it has been criticised extensively, a new instrument to measure gender schema was proposed. The O’Kelly Women’s Belief Scales was therefore developed within a rational-emotive behaviour therapy framework, reflecting the belief processes of demandingness, awfulising, low frustration tolerance and negative self rating. Following the development of the scale, questionnaires were sent to 2,562 women working at a large, multi-site, teaching hospital. Data from the 974 respondents resulted in the development of five subscales of the O’Kelly Women’s Belief Scales: General Traditional Beliefs, Demands, Awfulising, Low Frustration Tolerance and Negative Self Rating. Each of these subscales loaded on one factor and had high internal consistency. The scales were shown to have test–retest reliability and concurrent, divergent and construct validity.     

Hue naming: A test of the validity of Werner and Wooten’s average observer

Fifteen subjects scaled monochromatic lights ranging from 460 to 640 nm by assigning percentages to the names blue, green, yellow, and red, representing the proportion of these hues perceived in the lights. The resulting hue-naming functions were compared to those predicted from the opponent-chromatic response functions of Werner and Wooten’s (1979b) proposed average observer. The agreement between the two sets of functions was reasonably good, which strengthens the validity of their average observer.     

The frequency accrual speed test (FAST): A new measure of ‘mental speed’?

This paper presents a rationale for a new measure of ‘mental speed’, based on a task in which subjects discriminate the relative frequency of flashes on one or the other of two lamps. In this ‘frequency accrual speed test’ (FAST), accuracy is interpreted as a measure of the rate at which flashes are registered. By assuming that sub-optimal performance is due to a random failure to register flashes, predictions are derived for a binomial and a hypergeometric version of the test. A procedure for estimating inspection time (IT) is given, and optimal values for the task parameters suggested. Results from eight studies are presented. These show that accuracy in the FAST procedure provides a stable, reliable, and robust measure, not obviously susceptible to different strategies or to practice. In four out of six studies, accuracy in this type of task showed a significant positive correlation with tests of intellectual performance, and in five out of five studies accuracy was negatively correlated with IT (significantly in two). These results show that accuracy in the FAST procedure may provide a useful measure of the speed with which sensory information is sampled. A programme for further testing is outlined.     

A Review of the Children’s Inventory of Anger (ChIA): A Needed Measure

A review and critique of the Children’s Inventory of Anger (ChIA) is presented. The ChIA is a 39-item measure that operationalizes anger according to the conceptualization set forth by Ellis in Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy. The ChIA consists of four subscales (Frustration, Physical Aggression, Peer Relationships, and Authority Relations) which provide information regarding situations that are commonly associated with the experience of anger. Preliminary validity studies demonstrate that the ChIA has excellent reliability and high face validity. The forms are user friendly and easily scored, with norms tables conveniently located within the form. A computer-scoring program is available which significantly reduces clerical errors. The application of the instrument in practice is discussed. Due to the fact that the ChIA attempts to link assessment and intervention it should be useful in advancing the field in regard to treatment evaluation and substantiation of treatment validity. It is also expected to have considerable research utility.     

A procedure for obtaining young children’s reports of olfactory stimuli

Young children (ages 2 to 5) have proved to be difficult subjects for obtaining valid reports of their ratings of olfactory stimuli. Thirty-six preschoolers were tested on benzaldehyde (a pleasant odor) and on dimethyl disulfide (an unpleasant odor) using a smiling or frowning face as a response format. The results showed the ability of young children to discriminate between pleasant and unpleasant odors.     

God’s spatial unlocatedness prevents him from being the creator of the universe: A new argument for the nonexistence of God

I discuss the relations between God and spatial entities, such as the universe. An example of a relation between God and a spatial entity is the relation,causes. Such relations are, in D.M. Armstrong’s words, ‘realm crossing’ relations: relations between or among spatial entities and entities in the realm of the spatially unlocated. I discuss an apparent problem with such realm crossing relations. If this problem is serious enough, as I will argue it is, it implies that God cannot be the creator of the universe I also discuss that if God cannot be the creator of the universe, then God does not exist.     

‘Making Room for the Other(s)’: A consideration of psychodynamic counselling with women with Asperger’s Syndrome

This paper explores psychodynamic therapy with young women with Aspergers Syndrome through the use of a composite case study. It seeks to make sense of a female patient’s obsession with a figure from celebrity culture – ‘Tom’ from ‘Britain’s Got Talent’. The potential use of ‘Tom’ by the patient as an idealised object, an autistic object, a transitional object and a transformative object is considered. Drawing on Rosenfeld’s concept of pathological narcissism and Meltzer’s concept of ‘aesthetic reciprocity’, the paper seeks to make sense of both the defences that the patient utilises and the impact of the deficits she has experienced. Attention is given to the development of the therapy through the use of play and work in the transference. Gradually, the patient becomes more able to tolerate separateness and in doing so becomes more connected to her own internal world and the feelings of others. In so doing, she becomes more aware of her actual social marginalisation and gains a greater sense of awareness of her diagnosis.     

The significance of Gadamer’s hermeneutics for cross-cultural understanding

Abstract

Edward Said’s book Orientalism stands in a long lineage of critique of European scholarship responsible for shaping European understandings of foreign cultures. His book contributed significantly to the debate about the epistemological presuppositions informing European scholars of other cultures. However, while Said exposed in considerable detail the ways in which the Orient was distorted by the theories of the European academy, he left unexamined the possibility of genuine cross-cultural understanding. This article considers the significance of hermeneutics for cross-cultural rather than historical understanding. It explores the implicit claim Gadamer makes for the universal validity of hermeneutics not only for understanding in history, but for a genuine intellectual rapprochement across geographical and cultural lines as well.     

Promoting spiritual well-being: a quasi-experimental test of an element of Hay and Nye’s theory of children’s spirituality

This study is one of the first tests of key implicit claims of Hay and Nye’s theory of children’s spirituality and spiritual development. Two quasi-experimental studies tested two claims: that exposure to six conditions posited as fostering relational consciousness in a programme of spiritual formation promotes spiritual well-being; that the effect of the conditions continues after exposure ends. The results for Study One revealed that length of exposure to any of the six conditions was not a significant predictor of spiritual well-being, F(3, 179)?=?1.49, p = 0.22. Study Two results indicated that as the length of time since exposure increased so did spiritual well-being, r(38)?=?0.39, p = 0.01 at the bivariate level, and F(4, 35)?=?2.4, p = 0.06 in the regression. These results reveal a possible relationship between exposure to the six conditions and spiritual well-being.     

Psychometric properties of the Affordances in the Home Environment for Motor Development inventory for use with Iranian children aged 18–42 months

ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to translate the original English language version of the Affordances in the Home Environment for Motor Development (AHEMD) inventory and test its psychometric properties for use with Iranian children aged 18–42 months.MethodsFor this purpose, the tool was translated into Farsi (a Persian language) using the forward-backward translation method and some of its psychometric properties were examined. Multistage stratified-cluster sampling was used to study 1019 families having children aged 18–42 months from among the regional divisions of Tehran urban community health centers. The questionnaire evaluated five factors: outside space, inside space, variety of stimulation, fine motor toys and gross motor toys. Expert opinion was used for content-related validity evaluation and confirmatory factor analysis was used to determine construct validity. For test-retest reliability, parents completed identical questionnaires two weeks apart. Internal consistency was evaluated using inter-examiner reliability, Cronbach's alpha and construct reliability. Linear regression analysis was used to explain and predict the effects of toys on AHEMD total score.ResultsResults showed that content-related validity was 0.92. Data confirmatory factor analysis showed an acceptable fit to the original five factors. Reliability over time was 0.91 and internal consistency was 0.93. It was also found that fine- and gross-motor toys showed a significant 55% predictability of affordance provision in the home.ConclusionThe Farsi translation of the AHEMD is acceptable for use with Iranian children aged 18–42 month.     

A meta-analysis of children’s self-reports of dietary intake

Objective: Although research studies increasingly use children as primary reporters in dietary assessments, it is unclear how well children’s self-reported intake correlates with independently validated reports of their intake; this meta-analysis assesses that correlation.

Design: Moderators of the correlation between self-reported and independently validated intake were predicted a priori: type of dietary intake assessment (24 h recall, food diary and food frequency questionnaires), validation measures, parental assistance and age. Online databases were searched for articles published from 1990 to 2014 that compared children’s self-reports of dietary intake to validated observations of food intake in children age 4–16.

Main outcome measures: Summary effect size Pearson r between children’s self-reported dietary intake and independently validated dietary intake were calculated.

Results: In k = 32 samples from 23 studies, a statistically significant correlation (r = .48, Z = 7.26, p < .001) was found between children’s self-reported dietary intake and independently validated reports of dietary intake. Validation method (Q = 17.49, df = 2, p < .001) and parental assistance (Z = 2.03, p = .042) were significant moderators of this correlation. Self-report methodology (Q = 3.95, df = 2, p = .139) and age (Q = .02, p = .879) were not significant moderators of the distribution of effect sizes.

Conclusion: Together, these results provide baseline information about children’s recall in dietary intake assessments conducted with children as primary reporters.     

A test of the optimal classifier’s independence assumption in perceptual categorization

Observers completed perceptual categorization tasks that included separate base-rate/payoff manipulations, corresponding simultaneous base-rate/payoff manipulations, and conflicting simultaneous base-rate/payoff manipulations. Performance (1) was closer to optimal for 2:1 than for 3:1 baserate/ payoff ratios and when base rates as opposed to payoffs were manipulated, and (2) was more in line with the predictions from the flat-maxima hypothesis than from the independence assumption of the optimal classifier in corresponding and conflicting simultaneous base-rate/payoff conditions. A hybrid model that instantiated simultaneously the flat-maxima and the competition between reward and accuracy maximization (COBRA) hypotheses was applied to the data. The hybrid model was superior to a model that incorporated the independence assumption, suggesting that violations of the independence assumption are to be expected and are well captured by the flat-maxima hypothesis without requiring any additional assumptions. The parameters indicated that observers’ reward-maximizing decision criterion rapidly approaches the optimal value and that more weight is placed on accuracy maximization in separate and corresponding simultaneous base-rate/payoff conditions than in conflicting simultaneous base-rate/payoff conditions.     

Is the matching familiar figures test a measure of cognitive style? A warning for users

A probabilistic model of reflection-impulsivity as measured by the Matching Familiar Figures Test (MFFT) is presented and tested on 77 fourth graders. In testing the model two groups emerged, a random response group (n = 22) and a cognitive response group (n = 55), who use the evaluation process. Correlations among latencies, total errors, initial errors, school-scores, and IQs were compared for our total sample and the two groups. The correlation of MFFT latencies and errors disappeared for the random-response group and new correlations with errors appeared while the cognitive response group kept a statistically significant correlation of latencies with errors and no other error correlation was shown. This last group was classified by Kagan's median-split procedure showing that most reflective subjects kept their classification. Preliminary results suggest a reinterpretation of reflection-impulsivity literature, especially as related to the impulsive style.     

Does valence matter? Effects of negativity on children’s early understanding of the truth and lies

Early deceptive behavior often involves acts of wrongdoings on the part of children. As a result, it has often been assumed, although not tested directly, that children are better at identifying lies about wrongdoing than lies about other activities. We tested this assumption in two studies. In Study 1, 67 3- to 5-year-olds viewed vignettes in which a character truthfully or falsely claimed to have committed a good or bad act. Children were biased to label claims that the character had committed a good act as the truth and claims that the character had committed a bad act as lies. In Study 2, 51 4- to 6-year-olds viewed vignettes in which characters either admitted or denied committing a good or bad act. Children were better at identifying truth-tellers and liars when the acts were good. Results suggest that young children initially overgeneralize the concept of lie to include all negative acts and the concept of the truth to include all good acts and only gradually make a distinction between act valence and honesty. As a result, including wrongdoing in scenarios to test children's early understanding of the meaning of lying is likely to underestimate children's abilities.