Performance on Video-Based Situational Judgment Test Items: Simulated Interracial Interactions

Individuals are known to categorize others into social groups based on cues like race and gender and to experience relative discomfort when interacting with “outgroup” members. Two experimental studies were used to examine whether actor demographic cues in situational judgment assessment items completed by test takers in a simulated employee selection context may lead to differences in their performance and reactions to the hiring organization. In both studies, test takers assumed the perspective of actors shown in video-based scenarios and indicated how they would respond to interaction partners (IPs) to whom they were racially similar or dissimilar. In Study 1, a given test taker responded to IPs of a constant gender; in Study 2, IPs’ gender varied across scenarios within each condition. In Study 1, Black test takers spent more time and scored better on two of the four scenarios when responding to racially similar IPs. These effects were not found in Study 2, but demographic cues showed new interactive effects on performance and reactions. We discuss the implications of different findings across the two studies.

     

Induction of the McCollough effect I: Figural variables

The effect of line orientation and line configuration on the induction of orientation-specific negatively colored aftereffects was investigated in three separate studies. In the first study, subjects viewed magenta-and-black vertical gratings with one eye, alternating with green-and-black vertical gratings to the other. Monocular tests revealed complementary aftereffects in each eye which disappeared when the test patterns were viewed with both eyes together. In Study 2, imposing a single colored bar against a black background induced negatively colored aftereffects in a white bar against a black background and in a black-and-white grating, while imposing a single black bar against a colored background was ineffective. In Study 3, presenting a magenta square outline elicited green aftereffects in vertical and horizontal bars and gratings as well as in outlines of squares and diamonds, while pairing the magenta square with a green cross had no effect. It was concluded that the induction mechanism responsible for the McCollough effect is sensitive to line orientation but not to shape. This specificity appears incompatible with a simple conditioning model.     

邪教团体检测项目:量表编制与信效度研究

本研究从提高社会公众认知度出发,通过对中外相关文献研究,结合帮教专职干部、宗教学专家、心理学者、大学生访谈结果,编制了邪教团体检测项目,通过3次条目筛查后制定了62项初始项目;又通过214名大学生探索性因素分析,形成了由5个维度、32个条目组成的正式项目;再通过497名大学生的测查,考察各项测量学指标,结果显示量表区分度、信度、效度指标均较高,结论是邪教团体检测项目具有较高的可靠性和有效性,可作为邪教团体检测的评估工具。     

The Differential Validity of Items in a Liberalism-Conservatism Test

Summary

The purpose of this study was to provide a large sample validation of the Family Attitude Measure (FAM) developed by Delhees et al. (7). The FAM was given to the parents of 250 junior high school children, and the items factored. The results of the analyses on two of the subtests were found to be interpretable and are described in detail. Few of the factors identified were as interpretable in the sense of the Delhees et al. factors, but this could be due to the fact that this study involved the factoring of items rather than the “packages” which served as variables in the Delhees article.     

言语、图形任务条件下青少年发散性思维的差异研究

知识与发散思维之间存在密切的关系.研究抽取小学四年级到高三397名学生,采用言语和图形任务探讨知识经验对发散思维的影响.以及两类任务条件下发散思维的年级和性别差异.结果显示:学生的知识水平对两类任务条件下发散思维产生不同的影响作用,知识经验与发散思维呈现倒U型变化关系;研究只在言语任务条件下发现小学四年级创造力低谷;两类任务条件下发散思维警现出不同的发展趋势,言语任务条件下,发散思维随着年级的升高呈现出曲线上升的趋势,而在图形任务条件下,发散思维呈现随年级升高先上升后下降的趋势;两类任务条件下都发现发散思维存在性别差异,但是不同任务条件下性别差异存在维度上差异性;女生在发散思维某些方面好于男生.     

A Hierarchical Framework for Modeling Speed and Accuracy on Test Items

Current modeling of response times on test items has been strongly influenced by the paradigm of experimental reaction-time research in psychology. For instance, some of the models have a parameter structure that was chosen to represent a speed-accuracy tradeoff, while others equate speed directly with response time. Also, several response-time models seem to be unclear as to the level of parametrization they represent. A hierarchical framework for modeling speed and accuracy on test items is presented as an alternative to these models. The framework allows a “plug-and-play approach” with alternative choices of models for the response and response-time distributions as well as the distributions of their parameters. Bayesian treatment of the framework with Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) computation facilitates the approach. Use of the framework is illustrated for the choice of a normal-ogive response model, a lognormal model for the response times, and multivariate normal models for their parameters with Gibbs sampling from the joint posterior distribution. This study received funding from the Law School Admission Council (LSAC). The opinions and conclusions contained in this paper are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the policy and position of LSAC. The author is indebted to the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants for the data set in the empirical example and to Rinke H. Klein Entink for his computational assistance     

The induction of solution rules in Raven's Progressive Matrices Test

In a passive task participants recall material in the format in which it was presented, whereas in an active task they transform or manipulate the material. Experiment 1 describes an active visuo-spatial task that is vulnerable to the effects of ageing, and Experiment 2 shows that it is more sensitive to the effects of ageing than a passive task carried out concurrently using the same material. In Experiment 3, similar results were obtained using active and passive verbal tasks carried out concurrently using the same material. Finally, these findings were replicated in Experiment 4 using active and passive verbal and visuo-spatial tasks that were carried out in separate experimental conditions. It is concluded that effects of ageing show an earlier onset in tasks requiring active processing than in tasks requiring the passive storage of information.     

Figural goodness and the predictability of figural elements

All 126 patterns composed of five dots distributed over the cells of a 3 by 3 matrix were examined for the predictability of their elements. The predictability of a given dot in a given pattern was measured as the percentage of Ss who indicated that dot as one “implied or suggested” by the subpattern composed of the remaining four dots of the pattern. The dots comprising a figurally good five-dot pattern were generally more predictable, one from the others, than the dots comprising a poor pattern. This finding accords with the Gestaltist conception of a good figure as one whose elements are well organized, and it is the state of affairs required by Garner’s hypothesis that better figures are perceived to have fewer alternatives than poorer figures. A mechanism mediating the prediction of an element of a pattern from the other elements was suggested.     

The Levels Hypothesis and the Study of Stimulus Value of Projective Test Items

Summary

Anagrams and semantic differential (S-D) test responses of Ss for whom words were “loaded” on a free association test were compared with those of Ss for whom the words were neutral. No differences in rate of word building or mean productivity of the two groups on the anagrams test were found. Mean S-D scale values similarly failed to differentiate between the two groups. However, when numbers of neutral (0) and extreme (+3 and ?3) responses were compared, “loaded” Ss were found on the whole to rate words more neutrally or more positively. The conclusion was that the stimulus value of the words in the associative condition could not be directly determined from responses in other conditions. The strategy of studying stimulus value of projective test items by using those items as stimuli on tests eliciting different levels of response was, therefore, questioned. Several other related experimental strategies which may mix response levels were also discussed and more appropriate techniques were suggested.     

Application of a Multidimensional Nested Logit Model to Multiple-Choice Test Items

Nested logit models have been presented as an alternative to multinomial logistic models for multiple-choice test items (Suh and Bolt in Psychometrika 75:454–473, 2010) and possess a mathematical structure that naturally lends itself to evaluating the incremental information provided by attending to distractor selection in scoring. One potential concern in attending to distractors is the possibility that distractor selection reflects a different trait/ability than that underlying the correct response. This paper illustrates a multidimensional extension of a nested logit item response model that can be used to evaluate such distinctions and also defines a new framework for incorporating collateral information from distractor selection when differences exist. The approach is demonstrated in application to questions faced by a university testing center over whether to incorporate distractor selection into the scoring of its multiple-choice tests. Several empirical examples are presented.     

基于认知理论的测验编制技术—项目生成

传统测验重视统计技术,不重视测量结构的心理学意义,使得它的功能局限于筛选,不能提供更多的信息。由于认知心理学理论、心理计量学以及计算机技术的发展,使得基于认知理论指导下的项目生成技术逐渐成熟。该文从项目生成的概念、方法,及研究的意义和难点等方面对项目生成技术作了一个简要述评,以期推进我国认知心理学与心理测量学相结合的研究工作。     

Theological Exegesis as Exegetical Showing: A Case of Isaiah's Figural Potentiality

Theological exegesis demands engagement with the biblical text. Much of the current discussion regarding this topic tends to remain in the realm of theory and method without much ‘exegetical showing’. Taking a cue from Brevard Childs' understanding of the Old Testament as Christian Scripture, this article provides an example of theological exegesis with Isaiah as the focus text. The intertextual relationship between Isaiah 6 and 61 is engaged in its literary/canonical fixity. From this fixity, the figural potentiality of this intertextual relationship is explored in light of the two‐testament canon and its shared subject matter.     

Figural vividness and persuasion: capturing the "elusive" vividness effect

Despite the widespread belief that the use of vividness in persuasive communications is effective, many laboratory studies have failed to find vividness effects. A possible explanation for this discrepancy is that many laboratory tests have not vivified solely the central thesis of the message but have vivified irrelevant portions of the message as well or instead. Two experiments examined the effect of vivifying the central ("figure") or noncentral ("ground") features of a message on persuasion. In both experiments, the formerly "elusive vividness effect" of superior persuasion was found, but only in vivid-figure communications. A mediation analysis revealed the salutary role of supportive cognitive elaborations, rather than memory for the communication, in mediating the vividness effect. The findings caution against attempts to persuade by increasing overall message vividness because off-thesis vividness has the unintended and undercutting consequence of distracting recipients from the point of the communication.     

The Effects of Data-Driven and Conceptually Driven Generation of Study Items on Direct and Indirect Measures of Memory

Two experiments are reported which investigated the effects of data-driven generation of study items on direct and indirect measures of memory. Previous research in the field of implicit memory has traditionally employed generation procedures at encoding which focused on conceptually driven processing. The present study undertook to devise data-driven generation procedures that were predicted to lead to a generation effect on word-stem completion.

In Experiment 1 subjects had to generate target items from anagrams and newly developed “assemblograms”, requiring mainly data-driven processing, as well as from semantic cues and definitions, involving mainly conceptually driven processing. Effects of these generate conditions were compared to the usual name condition on a direct word-stem cued recall test, and on an indirect word-stem completion test. Differences between data-driven generation on the stem completion task and the name condition failed to reach significant differences in retention.

In Experiment 2 subjects generated targets from assemblograms and from semantic cues. The data revealed the predicted occurrence of a generation effect on an indirect memory test following data-driven generation. The finding of a generation effect in an indirect as opposed to a direct memory test was seen as support for the view that generating a study item may enhance data-driven as well as conceptually driven processing, depending on the processing demands made by generation procedures. The results were interpreted within the transfer-appropriate processing framework, with additional reference to Glisky and Rabinowitz's two-component account of generation effects (Glisky & Rabinowitz, 1985).     

Statistical Tests of Conditional Independence Between Responses and/or Response Times on Test Items

Three plausible assumptions of conditional independence in a hierarchical model for responses and response times on test items are identified. For each of the assumptions, a Lagrange multiplier test of the null hypothesis of conditional independence against a parametric alternative is derived. The tests have closed-form statistics that are easy to calculate from the standard estimates of the person parameters in the model. In addition, simple closed-form estimators of the parameters under the alternatives of conditional dependence are presented, which can be used to explore model modification. The tests were applied to a data set from a large-scale computerized exam and showed excellent power to detect even minor violations of conditional independence.     

Processing Instructions and the Generation Effect: A Test of the Multifactor Transfer-appropriate Processing Theory

We report two experiments designed to test further the multifactor transferappropriate processing explanation of generation effects (deWinstanley, Bjork, & Bjork, 1996). The present research focuses on the following assumptions: (a) that processing resources are limited and, thus, the processing of one type of information can be, and often is, incompatible with the processing of other types of information; and (b) that reading and generating differ in terms of the flexibility they permit for the distribution of the subject's processing resources across the available information in an experimental context. These assumptions were tested by examining the consequences of processing instructions on the occurrence of generation effects, and the lack thereof, in free recall and cued recall. Across both experiments, identical processing instructions had strikingly different consequences on the later free-recall and cued-recall performance of subjects who encoded targets by generating them versus reading them, a pattern consistent with the foregoing assumptions.     

What one intelligence test measures: a theoretical account of the processing in the Raven Progressive Matrices Test

The cognitive processes in a widely used, nonverbal test of analytic intelligence, the Raven Progressive Matrices Test (Raven, 1962), are analyzed in terms of which processes distinguish between higher scoring and lower scoring subjects and which processes are common to all subjects and all items on the test. The analysis is based on detailed performance characteristics, such as verbal protocols, eye-fixation patterns, and errors. The theory is expressed as a pair of computer simulation models that perform like the median or best college students in the sample. The processing characteristic common to all subjects is an incremental, reiterative strategy for encoding and inducing the regularities in each problem. The processes that distinguish among individuals are primarily the ability to induce abstract relations and the ability to dynamically manage a large set of problem-solving goals in working memory.