Priming the rules of spelling

This paper reports three spelling experiments that examined the effect of lexical priming through intervening items. In the first and second experiments, a strong effect of word priming on nonword spelling was found, even when two intervening filler items separated prime-target pairs. In addition, the absolute size of the effect was similar when one intervening item separated prime-target pairs and when two intervening items separated prime-target pairs. A much larger effect was found when no intervening items were used, however. This effect did not appear to be related to filler type, as Experiment 1 used nonword fillers, and Experiment 2 used word fillers. The third experiment examined the same effect with two intervening filler items, but instead used nonwords as primes (and thus examined a subsyllabic repetition effect). A similar-sized effect as that of the first and second experiments was found. The most plausible explanation of these results, which is consistent with the interactive dual-route model of spelling, is that they reflect the priming of sound-spelling rules that people use to spell nonwords.     

von Restorff revisited: isolation, generation, and memory for order

The effects of isolation and generation on memory for order were investigated in 4 experiments. Experiments 1 and 2 examined the effect of isolation on order retention. Previous investigations in this area have yielded equivocal results. Experiments 1 and 2 revealed that isolation enhances memory for order: Isolated items were repositioned more accurately than comparable items in control lists. Experiments 3 and 4 investigated the effect of generation on order retention. These experiments revealed that generation can enhance, disrupt, or have no effect on memory for order, depending on the relative number of generated items appearing within a list. Implications of these results for general theoretical accounts of isolation effects in memory are discussed. A simplified version of the feature model (J. S. Nairne, 1990) is shown to provide a general account of isolation effects.     

Recognizing distinctive faces: A hybrid-similarity exemplar model account

In recognition memory experiments, Nosofsky and Zaki (2003) found that adding discrete distinctive features to continuous-dimension color stimuli helped participants to identify old items as old (the old-item distinctiveness effect), as well as to identify new items as new. The present study tests the extent to which these results generalize to the domain of face recognition. Two experiments were conducted, one using artificial faces and one using natural faces. Artificial faces were used to test memory for faces with discrete distinctive features while controlling the similarity of the faces themselves on more continuous dimensions. The natural-face experiment used the faces of 40 bald men categorized into three groups (typical, isolated, and distinctive) based on experimental ratings of distinctiveness. In both experiments, there were strong effects of the distinctive features on recognition performance. The data were accounted for reasonably well by a hybrid-similarity version of an exemplar recognition model (Nosofsky and Zaki, 2003), which includes a feature-matching mechanism that can provide boosts to an item's self-similarity.     

Evaluation strategies for some nonstandard conditionals during adolescence.

380 adolescents and young adults between the ages of 11 and 29 years participated in three experiments in which they were asked to evaluate both universally quantified nonstandard and standard conditionals using items of information bearing upon them. Subjects found it much easier to avoid a biconditional interpretation with the nonstandard than with the standard conditionals, which throws doubt on the explanation of desire for symmetry of biconditional conversion. It was argued, from data of other studies, that a modified version of the Piagetian view that biconditional conversion occurs as a result of a desire to avoid the complications of dealing with three factors explains most cases of such conversion in adolescence. Results also confirmed that it is more profitable to analyse performance on tasks of this kind using a two-stage model of interpretation and information use previously developed to explain performance with standard universally quantified conditionals than to view such tasks as providing truth-table values. Such an analysis was extended to the nonstandard conditionals studied in the present paper. The origins of the dramatic differences in information-use strategies adopted by adolescents for standard and nonstandard conditionals remain unclear.     

Factor structure of the perfectionistic self-presentation scale in Korea

This study explored the factor structure of the Korean version of the Perfectionistic Self-Presentation Scale, originally developed by Hewitt and colleagues in 2003 with three factors (Perfectionistic Self-promotion, Non-display of Imperfection, and Non-disclosure of Imperfection). In Study 1, a confirmatory factor analysis was performed on the Korean version with 27 items for 151 Korean college students, but the model fit was poor. Subsequently, an exploratory factor analysis was conducted, and the results yielded three factors as found in Hewitt, et al., yet with 20 items rather than the original 27 items. This new version had good internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha =.88); convergent validity estimate was established with a measure of self-presentation motivation. In Study 2, to support the structural validity of the Korean version, another confirmatory factor analysis was conducted with 203 Korean college students. The model fit was good, but a few amendments were made.     

Reliability and validity of the kiddie mach scale in Chinese children

The present study examined the psychometric properties of a translated Chinese version of the Kiddie Mach Scale in a sample of Chinese students (N=787) ages 9 to 13 years (416 boys, 371 girls; M age= 11.3 yr., SD = 1.3). Results of confirmatory factor analysis showed a three-factor structure to be the most adequate model: Distrust, Lack of faith in human nature, and Dishonesty. These results are similar to the English version, but not the Greek version. The Chinese version exhibited weak internal consistency, but acceptable 4-week test-retest reliability. The Chinese version of the Kiddie Mach Scale was significantly associated with the Basic Empathy Scale. There was a sex effect on Kiddie Mach Scale scores with boys scoring higher on the Total scale and the Distrust subscale. Some items did not seem to function well in Chinese culture. More research will be needed to find items that represent, especially, distrust in Chinese settings.     

On the naming of color words and color patches

Subjects can name color words faster than they can name color patches. To account for that effect, a generic model of naming is described which assumes that words access the mental lexicon directly, whereas color patches do so only indirectly via an initial imaginal or semantic representation. However, Lund (1927) reported that the naming advantage for words disappeared when all the items to be named on a page were the same (i.e., they were blocked). In the present study, three experiments are reported that were designed to provide a clearer empirical definition of Lund’s blocking effect and to ascertain the extent to which it requires a modification of the generic model. The blocked lists had 50 items arranged into 10 blocks, with each block homogeneous with respect to color. The block lengths were either all a predictable length of 5 items or they varied randomly from 1 to 9 items. The data indicated the following: (1) The blocking effect occurred even when the task required a full identification of each item, and (2) the blocking effect was confined to within-block transitions. Blocking seemed to eliminate the word advantage by allowing the subject to re-use the lexical entry used for the immediately prior item, which is consistent with the generic model.     

Disruption of short-term memory by distractor speech: Does content matter?

Four experiments replicate the finding that auditory distractors that are lexically identical to the visual target items dramatically increase the irrelevant-speech effect on serial recall. This effect was previously attributed to interference of incompatible order cues. The present results suggest that a different interpretation of this effect is required. Experiment 2 replicates the order congruence effect observed by Hughes and Jones (2005), but shows that this effect is most likely due to an attenuation of interference that is caused by strategic attention shifts to the nominally irrelevant material. Experiments 3 and 4 show that the between-stream similarity effect generalizes to a condition in which the distractor items were drawn from the same category as the targets, but were not identical to them. By showing that nonacoustic distractor features can increase interference in serial recall of lists of supposedly “meaningless” items such as digits or consonants, the results are most consistent with models that postulate an integration of short-term and long-term memory such as the embedded-processes model and the feature model and are inconsistent with classical structural accounts of memory.     

Detrimental influence of contextual change on spacing effects in free recall

Two experiments were conducted to determine the mechanism underlying the spacing effect in free-recall tasks. Participants were required to study a list containing once-presented words as well as massed and spaced repetitions. In both experiments, presentation background at repetition was manipulated. The results of Experiment 1 demonstrated that free recall was higher for massed items repeated in a different context than for massed items repeated in the same context, whereas free recall for spaced items was higher when repeated in the same context. Furthermore, a spacing effect was shown for words repeated in the same context, whereas an attenuated spacing effect was revealed for words repeated in a different context. These findings were replicated in Experiment 2 under a different presentation background manipulation. Both experiments seem to be most consistent with a model that combines the contextual variability and the study-phase retrieval mechanism to account for the spacing effect in free-recall tasks.     

中国青少年人格量表(QZPS-Q)的编制

本研究旨在探索中国青少年的人格结构并编制适合青少年使用的人格量表.以词汇学研究建立的中国人人格七因素模型以及用于成年人的中国人人格量表(QZPS)为基础,经过青少年被试按照其理解能力和表述习惯重新修订QZPS的项目后,2827名初一~高三的学生完成了包括215个项目的中国青少年人格量表(QZPS-Q)初版,经因素分析确定了中国青少年的人格由七个维度、19个二级因素及三个综合性维度构成,QZPS-Q最终由111个项目构成.研究结果支持了中国人的人格结构模型,同时也体现了青少年注重成就和才干及侧重外在表现的人格特点.     

Suffix effects and probe modality in probed recall: Implications for readout from sensory memory

The effect of a redundant stimulus suffix was investigated in three experiments using a probed recall task. The probe modality was auditory in the first experiment and visual in the second. In the third experiment, both probe modalities were tested. The presentation rate was varied in all three experiments and was confounded with the delay of the suffix. The suffix was found to have a small and approximately equal effect on the last six serial positions. In contrast to the predictions from Crowder and Morton's (1969) PAS model, presentation rate and suffix delay did not interact with the suffix effect. The results indicate that at least six items can be simultaneously represented in PAS, that there is no appreciable decay of information from PAS during presentation of the last list items, and that readout of PAS information does not occur either during list presentation or between the end of list presentation and the beginning of overt report.     

Distinguishing personality and biodata items using confirmatory factor analysis of multitrait-multimethod matrices

Hard biodata, soft biodata, and personality items were developed to measure three personal constructs (Dependability, Demeanor, and Ambition). This resulted in nine sets of items forming a three-method (personality, soft biodata, and hard biodata) by three-trait (Dependability, Demeanor, and Ambition) Multitrait-Multimethod (MTMM) matrix. Four models were proposed to represent the nine scales and each was tested on a sample of 477 job applicants and subsequently cross-validated on a sample of 958 job applicants, using confirmatory factor analysis. The model where the personality and soft biodata items represented one factor and the hard biodata items represented another, distinct factor, was both the best fitting and most parsimonious model, thus confirming Asher's (1972) taxonomy.This research was based in part on a doctoral dissertation submitted to Wayne State University. I would like to thank committee members Lois Tetrick (Chair), Alan Bass, Sebastiano Fisicaro, and Thomas Naughton. An earlier version of this paper was presented at the 8th annual conference of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP), San Francisco, CA: April, 1993.     

Item grouping and item randomization in personality measurement

This paper describes a study examining the impact of item order in personality measurement on reliability, measurement equivalence and scale-level correlations. A large sample of university students completed one of three forms of the International Personality Item Pool version of the Big Five personality inventory: items sorted at random, items sorted by factor, and items cycled through factors. Results showed that the underlying measurement model and the internal consistency of the IPIP-Big Five scale was unaffected by differences in item order. Also, most of the scale-level correlations among factors were not significantly different across forms. Implications for the administration of tests and interpretation of test scores are discussed, and future research directions are offered.     

Information search in the laboratory and on the Web: With or without an experimenter

The focus of this study is the effect of the location (laboratory vs. Web) of experiments on active information searchin decision-making tasks. In two experiments, participants were confronted with two different search method versions (list vs. keyword) for acquiring information about a task from a database. The amount and type of information gathered and the time required for task completion were measured. In Experiment 1, significantly more information was searched for in the laboratory than on the Web when the list version was employed, whereas there was no difference between locations in the keyword version. In Experiment 2, the participants were assigned randomly to the Web or the laboratory condition. The results of Experiment 1 were replicated. Whereas location (and the presence or absence of an experimenter) had an effect on the absolute amount of information gathered in both experiments, the relative distribution and type of information items did not differ.     

On the displacement of leisure items by food during multiple-stimulus preference assessments

Previous studies have demonstrated that when food and leisure stimuli are combined in multiple-stimulus preference assessments, individuals typically select food more often, although the leisure stimuli also have known reinforcing properties. The purpose of the current study was to replicate this effect and determine its durability by examining the effect after mealtimes. Four adults who had been diagnosed with severe mental retardation were given three initial multiple-stimulus (without replacement) preference assessments (i.e., food, leisure stimuli, and combined). All participants selected food items as the most preferred stimuli in the combined assessments. Combined assessments were then administered immediately before and after the evening meal for each participant for 1 week. The results showed similar data both before and after mealtimes.     

Comparison of several shortened versions of the EMBU: exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses

The aim of the present study was to analyze the psychometric properties of different versions of the EMBU (Egna Minnen av Barndoms Uppfostran – My memories of upbringing) in a non-clinical sample of adolescents. The factor structure of the questionnaire was studied by means of more adequate exploratory and confirmatory factor procedures in order to ascertain which version achieves a better fit to data. The 64-item version of the EMBU was administered to a non-clinical sample of 832 adolescents. Exploratory and Confirmatory factor analyses were carried out for successive versions of 64, 37, 24 and 23 items. The theoretical four-factor structure of the 64-item version is not replicated in a factor analysis through principal axis extraction with direct oblimin rotation. The "Favoring Subject" factor was not found. 37 items present loadings equal to or larger than 0.30 for the "Rejection", "Emotional Warmth" and "Overprotection" factors. A re-analysis of these items shows a clear three-factor structure. When Arrindell et al .'s (1999 ) 23-item version was analysed, the three expected factors were also found. Confirmatory factor analyses allow us to reduce the 36-item version to a shorter one of 24 items. This last version achieves the best fit to data, including the 23-item version. The new 24-item version improves the construct validity of the EMBU and presents similar reliability coefficients.     

Adapting Item Format for Cultural Effects in Translated Tests: Cultural Effects on Construct Validity of the Chinese Versions of the MBTI

This study investigated the interaction between different cultural groups and item type, and the ensuing effect on construct validity for a psychological inventory, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI, Form G). The authors analyzed 94 items from 2 Chinese-translated versions of the MBTI (Form G) for factorial differences among groups of examinees. The sample comprised 1,111 male medical undergraduate students, 19 to 22 years of age. There were 3 significant findings. First, items loading on a hypothesized "correct" factor increased nearly 50% from the 1997 version to the 1999 version. Nonliteral translations modified 86.62% of these 13 items. Second, among the 3 item types, phrase items changed the most and word-pair items, the least. Third, the Sensation-Intuition (SN) scale split into 3 independent subtype personalities in the 1999 Chinese version. Results of 2 factor analyses provided qualified support for a 4-factor solution and showed that cultural differences significantly influence construct validity interpretations.     

Validation of the Preschool Anxiety Scale-Traditional Chinese (PAS-TC) in Hong Kong

Anxiety disorders are the most common type of psychiatric conditions in children. Early identification and intervention during preschool years is critical for minimizing their detrimental long-term effects. The Preschool Anxiety Scale (PAS) is a developmentally-sensitive and symptom-specific instrument that has been commonly used and widely validated in the west. The current study tested the psychometric properties of its Traditional Chinese version (PAS-TC) in Hong Kong. The study sample consisted of a total of 1317 Hong Kong parents, recruited from 12 local preschools, with preschool children aged from three to six years old. Results showed that a correlated five-factor model demonstrated a good fit for the data. PAS-TC also demonstrated acceptable reliability and satisfactory validity. Furthermore, gender but not age effects were found in Hong Kong. Additionally, similar to previous studies, items from physical injury fears were the most reported in the top-ten frequently endorsed items. Finally, the anxiety level of our Hong Kong sample was found to be between the Mainland China and western countries. Clinical implications of the above findings concerning PAS-TC are discussed.

     

Short-Term Visual Recognition Memory in Pigeons

Recognition memory for lists of items was investigated in pigeons using a YES-NO recognition technique. Experiment I showed that increasing the exposure duration of the first item of a two-item list improved recognition for that item without impairing recognition of the second item. Experiment II showed that decreasing the inter-trial interval had no effect on correct YES responses but significantly increased the number of false YES responses. Experiment III showed that recognition for the last two items of a three-item list was no poorer than that for lists of only two items. Experiment IV showed that increasing the delay between presentation and test of a two-item list (from 0·25-1 s) had a more disruptive effect on recognition for the second than for the first item. The data from these four experiments support a model proposed by Roberts and Grant, according to which memory traces are independent, and decay as a negatively accelerated function of time. Experiments V, VI, and VII investigated recognition for lists of three, four, and five items, and found no evidence for a primacy effect, performance being a linear function of time since sample offset.     

A validation of well-being and happiness surveys for administration via the Internet

Internet research is appealing because it is a cost- and time-efficient way to access a large number of participants; however, the validity of Internet research for important subjective well-being (SWB) surveys has not been adequately assessed. The goal of the present study was to validate the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS; Diener, Emmons, Larsen, & Griffin, 1985), the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS-X; Watson & Clark, 1994), and the Subjective Happiness Scale (SHS; Lyubomirsky & Lepper, 1999) for use on the Internet. This study compared the quality of data collected using paper-based (paper-and-pencil version in a lab setting), computer-based (Web-based version in a lab setting), and Internet (Web-based version on a computer of the participant’s choosing) surveys for these three measures of SWB. The paper-based and computer-based experiment recruited two college student samples; the Internet experiments recruited a college student sample and an adult sample responding to ads on different social-networking Web sites. This study provides support for the reliability, validity, and generalizability of the Internet format of the SWLS, PANAS-X, and SHS. Across the three experiments, the results indicate that the computer-based and Internet surveys had means, standard deviations, reliabilities, and factor structures that were similar to those of the paper-based versions. The discussion examines the difficulty of higher attrition for the Internet version, the need to examine reverse-coded items in the future, and the possibility that unhappy individuals are more likely to participate in Internet surveys of SWB.