A comparison of the thurstone method of multiple factors with the hotelling method of principal components

The factors found by the Hotelling method of principal components present the same necessity for rotation as those found by the Thurstone method of multiple factors.The Thurstone method of multiple factors is here found superior to the Hotelling method of principal components, and is suggested as the method of choice for all problems requiring the determination of elemental components from a group of related variables, since it was found on every point of comparison that, when applied to a correlation matrix of unknown communalities, the Thurstone method was more accurate than the Hotelling method, and also required much less time.     

Fight the power: the limits of empiricism and the costs of positivistic rigor

A summary of the influence of positivistic philosophy and empiricism on the field of psychology is followed by a critique of the empirical method. The dialectic process is advocated as an alternative method of inquiry. The main advantage of the dialectic method is that it is open to any logical argument, including empirical hypotheses, but unlike empiricism, it does not automatically reject arguments that are not based on observable data. Evolutionary and moral psychology are discussed as examples of important fields of study that could benefit from types of arguments that frequently do not conform to the empirical standards of systematic observation and falsifiability of hypotheses. A dialectic method is shown to be a suitable perspective for those fields of research, because it allows for logical arguments that are not empirical and because it fosters a functionalist perspective, which is indispensable for both evolutionary and moral theories. It is suggested that all psychologists may gain from adopting a dialectic approach, rather than restricting themselves to empirical arguments alone.     

The occurrence of the filled duration illusion: A comparison of the method of adjustment with the method of magnitude estimation

A time interval between the onset and the offset of a continuous sound (filled interval) is often perceived to be longer than a time interval between two successive brief sounds (empty interval) of the same physical duration. The present study examined whether and how this phenomenon, sometimes called the filled duration illusion (FDI), occurs for short time intervals (40–520 ms). The investigation was conducted with the method of adjustment (Experiment 1) and the method of magnitude estimation (Experiment 2). When the method of adjustment was used, the FDI did not appear for the majority of the participants, but it appeared clearly for some participants. In the latter case, the amount of the FDI increased as the interval duration lengthened. The FDI was more likely to occur with magnitude estimation than with the method of adjustment. The participants who showed clear FDI with one method did not necessarily show such clear FDI with the other method.     

单侧化准备电位启始时间点的测算:刀切法*

刀切法是统计学家Quenouille提出的一种参数估计方法,由Miller等在1998年首次将刀切法应用在单侧化准备电位(LRP)启始时间点(onset)的测量中。相对于以往单个被试法而言,它是较新的一种统计方法。本文综述了刀切法的统计原理和基本使用过程,并和单个被试法进行了差异比较,最后对这一方法的发展趋势做了展望。     

甲状腺结节治疗的新方法——内镜切除术

内镜甲状腺切除术是利用内镜手术图像放大和远距离操作的特点使手术切口微小化并隐藏起来的一种内镜手术,可以达到颈部无手术瘢痕的美观效果,是治疗甲状腺结节的一种新方法。选择合理的手术术式,遵循手术的适应证和禁忌证,严格把握患者的准入原则,可以使内镜甲状腺手术成为一种安全、理想的手术方法,具有不可替代的免美容破坏效果和远期舒适性。     

A new method for the estimation of the onset of the lateralized readiness potential (LRP)

The aim of this work was to develop a new method for the estimation of the onset of the lateralized readiness potential (LRP). In contrast to the known methods that use only restricted data segments for estimation, the proposed segmented regression (SR) method employs the LRP trace from the stimulus onset to the LRP peak. Comparison of the SR with two other methods, done with both simulated and real data, shows that the SR method yields a relatively unbiased absolute onset time that is not affected by different LRP gradients before and after the onset. Moreover, the SR estimator proved to be quite sensitive to subtle onset differences across conditions.     

A note on the sampling properties of the Vincentizing (quantile averaging) procedure

To assess the effect of a manipulation on a response time distribution, psychologists often use Vincentizing or quantile averaging to construct group or “average” distributions. We provide a theorem characterizing the large sample properties of the averaged quantiles when the individual RT distributions all belong to the same location-scale family. We then apply the theorem to estimating parameters for the quantile-averaged distributions. From the theorem, it is shown that parameters of the group distribution can be estimated by generalized least squares. This method provides accurate estimates of standard errors of parameters and can therefore be used in formal inference. The method is benchmarked in a small simulation study against both a maximum likelihood method and an ordinary least-squares method. Generalized least squares essentially is the only method based on the averaged quantiles that is both unbiased and provides accurate estimates of parameter standard errors. It is also proved that for location-scale families, performing generalized least squares on quantile averages is formally equivalent to averaging parameter estimates from generalized least squares performed on individuals. A limitation on the method is that individual RT distributions must be members of the same location-scale family.     

Facilitation of receptive and productive foreign vocabulary learning using the keyword method: the role of image quality

Ellis and Beaton (1993a) reported that the keyword method of learning enhanced memory of foreign vocabulary items when receptive learning was measured. However, for productive learning, rote repetition was superior to the keyword method. The first two experiments reported here show that, in comparison with rote repetition, both receptive and productive learning can be enhanced by the keyword method, provided that the quality of the keyword images is adequate. In a third experiment using a subset of words from Ellis and Beaton (1993a), the finding they reported, that for productive learning rote repetition was superior to the keyword method, was reversed. The quality of keyword images will vary from study to study and any generalisation regarding the efficacy of the keyword method must take this into account.     

Isolating the components of intelligence

In a recent volume (Sternberg, 1977b), I proposed a method called componential analysis that provides a means to isolate the components of intelligent performance. The method was described in detail, and then tested in a series of experiments. But an important question was left unanswered by this early work: Is componential analysis generalizable to tasks other than analogies? More recently, I have been investigating the generalization of the methodology to other tasks, and have also been engaged in extending the methodology in order to increase its flexibility of application. The present article (a) briefly summarizes the structure of a componential analysis, (b) describes the method of precuing, the method originally used for isolating the components of intelligence, and (c) describes new methods that have also been successful in isolating these components in a variety of reasoning tasks.     

Some comparisons of the multiple-factor and the bi-factor methods of analysis

Bi-factor and multiple-factor analyses of the same data are compared in two respects. First, two criteria are suggested for determining when the factorization is adequate. This problem being more acute for the centroid method than for the bi-factor method, the latter is used primarily for comparison only. It is shown also that the omission from the simple structure of entries smaller than .10 yields a pattern which is a poorer fit to the original correlations than is the bi-factor pattern. Second, the second-order general factor obtained from the intercorrelations of the primaries is found to be highly correlated with the general factor of the bi-factor pattern.     

Adding drift to the decomposition of simple isochronous tapping: an extension of the Wing-Kristofferson model

The Wing-Kristofferson model (A. M. Wing & A. B. Kristofferson, (1973a, 1973b) decomposes the variance of isochronous finger tapping into 2 components: a central clock component and a peripheral motor component. The method assumes that there is no drift in the intertap intervals. A new method is introduced that further decomposes the clock component drift and drift-free clock variance. The method was studied through simulation and empirical analyses. Clock variance was the most prominent, followed by drift, and then motor variance. Individual and group differences were larger for the motor and drift variances than for the drift-free clock variance, so that group differences observed in the past may have been partially due to the failure to fully remove drift. The authors argue that the methods presented and extensions thereon show great promise in extending a method in wide use since 1973.     

先秦推类方法的模式构造及有效性问题

援类而推的方法,是中国先秦时代特有的并广泛使用的一种思维方法。对于这种推类方法,古代先贤只给出了一系列的语义说明,没有而且也不可能给出一个形式语言的语形说明。如借助现象对事物的状态和功能及其所具有的规律进行描述的科学认识方法,我们今天可以尝试着给它构造一个推理模式,并通过分析它的思维进程、根据、推导原则及违反原则的错误,展现它的特点、能够成立的有效性及世代相传的普遍适用性。并进而了解其背后的逻辑原则、文化传统、人文精神,从逻辑与文化的角度增强我们对传统思维方法论意义、文化认同意义的感受。并在全球化的浪潮中,在越来越广泛的文化交流与沟通中,促进对传统思维方式的辩证扬弃,促进不同文化之间思维方式的沟通。     

领导人员选拔考试方法研究

考试在我国新时期领导人员选拔中起着很重要的作用。本文从如何进一步加强考试方法的研究做了一些探讨,并提出提高领导人员选拔考试水平的方法,即丰富考试方法,提高考试方法的信度和效度,提高考试命题的质量,加强对考试成果的分析等。     

A method of estimating item characteristic functions using the maximum likelihood estimate of ability

A method of estimating item characteristic functions is proposed, in which a set of test items, whose operating characteristics are known and which give a constant test information function for a substantially wide range of ability, are used. The method is based on the maximum likelihood estimates of ability for a group of several hundred examinees. Throughout the present study the Monte Carlo method is used.     

A dental roll technique for the measurement of salivary activity

A discussion of the development of a method for the analysis of salivary activity is presented. Results gained using this new method are compared with those obtained using a whole-mouth spitting technique. The application of the new method in real-world situations is indicated. Norms are presented for measures of salivary flow, pH, and salivary ion concentration based on experimental studies of a female working population.     

Broadening the application of mixed methods in sales research

Mixed method research designs can be extremely useful in extending knowledge in the sales domain. A bevy of mixed method designs are at the disposal of sales researchers seeking to reap the benefits of this combination of research approaches. However, application of mixed methods in sales research has been rather limited, focusing primarily on exploratory sequential designs. The purpose of this article is to provide an exposition of mixed method research in the sales domain and offer avenues of extension that employ underutilized mixed methodological approaches. Accordingly, a definition of mixed methods along with its benefits and drawbacks is espoused followed by guidance in conducting mixed method research. A review of sales-related mixed method studies is then provided and articles containing both quantitative and qualitative methods are analyzed to glean insight on the state of mixed methods research in sales. Future avenues for mixed method research are then provided focusing on best practices and techniques that have yet to be embraced by sales researchers. This article aims to be a resource for sales scholars in expanding the mixed method research paradigm.     

Bootstrapping the estimated latent distribution of the two‐parameter latent trait model

This paper focuses on the two‐parameter latent trait model for binary data. Although the prior distribution of the latent variable is usually assumed to be a standard normal distribution, that prior distribution can be estimated from the data as a discrete distribution using a combination of EM algorithms and other optimization methods. We assess with what precision we can estimate the prior from the data, using simulations and bootstrapping. A novel calibration method is given to check that near optimality is achieved for the bootstrap estimates. We find that there is sufficient information on the prior distribution to be informative, and that the bootstrap method is reliable. We illustrate the bootstrap method for two sets of real data.     

Modelling the History of Ideas

We propose a new method for the history of ideas that has none of the shortcomings so often ascribed to this approach. We call this method the model approach to the history of ideas. We argue that any adequately developed and implementable method to trace (dis)continuities in the history of human thought, or concept drift, will require that historians use explicit interpretive conceptual frameworks. We call these frameworks models. We argue that models enhance the comprehensibility of historical texts, and provide historians of ideas with a method that, unlike existing approaches, is susceptible neither to common holistic criticisms nor to Skinner's objections that the history of ideas yields arbitrary and biased reconstructions. To illustrate our proposal, we discuss the so-called Classical Model of Science and draw upon work in computer science and cognitive psychology.     

A joint treatment of varimax rotation and the problem of diagonalizing symmetric matrices simultaneously in the least-squares sense

The present paper contains a lemma which implies that varimax rotation can be interpreted as a special case of diagonalizing symmetric matrices as discussed in multidimensional scaling. It is shown that the solution by De Leeuw and Pruzansky is essentially equivalent to the solution by Kaiser. Necessary and sufficient conditions for maxima and minima are derived from first and second order partial derivatives. A counter-example by Gebhardt is reformulated and examined in terms of these conditions. It is concluded that Kaiser's method or, equivalently, the method by De Leeuw and Pruzansky is the most attractive method currently available for the problem at hand.The author is obliged to Dirk Knol for computational assistance and to Dirk Knol, Klaas Nevels and Frits Zegers for critically reviewing an earlier draft of this paper.     

Using personal digital assistants (PDAs) for the collection of safety belt use data in the field

From 1975 through 2003, because of the use of safety belts, an estimated 180,000 deaths from traffic crashes have been prevented. In order to assess the gains that have been made in safety belt use across the U.S., in individual states, and in communities, belt use surveys are conducted at regular intervals to determine use rates. The most valid method for surveying safety belt use is through direct observation. Direct observation surveys are conducted along roadways by trained researchers looking into passing vehicles and recording safety belt use. This method of data collection has been effective in the past through the use of paper-and-pencil data recording, yet it could be improved through the use of electronic and communication technology. Reported here is a study designed to compare electronic data collection, using personal digital assistants (PDAs), with collection using the traditional paperand-pencil method during the annual statewide survey of safety belt use in Michigan that we have been conducting since 1984. The goals of the study were to develop a PDA database program for data entry in the field, to directly compare the PDA data collection process with the paper-and-pencil method on both accuracy and speed, and to assess mechanical and environmental factors, such as battery life, screen visibility, and reaction to adverse weather, that may act as limitations to the PDA method, in comparison with the paper-and-pencil method. In a direct comparison of methods, two observers collected data at the same roadway intersections, one using paper and a pencil and one using a PDA equipped with our custom software. The study showed that the PDA method was as fast and as accurate as the paper-and-pencil method. There were no adverse effects on the PDA caused by environmental conditions. The PDA was superior to the paper-and-pencil method in rainy weather and for data collector supervision. In addition, the use of the PDA obviated the need for entry of paper-recorded data into an electronic format. We conclude that the use of PDAs for safety belt field data collection is superior to the paper-and-pencil method. A Web address is given where the custom PDA safety belt data collection software can be obtained free of charge.