The relationship between mean square differences and standard error of measurement: comment on Barchard (2012)

In the discussion of mean square difference (MSD) and standard error of measurement (SEM), Barchard (2012) concluded that the MSD between 2 sets of test scores is greater than 2(SEM)2 and SEM underestimates the score difference between 2 tests when the 2 tests are not parallel. This conclusion has limitations for 2 reasons. First, strictly speaking, MSD should not be compared to SEM because they measure different things, have different assumptions, and capture different sources of errors. Second, the related proof and conclusions in Barchard hold only under the assumptions of equal reliabilities, homogeneous variances, and independent measurement errors. To address the limitations, we propose that MSD should be compared to the standard error of measurement of difference scores (SEMx-y) so that the comparison can be extended to the conditions when 2 tests have unequal reliabilities and score variances.     

Impact of value congruence on work-family conflicts: the mediating role of work-related support

Based on past research regarding the relationship between person-environment fit and work-family conflict (WFC), we examined the mediating effects of perceived organization/supervisor support on the relationship between person-organization/supervisor value congruence and WFC. A structural equation model was used to test three hypotheses using data collected from 637 workers in Taiwan. Person-organization value congruence regarding role boundaries was found to be positively correlated with employee perception of organizational support, resulting in reduced WFC. Person-supervisor value congruence regarding role boundaries also increased employee perception of organizational support, mediated by perceived supervisor support. Research and managerial implications are discussed.     

Working memory biasing of visual perception without awareness

Previous research has demonstrated that the contents of visual working memory can bias visual processing in favor of matching stimuli in the scene. However, the extent to which such top-down, memory-driven biasing of visual perception is contingent on conscious awareness remains unknown. Here we showed that conscious awareness of critical visual cues is dispensable for working memory to bias perceptual selection mechanisms. Using the procedure of continuous flash suppression, we demonstrated that “unseen” visual stimuli during interocular suppression can gain preferential access to awareness if they match the contents of visual working memory. Strikingly, the very same effect occurred even when the visual cue to be held in memory was rendered nonconscious by masking. Control experiments ruled out the alternative accounts of repetition priming and different detection criteria. We conclude that working memory biases of visual perception can operate in the absence of conscious awareness.     

Bayesian Inferences of Latent Class Models with an Unknown Number of Classes

This paper focuses on analyzing data collected in situations where investigators use multiple discrete indicators as surrogates, for example, a set of questionnaires. A very flexible latent class model is used for analysis. We propose a Bayesian framework to perform the joint estimation of the number of latent classes and model parameters. The proposed approach applies the reversible jump Markov chain Monte Carlo to analyze finite mixtures of multivariate multinomial distributions. In the paper, we also develop a procedure for the unique labeling of the classes. We have carried out a detailed sensitivity analysis for various hyperparameter specifications, which leads us to make standard default recommendations for the choice of priors. The usefulness of the proposed method is demonstrated through computer simulations and a study on subtypes of schizophrenia using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS).     

The direction of bilateral transfer depends on the performance parameter

To acquire a more comprehensive understanding of the learning benefits associated with bilateral transfer and to gain knowledge of possible mechanisms behind bilateral transfer, we investigated the transfer direction of several parameters which are assumed to represent important features of movement control in a visuo-motor task. During the study, participants learned a multidirectional point-to-point drawing task in which the visual feedback was rotated 45° and the gain was increased. Performance changes of the untrained hand in movement time, trajectory length, normalized jerk, initial direction error, ratio of the primary sub-movement time to the total movement time, and the accuracy of the aiming movement after the primary sub-movement were investigated as indices of learning from bilateral transfer. The results showed that performance parameters related to the initial production of the movement, such as the initial direction, ratio of primary sub-movement to the total movement time, and movement accuracy after the primary sub-movement, only transferred to the non-dominant, while hand performance variables related to the overall outcome, such as movement duration, movement smoothness, and trajectory length, transferred in both directions. The findings of the current study support the basic principle of the “dynamic dominance model” because it is suggested that overall improvements in the non-dominant system are controlled by trajectory parameters in visuo-motor tasks, which resulted in transference of the afore mentioned production parameters to rather occur to the non-dominant hand as opposed to transference to the dominant hand.     

数字-空间联结SNARC效应的编码：视觉空间和言语空间

采用Gevers等的实验范式,以判断数字大小并选择不同言语符号方向信息左右为任务。材料为阿拉伯数字（1、2、8、9）和汉字、英文单词符号（“左”、“右”、“left”、“m#t”）。考察在不同语言符号方向信息下数字-空间联结SANBC效应的编码方式,结果发现：（1）在汉字和英文符号信息下,被试在数字大小比较任务中都表现出SNARC效应;（2）在汉字符号方向信息下。SNARC效应的编码方式主要存在视觉空间和言语空间编码,且以言语空间编码为主;（3）在英文符号方向信息下。SNARC效应的鳊码方式主要是视觉空间编码。     

Reciprocal Markov Modeling of Feedback Mechanisms Between Emotion and Dietary Choice Using Experience-Sampling Data

With intensively collected longitudinal data, recent advances in the experience-sampling method (ESM) benefit social science empirical research, but also pose important methodological challenges. As traditional statistical models are not generally well equipped to analyze a system of variables that contain feedback loops, this paper proposes the utility of an extended hidden Markov model to model reciprocal the relationship between momentary emotion and eating behavior. This paper revisited an ESM data set (Lu, Huet, &; Dube, 2011 Lu, J., Huet, C., &; Dubé, L. (2011). Emotional reinforcement as a protective factor for healthy eating in home settings. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 94(1), 254–261. http://dx.doi.org/10.3945/ajcn.110.006361[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) that observed 160 participants' food consumption and momentary emotions 6 times per day in 10 days. Focusing on the analyses on feedback loop between mood and meal-healthiness decision, the proposed reciprocal Markov model (RMM) can accommodate both hidden (“general” emotional states: positive vs. negative state) and observed states (meal: healthier, same or less healthy than usual) without presuming independence between observations and smooth trajectories of mood or behavior changes. The results of RMM analyses illustrated the reciprocal chains of meal consumption and mood as well as the effect of contextual factors that moderate the interrelationship between eating and emotion. A simulation experiment that generated data consistent with the empirical study further demonstrated that the procedure is promising in terms of recovering the parameters.     

Assessing secure base behavior in adulthood: development of a measure,links to adult attachment representations,and relations to couples' communication and reports of relationships

A focus on the secure base phenomenon creates a framework for exploring the function of the attachment system in adulthood. Engaged couples (N = 157) were videotaped in a problem-solving interaction and assessed using the Secure Base Scoring System (SBSS), a system based on Ainsworth's analyses of infant-parent secure base use and support. Study 1 showed behavior was significantly related to representations assessed with the Adult Attachment Interview (M. Main & R. Goldwyn, 1994). In Study 2, the interactions were independently scored with the Rapid Marital Interaction Coding System (RMICS; R. E. Heyman & D. Vivian, 1993), a communication-based system. The SBSS predicted relationship variables beyond the RMICS, especially for women. Results indicate that the secure base phenomenon provides a cogent perspective on adult attachment behavior.     

Effects of foreign mand training on the emergence of foreign tact and listener responses for Chinese-speaking children with autism spectrum disorder

In China, there is an increasing demand for preschool children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) enrolled in general education to learn English vocabulary. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of foreign mand training in English on the acquisition of mand responses, and the emergence of tact and listener responses for three Chinese-speaking preschool children (boys; 4–5 years of age) with ASD. Echoic-to-mand training was implemented to teach mands in English. The study employed a concurrent multiple-probe design across behaviors. The results of the study indicated that the training was effective in the acquisition of mand responses. Moreover, untaught tacts and listener responses for the same vocabulary emerged without explicit training. Implications for small-group mand training in foreign language acquisition were discussed.