Detecting random responders with infrequency scales using an error-balancing threshold

Infrequency scales are becoming a popular mode of data screening, due to their availability and ease of implementation. Recent research has indicated that the interpretation and functioning of infrequency items may not be as straightforward as had previously been thought (Curran & Hauser, 2015), yet there are no empirically based guidelines for implementing cutoffs using these items. In the present study, we compared two methods of detecting random responding with infrequency items: a zero-tolerance threshold versus a threshold that balances classification error rates. The results showed that a traditional zero-tolerance approach, on average, screens data that are less indicative of careless responding than those screened by the error-balancing approach. Thus, the de facto standard of applying a “zero-tolerance” approach when screening participants with infrequency scales may be too stringent, so that meaningful responses may also be removed from analyses. Recommendations and future directions are discussed.     

Book reviews

Abstract

Boff, K. R., Kaufmann, L., &; Thomas, J. P. (Eds) (1986). Handbook of perception and human performance, Vols 1 and 2. Chichester: John Wiley. ISBN 0-471-88544-4 and 0-471-82957-9. £85.00 and £77.50.

Garnham, A. (1988). Artificial intelligence: An introduction. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul. Pp. 277. ISBN 0-7102-1416-2. £8.95.     

Christian Counselors and Affirmative Counseling of Lesbian and Gay Clients

In this phenomenological study, we interviewed 12 counselors who identified as both religious and able to provide ethical and competent counseling to lesbian and gay clients. Participants discussed their lived experiences providing counseling. Our analysis revealed three primary themes: seeking congruence, responding to lesbian and gay clients, and cultivating competency. We discuss these findings and identify implications for counselor training and practice.     

The helping alliance and premature termination

The study was conducted to determine the relationship between strength of the helping alliance and type of client termination (premature or with mutual knowledge of client and counselor). Participants were 102 client-counselors dyads at a university counseling center. After an average of 8 sessions, clients and couneselors completed Alexander & Luborsky's (1986) Helping Alliance Questionnaires. Clients terminated after an average of 19 sessions. Clients who later terminated with mutual knowledge of their counselors gave significantly higher strength of helping alliance ratings than did clients who later terminated unilaterally and prematurely. Counselors' ratings of strength of helping alliance were only modestly related to clients' ratings and unrelated to type of client termination.     

Secular declines in Spearman's g: some evidence from the United States

The Flynn Effect (J. Flynn, 1987) refers to the apparent increases in intelligence quotient (IQ) observed over the past few decades. A related phenomenon is that the variance in test scores accounted for by Spearman's g (C. Spearman, 1904) varies according to IQ level. That is, g accounts for less variance in high IQ groups than in low IQ groups. Spearman termed this variant aspect of g the "law of diminishing returns." This study extends prior research on the Flynn Effect and the law of diminishing returns by examining changes in the statistical importance of Spearman's g that may accompany secular increases in IQ. Based on the standardization data from the United States versions of the Wechsler scales (i.e., Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scales of Intelligence, D. Wechsler, 1967; Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, D. Wechsler, 1949; Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, D. Wechsler, 1955), this study indicated that, in most cases, the statistical significance of Spearman's g has indeed declined over the past several years. A. R. Jensen (1998) suggested that the components of the Flynn Effect warrant special investigation. The present study addresses this issue, in part by analyzing the Verbal and Performance subscales of the Wechsler scales. Additionally, this study further confirms the law of diminishing returns as applicable to different ages and time periods.     

Working memory capacity and fluid intelligence are strongly related constructs: comment on Ackerman, Beier, and Boyle (2005)

The authors agree with P. L. Ackerman, M. E. Beier, and M. O. Boyle (2005; see record 2004-22408-002) that working memory capacity (WMC) is not isomorphic with general fluid intelligence (Gf) or reasoning ability. However, the WMC and Gf/reasoning constructs are more strongly associated than Ackerman et al. (2005) indicate, particularly when considering the outcomes of latent-variable studies. The authors' reanalysis of 14 such data sets from 10 published studies, representing more than 3,100 young-adult subjects, suggests a strong correlation between WMC and Gf/reasoning factors (median r=.72), indicating that the WMC and Gf constructs share approximately 50% of their variance. This comment also clarifies the authors' "executive attention" view of WMC, it demonstrates that WMC has greater discriminant validity than Ackerman et al. (2005) implied, and it suggests some future directions and challenges for the scientific study of the convergence of WMC, attention control, and intelligence.     

Lack of association between negative priming and Necker Cube reversals

50 undergraduates were tested on two tasks presented in a counterbalanced fashion: their ability to inhibit irrelevant information measured on a negative priming task involving letter case information and on the number of Necker Cube reversals produced in a specific time period. Since number of reversals presumably reflects a person's ability to see various interpretations of the Necker Cube, this assumes that multiple interpretations are available to a subject and no one interpretation dominates over another. If true, then more reversals could indicate an ability to inhibit irrelevant information. That is, observing one reversal at the expense of another reversal indicates a subject can adequately inhibit these various interpretations successfully, with more reversals indicating a higher ability to inhibit information successfully. Although it was predicted that negative priming performance would be related to the number of Necker Cube reversals, this was not the case (r = -.07).     

The role of interference in memory span

In two experiments, we investigated the possibility that susceptibility to proactive interference (PI) affects performance on memory span measures. We tested both younger and older adults (older adults were tested because of the suggestion that they are differentially susceptible to PI). We used two different span measures and manipulated testing procedures to reduce PI for these tasks. For older adults, span estimates increased with each PI-reducing manipulation; for younger adults, scores increased when multiple PI manipulations were combined or when PI-reducing manipulations were used in paradigms in which within-task PI was especially high. The findings suggest that PI critically influences span performance. We consider the possibility that interference-proneness may influence cognitive behaviors previously thought to be governed by capacity.