Locally dependent latent trait model and the dutch identity revisited

In this paper, we propose a class of locally dependent latent trait models for responses to psychological and educational tests. Typically, item response models treat an individual's multiple response to stimuli as conditional independent given the individual's latent trait. In this paper, instead the focus is on models based on a family of conditional distributions, or kernel, that describes joint multiple item responses as a function of student latent trait, not assuming conditional independence. Specifically, we examine a hybrid kernel which comprises a component for one-way item response functions and a component for conditional associations between items given latent traits. The class of models allows the extension of item response theory to cover some new and innovative applications in psychological and educational research. An EM algorithm for marginal maximum likelihood of the hybrid kernel model is proposed. Furthermore, we delineate the relationship of the class of locally dependent models and the log-linear model by revisiting the Dutch identity (Holland, 1990). The work is supported by a research grant from the Marshall School of Business, University of Southern California. The author thanks the anonymous referees for their suggestions.     

Cultural preferences for formal versus intuitive reasoning

The authors examined cultural preferences for formal versus intuitive reasoning among East Asian (Chinese and Korean), Asian American, and European American university students. We investigated categorization (Studies 1 and 2), conceptual structure (Study 3), and deductive reasoning (Studies 3 and 4). In each study a cognitive conflict was activated between formal and intuitive strategies of reasoning. European Americans, more than Chinese and Koreans, set aside intuition in favor of formal reasoning. Conversely, Chinese and Koreans relied on intuitive strategies more than European Americans. Asian Americans' reasoning was either identical to that of European Americans, or intermediate. Differences emerged against a background of similar reasoning tendencies across cultures in the absence of conflict between formal and intuitive strategies.     

Stimulus-Specific Delay Activity in Human Primary Visual Cortex

ABSTRACT— Working memory (WM) involves maintaining information in an on-line state. One emerging view is that information in WM is maintained via sensory recruitment , such that information is stored via sustained activity in the sensory areas that encode the to-be-remembered information. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we observed that key sensory regions such as primary visual cortex (V1) showed little evidence of sustained increases in mean activation during a WM delay period, though such amplitude increases have typically been used to determine whether a region is involved in on-line maintenance. However, a multivoxel pattern analysis of delay-period activity revealed a sustained pattern of activation in V1 that represented only the intentionally stored feature of a multifeature object. Moreover, the pattern of delay activity was qualitatively similar to that observed during the discrimination of sensory stimuli, suggesting that WM representations in V1 are reasonable "copies" of those evoked during pure sensory processing.     

EVALUATION OF THE MULTIPLE-STIMULUS WITHOUT REPLACEMENT PREFERENCE ASSESSMENT METHOD USING ACTIVITIES AS STIMULI

The current study examined the accuracy of the multiple-stimulus without replacement (MSWO) preference assessment for identifying preferred common classroom activities as reinforcers with children with behavioral disorders. The accuracy of predictions from the MSWO regarding high, medium, and low stimulus preference was tested by providing contingent access to activities for completing math problems within an independent seatwork format. Overall, there was an interaction effect between preference ranking (high, medium, or low) and number of problems completed. The results confirm and extend previous findings regarding the accuracy of predictions with the MSWO. The findings also reveal, however, some individual differences that may account for instances in which student behavior did not conform to predictions of stimulus preference assessments.     

a test of holland's theory of vocational personalities and work environments

This study investigated the validity of J. L. Holland's (1997) theory of vocational personalities and work environments. The sample consisted of 241 randomly selected members of the National Association of School Psychologists, each of whom completed a demographic data form, the Self‐Directed Search‐Revised (SDS‐R; J. L. Holland, 1994) and a modified short form of the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (D. J. Weiss, R. V. Dawis, G. W. England, & L. H. Lofquist, 1967). Only limited support was found for major constructs associated with Holland's theory, although the study found several significant relationships between 3‐letter SDS‐R codes and desired role function as would be predicted by Holland's theory.     

Remembrance of Eyewitness Testimony: Effects of Emotional Content,Self‐Relevance,and Emotional Tone1

This experiment concerned the effects of emotional content, self‐relevance, and emotional tone of testimony on memory. Eyewitness accounts of 4 events were constructed that systematically differed in emotionality and self‐relevance. The testimony, captured on videotape, was expressed with or without negative emotion. After viewing one of the videotaped accounts, participants were administered cued‐recall and recognition memory tests. Significant main effects indicated that participants best remembered testimony that was emotional in content, self‐relevant, and negatively expressed. Although emotional content and self‐relevance interacted to affect state anxiety, the latter did not mediate memory effects. Overall, significant gender differences in state anxiety but not memory emerged. Implications for understanding the influence of emotion on juror memory are discussed.     

Longitudinal Changes in Acculturation for Immigrant Women from the Former Soviet Union

Most research on immigrant acculturation has been conducted with cross-sectional samples, using statistical designs that may not capture different trajectories for the components that contribute to this complex concept. The purpose of this study was to examine change over time in acculturation for 226 women from the former Soviet Union who had lived in the US fewer than eight years when recruited. Using self-report data from four annual waves, growth trajectories were examined in four components of acculturation (American behavior, Russian behavior, English language proficiency, and cultural generativity). Results indicate that these components changed at varying rates. Acculturation is a process with multiple distinct components which should be measured separately to obtain a full profile of change over time.     

Person Perception in the College Classroom: Accounting for Taste in Students' Evaluations of Teaching Effectiveness

An important applied aspect of person perception occurs when college students evaluate their professors' teaching. Student evaluations of teaching typically are conceptualized as reflecting the characteristics of professors. Yet, this view overlooks the possibility that teaching evaluations also reflect the personal tastes of students, manifested as systematic disagreement among students. Large effects of personal tastes are routinely observed in person perception research and, therefore, should be expected in students' evaluations of teaching. This article describes 3 studies in which students evaluated the same professors' teaching effectiveness. In each study, students' evaluations were strongly influenced by their personal tastes regarding teaching. Moreover, personal tastes in teaching were related in meaningful ways to students' positive affect and memory for lectures.     

Antecedent Influences on Children's Extrinsic Motivation to Go Online

From a social psychological process framework, this study examines how children's self-esteem influences whether their friends motivate them to go online. Children (ages 8–14; n  = 293) completed an online questionnaire. Locus of control orientation is included as mediating the relationship between self-esteem and motivation. Hypotheses were tested using a structural equation model. Results reveal that children with healthy self-esteem perceive themselves as having control of their environments. This positively influences peer-related motivation to go online. Children with lower self-esteem see the world as controlled by others or as the result of luck. This external locus also positively influences peer-related motivation to go online. Girls maintained higher self-esteem, and boys were influenced by external factors.