Mathematical Abilities in Elementary School Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Although clinical practitioners often express concerns about the mathematical functioning of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), the field of mathematics remains a relatively unexplored topic in individuals with ASD. Moreover, research findings are fragmentary and hold inconclusive results. The present study aimed to examine whether grade 1 (aged 6–7 years) to 4 (aged 9–10 years) elementary school children with ASD scored significantly different from age‐adequate norms on mathematics. To this end, a multi‐componential approach of mathematics was used. Four domains of mathematics were assessed in 121 children with ASD: procedural calculation, number fact retrieval, word/language problems, and time‐related competences. All children attended general education classrooms, following the standard curriculum, and were coached by integrated educational services. Children with ASD showed a strength in word/language problems in second and fourth grade. There was evidence of a weakness for procedural calculation in first grade and for time‐related competences in first and third grade. In all other cases, average scores were shown. As such, results revealed a profile of strengths, average abilities, and weaknesses in mathematics and highlighted the importance of focusing on different domains of mathematics. Because a high variability in mathematical performance could be observed, we recommend an individual assessment when considering the mathematical trajectory of children with ASD. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Criterion Validity and Practical Utility of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory–2–Restructured Form (MMPI–2–RF) in Assessments of Police Officer Candidates

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory–2–Restructured Form scores for 145 male police officer candidates were compared with supervisor ratings of field performance and problem behaviors during their initial probationary period. Results indicated that the officers produced meaningfully lower and less variant substantive scale scores compared to the general population. After applying a statistical correction for range restriction, substantive scale scores from all domains assessed by the inventory demonstrated moderate to large correlations with performance criteria. The practical significance of these results was assessed with relative risk ratio analyses that examined the utility of specific cutoffs on scales demonstrating associations with performance criteria.     

P300 amplitude variations,prior probabilities,and likelihoods: A Bayesian ERP study

The capability of the human brain for Bayesian inference was assessed by manipulating probabilistic contingencies in an urn-ball task. Event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded in response to stimuli that differed in their relative frequency of occurrence (.18 to .82). A veraged ERPs with sufficient signal-to-noise ratio (relative frequency of occurrence > .5) were used for further analysis. Research hypotheses about relationships between probabilistic contingencies and ERP amplitude variations were formalized as (in-)equality constrained hypotheses. Conducting Bayesian model comparisons, we found that manipulations of prior probabilities and likelihoods were associated with separately modifiable and distinct ERP responses. P3a amplitudes were sensitive to the degree of prior certainty such that higher prior probabilities were related to larger frontally distributed P3a waves. P3b amplitudes were sensitive to the degree of likelihood certainty such that lower likelihoods were associated with larger parietally distributed P3b waves. These ERP data suggest that these antecedents of Bayesian inference (prior probabilities and likelihoods) are coded by the human brain.     

Bayes Factors Have Frequency Properties—This Should Not Be Ignored: A Rejoinder to Morey,Wagenmakers, and Rouder

Hoijtink, van Kooten, and Hulsker (2016 Hoijtink, H., van Kooten, P., &; Hulsker, K. (2016). Why Bayesian psychologists should change the way they used the Bayes factor. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 51, 1--9. doi: 10.1080/00273171.2014.969364.[Taylor &; Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) outline a research agenda for Bayesian psychologists: evaluate and use the frequency properties of Bayes factors. Morey, Wagenmakers, and Rouder (2016 Morey, R. D., Wagenmakers, E. -J., &; Rouder, J. N. (2016). Calibrated Bayes factors should not be used: A reply to Hoijtink, van Kooten, and Hulsker. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 51, 10--17. doi: 10.1080/00273171.2015.1052710.[Taylor &; Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) respond that Bayes factors calibrated using frequency properties should not be used. This paper contains the response of Hoijtink, van Kooten, and Hulsker to the criticism of Morey, Wagenmakers, and Rouder (2016 Morey, R. D., Wagenmakers, E. -J., &; Rouder, J. N. (2016). Calibrated Bayes factors should not be used: A reply to Hoijtink, van Kooten, and Hulsker. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 51, 10--17. doi: 10.1080/00273171.2015.1052710.[Taylor &; Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]).     

A Brief Report on the Assessment of Distress Tolerance: Are We Measuring the Same Construct?

Distress tolerance (DT) refers to an individual’s capacity to cope with aversive internal (e.g., physical, cognitive, emotional) states. A growing body of evidence suggests that there is a relationship between DT and the development and maintenance of problematic behavioral patterns. Despite emerging evidence for such associations, a number of issues remain unresolved. The results of recent studies suggest problems with the convergent validity of the primary measures used to assess DT, despite the fact that these measures are used interchangeably in the DT literature. In order to further examine the relationships among DT assessments, we evaluated intercorrelations among various self-report and behavioral measures of DT in an unselected undergraduate sample (n = 83). Results indicate that two self-report measures of DT were highly correlated with one another, but that neither measure was significantly correlated with the behavioral measures. The relationships among the behavioral measures and between self-report and behavioral measures were weak and non-significant. Correlations between self-report measures only were strong. The findings partially replicate prior research indicating weak correlations between certain, commonly used measures of DT, and raise questions about the current conceptualization of the construct.     

Event rate and reaction time performance in ADHD: Testing predictions from the state regulation deficit hypothesis using an ex-Gaussian model

According to the state regulation deficit (SRD) account, ADHD is associated with a problem using effort to maintain an optimal activation state under demanding task settings such as very fast or very slow event rates. This leads to a prediction of disrupted performance at event rate extremes reflected in higher Gaussian response variability that is a putative marker of activation during motor preparation. In the current study, we tested this hypothesis using ex-Gaussian modeling, which distinguishes Gaussian from non-Gaussian variability. Twenty-five children with ADHD and 29 typically developing controls performed a simple Go/No-Go task under four different event-rate conditions. There was an accentuated quadratic relationship between event rate and Gaussian variability in the ADHD group compared to the controls. The children with ADHD had greater Gaussian variability at very fast and very slow event rates but not at moderate event rates. The results provide evidence for the SRD account of ADHD. However, given that this effect did not explain all group differences (some of which were independent of event rate) other cognitive and/or motivational processes are also likely implicated in ADHD performance deficits.     

Retrospective and prospective metacognitive judgments in rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta)

A growing body of research suggests that some non-human animals are capable of making accurate metacognitive judgments. In previous studies, non-human animals have made either retrospective or prospective judgments (about how they did on a test or how they will do on a test, respectively). These two types of judgments are dissociable in humans. The current study tested the abilities of two rhesus macaque monkeys to make both retrospective and prospective judgments about their performance on the same memory task. Both monkeys had been trained previously to make retrospective confidence judgments. Both monkeys successfully demonstrated transfer of retrospective metacognitive judgments to the new memory task. Furthermore, both monkeys transferred their retrospective judgments to the prospective task (one, immediately, and one, following the elimination of a response bias). This study is the first to demonstrate both retrospective and prospective monitoring abilities in the same monkeys and on the same task, suggesting a greater level of flexibility in animals’ metacognitive monitoring abilities than has been reported previously.     

Importance models of the physical self: Improved methodology supports a normative‐cultural importance model but not the individual importance model

We examine theoretical and methodological issues associated with the roles of individual and group‐normative importance in self‐esteem determination. Critical issues include multicollinearity among the physical self‐subdomains, which may have affected previous results, and the need for a multidimensional perspective on importance models. We apply state‐of‐the‐art methodologies, including exploratory structural equation modelling and the product‐of‐indicators approach to latent interactions. Positive interactions would be required to support the individually importance‐weighted average model, but none were observed in the multidimensional model estimated on the full sample. Nonetheless, some interaction effects were found in the country‐specific version of the model. Rather, we found support for the alternative group importance‐weighted average model. We conclude that domain‐specific self‐concepts are weighted differently and thus differentially affect self‐esteem, but these weights do not seem to depend on individual differences in importance. Although awaiting confirmation from further studies, our results suggest the idea that individuals use mainly normative importance processes based on cultural factors in weighting each domain‐specific component of self‐concept. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.