Can infants map meaning to newly segmented words? Statistical segmentation and word learning

The present experiments investigated how the process of statistically segmenting words from fluent speech is linked to the process of mapping meanings to words. Seventeen-month-old infants first participated in a statistical word segmentation task, which was immediately followed by an object-label-learning task. Infants presented with labels that were words in the fluent speech used in the segmentation task were able to learn the object labels. However, infants presented with labels consisting of novel syllable sequences (nonwords; Experiment 1) or familiar sequences with low internal probabilities (part-words; Experiment 2) did not learn the labels. Thus, prior segmentation opportunities, but not mere frequency of exposure, facilitated infants' learning of object labels. This work provides the first demonstration that exposure to word forms in a statistical word segmentation task facilitates subsequent word learning.     

Effects of Self‐Deceptive Enhancement on Personality–Job Performance Relationships

Theoretical and empirical evidence distinguishes between two types of response distortion: impression management (IM) and self‐deceptive enhancement (SDE), although most research in Industrial/Organizational Psychology has focused on the effects of IM. The present study compared the effects of IM and SDE on job performance and personality validity. Two‐hundred and sixty‐one managers completed Big Five Personality, SDE, and IM measures. The managers' supervisors, peers, and subordinates rated their job performance. In accordance with previous research, accounting for managers' IM scores did not increase prediction of job performance. On the other hand, accounting for SDE did increase prediction. Increased prediction was due to an interaction between Extraversion and SDE, and an increase in the predictive validity of Emotional Stability when SDE was held constant. Results suggested that findings from previous research demonstrating that IM does not affect job performance or personality validity cannot be extended to SDE.     

A cautionary note on the effects of range restriction on predictor intercorrelations

The purpose of this research report is to highlight a unique set of issues that arise when considering the effects of range restriction in the context of estimating predictor intercorrelations. Three approaches are used to illustrate the issue: simulation, a concrete applied example, and a reanalysis of a meta-analysis of ability-interview correlations. The general conclusion is that a predictor intercorrelation can differ dramatically from the population value when both predictors are used in a composite that is used operationally for selection. The compensatory nature of a composite means that low scorers on one predictor can only obtain high scores on the composite if they obtain very high scores on the other predictor; this phenomenon distorts the correlation between the predictors.     

Family Caregivers of Persons With Spinal Cord Injury: Predicting Caregivers at Risk for Probable Depression

OBJECTIVE: To determine the percentage of family caregivers of persons with spinal cord injury (SCI) with probable depression and to test the hypothesis that dysfunctional problem-solving abilities would be significantly predictive of risk status after taking into account important demographic characteristics and caregiver health. DESIGN: Correlational and logistic regression analyses of data collected in a cross-sectional design. PARTICIPANTS: Eighteen men and 103 women caregivers (mean age of caregivers = 45.66 years, SD = 12.88) of individuals with SCI. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: The Inventory to Diagnose Depression. RESULTS: Nineteen caregivers (15.7%) met criteria on the Inventory to Diagnose Depression for a major depressive disorder. A dysfunctional problem-solving style was significantly predictive of caregiver depression, regardless of the severity of physical impairment of the care recipient or the physical health of the caregiver and caregiver demographic variables. CONCLUSIONS: The percentage of caregivers with probable depressive disorder may parallel that observed among persons with SCI, using a more conservative self-report measure designed to assess symptoms associated with a depressive syndrome. Family caregivers with a dysfunctional problem-solving style and assisting individuals with more severe injuries may have probable depression.     

The exact variance of weighted kappa with multiple raters

Weighted kappa described by Cohen in 1968 is widely used in psychological research to measure agreement between two independent raters. Everitt then provided the exact variance for weighted kappa for two raters. In this paper, Everitt's exact variance is extended to three or more raters.     

An epidemiological study on work and family stress among Chinese in Hong Kong

Hong Kong, with a population of over six million in a modern city, has been shown to be a very stressful place to live in. However, epidemiological data from a big-scale study in this regard are lacking. The present territory-wide survey, from a sample representative of the general population, was aimed to investigate the work and family stress of Chinese adults in the community with respect to the impact on their psychological well-being. The psychosocial context was considered as an important source of stress. The results showed that coping with work demands and rearing children were reported as the highest stress responses. Moreover, workers in Hong Kong took an instrumental attitude, i.e., one emphasizing material rewards, in order to reduce the job stress arising from interpersonal conflicts in the workplace.     

The Relationship Between Mindfulness and Multicultural Counseling Competence

The authors examined the association between multicultural counseling competence (MCC) and mindfulness. Previous authors have maintained a conceptual link between MCC and mindfulness; however, this is the first empirical analysis of the relationship between MCC and mindfulness. Results revealed that, after race/ethnicity, multicultural course completion, and empathy were controlled, components of mindfulness were correlated with multicultural awareness and multicultural knowledge. These results have implications for counselor education, counseling practice, and future research.     

Navigating Bioethical Waters: Two Pilot Projects in Problem-Based Learning for Future Bioscience and Biotechnology Professionals

We believe that the professional responsibility of bioscience and biotechnology professionals includes a social responsibility to contribute to the resolution of ethically fraught policy problems generated by their work. It follows that educators have a professional responsibility to prepare future professionals to discharge this responsibility. This essay discusses two pilot projects in ethics pedagogy focused on particularly challenging policy problems, which we call “fractious problems”. The projects aimed to advance future professionals’ acquisition of “fractious problem navigational” skills, a set of skills designed to enable broad and deep understanding of fractious problems and the design of good policy resolutions for them. A secondary objective was to enhance future professionals’ motivation to apply these skills to help their communities resolve these problems. The projects employed “problem based learning” courses to advance these learning objectives. A new assessment instrument, “Skills for Science/Engineering Ethics Test” (SkillSET), was designed and administered to measure the success of the courses in doing so. This essay first discusses the rationale for the pilot projects, and then describes the design of the pilot courses and presents the results of our assessment using SkillSET in the first pilot project and the revised SkillSET 2.0 in the second pilot project. The essay concludes with discussion of observations and results.     

The effect of learning condition on perceptual anticipation, awareness, and visual search

The efficacy of explicit and implicit learning paradigms was examined during the very early stages of learning the perceptual-motor anticipation task of predicting ball direction from temporally occluded footage of soccer penalty kicks. In addition, the effect of instructional condition on point-of-gaze during learning was examined. A significant improvement in horizontal prediction accuracy was observed in the explicit learning group; however, similar improvement was evident in a placebo group who watched footage of soccer matches. Only the explicit learning intervention resulted in changes in eye movement behaviour and increased awareness of relevant postural cues. Results are discussed in terms of methodological and practical issues regarding the employment of implicit perceptual training interventions.