Transfer of skill engendered by complex task training under conditions of variable priority

We explored the theoretical underpinnings of a commonly used training strategy by examining issues of training and transfer of skill in the context of a complex video game (Space Fortress, Donchin, 1989). Participants trained using one of two training regimens: Full Emphasis Training (FET) or Variable Priority Training (VPT). Transfer of training was assessed with a large battery of cognitive and psychomotor tasks ranging from basic laboratory paradigms measuring reasoning, memory, and attention to complex real-world simulations. Consistent with previous studies, VPT accelerated learning and maximized task mastery. However, the hypothesis that VPT would result in broader transfer of training received limited support. Rather, transfer was most evident in tasks that were most similar to the Space Fortress game itself. Results are discussed in terms of potential limitations of the VPT approach.     

Perceptions of morality and competence in (non)interdependent games

Individuals’ actions and their stated beliefs affect how others perceive them. In a prisoner’s dilemma, a defector who expects others to cooperate is perceived as less moral than a defector who expects others to defect; a cooperator who expects others to defect is perceived as less competent than a cooperator who expects others to cooperate (Experiment 1). This pattern suggests that in a context of interdependence, a stated expectation that the behavior of others will resemble one’s own may protect one’s social reputation. When outcomes are not interdependent, expectations do not moderate the effects of behavior on reputation (Experiment 2). In such a context, inductive reasoning is sufficient to explain social projection. Both types of results are replicated in a modified N-person social dilemma (Experiment 3), further validating the inductive-reasoning hypothesis.     

Number of options in a movement sequence affects learners' behavior in a self-controlled practice condition

Self-controlling practice implies a process of decision making, which suggests that the options in a self-controlled practice condition could affect learners. The number of task components with no fixed position in a movement sequence may affect the way learners self-control their practice. A 200-cm coincident timing track with 90 light-emitting diodes (LEDs)--the first and the last LEDs being the warning and the target lights, respectively--was set so that the apparent speed of the light along the track was 1.33 m/sec. Participants were required to touch six sensors sequentially, the last one coincidently with the lighting of the target light (timing task). Group 1 (n = 55) had only one constraint, and were instructed to touch the sensors in any order, except for the last sensor which had to be the one positioned close to the target light. Group 2 (n = 53) had three constraints: the first two and the last sensor to be touched. Both groups practiced the task until timing error was less than 30 msec. on three consecutive trials. There were no statistically significant differences between groups in the number of trials needed to reach the performance criterion, but (a) participants in Group 2 created fewer sequences compared to Group 1, and (b) were more likely to use the same sequence throughout the learning process. The number of options for a movement sequence affected the way learners self-controlled their practice, but had no effect on the amount of practice to reach criterion performance.     

Statistical requirements for properly investigating a null hypothesis

Issues involved in the evaluation of null hypotheses are discussed. The use of equivalence testing is recommended as a possible alternative to the use of simple t or F tests for evaluating a null hypothesis. When statistical power is low and larger sample sizes are not available or practical, consideration should be given to using one-tailed tests or less conservative levels for determining criterion levels of statistical significance. Effect sizes should always be reported along with significance levels, as both are needed to understand results of research. Probabilities alone are not enough and are especially problematic for very large or very small samples. Pre-existing group differences should be tested and properly accounted for when comparing independent groups on dependent variables. If confirmation of a null hypothesis is expected, potential suppressor variables should be considered. If different methods are used to select the samples to be compared, controls for social desirability bias should be implemented. When researchers deviate from these standards or appear to assume that such standards are unimportant or irrelevant, their results should be deemed less credible than when such standards are maintained and followed. Several examples of recent violations of such standards in family social science, comparing gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender families with heterosexual families, are provided. Regardless of their political values or expectations, researchers should strive to test null hypotheses rigorously, in accordance with the best professional standards.     

The impact of omitting the interaction between crossed factors in cross‐classified random effects modelling

Cross‐classified random effects modelling (CCREM) is a special case of multi‐level modelling where the units of one level are nested within two cross‐classified factors. Typically, CCREM analyses omit the random interaction effect of the cross‐classified factors. We investigate the impact of the omission of the interaction effect on parameter estimates and standard errors. Results from a Monte Carlo simulation study indicate that, for fixed effects, both coefficients estimates and accompanied standard error estimates are not biased. For random effects, results are affected at level 2 but not at level 1 by the presence of an interaction variance and/or a correlation between the residual of level two factors. Results from the analysis of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study and the National Educational Longitudinal Study agree with those obtained from simulated data. We recommend that researchers attempt to include interaction effects of cross‐classified factors in their models.     

Content Analysis of the Journal of Counseling & Development: Volumes 74 to 84

A content analysis of the research published in the Journal of Counseling & Development (JCD) was conducted for Volumes 74 (1996) through 84 (2006). Frequency distributions were used to identify the most published authors and their institutional affiliations, as well as some basic characteristics (type of sample, gender, and ethnicity) of the study samples. Results are compared with 2 previous content analyses (D. M. Pelsma & J. P. Cesari, 1989; M. E. Williams & W. C. Buboltz, 1999).     

Assessing individual differences in achievement motivation with the Implicit Association Test

The authors examined the validity of an Implicit Association Test (Greenwald, McGhee, & Schwartz, 1998) for assessing individual differences in achievement tendencies. Eighty-eight students completed an IAT and explicit self-ratings of achievement orientation, and were then administered a mental concentration test that they performed either in the presence or in the absence of achievement-related feedback. Implicit and explicit measures of achievement orientation were uncorrelated. Under feedback, the IAT uniquely predicted students’ test performance but failed to predict their self-reported task enjoyment. Conversely, explicit self-ratings were unrelated to test performance but uniquely related to subjective accounts of task enjoyment. Without feedback, individual differences in both performance and enjoyment were independent of differences in either of the two achievement orientation measures.     

Two Egocentric Sources of the Decision to Vote: The Voter's Illusion and the Belief in Personal Relevance

The decision to vote in a national election requires a choice between serving a social good and satisfying one's self-interest. Viewed as a cooperative response in a social dilemma, casting a vote seems irrational because it cannot have a discernible effect on the electoral outcome. The findings of two studies with undergraduate samples suggest that some people vote not because they set aside self-interest, but because they expect their own behaviors to matter. Two psychological processes contribute to this belief: the voter's illusion (the projection of one's own choice between voting and abstention to supporters of the same party or candidate), and the belief in personal relevance (the belief that one's own vote matters regardless of its predictive value for the behavior of others). The rationality of these two egocentric mechanisms depends on the normative framework invoked. Their relevance for actual voting behavior is indicated by their ability to account for four types of variation in turnout rates.     

Religiosity, Religious Doubt, and the Need for Cognition: Their Interactive Relationship with Life Satisfaction

Previous research has found a consistent, negative relationship between holding religious doubts and mental well-being, and a small positive relationship between religiosity and mental well-being. To assess the interrelationship between religious doubt, religiosity, and need for cognition on life satisfaction, a survey was administered to an almost exclusively Christian sample of 192 Americans drawn from undergraduates and alumni of a small mid-western college, undergraduates from a small south-eastern college, and several churches from the metro-Detroit area. Zero-order correlations revealed relationships between religiosity and life satisfaction, as well as religious doubt and life satisfaction. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed that the three-way interaction of religiosity, religious doubt, and the need for cognition was predictive of life satisfaction. Significant two-way interactions also emerged for both gender and religiosity, and gender and religious doubt as predictors of life satisfaction. Based upon these findings, counseling applications are discussed, and the importance of probing for interactions in research on religious influences on well-being is espoused. Portions of this research were presented at the 2004 Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association, Honolulu, HI.