Using data augmentation to obtain standard errors and conduct hypothesis tests in latent class and latent transition analysis

Latent class analysis (LCA) provides a means of identifying a mixture of subgroups in a population measured by multiple categorical indicators. Latent transition analysis (LTA) is a type of LCA that facilitates addressing research questions concerning stage-sequential change over time in longitudinal data. Both approaches have been used with increasing frequency in the social sciences. The objective of this article is to illustrate data augmentation (DA), a Markov chain Monte Carlo procedure that can be used to obtain parameter estimates and standard errors for LCA and LTA models. By use of DA it is possible to construct hypothesis tests concerning not only standard model parameters but also combinations of parameters, affording tremendous flexibility. DA is demonstrated with an example involving tests of ethnic differences, gender differences, and an Ethnicity x Gender interaction in the development of adolescent problem behavior.     

Extending neuropsychological assessments into the primary mental ability space

A battery of 17 neuropsychological tests (including the CERAD battery) and 17 psychometric ability tests were administered to a sample of 499 participants of the Seattle Longitudinal study who had been given the psychometric ability tests seven and 14 years earlier. The neuropsychological tests were projected into a 5-factor psychometric ability space by means of extension analysis. The concurrent regressions of the neuropsychology tests on the psychometric ability tests were then used to estimate neuropsychology test scores from the psychometric ability tests administered in 1984, 1991 and 1998. Neuropsychologists then rated the study participants as either normal, suspect or cognitively impaired in 1998. Changes in estimated test scores were computed over seven and fourteen years. Significant odds ratios between normal and cognitively impaired groups were found for all neuropsychological tests over the proximal period and for most tests over the 14-year period. Similar findings occurred for the odds ratios between the normal and suspect groups for the most proximal 7-year changes.     

A comparative study of values and attitudes of inner-city and middle-class postpartum women

This study compared postpartum women from the inner city (n = 94) and postpartum women from the urban middle class (n = 80) on values and goals for themselves and their newborn children. Terminal values of inner-city women for themselves related more to social and religious goals in contrast to the more intrapersonal and personal goals of middle-class women. Instrumental values of inner-city women for their newborn children demonstrated concern with conformity and control, whereas for the middle class there was more concern with competence. Goals for the near future of the inner-city mothers were based on a desire for jobs and education.     

Ego Constriction

The terms ego constriction, ego inhibition, and ego restriction have not been clearly differentiated in their usage in the literature. In this paper a rationale for "ego constriction" as an entity distinct from both ego inhibition and ego restriction is given, despite its clear similarities to each. In a person with an ego inhibition, the ego inhibits a part of its own functioning because a particular function is linked to an unacceptable impulse. It is an internalized conflict. The person with an ego restriction, in contrast, avoids psychological pain triggered from an area in the outside world by restricting activity in that area. Like each of these problems but different, a person with an ego constriction first externalizes an internalized conflict associated with important functions or activities. Then, only through a series of particular obligatory steps can the person "overcome" the ego constriction--albeit temporarily. It is noted in this paper that the function of the specified obligatory steps is structurally parallel to the rigid obligatory behavior necessary for genital gratification in the perversions. As the recognition of this distinction arose in the course of an analysis of a mental health professional, something of the necessarily shared nature of analytic work is noticeable, shining through as the background for the work of this paper.     

Phonological underspecification and mapping mechanisms in the speech recognition lexicon

The problem of recognizing phonological variations in the speech input has triggered numerous treatments in speech processing models. Two areas of current controversy are the possibility of phonological underspecification in the mental lexicon and the nature of the mapping mechanism from the speech signal to the abstract lexical entry. We present data from cross-modal repetition priming experiments in English designed to test the differing predictions of speech recognition models regarding tolerance of phonological mismatch in speech. The results show effects of underspecification, supporting models using underspecified lexical entries (e.g. Lahiri & Marslen-Wilson, 1991; Reetz & Lahiri, 2001) over those using fully specified lexical entries (e.g., McClelland & Elman, 1986). The results also show no effects of context, thus favoring context-independent mapping, such as that in the three-way matching mechanism of the Lahiri and Reetz FUL model ( Lahiri, 1999; Reetz, 1998 and Reetz, 1999; Reetz & Lahiri, 2001) over context-dependent mapping used in phonological inference rules ( Gaskell and Marslen-Wilson, 1996 and Gaskell and Marslen-Wilson, 1998).     

Using video modeling and reinforcement to teach perspective-taking skills to children with autism

We evaluated video modeling and reinforcement for teaching perspective-taking skills to 3 children with autism using a multiple baseline design. Video modeling and reinforcement were effective; however, only 2 children were able to pass an untrained task, indicating limited generalization. The findings suggest that video modeling may be an effective technology for teaching perspective taking if researchers can continue to develop strategies for enhancing the generalization of these new skills.     

Referent cognitions theory: the role of closeness of reference points in the psychology of voice

The most generally accepted and best documented manipulation in procedural justice experiments is varying whether or not participants are allowed an opportunity to voice their opinion about a decision. To better understand the psychology of voice, the authors focus on Referent Cognitions Theory (RCT). It is argued that thus far RCT has not been used to explain the psychology of voice and that previous RCT research suffers from methodological problems and has been more outcome oriented than necessary. Two experiments resolve these problems and show that people react more strongly to procedures (especially no-voice procedures) when reference points are close as opposed to distant. These findings suggest that closeness of reference points plays an important role in the psychology of voice. The findings expand RCT in significant ways and indicate that insight into the role of reference points is essential for understanding the psychology of justice.     

Adolescent Substance Use: Preliminary Examinations of School and Neighborhood Context

In considering the influences of microsystems on adolescent substance use, familial and peer contexts have received the most extensive attention in the research literature. School and neighborhood settings, however, are other developmental contexts that may exert specific influences on adolescent substance use. In many instances, school settings are organized to provide educational services to students who share similar educational abilities and behavioral repertoires. The resulting segregation of students into these settings may result in different school norms for substance use. Similarly, neighborhood resources, including models for substance use and drug sales involvement, may play an important role in adolescent substance use. We briefly review literature examining contextual influences on adolescent substance use, and present results from two preliminary studies examining the contribution of school and neighborhood context to adolescent substance use. In the first investigation, we examine the impact of familial, peer, and school contexts on adolescent substance use. Respondents were 283 students (ages 13 to 18) from regular and special education classrooms in six schools. Although peer and parental contexts were important predictors of substance use, school norms for drug use accounted for variance in adolescent use beyond that explained by peer and parental norms. Data from a second study of 114 adolescents (mean age = 15) examines neighborhood contributions to adolescent substance use. In this sample, neighborhood indices did not contribute to our understanding of adolescent substance use. Implications for prevention are presented.     

Gravity biases in a non-human primate?

Pre-school children expect falling objects to travel in a straight line even when there are clear physical mechanisms that deviate the object's path (Hood, 1995). The current study set out to determine whether this expectancy is limited to humans. Cotton-top tamarins (Saguinus oedipus oedipus), a New World monkey species, were tested on Hood's (1995) experimental task where objects are dropped down a chimney connected by an opaque tube to one of three containers. Like human children, there was a significant tendency to search in the container underneath the chimney where the food was dropped on the first trial, even though aligned chimneys and containers were never connected. These search errors suggest that there may be a gravity bias that operates when both primate species fail to understand the constraints operating on object trajectories. Unlike human children however, tamarins were generally more likely to perseverate in making errors even though repeated testing and cost incentives were used.