Gleaning Information for Cognitive Operations from Don’t Know Responses in Cognitive and Noncognitive Assessments

The Don’t Know (DK) response – taking the form of an omitted response or not-reached at the end of a cognitive test, or explicitly presented as a response option in a social survey – contains important information that is often overlooked. Direct psychometric modeling efforts for DK responses are few and far between. In this article, the linear logistic test model (LLTM) is proposed for delineating the impacts of cognitive operations for a test that contains DK responses. We assume that the DK response is a valid response. The assumption is reasonable for many situations, including low-stakes cognitive tests and attitudinal assessments. By extracting information embedded in the DK response, the method shows how DK can inform the latent construct of interest and the cognitive operations underlying the response to stimuli. Using a proven recoding scheme, the LLTM could be implemented through commonly used programs such as PROC GLIMMIX. Two simulation experiments to evaluate how well the parameters can be recovered were conducted. In addition, two real data examples, from a noncognitive test of health belief assessment and a cognitive test of knowledge in diabetes, are also presented as case studies to illustrate the LLTM for DK response.     

Attaining landmark status: Rumelhart and McClelland's PDP Volumes and the Connectionist Paradigm

In 1986, David Rumelhart and James McClelland published their two‐volume work, Parallel distributed processing: Explorations in microcognition, Volume 1: Foundations and Volume 2: Psychological and biological models. These volumes soon become classic texts in both connectionism, specifically, and in the cognitive science field more generally. Drawing on oral histories, book reviews, translations, citation records, and close textual analysis, this paper analyzes how and why they attained landmark status. It argues that McClelland and Rumelhart's volumes became classics largely as a result of a confluence of rhetorical factors. Specifically, the PDP Volumes appeared at a kairotic moment in the history of connectionism, publishing dynamics that facilitated their circulation played an important role, and the volumes were ambiguous about the relationship between model and brain in a manner that enabled them to address an expansive audience. In so doing, this paper offers insight into both the history of cognitive science and rhetoric's role in establishing classic texts.     

Social and Temporal Comparisons Made by Individuals Living With HIV Disease: Relationships to Adherence Behavior1

When faced with the uncertainty of serious illness, individuals cope by comparing themselves to other people (social comparisons) and to other times in their lives (temporal comparisons). Participants were 44 individuals being treated for HIV who completed questionnaires measuring comparisons, adherence, and self‐efficacy; 34 also completed qualitative interviews that were coded for comparisons. High levels of comparison to worse‐off others, worse‐off past selves, and better‐off future selves were prevalent. Comparisons to worse‐off others resulting in positive affect were associated with greater medication adherence; comparisons to better‐off others resulting in negative affect were related to worse adherence. Self‐efficacy to adhere mediated the relationship between comparison and adherence. Individuals who are uncertain about treatment outcomes may engage in social comparison to gain specific knowledge about adherence.     

Latino/a Theology: Doing Theology Latinamente

Latino/a Theology is rising among theologians of Latin American descent in the United States. This article describes five characteristics: 1) it is specific to the cultural context of marginalized Hispanic history; 2) it focuses on the theme of mestizaje/mulatez, the biological and cultural mixing of European Spanish with Africans and indigenous Americans; 3) it derives from popular religion; 4) it deals with everyday life, lo cotidiano; 5) like liberation theology, it emphasizes praxis.     

The Effect of Scopolamine in Older Rabbits Tested in the 750 ms Delay Eyeblink Classical Conditioning Procedure

We investigated the effect of several doses of scopolamine in older rabbits that were trained for 20 days in the 750 ms delay eyeblink classical conditioning procedure. Our aim was to determine if the scopolamine-injected older rabbit would be a useful model for testing drugs for cognition enhancement in Alzheimer's disease (AD). A total of 39 rabbits with a mean age of 31 months received classical eyeblink conditioning with daily injections of 0.25, 0.75, or 1.5 mg/kg scopolamine hydrobromide or sterile saline vehicle. Doses of 0.75 and 1.5 mg/kg scopolamine significantly impaired acquisition, whereas acquisition was not significantly impaired with 0.25 mg/kg scopolamine. Results exhibit parallels in performance on delay eyeblink classical conditioning between scopolamine-treated older rabbits and human patients diagnosed with AD.     

什么是信息哲学？

一、引言哲学中关于计算机与信息的理论研究已经结出累累硕果,影响也日益广泛。它一方面使传统的哲学问题获得新生,另一方面又提出许多新的问题,一方面对我们世界观的重新概念化做出了贡献。另一方面又生成许多有意义和重要的成果。     

The effect of scopolamine in older rabbits tested in the 750 ms delay eyeblink classical conditioning procedure

We investigated the effect of several doses of scopolamine in older rabbits that were trained for 20 days in the 750 ms delay eyeblink classical conditioning procedure. Our aim was to determine if the scopolamine-injected older rabbit would be a useful model for testing drugs for cognition enhancement in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). A total of 39 rabbits with a mean age of 31 months received classical eyeblink conditioning with daily injections of 0.25, 0.75, or 1.5 mg/kg scopolamine hydrobromide or sterile saline vehicle. Doses of 0.75 and 1.5 mg/kg scopolamine significantly impaired acquisition, whereas acquisition was not significantly impaired with 0.25 mg/kg scopolamine. Results exhibit parallels in performance on delay eyeblink classical conditioning between scopolamine-treated older rabbits and human patients diagnosed with AD.     

Faking psychopathy? An examination of response styles with antisocial youth

Psychopaths frequently con and manipulate others in an attempt to achieve their own objectives. In the current literature, correlational research has generally found that psychopathy has (a) an inverse relation with social desirability and (b) a positive relation with malingering. Although instructive, these correlational data do not address whether the assessment of psychopathy is vulnerable to specific response styles. This study examined 2 response styles among adolescent offenders in the context of pending adjudication: social desirability and social nonconformity. On 3 measures of psychopathy (i.e., Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version, Psychopathy Screening Device, and Self-Report of Psychopathy-Second Edition), a simulation design was employed with a realistic scenario, incentives for successful deception, and appropriate manipulation checks. Results indicated moderate to large effect sizes for social desirability and large effect sizes for social nonconformity. The implications of these results for the clinical assessment of psychopathy are discussed.