Accounting for Missing Correlation Coefficients in Fixed-Effects MASEM

Meta-analytic structural equation modeling (MASEM) is increasingly applied to advance theories by synthesizing existing findings. MASEM essentially consists of two stages. In Stage 1, a pooled correlation matrix is estimated based on the reported correlation coefficients in the individual studies. In Stage 2, a structural model (such as a path model) is fitted to explain the pooled correlations. Frequently, the individual studies do not provide all the correlation coefficients between the research variables. In this study, we modify the currently optimal MASEM-method to deal with missing correlation coefficients, and compare its performance with existing methods. This study is the first to evaluate the performance of fixed-effects MASEM methods under different levels of missing correlation coefficients. We found that the often used univariate methods performed very poorly, while the multivariate methods performed well overall.     

Book reviews

Abstract

Oakhill, J. &; Garnham, A. (1988). Becoming a skilled reader, Oxford: Blackwell. Pp. 206. ISBN 0-631-15244X £27.50 (hardback), ISBN 0-631-15776X £8.95 (paperback).

Brewin, C. R. (1988). Cognitive foundations of clinical psychology. London: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Ltd. Pp. 224. ISBN 0-86377-098-3 £24.50 (hardback), ISBN 0-86377-099-1 £8.95 (paperback).     

Repetition priming during the use and recall of numerical keypads

In two experiments, we investigated how repetition priming--a type of implicit memory--may be used to improve recall of the layout of digits on push-button telephones and calculators--an explicit memory task. In Experiment 1, participants were able to use repetition priming by pretending to dial a well-known telephone number in order to recall the telephone layout of digits, improving encoding of the number and preparation of the corresponding motor program. In contrast, no facilitative effect of known numbers on encoding and preparation was found for the calculator layout. Experiment 2 showed that the priming advantage of the telephone layout is not due to a general inadequacy of the calculator layout: Experimentally induced semantic repetition priming and motor repetition priming were observed for both the telephone layout and the calculator layout.     

Taking breaks from work: an exploratory inquiry

Two studies concerned with taking breaks from either mental or physical work are presented. In the first study, a questionnaire was given to 101 students in which they answered questions about their own break taking and that of others. They also completed a time management questionnaire and scales about procrastination, self-esteem, and work overload. In the second study, 17 students kept detailed diaries of their daily break-taking behavior over a 6-week period. Results are discussed in terms of the types of reasons given for taking breaks and the possible discrepancies between such reasons and the actual activities engaged in during breaks.     

Surface form typicality and asymmetric transfer in episodic memory for spoken words

A series of experiments was conducted to determine whether the typicality of the surface form of speech would affect memory retention of spoken words. For each surface characteristic studied, a continuous-recognition-memory task was used in which listeners based recognition judgments on word identity alone. For "typical" items, repetition benefits did not depend on whether the surface forms of the 1st and 2nd occurrences matched or mismatched. For "atypical" items, a larger repetition benefit occurred when the surface forms of the 2 occurrences matched. These results suggest that episodic memory for spoken words may be directly related to the perceived typicality of particular surface characteristics.     

Memories of uncertain origin: dreamt or real?

The existence of a memory whose origin, real or dreamt, was uncertain was reported by just over half of an undergraduate sample of 358. Each respondent described one such memory if they had one. The memories were typically of mundane events, although 10 respondents described possible crimes. Respondents were often concerned to resolve the origin of these memories. Their plausibility, vividness, and how well the events fitted into one's life were often considered by the respondents, but where resolution occurred it was frequently based on evidence obtained from the physical or social environment. The reported qualities of the event did not correlate with whether the respondent thought it more likely to have been originally a dream or a real event.     

The ties that keep us bound: Top-down influences on the persistence of shape-from-motion

The phenomenon of perceptual persistence after the motion stops in shape-from-motion displays (SFM) was used to study the influence of prior knowledge on the maintenance of a percept in awareness. In SFM displays an object composed of discontinuous line segments are embedded in a background of randomly oriented lines. The object only becomes perceptible when the line segments that compose the object and the lines that compose the background move in counterphase. Critically, once the movement of the line segments stops, the percept of the object persists for a short period of time. In the present study, perceptual persistence for digits exceeded that reported for nonsense shapes composed of the same line segments. This result is taken as evidence that the processes involved in the persistence of SFM, and therefore sustained perception, are sensitive to top-down influences.     

Modeling heterogeneity in social interaction processes using multilevel survival analysis

More than 15 years ago, survival or hazard regression analyses were introduced to psychology (W. Gardner & W. A. Griffin, 1989; W. A. Griffin & W. Gardner, 1989) as powerful methodological tools for studying real time social interaction processes among dyads. Almost no additional published applications have appeared, although such data are commonly collected and the applicable questions are central to many important theoretical perspectives. To revisit the basic methods, the authors use an example from emotion regulation theory in which the level of child antisocial behavior is hypothesized to be positively associated with the hazard rate of angry emotions and negatively associated with sad, fearful emotions in the face of parental negative behavior (scolding). The authors discuss the limitations of traditional approaches to the analysis of social interaction and demonstrate improvements in the ability to model individual differences now available in existing software.