Generalized full-information item bifactor analysis

Full-information item bifactor analysis is an important statistical method in psychological and educational measurement. Current methods are limited to single-group analysis and inflexible in the types of item response models supported. We propose a flexible multiple-group item bifactor analysis framework that supports a variety of multidimensional item response theory models for an arbitrary mixing of dichotomous, ordinal, and nominal items. The extended item bifactor model also enables the estimation of latent variable means and variances when data from more than 1 group are present. Generalized user-defined parameter restrictions are permitted within or across groups. We derive an efficient full-information maximum marginal likelihood estimator. Our estimation method achieves substantial computational savings by extending Gibbons and Hedeker's (1992) bifactor dimension reduction method so that the optimization of the marginal log-likelihood requires only 2-dimensional integration regardless of the dimensionality of the latent variables. We use simulation studies to demonstrate the flexibility and accuracy of the proposed methods. We apply the model to study cross-country differences, including differential item functioning, using data from a large international education survey on mathematics literacy.     

宗教心理学在临终关怀中的应用

宗教心理学有助于缓解临终患者的痛苦,但应通过把握宗教共同精神而非具体程序,将天堂和神两大要素剥离后,在合理范围有条件地使用。东西方主流宗教心理特点不同,西方主流宗教不适合我国国情。本土儒教和道教不能有效满足临终关怀应用前提,而大小乘佛教创造性结合后的心理模式或更适合在临终关怀中使用,更适应我国国情。     

中文阅读中基于字和词的跳读与返回抑制:来自眼动方面的证据

该研究通过记录读者自然阅读中的眼动过程,对比考察了中文阅读中基于字和词的跳读与返回抑制事件。结果发现:(1)跳读事件并不影响眼跳前注视的持续时间,说明阅读过程中的眼跳计划被同时制定;(2)在一定范围内,眼跳幅度越大,跳读后注视的持续时间越长,这反映了基本的预视效应;(3)中文阅读中存在返回抑制现象,但这个现象产生的基本依据是低级的空间线索,而非词汇语义单元。     

Medial prefrontal cortex is selectively involved in response selection using visual context in the background

The exact roles of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) in conditional choice behavior are unknown and a visual contextual response selection task was used for examining the issue. Inactivation of the mPFC severely disrupted performance in the task. mPFC inactivations, however, did not disrupt the capability of perceptual discrimination for visual stimuli. Normal response selection was also observed when nonvisual cues were used as conditional stimuli. The results strongly suggest that the mPFC is not necessarily involved in the inhibition of response or flexible response selection in general, but is rather critical when response selection is required conditionally using visual context in the background.     

Perception and Help-Seeking Intention of Intimate Partner Violence in Later Life: An International Perspective

This study examines whether elderly Koreans recognize a scenario of intimate partner violence as such and whether they would seek help in the given situation of elder mistreatment (EM). Two cohorts of Korean elders (one immigrant and one Korea-based), each numbering 124 participants, were recruited using a quota sampling strategy. The study used a mixed method approach, employing a hypothetical scenario, and patriarchy theory informed the study. Findings revealed low perception of the vignette as EM and low help-seeking intention in both cohorts. Among the immigrant cohort, intention to seek help was greater among respondents who were female, demonstrated lower adherence to traditional values, and perceived the vignette as EM. Among the Korea-based cohort, the only significant factor was recognition of the scenario as EM. Development of culturally competent and geographically specific practice and intervention is urgently needed, particularly among elders who have greater adherence to traditional cultural values.     

Islamic Personal Religion and Moral Reasoning in Social Justice and Equality: The Evidence From Indonesian College Students

Researchers have long been concerned with the relationship between religion and social justice and equality. Hoping to understand this association at the individual level, researchers have taken on the psychological models of personal religion and Kohlberg's moral reasoning. This article extends this line of inquiry to Islam, using Muslim college and graduate students in Indonesia. Specifically, it explores the extent to which religious orientations and Islamic doctrinal orthodoxy relate to Kohlbergian principled reasoning in justice and equality. In view of the results, the Muslim respondents are skewed toward the nonprincipled mode of Kohlbergian moral reasoning. In addition, those with greater intrinsic religiosity are likely to respond in an increasingly principled manner to moral dilemmas, whereas personal extrinsic religiosity tends to increase conventional practice of moral reasoning. Quest religiosity and doctrinal orthodoxy have little to do with Kohlbergian principled reasoning. The implications of these findings are discussed by giving attention to the accent of personal mediation, Islam as a belief system, and congregational worship to principled reasoning in social justice.     

Book Reviews

Building upon previous research on student attitudes to Christianity, an instrument that assesses the perceptions on four Attitude to Christianity dimensions (viz., Attitude to Prayer, God, and Jesus; Attitude to the Bible; Attitude to Christian Practice; and Attitude to Social Justice) was developed. A sample of 1,317 students in Australian Catholic high schools was used to validate this instrument. Comparisons of attitudes to Christianity between students in Catholic boys', girls', and coeducational schools and between students of different age and gender illustrated the usefulness of these four scales.     

人格特质对认知老化的影响及其机制

认知老化是指与年龄相关的认知功能损害.影响认知老化的因素很多,人格是这些因素背后的重要动因.当前有关人格与认知老化的研究主要探讨了不同人格特质对认知老化的具体影响及作用机制两个方面.尽管不同人格特质与认知老化的关系逐渐清晰起来,但现有研究在一些问题上仍存在争议.未来可以从不同研究范式的结果对比、人格特质对认知老化影响机制的内在问题、人格与人格特质的稳定性及其影响、人格特质对认知老化影响的本土化研究等几个方面进一步强化和拓展.     

Perception of acoustically presented time series with varied intervals

Data from three experiments on serial perception of temporal intervals in the supra-second domain are reported. Sequences of short acoustic signals (“pips”) separated by periods of silence were presented to the observers. Two types of time series, geometric or alternating, were used, where the modulus 1 + δ of the inter-pip series and the base duration T_b (range from 1.1 to 6 s) were varied as independent parameters. The observers had to judge whether the series were accelerating, decelerating, or uniform (3 paradigm), or to distinguish regular from irregular sequences (2 paradigm). “Intervals of subjective uniformity” (isus) were obtained by fitting Gaussian psychometric functions to individual subjects' responses. Progression towards longer base durations (T_b = 4.4 or 6 s) shifts the isus towards negative δs, i.e., accelerating series. This finding is compatible with the phenomenon of “subjective shortening” of past temporal intervals, which is naturally accounted for by the lossy integration model of internal time representation. The opposite effect observed for short durations (T_b = 1.1 or 1.5 s) remains unexplained by the lossy integration model, and presents a challenge for further research.