Improved EM algorithm for MPT model analysis

Multinomialprocessing tree (MPT) models are in wide use as measurement models for analyzing categorical data in cognitive experiments. The approach involves estimating parameters and conducting hypothesis tests involving parameters that are arrayed in a tree structure designed to represent latent cognitive processes. The standard inference algorithm for these models is based on the well-known expectationmaximization (EM) algorithm. On the basis of the original use of the EMalgorithm for MPT models, this article presents an approach that accelerates the convergence speed of the algorithm by (1) adjusting suitable initial positions for certain parameters to reduce required iterative times and (2) using a series of operations between/among a set of matrices that are specific to the original model structure and information to reduce the time required for a single iteration. As compared with traditional algorithms, the simulation results show that the proposed algorithm has superior efficiency in interpreted languages and also has better algorithm readability and structure flexibility.     

与零假设检验有关的统计分析流程

人们熟知的零假设显著性检验,受到一次次质疑与辩护,地位并未动摇,报告检验结果仍然是统计分析的习惯做法。不过,其局限性促使研究者探寻更多的统计方法如区间估计、效应量分析、检验力分析等。本文先介绍假设检验与置信区间的关系;然后讨论检验力与两类错误率和效应量的关系;最后在理顺上述统计方法的基础上,提供一个可操作的统计分析流程。     

城市低龄老年人的需要满足状况、社会支持和心理健康的关系研究

采用城市低龄老年人社会支持问卷、老年人心理健康问卷、城市低龄老年人需要问卷对738名城市低龄老年人进行施测,考察需要社会支持、需要满足状况对城市低龄老年人的心理健康关系机制。结果表明：城市低龄老年人的需要满足状况和社会支持同时影响其心理健康。具体而言,人际需要满足状况和亲情需要满足状况分别对关爱支持和心理健康起到了部分中介效应,人际需要满足状况、亲情需要满足状况认知需要满足状况和价值需要满足状况分别对指导支持和心理健康起到了部分中介效应。     

中学生自尊与主观幸福感:学业自我的中介作用

为探索中学生自尊、学业自我与主观幸福感的关系,随机选取初一到高三学生共592人,用一般自尊量表(SES)、一般学业自我量表(G-ASCS)和主观幸福感量表(SWB)进行调查,结果表明:中学生学业自我是自尊与主观幸福感之间的部分中介,且学业自我的中介作用具有跨样本的一致性和稳定性.鉴于此,中学生积极的学业认知、体验和评价对提高其主观幸福感尤为重要.     

Measurement equivalence/invariance of the abusive supervision measure across workers from Taiwan and the United States

Growing international research interest in negative-leadership behaviors prompts the need to examine whether measures of ineffective leadership developed in the United States are equivalent across countries outside the United States. B. J. Tepper's (2000) abusive supervision measure has been used widely inside and outside the United States and merits research attention on its construct equivalence across different cultural settings. The authors conducted a series of multigroup confirmatory factor analyses to investigate the measurement equivalence of this measure across Taiwan (N = 256) and the United States (N = 389). Configural invariance was established, suggesting that both U.S. and Taiwanese samples perceive abusive supervision as a single-factor concept. Furthermore, the establishment of partial metric invariance and partial scalar invariance suggests that the abusive supervision measure is applicable to crosscultural comparisons in latent means, construct variance, construct covariances, and unstandardized path coefficients with the caution that workers from different cultures calibrate their responses differently when answering some items.     

Big time is not always long: numerical magnitude automatically affects time reproduction

To reproduce the duration of an event precisely, one needs to represent the temporal information without being influenced by other magnitude attributes (e.g., size) of the event. In the present study, however, task-irrelevant numerical magnitude automatically affected participants' reproduction of the duration of a stimulus. In Experiment 1, participants made key-press responses to reproduce the duration of numbers. Reproduced durations were shorter for small numbers (e.g., 1) than for large numbers (e.g., 9). In contrast, in Experiment 2, participants' reproductions of a standard duration were longer when their key-press response was accompanied by visual presentation of a small number than when it was accompanied by presentation of a large number. These results clearly demonstrate that number-time interference extends beyond simple mapping between stimulus categories and response alternatives. The findings support the notion that either a common magnitude representation or closely connected magnitude representations underlie numerical and temporal processing.     

Infants learn about objects from statistics and people

In laboratory experiments, infants are sensitive to patterns of visual features that co-occur (e.g., Fiser & Aslin, 2002). Once infants learn the statistical regularities, however, what do they do with that knowledge? Moreover, which patterns do infants learn in the cluttered world outside of the laboratory? Across 4 experiments, we show that 9-month-olds use this sensitivity to make inferences about object properties. In Experiment 1, 9-month-old infants expected co-occurring visual features to remain fused (i.e., infants looked longer when co-occurring features split apart than when they stayed together). Forming such expectations can help identify integral object parts for object individuation, recognition, and categorization. In Experiment 2, we increased the task difficulty by presenting the test stimuli simultaneously with a different spatial layout from the familiarization trials to provide a more ecologically valid condition. Infants did not make similar inferences in this more distracting test condition. However, Experiment 3 showed that a social cue did allow inferences in this more difficult test condition, and Experiment 4 showed that social cues helped infants choose patterns among distractor patterns during learning as well as during test. These findings suggest that infants can use feature co-occurrence to learn about objects and that social cues shape such foundational learning in distraction-filled environments.     

不同维度的执行功能与早期心理理论的关系

采用意外地点任务、意外内容任务和三种不同类型的执行功能任务来探究执行功能与心理理论之间的关系。共60名被试,3岁和4岁被试各30名,男女各半。区分自己心理状态和他人心理状态能力与执行功能的关系主要体现在混合成分执行功能与这一能力的密切联系上;在错误信念发展的早期,执行功能与错误信念理解能力的关系主要集中在“混合成分的执行功能与对自己错误信念理解能力,工作记忆的执行功能与对他人错误信念理解能力”这两对联系上     

关于洞儿沟村信教村民的终极关怀的调查报告

作为人所最终关切的自身的存在及其意义的“终极关怀”,从根本上来说是人的一种内在的精神关切,但是精神的东西总是要外化为人们的行为取向和某种制度规范、风俗习惯。我们采用访谈方法,通过对一个比较典型的由天主教信徒组成的村庄洞儿沟村的调查,看一看“终极关怀”到底对人们有着什么样的影响。一、洞儿沟村概况洞儿沟村位于山西省太原市晋源区姚村镇。该村总人口为1196人,总户数为263户,信仰天主教的村民比例为100%。村民主要以务农为业,种植果树,农闲时在附近村子打些散工,做点石匠活儿。该村经济比较落后,村民之间的贫富差距不大,有50…     

文化传统与政治文明发展

任何国家政治文明建设都以特定的文化为背景。文化和传统是政治意识文明的源头活水,是政治行为文明的内在根据,是政治制度文明的思想基础,对政治文明主体具有塑造功能。因此,文化和传统是政治文明进步和发展的重要动力。