Gender differences on the WPPSI, the WISC-R, and the WPPSI-R

The WPPSI, WISC-R, and WPPSI-R were administered in a counterbalanced design to 72 children between the ages of 5 years, 10 months, 16 days, and 6 years, 7 months, and 15 days to test the hypothesis that mean verbal IQs on these scales would be higher for boys than for girls. Results indicated that the mean verbal IQs for boys were significantly (p<.05) higher than those for girls on all three scales. Also, significant (p<.05) differences favoring boys were found onVocabulary andComprehension subtests on all three scales. These differences are probably a peculiarity of these scales and may not need any elaborate theoretical explanation. However, clinical uses of verbal and performance IQ discrepancies may not justifiably ignore the examinees’ gender.     

Non-equivalence of WPPSI,WPPSI-R,and WISC-R scores

The WPPSI-R, WISC-R, and WPPSI were administered in a counterbalanced design to 72 children, between the ages of 5 years, 11 months and 6 years, 8 months, in order to determine their equivalence by testing the equality of means, variances, and covariances based on scaled scores and IQs. The results indicated that the three scales were not equivalent with respect to any of the IQs because they did not meet one or more of the criteria. The relative magnitudes of the mean IQs on the three scales were in accord with the predicted order: highest IQs on WPPSI, next highest on WISC-R, and the lowest on WPPSI-R. Results were discussed in the context of the secular inflation in IQs and the corresponding compensatory deflation built into the normative data of the new versions.     

Semantic expectancy effects on word access

Summary Access to word-representations in memory was studied in an experiment that used a lexical decision task: Ss had to decide whether a string of letters was a word or a nonword. Independent variables were context-similarity and semantic expectancy. The former is defined in terms of the categorical relationship that holds between a set of context words and the subsequently presented test word. The second refers to the cue-value given to subjects as to the likelihood with which related or unrelated test words would be presented. Cue-values did not provide information on the likelihood with which word or nonword decisions were required, but only on the most probable semantic relationship holding among context and test words. In theory, Meyer and Ellis' (1970) race model for word access was extended for the present purpose. It is shown that the two search processes assumed to mediate lexical access interfere on the basis of limited processing capacity, at least under the special conditions prevailing during the experiment. Furthermore, it is shown that Ss effectively manage to control the point in time at which they decide to issue a nonword response. Cuing for related test words tends to produce faster nonword decisions than cuing for unrelated words.This paper reports work that was conceived and begun at Stanford University, Calif., USA, where the author spent a year as a post-doctoral fellow. This fellowship was made possible by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Bad Godesberg, Federal Republic of Germany, Grant Schm 350/1. I am grateful to R.C. Atkinson, S. Monsell, P. Matthews, and D. Vorberg for supporting this research in a number of ways.     

Hinl?nglichkeit und notwendigkeit im moralischen. Ein beitrag zur logik konsequentialistischer werttheorien

This paper contrasts different definitions of extrinsic values in terms of intrinsic ones. I define the right and the bidden as extrinsic goods, the wrong and the forbidden as extrinsic bads. There are two possibilities for doing this: an extrinsic good (bad) is a means which is (i) either necessary or (ii) sufficient to realize the intrinsic good (bad). Thus defined, right and bidden have different logical properties, the same holds with wrong and forbidden. Likewise the logical relations between right and wrong differ from those between bidden and forbidden, and those between right and forbidden are different from the relations between bidden and wrong. The paper concludes with a study of the logical features of the question whether doing the bidden and refraining from the forbidden suffices for morally right action.     

The Structure and Sources of Right‐wing Authoritarianism and Social Dominance Orientation

Right‐wing authoritarianism (RWA) and social dominance orientation (SDO) are widely used constructs in research on social and political attitudes. This study examined their hierarchical and correlative structure (across sexes, generations and rater perspectives), as well as how genetic and environmental factors may contribute to individual differences in them (using different rater perspectives and nuclear twin family data). We found a substantive common aspect (beyond shared artificial variance arising from socially desirable responding) underlying both RWA and SDO: aggression against subordinate groups. We discussed how this aspect could help to explain the commonly reported correlation between the two concepts in Western countries. Estimates of genetic and environmental components in RWA and SDO based on self‐reports were quite comparable with those based on peer reports. When controlling for error variance and taking assortative mating into account, individual differences in RWA were primarily due to genetic contributions including genotype–environment correlation, whereas variance in SDO was largely attributable to environmental sources shared and not shared by twins. The findings are discussed in terms of the utility of RWA and SDO as basic constructs to describe individual differences in social attitudes and with respect to the different patterns of genetic and environmental influences that underlie them. Copyright © 2016 European Association of Personality Psychology     

Weighing the Evidence: A Systematic Review on Long-Term Neurocognitive Effects of Cannabis Use in Abstinent Adolescents and Adults

Findings on neurocognitive effects of sustained cannabis use are heterogeneous. Previous work has rarely taken time of abstinence into account. In this review, we focus on understanding sustained effects of cannabis, which begin when clinical symptoms of the drug have worn off after at least 14 days. We conducted a search between 2004 and 2015 and found 38 studies with such a prolonged abstinence phase. Study-design quality in terms of evidence-based medicine is similar among studies. Studies found some attention or concentration deficits in cannabis users (CU). There is evidence that chronic CU might experience sustained deficits in memory function. Findings are mixed regarding impairments in inhibition, impulsivity and decision making for CU, but there is a trend towards worse performance. Three out of four studies found evidence that motor function remains impaired even after a time of abstinence, while no impairments in visual spatial functioning can be concluded. Functional imaging demonstrates clear differences in activation patterns between CU and controls especially in hippocampal, prefrontal and cerebellar areas. Structural differences are found in cortical areas, especially the orbitofrontal region and the hippocampus. Twenty studies (57 %) reported data on outcome effects, leading to an overall effect size of r _mean?=?.378 (CI 95 %?=?[.342; .453]). Heavy use is found to be more consistently associated with effects in diverse domains than early age of onset. Questions of causality―in view of scarce longitudinal studies, especially those targeting co-occurring psychiatric disorders―are discussed.