A psychometric analysis of chess expertise

This study introduces the Amsterdam Chess Test (ACT). The ACT measures chess playing proficiency through 5 tasks: a choose-a-move task (comprising two parallel tests), a motivation questionnaire, a predict-a-move task, a verbal knowledge questionnaire, and a recall task. The validity of these tasks was established using external criteria based on the Elo chess rating system. Results from a representative sample of active chess players showed that the ACT is a very reliable test for chess expertise and that ACT has high predictive validity. Several hypotheses about the relationships between chess expertise, chess knowledge, motivation, and memory were tested. Incorporating response latencies in test scores is shown to lead to an increase in criterion validity, particularly for easy items.     

A meta-analytic review of stopping performance in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: deficient inhibitory motor control?

This review discusses whether deficient inhibitory motor control is the core deficit of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Inhibitory motor control is commonly assessed using the stop-signal paradigm. Since the last meta-analysis that was performed, 33 new studies have appeared. The current meta-analysis revealed a significant difference between ADHD patients and matched controls in stop latency (stop-signal reaction time) in both children and adults. Basic reaction time was significantly longer in children with ADHD, but not in adults, and there was a significant interaction between the elongation of the latency to stop and to respond in adults, but not in children. Deficient inhibitory motor control may be less crucial in children than in adults with ADHD.     

Luminance edges are not necessary for visual completion

Luminance edges seem to have an important role in visual feature binding and, more specifically, in visual completion because luminance differences are important for the perception of depth. We investigated this claim in two experiments in which the primed-matching paradigm was used. In Experiment 1, we investigated conditions under which either a partly occluded shape or an occluder was isoluminant with respect to the background. In Experiment 2, the partly occluded shape and the occluder were isoluminant with respect to each other. Evidence was found for visual completion in all cases, and we therefore conclude that luminance edges are not essential for visual completion.     

Effects of stop signal modality, stop signal intensity and tracking method on inhibitory performance as determined by use of the stop signal paradigm

In Experiment 1, the effects of stop signal modality on the speed and efficiency of the inhibition process were examined. Stop signal reaction time (SSRT) and inhibition function slope in an auditory stop signal condition were compared to SSRT and inhibition function slope in a visual stop signal condition. It was found that auditory stop signals compared to visual stop signals enhanced both the speed and efficiency of stopping. The modality effects were attributed to differences in the neurophysiological processes underlying perception. However, Experiment 2 demonstrated that the modality difference was larger for 80 dB(A) auditory stop signals than 60 dB(A) auditory stop signals. This effect was reconciled with the suggestion that loud tones are more capable of eliciting immediate arousing effects on motor processes than weak tones and visual stimuli. The second purpose of the present investigation was to explore the utility (and potential advantages) of an alternative way of setting stop signal delay relative to mean reaction time (MRT). The method that was suggested compensates for inter-individual differences in primary task reaction speed by setting stop signal delays as proportions of the subjects' MRT.     

Trajectories of Peer-Nominated Aggression: Risk Status,Predictors and Outcomes

Developmental trajectories of peer-nominated aggression, risk factors at baseline, and outcomes were studied. Peer nominations of aggression were obtained annually from grades 1 to 3. Three developmental trajectories were identified: an early-onset/increasers trajectory with high levels of peer-nominated aggression at elementary school entry and increasing levels throughout follow-up; a moderate-persistent trajectory of aggression in which children were characterized by moderate levels of physical aggression at baseline; and a third trajectory with stable low levels of aggression. Children following the early-onset/increasers trajectory showed physical forms of aggression at baseline. Male gender and comorbid attention deficit/hyperactivity problems, oppositional defiant problems and poor prosocial behavior plus negative life events predicted which children would follow the early-onset/increasers trajectory of aggression. The outcomes associated with the early-onset/increaser children suggest high risk for chronically high levels of aggressive behavior.     

Delayed attentional engagement in the attentional blink

Observers often miss the 2nd of 2 visual targets (first target [T1] and second target [T2]) when these targets are presented closely in time; the attentional blink (AB). The authors hypothesized that the AB occurs because the attentional response to T2 is delayed by T1 processing, causing T2 to lose a competition for attention to the item that follows it. The authors investigated this hypothesis by determining whether the AB is attenuated when T2 is precued. The results from 4 experiments showed that the duration and magnitude of the AB were substantially reduced when T2 was precued. The observed improvement in T2 report did not occur at the expense of T1 report, suggesting that processing of T1 was already completed or was at least protected when the cue was presented. The authors conclude that, during the AB, there is a delay between detection and the selection of target candidates for consolidation in short-term memory.     

Bi-phasic hitting with constraints on impact velocity and temporal precision

The aim of the experiment was to investigate how bi-phasic hitting movements are organized to comply with both impact and temporal precision constraints. 'Bi-phasic' refers to a sequential movement with a preparatory movement away from the interception location followed by a strike phase. The interception location was fixed, as the motion of the hitting device was constrained to follow a straight path orthogonal to that of the approaching balls. We manipulated the required temporal precision by projecting balls with different constant approach speeds (1, 1.5, and 2m/s). Different impact constraints were imposed by instructing participants first to simply hit the ball and subsequently to hit the ball to a designated target area located either 55 or 105 cm away from the interception location. We determined several kinematic variables and used Principal Component Factor Analysis to classify these variables. The analysis revealed two independent factors: a 'velocity' factor (formed by impact velocity, peak velocity of the preparatory phase, peak velocity of the strike phase, and amplitude of the strike) and a 'timing' factor (formed by onset of the preparatory phase, moment of peak velocity of the preparatory phase, and onset of the strike phase). The 'velocity' factor scaled significantly with the required impact constraint and the 'timing' factor scaled significantly with ball speed.     

Cross-Cultural Reactions to Academic Sexual Harassment: Effects of Individualist vs. Collectivist Culture and Gender of Participants

Male and female university students from the United States, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, Ecuador, Pakistan, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Turkey read a standardized scenario in which a male professor was accused of sexually harassing a female graduate student. Respondents from individualist countries judged the professor to be guilty of sexual harassment more often than did those from collectivist countries. Women rendered significantly more guilty judgments and assigned more severe punishments to the accused professor than did men. Implications for the individualist–collectivist classification system and cross-cultural research are discussed.     

WAIS digit span-based indicators of malingered neurocognitive dysfunction: classification accuracy in traumatic brain injury

The present study determined specificity and sensitivity to malingered neurocognitive dysfunction (MND) in traumatic brain injury (TBI) for several Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) Digit Span scores. TBI patients (n = 344) were categorized into one of five groups: no incentive, incentive only, suspect, probable MND, and definite MND. Performance of 1,063 nonincentive patients (e.g., cerebrovascular accident, memory disorder) was also examined. Digit Span scores included reliable digit span, maximum span forward both trials correct, maximum span forward, combined maximum forward and backward span, Digit Span scaled score, maximum span backward both trials correct, and maximum span backward. In TBI, sensitivity to MND ranged from 15% to greater than 30% at specificities of 92% to 98%. Patient groups with documented brain pathology had higher false-positive error rates. These results replicate previous known-groups malingering studies and provide valuable data supporting the WAIS Digit Span scores in detection and diagnosis of malingering.