VALCOR: A program for estimating standard error, confidence intervals, and probability of corrected validity

VALCOR is a Turbo-Basic program that corrects the observed (uncorrected) validity coefficients for criterion and predictor unreliability and range restriction in the predictor. Furthermore, using the formulas for the standard error of functions of correlations derived by Bobko and Rieck (1980), the program provides an estimation of the standard error, the confidence intervals, and the probability of the corrected validity coefficients. In this way, the probability and the boundaries of the corrected validity coefficients may be reported together with the probability of the uncorrected validity coefficients. The results are presented on the computer screen and may be saved in an external file.     

Are there different patterns of cerebral asymmetry between dyslexic subtypes?

The purpose of this research has been to analyze the cerebral asymmetry in dyslexic children and, specifically for demonstrating whether there are different patterns of cerebral asymmetry among subtypes of dyslexia. We used a sample of 89 dyslexic children divided into subtypes obtained from the Jimenez and Ramirez (2002) study. The dual-task method was used to assess hemispheric specialization. The data were compared with that obtained from a control group of normal readers of same age (CA; N= 37) and with a younger reading level control group (RL; N= 40). We found that in the dyslexic group, similarly to the younger reading level group, a high percentage of children showed convergence in the left hemisphere of both linguistic and spatial functions. This pattern was also found in the RL control group. On the other hand, we did not find different patterns of cerebral asymmetry between dyslexic subtypes.     

Analysis of the gender variable in the EDTC using differential item functioning techniques

The aim of this work is to analyze the gender differences in the scales of a recently constructed test: the so-called EDTC. This test measures the following traits: sensation seeking, fearlessness, and impulsivity. Gender differences will be studied using Differential Item Functioning (DIF) techniques, in order to determine whether these differences are true differences in the assessed dimensions or if, on the contrary, they are the result of a mere artefact of the measuring instrument used. The methods used to study DIF are standardization, SIBTEST, logistic regression, Lord's chi 2 test, and indices based on the DFIT model. Despite the fact that some items with DIF exist, the gender differences observed seem to be the result of true differences in the measured personality constructs and they don't seem to be artificially produced by a bias in the test items.     

Orientation misperceptions induced by contrast polarity: comment on "Contrast polarities determine the direction of Café Wall tilts" by Akiyoshi Kitaoka, Baingio Pinna, and Gavin Brelstaff (2004)

According to Kitaoka et al (2004, Perception 33 11-20), the Café Wall illusion can be reduced to misalignment effects produced locally by a large shape on a line passing nearby. I demonstrate here that the interacting units are edges and not whole shapes, and that the source of the illusion does not consist in a local tilt but in a tendency of the edges to join when they have the same contrast polarity.     

There's a certain slant of light: Three attitudes toward the political turn in analytic philosophy

There has been a growing interest within analytic philosophy in addressing political and social issues, which has been referred to as the “political turn” in the discipline. The aim of this paper is twofold. First, it discusses the very characterization of the political turn. In particular, it introduces the definition proposed by Bordonaba-Plou, Fernández-Castro, and Torices, suggests that we should not consider the turn a form of activism, and explores an additional benefit of the ideal/nonideal distinction for characterizing the turn. Second, it addresses the concern of what attitude we should take in the face of the different sensitivities we might have with respect to what constitutes an injustice. Which philosophical works should count as part of the political turn? The paper explores three different attitudes toward this dilemma, and favors what it calls the revisionist attitude, which emphasizes the fact that our perception of injustice is subject to error.     

Eastern versus Western Control Beliefs at Work: An Investigation of Secondary Control, Socioinstrumental Control, and Work Locus of Control in China and the US

La théorie et la recherche concernant les croyances (LOC) et les perceptions du contrôle suggèrent que les Asiatiques tendent à obtenir des scores plus bas et àêtre plus passifs que les Américains, mais ces travaux ont été menés à l’aide de concepts et d’échelles développés principalement aux USA qui certifient une primauté du contrôle interne (ex: en changeant l’environnement pour l’adapter à soi). Une équipe de recherche internationale a étendu la notion de croyance dans le contrôle en développant des échelles qui permettent de reconsidérer la notion en faisant état de croyances secondaires dans le contrôle (ex: en adaptant le soi à l’environnement) et de faire état d’un concept nouveau de croyances socio‐instrumentales (ex: le contrôle par les relations interpersonelles) qui permettent de rendre compte de manière plus pertinente des croyances en un contrôle dans les cultures collectivistes. Nous nous attendions à ce que, par l’utilisation d’échelles culturellement appropriées, les Américains n’obtiennent pas une croyance en un contrôle plus importante que les Asiatiques. Les hypothèses ont été partiellement confirmées en ce que les Américains se sont montrés comme obtenant un contrôle plus bas que les Chinois (de Hong Kong et de RP de Chine) sur ces échelles. Il est suggéré que voir les Asiatiques comme évitant passivement le contrôle au travail peut être incorrect et dû aux insuffisances de contrôle socio‐instrumental. Research and theory concerning beliefs (locus of control) and perceptions of control suggest that Asians tend to be lower and more passive than Americans, but this work has been conducted mainly with US‐developed constructs and scales that assess primary control (i.e. changing the environment to adapt to the self). An international research team expanded the notion of control beliefs by developing scales to assess secondary control beliefs (i.e. adapting the self to the environment) and the new construct of socioinstrumental control beliefs (i.e. control via interpersonal relationships), both of which were thought to better fit the control beliefs of collectivist cultures than Western‐developed control scales. We expected that, when culturally appropriate scales were employed, Americans would not show higher control beliefs than Asians. Hypotheses were partially confirmed that Americans would be lower than Chinese (Hong Kong and PR China) on these new scales. It is suggested that views of Asians as passive avoiders of control at work may be incorrect and due to the overlooking of socioinstrumental control.     

Automatic imitation and spatial compatibility in a key-pressing task

Automatic imitation has been often confounded with spatial compatibility effects. Heyes (2011) called attention to this confound, and proposed some criteria which must be satisfied before these effects could be unequivocally taken to be an index of the functioning of the human mirror system. Evidence satisfying such criteria has been reported by Catmur and Heyes (2011), using a relatively unfamiliar finger abduction movement. However, because many previous studies relied on more familiar actions, we aimed at testing whether analogous effects could be obtained with a more practiced key-pressing task. In Experiment 1, we used anatomical controls (i.e., views of right vs. left hands) under conditions affording mirror imitation, and showed that spatial compatibility masked the effects of automatic imitation. Experiment 2 used rotated conditions to control for this spatial-anatomical confound, and it showed unequivocal effects of automatic imitation, which were obtained regardless of its relation to the spatial stimulus-response mapping. These results cast some doubts on the interpretation of previous reports relying exclusively on scenes presented from a mirror perspective, and suggest the convenience of using both rotated scenes and anatomical controls in order to assess automatic imitation.     

Representational pseudoneglect in line bisection

"Representational pseudoneglect" refers to a bias toward the left side of space that occurs when visual information is remembered. Recently a number of demonstrations of such representational pseudoneglect have appeared. In the present article, we report an experiment in which we adopted the classic line bisection paradigm to study representational pseudoneglect. Participants bisected horizontal lines that were shown in extrapersonal space. When the lines were visible on the screen, there was no evidence of any leftward bias. However, when lines were bisected from memory, the participants demonstrated a clear bias to the left. This is the first demonstration of a leftward bias in the bisection of remembered visually presented lines.