To Be or Not to Be: Exploring the Nature of Positively and Negatively Keyed Personality Items in High-Stakes Testing

Including equal numbers of positively and negatively keyed items is common in Five-Factor Model (FFM) personality measures. Much literature has demonstrated the presence of positive and negative keying factors in low-stakes testing situations, but there is a dearth of research investigating these factors in high-stakes testing. To address this gap, we investigated whether an FFM measure used in high-stakes testing was influenced by positive and negative keying factors. We also examined the overlap of the positive and negative keying factors with social desirability, rule-consciousness, acquiescence, and cognitive ability. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the inclusion of distinct factors associated with positively and negatively keyed items and suggested that the keying factors accounted for a substantial portion of variation in responses to FFM items. Social desirability and rule-consciousness were found to have significant relations with both keying factors, whereas acquiescence was only related to the negative keying factor. Implications for the construct validity of FFM measures used in high-stakes testing and directions for future research are discussed.     

Role of matrix metalloproteinases in the acquisition and reconsolidation of cocaine-induced conditioned place preference

Persistent drug seeking/taking behavior involves the consolidation of memory. With each drug use, the memory may be reactivated and reconsolidated to maintain the original memory. During reactivation, the memory may become labile and susceptible to disruption; thus, molecules involved in plasticity should influence acquisition and/or reconsolidation. Recently, matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) have been shown to influence neuronal plasticity, presumably by their regulation of extracellular matrix (ECM) molecules involved in synaptic reorganization during learning. We hypothesized that inhibition of MMP activity would impair the acquisition and/or reconsolidation of cocaine-conditioned place preference (CPP) in rats. Intracerebral ventricular (i.c.v.) microinjection of a broad spectrum MMP inhibitor, FN-439, prior to cocaine training suppressed acquisition of CPP and attenuated cocaine-primed reinstatement in extinguished animals. In a separate experiment, the cocaine memory was reactivated on two consecutive days with a cocaine priming injection. On these two days, artificial cerebral spinal fluid (aCSF) or FN-439 was administered either 30 min prior to or 1 min after cocaine-primed reinstatement sessions. Infusion of FN-439 partially impaired retrieval of the cocaine-associated context when given 30 min prior to cocaine. In both groups, however, FN-439 suppressed reinstatement compared with controls on the third consecutive test for cocaine-primed reinstatement, when no FN-439 was given. Control experiments demonstrated that two injections of FN-439 + cocaine given in the home cage, or of FN-439 + saline priming injections in the CPP chambers did not disrupt subsequent cocaine-primed reinstatement. These results show for the first time that (1) MMPs play a critical role in acquisition and reconsolidation of cocaine-induced CPP, and (2) rats demonstrate apparent disruption of reconsolidation by an MMP inhibitor after extinction and while they are under the influence of cocaine during reinstatement.     

A SENSE OF OCCASION

A continuous Oxford tradition on knowledge runs from John Cook Wilson to John McDowell. A central idea is that knowledge is not a species of belief or that, in McDowell's terms, it is not a hybrid state; that, moreover, it is a kind of taking in of what is there that precludes one's being, for all one can see, wrong. Cook Wilson and McDowell differ on what this means as to the scope of knowledge. J.L. Austin set out the requisite foundations for McDowell to be right. McDowell has shown why the tradition, and his version of it, need to be right. But he does not accept Austin's innovation. That is a shame. For, despite McDowell's very great insightfulness, precisely that much separates him from a very powerful, and correct, view of what knowledge is.     

Who are they and What do they Need: Characterizing and Supporting the Early Childhood Assistant Teacher Workforce in a Large Urban District

Scholarship and policy emphasize strengthening the early childhood education (ECE) workforce, but this work neglects a large segment of the workforce: assistant teachers. This study responds to gaps in knowledge by examining the demographic characteristics, qualifications, professional supports, and workplace experiences of assistant teachers (N = 120) in a representative sample of ECE centers (n = 35) in a large urban district. In addition to studying assistant teachers’ receipt of in‐service training and coaching, we draw from social network theory to investigate the professional support assistant teachers provide and receive via their collegial networks. We use a variance decomposition approach to explore how on‐the‐job supports, such as training, coaching, and networks, contribute to assistant teachers’ work‐related stress and job satisfaction—two key predictors of ECE teacher attrition. Results indicate that few ECE staff members seek assistant teachers for work‐related advice. Coaching is found to be an important contributor to assistant teachers’ job satisfaction; professional advice via collegial networks is a meaningful but under‐examined source of support for stress and job satisfaction. We consider implications for supporting and retaining assistant teachers and propose next steps for research on this understudied segment of the teaching workforce.     

Validation of a Behavioral Approach for Measuring Saccades in Parkinson's Disease

Speed and control of saccades are related to disease progression and cognitive functioning in Parkinson's disease (PD). Traditional eye-tracking complexities encumber application for individual evaluations and clinical trials. The authors examined psychometric properties of standalone tasks for reflexive prosaccade latency, volitional saccade initiation, and saccade inhibition (antisaccade) in a heterogeneous sample of 65 PD patients. Demographics had minimal impact on task performance. Thirty-day test–retest reliability estimates for behavioral tasks were acceptable and similar to traditional eye tracking. Behavioral tasks demonstrated concurrent validity with traditional eye-tracking measures; discriminant validity was less clear. Saccade initiation and inhibition discriminated PD patients with cognitive impairment. The present findings support further development and use of the behavioral tasks for assessing latency and control of saccades in PD.     

The Impact of Evidence-Based Parent Education in Organized Youth Sport: A Pilot Study

Although existing literature in organized youth sport illuminates developmentally appropriate parent involvement behaviors, practitioners have yet to effectively disseminate evidence-based tools and strategies to parents. The purpose of the present pilot study was to design, implement, and assess an evidence-based education program for parents in organized youth sport. Thirty-nine fathers and 42 mothers from 7 youth soccer teams were assigned to full, partial, or nonimplementation conditions. Parents and their sport-participating children (41 boys, 40 girls) were administered surveys at pre- and postseason. Data reveal a positive impact of the implementation on aspects of parent involvement, the parent–child relationship, and salient child outcomes.