Different practice effects for males and females by psychometric and chronometric mental-rotation tests

Gender differences in the psychometric mental-rotation test are usually larger than in the chronometric version. In both tests, practice effects appear for males and females. In this study, 104 participants (54 females, 50 males, age: 21.72 years) completed both tests in counterbalanced order. In the chronometric test, only males reacted and rotated significantly faster after the practice with the psychometric test. A strong practice effect independently of gender was found in the psychometric test and a gender difference in accuracy in favour of males. Males reported more confidence and females rated the perceived pressure of the time limit of the psychometric test higher than males. Consequently, differences in confidence after the practice could partly explain the gender differences in the improvements of reaction time and rotational speed. Practice from one mental-rotation test on the performance in another seems to be dependent of participants’ gender and the type of the test.     

“R U Mad?”: Computerized text analysis of affect in social media relates to stress and substance use among ethnic minority emerging adult males

Objective: This study examined the interactive role of affectivity and stress in substance use severity among ethnic minority, emerging adult males, using linguistic indicators of affect obtained through social media.

Method: Participants were 119 emerging adult, ethnic minority males (ages 18–25) who provided access to their mobile phone text messaging and Facebook activity for 6-months. Computerized text analysis (LIWC2015) was used to obtain linguistic indices of positive and negative affect from texts and Facebook posts. The Perceived Stress Scale was used to measure stress, and items from the Drug Abuse Screening Test were used to measure substance use severity.

Results: Generalized estimating equations showed that higher negative affect in texts was associated with greater substance use severity. Stress moderated the relationship between positive affect expressed in Facebook posts and substance use such that higher positive affect in Facebook posts was associated with less substance use at higher stress and greater substance use at lower stress.

Conclusions: Findings highlight the complexities of interactions between stress and affectivity. Findings could inform development of substance use interventions for young males that employ social technologies.     

A Latent Block Distance-Association Model for Profile by Profile Cross-Classified Categorical Data

Abstract

Distance association models constitute a useful tool for the analysis and graphical representation of cross-classified data in which distances between points inversely describe the association between two categorical variables. When the number of cells is large and the data counts result in sparse tables, the combination of clustering and representation reduces the number of parameters to be estimated and facilitates interpretation. In this article, a latent block distance-association model is proposed to apply block clustering to the outcomes of two categorical variables while the cluster centers are represented in a low dimensional space in terms of a distance-association model. This model is particularly useful for contingency tables in which both the rows and the columns are characterized as profiles of sets of response variables. The parameters are estimated under a Poisson sampling scheme using a generalized EM algorithm. The performance of the model is tested in a Monte Carlo experiment, and an empirical data set is analyzed to illustrate the model.     

Student Agency in Literacy: A Systematic Review of the Literature

Abstract

Scholars contend that agency is at the heart of cultivating equitable learning spaces for all learners. While it is intuitive that literacy educators support agency during instruction, there is diverse terminology surrounding the concept of agency in the field. As a result, aligning the construct to instructional practices and developing a conceptual understanding of agency in practice has been challenging. Our research team completed a systematic literature review of agency during literacy instruction. In this article, we describe findings of this review of empirical research on agency in literacy spanning from 1975–2017. Findings highlight the complexities associated with defining agency as well as the need for diverse methodological approaches to examining agency in literacy contexts.     

Prediction of Behaviour vs. Prediction of Behaviour Change: The Role of Motivational Moderators in the Theory of Planned Behaviour

Research has identified moderating variables of the cognition–behaviour relationship in the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB). These include intention certainty, affective–cognitive congruence of attitudes, attitudinal ambivalence, and past behaviour. It has not yet been systematically tested if these moderators apply in similar ways to the prediction of behaviour and behaviour change (when past behaviour is controlled). A sample of 1,418 university students completed measures of the direct predictors of the TPB (perceived behavioural control; PBC and intention), intention certainty, affective–cognitive congruence of attitudes, attitudinal ambivalence, and the Godin Leisure Time Physical Exercise Questionnaire at the beginning of the academic year and two months later. Data were analysed using moderated hierarchical linear regressions. Without controlling for baseline behaviour, intention certainty and affective–cognitive congruence moderated both the intention–behaviour and PBC–behaviour relationships and showed additional main effects. Attitudinal ambivalence did not contribute to the prediction. When past behaviour was controlled, the main effects were attenuated and only the intention certainty* PBC interaction remained significant. Predictors of behaviour do not necessarily predict behaviour change. The TPB-related moderators studied here weakly contributed to the prediction of behaviour change. Proposals for increasing the predictive power of TPB for behaviour change are discussed.