Studies in the learning function

The error function of the theoretical learning curve developed by Thurstone has been fitted to maze data from rats that have been subjected to cerebral cortical insult. There is a high degree of relationship between the number of errors necessary to complete learning as predicted from the curve and the experimental measure of learning, total-errors-minus-errors-first-trial. The procedure provides a method of analysis for individual learning records and it may be used to shorten the training period. The goodness of fit indicates that the underlying logic of the learning curve is plausible.A grant-in-aid from the National Research Council has made the present analysis possible. We are indebted to Professor L. L. Thurstone for aid and encouragement.     

“Heartbreaking” Referrals,Professional “Disgrace”: The Impact of Medicare Ineligibility on the Counseling Profession

To better understand the impact of the Medicare mental health coverage gap, the authors analyzed survey data provided by 1,859 members of the American Counseling Association using a conventional qualitative content analysis. One overarching theme, direct impact of Medicare policy on the counseling profession, is presented, along with 3 thematic categories: emotional impact on providers, economic toll on providers, and negative influence on profession's credibility. Implications for the counseling profession are discussed.     

Both attentional control and the ability to make remote associations aid spontaneous analogical transfer

Given the widespread belief that analogical processing is an important mechanism for creative problem solving, despite the rarity of spontaneous transfer in laboratory studies, a critical direction for future research is to address which abilities may allow for the spontaneous analogizing between distant (superficially dissimilar) sources and targets. This study explores the role of individual differences in attentional control and the ability to make remote associations and their possible combined effects on spontaneous analogical transfer. Participants attempted to solve Duncker's radiation problem after having been exposed to a distant source as part of an earlier task. Results indicated that both measures of attentional control and the ability to make remote associations uniquely predicted spontaneous transfer between a superficially dissimilar source and target. Further, a critical role was seen for the quality of the representation of the source analog on the likelihood of transfer. The present results affirm that the likelihood of spontaneous transfer depends critically on the quality of the representation for the source, but also suggest that individual differences in the ability to make remote associations may be more conducive to constructing a broader representation of that source than individual differences in attentional control.     

Latent partition analysis

Latent partition analysis has been formulated to study the relationships between two or more partitions of the same set of items. The major structural hypothesis is that a latent partition underlies the manifest partitions; that is, it is assumed that each item belongs to a latent category and that the manifest categories are derived by dividing and combining the latent categories. We have found that by examining manifest categories it is possible to reconstruct information about the latent partition and about its relation to the manifest partitions.The research reported herein was originally supported through the U. S. O. E. Cooperative Research Project 5-1005-2-12-1, directed by Donald M. Miller, at the Instructional Research Laboratory, University of Wisconsin. Further work has been supported by the National Science Foundation Grant No. GS-1025 at The University of Chicago. The author wishes to acknowledge the invaluable assistance of Richard G. Wolfe in the final statement of the theory and the assistance of Robert M. Pruzek in certain early formulations.     

A Structural Equation Analysis of the Wide Range Assessment of Memory and Learning in a Clinical Sample

A maximum likelihood confirmatory factor analysis was performed by applying LISREL VII to the Wide Range Assessment of Memory and Learning (WRAML) in a clinical sample (N = 271). Analyses were designed to determine which of 10 hypothesized oblique factor solutions could best explain memory as measured by the WRAML. Competing latent variable models were identified in previous studies and monographs on memory. Findings supported a three-factor model including Verbal Memory, Visual Memory, and Attention/Concentration factors. Our results are consistent with previous studies suggesting that attention is an important component of memory as measured by the WRAML. This study replicates previous research in which the Learning Index was not empirically supported.     

Counterfactual thinking in mock juror assessments of negligence: A preliminary investigation

This Research Report presents an initial attempt to apply the theory of counterfactual thinking to study the cognitive processes that underlie judgments of negligence. Subjects reviewed a summary of an appellate case involving a work accident and listed all the ways in which the accident could have been undone (mutated). Participants' evaluations of the defendant's behavior were influenced by the ease of mutation of the negligent act and other mutations of the defendant's behavior, but not by the number of mutations of the plaintiffs conduct. Exploratory path analysis suggested that counterfactual thinking may have its greatest impact not as a direct influence on verdicts and damages, but rather as an indirect influence impacting verdicts through lower level judgments about the normality of the defendant's behavior and the standard of care. The results also suggest that contrary to the law, subjects base their negligence verdicts on assessments of normal care along with due care.     

Expertise as mental set: The effects of domain knowledge in creative problem solving

Experts generally solve problems in their fields more effectively than novices because their wellstructured, easily activated knowledge allows for efficient search of a solution space. But what happens when a problem requires a broad search for a solution? One concern is that subjects with a large amount of domain knowledge may actually be at a disadvantage, because their knowledge may confine them to an area of the search space in which the solution does not reside. In other words, domain knowledge may act as a mental set, promoting fixation in creative problem-solving attempts. A series of three experiments in which an adapted version of Mednick’s (1962) remote associates task was used demonstrates conditions under which domain knowledge may inhibit creative problem solving.     

Critical evidence: a test of the critical-period hypothesis for second-language acquisition

The critical-period hypothesis for second-language acquisition was tested on data from the 1990 U.S. Census using responses from 2.3 million immigrants with Spanish or Chinese language backgrounds. The analyses tested a key prediction of the hypothesis, namely, that the line regressing second-language attainment on age of immigration would be markedly different on either side of the critical-age point. Predictions tested were that there would be a difference in slope, a difference in the mean while controlling for slope, or both. The results showed large linear effects for level of education and for age of immigration, but a negligible amount of additional variance was accounted for when the parameters for difference in slope and difference in means were estimated. Thus, the pattern of decline in second-language acquisition failed to produce the discontinuity that is an essential hallmark of a critical period.     

Millennials’ (Lack of) Attitude Problem: An Empirical Examination of Generational Effects on Work Attitudes

Purpose  

The purpose of this study is to contribute to the sparse empirical literature on generational differences at work by examining (1) the effect of generation on work attitudes (e.g., job satisfaction, job security, and turnover intentions) and (2) how Millennials’ work attitudes differ from prior generations.