Rasch-representable reaction time distributions

This article investigates properties of a representation based on the Rasch test model for reaction times (RT) that was proposed by Micko. Necessary and sufficient conditions for a set of RT distributions to be Rasch-representable are derived. It is shown that independent serial and independent parallel processing models cannot be reconciled with the representation. However, random extreme models compatible with the Reasch-representation exist that assume RT is determined by the longest or he shortest processing time of a random number of independent paraloel channels. Nonparametric properties of Rasch-representable distributions are derived that can be used for testing the model and for estimating its parameters. Conditions are presented for Rasch-representable distributions to form a scale family. Finally, Rasch-represent-able distributions are characterized interms of their hazard functions.For helpful discussions, we are grateful to Hans Irtel, Christoph Micko, Hartmann Scheiblechner, and Hans-Henning Schultz.     

Peace and Islam: In theory and practice

The article centres on the humanistic and peace‐oriented elements in the foundational sources of Islam, the Qur'an and the Prophet's life, especially on Muhammad's attitude towards war and peace. As the Qur'an clearly attests, Muhammad continued to search for reconciliation and mutual understanding,. with Jews and Christians as well as with opponents and enemies. As to jihad, Q. 2:90 and Q. 22:39 unambiguously prohibit offensive war, in fact, any kind of aggression, cruelty and wanton destruction. The Qur'an prescribes a humane conduct of war. Wherever politically possible, peace has the priority. Finally, the author exemplifies contemporary Muslim attitudes towards war and peace and describes Muslim peace initiatives.     

Bindung und Liebe in den Partnerschaften von Psychotherapiepatienten

Based on attachment theory and love style typology, this study focuses on the relation between experiences in romantic relationships and mental health in a clinical sample. 117 outpatients of a psychosomatic clinic took part in the study. Self-report measures were used to assess relationship quality, attachment dimensions, love styles and correlates of mental disorders. Compared to a student sample, the patients’ reports refer to lower relationship quality. They experience more anxiety and less romantic feelings in their relationships which is especially true for women. Furthermore, anxiety, jealousy and altruism in the patients’ relationships are related to a variety of correlates of mental disorders including psychosomatic complaints. Results indicate that experiences in romantic relationships are strongly associated with general psychological well-being.     

Heteroscedasticity as a Basis of Direction Dependence in Reversible Linear Regression Models

Heteroscedasticity is a well-known issue in linear regression modeling. When heteroscedasticity is observed, researchers are advised to remedy possible model misspecification of the explanatory part of the model (e.g., considering alternative functional forms and/or omitted variables). The present contribution discusses another source of heteroscedasticity in observational data: Directional model misspecifications in the case of nonnormal variables. Directional misspecification refers to situations where alternative models are equally likely to explain the data-generating process (e.g., x → y versus y → x). It is shown that the homoscedasticity assumption is likely to be violated in models that erroneously treat true nonnormal predictors as response variables. Recently, Direction Dependence Analysis (DDA) has been proposed as a framework to empirically evaluate the direction of effects in linear models. The present study links the phenomenon of heteroscedasticity with DDA and describes visual diagnostics and nine homoscedasticity tests that can be used to make decisions concerning the direction of effects in linear models. Results of a Monte Carlo simulation that demonstrate the adequacy of the approach are presented. An empirical example is provided, and applicability of the methodology in cases of violated assumptions is discussed.     

The Development of Media Sign Literacy—A Longitudinal Study With 4-Year-Old Children

In a longitudinal study, 137 children at the age of 4 years were tested for media sign literacy, intelligence, and several precursors of academically relevant skills, such as phonological awareness and preschool quantity-number competencies. The children were tested four times over two years, measuring the development of these skills every six months. The purpose of the study was to explore whether children’s level of media sign literacy helps them acquire academically relevant symbolic skills like reading and mathematical competencies. The results indicate that media sign literacy as well as intelligence predict mathematical and linguistic competencies. Longitudinal findings indicate that children with higher levels of media sign literacy also achieve higher scores in precursors of mathematical and reading and writing skills, and structural equation modeling revealed a rich interconnectedness between media sign literacy and intelligence. Media sign literacy had a direct and significant effect on mathematical competencies at measurement point 2 and indirect effects on the precursors of reading and writing skills at measurement point 4.     

Lifespan differences in cortical dynamics of auditory perception

Using electroencephalographic recordings (EEG), we assessed differences in oscillatory cortical activity during auditory‐oddball performance between children aged 9–13 years, younger adults, and older adults. From childhood to old age, phase synchronization increased within and between electrodes, whereas whole power and evoked power decreased. We conclude that the cortical dynamics of perceptual processing undergo substantial reorganization from childhood to old age, and discuss possible reasons for the inverse relation between age trends in phase synchronization and power, such as lifespan differences in neural background activity, or a lifespan shift from rate coding in children to temporal coding in adults.     

The easily learned,easily remembered heuristic in children

A previous study with adults [Koriat, A. (2008a). Easy comes, easy goes? The link between learning and remembering and its exploitation in metacognition. Memory & Cognition, 36, 416–428] established a correlation between learning and remembering: items requiring more trials to acquisition (TTA) were less likely to be recalled than those requiring fewer trials. Furthermore, learners’ judgments of learning (JOLs) seemed to rely on the easily learned, easily remembered (ELER) heuristic, that items requiring fewer TTAs are more likely to be recalled. This study extended investigation of these effects to 2nd- and 4th-grade children. When the list included hard and easy paired-associates (Experiment 1, N = 40, 7–10 years), recall and JOL decreased with increasing TTAs for both grades, supporting the validity of the ELER heuristic and its utilization in monitoring one's own learning. When presented only with hard pairs (Experiment 2, N = 60, 7–10 years), however, 4th graders’ but not 2nd graders’ JOLs evidenced reliance on this heuristic. The results suggest an early development of metacognitive heuristics that incorporate information about the links between characteristics of the encoding process and subsequent remembering.