Identifiability and Equivalence of GLLIRM Models

The generalized logit–linear item response model (GLLIRM) is a linearly constrained nominal categories model (NCM) that computes the scale and intercept parameters for categories as a weighted sum of basic parameters. This paper addresses the problems of the identifiability of the basic parameters and the equivalence between different GLLIRM models. It is shown that the identifiability of the basic parameters depends on the size and rank of the coefficient matrix of the linear functions. Moreover, two models are observationally equivalent if the product of the respective coefficient matrices has full column rank. Finally, the paper also explores the relations between the parameters of nested models. I would like to express my gratitude to the editor and three anonymous reviewers for their helpful suggestions on earlier versions of the paper. This work was supported by the Comunidad de Madrid (Spain) grant: CCG07-UAM/ESP-1615.     

Coefficients Alpha,Beta, Omega,and the glb: Comments on Sijtsma

There are three fundamental problems in Sijtsma (Psychometrika, 2008): (1) contrary to the name, the glb is not the greatest lower bound of reliability but rather is systematically less than ω _t (McDonald, Test theory: A unified treatment, Erlbaum, Hillsdale, 1999), (2) we agree with Sijtsma that when considering how well a test measures one concept, α is not appropriate, but recommend ω _t rather than the glb, and (3) the end user needs procedures that are readily available in open source software.     

A confusion of tongues between psychoanalysis and philosophy: Is the controversy over drive versus relational theory a philosophical one?

In recent years the controversy over Drive versus Relational models of the psyche has become entangled in a philosophical controversy over epistemology. Some have argued that the Drive model was a relic of an age of positivistic science, while Relational models are a product of a postmodern condition. This paper argues that the controversy need not be a philosophical one, and that Relational views are not, in fact, a product of postmodernism, nor are they necessarily dependent on a postmodern epistemology. Separating the epistemological from the psychological more carefully may help return the debate to its proper, psychoanalytic domain, and perhaps contribute to a more fruitful dialogue across what, at times, seems like an abyss between Relational views and Drive theory.     

Good vibrations: Analytic process as coupled oscillations

This paper develops a new model for the action of psychoanalysis based on concepts from non-linear dynamics (chaos theory and complexity theory). It shows that the analyst–analysand couple may be conceptualized as a new configuration with its own properties that promote complex development in both members of the couple. These developments are an emergent result of the formation of the analyst–analysand couple and are significantly independent of the particular content of the manifest interaction of the couple. The well-studied phenomena of coupled oscillators suggest the specific features of the analysand–analyst interaction that are likely to be most important in conceptualizing analytic change. The model has substantial clinical applications since efforts to arrange for a coupled oscillator system that is central to it are distinct from many of the traditional considerations associated with creating an analytic situation.     

The relevance of castration and circumcision to the origins of psychoanalysis: 1. The medical context1

In this paper the author outlines and discusses the origins and the decline of castration and circumcision as a cure for the nervous and psychic disturbances in women and little girls between 1875 and 1905. The author argues that the opposition to this medical practice affected the conception of hysteria, promoting a distinction between sexuality and the genital organs, and the emergence of an enlarged notion of sexuality, during the period from Freud’s medical education to the publication of the Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality. The hypothesis is put forward that Freud came directly in contact with the genital theory of the neurosis at the time of his training on the nervous disturbances in children with the paediatrician, Adolf Baginsky, in Berlin, in March 1886. It is hypothesized that this experience provoked in Freud an abhorrence of circumcision ‘as a cure or punishment for masturbation’, prompting an inner confrontation which resulted in a radical reorganization of the way of thinking about sexuality. It is also suggested that this contributed to Freud developing a capacity to stay with contradictions, something which would become a central quality of the psychoanalytic attitude.     

CONSTRUCTING AND DERIVING RECIPROCAL TRIGONOMETRIC RELATIONS: A FUNCTIONAL ANALYTIC APPROACH

Participants were pretrained and tested on mutually entailed trigonometric relations and combinatorially entailed relations as they pertained to positive and negative forms of sine, cosine, secant, and cosecant. Experiment 1 focused on training and testing transformations of these mathematical functions in terms of amplitude and frequency followed by tests of novel relations. Experiment 2 addressed training in accordance with frames of coordination (same as) and frames of opposition (reciprocal of) followed by more tests of novel relations. All assessments of derived and novel formula‐to‐graph relations, including reciprocal functions with diversified amplitude and frequency transformations, indicated that all 4 participants demonstrated substantial improvement in their ability to identify increasingly complex trigonometric formula‐to‐graph relations pertaining to same as and reciprocal of to establish mathematically complex repertoires.     

Processing efficiency in preschoolers’ memory span: Individual differences related to age and anxiety

In self-paced auditory memory span tasks, the microanalysis of response timing measures represents a developmentally sensitive measure, providing insights into the development of distinct processing rates during recall performance. The current study first examined the effects of age and trait anxiety on span accuracy (effectiveness) and response timing (efficiency) measures from word and digit span performance in a preschool sample (N = 76, mean age = 57 months, SD = 11). Children were reassessed 8 months later using the same two tasks plus a test of nonword memory span and a measure of articulation rate. The results at the second time point (T2) confirmed the effects of age on both processing effectiveness and efficiency. Trait anxiety was an additional negative predictor of span effectiveness (especially for digit span) and efficiency (in the case of word and nonword span). The findings are discussed in the context of factors contributing to early short-term memory development and attentional control theory.     

Managing terror when self-worth and worldviews collide: Evidence that mortality salience increases reluctance to self-enhance beyond authorities

Terror management theory posits that one’s self-esteem and worldview operate jointly to manage mortality concerns. Accordingly, past research shows that mortality salience (MS) increases self-enhancement and worldview defense. The current research is the first to examine MS effects when self-enhancement threatens to undermine aspects of the worldview, in this case the credibility and status of worldview-representative authorities. MS led to reluctance to self-enhance following positive personality test feedback when the test was judged negatively by institutional authorities (Study 1a), as well as unwillingness to contradict self-esteem threatening feedback sanctioned by authorities (Study 1b). Mortality salient participants also rated themselves higher on valued dimensions unless it meant viewing themselves more positively than their parents (Study 2) and admired political icons (Study 3). Taken together, these results show that MS increases self-enhancement unless doing so challenges important representatives of the worldview. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

Mapping Gray’s BIS and BAS constructs onto Factor 1 and Factor 2 of Hare’s Psychopathy Checklist – Revised

Reinforcement sensitivity theory (RST; Gray, 1987; Gray & McNaughton, 2000) has proven to be a valuable tool for understanding psychopathy (e.g., Fowles, 1980, 1988; Newman & Malterer, 2009; Poythress et al., 2008). Recent research has linked two RST constructs, the Behavioral Inhibition System (BIS) and the Behavioral Activation System (BAS), to individuals with primary psychopathy and secondary psychopathy (Lykken, 1995; Newman, MacCoon, Vaughn, & Sadeh, 2005): Primary psychopaths manifest low BIS reactivity and secondary psychopaths manifest high BAS reactivity. In the present study, we examine the relationships between the BIS/BAS constructs and Factors 1 and 2 of the Psychopathy Checklist – Revised (PCL-R) in a sample of 472 incarcerated male offenders. Paralleling their relationships with primary and secondary psychopathy, the BIS/BAS constructs were differentially related to the two PCL-R factors. Specifically, the influence of the BIS was found to be more prominent than the influence of the BAS for Factor 1, and the influence of the BAS was more prominent than that of the BIS for Factor 2.