Measurement and Non-Measurement Influences of Test-Session Behavior on Individually Administered Measures of Intelligence

Two nested structural models were developed to determine whether test-session behaviors affect the manner in which intelligence is measured or whether their influence is related to the constructs being measured. Children’s test-session behaviors were assessed using the Guide to the Assessment of Test-Session Behaviors for the WISC-III and WIAT (GATSB; Glutting & Oakland, 1993) and intelligence was measured with the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Third Edition (WISC-III; Wechsler, 1991). Model 1 investigated relationships between test-session behaviors and the WISC-III’s four-factor solution by first evaluating the underlying factor structure of the instruments. Thereafter, this measurement model served as a baseline against which alternative models were compared. The alternative models considered the influence of test-session behaviors on: (a) the subtests used to measure the WISC-III’s constructs of intelligence, and (b) the actual constructs of intelligence. Model 2 explored similar relationships by considering only the WISC-III’s Verbal and Performance dimensions. Results indicate that test-session behaviors play a larger role influencing the mechanisms through which intelligence is measured than on the actual constructs of intelligence. Implications are discussed for clinical practice.     

Factors which Improve the Construct Validity of Assessment Centers: A Review

This article reviews 21 studies which manipulated specific variables to determine their impact on the construct validity of assessment centers. This review shows that the studies regarding the impact of different observation, evaluation, and integration procedures yielded mixed results. Conversely, dimension factors (number, conceptual distinctiveness, and transparency), assessor factors (type of assessor and type of assessor training), and exercise factors (exercise form and use of role-players) were found to moderate construct validity. On the basis of the review, practical recommendations are derived to maximize the probability that practitioners design and administer an assessment center with construct validity. Finally, new perspectives for future research are identified.     

‘A philosophy of change’: Emotions,civil society and global development

Dominant paradigms of global development have historically been devoid of emotions, connected with racialized and gendered ideas of rationality and civility. Within contemporary scholarship there is however increasing recognition of the importance of emotions for understanding development processes. This paper adds to this body of work by exploring the ways that emotions shape how people who are trying to ‘do’ development actually do it. Drawing on empirical material from conversations with civil society activists based on the Caribbean islands of Grenada and Barbados, this article explores some of the emotions that are present within civil society organizing and makes the case that in this context emotions are not just felt, they are generative of civil society organizing and wider development processes. Focusing on shame, the article demonstrates how emotions are produced relationally within civil society organizing, how emotions are generative and can co-construct spaces for civil society and how civic organizing can act as counter-expressions to these feelings. Emotions are then constitutive of global development, yet often neglected in dominant discourses of civil society within the development sphere, with professional subjectivities dominant.     

Family Functioning among Rural Teens and Caregivers: Interactive Influence on Teen Dating Violence

Multi-informant assessment of family functioning is considered best practice in research and clinical settings. However, in the area of teen dating violence, multi-informant assessment of family functioning has received limited attention. The current study investigated whether and to what extent caregiver and adolescent perceptions of family functioning interact in their influence on adolescent dating violence. Participants were 493 adolescents and their primary caregivers from a rural southeastern community in the United States. As hypothesized, a paired-samples t test showed that adolescents’ scores on the family functioning measure were significantly lower than their caregivers’ scores. Logistic regressions revealed that adolescents’ positive views of family functioning were significantly associated with a lower likelihood of dating violence victimization but not perpetration and that caregivers’ views on family functioning moderated the impact of adolescent-reported family functioning on both dating violence outcomes. Post hoc analyses showed that adolescents with negative perceptions of family environment were most likely to be victims and perpetrators of dating violence when their parents also reported more negative views of family environment. The article concludes with a discussion of how these findings can: (a) advance our understanding of the impact of family functioning on teen dating relationships and (b) inform practical efforts aimed at preventing dating aggression among teens.     

The global workspace theory,the phenomenal concept strategy,and the distribution of consciousness

Peter Carruthers argues that the global workspace theory implies there are no facts of the matter about animal consciousness. The argument is easily extended to other cognitive theories of consciousness, posing a general problem for consciousness studies. But the argument proves too much, for it also implies that there are no facts of the matter about human consciousness. A key assumption is that scientific theories of consciousness must explain away the explanatory gap. I criticize this assumption and point to an alternative strategy for defending scientific theories of consciousness, one that better reflects the ongoing scientific practice. I argue there are introspectable inferential connections from phenomenal concepts to functional concepts that scientists can use to individuate the global workspace in terms of capacities that animals and humans share.     

Generate,maintain, manipulate? Exploring the multidimensional nature of motor imagery

Motor imagery (MI), the mental rehearsal of a motor task, is thought to be a synergistic interaction between processes that allow for the generation, maintenance, and manipulation, of motor images. While our understanding of the multidimensional nature of MI stems from research examining various methods to assess MI ability, limited research has been conducted employing multiple assessments across participants to probe the underlying dimensions of MI. Accordingly, the current study sought to explore the multidimensional nature of MI using an exploratory approach that would allow for the dimensions of imagery to be examined and linked to each assessment measure. Specifically, participants (N = 81) underwent a battery of MI-assessments (including questionnaires, mental chronometry, a hand laterality judgment task, and a MI-based learning task), and data was analyzed via principal component analysis (PCA). Three components resulted, which were named based on which outcome measures loaded on to the component: generation, maintenance, and manipulation of motor images. We further discuss a fourth component, named ‘temporal sequencing’ of motor images, identified via the initial component solution. Concordant with previous research, we highlight the importance of employing multiple measures when assessing imagery ability prior to its use in training. Notably, this work allowed us to link assessments of MI to the different dimensions of MI, informing on the nature of MI.     

Clinical issues in the assessment of adolescent alcohol and other drug use

Clinicians working with adolescents are routinely faced with the issue that alcohol and other drug (AOD) involvement may be part of the clinical picture either as a primary problem or a contributing factor to other problems or disorders. Fortunately, assessment research in this area has produced several behaviorally oriented and psychometrically sound tools from which to choose for problem identification, referral and treatment of youth suspected of AOD abuse. The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of several issues related to the clinical utility of such assessment tools.     

Hispanic and non-Hispanic children's performance on PASS cognitive processes and achievement

Hispanics have become the largest minority group in the United States. Hispanic children typically come from working class homes with parents who have limited English language skills and educational training. This presents challenges to psychologists who assess these children using traditional IQ tests because of the considerable verbal and academic (e.g., quantitative) content. Some researchers have suggested that intelligence conceptualized on the basis of psychological processes may have utility for assessment of children from culturally and linguistically diverse populations because verbal and quantitative skills are not included. This study examined Hispanic children's performance on the Cognitive Assessment System (CAS; [Naglieri, J.A., and Das, J.P. (1997). Cognitive Assessment System. Itasca, IL: Riverside.]) which is based on the Planning, Attention, Simultaneous, and Successive (PASS) theory of intelligence. The scores of Hispanic (N = 244) and White (N = 1956) children on the four PASS processes were obtained and the respective correlations between PASS and achievement compared. Three complementary sampling methodologies and data analysis strategies were chosen to compare the Ethnic groups. Sample size was maximized using nationally representative groups and demographic group differences were minimized using smaller matched samples. Small differences between Hispanic and non-Hispanic children were found when ability was measured with tests of basic PASS processes. In addition, the correlation between the PASS constructs and achievement were substantial for both Hispanic and non-Hispanic children and were not significantly different between the groups.     

A Psychometric Evaluation of the Approach and Avoidance of Alcohol Questionnaire (AAAQ) in Alcohol Dependent Outpatients

The Approach and Avoidance of Alcohol Questionnaire (AAAQ; McEvoy et al. in Addiction 99:482–497, 2004) was administered to a clinical sample of 138 alcohol dependent men and women. An exploratory factor analysis was used to determine the AAAQ factor structure and a confirmatory analysis run on a second administration of the AAAQ. Convergent validity was examined by conducting an alcohol cue reactivity test and by administering the Timeline Follow-Back (TLFB), a retrospective calendar method for assessing alcohol consumption, and several measures of alcohol-related problems. The factor analysis supported a two-factor solution representing approach and avoidance dimensions. Regressions predicting measures of alcohol cue reactivity, alcohol consumption, and other alcohol-related constructs with the AAAQ provide support for its convergent validity. The results suggest that alcohol craving may be viewed as a multi-dimensional construct that includes both approach and avoidance inclinations which may vary depending on the population under examination.

The WebQuest: An Illustration of Instructional Technology Implementation in MFT Training

This teaching case illustrates the innovative application of an instructional technology modality, the WebQuest, in family therapy training. It describes what a WebQuest involves, and how it can be used as a tool for developing critical thinking and application of contemporary marriage and family therapy (MFT) theory to social and global issues. The authors discuss the results of the survey and focus groups conducted to assess the value of this assignment from the students’ perspectives. Results indicate that its application in a family therapy theories course fostered students’ awareness of global issues impacting family life, integration of family therapy theories to serve children and families, creativity in developing their own intervention models, and ability to discuss and integrate knowledge from different knowledge bases and perspectives.