The role of athlete as contributor to peer status in school-age and adolescent females in the United States: From pre-title IX to 2000 and beyond

Despite its importance for males, athleticism has been considered inconsequential as a predictor of peer status for females. In the United States, however, female sports have seen dramatic increases in participation, sport type variety, and role models since the passage of Title IX. An extensive literature review was conducted to determine if athletic variables have become more significant predictors of peer status for school-age (ages 7–13) and adolescent (ages 14–18) females in the United States over the past 30 years. An integration of findings suggested that the relation between athletic variables and peer status remained relatively stable across age groups. Review of literature addressing the internal perceptions of female athletes allowed for speculation regarding the increases in participation despite the lack of peer status benefits.     

Measuring the ability of transitive reasoning,using product and strategy information

Cognitive theories disagree about the processes and the number of abilities involved in transitive reasoning. This led to controversies about the influence of task characteristics on individuals' performance and the development of transitive reasoning. In this study, a computer test was constructed containing 16 transitive reasoning tasks having different characteristics with respect to presentation form, task format, and task content. Both product and strategy information were analyzed to measure the performance of 6- to 13-year-old children. Three methods (MSP, DETECT, and Improved DIMTEST) were used to determine the number of abilities involved and to test the assumptions imposed on the data by item response models. Nonparametric IRT models were used to construct a scale for transitive reasoning. Multiple regression was used to determine the influence of task characteristics on the difficulty level of the tasks. It was concluded that: (1) the qualitatively distinct abilities predicted by Piaget's theory could not be distinguished by means of different dimensions in the data structure; (2) transitive reasoning could be described by one ability, and some task characteristics influenced the difficulty of a task; and (3) strategy information provided a stronger scale than product information.     

Bodies and occlusion: Item types,cognitive processes,and gender differences in mental rotation

The aim of the current study was to reexamine previous findings in which the magnitude of the male advantage in mental rotation abilities increased when participants mentally rotated occluded versus nonoccluded items and decreased when participants mentally rotated human figures versus blocks. Mainly, the study aimed to address methodological issues noted on previous human figure mental rotations tests as the items composed of blocks and human body were probably not equivalent in terms of their cognitive requirements. Our results did not support previous research on embodied cognition as mental rotation performance decreased among both men and women when mentally rotating human figures compared to block items. However, for women, the effect of occlusion was decreased when mentally rotating human figures. Results are discussed in terms of task difficulty and gender differences in confidence and guessing behaviour.     

Attributions Toward Injury in a Military Physical Training Environment

The effects of military culture on causal attributions in a physical training environment were examined. The participants were male Australian Defense Force (ADF) members: 49 physical training instructors (mean age = 32.21 years) and 63 physical training participants (mean age = 34.22 years). Participants filled out a questionnaire describing 3 injury scenarios, each with a different severity of injury. The participants assigned causal attributes on 4 dimensions: lack of ability, environmental condition, lack of effort, and bad luck. There were main effects for scenario (low, moderate, and high severity of injury) and group (physical training instructors and injured trainee). Military culture may therefore encourage attributions that are internal and unstable. The results demonstrate the significant effect of military context on “normal” attribution biases. Therefore when seeking explanation of causation, there is a need to be aware of the tendency for those involved to distort attributions and how these distortions may be affected by a military context.     

Antecedents of political trust in adolescence: Cognitive abilities and perceptions of parents

This study examined the predictors of political trust in late adolescence. Three waves of longitudinal data (ages 11, 15, and 17) from 1116 Czech adolescents (346 participated at least in the first and last wave) were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Results showed that high verbal cognitive ability in early adolescence predicted greater political trust in late adolescence. This effect was explained by adolescents' greater cognitive political engagements, but not by their more positive relationships with authorities (e.g., school or parents) during adolescence. Next, early adolescents who perceived more parental warmth demonstrated greater political trust when they reached late adolescence. These results suggest that some young people might enter adulthood more skeptical regarding politics based on their abilities and early nonpolitical experiences.     

Cognitive ability, right-wing authoritarianism, and social dominance orientation: A five-year longitudinal study amongst adolescents

We report longitudinal data in which we assessed the relationships between intelligence and support for two constructs that shape ideological frameworks, namely, right-wing authoritarianism (RWA) and social dominance orientation (SDO). Participants (N = 375) were assessed in Grade 7 and again in Grade 12. Verbal and numerical ability were assessed when students entered high school in Grade 7. RWA and SDO were assessed before school graduation in Grade 12. After controlling for the possible confounding effects of personality and religious values in Grade 12, RWA was predicted by low g (β = − .16) and low verbal intelligence (β = − .18). SDO was predicted by low verbal intelligence only (β = − .13). These results are discussed with reference to the role of verbal intelligence in predicting support for such ideological frameworks and some comments are offered regarding the cognitive distinctions between RWA and SDO.     

On the myth and the reality of the temporal validity degradation of general mental ability test scores

Claims of changes in the validity coefficients associated with general mental ability (GMA) tests due to the passage of time (i.e., temporal validity degradation) have been the focus of an on-going debate in applied psychology. To evaluate whether and, if so, under what conditions this degradation may occur, we integrate evidence from multiple sub-disciplines of psychology. The temporal stability of construct validity is considered in light of the evidence regarding the differential stability of g and the invariance of measurement properties of GMA tests over the adult life-span. The temporal stability of criterion-related validity is considered in light of evidence from long-term predictive validity studies in educational and occupational realms. The evidence gained from this broad-ranging review suggests that temporal degradation of the construct- and criterion-related validity of ability test scores may not be as ubiquitous as some have previously concluded. Rather, it appears that both construct and criterion-related validity coefficients are reasonably robust over time and that any apparent degradation of criterion-related validity coefficients has more to do with changes in the determinants of task performance and changes in the nature of the criterion domain rather temporal degradation per se (i.e., the age of the test scores). A key exception to the conclusion that temporal validity degradation is more myth than reality concerns decision validity. Although the evidence is sparse, it is likely that the utility of a given GMA test score for making diagnostic decisions about an individual deteriorates over time. Importantly, we also note several areas in need of additional and more rigorous research before strong conclusions can be supported.     

On the validity of Raven’s matrices test: Does spatial ability contribute to performance?

The paper reports on an investigation of the convergent and discriminant validity of Raven’s matrices in considering reasoning and spatial abilities. Raven’s advanced progressive matrices (APM) and four scales representing reasoning, visualization, mental rotation and closure were applied to a sample of N = 280 university students. The data were investigated by means of structural equation modeling. The results demonstrated convergent validity of APM with respect to reasoning. In contrast, in investigating discriminant validity substantial correlations of moderate size between APM and the scales representing spatial abilities were observed. However, the investigation of the structure of the prediction of APM revealed that the scales representing spatial abilities did not improve the prediction based on the reasoning scale alone at the latent level. Consequently, it is suggested that Raven’s matrices show good convergent validity and slightly impaired discriminant validity.     

Ability,Foreknowledge, and Explanatory Dependence

Many philosophers maintain that the ability to do otherwise is compatible with comprehensive divine foreknowledge but incompatible with the truth of causal determinism. But the Fixity of the Past principle underlying the rejection of compatibilism about the ability to do otherwise and determinism appears to generate an argument also for the incompatibility of the ability to do otherwise and divine foreknowledge. By developing an account of ability that appeals to the notion of explanatory dependence, we can replace the Fixity of the Past with a principle that does not generate this difficulty. I develop such an account and defend it from objections. I also explore some of the account's implications, including whether the account is consistent with presentism.