Partial awareness distinguishes between measuring conscious perception and conscious content: Reply to Dienes and Seth

In their comment on Sandberg, Timmermans, Overgaard, and Cleeremans (2010), Dienes and Seth argue that increased sensitivity of the Perceptual Awareness Scale (PAS) is a consequence of the scale being less exclusive rather than more exhaustive. According to Dienes and Seth, this is because PAS may measure some conscious content, though not necessarily relevant conscious content, “If one saw a square but was only aware of seeing a flash of something, then one has not consciously seen a square.” In this reply, we claim that there is a difference between conscious visual experience, which may be partial, and the resulting conscious content, which is conceptual. Whereas PAS measures the first, confidence judgments and post-decision wagering measure the second.     

How does the strength of the relationships between cognitive abilities evolve over the life span for low-IQ vs high-IQ adults?

The present study was designed to examine how the correlations between cognitive abilities evolve during adulthood. Data from 1104 participants on the French version of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Third Edition were analyzed. The entire sample was divided into four age groups (16–24 years; 25–44 years; 45–69 years and 70–89 years), which were themselves split into two IQ-levels using the mean standard score on Vocabulary and Block Design. For every age group, the mean correlation between subtest scores of low-IQ participants was higher than that of high-IQ participants. There was also no interaction between age and IQ for the strength of subtest relationships. Indeed, the effect sizes of correlation differences between low- and high-IQ participants appeared to be relatively constant across age. A general developmental schema of how the strength of correlations between cognitive abilities of low- and high-IQ individuals evolves during the entire life span is sketched in the discussion.     

Psychometric analysis of the short-form UCLA Loneliness Scale (ULS-8) in Taiwanese undergraduate students

The main purpose of this study was to validate the short-form of the UCLA Loneliness Scale (ULS-8; Hays & DiMatteo, 1987) in Taiwanese undergraduate students. A total of 130 undergraduate students participated in this study. Participants completed the ULS-8 in addition to measures of life satisfaction, social support, and adult attachment style. Result of confirmatory factor analysis supported the one-factor model of the ULS-8 with adequate values of various fit indices, revealing that the 8 items of the scale were homogeneous for measuring loneliness. In addition, the ULS-8 had a negative relationship with life satisfaction, and social support; and a positive one with anxiety and avoidant attachment tendency. All the findings showed that the ULS-8 was an adequate short-form measure of loneliness.     

The work-related flow inventory: Construction and initial validation of the WOLF

The WOrk-reLated Flow inventory (WOLF) measures flow at work, defined as a short-term peak experience characterized by absorption, work enjoyment, and intrinsic work motivation. Results of Study 1 among 7 samples of employees (total N = 1346) from different occupational groups offer support for the factorial validity and reliability of the WOLF. Study 2 examined the validity of the WOLF in more detail among some of the samples. Positive correlations between a general flow index and the three flow dimensions confirm the convergent validity of the WOLF. In addition, the findings of Study 2 provide evidence for the construct and predictive validity of the WOLF using five job characteristics as predictors of flow, and other-ratings of performance as outcomes.     

Stevens' power law and the problem of meaningfulness

Frequently, it is postulated that the results of a ratio production (resp., ratio estimation) experiment can be summarized by Stevens' power law psi=alphaphi(beta). In the present article, it is argued that the power law parameters depend, among other things, on the standard stimulus presented as a reference point, and the physical stimulus scale by which the physical intensities are measured. To formalize this idea, a new formulation of Stevens' power law is presented. We show that the exponent in Stevens' power law can only be interpreted in a meaningful way if the stimulus scale is a ratio scale. Furthermore, we present empirically testable axioms (termed invertibility and weak multiplicativity) which are both necessary and sufficient for the power law exponent to be invariant under changes of the standard stimulus. Finally, invertibility and weak multiplicativity are evaluated in a ratio production experiment. Ten participants were required to adjust the area of variable circles to prescribed ratio production factors. Both axioms are violated for all participants. The results cast doubts on the well-established practice of comparing power law exponents across different modalities.     

From universal laws of cognition to specific cognitive models

The remarkable successes of the physical sciences have been built on highly general quantitative laws, which serve as the basis for understanding an enormous variety of specific physical systems. How far is it possible to construct universal principles in the cognitive sciences, in terms of which specific aspects of perception, memory, or decision making might be modelled? Following Shepard (e.g., 1987 ), it is argued that some universal principles may be attainable in cognitive science. Here, 2 examples are proposed: the simplicity principle (which states that the cognitive system prefers patterns that provide simpler explanations of available data); and the scale‐invariance principle, which states that many cognitive phenomena are independent of the scale of relevant underlying physical variables, such as time, space, luminance, or sound pressure. This article illustrates how principles may be combined to explain specific cognitive processes by using these principles to derive SIMPLE, a formal model of memory for serial order ( Brown, Neath, & Chater, 2007 ), and briefly mentions some extensions to models of identification and categorization. This article also considers the scope and limitations of universal laws in cognitive science.     

Development and validation of the Achievement Goal Scale for Youth Sports

ObjectiveThe objective was to develop and validate an achievement goal scale for young athletes that was aligned with the 2 (mastery/ego)×2 (approach/avoidance) achievement goal framework.MethodA total of 1675 male and female athletes ranging in age from 9 to 14 years participated in the AGSYS scale development and validation phases. Items having a readability level of grade 4 (age 9) or below were written and evaluated in a series of studies to assess the reliability, factorial validity, and construct validity of the Mastery and Ego scales.DesignBoth correlational and experimental methods were used to assess reliability and validity.ResultsExploratory and confirmatory factor analyses demonstrated factorial validity in samples of 9–10-, 11–12-, and 13–14-year-old athletes, and the subscales correlated in a predicted fashion with one another, with other sport and academic goal orientation measures and with several other theoretically relevant variables, including coach-initiated motivational climate, competitive trait anxiety, sport enjoyment, motivation, and self-esteem. Scores also changed significantly in response to a motivational climate coach intervention.ConclusionThe Achievement Goal Scale for Youth Sports (AGSYS) appears to be a reliable and valid measure of achievement goal approach orientations in children between the ages of 9 and 14 years. We were not successful in developing corresponding avoidance goal orientation scales that were not highly correlated, raising the possibility that children do not cognitively differentiate between mastery-avoidance and ego-avoidance orientations.     

大学生的自立人格与现实问题解决

为了探讨大学生的自立人格能否影响其现实问题解决的质量,对个人/人际高低分组的共30名大学生进行了现实问题解决访谈,结果发现:个人/人际自立高分组被试在访谈中解决个人/人际问题的质量显著高于低分组。为了探索自立人格与现实问题解决能力的关系,使用《青少年学生自立人格量表》和《大学生日常问题解决能力调查问卷》对101名有效被试进行了调查,结果发现:自立人格的多个维度都与日常问题解决能力的维度有显著相关,自立人格的多个相关维度是日常问题解决相关能力的有效预测变量。两个研究的结果支持了研究假设:自立人格利于个体对现实生活问题的解决;自立人格包含或涉及个体解决现实问题的能力因素。此外,自立人格影响现实生活问题解决的具体特点和机制还值得进一步研究。     

Examination of the Japanese version of the Fear of COVID-19 Scale among Adults Using Classical Test Theory and Item Response Theory1, 2

Globally, the COVID-19 pandemic has impaired every aspect of life, especially causing much psychological damage—for instance, increasing the risk of suicide. Intense fear and anxiety are considered to play a central role in mental health problems. This study examined the psychological properties of the Japanese version of the Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S) using classical test theory (CTT) and item response theory (IRT). Five hundred fifty participants aged 18–69 years and from across Japan completed questionnaires, including the Japanese FCV-19S, the Japanese Depression Anxiety Stress Scales-15 (DASS-15), and the Japanese version of the Kessler 6 (K6). CTT showed that each item of the Japanese FCV-19S had no ceiling and floor effect and was close to the normal distribution, and IRT revealed that each item had an appropriate parameter of discrimination and difficulty. Finally, the Japanese FCV-19S was shown to have an acceptable reliability and moderate good concurrent validity. Consequently, the Japanese FCV-19S has robust psychometric properties and can be useful for early detection of adults impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.     

Career adaptability predicts subjective career success above and beyond personality traits and core self-evaluations

The Career Adapt-Abilities Scale (CAAS) measures career adaptability as a higher-order construct that integrates four psychosocial resources of employees for managing their career development: concern, control, curiosity, and confidence. The goal of the present study was to investigate the validity of the CAAS with regard to its effects on two indicators of subjective career success (career satisfaction and self-rated career performance) above and beyond the effects of employees' Big Five personality traits and core self-evaluations. Data came from a large and heterogeneous sample of employees in Australia (N = 1723). Results showed that overall career adaptability positively predicted career satisfaction and self-rated career performance above and beyond the Big Five personality traits and core self-evaluations. In addition, concern and confidence positively predicted the two indicators of subjective career success. The findings provide further support for the incremental validity of the CAAS.