Misunderstandings and omissions in textbook accounts of effect sizes

There have been frequent attempts in psychology to reduce the reliance on null hypothesis significance testing (NHST) as the criterion for establishing the importance of results. Many authorities now recommend the reporting of effect sizes (ESs) as a supplement or alternative to NHST. However, there is extensive specialist literature highlighting problems associated with the use and interpretation of ESs. A review of the coverage of ESs in over 100 textbooks on statistical analysis in behavioural science revealed widespread neglect of ESs and the relevant critical issues that have widespread coverage in the more specialist literature. For example, many textbooks claim that ESs should be interpreted as a simple measure of the practical real-world importance of a result despite the fact that ESs are profoundly influenced by features of design and analysis strategy. We seek to highlight areas of misunderstanding about ESs found in the pedagogical literature in the light of the more specialist literature and make recommendations to researchers for the appropriate use and interpretation of ESs. This is critical as statistics textbooks have a crucial role in the education of researchers.     

Do incompatible alternatives in a testimony affect witness credibility?

The qualitative regulation of grain size allows witnesses to increase the accuracy of their reports by adding alternatives (e.g., “the robber concealed his face with a mask, with a stocking, or with a balaclava”). However, such answers may include incompatible alternatives which may make police officers and juries distrust witnesses. In four preregistered experiments, we tested the effect of information with incompatible alternatives on witness credibility. In Experiments 1a, 1b, and 1c, we presented two short testimonies, one with incompatible alternatives and another without and credibility was lower with incompatible alternatives. In Experiment 2, we told participants that witnesses could report several alternatives and the effect was reduced. We explain the effect of incompatible alternatives on credibility from participants' inferences that a witness producing an answer with incompatible alternatives is not confident in their memory and a failure to fully appreciate the advantages of adding alternatives.     

Image-size disparity reduces difference detection in face matching

Face matching is the act of deciding whether two facial images depict the same person or different people. The real-world face-matching task of checking photo IDs typically occurs under conditions of image-size disparity: A small picture is compared with a life-size face. We examined the effect of image-size disparity on face-matching accuracy. In three experiments, subjects were presented with pairs of equivalently or disparately sized images that depicted the same person or different people. Subjects made same/different judgments and, in two experiments, also reported confidence. Difference detection was significantly poorer given disparate (versus equivalent) image size. Confidence was significantly higher when responses were correct versus incorrect. These findings held whether viewing and decision time was unlimited or limited. Our results raise the practical concern that image-size disparity may undermine difference detection in ID checking, while also indicating that people have some insight into the accuracy of their face-matching judgments.     

Demonstrating detail in investigative interviews—An examination of the DeMo technique

Attaining an uninterrupted free report (FR) is at the heart of best practice investigative interviewing guidance. However, witnesses/victims do not naturally provide detailed accounts. Techniques have been developed to counter-act this, such as a report everything (RE) instruction. This research examined the relative effectiveness of an addition to the RE component, a demonstration of the level of detail, using a behavioural exemplar, by describing an innocuous object; the Demonstration for More detail (DeMo) technique. Participants (N = 61) watched a mock crime video and asked to recall it using one of three instructions: (a) basic FR as the control, (b) RE instruction and (c) RE instruction plus DeMo technique. Participants who were given the DeMo technique recalled more details than both the control and RE groups. Accuracy rates were similarly high across all conditions. The implications of using the DeMo technique within an investigative interview are discussed.     

高校教师教学水平评价概化理论预算限制下最佳样本量估计

使用“高校教师教学水平评价问卷”,要求566名学生对19名教师进行评价,对收集到的数据作不同的概化设计,包括t×i、（s：t）×i、（s：t）×（i：v）和（s：t）×（i：v）×o四种设计。基于概化理论,结合预算限制,统一LaGrange乘法公式,自行推导不同设计的最佳样本量公式,联合估计的方差分量,计算出不同设计的最佳样本量。结果表明：（1）LaGrange乘法统一公式表现出较强的通用性,能够适用于预算限制下各种概化设计;（2）评价场合是影响高校教师教学水平评价一个相当重要的因素;（3）（s：t）×（i：v）×o是高校教师教学水平评价概化理论预算限制下最优概化设计;（4）高校教师教学水平评价概化理论预算限制下,每位教师最佳评价学生人数为20人,每个维度最佳评价题目数为3题。     

中文版无手机恐惧量表的修订

该研究以国外学者Caglar Yildirim和Ana-Paula Correia于2015年编制的Nomophobia量表为基础,修订出了适用于国内的中文版无手机恐惧量表。研究首先使用探索性结构方程模型对量表结构进行初探; 其次使用项目反应模型进行项目分析并根据其分析结果对项目进行修改和筛选,最终形成正式版量表; 最后对正式版量表其进行信效度检验,并再次对量表题目进行项目分析。最终量表共16道题目,包括害怕无法获得信息、害怕失去便利、害怕失去联系和害怕失去网络连接4个维度; 总量表的Cronbach α系数为0.931,四维度的α系数分别为:0.789,0.816,0.887和0.896。CFA验证性结果显示量表结构较好(χ2/df=3.91,RMSEA=0.067,TLI=0.941,CFI=0.952,SRMR=0.04); 使用手机成瘾倾向量表作为校标的结果显示二者之间相关为0.626,效度良好。最终量表项目区分度在[1.734,4.806]之间,四维度区分度均值为2.1765,2.72,3.2925和3.883,项目难度参数在[-1.830,4.806]之间。综上结果显示该研究编制的无手机恐惧量表各项指标均达到了心理测量学要求,可供后续研究使用     

The impact of navigation system display size and environmental illumination on young driver mental workload

Driver distraction is a major cause of road crashes and has a great influence on road safety. In vehicles, one of the common distracting sources is navigation systems (NSs). The navigation system (NS) can distract the driver due to following directions and reading the provided information through its display. These tasks take the driver’s attention from the primary task of driving and may cause poor driving performance, increasing the risk of crashes. In this paper, the effect of the environment (i.e., urban areas and rural areas), the navigation system display (NSD) size, environmental illumination, and gender on young drivers between the ages of 18 and 29 years mental workload was investigated using a simulated driving experiment. To evaluate each driving condition, the NASA-TLX (NASA Task Load Index) workload assessment tool, and a distraction evaluation element, were introduced and used to assess the overall workload, the workload subscales and the distraction by the NSD. The assessment showed a higher perceived overall workload for urban areas and night driving as compared to a rural areas and daytime driving. Moreover, the results showed a greater perceived distraction by the NSD in urban areas compared to driving in rural areas. The subjects also felt distracted when using the small NS compared to using the large NS. The study concluded that urban areas driving, and night driving creates higher perceived workload than rural areas and daytime driving. Furthermore, small NSD leads to more perceived distraction than large NSD while driving. The NSD designers may utilize this research findings to optimize NSD designs to improve driving safety, performance and comfort. Moreover, this study contributes to our understanding of the effect of the NSD size on driving workload and distraction.     

Interfering neighbours: the impact of novel word learning on the identification of visually similar words

We assessed the impact of visual similarity on written word identification by having participants learn new words (e.g. BANARA) that were neighbours of familiar words that previously had no neighbours (e.g. BANANA). Repeated exposure to these new words made it more difficult to semantically categorize the familiar words. There was some evidence of interference following an initial training phase, and clear evidence of interference the following day (without any additional training); interference was larger still following more training on the second day. These findings lend support to models of reading that include lexical competition as a key process.     

Young children's change in strategies of size comparison: Effects of task repetition and strategy evaluation

This study examined how young children change their strategies for size comparison. Twenty-two 5 and 6-year-old children were asked to compare the sizes of geometric figures and their strategies were observed once a week over three weeks. Half of the children were also asked to evaluate presented strategies for comparing geometric figures. It was found that over three weeks not only children who evaluated the strategies but also children who did not increased correct responses, the strategy of placing one figure on another, and the strategy of adjusting two figures by two dimensions. Although more children became aware of the effectiveness of those strategies, there was no relationship between the evaluation and use of strategies.     

Body image variability: the influence of body-composition information and neuroticism on young women's body dissatisfaction

The current studies consider the effect of body size, body composition feedback, and the moderating influence of neuroticism (N) on three measures of body dissatisfaction (BD) in young women. In Study One, normal-sized subjects who were given false feedback indicating that they were either fatter or leaner than average showed heightened BD compared to groups who received either accurate or no feedback about body size. There was no evidence of a moderating effect of N. In Study Two, thinner-than-average subjects who received accurate body-size feedback showed greater satisfaction than a control group receiving no information. For heavier than average subjects, feedback only increased BD for those low on N. Although these results show mixed support for N as a moderator, they are the first to show an effect of body composition information on BD.