Continuous and discrete latent structure models for item response data

Relations are examined between latent trait and latent class models for item response data. Conditions are given for the two-latent class and two-parameter normal ogive models to agree, and relations between their item parameters are presented. Generalizationss are then made to continuous models with more than one latent trait and discrete models with more than two latent classes, and methods are presented for relating latent class models to factor models for dichotomized variables. Results are illustrated using data from the Law School Admission Test, previously analyzed by several authors.     

Peer review: Selecting the best science

The major challenge facing today’s biomedical researchers is the increasing competition for available funds. The competitive review process, through which the National Institutes of Health (NIH) awards grants, is built upon review by a committee of expert scientists. The NIH is firmly committed to ensuring that its peer review system is fair and objective. Wendy Baldwin, Ph.D., is Deputy Director for Extramural Research, National Institutes of Health. This paper is based on a presentation at a workshop, “Advances in Peer Review Research”, American Association for the Advancement of Science Meeting, Baltimore, MD, February 9, 1996.     

Using a dialectical scientific brief in peer review

This paper presents a framework that editors, peer reviewers, and authors can use to identify and resolve efficiently disputes that arise during peer review in scientific journals. The framework is called a scientific dialectical brief. In this framework, differences among authors and reviewers are formatted into specific assertions and the support each party provides for its position. A literature review suggests that scientists use five main types of support; empirical data, reasoning, speculation, feelings, and status. It is suggested that the scientific dialectical brief format can streamline the review process by facilitating rapid differentiation between stronger and weaker support, so that valuable time can be focused on the better-substantiated claims. The paper concludes with some suggestions for implementation. The author researches, lectures and publishes in the area of physical and social aspects of environmental quality. He is also a practicing architect. This paper is based on a presentation at a workshop, “Advances in Peer Review Research”, American Association for the Advancement of Science Meeting, Baltimore, MD, February 9, 1996.     

A selective and critical review of neuropsychological deficits and the frontal lobes

Presumptions about the functions of the frontal lobes, and the sensitivity and specificity of certain tests to measure frontal lobe functions, are having a substantial influence on both clinical and research conclusions. In this paper the authors examine the details of the studies that have contributed to these presumptions, and find that the evidence to support these conclusions is weak. A detailed evaluation of the evidence relating to the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test and the Thurstone Word Fluency Test is also presented. Finally, the development of the belief that frontal lobe functions can be specifically measured is reviewed. The authors of this paper conclude that the bewildering array of deficits attributed to frontal lesions still seems to prevail.     

欧洲大陆法律心理学述评

对欧洲大陆国家的法律心理学发展状况作了述评。全文包括３部分：对相关概念（犯罪心理学、审判心理学、法律心理学、司法心理学）的辨析;欧洲大陆国家法律心理学的现状;简要评价。     

Psychophysiological theories on sympathetic nervous system reactivity in the development of essential hypertension

Psychophysiological theories on the development of essential hypertension are reviewed and evaluated. Two interconnected theories that relate behavior to essential hypertension and account for individual differences in susceptibility to disease are the "hyperreactivity" theory and "the symptom specificity" theory. The "hyperreactivity" theory identifies individual differences in autonomic nervous system reactivity as the pathophysiological mechanism and the "symptom specificity" theory suggests that inflexible, stereotypical responding increases the risk to develop hypertension. Based on a literature review, these theories are examined. There exist both case/control and prospective studies on autonomic nervous system reactivity and the development of hypertension. It is concluded that a neurogenically mediated hyperreactivity to stress is a precursor and not an effect of hypertension. Tasks that call for active but not passive coping efforts are more efficient elicitors of reactivity differences between those at high and low risk to develop hypertension in case/control studies. In prospective studies, active tasks may also have a predictive advantage over passive with respect to blood pressure development. In the early phase of hypertension, an increased cardiovascular reactivity is accompanied by increased neuroendocrine activation. In the later phase, heightened reactivity is confined to the cardiovascular system. This does not prove but is consistent with the notion that transient episodes of increased cardiac output translate into essential hypertension by causing vascular hypertrophy. Case/control studies suggest that an increased "symptom specificity", with stereotypical responding across multiple stressors, is independent of cardiovascular reactivity and a precursor of hypertension. The literature lacks prospective studies on the clinical relevance of stereotypical responding. It is suggested that the presence of both hyperreactivity and symptom specificity in a single individual increases the risk to develop essential hypertension.     

The life and times of PSI

This paper describes the essential features of the personalized system of instruction (PSI). Results from outcome research examining the effectiveness of PSI-based courses relative to traditional methods provide unequivocal support for the superiority of PSI. Parametric studies, or component analyses, show that the mastery requirement, immediate performance feedback, and review units are the key features underlying high quality student performances in PSI courses. The use of student proctors as peer-tutors, optional lectures, and selfpacing do not, in and of themselves, appear to be vital to student success in PSI courses. Despite its superiority, PSI has not supplanted traditional methods as the dominant pedagogical system in higher education. Difficulties inherent in overcoming the inertia of the lecture within our established instructional system, the implications of PSI for that system, and the Zeitgeist that permeates educational reform are the major obstacles to widespread adoption of PSI.