Correlation and prediction in ordinal test theory

Based on the test theory model for ordinal measurements proposed by Schulman and Haden, the present paper considers correlations between tests, attenuation, regressions involving true and observed scores, and prediction of test reliability.The population correlation between tests is shown to be related to the expected sample correlation for samples of sizen ₁ andn ₂. Errors of estimation, measurement and prediction are found to be similar to their counterparts in interval test theory, while attenuation is identical to its counterpart. The bias in estimating population reliability from sample data is compared for Kendall's tau and Spearman's rho.The author wishes to thank the referees for their helpful comments on an earlier draft of this paper, and in particular, for the suggested alternative methods of establishing some of the presented results.     

Force and rate relations in responding during variable-interval reinforcement

Four rats responded on one-minute variable-interval schedules with several variations in peak-force of response required for food reinforcement. Measures of peak force and rate were taken for the responses, which were the downward exertions of force against a static force-transducing operandum. The analysis distinguished responses, a generic class of measured behavior, from criterion responses, an operationally specified subclass required for reinforcement. Absolute rate of response showed no systematic change, but the rate of responses meeting a newly required criterion of peak-force invariably increased through changes in the absolute rate of response, the relative-frequency distributions of peak force, or some combination of both. The relative frequency of responses meeting an elevated force criterion during variable-interval reinforcement exceeded that maintained with the same criterion with continuous reinforcement. The requirement of more effortful responding for reinforcement does not necessarily reduce response rate. Conformity of the behavior to the requirement for reinforcement is the salient effect.     

A time series analysis of the relation between motor skill acquisition and sleep in infancy

To systematically examine the relation between motor milestone onset and disruption of night sleep in infancy, three families kept microgenetic, prospective, daily checklist diaries of their infants’ motor behavior and sleep (197-313 observation days; 19,000 diary entries). Process control and interrupted time series analyses examined whether deviations from the moving average for night wakings and evening sleep duration were temporally linked to motor skill onset and tested for meaningful differences in individual sleep patterns before and after skill onset. Model assumptions defined skill onset as first day of occurrence or as mastery and moving average windows as 3, 7, or 14 days. Changes in infants’ sleep patterns were associated with changing expertise for motor milestones. The temporal relation varied depending on infant and sleep parameter. Intensive longitudinal data collection may increase our understanding of micro-events in infant development.     

The Role of Emotional Content and Perceptual Saliency During the Programming of Saccades Toward Faces

Previous studies have shown that the human visual system can detect a face and elicit a saccadic eye movement toward it very efficiently compared to other categories of visual stimuli. In the first experiment, we tested the influence of facial expressions on fast face detection using a saccadic choice task. Face-vehicle pairs were simultaneously presented and participants were asked to saccade toward the target (the face or the vehicle). We observed that saccades toward faces were initiated faster, and more often in the correct direction, than saccades toward vehicles, regardless of the facial expressions (happy, fearful, or neutral). We also observed that saccade endpoints on face images were lower when the face was happy and higher when it was neutral. In the second experiment, we explicitly tested the detection of facial expressions. We used a saccadic choice task with emotional-neutral pairs of faces and participants were asked to saccade toward the emotional (happy or fearful) or the neutral face. Participants were faster when they were asked to saccade toward the emotional face. They also made fewer errors, especially when the emotional face was happy. Using computational modeling, we showed that this happy face advantage can, at least partly, be explained by perceptual factors. Also, saccade endpoints were lower when the target was happy than when it was fearful. Overall, we suggest that there is no automatic prioritization of emotional faces, at least for saccades with short latencies, but that salient local face features can automatically attract attention.     

Solitude in context: On the role of culture,immigration, and acculturation in the experience of time to oneself

Older adults spend much time in solitude (without social interaction), putting them at risk of loneliness, especially if aging outside their country of origin (e.g., Chinese immigrants to Canada). Yet, cultural contextual factors that may reduce loneliness in moments of solitude are poorly understood. This study sought to disentangle the roles of culture, immigration, and acculturation in solitude-loneliness associations across two countries. Community-dwelling adults aged 51–85 in Vancouver (N = 58 East Asian, N = 37 European/North American) and in Hong Kong (N = 56 East/Southeast Asian) completed approximately 30 ecological momentary assessments over 10 days on their current affect and social situations. Participants in Vancouver spent more time in solitude, desired solitude more, and felt less lonely overall than those in Hong Kong. Multilevel models revealed that moments of solitude felt lonelier than moments spent in social interaction, but only for individuals less acculturated to their host culture or not concurrently desiring solitude. Associations held regardless of host culture, cultural heritage, or immigration status. Findings suggest that solitude need not feel lonely if it happens by choice and if individuals feel connected with their host culture, for both immigrant older adults and those aging in their birth country.     

Creativity and Self-esteem in Adolescence: A Study of Their Domain-Specific,Multivariate Relationships

Although empirical investigations on the Creative Self have historically started with a focus on self-esteem, the literature on its relationship with creative performance remains thin and inconsistent, with estimated relationships ranging from moderate and negative, to strongly positive. Discrepancies may be explained by the domain-specificity of both creativity and self-esteem that have been widely overlooked in this line of work. Therefore, this study explores the multivariate relationships between creativity in three domains (Music, Literary-Verbal, Graphic) and self-esteem in seven domains (e.g., Academic, Emotional) among 170 adolescents. Creative productions were scored by four raters, and latent consensus in each domain captured using a multi-informant latent-consensus model in SEM. This model was further extended in a structural model reveling that (a) creativity is mainly domain-specific, and (b) the contribution of domain-specific self-esteem on domain-specific creativity greatly varies according to both the domains of creativity and self-esteem. Up to 30% of the variance in creative performance was explained by “domain-relevant” self-esteem facets, and a moderate contribution of creative self-esteem across creativity domains. Results are discussed in light of several important methodological directions for this line of work, as well as its implications for creativity-based interventions designed to support positive self-esteem development in adolescence.     

Assessing depressive symptoms with the Borg centiMax Scale® in a Swedish sample of patients and students

The Borg centiMax Scale, is a psychophysically composed general intensity ratio scale, which could enable more precise inter- and intraindividual comparisons of the intensity of depressive symptoms. In the present study, the properties of the centiMax scale were examined in 38 patients with clinical depression and 109 students. Additionally, preliminary centiMax cut-off scores for mild, moderate and severe depression were estimated. The psychometric properties of the centiMax were found to be satisfactory regarding internal consistency, convergent, discriminative and predictive validity. Moreover, the centiMax was demonstrated to provide meaningful comparisons of symptom intensity, which makes it possible to evaluate the relative importance of individual symptoms in a profile and make more precise comparisons within and between individuals. With regard to intraindividual comparisons, patients rated , for example, the intensity of feeling “guilt” twice as strong as feelings of “being punished,” and the intensity of “loss of pleasure” almost three times as strong as “being punished.” With regard to interindividual comparisons, patients rated e.g., the intensity of “being punished” as 12 times stronger than controls, and the intensity of “worthlessness” about nine times stronger. In conclusion, the centiMax was shown to be reliable and valid for assessing depressive symptoms. The centiMax with level anchored ratio data, appears to be highly advantageous as it permits rather precise values of symptom intensity for intra- and interindividual comparisons that could be useful in the diagnostic process and in treatment planning.     

反馈间隔影响反馈加工：整合行为和电生理研究的视角

反馈在现实生活中扮演着重要角色, 通过反馈信息进行学习是人类获取知识和技能的有效手段。反馈间隔是指个体行为发生到反馈刺激呈现之间的时间间隔。在反馈加工过程中, 反馈间隔是一个重要影响因素, 但反馈间隔影响反馈加工的研究结果不一。对反馈间隔影响反馈加工的行为和电生理研究分别做了介绍, 对结果出现差异的原因进行了分析。未来的研究应考虑结合行为研究与电生理研究, 并统一反馈间隔的操作定义。     

Interval length and time-use by children with AD/HD: a comparison of four models

Predictions made by 4 competing models of time use by children with AD/HD were tested using a computerized version of the Matching Familiar Figures Test in 2 studies. In Study 1 teacher-identified AD/HD children (N = 10) and non-AD/HD controls (N = 10) completed the task under 3 different trial duration conditions (5, 10, and 15 s). In Study 2 the same task was completed by a group of children with a diagnosis of Hyperkinetic Disorder (N = 12) and controls (N = 12). In both studies AD/HD children performed poorly on trials of both 5- and 15-s duration but as well as controls on the 10-s trials. This quadratic function provided support for the State Regulation Deficit model of time use in AD/HD. The value of tailoring the temporal features of learning contexts to the conceptual style of AD/HD children is discussed.     

Timeout postponement without increased reinforcement frequency

Three experiments were conducted to examine pigeons' postponement of signaled extinction periods (timeouts) from a schedule of food reinforcement when such responding neither decreased overall timeout frequency nor increased the overall frequency of food reinforcement. A discrete-trial procedure was used in which a response during the first 5 s of a trial postponed an otherwise immediate 60-s timeout to a later part of that same trial but had no effect on whether the timeout occurred. During time-in periods, responses on a second key produced food according to a random-interval 20-s schedule. In Experiment 1, the response-timeout interval was 45 s under postponement conditions and 0 s under extinction conditions (responses were ineffective in postponing timeouts). The percentage of trials with a response was consistently high when the timeout-postponement contingency was in effect and decreased to low levels when it was discontinued under extinction conditions. In Experiment 2, the response-timeout interval was also 45 s but postponement responses increased the duration of the timeout, which varied from 60 s to 105 s across conditions. Postponement responding was maintained, generally at high levels, at all timeout durations, despite sometimes large decreases in the overall frequency of food reinforcement. In Experiment 3, timeout duration was held constant at 60 s while the response-timeout interval was varied systematically across conditions from 0 s to 45 s. Postponement responding was maintained under all conditions in which the response-timeout interval exceeded 0 s (the timeout interval in the absence of a response). In some conditions of Experiment 3, which were designed to control for the immediacy of food reinforcement and food-correlated (time-in) stimuli, responding postponed timeout but the timeout was delayed whether a response occurred or not. Responding was maintained for 2 of 3 subjects, suggesting that behavior was negatively reinforced by timeout postponement rather than positively reinforced by the more immediate presentation of food or food-correlated (time-in) stimuli.