Individual differences in patterns of developmental opportunity and constraint during COVID-19: Implications for longitudinal well-being

Individual differences in sociodemographic characteristics and trait-like perceptions of opportunities and constraints may shape how people respond to adversities such as the COVID-19 pandemic. However, little is known about how these factors combine to form multifaceted profiles of developmental opportunity and constraint or the implications of such profiles for longitudinal well-being following major life stressors. Using 1-year data from a national sample of U.S. adults (n = 293), we identified profiles based on relevant sociodemographic characteristics (age, socioeconomic status, chronic conditions, functional status) and trait-like perceptions of opportunity and constraints (perceived mastery, perceived constraints). Results of latent profile analyses showed that three common profiles emerged at pandemic onset (veridical opportunity, perceived constraints, perceived opportunity). Subsequent latent growth models showed that, despite reporting more sociodemographic constraints, the perceived opportunity profile exhibited better 1-year emotional well-being (positive and negative affect) during the pandemic than the perceived constraints profile. Findings advance the literature by identifying multifaceted individual differences in profiles of developmental opportunity and constraint and by showing these profiles have consequences for longitudinal well-being following the pandemic onset.     

Induction of Relational Schemas: Common Processes in Reasoning and Complex Learning

Five experiments were performed to test whether participants induced a coherent representation of the structure of a task, called a relational schema, from specific instances. Properties of a relational schema include: An explicit symbol for a relation, a binding that preserves the truth of a relation, potential for higher-order relations, omnidirectional access, potential for transfer between isomorphs, and ability to predict unseen items in isomorphic problems. However relational schemas are not necessarily coded in abstract form. Predictions from relational schema theory were contrasted with predictions from configural learning and other nonstructural theories in five experiments in which participants were taught a structure comprised of a set of initial-state,operator → end-state instances. The initial-state,operator pairs were presented and participants had to predict the correct end-state. Induction of a relational schema was achieved efficiently by adult participants as indicated by ability to predict items of a new isomorphic problem. The relational schemas induced showed the omnidirectional access property, there was efficient transfer to isomorphs, and structural coherence had a powerful effect on learning. The “learning to learn” effect traditionally associated with the learning set literature was observed, and the long-standing enigma of learning set acquisition is explained by a model composed of relational schema induction and structure mapping. Performance was better after reversal of operators than after shift to an alternate structure, even though the latter entailed more overlap with previously learned tasks in terms of the number of configural associations that were preserved. An explanation for the reversal shift phenomenon in terms of induction and mapping of a relational schema is proposed. The five experiments provided evidence supporting predictions from relational schema theory, and no evidence was found for configural or nonstructural learning theories.     

The User Interface in Computer-based Selection and Assessment: Applied and Theoretical Problematics of an Evolving Technology

Although its central role in human-computer interaction is recognized by industry, the user interface (UI) has received scant attention in the computer-based testing (CBT) literature. Industrial and European Community ergonomic directives have been established regarding UI design issues, however, which may significantly impact upon CBT. Accordingly, the UI’s CBT role is discussed regarding central CBT/UI constructs and dynamics. On the basis of one CBT UI design issue (here: paging) it is shown that many ergonomic regulatory definitional traps exist for the unwary CBT practitioner and UI designer. Newer UI developments in windowing technology and computer-based UI ergonomic regulation conformance analysis are described. Finally, open issues regarding CBT UI problematics are discussed, showing that, rather than continuing to lead a shadowed existence, the UI is deserving of considerably increased research effort regarding its CBT impact.     

Covariance structure analysis of ordinal ipsative data

Data are ipsative if they are subject to a constant-sum constraint for each individual. In the present study, ordinal ipsative data (OID) are defined as the ordinal rankings across a vector of variables. It is assumed that OID are the manifestations of their underlying nonipsative vector y, which are difficult to observe directly. A two-stage estimation procedure is suggested for the analysis of structural equation models with OID. In the first stage, the partition maximum likelihood (PML) method and the generalized least squares (GLS) method are proposed for estimating the means and the covariance matrix of A_cy, where A_c is a known contrast matrix. Based on the joint asymptotic distribution of the first stage estimator and an appropriate weight matrix, the generalized least squares method is used to estimate the structural parameters in the second stage. A goodness-of-fit statistic is given for testing the hypothesized covariance structure. Simulation results show that the proposed method works properly when a sufficiently large sample is available.This research was supported by National Institute on Drug Abuse Grants DA01070 and DA10017. The authors are indebted to Dr. Lee Cooper, Dr. Eric Holman, Dr. Thomas Wickens for their valuable suggestions on this study, and Dr. Fanny Cheung for allowing us to use her CPAI data set in this article. The authors would also like to acknowledge the helpful comments from the editor and the two anonymous reviewers.     

Psychometric properties of a Danish translation of the Rutter Scale B in a community sample of seven-year-old children

The psychometric properties of a Danish translation of the Rutter Scale B for completion by teachers were examined in a nonreferred sample of 686 7-year-old children. The Danish translation of the Rutter scale had a similar factor structure to the original, producing a three-factor structure corresponding to the subscales. The agreement between the questionnaire and direct observations of the children ten months earlier was fair ( K =0.42). The findings suggest that the translated scale could serve as a rapid and useful screening instrument in clinical and in research settings.     

An estimating equations approach for the LISCOMP model

Maximum likelihood estimation is computationally infeasible for latent variable models involving multivariate categorical responses, in particular for the LISCOMP model. A three-stage generalized least squares approach introduced by Muthén (1983, 1984) can experience problems of instability, bias, non-convergence, and non-positive definiteness of weight matrices in situations of low prevalence, small sample size and large numbers of observed indicator variables. We propose a quadratic estimating equations approach that only requires specification of the first two moments. By performing simultaneous estimation of parameters, this method does not encounter the problems mentioned above and experiences gains in efficiency. Methods are compared through a numerical study and an application to a study of life-events and neurotic illness.The authors would like to thank Bengt Muthén for many helpful discussions and Scott Henderson for generously providing the Canberra data set. This work was supported in part by grant number GM49909 of the National Institutes of Health.     

Theoretische Lücken der Cognitive Science

Theoretical gaps of the cognitive science. First of all the gap-thesis is based on a criticism 1. of the computer-orientated cognitive science (it confuses information with the information carrier), 2. of connectivism (its linguistic borrowing from the neurobiology is not appropriate), 3. of Varelas production model (the elimination of the function of representation results in the loss of the cognitive ability). From the context of meaning and time, then the author sketches a cognitive theoretical approach, in which thinking as a (symbolic and/or subsymbolic) representation of meaning is introduced, which develops in a three-digit relation between world, language and substrate on the basis of isomorphy of time. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

认知速度在智力结构中重要性的发展研究

结合认知实验方法和心理测量学方法,探讨认知速度在智力结构中的重要性随着年龄增长而发生变化的趋势。研究结果表明,认知速度的确是智力结构中的重要因素,但并不是唯一起决定作用的因素;并且,随着年龄的增长,认知速度在智力结构中的重要性趋向于降低,而智力的元成份在智力结构中的重要性则趋向于提高。     

项目反应模型的应用问题研究

以高等学校入学考试的考生实测数据,研究项目反应理论中数学模型的应用、数学模型的拟合性统计检验,并研究了模型与样本容量、模型参数估计与样本容量的关系,得到一些有意义的结论。