认知操作和认知方式与生态文化因素的关系

采用认识测试、查阅人类学资料、现场调查和谈话等多种方法探讨了我国不同生产方式、不同地区和不同民族４６０名成人的分析综合的认知操作和认知方式及其与生态文化因素的关系．认知测试分数的８×２×３的ＡＮＯＶＡ协方差分析表明,在分析操作水平上存在着显著的组间差异、性别差异、年龄差异和协变量（现代化影响）的效应;在综合操作上,存在着显著的组间差异、年龄差异和协变量效应;在认知方式上,存在着显著的组间差异和协变量效应．Ｓｔｅ－ｐｗｉｓｅ方法的多重回归分析表明,生态环境艰难程度、生产方式所决定的食物贮存程度、社会结构的紧密性、社会化的倾向性和现代化影响是预测被试认知操作和认知方式的有效因素．研究结果与“中国人认知操作和认知方式与生态文化关系”的理论模式所提出的预测基本一致,即研究结果支持了该理论模式．     

Gender and projective imagination of threat in achievement and affiliation situations

In a study by Pollak and Gilligan (1982) where fantasies of violence were seen as indicative of perception of danger, women responded with more violent imagery to situations of achievement, whereas men responded with more violent imagery to affiliation situations. This indicates gender differences in motivational needs, which corresponds to modern gender development theories (e.g., Chodorow, 1978). In the present studies, the hypotheses that women fear achievement situations whereas men fear situations of affiliation were tested on Swedish samples totaling 44 men and 47 women. In Study 1, the hypothesis that violent imagery correlates with affiliation themes in the stories written by men was partly supported, whereas the hypothesis that violent imagery would be highly correlated with achievement themes in the stories written by women was not confirmed. In Study 2, no support was obtained for the hypotheses. In sum, contrary to previous studies, no substantial support was obtained for the hypothesis that women connect violent imagery with achievement situations, whereas some evidence was found for the hypothesis that men construe danger as arising from affiliation situations. The greater incidence of violence in men’s fantasy reported in previous studies was not supported in either of the two studies. The results are discussed in the context of cross-cultural differences.     

Flexible Computerized Adaptive Tests to Detect Misconceptions and Estimate Ability Simultaneously

The Scaling Individuals and Classifying Misconceptions (SICM) model is an advanced psychometric model that can provide feedback to examinees’ misconceptions and a general ability simultaneously. These two types of feedback are represented by a discrete and a continuous latent variable, respectively, in the SICM model. The complex structure of the SICM model brings difficulties in estimating both misconception profile and ability efficiently in a linear test. To overcome this challenge, this study proposes a flexible computerized adaptive test (FCAT) design as a new test delivery method to increase test efficiency by administering an individualized test to examinees. We propose three item selection methods and two transition criteria to determine adaptive steps based on the needs of estimating one or two latent variables. Through two simulation studies, we demonstrate how to select an appropriate item selection method for an adaptive step and what transition criterion should be used between two adaptive steps. Results reveal the combination of the item selection method and the transition criterion could improve the estimation accuracy of a specific latent variable to a different extent and thus provide further guidance in designing an FCAT.     

Graph Theory Approach to Detect Examinees Involved in Test Collusion

Test collusion (TC) is sharing of test materials or answers to test questions before or during the test (important special case of TC is item preknowledge). Because of potentially large advantages for examinees involved, TC poses a serious threat to the validity of score interpretations. The proposed approach applies graph theory methodology to response similarity analyses for identifying groups of examinees involved in TC without using any knowledge about parts of test that were affected by TC. The approach supports different response similarity indices (specific to a particular type of TC) and different types of groups (connected components, cliques, or near-cliques). A comparison with an up-to-date method using real and simulated data is presented. Possible extensions and practical recommendations are given.     

A cross-cultural examination of implicit attitudes toward shyness in Canada and China

The goal of this research was to explore implicit and explicit attitudes about shyness in Canada and Mainland China. In Study 1, Canadian undergraduate students (N = 650) completed a newly developed online version of the Implicit Association Test (IAT) focused on shyness, as well as questionnaires about their own shyness and explicit beliefs about shyness. Results suggested that Canadian university students automatically associated shyness with negative words. In Study 2, Chinese undergraduate students (N = 290) completed a newly developed Mandarin Chinese online version of the IAT related to shyness, as well as questionnaires of their own shyness explicit beliefs about shyness. Results indicated that Chinese students also automatically associated shyness with negative words, but differences were observed in the pattern of association with participants’ own shyness. Results are discussed in terms of the implications of attitudes toward shyness in both cultures.     

An item response tree model with not-all-distinct end nodes for non-response modelling

The non-response model in Knott et al. (1991, Statistician, 40, 217) can be represented as a tree model with one branch for response/non-response and another branch for correct/incorrect response, and each branch probability is characterized by an item response theory model. In the model, it is assumed that there is only one source of non-responses. However, in questionnaires or educational tests, non-responses might come from different sources, such as test speededness, inability to answer, lack of motivation, and sensitive questions. To better accommodate such more realistic underlying mechanisms, we propose a a tree model with four end nodes, not all distinct, for non-response modelling. The Laplace-approximated maximum likelihood estimation for the proposed model is suggested. The validation of the proposed estimation procedure and the advantage of the proposed model over traditional methods are demonstrated in simulations. For illustration, the methodologies are applied to data from the 2012 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). The analysis shows that the proposed tree model has a better fit to PISA data than other existing models, providing a useful tool to distinguish the sources of non-responses.     

儿童认知发展水平诊断工具IPDT的动态化编制及其在低社会经济地位儿童中的应用

“皮亚杰认知发展量表” (IPDT)中的守恒与关系领域经动态化改编后已被证实适用于小学低年级儿童的潜能评估。在此基础上, 本研究旨在构建适用于小学高年级儿童的IPDT表征、分类、规律领域的动态测验; 并运用所构建的IPDT动态测验对低社会经济地位(SES)儿童进行认知潜能评估; 而后经过对低SES儿童的推理认知干预, 进一步考查认知干预在低SES不同潜能儿童的认知能力和数学成就中的促进作用。结果发现：(1)改编的IPDT表征、分类、规律领域的动态测验包含“前测—干预—迁移—后测”4个阶段, 所构建的逐级提示干预方案合理适切, 可以有效区分不同认知潜能水平的小学高年级儿童, 特别是弱势儿童; (2)推理认知干预对由IPDT动态测验细致区分出的不同潜能水平的低SES儿童作用不同, 尽管他们在认知能力与数学成就上均有进步, 但低SES高潜能儿童比低SES低潜能儿童从干预中获益更多。     

Differential cognitive substrates of verbal episodic memory performance in semantic variant primary progressive aphasia and Alzheimer’s disease

Performance on neuropsychological measures of verbal memory requires cognitive abilities beyond memory. We examined the contribution of semantic knowledge in verbal episodic memory for semantic variant primary progressive aphasia (svPPA) or Alzheimer’s disease (AD). 415 AD and 68 svPPA participants completed measures of episodic memory (visual and verbal) and semantic knowledge. A double dissociation existed visual recall predicted verbal recognition in AD, whereas semantic knowledge contributed to verbal recognition in svPPA.     

Déclaration de l’ITC sur l’utilisation des tests et autres instruments de mesure à des fins de recherche scientifique

This document is intended to promote the belief that test use in research should abide by legal and ethical principles as well as best practice standards and that tests should be used by competent professionals who focus attention on the rights of test-takers and other parties involved in the testing process. Issues discussed in this document highlight these considerations.     

Robustness of Parameter Estimation to Assumptions of Normality in the Multidimensional Graded Response Model

A central assumption that is implicit in estimating item parameters in item response theory (IRT) models is the normality of the latent trait distribution, whereas a similar assumption made in categorical confirmatory factor analysis (CCFA) models is the multivariate normality of the latent response variables. Violation of the normality assumption can lead to biased parameter estimates. Although previous studies have focused primarily on unidimensional IRT models, this study extended the literature by considering a multidimensional IRT model for polytomous responses, namely the multidimensional graded response model. Moreover, this study is one of few studies that specifically compared the performance of full-information maximum likelihood (FIML) estimation versus robust weighted least squares (WLS) estimation when the normality assumption is violated. The research also manipulated the number of nonnormal latent trait dimensions. Results showed that FIML consistently outperformed WLS when there were one or multiple skewed latent trait distributions. More interestingly, the bias of the discrimination parameters was non-ignorable only when the corresponding factor was skewed. Having other skewed factors did not further exacerbate the bias, whereas biases of boundary parameters increased as more nonnormal factors were added. The item parameter standard errors recovered well with both estimation algorithms regardless of the number of nonnormal dimensions.