Investigating the Impact of Noneffortful Responses on Individual-Level Scores: Can the Effort-Moderated IRT Model Serve as a Solution?

Suboptimal effort is a major threat to valid score-based inferences. While the effects of such behavior have been frequently examined in the context of mean group comparisons, minimal research has considered its effects on individual score use (e.g., identifying students for remediation). Focusing on the latter context, this study addressed two related questions via simulation and applied analyses. First, we investigated how much including noneffortful responses in scoring using a three-parameter logistic (3PL) model affects person parameter recovery and classification accuracy for noneffortful responders. Second, we explored whether improvements in these individual-level inferences were observed when employing the Effort Moderated IRT (EM-IRT) model under conditions in which its assumptions were met and violated. Results demonstrated that including 10% noneffortful responses in scoring led to average bias in ability estimates and misclassification rates by as much as 0.15 SDs and 7%, respectively. These results were mitigated when employing the EM-IRT model, particularly when model assumptions were met. However, once model assumptions were violated, the EM-IRT model’s performance deteriorated, though still outperforming the 3PL model. Thus, findings from this study show that (a) including noneffortful responses when using individual scores can lead to potential unfounded inferences and potential score misuse, and (b) the negative impact that noneffortful responding has on person ability estimates and classification accuracy can be mitigated by employing the EM-IRT model, particularly when its assumptions are met.     

No decision‐maker is an Island: integrating expert advice with information acquisition

The present research examined the social context of information acquisition. The main purpose was to examine how decision‐makers' information acquisition processes changed when they were provided access to expert advice. Results indicated that all decision‐makers opted to acquire advice; however, they typically did so only after completing over 75% of their own information search. Decision‐makers agreed more with the advice as task complexity increased, but, in general, searched information in two stages—i.e., a pre‐advice “hypothesis generation” stage and a post‐advice “hypothesis testing” stage. To behave in an adaptive manner, decision‐makers could have used expert advice either to increase their decision accuracy or to reduce their effort expenditure (or both); they chose the former. Implications and further extensions are discussed. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

False Remembering in the Aged

ABSTRACT— Researchers studying human memory have increasingly focused on memory accuracy in aging populations. In this article we briefly review the literature on memory accuracy in healthy older adults. The prevailing evidence indicates that, compared to younger adults, older adults exhibit both diminished memory accuracy and greater susceptibility to misinformation. In addition, older adults demonstrate high levels of confidence in their false memories. We suggest an explanatory framework for the high level of false memories observed in older adults, a framework based on the theory that consciously controlled uses of memory decline with age, making older adults more susceptible to false memories that rely on automatic processes. We also point to future research that may remedy such deficits in accuracy.     

GENERALIZATION OF STUDENT QUESTION ASKING FROM SPECIAL CLASS TO REGULAR CLASS SETTINGS

This study investigated the use of videotaped exemplars taken from a regular education mathematics class to teach generalization of question asking. Three mildly handicapped fourth-grade students who asked few questions in the regular education class served as subjects. Measures of the frequency of question asking and percentage of accuracy on assignments were obtained in the regular class. Treatment included showing the videotapes to the subjects, structuring opportunities for rehearsing question asking, and providing feedback. The results showed training procedures implemented in the learning resource room were effective in increasing the level of participants' question asking and in improving their scores on assignments in the regular mathematics class.     

Accuracy versus speed in the generalized effort of learning-disabled children

Reinforcement of effortful performance in a given academic task has been found to increase the subsequent performance of other academic tasks. The learned-effort hypothesis assumes that individuals learn which dimensions of task performance are correlated with reinforcement of high effort, and generalize across tasks. Therefore, reinforcement of increased effort in a given dimension of one task should result in greater generalized effort in the same dimension of transfer performance than in another dimension. In accord with this view, preadolescent learning-disabled students who received points for high reading accuracy subsequently produced more accurate drawings and stories than did students whose points had been based upon high reading speed or upon mere completion of the reading task. Students who received points for high reading speed subsequently constructed stories more quickly than did children whose points had been based upon high reading accuracy or upon reading-task completion. Consistent with the more explicit and frequent feedback for accuracy than for speed in most academic tasks, generalized accuracy was much more durable than generalized speed.     

Fixed-interval matching-to-sample: intermatching time and intermatching error runs

Four pigeons were trained on a matching-to-sample task in which reinforcers followed either the first matching response (fixed interval) or the fifth matching response (tandem fixed-interval fixed-ratio) that occurred 80 seconds or longer after the last reinforcement. Relative frequency distributions of the matching-to-sample responses that concluded intermatching times and runs of mismatches (intermatching error runs) were computed for the final matching responses directly followed by grain access and also for the three matching responses immediately preceding the final match. Comparison of these two distributions showed that the fixed-interval schedule arranged for the preferential reinforcement of matches concluding relatively extended intermatching times and runs of mismatches. Differences in matching accuracy and rate during the fixed interval, compared to the tandem fixed-interval fixed-ratio, suggested that reinforcers following matches concluding various intermatching times and runs of mismatches influenced the rate and accuracy of the last few matches before grain access, but did not control rate and accuracy throughout the entire fixed-interval period.     

儿童对空间位置协变的外显学习和内隐学习的比较研究

内隐学习是无意识地获得关于刺激环境的复杂知识的过程,是不同于外显学习模式的另一种学习模式。空间位置协变是一种复杂的关系,能被人们加工、储存、运用却不被意识。本研究采用反应时和预估正确率两个指标,通过实验比较了儿童对空间位置协变的外显学习和内隐学习的效果。结果表明,儿童在面临像空间位置协变这样的复杂任务时有内隐学习模式出现,并且内隐学习的效果优于外显学习。     

小学高年级学生学习判断的发展

以小学高年级学生为被试,采用联结学习任务,考察该年龄阶段学生的学习判断能力的发展和年龄特点,同时分析学习判断能力出现年龄差异的原因,以及该年龄阶段学生的学习判断绝对准确性的延迟学习判断效应。实验结果表明:小学高年级学生即时逐项学习判断绝对准确性存在年龄差异,其发展趋势是随年龄增长而提高的,存在年龄差异的原因是判断依据的线索不同。小学高年级学生的逐项学习判断绝对准确性出现延迟学习判断效应。     

计算机人格适应性测验的初始值估计研究

一般来说,对于计算机人格适应性测验（CAPT）,由于对被试每种人格特质的施测项目数比较少,初始值估计方法的好坏直接影响着被试人格特质水平估计的准确性。该研究提出利用被试特质水平与其人格特质自我评定信息的回归模型来获取被试人格特质水平的初始值。模拟数据的研究结果表明：新方法获得的初始值确实能够更准确的估计被试的特质水平。     

共享心智模型：分布、层次与准确性初探

共享心智模型理论在理论和应用上已经有20多年的历史了,但它尚留有若干基本问题。共享应当包括多种形式,可从同异质和依赖性的关系上进行分析和测量;共享应是多层次多内容的,包括具体的底层构架和上层的抽象构架,以及指向共享内容的态度和信念;在共享心智的准确性和相似性上,唯一的专家心智模型可能不存在,且共享心智模型的演变发展过程较向专家靠近而言更有意义。共享不是团队过程的简单输出,共享心智模型可能包含一套团队加工过程