Some properties of the correlation matrix of dichotomous guttman items

Both the elements and the eigenvalues of the Pearson correlation matrix of dichotomous Guttman-scalable items can be expressed as simple functions of the number of items if the score distribution is uniform and there is an equal number of items at each difficulty level. Even when these special conditions do not hold, the correlations can often be expressed in a simple form by assuming a particular score distribution.The author thanks Neil Dorans, Bob Mislevy, Ledyard R Tucker, and Howard Wainer for their comments.     

On the distinction between open and closed economies.

Open and closed economies have been assumed to produce opposite relations between responding and the programmed density of reward (the amount of reward divided by its cost). Experimental procedures that are treated as open economies typically dissociate responding and total reward by providing supplemental income outside the experimental session; procedures construed as closed economies do not. In an open economy responding is assumed to be directly related to reward density, whereas in a closed economy responding is assumed to be inversely related to reward density. In contrast to this predicted correlation between response-reward relations and type of economy, behavior regulation theory predicts both direct and inverse relations in both open and closed economies. Specifically, responding should be a bitonic function of reward density regardless of the type of economy and is dependent only on the ratio of the schedule terms rather than on their absolute size. These predictions were tested by four experiments in which pigeons' key pecking produced food on fixed-ratio and variable-interval schedules over a range of reward magnitudes and under several open- and closed-economy procedures. The results better supported the behavior regulation view by showing a general bitonic function between key pecking and food density in all conditions. In most cases, the absolute size of the schedule requirement and the magnitude of reward had no effect; equal ratios of these terms produced approximately equal responding.     

Effects of a Motivational Interviewing–Based Counseling Program on Classroom Behavior of Children in a Disciplinary Alternative Education Program

A multiple single‐case research design was used to explore changes in teacher‐reported behaviors of 15 children who completed a motivational interviewing–based counseling program in a disciplinary alternative education school. Findings indicated that 7 children made a moderate to large improvement in their classroom behaviors while participating in the program. Students’ self‐motivational statements and self‐reported readiness to change were related to actual teacher‐rated behavioral changes. Implications for future research and counseling practice were discussed.     

The role of the oath in credibility assessment

Based on the adaptive lie detector theory, this study is an examination of whether taking an oath, as context‐general information, increases the credibility of a suspect. The consistency of the testimonies of 6 eyewitnesses was manipulated so that it could be used as individuating information. There were 2 sets of testimonies: one that was consistent and one that was inconsistent. The results supported the adaptive lie detector theory. The participants judged those persons who took an oath to be more credible than those who did not, but this only happened in situations where the testimonies of the eyewitnesses were inconsistent. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings and future directions are then discussed.     

超越效价和唤醒—— 情绪的动机维度模型述评

情绪的动机维度模型认为, 高动机强度的情绪窄化(narrow)认知加工而低动机强度的情绪扩展(broaden)认知加工。该理论超越了先前对效价和唤醒两大情绪维度的二分法, 证明了情绪的动机维度对注意、记忆等认知加工产生扩展和窄化效应, 深化了积极情绪的扩展-建设理论, 有助于深入理解情绪与认知的交互作用。未来研究应建立动机维度的操作性定义, 并进一步发展出诱发不同动机维度情绪的标准化刺激材料或任务。     

Brain dynamics of visual anticipation during spatial occlusion tasks in expert tennis players

Stimulus identification and action outcome understanding for a rapid and accurate response selection, play a fundamental role in racquet sports. Here, we investigated the neurodynamics of visual anticipation in tennis manipulating the postural and kinematic information associated with the body of opponents by means of a spatial occlusion protocol. Event Related Potentials (ERPs) were evaluated in two groups of professional tennis players (N = 37) with different levels of expertise, while they observed pictures of opponents and predicted the landing position as fast and accurately as possible. The observed action was manipulated by deleting different body districts of the opponent (legs, ball, racket and arm, trunk). Full body image (no occlusion) was used as control condition. The worst accuracy and the slowest response time were observed in the occlusion of trunk and ball. The former was associated with a reduced amplitude of the ERP components likely linked to body processing (the N1 in the right hemisphere) and visual-motor integration awareness (the pP1), as well as with an increase of the late frontal negativity (the pN2), possibly reflecting an effort by the insula to recover and/or complete the most correct sensory-motor representation. In both occlusions, a decrease in the pP2 may reflect an impairment of decisional processes upon action execution following sensory evidence accumulation. Enhanced amplitude of the P3 and the pN2 components were found in more experienced players, suggesting a greater allocation of resources in the process connecting sensory encoding and response execution, and sensory-motor representation.     

From Environmental Factors to Outcomes: A Test of an Integrated Motivational Sequence

Research based on self-determination theory (SDT; E. L. Deci & R. M. Ryan, 1985, 2000) has shown that motivation is influenced by the social environment and also leads to outcomes. Based on such research, R. J. Vallerand (1997) has posited the existence at different levels of generality of an integrated motivational sequence where environmental factors (e.g., success/failure) influence perceptions of competence, autonomy, and relatedness (psychological mediators), which in turn determine to what extent one exhibits self-determined motivation. Motivation then leads to outcomes. The present study tested the validity of this integrated sequence at the situational level using an experimental design. Participants (N = 359) were randomly assigned to conditions of success or failure on a leisure task and elements of the integrated sequence were assessed. Structural equation modeling analyses provided support for the postulated motivational sequence. Results are discussed in light of SDT.This research was supported by grants and fellowships from the Fonds pour la formation de chercheurs et laide à la recherche (FCAR) and the Social Sciences Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) to Robert J. Vallerand. We would like to thank Sandrine Passelaigue for her help in collecting the data.     

目标理论述评

目标理论是近年来成就动机研究领域的一个热点 ,学者们基于对目标概念、目标功能的不同理解 ,提出了各种目标理论。本文着重介绍了目标设置理论、动机系统理论和成就目标理论 ,剖析了不同学者对目标结构的性质、功能及其作用机制的理论观点。     

Retrieving the correlation matrix from a truncated PCA solution: The inverse principal component problem

Whenr Principal Components are available fork variables, the correlation matrix is approximated in the least squares sense by the loading matrix times its transpose. The approximation is generally not perfect unlessr =k. In the present paper it is shown that, whenr is at or above the Ledermann bound,r principal components are enough to perfectly reconstruct the correlation matrix, albeit in a way more involved than taking the loading matrix times its transpose. In certain cases just below the Ledermann bound, recovery of the correlation matrix is still possible when the set of all eigenvalues of the correlation matrix is available as additional information.     

Contrast and undermatching with regular or irregular alternation of components

Behavioral contrast and response-ratio sensitivity to reinforcement were compared in multiple schedules in which components alternated strictly or according to a pseudorandom sequence. Average component durations in the two regimes were always 60 s, and order of presentation of component alternation regimes was counterbalanced across subjects. In Part 1, the reinforcer rate in one component was reduced from 60 per hour to zero, while that in the other component was unchanged. Positive behavioral contrast occurred in the constant component in that response rates increased, but neither the reliability nor the magnitude of contrast was affected by the manner in which components alternated. Part 2 was similar, except that a number of different reinforcer rates were used in the varied component. Neither contrast nor sensitivity of response ratios to changes in reinforcer ratios depended on the regime of component alternation. Thus, the predictability in time of future reinforcement conditions, which is a feature of regular multiple scheduling, does not appear to be a determinant of multiple-schedule performance.