Stopping rules for multi-category computerized classification testing

Computerized classification testing (CCT) aims to classify persons into one of two or more possible categories to make decisions such as mastery/non-mastery or meet most/meet all/exceed. A defining feature of CCT is its stopping criterion: the test terminates when there is enough confidence to make a decision. There is abundant research on CCT with a single cut-off, and two common stopping criteria are the sequential probability ratio test (SPRT) statistic and the generalized likelihood ratio statistic (GLR). However, there is a relative scarcity of research extending the SPRT to the multi-hypothesis case for when there is more than one cut-off. In this paper, we propose a new multi-category GLR (mGLR) statistic as well as a stochastically curtailed version of the CCT with three or more categories. A simulation study was conducted to show that the mGLR statistic outperformed the existing stopping rules by generating shorter average test length without sacrificing classification accuracy. Results also revealed that the stochastically curtailed mGLR successfully increased test efficiency in certain testing conditions.     

非符号数量表征和符号分数表征的关系

个体学习符号分数的一个关键是能对其数值形成准确表征。现有研究假设符号分数表征的认知基础是人类自婴幼儿期就具有的非符号数量表征(如表征两个集合各自的数量, 或两个数量的比例)。其证据包括表征非符号数量(尤其是非符号数量比例关系)和表征符号分数在行为和大脑神经活动层面上都表现出相关性。然而要说明非符号数量表征是符号分数表征的认知基础, 还需更多研究表明两者在数量概念上的独特相关和因果联系, 并阐明符号分数表征形成的认知机制。     

Testing two variances for superiority/non-inferiority and equivalence: Using the exhaustion algorithm for sample size allocation with cost

The equality of two group variances is frequently tested in experiments. However, criticisms of null hypothesis statistical testing on means have recently arisen and there is interest in other types of statistical tests of hypotheses, such as superiority/non-inferiority and equivalence. Although these tests have become more common in psychology and social sciences, the corresponding sample size estimation for these tests is rarely discussed, especially when the sampling unit costs are unequal or group sizes are unequal for two groups. Thus, for finding optimal sample size, the present study derived an initial allocation by approximating the percentiles of an F distribution with the percentiles of the standard normal distribution and used the exhaustion algorithm to select the best combination of group sizes, thereby ensuring the resulting power reaches the designated level and is maximal with a minimal total cost. In this manner, optimization of sample size planning is achieved. The proposed sample size determination has a wide range of applications and is efficient in terms of Type I errors and statistical power in simulations. Finally, an illustrative example from a report by the Health Survey for England, 1995–1997, is presented using hypertension data. For ease of application, four R Shiny apps are provided and benchmarks for setting equivalence margins are suggested.     

A comparison of picture and GIF-based preference assessments for social interaction

Researchers have recently begun to evaluate video-based preference assessments; however, only two studies have evaluated the efficacy of this preference assessment modality in assessing preference for social interactions. Four individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder who could not match pictures or graphic-interchange-format images (GIFs) of social interactions to in vivo interaction participated. We compared picture and GIF-based paired-stimulus preference assessments for social interaction and evaluated the preference assessment hierarchies by conducting a concurrent-operant reinforcer assessment including all social interactions. The GIF-based preference assessment produced similar hierarchies to the reinforcer assessment for all participants, whereas the picture-based preference assessments produced similar hierarchies to the reinforcer assessment for 2 of 4 subjects. Additionally, we conducted a modality preference assessment in which we evaluated participants' preference for viewing GIFs or pictures of social interactions, and found that 3 out of 4 subjects displayed a preference for GIFs.     

A comparison of methods for assessing preference for social interactions

Researchers have evaluated a variety of methods for assessing preference for social interactions, and generally have found that such assessments accurately identify differentially reinforcing, preferred interactions. However, few researchers have compared methods for assessing preference for social interactions, and none have done so with participants across different skill levels. The current study compared the stability and validity of hierarchies produced by social interaction preference assessments (SIPA) and picture-based multiple stimulus without replacement preference assessments (MSWO) with 8 individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The MSWO most often produced valid hierarchies for participants who could match, identify, and tact pictures of social interactions and that the SIPA most often produced valid hierarchies for participants who could not identify or tact pictures of social interactions. A vocal paired-stimulus preference assessment (PSPA) was also conducted with a subset of participants who communicated vocally, and it produced valid hierarchies. Considerations and recommendations for selecting a method of assessing preference for social interactions are discussed.     

An analysis of the value of token reinforcement using a multiple-schedule assessment

Token systems are widely used in clinical settings, necessitating the development of methods to evaluate the reinforcing value of these systems. In the current paper, we replicated the use of a multiple-schedule reinforcer assessment (MSA; Smaby, MacDonald, Ahearn, & Dube, 2007) to evaluate the components of a token economy system for 4 learners with autism. Token systems had reinforcing value similar to primary reinforcers for 2 of the 4 learners, but resulted in lower rates of responding than primary reinforcers for the other 2 learners. Differentiated responding across learners may warrant variation in clinical recommendations on the use of tokens. The results of this study support formal assessment of token system effectiveness, and the MSA procedure provides an efficient method by which to conduct such assessments.     

得失情境下他人参照点及心理距离对自我-他人利益权衡的影响

以福利权衡率(WTR)为利他程度的指标, 通过3个实验逐步深入地考察了得失情境下他人参照点及心理距离对自我-他人利益权衡的影响。实验1的结果表明, 得失情境并未改变被试的WTR。实验2引入他人底线、现状和目标三个参照点变量, 发现被试获益情境下的WTR高于损失情境, 且WTR从高到低依次为他人临近底线、目标和现状; 他人临近底线时, 被试在获益情境下的WTR高于损失情境, 而他人临近现状和目标时, 个体在得失情境下的WTR无显著差异。实验3进一步引入心理距离变量, 发现心理距离较近他人的WTR高于较远他人, 且与得失情境和参照点发生了复杂的交互效应, 得失情境的主效应消失了, 但总体上并未改变实验2发现的参照点效应。这些结果对于更深入地理解得失不对称效应、三参照点理论及社会折扣和自我-他人决策差异研究的相关发现具有一定的启示意义。     

A comparison of multiple reinforcer assessments to identify the function of maladaptive behavior

Functional analysis results indicated that maladaptive behaviors displayed by a 25-year-old man with profound mental retardation were maintained by attention from caregivers and possibly, to a lesser degree, by access to tangible items. A concurrent-schedules procedure was then used to study the relative reinforcing value for maladaptive behavior of attention versus tangible items. Results of the concurrent-schedules assessment and subsequent functional communication training indicated that preference for attention versus access to a tangible object varied.     

Drug discrimination under concurrent variable-ratio variable-ratio schedules

Pigeons were trained to discriminate 5 mg/kg pentobarbital from saline under concurrent variable-ratio (VR) VR schedules, in which responses on the pentobarbital-biased lever were reinforced under the VR schedule with the smaller response requirements when pentobarbital was given before the session, and responses on the saline-biased key were reinforced under the VR schedule with the larger response requirements. When saline was administered before the session, the reinforcement contingencies associated with the two response keys were reversed. When responding stabilized under concurrent VR 20 VR 30, concurrent VR 10 VR 40, or concurrent VR 5 VR 50 schedules, pigeons responded almost exclusively on the key on which fewer responses were required to produce the reinforcer. When other doses of pentobarbital and other drugs were substituted for the training dose, low doses of all drugs produced responding on the saline-biased key. Higher doses of pentobarbital and chlordiazepoxide produced responding only on the pentobarbital-biased key, whereas higher doses of ethanol and phencyclidine produced responding only on this key less often. d-Amphetamine produced responding primarily on the saline-biased key. When drugs generalized to pentobarbital, the shape of the generalization curve under concurrent VR VR schedules was more often graded than quantal in shape. Thus, drug discrimination can be established under concurrent VR VR schedules, but the shapes of drug-discrimination dose-response curves under concurrent VR VR schedules more closely resemble those seen under interval schedules than those seen under fixed-ratio schedules. Graded dose-response curves under concurrent VR VR schedules may relate to probability matching and difficulty in discriminating differences in reinforcement frequency.