A simple general method for oblique rotation

A simple and very general algorithm for oblique rotation is identified. While motivated by the rotation problem in factor analysis, it may be used to minimize almost any function of a not necessarily square matrix whose columns are restricted to have unit length. The algorithm has two steps. The first is to compute the gradient of the rotation criterion and the second is to project this onto a manifold of matrices with unit length columns. For this reason it is called a gradient projection algorithm. Because the projection step is very simple, implementation of the algorithm involves little more than computing the gradient of the rotation criterion which for many applications is very simple. It is proven that the algorithm is strictly monotone, that is as long as it is not already at a stationary point, each step will decrease the value of the criterion. Examples from a variety of areas are used to demonstrate the algorithm, including oblimin rotation, target rotation, simplimax rotation, and rotation to similarity and simplicity simultaneously. While it may be, the algorithm is not intended for use as a standard algorithm for well established problems, but rather as a tool for investigating new methods where its generality and simplicity may save an investigator substantial effort.The author would like to thank the review team for their insights and recommendations.     

项目反应时间的对数偏正态模型

近年来,项目反应时间数据的建模是心理和教育测量领域的热门方向之一。针对反应时间的对数正态模型和Box-Cox正态模型的不足,本文在van der Linden的分层模型框架下基于偏正态分布建立一个反应时间的对数线性模型,并成功给出模型参数估计的马尔科夫链蒙特卡罗（Markov Chain Monte Carlo, MCMC）算法。模拟研究和实例分析的结果均表明,与对数正态模型和Box-Cox正态模型相比,对数偏正态模型表现出更加优良的拟合效果,具有更强的灵活性和适用性。     

几种策略选择模型的发展轨迹与比较

策略选择作为儿童认知发展的重要方面,日益受到人们的关注.20世纪70年代后,一些研究者相继构建出几种策略选择的理论模型,以说明儿童策略选择的过程及其机制.文章根据策略模型发展的历程,对元认知模型、联结分布模型、适应性策略选择模型和策略选择与发现模型进行了概述与比较,以摸清策略模型发展的轨迹与特点,由此进一步明确策略模型研究发展的方向.     

The distribution matters: two types of sample-size tasks

Different studies on how well people take sample size into account have found a wide range of solution rates. In a recent review, Sedlmeier and Gigerenzer (1997) suggested that a substantial part of the variation in results can be explained by the fact that experimenters have used two different types of sample-size tasks, one involving frequency distributions and the other sampling distributions. This suggestion rested on an analysis of studies that, with one exception, did not systematically manipulate type of distribution. In the research reported in this paper, well-known sample-size tasks were used to examine the hypothesis that frequency distribution versions of sample-size tasks yield higher solution rates than corresponding sampling distribution versions. In Study 1, a substantial difference between solution rates for the two types of task was found. Study 2 replicated this finding and ruled out an alternative explanation for it, namely, that the solution rate for sampling distribution tasks was lower because the information they contained was harder to extract than that in frequency distribution tasks. Finally, in Study 3 an attempt was made to reduce the gap between the solution rates for the two types of tasks by giving participants as many hints as possible for solving a sampling distribution task. Even with hints, the gap in performance remained. A new computational model of statistical reasoning specifies cognitive processes that might explain why people are better at solving frequency than sampling distribution tasks. Copyright© 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Explications causales normatives dans la distribution de sanctions professionnelles injustes

This research explores the degree of acceptability of the reasons given by a team leader to explain the unfair sanctions he/she distributes to his/her subordinates. Fifteen male high level managers leading team leaders, and 61 employees (30 women and 31 men) responded to a questionnaire in which they had to assess the desirability of the reasons given by a team leader for which he/she unfairly punished his subordinates: it might be either getting angry with them despite their good work (negative sanction) or, on the contrary, refraining intervention when they made mistakes (positive sanction). The results indicate a disaccountability of both the receiver and the distributor of the sanction, with, instead, the highlighting of contextual determinants, especially in case of negative sanction. There is also an influence of the direction of the sanction (positive vs. negative) on the stable/unstable component of the instance chosen as explanatory. These results are discussed on a theoretical level and perspectives of applications are proposed.     

Examining Nonnormal Latent Variable Distributions for Non-Ignorable Missing Data

Missing not at random (MNAR) modeling for non-ignorable missing responses usually assumes that the latent variable distribution is a bivariate normal distribution. Such an assumption is rarely verified and often employed as a standard in practice. Recent studies for “complete” item responses (i.e., no missing data) have shown that ignoring the nonnormal distribution of a unidimensional latent variable, especially skewed or bimodal, can yield biased estimates and misleading conclusion. However, dealing with the bivariate nonnormal latent variable distribution with present MNAR data has not been looked into. This article proposes to extend unidimensional empirical histogram and Davidian curve methods to simultaneously deal with nonnormal latent variable distribution and MNAR data. A simulation study is carried out to demonstrate the consequence of ignoring bivariate nonnormal distribution on parameter estimates, followed by an empirical analysis of “don’t know” item responses. The results presented in this article show that examining the assumption of bivariate nonnormal latent variable distribution should be considered as a routine for MNAR data to minimize the impact of nonnormality on parameter estimates.     

Attention,spatial integration,and the tail of response time distributions in Stroop task performance

A few studies have examined selective attention in Stroop task performance through ex-Gaussian analyses of response time (RT) distributions. It has remained unclear whether the tail of the RT distribution in vocal responding reflects spatial integration of relevant and irrelevant attributes, as suggested by Spieler, Balota, and Faust (2000 Spieler, D. H., Balota, D. A. and Faust, M. E. 2000. Levels of selective attention revealed through analyses of reaction time distributions. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 26: 506–526. [Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). Here, two colour–word Stroop experiments with vocal responding are reported in which the spatial relation between colour and word was manipulated. Participants named colours (e.g., green; say “green”) while trying to ignore distractors that were incongruent or congruent words (e.g., red or green), or neutral series of Xs. The vocal RT was measured. Colour words in colour, white words superimposed onto colour rectangles (Experiment 1), and colour rectangles combined with auditory words (Experiment 2) yielded Stroop effects in both the leading edge and the tail of the RT distributions. These results indicate that spatial integration is not necessary for effects in the tail to occur in vocal responding. It is argued that the findings are compatible with an association of the tail effects with task conflict.     

From mental strain to burnout

This study examines the relationships between burnout and short-term consequences of mental strain within and outside human services professions, at the same time contributing to the understanding of the development of burnout as a long-term effect of impairing work and job design. A total of 294 German employees working in human services (N = 149) and industrial production (N = 145) completed the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory (OLBI) and four scales measuring short-term consequences of mental strain. Results of factor analyses confirmed that the elements of the OLBI's two-factor structure—exhaustion and disengagement—are distinct from a range of impairing short-term consequences of mental strain. In addition, structural equation modelling showed that each burnout dimension is differentially related to specific short-term consequences of strain: Exhaustion is primarily related to mental fatigue, whereas disengagement is primarily related to satiation and the experience of monotony. The findings did not differ substantially for the two occupational groups. Burnout, as a long-term consequence of impairing mental strain, is distinct from and presumably temporally-causally related to specific impairing short-term consequences of mental strain, which, in turn, can be attributed to inadequate job design.     

Bond modulus and stability of covalent solids

The chemical stabilities of molecules are determined by their LUMO–HOMO energy gaps. For solids, the analogues of these are their energy band gaps. However, solids are aggregates of molecules, so an energy alone cannot characterize their stabilities. An intensive parameter is needed. Such a parameter is the gap energy per molecular volume. The author has coined the name ‘bond modulus’ for this parameter because it tends to be proportional to elastic moduli and it has the same dimensions. It applies primarily to covalent solids with localized bonding. It is proportional to chemical hardnesses and bulk moduli, as well as octahedral shear moduli and inverse polarizabilities.     

外源性视觉选择性注意的时空特征

使用与目标出现位置无关的外周空现刺激作为线索,研究在不同刺激呈现间隔（ＳＯＡ）下它对不同偏心 视觉目标的辨别反应时的影响,以考察外源性觉选择性注意的加工特生,并下三种注意空间分布模型对选择性注意时空特征的不同预测,结果表明：１．外周突现刺激能够不随意地吸引注意,符合自动加工特性;２．注意转移以注意中心连续移动的方式进行,支持探照灯模型,不支持透镜模型和静态的空间梯度模型,并在注意移动速率进行了估计