多层线性模型在纵向研究中的运用

纵向研究中传统统计技术主要是重复测量的方差分析和多元回归分析，但是这两种技术存在一些局限性，不能合理而充分地解释纵向研究资料。近年来出现的多层线性模型能够更有效地利用纵向数据。为促进多层线性模型在纵向研究中的运用，简要论述了传统统计技术的局限，介绍了多层线性模型的原理及其在纵向研究中的作用，以一组模拟数据为例对多层线性模型中各种参数在纵向研究中的含义进行了详细讨论，对于纵向研究中运用多层线性模型时须注意的问题提出了建议。     

A psychometric evaluation of the social skills rating system in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

The social skills rating system (SSRS) was developed to assess social skills of children, as observed by multiple raters (teacher, parent, child). Studies of the SSRS have been conducted with handicapped, mentally retarded and learning disabled children. No studies have reported the psychometric properties of the SSRS in a clinical ADHD sample. This is important, because deficient social functioning is associated with ADHD. The present study assesses the psychometric properties of the teacher, parent and child versions of the SSRS in children with ADHD (n = 123), and normal controls (n = 239). Also, the social skills of children with ADHD, as rated on the SSRS were examined. Results support the factor structure and internal consistency of the original SSRS-teacher version. Moreover, support was found for 3 out of 4 scales of the SSRS-parent version. The factor structure of the SSRS-child version could not be replicated. An explanatory factor analysis on the SSRS-child version yielded two factors. Evidence was found for discriminative ability of the SSRS between normal controls and children with ADHD. Finally, informant agreement between raters was found to be poor.     

The effects of reinforcement magnitude on functional analysis outcomes

The duration or magnitude of reinforcement has varied and often appears to have been selected arbitrarily in functional analysis research. Few studies have evaluated the effects of reinforcement magnitude on problem behavior, even though basic findings indicate that this parameter may affect response rates during functional analyses. In the current study, 6 children with autism or developmental disabilities who engaged in severe problem behavior were exposed to three separate functional analyses, each of which varied in reinforcement magnitude. Results of these functional analyses were compared to determine if a particular reinforcement magnitude was associated with the most conclusive outcomes. In most cases, the same conclusion about the functions of problem behavior was drawn regardless of the reinforcement magnitude.     

The relation between children's reading comprehension level and their comprehension of idioms

We report an investigation of 9-year-olds' ability to interpret idioms in relation to their reading comprehension level. We manipulated whether the idioms were transparent or opaque, whether they were real or novel, whether they were presented in isolation or in a supportive narrative context. As predicted, children were better able to explain the meanings of idioms in context than in isolation. The good and poor comprehenders did not differ in their abilities to interpret transparent idioms in context, but the poor comprehenders were significantly worse at using context to work out the meanings of opaque idioms. The explanation task revealed the source of information used by the children to derive nontarget interpretations. We discuss these findings in relation to idiom processing strategies and Levorato and Cacciari's global elaboration model.     

MMPI-2 subgroups in a sample of chronic pain patients

MMPI-2 scores of 307 female and 161 male chronic pain patients were analyzed by gender using a multivariate clustering method. Two subgroups were found for both sexes replicating previous results. The major subgroup corresponded to the classical "Conversion V" and the minor corresponded to the "Generally elevated" profile. The results also indicated a satisfactory internal consistency and a high discriminant validity of the Swedish version of the MMPI-2.     

Psychometric Modeling of response speed and accuracy with mixed and conditional regression

Human performance in cognitive testing and experimental psychology is expressed in terms of response speed and accuracy. Data analysis is often limited to either speed or accuracy, and/or to crude summary measures like mean response time (RT) or the percentage correct responses. This paper proposes the use of mixed regression for the psychometric modeling of response speed and accuracy in testing and experiments. Mixed logistic regression of response accuracy extends logistic item response theory modeling to multidimensional models with covariates and interactions. Mixed linear regression of response time extends mixed ANOVA to unbalanced designs with covariates and heterogeneity of variance. Related to mixed regression is conditional regression, which requires no normality assumption, but is limited to unidimensional models. Mixed and conditional methods are both applied to an experimental study of mental rotation. Univariate and bivariate analyzes show how within-subject correlation between response and RT can be distinguished from between-subject correlation, and how latent traits can be detected, given careful item design or content analysis. It is concluded that both response and RT must be recorded in cognitive testing, and that mixed regression is a versatile method for analyzing test data.I am grateful to Rogier Donders for putting his data at my disposal.     

Getting the Big Picture in Community Science: Methods That Capture Context

Community science has a rich tradition of using theories and research designs that are consistent with its core value of contextualism. However, a survey of empirical articles published in the American Journal of Community Psychology shows that community scientists utilize a narrow range of statistical tools that are not well suited to assess contextual data. Multilevel modeling, geographic information systems (GIS), social network analysis, and cluster analysis are recommended as useful tools to address contextual questions in community science. An argument for increased methodological consilience is presented, where community scientists are encouraged to adopt statistical methodology that is capable of modeling a greater proportion of the data than is typical with traditional methods.     

A Multitrait–Multisource Confirmatory Factor Analytic Approach to the Construct Validity of ADHD and ODD Rating Scales with Malaysian Children

Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to model a multitrait by multisource matrix to determine the convergent and discriminant validity of measures of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)-inattention (IN), ADHD-hyperactivity/impulsivity (HI), and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) in 917 Malaysian elementary school children. The three trait factors were ADHD-IN, ADHD-HI, and ODD. The two source factors were parents and teachers. Similar to earlier studies with Australian and Brazilian children, the parent and teacher measures failed to show convergent and discriminant validity with Malaysian children. The study outlines the implications of such strong source effects in ADHD-IN, ADHD-HI, and ODD measures for the use of such parent and teacher scales to study the symptom dimensions.     

Translating Toulmin Diagrams: Theory Neutrality in Argument Representation

The Toulmin diagram layout is very familiar and widely used, particularly in the teaching of critical thinking skills. The conventional box-and-arrow diagram is equally familiar and widespread. Translation between the two throws up a number of interesting challenges. Some of these challenges (such as the relationship between Toulmin warrants and their counterparts in traditional diagrams) represent slightly different ways of looking at old and deep theoretical questions. Others (such as how to allow Toulmin diagrams to be recursive) are diagrammatic versions of questions that have already been addressed in artificial intelligence models of argument. But there are further questions (such as the relationships between refutations, rebuttals and undercutters, and the roles of multiple warrants) that are posed as a specific result of examining the diagram inter-translation problem. These three classes of problems are discussed. To the first class are addressed solutions based on engineering pragmatism; to the second class, are addressed solutions drawn from the appropriate literature; and to the third class, fuller exploration is offered justifying the approaches taken in developing solutions that offer both pragmatic utility and theoretical interest. Finally, these solutions are explored briefly in the context of the Araucaria system, showing the ways in which analysts can tackle arguments either using one diagrammatic style or another, or even a combination of the two.     

Comprehending Semantic and Grammatical Violations in Italian. N400 and P600 Comparison with Visual and Auditory Stimuli

Arguments about the existence of language-specific neural systems and specifically about the independence of syntactic and semantic processing have focused on the event-related brain measures (ERPs) as tool to monitoring moment-by-moment the cognitive processes underlaid. In the present experiments, the available evidence indicates that the ERP response to semantic anomalies is at least partially distinct from the ERP response to syntactic anomalies and that two distinct processes are activated in sentences comprehension. ERPs were recorded from 10 electrodes while subjects read (Experiment 1) or listened (Experiment 2) to sentences containing semantic or syntactic violations. Final-words that were inconsistent with the sentence context elicited a negative-going wave at about 400 ms poststimulus, whereas penultimate-word incongruous with the grammatical structure (subject–verb non-agreement) elicited a positive-going wave about 600 ms poststimulus. No differences based on the perceptual modality of the stimulus (visual or auditory) nor different ERP correlates as a function of task-relevance (explicit/implicit task induction) were found. The implications of our results for Italian language are explained.