Dimensionality and validity of two scales measuring different aspects of self-esteem

Two self-esteem (SE) scales aimed to measure self-esteem–conceptualized primarily (a) as the individual's ego-integrated libidinous and aggressive drives and their derivatives (Basic SE), and (b) as the need to earn self-esteem by competence and others' appraisal (Earning SE)–were developed and factor analysed. In order to construct- and cross-validate the scales, they were related to other well-known personality scales as well as to a projective technique (TAT) in two independent samples of first semester psychology students ( n = 153, n = 82). The empirical factor structure coincided well with the theoretical formulations. Basic SE showed concurrent validity being highly correlated ( p < 0.001) with both Rosenberg's and Coopersmith's self-esteem scales and highly or moderately with Neuroticism, Extraversion (EPQ) and Test-Anxicty (TAS) in both samples. Earning SE gained some construct validation by its relation to Type-A scores (JAS) as well as to verbal fantasy stories on TAT-pictures measuring Need of Achievement.     

Interactions of persistent slip bands with a grain boundary on the common primary slip plane in a copper bicrystal

In this letter, the dislocation patterns on the common primary slip plane in a fatigued \[1-34]-\[182-7] copper bicrystal with a Sigma=19b grain boundary (GB) have been investigated using the electron channelling contrast technique in a scanning electron microscope. The results show that the two-phase dislocation structure, such as veins and persistent slip band (PSB) walls, embedded within veins, can be clearly seen on the common primary slip plane. In particular, the interactions of PSBs with the GB are clearly revealed. It is found that there are three kinds of interaction mode between the GB and the dislocations during cyclic deformation, and those are discussed. It is suggested that the dislocations carried by PSBs cannot transfer through the GB continuously even though the bicrystal has a common primary slip plane and its surface slip bands are continuous across the GB.     

多维Rasch模型在维度分数报告中的应用—对带宽-保真度困境的解决

分别采用四维度和十五维度Rasch模型分析包含项目内多维度结构的科学测验数据,估计两种维度结构下维度分数的信度.结果表明,对比相应的单维模型而言,四维度与十五维度Rasch模型均能够极大提高各内容维度上分数估计的信度.四维度与十五维度Rasch模型拟合结果的比较表明,对于总长度固定的测验,维度数目的增加能够补偿子维度长度减少引起的信度损失.但是这一作用必须以维度间较高的相关性为前提.     

不同卷入度人群的组织公平结构

以国家助学金分配为背景,选取755名大学生为被试,运用量表测量和验证性因素分析办法考察不同卷入度人群的组织公平维度结构.结果表明:不同卷入程度个体的组织公平维度不一致.卷入程度低和卷入程度高但同时作为分配者的个体的组织公平是三因素结构.卷入程度高且只作为接受分配者的组织公平是四因素结构.同时,指出了信息公平在组织公平中具有重要的作用.     

应对量表(COPE)测评维度结构研究

该文旨在对应对量表(COPE)的测评维度结构进行进一步的鉴别分析和验证研究。研究一对736名大学生的应对量表中文修订本(C-COPE)测评数据进行探索性二阶因素分析;研究二根据已有研究关于应对量表测评维度组构模式的不同结论,以及研究一的结果,提出十个假设模型,采用验证性因素分析测试这些模型与另一大学生样本(N：465)测评数据的拟合度。研究结果支持C-COPE八因子斜交模型。该量表如何进一步修订也在文中予以讨论。     

Do Additional Features Help or Hurt Category Learning? The Curse of Dimensionality in Human Learners

The curse of dimensionality, which has been widely studied in statistics and machine learning, occurs when additional features cause the size of the feature space to grow so quickly that learning classification rules becomes increasingly difficult. How do people overcome the curse of dimensionality when acquiring real‐world categories that have many different features? Here we investigate the possibility that the structure of categories can help. We show that when categories follow a family resemblance structure, people are unaffected by the presence of additional features in learning. However, when categories are based on a single feature, they fall prey to the curse, and having additional irrelevant features hurts performance. We compare and contrast these results to three different computational models to show that a model with limited computational capacity best captures human performance across almost all of the conditions in both experiments.     

On the robustness of maximum likelihood scaling for violations of the error model

A Monte Carlo study was conducted to investigate the robustness of the assumed error distribution in maximum likelihood estimation models for multidimensional scaling. Data sets generated according to the lognormal, the normal, and the rectangular distribution were analysed with the log-normal error model in Ramsay's MULTISCALE program package. The results show that violations of the assumed error distribution have virtually no effect on the estimated distance parameters. In a comparison among several dimensionality tests, the corrected version of thex ² test, as proposed by Ramsay, yielded the best results, and turned out to be quite robust against violations of the error model.     

The Dutch Identity: A new tool for the study of item response models

The Dutch Identity is a useful way to reexpress the basic equations of item response models that relate the manifest probabilities to the item response functions (IRFs) and the latent trait distribution. The identity may be exploited in several ways. For example: (a) to suggest how item response models behave for large numbers of items—they are approximate submodels of second-order loglinear models for 2 ^J tables; (b) to suggest new ways to assess the dimensionality of the latent trait—principle components analysis of matrices composed of second-order interactions from loglinear models; (c) to give insight into the structure of latent class models; and (d) to illuminate the problem of identifying the IRFs and the latent trait distribution from sample data.This research was supported in part by contract number N00014-87-K-0730 from the Cognitive Science Program of the Office of Naval Research. I realized the usefulness of the identity in Theorem 1 while lecturing in the Netherlands during October, 1986. Because this was in no small part due to the stimulating psychometric atmosphere there, I call the result the Dutch Identity.     

Dimensionality of psychosocial responses to marital disruption

The purpose of the study was to assess whether psychosocial responses to marital disruption were best arranged along one single dimension ranging from maximum positive to maximum negative responses, or whether positive and negative responses constituted two separate and distinct dimensions. Participants were 658 recently divorced individuals. A confirmatory factor analysis revealed that a two-factor model provided a better fit to the data than a one-factor model. Moreover, a number of external variables differentiated between positive and negative responses, indicating that such responses reflect two separate domains. Thus, the findings support the notion that psychosocial responses after marital disruption comprise a bidimensional rather than a unidimensional pattern. The findings are discussed within the general framework of positive-negative asymmetry and the idea that positive and negative evaluations belong to different psychological system.     

The Body-Machine Interface: A New Perspective on an Old Theme

ABSTRACT

Body-machine interfaces establish a way to interact with a variety of devices, allowing their users to extend the limits of their performance. Recent advances in this field, ranging from computer interfaces to bionic limbs, have had important consequences for people with movement disorders. The authors provide an overview of the basic concepts underlying the body-machine interface with special emphasis on their use for rehabilitation and for operating assistive devices. They outline the steps involved in building such an interface and highlight the critical role of body-machine interfaces in addressing theoretical issues in motor control as well as their utility in movement rehabilitation.