Answering Reading Comprehension Items without Passages on the SAT

Neural Processing of Speech Sounds in ASD and First-Degree Relatives

Efficient neural encoding of sound plays a critical role in speech and language, and when impaired, may have reverberating effects on communication skills. This study investigated disruptions to neural processing of temporal and spectral properties of speech in individuals with ASD and their parents and found evidence of inefficient temporal encoding of speech sounds in both groups. The ASD group further demonstrated less robust neural representation of spectral properties of speech sounds. Associations between neural processing of speech sounds and language-related abilities were evident in both groups. Parent-child associations were also detected in neural pitch processing. Together, results suggest that atypical neural processing of speech sounds is a heritable ingredient contributing to the ASD language phenotype.

Stop Worrying about Multiple-Choice: Fact Knowledge Does Not Change with Response Format

Declarative fact knowledge is a key component of crystallized intelligence. It is typically measured with multiple-choice (MC) items. Other response formats, such as open-ended formats are less frequently used, although these formats might be superior for measuring crystallized intelligence. Whereas MC formats presumably only require recognizing the correct response to a question, open-ended formats supposedly require cognitive processes such as searching for, retrieving, and actively deciding on a response from long-term memory. If the methods of inquiry alter the cognitive processes involved, mean-changes between methods for assessing declarative knowledge should come along with changes in the covariance structure. We tested these assumptions in two online studies administering declarative knowledge items in different response formats (MC, open-ended, and open-ended with cues). Item difficulty clearly increases in the open-ended methods although effects in logistic regression models vary slightly across items. Importantly, latent variable analyses suggest that the method of inquiry does not affect what is measured with different response formats. These findings clearly endorse the position that crystallized intelligence does not change as a function of the response format.

Slower Peak Pupillary Response to Emotional Faces in Parents of Autistic Individuals

Background

Atypical autonomic arousal has been consistently documented in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and is thought to contribute to the social-communication phenotype of ASD. Some evidence suggests that clinically unaffected first-degree relatives of autistic individuals may also show subtle differences in indices of autonomic arousal, potentially implicating heritable pathophysiological mechanisms in ASD. This study examined pupillary responses in parents of autistic individuals to investigate evidence that atypical autonomic arousal might constitute a subclinical physiological marker of ASD heritability within families of autistic individuals.

Methods

Pupillary responses to emotional faces were measured in 47 ASD parents and 20 age-matched parent controls. Macro-level pupillary responses (e.g., mean, peak, latency to peak) and dynamic pupillary responses over the course of the stimulus presentation were compared between groups, and in relationship to subclinical ASD-related features in ASD parents. A small ASD group (n = 20) and controls (n = 17) were also included for exploratory analyses of parent–child correlations in pupillary response.

Results

Parents of autistic individuals differed in the time course of pupillary response, exhibiting a later primary peak response than controls. In ASD parents, slower peak response was associated with poorer pragmatic language and larger peak response was associated with poorer social cognition. Exploratory analyses revealed correlations between peak pupillary responses in ASD parents and mean and peak pupillary responses in their autistic children.

Conclusion

Differences in pupillary responses in clinically unaffected parents, together with significant correlations with ASD-related features and significant parent–child associations, suggest that pupillary responses to emotional faces may constitute an objective physiological marker of ASD genetic liability, with potential to inform the mechanistic underpinnings of ASD symptomatology.

Experimental Test Validation

Abstract. Although the vast majority of validation studies rely on correlational validity evidence, there is an increased recognition that validity should also focus on whether variations in the focal psychological attribute lead to variations in the measurement outcomes. Therefore, calls have been made that validity evidence should also be gathered through experiments. Existing experimental validation strategies focus on manipulating psychological attributes and their effects on measurement outcomes. In the current manuscript, we present an additional and complementary approach that focuses on manipulating test elements (instead of psychological attributes) that are considered indispensable for test functioning. Examples from personality, situational judgment, emotional intelligence, and reading comprehension domains are presented to illustrate our approach. The presented approach is integrated into existing validation strategies.

Explaining “Memory Free” Reasoning

Cognitive theorists generally assume that reasoning depends on memory; accurate reasoning requires access to critical informational inputs. Although memory dependency seems self-evidently true, it has been disconfirmed in recent studies of children's logical, mathematical, and pragmatic inferences. These studies have led to a new account of cognitive development, fuzzy-trace theory, that stresses the unfolding of gist-driven intuitive reasoning processes, and that reformulates traditional conceptions of the relationship between verbatim and gist memories. Fuzzy-trace theory also identifies circumstances in which reasoning accuracy depends on memory accuracy.

Answering Reading Comprehension Items without the Passages on the SAT–I

Research has shown that many items on the old SAT reading task are answered correctly when the accompanying passages are missing. The purpose of this study was to find out if the new SAT (SAT–I) is similarly flawed. Reading tasks from two parallel forms of the SAT–I were administered with and without the passages. Analysis showed that, without the passages, examinees performed much better than would be expected by chance. Also, over-all scores in the without-passage condition were strongly correlated with SAT Verbal score. Finally, an item analysis showed that more than 60% of all items were flawed. It appears that performance on the SAT–I reading task, like that on its predecessor, is primarily associated with factors unrelated to reading the passage.

The SAT Reading Task in Question: Reply to Freedle and Kostin

In a previous issue of Psychological Science, we reported that test takers correctly answer many multiple-choice questions on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) reading task when the passages that normally accompany the questions are missing More important, we found a high correlation between performance with and performance without these passages (Katz, Blackburn, & Lautenschlager, 1991, Katz, Lautenschlager, Blackburn, & Harris, 1990) We concluded that factors having little to do with passage comprehension contribute substantially to performance on the task In a recent commentary, Freedle and Kostin (1994) argued otherwise Using reading items on the SAT and other college-entrance examinations, these authors (hereafter, FK) carried out stepwise regression analyses, apportioning into two groups 65 predictor variables, 46 passage and 19 question variables The question variables were assumed to measure non-passage factors The authors reported that passage variables contribute substantially to variance in item difficulty (sometimes more than 50%, depending on test and item selection), whereas question variables contribute little FK concluded that we have exaggerated the role of nonpassage factors on reading tests

Kognitive Verarbeitung von Leseverständnisitems mit und ohne Text

Multiple-Choice (MC)-Items sind ein häufig eingesetztes Aufgabenformat, um Leseverständnis zu erfassen. Die vorliegende Studie mit 366 Schülerinnen und Schülern repliziert die Befunde von Rost und Sparfeldt (2007) , die für das Deutsche gezeigt haben, dass MC-Items allerdings auch ohne Lektüre der zugehörigen Texte beantwortet werden können. Darüber hinaus zeigen wir, dass die Bearbeitungsqualität von MC-Leseverständnisitems mit Textdarbietung sowohl durch die verbale Problemlösefähigkeiten als auch durch lesespezifische Verstehensprozesse beeinflusst wird. Dies spricht dafür, dass MC-Items nicht alleine verbale Intelligenz erfassen, sondern auch die Effizienz lesespezifischer Prozesse. Darüber hinaus weisen die Ergebnisse darauf hin, dass sehr ähnliche Antwortprozesse auch zur Beantwortung von MC-Items ohne Textdarbietung eingesetzt werden. Diese werden aber zunehmend unreliabler erfasst, je mehr Textinformationen eliminiert werden.

Passageless comprehension on the Nelson-Denny reading test: well above chance for university students

The comprehension section of the Nelson-Denny Reading Test (NDRT) is widely used to assess the reading comprehension skills of adolescents and adults in the United States. In this study, the authors explored the content validity of the NDRT Comprehension Test (Forms G and H) by asking university students (with and without at-risk status for learning disorders) to answer the multiple-choice comprehension questions without reading the passages. Overall accuracy rates were well above chance for both NDRT forms and both groups of students. These results raise serious questions about the validity of the NDRT and its use in the identification of reading disabilities.

Some implications of an experimental reading comprehension task

Standardized reading comprehension tests (RCTs) are indispensable instruments in language abilities assessment. Nevertheless, we do not have such an instrument in Serbian. In the present paper, we attempted to verify the basic assumptions of the RCT conception we proposed: the reading material consisting of a relatively large selection of short newspaper articles followed by a single multiplechoice question each, displayed in temporal succession, not simultaneously. We argued that RCT consisting of such item form and content, as well as the administration procedure, should be of equal or even better construct validity than well-known RTCs in foreign languages, also possessing some other practical advantages. These assumptions were implemented in a computer-ran experimental reading comprehension task (ERCT), in a student sample. ERCT psychometric properties analyses showed good discriminability and somewhat less than preferable reliability. The structure and strength of ERCT x other intelligence tests correlations suggest ERCT belonging to the core of verbal abilities tests. Different strategies subjects employed showed no impact on major performance measure ? number correct answers. Our findings obtained by ERCT implementation support the RCT conception we propose. We therefore suggest possible further research towards the construction of standardized RCT in Serbian.

Individual differences in current events knowledge: contributions of ability, personality, and interests

What accounts for individual differences in the sort of knowledge that people may draw on in everyday cognitive tasks, such as deciding whom to vote for in a presidential election, how to invest money in the stock market, or what team to bet on in a friendly wager? In a large sample of undergraduate students, we investigated correlates of individual differences in recently acquired knowledge of current events in domains such as politics, business, and sports. Structural equation modeling revealed two predictive pathways: one involving cognitive ability factors and the other involving two major nonability factors (personality and interests). The results of this study add to what is known about the sources of individual differences in knowledge and are interpreted in the context of theoretical conceptions of adult intelligence that emphasize the centrality and importance of knowledge (e.g., Ackerman, 1996; Cattell, 1971).

Leseverständnis ohne Lesen?

Zusammenfassung. Wiederholt wurden Zweifel an der Konstruktvalidität von multiple-choice-Leseverständnistestaufgaben geäußert. Diese bestehen üblicherweise aus den drei Teilen “Text”, “Fragen” und “Antworten”. In drei aufeinander aufbauenden Feldexperimenten (N1 = 371, N2 = 349, N3 = 402) bearbeiteten Schüler der 7. bis 9. Klassenstufe verschiedene Leseverständnistestversionen, in denen sukzessive zentrale Komponenten eliminiert wurden: “Original”, “ohne Text”, “ohne Fragen”, “ohne Text und ohne Fragen”. Mit abnehmendem Informationsgehalt wurden die Aufgaben erwartungsgemäß schwieriger. Jedoch lösten die Schüler in den Versionen “Original”, “ohne Text” und “ohne Fragen” deutlich und in der Version “ohne Text und ohne Fragen” teilweise mehr Aufgaben “richtig”, als bei reinem Raten zu erwarten wäre. Dies kann in den Versionen, in denen kein Text vorgegeben wurde, nicht auf “Lesen” zurückgeführt werden. Verbale Intelligenz erwies sich als bedeutsamer Prädiktor der Leseverständnistestleistung. Die Relevanz der Befunde für eine konstruktvalide Leseverständnisdiagnostik wird diskutiert.

Bootstrap Standard Error and Confidence Intervals for the Correlation Corrected for Range Restriction: A Simulation Study

The standard Pearson correlation coefficient is a biased estimator of the true population correlation, rho, when the predictor and the criterion are range restricted. To correct the bias, the correlation corrected for range restriction, rc, has been recommended, and a standard formula based on asymptotic results for estimating its standard error is also available. In the present study, the bootstrap standard-error estimate is proposed as an alternative. Monte Carlo simulation studies involving both normal and nonnormal data were conducted to examine the empirical performance of the proposed procedure under different levels of rho, selection ratio, sample size, and truncation types. Results indicated that, with normal data, the bootstrap standard-error estimate is more accurate than the traditional estimate, particularly with small sample size. With nonnormal data, performance of both estimates depends critically on the distribution type. Furthermore, the bootstrap bias-corrected and accelerated interval consistently provided the most accurate coverage probability for rho.

Fillers and spaces in text: the importance of word recognition during reading

Current theories of reading eye movements claim that reading saccades are programmed primarily on the basis of information about the length of the upcoming word, determined by low-level visual processes that detect spaces to the right of fixation. Many studies attempted to test this claim by filling spaces between words with various non-space symbols (fillers). This manipulation, however, confounds the effect of inserting extraneous characters into text with the effect of obscuring word boundaries by filling spaces. We performed the control conditions necessary to unconfound these effects. Skilled readers read continuous stories aloud and silently. Three factors were varied: (i) position of the fillers in the text (at the beginning, the end, or surrounding each word); (ii) the presence or absence of spaces in the text; and (iii) the effect of the type of filler on word recognition (from greatest effect to least effect: Latin letters, Greek letters, digits and shaded boxes). The effect of fillers on reading depended more on the type of filler than on the presence of spaces. The greater effect the fillers had on word recognition, the more they showed reading. Surrounding each word with digits or Greek letters slowed reading as much as filling spaces with these symbols. Surrounding each word with randomly chosen letters, while preserving spaces, slowed reading by 44-75%--as much as, or more than, removing spaces from normal text. Removing spaces from text with Latin-letter fillers slowed reading by only 10-20% more. We conclude that fillers in text disrupt reading by affecting word recognition directly, without necessarily affecting the eye movement pattern.

Repetition avoidance in responses to imaginary questions: the effect of respondents' belief in ESP

42 subjects were given the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator which demands checking either one of two response variants for each of 81 questions. Before, they had completed an imaginary questionnaire version, that is, checked 81 times either "a" or "b" without seeing any questions. Three main findings emerged. (1) Over all subjects, repetitions of the same response alternative were significantly avoided only in the imaginary version, indicating that item content in the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator overrode response stereotypy. (2) On the imaginary version, repetition avoidance was significant for those subjects who said they believed in extrasensory perception (ESP) but not for nonbelievers, corroborating previous reports of an association between belief in ESP and repetition avoidance. (3) In comparison to nonbelievers, believers in ESP scored higher on the dimension "feeling" (as opposed to "thinking") of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. This result is in line with the assumption that belief in ESP is associated with a style of thinking more typical for the right hemisphere.