What is the optimal penalty for errors in infant skill learning? Behavioral analyses indicate that errors are frequent but trivial as infants acquire foundational skills. In learning to walk, for example, falling is commonplace but appears to incur only a negligible penalty. Behavioral data, however, cannot reveal whether a low penalty for falling…

With its long tradition, research on misconceptions helps to understand how concepts are learned and how learning in the disciplines can be supported. Up to now, research on misconceptions has focused on natural sciences, while research on misconceptions in behavioral sciences is scarce, not to say absent. In this study an attempt was made to…

Visual displays such as graphs have played an instrumental role in psychology. One discipline relies almost exclusively on graphs in both applied and basic settings, behavior analysis. The most common graphic used in behavior analysis falls under the category of time series. The line graph represents the most frequently used display for visual…

The present study proposes and examines the multidimensional vector (MDV) model framework as a modeling schema for choice response times. MDV extends the Thurstonian model, as well as signal detection theory, to classification tasks by taking into account the influence of response properties on stimulus discrimination. It is capable of accounting…

Classification procedures are common and useful in behavioral, educational, social, and managerial research. Supervised classification techniques such as discriminant function analysis assume training data are perfectly classified when estimating parameters or classifying. In contrast, unsupervised classification techniques such as finite mixture…

Recent advances in testing mediation have found that certain resampling methods and tests based on the mathematical distribution of 2 normal random variables substantially outperform the traditional "z" test. However, these studies have primarily focused only on models with a single mediator and 2 component paths. To address this limitation, a…

Time-window sequential analyses test whether a target behavior occurs within a temporal window (e.g., within 2 seconds) after an antecedent behavior more than is expected by chance. This type of question is common when we need to know how one person or event may immediately affect another event or person in the natural environment. Theoretically,…

Describes a study which analyzed problem solvers' error detection processes by instructing subjects to think aloud when solving statistical problems. Effects of evaluative episodes on error detection, detection of different error types, error detection processes per se, and relationship of error detection behavior to problem-solving proficiency…

The present study investigated the effects of positive and negative GABA[subscript A] modulators under three different baselines of repeated acquisition in squirrel monkeys in which the monkeys acquired a three-response sequence on three keys under a second-order fixed-ratio (FR) schedule of food reinforcement. In two of these baselines, the…

This is the final report of a research project. The goal of the project was to record a large collection of mathematical performances by students and to develop a system for analyzing these performances. The subjects observed included students in grades 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 9 and three adult groups. Four specific results are reported: (1) a large…