In their recent and insightful article on adjustment among retirees, Wang, Henkens, and van Solinge (April 2011) provided a comprehensive review of current theorizing on the antecedents of employees' post-retirement well-being. Central to their review is a resource-based model, which conceptualizes retirement as a stress-inducing role transition…

In this article, the authors clarify and provide additional tests of the key elements of their age-period-cohort analysis of non-marital birth rates in this March 2009 issue of "Social Forces." Where Steve Martin, in his commentary, has suggested specific alternative specifications or interpretations of their findings, the authors have…

Sackett, Borneman, and Connelly's article and recent meta-analyses (e.g., Kuncel & Hezlett, 2007) should lay to rest any doubt over whether high-stakes standardized tests predict important academic and professional outcomes--they do. The challenge now is to identify noncognitive individual differences that determine the same outcomes. Noncognitive…

Summarizes the results of five studies dealing with screen design for computer-based instruction (CBI) and provides suggestions for their application as well as future directions for research. Chunking, text density, and screen density are discussed as variables in screen design, and current research is described. (33 references) (LRW)

This report summarizes the research results and provides a reference. The basic question addressed was, "Is performance on multi-component tasks predicted by performance on the individual components performed separately?" In the first series of experiments, a dual task involving memory and verbal processing components to predict a…

This editorial proposes that the dependent variables that predict childhood intelligence quotient (IQ) from habituation and recognition memory assessments made during infancy may primarily reflect individual differences in rate of information processing. Inhibition may be a stable thread in mental development. (Author/SLD)

Describes a study that examined the relationship between academic ability or aptitude, as measured by grade point average and American College Test scores, and achievement with and without computer-assisted instruction. (15 references) (CLB)

Reviews and critiques research that has assessed the effect of infant temperament on caregiver behaviors and concludes that the relationship between temperament and caregiving behavior has not been adequately tested. Offers conceptual and methodological guidelines for future research. (HOD)

Delineates the current consensus regarding the nature and the development of intellectual ability. Examines when one would expect general abilities to moderate the relationship among domain-specific and other processes. Reviews recent studies in which general abilities were used as independent variables or covariates. Suggests that generally,…

A study examined social and personal factors affecting the decision process of Australian secondary school students choosing university study and the effects of student background factors in higher education participation generally. The complex patterns of factors operating differentially in the high school years are interpreted through…

Stage-state analysis of the life course is presented as useful in identifying types of life courses and their relative frequency, in estimating the likelihood of moving from a given state through a sequence of future states, and in analyzing routes and processes connecting initial states with potential outcomes. (Author/DB)

Describes phonological sensitivity at different grain sizes as a good predictor of reading acquisition in all languages. Presents information on development of phonological sensitivity for syllables, onsets, and rimes. Illustrates that phoneme-level skills develop fastest in children acquiring orthographically consistent languages with simple…

Addresses the implicit assumption that instructional media represent meaningful experimental variables independent of instructional content or strategy. Results of computer-based instruction (CBI) studies (both well-designed and flawed) and meta-analyses are reviewed to support the authors' position that this assumption is invalid, and new…

Examines potential sources of bias in aptitude and achievement testing of minority and, particularly, Black students. Holds that bias in standardized tests cannot be properly understood without reference to the socioeconomic matrix from which it has evolved. (Author/GC)

Criticizes the statistical methods used in a previously published article that compared a commercially produced computer program with traditional teaching methods. Measures of instructional effectiveness are described, the assignment of student pairs is examined, and the use of blocking variables with analysis of variance is discussed. (LRW)