Across waves of a panel survey, panel members are repeatedly exposed to the same or very similar survey questions, which might lead to learning effects. We used data from 24 waves of online interviews in a probability-based panel survey to investigate the positive and negative effects of becoming more familiar with the survey questions. We found…

In the present study, we used a modeling approach for measuring task conflict in task switching, assessing the probability of selecting the correct task via multinomial processing tree (MPT) modeling. With this method, task conflict and response conflict can be independently assessed as the probability of selecting the correct task and the…

A readily and widely applicable procedure is discussed that can be used to point and interval estimate the probabilities of particular responses on polytomous items at pre-specified points along underlying latent continua. The items are assumed thereby to be part of unidimensional multi-component measuring instruments that may contain also binary…

Missing data are a pervasive problem in data analysis. Three common methods for addressing the problem are (a) complete-case analysis, where only units that are complete on the variables in an analysis are included; (b) weighting, where the complete cases are weighted by the inverse of an estimate of the probability of being complete; and (c)…

The Premack principle states that any Response A can reinforce any other Response B if the independent rate of A is greater than the independent rate of B (Premack, 1959). Applying the Premack principle involves arranging the environment to restrict access to certain responses based on relative probabilities of a set of given responses (Timberlake…

Teachers are key to antibullying efforts, and their attitudes toward bullying can influence their intervention responses. There has been a proliferation of this type of research but thus far no review has been performed to coalesce the evidence. Following PRISMA and Cochrane guidelines, we performed a systematic and meta-analytic review. A total…

Common response-time-based approaches for non-effortful response behavior (NRB) in educational achievement tests filter responses that are associated with response times below some threshold. These approaches are, however, limited in that they require a binary decision on whether a response is classified as stemming from NRB; thus ignoring…

Decades of educational research have demonstrated that students are most likely to be successful when instruction is explicit and engaging and provides students with multiple opportunities to practice with teacher feedback. To be explicit means more than simply telling students what to do. It is the teacher's responsibility to help the student…

Reluctance of respondents to participate in surveys has long drawn the attention of survey researchers. Yet, little is known about what drives a respondent's decision to answer the survey invitation early or late during the field period. Moreover, we still lack evidence on response timing in longitudinal surveys. That is, the questions on whether…

Previous research has shown that question characteristics, such as the shape of rating scales, can affect how respondents interpret and respond to questions. For example, earlier studies reported different response distributions for questions employing rating scales in the form of a ladder and in the form of a pyramid. The current experiment,…

Mixture models have been developed to enable detection of within-subject differences in responses and response times to psychometric test items. To enable mixture modeling of both responses and response times, a distributional assumption is needed for the within-state response time distribution. Since violations of the assumed response time…

Count responses with grouping and right censoring have long been used in surveys to study a variety of behaviors, status, and attitudes. Yet grouping or right-censoring decisions of count responses still rely on arbitrary choices made by researchers. We develop a new method for evaluating grouping and right-censoring decisions of count responses…

To address response style or bias in rating scales, forced-choice items are often used to request that respondents rank their attitudes or preferences among a limited set of options. The rating scales used by raters to render judgments on ratees' performance also contribute to rater bias or errors; consequently, forced-choice items have recently…

The Born rule, which describes the formalism for determining probabilities, is one of the most fundamental postulates in quantum mechanics. This paper presents results from an investigation into how students apply the Born rule to determine probabilities for energy and position measurements. The investigation includes two stages with independent…

The majority of the literature on the psychology of gains and losses suggests that losses lead to an avoidance response. Several studies, however, have shown that losses can also lead to an approach response, whereby an option is selected more often when it produces losses. In five studies we examine the boundary conditions for these contradictory…