Educational researchers and policymakers need to understand the ecological correlation fallacy, since so much bad research (and policy) has been based on it. Aggregate data may or may not yield results that are true for individuals. Only individual-level data can correctly answer questions about the relationship between variables for individuals.…

Investigated to what extent imaginary companions are created in the diaries of adolescents. Content analysis of questionnaire responses by participants, ages 12 to 17 years (N=241), indicate that the imaginary companion was similar to the writer in many aspects. Results show that the imaginary companion was not the result of an egocentric…

Studied how preacademic students acquired revision strategies based upon their individual cognitive abilities. Revision Cuing Devices, teacher intervention and student reaction, peer support and collaboration, think-aloud protocols, and holistic assessments were used to develop individual strategies. Eventually revision support faded without signs…

Compared tendencies of adults and rhesus monkeys to escape adaptively when uncertain. In a visual discrimination task using a threshold paradigm, humans and monkeys escaped trials in which they were uncertain of the stimulus. In a similar task with constant stimuli, some humans escaped adaptively, but one escaped infrequently and non-optimally,…

Examines the common and distinct contributions of context-free and context reading skill to reading comprehension and the contributions of context-free reading skill and reading comprehension to context fluency. Results support the conclusion that word level processes contribute relatively more to fluency at lower levels while comprehension…

This retrospective study presents a comparison of assessment results achieved by distance learning students undertaking the same module in a degree course to compare the quality of distance education versus conventional instruction in the United Kingdom and Hong Kong. Identifies educational, cultural, and personal factors to explain higher scores…

Describes the Planning Pyramid, a framework to help regular and special education teachers cover required curriculum while modifying learning requirements to meet individual differences. The pyramid's base represents "what all students will learn," the middle portion "what most students will learn," and the top portion "what some students will…

Studied between-group differences in test-related perceptions, engagement, and performance, and within-group predictors of science performance among groups of high school students with different motivation patterns. Results for 403 high school students are discussed in terms of R. Snow's (1994) theory of aptitude complexes and their relation to…

Proposes a mixture item response model for investigating individual differences in the selection of response categories in multiple choice items. A real data example illustrates how the model can be used to distinguish examinees disproportionately attracted to different types of distractors, and a simulation study evaluates item parameter recovery…

Using two-level structural equation modeling, examined the dimensionality of socioeconomic status (SES) and its relationship with mathematics and science performance at student and school levels. Data from 13-year-olds from the Third International Mathematics and Science Study show that SES dimensions have different effects on mathematics and…

Describes arousal styles during speaking on the basis of mean heart rates among a group of university students. Examines individual differences in heart rate responses during public speaking and accounts for these differences in terms of particular explanatory variables. Distinguishes four styles of speaking: the confrontation style; inflexible…

This paper presents a systematic approach for addressing the support needs of persons with mental retardation and related developmental disabilities and describes a new scale to measure individual differences in support needs. It explains the process used in developing the scale and discusses critical issues and practical challenges associated…

Two studies with children (n=123) with mild mental retardation were designed to test whether specific clusters of beliefs would predict imitation and persistence behaviors in this population. The studies found that belief scores were significantly related to such behaviors. Implications concerning motivation, the developmental-difference…

Findings indicated that low levels of word recognition skills, which are characteristic of dyslexic children, persist into adulthood, particularly in terms of slow word recognition. Further, adults with childhood diagnoses of dyslexia do not use word-recognition processes that are appropriate for their age level or, in some cases, for their…

Reports a study of 110 newborn infants' responses to the heelstick procedure to draw blood samples, and of the responses of 40 of those infants to their first inoculations at two months of age. Discusses measures of distress; stability of reactivity across time; and individual differences and health of the infant as factors in reactivity. (NH)