Raises conceptual and empirical questions regarding: whether physical aggression is the main individual risk factor for antisocial behavior; the prospect that language impairment is also a risk factor; the meaning of the male preponderance for antisocial behavior; findings on environmentally mediated risk; the role of biosocial interplay; the…

Problems in the measurement of latent variables (LVs) in structural equations causal models are presented, with examples from recent empirical studies. Main issues addressed are (1) two general types of increased operative variables; (2) criteria for indicators of LVs; and (3) disattenuation effects in LV models. (SLD)

Program logic models provide a method of presenting program objectives schematically. This article presents a model that explicitly recognizes the ultimate societal-level benefits and accommodates identification of outputs, performance indicators, and targets. The model is illustrated with a hypothetical agricultural technology transfer program.…

Research documents that attributions of failure resulting from lack of ability result in less punishment from others than do ascriptions to lack of effort. This paper provides a conceptual analysis of these empirical findings, guided by a taxonomy of causal thinking. Process and functional understandings of achievement strivings are distinguished.…

The genetic and environmental causes of the phenotypic association between reading and verbal short-term memory (VSTM) were analyzed using data from the Colorado Reading Project for 446 twin pairs. Results of bivariate behavioral genetic analyses indicate that both reading ability and VSTM are highly heritable. (SLD)

Proposes that construct differentiation moderates the effects of perspective on causal judgments. Finds that construct differentiation was positively associated with intrapersonal variability in ratings of causal judgments across three perspectives and positively associated with actor/observer differences when taking the perspective of message…

This essay considers the discipline of psychology as distinct from history, defining it as a science within philosophy dedicated to the study of the causal structure of the human mind. Although Hugo Munsterburg was considered an important figure in applied psychology, this essay represents an earlier epistemology. (SLD)

Survey data collected from 166 homeless persons in Austin (Texas) identified four clusters distinguished by the size of the individual's social network, the degree of dysfunction, and the length of time homeless. Recommends group-based plans for building better paths out of homelessness. (DM)

Describes a theory of cognition which posits specialized structural systems (SSSs) that enable individuals to represent and understand domains of knowledge. Three test batteries assessed 12-16 year olds' abilities to think combinatorially, form hypotheses, design experiments, and construct models or theories. Suggests that the results of tests…

Studied whether moving average or autoregressive moving average models fit two longitudinal data sets previously thought to possess quasi-simplex structures better than the quasi-simplex, one-factor, or autoregressive models. Results of a Monte Carlo study show the importance of evaluating the fit, propriety, and parsimony of models before one…

Compares two models of attribution to assess counselors' reactions to clients' initial attributional presentations. Results reveal that counselors reacted most positively when they disagreed with the client's internal attribution and most negatively when they disagreed with the client's external attribution. (Contains 22 references.) (GCP)

Compares two approaches for improving instructional text with a sample of eighth grade students (N=64). The first approach emphasized the reduction of the reader's comprehension; the other was oriented toward triggering causal inferences in the reader. Only the second procedure produced benefits on inferential learning, though both procedures had…

The students in molecular spectroscopy courses are often required to determine the permitted normal vibrations for linear molecules that belong to particular groups. The reducible group representations generated by the use of Cartesian coordinates can be reduced by the use of a simple algebraic process applied to the group representations. The…

Although knowledge-based inferences (Graesser, Singer, & Trabasso, 1994) depend on general knowledge, there may be differences across knowledge areas in how they support these processes. This study explored processing differences between 2 areas of knowledge (physical cause?effect vs. goals and planning) to establish (a) that each would support…

Literature on multivariable causal inference (MCI) and literature on scientific reasoning (SR) have proceeded almost entirely independently, although they in large part address the same phenomena. An effort is made to bring these paradigms into close enough alignment with one another to compare implications of the two lines of work and examine how…