A central puzzle for theories of choice is that people's preferences between options can be reversed by the presence of decoy options (that are not chosen) or by the presence of other irrelevant options added to the choice set. Three types of reversal effect reported in the decision-making literature, the attraction, compromise, and similarity…

The task-switch paradigm has helped psychologists gain insight into the processes involved in changing from one activity to another. The literature has yielded consistent results about switch cost reconfiguration (abrupt offset in regular task-switch vs. gradual reduction in random task-switch; endogenous and exogenous components of switch cost;…

This note can be used to illustrate to the student such concepts as periodicity in the complex plane. The basic construction makes use of the Tent function which requires only that the student have some working knowledge of binary arithmetic.

Confidence interval estimation is a fundamental technique in statistical inference. Margin of error is used to delimit the error in estimation. Dispelling misinterpretations that teachers and students give to these terms is important. In this note, we give examples of the confusion that can arise in regard to confidence interval estimation and…

Pilot studies are often recommended by scholars and consultants to address a variety of issues, including preliminary scale or instrument development. Specific concerns such as item difficulty, item discrimination, internal consistency, response rates, and parameter estimation in general are all relevant. Unfortunately, there is little discussion…

This article offers reflections on the development of the Rubin causal model (RCM), which were stimulated by the impressive discussions of the RCM and Campbell's superb contributions to the practical problems of drawing causal inferences written by Will Shadish (2010) and Steve West and Felix Thoemmes (2010). It is not a rejoinder in any real…

A college professor who trains preservice physical education teachers was asked to design, develop, and implement a pilot physical education program at a nonpublic school primarily serving students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBDs). The teacher/researcher conducted an action research study to maximize the effectiveness of teaching and…

A technique for automatic error analysis using interval mathematics is introduced. A comparison to standard error propagation methods shows that in cases involving complicated formulas, the interval approach gives comparable error estimates with much less effort. Several examples are considered, and numerical errors are computed using the INTLAB…

This study describes the performance of children 8-11 years of age on the Community Balance and Mobility Scale (CB&M) and associations between performance and age, body mass index (BMI), and sex. A convenience sample of 84 was recruited. The CB&M was administered using instructions we developed for children. Mean CB&M total scores (95%…

This study tested the hypothesis that children with speech sound disorder have generalized slowed motor speeds. It evaluated associations among oral and hand motor speeds and measures of speech (articulation and phonology) and language (receptive vocabulary, sentence comprehension, sentence imitation), in 11 children with moderate to severe SSD…

Our first review article (Wagemans et al., 2012) on the occasion of the centennial anniversary of Gestalt psychology focused on perceptual grouping and figure-ground organization. It concluded that further progress requires a reconsideration of the conceptual and theoretical foundations of the Gestalt approach, which is provided here. In…

The study explores first language (L1) influences on the mechanisms of spelling in English as a foreign language (EFL). We hypothesized that the transparency of L1 orthography influences (a) the amount of hesitation associated with spelling irregular English words, and (b) the size of units EFL spellers operate. Participants were adult speakers of…

In this new report from the Signature series, the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, in partnership with the Indiana University Project on Academic Success, presents findings on two- to four-year transfer students, focusing on their baccalaureate completion within six years after transfer. The report examines baccalaureate completion…

Learning about statistics is a lot like learning about science: the learning is more meaningful if you can actively explore. This third installment of "Explorations in Statistics" investigates confidence intervals. A confidence interval is a range that we expect, with some level of confidence, to include the true value of a population parameter…

Participants completed blocks of trials under simple (i.e., work-alone), competitive, and self-competitive fixed-interval 20-s schedules of reinforcement. In general, response rates were highest during competition and lowest while working alone. In addition, whereas participants emitted responses at a constant rate while working alone, competitive…