Synthesizing a decade of research, the author describes a taxonomy of meaningful learning. The most meaningful learning outcome is problem solving. In this taxonomy, four different kinds of problem solving are arranged in a hierarchical manner. Prerequisite/corequisite with problem-solving outcomes are two fundamental reasoning skills that…

Causal reasoning represents one of the most basic and important cognitive processes that underpin all higher-order activities, such as conceptual understanding and problem solving. Hume called causality the "cement of the universe" [Hume (1739/2000). Causal reasoning is required for making predictions, drawing implications and…

Research on psychosocial correlates of depression and social anxiety often has not accounted for their comorbidity. Differentiating correlates of depression and social anxiety may inform the development of comorbidity models. Building on research linking both disorders to interpersonal dysfunction, this study examined interpersonal correlates of…

The failure of Hume's "constant conjunction" to describe apparently causal relations in science and everyday life has led to various "probabilistic" theories of causation of which the study by P. C. Suppes (1970) is an important example. A formal model that was developed for the analysis of comparative agricultural experiments…

Defines causal-model evaluation and uses an example from the crime prevention literature to contrast this approach with traditional evaluations. Discusses benefits and limitations of the approach, as well as other issues. (SLD)

Summarizes interesting aspects of the preceding chapters and the issues and concerns raised related to program theory evaluation. Suggests that evaluators may be fighting a losing battle in their efforts to shore up weak programs through the introduction of program theory evaluation, asserting that the development of strong program theory should…

Several theories have been proposed regarding how causal relations among features of objects affect how those objects are classified. The assumptions of these theories were tested in 3 experiments that manipulated the causal knowledge associated with novel categories. There were 3 results. The 1st was a multiple cause effect in which a feature's…

Although the field of operations management has come a long way since its beginnings in scientific management, the field still appears somewhat amorphous and unstructured to many. Introductory operations management textbooks usually include a number of largely disjointed topics, which leave many students (and their instructors) without a coherent…

Mediators are variables that explain the association between an independent variable and a dependent variable. Structural equation modeling (SEM) is widely used to test models with mediating effects. This article illustrates how to construct confidence intervals (CIs) of the mediating effects for a variety of models in SEM. Specifically, mediating…

Comments on an article by Rips et al. L. J. Rips, S. Blok, and G. Newman (2006) proposed that singular concepts, which support the tracing of individual objects across their existence, are governed by a principle of causal continuity. They purported to show that causal continuity is better than existing theories at explaining judgments of the…

Responds to comments made by Rhemtulla and Xu on the current authors' original paper Concepts of individual objects (e.g., a favorite chair or pet) include knowledge that allows people to identify these objects, sometimes after long stretches of time. In an earlier article, the authors set out experimental findings and mathematical modeling to…

Current teaching and learning methods reveal marked differences between how students approach learning and how instructors approach teaching. Little attention has been paid to understanding these differences and their implications for designing successful learning environments. The purpose of the paper is to introduce a framework for understanding…

There has been considerable debate regarding the causal precedence of intelligence and academic achievement. Some researchers view intelligence and achievement as identical constructs. Others believe that the relationship between intelligence and achievement is reciprocal. Still others assert that intelligence is causally related to achievement.…

People's reactions to coincidences are often cited as an illustration of the irrationality of human reasoning about chance. We argue that coincidences may be better understood in terms of rational statistical inference, based on their functional role in processes of causal discovery and theory revision. We present a formal definition of…

This article highlights the problem of omitted variable bias in research on the causal effect of financial aid on college-going. I first describe the problem of self-selection and the resulting bias from omitted variables. I then assess and explore the strengths and weaknesses of random assignment, multivariate regression, proxy variables, fixed…