In general, if a variable can be expressed as a function of its own maximum value, that function may be called a discount function. Delay discounting and probability discounting are commonly studied in psychology, but memory, matching, and economic utility also may be viewed as discounting processes. When they are so viewed, the discount function…

One problem that students have with mathematics is that they often view the topic as a series of unrelated ideas. Sometimes they are aware that they have to know one concept to move to the next, but what is done in geometry is not necessarily related to anything in algebra. This failure to recognize mathematical connections limits students'…

This paper reviews some of the ways in which student success can be predicted in conventional and distance education. Predicting such success is particularly important for new students where the pre-course start information available is sometimes slight and withdrawal often occurs very early in a course. It suggests that, in such cases,…

We evaluated the effects of escape extinction with and without a high-probability (high-p) instructional sequence on food acceptance and inappropriate behavior for children diagnosed with feeding problems. The high-p sequence consisted of three presentations of a response that was similar topographically (i.e., presentations of an empty nuk[R],…

We use data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics to estimate the effect of new saving incentives implemented as part of the 1996 welfare reform on household saving. Economic theory predicts that loosening asset limits will increase total savings for households with a large ex-ante probability of welfare receipt such as female-headed households…

Objectives: To identify pediatric residents' understanding and interpretation of "reasonable suspicion," in the context of mandated reporting of suspected child abuse. Method: A survey was administered to pediatrics and combined medicine/pediatrics residents. An open-ended question plus three operational frameworks for interpreting…

The dataset presented here illustrates to students the utility of logistic regression. Its analysis results in a fit that explains much of how senators vote on a particular bill, and allows for quantification of the effects of ideology and money on the vote. A number of interesting quantitative interpretations follow from a good fit. A successful…

The "Weather Prediction" task is a widely used task for investigating probabilistic category learning, in which various cues are probabilistically (but not perfectly) predictive of class membership. This means that a given combination of cues sometimes belongs to one class and sometimes to another. Prior studies showed that subjects can improve…

This snapshot introduces a computer-based representation and activity that enables students to simultaneously "see" the combinatorial space of a stochastic device (e.g., dice, spinner, coins) and its outcome distribution. The author argues that the "ambiguous" representation fosters student insight into probability. [Snapshots are subject to peer…

When a simple random sample of size n is employed to establish a classification rule for prediction of a polytomous variable by an independent variable, the best achievable rate of misclassification is higher than the corresponding best achievable rate if the conditional probability distribution is known for the predicted variable given the…

Cognitive theories posit that exposure-based treatments exert their effect on social anxiety by modifying judgmental biases. The present study provides a conservative test of the relative roles of changes in judgmental biases in governing social anxiety reduction and addresses several limitations of previous research. Longitudinal, within-subjects…

Contingency tables, and their associated statistical tests, are frequently used in educational and social research. Popular statistical tests used in contingency table analyses include the Pearson chi-square test and the likelihood ratio chi-square test. These two tests are chi-square distributed under large sample conditions. However, when a…

Probability-based inference in complex networks of interdependent variables is an active topic in statistical research, spurred by such diverse applications as forecasting, pedigree analysis, troubleshooting, and medical diagnosis. This paper concerns the role of Bayesian inference networks for updating student models in intelligent tutoring…

The role of the response probability convention in reporting results from the 1992 National Adult Literacy Survey is explored, using interviews with more than 26,000 adults and young adults. In order to summarize what respondents of a particular proficiency can do, it is convenient to adopt a convention for a sufficient response probability that…

For much of the twentieth century, Markov theory and Markov processes have been widely accepted as valid ways to view statistical variables and parameters. In the complex realm of online searching, where researchers are always seeking the route to the best search strategies and the most powerful query terms and sequences, Markov process analysis…