Bernoulli's framework of expected utility serves as a model for various psychological processes, including motivation, moral sense, attitudes, and decision making. To account for evidence at variance with expected utility, the authors generalize the framework of fast and frugal heuristics from inferences to preferences. The priority heuristic…

In this article, the authors respond to Jerzy Trzebinski's "Narratives and understanding other people." The first author's viewpoint comes from his work as a doctor, a psychiatrist, and a social psychiatrist preoccupied with rehabilitation and recovery for people with severe mental illness. According to him, Trzebinski's work raised important…

This paper explores alternative approaches for facilitating efficient, evidence-centered item development for a new type of verbal reasoning item developed for use on the GRE® General Test. Results obtained in two separate studies are reported. The first study documented the development and validation of a fully automated approach for locating the…

Introduction: Evidence-based medicine (EBM) integrates published clinical evidence with patient values and clinical expertise, the output of which is informed medical decision making. Key skills for evidence-based practice include acquisition and appraisal of clinical information. Faculty clinicians often lack expertise in these skills and are…

The relationships between ratings on the Idaho Alternate Assessment (IAA) for 116 students with significant disabilities and corresponding ratings for the same students on two norm-referenced teacher rating scales were examined to gain evidence about the validity of resulting IAA scores. To contextualize these findings, another group of 54…

There is much research that documents what many teachers know, that students struggle with many concepts in probability and statistics. This article presents two sample activities the authors use to help preservice teachers develop ideas about how they can use technology to promote their students' ability to understand mathematics and connect…

The aim of this study was to develop a criterion of graduate school success as an alternative to first-year average. Faculty rating scales of students' analytical abilities were developed as a potential criterion against which to validate both the current Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) analytical measure and its future modifications. The…

Both business leaders and parents pressure policymakers to legislate new initiatives to improve schools. One improvement strategy has been to reduce class sizes; another has been to allocate larger school budgets. This paper presents findings of a study that examined the relationship between class size and student achievement and between…

A study was conducted which addressed the following questions: (1) Do elementary school children infer word meanings from context?; (2) Are older students more successful in using context to infer the meanings of new words than younger students?; and (3) Is a longer context more facilitating to word meaning inference than a shorter context?; and…

A practicum addressed fifth and sixth graders' deficiencies in writing and comprehension skills with the implementation of diagnostic-prescriptive teaching techniques. The Multi Level Academic Skills Inventory and interest inventories aided in defining students' specific strengths and weaknesses in the areas of reading and language arts. Among the…

This report describes a methodology for increasing the validity and reliability of inferences made about the problem-solving ability of science students that is based on performance on different kinds of tests. The generalizable cognitive components of problem solving that might be targeted by assessment are described, and specifications are…

A key strategy for teaching inferential comprehension was implemented in a seventh-grade classroom of students who were at least one year below grade level in reading. The purpose was to improve the students' inferential comprehension skills. The implementation began with a diagnostic reading test followed by several weeks of introducing different…

This paper explores the patterns and processes used by adult students of English as a second language (ESL) when they guess at the meanings of nonsense words in a reading text. The findings suggest that while word-unit processing is a major component of both first- and second-language reading, a major difference between first- and second-language…

Some of the problems of acquisition of pragmatic competence in speech experience by language learners are examined, and the implications of selected literature in sociolinguistics, applied linguistics, and social psychology for enhancing pragmatic competence through second language instruction are discussed. Of special concern are the development…

A study investigated how young children understand natural kind terms by examining how 3- and 4-year-olds rely on category membership to draw inductive inferences about objects. One hundred four children (53 girls and 51 boys) from six preschools in California and Michigan participated in the study. The children were shown 10 sets of pictures of…