In this paper we address the important task of automated discovery of speech act categories in dialogue-based, multi-party educational games. Speech acts are important in dialogue-based educational systems because they help infer the student speaker's intentions (the task of speech act classification) which in turn is crucial to providing adequate…

Recent explosive growth of interconnected document collections such as citation networks, network of web pages, content generated by crowd-sourcing in collaborative environments, etc., has posed several challenging problems for data mining and machine learning community. One central problem in the domain of document networks is that of "link…

Effortful control (EC), or the trait-like capacity to regulate dominant responses, has important implications for children's development. Although genetic factors and parenting likely influence EC, few studies have examined whether they interact to predict its development. This study examined whether the "DRD4" exon III variable number tandem…

Data mining hinges on one reality about life on the Web: What you do there leaves behind a trail of digital bread crumbs. Companies scoop them up to tailor services, like the matchmaking of eHarmony or the book recommendations of Amazon. Now colleges, eager to get students out the door more efficiently, are awakening to the opportunities of…

This study tested whether two aspects of sustained attention (focused attention and lack of impulsivity) measured at child age 5 predicted attention problems reported by mothers and teachers at age 9. Because lack of impulsivity reflects the executive control network, and ADHD is commonly characterized as a deficit in executive function, it was…

There is evidence that the cognitive vulnerabilities featured in the hopelessness theory of depression--inferential styles for the causes, consequences, and self-worth implications of negative events--increase risk for depression. Given this, it is important to understand how these inferential styles develop. In this study, we examined the impact…

Objective: To ascertain the association of childhood ADHD and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) on functional impairment and to test the moderating influence of callous-unemotional (CU) traits. Method: Ethnically diverse 6- to 9-year-old children with (n = 59) and without (n = 47) ADHD were ascertained using multiple methods (i.e., rating scales…

In recent years, executive functioning (EF) has received increasing attention from researchers and practitioners focusing on how EF predicts important outcomes such as success at school and in life. For example, EF has been described as the single best predictor of school readiness (Blair & Razza, 2007). Moreover, EF has been implicated in…

Immediate serial recall is seriously disrupted by to-be-ignored sound. According to the embedded-processes model, auditory distractors elicit attentional orienting that draws processing resources away from the recall task. The model predicts that interference should be attenuated after repeated exposure to the auditory distractors. Previous…

Children and adolescents with externalizing behavior disorders including attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and conduct disorder (CD) often present with symptoms of comorbid internalizing psychopathology. However, few studies have examined central nervous system correlates of such comorbidity. We evaluated interactions between…

Individuals with depressive symptoms typically show deficits in decision-making. However, most work has emphasized decision-making under gain-maximization conditions. A gain-maximization framework may undermine decision-making when depressive symptoms are present because depressives are generally more sensitive to losses than gains. The present…

Computational models of hippocampal function propose that the hippocampus is capable of rapidly storing distinct representations through a process known as pattern separation. This prediction is supported by electrophysiological data from rodents and neuroimaging data from humans. Here, we test the prediction that damage to the hippocampus would…

In this study, a wiki was integrated into a professional development model that systemically addresses early-career teachers' needs. This study was conducted to examine the impact of wiki-based professional development activities in a scientist-teacher professional learning community and focused on early-career teachers' perceptions of the role of…

In a sample of 200 individuals diagnosed with body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), we utilized the interpersonal-psychological theory for suicide as a framework to examine BDD behaviors that might be associated with suicide risk, insofar as they might increase the acquired capability for suicide. We predicted that physically painful BDD behaviors…

This longitudinal study examined the interactive effects of depressive attributional style and multiple domains of perceived competence on depressive symptoms among 431 adolescents. Our structural equation modeling with latent factor interactions indicated that (1) for girls with a higher depressive attributional style, lower perceived competence…