Impairment of joint attention represents the core clinical features of pervasive developmental disorders (PDDs), including autism and Asperger's disorder. However, experimental studies reported intact gaze-triggered attentional orienting in PDD. Since all previous studies employed supraliminal presentation of gaze stimuli, we hypothesized that…

Job involvement-alienation was studied over three time points with a sample of undergraduate engineers undergoing a career transition from university to paid employment. Data from Newton and Keenan (1991) were re-analyzed under a latent growth curve modelling (LGCM) perspective, in order to provide an alternative analysis of the development of job…

In this article, we adapt a concept designed to structure language testing more effectively, the "Assessment Use Argument" ("AUA"), as a framework for the development and/or use of sign language assessments for deaf children who are taught in a sign bilingual education setting. By drawing on data from a recent investigation of…

Contemporary Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) theory of cognitive abilities has evolved over the past 20 years and serves as the theoretical foundation for a number of current cognitive ability assessments. CHC theory provides a means by which we can better understand the relationships between cognitive abilities and academic achievement, an important…

Studies often report that bilingual participants possess a smaller vocabulary in the language of testing than monolinguals, especially in research with children. However, each study is based on a small sample so it is difficult to determine whether the vocabulary difference is due to sampling error. We report the results of an analysis of 1,738…

Students--and just about everyone else--tend to have a wide range of misconceptions about microbes. This article is aimed at changing how students view microbes by engaging them in two hands-on activities that are fun and creative and align with both the National Science Education Standards (NRC 1996) and the Essential Principles of Ocean Literacy…

This study followed up on previous work that examined the incidence of reporting evidence based on test consequences in "Mental Measurements Yearbook". In the present study, additional possible outlets for what has been called "consequential validity" evidence were investigated, including all articles published in the past 10 years in several…

Developmental intergroup theory would predict that children develop fewer or weaker stereotypes about toys that have less distinguishable gender attributes than those that are clearly associated with a gender. The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of neutral and ambiguous toys in 31 three- to five-year-old children's play behaviour…

Previous studies have reported that congenitally blind children without any additional impairment reveal a developmental delay of at least 4 years in perspective taking based on testing first-order false-belief tasks. These authors interpret this delay as a sign of autism-like behavior. However, the delay may be caused by testing blind children…

This study establishes a socio-demographic theory of international development derived from selected classical and contemporary sociological theories. Four hypotheses are tested: (1. population growth's effect on development depends on age-structure; (2. historic population density (used here as an indicator of preindustrial social complexity)…

Implications of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) on the development and use of tests in school settings are enumerated. We predict increased demand for behavioural assessments that consider a person's activities, participation and person-environment interactions, including measures that: (a) address…

Because structural equation models are widely used in testing and assessment, investigation into the accuracy of such models may help raise awareness of the value of reanalysis or replication. We focused on second language testing and learning studies and examined: (a) To what extent is information necessary for replication provided by authors?…

Co-rumination, the social process of frequently discussing and rehashing problems with peers, is hypothesized to increase risk for depression, particularly for girls. Although there is growing evidence for a relation between co-rumination and depressive symptoms in youth, it remains unclear whether these results generalize to diagnosable episodes…

Null distributions of permutation tests for two-sample, paired, and block designs are simulated using the R statistical programming language. For each design and type of data, permutation tests are compared with standard normal-theory and nonparametric tests. These examples (often using real data) provide for classroom discussion use of metrics…

This paper describes three spreadsheet exercises demonstrating the nature and frequency of type I errors using random number generation. The exercises are designed specifically to address issues related to testing multiple relations using correlation (Demonstration I), t tests varying in sample size (Demonstration II) and multiple comparisons…