Cognition could be seen as a cascade of top-down and bottom-up processes across behavioural and psychophysiological layers in a cognitive architecture. Typical behavioural measurements used in education do not give information about lower cognitive layers. Event-Related Potentials (ERPs) derived from electroencephalography allow researchers to…

The interpretation of cognitive test scores often leads to decisions concerning the diagnosis, educational placement, and types of interventions used for children. Therefore, it is important that practitioners administer and score cognitive tests without error. This study assesses the frequency and types of examiner errors that occur during the…

Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis is being used increasingly to examine the memory processes underlying recognition memory. The authors discuss the methodological issues involved in conducting and analyzing ROC results, describe the various models that have been developed to account for these results, review the behavioral empirical…

This paper is a report of the replication of a seminal study on cognitive presence in computer mediated conferencing (CMC) by Garrison, Anderson, and Archer (2001). A comparison of cognitive presence coding by three different researchers is also demonstrated. The study re-ignites debates about what constitutes the segment of CMC data to be coded…

The decline of the psychometric paradigm for studying intelligence was due in part to its failure to meet four challenges. On the surface, users of the information-processing paradigms seem successfully to have met these challenges, but at a deeper level, the level of success is not so great. (Author/BW)

Discusses problems involved in testing Piaget's hypothesis of topological primacy in representational space by copying geometric figures. (Author/SS)

Significant correlations between measures of cognitive structure and performance were found using a procedure distinguishing between episodic and semantic memory as an heuristic with achievement test items. The design increased the likelihood of indications of semantic memory. Higher-order and lower-order cognitive processes are discussed.…

This study objects to the "very specious statistical arguments" of Ernest Sternglass and Steven Bell in the April issue of this magazine, in which illogical and inconsistent statistical evidence suggested cognitive damage during infancy may be linked to atmospheric testing of nuclear weapons from 1954 to 1963. (PB)

Investigates the psychometric adequacy of Steers and Braunstein's (1976) Manifest Needs Questionnaire. Research results indicate that the instrument possesses adequate stability but lacks adequate internal consistency. Factor analytic procedures fail to replicate the a priori factor structure. Results are compared with Steers and Braunstein's…

Problems with experimental research on mental retardation include: (1) difficulties with defining mental retardation; (2) neglect in demonstrating causal relationships; and (3) reliance on methodology not necessarily appropriate for defining the criteria of retardation. The author advocates abandoning definitions based on intelligence tests and…

Reviews relationship of IQ scores to race and gender. Explores the logic that supports the use of intelligence testing to discriminate and to exclude. Argues that default assumptions allow researchers to remain unaware of the subtle adverse impact of their research. Includes recommendations to encourage a broader understanding of intelligence.…

Neuropsychological tests have limited sensitivity in identifying subtle residual cognitive impairments in patients with good medical recovery from head injury and post-concussive syndrome. Detecting and characterizing residual "real life" cognitive difficulties can be problematic for treatment purposes. This study investigated the usefulness of a…

The author refutes Humphrey's test of the Spearman hypothesis. A fair test requires that Black and White samples not be selected on any g-correlated variable, including socioeconomic status. Humphrey's factor analysis on test-score means of demographic groups, rather than on individuals, inflates g loadings and biases results. (LMO)

This author reviews published data and presents new data relevant to the Spearman hypothesis concerning racial differences on cognitive tests. He concludes that across-the-board difference between SES groups occurs primarily on the general factor, and that there are major determinants of race differences independent of the general factor.…

The author responds to criticisms made by Jensen pertaining to tests of the Spearman hypothesis. The near-zero correlation between Blacks and low socio-economic status Whites is neither an artifact of methodology nor a sampling fluke. Low and high SES White differences are highly correlated with general factor loadings. (LMO)