A modified and improved inductive inferential approach to evaluate item discriminations in a conditional maximum likelihood and Rasch modeling framework is suggested. The new approach involves the derivation of four hypothesis tests. It implies a linear restriction of the assumed set of probability distributions in the classical approach that…

Explanatory item response models (EIRMs) have been applied to investigate the effects of person covariates, item covariates, and their interactions in the fields of reading education and psycholinguistics. In practice, it is often assumed that the relationships between the covariates and the logit transformation of item response probability are…

Explanatory item response models (EIRMs) have been applied to investigate the effects of person covariates, item covariates, and their interactions in the fields of reading education and psycholinguistics. In practice, it is often assumed that the relationships between the covariates and the logit transformation of item response probability are…

M-fluctuation tests are a recently proposed method for detecting differential item functioning in Rasch models. This article discusses a generalization of this method to two additional item response theory models: the two-parametric logistic model and the three-parametric logistic model with a common guessing parameter. The Type I error rate and…

A simulation study is presented to evaluate and compare three methods to estimate the variance of the estimates of the parameters d and "C" of the signal detection theory (SDT). Several methods have been proposed to calculate the variance of their estimators, "d'" and "c." Those methods have been mostly assessed by…

Heterogeneity in meta-analysis is most commonly estimated using a moment-based approach described by DerSimonian and Laird. However, this method has been shown to produce biased estimates. Alternative methods to estimate heterogeneity include the restricted maximum likelihood approach and those proposed by Paule and Mandel, Sidik and Jonkman, and…

Traditional parallel analysis (T-PA) estimates the number of factors by sequentially comparing sample eigenvalues with eigenvalues for randomly generated data. Revised parallel analysis (R-PA) sequentially compares the "k"th eigenvalue for sample data to the "k"th eigenvalue for generated data sets, conditioned on"k"-…

Social approach and social avoidance goals (i.e., approach of positive and avoidance of negative outcomes in social situations) are important predictors of the feeling of being socially integrated or isolated. However, little is known about the development of these goals across adulthood. In a large diary study with N = 744 young (18-39 years),…

One of the major challenges for international students to pursue academic goals in the United States is English language proficiency, which often negatively affects academic success. Even students with confidence in their English language proficiency encounter challenges using English in class. Previous research indicates self-efficacy positively…

This article uses data survey on 82 teachers from the University of Ouagadougou and the model of unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) to assess the determinants of acceptance and educational use of ICT by teachers. The paper's outcomes show that the construct "performance expectancy" of ICT (expected utility and…

Although religiousness has been identified as a protective factor against adolescent substance use, processes through which these effects may operate are unclear. The current longitudinal study examined sequential mediation of afterlife beliefs and future orientation in the relation between adolescent religiousness and cigarette, alcohol, and…

The authors investigated how work-family balance mediated the relationship between personality traits, gender roles, social support, and psychosocial adjustment. Data were collected from 243 married international graduate students (MIGSs) studying in the United States. Results of structural equation modeling indicated that personality traits…

An online survey of 374 US college students was conducted in April, 2015 to examine whether and how subjective norm, direct and indirect experiences related to China, their perceptions of China (China's country reputation), and media coverage of China influence their interests of studying in China. Statistical results show that their subjective…

How do people learn about the environment and behave accordingly? What is the cognitive process at the base of this learning mechanism? The present paper is a pilot work investigating the dynamics of individual environmental knowledge on the basis of social capital theory. Using Tsai and Ghoshal's findings, a well known framework widely accepted…

We argue that adolescent friendships flourish, or wither, within the "linked lives" of other salient social network ties. Based on structural equation modeling with data from two time points, we find that young people tend to be in high-quality friendships when they are tightly embedded in their social network and receive social support…