This study uses a new psychometric model (mixture item response theory-MIMIC model) that simultaneously estimates differential item functioning (DIF) across manifest groups and latent classes. Current DIF detection methods investigate DIF from only one side, either across manifest groups (e.g., gender, ethnicity, etc.), or across latent classes…

The objective of the present paper is to provide a simple approach to statistical inference using the method of transformations of variables. We demonstrate performance of this powerful tool on examples of constructions of various estimation procedures, hypothesis testing, Bayes analysis and statistical inference for the stress-strength systems.…

Recognition memory experiments are an important source of empirical constraints for theories of memory. Unfortunately, standard methods for analyzing recognition memory data have problems that are often severe enough to prevent clear answers being obtained. A key example is whether longer lists lead to poorer recognition performance. The presence…

An adaptive testing method is presented that controls the speededness of a test using predictions of the test takers' response times on the candidate items in the pool. Two different types of predictions are investigated: posterior predictions given the actual response times on the items already administered and posterior predictions that use the…

This article examines the multilevel linear crossed random effects growth model for estimating teacher and school effects from repeated measurements of student achievement. Results suggest that even a small degree of unmodeled nonlinearity can result in a substantial upward bias in the magnitude of the teacher effect, which raises concerns about…

Binocular rivalry occurs when the eyes are presented with different stimuli and subjective perception alternates between them. Though recent years have seen a number of models of this phenomenon, the mechanisms behind binocular rivalry are still debated and we still lack a principled understanding of why a cognitive system such as the brain should…

The main purpose of this research is to evaluate the performance of a Bayesian approach for estimating unknown change points using Monte Carlo simulations. The univariate and bivariate unknown change point mixed models were presented and the basic idea of the Bayesian approach for estimating the models was discussed. The performance of Bayesian…

Model validation in computational cognitive psychology often relies on methods drawn from the testing of theories in experimental physics. However, applications of these methods to computational models in typical cognitive experiments can hide multiple, plausible sources of variation arising from human participants and from stochastic cognitive…

The purpose of the recently proposed "p[subscript rep]" statistic is to estimate the probability of concurrence, that is, the probability that a replicate experiment yields an effect of the same sign (Killeen, 2005a). The influential journal "Psychological Science" endorses "p[subscript rep]" and recommends its use…

The information that individuals can hold in working memory is quite limited, but researchers have typically studied this capacity using simple objects or letter strings with no associations between them. However, in the real world there are strong associations and regularities in the input. In an information theoretic sense, regularities…

Assessments consisting of different domains (e.g., content areas, objectives) are typically multidimensional in nature but are commonly assumed to be unidimensional for estimation purposes. The different domains of these assessments are further treated as multi-unidimensional tests for the purpose of obtaining diagnostic information. However, when…

A Bayesian model of continuous speech recognition is presented. It is based on Shortlist (D. Norris, 1994; D. Norris, J. M. McQueen, A. Cutler, & S. Butterfield, 1997) and shares many of its key assumptions: parallel competitive evaluation of multiple lexical hypotheses, phonologically abstract prelexical and lexical representations, a feedforward…

Assessment of complex task performance is crucial to evaluating personnel in critical job functions such as Navy damage control operations aboard ships. Games and simulations can be instrumental in this process, as they can present a broad range of complex scenarios without involving harm to people or property. However, "automatic"…

The purpose of this article is to clarify conceptions, definitions, and applications of learning and problem-solving efficiency. Conceptions of efficiency vary within the field of educational psychology, and there is little consensus as to how to define, measure, and interpret the efficiency construct. We compare three diverse models that differ…

Student modeling is a widely used approach to make inference about a student's attributes like knowledge, learning, etc. If we wish to use these models to analyze and better understand student learning there are two problems. First, a model's ability to predict student performance is at best weakly related to the accuracy of any one of its…