Plant tropisms--their directional movement in response to stimuli--are a fundamental concept in plant science and excite students because they are the observable signs of life in plants. Unfortunately, the precollege teaching literature is full of tropism misconceptions. An inexpensive clock clinostat is invaluable for student gravitropism and…

The present study examined whether in humans the generalized matching law described the relation between relative responding and relative drug intake by humans under concurrent variable interval variable interval (conc VI VI) schedules of drug reinforcement. Methadone-maintained patients, stabilized on 80 mg per day of methadone, were recruited…

Twenty-six graduate psychology students at 2 Midwestern public universities used a self-report questionnaire for an exploratory study to rate interactions with faculty based on mode of address. When students addressed faculty by first name, they rated faculty as more approachable and helpful, and they felt more valued and respected by faculty than…

In setting the cut-scores on National Curriculum tests it is important to maintain standards. In the process of test development, both within and across years, changes are made to the style of the questions in order to increase their "accessibility". This raises the question of whether a more accessible test should have higher cut-scores. Purely…

Grounded theory methods were used to study the experiences of 8 bereaved fathers whose children received care in a home-based hospice program. In-depth, unstructured interviews were audiotaped, transcribed, and coded for themes and categories. Every aspect of fathers' lives was affected by their experiences, which were described in metaphoric…

The authors report differential item functioning (DIF) between Black and White participants completing the 60-item Padua Inventory (PI) for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The authors use an Internet-generated sample that included 105 Blacks, 67 Hispanics, 582 Whites, and 136 additional participants reporting an OCD diagnosis. Factor analysis…

Under a multidimensional item response theory (MIRT) computerized adaptive testing (CAT) testing scenario, a trait estimate (theta) in one dimension will provide clues for subsequently seeking a solution in other dimensions. This feature may enhance the efficiency of MIRT CAT's item selection and its scoring algorithms compared with its…

Reliable Digit Span (RDS) is an indicator used to assess the validity of cognitive test performance. Scores of 7 or lower suggest poor effort or negative response bias. The possibility that RDS scores are also affected by pain has not been addressed thus potentially threatening RDS specificity. The current study used cold pressor-induced pain to…

The objectives of this study were to describe the socially based emotions and behaviors of 33 orphans in Uganda and to examine social history correlates of variability in the outcome measures. The toddlers were generally not very aggressive or prosocially oriented, and they displayed rather limited affect. More time was spent alone than with…

A parallel design, in which items across different scales within an instrument share common stimuli and subjects respond to the common stimulus for each scale, is sometimes used in questionnaires or inventories. Because the items across scales share the same stimuli, the assumption of local item independence may not hold, thereby violating the…

This article reviews research linking a number of temperamental vulnerabilities to the development of severe conduct problems in children. Also reviewed are 2 areas of research that focus on important developmental processes that could mediate the relation between temperament and conduct problems. These processes are the development of emotional…

The purpose of this case study was to explore a middle school student's emotions in the tutoring context in order to better understand the "struggles"faced by a struggling reader. Through cognitive explanations of emotions, the researcher identified aspects of tutoring that influenced Mitchell's feelings of enjoyment, pride, and success. These…

Computer-mediated instruction plays a significant role in foreign language education. The incorporation of computer technology into the classroom has also been accompanied by an increasing number of students who experience anxiety when interacting with computers. This study examined the effects of computer anxiety on students' choice of feedback…

Despite increased awareness of practical issues in multinational data collection, few studies have addressed the issue of measurement equivalence across Western and Eastern cultures, especially using measures of job attitudes. Therefore, the measurement equivalence of the Job Descriptive Index (JDI) was examined across 2,638 Chinese workers and…

This study investigates whether the type of parental permission affects prevalence estimates for risk behaviors from the national 2001 Youth Risk Behavior Survey. Participants were 13,195 students from 143 schools, of which 65% used passive permission and 35% active permission. Student participation rates were 86.7% in passive permission schools…