It has been shown that the degree of restriction of range taken into account in testing the hypothesis that rho equals zero, entails risks of incorrect inferences. It is argued that an alternative is to disregard the restriction of range and to use the common t-statistics proposed by regression theory. (Author/JKS)

A program is described which selects the most powerful among four methods for conducting a priori comparisons in an analysis of variance: orthogonal contrasts, Scheffe's method, Dunn's method, and Dunnett's test. The program supplies the critical t ratio and the per-comparison Type I error risk for each of the relevant methods. (Author/JKS)

Social scientists have available a wide array of techniques for the analysis of complex contingency tables. Considerations in choosing from among the techniques are discussed. The theme emphasized here is that the analyst should evaluate the techniques within the context of the substantive questions of the study. (Author/JKS)

The golden section is a proportion the aesthetic properties of which have been extolled since antiquity. The data from five experiments in which subjects made dichotomous judgements of acquaintances on bipolar dimensions (e.g. pleasant-unpleasant) were reported. (Editor)

Research indicates that evaluative (emotional) word meaning and denotative meaning (imagery) are distinct mediational mechanisms and can be conditioned. It is hypothesized that the meaning responses can be conditioned concurrently and independently. (Editor/RK)

It was hypothesized that a moving or stationary observer who samples an ambient optic array specific to egomotion over a flat plain obtains a phenomenal experience of egomotion over that environment and further that the focus of expansion need not be present in the optic array sample for an observer to perceive his heading and egomotion.…

In order to address criticisms raised against the cognitive mediation hypothesis, three experiments were conducted to develop a more direct test of the hypothesis. Taken together, the three experiments provide converging support for the cognitive mediation hypothesis, reconfirming the central role of cognition in the persuasion process.…

Derived a confidence interval for a ratio of correlated mean absolute deviations. Simulation results show that it performs well in small sample sizes across realistically nonnormal distributions and that it is almost as powerful as the most powerful test examined by R. Wilcox (1990). (SLD)

Addresses one of the functions of output proposed by Swain (1993, 1995, 1998). In particular, the activity of producing the target language may, under certain circumstances, prompt second language (L2) learners to recognize some of their linguistic problems and bring to their attention something they need to discover about their L2. (Author/VWL)

Two forms, pure-rank and mixed-rank, of a nonparametric, general, linear model-based statistic that can be used to test several hypotheses are presented. A Monte Carlo study was used to investigate the distributional properties of these forms, and their use is discussed. (SLD)

Experimental data on human reasoning in hypothesis-testing tasks is reassessed in light of a Bayesian model of optimal data selection in inductive hypothesis testing. The rational analysis provided by the model suggests that reasoning in such tasks may be rational rather than subject to systematic bias. (SLD)

Tests the hypotheses that overconfidence occurs when strength is high and weight is low and that underconfidence occurs when weight is high and strength is low in 4 experiments with 153 students. Discusses weighing evidence, overconfidence/underconfidence in intuitive judgments, and item difficulty's effect on overconfidence. Relates the…

Presents strengths and limitations of covariance structure analysis (CSA), statistical procedure for testing hypotheses about relations among psychological constructs, as way to test structural hypotheses that are not tested adequately with other statistical procedures. Provides two empirical examples that illustrate use of CSA for evaluating…

A model is presented that demonstrates that a random response to external constraint can produce results similar to those predicted by more complex models. Behavior that appears rational, optimal, or adaptive may truly be a random response to external constraint. Predictions based on this model may provide appropriate null hypotheses. (SLD)

Three articles in this special issue explore issues related to the use and misuse of statistical significance testing, the major methodological issue in current educational research. Comments on these articles and rejoinders by the authors of the first three articles explore additional aspects of statistical significance testing. (SLD)