Frank Goldhammer

Latent Factors Underlying Individual Differences in Attention Measures

Following theoretical considerations that relate attention to perception and also to the executive control of performance in complex tasks (Bundesen, 1990; Logan & Gordon, 2001), two latent factors underlying individual differences in attention measures are assumed: Perceptual attention and Executive attention. The included attention measures are derived from the neuropsychology-based attention model by Sturm and Zimmermann (2000), the action-oriented five-component model by Neumann (1992), and the working memory model according to Baddeley (1986). Furthermore, one psychometric attention measure (Moosbrugger & Goldhammer, 2005) was selected. A sample of 232 students aged between 19 and 40 completed a test battery of 11 attention and concentration tests. For investigating the appropriateness of the hypothesized two-factor structure, confirmatory factor models, including Perceptual attention and Executive attention as latent factors, were tested. The results support the two-factor structure and, thereby, the hypothesis, that perceptual and executive attention are major factors underlying individual differences in attention measures.

Interpretation von Testresultaten und Testeichung

Wendet man einen psychologischen Test an, so erhalt man in der Regel ein numerisches Testresultat, das Auskunft uber die Merkmalsauspragung der Testperson geben soll. Fragt man sich, was dieser Testwert hinsichtlich der Merkmalsauspragung aussagt, dann lasst sich diese Frage in zweierlei Weise sinnvoll beantworten: einerseits dadurch, dass der Testwert durch den Vergleich mit den Testwerten einer Bezugsgruppe interpretiert wird (normorientierte Interpretation), oder andererseits, dass eine genaue theoretische Vorstellung daruber besteht, wie der erzielte Testwert mit einem inhaltlichpsychologisch definierten Kriterium in Beziehung steht (kriteriumsorientierte Interpretation).

Moving beyond cognitive elements of ICT literacy

The concept ICT engagement is proposed.ICT engagement integrates metacognitive and motivational facets.The factors of interest, self-concept and social exposure were empirically confirmed.Correlations with constructs of ICT knowledge and emotion were as expected. The use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is of immense importance in todays digital knowledge society. As a basis for private and vocational participation in society, ICT literacy has been widely discussed in recent decades. Although motivational and metacognitive facets play an important role in developing ICT literacy and competence, studies assessing media, computer or ICT literacy often fail to present a comprehensive concept on these motivational and metacognitive facets. This article addresses this issue by integrating them into the concept of ICT engagement. Its theoretically deduced dimensions of ICT-related interest, self-concept related to the use of ICT, and social exposure to ICT were analyzed in an explorative study assessing N=445 students aged between 14 and 17years in the German federal state of Baden-Wuerttemberg. The obtained dimensional structure included the assumed factors, and suggested to distinguish a positive and a negative self-concept on using ICT as well as to separate interest in computers and interest in mobile devices factor. The ICT engagement dimensions were related to individual differences in behavioral, cognitive and emotional ICT constructs as expected.

FACT-2 – The Frankfurt Adaptive Concentration Test: Convergent Validity with Self-Reported Cognitive Failures

The Frankfurt Adaptive Concentration Test (FACT-2) requires discrimination between geometric target and nontarget items as quickly and accurately as possible. Three forms of the FACT-2 were constructed, namely FACT-I, FACT-S, and FACT-SR. The aim of the present study was to investigate the convergent validity of the FACT-SR with self-reported cognitive failures. The FACT-SR and the Cognitive Failures Questionnaire (CFQ) were completed by 191 participants. The measurement models confirmed the concentration performance, concentration accuracy, and concentration homogeneity dimensions of FACT-SR. The four dimensions of the CFQ (i.e., memory, distractibility, blunders, and names) were not confirmed. The results showed moderate convergent validity of concentration performance, concentration accuracy, and concentration homogeneity with two CFQ dimensions, namely memory and distractibility/blunders.

On the separability of cognitive abilities related to Posner's attention components and their contributions to conceptually distinct attention abilities related to working memory, action theory, and psychometric assessment

Abstract. The study investigates whether five often postulated attention abilities related to Posners attention components (Posner & Boies, 1971; Posner & Rafal, 1987) - alertness, spatial attention, focused attention, attentional switching, and divided attention - represent empirically distinguishable cognitive mechanisms from an individual differences perspective, and to what extent these abilities contribute to conceptually distinct attention abilities related to working memory (Baddeley, 1986), action theory (Neumann, 1992), and psychometric assessment (e.g., Brickenkamp, 1994; Moosbrugger & Goldhammer, 2007). A total of 232 participants completed 12 attention tasks intended to measure the abilities of interest. First, confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) revealed that the five attention abilities based on Posners work are moderately related, but clearly distinguishable. The proposed confirmatory factor model consists of one common and five specific attention ability factors. Second, structural equati...

Relating Product Data to Process Data from Computer-Based Competency Assessment

Competency measurement typically focuses on task outcomes. Taking process data into account (i.e., processing time and steps) can provide new insights into construct-related solution behavior, or confirm assumptions that govern task design. This chapter summarizes four studies to illustrate the potential of behavioral process data for explaining task success. It also shows that generic process measures such as time on task may have different relations to task success, depending on the features of the task and the test-taker. The first study addresses differential effects of time on task on success across tasks used in the OECD Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC). The second study, also based on PIAAC data, investigates at a fine-grained level, how the time spent on automatable subtasks in problem-solving tasks relates to task success. The third study addresses how the number of steps taken during problem solving predicts success in PIAAC problem-solving tasks. In a fourth study, we explore whether successful test-takers can be clustered on the basis of various behavioral process indicators that reflect information problem solving. Finally, we address how to handle unstructured and large sets of process data, and briefly present a process data extraction tool.

ICT Engagement in Learning Environments

Learning throughout the life span relies more and more on using information and communication technology (ICT) to acquire new knowledge and skills in both formal and informal learning environments. Thus, learning to use ICT and using ICT to learn have become major premises for successful participation in educational, professional, social, cultural, and civic life. To keep pace with the rapid development of ICT, people need to be able to update their ICT knowledge and skills continuously. A major conditioning personal characteristic that affects the development and adaptation of ICT skills in a self-regulated way is considered to be ICT engagement. This chapter describes the conceptual origins of this multifaceted construct. At the behavioral level it represents the use of ICT in various contexts, such as at home or at school. Most importantly, from a cognitive-motivational perspective it covers the factors that foster the self-determined and self-regulated use of ICT, such as interest in ICT, ICT self-concept, perceived autonomy in ICT use, and social relatedness in using ICT.

Modelling individual response time effects between and within experimental speed conditions: A GLMM approach for speeded tests

Completing test items under multiple speed conditions avoids the performance measure being confounded with individual differences in the speed-accuracy compromise, and offers insights into the response process, that is, how response time relates to the probability of a correct response. This relation is traditionally represented by two conceptually different functions: the speed-accuracy trade-off function (SATF) across conditions relating the condition average response time to the condition average of accuracy, and the conditional accuracy function (CAF) within a condition describing accuracy conditional on response time. Using a generalized linear mixed modelling approach, we propose an item response modelling framework that is suitable for item response and response time data from experimental speed conditions. The proposed SATF and CAF model accommodates response time effects between conditions (i.e., person and item SATF slope) and within conditions (i.e., residual CAF slopes), captures person and item differences in these effects, and is suitable for measures with a strong speed component. Moreover, for a single condition a CAF model is proposed distinguishing person, item and residual CAF. The properties of the models are illustrated with an empirical example.

The role of planning in complex problem solving

Abstract Complex problem solving (CPS) is a highly transversal competence needed in educational and vocational settings as well as everyday life. The assessment of CPS is often computer-based, and therefore provides data regarding not only the outcome but also the process of CPS. However, research addressing this issue is scarce. In this article we investigated planning activities in the process of complex problem solving. We operationalized planning through three behavioral measures indicating the duration of the longest planning interval, the delay of the longest planning interval and the variance of intervals between each two successive interactions. We found a significant negative average effect for our delay indicator, indicating that early planning in CPS is more beneficial. However, we also found effects depending on task and interaction effects for all three indicators, suggesting that the effects of different planning behaviors on CPS are highly intertwined.

Paper-Based Assessment of the Effects of Aging on Response Time: A Diffusion Model Analysis

The effects of aging on response time were examined in a paper-based lexical-decision experiment with younger (age 18–36) and older (age 64–75) adults, applying Ratcliff’s diffusion model. Using digital pens allowed the paper-based assessment of response times for single items. Age differences previously reported by Ratcliff and colleagues in computer-based experiments were partly replicated: older adults responded more conservatively than younger adults and showed a slowing of their nondecision components of RT by 53 ms. The rates of evidence accumulation (drift rate) showed no age-related differences. Participants with a higher score in a vocabulary test also had higher drift rates. The experiment demonstrates the possibility to use formal processing models with paper-based tests.