James E. Laughlin

Working Memory, Short-Term Memory, and General Fluid Intelligence: A Latent-Variable Approach

A study was conducted in which 133 participants performed 11 memory tasks (some thought to reflect working memory and some thought to reflect short-term memory), 2 tests of general fluid intelligence, and the Verbal and Quantitative Scholastic Aptitude Tests. Structural equation modeling suggested that short-term and working memories reflect separate but highly related constructs and that many of the tasks used in the literature as working memory tasks reflect a common construct. Working memory shows a strong connection to fluid intelligence, but short-term memory does not. A theory of working memory capacity and general fluid intelligence is proposed: The authors argue that working memory capacity and fluid intelligence reflect the ability to keep a representation active, particularly in the face of interference and distraction. The authors also discuss the relationship of this capability to controlled attention, and the functions of the prefrontal cortex.

Life events, self‐concept, and adolescents' positive subjective well‐being

This study investigated the interrelationships among global self-concept, life events, and positive subjective well-being (positive affect [PA], negative affect [NA], and life satisfaction [LS]) in a sample of 92 high school students. The results demonstrated that life events contributed significant variance to predictions of PA, NA, and LS, over and above that of global self-concept. Also, daily events contributed variance over and above that of major life events. Looking at the specific event types that related uniquely to the positive well-being measures, only negative daily events related significantly to PA and NA, and only positive daily events related significantly to LS. The results also indicated that the positive well-being constructs each contained unique variance and had different correlates, thus providing strong support for the multidimensionality of adolescent positive well-being reports. Implications for further research and intervention programs are discussed.

Promoting Intervention Fidelity Conceptual Issues, Methods, and Preliminary Results from the EARLY ALLIANCE Prevention Trial

Fidelity refers to the demonstration that an experimental manipulation is conducted as planned. In outcome research, an intervention can be said to satisfy fidelity requirements if it can be shown that each of its components is delivered in a comparable manner to all participants and is true to the theory and goals underlying the research. Demonstrating the fidelity of an intervention is a key methodologic requirement of any sound prevention trial. This paper summarizes key conceptual and methodologic issues associated with intervention fidelity, and describes the steps taken to promote fidelity in EARLY ALLIANCE, a large-scale prevention trial currently testing the effectiveness of family, peer, and school interventions to promote competence and reduce risk for conduct disorder, substance abuse, and school failure. The paper presents preliminary results (Trial Year 1) that demonstrate content and process fidelity for two of these interventions, and discusses how the EARLY ALLIANCE methodology may be generalized to address fidelity issues in other prevention studies.

Further Validation of the Multidimensional Students' Life Satisfaction Scale:

The psychometric properties of a childrens life satisfaction measure (MSLSS; Huebner, 1994) were assessed with a middle school sample of 291 students. Similar to findings with elementary school students, the MSLSS demonstrated preliminary evidence of reliability and validity for research purposes. The results of confirmatory factor analyses supported the five satisfaction domains identified in previous research with younger students, along with a single higher-order general life satisfaction factor. Relationships among life satisfaction domains, demographic variables, and social desirability responses were discussed. Potential uses of the MSLSS and future research needs were also discussed.

A General Item Response Theory Model for Unfolding Unidimensional Polytomous Responses

The generalized graded unfolding model (GGUM) is developed. This model allows for either binary or graded responses and generalizes previous item response models for unfolding in two useful ways. First, it implements a discrimination parameter that varies across items, which allows items to discriminate among respondents in different ways. Second, the GGUM permits response category threshold parameters to vary across items. Amarginal maximum likelihood algorithm is implemented to estimate GGUM item parameters, whereas person parameters are derived from an expected a posteriori technique. The applicability of the GGUM to common attitude testing situations is illustrated with real data on student attitudes toward abortion.

Recruitment and retention of participants in prevention trials involving family-based interventions

Family-based preventive intervention trials in the area of child conduct problems face serious challenges regarding the recruitment and subsequent retention of participants. This article focuses on the problems and strategies pertinent to recruitment and retention in prevention research. The issues are discussed first with respect to initiating and maintaining a longitudinal sample, and then engaging and sustaining families in a preventive intervention. General principles are illustrated by EARLY ALLIANCE, a recently launched preventive intervention trial aimed at reducing childrens risk for conduct disorder, substance abuse, and school failure. Recommendations for enhancing recruitment and retention are offered.

Risk Factors and Correlates of Dating Violence: The Relevance of Examining Frequency and Severity Levels in a College Sample

To determine whether categorizing levels of violence along dimensions of frequency and severity would result in informative distinctions among individuals using dating violence, reported use of physical violence, along with variables theorized to be related to use of force in intimate relationships, was assessed in a sample of 617 college students (males = 290; females = 327). When participants’ scores were analyzed by dichotomizing them along the lines of ever versus never using dating violence, numerous past findings were replicated. However, participants using a higher frequency of force were distinguished by needing to control their partner and by less inhibition in expressing their anger. Higher severity of force by an individual was predicted only by a need to control his/her dating partner. Implications for these findings were discussed.

The Relationship between Temperament and Life Satisfaction in Early Adolescence: Cognitive and Behavioral Mediation Models

This study investigated the interrelationships among temperament, social self-efficacy, social competence, and life satisfaction in a sample of 160 early adolescents. A model was proposed based on previous research by Argyle and Lu (1990, Personality and Individual Differences 11, pp. 1255–1261) in which social competence mediates the relationship between temperament (i.e. extraversion and neuroticism) and life satisfaction. However, this study extended the work of Argyle and Lu by including an objective measure of social competence, in addition to a measure of social self-efficacy, to test as a potential mediator between temperament and life satisfaction. Results indicated that social self-efficacy mediated the relationship between extraversion and life satisfaction, but not between neuroticism and life satisfaction. Teacher-rated social competence did not mediate the effects of temperament on life satisfaction. The importance of integrating theories of trait psychology and cognitive psychology in adolescent life satisfaction research is discussed.

VALIDITY ISSUES IN THE LIKERT AND THURSTONE APPROACHES TO ATTITUDE MEASUREMENT

This article highlights the theoretical differences between the Likert and Thurstone approaches to attitude measurement and demonstrates how such differences can lead to discrepant attitude estimates for individuals with the most extreme opinions. Both simulated data and real data on attitude toward abortion are used to demonstrate this discrepancy. The results suggest that attitude researchers should, at the very least, devote more attention to the empirical response characteristics of items on a Likert attitude questionnaire. At most, these results suggest that other methods, such as the Thurstone technique or one of its recently developed item response theory counterparts, should be used to derive attitude estimates from disagree-agree responses.

A Model for Predicting Dating Violence: Anxious Attachment, Angry Temperament, and Need for Relationship Control

Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test a model incorporating anxious attachment, angry temperament, and attempts to control one’s partner as predictors of the severity and frequency of dating violence. To date, these concepts have not been clearly established as having direct or indirect effects on dating violence. It was hypothesized that anxious attachment and angry temperament would influence the need for and attempts to control one’s partner which, in turn, would predict a person’s actual use of force. College students (213 males; 199 females) completed measures assessing these constructs. Cross-validation was accomplished through using two successive freshmen samples. Statistics indicated the application of the model fit well to both samples. All specified paths were significant except for the direct path from anxious attachment to need for control in the second sample. While exploratory, this model seemed satisfactory for explaining potentially causal relationships of attachment, anger, and attempts to control one’s partner leading to dating violence.