Edizioni FrancoAngeli - Last issue of RICERCHE DI PSICOLOGIA (1/2011)

Taxometric method: a statistical tool for the study of a construct’s latent structure

Wed, 15 May 2012 8:00:00 GMT

Andrea Epifani
The issue about the constructs’ latent structure is central in clinical psychology and psychiatry. Often, these disciplines adopt arbitrarily created diagnostic labels that are considered, a priori, as indicative of real categorical differences among subjects. The DSM-IV-TR is an example of this trend. However, the latent structure of the constructs should be empirically examined through statistical tools that are capable of evaluating whether a sample, assessed for a target construct, shows quantitative (continuous) or qualitative (categorical) differences among subjects. In the former, the sample has an unique, dimensional latent class; while in the latter, it has at least two latent class, one called taxonic and the other called complement. Taxometric method represents one of the most reliable techniques for assessing the latent structure. It includes a number of procedures relying on the analysis of the relation among a set of indicators of the construct, by examining their mathematical behavior. The inspection of the taxometric curves allows to draw inferences about the categorical vs dimensional latent structure. Taxometric method has been well validated and widely used in the last years, serving as a powerful and reliable methodology for the study of the latent structure.

Preschool learning prerequisites and difficulties in moderately preterm children

Wed, 15 May 2012 8:00:00 GMT

Giovanna Perricone, M. Regina Morales
This study is aimed to confirm and explore the likely presence, in moderately preterm children at preschool age, of impairments related to cognitive skills, which are requirements for learning success. Specifically, they are those related to language, metacognition, memory, orientation and motor coordination, early ability of mathematics, writing and reading, self-regulation, adaptation and collaboration. 30 moderately preterm children (gestational age mean: 34 weeks; low-birth weight mean: 2.100 g., sd = 350 g.) without need for neonatal intensive care, without dysmaturity or congenital malformations and assessed at mean age of five years and two months, were compared with 30 term-born children (gestational age mean: 40 weeks) without neonatal medical complications. The IPDA questionnaire for the early identification of learning difficulties (Terreni et al., 2002), has been administered to teachers of child involved in the research, to investigate on precursors of prerequisites for school learning. The results show that the moderately preterm children at preschool age, compared with the group of term-born children, are characterised by lowest scores in metacognition [U(n1 e n2=30) = .21, p = .04], other cognitive abilities (related to memory, orientation and motor coordination) U(n1 e n2=30) = 1.2, p = .03], early ability of mathematics [U(n1 e n2=30) = 1.3, p = .04], and in total score [U(n1 e n2=30) = 1.8, p = .04]. Such data suggest the need for hypothesising training paths, aimed to prevent likely school failures.

Sibling relationships in adulthood

Wed, 15 May 2012 8:00:00 GMT

Martina Smorti, Silvia Guarnieri
Sibling relationships play an important role in human development, promoting cognitive, social and emotional competence and contributing to overall well-being over the lifespan. To date, only a handful of empirical studies have analyzed changes in sibling relationship quality during adulthood. The present study therefore aimed to analyze the quality of sibling relationships during adulthood, examining the role of these relationships in promoting individual’s quality of life. Participants. 288 participants (124 males and 164 females) divided into two groups: 148 young adults aged 20 to 35 and 140 adults aged 40 to 55. Measures. To measure sibling relationship qualitative dimensions the Italian version (Tani, Guarnieri, Ingoglia, submitted) of the Adult Sibling Relationship Questionnaire - ASRQ (Stocker, Lanthier, Furman, 1997) was administered. To measure the quality of life the cluster Quality of life of the Psychological Treatment Inventory - PTI (Gori, Giannini, Schulberg, 2008) was administered. Results revealed that, due to the achievement of a greater maturity, adult sibling relationships were characterized by fewer negative aspects, linked to conflict and rivalry, than were young adult sibling relationships. At the same time, adult sibling relationships were characterized by higher levels of warmth than were young adult sibling relationships. Sibling relationship quality was a significant predictor of individual’s quality of life also during adulthood.

Emotion regulation processes, wellbeing and aging. a study on Carstensen’ socioemotional selectivity theory

Wed, 15 May 2012 8:00:00 GMT

Giulia Gasparini, Mauro Sarrica, Alberta Contarello
With increased life expectancy, industrialized countries are facing a main challenge. Recent theoretical models, such as Positive Aging and Active Aging, counterbalance views that focus on physical and psychological decline linked with aging, and stress the ability elders have to maintain a satisfying quality of life both at the individual level and in the sphere of social relationships. The current paper refer to the Socioemotional Selectivity Theory (Carstensen, 1991) which states that, with age, the relative importance of specific goals would change to provide positive emotional experiences. The present study focuses on two main points: 1) the relation between emotions and aging; positive and negative emotions are expected not to be correlated, aging is expected not to imply a reduction of positive emotions and a consequent increase of negative ones; 2) the selection of significant partners and social goals; different choices are expected in function of age and life conditions, and should be positively related to emotional well-being. One hundred fifty-four participants, young (n = 53), active elderly (n = 50) and institutionalised elderly (n = 51), answered a paper-and-pencil instrument in order to measure positive and negative emotions, emotional satisfaction, choice of social partners, and goals. Coherently with the model, main results indicate independence of positive and negative emotions. Moreover elders do not indicate a decrease in positive emotions. They show lower levels of rage and anxiety than youth, instead. Moreover, active elderly and youth show similar response patterns. However, differently from SST expectations with the increase of age, giving importance to social aims favours in itself emotional well-being. Results indicate the need to deepen aging process not only in relation with life expectancy but also with life-styles.

Back and forward in space and time: priming agency changes movement in space and time

Wed, 15 May 2012 8:00:00 GMT

John L. Dennis, Aldo Stella
This research investigated how high and low agency subconsciously primed representations influence the interpretation of dynamic objects/events in space (Study 1) and time (Study 2). In Study 1, participants primed with the high agency concept were more inclined to think of objects in space as moving upwards, as if the event was provided with an internal force (much like what happens with living things), while participants who were primed with the low agency concept were more inclined to think of objects in space as moving downwards, as if the event was subject to an external force (much like what happens with gravity). Participants in Study 2, primed with the high agency concept were induced to think of themselves as if they were moving actively through time, in line with the egomoving metaphor, while subjected prime with the low agency concept were induced to think of themselves as if they were less active in their movement through time, in line with the time-moving metaphor. These results were compared with those of our previous research, which used the same subconscious priming, but with different tasks.

What makes text-picture-integration difficult? A structural and procedural analysis of textbook requirements

Wed, 15 May 2012 8:00:00 GMT

Wolfgang Schnotz, Mark Ullrich, Ulrike Hochpochler, Holger Horz, Nele McElvany, Sascha Schroeder, Jürgen Baumert
Reading for learning frequently requires integrating text and picture information into coherent knowledge structures. To investigate how students’ competencies for text-picture integration develop, a representative sample of integration task was selected from schoolbooks and used for the construction of items, which were presented to 1060 students from grades 5 to 8 of different kinds of German schools. Based on item-response theory, 240 items requiring integration at different hierarchical levels were selected according to a 1parameter logistic test model. A cognitive item analysis suggests that text-picture integration requires flexible combinations of a limited set of cognitive procedures that operate on task-specific mental models. Difficulties of text-picture integration items in terms of Raschscaling could be successfully predicted based on cognitive task analysis including structural characteristics of test units and procedural requirements of items.