scholarly journals Working memory predictors of written mathematics in 7- to 8-year-old children

2019 ◽  
Vol 73 (2) ◽  
pp. 239-248 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katie Allen ◽  
David Giofrè ◽  
Steve Higgins ◽  
John Adams
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
Verbal Working Memory ◽  
Variance Partitioning ◽  
Individual Contribution ◽  
Factor Analyses ◽  
Confirmatory Factor Analyses ◽  
Mathematical Performance ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Confirmatory Factor

There is extensive evidence for the involvement of working memory in mathematical attainment. This study aims to identify the relative contributions of verbal, spatial-simultaneous, and spatial-sequential working memory measures in written mathematics. Year 3 children (7–8 years of age, n = 214) in the United Kingdom were administered a battery of working memory tasks alongside a standardised test of mathematics. Confirmatory factor analyses and variance partitioning were then performed on the data to identify the unique variance accounted for by verbal, spatial-simultaneous, and spatial-sequential measures. Results revealed the largest individual contribution was that of verbal working memory, followed by spatial-simultaneous factors. This suggests the components of working memory underpinning mathematical performance at this age are those concerning verbal-numeric and spatial-simultaneous working memory. Implications for educators and further research are discussed.

scholarly journals The COVID-19 Own Risk Appraisal Scale (CORAS): Development and validation in two samples from the United Kingdom

2020 ◽  
pp. 135910532096742
Author(s):  
Rusi Jaspal ◽  
Emanuele Fino ◽  
Glynis M. Breakwell
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Perceived Risk ◽  
Fit Indices ◽  
Factor Analyses ◽  
Confirmatory Factor Analyses ◽  
Risk Appraisal ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Two Samples ◽  
Confirmatory Factor ◽  
Development And Validation

Perceived risk is an important determinant of the adoption of preventive behaviours. In this article, the psychometric properties of the COVID-19 Own Risk Appraisal Scale (CORAS), including its development and validation in two samples in the United Kingdom, are described. The CORAS is a measure of perceived personal risk of contracting the disease, incorporating primarily intuitive with some analytic risk estimates. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were performed on data from 470 participants in the United Kingdom who completed the CORAS, the Fear of COVID-19 Scale and the COVID-19 Preventive Behaviours Index. Results showed that a unidimensional, six-item model fits the data well, with satisfactory fit indices, internal consistency and high item loadings onto the factor. We found no statistically significant differences by age, gender or ethnicity. The CORAS correlated positively with the Fear of COVID-19 Scale and the COVID-19 Preventive Behaviours Index, suggesting good concurrent validity.

French Adaptation of the Childhood Executive Functioning Inventory (CHEXI)

2013 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 149-155 ◽  
Author(s):  
Corinne Catale ◽  
Caroline Lejeune ◽  
Sarah Merbah ◽  
Thierry Meulemans
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Executive Functioning ◽  
Factor Analyses ◽  
Cognitive Measures ◽  
Factor Solution ◽  
Confirmatory Factor Analyses ◽  
Confirmatory Factor ◽  
Rating Instrument ◽  
Functioning Inventory ◽  
Test Retest Reliability

Thorell and Nyberg (2008 ) recently developed the Childhood Executive Functioning Inventory (CHEXI), a new rating instrument for executive functioning in day-to-day life which can be divided into four subscales: working memory, planning, inhibition, and regulation. Using an exploratory factor analysis on data from young Swedish children attending kindergarten, Thorell and Nyberg (2008 ) found a two-factor solution that taps working memory and inhibition. In the present study, we explored the psychometric characteristics of the French adaptation of the CHEXI. A group of 95 parents of 5- and 6-year-old children completed the CHEXI, 87 of whom were given clinical inhibition and working memory tasks. Confirmatory factor analyses confirmed the two-factor solution based on inhibition and working memory that was identified in the original study of Swedish children. Supplementary results indicated good internal and test-retest reliability for the entire scale, as well as for the two subscales identified. Correlation analyses showed no relationship between cognitive measures and the CHEXI subscales. Possible clinical applications for the CHEXI scales are discussed.

Working Memory as Separable Subsystems: a Study with Portuguese Primary School Children

2013 ◽  
Vol 16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isabel S. Campos ◽  
Leandro S. Almeida ◽  
Aristides I. Ferreira ◽  
Luis F. Martinez
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Phonological Loop ◽  
Primary School Children ◽  
Factor Analyses ◽  
Confirmatory Factor Analyses ◽  
Domain Specific ◽  
Visuospatial Sketchpad ◽  
Confirmatory Factor ◽  
Visuospatial Information ◽  
Best Fit

AbstractAlthough much research has been done to study the working memory structure in children in their first school years, the relation of cognitive constructs involved in this process remains uncertain. In particular, it is unclear whether working memory is a domain general construct that coordinates separate codes of verbal and visuospatial storage or whether it is a domain-specific construct with distinct resources of verbal and visuospatial information. This paper investigates the structure of working memory, by using the Working Memory Test Battery for Children (WMTB-C) and by doing confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) on a sample of Portuguese children (n = 103) between 8 and 9 years of age. The results of the confirmatory factor analyses that provide the best fit of the data correspond to the model that includes Central Executive and Visuospatial Sketchpad in the same factor, co-varying with a Phonological Loop factor. Moreover, the traditional working memory tripartite structure – based on the Baddeley and Hitch Model – revealed good fit to the data.

Intraindividual Variability and Level of Performance in Four Visuo-Spatial Working Memory Tasks

2004 ◽  
Vol 63 (4) ◽  
pp. 261-272 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thierry Lecerf ◽  
Paolo Ghisletta ◽  
Céline Jouffray
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Young Adults ◽  
Spatial Working Memory ◽  
Intraindividual Variability ◽  
Factor Analyses ◽  
Confirmatory Factor Analyses ◽  
Performance Variability ◽  
Confirmatory Factor ◽  
Best Fitting ◽  
Fitting Model

Intraindividual variability and level of performance in accuracy of four visuo-spatial working memory tasks were examined in sixty-two young adults. The objective was to study the relationships between intraindividual variability and level of performance and to assess whether intraindividual variability is a useful marker of cognitive functioning. Correlational and factor analyses were performed. Confirmatory factor analyses rejected a two-factor representation, with a first factor representing level of performance and a second factor representing intraindividual variability. The best fitting model specified one factor per task and estimated significant within-task correlations of intraindividual variability residual scores. Overall, these findings are consistent with the view that performance variability provides valuable information independent of level of performance and different from noise.

Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS)

2015 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paolo Iliceto ◽  
Emanuele Fino
Keyword(s):  
Second Order ◽  
Personality Questionnaire ◽  
Factor Analyses ◽  
Factor Solution ◽  
Confirmatory Factor Analyses ◽  
Confirmatory Factor ◽  
Beck Hopelessness Scale ◽  
Order Factor ◽  
Model Invariance ◽  
Three Factor

The Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS) is an instrument for assessing cognitive thoughts among suicidal persons. Previous studies have identified different factor structures of the BHS. However, results were not conclusive. The aim of this study was to test the factor structure of the BHS in a sample of Italian individuals (N = 509) from the community, and secondarily to investigate correlations between the BHS, depression (Beck Depression Inventory Second Edition), and personality traits (Zuckerman-Kuhlman-Aluja Personality Questionnaire). Following recommendations of previous investigations, we utilized a 5-point response format. We applied a second-order Confirmatory Factor Analyses and tested for the model invariance. The results suggest that besides a single second-order factor, a second-order three-factor solution is also reasonable, in line with Beck’s theorization.

Mindfulness or Mindlessness?

2011 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-64 ◽  
Author(s):  
Volkmar Höfling ◽  
Helfried Moosbrugger ◽  
Karin Schermelleh-Engel ◽  
Thomas Heidenreich
Keyword(s):  
Construct Validity ◽  
Model Fit ◽  
Factor Analyses ◽  
Confirmatory Factor Analyses ◽  
Mindful Attention ◽  
Confirmatory Factor ◽  
Item Wording ◽  
Method Effects

The 15 items of the Mindful Attention and Awareness Scale (MAAS; Brown & Ryan, 2003 ) are negatively worded and assumed to assess mindfulness. However, there are indications of differences between the original MAAS and a version with the positively rephrased MAAS items (“mirror items”). The present study examines whether the mindfulness facet “mindful attention and awareness” (MAA) can be measured with both positively and negatively worded items if we take method effects due to item wording into account. To this end, the 15 negatively worded items of the MAAS and additionally 13 positively rephrased items were assessed (N = 602). Confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) models with and without regard to method effects were carried out and evaluated by means of model fit. As a result, the positively and negatively worded items should be seen as different methods that influence the construct validity of mindfulness. Furthermore, a modified version of the MAAS (MAAS-Short) with five negatively worded items (taken from the MAAS) and five positively worded items (“mirror items”) was introduced as an alternative to assess MAA. The MAAS-Short appears superior to the original MAAS. The results and the limitations of the present study are discussed.

Measurement Invariance Analysis of the Parental Stress Index

2019 ◽  
Vol 35 (6) ◽  
pp. 771-778 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernhard Piskernik ◽  
Barbara Supper ◽  
Lieselotte Ahnert
Keyword(s):  
Measurement Invariance ◽  
Parental Stress ◽  
Stress Index ◽  
Factor Analyses ◽  
Confirmatory Factor Analyses ◽  
Mean Values ◽  
Confirmatory Factor ◽  
Structural Invariance ◽  
Parent Domain ◽  
Structural Levels

Abstract. While parenting research continues to compare similarities and differences in mothers’ and fathers’ behaviors based on mean values on the respective dimensions, measurement invariance as a prerequisite for these comparisons has seldom been assured. The present study thus subjected the well-known Parenting Stress Index (PSI), widely used in models of family functioning, to a rigorous measurement invariance analysis based on ( N = 214) Austrian couples with children younger than 3 years of age. We evaluated configural, metric, scalar, and uniqueness invariance on item and subscale levels, and tested for structural invariance of means and variances of the PSI parent and child domain by second-order confirmatory factor analyses. As a result, only measurement differences on the scalar levels affected the factor scores, though negligibly. On the structural levels, no differences were found on the PSI child domain across parents, but on the PSI parent domain, mothers reported more stress.

Assessing Self-Efficacy in Presentation and Moderation Skills

2019 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 564-576 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tobias Ringeisen ◽  
Sonja Rohrmann ◽  
Anika Bürgermeister ◽  
Ana N. Tibubos
Keyword(s):  
Construct Validity ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Factor Analyses ◽  
Confirmatory Factor Analyses ◽  
Confirmatory Factor ◽  
Constructed Self ◽  
University Course ◽  
Correlated Factors ◽  
Report Measure

Abstract. By means of two studies, a self-report measure to assess self-efficacy in presentation and moderation skills, the SEPM scales, was validated. In study 1, factorial and construct validity were examined. A sample of 744 university students (41% females; more than 50% between 20 and 25 years) completed newly constructed self-efficacy items. Confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) substantiated two positively correlated factors, presentation (SEPM-P) and moderation self-efficacy (SEPM-M). Each factor consists of eight items. The correlation patterns between the two SEPM subscales and related constructs such as extraversion, the preference for cooperative learning, and conflict management indicated adequate construct validity. In study 2, criterion validity was determined by means of latent change modeling. One hundred sixty students ( Mage = 24.40, SD = 4.04; 61% females) took part in a university course to foster key competences and completed the SEPM scales at the beginning and the end of the semester. Presentation and moderation self-efficacy increased significantly over time of which the latter was positively associated with the performance in a practical moderation exam. Across both studies, reliability of the scales was high, ranging from McDonald’s ω .80 to .88.

Perceived Realism of Television Medical Dramas and Perceptions About Physicians

2011 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 141-148 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hyunyi Cho ◽  
Kari Wilson ◽  
Jounghwa Choi
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Hierarchical Regression ◽  
Regression Analyses ◽  
Factor Analyses ◽  
Confirmatory Factor Analyses ◽  
Perceived Realism ◽  
Medical Dramas ◽  
Confirmatory Factor ◽  
Different Dimensions

This study investigated whether and how dimensions of perceived realism of television medical dramas are linked to perceptions of physicians. The three dimensions of perceived realism were considered: plausibility, typicality, and narrative consistency. Data from a survey of college students were examined with confirmatory factor analyses and hierarchical regression analyses. Across the three dramas (ER, Grey’s Anatomy, and House), narrative consistency predicted positive perceptions about physicians. Perceived plausibility and typicality of the medical dramas showed no significant association with perceptions about physicians. These results illustrate the importance of distinguishing different dimensions of perceived realism and the importance of narrative consistency in influencing social beliefs.

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