Multiplicity Control in Structural Equation Modeling: Incorporating Parameter Dependencies

When structural equation modeling (SEM) analyses are conducted, significance tests for all important model relationships (parameters including factor loadings, covariances, etc.) are typically conducted at a specified nominal Type I error rate (α). Despite the fact that many significance tests are often conducted in SEM, rarely is multiplicity control applied. Cribbie (2000, 2007) demonstrated that without some form of adjustment, the familywise Type I error rate can become severely inflated. Cribbie also confirmed that the popular Bonferroni method was overly conservative due to the correlations among the parameters in the model. The purpose of this study was to compare the Type I error rates and per-parameter power of traditional multiplicity strategies with those of adjusted Bonferroni procedures that incorporate not only the number of tests in a family, but also the degree of correlation between parameters. The adjusted Bonferroni procedures were found to produce per-parameter power rates higher than the original Bonferroni procedure without inflating the familywise error rate.     

Neural Correlates of Direct and Reflected Self-Appraisals in Adolescents and Adults: When Social Perspective-Taking Informs Self-Perception

Classic theories of self-development suggest people define themselves in part through internalized perceptions of other people's beliefs about them, known as reflected self-appraisals. This study uses functional magnetic resonance imaging to compare the neural correlates of direct and reflected self-appraisals in adolescence ( N  = 12, ages 11–14 years) and adulthood ( N  = 12, ages 23–30 years). During direct self-reflection, adolescents demonstrated greater activity than adults in networks relevant to self-perception (medial prefrontal and parietal cortices) and social-cognition (dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, temporal–parietal junction, and posterior superior temporal sulcus), suggesting adolescent self-construals may rely more heavily on others' perspectives about the self. Activity in the medial fronto-parietal network was also enhanced when adolescents took the perspective of someone more relevant to a given domain.