The Generalizability of Content Validity Ratings

The problem of assessing the content validity (or relevance) of standardized achievement tests is considered within the framework of generalizability theory. Four illustrative designs are described that may be used to assess test-item fit to a curriculum. For each design, appropriate variance components are identified for making relative and absolute item (or test) selection decisions. Special consideration is given to use of these procedures for determining the number of raters and/or schools needed in a content-validation decisionmaking study. Application of these procedures is illustrated using data from an international assessment of mathematics achievement     

Early, late and non-participants in sexual intercourse: A profile of black South African first-year university students

This study investigated the differences among early-, late-and non-participants in sexual intercourse. 1817 first-year black South African university students completed a structured questionnaire, which tapped their knowledge, attitudes, beliefs and practices about sexuality. The results revealed significant differences among the three groups with regard to their sources of sexual knowledge, approval of pre-marital sex, first intercourse partner relationship, number of sexual partners, contraceptive use, satisfaction with first sexual intercourse and parental communication about contraception.     

Classical-classical transfer: Excitatory associations between “competing” motivational stimuli during classical conditioning of the rabbit

A sensory preconditioning analogue was employed to separate signaling effects from motivational effects observed in appetitive-to-aversive transfer of training. Rabbits received appetitive conditioning (tone-water pairings) of the jaw-movement response, followed by aversive conditioning of the nictitating membrane response, during which water delivery served as the CS for para-orbital shock. When the tone was subsequently presented, only subjects exposed to both sets of pairings demonstrated conditioned jaw movement and nictitating membrane responses. The occurrence of both responses to the tone is inconsistent with the action of reciprocal inhibition between motivational states. The results are interpreted in terms of multiple mediators for transfer-of-training paradigms.     

Factors related to attention to the first Kennedy‐Nixon debate

A recent survey by Broadcasting of television programming personnel indicates that professionals in the broadcasting field agree with the general public in holding that the Kennedy‐Nixon debates during the late presidential election campaign were among the most exciting programs ever presented on television. We know that the audiences to these “great debates” were among the largest ever recorded, but sheer numbers do not tell us why audiences paid attention to these debates in the first place, much less the potential and actual effects of these programs.

The following article is one of a number being prepared by the members of the Communications Research Center at Michigan State University, covering a great many facets of political behavior in the 1960 campaign and election. The author of the following article, Dr. Lionel C. Barrow, Jr., is Assistant Professor in the Communications Research Center.     

The second leg home advantage: Evidence from European football cup competitions

Abstract

The home advantage is a widely acknowledged sporting phenomenon, especially in association football. Here, we examine the second leg home advantage, an effect that is discussed in the public domain but which has received very little scientific attention. The second leg home advantage effect occurs when on average teams are more likely to win a two-stage knock-out competition when they play at home in the second leg. That is, both teams have a home advantage but this advantage is significantly greater for the team that plays at home second. Examining data from three different European Cup football competitions spanning 51 years, we show that the second leg home advantage is a real phenomenon. The second leg home team has more than a 50% probability to qualify for the next round in the competition even after controlling for extra time and team ability as possible alternative explanations. The second leg home advantage appears, however, to have decreased significantly over the past decade. Possible reasons for its existence and subsequent decline are presented.     

Sport Participation Motivation in Young Adolescent Girls

Abstract

This study examined the factor structure of the Sport Friendship Quality Scale (SFQS; Weiss & Smith, 1999) and compared two models in which (a) self-worth mediated the relationship between physical self/friendship quality and sport commitment and (b) friendship quality and physical self-perceptions directly predicted self-worth and sport commitment. Female team sport participants (N= 227) between the ages of 11 and 14 years completed measures of sport commitment, enjoyment, athletic competence, physical attractiveness, self-worth, and friendship qualities. A confirmatory factor analysis found an inadequate fit for the SFQS, mainly due to problems with the loyalty and intimacy subscale. Separating the loyalty and intimacy factor into two subscales provided an adequate fit. Examination of the two structural models indicated that both models provided an adequate overall fit but that self-worth only weakly predicted sport commitment, suggesting the mediator model was impractical. Friendship quality had a weak relationship with self-worth and sport commitment. Results are discussed in light of issues in measuring sport friendship quality and future directions in this developing field.     

Improving Multiple-Choice Test Performance for Examinees with Different Levels of Test Anxiety

The effectiveness of a strategy for improving performance on multiple-choice items for examinees was assessed. An aptitude-treatment interaction model was used to test the possibility of different treatment effects for examinees with different levels of test anxiety. Undergraduate measurement students responded to the Mandler-Sarason Test Anxiety Scale and to an objective test covering course content. For low-anxious examinees, generation of an answer before selecting a multiple-choice response led to higher test performance; for highly test anxious examinees, there was a slightly negative effect on performance.     

Preliminary study on the role of alternative educational pathways in promoting the use of problem-focused coping strategies

Coping styles are generally considered to be environmentally driven. Up to now, research has mainly focused on family influences. However, some studies underline the effect of educational settings on the development of problem-focused coping strategies. Consistently with previous reports on the enhancement of autonomy and problem-solving in alternative schools, and the relationship established by self-determination theory between autonomy-supportive climates and positive coping, we hypothesized that alternative school students develop more problem-focused coping styles. This hypothesis was tested on 80 traditional school students and 50 alternative school students (Steiner, Montessori and New schools), during their last secondary school year, using the Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations (Endler & Parker, 1990a). We also assessed psychological factors which can influence coping styles measures (anxiety and depression), using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (Spielberger, 1983), and the Beck Depression Inventory (Beck, Ward, Mendelson, Mock, & Erbaugh, 1961). The proportion of problem-focused coping strategies was compared in traditional and alternative settings, adjusting for potential confounding factors, using logistic regression. Results show that the proportion of students using predominantly problem-focused coping strategies is higher in the population of alternative schools. Directions for further research on alternative schools are highlighted concerning coping as well as autonomy-supportive class climates.