Human Development & Quantitative Methodology Theses and Dissertations

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Developing and validating a measure of epistemic competence beliefs to examine undergraduate students’ critical-analytic thinking in a multiple source use task
(2024) Schoute, Eric Cornelis; Alexander, Patricia A; Human Development; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
Background: This dissertation aimed to develop and validate a novel Epistemic Competence Beliefs Measure (ECBM) to capture students’ ability to identify and utilize relevant sources for complex issues. Epistemic competence was hypothesized to be critical in performing multiple source use (MSU) tasks, particularly in predicting critical-analytic thinking in argumentative essays. The study was conducted in two phases, focusing on the ECBM’s development, its content validity, and predictive validity in an MSU context. Methods: Phase 1 involved creating the ECBM’s based on epistemic beliefs and cognition theories, presenting students with controversial scenarios. Content validity was assessed by an international panel of experts. Phase 2 implemented the ECBM in a university course, collecting data through argumentative claim selection forms, search logs, notes, essays, and a retroactive behaviors questionnaire. Data were analyzed using content analysis, cluster analysis, ANOVA, multiple linear regression, and regression trees to determine the ECBM’s predictive validity. Findings: The study revealed significant variability in students’ epistemic competence as measured on the ECBM, though no direct predictive relationship to enacted epistemic competence and exhibited critical-analytic thinking was established. Students’ critical-analytic thinking varied significantly, influenced by their GPA and TORR scores. Notably, students with higher relational reasoning abilities exhibited superior critical-analytic thinking in their essays, supporting the theorized link between these constructs. Implications: For future research, the ECBM can be refined and more closely integrated into the MSU project by aligning its completion with the task’s introduction. This integration may enhance students’ epistemic agency and awareness. Furthermore, diversifying study populations across different sociocultural contexts and employing Bayesian and mixed-methods analyses can provide deeper insights into epistemic competence and critical-analytic thinking. Practical implications suggest procedural adjustments to better align the MSU project with theoretical frameworks, potentially improving instructional practices. Conclusions: The novel Epistemic Competence Beliefs Measure is a meaningful contribution to the literature on epistemic beliefs as it unearthed theoretically and practically meaningful profiles of undergraduates’ appraisal of the characteristics of complex, controversial issues. The data-analytic focus on students’ variability rather than only consistency in characterizations of the scenarios highlighted the value of examining epistemic beliefs in a more situated, contextualized manner. This resulting findings of varying beliefs dispute the lingering assumption that epistemic beliefs are stable across contexts. While the assessment of the ECBM’s predictive validity identified no significant relations, the findings underscore the importance of relational reasoning to critical-analytic thinking. Future research should focus on refining the ECBM, exploring its applicability in diverse contexts, and employing comprehensive analytical methods to further elucidate these constructs.
Writing to Discover: Adding Complexity to Views Of Writing As an Agent of Change in Undergraduates’ Knowledge, Interest, Confidence, and Calibration
(2024) van Meerten, Julianne E.; Bolger, Donald J; Human Development; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
The rationale behind the present study consisted of evidence reported to date for Galbraith et al.’s (1999, 2018, 2023) dual-process model of writing, suggesting that not only do writers engage in knowledge transformation, but in the development of new knowledge. An additional aspect of Galbraith et al.’s (2023) work is their proposal and validation of a novel subjective knowledge measure, tailored to those two processes, with potential to be used as a tool for calibration, knowledge activation, and learning. The purpose of the present study was to (a) investigate knowledge development comparing two different writing tasks relative to a comparison task of rereading a text passage, (b) explore patterns in subjective knowledge, confidence, and situational interest ratings throughout engagement with such tasks, (c) examine the predictive power of those ratings for post-intervention knowledge, and (d) compare confidence ratings with evidence of knowledge, that is, calculating calibration scores.The study used a pretest-posttest repeated measures intervention design, in which 146 undergraduate students, enrolled in human development and psychology research methodology courses, were randomly assigned to experimental or comparison conditions. Students in all conditions started by reading a text on the topic of research design, after which students in the experimental conditions engaged in two writing activities, consisting of a free-write (for both experimental conditions) and either an explanatory or persuasive writing task. Simultaneously, students in the comparison condition reread the initial text twice while being tasked with, first, surface-level strategies and, second, deep-level reading strategies. At least a week after the intervention, students in all conditions completed a transfer test, consisting of an argument writing task. Students rated their subjective knowledge about the topic (using an adapted version of Galbraith et al.’s [2023] instrument), confidence in their knowledge about the topic, and situational interest in the topic at hand multiple times throughout the study. The study occurred in real classrooms, using materials akin to existing course materials, on a topic already part of existing course curricula but not yet covered, which contributed to its high ecological validity. Exploratory factor analyses indicated that the two subscales of subjective knowledge ratings and the single-item confidence rating needed to be combined into one factor (Subjective Knowledge/Confidence; SKC) and treated as such in all analyses. Further, tests of condition regarding knowledge gains, one of the primary hypotheses, needed to be adjusted because of a failure of randomization between groups that was observed upon analyzing initial between-group equivalence. Despite random assignment to conditions, significant differences between conditions on the primary dependent variable of conceptual knowledge were found at pretest for the comparison (control) group. Because such a difference at pretest would invalidate any causal conclusions drawn from comparisons between the experimental and comparison conditions, further comparisons were made only between the two experimental groups in addressing those research questions that pertained to the effect of condition on changes in knowledge and the subjective factors measured, as well as the predictive value of those subjective factors for post-intervention knowledge levels. Findings indicated that the writing intervention central to the present study had a positive, significant effect on learning about the topic of research design for students in both experimental conditions (i.e., explanation and persuasion) relative to their pretest knowledge levels. Additionally, students in the persuasion group were significantly better calibrated than students in the rereading group, and SKC ratings at posttest were a significant predictor of transfer-test knowledge scores for both the explanation and the persuasion groups, indicating an improved relationship between confidence and actual knowledge levels. The findings of this study underscore the importance of providing students with a range of learning strategies, including rereading and writing, to help them acquire knowledge. Educators can use these findings to inform their instructional decisions, recognizing that students’ individual needs will vary and that a combination of strategies may be most effective in promoting knowledge development.
Longitudinal associations between parent-child interactions and children’s socioemotional functioning in ethnically diverse families
(2024) Alonso, Angelica; Cabrera, Natasha J; Human Development; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
Theoretical and empirical evidence identify parenting behaviors as one of the most robust predictors of children’s socioemotional development. However, this body of evidence is primarily based on White middle-class mothers and children. As such, it remains unclear whether these developmental processes are generalizable to ethnic minority children who are reared in different sociocultural contexts. The present dissertation consists of three interrelated studies that examined longitudinal associations between parent-child interactions (parents’ emotion socialization; responsive parenting; parent-child dyadic synchrony) and children’s socioemotional functioning (socioemotional competence; executive function; self-regulation) in ethnically diverse mothers, fathers, and their young children. I also examined children’s regulatory skills and parent-child dyadic synchrony as mediators and child emotionality as a moderator of these associations. Empirical Study 1 examined how mothers’ and fathers’ emotion socialization behaviors (ESB) at 18 and 24 months were associated with toddlers’ social competence at 24 and 30 months. Fathers’ non-supportive ESBs to negative emotions at 18 months were positively associated with social competence at 30 months. There was a negative association between mothers’ non-supportive ESBs to negative emotions at 24 months and social competence at 30 months only for toddlers with high negative emotionality. A positive association between fathers’ emotion coaching of negative emotions at 18 months and 30-month social competence emerged only when mothers did not provide any emotion coaching. Empirical Study 2 examined longitudinal associations between mothers’ and fathers’ responsive parenting at 9 months and children’s socioemotional functioning (executive function and socioemotional competence) at age 3. This study also tested children’s effortful control at 24 months as a mediator and emotionality as a moderator of these associations. Only mothers’ responsive parenting at 9 months was associated with greater socioemotional competence at age 3. There was no support for effortful control and emotionality as a mediator and moderator, respectively, of associations between maternal or paternal responsive parenting and socioemotional functioning. Empirical Study 3 examined direct associations between mother- and father-child synchrony at 18 months and toddlers’ self-regulation at 24 months and indirect associations through parent-child synchrony at 24 months. I also examined child emotionality as a moderator of direct associations and explored whether participation in a parenting intervention had impacts on synchrony and self-regulation. Father-child synchrony at 24 months mediated associations between earlier synchrony and self-regulation. Child emotionality did not moderate associations between synchrony and self-regulation. Finally, mothers and fathers in the treatment conditions exhibited greater synchrony with their children at 24 months than parents in the control group. Collectively, these findings indicate the unique ways that ethnically diverse mothers and fathers contribute to their children’s socioemotional development. These studies highlight the need for further research examining mechanisms (mediators and moderators) as additional sources of within-group variability in socioemotional functioning. Doing so will help diversify the science of normative socioemotional development and can inform program efforts to best support ethnic minority children in developing strong socioemotional skills.
HIGHER-ORDER THINKING ACROSS STAGES OF AN ARGUMENTATIVE MULTIPLE SOURCE USE TASK
(2024) Sun, Yuting; Alexander, Patricia A.; Human Development; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
Higher-order thinking is foundational to deeper learning and has been a major theme in the philosophical, psychological, and educational literatures. Multiple source use tasks (MSU) offer a rich context to investigate higher-order thinking, although systematic research on higher-order thinking in MSU contexts remains scarce. In addition, prior studies were often conducted in orchestrated settings, limiting their ecological validity. Guided by the Integrated Framework of Multiple Texts (List & Alexander, 2019), the current study aimed to unearth higher-order processes that unfolded over the Preparation, Execution, and Production stages of an ecologically valid MSU task. The study explored how a notetaking scaffold impacted higher-order processes, as manifested in the notes taken during the Execution stage and the argumentative essays written during the Production Stage.Participants were 105 undergraduate students enrolled in a course where MSU tasks are integral components. Over four class sessions, students completed learner characteristics measures, searched for sources online while completing a search log (Preparation stage), read and took notes on documents they selected (Execution stage), and wrote argumentative essays based on their notes (Production stage). Further, using a quasi-experimental design, students in the experimental class received a notetaking scaffold that prompted them to attend to key features of individual documents and integrate information across documents. The comparison class took notes in their preferred ways. Analyses revealed a variety of higher-order processes at each task stage. Students seemed to face more challenges in some processes (e.g., critical analysis, synthesis) than others (e.g., documenting evidence, justifying claims). The notetaking scaffold effectively facilitated some processes in notetaking (documenting source information) and essay writing (sourcing, counterarguing). Further, associations were found among processes occurring at different stages, with those related to sourcing and source evaluation being central. The study contributed to a more comprehensive understanding of students’ higher-order thinking across stages of a natural, class-based MSU task. Implications for future investigations using improved MSU tools and alternative analytical approaches and designs are discussed. Practically, the study pointed to the need for more explicit instructions and support in such areas as enhancing students’ understanding about argumentation and critical analysis of documents.
A Mean-Parameterized Conway–Maxwell–Poisson Multilevel Item Response Theory Model for Multivariate Count Response Data
(2024) Strazzeri, Marian Mullin; Yang, Ji Seung; Measurement, Statistics and Evaluation; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
Multivariate count data arise frequently in the process of measuring a latent construct in human development, psychology, medicine, education, and the social sciences. Some examples include the number of different types of mistakes a student makes when reading a passage of text, or the number of nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and/or dysphagia episodes a patient experiences in a given day. These response data are often sampled from multiple sources and/or in multiple stages, yielding a multilevel data structure with lower level sampling units (e.g., individuals, such as students or patients) nested within higher level sampling units or clusters (e.g., schools, clinical trial sites, studies). Motivated by real data, a new Item Response Theory (IRT) model is developed for the integrative analysis of multivariate count data. The proposed mean-parameterized Conway--Maxwell--Poisson Multilevel IRT (CMPmu-MLIRT) model differs from currently available models in its ability to yield sound inferences when applied to multilevel, multivariate count data, where exposure (the length of time, space, or number of trials over which events are recorded) may vary across individuals, and items may provide different amounts of information about an individual’s level of the latent construct being measured (e.g., level of expressive language development, math ability, disease severity). Estimation feasibility is demonstrated through a Monte Carlo simulation study evaluating parameter recovery across various salient conditions. Mean parameter estimates are shown to be well aligned with true parameter values when a sufficient number of items (e.g., 10) are used, while recovery of dispersion parameters may be challenging when as few as 5 items are used. In a second Monte Carlo simulation study, to demonstrate the need for the proposed CMPmu-MLIRT model over currently available alternatives, the impact of CMPmu-MLIRT model misspecification is evaluated with respect to model parameter estimates and corresponding standard errors. Treating an exposure that varies across individuals as though it were fixed is shown to notably overestimate item intercept and slope estimates, and, when substantial variability in the latent construct exists among clusters, underestimate said variance. Misspecifying the number of levels (i.e., fitting a single-level model to multilevel data) is shown to overestimate item slopes---especially when substantial variability in the latent construct exists among clusters---as well as compound the overestimation of item slopes when a varying exposure is also misspecified as being fixed. Misspecifying the conditional item response distributions as Poisson for underdispersed items and negative binomial for overdispersed items is shown to bias estimates of between-cluster variability in the latent construct. Lastly, the applicability of the proposed CMPmu-MLIRT model to empirical data was demonstrated in the integrative data analysis of oral language samples.
Latino fathers' motivations, parental play, parent and friend relationship support, and children's socioemotional development from early childhood to adolescence in racially-ethnically diverse families
(2024) Ghosh, Rachel Alina; Cabrera, Natasha; Human Development; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
Parenting practices and parent-child relationship quality, shaped in part by parenting cognitions and beliefs, have a strong proximal contribution to the course and outcome of children’s development from early in the lifespan. However, much existent empirical knowledge about parenting comes from studies of White middle-class mothers and children, and there is far less evidence from racially, ethnically, and economically diverse families – especially from fathers. Through a collection of three interrelated studies, the present dissertation contributes to this literature with an examination of fathers’ parenting motivations, and mothers’ and fathers’ independent and interactive influences on child and adolescent socioemotional outcomes among diverse families. Empirical Paper 1 qualitatively explored what motivated first-time Latino fathers in the U.S. to be good parents for their infants, and examined differences in their motivations by nativity status. Fathers described five primary themes, with variation by nativity,in their parenting motivations: 1) personal rearing history, 2) desire to rear a well-adjusted child, 3) relationship with their child, 4) intrinsic motivations, and 5) sense of duty and responsibility. Empirical Paper 2 examined associations between mothers’ and fathers’ quality of play (i.e., challenging parenting behaviors, playfulness) at 18 months and toddlers’ social competence at 24 months, and tested whether child negative emotional temperament moderated these associations. Contrary to hypotheses, there were no significant associations between mothers’ or fathers’ two types of play and children’s social competence, and no significant moderation effects by negative emotionality. Empirical Paper 3 examined the interactive effects of adolescents’ level of support in their relationships with mothers, fathers, and best friends in the 8th grade and associations with depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and externalizing problems in the 9th grade, as well as differences by adolescent sex. There were several interactive effects of the relationships on later depressive symptoms, though not on anxiety symptoms or externalizing problems, and few differences by adolescent sex. More support from one parent was related to fewer depressive symptoms when youth experienced an unsupportive relationship with the other parent or with a best friend. Taken together, the findings of these studies advance developmental theory and provide nuance to our understanding of mothering, fathering, and children’s and adolescents’ socioemotional developmental processes. These studies have implications for research and programs aimed at promoting the normative, healthy development of diverse youth through recognizing and capitalizing on the contributions of different members within the family system.
INHIBITION IS KEY: A COGNITIVE APPROACH TO SUCCESSFUL WORD PROBLEM SOLVING
(2024) Jaffe, Joshua Benjamin; Bolger, Donald J; Human Development; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
Numerical competency and reading comprehension skills are necessary, but insufficient for word problem success. Depending on the word problem structure, successful problem solving may require inhibiting the seemingly obvious and correct answer. Inhibitory control plays a significant role in processing and solving word problems. Through classroom practices and textbook problems, I argue that individuals form associations between relational terminology and specific mathematical operations (“more” for addition and “less” for subtraction), and the notion that all numerical values in a problem must be used to produce an answer. In this study, I proposed an inhibitory performance-based model that posits two approaches to problem solving: (a) a successful approach where solvers inhibit mathematical associations and form appropriate set schemas to conceptualize semantic relations, and (b) an association approach where solvers do not inhibit associations and therefore may have an inaccurate understanding of the semantic relations. To test the model, data were analyzed from 105 undergraduate students at the University of Maryland. The study consisted of four sections: cognitive skills, word problems, domain-specific inhibitory control tasks, and a semi-structured interview. The word problem section included problems that were both consistent and inconsistent with an individual’s operational and numerical associations. Overall, the quantitative results identified that participants performed significantly worse on inconsistent problems. Further, the data suggest that failure to correctly answer inconsistent problems may be due to inhibitory control rather than other cognitive skills. The qualitative data indicated that a vast majority of participants believed in both mathematical associations and remembered classroom experiences that may have contributed to these beliefs. While inhibitory control has been suggested to play a significant role in word problem performance, this is one of the first studies to explicitly examine the relationship through domain-specific inhibitory control tasks and an interview. These results guide a path for future research to examine how individuals develop mathematical associations and for interventions to dissuade their usage.
THE USE OF RANDOM FORESTS IN PROPENSITY SCORE WEIGHTING
(2023) Zheng, Yating; Stapleton, Laura; Measurement, Statistics and Evaluation; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
An important problem of social science research is the estimate of causal effects in observationalstudies. Propensity score methods, as effective ways to remove selection bias, have been widely used in estimating causal effects in observational studies. An important step of propensity score methods is to estimate the propensity score. Recently, a machine learning method, random forests, has been proposed as an alternative to the conventional method of logistic regression to estimate the propensity score as it requires less stringent assumptions and provides less biased and more reliable estimate of the treatment effect. However, previous studies only covered limited conditions with a small number of covariates and medium sample sizes, leaving the generalizability of the results in doubt. In addition, previous studies have seldom explored how to choose the hyper-parameters in random forests in the context of propensity score methods. This dissertation, via a simulation study, aims to 1) make a more comprehensive comparison between the use of random forests and logistic regression to determine which model performs better under what conditions, 2) explore the effects of the hyperparameters on the estimate of the treatment effect in propensity score weighting. An empirical study is also used as an illustration about how to choose the hyperparameters in random forests using propensity score weighting in practical settings.
Knowledge and Attitudes of Montessori Teachers of Young Children as a Context for Guiding the Normalization and Self-Construction Process
(1994) Schaefer Zener, Rita; Flatter, Charles; Human Development & Quantitative Methodology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, MD)
The purpose of this study was (1) to investigate the degree of agreement between AMI trained Montessori teachers' knowledge and attitudes and Montessori's recommendations for guiding the process of normalization among young children and (2) to discover the reasons for differences from those recommendations. Normalization is the central process in the Montessori method. Except for a study by this investigator (Zener, 1993) guiding the process of normalization had not been researched since Montessori's work some forty-five to eighty-five years ago. Therefore, this investigation also provided current teacher experiences of guiding the process of normalization. One hundred sixty five Montessori teachers attending various regional and national conferences were surveyed with knowledge and attitude scales. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10% of the participants. Mean scale scores from 4.0 to 5.0 on a five degree Likert scale and a SD less than 1.0 were projected as satisfactory levels of agreement with Montessori's recommendations. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the scales, and content analysis was used to analyze the interviews. T-tests and ANOVAS indicated that demographic variables were not significant to the results.
Special Classes and Group Therapy: An Evaluation of Their Effects on Achievement and Behavior in a Public School Setting
(1971) Weinstein, Howard G.; Goering, Jacob; Human Development & Quantitative Methodology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, MD)
This investigation was designed to test the relative effectiveness of four educational-treatment methods of providing adequate services for children with special learning problems in elementary school Special Learning Problems classes. The focus was on the relative effectiveness of these methods in bringing about positive achievement and behavior change. The subjects were 50 elementary school pupils enrolled in e ight existing Special Learning Problems (SLP) classes in Fairfax County, Virginia. The Ss represented a wide range of behavioral and/or educational disorders reflected in an equally wide range of inappropriate behavior and/or educational retardation of at least one, and generally two years. Each of the eight pre-established SLP classes was randomly assigned to one of four educational-treatment groups. Two SLP classes were assigned to each treatment group. The experimental methods consisted of special class placement and: (A) "Child Therapy Only" (CTO); (B) "Parent Therapy-Only" (PTO); (C) "Child and Parent Therapy" (CPT). In addition, a "Special Class-Only" (SEO) control group was included. Subjects in the CTO and CPT groups participated in 24, 90-minute group therapy sessions. The parents of the children in the CPT and PTO groups received 24, 90-minute parent group therapy sessions. The SEO (control) group did not receive group therapy nor did their parents. Group therapy sessions were conducted by trained and experienced group therapists from the Mental Health Center. The California Achievement Tests, The Wide Range Achievement Test, the Behavior Rating Scale, and the Human Figure Drawing Test were administered in mid-October, 1969 and repeated in mid-April, 1970. The difference between pre- and post-test scores were computed and the differences between treatment groups' mean gain scores were tested for significance by means of t-ratios. The null hypotheses tested were: Hypothesis 1. There will be no significant differences in mean gain scores on any of the achievement measures or on the behavior ratings between the control group (SEO) and any of the experimental groups (CTO, PTO, CPT). Hypothesis 2. No significant differences in mean gain scores on any of the achievement measures or on the behavior ratings will be found between the three experimental groups (CTO, PTO, CPT). Hypothesis 3. There will b e no significant differences in mean gain scores on any of the achievement measures or on the behavior ratings between those students designated as NEW (1st year SLP) and those FORMER students in SLP classes. The analyses of the results from the achievement and behavior measures provided, with only three exceptions, support for not rejecting the null hypotheses. With regard to Hypotheses 1 and 2, although only two comparisons reached statistical significance (i. e. , the CPT group obtained significantly higher CAT-Reading and WRAT-Arithmetic gains than the SEO group), it was found that the achievement mean gain scores were generally greater for the CPT group than for either the SEO group or for either of the other two experimental groups (CTO and PTO). In contrast, the SEO group obtained a greater behavior scale mean gain than any of the three experimental groups (CTO, PTO, CPT), although this difference did not reach significance. With only one exception (WRAT-Arithmetic), no significant differences were found between the NEW and FORMER groups. Subsequent to the experimental period, the NEW students demonstrated a significantly greater mean gain in Arithmetic than their FORMER group counterparts. Behaviorally, the FORMER group obtained a greater mean behavior rating gain than the NEW group, although not statistically significant. In general, the present findings provided no evidence for differential favorable effects from any of the educational-treatment methods utilized in terms of significantly greater achievement or behavioral gains. However, some noted trends were suggestive of the fact that perhaps each of the four educational-treatment methods is best suited for different situations, goals, and subjects. Further research was recommended.
The Effectiveness of Differential Social Reinforcement Strategies in Facilitating Achievement Behavior of Lower Socioeconomic Status, Primary Grade Children
(1971) Fishman, Harold; Matteson, Richard; Human Development & Quantitative Methodology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, MD)
This study was designed to ascertain whether Positive Social Reinforcement (PSR), Negative Social Reinforcement (NSR) and the condition of no verbal feedback (Control) have a differential motivational effect on the achievement behavior of low socioeconomic status, primary grade Ss. Two related objectives of this research were : (a) to determine whether black and white Ss are differentially motivated to achieve in response to the aforementioned three social reinforcement-feedback contingencies and (b) to determine whether Ss who are at different developmental levels are differentially motivated to achieve by these three classes of social reinforcement-feedback parameters.
A SELF-SELECTED QUALITATIVE STUDY EXAMING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN A FATHER AND HIS SON WHO HAS ATTENTION DEFICIT HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER (ADHD)
(1996) Kilcarr, Patrick; Flatter, Charles; Human Development & Quantitative Methodology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, MD)
The purpose of this interpretive study was to examine the relationship that exists between a father and his son Who has Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Since very little information is extant describing the relationship between a father and his son with ADHD, an interview format was developed to explore paternal perceptions, affect, and behaviors in relation to raising a son with ADHD. Sixteen fathers from an upper-middle class socioeconomic environment, participated in a one hour phone interview. These interviews were tape recorded and later transcribed. The interview attempted to answer the five research questions driving this study. The narrative data was interpreted by using a qualitative research method developed by Ranata Tesch. method involved extracting themes (specific participant responses) and collapsing the themes into larger-overarching categories called metathemes. Metathemes represent shared thoughts and perceptions held in common by all participants. Ten metathemes emerged from the data. The metathemes included such topics as a father's decision to place a child on medication and how and when to use behavior management strategies. Editorial comments from the author preceded response segments from participants (these segments were indented and single spaced). The data indicated that fathers share a unique relationship with sons who have ADHD. Prior to diagnosis, the majority of fathers described the relationship as tense, frustrating, and often unfulfilling. The relationship following diagnosis was described as significantly more Positive and rewarding. This was attributed to two specific changes: 1. the advent of education for fathers' regarding ADHD issues; and, 2. medication. Fathers agreed that the most effective behavior management strategy was to remain calm, educated, and realistic regarding their Childrens' behavior. The intention of this research was to generate further questions regarding the father-ADHD son relationship. The results of this study are not and cannot be generalized to other cultlures or social groups. Further research is needed which addresses the impact of race, class, and culture on the father and son with ADHD relationship.
The Effects of Variation in the Amount of Play Materials on the Play Behavior of the Preschool Child
(1978) Rechsteiner, Ann E.; Leeper, Sarah L.; Human Development & Quantitative Methodology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, MD)
Major questions have arisen concerning the function of play in the development of the young child. Changing attitudes towards the significance of play reflect changing social patterns. The present study was concerned with the effect that a removal of a specified amount of play material had on the play behavior of young children. Ten intact groups of children from the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area ranging in age from three to five years old were studied by this researcher. A time sampling technique using a modified version of DUSOPAC was used to measure the play behavior of the groups. The data collected by the observers were compiled and analysed using a one way ANOVA for a repeated measure design for each of the eleven variables (Disruptive, Unoccupied, Solitary, Onlooker, Parallel, Associative, Cooperative, Not Play, Child-Child, Child-Adult, Child-Self.) The findings indicated that a significant relationship (at the .05 significance level) existed between the amount of social play observed and the amount of play equipment that was available to the young child. Less social play was observed when the material was removed on the first treatment day than when the material was present. No significant relationships were observed between the amount of equipment available and the amount of non-social play, the amount of child-child interaction, the amount of child-self interaction, or the amount of child-adult interaction that occurred. Investigation of the mean score values revealed trends for both interaction patterns and play behavior. Females were found to display more child-self interaction behavior and males more child-child interaction behavior. Also, for all days of observation, regardless of treatment, the most frequently occurring interaction behavior was child-child followed by child-self. The least frequently occurring interaction behavior was child-adult. For play behavior for all days of observation, regardless of treatment, males displayed more disruptive, unoccupied, associative, cooperative, parallel and social play behavior than did females. Females were found to display more solitary, onlooker, not-play and non-social play behavior than were males. These findings were not in agreement with Langlois, Gottfried and Seay (1973), and Sitzky, Haywood and Isett (1970 ). The results of this study seem to indicate that there is a need for more research to 1) update earlier studies; 2) study the role of play in the development of social interactions; 3) investigate saturation levels of equipment as they relate to a child's play; 4) to explore in more detail environmental influences on play behavior.
Integrating Cognitive and Perceptual Processes in Mental Arithmetic
(2023) Medrano, Josh Rainier Lucas; Prather, Richard W; Human Development; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
Decades of research have established the importance of working memory in arithmetic computation (DeStefano & LeFevre, 2004). More recently, research has also shown that a formally irrelevant perceptual cue—spacing—can influence problem-solving (Landy & Goldstone, 2007). In a multi-operand problem, individuals solve less accurately and more slowly when the spacing between operands and operators is inconsistent with the order of operations (e.g., 2 x 3+4) compared to when spacing is consistent (e.g., 2x3 + 4). While this effect of physical spacing is widely demonstrated, it is unknown whether this perceptual cue also influences working memory. To examine this, I used a dual-task paradigm, wherein participants (N = 115 adults, mean = 32.41 years, median = 27.22, standard deviation = 15.56) evaluated an expression while completing either a visuospatial (dot pattern) or phonological (letter span) memory task. There were three conditions. The arithmetic stimuli differed between conditions: In the no-spacing (NS) condition, spacing was neutral for all arithmetic expressions; in the spacing-varying (SV) condition, spacing was neutral, consistent, or inconsistent; in the spacing-varying with parenthesis condition (SVP), spacing varied and there were parentheses around multiplied operands (e.g., (2 x 3)+4). The configuration of the working memory tasks was the same for all conditions. Analyses of variance tests (ANOVAs) of arithmetic and recall performance were conducted with spacing, working memory load (low and high) and type (visuospatial and phonological) as independent variables. Results showed that first, working memory load and type, as well as spacing, influenced arithmetic and recall performance, consistent with previous work and partially supporting our hypotheses. Second, compared to the SV condition, inconsistent spacing yielded higher arithmetic accuracy and spacing did not affect or interact with working memory in the SVP condition. Third, exploratory analyses showed that participants’ performance was influenced by math anxiety, age, and math education. Participants who had lower levels of math anxiety, were younger, and had taken three or more math classes after high school had, descriptively, higher arithmetic and recall accuracy. Overall, these results have theoretical implications particularly for mathematical cognition research, as well as practical implications, such as in the design of instructional materials.
Construct measurement error in latent social network relationship: An item response theory based latent space model
(2023) Ding, Yishan; Sweet, Tracy; Measurement, Statistics and Evaluation; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
Research on measurement error in social network analysis has primarily focused on proxy measurement error, which refers to inadequate or inaccurate observations of proxy measurements of social relationships. However, construct measurement error, a key concern in modern psychometric studies, has received less attention in social network studies. Construct measurement error is particularly relevant for social network relationships that are difficult or impossible to observe explicitly, such as friendships, which are better conceptualized as latent constructs. Historically, researchers have long advocated to use multi-item scales for social relationships to address construct measurement error (Marsden, 1990). However, there is a lack of methods tailored for multivariate social network analysis using multi-item measurements. Commonly, when data on social network ties is collected from multiple items, prevalent strategies involve either choosing a representative item or analyzing each item as a distinct network. To accommodate construct measurement error in social network analysis, this study proposes a new model, termed as IRT-LSM, that integrates an item response theory (IRT) model into a latent space model (LSM). The proposed method leverages the IRT model to take advantage of a multi-item scale to enhance the measurement of latent social relationships, providing a more comprehensive understanding of social relationships compared to relying on a single item. To evaluate the efficacy of this novel approach, the dissertation comprises three simulation studies: One assessing model feasibility and the impact of construct measurement error, a second exploring various misspecification models, and a third investigating the effects of item parameter distributions. Additionally, an empirical data analysis demonstrates the practical application of the IRT-LSM in real-world settings. The results underscore the effectiveness of the IRT-LSM in addressing construct measurement error. The model consistently yields unbiased estimates and demonstrates robustness against various factors influencing its performance across the simulated conditions. Notably, the IRT-LSM outperforms naive approaches that neglect construct measurement error, leading to divergent conclusions in the empirical data analyses.
A FINITE MIXTURE MULTILEVEL STRUCTURAL EQUATION MODEL FOR UNOBSERVED HETEROGENEITY IN RANDOM VARIABILITY
(2023) Feng, Yi; Hancock, Gregory R; Measurement, Statistics and Evaluation; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
Variability is often of key interest in various research and applied settings. Important research questions about intraindividual variability (e.g., consistency across repeated measurements) or intragroup variability (e.g., cohesiveness among members within a team) are piquing the interest of researchers from a variety of disciplines. To address the research needs in modeling random variability as the key construct, Feng and Hancock (2020, 2022) proposed a multilevel SEM-based modeling approach where variability can be modeled as a random variable. This modeling framework is a highly flexible analytical tool that can model variability in observed measures or latent constructs, variability as the predictor or the outcome, as well as the between-subject comparison of variability across observed groups. A huge challenge still remains, however, when it comes to modeling the unobserved heterogeneity in random variability. Given that no existing research addresses the methodological considerations of uncovering the unobserved sub-populations that differ in intraindividual variability or intragroup variability, or sub-populations that differ in the various processes and mechanisms involving intraindividual variability or intragroup variability, the current dissertation study aims to fill this gap in literature. In the current study, a finite-mixture MSEM for modeling unobserved heterogeneity in random variability (MMSEM-RV) is introduced. Bayesian estimation via MCMC is proposed for model estimation. The performance of MMSEM-RV with Bayesian estimation is systematically evaluated in a simulation study across varying conditions. An illustrative example with empirical PISA data is also provided to demonstrate the practical application of MMSEM-RV.
Characterizing the Adventitious Model Error as a Random Effect in Item-Response-Theory Models
(2023) Xu, Shuangshuang; Liu, Yang; Measurement, Statistics and Evaluation; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
When drawing conclusions from statistical inferences, researchers are usually concerned about two types of errors: sampling error and model error. The sampling error is caused by the discrepancy between the observed sample and the population from which the sample is drawn from (i.e., operational population). The model error refers to the discrepancy between the fitted model and the data-generating mechanism. Most item response theory (IRT) models assume that models are correctly specified in the population of interest; as a result, only sampling errors are characterized, not model errors. The model error can be treated either as fixed or random. The proposed framework in this study treats the model error as a random effect (i.e., an adventitious error) and provides an alternative explanation for the model errors in IRT models that originate from unknown sources. A random, ideally small amount of discrepancy between the operational population and the fitted model is characterized using a Dirichlet-Multinomial framework. A concentration/dispersion parameter is used in the Dirichlet-Multinomial framework to measure the amount of adventitious error between the operational population probability and the fitted model. In general, the study aims to: 1) build a Dirichlet-Multinomial framework for IRT models, 2) establish asymptotic results for estimating model parameters when the operational population probability is assumed known or unknown, 3) conduct numerical studies to investigate parameter recovery and the relationship between the concentration/dispersion parameter in the proposed framework and the Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA), 4) correct bias in parameter estimates of the Dirichlet-Multinomial framework using asymptotic approximation methods, and 5) quantify the amount of model error in the framework and decide whether the model should be retained or rejected.
INVESTIGATING MODEL SELECTION AND PARAMETER RECOVERY OF THE LATENT VARIABLE AUTOREGRESIVE LATENT TRAJECTORY (LV-ALT) MODEL FOR REPEATED MEASURES DATA: A MONTE CARLO SIMULATION STUDY
(2023) Houser, Ari; Harring, Jeffrey R; Human Development; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
Over the past several decades, several highly generalized models have been developed which can reduce, through parameter constraints, to a variety of classical models. One such framework, the Autoregressive Latent Trajectory (ALT) model, is a combination of two classical approaches to longitudinal modeling: the autoregressive or simplex family, in which trait scores at one occasion are regressed on scores at a previous occasion, and latent trajectory or growth curve models, in which individual trajectories are specified by a set of latent factors (typically a slope and an intercept) whose values vary across the population.The Latent Variable-Autoregressive Latent Trajectory (LV-ALT) model has been recently proposed as an extension of the ALT model in which the traits of interest are latent constructs measured by one or more indicator variables. The LV-ALT is presented as a framework by which one may compare the fit of a chosen model to alternative possibilities or use to empirically guide the selection of a model in the absence of theory, prior research, or standard practice. To date, however, there has not been any robust analysis of the efficacy or usefulness of the LV-ALT model for this purpose. This study uses a Monte Carlo simulation study to evaluate the efficacy of the basic formulation of the LV-ALT model (univariate latent growth process, single indicator variable) to identify the true model, model family, and key characteristics of the model under manipulated conditions of true model parameters, sample size, measurement reliability, and missing data. The performance of the LV-ALT model for model selection is mixed. Under most manipulated conditions, the best-fitting of nine candidate models was different than the generating model, and the cost of model misspecification for parameter recovery included significant increases in bias and loss of precision in parameter estimation. As a general rule, the LV-ALT should not be relied upon to empirically select a specific model, or to choose between several theoretical plausible models in the autoregressive or latent growth families. Larger sample size, greater measurement reliability, larger parameter magnitude, and a constant autoregressive parameter are associated with greater likelihood of correct model selection.
ESTIMATING THE Q-DIFFUSION MODEL PARAMETERS BY APPROXIMATE BAYESIAN COMPUTATION
(2023) Tian, Chen; Liu, Yang; Human Development; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
The Q-diffusion model is a cognitive process model that considers decision making as an unobservable information accumulation process. Both item and person parameters decide the trace line of the cognitive process, which further decides observed response and response time. Because the likelihood function for the Q-diffusion model is intractable, standard parameter estimation techniques such as the maximum likelihood estimation is difficult to apply. This project applies Approximate Bayesian Computation (ABC) to estimate parameters of the Q-diffusion model. Different from standard Markov chain Monte Carlo samplers that require pointwise evaluation of the likelihood function, ABC builds upon a program for data generation and a metric on the data space to gauge the similarity between imputed and observed data. This project aims to compare the performance of two criteria for gauging the similarity or distance. The limited-information criterion measures the distance in suitable summary statistics (i.e., variances, covariances, and means) between imputed and observed data. The enhanced limited information criterion additionally considers the dependencies among persons’ responses and response times. Bias, rooted mean squared error, and coverage of credible intervals were reported. Results show that when using posterior median as the point estimate, by jointly considering a person’s responses and response time, the enhanced criterion yielded less biased estimation on population scale of person power and slightly better item parameters. This SMC-ABC algorithm informs researchers about key data features that should be captured when determining the stopping rule for the algorithm.
Reframing Children's Judgments of Consensus Reliability as a Process of Information Aggregation
(2023) Levush, Karen Carmel; Butler, Lucas P; Human Development; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
Consensus is a compelling cue to the truth value of a given claim, but certain consensus patterns provide stronger evidence than others. This dissertation examines the developmental trajectory of children’s reasoning about the epistemic value of diverse perspectives for consensus’ reliability. One-hundred forty-four children between the ages of 7 and 9, as well as 48 adults, were introduced to a novel planet and alien groups that live there. Tasked with learning the “right things” about why various natural phenomena occur on this planet, participants were asked which one of two consensus groups, each of whom collectively thought something different, was the “better” group to ask. Participants rated their relative preference for one consensus group over another using a 6-point scale and were asked to explain their reasoning. These findings provide initial evidence that qualitative changes in children’s ability to consider how dependencies can lead to redundant information parallel the developmental shift in children’s appreciation for interpretive diversity in middle childhood.

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